In an unknown area somewhere in Iwa, atop a rocky crag, stood a man—though, such a term very loosely described him. His face was split in half between black and white, a pair of eerie yellow eyes peering past a pair of extensions reminiscent of a Venus flytrap. Nearby, three silhouettes stood, one a hunched a figure while its neighbor looked rather effeminate with a single eye. And the last one…
"Any new information?" a silhouette with grey, ringed eyes questioned.
"I wish…" replied the white half the multicolored man.
His voice changed tone, this one rougher and more serious. "What information I have been able to retrieve is nothing we don't already know."
"Sorry, Leader-sama, I got nothing."
Frustration tinged the leader. "I see… Any possible ideas on leads?"
"Something like that…"
"…But that's only if I want to confront a Kage. They're the only ones that might have information."
"How much, though, I couldn't tell you. It's a touchy question to bring them."
The leader was silent, contemplating.
If he was honest, Nagato would say they were grasping at straws. Several years of hunting every scrap of information on their targets, all the while gathering resources… And still nothing.
From what little information they did gather, Nagato knew the Kyūbi's attack on Konoha may have been a catalyst to their current quandary. Though, 'how so?' was a question unanswered. The leader of Akatsuki and his subordinates held theories, but nothing concrete.
What was the issue? Within a mere handful of years, the delicate balance of the Bijū created by Hashirama Senju was destroyed as the tailed beasts and/or their containers disappeared. Who perpetrated the disappearances remained a mystery
Several shinobi nations managed to retain ownership of their Bijū, but who did was still unknown. It would not do to raid a country, miss a mark, and then look like idiots while igniting an international incident. There were at least two jinchūriki confirmations and a possible third, but Nagato had expected more by this point.
"Sasori," Nagato questioned, "anything you'd like to add?"
The gravelly voice of the hunched over figure answered. "Nothing."
His partner rolled his visible eye. "Even after he checked his contacts about four times. Hn."
Sasori glared at Deidara.
Pein took a frustrated breath. "I see… Sasori, Zetsu, continue your tasks. The rest of you, continue your current assignments."
Meeting concluded, the silhouettes faded away.
Sasuke noticed two things when he came to. One was that the rock-hard ground –was that limestone?—against his back was uncomfortable; and two, his head felt like it was being split into two by a stake. He also felt freezing cold, but assumed that it night and that he forewent a blanket.
Memories of his previous fight with Orochimaru suddenly flooded forth, allowing Sasuke to quickly piece together why he felt like he got squashed by a boss summon. Then there was that strange bite—which currently begged to be scratched, like a rash. He would discover what the snake-bastard did to him, but for the moment he needed to see about the status of teammates.
"Goddamnit…" Sasuke moaned as he shakily moved from the ground to stand, a hand reaching to the curse seal to scratch it—god, it was itchy.
Eyes opened, he took in his surroundings and discovered that he was no longer in the Training Area Forty-Four.
"W-What the hell?" Sasuke shakily asked.
The shining sun was replaced with the inky darkness, and the trees of the forest with the stalagmites of a cave. And the cold he initially noted was several degrees more intense than originally thought. So cold, Sasuke thought he saw snowflakes form from his breath. A shiver running up his spine, the Uchiha wrapped himself in his arms in a vain attempt to retain heat.
How the hell did he stumble into a place like this?
"If the loser is behind this," Sasuke growled, "I'll kick his teeth so far down his throat he'll have to sit on a bowl of ramen to eat it!"
Though, this was rather extreme for a prank, even by Naruto's supreme standards.
"Dope, seriously, this isn't funny!" he spoke aloud, hoping his idiot teammate might jump out of somewhere or say something stupid.
When only echoes replied, Sasuke felt his stomach drop.
'Orochimaru,' he thought. 'Yes, it has to be Orochimaru! The sonuvabitch put me down here! But then… what happened to Sakura and Naruto?'
He counted backwards in his head, barely repressing the panic. Once feeling settled, Sasuke rubbed his arms again for warmth and began etching out a vague plan of escape. Certainly, the first thing needed done was to assess his location, then find his teammates, and—finally—get the hell out of here.
Eyes adjusted to the darkness, the Uchiha cautiously walked about, scanning for an escape with Sharingan ablaze. His frustration mounted with every failed glance, wondering how he found the one rabbit hole not leading to Wonderland.
