I don't own Naruto.

Hello everyone and welcome back to this new chapter of my story. I apologize for posting a bit later than usual but I had a party last night and I had to sleep off my hangover. Let one thing be said about Christmas parties: there's always enough booze lol. Anyway enjoy the chapter and let me know how it was. I'm not entirely satisfied with it since it took longer than I anticipated getting to the point. Nonetheless I think the conversations between the characters were necessary to build up to the following chapters.

Anyway Enjoy.

Chapter 36: The offer

It had been two days since Naruto had woken up after being defeated by Iwa's Stone Ox and Naruto had been doing some soul searching. Being manhandled by the man had shown him that he wasn't as strong as he believed to be. Sure he had fought some amazing opponents and by chance and some skill he had managed to defeat most of them albeit with a lot of trouble. This time however he had been brutally defeated. No matter what he did he was unable to defeat the Stone Ox, he knew that much and for some reason he thought that there would be a next time where he would face the man. If he stayed like this he would never be able to defeat him.

It was a humbling thought and Naruto was a bit disgusted when he realized that he had gotten a bit arrogant over the last few months. That would have to change and he would change right now he swore to himself. On the other hand he couldn't really blame himself for being a bit confident in his skills. He had made some amazing progress ever since he graduated from the academy. When he became a Chuunin he had made the first step towards realizing his dream and he felt invincible at the time.

Naruto wondered around the forest that surrounded Tazuna's house and sat down in a clearing. It was a beautiful place that filled him with a feeling of peace and tranquility. He took out one of his storage scrolls and unsealed a bunch of notes that he always carried with him. The notes were his personal training schedule and any ideas he might come up with. More than once he had thought up something only to forget it later on so now he wrote down anything he thought up no matter how insignificant it might seem at that time. He looked over his schedule with a critical eye and pondered where he could make some changes.

"I've definitely have been focusing too much on Ninjutsu instead of strength and speed training." He mused out loud. He took his pen and started scribbling some new exercises that Gai had proposed to the group during their team training. They didn't do those exercises because they only had that much time so they were to be done individually. He would have to remember to thank Gai-sensei for the help when he got back to Konoha. Too bad Lee was still injured or he would have asked him to be sparring partners but then he realized that he would be leaving Konoha in a few months so it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

"Alright now I've got a new training schedule for strength and speed. What's next?" Naruto said thinking deeply. He had been working on his Ninjutsu for a long time and while he had a few ideas in his head his had been focusing on his special jutsu over the past few months. It was as good as ready now he only needed to get used to it. He had even put the Hiraishin on the backburner so he could work on this jutsu.

"Guess I could also concentrate a little more on Fuinjutsu." Naruto said before writing a few things down as well. The advantage was that he could work on this area while he was relaxing at home after he had done all his other training. He had been successful in creating his explosive tags and he did enjoy working on it although he didn't care much about all the mathematics that came with it. He knew that Ero-sennin was considered a Fuinjutsu master so he was sure that the man would teach him a lot about the subject during their training trip. Therefore he thought it couldn't hurt to be ahead of his studies by the time he left Konoha.

Thinking of leaving Konoha made his sad and excited at the same time. He didn't want to leave his home and he definitely didn't want to leave Anko and his friends. Three years was a long time after all and a lot could happen; he wasn't really worried about Anko forgetting about him as they had already pledged themselves to each other but still the thought of not seeing her for such a long period was anything but enjoyable. He would miss the village and his friends he was sure of that but on the other hand he got to travel with one of the strongest shinobi even though the man was pervert. If the man kept his word then Naruto would be much stronger after three years of training with the man. Jiraiya could be a great teacher but he was easily distracted as soon as there was a pretty girl in sight. Naruto hoped this wouldn't affect his training.

Naruto slowly got up and resealed his notes into the storage scroll before putting it away. He would continue working on his schedule later on; for now he wanted to spend some time with his friends. While Naruto and Sasuke were resting and healing from their injuries Team 8 and Sakura had been training and exercising under the watchful eye of Kakashi. Naruto wanted to join but Kakashi refused saying that he didn't want Naruto to get hurt because he wasn't fully healed yet. In truth Kakashi knew that thanks to his healing ability Naruto was as good as cured but he didn't want to take any chances; Anko would go ballistic if she heard that Naruto got hurt while under his supervision. Reaching the backyard of Tazuna's house Naruto saw Sakura and Hinata sitting in the shadow with numerous scrolls laid out around them.

