Jiraiya cursed Orochimaru for perhaps the hundredth time as he continued to paint the seals on the floor and Gohan's body. This technique is not only time consuming, but all of the seals, numbering in the hundreds, must be written in the sealer's blood, and so he'd had to make a significant cut in his palm in order to get enough blood.
"Why'd you have to go and invent such a troublesome technique Hebi-teme?" Many methods had been tried on Anko's cursed seal to try and suppress it, but unfortunately this was the only method that seemed to work. The problems with it being that first off, the Fuuja Houin was an extremely complicated technique, meaning it took no less than two hours to complete. Of course, let's not forget that even though this was the only way to inhibit the cursed seal, the results were less than excellent. Of course, it kept the seal under control and didn't allow it to act out randomly and inhibit the host, but it relied on the will of the host to be effective. In other words, if said host felt that they couldn't handle a situation, they could still draw on the seal, either consciously or not. The problem with this of course being that the power that the seal brought out could inhibit a person's thought processes, effectively leaving them drunk with power. This added to the mind corruption did not make for a very good combination. Thankfully though, if Sasuke were any example to go by the seal only affected one's mind so long as they were drawing on its power, while conversely if one left the seal activated too long they could lose their mind to the seal completely and become its slave. As he painted the seals, a dark voice broke out of the darkness of the warehouse he'd brought Gohan to.
"How much longer is this going to take? I've got a few things to say to the boy when he wakes up." Jiraiya just snorted at Piccolo's impatience.
"This technique takes about two hours to complete, so if you're just going to stand around here and wait you might as well sit down and relax." The toad Sannin said no more as he returned his attention to the task at hand. The art of Fuuinjutsu (Sealing techniques) was very delicate and one could not afford any errors, lest they wish for unpredictable and potentially fatal consequences. Piccolo was a bit irritated at being told what to do, but saw the logic in the man's words and so sat down to meditate. Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't going to get his own barb in.
"Fine then, wake me when you're done." Jiraiya seriously wanted to glare at Piccolo, but couldn't because of what he was doing. If the situation weren't so serious, he would've considered giving Piccolo his famous, or rather, infamous introduction dance. He grinned to himself.
'I'll show him later. Then he'll realize how great I am!'
Two hours later, with the seals finally complete, he formed his hands through a string of about ten hand signs and struck his palm over Gohan's cursed seal.
"Fuuja Houin!"
Gohan groaned at the contact as the Fuuja Hoin was more than a little painful, but fortunately for him being asleep meant he hadn't felt the full brunt of the seal's force on his shoulder. The seals on and around Gohan's body glowed an eerie crimson color and began twisting around and moving up his body to come together around the cursed seal, almost as though they were alive. As the last of the seals fused together, they formed a jagged looking circle around the three tomoe, signifying that the sealing had been a success. Jiraiya moved to kick Piccolo in order to wake him from his meditative state, but it turned out to be unnecessary as the strange green man was already up on his feet and taking a look at Gohan's seal.
"So that's it?" Piccolo looked the thing over, and it didn't look very impressive, so he wanted to be sure that it would keep the other seal in check. Jiraiya nodded before giving Gohan a light slap, rousing the boy from his slumber.
"Good. I'll be needing some privacy with him now. I'm going to be getting some answers out of him." Jiraiya said nothing as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Piccolo and Gohan by themselves. He had research to catch up on, after all. Before Gohan even had the chance to fully realize his surroundings and the situation he was in, Piccolo had grabbed him rather roughly by the shoulders and hauled him to his feet. Gohan had been about to say something but Piccolo cut him off sharply.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Gohan gaped at Piccolo like a beached fish, his mouth opening and closing as though he wanted to say something but couldn't quite get the words out. It had been quite a few years since Piccolo had spoken to him harshly like this and he wasn't prepared for it in the least.
"You and I both know full well that you're more than strong enough to beat back anybody on this planet, and yet you somehow managed to get yourself marked like that! Do you have any idea at all as to what that thing on your shoulder does?!" Gohan forced down his innate fear of his sensei and forced himself to stand his ground, though it took most of his willpower to do so.
"It'll make me stronger." He looked Piccolo straight in the eyes, slightly surprising the older man but not causing him to hesitate.
"That's it? You did this for power?! Your father and I trained you better than that!" The disappointed look on Piccolo's face made Gohan cringe inwardly, but he still felt that he'd done what he had to do, and he intended to stick by his decision.
"I won't let what happened at the Cell games happen again Piccolo! I'm not going to be caught unprepared next time someone comes around threatening to destroy Earth. I'll protect everyone, no matter the cost to myself! Nobody else will die because of me, I won't let that happen again!" By this time his young face had twisted into a horrible grimace of anguish and rage, and Piccolo was completely taken aback by the passion in his words.
'Goku, what have we done to your son?' He sighed and relaxed a bit.
"You know kid, with as smart and powerful you are it's easy to forget that you're just that, a kid. I suppose Goku and I are to blame for this, making you fight so much when you were younger and putting so much weight on your shoulders." He gave Gohan a hard stare.
