Fun Fact:
In this story Tobi is a good boy.
Chasing the Eternal Dawn 2: Reversed
The sun was only starting to rise over the horizon as Sasuke and Sakura made their way to Training Ground Three for a full day of honing their bodies and minds. She'd met him first thing in the morning as he was being discharged from the hospital, Naruto surprisingly not in tow, and no words were traded on their brief journey across town.
Sasuke wanted to get to work - to improve as quickly as possible - and since his whole body no longer ached he didn't feel the need to go home before beginning the day. It wasn't like there was anything waiting there for him anyway. Sakura simply wanted to get her teammates together so they could reconcile and move on. And if they managed to get a little stronger from the day's training then all the better.
But even after arriving at their destination, Naruto was still nowhere to be found. He wasn't waiting for them by the fence nor was he already on the grass sparring with a dozen shadow clones, and he wasn't walking along the path to meet them either. There were no loud promises to one day become hokage and no chirps of 'Believe it!'. There was only the silence of the village just before dawn, and with some impatience Sasuke crossed his arms and sat down in a huff outside the grounds to keep a lookout for his errant teammate.
Sakura frowned but eventually took a seat on the dirt road beside him, dropping her cheeks onto outstretched palms and sighing.
"Don't forget, Sasuke," she reminded, "you're going to tell Naruto you're sorry about insulting him yesterday."
Sasuke in turn rolled his eyes but hummed in reluctant assent, his attention directed entirely on the road leading from Naruto's apartment.
Time went on and the sun rose high in the sky, and yet no matter how long they waited Naruto never arrived. Kakashi of course was away on a mission, but the hyperactive blond had no reason of his own to not show up, made all the stranger to the present members of Team Seven since Naruto normally adored training. It was an opportunity to show off, and he wouldn't miss the chance except for a bowl of ramen.
The morning dragged on, and as Sakura was starting to get worried, Sasuke was starting to get annoyed.
"Let's go." The girl in question looked up at him curiously as he stood from his spot on the path and stormed off. "If that loser doesn't want to come and train, then we'll go to him."
Sakura blinked in surprise at Sasuke's declaration, but quickly recovered, getting to her feet and chasing after the Uchiha. Once she'd caught up she matched his pace to walk alongside him, never behind, never in his shadow, and despite the sheer distance they had to cover across the metropolis of the Leaf the two made good time on their way to Naruto's home. Neither of them had ever actually been to the jinchuuriki's apartment, but at least they knew the way, and upon arriving they each shared a moment of astonishment at what they saw.
"It's so..." Sakura began, searching for words to describe Naruto's building only for Sasuke to finish the thought for her.
"Dumpy."
The exterior may have previously been plain at one point, but at the moment it was a fascinating canvas of cracks and flaking paint, and to the genin it seemed the whole place was long overdue for some renovations. When they stepped up to the front door and knocked, the doorknob shook, and upon closer analyzation Sasuke found it was quite loose.
They knocked again and waited for some response but none ever came, and with a grunt of frustration Sasuke knocked one last time, the door barely resisting his blows before creaking open, putting the inside of Naruto's home on display: The front door opened into a short hallway, a couple pairs of blue sandals resting haphazardly on its floor, and beyond that the pair of shinobi could see it split off into a kitchen on the left, and going forward was only a single open door.
With caution, Sasuke entered Naruto's home, stopping by the entrance to rap his knuckles against the wall.
"Hey, Naruto!" he called. "Let's go already!"
There was only silence in response, and with a grunt the Uchiha marched through the hall toward what was presumably Naruto's room, Sakura following shortly behind, neither bothering to take off their sandals. They shared a glance into the kitchen along the way, each noting something about it looked off - something they couldn't quite place. It was simultaneously a mess and also perfectly clean.
