Shikamaru sighed in exasperation at the two figures in front of him.
'Could this day get any more troublesome?' He thought to himself.
"Well? What is it you want? We've got an injured comrade and we need to get him home for treatment." He thought back on the rather annoying events that had lead them to this situation.
Flashback
It didn't take long for the group of Genin to get moving once they'd met up with Hinata and Gohan, though they stopped for a short time so Hinata could wet some rags in the lake to try and keep Gohan's fever at bay. After she was done with that they stopped briefly at their camp to gather their belongings and headed back towards Konoha at top speed, deciding that Gohan's condition was severe enough to warrant a bit of reckless speed. This would've been much easier had Naruto not been antagonizing Sasuke the entire time. Not that the Uchiha seemed too inclined to make him stop, but the whole situation just made Shikamaru wish he were back in Konoha watching clouds with Chouji. It also didn't help that the group could all but feel Orochimaru following their every move which led to a lot of tension as they waited for an attack. Of course, they knew that if the snake Sannin had wanted them dead they wouldn't be there now, but just the idea of being watched by the freak would be enough to make any sane person tense up. They traveled in relative silence, save for Naruto's occasional grumbles and Sasuke's barbing retorts, until about thirty-five minutes into their journey when Shikamaru felt two more sets of eyes on them and signaled to the others to be on alert. They were left alone for another five minutes until two odd looking men seemingly dropped out of the sky directly in their path, leaving Shikamaru to wonder what deity had decided to make his life miserable.
End Flashback
Shikamaru eyed the two in front of him warily, though he tried not to stare at their odd coloring too much. The genin all tensed when the taller one took a step forward.
"Calm down, we're not here to fight. We just want to help Gohan." Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and pulled out a kunai.
"How do we know you're not working for Orochimaru?" The green men before him took on looks of confusion and the younger one followed the elder's example and took a step forward.
"I'm a healer. Piccolo-san here sensed Gohan's pain so we came to investigate." Piccolo just grunted at the young Guardian's understatement. He'd been helping Dende watch over the Earth when the mental shockwave from Gohan's intense pain slammed into Piccolo like a brick wall and nearly knocked him unconscious straight away. It was only through sheer force of will that he hadn't fallen right over the edge of the lookout, possibly to meet his untimely demise on contact with the unforgiving ground hundreds of miles below. Of course, he had immediately realized that Gohan was the source and in his hurry roughly grabbed Dende and rushed off to find Gohan a.s.a.p, though it took a while to find him due to his weakened energy signal. Shikamaru eased up a little. It didn't seem like those two were lying, so he motioned for the others to lower whatever weapons they may have pulled. Of course, that didn't mean he fully trusted the two either, especially after what Kimimaro had pulled. They would watch these two very closely indeed.
"Alright, we'll let you look at him, but if you try anything funny we won't hesitate to attack you. Also, be aware that there is probably help on the way from Konoha as we speak." Piccolo nodded and he and Dende cautiously approached the comatose Gohan and though surprised at Naruto's clones requested that he be put on the ground. The clones nodded and backed away hesitantly, ready for any sudden moves against Naruto's newest friend. Dende knelt down next to Gohan's prone form and spread his palms out over Gohan's body, moving them about to scan for whatever was ailing the young Saiya-jin half breed. Beads of sweat appeared on Dende's forehead as he tried to heal Gohan, though it seemed to have no effect. When five minutes passed and Dende began breathing heavily, Piccolo put his hands on the young Namek's shoulder for support.
"Can you tell what's wrong with him?" Dende let out a breath and slouched forward, having halted his attempt at healing.
"I...I can't help him Piccolo-san. Whatever is hurting him isn't a physical problem. It looks like it's just affecting his energy." He looked down at Gohan with worry and Piccolo grunted in frustration. If Dende couldn't fix it then neither could a senzu bean, which meant he'd have to get better on his own.
"Damn it kid, how do you keep getting yourself into these situations? I know you're stronger than this, so what is it you've been doing this whole time?" He turned his attention to the others.
"You may continue on your way, but we will accompany you to make sure nothing goes wrong." Shikamaru nodded.
"That's fine, but troublesome as it is we should probably get to know who we'll be traveling with. I'm Nara Shikamaru and this is Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata." Piccolo nodded and Dende gave a polite bow.
"My name's Dende and you already know who Piccolo-san is." Everyone nodded or bowed politely in Hinata's case and Naruto's clones went to pick Gohan back up but Piccolo insisted that he carry the boy, so to Piccolo and Dende's surprise the clones disappeared in identical puffs of smoke. Piccolo made it a point to study Naruto closely as the genin got back into formation and they resumed their trek to Konoha.