"That still doesn't excuse such reckless behavior. You're smarter than that Gohan, and you should've known better than to just blindly trust someone like that. I'm going to be keeping a closer eye on you from now on to make sure you don't pull any more stupid stunts like that." Piccolo could see that Gohan wanted to protest, but the young half Saiya-jin settled for lowering his head in meek acceptance, earning him an affectionate ruffle of hair from the older Namek. Of course, that didn't mean that Gohan didn't have plans of his own, but for now he had more pressing matters to attend to.
"I've got to go now Piccolo-sensei. I've got to stop Sasuke from leaving." He looked to Piccolo for approval, and got it in the form of a nod, though he could tell that Piccolo intended to follow him.
Once they'd found their way back outside, Piccolo and Gohan wasted no time in taking flight at top speed with Gohan leading Piccolo to where he had a sneaking suspicion that Sasuke and Naruto were most likely fighting. As they neared their destination, Piccolo was surprised when out of the blue Gohan stopped and simply hovered in place, allowing his mentor to catch up to him.
"Can....can you feel that?" Gohan's tense posture and worried tone of voice caused Piccolo to pause momentarily and focus his senses on the area around him. Piccolo visibly reeled when he focused on what he'd originally passed off as simple apprehension of a possible fight.
"What.....what is this? I sense two powers, one is tainted with evil but the other....." Piccolo couldn't even begin to describe the second power. He broke out in a cold sweat as feelings of dread and foreboding washed over him like an ocean tide and threatened to overwhelm him. Gohan turned to Piccolo, his face a ghostly white color.
"This power....it's so old.....so angry......it makes Cell and Frieza seem like boy scouts in comparison." Indeed, the two fighters could feel the ancient evil radiating from their destination like a beacon. A bloodlust so intense it made them both sick permeated the air and seemed to sink into the very marrow of their bones, and they just knew that this is where they must go. With a shiver, both fighters continued their flight towards where so much vile energy was originating, hoping against hope that they wouldn't have to fight whatever was generating such a disgusting power. Gohan wasn't too surprised when their senses led them to the valley of the end, where they landed on the head of the long haired Uchiha Madara. Gohan was absolutely astonished when he looked down and saw two familiar figures facing off in the middle of the lake.
"N....Naruto? That horrible power is coming from Naruto? That can't be! It feels nothing like him!" He turned to Piccolo to see that his mentor was also watching the blond shinobi intently. He turned his attention back to the blond genin and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when he took in Naruto's appearance.
"He's gone through some kind of transformation." Gohan spoke so quietly that even Piccolo almost didn't pick up on what he'd said. Piccolo took on a grim look as he studied the strange blond kid. Naruto had taken on a more animalistic look. His hair had become spikier than normal, giving it a wild and untamed look while his nails had grown several inches and sharpened to claw-like points. This added on top of his now more defined whisker marks and elongated canines gave him enough of a predator look, but what truly completed the look were his eyes. Piccolo had never seen such terrible eyes before. They were a deep crimson red with a black slitted pupil, but that wasn't all there was to them. The blond somehow sensed their presence and looked right at them, giving Piccolo an eyeful of the true nature behind those eyes, and he found that he couldn't suppress the cold shiver that crept down his spine. Those eyes, they contained an unspeakable fury thousands of years old. Piccolo closed his eyes, trying to quell these irrational fears that were suddenly welling up inside him, but it was of no use, as even with his eyes closed the very image of those hateful eyes burned into his very soul. This kid, whatever he was, he couldn't be human. In fact, Piccolo couldn't even recall encountering something like this before. Every villain he'd ever faced, and even the memories he'd inherited from his own father, all of the malice those beings contained had always been for some ulterior purpose, whether it be for the sake of controlling everything within sight and beyond such as with the likes of his father or Frieza, or just for simple amusement as was the case with Cell. This was worse, oh, so much worse. This was hatred for the sake of hatred, fury without reason, violence without restraint. There was no rhyme or reason to the vibes that Piccolo was getting, this was simply a force that wanted to destroy everything simply because it existed.
Piccolo was snapped out of his stupor by a hand waving in front of his face. He followed the arm attached to the hand to find Gohan staring at him with concern in his eyes.
"Are you alright sensei? I've never seen you so out of it before." Gohan's worry was waved off.
"I'm fine, but the power coming off that kid is more than a little disturbing." His student nodded and the worry in his eyes became even more intense when he looked back at Naruto, who seemed to be waiting for some kind of reaction. He seemed guarded, as though he expected the two to jump in and beat him senseless. Sasuke, irritated by the blond's lack of attention, followed his fellow genin's gaze to see what the interruption was and scowled at the sight of the two observers. He spoke loudly, enhancing his voice with chakra so as to ensure that his and Naruto's unwanted guests could hear him.
"Stay out of this you two, this is between me and the idiot. If either one of you gets in the way I'll kill you myself!" A vicious smirk spread across his face as he turned his attention back to the blond in front of him.
"Let's settle this, dobe. I'm going to show you once and for all just how inferior you are to me. Then, without you to distract me I can finally focus on defeating that man." Sasuke's snide comments infuriated Naruto, causing him to snarl in such a way as to show off his elongated canines.
