Chapter 7

Sasuke Uchiha

'It's almost time.' he thought to himself as he watches the moon from his window.

He was just done releasing his chakra to the entirety of Crow's Perch to better sense everyone in the area, and just as he suspects the servants are already asleep while the guards upstairs are sitting down trying and failing to stay awake, the Baron and fifty or so men left awhile ago and the only one managing Crow's Perch at the moment was Sergeant Ardal who was already sleeping peacefully.

Sensing Cirilla approaching his room, he gently opens his door letting her in quietly before placing the Barrier Seal on his door.

"What's the plan?" Cirilla asks

"From what I have gathered there are two rooms upstairs, one near the staircase and the other on the opposite side of the hallway. I don't know which belongs to whom so well just pick a random room," he replies "For now, we just have to wait until the guards are already asleep. It shouldn't be long now, I can sense them from here." he notices Cirilla's eyes widened at his claim.

"What?! You can do that?!"

"There are a lot of things I can do," he replies cryptically, before narrowing his eyes as he felt the guards already succumbing to sleep, "Let's go."

He removes the seal and kept it inside his pouch, he gently opens his door letting Cirilla go out first with him following behind her, before lightly closing the door to avoid any sudden noises.

They headed straight to the rooms upstairs, once they reach the top floor they are greeted by a guard who was sitting down on a chair sleeping, he glances at the other end of the hallway and noticed that the there guard is also sleeping. Seeing as they have no idea which room belongs to whom, he decides to pick the one at the end of the hallway first, he signals his hand to Cirilla who nods her head.

They creep in slowly as they get closer to the door, they kept careful watch on the guard who was sitting on a chair snoring loudly. As they made their way to the door lock, Cirilla suddenly pulls a metallic pin from her hair, he watches as Cirilla crouches down before fiddling with the lock and a few seconds later the door was opened.

He checks to see if the guard is still asleep, he glances at Cirilla before nodding his head signaling that it is clear to enter, Cirilla lightly opens the door before proceeding to enter the room, he came in after before gently closing the door and placing the Barrier Seal on it.

He glances at the room they are currently in on, candlelights scatter across the corners of the room giving it a warm and homey feel, the floorboards are carpeted with the skin of a rather large bear and the left side of the room has a king-sized bed, while on the right it has a portrait painting of the Baron and his wife, lastly, a table was placed near the entrance door which was filled with fresh fruits and some wine bottles, additionally, fresh flowers were also placed on it, giving the room a scented fragrance of lavender.

'Hmm, it's as if he was expecting them to return,' he thought 'At least he remains hopeful during these times.' his thoughts were interrupted when Cirilla shouted his name.

"Sasuke! Look at this!" Cirilla exclaims.

He went to the right side of the room where Cirilla calls his name, he watches as she pointed at a wall that appears to have some form of discoloration on it.

"This wall section has a different color, something was covering it," Cirilla explained.

"Hmm…" his lone eye narrows on the wall, before glancing at the portrait that was placed in the corner, Cirilla seems to pick up on it as she moves to the painting and gently lifts it before placing it on the wooden floor.

As it turns out the painting was being used to cover the gaping hole the size of a fist that went straight through the wall, he narrows his eyes before going to the other side of the wall where he found a drawer, opening it reveals a broken piece of an ornament.

"Someone is trying to hide this here," he said while giving the piece to Cirilla.

He watches as Cirilla began looking for a possible match with the broken piece, while he continues to look for any other clues, walking around he notices some nail scratch marks on one of the wooden support pillars in the middle of the room, and he narrows his eye as he begins to trace the scratch marks with his hand.

'A fight happened here,' he thought grimly 'Someone is grabbed here and whoever it is tried to hold on, but was unsuccessful.' his inner musing was cut off when Cirilla calls his name.

"Sasuke! I found where the piece belongs to!"

He glances in her direction which was at the very end of the table, before walking straight towards her, he notices that Cirilla is pointing at what appears to be a single candlestick holder at the very edge of the table, as he was getting closer a faint smell of alcohol entered his nose.

"Do you smell that?" he asks Cirilla, who shooks her head.

"It's faint but… I can smell alcohol here," he said while crouching on the floor, Cirilla decides to crouch next to him and he watches as her eyes narrowed while looking at the floor.

"You're right it is alcohol… but it smells familiar," Cirilla stood up and began massaging her head trying to recall where she last smelled that type of drink.