The genin entered Naruto's room and were immediately overwhelmed by the disorder and obnoxious decorations before them. Clothing was strewn about, empty, unwashed bowls and more occupying every square centimeter of the floor. There was a poster dedicated to noodles and a small potted tree next to an unmade bed, and a bizarre nightcap hung from a clothesline near the window. But most glaring of all was what was missing: Naruto himself.
Sasuke's frown deepened as he scanned the room. Naruto could just be out doing errands or something else fittingly mundane, but for some reason he couldn't accept that answer. Something was wrong. He just knew it.
With a thought his eyes went crimson, and he looked the room over once more with his sharingan, certain they'd help him pick up some clue as to Naruto's whereabouts, hidden from normal sight. Then he realized what he'd been missing before. He dashed forward and threw open each drawer of Naruto's dresser. Then he went to Naruto's closet. He scowled and turned back to the entry where Sakura was staring questioningly, and he ran over, pushing past her. He practically flew into the kitchen, his head turning back and forth and his eyes racing as well, taking in details faster than any mere mortal. But try as he might, he couldn't find it. Sasuke couldn't find Naruto's backpack.
Why would Naruto have taken his pack with him if he was just going into town? Sasuke had seen the other boy go shopping before, and he knew he never brought the plain blue bag with him. As far as he knew, Naruto only used it on missions away from the village. There had to be another reason why it was gone.
On closer inspection Sasuke also discovered what was amiss about the kitchen. Every cupboard door was open and many of them were bare, and there was an odd arrangement of items on the floor, like they'd been pulled out of the cupboards and tossed aside in a rush.
The details just weren't adding up though, and without a word Sasuke bounded back to Naruto's room, pushing past Sakura once more to stop in the center.
"Sasuke," Sakura began in a huff, slightly perturbed at being shoved aside and not being privy to whatever the Uchiha was trying to do. Before she could finish though, Sasuke slowly turned his head and stopped to stare at Naruto's bedtable, his eyes scrunching in suspicion.
"No..." His voice was low and disbelieving, and he crept toward the bedtable as if in a trance, his eyes fixed on one point. "It couldn't be..."
When he got to the bedtable he reached out a hand to something atop it, a wooden picture frame lying facedown on its surface. He hesitated before his fingers reached the frame, then delicately took hold of one edge, lifting it to see the hidden photo. Without realizing it Sasuke's mouth had fallen open, and as he looked upon the picture in its frame his eyes went wide, then narrowed once more, in shock, in anger, in sadness, or perhaps all three.
He lowered his gaze to the floor then spoke, sounding utterly defeated.
"He's gone."
Sakura quirked an eyebrow at the declaration then stepped over to join Sasuke, taking the picture frame from his loose grasp to see for herself what had shaken him so thoroughly. It was the same picture she had at home, of herself and her team. And instantly she knew...
"He couldn't have..." she whispered.
"Naruto left the Leaf Village," Sasuke said matter-of-factly, confirming that they'd come to the same conclusion. He was silent for a moment, but then he growled, his hands balling into fists and his whole body tensing. He clenched his teeth and snarled. "What was he thinking!? That idiot!"
Without another word Sasuke ran around Naruto's bed to his open window, stepping onto the sill and stopping before jumping out as Sakura called to him.
"What're you doing?"
He looked back to her with determination in his eyes, returning to black as he deactivated his sharingan.
"I'm going to find Naruto so I can beat some sense into him!"
And with that he pushed off the sill and jumped to a nearby rooftop, running and jumping to the next and the next until he was out of sight.
Sakura blinked as she watched Sasuke leave, still a little shocked by the revelation that Naruto had gone, but somehow knowing, just as Sasuke had, that it was the case. Her mind was racing, questions turning over in her head, of why he would go in the first place and if it was even possible for her to have stopped him. Whether it was a good thing or not that Naruto was gone never even occured to her. Her teammate had simply given up on her and on Sasuke, and that fact left her feeling more hollow than ever before in her life.
A minute passed as Sakura stood alone and in silence, her brain filtering through information at a feverish pace, trying to discern when and why Naruto had decided he'd had enough of being part of Team Seven. Then, finally, she snapped back to reality and her thoughts turned in a different direction. She had to do something. She had to tell someone.
