Hey, so this is the 27th chapter. So Guest-questioner, first off, now, Kirito's cursed mark will serve as means to access his Underworld abilities, the first stage being the Incarnate System. I have yet to decide on the second stage. But the cursed mark will only be temporary, just so I make it clear. And no, Kirito will not have berserker tendencies like Jugo.

As for who's going after Sasuke, it will still be Hikari, but I won't have the original 'Sasuke retrieval team'. I mean, having Sinon fight against Kidomaru in a spider vs cat battle does sound like an interesting idea, no?

And unlike cannon, where Naruto goes after Sasuke because he sees him as a brother, Hikari has no real ties to him, so it will only be because of a mission, and because letting Sharingan fall into Orochimaru's hands is a bad idea.

To whether the story will carry into Shippuden, well, I guess you can say so. I will officially be implementing elements the SAO arcs into the story, so it will be a mix if these two series.

As for jutsu, well, they will come. Hikari will definitely be getting the Rasen-Shuriken and Hiraishin. Not too sure about the Reverse Harem, but it might be fun to do.

So yeah, here's the latest chapter.

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In Konoha, things had been dull. The Sandaime Hokage's death was still on the minds of many people, even after a few days.

But unfortunately, there was one young man who didn't care about the Sandaime Hokage. The young man had his whole family slaughtered by his own brother, and one old man who wasn't an Uchiha or Hikari didn't mattered to him.

Sasuke punched the training dummy one more time as he panted. He had been discharged from the hospital after Tsunade healed him. The young Uchiha despised the fact that Tsunade of all people helped him.

They were both the last of their clans, just as Hikari is the last of the Uzumaki clan, yet among the three clans that had formed Konoha, the Senju, Uzumaki and Uchiha clans, Sasuke was the weakest.

The teen felt like he was dishonoring his dead brethen by being the weakest among the three last members of their respective clans.

Then there was Kirito. Sasuke heard from Sakura and several other girls when they were gossiping that Kirito was the one to force Orochimaru of all people to retreat.

The Uchiha clenched his fists as he remembered. The Snake Sannin had beat him like Sasuke was nothing. It infuriated him, to know that Kirito had beaten Orochimaru.

He had also heard that Hikari had defeated Orochimaru in a summons' battle. That again was a stab to his pride. Yes, he was pleased and proud that the girl he chose was strong, but to know that a girl was stronger than him, a girl that was of the same age, same class and same team as him.

That knowledge made him question whether he was getting strong fast enough. He didn't care if Hikari was a Jinchurikii, he didn't care if she trained under Jiraiya or was the daughter of the Yondaime Hokage. Sasuke knew the Uchiha were the best, they always will be the best.

The young Uchiha roared at he flung his fist at the dummy again, this time shattering the training dummy into pieces. The young Uchiha sighed, he needed some rest, and tomatoes, maybe tomato ramen.

As Sasuke left to shower, he didn't notice the four figures watching him from afar.

Meanwhile, in Kayaba's shop, Kirito was standing in front of him, "What do you mean you're leaving?!"

Kayaba smiled softly, "Exactly that. I'll be leaving Konohagakure to travel around the world. Its been something I've been meaning to do for a while now."

Kirito blinked several times, "I see."

Kayaba chuckled ruffled his former apprentice's hair, "Hey, its not like I'll be gone forever. I'll only be gone for two years, three at most. You'll definitely see me."

Kirito sighed, "Fine."

The master blacksmith grinned, "That's more like it. And feel free to use this shop, I already have enough money for two lifetimes, and that is with eating the finest food you can get and wearing the finest clothes on earth."

Kirito blinked again, "Wait, you're retiring?"

Kayaba nodded, "In a way. So I'll give the shop to you. Make it a warehouse, a restraurant, a branch shop, whatever you want."

Kirito sighed, "Sandaime-sama is gone, and now you're leaving."

The man frowned, "Hey, it's not like I'm leaving forever. We'll meet again, I swear."

Kirito just nodded as Kayaba slung his bag onto his shoulder. The man walked towards the door, "Well, I should get going, no need to see me off at the gates, go take care of your shop."

Kirito wanted to protest but just nodded as Kayaba started walking, "Well, I'll see you in three years, Kirito."

Kirito just waved, "Yeah, bye, Kayaba-sensei."

The man just waved without looking back as he walked towards the village gates as he thought, 'I'm sorry Kirito. But the next time we meet, you'll probably hate me.'