'At first I had thought that technique was similar to the multi-form technique, which would be surprising enough that this boy would know, but that...what kind of technique was that? They were clearly solid enough to carry Gohan, and yet the way they disappeared is like they were never there to begin with. If this is any indication of what these people can do, then this bears investigation on our part.' They continued on in Silence, as even Naruto could think of nothing to say to their new acquaintances, so everyone pretty much stuck to his or her own thoughts. Finally after about another hour of traveling Hinata caught sight of Tsunade and Jiraiya about a mile out using her Byakugan. The two Sannin quickly caught up with the group and were clearly wary of Piccolo and Dende. While the two found Piccolo and Dende's skin color to be odd, they took the situation quite seriously.
"Just what are your intentions for my shinobi? I won't let you live if you pose a threat to Gohan or any of the others here." Piccolo barely resisted the urge to grunt in annoyance. The suspicion these people have been displaying was starting to get on his nerves, logical or otherwise.
"You don't have to worry about us. Dende here is Gohan's friend and a healer, and I'm the one who taught him how to fight."
"Well, could you put the brat down? Jiriaya and I need to take a look at him. We've been informed that he's been attacked and we'd like to confirm something." Piccolo nodded and gently laid Gohan on the ground and took a step back to allow Jiraiya and Tsunade room to look at him. Jiraiya tilted Gohan's head to the side to take a look at his neck. His face turned grim at what he saw.
"I'm afraid it's just what you suspected Tsunade. It's the cursed seal after all. Damn that Orochimaru! Why does he keep going after these kids?! Hasn't he ruined enough lives?" Tsunade simply shook her head sadly and knelt down next to Gohan and ran a diagnostic medical jutsu on him. Tsunade looked up though when Piccolo cleared his throat.
"Alright, time for some answers. Who is this Orochimaru and just what is this cursed seal you're talking about?" Tsunade gestured to Jiraiya, signaling for him to explain while she checked on Gohan's condition to see if there was anything she could do to help him. Jiraiya gave Piccolo a funny look, trying to see if he was serious. When he saw no hint of deception or humor in the Namek's eyes he began to explain.
"So you don't know who Orochimaru is eh? That's kind of odd since we Sannin are well known throughout the elemental countries."
"We're not from around here, so you'll have to excuse our ignorance." Jiraiya nodded, accepting his answer.
"Well, me, Tsunade here and Orochimaru were on the same team when we were still training to be ninja, with Sarutobi-sensei overseeing us. Orochimaru was considered the genius of the team, always having the easiest time picking up new techniques and coming up with the best strategies. Heck, Sarutobi-sensei even favored the bastard, though he didn't really neglect us for it. The thing is though, eventually he started to change, slowly but surely turning inwards and becoming less and less friendly and more and more obsessed with his ambition to learn every ninjutsu technique under the sun." Piccolo wasn't really sure what ninjutsu was, but the meaning was clear enough, so he let Jiraiya continue.
"One day, a couple of civilians disappeared without a trace. At first it was thought to be bandits or maybe missing nin, but as time went on more civilians and even ninja began disappearing so naturally Sarutobi-sensei, who was also leader of the village began an investigation into the disappearances and eventually tracked it to a base hidden in the village sewers. Sensei took some of our ninja and stormed the base, finding the culprit to be none other than our teammate, who had been using the ninja and civilians in twisted and inhuman experiments. Sensei confronted Orochimaru, but couldn't bring himself to kill him and so Orochimaru fled the village and continued his experiments elsewhere. Before he'd been caught, Orochimaru had taken on an apprentice who came to see him as a father figure. The day he left, he put a strange experimental seal on her and left her for dead. Even after much studying, we still haven't figured out how the seal works or how to get rid of it, but we do know some of the side effects and risks." He and Tsunade, who'd finished her diagnostic jutsu, exchanged a sad look.
"What the seal does is it somehow forces out more of the victim's power and makes it available to them for use, but at the cost of a near out of control bloodlust whenever the seal is active and a slow but sure corruption of the victim's mind, turning them into nothing more than a bloodthirsty machine, though Orochimaru seems to have some type of antidote to prevent the mind degradation. However, the biggest downfal is that there is only a ten percent chance of survival for anyone afflicted with the seal, thus making it very likely that Gohan here could die." Piccolo scowled at hearing this.
