Opening 6 - Alones by Aqua Timez

Edo Tensei

S-rank Kinjutsu: Morally Depraved

Tiger, Snake, Dog, Dragon, Clap Hands

Requires: Human sacrifice (body inhabited by reincarnated soul must be in fully working condition, all attempts at using corpses to reincarnate have failed), Two fuinjutsu (seal tag to control reincarnated soul, ritual seal to call soul from Pure World), DNA of deceased's original body

Tsunade brushed the Scroll of Seals aside, clearing the Hokage's desk and slumping over it. The tears hadn't yet come, but she could feel them on the way. They'd never forgive me. "Nawaki, Dan... I want to do it so much, but when I picture how you'd look at me..." she imagined the look on her innocent little brother's face, if he found out that his big sister had killed someone to bring him back as a zombie. "I can't bring myself to do it. I can't bring you back like this, I'm so sorry."

Even as she spoke, a thought crept into her mind, slowly and carefully. Body inhabited by reincarnated soul must be in fully working condition... she shook her head miserably, and crushed that hope. No. There's no way! People have tried it before; they would've thought of using medical ninjutsu to restore the corpse.

And yet... aren't I the best medic-nin in the world?

She began crying quietly, and stood to pick up the Scroll of Seals, rolling it tightly and putting it back in its storage scroll. When it doesn't work, I'll only be more miserable because I had hope for that brief moment... I know, deep down, that medical ninjutsu would never be enough. I'd need a much stronger way to restore a damaged body. Much, much stronger. In theory it would be possible to do this... but in practice, who could possibly have such an ability? Medical ninjutsu can't do it, so what else is there? A kekkei genkai?

Who in Konoha, or anywhere, has a kekkei genkai that can heal someone? The Uzumaki Clan had limited regeneration abilities, but that isn't enough, and that ability only works on the individual using the ability. And Naruto's the last of his kind. He can't use his regeneration on anyone else...

Tsunade's eyes snapped wide open. "Naruto!" She shoved the storage scroll containing all of Konoha's kinjutsu into a desk drawer, and made for the door of her office. This is completely insane, her conscience told her dispassionately. You're wasting your time, and if you keep this up you'll drive yourself insane over them.

Not if this works, she decided. She threw open the doors to her office and headed down the hall, barely able to restrain herself to a brisk walk. If this works... I can... I can hold them in my arms again!

She rounded a corner, and stopped. Further down that hall, Naruto was arguing with a door, and the absurdity of it coupled with her giddiness made her chuckle loudly. "Naruto!" she called. "I need you to come with me!"

He turned to her and grinned, completely oblivious to her desperation since she'd hidden it carefully. "Yo, baa-chan. Sorry but I gotta sort out Konohamaru before I go anywhere. He's actually talking to me when he's ignored everyone else, so I've got the best chance to have him open this door."

"...Who's Konohamaru?" Tsunade asked after a moment.

Naruto's smile fell. "He's the Third Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru Sarutobi. I haven't really seen much of him, but he's a good kid. Reminds me of myself when I was his age. Anyway, he seems to have a problem with you being Hokage as far as I can tell."

Tsunade paused thoughtfully. "...Let me talk to him." she strode toward the door and her right hand on it, nudging it just a little before an array of metal plates were fired toward her, drawing her attention. She flicked all five of them away with her fingertips, then gently pushed the doors open. She noted with a hint of amusement that this Konohamaru had put a lot of work into barricading the doors. Books, furniture, what looked to be explosive tags, and ninja wire tying it all to the doors. Not bad.

She plucked away the ninja wire and tags, then stepped back slightly as an avalanche of more furniture and... was that a piano? How did this kid rig a deadfall trap with a piano? She shrugged and punched the mass of furniture, obliterating it. Yep, that felt like a piano. She kept walking forward, leaning out of the way of a thrown kunai. Ballsy kid. She punched upward, crushing a falling boulder to bits, and then noticed the boy himself cowering before her.

Her eyes widened slightly. This boy... he reminds me so much of Nawaki... She knelt down to eye level with him, and laid a hand on top of his head. He cried out and squeezed his eyes shut, then hesitantly opened them after he realized she wasn't squishing his head but merely patting it. Tsunade smiled. "Those were some pretty good traps you set up there. Let me guess, you're in the Genin Academy right now?" he nodded. "You should research some more advanced trapping techniques while you're there, Konohamaru-kun. You have a gift."

