Author's Note: I know that the intro here really isn't needed for most of you, but since I had it included in the original version of this fic, I felt it should be included here. It sums up, I think, a lot of the assumptions I've made abou exactly what happened to the Uchiha clan. I haven't seen anything of Naruto past maybe halfway through the Third Exam prelims, so things may be a little off detail wise. Please don't hurt me if they are.

I use the Viz English Translations of jutsu names for the most part, as well as "Black Ops" rather than ANBU, just because that's what I'm used to. (The exception is the Chidori/Lightning Blade)

Characters may be slightly OOC, but I think that the way in which they may be OOC fits nicely with the story.

And, of course, I do not own any of the characters, jutsus, towns, details, etc. included herein. Enjoy!

NARUTO: WOES OF THE UCHIHA

Most stories about the world of the Ninja start off like this... Fifteen years ago, a fox demon called the Kyuubi appeared near the Village Hidden in the Tree Leaves, otherwise known as Konohagakure, or just Konoha. The shinobi, or ninja, who lived there fought long and hard against this demon, who could summon tsunamis, typhoons and earthquakes with just a wave on one of his nine tails. Then, the greatest ninja in the village, the Fourth Hokage, came and sealed the demon into a newborn baby boy.

The Hokage then died.

... and although I did indeed just start this story with that, there is a far more important and disturbing tale to spin from that same village. There lived a clan in Konoha called the Uchiha. The Uchiha clan was made up of some of the village's greatest warriors, all of whom were both honorable and powerful. Many generations beforehand, the Uchiha had founded Konoha's police force, and even up until that fateful day eight years ago, Uchiha Fugaku was the police chief.

The Uchiha's greatest strength was their Kekkei Genkai, the ninja technique that was passed down from generation to generation in their family. This technique, called the Sharingan, or "Copy-Wheel Eye," allows the user to mimic, predict, and defend against enemy Ninjutsu. Through the many levels of Sharingan, the user could more accurately predict the opponent's move and mimic them, and this was seen as the second most powerful eye-Ninjutsu (second only to the Hyuuga clan's Byakugan, or "Evil Eye").

But then, Fugaku's son, Uchiha Itachi, was born. Itachi, from a very young age, showed signs of genius. He, unlike any other Uchiha before or after him, was able to easily grasp Ninjutsu before he could even speak properly. By the time he was four, Itachi managed to pass the adulthood-ritual of the Uchiha: he used the "Blaze of Glory" Ninjutsu for the first time.

Through his days in the Ninja Academy, Itachi kept improving at his insane speeds. He graduated from the Academy at age 7, mastered the first two levels of the Sharingan at 8 (a feat that took his younger brother, Sasuke, until age 12), became a Chunin (Journeyman Ninja) at 10 and became a Black Ops agent at 13. It was only then that it seemed that Itachi's power was affecting him. He grew more aloof from all of his family members (except his cousin and best friend, Uchiha Shisui). Though he still treated his brother Sasuke well, he was beginning to argue more with his mother and father.

And then it happened.

Shisui was found dead beneath a bridge in Konoha, and the Police Force wanted answers. Being that Itachi was closest to Shisui, they naturally questioned him first, and asked if they knew why his cousin had killed himself.

Itachi's response was to smile and murder all of them. By the time the rest of the Uchiha clan found out about Itachi's betrayal, it was too late. He hunted them down and killed them all, including his mother and father. But one remained.

Later that day, Sasuke came home from the Ninja Academy to find his entire world doused in blood. He found his brother standing over his parent's bodies when he arrived. Though still a novice and a ninja genius in his own right (though he was nothing compared to Itachi), when Sasuke confronted Itachi, he was soundly defeated. When asked why he had done this, Itachi replied, "To see what I'm capable of. Shisui gave me a new Sharingan..."

Sasuke, a normally unshakeable boy, broke down at that point, cursing his brother. Though Itachi would have killed Sasuke if he had been a cousin, Itachi spared Sasuke. Though the curses and swears of eventual death at Sasuke's hands, Itachi said, "If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life. And one day, when you have the same eyes as me, come before me."

And then he disappeared for eight long years. It is generally agreed that he joined the secret organization Akatsuki, but little else is known. Sasuke, on the other hand, focused only on what he had sworn to do: he shut himself away from all other people, lost interest in everything but his Ninjutsu, and became obsessed with fulfilling his goal, restoring his clan, and avenging the deaths of his parents and, as he saw it, his brother. Eventually, this lead him, too, to betray Konoha, and he left to train with Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin.

Eight years later after the massacre of the Uchiha clan, our story opens...