"Is there anything at all that you can do to help his chances? Gohan is much too important to just allow to die like that." Tsunade nodded and pulled off the backpack she'd packed her medical supplies in, and after rummaging around for a moment pulled out a thermos of water and a small case of pills. She opened it up and pulled out a plain red pill, then proceeded to open Gohan's mouth, prop his head up, give him some of the water and drop the pill in his mouth. She then massaged his throat in order to make him swallow, after which she gave him the rest of the water in the thermos before putting it and the pill case back into her backpack. After that she once again went through the contents of the pack and pulled out another case, this one larger than the last. When she opened this case though, she suddenly found Piccolo's hand grasping her own.
"What are you trying to give him?" Tsunade's first instinct was to retaliate, but she realized that Piccolo was just looking out for Gohan's best interests so she calmed down.
"There really isn't much I can do to help him except for treat some of his symptoms. The pill I gave him should bring his fever down and this liquid will act as a pain killer and allow him to get a peaceful rest. Also, he'll be needing plenty of water since it seems that he's slightly dehydrated thanks to the fever." Piccolo backed off but still looked tense so Jiraiya did his best to assuage his fears.
"Don't worry about it Piccolo. Tsunade here is the most well renowned medical expert in the elemental countries. If anybody can help Gohan it'll be her." Piccolo didn't really acknowledge what Jiraiya said, but it said enough that he relaxed. Now that she could continue Tsunade pulled a hypodermic needle out of the case as well as a bottle of some unknown liquid. She inserted the needle into the bottle and filled it up before closing the bottle back up and squirting a little of the liquid to make sure there were no air bubbles in the needle. After that she found a vein on his arm and jabbed the needle in to deposit its contents into his blood stream. She then cleaned up and bandaged the puncture wound and put her things away. She then turned and gave Piccolo a serious look.
"Gohan has told me who he is and what he does. He is a very brave young man and I won't just let him die." The genin all picked up on this statement, even if one of them did try to hide it behind an uncaring attitude. Tsunade focused her attention on this genin.
"I will only say this once Shikamaru. If you happen to figure out any information about Gohan it is considered to be an S class village secret, so you'd better not say anything to anybody without mine or Gohan's approval. Got it?" Shikamaru nodded stiffly and she smiled. She knew she didn't have to say anything to the others, since they should've gotten the hint easily enough, she just singled Shikamaru out because he'd be the most likely to figure things out on his own. Tsunade ordered everyone to move out and so they set off for Konoha at top speed, but nobody noticed Sasuke silently brooding to himself.
'What is it with these losers and their secrets? First Naruto and now Gohan? What could possibly be so special about these guys that's so important?' He made a silent vow to himself to find out, and was startled out of his stupor when he realized they'd reached the gate. Once they'd made it back into the village, Tsunade allowed the Genin to go their separate ways and took Gohan to the hospital with Dende, Piccolo, Jiraiya, Naruto and Hinata in tow. Once they got to the hospital, Tsunade gave Naruto a stern look.
"This is a hospital Naruto. While you are here you will be quiet, do you understand? Good. Also, you will not be allowed into Gohan's room right now. His condition could turn south at any moment and we need to keep his room as clear as possible." Naruto started to complain but Tsunade cut him off.
"This is for Gohan's safety Naruto, please try to understand." Naruto grudgingly nodded that he understood, and followed the others to where Gohan was going to be staying until he got better, and found himself a seat outside the door. If Baa-chan wasn't going to let him in, then he'd just sit here till he could make sure Gohan was going to be okay. He was surprised though when Dende opted to stay out of the room and take a seat between him and Hinata when the others went in.
"Aren't you gonna go in with them? I know I'd be in there if I could." Dende just shook his head.
"I'd just get in the way. Besides, it didn't seem fair that you guys should have to wait out here by yourselves." Naruto and Hinata both gave him appreciative looks, though the worry in their gazes was all too apparent.
"Don't worry, Gohan will be fine. He's gotten out of much tougher situations than this." Dende was glad when they relaxed a bit, though he'd said that just as much to himself as to them. To be honest, none of Earth's defenders had been in a situation like this. All of the threats they'd had to face had been a person or people, easily identifiable and easily or not so easily fought against. This...cursed seal however was more like a sickness. It, like the heart virus that had almost taken Goku's life, could not be fought against in such a manner. Rather, it left him feeling helpless since there was nothing he could do but hope his friend would survive. Dende cut that train of thought off where it was, resolving not to dwell on it too much lest he bring Naruto and Hinata back down with him.
"Ano, Dende-san, h...how did you meet G...Gohan-kun?"
