Mari Makinami
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Chapter 13. The Rain
Sasuke silently gazed upon the dark street through the tiny gap between the old, heavy drapes that prevented everyone outside Jun's apartment from peeking inside, thinking on his next move.
The mission to take control over Amegakure turned to be much harder than he originally assumed it's going to be – actually, the first complications started already with the infiltration part, let alone everything that came after that. Truth to be told, he was wondering how on earth they managed to come this far without utterly failing everything – it was a miracle, without a doubt. And although Sasuke wasn't superstitious nor religious, after everything the Uchiha went through, he actually was beginning to think that someone's powerful hand was guiding him up to that moment, carefully handing him everything he needed to receive, learn or suffer in order to improve, to move on to the next destination.
But he was fine with that. After all, even the Sage's sudden appearance back when the Uchiha had been killed by Madara's hand didn't quite surprise him. That felt... right. It was his... destiny? No, he didn't like this exact word, even though he used it quite a few times before for the lack of a better one.
Whatever power outside of their realm was driving his life, he was fine with it, especially after he found out about the existence of other dimensions and even worlds thanks to Kaguya, so probably nothing could amaze him at that point.
The real question was... what was the final destination of his path?
Nobody aside from Naruto knew about it, but, despite his usual seemingly immutable attitude, Sasuke always doubted himself and his decisions, and in the end it led to his imminent failure in the latest fight with Naruto in the Valley of the End – although it could seem like a draw to anyone else, since both of them were dying there, unable to move, he, Sasuke, could look deeper into it.
He realized that his true defeat was in the battle of beliefs and paradigms.
Naruto always knew what he wanted. He always knew what he must do, what destiny awaited him. That's why he never wavered – because he truly believed that in the end, he was right anyway, even if he really wasn't. His faith in himself, in the righteousness of his decisions, this was his true power. Not the bijū, not the power gifted to him by the Sage, not his own skills.
These things were irrelevant when it came to the battle of wills. The battle of hearts. The battle of souls.
Sasuke always doubted himself, and that's why he could never truly win that battle.
Back then, giving up seemed like a viable option. To let Naruto, or rather Ashura, take care of everything. And what else could he possibly do anyway?
Sure, his plan would most likely work for some time. For years, decades, or even centuries he would hold the world in his iron grip, but then...
Even Kaguya was stopped – twice, as a matter of fact.
Nothing is eternal. In time, even the stars burn down.
It would be impossible to rule everything forever. Eventually, someone would take him down. And after that, the world would come back to it's usual, conflicted, natural state.
And when he realized this flaw of his ideas a few months ago, when he was holding that dying Uzumaki woman in the Land of Whirlpools... the sudden idea came to him.
Perhaps the world didn't need to be changed?
He never told Hinata why exactly he felt so... wrong back there. So hurt. So... obliterated.
The girl probably thought it was because he felt compassion... that he pitied that old woman who was begging to be returned to the world of illusions.
But such assumption would be wrong. Actually, he couldn't care less about the woman specifically. People died here and there, every day, every hour. Everyone lost those dear to them, and much worse things happened. Even to him... the Uchiha never pitied himself and hated when others pitied him, but it didn't mean that he wasn't feeling pain of his own losses. A horrible, heartbreaking pain whenever he remembered their faces... mother... father... Itachi... the others...
But this pain became a part of him. And he accepted it as something he simply had to deal with for the rest of his life.
Because he had no other choice. He was a shinobi. He had to endure, no matter what.
And he did so.
But that Uzumaki woman... prior to the war, he would probably despise her for her weakness. For inability to withstand pain.
Now, he knew that people differ from each other. She was weak, but it didn't necessary mean that she was trash.
Regardless, he cried back then definitely not because of compassion.
It was simply because there, at that particular moment, he realized better than ever before that he truly had no idea what to do anymore.
He felt lost.
Because during his relatively short travel with Hinata he witnessed quite a few things which he always escaped him before, and when he finally noticed them, he realized...
Their world was beautiful as it was. It never needed to be corrected by someone, be it Kaguya, Hagoromo, or him, Indra, to begin with.
There simply was no such thing as perfection. He wasn't perfect. Neither was Naruto. Or Hinata. Or anyone or anything else.
Infinite Tsukuyomi brought perfection into one's life in every sense, but... was it any good? His previous incarnation believed it was, and failed miserably.
Because such world was fake. It lacked what defined life in Sasuke's opinion – imperfection. Flaws.
One can't understand the meaning of happiness if he doesn't know the opposite feeling. For instance, one can't feel the relief of being healthy if he never suffered sickness. Some people could spend ridiculously high amount of money on some exotic dish and simply throw it away because they didn't like the taste, while at the same time, a poor man who knew the feeling of starving would become absolutely happy by tasting some cheap rice.
In other words, If one always just gets what he wants without any effort, it becomes routine, and there is no limit to the growth of the appetites – such person will always want more, more and more, and still won't become happy.
And if they actually felt happy within the Infinite Tsukuyomi where they had everything they ever dreamed of, it was paradoxal – such existence was a mere imitation of life. That's why the overwhelming majority of people who had been caught into Madara's jutsu were glad when Team Seven saved them from being trapped inside that fake world, even though they probably didn't realize the reason to it, or didn't even care to think on the matter.
