Chapter 1
"The Mangekyou Sharingan.
An evolution of the ordinary Sharingan, gained at the price of being responsible for the death of one's best friend.
Sasuke didn't blink.
He continuously stared at the mirror, tracing the hexagonal patterns of his new eyes. They were beautiful. The chakra input beneath his pockets had significantly risen, meaning they were more powerful.
He could feel it.
But he could also feel the well of guilt overflowing within him. It ran deep, so damn deep it was almost like he was drowning in it. His throat was constantly lumped, making every gulp he took uncomfortable.
The sound of heavy liquid dripping reached his ears, and even though he knew it wasn't there, he still looked at his hand.
There was no blood on it. It was just as pale as it had always been. Yet, on a different plane, and in a different period, he could see it. Even feel it. The heat of his hand after coming from someone's flesh, the power of a thousand birds traveling within the flesh before viciously pulling out.
The loud scream filled his ears and he shut his eyes, trying to bury the emotions, but they were there, never budging. The Chidori he had used then hadn't been the normal one. It didn't glow bright blue with the power of hundreds of tendrils of electricity merging at the center of his palm.
No.
This one had been demonic. Black with flecks of white, spiralling unnaturally, powered by the cursed seal of Heaven. The dark power that made him find it easy to plunge it into his best friend's belly, to let the power of the cursed element tear into his flesh and run rampant within his chakra coils, where the dark corrosive chakra that healed him was.
He wanted to believe that it had been Orochimaru's malicious curse that had been fueling him, that had driven him to such leagues. But the deep sense of guilt didn't come from nowhere.
A part of him, a huge part of him had been gleefully excited when he his hands had been inside Naruto's flesh, the darkened Sharingan following the way his Chidori had travelled through his coils, shredding them to unrecognizable pieces. Immediately, the chakra had started flooding out through his pathway system, the red chakra that had been healing him began corroding him instead, overflowing, turning his skin crispy and burnt.
After that, he had just watched for a few minutes as his friend struggled to breath, blood gurgling from both his wound and his mouth. His eyes showed unbelievable pain, but still held that defiant glow within them. Then he went completely still, his eyes closing.
Sasuke knew he hadn't died. There was no way he could have. That kid was as stubborn as hell. But his life as a Shinobi was over. His coils had been damaged beyond saving, and since that was where all the chakra produced was housed and served as the center of the chakra pathway system, it was over for the knuckleheaded ninja.
Guess it was more than enough for his Mangekyou to activate. Killing his path to Hokage was enough.
"The guilt is necessary for your eyes to evolve, dear Sasuke." Came a voice he loathed almost as much as his brother's. The palm he had been staring at clenched in annoyance before he turned and faced the bandage covered man" don't worry, few months under my tutelage and you won't even remember the name Na-"
"Don't say it!" The dark haired boy growled, before cooly walking past the older male and to the wider underground compound.
"I don't have time for useless chitchat. Let's continue." He said, standing defiantly in the middle.
"Very well " Orochimaru said, his reptilian eyes glowing with manic humor " let's."
" So... he's gone?"
"...Yes." Tsunade, The fifth Hokage, answered. The hesitation in her voice was expected. Very, very few people had ever been given the look that was being directed at her currently and lived to tell the tale.
This was her first time being on its receiving end, and she was not loving the experience.
"And, when was this discovered?"
"Thursday evening. Shizune was going to check in on him, and found that his house was empty."
"The estimated time period being?"
"Based on the dust that had gathered in the place, weeks, probably months." She answered honestly. More crinkles formed on his face, his entire visage trembling with fury.
Tsunade kept her expression straight, waiting for the inevitable explosion that would further heighten her guilt. Except, it didn't come. In fact, instead of the burst of rage that was supposed to bombard her, only a sad sigh came.
Jiraiya crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Despite how good Tsunade was at schooling her emotions, he could read her better than the books he wrote. She was hurting, perhaps even more than he was and for longer. He'd only gotten the news recently after all. There was no need to make her feel any worse.
He breathed out the anger that had been welling within him" Where have you been looking?"
"Everywhere."
"The Hokage monument?"
"Yes."
"Training ground 44?"
"Yes."
"The ramen store?"
"That was the first place we checked." Tsunade answered exasperated.
"His friends homes?"
"Not sure he has any of those anymore."
"Shinobi council bastards!" Jiraiya growled, the rage he'd been struggling to suppress rising once more.
"And outside the village?"
"Well, that's more of your territory than mine. If we want to find that slimy little mint, we need the best spy master the land of fire could afford, and last I checked, he was standing right in front of me."
"You got that right " he said, hefting his summon scroll and bag and moving to the window" I'll find him, don't you worry hime."
Just before he could leap out, the Hokage called to him, her voice trembling, the exact opposite of a few minutes ago.
"Jiraiya "
"Hmmm" he asked without turning back. He knew she wasn't looking at him, but he kept his sight forward. He knew if he got even a small glimpse of the tears in her eyes, then she would become undone.
"Bring him back alive " she continued" T-thats an order."
"Aye" was the gruff response before the Toad sage vanished without leaving a speck.