Sakura spun in place and bolted out of Naruto's room, running full speed through the hallway and out the door, not looking back as she sped in the direction of the Hokage Tower.
HHHHHHHH
As Sasuke sped through the village, staying to the rooftops to avoid the people on the ground, he scowled, his thoughts twisting and his fury growing.
'That idiot!' he thought to himself for what seemed like the hundredth time in a row. 'I insult him a little bit then he goes and does something this drastic!? Dammit, Naruto!'
It was strange actually, Sasuke considered between bouts of internal swearing. Just yesterday he wouldn't have cared if Naruto was dead. He wouldn't have cared about a lot of things. But Naruto leaving so suddenly, so unexpectedly, struck Sasuke with an unshakable feeling of rage and confusion.
It was not an unfamiliar set of feelings for him. This had happened before, long ago, on a night that was burned into his memory forever. After Itachi had finished killing his clan and torturing him with his sharingan, he abandoned the village - abandoned Sasuke. And now Naruto was doing the same. He hadn't committed any heinous act, as far as Sasuke knew, but the jubilant knucklehead's departure still left Sasuke with the same awful, empty feeling as when Itachi left, and he found himself acting in response, without thought, the only desire he had being to find and drag him home whether he liked it or not.
Within minutes Sasuke was at the village gates and jumped from a roof to the ground, seeing two chunin in grey uniforms at the entrance and exit checkpoint. He didn't slow down even slightly as they smiled and waved to him.
"Hey, Sasuke," one of them greeted pleasantly, as if he should know them. Then the other spoke.
"What's the rush?"
"Naruto left the village!" Sasuke grunted back in a rush, running right past the two guards. "I'm gonna go get him!"
He took a running jump and leapt up and over the gate in a single motion, leaving the two chunin behind in bewilderment. They turned to meet each other's eyes, each silently questioning the other if what he'd seen and heard actually happened.
At length, Kotetsu sighed and shook his head.
"This isn't good."
Izumo frowned and furrowed his brow.
"We better tell the hokage."
UUUUUUUU
Tsunade sat in grim contemplation, her fingers steepled in front of her face as she processed what Sakura was telling her. She'd had no warning before the pinkette suddenly threw open her door and started recounting what appeared at first to be simple drama between teammates, but as she began to wonder how Sakura made it into her office past security, she reached the climax of her story, and the hokage's blood ran cold.
"Are you sure about this, Sakura?" Tsunade asked, deadly serious, emphasizing each word. "You have to be sure."
Sakura didn't hesitate before nodding back with absolute conviction, her expression a mix of sincerity and dread.
"Sasuke said he was going after him."
Whatever Sasuke may have thought about his decision to pursue Naruto, Tsunade considered it the worst possible course of action for the Uchiha to take. There were too many people interested in him - for all the right and the wrong reasons - for him to be running about outside without backup. Nevertheless, the Fifth Hokage remained impassive, not letting a single emotion slip through her careful mask of professionalism. The only concession she afforded herself was to close her eyes and let out a long, heavy breath of frustration.
This was serious. This was more serious, perhaps, even than when the Chunin Exams were interrupted by an all-out surprise attack. She wasn't in the village at the time, but she'd heard about it later, and she knew that while the Sand and Sound had inflicted grievous damage to the Leaf and its people, claiming even the life of her teacher Hiruzen, it was only one attack that was ultimately repelled.
When she became hokage Tsunade was granted access to all the secrets of the village, so she knew quite well that Naruto was a jinchuuriki, a vessel for an unstoppable monster formed of pure chakra, and was considered a last-ditch superweapon for the Leaf, capable of bringing ruin to all his foes with a mere roar and swish of his tails. The devastation caused by the Chunin Exams Invasion would pale in comparison to his power once he learned to unleash it, so if he were to be captured by a rival village...
