About a month and a half had passed since Hayate's death and the defeat of Hidan and Kakuzu, and everyone had been training intensely:

Tatsu had gone to train with the dragons at Mount Hakurei, leaving Hiryu behind to message him in case anything happened.

Naruto had been learning collaboration jutsu with the toads.

With some information Tatsu had given him, Lee had been experimenting with a new technique based off of the Leaf Dragon God.

But even during their training, each of them knew what was about to occur.

The time was near.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Orochimaru laid in a bed in one of his hideouts, coughing and hacking violently "I'm so close… just a little longer…"

"Yes, finally." Kabuto looked at his old ninja info cards "It's been awhile since the Chunin Exams, the Forest of Death. Three years have gone by. That young genin who once trembled before you, he's matured a lot hasn't he?"

"I knew the moment the boy turned his immature Sharingan on me, he had such magnificent eyes even then. Anyone who's developed a Sharingan that strong at his age must be someone special. I knew that he would prove to be an even greater treasure than Itachi, yes I realized at once that he was the perfect choice, especially when I saw the pain he carried within. I knew he would eventually come seeking me out in search of even more power."

"Yes I remember, it was for that reason you gave him the Curse Mark after going through the trouble to go all the way to Mount Koryu to see if it would bare fruit."

"Yes, what more can be said other than that he was perfect? Having the strength of will to fight off the Curse Mark even as he did battle with Sasori and defeated him. Having the Sharingan and the power of Raijin as well as the wisdom of knowing when to use it."

"It's true, there's nothing like combat for accelerating a ninja's development. You were wise to let him take Sasori out, it saved us the trouble of doing it ourselves." Kabuto handed him some medicine.

"I suppose so. After all, he did improve didn't he? There is no one else in this world who can train him as well as I can, no one else that fully understands the darkness that consumes his soul."

"And there's no one else who can make him more like you is there? It's as though the destruction of the Leaf is merely a side benefit. It's time I got your next dose of medicine ready, we have to make sure you're as strong as possible for the Transference Ritual."

Orochimaru reflected on the Third sealing his jutsu 'Curse that old fool, his interference robbed me of my jutsu and forced me to delay the reanimation. But now, everything is ready at last. The final stage is set, all the trouble the old man gave me is just a distant memory now. Finally, I will have the body I need. Your body, Sasuke! All I've done I've done to achieve one goal, or rather to clear away the darkness that stands between me and that goal.' he suddenly let out a violent cough.

Kabuto rushed to his side "Lord Orochimaru!" he stumbled back when he received a vicious glare, along with the image of a snake about to devour him.

"What's the matter with you Kabuto?"

"That cough doesn't sound very good, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, fine. The goal is in sight, I will soon be in the perfect host body and feel wonderful."

"You're at your breaking point, if you don't take the level 10 medicine then there's no more I can do for you. I'll go get the other medicine, I'll be back in a minute." and he left, still able to hear Orochimaru cackling maniacally behind the door 'That thirst for blood… even with his body pushed beyond the breaking point, he laughs. He endures through sheer strength of will, that's why I'll never leave your side Lord Orochimaru. Even when you brought down the Hokage and the Kazekage, even when you were on the brink of achieving the destruction of the Leaf Village, even when you battled the Sannin Tsunade and Jiraiya both at the same time, I've never seen you so menacing and full of ambition as you are right now. What's frightening is how much you've progressed, if all goes according to plan then not only the Five Kage but the whole world will grovel in the dust at your feet. That is, once you cast off this body and take Sasuke's.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the same time, Sasuke's eye snapped open from his meditation, his Sharingan instantly flaring into life 'The time has come, the time to end this. Orochimaru, if you think you can try to destroy my home and the people I love then you've got a nasty wake up call coming for you.'

The time had come.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Orochimaru let out a weak chuckle and clutched himself in pain 'This pain is the price of the reanimation, but it's nothing, less than nothing when weighed against the greatness that is to come.' then he sensed something and quickly rose his arms just in time to block a lightning spear attack from beyond the door 'This chakra nature, this is a change in chakra form I've never seen. Who is it?'

With several sharp slashes of lightning, Sasuke appeared, Sanda Sharingan flaring, his Chidori Sharp Spear crackling in his left "Hey."

"Of course it's you, I knew you'd come for me."

"Then you should know why I'm here too. You have absolutely nothing more to teach me, so I might as well get my mission over with." his Curse Mark spread until it covered about half of his face "You told me that you wanted me to learn to be heartless or I'd never be able to kill Itachi, well that's what you're going to get." he slowly advanced forward.

Orochimaru redirected the attack to go through the wall.

"You see Orochimaru, I'm stronger than you now so at this point I don't see any reason to delay any longer. My mission of killing you."

"A bold statement from a nursling Uchiha!"

"Big words from the pitiful snake who could only handle the nursling. You were there in the Forest of Death during the Chunin Exams to see if this nursling showed promise, so you thought you'd lay claim to me. You thought you could bind me to you with this Curse Mark that it took you two years to mark me with, claiming that you understood my purpose, and to some extent you do. I'm an avenger, I want revenge, I wanted it so badly I almost lost myself, but my friends brought me back and reminded me who I am, and I fooled you with the false claim that I was willing to give up my body to get it. What you wanted was the Sharingan, and from me you'd get that along with the power of Raijin. Was that what you believed? Or was it merely that you were pathetically defeated by Itachi and came after me, the baby of the clan? And they claim you to be the genius out of the three Legendary Sannin, but you turned out to be nothing more than another run of the mill ninja that doesn't even come close to being in the same league as the Uchiha. As a matter of fact, next to the Uchiha, genius like yours pretty bland and ordinary. The way you covet the power of the Uchiha, the way your force feed yourself various medicines provided for you by Kabuto and go leaping and squirming from one body to the next, it's nothing more than disgusting, monstrous, and above all, pathetic. As one of the last of the Uchiha clan, when I look at you all I see is nothing more than a pathetic miserable wretch. And on top of that I don't like your style, what exactly to you hope to accomplish by scurrying from one hideout to the next conducting your heinous experiments, using the lives of hundreds upon thousands of innocent people one after another, trying to unlock what you perceive to be the mysteries of nature? You toy with the lives of innocent people for the sake of this vein, ridiculous and utterly pointless cause of yours. Your very existence makes me want to wretch. By ridding this world of you, I'll be doing it a favor!" Sasuke drew his Raijin katana and blitzed in front of him, aiming the katana at Orochimaru's throat.

Orochimaru spat something out before falling limp.

'He shed that skin to reveal his true form.' Sasuke studied the entity before him: a large white snake made up of hundreds of smaller snakes "A gigantic white scaled snake, I have to admit I never would've recognized you. In order to keep switching from one body to the next, you spent years experimenting endlessly and now you turned into whatever the hell this is."

"Now Sasuke, you are MINE! GIVE ME YOUR BODY!" he lunged forward.

Sasuke leapt over the attack and easily dodged it.

Several snakes shot off of Orochimaru's body and lunged at him.

Sasuke cut them down with ease, only to see a large barrage of snakes lunge next 'Damn, I guess I've gotta use it.' he freed his arms from his shirt and allowed the snakes to coil around him, only to activate the second level of his Curse Mark "A snake that crawled on the earth once dreamt of soaring through the skies, knowing fully well just how impossible it was. Still hoping beyond all hope or reason, it kept its eye on a baby bird emerging in its own nest, never realizing one crucial fact." he broke free, revealing that he had fully transformed, complete with wings made of lightning infused with the power of Raijin, shredding the snakes engulfing him "What the snake didn't realize was that he had become the prey, for in reality that bird is a hawk that's at last ready to fulfill his destiny and take to the skies."

"SASUKE!" Orochimaru lunged and shot several snakes forward.

Sasuke leapt over them and, using his Raijin sword as a basis, fired a Chidori from the blade, shredding the snakes.

