The bridge was a lot longer than I remembered from the show or Sasuke did. It wasn't that important to think about after the events in Wave.
What would probably take a while for a normal civilian to cross the Naruto Bridge took me and Suigetsu a couple of minutes of jogging. As we did we left many civilians, at least the ones without carriages, envious of our speed.
Wave was a far cry from what it had been in the original Naruto. The once poverty-ridden island that stank of hopelessness and death was now a lively and busy place. Tazuna or whoever's in charge did a great job of cleaning up Wave when Gato was dealt with.
My eyes latched on to the first restaurant I came across. The rumbling of my stomach followed, reinforcing the idea that I was hungry. All this walking made me hungry and this body hadn't eaten anything in a couple of hours. And by the look Suigetsu was giving he had the same idea. I doubt Orochimaru gave him anything decent to eat in that tube.
As soon as we were inside, however, the attention of the female staff shifted over to me. Mainly on my exposed chest thanks to this shirt. While it made me look like a stripper it was actually so Sasuke didn't lose a shirt every time he used the Curse Mark, not like it's a problem anymore. Now had this been an anime I was sure there'd be hearts in their eyes. Suigetsu just laughed as we sat at the nearest empty table. It was pretty uncomfortable having this much focus on me as I never got this much, luckily being Sasuke came with a default solution. Ignore it.
I grabbed a menu to see what they had and how much I could afford to spend, carefully looking over the options. I decided on getting the steak and ribs as I was aching for meat. Suigetsu just ordered a bunch of ice cream/frozen yogurt that he stole from some other guy. The man was about to complain but was silenced by the glares of the women, so he left vowing to give this place a low rating for poor customer service.
If there was one good thing to all of the attention it was that my food came a lot faster than it ever did at modern restaurants and in a larger quantity. A simple smile and a thank you made my waitress's day and made the others further their resolve to get my attention. As long as it got me good service and my space was respected they could use me for eye candy as much as they wanted.
"So once we find the Executioner's Blade, what will be our next move?" Suigetsu asked after taking a bite.
"Our next move will be to locate old pals of ours that I feel will be useful for my cause. Afterward, we'll head back home safe and sound to clean any messes left behind." So far the plan is just to pick up Karin and Jugo and go to Otogakure to deal with any potential problems that could arise.
After what happened with Kabuto providing Obito an undead army and helping start the Fourth Great Ninja War, I wasn't taking any chances with the Sound Village. A series of hideouts filled with Orochimaru's experiments could cause headaches if left alone. So best to nip any potential antagonist in the bud now.
Guren was the one in charge as Orochimaru's second in command and second most powerful shinobi, behind Sasuke from before yet not so far. But with him dead I doubt she'd care about running the village now, however she was devoted to the snake so she might want revenge. And I'm pretty sure Dosu still didn't like me since he almost died in the Chunin Exams as bait for me so he could be a problem for me. The guy was impressive during Part 1, so it wasn't surprising to see his growth into Part 2. On his own, he was high A-rank but with his sound gauntlets they let him hit above his class into S a little.
Obviously, I couldn't just say all that because there could be spies from any number of people who I don't want to deal with in any of the Great Five villages or the Akatsuki via those stalkers Obito or Zetsu. A bit paranoid, yes, but honestly who wouldn't be in the Naruto world normally, it'd be even worse if you knew what was coming.
It took Suigetsu a moment to understand what I meant and just nodded, but he was surprised. "Huh, I would've expected you to go after your brother as soon as you could."
"I'll deal with Itachi soon enough and with Kisame as well. But I have loose ends back home and they would be very annoying if they popped up when unneeded. However, as we are right now, we're in no condition to find Itachi and Kisame let alone deal with them. I just had a fight with a snake, and while victory wasn't a doubt it was a hard-won one and it took its toll."
"Now while I may not know much about Itachi, bastard that he is, I know more than enough about Kisame to beat him."
"I don't doubt that you could beat him," Not without a lot of training at least. "However, you just got out of your tank after being cooped up inside for who knows how long. Looking for some friends and heading home to clean a few messes gives us some time to recover our strength and grow stronger. As well as keep an eye out for your sword collection."
"Hm, fair enough. I am a bit rusty after all that time in my prison. A side adventure should be enough to get me back in shape. As long as I get my swords I couldn't really care less about what we do."
With how I am right now I don't want to run into any of the Akatsuki, so delay that by dealing with weaker foes, a classic shonen strategy. Besides, it shouldn't take too long to do and by the time I'm done my chakra should've worked itself out, and then I'll deal with the Akatsuki.
