I don't own Naruto.

Thanks for all your reviews! I'll spend more time writing now, and a little less time playing videogames. I know this chapter was really late, sorry. '

I've never been good with geography. Thank VenomLord for pointing out the difference between Wave and Water country. When they left Konoha, they went to Wave country. Now they took the boat to Water country.

Anyway, I won't delay you any further, here's chapter 6…

End of a Life

Sasuke slowly approached her and checked her vital signs carefully. No heartbeat. No breathing. No movement. He turned and ran to find a town as fast as he could. As smart as he was, he knew nothing about medical ninjutsu. All he could do was destroy. He knew it was over, but in his mind he just couldn't believe it. Sakura-chan! Don't be dead! I'll do—something… just please don't die…like everyone else… He was probably a good mile away already, tearing through the forest, not knowing whether he would find a town or not…

Back at the beach, a dark figure approached the lifeless girl. His hands moved for a fraction of a second, as he muttered something under his breath. He didn't like using the technique he had just used. It was…beneath him.

Almost immediately, the girl's body, blood and all, seemed to simply disappear. Honestly, if Sasuke doesn't awaken his sharingan soon, he may never learn to identify genjutsu.

Instead of wasting his time to help, he calmly ran in the direction Sasuke had taken, moving at a leisurely pace that was much faster than Sasuke's. He'd catch up to him soon.

Where am I? What happened? Let's see…we were training, and then we went to rest by a tree, and…

Her thoughts were interrupted as two bright blue eyes appeared over her. "Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed gleefully as the previous day rushed back into her mind. In an instant she had thrown her arms around his neck and was hugging him with what would be considered a large amount of force for the shy girl.

After what seemed a long while in his comforting embrace she sat up straight to look around. It wasn't until now that she realized that this wasn't the same place they had camped yesterday. The nearby cliff had been replaced by a rocky beach, being repeatedly caressed by the pounding force of the ocean's waves. The lush grass that had covered the ground was now soft soil, with a few weeds strewn about. She sat next to what was hours ago a warm fire, reduced to only burning embers by the passage of time. "Naruto-kun, w-where are we?"

"Well, to be honest, you were sorta asleep for a whole day, so I carried y-"

"A—A whole day?" she stuttered out, not believing what she had just heard.

"Yeah, you must have been exhausted from all the training. I'm not exactly sure where we are now, but I followed the coast here, so we should be able to figure it out."

Standing up, Hinata walked over to the water's edge, Naruto a few steps behind her. Looking in both directions, there was only ocean, and in the distance the faint outline of mountains. She immediately knew where they were, though it took Naruto a few seconds to realize it. This was the tip of the Northern Peninsula; there should be a village not far to the south.

A sudden cold wind sprayed Hinata's face with a freezing mist of saltwater, causing her to shiver. Konoha had always been really warm, but as she pull her hood over her head, the returning warmth made her glad that she always wore her favorite jacket. Turning her head to look at Naruto, she noticed an odd look on his face.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Huh? Oh, umm…I uhh…you…" He stuttered out, paying more attention to his thoughts than his words. 'She's adorable with that hood on…' It was probably just the fact that he had never seen her wear it before, but it look good none the less.

"I th-think there's a village nearby. Should we stop there for a while to rest?" Hinata suggested, bringing him back to reality.

"Good idea! I'm starving! I hope they have ramen!" He yelled enthusiastically.

"Naruto-kun, they probably don't…sell…" she trailed off when she realized he was in too excited to hear her, as he was already holding her hand and leading her away from the ocean, towards town. She just stayed quiet for the moment, enjoying the fact that his hand held hers.

"I see you've returned, did all go according to plan?" a voice asked as a figure stepped out of the shadows.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama, although there is one last matter to take care of."

"And what would that be? I gave you only one task to complete." Orochimaru asked, wondering what he was talking about.

"Well, you see, Orochimaru-sama, I regret to inform you that…you are no longer of any use to me." Kabuto said with a smirk, shifting his head slightly so that a glare flashed across his glasses.

