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Code Sharingan
By DigiFruit
Premise: Itachi fails to massacre his clan and the Uchiha successfully take over Konoha, building Fire Country into the Uchiha Empire. Sasuke, enraged over his brother's death, vows revenge.
Author's notes: Characters are all at post-timeskip age
part 1 --Click here to view--
"This is terrible..." Sakura murmured bitterly as they surveyed the wreckage of a small River Country village.
"This is the kind of thing the Uchiha Empire does," Sasuke muttered, being no stranger to the Uchiha's methods. Ever since Itachi's failed assassination of the Uchiha clan eight years ago, the Uchiha had went ahead with their plan to take over Konoha. Soon after, the rest of Fire Country fell to their power as well. But the Uchiha weren't just satisfied with controlling Fire Country, they needed to conquer surrounding nations as well, such as Wave, Waterfall, Rice Field, Tea, Grass... River Country was merely the latest to be violently swallowed up into the Uchiha Empire.
"Well, this is as far as we can take you guys," Kakashi said solemnly, ruffling Sasuke's already messy hair.
"Good luck to all of you," Asuma grinned.
"Be careful," Baki muttered stoically.
"We'll free Konoha from the Uchiha for sure, you can count on us," Neji frowned, seeing the Fire Country border off in the distance.
Ever since the Uchiha had taken over Fire Country and had begun expanding, the ninja world had been in a constant state of war. This would be the first public Chuunin Exam in eight years, but because it was held in the Uchiha Empire, jounin sensei from enemy countries had not been allowed in. The Sand would send only three teams of genin: Gaara's team with Temari and Kankurou, Shikamaru's team with Neji and TenTen, and Sasuke's team with Hinata and Sakura.
But because the Chuunin Exams had not been held for eight years due to war, these Sand genin were already sixteen and seventeen. Genin in times of war were far more powerful than the genin that peacetime produced.
These genin did not intend to participate in the Chuunin Exams. No, that was just a guise. Their real objective... assassination of the Uchiha Clan head, Uchiha Fugaku.
"We'll crush them... bring them to their knees," Sasuke growled, clenching his fists in anger. "I'll avenge what they did to Itachi-niisan..."
[]========[]
"Senju-san... Senju Sasuke-san?"
"Huh? Oh, yes?" Sasuke blinked. It had been years since he had been exiled from the Uchiha Empire, years since he had adopted the First Hokage's name as a sign of rebellion, but he was still not accustomed to it. No matter how much he despised his heritage, he would always be Uchiha Sasuke.
"Passport, please," the attendant asked again.
Sasuke wordlessly produced a Wind Country passport, still not taking his eyes off the magnificent structures that the Uchiha had built where Konoha had once stood. The Uchiha had even taken down the Hokage Monument that had been carved into the side of the mountain. This Konoha was not the village he remembered fleeing all those years ago.
"Thank you, you may proceed," the attendant nodded.
Sakura let out a sigh of relief once Sasuke joined her and Hinata on the other side of the security gate. "You don't think they suspect anything, do you?" she asked apprehensively.
"They will if you two keep fidgeting so nervously," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "C'mon, let's go."
"Aren't we going to wait for the others?" Hinata asked. "Temari-san's team and Shikamaru-kun's team are still going through security."
"That Gaara gives me the creeps," Sasuke muttered, going on ahead.
"Hey, look, a team from the Waterfall Village," Sakura pointed out as the three of them made their way to inn that they would be staying at for the duration of the Chuunin Exams. "Do you think that they might have originally been from Konoha like us?"
"They're part of the Uchiha Empire now, so it doesn't matter," Sasuke muttered.
"I guess so," Sakura sighed.
After the Uchiha takeover of Konoha and Fire Country, many Leaf ninja had fled and scattered all around to neighboring countries. Majority of the refugees had ended up in the Sand Village of Wind Country. Weaker countries, such as Waterfall and Wave, had been conquered by the Uchiha and absorbed into the empire soon after the fall of Konoha.
"Hinata, you holding up okay?" Sakura asked worriedly, noticing the weird looks that the residents of Konoha were giving them.
"Ah, yes, I'm okay," Hinata replied softly but still unable to hide the discomfort in her voice. The Hyuuga clan had been longtime rivals with the Uchiha and had suffered the most during the takeover. Hinata and Neji, who was part of Shikamaru's team, would be the first Hyuuga to step foot inside Uchiha Empire since the takeover.
"Maybe you should have used a henge after all," Sakura remarked.
"No, I'll be okay, really," Hinata replied. Using a henge to disguise their Hyuuga appearance had been the original plan, but Neji had been too stubborn, too proud of his Hyuuga heritage, to do such a thing, so she had followed his example. Ever since the Uchiha takeover, the division between the main and branch families had been abolished due to the need for combined strength.
"Is this the place?" Sasuke asked, stopping in front of an inn.
"Yup," Sakura nodded, leading the way. She checked in with the innkeeper and got the keys to their rooms.
"We should get some sleep, we're going to need it," Sasuke said, taking the key to the smaller room. "I'll see you two later tonight."
"Rest up, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said as her dark-haired teammate disappeared into his room. "I think I'm going to look around a little, so you should go ahead and rest up too," she said, handing a key to their room to Hinata.
"Where will you be going?" Hinata asked worriedly. The Uchiha Empire was very a very hostile and imperialistic nation, and she didn't like the idea of Sakura going off on her own.
"Hmm... visit my old home, I guess... if it's still there anyway," Sakura replied with a sad smile. "I'll be fine, so don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."
"Okay... I'll see you later then," Hinata replied hesitantly before disappearing into their room.
On the way downstairs, Sakura ran into the two other genin teams from the Sand. "I'll be back soon, just going to go take a look around," Sakura explained when Shikamaru gave her a questioning look.
"Don't take too long," Neji warned stoically before going on ahead up the stairs.
"You want me to go with you?" TenTen volunteered.
"Thanks, but I'll be okay," Sakura assured.
Once out of the inn, she let out a deep sigh. It had been eight years since the Uchiha takeover of Konoha, and she had only been eight years old at the time, so she couldn't remember exactly what the village had looked like back then, but she knew that it had changed a lot. She was sixteen now, and the village she had once called home was now a reflection of Uchiha tradition, simple in its beauty and magnificence.
