Opening 8 - D-Tecnolife by Uverworld
It was far from common knowledge that the Village Hidden in Sound was in fact hidden underground. Orochimaru had a preference for hideouts built in this style, since they tended to be very well concealed and protected from direct attacks to the outside of the structure.
In fact, Oto was hidden well enough that both Jiraiya and Sasuke knew they'd never have found it on their own. Kimimaro, however, was a different story. The last Kaguya merely made a single hand seal, and the ground before the three split in two to reveal a smoothly carved staircase of white stone that descended far beneath this forest in the Land of Rice.
"There aren't any traps on the way down," Kimimaro spoke up. "Orochimaru-sama has always been confident that if anyone discovered this place, his shinobi would defend it better than any trap he could make that they themselves wouldn't fall victim to."
"Hn." Sasuke reached behind his back and drew forth his shashka. It had been just under two months since they'd left Konoha, and Sasuke had spent that time absorbing Jiraiya's knowledge of kenjutsu like a sponge. "Lead us to Orochimaru's lab, or wherever he keeps records of his experiments."
"It would help if I knew what you're looking for specifically," Kimimaro replied.
"Let's start with a full collection of the fuinjutsu and juinjutsu that Orochimaru has created since leaving Konoha," Jiraiya decided.
"Orochimaru-sama keeps a rather comprehensive library, but he also keeps it well organised. Such a collection would likely all be in one place."
"Good. Take us there."
"Of course." Kimimaro took his first step back into Oto, then paused with a frown. "I... I'm not comfortable with the thought of attacking other Oto-nin. Orochimaru-sama is still my master."
"No, he isn't." Sasuke turned to Kimimaro. "I am. And you're a Konoha-nin now... Still, feel free to stay out of the way this time. We won't need your help against this enemy."
Kimimaro's hands tightened into fists, but he took a moment to think. If I accept what Sasuke is telling me, then my main purpose in life will always be to serve Konoha, not Orochimaru-sama. Why should I accept that? Why would I place the goals of this boy above those of Orochimaru-sama?
And yet... I'm doing all that I can to help Orochimaru-sama, and it isn't enough. I don't feel as though I'm being useful like this. I've bartered for my master's life, and Juugo's freedom. In exchange, I find myself standing here, in a situation where I can't... no, I refuse to put my abilities to use for the benefit of others... for the benefit of my master...
"Kimimaro?" Jiraiya spoke up. "You okay?"
The Kaguya nodded. "Just give me a moment."
Yes, that's what I've been missing. That's the one thought I've refused to acknowledge. Everything I can do for Orochimaru-sama has already been done, and now I have no purpose. I need to seek a new one, at least for the time being. I need to serve a second commander. True, I could think of the vague title 'Konoha' or 'Hokage' as the one who gives me my purpose, but that isn't enough for me. A vague, anonymous leader isn't one I could call -sama.
But Sasuke... he may never lead an army as Orochimaru-sama has, but he's a strong soul. I could find my purpose by carrying out his will. What alternative do I have? And as for the Oto-nin within these walls... they're not worthy of such a title. Each and every one of these ninja who refuse to let us pass... have betrayed Orochimaru-sama! By continuing to reside within these walls, they've given their allegiance to Kabuto, and they're his allies now.
"I'll clear the way, Sasuke-sama."
Kimimaro vanished into the underground base with a Pulse Step, leaving Sasuke and Jiraiya in silence. After a few seconds, the Uchiha's eyebrows slid up. "Sasuke-sama? I like how that sounds." he activated the first level of his Cursed Seal, and turned on his Sharingan as well before heading into the base, shortly followed by Jiraiya.
The first thing he noted was the wall of slightly blue-tinged bones piercing upward beneath the floor to through the ceiling. It completely blocked off the hallway that led deeper into Oto.
"Bracken Dance," Kimimaro called, and those bone spikes sank back into the floor as new ones formed just beyond them, beginning a continuous wave of bone spikes that spread forward along the hallway. Sasuke noted at least four different screams of agony, then silence as the bones all sank into the floor, leaving four... no, five thoroughly skewered bodies. A sixth Oto-nin who had been standing at the back of the group was spared, and he turned to run away.
"You missed one," Sasuke commented lightly.
"I'm hoping he might make the wise decision of advising as many of these ninja as possible to flee, or at least stay out of our way. If possible, I'd like to avoid killing those Oto-nin who are still loyal to Orochimaru-sama, assuming there are any left."