The sound of a stream touched his eardrums. Having little else to work off of, Sasuke spun around and proceeded to track the source of the noise… only to run face first into a stalagmite.
"Dammit!" his voice loudly reverberated, echoing innumerably. Only when the echoing stop did Sasuke realize how immense the cave really was.
With greater caution, Sasuke slowly continued trekking along, his hands held out in front to feel other rock formations that decided to jump out at him. Even with the Sharingan it was slow going, but he persevered nonetheless.
Finally, after an eternity of walking, several near trip-ups, and jammed toes, the underwater stream finally came to view. Though petite, it created a mighty sound in the enclosed space, sounding more akin to a roaring river than such a small collection of water.
"Now where to?" Sasuke questioned aloud, taking a seat to rest and rub some warmth back into his body—Kami-sama dammit, why was it so cold in here!?
As if answering his question, a soft vermillion glow began to gently shine at the end of the tunnel the stream snaked along, casting barely enough light that Sasuke felt tripping was no longer such a dangerous hazard.
"Ominous," the Uchiha sarcastically noted.
"Dammit, I just had to follow the light," Sasuke foully grunted.
The raven-haired teen was beginning to wonder if he was dead at this point. It definitely explained his situation. But, if such was the case, should he be going the opposite direction of the light?
Part of his dour mood was prompted by having to cling to the side of a limestone wall, following the underground stream as it cascaded into a roaring waterfall. Reaching the steadily increasing glow became a test of endurance and strength; he had to scale rough, freezing terrain for the better part of several hours. Worse yet, for a reason Sasuke failed identifying, he was unable to use chakra to cling to walls and walk down like the tree-walking exercise.
Why his chakra chose now to fail remained a mystery, and it failed to aid Sasuke's tentative control over his fear and panic. Bad enough already he didn't know where the hell he was or where his teammates were.
"I-I-It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so damn cold!" the Uchiha complained past chattering teeth.
It definitely felt like first degree frostbite in his hands from clinging to the cave walls for an extensive amount of time.
After another eternity, Sasuke felt relief flood his chest as his sandals touched ground. Shakily, he leapt from the wall, immediately rubbing his hands in effort to restore heat and blood flow.
Taking a seat to rest and regain breath, Sasuke's Sharingan glared at the glow. At this point, he begged it was a trap. He needed something to work off the frustration building for the past couple hours. And maybe find Naruto and kick his ass just because he felt like it.
"This had better be a way out…" Sasuke groused, standing once he felt rested enough.
Finally, after so much walking, tripping, stubbed toes, and potential frostbite, Sasuke reached a door-like entrance where the glow shined brightly enough that he felt the Sharingan no longer warranted. The underground river flowed into the room through the doorway, making Sasuke groan when he realized that to reach his destination, he needed to wade through the icy waters.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the water, nearly yelping upon the cold biting into his bones. If he didn't have frostbite earlier, he would now. Nonetheless, he moved forward, trying to control his chattering teeth.
The room he entered was nothing like he expected.
The amber glow eerily encompassed a huge antechamber, big enough hold an entire block's worth of buildings. In it, the stream's subzero water collected, creating a pool that barely rose past his ankles.
However, the room wasn't what truly caught his attention. Rather, it was the giant gate at the end of the chamber. At its center, seemingly sealing the structure was a flimsy piece of paper with the kanji for 'seal' perfectly inked onto it.
Whatever thoughts of traps or lost teammates Sasuke had were immediately superseded by one question: Where the hell was he?
His thoughts, however, were overtaken with pain as the cursed seal suddenly started to painfully jolt. With a yelp, Sasuke fell to a knee, his hand clenching his shoulder so hard his nails nearly cut into his skin. Seconds later, the pain subsided. With deep, steadying breaths, he slowly rose, wondering what just happened.
"Why?" a whimpering voice asked. Jumping in surprise, Sasuke pulled out a kunai and spun to source.
It was his eight-year-old self.
"Wha…?" the Uchiha tried to get out.
"Why did mom and dad die?" the younger Sasuke cried, tears cascading from his eyes. "Why?! Why did Itachi kill them?!"
Sasuke bit his lip hard enough to nearly draw blood. Memories welled up unbidden, the happy times he spent with his elder brother followed by that nightmare where his happy world burned away into the flames of despair, anger, and revenge.
