"We don't have to fight, Kimimaro!"
"I must do as Orochimaru-sama commands."
"Y-you!"
"Defend yourself."
A flash of bone-white, a splash of crimson stains the air.
"Was it all a lie? Answer me, Kaguya!"
A terrible hissing fills the enclosed space, the death rattle of an untamed madness.
Fire hotter than the rage within lashes out about him, a halo of fury. Lies, lies within lies, nothing is right with this world. Not since the Snake, not since he had accepted the pain.
All will burn.
How long he dances this skeletal performance, he does not now, for all he does know is pain, within and without. Agony when the bony whip cuts deep into his flesh, but deeper into his heart.
"You said we were brothers!"
"We are. We exist to exceed each other. Orochimaru-sama will only love the strongest."
"I'll fucking kill you!"
Why did everything hurt? The sharp things that made him bleed, the hissing things that tormented his sleep, and the toxic things that warped and played with his very sanity? Everything hurt, ever since the day he had been taken. The pain went away when he allowed the Snake to help him, but it never felt right.
His white bone dancer, his brother, his friend. Echoes of warmth fanned into an inferno of wrath.
Traitor!
He had lied, just like the rest, just like the Snake.
It was over, a lucidity washing over him, washing away the madness that he wrapped about himself, cleansing away the smothering blanket of betrayal.
He stared at the bones all about him, sprouting from the ground like a curiously cruel garden growth. They were like his mother's... beautiful, and very dead.
"T-thank... you... Sasuke-kun."
Crimson stained his hands, his heart, his eyes. He felt it stirring deep within, a blood soaked urge to annihilate that which had hurt him so deeply, so easily, so willingly.
His eyes screamed in agony, but his hatred would not be denied.
"Amaterasu..."
He whispered, and everything burned.
'Oh Tomoko-chan, you naughty girl...' Kakashi giggled, nose deep in the greatest novel written since the days of the Sage.
A leaf fell from the sky, drifting groundward slowly, almost too slowly.
Kakashi narrowed his eye, book snapping shut, and dodged.
"Slow!" He called, even as a tantō passed just a milimeter from his head. He rolled, dodging the barrage of kunai and shuriken that tracked his movement across the training ground, and leapt up into a fighting stance. He had only set his feet when his eye shot wide open and he substituted himself with an unfortunate log.
"Jyūken: Gentle Strike."
Kakashi cringed, the technique most definitely not living down to its name, the log fracturing before detonating in a burst of shrapnel and wood splinters with the force of a small explosive tag. He backflipped away, but did not have a chance to regain his footing before a dark silhouette rose up from the ground, ink coalescing into a menacing shadow, blade poised to strike.
Before Kakashi could react, a second inky blade stabbed through his shoulder from behind, and he grunted in pain. Kakashi dissolved in a flash of incandescent lightning chakra, turning the blade into a channel for a tremendous voltage to surge through. A splash of sizzling ink was the only reward for his expenditure of chakra.
'Going to have to use my Sharingan if I don't want to die here...' Kakashi mused from his hiding spot in a tree overlooking the clearing. He lifted his headband, revealing his second eye, and just in time too.
"Doton: Rising Earth Excavation." Sai's monotone voice called out, and Kakashi swore as the entire tree was uprooted with a tremendous crack.
"Got you, Sensei! Kagekata: Triple Execution!"
Three blonde haired clones exploded to life around Kakashi, each already mid-stroke, tantō extended with deadly intent. Time slowed for Kakashi as Obito guided him once more, and he contorted in mid air, dodging each of the three blades with scant space to spare. He returned the violence, his own blade sliding out of its sheath with a single neat strike, transforming two of the clones into puffs of smoke. The third parried, before landing, leaning back. Kakashi grunted as his female pupil vaulted over the clone, palm already streaking forwards.
"Tch, what did I say about attacking an armed enemy with your bare hands?" He nagged, beating away Hinata's first strike with the flat of his tantō.
