Beyond Ambitions
by thephaw
Chapter 5: False Truths
Sasuke was at his usual training field, patches of grass still stained with blood from his fight against the ANBU. Sasuke couldn’t seem to concentrate. His memories filled with THAT day…the day that started everything…the day Itachi killed his parents, his clan. He remembered the day as if it just happened. He remembered everything exactly…finding his aunts and uncles dead in the streets…finding his parents dead on the floor of his house…Itachi, standing over their bodies. His mind always wondered why he did it. Why his clan was ruthlessly slaughtered. He remembered the words of his brother clearly. “They were a measuring stick to test myself,” was what his brother told him that day. He tried to clear his thoughts but it only caused more memories to flood his head. Thanks to Itachi’s Tsukuyomi, he also had memories of how Itachi murdered his parents. There was once a time when Sasuke had looked up to Itachi as a brother, as someone he could look up to, someone he could hang out with, someone he could… but now, all he felt towards Itachi was pure hatred. It was this hatred that consumed him, that forced him to live, to get stronger. This hatred is what drove him towards his ambition of killing his brother and what pushed him away from everyone else. Suddenly, a great pain lashed out on the back of his neck. He never felt pain this great before but somehow… he just ignored it as if it were nothing. Hatred was all that mattered to him now. “Not enough hatred,” he murmured to himself as he just stood there, deep in pain, hatred and inescapable thought.
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Naruto, Lee, and Sakura were still heading towards the field that Tsunade mentioned to them, closely being followed by Itachi and Kisame. The forest they moved through was barren and the trees were leafless. The mist around them wasn’t too thick but it created a heavy atmosphere.
“So, how are we gonna deal with Sasuke if we find him?” asked Naruto
Lee answered him. “Didn’t you listen to Tsunade-sama? We’re supposed to gather some intelligence on him first, to see if he’s in league with Orochimaru or the Akatsuki. Then, we try to convince him to come back to the village.”
“If I know Sasuke, he isn’t the type of guy to just sit back and listen while we talk,” stated Naruto. Sakura just followed, silently. “Hey,” Naruto said, “It’s just a feeling, but ever since we left the village, I keep thinking we’re being followed.”
“I noticed it too,” agreed Sakura, “I don’t know who it is, but I set up a quick trap behind us just in case.”
“Huh? When did you set the trap?” asked Naruto surprised.
“When you and Lee were talking,” she said, smirking, proud of herself that she was able to set up a decent trap in the blink of an eye.
“Wow, Sakura-chan, I didn’t think you were that good with traps,”
Sakura winced at the comment, about to smack Naruto across the head, but she stopped when she saw a lone raven haired figure standing in the field that they approached. “Sasuke-kun,” she muttered as all three of them came to a dead stop.
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Itachi, with his sharingan activated, followed the 3 blurbs of chakra he saw moving through the forest, Kisame following beside him.
“Who are you so interested in, Itachi?” asked Kisame, “It’s not like you to delay a mission like this.”
“…my little brother,” he replied.
“Huh? Him? What do you need him for?”
“Just some…unfinished business,” he said coolly. Itachi was distracted in thought for a while but he regained focus just in time to see the trap that Kisame was about set off. “KISAME, TRAP!”
“Huh?” said Kisame as his foot pulled on a wire. “Shit…” Three explosive-tagged kunai flew at Kisame. All three hit him. Itachi jumped down to the forest floor and took cover behind a tree.
*SFX* BOOM *SFX* (A/N: This is my sorry excuse for an explosion. I’m not too good at describing explosions. Just use your imagination for a more elaborate one.)
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“He’s just standing there,” stated Naruto.
“I don’t see anyone else with him. I don’t sense anyone nearby either,” said Lee, “Sakura-chan, what do you think?” Sakura stood there, still in shock, not believing that Sasuke was right in front of her.
“Sakura-chan? You ok?” Sakura was still dazed until an explosion behind them woke her up.
