Later that day
Kakashi sat in his office watching the numbers outside in the streets dwindle 'That went well he thought to himself or at least as well as telling them a man they viewed as a grandfather figure wasn't the man they thought he was or the cold-hearted clan killer was just following the orders of the Hokage and his Advisor' turning to glance at Sasuke 'having him present seemed to appease the older generations who remember what it was like before the 9 tails event and while his peers and the younger generation look at him with curiosity like he is an enigma' he thought
"You required something from me Hokage-Sama?" Neji asked glancing at the Uchiha beside him he had not been present at the meeting earlier instead staying with Hanabi so this was his first time seeing him since the news broke
"Yes I had a job offer for you both as a way to prevent a situation like this from occurring again and calm any concerns the villagers may have left" Kakashi crossed his hands and leaned forward on his desk "That is if you are capable of working together"
"I don't have any issues with him," Said Sasuke
"It's hard to have a problem with the man who saved my life" Neji knows that if Sasuke arrived at the battlefield any later or chose not to block the Wood Spears he'd be dead right now
"Good!," Kakashi winked. "I would like to offer you both our position in Anbu. Not just any positions, though. I'd like for Sasuke to be Anbu Commander with Neji as Vice Commander. You see, I've been starting the changing of guards, if you will, with Shikamaru taking over as Jounin commander. Ino has been working to take over as the barrier corps leader, Sakura is starting to become Head of Medical, and Naruto is in training to be Hokage. Of course, I plan on giving him some freedom before he's stuck behind this desk," Kakashi explained.
"I still have responsibilities to my clan but if Hisashi-Sama sees no problem with it I accept," Neji said before turning to Sasuke to see his answer
"What about my Journey? The last month I've been investigating missing people cases from Shinobi to nobles to your average villager one man I met said the bandits who took him spoke of a mountain but he didn't know which one exactly he said the camp he escaped from was at the base of a mountain when I investigated it was a hill and they had already cleared the recent rain covering their tracks. I was actually on the way to see Orochimaru when you contacted me" Sasuke explained his current situation
"See as the Anbu Commander you could cover more ground with the use of the squads under your command of course you'd have to screen the forces first which was another reason I wanted you two to take over," Kakashi said
Sasuke caught what he was referring to "You think the Anbu is compromised?" he did notice the lack of Anbu present in the Hokage office at the moment
"It is highly suspicious that such a leak was allowed considering the Anbu and Barrier Corp should monitor the archive at all times," Neji said thinking aloud
"Yes it's why I'm relieving the current leaders from their positions I had planned on waiting but things changed and Sasuke the point of Neji being your second in command is that if you wish to investigate things yourself you're allowed to leave as long as you notify me similarly to Jiraiya" Seeing Sasuke still think it over he continued "Why don't you go see Orochimaru and think it over if you do decide to turn in down I would still like you to communicate with Neji going forward"
"Alright" Taking Kakashi's advice Sasuke stood and nodded at both men before opening a portal directly into Orochimaru's hideout
As the crowd started to thin out around the Hokage tower the members of the Konoha 11 plus Sai in the conference met up with Rock Lee and Tenten who weren't in the meeting Neji was called away by the Hokage although the friends were all together no words were spoken feeling the gravity of today's events
"I Can't imagine what Sasuke is feeling" Rock Lee couldn't help but wonder aloud having only seen him from the ground as he stood beside Kakashi during his speech, Tenten nodded her head in agreement
"I wonder what Kakashi wanted to talk to Sasuke and Neji about?," Ino said knowing it most likely had to do with the current situation