Konohamaru shakily nodded, and watched Tsunade turn to leave, still smiling. "We're done here, Naruto. Come with me."

"...Yes, Hokage-sama," he replied after a moment, and followed her to her office. "So, what's this all about? You seem a little shaken up."

Tsunade took a seat behind her desk. "I was hoping you wouldn't see that. I'm sure you remember why we were trying to capture Orochimaru rather than kill him?"

"He knows a jutsu to bring back the dead, and you wanted to use it on two people you really care about who died."

"It's a Konoha kinjutsu called Edo Tensei."

Naruto blinked. "I knew that was the name of it, and he used it to bring back two Hokages and the Fourth Kazekage during the invasion... but it's from Konoha?"

"Created by our own Second Hokage," Tsunade nodded. "I would use it right now, Naruto, I really would... but it requires a human sacrifice to bring back each soul. The way they'd look at me if I did that... if I killed two people to resurrect them..." she shook her head. "My point is, I believe there might be a way to circumvent that part of the jutsu. The reason Edo Tensei requires a living body to be sacrificed is because the body has to be in 'working condition.' If I use the corpse of a shinobi who died of a wound, or poison, or disease or old age... it doesn't work."

"I can tell you're going somewhere with this," Naruto noted, "But I don't follow. Why tell me this?"

"Because medical ninjutsu can't restore a corpse to the point where it could be used for the jutsu. I believe your kekkei genkai might be able to do it. You have the power of the Sage of Six Paths, Naruto, the abilities of the God of Shinobi. If anyone in Konoha can help me bring them back, it's you."

Naruto remained silent for a moment, and activated his Rinnegan. "I... there's two possibilities I can think of. First, these eyes give me an ability called Rinne Tensei. I used it to bring Hinata back once." Tsunade blinked. "The problem is, it did this to me." he brushed his fingers through the white forelock of his otherwise blond hair. "Jiji told me that if I did it again for any reason, I'd probably kill myself."

"...I see..." Tsunade sighed. "I'll never ask you to do that, Naruto. But what's the other possibility?"

"The King of Hell. It's a summon that I can use to heal people, and I once used it on Hinata as well. It didn't even drain my chakra to heal her that way, and I don't think she has a scar either. It's not medical ninjutsu that the King uses, but that's all I know. There's no guarantee it'll work, but we can try it if you want."

"If you can, talk to this 'King of Hell' about whether it could work. We'll go from there."

Naruto nodded. "If there's any way to do this, we'll find it, and I have a feeling that researching the Naraka Path is a good place to start looking. I'll head home and look though the Uzumaki Clan's records. I'll come see you if I find anything."

"Thank you, Naruto. I can't tell you how much it means to me..."

He grinned. "I understand." he turned to leave, then added, "See ya 'round, baa-chan."

Moments later, Sasuke Uchiha strode toward his enemy, Sharingan active to size him up carefully. The blond boy had been wearing an ankle-length leather coat since his return to the village, and Sasuke watched it swaying and flexing as its wearer moved. It's heavier than it should be, which can only mean it has hidden armor under the surface. It's too heavy to be mesh, and too light to be plates of metal, so it's chainmail. Under the coat, Naruto was wearing a loose grey shirt with mesh armor built in, and a pair of black pants with an orange flame pattern at his ankles. Sasuke noticed the absence of a kunai holster on his leg, but he couldn't be sure if Naruto was carrying a weapons pouch behind his back.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura pleaded again, "please don't do this..."

"Why not?" he turned to her with a smirk. "Don't you think I can beat him, Sakura?" she looked away, surprising him slightly. "...Hn. Let's see which one of us is right, then."

"Sasuke, Sakura?" Naruto stepped toward them, confused. "What are you two talking about?"

Sasuke turned his gaze to Naruto, and his smirk broadened slightly. "Naruto. Fight me."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "...What'd I do? Why do you want to fight me?"

"You were able to fight Itachi, and you didn't even seem afraid. If I'm going to kill my brother, I need to be as strong as you or stronger. So now we're all going to see that I am."

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, and thought in silence. If I play my cards just right here, I might be able to... "Alright. When do you wanna do this?"

"Right now."

Naruto glanced around. "We're right in front of the Academy, so I guess we could use one of the training fields here. Is that okay with you?"

"It'll work."

"Naruto!" Sakura suddenly stepped forward, hands clasped together over her chest. "Please don't hurt him!"