“My trap!” she exclaimed as Naruto looked towards the direction of the explosion.
“They are pretty close to our position,” he said, “we should go check it--” he was cut short.
“NARUTO, WATCH OUT!” yelled Lee. Naruto spun around to see several shuriken flying at him.
“DAMMIT,” he said as Lee tackled him out of the way of the shuriken.
“We can’t worry about those people behind us right now,” said Lee, “looks like Sasuke knows we’re here.”
More shuriken flew at them but they dodged.
“Itachi, I know you’re there, come out,” demanded Sasuke as he threw a few more shuriken.
Naruto dodged them and faced his team. “Itachi? Is he the one following us?”
“How the hell are we supposed to know, baka,” replied Sakura, a little uptight at the moment.
“Dammit, we don’t have time for this. You guys stay hidden and keep a lookout for whoever is behind us. I’ll go and face Sasuke,” said Naruto.
“You sure you can handle him alone?”
“We don’t have much of a choice right now. Besides, I haven’t been training for nothing. I’ll never become hokage if I can’t beat him now. Also, I have a score to settle with him. Anyways, let’s move out.”
“Hai!” said Sakura and Lee as Naruto jumped down and entered the field.
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Sasuke’s thoughts were interrupted by an explosion in the distance. He immediately looked over and saw shadows moving through the trees. ‘Itachi,’ he thought. He pulled out a few shuriken and threw them at the moving shadows in the trees. He saw the shadow dodge them. Sasuke grabbed more shuriken and threw them at the still moving shadow. “Itachi, I know you’re there, come out,” he said. No reply. He reached in his pocket to grab more shuriken. He was about to throw them but was surprised to see a blond haired ninja appear from the forest. ‘That’s not Itachi,’ thought Sasuke, disappointed.
“Hey Sasuke, you bastard. Think you can leave the leaf just like that?” taunted Naruto. Sasuke looked at the loud blond ninja, a look of surprise apparent. Sasuke realized he knew this ninja from somewhere. “Are you just gonna stand there and stare at me? Don’t you remember who I am?”
Sasuke took another look at the blond ninja. ‘The hair, the whisker marks, the loudness. It has to be…’ “Naruto,” he finally said.
“Ha! Glad to see you still remember,” said Naruto with a smirk
“What are you doing here Naruto?” asked Sasuke, his surprised look changing back to his calm, controlled, almost ignorant look.
“The hokage sent me to bring you back.”
“Hmph, I thought I told the hokage not to send any more people after me. Well, sorry to disappoint you, Naruto, but I’m not going back. Not until I kill him…”
Naruto was getting pissed. “Dammit Sasuke you bastard, why do you have to be such a selfish ignorant prick! Can’t you see that this stupid revenge of yours will get you nothing?”
“What does it matter to you?”
“Konoha’s in trouble right now,” answered Naruto, “The sound AND the Akatsuki are on the move. I hate to admit it but we might need your help to beat them.”
Sasuke stood silent for a while. “I don’t care about that,” he said in an indifferent tone.
Naruto’s anger reached it’s peak. “DAMN YOU SASUKE! CAN’T YOU FORGET YOUR STUPID REVENGE FOR ONE FUCKING SECOND?” Naruto yelled.
Sasuke looked up slowly at Naruto, their eyes meeting before he calmly said, “…no.”
That was all it took, Naruto snapped. Whipping out a kunai, Naruto charged at Sasuke with a deafening battle roar. Sasuke leapt out of the way, his sharingan activating at the same time. He remembered the time Naruto fought against Gaara six years ago, remembered the huge amount of red chakra that he had. Now, his chakra was easily twice what it was at that time and wasn’t the least bit tainted with the red chakra he saw from the past. ‘Damn, where did that dobe get that much chakra,” he thought.
“Lets see what you got, dobe-kun,” taunted Sasuke.