Besides, at the moment Itachi is far too complicated for me to find let alone deal with just the two of us, and we could stand to find some friends and even turn interference into assistance. Not to mention that while looking for him and Kisame we may run into eight other fellows of similar disposition."
"I can see why you're putting off your reunion, it'd be awkward to deal with that many people. But it would be funny seeing Karin flail about." He chuckles after that last bit but goes silent.
I'm not too sure what I'm about to say. It'd suck if I lost him but I absolutely need to have him consent to this before we get into some deep shit.
"If the reunion sounds too much for you, you're free to" But before I could go any further I was interrupted.
"Hold on there Sasuke. Just because this sounds scary to you doesn't mean it's scary for me. Besides, how am I going to rebuild my order if Kisame still has the Shark Skin? Sticking with you is my best bet, even if I have to deal with Karin."
Looks like I was worried over nothing. Granted I knew Suigetsu along with the rest of Team Taka was loyal to Sasuke, even when they had no reason to, but this was the early stages of that, now this, relationship. Now that I know he won't be leaving me if the going gets tough all I have to do is not be an asshole and ruin that. Because something tells me that the shit canon Sasuke pulled like with joining the Akatsuki and almost killing Karin would not fly at all. To be honest I'd be concerned if they did.
"Thank you for sticking with me. And I promise that the next generation of your sword enthusiast group will be guided by your hand." I give Suigetsu a genuine smile as I say this, something Sasuke hasn't done since he left Konoha three years ago.
"No need to get sappy on me. And besides, after we clean up that mess at home and deal with your brother, we could move on to bigger things. Like conquering the world! We'd already have a village, what's stopping us fr-"
"Me. Do you have any idea how much work goes into running a Hidden Village? Kiri alone should tell how bad that could go if you fuck it up. Now you're asking me to do that while dealing with the inevitable resistance that'll occur from me trying to take over the world and the shit show of trying to force many different groups of shinobi under my banner. You'd have to be strong enough to make Madara and Hashirama look like infants before world domination is at all feasible. And to say nothing of the countless assassination attempts that would follow. If you want to deal with that, go ahead and get your group. Plus that involves dealing with
politics, miss me with that shit thank you very much." Not to mention I didn't plan on sticking around in the Naruto world at all, as while it was fun to see through the lens of an anime it was a terrible place to live in. So as soon as Akatsuki was dealt with and Kaguya no longer an issue, I'm bailing via Rinnegan travel or that Planeswalking thing the Sage mentioned.
"Nope, no thank you for any of that,
especially the politics, I only suggested that because I think that out of anybody I know, you could pull it off. With the amount of women throwing themselves at you, I'd say you already have one group under your banner."
"Huh, you just said something useful." Sasuke did have a bunch of women obsessed with him, a dumb gag but it should be useful.
"How was that useful and why exactly would it be such a surprise? I'll have you know I'm full of valuable insigh-""
"Excuse me," I say to the nearest waitress while ignoring Suigetsu's rambling. "I'm looking for a big chunk of metal that resembles a sword that was near the Naruto Bridge, do you have any idea where it is?"
"Uh no, but I'll ask around. I'll be right back!"
"A big chunk of metal? Really?"
"Oh shut up you know it's accurate. Besides, it's a better description for my spy network to work with than that long name."
"A spy network?"
"All the big-name shinobi have one, especially the S class. Orochimaru had one, Jiraiya, Sasori of the Red Sand, and…" I can't actually name anyone else with a spy network. "Lately myself."
"I'd hardly call gossiping girls a spy network of all things."
Before Suigetsu could say anything else, the waitress returned.
"I know where the sword is!"
"It may not be intricate but it can be effective at times, like now."
—————-
Following that we left the restaurant without having to pay at all, hell, Suigetsu even got to take all of the yogurts with him. Oh, how it's fun being able to abuse looking good.
While Suigetsu was finishing his 24th cup I was on the lookout for a clothing shop or a tailor. Mainly because I wanted a change in wardrobe, for three reasons. The open shirt wasn't useful anymore with no Curse Mark and I didn't want to leave my gut exposed, as while showing off skin meant you were pretty confident in your ability to defend yourself, like the Raikage, I just saw that as an unnecessary risk. And lastly, it wasn't a good idea to advertise yourself as one of the last two known Uchiha in the world. So I ditched the rope belt and shirt and got myself an outfit resembling what Sasuke wore during the Shinden novels, except for sticking with a white shirt.
And once I saw some water balloons at a stall I knew I couldn't resist. After all, who'd pass up recreating the Rasengan if they could?