Shikamaru lit a cigarette ignoring the glare Sakura gave him if war didn't kill him he doubted a cigarette would "he's probably offering them the positions in Anbu Kakashi and I discussed Sasuke would take over as head of the Anbu with Neji as his number two allowing Sasuke to travel similar to Jiraiya as long as he notifies the Hokage and provides a way to be contacted should it be needed"
"What! How come I wasn't involved in the meeting?" Naruto pouted not liking he didn't get to have input on this even though he liked the idea of Sasuke and Neji being the Anbu leaders when he became Hokage
"Who cares about that why wasn't I offered the position!"Kiba couldn't help but be disappointed he had acknowledged that he wouldn't be Hokage but seeing all his peers get promotions was aggravating
Ino turned to Sai "What about you Sai did you want the position" concerned that might be upset about not being considered despite his experience
"I think I had enough Anbu missions for now my art has different uses like Fuinjutsu" Sai replied grasping her head "Besides I get to spend more time with you this way" causing Ino to squeal with joy
Choji laughed "Anbu huh? I don't think I'm cut out for that stuff but I think Tenten would fit in with your fighting style being suited for covert operations due to your skill with weapons"
"Huh?" Tenten hadn't given much thought to what she wanted to do going forward but it did sound appealing and the paychecks would be nice
"you know who would be good for Anbu Hinata" said Kiba
"m-me?" Hinata stammered caught off guard by Kiba
"I agree our squad has always been one designed to track and capture your Byakugan would make it easy to both find targets and avoid patrols along with your fighting style that's meant to incapacitate your enemies without the need for Jutsu," Shino said agreeing with Kiba's statement
"Anbu missions are a bit much for Hinata don't you think" Naruto cut in shaking his head
Hinata felt Irritated, 'she worked hard before and after the war to grow Stronger to be the Clan heir her father would be proud of but of course, and course Naruto hasn't noticed' she thought stung that he still thinks of her as the shy girl she was and by the fact it's been almost two years since she professed her love and a year since she was willing to die for him again with still no reply
"That's not for you to decide at least not yet" Neji glared at Naruto having caught the last statement as he walked up
"Hey where's Sasuke did Kakashi-sensei still need something?" Sakura glanced around trying to find him saddened when she couldn't locate him
"He left to go to Orochimaru" he smirked finding humour in the sentence
Choji laughed "If I had a bag of chips for the times I heard that sentence I'd have two which isn't much but still"
Shikamaru chuckled "At least this time I don't have to lead you guys on a mission to retrieve him"
"At least I was here this time" Shino was still upset he wasn't a part of it
Kiba rolled his eyes "Let it rest Shino it wasn't exactly a fun mission"
"He's right and speaking of rest I'm going to go get some" Shikamaru yawned before walking away others agreed with his statement and started to head off to today's events having taken its toll
"Hey wait it's been a while since we've all been together " Naruto cried before sighing realizing it was pointless as no one replied to tired to hangout or not in the mood, he turned to head back to Ichiraku's catching sight of Sakura "Hey Sakura!"
Sakura paused in her tracks turning around "Hey Naruto" she said glumly
"I was just wondering if you wanted to join me for Ramen my treat" he scratched the back of his head nervously
Sakura was bout to say no before catching herself 'Getting ramen did sound better than feeling sad by herself and he is offering to pay" she thought with a sigh "Sure Naruto lead the way"
The two set off to Ichiraku Ramen unaware of the white eyes who watched them depart as she bid farewell to her teammates and waited for Neji to say his goodbyes so they could head home together.
Orochimaru's Hideout
Sasuke exited the portal feeling the drain on his chakra remembering he still had to find a way to fix that during the war when he first got it he didn't have this problem glancing down at his missing arm he wondered if the loss of the limb had anything to do with it after all his chakra system was no longer whole. Lost in his thoughts until he noticed the present sneaking up on him turning around to see Orochimaru.
