Naruto lay in his hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. The physical pain from his father's beating was nothing compared to the emotional void inside him. Every part of him felt broken, shattered. The weight of his father's words pressed down on his chest, suffocating him. "A disappointment." That's what Minato had called him. His own father, the Fourth Hokage, had looked at him with such hatred that Naruto could barely stand to remember it.The door creaked open, but Naruto didn't turn his head. He expected no visitors. His family had already shown how little he mattered."Idiot."The voice was familiar. Sasuka. She stood at his bedside, arms crossed, looking down at him with a mixture of frustration and concern. Despite the coldness in her voice, Naruto could sense that she cared, in her own way."You're a complete idiot," she muttered, sitting down in the chair beside him. "What the hell were you thinking?"Naruto didn't respond right away. How could he explain what he'd felt in that moment? The blinding rage, the feeling that everything inside him had snapped? He had wanted to protect Sasuka, but now, all he had done was push her further away."I don't know," Naruto mumbled, his voice thick with shame. "I just... lost it."Sasuka sighed, her eyes softening as she looked at him. "You can't do that, Naruto. You can't just lose control every time things get tough. You could've hurt someone—someone innocent."Naruto turned his head away, the shame gnawing at him. "I didn't want to hurt anyone. I just... I saw what he was trying to do to you, and I couldn't stand it.""I didn't need you to save me," Sasuka said, her voice firm but not unkind. "I can handle myself.""I know," Naruto whispered. "I know you don't need me."Sasuka was quiet for a moment, then stood up abruptly. She glanced at him, something unspoken flickering in her eyes. "Just... get better. We still have a lot of training to do."With that, she left, leaving Naruto alone in the suffocating silence. Her words echoed in his mind, but all he could feel was the hollowness inside him. She didn't need him. No one did. His family had all but abandoned him, the villagers hated him, and now, even Sasuka seemed to be slipping away.The days blurred together as Naruto recovered, his body healing but his heart heavy with despair. He returned to training with Sasuka, but something had changed. Where once there was a spark of hope, however faint, now there was only a lingering emptiness. Sasuka trained with him, but their conversations were shorter, the silences between them longer.Naruto could feel himself drifting further into the shadows. He could no longer find the fire that once drove him to prove himself. Every kunai he threw, every punch he landed felt hollow. And the more he pushed, the more the cracks in his soul seemed to widen.But Sasuka was still there. She was the one thing keeping him from falling completely apart. Even if they didn't speak much anymore, her presence was the only constant, the only thing grounding him.Until it all shattered.A month after the tournament, during one of their usual training sessions, something changed. Naruto was in the middle of a sparring match with Sasuka, his strikes slower than usual, his focus scattered. Sasuka was clearly frustrated. She dodged his blows with ease, her counterattacks hitting harder than they normally would."Come on, Naruto! You're not even trying!" Sasuka snapped, sidestepping one of his punches and sweeping his legs out from under him.Naruto hit the ground hard, but he didn't get back up right away. He just lay there, staring up at the sky, his breath coming in short, ragged bursts."I am trying," he muttered, barely loud enough for her to hear.Sasuka stood over him, her eyes narrowed. "No, you're not. You've been like this for weeks. You're not focused. What's going on with you?"Naruto pushed himself up slowly, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "What's the point?" he said quietly.Sasuka froze, her expression hardening. "What do you mean, 'what's the point'? You think you can just give up now?"Naruto looked away, unable to meet her gaze. "Why not? I'm never going to be good enough. Not for my father, not for anyone."Sasuka's hands clenched into fists, her anger bubbling to the surface. "So, what? You're just going to lie down and quit? After everything we've been through?""I'm not like you, Sasuka!" Naruto shouted, his voice breaking. "You're strong. You have a purpose. I don't have anything! My own family doesn't even care about me!"For a moment, Sasuka's face softened, her expression almost sympathetic. But then something in her eyes shifted—something cold."You don't get to use that as an excuse," she said, her voice low and dangerous. "We all have our problems, Naruto. But you don't get to wallow in self-pity and expect everything to magically get better."Naruto flinched at her words. He knew she was right, but that didn't make the pain any easier to bear."You want people to care about you? Then stop acting like a helpless child and start fighting for yourself," Sasuka said, her voice sharp and unforgiving.Naruto's heart sank. He had hoped that, at the very least, Sasuka would understand. But now, even she was turning away from him. The last sliver of hope he had been holding onto began to slip through his fingers."Maybe you're right," Naruto muttered, his voice barely audible. "Maybe I am a helpless child."Without another word, Sasuka turned her back on him, walking away. Naruto watched her go, his chest tight with a mixture of anger, shame, and sorrow. She had been the only one left who saw anything in him, and now even that was gone.Days passed, and Naruto and Sasuka barely spoke. Their training sessions grew more tense, the silence between them heavy and oppressive. Sasuka seemed distant, colder than before. And Naruto, for the first time, found himself truly alone.The villagers still avoided him, whispering about the monster who had nearly killed another student. His family remained indifferent, focused on Menma and Naruko, who continued to excel in their training. And Sasuka... Sasuka no longer even looked at him the same way.Naruto's world had become a bleak, empty place, devoid of any light or warmth. He wandered through the days like a ghost, his heart heavy with a darkness he didn't know how to escape.He had lost everything. And now, even Sasuka—his only tether to hope—was slipping away.