Disclaimer: I am not Masashi Kishimoto, I do not own Naruto, and I intend no copyright infringement. Besides, if I was Kishimoto, I wouldn't have done all the horrible things he's done to his poor characters. And Sasuke would be mine. He would be real, and mine. But yeah. NOW GO READ. ...Please?
The Village Hidden in the Leaves hadn't changed a bit. After years spent away from it, Sasuke Uchiha was finally home once more—but not for long. He was here for a reason; nostalgia had no part in his mission. Orochimaru called up to him, and he gracefully leapt down from his perch atop a telephone pole. Landing, catlike, on his feet, the Uchiha let his cloak fall forward once more as he and his group proceeded to their destination.
The shrine was in shambles—planks of wood, beams, all way of infrastructure materials lay in disarray, strewn across the floor. Upon the lone wall that remained standing were four masks; Orochimaru carefully maneuvered his way over to them, examining them closely. After a moment or two, he gently took the mask on the far right from its peg and ran his hands over it. It was the mask of the Shinigami, white-faced and with curling, deep-purple horns. Fangs protruded menacingly from its mouth.
"I think the time has come for me to retrieve my arms," the snake-man said, his lips curling up in an almost-smile. He turned, following Sasuke, who had begun to leave the shrine. Suigetsu, trailing slightly behind, looked confusedly at Juugo before posing his question.
"Hey, what's that mask thing for?" The white-haired swordsman asked, jerking his head towards the object in question. Orochimaru glanced back at him, his lips curling up again.
"This is the mask of the Shinigami. We're going to use it to retrieve some information…and my arms." The Sannin turned his head away, fully aware that Suigetsu didn't understand his words. They continued walking for what seemed like forever, turning and weaving through the streets of the Leaf until they arrived at another wrecked place: the Uchiha Complex. Sasuke stopped in front of the ruins, and the others could see his back stiffen ever so slightly; yet he marched forward, pushing aside some fallen beams and rubble. Once inside, the group went to a room, which miraculously had stayed standing. Pain's invasion had really done a number on the village, and certain reconstruction projects were more important than others. Sasuke stood in the room, staring at the wall he faced with intensity. Suddenly, the room changed—no longer were they in the bare room: now, a short podium stood before them, topped by a stone tablet in which were carved the writings of the Uchiha. The everlasting candles on either side flickered at the group's sudden appearance. Orochimaru walked forward, taking the Shinigami mask from his cloak. After glancing at Sasuke, who was reading the tablet, he turned and faced the bare wall in the back of the room.
"Sasuke," Orochimaru said, holding the mask by his white face, "it's time to let those Zetsu clones out to play." Sasuke tore his eyes from the tablet, whose writings only a Sharingan-bearing Uchiha could see, and walked to stand by Orochimaru's side. Suigetsu and Juugo, still in the dark, looked at the two men questioningly. Holding Sasuke's arm, Orochimaru explained: "Our masked friend Tobi hid six white Zetsu clones inside of Sasuke. It seems he was very cautious with him…but his caution is our fortune." He performed a hand sign over Sasuke's arm with his free hand, and from the teen's pale skin grew a white, clay-like substance. It grew and began to detach itself from Sasuke's arm, but was shortly followed by more—moments later, four partially-formed white men stood before them. The Zetsu clones were missing most of their right halves, as Black Zetsu was not present, but they were complete enough; Orochimaru directed them to stand in the four circles in the large, elaborate seal he had drawn on the floor. There they stood, or three of them did—the fourth, missing his right leg, was hunched on the floor. Standing front and center, Orochimaru placed the mask of the Shinigami on his face, the sounds of the wood touching his earrings and the swish of his long black hair echoing in the otherwise silent room. He raised his arms, and his yellowish-green, snakelike eyes glinted through the eye-holes of the mask. A great rush of air shook him where he stood, and a rumbling sound filled the room; as the dust settled, the four men turned to face the four newest victims of the Edo Tensei: the first four Hokage.
The four resurrected men blinked, almost in unison. Stretching their arms and shifting their weight around, they adjusted like those who had just woken from a long and uncomfortable sleep. Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, looked around and spotted Orochimaru, who had removed the mask, and the other three men near him. Blinking again, Hashirama inquired about what was happening. His brother, Tobirama, the Second, was sizing Sasuke up with his eyes, arms folded across his chest. The Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was peering at his former student, with a nagging feeling of familiarity as he noticed Sasuke standing behind him. The last, Minato Namikaze, the infamous Fourth, stood quietly on the end, unobtrusively observing. Orochimaru, examining his arms, chuckled to himself; finally, he had his arms back! Hashirama's question, still hanging in the air, was brought back to prominence as Minato posed another.