"Hey girls what are you working on?" He asked interested.

"Oh we're just working on some scrolls Tsunade-sama ordered us to read." Sakura said looking up. She was amazed that Naruto was already healed from his injuries. She knew something was up with that but she knew better than to ask about it. Naruto wouldn't tell her anything. She felt a little bad about not being trusted with his secrets but he had told her that one day he would tell everyone so she had resigned herself to waiting until that day came.

"Man, am I glad that I'm not studying to be a medic." Naruto said after reading a small section on one of the scrolls. "This is way too complicated for me."

"There's that and then there the fact that Tsunade-sama is a really strict teacher." Hinata grinned. "She's merciless when it comes to training."

"Ha, I'll bet you she's nothing compared to Anko-chan." Naruto laughed loudly. "I remember our time in the forest all too well. She was brutal let me you."

"I'll be sure to tell her you said that Naruto-kun." Hinata said grinning mischievously.

Naruto immediately started begging Hinata not to tell anything to Anko. If she heard about it he would be facing some serious punishment and no matter how strong he got she would always find a way to kick his behind. Hinata and Sakura found it hilarious that someone like Naruto who had fought with some of the strongest shinobi ever was deadly afraid of his girlfriend. They teased him a bit before Hinata promised she wouldn't tell anything to Anko. The girls then shooed Naruto away saying that they had a lot of reading to do. Thanking his lucky stars Naruto went over to where Kiba and Shino were engaged in a spar and sat down next to Kakashi who was reading in his perverted book just like always.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said greeting his friend and teacher.

"Oh hi there Naruto, how are you doing?" Kakashi said lowering his book. Naruto and Kakashi had established some kind of bond after Kakashi had told him stories about his time on Minato's team. He viewed his sensei's son as a nephew of some sort.

"I'm fine though I'm getting a bit restless by doing nothing." Naruto admitted.

"There are plenty of things you can work on besides the normal training." Kakashi said although he understood what Naruto was feeling.

"Yeah but I'm not in the mood to work on my Fuinjutsu." Naruto said. "It's like my body is eager to start training again; especially after being shown how much I can still improve."

"I must say Naruto that I'm impressed with how you're dealing with all this." Kakashi said calmly. "A lot of people would get discouraged or frustrated."

"Honestly? I'm a bit frustrated myself." Naruto said. "But not with getting my ass handed to me. I'm more frustrated with the fact that I had gotten a little too confident. I'm just glad that this happened now instead of later when I'm facing Akatsuki or something like that."

"That's a good way to see things." Kakashi nodded. He was glad that Naruto understood this unlike himself when he had gotten so arrogant and stubborn when he was younger. It had taken the death of his teammate to show him how wrong he was. The day his teammate died still haunted him.

Inside Tazuna's house a wounded and hurting Sasuke was just waking up. He had woken up the day before but only for an hour or two before falling back asleep. According to Sakura and Hinata he had a few broken ribs, a painful jaw, a sprained ankle and a concussion. They had healed him but he still needed to take it easy as he broken bones were still very tender. Even sitting up hurt like hell at the moment. He looked around and saw that he was alone in the room and this suited him just fine. He didn't need to be coddled like some baby just because he was hurt.

After a few minutes of trying to get comfortable he started remembering what had happened to put him in this situation. He clearly remembered dealing with those thugs that didn't even represent a challenge and how he encountered that Missing-Nin from Iwa. His face darkened for a second before turning in an expression of pain. Clearly his jaw wasn't as healed as he thought it was. He thought back on how he had fought the man and how nothing he tried seemed to work. He had used everything he got but no matter how hard he tried he was defeated quite easily. It was a serious blow to his ego; he had been training so hard over the past few months and yet some Missing-Nin from Iwa defeated him like he was nothing. Not only that he insulted him and the Uchiha name which was unacceptable for Sasuke.

'I swear you'll pay for mocking me.' Sasuke thought furiously.