“I’LL CRUSH YOU, YOU BASTARD,” Naruto yelled as he put his hands up in a seal. “KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU.” Twenty new Narutos appeared. The clones charged at Sasuke head on while he saw the original Naruto begin performing hand seals.
‘Shit, gotta stop Naruto from finishing,’ he thought as he blocked several kicks coming from under him, forcing him into the air. ‘Looks like I gotta take care of these clones first.’ A clone jumped up to meet Sasuke in mid air while five clones jumped up to attack him from behind. With the sharingan, Sasuke easily predicted the clone’s movements. He blocked the attack from the clone in front of him and, using it as a midair platform, he flipped backwards above the five clones behind him while performing hand seals of his own. Sasuke finished his seals right when he was facing the Naruto clones on the ground. “KATON: GOUKAKYOU NO JUTSU.” A huge fireball erupted from Sasuke’s mouth and smashed into the ground, forcing the clones to disappear in puffs of smoke. Sasuke landed with five Naruto clones also landing around him. ‘Hmm...surrounded,’ thought Sasuke as he glanced over at Naruto, ‘He’s still making seals? I have to finish these clones off quickly.’ Suddenly a pair of hands emerged from under Sasuke’s feet and held them. “WHAT?” Sasuke looked down in surprise at the clone that held his feet, the clone just grinned back.
“We got you now, Sasuke,” said the underground clone while the other five dashed towards Sasuke with their kunai extended.
‘Dammit, can’t move, have to use that jutsu,’ Sasuke thought as his hands came together in a flurry of seals. Twenty seals and half-a-second later, a ring of fire appeared floating around Sasuke’s waist. “KATON: NOBA NO JUTSU!” he yelled as the thin ring of fire suddenly burst outward and expanded in every direction. Sasuke smiled as he saw the looks on the faces of the clones as they were cut in half, burned, and disappeared in puffs of smoke. The clone holding his legs also disappeared from the intense heat. Sasuke looked at Naruto. Naruto’s hands were stopped at his usual kage bunshin seal.
“HOBUNSHIN NO JUTSU!” yelled Naruto as a pillar of fire arose from the ground a few feet front of him. The pillar of fire quickly took form, into the shape of Naruto. “Hey Sasuke, meet my new buddy,” said Naruto.
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Itachi looked at the spot where Kisame had been apparently blown up. All that was there was a burnt up smoking log. “Kisame, come out. We don’t have all day.” Kisame emerged from behind a three.
“Kawarimi,” said Kisame grinning, “saves at least one ninja every day.” Itachi ignored the comment and looked towards the field with his sharingan.
“Looks like Naruto and my brother have begun fighting. The other two of his team are hiding in the trees just outside the field. I’ll let you take care of those two on Naruto’s team. I’ll handle Naruto and my little brother.”
“How come YOU get to have the better fight?” argued Kisame.
“We aren’t here to have fun, Kisame. Just make sure the other two don’t get in the way, you can kill them if you want.”
“Heh, better than doing nothing I guess.”
“Move out,” said Itachi.
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Lee and Sakura watched in awe as Sasuke defeated all of Naruto’s shadow clones.
“What was that technique?” asked Lee, seeing the burst of fire coming out from Sasuke.
“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” replied Sakura, “It looks like Sasuke wasn’t just playing around while he was alone.”
“Yeah, but…Naruto wasn’t playing around either. Look,” said Lee. Sakura glanced back at the fight. A couple of feet in front of Naruto burned a fire, only it was in the shape of Naruto.
“I heard of this technique. Tsunade explained it to me once. She said it was one of the highest levels of ninjutsu known. In fact, nobody has ever actually done it before since it was an entirely theoretical jutsu, based on knowledge of the kage bunshin and fire element jutsus. How did Naruto…?” said Sakura. “That technique is said to use up three times as much chakra as summoning Katsuyu or Gamabunta. She had always known that Naruto had a lot of chakra, but this was unbelievable. Sakura and Lee just continued to gawk at the fight, not noticing Kisame, who was standing right behind them.
