Chapter 18: The Light inside the Darkness
Avatar Campsite
It had been two days since Suki had been rescued. The physical wounds she received were healing at an accelerated rate due to the treatments she was receiving from both Katara's waterbending healing and Sakura's medical ninjutsu, but the psychological scars would take longer to heal. Sokka had left on Appa's back to make an emergency stop to Kiyoshi Island to retrieve a new uniform, makeup, war fans, shield, and sword for the girl he loved. He returned a day later and gently handed her the equipment of her homeland.
The other patients were also starting to heal as well. Naruto's arm, for instance, had a healthy layer of new tissue developing on the rapidly expanding, and shrinking scar tissue. In another day or two, he would be at full strength again. Because of that, his project was coming along well; he was almost ready to add the retractable wings to it. Hinata had been a big help for this, she had helped him get it ready, as well as helped him start getting the material to make the wings.
Aang was starting to come out of the red that he was in for the past week. He was still unconscious, but he no longer had the fever that was keeping the infections from his wound at bay. On his head was something shocking, a thin layer of thick black hair was growing. When Naruto saw that, he almost freaked out since, ever since he met his otouto, he was bald. The Jinchuuriki gave a little chuckle; his little brother would have a big surprise for when he wakes up.
Finally, there was Sasuke. He was still bound, his hands were incased in a lump of rock that Toph made so he would be absolutely unable to form hand seals. With the blind over his eyes, he would be unable to use his Sharingan to his advantage either. Because of this, his arm had to be healed carefully so it wouldn't go out of place. However, due to Sakura's training, she was able to correct anything that prevented the arm from fully healing.
The Uchiha was still unconscious from the mental shock of losing to Naruto under Ba Sing Se. Inside him there was a battle raging, between the sides which would be called the black and white, the dark and light. It was for this reason why he hadn't awakened yet, neither side had won. Every so often when Sakura was examining him, she noticed his forehead scrunch up and then relax, as if a blow had hit him in the head.
After she was finished with her patients for the day, Sakura exited the rock tent to see Katara's progress with her chakra control. A smile passed on her lips, seeing the progress her friend was making. If she was at the Academy, she would have quickly risen to the top of her class; apparently she was a genius at this stuff. Katara had finished the leaf sticking exercise, the chakra summoning exercise, and was working on the tree climbing.
"Very good, Katara-chan," Kurenai said, nodding in approval as the girl landed on her feet, panting from slight exhaustion from running up the tree and making it a full quarter of the way. The genjutsu mistress smiled. "Once you complete this exercise, I will begin teaching you two techniques."
"Yes, Kurenai-sensei!" Katara said, straightening herself up again then running for the tree again. In her hand was a kunai that her instructor had lent her, and she was using it to mark her progress.
Sakura smiled again, watching the scene. 'That brings back good memories…' she looked down. 'Of when Team Seven…was a true team…not a broken one…' she shuddered, fighting back tears. 'I am not that girl anymore…I won't allow myself to cry for things in the past!'
She shook her head and went off to another portion of the camp. Sakura smiled fondly at Naruto and Hinata, watching them work on the jinchuuriki's project. Naruto had turned one of his kunai into a carving knife, which he was using to carefully smooth out the wood of his project. He grinned, looking at Hinata, who nodded in approval.
'I'm happy for you, Naruto,' Sakura thought happily. 'You're like a brother to me, hell you're more of a friend to me than I thought. After all the crap you went through when you were younger, you deserve happiness…'
She walked to where the fire pit was, and sat down on one of the benches she and Toph Earthbended up. She breathed out, still thinking of how old Team Seven was in the old days. Sakura silently feared that those days were dead and buried, and not even Naruto's confidence to repair the bridges that Sasuke burned when he left.
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Ba Sing Se, Palace
Azula stood there panting. Her instructor was teaching her a taijutsu style that would enable her to fight on par with most Chunin-level shinobi. Kabuto was confident of this, since he was the one who invented it, and the young medical genius was known for his ability to not only fight and beat Jounin and ANBU, but also was able to keep up with the Godaime Hokage in battle! She threw out a punch which Kabuto not only blocked, but turned against her.
"I'm afraid you are still too slow, Azula-sama," Kabuto taunted, looking up at her friends and brother. "Perhaps that Ty Lee girl or Zuko would be more fitted for this style than you."
"Shut the hell up!" Azula yelled, losing her temper and firing a blast of blue flame at her instructor from her fingertips.
Kabuto pursed his lips. "So you do have a temper…"
The Fire Princess snarled. 'I am the Fire Nation princess! I am a prodigy! I've learned techniques that not even Jeong Jeong could master! Why is this so hard?'
"At the rate you're going…it'll take two weeks for you to at least reach the point where you can use my other specialty for this taijutsu…"
"Why don't you just show me the whole thing damn it!" Azula snapped, bearing her teeth in anger. "You started teaching me this without even fully elaborating on what I should accomplish!"
"Fine…you want to know so badly?" Kabuto replied calmly, pushing up his glasses. "Come at me, and you'll see what this style can do. You can even use your precious firebending."
"With pleasure!" Azula roared, changing her style and stance, which made her look like she was fighting with her brother's aggressive style, with her fists instead of fingers.
Immediately she charged forward, throwing out her fist and a blast of blue flame shot at Kabuto. The medic-nin lazily stepped aside, avoiding the blasts. Kabuto stepped back again to avoid a vicious hook kick that Azula launched next, and stepped back again as the Fire Nation Princess landed, then leapt up in the air again to do a flying axe kick. When her foot made contact with the ground, a massive blast of blue flame made Kabuto leap into the air.
"I got you!" Azula roared, throwing out her hand in her signature style-instead of punches she threw out her middle and index fingers to launch a compact blast of flame at Kabuto.
