Hello everyone! I didn't realize I've already hit the 40,000 word mark. So that explains the sudden jump in readership... Anyways, just to give you a heads-up that after 5 years of loyal service, my laptop just croaked on me, so expect some delays in the next chapter as I try to salvage my old hard drive (which contains a good chunk of the next chapter).
In other news, thank the heavens for Google Docs.
A Kumo Nin's Guide to Konoha
IX: Genin-Candidates
Sitting on the branch of a tall maple tree overlooking the clearing, Naruto munched away eating breakfast as he held a rice bowl topped with natto with his left hand. So far over the past two hours, nothing happened. Kakashi-nii-chan spent the whole time standing on the clearing reading one of Ero-sennin's dirty works, while Uchiha and Haruno were out there hiding and moving around out of sight with apparently no plans in mind. No one has yet dared to make a move, perhaps as a result of over-analyzing the situation and fear of failure. Yes, this was a simulation of a high-stakes situation and one must proceed carefully before acting, but if Uchiha and Haruno did nothing, they would fail anyways.
The tranquility of the park-like setting of the training grounds was broken by a quiet rustling among the bushes below.
"KATON: GOKAKYU NO JUTSU!" (Great Fireball Technique)
Naruto leaned forward as Sasuke produced a ball of fire from his mouth, enlarging it with this breath, and sending the fireball towards a standing Kakashi. The jounin was soon engulfed in flames as the fireball slammed onto the ground, creating a small impact crater.
Finally, after two boring hours, things were getting interesting. Using his chopsticks, Naruto shoved another mouthful of rice and beans into his mouth as the action below began to unfold.
Sasuke huffed and puffed in frustration as he saw the smouldering remains of a log right before him. That lazy pervert just performed a Kawarimi on him, making him waste his chakra on some harmless inanimate object. The boy looked around for any signs of the teacher. Not to the left. Not to the right. And up there in the tree was Naruto looking back at him while eating breakfast.
Sasuke's stomach growled upon seeing that bowl of rice being eaten by the Hokage's son. Why that brat! He hadn't eaten breakfast just as Kakashi told them, and now that boy was shoving food in his face right in front of him. He'd be damned if he'll fail this test just because he was hungry!
"Oi, Uchiha," Naruto called him out. "Don't tell me you actually fell for Kakash-nii-chan's trick and didn't eat breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you know? Back in Kumo, we used to-"
"Shut up, Naruto. I don't have time for this."
Suddenly, Sasuke's feet were knocked under him, causing the Uchiha to painfully land on his back. Quickly rolling to his side, he narrowly avoided being stomped further into the ground by Kakashi. Righting himself by kneeling on one knee, Sasuke reached for his holster and drew his kunai in anticipation of Kakashi's next move.
"Mah, mah, Sasuke-kun," Kakashi said as he began his analysis. "I'd say I'm impressed that you're able to do Katon – Gyoyakyu at your age. However, you still have a lot of work to do before you reach my level."
That's it! He was tired of everyone belittling him, making him look like some new rookie who knew nothing. He won't be put down. He won't be sent back. He'll prove that he deserved to be part of Konoha's elite, not just to be lumped along with a bunch of weaklings.
Sasuke sprung up and charged at Kakashi, aiming to thrust the kunai into Kakashi's stomach. The teacher said he could use any techniques or weapons at his disposal, so aiming to kill was fair game, right? As he got within a step from Kakashi, Kakashi simply stepped aside, grabbed Sasuke's collar, and slammed him into a nearby tree, knocking him unconscious.
"That's cheap, you know Kakashi-nii-chan?" Naruto commented. "Using me as a distraction…"
"Hey, I thought you liked the Kumo way of doing things."
"I didn't say I don't approve," Naruto responded with a smirk, "I'm just saying you're cheap."
"Sheesh, is there nothing that pleases you, Naruto?"
Sakura tripped and stumbled along as she tried to get away from the clearing as quickly as she could. She thought this test would be easy, seeing how Naruto-kun could manhandle Kakashi-sensei just like that. But then, seeing how sensei easily dispatched of Sasuke-kun, the number one in the class (alright, number two…no thanks to Ino-buta) she suddenly felt that she could no longer fight him alone anymore. Frightened by the way things turned out, she could only hope that an opening would present itself lest she be sent back to Academy.