"SASUKE!" Orochimaru himself lunged forward once more, recalling his past, how he became interested in reanimation and the Sharingan,

With several strikes faster than one could see, Sasuke cut Orochimaru down, leaving several bloody pieces behind as he returned to his original form, his eyes returning from the Sanda Sharingan to the basic Sharingan "So that's it? That was extremely disappointing, I expected much more from you." then he suddenly fell to one knee.

Orochimaru chuckled, despite being in pieces, as his body released an odor "Looks like it's beginning to take effect now. The bodily fluids of the great serpent evaporate when they meet the air, they have a numbing effect and I see they're already weakening you. I am immortal, I am eternal, even your most powerful jutsu can't come close to killing me! Now… LET ME TAKE YOU!"

Then Sasuke saw everything go black.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Next thing Sasuke knew, he was surrounded by what appeared to be flesh that took the form of snakes "Where am I?"

With a sinister chuckle, Orochimaru rose, surrounded by these flesh "This is the universe inside of me, this is where the Transference Ritual will be held. Shall we begin?"

Sasuke found himself being engulfed by the intestine snakes as various other past hosts appeared engulfed by the snakes 'So this is how it works.'

Orochimaru studied Sasuke's Sharingan 'What remarkable visual prowess… this is truly magnificent!' he reflected on his failure to take Itachi's body 'It's as if I'm reliving that moment all over again.' he stared into Sasuke's Sharingan 'Those eyes… this time… those eyes are mine!'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Things were quiet on another end.

Kabuto by this point had given up on preparing Orochimaru's medicine 'No medicine will help him now, tomorrow or better yet today, the sooner we perform the ritual the better. It's funny, I can't imagine Sasuke will go along without fuss. Still, it's not like he could do anything about it. Not against that ritual at least.' and he exited the room, making his way to Orochimaru's, only to find the door open, and he quickly hid by the entrance, slowly and cautiously peering inside, only to see Sasuke inside 'Why is Sasuke here?' then he froze when he saw the remains of Orochimaru's true form 'The giant snake has shed its skin. So has the ritual already taken place? What is going on here?'

Then Sasuke turned to face him "I know you're there Kabuto, come out already."

Very slowly, Kabuto stood and revealed himself.

Sasuke walked past him without batting an eye.

Then Kabuto's voice stopped him "Just tell me one thing. Exactly which one are you?"

Sasuke slowly turned to face him and smirked "Well Kabuto, you tell me." his Sharingan flared into life.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kabuto found himself inside Orochimaru's little universe, seeing exactly what took place during the Transference Ritual 'This is the Transference Ritual… he's showing me what happened… this is it, the moment where the outcome of the ritual is decided.'

'Yes, that's it…' Orochimaru continued engulfing Sasuke in the flesh snakes.

That is, before Sasuke's Curse Mark flared along his body, and the flesh engulfing him turned from flesh pink to black "Nice try."

Orochimaru found his own snakes turning on him "But how?! This can't be, I created this universe! I control all here! No… it's impossible! This is my own space!"

Sasuke had the flesh snakes rise, intent on devouring Orochimaru then and there "Orochimaru, it doesn't matter whatever jutsu you try. Even if you try hundreds or thousands, my eyes will see through them all. Surely you must realize already. I knew my Sharingan would be able to reject the ritual, but I honestly didn't think my will alone would be able to erode this entire universe.'

"No, I will not allow this to happen! I am the immortal Orochimaru! I am invincible! I will not die here! This will not happen to me, especially not here! I am the one who will unlock the mysteries of nature! I am the one who will receive everything-" then the gigantic flesh snakes devoured him.

Kabuto froze when he found himself back in reality "Then that means that Lord Orochimaru is dead. No, it's more like…"

Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and smirked "Yeah, that's right. I absorbed him completely, and there's not even a scrap of him left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Throughout the land, various people, namely Anko, Naruto, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Tatsu and Itachi all sensed a bad omen, knowing fully well that something dire had taken place.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke made his way into one of Orochimaru's labs "Suigetsu."

"It's you… I knew you'd come." a quiet voice rang from inside one of the tanks "You being here must mean that you killed Orochimaru."

"That's right. But never mind that right now, let's get you out of there." not wanting to electrocute Suigetsu, Sasuke drew a kunai and slashed through the tank, shattering the glass.

From the water emerged Suigetsu, completely naked "Free at last, thank you Sasuke."

"Don't bother Suigetsu, you can thank me by being the second. Now come with me."

"What do you mean the second? Who are the others?"

"I have three others in mind. Jugo of the northern hideout, Karin of the southern hideout, and not long ago I recruited Hotaru of the Tsuchigumo clan, the granddaughter of En no Gyoja."

"You sure about that?"

"Is there a problem?"

"No not really, it's just that I can barely stand those two. And more importantly, how did you get the granddaughter of En no Gyoja to join you?"

"You're a descendent of the Second Mizukage, how did Orochimaru recruit you?"

"Fair enough. But going back to Jugo and Karin, I just don't think we'd get along is all. But you know, that's just my two scents. I understand why you picked me of course and I get why you chose this Tsuchigumo girl, but choosing those two is making me wonder about you Sasuke."

"It's official, you talk more than any person I've ever met. Now hurry up and get your clothes on, we're leaving."

"Ordering me around like some sort of big shot are you?" Suigetsu suddenly appeared behind Sasuke and held a finger to his head like a gun "I think it's time we clarified our relationship Sasuke, alright? Don't forget that you're the one who chose to rescue me, you made that decision on your own. I never said anything about following you if you came back for me. Just because you defeated Orochimaru doesn't make you better than me, everybody wanted to kill him. You were Orochimaru's favorite, he let you stay by his side while the rest of us were confined, so you just had a better chance to kill him than the rest of us." a brief pause "Gotcha, I was just kidding that's all." he removed his finger and stepped back "But I did just let you go when I didn't have to, which makes us even for you letting me out of the tank. I'm free of that prison at last, and that means I'm free to go do whatever the hell I want."

"Is that so? Well that's disappointing, but understandable."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

And yet later on the path, Suigetsu was with Sasuke as he hydrated himself by swimming around in a puddle "Hey I forgot to ask you, it was your squad wasn't it?"

"What do you mean?" asked Sasuke.

"You were the ones who brought down my predecessor Zabuza Momochi weren't you?"

"That's right, and it was on that mission that I awakened my Sharingan."

"So tell me, what exactly happened to his sword?"

"You mean the Executioner's Blade?"

"Yeah, how about this? I'll make you a deal, you tell me where the blade is and once I get my hands on it I'll agree to join your team."

"...I'll tell you once you put some pants on. But first…" he formed a hand seal "Summoning Jutsu!" he slammed his hand on the ground.

Then Hotaru suddenly appeared "Is it time Sasuke? And who's the naked guy? And more importantly, why is he naked?"

"Because he was like that when I found him in Orochimaru's hideout, and yes it's time. To answer your other question, his name is Suigetsu Hozuki, younger brother of Mangetsu Hozuki of the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist and a descendent of the Second Mizukage. And once he gets some pants on, we're heading to our first destination."

"Where would that be?"

"The Land of Waves."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After about 3 days of travelling, the three of them arrived at the Land of Waves.

Sasuke looked up at the name of the bridge 'The Great 7 Bridge. Sounds appropriate.'

"The Great 7 Bridge? Sounds pretty weird to be honest." Suigetsu commented.

"You had to be there to understand."

"Fair enough. Hey by the way, did Master Zabuza put up a good fight?"

"You could say that. His sheer killer intent alone let me petrified when I first laid eyes on him. He's one of the strongest opponents I've ever faced. Now then, let's go."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They made their way to Zabuza and Haku's graves, where Sasuke paid his respects, but the Executioner's Blade was nowhere in sight.

"It's not here." Suigetsu noted "Sasuke, are you sure this is the right place?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes "There's no other graves near the bridge, of course this has to be the right place."

"Well it's not here so what's the deal?"

"How should I know? If it's not here then chances are it was taken by some jackass who wanted to claim the credit for beating Zabuza."

"Well yeah I figured that was obvious enough, it's not gonna walk off on its own. Well sorry Sasuke, but since Master Zabuza's blade is gone so is any chance of me joining your team."