However, the medic-nin landed, his hand started to glow blue, and then he turned and slammed his hand over Azula's elbow. The Fire Princess cried in pain as she felt her entire lower arm and hand feel like they were…jello. Growling in frustration, she launched a kick aimed at Kabuto's head. However, he just slapped it away, and she felt another blaring pain on her leg, and when she put it down…she lost balance and cried in agony.
"How do you like the Kireken (Slicing Fist)?" Kabuto asked as the Fire Nation Princess clutched her leg with her working hand. "Painful and effective isn't it?"
Zuko's jaw dropped after seeing that. 'I did not just see that…that…Kabuto guy was able to defeat my sister with hardly any effort at all…who is this guy?'
'Wow…' Ty Lee thought, her eyes as wide as saucers seeing that. '…Azula…lost…' immediately, the bubbly acrobat looked around. '…that's good, nothings falling from the sky and that means the world isn't ending…though still…'
Mai just shrugged. 'I knew she wasn't as great as she thought she was.'
The blue coloration faded from Kabuto's hands, and it was replaced by green. Holding out his hands, he healed the damage done to Azula by his attacks. Gradually, the pain from the slaps began to go away, and Azula was shocked.
"W-What…did you do?"
"It's simple; actually, I used my chakra scalpels to sever muscles and tendons of my opponents arm or leg, lowering their guard and attacking a vital point," Kabuto explained, pushing up his glasses again. "The targets, naturally would be the heart, lungs, or spinal column, severing those will either kill or incapacitate your opponent. Comes in handy."
Azula nodded as her arm and leg were healed, and she got onto her feet. Taking a few dozen breaths, she composed herself and then she smirked. "It sure does. I would love to learn more about it, Kabuto."
"I thought you would. Now will you cooperate with me so we can get you to the next level of the style?"
Azula nodded. "Gladly. Lets begin again…"
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Avatar Campsite
Uchiha Sasuke groaned. His whole body hurt, his arm most of all, and to his alarm…he couldn't squeeze his hands, they were bound…by rock? His eyes opened momentarily to gaze at…black? His mind flashed back to what had happened as he rapidly began to breath in and out.
Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration. "…so eager to die, are you? Fine…with your death, I'll finally get the power necessary to defeat Itachi…." He then began to do the hand seals, and lightning began to spark in his hand, then…it turned black. "Chidori…"
Naruto's eyes narrowed, recognizing what he was doing. He was channeling the dark chakra of the Cursed Seal into the Chidori, and from what Kakashi told him about shape and form of chakra, the Uchiha was changing the form of the attack. He then knew, it would be now or never, and he opened his right hand, and he created a clone.
The Rasengan formed in his hand, and the clone began to add the wind chakra into the attack. Hinata watched in awe as the ball of chakra began glowing in a white light, and four blades of wind began forming around it. It gave a sharp contrast to the dark Chidori that Sasuke was loading. Finally, with both attacks ready, Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other.
'I will win!' they thought, and they charged at each other.
Sasuke flapped his wings to increase his already incredible speed as he charged Naruto. The jinchuuriki began to run faster as a result. Finally, both of them threw their hands out, sending their attacks crashing into each other. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and closed her eyes as the light from both attacks became blinding.
"Chidori!" "Fuuton: Rasengan!" Sasuke and Naruto roared as they pushed their attacks into each other.
However, this clash was completely different from the one before. The Fuuton: Rasengan seemed to begin spinning faster and faster, it's blades of wind cutting threw the lightning that sparked from the Chidori. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as his attack began to be pushed back.
'N-No…that's…no!' Sasuke thought as he tried adding more lightning chakra into the Chidori, but Naruto's new Rasengan just kept cutting threw it. 'This can't be possible…he stayed in Konoha…he should be weak! He should be as weak as the last time we met! This isn't possible!'
"YOU LOSE!" Naruto roared, taking one more confident step towards Sasuke, and he pushed his hand out hard.
With that, the Chidori was completely evaporated by the Fuuton: Rasengan, and Sasuke roared in pain as his arm was cut up and slashed by the blades of the ball of chakra. Naruto let go of the attack, panting as it continued to push Sasuke all the way back to the wall, finally making him crash into the rock. The Rasengan stopped spinning and faded away, and Sasuke panted in disbelief. His Cursed Seal began to recede, and his eyes were open in shock.
He groaned in pain, remembering that. 'What…was that technique…how did Naruto get so strong?'
'That was a cheap move!' Sasuke's dark half, a white snake with yellow eyes snapped at him. 'Orochimaru didn't come through with his end of the deal! He didn't make us stronger if we could be defeated by such a move!'
A black hawk with red eyes appeared on his shoulder…representing his suppressed good half, that he buried when he betrayed Konoha two and a half years ago. It looked at him, and then the snake.
'He's lying, Sasuke. We lost because you lost who you really are, you are not an avenger, but a protector.'
The snake hissed. 'No, he's lying! You gained power for your goal of revenge in a span of time that no other shinobi could match! We are not to blame, Naruto and Orochimaru are!'
'No, we are to blame. We made the wrong choices,' the Hawk said calmly. 'We haven't completely forgotten what it means to be a Konoha Ninja, have we?'
'Yes we have! They are weak!'
'If they are weak, how come Naruto was able to beat us?'
'Shut up! He's weak, and all Konoha Ninja are weak! The right choice was made until Orochimaru screwed us over!'
Sasuke's mental image glanced at both sides of he debate, he was unsure which side he'd chose this time…
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Hidden base in Otogakure
Orochimaru, the snake sannin and leader of his village was in dire straights. Even though he learned that his ally, the Fire Nation, had captured the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se, he learned that regrettably his protégé had been captured by the Avatar. He roared in anger for his oversight in sending Sasuke to aid Fire Lord Ozai's daughter in this operation.