It wasn't just the Uchiha that lived in the village that was once Konoha though. Not all of Konoha's inhabitants had fled after the Uchiha takeover. Many of the Konoha ninja who had remained had been allowed to wear the crest of the leaf, but the Uchiha themselves wore their own family crest upon their forehead protectors. Sakura and the refugees who had fled Konoha to their closest and most powerful ally, however, now wore the symbol of the Sand, showing her allegiance to Wind Country.
"Young Lady, would you happen to be a former Konoha kunoichi?"
Startled, Sakura's hand immediately went to her equipment pouch, but she relaxed when she realized that it was just an old man running a small ramen stand. "Ichiraku Ramen?" she read out loud. "Um... yes, I was from Konoha, but I'm here for the Chuunin Exams as a genin from the Sand now."
"It must be your first time back in a long time then! Are you hungry? Have a seat and I'll whip you up something on the house!" Teuchi chuckled in a cheerful voice.
"Oh, I couldn't possibly accept free food," Sakura replied, reaching for her wallet.
"Nonsense! I'm just glad to see former Konoha ninja doing well," Teuchi exclaimed as he placed a steaming bowl of delicious-smelling ramen in front of her. "Other nations have adopted quite the negative view of Fire Country ever since the Uchiha took over, so while representatives from around the world are here for the Chuunin Exams, I'd like to show them, through ramen, that the people here aren't so bad."
Sakura discreetly ran a test for poison on the ramen, and while she felt guilty for doubting the old man, she couldn't be too careful. When the food turned up clean, she sighed in relief, glad that the old man really was just that... a kind old man. "Thank you very much, sir."
"I really do hope you don't think too badly of Fire Country," Teuchi smiled.
"I..." Sakura bit her lip.
"The Uchiha have done some terrible things... and they ruthlessly conquer surrounding nations with an iron fist, but there are still people living here who carry the old Konoha will of fire," Teuchi explained wistfully as he glanced up to the mountain where the faces of the Hokage had once been carved.
"I'm glad to hear that," she said with a soft smile. "And... this ramen... it's delicious."
"You're always welcome for another bowl," he grinned as she finished up.
"I'll keep that in mind," she said, getting up. "Thank you for the meal. Good day, sir."
"Good luck in the exams!"
"Thank you!" Sakura grinned and waved back before heading out. 'I'll free these people from the Uchiha... I promise...'
Sakura then soon found herself at the spot where her house had once stood. It was now a park. She let out a long sigh as she sat down at one of the swings. Her parents had died during the Uchiha takeover, and she had sworn revenge ever since then. "Mom... Dad... I miss you..."
"Hey, look at what we have here! It's a ninja from the Sand!"
"How about we take care of her now and get rid of some of the competition?"
Sakura's eyes narrowed as she bolted up with a kunai in hand. She was surrounded by two teams of Uchiha genin. "Engaging in combat before the exams begin is against the rules," Sakura warned, trying to diffuse the situation without having to resort to violence. "It could get you disqualified, or even spark a war between our countries."
"Wind Country ain't gonna go to war with the mighty Uchiha Empire over one puny genin girl," one of the Uchiha taunted.
"And this is our territory, so we make the rules here," another one added.
Then, all of a sudden, a figure appeared right in front of her, his incredible speed causing her eyes to widen in shock. He had been so fast that Sakura hadn't even sensed him until he had stopped moving. "Alright, move along. It's behavior like this that causes the rest of the world to hate us so much, so quit it," the new arrival scolded.
"Y-y-yes, sir!"
Sakura found it interesting how the two teams of Uchiha genin had suddenly been reduced to sniveling cowards in the presence of this new person. "Th-thank you," she stammered once the Uchiha teams went on their way.
"No prob, anything for such a beautiful girl as yourself," he grinned, turning around so that she could see his face for the first time. He wore typical Uchiha robes with the symbol of the fan emblazoned on his forehead protector, and he had fully activated sharingan eyes. But, unlike any Uchiha she had ever seen, he had blond hair.
She caught herself blushing but quickly fought it off. Blond hair or not, he was still an Uchiha, and the only Uchiha she had ever trusted had changed his name to Senju a long time ago, Senju Sasuke.
"Here for the Chuunin Exams?" he asked cheerfully. "I'll be cheering for you then."
And before Sakura could say anything more, he was gone.
[]========[]
"Everyone ready?" Shikamaru asked as the three genin teams from the Sand gathered on the rooftop of the inn they were staying at later that evening. "Neji, what you got?"
"There have already been two attempted assassinations, one from the Rock genin and one from the Mist genin, both failed," Neji reported. "There is one assassination attempt currently ongoing by a twelve-man operation consisting of Cloud genin."
"I guess we weren't the only ones crazy enough to send a couple team of genin to assassinate Emperor Uchiha," Kankurou chuckled. "At this rate, there won't be enough teams left for them to hold the Chuunin Exams tomorrow."
"Well, I guess we might as well get started," Shikamaru announced. "We'll use the Cloud operation as a diversion. They have the same objective as we do anyway."
"Gaara, ready?" Temari asked.
"Hmph," Gaara merely grunted in acknowledgement as he spread out his sand discreetly into the castle. While Shukaku inside of him was screaming for blood, Gaara had already tired of killing after fighting a war for eight long years. He was glad that he would be taking a surveillance role in this operation. Constant war could turn even the most bloodthirsty killer into a bitter and jaded pacifist.
"Alright, what's the situation look like?" Shikamaru asked, spreading out a blueprint of each floor.
Gaara closed his eyes and used his sand to detect the presence of every person inside the castle. Then, wordlessly, he began marking the positions of the Uchiha guards and the Cloud genin intruders. Then he frowned when his sand suddenly blacked out on him. "You're on your own after the seventh floor."
"Why aren't these guards here, here, here, and here not helping the guards who are engaging the Cloud teams?" Shikamaru frowned, pointing to the location of the guards on the lower floors. He had thought that the Cloud would provide a distraction, but it seemed as though many of the guards did not even budge from their positions.
"The Cloud genin did not engage in battle on floors one through six," Gaara replied stoically. "I see no indication that a fight happened anywhere on those floors, but I do not believe Uchiha security to be so lax that genin could get past so easily, so I assume the guards let them through."
"What?!" TenTen gasped.