"But I know why," his younger self suddenly proclaimed. The voice suddenly twisted into a low hissing, reminding Sasuke too much of Orochimaru.
"Why?" the elder questioned, wanting—begging—to know.
"You forgot," the demonic child accused, raising a blaming finger. As he did, the skin of the face flaked off, revealing a familiar pasty color. "Power. That's all there is, all there will ever be. Friends? Money? None of that matters! Just power! You forgot, didn't you?"
"I'd never forget!" Sasuke shouted back, throwing his kunai, but it merely passed through the shade.
The little nightmare grinned, one of its eyes taking on a sinister slit, yellow. "But, don't you remember what Itachi said?"
"I-I…" Words couldn't form, despair gradually overtaking his soul.
"Oh, I remember. I always will," it hissed. "Ha—"
Without warning, a giant fist covered in red fur suddenly reached out of the gates and promptly smashed the evil doppelgänger, knocking Sasuke over from the shockwave of the brutal attack. The Uchiha scrambled to his feet with a splash, scurrying towards the other end of the chamber and pressing himself against the wall in panic, watching as the massive limb retreated back into the darkness.
"Finally," a mighty voice reverberated, shaking Sasuke's insides like a concert speaker. "I thought it'd never shut up."
Hearing such a lackadaisical comment coming from…whatever the thing was knocked the young Uchiha from his panic enough to calm his mind and analyze what just happened.
However, his panic renewed when out of the darkness a pair of enormous eyes with yellow irises and white pupils appeared, intently staring down at the Uchiha. Seeing the boy in fear, the beast grinned in delight, its teeth, with elongated, blunt canines, shining in the darkness.
"Forgive the…abrupt intrusion," it apologized in humor, its grin widening.
Sasuke squeaked in response.
The being laughed. "Remind me to remove the garbage that the man-snake put on you. I resent such trash in my presence."
"W-Who are you?" Sasuke inwardly cursed. He failed restraining the quiver in his voice.
"I am the immortal-!" It stopped suddenly, looking thoughtful. "That isn't of importance. What is important here is that I can help you."
"Help me?" Sasuke's eyebrows knitted together as he rose. "I doubt that."
"Oh, but I can!" there was a note of amusement from the chamber's shadowed occupant. "I couldn't help but overhear some… interesting words. Revenge, is it?"
Sasuke tried to look uninterested, but his body language betrayed him. After all, what could this mighty creature offer him in his quest to hunt down Itachi that his evil, midget self couldn't?
Another chuckle, the grin widening if it was possible. "Yes, I can help you. Just… come a little closer. Let me get a better look at you."
Taking a deep breath, and trying to steady his heartbeat, Sasuke took a number of steps until he stood in front of the cage, using every ounce of self-control to not shake in fear.
"What can you do for me?" Sasuke demanded, his coal eyes burrowing into the beings bigger orbs.
"Many, many things," it vaguely answered, the grin never receding. "If I may, who is it you seek vengeance against?"
"My brother, Itachi," Sasuke answered without hesitation, his Sharingan flaring in anger.
More chuckling. "I like that. Your intensity, that is. Yes, I'll help you. Power, and lots of it. Nobody will give you more than I. But I need something in return."
"Name it," Sasuke agreed, his thirst for revenge easily overriding his fear.
"Oh, it's a simple request," the being answered, its eyes crinkling in amusement. "Come and release this seal imprisoning me, and I'll reward you."
It sounded so easy, enough so that Sasuke wondered what kind of strings were attached. Yes, it was never that simple. Yet, what if it was? But, he was an avenger. Like his demonic image had said, there was only power. The source and cost mattered little. Power was being handed to him, and who was he to turn it down?
Having balanced the risks on his inner scale, Sasuke stepped forward.
"That's right," the voice softly urged. "Come and release this seal, and I help sate your thirst for power and revenge."
Just as Sasuke walked within proximity of the gate (offhandedly, he wondered how something as fragile as a piece of paper could hold those massive things together), an entire flock of black birds suddenly formed from the shadows, creating a cacophony of cawing, shrieks, and hisses. The sudden intrusion forced Sasuke to leap away from the seal, entering into an offensive stance.
"I'm afraid that I must intervene," another voice reverberated, this one human.