"Sakura..." Naruto and Sasuke both looked at her with shocked wide eyes. Naruto was the first to reply. "Of course I'm not gonna hurt him, Sakura. It's just a friendly sparring match."

"...You really don't think I can beat him?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"I... Sasuke... you've heard the stories," she finally found the first few words she was looking for. "He's the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths. He brought Hinata back from the dead. He took on an undead First Hokage and survived. He was there, fighting Orochimaru when Hokage-sama died... you remember how helpless we were against him, and Naruto fought him! And now they're saying he actually chased Orochimaru away when he brought back Tsunade-sama!"

"...How did any of that get out in the open?" Naruto asked in disbelief. "Especially that last bit. That mission was A-rank classified information, and I only submitted my report yesterday morning."

"So it's true. You fought Orochimaru and he ran away." Sakura turned to Sasuke and begged, "Please don't fight him, Sasuke-kun!"

"Stay out of the way, Sakura. It won't take me long." Sasuke walked away, headed for the nearest training ground.

This is crazy, Naruto observed. Sakura's always been Sasuke's biggest fangirl. But she sounds downright terrified of me fighting him... maybe the rumors exaggerate what I've been doing. There's no way I should be this scary... He threw on a grin and called loudly, "Don't worry, Sakura-chan! It's just gonna be a quick little match, we're not gonna get hurt!"

"Naruto," she gulped, "you haven't called me Sakura-chan for almost three years. You're scaring me."

Once Sasuke was out of hearing range, Naruto turned to her and replied firmly, "I don't know what you've been hearing about me, but I'm not gonna injure Sasuke in any way. I promise. Whatever they've been saying, it's either exaggerated or not true at all. Here's an example: When I was with Hokage-sama fighting Orochimaru, me and Hinata-chan were actually fighting the First Hokage and getting our asses kicked. And even if all the rumors you've heard were completely true, there's no way I'd hurt Sasuke. Why would I?"

Then he headed for the training field after Sasuke, and smiled at the memories of the place. This was where we learned shurikenjutsu... Me and Hinata-chan used to come here and practice every once in a while. With her Byakugan, she could always aim better than me, but we both did our best. He glanced first at the line of wooden targets, noting the fresh holes in them from kunai and shuriken. Looks like these targets haven't been replaced in a while...

He activated his Rinnegan, and observed the terrain around him. The ground was made up of loose brown dirt with patches of grass scattered around randomly. He turned to Sasuke, and unsealed his sword. "Let's get started, then."

The pairs of tomoe in Sasuke's incomplete Sharingan began spinning, and he lunged toward Naruto with his fists readied in a taijutsu stance. Naruto's eyes flicked to his right as Sasuke leapt into the air and spun, aiming a kick at his head. Fast... and this isn't the kind of taijutsu move I could block with my sword. He leaned backward quickly, and Sasuke's kick passed in front of his face. Naruto frowned and stepped back. Now that I think of it, I can't really put my kenjutsu to any use here. I'd end up cutting Sasuke, and I promised Sakura I wouldn't hurt him. Okay then...

Sasuke landed as Naruto sealed his sword, and looked at him with obvious confusion. "Why are you putting away your weapon?"

"It's no good against you," Naruto admitted, "and I know you don't want to see my kenjutsu anyway. You're here to test your power against my ninjutsu, so I'll show you."

Sasuke leapt away to what he thought was a safe distance, and wove several hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

"Shinra Tensei." Naruto pushed the torrent of flame back until it went out. Sasuke's feet scraped backward along the ground as he too was pushed away. Naruto sidestepped several Phoenix Flowers, then took the oppurtunity to begin speaking while Sasuke made hand seals for his next jutsu. "Sasuke, can I ask you something?" the Uchiha's crimson eyes narrowed in confusion and suspicion. "I know that you confronted Itachi after the massacre," he began, "and that he talked to you. Can you tell me what he said?"

Sasuke hesitated. "He... why the hell do you want to know?"

"Because it doesn't make any sense to me," Naruto admitted. "What could Itachi possibly gain by killing his entire family?"

"He said it was 'to test the limits of his abilities,' or something insane like that. Now shut up! Lightning Release: White Vajra!" Sasuke shaped and threw a bundle of crackling lightning at Naruto, who recognized it from Sasuke's match against Kiba.

