Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ After the Dream ❯ The Power of One ( Chapter 9 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

The Power of One

“How is his training going?” a voice hissed in a darkened hall.

“With the help of the sharingan he has managed to master a good number of jutsu. He has been showing immense improvement in speed and strength as well,” a calm voice responded. “Was it really intelligent to teach him to summon?” the same voice ventured.

“It was bait. I have no need to teach him any of my more powerful jutsu because when I take over his body I will keep them. Teaching him to summon allows him to believe that he will eventually gain larger ones like it.” A soft shuffling noise was heard after the first voice hissed his answer. After several more moments he spoke up again, “It's amazing how foolish Konoha proved to be. They allowed Sasuke-kun to believe a lie and sent him straight to me.”

“That is because they were naïve. Konoha still doesn't see you as a true threat and after the failure of the first Sound Four they will most likely underestimate us further,” the calm voice once again spoke, “Sandaime-sama never saw your true genius, and your teammates will never be strong enough to threaten you. However, I believe that if you give Sasuke-kun too much power he may escape your grasp.”

“No, the boy wants power to defeat his brother. He will do anything to achieve that power, as he has already shown. I will be able to claim his body in just three years, he will not have gained all the power he wants in that time,” the gravelly voice hissed out. A cruel laugh escaped his lips when he continued, “I wonder what he would do if he learned that I was the one who killed most of his clan including his parents?”

The other figure remained silent as the first man cackled gleefully. After a moment he had had his fun and the other figure spoke, “There is still the matter of the next level of the sharingan. Though Sasuke-kun has grown my sources say that Naruto-kun has become very dedicated. His growth in the past several months alone has been remarkable. If we do not act quickly Sasuke may not be able to defeat him.”

“So the Kyuubi brat is actually showing some talent, who would've guessed,” the gravelly voice said. A rustle of clothing could be heard indicating a slight shrug before he continued, “No need to worry, we'll send Sasuke-kun and the new Four to get rid of him.”

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In an adjacent hallway an ebony eyed boy was trying to contain the rage growing inside of him. This snake he had come to for power, this bastard he had left Konoha for: this was the man that killed his parents. This man had slaughtered the majority of his clan. He had come looking for a way to avenge their deaths. To kill his brother for what he had done, but if what Orochimaru said was true than he was after the wrong man.

He had destroyed so much trying to gain vengeance on his brother. He had cut himself off from everyone. He had put aside even the simplest pleasures. He had devoted every waking moment to training non-stop for one goal: to kill his brother. Now that goal was pointless. He didn't know why his brother had left or under what circumstances, but that wasn't important anymore.

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Sasuke wandered through the complex doing what he did best… brooding. Ever since he had overheard Orochimaru and Kabuto speaking several days ago he hadn't been able to stop. Of course no one had noticed; he was always brooding anyway and there was no way that anyone would be able to discover that the reason behind it had changed.

Every time he was near Orochimaru he had to fight the urge to attack him at that moment. Every time the man looked at him he had to fight the urge not to cringe away, wondering if the man would discover that he knew. And now he was on his way to see him. He was sure this had something to do with Naruto; they had mentioned that the blond was growing stronger and that if he were going to be able to kill him it would have to be soon.

He already knew he wouldn't be able to do it. He had already tried to kill Naruto once and he hadn't succeeded. It wasn't an issue of strength; he had managed to overpower his friend just slightly, but when it came down to it he didn't want to kill Naruto. His teammates were two of the only people in the village to accept him. In their eyes he didn't need to become an avenger. In fact, he was pretty sure they would have been happier if he had put the past behind him.

They had wanted a future. They had wanted to grow up and be shinobi. They had wanted to be honorable. To achieve goals. To prove something. His team was going to achieve something, until he left.

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When he decided to leave he hadn't just ruined his own future. All three knew it; their futures had been intertwined. The few months that they had been on a team together hadn't really given them a chance to display what they were capable of but it had given them a chance to realize it themselves.

They had dedicated hours to becoming stronger. They had spent every minute fighting against each other; against others' prejudices; against themselves and their insecurities; and against their nightmares. Most of those battles had been won, but they had been won because they had each other.

They were the same. Each of them had something they hid from others. Each of them lied everyday to cover this up. Each of them struggled everyday trying to stop others from learning their secrets. For the most part it had worked, but it hadn't for each other. They had learned many of each others secrets or at least that they existed. He hadn't known why Naruto was so hated, but he had known that he was; he knew that everyday the blond that had managed to become his only friend put up a front to show everyone that they didn't affect him. He still didn't know where Sakura got the idea that it was better to let others be strong for her, but he knew she had felt that way; everyday she had allowed them to grow stronger and stronger, while she did little. It wasn't until the three came together that the pretense started slipping. Naruto learned he didn't have to always be happy that he didn't have to smile away the glares. Sakura learned that she didn't have to depend on others, that she could be strong herself.