"... I am highly disappointed in this experiment. That we were unable to remove Shusaku from the Kazekage's body will push our schedule back several months. We will, of course, continue these attempts, but I would like to see more progress in the future."

Two scientists bowed. "Of course, my lord."

"You are dismissed." The two scientists drew away from the dark chair at the head of the room, turned, and left.

The man sitting in the shadows sighed. "Gaara is beginning to resist our restraints. I am afraid that struggling against them will strengthen his chakra, and he will be able to break out. I can only pray that they hurry up a little and get this through."

He motioned to a tall, thin figure standing in the far corner of the room. "Ah, yes, of course, I believe you have a report for me?"

The figure stepped forward. He had long, raven-black hair, and was wearing a long, black, cloak-like jacket. His eyes were slits, and there were frown lines already below them. He wore a dark headband with a metal sheet on the front, and on the sheet was an engraved leaf. Ominously, there was a long slash through the center of the leaf. "Yes, I do have that report."

"Good. What have you learned?"

"That Orochimaru is a blind fool." Another person may have laughed, but this one continued to stare at the man in the shadows without a trace of emotion on his face. "Besides that, Uchiha Sasuke is coming along well. He is trying not to use the curse mark at all costs, but even so, he is quickly catching up to Orochimaru."

"Does old Snake Eyes realize this?" The man looked vaguely interested, but he was obviously more interested in Sasuke.

"Undoubtedly. It is my guess that this is what Orochimaru is hoping for." The figure looked bored at best, if anyone could try to interpret his expression. "He was, after all, after me, and I am by far his superior."

"Of course." the man in the shadows said apologetically. "I assume it is the Sharingan he is after?"

"Probably." The figure shrugged slightly. "In any case, Sasuke has already mastered the Arts of Temporary Paralysis and Snake Summoning, and probably many more of both Orochimaru's and the Uchiha's. Given six months, he will surpass Orochimaru."

The man looked concerned. "Will Orochimaru then take his body?"

There was a faint trace of a smile on the figure's face that the man didn't notice. "If Sasuke doesn't kill him first."

The man smiled sardonically. "Of course. You have the utmost faith in your brother, I see."

Uchiha Itachi snorted. "I would be a fool not to." At that, he turned and left the room.

Miles away in the Land of Sound, Uchiha Sasuke was still training with Orochimaru. Their sparring was nearly ceaseless, but Sasuke's stamina surprised even Orochimaru. Sasuke battled on, mastering even the most difficult jutsus and other techniques in just weeks. Orochimaru could not tell what was driving Sasuke, though his guesses hit rather close to the mark. The two rarely talked, unless Orochimaru was instructing Sasuke on how to perform a specific jutsu, and Orochimaru could not say that he was disappointed.

Several days after Itachi's meeting with the leader of Akatsuki, Sasuke sat around a fire, eating a meager bowl of rice. Orochimaru's givings were not extravagant, but they were enough to keep Sasuke alive. He dug his chopsticks in a little further into his bowl, stewing over his training. How much longer will it take to surpass him? Sasuke thought bitterly. I've waited eight years. I can't do this much longer...

Orochimaru came close to the fire, followed closely by three otonin, or sound ninja. "Have you had enough training for today?"

"No." Sasuke continued to play with his rice, not bothering to look up at Orochimaru.

"Then we shall continue after you've finished your dinner. I have a new exercise for you." Orochimaru grabbed a bowl of rice and ate quickly. "Hopefully it will not take you much longer to surpass the Jounin level of power."

"Hopefully." Sasuke wasn't interested. Being stronger than the Jounin elite ninja didn't matter much to him, besides that his former teacher, Hatake Kakashi, was one of the most powerful Jounin.

Orochimaru studied Sasuke intently over his rice. "You are thinking of the results of your training, are you not?"

Sasuke looked up for the first time. Orochimaru was very close to the truth, though Sasuke was not about to let him know just how close. "Sorta. I just wish I could finish and go back to Konoha, so I can finish things."

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "Will you be joining them again? You're a Missing-nin. There's no going back."

That's what you say, Sasuke wanted to say, but he managed to restrain himself. "I know. I just need to finish off a few people there, and then head out on my own."

Orochimaru seemed content with that. "Ah, revenge. It is a sweet, beautiful art. Perhaps, Sasuke, I will be able to impress upon you just how to go about getting revenge. It is much better with age, I believe..."

