Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did then Orochimaru's plan would be a bit different...
The fight at the Valley of the End had ended as the rain washed away the blood spilled on the stones that day. Sasuke stood over the body of his defeated opponent with a look of coldness in his eyes, pondering whether or not he should do the deed that would supposedly bestow the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan onto him. All it would take was a quick kunai to Naruto's throat, and he would have to key to all the Uchiha clan's great powers.
Letting his damaged hitai-te fall to the ground besides Naruto, Sasuke felt a horrible pain course through his body from the backlash of his curse mark. Sasuke was now looking right at Naruto after being forced to his knees, the words of his older brother echoing through his head.
"There is a certain condition one must fulfill before they can access the Mangekyo Sharingan. They must kill their best friend."
Sasuke shook his head before growling in anger 'No! I won't listen to anything you have to say to me! I'm going to get that power and surpass you on my own terms!' Finding the strength to stand himself up straight, Sasuke took one lsat look in the direction of the home he was leaving behind, before continuing his journey to the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice. However, he didn't get very far before a familiar voice called out for him.
"I have to say Sasuke-kun, I knew you would take care of business quickly but not like this. You truly are a prodigy in every regard." Orochimaru said, surprising Sasuke with his new appearance of a bandaged face and curly white hair. Confusing the Uchiha even further was the fact that an old ally from the Chunin Exams was standing by him. This old ally was Kabuto Yakushi, who now took to wearing an Oto hitai-te
"What is he doing here? He's a genin from Konoha!" Sasuke objected to Kabuto's presence, who merely smirked and shrugged before approaching Sasuke.
Finding it necessary to explain, Orochimaru spoke again "Kabuto is my best spy and right hand man Sasuke-kun. I had him sent to the Chunin Exams specifically to check up on the progress of my target. And I have to say that while they were rather lacking at first, they've made astounding improvements as of late. So much show that I decided to pick them up ahead of schedule." Sasuke smirked at Orochimaru's thinly veiled praise of him, but inwardly felt there was something a bit off about the man's demeanor.
This suspicious feeling was almost entirely ignored once Orochimaru made his next announcement "In fact, I'm going to have Kabuto give you something that will indisputably change the course of your life from now on."
"Hold still Sasuke-kun. This might sting a little." Kabuto said politely as he approached Sasuke, who was visibly excited at the prospect of gaining even more power. Needless to say, he was not expecting Kabuto to stab him in the stomach, robbing him of what little energy he had left to stand and causing him to collapse to the ground. Sasuke's confusion quickly turned to fury however, when he heard Orochimaru's mocking laughter.
"Kukuku, I can't believe it was that easy to trick you Sasuke-kun! But then again, I've been doing it all this time so I really shouldn't find this so funny anymore."
"What the hell are you doing Orochimaru? I thought you were going to make me stronger!" Sasuke growled in rage as he desperately tried moving despite the lack of energy in his body.
"Not quite Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru said with an ever smug smile on his pale face "You were just like the rest of Konoha, a disposable pawn meant to help me seize my true objective. And you and that pink-haired slut of a teammate gift wrapped it for me."
"Wait...you mean all this time...you really wanted..." Sasuke slowly realized in horror, as he looked at the unconscious form of his teammate nearby.
Orochimaru smirked as Sasuke had his epiphany before pointing to Naruto and ordering Kabuto "Kabuto, could you please pick up the newest addition to Oto's shinobi so we can head back?"
"Certainly Orochimaru-sama. Of course, he won't be needing this anymore." Kabuto said before picking up Naruto and tearing his hitai-te from his forehead. He then threw it into the nearby river, causing it to go floating away to waters unknown.
"It's rather cute how you and Sakura played right into my hand Sasuke-kun. I knew that you would eventually give into temptation for more power, consequences be damned, and I knew Sakura would beg Naruto-kun here to bring you back like the pathetic little lapdog she is. It's rather amusing how the two supposedly smartest of their genin class were so easily fooled." Orochimaru mocked the downed Sasuke, who was getting visibly angrier with every word.
"SHUT UP! I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!"
Giving Sasuke an evil smile, Orochimaru walked over to the genin before giving a painful kick across his side "You've got some nerve you little worm. The only reason I'm even considering letting you leave is because of the slim chance that you may serve some benefit to my plans in the future. That is assuming I can't get ahold of Itachi. He probably would be the better choice for a potential body considering his Mangekyo Sharingan."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BODY?!...Body..wait, does that mean Naruto was..." Sasuke realized Naruto was telling the truth in his pleading.
"Wait he told you about that? And you didn't even believe him after everything you've been through?" Kabuto said in shock before bursting out into hysterical laughter "Well, at least now we know that you couldn't have possibly gotten the Mangekyo Sharingan if you actually went through with killing him...What are you doing?"
It was by this point that Sasuke had wriggled his way over to Kabuto and tried biting into his ankle, attempting to hinder his escape "I won't let you get away with this!" In response to this, Kabuto merely sneered before kicking the disgraced Uchiha even further away. After handing the unconscious Naruto over to Orochimaru, Kabuto walked over to Sasuke and held him up by his hair.