"You left yourself open, Sensei!" Hinata almost growled, right hand powering through Kakashi's guard.
'Shit... crafty little...'
The strike caught him dead in the chest, and Kakashi swore he felt his sternum move. He grunted, it was a good hit. If Hinata had aimed any further to the left it would have detonated his heart. Where it had hit, it only sealed off one of his main chakra tenketsu, for all the good that meant.
"Almost!" He snapped, stepping within her guard and kneeing her in the stomach. He was still faster than her with his Sharingan active, and he abused the disparity readily.
She exhaled sharply, stumbling back, and Kakashi took advantage, bringing his tantō back around to go for her exposed neck.
"Not so fast!"
A resounding clang, and Kakashi found his blade halted by Naruto's own tantō. He was facing Hinata, his back turned towards him, one arm wrapped around her, blade held carelessly over his right shoulder.
Damn boy knew how to make an entrance, Kakashi surmised.
"Taking risks to protect your teammates, Naruto?"
"Always! Sai!"
A tremendous roar answered him, and a massive ink dragon sped through the skies straight towards Kakashi.
'Holy shit!' Kakashi leaped, but suddenly found the third clone tangling up his legs.
The ink dragon reared it's head, sounding its earthshaking challenge, before plunging towards the momentarily delayed Jōnin.
"Doton: Earthen Ramparts!" Kakashi flashed through the handsigns, smashing his hands through the clone into the ground.
An enormous, meter thick wall erupted from the ground, the entire training ground shaking and quaking as Kakashi deployed one of the most potent defensive Jutsu in his arsenal.
"Don't take your eye off me!" Naruto's snarl broke his concentration, as another three Narutos came bursting forward, blades drawn.
"Raiton: Electric Madness." Kakashi muttered, already flinging a brace of shuriken towards the attacking squad. Lightning exploded from the shuriken, striking all around in a random pattern, filling the ground between them with a deadly maze of shrill bolts that slowed Naruto's charge.
His clones grabbed him, throwing him as though a slingshot through the field of crackling chakra. Naruto's eyes narrowed, as he channeled his chakra.
"Fūton: Flying Swallow!" Naruto roared, swinging his blade down in a descending arc. The result was incredible, a veritable hurricane of moving air ripping forward from his blade. Naruto yet lacked the fine control to form the almost mono-molecular blades of wind that Asuma had perfected with his own version of the Jutsu, but Kakashi marveled at how his son simply brute-forced the technique, unleashing a gale-wind that tore across the clearing with calamitous force. The very ground was shredded by the passage of the vortex that rushed towards him at awesome speed.
Kakashi smirked, gathering lightning chakra in his own blade. He was still the foremost Ninjutsu expert in the village, after all, and if his boy wanted to test him, he was more than willing to show him a thing or two.
"Raiton: Thunder Slash!" He swung his blade, unleashing his own screeching torrent of lightning that blazed across the clearing to meet Naruto's Jutsu.
"Here we go, Team Seven!"
Kakashi's eyes widened as Naruto employed the deadliest trick he had amassed in the year since the botched mission to Wave. His sealess Kage Bunshin.
A puff of smoke, and a clone was directly in front of Kakashi, grinning devilishly. A second puff of smoke, and Kakashi started. His son performed a flawless Kawarimi with his clone? When had he learned to...
"We win, Tou-san!"
Sai burst through the earthen wall behind him, his dragon finally crushing through the defense.
Hinata descended from above, chakra emanating from her hands, trailing her like a lavender comet falling from the heavens.
Naruto's sword gleamed, as Team Seven struck as one.
'This is going to hurt...' Kakashi mused.
"Not bad you three. I'll have to take off the gravity seals the next time we spar." Kakashi chuckled, running his hand through his wild silver locks. His injuries were painful, but he had shrugged off far worse before.
"I thought we planned that pretty well. Don't give your enemy time to orientate, don't let them isolate any of us, and never let them take back the initiative." Naruto listed, carefully sharpening the edge of his sword.
