Chapter 1: Mysterious Disappearance
"If we wish to capture Naruto before he gets any stronger, we need to capture him now." Pain said
"Will it be easy? As weak as he may look, he can harness the strength of the Nine-Tails at his own will." Itachi said
"I'm sure it will. Even with the Nine-Tailed Fox's power, we have more jutsu and general skill than he does now." Kisame said
"Naruto Uzumaki, huh? That host sure is lively. He's unlike any other I've ever seen. Gaara's not like that. But why him? To be Hokage? No. It's something else." Sasori said
"It doesn't matter now, master Sasori. We just capture him and get it over with. How hard could it be?" Deidara boasted
For some reason, Naruto was angry back at the leaf village. Angry that Sasuke left the village. He wasn't strong enough to bring him back, and he hated it. Hated it.
As a matter of fact, Naruto wasn't really strong at all. He always relied on the Nine-Tailed Fox when he was in dire straits.
"I kept asking myself why Sasuke left…and I realized in time I didn't have the strength to persuade him to come back." Naruto thought
It was all the same, every single time. Jiraiya was always writing his perverted novels, doing research, or just away from the leaf village. And Kakashi, he was always on missions, or just reading that "book" of his.
He didn't care anymore. He decided he would go to Orochimaru, to seek power, the same way Sasuke had. He wasn't strong enough to handle anything by himself. It was always the Nine-Tailed Fox that did his dirty work and gave him chakra whenever he needed it most. That was the truth.
This time, he won't need the Nine-Tails. He'll get power without the demon. He didn't need Jiraiya or Kakashi, either. If they didn't train him seriously, then he didn't need them.
He didn't even know why he had them as senseis. Naruto had never been able to find a normal trainer, except for Iruka. But he was probably as strong as Naruto, so what could he teach him? Besides, that was back in the academy. That was all in the past.
Nighttime fell over the horizon. He packed his things, took a last look of Team 7 when they were still together, closed the door to his apartment, and jumped from tree to tree, reaching the exit of the leaf village.
He remembered the time Sakura tried to persuade Sasuke not to leave the village. He promised it to her once he had obtained his power from Orochimaru, he would kill him and take back Sasuke.
"That's a promise, Sakura." Naruto thought as he left the village toward his goal
By morning, he had reached the land of rice fields. He wished to obtain power to keep his promise, for Sakura. When he obtained his power, Sasuke would be back in leaf, no doubt about it.
By noon, he had miraculously reached Orochimaru's base. There it was. Sasuke was somewhere in there, with Orochimaru and Kabuto.
"Kakashi-sensei, where is Naruto? I haven't seen him at all, not even at the ramen bar." Sakura said
"Oh, he's at the Hokage mansion, I think." Kakashi said, hiding the fact that Naruto had actually disappeared from the village
The rumor spread before Sakura was able to hear it. Tsunade had noticed a strange abnormality yesterday. Naruto was either at the training grounds, or the ramen bar.
"But I already checked the Hokage mansion. He's nowhere to be seen." Sakura said
"Well, he must be there. Somewhere." Kakashi lied
Kakashi stood on the roof of Naruto's apartment. He looked at the blue sky. There Naruto was. Seeking Orochimaru for power. Just like Sasuke had. How far would Naruto really go for Sasuke?
"You do realize, Kakashi, at some point in time, we are going to have to find him. Sitting like this won't help our cause." Jiraiya said
"I know. But I don't think Orochimaru would let Naruto go. I just have this feeling that Orochimaru will kill Naruto when this is all over, to prevent him from getting Sasuke back." Kakashi said
"That may be true. That's why we must investigate the place Naruto went, and where Sasuke went too. If you say that Naruto will be killed, why not save him while we still have the chance?" Jiraiya said
"But it'll be to dangerous. The last time you, Naruto, and Sakura went, all of you almost died. Even you, Jiraiya, almost died that time you three went to Orochimaru's lair." Kakashi said
"But I'm still alive. Indeed, the mission was dangerous. And those two were planning to go by themselves. Sheesh. I need to go take care of something. I'll be back later." Jiraiya said
No point in lying. You're going to investigate Orochimaru's base, right?" Kakashi said
"Right. That's exactly it. I need to finish some work with Orochimaru." Jiraiya said, and then disappeared
"So, Naruto, what is your purpose here? Why don't I just kill you now for even being here?" Orochimaru said
"If you're so concerned about him, that's not even the reason I'm here. I wish to obtain power, just like Sasuke. That pervert is a fool. And my real sensei won't teach me anything. He always played favorites with Sasuke."
"For one thing, Naruto, you are correct. Jiraiya could never teach you new jutsu. He was always a fool, and always will be. And Kakashi never taught you anything but the same old jutsu. With me, Naruto, it will be different. You will learn newer and more powerful jutsu. Why is it that Sasuke came here for power in the first place?" Orochimaru said
Sasuke entered the room. He suddenly spotted his old friend. But he paid absolutely no attention to him whatsoever.
