Sasuke's POV (Irminsul Wildlands - Northern Mountains)
Much of Sasuke's early life had been spent studying and training. The collapse of his clan had surely negatively impacted his childhood, yet Sasuke had never truly paid it mind. It had been clear to him even as a young child that his life was not his own to live. Yet to his frustration it had been wasted. He had been told tales of Itachi and Shisui even as mere boys taken on more experience and danger than Sasuke had in his whole life. Training relentlessly but with no true way to measure his growth. Until the Chunin Exams where Sasuke had seen where he was. It was something Sasuke had hated even as a young child. How could he redeem the Uchiha without facing the highest of challenges available? The Exams had been his forte, and Neji had proven to be a worthy opponent, one Sasuke knew he would have to be wary of in the future should he face him again. Fuu had somehow been an even more significant challenge that Sasuke had to admit… he had been lucky to beat.
In merely a short while, Sasuke had gone from never being truly challenged to feeling inferior. The Hyuga had often been the rivals of the Uchiha, surpassing them during their fall. To nearly lose to one had been shameful enough; to be outmatched by a foolish girl had been more than Sasuke thought he could bear. Fuu had been stronger than him, nearly able to match his speed, able to almost kill him in a few simple blows; if she had been as cunning as she was powerful, she would've surely defeated him. Even worse, his victory had been somewhat hollow; Fuu had gotten up from his most decisive blow seemingly undamaged. Falling after but only due to her using the remainder of her chakra to tank it. Had that been a real battle, Fuu would have slain the exhausted Sasuke. It had been humbling; Sasuke had much further to go. The Uchiha prodigy was determined never to be so thoroughly stopped again. And yet…
Somehow, mere weasels were testing him…
Sasuke slashed broadly with Besmirched Flambe, cremating two weasels who dived wildly from his right from the inside; with a casual flick of his wrist, a kunai was raised to block the deadly jaws of another weasel; all the while, Sasuke jumped above a fourth weasel to gain some space from his attackers. They were not nearly fast enough to catch him, but quick enough to only give Sasuke a second or two to react. Their fangs were knives more than teeth; the nasty creatures were able to slash and bite with them with shocking freedom, and they proved as lethal and sharp as Muri had warned. Now above the surging snow full of predators, Sasuke glanced at his kunai to see most of it missing. Distinctive teeth marks littered the stub of a kunai. With their numbers being so overwhelming, Sasuke could only do so much as to constantly evade and eke out a counterattack. Especially with his unwanted baggage. Said baggage seemed keen on using him as refuge instead of helping… which only added to his problems. With the tiny creature on him, Sasuke could not risk using Ash Step without losing him. Making this fight much more difficult than he liked. This air time would give the Uchiha much needed reprieve.
"You had transformed into that larger form; I had thought you intended to aid me in combating them," Sasuke spoke; the adrenaline kept him from snapping at the raccoon, though by its nervous chuckle, it still detected his frustration. "I saw you helping Naruto before!"
"Unfortunately, I do not want to be violently consumed by those savage weasels," Muri answered. "I could possibly hit them and even take several out. But I would not be able to dodge the litany of attacks you did. They would've torn me limb from limb. Besides it is your fault, your powerful chakra presence seemed to draw nearly the full might of the primary hunting pack of the snow weasel clan."
"I had figured such a thing out," Sasuke answered. "You were part of Naruto's strategy to beat Gaara; surely you have some sort of combat prowess."
"More of a support role, with Naruto's shared element nature of me, we can achieve a lot with wind nature techniques. However, I merely help control it; all the power comes from him. My physicality would be overwhelmed, and my other techniques are too slow to be truly effective here. Any more activity from me would turn me to a pure burden."
"You already are." Sasuke sniped back. "Can you at least unleash a decently large gust of wind nature chakra?"
"Of course!" Muri sounded off in reply. It's fur sticking up as it seemed offended. It seemed the silly creature was more intelligent than it let on, as it did as he asked instantly, seeming to understand his plan.
Sasuke smirked coldly as he flowed through hand signs for an all too familiar jutsu. "Enemies of the Uchiha shall burn! Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke roared as he shot off a massive orb of flames. The orb flew toward the crowd of weasels seeming to miss most, yet just before it hit the ground it was flooded by the wind chakra blown for Muri's mouth. The wind chakra flowed into the orb and expanded it largely before it burst. The orb exploded into a falling rain of explosive flames. The power of the explosions sent the fiery rain to the ground in a mere instant. Snow instantly evaporated from the heat alone. The massive amount of superheated water it caused caused steam to shoot up into the sky and the dying cries of several weasels could be heard. As the flames burnt out it left only the remains and newly charred circled area free of snow. Among the debris were the badly burnt bodies of at least ten snow weasels. Sasuke and Muri landed, each warily scanning the area around them. It was clear their attack hadn't killed them all, merely forced them to regroup.
Neither was surprised when even more snow weasels burst from the edges of the now bare, burnt ground below. They cried in range as they once again prepared to mob the two.
"You are the most dangerous prey; we could sense your chakra from the moment you arrived. A powerful human would have proven a most enjoyable meal. We were looking forward to feasting on humans again and a special one at that. We would've ensured your death would be painless. And use each and every part of your body. It would've been a good death…" The leader of the remaining weasels lectured the two. "However, you have slain several of my subjects. As leader of the Bloodthirster clan, I cannot forgive this; we will now violently feed upon you. Ensuring your death is slow and agonizing as my brethren eat their share. We will dine on your organs, leaving the undesirable leftovers for the scavengers!"
