Chapter 28:Those who fight the System

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 28:

Those who fight the System

Kakuzu had known that this was going to happen. Things were never simple, after all. That was why he had prepared as much as he had. And could considering the time limit imposed on him. Still, it was a bit annoying. He couldn't help but admit that. Things weren't going as smoothly as he had hoped. That wasn't to say that his plan was a failure. He still had a good chance to still come out of this as a winner. He still had two of his associates, even if one of them wasn't at his one hundred percent anymore. And Fuka…well, he didn't dwell on her at all. Kakuzu knew that she wouldn't blame him for thinking this way. That woman was smart. She knew how things worked in their business. Besides, the money he would get out of this was much more important than what someone thought of him.

But at the moment, two individuals were standing in the way of that. Kakuzu didn't know how, but they had anticipated what he was after. Then again, after some careful consideration, Kakuzu supposed that it wasn't that hard to figure out just why he would still be in the village after he had escaped the prison. Well, whatever. It didn't matter at any rate. He wasn't going to let anyone stand in his way.

"Looks like they came here alone," Goro commented as he gazed at the two Konoha shinobi before him.

Currently, they were all in another section below the giant tree that stood in the center of the village. From what they had gathered, it seemed as if Taki hadn't change the location of where they kept the Hero's Water since its founding. But there wasn't any reason to do so in the first place. After all, they were the first ones to ever manage to successfully infiltrate the village.

Shido t'ched as he stepped forward, bringing his remaining sword forward. "I've had it with these two. Especially the White Fang. I need to repay him for what he did to my other sword. You're all right with that, boss?"

Kakuzu glanced at the infamous Konoha shinobi, not bothering to pay any attention to the Anbu, before nodding. "Do whatever it takes. Don't let him through."

Shido didn't reply. With that, both Kakuzu and Goro turned to face the other way to the end of the corridor where their goal was supposedly held. But they stopped short when the sound of birds chirping reached their ears.

"Chidori!"

Shido was on the defensive in an instant as the Anbu appeared on top of him, bringing his sword in front of him in order to block the attack. His swords weren't that weak, after all. He had managed to survive many battles because of them. As well as managed to fend of many strong jutsu. He didn't know how, but the White Fang was the only one so far who had been able to actually destroy one of them. But that was because the man actually had skills. So there was just no way that some mere Anbu would be able to-

His thoughts stopped short as the lightning based attack classed with his blade. In a mere instant, his blade was pierced into two. His eyes widened in shock, wondering what had just happened. Due to his shock, he wasn't able to properly defend himself as the Anbu's attack pierced his shoulder after having rammed its way through his remaining blade.

Goro looked at this with some shock before he dashed back towards Shido, intent on lending him a hand.

As for Kakuzu, he merely glanced back for a moment before he continued back on his way. He had more important things to take care of than this.

Sasuke gritted his teeth behind his mask, frustration coursing through him for a moment when he saw that the rogue ninja was still standing despite having been actually hit by his Chidori. The Uchiha then jumped back a moment later as the other rogue shinobi came at him with blades sticking out from underneath his battle kimono.

Sakumo smiled as Sasuke landed next to him. "I have to say, that is one powerful technique. Although I've never seen it before."

'That's because your son is the one who creates it in the future,' Sasuke thought before focusing back to what was happening in front of him.

"I'm going to have to let you take care of these two," Sasuke stated, looking to where Kakuzu had walked off to. "We can't let that guy get his hands on the Hero's Water. Especially since we even asked the village leader to let us take care of this on our own. Do you think you can handle it?"

Sakumo nodded, a look of determination befalling his face. "But of course. If this is what it takes for you to tell me just who you really are, then I'll gladly take it, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke h'mphed, remembering how the man had overheard him telling Fuka his real name. Not that it mattered now anyway. Jumping up towards the ceiling, Sasuke quickly ran towards the end of the corridor where Kakuzu had disappeared to.

Noticing this, Goro was about to jump up to stop him before he was immediately put on the defensive, bringing both of his hidden blades before him as Sakumo appeared in front of him.

"It looks like I'm your opponent now."

Goro gritted his teeth in frustration, noticing through his peripherals how the Anbu had made his way past him already. Ending his clash with his opponent, Goro landed next to the still rock solid Shido.