"Hold on a minute." Hotaru protested "He goes out of your way to free you from captivity and you just up and-"

"Enough." Sasuke cut her off "For now, let's head into the town and get some lunch. I don't know about you two, but I haven't eaten in almost a week. This way." he led them across the bridge and looked around at the town's people 'This place has really flourished since the last time I was here, I guess three years really can make a difference. Naruto really does have a unique ability to change people. So what're you gonna do now?"

Suigetsu shrugged "What else? I'm gonna look for the sword. The blade of the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist was passed down from generation to generation, it's the tradition. I was all set to become one of those swordsman myself, that's what I was training for. So it only makes sense that if Master Zabuza is gone then I'm the only one who should inherit his Executioner's Blade-"

Then one guy, actually one of Gato's former thugs, roughly bumped into him "Why don't you watch where you're walking you idiot."

Sasuke stopped Suigetsu from letting it escalate "Don't."

"What, you wanna make something of it?"

Sasuke cast the thug a cold glare "That depends, do you?"

"...Just watch it. I swear, this place is crawling with idiots." and he walked away.

"Wimp."

"Man you are way nicer than I am." Suigetsu commented "So it looks like you owe me for not starting trouble, so how are we gonna settle up?"

"How about by not making you pay for your own food. Please say no please no please say no.'

"Fair enough."

'Dammit! I didn't think to snag some money from Orochimaru before I left! Now what the hell am I gonna do?'

"Here." Hotaru held out some money "It's not a lot, but I want to help."

'Oh thank god… wait, this doesn't feel right. You really don't have to-"

"I'm part of this team too, I want to pay my share." and cue the sinister Big Head Jutsu created by Iruka combined with the sinister look developed by Yamato.

"...Okay."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later, they were in a restaurant with Sasuke getting heart-eyed stares from the waitresses.

Suigetsu on the other hand was eating to his heart's content "Man this yogurt is so great, it's been ages since I've had anything this good. I was locked in that tank for way too long."

"Is that why you're wasting our time?" Hotaru kept munching on some dumplings.

"None of us are really in a hurry." Sasuke munched on some rice.

"Why are you putting a team together anyway?" asked Suigetsu "Just what are you up to anyway?"

"I'll explain the whole situation to you once the whole team has been assembled."

"...Hey I know, let's conquer the world. You're not gonna say something like that are you?"

"If you're gonna conquer the world then do it with your own team, I'm after something I feel is more important. Something much more important."

"If anyone else said they wanted something more important than the whole world then I wouldn't believe it, but I don't know. When you of all people say it, I start to think that such a thing is really possible."

"Good to know." then Sasuke looked over to the waitress "Excuse me, do you mind if I ask you something?"

The waitress blushed "Yes?"

"You know the Great 7 Bridge? Have you ever heard of a large sword being there or where it might be now?"

"A sword? Yeah, I may have heard something about that once. Why?"

"I'm looking for it, I'd really appreciate the help."

"Really? You would? Maybe someone else knows, I'll go ask right away." and she rushed off.

"2 minutes tops."

"That was underhanded." Hotaru pointed out.

"Maybe, but I figured they'd be more willing to help me than Suigetsu. He's got the pervert eyes."

"The what eyes?"

"You ever hear of the crazy eyes? It's the pervert version of that." then Sasuke mentally counted down '3… 2… 1…'

Then the waitresses all crowded around him "Okay, so we think we know who might know you know. Tazuna, he lives by the river."

"Tazuna, huh? Of course, I should've guessed as much.'

"Who's Tazuna?" asked Hotaru.

"He's the master carpenter who built the Great 7 Bridge. He was also the client for the mission where we fought Zabuza."

"What's he like?"

"An annoying old drunkard, but he's a good man with a good heart. Just not a good sense of humor." he looked back "Thank you."

The waitresses all fainted.

'Okay, so it's not all bad.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once they checked to see if Tazuna was there, they found a carpenter that worked for Tazuna and questioned him.

The carpenter shook his head "Sorry, the boss isn't here right now."

"Do you know where he is then?" asked Sasuke.

"He and his grandson Inari went to build a bridge in the Land of Lightning. No point in waiting around for him either, they won't be back for a whole nother year."

"I see."

Suigetsu let out a groan "The Land of Lightning? Do you have any idea how far away that is?"

"Maybe you can help us then, do you know of a large blade that was left near the Great 7 Bridge?"

The carpenter shrugged "That old thing? Sure, Tenzen Daikoku took it awhile back. He came here to fight the ninja who wielded that blade, but once he found out the ninja was already dead he just took the sword and left."

"Is that so?" Sasuke bowed, with Hotaru following his lead "Thank you for your time." and they left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Suigetsu let out a groan "This just keeps getting harder, now we've gotta track down this Tenzen guy."

"He was an aid to the Feudal Lord of the Land of Water." Hotaru noted "But apparently lots of his men were killed when Zabuza staged his coup against the Fourth Mizukage, and apparently he's held a grudge ever since."

"Looks that way."

Then the same guy from before bumped into Suigetsu "Hey, why don't you watch where you're going loser?"

"How lucky, you're just the guy we were hoping to find."

'Crap!' the guy started running.

"Nope." Sasuke grabbed the guy by the back of his hood.

"Who the hell are you? What do you want from me?"

Suigetsu grinned "You just seem like someone who might know all sorts of things."

"Look, I don't know anything about Tenzen okay?"

"Tell us what you do know, anything at all is fine." he held up a kunai "But don't make me ask you twice."

"Okay okay I'll talk, Tenzen is a politician but that's not all he is."

"He's in charge of a huge group of thugs and bandits?" Sasuke guessed dryly.

"Yeah, and I hear that he doles out huge bribes left and right, and because of that the Feudal Lords do whatever evil things he wants."

"I should've expected as much from scum like him. Now where does he live?"

"He lives in a mansion in the south deep inside the forest, rumor has it that it's guarded by several thousand hired mercenaries. It's claimed to be impenetrable." a voice behind him let out a snort.

Sasuke looked to see a masked figure in a green kimono standing behind him "It's been a long time Dragon, about a year since you and I interacted."

"The word going around is that Orochimaru has been slain, and that you were the one to do it."

"Perhaps, what does it mean to you?"

"Well done, very impressive. I just wanted to run it by you before I sent word to the Leaf about this."

"Do what you will, but make sure at least Tatsu and Naruto are sent out because knowing the Leaf they will send out a squad."

"Very well."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nightfall came.

Tenzen awoke to find Sasuke pointing Raijin at his face from directly above him "Who are you? How did you get in here?"

"Very easily, your security is pathetic." Sasuke stated calmly "The day after tomorrow, over 10,000 soldiers will lay siege to this castle. Make sure you gather every available man. And don't forget my name, it's Suigetsu." then he was gone.

Tenzen bolted up "Intruder, all men gather up your arms!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Morning came.

Suigetsu watched with Hotaru as an army of men charged forward "Oh man, what the hell is going on now?"

"I dug up some information." Sasuke told him "From what I gather, there's a rival clan planning to attack Tenzen's castle tomorrow with an army numbering in the tens of thousands."

"No way, are you just making that up? Alright fine, the more confused the enemy is the better my chances. Whether it's one opponent or tens of thousands, it doesn't really matter to a ninja like me. I'll sneak in and steal the Executioner's Blade right from under their noses."

"Alright, how about a little wager then?"

"What sort of wager?"

"A competition to see who gets the Executioner's Blade first. Hotaru, do you want in?"

"I don't fight unless necessary." Hotaru told him firmly.

"Fair enough."

Suigetsu grinned "Never in a million years did I expect you to have a playful side Sasuke. Alright, let's do it. Sounds like my kind of fun."

"Then we start now, but there is one rule. You're not allowed to kill anyone."

"...Huh?"

"We're not bloodthirsty savages." he looked at Suigetsu for a moment "I'm not a savage."

"Oh… hey!"

"Well you know it's true."

"...That's not the point!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The men were surprised to see Sasuke appear in the center of them "Hey, who the hell are you?! Doesn't matter, you're mine!" one of them charged in like an idiot.

