Author's note: All right, I know it's been a long while since I posted the last chapter, and for that I apologize. Actually, it doesn't seem like many people are reading this story. If you read this story and don't like it, please tell me why. If there is anything I can do to please my readers I will. Now, I know this latest chapter is a bit provocative and some of you may think I'm trying to force Sasuke into his antogonistic role a bit too soon, but don't worry. He isn't leaving the village any earlier than planned. Please enjoy this latest chapter and review so I'll know what to do and what not to do with my next chaper.
While the preliminaries of the Chunin exam were just wrapping up, Sasuke was resting peacefully in a room at the hospital. A little visit from Orochimaru following Sasuke's curse sealing prompted Kakashi to full alert, who stationed an ANBU unit to keep watch over him.
Orochimaru had ordered Kabuto to abduct Kakashi so that he could complete his transformation, but Kabuto had other plans. Orochimaru had joked about Kabuto wanting to stop him and suggested he kill Sasuke to accomplish that task. Kabuto was about to do just that when Kakashi interupted him.
Kakashi stepped into a room of dead ANBU with Kabuto poised to take Sasuke's life. A briefe exchange of words ensued before Kakashi attacked and tried to stop him but one of the ANBU who appeared to be dead suddenly jumped up and tried to escape but Kakashi cornered him with a shadow clone.
Almost immediately, the last ANBU jumped up and out the window while the other one fell to the ground. That's when Kakashi realized Kabuto had used the Dead Soul jutsu to transfer from one dead ANBU body to another so easilly.
Kosuke had left the arena where the preliminaries were being held and was on his way to check on Sasuke when he noticed a bush near the front of the hospital move in a strange way. But by the time he got there, there appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary.
Nothing until he noticed the broken glass on the ground, then looked straight up to see the broken window from which it came. He moved up the wall quickly to the window where he found Sasuke resting along with Kakashi and a group of dead ANBU.
"Kosuke, did you get him?" Kakashi asked. "Get who?" he asked. "A ninja with white hair just jumped through the window. I was hoping you caught him. In any case, that was Kabuto, the genin who dropped out just before the preliminaries started."
"What was he doing here? Surely he has no connection to Sasuke?" Kakashi shook his head. "No, actually he wanted Sasuke dead. I suspect he's working with Orochimaru, but surely Orochimaru wouldn't have gone through the trouble of marking him just to have him killed off."
"Something about this seems out of place." Kosuke remarked. "Nothing about this seems in place." Kakashi replied. "By the way, what's his status?" Kosuke asked. "I sealed the curse mark but it's still up to him. I'll have to keep a close eye on him for a while."
"Need any help?" Kosuke offered. "No, I can handle him on my own, I think. Why don't you keep an eye on Naruto. The Akatsuki are after him after all." Kosuke tilted his head in confusion. "Akatsuki?" he asked. "Right, you don't know about Naruto's condition, do you?" Kakashi asked.
"Condition? Is he ill?" Kosuke inquired. "Quite the contrary. Kyuubi, the legendary Nine-Tailed fox is sealed within him. Perhaps you may have noticed that Sasuke uses a little more chakra with his jutsu than need be while Sakura is perfectly ballanced."
"Naruto, on the other hand, seems to perform his jutsu flawlessly, and with more results." Kosuke guessed. "No, it's difficult for him to learn new jutsu, like the Tourtise Style you've taught him, but once he masters a jutsu, he is flawless with it.
"The problem is, because of the Kyuubi, he has unnatural reserves of chakra, and so burns a vast amount of chakra to produce the same results as Sasuke and Sakura, but can reproduce those same results numerous times. That's one of his redeeming qualities."
"And so what's all this have to with this 'Akatsuki' that are after him?" Kosuke asked. "It's important to know you're enemy and what he wants well, as well as their reason for wanting what they are trying to take. The Akatsuki are collecting the tailed beasts of legend for power."
"And so Naruto is one of their prime targets." Kakashi simply nodded. "Just do me a favor and don't mention anything about the Kyuubi to Naruto. Effective immediately, I'm placing you in charge of his well being."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Kakashi and Kosuke were just heading out of the hospital while Naruto was trying to get in to see Sasuke only to learn that he was not allowed to have visitors. "Hey Kakashi-Sensei, I've been looking for you. I have no time to lose, I need you to help me with my training!"
"Yes I know, but unfortunately I won't have time to train you." Kakashi replied. "What?! Hey you're going train Sasuke aren't you?" Naruto retorted. "Don't worry, I've found someone to oversee your training." Kakashi explained. "Really? Who?"
"It is I!" a voice declared from behind him. Naruto turned to see Ebisu, the closet pervert, standing before him, and so began his rant that he wasn't going to train with that "closet pervert".