But wait a minute. If she did somehow get that bell and pass this test, then that would mean that Sasuke-kun would be sent back to Academy. A veil of gloom fell upon Sakura as she realized that doing so would not only separate her from her beloved, but also earn her Sasuke's everlasting wrath. If Sasuke-kun did pass, then it would be her who would be sent back. And if they both failed, then yeah, they would be together, but Sasuke's going to hate her forever for being a hinderence.
Sakura covered face with both hands as she tried to come to grips on her dilemma. Oh how she wished there was a way for both of them to pass!
Suddenly, she saw a swirl of leaves fluttering around her, as if a sudden gust of wind has just blown. Feeling somewhat lightheaded, she looked around, hoping that Kakashi-sensei hadn't caught up to her.
"Sakura…"
Sakura turned around at the voice. He actually came for her! It seemed that Sasuke-kun's alright…or was he?
"GYYAAAAAAA‼"
Naruto turned to look at the source of the scream about a hundred metres west from where he was seated. It seemed like Kakashi-nii-chan caught up with Haruno and cast a genjutsu on her. He wondered what sorts of horrors Kakashi had in store for her for the girl to scream like that. Oh well, at least the graduates were getting a brief glimpse of real ninja life right now.
As Naruto tipped the rice bowl and shovel the last morsels of rice and beans into his mouth, he saw Uchiha stirring about as the dark-haired boy regained consciousness. Groaning in pain, Sasuke looked towards the source of the scream where Sakura was.
"Sakura…" Naruto heard Sasuke mumble. "If she screamed over there, then Kakashi's there…"
Naruto watched as Sasuke limped his way into the bushes, presumably towards the scene of the 'battle'. The Namikaze kinda felt bad that he distracted Uchiha a moment ago and causing this predicament, so he might as well stay in his spot. Besides, the last thing the Uchiha probably wanted was for Naruto to act as Kakashi's personal beacon.
On second thought, since Kakashi-nii-chan was already messing with them, Naruto might as well join in on the fun…without taking an 'active' part in the event, of course.
"Urgh…what happened?"
Sakura groggily opened her eyes as she struggled to get her bearings straight. Where was she? Why was she in the middle of the forest? Why was she unconscious?
Then she remembered: She and Sasuke-kun were in the middle of a test to try and take that bell from Kakashi-sensei. This was impossible! How were they supposed to even take on a jounin? The last thing she remembered was that horrible and bloody sight of Sasuke-kun pierced with kunai, senbon, and shuriken all over his body.
She looked around for Sasuke, hoping he was still alright and strong enough to continue the test. While still lying on the ground, she found herself face-to-face with Sasuke…whose bloody head was upright relative to the ground…with his body nowhere in sight.
She fainted.
Sasuke could only groan in frustration as he watched his supposed teammate knocked back into dreamland. He only had around half an hour to go to get that bell, but there he was stuck with the rest of his body immobilized in the ground, while the girl whom he was counting on to dig him out was beginning to drool and froth at her mouth.
"Ooh, katsudon!"
Sasuke and Sakura could only hungrily watch as Naruto happily dug into the big bowl of rice and breaded pork and began devouring it. Kakashi, the primary source of the graduates' irritation (and shame), did his part by wafting the smell of the delicious meal into their noses, before turning back and began eating the bowl himself.
Yup, as punishment for not completing the task, both Sasuke and Sakura were tied at a cut-down tree trunk side-by-side as they watched the two shinobi eat. For Sakura, a great sense of shame fell upon her. Shame for the dried-up drool on the side of her face. Shame for the way she horribly failed the test. Shame for not being a ninja. Shame for causing Sasuke-kun to be held back a year.
For Sasuke, though, a different emotion was brewing within him: Anger. Angry at himself for being too weak. Angry at his brother for taking everything away. And angry at Konoha for holding him back.
"I won't be held back…" Sasuke grumbled.
"What was that, Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi asked.
"I said you're not holding me back!" Sasuke yelled. "You will not prevent me from being a ninja! You will not prevent me from gaining strength! You will not stop me from taking my rightful vengeance and killing Itachi!"
"Sasuke," Kakashi sternly replied, "being a strong ninja means keeping your emotions in check no matter what the situation is. And from the way you're acting now, I see that you're not cut out to be one."
"Then release me and fight me!"
"And get your ass kicked again, Uchiha?" Naruto quipped. "Seriously, Kakashi-nii-chan, Uchiha is beginning to get psychotic here. Isn't it time someone told him the truth?"