"Nope." Sasuke kicked him off the horse and began beating the crap out of the rest of the idiots.

Suigetsu blinked "So now means starting right now."

10 minutes later…

Suigetsu walked with Sasuke past the unconscious bandits "I guess you really meant right now. Aw dammit, I'll never live it down if I lose this bad. Alright, let's do this then." and cue the onslaught of arrows.

"Lightning Style: Purple Thunder." Sasuke dully fired a blast of lightning from his left hand.

"Nice one, I've gotta hand it to you Sasuke-" then he paused when he realized Sasuke was gone. Again.

"You can't hesitate with stuff like this! You can handle the next wave of idiots!"

Suigetsu looked at the oncoming wave of morons "Alright, let's get this over with."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

What he didn't know was that Sasuke was actually watching from afar 'Now to see if I was right to choose him.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Suigetsu punched out the idiots and charged through the gates, relentlessly punching out guys left and right as he made his way until he found Tenzen "That actually tired me out a little, now to get what I want."

Tenzen was visibly unnerved "That's impossible, there's no way that a single man could defeat all of those soldiers in combat!"

"There's a way, attacking me with conventional weapons is pretty much useless."

"If conventional weapons are useless then how about this?!" then Tenzen's bodyguard burst through the wall with the Executioner's Blade.

"Hey thanks, my Executioner's Blade. I was looking for that-" then he got cut in half, spewing water instead of blood.

Tenzen smirked "You let your guard down and now you've paid the price for your arrogance."

Suigetsu chuckled as he put himself back together "Oh I'm sorry did I forget to tell you? Yeah, blades aren't gonna work on me either. See?" then he looked at the bodyguard "But I'm feeling awfully jealous here, I didn't think anyone would be able to wield that sword without special training. Guess it helps to have a good strong physique doesn't it?" he promptly got splattered, but he reformed "Now I here that you've been telling anybody willing to listen that you killed the demon Zabuza and took this blade from him."

"No way, not me." the bodyguard blurted out quickly "Lord Tenzen, he's the one."

"I see." Suigetsu turned to Tenzen "So you're the one that killed Master Zabuza.

"No, not me!" Tenzen blurted out "The person who killed Zabuza was-"

"Where's your respect?"

"I mean Master Zabuza, I was just trying to say it wasn't me. It was…"

Then Sasuke came up "You're taking your sweet time, how hard is it to take a sword and butcher a cockroach?"

Tenzen instantly recognized him "You're the one! The one from yesterday! Yes him, right there! He's the one you want, the one who killed Master Zabuza! The only thing I did was bring the blade back from where I found it!"

"...I feel like I walked into the middle of a very interesting conversation."

Suigetsu burst out laughing "I gotta say that's pretty impressive, I was amazed you could come up with such a good lie under the circumstances and all."

"Suigetsu, here." Sasuke tossed him a water canister.

"You're so thoughtful, I was starting to feel a bit dehydrated." then Suigetsu turned his attention back to Tenzen "I think you've got the wrong idea, I knew Master Zabuza but it's not like he and I were particularly close."

Tenzen let out a long sigh of relief 'Oh thank god.'

"But still, he was an elder of mine." he promptly tossed the bodyguard out of the gigantic hole in the wall, leaving the Executioner's Blade in his hand "I can't let rumors keep flying around about him losing to you, especially when you're a bunch of losers. You understand, don't you?" he held the blade too Tenzen's face.

"You-You'll never get away with this you know, you can't just walk in here and do what you want!"

"You have to pay for what you did, you know that. I think I'll test this thing out on you."

"Just forget it Suigetsu, there's no point in killing a spineless cockroach like him." Sasuke told him.

Suigetsu then promptly slashed through all of the pillars "I've cut through all of the main support pillars, you'd better get out of here quickly. I'm sparing his life such as it is, out of respect for Sasuke." and he walked away.

At that, Tenzen froze "Sasuke? No, not him… the Sasuke that killed Orochimaru?!"

"Hey, you hear what that guy just said? You're famous Sasuke, they know about you even out here in these backwoods." and they made their way out to meet up with Hotaru.

Tenzen was petrified with fear and his screams were drowned out by the crumbling of the castle.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As they made their way , Suigetsu let out a chuckle "You know as long as I have this blade I could defeat even you, well maybe. Hold on, you knew that I was gonna go after this blade even before you freed me didn't you? And wait, you also knew from the start that the blade wasn't at the grave site anymore. Of course, and the one who told that guy his castle was gonna be attacked and got him to gather all of his men together was you. Tenzen acted like he had met you before and I don't think that was a lie. Hey wait, did you suggest that wager just to get me to go into enemy territory with you? Was this your way of testing me? It was, wasn't it? Man you're terrible, I could've gotten seriously hurt doing that. Well at least now I understand exactly what kind of person you are, and you're pretty much just the way I imagined you'd be. Well anyway, I got my blade so I'll help you just like I promised. Now then, which way do we go? No wait, let me guess. Whatever path is closest, I bet that's what you were gonna say isn't it."

"Maybe." Sasuke stated without batting an eye "And if it was?"

"Well then that means I'm starting to get inside your head Sasuke."

"Whatever you want to believe, now let's take the closest path." a short pause "You guys are wrong though."

"Wrong about what?" asked Hotaru.

"I'm not cold and calculating like Orochimaru was, I'm focused. I refuse to allow my comrades to shed blood, that's the ninja way I established a long time ago."

"That reminds me, what do you plan to do once you accomplish this goal?"

"To be frank, I'll let you guys go your separate ways, I'll return to my village, pay the price for deserting and then find my girlfriend and beg for her forgiveness."

"...Solid plan."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A day passed, and the group was nearing the hideout in the middle of the ocean off of the coast of the Land of Waves.

"Can I ask you something Sasuke?" Suigetsu spoke up.

"What is it?" asked Sasuke.

"Why exactly are you dragging a team together anyway?"

"It's simple, I have a goal I want to reach and forming a team will help me reach that goal faster than I would alone. Ever since I joined up with Orochimaru a few months ago, I've been preparing for when this would happen. I've been carefully selecting the most powerful shinobi who catch my eye. You're a descendent of the Second Mizukage and Hotaru is the granddaughter of the previous head of the Tsuchigumo clan."

"Okay, but I'm still not sure why you would choose Karin. You could do better. I mean unlike me she was one of Orochimaru's followers. She's the warden of the whole southern hideout where Orochimaru kept his test subjects locked up, though she claimed that she was only following Orochimaru's orders she personally experimented on me many times. But most of all I don't like that personality of hers."

"Believe me, I'm well aware of that. She's a descendent of the nearly extinct Uzumaki clan, a clan distantly related to the First Hokage. Because of that, she has a special ability, one possessed by only one other person that I know of."

"That's true, I guess she's got that going for her."

Sasuke looked ahead "We're here."

"I can't believe how little security there is in this hideout." Hotaru commented "Shouldn't they at least have guards or something?"

"She has this place under complete control, that's why there isn't any need for guards or anything else of the sort."

"Still though it's too quiet here, I don't like it." Suigetsu commented "It's making me start to wonder if word of Orochimaru's death has reached here already."

"Well it did reach a cockroach like Tenzen so it wouldn't surprise me."

"True." then they reached the door and Suigetsu noticed Sasuke looking at him "What?"

Sasuke pointed at the Executioner's Blade.

"In case you didn't notice Sasuke, you have a sword too."

"Mine is more suited for electrocuting things and blowing them up, your blade is better suited for a task like this."

"Alright, fine." Suigetsu pulled the Executioner's Blade from his back "Open sesame!" and with several clean strokes, he destroyed the door.

"That wasn't so hard was it? Maybe if you stop whining and start getting off your ass and doing stuff you wouldn't irritate people so much." Sasuke led them inside and passed a cell, where the prisoners started muttering about how the rumor that Orochimaru was dead was true.

A little further down, she appeared before them "I knew it was you Sasuke, if you're here by yourself then that can only mean one thing. The rumors about Orochimaru's death are true." she completely ignored Suigetsu and Hotaru "Well? Why have you come here Sasuke?"