By the time I found Suigetsu he was on the ground next to a pile of empty yogurt, a scene reminding me of how Naruto was after a trip to Ichiraku's. I gave him a nudge with my foot and he was up from his nap.
"Finally, now that you're done playing dress-up we can get Kubikiribocho. Now let's crash this Tenzen Daikoku's place and take it."
"Sure, let's get you that sword." With that, we were on our way.
———-
The time for leisurely walking had ended so we started spamming Shunshin to get to the mob boss's home. It was what you'd expect a feudal lord to live in, which made sense as he was the Water Daimyo's aid and was as such a big-name politician. Which was still a mon boss even if labeled differently in these parts. And it seems that while he did learn from Gato and stuck with hired thugs who were at least Chunin level, able to threaten a Jonin if I was being nice. But not much compared to an S rank like myself.
"Seeing as it'd be a joke to get through these guys, how about a little competition? Let's see who can get Kubikiribocho first." I offered. This would be a good way to test myself and get used to doing ninja things.
"I didn't think you had such a playful mind. Sure, it sounds like fun." Suigetsu accepts the challenge. "Now when do we start?"
"The moment he asked who'd get the sword first. I'd hurry if I were you, the original is pretty fast when he wants to be." A clone says with a smirk.
"What the hell do you mean- a clone!? Oh, you sneaky mother-" Suigetsu was about to say before he shook his head and chose to focus on getting the sword before I did.
————-
I take back what I said about these goons giving a Jonin trouble, Part 1 Naruto could make it through these guys with only some difficulty. Then again these guys are just Chunin, so far below my league it wasn't even funny.
So while it wasn't at all much of a test for my skill, it at least showed that I could use Sasuke's stealth competently. And it's with that stealth that is how I got here.
"Who's there!? How did you-" Tenzin began to panic. Can't have that.
"You utter a word and I shove this sword through your skull." I threaten with my sword hanging over his head. The man was still panicked but the sword gained his silence. "Good. Now I'm here for two things, give them to me and I'll allow you to live. Nod if you understand." And nod he does. "I want the Executioner's Blade in your possession and 10 million ryo."
"You can't be fucking-" A sudden thrust that nearly touches his forehead stops his complaint.
"I'm only taking a small bit of your wealth and a sword that belongs to Kirigakure, I could take more and there's not a damn thing you could do to stop me. Other shinobi aren't as nice as I am and would take everything you've got
and kill you, in either order. Hell, I'm even doing you a favor as I doubt the Hidden Mist would be happy with you, and we all know what happens when people from there aren't happy. Just give me what I want and I'll leave you be." I coldly threaten, my point cowing the man.
"Alright, I'll lead you to my vault. It's where I keep the damn sword and my money." Tenzen said, resignation and anger in his voice.
"Good, now get going. And if you try to lead me to a trap or something like that, I'll do nasty things to your mind with my genjutsu." I say with a glare. Now I doubt that he'd try to do anything, especially with the threat of having his mind fucked with. But I wouldn't mind, I am curious to try out some ideas I have for genjutsu. The internet does give a lot of material for that.
——
It takes some walking, damn this place is long and I'm pretty sure he took the long way on purpose, until we finally made it to the vault. When we get there we find what seems to be an above average thug dead, possibly mid Chunin level, and a broken door.
Looks like Suigetsu got here before I did. Seems that he didn't bother with the dragon and went straight towards its hoard.
Anyway, I just walked in and found a smug Suigetsu with Kubikiribocho. And a couple of dead bodies,
"Ah Sasuke, took you long enough. I see that you wasted your headstart on that bozo while I went straight for the prize." He said while lifting his newly gained sword into the air. "Sadly you missed me with my Executioner's Blade in action, these guys were just too weak for it to be anything but a slaughter and I needed one after being cooped up for so long. And they were free blood for it too, although it's in better shape than I expected."
"I don't care who you slaughter as long as they're our enemies and our enemies only. And make sure that you dispose of the bodies, Kubikiribocho leaves a unique mark and I'd rather not deal with Kiri ANBU coming after our asses, mainly because they'd be a pain on them."
"Hehe," Laughter, not something I'd expect to hear, and even more so it wasn't from Suigetsu. It was from the weakest man in the room, Tenzen.
"It's just funny how much trouble you're going through for that sword, especially after what I've done to it. I was saving this laugh for after I sold it to Kiri but I guess that isn't happening now."
"And what exactly did you do anyway?" I ask. Suigetsu removed his focus from the sword and paid attention to the conversation.