The man exited the village gates after doing the standard procedures. Then after a few meters from the gates, the man vanished in a blur of red.

A while later, Hikari and Kirito were in the library in their home. The blonde decided she would test the blacksmith with his level of seals. Kirito had, under the insistance of Klein, take the day off to rest and spend the day with his four girls.

Unfortunately, it was at that time Hikari decided to test Kirito's progress with the Uzumaki fuinjutsu.

Asuna, Sinon and Suguha could only stare at them with deadpan expressions as Hikari bombarded the young man with questions, which he answered correctly before they moved on to drawing seals and so on.

Asuna spoke, "They are really into it, aren't they?"

Sinon and Suguha nodded as the archer spoke, "They've been at this for a while now."

Suguha sighed and facepalmed, "So, how long do you think they're gonna take?"

Sinon shook her head, "No idea, but Kirito-kun is really something, to have completed five volumes of the Uzumaki sealing techniques. I couldn't make heads or tails of it."

Asuna giggled, "Don't worry, we have no idea what those scrolls are talking about either."

Sinon just sighed as Suguha laughed at that response. Then, they heard a knock on the door. Or rather, the seals of the compound alerted them of people at the door.

Asuna spoke as she glanced at Hikari and Kirito who were now moving from testing Kirito on seals to discussing the Hiraishin seals, "I'll go see who it is, you two make sure that they don't blow things up with their seals."

Suguha and Sinon nodded as Hikari and Kirito yelled in unison, "We can hear you, you know?!"

Asuna just giggled as she moved towards the door. The auburn haired girl opened the door to see teams 8 and 10 along with Sakura standing there. Asuna blinked before she greeted, "Hey guys, what's with the sudden visit?"

Ino smiled, "Well, Chouji decided to treat everyone to lunch, so we were heading to his family's BBQ restaurant."

Chouji nodded, "You guys wanna come along?"

Asuna smiled and replied, "I'll ask them, you guys wanna come in first?"

They nodded as they entered the compound. As they entered, they were greeted by Suguha and Sinon. The katana user said, "Hey guys."

Asuna spoke, "They're going to have lunch, so they dropped by to see if we wanted to join."

Sinon smiled, "I'm all for it... But erm, it seems Hikari-chan and Kirito-kun are a bit preoccupied."

Everyone could hear the two of them exclaiming as they discussed about seals. They could only sweatdrop as they heard Hikari and Kirito argue about the possibilities of the seals.

Kiba blinked as he saw the rooms with labels, "Hey, those labels... Seem kinda weird, I mean how can you fit a training field in that room?"

Suguha grinned, "Well, you're better off asking Hikari-chan, or Kirito-kun. All I know is that Hikari-chan's parents used seals to do it."

Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome... This used to be the Yondaime Hokage's house, who was known to be a master of seals, along with Uzumaki Kushina. Of course there would be all kinds of strange stuff related to seals."

Hinata smiled, "Calling them strange is a bit rude, Shikamaru."

Shino nodded his head and spoke, "Strange is a bit rude, weird would be a better word."

Kiba facepalmed, "That's the same, dude..."

Shino stared at the Inuzuka, "It was a joke."

Kiba yelled in response, "How is that a joke?!"

Everyone laughed in response as Hikari and Kirito were finally finished with their discussion. Hikari spoke sternly as they walked down, "We will continue with this when we come back, the Hiraishin cannot be that simple."

Kirito nodded, "I may not be as good as you, but I will show you I am right!"

The two then heard Sinon clear her throat. The archer stared at them, "So, are you two finally done? Can we get going now?"

Kirito and Hikari blinked several times before they finally noticed the group of people waiting for them. Hikari asked, "Erm, what are you guys doing here?"

Sakura spoke, "Chouji's gonna treat us to lunch, so we thought of asking you."

Chouji nodded, "Yep, my parents said it would be fine, so I thought of inviting all of us here."

Kirito nodded, "I see. Well girls, what do you think?"

Asuna smiled, "Well, we were actually just waiting for the two of you."

Hikari chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry, so, shall we get going?"

No one objected and they quickly headed to the Akimichi's BBQ restaurant. As they walked, the group had some small talk, with Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji and Kirito surrounding the girls, blocking off the fanboys.

As they walked, Kirito asked, "By the way, Sakura, where's Sasuke?"

Sakura's expression turned a bit sad, "Well, when Ino told me about this, I went to ask him if he wanted to join us, but no one responded when I went to his place."