"Sasuke came here because he wants to talk to you." Suigetsu answered for him "But we don't want to stand and talk so take us to a room where we can sit okay? I'm tired, I haven't walked this far in a long time."

Karin looked back at Sasuke "You wanna talk? Talk Sasuke."

"I said we don't wanna do this out here in the hall so just take us inside right now, don't think I don't know that you're just trying to ignore me here Karin."

"Oh please." Karin took a whiff "You're unpleasant."

"You're not so pleasant yourself."

"You little-"

"Enough." Sasuke got in between them "Listen Karin just knock it off, just take us to a room already will you?"

"...Alright fine, come on."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

So Karin led them into a room deeper in the hideout "Alright, what do you guys want?"

"Karin come with me, I need you on my team." Sasuke told her.

"Oh really? Why would I go with you? I have responsibilities, I run this place."

"Orochimaru is gone now."

"So? There are still a lot of prisoners here."

"Speaking of which, they were awfully quiet when we walked by them. They must know that Orochimaru is dead." Suigetsu pointed out "That news had to have reached here by now."

"I've noticed that the number of prisoners has dropped since the last time I was here, and when we came in I also saw signs of recent digging in the ground near the front of the entrance to this hideout." Sasuke noted "Karin, I know that you possess a razor sharp intellect and that you're an expert in controlling information."

"Of course, rumors of Orochimaru's death started circulating among the prisoners so to keep them from staging a riot and trying to escape you put some sort of plan in place. Isn't that right? You've planted a spy among the inmates so if anyone starts asking about Orochimaru…"

"Karin, it's your cautious nature that's kept this prison at peace for so long. In fact, it's what's kept you alive." Sasuke pointed out.

Karin glared "Hey, you don't have to put it that way you know."

Suigetsu let out a sigh "Well there's no doubt that Orochimaru trained you, you're scary. I bet you sensed our presence long before we even arrived at your door, and you probably thought up half a dozen ways to kill us."

"I would've if it was just you or that girl."

"Well you'd never take down Sasuke right?"

"I didn't say that you idiot! Sasuke's my colleague, it's different. Besides, I wanted to see if the rumors were really true. I wanted to find out if he had killed Orochimaru."

"I killed him." Sasuke confirmed nonchalantly.

"How can you say that so casually?"

"Because I did the world a favor." he turned to the others "Suigetsu, Hotaru, I want the two of you to go out there and release everyone being held prisoner here."

"What?"

"You and that commanding tone again." but Suigetsu stood nonetheless, with Hotaru following.

"You can't just come in here and take over, you have no idea what I went through to maintain order!"

"Look it's simple, without prisoners there's no need for a warden." explained Sasuke "I'll ask you one more time, come with me Karin and join my team. So what will your decision be then?"

"Well as entertaining as this is, we're going to go release the prisoners now." Suigetsu grabbed his sword.

"I'm not going, I don't owe you anything so I'm staying right here." Karin said firmly.

'Sure.' then Suigetsu left, with Hotaru following his lead, leaving Sasuke and Karin alone.

"Fine by me, if you're not interested then I'll get someone else to join." Sasuke waved her refusal off nonchalantly 'I guess it's on to Plan B, have Dragon send word to the Leaf and get Tatsu to join me. He's a sensory type too and from what I know his sensory is even stronger than hers.'

Karin slowly stepped back and locked the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the same time, Suigetsu and Hotaru freed the prisoners, but Suigetsu added the condition that they make sure everyone knew that Sasuke was the one who killed Orochimaru and freed them all.

They agreed without hesitation.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Karin quickly locked the door "There."

Sasuke felt a bead of sweat drip down his forehead 'Oh please don't tell me…'

"I'll go." her knees were shaking.

'Oh no, not again.'

Cheeks reddening, Karin took off her glasses as she sat next to Sasuke "Look Sasuke, if you need me and if you want me to then I'll go ahead and follow you."

"What exactly are you up to? That sure was a quick change of heart."

"Well after thinking about it I realized just how boring it is guarding this place is." she ignored the jiggling of the doorknob.

"It's Suigetsu and Hotaru."

"Let's forget about those nuisances, alright Sasuke?"

"Karin… don't get so close."

"Look, what's wrong with the team being just you and me Sasuke?"

"Many, many things."

"I mean we don't really need that Suigetsu or that other girl do we?"

"This is the part of you I need, your cunning and cautiousness. But more than that, you're the second best sensory type I know of. From the first moment that I met you, I knew I'd be able to make good use of your power."

'Yes… back then…' Karing thought back to when she and Sasuke first met, back when he was helping to round up some escaped prisoners 'I'm… Sasuke… oh Sasuke… I…'

Then Suigetsu finally hacked down the door with the Executioner's Blade "I hope that didn't chip the blade. Come on Sasuke, let's go. I assume Karin turned you down."

"So did I, until you left and she changed her mind so it looks like she's coming with us after all."

'Well crap.'

Karin quickly put her glasses back on "What? Who said I'm coming? I just- I mean- I just happen to be going in the same direction as you, that's all there is to it. Yeah, that's the only reason why I'm coming along."

"Well isn't that nice, now we can travel part of the way together."

"That's right, only part of the way."

"Alright then, let's go get this Jugo person." said Hotaru.

"Hold on, you want Jugo to join the team?!"

"Why should you care?" asked Suigetsu "You're only coming part of the way."

"You're right I don't care, but I can still ask. Come on, you want a piece of me?"

"Bring it."

"Enough." Sasuke got to his feet "Now let's go."

"...Yeah sure."

"Yeah whatever, let's go already." Karin grumbled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As they made their way out, Karin stared at Sasuke with hearts in her eyes 'Sasuke Uchiha… his handsome and cool face is great too, but whenever I sense his chakra the feeling I get is just so enticing. Of all the hundreds, no thousands, of chakras I've encountered, his is by far the best. It just grabs hold of you.' then she ignored Hotaru and turned to Suigetsu with disgust 'But then there's his.'

Suigetsu noticed her glaring at him "What's up?"

"I hate your chakra, it's just gross."

"What was that? Well the same goes for you."

"Let's go." Sasuke spoke "We're heading for the northern hideout."

"Oh come on, more walking?" Suigetsu immediately whined "I'm at the end of my rope here."

Karin scoffed "We're talking about the northern hideout, if you're this weak now then you'll probably be killed the instant you get there."

"I only know if from seeing it on a map, I didn't know the place was gonna be that dangerous."

"The northern hideout is no ordinary hideout, it's used for human experimentation and it also houses all of the uncontrollable monsters the experiments produce."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tatsu suddenly found himself in the air, and landed on the ground with a thud "Why is it that you people always summon me in mid-air?"

"Blame the contract." a voice said dryly.

Tatsu looked up to see Lee standing before him "Why the hell did I give you the summoning contract again?"

"Because you didn't want someone like Kiba to get it."

"Oh yeah. Anyway, what's going on?"

"Lady Tsunade summoned us, apparently it's something big. Naruto and the rest are on their way too."

"Alright, let's go."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Suigetsu let out a sigh "Say, aren't you guys tired? How about a little break?"

Karin scoffed "Please, you already took a break. Dammit Suigetsu, you're so lazy. Come on, we still have a long way to go."

"I thought you were only going part of the way with us, so what I do shouldn't concern you. Just go on ahead."

"For your information I remembered that I have business at the northern hideout too, and don't tell me where to go!" then she calmed down considerably "Suigetsu, why the hell are you following Sasuke around?"

"Sasuke's not the only one with a goal, I have reason to believe he can help me reach mine."

"And what about the girl?"

"Something about Sasuke saving her from the Akatsuki and following him to repay the debt I think. But really, I should be asking you the same question Karin."

"I may not know exactly what goals you two are after, but if you knew what Jugo is really like then you wouldn't want to recruit him."

"Well actually I do know him a little, I was forced to fight him once. He used some interesting powers and he was pretty strong, but I couldn't figure out what was going on in his head. I could never come around to liking him, I hear he actually asked Orochimaru to lock him up in that place. It tells you how crazy he really is."