"You did. Excellent work. Perhaps you could utilize Sai-kun a little more." Kakashi noted.
"Sai's better at the other stuff, like espionage and infiltration. If we're ever in a situation where we need him to fight an opponent of your level, we've already screwed up somewhere big time." Naruto chuckled.
"Hai... we took some calculated risks based on how we knew you'd react, Kaka-sensei." Hinata added.
"Correct. I could have removed your arm, Hinata-chan. Don't take that kind of chance out there. Remember, let Naruto take the beatings. It's what he's best at, anyway. You're this team's best bet at putting an enemy down in one hit." Kakashi critiqued.
"Hai. Thank you, Sensei."
"Sai, you did good disguising your Ink Constructs. Those Ink Shades are dangerously fast, and you've improved the speed at which they form. You need to increase the speed of your Beast Art, though, that dragon could've moved faster."
"Noted, Sensei. I will improve."
"And you, Naruto! Idiot!"
"Huh? Hey! I thought you were praising us!"
"What kind of moron enters a fight with his back turned to the enemy? Looking cool does not trump practicality!" Kakashi bumped his head with his fist.
"Hey! I was saving Hinata-chan!"
"No, you were showing off. Hinata could've avoided that on her own, she's fast enough. Also, that fūton jutsu! How many times have I told you not to use a technique just because you can! It may look flashy, but you could've accomplished the same thing by throwing an explosive tag, or just a regular kunai!"
"Not fair! I was just testing out my new techniques!" Naruto squawked indignantly, butting heads with his father. His teammates chuckled at their antics, thoroughly amused.
It had been close to a year since Team Seven's baptism of fire out in Wave Country, and what a year it had been. His kids had really kept to their word, training themselves into the ground daily to improve.
Naruto had gone from a stamina freak that relied on outlasting and overwhelming his opponents to a crafty, dangerously strong ninja. Kakashi had set about fixing his son's weakness to long range ninjutsu specialists. Haku had taken his son apart easily with her ability to keep at distance and pick his clone horde to pieces from range. Teaching him how to finally harness his elemental affinities had been a huge step in increasing his son's versatility.
With a moderately sized arsenal of various Wind Jutsu, and a small, but deadly specialization in Raiton, Naruto had proven to be a prodigious ninjutsu user. Countless years since he had been a kid spent drilling his chakra control had given him a fair shot at harnessing his ludicrous chakra reserves, which had helped tremendously in practice.
Naruto was able to train long and train hard, spamming jutsu all over the place long past the point where others would've exhausted their own reserves, and his fanatical work ethic saw him push himself to the absolute limit everyday.
His Kagekata was exceptionally dangerous as well, thanks to the boy's increased mastery of his favorite jutsu, the Kage Bunshin. Naruto could form a single clone sealessly, an absolutely lethal advantage in a fight. The surprise factor and ability to catch an opponent off guard was deadly, and Kakashi was sure that many enemies, even Jōnin, would fall for it. Naruto had developed several new Kagekata techniques, utilizing his clones to their maximum potential. Naruto had also picked up the tantō during the year, emulating his father, and he had taken to the straight-edged blade that was distinctive of the ANBU like a fish to water. He was a passable swordsman, nothing close to an actual Kenjutsu specialist, but it was multiplied by the fact that one never actually fought a single Naruto, but an ever increasing swarm of sword wielding juggernauts that would keep coming at you until you dropped.
He would never tell his son, but the boy was frighteningly strong for his age. At only thirteen, he was rapidly becoming a problem for even most Jōnin. Not that he was better, or stronger, but he had sufficient skill to survive, and the frankly unfair chakra reserves to outlast most enemies.
His other students hadn't let him down either. Hinata was not all that far behind her blonde teammate, growing in strides. Her most profound change had been in her attitude, Kakashi noted.