"Insolent brat!" Orochimaru shouted as he charged at him at full speed with a hand sign prepared. At the moment he reached him, he turned around sharply, a snake emerging from his sleeve in the direction he had come from. The snakes caught someone and lifted him into the air.

Kabuto hung in the air, snakes coiling around him, preventing him from moving. "Oh Kabuto, did you really think I would fall for a trick like that? I know you're good enough to match even Hatake Kakashi, but I know how you fight. You can't fool me by disguising a lifeless corpse as yourself."

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" a voice behind him whispered in his ear.

Quickly recalling his snakes, he jumped to the side, but not fast enough. He felt an immense pain in his right arm. It wouldn't move, his muscles had but severed.

"It appears as though you are no longer able to activate the tattoo on your left arm, Orochimaru-sama." This comment infuriated Orochimaru. He was being talked down to, as if he were a genin.

"This ends now!" Orochimaru screamed, who now was wielding a sword with his tongue. He slashed at Kabuto who wasn't able to move in time to avoid a deep cut to his side. Kabuto leapt back out of range, grasping his injured side without taking his attention off of Orochimaru. Orochimaru threw the sword at him, which he was able to avoid. It wasn't until Orochimaru stopped attacking that he realized his mistake.

Orochimaru stood laughing evilly, his left hand forming a one-handed sign. Kabuto's feet were surrounded by a thick layer of rock which anchored them to the ground.

"I'll finish you now!" Orochimaru yelled enraged, forming several more single-handed seals. As Kabuto saw a large spike rise from the earth pointed directly at him, he made some hand signs in a desperate attempt to escape. The Spike fired toward him, his chakra scalpel now active. He cut through the rock just in time to move out of the way. But even as the spike flew harmlessly past him, he felt something pierce his heart.

Orochimaru had called his sword to him, having it stab Kabuto in the back. Kabuto collapsed to his knees with his head hung down. As he was about to collapse, he lifted his head to look straight at his killer.

Orochimaru was shocked. A malevolent smile covered Kabuto's face for a moment, then the smile faded from a different face, one that Orochimaru knew belonged to one of his many underlings.

An explosion tag on Orochimaru's back sent a deafening roar echoing through the dimly lit chamber. He managed to get to his feet, and turned to look at Kabuto standing behind him, completely unscathed.

"That's enough fighting for now," Kabuto said as he turned to walk away, "I have more important matters to attend to, I'll just let the poison from yesterday's dinner finish you off." As he left the room, he heard Orochimaru collapse to the ground, a lifeless corpse. He'd have to remember to have someone clean that up later.

Sasuke collapsed to his knees, giving up on fining a town. He realized that even if he found one now, it was too late. She was gone. He would have been crying if he hadn't taught himself not to after that incident when he was young.

His head raised when he noticed someone land in front of him. All the sadness seemed to disappear as it was instantly replaced with pure anger. He had already jumped back and was making seals when his wrist was grasped firmly, preventing him from making the last one. The man ha managed to close the distance and immobilize him in the blink of an eye.

"We need to talk" the man said calmly as Sasuke was stopped from reaching for a weapon.

"I won't talk with you!" Sasuke yelled, full of murderous rage. I'll kill him! I can't let him get away!

"I will teach you to be strong." the man continued, ignoring whatever it was Sasuke had said, "I will make you stronger than Kabuto, but then…you must kill me in combat." His voice saddened with the last part, and Sasuke stopped struggling. "But first, there's something we need to talk about."

Sasuke's attention had been caught by now, and although confused, decided to listen. He was silent indicating that his brother continue, but gave an out-of-place look that said 'try anything funny and I'll kill you.'

"Do you want to know why I did it?" Sasuke was silent. He had never really considered it that much, because to him, it didn't really matter. But now he would listen, only partly by his own choice.