Kirito nodded, "I see."

The blacksmith didn't say anything else, but inside he was a bit glad that Sasuke wasn't here. It made life a whole lot easier.

Soon, they reached the restaurant and they quickly ordered their food before they started talking about recent events.

Ino sighed, "Its really sad, Sandaime-sama was like a grandfather to all of us."

No one said anything, they knew she was right. The Yamanaka continued, "But, I'm curious about Tsunade-sama as the Fifth Hokage. You brought her back with Jiraiya-sama, right, Hikari?"

The Uzumaki nodded to her fellow blonde, "Yeah. She's actually my godmother, that's why Jiraiya-sensei brought me with him."

Apart from Kirito, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha, this was news to everyone else. Ino blinked, "Wait, what?!"

Hikari nodded as she flipped a piece of pork on the grill, "Someone lied to her about me being dead, that's why she didn't stay in the village."

Kiba spoke, "So, you're the daughter of our Fourth Hokage and the goddaughter of our current Fifth Hokage..."

Asuna piped in, "She's also the heiress of the Uzumaki clan, which comes along with inheriting Uzu no Kuni."

Ino and Kiba's jaw hit the table, the young Inuzuka said in awe, "Wait, so you're practically a princess?!"

Hikari took a sip of her soda before she nodded, "If you wanna put it that way, I guess you're not wrong."

Kiba snapped his head at Kirito, "You bastard, how did you get four girls, one of them a freaking princess, to be with you?!"

Kirito blinked, "Why are you asking me? It wasn't me who came up with the idea."

Kiba gaped as Chouji asked, "Wait, so it was them who decided to share you?"

Suguha nodded, "Yeah, I mean we all love him, and we didn't want to make the other three sad if he chose one of us, so we chose to share."

Shikamaru sighed, "This is so troublesome."

Sinon nodded, "Yes, can we stop talking about our relationship?"

Ino grinned, "How can we not? I mean we're talking about the five of you here."

Asuna sighed, "Ino, please stop. It's embarrassing. Besides, go get a boyfriend, I mean for someone like you, you should have a number of people who likes you, right?"

Ino sighed and shook her head, taking a piece of meat from the grill, "Most of them are either fanboys, or they just want me because I look pretty. They're too shallow, you know?"

Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and Hikari nodded in understanding. Sakura pouted, "Must be nice... Right, Hinata?"

The Hyuga hid her blush under her coat, "Well, my father is rather strict with me, so there aren't many guys who would ask me out..."

Then, a familiar Uchiha entered the restaurant. Sakura's eyes brightened and called, "Hey, Sasuke-kun!"

The Uchiha turned to them, but his expression was less than friendly. Hell, his eyes were down right murderous. The Uchiha stomped over to their table and Kiba spoke, "What do you want, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha ignored him and glared at Kirito, "You, fight me."

Kirito blinked, "What?"

Sasuke's glare intensified, "I said FIGHT ME."

Sakura spoke up, "Sasuke-kun, what's wro-"

The Uchiha snapped at her, "Shut up! Kirito, I WANT YOU TO FIGHT ME!"

Hikari stood up and glared at the Uchiha, "Hey, Sasuke. I don't what's going on, but you don't just come in and demand anyone to fight you."

Sasuke turned his glare to the blonde. For a moment his glare softened, then Sasuke turned his glare at Kirito, "Well?"

Kirito stared at him for a while. Suguha spoke, "Kirito-kun, you don't need to fight."

Sinon nodded, "Yeah, Sasuke, please, just leave us."

Sasuke continued glaring at Kirito, "Well? Are you still going to hide behind those girls?"

The swordsman stood up to the Uchiha's level, "Sure, I'll play."

The others stared at the swordsman in shock. Asuna spoke, "Kirito-kun, you don't need to fight."

The blacksmith shook his head, "No, Sasuke's been bothering us since we were in the academy. I want to put an end to it."

Sasuke smirked, "You took the words right outta my mouth. Follow me."

Kirito nodded as they moved out of the restaurant.

Soon, the two of them stood in Training Field 7, with teams 8, 9 and 11 with Sakura watching them. Sasuke frowned, "Where are your swords?"

Kirito stared back, "I left them at home, I didn't see the need to bring them for lunch."

A smirk from on his face, "Besides, I won't need it for you."

Sasuke's Sharingan blazed with anger, "DON'T LOOK DOWN ON ME!"

