Sasuke opened his eyes to a gentle, steady rocking. He was sitting in what looked like a strange, enclosed cart—but it moved smoother than any cart he'd ever known. A low hum vibrated through the seat. Sunlight streamed through large windows, showing a blur of impossible glass towers and wide, grey paths.
'Where... is this?'
His mind slammed back to the last moment. The Valley of the End. Naruto's face, determined. The Rasengan and Chidori a hair's breadth from collision. Then, a searing rip in his left eye—his Rinnegan glitching, tearing a hole in the world itself. Then, nothing.
Annoyance flared first. 'I was right there. It was about to end.' His final choice, his revolution, interrupted.
He tried to sit up straight, to get his bearings. His body felt heavy, wrong. Instinctively, he reached for his chakra.
Nothing.
A hollow, silent emptiness echoed inside him where his power always was. He pushed again, harder. Not a spark. His hand flew to his left eye. The distinct, powerful pressure of the Rinnegan... was just gone.
A shot of cold panic hit his heart. 'Sealed? Or gone for good?' His mind raced through possibilities. 'A genjutsu? Kaguya's dimension? Kamui? Or... the Infinite Tsukuyomi?' He formed the release seal subtly, his fingers moving under his sleeve. Nothing changed. The smooth cart kept moving.
'This is real.' The panic tightened its grip. 'My power is gone.'
Then he noticed it—a folded piece of paper clutched in his own right hand. He didn't remember grabbing it. Slowly, he opened it.
[You want revolution, right? In this world, show me what you can, Uchiha Sasuke.]
The blood drained from his face. 'This world? Am I in another world?!' The concept shook him. 'Do multiple worlds exist?... They know me. This... is not an accident.' His thoughts tumbled over each other. 'What am I supposed to do here? What about Naruto? Kakashi? Can I go back? Will my powers come back if I do?'
He took a sharp, deep breath, forcing the panic down. 'Observe. Adapt.' He looked around, really looking this time.
He was surrounded by teenagers. Many stared at small, glowing screens in their hands. Their clothes were simple, strange. He looked down at himself. He was wearing a red jacket and pants, a uniform similar to others. On his lap was a black bag. Inside, he found an ID card.
Advanced Nurturing High School.
Name: Sasuke Uchiha.
Class: D.
'A school?' He was baffled. 'I am a student? Is it like the Academy?' He scanned the other kids again, his senses straining. 'No... they don't have chakra. Not even a little. In my world, every living thing has chakra. They don't know it. They don't look strong.'
The bus hissed to a stop. An elderly woman climbed on, unsteady. What followed was a long, petty spectacle.
A woman who looked like an office worker was the first to speak to a blond boy lounging in a marked seat.
"Excuse me, but shouldn't you offer up your seat? ... Can't you see that this elderly woman is having trouble?"
The boy—Kouenji—grinned. "That's a really crazy question, lady. Why should I offer up my seat? There's no reason for me to do so."
"You're sitting in a priority seat. It's natural to offer up those seats to the elderly."
"I don't understand. Priority seats are just that: priority seats. I have no legal obligation to move... Am I supposed to give up my seat just because I'm young? Ha! That reasoning is nonsense."
The argument went back and forth, the boy's arrogant logic overwhelming the flustered woman. The elderly lady tried to calm things. "It's f-fine, whatever…"
Just as it seemed over, a girl in uniform—Kushida—stepped forward.
"Um… I think that the lady is right."
"And the new challenger is a pretty girl, eh?" Kouenji said. "This poor woman appears to have been suffering for quite some time now. Won't you offer up your seat? While you might consider such courtesy unnecessary, I think it would contribute greatly to society."
"A contribution to society, you say? ... Unfortunately, I have no interest in contributing to society. I care only for my own satisfaction."
Kushida turned her plea to the entire bus. "Everyone, please listen to me for just a moment. Won't someone give up their seat for this woman? It doesn't matter who. Please."
Sasuke's eyes swept the bus. A dark-haired girl read a book, utterly detached. A plain boy stared ahead, doing nothing. The crowd was silent, complicit.
Finally, a working woman stood, unable to bear the public pressure. "E-excuse me. You can have mine."
"Thank you very much!" the elderly woman said.
Sasuke watched it all, a cold disdain settling in his gut. 'They fight... for a seat? Pathetic. In my world, this would already be a battle.' This place seemed weak, soft. 'But I can't underestimate it. Whoever sent me here has a motive.'
Soon, the bus stopped before a huge, grand gate. Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. Students filed out. Sasuke followed, moving with the crowd but apart from it.
As he stepped off, he heard a sharp voice behind him.
"Wait!"
Sasuke glanced back. The dark-haired girl from the bus had called out to the plain boy, Ayanokoji.
"You were looking at me. Why?" she demanded.
"Sorry. I guess I was just interested, is all. I mean, you didn't think about giving up your seat to the old woman, did you?"
"That's right. I didn't consider giving it up. Is there something wrong with that?"
"Oh, no, not at all. I didn't intend to give up my seat, either. In fact, I firmly abide by the philosophy of letting sleeping dogs lie. I dislike trouble."
"You dislike trouble? Then I don't think you and I are anything alike. I didn't give up my seat because I thought it would be pointless. That's all."
"But doesn't that seem worse than just not liking trouble?"
"Perhaps. I'm simply acting according to my own beliefs. That's different from someone who just dislikes trouble, like you. I don't want to spend any time around people like you."
"I feel the same way," Ayanokoji muttered.
The conversation ended. The girl—Horikita—turned to leave, but her sharp gaze then locked onto Sasuke, who had been a silent observer to the entire exchange.
"Hmph. And you. You were watching too. What's your excuse?"
All nearby eyes turned to him. Sasuke met her stare, his face a mask of blank calm. He didn't owe this stranger an explanation. Her petty schoolyard conflict was beneath him, a distraction from the monumental problem of being trapped, powerless, in another world. After a beat of silence, he simply turned and walked away without a word, following the flow of students toward the school.