That jutsu is tracking the heat in my body, so there's no way I'll be able to dodge it. Instead... "Wind Release: Air Bullet!" he called, and fired a ball of compressed wind at the lightning attack. Since wind has the upper hand over lightning, Naruto's attack successfully dismantled Sasuke's. This is the oppurtunity I was hoping for... "What you're saying doesn't make sense, Sasuke."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke growled, and started making the hand seals for the Chidori.

"Itachi lied to you."

Sasuke froze in his disbelief.

"I've met your brother several times, and no matter what else he might be, he isn't stupid. He would know there's no challenge in killing a civilian Uchiha without a Sharingan, which is to say there was no challenge in wiping out most of your clan. He lied when he said he did it to test his limits, Sasuke. That means that he felt it was necessary to hide the real reason from you, and if you kill him before you wring the truth out of him, you'll never understand what happened that night. No one will, and as far as I can tell, that's exactly how Itachi wants it."

Sasuke stopped making his Chidori and listened. Naruto took that as a good sign. "You owe it to yourself and everyone who died that night, to find out what Itachi's real motives were before you kill him." Now here's my trump card. "Promise me you'll try to do that, and I'll help you get stronger than Itachi."

After a long silence, Sasuke shook his head. "...You can't help me get stronger," he growled as his Chidori flared into existence, screeching and chirping loudly, "because I'm already stronger than you!" his Cursed Seal wormed its way over his skin, and Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Naruto!"

Screw this.

Naruto blurred forward, and Sasuke's eyes caught the motion even though his body was too slow to react. Naruto's left hand locked around Sasuke's Chidori-wielding wrist, and he called angrily, "Preta Path." The Chidori faded away, and the air between the two Konoha-nin grew quiet in its absence. "Now I can see that the only way to get through to you is a show of power," Naruto declared, and his sword appeared in his right hand. "So I'll show you, and then maybe you'll listen. Banshou Karu."

Sakura opened her mouth to scream where she watched the battle, but she fell silent when she saw Naruto's blade sweep upward without ever touching Sasuke. Instead, the colossal blade of Asura Path metal created by his swing was thrown upward into the air above them. As gravity took hold, it began to fall down again and Sasuke tried to tug his wrist free of Naruto's grip, but the blond boy held on. He sealed his sword and reached upward toward the falling blade, and Sasuke watched it fall apart into dust.

As that metal dust was caught in the wind and blown apart harmlessly, Naruto released Sasuke's wrist. "Have I shown you enough power, Sasuke?" the Uchiha couldn't keep himself from nodding. "I can't teach you to use that move, and I don't have much experience as a teacher, but I'll do my best to help you get stronger if that's what you want." Sasuke nodded again, and Naruto smiled. "Great. Stop by the Uzumaki Clan's place when you're ready to get started."

Then he turned to Sakura, and grinned cheerfully. "See? Told ya I wouldn't hurt him. I never go back on my word."

X

"You kept me waiting... I really don't like being kept waiting..."

"I think you'll find it was well worth the small delay."

It was just past midnight, and two cloaked shinobi were meeting in a forest of dead trees, under a waxing half moon with no clouds to obscure the stars. "It's a nice night, don't you agree?" said a young man in a grey-black hooded cloak that covered his entire body except his smirking face.

The older man, hunched over inside a hoodless black cloak with a pattern of stylized red clouds, growled. "If you hadn't have kept me waiting so long, it might've been."

"Do you have what I asked for?"

"Of course I do," Sasori replied, and pulled a wooden box from within his cloak. "Does he suspect anything?"

"The poor bastard's in too much pain to even wrap his head around the thought I might betray him." the younger shinobi reached out and took the box, opening it and grinning at its contents. "Excellent work as always, Sasori."

"Hold on a moment," Sasori growled. "What about my end of the deal?"

Kabuto smirked and pushed up his glasses. "Kimimaro hasn't yet succumbed to his illness. As promised, you'll be given his body when the time comes. I know how much you hate being kept waiting, but I can at least promise you'll get your new weapon eventually."

"What about yours, Kabuto?" Sasori crept forward slightly. "Tell me, just how is it you intend to control a shinobi as powerful as Orochimaru?"

"I'm rather glad you asked." Kabuto pulled a small vial of dark blue liquid out of his weapons pouch. "When Orochimaru switches to his next body, I'll sedate him for the entire time his soul is adjusting to that body. Then I'll inject him with this Cursed Seal formula, which will kill him if he ever moves against me. After that, all I have to do is install these on him." he lightly shook the box in his other hand.

"And what of Sasuke Uchiha?"

