Following the Snake
Opening Note:
Welcome everyone! This story focuses on what happens to Sasuke, Kabuto and Orochimaru between parts one and two of Naruto. I find all of these characters to be quite interesting, so I hope you will like these stories that I write about them. Also, note that I do not own any part of Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei. Now, enjoy!
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Chapter 1: Summoning
The dim lights flickered shadows against the beige stone walls. The cool damp air circulated slowly within the large room. The older teen stood tall and erect on the far side of the room, preparing for what was to come. He was a highly skilled medical ninja and could manipulate chakra flawlessly. A soft humming sound echoed around the empty space as he gathered the lightning like material into his hands forming scalpels of chakra. The space around him let off a gentle blue glow that eventually melded into the darkness of the rest of the room. The light danced on his expressionless face and shone off of his rounded glasses as his hands rose in a battle stance. His eyes were fixed intently on the opposite side of the room where yet another young ninja stood. His red eyes pierced through the darkness. Upon them, black teardrop shapes hung around circles surrounding his pupils. His face lacked emotion, but his powerful widened eyes gave him such a menacing look. He grasped one wrist with the opposite hand and pumped chakra into it. Unlike the smooth uniform chakra blades, his chakra sat as a tangle of sparks in his hand. The chakra flowed organically and let off a chirping sound. The blue light it emulated shone on the teen's shiny and spiked black hair. After inspecting the material in his hand for a minute, he began to charge across the room "Chidori!"
As he ran, air rippling against his white robe, he showed neither fear nor hesitation. There was no need for that. This scene had played out countless times before. His master always gave him training lessons in private after which he would seek out the med ninja for a sparring match. Training was always the highlight of his day. Becoming stronger was what he strove for. It was for this that he had given up his previous way of living. He was an ex ninja of Konoha after he left the village to join the S class criminal, Orochimaru, almost a year earlier. The raven haired ninja knew this man had the power to make him more powerful. To acquire this strength was his top priority because it was the only way that he could fulfill his goal in life. His goal was to kill his brother who had caused him so much pain. He wanted to avenge his entire clan who had been slaughtered. He also wanted revenge against the man who committed the deed and who had left him the only survivor; left to face the torture that was loneliness. His ambition gave him purpose in life; a reason to keep on living. He held onto this goal tightly as it gave purpose to his life. His goal was always with him, even as the bottoms of his shoes against the cold stone floor echoed throughout the high ceiling of the room.
The medical ninja watched carefully on the opposite side of the room. He made a few sidesteps to rid the other ninja of the advantage of extra speed with a straight shot. However it was not as if the sharingan teen lacked in speed without the extra boost. The medic would have preferred to be in his lab researching instead of fighting, but it was his master's order to help the younger ninja with his training. He had him do this because the leader of the sound village was often very busy with other duties, not having time for training every day. Also, Orochimaru was very cautious when it came to his precious sharingan holder Sasuke Uchiha. Even though the snake lord placed curse marks on his pawns to keep them in his control, he was still wary and had Sasuke spar only with his medic, Kabuto, the only subordinate that he truly trusted. The snake lord was sure that there were many subordinates of his that despised Sasuke and would like to kill him if they were given the chance. In addition, he knew the young mednin to be his strongest asset and as the red eyed boy grew stronger, he would tire fighting anyone but the strongest. The Sannin was careful when it came to Sasuke because he was a vital piece to his plan.
His plan was to live forever, to learn and master every technique to become the most powerful ninja of all time. Then he would have the strength to destroy his old village, Konoha, as well. He would not stop there. He would also have the power to control the entire world. However, to fulfill his plan he needed a young body to replace his own. Even though his soul could live on forever, bodies did not. He had already transferred himself into a younger vessel, but he wanted one that was stronger. The Uchiha was perfect for his purposes as he carried the clan's bloodline limit, the sharingan, giving him the ability and potential for copying opponent's techniques as well as using various genjutsu techniques. Because of his great importance, the snake lord entrusted the young sharingan warrior to Kabuto only. There was no room for any more mistakes. His master's wishes stood in his mind as the ninja clad in purple watched the younger teen close in on him. At the very last second, the medic used the earth style release technique to plunge himself underground. He lifted his arms up with the intention of snagging the black haired boy's legs with the chakra scalpels. Even though the mednin had timed the attack perfectly, the sharingan could pick up the attack fast enough for Sasuke to dodge it.
