Chapter 1

Sasuke's POV

The figure in front of him raced ahead. Though he hated to admit it, he was struggling to keep up. He just felt exhausted, but he had to catch up.

His target was going from tree to tree, sticking to the shadows. Suddenly, the trees broke out into a great clearing. He skidded to a stop, with Chidori crackling in his left hand.

Straight ahead of him, was a dark figure. He activated his Sharingan before sprinting full speed towards his next kill. Just as he stretched his hand to deliver the blow, there was a blinding green light, which obscured even the vision of the Sharingan.

Dazed, it took him a second before he was able to regain his senses. As soon as he did, he sprinted towards his victim determined not to let this person escape him again.

Even as he ran, he could not shake the nagging feeling that he was being led somewhere. It was not necessarily a trap, actually the thought alone made him smirk. Who the hell would be stupid enough to try and lead him, Sasuke Uchiha into a trap?

Even that dope, Naruto had given up on him. Not like it mattered. He preferred it that way. It was annoying having to kick his ass regularly. Working together with him to kill Madara had given the fool false hope, but he had ensured that hope was soon gone.

After what seemed to be an eternity of stalking his target, he finally saw a change in pace until finally the person came to a complete stop. Curiously, the stranger had stopped in front of a familiar gate.

In a flash, Sasuke body flickered in front of the poor fool and drove a Chidori charged hand right through the heart. As the victim died he caught a glimpse of the face. It was his own, except with bright green eyes.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his heart and began coughing up blood. He hit the ground and felt his eyes closing…

He woke with a jolt, shooting upright. He could feel beads of sweat running down his face. He felt unbelievably hot. He tore off the blanket, and proceeded to notice his whole upper body was drenched in sweat.

He knew immediately that this was going to be another sleepless night. He proceeded to get up and walk over to the bathroom. His eyes functioned better in the dark, so it was easy for him to avoid all the clutter on the floor. What wasn't easy was finding the bathroom.

The reason being, this was not his house. Actually, he wasn't sure whose house this was. Since the war had ended he had been taking residence in abandoned houses waiting to leave only when the original tenants returned or when violence began in the area.

It was ironic, that after such a great war the violence in the world had increased. Spurred mostly by the feudal lords who demanded larger shares of war spoils, the five great nations were already at war again. The biggest problem though was that now the smaller villages were trying to take advantage of the larger ones being weakened as a result of the previous war.

Although, it didn't matter to him personally, it was making permanent residence in a place a downright bitch. This was only his second night in this house, but he knew that come morning he had to leave again. A large battle was to be fought here in a few days, which he would rather avoid.

Finally, he found the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and began to wipe his face down with cool water. Unfortunately, this had become a habit it appeared. Waking up from a nightmare wasn't new to him at all. It had started when he had nightmares of Itachi massacring his clan, and then progressed to nightmares of killing Itachi once he had defeated his brother.

As awful as those were, he would do anything to trade these new ones for them. At least he had known what those dreams meant. These new ones though, were a totally different story. They all involved the same two things, despite the nightmares all being completely different. All of them involved his death, and the same pair of green eyes.

There would always be someone who would appear to him during his sleep, with those damn green eyes. He had no idea why.

He looked into the mirror, and was slightly surprised to see that his Rinnegan was active. He supposed there was no reason to be shocked, considering he had unlocked these eyes during the war.

Thinking back to it though, it was only after acquiring the Rinnegan that he had started to have the nightmares about the green eyes. Was it possible there was a connection?

It was conceivable, he concluded. After all, he still was not positive of all the Rinnegan's secrets. He had tried to learn about it, immediately after the war. It was what led him to the Hidden Rain Village.

He had hoped to learn about Pain and his Rinnegan there, but he was disappointed to find that Pain had not kept any records of himself or his abilities. He knew of one other place that he could find answers, but he had been hoping to avoid that place for as long as he possibly could.

With his hands resting on either side of the sink, he lowered his head in thought, trying to make up his mind. Recently, he had been scouring the world for more information about his new eyes, but he could find nothing. All the roads led to one place, and it was Konoha.

In the main hall of the Naka Shrine, beneath the seventh tatami mat from the far right, was the Uchiha Clan's secret gathering spot. There lay the ancient stone tablet, which contained all the secrets of the Uchiha Clan, the Sharingan, the Tailed Beasts, and perhaps also the Rinnegan.

He looked into the mirror once more, in order to look at his eyes again. It was them that allowed him to beat Madara. Yet, he could not help but think that these eyes were capable of so much more. He had forsaken the role of shinobi for the past few years just to focus on these eyes, and though he had learned things on his own, he knew there was more.

As he lay back down on his bed, he reflected on the last few years of his life. The war had changed him. Of that, there was really no doubt. He had broken free of the Uchiha Clan's curse of revenge and hatred. But that didn't mean going back to Konoha would be easy.

The most painful memories there were the ones that involved his brother. After all, it was Konoha that made Itachi kill their clan. His brother had died in order to maintain peace and yet there was now more fighting than ever before.

And yet, he couldn't help but think that these new eyes were the key to bringing peace to the world. If it meant being able to fulfill his older brother's dream, then he would face the ghosts of his painful past.

He would return to Konoha to study the Uchiha Tablet, in order to bring peace to the world and to make Itachi's sacrifice worth it.

Well, what do you guys think? I know Sakura wasn't directly in the story or even mentioned, although she was hinted at. This was really just to set the stage for the story because I needed a good reason for Sasuke to return to Konoha. If you have any questions leave them in a review, which reminds me Review please! Seriously, review because that will definitely make me update faster! Until next time!