"The Sound Four are heading for Konoha as we speak. They intend to lure Sasuke to Oto with the promise of power."

"But what will you do with him?" Sasori insisted.

"Pluck his eyes out, of course," Kabuto remarked lightly. "One for you, one for me. I intend to do it while he's still alive, and then I'll experiment on him to see if he can grow a new set of eyes under the proper conditions. But this reminds me of something else I wanted to mention... The Sound Four all have unique abilities that you might be able to work with. If any of them die while retrieving Sasuke, I'll give you their bodies."

"...This is really beginning to trouble me, Kabuto." Sasori turned and began moving away inside the puppet that had once been a shinobi named Hiruko. "I didn't get even a single one of the things you promised me before the invasion. No Sharingan, no Byakugan, no Nine-Tails, and no One-Tail. I got nothing in exchange for what I gave you, and even armed with those undead you created, you lost against Konoha. I'm beginning to doubt you, Kabuto... but I'll give you one more chance. If I really do get something out of this scheme, then we won't have a problem. But if this plan goes awry as well..."

"If this plan goes awry," Kabuto cut him off, "Orochimaru will kill me for my betrayal. I'm betting my life here..." he slowly broke into a grin, "...and that should be a solid indicator of how confident I am. Granted, there may be some setbacks... the Sound Four may all survive, or Sasuke might die before he reaches Oto... there's always some risk involved, but at its core this plan will work. I'll have Orochimaru under my thumb, you'll have at least one new puppet, and we should both have a Sharingan by the end of the month."

"It's as I said. I'll give you one more chance." Sasori resumed walking away. "If there's one thing I hate more than being kept waiting, it's finding out that I waited for nothing. So when the waiting is done... present me with a reward worth my time, Kabuto."

X

"That's all of them."

The sun was setting over Konoha, and Naruto and Sasuke stood opposite each other in a large, open room inside the Uzumaki Clan manor. "Fire, lightning, wind, water and earth. I've shown you all of them," Naruto smiled and deactivated his Rinnegan. "All of the elemental jutsu I know. You probably won't even be able to put most of 'em to use, but it's like I said. I don't have much experience as a teacher."

"It helps," Sasuke replied. "I think I can feel my third affinity emerging. It's water. Wind and earth are next to useless to me, and I already knew most of your fire and lightning jutsu, but still. Thank you for your help, Naruto-sensei."

Naruto's grin turned sheepish, and he scratched the back of his head. "Eh, there's no need to be so formal. Anyway, this is where we get into the stuff that should really help you. Non-elemental ninjutsu and kenjutsu." he paused for a moment and frowned. "Look, Sasuke. I know this is a little troubling for you..."

"It's fine." Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan. "You have to understand, Naruto, there's nothing I won't do to fulfill my goal. The fact that Itachi is still alive, still walking around freely after what he did... I can't let it be. The only thing that's bothering me right now is why? Why are you training me, teaching me all of your jutsu?"

Naruto scoffed. "All of 'em? You're getting a little ahead of yourself, ya know! There's a bunch of my most powerful jutsu that I can't teach you at all because they work through the Rinnegan. Then there's my Rasengan, which you're definitely not getting from me, and my Empty Wind is my signature jutsu. That leaves a lot of stuff I can share with you, but not all of it. And more importantly, you've gotta learn or create your own jutsu too. You can't just be a cheap copy of me, ya know?"

"Hn," Sasuke cracked a smirk. "So what kind of ninjutsu are you going to teach me?"

"We're gonna work on that 'Dynamic Substitution' trick you stole from me and Hina-chan during the Chuunin Exam. If you get good enough with it, maybe you can use it together with Chidori for a faster attack. We're also gonna see if we can complete your Sharingan, increase your chakra reserves, and then..." Naruto paused. "Hey... that Cursed Seal thing you got from Orochimaru... did you know I got one too?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. "You have a-"

"Had," Naruto quickly corrected. "I broke it with help from Kurama. Listen, Sasuke, I don't think you should use that seal anymore. There's a piece of Orochimaru's mind inside it that can influence you."

"But... there's so much power in it... it's a risk I'm willing to take," Sasuke stated firmly. "If it means defeating Itachi, I'll risk using the Cursed Seal."