"Well Hinata-san, It's because of Gohan that I'm even alive today." Dende knew he had Hinata and Naruto's full attention when they both stared at him with wide eyes.
"You see, my people are the protectors of a very powerful treasure called the dragonballs. One day, a tyrant with unbelievable strength came to my people and demanded that we hand the treasure over to him, but when we wouldn't he started killing us off one village at a time. When he came to my village he killed all but myself, a friend of mine and our village elder. The elder told us to run away but before we could get anywhere the tyrant killed my friend and the elder. Just when the tyrant was about to kill me Gohan jumped in and caused enough of a distraction that he and his friend Krillin were able to get me to safety. In the end, Gohan helped his father save my people from the tyrant and for that, he and his father are considered heroes by my people."
"Th...that's a...amazing Dende-san."
"Hell yeah! We're gonna have to get Gohan to tell us more about himself when he wakes up!" Naruto was answered with a bop on the head. None of them had even noticed Tsunade, Jiraiya and Piccolo leave Gohan's room.
"Quiet brat, there's sick and injured people trying to sleep in here." Naruto glared at Jiraiya for the insult, but kept his peace knowing that the super pervert was right.
"Piccolo-san, is there anything we can do to help Gohan's condition?" Piccolo shook his head at Dende and gestured to Jiraiya to explain.
"No. At least, not right now. Once Gohan wakes up and is no longer in danger I'm going to seal it with Fuuja Hoin (Evil Sealing Method). This will keep the seal from acting up, though it will depend on his willpower to do so." This relieved Dende and the two Genin and it showed when they visibly relaxed in their seats. Piccolo motioned Dende over to him.
"Come on Dende, time to get you back. As soon as I get you to the lookout I'm coming back here to keep an eye on Gohan."
"That won't be necessary, I already intend to have him under twenty-four hour surveillance anyways." Tsunade then made a hand signal and four anbu appeared in a swirl of leaves and bowed to Tsunade.
"What is it that you require Hokage-sama?"
"I want this room to be watched at all times. Nobody but me, Shizune, Jiraiya and Kakashi are to be allowed in this room. Understood?" The four anbu bowed and disappeared into the shadows. Piccolo narrwed his eyes and shot Tsunade a glance that told her he still didn't trust her completely.
"I'm still going to wait right outside this door for him to wake up. I've got a few things to say to him anyways." Tsunade just sighed and relented to his demand, not really in the mood to argue, though he'd have to deal with the hospital staff himself. She had more important things to worry about, such as paperwork and sake, though not necessarily in that order. Piccolo gave Tsunade and Jiraiya one last glare before turning with a swish of his cape and all but dragging Dende out of the hospital.
"Jiraiya, I want you to keep an eye out for Kakashi and make sure he comes straight to my office when he gets back from his mission. He'll want to know of this as well." Jiraiya nodded his understanding to his former teammate and left after shooing Naruto and Hinata out, promising them that Gohan would be fine.
"And just what is it that I need to be informed of?" Tsunade was startled to see a nonchalant Kakashi leaning against the opposite side of the hall. How had she not noticed him standing there?
"How long have you been there Kakashi?" She twitched a bit when Kakashi covered his mouth with his hand as though he were contemplating his answer.
"Hmmm...well...actually, I just got here. Hey, you might want to get that twitch looked at, it might cause wrinkles." Tsunade was desperately trying to keep her temper in check. Now was not the time to beat up annoying jounin. Now she wanted her sake more than ever, but forced herself to calm down.
"Orochimaru has struck again." At these words Kakashi narrowed his gaze and pushed off the wall, giving his Hokage his undivided attention.
"What happened?"
"While you were out on your mission we received a distress signal that was supposedly someone who escaped from one of Orochimaru's labs and wished to share information with us in exchange for protection. I assigned Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata and Gohan to rendezvous with the escapee and escort them to Konoha. They met up with the informant, but it turned out to be a trap and the team was separated and Hinata taken hostage. Apparently Gohan fought with Orochimaru and managed to free Hinata, but as a result ended up getting marked with the cursed seal." Kakashi's eyes visibly widened behind his mask, but he was quickly able to compose himself.
"I can understand why you would send a Hyuuga on such a mission, but why Hinata instead of Neji? With his superior skills with the Byakugan wouldn't he have been a better choice?"
"I would have, but team Gai had already been assigned another mission that required the use of the Byakugan."
"It isn't like Orochimaru to go out of his way like that. What could he be thinking?" Tsunade just shook her head.
