"You seen like you're in a bad mood." Sakura was like a Cheshire cat, hiding everything under a smile.
"If you don't have important anything to say. Leave." Sasuke didn't want to hear nonsense.
"Wait wait, my Mentor wanted me to pass on something to you." These words caught the boy's interest. It was an idea that pink-haired girl came up with after talking to Naruto. She continued;
"You may not know, but I actually secretly have a Mentor that is extremely powerful in Fūinjutsu."
"Sealing Ninjutsu?"
"Exactly, he gave me these special Bloodline Seals he created. They were specifically created to enhance the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan. He was planning to pass it to your father, but now can't after the tragedy that happened years ago." She whipped up an incredibly hard to believe story on the spot.
Sasuke, having a more of a brain than a certain knucklehead, obviously didn't believe her immediately.
"What proof do you have?" A kunai was pulled out of his pocket and pointed at this suspicious friend of his.
This was crossing the line…
"I know much more about the Sharingan than you do." Sakura decided to use her future memories.
"...Such as?"
"I know about the innate cursed nature of the Sharingan… as well as the repercussions that follow trying to achieve its highest form." She was like a snake. Her tongue twisting facts in her favour. Making herself seem more generous.
"Your Mentor told you that?" Sasuke asked her suspiciously. Wondering how this person knew.
"Absolutely~!" She put on an innocent expression.
"Then come. Tell me what you know." After getting to know Sakura over a few months, he knew that even if she did try lying to him, she wouldn't do anything to harm him.
He was curious about this Mentor of hers… and how that person knew so much about Uchiha.
The pink-haired kunoichi jumped down from the roof before sitting at the a table where Sasuke was gesturing towards. Sasuke also sat directly opposite her. He gave a look that told her to speak.
"Actually, my Mentor is a Uchiha who survived the massacre." These words were like a explosion in his head. His eyes widened. The possibility of her truly having a Mentor with great skills occurred to him.
"He said that he wanted you to get stronger, but he also wanted you to do a favour for him in return."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed seriously at this request.
"What does he want?" He started to believe it only because a transaction seemed more reasonable.
There's no such thing as a free meal.
"He said that there was more to the Uchiha's Tragedy that meets the eye, and wanted you to investigate for clues after becoming a Johnin." She tried to give him a goal different from finding and killing his older brother. One more tangible.
The black-haired youth's entire body shook. He contemplated on her words. Sasuke already had a suspicion that Itachi's sudden massacre of his own Clan had something to do with the Hidden Leaf.
"I myself don't know what my Mentor is talking about when he told me to tell you this. Can you share me anything?" Sakura asked with a sense of purpose. Giving him a chance to come clean.
Something he never did in the future.
"It's personal. Just tell me more about these Bloodline Seals you were tasked in passing on to me." Sasuke avoided the subject.
He didn't want to get his friends muddled up in his path of vengeance, but what he didn't know is that this answer disappointed her. Sakura had waited for him for so long after his little 'departure'.
Only hearing about his past secondhand.
'The same as always... leaving me out of everything and burdening yourself.' She didn't show a heartbroken expression. Instead opting to show the Seals that were embedded into both her palms to give him a better explanation on what HIS Bloodline Seal was like. Both of them in the shape of Spades.
"The red one is called the Strength of a Berserker Seal while the black one is called the Strength of a Guardian Seal." The reaction Sasuke had after hearing the names of these Seals was great.
The girl had made his heart beat in excitement.
"What do you think makes an Uchiha stronger?" She asked a question that seemed out of the blue.
"...Hatred." Despite the suddenness of it, he found himself unable to lie as he spoke what he truly believed.
"You're wrong." She shook her head.
"The actual answer is 'Hatred born from loss of love'. I have heard from my Mentor that he achieved the Mangekyō Sharingan after his friend died to protect him...
He told me that one day, you might also try to achieve power through cutting your bonds." Her words were as cold as ice, but he only turned his head in return. Not rejecting her statement.
"He said that whether you choose to do so or not, only even think of attempting it once you have truly reached mastery of the Sharingan. Master what you know to the highest extent first." Sasuke still didn't respond in the way she wanted him to,
He once again looked at the Seals on her hand.
"He said that he'll one day meet you and tell you more about the Mangekyō Sharingan. However, before he can tell you anything, he wanted you to eyes that can counteract the weakness of gaining these type of eyes."
"...They have a weakness?" Although Sasuke wasn't aware Mangekyō Sharingan's power, he knew that this power was what Itachi used to start the massacre.
As long as he knew one of its weaknesses, he'll focus his development in trying to take full advantage of it.
"The Mangekyō Sharingan deteriorates with each use of its great power. One day, the user of it will completely lose sight in both his eyes if he was to use it recklessly." These words didn't disappoint him, but instead gave him hope in being able to kill Itachi, who had become an insurmountable existence in his mind.
If those eyes had their limits, then he could definitely kill him as long as he forces him to overuse it!
Sakura ignored the malicious look in Sasuke's eyes and instead decided to get to the main point.
"The Strength of a Berserker Seal was made to 'refine' the Sharingan using chakra infused with hatred… rather than relying on amplifying your own personal emotions in order to improve it.
After I've applied it, you won't be able to use your left eye, but after it has fully unlocked its potential, you'll be able to access the Eternal Sharingan. Eyes that will never lose their light even if you obtain its Mangekyō Sharingan form.
The Strength of a Guardian Seal will give a qualitive improvement to your right Sharingan. However, my Mentor told me to warn you to only release it's full power once you have mastered its initial form."
The words coming out of her mouth seemed to put him in a Genjutsu. He looked at the Seals in a trance.
