Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If you couldn't figure that out, be ashamed of yourself.

Warning: Keep in mind that this is not what Naruto heard from Kiba. It is far more comprehensive and will give you, the reader, far more insight into both sides of the story. What the rebel shinobi were able to tell Naruto should be relatively obvious.

Notice: I know this section may be hard to get through. I made it short for a reason.

Shameful Begging: Please, leave me a review. If you don't, I'll assume you simply hated this and don't wish to see what happens next. Trust me, you want to see what happens next.

Vocab: For those of you who aren't aware, "shinobi" means "ninja", whereas "kunoichi" means "female ninja". "Ninjutsu" means "ninja technique" and refers to the elemental attacks and enhancement techniques used by shinobi. Examples of this would be the rasengan, the Shadow Imitation technique, and Sasuke's fire techniques. "Genjutsu" means "illusionary technique", such as Kurenai's Tree Bind technique. "Taijutsu" means "combat technique", such as those used by Rock Lee.

Legacy

Chapter 2- The Story

"Power, however it has evolved, whatever its origins, will not be given up without a struggle."

-Shulamith Firestone

Orochimaru was a wise man. Mad, but very clearly wise. He knew the Sharingan's unfathomable ability to absorb strength from its surroundings, its ability to learn and expand, and he sought it for himself.

Following the failure of the Konoha Five, as they became collectively known, to retrieve the traitor Sasuke, Orochimaru began his training immediately. He was warned often by Kabuto to limit the boy's growing strength, but the greed of Orochimaru was as a landslide, simply engulfing this advice and changing naught for it. Many techniques, unthinkable to most and thoughtlessly powerful, were conveyed to the young Uchiha heir as he prepared to eliminate the only competitor to that title.

After roughly two years Sasuke felt he was prepared to attack his brother, and did so with Orochimaru's blessing. The battle was a farce. Itachi was smitten with only token effort from his younger sibling, who had mastered the various Sharingan techniques to the point that executing them, even against another Sharingan user, was as simple and effortless as merely willing the action done. Their leader struck down, Akatsuki disbanded, no longer seen as the ultimate power in the shinobi world. Sasuke had taken that title.

Orochimaru was pleased beyond count to hear of Sasuke's victory and prompted the young Uchiha to, now that he had achieved his life's goal, allow him to take his body as payment. Rather, Sasuke betrayed his master Orochimaru, finding no difficulty in slaying him as well. Seeing the Sound as a bothersome remnant of a dead man's dream the entire village was wiped out, but not without vengeance. Kabuto, the medic-nin with the foresight to predict such actions from the mighty Uchiha, had prepared a treacherous poison, one that should have been far beyond his skill to make. Only with the resources of an entire village could this concoction be made, and only a single dose was produced. With his dying efforts Kabuto stabbed Sasuke from behind with the infected needle meant to deliver the toxin, and in doing so saved the shinobi world from total domination.

Nearing death, Sasuke returned to Konoha, begging Tsunade to heal him. She was more than happy to agree, having heard of his work with Itachi and the Sound. At the time, Sasuke was seen as the best thing to happen to the city since the Fourth.

Tsunade's first attempt at curing the complex poison resulted in the creation of a vile yet life-saving suppressant, which Sasuke began treatment with immediately to ward off death. Though he grew stronger, the medicine was horrid and left his entire body sore with movement. Taijutsu, shinobi hand-to-hand combat techniques, became a lost art to Sasuke. Tsunade soon concluded that the most efficient way of removing the poison would be surgically, and its strange chakra immunity meant that actual penetration into Sasuke's bloodstream would be necessary.

The surgery was a failure. Though a portion of the poison was removed, most of it had begun to bind with Sasuke's bloodstream as a resistance to the medicine Tsunade had prescribed in her first attempt at a cure. Only if he gave up the treatment, loosening the poison enough to kill, would she be able to remove it. The chances of success for this operation were less than ten percent.

Outraged, Sasuke mindlessly killed Tsunade, convinced that she had only poisoned him further to make sure he would never reach his full potential. She feared his power, or so he claimed, and sought to destroy him from within. As soon as he found his wits, he admitted that he had killed Tsunade and that others would follow, if they did not follow his rule as the Rokudaime Hokage.

Betrayed and horrified, many citizens rebelled against the Uchiha and his core followers, chiefly consisting of the Hyuuga Branch House. The Hyuuga had been homogenized and placed under the authority of their most powerful member, Hyuuga Neji, very soon after Sasuke seized control of the city. Neji eliminated many of the former members of the Main House and exiled his cousin, Hyuuga Hinata, from the country. He wished her to live, but in shame.

Those that opposed the new Hokage were eliminated quite efficiently. Moito Gai attempted to escape to the Village of Grass for aid, but was struck down by Neji personally before he could get outside of Konoha's outskirts. Gai's enraged young student, Rock Lee, became bitterly hateful of the Hyuuga and successfully fled the city, vowing on his honor and that of his sensei that justice would be leveled. With him went Tenten, his teammate, who knew that he was her only real chance for escape. The two took refuge in the Village of Sand, commonly seen by victims of Sasuke's regime as a safe house.

