Disclaimer:

First off, I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR NARUTO SHIPPUDEN! AND I NEVER WILL. I only own my characters and that is it. So don't sue me please! Kishimoto, love your work so please no lawsuit my man.

K51: Heya guys! We are back and here we go! Zesu vs. Sasuke!

Zesu: I'm so kicking the teme's ass.

K51: Be careful there Zesu. Sasuke isn't the type to be taken lightly.

Zesu: Hmpf.

K51: So audience, since I didn't receive any sort of voting from you people, guess Sasuke is staying with Orochimaru. I will be having Zesu teach Naruto and go along with the main storyline. Sorry to those who wished to see differently.

Zesu: Yeesh, you guys gotta review this story. C'mon guys.

K51: I am begging you people, but whatever. Let's start it up! Number 25!

Chapter 25: A Gift Now Cursed

I grinned a toothy smile at my so called cousin and let out a laugh in a voice darker and sinister than the original. "You sound so eager to win. But can you?" I cocked my head to the side, still grinning maliciously at the navy-blue haired boy who only tsked at me. In a fraction of a second his blade's edge was a foot away from my neck, but even surprising myself, my hand moved to parry it with my own blade just as quickly. I kept my composure, but my mind was screaming. How the hell did I do that?! Holy crap! Sasuke's eyes widened in shock, but resumed his assault by swinging around me, desperately attempting a blow. This went on for a whole minute as I was somehow able to block every one of his sword strikes.

His strikes were so fast to the regular eye, but with this curse mark; his blade creating lines of silver around my body with his form teleporting around me. I kept my casual stance, but my arm moved to block him every time. He finally locked blades with me as I stared down at him with a bored expression. "Is this it, Sasuke? Is this all the fury you can muster?" I could see him panting from the speed he had so previously utilized and shook my head. Surprising him with a swift kick, he was launched into the air as I teleported to meet him at the same height. Sheathing my blade to lay a fury of punches to to the ex Konoha-nin, getting the boy on the defensive.

Managing to block another, he pushed himself off me, forming a tiger seal. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Still with my bored expression, I made a half ram sign. "Yōton: Yōkai no Jutsu." Lava met fire, but with the weight backing it up, my attack rushed the stunned Uchiha. The wings on my cousin's back being his savior, but not for long. I glanced at my hand as bubbles of liquid magma were beginning to froth from my right arm before connecting to form a fist. "Yōton: Kenyo no Jutsu." My lava-coated fist connected with his blade now applied with lightning chakra and a loud crack erupted around the scene. "Chidorigatana!"I narrowed my eyes finally, after the short struggle, noticing the true ability of raiton's cutting-power.

I pushed Sasuke off of me and shook my head. "I should end this already." He spat out a gob of blood in response before making a few hand signs, ending with him extending his hand out to the side. "Chidori." I lifted an eyebrow at seeing Kakashi's technique turn from the pure white to the tainted gray and black. The familiar chirping noise was nonexistent, now replaced with a faint noise similar to flapping of wings. I decided to match him with a technique of my own. "Ifriga." Extending my arm like he did, the recognizable flames, licked along my fingers and reached up to my elbow. Now, a the oranges turned to a colder gray and howled like tormented souls.

We mimicked each others movements, crouching slightly before charging each other. We thrust both techniques to each other. The twisted coloring of grays and blacks danced around us as the ground beneath began to crack in objection. It seemed our jutsus were evenly matched, but I put a stop to that. Concentrating chakra into my left eye, my hand erupted in black flames, screaming against Sasuke's jutsu. Finally, the Snake apprentice was forced backwards, skidding along the dirt path away from me.

Sasuke was on one knee a couple yards from me, but I made short work of that, gunning it towards my target. My knee connecting with his jaw, feeling it slightly pop upon impact as he flew backwards into a boulder. I sighed, shaking my head and turned my gaze to the now phased fight below me. Orochimaru giving me a creepy grin and Kabuto narrowing his eyes at the Hebi-sannin. Team 7 only stared up at me in shock and awe. Then there was Hakura. I could see more than one idea in her expression. Disgust. Fear. Anger. Before I could move to the crater, a low groan came from the beaten and battered form of my now raven-haired cousin. His curse mark form receding, as the black marks retreated to his neck. Blood seeped from his mouth as I noticed him grip his jaw, moving it side to side.