“So…who’s winning?” asked Kisame, pulling out his giant sword.
Shuriken came flying out at Kisame immediately from both Lee and Sakura. Kisame easily blocked them with his sword. They both looked at Kisame and noticed his black cloak with red clouds and a head protector with a gash across the symbol.
“Your from the Akatsuki!” exclaimed Sakura.
“Heheh, so you noticed…” he said while absently fixing the bandages on his sword.
“Why are you after us?” Lee asked.
“We could care less about you guys. We’re after the kyubi kid.”
“Kyubi kid?” Sakura asked, confused.
“…that blond kid on your team. I think his name was Marudo or something.”
“Naruto?” they both said.
“Ya, that’s it, Naruto. I’m surprised you didn’t know he had the nine-tails in him. Doesn’t matter now anyways, I’m here to kill you.” Kisame said as he slashed at Lee and Sakura. Both jumped away from the slash. Lee just suddenly disappeared while Sakura began performing hand seals. “Damn, that kid’s fast…but not fast enough,” noted Kisame, anticipating Lee’s attack. Lee appeared right in front of Kisame, throwing a punch at him at the same time. Kisame blocked the punch with his sword but the force of Lee’s punch sent him flying back. Lee ran in after him and gave him another punch. This time, Kisame didn’t block it as Lee’s fist went through Kisame’s chest.
“Looks like its over for you,” Lee said as he looked at Kisame. Kisame just grinned at Lee before turning into water. “A water clone?” Lee looked back to see another Kisame behind Sakura who was too busy performing hand seals to notice. Lee watched in horror as Kisame thrust his sword right through Sakura’s back, impaling her and pinning her to the tree, leaves floating down all around them.
“SAAAAKURA-CHAAAAAAN!” yelled Lee in agony as he saw blood gushing out from her back and stomach.
“Too easy,” said Kisame, a shark-like grin on his face.
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Sasuke stared at the Naruto fire clone with his sharingan. It was nothing like Naruto’s shadow clones. This fire clone was made of pure chakra. The ground around the clone was burning and melting at the intense heat. ‘Looks like close combat is a no against that thing. I’ll just use a water technique,” thought Sasuke. Sasuke performed another set of hand seals. “SUITON: SUIRYUUDAN NO JUTSU” he yelled as the fog around them cleared, collecting in front of Sasuke. In no time, there was a huge amount of water and it took the form of a dragon. The fire clone ran towards Sasuke first, followed by Naruto. The dragon blasted forward colliding with the fire clone and creating an extremely thick fog.
“You can’t beat my fire clone with that level of water jutsu, Sasuke,” said Naruto.
‘Dammit, the clone is still there. How is Naruto able to do a technique like that?’ thought Sasuke as the fire clone charged at him. Sasuke easily dodged the attack but the heat was so intense that his jacket caught on fire. ‘It’s slower than Naruto!’ he realized as he threw away his burning jacket.
Naruto was effectively blinded at the moment. The fog was so thick that it cut down his vision to about a few inches in front of him. All he could do was charge up a rasengan and let it gradually clear away the fog.
Sasuke saw the ball of spinning chakra that appeared in Naruto’s hand. ‘Damn, not much time left, Gotta lead the clone away.’ Sasuke dashed back, the clone ran forward, after him. Sasuke slowed down a bit to let the clone catch up. The clone threw a punch at Sasuke, who jumped back. Then a kick came at Sasuke’s side which he narrowly avoided. ‘Dammit!’ he cursed to himself as both his arms were a little burnt from the intense heat. Then, Sasuke saw an opening. ‘NOW!’ Sasuke told himself as he leapt in the air towards the real Naruto. Sasuke, now directly above Naruto, had his feet straight up in the air, his hands in a seal, and started spinning rapidly. The fire clone jumped at Sasuke. “TEIKAITSU NO JUTSU” Sasuke yelled as a cyclone formed in the sky above the spinning Sasuke and crashed down around him and Naruto. The fire clone, unable to turn around in midair, ran straight into the intense cyclone, getting absorbed by it. The cyclone that surrounded Sasuke and Naruto now became an intense firestorm. Sasuke stopped spinning and landed in front of Naruto, the firestorm still raging around them. There they stood, face to face, nowhere to run or hide. Once rivals…then friends…now almost enemies, they both wanted to end it all now with their next move. A rasengan formed in Naruto’s right hand.