"What the hell does that mean?" Neji frowned.
"It means that Uchiha Fugaku is a cocky bastard," Sasuke growled. "He's just toying with them!"
"What's on the seventh floor then?" Sakura asked.
"The Cloud have been defeated by a single ninja on the seventh floor," Gaara shook his head. "I did not get a good look."
"Whatever, whoever it is, I'll crush him," Sasuke growled.
"Alright, change of plans," Shikamaru announced. "Temari, Kankurou and Neji, I want you three to scale the castle from the outside. Hinata and TenTen will provide covering fire. Sakura and Sasuke will engage the guard on the seventh floor and make sure he doesn't notice Temari, Kankurou, and Neji. If possible, get rid of him, and meet up with the others upstairs. Once you reach the Emperor's quarters on the eighth floor, try to take him out if you can. If, for whatever reason, you can't, then blast a hole through the wall big enough for TenTen to snipe the Emperor from outside but make sure it looks like it wasn't on purpose so that they don't expect anything. Got that?"
"We're ready to go when you guys are," TenTen reported as she charged two long metal rails with lightning element to create a makeshift electromagnetic accelerator sniper rifle.
Hinata loaded up the ammo, the miniature metal-jacketed kunai round floating in the magnetic field created by the two parallel rails. Then she put her hands over TenTen's eyes and channeled her chakra into them to create a zoom sniper scope. "Byakugan!"
"Alright... operation, commence!" Shikamaru ordered and instantly the five infiltrators took off in a flash. "Gaara, what we got?"
"It seems that the Uchiha don't like us as much as the Cloud," Gaara remarked, drawing the movement of the guards on the blueprint map.
"TenTen, cover Kankurou, Temari, and Neji!" Shikamaru snapped as he saw guards already swarming up the sides the castle after the three intruders.
"Way ahead of ya! Aim and firing!" TenTen smirked as she fired off a round and knocked off the guard that was about to catch up to Kankurou. "Hinata, cool and reload!"
"Hai!" Hinata quickly used her water element to cool off the metal rails of the rifle before loading in another kunai round.
"Alright, Sakura, Sasuke, can you hear me?" Shikamaru asked into his radio transmitter as he glanced at Gaara's real-time movement diagram. "You got two guards headed your way from the west corridor, so head straight up from your position, and do it fast."
"Roger that," came Sasuke's reply over the radio. "We found the stairs. We're going up to the second floor."
Gaara immediately switched to the second floor blueprint and began drawing in the positions of the guards as sensed by his surveillance sand.
"There aren't too many guards on this floor. It seems like they went to check out all the raucous outside," Shikamaru informed. "But take the stairs over on the west side of the building. There are guards on the side that you're on."
"I'm not too good with directions, so could you use left and right instead of east and west?" Sakura asked sheepishly over the radio.
"Just follow Sasuke's lead," Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "TenTen, how's it on your side?"
"They're up to the fifth floor now," Hinata reported.
"But they're going to find our position soon," TenTen muttered as her hands were beginning to blister from the intense frictional heat output of the magnetic accelerator sniper rifle. She had slowed the rounds fired to subsonic speeds, so it was a relatively quiet weapon, but any competent ninja could deduce a projectile's origin based on just angle of fire and direction.
"Alright, we're going to change position, so give us the heads up when you reach the third floor," Shikamaru said into his radio as he picked up the blueprints.
"Copy that," Sasuke replied.
"That building over there!" Shikamaru ordered, pointing to the one with a large water tank on the rooftop. TenTen, Hinata, and Gaara all picked up their equipment and followed suit.
"We're on the third floor," Sakura informed. "We found a clear path up to the fourth, so we're going to go on ahead."
"Affirmative," Shikamaru replied as Gaara quickly set up the fourth floor blueprint and marked the position of all the guards.
"We're going to head over to a different position so that you guys don't have to keep moving," TenTen said before she and Hinata quickly hopped across the rooftops.
"Sasuke! Quick, hide in the bathroom on your left!" Shikamaru ordered, seeing Gaara draw a line heading towards Sasuke and Sakura's position.
"Why a bathroom?" Sakura groaned quietly.
"Okay, you're clear. Head east, if you can make it to the stairs in under thirty seconds, the patrol guards will miss seeing you by a hair," Shikamaru informed as he watched Gaara promptly draw a line and quickly made the calculations in his head. "Go! Go! Go!"
"We're going! Keep your pants on!" Sakura panted as she and Sasuke made a mad dash for the stairs.
"Sasuke, there are guards coming down those stairs from the fifth floor," Shikamaru added quickly. "Take them out as quietly as possible."
"Roger that," Sasuke replied stoically over the radio. "Clear."
"Those were the only guards on the fifth floor, so you're clear to keep going up to the sixth," Shikamaru said.
"The sixth is clear too," Gaara added. "It's the seventh floor that will be a problem."
[]========[]
When Sasuke and Sakura got up to the seventh floor, they found that it was completely different from all previous floors. There were no corridors, it was just one large wide open room with the stairway up to the eight floor guarded by a single ninja.
"Shikamaru, you there?" Sakura asked, but the only reply was the crackling buzz of static. "We lost him. What now?"
"We take the bastard on, that's what," Sasuke muttered, activating his sharingan. Despite still technically being a genin, he was one of the most powerful ninja in Wind Country, so he was confident he could take on whoever his father could throw at him.
"Welcome home, Sasuke!" the single guard greeted with a cheerful booming voice.
Sasuke glared as he made his way out into the open, followed by Sakura close behind. "Who are you?"
"Ah, it's you!" Sakura gasped, recognizing the blond Uchiha.
"Why, it's the pink-haired beauty from this afternoon," the blond chuckled good-naturedly.
"Answer my question!" Sasuke demanded fiercely. He never recalled meeting such a flamboyant Uchiha before. "Who are you?!"
"Me? I'm going to be the hokage someday, so remember this name... I am Uchiha Naruto!" he declared with a brash laugh.
"You... you're a transplant," Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked into those familiar sharingan wheels. "Those eyes... THOSE BELONG TO ITACHI!!!" he screamed in fury as he immediately charged in with his hand crackling with electricity. "CHIDORI!!!"
"Chidori," Naruto murmured with a smug smirk as he easily copied the hand seals for the technique with his sharingan.