"Truth?" Sasuke seethed with his teeth grinding, realizing that things were being kept away from him. "What truth?"
"Naruto," Kakashi warned, "you were told that is an S-ranked secret!"
"S-ranked secret my ass! Uchiha here has a 60 per cent chance of going missing-nin, and all you're concerned about is keeping a secret?"
"And you may reveal it to him in due time."
"When?" Naruto questioned. "Was that lecture you gave them about teamwork just a bunch of crap? Seriously, you expected two random people to be mashed together, then presto, instant teamwork overnight? Even in Kumo, it takes years for teammates to work together seamlessly."
"Naruto, this is not about Kumo-"
"Your right, this is about teamwork. And how can you have that without trust? You don't trust Uchiha to act properly when told of this?"
"Naruto, that's enough-"
Kakashi was suddenly interrupted courtesy of a good kick in the groin from Naruto. While clutching his tender regions in immense pain, Naruto proceeded to lightly tap the base of Kakashi's neck with two fingers and ran a small jolt of electricity into it, causing the jounin to fall flat on the ground paralyzed. Well, at least the pain is gone…for now.
"Naruto! Put a sock on it! Your father will not be happy about this!"
Naruto grinned as he heard of Kakashi's 'suggestion'.
"Did you say 'put a sock' in it?"
Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized what Naruto was about to do. Naruto held the jounin's feet, took his socks off, before unmasking the one-eyed scarecrow.
"Naruto, no, you cant- Mmpf! Mmpf!"
With the socks shoved into his mouth, Naruto put Kakashi's mask back on to secure the gag. As he watched Kakashi struggle, he turned to look back at the two graduates.
"Now," Naruto muttered out loud, "where were we?"
"Standing deferred."
Minato's raised his brow as he heard the outcome of Kakashi's evaluation of his genin team. Kakashi was standing before him, apparently from some discomfort around his sensitive area. The Hokage rubbed his head and sighed, as he could only think of one reason why one of his elite jounin was disheveled like that.
"What did Naruto do now for you to delay judgment?"
"During the test itself, nothing. Sasuke and Sakura did not succeed in getting the bell nor did they exhibit any signs of teamwork. However, after much protest and arguing from Naruto and a lot of time to think about it…in the hospital…I've decided to give Naruto's suggestion a try and have Uchiha and Haruno do D-ranked missions without pay until they're deemed worthy of a promotion."
"Sheesh," as Minato slapped his own head in frustration, "how many times do I have to tell him he's no longer in Kumo? So you're planning to play along with this, Kakashi?"
"Actually, sensei, there's one more thing you should know about…" Kakashi meekly continued.
The space between Minato's fingers opened up slightly to reveal a helpless eye looking back at his remaining student.
"Kakashi, don't tell me my son told him…"
The jounin could only watch as the Hokage buried his face in the desk and clutched his hair out of frustration.
"I never expected to find you here, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke, crouched down on the ground, turned around and looked up to see Kakashi standing behind him. Briefly acknowledging his team leader with a nod, he turned back to look at the object that had been the subject of his attention the past hour: A flat slab of rock with the names of people who died for Konoha engraved on it. Sasuke slid his finger to around the time when the Massacre occurred, and no matter how many times he looked at it, he only saw one name that came from his clan: Uchiha Kagami.
"Sensei," Sasuke spoke in a low voice, "the rest of them deserve to be remembered too."
"Let's leave that decision for the Hokage," Kakashi replied. "Believe me, until recently, he was as in the dark about this incident as you were."
Kakashi proceeded to join Sasuke, and let his finger glide along the names of those who died during the Third Shinobi War. Sasuke brow rose as he watched the jounin's finger stop at a name whom he had never heard of: Uchiha Obito.
"Sasuke, Naruto has told you of very sensitive information that could harm Konoha's reputation should word of it leak out in public. He thought you deserved to know this information, and trusted you to do the right thing."
As Kakashi paused, Sasuke looked at the jounin and nodded in acknowledgement. Kakashi then lifted the forehead protector that covered his left eye, revealing something that the Uchiha thought was gone in Konoha since that bloody night.
Kakashi looked at Sasuke with his Sharingan eye as he continued. "In his dying wish, my teammate, Obito, entrusted me this eye to replace the one that I lost during the battle. He did so knowing that I would defend Konoha with it, and not misuse it and have it turned against your clan who have ignored him."