But that was the difference between illusion and reality.
In reality, nothing was perfect nor pure. And considering how short their lives were in general... even if he would die of old age later, come to think about it, the time he had left was nothing compared to the history of shinobi. A mere flash, a spark within the eternity of unending conflict...
What was the point in wasting his life on trying to change the very nature of the world he was born in? The very nature of people themselves?
Back when Itachi finally explained his true motives to him in Kabuto's cave, Sasuke decided to surpass his brother in his intention of bringing peace. He now realized how childish was that desire to 'do it better than him'. Actually, looking backwards now and reflecting on the past, he found himself ridiculous, because the Uchiha didn't even truly understand Itachi's motives.
His brother did what he did because he wanted to preserve the things he cared about the most – the village itself, and him, Sasuke.
So, the right question to ask back then would be the following – what did he, Sasuke, truly care about?
Unlike before, now he could answer it.
He cared about the world – in a way that presumed it's existence and nothing else, so that's why he would fight against any power that tried to threaten it, be it Zetsu, Kaguya or whatever else.
He cared about his village – both because it was his only home and because his brother gave his life for its safety.
He cared about his clan – especially since he was possibly the last survivor, hence his highest priority right now was to prevent the extinction of his legacy no matter what.
He also cared about his friends – Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, Suigetsu, Jugo, Karin, Orochimaru. These seven persons were the only few people remaining alive who he truly felt bonded with, aside from...
Hinata. Of course, he cared about her a lot by now, there was no denying it. Actually, he was anything but a delusional person, so he figured long ago what their relationship was slowly leading them into. After all, he was a young, healthy man, and she was a young, healthy woman, and both of them were far from being so shy to not be able to admit it, at least to themselves. It was especially notable with her, seeing how much the girl opened to him in those five months of their journey, revealing to both him and herself some things which always were suppressed by her family until now. And after everything they went through, by no means he considered Hinata a friend...
No, that sounded wrong. She was more than a friend. And by the way the Hyūga girl looked at him when she thought he wasn't seeing her, by the way she visibly felt around him, by how open and honest she was with him and only with him... the Uchiha knew that she had no delusions on the matter, either. Especially after that celebration of her birthday months ago, when both of them realized quite a few things...
Yet still, neither of them wanted to cross the dangerous line, both for their own reasons, though he could only guess which were hers while silently thanking the girl for not pushing anything.
His problem was rather easy to explain. Sasuke knew that he could never be her... boyfriend, or husband, or whatever else they called it. He just wasn't the type of person to simply settle down, to live a measured life, doing some boring paper job in Konoha like his father always did... to raise children without doing anything significant. Without using the power that was gifted to him for the purpose he still didn't grasp.
Without searching for the answers.
And if he took that course of action now, if he crossed that line between the two of them, it would be inevitable, sooner or later – probably sooner, because they weren't getting younger with time passing, and he needed to produce an heir, or better a few of them.
But this girl was special. He couldn't simply impregnate her in order to give a start to his clan's revival and leave to travel afterwards. She deserved a much better fate.
That's why he had to do it with someone else at some point, there was no other choice. Which would most likely break her heart should they become something more than they were at the moment.
That's why he deliberately pushed her away over and over again ever since that night when it seemed to him that both of them realized something about their mutual feelings, ignoring the apparent frustration that was apparently growing in her more and more every day.
On the other hand, she traveled with him up to that point, and not even once Hinata displayed a slightest sign of displeasure, of wanting to stop.
In fact, he doubted that she wanted to ever come back to Konoha for good – even in this they were much alike, and if only he didn't need to revive his clan... they could go on with their adventures for the rest of their lives.
That was a dead end, without a doubt. He couldn't let it go any further, yet still he also couldn't get away from it. The Uchiha knew that he couldn't bring himself to push her away in the same manner Itachi did to him, making Sasuke hate his beloved older brother. Such thought crossed his mind a few times, but he quickly brushed it away – after all, Itachi himself admitted that it was a wrong idea that nearly failed everything in the end.
There was no solution to this dilemma, no matter how hard he tried to come up with something.
So, the only thing he really could do for now was to stall, carefully avoiding any sexual interaction with the Hyūga. It wasn't easy though, especially since they spent nearly all their time together, usually even staying in the same room for the night whenever they stopped somewhere – sometimes it seemed to him that she tried to provoke him, willingly or not, dressing something... revealing when they were alone. Hugging him too tightly when she had an opportunity to do so. Trying to make him jealous sometimes... although he wasn't sure if it was her, or rather his own imagination and feelings.
At that point, nothing was clear, and Hinata, whatever was going on inside her beautiful head, didn't help at all.
"Will you stop moaning like a brat, or should I knock you out to loosen your pain...?" The said black haired girl growled in irritation for the fifth time within half an hour, making the Uchiha slightly flinch, being torn out of his thoughts like this.
Without turning his head, Sasuke could almost see the sly smirk on Jun's face.