"Orochimaru-san, how did you break the seal of the Shinigami?" Minato's brow was furrowed, and Orochimaru chuckled.
"Don't underestimate me, Minato. I've been researching this ever since my arms were taken by it." The snake continued his explanation, glancing at his former teacher; the Third was frowning slightly-it appeared his efforts during Orochimaru's attack on the Leaf had now been in vain. Hashirama, upon hearing Minato's voice, seemed to notice him for the first time.
"Wha-?! Who are you?!" Hashirama was almost comedic as he leaned around his brother to stare, open-mouthed, at Minato. The latter, smiling, turned his back and pointed to the characters that ran down his white Hokage coat, with its hem of flames.
"I'm the Fourth Hokage." Hashirama, excited over the thought of a Fourth, asked how the village was doing. "Well, I can't really say. I died before the Third did, and was sealed inside the Shinigami." Minato looked slightly sheepish as Hashirama's happy smile faltered.
"Well if Hiruzen has died too...then who's the Fifth?" Orochimaru, taking this opportunity, stepped in to explain.
"Your wonderful granddaughter, Princess Tsunade, has taken over as Fifth," the snake-man said, waiting for Hashirama's reaction, which came almost instantaneously. Shoulders drooping, the First asked, concerned, "Is...is the village...okay?" Minato turned to him, the bangs of his spiky blond hair following his movement.
"Are you worried about that?" He asked, his cerulean eyes, now complete with Edo Tensei-black whites, showing a hint of laughter as he thought about his teacher, Jiraiya's, old friend. The First immediately perked back up, and placed his tan hands on his hips, his red samurai armor making slight clanking noises as he moved. He threw back his head, laughing heartily.
"Ha, she was my first granddaughter! I spoiled her rotten; I even taught her how to gamble!" Orochimaru and the four Hokage chuckled, thinking of a young Tsunade with a devious look and fistfuls of money and betting slips. Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Juugo remained silent, watching the conversation, the latter two thinking the same thing: For the supposed "god of all shinobi", the First is a little...different from what I expected.... As the First's laughter died out, his brother spoke up. Examining one hand as he spoke, Tobirama narrowed his eyes.
"This seems to be Edo Tensei," he said, and turned to look at Orochimaru. "You're using it so easily..." The snake simply smiled, and told him that it wasn't really that complicated. "You're using this to attack the Leaf again, aren't you?" Tobirama asked accusingly. The Third, angered at his former student's treachery, cut in.
"I gave my life to take those arms of yours and deprive you of your jutsu! And now you've even used the Edo Tensei on me, your former teacher!" Pointing a finger, he was interrupted by a sigh from Hashirama, who stood with his hand pressed against his Leaf forehead protector.
"Jeez, there is always so much conflict in this world...this is indeed an improper jutsu. See, Tobirama, that's why I told you not to-" The god of all shinobi was interrupted harshly by his brother.
"Be quiet, brother. I'm talking to someone," Tobirama hushed his brother when he tried to protest. "Silence." Hashirama's shoulders drooped once more, and Suigetsu thought to himself as he observed, This guy really doesn't have any dignity.... Orochimaru, raising his hands in the universal sign of nonviolence, shot down the Second and Third's accusations.
"That is no longer my plan. If it were, I would have blocked out your personalities, but as you can see, I have left them intact." His purple-rimmed eyes flitted to the right, as he stepped back and held his arm out to allow Sasuke to move forward. "I brought you back so that this boy's questions may be answered." Sasuke, his obsidian eyes slowly and carefully scanning across the four men before him, stepped forward. He stood, more upright than his usual lazy and arrogant stance, the center of everyone's attention, particularly Tobirama's and Minato's. The latter thought the boy looked familiar, like he had seen that midnight, spiky-in-the-back hair, those eyes like pools of darkness, and that fierce glare somewhere before. The former seemed to be glaring at Sasuke, with a glint of something in his eye-not quite disgust, more like...contempt, and some wariness. Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, and as he did, Minato's recognition clicked, and Tobirama's glare intensified.
"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. There's something I want to ask you."