"I got it! It's Erveluce!" Cirilla exclaimed.

"Erveluce?"

"It's an imported drink from Toussaint, it's one of Geralt's favorite drinks he…" Cirilla stops a look of longing appears on her face.

Seeing this he merely nodded his head, not wanting to force the issue any further so he decides to ask another question.

"I see, then it's safe to assume that this wine is expensive?" he asks.

"Yes, the price for a single bottle of wine can feed an entire peasant family for days, maybe weeks if they manage their coins well," Cirilla confirms while nodding her head.

He sighs heavily as he begins to compile the information and clues they have found while investigating the room, the hole on the wall, the broken piece of candlestick holder which was being kept hidden, the scratch marks on the pillar, and lastly the spilled expensive wine.

"A fight happened here, and someone is trying to hide it," he concluded.

"I agree, and they used this candlestick as a makeshift weapon," Cirilla replied while pointing at the broken candlestick holder at the table, "Truth be told, I am starting to believe that the Baron is behind all of this," she continues.

"You're not the only one," he replies before continuing "We just need a solid piece of evidence to prove that the Baron initiates the fight."

"We still have one more room to check, right?" Cirilla asks.

"Yes," he nods his head before continuing, "Let's put everything back to where we saw it. After that, I'll remove the Barrier Seal and sneak our way to the other room."

He watches as Cirilla places the broken candlestick inside the drawer, and places the portrait back in the corner hiding the punched wall. He glances in her direction and saw her nodding her head in confirmation he removes the seal before lightly opening the door, he checks the guards if they are still sleeping, after seeing them asleep he fully opens the door gently letting Cirilla go out first.

Once she was out of the room, he quietly follows after her before lightly closing the door. He nods his head in her direction prompting her to move toward the other side of the hallway, he watches as Cirilla begins to pick the lock of the other room, hearing an audible click as the door lock was now open. He takes one last look at the guards before following Cirilla inside the room.

The moment he was inside he sticks the seal on the door before taking a look at the new room they were in.

He was greeted by a large table situated in the middle of the room. Books and pieces of paper are scattered across the floorboard, unlike the previous room this one has multiple bookshelves filled with different assortments of books, a chest that was located beside the door entrance, and it also has a fireplace on the right side of the room, beside the fireplace is an additional room entrance.

'Probably the master bedroom' he thought to himself.

"I'll go check the other room," said Cirilla.

He merely nodded his head as Cirilla enters the bedroom, he decides to look for clues in this area of the room. He begins to walk around, he passes by the table as he glances at the written notes.

'Taxes, Monthly Income, Number of remaining Soldiers… Nothing noteworthy here'

He then looks at the chest that was placed beside the door and decides to open it and see the contents inside, and sure enough, different assortments of wine and alcohol are being kept inside.

He sighs as he begins to piece together what might have happened in the other room.

His thoughts were interrupted when Cirilla calls his name.

"Sasuke! You need to see this…"

He got up and walks into the other room, once he was there he took note of the large bed in the room and the self-portrait painting of the Baron that was displayed on top of the bed, what caught his attention the most however was the number of empty wine bottles and other assortments of alcohol scattered on the floor.

"Look at this!" Cirilla exclaims while pointing at the bottles of wine, "The price for all this alcohol combined can feed an entire village for months!"

"I can already see what drove his wife and daughter to run away from him," he replies while massaging the bridge of his nose, what he initially thought was a simple family affair became much more complicated than he anticipated.

"Damn right you are!" Cirilla exclaims the frustration is clear in her voice.

"Cirilla," he replies getting her attention, he looks directly into her eyes before continuing "Calm down."

"But he- Tsk!"

He watches as she took a deep breath before exhaling, her frustration slowly dwindling as she calms down.

"Sorry, it's just… It's been a stressful evening," she replies while massaging her head before continuing "It feels like we traded her off to another monster, and I don't know what to do."

"I know, believe me, I know," his lone eye narrows at the alcohol bottles before continuing, "This wasn't the first time the Baron had a fight with his wife, it just escalated to the point where she fought back."

"And, Tamara seeing her mother being beaten, grabbed the candlestick and hit the Baron on his head, before she and her mother ran away." Cirilla finishes before sighing heavily.

"So… what's the plan now?" she asks.

"For now, I suggest we get some rest, it's already morning and it won't be long before the guards are starting to wake up, after that we'll talk about it later."