“Lets end this NOW, you bastard,” he demanded.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way, dobe-kun,” agreed Sasuke.
Naruto charged.
“MANGE SHARINGAN” yelled Sasuke as his eyes widened. Naruto and Sasuke both found themselves in a dark, colorless room. Naruto was chained to the wall. “You are in my world of the grasping moon. I control everything here. For the next 72 hours, you will be impaled by kunai.”
“AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!” screamed Naruto as he came back to the real world, still charging at Sasuke. Naruto’s rasengan dissipated as he collapsed from shock and rolled towards Sasuke. Sasuke, now almost completely drained of chakra, also collapsed. His sharingan eyes reverting back to their normal onyx black.
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Lee was still in shock from seeing Sakura die. Shock turned to sadness, sadness flared into anger, anger became intense hate. Lee glared at Kisame with that intense hatred in his eyes; Kisame just grinned back. Lee charged at Kisame who just stood there. Right when Lee was about to hit Kisame, Lee disappeared and reappeared behind Kisame, throwing a kick. Kisame just barely dodged it. More attacks came at Kisame. Left, Right, Front, Back, attacks came from everywhere as Lee continued to appear and disappear around Kisame. Kisame managed to block a few of the attacks that Lee made, but in the end, Lee was too fast for Kisame. Lee finished off his assault with a kick to Kisame’s stomach, sending him flying through a few trees.
Kisame quickly got to his feet and saw Lee running towards him. Kisame’s hands came together and made several seals. “SUITON: SUIJINHEKI!” yelled Kisame as Lee punched the wall of water that had suddenly surrounded Kisame. ‘Have to reach my sword,’ he thought as his hands performed more hand seals. “SUIKOUDAN NO JUTSU,” he yelled as the mist around them gathered forming a giant shark made out of water which rushed out at Lee. Lee had just barely dodged the water shark as it flew at him, tearing down every tree in its path.
‘Where is he?’ thought Lee, looking around.
“Hahaha. I’ll show you the true powers of my Samehada,” said Kisame, holding the handle of the sword that impaled Sakura. Soon enough, a large amount of chakra was visible around the sword and it transferred into Kisame. Kisame let go of his sword, his body glowing with chakra.
‘His chakra is huge,’ thought Lee. Lee disappeared then reappeared behind Kisame again, throwing a kick at his back. This time, Kisame blocked his attack like its nothing.
“The Samehada doesn’t just absorb chakra,” Kisame said, “It also stores their chakra and gives it to me when needed.” Kisame blocked another attack from Lee then counterattacked with a punch of his own, sending Lee soaring.
‘Uh…the chakra made him faster and stronger,’ thought Lee, ‘I have to release the gates.’ “INITIAL GATE, HEAL GATE, RELEASE!” he said as he regained full strength. Kisame came at him. “LIFE GATE, RELEASE!” yelled Lee. Lee’s skin turned red, veins became visible on his face, and chakra began pouring out of him. Lee blocked Kisame’s attack with relative ease. Both fighters moved in blurs as they clashed. ‘I can’t keep this up. Gotta open the fourth gate.’ “HARM GATE, RELEASE!” Nothing happened. ‘Damn,’ he thought, ‘I must still recovering from opening the wonder gate. I can’t get the harm gate open.’
“Your fast, kid. But not fast enough,” said Kisame as he punched Lee hard, catching him off guard. Lee went flying through several trees, coughing up blood when he finally landed.