"Time to finish the job." Unsheathing my blade and taking short steps towards the fallen Uchiha. I smirked at him, raising the black blade above my head. "Game Over, Sasuke." Sasuke only closed his eyes for his oncoming demise, but I felt a tug at my arms. I glanced behind me and recognized the red hair clinging to my back. "Hakura, wha-" "Enough!" I tensed, lowering my blade wielding arm awaiting for her to continue. "Please. No more. You're not yourself. This new power you received is changing you. You're relentless." I lowered my gaze to my hands. Was I really like that? No, I couldn't... Or did I? NO! I can't use this tainted power any longer!

I let out a low growl, sensing the seal on my neck reacting to my sudden huge release of chakra. The ground beneath me began to groan and crack as the pressure increased. Clutching Hakura's hands at my chest, I felt the corrupt power recede into the curse mark. The spikes, horns and tail shrinking away to nothingness as my skin cleared. My Sharingan disappearing as I turned to face a teary eyed Hakura. "I'm here. I'm back." She smiled faintly and hugged me tighter as I took in a deep calming breath.

Acting on its own, my body began to move. Shoving Hakura to the side, I began to turn backwards, but something stopped me. The warm, liquify feeling in my shoulder and the sharp blade of Sasuke's katana piercing through the muscle between my chest and shoulder. My head began to slowly angle towards the source of the attack. There was Sasuke. Sharingan flaring as he smirked at me. "Look who's on top now. Hm?" I was speechless before I felt him slowly tear the blade from my bloodied muscle, earning a pained cry from me.

With the blade removed I fell to both my knees, my other hand over the wound on my shoulder. Blood now drenched my shredded sweatshirt as the crimson liquid spurt from my lips. "Teme! Striking me while my back was turned..." He chuckled darkly. "Heh. Like I care. You're dead and I am going to make sure of i-" He was forced to dodge a ball of condensed mist and skidded backwards. Hakura was in front of me in an instant, kunai in one hand and the other in a half ram seal. "You will do not further harm to Zesu-koi!"

He only tsked, moving his blade to a reverse handling. "Bring it, whor-" "Sasuke-kun!" Orochimaru's slithery from appearing next to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We are leaving." Sasuke only rolled his eyes as the two shunshined away. Team 7 rushed to my side as I fell to my side, unable to keep myself stable. My breaths were quick, blood beginning to pool from my wound. The wound and the extent of the curse mark's effects were taking an extreme toll. Hakura's voice sounding in my ears, but faded along with my vision.

~Later~

I awoke to my right arm in a makeshift sling, the muscle damaged now bandaged up. My other arm was draped over a certain dark-haired Mokuton user's shoulder as we jumped from tree branch to tree branch. I could see Sakura, Sai and...Hakura laying unconscious in Naruto's arms. I gasped, wide eyed and tried to move off of Yamato, but my tender shoulder screamed at me, tensing in pain and gaining the attention of my carrier. "Rest." It was more a command than anything as I shrank down, looking away. "What happened, after I..." He sighed, grumbling to himself. "You had lost a lot of blood and for some reason, your body wasn't creating new blood cells at a fast enough rate. It was probably because it was your first time using the full extent of the curse mark. Your body wasn't ready."

I nodded dumbly but turned my gaze to Hakura, which he noticed. "She saved you. Using some Suiton technique unfamiliar to me. From what I could make out she performed a blood transplant." I widened my eyes at him, mouth agape. "How could she know if our blood types were the same." He shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head with a sigh. "I don't know Zesu. I don't know." She managed to complete the technique before fainting. Probably from sudden blood loss." She is fine Zesu. Just a bit worn out." I nodded, looking away as I mulled it over.

