"So do you think he is all right?" Rei looked at Kyoji as the sped through the forest.

"You worry too much Rei, Keta will be fine. All he is doing is looking for his cousin."

"Yea but other people could be looking for Keta and that would prove to be most disastrous for us." Kyoji shook his head at Rei's logic. "You have no place to disagree, you don't even know if they will let just the two of us pass without him!" To this Kyoji grinned.

"You shouldn't even be on this team," The statement shocked Rei but not enough to halt her running. "If you can't put your full trust into your own teammate, someone who actually saved you at one time if I recall correctly. If you can not put your whole trust in him I don't even know why I call you my partner." The only reply that came from the Kunoichi was a simple "Hmph". Kyoji smiled a bit as they hustled through the forest to reach the tower.

"Trashing Lee and attempting to hurt Sakura isn't something I'll allow!" The Uchiha stood confidently as he looked down at the three Sound Nin below. Sakura could keep herself from smiling as Keta just looked so cool at that moment. "Sakura, stand up and show her why you are a Genin of Konoha. I'll take the other two!" Sakura nodded raising herself up so she could face her opponent.

"Zankuuha!" A blast of wind tore through the tree limb Keta used to be standing on. In midair Zaku grinned and pointed his left hand at Keta "Zankuuha!" Another blast of air shot out at the Uchiha. This time the attack ripped into Keta but the leaf Genin turned into a log and fell hard to the ground. "Where'd that bastard go?" Keta was already behind the Sound Nin much to his surprise.

"You forgot about me!" Dosu came down swinging his enhanced arm at the Uchiha. Keta smiled jumping over to the front of Zaku. The sound that came out of Dosu's enhanced arm was sucked in by Zaku's ear. Letting out a cry of pain the Sound Nin dropped to his knees holding his ears.

"Don't think I didn't catch that display of your power when you attacked Kabuto. I may have looked like I was sleeping but I saw it. You can't get anything past the eyes of an Uchiha…" The statement struck Dosu. Dosu jumped back and looked behind Keta then back at the leaf Genin in front of him. Curious Keta looked into the forehead protector Dosu was wearing and saw that behind him was Sasuke and Naruto laying side by side both motionless. "Sakura! What happened to Sasuke and Naruto?" Sakura's kunai clashed with Kin's as sparks flew up and the two Kunoichi pushed against the other.

I don't know if I should tell him about that man… Orochimaru. Maybe it would be for the best, but… is that something Sasuke would want his cousin to know?

"Don't worry about it now I guess," Keta while speaking flipped over one of Dosu's swings and did a no handed cartwheel to evade an air blast that came at him. "You can tell me after I beat these guys down." Keta jumped back evading a kunai thrown by Dosu.

"Oh, okay!" Sakura let out a sigh of relief which was cut short as she realized she was still in battle with Kin. Sakura decided to end the conflict with a double KO maneuver. Kin came in with a horizontal attack using her kunai and Sakura let the blow hit. Using that moment of vulnerability Sakura swung a kunai of her own downwards slicing into Kin's neck. Both fell back unable to continue fighting from fear of losing too much blood.

"You said when you hit Lee that hard work can only take you so far?"

"Yes that's correct!" Dosu charged in for another attack hoping to catch Keta off guard. Dosu's fist actually hit the side of Keta's head, but Keta turned into a log with a cloud of smoke.

"Well you haven't worked nearly hard enough to be saying that!" Dosu turned to the voice behind him and was met with a clobbering fist sending the Sound Nin flying backwards into one of the thicker trees in the area.

"All right that does it; I'm going to end this right here and now! Zankuu kyokuha!" Zaku raised his hands and a tremendous amount of air came gushing out of both his arms and it was all heading in Keta's general direction.

Shit! Sakura's behind me as well, it looks like there is no way out!

Sakura finished wrapping her wound with some tape she had handy that was prepared for Sasuke or Naruto. When the pink haired Genin looked up she saw a huge surge of air coming towards her and in a flash there was someone standing in the way of her and the incoming gust of wind. "Keta, what are you doing?" Keta made quick hand seals and smirked as he grabbed Sakura around the waist.