"Oi, snap out of it, you idiot!" Goro said in frustration. "I get that your sword is broken in half now, but you let that Anbu get around us!"

That was enough to snap Shido out of whatever daze he had been in. After having been confident of his blades' resilience for so many years, having seen a mere Anbu actually break his remaining one had been too much for him. To him, his swords were everything. And now, he only had one remaining, which was also broken in half. But he had failed Kakuzu, the person whom he looked up to. That wasn't acceptable. Turning his attention to the remaining Konoha shinobi in front of him, Shido realized that he would have to get this over with as soon as possible so that he could go and rectify his mistake. He only hoped that Kakuzu wouldn't be too mad at him after this was done with.

Goro sighed in slight relief when he saw the larger man return from whatever daze he had been in. Good. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle the White Fang by himself. Even with no swords, Shido was a powerful ally that he would gladly take in this fight.

With that in mind, he stepped forward with Shido in tow. They needed to win here. Otherwise, he was sure that they wouldn't be walking out of this alive.

"You sure have changed, Kakuzu."

Kakuzu stopped in the middle of the enormous room that stood right underneath the tree's base. He looked up towards one of the tree's roots that ran through the room only to see none other than Fuka looking down at him while sitting on the root, her feet once more dangling.

If Kakuzu was surprised at seeing her, he didn't show it. Instead, he simply continued on his way towards where the Hero's Water was stored at the end of the room. Right underneath where Fuka was sitting.

The redhead pursed her lips for a moment before she said, "What happened to the other two?"

"They're taking care of the Konoha shinobi," was Kakuzu's swift response as he stopped right in front of the casing that housed the Hero's Water. What was amusing to him was that there wasn't even any type of seals that had it locked up. Just the casing. Kakuzu knew that if it weren't for Konoha providing them with a powerful seal in order to restrain the Nanabi, Taki would never have been able to capture the bijuu. But that wasn't any of his concern at any rate.

Just as he was about to break the casing and claim his price, Kakuzu stopped short when he heard footsteps behind him. Sighing, he turned to find the Anbu running into the room.

"It seems that no one can do as they're told these days," he commented with a grunt.

Sasuke stopped in the middle of the room, facing Kakuzu and noticing Fuka in an instant.

"And here I told you to not come here," Sasuke said with a calm voice.

Fuka shrugged from her position. "That you did. But do I look like the obedient type? Besides, I still don't think you're right in what you're trying to do."

Kakuzu glanced between the two, wondering for a moment what had transpired between them.

"So you still think that you're all in the right?" Sasuke asked with a sigh. "Even after all the people that you have killed?"

"Don't give me that," Fuka snapped back. "We're shinobi. We kill. We take. That's what our lives are all about. I'm sure you've done the same thing. You said it so yourself. That means that you're no better than either of us."

"And that is where you are wrong," Sasuke retorted. "I have never once considered myself to be righteous. I have done too many wrongs to ever think of myself that good of a person. Even now, with what I'm planning, I'm not the perfect hero. But even so, I know that snapping back at those who have wronged you doesn't make you any better than they are. Wouldn't you agree, Kakuzu?"

Kakuzu was silent for a few moments before he chuckled. "It seems that you're no ordinary Anbu. How interesting. But I don't really care who you are. Or what you're babbling about. I only care about getting my money. I think that I've earned that after all that this place has put me through. Wouldn't you agree, Anbu?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I guess I was wrong in trying to talk to you. Only that idiot can do it, I suppose. But if that's your answer, then I will have to stop you here. You're not walking away with the Hero's Water, Kakuzu. Even if this village did you wrong."

"Everyone does something wrong," Kakuzu stated while shaking his own head. "Just by living, people hurt others without ever realizing it. In order for one to be happy, someone else has to suffer. I'm the prime example of that. I was sacrificed so that this village could remain and its residents be happy. All for the greater good, as they call it. It's no different among the nations. Konoha, Iwa, Kumo, Suna, and Kiri. They all profit from the little guys. Us. The smaller nations. They wage wars on our homes. And what happens after it's all done? We're all left to pick up the pieces on our own. And don't tell me that Konoha is any different. The Land of Fire is fully aware of having taken part in war, and yet you try to proclaim peace. You think that you're always in the right. To us, your peace is violence. That is what causes the smaller nations to take drastic steps. Such as what happened with me. As you can see, no one is ever truly in the right. Anyone who thinks of the world as black and white is a fool. That's what being human is all about, after all. And that is why I have rejected this system. I live only for me now and the one true constant in this world: money. Even if you try to tell me otherwise, it won't change anything."