"O-Orochimaru-sama, p-please calm down," a medic trembled next to him.
The Snake Sannin was in his bed, and he was wheezing in pain. His arm shot out and grabbed the medic's neck. The medic gasped as the angry sannin sank his fingers into his neck, then yanked back, pulling the medic's neck out. Orochimaru watched as the medic gurgled as blood leaked out of his neck, and he dropped to his knees and died.
"Karin-chan, get the hell in here!" Orochimaru ordered in his harsh, wheezing voice.
"Y-Yes…Orochimaru-sama!" a young woman's voice said, and a the door opened to reveal a young woman with long, spiky, strawberry colored hair, wearing red framed glasses, a Oto headband around her neck, a long sleeve gray overcoat and short black pants. She was Orochimaru's primary Tracker Ninja, secondary medical specialist, scientist, and she was the former head of the research division in Lab 20, Tobihashi Karin. Right now, she was serving as Orochimaru's second in command in Kabuto's absence. "W-What do you require, my lord?"
"Help me up. It is…time for me to change bodies."
"C-Change bodies, Orochimaru-sama? But Sasuke-kun isn't here for that!"
"…a folly of mine, I admit, one that I rarely make," Orochimaru replied as he sat up weakly. "But I cannot wait any longer. I need to change bodies to survive."
"O-Of course, Orochimaru-sama," Karin said as she walked over, and he slowly swung his legs out to the edge of his bed, placing his feet on the floor. He held his arm out, and she went under and put it around her shoulders and helped him up. As soon as he was on his feet, the two walked slowly to the door.
As soon as they were out in the hallway, Karin looked up. "Which subject, Orochimaru-sama? Should I organize a battle of the prisoners to see who is the strongest for your new body?"
"N-No…I have the perfect…body in mind…for the moment…take me to…the lab, Karin-chan," Orochimaru panted, already starting to feel exhausted just by walking a short distance.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," Karin said as she began helping him to the lab in the base.
Several Oto Shinobi, few of which had never seen their leader in person, watched in awe as their godlike figure limped, with the help of Karin, towards the lab. Many of the Oto ninja dropped to their knees and bowed and muttered 'Orochimaru-sama' as he past. In the Village Hidden of the Sound, due to his power, ability to 'rebirth' himself in the midst of battle, and fight with demons has elevated Orochimaru up to the level of God to his village.
Karin and Orochimaru reached the lab, and the tracker pushed the door open. Both walked/limped into the room, and the Snake Sannin began panting and sweating profusely, but a wry smile appeared on his face when he saw a massive glass container of water that was sealed on top, as if it was to prevent someone or something from escaping.
"Karin-chan, break the subject out of his…prison."
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," Karin said as she tossed a kunai at the glass container of water.
The kunai imbedded in the glass, which started to slowly crack. More cracks appeared and the water started sloshing around. Finally, the cracks were too much, and the glass shattered when its structural integrity was compromised. The water poured out onto the floor, with Karin and Orochimaru looking on.
"I can stand on my own now, Karin-chan," Orochimaru ordered her, and the tracker nin nodded, easing herself out from under his shoulder. The Snake Sannin, despite his weakness, stood up proudly and looked at the puddle. "Come on now, Suigetsu-kun; reform yourself into your humanoid form."
The water began to ripple…and started to rise as if a waterbender was manipulating it. Over a short time the small wave began to form into a humanoid shape until finally, there was a young man standing there. He had white hair, white eyes with a black pupil, and finally shark-like teeth in his mouth.
"So I see Sasuke failed in killing you," Suigetsu said cockily, looking at Karin. "What's she doing here, other to annoy the hell out of me snake bastard?"
"Hold your tongue, bastard!" Karin seethed and the strange shinobi gave her a full tooth smile.
"Calm yourself, Karin-chan," Orochimaru said calmly, looking at Suigetsu. "You have been chosen."
"Chosen for what, snake bastard?"
"For my new body…"
Suigetsu's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in shock. "Y-You're joking. Surely, there must be a loyal person to you better for this than I am, like that Karin chick who helped you here…"
"I'm afraid you are the best candidate, Suigetsu-kun," Orochimaru told him, a sick, sadistic smile appeared on his face. "With Sasuke-kun lost at the moment, you are the best candidate for the transfer due to your unique physiological structure; you will be able to increase my power nearly three fold."
"C-Come on…you're joking please…" Suigetsu said, as he began to sweat profusely. This was something he feared, which is why he was hoping that Sasuke'd be able to set him free. "W-Why don't you use Juugo?"
"I still have need for him, the enzyme in his body is still needed to produce newer, more powerful Cursed Seals," Orochimaru told him as scales seemingly appeared on his face. "Now…Suigetsu-kun…we will become one…"
Suigetsu's eyes widened as a massive white snake, composed of thousands of smaller snakes the size of anacondas leapt out of Orochimaru's body at him. He tried to run, he tried to compose his body back into water, but the fear was too much. The giant snake struck, and the former Mist Ninja let out a horrific scream.
In his mental realm, Suigetsu looked around. Everything looked…fleshy…and he watched as three…bodies rose out of the flesh, bound by snakes and sticky flesh. He then saw Orochimaru himself rising out of the ground, surrounded by flesh, his long, strange tongue slithering out like a viper.
"W-What is this place…?" Suigetsu asked in horror.
"It has already started…" Orochimaru told him ominously as…snakes began bursting out of Suigetsu's body.
He screamed in pain as his mind was taken over by the Snake Sannin. Back in the physical realm, Karin watched as Orochimaru's old body collapsed in a heap, while Suigetsu screamed in pain. The screaming suddenly stopped, and the Mist Ninja's head dropped down…showing the Snake Sannin's yellow eyes, replacing Suigetsu's pupils.