Naruto and Ebisu made a deal. If Naruto could outrun him and get away clean, then he wouldn't have to train with him. And so the chase was on. Naruto used every trick in the book to evade Ebisu, who fought through Naruto's clones and managed to catch him every time.
Kosuke had been following closely behind Ebisu so that he could observe the two and see who whould win the bet. Unfortunately for Naruto, Ebisu caught him every time. Eventually, Naruto would concede defeat, and ultimately submit to the closet perv's training.
Naruto grumbled all the way to the hot springs, which had him confused. Why would his sensei have him training in a hot spring? Ebisu mentioned the tree climbing technique and that what he was bout to learn was an improvement on it.
Naruto watched in awe as Ebisu walked out onto the water of the hot spring and simply stood on top of the water's surface. He explained that this was a basic technique, one that every Chunin would know. He then explained to Naruto how to do it, who tried and failed miserably.
Ebisu explained that Naruto learned how build up an even flow of chakra with the tree climb and that the water walking technique required and ever changing flow of chakra to accomadate the water's shifty surface. Naruto took that into account and tried again.
However, he again fell into searing hot water. After some time and Naruto's starting to look like a lobster, he began to get the hang of it. But right about then, Ebisu approached an old white haired lecher peaking into the women's baths.
"I will not allow any disreputable behavior!" Ebisu exclaimed as he charged the old man just moments before he summoned a giant toad and knocked him flat out. Kosuke was stunned. He had just met two of the three legendary Sannin in the same week!
He watched with amusement as Naruto began chasing after him, insisting he train him, but Jiraiya wouldn't have it. Now the pursued had become the pursuer. He wanted Jiraiya to train him as much as Ebisu had wanted to train Naruto.
The rest of the day went by like that with Naruto following Jiraiya and Kosuke following Naruto. It wasn't until Naruto used his Sexy Jutsu that Jiraiya agreed to train him...with one condition. Jiraiya had insisted that he stay in his Sexy Jutsu the whole time, which really peeved Naruto.
Kosuke watched the scene from a short distance, noticing Ebisu had fallen prey to Sexy again as he fell into a well. It was so comical he couldn't help but burst into fits of laughter. And so the day ended the same way it had begun, with Jiraiya helping Naruto with the water walking technique back at the hot springs. It was after all the perfect place to do his "research".
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Some time later, Sasuke was released from the hospital. He had only one thing on his mind. Training, and lots of it. He had to find Kakashi. He left the gates of Konoha, entering the forest in search of his sensei when he was suddenly forced to dodge three kunai.
"Who's there?" Sasuke demanded. A hooded character in a tree grinned. "Sorry about that attack. It was just a test. Your reputation precedes you, Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke shook his head. "Who are you and how do you know my name?" Sasuke demanded. "My name is not important at the moment." the hooded figure said as he dropped from the tree.
"You're Sasuke Uchiha, child of a murdered clan, brother of the murderer, the avenger. I know what you want, and I can give you the power to take it...If you're willing to risk everything, even your life." Sasuke scoffed. "What's the point of being stronger if I'm dead?"
"I never said you would die. I simply said you had to be willing to risk everything, from your friendships with your village to your very life. I will warn you though, it will be difficult, but the rewards will be great." Sasuke sighed. He felt like the man was waisting his time.
"Fine, what are you trying to sell me on?" he asked, prompting the man to get to the point. "The Black Zodiac. It's a collection of twelve spirits from Hell. But if you learn to wield its power, the rewards will be great." Sasuke quirked and eyebrow. This sounded familiar, and he remember thinking how much he would love to learn such an art.
"Kosuke told me about it. So I suppose you must be his brother then?" The hooded figure finally peeled back the hood. "That's right. Jinta Madarame. Kosuke is actually my older brother but don't be fooled. He's weak. His mastery of the Black Zodiac pales in comparison to mine. You see, he's too worried about his humanity and the 'greater good'. Sickening. I wonder how he ever ended up in my clan."
A brief moment of silence passed before he continued. "If you desire this power, I will teach it to you. However, there will come a time when I will need your help. You must also swear to a few things." Sasuke seemed bored. He just wanted to get started with the training. "Swear?" he asked.
"Yes, swear. Swear that you will tell no one about this, that you will practice and train with it only when no one is around, and that you will take every oprotunity to paractice with it. Remember, your ultimate goal is to kill your brother, right?" Sasuke nodded. "Good. Then put this on and we'll begin." he said, tossing him an outfit that was all black.
"Why should I wear that?" he asked. "It's important that you protect your identity, at least until you are fully trained in the Black Zodiac." Sasuke nodded and put the outfit on. Only his eyes were visible. "Good. Strap that to your back and let's go." he said as he tossed him a sword and jumped into the trees. Sasuke strapped on the sword and followed suit.