"Didn't I make it clear that I wanted nothing more to do with you anymore. The only thing you've accomplished by coming here is getting your life ended." Sasuke's Sharingan rose to a deadly red
"Naruto's not here for that. He wants to obtain power, just like you, when you also came to Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto said
"Very well, Naruto. You will obtain power." Orochimaru motioned for a sound ninja to lead Naruto to his room
"Follow me." Naruto didn't even look back at Sasuke as he left the room
Sasuke wasn't the same Sasuke Naruto knew. He was different. Twisted by Orochimaru's maniacal obsession.
The sound ninja led Naruto to his room. The lair was gigantic, containing many different rooms.
"This will be your room. But don't get too comfortable, we switch between bases every week, and we're switching in two days, so try not to get too comfortable. Our next base will be in the land of grass."
"Whatever." Naruto said as he left his room
Back in the leaf village, Sakura ran to her sensei again.
"Kakashi-sensei, did Naruto leave the village, like Sasuke?" Sakura knew something was wrong
She heard the rumor from Tsunade.
"Yes, I don't even know why Naruto left. But you don't worry; I'll definitely bring them both back. Jiraiya is already making plans to rescue Sasuke and Naruto." Kakashi admitted
There was no point in hiding it any longer. She would have to know sooner or later.
"Sasuke… Naruto…" Sakura thought
The 4 arrived in their new base in the land of grass. There it was, no different than the other one in the land of rice fields.
"Who's my teacher even going to be, Orochimaru?" Naruto asked impolitely as the four walked down the labyrinth hallways
"Sound jonin. And don't worry, the same jutsu Sasuke learns, you too, will learn. We will see to it that you too will obtain power." Orochimaru said
By week's end, Naruto had learned many new jutsu. He received a scroll from Orochimaru teaching him to summon snakes. He also knew how to summon toads, with his training from Jiraiya.
He had even learned some of Orochimaru's snake-like techniques. He also learned a wind technique Orochimaru created.
"So, how is your new jutsu coming along, Naruto?" Kabuto asked
"Fine. Besides, what's it to you?"
"Orochimaru is just...surprised you are able to learn his techniques at such a rapid rate." Kabuto said
"Then let him be surprised. Because there's going to be a lot more surprises than just one." Naruto said
"Tsunade!" Jiraiya walked into her office
"What do you want, Jiraiya?"
"I'm going to track down Orochimaru. According to one of my spies, his new base is located in the land of grass, a country that borders the land of fire. There isn't much time. Besides, this is a good time to finish what I started."
"Maybe there would be a better success rate if we added more ninja. If you went alone, I don't think you would be able to bring both Naruto and Sasuke back from Orochimaru's grasp." Tsunade said
"I don't need ANBU. There will be a better success rate if I go alone because this is Orochimaru's lair we're talking about. If you send a bunch of ninja in there, they'll immediately discover we're infiltrating his lair." Jiraiya said
"I suppose so. But don't take it too far. Report back once it gets too dangerous. I'll help."
"Right." And then, Jiraiya disappeared
The Akatsuki gathered in their dimly lit hideout. Pain, Konan, Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, Deidara, Hidan, Zetsu, and Kakuzu.
"Orochimaru. It's been 6 years, and I still haven't been able to kill him." Sasori said
"Don't worry about that, master. The time for that will come soon." Deidara said
"We have other matters besides Orochimaru. The plan, remember?" Pain said
"The plan. You never even told me about when I first joined. You're a huge disgrace, you know that? With you as a leader, Akatsuki will never "succeed" in its plan." Hidan said
"Forget about that now. We still need the fox. And the "fox" is with Orochimaru." Kisame said
"That's good. We'll be able to accomplish two things at the same time. Capture the Nine-Tails and kill Orochimaru." Pain said
"The plan is all coming together. Slowly, but surely." Itachi's Sharingan eyes ripped through the darkness of which the Akatsuki assembled
But Itachi also knew who was with Orochimaru. He could cause a problem.
Jiraiya reported to Tsunade. There would still be some time before he reached the land of grass.
Orochimaru feared Naruto's rapid growth in strength. He knew he would try to take back Sasuke, and if Orochimaru was weaker than Naruto, who would be able to stop him? Sasuke's will?
Orochimaru and Kabuto were discussing a matter in a secret room of the lair.
"He's gotten so much stronger. So strong to the point that he may be stronger than me, especially with the Nine-Tails. We need to put a leash on the demon." Orochimaru said, giving one of his crooning smiles
Kabuto knew exactly what Orochimaru was referring to.