"And that is why I plan on changing this world," Sasuke said as his sharingan spun to life behind his mask. "All the imperfections. All the suffering. It will all go away."

Kakuzu chuckled in amusement while Fuka stayed silent. "Do you really believe that you can accomplish that? You're just one person. And human."

"It doesn't really matter what you believe," Sasuke retorted. "If that's what you think, then it means that's just as far as you can go. The path is just too difficult for you. But that's not the same for everyone. There are those who will risk everything in order to do this. At one point, I called them idiots. And yet, here I am. A person who was at one point standing where you are. That should tell you that you can still go back."

Kakuzu sighed. "This is pointless. I have no intention of trying to buy in with what you're saying. Nor are you planning on letting me get away. That only leaves us with one option."

Sasuke glanced at Fuka for a moment, wondering if she was planning on joining Kakuzu in order to bring him down. But she didn't move a muscle. She simply observed them with a troubled look on her face. That gave Sasuke all the information he needed: there was still a chance. He just needed to prove it to her.

Kakuzu took a step back as, from behind him, the stitches that held his body together began to sprout out. Seeing this, Sasuke narrowed his eyes, taking notice of a mask sprouting from within the stitches themselves.

"Unfortunately, I was only able to collect one other," Kakuzu commented offhandedly. "But don't think that I'm a lightweight because of it."

'One other?' Sasuke repeated in his head. 'What is he talking about?'

'If he interrogated Fuka, then there's a chance he already knows about my jutsu,' Kakuzu thought. 'Oh well. It doesn't make a difference even if he knows about it. I'll still come on top.' Just as he finished thinking that, a mask creature formed from the stitches behind him.

Sasuke took a step back as the creature charged at him. T'ching, he jumped into the air just as it reached his position. Lightning roared into life from his left hand just as he ducked back down towards it, intent on crushing it. But things didn't go his way as the mask resurfaced on the creature's back, or what Sasuke assumed to be its back. Sasuke knew he had to countered the moment the mask opened its mouth.

Kakuzu h'mphed as he saw his creation bombard the Anbu with a stream of fire. He had to admit that the council member's chakra was pretty useful. The only problem, just as with any other weapon, was that he hadn't known how to use it. A tool could be formidable. But if it was at the hands of a rookie, then it was no better than a pebble.

But those thoughts left him when he saw something come out of the aftermath of the attack. The former prisoner narrowed his eyes when he saw his opponent appear from the flames while being surrounded by a…..ribcage? Yes, a purple and ominous glowing ribcage. That was the best description that Kakuzu could give it.

"Sure enough, you're not someone I can take down by using my parlor tricks," Sasuke said with an internal sigh. He really didn't want to reveal the Susanoo too much. But this Kakuzu wasn't a lightweight by any means. He was strong, even after having been imprisoned for so many years. Not only that, but he knew his fire jutsu wouldn't work against him since he possessed that weird jutsu of his. So first, he needed to figure that out. But for now, he needed to take care of a little nuisance.

Reacting quickly, Sasuke jumped back into the air just as the mass of stitches charged at him again. The Susanoo began to change to grow out into its first stage, its hand shooting out towards the mask creature. In retaliation, it brought both of its arms forwards, colliding with the Susanoo hand. It had the desired effect of being able to stop the Susanoo hand from crushing it.

Landing on the ground within his Susanoo, Sasuke knew that the creature or whatever it was had great physical strength.

As for Kakuzu, he had his eyes narrowed again as he observed the purple thing before him. Never before had he seen such a thing. Was it some sort of forbidden jutsu just as his? But just as he had said before, this was no ordinary Anbu.

Fuka meanwhile was watching the Susanoo with wide eyes. She of course had heard of it before. She had never witnessed it first hand before. Until today. And that made her realize that Sasuke was more dangerous than she had previously thought if he possessed those set of eyes. After all, the last Uchiha that had attained them had become one of the most powerful shinobi in existence, equaled only to the Shodai Hokage.

