Prologue:
"I fucking hate you Sasuke."
He must have said those five words at least a hundred times since entering the Academy, but today, for the first time in his life, he actually meant them.
The target of his hate stared back at him from the opposite side of The Valley of the End with his usual impassive gaze. "Hn," he said under his breath. "So you found the gift that I left behind for you? Good job, dobe, I didn't think that you'd be able to put two-and-two together."
Uzumaki Naruto, the 'most unpredictable ninja', stared at his one-time friend and rival with an expression that was completely alien on his young face: loathing. Never before would he have thought that he could ever feel such hate towards his fellow teammate. But, then again, he never thought that that same teammate would ever kill a fellow Leaf shinobi.
Unnoticed by him, large amounts of Kyuubi's chakra began flowing through his system, changing his eyes to crimson slits and creating a single tail behind him. His canines and hands began to change into fangs and claws, and his hair became a shaggy mess. His thin, whisker-like scars began to darken and become more pronounced, making him look more demonic by the second.
"You know," the Uchiha began as he watched the blonde's transformation with a growing smirk on his face, "I knew that we would fight today, but I wasn't sure if you'd give it your all. I figured you'd call me out for leaving and try to drag me back. That's why I killed him. In case you're wondering, that's called 'initiative', dobe."
Kyuubi-Naruto snarled in outrage, but (barely) managed to keep himself from attacking. "You killed him…because…of me?" he spat out.
An almost wistful look appeared on Sasuke's face as he watched his former teammate's face go through a whole range of emotions, from grief, to disbelief, and finally to pure, unadultered hatred. "Now you know where I'm coming from."
What little self-control Naruto had disappeared at that instant as a second tail appeared behind him. The jinchuuriki let out a tremendous roar that even made the Uchiha take a tentative step backwards and disappeared in a blur of motion.
A moment later, Sasuke doubled over in pain as punch after punch began connecting with his midsection. The blonde's fists were like sledgehammers, and, to make things worse, each punch came harder and faster than the one before.
Halfway through the assault, however, the Uchiha managed to activate his Sharingan and the first level of the Curse Seal. He felt a wave of both chakra and adrenaline flow through him, giving him the power (and much needed courage) to begin his counterattack.
Sasuke managed to redirect and dodge two punches before Naruto got annoyed and sent a tractable, extendable chakra claw to grab him. The Uchiha ducked under the claw's first strike, but, even with his Sharingan, didn't anticipate it turning in midair and wrapping around him. Sasuke grit his teeth to keep a scream from escaping as the caustic chakra burned his skin and threw him from one side of the cliff to the other without much effort.
Much to Sasuke's relief, the grip that the chakra claw had on him began to lessen and he was able to weasel his way out of its grasp. His moment of respite didn't last long, however, because as soon as he was free, Naruto began to charge him with a red Rasengan in hand. He was in front of Sasuke in the blink of an eye, prepared to shove the overcharged Rasengan through the bastard's chest.
And at that exact moment, Sasuke's world stopped.
His Sharingan and instincts both screamed at him to move out the way, but he ignored them both and instead stared straight into the demonic orbs of the jinchuuriki. He had only ever read about this sort of happening in the ancient Uchiha manuscripts, and he was more than eager to test it out.
Months of Sharingan training paid off as he began to feel a pulling sensation at the back of his mind. He was blinded for a second, but his vision soon returned and he found himself in a strange new place. He blinked in confusion until realization began to dawn on him. 'The dobe's mind would look like a sewer.'
It didn't take long for Sasuke to stumble upon the massive cage that kept the Kyuubi at bay. He was mildly surprised when he saw the dobe conversing with a physical representation of the fox that was made up of…bubbles? He broke out of his musings, however, when the chakra construct of the fox set its eyes on him. He suppressed a shiver and reminded himself that he was the one who was in the position of power.
"You're pathetic, Naruto," he said without taking his eyes off the fox, "Even with a Sannin as your teacher, you still rely on the fox for everything. And here I thought that you would actually challenge me enough for me to actually have to use my new power."
When he didn't hear a reply to his taunting, Sasuke turned his head and his three-tomoe Sharingan met the glare sent by his best friend's azure eyes. "Surprised that I know about your little secret, dobe? The Council saw it fit to inform me about it after the mission to Wave. With Kakashi's help, I was able to gain a mature Sharingan that I could use to…put you down if you ever got out of hand.
