Sasuke had a dreamless sleep that night, the first in years.
Even though, he felt a sudden longing to see his clan again. They were alive, so why wasn't he there, chatting to his mother and playing with little Itachi? He desperately wanted to see them again. Despite knowing that it could ruin everything, he didn't care anymore.
His mind flashed back to when he lost them, that dreadful night. His memory was painfully vivid, painted in red, white, and black. For a second, Uchiha Sasuke whimpered in grief. He rose up in his rickety bed, clutching the blankets, tears streaming down his face.
This time, there was no question as to whether he'd save them or not. Even if it was the last thing he did, he would make it certain that they made it out of this alive. He swore to obliterate any obstacle that threatened him and his family.
The first obstacle was Orochimaru. How convenient it was that Sasuke would be the one to carry out the honours. Sasuke picked up the mission scroll he received the night before, relishing in the details.
Details: Within 24 hours. In private. No witnesses. Do not free the prisoners. Alert ANBU upon completion.
Below that was a list of coordinates, the locations of all of Orochimaru's labs they discovered. Sasuke figured that the man spent most of his time in his labs, and therefore, it would be best to kill him there. He'd set off the alarms that Orochimaru no doubt set up, the man would come running, and they'd battle. Simple, yet absolute.
He felt a strange surge of excitement. He got to kill Orochimaru again, this time absolutely. He doubted the man found a way to immortalise himself yet. He'd be an easy kill. Sasuke smirked at the idea of being able to kill off his enemies before they reached the pinnacle of their strength.
Having eaten breakfast, Sasuke set off for his new and exciting mission.
Traipsing throughout Orochimaru's labs, Sasuke decided to explore before willingly setting off any alarms or traps. He knew where they all where, after all. Disgusted, he went through the prison cells, Orochimaru's documents and reports, the strange specimen. The prisoners cowered in fear when they saw him. A small red-headed child had burst into tears.
Sasuke hoped that the ANBU would free them after interrogating them. Most were children. Only a tyrant like Orochimaru could inflict such suffering and be okay with it. Unable to see the childrens' suffering any longer, he scoured through Orochimaru's notes. There were drawings of the Sharingan, Byakugan, and other formidable techniques and kekkei genkai.
Orochimaru was searching for an Uzumaki child, specifically for their high vitality. He had no luck yet, but Sasuke knew he'd get there eventually, which sickened him. Sasuke picked up Orochimaru's notes. It was an unsettling thought, but these notes were important. Orochimaru was a genius. What he did would've been completely acceptable and even revered if he didn't kidnap Konoha orphans.
Sasuke couldn't let these notes be destroyed in the midst of their battle. He waited outside, willingly setting off an alarm to alert Orochimaru and make him think he just got here. He sat down on a rock, waiting. He'd be here in a few minutes.
Sure enough, the man stared at him in a sick fascination. Sasuke could feel his gaze.
"Aren't you going to come out? I know you're there." He emerged from a nearby bush. So he was closer than he thought. Orochimaru laughed that grating laugh of his.
"Look what wandered into my territory."
"Speaking like a rodent. You've got the wits of one too." Orochimaru bit back a scathing remark. The best way to aggravate Orochimaru was to insult him. Get under his skin, and you'd stand a better chance against him. Sasuke didn't think he had to annoy him, but he did so anyway because it was fun.
Orochimaru attacked, using a simple A-rank jutsu. Sasuke knew how Orochimaru fought. He'd start easy, gauging his opponent's strength, discover their chakra capacity, properties and overall abilities. He was an intelligent fighter, but in this case, Sasuke was more so, because he didn't need to hassle pointlessly to find out his enemy's abilities.
One thing that every shinobi knew and sometimes ignored: a prolonged battle is the worst. Sasuke hadn't even activated his Sharingan yet. Orochimaru was just playing with him. Sasuke wouldn't let him. He raised the level of the battle first, activating his Eternal Mangekyou, which shocked Orochimaru enough to let him strike the solar plexus (an incredibly hard, but effective hit).
"My! I've never seen a Sharingan like yours before. It would be amazing if I could..." he trailed off, perhaps because of the pain. Sasuke didn't care what the end to that sentence was, whether it was 'pluck them out', 'experiment on them', or 'make them mine', all plausible. Maybe he had already thought of the body-switching jutsu, but wouldn't have the means to implement it.
Orochimaru had no choice but to show off his full repertoire. Due to his lack of knowledge of Sasuke's moves, Sasuke could surprise him with Amaterasu, but decided against it, just in case Orochimaru had a new body. Two large snakes shot out from Orochimaru's sleeves trying to bind around Sasuke. In one swift motion, he cut them, leaving two bloody white stumps.
"You're weak for a Sannin." He watched as Orochimaru reddened with rage. The term 'Sannin' had always offended Orochimaru; to be seen as strong because he was part of a group. Sasuke could almost understand that. The man widened his jaw in a disgusting show of saliva as thousands of snakes emerged. Immediately, Sasuke used a strong Katon jutsu to burn the snakes.