He had a mask too. He had never known the truth behind his clan's massacre yet every day he lived by the vow that he would avenge it. That his clan would be proud of him for never forgetting what had been done to them. Now he knew even less and his target had changed, but what would come of avenging them?

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Orochimaru was one of the Sennin. He knew Itachi was strong but this was another level altogether. He was one of Konoha's most notorious Missing-Nins. He had killed the Sandaime Hokage. This wasn't someone he could defeat. Not at his current strength. Not in ten years with his current growth. Not ever as far as he was concerned. At least, not alone. He couldn't defeat Orochimaru on his own and now that he had no one it meant he couldn't defeat him.

He couldn't defeat him. This thought echoed through his head as he continued to walk. If he couldn't defeat Orochimaru then he couldn't have revenge. If he couldn't have revenge that what was the point. Why had he come seeking power? Why had he abandoned the few people he cared for? What was he supposed to do now?

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When he arrived at the main room Sasuke suddenly remembered why he had been walking through the halls instead of training. He had been summoned to speak with Orochimaru. This could mean one of two things either Orochimaru had learned what Sasuke had overheard or he was being sent after Naruto. Either way he was in trouble.

“Ah, Sasuke-kun thank-you for joining us,” Orochimaru said as Sasuke walked towards him. The Uchiha bowed slightly, hoping the reverence he was showing the snake in front of him looked genuine.

Whether or not he had succeeded Orochimaru smiled and waved his hand calling forth the others in the room. The four that had been trained to replace the Four Gates quickly joined Sasuke standing at attention in front of Orochimaru. They all glanced up at Orochimaru when the Sennin spoke, “I have a mission for you.”

Half an hour later Sasuke was preparing to leave the complex. He and the Four had been ordered to go to Konoha. Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto were becoming threats. At their current rate of improvement the two would eventually over take their respective teachers. Orochimaru had specifically ordered Sasuke to kill Naruto.

Even so all he could think about was going back to Konoha. He wouldn't kill Naruto no matter what. He would do what it took to protect them; it was all he could do after what he had put them through months before. He smiled slightly when he walked out the door; he was going back to Konoha, back to his team.

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He had sworn that he would protect the secrets of the clan. He had done everything he thought necessary to keep the precious gifts of the bloodline from falling into enemy hands. He had devoted the last five years to assuring that Orochimaru would not gain the Sharingan. Now he had it.

His foolish younger brother had been deceived into delivering the Sharingan straight into that Snake's hands. Short of killing the boy there was nothing he could do. Konoha had failed; his brother had not been safe.

The village was supposed to keep his brother safe. He was to grow strong, strong enough to protect himself. Instead he went to Orochimaru for power. Not only would the boy never gain his own power, but also he would eventually become the host for Orochimaru. Something had to be done before then.

The Akatsuki was beginning to fail. Many of the members were getting bored. Doubts were beginning to arise as to their ultimate goal. What would they be able to gain from the Kyuubi? How could all of them benefit from the power it possesses? He had heard several of them consider joining Orochimaru for the power he could offer. His options were growing limited. If the organization wasn't going to stop Orochimaru, as had initially been a goal, then it was up to Konoha. In the village's current state, they wouldn't be able to do it.

There was nothing for him to gain here. He had traveled the world time over time. He had learned thousands of jutsu. There was nothing left for him here and yet he had nothing anywhere else. It was not yet time for him to leave, just a little longer and maybe the time would come.

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They had traveled for almost two hours and Sasuke was beginning to get restless. Every minute they progressed he came closer to Konoha and moved farther away from Orochimaru. Every step he took increased his apprehension. What was he going to do? He knew he had to help his friends but he didn't know if he was ready to face them. He wanted to see them more than anything else but he had betrayed them. He had left his friends behind like they meant nothing to him. Was there any chance that his friends would forgive him? He could care less about how the village felt, but if Naruto and Sakura didn't accept him back there was no point in returning.

The chance of rejection was too strong. He knew he would deserve everything they threw at him, but he wasn't strong enough to take it. Not if it was coming from his friends. He would do what he could, but he couldn't go back.

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They had been told that Naruto was constantly accompanied by a Jounin when outside the village training. Orochimaru had ordered the Four to immediately take out the Jounin and leave Naruto for Sasuke. After they had deprived Naruto of support the Four were to seek out Sakura and kill her.