The last loyal Uchiha roared as he charged Kirito. The swordsman took on a barely noticable red glow as he dodged every single punch or kick from Sasuke. Every move Sasuke made was like in slow motion to Kirito, and he wasn't even making full use of his Acceleration.

Sasuke got frustrated and flashed through a set of seals, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

The Uchiha spat out a horse sized fireball, making everyone yell in worry. But before anyone could act, Kirito raised his palm and created a red magic circle, "Destroy, Ignest."

A fireball the same size shot out of the circle, instead of the normal multiple smaller flames. The two fireballs collided and caused an explosion. The results enraged the Uchiha, fire jutsu was his pride and soul, the basics of the basics for any Uchiha. For Kirito to match his attack effortlessly, it infuriated him to no end.

Sasuke roared as he charged Kirito again, throwing a punch as he did. Like before, Kirito easily saw him coming, but instead of dodging the attack, Kirito ducked and spun, letting the fist pass by his head above his right shoulder.

Then Kirito reached up and grabbed Sasuke's extended arm, and judo flipped Sasuke straight into a tree. The small audience could only gape seeing Sasuke crashing into a tree.

Kirito let out a breath as he lowered his usage of the Acceleration. Then Sasuke burst out of the tree with a Chidori in his hand, "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Everyone was shocked at the declaration, even more so when they heard the sound of a thousand chirping birds from the A-ranked jutsu. Everyone yelled in worry, moving to intervene as Sasuke easily closed the gap between him and Kirito.

None of them would make it in time, but they didn't need to. As soon as Sasuke was within range, the red glow around Kirito increased, and the blacksmith blurred in front of Sasuke.

Kirito charged chakra into his right palm, making it glow a light blue. This was a skill he normally didn't use, the first type of skill after the one handed sword skills Kayaba taught Kirito, the martial arts skills. Then he thrust his palm into Sasuke's gut, a simple palm thrust, and sent the Uchiha flying into another tree.

Everyone fell silent as they saw the Uchiha crash into the tree again. Kiba grinned, "DUDE, THAT WAS AWESOME!"

Kirito chuckled, "I suppose so... But, I don't think that'll keep him down."

Chouji was about to ask what he meant when a huge wave of dark chakra surged from Sasuke's direction.

The Uchiha stepped out of the tree, revealing the cursed mark all over his body. Sasuke growled, "I... WILL... KILL... YOU!"

A Chidori started to form in his hands before a figure suddenly appeared behind him and knocked him out. Sakura said in surprise, "Kakashi-sensei?!"

Immediately, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Yugao appeared and the blonde woman asked, "What happened?"

Kakashi sighed, "It seems Sasuke's cursed mark activated, what happened just now?"

Kirito spoke, "We were sparring, Sasuke couldn't take the loss and lost control."

Tsunade sighed, "I see. That explains the sudden spike of chakra. Hikari, reseal the mark later, now, I want all of you to give me reports on what happened. Sasuke has been marked by Orochimaru, we can't have him going to that snake."

Sakura gasped, "Orochimaru?"

Jiraiya nodded, "That snake wants his Sharingan. He'll do anything to get them. That's why we need you to cooperate, any small detail about Sasuke's behavior, anything, it may help us free Sasuke of Orochimaru's grasp."

No one objected. They saw how Sasuke was just now, it wasn't normal, they needed to help him, even if the Uchiha was an ass.

Kakashi nodded, "I'll send him home and look after him. Besides, I need to talk to him about something."

Hikari immediately understood. It was one of the few things Kakashi told her when he taught her the Chidori and the Rasengan, to never use them at a level that can cripple the target in a spar with any comrades. No doubt Kakashi also told Sasuke about that.

Seeing no one objected, Kakashi slung the unconscious Uchiha over his shoulder and vanished via Shunshin.

After that, Tsunade spoke, "Okay then, follow me, since we have so many of you, you're gonna have to go provide your reports verbally to the IT Department."

Everyone nodded and went to the building where they gave their reports.

A while later, in Tsunade's office, the Hokage sighed as she rubbed her temples, "So basically, the Uchiha got jealous because Hikari is with Kirito and because the two of them are much stronger than him. Then he challenged Kirito to a fight because of that."

Jiraiya chuckled, "That sums it up, yep."

Tsunade sighed, "Fucking Uchiha. I swear, he's even worse than his dead relatives. At least they knew when they could act most of the time."