Cirilla nods her head in agreement, rest sounds good for now.


It has been two days since he and Cirilla investigated the Baron, during that time he has not been sitting idle, he is almost done reading most of the books in his room using his Sharingan, he already memorized the entire map of Velen and it's neighboring provinces, it turns out that Velen itself was just a part of a kingdom called Temeria, which used to be a part of the Four Greate Kingdoms of the North along with Kaedwen, Redania, and, Aedirn.

However, because of the attack, the Nilfgaard from the South orchestrated, Temeria was reduced to a shell of its former glory causing the nearest kingdom which was Redania to absorb its remaining cities creating a buffer for the invading Nilfgaard as they are being forced to fight and remain in Temeria by the Redanian King Radovid V also known as 'Radovid The Stren' because of his unforgiving nature.

Additionally, he also learned about the different races that populate this new world. Other than Humans and Elves/Aen Elle (which he learned from the Crones) there are also other races like Dwarves, Gnomes, and Halflings.

According to the book that he read, Dwarves can be identified by their short height and stocky build, they are generally stronger and sturdier than an average Human making them ruthless when it comes to combat. The Gnomes on the other hand are light and agile they can be identified by their slender build, long nose, and pointed teeth. Lastly, the Halflings which can be identified by the chubby-like appearance, are usually a peaceful race preferring to mend their farmland rather than fight in the war and seek adventure. However, should the need arises they can and will fight according to the book they are quite skilled in throwing objects like a knife or any sort of missile-like projectiles.

As of right now, he was currently reading a book about Witchers, their work, how they operate, and the theories surrounding their creation. He sighs as he places the book down on the table, up until this point he and Cirilla don't have a concrete plan for confronting the Baron.

'Wait, why am I stressing over this?' he thought to himself. He was in a different world, where other people's opinions wouldn't affect him.

So why is he trying to actively help everyone here? He stopped when he could have killed the bandits from the village, he decides to investigate the Baron when it wasn't really necessary, and now he was thinking of a way to confront the Baron about what he discovered.

Don't tell me I've gotten this soft?... Or maybe it's because of h-

A loud horn could be heard from the courtyard outside, he walks to his window to see what is happening.

"ATTENTION! THE BARON HAS RETURNED!"

He could hear the feet of the servants inside the compound as they are running around preparing for the Baron's arrival.

There was a knock on his door, he opens it revealing Cirilla who was looking around to see if anyone else is nearby.

"We need to talk,"

Realizing that they might be talking about the Baron, he lets her inside the room before placing a seal on his door.

"What's the plan? How are we going to confront the Baron?" Cirilla asks.

He thought about it for a moment, both of them confronting the Baron has some benefits mainly should the Baron get aggressive both of them can escape at the same time. However, that might cause some problems with Anna, more likely than not the Baron might take his frustration on her.

He frowns slightly as he made his decision.

"No, 'we' won't be confronting the Baron," he replies.

"No?! What do you mean no?!"

"'I' will be confronting the Baron, 'you' will stay with Anna," he clarifies before adding "Should the Baron becomes aggressive we will escape with her. I don't trust the man, he might turn his aggression towards his wife if we escaped together."

He watches as Cirilla's anger starts to fade and a look of realization can be seen on her face, she nods her head in understanding.

"Good idea, I can keep Anna safe until you're done talking to the Baron."

He nods his head, before opening the door and letting Cirilla out. With a plan now in place, all that is left now is for the Baron to enter the building, he glances at his window and notices that it was already late afternoon and the sun is about to set in a few hours.

'Looks like it's going to be a long night for all of us,' he thought to himself while preparing his gear should the need arises.


It was almost nighttime when the Baron and his wife Anna entered the building, he watches as Anna barely acknowledges the food and drinks that the servants prepared for them as she heads straight up to her room, he then glances at the Baron who keeps a neutral face, trying to hide the awkward tension in the room.

He decides to reveal himself as he walks toward the Baron, he watches as the man smile broadly.

"There he is! The hero who saved my Anna and the orphans from the monsters!" Phillip exclaimed. "Come, we shall talk in my chancery about your reward."

They walked in silence to another room at the end of the hallway, once they are inside he looked around at what appeared to be the Baron's office, it has a large table with some paperwork unfinished, a large family portrait of the Baron with his wife and daughter, and three chairs one for the man himself and the other two for the guest.