Sasuke gave an involuntary shudder that Orochimaru didn't notice. You'll never know... Oh, you'll never, ever know, will you, you goddamn bastard? he thought viciously. Fighting to control himself, he muttered, "I s'pose." He looked back down at his rice, which seemed to have reappeared after he had eaten it.

"Now..." Orochimaru set down his bowl and stood, prompting Sasuke to do the same. "I have arranged, as Otokage, to get some otonin to use in this next exercise. These three here kindly... heh... volunteered for the job. Come with me, please." Orochimaru led Sasuke to a large clearing about 200 yards outside of camp. "This is where we'll be conducting this training."

"What exactly are we doing?" Sasuke asked.

"You will be fighting all three of these Jounin otonin." Orochimaru said. Seeing the bored look on Sasuke's face, he added, "As a twist, however, you will be using only Ninjutsu battle techniques. No Genjutsu illusions or Taijutsu martial arts, understand?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Whatever."

Orochimaru stepped back. "Go ahead."

Sasuke and the three otonin launched forward. They quickly surrounded him, but Sasuke was more than ready. Interlocking his fingers and hands into complicated signs used to manipulate his chakra, or his body's mental and physical energies, he focused on one particular Ninjutsu. "Fire Style: Art of the Flaming Palms!" Suddenly, his fists were engulfed in flames.

The otonin were not phased. One had a large metal device on his forearm that Sasuke recognized as a sound amplifier. If he wasn't careful, the otonin could use it to knock him off balance and ruin his hearing, and Sasuke couldn't afford that. The otonin brought back his arm, but Sasuke was much faster than him. He grabbed the amplifier, which melted instantly, burning the otonin badly.

The otonin cried out, giving Sasuke time to put his palm over his face. The otonin's face instantly turned a shiny, blistery red, burning the otonin worse than even falling into a fire would. Sasuke released him and ducked. Three kunai throwing knives soared through the air past were Sasuke's head had just been, and pierced the amplifier otonin's chest.

Sasuke, sensing that taking down two Jounin otonin at once would be difficult, leapt to the left. Four more kunai zipped past. Sasuke focused his chakra into his eyes, summoning that most powerful of Uchiha techniques: the Sharingan Copy-Wheel Eye. His eyes turned red, and three comma-like marks surrounded his pupils. He was suddenly able to tell what the otonin would do before they even thought of it. He saw their hands twitch towards the kunai holsters on their thighs, and he leapt out of the way quickly.

The otonin's kunai flew towards where he had been, but Sasuke had been out of the way for several milliseconds. He focused chakra into his right hand, which was clutching a kunai of his own. Sasuke then, to Orochimaru's amazement, wove several signs one-handed and cried, "Fire Style: Art of the Lava's Whip!" Fire extended from the kunai, and he whipped it around. The fire struck one of the otonin's necks, and his head fell to the ground quickly.

Sasuke felt that he needed some practice with his strongest technique, so he put his kunai back into his holster and wove more signs. Then, he gripped his right hand below the wrist with his left and focused. So much chakra collected in his hand that it was nearly visible. Then, without a word, he charged the remaining otonin. His Sharingan allowed him to predict the otonin's movements. The rest was child's play; Sasuke plunged his fist through the otonin's chest, showering the clearing in blood. His death was quick and unceremonious. Sasuke pulled his arm from the otonin's chest, wiped the blood off on the corpse's robes, and turned to Orochimaru.

"Pathetic. If those were Jounin, I'd hate to see what the Chunin are made of."

Orochimaru smiled evilly. "You would, wouldn't you? Well, they were indeed Jounin, and you performed marvelously. You killed all three in a minute and a half. That's a performance I could be proud of."

Sasuke snorted. "It didn't seem it. It was like time slowed down."

"Battle has a funny way of doing that." Orochimaru said, the corners of his mouth twisting upward, though the effect was anything but pleasing. "Your Chidori, though perfect in form, is still lacking in power. I'll see if we can change that. The sooner it becomes a Raikiri Lightning Blade like Kakashi's, the better your chances of your initiation as my equal going off without a hitch are."

Sasuke said nothing. He knew already what the initiation entailed; he had to kill Konoha's top Jounin: Kakashi, Maito Gai, Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai, and Hyuuga Neji. Sasuke was particularly apprehensive about killing Kakashi and Neji. Kakashi, his former teacher, had always been kind to him, and Sasuke knew that even at his level of skill, Neji would be a challenge. On top of that, he liked them both, and didn't want to have to do them in.

"If that's all you have, I'll go take a bath and get to bed." Sasuke said. "It's been a long day." He left the clearing without waiting for Orochimaru, though he could feel the Sannin's snakelike eyes on him as he went.