If you ask any villager in Konoha village to describe Naruto Uzumaki they'd probably all sneer before describing his stupidity, his unhealthy obsession with ramen, his obnoxious choice in clothing and his intolerable habit of always smiling and being happy when people clearly hated the boy, now whether or not that smile was true is a different story. And sure, maybe Naruto did look rather impish and mischievous with his devilish smile, the 3 whiskered scars adorning each cheek, blonde unmanageable hair that spiked off in every direction and blue eyes that were said to express his every emotion... or so everyone thought. In truth, very, very few people knew the real Naruto Uzumaki.
Sasuke Uchiha crept down the dark hallway in the cave of Orochimaru's hideout, the dimmed torches only given him the barest view of the twists and turns. He didn't want to waste any chakra on his sharingan, that would be crucial for later, for when he escaped. It had been one year since he'd fought Naruto, leaving behind his biggest rival...and his best friend. As soon as he'd arrived at the Sound with Orochimaru and Kabuto, he knew he had made a mistake in leaving the Leaf, but his pride had kept him there, that, and his resolve on his revenge to kill the murderer of his entire clan, his elder brother Itachi Uchiha. How could he face his comrades and sensei's and admit that he'd made the biggest mistake in his life for power? Sure, the raven had grown stronger, but he had lost a lot along the way. He had turned into a stoic, emotionless, tool that killed when was told to kill without batting an eye, who obeyed without question and committed some truly horrible acts. Sasuke had learned very early on to shut off his emotions, nothing and no one could rile out a response from the powerful but broken teen.. So then why was Sasuke risking his life in the dead of the night searching for Orochimaru's chambers? Why was he about to kill the man who gave him power and the place where he had so much to lose and return to the village where he had nothing to return to? Sasuke had been asking himself these questions for the past few weeks, not able to find an answer.
It had started when he was sent on an assassination mission given to him by Orochimaru, it was supposed to be simple, a man who stumbled across some information that he shouldn't have needed to be silenced.
The night before he had been in his room, sharpening his sword when Kabuto had entered. Kabuto never approached Sasuke, although he envied and despised the raven for being Orochimaru's favourite, the white haired bespectacled boy feared the Uchiha. So it was with much surprise to Sasuke when Kabuto told him he was wanted by Orochimaru. "He's in the training room" Kabuto said, envy clear in his eyes. "He probably just wants someone to take out the trash" he added ,while smirking condescendingly at Sasuke's retreating back. With the usual cool composure bestowed upon Uchiha's, Sasuke replied "Well now Kabuto, we both know that he leaves the mundane house chores for you". Indignant, Kabuto started to retort but the Uchiha was far gone, disappearing down the hall that lead to the training room.
Sasuke reached the doorway, the training room was pitch black. He doubted that Kabuto was tricking him, even he wasn't that stupid. The raven didn't sense any other chakra, but he didn't let that fool him. After living with Orochimaru for over a year he knew that snakes were only seen when they wanted to be seen. No sooner had he taken one step into the room, a kunai flew right at his face. Now if he hadn't been an incredibly talented ninja, and Sasuke Uchiha definitely qualified, he wouldn't have been able to gracefully dodge the sharp weapon. More so, he wouldn't have been able to counter a split second later and he definitely wouldn't have made a member of the Legendary Sannin grunt in pain as Sasuke's own kunai grazed Orochimaru's cheek.
The torches surrounding the inner walls of the training room turned on revealing Sasuke expressionlessly looking back at Orochimaru who in turn used his revoltingly long tongue to lick the line of blood that had appeared on his cheek. His slimy voice resonating in the hollow chamber, "oh how you never fail to disappoint me, Sasuke-kun." Grinning, Orochimaru gestured towards a table which had several files and folders spread out on it. So this is a briefing, Sasuke concluded, why did Kab- "You're probably wondering why I had Kabuto fetch you aren't you?" Orochimaru grinned. Noticing Sasuke's ever-present emotionless mask he frowned. "Now, now Sasuke-kun. I miss the days when you used to get angry at me. Oh how I loved the hatred that burned within those beautiful dark eyes."And it was true, at first Sasuke had rebelled against the snake-man, and he had made his repulsion for him clear. But that was then, things were different now. "Just between us two Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru said sitting down at the table, "I just want to see that pretty face contorted with hatred once more." Getting to business, accepting that ,indeed, he wouldn't see an angry raven today, Orochimaru started talking. "Tamaki Yoshi, a spy from the Sand happened to come across one of my old laboratories... It seems there was a scroll there with a forbidden jutsu I came up with that doesn't belong in the hands of such an unworthy ninja."