"According to all of the rumors I've heard, Jugo has bizarre impulses but manages to control them. When he snaps, he becomes a homicidal maniac and his personality changes along with his looks."

"In other words he's an angry guy who loves to kill people, does that sum it up pretty well?"

"Even so, to Orochimaru Jugo's power was something very fascinating. Orochimaru developed an enzyme from the fluids in Jugo's body which allowed other shinobi to achieve the same state. You guys know what I mean don't you?"

"You mean Orochimaru's Curse Mark?" Hotaru guessed.

"Exactly, it originated with Jugo."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tsunade immediately rounded on Naruto and Ino when she saw them walk in "You're late! Why did it take so long for you too to get here!"

"Yeah, even I got here soon and I was hundreds of miles away training at Mount Hakurei." then Tatsu pointed to Danzo standing in the corner "Hell even Danzo got here before you did and he's always holed up underground like a vampire."

"See? Wait, what?"

Jiraiya tried to calm her down "Now now Tsunade."

Then Naruto finally came in after Ino and saw Jiraiya "No way, Pervy Sage? You're back in town again?"

"It's been awhile hasn't it Naruto?"

"It sure has, why the hell didn't you tell me you were coming back? I've got so much to tell you about."

"So I hear, at least the gist of it, not the details, but I hear you and Tatsu have gone through a lot of stuff recently."

"That's for sure, don't we always? Oh, and I finally got my collaboration jutsu to sink with Gamatatsu."

"You did? That's fantastic."

"What do you say, you wanna see my new jutsu?"

"Well since I'm here how could I ever pass up that offer?"

"Awesome! Oh and of course after that we'd better go get some ramen from Ichiraku right?"

"Sure! Tell you what? It's my treat."

"Alright! Let's go!" they actually started towards the door.

"Your new jutsu huh? I can't wait-"

"HOLD IT!" Tsunade thundered, stopping them in their tracks.

Tatsu held his hand out to Danzo "May I?"

"Do what you must." Danzo handed Tatsu his cane.

"Thank you." Tatsu then promptly whacked them both with it, beating Tsunade to the punch.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Suigetsu dropped to the ground again "Can we rest a second?"

Karin rounded on him again "Suigetsu you keep taking breaks like every two minutes, we're almost at the hideout now come on! I bet it's that sword, it's too heavy for you isn't it? Just leave it behind, dammit!"

Hotaru noticed that Sasuke's attention was elsewhere "Is something wrong?"

"Where's the guard that's supposed to be on watch?"

"What?" Karin stopped and paused "He's gone, that is strange."

"Look." Hotaru pointed to where a guard limped towards them and collapsed.

Karin checked on him "He's from the northern hideout, he's still alive."

"What happened here?" asked Sasuke "Who did this to you?"

The guard opened his eyes "You… must be him… Sasuke Uchiha, right? Please… you must help us…"

"What happened?"

"The rumors… it started with the rumors… that Orochimaru had been killed… the prisoners all went wild and rioted… and the way it's going…" then he fell still.

'He's dead. The only question is, who did it?'

Then one of the prisoners appeared in the second level of his Curse Mark and quickly laid eyes on Sasuke "I know you, I'm sure I do."

'This guy's already transformed into the second level of his Curse Mark. I'd better cut him down before he gets loose and hurts any innocents.' with one clean strike, Sasuke cut the prisoner down in an instant, causing him to revert back to his normal form "The northern hideout is just ahead, now let's go get Jugo and get out of here so we don't stay any longer than I feel is necessary."

"Right." Hotaru followed.

"Hey, hey wait up! Sasuke!" Karin chased after them.

Suigetsu looked at the body of the prisoner 'Who the hell is this guy?'

Karin paused to sense out the situation, only to see the prisoners in front of them "All of the wardens have been killed, and all of the inmates have broken out."

"At this rate we can't tell which one is Jugo right?"

"Karin, can you detect which one is Jugo amongst the prisoners?" asked Sasuke.

"What a huge pain. Fine, wait just a second." Karin paused "No, he's not among them."

"Then we don't have to worry about which ones we take down. But remember Suigetsu, don't kill any of them."

Suigetsu rolled his eyes "Boy you really are from the Hidden Leaf Village. You shouldn't hold back, and you should've killed that last guy too. You're so soft."

"Let's go."

"No." then Hotaru stepped forward "Please let me handle this. It's time I earn my place on this team." she formed a hand seal "Water Clone Jutsu!" 5 identical copies appeared "Water Style: Water Shockwave!" they each summoned a giant wave of water that collided with the prisoners.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After about an hour of fighting off and constant refusals of help from Sasuke and the rest, Hotaru knocked out the last of the prisoners "There, that's taken care of."

"The keys." then Karin came out with the keys "I found the key ring."

Sasuke led the group down a hallway but stopped at a corridor "Karin, which way? Tell us."

"Hey Sasuke, quit bossing us around!"

Suigetsu groaned "Just calm down and figure it out would you, if you're so proud of your ability then use it."

"...It's that way." she pointed.

"Alright." and he left, with Hotaru following to make sure he didn't do anything stupid.

Karin stopped Sasuke from following them "Wait."

"What's wrong?" asked Sasuke.

"It's actually this way." she pointed in another direction "Now come on, let's go."

"What are you trying to get at Karin? Suigetsu and Hotaru both went the wrong way."

"Suigetsu has a big mouth and Hotaru just gets on my nerves, I don't like them. Come on." she grabbed his hand and led him forward.

"Let go, I can walk on my own."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hotaru was wondering exactly how long it would take for Suigetsu to realized that Karin had tricked him.

She didn't have to wait very long.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke found himself outside a chained door with Karin "Is this it?"

"Yeah, Jugo is in this cell." Karin stepped forward and unlocked the door "Okay, I'm gonna open it." she reached for the handle.

Sasuke grabbed her by the arm "No, I'm going in first. Whatever happens, just be sure to stay behind me."

"Right." Karin stepped back.

'Here we go.' Sasuke gripped the handle and slowly opened the door.

"BINGO YOU'RE DEAD!" Jugo charged forward immediately, slamming Sasuke straight into the wall.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto rubbed the bruise on his head "I swear you're as abusive as Sakura."

"That's a low blow." Tatsu pointed out "Sakura hit you every 10 seconds and screamed her head off at you for no good reason, I only hit you when you're acting like an idiot. Anyway, why did you guys call me back from Mount Hakurei? You know what I'm doing over there and it can't be interrupted by anything trivial."

Danzo promptly whacked him on the head with his cane "This is anything but trivial, this is a matter that affects the entire shinobi world."

"What, the Akatsuki are starting a war?"

"No. Not yet at least."

"Then what?"

"Allow me." then a masked figure appeared in a green flash.

"Oh great, you're here too Dragon. Alright, what's up?"

"We've been seeing some intel floating around on multiple channels, that's what we've brought you here to discuss."

"What sort of intel?" asked Naruto.

"That Orochimaru had been slain and that Sasuke was the one to do it."

Naruto's eyes shot wide "...What? Are you serious? Are you absolutely sure?"

"That's the story, and I checked with Sasuke himself and he confirmed it."

Then Naruto immediately returned to his usual self "I totally knew Sasuke could pull it off, that means that now he'll return to the Hidden Leaf Village right? Right?"

Danzo promptly whacked him on the head with his cane "So shortsighted, a ninja must see past what is right in front of them."

'What's this wrinkly old prick going on about?'

"Thank you king of whack a mole." Tatsu said dryly "Think about it for a minute Naruto, we both knew that Sasuke was planning to do this from the beginning."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jugo let out a maniacal laughter "No not just yet!" his left arm transformed slightly further and he fired a punch that let out a large shockwave.

Karin had to brace herself 'Sasuke's chakra… it just transformed…'

When the dust settled, Sasuke had partially transformed into his second level 'That was close…'

Jugo laughed in an insane way "So you're just another copy of me are you?! Still though it's pretty impressive you can pull off a partial transformation like that!" then he broke away "You know you're pretty good at using the Curse Mark."