Haruno Sakura, recognized for her medical abilities and superior mind, was appointed as Sasuke's physician in Tsunade's place and charged with the formulation of a cure for his poison. The deep feelings she had felt for the Uchiha as a child had perpetuated into her adult years, and she blindly accepted the position. Unknown to any but himself, Sasuke kept the girl under the influences of a subtle genjutsu of the Sharingan, forcing her emotional need for his approval to grow even if her opinion of him should wane.

The Aburame clan was uniquely affected by the emergence of this new order. Aburame Shino vanished altogether, seen as an act of clear and brilliant defiance against Sasuke. He is held as the greatest example of rebellion against the militaristic faction holding Konoha and his name was spoken with reverence among those still under Sasuke's influence. Rumors persisted of his active rebellion against Sasuke. His father, Aburame Shibi, was contracted by Sasuke to attempt to use the kikai bugs to remove the poison from his body forcefully. It was only a momentary lack of concentration on Shibi's part that, during the procedure, Sasuke was able to detect in him an intent to kill. The jounin was struck down immediately. Sakura purged Sasuke's body of kikai bugs before resuming her research.

Nara Shikamaru, recognized for his unmatchable intellect even by the haughty Sasuke, was hired as the professional tactician for the village's active pursuit of renegade shinobi and would-be defectors. His natural inertness made him a prime candidate for the job, since it would take incredible motivation to prompt such a lazy man into betraying anybody. Secretly, Shikamaru plots with his best friend, Akimichi Chouji, to perpetuate Sasuke's illness and supply defectors and rebels from within. Being much smarter than Sasuke, he, of course, is quite capable of doing this, usually with Chouji as his proxy in all active work.

The Yamanaka family, attempting to seize the opportunity of Sasuke's newly-established rule, offered their youngest, Yamanaka Ino, as an herbalist to aid Sasuke in his search for a cure. Desperate for clues and progress, Sasuke agreed to take her on, and expanded the greenhouses near Hokage tower to accommodate her research. Ever since, Ino has held an intense rivalry with Haruno Sakura over the best methods of curing their beloved Sasuke. Every step in the process of curing him results in drug-like doses of affectionate attention, and thus the search for a cure is the driving factor in both of their lives. Sasuke wouldn't have it any other way.

After establishing himself as the ruler of the area, Sasuke counted on a certain level of cooperation from specific clans for use of brute force, primarily the Hyuuga and Inuzuka. While the Hyuuga were easily won over by what they saw as wisdom and justice, the Inuzuka were appalled at Sasuke's dishonorable methods and refused to play the part of lackeys. An intense feud between the Hyuuga and Inuzuka raged for months, eventually resulting in the Inuzuka's forced imprisonment in the catacombs beneath the city. Every one of their canine battle partners was executed in a massive public display, including the respected Akamaru. Inuzuka Kiba, the genius of the clan, narrowly escaped with the help of Aburame Shino. Too great was his remorseful hatred for Sasuke for him to escape on his own, and his reluctance to leave his clan nearly cost both of them their lives. The Inuzuka existed since then, their collective depression at the loss of their dogs flooding the catacombs. Deprived of his typical battle strategies, Kiba rehearsed and perfected the older techniques of his clan, training to someday kill Sasuke himself.

The legendary Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi, was seen as the greatest remaining threat in the city as soon as Sasuke assumed command. Not willing to dispose of such a great asset, but at the same time not willing to let him move about as he pleased, Kakashi was sentenced to an informal house arrest within a large mansion very near Hokage Tower. He was kept under the constant surveillance of Mitarashi Anko, who had personally requested the diligent task. Though Anko had, over the years, developed a rather affectionate bond to Kakashi, the man's depression during his imprisonment was too deep to allow such complex feelings to be understood, much less reciprocated.

Perhaps the greatest mystery surrounding the entire ordeal was that of Sarutobi Asuma and Yuuhi Kurenai. Having been away on a mission at the time of Sasuke's return, neither of them resurfaced following its completion. The client reported the mission a success and the pair was due to return before the incident with Tsunade's death, yet no word was sent of them. Rumors had them staying in a remote island of Water Country, but these were only as reliable as any other rumor. Which is to say, not very.

In the shadow of Konoha, a group known as the Resistance formed not long after the escape of Inuzuka Kiba. At its head was Aburame Shino, clearly the most intelligent of the group and among the most powerful shinobi in Fire Country. His right-hand man, Kiba, served as the social center of the group, maintaining morale and resolving any internal disagreements. The later of these two tasks was usually done using threat of force, of which Kiba had very much. His 'eternal rival', Rock Lee, joined the two shortly after their escape from Konoha and keeps his legendary skills honed by competing with the Inuzuka genius in feats of strength and skill. This ended, more often than not, in an unbreakable tie. With Lee came Tenten, now considered the most powerful female ninja in Fire Country, perhaps the world. The incorporation of fighting wires into her weapon-style tactics made her a veritable poltergeist in battle, with countless deadly objects orbiting her in an odd mockery of the cosmos. Hyuuga Hinata was the last to join their ranks, reluctant to leave the safety of the Village of Sand, but her skills as a scout and medic were desperately needed among the Resistance, and she undeniably wished to see Konoha reclaimed.