"This!" Keta looked down at Sakura's face which had brightened a bit from the Uchiha's abrupt actions. The wind was already beginning to affect them when Keta used a body replacement technique moving him and Sakura out of danger. "Look, stay put here. You did good getting rid of that other girl but you are too hurt to continue right now." Sakura nodded knowing that she wasn't in a place to disagree.

"Heh, I obliterated his sorry ass!" Zaku looked around and saw his team regrouping.

"How could I have obliterated…" Keta dropped down from the tree much to the surprise of the Sound Nin. "From such a pathetic attack?" Keta took a kunai and cocked his arm back. "Take this!" The Uchiha launched the kunai in Zaku's direction.

"Useless!" Zaku shot air through his palm at the kunai in order to discard it but the way it was spinning allowed the kunai to simply slice through the air.

"Double piercing effect," The Sound Nin's adversary had a smirk on his face as the kunai he had thrown sliced into Zaku's left hand cutting the whole in Zaku's palm so it was no longer a closed shape. The air became unstable and began to hurt Zaku upon use.

"We have already wasted enough time, let's get out of here. We can kill Sasuke some other time." Zaku looked at Dosu and although he himself did not want to admit it he knew that at this point this Uchiha would capitalize on one of his mistakes and it would be over for this prideful Sound Nin. Making a hasty retreat the Sound Nin were gone.

What is this feeling I have behind me? It must be Sasuke waking up now. He won't believe it when I tell him how badly I beat those guys. Without even using full strength; oh man he is gunna be jealous.

With a quick swivel of his body Keta confirmed his suspicion. The Uchiha was looking at Sasuke, but then Keta truly saw Sasuke. He saw the dark purple chakra that flowed around him. Sasuke's head was down so Keta could not tell if anything distinct had happened to his face but when the Genin from squad 1 looked at the "Last Uchiha's" body he saw strange black markings running up and down the skin.

"Where is Sakura?" Keta looked at Sasuke noticing the change in his cousin's voice. When Sasuke lifted his head to lock his eyes on Keta it was a sight that made the hairs at the back of Keta's head stand on end. Keta saw the dark red eyes that Sasuke had and the two dots that swirled around his pupil. "I said where is Sakura?" In the tree that Keta had placed her in Sakura was had too much fear in her to even begin speaking. From the bushes Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji looked on in horror. "If there is no answer then I'll… beat it out of you!" The aura of chakra exploded and the markings that only held half of Sasuke's face now stretched over to the other side.

I see…this power; it is something that he gave me. I will use this power, because I am an Avenger!

Sasuke appeared behind his cousin and before anyone could tell what was happening Keta was sent flying towards the ground. Keta smashed into the ground and continued rolling for a bit longer as the dust kicked up.

"Keta-Kun," Ino attempted to leave the bushes but was grabbed by her teammate's hand. With a simple shake of his head Shikamaru told Ino all that she needed to know and she was forced to look on.

"What have you done Sasuke?"

"I have widened the gap between us! You are no longer my rival, and that is because I have far surpassed you!" Sasuke dashed forward with lightning speed and smashed Keta backwards before he could react. Keta found himself propped up against a particularly large tree as he looked at his approaching cousin. "You still hold onto him don't you? You still think Itachi is a good and honorable person. That he wouldn't kill without a good reason. Isn't that right "rival"?" The statement was heard by Keta but a response could not be found.

Flashback

"With this move you will be able to fight off even the strongest of Chuunins with your young age." Keta was paying attention to his Idol's every word. Itachi dropped down spreading his feet apart then made the correct hand signs. "Fire Dragon Flame Blast!" Itachi spewed fire from his mouth and it took the form of an enormous dragon. Itachi began controlling the dragon making it do a couple of designs then had the flames disperse.

"That was so cool Itachi; I want to be just like you!" Itachi looked at Keta with his eyes. When Keta looked back at him he saw a ninja devoid of emotions almost as if he had killed them in a way or at least brought them under his control.