"Ah…" Orochimaru said, using Suigetsu's lips. "That's much better..."
Karin dropped to her knee. "What do you require, Orochimaru-sama?"
"Bring me back to my bed, and get the bandages. It takes a week for my soul to adjust to a new body, and I do not want to…fall apart before the process is complete," Orochimaru ordered, and Karin nodded as she got to her feet.
The tracker could sense how much more powerful Orochimaru had become after taking Suigetsu's body. He was even stronger than he was when he faced Sandaime Hokage and the Four Tailed Demon Fox. The war was going to take an interesting turn now, with Oto's leader at his strongest again…
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Avatar Camp
After having something to eat and drink, Sakura stood up and started to walk back to the medical tent. She wanted to check up on Sasuke and Aang, see how they were healing again. She walked into the tent to see…Sasuke squirming.
"Sasuke-kun…!" Sakura gasped, seeing Sasuke writhe in his binds. 'H-How long as he been awake…?'
In Sasuke's mind, his two sides were driving him crazy. 'Blame Orochimaru and Naruto! We can still get our revenge if you do that!'
'We need to take responsibility and admit that we were wrong. Breaking the bonds didn't make us stronger, it weakened us,' the black red eyed hawk retorted calmly, and the snake hissed.
'We don't need to take responsibility! We haven't done anything wrong, we are doing this to avenge our clan! It's Orochimaru's fault our growth was stunted, he obviously didn't teach us everything he knew! And it's Naruto's fault we lost!' the Snake roared. 'We need to use this power we have to escape, and maybe make it back to Orochimaru for even more training!'
'Back to Orochimaru? Are you insane?' the hawk asked. 'That will accomplish nothing.'
'The Snake Bastard obviously didn't teach us everything. We'll get back and gain even more strength, enough to kill Naruto and Itachi…' the Snake hissed, tempting Sasuke with what he wanted-power. 'Activate the Cursed Seal again, and we'll be able to break out of these bonds and make it back to Sound…'
Sasuke's mental self nodded, although…truth to be told, he was unsure. "Very well…"
The black hawk sighed in disappointment, but he knew Sasuke's resolve wasn't what it used to be. The defeat he received from Naruto had really shaken it up, and even after letting his dark side take control once more…it wasn't such a strong drive.
In the physical realm, Sakura stepped back as Sasuke began roaring, trying to break his hands out of the solid rock that was binding his arms. She was frozen in place when she saw the curse mark expanding over his body, and suddenly there was a jolt of electricity in the air. She heard a thunderclap and the shattering of stone, and she realized…Sasuke had broken his bonds with lightning. He grabbed his sword, and placed it back into the hilt on his back.
Purple chakra began to waft around him, and he raised one of his free hands to his face and ripped off the blindfold. He hadn't activated his Sharingan, and looked at Sakura, who was frozen. He just walked passed her, not laying one finger on her.
"S-Sasuke…" Sakura started, slowly turning around. "Wait!" She then looked back to the camp. 'He'll get away if I go warn the others…'
Sasuke ignored her and walked out into the open. Channeling his chakra to his legs, he leapt up from the ground into a tree, and began running. Sakura ran out, and cursed. She bit her thumb and wiped the blood on her hand, and did the hand seals.
"Kuchiyoise no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)!" Sakura yelled, slamming her hand down. Two white-blue slugs, one four times her size and one the size of Sakura's arm appeared in a puff of smoke, and both had Konoha Headbands on them.
"Sakura-hime?" the larger slug asked as the pink-haired kunoichi leapt onto the slug's back.
"No time to talk, Taho-chan, just follow Sasuke-kun's chakra signature as quickly as you can," Sakura ordered and the large slug nodded. "Eureka-chan, tell the others at the camp that Sasuke-kun's trying to escape, tell them that I'm going after him!"
"Yes Sakura-hime," Eureka said as she slithered as fast as she could to the camp.
Taho slithered in the path which Sasuke had took off on. The large slug was surprisingly fast, able to keep up with the rogue Uchiha and the stocky eyes were able to see Sasuke's chakra path. The slugs were good trackers due to their ability to see chakra, due to their compound eyes. It would be only a matter of time before Sakura caught up with him.
Back at the camp, Sokka grinned as he brought up a fish next to Suki. "Told you guys I'd be able to catch one." He said proudly.
"Just one though?" Toph quipped as Sokka's good mood turned sour.
"At least I could catch one!" Sokka snapped back, and then he looked up. "Am I seeing things, or is a big slug coming to us?"
Katara, who had just finished training with Kurenai, looked at her brother. "Okay, who gave him cactus juice?"
"I didn't have any! There's just a big slug coming this way! Look!"
He pointed and the group looked to see a large slug, about the size of a human arm, slithering towards them. It had a Konoha Headband on it's head and the Shinobi leapt over to greet it.
"Are you one of Sakura-chan's summons?" Hinata asked.
"Yes…I am Eureka, Sakura-hime's messenger slug," Eureka said. "Sasuke-san has escaped."
When it said that, the entire camp fell silent. "Where's Sakura? Did he hurt her?" Kakashi asked sharply.
"No. All he did was walk off and leap into a tree. Sakura-hime immediately summoned me and Taho-chan, she got on Taho-chan's back and took chase immediately after giving me my orders," Eureka explained as Kakashi looked at Kurenai.
"We have to head after them immediately, as strong as Sakura is now, she doesn't have much of a chance against Sasuke," Kakashi said, looking back at the benders and warriors. "Naruto, you stay back here with Katara, Sokka, Suki, and Toph."
"Wait a second, how come we can't come?" Toph asked in slight anger. "This Sasuke really doesn't sound so tough!"
Naruto growled. "Okay Kakashi-sensei, I'll stay back here with the others, damn arm…" he said, looking at his shoulder.