"That's what we're trying to figure out. As it is I've got Gohan under twenty-four hour surveillance, plus a strange green colored man going by the name of Piccolo showed up and followed us back to Konoha claiming to be looking out for Gohan's best interests."
"Hm, green you say? Did he happen to be wearing a cape and turban with a purple gi and red sash?" Tsunade cocked her head to the side.
"That would be him. Have you met him before?"
"Yeah. Gohan and Sasuke had an...altercation before Naruto and Jiraiya brought you back to the village and that same man appeared and took Gohan to heal his injuries."
"Well, maybe we can trust him then. I'm still putting him under watch while he's in the village though, just in case. Anyways, I've got things to do and I'm sure you do as well, so let's get to my office so you can give me your report." Kakashi nodded and disappeared in a swirl of leaves, and Tsunade already knew she was going to be waiting a while. She headed back into Gohan's room for one last look and just stood there for several moments, watching him sleep and listening to the heart monitor as it measured his heart rate.
"Just how many more headaches are you going to bring me Son Gohan? At least watching you will be interesting." She left the room and quietly closed the door behind her, having no idea just how interesting things were going to get.
He stood before his best friend, trying one more time to get him to change his mind. He had his orders. Kill all of them. None should remain except for himself. He did not show his friend just how desperate he was, as that could tip him off that he was going to stop this regardless, but it seemed that things wouldn't go his way, as usual.
"You know this is folly. There is no way such a coup could succeed." His closest friend only laughed at him.
"What are you afraid of? Your father's been planning this for years and you just now are saying something? Don't worry, our plan is perfect. There's no way we're going to just sit by while the council and the Hokage slowly weaken us." He resisted the urge to snort. Such displays were beneath him, after all.
"My father is a power hungry fool who follows the ideals of a dead man. How is that in the best interest of the clan?" His friend stared at him in confusion and worry.
"Are you alright man? I know you've been acting differently lately and all, but something like this is completely unlike you. I've never seen you openly oppose your father like this." He ignored his friend's concern.
"So you won't change your mind then?"
"Of course not. This is for the glory of..." He never got to finish his sentence as his throat was suddenly split open and he found himself leaning on his supposed friend for support. He felt himself being gently put on the ground and was now looking up in betrayal. He struggled to get words out, to ask his friend why he would do this, but as he slowly bled to death he could only manage one word.
"Itachi..." Itachi could hear the questions in his dying best friend's voice, so he figured he'd humor him, to honor his last request.
"Because this clan is no longer worthy of its own existence. It has become corrupt with power and will consume all in its path. This is my mission, assigned to me by my Hokage, that I should stop this coup however possible. I see now that there is but one option, the total annihilation of the Uchiha clan. You were my last hope, Shisui, and you failed me. You are weak." Thus Uchiha Itachi watched dispassionately as his best friend, Uchiha Shisui breathed his last. Just this once, he allowed his emotions out and tears trickled down his face, but something was wrong. There was the familiar pain in his chest, the guilt that he'd ended the life of another, but this time it was worse, oh so much worse. Then, out of nowhere his eyes were consumed with a burning agony and his hands instinctively shot up to clutch at the wounds and he began stumbling about, barely containing the cries of pain and anguish that threatened to consume him. He could feel blood leaking out of his eyes and pooling in his hands, though some of it trailed down his face where it dripped off his chin and fell to the ground. Itachi tripped and fell, allowing the pain to overwhelm him and steal his consciousness. He woke up hours later, wondering where he was until memories of what he'd done returned to him. He did not cry this time, only stood up and quickly disposed of the body and the blood. Thankfully he was nearby a lake so he could check out what had happened to his eyes. He made his way over to the lake and looked at his reflection and was slightly surprised by what he saw. Not that he didn't expect it of course, but the knowledge of it and the sight of it were two completely different things. The dried trails of blood running down his cheeks were completely expected of course, but what caught him off guard was the reflection of his own eyes staring back at him.
"Mangekyou..." And the world faded to black.
Even with help from Uchiha Madara, it hadn't been easy to wipe out the rest of the clan. But, there was still one left. As night fell, Itachi could sense his brother's chakra signature approaching the Uchiha estate, so he leapt up onto a telephone pole near the estate's entrance to watch his brother make his way towards home. Sasuke looked up and saw him, so Itachi activated his Sharingan and cast a small temporary genjutsu on him, giving himself time to escape. He followed from the shadows as his little brother made his way through the streets in an ever increasing panic. Once he came across the first two bodies, the panic became too much and Sasuke ran towards his family's home as fast as he could, but even his own home was eerily dark for this time of day.