Kakashi paused yet again as he slid his forehead protector back over his Sharingan eye. He watched as the Uchiha went through a million thoughts in his tumultuous mind.
The jounin coughed to gain the boy's attention, hoping to warn him of the consequences should he proceed with his previous path.
"Sasuke, are you aware of any missing-nin or S-ranked criminal who originated from Kumo?"
The boy frowned as the thought of any names that popped in his mind, before shaking his head in the negative. Besides, what does a criminal from Kumo had to do with this anyways?
"Well," Kakashi continued, "ever wondered what happened to those from Kumo who did betray their village?"
Killed right away. Kumo was portrayed as a ruthless and vicious village during their lessons in Academy (and incidentally, Kumo actually endorsed and cultivated that reputation), so it probably didn't matter to them if the enemy were from outside or within; they were dealt with the same way. Sasuke brows furrowed as he put was able to put the clues together and see where Kakashi was heading with this.
"I highly suggest that you don't betray Naruto's trust," Kakashi warned. "As you're aware by now, he grew up and was raised in Kumo, and he still acts as if he's still in Kumo. Kumo-nin don't take too kindly to traitors, and the moment you turn your back from Konoha, I'm sure Naruto won't hesitate to kill you."
As Sasuke ground his teeth thinking about what Kakashi has told him, the jounin stood up to conclude his talk with Sasuke and visit to Obito.
"Sasuke, we meet tomorrow at 0800h at the bridge two hundred metres west of here. You will start your first mission together as a team."
"So, we passed?" Sasuke asked.
"Not yet," Kakashi replied. "Thanks to Naruto, it seems that you and Sakura will go through this the way they do it in Kumo."
With that, Kakahi left, leaving Sasuke alone once again with his thoughts.
"Otousan, what does babysitting some brat have to do with being a ninja?"
Minato's eye twitched as his ears were bombarded with yet another round of complaints from his son. Sure, during the first few months, he was glad that Naruto was finally back in his true home in Konoha. But as time passed, he was subjected to the unpleasant reminder of how irritating Kushina got when they were genin. The Hokage let out a sigh as he wondered how the Raikage, Shi and Nii dealt with the boy for twelve years without going insane.
"Naruto," Minato sternly replied, "the boy your team will be babysitting is not just some random kid. He's Sandaime-sama's grandson, Konohamaru."
"And where's that guy's normal babysitter? What's his name again? Ebisu-san?"
One of the Hokage's veins in the forehead throbbed as the loudmouth referred to one of his jounin as a babysitter. While the father and son continued to bicker, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke just watched at the sidelines in the Hokage's Office, wondering that the big deal was. Sure, it kinda annoyed the three for them to do demeaning work the past few weeks, but part of being a ninja included doing something that one may not necessarily like. And considering the position Sasuke and Sakura were in, they were not really in any position cherry-pick their way through this.
"Look, I've already sent Ebisu on a mission," Minato continued. "Besides, your teammates are not even official ninja yet! Even if I want to, I can't really give you a more difficult mission until Kakashi thinks that Sasuke and Sakura are ready to be genin."
Kakashi's visible eye perked up upon hearing the Hokage's explanation. He spoke up, eager to finally break this routine of sheer monotony.
"Actually Minato-sensei, I've seen improvements from both of them in terms of skill and teamwork over the past few weeks. I think it's time for us to revisit their status and see what they're capable of."
"Are you sure about this, Kakashi?" Minato skeptically replied. "I hope you're not just saying this to get out of doing low D-ranked missions."
The Hokage then turned to look at Sasuke and Sakura, sizing them up and see if they were indeed ready for this. With the village leader's gaze turned on them, Sakura shifted slightly out of nervousness, while Sasuke just stood there with his arms folded.
"Y-yes, Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked.
"I want to hear it from you yourself. Are you ready to be a ninja of Konohagakure no Sato, to do all the duties and bear all the responsibilities associated with it?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Sakura chirped.
"And you, Sasuke?"
"Yes."
Minato sighed once again at the genin-candidates' replies. It looked like the two of them wanted to be genin—well, who wouldn't? Before he could complain to the gods of this troublesome situation, his eye caught a glimpse of an unfurled scroll that had been lying on his desk for a few weeks now. He had been meaning to get someone to do this, but somehow, something else always came up to displace it way down the priority list.
"Very well then," Minato resumed. "I think I have something just for the two of you."