The Third's eyes widened, and lips parted as he recognized the boy. Shocked, he remembered the days before Orochimaru's attack on the Leaf. Sasuke was a lonely child, but he fit in well enough. He and that knucklehead Naruto were always fighting and competing, but they clearly had a strong bond. Hiruzen internally shook his head, thinking to himself, If that Naruto couldn't hold onto him, no one else can. As he continued to reminisce wistfully, Minato's furrowed brow lost its crease. He knew this boy. He was Fugaku Uchiha's younger son, Sasuke. He remembered hearing of him, when a pregnant Kushina had come home one day.
"Ah, Minato, I was in the market today, and I saw Mikoto. She was carrying her youngest son, and he's so adorable! I told her so, and she said that she hopes one day our Naruto and her Sasuke can be wonderful friends." Kushina, kissing Minato on the head as she passed, went away into the kitchen to make dinner and took the flashback with her. Seeing the dark, hateful man in front of him, Minato silently thought to his beloved wife, It seems your plans may have been ruined, my love. But he was not going to judge this boy right away. He would give him a chance. Tobirama, however, had other ideas.
"An Uchiha, huh? No wonder you're the enemy," the Second said, lip curling in what was now much closer to disgust. Hashirama angrily turned to his brother, eyebrows pointed down and eyes beginning to fill with fury.
"I told you to stop talking like that, Tobirama!" Hashirama continued to glare at him, but Tobirama was having none of it. He simply scoffed, calling his brother soft. Watching, his face expressionless, Sasuke finally butted in.
"I'm not here to talk about me," he said, and turned to face Hiruzen. "Third, why did you order Itachi to do that?" Hiruzen's eyes became softer, and he sighed.
"So," he said. "You already know..." Hiruzen thought of Itachi, to whom he had promised to protect Sasuke. As the Third didn't intend to continue, Sasuke prompted him.
"I killed Itachi...to take revenge for the Uchiha clan," he said, and the Third's eyes seemed to hold pity. "Then I heard the truth from Tobi and Danzo...and I planned to exact my revenge on the Leaf." Sasuke's hard eyes came to rest intensely on Hiruzen. "But I want to hear it from you. Everything about my brother." The Third, sighing again, began his tale of Itachi Uchiha.
"After we forced Itachi to kill his kinsmen, we accused him of treason. He left the village and joined the Akatsuki, as a solo espionage mission." Sasuke said nothing, and so Hiruzen continued. "Even as a child, Itachi respected and honored the teachings and seals of the ancestors, when no one else seemed to care. He was sensitive, and very perceptive; he understood many things about the village that others would never even consider. This could be why he was never bound by his clan, and remained able to think for the welfare of the village and its people...he was very anxious about it. At just seven years old, he had the reasoning of a Hokage..." The Third seemed lost in thought for a moment before continuing. "We entrusted everything to him alone...and he carried it out like any other mission. He did everything...murdered his fellows, stopped their coup, and averted the potential war that could have begun from it. He went so far, on the condition...that I would protect you." Finishing softly, Hiruzen's words were still deafening; Sasuke, who had been listening intently the whole time, seemed almost to wilt as he averted his eyes and his bottom lip trembled almost imperceptibly.
"So...it's...true," he said, his chin lightly brushing the high collar of his loose gray shirt as he returned his gaze to the Hokage. He met Tobirama's eyes, and the Second spoke as he did.
"It's the cursed destiny of Uchiha. I had no idea they were annihilated...so they tried to execute a coup d'etat...I'm not surprised. I was expecting something to that effect to happen sooner or later," he said, glancing at his brother. "There were some rebellious ones that were secretly following Madara's will." Hashirama's eyes narrowed at the mention of his greatest enemy. The Second moved to continue, but Orochimaru spoke first.
"Yes, but it was you who cornered the Uchiha. It all started when you made them into the Uchiha Military Police," he said, and Tobirama glared at him, a challenge in his eyes. "Their profession gave them a tendency to be disliked, their power one to be conceited. And by putting the police headquarters near the prison, on the pretext that they would be supervising the criminals, you effectively chased them to the outskirts of the village. It's no wonder some began to sympathize with Madara and follow in his footsteps." Hashirama wasted no time in turning to his brother and furiously reprimanding him.
"Tobirama! I told you, countless times, not to persecute the Uchiha!" His brother simply glared at him and crossed his arms, blue samurai armor clinking and his white fur collar brushing his cheeks as he did so.
"I gave them a role they would be good at. I had to deal with them and keep them occupied in case a new Madara showed up! And you know it, too, that the Uchiha are..." Sasuke's eyes hardened even more, and he glared menacingly at Tobirama as he waited for him to finish. "...a clan possessed by evil." Orochimaru, noting the barely-disguised, seething hatred in Sasuke's eyes, turned to face the Second.