"I'm not moaning of pain, sweetie... it's because of what your fingers do to me... ow-w!" He cried the instant the strong sound of a sonorous smack reached the Uchiha's ears. "Anything but my head...!"
"Why are you so concerned about it? It's absolutely empty anyway..."
"Well, apparently Sasuke-sama doesn't think so..."
The Uchiha winced at the trace of apparent mocking in the man's voice and slightly turned his head.
"Quiet. Someone might hear your lovely chatting. You're being too loud and emotional."
Hinata sighed, making another stitch on Jun's abdomen and angrily glaring at Sasuke.
"It would've been much easier if you simply put him under a genjutsu..."
"I can't do it here, and you know it. We'll be spotted if we use anything that takes chakra. Now finish the job – the sooner you're done with him, the sooner we can go back to our hideout."
The girl rolled her eyes, turning back to her 'patient'.
"Can't wait to get rid of this perverted freak... one day, you'll pay for what you made me go through today, Sasuke..."
"Woah-woah-woah, wait, sweetie... how am I perverted? Last time I checked, it was you the one who was trying to literally rape me, and besides... ow-w-w! Wait, wait! Stop it, please!" He begged, clumsily dodging another slap. "I got it, got it! But still, didn't Sasuke-sama say something about a spot for me? If my memories do not fail me, we'll be seeing each other quite often for the next few months, swee... okay, okay, I shut up! Just don't kill me!"
The Uchiha barely was able to hold his own laughter as he saw Hinata's infuriated expression. It was a rare occasion to see her so angry and furious, and, truth to be told, Sasuke enjoyed watching it when she was so passionate. It was so... unlike her. And also so...
Arousing...?
He tried to get rid of the images that flooded his mind for a moment – images of Hinata wearing the remains of the dress that Jun had torn apart when they entered the room, coming close to him and...
He quickly shook his head.
This was getting worse and worse with each day passing.
"He's right, Hinata..." Sasuke quietly muttered, turning away again. "He's going to be a member of Akatsuki. You heard his terms – we grant him a spot, or he doesn't help us. It's not that big of a deal, honestly. You're not even teamed with him, so act more appropriate for your superior position now."
For a split second, he could swear that she murmured something that sounded quite similar to 'superior position, my ass...', but the Uchiha decided to stick to the belief that he didn't manage to spoil her that much just yet.
"There you go. You are finished. Now we can finally leave. Sasuke... are we going?" She asked a few minutes later after finishing working on the man's wound, the final part being his own healing jutsu which every jōnin level shinobi could perform.
"Yeah..." the Uchiha nodded, finally stepping away from the window. "Gather our stuff, we'll be moving out in a minute. Jun." The injured man met the piercing gaze of Sasuke's only visible black eye, and his goofy expression instantly shifted to a serious one. "I just want to make sure that we understood each other correctly. Within the next few weeks, your job is to spread the rumor about the return of the local god as vastly as possible. I expect everyone in the village to hear about it at least once. I understand we're having quite a few people to talk to now, but once we're done for tonight, me and Hinata will lay low for a while. You'll be acting alone, on your own, without any guidance."
Jun nodded, slowly getting up to sit on his bed.
"Ye, ye, that's right... I assure you, once we sow the doubt and disbelief in the current government among our people, it will be fairly easy to overthrow the leader... or should I say 'the former leader'?" He smirked, stretching his arms. "Anyway, I've been thinking..."
Sasuke suddenly frowned and focused his attention. Was this man finally going to do something helpful on his own, without being forced...?
"Basically... I think I know the best way to convince everyone once the information is spread." He looked Sasuke in the eye again, being absolutely serious for once. "I'm not sure if you know it or not, but one of the reasons people considered Pain a god was the fact that during his reign, the weather... it was always raining here. The rain nearly never stopped until he died. They think it's a miracle, a god's whim... but we both know that it's merely a jutsu. If you can do the same trick with your left eye, well... it will be a piece of cake. But I don't know how can you pull it, being unable to use ninjutsu within the village..."
The Uchiha blinked before giving the bearded man a grin. He had a point... and perhaps he was going to be an asset for them, after all. Not a mere tool...
"Fine, I'll take care of it. Just be sure to do your own job. You know what's to happen if you betray us."
Jun rolled his eyes, getting up, putting a dirty shirt on and grabbing a bottle of some spirit drink from his table to lessen the pain.
"Yea, I know you'll destroy the whole village if I do so. I'm not stupid, you know – I'm aware of who you are and what you're capable of, so it wouldn't be wise of me to try something like that. Besides, we're in the same boat, really. I share your goals, and even the upcoming annexation of this country by Konoha doesn't really bother me as long as we're not gonna be slaves. It can't be worse here than it is now, and I can't change anything on my own anyway, so... whatever you do is good, I guess."
Sasuke nodded and stepped towards the exit, seeing as Hinata was already waiting for them near the door, fully dressed and hooded.
"I hope you're telling the truth, for your own good. Now, let's go to your friend."
The three of them went out of Jun's house onto the empty and calm night street, each with their own thoughts.
It was a weird night for Hanabi. Probably the weirdest one she had so far in her life.