The sound of two thousand chirping birds turned into an ear-piercing scream as the two techniques clashed into each other, resulting in a tremendous explosion. Sasuke was sent sprawling backwards, where Sakura caught him.
"I'd suggest you two turn back now if that's all you got," Naruto advised solemnly as the smoke cleared, revealing him unscathed. "You're no match for the Emperor's personal guard, Tobi, as you are now."
"Why are you protecting them? I know you're a good guy! You know what terrible things they've done, so why?!" Sakura pleaded, trying to negotiate. "Help us, and we can free Konoha from them!"
"I am helping you," Naruto replied with a small grin. "I'm saving your lives by telling you two to turn back now. The assassination squads from the Cloud, Mist, and Rock have all escaped with their lives thanks to me, so I advise you to do the same."
"I won't turn back!" Sasuke snarled as he got back up to his feet. He then charged in with taijutsu, knowing that ninjutsu and genjutsu wouldn't work against a sharingan master.
Naruto merely sidestepped and clotheslined Sasuke straight across the throat with ease and tossed him back to Sakura. "I'll say it again... turn back. I already have a kage bunshin outside to deal with your three friends. They've already retreated."
"Kage bunshin?" Sakura's eyes widened in shock. "You're telling me... that you were at half strength... this whole time?"
"Precisely! You're quite the sharp one," Naruto chuckled. "I have my chakra distributed equally between me and one kage bunshin."
"He's bluffing, Sakura, don't believe him," Sasuke frowned.
"And if I'm not?" Naruto smirked as he created a chidori in each hand.
Sasuke gritted his teeth. Chidori was a high-drain technique, and yet here he was creating two at the same time with ease. "What kind of monster are you?"
"Monster? That hurts, Sasuke," Naruto grinned, silencing the chirping of the two thousand birds by calling off the two chidori. He replaced the electricity with two spheres of demonic red chakra. "But you're right, I am a monster. The only thing keeping the demon's chakra under control is these sharingan eyes... so be thankful, Sasuke... your brother Itachi protects you even now."
"Sasuke... we should retreat," Sakura advised quietly.
"No, I'm so close!" Sasuke seethed. "Father killed Itachi-niisan... so I have to make him pay!!!" He immediately charged in recklessly, throwing a vicious series of punches and kicks, none of which connected with their target.
"Sasuke, you're strong, indeed strong enough to kill your father, but not strong enough get through Tobi," Naruto sighed. He knocked Sasuke off balance with a quick spinning sweep kick and then, continuing with the momentum, he followed up with a spinning roundhouse kick to send him flying backwards. "Come back when you're stronger."
"I'm strong enough NOW!" Sasuke shot back stubbornly as he struggled to his feet.
Sakura bit her lip nervously as she saw the fire and determination in Sasuke's eyes. "Sasuke..."
"No, I said I'm not turning back now, Sakura," Sasuke repeated.
Sakura hesitated for a moment before clenching her gloved fists. "Sasuke... I'll keep him busy, you go on ahead."
"Sakura..." Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. "But he's too strong for you to handle."
"I only have to keep him busy long enough for you to get past him, right?" Sakura grinned confidently, trying to hide the fear that she really felt. She knew for a fact that she didn't stand a chance, but she still had to try. Sasuke wasn't the only one who wanted to rid the world of Emperor Uchiha Fugaku, she too wanted to free her old home from the Uchiha.
Sasuke looked into her eyes to confirm her resolve. "Alright... but don't get yourself killed..."
"You too," Sakura nodded with a smile. "Now go!" Sakura charged in at Naruto with her fist reared back, ready to attack.
"Sorry, but I don't want to fight you," Naruto grinned, catching her punch easily as Sasuke rushed past them towards the stairs leading up to the eighth floor. "And there he goes."
Sakura eyed him cautiously as he took a seat in front of the stairway. "You're... you're not going to go after him?"
"He's not going to listen to me," Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. "He'll just have to experience for himself how powerful Tobi really is to get it through that thick skull of his. Let's just hope he survives, yeah?"
"Tobi... who is this Tobi person?" Sakura asked, still on her guard. Intelligence reports had never mentioned anyone named Tobi, but then again, they had also failed to mention Uchiha Naruto.
"Uchiha Tobi," Naruto shrugged again. "All I know is that he's damn strong and can wipe the floor with me."
"Will he... kill Sasuke?" Sakura asked, her voice wavering as she was already beginning to regret not insisting on an all-out retreat.
"If you want me to, I'll go up and bail him out if needed," he assured coolly.
"But... isn't that... treason?" she asked. She didn't understand this person at all. Was he an ally or an enemy? "Won't they kill you if you do that?"
"My life isn't worth too much," he chuckled, shaking his head.
"How can you say that? You're even stronger than Sasuke... if you join us, you'd be our best hope to bring down the Uchiha Empire," she pleaded. Even if his eyes weren't originally his, she could tell by looking at them that he was a good person.
"I'm biding my time," he smiled. "I'll bring it down from the inside... and then I'll become Hokage."
"N-Naruto was your name?" she stammered.
"Believe it," he smirked.
Then, suddenly, her ears perked up as she heard footsteps behind her. "A trap?" she accused, reaching for a kunai as Uchiha guards stormed up the stairs from the sixth floor.
"I've got everything under control, guys," Naruto sighed as he waved off the guards. "Nothing to see here, move along!"
"But, sir!" one of the guards protested. "She's a prisoner! We'll take her away for interrogation right away, sir!"
Naruto let out another deep sigh as he got to his feet and produced a pair of chakra-reinforced handcuffs. He placed one on his left wrist and the other on Sakura's right wrist. "I like her," he grinned, causing Sakura's cheeks to flare up with a blush. "I don't think I'd be comfortable with the idea of her going through the regular treatment prisoners get, so I'll take care of her myself."
"But, sir!"
Naruto raised an eyebrow as he created a violent red chakra fireball in his hand. "You have something to say?"
"N-N-No, sir!" the guards stammered before retreating back downstairs.
"Sorry about that," he chuckled, immediately unlocking her half of the handcuffs.
"You're... letting me go?" she asked in a surprised voice as she gently rubbed at her wrist. "Letting a prisoner go is punishable by death..."
"As I said before, my life isn't worth a damn compared to yours," Naruto replied nonchalantly as he took his position at the base of the stairs leading up to the top floor once again.