"What's the sword for?" he asked. "This is the start of your training mission. First, and most importantly, you will protect your identity at all costs, meaning if someone sees your face, you must kill them, be it a child or the leader of the village. Second, you will personally set fire to the village. When that's completed, then you can collect the head of any village ninja and we can leave." Jinta explained.
"Killing, burning villages, is all of this right?" Sasuke asked. "You'll also need to shed that sense of justice if you ever expect to kill Itachi. When we reach the first village, your only concern needs to be to attack that village as though you were attacking Itachi."
Some time past before they reached the first village. "Before we continue, remember that you are to take one life and keep the head. Your only other priority will be setting fire to the village. Understand?" Sasuke nodded. "Yeah I got it, let's just get it done already."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Time passed and Jinta and Sasuke had almost finished with their tasks of burning villages and collecting heads. Only one village remained: Konoha. They stopped just five kilometers outside the gates of Konoha. "If killing is still difficult for you at this point, we can stop any time."
Sasuke shook his head. "No, this training will earn me the power to kill my brother. For what he's done, he must pay. And if villages must be burned and people must be killed for me to achieve that power, then so be it."
Meanwhile, Neji had been perched in a tree, using his Byakugan to secretly go through the Hokage's files, looking for the truth about Kosuke and what he did years ago. "So that's it. He killed Kushina Uzumaki, who was romantically involved with the 4th. Uzumaki...Why does that name sound familiar?" he wondered.
All he knew was that Kosuke was too much of a threat to the village because of what he had done to it in the past. It only took him a moment to pass judgement. He would kill Kosuke Madarame at all costs, with his own bare hands if he must.
Simultaneously, Kosuke was just heading home for the evening. Jiraiya and Naruto had decided to set out that night to beging Naruto's summoning training. Since it was such a powerful technique, they would need lots of space, and so they decided to camp out in the forest.
Kosuke didn't care too much for that, however. He had spent enough time camping during his travels. He was grateful to have a warm bed to go home to. But little did he know the trouble he was about to stumble into. On his way in for the evening, he was confronted by Neji.
"Well, if it isn't Neji Hyuuga. Fancy seeing you out here...At this hour?" Neji narrowed his eyes. "Shut up. I know the truth about you now. About the terrible things you did to this village. Why Lord Hokage is even considering giving you a chance is beyond me.
"No matter. I have passed judgement, and you will pay for what you have done." Kosuke waved his hands in front of him and shook his head defensively. "I don't want to fight. I know what I have done in the past and I regret it and am now paying for it. I just want to avoid trouble."
"Be silent, and be still. The less you move around around, the quicker this'll be all over, and maybe there will be no pain." Kosuke sighed. "If you attack me, you will give me no option but to defend myself." Neji activated his Byakugan and began his attack.
Kosuke did his best to avoid each of Neji's chakra powered strikes, but still a few had gotten through and either grazed or made direct contact with his body, causing those parts of the body to lose chakra flow and go numb.
'He's fast. If I'm not careful, he could actually achieve his goal. I have to wait for an opening. If I have time to activate that jutsu, I might be able to beat him." he thought. However, Neji's superior speed soon over powered him. "Eight Trigrams, Sixtyfour Palms!"
Neji struck all sixtyfour of Kosuke's vital chakra points, cutting off his chakra supply. The force of each impact was great, brining Kosuke down to one knee. He coughed up a bit of blood. "Don't do this...You're not the judge, jury and exocutioner.
"It's not your choice to make wether I should live or die. If you kill me...You'll be no better than I was." Neji was a bit taken aback by that remark. Kosuke wiped the blood from his lip and tried to stand. If it hadn't been for Neji closing off his chakra points he could have healed himself with the Black Zodiac.
Suddenly, the roof behind him caught on fire. Neji watched as a ninja in black leaped over to the next roof, continuing to torch Konoha. "W-What the hell?" Neji asked. Kosuke knew what was going on. "It's the training ritual of the Black Zodiac. Could it be that my brother has found someone to train?"
"Now do you see? You may have changed but you still brought this on the village. Maybe he wouldn't be here if you weren't here." Neji reasoned. At this point, Kosuke was down right annoyed. "Damn it Neji, if you're so worried about the village then pull your head out of your ass and go tell Lord Hokage what's going on."
Neji was highly insulted that someone of his status would speak to him that way, but knew he was right, and headed off to tell the Hokage. Kosuke took to the roof tops of Konoha and followed after Sasuke, who was closing in on his target.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Neji moved toward Hokage Tower, leaping into the window next to Sarutobi's desk. "Hm? What is it, Neji?" he asked. "Lord Hokage, the village is under attack?" Sarutobi sighed. "Give me as many details as possible." Neji took a moment to gater as many details as he could recall. "I saw only one ninja, dressed only in black. He was setting the village on fire. Kosuke believes there are two of them."