First, Hiashi summoned her to tell the kunoichi that she was being put under direct command of the Hokage now. It didn't take her more than a second to realize that it meant she was an ANBU from now on – but such things usually weren't openly announced in their clan, since they didn't accept such orders gladly due to how prideful and independent Hyūga usually were. There was only one clan member aside from her in the ANBU at the moment, and he was Hiashi's spy. Did it mean that her father expected her to do the same now? Was this why he seemed quite enthusiastic to tell her the news?
"It's an honor, father." It truly was – after all, not every thirteen years old kunoichi achieved such position in such short time after graduating. It was acknowledgement of her talent.
"And I'm very proud of you, daughter. Now we'll finally be able to move on with securing our clan's safety and well-being."
So she was a part of his plans indeed. What a surprise...
"What do I need to do, father?" She asked calmly with indifference in her voice, just like she always did.
"I will reveal an S-rank secret to you now. It will concern your upcoming mission I'm about to give you. By no means you are to reveal it to anyone else without my direct permission – if you do, the punishment for such treachery will be death. Is it clear?"
"Yes, father." Her face didn't give away any emotions, although the girl really wanted to stab the man right away, now that she had a perfect chance to do so when he obviously totally wasn't expecting it. He didn't care about his children one bit, did he...?
"Your sister is alive."
Hanabi gasped in surprise, more because the girl didn't expect him to know it and not for the reason he assumed she did.
"I... don't know what to say."
"You don't need to say anything. As her father, it is my duty to deal with her. But she's still a rogue kunoichi, and I want you to do something concerning this matter while you work under the Hokage. " The man narrowed his eyes, scratching his chin. "I... suspect that the Sixth knows something about her whereabouts. If this is true, then he's likely providing her the cover while lying to us. Trying to fool our clan. That would be unacceptable. And if this... assumption comes true, considering all the other controversies between our clan and the village, we'll have no other choice but to start a rebellion. That's why your mission is extremely important. Our destiny will depend on your success. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I do." It seemed that she managed to not raise any suspicions, since the man sighed with apparent relief, turning away.
"Very good. Now go to the Sixth's office, he's summoning you."
"Yes, father."
The girl then quickly moved towards the Hokage's residence, hurried to tell Kakashi-sama what she's just found out.
"Is that so?" The masked shinobi mused, scratching his nape and putting his pen down to the table. "I guess we're very lucky that he trusts you so much to assign you to such mission. Otherwise we could be in big trouble right now. Good job, Hanabi."
"But he knows, Sixth-sama! How on earth can he know?!" She blurted, clenching her teeth and cursing herself for the impatience and boorishness.
"That..." Hatake got up from his desk and came close to the window, looking thoughtfully upon the street filled with bustling people. "Is a very good question. And your first mission as an ANBU will be to find it out. I haven't received any word from Sasuke ever since our last conversation over three months ago – we decided that it would be better to stop any communication considering that they needed to get used to being isolated from Konoha. They must've been spotted by someone from your clan, I suppose... but in this case, they either didn't do anything but informed Hiashi, or they could have attacked him and Hinata. In this case, knowing Sasuke, he most likely did put them under a genjutsu and let them go back, but we need more intel to be able to act accordingly. Once you find out how does he know that, there will be an S-rank mission for you... so, considering your age, I'm going to ask you: are you sure you'll be able to handle it?"
Hanabi quickly nodded, holding the ironic smirk. Even Hokage cared about her much more than her own father.
"Of course, Hokage-sama. Have no doubt."
She could see the man smile behind his mask.
"Very good. I will give you the instructions once you finish your current task. You'll also receive your uniform tomorrow in the morning. Dismissed."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" She jumped out of the opened window and already stormed back towards her clan's compound when the young kunoichi noticed some weird, nasty chakra in one of the narrow lanes to her left. Deciding to check it out, Hanabi activated her Byakugan and quickly moved to the location.
There were two men – one of them was high, pale, with long, silky black hair and yellow eyes that looked like those of a snake. And the other one was a bit shorter, white haired, his eyes were violet and his teeth looked... strange. Disturbing even. He also carried a huge sword behind his back, and both of them were wearing similar dark gray cloaks.
Hanabi easily recognized the first one, but the other man was a stranger to her. Yet still, considering who the black haired one was, his companion wasn't to be underestimated.
Jumping out in front of them, the girl took a standard stance for jūken.
"Don't move, Orochimaru the Sannin. You're under arrest!"
The said man laughed, and the other one raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Is this some kind of a joke...? Go back to your mommy, midget, or..." He wasn't able to finish his sentence – she hit a few vital tenketsu on his neck and chest, and, to her surprise, the man suddenly fell down, turning into a puddle of water.
"Now, now, you don't have to be rude, Hyūga-san... it must be a misunderstanding. We mean no harm – actually, the two of us were invited for the private audience with the Hokage, and, as you could've noticed, we were heading just to his office before you... intercepted." He smirked, clearly not taking the girl serious, yet still being quite polite. A shinobi like him had no reason to be polite with someone like her if he was plotting something dangerous, right...?
The puddle began boiling as the water reformed itself into the white haired man who now looked a bit embarrassed, yet still he suddenly became curious as if he noticed something interesting in her.
