"I'm not getting inside that fruit basket," Sasuke said as he glared at them. "You have to," Tayuya replied with an eyeroll. "I don't care about the explanation, I'm not going inside," he snapped. "Why did Orochimaru-sama choose a stubborn prick of all the people?" she muttered not so subtly. "I can hear you," the Uchiha said with an eyeroll. After another 15 minutes of bickering, the girl finally obliged. "You better make sure Orochimaru-sama isn't on our tails for this," she huffed. He nodded in reply. "You go on ahead, we'll meet at our specified location," she said and the group disappeared in a flash. 'Not even a goodbye?' he thought with irritation. He had been too used to Naruto and Sakura bidding him farewell most times.

He looked at the basket again. He was sure as hell that he wasn't getting into that thing. In he previous timeline, it had made him succumb to his Curse Mark a lot more than he wanted. He wasn't sure about the workings of his current one as such he wasn't willing to take any chances. 'Now I have to wait at the Valley of the End,' he thought as he began walking to the destination.


"Are you sure you're okay?" Ino asked her best friend. "Why do you ask?" the pinkette replied. "Everyone is aware of how you feel for Sasuke, your feelings for him are stronger than any of us. You should be crying right now, not acting like some simp!" the blonde snapped in anger. The lack of reaction made her even more angry. "Billboard Brow!" Sakura looked at her with a quizzical expression. "I literally do not know what you're talking about. I already told you, I'm fine," she said as she wrote her notes. They were in the Yamanaka flower shop and Sakura was waiting for Ino to finish her shift.

She stopped writing and looked at Ino who had stopped watering the plants and was looking at her with a pained expression. "Sakura, I'm your best friend. I deserve to know some stuff," she said in a hurt tone. "I know I'm not part of Team 7 but..." she trailed. The female member of Team 7 sighed. "I already cried Ino, there's no need for me to do it in public," she said with a comforting smile. "But-" "I trust Sasuke-kun," she said. Her eyes were hard and Ino felt as if she was looking at an entirely different person. 'She so deadset on trusting him, as if other people's words don't even matter,' the blonde thought. "Fine," the Yamanaka said as she turned back to tending to her flowers. Sakura was already writing.


"SASUKE-TEME!!!"

Naruto's voice rang out in the clearing. Sasuke was seated atop of Madara's head. Naruto was on the other side on top of Hashirama's. "Dobe," he said as he stood up. The two had a stare-off before speeding towards each. They met in the air midway and engaged in taijutsu. They landed on the surface of the water and continued on with their fight. Neither of them used ninjutsu and both seemed content with their fighting style. They both jumped back at the same moment, creating space between them. "I'm not here to bring you back to Konoha," Naruto said as he raised up his hands in surrender. "Then what do you want?" he asked as his Curse Mark began to throb. He felt himself slowly lose control over his emotions. 'Kill him,' a voice whispered fiercely in his ear. He ignored it.

"I just want you to know that we'll always be a team no matter what," he said. Sasuke said nothing in return. "Sakura-chan told me not to go after you," the blonde said. Sasuke's head snapped up in shock. "But since the Hokage already asked, I didn't have a choice but to come. She wanted me to tell you that she trusts you," he added. "I trust you too," Naruto said. "And so, we're gonna come for you, dattebayo." "We don't know what you're doing but you're not a traitor to Konoha. So we'll wait for you," the blonde finished with a grin and a thumbs up. "I trust Sakura-chan and her judgement so you better make sure to come back otherwise I'm dragging your ass back to the village." Sasuke only stared in shock. They were going to wait for him. This was a big difference from what had happened during his timeline. He forced a blank look on his face. "Fine, just take care of her," Sasuke said as he turned around and began walking towards Sound.

"See ya around teme!"


"My my my, if it isn't my dear Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru said with a smile. Sasuke glared back in return. "I see you accepted my invitation then," the Sannin said. "I'm here, aren't I?" he snapped. "I guess so, you must be tired from your journey. Kabuto, please show him his quarters. We'll begin your training tomorrow," the snake said as he motioned the two to leave his room.

Both Sasuke and Kabuto walked down the halls in silence. The dimness and dampness of the walls were sickening to the Uchiha. He was never a fan of underground. "So, how is Sakura-chan? I heard she became an Apprentice of Tsunade-sama," the silver-haired boy said. "Why do I care?" he bit out. "I thought you would be interested seeing how she is the only female you ever interact with," he replied. "Just shut up and mind your own damn business," the genin replied. Kabuto nodded.


"So care to explain why I don't see Sasuke with you?" Kakashi asked. "Not to mention that you don't have a single trace of a fight on your body," he added. Naruto scratched the back of his head as he grinned. "I missed him, he was already gone," the blonde explained. Kakashi stared at him. "And why didn't you go after him?" the jounin asked. "I didn't want to leave Fire Country otherwise I would be made a rouge ninja, dattebayo," he countered. "But your mission was to bring Sasuke back at all costs." Naruto looked surprised. "Oh, my bad," he said sheepishly.

Kakashi knew a lie when he heard one. He had worked in ANBU before. Naruto was lying and terribly too, not to mention he could smell Sasuke's scent on him meaning they had engaged in physical contact. Whatever the reason his student didn't go after him and why Sakura wasn't crying for Sasuke was unknown to him. The Sakura and Naruto he knew would go to great lengths to bring their teammate back. He would just wait and let events play themselves out accordingly. "Fine, let's go back to the village then," he said with an eye-smile. "Sure thing sensei!"