"Asshole! I'm going to beat that obsession out of you and drag you back kicking and screaming, even if I have to break every bone in your body!" Sasuke's answering smirk served only to further infuriate the blond and he recklessly rushed forward to deliver a powerful punch to Sasuke's face, only for him to lean his head to the left and grab onto his extended arm. He yanked back as hard as he could, forcing Naruto towards him even as he brought his own left fist straight into Naruto's unprotected gut before smashing a painful blow into the blond jinchuuriki's face, sending him skidding backwards several yards on the water's surface as he used his chakra to keep from sinking. Not intending to give his blond rival a chance to recover, Sasuke rushed at top speed towards Naruto who simply floated there, staring up at the sky. Once Sasuke was close enough that he wouldn't be able to dodge, Naruto forcefully flung himself upright, slamming his own forehead into Sasuke's and splitting both their foreheads open. Good thing for Naruto he had a high pain tolerance, higher than Sasuke's apparently if him clutching his forehead was any indication. He could've pressed the attack, but he chose to take this moment to take a breather and see what Gohan and Piccolo were doing. He got the distinct feeling that they'd come here for Sasuke, and would step in if things took a turn for the worse, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that. Some would probably call him selfish for his thoughts, but he wanted to be the one to take Sasuke back to Konoha, to show them all that he could be just as strong or stronger than their precious last Uchiha. His thoughts were interrupted though, when what had initially appeared to be an innocent conversation between the two quickly degraded into what looked like a heated argument, complete with exaggerated hand motions which, if Naruto cared to note, and he did not, were directed at him. He sighed and turned his attention back to a recovering Sasuke.
Meanwhile, back on top of Uchiha Madara's head Gohan and Piccolo were having a less than pleasant conversation.
"I can't believe what you're suggesting Piccolo. We're supposed to be better than that." Master and pupil locked gazes, unwavering and stern eyes meeting angry and disappointed ones.
"Can't you feel the power that boy is giving off? When have you ever felt such evil coming off of one being? That boy is a menace and has to be taken care of now! Think about this for a minute Gohan, are you really willing to risk the safety of this world over the life of one boy?" They continued their glaring match, but Gohan's stare seemed to sharpen ever so slightly, showing just how furious he was over what Piccolo was suggesting.
"And you make it sound like he's a psychotic mass murderer. We can't just kill somebody because they might pose a threat, that would make us no better than our enemies. Do you really want that on your conscience?" Gohan's comments caused Piccolo to growl low in his throat, more than a little annoyed at the boy's hardheadedness. This was much too important to allow someone so young and naïve to decide on his own.
"This isn't about my conscience or anybody else's! Sometimes you have to put your personal feelings to the side in order to do what's right, you should know this by now!" Piccolo stared into Gohan's determined gaze and wanted to beat some sense into him. Didn't he realize that this sort of thing is exactly what allowed Doctor Gero to create the androids and Cell? Goku had made the same mistake so many years ago and Piccolo didn't want to see Gohan do the same thing.
"Look, since I'm on the same team as Naruto I'll keep an eye on him, and I'll let somebody know if it looks like he might be losing control okay? I think it would be better to let the village deal with this situation since it's their responsibility anyways." Gohan's words had a certain logic to them and even Piccolo found it difficult to argue, so he relented.
"Fine, but I'm keeping you to your word. If it's deemed necessary that he be taken care of, then I want no more arguments understood?" Piccolo let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding when Gohan gave a relieved nod. He'd been expecting this to come to blows and knew that there was no way he could beat Gohan in a serious fight, but if it came down to it he would've had to immobilize him somehow and take Naruto out before Gohan had the chance to react. Their attention was drawn back to the fight though when they both felt a large surge of energy building up and saw that Sasuke was holding Naruto up by one hand and had charged a nasty looking electrical attack in his other. After a few moments during which the two appeared to exchange a few words, Sasuke plunged his electrically charged hand towards Naruto's midsection, but at the last second Naruto moved to deflect it. His desperate action kept Sasuke from pulverizing any vital organs, but his chidori still plunged into and through Naruto's shoulder, clearly visible where it stuck out of his back. Smirking, Sasuke ripped his hand out of Naruto's shoulder and grabbed him by the throat, thinking that his victory was now secure. Gohan made to rush down to Naruto's aid but halted in his tracks and shivered violently when the evil feeling in the air increased ten fold and crimson energy bubbled up around Naruto who grabbed Sasuke's forearm with such force that he nearly crushed it into pulp. Sasuke grunted in pain and tried to pry Naruto's fist open but his grip was unwavering. He stumbled back, cradling his arm when Naruto finally released him and stared at him with shock written all over his face as instead of falling over Naruto merely hunched over, allowing blood to stream down his arm and drip down to the lake below.
Gohan, Piccolo and Sasuke all gaped in shock and horror when the basketball sized hole in Naruto's shoulder got smaller and smaller until there wasn't even a scar left and though it didn't seem possible the pressure in the air increased further, threatening to suffocate even the ever stoic Piccolo as the ground began to quake under their feet and the winds picked up to near hurricane levels, forcing the two up on Uchiha Madara's head to shield their eyes from the dirt and other debris flying at them.