"Are you saying we lock up the Nine Tailed Fox's chakra?" Kabuto pushed his glasses up as the light reflected off them
"Exactly. The only ones capable of breaking a five pronged are the sannin and the Third Hokage. Only Jiraiya and Tsunade are capable of it, technically. The Third is already dead, and I? There would be no point for me to break a seal like that." Orochimaru said
"Precisely. But if Naruto finds out beforehand, it will definitely not end well. I feel there might be a more logical alternative to this plan." Kabuto said
"Maybe. But we will have to do it soon. That boy is getting stronger with each passing minute." Orochimaru's dark eyes burned through the dimness as both he and Kabuto walked out of the room
The candles' light swerved back and forth, as if a shadow hid in the blackness.
"Things have taken a turn, haven't they?" A shadow's voice boomed in the darkness
Naruto caught Sasuke training in a more brightly lit room of the lair. His Sharingan. Full of hate. Only trained on one thought.
"Itachi…" He thought
"Have you come here to take me back to the leaf? If you are, then forget it. Just because you're here, don't expect anything to change." Sasuke said
"You're not the old Sasuke. I don't want to bring you back." Naruto muttered
Naruto had passed a section of the lair he had never seen before. And then there was a door. Naruto was just about to open it. He would discover the shameful secrets of Orochimaru's lair.
"Naruto, that door is forbidden to you and Sasuke, understood?" Out of nowhere, Orochimaru suddenly appeared behind Naruto along with Kabuto
"What's in there anyway? One of your sick projects?" Naruto said
"We have some fragile things in there. It would be most appreciated if you didn't touch that door." Kabuto said
"If they don't want me to go in there, that means… there's something in there. Something they don't want me to see…" Naruto thought. Instead he replied,
"Whatever, I was just walking around to see how this place looks."
"If you want a tour of the base, Naruto, we can get a sound ninja for you to give you a tour of the lair. And I've got just the one for you, Naruto." He motioned for one of his subordinates to give him a tour
"Follow me. I'll give you a tour of Lord Orochimaru's lair." The sound ninja said
They had reached another door down a hallway of the lair.
"Behind that door are experiments that Kabuto conducts for his own research. I wouldn't go in there if I were you, it's really nasty." The sound ninja said
Tsunade got word that Jiraiya had reached the border between the land of fire and the land of grass. He also said that locating Orochimaru's base would take more time for him.
As soon as he walked out into the open out of the lair, he immediately saw Sasuke standing right in front of him, ready to fight.
"Fight me. Right here, and right now." Sasuke's Sharingan activated
Naruto accepted, but annoyed at the same time. Almost immediately, Sasuke threw hordes of kunai and shuriken at him, but he dodged, and performed his signature shadow clone jutsu to create clones of himself. Sasuke destroyed them with great ease, only to see Naruto behind with a Rasengan in his right hand.
Sasuke dodged the attack and strangled Naruto by summoning snakes from his sleeve. But this was shown to be another clone.
He performed the more advanced multi shadow clone jutsu, but Sasuke wiped them all out with a single fireball of his making. Little did he notice, the clones that remained then performed Naruto Uzumaki barrage, similar Sasuke's lion combo, originally created from Sasuke's fight with Rock Lee at the Chunin Exams
Sasuke was down on the ground.
"How stronger does he keep getting?!" Sasuke thought
He attempted to perform his Chidori, but Naruto countered with Orochimaru's jutsu.
"Wind release: great breakthrough!" Naruto leveled a wide area with a powerful gust of wind
Sasuke was blown back by the wind, as was his Chidori. Now the fight began to get serious. Sasuke was activating his cursed seal, while Naruto was accessing the demon fox's chakra. But before they could even resume fighting, snakes wrapped around them both, keeping them both in place.
"And what are you two doing?" Orochimaru asked, glaring at them both
"What does it look like, Orochimaru? Fighting, of course." Sasuke said rudely towards him
Orochimaru laughed. Naruto would soon kill him. He would not have Sasuke's body, nor would he even get to keep him. When this was all over, Orochimaru would be dead and Sasuke would be back in the leaf village, just like Sakura wanted.
"You two really must break the tension between yourselves. I don't want this place to be dust and ash the next morning."
Jiraiya finally managed to find out where Orochimaru's base was located. He went straight there. Why had Naruto gone to Orochimaru anyway? For all Jiraiya knew, Naruto hated Orochimaru. Hated him deeply.
Was it to bring Sasuke back? Jiraiya had reached a bridge. On the other side of that bridge past a mountain, Orochimaru's lair resided there.
Once back in Orochimaru's lair, he found Kabuto walking out of the darkness of the poorly lit lair.
"What do you want?" Naruto glared
He didn't trust Kabuto. And he had good reason not to.
"There's something important I must tell you. I can't put it off any longer."