"Father? Mother?" There was a sudden noise coming from his parents' room so he quickly made his way there, hoping against hope that his parents were just hiding from whoever or whatever had killed his aunt and uncle. He stopped at the door and made to open it but hesitated.
"S...someone's in there." He slowly reached his hand forward and gave the double doors a gentle push, but winced when they made a loud creaking.
"F...Father? M...Mother?" Itachi observed from the shadows at the back of the room as Sasuke slowly and quietly walked over to two motionless forms on the floor. Sasuke's eyes widened in horror as he recognized the corpses as his own parents. It was then that Itachi stepped from the shadows, though his face remained hidden and Sasuke whimpered and took several steps back until he had his back up against the wall. Itachi took another step forward, revealing himself in the pale moonlight that shone through the window to his left. His Sharingan was activated.
"Brother! Father and Mother, they...why? How? Who did this?" A shuriken was suddenly embedded in the wall behind him, and Sasuke's hand shot up to clutch at the small cut the throwing star had made in his shoulder.
"Brother, what are...what are you doing?" Itachi's heart tore at the look of betrayal in his little brother's eyes, but reminded himself that this had to be done.
"Foolish little brother." Sasuke was looking into Itachi's eyes, frantically searching for any sign that this was all some sort of sick joke, but it proved to be his undoing when Itachi activated his Mangekyou Sharingan and he suddenly found himself outside, though the colors had somehow been inverted. He screamed as he was forced to watch his brother slaughtering his clan over and over again.
"Brother stop! Don't show me this! Why? Why did you...?" He screamed again and collapsed to the floor, Itachi's genjutsu having taken its toll on him. Itachi reverted his eyes back to normal.
"Why?" Itachi forced himself not to show any weakness. Sasuke could not catch any hint of doubt or regret.
"To measure my capacity." Sasuke rolled so that he was lying on his stomach and braced himself with his arms.
"To...measure your capacity? That's it? For something like that you...?" Itachi closed his eyes. His brother couldn't be allowed to see the tears that threatened to spill forth, and the next words he spoke were just as much to convince himself as they were to further mess with sasuke's emotions.
"It was necessary."
"Don't screw with me!" Sasuke leaped to his feet and rushed head first at Itachi, only to wind up with a fist buried in his gut. He fell to the floor groaning, and lay there awaiting his fate as tears streamed down his face. It only lasted until he looked up into Itachi's eyes and his senses returned to him.
"I'm scared!" He scrambled backwards before getting to his feet and hurrying out the door, Itachi looking on with growing despair, though outwardly his face betrayed nothing at all. Sasuke ran through the streets, not caring where he ended up as long as it was away from his treacherous brother and all the bodies that lay strewn about the complex.
"Don't kill me!" He didn't really expect his brother to hear, or care, but his mind was running in overdrive, his survival instinct overriding any other thoughts. He stopped abruptly when Itachi stepped out of the shadows of a deserted home. They stared at each other for several long moments until Sasuke could no longer take the silence.
"This has to be a lie! My brother isn't like this!"
"I played the role of the older brother you wanted to test your capacity. You will be the one to test my capacity, only you have that potential. You thought I was unpleasant and hated me. You saw yourself in my shadow and sought to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live, for my sake. You are also capable of activating the Mangekyou Sharingan, but there is a price for it. You must kill your closest friend, like I have." Sasuke looked on in shock and horror.
"No way. You mean you...to Shisui-san?"
"That's right, and that's what allowed me to awaken these eyes. At the main temple of the Nakano Shrine, underneath the seventh tatami mat on the far right side, is the clan's secret meeting place. There you'll find texts on the history of the Uchiha clan's doujutsu and the reason for its existence. That's where you'll find its real secret. If you can activate it, the number of people who can use the Mangekyou, including me, will be three. If you do that, then there's a good reason to let you live. But at the moment..." Itachi turned so that he was only looking at Sasuke out of his left eye, appearing to look down at him in disgust. "You aren't even worth killing. My foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and live an unsightly life. Run away, run away and cling to life. And some day, when you have the same eyes as I do, then come before me." He activated his Mangekyou and sasuke collapsed to the ground unconscious. Itachi reverted his eyes to normal and closed them, trying desperately not to scream out his anguish at what he'd had to put his beloved little brother through. He formed a bitter smile.
