DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Please be good with the reviews since this is my first Naruto-fic I might miss on something so I am calling all Naruto anime/manga fan to give me advice. Thanks for your support and hopefully you can give me reviews after you read. I am also willing to return reviews.

Chapter 4: Premonition Of Departure

The sun has set and rose again and after the incident of what happened to Naruto and all the other genins, a shadow knocked at the office of the Hokage. "Come in!" shouted by Tsunade, she was certainly not in a good mood especially after looking at all the papers and documents laid before her eyes. She needed to sign all of it after reading into each and every document and after that she was required to assign the tasks to the next available competent ninja and that was where the problem lies. It also seemed that Shizune hasn't come back yet from the mission given to her.

A knock gave Tsunade a breather and asked the visitor to come in. The door opened displaying a pink-headed lady with her forehead shining at the basking sunlight. She entered the room of the Hokage. "I have a request," Sakura exclaimed with a straight face.

"What is it, Sakura?" Tsunade gave her just a glance and went back to her papers.

"Please, make me your apprentice."

The Godaime was pretty much sure it has something to do with the event that took place in Sasuke's room but the spark in her eyes roused her curiosity. Tsunade looked at her closely, observing if she do have, the important thing…, written in her face.

You're also troubled aren't you…a smirk reshaped Tsunade's lips as she remembered her lover and her brother who dreamt of becoming a Hokage in the past. She put her hand below her chin and examined the apprentice to be, "Haruno Sakura…I've heard from Kakashi that you're intelligent and that you have a strong spirit but you must know how delicate a life is… to train to become a medical ninja requires a thousand times more intelligence and spirit that you currently have…"

Sakura knelt down, bowed again, asked that she required strength to protect her friends and ensured the safety of the place where they can return to in the future, Konohagakure. Tsunade stood up, rested the pile of papers and turned around, her eyes has a shade of anxiety as she overlook at the village from the window of her office. She came back to Sakura with a smile etched on her face, "alright…from now on, I won't go easy on you!"

"O-ok!" she exclaimed delightfully with the light bouncing from her forehead blinding Tsunade. The Godaime instinctively covered her eyes with the palm of her hand, immediately Sakura tried to cover hers, apologized a couple of times after bowing her head.

The warm rays of the sun reach all end of Konoha even the graveyard surrounded by the tall trees where Kakashi visited almost every day, "now as a jounin, I have subordinates, but, like before…I'm always regretting all of it…even with this eye…I couldn't see what was going to happen…" he sighed at his defeat. Closing his eyes he thought of his friend as though his in front of him, "if you were alive…what would you say to me now…eh…? Obito." He asked but the silhouette of his friend disappeared without saying a word only a smile that reached his heart. I know, my students are the one closer to my heart and I don't know, I can't lose them as well, right…Obito.

Back into the hospital, Sasuke remained asleep and as he delved into the shadows of his own subconscious mind another entity enveloped his body. Within a boundary conquered by eternal darkness Sasuke was searching for the light but non-exist, he called out but no one answered. Where am I…? What is this place…?

"Welcome! Uchiha Sasuke," a voice seemed to have heard his thought.

"Who are you? Where am I…?" he asked a kunai in his hand.

"I don't think that is what you really want to ask…Sasuke."

The voice was leading him to nowhere and the darkness seemed to cloud his judgment, "Show yourself…"

He suddenly felt a presence from behind, he turned and found a lurking shadow with its back before him. "Who are you…? Show your face…you coward."

"Coward…? Does showing my face proof enough that I am brave? …what do you think now?" he showed his face and after he turned around Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw a pair of eyes he knew so much, he hated so much as if he saw his own brother, the pair of eyes that would only belong to an Uchiha. "Impossible…who are you…? And what do you need from me…?" he asked tumbling from his feet. He was not afraid but he was surprised to see another one with the same blood.

"Now you want my name…but my name isn't important…right?" shadow covered his entire face even the color of his hair but the kaleidoscope eyes he possess remained non-concealable, the very sight of the eyes only an uchiha would have gave chill to Sasuke, he can feel his own blood racing toward his heart, "Hmm…you seemed surprise to see a sharingan eyes, you didn't think you and your brother are the only Uchiha alive…don't you?"

"Huh!" the shadow looked away feeling somebody's presence and afterwards he disappeared from the uchiha's sight only to resurface on Sasuke's side whispering words in his ears, the uchiha kid was unable to move at the time as sweat started to damped his entire body. "What you wanted to know, really, is what I can do for you, we don't have much time right now but we will see each other again, it doesn't matter where or how but I will reach you, as long as you have those eyes," using his own sharingan Sasuke saw a smirk etched on the shadow's face though everything remain blurry that it almost hurt just to look at him.

"Wait!" Sasuke called out trying to reach the shadow that left his side with his hand.

