A few more days passed. Underground base in the northern Land of Rice Fields.
Sasuke walked into a dim laboratory with an unhurried stride. The floor was scattered with unidentifiable liquids. At the center, a white-haired boy lay still in a nutrient tank.
As Sasuke stepped inside, the white-haired boy seemed to sense him. He opened his violet eyes abruptly and fixed them on Sasuke, then broke into a wide grin, flashing sharp teeth.
He was clearly trying to unsettle whoever had walked in.
"Suigetsu Hozuki, correct?"
Sasuke's expression didn't shift. "You're free."
While Suigetsu was still blinking, Sasuke had already moved to the mechanism securing the tank and opened it, releasing him.
"Well, what a surprise. As a thank-you for letting me out, I'll be generous and not kill you."
Suigetsu stepped out, rolled his joints loose, then grinned.
"Alright, pretty boy, you're not quite as good-looking as me, but still. You'd better run while you can. Once Orochimaru finds out you let me loose, he's going to kill you."
"And what about you?" Sasuke asked.
"Me?" Suigetsu gave him a baffled look and snorted. "I'll obviously be running too. What, you think I'm going to go pick a fight with Orochimaru right now?"
"Not that I'm scared of him, obviously. I just have more important things to deal with. I'll come back and settle accounts with that dead snake later."
"I'm afraid not." Sasuke shook his head, still smiling. "You won't be going anywhere for a while. In exchange for your freedom, you're going to work under me for a period. And as for Orochimaru, don't worry about him. The Hidden Sound is mine now."
Hmm?
Suigetsu's eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous edge coming into his voice. "You want to use me too?"
"Less using, more of a collaboration. Though you can frame it however you like."
For reasons he couldn't quite name, the dismissive tone in Sasuke's voice irritated Suigetsu.
"Move. You smug bastard. Collaboration, using, whatever, I don't have time for your little ninja games..."
"You want to collect the Seven Ninja Swords, don't you?"
Sasuke cut him off. He looked at the somewhat startled Suigetsu and continued. "I can use the Hidden Sound's intelligence network to track down the swords for you. In exchange, you work for me. I'd call that fair."
"Though the Thundersword Kiba, that one you won't be getting."
Suigetsu's brow creased. "What do you mean?"
Sasuke smiled slightly. "Because Raiga Kurosuki died at my hands. Kiba has been reforged into a weapon of my own."
Hmm?
"You actually killed Raiga Kurosuki?"
Suigetsu's expression shifted into genuine disbelief.
It was only after hearing that he finally started looking at this guy in front of him as more than just a slightly less attractive pretty boy.
"Raiga Kurosuki was nothing but a coward and a waste."
After a moment's silence, Suigetsu said. "But if you took him out, I guess that saves me the trouble. Come on then. Let's see what kind of strength you have that lets you kill someone like him."
As he spoke, a sharp, bloodthirsty aura began radiating off Suigetsu.
"Watch yourself. I'm the most gifted ninja in Hidden Mist history. They call me the Second Coming of the Demon. Future legend who'll gather all seven swords. Someone like you..."
A sword drove into Suigetsu's chest before he could finish. A colorless liquid burst from the wound.
"Huh."
Suigetsu stared at the sword in his chest. He hadn't even seen Sasuke move. He hadn't processed a single thing.
When the reality caught up with him, Suigetsu's face went red and he erupted in furious shouting.
"You think that's enough to beat me!? Think again! The Hozuki clan has secret water techniques! Physical attacks against me are completely..."
The sword still lodged in his chest suddenly crackled to life with a sizzling current, cutting him off mid-sentence.
Suigetsu's consciousness blurred, his eyes losing focus, drool slipping from the corner of his mouth.
A few minutes later, as Suigetsu came around, he found himself deeply moved by Sasuke's warm, good-natured smile and his gracious, courteous manner.
He joined Sasuke's team with admirable willingness.
"Here, take a look at this."
Sasuke tossed him a scroll. Suigetsu unrolled it, and his eyes went wide. He let out an ecstatic yelp. "This is a training manual for Kiba's lightning sword techniques!"
"Correct."
Sasuke gave a small nod. The stick had been swung, so the carrot naturally followed.
After the initial excitement faded, Suigetsu let out a long, heavy sigh. "Shame I don't have lightning-natured chakra. Practicing these techniques is going to be brutal. And Kiba itself isn't even around anymore."
The Hozuki clan's secret water technique allowed them to liquefy any part of their body at will. The tradeoff was a deep vulnerability to both lightning and fire release, making both attributes extraordinarily difficult for them to train.
"That's your problem to figure out. I gave you what the agreement called for."
Sasuke turned and left. Suigetsu stood there wrestling with himself for a moment before gritting his teeth and following.
Sasuke led Suigetsu through the base to another room.
Inside a small office, a red-haired girl sat slumped in a chair, thoroughly bored. She had been here for over three months.