"Hey, didn't you hear my question?" Toph snapped, a vein popping on her forehead.
"Yes, and underestimating Sasuke will end up with your death, Toph," Naruto said darkly, breathing out. "He can copy all your movements; predict your attacks before you even do them, and he's fast. He makes Aang-otouto look like a statue. If he wanted, he could kill you before you even felt him move."
After that, Toph immediately quieted down. Kakashi looked at Hinata. "We'll split up," he said biting his thumb and performing his own hand seals, and then he slammed his hands onto the ground.
In a puff of smoke, all eight of his ninken were summoned. Pakkun rested upon the massive bulldog known as Bull. The small pug looked up at the group.
"So Kakashi, what's up?" Pakkun asked as the pug looked up at his summoner.
"Sasuke has attempted to escape again. Sakura has gone after him, but she can't handle him alone," Kakashi replied, bending down to his dog's level. "Kurenai, Hinata, and myself need your help finding him before he gets out of our reach again."
"Got it," Pakkun said. "Bull, you tag along with Hinata-chan," the pug said as he leapt onto Kakashi's shoulder. "Mugen, Kai, Ein, you stay with the camp, Jin, Eri, Suzaki, you help Kurenai."
The dogs barked an affirmative, Bull walked over to Hinata while Jin, Eri, and Suzaki walked over to Kurenai, and Mugen, Kai, and Ein walked over to the rest of the group. Hinata activated her Byakugan next to Bull, and she looked at Kurenai and Kakashi, who nodded. With that, all three with their canine companions leapt away, leaving the rest of the group at the camp.
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Earth Kingdom
Sasuke leapt through the trees, trying to make his way to Fire Nation territory to rejoin the Sound Village. He had sensed Sakura behind him but he paid her no mind, since he thought she was still the girl he left on the bench in Konoha during his first defection. Inside his mind, the Hawk and the Snake still argued, and he was still trying to justify his reason for leaving again.
'I will get the power to kill Itachi…' Sasuke thought, his dark side continuing to cloud his thoughts. '…Orochimaru will teach me everything. Absolutely everything he knows, and I won't refuse to kill anymore…'
He landed in a clearing next to a wide, calm river. The Uchiha could tell that the water was deep, since there was a large 'black' section under the blue water, where the light couldn't penetrate the depths. He looked briefly into the water, and he saw himself with the Cursed Seal active.
He looked up. "Sakura, leave me alone."
Sakura stood up on Taho as they got into view. "No…Sasuke…" she started, hopping off her giant slug. "I am going to drag you back to the camp myself."
"You? Don't be foolish, you have no chance against me," Sasuke told her condescendingly.
Sakura growled, squeezing her hand into a tight fist. "You aren't the only one who has gotten stronger over the past three years."
"Naruto has, that Hyuga girl has, but you? You always held up our team, playing on the sidelines. Are you seriously telling me that you've gotten better?"
"Lets find out, Sasuke. I'm no longer that crying little girl," Sakura told him dangerously, taking Toph's earthbending stance while standing on the beach.
"Very well," Sasuke said as he bit his thumb, and scrawled the blood onto the seal on his wrist. He flew through the hand seals and slammed his palm to the ground. With a puff of smoke, a massive 12.5 meter long purple snake, it hissed dangerously at Taho.
"Sakura-hime, stand back, I shall handle this," Taho said as she slithered into the foreground.
The massive snake slithered away from Sasuke, and it rose to it's full height. The snakes gaping jaws opened, showing it's curved razor sharp teeth, and it's red tongue. Taho's stock eyes focused onto the massive snake, and they seemed to narrow. Both summoned animals slowly began circling each other, looking for an opening.
Taho then noticed something, and suddenly jerked back just as the snake's tail slammed up through the ground like a spike at her. She then slithered around as the snake snapped out at her with it's massive jaws. She dodged, moving as fast as she could until she could get the angle.
"Suppai Bomu (Acid Bomb)!" Taho called out, shooting out a large blast of acid.
The giant snake dove underneath the ground to avoid the acid, but it's back got singed. It hissed in pain as it's outer skin was burned, and it burrowed through the sand to get at Taho. The slug scrunched up its body like a spring and launched itself up into the air just in time to avoid the snakes gaping jaws.
The snake hissed, opened up its mouth and fired thousands of senbon needles tipped with venom at the slug. Taho hurriedly zipped around the snake's line of fire, and it tackled the beast. The snake hissed, rising its head up and shooting it's needles into the sky. Taho looked up to see the needles start falling all over the area, and she spat acid into the sky to deflect the needles that were coming at her. Sasuke and Sakura leapt out of the way, using their sword and kunai respectively to block the needles.
Taho and the snake were panting now. Even though she hadn't been hit, avoiding all these attacks, as well as the previous chase, had taken a lot out of the summoned slug. And the snake was suffering a nasty burn wound on its back where the acid bomb had hit. The last attack would decide it all, and both animals waited for their moment to strike.
"Suppai Bomu (Acid Bomb)!" Taho yelled, slithering forward and launching a bolt of acid at the snake.
The snake retorted by spraying it's needles in a wide arc. The acid slammed through the needles, melting through them with ease. The ball of acid slammed into the snakes head, making it hiss in agony. At the same time the senbons got at Taho, and she screamed in pain. Both summons panted as they looked at each other. Then, in a puff of smoke, they disappeared back into the summoned realm. The senbons disappeared in the smoke, leaving the battlefield riddled with pin sized holes.
Sasuke and Sakura leapt back onto the battle field, looking at each other. "Sakura, just turn back. I'm heading back to Sound."
"No, you're not Sasuke, I'm going to stop you," Sakura told him, taking Toph's earthbending stance to start the fight.
"So be it," Sasuke said darkly, taking a firebending stance.