"H-h-how can you say that so easily?" she stammered, feeling tears well up in her eyes. And, for some reason, even though she was free to go, she just couldn't leave this person alone.
"This is the kind of thing the Uchiha Empire does," Sasuke muttered, being no stranger to the Uchiha's methods. Ever since Itachi's failed assassination of the Uchiha clan eight years ago, the Uchiha had went ahead with their plan to take over Konoha. Soon after, the rest of Fire Country fell to their power as well. But the Uchiha weren't just satisfied with controlling Fire Country, they needed to conquer surrounding nations as well, such as Wave, Waterfall, Rice Field, Tea, Grass... River Country was merely the latest to be violently swallowed up into the Uchiha Empire.
"Well, this is as far as we can take you guys," Kakashi said solemnly, ruffling Sasuke's already messy hair.
"Good luck to all of you," Asuma grinned.
"Be careful," Baki muttered stoically.
"We'll free Konoha from the Uchiha for sure, you can count on us," Neji frowned, seeing the Fire Country border off in the distance.
Ever since the Uchiha had taken over Fire Country and had begun expanding, the ninja world had been in a constant state of war. This would be the first public Chuunin Exam in eight years, but because it was held in the Uchiha Empire, jounin sensei from enemy countries had not been allowed in. The Sand would send only three teams of genin: Gaara's team with Temari and Kankurou, Shikamaru's team with Neji and TenTen, and Sasuke's team with Hinata and Sakura.
But because the Chuunin Exams had not been held for eight years due to war, these Sand genin were already sixteen and seventeen. Genin in times of war were far more powerful than the genin that peacetime produced.
These genin did not intend to participate in the Chuunin Exams. No, that was just a guise. Their real objective... assassination of the Uchiha Clan head, Uchiha Fugaku.
"We'll crush them... bring them to their knees," Sasuke growled, clenching his fists in anger. "I'll avenge what they did to Itachi-niisan..."
[]========[]
"Senju-san... Senju Sasuke-san?"
"Huh? Oh, yes?" Sasuke blinked. It had been years since he had been exiled from the Uchiha Empire, years since he had adopted the First Hokage's name as a sign of rebellion, but he was still not accustomed to it. No matter how much he despised his heritage, he would always be Uchiha Sasuke.
"Passport, please," the attendant asked again.
Sasuke wordlessly produced a Wind Country passport, still not taking his eyes off the magnificent structures that the Uchiha had built where Konoha had once stood. The Uchiha had even taken down the Hokage Monument that had been carved into the side of the mountain. This Konoha was not the village he remembered fleeing all those years ago.
"Thank you, you may proceed," the attendant nodded.
Sakura let out a sigh of relief once Sasuke joined her and Hinata on the other side of the security gate. "You don't think they suspect anything, do you?" she asked apprehensively.
"They will if you two keep fidgeting so nervously," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "C'mon, let's go."
"Aren't we going to wait for the others?" Hinata asked. "Temari-san's team and Shikamaru-kun's team are still going through security."
"That Gaara gives me the creeps," Sasuke muttered, going on ahead.
"Hey, look, a team from the Waterfall Village," Sakura pointed out as the three of them made their way to inn that they would be staying at for the duration of the Chuunin Exams. "Do you think that they might have originally been from Konoha like us?"
"They're part of the Uchiha Empire now, so it doesn't matter," Sasuke muttered.
"I guess so," Sakura sighed.
After the Uchiha takeover of Konoha and Fire Country, many Leaf ninja had fled and scattered all around to neighboring countries. Majority of the refugees had ended up in the Sand Village of Wind Country. Weaker countries, such as Waterfall and Wave, had been conquered by the Uchiha and absorbed into the empire soon after the fall of Konoha.
"Hinata, you holding up okay?" Sakura asked worriedly, noticing the weird looks that the residents of Konoha were giving them.
"Ah, yes, I'm okay," Hinata replied softly but still unable to hide the discomfort in her voice. The Hyuuga clan had been longtime rivals with the Uchiha and had suffered the most during the takeover. Hinata and Neji, who was part of Shikamaru's team, would be the first Hyuuga to step foot inside Uchiha Empire since the takeover.
"Maybe you should have used a henge after all," Sakura remarked.
"No, I'll be okay, really," Hinata replied. Using a henge to disguise their Hyuuga appearance had been the original plan, but Neji had been too stubborn, too proud of his Hyuuga heritage, to do such a thing, so she had followed his example. Ever since the Uchiha takeover, the division between the main and branch families had been abolished due to the need for combined strength.
"Is this the place?" Sasuke asked, stopping in front of an inn.
"Yup," Sakura nodded, leading the way. She checked in with the innkeeper and got the keys to their rooms.
"We should get some sleep, we're going to need it," Sasuke said, taking the key to the smaller room. "I'll see you two later tonight."
"Rest up, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said as her dark-haired teammate disappeared into his room. "I think I'm going to look around a little, so you should go ahead and rest up too," she said, handing a key to their room to Hinata.
"Where will you be going?" Hinata asked worriedly. The Uchiha Empire was very a very hostile and imperialistic nation, and she didn't like the idea of Sakura going off on her own.
"Hmm... visit my old home, I guess... if it's still there anyway," Sakura replied with a sad smile. "I'll be fine, so don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."
"Okay... I'll see you later then," Hinata replied hesitantly before disappearing into their room.
On the way downstairs, Sakura ran into the two other genin teams from the Sand. "I'll be back soon, just going to go take a look around," Sakura explained when Shikamaru gave her a questioning look.
"Don't take too long," Neji warned stoically before going on ahead up the stairs.
"You want me to go with you?" TenTen volunteered.
"Thanks, but I'll be okay," Sakura assured.
Once out of the inn, she let out a deep sigh. It had been eight years since the Uchiha takeover of Konoha, and she had only been eight years old at the time, so she couldn't remember exactly what the village had looked like back then, but she knew that it had changed a lot. She was sixteen now, and the village she had once called home was now a reflection of Uchiha tradition, simple in its beauty and magnificence.
It wasn't just the Uchiha that lived in the village that was once Konoha though. Not all of Konoha's inhabitants had fled after the Uchiha takeover. Many of the Konoha ninja who had remained had been allowed to wear the crest of the leaf, but the Uchiha themselves wore their own family crest upon their forehead protectors. Sakura and the refugees who had fled Konoha to their closest and most powerful ally, however, now wore the symbol of the Sand, showing her allegiance to Wind Country.