"Hn." Sasuke stepped past Kimimaro with his sword in hand, while the piercing gaze of his Sharingan flickered back and forth between the three approaching Oto-nin. Each was wearing a cloth mask to cover their faces, and he also noted that they were wearing black Oto flak jackets, meaning they were Chuunin or ranked higher than that.
"Are you guys Chuunin, or Jounin?" Sasuke asked. "Come to think of it... where are the Oto ANBU, anyway?"
"Oto has no ANBU," Kimimaro noted. "All Oto-nin are expected to carry out the sort of missions that other villages reserve for their ANBU. Assassination, interrogation, extortion. None of us flinch from such tasks."
Sasuke nodded. "So you're saying it takes a lot more to scare an average Oto-nin than a Konoha-nin?"
"That was Orochimaru-sama's intent, but I can't honestly claim that he succeeded."
"Hn." Sasuke glanced at the left Oto-nin, and the man collapsed into a heap on the floor, screaming. His two allies stepped away from him in horror, and Sasuke calmly drew a kunai to throw into the right Oto-nin's head while the central one was staring at the screaming one.
The Oto-nin in the middle heard a wet thunking sound, and he turned around to see his other teammate dead on the ground. Behind his mask, his mouth fell open and he screamed. With no other choice to make, he drew a kunai and sprinted toward Sasuke. The young Uchiha never even made a visible move, but the Oto-nin's chest was sliced open and his vision faded to black.
Sasuke promptly used the same Sharingan genjutsu on the other two Oto-nin, before the one in the middle even fell down, believing himself to be dead or dying.
"You didn't kill them," Jiraiya commented, interested.
"There's only one person I want to kill," Sasuke replied. "And even then, killing him isn't my primary goal anymore. I just need him to tell me everything he knows, everything he's kept hidden from me, and then... then, I'll let Itachi die."
Sasuke strode deeper into the underground ninja village, with his sword held loosely at his side. Jiraiya watched him walk away with a growing frown. "That kid... really worries me."
"How so?"
"He needs to lighten up, big time," Jiraiya sighed. "Both for his own sake and for mine. I don't think I can handle a moody little 'avenger' as my apprentice. Sasuke has a life of his own, and I can't stand him spending all of that time trying to turn himself into a badass on Itachi's level."
"But that's his purpose," Kimimaro protested. "He's devoted his entire life to his dream of avenging the Uchiha Clan."
"And that's the problem," the sage insisted. "Normal people don't obsess and focus their whole lives on doing one thing, which they can only do once. It's good that Sasuke at least has a girl in his life, and friends waiting for him back in Konoha, but if he continues down this path he's still going to turn into a mess eventually." Jiraiya began walking forward to catch up with Sasuke, shortly followed by Kimimaro. "I'll have to deal with this myself, before it gets out of hand... hey, Sasuke, aren't you forgetting something!?" he finished in a raised voice.
"Hn?" Sasuke stopped walking ahead of them, and glanced over his shoulder. "I haven't forgotten you two... you're just walking too slowly."
"That's not what I meant, dumbass," Jiraiya smirked. "You're not the one who knows his way around Oto, are you?"
Kimimaro blinked, and Sasuke looked away with a very slight blush of embarassment. "...Hn. Then hurry up."
"See what I mean?" Jiraiya asked in a low voice, and nudged Kimimaro's elbow. "He instinctively rushes ahead of the group so that he can get at his opponents before one of his allies can take them down, likely because he wants to get stronger and gain experience by defeating them. But he's so focused on that, that he forgets that he literally has no idea where he's going."
"I see," Kimimaro mused. "That would be problematic if he continues to do it..." he said no more, and vanished in a Pulse Step to reappear in front of Sasuke. "The library is this way, Sasuke-sama." he turned around the corner to his right, and Sasuke followed. Jiraiya caught up with them moments later, and immediately tensed when he saw a team of three masked Oto-nin approaching them.
"I recognize these ninja," Kimimaro noted. "One of Orochimaru-sama's more directly successful experiments... you two should allow me to deal with them."
"No," Sasuke replied bluntly. "They're mine."
The three Oto Jounin silently activated the first stage of their Cursed Seals, the pattern of which was kept hidden by the black shinobi uniforms covering their entire bodies.