The ninja with silver hair emerged from the ground to attack the other ninja in the arm while the Uchiha predicted the move and spun around for an attack with chidori. Kabuto was able to land his attack on the younger teen's arm, but not before his shirt was partially singed by the chidori. He quickly jumped back to keep the tangle of chakra in the boy's hand from burning his chest. Meanwhile, the red eyed ninja also jumped back as the attack from the chakra scalpel weakened the muscles in his arm and hindered the chakra flow within it. After a few seconds, his clump of electric-like chakra fizzled out. The distance between the two ninja was only a couple of meters and each ninja could see the other clearly in the still rather dark room. The medic could feel the intensity of the younger ninja's eyes. They were eyes full of determination; eyes made to strike fear into ones enemies. They reminded him of the snake lord's eyes. It made sense since Sasuke was his apprentice.
Looking into those eyes reminded the medical ninja of when he had first joined with the Sannin. The ninja with the glasses had been discarded by the village he served. He was a spy with no past and had no idea of who he really was. What little he had built during his time in Konoha was destroyed. Even that was not much as the different faces he constantly wore and changed as a spy made him even more confused of who he was. Left for nothing, he joined Orochimaru. His goal was to have his existence acknowledged. He struggled to find out and build who he really was inside; not the person wandering with no real identity, a spy who always changes who he is. To create his existence, he looked to the snake lord who created his existence by the gaining of knowledge and power. The key was adding to himself. Kabuto used this as his example for confirming his existence. That was why conducting his experiments and improving his medical techniques was so important to him. Because he just wanted to know who he was. He would always strive to build himself up. With his goal tucked deep within him, the mednin raised his arms once again, this time preparing for close combat.
Sasuke produced a katana from the rope tied around his waist which served as a belt. Sword style was the technique he had that was perfect for close combat. The blade was thin and the shiny clean metal gleamed in the darkness. The two ninja engaged in battle, each throwing attacks while blocking the blows from the other ninja. The blade of the sword clashed against the blade of chakra. Their movements were quick and they reacted perfectly to each other's movements. Concentration was written on each of their faces.
Their faces were stern, but they did not wear an expression filled with annoyance which they would always wear when they had first become associates. They used to loathe each other. Kabuto hated the young sharingan ninja's bratty attitude and the way he disrespected his master. Sasuke found Kabuto to be an annoyance and a hindrance to him becoming stronger. He also just saw the mednin as Orochimaru's pet. Over time things changed a bit. They went on missions and trained together. They were not friends. However, they did tolerate each other although they would never admit it. Perhaps the reason for this was that even though they were different from each other and had different goals, they each still pursued their goals relentlessly. They both shared that common determination and to follow their goals both had to follow the snake.
The boy with the spiked black hair backed away from the clash as sweat began to form on both of the ninja's faces. The younger teen closed his eyes for just one second and then took in a deep breath to focus himself. He then bit his thumb causing blood to slowly trickle from the wound. The ninja with rounded glasses stood back with an amused smirk on his face. He would let the other ninja go on with his technique and was curious about how it would turn out. The Uchiha wiped the blood from his thumb onto the palm of his other hand. He then began to form various hand signs: boar, dog, monkey, bird, and sheep. The ninja with the silver ponytail watched carefully as the other ninja formed all of the seals correctly. Once he was finished, the younger ninja slammed his bloody palm onto the ground.
There was a poof of smoke and both shinobi stared in shock as to what appeared in front of them once the small cloud dispersed. Before them was a creature that was long and thin. It was flexible and its body was positioned in the shape of an 's'. Its dark body was covered in slimy scales and its black eyes glistened with moisture. Pointed teeth could be seen as it exposed its slender pink tongue. However, the creature that sat before them was not one that would stir fear in those who beheld its presence. The snake was no more than ten centimeters in length. The shinobi looked in shock for a few moments as the serpent in turn gave them a look of confusion. It lied still, feeling out of place with the stares it received.
"Well Sasuke-kun" the medical ninja finally broke the silence "there are situations in which this kind of snake would be useful. An infiltration is a good example. It is small and unnoticed by the enemy. Assassinations as well because it is sly and deadly" He paused for a moment. "However, this snake here would not be appropriate for the current situation. Also notice its coloring. It's not even poisonous. You need a snake that is larger for a battle situation which means you need to put more chakra into your summoning" Once he had finished speaking his thoughts of Sasuke's performance, Kabuto noticed the younger ninja glare at him with his piercing red eyes. The ninja furrowed his black eyebrows, annoyed.