"Young Lady, would you happen to be a former Konoha kunoichi?"
Startled, Sakura's hand immediately went to her equipment pouch, but she relaxed when she realized that it was just an old man running a small ramen stand. "Ichiraku Ramen?" she read out loud. "Um... yes, I was from Konoha, but I'm here for the Chuunin Exams as a genin from the Sand now."
"It must be your first time back in a long time then! Are you hungry? Have a seat and I'll whip you up something on the house!" Teuchi chuckled in a cheerful voice.
"Oh, I couldn't possibly accept free food," Sakura replied, reaching for her wallet.
"Nonsense! I'm just glad to see former Konoha ninja doing well," Teuchi exclaimed as he placed a steaming bowl of delicious-smelling ramen in front of her. "Other nations have adopted quite the negative view of Fire Country ever since the Uchiha took over, so while representatives from around the world are here for the Chuunin Exams, I'd like to show them, through ramen, that the people here aren't so bad."
Sakura discreetly ran a test for poison on the ramen, and while she felt guilty for doubting the old man, she couldn't be too careful. When the food turned up clean, she sighed in relief, glad that the old man really was just that... a kind old man. "Thank you very much, sir."
"I really do hope you don't think too badly of Fire Country," Teuchi smiled.
"I..." Sakura bit her lip.
"The Uchiha have done some terrible things... and they ruthlessly conquer surrounding nations with an iron fist, but there are still people living here who carry the old Konoha will of fire," Teuchi explained wistfully as he glanced up to the mountain where the faces of the Hokage had once been carved.
"I'm glad to hear that," she said with a soft smile. "And... this ramen... it's delicious."
"You're always welcome for another bowl," he grinned as she finished up.
"I'll keep that in mind," she said, getting up. "Thank you for the meal. Good day, sir."
"Good luck in the exams!"
"Thank you!" Sakura grinned and waved back before heading out. 'I'll free these people from the Uchiha... I promise...'
Sakura then soon found herself at the spot where her house had once stood. It was now a park. She let out a long sigh as she sat down at one of the swings. Her parents had died during the Uchiha takeover, and she had sworn revenge ever since then. "Mom... Dad... I miss you..."
"Hey, look at what we have here! It's a ninja from the Sand!"
"How about we take care of her now and get rid of some of the competition?"
Sakura's eyes narrowed as she bolted up with a kunai in hand. She was surrounded by two teams of Uchiha genin. "Engaging in combat before the exams begin is against the rules," Sakura warned, trying to diffuse the situation without having to resort to violence. "It could get you disqualified, or even spark a war between our countries."
"Wind Country ain't gonna go to war with the mighty Uchiha Empire over one puny genin girl," one of the Uchiha taunted.
"And this is our territory, so we make the rules here," another one added.
Then, all of a sudden, a figure appeared right in front of her, his incredible speed causing her eyes to widen in shock. He had been so fast that Sakura hadn't even sensed him until he had stopped moving. "Alright, move along. It's behavior like this that causes the rest of the world to hate us so much, so quit it," the new arrival scolded.
"Y-y-yes, sir!"
Sakura found it interesting how the two teams of Uchiha genin had suddenly been reduced to sniveling cowards in the presence of this new person. "Th-thank you," she stammered once the Uchiha teams went on their way.
"No prob, anything for such a beautiful girl as yourself," he grinned, turning around so that she could see his face for the first time. He wore typical Uchiha robes with the symbol of the fan emblazoned on his forehead protector, and he had fully activated sharingan eyes. But, unlike any Uchiha she had ever seen, he had blond hair.
She caught herself blushing but quickly fought it off. Blond hair or not, he was still an Uchiha, and the only Uchiha she had ever trusted had changed his name to Senju a long time ago, Senju Sasuke.
"Here for the Chuunin Exams?" he asked cheerfully. "I'll be cheering for you then."
And before Sakura could say anything more, he was gone.
[]========[]
"Everyone ready?" Shikamaru asked as the three genin teams from the Sand gathered on the rooftop of the inn they were staying at later that evening. "Neji, what you got?"
"There have already been two attempted assassinations, one from the Rock genin and one from the Mist genin, both failed," Neji reported. "There is one assassination attempt currently ongoing by a twelve-man operation consisting of Cloud genin."
"I guess we weren't the only ones crazy enough to send a couple team of genin to assassinate Emperor Uchiha," Kankurou chuckled. "At this rate, there won't be enough teams left for them to hold the Chuunin Exams tomorrow."
"Well, I guess we might as well get started," Shikamaru announced. "We'll use the Cloud operation as a diversion. They have the same objective as we do anyway."
"Gaara, ready?" Temari asked.
"Hmph," Gaara merely grunted in acknowledgement as he spread out his sand discreetly into the castle. While Shukaku inside of him was screaming for blood, Gaara had already tired of killing after fighting a war for eight long years. He was glad that he would be taking a surveillance role in this operation. Constant war could turn even the most bloodthirsty killer into a bitter and jaded pacifist.
"Alright, what's the situation look like?" Shikamaru asked, spreading out a blueprint of each floor.
Gaara closed his eyes and used his sand to detect the presence of every person inside the castle. Then, wordlessly, he began marking the positions of the Uchiha guards and the Cloud genin intruders. Then he frowned when his sand suddenly blacked out on him. "You're on your own after the seventh floor."
"Why aren't these guards here, here, here, and here not helping the guards who are engaging the Cloud teams?" Shikamaru frowned, pointing to the location of the guards on the lower floors. He had thought that the Cloud would provide a distraction, but it seemed as though many of the guards did not even budge from their positions.
"The Cloud genin did not engage in battle on floors one through six," Gaara replied stoically. "I see no indication that a fight happened anywhere on those floors, but I do not believe Uchiha security to be so lax that genin could get past so easily, so I assume the guards let them through."
"What?!" TenTen gasped.
"What the hell does that mean?" Neji frowned.
"It means that Uchiha Fugaku is a cocky bastard," Sasuke growled. "He's just toying with them!"
"What's on the seventh floor then?" Sakura asked.