"You're lying to me," Naruto countered. "Jiji would have never allowed something like that to happen. He knew that the seal keeps everything under control."
Sasuke gave the fox-shaped chakra structure in front of him a once over, "Under whose control exactly?" He ignored the comeback that Naruto sent his way and continued as if nothing had happened. "You know what I find ironic? Those idiots have a near perfect weapon under their thumbs, but they choose to hinder and weaken it because of their fear. You should follow my example and leave, dobe- it's not like you have anyone else there that actually cares for you or wants to see you improve."
Halfway through Sasuke's speech, Naruto began to regain his bearings. "Hmm…You think that Konoha isn't pushing you hard enough, so you decide to leave. But before leaving, you decide to kill your teammate's special person. Then, instead of ending your teammate's life immediately, you go on and taunt him about his loss and about his failures and shortcomings. Correct me if I'm wrong Sasuke, but it looks like you're turning into another Uchiha Itachi."
The Uchiha's pale face began to develop a reddish hue and his Sharingan began spinning so quickly that it looked as if the tomoe created a second ring around the pupil. "I'm nothing like him…NOTHING!" he spat out with the ferocity of a rabid dog.
"You know what, teme? You're right. You guys are nothing alike. Your brother actually had the balls to completely fucking slaughter his own clan before leaving. How many people was that Sasuke? Seventy? Eighty?" An icy chuckle escaped from Naruto's lips. "Eighty village elite compared to one academy teacher; that looks like a pretty damn big gap in power to me."
A glint of insanity appeared in the Uchiha's eyes and his expression turned even more murderous. "Look at yourself, you loser. Even if you somehow manage to live past today, what will you do with your life? Are you going to go back to that village where everyone hates you? Don't give me that look dobe! You think Sakura or Kakashi give a damn about you? What about the rest of the Rookie 9? All they see is a dead last reject who somehow got lucky enough to win a couple of fights by the skin of his teeth. How does it feel to live in a village where no one will ever respect or acknowledge you?"
"You can bet your ass that you won't be moving up in rank anytime soon anyway. Those people that you strive to protect will fight tooth and nail to keep you from improving. Face it- the only two people who have ever acknowledged you in Konoha were Iruka and me. Iruka is dead and I'm a deserter. Whether you live or you die, Naruto, you still lose."
A booming laugh echoed throughout the chamber. Both boys instantly swung their heads to the source and almost hit themselves when they saw the bubble construct of the Kyuubi staring down at them. "No continue. It's not like there's a big, bad demon in the room."
Sasuke managed to recompose himself faster than Naruto and was the first to reply. "Tch. Don't worry, we haven't forgotten about you Kyuubi. Your cage is a little difficult to ignore."
The construct seemed to swell up and grow even fatter. "What's this I hear about your clan being wiped out by a single man?" the fox asked in a condescending tone. "Insanity has run rampant in your clan for centuries; it was only a matter of time before those cursed eyes of yours proved to be your clan's undoing. Worry not, little Uchiha, the kinslayer will receive my blessing when I meet him in hell."
Although the Uchiha managed to hold up fairly well against the demon's taunts, he was still shaking from the rage that he felt. However, an almost imperceptible pressure in the back of his eyes reminded him that he was running on a time limit and that he needed to end this quickly.
"I don't understand why you're so smug when I'm the one in charge here," Sasuke said while raising a hand to get a good grip on the bubble-construct. "It doesn't matter what you say. In the end, even the most powerful of the Bijuu is at the mercy of the Sharingan." Sasuke's grip tightened and the construct of the Kyuubi exploded into thousands of red chakra bubbles.
Demonic laughter filled Kyuubi's chamber. "I'm shivering, Uchiha."
A pair of fury-filled, crimson eyes lazily opened behind the cage and stared into the Uchiha's Sharingan. The slight pressure behind Sasuke's eyes began to morph into a throbbing pain, and then into a full migraine. When the demon's eyes closed again, the connection broke and Sasuke felt himself forcefully ejected from Naruto's mind. Even though that went worse than he expected, Sasuke still felt satisfied.