The Baron gestured for him to sit down on the chair, and he watches as the Baron pulls out a wine from the drawer before pouring it into a single mug and placing it right in front of him.

"Only one cup? You're not going to drink?" he asks the Baron.

"No… I ah I promised to myself that I would never drink again when Anna returns here…"

"You should have stopped sooner, considering she along with your daughter ran away from here," he watches as the Baron stiffens his posture, his face becoming impassive as the Baron narrows his eyes at him.

"So, you found out what happened here," Phillip replies gravely "This is a family matter, you shouldn't intervene."

He nods his head before replying.

"I shouldn't, but I would like to ask, am I trading her for a different kind of monster after saving her from a real one?" he took note of the Baron's expression from impassive to livid.

"You! You have no right to judge me! You have no idea of what I went through!" Phillip yells at him.

His lone eye narrows at the Baron, sensing another piece of vital information regarding the man's life.

"I take it there is more to this then?"

"Right you are! You bastard! You believe that I'm the only one at fault here!" he watches as the Baron stops pacing and slowly modulates his breath, once the man has calmed down he decides to speak again.

"All right then, I'm willing to hear your side of the story," he replies as the Baron sat down on his chair and begins to speak.

"When it comes to Anna it was love at first sight, a spear tore through my shoulder at the Battle of Anchor, she tended to my wounds after I recovered I asked her to marry me." Phillip smiles at the memory, "She wept with joy, soon after Tamara was born and after that, they send me to Cidaris a warlord had risen against King Ethain and King Foltest sends me to help fight the warlord."

He watches as the Baron sighs before continuing.

"It was one battle to the next, one conflict after another. It was a life of war, because of that I was seldom home and I found comfort in drink, it has gotten to the point that I could not part with it, even when I did get home."

"What happens then?" he asks.

"I went front to front, battle after battle, collecting coins and soldiers, while Anna sat alone with Tamara for months. Later I found out that she wasn't alone after all, for nearly three years she found comfort in the arms of another man, a childhood friend named Evan, a load of shite that man is."

The Baron's expression turned livid again as he recalls the memory of that day.

"Understand dammit! One tussle in the hay and I would have tossed it aside, put it out of my mind."

He watches as the Baron stood up and began pacing back and forth.

"But the woman cuckolded me for years! Not a whisk of concern for me! For my love!"

"How did you find out?"

"Came home one day and Anna was gone, her things too. I found a letter she wrote that she didn't love me, that she left me for that shite and had taken Tamara with her."

The Baron sighs before sitting down in his chair.

"I felt like I have been rammed in the ass by a horse, I went to find the fucker to get the girls back and bring them home. But as soon as I saw him, something changed inside me, something dark. I slaughter the shite-eating twat and fed his decaying carcass to the dogs."

"I imagine Anna wasn't pleased with what you did."

"Ha! Bloody understatement if I ever heard one, she flew into a fit of rage and hysteria, she threw herself at me kicking and screaming, while at it she manage to grab a knife. That would have been the end, had I not left her sight. It was the first time I hit her, I had to calm her down, I felt like there was no other way."

He watches as the Baron went to his family portrait with his wife and daughter.

"Things changed after that, Anna tried to take her own life and mine several times, she would prod me, insult me, in the hopes that I would hit her again perhaps. She'd screamed that I rob her life of her love, that I destroy the idea for her so I might as well just kill her."

The Baron touches the portrait before continuing his story.

"How many times have I apologized, how many gifts and blooms of flower shall I give to earn her forgiveness. But she cares not a bit, all of our years of fighting turned into indifference, I cannot fathom how we survive all those years, but we did, and as you know now, not everything is what it seems."

"You're right the fault is in both of you," he replies while glancing at the family portrait before asking, "What about her? Did you explain the situation to her as well?"

"What do you mean by her?"

"Your daughter Tamara. Did you explain the situation? Or was her only memory of you being drunk and having a fight with Anna?"

"I-She…" Phillip sputtered a look of realization can be seen on his face, "No, I-I didn't, I thought that perhaps she already knew or at the very least had an idea of what is going on…"

"Perhaps, or is it possible that she is too young to understand what is happening around her," he replies while looking at the Baron's face as the man becomes paler with each word that he said.

"I have to find her! I need to explain everything to her! Please help me find her!" Phillip exclaims.

He narrows his eye at the Baron.

"No," he replies with a cold tone.

"What?! Why the hell not?!"