"Sasuke-sama," Kimimaro began as he pulled out his spine, "If you intend to fight them you should at least know what they are. These three were once Oto Chuunin, but Orochimaru-sama marked each of them with a unique Cursed Seal that wiped their minds clean. They essentially have no thoughts and no personalities, and the only thing they exist to do is crush anyone who enters Oto without permission. In a few moments, they'll release the second stages of their seals, and they'll attack us all like rabid animals."
"So I can't be the only one to fight them..." Sasuke activated the second stage of his own seal, almost at the exact same time as the three brainwashed ninja. "...Their final form looks a lot like yours, Kimimaro," he noted. "Do they have the same seal?"
Kimimaro shook his head. "It's based on my Cursed Seal of Earth, but it's not quite the same. As I said, these three have no thoughts. All they have is a simple directive to prevent anyone from trespassing here."
As he said this, the three mindless guards sprinted forward with a snarl, and Sasuke sidestepped the one who had been moving toward him. He flipped his sword into a reverse grip, and stabbed the tail of the passing ninja, pinning it to the ground and halting his opponent's charge.
The thing that had once been a ninja shrieked and spun toward Sasuke, raising his right fist in an attempt to take the Uchiha's head off. Sasuke leaned back, and caught the offending arm by the wrist. He pulled the enemy ninja forward a bit, then breathed out a sizable cloud of flame into his enemy's face. When he performed it without hand seals, the Great Fireball was never as impressive or destructive, but it was still a lethal fire attack that he could deploy without warning. It was also the only fire jutsu Sasuke had ever learned from his father, and he was rather fond of it.
The Oto-nin, on the other hand, didn't seem to like it the way Sasuke did. He frantically tried to pull away from the flames, screeching incoherently, but Sasuke maintained his grip on the ninja's wrist while breathing chakra-fuelled flames onto the rest of his body. Eventually, the man stopped trying to pull away, and Sasuke let go of his wrist. He watched as the dying Oto-nin fell to his knees, then his hands as well. He tried to crawl away, but he didn't get far before he simply collapsed facedown and lay still as the flames ate deeper into his body.
Kimimaro, meanwhile, swung the bone whip he'd made out of his removed spine at the second Oto-nin, wrapping it around him and binding his arms to his sides. While still holding the Clematis Vine in his left hand, he formed a full-size Flower spear around his right arm and ran forward to impale his target with it. The Oto-nin never even tried to dodge, instead he kept reaching forward even as the massive bone spire gored through his chest, and he drove it deeper into himself as he futilely tried to claw at Kimimaro.
However, it didn't take long before the dying Oto-nin's swipes grew feeble, and he slumped down over the Clematis Flower. The Kaguya shook his head sadly, and twisted the spire in his foe's chest. When the Oto-nin failed to make a pained sound, Kimimaro concluded that he was dead and he pulled the bloody Flower free.
Jiraiya dodged a series of rapid, powerful punches from the third Oto-nin, retreating several steps backward while making the seals for a fire jutsu. Before he could actually attack his opponent with those flames, however, the Oto-nin crumpled forward. Jiraiya called off his attack, noting the presence of several hiltless kunai blades embedded in the dead man's back. They didn't quite seem to be made of metal, in fact they seemed more like a greyish-black stone. Jiraiya glanced up, noting that Sasuke's wings were covered in the same blades, and the left one was still pointed at the Oto-nin.
"Kimimaro... I thought you said these things were a successful experiment," Sasuke made his disappointment very evident in his tone. "They were complete pushovers."
"Orochimaru-sama did what he set out to do by creating these three, however I'll admit that they weren't the exceptional guards he had envisioned. Their inability to think and plan a proper attack was far too much of a weakness. In fact, Juugo and I were once tasked with training Mizuki Tora to overcome his utter tactlessness in battle, for the same reason. If he'd been able to properly use his strength, he would've been successful in capturing Naruto and Hinata. The same goes for these three in their attempts to kill us."
"So why count them as a successful experiment?"
"They were created exactly as Orochimaru-sama had designed them," Kimimaro admitted, "and the problem was only that the design itself turned out to be inefficient."
"...Hn. Let's keep moving."
Kimimaro nodded, and led the two Konoha-nin further down the sprawling halls of Oto. "Right this way, Sasuke-sama."
Jiraiya wholeheartedly expected another interruption from a team of Oto-nin, but none came. Instead, Kimimaro continued leading them through the underground halls until they came to a pair of closed, likely locked doors of dark hardwood, with a coiled snake carved out of them.