'This is bad…..'

Glancing down at Kakuzu, Fuka began to rethink her stance on this battle.

Scowling, Kakuzu recalled his creature back to him. In a flash, the mask creature stepped back before jumping back towards its master. Kakuzu knew that he couldn't afford to let his only spare get destroyed here. He didn't know what he would go through after he got out of Taki.

"Kakuzu!"

The rogue ninja paused as he turned his attention back to the Anbu who had called out to him from within his jutsu.

"I'll be honest with you," Sasuke began. "I'm interested in you. You know how the world works. You know the problems in it. The problems with this ninja system. Not only that, but you don't let that weigh you down. Even in despair, you found the strength to keep going. Your only mistake is what you think is valuable now. Because money is not. Just like with human emotions, it's fickle. It can change at a blink of an eye."

"It still doesn't change the fact that it does what it says it will do," Kakuzu countered. "Prices may change. But money will never go away. Why? Because through money, people have a way of clearly defining themselves as superior. As long as that feeling exists, money will never go away. That is why it's constant. And why it's the only thing worth investing yourself into."

Sasuke sighed. "It looks like you really don't want to change."

Kakuzu h'mphed. "This is the shinobi world. People don't change so easily. I should have thought you would understand that, boy."

Sasuke chuckled. He already knew why Kakuzu called him that, after all. But it didn't matter. "Yeah, you're probably right. But that doesn't mean I won't try. Even if you're too stubborn to realize that this path you're walking on isn't worth it."

"Enough!" Kakuzu said. "I've had it with this talk of yours. I'm not interested in whatever crap you're trying to spew here."

Sasuke didn't respond. Instead, his Susanoo around him vanished.

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow at this, wondering why the Anbu had just done that.

'I guess it can't be helped,' Sasuke thought, looking at the mask creature that stood before Kakuzu before looking at him. Just like he had noticed in the beginning, there were two different chakra present within him. Other than his own anyway. The mask creature had one while the other was within him still. Thinking back about his earlier encounter with the man inside the prison, Sasuke realized that he might have figured something out here.

'Well, I guess it's better to try out some of my new jutsu here just to be sure.'

Having grown tired of this stare off, Kakuzu signaled for the mask creature at his side to charge the Anbu again. He didn't know how either Goro and Shido were doing, so he would prefer to get this over with as soon as possible.

But Kakuzu's eyes widened as his companion was instantly pierced straight through the mask by an extended version of that lightning style jutsu from before. Only that this time it was glowing black. The rogue ninja took a step back, wondering what he was seeing. He wasn't able to dwell too much on the jutsu as the mask creature was instantly engulfed in black flames, the same ones that he realized were the ones that were making the jutsu glow black.

'Is he combining both the fire style and lightning style into one!?' Kakuzu thought to himself in shock, realizing what was happening.

'Heh, seems like the training in mastering the Amaterasu flames really did pay off,' Sasuke thought as he watched the mask creature be burned into ashes. The Uchiha then turned his attention to Kakuzu just as the man grasped his chest in pain and fell to ground on his knees, a pained look on his face. The Uchiha narrowed his eyes for a moment, wondering what this was about.

Fuka sighed from her position as she stood up. She had seen enough. And she knew that Kakuzu was going to be too stubborn to realize it himself.

"Oi, that's enough."

Sasuke turned his attention to Fuka just as the redhead jumped down to ground level with them, landing between them. The mask creature had already turned into ashes at this point.

"Kakuzu," she began as she ran a hand through her hair, "you and I both know that you're far from being at one hundred percent. This wasn't a fair fight to begin with. Especially since this guy is clearly not your ordinary Anbu."

Kakuzu looked up at her, his pained look leaving him.

"You need to admit defeat," Fuka stated as Kakuzu stood back on his feet. There was a subtle look of pleading on her eyes as she looked at Kakuzu. "You know you can't win this. Just surrender."

Kakuzu t'ched but didn't respond. He hadn't been expecting something like that from the Anbu. After all, it was the first time in his long life that he had seen the lightning style be used in such a way. Not to mention those black flames…something was certain to him, though. And that was that Fuka had a point. He didn't have a shot here. Not with only one heart remaining. But it wasn't his fault. How in the world was he supposed to have accounted for this Anbu to be this strong? It just wasn't possible.