Sasuke slowly stepped out of the hole in the wall "I didn't come here to fight you Jugo, the only reason I came here is so I can talk to you."

"...To talk? Seriously?"

"That's right Jugo, I came to take you out of here."

"You're gonna get me out of here?" then Jugo burst out laughing "Are you out of your mind? He's gone! Without him with me, I can never leave this place."

'Him? Who's he talking about?'

"Now do you understand me?" Jugo thought back to the one person he could truly consider to be a friend 'Kimimaro…'

"Let me say it again Jugo, I have no intention of fighting you. I came to get you out of here, that's all there is to it. I want you to come with me."

"Don't you see? I can't leave this place, NEVER AGAIN!" Jugo charged.

Sasuke dodged the charge and took off running down the hallway.

Jugo charged at him again.

Sasuke easily dodged his attacks repeatedly, going up through the roof that was broken by one of Jugo's attacks.

"I won't let you escape!" Jugo charged after him.

"Damn, what's going on here?"

Karin looked to see Suigetsu and Hotaru emerge from the smoke "Oh great, you two."

"You really are a piece of work you know that? You tricked us back there."

"Oh give me a break Suigetsu, you got lost all on your own."

"We got lost because I followed your directions."

"Listen I really resent that accusation, what would be the point anyway? What would I get out of tricking you like that?"

"Being alone with Sasuke." Hotaru said dryly "Isn't that right?"

"What?! Uh, no way! I don't want anything like that at all! I mean… shut it!"

Suigetsu rolled his eyes "Yeah whatever, anyway what happened while we were out wandering around?"

"Jugo just went wild and attacked."

"I see, so you two went looking for Jugo after all. And Sasuke?"

"He and Jugo went outside."

"Well Sasuke's tough, he can handle anyone, especially someone this powerful."

"Yeah, let's hope."

"Jugo's gotten even stronger then?"

"Well yeah."

"By the way, you said Jugo actually came to Orochimaru of his own free will."

"Yeah that's right."

"But why?"

"To be fixed probably."

"To be fixed?"

"To Jugo, Orochimaru's hideout is probably like some kind of rehabilitation facility where he can get better."

"But what did Jugo want to fix about himself?"

"Jugo's impulses are like an addiction, he can't do anything about it on his own. He simply wants to control his urge to slaughter."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jugo let out an insane laughter "You're dead!"

"You think so?" Sasuke took off running down the hall.

"Why can't you get it through your head?! I! Can! Never! Leave!" Jugo reflected on his first meeting with Kimimaro and how he promised to be Jugo's cage "I'll kill you! Kimimaro… Why? Why did you die and leave me all alone?' he thrusted forward his fist.

Then Suigetsu appeared and blocked the attack with his Executioner's Blade "Sup?"

"Who are you?"

"You're using a different technique than before Jugo, not too bad. I like it."

"Suigetsu, stop it." Sasuke ordered.

Jugo grinned malicious "Yes of course, we've fought before Suigetsu! I remember now."

"You know, this guy really is dangerous Sasuke." Suigetsu noted.

"Sasuke?"

"Suigetsu, we didn't come here to fight." Sasuke reminded him "Just let me talk to him."

"I seriously doubt anything you say is gonna get through to him." Suigetsu pointed out "The only thing he understands if force!" and he brought down the blade.

"I'll kill you!" Jugo formed an axe on his hand and clashed with Suigetsu's blade.

"Stop it, both of you." Sasuke ordered.

'No, don't stop! Kill each other off!' Karin mentally begged.

'Okay, this isn't getting us anywhere.' Sasuke suddenly appeared between Jugo and Suigetsu and bound and bound them with snakes emerging from his sleeves "You make it hard to resist the urge to kill you, unless you want me too." he retracted the snakes back into his sleeves.

Suigetsu felt Sasuke's killer intent 'He really was about to kill us just now.'

Karin obviously didn't get the seriousness of the situation 'Oh Sasuke, you're incredible!'

Jugo's transformation subsided, and he freaked out and ran inside one of the cells, slamming the door in the process "Please, just hurry and lock the door!"

"Jugo I mean you no harm, I only came to free you." Sasuke's voice was soft and gentle "Please come out and join me."

"I think he's too scared." Hotaru commented.

"You're wrong, that's not it at all." Karin told her.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to kill anymore people." Jugo whimpered "But if I come outside of this place then I will, I'm begging you to just leave me alone! PLEASE!"

"Seems like he has a split personality."

"I told you, Jugo succumbs to his irrepressible murderous urges and it's like he's a whole other person." Karin told her "He loses control of himself but the truth is that he'd actually rather not kill."

"I don't know when I'll lose control and kill someone again so just put the lock on the door and leave me be!" Jugo pleaded.

"Sorry Sasuke, but I don't think Jugo's gonna work out." Suigetsu commented "We're gonna have to constantly watch our backs around him in case he starts to lose control."

"Who the hell are you people anyway? I just want to be left alone!"

"Jugo." Sasuke stepped forward, his voice as soft and gentle as he could make it "Orochimaru is dead and this hideout is completely destroyed, if you stay here then you'll die too."

"I don't care, at least then I can't kill anybody else."

"Listen to me Jugo, you don't have to worry. I will be your cage, I won't let you hurt anyone. I'm not like others, I'm actually capable of keeping you under control."

"There's nothing you can do, there was only one person who could subdue my impulses was Kimimaro. Without Kimimaro, I won't leave."

"I see."

"Wait, Kimimaro?" asked Suigetsu "You mean the guy from the Kaguya clan?"

"That's right. From what I'm aware of, out of all of the people here Jugo and Kimimaro were Orochimaru's favorites. They were kept together here in this hideout for the sake of live experimentation. He was strong too, he was the only person who could stop Jugo from rampaging without harming him. That, and he nearly killed Tatsu three years ago from my understanding.'

"But I thought Kimimaro was… isn't he…?"

"Yes." Sasuke turned back to the door "Jugo, it's only right for you to know. Kimimaro died for me, he's gone and he has been for about three years."

Jugo froze from behind the door "Wait a second, if he did that for you then that must mean that you're… Uchiha. Sasuke Uchiha."

"That's right."

"So you've come… Sasuke… Kimimaro said you would… So that's what happened… Kimimaro…' Jugo slowly opened the door and walked out "Alright."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later, Sasuke stood with the four others outside the hideout "Good, now that I've gathered my perfect team here it is. This is my plan, my ultimate goal is to kill Itachi Uchiha of the Akatsuki."

"I thought you were gonna say that." Suigetsu commented.

"But to succeed I'll need help from all of you. It's your choice though, if you wish to leave then I'm not going to stop you. Karin, you said you had something else to do. Decide."

Karin blushed "Well on second thought, that other thing really isn't all that important."

Suigetsu rolled his eyes "Karin just be honest and tell the truth would ya? The only thing you're really interested in is being around Sasuke, isn't that right?"

"What?! No, that's just ridiculous! It's ridiculous how ridiculous that is! No, you're ridiculous!"

"What I am is right, I mean why else would you get all flustered like that! How rich. I know the truth you know, about how long ago you wanted-"

Karing cut him off by punching him in the face, causing his head to dissolve into water.

"I'm right."

"Suigetsu, don't get Karin so worked up." Sasuke told him "I told you guys to at least try to get along."

"Alright I will, I'm sorry Karin truly. Now look, you may hate it but I'm not going anywhere. I'm sticking like glue to Sasuke. At least I am until I can locate one of the seven Hidden Mist blades, I'm on the hunt for Kisame Hoshigaki's giant sword the Shark Skin Samehada."

Karin let out a groan "So you're collecting a bunch of big swords? How boring."

"What was that?"

"Suigetsu…" Sasuke warned.

"Yeah yeah I know, so Jugo, Hotaru, what are you guys gonna do?"

"Sasuke, Kimimaro said he considered you his reincarnation." Jugo told him "He sacrificed his life to protect you, so that's why I want to see what kind of shinobi you really are with my own eyes."

"And I owe you." Hotaru told him "You saved me and my master from the Akatsuki, joining you is the least I could do."

