Dream Maker of the Hokage!

The sky was just beginning to lighten, a faint silver stretching along the horizon.

Naruto stirred from sleep, slowly drifting back to consciousness.

His eyelids fluttered open in a haze, and he blinked into the dim silence around him. Everything was still cloaked in darkness.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he sat up groggily. Outside the window, it was still pitch-black—only the faintest hint of dawn visible. Morning hadn't truly arrived.

He glanced around the room. Everything was just as it always was.

A mess of tangled blankets. Clothes tossed carelessly around. Empty instant ramen cups stacked in the corner…

All of it, painfully familiar.

And yet, something inside him felt off.

Last night… he hadn't entered that dream. He hadn't seen Mom or Dad. He hadn't trained with his father like before.

Instead, he'd found himself watching Sasuke's strange "dream" from a distance—as nothing more than a bystander, lost and confused.

In front of Kakashi-sensei and Sakura, Naruto had forced a smile, brushed it off like it was nothing.

But now, alone in the silence, he could no longer hold back the dread tightening in his chest.

The night before last, he'd dreamed of his parents. Held their hands. Laughed with them. Trained with his dad. Felt the warmth of his mother's presence...

Could that really have been the last time?

"No... No way!" Naruto shook his head hard, chasing away the awful thought. "I'll see them again. I will. I have to!"

He couldn't stop the memories from surfacing—the warmth of his father's hand as he patiently guided Naruto through the Rasengan over and over… his mother smiling softly from the sidelines, handing him a towel, eyes full of love.

That kind of happiness... he wished it could last forever.

He'd even eaten ramen cooked by his mother with her own hands. The taste—rich, deep, and warm—had put Ichiraku's to shame.

Watching his father's proud smile, his mother's gentle touch… in those moments, Naruto had felt like the luckiest person in the world.

He tossed and turned for what felt like ages, but sleep refused to come back. Eventually, he sighed and pushed off the blanket, shoulders slumped in resignation.

Dressing sluggishly, he half-heartedly tidied up, then stepped out into the still-sleeping village, dragging his feet toward the usual Team 7 meeting spot.

Morning in Konoha was quiet and cold.

Few people were on the streets, and only a handful of food stalls had lit their signs and started preparing breakfast.

Naruto walked in silence, lost in his thoughts. Not even the judgmental looks from passing villagers—something that once stung him deeply—registered in his mind.

Those old glances… today, they didn't seem to matter.

He reached the empty training field earlier than usual.

Too early.

The place was dead quiet. No one in sight.

A wry smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He'd gotten up way too soon.

With a soft sigh, he sank to the ground and stared at the slowly brightening sky.

What if… what if he could never enter that dream again? What if he never saw them again?

He shook his head, slapped his cheeks hard to wake himself up.

No. He couldn't let himself sink like this.

Dad and Mom would want me to stay strong.

Elsewhere—far from Naruto's thoughts—Sasuke stirred.

The chill of morning kissed his cheek.

A single dewdrop had fallen from the canopy above, landing cold against his skin. It jolted him fully awake.

He bolted upright.

Grass beneath his back. Cold stone behind him. He was in the forest behind the Uchiha clan grounds—leaning against one of the ruined stone walls of their old home.

The ruins loomed behind him, bathed in pale morning light—quiet, crumbling, haunted.

Sasuke sat there, dazed for a moment, then realization sank in.

So… it was a dream.

And yet, despite knowing that, every image from it burned bright in his mind—vivid and piercing.

It felt too real… he whispered, barely audible.

He had dreamed of his parents before—nightmares, always. That horrific night, that endless bloodbath, was a specter that never left his sleep.

But this dream… this time… it had been nothing like that.

No blood. No terror. No screams in the dark.

Only… a kind mother. A strict but steady father. And—his brother. That version of Itachi.

Calm. Protective. Standing beside their father in the Konoha Police Force. Trusted. Loved.

Sasuke's chest clenched.

Could that really have been… just a fantasy?

Dream-Itachi had been nothing like the one who slaughtered their clan, who twisted his childhood and left him shattered.

No. That Itachi had been real. Gentle, brilliant, and always watching over him—just like when they were little.

Sasuke could remember it clearly: how he used to cling to his brother's side, how Itachi would always pat his head and whisper kind words. Until that night—

The memory surged forward without warning.

The blood-red moon hanging low in the sky.

Corpses of his kin sprawled across the courtyard.

The stones soaked in crimson.

And in the darkness above it all… the cold, unblinking gaze of that Itachi.

"Foolish little brother… if you want to kill me, hate me. Detest me. And survive in an unsightly way... run, run and cling to life…"

Those words… that voice… even now, it chilled Sasuke to his core.

His expression darkened. Jaw clenched.

He balled his fists, nails digging into his palms.

A dream. That's all it was. A lie.

A false world. One I—Uchiha Sasuke—will never lose myself in.

Back at the Hyūga estate…

Soft morning light filtered through the shoji doors.

Hinata stirred beneath the covers, sitting up slowly as she rubbed her eyes.

The night had felt no different than any other. Just peaceful sleep.

And now morning had arrived.

She sat still for a moment, blankly staring ahead.

Had that really been… just a dream?

By the time Sasuke reached Team 7's training field, he spotted Naruto from afar—sitting alone in the open grass, plucking at weeds with a far-off look in his eyes.

And then it hit him.

Hard.

Last night… he had entered that dream realm.

But what about Naruto?

What if Naruto had been in that viewing space again, the strange theater they'd found themselves in before?

Had he—had Naruto seen everything from his dream?

Worse—had Kakashi and Sakura seen it too?!

Sasuke had been too caught up in his emotions last night to think about any of this.

He'd completely forgotten that the dreams were visible. That others could watch.

Which meant…

Every embarrassing, emotional moment—every time he'd lost control…

They all saw it.

Naruto.

That idiot.

That absolute dumbass definitely saw everything.

Sasuke felt his face go hot.

"Damn it…"

He covered his forehead with one hand. His cheeks were burning.

How had he acted again?

Right—he'd beaten up Itachi, then cried into his mother's arms, clung to her like a little kid…

The more he remembered, the more he wanted to evaporate on the spot.

Uchiha Sasuke—unshakable in battle, unflinching against any enemy—was now frozen in place.

He'd rather fight Itachi for real, right now, swords drawn and Sharingan blazing, than walk over there and face Naruto.

He had never felt this torn before.

Never this… uncertain.

He wasn't even sure if he could bring himself to say hello.

Let alone look Naruto in the eye.