Kimimaro raised the Clematis Flower he was still holding, and sighed momentarily. "My apologies, Orochimaru-sama." he stabbed forward with the enhanced might of his Cursed Seal's first stage, obliterating whatever lock held the two doors together and smashing the doors themselves open. Jiraiya noted with surprise that the doors were reinforced with metal plates inside the wood.
This revealed a large, open room with a vaulted ceiling. Rows upon rows of shelves filled the hall, each one neatly stacked with a selection of scrolls in various sizes, some much older than others. "Come this way," Kimimaro instructed, and led them past six shelves before turning and walking between the sixth and seventh. He dissolved the Clematis Flower into bone fragments and white dust, then selected a scroll from the seventh shelf.
It was roughly the same size as the scroll Jiraiya carried on his back, Sasuke noted. The outside of the scroll was black with a dark green band around the middle; this was in turn marked with the kanji for 'seal.' Kimimaro unfurled the first few feet of the scroll, noting that it was in fact the one they wanted, before handing it to Sasuke. "This is the scroll where Orochimaru-sama keeps a record of his fuinjutsu."
Sasuke took the scroll. "Good work. Now, what's the rest of this stuff?"
"Ninjutsu research, mostly," Kimimaro replied, and waved a hand at the sixth shelf. "Orochimaru-sama's goal has always been to learn every jutsu in the world, and he focuses the majority of his efforts on elemental ninjutsu. But that's not all of it..." a thought occured to Kimimaro, and he cut himself off. "Give me a moment; I'll seal the entrance with a wall of bone..." he crouched down and laid his hands on the floor for a moment, and the Konoha-nin heard a loud cracking and smashing sound coming from the entrance to the library. "That's it. Take as much time as you need, and take whatever you like from this library."
He turned to leave the seventh shelf, and Jiraiya asked, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to collect some maps of Orochimaru-sama's bases," Kimimaro replied. "Such information would prove useful for Konoha, wouldn't it? In addition, we can't be sure how many of these bases Kabuto knows the way to. If I take the maps, I may be able to prevent some of Orochimaru's research from falling into that bastard's hands."
Kimimaro turned away from Jiraiya again, but this time he froze before taking a step forward, noting the presence of another ninja watching them. A bespectacled girl with crimson hair and eyes of the same shade sized up Kimimaro, Jiraiya and Sasuke, frowning. "...The hell? Konoha-nin?"
"Don't bother calling for reinforcements," Sasuke told her, "the door's sealed off."
"No shit," she grumbled sarcastically, "I was just about ready to leave when that wall of bones popped out of nowhere. Look, is it too much trouble for you to just let me go? I was ditching this place anyway."
This caught Kimimaro's interest. "You're leaving Oto? Why?"
"That Kabuto guy is a sleaze," Karin replied. "Sure, Orochimaru's chakra felt distorted and inhuman too, but at least with him there was a sense of... something impressive. Kabuto isn't the kind of guy I can follow orders from."
Kimimaro smiled softly. "A sleaze, you say... not the word I would've used, but certainly fitting. Why don't you help us with this?" he invited. "We're taking the more valuable scrolls from Orochimaru-sama's library so that Kabuto can't use them."
Karin hesitated, then activated her Kagura Shingan and inspected Kimimaro's chakra. After a moment, her eyes went wide. Kami, his chakra... it's like lava! Such power, and heat... such warmth... "Y-Yeah... Hell yeah, I'm in! You're telling me I get to kick Kabuto in the sack on my way out? Sounds great!"
Kimimaro's smile broadened, and he stepped out of the hall between the sixth and seventh shelves. "Excellent. Welcome to the team; I'm Kimimaro Kaguya."
"Karin," she answered shortly, watching him disappear between the second and third shelves. "How'd you guys get in here, anyway?"
"Kimimaro opened the door," Sasuke answered, "and then we fought our way here. To be honest, it wasn't really much of a fight, though."
Karin winced. I wonder what they might've done if I refused to help them... best not to think about that now... "I, uh... could help you guys find some specific information you want..."
"Lightning Release," Sasuke replied immediately, startling her a bit. "Where does Orochimaru keep his notes on lightning jutsu?"
"T-This way," Karin stammered, and led him between the ninth and tenth shelves. "There's a bunch of stuff on lightning jutsu here," she ran her hands over a collection of small scrolls, then turned back to Sasuke with a faint blush. "You know, you're kinda cute..."
"I'm taken." Sasuke slipped one of the scrolls out of the shelf and unfurled it.
