Chapter 2:
The Assassination of Sasuke Uchiha
"Really? Sasuke's… dead?" Tenten stammered. "It's not like I'm going to miss him, but yeah. He bought the farm this morning at the market." Explained Shikamaru. "Wow… funny how he… really just vanished under the radar… until he, well…" Tenten said softly. "He really wasn't on my mind before this. Or anyone's mind for that matter. I completely forgot about him until… now," Shino muttered, "Not that I ever… really liked him…" "Did anyone? I mean… he was always so abusive…" Tenten explained. "Well someone did like him. Liked him to the point that he took everything else for granted." Shikamaru began. "Jesus, we were only teenagers back then." Remembered Shino. The trio reminisced of their decision on Sasuke Uchiha back in the Fourth Shinobi War. Some protested. Some didn't. Either way the old gang, the Konoha 11, fire-forged friends ever since they were small children, had come to the conclusion that Sasuke's crimes against the Five Nations were just too great, and that his death would bring about absolution to the world. Only he protested. The jinchuriki. The hokage. Naruto Uzumaki. The name alone made the trio groan. For some reason the little bastard could not bear to let Sasuke fall into the cold grip of death. Even though Sasuke always hated him, Naruto considered him a friend. No matter how much he abused Sakura. No matter how much he was cruel to others. For some reason, Naruto trusted. Shikamaru smirked. I was so ready to save him, he thought, recalling the Sasuke Retrieval Squad, I risked my life. My comrades lives for him. Why? He was a Leaf Shinobi. And a Leaf Shinobi to me isn't different at all to a brother. When we lose a Leaf Shinobi, we lose a piece of our selves. That's why I put my life on the line. And how does he repay us? How? He betrays us. Joins forces with the Sound Nation. We don't matter to him apparently. All he cares about is himself. About killing his brother. Getting vengeance. His own gain he values over us. Us who risked our lives for him. The bastard. Time had passed then. We had a war on our hands. But somehow he returned. We chose to kill him, knowing how much suffering would end if we did. But we stopped when a mighty "no" filled the wind. Naruto. You just couldn't allow the little son of a bitch to die could you? Your empty promises and vows were just too important? It's not hard understand where Naruto got his inspiration as hokage from. He was influenced by Sasuke to value self over all others. He should have stayed away from the Uchiha ever since we were kids. None of this would have happened. Then, Naruto saved Sasuke during the war. Apparently, Sasuke had changed. He no longer the village for some reason. I never understood it. Anyway, with the war over and Tsunade giving the position of hokage to Naruto, he made sure Sasuke and his new girlfriend, Karin, and their children were safe and wealthy. With his power, he gave Sasuke special treatment. He held Sasuke over all other Konoha residents, giving him vast amounts of money and power. Sasuke than faded into obscurity. He was happy, and had a family. He didn't want to get back into shinobi business. Too violent for him. He was tired of violence. All he wanted to do was to create a new Uchiha clan, save the Uchihas from extinction. He could do that with his children. Anyone who brought up his war crimes was immediately silenced by Naruto, so Sasuke was never brought up in the media. Sasuke had returned to the life of an ordinary, happy villager. Then, on May 16th, at 7:14 AM, Sasuke Uchiha was assassinated.
"Thank god you're here Shikaku." Exclaimed Naruto. "It's Shikamaru, Hokage-Sama" said Shikamaru annoyed. Shikamaru, Shino, and Tenten had found the Hokage outside the market-place. Jonin surrounded the area, and people who were trying to leave the scene were muttering to themselves anxiously about the "tragedy." The Hokage, Shikamaru, Shino, and Tenten came closer the body, which was surrounded with CAUTION tape. The corpse was outlined in chalk, his arms and legs spread out. His face was calm and serene. Not a blemish or a wrinkle, with the exception of the folds of skin protruding around the hole the shuriken made in his forehead. Human beings are such fragile creatures. Shikamaru tsked as Naruto looked in grief, tears slowly leaking out of his eyes. "Sasuke! I'll never forget you! You were the greatest friend I've ever had!" whimpered Naruto. "How? How is it possible? While this guy didn't use at all after the war, he still had the Mangekyo sharingan. How could he have not used Sosano or another blocking technique the eye holds? A mean… one shuriken?" Shikamaru pondered. "Shino. Do it." exclaimed Shikamaru. "Right away." Shino responded. A swarming, swirling, writhing mass of parasitic beetles arose from his long coat sleeves. Naruto stepped back. The jutsus of the Aburame clan always made his skin crawl. The cloud of insects streamed down from Shino's arms and then started covering Sasuke's body. There clicking and buzzing sounds became louder as the fog of beetles surrounding the corpse became denser and denser. Finally, the swarm completely hid Sasukes body in a coffin shape of insects, hovered, and then dropped the corpse. The insects were sucked back into Shino's body as Sasuke regained visibility. Naruto continued whining, "*sniff* his… wife and… *sniff*… children were there…" Shino glanced at Shikamaru. "I could pick up very, very little. What I do know is that the shuriken is covered in posion, but it didn't flow into Sasuke's blood stream until after the shuriken emerged out of his forehead, cutting a line straight down the brain and poking a 2-inch wide puncture into the hippocampus. The shuriken has no noticeable chakra on it, but I can tell it was shot at a distance of at least twenty yards." "Twenty yards. So maybe it was thrown at a diagonal angle from that tree…" Tenten pointed to a tall oak far beyond the market place. "Maybe…" pondered Shikamaru, "But how could it have hit the top of his head and descended out of his forehead? I mean, Sasuke has always had amazing reflexes and has only refined them over time. Also, his repertoire of defensive nin-jutsu is unbelievable. He could have chosen so many different options of survival. The chances of this happening were 3% out of 97%, maybe even less…wait a second…" Shino and Tenten gazed at Shikamaru, who was concentrating. "It may seem unlikely, but maybe Sasuke, intentionally didn't dodge the shuriken…" began Shikamaru. Tenten and Shino were puzzled. Naruto grew angry, as he grit his teeth and started cracking his knuckles. "Shino, did you find any endorphins or brain patterns?" asked Shikamaru. "No, I'm afraid not. I forgot to mention whatever poison the shuriken was dipped into, it completely erased the victim's body of endorphins and hormones. It reset his body at a neutral, blank state. It's bizarre…" answered Shino. "Well… that's something we do. Whoever did this prepared in advance and took his or her time to only get the best poisons." Added Tenten. "Yeah, I agree…" began Shikamaru, "but still, it's nothing that we can't handle." "Well it better be!" Naruto declared angrily. "Because Sasuke was my friend! I want you to find his murderer as soon as possible! If you don't comply of fail this job, you'll be spending the rest of your nights in Konoha's worse prisons!" The trio gulped and their pupils started shaking in fear. "Now I want you to find this motherfucker, and bring him to me, so I can kill him!" he demanded. Shikamaru was overcome by fear. He's going to publicly execute someone, he thought, he's done awful things before, but this… he's become a dictator…
To Be Continued in Chapter 3