"Kuso." Noticing Yamato lift in eyebrow in confusion. "I let myself be controlled like that. I let that tainted thing in. I willingly allowed it to infest me. I thought I could control it, but...I realized I'm no better than Sasuke. I'm just like Naruto and the Kyuubi." Yamato just let out a defeated sigh. "Zesu. C'mon, it isn't your fault. I was surprised you weren't losing your mind in that battle. The conciseness of a Sannin is hard to push back. Really, you fight for your village, friends and comrades. You risk your life for them. That is the stature of a true Konoha shinobi."

I managed a smirk, rolling my eyes and shook my head. "Whatever...Anyway, how far from the village are we?" Yamato narrows his eyes as if scanning the area. "Probably a couple kilometers. Maybe more, maybe less." I nodded, taking another glance at Hakura's still unconscious form.

~After arrivng at the Leaf~

I lay in the hospital bed, eyes closed and letting out a long sigh. Hakura lay, still unconscious, on a bed next to mine as I stole a glance at her for the millionth time. Worry getting the better of me. Suddenly, the door opened and my worst fear at the moment walked in. Tsunade, Yamato and Naruto. The young jinchuriki giving me a strained smile that I returned with one of my own. "Uchiha Zesu..." I tensed at the stern motherly tone that the Hokage was now giving me.

I gulped, slowly moving my swollen shoulder that only screamed pain in my mind. "The mission was a failure. We met the messenger, but it was only a boy named Kabuto. Orochimaru's right hand while the Sannin himself ambushed Hakura and I. After that, Naruto lost control of the Kyuubi and he reached four tails like we feared..." I paused for them to take the information in, seeing Naruto's solemn border somber look, then continued. "I took on both Naruto and Orochimaru with a shadow clone of mine. I believe Yamato filled you in about situation with Sai?"

She nodded. "Alright. I was unable to best Orochimaru and..." I trailed off, avoiding her gaze, but moved my neck and pointed to the Curse Mark. I heard a gasp from her as she appeared at my side and began inspecting the mark. "My clone dispelled and I fell unconscious. The events after that are unfamiliar, but we ended up at a small campsite without Sai; myself and Naruto worn out. We pursued Sai to one of Orochimaru's compounds and met up with...Sasuke." I noticed Tsunade's eyes go cold and she spoke just as coldly. "Go on."

"I faced off against him, while the other four were forced to handle Orochimaru and Kabuto. My Curse Mark activated and it's first, then second form went into fruition. Sasuke and I fought for some time and it appeared I had won. I was wrong. He managed a deep strike through my right deltoid. Luckily only piercing the muscle tissue." She nodded, her hand beginning to glow a sea-foam green as she moved it over my shoulder. "You need to wear it in a sling for at least a week. For that time, I am assigning you to train Naruto. You will not go on missions until then."

I nodded, with not much of choice, as she and Yamato let the room and turned my attention to the blond jinchuriki. "Naruto, I need you to discuss the training with the Kyuubi. He will know what to do." He just gave me a weak smile before exiting the room, causing me to fall back onto the mattress. The sudden impact sending a jolt of newfound pain into my shoulder. I grumbled about stupid mistakes before I heard a small groan to my left.

The messy mop of red hair that I loved rose from the pearly white bedspread and faced me. My smile weakened at seeing her pale skin and her eyes that weren't as bright as they usually were. "G'morning Zesu-koi." I felt the familiar flutter in my chest at the suffix and leaned into my good shoulder to face her. "G'morning Hime...how?" Her face contorted in confusion. "Wh-What?" "How were you able to help me?" She nodded, finally understanding my question. "It's a jutsu I remember learning from a medical booklet..."

"It's called Suiton: Chi-ippai mizu no Jutsu. A very particular suiton jutsu that only few medical ninjas can muster. It always me to combine a bit of my blood, my own hemoglobin and the moisture in my body into creating blood for another person. Of course, both people need a lot of rest, but it does work. You were the first person I had ever used it on. I can see it was a success." My eyes were the size of plates of how astonished I was of her capabilities. I had severely underestimated her abilities entirely.