Tsunade refused to think about it. She didn't know why Naruto left the village, but she could only believe that he would be back soon. She wasn't exactly pleased that Sasuke went off to fetch him without her order, but it was too late to do anything about that. Her only option was to make sure he succeeded.
At that moment the door to Tsunade's office banged open and closed once more as Kotetsu and Izumo burst in looking panicked.
"Lady Hokage!" Kotetsu addressed between gasps for air.
"We saw Sasuke Uchiha at the gates!" Izumo continued where Kotetsu left off, out of breath and gasping just the same as his friend. "He says that Naruto abandoned the village!"
Tsunade opened her eyes to meet her two aides' gaze, keeping up her perfect illusion of calm.
"Yes, I am aware," she replied slowly. "It's good that you two are here. I have an order for you."
Tsunade unclasped her fingers and lowered her arms to place each palm gently on the desk in front of her. Her movements were measured, but it was obvious to everyone in the office that she was livid and barely restraining herself. She continued to speak, her voice full with authority and her tone icy.
"Find Shikamaru Nara and tell him he has an emergency summons from the hokage. Do not speak of what's happened to anyone. Do not draw attention to yourselves. As far as the world should know, everything is completely normal in the Hidden Leaf Village." She paused to punctuate her statement with a wicked glare. "Now go."
Kotetsu and Izumo spared only a nod each then disappeared in two puffs of smoke, leaving Tsunade and Sakura alone once again. The hokage stood up and walked out from behind her desk, eyeing Sakura dangerously before finally addressing her.
"As for you, Sakura, I have a very important, secret mission."
Sakura nodded once and tensed.
"I understand, Lady Hokage," she said from behind a tight grimace. "I'll wait for Shikamaru here so we can help Sasuke get Naruto back together."
"No."
It was only one word but it was enough. Sakura balked at Tsunade's answer, losing all composure.
"'No'!? What do you mean 'no'!?"
Despite the clear show of disrespect, Tsunade hardly reacted. She'd lived too long and seen too much to lose control over herself because of a child's insolence.
"Your mission is even more important than bringing Naruto back to the Leaf. I want you to transform into Naruto and go back to his home. Stay there and stay transformed until this crisis is settled."
"What?" Sakura couldn't make sense of the order. "Why?"
Tsunade lowered her head and her face darkened as if she were remembering something awful, and when gave she her explanation her voice was not nearly as sure or commanding, coming out just above a whisper.
"I am the hokage, but that does not mean I rule the Leaf. There are other forces in play within the village, and we dare not catch their attention."
Sakura felt a chill down her spine as Tsunade spoke her cryptic reply, and all at once she felt as though a hundred unseen eyes were watching her from every direction - watching and making note of everything she was doing. And, strangely, it looked to Sakura as though Tsunade felt the same way.
HHHHHHHH
It hardly took a minute of speeding through the forest for Sasuke to fall into the familiar rhythm of tree-hopping that was the preferred method of travel for Leaf shinobi. He leapt from one treebranch to the next, faster than any normal man could run on the ground, and watched the world below go by, searching for a glimpse of orange as a single phrase rolled incessantly about in his mind.
'Idiot! Naruto, you idiot!'
If he had to be truthful, Sasuke couldn't really be sure where Naruto was headed, but he had a feeling it was west - perhaps toward the Sand Village? - and he was betting everything on his intuition being correct. If he couldn't pick up Naruto's trail soon then that was it. Naruto could be almost a full day ahead of him already, and if he got too much farther away there'd be no chance of locating him aside from sending out a dozen tracking teams. And even then, they'd take too long to organize and deploy, only increasing Naruto's lead and the amount of territory to cover in search of him.
Sasuke's scowl deepened as he jumped from tree to tree, forcing himself to think about something else, but only managing to push the constant loop of calling Naruto an idiot to the back of his mind. What came to the forefront was hardly any better.
'What am I doing?' he considered to himself. 'Why do I care if that idiot leaves? Why should I care?'