But what really pissed him off was the fact that he had been saved by his rival; oh how he disliked the dobe. Before he hated the fact that Naruto was getting stronger much faster than he was but he felt relatively sure that he could catch up if he trained hard enough. So for the past months Sasuke trained like crazy; every free moment was spend mastering new techniques, practicing his Taijutsu and his Sharingan. He was stronger than he ever was and was getting stronger every day but apparently it wasn't enough. Each time he thought that he had caught up to Naruto he got shot down again when he noticed that Naruto was still stronger than him. It was infuriating to say the least.

He also couldn't understand why the rest of the group, Jounin Sensei's included, seemed so impressed with the blonde. Each day during training Naruto spoke with the group, laughing and fooling around and yet he still got stronger every day. Naruto was considered one of them, part of the group while he was seen as just another member, just another young shinobi they had to teach. So what if Naruto was the son of the Yondaime? He was an Uchiha for crying out loud, that should mean for something. Though he had to admit that he didn't really care about being accepted but he was sure that they taught Naruto on the side because of who his father was.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Tazuna's daughter Tsunami yell that lunch was ready. He knew that someone would check up on him to see how he was doing; so much the better because he wanted to know what had happened after he lost consciousness. He rolled his eyes when he heard Kiba challenge Naruto to get inside first and of course Naruto accepted. A few minutes later the group was enjoying lunch and he patiently waited. Half an hour later he heard someone walk up the stairs and the door opened. Sasuke looked impassively when Kakashi's head appeared to look inside the room.

"Ah Sasuke, glad to see you're awake. How are you feeling?" Kakashi asked his student.

"How do you think I'm feeling?" Sasuke said annoyed already.

"Yes well, are you feeling hungry?" Kakashi said pretending he didn't notice the tone his student was using. "I'll get Sakura or Hinata to bring you some food."

"Hn." Sasuke said but he nodded all the same as he was hungry.

Kakashi went back downstairs and told the rest that Sasuke was awake. Sakura volunteered to bring him some food so she took a plate and filled it with some leftovers. She also told that she would check his injuries once he was finished eating. Once she was gone from the room Naruto asked how Sasuke was doing.

"Well, he seems pretty angry about being injured." Kakashi said before taking out his favorite book.

Later that afternoon Naruto and the gang went upstairs to visit Sasuke; he didn't like the boy very much but he was an injured comrade so he thought it was only normal to visit him. He also knew Sasuke didn't like him at all but he hoped they would be able to get along. Sakura had told them that his injuries were healing well but it would take several more days before he was well enough to travel. While he would be able to walk around by tomorrow he wouldn't be able to jump trees and run at shinobi speed.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked irritated. It was bad enough that he was confined to this bed but now they all have to come see him too.

"We just wanted to know how you were doing." Kiba said already regretting his decision to come. "No need to get all cranky about it."

"Calm down Kiba-kun, Sasuke is just tired and injured." Hinata whispered to him.

Sasuke just ignored the group for a few seconds and then glared at Naruto who noticed the boy looking at him. Naruto could tell that his presence was angering Sasuke so he stayed quiet. There was no need to aggravate the situation by opening his mouth. Sasuke however kept glaring at him and he even leaked a bit of killing intent. It was weak and you could see that Sasuke was trying to calm himself down.

"So did you come here to gloat about defeating that Missing-Nin?" he sneered at Naruto.

"I didn't defeat him Sasuke. I got my ass handed to me pretty badly." Naruto said honestly. "He was way too strong for us. There was no way that we could have defeated him."

"Looks like the great Namikaze isn't so great after all." Sasuke said trying to provoke Naruto.

"Shut up Sasuke you didn't do much better. You should thank Naruto for saving your life." Kiba said angrily. This was the wrong thing to say as Sasuke's face betrayed how furious he was about that.

"Alright let's go everyone, Sasuke still needs to rest." Hinata said quickly before things got out of hand. The others just nodded and left the room.

"You think you're so great and all but compared to me you're nothing." Sasuke said when Naruto turned to leave. "Don't think I'll forget what you've done to me, dobe."

"And what might that be Sasuke?" Naruto said sighing.