I gave her a faint smile as she returned it with one of her own. "Zesu. Now that we have time to talk..." I narrowed my eyes, as she didn't use the suffix but nodded. "Yes?" "...about that Curse Mark... I don't want you using it ever again..." My eyes widened as I noticed fresh tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I-I don't w-want you to look like that a-again." She sniffed, the waterworks now pouring down her cheeks, calming down a bit a. "That look in your eyes...it wasn't you. I don't want to ever see that look in your eye again." I opened my eyes after closing them from not being able to handle her gaze, my Sharingan unconsciously activating. "I will never use it again. I hate it as much as you do. I will use the power of bonds, not of the tainted Juinjutsu. I love you Hakura. I will be with you and do whatever it is in my power to protect this family, we have." I saw her eyes widen; more tears beginning to form in her eyes as she pushed herself towards me. The result being her in my arms, well arm, and crying a bit softer into the hospital gown sticking to my chest.

I rubbed her back, occasionally running my fingers through the fiery red hair that I fell in love with. "I love you, Hakura. I always will." She finally rose up to meet me eye to eye, her violet ones matching my onyx ones. "Arigatoū, Zesu-koi. I love you too." I sighed in bliss, giving her hair a final run through as we began to fall asleep again.

~The Next Day~

I stood in one of the training zones across from Naruto. Hakura and I were dismissed from the hospital later yesterday and I had now begun the young jinchuriki's training; Hakura now sleeping at home. I wore a plain pair of black shorts and sleeveless shirt, my arm in a sling, and a bored expression on my face. Naruto's was completely different; excitement and curiosity plastered on his facial features. "Alright. So, before we start, what kind of training have you already accomplished?"

He gave me a small eyebrow quirk but shook himself of the confusion. "Oh, mainly chakra control, ninjutsu, taijutsu, a bit of genjutsu, and some other basic stuff. Not much in the Kyuubi department and that's it!" I narrowed my eyes at him. "Naruto? Do you know your chakra nature?" He gave me a dumb look, as if having no clue what I just said. "What now?" My jaw dropped. I learned my nature at the age of 5. What the hell had he been doi- Oh yeah...

I sighed, rubbing my forehead with my good hand. "Alright. Nature Manipulation first I guess." I reached into one of the pockets of my vest and pulled out a small sheet of paper. "Here. This is chakra paper. I want you to transfer some of your chakra into the paper and we can check what element you posses." He kept up with his look of confusion. "Eh? How is that supposed to work?" Yet another forehead rub for me.

"There are five main elements, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, and Fire. I control Katon, Doton and Yoton. Fire, Earth and Lava-" "Wait. You said there were only five elements. What's with Lava?" I gave a small eye twitch but dismissed it. "It's called a Kekkai-Genkai. I can merge two elements together to make a new one. Not many people can do it, but, myself and Hakura can. This is how the paper will react... If you have fire, the paper will ignite and turn to ash. Wind, the paper will split in two. Lightning, the paper will wrinkle. Earth, the paper will turn to dirt and crumble away. Water, the paper will become damp."

He nodded, slowly understanding as I handed him the paper. "Now send some of your chakra into that paper." He nodded again as I noticed him begin to stare at the paper in some sort of concentration. And then with a sudden tear, the paper was sliced in half. "Ah. So you have a wind nature. That's...unique..." He narrowed his eyes at me comically. "What's that supposed to mean, teme?" I chuckled halfheartedly, waving my good hand at him. "No. No. Wind is a rare nature to have. The only one I know here, is...one Jonin Sensei." His attitude did an entire 180° as he grinned at me in that goofy way he always did.

"Alrighty. Now we start the real training..." I got his attention finally. "...okay. Y'know your Kage-bunshins right?" He nodded. "Okay, first off..how many can you make at one time?" He put a finger to his chin and gave it some thought, from what I could see. "Around a thousand, maybe, dunno." My jaw would've hit the ground if I had never known he was the Kyuubi jinchuriki. "O-Okay. Make about a hundred clo-" I was interrupted by the entire training area to be blown up in smoke. I waved my good hand and coughed a big before my eyes winded at the scene; clones had engulfed practically half of the grounds. Some in trees as the amount of room diminished.