"I know what I'm doing. I don't need to be lectured by you" the Uchiha growled. "Orochimaru just taught me this technique today. I still need to experiment with it more. Summoning is not all about putting in as much chakra as you can because you have to use the right amount of chakra to summon the right snake depending on the situation. Of course I do not want to summon a puny snake, but I also can't just summon a giant one". He gestured to the underground room that they were in. "It is just not right for this area." The medic was relieved that the other ninja knew the premise for what he was supposed to do. But then he let out a small grin as he understood what the younger shinobi was referring to "You mean that you do not want to summon Manda" the silver haired ninja remarked.
The mention of the giant snake reminded Sasuke of earlier that day. It was one of the days where Orochimaru would train him and teach him new techniques. The snake lord was often busy with the various duties he had in order to run the sound village and move closer to his goal. Training days were not as often as Sasuke would have liked, but when those days did come along he was always eager. Getting stronger would push him closer to his own goal. He was eager to learn more techniques and skills; however he would never show this satisfaction to Orochimaru and instead would give him his cold stern face that he would usually wear. The day's lesson was on summoning. And as the sannin's specialty, Sasuke had to learn to summon snakes. The snake lord let Sasuke know that summoning was an important technique and the snakes summoned were ninja tools that could be used in many ways. If it was not already obvious that the Sannin was amused by snakes, it was definitely clear after his short speech. The first step to being able to summon was to make a blood contract with the animal that one wishes to summon. The snake lord had presented him with the scroll in which he had then pressed his blood upon.
Orochimaru had then brought him to the lair of snakes and showed him the different snakes that were available to be summoned. He saw many snakes small and large. The largest was Manta. He was obviously the leader and head snake. The snake's skin was purple with thin black stripes. His eyes were a piercing emerald. He gave Sasuke a deriding look and then turned to the sannin and scowled "Why are you bringing me another brat?" The snake did not seem very friendly in the first place and his size could intimidate anyone, and from the way he spoke, Sasuke could see that his personality matched his appearance perfectly. Then the raven haired teen started to think about what the snake had actually said. 'Another brat' a mischievous grin appeared on his face as he thought of a younger Kabuto in his situation, being belittled by a snake. "For bothering me with such insignificant matters, I expect some sacrifices you know" the large snake continued. The little smirk was erased from the boy's face as he was reminded that this was not some kind of joke and that this snake was truly dangerous. However, dangerous could be used to his advantage. The snake could be his weapon. He would just have to use it at the right time.
The sound of the mednin's voice grabbed the Uchiha's thoughts away from the flashback "Manda is very moody and it is troublesome to summon him unless it is absolutely necessary" The sharingan ninja met the eyes covered with glasses "You don't need to tell me things that I already know" The two ninja's eyes met and it was clear that both were a bit annoyed with the other. "Yeah, Manda nii-chan can be pretty scary sometimes but I don't think he really is" piped up an innocent and cheerful voice that belonged to the tiny serpent on the floor. Kabuto looked carefully at the snake trying to remember if he had seen it before. He had met so many snakes during his time with Orochimaru it was not easy to remember all of them. "Kabuto nii-chan, do I get to go on a mission with you? All of the other snakes get to have important jobs but I never to get to anything. It's not fair!" the tiny snake whined.
'Of course, how could I forget such an annoying and useless snake' the medic thought to himself. Also, there was only one snake that was stupid enough to dare disrespect pretty much every dangerous person and being by referring to them as 'nii-chan'. "Yamato-kun, you know very well that you are too young for that, but once you grow some more then you will be able to, alright?" The small snake looked disappointed at Kabuto's explanation, but did not bother to argue with him. As stubborn as the serpent was, he knew that he would not have his way with the mednin.
The silver haired ninja then turned his attention to the other shinobi. "Alright Sasuke-kun, I will let you practice with the amounts of chakra and then we can finish when you are ready" The boy with the raven hair watched as the medic started to stride out of the room. Then he stopped abruptly stopped and whirled around as pawn of Orochimaru appeared at the other entrance on the opposite side of the room. The man standing in the doorway looked a little nervous as he bowed before the two ninja "Kabuto-san. Sasuke-san. Orochimaru-sama wishes to see the both of you in his room". The mednin and Uchiha glanced at each other. Both were a bit disappointed. One wanted to finally get back to his lab work while the other just wanted to practice summoning. However, both headed promptly to the Sannin because when it came to Orochimaru's orders there was no other option.
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Closing Note:
This is my first fic, so thank you all for reading. Please review, comment, love, etc. And while you are waiting for the next chapter to come out, here is something for you to think about: who is better, Sasuke or Kabuto and why? Well, I will see you next chapter and thanks again ^.^