It simply didn't make sense, at least, that's what he told himself. There was no good reason for him to care about Naruto. He was loud and annoying, and although it seemed he was starting to improve as a fighter he still only ever bothered sending hordes of shadow clones to wear his opponents down. If Naruto left, Sasuke could just get a new teammate, or go without, and either way Team Seven would be better off. But no matter how he tried to convince himself otherwise, Sasuke knew there was a reason he was chasing after the dead-last, least likely to succeed ninja from the academy. He wouldn't admit it, but he knew - he knew that Naruto was his...
All at once Sasuke was snapped back to reality as he noticed four shadows behind him, and as he soared between treebranches he flipped without warning, changing his course and landing on the grass and dirt below, sharingan active and arms up in a combat stance. The shadows had been a fair distance away, presumably to avoid being seen while they tailed him, but with Sasuke now aware of their presence they didn't waste any time in catching up.
In an instant four figures blurred into existance behind Sasuke, and he turned to face them, getting a good look at the mismatched team of what were apparently ninja, only one of them wearing a headband, the symbol of the Sound Village emblazoned upon it. They each wore tan tunics with a ridiculous purple belt, and as Sasuke looked them up and down he knew he wasn't going to like them. They reminded him too much of that invincible genin he'd met in the Forest of Death, later identified as Orochimaru.
The first among them was a girl with pinkish red hair and cruel, narrowed eyes. The next was a large boy, not quite fat, but still unhealthy-looking, whose haircut was among the worst Sasuke had ever seen, being shaved into three orange strips, one on the top and one on each side of his head. Beside him was... Sasuke could only assume it was a boy. Maybe. Its hair was grey and long enough to comb over one beady eye, and its lips were daubed in an unsettling green lipstick. Lastly was a freak of nature, a tan-skinned boy with six arms, the same one Sasuke earlier noted to be wearing his headband in front of long, pulled-back hair.
The thought of stopping to chat with these disconcerting characters didn't even enter Sasuke's mind as he stared them down. They didn't belong in the Land of Fire, he knew, but right at that moment he didn't care. They might have had a dastardly plot to destroy the Leaf, but Sasuke didn't care. All that mattered to him was finding Naruto. And no one was going to stop him.
"I'm only going to give you a single warning," he growled dangerously, eyes flashing crimson with hate, "I don't know who you are, and I don't care. What I do know is I'm busy right now, and you're in my way, so move aside before I lose my patience."
"Oh," the girl among them scoffed derisively, "a tough guy, huh?"
Next to speak was the one wearing makeup, revealing itself to be male.
"I think you'll make time for us once we introduce ourselves." His voice was slimey and surprisingly deep, and his words were tinged with smugness.
"We're the Sound Ninja Four," the spidery ninja added, finally getting to the point. "I'm Kidomaru of the East Gate."
"And I'm Sakon of the West Gate."
The biggest of their group went next, followed quickly with a smirk from the girl.
"I am Jirobo of the South Gate."
"And I'm Tayuya of the North Gate."
As a reply Sasuke figured a chidori would be appropriate, but they didn't even give him to the chance to start his handsigns before moving in to attack all at once. The Sound ninja fanned out around Sasuke, Sakon getting behind him faster than his sharingan could trace while Jirobo and Tayuya came from each side. Kidomaru charged from the front, all six arms at the ready, hands balled into tight fists. Their coordination was perfect, encircling Sasuke on all sides in hardly a blink's time, but they couldn't have predicated the power of an Uchiha's eyes, and as quickly as their assault began, it ended.
In one swift movement Sasuke caught Kidomaru's punch and hurled him over his shoulder right onto Sakon, using the spider's forward momentum against them both. He glanced to each side then dashed toward Jirobo, dodging the heavy swing of his fist and jumping to deliver a spinning mid-air kick to his head. The large boy was thrown out of the way just as Tayuya closed the distance with them, but Sasuke's kick had also turned him fully around so he was facing her when she arrived. She threw a quick punch, but he was quicker, snatching out and grabbing her wrist before the blow could collide, then countering, heaving his own fist against her cheek and sending her sprawling.