Sasuke, used to this sort of thing asked, "When and where?"
" You've become so cold-hearted," he cackled, " he lives right near the northern border that separates sound from sand, my Intel has informed me that he will be crossing the border tomorrow at noon to inform his superiors. I'm sure you know this by now Sasuke, but he can't make it there."
"Hn."
"And Sasuke?"
"Hn."
"I hope you like children.
I hope you like children, I bet Orochimaru thought he was so clever. Sasuke wiped the blood off of his sword. He really did hate killing children, but an order was an order. And it wasn't like he did it inhumanely. The whole Yoshi family was a threat and needed to be silenced, whether the children knew what their father did was not his problem. The mission had gone flawlessly; Sasuke had left at dawn, made good time running in the forest and was hiding in the trees around Tamaki's house 4 hours before he was due to leave. Tamaki proved no challenge against Sasuke, being immediately at the mercy of his genjutsu. His wife and two children following suit. He had found the "hidden" scroll easily enough by taking a quick scan of the house with his sharingan he retrieved it from a wooden box. It wasn't until he began to head back to Orochimaru's lair did he begin to feel that something was off. He sensed a familiar chakra dart in and out of his range, just barely. He followed the traces back to an old oak a few miles from Orochimaru's. Laying atop of the green moss was a scroll with a seal that he had abandoned long ago. He scanned his surroundings, what ever chakra he had sensed earlier was long gone. Not sensing any traps or jutsus on the scroll he opened to find that it was not a scroll, but a letter.
Uchiha,
Yes, I ,Tsunade the Fifth Hokage, am writing to you. I'm sure there are a thousand thoughts flying through that scheming little head of yours, but stop being so petty. I have a favor to ask. Trust me when I say that you are the last person I want to ask but it seems that you are my last hope with this problem. I'm not going to go into extreme detail, but I'll get straight to the point. A certain knuckle-head ninja is in desperate need of help. He's in grave danger and it seems the you may be the only one who can save him.
At the mention of a knuckle-head ninja, Sasuke's interest immediately peaked. And he read on almost desperately.
Yes, you know that brat I'm talking about, and if you have any sliver of humanity left you'll hightail your brooding ass back here ASAP. But don't come back until you do a little cleaning up kid, you know what I mean. To return you're going to need to bring me back something to prove that you're here on good intentions and not finish off Naruto. I am trusting, albeit foolishly, that you will come to help.
- Tsunade, Hokage of the Hidden Leaf
So here Sasuke was, in the middle of the night, creeping around. He neared Orochimaru's chambers. He had grown way too trusting, idly thought Sasuke, as he didn't sense any traps. But then again it had been ages since he had shown any discontent or disobedience. The room was dark, the only sound to be heard was the hissing of snakes. Each night for the past week Sasuke had approached the room, making sure that the snakes that guarded Orochimaru as he slept weren't able to sense his presence. He had studies snakes a great deal this past year and had learned that if he used his chakra to cool his body temperature down, he was invisible to the slithery creatures. He unsheathed his sword, never making the slightest sound. And just like that, all of the events from the past year were ended with the blade of Sasuke's sword severing the head off of the Legendary Sannin. The snake-man had only the chance to open his eyes and meet those of a dark-haired teen, red with rage, before he met his end. Sasuke had no time to celebrate. The snakes had started hissing as the scent of their master vanished and Kabuto would be here any second now. Quickly, the raven stowed the severed head in the bag, and disappeared off into the night. He knew exactly where he needed to go. A place he once called home.