"What a terrible power. I've got to stop them now before this gets any further out of hand." Gohan took off before Piccolo could react and the Namek cursed as he took off after his pupil, hoping to keep him from doing something stupid. He could see that the crimson energy had retreated back inside the blond, but its effects were still apparent as all the water within ten feet of the blond genin was being pushed back. What really surprised Piccolo though was when Naruto threw a punch towards Sasuke from about twenty feet away and the sheer energy behind the punch sent Sasuke skidding backwards several feet and left him open to assault. Naruto took advantage of this opening and faster than lightning was inside Sasuke's defenses with a brutal uppercut that lifted him off his feet. The young jinchuuriki didn't stop there and began with a brutal combo of punches that lifted Sasuke higher and higher into the air before finishing it with a roundhouse kick that sent Sasuke sliding back several feet and unable to react when Naruto leaped into the air and came back down on Sasuke hard enough that he was already ten feet under before the water even began to fill in the gap, leaving a tunnel of air leading down to where Sasuke had finally stopped descending. Naruto let out an angry roar just as Sasuke exploded back onto the surface of the water near the cliff that made up the statues. Naruto took off at top speed, jumping onto and rebounding off of the cliff-face to deliver a kick to Sasuke's face that sent him tumbling out of control over the water's surface, though he managed to right himself just in time for Naruto to be on him once again, delivering a vicious combo of kicks and punches that ended with Sasuke floating on his back. Naruto once again used the cliff-face to get in the air over Sasuke, but the Uchiha quickly formed some hand seals and attempted a gokakyuu no jutsu, but Naruto simply inhaled and let out a roar with so much power behind it that it blew Sasuke's technique apart and created a crater in the water over fifty feet in diameter, once again sending gale force winds throughout the valley. Before either of them could do anything else though, Gohan was between them, preventing them from getting at each other. This infuriated Sasuke to no end, and in response to his anger the marks of his cursed seal, until now only having covered half his body, spread out until the black flame patterns covered his entire body and his sharingan evolved, a third tomoe forming in his left eye.
"I told you to stay out of this! It doesn't concern you!" He ground his teeth together and clenched his fists tightly, his nails drawing blood where they cut into his palms. Gohan held his hands up in a placating manner, trying to calm Sasuke down, though it didn't appear to be working.
"Just listen to what I've got to say Sasuke, I've learned some things that you might want to hear." He really hoped Sasuke would listen. From what he'd learned so far Sasuke could be labeled as a missing nin if he deliberately went to Konoha's enemies, and Gohan really wanted to avoid that for Sakura and Naruto's sakes. Of course, if it came down to it he could just knock him out and take him back to Konoha unconscious, but he much preferred the peaceful route. Sasuke scowled darkly at him, but made no move to attack.
"I've got no interest in whatever you have to say, but if it'll keep you out of my way I'll listen." It wasn't much, but Gohan couldn't have hoped for more.
"I think you'll change your mind when I say that it involves your brother and that night." Gohan sighed in relief when Sasuke glared at him intensely, indicating he had his full attention. The next part would be the hardest though, as Sasuke had spent most of his life believing what amounted to nothing but lies about his brother, not only for his own safety but for the welfare of the entire village.
"Well, I suppose the first thing I should say is that it turns out that your brother wasn't alone in killing off your clan." Sasuke's eyes widened at this information but he schooled his features quickly enough that it was barely noticeable. How could Gohan know this? Nobody but Itachi and himself had been there that night, so there's no way Gohan could have come across such information, but he gestured for Gohan to continue, wanting to hear what other lies he'd try to feed him before ultimately maiming him and the green guy before continuing his match with Naruto.
"Also, it turns out that the person helping him was Uchiha Madara." Gohan waited for Sasuke to say something but he remained silent, so Gohan continued further, not sure whether to take this as a good sign or a bad sign. Gohan took a calming breath to prepare himself for the next part of what he had to say. He knew that even if Sasuke had remained calm throughout the rest of what he'd said he wouldn't react well to his next words at all.
"Sasuke, your brother massacred the Uchiha clan that night, that much you already know, but what you don't know is why he did it." He could see the growing tension in Sasuke, but he had to tell him, had to convince him that he didn't need to go to Orochimaru for power, that his brother wasn't the evil monster that he thought he was.
"The true reason behind the Uchiha massacre has been kept a secret from you and the entire village, for your protection and the village's as well. I know what Itachi said that night, that he'd killed off your entire family to test his capacity." Gohan watched as Sasuke visibly reeled upon hearing his brother's words thrown back at him once again. There's no way Gohan could know such things, and he wasn't shy about letting him know.
"And why should I believe what you're telling me? If this really happened and was kept from me and the rest of the village, then how did you find out? The way I see it is that either you're lying to me, or you're in league with Itachi. Either way you're giving me an excuse to kill you." He crossed his arms and waited to see how Gohan would react.
"You remember that Itachi used his eye technique on me right?" An impassive nod was his only response.
"Well, I suppose to help explain this I should probably tell you that there are two distinct personalities in my mind." Gohan refrained from giving any more information than that, as Sasuke was the last person he wanted to reveal his secret to right now.
"You're probably thinking that I'm crazy, but I guess the best way to put it is that my split personalities are the result of what you could probably call an advanced bloodline limit. The only problem is, I haven't exactly allowed myself enough balance in my own mind and have pretty much forced that other personality to develop a consciousness of its own. The result of this, of course, is that my other personality doesn't like me very much and for most of my life has been fighting me for control of my body."