"I didn't ask for your help. I didn't need your help." Sasuke said. "One day I'll get my revenge; count on it."

"I'll be waiting Sasuke though I hope it never happens." Naruto said closing the door. He wasn't surprised at Sasuke's reaction; in fact he had expected worse but he figured that being injured had something to do with that. He wouldn't have been surprised if Sasuke attacked him if had he been able to.

Downstairs the rest of the Genin were discussing what had happened. Kiba was very agitated and restless and no matter what anyone said he wasn't able to calm down. The Uchiha had a way to get under your skin and for someone like Kiba who was very loyal to his friends it was hard not to punch the boy in the face. Shino wasn't surprised at all at how Sasuke acted so he was fine. Hinata and Sakura were sitting in a corner talking. Kakashi entered the room at the same time Naruto and asked what had happened. He shook his head a bit disappointed in his student and promised to talk to him.

"It's okay Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said. "I understand how Sasuke's feeling at the moment."

"Naruto, you can't just accept Sasuke treating you like that." Kiba roared upset. "You saved his life. He should be thanking you instead of insulting you."

"Don't you see Kiba?" Naruto explained. "It's because I saved his life that he's so angry at me. He feels humiliated that he needed someone to save him."

"So?" Kiba asked not really understanding what Naruto wanted to say.

"Naruto is right Kiba." Kakashi said. "Ever since he started at the Academy, Sasuke has been one of the best if not the best in his class while Naruto, although not by his fault was the last in his class. Once he noticed how strong Naruto had become he felt threatened. All of the sudden a rival had appeared and he doesn't know how to deal with that. Not only that, Naruto became a Chuunin when he didn't; his pride had been hurt and now that Naruto saved his life from an enemy that defeated him with ease, well he feels that he has been humiliated and his pride won't stand for it."

"That's why he's so mad at me right now." Naruto nodded at Kakashi's explanation. "And I understand that feeling very well; I'm pretty sure none of us would like to be saved by the one person we see as a rival."

"Still it's no reason to react the way he did." Kakashi said not wanting to condone his student's actions.

"Sasuke has always been proud of his name and skills. That combined with his desire to become stronger so he can defeat his brother and we get firework. He see's everyone that's stronger than him as a threat to his goals. Instead of focusing on his own progress he looks at others and measures himself to them." Naruto explained. "Because of that he doesn't notice his own progress and it feels like he's not getting stronger at all."

The group decided to leave Sasuke alone for the rest of the day since they didn't want thing to get worse. Unfortunately leaving him alone meant also giving him time to brood and stew in his anger. The more Sasuke thought about what happened over the past few months the angrier he got. It was becoming clear that he wasn't getting stronger while staying in the village; no matter the training they gave him he needed more. Those losers might be happy with learning D or C ranked jutsu but he needed more powerful things. He snorted; it wasn't like he was going to defeat his brother with those child jutsu. But he knew his teachers in Konoha were unwilling to teach him stronger jutsu saying that he needed to learn the basics before going over to the advanced material.

No, the longer he thought about it, the more leaving the village seemed like a good idea. Then again he didn't have any where to go and he wasn't foolish enough to believe that Konoha was just going to let him leave. He would need to disappear but that was easier said than done. If he wasn't an Uchiha with one of the best Kekkei Genkai in the village they might have declared him a low level Missing-Nin but since he was an Uchiha they would search high and low for him. The village wouldn't want to lose the powers of the Sharingan he was sure of that. He cursed as he couldn't think of a way to successfully disappear. He looked outside surprised to see that it was already getting dark; apparently he had been thinking for a long time. He closed his eyes for a bit and slowly drifted into a restless slumber.

Tsunami had gone upstairs to bring the young shinobi some dinner but saw that he was sleeping so she gently put the food on the nightstand and left. The boy was hurt and when hurt the best thing to do was rest in her opinion. She would tell the group downstairs to keep quiet so they wouldn't disturb him.