Sasuke glanced up at the four accompanying him. None of them were as strong as the previous Four; he knew that for a fact. He also knew that the previous Four had been defeated by the other rookies. If this was true, and if Kabuto's information about Naruto was true, then he had little to worry about. If he could just take out one or two of them then they would only be able to take on one target at a time. Naruto was the bigger threat so they would go after him first. It was likely that they would taunt him and bring up Sakura; the blond would never allow her to be harmed. The minute they threatened Sakura Naruto and those with him would be able to defeat them.

He studied those in front of him. He knew only small bits of information about their attacks. Naruto would have no trouble with Idzumo. The girl was fairly small, her short violet hair and matching eyes gave her a rather odd appearance but he had seen odder. She was unable to efficiently tap into the second level of the curse seal so her jutsu would be easy for the blond to defeat.

Gazan wouldn't be difficult either. The only way to describe her would be average, average height, average brown hair, and average black eyes. She could access the second level but it didn't give her much extra power; any of her summons could be countered by Naruto's own summons.

The other two could prove problematic. The blond one was tall and lanky but still strong enough to offer a challenge on the few occasions they had sparred. He didn't think Naruto would have any defense against Urinuru's attacks; many of them were light based and he wasn't sure if Naruto had any experience against such jutsu.

Masahiro was … different. Sasuke wasn't even sure if the man was a shinobi. He seemed to use chakra but there were no jutsu involved. It also seemed as if the man was blind, though he wasn't positive.

It would probably be best to take out those two first. That way, if anything happened to him, Naruto would be able to handle Idzumo and Gazan. He smirked and halted. Before any of the Four knew what was happening Sasuke ran through a number a seals and brought his hand to his mouth, “Katon: Housenka no Jutsu.” He aimed most of the small fire balls at the two men and smirked when several hit their targets. This wouldn't be an easy fight, but it was worth it.

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Sasuke continued pelting the group with fire jutsus. He was mainly aiming at Masahiro and Urinuru; the only times he went for the other two was when they came in close. Urinuru narrowed his eyes slightly when he noticed that he and Masahiro were the Uchiha's targets. If the brat wanted to disobey orders and fight, then so be it.

“Sasuke-sama, what are you doing?” a shrill voice off to his left shouted. Urinuru turned just in time to see Idzumo dodge another fire ball as she was forced out of range for her attacks. “What does it look like he's doing?” Urinuru's low voice growled back at her, “The brat has decided to turn tables. Everyone stand back.” The man brought his left hand up and when it came back down four whip-like strands landed a strike on Sasuke's arm effectively ending the assault by fire.

Sasuke cursed when his arm was forced down and glared up at Urinuru recognizing the attack from their previous fights. Urinuru's attacks were all light based and this was one of his favorites. Kashoku Hoippu no Jutsu allowed him to create a whip made of light. Blood was dripping slowly from the four cuts on his arms the whip had caused. The weapon had a very large range due to the fact that Urinuru could control the length and number of tails on the whip. His best bet was to engage in close combat where the whip would be relatively useless.

Abandoning the set of seals he had been about to perform Sasuke began running. He charged Urinuru catching the larger man off guard and landing a punch that sent him sliding backwards several yards. He moved to follow through with another punch only to find himself locked in place. A vine was anchoring his feet to his current position; his eyes followed the vine straight to its source: a very pleased Idzumo. “Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu,” he shouted as he ran through the seals and brought his hand to his mouth for the second time in less than ten minutes.

A powerful jet of fire hit the vines in front of him and continued straight towards the annoying violet haired girl. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the flames heading towards her. She quickly moved to release her hold on the vines and get out of the way; unfortunately for her she wasn't quite fast enough. The fire grazed her left leg enough to leave a substantial burn causing the girl to cry out in pain and turn to glare back at a smirking Sasuke.

The smirk vanished a moment later when Sasuke felt five rips form on his right shoulder. During the distraction that Idzumo had provided Urinuru had managed to recover and had lashed out when he saw his teammate injured. He scoffed when he realized how easy she had made it for the Uchiha by now the brat should have realized she had no defenses when she used her jutsus.

He glared at Sasuke for a moment before deciding something had to be done. The Uchiha was specifically aiming to injure and kill; therefore, it was obvious that he was trying to stop them from fulfilling their mission. If that was the case then they needed to assure that at least part of it was fulfilled. Uzuamaki and Haruno were beginning to cause Orochimaru-sama worry. The fact that they were being trained by his former teammates - as well as the power the blond brat held within - was unsettling for the Snake Sennin. It was their duty to complete this mission with or without Sasuke-sama's aid.