"So what exactly does that have to do with my brother? If you're just going to waste my time then get ready to fight me." Sasuke's impatience elicited an exasperated sigh from Gohan, but he quickly continued before the broody Uchiha flew off the handle.
"I'm getting there, just let me finish." Gohan waited for Sasuke to relent before he continued.
"As I was saying, this other personality was constantly fighting me for dominance, and when Itachi used Tsukuyomi on me, my other personality saw into Itachi's memories and reached into his mind to take some of them to attack me with, specifically memories of the day that he killed his best friend for the Mangekyo Sharingan and the night he slaughtered your clan."
"That's all well and good, but you still haven't given me any reason to believe you." Sasuke was beginning to grow impatient with Gohan. The newly instated Genin was trying to interfere with his acquisition of power, and Sasuke did not intend to humor him for much longer.
"Fine then, I'll tell you exactly where Itachi told you to find the true secrets behind the Sharingan. He told you that the secret meeting place where the scroll is kept is hidden under the seventh tatami mat on the far right side of the main temple of the Nakano Shrine. He told you that's where you would find the true purpose of the Sharingan and its history." Sasuke's eyes widened almost to the size of dinner plates, but still Gohan remained on guard, not sure about how Sasuke would react to what he'd just recited to him. His concern turned out to be valid as Sasuke took on a look of pure and utter loathing and he lashed out at the young half Saiya-jin.
"Don't screw with me! He told you all of that! He's trying to keep me weak and you're working with him! I'll kill you!!!!" Sasuke launched into a vicious assault on Gohan, but to his surprise and frustration couldn't seem to land a hit on his fellow genin. He tossed a handful of shuriken and hurriedly launched himself at where he knew the young warrior would dodge to, aiming a devastating punch at where Gohan's face would be, only for the half Saiya-jin to appear and calmly catch his fist with one hand and no apparent effort. Sasuke grunted and tried to overpower Gohan's hold, but it was like trying to push a brick wall and so he swung his other fist which was similarly caught. Gohan did not look amused.
"What is your problem?! You've got people that care about you and want to help you, but you're leaving them behind for what, a grudge?" He knew he'd struck a nerve when Sasuke recklessly tried to knock his feet out from under him. He jumped over the sweeping kick and kneed the traitorous Uchiha in the face, forcing him back a couple of steps. Sasuke growled at his life's goal being torn down and labeled as a mere grudge.
"Shut up! What do you know about what I'm going through?! You never had to watch your family get murdered right in front of you by your very own brother! You weren't forced to relive that same experience over and over again unable to do anything about it! I don't have time to sit back and play ninja with those fools in Konoha. If I want to make Itachi pay for what he's done I have to get stronger, no matter what the cost is. I've been too content to sit back and rely on others to help me, and I can't afford to do that if I'm going to kill that man. I can't afford to be distracted by attachments to teammates or trying to be happy. Such things will only hold me back and I don't have time for that!"
"So that's it then? You're just going to throw out everyone that cares for you as though they were yesterday's trash? Nothing matters to you except for killing Itachi?" Gohan's tone held a hint of finality to it, and Sasuke nodded.
"Then so be it. I'll show you just how wrong you are Sasuke. Let me show you the strength you can get by fighting to protect rather than to kill, I'll show you by fighting you to protect Naruto and Sakura's hearts from your foolish mistakes." Gohan crossed his arms in front of his face and began to bring out his power, but Sasuke just sneered at him arrogantly.
"What do you think you're going to do? Even that strange power you showed to me before wasn't enough to beat me, what makes you think anything has changed since then?" Sasuke's attitude faltered for a moment when the wind picked up and the force with which it ripped through the area nearly forced him to lose control of his chakra but he refocused at the last second and decided to wait and see what Gohan had up his sleeve. Unlike the last time they'd fought, there was no explosion of gold and in fact no changes save for the white flame-like aura that now surrounded the twelve year old hero, but Sasuke could sense a difference in his demeanor, and could see a steely resolve in his eyes once the mini wind storm had ceased.
"But you see Sasuke, something has changed. Last time, I wasn't expecting you to actually try to kill me and so I panicked at the last second, but now that I'm not only expecting such things out of you now, but have already seen your strongest technique, there's no reason for me to worry. All of that aside, last time I wasn't really taking you seriously, but now that I'm fighting for my friends, even if it is only for their happiness, I'm not going to be holding back on you this time. Now then, enough talk. Let's fight." When Gohan moved to attack Sasuke was able to follow his movements easily enough thanks to his fully matured Sharingan, but before his brain had even begun to command his limbs to move a massive force not unlike a sledge hammer slammed into his abdomen, sending him skidding backwards over the water while clutching his abused midsection. He wasn't even given time to recover before stars exploded into his vision when his head collided rather forcefully with Gohan's knee, stunning the traitorous genin enough for Gohan to launch a full out assault on him with such speed and ferocity that even the Sharingan was having trouble keeping up. Sasuke was beyond surprised at what Gohan was subjecting him to, wondering at where the sudden changes had come from in the normally carefree boy that he'd barely thought of as better than Naruto.