Sakura made the first move, she slid her right leg out quickly, and shot out her left hand in a diagonal chop. The ground responded to her commands, and a pillar of rock shot out at Sasuke. The Uchiha sidestepped the attack, and shot out a blue fireball from his fingertips. Sakura countered by throwing her hands up into the air, and a slab of stone shot up from the ground in front of her. The blast of fire slammed harmlessly into the stone, and Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"I'm not going to roll over and let you win Sasuke!" Sakura snapped out.
Sasuke wasn't impressed. He unsheathed his sword and dashed towards the pink haired kunoichi. Sakura could barely feel where he was coming, and suddenly the slab of rock was cut in half. She leaned back to avoid the crackling sparks of the Uchiha's Chidori powered blade. Seizing the initiative, she shot up her foot, powering the chakra into it, and slammed it into Sasuke's jaw. The Uchiha wasn't alarmed, he figured the kick wouldn't hurt him…until it made contact.
Sasuke gave a strangled yell as he was launched into the sky. He managed to catch himself in the air, flip and landed on his feet. He wiped the blood from his cheek, and looked as Sakura charged him, fist cocked for a punch. Sasuke raised his arm quickly to block, and he saw what she was doing, but it was too late. The pure strength that the pink haired kunoichi put into the blow broke through his defense and her fist slammed into his face.
He skidded back, recoiling from the blow as Sakura kept up her momentum. 'I need to just keep hitting him! I can't have him have any time to counter!'
Sasuke growled, using his Sharingan to predict her path of attack and dodge. Just as her heel slammed into the ground he jumped up into the air momentarily and slammed his own fist into Sakura's face, making her jerk back in pain, and the Uchiha finished his counter off with a roundhouse kick to her side which made her cry in pain as a crack was heard and roll in the sky. She crashed into the ground, clutching her side weakly.
"You have gotten stronger…" Sasuke muttered, surprise evident in his voice. He wiped the blood off his cheek. "But this is over."
"Not…yet…" Sakura told him, with a little blood dripping out of her mouth. Her hand began to glow green, and…the pain in her side began to subside and the rib that was broken by Sasuke slowly mended up. She rose to her feet again, taking a fighting stance again. "This fight isn't over yet, Sasuke."
"So you've trained to become a medical ninja…whoever your master was did a very good job…but it still won't be enough, you're not strong enough to beat me."
Sakura didn't answer, she just returned into her earthbending stance after taking something out of her back pouch. Sasuke decided to end the battle now, and he charged at her with all his speed. The pink hair kunoichi blinked, and braced herself, she knew that look. As quickly as she could, she wrapped the wire around her hand and then tied it quickly onto the loop of the kunai she had brought out earlier.
"Chidori Nagashi!" Sasuke yelled as his entire body was enveloped by lighting, and Sakura tossed the kunai into the ground just as it hit.
She cried in pain as thousands of volts of electricity circulated through her body. Sasuke looked at her plainly, waiting for her to drop to her knees, unable to move due to the paralysis. However, she wasn't going to go down that easily, and began channeling the lightning chakra through her body with her fine chakra control. Sakura gritted her teeth as her plan went into motion…and a look of shock appeared on Sasuke's face when he realized what she was doing. The wire that was wrapped around her hand began to spark…and transfer the lightning chakra through it towards the kunai, right into the ground.
He quickly shut down his jutsu, and Sakura panted. That drained her, but she still had more than enough strength to keep launching punches. Cocking her fist, she launched it out, catching the still shocked Sasuke in the face. The Uchiha went skidding back, and he stopped, still standing.
"…that was….impressive and unexpected…" Sasuke said, standing up and wiping the blood off his lip. "You used your fine chakra control to guide my current through your body, all the way to the metal wire on your left hand. That wire then guided my current down it and into the kunai, finally into the earth so you completely nullified its paralyzing effects…"
"I…wouldn't let you beat me like that, Sasuke," Sakura said after taking a deep breath. "I will…bring you back."
Sasuke said nothing, he just looked to see that her wire was now frayed and broken, so she wouldn't realize what happened. He decided to trick her charging at her with a punch loaded. He sent out a blast of flame at her, and Sakura stomped her feet and constructed another wall of rock to shield her. The fire splashed harmlessly into the rock and she kicked it at him.
He leapt over the rock, and his hand sparked with the chidori in it. Sakura braced herself, she thought he was going to stick it into her. Instead, he slammed it into the ground in front of her, and the electricity traveled through the ground and hit her! She cried in pain as her body was slowly paralyzed, and when she tried channeling it into the wire…the metal wire just snapped! She dropped to her knees, and fell face first onto the ground.
"So you're really going to be like Itachi now...good job on that Sasuke..." Sakura commented weakly, and Sasuke's eyes widened in fury.
"I am nothing like that bastard. Say that again and I'll kill you," Sasuke told her, pointing his chokuto right at her neck
Sakura gives him a wry grin despite her weakness. "Oh really? Tell me how you're different. You joined an Organization dedicated to war and the destruction of Konoha, just like Itachi. You are constantly trying to test your capability. You tried killing your best friends how many times? Need I go on? Face it Sasuke...you're Itachi's clone now."
Sasuke's eye's widen, then shakes it off. He presses the sword closer, drawly blood. "Shut up...SHUT UP! What would you know!? You don't know what it is like to have everything taken from you and killed right before your eyes! You're even less than Naruto in that regard. What suffering have you ever had to try and understand me?! I don't give a damn whether Konoha survives or not, but any of you get in my way, I'll kill you. Nothing is getting in my path to revenge!"
"For the past two years, Sasuke, I have suffered. Because you were gone, because you abandoned everything, especially me. And Konoha doesn't matter?" Sakura asked him and he growled, trying not to hear her. "Your parents would be ashamed! Fugaku-sama and Mikoto-sama always lived for the village, don't you even remember that?"
