Kurenai heard the sound of an intense battle cry, the voice sounded familiar but she couldn't place it. If there was something going on in the village, it was her duty as a Jonin to take care of it. Running in the direction of the sound she sensed another presence and jumped up to a balcony that was near a very large tree. Sitting there was the number one rookie, Sasuke Uchiha.
The boy dubbed as the Last Uchiha despite his mother's survival.
The preteen looked up at Kurenai and she flinched at his gaze. As far as she knew, he was still recovering from a coma that he suffered from fighting his brother and injuries he sustained from the Nidaime Hokage's weapon. His eyes were baggy, he was clearly tired, but his gaze was awake, it was animalistic and had a sort of drive to it, a want.
"Sasuke, what are you doing out here, aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?" Asked Kurenai.
The boy didn't speak, not caring about some woman. He motioned to get up and walk but he was stopped by her hand, causing him to turn around and stare her down. This time it wasn't the typical onyx eyes she had usually seen on an Uchiha, it was the Sharingan. Despite all Sharingan looking alike, Sasuke's reminded her of his brothers.
She made the mistake of looking the child of the once great clan in the eyes and was instantly caught in a genjutsu. Despite being a genjutsu master herself, this one was far too elaborate to get out of easily. It would take minutes and God knows what Sasuke is planning if he put a fellow leaf shinobi under a genjutsu.
-X-
Sasuke slowly walked his way back to the Uchiha District. Seeing this place made him sick, knowing that his people all lie dead because he wasn't strong enough to save them. Every damn time it matters, he's always so fucking weak. Naruto is growing, he's growing stronger despite being a total loser who spends more time pranking than he does training.
He's lucky, that's it, yeah. Naruto's lucky to have Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki as his parents. He get's training from them, and on top of THAT, Jiraiya of the Sannin trains him.
Despite that there was no excuse, no excuse as to why an Uchiha, the child of the main house no less, should be falling behind some random kid of the Hokage who barely worked as hard as he did. He pushed himself to the limit every day, he wasn't just the number one rookie through talent, talent only get's you so far. Having the Sharingan was even harder, forcing him to adjust to being able to see things ahead of time.
And yet again there was no excuse, no excuse as to why an Uchiha, with the Sharingan should be losing.
Entering his home he turned on the lights and made his decision.
'Orochimaru's men said they'd be waiting for me outside the village's South Gate. If I leave now, I can get my training from Orochimaru, but if I don't I'll end up shackled to this village. In my curse-mark resides power I haven't even tapped into yet, with that and the training of a Sannin, I'll be strong enough to eliminate Itachi and revive my clan in peace.' Thought Sasuke.
It was time.
Sasuke sighed and walked into his mother's special room. She told him when he was little that it hid her stash of pepperoni; her favorite snack to eat. Sasuke knew better now, having been told the truth by her. Sasuke realized that there was a seal on it and went to go get a knife. When he returned he cut a small slit of blood on his arm and held it up to the seal and it was undone.
The room was dark, darker than any sort of darkness he had seen before. He activate his Sharingan that granted night-vision and walked through the room. The room was covered in words and at the very center lied a very large chest. The words weren't in the typical language everyone spoke, they were in the tribal Uchiha language that all Uchiha's learned at a young age.
It told a story, quite a tragic one about the secrets of the Uchiha and their celestial ancestry. Sasuke had gotten lost in the stories, realizing he had probably spent an hour reading them all. He sighed and focused, his purpose was to fight. He could read stories about his heritage later. Sasuke opened the chest, surprised that it didn't need a key.
Inside lied two pairs of clothes. One seemed like something his father wore, while the other was more feminine, clearly his mothers. His father's clothes entailed a light-grey, Uchiha high-collared, short-sleeved and zippered shirt. With the shirt was a pair of long blue Konoha Jonin pants. Sasuke smiled, having new memories of his parents.
Looking back in the chest he found a weapon, a Ninjato. On the hilt, the Uchiha symbol was emblazoned and the sword came along with a holster belt to carry it. Under the sword lied a letter.