"You see, Zabuza fucked me over during his coup in Kirigakure a while ago. I lost a good number of men, and even my cousin Masafumi. I wanted some revenge, but it turns out that some Konoha nin put him in the dirt before I could. So I did the next best thing and desecrated his grave and took his sword. I heard of its ability to drain blood to repair itself, so I got curious, was it limited to human blood, or could animals be used? A few pigs proved that right and I wanted to go even further, and asked, `Was it limited to just blood?'"
I don't think I'm gonna like where this is heading.
"Turns out that yeah it sort of was, but if you mixed the blood with any liquid the sword would take it in. And boy did I have a field day with that. Any substance you could feel a hint of disgust at, I had it blended, mixed with blood, and fed into that sword for 6 whole months. After I ran out of ideas for what to put in there I decided to tape the damn sword to Zabuza's decayed hands and sell them both back to Kiri, as one last fuck you to that prick Zabuza."
A silence filled the room. Whatever Suigetsu and I expected the man to say, this was not it.
"Wait- what?" I stammered. Had this been the internet I would've been fine, you see weird shit plenty of times, but rarely do you hear or actually
encounter something like this in real life. Seriously what the fuck, this sounds like some shit out of Deviantart, Qustionable Questing, a Reddit copypasta, or 4chan. "We were going to let you go man, you had absolutely no reason to say any of that, especially to a
Kiri ninja."
It was at that moment that Tenzen knew, he fucked up. "Wait, really? And did you...say...Kiri nin-...oh Kami."
Suigetsu was dumbfounded for a bit but those brain cells eventually registered what he just heard. "WHAT! THE! FUCK!?" Suigetsu bellowed, the most pissed off I've ever seen him, leaking enough Killing Intent that would cause anybody below Jonin to kill themselves. The only reason Tenzen couldn't was that I still had his arms in my grasp, but he was doing everything he could to break out of it. Wait a second I don't feel any movement at all from this guy anymore.
"You son of a bitch you fucking shat on my goddamn sword are you kidding me!?" Suigetsu yelled before yanking the man from my grasp and slamming his body through a wall. "I put my hands on that why the fuck wasn't there a sign, better yet why do it at all! This is gross even by my standards!" He continued as he roughed the body up rather harshly. "I'm gonna kill, no, butcher, no because you won't ever touch that sword again, I'm gonna clobber you to death!"
"You're a bit late for that Suigetsu." I say, the sole voice of calm. Honestly I just want this to end and get on with our day. I'm definitely not gonna let him forget this though.
To my words his head turned sharply towards me, his eyes mirroring his mouth in rage. "What the hell do you mean Sasuke?"
"Of course you didn't notice, you've been stuck with Orochimaru for so long that you've gotten used to letting out your Killing Intent at full force. This guy isn't Orochimaru, hell this guy is just a Genin, so it shouldn't be a surprise."
"That his heart gave out." Suigetsu finished for me as he dropped the body. "Dammit! I'm still pissed off and I need something to hit!"
He stood there thinking for a second before his eyes fell upon me. "Perhaps I should test my sword on a more worthy opponent, someone who previously disrespected it and needs to be reminded of its power, because clearly Zabuza didn't leave enough of a mark."
"I almost died to that thing more times than I'd like to count as a Genin, I'm sure as hell not dying to it when I'm so far beyond myself from long ago," So much more, "and Zabuza. Especially not after what Tenzen did to it, I don't fancy dying to infection of all things." I say with a brief chuckle as I notice the hand I had on my sword getting ready to unleash it. "I was trained in the basics of sportsmanship by Kakashi Hatake, of the Leaf's ANBU Black Ops, and fully trained under Orochimaru, wielder of the Kusanagi, which was one of many legendary blades. And more of a sword than half of the Seven Swords of the Mist. I mean an axe, needles, and of course the expl-"
"No, no, no! They are swords that just so happen to take the shape of other weapons. They still function as swords just with extra features, therefore they are indeed swords! In fact, I'll be more than happy to show you how effective one of them can be!" He says as he points the toilet sword at me. Suigetsu's still heated but now he's sporting a grin, ready to test his skill with the Executioner's Blade.
Things are starting to heat up, hell I'm even starting to get into this. Suigetsu is eager to use Kubikiribocho on someone and I myself am eager to test my ability. But that last thought quickly took me out of the mood and forced a more cool head to emerge.