Earlier that day in Konoha the Jounin group consisting out of Anko, Kurenai, Gai and Asuma were having a meeting. Nothing fancy or shockingly important was going on during the meeting but it was more like friends getting together to discuss how things were going with their students. Gai however was insanely happy for the past few days; reason for this was that Lee had had his last surgery to remove the bone fragments logged near his spine. Tsunade and her medical team had done the impossible in his eyes by succeeding to remove every fragment without any complications. This meant that once Lee had healed and started his rehab he would be able to join the training and continue to be a shinobi. When Tsunade had delivered the news to him and his student they had both cried of joy and thanked Tsunade over and over again. The rest of the students had of course congratulated Lee with his full recovery and spend a lot of time with him.

"So any news from your team?" Asuma asked Kurenai and Anko?

"Kakashi sent a report that they had completed the mission but they were staying a few days to let their injuries heal." Kurenai said while waving the smoke of Asuma's cigarette away from her.

"Injuries? I thought they had to deal with some thugs and thieves." Asuma asked.

"No, there were a few Missing-Nin involved. Most of them were low-level but one was Iwa's Stone Ox." Kurenai answered. At this Asuma's cigarette dropped from his mouth but he was too shocked to notice it. It was only when he felt the cigarette burn through his pants that he jumped up from the sudden pain.

"Iwa's Stone Ox?" Asuma and Gai said surprised. "What the hell does a guy like that do with a few low level Missing-Nins?"

"Beats me but he was there and Sasuke and Naruto fought him." Kurenai shrugged. "Don't worry they're fine; a bit beat up but fine."

"YOSH NARUTO-KUN'S AND SASUKE-KUN'S YOUTH IS BLAZING STRONGLY TO BE ABLE TO SURVIVE A FIGHT WITH SUCH AN OPPONENT!" Gai proclaimed loudly making the others cringe at the volume of his voice.

"Goddammit Gai, how many times do we have to tell not to shout?" Anko yelled with a kunai in her hands.

"Sorry." A frightened Gai said quickly.

"Besides they didn't survive; he let them live." Kurenai said picking up the previous topic.

"Lucky kids." Asuma said grinning.

"Lucky my foot." Anko muttered. "This is the second time a mission from Wave gets bumped up from C to an A rank mission. I'm going to have a few words with Tazuna if I ever see him again."

"Relax Anko, he's fine and he'll be back in a few days." Kurenai said comforting her friend.

"Only to leave in a few weeks and then he'll be gone for three years." Anko said a bit sad. She didn't want to be a crybaby about it but it just hit her a few days ago how long he would be gone. A first she was against it but then she realized Naruto needed the training and she had accepted the fact. Now she was unsure how she felt about it; three years is such a long time.

In an attempt to cheer her friend up Kurenai started to talk about other stuff. She felt for her friend but there wasn't much she could do about it except being there for her. A few drinks later Anko's mood had brightened a bit especially when some rookie Chuunin started to hit on her and she got to scare him away. Poor boy would think twice before he approached a woman from now on she was sure of that.

In Wave someone slowly and carefully made his way to Tazuna's house. The figure was using the shadows and landmarks to hide him and he was sure nobody had seen him. When he reached the backyard of the house he paused for a few minutes to check for traps. Seeing none he made his way over to the house and climbed up the wall to the second floor window. Once he reached to window he looked inside and smiled seeing that his target was there just like he was told by his teammates. Slowly opening the window, careful not to make any sound that might alert the other shinobis he stepped inside. He took out a few seals that his master had given him; the seals were designed to isolate a room when placed on the four walls. When done correctly no sound could leave the room making it perfectly safe to speak instead of whispering. Those kinds of seals were also used in the office of the Hokage for example or other place where secret information was handled. Once the seals were in place he kicked the bed waking the Uchiha up.

"W-what?" Sasuke said groggily. He then saw someone standing in his room and immediately raised his guard; he knew that if someone came to kill him he wouldn't stand a chance with his injuries.

"Hello Sasuke-kun. It has been awhile since we've last seen each other." The unknown person said before stepping into the light.

"Kabuto? What are you doing here? What do you want from me?" Sasuke said surprise to see the traitor. After the Chuunin exams Kabuto had been exposed as a spy for Orochimaru so it wasn't a surprise that he left Konoha.

"Waw, that Missing-Nin sure did a number on you didn't he?" Kabuto joked.

"Shut up; what do you want?" Sasuke hissed angry.