'This blade is mine, I'm leaving it for you Sasuke. I don't know your future but I know that you are special, more special than any Uchiha has been for decades. This blade will resonate with you as my son. Hopefully, one day, you will come to know the truth. This sword is a Ninjato that was passed down through the generations since our clan was a small nomadic tribe. This weapon allows you to channel your fire chakra into the blade, turning it into something far more versatile and hot. Wield this weapon well, and never, ever, let anyone determine your fate. ' - Your loving mother, Mikoto Uchiha.
Sasuke silently thanked his mother and mentally asked her for forgiveness.
-X-
Sasuke left his home with his new weapon and clothes and made his way to the South Gate of the Village. Realizing he was being followed, he unsheathed his sword and stood his ground. He looked around but couldn't find anyone, but as he turned back to the front of him, there was Naruto and his siblings' mother, Uzumaki Kushina.
The woman followed him but he wasn't sure why.
Kushina slightly faltered at the sight of her best friends weapon in the hands of her young son.
"Sasuke, my husband hasn't assigned missions in hours, where are you going?" She asked.
Sasuke looked up at the moon, remembering a proverb in one of the stories in his mother's secret room. The Uchiha were ever strong during the night, due to their strong concentration of Yin DNA, and on a crescent moons night, they became far stronger. Unfortunately, tonight wasn't a crescent moon and caused Sasuke to return his gaze to the red haired woman before him.
Sasuke merely placed his hands in his pockets and kept walking, eventually passing the woman.
"I can't let you leave, I'm not sure where you're going but you can't just disappear without my husband knowing where you are." Said Kushina, turning to Sasuke.
She knew this day would come along with most villagers. Itachi no longer lived in the village and the only way to get revenge was through hunting his missing-nin brother. However, she also knew that Sasuke was possibly heading to Orochimaru, and it would be a disservice to her friend to let her son just take off to an evil man like Orochimaru.
"Sasuke, I understand how you feel." Said Kushina.
She had to tread lightly.
Sasuke stopped walking.
"How could you possibly understand?" Asked Sasuke. The voice wasn't accusatory, or even curious, just toneless, empty.
"There was once an Uzumaki clan a few decadees ago. My clan after yours was the most feared clan in the world because of our unnatural mastery of sealing techniques. Your clan hired us to make a few seals in the past as well. During the last Great War, before I met one of your cousins and your mother, my clan was destroyed by an alliance of Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri. I don't have a family anymore, a people to call my own. I may have a family of a husband and children but I'll never have my people back." Said Kushina.
Sasuke was still the entire time, listening to her words.
"I understand your want for revenge, but what will happen to you out there? The village doesn't welcome betrayers. Before you make a decision that I know I would make, you need to be certain that this is what you really want. You're under the protection of the village right now, but out there, anyone will try to kill you or kidnap you when they see how special you are." Kushina said.
She was right. Sasuke was uncertain but there was no time, no time for excuses or doubt. He could either do what needed to be done or he could never get his chance again.
"You are right, Lady Kushina. However I'm afraid I can't heed your warning. Your vengeance is that of one against many villages, while mine is against one man. I've no reason to back down, to waver. This is my destiny, it's in my blood, I am an avenger." Said Sasuke
Kushina was taken aback by Sasuke's small speech. He sounded so similar to Neji.
Sasuke kept walking, but Kushina couldn't respect Sasuke's wishes. He was all she had to remember her friend, and Obito.
Reaching for his shoulder was a mistake, because when he turned around he caught her in a genjutsu. As a Jinchuriki and an Uzumaki, genjutsu is the sole weakness of Kushina Uzumaki, which is why she could never topple her best friend Mikoto. Sasuke's genjutsu was elaborate and hard to get out of. It was playing with her mind.
She was in Uzushio again, with her childhood friends, playing and having fun. Her people were alive and well, and they were happy. For a second she thought that it would all fall apart but it didn't. Sasuke's genjutsu was far from harmful, but rather empathetic. He appreciated her kinship in his struggle and decided to place her under this genjutsu.
The right thing to do would be to try to escape it but this was something she dreamed of, and decided to let it take her as she passed out.
-X-
Kushina woke up, realizing she was in the hospital. The Genjutsu was over it would seem. She had hoped that the genjutsu would never end, it involved her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. She was happy, but now she had to return to the same reality Sasuke was in, the reality of not having a people. She wished she had that power, to bring on a dream world through a genjutsu like the Uchiha have.
Once her vision cleared she noticed Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Minato in front of her.