"The Cloud have been defeated by a single ninja on the seventh floor," Gaara shook his head. "I did not get a good look."
"Whatever, whoever it is, I'll crush him," Sasuke growled.
"Alright, change of plans," Shikamaru announced. "Temari, Kankurou and Neji, I want you three to scale the castle from the outside. Hinata and TenTen will provide covering fire. Sakura and Sasuke will engage the guard on the seventh floor and make sure he doesn't notice Temari, Kankurou, and Neji. If possible, get rid of him, and meet up with the others upstairs. Once you reach the Emperor's quarters on the eighth floor, try to take him out if you can. If, for whatever reason, you can't, then blast a hole through the wall big enough for TenTen to snipe the Emperor from outside but make sure it looks like it wasn't on purpose so that they don't expect anything. Got that?"
"We're ready to go when you guys are," TenTen reported as she charged two long metal rails with lightning element to create a makeshift electromagnetic accelerator sniper rifle.
Hinata loaded up the ammo, the miniature metal-jacketed kunai round floating in the magnetic field created by the two parallel rails. Then she put her hands over TenTen's eyes and channeled her chakra into them to create a zoom sniper scope. "Byakugan!"
"Alright... operation, commence!" Shikamaru ordered and instantly the five infiltrators took off in a flash. "Gaara, what we got?"
"It seems that the Uchiha don't like us as much as the Cloud," Gaara remarked, drawing the movement of the guards on the blueprint map.
"TenTen, cover Kankurou, Temari, and Neji!" Shikamaru snapped as he saw guards already swarming up the sides the castle after the three intruders.
"Way ahead of ya! Aim and firing!" TenTen smirked as she fired off a round and knocked off the guard that was about to catch up to Kankurou. "Hinata, cool and reload!"
"Hai!" Hinata quickly used her water element to cool off the metal rails of the rifle before loading in another kunai round.
"Alright, Sakura, Sasuke, can you hear me?" Shikamaru asked into his radio transmitter as he glanced at Gaara's real-time movement diagram. "You got two guards headed your way from the west corridor, so head straight up from your position, and do it fast."
"Roger that," came Sasuke's reply over the radio. "We found the stairs. We're going up to the second floor."
Gaara immediately switched to the second floor blueprint and began drawing in the positions of the guards as sensed by his surveillance sand.
"There aren't too many guards on this floor. It seems like they went to check out all the raucous outside," Shikamaru informed. "But take the stairs over on the west side of the building. There are guards on the side that you're on."
"I'm not too good with directions, so could you use left and right instead of east and west?" Sakura asked sheepishly over the radio.
"Just follow Sasuke's lead," Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "TenTen, how's it on your side?"
"They're up to the fifth floor now," Hinata reported.
"But they're going to find our position soon," TenTen muttered as her hands were beginning to blister from the intense frictional heat output of the magnetic accelerator sniper rifle. She had slowed the rounds fired to subsonic speeds, so it was a relatively quiet weapon, but any competent ninja could deduce a projectile's origin based on just angle of fire and direction.
"Alright, we're going to change position, so give us the heads up when you reach the third floor," Shikamaru said into his radio as he picked up the blueprints.
"Copy that," Sasuke replied.
"That building over there!" Shikamaru ordered, pointing to the one with a large water tank on the rooftop. TenTen, Hinata, and Gaara all picked up their equipment and followed suit.
"We're on the third floor," Sakura informed. "We found a clear path up to the fourth, so we're going to go on ahead."
"Affirmative," Shikamaru replied as Gaara quickly set up the fourth floor blueprint and marked the position of all the guards.
"We're going to head over to a different position so that you guys don't have to keep moving," TenTen said before she and Hinata quickly hopped across the rooftops.
"Sasuke! Quick, hide in the bathroom on your left!" Shikamaru ordered, seeing Gaara draw a line heading towards Sasuke and Sakura's position.
"Why a bathroom?" Sakura groaned quietly.
"Okay, you're clear. Head east, if you can make it to the stairs in under thirty seconds, the patrol guards will miss seeing you by a hair," Shikamaru informed as he watched Gaara promptly draw a line and quickly made the calculations in his head. "Go! Go! Go!"
"We're going! Keep your pants on!" Sakura panted as she and Sasuke made a mad dash for the stairs.
"Sasuke, there are guards coming down those stairs from the fifth floor," Shikamaru added quickly. "Take them out as quietly as possible."
"Roger that," Sasuke replied stoically over the radio. "Clear."
"Those were the only guards on the fifth floor, so you're clear to keep going up to the sixth," Shikamaru said.
"The sixth is clear too," Gaara added. "It's the seventh floor that will be a problem."
[]========[]
When Sasuke and Sakura got up to the seventh floor, they found that it was completely different from all previous floors. There were no corridors, it was just one large wide open room with the stairway up to the eight floor guarded by a single ninja.
"Shikamaru, you there?" Sakura asked, but the only reply was the crackling buzz of static. "We lost him. What now?"
"We take the bastard on, that's what," Sasuke muttered, activating his sharingan. Despite still technically being a genin, he was one of the most powerful ninja in Wind Country, so he was confident he could take on whoever his father could throw at him.
"Welcome home, Sasuke!" the single guard greeted with a cheerful booming voice.
Sasuke glared as he made his way out into the open, followed by Sakura close behind. "Who are you?"
"Ah, it's you!" Sakura gasped, recognizing the blond Uchiha.
"Why, it's the pink-haired beauty from this afternoon," the blond chuckled good-naturedly.
"Answer my question!" Sasuke demanded fiercely. He never recalled meeting such a flamboyant Uchiha before. "Who are you?!"
"Me? I'm going to be the hokage someday, so remember this name... I am Uchiha Naruto!" he declared with a brash laugh.
"You... you're a transplant," Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked into those familiar sharingan wheels. "Those eyes... THOSE BELONG TO ITACHI!!!" he screamed in fury as he immediately charged in with his hand crackling with electricity. "CHIDORI!!!"
"Chidori," Naruto murmured with a smug smirk as he easily copied the hand seals for the technique with his sharingan.
The sound of two thousand chirping birds turned into an ear-piercing scream as the two techniques clashed into each other, resulting in a tremendous explosion. Sasuke was sent sprawling backwards, where Sakura caught him.
