The Dark Side of Akatsuki. Chapter 11

Title: Partings and Reunions

-One Week Later-

It should have been raining. It had been a week, and most of the village had expected the weather to match the mood at least once; instead, it was sunny and fair. The village mood, meanwhile, was melancholy, uncertain, and confused.

Assassination.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage of Konoha, had been killed during what should have been a routine medical examination. The culprit had been a freakishly capable young medic-nin named Yakushi Kabuto. Former connections to Root under Danzou had disqualified him from service in the Hokage's private retinue, but that had not stopped him from cutting down and replacing one of them in secret.

The ruins of the medical office suggested that the assassin had used poison needles, gas, explosive tags, and other assorted traps, but by the time the Hokage had noticed the first injected poison it was already too late. After rushing to the scene, his security detail found the assassin impaled against the wall, a metal bedpost through his heart, the Hokage collapsed at his feet.

Most of the village had never known a time without Sarutobi as their Hokage. The Fourth, Minato Namikaze, had lasted barely a year before his sudden death fighting the Nine-Tails Demon Fox, and it hadn't been enough time to get used to the change. Now, the edifice of their village had been destroyed, and confusion was running rampant.

The intelligence corps suspected Danzou's involvement based on the Root connection. The chakra specialists noted a barely detectable chakra signature in Kabuto's brain that resembled certain techniques found in the Sand. Despite this, many of the village's citizens still suspected the Uchiha remnants. They had all heard rumors of what the Sharingan could make a person do. In short, everyone was angry, but nobody knew what was going on.

Team Seven had been off the normal mission structure for the past year. It had been a time for training, for learning from masters, and for turning skills hastily thrown together in the heat of the moment into practiced technique. Now, all available shinobi were being recalled to Konoha and placed on stand by. The activation of a sleeper agent, if that is truly what this was, was usually the opening gambit in a greater scheme, not an end unto itself.

Sasuke had returned immediately to his apartment. He had been training with Kakashi and his hounds close to the village.

Naruto's master, Jiraiya, had reached his charge immediately on Mount Myoboku, performing a reverse summoning to return them to the exact spot where Naruto had left the village one year previously.

Sakura was quite some distance away, working with an acquaintance of the Toad Sage. Sasuke didn't know the details, but their last contact with her suggested it was rough-going. Still, in their time together Sakura had gained a fearsome drive and a sort of stubbornness that was quite hard to ignore. He trusted that she was doing well, though she might not yet have even received the message to return, much less be able to make it in time.

Sasuke looked around his dark apartment. Tidy and well-organized, it was also a bit dusty. Even though he had been nearby, it hadn't seen much use in the last year. He had no particular attachment to the place.

In truth, Sasuke was also hurt by the loss of the Hokage. Maturity had allowed him to recognize that the old man had helped him a great deal through his life, though it hadn't always been obvious at the time. Unfortunately, Sasuke now had a larger problem.

Go far away. Erase your presence. When Lord Hokage dies, so too will your protection. The village will be glad to seal away the final memories of the Uchiha clan.

Sasuke looked to the north wall, seeing the scroll hanging there for the thousandth time. It was a veiled reminder of the first mission he had ever received.

Enter The Academy

Train Hard

Learn Well

Grow in Strength

Exercise Loyalty

Follow Orders

Acquire Skills

Erase Your Presence

It had never quite left his thoughts, but he had still let himself believe that the day he would have to leave the village would somehow not come.

Still, he had imagined it many times. The Hokage would die, the successor would take a less friendly stance toward the remainder of his clan, and this would embolden those among the populace that mistrusted them already. Before long, some enemy nation would reach the conclusion that capturing one of the Uchiha for their treasured eyes would no longer mean immediate retaliation. Once that happened, his lifespan would be measured in months, at best.

That was if he wasn't dealt with by sources inside the village first.

It wasn't that he was unsure of what he should do. He knew he would be leaving, and leaving shortly. He'd already figured out some places to lay low for a while, even if he needed to dodge tracking hounds. The problem was much simpler. He didn't want to leave his friends. His home for a long time had been with Naruto and Sakura. Even this training period away from them all had been rough, though he'd been closest to the village out of all of them.

Admittedly, the results of his training had been spectacular. He turned to the mirror hanging at eye-level. Naruto had laughed at his vanity, but the reality was that an Uchiha's eyes were a weapon and needed as much maintenance and attention as the straight-bladed sword he carried with him.

With a surge of chakra, he could see the fruits of his labor. The Sharingan could only be grown and evolved through pain and loss, but it could be developed through sufficient training. Now, in both of his eyes the triple tomoe pattern of fully developed Sharingan bloomed. Through sheer effort and persistence, his right eye now finally matched his left. The two were nearly indistinguishable, though he could tell the difference between his eye and his brother's. At that thought he felt a twinge in his left eye, which wasn't terribly uncommon.

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