'Where is he getting this speed from? By the time I'm seeing the chakra projections of his next move, he's already hit me several times.' Indeed, in this fight the Sharingan was becoming little more than a liability. Normally, the Sharingan would show the user their opponent's movements in advance by allowing them to see the subtle projections of chakra put forth just slightly before the movement was made, but in this case Gohan was displaying such speed that the projections were lagging behind the actual movements, causing Sasuke to become disoriented as he struggled to determine where Gohan actually was and what was simply supposed to be a projection of a previous attack. Finally, a smirking Gohan backed off a bit and allowed Sasuke some breathing room, his Saiya-jin half in full battle mode.
"What's wrong Sasuke? Weren't you going to kill me? How are you going to do that if you can't block or even dodge any of my attacks? If you want to follow Itachi's words then show me! I want to see the full power of your hatred!" A rather nasty idea came to Gohan then, one that he didn't particularly like but seemed like it might be a little more successful than mere words had been, so he formed a hand sign and focused his chakra. When the resulting cloud of smoke cleared, Sasuke forgot all about his battered body and snarled in rage at the sight before him, as right in front of him stood a picture perfect copy of Uchiha Itachi, Akatsuki robes and all. When he spoke, even Itachi's voice had been perfectly emulated.
"Foolish little brother, you have failed to live up to my expectations. Perhaps I have overestimated you." Without giving his actions even a moment's thought, Sasuke flew through a string of hand seals and a large fireball was sent hurtling towards "Itachi", who simply shook his head and was gone from sight. Sasuke tensed when he felt a presence behind him, and a shiver crawled up his spine as the image of his brother leaned over his shoulder to whisper in his ear.
"Still as weak as ever I see. At this rate you'll never be able to kill me. Perhaps Naruto-kun would be a better measure of my capacity." Sasuke roared out his rage and recklessly struck out at Gohan, his hatred having blinded him to the point that he could no longer discern that this was just a henge. Gohan easily evaded the blow and gave Sasuke a taunting smirk before winking at a confused looking Naruto, who only cocked his head to the side to indicate that he wasn't quite following what Gohan was getting at. The Itachi lookalike turned completely towards Naruto, seemingly dismissing Sasuke as a threat, further raising his ire.
"Show me Naruto-kun, let me see the extent of your capacity so that I may measure it against my own." "Itachi" disappeared and was instantly in front of Naruto, whispering in his ear as he had done with Sasuke.
"Listen up Naruto, we're going to fight but at first I'm going to beat you. After I beat you up a bit I'm going to threaten to destroy Konoha. When I do that I want you to act like you actually think I'm going to do it, so that when we fight again I'll act like I'm having difficulty beating you. Got it?" Naruto nodded slightly, but before the two could initiate Gohan's plan they were forced to dodge a barrage of shuriken with Naruto dodging to the side and Gohan getting behind Sasuke faster than even the Sharingan could follow, once again leaning into his ear.
"You are a nuisance." With that simple statement Gohan batted Sasuke away with what felt to Sasuke like the force of a freight train, though in actuality Gohan had held back much of his strength, using the opportunity to cement in Sasuke's mind the idea that "Itachi" thought of him as nothing more threatening than an ant. Sasuke took several moments to recover, this being due to the fact that when he hit the cliff face and fortunately landed on dry land, he'd actually blacked out for several seconds due to the sheer amount of force he'd hit the cliff with. He groaned as he sat up and rubbed his aching head, but took advantage of the respite in order to clear his thoughts. He watched as "Itachi" turned his attention to Naruto and proceeded to beat the living tar out of him. Even though he had known it was a henge, the mere sight of Itachi had sent him into a blind rage. This coupled with the knowledge that Gohan was mocking him had driven him into a frenzy that he just hadn't been able to recover from. Of course using the cursed seal didn't help matters either as it tended to amplify his bloodlust and rage several times over when in use. But there were other things bothering him as well.
'How is Gohan so far above our level? Even with our powers enhanced as they are the idiot and I don't even seem to be making him put in any effort to beat us.' Sasuke got to his feet and dusted himself off with a wince. That last attack had hurt more than he'd care to admit, and the scary part was that he could tell Gohan had held back quite a bit.
'Just how strong is he?' He slowly made his way over to where the two were fighting but stopped just when he got to within hearing distance, a fact that Gohan didn't miss and so enacted the second part of his plan. After delivering an extra harsh blow that knocked the wind out of his blond opponent, Gohan jumped back a short distance and gave him a disappointed stare. Of course, Sasuke wouldn't be able to see his facial expressions, but it would help Naruto act a little easier if he were to play his own part more realistically.
"You disappoint me Naruto-kun. I had heard that you were exceptionally strong, and yet you haven't even laid a finger on me." Gohan chuckled in amusement when Naruto flipped him off despite still being bent over in an effort to catch his breath.
"If one who is considered strong in Konoha is still so weak, then perhaps I should not have stopped with my clan so many years ago. Perhaps once I have disabled you and taken you to my organization, I should rid the world of the blemish that is Konoha as well. Such a stagnant place of weak hearted fools does not deserve to exist." Gohan watched on impassively while Naruto straightened himself out and sent him his nastiest glare.
