"I hope you're not busy," Sasuke stated when he walked into the Hokage's office, but in actuality, he didn't care. Hiruzen smirked, as if he knew he'd be coming. He felt the hum of the privacy seals at work.
Taking a seat in front of the Hokage's desk, Sasuke immediately began glaring at him.
"What the hell? You announced everything! People are staring at me wherever I go-"
"Ah, yes. That. I know. I want you to be well-known among the civilians and shinobi." His glare hardened.
"Why?" His main problem was the Uchiha. What lie were they going to be told?
"You're too skilled to be used as a secret weapon. To defeat the leaders of Ame and Orochimaru almost unscathed...that's quite a feat." Sasuke caught on.
"You want to use me as a deterrent. But why? There's Minato." He realised the second he said it that it was a stupid question. One village couldn't have too many strong shinobi.
Yet, it felt like Konoha's citizens were undeserving. Undeserving of Minato, Kakashi, Kushina, and all the other amazing protectors they had. Most importantly, they didn't deserve to use him as a deterrent for war, not when they're too naive to recognise the horrors of war. And especially not when they would later ostracise his clan into planning a coup d'état. Moreover, they would hate even Naruto, their biggest protector and jailer of the Kyuubi.
The fact remained that he was only here because his clan was here. Because the people he cared about were here. They were a part of this shitty village. And that was reason enough to stay. Now, his biggest hurdle was the cause of everything: Danzo. Just thinking the name filled Sasuke with a stronger, more resolute determination.
Hiruzen quietly watched the boy in front of him go through a series of unreadable thoughts.
"I haven't given you a rank yet, have I? Of course, you're no less than a Jounin." Oh. So back to present matters. Sasuke accepted the Jounin vest, but of course, he would never wear it. It was almost strange since he never officially progressed past Genin.
"Anyway, your pay for assassinating Orochimaru will appear in your account." The Hokage's voice caught on the words. He was heartbroken over his student's betrayal. Sasuke didn't care. It was his fault anyway.
"My clan. If I become well-known like you want me to be, what will I tell them?" Hiruzen whistled out of boredom.
"Tell them the truth." He said this as if it was an easy, obvious idea.
"Tell them that I'm from the future? That won't work." Hiruzen raised a brow, as if to say 'why not'. Sasuke considered it. Why was he stopping himself from seeing them again? He could better keep them safe that way. Damn the consequences. Nothing would stop him from keeping his family safe.
"What are you going to tell the others?" Of course, he had to consider things from Hiruzen's point of view. The 'others' consisted of the worst people in the world: Danzo, Koharu and Homura. Hiruzen's face adopted a timid expression.
"Ah, I was hoping you'd help me with that. I want you to meet them." The idea disgusted Sasuke. It took all his willpower to nod.
Hiruzen smiled tightly, "Perfect. Tonight, there's a meeting. I'll take you there. Meet me here at 8pm." Sasuke frowned, standing up to signal his leaving, but Hiruzen's voice stopped him.
"Oh, wait. You have a mission in two days. It's A-rank." Sasuke frown deepened, but he didn't say anything and marched off.
Sasuke dug into his tsukemen ramen noodles. The fight against Orochimaru and Hiruzen's annoyingness had exhausted him, so here he was, at Ichiraku once again.
Team Minato walked in, as he expected them to. Instead of greeting him like usual, they stared at him awkwardly. He sort of expected it. Obito, after a few seconds, plopped down next to him, looking absolutely awe-struck.
"Sasuke, you're so awesome!" He didn't reply. Glad that somebody thought so.
"Yeah, you're all over the Bingo books." Minato took his other side, smiling at him gently. He did his best to smile back, but it came out crooked. It was only a matter of time before his clan would approach him. Kakashi usually ignored Sasuke, but this time, he paid rapt attention, his eyes practically glued to Sasuke, observing him.
None of them bar Kakashi seemed to be treating him any different ever since his defeating a Sannin, and for that, he was thankful. No doubt he'd do more horrible things, but he wasn't getting judged yet. Obito stared at him once again until he finished, his eyes almost twinkling.
"Can you train me today? Please?" Sasuke glanced at Minato's watch and nodded. He had plenty of time before the meeting.
Obito gobbled up his noodles at an alarming rate, stuffing them into his mouth with vigour.
"Alright, let's go!" He grabbed Sasuke's arm and dragged him towards the exit, leaving Minato to pay the bill. Considering the size of his house, Sasuke didn't think it would hurt him financially.
"You'll throw up if you do that," Sasuke chided the boy gently while he repeatedly somersaulted onto various trees, kicking them stubbornly. He leapt down, his eyes still twinkling.
"I've got that jutsu you showed me!" That was quick. Obito was a lot smarter than he thought he was.
Obito began performing the hand signs. Fiery rain showered down on the training ground. Sasuke was impressed. Obito's was almost as good as his.
"Well done," He ruffled the boy's hair. Obito giggled for some unknown reason. He then hugged Sasuke tightly.
"Thanks! I can't wait to brag that you're my teacher!"