"I was afraid you'd say that. All right..." Naruto gestured openly with his arms. "Ya know, there's a library of the Uzumaki Clan's fuinjutsu innovations, right here in this house. If you wanna use that Cursed Seal, you've gotta let me get an expert to look at it. Maybe we can eliminate that piece of Orochimaru's consciousness inside the seal, so it's safe for you to use. But if we can't..." Naruto grew serious, and locked his deactivated blue eyes with Sasuke's black ones. "I'm going to break the seal myself. It's too dangerous for you to use."

Sasuke immediately opened his mouth to respond angrily, but hesitated. Naruto has already shown me that he really does want to help. If I just snap like this, there's no way I'll convince him that I should keep the seal. "But... if you take away the seal you'll be making me far weaker. Even with everything you've taught me so far, it doesn't compare to the seal."

"Yeah? Well we've only been training for two days now. We're only just starting out, and things should pick up soon. Have a little faith, 'cause I promise that when we're done with this training, you'll be ready to fight with Itachi without your Cursed Seal. Tommorow I'll start teaching you kenjutsu, so head home and get some rest."

"Right." Sasuke turned away, then stopped and turned back to Naruto. "Wait. You never answered my question, Naruto. Why are you doing this for me? We barely know each other."

"You have the potential to be a great ninja, Sasuke. And more than that, you can become a truly great person, but not if I let you stay on that path you were headed down. I might not know you that well, but I know you have two friends here who care about you. I think that if I wasn't here to help you get stronger, you'd seriously consider hurting Sakura and Lee to gain power. In the process, you'd be hurting yourself, and I don't want to see that happen."

"No. Itachi hasn't pushed me that far," Sasuke repeated what he'd said to Kakashi so long ago. The Mangekyou Sharingan... I won't reach for that power, not if it means killing one of them.

"Okay," Naruto nodded. "Let's keep it that way. Stay true to your friends, and I'll keep training you as much as I can. There's only so much I can teach you, but after that I might be able to set you up with the people who taught me."

"Again, thank you." Sasuke turned and walked away. "See you tomorrow, Naruto."

X

"It's done."

Grinning, Tenten ran a finger along the blade of her newly finished jian. The blade was made of dark grey damascus steel, with a steel hilt and pommel plated in gold. The guard and pommel both had a pattern of stylized flames covering them, embossed out of the metal. The design was simple and subtle, yet it reflected the hidden nature of the weapon nicely. The handle itself was wrapped in white rayskin for a more secure grip.

"Soujihonou."

"Sweeping Flame," Gaara repeated, reminding Tenten of his presence suddenly. Along with his brother and sister, Gaara had decided to stay in Konoha for the time being. Tenten had offered for them to stay with her family rather than paying for an apartment. "So what does it do?" he asked.

Tenten tapped the blade lightly, touching the fuinjutsu running along it. "I used a modified version of the fuinjutsu Hinata uses instead of hand seals for ninjutsu. I don't have the chakra control to use the normal version, but I applied my version to this sword. It should let me convert my chakra into flames using my Fire Release affinity, but of course it isn't quite that simple."

"Go on."

"This seal on the blade is a substitute for only one sequence of hand seals, in other words it's one specific ninjutsu built into the sword. Normally a jutsu like this would be way above my level, since it uses both nature and shape transformation. Jutsu like that are rare and very powerful."

"So what does yours do?"

"I haven't tested it yet, but in theory it should create an extended blade of Fire Release chakra. It won't be as simple as flames covering the edge; it'd be more like a beam of energy. It should be shaped enough for me to actually see a flat blade with an edge. Think of it as the Sword of Kusanagi's extending blade, but made entirely out of fire chakra. It won't just be a stream of flames-"

Tenten stopped, and listened to a knock at the door. "I guess I can explain it later," she decided and slid the sword into its leather scabbard, which was unmarked except for the village's symbol just below the open end. She laid the sheathed weapon on the table where she'd been writing the fuinjutsu on the blade, and made her way to the door.

She pulled it open, and blinked. "...Sasuke?"

"Hey, Tenten." he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Is your shop still open this late?"

"Oh, right! You're here to place an order!" Tenten grinned. "We actually closed a little while ago, but business has been pretty slow lately so come on in."

Sasuke stepped through the door, and spotted Gaara immediately. "You're that kid from Suna. Naruto's friend. What're you doing here?"

"I live here," Gaara replied flatly.

Sasuke blinked, then glanced to Tenten and back to Gaara. "...Oh. So you two are..." he trailed off.