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Ignoring the angry ebony haired boy in front of him Urinuru turned to his teammate Masahiro. The other man looked curiously in his direction when he felt Urinuru's attention drift towards him. “The mission must be completed regardless of Sasuke-sama's loyalty,” he said before Urinuru had the chance to voice his own similar thoughts. “Yes, I'll stay here and handle the traitor. The three of you should continue ahead and eliminate the targets.”

Masahiro considered this for a moment before nodding. “Idzumo will come with me. Gazan will stay to ensure nothing happens,” he turned in Sasuke's general direction seemingly unaffected by the death glare being sent at him by a very peeved Uchiha heir, “Now that his loyalties are clear he will need to be eliminated as well. If possible preserve the Sharingan and return it to Kabuto for transplantation; if not possible then destroy the body and catch up.” With that said he turned and sped from the clearing a disgruntled and pouting Idzumo followed after sending one last glare at Sasuke.

“Stay out of this fight,” he said glancing briefly at the brown haired girl standing not far away from the two fighters. Her only response was a slight nod in acceptance of his decision.

Urinuru looked back and stared at Sasuke smirking slightly when the other returned the look without any emotion. “You should not have betrayed us,” he said simply. This quickly gained him a glare from Sasuke who sneered at him before quipping back, “I'm not betraying anyone. I have never held any loyalty to Orochimaru. I wanted power and now I don't need it anymore. At least not his power. You can have as much of it as you want; you're still just a pawn. You live and die by his orders. I won't follow them anymore.”

“Then how do you plan to take your revenge?” Urinuru responded with genuine curiosity, “I know all about your family. You've wanted revenge ever since your brother committed those acts. Why the sudden change of heart?”

Sasuke smirked back, “I still want revenge, but I won't gain it here.”

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Without giving Urinuru the chance to respond Sasuke went through another set of seals. He grimaced slightly at the thought using something that Snake had created but he needed to end this quickly. “Senei Jashuu,” he shouted holding out his right arm as three snakes shot out of his sleeve. One of the snakes completely detached itself from Sasuke and spiraled around Urinuru affixing the man's arms to his sides. The other two latched on as they drew him back towards Sasuke.

Instead of waiting patiently Sasuke pulled out several kunai and launched himself at the struggling Urinuru. While still several feet away he launched two of the kunai and pleased to see that the other man was unable to block them allowing the knives to lodge themselves deep in his right thigh and stomach. Unfortunately when the two met Urinuru had freed himself enough to block the kunai that Sasuke thrust at his upper chest. He smirked knocked away one Sasuke's snakes; Sasuke released the three summoned snakes and jumped back to give him more room.

This break was all Urinuru needed as he went through several hand seals. On the side Gazan's eyes widened at the sequence and she quickly moved away to avoid backlash from the attack. “Enten Bassuto no Jutsu,” was all Sasuke heard before he glanced up and was blinded by a bright blast of light. He was thrown back several yards and struggled to stand as he felt the burns Urinuru's attack had caused. He squinted as he struggled to see, he barely managed to dodge the whip strike Urinuru sent his way. The sharingan wheels began spinning violently in his eyes as he dodged one strike after another from the whip wielding shinobi. He supposed he was lucky that Urinuru still hadn't activated the second level of his curse seal.

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Sasuke quickly grew aggravated by the constant barrage of attacks. He used a Katon to distract Urinuru and quickly jumped out of the other man's line of sight. Once there he grinned and went through several seals; two Kage Bunshins appeared next to him both wearing identical smirks. He smiled slightly realizing that he wouldn't have learned it if Naruto hadn't used the move so excessively in their last fight. He quickly cut off that line of thought before it became to depressing.

The next instant one of the clones jumped out into the clearing and began vigorously attacking Urinuru completely catching the other man off guard. As the two fought an odd chirping sound slowly filled the area. Gazan, who was still out of sight, grew confused when a moment later all sounds of the attack stopped. She crept forward and grimaced at the sight that met her. Urinuru's eyes were glazed over and judging by the size of the hole in his chest there was no hope in healing him.

Sasuke was standing over the other man's body panting heavily. He clutched his arm in pain and grimaced when looked down and saw blood. Before the Chidori had hit Urinuru had managed to land a final blow with a kunai to his upper chest. He was bleeding badly and he was fairly certain that his lung had been punctured. He glared at Gazan when she walked towards the two.