Orochimaru raised a brow, "It's almost like you know how to counter my techniques." Sasuke smirked. Anyone who bothered to read the Bingo Book knew Orochimaru's techniques, but few how to counter them. Sasuke had a practical advantage; he fought a stronger version of the man already.
Suddenly, Orochimaru's demeanor shifted. He went from slightly panicked to calm and arrogant. In quick-fire succession, he formed several hand signs. Sasuke moved to interfere, recognising the technique, but it was too late. He didn't think Orochimaru had this technique as of now. But he was certain that it would be an imperfect version.
It was Orochimaru's strongest transformation. A gruesome, eight-headed, eight-bodied white serpent towered over him, ready to strike. Beneath its abdomen, several trees were crushed. Its glistening white scales were razor-sharp. Orochimaru may or may not emerge from one of its mouths with Kusanagi extending towards him. No normal technique could defeat him.
The safest technique he could use to defeat Orochimaru's transformation was Susanoo. With this, he'd have to die. Nobody could be allowed to see Sasuke's precious techniques and live. He summoned Susanoo, which equalled the serpent in height and mass. He watched the giant snake writhe in pure shock.
His glowing purple Susanoo (Sasuke really hoped that no one would see it, given how secluded the area was) stabbed the snake. That meant a true downpour of blood. Everything in a 100m radius was covered in the gushy, crimson liquid, including Sasuke. He was drenched in Orochimaru's blood, but the snake was defeated. The giant serpent reverted into a corpse, the corpse of Orochimaru.
Just to double-check, Sasuke placed his index and middle finger where Orochimaru's neck was, feeling for a pulse. There was none. With his foot, he crushed the corpse's windpipe and amputated his hands. Even if Orochimaru made it out alive, Sasuke would make sure he suffered.
By Orochimaru's side was Kusanagi. He picked up the blade, feeling it thrum with panic. Its former owner had been killed, so it was rightfully Sasuke's. Sasuke smirked. He willed it to extend, just to test it. It did. He sheathed it.
Sasuke paused. Now what? He couldn't drag the body through Konoha to the Hokage's tower. He was specifically instructed to alert the ANBU. How the hell would he do that? The corpses of legendary ninja were valuable after all. The medic-ninja had to examine his body.
Hang on. Wouldn't the Hokage station ANBU at the entrances to Orochimaru's secret labs? Or did they scatter because Sasuke was coming? He didn't detect any chakra other than Orochimaru's, but he wasn't the best sensor.
Sasuke decided he didn't care. He used a henge to transform the body into an ordinary corpse and not Orochimaru's. It might cause a panic among the villagers to see such a revered ninja be dragged around by another Konoha nin. Picking up the body by the legs, he dragged it, leaving a horrid trail of blood.
Civilians gawked as Sasuke dragged a corpse in plain sight. Of course, it was noon. There were plenty of people. The shinobi were mildly unsettled. It wasn't everyday a corpse was being dragged around their village, but the idea didn't seem crazy compared to everything else. Parents covered their children's' eyes.
Sasuke got irritated when an uppity, portly man approached him, stopping him in his tracks.
"How dare you ruin the tranquility of our village with your..." The man's fat face wiggled in fury, "Uncouth goriness!" Sasuke rolled his eyes, glaring at the man, daring him to move. He didn't.
"Get real," Sasuke said, "This is a war! People are dying. You can't always shelter yourselves from the truth." He shoved the man out of the way, who dispersed into the crowd. Sasuke's few sentences seemed to reverberate. Everybody went quiet.
An ANBU somersaulted onto a building, the new centre of attention for the Konoha citizens.
"Sasuke-san, that's enough," their voice masked their gender in a grating monotone, "Remove the Henge." Sasuke questioned this order, but nevertheless complied. He removed the Henge. Gasps broke out, followed by incessant whispers.
The ANBU gracefully landed on the ground, stepping next to Orochimaru's corpse and lifting it by the arms, nodding at him in dismissal.
"This man, Orochimaru of the Sannin, is declared a traitor to Konoha! He kidnapped Konoha orphans to use in his human experiments." More gasps. The ANBU vanished in a Shunshin, taking the corpse with him.
The focus shifted from Orochimaru to Sasuke. This time, shinobi, who were previously quiet with shock, joined in on the mutterings.
"I've never heard of him. But wow, he's gotta be strong to take down Orochimaru!"
"He's one hell of an assassin. Be careful."
"Hah! The guy stole Kusanagi. Never liked Orochimaru anyway."
Sasuke noted that nobody had trouble reverting from 'Orochimaru-sama' to just 'Orochimaru'. He didn't want any of the attention he was receiving. He Shunshined away to his apartment. But later, he'd have to have a long talk with the Hokage.