"Straight to the point I see. Well, I can live with that; the reason I'm here is to give you a proposition." Kabuto said.

"What kind of proposition?" Sasuke interrupted.

"If you would listen than you would know." Kabuto sighed loudly. He hated being interrupted by someone. It was such a rude thing to do. "I know your dream Sasuke. You want to defeat Itachi but to do that you need power."

"Let me guess; you can give me that power?" Sasuke snorted.

"No I can't but Orochimaru-sama can." Kabuto said knowing he would have the Uchiha's attention now.

"The Sannin who attacked Konoha?" Sasuke said while putting his hand on his shoulder where the cursed seal was. "Why would he give me power?"

"Orochimaru-sama knows talent when he sees it. He also said that he sees a lot of himself in you." Kabuto said smirking. "He too was a genius who was held back by his village and his teacher. That's why he left Konoha so he could become stronger and learn more and more powerful jutsu. Orochimaru-sama is the strongest of the Sannin and he knows thousands of techniques that nobody else knows about; not even your brother."

"And what does he wants in return?" Sasuke asked knowing there had to more to this deal than Kabuto mentioned.

"All he wants in return is your loyalty." Kabuto smiled.

"And for me to leave my village." Sasuke argued back.

"A small price to pay for getting enough power to defeat your brother." Kabuto shrugged. "Think of it this way, if you get strong enough to defeat your brother then you're more than strong enough to humiliate Naruto-kun just like he did to you."

"How do you know about that?" Sasuke hissed loudly.

"Orochimaru-sama has been interested in you for quite a while now. We've been following you for days waiting for the right time to talk to you." Kabuto explained. "If you're willing to join us we'll be waiting for you in a large cave just south of here. Come and find us when you're healed and then we'll take you to Orochimaru-sama."

"They won't just let me go; they will try to stop me you know that right?" Sasuke said.

"Don't worry about that; we're more than strong enough to deal with a few genin." Kabuto laughed. "I hope to see you in a few days Sasuke-kun."

It took Sasuke two more days before he was declared healthy and in full capacities. Over the past two days he had been considering Orochimaru's offer and he was seriously thinking about accepting. He wasn't stupid however; he knew there were things that he didn't know about. People like Orochimaru never did anything without expecting something in return but that was alright. He would use the Sannin's power and knowledge to get stronger and once he had everything he wanted he would deal with the man himself. It might take a while but he was confident that he would become strong enough to succeed. The only thing he had to do now was leave during the night before they left Wave.

Kakashi had ordered them to pack as soon as Hinata and Sakura declared Sasuke to be fully healed. He knew the kids were eager to return home and they had imposed on Tazuna's family for way to long. The trip back to Konoha would take several hours if they travelled at high speed with taking a break every few hours. For that reason he decided to leave the next morning so everyone was well rested. He too was eager to get back to Konoha; he had almost finished his book and he knew Jiraiya-sama's new book would be out soon.

"Alright troops gather around. Now that we're healed and rested we leave tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn. So better get some rest because we'll travel fast on the way back to Konoha." Kakashi said earning a few groans from Sakura.

Later that night around 2am Sasuke gathered his things and crept out the house by crawling out his window. Luckilly for him his room was at the back of the house so he was pretty sure no one could hear or see him leaving. He disappeared into the forest never looking back. He remembered Kabuto's words and headed out to where he would be waiting.

The Oto-Nins were waiting for Sasuke inside a cave; it had been a long couple of days for all of them. Kabuto was almost ready to kill the Tayuya girl since she did nothing but question his sexuality and kept insulting him. Then of course was her constant swearing and cursing that really irritated him. Another of his team called Jiroubou constantly complained about being hungry which then made Tayuya insult him starting a verbal fight. His other companions Kidoumaru and the twins Sakon and Ukon were just as irritated as he was but they were already used to it. The only one of the Sound Four he could stand was Kimimaro but sadly his disease had claimed his live a few weeks ago. Kabuto remembered that day very well because Orochimaru had been furious at losing one of his strongest shinobi. That's why he ordered Kabuto on this mission to insure that nothing went wrong. Suddenly Kidoumaru silenced them all by alerting them that someone had tripped one of his traps. The trap wasn't designed to kill but rather to inform that someone was closing in on them. Five minutes later a figure entered the cave.