‘He’s faster than me,’ thought Lee as he stood up, his power slowly fading, ‘even with three of the gates open, I can’t match him.’ Kisame appeared behind him, punching Lee in the back, sending him flying back towards the field. Lee struggled back to his standing position, too battered to do anything else. Kisame charged at him. ‘This must be it,’ he thought as he just stood there, staring at Kisame, not noticing the firestorm that raged behind him or the leaves that were floating down around him.
“Looks like its over for you, kid,” said Kisame as he leapt up and punched…nothing?
‘Huh?’ thought Lee, confuse as he saw Kisame throwing punches and kicks at the air directly above Lee. ‘No time to think, now’s my chance,’ he thought as he gathered what was left of his strength. Lee rushed at Kisame and threw a powerful kick, sending Kisame flying into the firestorm. He watched as Kisame burned up in the firestorm, yelling out in pain.
Lee limped back towards Sakura’s body, tears in his eyes. The sword was still in her, pinning her, face first, into the tree. The bleeding had stopped but Sakura’s skin was now a pale blue, her feet soaked in her own blood. “Sakura-chan…,” he started, “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.” Now fully crying, he continued, “Sakura-chan, I never told you this…but I…I…” he hesitated for a minute before finishing. “Sakura-chan, I Lo--” he stopped when he heard a voice around him.
“KAI!” it said before he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked back and saw Sakura smiling at him without a scratch on her. Lee looked back towards the tree. The sword was stuck inside the tree but Sakura’s dead body had vanished.
“Sorry about that Lee,” she said, “The genjutsu I used to make me look like I was dead had a wide area of effect and you and Kisame were too close together. But not bad huh? I came up with that genjutsu by myself,” she gloated. Lee just stood there, still in shock. “Um..Lee, are you ok? I thought you would’ve seen the leaves falling down and noticed it was genjutsu.”
Lee finally snapped back to reality. “The Leaves!” he remembered. He looked around the forest around him and remembered that none of these trees had leaves to begin with. “I can’t believe I missed that.”
“By the way, what were you trying to say before I released the genjutsu on you?” she asked.
“I-I was,” he started as a blush crept up on his face. “I tried to tell you that I…” Before he could finish, Itachi appeared behind them, knocking them both out with quick blows to the neck. Seeing Naruto and Sasuke in the field, he cast a sleep genjutsu on both of them.
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Both Naruto and Sasuke lay on the ground. Naruto was recovering from the shock that the Tsukuyomi Sharingan gave him and Sasuke was just completely out of chakra. The fire cyclone that surrounded them finally disappeared and they both saw feathers falling from the sky. ‘Genjutsu!’ they both thought but Naruto was too shocked to care and Sasuke didn’t have enough chakra to dispel it anyways. They both fell into a deep sleep.
Itachi, holding Sakura and Lee, dropped them in the field next to Sasuke. Then, looking through Naruto’s jacket, he grabbed the scroll that Tsunade gave to Naruto. Opening the scroll, he concentrated some chakra into his finger and wrote in it before closing it and throwing it on Sasuke. He noticed a charred hidden mist forehead protector on the ground and knew Kisame was dead. ‘Kuso,’ he thought, ‘Kisame would’ve been useful.” Itachi then just picked up Naruto over his shoulder and vanished without another thought.
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Sasuke woke up. “Uhh..” he grunted as the memories of what happened came back to him. A scroll fell into his lap as he sat up. ‘Where did this come from?’ he thought. He opened it and saw nothing except for a leaf symbol. However, he felt chakra coming out of the scroll. Sasuke activated his sharingan and clearly saw the glowing words imprinted on the scroll. He read it:
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This scroll is meant for the eyes of Uchiha Sasuke, the other surviving member of the Uchiha clan. Within this scroll holds the true fate that befell the Uchiha clan, written in the words of Uchiha Itachi.
Sandaime.
Sasuke, if you are reading this, it means you are ready to know of the truth behind the murder of the clan.
The truth is…I did not kill our parents or anyone else in our clan.