"Orochimaru-sama... this girl looks quite similar to the one who Sasuke brought to us back then, don't you think so?"
Sasuke...?
The sannin smirked, nodding.
"Yes, the resemblance is unmistakable... you are Hiashi's younger daughter, right?" He asked, yet again unbelievingly friendly and gently.
"I am... wait. What did you mean by saying 'similar to the one who Sasuke...' brought to you? Sasuke brought Hinata to you?!"
Orochimaru smirked.
"O-oh... I suppose you are the one Kakashi-kun mentioned to be his agent within the Hyūga clan... the irony. Considering your age, you remind me of a certain person now... I can only wish you don't repeat his destiny."
"What are you talking about?" She asked incredulously, still not lowering her defenses just in case but not really expecting them to attack her anymore.
He giggled annoyingly, striding forward and passing Hanabi by.
"I'm not the one to tell this story. Perhaps you should ask your sister one day? I'm sure Sasuke already told her... anyway, we need to meet Kakashi-kun. It wouldn't be polite to make him wait any longer, would it? So good, Hyūga-san."
"Yeah... see ya." The second man added, quickly following Orochimaru and giving the girl one last curious glance.
Following their backs with her dōjutsu, Hanabi stood there for good five minutes, trying to comprehend the information she's just received and to decide what to do with it.
If Sasuke brought Hinata to Orochimaru, and she was still with him, then it probably meant that the sannin was... sort of on Konoha's side, right? Then he probably didn't lie to her about the invitation from Kakashi-sama. And in this case... she had nothing to do with this. Hokage-sama was a wise man, and he obviously wasn't obliged to notify her of every detail of his plans.
After all, she was just a loyal kunoichi of Konoha.
She slowly walked back onto the street, crossing her hands on her still flat, to the girl's displease, chest.
What a weird night. And who was that man he compared her with anyway...?
Two weeks have passed since that night when they made Jun a part of their plans and met his friend – the gray haired barman named Mutsumi. Back then, Sasuke was pretty sure that it went perfectly fine – after all, when the Uchiha had shown the old man his Rinnegan, it seemed like he nearly had a heart attack, seeing the 'reincarnation' of their so-called 'god'.
But, fortunately enough, after some talking later, the barman turned to be a wise and cunning man – after Jun explained their plan to him, he dropped the mask of a bigot and after that point, their conversation became very rational and constructive. It turned that he even had recognized Hinata as a Hyūga back when she was trying to lure Jun to their trap - after all, Byakugan wasn't a common thing in Amegakure.
Basically, Mutsumi realized that it wasn't really an offering – more like an opportunity. If they refused to cooperate, Amegakure would probably simply get demolished, and considering them having pretty high chances to die in action, it would most likely be the end of the story.
What neither him or Jun realized was that they actually fell for Sasuke's gamble – he never told them that should they refuse, another world war would begin, and Konoha itself would most likely be destroyed in this case, which, of course, was unacceptable.
So, basically, to them it was pretty simple – the Land of Fire wanted and could take over, and it was going to happen regardless of their decision. The only real choice they had was between being either killed or enslaved, and getting high benefits of serving the obviously winning side of this operation.
And, of course, just as Sasuke planned, their choice here was very predictable. Neither of them was a follower of the local ideology, but at the same time, both were very pragmatic, although Jun seemed to have more on his mind than he revealed to them.
Yet still, right now the Uchiha felt nervous, which was pretty unusual for him. Perhaps it was the frustration of waiting, since he and Hinata were basically completely isolated, hiding inside the abandoned apartment in the most poor district of Amegakure, barely going out of their room for two weeks straight by that moment... and, of course, since they couldn't risk being discovered until the right moment, they didn't receive any news from Jun or Mutsumi, and the scheduled day of executing their plan was still another week away.
Seven more days of silent torture and blind waiting...
He and Hinata nearly didn't talk at all ever since that day. They couldn't train, since the usage of chakra was forbidden, and apparently she was still hurt by what he forced her to do with Jun back then – especially since he decided to not discuss it when they came back to their temporary residence that night. So she was mostly ignoring him.
Not ignoring as in not replying to him and behaving like he wasn't there at all, but the girl never started a conversation on her own, and her replies to his rare routine questions were very short and cold. And he himself didn't want to burst that bubble of emotions that was growing more and more the longer they went on with that tension between the two of them. After all, any real conflict right now would put the whole plan at huge risk.
At least he managed to come up with an idea of how to start the rain Jun was talking about.
It was pretty tricky, but he had to give it a shot, since they decided that there was no better way of supporting the spreading rumors.
Each night, there was a huge burst of chakra inside the Tower where the current leader of the village resided. What they did there was a mystery to the Konoha ninjas, yet still, with the power of her eyes Hinata was able to estimate the magnitude of those bursts, and according to her conclusion, it was enough to cover any average chakra activity within the area around the Tower for a short time – from five to ten seconds.
