050 – Trouble rears its pretty, little head…

KONOHA​

"Are you certain you want to do this?"

Our gaze panned to regard Orochimaru who had just spoken. It was dawn and the breaking sun cast an eerie, dappled light through the cloud-stricken sky. The horizon bled dim crimson and the heavens above looked to have been set aflame by an impish deity, lending an otherworldly aura to the scene. Once upon a time, we might have simply enjoyed the scenery in silence…

Now, looking down upon the village that took one of the only things we truly cared about in this accursed world, our heart burned with hate and a vile desire to taint it all.

We spoke not to the snake sannin, instead taking a few steps forward to peer down Minato's sculpted forehead at the Hokage Residence below. Along the surface of the stone monument we stood upon, our sharingan could pick up the most recent layers of paint splattered over it to hide the worst of Naruto's misadventures. A smile crept unbidden onto our face at the thought. The bloody fool.

"Why do you ask?" we finally replied to the sannin's inquiry. "Growing cold feet?"

"I should be the one asking you that," Orochimaru scoffed in response. "We've been waiting here pointlessly for thirty minutes already. If I didn't know better, I would have assumed you wanted us to fail."

We shook our head. "I am just curious... Nostalgic."

"About?"

"Nothing important, I guess."

"...So?" the sannin ventured after a moment of silence.

We smiled, electing to respond with action rather than words. This was the moment. The beginning of an end; we could feel it in our bones. In very our soul.

Like an itch that just won't go away.

"Hate," we whispered to ourself as we let our eyes pan across the scenery. "They scorned our hate. They took from us believing our hatred to be one lightly borne. Our hate? Our Hate! The bitter poison of our lost love… they scorned! Why? To not even once consider the cost? To choose the forfeiture of their very souls over a peaceful existence. To choose self-inflicted bondage to an unending cycle of suffering, a relentless wheel of retribution that knows no end.

"Those who bear the weight of our hatred," we declared, centring ourself as we pulled on every ounce of our being, galvanising our chakra as we reached out to pull and plug in a tendril of reality in our existence, "are cursed souls indeed. Let their hearts be consumed by this insidious curse, for they foolishly sought the path to ruin. They have become slaves to the whims of our rage, prisoners of our very obsessions.

"These eyes we bear—misty, tear-stained, ethereal orbs, emblems of our grief—once windows to our mortal soul… become crimson mirrors reflecting only the abyss!"

Our already halved chakra instantly diminished as two-thirds of it evaporated with the activation of our left Mangekyo.

"These eyes we bear—tainted, blood-stained, unholy things, emblems of our pain—once windows to our mortal soul…

"Become HATE!"

Sōzōamatsukami…

Hateful Tapestry!

In our vision, reality warped as chakra radiated from our form like a beacon to every sentient being within a mile radius of us. The world slowed, turning hyperdetailed as causation and causality became glaringly apparent to our senses.

"What… what was that?" Orochimaru asked, his brows twisting into a frown. We ignored him, looking past the web of intangible red threads—connecting every living being that appeared in our line of sight—at the clustered knot hidden in the shadowed heart of the village. Glowing with a near-obscene glare, almost everything in the village had a direct connection to the figure at the centre of that ethereal knot.

The source...

Hashirama Senju.

The name slid off our tongue as a low, sibilant whisper. We felt his attention swivel to focus on us almost as if hearing the call. There was a flicker then two others as the First Hokage suddenly appeared on the roof of the Hokage Residence before us, ferried over by his similarly undead younger brother with the Third in tow.

"This is the child?" Hashirama asked, his gaze not leaving our form.

"Yes," replied Tobirama.

Hiruzen said nothing, eyes downcast as he was the morning after our clan was murdered at his council's behest.

We looked between the three, allowing our lips to curl into a smile.

"Hello," we greeted, waving at the Kages with our fake hand. "Just dropping by to settle an old debt; I hope you don't mind?"

***​

Elsewhere.

Sakura fiddled with a Kunai as she absentmindedly chewed on a Sando. She watched, gaze placid, as Naruto sparred with a clone. Her substitute sensei—the supposedly "Legendary Toad Sage"—sat on a tree bough, giggling to himself like the absolutely disgusting pervert he was as he scribbled into a tiny notebook in his hand.

It was at times like this, when the world slowed to a crawl, that she acutely felt her beloved's absence.