Sarutobi knew what was going on. This was the third incident like this, the second of which he had been involved in. "Find Kosuke immediately and send Hiashi Hyuga to see me as soon as possible."Neji bowed and left the room with a briefe "Yes, Lord Hokage" leaving his lips.
In the midst of all of this, Kosuke had managed to pace who he figured to be his brother's student. Whoever he was, he was certainly proficient with the Fire Style. Possibly even more so than Kosuke himself. Now, the student seemed to be hunting for a target and he didn't waste any time in finding one.
As Sasuke landed in the street, he set his sights on a young genin, probably not more than ten years of age. Sasuke drew his sword and took hold of the young boys hair to hold him in place. "Don't do it!" Kosuke exclaimed from his perch on the rooftop over looking the street. At the opposite end stood another ninja, also all in black, just as Kosuke had assumed.
The other masked figure stared down at Sasuke, who had turned his attention to Kosuke first, then to Jinta, who's eyes clearly said "Don't hesitate". Before he could act, the young genin attacked him, and that's when Sasuke acted. After taking a shot in the gut from the boy, Sasuke delivered a blow to the boy's abdomen with the hilt of the sword followed by another blow from the hilt to the back of the head.
In one swift, brutal movement, Sasuke took hold of the boy's hair and claimed his head with a swift swipe. Placing it with the rest of the heads, he slung the sack over his shoulder and joined Jinta on the rooftops as the two of them headed for the gates of Konoha.
Kosuke gave chase and the three of them were met by heavy opposition at the front gate. "Well, you two have got ANBU in front of you and me behind. You won't escape this time." Jinta smirked, though it could not be seen. "Really? Are you that naieve? Hammer, Second Seal!" Forming the seal for The Hammer, Jinta brought a huge hammer seemingly out of the sky and down on the ANBU.
Quite a few had been killed, many others had been injured. Kosuke drew his sword and, applying the Fire Style, transformed it. Kosuke began circling the two of them at varrying speeds so that his movements could not be tracked. He then dipped the blade of his sword onto the ground and the flames ignited the flamable substance that had apparently been on his shoes.
"Fire Clone Jutsu!" Kosuke's fire clones began popping up from all over the ring of fire. Identifying the real him would now be difficult if not impossible. Sasuke brashly tried to attack him but was knocked back by one of the fire clones. "Forget about it. I'll clear a path for you." Jinta said as he formed The Hammer's seal. "Hammer, Final Seal!"
Jinta was suddenly armed with The Hammer's weapon, a huge hammer with the handle as long as a staff. With Sasuke and Jinta back to back, Jinta faced the gate. He forced chakra into the hammer and slammed it down, sending Kosuke flying and eliminating the ring of fire. The chakra he had forced into the hammer blasted out and toward the gate, blasting a huge hole through. "Now go!" Jinta commanded before turning his attention back to Kosuke.
"So I was right. It is you, Jinta. Why are you doing this? You're not the head of the family." Kosuke could tell just from looking at his eyes that Jinta was smiling sasistically behind the mask. "That's what you think brother. And soon, I'll also claim the title of Kajikage."
"Bastard!" Kosuke exclaimed as he charged toward his brother with his sword drawn. Jinta blocked with the long hilt of the hammer and brought the head of it down before bounding off Kosuke with a brutal kick and landing on the opposite side. With crushing force, he brought the hammer down, sending Kosuke flying.
Jinta flew through a few hand seals and expelled the Fire Style attack through both of his hands. "Fire Style: Flowing Magma!" A pillar of fire slammed into the ground and the path the hammer had cut into the ground became molten lava. Kosuke saw this and just narrowly jumped out of the way to avoid the lava's path.
Kosuke bounded over his brother, forming Fire Style seals before his feat even left the ground. "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" he said as he was over head, sending the ball of fire down on top of Jinta. In a flash, Jinta was above Kosuke, sending him to the ground with a heel strike.
Again, Kosuke was slammed hard into the ground and again he got up. Little did he know, however, that Sarutobi was giving his order to Hiashi Hyuga. "Activate Kosuke's caged bird seal. We must isolate him so that our ANBU can deal with the problem." Hiashi nodded and did as he was told.
As Kosuke stumbled to his feet for another attack, the caged bird seal on his forehead activated and glowed brightly. "My what a pitty. They've branded my poor brother with the caged bird seal of the Hyuga clan. I suppose that's how they deal with .0 infidels like you. Don't worry, soon I'll return to deal with you." Those were the last words Kosuke heard before losing conciousness.