It was the middle of the night when Sasuke sensed five figures located just outside his room. He looked at the window, there were four more outside. 'Can't I have a moment of peace?' he thought as he took out three kunai from his pouch and threw them outside. Immediately, all nine ninjas jumped into his room. He performed a quick fireball jutsu, burning two of his opponents severely. Sensing shuriken coming from behind him, he jumped up and stuck to the ceiling. He threw a kunai at another and it hit his shoulder. He dispatched another three using taijutsu. He put two under a genjutsu using his Sharingan. It left only one who was standing in a corner.

Sasuke glared at him. He already knew who it was despite wearing a mask. "Kabuto," he growled. The figure didn't reply and opted to send several shuriken instead. The Uchiha dodged all of them. He sent a punch at him and the figure avoided it. He sent another punch which was deflected in a Hyuga fashion. A chakra laden palm slammed into his right shoulder. Pain shot out in his entire hand, he discovered he couldn't use it anymore. Too bad he was left handed. Without using handsigns, lightning formed in his left hand. He sent it flying at him and the figure jumped away, his Chidori drilling into his bed.

He rushed again at him, throwing another handful of shuriken at him. The masked ninja jumped up to avoid them but the shuriken changed direction, following him as he moved up. Two of them hit his shoulder and thigh while the rest were deflected. Using a single handsign, the Uchiha created two clones which sent several small fireballs at him. The ninja countered with a waterstyle jutsu of his own. This created mist in the room. He felt a kunai press against his jugular vein. Before he could try to negotiate, Sasuke slashed it across his neck. He gasped, eyes wide and fell down but didn't die. Instead he felt like he was suffocating. The ground below him disappeared and he was suddenly falling into a volcano of lava. The heat coming from it was scalding.

He screamed until his throat was raw but nothing came out. As soon as his body made contact with the lava, he had changed location and was now frozen in an iceberg. He tried to move but he couldn't, the iceberg to get more colder by the second. He felt pressure from all sides. He was sure that he was gonna burst but instead, he was now running in a dark hallway where the only source of light was at least another country away. He continued on running, he was near yet he could not reach it. Plus he was bone tired. This couldn't be real, it wasn't real. He muttered a weak Kai, dispelling the genjutsu.

Kabuto found himself outside Sasuke's room, bound and gagged. His mask had been torn off. Beside him lay a note. "Bug off," he read. He smirked. That boy was something else.


"Good morning Sasuke-kun, I hoped you enjoyed your sleep," Orochimaru greeted him in the morning as soon as they entered his room with Kabuto in tow. "Why did you send those ninjas to me?" he growled. "Why, I was just checking to see if my apprentice was in top shape," the snake said. "Couldn't you wait until today?" he asked. "A ninja's life is unpredictable. You should always be prepared for anything. I'll be teaching you all that, it is what you came here for after all," the Sannin replied with a smile. Sasuke rolled his eyes in return. "The only reason I'm here is for me to defeat my brother and control the Curse Mark. I have no loyalty to Sound or any hidden village so don't expect any," the Uchiha said with glare. "I wasn't expecting any," was the reply. "Let us begin your training."


"You're leaving?" Sakura asked disbelievingly. "Well, not leaving entirely. I just have to train with Ero-sennin for awhile. Plus there's a criminal organization hunting people like me so I have to stay protected," Naruto tried to explain. "People like you? You mean that power in the Forest of Death? I've never seen anything like that," the pinkette commented. "Yeah, I'm a jinchuriki, of the Nine Tails, dattebayo," he said lowly. Sakura stared at him. "It's not common knowledge among our generation but the adults know it which is why everyone was sorta cruel to me coz I'm carrying a demon," he looked at the ground. "I asked Ero-sennin if I could tell you so that you'd understand. Sasuke-teme already knows," he added. Sakura smiled. "It's okay Naruto. I understand, thanks for telling me and trusting me," she said.

"I'm sorry for having to leave you all alone in the village. With Sasuke gone and Kakashi-sensei a jounin, you won't have your team around," he said apologetically. "I'm used to it. I'm the child of nobodies in a team with a jinchuriki, the last Uchiha and the famous Copy Ninja," she said with a hint of bitterness. "Sakura-chan, I-" "There's no need to apologize. It's not your fault, I just have to work hard so that I'll make my name as well plus I have Ino-pig and Tsunade-sama," she said with another smile but the blonde knew better. She wasn't okay with being left behind. "I'll come back Sakura and we'll bring back Sasuke-teme together," he said. "I'll come back for you," he said as he held both of their hands together.

"Why do I feel like I'm watching the part where Mamoru-kun says goodbye to his girlfriend Asumi-chan in Icha Icha Paradise?" Jiraiya asked as he stood a good distance away from the pair. "It's kinda similar though. They weren't a couple by then, Mamoru-kun didn't want to confess yet as Asumi-chan was suffering from heartbreak since Haru-kun left her," Kakashi piped in. Both adults shook their heads in pity.

The two teammates stared at each other. Sakura's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Just make sure to eat healthy okay? And don't forget to do your laundry. Don't read Jiraiya-sama's books at all costs," she said as she wiped the tears which fell from her eyes. "I'll be back, dattebayo. That's my ninja way!" Naruto said with a thumbs up. They grinned at each other. "No, that's not the part," Jiraiya deadpanned. "Well, they are my two cute little students after all, not your perverted characters," Kakashi said with an eye-smile.

The two members of Team 7 bid farewell to Jiraiya and Naruto as they left the village. It was almost six months since Sasuke left. "I guess I should say goodbye to you too sensei," Sakura said as she turned to the silver-haired jounin. "I guess so," he trailed as his eyes looked at the sky. "Goodbye Kakashi-sensei, I'll see you around," she said as she hugged him. She felt him stiffen under her touch but ignored it. They were now going their own separate ways, ready to reunite some time in the future.


I'm done with this chapter. So we'll be arriving at the long awaited time skip. Continue reading for more. Reviews are still greatly appreciated.

Tozoonana

AfricanFire