Threads o f Fate
Chapter 3 - Bad Moon Rising
"Kill Him."
Sasuke Uchiha stood in the center of the room, eyes closed and standing in a defensive taijutsu stance. Surrounding him in the room were roughly thirty Oto-nin, most of them were genin with a small number of chuunin mixed in the group. The almost pitch black room only had enough light for Sasuke to make out rough outlines of his attackers, the Uchiha prodigy did not need to see who he was up against.
Shifting most of his body weight to his back foot, Sasuke altered his stance. One blink of his eyes and the blood-colored Sharingan orbs activated themselves. Without the slightest bit of concentration, Sasuke's bloodline revealed to him where the first attack would come from.
One of the Sound ninja standing behind Sasuke launched himself recklessly at the teen. "Wait for it." Sasuke thought to himself while he remained perfectly still. He could not believe how slow his opponent seemed to be moving. From his perspective, the Uchiha's would-be assailant appeared to be wading through thick water instead of speed at him mid-air with a kunai raised to attack. "Now." With his opponent only inches away from plunging a blade into his back, Sasuke reacted. In one swift movement, Sasuke avoided the attack and countered with a spinning kick to the sound ninja's mid section. The surprised genin wasn't prepared for the genius's swift maneuver and had no time to react to his body being hurled towards a nearby wall. The impact left an intention in the wall and knocked the shinobi out before he even landed on the ground. Sasuke, with silent grace and precision, returned to his original stance in the middle of the room.
The other ninja surrounding the teen suddenly felt unsure of their situation. Thirty to one was supposed to be in their favor, but the expression of the boy made them feel like the odds didn't matter in this case. A few of them exchanged confused glances with each other and a while others began to sweat underneath the hooded masks that covered their faces. Still, a few gathered up enough courage to mount an attack on the young man and decided to launch themselves at him in much the same clumsy manner as the first assailant.
Fools. Sasuke thought to himself. They have no idea what they are up against. He glanced over his shoulder and flashed a confident grin to his attackers. Suddenly, there was a quick flicker and the boy was no longer there. Before any of them could react to the sudden disappearance of their victim, the onslaught began. Sasuke appeared behind one attacker and sent him flying into another one with a kick to the head. Almost instantly he appeared next to another one and grabbed him by the flack jacket before flinging the Oto-nin into a large group of shinobi standing around in a cluster. None of them had time to scatter and they were all knocked down as the body crashed into group.
All around the room other shinobi where disposed of in the same quick, efficient fashion. Bodies were slung into each other haphazardly and limbs were broken or torn off. So harsh was the assault on the group of ninjas that the sound of breaking bones echoed off the walls. Splatters of crimson stained the floor and walls, and as quickly as it hand begun, it was over. Sasuke landed back in the middle of the room and adopted his original stance as he surveyed the damage. All around him injured men tried to pull themselves off the ground while others screamed from the pain of missing or broken limbs.
Orochimaru stood up from his throne and started clapping. It was a slow methodical clap that echoed throughout the room. He looked at his apprentice with a satisfied gleam in his serpentine eyes and continued to applaud the display of vicious combat before he crossed the room to personally congratulate the Uchiha prodigy.
"Impressive, Sasuke," The snake man praised. "You've improved so much in such a small amount of time. I can't wait to see what you do when I teach you to properly harness the power of your seal." He placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder as he stood by him. "You will make an excellent tool."
"Just allow me to kill my brother and I'll do whatever you ask." Sasuke said simply. He knew he was getting closer. The young man could taste the power coursing through his blood. He wasn't the same boy from Hidden Leaf how had kneeled before Orochimaru begging for power. He was Uchiha Sasuke, the avenger and only heir to the Uchiha clan. I will only get stronger. He told himself as he reached up to touch the mark on his neck.
It had been necessary for him to leave his Konoha. It was not personal, at least in his mind it had not been. Leaving his home was simply something that had to be done. No one in Hidden Leaf could give him the power he desired. . . no, needed. If he could not get the power he was needed from his home, then he would go elsewhere. It didn't matter to Sasuke if he got it from Orochimaru or anyone else; he HAD to find a way to achieve his goals. He had no time to play with the likes of Naruto and Sakura while he brother was out there getting stronger. Itachi, when we were children, you always held your power over me. You refused to help me get better and you only used your power to destroy everyone who loved you. I will be the one to send you to hell.