"I'll be more than happy to prove who here is the superior swordsman, however, we will in another time. Earlier today there were whispers of a big block of metal, followed by the death of the Water Daimyo's advisor with his goons sporting wounds that only a block of metal could give. It doesn't take a Nara to figure that these two may be connected. And it's for your best interest that Kiri doesn't know that someone who isn't them has one of the Seven Swords, unless you want to compete with the resources of a Great Village, especially one that knows how best to kill a Hozuki?" I say so we don't get into a fight/spar right now. My body still isn't ready to get into an intensive fight yet and I want to avoid anything that'll get heat from Kiri right now. And as much as the ANBU in the anime were worfing fodder I doubt it will be that way in real life.
Speaking of said heat, I quickly do some hand signs and shoot mini Fireballs at all of the corpses. No evidence is the best evidence after all.
"Now let me get all the Ryo Tenzen had and we'll be on our way."
To that Suigetsu just gave the Butcher Sword in his hands another gaze, this time one of sorrow. He lets out a sigh before responding. "Well I did get my blade, so yeah, I'll go with you just like I promised. But we're splitting that cash, I'm gonna need to buy
so much bleach." He said once he was finished.
"Then I recommend that you do so before the original takes most of it." My clone said.
Suigetsu just blinked before growling irritatedly. "The clone again, are you serious?!" And rushed into the vault.
-----
Normally this would be the part where I have a major internal crisis over the fact that I let men die, not good men but men nonetheless. And since I felt nothing for them that'll lead to an even bigger angst fest that would consume my every waking thought. Doubly so as both I and Sasuke were against killing from a moral standpoint, before he went crazy and I ended up here anyway.
But I can circumvent that whole issue via the fact that the Pure World, i.e. ninja heaven exists. And seeing as Madara and Obito got there, and I'm fairly certain that when Danzo died and when Orochimaru eventually dies in canon he'll go there too, then I could essentially get away with anything.
Now of course because I'm not a total fucking edgelord I won't be ripping off Deadpool kills the Marvel Universe or spouting out empty philosophy while being edgy. And even if I decided that Sasuke wasn't edgy enough and decided to rip off that comic I'm pretty sure Naruto would pull a Joseph Joestar out of his ass and beat me back into his best buddy. And this time I doubt Hagoromo will be as nice as he was.
Now enough about morality before I get sucked into preaching the oh-so-obvious life good killing bad. Besides this is just an excuse for me to kill my enemies without worrying about the sometimes reasonable or unreasonable cliches that would stop the good guys from doing so.
Turns out that Tenzen only had around 500 million Ryo, of which now my 300 million Ryo or 3 million in freedom bucks. So not too rich (from a clan heir's perspective) but enough to fund our travels. Though I still plan on cashing Oro's head in for the cash, which was 2,742,125,000 Ryo (the highest bounty ever given out barring Minato's), and goodwill.
As for now, we're heading towards the Southern Hideout where Karin was. Where instead of calling a boat to bring us, we just walked across the watery distance. I thought it would be weird but Water Walking felt almost as natural as walking on solid ground. Once again performing the act of miracles back home causally, oh chakra you are a blessing.
Originally Sasuke recruited Karin for her sensory and healing abilities. That was the same for me but put more emphasis on healing. Her being an Uzumaki means she has a powerful life force, giving her a long-lasting and powerful chakra. Plus she's infatuated with Sasuke so she'll be more than willing to let me bite her for as long as I need/want. So a healer who's both effective and readily available, probably my best bet for fixing my chakra. Hopefully, her Uzumaki chakra will help my body get better used to my spiritual chakra, and then I can start working my way to using Six Paths Chakra. Plus she's a decent person so working with her should be easy.
Now could I just wait for my chakra to stabilize, sure. But do I have the time, no. For all I know someone may come after me while I'm not ready, namely Itachi, Danzo, or Obito. So it's definitely for the best that I get back to gear ASAP. At least with Karin I could finally, hopefully, use all of Sasuke's arsenal properly and the Eternal Mangekyou. As for Sage Mode, I'll have to consult with the Elder Snakes as they're the only teachers of Senjutsu that I have access to because I'm sure as fuck not risking turning into stone because I was too impatient. Then I'll finally get all of the broken nonsense I've been waiting for with Six Paths Chakra.
During our walk, we were both occupied by our new possessions, Suigetsu pouring his 30th bottle of bleach on Zabuza's sword and me with my water balloons.
Now the Rasengan was a rather simple yet difficult jutsu. To perform it you'd need to learn three steps as Jiraiya once said, rotation, power, and containment. A water balloon was useful to keep track of your progress as you learned the steps, and if you already have good chakra control then you'd be more than able to do it all on your own. And the almost forgotten fact of knowing which direction your body spins, counter or clockwise. Sasuke having such control and a genius mind, now mine, allowed me to complete the first two steps rather easily. Of course the Chidori, a failed attempt to add a lightning element to the Rasengan, being my signature move helped me get it down as well. But containment was being a pain in the ass to do. Unlike Naruto and Konohamaru I can't exactly be wasting chakra on a Shadow Clone as a shortcut so I had to do it the long and hard way. But I'm coming closer and closer to figuring it out with each attempt.