"I killed Shisui, and Father and Mother along with the rest of our family, but in the end, I could not kill you little brother. It seems that I have failed my mission, but I'll make sure you're well taken care of." He scooped Sasuke up into his arms and took him back to his room, where he treated his injuries.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be the older brother you wanted Sasuke, but I'll be the adversary you need. I'll be your drive to get stronger and I'll keep you away from...that man, Uchiha Madara. Then some day, you can kill me and save me from this pitiful existence of mine." He gave Sasuke an affectionate flick to the forehead.
"I'm sorry Sasuke, but I no longer have time to play with you. Maybe next time." The world faded to black as Itachi disappeared into the shadows.
Gohan awoke with a start and tried to scream, but nothing more than a squeak made its way out of his parched and dry throat. He took a panicked look around thinking that he'd been captured, but to his relief found himself in a hospital room. He spotted a glass of water on the table to his left and gulped it down greedily, the water soothing his tortured mouth and throat. He winced and his hand shot up to the spot where he'd been bitten as the cursed mark pulsed angrily, leaving an unpleasant burning sensation. He noted gratefully that he'd been allowed to keep his armor on, though there were a few tears in the spandex here and there it was still in relatively good condition. Gohan was a bit startled when the door to his room opened without warning and Tsunade walked in followed by Piccolo, Kakashi and Jiraiya.
"It's about time you woke up brat. You gave us quite a scare there." She gave him a friendly smirk, but he could see Piccolo scowl at him. Apparently he had a few words for his former pupil. Kakashi just gave him a lazy wave and an eye smile. Jiraiya was just too busy scribbling down notes from his latest 'research' to really greet the boy. Tsunade walked over to his side and put her hand to his forehead.
"Your fever seems to be gone, though your temperature is still higher than normal. Since you're awake though it must mean that you've got a higher metabolism than normal. Now, could you please tell us what happened? Your friends told us what they've seen and heard, but I'd like to hear your side of the story as well." Gohan nodded and proceeded to tell her what happened after Orochimaru blew the other genin away with his wind technique, of course leaving out certain incriminating parts of their conversations. Tsunade nodded solemnly.
"So we were right, team Gai's mission was fake after all. Orochimaru's been more unpredictable than usual lately, so we'll have to keep an extra eye out. Alright, I'm going to let you out of here now, but you need to go with Jiraiya so he can put a seal over your cursed seal." Gohan's eyes widened abruptly as he suddenly remembered his dreams.
"W...wait! I've got to talk to Sasuke first!" Tsunade furrowed her brow and was about to ask Gohan what he was going on about when the door suddenly burst open and Kotetsu and Izumo rushed in.
"Hokage-sama! We've got a situation!" Tsunade groaned and turned her attention to the two newcomers.
"What is it now? Can't you see I'm busy?"
"While we were performing the errands you assigned us, we came across Haruno Sakura, who was unconscious on a bench near the north gate. We woke her up and she told us that Uchiha Sasuke has..." Kotetsu hesitated to continue, afraid of what Tsunade's reaction would be.
"What? Tell me what happened!" The two Chunin cowered under her fierce gaze, but quickly composed themselves.
"It seems that he's left the village, and was definitely headed towards rice country." Tsunade clenched her fist angrily.
"Damn! Get me Shikamaru, now!" Kotetsu and Izumo nodded and disappeared in dual swirles of leaves. Gohan immediately jumped to his feet and made to fly out the window, but Piccolo cut him off.
"What do you think you're doing Gohan? Jiraiya still has to tend to that mark of yours." Gohan brushed Piccolo aside but suddenly found Kakashi looking in the window at him, Sharingan exposed.
"Wh...wha?" The tomoe in Kakashi's Sharingan swirled around at a quick pace and Gohan suddenly found himself crumpling to the floor, asleep. Kakashi opened the window and made his way back to the room, where he picked Gohan up and handed him over to Jiraiya.
"I've put him under a minor genjutsu. Once you get him to wherever you're going it should be easy enough to wake him should the need arise. Jiraiya nodded and took the boy off to take care of his cursed seal.
"You know," Kakashi spoke up once Jiraiya was gone. "from what I've been told Sasuke's seal activated immediately when he woke up from the effects of its initial application. I wonder why it was different in Gohan's case. It's almost like he was ready for it..." Piccolo didn't really like what the jounin was saying, but didn't argue as he had similar suspicions. Rather, he was quite certain that Gohan receiving the cursed mark was no accident. Once his student's seal had been taken care of, he had some explaining to do. Tsunade however, didn't take Kakashi's implication quite so stoically.
"That's a pretty serious accusation there Kakashi. It could after all be that each person's body would react differently to the seal." Kakashi held his hands up defensively at Tsunade's narrowed gaze.