"O-Oh," Karin muttered, slightly disappointed. She activated her Kagura Shingan again for a moment, and noted, "Your chakra's sort of... hot," she admitted.
"I said I'm taken. That means I have a girlfriend, and I have no interest in cheating on her."
"Hey, don't take it like that!" Karin snapped angrily. "'Sides, if we're talking about chakra, that Kimimaro guy's way hotter than you!"
Kimimaro, meanwhile, had been unfurling a large map from the third shelf, and thanks to the noise of the flexing paper he missed the first half of her sentence. "...that Kimimaro guy's way hotter than you!" his eyes went wide and he choked on his disbelief. Did I really just hear...? he shook his head. I must've heard her wrong...
"Hn." Sasuke rolled up the scroll in his hands, and stuffed it into his pouch while taking out a similarly sized scroll. "As far as I know, he's single, but then again he might've had something going on with Orochimaru..."
Karin snorted. "That's a stupid rumor and I never understood it. Just because Orochimaru's creepy as all hell, that doesn't automatically mean he likes little boys."
"Hn," Sasuke mumbled again, and unfurled the scroll from his pouch to reveal a large storage seal, which he then loaded with the first scroll he'd taken from the shelf and eventually several more. He scanned through the contents of each one with a slight anticipatory smirk. As he did this, he called, "Do you know where the scrolls on fire jutsu are?"
"They should be just to the left of the lightning ones," Karin noted. "So... are you guys just here to capitalize on Oto being taken over, or what?"
"We're declaring war on Oto, and taking these jutsu to use them against Kabuto." Sasuke's eyes widened slightly as he read about the jutsu in the next scroll. Composite of nature and shape manipilation... theoretically unbreakable blade of chakra... requires highly condensed lightning chakra... I could create this jutsu by modifying the Chidori!
"Sasuke-sama, please come look at this," Kimimaro called. "If this is what I think it is, you might be interested in it!"
"Hn?" he rolled up and sealed away the scroll in his hands, then made his way to Kimimaro's voice. The older boy was holding what looked to be an old and worn-out scroll comparable in size to the ones Jiraiya and now Sasuke were carrying. "What is that?"
"It was in with the maps," Kimimaro noted, "but it has a blood seal on it. To open it, we'd need a sample of Orochimaru-sama's blood... but take a look at what it says here," he pointed to the kanji written above the seal holding the scroll shut.
"Ryuuchi Cave," Sasuke breathed. "That is promising..." He flared his Sharingan and flicked his gaze toward the sound of an explosion at the entrance. "How long do we have until they get through that?"
"A few minutes," Kimimaro replied. "My bones are stronger than tempered steel, and that wall is almost two feet thick."
"See what else you can find, then. You'll have to carry this," he tapped the scroll about Ryuuchi Cave, "since I'm already carrying the fuinjutsu."
"Yes, Sasuke-sama."
The Uchiha returned to where he'd been scanning through Orochimaru's lightning and fire jutsu. Hm... this one looks promising... the Great Dragon Flame Jutsu... he sealed away another scroll, then frowned. What the hell am I thinking? I don't have to read each scroll before I decide to take it... Switching tactics, Sasuke began plucking fire jutsu scrolls from the shelf and stuffing them into the storage seal. After about a minute, he had Orochimaru's entire collection of Fire Release jutsu sealed away. Ah, much better... now, on to the lightning jutsu...
"Hey... guys... we may have a problem," Karin spoke up worriedly. "There's a huge chakra signature just outside this room," she pointed to the wall of bone spikes. "It's a fuinjutsu... I can see about a dozen Jounin-level ninjas out there, pooling their chakra into a seal."
"A breaching seal," Kimimaro realized. "They're going to smash their way in."
Sasuke rolled up the almost-full storage scroll, and stuffed it into his pouch. "Is there another way out of this room?"
"N-No," Karin stammered. "They've got us cornered."
"That's fine," Sasuke replied. "We'll fight our way out. Kimimaro, take a look through Orochimaru's jutsu scrolls and see if you can find anything useful." the Uchiha stood to the right of the bone wall, drawing his sword silently and activating his Sharingan.
The white spikes exploded into the room, smashed apart by a fiery explosion. Sasuke watched it happen in slow motion, and he dashed forward just as the first Oto-nin stepped into the room. The Jounin's reaction time was good, but Sasuke was able to dodge his kunai stab and counter with a swing of his sword. The man cried out as the shashka drew a long line of crimson along his chest. The wound wasn't deep enough to reach his vital organs, but it bled profusely and he fell in his shock.