The Hokage pointed at the scroll, and motioned for the genin-candidates to come forward and take it. As Team Kakashi approached the desk, Sasuke grabbed a hold of the scroll and read it as the other three looked on.
"Quality Assurance Check – Konoha Library and Archives"
Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other quizzically, wondering what this specific mission entailed. Meanwhile, Naruto was practically salivating at the prospect of some excitement after being bored for the past few weeks.
"In this mission, the two of you will evaluate the state of security at the mentioned location." Minato explained. "From the way Naruto has been doing these types of missions, you will act as if you were an enemy ninja, infiltrating the location and exposing all the weaknesses you may find in the system. After you're done, you will report back and give me and the ninja charged to the place a detailed description of what they did right, and areas where we can improve things."
"Wait a minute, only the two of them? What about me?" Naruto complained.
"Naruto, everyone already assumes that you're after them whenever they see you around." Minato said. "Besides, this will be their genin-enabling mission. You and Kakashi will be evaluating Sakura and Sasuke, while they will be evaluating the people guarding the Library and Archives."
Minato then looked at Sasuke and Sakura to finish off.
"Should your performance in this mission be deemed satisfactory, you shall be given the rank of genin and be paid accordingly for this C-ranked mission. You may consult Naruto of your plans, but he may not give you any ideas on how to proceed. Any questions?"
Naruto frowned, unhappy that he will be missing out on all the fun that Uchiha and Haruno will be having. And a quality assurance check isn't really a pass/fail situation (in the sense that it's impossible to fail this mission short of not doing it), so he wondered how he would determine if his teammates are ready to be promoted. Oh well, this beat babysitting that brat anytime.
"Wow, Sasuke-kun. I can't believe we're able to go this far in."
Sakura and Sasuke tiptoed their way further into the restricted-access portion of Konoha Library, looking left and right to evade the guards on duty who were walking around the hallways. At first, they tried the 'hiding in plain sight' approach, casually walking through the initial checkpoint as if they had any business being there. That worked, though Sakura feared that might not earn them a promotion since, in a sense, they were entitled to be there to begin with. Then came the hard part, sneaking around through the air ducts keeping their chakra levels low to avoid being detected. Still, for some odd reason, it felt that the entire ordeal so far was way too easy.
The two genin-candidates now reached the inner sanctum of the library where A-class and S-class information were kept. Surprisingly, the door to that room was wide open, possibly indicating that someone was inside at the moment. Proceeding slowly and carefully, Sasuke and Sakura looked around to see who was in there.
Of all their luck, why did it have to be the Sandaime Hokage who was in that room! So far, the retired Kage immersed himself reading a small scroll. Sakura turned to her teammate to consult the next course of action they should take. It alarmed the girl to see Sasuke frowning with a piercing glare at the elder trembling to keep his rage in check.
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered, "y-you don't want to fail this test, do you?"
Sasuke took in a deep breath upon hearing the girl, trying to focus his mind on the task at hand. He can't fail right now. He won't give that geezer the satisfaction of dishonouring the name of Uchiha ever again!
While the Sandaime was distracted with the scroll, Sasuke and Sakura slowly made their way into the room, lightly treading-
Creak…
"Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?" The retired Kage looked up and asked the two kids. "Aren't you supposed to be taking care of Konohamaru?" Sarutobi then frowned as he realized something. "For that matter, how on earth did the two of you get all the way here?"
Sasuke and Sakura turned to look at each other, now wondering what to do in their current predicament.
Sakura was fuming mad. Of all the things they could have done, why on earth did Sasuke-kun have to remember that story of Sandaime-sama which Naruto had told them? She didn't know what she was angrier at: Sasuke-kun stripping her naked, or Naruto's depiction of the Sandaime turning out to be true! But, if it were just her and Sasuke-kun all alone in that room, and if he asked nicely, then maybe…
She shook her head as she discarded that thought. The point was that the old man saw her in such a shameful state, and she will not forgive him for being a pedophile! And it didn't help her train of thought that she witnessed her beloved gracelessly beat and kick the old man around while he was down and unconscious. Yes, Sasuke-kun's actions were understandable in light of his circumstances, but it wasn't exactly the prettiest of sights she has ever witnessed.
"Uchiha Sasuke! Haruno Sakura! Show yourselves and surrender, before you feel the full brunt of our force!"