"It all started a month before you were born. There used to be a demon living in Konoha, a six-tailed weasel, who used lightning to attack his opponents. While this demon was dangerous, he never left his territory near the edge of Fire Country. But that all changed shortly before you were born. For some reason, the demon left its territory, and moved very close to Konoha. The village was left with no choice but to get rid of it. One ninja alone was able to weaken the beast, cutting through the beast's lightning, causing the beast to get hit instead. But the demon was only unconscious, and needed to be sealed. Because the man was somewhat acquainted with our clan, our father heard what had happened, and stepped forward. He insisted that the demon be sealed in his son…in me. He intended to use the demon's power to revive the might of the Uchihas, so that we may rise far above the Hyuugas. Had you been born a month earlier, you would have ended up cursed with its power. The demon was a greater burden on me than father could have possibly known. As he trained me, I grew stronger, but so did the demon. There were times when it was painful to suppress the demon. When I told father what was wrong, he didn't even care. He saw me only as a demon on a leash, and I soon grew distant from him, keeping to myself. I was able to use the demon's power to improve my sharingan, even unlocking the mangekyou sharingan with some of its chakra. Then one day, it managed to take control…" He paused for a moment, recalling a memory of the aftermath. Sasuke held his thoughts until the story was finished.

"I was alone in darkness, like a dream, when I heard you call out from somewhere. I awoke to find myself standing over the bodies of our parents, and that's when I decided: I had to be killed... Shortly after the door opened and your silhouette stood in the doorway: …and you would have to be the one to kill me. I fed you hatred, knowing it would make you stronger, knowing it would give you the purpose of killing me. I left Konoha, awaiting the day our clan would be avenged."

"Now I have control of the demon who feeds on hatred, and I find you have left and face hardships of your own. I don't want your life to end up as mine has, so I will make you strong enough to defeat Kabuto, and then, defeat me."

For the first time in a long time, Sasuke felt like he had a brother again. He had finally been reunited with what little family he had left. But the hatred the had been planted in him at young age had taken root, and wasn't going to leave.

"Fine, if you can make me stronger then him, if you can allow me to deal him an agonizing death, I will let you train me. But as soon as he's dead, you and that demon of yours are going with him!" Sasuke replied in a serious tone. Then he smirked, and some of the tension lightened. "So it's now, after all this time that you finally agree to train me…" He still had more questions, but they could wait, he had family again.

Sakura awoke to the sight of a poorly lit, wooden ceiling. Her mind needed a bit to catch up with her, so she didn't think of what had happened or where she was. A woman's voice came from somewhere in the room.

"Ah, you're awake. Did you take that little boat all the way here by yourself? Poor girl, you must have collapsed from exhaustion. Well don't worry, your in good hands now."

Sakura was still in a daze, and was just able to make out what was being said before slipping back out of consciousness.

Sakura sat up quickly. Did I dream that? No, this must be the same place, the ceiling is the same…Sasuke! Is he here too? Looking around the room, there seemed to be an oven, some beds, a few shelves, but no Sasuke. It appeared she was in a one room house, though it was quite large. Hearing the door open, she turned to see a kind-looking woman enter the room, probably in her forties or fifties, wearing a worn brown robe worn by those who cannot afford better clothes.

"Excuse me," Sakura asked, "but who are you, and where's Sasuke?"

"My name is Isuki, and by Sasuke, do you mean the young man from Konoha who brought you here?"

"Yeah, that must be him! Where is he? Is he hurt?" she questioned, eager to know if he was alright.

"No, he wasn't hurt at all." (Just as I thought, Sasuke kicked that guys butt!) "He said he was leaving Water Country, he's probably already out at sea."

"Oh" was all she said, a sad hint in her voice as she looked away. That sounded just like him. He lead her here to get rid of her, so he wouldn't have to put up with her anymore. Well, there was nothing she could do about it now…but if she ever ran into him that jerk was gonna pay!

"So…where am I?" she asked, still unaware of her location.

"You're at my house, not far from town. The shore isn't far away either. Now why would a sweet girl such as yourself travel all the way here to Water Country?"

Sakura checked to find that anything that identified her as a ninja had been removed, and was presumably in the unfamiliar backpack next to her. She sighed. "I'd rather not talk about it now if you don't mind…"

End of chapter 6

Another chapter done, huzzah! Anyway, I'm making up this story as I write it, so I'm sorry if you find any inconsistencies. The next chapter will be next.

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