"Though she claimed she was only following Orochimaru's orders, I still think she isn't someone we want around. Besides, she knows medical ninjutsu and helped him stay alive." Suigetsu says, breaking the silence and getting me out of my head. I still perform containment while he speaks.
"I'm aware of her actions while she worked under Orochimaru. But he's dead now so she'll have no reason to continue. Also, anybody under him who had skill in medical ninjutsu had to heal him, any who didn't or tried to sabotage him would be his next test subject for Senjutsu, not a fun fate. Besides, she comes with extraordinary healing abilities and unmatched sensory abilities. Those two alone are more than enough for me to want her on my team. Her eagerness to follow me is just the cherry on top." I say back, giving my reasons for wanting her around despite the stuff she did for Orochimaru.
"Eagerness is an understatement, I'm sure she'll be more than happy to let you be on top of her cherry." Suigetsu says with a couple of eyebrow raises.
"And let's not forget about her Adamantine Chains, the same chain she used to one shot you," I say, changing the subject and returning a grin, a grin of smug.
"I had her dead to rights and all she could do was stand there. And how the hell was I supposed to know that she could just spawn chains from her stomach! Besides, I knocked you down before Karin made her cheap shot." He starts off indignant before ending with a grin of his own.
"Adamantine Chains, along with sealing, were things the Uzumaki were known for. My man, she was baiting you and you fell for it hook, line, and sinker. And as for you and me, here's the difference. When I got knocked
back, I got
up. When you got knocked
out, you
stayed out." I finish with my grin turning smug with a dash of cockiness while his grin deflates into a scowl.
To that, he just lets out a "tsk" and we continue in silence. Though I'm sure I heard some grumbling of "gush as much as you want about them they still got wiped out". If this is how he reacts to all the stuff the Uzumaki can do then just he waits until he learns about the nonsense wank that the Uchiha get.
"Still, it's too quiet here and I don't like it." He says upon reaching the outside of the hideout.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it. Karin is the only person here who could pose a threat to us and she won't. And quick warning for you, she practiced with her chains." To which only prompted a second scowl from the Hozuki. And wasn't that certainly a surprise, turns out that she became much more of a kunoichi in this world than just the detector and heal pack she was in canon. Here she actually got good with her chains enough to use them in combat like she did during the War. Those chains are something I'm definitely gonna try to learn once I get mastery over all Chakra types. And while she's good with them, I can do plenty to help her improve.
"And anyone decently powerful or still loyal to Orochimaru is back at Oto. But it never hurts to be on your guard." I added to calm his suspicion, then again you weren't a good ninja if you weren't suspicious of things.
We stop at the entrance to a cave blocked off by old doors.
"Well, this looks like a good time for this." Suigetsu said, addressing his sword as our solution to the locked door. "Decimate!" Suigetsu gleefully shouted as he was about to slash the door, but before he did I hold up my hand.
"Really, you're gonna stop me from using it,
again?" He asked, rather annoyed for being cock blocked from using one of the sticks he trained throughout his life to use.
"This seems like a good test subject for my jutsu," I say as I hold my hand out.
"Tch, like that Chidori of yours is gonna get you anything other than a hand-sized hole. Which ain't a problem for me, you, however…" He leaves the obvious unsaid as the startup sound starts to interrupt him.
A ball of chakra forms in my hand, rotation. The density and volume of the chakra increases, power. Now to combine both steps at once, containment. The Rasengan isn't perfect by any means but it'll definitely fuck someone, other than myself, up. When I slammed it into the door it recreated the first image Sasuke had of the jutsu, the aftermath of the water tower.
"Ho-ly shit!
That's your new jutsu. Well, way to show me up huh. What are you gonna call it?"
"It's bad enough that I stole one of his signature moves, I doubt the Fourth Hokage would be too happy with me renaming it."
"The fucking
Rasengan. How?" Suigetsu asked in surprise. It seems that while not as fear inducing as Madara or Hashirama, Minato and his skills still left a legacy to be respected or feared by those who knew of him.
"Much like that sword of yours, that very jutsu almost killed me. To be fair I almost killed Naruto with my Chidori so it evens out. But having a look at the thing that almost killed you keeps a clear picture of it in mind. Plus it was the only ninjutsu my loudmouth teammate used besides the Shadow Clone Jutsu." It was the same at our reunion, except that asshole Jiraiya taught him how to use the
Shuriken and Exploding variants, which was an incredible pain to deal with, and Naruto wasn't even trying to be lethal.