"Good, you're awake Kushina." Said Tsunade with a small smile.
"The Uchiha kid put you under a pretty weird genjutsu, your chakra refused to let you out of it. Just what kind of genjutsu was it?" Asked Tsunade.
It was a little embarrassing that Kushina was put under a genjutsu by a mere Genin but she was a Jinchuriki, it couldn't be helped.
"It was a pleasant one." Said Kushina.
"Just what do you mean by pleasant?" Asked Jiraiya, pulling out his notepad and pen with a ridiculous smile that always made Kushina laugh. She enjoyed Jiraiya's ability to make any situation funny by a mere dirty joke.
"Well regardless, I sent a team of shinobi after Sasuke. Comprising of mostly Genin; Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, and Neji." Said Minato.
"What do you mean Genin? Sasuke can handle most of them by himself not to mention the fact that Orochimaru might have sent people to protect Sasuke on the way to Rice Country." Said Kushina.
"In my opinion you should have sent Menma." Tsunade muttered.
"Just what kind of shinobi is this Sasuke?" Asked Jiraiya.
"As far as I know, he's not that special in comparison to his brother. All I know is that on his record he fought Orochimaru." Said Tsunade, folding her arms.
"He what?!" Yelled Jiraiya and Kushina in unison.
"Yes, my student Sakura told me that after Naruto bravely fought Orochimaru in the Forest Of Death, Sasuke then followed suit when Naruto was knocked unconscious. That's all I know about the kid." Said Tsunade.
Kushina had assumed that Sasuke got the mark by an ambush of sorts, but to know that her son and Sasuke fought a Sannin was surprising. Naruto had always been ignorant but brave, she imagined that Sasuke's more cautious nature made him more afraid to take on the Sannin.
The sound of the door to the hospital room opening revealed Kakashi with some papers.
"I have the files for the Bingo Book entry." Said Kakashi, sounding sad.
"Wait, we're putting Sasuke in the Bingo Book?!" Yelled Kushina.
"I'm afraid we have to hime, if we don't then how will someone know to bring him back? On top of that, he left the village, we can't allow traitors to go free regardless of how close we are to them or people they are related to." Said Minato.
Kushina heavily sighed and threw her head back into the bed. Why was everything so properly fucked? She hoped her son would be okay, she really did. She hoped Mikoto would react calmly to the news when she returned.
-X-
Sasuke finally arrived. It was the Valley Of The End, the marker on his map that meant he was at the border of Rice Country. Throwing the map aside he activated his curse-mark and kept walking.
"Sasuke!" Came a raspy teenage voice from the other side of the valley.
The young Uchiha turned around, and there he was...Naruto.
"What do you want?" Asked Sasuke.
It was quite obvious.
"You're coming back home, there isn't a damn way in hell I'm letting you take off. Mikoto-chan wouldn't want that.." Growled Naruto.
Sasuke had no response, he could hardly care less. His people deserved justice, and Naruto wasn't going to stop him.
"I don't want to go back." Muttered Sasuke and he decided to keep walking.
"I didn't ask Sasuke! Everyone risked their lives to come save you; Shikamaru, Chouji, Lee, Kiba, Akamaru, and Neji." Said Naruto.
Sasuke winced inside at the mention of Neji. Not everyone knew but Neji and Sasuke were very close friends. Sasuke hoped that his friend was alright, and prayed that he could be forgiven.
"You couldn't possibly understand my reasons for leaving, so just shut the hell up." Said Sasuke.
"I don't understand?! I've been neglected by my parents since day one. All of my siblings get all of the attention because they have a power I don't have! The only person that's ever cared about me was Mikoto-chan!" Yelled Naruto.
"And how is that even close to what I'm feeling?" Asked Sasuke.
Naruto decided to dodge that question.
"You don't even care about how your mother feels about this? What kind of bastard son are you to just abandon your mother like that!" Seethed Naruto.
Sasuke wasn't sure about what the relationship was between his mother and Naruto and didn't care. The thought was disgusting and revolting and it hardly needed to be on his mind.
"How nice of you, worrying about my mother. Fuck off, Naruto." Said Sasuke as he turned around and kept walking.
