Note: Thank you for your reviews Ita1412 and Dragon77. Glad you enjoyed the chapter.

Ita1412- Thank you very much for your offer, and if you have any OCs you particularly want in in compound feel free to PM me. And yes, the approach definitely has to be different to get the Sharingan. Also, Danzo is probably a bigger snake than Orochimaru, just saying.

Dragon77- Hopefully so~

Note: From this point on is when the story will really be taking a swan dive into an AU. A lot will be different from the anime because of Sasuke's lack of hate for his brother.

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It was around 11:00 pm when Sasuke finally gave in. Itachi usually got home around 10:00 at the latest. He didn't want to be worrying over nothing and make a fool of himself, but his worry for his older brother overwhelmed his pride. He knew logically his brother was probably just being held over longer for the meeting, but his body didn't want to listen to his mind. "I'm going to go look for him."

Madara frowned at his youngest clan member "Sasuke, your exams are coming up. You can't be exhausting yourself. I'm sure he's just held up at the meeting." he reasoned, not wanting the teen to become upset over possibly nothing. "Besides, if someone was strong enough to take out Itachi then you'll be no match for them. You're strong, but not that strong yet. Hashirama and I will go out looking, you need to stay here."

Frustrated, Sasuke stood, pounding a fist against the table and throwing away his usual level head. "I don't give a damn about the stupid exam! If I fail there's always next year. If Itachi is dead without support, I'm not exactly going to be able to get a new older brother." he glared, though logically the other was right. "I don't care if I'm not a match, at least a little bit of extra assistance could help. It's five hours on foot traveling time to Ame where the meetings being held. That means, according to your logic, the meeting went for around nine hours. I highly doubt that's the case."

Hashirama rose his hand, "Settle down, both of you. Sasuke is right, we need to go after him now. But Madara is also right, Sasuke you can't come and put yourself in danger. As much as you hate it, you're still a kid. We can't risk you dying out there. It's our responsibility to keep you safe. Do you understand?" he asked gently.

As upset and angry as Sasuke looked, he crossed his arms and nodded. He looked away, trying to even his frustrated breathing. He mentally scolded himself. Of course, they wouldn't want him along, he would just be dead weight to them. He felt Hashirama give him a side hug as Madara and he moved to get their coats on some weapons from the training room.

He didn't hug back as he had grown used to doing over the last few weeks, instead of looking away bitterly. Madara and Hashirama hated to upset him, but they rather he is alive and angry at them than dead. Hashirama sighed "We'll try to be back soon. As we said it's probably nothing. On the off chance, there was a fight, we'll stay and help them try to heal their wounds. So don't be alarmed if we aren't back for a few days. If they're hurt then it'll probably be decently sized wounds. We'll make sure they're safe. If we aren't back before the beginning of your exams then good luck. Both of you." he glanced at Neji.

Sasuke headed out the front door as they left through the back. Neji put a hand on his shoulder as he was about to leave. "Sasuke, where are you going? Come on, you're brother's strong. Let's just head to bed so we can be ready to see him when they get back." he tried to comfort him. "I'm not sure you should be alone at the moment."

Hearing this, the younger teen glared at Neji, letting out a breath. "I'll be fine. I'm not helpless." he murmured, heading out the door. He knew Neji was trying to distract him from his thoughts, but of course, he felt he needed to organize his thoughts. So he had no choice but to disregard his friend for now.

He wound up sitting in the old central park in the compound, on a bench. He had his feet placed firmly on the ground, his shoulders slumped a bit. His fingers were intertwined, his head resting in his hands. He felt frustrated and unsure. He hadn't admitted it, but he had been excited to have Madara and Hashirama watch him at the chuunin exams. He doubted they would be gone long enough to miss the second round even, but he had wanted to tell them about how he did on the first part as soon as he got home. There was no guarantee they would be, but it was possible.

Sasuke wasn't as upset about them missing it, but rather the fact they would probably be missing it because they only had two people to help the Akatsuki members. If he had just been stronger, then maybe Madara would have let him come with them. Then maybe he could make sure his brother was safe instead of sitting at home and hoping for the best like some child whose parents were away on a mission.

Speaking of children, he hated the fact Hashirama had called him a child. While it was true that Sasuke was only fourteen, he also knew for a fact he had endured more than most adults had and were completely self-sufficient. He paid bills, he had a job, he went on missions which risked his life, he was responsible enough to keep his house taken care of, he stayed in great health, he ate healthily, he was never late, and he never caused unnecessary trouble for the village! In his mind, they had no right to treat him like this. He was plenty mature enough to go with them, so why did they see him as just some kid?

Then Neji, staying with him. He loved his company and loved having him near, but it was still wrong. He knew Neji was a prodigy and he knew the boy had worked hard. But so had Sasuke. Why wasn't Sasuke strong enough to protect the ones he cared about even though he wanted to with all his soul, while Neji protected an entire ninja division without even wanting to.