Sasuke looked at her in confusion wondering why she hadn't attacked yet when she spoke. “Why if you were so quick to leave them are you willing to now give your life for these two?” she asked. He looked at her sharply before looking away.

Gazan quickly grew irritated by his silence and attempted to goad an answer out of him. The longer she waited the more likely he was to just die on his own allowing her to be in better health when she caught up to the others. “After all why defend a demon and some weak little girl?”

Sasuke laughed harshly when he heard her. Orochimaru had told him about the Kyuubi shortly after he had arrived. He supposed the man had been attempting to break any final ties he had with Konoha but it hadn't really worked. Sasuke had seen Gaara; now that was a demon. Even with the Kyuubi sealed within him Naruto wasn't a demon. “Naruto is more human than we'll ever be. The curse seal taints us more than that beast sealed in his stomach taints him.”

Gazan glared at Sasuke's mention of the curse seal. She didn't like it anymore than he did, especially since she had paid such a high price for such a small amount of power that hers had to offer. Sasuke grinned again before continuing, “And Sakura obviously isn't weak any longer if Orochimaru sees her as enough of a threat that she had to be eliminated at the same time as Naruto.”

“That still doesn't answer my question. You'll die from those wounds and if they aren't enough to kill you then I will. Why are you willing to give your life for them? Why were you willing to betray them and your village at yet still care for them?” she asked with honest sincerity. The boy before her was one of the most complex of Orochimaru's people. He had left a village where he was considered one of the most gifted young shinobi. Many that came to Orochimaru left because they had no where else to go. He found orphans on the street and raised them to have complete and mindless loyalty to him. Sasuke wasn't like the others.

While she was deep in thought Sasuke finally looked over at her. He had a sad smile on his face as began to talk, “I left because I believed I could fulfill my dreams faster with Orochimaru then in Konoha. Now I know that that is not true. Just because I won't be able to attain my dreams doesn't mean theirs should destroyed as well. I've never regretted saving Naruto from Haku, so I don't see why this is any different.” Gazan wasn't quite sure who Haku was, but she assumed that Sasuke had put himself at risk before. “At least they'll live,” Sasuke added.

As Gazan watched the wheels of Sasuke's Sharingan slowed to stop and then faded. She was now looking at the endless black pools of his normal eyes. “Guess you'll have to kill me now,” he said with a smirk on his face.

“You shouldn't have done that, now Orochimaru will be angry with us.” Sasuke showed no response other than to collapse over and heave slightly coughing up blood. Gazan momentarily considered just leaving him there to die before deciding that doing so would get her in even more trouble.

She sighed and ran through several seals; the Uchiha's current condition didn't even require her to summon anything; a simple fire jutsu was enough to finish him off. It would also save her the trouble of disposing of both of the bodies they were close enough that she would only have to perform it once. “Katon,” she shouted aiming the white hot stream of fire at Sasuke and Urinuru's body. The fire enveloped the two shinobi and she didn't even bother waiting for it to burn out before turning and heading off to follow her comrades.

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Konoha was foolish. The villagers, the shinobi, even the Hokage had believed that they had solved their problems. They believed that there was no threat from Orochimaru. After the Snake-Sennin left, the Kyuubi had been dealt with, and the war against Stone ended the village was safe. They were never told of the continuing danger. Very few knew of what really happened when Orochimaru returned; most were only concerned with the invasion he had led. Even fewer knew of the Akatsuki and the threat they posed. Of course that was probably a good thing. More than two-thirds of the village would have been more than willing to aid the organization if it meant getting rid of the Kyuubi brat. It was about time someone burst their safety bubble. Konoha needed a wake-up call.

Sasuke and Naruto had paid for the mistakes of many. The two had been lied to more than anyone in the village. Expectations were placed on the shoulders of two children that grown men shouldn't have had to handle. Soon Konoha's hope would be extinguished.

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Sasuke desperately suppressed his chakra signature as Gazan left the clearing. The kawarimi he had performed just before the fire hit had swapped his position with that of the second clone he had made. He had still suffered some burns and breathing was growing more difficult due to the smoke inhalation and the earlier stab wound.

When he felt her presence disappear he closed his eyes in an attempt to ignore the pain. He coughed up more blood as he struggled to his feet. The fire that was supposed to have killed him was still burning strong; he noted thankfully that she had been aiming to completely destroy the bodies. There would be no questions if the remains were missing. With that last thought he struggled to continue on his way. Even if he were to head towards Konoha he would never make it there in time to help and his current condition would make him useless. He had done what he could his only option now was pray that Sakura and Naruto would be alright.