Jiraiya nodded, "I blame Danzo, Koharu and Homura. They've always been trying to get the Uchiha clan on their side."

Tsunade huffed, "More like kissing up their asses."

Jiraiya grinned, "Well, some of them had fine asses."

Tsunade just sighed and facepalmed. Jiraiya then turned serious, "But, according to their reports, Sasuke's cursed mark is getting out of control."

Tsunade nodded, "Yeah, Hikari said she'll seal it later. I remember her saying something about letting Kirito do it though."

The toad sage chuckled, "Ah, so she's teaching the kid fuinjutsu. Like mother like daughter then."

Shizune blinked, "Oh yeah, it was Kushina-sama who taught Yondaime-sama fuinjutsu, right?"

Tsunade nodded, "Yeah, well, as long as they get the job done, I don't mind anyways."

Jiraiya nodded, "True, but Tsunade, increase the Anbu patrols around Sasuke. We can't take any chances, in case Orochimaru comes in."

The Hokage nodded, "I know, but to be frank, the Uchiha is more of a liability now, from what their reports told us, I'm tempted to just send that brat to Orochimaru."

Jiraiya huffed, "And give him the Sharingan on a silver platter?"

The blonde chuckled, "If I could, I would, but it seems sensei made a deal with our other rogue Uchiha."

Jiraiya nodded. He, along with Homura, Koharu and Danzo were the only ones Hiruzen told about the truth of the massacre of the Uchiha clan. It was also why Danzo didn't outright recruit Sasuke into his personal Ne Anbu.

Itachi had threatened to release all the secrets of Konoha to all four other shinobi villages if they did anything to Sasuke.

Jiraiya then asked, "So, what do we do Orochimaru eventually comes for him?"

Tsunade sighed, "As much as I hate to say it, do everything we can to keep him here in the village. But as of now, unless there are other interference, I won't send Jounin or Anbu."

Jiraiya nodded, "I see. Well, you know what you're doing anyways. So, about the Chunnin Exams that got interrupted a while back..."

Tsunade nodded, "I went through all the reports, and I suppose there are a few of them who deserve a promotion."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, "Really now? Who are they?"

Tsunade gestured to the file on her desk, "That's the report on the invasion, more specifically, reports on the performances of several Gennin."

The man picked up the file and flipped through it before he chuckled, "Ah I see. Wow, if these reports are spot on, then we have a pretty promising group, since if I remember correctly, they are all from the previous batch of gennin."

Tsunade nodded, "I know they haven't been gennin for more than two years, but they can actually make it."

Jiraiya nodded, "You were always a better judge of character, plus you are the Hokage now."

The woman nodded, "I'll call them over tomorrow. We still have to deal with Orochimaru and his fetish for boys."

Jiraiya bursted into laughter while Shizune tried hard but failed to not laugh. Tsunade just grinned as they continued their work.

Later, in the Uchiha compound, Sasuke groaned as he groggily opened his eyes. He looked up to see the familiar ceiling of his room.

He heard a familiar voice, Kakashi's voice coming from the right, "So, you're finally awake, Sasuke."

The Uchiha sat up and turned to see Kakashi, "Kakashi, what happened?"

The Hatake eye smiled, "To sum it up, you did something stupid and got your ass handed to you on a silver platter."

Sasuke glared at him before Kakashi's eye stared at him seriously, "What made you decide to use that mark? And you should know better than to use a Chidori on that level against a comrade."

Sasuke glared at him, the Uchiha wanted to tell his teacher that it didn't concern him. But regardless, Sasuke did respect Kakashi, if only a little.

The Uchiha huffed, "Comrades? That bastard stole Hikari from me. If he didn't existed..."

His cursed mark started to pulse, threatening to expand. Kakashi shook his head and stood up, staring at him sternly, "Let it go, Sasuke. Hikari was never yours to begin with, and she's not an object. She never looked at you that way."

Sasuke growled, "If Kirito never existed, then it'd be different!"

Kakashi nodded, "If, you said it yourself, if. But that's not the case here, life is never fair, you must learn to let things go."

The Uchiha replied, "She is the only one worthy of me."

Kakashi sighed as he thought, 'But you are not worthy of her.'

The man spoke, "Maybe, but, what have you done, to make her look at you that way. When you were all in the academy, while you were brooding, Kirito was out working his ass off as a blacksmith. I honestly don't care about your love life, but right now, if this continues, it will become a problem, and Tsunade-sama will have to solve this herself, and you do not, want that."