"I'm going to ignore the fact that there was a chance I had to deal with that thing and just move on."
As we walk in I hear a whole lot of commotion going on. I think I spooked the prisoners. To be fair anyone would if they were trapped in the prison of a mad man and heard an explosion. And I couldn't help but feel weirded out. It was your typical old timely dungeon but seeing all these people here and knowing what fate awaited them gave me the wrong feeling. But I'll fix that soon enough.
"No way, that's Sasuke Uchiha!" A prisoner cried out, bringing the attention of the rest on me. "He's the guy behind that explosion!?" "Wait for a second, why isn't Orochimaru with him? Why is Sasuke with some stranger?" The rest began to gush about what my arrival meant for them. Sure, I'll free them but they'll have to wait a bit.
After a bit of walking, we reach the moment I've been waiting for. And it seems that another character has changed, as Karin looked different from the anime. And while I'd like to go into so much more detail I'll just move on as I have more important things to do. Let's just summarize it by saying that she looked a bit more like Kushina.
"Sasuke, that was you. Geez, I thought we were under attack for a second there. Well, if you're here on your own it could only mean one thing. He's dead." She states, knowing that it's not a question worth asking.
"Sasuke came here because he wants to talk to you. I'm tired, I haven't walked this far in a long time. Or run for that matter." Suigetsu says quickly to move the talk along before turning to glare at me. I simply shrugged at him, he complained about our pace during Wave so I figured that meant he was fine with spiriting the whole time. Besides, it makes for good exercise.
"You're unpleasant," Karin says, looking past him and turning towards me. "You want to talk, then talk Sasuke."
"You're not so pleasant yourself. Then again you've always been pretty stuck up," Suigetsu retorts, a bit irritated, before he grew a grin and turned to me. "You really oughta fix that Sasuke." I give him a poker face, basically my default expression. Karin tries to as well but due to Sasuke's experience with women, I can catch a blush on her cheeks. A wink from me and her face started matching her hair. It quickly went back to normal before Suigetsu could see, but I could tell that he did. The guy was an expert in getting to people.
"Well Suigetsu, if you're tired then I'm sure there's a bed for you to find. Karin, didn't Orochimaru have a room here, with a nice and comfy bed?" I say to get off from that topic. Not even a few seconds and they're already at each other's throats. Just remember that it won't be long before we're all buddy-buddy, at least I hope.
"Yes, he did. Simply go down the hall, take a right, go down some stairs. Even a bonehead like you should find it." She says while shooing him off with her fingers.
"You can take your nap Suigetsu but first we have things to do. Suigetsu, go free the prisoners, and let them know who set them free and why." I told Suigetsu before turning my head to Karin who was about to protest. "Orochimaru no longer walks among the living, meaning that you have no reason to continue his work. No reason to stay here, unless you feel that keeping all these prisoners here for the rest of your life sounds appealing. Otherwise, let them all go." To that she just nods.
"Suigetsu, give this to them," I say as I throw a scroll at him. It's one that he quickly recognizes.
"You can't be serious in giving them all of our money."
"200 million of my Ryo is more than enough for us to make do. Besides," I say as I pull out another scroll, "I never said we'll give it all out. 100 million ryo should be enough to divide between the prisoners and help them find a new life for themselves."
"Huh, aren't you awfully nice Sasuke. I would have freed them no doubt but I didn't even think about giving them some cash." He said before he left the room. But he stopped to ask. "And for the guys who give me trouble?"
"Do whatever you want with them. If they're dumb enough to mess with you then they're too brain damaged to go on living. No unnecessary torture though." I'm pretty much fine with him getting bloody even if I don't like seeing it as long as he keeps it reasonable and out of a village. To my response, he simply gave a grin, different from the playful ones he's given me so far in being wicked and vicious, and left.
"And us?" Karin asks once he's gone.
"We're going to have a talk. Preferably somewhere with a couch where we can sit."
"Ah, I know just the place. Follow me." Karin nodded before she started walking away, leaving behind the sound of echoing footsteps.
We find ourselves in a nice little room, as nice as you can call anything Orochimaru owned.
The first thing I do upon seeing that chair is just lounge myself on it. Suigetsu wasn't alone in feeling tired, of course, I can't just show it as freely as he can, still gotta hold the appearance of being Sasuke. For now anyway.
"Karin, I'd come here to ask one thing. I'd like for you to come along with me and join me." I'm gonna go with a similar approach as I did with Suigetsu, a simple ask.