Sasuke nodded "Then it's all set. Now that we're a team we all move together as one, and from this point on we will be known as the Hebi. The Hebi has only one goal: Itachi Uchiha."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto rubbed his head "Will you guys stop hitting me?"

"Will you stop being an idiot and use your head?" Tatsu retorted dryly "It doesn't matter if Orochimaru is dead and Sasuke's mission is complete, Sasuke wants revenge on Itachi and he's not going to return until he gets it. You should've known this."

"But we have to move fast then, Operation Track Akatsuki is still going on right?"

Tsunade nodded "It is."

"Alright, then to find Sasuke we need to hunt down that member of the Akatsuki first. We need to track down Itachi Uchiha."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the same time, Itachi was waiting for Kisame to finish capturing Roshi, a Hidden Stone ninja and the jinchuuriki of the Four-Tails.

Then the Akatsuki leader contacted them and informed them about how Sasuke killed Orochimaru, then warned them about Sasuke's movements and about how he was most likely targeting Itachi.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Target a member of the Akatsuki who has the highest chance of leading us to Sasuke? Well I can certainly see the logic in that." Tsunade noted.

"But tracking someone as skilled as Itachi is a very delicate task." Danzo pointed out "The situation must be played to perfection." he received wary and untrusting looks from everyone in the room, but brushed them off.

"If we can take just one of the Akatsuki into custody then I wouldn't think that it would be too difficult for Ibiki to get information out of whomever we capture." Ino pointed out.

"I've already issued an order to that effect." Tsunade told her "Each team is to try and capture a member of the Akatsuki, and if they succeed then they'll bring that member in."

"As much of a drag as that'll be, it'll probably be difficult."

Naruto and the rest looked to see Shikamaru standing in the doorway with Kakashi "Shikamaru! Kakashi-sensei!"

"I'm afraid we won't be able to make them talk quite so easily." Kakashi pointed out "Even those we've already encountered have been far too dangerous, they couldn't even be considered to take into custody."

"So then what should we do Kakashi-sensei?"

"We have to be patient, keep looking until we find Itachi."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke felt his sanity slipping with Karin and Suigetsu bickering "Enough of your squabbling you two, we're here. Thank you Sage of the Six Paths.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Itachi and Kisame arrived in an Akatsuki hideout to begin sealing the Four-Tails, the sealing now taking longer due to lacking members since the deaths of Hidan and Kakuzu.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke led the team to a dark tunnel in an abandoned city "This is it."

"I've gotta say, this is one sketchy-looking place." Suigetsu commented.

"Let's go." Sasuke led them inside and down the tunnel.

"A hideout in a wasteland like this one huh? I've never heard of it."

"I didn't expect you to, this isn't one of Orochimaru's hideouts. This is a munitions store that the Uchiha clan used to use, here we'll outfit ourselves with supplies for battle, and in case of Jugo, some new clothes."

"This is like a maze, all the passages look the same and it must be easy to get lost in here."

"Man this place feels depressing and stifling." Karin muttered "And it's hard to breathe."

"I'm sorry to hear you feel that way." a voice meowed.

Sasuke looked back to see two cats dressed in ninja clothing "It's been a long time Denka and Hina."

"Well if it isn't our Sasuke boy, so tell us what can we do for you meow?"

"I brought my team here because we need weapons and medicine, along with some other supplies. We need to prepare for battle."

"Is that so meow?"

"Well what do you know, talking tanuki." Suigetsu knelt down and held out his hand "Come here little guys."

They hissed at Suigetsu, making him flinch.

"Damn."

"They're ninja cats, so be careful and respectful or they'll tear you apart." Sasuke warned.

"You wanna warn us about stuff like that before I stick my hand out like that?"

"I could, but it would be more fun to see you get mauled."

"So did you bring us a present meow?" asked Hina.

"Just like you ask every time." Sasuke tossed them a bottle of catnip "And that's why I carry catnip around."

"It's my favorite meow, follow me and I'll take you to Granny Cat."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Granny Cat was, like the name suggests, an old woman with cat like features surrounded by cats. Lots of cats. And her granddaughter Tamaki.

Sasuke bowed his head "I am grateful Granny Cat."

"It's been too long since I've seen you, I'm sorry you're in such a hurry." Granny Cat noted.

"Yeah, there's something important I have to take care of."

"So it's true, you're still going to go after Itachi. To think that I've known the both of you since you were just wee little things, never did imagine it would come to this. Now you two are the only remaining Uchiha, and to think you must kill each other."

"I never imagined this either." Sasuke held out some money "We'll be going now, but I must thank you for all that you've done for us."

Granny Cat let out a side.

"Nothing fits him granny." Tamaki called from where she was trying and failing to find a shirt that would fit Jugo "Don't we have any larger clothes for him to try on around here?"

"Did you check in that box?"

"I did, they're all too small."

"Then just wrap him in that curtain over there, we're not running a clothing store here you know."

"But Granny Cat that's so rude, they are paying us you know."

Actually liking the idea, Jugo wrapped himself in the curtain "There."

Sasuke studied it for a moment, then nodded in approval "In some odd way, I find that very fitting."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hunting Itachi to get to Sasuke?" Shikamaru repeated "Alright say we actually do manage to find Itachi, what then?"

"Well… I actually hadn't thought that far ahead." Naruto admitted, earning facepalms from everyone in the room, even Danzo.

"It's kind of a drag, but I think I've got an idea to fix that." he turned to where Danzo, Jiraiya and Tsunade stood "Can you spare a few minutes to hear me out?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As the Akatsuki were sealing the Four-Tails, Deidara was contemplating who he should target, narrowing it down to Naruto and Kakashi for losing his right arm, or Sasuke for eliminating Orochimaru when he himself wanted to do so.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shikamaru looked at the group assembled, consisting of him, Choji, Ino, Naruto, Kiba, Hinata, Kin and Kakashi "Alright, we're all assembled."

"Not too shabby, you've planned this well." Tatsu noted.

"I figured we'd have me and Kakashi as the lead strategists for this mission, with Ino and Kin providing support with their medical ninjutsu. Whatever we're lacking in physical strength we can make up for with Choji and Naruto, and Kiba and Hinata's tracking skills are crucial here."

"This is awesome, but wouldn't it be better with even more people?" asked Naruto.

"This isn't a matter of manpower you idiot, we're only after a maximum total of two targets so the equivalent of two teams will give us just the right amount of strength, speed, support, intelligence and flexibility necessary for this to work. Anymore and they'd see us coming from miles away, plus our mobility would be hindered."

"Restraining an enemy requires a lot more technique then just killing him, in selecting the members of these teams Shika thought it was wise to have each area of expertise as balanced as possible." Tatsu elaborated "I'd go too but I have other matters to attend to."

"Exactly."

"Well I can't see you doing much better then this group." Tsunade admitted.

"Thank you, it took me awhile to figure this out. I think we're ready to set out now." then he looked up at the rain "If only the weather didn't suck for setting out for a mission like this."

Naruto pointed forward "Come on guys, let's go already!"

Kiba smirked "I think the rain is perfect for cooling down anybody who's a bit too fired up at times like this."

"Let's make it official." Tsunade held out her hand "I hereby authorize the mission to locate and detain Itachi Uchiha! All of you be careful but be sure that you complete the mission!"

"Right!" and they set out.

A/N:

For the record, it's specifically stated that Suigetsu is from the same clan as the Second Mizukage.

I redesigned the Eight Man Squad in a way I thought made tactical sense:

Two combat specialists (Choji and Naruto)

Two medics (Ino and Kin)

Two strategists (Kakashi and Shikamaru)

Two trackers (Kiba and Hinata)

Plus having all three on the team will allow use of the Ino-Shika-Cho formations.

What do you think?

My plans for Danzo have changed, I was gonna have Sasuke butcher him but after seeing his death I gained a new respect for him. The Five Kage Summit will take a big turn, he'll go out in a noble light. And for the record, what you guys say in your reviews will show me exactly who is and isn't mature enough to understand Danzo's character.