After Wave, she had grown almost possessed with a fervor and zeal to grow strong, to never let herself down again. It was rather scary, and in a way adorable how she had thrown herself into her training, and the results spoke for themselves.
She was fast, insanely fast for a Gēnin. Apart from that freak of nature that was Gai's prized student, he doubted anyone their age could keep up with her on a good day. Perhaps not even many Jonin. Her father had also trained her well in the more advanced forms of the Jyūken, and she was becoming dangerously skilled at locating and shutting off tenketsu with deadly precision.
Her usage of the Byakūgan, an under appreciated part of her skill set, had improved drastically in both combat and support roles. She could spot human movement in a forest from up to half a kilometer away now, and could detect even the most minsucle of chakra buildup with almost pinpoint accuracy.
Sai, well, he was as enigmatic and unreadable as ever. His control of his ink contructs remained impeccable, and his speed at forming that had only improved. That ink dragon was terrfiying, and had enormous destructive potential. The boy had picked up several Dōton Jutsu to go along with his other abilities to round out an extremely adaptable skill set.
The pale boy had excelled most in the areas of being a Shinobi that Kakashi had made his legend with, the finer details of assassination and extradition, of demolition and hostage rescue, infiltration and espionage. Kakashi had taught him some rudimentary Fūinjutsu, helping him to prepare devious traps and ambushes. His stoic demeanor seemed to lend his talents towards those less glamorous aspects of ninja work, but the team was all the deadlier and more effective for it.
All in all, Team Seven as a fighting unit had truly surpassed his wildest expectations. In a year they had grown as close as a family, and had the skills to back up their claim to best Gēnin team in the village. Given preparation, he didn't doubt that they could challenge even some of the more experienced Jōnin. Kakashi smiled.
Yes, he was proud of them.
"Hiruzen?"
"Jiraiya-kun's latest report is... highly disturbing."
"He means to attack the Village."
"Anything could happen, Danzo."
Danzo coughed, leaning on his cane.
"I have teams searching for him, Hiruzen. Should we find anything, you will be the first to know."
"The Chūnin exams."
"I suspect that as well. You should have killed him when you had the chance. Twice, Hiruzen."
"Perhaps."
Sarutobi's aged features hardened.
"If it comes to war, I will not show him any more mercy."
"You shouldn't have shown any from the start."
"Leave my regrets to me, Danzo."
"Not when the village will bleed for your regrets, Hokage-sama."
Silence was his reply, the Third Hokage gathering his emotions.
"If it comes to war, Root will be ready. Orochimaru must die."
"Only Jiraiya-kun or I have the strength to put him down, Danzo."
"I have my own trump cards, Hiruzen."
"Itachi?"
Danzo didn't allow any reaction to the Hokage's jab.
"The Last Uchiha came to me."
"I'm sure he did, Danzo."
The tension between the two old men simmered.
"I will always put the needs of the village before my own moral qualms."
"Yes. You have proven that many times."
"You disapprove? Perhaps you could stand to do so as well."
"Itachi-kun needs purpose."
"I have given that to him."
"Revenge is not purpose, Danzo."
"Perhaps not. Revenge, however, is a superb motive."
"Take care, that you do not cross the line."
"There is no line I will not cross for this Village. For my home, Hiruzen."
"Ohaiyo, Haku-chan!"
"Naruto-kun. It's good to see you."
The thirteen year blonde grinned widely beneath his mask, taking a seat next to the raven haired teen.
"The usual, Naruto-san?"
"Haiii! Arigato, Ayame-nee!" Naruto replied, feeling rather pleased with himself.
"You're exceptionally chipper today, Naruto-kun."
"Yea, we finally beat Kaka-sensei. Sure he was pulling his punches and had his gravity seals on, but it's still a massive step forward for us."
"That's really good to hear. I'm glad you've gotten stronger." Haku smiled.
"How've you been, Haku-chan?"
"My probation is ending with the recent mission that I just got back from. Mitarashi-san was kind enough to put in a good word to the Hokage for me. With any luck I'll be getting my rank next week."