That morning started out normal enough. You asked me for shuriken lessons but I declined, telling you I’d teach you next time. I know I’ve always been…distant to you, but the fact is, ever since I met…that person…I’ve been distant to everyone.
I first met ‘her’ when I was seven, the day I first became a genin. Her name was Kairi and we were assigned to the same team. She seemed normal enough, her skills were average and she was inexplicably loud and outgoing. However, there was always something dark and foreboding about her, hidden beneath her exterior persona. She felt almost like the time I met Orochimaru. I thought nothing of it and we quickly became close friends and rivals. We fought a lot and found ourselves equal in combat with each other. Our rivalry battles were always long and hard, never with a clear winner but we both enjoyed it.
One day, a year later, our team had just finished another mission and our sensei dismissed us. Kairi and I walked towards the training field to train as usual. When we got to the field, a shinobi from the hidden stone attacked us. The shinobi grabbed Kairi by the throat and threatened to kill her if I didn’t come with him. It was at this time that my sharingan was first activated. Kairi was released and the stone ninja came at me. I easily defeated him. I checked Kairi to see if she was okay. She said she was ok but a look of contempt flashed across her face. Her look changed back to her happy self right away and she challenged me to another rivalry match. I agreed, ignoring her strange behaviour.
We had our rivalry match the next day. I beat her, almost effortlessly, with my sharingan. It was this day that she completely changed. After our fight, she glared at me, a hateful look in her eyes. I could tell she was embarrassed, hurt and angry. She unleashed a power that I’ve never seen before and we fought again. Her power was too much and I found myself beaten. She came up to me and whispered something to me that changed my life forever. It was in a joking tone, but she said, “You owe me, Itachi, for the pain you’ve caused me today.” She smiled after she said it, but it was something about her smile that made me knew she wasn’t joking. I didn’t understand what she meant but we ceased to be friends from that day on.
After that day, I began working as hard as I can on my ninja studies at the academy. I forced myself to become stronger so that I can beat her. Because of my hard work and my sharingan, I advanced rapidly, becoming a chuunin the next year. Everyone recognized me because of my rapid growth and because I was part of Konoha’s elite clan. Nobody seemed to notice Kairi who was growing as fast, if not faster, than me. I could tell this forced her to hate me even more. Although I was growing extremely fast, I only did so to keep up with her. My growth came at a price. I ended up neglecting everything except those that could make me stronger. As I grew stronger than my friends and family, I started to see them as burdens. That is why I grew distant to them, to you.
Four years later, when I was thirteen, I became an ANBU. Kairi had also become an ANBU and she was assigned to be my partner for an upcoming mission. I went home to grab supplies. At home, a few hours after you left for your shuriken lessons, I left to complete my mission. Outside the village, Kairi suddenly attacked me. We fought a long and hard battle but Kairi’s power was still too much for me and I was knocked unconscious. I awoke to find myself back outside the Uchiha village, the bodies of our clan around me. I saw our parents, bound and gagged but still alive. I tried to save them but Kairi knocked me back and killed them right in front of my eyes. At that moment I felt sorrow, anger, and hatred all at once, but I suppressed them all. Kairi just looked at me. “We’re even,” was all she said. She gave me an offer. She asked me to join her, or to die like the rest of my clan. I was prepared to die then and there, but the feeling of vengeance swept over me. When she left me to think about it, I saw you heading back from your shuriken lessons. The truth is that you were weak, Sasuke, and there was nobody to look after you when I leave. I grabbed the bodies of our parents and brought them home, making it seem like they had just been killed when you walked in. Then, when you entered, I used Tsukuyomi to make you believe I had killed them. I told you to hate me, to survive if you wanted to kill me. I knew that if I turned you into an avenger, you would grow stronger and survive. This was my way to protect you and I know you’ll always hate me for it. As for me, I joined her organization, the Akatsuki, in hopes of someday defeating her to avenge our clan.
Gomen, Sasuke.