They began going through Uchiha kata. Sasuke didn't understand the other Uchihas' disdain towards Obito. He was loud, but lovable and goofy, and not as dumb as they made him out to be. In fact, Obito was a genius in his own way.
Sasuke paused, halting his miniature spar with Obito. Didn't he get his Sharingan?
"Obito, activate your Sharingan." The boy did as told. Why wasn't he bragging to him about it? Sasuke demonstrated a fire jutsu.
"Now you try." He did it almost perfectly, carefully repeating the hand signs as if he couldn't believe it.
"This is so awesome! I'm gonna beat up Bakakashi in no time?" Bakakashi? A normal person would've doubled over laughing. Sasuke just chuckled. Obito blinked in confusion.
"Woah, I don't think I've seen you laugh before." He laughed too and went back to mock-fighting a tree.
Sasuke checked the time. It was already 7pm, just an hour before the meeting.
"I have to go. I have a meeting." Obito waved him off, giggling to himself. Sasuke bid his goodbyes and vanished in a Shunshin.
Hiruzen drummed his fingers on the table as he watched Sasuke pace around in thought.
"Let's get Kusanagi, the Rinnegan and the head ready." Sasuke glowered at the man.
"No! Hide the Rinnegan," his tone was so desperate that Hiruzen made a last minute decision to do as he said.
"Alright, fine," He suspected that Sasuke had some hidden reason to keep things from the elders, something he wasn't telling him. It was truly irritating that he couldn't just sit the stupid teenager down and have Inoichi go through his mind, unveiling every secret from the crevasses of his brain.
Sasuke sighed in relief. He'd die before letting Danzo find out about the Rinnegan. God knows what would happen! He silently cursed the fool Hiruzen for having so much misplaced trust in everybody. He'd eliminate Danzo at a later date, either before or after he got rid of Tobi. Sasuke's expression soured in annoyance. Until now, he let Tobi become an afterthought.
"Follow me," Hiruzen commanded, rising from his seat and leading Sasuke somewhere, through some secret passages and seals. The meeting place, he presumed.
It was a dimly lit, oval-shaped room; perfect for a creepy gathering of the elderly. Four seats surrounded a large, also oval, table in the centre. The room, other than that, was bare. It smelled like old people. Hiruzen sat down, getting a bit too comfortable.
"What, don't I get a seat?" Hiruzen glanced at him, mouthing 'oops'.
"You have the privilege of standing." Sasuke bit back an insult, clenching his teeth.
He tried his best to look threatening - threatening enough to intimidate the old geezers, mild enough to not seem like a threat. All three elders arrived at once, taking their seats and grimacing at Sasuke. He glared back at two, but scowled just for Danzo.
"So, let the meeting begin," Hiruzen started.
"We're here to discuss..." Hiruzen paused for dramatic effect, then gestured to Sasuke, "Him."
The three elders analysed him like he was some sort of diseased specimen. Sasuke tapped his foot in boredom.
"Uchiha-san," He noticed that Hiruzen had reverted to addressing him formally, his tone implicitly beseeching him to do the same, "If you would."
"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. Seventeen. Jounin. Spy." He refused to elaborate further. Silence hung in the air for several awkward seconds. Hiruzen cleared his throat, deciding to take over.
"So..." Sasuke had half an ear on what he was saying, going through Sasuke's whole records and why the elders didn't know him before. All this seemed superfluous.
Once they'd went through his backstory, Danzo felt the need to inquire, "And why are we going through every inch of a single useless ninja's life story?" Sasuke smirked in triumph, unsheathing Kusanagi - a very threatening move.
"I'll have you know that this useless ninja assassinated Orochimaru earlier today."
He cherished Danzo's wide-eyed expression, "Show some respect, boy!" Sasuke raised a brow.
"Then earn it." If Danzo was any younger, he would have reddened in anger. Hiruzen sighed in irritation, putting his head in his hands.
"You're bickering like school children. Stop it!" he commanded. They did, grumbling to themselves.
"Anyway, Sasuke has acquired some valuable information. Recently, he killed the leaders of Ame, the ones who killed Hanzo." A small collective gasp. Hanzo was overhyped, in Sasuke's opinion. Nagato and Konan weren't that strong.
"And where's the proof?" Danzo snarled. Another triumphant smirk.
Once again, Sasuke unsealed Nagato's decapitated head, letting it roll gracefully on the table. Nagato's nose stopped his head from rolling further. The elders stared at Sasuke distastefully.
"This was a recent endeavour, is it not? What information have you pruned over the years?" God, he hated Danzo and his uppity way of talking.
He smiled tightly, "Most is classified, since you're not Hokage-sama." He relished in Danzo's hidden fury. Earning the ire of an elder was satisfyingly dangerous. Sasuke knew exactly how to get under his skin. He briefed through simple stuff like Akasuna no Sasori having killed the Third Kazekage, or Deidara's birth, insignificant information only to satisfy them.
Finally, after hours of Hiruzen droning on and on, the meeting came to an end.
"This meeting is adjourned." Everyone rose simultaneously. Sasuke, eager to leave, Shunshin-ed away, leaving Hiruzen frowning.
"I didn't dismiss him yet," he frowned.