The ravens (Sasuke was sure that's what they were) coalesced, forming a figure masked by the shadows. As the last feather fell into place, the black-cloaked individual stepped into the soft glow of the chamber, eliciting a gasp from Sasuke.
"W-What are you doing here?" the quaver in Sasuke's voice stilled as rage took the reins. "You're the one who took me here, weren't you?!"
A sigh. "If only it were that simple, little brother."
"I was so close! Damn you, Itachi!" the voice interrupted with a roar, shaking the entire cave. The sheer volume forced stray stones to fall from the ceiling and splash into the pool and for Sasuke to lose his balance and trip into the freezing water.
Another fiery-haired arm swiftly appeared out of the darkness of the gate, a fist clenched tightly. Itachi looked up just as the shadow covered his form. He calmly watched as the fist came crashing down, unmoving even when it quashed his figure. Sasuke yet again fell to the water as he watched his brother got crushed, the sudden attack cracking the ground and sending an earthquake-like shockwave rippling through the chamber, possibly the entire cave system.
"I-Is he dead?" Sasuke questioned, returning to his feet. Kami-sama, he hoped so…
"Not quite," a soft voice answered form his side.
Figures. Was it really that steep a wish to—?
Sasuke leapt away like he stumbled upon a rattlesnake, his hands instinctively entering into the horse hand-seal before his feet even touched upon the ground.
"Itachi Uchiha, I will kill you!" the voice roared. "Mark my words! The moment I get out of here, I will hunt you down!"
The elder Uchiha merely shook his head in exasperation, as if listening to a raging little child.
"Why are you here!?" Sasuke demanded while drawing upon his chakra reserves—he offhandedly wondered why his chakra was suddenly working—his Sharingan flaring angrily.
"To stop you from making an irreversible mistake," Itachi calmly answered.
"Bull," Sasuke rebuffed, finishing filling his lungs with chakra.
He blew out a fireball at his brother, encompassing his elder sibling in the glow of heat and combustion. However, when the flames dissipated, Itachi's smoking corpse remained to be seen.
Another loud sigh reverberated throughout the chamber. Following it to the source, Sasuke found Itachi off to the side unharmed. Just as he prepared another assault, Sasuke confusedly watched as his brother took a seat on a rock, calmly watching his little brother like he was in the middle of temper tantrum. Seeing Itachi so relaxed made Sasuke reenter orbit, his hands angrily flashing for another Katon technique.
"Are you so weak that you care little about the consequences of your actions?" Itachi's question was somewhere between rhetorical and insulting.
The Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu was the largest Sasuke ever unleashed. Nonetheless, a flock of ravens exploded from his target, coalescing in front of the younger Uchiha. A hand formed from the birds that grabbed Sasuke by his shirt and then proceeded to toss him across the chamber, stopping after skidding through the frigid waters.
While coughing out water flooding his lungs, Sasuke watched as his brother finished reforming from the blackbirds. Itachi's gaze never wavered from him, his face unchanging since the start of their skirmish.
"Do you hate me so much that you'll do anything for strength?" Itachi monotonously asked.
"Yes," Sasuke hissed out, entering another stance.
"Even when it will kill everyone around you?" the older brother continued. "All for the sake of power you'll never taste? Naruto, Sakura… everyone?"
"I…" the preteen's anger faltered. His stance relaxed as he mulled it over, the question repeating in his mind like a broken record.
He uncomfortably realized that he almost answered 'yes.'
Sasuke refocused upon hearing his brother's sigh. "The beast's request is not as it appears."
"Do not listen to him!" the monster's voice warned. "He only wants to keep you weak! Itachi wishes to keep you from my power!"
"That's right!" Sasuke accused, once again readying for combat as his glare intensified. "You just want to ensure you stay stronger than me!"
Itachi sighed again. "Quite the contrary. In truth, I want you take that beast's power. In the future, it will even be a necessity. Just not yet."
The younger Uchiha's stance slackened from shock. "What?"
"If you had opened the seal keeping that monster at bay," Itachi explained, "then what would follow is a struggle for dominance for your body between you and it. However, as you are now, you would have no hope of conquering—"
"Shut up, Uchiha!" the beast behind the gates warned, glaring hatred down at Itachi. "Don't listen to him! He lies!"