"Sick! Think you'll be a Jōnin?"
Haku blushed slightly.
"I'm flattered you think so highly of me, Naruto-kun. But Konoha's standards are very rigorous. To be a Jōnin here, you really have to excel in every area of the Ninja Arts. I would be pleased with even a Chunin's vest."
"Oh man, you're going to be my superior? That's pretty weird."
"The Chūnin exams are coming soon. It's plastered all over the Village. You'll have a chance to earn your promotion as well."
"Yea, I saw. Didn't want to ask dad about it though. Figured he'll let us know himself if he intends to nominate us."
"If you can beat him, I'm sure you're more than ready for the exams."
"Tell that to him, he still thinks I'm a baby." Naruto scoffed.
"One pork, and one beef!" The Ichiraku waitress bustled into the conversation, expertly balancing the two bowls of ramen on her forearm.
"Hai! Thank you for the food, Ayame-nee!"
Haku thanked her as well, sedately breaking her chopsticks. Naruto had already begun his demolition derby, slurping up his favourite food.
Life in Konoha had been good, thus far, Haku supposed. She had only ever known fear and loneliness in Mizu, and all she had heard of the ninja from Kirigakure had been horror stories of men who slaughtered children and each other for pleasure.
In stark contrast, there was a camaraderie and general warmth about this place. Ninja were respected by all and idolized by the kids, and the people were generally friendly, welcoming. After the mandatory interrogation she had undergone at the hands of Konoha's TI, she had been treated far better than she had expected.
Perhaps it was thanks to the friendship she had struck up with the young man beside her. It was obvious the boy was beloved in the village, the son of one of its most feared Ninja, and a genius in his own right. Haku smiled, tucking away a stray strand of raven black hair behind her ear and lifting a chopstickful of noodles to her mouth.
"Ayame-nee! Round two!"
"Already prepared! Coming right up, Naruto-kun!"
Haku chuckled.
"Something wrong, Haku-chan?" Naruto turned, bowl half lifted to his face.
"Oh, nothing. Nothing's wrong at all."
"If you are unable to continue, please, there is no shame in accepting defeat."
Neji straightened, brushing some stray dust off the shoulder of his immaculate white robe.
"Hanabi-sama. You have mastered the basic forms of Jyūken, however, you yet lack the confidence that comes with experience, and greater training."
The younger daughter of Hyūga Hiashi lay on the floor of the dojo, totally and utterly spent. She had given everything, but still hadn't even touched the older Hyūga.
"Too... strong... Neji-nii."
"Perhaps. As the sister of the Heiress, you must grow strong, strong enough to protect her. Your father will not accept any other outcome."
"Hanabi-imouto... are you alright?" A gentle voice echoed through the dojo, almost silent footsteps announcing the arrival of the elder Hyūga sister.
Neji started, bowing stiffly.
"Hinata-sama. I was unaware you would be joining us tonight."
"Cousin. Please, relax. Sensei gave us the evening off, and I came to see how my sister was doing." The girl's voice was ever refined, carrying a quiet confidence. The Heiress had no condescending air about her, but the subtle poise and grace of dangerous kunoichi.
"Nee-san... I'm.." the younger Hyūga struggled to come to her feet, obviously embarrassed by her disheveled appearance.
"Are you hurt?" Hinata asked, kneeling by her sister's side and carefully going over her form for any injuries.
"I avoided landing any blows that would leave lasting injury, Hinata-sama." Neji muttered, growing slightly uncomfortable.
"Thank you for your consideration." Hinata replied, not taking her eyes away from her sister.
Neji, not for the first time, was struck by how the Heiress carried herself, and just how much she had changed. When they were children, she had been a quiet, unassuming girl that crumbled in the face of her father's crushing expectations. She had been sweet, but introverted, preferring to play on her own in the gardens and to read her stories. He, however, had always known that his only worth as a Branch member was his strength, and had never cared for her disposition, throwing himself into constant training and struggle. He had crushed her easily each time they sparred, but it was no indictment of her talent, but testament to his zealous drive to grow strong enough to shake off the stigma that his status conveyed.