About ninety minutes has passed they made their escape from the library, managing to take off with biggest scroll they could find in the room. They ended up holing themselves up in one of the vacant apartments around Naruto-kun's neighbourhood. She was sure that many chunin and jounin were deployed in their pursuit, and it scared the girl that they were prepared to use deadly force to deal with them. How were they going to explain that Hokage-sama himself authorized this?
Sakura turned to look at the corner of the room, where Sasuke sat cross-legged reading the contents of the scroll. Well, both of them were at first surprised they were able to open the scroll so easily. Even more disturbing for Konoha's security was that the scroll's contents were perfectly legible, which could have allowed the enemies to just copy its contents. However, they were already in enough trouble as they were, and they didn't need to compound the situation by stretching the scope of this mission.
"Um, Sasuke-kun," a concerned Sakura asked. "Are you sure we're allowed to read what's in that scroll?"
"Can you keep quiet for a bit, Sakura." Sasuke replied. "I think I just figured out the mechanics of this jutsu."
Sakura looked around nervously in reaction to the boy's response. Was this even part of the mission? The information in the scroll was deemed A or S-classed for a good reason!
Suddenly, the apartment door leading outside burst open, revealing at least two dozen angry-looking chunin and jounin with their weapons drawn. Sakura stepped back and found herself leaning against the wall, fearing that the worst of all outcomes may happen.
"Alright, you kiddies," a jounin condescendingly addressed them, "why don't the two of you be a good boy and girl, hand the scroll over, and come with us? And maybe we can just forget about the scroll incident, and charge you with just assaulting Sandaime-sama."
Sasuke stood, taking one step forward to face off against the platoon of ninjas before them. Sakura, now trembling, tried to dissuade the boy from doing something foolish.
"Sasuke-kun, w-what are you doing? Y-you can't take on all of them…"
"Meh," Sasuke shrugged, "I just want to try something."
"Oh yeah," the jounin answered back. "Let's see what you can do."
Sasuke immediately formed a peculiar hand seal with the index and middle fingers from both hands crossed. The mob tensed as Sasuke gathered the chakra to execute the jutsu.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A solid clone in the exact likeness of the Uchiha suddenly popped into existence beside Sasuke. The impromptu jounin leader frowned upon seeing the kid do such a jutsu. For a moment, Sakura's eyes gleamed with admiration of Sasuke-kun being a hero in front of her.
As the chunin and jounin were about to make their move, the clone unexpectedly popped out of existence. Exactly one second later, Uchiha Sasuke passed out.
"Sasuke-kun!"
"Alright everyone, playtime's over!"
It was at this time that Kakashi and Naruto made their appearance, appearing in front of Sasuke and Sakura in a flurry of leaves and a cloud of mist respectively.
"Naruto," Kakashi ordered, "why don't you take Sasuke-kun to the hospital and have him treated for chakra exhaustion?"
"Wait, Kakashi-senpai," the lead jounin complained, "They just stole the Scroll of Seals and-"
"Exactly," Kakashi replied with a smirk under his mask. "The rest of you will be coming with me and Sakura-chan to the Hokage's Office where we'll have a nice long chat on how miserably you all performed this afternoon."
The ragtag group looked at each other in confusion before realizing something. Damn it! This was one of those inspections that Hokage-sama has been obsessed about lately! And it seemed that this time, he hired a couple of kids instead of his son to do his bidding.
As the mob made their way to the Hokage's Office with their heads hung down humiliated, Sakura just wondered whether Sasuke-kun will be alright.
PS Well, that's the ninth chapter! Once again, I've cut a scene out of this chapter since it ruined the pace of the story. But aside from a few details that diverges from canon, you guys should pretty much know what this 'secret' is all about by now.
Thanks for reading! 'Till next time!
Cut Scene: Rogue Uchiha
"Mmpf! MMPF‼"
"Now, where were we?"
As Kakashi struggled in his futile attempt to verbally stop Naruto, Sasuke looked back at Naruto, somewhat furious at what Konoha had done to him so far. Well, he's about to get a whole lot angrier...
"The truth they were hiding from me." Uchiha stated.
"Ah that," Naruto started as he took a yellow book out from his sleeve and waved it around. "You see, it all started twelve years ago on the night when I was born."
"Naruto," Sasuke interrupted while glaring back at the storyteller. "What does your birth have to do with this?"
"MMPF‼ MMPF‼"
"You'll see, Uchiha." Naruto continued. "Now, my mother was Uzumaki Kushina, known far and wide as the 'Bloody Habanero'. What was not known by all but a select few was that she was the jinchuriki of Kyubi no Yoko."