Sasuke continued, and cut down the other ten Oto-nin silently. When that was done, he flicked the blood from his sword and sheathed it behind his back. "Jiraiya, start dousing the library with toad oil," he instructed, and let his Sharingan fade out of his eyes.
"I don't remember putting you in charge of this mission," Jiraiya pointed out reasonably.
"Are you telling me you think it's a better idea to leave everything we can't carry, for Kabuto to use however he wants? Furthermore, if we start a fire by burning down this library, we'll probably end up destroying the entire base. We'd wipe the Village Hidden in Sound completely off the map in a single day. What does that say about Konoha's might?"
"You make good points; I'm just reminding you not to get used to giving me orders." Jiraiya fell silent as his cheeks swelled outward, and he spat out a torrent of golden oil over much of the library. While Karin stuck her tongue out in obvious disgust, Kimimaro shook his head sadly at the thought of destroying Orochimaru's research. "Alright, kids, we'll have to get going now." Karin and Kimimaro nodded, quickly following Jiraiya out of the room. The sage turned to Sasuke with a grin. "You wanna do the honors, Sasuke?"
Sasuke nodded, and clapped his hands together in the Tiger seal. "Fire Release: Great Fireball." He breathed out an enormous blast of flame that spread into the room, catching the oil-soaked paper and wood. The flames roared as their intensity was boosted tenfold, and Sasuke covered his face with his arm, looking away from the bright explosion. "Let's go."
Karin hesitated for a moment, watching the flames dance with wide eyes. She shakily pushed up her glasses, then spun and followed the Konoha-nin.
X
It took about two hours, but the four ninja made their way out of the Land of Rice with little resistance, likely because most of the Oto-nin were trying to salvage what they could from the burning underground village, or even put out the fire altogether.
They arrived at a small town just on the other side of the Rice-Fire border, with Jiraiya at the head of the formation. The sky was tinted a fiery orange color by the sunset, and the few clouds above were painted vivid scarlet.
"We're not gonna stay here for long," Jiraiya decided. "This is a civilian town, and if any Oto-nin follow us here, we could make a huge mess fighting them off. These people don't need trouble like that." The sage took a seat on the ground, and pulled the giant scroll from his back to roll it open and reveal a sizable storage seal within. "The thing is, we just raided a ninja village and took tons of classified documents from them. We can't just wander around the Elemental Countries with this stuff, at least not all of it. So show me everything you guys took from Oto."
As he, Sasuke, and Karin sat, Kimimaro pulled free the large scroll behind his own back, presenting it to the Toad Sage. "This scroll has a blood seal on it, meaning that we'll need a trace of Orochimaru-sama's blood to open it, but the label says 'Ryuuchi Cave.'" Jiraiya's eyes widened slightly, and Kimimaro set the scroll down. The Kaguya then pulled a typically sized scroll from his pouch and unfurled it. "In here are a collection of maps of the various bases Orochimaru-sama has constructed in and around the Land of Rice. They detail not only the locations, but also the layouts of these bases, one of which currently serves as Juugo's prison." lastly, the white-haired boy pulled a book bound in brown leather from his pouch, showing it to Jiraiya. "And this is a collection of Orochimaru-sama's notes on the Kaguya Clan, in particular our bloodline. I'd rather not part with this, especially since I'm the only one who can put it to use."
"Fine by me," Jiraiya nodded. "It's not like we have to send everything to Konoha, but we shouldn't carry all of it around with us, either. Sasuke, what'd you get?"
"You already know about this," Sasuke pulled off the scroll containing Orochimaru's fuinjutsu encyclopedia, laying it in front of Jiraiya's own unfurled scroll. "But I also got this." he pulled a smaller scroll from his pouch and unsealed the contents, a rather large mound of similarly pocket-sized jutsu scrolls. "All of Orochimaru's fire jutsu, and much of his lightning jutsu as well. I'd like to copy some of these into a scroll of my own before sending the originals to Konoha." He turned his gaze on the red-haired girl next to him. "What'd you get, Karin?"
"Um..." she looked down, blushing sheepishly. "Actually, I didn't take anything... Look, I swear I'll be more useful next time!" she insisted. "I promise!"