"…As I was saying, you would have no hope of winning. This Bijū would then escape and then raze whatever happens to be in its path."
"Wait, Bijū?" Sasuke questioned, a pit forming in his stomach. "As in like the Kyūbi?"
"Yes. Though, it is weaker."
"Fuck you!"
Sasuke rapidly looked between the two, his Sharingan long since deactivated. "I… I'm confused."
"I suppose I should start from the beginning…" Itachi seemingly mused aloud. "Firstly," the elder Uciha gestured to their surroundings. "This is your mind. Or rather… the representation of the seal that separates you and the Yonbi no Soru."
"That's Handsome Monkey King to you, worm!" He was ignored, much to his chagrin.
"Seal?" Sasuke asked, even more confused.
"Dammit, I said shut up!" the aforementioned beast desperately demanded, watching its plans fall apart.
"Yes, seal," his brother confirmed. "Lift up your shirt and channel your chakra."
Though frowning, Sasuke complied with the unusual request. However, upon expending charka, a tattoo with a spiral surrounded by two other seals suddenly appeared on his stomach, making the young Uchiha yelp at the sight and stop channeling chakra. Just as suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared.
"What the hell was that?!" Sasuke demanded, dropping his shirt. "Did you do that to me?!"
"No. Our father…" Itachi patiently answered, though a glint of anger appeared in his eyes at the mentioning of the man that sired him. "He—"
Sasuke interrupted him. "What does Father have to do with this?"
Surprisingly, it was the prisoner that gleefully answered. "Because your shithead father wanted to turn you into a weapon."
Suddenly, Sasuke's world stopped.
'N-No, that can't be right,' he thought shakily. 'Father…H-He wouldn't…This h-has to be dream.'
Yes, that's it! That explained everything! It was just a dream! A really, really bad dream.
'Makes sense,' Sasuke mused, his heart rate smoothing out. 'Why would Father seal an oversized monkey in me? That's just stupid. And wouldn't Itachi be more dangerous? Yeah, just a dream.'
But why was it so vivid?
"Given up on you initial plan?" Itachi questioned the demon.
"There's other ways. You destroyed the fastest route to my freedom, but I've got all the time in the world," the Yonbi answered, a note of humor in his words. "Eventually, I'll escape."
"Yep, just a dream," Sasuke confirmed to himself.
The cave's two other denizens heard the denial. Itachi could only sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration; the Yonbi, on the other hand, was laughing it up.
"No, little brother, this is not a dream," Itachi corrected.
"Prove it," Sasuke challenged.
Itachi suddenly appeared in front of him and knocked Sasuke on his forehead (with more force than was necessary, possibly due to frustration), toppling Sasuke into the freezing waters.
"That hurt, asshole!" Sasuke accused, taking a leaf out of Naruto's book.
…And then he realized that it hurt… in what was supposed to be dream.
"Are you willing to listen now?" Itachi asked, staring down at his brother.
Sasuke numbly nodded his head.
To his surprise, his elder brother offered him a hand. The coal-eyed boy could only stare at the limb like it was a visitor from another world. After countless seconds, Sasuke took hold, allowing Itachi to help lift him out of the water.
"Truthfully, the image you see now is merely an imprint," Itachi explained. "When I used Tsukuyomi on you, it wasn't because I wanted to harm you—"
"You made me watch Mother and Father die over and over," Sasuke angrily pointed out.
"Yes, but did I harm you?" The younger Uchiha scowled, but shook his head, if reluctantly. "Although Tsukuyomi is a genjutsu meant to distort a person's perception—even as far to create an illusionary world—I was able to retool it for a secondary purpose: To put an imprint within your mind. I knew that eventually you would meet your Bijū, but I felt I needed to be there so that I might be able to explain some things before you made a rash decision."
Sasuke frowned in confusion. "But, everything you said that day… to hate you and seek power…"
"Sorry, but I had make things look convincing."
The younger Uchiha's temper rose again. "What the hell do you mean by that?!"
Rather than immediately answer, Itachi instead waved his hand in front of Sasuke's eyes.
Just as the younger of the two wondered why his brother was acting like an idiot, a memory forcefully resurfaced, so vivid that it played behind his eyes like a movie. One of him desperately chasing Itachi, activating his Sharingan for the first time…
…And watching as Itachi gave one last look before escaping Konoha, tears of regret rolling down his face.