"Look who's come to visit his Sensei" Orochimaru mocked
Sasuke stared at Orochimaru "Hn there's something I want to talk to you about " he said acknowledging his presence and ignoring his teasing
Orochimaru chuckled " I suspected this visit isn't because you missed me but I'm a bit busy right now so you'll have to walk & talk while I check on the others" walking away knowing Sasuke would follow
"Others?" Sasuke asked now walking alongside Orochimaru
"Team Hebi or it was Changed to Taka, wasn't it? Although you seem to have forgotten about them since you made nice with your old friends," Orochimaru said as they came to a stop before two doors, Opening up the doors revealed a large room with sand covering the floors with a lake and an artificial sky. Turning to Sasuke noticing him scanning the room he said "Impressive isn't it although I can't take all the credit"
Before Sasuke could ask who helped him he caught the sound of combat looking in the direction of the noise he caught sight of Suigetsu Dodging a series of chains by leaping into the sky only to be met by Juugo with no chance to evade he turned his body into liquid causing Juugo's punch to pass through him.
Suigetsu reformed on the ground yelling "Timeout teaming up against me is unfair!"
"What!! If Juugo wants to take advantage of the opening you being airborne provides that's not teaming up" Karin yelled walking up to Suigetsu
"We aren't teaming up against you," Juugo said walking up to stand in between the two
Due to the yelling, they didn't notice Orochimaru and Sasuke approach "Children Children you're making us look bad in front of our guest" Orochimaru Chuckled watching the way they froze at the sight of Sasuke
"Well look what the snake dragged in" Suigetsu snickered at his joke being the first to recover from shock
"A lot of talk from a guy who was just complaining because he was losing" Sasuke smirked before nodding at Juugo which he returned
Karin laughed causing Suigetsu to glare at her before they could get into another argument Orochimaru cut them off "You wanted to ask me something?"
Sasuke nodded "There's been a lot of missing people cases lately Shinobi, Nobles, merchants etc and wanted to know if you heard anything about it from any of your past connections or if you can ask around. A man who managed to escape a group of bandits talked about taking him to a mountain but I'm not sure if it's all connected or not"
"I see while I haven't heard anything about abductions I can around and a mountain would be ideal to keep people if hollowed out and equipped with a facility where seals could be used to prevent or detect unwanted visitors" Orochimaru informed him
"We could help you investigate" Juugo wanted Sasuke to know he could still rely on him
"He's right it sure beats just hanging around here" Suigetsu shrugged
"For once I agree with him" Karin added
Sasuke nodded at them "I won't probably won't be travelling as much now but I appreciate the help"
"Really what changed" Orochimaru was intrigued by the new path Sasuke was gonna take
"There was a leak of information regarding the third, Danzo and It a chi. I've been offered control of the Anbu forces I thought it over and it is a good offer I'd still be free to travel like how the Toad sage was I guess also serving as Konoha's spymaster in a way" he didn't see the point of keeping it a secret from them
"I see I'll ask around about Konoha also" Orochimaru nodded at him in understanding
"Well I might not be a Konoha Anbu but I'd still like to help out" Juugo had worked hard on his emotions and no longer needed to be controlled
'He's right if someone from Konoha is responsible then we'll be able to flush them out eventually but if they aren't it'll be easier for them to gather information using Orochimaru's connections' he thought glancing around at them "Alright ill appreciate the help"
"Will you be staying the night? I could have a room prepared for you" Orochimaru asked
Sasuke thought about the strain of opening a portal and nodded "Portaling back to Konoha would be a hassle right now and I've been wondering what you know about cloning an arm or regenerating one."
"Of course, I know ways to clone or regenerate limbs but the Rinnegan has its methods of making a limb does it not?" Orochimaru was confused about Sasuke wanting an arm there was an arm in Konoha waiting for him from what he knew "What about the arm prepared by Tsunade from Hashirama cells?"