Sasuke's uncaring, flippant words hit Naruto hard emotionally, causing him to jump from the head of the Shodai Hokage all the way to the statue of an unknown shinobi. Sasuke turned around, but decided not to defend himself. He needed to test this power of Orochimaru's. Naruto tackled him and immediately formed a fist but it didn't faze Sasuke in the slightest.
He punched him.
Sasuke felt the blood, he could taste it, but the pain of the blow, the damage, it was completely absent. Sasuke withheld the urge to cackle at the idea of being absent-minded toward pain.
"Do you think I'm just going to let you go to Orochimaru? Cut that damn power off Sasuke, it's disgusting!" Yelled Naruto.
Naruto grabbed the Uchiha by his collar, yelling to his face.
"This is really it? Abandon everything just for revenge?" Asked Naruto.
Sasuke spat in the boy's face.
"Oh yeah, most definitely Naruto. Revenge has always been my goal. I used the village, I used everything, for revenge. I learned the way of the shinobi just for revenge. Every kunai I've thrown, every jutsu I've learned and performed has all been for revenge." Muttered Sasuke.
Sasuke's words disgusted Naruto, causing him to pound Sasuke in the face with more punches.
Sasuke had no visible response, making Naruto angrier.
"You really mean that? You used everything? You rotten peace of shit.." Said Naruto.
Sasuke grabbed his collar and laughed.
"Don't act all high-and-mighty, you've used everything to become Hokage. The only thing you care about is attention, you want to be what your father is but the reality is Naruto, that spot is for your brother. He's the clan-head, not you." Said Sasuke, knowing that he hit a nerve.
Naruto sent another punch but it was stopped. He pushed his fist but it wasn't getting any further. Sasuke grabbed Naruto by his own collar and lifted him up with one arm. Naruto was far too surprised by Sasuke's physical strength to even react in time. Sasuke dropped Naruto by an inch and punched him in the gut as hard as he could, causing Naruto to vomit.
Sasuke quickly dodged the green liquids and began to chuckle.
'If this is the power of the curse-mark, then I can only imagine how powerful I'll be once it's unsealed.' Thought Sasuke.
Naruto flew into the large lake that was behind the statues.
'Sasuke was never this strong before...it's that mark, it's giving him power.' Thought Naruto.
Naruto swam back to the surface of the lake and climbed back onto it, standing.
"Sasuke, you're making a huge mistake. Don't make me beat your ass and take you home!" Yelled Naruto.
Sasuke seethed, his teammate was always self-righteous and unable to see his own privileges and advantages in life. Sasuke wasn't one to talk entirely and he knew that, he was born good-looking, and was born into the most powerful clan on the face of the Earth. Regardless of who he was, Sasuke never tried to judge others without looking at himself first and that was something Naruto could never do.
Naruto ran, and jumped up to meet Sasuke but Sasuke had already leaped down as well. Naruto sent a wild punch but Sasuke dodged it, sending a strong kick to Naruto's jaw. Sasuke immediately grabbed Naruto's kunai pouch and landed on one of the fingers of the statue.
Things were going amazingly well, better than expected for Sasuke.
A few moments passed by before Naruto re-emerged and took a shuriken out from his holster and threw it at Sasuke. Naruto's aim was never well and Sasuke dodged it with pure ease. Sasuke then threw a kunai at Naruto that moved at insane speeds, forcing the blond to hide behind a rock. Sasuke leaped into the air and threw one kunai, and then threw another, knocking the first one down toward Naruto's head.
The kunai luckily bounced off of his forehead protector.
Naruto was breathing slightly hard. What made this fight different from the others? He fought Orochimaru, he defeated Rokusho Aoi, he defeated Gaara. He beat everyone Sasuke failed to beat and yet facing Sasuke himself seemed far more difficult.
After building up some anger, Naruto jumped from behind the stone and charged at Sasuke. Sasuke saw through this and immediately threw kunai and shuriken with wires attached to them, holding Naruto to the rock.
Naruto began to laugh.
"Sasuke if you follow through with this there's no telling what I'm gonna do to you." Said Naruto.
Sasuke ignored the warning and began to weave signs.
'Fire Style : Dragon Flame Jutsu'
The fire came instantaneously and burned his friend. Sasuke knew that attack wouldn't kill his friend but it would cause some burns. Out of the fire came Naruto, yelling as he tried to punch Sasuke but failed. Sasuke grabbed Naruto from his rear collar and threw him down to the ground beneath the statue. Meeting him in the air, Sasuke sent multiple kicks into Naruto's abdomen, causing him to crash into the ground.