Sasuke, she whispered in the privacy of her mind as she bit into her sandwich, Where are you right now? What are you thinking about?...

Do you ever think about me even a little bit?

I hope you are doing alright…

I miss you.

She sighed as she threw herself back to stare at the reddish sky above. Life, she realised, was pretty dull without Sasuke in it.

Heh, who would have known.

"Sup."

Sakura blinked.

She blinked again, a smile crawling up her face as she stared at her beloved standing over her, his left brow crooked in that charming manner it tended to when he was about to scold her. Sakura giggled and a tear leaked from her right eye.

"I am pretty pathetic," the pinkette said out loud as she stared lovingly at the illusion her mind had conjured up.

The illusionary Sasuke standing over her blinked, before letting out an illusionary scoff. "What in the world are you mopping around for?" he asked, crouching down to bop her on the nose. "I thought you being the smarter of the two of you would be training. The exams are in two days and you are like this... Do you even want to make chunin?"

Sakura giggled at the ticklish feeling on her nose before a realisation suddenly hit her.

"...Wait. You are real?"

Sasuke tilted his head as he stared at her. "I am starting to suspect you got dumber while I was away," he drawled, tilting his head to the other side.

Sakura sat up with a start to see a slack-jawed Naruto and his clone frozen, mid-combat, in the middle of the training ground. Jiraiya on the other hand had moved from his seat on the tree to stand between Naruto and herself, his eyes set into a wary glare. Still in disbelief, Sakura swivelled on her seat to face Sasuke crouched behind her.

"...Sasuke?"

"Hai, Sasuke desu."

"...What are you doing here?!"

"I came to see you guys, yes. Why? You don't want me back?"

"Yes! No! I mean, yes!" She was hyperventilating. "You have to leave! Before the village finds out you are here! Now!"

Despite her alarm and to her utter dismay, her beloved remained unfazed, sprawling his legs out to join her on the grassy floor.

"Don't worry," Sasuke said, placing a consoling hand on her shoulder. "This is just a shadow clone. I am not really here."

Sakura exhaled a breath of relief. Then she blinked as a thought surfaced in her mind. "The village has declared you a traitor who wants to destroy the Leaf. Now that you are here, we should go find the Hokage so you can explain everything and—"

"I am already speaking with the Hokage," Sasuke said, interrupting her. "Or at least, my main body is. Whatever misunderstandings about who betrayed who should be resolved in a few minutes. As for destroying the village, that is already a foregone conclusion."

Sakura exhaled a sigh of relief. "Thank—wait. I don't understand."

"Sorry, love. I am a bit short on time. We'll talk about this later."

Sakura watched confused as her beloved rose from his seat on the floor and dusted the underside of his kimono before turning to face Naruto who was hidden behind the sannin.

"What do you want with Naruto?" Jiraiya asked, much to Sakura's confusion.

"Just a bit of chakra," Sasuke replied. " I won't hurt him, I promise."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed as he settled into a stance. "I am sorry, but I can't allow that. Yamato! Now!"

A mass of wood erupted beneath Sasuke's feet, binding him and utterly restricting his motion. Sakura turned to the side to see Yamato-sensei, poised with his hands taking on a wooden appearance and texture outing him as the attacker.

In response, her beloved simply smiled. "Violence right off the bat? We really should talk about Konoha-nin's manners. Sadly for you lot, I don't have time to talk right now."

Sasuke reappeared behind Jiraiya, a wall of crystals sprouting into existence to separate the sannin from Naruto. Jiraiya leapt to avoid the surprise attack, skidding a few meters away, his hands flashing as he executed a jutsu mid-air. It was at that moment Sakura noticed the blue-haired woman standing opposite Yamato. Another black-haired one appeared behind him, both their hands a blur as they weaved hand signs at a pace faster than her eyes could track.

"Summoning: Gama!"

"Blossom! Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Labyrinth Technique!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Wood Release: World of Trees Wall!"

A cloud of white smoke exploded outwards, concealing the airborne sannin for a moment before suddenly dispelling to reveal an ox-sized orange toad with blue markings. The armoured creature skidded across the field, digging furrows into the soil as it crossed its armoured forelimbs in front of its face to block the barrage of poisoned Kunai that erupted from Sasuke's left sleeve. Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, a wall of wooden branches grew out of the soil at high speed, interlacing to form a wide, net-like barrier that shielded Yamato from the black-haired Kunoichi's fire-style Jutsu. The shockwave from the resulting explosion sent dust flying into Sakura's eyes.

