Monachopsis

ニ) Kenopsia

Deep trenches of black smudge flow through 2 identical streams on either side of a gray, cobblestone path. The path looks to be covering a 3rd stream that would have connected the other two had it not been buried with stone. The rocks that make up the walkway are jagged and uneven, evidence of a job hastily done.

A massive pyre stands at the end of the pathway with torches on either side, framing the path. Each torch lights in twos, one after another.

At the end of the path are 2 shadowy figures unlike his eyes have ever seen before. Beautiful and mournful. Easily visible, despite their bodies being hidden in the shadows, are fiery red eyes that feel like they could bore into his soul even though they aren't looking at him. They are godly in the sense that Sasuke knows that even if he could see their physical bodies, he would not be able to consciously perceive them. They are ethereal in every sense of the word.

"Our children are fighting, dearest Tsukuyomi," one of the two figures says.

"I know, Amaterasu," Tsukuyomi replies, resignation colouring their tone.

"There will not be much left if we allow them to continue. You know as well as I do."

"We've done all we can. Interfering more would make things worse, surely you understand that?" There's something like mocking in their voice. It's cold and cynical.

"How dare you, of all people, patronize me!" Amaterasu seethes. "You who are so arrogant as to assume we are not all in the same boat!"

"You act as if I am unaware. You always act so brash and childish, Amaterasu. You've seen the future, as have I. Blood and war. They summon their ancestors from the dead and you think it wise to give them more than we've already allowed?"

"But the boy-" Amaterasu begins.

"Was a mistake. Nothing more." Tsukuyomi finishes quietly. "A mistake."

The dark rivers clear and the torches go out, the smoke blocking his vision and making his eyes water.

When the smoke dissipates, he looks around and finds that he's somewhere familiar.

He's standing on the old path leading up to the Uchiha pyre.

Sasuke wakes with smoke in his lungs and burning eyes, memories of the dream he just had already eluding him.

He's in his classroom, he notes, remembering getting to school and sitting down as he tries to piece together the day he's had. A glance at the clock in the back of the room tells him that it's 20 minutes away from lunchtime. Iruka-sensei's voice carries in the background and eventually, Sasuke is awake enough to listen to his words.

"At this point, we should all know the basics of Jutsu classification. Can anyone tell me, without accounting for chakra control, the order of Jutsu classification from weakest to strongest?"

Sakura, of course, raises her hand to answer. Iruka-sensei waits for someone, anyone else to volunteer and sighs when no one does. "Yes, Sakura."

She smiles slightly, briefly glancing in Sasuke's direction before explaining the Jutsu classifications. They go from E to A and then S, for some reason. S-rank jutsu use the most Chakra, generally.

This is the baseline, Sasuke knows. There are several ways to make an S-rank jutsu use the same amount of chakra as a C-rank jutsu. It's all theory, at the beginning.

There are so many steps to consider when thinking about Jutsu on a large scale. Even just knowing how much Chakra you have– roughly, because no one ever knows how much exactly unless they're a civilian– and then calculating how much Chakra you use for Jutsu is something that completely evades civilian-born students. The idea that Chakra, on some level, can be quantified is difficult for most people to understand. For most non-shinobi people, Chakra is beyond arbitrary ideas like numbers.