"Really, you came all the way here just for me?" Karin says, a bit surprised. Interesting to note that she's still standing, I would've expected her to be all over me as soon as she could.
"I know that you possess a sharp intellect and a cautious nature, it's what allowed you to manage this prison for so long. Combined with your natural abilities and your potential, it only made sense for me to want you." I praise, getting her to glow up as I do and blush with my finishing remark.
She laughs a bit, enjoying my praise but as soon as she's done, Karin pulls out a key and locks the door.
But rather than her switching from cold and brash to sweet and soft as I expected, she stayed serious. Dead serious.
"When I first sensed your chakra I was ecstatic. It's been so long since we last met and I wanted to catch up with you. But when I felt your chakra more in-depth, it was when I noticed a change."
Oh, she noticed.
"Physically you were fine, so fine, your yang was the same as ever. But it was your spirit, your yin that set me off. It still felt like it should be yours yet it felt so strange, alien to give it a word. So tell me Sasuke, what happened to you?" She starts wistfully but turns questioning.
"What do you think happened Karin? Do you think that I am Orochimaru?" I simply ask. Hopefully that isn't her conclusion. I mean it's not too important that she finds out and I'm not gonna kill her over it, it would just be easier for that she thinks I'm Sasuke. Although had it been somebody, anyone who wasn't an ally, I certainly would've.
"No." Karin answers much to my relief. "Even with how strange your chakra is it isn't anywhere near the maliciousness of Orochimaru's chakra. In fact, I feel a total lack of his chakra from you. Which is strange as I always felt a tint of him on your neck." Her tone now just plain, but I can tell she still has questions and wants answers.
"Then there's your answer Karin," I said before revealing my neck and the absence of the Curse Mark. "He placed his Curse Mark on me 3 years ago for the sole purpose of taking over my body. When he was on his deathbed, it was then that I chose to end him before he tried to take my body. I overwhelmed him both in body and in the soul, in fact, I eradicated Orochimaru's soul, so thoroughly that not even the other Curse Marks or the Edo Tensei technique could bring him back."
"I see now. With the removal of the Curse Mark after having it for so long, it resulted in a backlash, causing your chakra to feel so different like something new came to fill in for something missing." Huh, she's smarter than I gave her credit for. But then again as a sensor and spending time with Orochimaru she'd know some stuff about chakra. Good to know that my excuse sounds believable enough to people who know their stuff.
"You hit the nail on that, but there's more, and I'm placing a massive amount of trust in you Karin by telling you this part especially," I say with the utmost seriousness, boring into her with my eyes. Her eyes widen in response before she nods resolutely, steel in her gaze. "As a result of the change in my chakra, it messed up my ability to properly use it. The basics work just fine but trying to use anything more may result in chakra-related injury and any serious ninjutsu could kill me." I take her hand. "This was why I came to you. Your healing ability was my best option for fixing myself. So, Karin, I ask of you, allow me to bite you." I considered saying 'I beg of you' but both me and the Sasuke part of me went a hard no, I'm not gonna beg unless I absolutely have to. But this should be sappy/romantic enough for Karin to agree.
And I was pretty much exaggerating on the whole fatal thing, at worst I ended up like Kakashi did when he tried to use the Mangekyou. However, it might be that way if I tried to turn on the Rinne-Sharingan or certainly if I tried using Six Paths. Again I don't really know but better safe than sorry.
"S-sasuke. You only needed to ask." She says, eyes filled to the brim with tears, flowing down her blushing face. Maybe... I overdid it a little. "Take as much of my chakra as you need!" But there's nothing quite as effective as overkill for dramatic effect!
"Thank you," I said as I took her hand into mine, before moving my lips and placing a gentle kiss on the back of it. I felt that this would be an equivalent exchange, she gets some of the affection she's always wanted while I get one step closer to Ophood. At that, I think she managed to turn completely red, either out of embarrassment or joy but likely both. I then took a bite of her hand. She tasted like...I don't have anything to compare it to, it's what you'd expect a human to taste, but there was a taste of strawberries with it. Not how I expected to describe tasting a woman but that's how it was. But then I started to truly feel it, the rush of her chakra, the strength of it, and the feeling of it interacting with mine. When it finally came into effect I felt… no not felt. It was indescribable. Simply put
I awakened.
(insert ultimate kars awakening)
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htDB8SuLrng
#########################
Here we get Zabuza's sword for Suigetsu and meet Karin. This has no right being as long as it is lol.
Anyway I hope some or most of you liked it and leave your thoughts. And thanks for reading.