"Welcome Sasuke; I'm glad to see you accepted our offer." Kabuto said motioning him to come closer.

"Whatever; now give me that power you told me about." Sasuke said.

"This is the one Orochimaru wants?" Tayuya snorted. "Look at him; he's pathetic. I could kick his ass in seconds."

"Tayuya, please refrain from insulting Sasuke-kun." Kabuto said to her. His look told her to shut up or deal with the consequences. "Right Sasuke-kun why don't you sit down and we'll explain what is going to happen." Sasuke took off his backpack and looked at the shinobi around him. "Like I said we can make you stronger but there's a risk. You see Orochimaru-sama gifted you with a seal; a seal that give incredible power."

"You're talking about the seal that appeared when he bit me during the Chuunin exams." Sasuke nodded. "But that's been sealed off by Kakashi."

"Please have a little more confidence in Orochimaru-sama's work." Kabuto said smiling. "The only reason that restriction seal is still working is because the seal you have is incomplete. Your seal is only at level 1."

Sasuke was surprised when he heard that; he remembered the feeling he got when his seal first activated during his time in the Forest of Death. He had never felt anything like it, the power he felt was amazing and that was an incomplete seal? How strong would he get if the seal was completed? All doubt he had about leaving Konoha left his head when he realized that once more they had hindered his progress by putting a restriction seal on him.

"How do I get a complete seal?" Sasuke demanded to know.

"There's a way but it's not without risk like I said." Kabuto nodded. "There's a level 2 cursed seal but to acquire that level you must allow your body to adjust itself to it. The seal itself is not without danger I you didn't know that already. The four you see here all have cursed seals just like you do so they can tell you more about it later on. Now let us proceed." Kabuto said taking out a small glass container with a few pills in it. "This pill is called 'Seishingan' and it forcefully increases the seal to level 2. "

"So all I have to do is take a little pill?" Sasuke snorted.

"No, if you would just take the pill you would die in a matter of minutes." Kabuto laughed at Sasuke's ignorance. "But don't worry that's why these guys are here. They will put you inside this pail "Kabuto showed the wooden barrel. "and put a barrier around you that will put you into a temporary coma until your body is used to the seals full power."

"And you're sure that their skills will be enough to keep me alive." Sasuke asked a bit worried.

"Listen prick, we were the ones who protected Orochimaru by erecting that barrier during the attack. Our skill with seals and barriers are impeccable." Tayuya hissed at him. She instantly disliked the Uchiha but who was she to argue.

Sasuke ignored her but turned back to Kabuto who nodded showing he had full confidence in their skills. Thinking about how this power would allow him to become stronger and possible kill his brother the Uchiha swallowed the pill. In a matter of seconds his body screamed out in pain and he collapsed. The Sound Four didn't waste any time and shoved Sasuke into the barrel and started doing handseals. Time was of the essence and once the handseals were finished a large black mist appeared in the cave just above the barrel. With a shout of "Shikokumujin' the black mist was directed into the barrel sealing Sasuke inside. Sakon then took out some paper tags and drew some seals on it before throwing them at the barrel and said 'Houin Fuukoku' which protected the barrel from opening up before Sasuke was awake.

"Good job. Now we wait for dawn and then we'll set out for Oto." Kabuto said.

"Why wait? Let's move out now." Sakon asked.

"I don't think it's a good idea to travel in the dark with our precious cargo." Kabuto said. "We don't want to take any risks and end up hurting Sasuke."

"Fine." Sakon said letting the matter drop though personally he thought it would be better for them to leave right away.

'How will you handle this Naruto-kun? Will you chase after us or will you abandon your fellow shinobi?' Kabuto thought; he hoped to encounter the blonde if he chose to chase after them. He could hardly wait to get some payback on the boy.

Thank you for reading and let me know how I did. I was hoping I could start the fighting in this chapter but that would have made the chapter way too long. Next chapter we'll see how Naruto and the gang discover Sasuke's defection and they'll meet up with the Oto-Nins. The next chapter will be filled with action and fights I can guarantee that. So see you all in two weeks time for the next chapter.