The so-called Sound Ninja Four seemed to think they were dangerous opponents, but Sasuke was disgusted at how easy it was to put them down. From what they'd shown so far, he wasn't confident if they could even beat Sakura.
Then he noticed something was wrong. The four Sound ninja were laying still and defeated, and Sasuke's eyes widened as he whipped around, raising his arm to block a surprise kick from Sakon. He'd realized just in time that they'd used substitution, their bodies on the ground bursting into smoke with four logs in their places.
"You're not bad," Sakon hissed with dark glee, dropping his raised leg and flipping back to escape Sasuke's counterattack, a horizontal chop with his fingers extended. "However..."
Before Sasuke could pursue Sakon, Kidomaru was on him again, loosing a flurry of punches with his six arms. There was no way to counter - Sasuke was sure of it. He could see the moves coming with his sharingan, if only barely, but he couldn't react to all of them at once while also retaining the initiative, so he was forced to go on the defensive. He changed his footing and stepped back, blocking every strike that was close enough to land and simply avoiding the rest.
Sasuke heard something above him and glanced up, then leapt away as Jirobo crashed onto the ground where he was just standing, then dodging again to avoid Tayuya as she rushed at him from the side. She was switching up her attacks between rapid punches and precise kicks that whistled through the air, and Sasuke was forced to take several steps back as she advanced, though he was hardly concerned. Before she could press her advantage Sasuke regained his footing and weaved around Tayuya's guard, driving his elbow into her abdomen and causing her to double over, then slamming the heel of his open palm against her nose.
The female Sound ninja was thrown back hard, landing in a heap a distance away from Sasuke as Jirobo came at him again. Sasuke leapt around, then up and over his clumsy punches, and planted both his feet against Jirobo's face, kicking off and gaining some distance from him as the larger ninja tumbled backward in pain and surprise.
Sasuke landed on his feet and slid to a halt, his crimson eyes searching in front of him for his opponents, but only finding three of them. Then he heard a disgustingly smooth, smug voice behind him once again, close enough to whisper in his ear.
"You're just not strong enough."
Sasuke jumped forward and spun in the air to swipe at Sakon's throat like before, but the Sound ninja simply leaned backward, allowing Sasuke's fingers and the edge of his hand to miss him by a hair's breadth.
"What did you just say?" Sasuke demanded, getting some distance and eyeing Sakon angrily as the Sound Ninja Four reassembled in front of him, Tayuya seemingly unharmed despite trickles of blood coming from her nostrils and a hateful frown on her face to contrast her initial smirk.
"You're too weak to beat us, Sasuke Uchiha," Sakon repeated, sneering at him. "But you could be so much stronger."
Sasuke grit his teeth and snarled at the Sound ninja, eyeing each of them with his glowing red eyes. He didn't have time for this.
"If I let you talk, then will you get the hell out of my way?"
"Heh." Kidomaru scoffed in amusement. "Bold words."
"Lord Orochimaru sent us," Jirobo began, his voice quite calm and polite, at odds with his comrades, and Tayuya in particular. "We've been watching you since last night, but never had a good moment to approach you."
To this, Sasuke raised a brow and narrowed his eyes. They'd been watching him? How did they get past the Leaf's security? Did the Leaf even have any security!? Sasuke would have to inform the Lady Hokage about this after he dealt with these freaks then dragged Naruto back to the village kicking and screaming.
"What is your purpose in this life?" Tayuya's voice cut through Sasuke's thoughts and brought him back to reality, the girl staring at him intently, though without malice. It seemed to Sasuke as though she was genuinely curious. But as she continued the same edge of condescension returned to her tone. "To stay in that backwater village, with all your little friends? Surely you haven't forgotten Itachi Uchiha?"