--Itachi--
Sasuke, I know you must have went through a lot. I know of what happened to your clan years ago and I can also understand how you must feel towards Itachi. However, there are more pressing matters at hand. I wish for you to return to Konoha with Naruto, Sakura, and Lee. You have already betrayed Konoha by becoming a missing nin. However, I am willing to overlook this because I know of Orochimaru’s seal and also of its capability to corrupt a person. By not following Orochimaru, you have proven to us that you may yet be trusted. Also, I have found a way to remove the seal without killing Orochimaru. If you return to help us against the upcoming threat, I will remove the seal.
--Tsunade--
If you still wish to kill me, return to Konoha with the other two on Naruto’s team. I know Orochimaru is planning to attack Konoha again. Only when you kill Orochimaru will I face you. I refuse to fight anyone tainted with Orochimaru’s seal.
--Itachi--
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Sasuke finished reading the scroll. He didn’t know what to think of his brother anymore. Sasuke still hated his brother, but now he had almost no reason to hate him anymore. He thought about what Tsunade had written. A way to remove the seal without killing Orochimaru was tempting. However, he wanted to kill Orochimaru anyways. Sasuke still had mixed thoughts about Itachi, about Konoha, about…everything. Sasuke just lied down again. Beside him where Sakura and Lee, still unconscious, but Sasuke didn’t even notice them. Instead, he just lay there, devoid of feeling and lost in thought.
Definitions/Technique guide (from my very limited knowledge of Japanese):
ANBU – elite ninjas meant to keep the peace in and between villages.
Baka – idiot
Dobe – blockhead
Gomen – sorry
Gamabunta – the frog boss that Naruto and Jiraiya are able to summon.
Hobunshin no jutsu (Fire Replication Technique) – A high level technique that creates a clone made purely of burning chakra. This technique requires three times the amount of chakra needed to summon Gamabunta. The heat from the clone is so intense that just getting near it will burn you.
Kai – counter (I think)
Katsuyu – The slug boss that Tsunade is able to summon.
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Replication Technique) – creates multiple “real” clones of yourself. Their power is said to be evenly distributed between the user and the clones. They disappear if given a clean hit.
Katon: Goukakyou no jutsu (Fire Element: Powerful Fireball Technique) – A fire technique where the user breathes out a giant ball of intense fire.
Katon: Noba no jutsu (Fire Element: Nova Technique) – A fire technique that creates a ring of fire around the user. The ring then rapidly expands in every direction with a burst, cutting and burning everything in its path. Has limited range.
Kuso: Damn
Sharingan (Copy Wheel Eye) – A bloodline limit technique borne in the eyes. The sharingan allows the user to read and copy all ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. (note: bloodline limit abilities cannot be copied) The sharingan allows the user to see the chakra inside of people to a certain extent and also has an ability of hypnosis which lets the user suggest thoughts and actions to the opponent.
Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release Barrier) – When this jutsu is performed, a shield of water surrounds the user, blocking any outside attacks. Doesn’t last very long.
Suiton: Suiryuudan no jutsu (Water Element: Water Dragon Blast Technique) – A water technique that creates a dragon made out of water from the surrounding air or bodies of water. The dragon is then sent towards the target.
Suikoudan no jutsu (Water Shark technique) – A water technique creating a shark out of water which is blasted at the opponent.
Samehada – The giant bandage wrapped sword that Kisame carries around. The sword can absorb chakra and has rough skin. (Can also store absorbed chakra and give it to the user in my fic)
Teikaitsu no jutsu (Cyclone Technique) – A technique where the user spins at an extremely fast pace, creating a cyclone in the sky that falls down around the user. Usually used as a shielding/barrier technique.
Tsukuyomi – An Uchiha bloodline limit technique that forces the opponent into a dark world controlled by the user. To the opponent, it may seem that they were there for days when actually it only lasts for a few seconds. This technique requires direct eye contact and mange sharingan (mastery level sharingan).