"I abandoned you?" Sasuke repeated in disbelief. "You still haven't gotten over that? You really are pathetic!"
In his mind, he could hear the hawk and snake arguing, like white noise in the back. "Kill her. Kill her now!" The Snake told him as it slithered onto his shoulder, flicking its tongue at his cheek.
"Idiot," the Hawk said. "For once in your life, listen to someone other than your pride!"
"Yes, you abandoned me, as well as everyone Sasuke. I loved you…I…still do…" Sakura told him and his eyes widened in shock. She then looked down, taking a deep breath as she decided to take one final gamble. "If you really want to kill me, do it now." Sasuke's sword still rested on her neck as she closed her eyes, gritted her teeth and waited. "What are you waiting for?" She asked softly "I'm helpless. Can't move a muscle. No one can stop you. What are you waiting for?"
Taking a deep breath, Sasuke rose his chokuto high above his head, and his arm began shaking. His two sides were now screaming at him, the snake telling him to do it, while the hawk telling him not to. He then slammed the sword down…a centimeter away from her neck. "I...can't kill you..." he told her, panting from his decision.
Sakura opened her eyes, mentally breathing a big sigh of relief. Tsunade-shishiou would be proud, she thought. "Why?" she pressed. "Is the truth finally seeking in? Do you see what you become?" She gestured with her head to a nearby river. "If you looked at your reflection...do you know what you would see?"
Sasuke stumbled over to the river, and looked in. To his horror...instead of seeing his own face...he saw...Itachi's. He continued to stare at the reflection, shook his head, and looked again…it was Itachi's face again.
"Tell me..." Sakura started softly. "What do you see?"
"...you...were right...I was taking Itachi's route...that's who I saw..." Sasuke told her in disbelief. 'Don't be like your brother,' one of his father's last words to him echoed in his mind at that moment.
"It's not too late..." Sakura told him softly but firmly. "You haven't crossed the line, like Orochimaru has. You've come close, but you're not there yet. You can still do the right thing...reject Orochimaru, reject Itachi...reject your hatred and need for revenge Sasuke," Sakura finished.
Sasuke closed his eyes, where he could visibly see the hawk and snake arguing. For what seemed like an eternity, he watched them argue. In the background, he could hear all the people in his life - his father, his mother, Naruto, Sakura, Orochimaru, the Third - all of them, telling him what to do...and now...He walked over to the snake…and beheaded it on one blow. The white snake had a look of shock as he sliced its head further in half, and destroyed it's body. The Hawk nodded in approval, acknowledging that after all these years…Sasuke had finally done the right thing.
In the real world, he opened his eyes and looked at her. "You won't be able to move for another 25 minutes," He said walking towards her. He picked her up and put her on his back. "But we can be back at your camp in 15..."
A half a mile away, Pakkun had finally picked up Sasuke's scent and was following it. As the dog sniffed the air, he looked up at his master, who looked at him.
"That's strange…according to this scent…Sasuke's coming right at us."
"What?" Kakashi asked in shock as they hopped from tree to tree.
Sure enough, through the foliage Kakashi could make out…something. Squinting his visible eye he could make it out. It was a pink blur…resting on a white shirt. He then saw that…sure enough, Sasuke was there…carrying Sakura on his back? And not only that, it was on the way back to the camp!
In a few minutes, they finally reached each other. "I'll…explain when we get back to camp…" Sasuke told him, looking back at Sakura.
"…very well," Kakashi said, his eye slowly turning to a smile. "Just hope you have a good explanation on what you're doing now, Sasuke."
Sasuke nodded, and the four of them started leaping back to the camp. Pride started swelling up in Kakashi's chest. The last of the Uchiha finally made the right choice, he could see that. And somehow…Sakura finished Naruto's job of brining him back, permanently.
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Avatar Camp
Naruto was pacing back and forth, waiting for the group to come back. He subconsciously placed his hand on his shoulder, practically ordering it to finish healing. Katara, Sokka, and Suki watched him pace, and Momo rested on his shoulder, mimicking his hand movements.
"Calm down, Naruto, you'll bore a hole in the ground if you keep doing that," Toph joked as she laid on the ground.
"How can I be calm? I should be out there finding the bastard and beating the crap out of him again!"
"Hey, I think I feel them coming," Toph said, sitting up. "Kakashi…yep…Pakkun…yep…third guy I barely recognize…and Sakura's on his back!"
"What?" Naruto asked as in an instant, three blurs from the trees landed in front of him. To his shock, there was Sakura…riding on Sasuke's back! "WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE?"
Sakura shrugged. "We fought, and I took a big gamble and won."
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!? WHY IS HE CARRYING YOU!?"
"Since he hit me with his Nagashi."
"What's that mean?" Toph asked as she sat up.
"Basically, she's temporarily paralyzed," Naruto told her quickly.
Sakura stuck her tongue out in embarrassment. "Yep...can't move at all...I blocked the first one...but he got me with the second one...and well..."
"You...blocked the first one? How?" Naruto asked in shock.
"Does it really matter?" Sasuke asked, trying to hide the method on how Sakura blocked his attack. "She did. That's more than you ever did, dobe."
"Teme..." Naruto snarled, and then he blinked. "...man, that was nostalgic."
"Do I even want to know why?" Katara asked, half confused as she watched what happened.
"That's how Naruto and Sasuke-kun acted before...well..." Sakura started, trying to avoid the issue.
"Just go out and say it," Sasuke snapped, before taking a deep breath. "Before I betrayed everything. No sense in denying it."
Hinata with Bull and Kurenai with the other three dogs arrived at that moment. They looked around, still following Sasuke's scent trail.
"Sasuke-kun's scent is..." Hinata started before trailing off. "Right...here...um...what's going on?"