"Bring it on you bastard! I'm gonna be Hokage one day and I can't do that If I let you have your way!" Naruto brought his hands into his favorite seal and five clones poofed into existence around him. Before the smoke could even begin to clear all five clones rushed head on at Gohan who was quick to dispatch them all, having sensed Naruto leaping into the air. He wasn't given time to ponder it though as a hail of kunai would have prodded at him in a rather uncomfortable way had he not jumped to the side, right into Naruto's waiting fist. Of course, he'd seen the attack coming and could've dodged it easily, but he was trying to get a message across to Sasuke and he wasn't about to ruin it now. Especially now that Sasuke had apparently regained control of his emotions and was thinking clearly. At least, that's what Gohan gathered from the fact that the vengeful Uchiha hadn't blindly rushed in and interfered in the fight in an attempt to either take them both down at once or simply maim Gohan. Gohan started to second guess his earlier thoughts when a rain of small fireballs came hurtling from behind at both him and Naruto, forcing them to separate and turn their complete attention to Sasuke, who at this point looked more annoyed than murderous.
"Are you two done embarrassing yourselves yet? Because that act wasn't even close to convincing." Sasuke glared at them both, daring them to try again but Gohan just shrugged and dropped the henge.
"Eh, we had to try at least. Obviously talking isn't enough to get through that thick skull of yours." Gohan's offhand remark drew an appraising stare from Sasuke, who wondered at his more insulting attitude.
'Something's not quite right here. His entire demeanor has changed.' This was even more apparent though the way Gohan was carrying himself, as he now had his arms crossed over his chest and an arrogant smirk on his lips. He leveled Gohan with his most heated glare, which only seemed to amuse the dark haired enigma and his posture seemed to grow even more haughty.
"How are you so strong? The dobe and I are the strongest genin in Konoha and yet you weren't even putting any effort in when you were fighting us." Sasuke wanted to wipe that smirk off of Gohan's face, but that turned out to be unnecessary as he rolled his eyes at the Uchiha's stupidity and motioned for Piccolo to come over to them before reverting back to his more human half, a fact that neither Naruto or Sasuke missed.
"It's like he's got a split personality." Naruto couldn't help but muse to himself. He pushed those thoughts aside for the moment though in favor of wondering why Gohan had gotten his green companion to join them. Did he intend for him to fight Sasuke? Gohan's mentor and friend looked just as confused as everyone else felt when he drifted over and landed in their midst, keeping a wary eye on Sasuke for any sudden hostile moves.
"What is it kid? You need someone to take this brat out for you?" Piccolo knew how Gohan hated to kill or even hurt any living being, so much so that despite everything that had happened he still regretted killing Cell, thinking that he should've found another way even though he knew better than anyone else that people like Cell could not be reasoned with. Piccolo had no such issues with ending the life of another, of course being who he was it wasn't really all that surprising, even to someone as naïve as Gohan, who shook his head in response to his teacher's question.
"No, but I was hoping you could help me clear some things up for Sasuke." At seeing Piccolo's lack of understanding he explained further.
"It pertains to your previous relationship with my dad before the Saiya-jin invasion." Piccolo narrowed his eyes as realization dawned on him as to what Gohan was getting at.
"So it's like that is it?" He turned his hard gaze to Sasuke, who resisted the urge to flinch under his scrutinizing gaze. He got the feeling that if it came to a fight, Piccolo wouldn't be as kind to him as Gohan had been.
"What happened to you pretty boy? Someone kill your parents?" Sasuke bristled at the insult, and briefly wondered again why Gohan had brought the green man over here, but once again decided to play along. Even though these soft hearted fools were annoying, it was also slightly amusing to watch them try to change his mind.
"My brother killed my entire clan in one night, leaving us two as the last remaining Uchiha. My life's ambition is to avenge and revive my clan, regardless of the cost." He waited for Piccolo to make some plea for him to change his heart or to get angry with him, but what he got was the last thing he was expecting.
"So you think that by killing off your brother you'll become happy? That it'll restore your clan's honor? Is that what you're after?" Piccolo grunted when Sasuke said nothing, but he could tell by looking at the boy's face that he'd gotten it right. While Piccolo wasn't one to show his feelings he could still read other people like open books, most likely owing to the heritage of his people.
"Well forget about it. It doesn't work that way." He could see Sasuke getting angry so he headed it off, knowing that Gohan would get upset were he to goad the boy into a fight.
"I know you're thinking that I'm just another fool spouting off nonsense that I know nothing about, but I was in your place once." He looked down at his hands, almost as though he could see the blood of his one time rival staining them crimson.
"The reason I'm here today, the only reason I was even born, was for revenge." He cast a sidelong glance to Gohan, which Sasuke didn't miss.