"No Keta, you don't want to be me. You shouldn't want to be me." At that moment it looked as if Itachi was looking into his past for a brief moment. Something about the way his mentor acted struck Keta and unnerved the boy.

"So should I try now Itachi?" Itachi snapped out of his apparent flashback and nodded. Keta spread his feet dropping exactly as Itachi did. Keta then mimicked the hand signs "Fire Dragon Flame Blast!" sure enough a dragon emerged through the roaring flames that came out of Keta's mouth. Keta controlled the dragon for a brief moment before it dispersed. Completely sapped of strength Keta went to his knees breathing heavily. Itachi walked over to him.

"Good job Keta. You make me proud to be your relative." Even though his words were encouraging Keta wasn't satisfied by the facial expression given by his idol. It was one of seriousness as if Keta's accomplishment meant nothing and was the equivalent to not doing anything. Aggravated Keta rose to his feet despite his lack of energy.

"You're not proud… there's something wrong. What is it?" Keta's eyes met those of his idol. Itachi slowly looked to the side and sighed.

"You're right; I should be celebrating with you but…" Keta fell to his knees. Tired Keta looked up to his mentor.

"You will serve your purpose, and that is to make him strong…" As the white scenery around Keta was torn apart to make way for the new gloomier background the young Uchiha looked into the sky. What Keta saw was a red moon; it was a sight that dazzled Keta. When Keta's eyes came back down to the earth he was staring dark red eyes in the face. Rather than scream in fright like he did before he looked back into those devilish eyes. At that moment Keta noticed something, he noticed that those were not just any Sharingan eyes, but that they were Itatchi's "special" eyes.

"Wha-what did you do?" Before Keta could speak more Itachi dashed towards him katana poised for a final thrust. Almost instinctively Keta's right foot pushed off as soon as Itachi began his dash. The katana was bloodied as it went through the eleven year old boy's body. Luckily Keta's instinctive maneuver allowed him to evade Itachi's attack to his heart. When Keta looked up to see his idol for the final time what he saw scared him to death. It seemed as if it was the devil himself starring back at Keta with his dark red eyes.

"Tsukiyomi!"

End Flashback

Keta's head looked at the ground as his cousin stood waiting for the pathetic reply was sure to come. Sasuke had a devilish teethy grin across his face, something that was uncommon to his person.

So my life was merely a tool, because I instinctively saved myself I was doomed to the life of someone else's slave?

"No…" The reply struck Sasuke enough that his grin dropped into a face of seriousness. "Itachi is even worse than a murderer. Itachi put shackles on me enslaving my person. He didn't just let me die that day! That is something I will not forgive, but now… I have seen the truth and I have broken free of his shackles." Keta's eyes rose to meet Sasuke's. Sasuke took a step back in surprise as he stared into his cousin's dark red eyes. Keta's eyes had two black dots swirling around the main pupil in each eye just as Sasuke's. Keta bent down and unlatched two braces one around each ankle. After the braces fell off he stood up straight and took off the braces that were on both of his wrists. Cracking his neck Keta's emotion was not light or cocky but dead serious. "Let's go wild!"

"Keta-kun, you did it." Ino looked on seeing Keta's Sharingan in full effect. It was a beautiful sight on such a person the red matched him perfectly. Shikamaru sighed as he looked at Ino and automatically knew that she was admiring instead of observing. Sasuke dashed forward with his lightning speed and attempted to drive Keta further into the tree with another punch.

"Sasuke…"

Keta grabbed the fist with his right hand then using his left launched an attack of his own catching Sasuke off guard. Sasuke was hit in the face sending him backwards a step or two in surprise. Regaining his composure the purple chakra flared once more as Sasuke charged in for another attack. Keta jumped over his rival and dropped into a fighting stance. Gritting his teeth Sasuke rushed in and brought his hand forward for a straight punch. Again Keta blocked and he countered with a swing of his leg. Sasuke was focused now and blocked the attack and began his counter counter attack. Keta felt himself being picked up off the ground and was swung into the air. Twisting his body in mid flight Keta was looking down at Sasuke as his cousin looked back at him. Almost simultaneously the two began performing hand seals.