"…You didn't want to do it, did you?" Sasuke breathed in realization.
"I'm sorry," Itachi's stone cold façade faded away, sorrow pooling in his eyes. "I loved our family greatly. But, I loved Konoha more, enough so that I destroyed our clan. However…"
Sasuke watched as his brother stepped forward, and then gently pressed a finger against his forehead. A gentle smile traced his face, one of adoration and caring. Just like the Itachi Sasuke remembered before the insanity, before everything went to hell.
"…I love you more than anything, even Konoha."
"N-No, this is… you… You're lying!" Sasuke accused, but his heart felt otherwise.
Inwardly, he hoped beyond hopes that this was the truth, that Itachi really was still the caring brother he once upon a time admired so much.
"Y-You…You…" Every accusation and curse he wanted to bring forth just holed up.
Unable to hold back the well of emotions springing from his heart, Sasuke allowed the tears to roll down his face for the first time in years. The anger, rage, and hatred he felt since that night when Itachi sacrificed his place in Konoha ebbed away, washed away by the love his brother felt for him.
At that moment, Itachi's form began to fragment into tiny blue particles, each gently floating into the air above and disappearing.
"What's happening!?" Sasuke asked worriedly.
Itachi's face suddenly turned serious. "I only have a little time left before this imprint fades away, but the things I need to say are incredibly important—not just the safety of Konoha but for the entirety of the world. You need to repeat this to Hokage-sama. Burn it into your mind. 'Raven has identified six of the nine in Konoha.' He'll understand the rest.
"Before that, however, seek out Uzumaki Naruto. Ask him about the truth regarding the Kyūbi. He may not be willing to explain at first, and if he isn't then reveal that you contain the Yonbi. It'll make sense afterwards, I promise."
"But, why did you do it that night? Why did you kill everybody?!" Sasuke desperately asked.
His older brother softly smiled. "The events behind the massacre are far more convoluted than they seem. Seek me out. I'll give you all the answers.
"And, Sasuke… I'm sorry."
The younger Uchiha sadly smiled. "I'll forgive you once I hear the truth."
Itachi's smile widened. "Then I look forward to it."
Finally, the imprint faded away, leaving only Sasuke in the cave.
The young Uchiha took a deep breath, letting out a large cloud of mist. At his side, his fists clenched.
Before his eyes, every happy moment he shared with his brother played through his mind like a movie, each as vivid as the day they occurred. The laughter, the joy… those moments where the darkness of the world simply didn't exist…
They weren't completely gone yet.
For the first time in years, Sasuke Uchiha felt the light of hope.
"Itachi, I'll find you," Sasuke promised. "And when I do, I will seek the truth."
"And we all lived happily ever after," the voice of the Yonbi drawled. "God, that took forever. Could've puked at the ending too…"
"Have something to say?" His Sharingan flared on, the red eyes angrily landing on his prisoner.
"Not so much 'something to say' as it is 'something needing done,'" the massive creature answered.
From the cage, as if being poured in the water, a red substance began creeping towards Sasuke.
"What the hell—?"
"My chakra," the monkey answered. "I've been meaning to get rid of that piece of garbage on your shoulder, but your pain-in-the-ass brother stepped in before I could. But he's gone now, so I can work."
"I don't need your chakra," Sasuke growled out.
"No option," the massive monkey countered with a toothy grin. "I refuse to let the man-snake have any influence on my container. And besides, didn't you want power? Allow me the opportunity to give you taste."
Before the Uchiha could snap back, the red substance rapidly surrounded him, rising into the air and then coiling around his body. A scream rose in his throat as his entire body suddenly felt like lava was being poured into his veins.
Son Gokū could only laugh at the sight.
Suddenly it got hot, like someone turning the heat onto max and blasting it full force. Leaves, falling from the blistering breeze, withered and crumbled while in the air; birds screamed as they took off, escaping from the suddenly manifesting danger.
All fighting stopped. The Oto team, about to finish Lee, stopped mid attack as did Team Ten in the middle of countering them.
Sakura's body quivered as her blood ran suddenly cold, despite the intense heat.
The rage… it was almost palatable, measured only by the heat that intensified with it. Her insides twisted in sickness, the feel of the foul chakra churning her empty stomach.