Sasuke landed and threw the kunai pouch back to Naruto.
-X-
The Namikaze family along with the two Sannin were in the IT room, staring into the marble sphere every Hokage used to track members of the village outside the village. Tracking Sasuke's chakra was an impossibility, because something was stopping them. Kushina guessed that because of how dark and twisted it is, the sphere couldn't channel it. Her sensory skills were reliable as an Uzumaki.
However, her son Naruto's chakra was easy to find. The fight wasn't going well for them, Naruto was losing. If only she had been able to train him like she wanted to, but Jiraiya and Minato insisted that training the others was far more important. Not even Sasuke had received proper training, his mother instantly came out of duty and decided not to train her son.
How Sasuke had all of these abilities and taijutsu skills was beyond her.
The others were staring into the ball, watching the fight.
-X-
Naruto was charging Sasuke with as many clones as he could. Sasuke hadn't even activated his Sharingan yet and this fight was still a difficulty. Naruto didn't understand, why was this fight so difficult? Sasuke defeated every single clone with ease.
"What's wrong with you? You defeated every shinobi I failed to beat and yet you still can't beat me." Sasuke muttered.
Naruto charged Sasuke and they got into an intense taijutsu battle. They were both taking an equal amount of hits but damn did Sasuke's hits hurt. One kick sent Naruto flying and Sasuke took advantage of his opportunity.
'Fire Style : Fire Ball Jutsu!'
The Fire Ball was massive, consuming Naruto and the forest around them.
-X-
Mikoto, returning from an important mission felt as though something was wrong. Something was tugging at her and it all had to do with Sasuke for some reason.
She hoped he, and especially Naruto was alright.
-X-
Naruto was struggling against Sasuke. He was being knocked around and beaten. Now Sasuke was firing up a chidori on that waterfall. Naruto created a Rasengan in response. Sasuke took a suicide dive from the stone he was standing on in the waterfall and landed in the water, causing a massive splash of water.
The two boys charged each other with their attacks and clashed, causing a massive explosion of chakra. Both boys were sent flying backwards by the force of the explosion.
Sasuke managed to stay afloat while Naruto sunk. Realizing where he was, Sasuke looked around for Naruto but stopped once Naruto resurfaced. Now was his chance. Sasuke began weaving signs.
'Fire Style : Mystical Flower Flame Technique'
Naruto dodged the small fireballs but was caught off guard when Sasuke out of blinding speed, plunged a purple chidori through his right shoulder. The two boys crashed into the water, blood adulterating it, turning a small portion of it red. Sasuke's smirk of insanity was a clear sign that he was serious about revenge and that no one could stop him.
Naruto felt his arm going numb. Realistically speaking, he had basically just lost his right arm, never to use it again. Sasuke grabbed his throat with his right hand and squeezed it, crushing the bones therein. Sasuke whispered something inaudible and then decided to thrust the chidori into Naruto's heart.
The attack was stopped.
Naruto tapped into the chakra of the Nine-Tails, refusing to lose this fight. He clenched Sasuke's arm with his own and dug his nails into it. Sasuke's curse-mark then receded and he pulled his arm away from Naruto's. Sasuke was shocked when the wound on Naruto's shoulder was healed and he was finally able to properly speak.
"Sasuke! I swear I'm going to break every bone in your body!" Yelled Naruto, while charging at Sasuke.
They engaged in taijutsu which was completely one-sided in Naruto's favor. Whatever power Naruto had was making him so fast that Sasuke's currently active Sharingan couldn't even read his movements. Kicked into the water Sasuke lied on his back as Naruto was in the air over him. Sasuke panicked and began weaving signs.
'Fire Style : Dragon Flame Bomb'
From Sasuke's mouth emerged four massive, flaming, dragons that Naruto simply charged through. The Fire severely burned through his clothes and landed some marks on his body but they were quickly healed by the Nine-Tails. Naruto landed on Sasuke, pushing him into the water. Naruto began swimming faster than any fish in the water, striking Sasuke left and right.
Sasuke emerged from the water and decided to run onto one of the walls of the valley.
Naruto followed suit and began weaving signs.