Glancing behind him towards where the Hero's Water was stored, Kakuzu weighed his options. He knew that there was only one thing he could do. And it wasn't to surrender. There was no way that he was going back to that prison again. He had spent too much time rotting in this hellhole. His only regret was that he wouldn't be able to get away with his price just like he had originally wanted.

Turning back towards Fuka and the Anbu as his hands turned darker and darker, Kakuzu said, "You're right, Fuka. I can't win this. But I don't plan on surrendering or dying. I still have too much money to make in this world."

Fuka narrowed her eyes at that. But before she could say anything, Kakuzu continued. "I don't know what happened to you, but it seems like you're no longer the same person as before. I can only guess that it has something to do with that Anbu."

Having heard enough, Sasuke was about to end this before Kakuzu brought both of his fists down to the ground with as much force as he could put behind them. Both Sasuke and Fuka stumbled for a bit as the whole room began to shake due to the force behind the impact. Realizing what Kakuzu was trying to do, Sasuke instantly put his focus back to him only to find him gone. He had already jumped through the hole he had made with his fists.

Seeing this, Sasuke gritted his teeth as he deactivated his sharingan.

"Seems like he was smart enough to escape."

Sasuke glanced at Fuka who walked up to stand before him. The room had stopped shaking by this point. "You look smug."

Fuka placed a finger on her lips, trying her best to look innocent. "Oh, am I?" She then grinned. "But seeing things not go your way for once is pretty amusing."

"For once?" Sasuke repeated with a raised eyebrow. "You're here. So things having been going my way all day." Seeing her continue to grin, Sasuke changed the subject. "But why didn't you help him? I thought you were here to join him again."

"The thought did cross my mind," Fuka admitted with a shrug. "But I was much more interested in seeing whether or not you meant what you said. Although you didn't technically win this fight," she continued, a small smirk appearing on her face. "So I guess you don't win our bet, after all."

Sasuke sighed in slight irritation, wondering for a moment if all Uzumaki were like this. It would certainly explain Naruto's personality all right.

"But I guess you could consider me your ally for now," Fuka said as she looked around the room. Hearing Sasuke not reply, she turned to look at him. But due to his mask, she wasn't sure what his face was expressing. "You could say that I'm curious to see if you really will follow through with your words. And if you succeed, even though I doubt that you will."

"I see." Reaching behind him, Sasuke pulled out a scroll, which he handed to her. "Then, as a favor, there is someone in Uzu that I want you to give this to."

Taking the scroll, Fuka looked at it curiously. "When did you write this?"

"On my way here," Sasuke answered. "I had a clone do it. You did say that you can get inside right?"

'Who could he possibly know in Uzu?' Fuka thought to herself. "Who do I give it to?"

Sasuke smirked behind his mask. "He's a loud and idiotic blond with whiskers on his face. He's not that hard to miss, trust me."

Fuka blinked, not having been expecting that description. Especially since he was in Uzu. But looking down at the scroll, she realized that, if she did this, she would be going back to her home. Something that she had not done for quite some time. But turning to Sasuke, she realized that she would do it regardless. After all, there was no harm in placing some of her faith in him. If he failed, that was that. But if he succeeded….

"May I see your face?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her question. But figuring that it wasn't his real one, it didn't make a difference in the end. Not to mention that, if it helped her become more trusting around him, then it was worth it. With that in mind, Sasuke removed his mask, the face of his older brother coming out into the world for the first time.

Faster than Sasuke could react, Fuka was on top of him, her arms around his neck while she gave Sasuke his first kiss ever. His mind didn't remember that embarrassing moment with Naruto at the moment.

Pulling back, Fuka sent him a smile that was laced with a seductive undertone. "Just so you know, my jutsu works via kissing. That's the only clue that I'm going to give you. But you should also know that I could have tried it on you just now. So this should tell you that I'm serious about joining you. For now anyway."

Sasuke didn't respond as she stepped back before turning towards the hole that Kakuzu had disappeared into. "I'll see you later, Sasuke-kun." Not waiting for his reply, she jumped into the hole, intent on following after Kakuzu.

As for Sasuke, for the first time, the Uchiha couldn't keep his cool as a small blush appeared on his cheeks.