She knew this feeling. Shallowly buried in the back of her mind was the memory at Nami, at a time when Team Seven fought desperately to live another day. However, the oppressive feeling of absolute power was replaced by the incredible heat, though the rage could almost be equally measured.
Wetting her dry, cracked lips, Sakura slowly turned towards the source.
"Sasuke…" Sakura breathed, disbelieving at the sight.
Konoha's last Uchiha was slowly standing, arms limp and bangs shadowing his eyes as the air shimmered and distorted from the sheer heat roaring off of him.
"…It burns," though a whisper, Sasuke's voice resonated throughout the clearing.
Right before everyone's eyes, the Uchiha began to transform. His canines lengthened into fangs and his nails grew into claws, giving the raven-haired boy an animalistic look. Frightening, yet equally strange, his hair shifted from coal black to a fiery red starting from the roots to the tips.
"It burns," he repeated, a note of pain within the words.
Though the Konoha genin didn't notice, the Oto-nin did. On his shoulder, the cursed seal, the mighty gift only given to a select few by their master, Orochimaru-sama, began to flake away like chipped paint and disappear into ash. A handful of seconds later, only unblemished skin remained.
Suddenly, the heat intensified, burning the leaves off nearby plants and turning the grass around his feet into embers that drifted away into the air currents. Within seconds, scorch marks began to develop around his feet.
"It burns!" Sasuke roared, raising his head to reveal unnaturally shining yellow eyes.
Kill Joy no Jutsu (A.K.A. Author's Note): I don't know what it is, but lately I've had trouble writing. I just can't seem to get things out. This has actually been in the works for a while; I just spent a lot of time making notes, jotting down ideas, but never picked up the pen to write it out. But, now it's out, and it's strangely more satisfying than a lot of other stuff I've put out there. Will this be one of my break out fics? Probably not, but this one has a special place in my heart as my first fan-fiction and I really want to get it back on the web despite whatever may come of it. That said, I've had a lot of momentum and I intend to post as many chapters while it lasts, hopefully.
Geeze, I can't help but feel nostalgic. I posted the original story when I was fifteen! It's been nearly ten years since then and it's amazing to see where I've come as a writer. I've published works, I've been trying to start my own private publishing company since then... It's just, well, I don't have words.
Okay, rambling aside, veterans that have followed me for a long time will note that things have seriously changed. As the canon series has evolved, so has this story. The demon containers have changed dramatically as have the beasts that were contained. Though some have changed, others haven't. I'll leave it to you guys to figure out who, but some may surprise you; others may not.
As according to this story, we start seeing some serious changes with Sasuke early on. I think they're a little abrupt for my taste, but of the different drafts I wrote this one seemed to work the best. I'm changing canon incredibly as it is, but Sasuke has a strong role as the deuteragonist and I can't have him turning into an avenger. I would like to stress Sasuke is not the main hero, but will feature heavily alongside Naruto and a certain female protagonist.
On a personal note, I like Sasuke as a character. I think he's well done and far more fleshed out than most characters are; from a critical analysis (those college classes on mythology, writing criticism, etc. were worth something in the end) he's actually worth reading about. Admittedly, he's emo, but that can't be helped. Otherwise, he's an excellent character.
One thing I hate is character bashing, and you will not see it any of my fics. I see it so much on the site that I can't help but feel frustrated. It's fine if you have an opinion about a character, but to outright bash on something so petty to me is the mark of being an amateur and an incapable writer. If you don't like a character, there are ways around them without bashing! Turn them into a villain! Kill them off! Do something besides bash the character! Am I going to catch flak for voicing this? Probably, but I don't care. I voice this opinion because I want people to practice good writing! Rant finished.
One last thing, I would like to analyze about the chapter before I end this note, I tried to portray Itachi as more canon before all the revelations about the Uchiha Massacre, but it just didn't work. I needed Sasuke to be willing to play nice with his allies, but if I kept him dark and emo-y it wouldn't have worked. So, I made the scene more... heartwarming, I guess? I'm trying not to puke at my word choice there.
Anyways, on that note, I'd like to thank you guys for continuing to read my works even when it takes me forever to update them. The chapters will be shorter initially for this story until I build up momentum. The updates will be faster in exchange for the shorter length.
Thank you, and please enjoy.