So now he was going to head to the highest available building in that area, the one that was nearly as high as the Tower itself, which would be perfect as it was going to allow him to shorten the distance between him and the clouds without using any serious jutsu, and, if he managed to get onto it's roof undetected, the only thing he would have left to do would be using Deva Path to affect the clouds up in the sky in a certain way.
And although it sounded easy enough for a shinobi of his caliber, since he wasn't allowed to use chakra at all until he got there, that was by no means a trivial task, mostly because of the lack of intel concerning the route.
The Uchiha took the hood of his cloak on and turned his head to Hinata who was sitting on her bed for three times straight by now, reading some boring book she found on the shelving in their room.
"It's time. Are you going?" He asked, keeping deadpan expression.
The girl slowly raised her head, meeting his calm gaze.
"If you need me there, just order me to go." Apparently she decided to switch back to her submissive behavior, trying to make it seem as if she was a mere tool of his.
Just like she did when they were in the very beginning.
Silence fell upon the room, and after what seemed like a minute of peering in her blank, white eyes, the Uchiha sighed, slightly shaking his head.
"I'm not going to order you anything. If you don't wanna follow, suit yourself. I can make it on my own."
Without waiting for her reaction, he went out of their apartment, quietly closing the door behind his back and breathing the cold, refreshing air of the night. Looking around, he was trying to focus on the task he had to complete instead of his odd relationship with his student.
Truth to be told, he always felt mesmerized by the atmosphere of this village. It felt so different from Konoha that always was so warm and friendly... even without the rainy weather, the blind, dark windows of high, gray buildings, each made of the same gray, boring stone and rusty metal, without any sign of vegetation around felt so... calming. It was weird, but the Uchiha felt pretty comfortable while he was walking across the empty, nearly dead streets – another good, and, at the same time, bad side of Amegakure. People here always were either at work or home during nighttime, so he was completely alone there – exactly as he usually preferred, for Sasuke always disliked noisy places and crowds.
The opposite side of the coin there was that should a shinobi patrol spot him, he would have to take them down, and the Uchiha could only hope that they were no good, since his only weapons against them would be taijutsu and kenjutsu, which would most likely mean that a group of strong jōnin had pretty high chances if not to defeat him, but at least to alert the forces of the village for sure, and that would be unacceptable.
Carefully sneaking in between tight lanes, the raven haired shinobi tried to move without making any sounds while at the same time listening to any signs of the upcoming hostiles. It was a strong relief to him – finally there was some action. Yet another confirmation of his recent conclusion – living in a village and sitting either home or in an office certainly wasn't his thing. Not his at all.
Sitting in one room for two weeks without being able to move or do anything truly made him sick. Perhaps Hinata was mad about it, too? And not about his attitude...?
Silently cursing and trying to get rid of these thoughts again, he suddenly stopped, holding his breath. There was a patrol just few yards away from him behind the corner of the building he was currently walking nearby. Leaning against the wall, the Uchiha nearly stopped breathing at all. Right now, he almost prayed for them to not notice him... it would be so unfortunate, considering how close he already was to his destination...
But apparently they didn't expect to notice anything suspicious there, too absorbed by their quiet discussion of something.
Excellent.
Giving them a few minutes to move out of dangerous range, Sasuke stormed towards the iron fencing that restricted anyone from coming to the territory of the factory – apparently the high building he was heading to was a part of it. It was barely guarded by anybody aside from a few civilians who were probably sleeping in a small shack near the official entrance – people of Amegakure were too submissive and too frightened to try to enter without permission.
Of course, they couldn't imagine some foreign S-class shinobi infiltrate the civilian building one night... and what could he possibly need here anyway?
Sighing at the nonchalance of the local police force, he jumped over the fencing and rapidly snuck through the shadows to the main door of the industrial building, opening it – of course, there was no lock at all.
There was a night shift, obviously, but it seemed almost as if people couldn't care less what was happening outside of their workplaces – he could just sit there on the ladder that led to the roof and get drunk, and nobody would notice him. Did they truly believe in their system that much? How could everybody there be so brainwashed...? Or rather... intimidated?
No matter. Things were about to change. He was the one to help them open their eyes and see the truth. But first, he needed to help Jun destroy this system from the inside. By becoming it's head, for instance.
Sasuke stopped on the twenty first floor, coming closer to the window and glaring at the Tower. They were there right now, performing some weird rituals, according to Jun... trying to maintain the control over that mysterious weapon their leader believed to be his trump card. What could it possibly be? Some engineering? Or perhaps an artifact...? And the leader himself...
They considered an option to simply storm in and take the man and his fellows down, but that could cause a civil war in this country, since people would see them as nothing but usurpers or even worse – intruders. Yet still it was so tempting to use his Susanō at the moment, to fly in there, kill that bunch of bigots and take the village over by brute force alone, like he would've made it before. Old times, old times...
Fortunately he was smarter than that now.
Trying to make haste in order to not miss the chakra burst coming out of the tower, he jumped across the next few staircases, and then the Uchiha suddenly stumbled upon the locked door to the roof. It was ridiculous – why would they possibly need to lock it? To prevent the employers from coming upstairs to enjoy the beautiful view...?