'Water Style : Water Shark Bomb Jutsu'
A massive shark came toward Sasuke.
Using his second to last chidori, Sasuke slammed it into the water technique which channeled back to Naruto as a current of lightning, shocking the blond shinobi.
'Even when backed into a corner, you're still crafty.' Thought Naruto.
Sasuke made a quick counter attack.
'Water Style : Water Dragon Jutsu'
Water dragons emerged from beneath Naruto and began attacking him. The water was insanely dense and cold, enough to knock the wind out of him completely. How Sasuke even knew that technique was beyond him. Sasuke was back on the offensive with his curse-mark in gear, matching Naruto blow for blow and even getting a few hits in.
Naruto caught Sasuke's left arm and swung him right back into one of the cliff wall's of the valley and quickly appeared right in front of him with his arm to Sasuke's neck.
"Snap out of this already you spoiled prick! You can't get everything you want!" Yelled Naruto.
Sasuke's Sharingan met Naruto's ocean blue eyes.
"What do you know you bastard! My father is dead, my brother is a mass murderer, and my mother is distant from me, refusing to help me or do anything for me but yet somehow, she's grown to have a connection with YOU! You're not even family and yet you get the full attention of my only relative that I have with me! You're the son of a Kage and the trainee of a Sannin yet you want to talk about being spoiled?!" Yelled Sasuke, grabbing Naruto by his collar.
"At least you have someone who cares Sasuke!" Yelled Naruto in return.
"Who, my mother?! Everything about me has been done on my own, I feed myself, I clothe myself, I train myself! Everything I do is done for myself and her, by me! Everything I've done in this fight has been through my own hard-work!" Yelled Sasuke, shoving Naruto off of him, causing them to both fall off of the cliff.
They both summoned substitution logs.
"Regardless of how you might feel Sasuke, you need to consider everyone elses feelings before your own. They come first." Said Naruto.
Sasuke truly did love his mother, but he doubted that she felt the same way. Everyone loved Itachi over him, but once things became shaky with his older brother, the attention was shifted to him. He was nothing more than a fail-safe for his brother, and he knew it. Now that their family is gone, Sasuke's mother has still found another person to put above her own son.
Sasuke couldn't turn back, he couldn't turn back to something like that. He loved her, but just...couldn't.
Sasuke's two-tomoed Sharingan began to spin as a third emerged within his eyes.
-X-
The fight was finally over. They clashed with their strongest techniques, under their best transformations, but with the Sharingan and a well placed strike, Sasuke emerged victorious. Due to one of his Fire Jutsu's, the sky became dark and God ray's were shining on the two boys. One final God ray was left that shined directly on the two boys before dissipating.
Sasuke looked down at the blond and had nothing to say. He felt nothing for Naruto. It's now a new beginning for everyone and he has no reason to be sour in the face of victory.
Looking at his waist he realized he hadn't even used his mothers' weapon. Taking the belt off, he left it with Naruto and left the valley when it began to rain.
-X-
Mikoto sensed a foul chakra that felt a lot like her son's. It was blocking out another foul chakra which she recognized very well. It was the Kyuubi's chakra. How her own son had a chakra even darker and far more evil than the Nine-Tails was beyond her imagination.
Ahead of her was the final valley and around it was a forest that was on fire. She ran as fast as she could to the location.
-X-
The scene was finally over. Naruto was unconscious, and the fight was over.
The people in the room were shocked. Naruto actually had the Kyuubi's chakra and on top of that revelation, Sasuke had beaten him. The fight was far different from what they were expecting. Kushina had never trained Naruto, but left Naruto's training to Jiraiya but Sasuke's mother said she refused to train Sasuke because she knew he would use the power for revenge.
Somehow, her son managed to learn a plethora of techniques, even Kakashi's chidori which she didn't remember Sasuke ever learning. However, she was disappointed that Sasuke would be so aggressive with Naruto but it was to be expected, Naruto initiated the fight.
"How did the brat lose? He had the power of the Nine-Tails!" Remarked Tsunade.
Jiraiya sighed, realizing the reality.
"Do you know something, Jiraiya-sensei?" Asked Minato.