"Why should I go out of my way to help you? From the way I see it this isn't even my problem, to begin with."

"I'll triple the reward! Please! Anything you want!"

"If the rewards are the only thing you think I'm after, then I'll take my leave right now," he replies while standing up and walking towards the door.

"Wait!" Phillip yells at him.

He stops as he glances at the Baron who was now kneeling on the floorboard.

"Please I'm not asking you as the Baron of Crow's Perch or as Phillip Strenger Commander of the Temerian Army, but as a father who is trying to make amends with his family."

He could see drops of tears fall on the floorboard as the Baron lowers his head.

"I'm begging you please, help me make this right. I-I can't make another mistake like this again… Please help me…"

He closes his eyes as he mentally debates whether or not he should help the man. Choosing not to help him might be cruel, but that would motivate the Baron to do better. On the other hand, seeing as he was not mostly at fault for his predicament and that he was sincere about correcting his past mistakes.

So, why not help the Baron?

He opens his eyes before deciding to take the approach he will most likely follow.

"I won't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do" he replies to the Baron neither confirming nor denying his involvement in the matter.

He watches the Baron's face lit up just a tad, a smile is starting to form on the man's lips.

"Then that's all I can ask for. Thank you for hearing my side and for pointing out the mistake I made for my daughter," Phillip glances at his window noticing that it was already past midnight, "For now, we should rest and sleep, tomorrow I'll give you and your companion some supplies for your travel."

He nods his head before walking out the door to return to his room.


As he was walking towards his room he begins to reflect on what had transpired in the Baron's office. Truth be told he wasn't keen on helping the man at first, but the way he kneels and lowers himself just to ask for help shows the sincerity of his actions, which can't be found in the most stubborn of man.

He sighs as he begins to weigh his options once again.

'For now, that's just my second priority,' he thought to himself ' I already started this… 'adventure' with Cirilla, I might as well just finish it through the end.'

He stops when he notices Cirilla leaning on a wall near his room waiting for him.

"Hey…" Cirilla said.

"You want to know what happened?" he asks her.

Cirilla nods her head in confirmation.

He opens his door before walking inside his room with Cirilla in tow, once they are inside he closes the door before placing a seal on it.

"Is… is Anna going to be safe here?" Cirilla asks.

"I believe she will be," he replies before continuing "Although, I would like to ask did she mention anything to you when you visited her room?"

"Not much, except that she was crying and begging for forgiveness…" Cirilla replies clearly uncomfortable, "I don't want to pry, so I just try to calm her down the best I can. She cried herself to sleep. Do you perchance know what is going on?"

"Hmm, then I can say with certainty that she'll be fine with the Baron, as for what I know… I can't say, it's not my secret to tell."

He watches as Cirilla nods her head, before looking at the floor awkwardly. She looks as though she was about to ask him something, but was struggling to say it out loud.

A few minutes of silence overtaken them before Cirilla began speaking again.

"I will be going to Novigrad tomorrow to look for a friend, I'm just wondering if… if you'll still help me? Or is this going to be our last meeting?" Cirilla asks while averting her gaze from his eye.

"Before you followed me here what did I tell you Cirilla?"

"You didn't tell me anything…" Cirilla mumbles to herself, nonetheless, he still heard it.

"I told you to show me your resolve, show me how far you're willing to go," an amused smile graced his lips as he watches her squirm, before disappearing instantly, "Clearly it's not enough so I'll have to observe you longer."

He watches as Cirilla's eyes widen before an angelic smile appears on her lips.

"Thank you!" Cirilla exclaims before launching herself at him and giving him a hug.

He froze at the sudden affection before giving her a few taps on her back.

He watches as Cirilla leaves his room before a small smile appears on his lips.

One thing was certain though, that this is just the beginning of their adventures together.


AN: Thank you for the wonderful reviews guys! Really keeps me motivated to continuously write this story!

Some of you are saying that I shouldn't make Naruto a seal master or a somewhat OP character since this is a Sasuke MC story. Without spoiling anything the reason why I am giving Naruto a backstory is that I am trying to create a "Naruto Universe" wherein Sasuke doesn't have to worry about what might happen in his universe.

Think of it as Naruto decides to rub two brain cells together and take the Otsutsuki threat seriously, without you know his infamous "Talk no Jutsu" that conveniently turns enemies into allies lol.

With that out of the way have a nice day and enjoy reading!