Of course, he knew they would come for him. Konoha had to look for him. He had broken their law and knew that his former teammate would come seeking to drag him back. He had not thought about them in over three months, not since the fight at the waterfall. He almost lost his life to his best friend and rival that day. Somehow, the blond idiot found ways to close the gap between them. Every time Sasuke thought he had a leg up on Naruto, the loudmouth surprised Sasuke with some hidden talent or ability he never dreamed the dobe would be capable of. He hated to admit it, but Naruto was the only one who could be a threat to his revenge. Sasuke knew somewhere in Konoha, Naruto was pushing himself as hard as he doing right now. He knew they would meet and Naruto would try once again to beat him and take him back to Konoha. But Sasuke wouldn't let that happen. He had only scratched the surface of what Orochimaru could give him and he knew when he finished training that his skill would be more than enough to handle his old friend. The next time the two former teammates met on the battlefield, Sasuke would make sure the gap of power between them would be so wide that Naruto would never be able to touch him again. I'll show you why my clan was so feared, Naruto. He thought as he pictured the blonde's smiling face. You will see why I was the genius and you were the dead last.
"You'll have your revenge all in due time, but you are still not ready to face your brother, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru told him. "However, you are ready for a mission. I am sending you with Kabuto to take care of something for me. I need you both to track something down that is very necessary for my plans. It will be a good test of your efficiency and your skills. If you return successful, then it will be time to for you to take the next step in your training"
Orochimaru's second in command and spy stepped from the shadows at the mention of his name. Kabuto looked Sasuke over and adjusted his glasses. He smiled at the boy before directing his attention to Orochimaru. "Kabuto, you will take Sasuke with you on you're next mission. Take care of my apprentice and make sure you are successful in completing your task. You can fill him in on the details when you leave." Kabuto nodded and bowed to his master.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto told his master. Sasuke sneered as he watched the Orochimaru's lackey. In the few months he had been here, Kabuto had tried to befriend the former Leaf genin. However, something about him was unnerving. Something told Sasuke not to trust this man so he kept his distance and only spoke to him when it was necessary.
"Do not disappoint me, Sasuke-kun. You've done so well recently and I would hate to see you fail so soon after your impressive progress." The snake man's eyes glittered like the predatory eyes of the snake his face mimicked so well. Sasuke held his gaze without blinking, showing the former Leaf sannin that he would not be intimidated. The Oto leader smiled once again at both men before turning to leave the room. When the Sound leader was gone, Kabuto removed his glasses and produced a cleaning cloth before he turned to speak to Sasuke.
"Hey, Sasuke-kun." He said smugly. "Don't get too confident. This mission won't be easy. Just because Orochimaru likes you now doesn't mean you are free to do whatever you want. But you shouldn't worry; I'll watch your back while we are away."
"I'll handle myself just fine, Kabuto-san." Sasuke said in a mocking tone as he spoke the med-nin's name. "You should worry more about yourself than what I do. If you don't, you might find yourself on the wrong end of my chidori."
"Watch you're mouth you insignificant little-"
Sasuke stared at back at Kabuto, his eyes narrowed and Sharingan once again active and glowing. Kabuto read the silent rage swelling within the teen's eyes and for once felt the dread of fear sliding down his spine.
"I don't think you want to anger me," There was an edge to Sasuke's harsh whisper that which unnerved the medical ninja. He instinctively took a step back as he felt the massive killing intent radiating off the Uchiha survivor. "I won't hesitate to do to you what I did to those men lying over there if you cross me." Sasuke gestured to the pile of shinobi he had disposed of during his demonstration. There was a slight hint of fear in Kubuto's eyes, but he quickly hid it before Sasuke could take notice.
"I think you'll do well, Sasuke-kun." Kabuto laughed as he put his glasses back on. Satisfied he had gotten his message across, Sasuke made his way to the exit of the chamber. He was careful not to turn his back on Kabuto and he never once took his eyes off of him until he closed the door behind himself.
You'll do well to watch yourself, Sasuke. Kabuto thought as he watched the young man seal the door. "Cross me and you'll find out why Orochimaru-sama favors me above all others."