Jiraiya nodded. "Alright then. I..." he waved his hand over his own unfurled scroll, unsealing a heap of scrolls and books comparable to Sasuke's, "...took a collection of experimental weapon and ninja tool designs, formulas for experimental soldier pills and medicines, records of the various mythical weapons Orochimaru was tracking, and some later volumes of his journal."
"His journal? Why does that matter?" Karin asked curiously.
"Orochimaru was always fond of keeping track of everything he did, all of his ideas and experiments. In theory, these recent journals might contain notes about experiments that he hasn't actually done yet, or ones that were ongoing before Kabuto took control of Oto."
"Greasy bastard," Karin commented.
"My thoughts exactly," Kimimaro added fiercely. This drew the attention of the others, and they noticed his hands were clenched into tight fists. "The more I hear about him, the more I think about hunting him down and making him pay. Now I can't even stand the sound of his name! Kabuto Yakushi... I'll be the one to kill him, I swear it."
Sasuke smiled. "It feels good, doesn't it?" Kimimaro looked up from the ground to Sasuke, confused. "It feels good to just say 'I'll kill him,' and know in your heart that you're going to really do it. It makes you feel powerful. That feeling is called hatred, and it makes you feel powerful because that's exactly what you become under its influence. Hate can be a sword that you use to cut your enemy to pieces. Trust me, I've been doing this a lot longer than you have... So wield your hatred with careful ferocity. Otherwise, you'll end up cutting yourself with that same sword."
"I see... thank you for the advice, Sasuke-sama..."
"Now wait just a second," Jiraiya cut in. "Kimimaro, let me tell you something. Hatred isn't something a person is supposed to weaponize. That feeling you have right now won't last, and eventually it'll turn bitter. You start off just hating one person like Kabuto, but if you let your hatred grow, if you make it grow, sooner or later you'll be nothing but hatred. You'll stop hating one person and start hating the whole world, which is even more likely if you actually kill Kabuto. You see, hate isn't the answer to anything; it's a question."
"Oh?" Sasuke turned to Jiraiya with a faint glimmer of interest. "If hate's the question, then what's your answer?"
Jiraiya sighed, turning his gaze upward toward the orange and crimson sky. "I've had a lot of time to think about that, Sasuke... it's a really difficult question, and my answer isn't quite right yet, but let me tell you what I've figured out so far. When people get hurt, they learn to hate… when people hurt others, they become hated and racked with guilt. But knowing that pain allows people to be kind. Pain allows people to grow… and how you grow is up to you."
"Tch."
"I can't say I know how you feel, Sasuke, but I can say you're not the only one feeling it. I just don't know what to do about all the hatred spreading throughout this world. I don't think I'll ever be the one to find the answer, so eventually that task will fall to each of you, my students. You, Naruto, and Hinata. I believe that a day will come when people will truly understand each other. If I can't find the answer, if I don't live to see that day, then it'll be up to you three to do it!"
Sasuke remained silent for several seconds. "...I don't think I can do that. I don't think I'll ever be able to overcome my hatred... it's a part of who I am. I've dedicated my life to finding my brother and killing him, and even though I've changed my plans to take him alive, I still feel that I'm doing the right thing. My hatred is a weapon, and my hand is glued to the hilt. I can never let it go."
Jiraiya smirked. "Kid, you're not giving yourself enough credit. You know, a good friend of mine once gave me his opinion of you. He said 'Sasuke's still a blank canvas. He can be dyed in any color.'"
"...And who was this friend?" Sasuke questioned.
"It's not important," Jiraiya shrugged. "He's just a friend of mine." he stood, and turned toward the sunset. "That's enough of all this serious talk; I think it's time we celebrated our success today. I happen to know there's a really nice pub in this town, and I say we should get something to eat before we head west. In fact, it's best we stay here until after the sun goes down completely, since we don't want that bright light in our eyes while we're on the run from whatever Oto-nin are still following us."
"Hn." Sasuke stood as well. "I don't know why you're lying to me, but I'll figure it out. First the crow summon, and now this mysterious friend of yours... the way you quoted him makes me feel that he isn't just some guy you know. Eventually you'll slip up, and you'll have to come clean..."
Jiraiya chuckled. "Are you hungry or not?"
"...Yeah, I'm hungry."
"There. Was that so hard? Follow me, everyone."
X
Next time on Sasuke Gaiden...
"I told him I would always be there for him, even if it's just as an obstacle for him to overcome."
The Melancholy of Itachi Uchiha - May 20, 2014
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