"Sasuke."

"From what I can tell their seals are…" Shikamaru looked on in amazement.

"Katon Goukakyuu!" The two shouted those words at the same time and took in deep breaths. Placing an open cup over their mouths the two Uchiha's blew unleashing tremendous amounts of flames at their adversary. The two giant flames met at the midpoint and created a giant fireball that the two jumped into.

Who used their Sharingan to copy the other? This fight is much too troublesome…

"Sasuke!"

As the fire cleared the two were in the center each with one hand clenched and extended while their other hand was holding their opponent's attempted punch. The grapple didn't end even as the two landed. Gritting his teeth Keta swung his right arm over his left much to the surprise of Sasuke. Immediately though Sasuke caught on and the two spun in midair around their arms and when Keta went to put his feet forward to push off he was met with Sasuke's feet. The two Genins pushed off releasing the grapple and sending them a fair distance apart. Sasuke took hold of a kunai and began launching them one after another without stopping. Keta matched his rivals attack with kunais of his own. Stopping the two began forming hand seals but Sasuke was forced to stop abruptly.

What is she doing? We don't know what Sasuke is capable of; he could very well kill her on the spot!

"Please stop," Sakura held tightly on Sasuke and when his dark red eyes came to meet her green eyes the black markings slowly began to retract. Sasuke fell back onto his behind only after the black markings had returned nicely into the seal on the back of his shoulder. Keta sighed in relief as he looked at the teary eyed Sakura embrace his rival. Sasuke couldn't stop shaking much to Keta's surprise.

It seems like it was something out of Sasuke's control. I wonder if it will become a problem in the near future…

"Keta-kun! I knew you were amazing!" Keta didn't have much time to ponder what had happened to Sasuke now that Ino had her arms wrapped around him from behind. Shikamaru and Chouji soon followed coming out of the bushes.

The power of the Uchiha is still something unknown to me…

Neji was deep in contemplation when Ten-Ten appeared next to him on the tree branch. "There's Lee," Ten-Ten called attention to the unconscious Genin in the green jumpsuit. Neji nodded "I guess I'll take care of him," with that Ten-Ten jumped down and walked over to Lee.

"I'm so glad you are okay," Sakura had stopped embracing Sasuke and began checking for injuries when Keta walked up to the two. Keta went to a knee so he could look at Sasuke without having to move his aching neck. The two Uchiha's eyes were back to normal as they stared at each other for a short moment.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you are my rival, and there is nothing you can do to get rid of that." Sasuke looked away not wanting the pity of his cousin. "But, I am still your cousin and you are still mine. So take this," Keta rummaged through his pack and pulled out an Earth scroll.

"Why are you giving us your scroll? If you give that to us then you won't be able to complete the exam." Sasuke nodded in agreement with Sakura's statement.

"Don't worry; my team is most likely already at the tower with both our scrolls. I took this from those Sound Nin that tried to harm you Sakura." Sakura was surprised as she had a newfound respect for Keta.

"Then if it is of no use to you then… thank you."

"Think of it as a gift…for these eyes that you gave me." Sakura took the scroll and smiled at Keta who in turn gave a slight hint of happiness. One that was so common to Sasuke. On that note Keta stood and picked up his braces. Putting them on he went to leave.

"Keta," The Genin from squad 1 stopped to hear the words of his cousin. "You… you are like the brother I never had." It was something hard for Sasuke to say and it surprised all who heard it which was just about everyone except for Lee's team who had already left the vicinity.

"You better be at that tower on time, or else you'll have me to answer to." Sasuke nodded and Keta jumped up into the jungle above rushing back to his comrades who were undoubtedly at the tower waiting for his arrival.

He is so much like Sasuke, yet he is a completely different soul… Uchiha Keta. He sure is an interesting fellow.

"OW!" Ino was brought out of her thoughts by the loud cry of Naruto. Naruto looked up to see Shikamaru and Chouji staring down a