Or when he had been with Sakura and Naruto on the Zabuza mission. He had nearly died protecting Naruto, something he had no issue doing for his team. But the fact was he almost died. Why did simple needles almost kill him? He was supposed to be the strong one on the team. The teams were put together based on skills. Team Asuma was obviously meant to be a recreation of the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho team, Team Kurenai was clearly supposed to be a tracking team, and Team Gai was set to be a physical attack team. Meanwhile, just as the man had said on their first mission, they were the screw-up team.

Naruto had a demon inside him and had no focus. Sakura was too busy cooing over boys to help anyone. Then Sasuke was already labeled as a soon to be traitor, just like his brother. Of course, they were placed with Kakashi. The man's own father was a supposed shame to the village, the only thing he seemed to focus on was his books, and he didn't take action to help anyone unless they were useful to him from what most knew. Sasuke assumed this was set up specifically to take them all out in one blow. It would make sense, based on the lack of repercussions the bring builder had faced for nearly having them all killed.

The teen had long ago realized Kakashi was as honorable as they come and a good person, labeled unfairly just like him. He didn't need to worry about him. But the others. Naruto was sure to get himself killed with how little he thought, and Sakura needed extra protection too since she wasn't too good beyond book smarts. This was why Sasuke through himself in front of Naruto to take that senbon, or why he was sure to keep an eye on Sakura when they fought. Even if she was annoying, he was the strongest besides Kakashi. It was his job to keep them alive. They were his comrades, but he still wound up barely able to protect them.

He felt so powerless, even after all the harsh training he put himself through in the last three years. Sliding off his wrist bands, he lifted his hand, He created a small bit of lightning in each hand before slowly bringing them down onto each wrist. He gasped in shock but allowed it to burn along his flesh. When Naruto had made his oath of pain it had been foolish, making him lose a great deal of blood. Though, the idea had worked well enough. Naruto had remembered his promise to himself.

The only difference would be, Sasuke wouldn't be stupid enough to make himself bleed out so it would have to be healed. He practiced his chakra flow away from his arms so it wouldn't run through his entire body, instead of letting the electricity run over his flesh. It hurt like hell, but since he avoided the spots near his chakra or nerves he knew it wouldn't leave any pertinent damage.

As he moved his hands away shakily, wiping away the sweat on his forehead with his wrist band protectors, he sighed. His arms were now colored a nasty red, blisters covering his arms in an odd fashion which almost looked like lightning strikes were climbing up his arms. They were about a foot long, fitting just under his wrist bands. He didn't know how, but he would get stronger. Once these markings healed, that would be what they stood for. A promise to himself to get the power to keep his loved ones safe, no matter the cost. So this was what Haku had meant.

He took the wraps from his legs and brought them up, carefully wrapping his arms while seething back the pain. Normally they would be healed first to prevent scaring, but that wasn't what needed to happen with these. He needed to keep them as a reminder of what needed to be done. Hence why they were directly in his sight. He finished wrapping his arms and let out a breath. It was nearly midnight now, he should probably head back. Just as he got ready to stand, however, he heard a voice behind him.

"You Konoha ninja get stupider every day." a female voice came from behind him. He quickly turned, Sharingan activated. After all, he hadn't expected to see anyone out four two reasons. One, it was nearly midnight. Two, they were in a mostly abandoned compound. Turning, he saw her. She had bright hair, somewhere between pink and red. Her eyes were a light brown, contrasting with her fair skin. She had a slender build and was about his age.

She wore a tan tunic with a yin-yang symbol, though there was no yin half. She also had a thick rope around her waist, which tied in the back. He picked this all up quickly with his Sharingan, also noticing her lack of headband in favor of a hat. He asked with narrow eyes, hands moving so he had better access to his sword, "And who might you be?"

The girl looked annoyed by this, crossing her arms. "The names Tayuya. Don't move for your sword, with wounds like that on your arms who could handle any weapon." she shook her head back and forth, raising her arms in mock surrender. "I was just checking out the village and came across this area, looked abandoned and thought it would be a good place to rest until I realized there was some dumbass trying to light his arms on fire."

Sasuke growled at her, "I'm not a dumbass, and I wasn't setting my arms on fire! This is the Uchiha Compound, and it isn't abandoned. I'm Sasuke Uchiha, making this land mine." he glared, not liking her insinuation. He wasn't used to girls being this...this...rude! Normally all the girls were cooing over him or talking about how strong he was. Given he hated it when the girls did this, but it was still unnatural for him.

Yayuya shrugged, "Alright, alright, you don't need to throw a fit. I was just curious since where I'm from we don't electrocute ourselves on purpose. What were you going then, Sasuke?" she asked, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bench casually as if Sasuke wasn't ready to fight.