"Well...this will make training easier. I want about...fifty to work on Taijutsu training, group of twenty five work on your wind natured chakra and another work on chakra control. Chakra control can span to sparring while walking on water or tree climbing. I want the original to come with me." I was about to go on with my work before a clone shot up. "Um, Zesu? How do we practice our chakra nature?" I smirked, reaching up to pull a leaf from the tree branch hanging above my head. "Grab a leaf and only use your wind nature to cut in half." I could see all of their jaws drop as I turned away.

~With the original~

I cleared my throat, getting the blonde's attention. "Wanna know why I asked you to make that many clones?" He nodded. "Can you make another clone?" Another nod. "Okay. We are both gonna make clones and I'll tell you after they appear." With that, both of us made a shadow clone; surprising myself that mine was still injured. "Alright Naruto. Your clone and mine will be right back." My clone just smiled after that and led the Naruto clone away. Naruto turned to me with a curious look. "What now?" I smirked. "Give it a minute..."

He was about to retort when he tensed all of a sudden, causing me to let out a light chuckle. "You know what happened?" He glared at me and yelled. "What was that for? You kicked my clone, so hard I felt it..." He trailed off; the light bulb in his brain finally going off. "Yep. All of your clone's memories return back to you. And with training..." "...the results from the clones would come back to me." He continued off of me, causing me to smile at him. "Correct. Now, for your next part of the training segment. Hatake, you can come out now." With that, the Copy-Nin himself touched ground from the treetops, getting Naruto a jump from surprise. "Hah. Zesu-san. Ordering me around already." I simply rolled my eyes. "Eh? Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here?" He gave an eyesmile, ruffling the boy's hair. "I'm here on request of Zesu. It's about your training. Along with the jutsu's for your nature-transformation, Zesu here believes you could use a signature move." He gave a dull and unintelligent expression, causing both Kakashi and myself to sigh in unison.

"But isn't the Rasengan my signature?" I rolled my eyes, as did Kakashi. "Your Rasengan is powerful Naruto. But why not make it more powerful?" He gave another look that plainly said, 'I have no idea what you mean'. With that I had created my technique, Ifriga, in my good hand. Flames licking at my fingers as the sparks flew into the air. Kakashi, after a few hand seals, had formed a Chidori in his hand as crackles of electricity ran along his arm. Naruto was switching his gaze from him to me, eyes full of surprise.

"These are our signature techniques, but...we can go further. Right Hatake?" He nodded. My flame suddenly began to meld around my arm and form a large fist-shaped flame. For Kakashi, his technique grew larger, the chirping noise grew more condensed and the electricity molded to a point in his hand. "Ryuka-ken no Jutsu." "Raikriri." Naruto's eyes went, surprisingly bigger, as he stared at us. "Today Naruto..." He turned to glance at me. "...We develop your Rasengan."

K51: Few, lotta stuff happened in that chapter...

Zesu: Eh. I got a curse mark, beat Sasuke, arms in a sling, and now training Naruto.

Hakura: Don't forget out little moment Zesu-koi.

Zesu: Eheh. Right.

K51: So, as you all might be wondering. No. Sasuke will not train to use his Curse Mark anytime soon. Experimenting, but not much. He also is a lot stronger than Sasuke, so his ability to suppress it is higher-

Zesu: Hell yeah! Take that teme!

K51: Shut it! I wasn't done talking!

Zesu: Fine. Fine.

K51: Anyway, long story short, expect a great story here! And one more thing, REVIEW THIS STORY YOU JERKS! CMON! Anyway, see ya!

Jutsu List:

Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu: Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu

Yōton: Yōkai no Jutsu: Lava Style: Melting Apparition Technique

Yoton: Kenyo no Jutsu: Lava Style: Lava Fist Technique

Chidorigatana: One Thousand Birds Katana

Chidori: One Thousand Birds

Ifriga: Suppresion Flame

Suiton: Chi-ippai mizu no Jutsu: Water Style: Blood Filled Water Technique