"I defended myself; if you didn't wish to lose your comrades, you should've never challenged a Uchiha. Did you think I would silently die? The struggle of life and death is as natural as the relationship of prey and predator." Sasuke countered.
"It's the leader of the Snow Weasel Clan," Muri whispered to Sasuke. "He's not bluffing when he says they will endlessly attempt to get their vengeance."
"Is he strong?" Sasuke asked as he watched the mob of murderous mammals circle around them. It seemed the beast were hesitant now that they knew the two of them could conjure firestorms.
"Not particularly. The Snow Weasel Clan relies on their speed and numbers to overwhelm prey. However, there are doubtless many more that hide away from our vision. We should consider retreating. They will eventually try to mob us all at once, and they will succeed." Muri warned.
"I will not retreat, nor will they succeed." Sasuke countered instantly. "If you can remove yourself, I should be able to handle them in short order. Can you turn into a form that can fly or escape their wrath in some other way?"
"I could, but I refuse! Naruto would be incensed if you perished while in my company, especially if I merely scurried away. The Okama clan does not tolerate cowards either! We shall face them together!"
"I will not die and frankly feel insulted that you suggested such. I will show these creatures what I plan to show everyone and everything else. The Uchiha are alive and well and are nothing to be trifled with." Sasuke promised. Then, without warning, he grabbed Muri from his shoulders and whipped him into the sky. Muri, reacting instinctively, turned into a small bird and flies around the clearing in a panic.
'The Uchiha! I need to try to help!' Muri thought as he prepared to dive in; however, he froze when a massive amount of Weasel burst from the snow around the clearing. Having seen the two separated as the opportune moment to try their luck. 'There must be dozens of them… Sasuke Uchiha, it seems I failed you…' "Naruto HELP!" Muri called desperately as he watched as the Uchiha was about to be overwhelmed. Surely the pure mass of murderous creatures would crush him if nothing else.
'There are quite a few, more than I had anticipated.' Sasuke thought calmly as he eyed the litany of weasels closing in around him. They had him utterly surrounded, so numerous were they that Sasuke could scarcely see beyond them. 'I had intended to cut them down in a single move, an overwhelming show of force to discourage them. But I cannot strike each down quick enough… Even My Ash Step has its limits… and if I even so much as stumble, my death will shortly follow.'
Sasuke flexed his chakra, spinning his Sharingan as he quickly traced the group with his vision. Each who dared meet his eyes was sent subtle and weak Genjutsu, enough to disorientate. But before he could even progress with the next step of his move, he felt a disturbing realization… they were impervious to Genjutsu! Each one ensnared somehow broke out shortly after!
With a grimace, Sasuke began to Ash Step wildly around his current position. The Weasels slowed their advance, confused by the new speed and randomness being displayed.
'Immune to Genjutsu, teeth that can easily cut through me, and they are nearly as quick as my Ash Step.' Sasuke ranted in his mind. 'How do I win here?! Even with his Sharingan Sasuke could not count the amount around him. If only I could perfect the body flicker, these pests would stand no chance!' It was fortunate indeed the Weasels were perplexed by his movements. If they engaged now it would be only a matter of time. It was desperate stalling but seemed practical for now. 'Shisui said before I was nearly as proficient as him, yet I've always relied on Genjutsu to enhance my Ash Step. In pure speed, I'm nowhere near Shisui. What had his odd sensei warned Sasuke of?'
"You need to relax when using it." Shisui had chided. During one of their many solo training sessions. "You're too restrained and forceful."
"Restrained and forceful?" Sasuke gasped with desperate breaths. "I am moving faster than most people can even process. That requires both great restraint and great force."
"You make a good point there, annoyingly. But my point still stands, that restraint followed by great force you use in your Ash Step is flawed. By doing it like you are, you limit the amount of speed you're capable of. It would help to let your body flow most naturally to cut down on needless movements. Allow your mind to be clear; even a millisecond of distraction will also slow you down. As for force, while it's true you would normally need it, speed is a force of its own. There is no need to pump your muscles or slash your blade to ensure power or speed; you will have both in surplus. Instead, focus on striking each target before you, weaving and flowing around them as you land effortless blows. If done correctly, the speed, strength, durability, and number of opponents won't matter." Shisui had said with his foolish smile.
Sasuke had conflicting thoughts about Shisui, *7* yet there was no denying he was a powerful and useful family member. One who seemed to disagree with his stance, yet was oddly keen on aiding him with it. Sasuke wasn't sure he could trust his sensei fully, but he knew the training was true and reliable… he needed to heed his words, right here and now…
X-X
7.) Several things to note here, while we audience and author know of the fate of Itachi doesn't mean everyone is. The fate of the Uchiha after the failed coup is a mystery to even the shinobi force. Of course Shisui is fully aware of the details, having been tasked by Itachi, his best friend, to keep an eye on Sasuke, he will not be giving those details willingly. Something Sasuke is somewhat aware of and conflicted over. I've been dropping hints here and there but just in case anyone was wondering. Sasuke's progression here will be linked to the conquering of his biggest problem… which I won't just spell out here lol. Just putting this here so you know I'm playing with this topic very intentionally.