Sasuke shook his head "Both Obito and Madara gained Wood style by implanting Hashirama cells in themselves when I was dying Kabuto used them on me and I didn't gain Wood style but who knows if more would change that or cause my next eye to evolve as well"
"How is that a bad thing?" Suigetsu was confused since it sounded like a power-up to him
"Were you not listening? the last Uchiha to have two Rinnegan and Wood Style almost ended the world if he's uncomfortable with it then imagine the rest of the world" Karin rolled her eyes
"Oh well when you put it like that it makes sense" he replied seeing the logic
"That's not the only reason, I've been having problems with my Rinnegan as of last it's been a lot more draining since the end of the war I was wondering if it had anything to do with the loss of my arm since my Chakra network isn't technically complete anymore" Sasuke looked at Orochimaru to see what he thought of his theory
"Your Chakra network does feel different and there seems to be less from when you first awakened it and left to face Madara" Karin cut in taking the chance to study his Chakra
"Yes it would make sense since your chakra system is damaged, incomplete if you will your body couldn't hold as much so it started producing less to accommodate for the missing piece" Orochimaru explained
"So you really are handicapped" Suigetsu mocked
Sasuke ignored Suigetsu knowing he was trying to get a rise out of him 'I see so fixing my Chakra network by restoring my arm should fix my Rinnegan problems at least partially in theory and the Rinnegan can be used to create things considering Hogoromo did create the tailed beast using the 10 tails chakra' Sasuke thought before frowning realizing he might not have enough Chakra for this even if it's possible to create an arm using the creation of all things
"What is it?" Juugo realized he was lost in thought
Sasuke eyes widened looking at Juugo "That's it Juugo your access to Sage Chakra allows you to regenerate cells I have an idea but it would require you to lend me your chakra as you did in the war"
"I see down here it's harder to access Nature energy but if we head outside I'll be glad to help" He replied
The group exited the room heading to the hideout exit as they made their way Sasuke thought over whether he could do what he thought he knew from Naruto that his trick of absorbing the Tailed Beast Chakra into his Susanoo was the opposite of what the sage did to create them so he should be capable of creating life as well as long as the Nature energy serves as a suitable replacement
Arriving outside Juugo asked, "What do you need me to do exactly?"
"I just need you to gather as much Nature energy as you can without losing yourself I'll handle the rest from there" Sasuke got ready to use Preta Path to absorb his Chakra
"I've worked hard on gaining control of my abilities with the help of Karin's chains and Orochimaru's knowledge of Nature energy" Juugo started to gather Chakra until he fully transformed
Sasuke seeing he was still in a calm state was impressed giving a nod to Juugo "Alright I'm gonna start just keep it flowing and I'll handle the rest"
Juugo nodded back in confirmation before he felt the Chakra being pulled away from him and different from him feeding Chakra to Sasuke's Susanoo but as long as he kept absorbing Nature's energy he should be fine bracing himself and absorbing even more energy
Sasuke started to feel Juugo's Chakra mixed with his as he had grown familiar with it due to the curse mark and the time he used it during the war, he quickly balanced it to prevent a full appearance change instead. As his Chakra reached a level he wasn't familiar with since his fight with Naruto he pictured an arm with a complete chakra network an image engraved I'm his memories thanks to his Sharingan and the vast library Orochimaru possessed of Chakra he studied during his 3 years as his student. Forming a one-handed tiger seal his Rinnegan pulsed as he used the creation of all things technique
he immediately felt like what was left of his arm was on fire as the chakra forced open his closed chakra pathways he cried out falling to a knee
"Sasuke!" Karin immediately ran over to check on him
"No no no no" Juugo muttered over and over again in his panic he started to lose himself
"Whoa calm down buddy" Suigetsu seriously wasn't looking forward to an out of control Juugo
Since Karin was busy checking on Sasuke. Orochimaru went to try and calm Juugo "he's okay Juugo Karin is helping him" pointing at the green pointing at her now kneeling by his side
Sasuke could barely make out the conversation going on around him over the pain understanding that Juugo was panicking because of him he tried to move to reassure but could not as he found him collapsing on the forest floor
Chapter 3 The Dark Arm is Complete
Author Note: It's named Dark Arm because it starts with Sasuke being offered the Anbu commander position and if Naruto is Kakashi's right hand right now as Hokage in training that will be the guiding light then Sasuke will be the left arm that acts in the shadows and the chapter finishes with him Trying to restore his left Arm which once bore a Dark crescent moon and tried to take the left of his Friend which = Dark