'Damn woman…'

He didn't know why, but he blamed Naruto for this.

Sakumo was having a tougher time than he had first been expecting. Even with only one broken sword, Shido was still a well trained swordsman. Which was a rarity in Iwa. At any rate, he had to be on his toes because, even with a broken blade, the larger sword could still cut him in half if it touched him. And just as he had taken notice from their earlier encounter, this former Iwa shinobi was fast. Especially given his size.

Sakumo twisted around at the last moment just as Goro appeared in the opposite direction, both hidden blades drawn towards him. The lanky man gritted his teeth in frustration when he saw Sakumo block them with his own blade, dodging a certain death. He knew why this was happening. Why Sakumo was able to detect him. And it only aggravated him further.

Sakumo jumped into the air as Shido came screaming at him from the other side, his sword lashing out towards him. Both rogue ninjas gritted their teeth as they looked up at their opponent who was now standing on the ceiling of the walkway. Shido was frustrated because he couldn't use any of his earth ninjutsu while they were here since he didn't know if Kakuzu was out yet or not. Not only that, but he had neither of his swords now. Well, he did have one. But the blade was missing its other half. So he was extremely limited in what he could do right now. As for Goro, he was frustrated because he realized that Sakumo had discovered the weakness in his favorite technique: it wasn't very effective during combat. He had spent years trying to master it, but it was still a far cry from the Nidaime Tsuchikage's. Even during espionage, he needed precise concentration just to maintain it. Now, in the middle of battle? It was much harder. As a result, his chakra wasn't extinguished completely. That was why a shinobi with keen observatory skills, such as the White Fang's, could still pick up on his position.

That was why they were in this stalemate at the moment.

Or it was more like Sakumo was just bidding his time. So far, he had been analyzing his opponents' strengths. Now, he just needed to find a way to exploit their weaknesses.

Both Goro and Shido took a step back as Sakumo brought his hands together, running through a series of seals at a fast rate.

"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!"

Shido t'ched before he brought his hands down on the ground below his feet. Goro stumbled for a moment as the ground around them descended below the rest of the walkway, the fireball flying over their heads.

"It's a nice jutsu, all right."

Shido's eyes widened as Sakumo's voice reached his ears from behind him.

"But it seems like you tend to focus too much on what's in front of you rather than your surroundings," Sakumo added as he rammed his sword through Shido's chest.

'A clone!?' Goro thought with wide eyes as he jumped up and out of the human made pit. Thinking he had evaded Sakumo, Goro let down his guard for the moment. But in his moment of hysteria, he had forgotten about the original Sakumo who was still up above. That was why he wasn't able to react in time when he felt somebody right on top of him. He could only look down to this torso where the tip of Sakumo's blade was now sticking out of.

Goro smiled to himself as blood began to drip out of his mouth.

Shido looked up in time to see this happening, his eyes widening in shock. A sudden boost of adrenaline caused by the anger that he suddenly felt gave him the strength he needed in order to forcefully push Sakumo's clone back into the other side of the pit, the sword going along with him.

"I'm going to cut you down this instant!" Shido exclaimed, grasping his sword even more tightly despite all the blood gushing out of his wounds.

The clone simply looked at him with a sigh. "Anger. If you let it consume you, you'll soon start to lose sight of everything else around you."

But Shido didn't bother to try and heed the warning. All he cared about was cutting down the person in front of him, even if it was just a clone. He didn't bother to question why either. After all, he hadn't cared in the slightest when Fuka had been captured. So why should Goro be any different? But somewhere within him, Shido knew the answer. And that was because he knew he and Goro were similar. They had experienced similar things before they had left their respective villagers. In some way, Shido knew that he could call Goro more than a simple acquaintance. It was why he felt so much anger right now.

But to Sakumo, he was an easy target. Charging in blind, Shido roared in anger as he swung his sword towards Sakumo who ducked down below. Seeing an opening, Sakumo swung his own blade towards Shido's arm, effectively slicing through one of the muscles in the man's arm. Shido gasped in pain as he felt the sword tear through his arm, his sword falling to the ground as a result of his arm going limp at his side. But being far from over, Shido swung his other arm towards Sakumo, his hand transforming into a fist. Sakumo dodged it easily enough, though. The jonin stepped to the side, the fist missing him by a large margin.