Breaking the poorly made lock, he stepped onto the creaking rooftop, coming close to the edge and sitting down. The Tower appeared nearly lifeless from his current spot, which was no wonder since there were only seven people inside right now, including Jun – considering the size of the massive construction, it could be called empty.
All he could do now was to wait. And meanwhile, he had some time to think on his next move. His... since when he began excluding Hinata from his plans, though? But seeing how passive she became recently... perhaps she was finally tired from him? And now he could send her back to Konoha, or wherever she wanted to go? This would actually solve his little problem with the slowly, yet imminently emerging feelings towards the rogue Hyūga. He would be alone again... just like he was now, sitting there and ignoring the piercing cold wind that was waving his hair, making the Rinnegan eye perfectly visible. Not like there was anybody to see it, of course...
After half an hour of waiting, deep in his depressing thoughts, he suddenly flinched, hearing the sound of quiet rustling behind his back. Even without turning around to check it, he already knew that someone opened the door... damn it. Of course... he forgot to put the broken lock back onto it's place.
He was getting rusty himself with all that power he possessed, forgetting how to deal with the stealth missions accordingly...
Slowly getting up, he turned around to face the three masked shinobi who were focused on him, yet none of them dared to make the first approach.
They probably noticed his left eye... nice.
"Can I help you?" He asked in slightly mocking tone, fighting the urge to charge at them right away. He couldn't allow himself to succumb to panic – there could me more of them on the lower levels and outside of the building in case they were tracing him from the very beginning.
And if they did... it was possible that they have already caught Hinata.
No. She wouldn't simply give up and let them capture her. And if she initiated a fight, which she most definitely would, the girl would also be forced to use chakra – even her new kekkei genkai required it to decrease the backlash. And in this case, there was no chance in hell he would be their target at the moment. Which most likely meant this was the only group after him right now... or not.
He couldn't put anything at risk. Not when everything depended on his success right now... Hinata, Naruto, Konoha, the whole world...
"Who the hell are you?" Asked the one who stood between the other two – their leader, as the Uchiha presumed. A kunoichi, not a kid, judging by the height.
And then the sudden idea came to him.
"I'm the god." He simply said, and just in time to support his words, another swirl of wind made his Rinnegan clearly visible to them.
"No way...! So... the rumors are true...?" Whispered the other shinobi.
"Silence, Toshiro! This is an intruder!" Roared their leader while Sasuke continued watching them with indifference, not uttering a word.
"How can you say so, Yui-sama?! Did you see his eye?!" The third one yelled, pointing at the Uchiha and stepping back. "It's true! The god's returned!"
"I told you to shut up and do what I tell you to do! He's not our leader, and we must obey the orders we received! Seize him! Now!"
"The ****?! You want me to attack the god himself?! I'm out of this shit, you stupid *****! Kami-sama, please!" One of the shinobi fell to his knees and lowered his head. "I'm at your service! Please, spare me from your wrath! I knew the current leader's not you, and I always believed you were going to return! And here you are now, in flesh! I... I won't follow her orders anymore! My life is yours and only yours to take... I... I..." He suddenly took a kunai and slashed his own throat, falling down, coughing with blood, his face expressing nothing but pure bliss.
The Uchiha found himself nearly shaking as he saw the man's eyes which he couldn't take off his newfound god – even in his death, the mind of this shinobi was desperately clinging to the idea of praising someone powerful... this was truly scary. How could someone be so blind and so bigoted...? To give his life... for nothing? Just like that? And to think that there was the whole settlement of people like him...
This was much more frightening to him than Kaguya. He needed to do something about them. To open their eyes. To make them see the world outside of this hell of a country.
He couldn't take them as tools which were going to serve his plans anymore. Not after this.
And the kunoichi leading the other two seemed nearly as shocked as he was, yet still she managed to collect herself, yelling:
"What are you waiting for, Toshiro, you mongrel! Go get him!"
"Y-yes!" The man charged at Sasuke, and the Uchiha carefully blocked the weak attack – apparently this one did what he was told to do only out of fear.
"Please, kill me..." Toshiro suddenly whispered, desperation clearly readable in his eyes. "I want the god to take my life, not that crazy *****..."
He couldn't handle it anymore. But he had to... or did he?
And then he felt it. The huge burst of chakra coming out of the Tower, covering the space around them completely.
The time is now...! But what to do with these two...?
The questioned answered itself before Sasuke could make a decision – the woman suddenly gasped the same moment he saw her being knocked out by a long, sharp piece of armature.
He smiled. Just in time...
Looking up, the Uchiha quickly used his left eye's power as he glanced at the clouds above his head – they quickly shifted their shape as soon as he did so, covering the stars and the moon completely.
"I though you would need some help when I saw these three following you... but I can see you're doing alright on your own. Just like you always did, right...?" Hinata stepped away from the kunoichi's lifeless body, dropping the improvised weapon and coming closer to the man who was now shaking in fear and awe, standing before Sasuke on his knees.
"Yeah... I'm fine, thank you. I was about to use Amenotejikara to kill her - you spared me a whole second. Good job." He smirked as she snorted, rolling her eyes. "What about the last one?" She asked, coming closer and taking a kunai out of her holster.