In the real world, Naruto had barely managed to move an inch since Sasuke's 'visit'. The Uchiha smirked when he saw the fox's chakra literally begin to dissipate right before his eyes. His satisfaction was short lived, however, as he began to feel an incredible pain in his eyes. If he had to describe it, he would say that if felt like dozens of hot needles were just shoved into each iris. So great was his discomfort that he completely forgot about the charging Naruto.
For his part, Naruto was also just coming out of his daze. The sudden loss of Kyuubi's chakra weakened him more than he cared to admit. Despite that, Naruto still saw himself holding the advantage. When he was using two-tails worth of Kyuubi's chakra, he could move pretty fast. In fact, he took advantage of that speed when he formed a Rasengan and closed the distance between himself and Sasuke in the blink of an eye. The loss of Kyuubi's chakra may have made his Rasengan disappear, but the momentum was still there. Being an innovative spirit, he took full advantage of his situation and turned the tables around. No Rasengan? No problem. He just made his hand into a fist and instead threw a monstrous punch that would have made Tsunade proud. The punch connected straight with the Uchiha's jaw and sent him flying down the Valley.
Naruto ran in the direction that Sasuke flew as fast as his legs could carry him, only to find the Uchiha on his knees, clutching his face, and struggling to get up. "You son of a bitch! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY EYES?!" he screamed so loudly that Naruto almost took a step back. That was, beyond a doubt, the only (and probably last) time that he had heard the Uchiha scream.
The Uchiha looked at Naruto from his kneeling position and Naruto was able to make out the blood that was gushing out of his eyes. 'Tears of blood. What a poetic bastard. I didn't think the fox had it in him.'
A transformation began to occur in front of Naruto's eyes. Sasuke's skin turned black, but then lightened to a purplish-grey sort of color. The single darkest spot on his skin was the black cross-shaped mark located on the bridge of his nose. His hair became longer and his hands changed into claws. The biggest change was the two leathery, claw like wings that sprouted from his back. When the 'level two' Sasuke stood up and fully faced Naruto with his bloodstained face, he looked like a picture perfect bloodthirsty psychopath.
The demonic Sasuke began a short series of hand seals, which Naruto promptly recognized, and black lightning began to form in his hand. The unbearable screech that filled the Valley was enough to send a shiver down Naruto's spine. By the time Naruto managed to form his own Rasengan in defense, Sasuke was already in front of him ready to shove the Chidori into his chest. Naruto raised the Rasengan so that it was level with the Chidori, and the two attacks collided.
Luck wasn't on Naruto's side. He always felt weak after using Kyuubi's chakra, but now he felt even worse because that chakra had just been forcibly sealed away by that damned Sharingan. With his main advantage unavailable to him, Naruto was, to put it lightly, screwed.
The Black Chidori ripped through his Rasengan as if it were paper, passed through his arm (creating a deep wound that was immediately cauterized), and pierced through his chest.
The strength left Naruto's legs and he found that the only thing that was supporting him was Sasuke's arm. Sasuke noticed his trouble with standing and smirked, his obsidian eyes alight with mirth. He leaned in a little closer, all the while twisting his arm to make Naruto's wound even deeper, and whispered into the blonde's ear, "I didn't go for the kill because I wanted you to suffer for whatever you did to my eyes."
Naruto tried his hardest to keep awake for as long as possible, but his efforts were in vain. Black spots began appearing in his vision and his eyelids felt like weights. The last thing that he was able to make out was Sasuke taking his hand out of his chest and seeing the bastard walk away. Without the teme's support, he only managed to stay standing for a few more seconds before collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut.
As soon as his knees touched the ground, a fresh wave of pain hit him, and he was out like a light.
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As always, Naruto isn't my creation and I own nothing associated with it.
I've been away from the fanfiction community for a pretty long while, but for some odd reason I've gotten interested in it again. I found this little snippet that I wrote a while back and figured it would make a good start to a story. It's dated, and I'm sure by now it's more than a little cliche. I also know that the characters are pretty OOC. However, it's fun to write, and I have a little bit of free time on my hands. I'll be chugging out chapters as long as the ideas keep coming. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it.
P.S. I like my ninja to be dark and manipulative. Look underneath the underneath ^^