Sasuke just stayed silent as Kakashi continued, "If you don't learn to let go, you will never truly become strong. Hatred will only make you weak."

The cyclops sighed and headed for the door, "I'll only tell you this once more, never. Never use the Chidori of that level against anyone who isn't your enemy."

Sasuke just sat at his bed silently gritting his teeth as his mentor left the compound. A while later, he got our of the bed and headed to the training fields, unaware of four figures following him.

Sasuke stood in front of a training dummy, his Sharingan spinning in anger. A Chidori ignited in his hand and he charged, slamming his arm into the dummy, shattering it to pieces.

But that wasn't enough for him. Sasuke thought back, he had failed to defeat Gaara, but Hikari did it. He had failed to even land a scratch on Orochimaru, but Kirito drove him away in the invasion, and Hikari had defeated him in a summons' battle on her mission to find Tsunade.

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he turned to another dummy and punched it hard, taking a chunk out of it.

He was about to continue when he heard a voice, "Ho, that was quite a good punch... For a pathetic tree hugger like you."

He turned to see four people standing behind him. One was a girl with red hair, the second was a man with grey hair and a creepy smirk. The third was a huge man while the last was a young man with six arms.

Sasuke immediately jumped away, 'How did they get there?! I didn't even sense them!'

The Uchiha also noticed their outfits were similar to Orochimaru. He asked warily, "Who are you guys?"

The girl smirked, "Tayuya."

The huge man smike, "My name is Jirobo."

The six armed man smirked arrogantly, "Kidomaru."

The grey haired man spoke, "I'm Sakon. You can say we are Orochimaru-sama's elite group of shinobi, and we're here to bring you to him."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, moving into a guarded stance, "Why would I want to go to him?"

Sakon laughed lightly, "Why? Tell me, can this village give you the power Orochimaru-sama can give you?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at them, "What can he give me?"

The other three stayed silent, they had decided Sakon would do the talking. If any of them spoke, they had doubt Sasuke woukd attack them.

Sakon grinned and pointed at the mark on Sasuke's neck, "You should know, that power. It's awesome, right?"

Sasuke's hand unconsciously went to cover the mark as Sakon continued, "Unfortunately, your's is still only in the first phase, that's why you always lose control. But, if you come with us, Orochimaru-sama will train you to master it. You will be stronger than ever!"

Sasuke spoke, "Prove it, I have no idea if what you're saying is true or not."

Sakon chuckled and nodded, "Very well."

The four of then activated their cursed marks, letting the marks cover their body. Sasuke's eyes widened at that, while the marks were slightly different, he knew they were the same.

Sakon spoke, "I suppose this is proof enough? So, what is your answer?"

Sasuke closed his eyes. At first, he would have refused. He knew Hikaru wanted to be Hokage, that would tie her to Konoha, and he wanted to stand beside her when she became Hokage. But Kakashi's words rang within him.

For the first time, Sasuke admitted within himself. Uzumaki Hikari was out of his reach, she would never be his. For the first time, Sasuke let go, and he made his decision.

The Uchiha opened his eyes, the expression of the young man changed, "Very well, when do we leave?"

Sakon's grin widened, "Meet us at the gates at 5.00pm."

Sasuke nodded before the Sound Four vanished without a trace. The Uchiha then continued to train.

Later at 5pm, Sasuke waited by the gates behind a tree, with a bag slung on his back. As he waited, he heard a familiar voice speak, "Sasuke-kun? Where are you going?"

The Uchiha turned to see Sakura. He cursed, of all the times, she had to bother him now. Sasuke vanished and reappeared in front of her. The girl didn't even have time to react before Sasuke slammed his fist into her stomach. The girl grunted in pain as she fell unconscious, "Sasuke-kun..."

The Uchiha sighed as he pulled her into the shadows of the tree. Now he thought back, Sakura always tried to stand by his side, even if she was too weak to do it.

Even if Sakura always bothered him, he guessed it was because she cared for him. But Sasuke always pushed her away in favor of Hikari and power.

Sasuke thought, 'Sorry, and thank you, Haruno Sakura.'

He stood up before he noticed the four elite shinobi of Orochimaru waiting for him, Tayuya having already placed the two guards in a genjutsu.

The Uchiha then walked out of the gates to the four, "Let's go."

The four smirked before they all leaped away, unaware of a crow with a Sharingan watching them.

XXX

Done. So yeah, review please.