Thinking that he could go for another one, Shido was about to step back so that he could send another one. But Sakumo didn't give him that chance. Shido's eyes widened as Sakumo pierced him straight through the heart without any hesitation as he stepped up in front of him with an incredible speed. No matter how tough he was, even he knew that he couldn't recuperate from this.

The man looked down at the famous sword that had just pierced him, a calm look befalling his face. Then, he turned to look up towards out of the pit where the real Sakumo was standing and looking down at him and his clone. Without a word, Shido closed his eyes before he fell back to the ground on his back, taking his last breath in this world.

Sakumo sighed as he saw this, releasing his shadow clone while sheathing his sword.

"You killed him, huh?"

The white haired jonin turned around to look at the down Goro who was looking up at him from his position on the ground on his back.

"I had to," Sakumo said. "It was clear that he wasn't going to give up otherwise."

"Heh, you don't have to justify anything to me," Goro replied calmly as he stared up at the ceiling. "We were your enemies. It was only natural that you would want to take us down."

Sakumo looked at the fallen shinobi before him in a different light. "You're not like other rogue ninja, are you?"

"It makes no difference what I am," Goro retorted. "Labels are just that. The only thing that I cared about was living my life the way I wanted to. Not to be tied down by anyone. And I did."

"At the expense of being branded a traitor?"

Goro chuckled but cringed a moment later, the action spreading the pain through his body much faster. "It doesn't matter in the end, does it? Tell me, White Fang, why is it that you stay with Konoha?"

Sakumo frowned at the unexpected question. But seeing no harm in answering him, he replied, "Because it is my home. The place I have sworn to protect with my life."

"Heh, just what I expected to hear from you," Goro said with a small smile. "Unfortunately, my reasons for being a shinobi weren't so noble. I only joined because I had nothing else. I had no family. Nothing to call my own. So I figured that I would become a shinobi. So that I would have something to call mine. My own jutsu. My own self. Even when war fell upon us, I still pushed for that. I believed that I was doing the right thing. No matter what missions I was given. No matter how many people I killed. No matter how many places I destroyed. I thought that it was all worth it in the end. To gain that which I could call my own. I even served under some great legends in my village, including the fame Chiyo of the Sand. I'm sure you've heard of her, eh, White Fang?"

Sakumo didn't reply.

But Goro wasn't expecting him to. "But it was then, after I saw first hand what I was doing that I asked myself: what am I really striving for? All these lives that I'm taking…..and for what? For my own selfish dream? It was then that I realized that this wasn't my dream any longer. I was only following the orders of those above with the pretense that I would achieve that which I was seeking. But I realized that I wouldn't. This wasn't what I was after. I didn't want to destroy thousands of lives simply to gain the recognition I wanted in my village. But I also realized that I was expendable. I was no longer needed now that I no longer wanted to be a shinobi. Suna and the Land of Wind didn't care about me at all. I was just one shinobi which they could dispose of whenever they wanted. Just one pawn in the grand game that we know as the shinobi world. So what was I fighting for? I arrived at one simple answer: I was fighting for people and a government that only cared for themselves. It didn't matter what happened to me. Can you imagine that feeling? That feeling of despair of realizing that your whole life has been a joke?"

"Even if you believe that, it doesn't ring true for Konoha," Sakumo stated.

Goro looked at him. "Is that what you like to tell yourself? Because you already know the truth? Even if your village has good intentions, the ones who really call the shots don't. All the villages are the same, after all. We've all done things that can't be called humane. We are shinobi. Once you put that headband, you can't go back. It was why I rejected that. It was why I left Suna in order to make a new life for myself. Even if history remembers me as a simple traitor, I will have the comfort of knowing that I lived for myself. Can you actually call that wrong?"

Sakumo remained silent, unsure of how to reply.

But Goro turned his eyes above him as his vision began to darken. "In the end, we are all used. Not even someone with your skills can escape that, White Fang. Even if you judge people like us as scum, we are still better off than someone like you. We are…..free."

Sakumo closed his eyes as the rogue ninja uttered his last words. He turned his attention to where Sasuke had headed off to just as a huge rumble shook the entire walkway. It seemed as if things over there weren't going as smoothly as over here.