"I'd suggest you two turn back now if that's all you got," Naruto advised solemnly as the smoke cleared, revealing him unscathed. "You're no match for the Emperor's personal guard, Tobi, as you are now."
"Why are you protecting them? I know you're a good guy! You know what terrible things they've done, so why?!" Sakura pleaded, trying to negotiate. "Help us, and we can free Konoha from them!"
"I am helping you," Naruto replied with a small grin. "I'm saving your lives by telling you two to turn back now. The assassination squads from the Cloud, Mist, and Rock have all escaped with their lives thanks to me, so I advise you to do the same."
"I won't turn back!" Sasuke snarled as he got back up to his feet. He then charged in with taijutsu, knowing that ninjutsu and genjutsu wouldn't work against a sharingan master.
Naruto merely sidestepped and clotheslined Sasuke straight across the throat with ease and tossed him back to Sakura. "I'll say it again... turn back. I already have a kage bunshin outside to deal with your three friends. They've already retreated."
"Kage bunshin?" Sakura's eyes widened in shock. "You're telling me... that you were at half strength... this whole time?"
"Precisely! You're quite the sharp one," Naruto chuckled. "I have my chakra distributed equally between me and one kage bunshin."
"He's bluffing, Sakura, don't believe him," Sasuke frowned.
"And if I'm not?" Naruto smirked as he created a chidori in each hand.
Sasuke gritted his teeth. Chidori was a high-drain technique, and yet here he was creating two at the same time with ease. "What kind of monster are you?"
"Monster? That hurts, Sasuke," Naruto grinned, silencing the chirping of the two thousand birds by calling off the two chidori. He replaced the electricity with two spheres of demonic red chakra. "But you're right, I am a monster. The only thing keeping the demon's chakra under control is these sharingan eyes... so be thankful, Sasuke... your brother Itachi protects you even now."
"Sasuke... we should retreat," Sakura advised quietly.
"No, I'm so close!" Sasuke seethed. "Father killed Itachi-niisan... so I have to make him pay!!!" He immediately charged in recklessly, throwing a vicious series of punches and kicks, none of which connected with their target.
"Sasuke, you're strong, indeed strong enough to kill your father, but not strong enough get through Tobi," Naruto sighed. He knocked Sasuke off balance with a quick spinning sweep kick and then, continuing with the momentum, he followed up with a spinning roundhouse kick to send him flying backwards. "Come back when you're stronger."
"I'm strong enough NOW!" Sasuke shot back stubbornly as he struggled to his feet.
Sakura bit her lip nervously as she saw the fire and determination in Sasuke's eyes. "Sasuke..."
"No, I said I'm not turning back now, Sakura," Sasuke repeated.
Sakura hesitated for a moment before clenching her gloved fists. "Sasuke... I'll keep him busy, you go on ahead."
"Sakura..." Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. "But he's too strong for you to handle."
"I only have to keep him busy long enough for you to get past him, right?" Sakura grinned confidently, trying to hide the fear that she really felt. She knew for a fact that she didn't stand a chance, but she still had to try. Sasuke wasn't the only one who wanted to rid the world of Emperor Uchiha Fugaku, she too wanted to free her old home from the Uchiha.
Sasuke looked into her eyes to confirm her resolve. "Alright... but don't get yourself killed..."
"You too," Sakura nodded with a smile. "Now go!" Sakura charged in at Naruto with her fist reared back, ready to attack.
"Sorry, but I don't want to fight you," Naruto grinned, catching her punch easily as Sasuke rushed past them towards the stairs leading up to the eighth floor. "And there he goes."
Sakura eyed him cautiously as he took a seat in front of the stairway. "You're... you're not going to go after him?"
"He's not going to listen to me," Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. "He'll just have to experience for himself how powerful Tobi really is to get it through that thick skull of his. Let's just hope he survives, yeah?"
"Tobi... who is this Tobi person?" Sakura asked, still on her guard. Intelligence reports had never mentioned anyone named Tobi, but then again, they had also failed to mention Uchiha Naruto.
"Uchiha Tobi," Naruto shrugged again. "All I know is that he's damn strong and can wipe the floor with me."
"Will he... kill Sasuke?" Sakura asked, her voice wavering as she was already beginning to regret not insisting on an all-out retreat.
"If you want me to, I'll go up and bail him out if needed," he assured coolly.
"But... isn't that... treason?" she asked. She didn't understand this person at all. Was he an ally or an enemy? "Won't they kill you if you do that?"
"My life isn't worth too much," he chuckled, shaking his head.
"How can you say that? You're even stronger than Sasuke... if you join us, you'd be our best hope to bring down the Uchiha Empire," she pleaded. Even if his eyes weren't originally his, she could tell by looking at them that he was a good person.
"I'm biding my time," he smiled. "I'll bring it down from the inside... and then I'll become Hokage."
"N-Naruto was your name?" she stammered.
"Believe it," he smirked.
Then, suddenly, her ears perked up as she heard footsteps behind her. "A trap?" she accused, reaching for a kunai as Uchiha guards stormed up the stairs from the sixth floor.
"I've got everything under control, guys," Naruto sighed as he waved off the guards. "Nothing to see here, move along!"
"But, sir!" one of the guards protested. "She's a prisoner! We'll take her away for interrogation right away, sir!"
Naruto let out another deep sigh as he got to his feet and produced a pair of chakra-reinforced handcuffs. He placed one on his left wrist and the other on Sakura's right wrist. "I like her," he grinned, causing Sakura's cheeks to flare up with a blush. "I don't think I'd be comfortable with the idea of her going through the regular treatment prisoners get, so I'll take care of her myself."
"But, sir!"
Naruto raised an eyebrow as he created a violent red chakra fireball in his hand. "You have something to say?"
"N-N-No, sir!" the guards stammered before retreating back downstairs.
"Sorry about that," he chuckled, immediately unlocking her half of the handcuffs.
"You're... letting me go?" she asked in a surprised voice as she gently rubbed at her wrist. "Letting a prisoner go is punishable by death..."
"As I said before, my life isn't worth a damn compared to yours," Naruto replied nonchalantly as he took his position at the base of the stairs leading up to the top floor once again.
"H-h-how can you say that so easily?" she stammered, feeling tears well up in her eyes. And, for some reason, even though she was free to go, she just couldn't leave this person alone.
continued in next post