"...I've finally made the right decision," Sasuke replied simply with a sigh.
Kurenai crossed her arms. "Care to explain yourself?"
Sasuke walked over to one of the Earthbending benches, and eased Sakura onto it. "...I was becoming exactly like Itachi. Or worse...revenge isn't worth it if I become like that."
"He...had me paralyzed," Sakura said slowly. "Couldn't move. I was at his mercy," She lifted her chin slightly to show the slight cuts from Sasuke's sword earlier as proof. "So...I took a gamble. I told him if he was to kill me...to do it now."
The group's jaws dropped. Katara, Suki, and Toph thought she was joking, but the cut was plainly visible. Naruto's eyes were wide, and Hinata had her hands covering her mouth. Even the two Jounin were shocked, and Sokka couldn't believe it at all.
"T-That was...insane!" Sokka yelled in disbelief.
She shrugged. "That's what would had happened anyway. I couldn't move. We both know it. That's what it would eventually come down to: would he be willing to kill me? I simply decided to state the obvious first, rather than let him do it."
She began to get some feeling back in her arms and legs, but she still couldn't move. Sasuke looked down, breathing out. "...so...what are you going to do to me?"
Kakashi looked at Sakura. "Obviously, he didn't kill you, but is that all that happened? You dared him to. Did he take that dare? Did he do anything to you?"
"He started to do it, but at the last second he diverted his sword into the ground," Sakura replied, remembering what happened. "He was conflicted throughout the entire battle."
"I couldn't do it," Sasuke added. "I couldn't bring myself to kill her. That's when I made the decision to..." He gulped slightly, knowing just what this would sound like. "...to...ask for a...second chance..."
The group was silent. "...we could easily send you back to Konoha, Sasuke, yet you'd be denied any second chance," Kakashi started, his visible eye slowly turning into it's smiley position. "It's going to take a lot of work on your part, Sasuke, but...we're going to give you this chance."
He looked at the rest of the group. "He willingly returned of his own free will, accepted his past wrongs and did not commit a crime by murdering a fellow shinobi. Instead, he spared her and helped Sakura return. Any objections? I see none."
I don't know him well enough to judge, so I don't have any," Suki replied, talking first.
Hinata looked at Sakura, then Sasuke, then Sakura again. "Well...Sakura-chan seems to trust him again...if she believes that Sasuke-kun is sincere...I will as well..."
"...I don't have any," Naruto said after some thought. "Like Kakashi-sensei said, it's going to take a lot of work to get our trust back in you."
"I can tell he's not lying about this," Toph said, she stomped her foot on the ground for emphasis "He's completely sincere, for whatever reasons he and Sakura did other alone. She probably just kissed him or something to make him do this."
"...I wish," Sakura said with a slight chuckle.
Katara took a deep breath. "I don't know if I can trust him or not...but...I'm willing to give him a chance," Katara said, after remembering the encounter under Ba Sing Se.
Sokka looked at everyone, then shrugged. "Why not? Even if he does turn completely evil again and attacks us, we far outnumber him so he's no threat. How tough can he be anyway?" Begins poking Sasuke vigorously.
Kurenai looked at Sasuke. "I have no objections, however, one of us should be with him at all times so we can be sure of his sincerity."
"You can bound, gage and blindfold me again if that's what it'll take." Sasuke said, looking at Sokka. "Just make sure that this one that watches me isn't that buffoon."
"What?" Sokka growled. "You want to start something, pretty boy?"
"If I wasn't trying to prove that I'm sincere about wanting a second chance, you would be either A) running for your life screaming. B) in incredible pain or C) dead just for your poking. But if you want to start something, I don't mind kicking your ass. Should only take four seconds."
Sokka snarled as he started to get up, but Naruto put his hand on the young Warrior's shoulder. "Just shrug it off, Sokka."
Kakashi smiled as he looks as Sasuke. "Looks like you get your second chance. I'll send a report to Hokage-sama in the morning about this. Now the only question is: who gets the responsibility of watching you."
Sakura weakly rose her hand. "I'll do it."
Everyone looked at her. "You?" Naruto asked. "Um...no offense Sakura-chan...but he did just beat you...and well..."
"I said I'll watch him," Sakura told him sharply, making Naruto gulp.
"Um...never mind. It's ok with me." Naruto said quickly, not wanting to be pummeled.
Toph giggled. "So we have dark-boy on our team now."
Katara looked up at the medical tent, her thoughts going out to Aang. "Now if we could only get him back as well..."
To be continued…
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Author's Notes:
Another chapter done. I would like to extend thanks to Dalen for helping me with the last parts, if not for him, this chapter would have taken much longer to make. I hope you like the developments I made for this chapter-Katara's training, Suigetsu becoming Orochimaru's new body, Kabuto training Azula in his own specialized taijutsu…I really hope you like it.
Just to give a shout out to my readers. My friend, RKStrikerJK5 has posted his first story up here, and he really needs the readers. So, if you're a fan of Sailor Moon, Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights, or both, check out the link to Three New Sailor Senshi in my profile. It would be much appreciated for both of us.
Kireken (Slicing Fist): Being a medical ninja, Kabuto had to develop a fighting style unique to his own. He couldn't do the high speed of Goken, nor could he pinpoint the exact whereabouts of chakra points like Jyuken, so he developed his own style with his medical knowledge. Using evasion, he avoids attacks and waits for an opening, until finally he has a time to strike. For this, he charges up his chakra scalpels, and targets the opponents arms and legs, trying to sever muscles or tendons to incapacitate the target. Then, while the opponent is reeling in pain, he attacks with his scalpels either at he base of the spine, leaving his opponent permanently paralyzed for further capture and/or study, the heart, which would, depending on the person, cause death, or the lungs, to make it harder for them to breath. This style is very effective for him. B-Rank Taijutsu