Sasuke's scowl deepened as the Sound girl mentioned his brother by name. Of course he hadn't forgotten. He hadn't forgotten how Itachi killed their whole clan. He hadn't forgotten how he tortured him, then only a child, with his mangekyo sharingan. And he hadn't forgotten that after he was done, Itachi had simply walked away, leaving Sasuke completely alone. The fact some no-name thug working for Orochimaru would dare question Sasuke's hate made the blood boil in his veins.
It was obvious to Sasuke by now that the Sound ninja were taking turns speaking like a good team of expendable, quirky henchmen, and as expected, just as Tayuya finished, Sakon picked up again.
"Lord Orochimaru offers you power - enough that you could even challenge your brother, the greatest Uchiha since Madara himself. You mustn't lose sight of your purpose. Life in that village is little more than bondage for you. Sever your ties to that pathetic place." He held his arms out wide and smirked. "If you can do that, there will be no limit to the power you can wield!"
Sasuke didn't answer at first, nor so much as move, simply glaring at the Sound ninja as his mind sped over what they'd said, while more thoughts, unbidden, came to him one after the other. The subject of Itachi being brought up had irritated Sasuke more than he thought it should have, and his mind was clouded with a sudden self-doubt. Why had their words struck him so deeply? Why did he care what these enemies who he'd just met thought about him and his brother?
It occured to him that despite calling himself an avenger, Sasuke still wasn't able to defeat Itachi when they'd met in that hotel. His hate wasn't strong enough; that's what Itachi told him.
But how could his hate get any stronger?
Sasuke hated Itachi in his entirety, of that he was certain. If Orochimaru could train him, make him strong enough to face his brother... But then he reconsidered. Itachi hadn't left the village to train with a criminal just to get strong. No, he himself had become the criminal. And if Sasuke went to Orochimaru, he'd be just like Itachi, wouldn't he? He'd be a traitor. He'd be abandoning everything he knew, leaving behind people who, ostensibly, cared about him - just like Itachi had.
It came to Sasuke suddenly, all in a rush, the fog of doubt clearing from the front of his mind. He felt like he could see clearly for the first time since his clan was murdered. He hated Itachi. And that's why he would never be like him. What would be the point of killing Itachi if he followed the same path? Even if he succeeded one day, Sasuke would just have to kill himself afterward, for, in his lust for power, he would have come to embody all the things he hated about Itachi.
Itachi killed his best friend Shisui to achieve mangekyo sharingan, and practically dared him to do the same. Sasuke resolved to do the opposite, just to spite his brother. He would not kill his best friend. He would not be like Itachi. He would bring Naruto back then apologize for whatever upset him enough to make him go rogue. He'd set things straight with Naruto, then have a fair fight with him, as Leaf ninja and equals - again, just to spite Itachi.
It didn't even matter if Sasuke never unlocked the mangekyo. His hate would be enough. It would drive him forward, to train and grow stonger. It would sharpen his mind and strengthen his blows more than a powerup to his eyes ever could. It would grant him patience - the patience to stay in the Leaf and build up his strength rather than charge blindly into battle like he had against Itachi the last time they'd met.
Itachi had killed his family and left Sasuke all alone. Well, too bad for him, Sasuke thought. He had a new family, and Itachi could never take that away from him. Sakura and Kakashi, and even Naruto... They were Sasuke's family now, and he'd do anything to protect them, to make up for all those he couldn't protect on that night.
And if he couldn't bring Naruto back... If he couldn't save one friend, he supposed, then how could he ever be strong enough to defeat his brother?
"I've decided." Sasuke spoke at last, his voice low and menacing while the Sound Four quietly stood by, watching him and waiting in anticipation of his answer. Sakon raised a brow and his smirk grew wider.
"So, what's it going to be?"
The muscles around Sasuke's eyes tightened and his sharingan began to glow bright as his face contorted with rage and hate.
"I'm going to bring my friend home. But before that, I'm going to kill every one of you."
UUUUUUUU