"Naruto, along with his siblings have gotten far too accustomed to just throwing a bunch of high-level techniques at their opponents and quickly wrapping up fights. The problem with Sasuke is the fact that he can't do that, he's had to fight normally like every other shinobi and it's increased his skill level in comparison to your kids. Now when you couple Sasuke's battle experience with his Sharingan, it puts Naruto at a disadvantage regardless of the Nine-Tails' power." Explained Jiraiya.
"How do we fix that? They have to be ready to use the Nine-tails power to fight the Akatsuki don't they?" Asked Minato.
"The reality is there is no way to fix it right now. You should be glad that there are only three Sharingan users alive right now, and two have no interest in the Tailed Beasts. As long as the siblings aren't separated, it should be hard for Itachi to handle them all at once with Kyuubi's chakra." Explained Jiraiya.
A silence of understanding invaded the room.
"On top of that.." Jiraiya added.
"What is it?" Asked Kushina.
"Naruto hasn't had any proper training at all. His way of fighting was terrible in that fight, it gave Sasuke multiple chances to end his life. Had we been correct all along about Naruto lacking the Nine-Tails' power, he'd be dead at that Final Valley right now. I don't know what possessed you all to forget Naruto's training, but we can't ignore how sloppy his taijutsu was during that fight. I thought that teaching him the Rasengan was enough, because I assumed you all had been training him all of this time. Basically speaking, your son should be dead." Jiraiya said.
Jiraiya's words stung, he had never been the type to be that blunt but Naruto's parents realized how true his words were.
"Hopefully, when Kakashi returns with Naruto, we can figure out how to recover on all of his lost time that he should have spent training. I'll take him for three years time, and train him. I'll leave the training of the others to you guys." Said Jiraiya.
"Three years? Jiraiya that's quite a while." Said Tsunade.
"Three years is enough time, it's when Akatsuki starts it's move." Answered Jiraiya.
-X-
Mikoto emerged from the forest and landed at the platform of rock beneath the Shodai. Kakashi was already there with Pakkun, with Naruto in his arms.
"Mikoto-san?" Kakashi asked in surprise.
"Yes, it's me. What happened here? Was Sasuke here?" Asked Mikoto.
"Yeah, he was here. Naruto and Sasuke fought." Replied Kakashi.
Mikoto looked at Naruto's sleeping form. There was a hole in the right shoulder area of his jacket, and the rest of his clothes were burned up and torn.
"What happened to him?" She asked.
"Sasuke used the chidori on Naruto, and he used a lot of Fire Techniques as well. As far as I know, I had never taught Sasuke my technique and he always told me that you never trained him. How he knew any elemental ninjutsu is beyond me."
Mikoto was furious that her son would do something like this. Abandon the village and then try to kill his own friend. But then again, when she thought about it...she hardly knew her son. When he was a toddler he was her whole world, when her older son and her husband became more focused on their work, Sasuke was always there, offering to help with dishes and reading with her. He had even picked up on her habit of eating pepperoni snacks.
Soon, the relationship between the clan and the village became shaky and she herself became the distant one, leaving Sasuke in a house full of people he hardly knew but were related to.
As a shinobi she knew she shouldn't cry, but the thought of hardly knowing her son scared her into tears. Fugaku would be disappointed in her. She had gotten so close to Kushina's son Naruto, that she forgot about her own flesh and blood that was always in the house, checking on her. Whenever she saw Sasuke it was like looking in a mirror and yet she hardly knew someone that was so close to her.
Somehow, she was proud though, proud that despite the difficulties, Sasuke managed to come this far on his own. But now, she had to stop him, stop him from getting to Orochimaru.
"Where are you going?" Asked Kakashi.
"I'm going to look for my son, you can take Naruto back to the village." Replied Mikoto.
Before she could leave, Kakashi had thrown a belt with a blade at her. She caught it and realized it was her sword. Somehow, Sasuke had gotten a hold of it.
"Sasuke had it but didn't use it." Said Pakkun.
She thanked the two and left in pursuit of her son.
Both shinobi missed another person, hiding in the trees with an orange flaming mask.
-X-
As Sasuke was walking, he was still stuck in his Curse mark stage two, unable to return to his normal form for some time. He would be flying to Orochimaru by now, but he was far too tired and injured to run or fly.
In front of him formed a vortex and a person emerged from it. It was a masked man with a robe.
"Uchiha Sasuke, it's nice to finally meet you." Said the masked shinobi.
-X-
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