Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
In the prologue, it will be taking place from episode 484 to 488 in Naruto Shippuden. The characters will be nineteen-years old.
Enjoy reading!
Prologue: New Beginning
"It's no good. My Genjutsu Reversal has no effect against the special kind of chakra circulating in the body," the Headmaster of Konoha Hospital concluded, closing her eyes and frowned at how she couldn't do anything to help cure the man. The strange chakra that was manipulating him and the other three men just can't be defined.
"Don't get so depressed," her old sensei said, as he walked closer behind the medic-nin and used his hand to rubbed her head. "Whoever did it, that's a genjutsu unknown to us. It has to be the work of someone with extraordinary skill, so it will require someone with exceptional Visual Jutsu powers." Naruto, Sai, Hinata, and Team 10, who were in the room too, looked up at him instantly.
"Visual Jutsu?" The dark haired, black eyes, and very pale skin Sai asked, which the medic's pink head snapped up to looked at Kakashi's face with wide eyes.
"Good observation!" He exclaimed, making her blushed madly and denied that she even said anything.
"We may not be able to see anything, but the one who possesses both the Sharingan and Rinnegan just might… I'll call Sasuke back," the Sixth Hokage declared, which made Naruto excited while the rest gasped. However, the only emerald eyes in the room felt pure joy of knowing her beloved person was coming home. Sakura clasped her hands together closed to her chest and smiled. She thought about the last time they saw each other.
Kakashi and Sakura were sending Sasuke off in front of the Konoha Gates, where she had asked him if he could take her with him. But he rejected the offer since it was his journey of redemption. Although, he cheered the young medic up with his next words after her face fell.
"I'll see you when I'm back… and thank you."
When he said those words and tapped on the center of her forehead, she thought that her feelings would finally be returned. The purple diamond on the Sakura's forehead where he had gently touched was worth her three-years continuous stored of chakra, what Lady Tsunade called the "Strength of a Hundred Seal". Her mentor's intense training had sharpen her up and made her proud of what the things she had accomplished these past years. Before, she was just a weak girl, who was helplessly in love with a Uchiha boy. Now, the new Legendary Sannin is in charge of the Konoha Hospital and ranked ANBU.
She was the Cherry Blossom of Konoha.
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A young man with a black cloak was on top of a tree, reflecting on his past events.
The first memory was him putting his hand out and turned it into a fist. He had said that he was all alone and will bear the weight of all the hatred. The next came as his old teammate and him laying on the ground.
"Why do all that just to get in my way?" The raven haired shinobi asked, not understanding why Naruto would go so far for him.
"'Cuz you're my friend," the blonde simply answered.
"I've heard that before. But what exactly does that mean?" Naruto closed his eyes at Sasuke's question.
"You ask me to explain it, but I really can't put it into words. It's just that…" he reopened his eyes again, "when I see you take on stuff and get all messed up… it… kinda… hurts me." Sasuke couldn't help but widen his eyes at the guy, who he just had a fight till they both lost their arms.
He jumped down to the ground and sat on the grass against a tree, eating his food. Three black cats came, so he gave them his rice ball. With his sharp hearing, he looked up and saw an inked bird coming towards him. Sasuke laid out an empty scroll for the bird to fly in and appeared as a message. Upon reading it, he agreed to help Kakashi about the exploding people. On his way, he saw a smoke and headed toward the source. A village was being attacked and weird looking people were walking like zombies. One exploded, which made Sasuke concluded that this must be the thing the message had written about. After fighting two children named Chino and Nowaki that wasn't affected and looked into one of the exploded human's eye, he found out that it was Kekkei Genkai.
He continued onto his path and encountered Karyu, who admired Sasuke and wanted to surpassed him. A fight broke off, which easily ended till another person showed up. This time, it was the light blue haired and yellow eyes boy he had fought. Nowaki had a very strong wind power, resulting Sasuke to use Susanoo's completed form.
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Sasuke met up with Orochimaru and Team Taka at the hideout to investigate more about the incidents. He remained in contact with Sai when Konoha was attacked and discovered the origins of the Dark Thunder Group. Most of the missing Kiri and Kumo shinobi were on an isolated island and he discovered that Chino and Nowaki were responsible for the disappearances. After they flee, Sasuke delivered the shinobis back to their villages and got an advice from the Raikage. He goes to Yugakure, where he found Chino. She revealed that she was seeking revenge due to the elimination of her clan from the fear of her village about her clan's Ketsuryugan.
"You were gonna use that to get revenge against the Uchiha, who forced the Chinoike clan to Hell Valley?" Sasuke asked, then closed his Sharingan eyes. "So I was your target from the very start."
"If I sent Exploding Humans to Hidden Leaf Village, you were sure to return. I planned to kill you and the entire Leaf Village, but…" Chino trailed off, which the Uchiha continued for her.
