The young shinobi trailed through the solemn little village, undisturbed by the hustle of villagers going about their daily lives. He usually avoided villages like these on his journeys, preferring to stick to the shadows and the solace of his own company. However, it had been unavoidable once he breached The Land of Fire's territory; he had to pass through it in order to reach his destination. There was time, though – ways to go until he crossed the massive forest that stood in between him and his former home. Plenty of time to hesitate and turn back, yet the shinobi was never really one for regrets.

I must keep going…

The village he had stumbled upon entering the Land of Fire was relatively small and poor; there were no shinobi, just shops and houses occupied by commoners who had probably never witnessed the perils of violent death and war. Despite this, the shinobi still feared being recognized, so he kept his head low under the hood of his cloak and his pace brisk. Yet the pain was too much as it surged through his veins and stopped his breath short. He paused in the village square, clutching onto a nearby tree for support as his vision blurred. It was all he could do to keep from collapsing and drawing attention to him. It seemed that he had struck curiosity within one pair of eyes, though, as he felt the presence of someone coming up to him.

"Are you all right?" An elderly man had sauntered up to the shinobi, clutching his cane with one hand as he tried to pat the shinobi's shoulder with his other. Almost immediately, the shinobi drew back at his touch and kept his face concealed. An elderly stranger, showing concern for a man he had never even met – how foolish. "I'm fine." The shinobi replied levelly, his voice strong and cold like steel.

"My mistake, then," answered the old man, still not convinced. He looked up and down at the cloaked man, smiling warmly. "We don't get many travellers through our village. Are you lost?"

Too friendly for his own good, thought the shinobi.

"Just passing through."

He struggled to maintain his composure through the searing pain, wishing the old man would just leave him be.

"Are you sure? If you need a place to rest, I can offer –"

"I said I'm fine," retorted the shinobi, turning to face the old man as fury blazed in his eyes. The old man gasped and reeled away in shock at the shinobi's eyes. He had heard tales around the village about famous shinobi, yet had never expected them to be true. He'd never even seen a shinobi in the flesh, much less the one only rumoured to exist. The blazing red in one eye, violet in the other- there was no mistake. "U-Uchiha..S-Sasuke..." sputtered the old man. Before he could fully register his astonishment, there was a rustling of leaves and the Uchicha was gone in a flash, leaving a very bewildered old man alone and staring at a tree.

Konohagakure, three days later.

Hagane Kotetsu leaned back in his chair as he flipped nonchalantly through his magazine. Occasionally, his eyes strayed lazily towards the gate entrance, yet he focused solely on his magazine. It had been peaceful for two years since the Fourth Shinobi World War, so Kotetsu didn't take his job as guard of Konoha's gate seriously at all. Beside him, his partner Kamizuki Izumo watched the gate intently yet appeared to be slightly bored as well.

"No one's coming, you know," Kotetsu chimed casually at his partner, his eyes fixated on his magazine. Izumo shot his lazy friend a scolding look. All of a sudden, there was a slight flicker of chakra at the entrance before it disappeared, and they both immediately jumped to attention. "What was that?!" Izumo growled, and the two armed shinobi looked around frantically near the gate. There had been no disturbance in the detection barrier to warn them that an intruder had slipped through, nor did they see anyone in their midst.

"Doesn't the barrier only detect those who aren't from Konoha?" piped up Kotetsu as he settled back into his chair.

"Ah…" responded Izumo, glaring at the gate. If someone from Konoha had just snuck in…who could it be?

He had made it in undetected, courtesy of his Amenotejikara jutsu. Sasuke had no desire for a homecoming. There was only one place he had to get to – before it was too late.

Uzumaki Naruto, home from a mission, was ready to meet Sakura after her shift at the Konoha hospital was through. He had stopped by for a short rest to regain his chakra, which was running low after a run-in with some local mercenaries outside of Konoha – although he was mostly sympathetic for the state he left them in, completely unmatched to Naruto's frightening strength. As he got up to leave, he caught glimpse of the Team 7 portrait on his bedside table. Naruto smiled fondly to himself.

Sasuke…I hope you've found the redemption you were looking for.

The blonde shinobi suddenly snapped from his thoughts when he felt the presence of someone's chakra behind him. He whirled around immediately, slamming a hooded figure into the ground. With rapid skill, the figure kicked Naruto off, sending him flying into the wall. As Naruto peeled himself off the wall, most of it crumbled with him.

Easy, Kurama…, he thought, feeling the exhilaration of his bijuu companion stirring inside his subconscious. There was no need to resort to that until he found out the extent of the threat the intruder posed to him. Blue chakra swirling in his hand, he prepared to charge at the figure. The figure, however, removed his hood, and Naruto stopped abruptly, ceasing his chakra. He blinked speechlessly for a few seconds, before hollering "Sasuke! You're back!" Before he could even let a breath in, Sasuke materialized right in front of Naruto's face and clamped his hand over his mouth.

"Shut up," hissed Sasuke, yet he released his hand and smirked quietly at his friend. "Hey."

Naruto's head swirled with disbelief and excitement. He had so many questions to ask Sasuke, questions that he probably wouldn't get the answers to. He was also dazed at how he had just been thinking about Sasuke, and all of a sudden the shinobi had appeared. I wonder what would happen if I thought about ramen…

What was most shocking, however, was Sasuke's appearance. The young shinobi's jet-black hair hung roughly down his face, a bandana tied around his forehead. A large cloak hid his entire body, possibly to cover his missing arm. To Naruto, Sasuke looked more like a savage than a shinobi. Yet a presence of adventure radiated off Sasuke, as if he had seen wonders on his journey that no one could ever imagine, not even Naruto.

"Sasuke, you look terrible! Where have you been? Are you back for good?" the blonde jinchuuriki rambled on eagerly.

"No." Sasuke paused, as if carefully considering his next words. "I need your help, Naruto. I only came back because it was urgent. But it must be kept classified. Do you understand, Naruto?"

Naruto blinked incredulously. If his smug Uchiha friend had swallowed his pride in order to ask him for help, it must be serious. "All right! Is Team 7 going to be reunited again?" He grinned and clapped his hands together.

Sasuke opened his mouth to answer, yet immediately the pain seized him again. He staggered back, feeling the hot rush of blood travel up to his throat. Sasuke collapsed on the ground coughing as blood trickled out of his mouth.

"Sasuke?" Naruto rushed to his friend's side, a spell of sombreness casted upon his whiskered face.

"Sasuke…what's going on?" He frowned gravelly and extended his arm to help Sasuke up, but Sasuke grabbed it and forcefully pulled Naruto closer to his level. "Don't tell anyone," Sasuke managed out in between coughs, his voice tight and strained.

Naruto wasn't that dense to realize that the hidden meaning behind that was don't tell Sakura. And it was implicitly directed towards his condition.

"Are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on?! What happened to you out there?!" Panic rose in Naruto's usually cheerful voice. Within a matter of moments, his missing friend had come back from oblivion, dropped a bombshell about a secret mission, and then collapsed on the floor with some sort of illness.

"Naruto…the Akatsuki…a new generation of the Akatsuki has come. We must stop them before…before I die."

A/N: Cliffhanger! I apologize if the beginning is a little slow, but I'll expand on everything in the chapter to come. Also - SasuSaku moments ahead! Reviews are welcome, as comments and constructive criticism will help me fix the quality of my writing as I continue.