"Don't worry, I will come to you when you are prepared, so be prepared to take on this eyes, the Mangekyou Sharingan will be yours soon, Uchiha Sasuke," and the shadow vanished in midst of darkness but before it did, the uchiha saw the pair of eyes similar to his brother's but at the same time different in a manner he can't explain well. Sasuke tried to grab the shadow but it's gone and with it the darkness was revoked by the blinding sunlight entering his room. The Uchiha kid was awake and at the same time he felt the earth shake like a big rock falling from the sky just outside his window.

He was surprised to see an unexpected visitor, "Jiraiya-sama…?"

"Hey!" the white-haired old sannin greeted him, leaving his summoned gigantic toad outside. Silence covered the both of them; the black haired genin can see from the corner of his eyes the sannin who trained Naruto sitting comfortably on the rail of the window. Mixed emotions enveloped his heart, he doesn't know what to say and there was slight fear as to what Jiraiya might say once he knew that he killed Naruto with his bare hands.

"Don't worry, Naruto was safe," he confirmed turning around to Sasuke with his straight face. The uchiha would have added a few words but Jiraiya was quick to differ, "you are to be my apprentice from now on, I will train you one-on-one for three years and the first rule that I want to impose is to never challenge my information gathering skill," smiling at the genin.

"But…I-" he pulled his gaze from Jiraiya and turned his stare on his hand looking at the forehead protector of Naruto.

"While I was investigating Orochimaru's jutsu of immortality, I found interesting information about Akatsuki, Naruto was being held by them but they won't be able to use him just yet not for at least three years and it won't do them well if he was dead either. Even if you said you killed him, he is alive now."

Jiraiya looked intently at the uchiha and the past flash right into his eyes, the day when he learned of Orochimaru's plot. They were both young back then but Orochimaru possess the same evil aura like he did today, lust for power and desire for immortality drove the snake sannin into madness.

"Why…why are you…we, who are called the 'sannin', we have been companions since we were children, haven't we!?" Jiraiya exclaimed his wounds bearing his blood flowing from his head. Slowly he tried to regain his usual breathing while looking at his old friend, Orochimaru, who seems to have lost his sanity.

"Kukuku…you'll always be a simpleton Jiraiya, whatever you're thinking now, it won't work because you have no idea of what I was doing…" Inside the forest of death the two sannin fought on for what they believed in and wanted.

"Think again of what you're doing…Orochimaru…"

"You're pitiful! That's why you'll always be a fool," the snake sannin casted as he launched himself toward Jiraiya. I kept asking… but eventually I accepted the fact that he wouldn't come back…I left that painful time behind helplessly…Naruto, I'm glad that you managed to have him back, Jiraiya thought as he regained his composure, he look at the horizon, the clear wind that surround Konoha and then back to Sasuke's eyes.

"Sasuke…I'm glad that you're not the same as Orochimaru…"

A wryly smile snatched the lips of the uchiha after listening to Jiraiya, deep inside…even if I wanted to kill Naruto and regain the power of Mangekyou Sharingan, at that last moment, the image of when he speared his chidori in Naruto's heart came back to him, I tried to avoid his heart, though I really need to kill him…deep inside I now knew that I want him to stop me.

Sasuke was pushed back to reality by the Sannin's voice, "anyway I have decided to make you my apprentice, you will need all the strength you need to bring Naruto back especially this time," the sharingan teen got the picture of Jiraiya in his eyes as curiosity filled his mind.

"…this time…?"

"This time you will surely be facing your brother, Itachi," the look in Sasuke's eyes changed much as he heard the name of his brother, Jiraiya smirk as he watch the fire burning in the kid's eyes. Pulling his body away from the bed, Jiraiya had his right foot at the rail of the window, ready to jump over but before he do, he left the mesmerized kid some reminders, "When you leave the hospital, get ready to depart, Sasuke."

Though he wasn't looking, Jiraiya felt the nod behind his back and so he disappeared by the window, a gigantic toad with a pipe at his tow, leaving only a trace of smoke at his wake and an apprentice set straight on facing his future with a deeper resolve.

Meanwhile deep inside the never-ending darkness where despair echoes on every corner of its temple, hatred himself rose from his feet, frustration was projected by his eyes; the four-eyed Kabuto would have escaped if he doesn't knew it was Orochimaru right in front of him, almost ready to devour his life upon learning of what happened to Sasuke and to the sound four. "Kimimaro died for nothing, that useless fool…I told you Kabuto, my future is in that child, you need to take him back, I need that child!"

"I apologize, Orochimaru-sama but right now, Konoha is definitely on guard after our last attempt and it will be difficult to reassemble a team that will-…"

"That is enough, Kabuto… we shall be waiting then but I want you to prepare four men at least," he gestured Kabuto to leave him be while he traverse the main path of his prison where numerous nin from different villages were captured and being put to the test. "Hai! Orochimaru-sama," he proclaimed gleefully before leaving his master. "…kukuku…you will still be mine, Sasuke-kun."