"You happened to meet me at the Bamboo Village, is that it? I happened to be looking for Fuushin, so you joined up with me and used your Exploring Humans whenever something happened as a diversion. And Nowaki, rather Fuushin, would come after me with his chakra sword. And just in case you couldn't kill me, you went so far as to ask an old partner to stand by and pretend to be Fuushin." The little blonde and violet eyes girl smirked. She announced that wanted to fight him till one of them goes to their death, so they engaged in a battle against Sasuke's will.
Chino sliced her wrists and dropped the blood into the lake near them. The water turned red and she ordered water dragons to come up, which they went to attacked Sasuke, who countered them with Chidori on his katana sword. He chopped off their heads and went after Chino.
She changed her eyes to red and used her bloodline limit on Sasuke, then suddenly disappeared from him. He got a cut from the girl and it healed on its own.
"My chakra seals the wound and waits."
"Waits for what?" The adult shinobi asked, making Chino grinned.
"Isn't it obvious?" The moment she said that, Sasuke felt a sudden impulse and he positioned his sword. He stabbed through his stomach! Immediately, he fell onto his knees and something wrapped him. It exploded, along with the great shinobi. Chino said goodbye and smiled, but not for long.
"So that's how you made the Exploding Humans?" His voice surprised her.
"The Sharingan?!" She exclaimed, as she turned towards him and saw the crimson eyes with three black tomoes around the black pupil. They were still on the part where the girl had called up the dragons! The dragon she was on exploded, so when she backflipped and landed, Sasuke was in front of her.
"I envied you, Sasuke. You were born in the Hidden Leaf Village, and bore the Uchiha name, and you had a family that loved you," Chino started, which made images of his family came to the raven head's mind. "When you deserted your village, you and your reputation were notorious. But even now, you're allowed to travel freely." He looked up at the girl, who continued speaking with a serious expression to him.
"That's because you have people who love and protect you!" Instantly, Sasuke's memory played back to when he had gently tapped Sakura's forehead like how his older brother did to him, which his eyes soften a bit.
"You've always, always had someone who kept loving you, no matter what. You're not like me… I've been alone from the beginning!" Chino cried, her tears dripping from her eyes.
"You've been alone from the beginning! How the hell do you think you understand? It's because I have these ties, that I feel this agony. How could you possibly understand what it feels like to lose all that?!" Sasuke yelled at Naruto.
"So why do you fight for the Hidden Leaf?! The leaves of the Hidden Leaf are brilliant, but its roots are black! There is light and darkness in the Hidden Leaf! Your clan was used up and absorbed by the Leaf's roots as nourishment! So why do you go so far for them?!"
"Because I'm alive," the man instantly answered. "I have a friend who saved me. A friend with whom I can share my pain, and him, with me. His wish is that one day the world will be like us. He wants to make it real and that's the hopeful heart that connects me to the Hidden Leaf! To be like my older brother… and support this world from the shadows, and… look beyond this world to the light!"
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A pink haired and blonde shinobi was walking together as they talked.
"Still, it feels strange. Sasuke's not back in the village, yet he's protecting it," Naruto said with his arms crossed over the back of his head.
"You're right." Sakura looked down and elaborated, "there are so many things we can't do without a skilled shinobi like Sasuke."
"There are guys who do terrible things like this time, but I guess everything worked out. As long as there are guys like Sasuke to counter it." After Naruto finished speaking and looked at Sakura, he noticed something.
"You seem kinda happy, Sakura-chan." The medic smiled and looked up at the sky.
"Sasuke said to me before he left on his journey… 'this is a trip to atone for my sins.' With this recent incident, I know that Sasuke is definitely making inroads. Just… I wish that I was there next to him."
'I miss you so much,' she thought inwardly.
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After Sasuke defeated Chino and Fuushin, who later came to joined the battle, without seriously injuring them and convinced them to accept defeat, he dropped them off at the village's prison. But he leaves a good word for them to be forgiven.
Sasuke resumed on his journey and walked alongside the shore, leaving footsteps behind on the sand. He heard a hawk's call and extended his right arm out for the bird to land on.
"It's probably from Kakashi," he noted. The great shinobi picked up the letters with his other arm and frowned at the second piece.
"So messy. It's Naruto's writing."
Sasuke,
You're not back in the village,
but you're still protecting it.
You're just like the Leaf Police Force!
His eyes widen. A memory flashed in his mind.
"Are you going to join too?" A young Uchiha asked, as he was carried by his older brother.
"Well… I wonder about that."
"Why not? When I grow up, I'm going to join the Leaf Police Force too!" He exclaimed happily to Itachi.
Sasuke looked up to his pathway.
"It's been awhile… Maybe I should go home."
The Supporting Shadow of Konoha was finally returning.
Sasuke will be having an artificial arm like Naruto and Sakura will be ranked ANBU. I hope you guys don't mind me changing the events and other things a bit. This prologue was to show the characters' feelings and maturity, especially how Sasuke is changing to be a better person.