"He will serve our goals just right... listen, you. Toshiro, right?" The man quickly nodded, still afraid to close his eyes and not noticing his month being wide opened.
Sasuke ducked and looked the shinobi in the eyes.
"The god has a mission for you."
"A mission...?" The man mumbled stupidly – he clearly didn't see that coming.
"Yeah, a misson... I want you to go home now, and the next morning, come to your superiors and tell everyone that this woman killed your fellow here, and was punished by the god for doing so. Then, announce my return. They will probably decide that you're insane and imprison you, since there is nobody to confirm your words, but don't worry. I'll set you free shortly. And then..." Sasuke got up, glancing down at the now incredibly excited and awed shinobi. "I'll show all of you the truth. Go now, Toshiro. Don't fail me."
"I won't, kami-sama! I'll do as you say! I swear! Thank you, thank you so much! I knew, I knew it! I'm the chosen one!" He jumped up and ran towards the door, not even caring to look at Hinata who silently followed the man's back with her wide open white eyes, apparently too shocked by what she's just witnessed
"What... was that?" She finally mumbled, turning her head to Sasuke.
A rain drop fell on his nose.
"Not much... apparently Jun wasn't lying when he said that they all are brainwashed."
"I guess he wasn't... that was quite something."
"Yeah, it was."
They silently looked in each other's eyes, not saying anything as the rain started, quickly making both of them completely wet. But they didn't seem to mind, too absorbed by what was going on inside their heads. Nobody seemed to want to break the oppressing, yet somewhat peaceful silence... and they didn't notice the kunoichi's body disappear, bursting in a cloud of smoke in the way they could find familiar if they payed attention.
Hinata suddenly lowered her eyes the way she always did in the first month of their journey, to avoid his piercing gaze.
"Why?" She quietly uttered. He couldn't hear it, but the movement of her lips was perfectly readable with his Rinnegan.
"Why what?" He asked bluntly, not moving his eyes away from the soaked girl who suddenly didn't look like a dangerous kunoichi she was at all.
"You know what. I want to know why. What's wrong?"
Of course he knew. But he couldn't show it. Because he didn't know if he would be able to withstand the temptation if he did...
"You know better. You were avoiding me for the last two weeks."
"And you don't understand why?" She asked a bit louder, still refusing to look him in the eyes again.
Was this really inevitable, after all...?
"No, I don't." He snapped after a short pause.
The girl gave him a weak smile, slightly shaking her head.
"You're such a liar, Uchiha Sasuke."
She was right, of course. That he was. But he never promised to be honest with her to begin with, or did he...?
"You know I never do anything without a reason." He finally said, and for a second he felt like his voice was about to break.
"A reason...?" She finally stepped towards him, clenching her fists. "For what damned reason you're pushing me away?! For what damned reason you forced me to kiss that filth?! For what freaking reason you act as if you're a complete idiot who doesn't notice anything around him?! Am I not good enough for you?! After everything we went through, you decided to humiliate me like this... just because I want to be closer to you?! This is your revenge, huh? Figured as much! And here I started to forget that you're almighty avenger! Are you happy now?!" She cried, covering her face with her shaking palms. "How can you be so cruel...?" Hinata nearly whispered.
"I do what I must." He suddenly snapped, turning his head away and looking at the Tower again. This was probably as hard to him as his last fight with Naruto... no, even harder than that. At least back then he was fighting, not trying to break the bond with his closest person alive with words alone.
"And what is it you must do?" The girl asked, her tone suddenly becoming strong and full of resolve. She was looking at him now, and this time he couldn't find the strength to face her. How did he manage to miss the moment when he began losing this battle...?
"You know it all. I need to serve Konoha. The world. I need to revive my clan."
"So what? What does it have to do with us?"
Her answer shocked and confused the Uchiha, making him look at her with disbelief.
"You really don't understand it?"
"No. I don't. Please, enlighten me."
He growled in anger. This girl was impossible... now she was playing the stupid one there?! This trick wasn't going to work on him.
"Alright, I will. Do you understand that I'll never be able to do it with you?! If I do, you won't ever become my wife, I won't be able to raise our children, and we'll eventually be separated, probably forever."
"And?"
Sasuke gasped. He literally couldn't believe his ears. Was this really Hinata, or some weird genjutsu? Or perhaps a dream...? No, the downpour felt too real...
"And...? Are you serious?! Are you fine with such fate?!"
"I am."
"Why?!" He came close enough to her to feel the girl's calm breath. "How can you be so blind and stupid?! How can anybody agree to such life?!"
And then she smirked sadly, meeting his angered eyes.
"You still haven't realized it, have you? And you call me stupid..."
She wrapped her slender, shaking hands around him and pulled the Uchiha even closer to whisper in his ear:
"I told you once before... you saved me from a fate much worse than death. You made me the person I am now, and you showed me what does it mean to live. You are everything to me, Sasuke. I have nobody else in my life. I would gladly die for you if I had to. And no matter what you decide to do in future..." She slightly pulled away from the boy to look in his lost eyes and smiled. "I will always love you."
Lightning pierced the leaden clouds, and the shadow of the two kissing teens fell upon the Tower for a split second.
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