"Why are you acting like you even care what happens to him? You clearly had no problem betraying his trust by coming to us, and let's be honest you or Sakura never really treated him like and equal to begin with. 'We can't possibly trust the dobe to remember such an important codeword!', 'Thank you for saving me from Gaara, Sasuke-kun', 'We should totally ditch Naruto!'! You act like everything is sunshine and rainbows, but neither of you ever truly considered treating him like he was anything more than any annoyance. And that's why you wouldn't have received the Mangekyo Sharingan even if you had killed him, because you were never best friends to begin with!"
It was by this point that Sasuke was losing consciousness from a mixture of exhaustion and pain. With his eyes being harder and harder to keep open, Sasuke muttered silently to himself before fainting "...naruto..."
"Pakkun, will the rain wash away the scent?" Kakashi asked his summoned ninken dog, who seemed fairly confident as they leapt through the trees towards the location of Naruto and Sasuke's fated battle.
"We're close enough to where it wouldn't matter by this point, and I'm definitely getting some good scents near the Valley of the End!" Pakkun explained before he and his master leapt off the cliff marking the end of the tree-line and into the Valley.
On the edge of the waterfall lie an unconscious and beaten Sasuke, with his scratched headband and a purple scroll nearby. But to Kakashi's surprise, his other student that had been involved in the mission was nowhere to be found "Wait a minute, where's Naruto?"
"There's some faint scent of him around this place, but most of it's getting washed away. I think most of his scent is coming from that scroll over there." Pakkun gestured towards the scroll lying beside Sasuke's unconscious body. Feeling a sense of dread inside his body, Kakashi reluctantly picked up the scroll and began to read its contents.
Dear Kakashi,
I had a feeling you'd be the one to come pick up after this mess that I've made. And if you're reading this, it pleases me to tell you that you're far too late to change a thing. I've come exactly what I've come for. I admit that Sasuke-kun's sharingan are tempting, but they pale in comparison to the legacy of both the Yondaime Hokage and the Uzumaki clan, mixed with the power of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. A shinobi's greatest tool is deception after all, and making you all think I wanted Sasuke-kun is a clear example of that. All I had to do then was have Kabuto spy on Team 7 to learn their dynamic and behaviors. With that knowledge in mind, I made Sasuke-kun the offer after changing bodies so he would let his lust for revenge get in the way of his rational thought, so that Sakura would send Naruto-kun to bring him back. Then once my pawns had served my purpose and Naruto-kun was lured to my border, I'd strike and take him for my own. Of course, the Kyuubi would prevent me from taking him as a vessel, but that doesn't mean he can't be used as a weapon! I'm confident that after an especially strong Curse Mark and a bit of therapy, Naruto-kun will see things my way soon enough. And once he's ready, I'll send him after Itachi to be my next vessel, before we destroy Konoha together! But don't worry, I'll be a good mentor. Supportive, encouraging, everything you weren't! And in time, he might even make a good successor once I'm old and have had my fun with immortality. You failed this boy as a teacher and as a friend Kakashi, but I'll be sure to remedy that by the time you see him again.
-Orochimaru
By the time Kakashi had finished reading the message, the paper had torn from how tightly he'd gripped it. The masked jounin's brain was currently swirling in a mixture of emotions ranging from confusion, anger, but most of all guilt 'Naruto, I'm sorry I couldn't have come faster. No, I'm sorry I couldn't have been a better teacher to you and Sasuke.'
"They're probably past the Land of Fire's border now, and besides I've lost the gaki's scent." Pakkun said grimly said as he faced his summoner "So what do we do now Kakashi?"
"There's not much we can do anymore Pakkun. We just have to hope that whatever Orochimaru has in store for Naruto, he can resist his influence till we can save him." Kakashi said before picking up Sasuke who seemed to be slightly awake now "You've made quite a mess today Sasuke. I hope you're prepared for whatever punishment that's in store for you."
"where's...naruto...?" Sasuke croaked out.
"Orochimaru took him. I hope you're proud of yourself Sasuke, your selfish actions led to one of your comrades being captured by the enemy. I can only pray that Naruto can be saved now." Kakashi scolded his student, before making his way to the top of the cliff. Giving one last sad look in the direction of the Land of Rice, Kakashi began his journey back to Konoha bearing the sad news in the back of his mind. Had he turned around, he would have seen a monstrous looking man with a half white half black face, green hair, and a body that resembled a venus flytrap emerge from the ground wearing the cloak of the Akatsuki.
"So the Kyuubi Jinchuriki has fallen into the hands of Orochimaru? Things are about to get very interesting!"
In the end, the Sasuke Retrieval Mission ended in success. But for those involved, the success was all too much of a pyrrhic victory.
(A/N): Dark shit isn't it? I haven't seen many stories where the roles were reversed, so I decided to make one of my own! However, it should only be a one shot that I've written in what little spare time I've had lately. Now I've got more school work to do T_T
That is, unless you guys want me to do a full story. Unlike most of my one shots, I think this has potential to work as both a one shot or a full story. I'll be posting a poll to ask if you want me to make it a full story or if it should just stay a one shot. In the meantime, I'll be doing college. Enjoy the read and I'll see you next time. Or not. I get paid either way.
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