"Now now, I'm just throwing it out there as a possibility. You have to admit though, that the circumstances surrounding Gohan's mark are a bit suspicious. For instance, why would Orochimaru bother to separate the genin before marking Gohan? When he marked Sasuke he simply disabled Sakura and Naruto, albeit Naruto was left unconscious. Even so, he went through a lot of trouble to get Gohan alone." Tsunade nodded, indicating she understood Kakashi's logic.
"That's true, but the timing with Sasuke is just too convenient. It could be that he only marked Gohan so that we would put all of our attention on him and only throw out a minimum effort to return Sasuke, leaving it much easier for Orochimaru to acquire him." She turned her gaze to Piccolo.
"What do you think? You're close to Gohan aren't you?" Piccolo gave an indifferent shrug.
"I'm not too sure. There really aren't enough facts to make anything more than vague assumptions at this point. That's why I intend to question him once his seal's been taken care of. I'll get some answers out of that boy even if I have to beat them out of him." He gave them a feral grin, revealing his sharp canines. The two powerful shinobi felt shivers run down their spines. This guy sure could be intimidating when he wanted to be. Kakashi definitely approved though.
"That's probably our best bet. He knows you better anyways so he'll probably be more open with you." Just then there was a knock at the door.
"Enter." Came Tsunade's firm command. Hopefully this was Shikamaru so she could send him out to retrieve Sasuke. The door opened and in walked her laziest Chunin. He glanced at Piccolo warily but kept his focus on Tsunade.
"You wanted to see me?" Tsunade cut straight to the chase, there was no time for formalities in this situation.
"I have a mission for you. I've just been told that Uchiha Sasuke has fled the village, and from what Sakura says, he's definitely heading for Rice Country and Orochimaru." Shikamaru's eyes widened at this.
"What could Orochimaru want with a guy like that?"
"It doesn't matter at this point. All that matters is getting him back here as quickly as possible." Shikamaru sighed. This would be troublesome, but hopefully there wouldn't be any enemies to get in the way.
"Also, there is a high chance that he is being guided by Orochimaru's subordinates, so expect a lot of trouble." Shikamaru just groaned.
"Fine. I'll need a team of four Jounin and Chunin." Tsunade looked away in embarrassment.
"Unfortunately, I won't be able to give you that. Aside from the Jounin that need to stay, most of them are out on missions at the moment. The only one I have to spare right now is Kakashi. Other than him, you'll have to take the most skilled genin you can find. I'll give you thirty minutes to do this. Am I clear?" By now she'd returned to giving him her patented serious glare, so he really didn't feel like arguing the point seeing as he might end up going through a wall or two. He briefly wondered why women thought they had to be so troublesome all the time.
"Alright, fine." He turned to head out and find some teammates, but Tsunade called to him, so he turned his head to see her out of the corner of his eye.
"One more thing. I'd suggest taking Naruto with you. He's closer to Sasuke than just about anyone else and would be most likely to convince him to return." Shikamaru just nodded and continued on his way, Kakashi following closely behind. As Piccolo wandered off to try and find Gohan and Jiraiya, Tsunade's thoughts took a dark turn when she remembered Orochimaru's words to her the last time they'd met.
Flashback
Orochimaru licked his lips in anticipation as he glared at Tsunade.
"You'll regret not healing my arms Tsunade. Just remember, when you least expect it I'll make my move and next time, I'll destroy Konoha for sure." Orochimaru began sinking into the ground and Jiraiya rushed at him, hoping to knock him out of his technique, but he was a moment too late and Orochimaru was already gone.
End Flashback
'You guys had better bring Sasuke back. If Orochimaru takes Sasuke's body and gains the sharingan, it could very well mean the end of Konoha.'
Well, that wraps it up for this chapter. Yes, I know that Shisui was actually drowned by Itachi, but that seems way too unItachi-like for my tastes, so I spiced it up a bit. I mean come on, Itachi is pretty much the definition of awesome and drowning someone is...well...not awesome. Also, I know it's kinda boring, but I did copy some scenes almost directly from canon. Anyone with a good memory or access to the episodes will know which ones I'm talking about.
Anyways, I know this chapter came out pretty quick and I'll try to get the next one out quickly as well, but I'm not making any promises. But at the very least, you'll get to see Piccolo interrogate Gohan and figure out why exactly he would do something so stupid as to trust Orochimaru. Just thought I'd throw that little tidbit in there for ya. Anyways, don't forget to R&R.