Still, he knew that his life would be dedicated to protecting her, as his father's life was to her's. It did little to quash the contempt that he felt whenever she had cried or lost a spar. She had the talent, he knew that, but she never did have the drive, the same manic desire to grow strong that burned within him.
And then something had changed. When? He did not know exactly, but it had begun around the time she had entered the academy alongside that Hatake boy. She began to grow stronger, but more than that, her character had changed. Not just in her skills in combat, but everything about her. Timidity turned to assertiveness, insecurity had become confidence, and the formerly shy girl was now unafraid, totally composed in the face of the social minefields that was being the Heiress of the Hyūga. He couldn't help but be impressed by her.
Still, it was unsettling, to see how much someone could change, could grow within the span of five years.
"Neji-kun, it appears my father is occupied tonight, and I lack a partner for my evening practice. Would you be so kind?" She smiled sweetly at him, but Neji knew determination when he saw it.
He was teammates with Lee, after all.
"Of course, Hinata-sama."
They hadn't sparred since she had become a ninja, Neji mused, absently falling into his stance, but he would be a fool to underestimate her. Many were already heralding her as a prodigy, easily his equal, and Neji was not too enthused to test the truth of those rumors.
"Shall we begin?" The veins around her eyes bulged, and chakra began to swirl around her body. She slid into a stance that was unfamiliar to him. It was distinctly Jyūken inspired, but it was not any of the traditional forms that Neji knew so well. His own Byakūgan came to life, searching, seeing.
Neji braced himself, and the two Hyūga, most promising of their generation, began to dance.
Black flames danced in the wind, the taste of burning metal filling the air. Blade on blade, they moved faster than the eye could track, the fluid exchange of strike and counterstrike, a hypnotic rhythm that sang of death.
A hiss, and the taller of the figures seemed to almost elongate, limbs stretching and grasping forward, sensually, sinisterly. His opponent beat him back with a ferocious flourish of his ninjato, fire dancing along its edge, searing away all it touched.
Orochimaru stepped back, a cruel smile playing across his misshapen face. Three figures emerged from the corners of the room, moving quickly to engage the young figure who stood defiantly, hatred in his eyes.
All three were dead before they even struck a blow, the boy bifurcating them in a blur, hardly a second thought given before launching himself at his hated master.
The Snake Sannin growled at his impudence. He grew bored of this, and he sidestepped the first stroke nonchalantly before slashing with Kusanagi. It bit deep, tearing through robe and flesh and flinging the small frame of the boy across the room in a splatter of blood.
"Weak, s-s-still sssooo weak." He hissed in disgust.
Sasuke did not answer, did not even whimper in pain. He would not give the Snake that pleasure, nor would he make the mistake of showing weakness. No, he would not die from this. That much he had learned, the Snake would never let him die. He felt his lifeblood pooling around him, felt darkness coming for him, but he knew that he would wake, in pain, but stronger.
Yes, he would be stronger, and that was all that mattered. Strong enough to skin the bastard, slit his throat and watch him die slowly, painfully. His crimson eyes bled, but the pinwheel never stopped spinning, slowly, agonizingly, it spun on.
A/N
Hello everybody, I'm not dead, if it means anything to anyone. If you're still following this story, I must apologize for the terribly long delay since I last updated. I got extremely busy in the army and I lost motivation to keep writing.
What I'd like to say is that I definitely already have the outline for how the story will progress, I've had it since the beginning before I started writing, so rest assured that I haven't abandoned this fic. I've finished my service, and now I'm waiting for my University term to begin, so hopefully I can find the juices somewhere in this damned brain of mine to put my plan to paper, figuratively of course.
Read and review, nothing pushes me to write more than seeing others enjoy my work!