"J-jinchuriki? K-kyubi?" Sakura stammered back while trembling in the post. "Y-you mean that attack twelve years ago was not a random freak of nature?"
"That's right, Haruno," Naruto acknowledged. "You see, the seal holding Kyu-chan in gets severely weakened when the jinchuriki is under labour from childbirth. And on that night, a man named Uchiha Madara barged in, killed my mother, and released Kyubi to take it back for himself."
"Uchiha Madara…" Sasuke muttered. "Impossible…he's dead!"
"Tsuchikage's still alive, so why not Madara?" Naruto reasoned back. "Anyways, father managed to defeat Madara and drove him out of Konoha, while Ei (the person who would become Yondaime Raikage) and Bee-ojisan managed to seal Kyu-chan, eventually choosing me as its next container."
Both Sasuke's and Sakura's eyes widened upon this revelation. They were lied to all this time! The Hokage didn't defeat Kyubi—the Kumo dignitaries did. And Kyubi wasn't sent to Kumo merely to be disposed of as they were taught. Suddenly, the reason why Naruto was in Kumo the entire time began to make sense to the graduates.
Sakura muttered frightened. "Y-you h-have Kyubi sealed in you? Th-that means Kyubi's back?"
"Yup!" The Jinchuriki chirped. "But don't worry, Kyu-chan's harmless to you while I'm alive. Besides, you'll get to know it better in the future."
"Continuing on with the story, five years ago, the Uchiha Clan fell into a powerful and nearly unbreakable genjutsu. Even you, Uchiha Sasuke, were under this terrible mind-controlling genjutsu. Now Uchiha, care to guess who cast this genjutsu in the first place?"
"Madara?" Sasuke replied as narrowed his eyes upon hearing this new bit of information.
"Correct. Now, under this genjutsu, the clan…well, ultimately Madara conspired to launch a coup d'état and seize power while Otousan was away visiting me in Kumo. Only two of the Uchiha managed to escape this genjutsu: Kagami who was having dinner with his former teammates when the genjutsu was cast, and Itachi, who was away on mission.
"Jay, the Kumo Liaison at the time, informed the Sandaime Hokage that something funny was going on with the Uchiha. The six elders in charge at the time met to discuss what to do, and decided to monitor the situation until father returned.
"Two days later, Uchiha Kagami was found dead. Jay, who was also monitoring the situation, provided conclusive evidence to the five surviving elders that the Uchiha were under genjutsu, and were going to act soon.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, Akimichi Torifu, Shimura Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura informed your brother of the situation as soon as he returned from his mission. But once it became clear that the point-of-no-return has passed, the elders ordered Itachi to…I quote…'exterminate all impending threats to Konoha'.
Sasuke clenched his fists and grinded his teeth as he took in each and every word that Naruto told him. How dare the Sandaime Hokage lie to him! Why was he—or Konoha for that matter, never told of Madara? Why did the elders resort to killing everyone off? Why was it that out of all people, a person new to Konoha was the one to tell him of all this?
"Uchiha," Naruto continued, "I'm pretty sure your brother tried to break the genjutsu before resorting to what he did. Well, I guess he did break that genjutsu on you when he killed your parents…though I think he broke way more than that."
Naruto then moved to stand before the tied-up Uchiha, looking at him eye-to-eye. Sasuke's brows furrowed as he returned Namikaze's stare at him.
"You said you want to kill Itachi. I think you're after the wrong person. As far as anyone knows, Madara still wants Kyubi, so he will be going after me sometime in the future. If you want vengeance, if you wish to kill Madara, then you may want to hang around me. When he shows up, you and I will be there together to defeat him and bring justice to my mother, all those who died twelve years ago, and to your family and clan whom he used as puppets."
Naruto then unsheathed his sword and sliced the rope binding Uchiha and Haruno to the tree trunk. Freed, the two graduates slid down, sitting at the base of the trunk. As Naruto turned to leave the training grounds, he gave Uchiha one last piece of advice.
"Think about it, Uchiha. Would you rather continue on your previous path, or change course for a better one?"
A deafening silence fell in the grounds as Naruto disappeared into the trees. After a few tense moments, Sasuke got up and stormed out of the field, presumably to contemplate on this huge piece of baggage that was just dumped onto him. As Sakura watched the paralyzed form of Kakashi trying to mumble something to her, she could only wonder what sort of role she would play in all of this.