"It's not like that," Tenten announced with a blush, then reconsidered. "Well, actually it's exactly like that, but Gaara's team is staying here instead of paying out of pocket for an apartment on a Genin team's budget. It's not just the two of us alone here... so anyway, what kind of weapon are you looking for?"

"A sword," Sasuke replied. "Naruto's going to start teaching me kenjutsu."

"Ah." Tenten's grin returned. "You've come to the right place. I believe that every shinobi has one weapon they have more potential with than any other, the same way we have elemental and summoning affinities, and I love trying to figure out what someone's weapon affinity is. Let's see if we can figure yours out!" she turned and headed into the hallway, quickly turning around a corner and returning shortly with an armful of sheathed blades. "Let's start with the basics." she handed him an ordinary-looking katana. "Draw this and tell me how it feels.

Sasuke drew the sword in a quick but careful motion, and inspected the blade. He opened his mouth to speak, but Tenten started before he could. "Nope, no way. It's definitely not a katana. You're not suited for a two-handed blade at all."

"How could you possibly know-" he blinked in surprise as his hands were gently pulled away from the hilt. In his shock he never thought to resist and hold on to the sword.

"Now try the jian," she handed him a double-edged longsword, and Sasuke slid it from the wooden scabbard. "How does that feel?"

"Are you gonna let me answer this time?" she nodded, and he sighed. "It feels a little too heavy. I'd be too slow, swinging this around."

"Okay, she nodded again, and swapped the jian for a chokutou with a black synthetic scabbard and handle. Sasuke slid this one from its scabbard and smiled. "That one isn't too bad in your hand," she observed while sheathing the jian, "but it's still not quite right."

"Can I try one of the swords Naruto uses?" Sasuke asked, and sheathed the chokutou before handing it back to Tenten.

"I have one here," Tenten replied, and handed him a slightly shorter cutlass than what Naruto was using, with a bar hilt instead of the curved plate on Naruto's sword. "That is not your weapon affinity," she declared firmly, "but if it's what you want..."

"No." Sasuke sheathed it and handed it back. "It didn't feel right to me either, but I wanted to see for myself."

"Okay." She looked through the variety of weapons she'd brought. "Let's see. The weapon you need is a one-handed blade with little to no curve, and the chokutou really seemed to be close to what you're looking for. I think your weapon affinity is for a sword without a guard... wait here." she vanished down the hall again.

"...Is she always like this?" Sasuke asked Gaara.

"She enjoys what she does," Gaara replied simply. "It's more than just a job to her. This is her favorite hobby, and from what I've seen, she's excellent at it."

"Okay," Tenten reentered the room with a sheathed sword in her arms. Sasuke immediately looked at the weapon with interest. The blade was very slightly curved, and currently hidden inside a dark brown sheath of stained and polished wood. The hilt lacked any sort of guard, and actually fit into the end of the sheath itself. The handle was wrapped in leather, and the pewter pommel of the sword was curved and stylized in the shape of an animal's head. From this distance with his Sharingan inactive, it looked to Sasuke like a snake, or more likely a dragon.

"This is a shashka. This style of sword comes from the Land of Lightning, and it predates the Sage of Six Paths, in other words it's older than ninjutsu itself. Since then, its use has become much less common, but the design is still as functional as any of today's swords." she handed the weapon to Sasuke, who took it and immediately noted the way the grip fit his hand perfectly.

He drew the weapon swiftly, and smiled at the shining silver blade. "I like this one," he decided, and took a brief moment to satisfy his curiosity by casting his gaze at the pommel. Yep. Definitely a dragon, not a snake. It's got horns.

"That's it," Tenten confirmed. "That's your weapon affinity. You can feel it, right? It feels like the sword's a part of your arm, doesn't it?"

He nodded. "That's exactly it. It just feels like part of my arm."

Tenten nodded back enthusiastically, then sighed as a thought crossed her mind. "I always feel almost sorry about doing this to someone who just found their weapon affinity, but I've still gotta make you pay for that. It's seven thousand ryou."

Sasuke nodded, and fished into his pocket to pull out a plain black wallet. Shortly afterward, he was headed home with the shashka aligned diagonally on his lower back, with the hilt positioned behind his right hip. I can't wait to learn how to properly wield this sword, he mused. It really does feel perfect for me. Tenten knows what she's doing.

The young Uchiha tensed and activated his Sharingan instinctively, as four shinobi appeared out of nowhere around him. That headband on the six-armed kid... they're Oto-nin? "...Who are you, and what are you doing in my village?"