The jonin gave the now dead rogue ninja one final glance before he headed towards Sasuke's position, Goro's words running through his head the whole time.

"Is this what you want to destroy?"

Sasuke glanced at his companion as they stood on top of the tree in the center of Taki. It had been a few hours after their final encounter with the group that had snuck into the village. After they had regrouped, Sasuke and Sakumo had instantly gone to the village leader in order to give their final report of their mission. After that, it had been talks after talks with many Taki officials about the goings within their fights. Sasuke had also informed Sakumo of Kakuzu's escape. They were given one night to recuperate before they would have to leave back to Konoha. It suited just fine with both of them, anyway. It only irked Sasuke that, even after all that they had done, the Taki shinobi still treated them poorly. It wasn't like Sasuke wanted a parade for what they had done, but still.

"What do you mean?"

Sakumo looked up at the illuminating moon in the night sky. "I started to think about certain things. Things that I had always ignored until today. I don't know why I had never bothered to try and figure out the answers. Maybe because I knew somewhere in my heart that the answers wouldn't be pretty. That I wouldn't like them."

"But that's what being shinobi is all about," Sasuke said as he looked down at the village below. "We are faced with difficult questions in our life. With those questions come difficult choices as well. And it's those choices that define just what kind of person we will be. It isn't always easy. I lost my way once too."

"Then how certain can you be that you won't lose your way again?" Sakumo asked as he looked at Sasuke.

The Uchiha sighed. "I'm not. But even so, I now know that I can rely on those I call comrades. It was something that I failed to do last time. That's what gives me the confidence to go on. To reshape what it means to be a shinobi."

Sakumo smiled softly at the answer. "I can see why Sarutobi would have so much faith in you, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked up at the night sky. "I'm as surprised as you are about that. Things started off rather shaky between us. But now, we do trust one another. That is why I want to extend the same offer to you." Sasuke turned to look at him, their eyes meeting. "You now know a bit of what I stand for. What I hope to accomplish. Do you want to help me accomplish this, Hatake Sakumo?"

Sakumo looked down as Sasuke stretched his hand out to him a moment later. Then, without hesitation, the jonin took hold of it with his own.

"It would be my pleasure."

"You look grumpy."

Kakuzu t'ched as the voice reached his ears. "And what are you doing here? I thought you were with the Anbu now."

Fuka chuckled as she dropped down to land behind Kakuzu. They were currently deep within a forest several miles from Taki. Fuka had to admit: when he wanted to cover ground, Kakuzu moved fast. It made her truly realize that the only reason he had been captured last time was because he had wanted to.

"Aww, don't be jealous now. You're still my favorite rogue ninja, you know."

"I'm not in the mood for your games, Fuka," Kakuzu stated in a dangerous tone.

But Fuka wasn't frightened in the least. She knew that, in Kakuzu's current condition, she had a good chance at beating him. She was certain that the man knew this too.

Not wanting to annoy him too much right now, though, Fuka said, "I'm here to join you in your grand adventure. Whatever it may be."

That took Kakuzu by surprise as he finally turned around to look at her. "What?"

Fuka sighed. "We both know that in your current condition you're easy pickings. That's why you can think of me as your bodyguard for the time being. It's going to cost you, of course. But don't worry. I'll give you a discount since we're such good buddies."

Kakuzu didn't respond, distrust dancing in his eyes. He wasn't going to just accept the offer just like that. He had already been screwed over once. He wasn't going to let it happen again.

"And what's in it for you?"

Fuka shrugged. "Nothing. But it's not like I have anything better to do either. And if it makes you feel any better: the moment you think I'm setting you up is the moment that you can kill me. Sound good?"

He had already been planning on that from the beginning anyway. But she did bring up a good point. He was extremely weakened right now. He needed time in order to recuperate, especially since he was back down to only one heart. So he didn't really have much choice at the moment. He knew Fuka was a better choice than any other rogue shinobi since he didn't know of any during this time period. Not to mention that he was broke right now too.

Seeing no better alternative, Kakuzu merely turned around in order to continue on his way. Seeing this as the okay, Fuka jogged up to catch up to him. She smile faintly as they walked side by side, feeling the scroll that Sasuke had given her in her kunai pouch.

She also had a message to deliver.