"It seems your problems lie with Madara," he said, spreading his arms and shrugging. "Are you so scared of the Uchiha?"
"Child, you don't know Madara-" Tobirama's rebuttal was interrupted by Sasuke.
"Second Hokage, I'll ask you," he said, a hint of malice in his voice. "What is it that the Uchiha clan knows?" The Second looked down at his feet, shuffling his weight, before he looked Sasuke in the eye.
"The Uchiha and our Senju clan had been enemies for a very long time," he began, and Sasuke waved him on.
"I know that, but what did you mean 'possessed by evil'?" Hashirama grimaced, but remained silent. His brother continued in response to Sasuke.
"While the Senju thought love to be more important than jutsu, the Uchiha thought jutsu was the highest priority. However...that's not true." Sasuke's attention, already focused, honed in on Tobirama, and he stood, rapt, with all ears on the Second. Orochimaru and Suigetsu both cocked their heads to the side questioningly, and the white-haired boy's mouth, with one pointy fang sticking out, twitched inquisitively. Tobirama let the tension-filled air hang tangibly for a moment before expanding on his statement.
"In truth," he said, "no clan treasured love more than the Uchiha. That's why they sealed it off themselves." Sasuke's eyes widened, and inquired further into Tobirama's words.
"What do you mean?"
"When an Uchiha knows love, their locked-away feelings arise and they experience a love stronger than the Senju's power of love," Tobirama said. Suigetsu spoke up, his mouth opening to reveal his shark-like, pointed teeth.
"Isn't everything all good then? They can get along with the Senju over this strong power of love or something," the teen said, one eyebrow raising.
"That would seem to work, but it instead became an issue. The love of an Uchiha is too strong, and often they end up running wild," the Second said, glancing at Sasuke. "When that love, should it have been known, is lost, it evolves into an even stronger hatred and changes that person...I have seen it happen many times, and every time, there is a telltale symptom." Sasuke looked at him, waiting to hear what it was. "When Uchiha suffer from the loss of a loved one or despair, special chakra develops inside their brains. It affects the optic nerve and induces a change in their eyes. It becomes the 'eye that reflects feelings'...the Sharingan." Sasuke, with nothing to say, closed his eyes and continued to listen. "The Sharingan aligns with the person's feelings and gives them a great increase in strength. Coupled with their intense hatred...Indeed, the many of the Uchiha are sensitive. Almost all of them who are tormented by strong feelings turn to darkness and evil. The farther they fall, the more powerful their eyes become, like in Madara's case." Here, Hashirama cut in.
"Madara really loved his little brother," he said. "I would say even more so than your brother..." Tobirama resumed as his brother trailed off.
"I wanted to channel the power of the Uchiha into something that would benefit and help the village," he closed his eyes and sighed, seeming slightly annoyed. "However, if they ended up destroying themselves for the sake of the village, it couldn't be helped. They would still have been useful to the village in doing so, in a way." Cutting in and angry at his younger brother once more, Hashirama spoke.
"Stop talking like that! This child you're talking to," he said, jerking his head in Sasuke's direction, "is a pure Uchiha!" Tobirama kept calm, and responded coolly.
"The village is what's important. You should understand that, brother." His words prompted the First to reprimand him again, but he missed his chance as Sasuke spoke.
"I don't care," he said, opening his eyes. "I'm not a child..." his Mangekyou Sharingan flashed, fiery. "Nor am I pure." The four Hokage simply watched, Tobirama with a suspicion-filled, narrow-eyed gaze. Those aren't just tomoe...Mangekyou Sharingan? he thought. Sasuke turned to Hashirama, and posed his next question.
"First Hokage, I'll ask you," he said, as the elaborate red design of his eyes gleamed. "What is the village? What are shinobi in the first place?"
Ah, end of Chapter One! If you'll kindly note, this is Chapter 619 of the Naruto Shippuden manga in word-form. I'm planning to write the next couple chapters out the same way until I find the point where my own original plot can diverge from the manga...unless Kishimoto and I are on the same page and we're both headed in the same direction. Theeeeeen things might get a bit awkward...eh, we'll see. I hope you enjoyed! Oh, and by the way, if and when Sasuke joins the war (no spoilers, ehehehe), I might start describing him more romantically so that the underlying romance between him and a certain other character (hint: he's blond) becomes more obvious...and plus, Sasuke is my favorite anime character ever, so I want to make him as sexy as possible. He's already so sexy, but a girl can try. xD