"We're the Sound Four," said the tanned boy with six arms. "I'm Kidoumaru of the East Gate."

A tall, thin boy with silver hair continued, "I'm Sakon of the West Gate."

"I'm Jiroubou of the South Gate," said a tall, heavyset boy with orange hair.

"And I'm Tayuya of the North Gate," the sole kunoichi finished. Pink hair, Sasuke mused silently. On anyone but Sakura, that hair color looks sort of disturbing. I never noticed that...

Then, the Sound Four suddenly moved, cutting off Sasuke's thoughts. They blurred around him wildly, circling him and passing each other. Kidoomaru was the first to attack, aiming to use taijutsu with the advantage granted him by having three times as many fists as any opponent would.

I can't afford to make a single mistake here. I'm alone against four enemy ninja with unknown power levels. Every movement, every subtle twitch of my muscles, all of it counts. Sasuke reached for the hilt of his new sword and unsheathed it in a reverse grip. I won't lose.

His Sharingan blazed with crimson light, and he aimed the tip of his sword backward to stop Jiroubou's approach. The hefty boy pulled his punch and stepped away from the blade carefully. Sasuke took this oppurtunity to charge at Kidoumaru and swing his sword forward as he charged. Kidoumaru dodged away from the blade, and Sasuke used the momentum of his sword to flick it from a reverse grip to a proper one. He swung again, this time scratching the older boy's chest with the tip of the shashka.

"Since when does this kid know kenjutsu?" Tayuya snarled as she dove toward him from above. "Orochimaru-sama never mentioned this shit!"

"Maybe he left this part out for kicks," Jiroubou replied as Sasuke dodged her punch, countering with a rather impressive flying roundhouse kick to her jaw. "It certainly seems like something he'd do," he sighed, "and you really shouldn't use such foul language, Tayuya."

"Just get your fat ass in here and help me!" she roared back, and backpedaled away from Sasuke's swinging blade. Jiroubou was too slow to get moving, so Tayuya decided to retreat to ninjutsu range. Sasuke turned and spotted Sakon calmly walking toward him.

An idea bloomed forth in Sasuke's mind, and he grinned darkly. He positioned the hilt of his sword near his hip, keeping the blade pointed at Sakon. If this works... He sprinted forward as though he were wielding a Chidori, and when he got within range he stabbed the blade into Sakon's chest. The older boy's eyes widened at the sheer speed with which Sasuke had moved, and he cried out in pain. "One down," Sasuke smirked.

"Not quite," Sakon replied, and a second pair of hands reached out of his chest to shove Sasuke away. The Uchiha kept his grip on the hilt of the sword, pulling it free of Sakon's wound. Even as he fell backward through the air, his Sharingan allowed him to see that the stab wound was healing already. The extra pair of arms shrank back into the older boy's chest, and he sneered at Sasuke.

Kekkei genkai, Sasuke realized, and rolled to his feet as quickly as he could. Jiroubou and Tayuya were already closing in with fists raised to Sasuke's left and right. The gaze of his two-tomoe Sharingan flicked back and forth between them.

He let go of his sword and moved sideways toward Tayuya, kicking her in the shin as soon as she was in range. The pink-haired girl swore and pitched forward, shocked at how strong Sasuke's kick had been. Before she could respond, the Uchiha had his hands locked on her waist, and with a roar he poured his strength into throwing her at Jiroubou. She grunted as her back slammed into his chest, and the giant moved his arms to catch her.

While this was happening, however, Jiroubou was still running forward with the momentum of his charge toward Sasuke. With Tayuya in his arms, he failed to spot Sasuke's sword on the ground under his feet. He stepped soundly on it, slipped, and fell forward. His head hit the ground hard, and he crushed Tayuya under his bulk. She pounded her fists against his hip, screaming, "Jiroubou you fucking moron! Get off of me, fatass!"

Then she turned, and saw Sasuke wielding a kunai in each hand. He smirked evilly at her with his Sharingan glowing and spinning. "Two down," he murmured darkly, and threw a kunai at each of their heads.

Each of the downed Sound Four members reached out and snatched a kunai from the air. As their Cursed Seals activated, Jiroubou stood allowing Tayuya to do the same. In a blur, Sakon appeared to her right and Kidoumaru materialized on Jiroubou's left. Tayuya spotted the sword near her feet, and kicked it aside contemptuously. Speaking for the group, she cast a glare at Sasuke. "Get ready, you little shit."

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