"Thanks, Guren. Kage. You two keep them busy while I catch up with my ol' pal here. And Sakura, stay out of trouble." His piece said Sasuke turned as a dome of black crystals erupted around himself, Naruto and Naruto's clone, blocking the trio from sight.

***​

"Rasengan!"

"Now is not the time, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock as we caught his wrist, stopping his attack just mere inches away from dispelling us. The shock turned into anger then outrage as he struggled futilely in our grasp.

"Sasuke!" he screamed. "What is wrong with you? Have you really just become an ordinary criminal like they all say you are? Stop this! Now!"

We smiled at his naivety. "I am sorry, Naruto. I can't chat right now. I am a bit short on time you see," we told him as we plucked the swirling orb of chakra sitting dangerously in his palm. We took a moment to examine the jutsu before dispelling it.

"Hey! Fox!" we called to the demon within him as we placed a palm on Naruto's abdomen. "Come lend me some chakra."

"And why would I do that?" the transient existence of coalesced energy said in a comical attempt to be defiant.

"...Would you rather I eat you instead?"

The creature fell silent before utterly surrendering its chakra to our will. We pull on it, consuming the fiery energy as Naruto squirmed in our grip, his features taking on a few animalistic traits as the demon's essence suffused his being. The process lasted just a few scant moments before we released Naruto, his weakened form dropping to the floor like a puppet with cut strings. We glanced down at our body to see a cloak of yellow chakra, reminiscent of flickering flames, coating our form. A pair of phantasmal horns sprouted on our head and six magatama markings formed along our chest like a necklace.

Exhaling, we released our grip on the crystal construct around us. Hairline cracks travelled through the dome before the entire structure shattered, revealing the outside world again to our senses. Just a few moments had passed since we erected the dome, yet the training grounds had been rendered near-unrecognisable by the battle outside. Our Blood Clone, Kage, and Guren were still locked in combat with the sannin and the Wood Release user. Already, the two women were on the back foot, just barely managing to keep their assailants at bay.

"Kage, take Guren and redeploy," we instructed. The Blood Clone nodded, flickering to Guren's side before ferrying her away using Flying Thunder God Jutsu. We shot a side eye at the others in the field, before wordlessly dispelling ourself and transferring all other gathered chakra to the original.

There was no point in engaging them any further. We trusted the effects of Guren's Jade Crystal Labyrinth to keep them contained for a while.

***​

Hokage Rock.

We guffawed.

"Peace?" we repeated as we stared at the First Hokage in wonder. "For one touted to be the God of Shinobi you are quite naive. I don't care about your peace, your ideals, or your village, Hokage. Konoha took everything from me. Balance can only be restored when that debt is paid in full!"

The Senju sighed. "Sasuke… we acknowledge the atrocities committed against your clan. We're willing to take responsibility and make amends. But revenge won't bring your clan back, nor violence won't lead to peace. It will only perpetuate the cycle of hatred and cost even more lives. Please, reconsider."

"...Amends?" we muttered as we considered the Senju's words. "I only seek to exterminate the clans of all involved in the massacre of mine. The Sarutobis, Senjus, Shimuras, Utatanes and Mitokados. Only they have to die. The rest of the village can continue on as it always has. Are you willing? ... For peace?"

The Hokage fell silent, his lips pressed into a straight line.

Our eyes narrowed. We spoke, voice dripping with contempt. "The Greater Good… it's only good when the price has to be paid by another, right?

"...I told you he was a lost cause," Tobirama scoffed. "The boy is far too gone, consumed by his hate, to ever be saved."

"Sasuke." We turned to glance at Hiruzen. "Please! Destruction will only lead to more suffering!"

We smiled, as we felt our chakra return, carrying with it the essence of the fox.

It was time.

"For every deed," we told the Kages, our gaze panning to regard the amassing ANBU and ROOT operatives creating a perimeter around us, "a price must be paid… You are mistaken if you think I would let your mistakes go unpunished. The price for taking my clansmen's lives is long overdue and I have come to collect.

"Never again would an Uchiha's hate be scorned…"