Sasuke slowly let his arms rest, knowing he couldn't handle his sword so soon anyway. He let his arms dangle at his sides, watching her closely. "Not that it's any of your business, but I was making an oath of pain." not explaining further as it was something many ninjas did. Though, most were adults and at least a Jonin. Most also didn't allow it to scar over, trusting themselves to remember.

The girl tilted her head, looking up at him as she leaned back on the bench. "Oath of pain, yeah I've heard of those. Never seen much point in injuring myself just to remind me of my goals though. I hear it's usually about something pretty important though so I guess I wouldn't know. You looked pretty upset before you did it, someone dies or something?"

Seeing no point in lying, and needing to get it off his chest anyway, Sasuke made an annoyed noise before he grumbled. "Not yet. But a lot of people could die because I lack the power to protect them." eyes moving to meet hers and flashing red in a warning. "Though, I could easily kill you."

She laughed, knowing he was making a point by saying this. Where he had every right to, after all, she was a stranger who could very well attack at any moment. Seeing his glare she relaxed her laughter, shaking her head. "Yes, yes, I'm sure you could. And that's noble of you, wanting to protect others. You remind me of a lot of Maitre."

Sasuke raised a brow at her, not sure who or what 'Maitre' was. She put a hand against her forehead "Oh yeah! I'm being an idiot. There's no way you would know who Maitre is." she noted. "He's the leader of my village, the Village Hidden in the Sound. He has this nice black hair just like yours, but way longer. He's pale too, but you're a ting darker toned. He's slim too, looks like he could be snapped in half! Of course, anyone within three feet who wanted to do harm would be dead. He's extremely powerful and looks out for all his villagers. He's very protective. He even has a secret jutsu he puts on his members to enhance their power tenfold."

Now interested, Sasuke leaned against the picnic table only a few feet away. "A secret jutsu that makes you more powerful? Seems like you'd have to trade away a lot to get it if it works as well as you say. Konoha doesn't even teach jutsu for free besides ten or so basic ones in the Academy."

Yayuya shrugged "Not really. The only catch is you have to prove your loyalty to the village and be willing to do what it takes to help it. Take guard shifts when the guards are sick, take part in contests or exams out of the village to spread its name, assist him with his work at times, you know. Basic stuff. I can see why larger villages wouldn't be able to offer things like it though, too many people. The Sound only has about three hundred or so people. Oh, the thing that shakes most people off though it the edited laws. The laws there are a lot different than in the main villages."

"What do you mean by different? Like they're more laid back so it's easier for crime to happen?" he asked wearily. Having always grown up in a larger village with over a thousand other members, he had, of course, heard plenty of bad about the small villages. Like how they were poor, filled with crime, and dangerous.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Typical of five great nations boy. Assuming just because its small it's dangerous. No, the village is not poor or dangerous. It's actually quite wealthy. It isn't that we don't have the resources to take in new members. It's that we make sure only people who will help the village enter. To enter you have to have either a rare and unique jutsu or a kekki genkai we don't have already. You see, he wants to learn all the jutsu so he can help fix this world easier. So he gathers others willing to help lend a hand in fixing the nations."

She smiled "The main rules are simple. Help anyone who needs help within the village. No revealing the location of the village. No leading others into the village. No leaving without permission. Give up some DNA to help share your power with others." seeing the teen's unsure look at the DNA note she reminded "Yeah, most dislike the DNA thing. But you have to remember in return for losing a bit of your DNA which you would regain naturally, you get the power of over one hundred others. You know, since you seem interested in getting power, maybe you could join. I'm Maitre's personal bodyguard along with a few others, so I know what he has and what he needs. He doesn't have a Sharingan yet."

This put Sasuke off, and he glanced away. "I don't know. The Sharingan is a rare ability. Only three others besides me have it from what I know. It seems like of...disrespectful. To sell off my family's kekki genkai in turn for power."

"You could think of it like that. Or you could think of it how it really is. Getting more power for your bloodline so it stays strong. Though there isn't a guarantee he would take it anyway. He might just observe or decides it's better to leave it to you." Yayuya noted. She stretched. "Plus this way you could protect the ones you want to, right? Well anyway, it's nearly one based on the moon's position. I'm staying for the chuunin exams. You have until then to decide, and if you do say yes to it then you can meet me at the gates of Kohona after the stage where I get eliminated. If I do."

Seeing his mouth open she interrupted "It won't matter how far you get if you agree. You'll have your rank as a Konoha ninja stripped from you anyway." he frowned, but nodded in understanding. As she stood to go, she added "Oh, and dumbass, don't tell anyone about this. We wouldn't want to be accused of trying to steal ninja. I'm just trying to help since you're joining would help both you and the village." before heading off.