"Allow me to apply it." After seeing that he was willing to trust her, she covered his eyes with her palms.
The chakra Kurama gave her infused into Sasuke's left eye, while the chakra she took from Naruto enhanced his right eye.
Although Naruto's chakra wasn't as great as Kurama's, the mixture of Uzumaki and Uchiha was the key to obtaining the Rinnegan, a Dōjutsu that was at the pinnacle when it came to space-time manipulation.
Sasuke felt a change occurring in both his eyes, but he ignored the irritation he felt so she wouldn't be interrupted midway through the process.
"Your right eye is done." She removed her right hand from his face. The implementation of the Seal proved to be a success just from the fact that there was now a grey iris around his right eye's pupil.
"The form your right eye has taken is the Embryo Rinnegan. It's only strengths are it's extremely high spacial awareness and ability to sense chakra.
I suggest you wait for your Eternal Sharingan to fully form before you open your left eye." She spoke while also taking her left hand off his face.
Once she did, the youth before her tested out the new eye he now had.
"It's amazing..." Sasuke realized that even if he closed his right eye, he'd still be able to see the world around him even if it had lost all its colour.
This made him a little impatient to lift its seal and obtain a true Rinnegan.
"Don't be too impatient. Even if you tried obtaining the Rinnegan using the Bloodline Seal, it would take too much time for you to learn how to control it. The best way for you to improve right now is master what you already have." As she spoke, the youth nodded in turn.
Rather than running and falling, it was best to take large… deep steps that held a firm foundation.
"I will remember your Mentor's words. Next time you see him, tell him I'll be waiting for our meeting." Sasuke held his left eye as he spoke.
Since he needed some time to adapt to his new eyes, he was about to send her off by herself.
He didn't even bother saying goodbye to her.
Sasuke turned away from her. He saw their meeting as her Mentor passing on a message to him.
Although he was curious about her Mentor, he didn't feel any reason to be social towards Sakura right now.
"Wait." She stopped him the same way Ino did to her and took off his headband.
Before he could even complain about her actions, the Leaf Headband that he only saw as a head protector was turned into a blindfold that can both shield and cover his eyes.
"What's all this about?" He spoke, but he didn't take the headband off his head. Instead feeling that wearing his head protector this way is the most logical solution to hiding the fact that his eyes had mutated.
"You should take care of yourself more." Sakura used this opportunity to hug him, which seemed to finally break the facade he had up all this time.
He embarrassedly tried to slip out of her hold, only to find he couldn't escape her embrace.
But fortunately, she took the hint and let go of him.
"I'm going to stay at Naruto's house from now on." The next words she spoke almost made him fall over. A cheeky glint hidden in Sakura's eyes.
"You're going to LIVE WITH NARUTO?!" He showed a rare burst of emotions. His heart somehow felt uncomfortable at the prospect of the two of them, a young boy and girl, living together.
Maybe it was because of the Uchiha lifestyle…
"He doesn't have anyone to watch over him when he's outside the Academy. On top of that, my Mentor told me to stay with him in order to teach him properly after he got his own Bloodline Seal." These words deflated the arrogance he felt from having his Bloodline Limit enhanced… while also igniting his competitive spirit.
If his own improvement was so amazing, who knows what kind of abilities Naruto gained as a result?
"I'm coming as well." Sasuke made his decision. It wouldn't change no matter what she said.
"That's good. (I'd be lonely if you didn't.)"
"What did you say?"
"Nothing important, just be sure to pack your stuff and come over. I'm going to leave first." She said before using the Body Flicker Technique to disappear.
Sasuke became less interested in testing his limits.
He decided to only take a few things before leaving. The boy was unsure why, but the thought of Sakura and Naruto being together actually made him a little angry.
He could be bothered to figure out why he felt this way and decided catch up to her.
When he finally got to Naruto's apartment, his eyes widened under the 'eye protector' at how Sakura was practically making herself at home… as if she owned the place.
Even though the apartment was small, there was no problem if the three of them wanted to sleep over.
That is, if all three of them were males...!
"Sakura, you can't live here!"
"Why not? Believe it, my house is amazing!" Naruto clearly didn't think things through. He was planning in his mind how to get Sakura to notice him. A frown appeared on his face as he looked at Sasuke.
"You got that Bloodline Seal as well? Also, what's with the way you're wearing your headband?" He asked in confusion, not understanding how his rival in love was able to see while being blindfolded.
"Hey, can I help him out with 'training'?" Sasuke got annoyed by that face of his and wanted to beat him real badly.
"Oh, you think you can win against me?" Naruto spoke while dishing out the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"..." Sasuke was speechless after seeing the most incompetent ninja he had ever met pulling off the Shadow Clone Technique.
Although he only made four Shadow Clones as of now, he was well aware that the person before him was no longer the idiot he could smack around without needing much effort anymore.
"Sasuke, I know what you're thinking, but don't burn the apartment down, and Naruto calm down and get to bed. We all have serious training to do tomorrow before we go back to the Academy." Sakura clearly didn't want Sasuke to show off his Fire Style here.
"Where are you going to sleep?" These words Sasuke spoke was also what Naruto was secretly curious about.
"Since I'm a girl, I can't sleep here so... See you two tomorrow~!" And with that, she disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Naruto felt most conned about this situation as he realised the girl he'd been talking to the entire time had actually been a Shadow Clone!
How, when, what? They were both puzzled at when she switched herself out and felt she tricked them!
Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other awkwardly.
"Want some instant ramen?"
"Sure." Sasuke didn't decline the offer. His parents had taught him to have manners as a guest.
They sighed while walking inside.