"My father was evil, striving for nothing less than to conquer the world through force using vile, twisted creatures of his own design as his army of destruction. For a long time he stood unopposed, spreading death, destruction and misery throughout the world with no one strong enough to get in his way, until one day a master martial artist named Mutaito managed to create a technique to seal him away at the cost of his life. Three hundred years later my father was broken out of his container and once again tried to take over the world. He nearly succeeded until he met up with Gohan's dad, who after several battles managed to land a mortal blow on him. Before he died, my father vowed revenge on Goku and put all of his remaining essence into my creation before sending me far beyond Goku's reach. From the time I was born I had my father's memories and hatred of Gohan's father and so I trained day in and day out until the time I thought myself ready. Time and again I fought the idiot, and every time we fought our encounters ended up with him as the victor, no matter how close I came to killing him. My hatred for him grew as we continued our battles, but it seemed no matter how strong I got he would always find some way to trump me and deny me the revenge I so longed for, until one day a terrible foe came into our midst that was a monumental threat to both of us. We teamed up and, strong as we were still couldn't beat him. In the end, Goku had to distract and immobilize our opponent while I charged my strongest technique, knowing that by doing so he would also be allowing me to kill him." Piccolo paused for a moment, checking to see if his audience was paying any attention to him. Sasuke didn't disappoint.
"And?" His tone was demanding, and Piccolo had half a mind to just quit there to teach the brat a lesson, but that would defeat the purpose of starting the monologue to begin with, and Piccolo was not one that liked to waste his time with meaningless pursuits and so, with an annoyed twitch he continued.
"As I stood over his corpse it wasn't anything like what I expected it to be. I thought I'd be happy, that I'd feel complete and that I would celebrate the completion of my life's ambition. What happened though was completely different. As I looked down at his lifeless body I felt...empty, like my life was now devoid of purpose. I didn't even feel like I'd really accomplished anything. It was....just another kill." He gave Sasuke a pointed stare, making the genin feel as though he were judging his very soul.
"The life of an avenger is an empty one. Once you reach your ambition and grasp what you've desired for so long there will be not completion, but rather a dark void in your life that will threaten to swallow you whole. The only reason I escaped that void is because of Gohan." He sent the most affectionate look he could muster to Gohan, a look that most people would miss but Gohan had long ago come to recognize and he returned it with a happy smile.
" After I killed off both my opponent and my hated enemy, I had to take the kid in and train him over the span of one year because our enemy had even stronger friends that were coming to take revenge of their own. During that year, Gohan showed me what's really important in life. He showed me what's truly worth fighting for, and dying for. Think about it kid, is such an empty existence really worth all of the trouble and heartache you're going to endure, that you're going to put those that care about you through?" Piccolo turned his gaze to Gohan, to see if he had anything else to add, and indeed his former student wasted no time in bringing up his own point.
"You said you wanted to revive your clan didn't you Sasuke?" The youngest Uchiha glared first at Naruto, then at Gohan as if daring them to crack any jokes about what that would require, but from the somber looks in their eyes he could tell that they were thinking about what Piccolo said just as much as he was. He didn't say anything, but looked directly into Gohan's eyes, signaling that he had his full attention.
"Think about that for a moment. How would you go about doing that?" Gohan could see Sasuke's mouth already tugging down at the corners, and so kept his stance as serious as possible to let him know that he wasn't luring him into some perverted joke.
"Well, obviously I'd have to find a woman and....." Gohan cut him off abruptly, bringing his hand up in a stopping motion.
"Okay now think about what you're saying. As soon as you turn your back on Konoha the news is going to spread throughout the elemental countries, meaning that most available girls will know about what you've done. Would you want to devote yourself to someone you knew was willing to turn on you for their own ambitions and desires? Even if you did manage to find someone to trust you enough, what village would have you? Sure the Sharingan is considered a very valuable tool, but in this world of paranoia and political subterfuge what government would accept a clan of traitors? Konoha would certainly execute you as soon as you tried to go back, and you would probably be treated like a second class citizen anywhere else, assuming you weren't turned in to Konoha for the bounty on your head, which also means you'd have to watch whatever woman decided to marry you closely so that you could avoid being stabbed in the back. Besides, everything else we've said aside, why would you trust in and follow the words of the very same person who killed your family off, or for that matter be anything like him?" Gohan threw his hands up in a sign of surrender when Sasuke shot him a warning glare. He would not be compared to Itachi.
"I'm nothing like him! That bastard killed off his entire family, my entire family!" A new but familiar voice disagreed, causing Sasuke to jerk in surprise.
"Now I wouldn't say that Sasuke. You're more like Itachi than you realize, although I would say that Orochimaru would be a better comparison. Either way they both turned their back on their village and betrayed the trust of their comrades, the very same thing you're trying to do." Sasuke scowled and looked off to his right to see a haggard looking Kakashi and an ever stoic Gaara while he could see Lee off in the distance, being unable to walk on water due to his inability to mold chakra. Kakashi waved lazily while Gaara glared death at him, daring him to make a hostile move. When he realized that all eyes were on him Kakashi reacted in the same way he normally would.
"Yo. Sorry we're late." He gave his usual pleasant eye smile while Piccolo rolled his eyes at the jounin's obvious insincerity and Gohan wondered why he'd bother saying something like that. Naruto and Sasuke just groaned.
And that's it for this chapter. Sorry I'm late but I was helping an old lady cross the street when a black cat crossed our path. While I was trying to help the old lady find her way back we got lost on the road of life and that's where I've been ever since. At any rate, this chapter is at over 9,200 words not counting this author's note, making it my longest chapter by over 1,000 words so I hope it was worth the wait. Anyways, same as always let me know what you think.