When she had first been brought here against her will, there had been some fear.
But it had faded quickly once she realized life here was considerably more comfortable than the Hidden Grass Village. The people here occasionally drew a bit of her blood, and beyond that, left her entirely alone. They fed her well. Treated her well. She had even started to suspect that the man in charge, Orochimaru, was deliberately cultivating her.
"I wonder how you're doing."
Karin murmured softly.
When she had participated in the Chunin Exam in Konoha, all of her teammates had vanished without explanation, and she had nearly lost her life to a bear in the Forest of Death.
Fortunately, a remarkably handsome, effortlessly cool young man had saved her.
Just thinking about him made her chest thud embarrassingly fast, and her distinctive round crimson pupils shifted into something remarkably heart-shaped.
"Ugh."
After a long moment, Karin let out a sigh. He was from Konoha, and she was technically working for Orochimaru.
The next time they crossed paths, they might be enemies.
"Hmm?"
Lost in her quiet dejection, Karin blinked. "That chakra... it's Sasuke..."
Her expression shifted into something bright. Her sensing ability told her that Sasuke, and one other person, were moving toward her location.
Closer. Getting closer.
Karin jumped to her feet and hurried to the door, hand reaching for the handle. Then it stopped.
No. No no no.
She could not do that.
Something seemed to surface in her memory. She sat back down, checked herself in the mirror, straightened her appearance, and pressed the excitement firmly off her face.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in."
Karin kept her voice as level as she could manage.
The door opened. Sasuke and Suigetsu walked in.
"You?" Karin adjusted her glasses and maintained a composed tone. "Why are you here?"
Sasuke glanced at Karin. Her appearance was essentially the same as it had been during the Chunin Exam. She carried the quiet, introspective air of a bookish girl, nothing like the midriff-baring, shorts-wearing look she would take on three years later.
Watching the red-haired girl work to appear calm while her heartbeat betrayed her completely, Sasuke gave a faint smile.
"It's been a while, Karin."
He remembered my name!!!
He smiled at me!!
Karin nearly lost her composure entirely. Her fingers trembled slightly as she adjusted her glasses, covering the expression that had almost slipped out.
"Right, it has been a while, Sasuke. And thank you again for saving me last time."
She said this with practiced politeness.
"What brings you here?"
"Nothing complicated. I came to find you."
Came to find me?
Karin blinked. Before she could process it, Sasuke's voice continued.
"I'm building a team. I need you in it. Orochimaru has already transferred your..."
"Stop explaining. Take me."
The words escaped before Sasuke even finished speaking. Karin had already gotten to her feet.
"Oh..."
Seeing Suigetsu's expression and the thoughtful look on Sasuke's face, Karin flushed and sat back down. She adopted a detached tone. "Since Lord Orochimaru has transferred me to Sasuke's command, I suppose I should follow orders."
"That said, even if Sasuke saved my life, work is work. Some things need to be kept separate."
What she meant was that if she wasn't satisfied with what Sasuke's squad was doing, she reserved the right to request a transfer out.
"That's fine."
Sasuke let out a quiet, amused laugh and nodded.
"What's funny?"
"Something pleasant came to mind."
After a bit more back and forth, Sasuke tossed Karin a scroll as well. Inside were all of the Uzumaki clan's secret sealing techniques recorded in the Scroll of Seals.
The Four Symbols Seal. The Eight Trigrams Seal. The Contract Seal. Even the training method for the Yin Seal.
Aside from the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and the method for releasing it, the Uzumaki clan's sealing arts recorded there were essentially complete.
The three of them continued walking, heading toward another Hidden Sound base in the Land of Rice Fields.
This facility was buried deep in the mountains, in a place with almost no human presence. It was where Orochimaru had conducted his cursed seal experiments, and Jugo, the source of all cursed seal power, was being held here.
The three entered the deepest room of the base. The iron door was pulled open.
A large, powerfully built man with orange hair and orange eyes launched himself at them immediately.
"First one through the door is a man. I guessed right. Die. Die!"
A few minutes later, Sasuke sat in a chair after putting some effort into subduing Jugo, and said calmly. "Are you calm now?"
"You..." Jugo shook his head and studied the boy across from him. "Are you Uchiha Sasuke? The one Kimimaro told me about?"
"I don't know what Kimimaro told you, but I am Uchiha Sasuke."
Jugo was quiet for a long moment. "Then what about Kimimaro? Is he dead?"
"Not yet." Sasuke said it plainly. "If you have questions, ask him yourself."
Jugo's expression shifted with clear interest, though hesitation followed. "If I go out there, I won't be able to control the urge to kill."
"That's fine. If you go out of control, I'll break your legs for you. Don't worry."
Karin and Suigetsu: "..."
Hearing that, Jugo let out a slow breath and said with complete sincerity. "Then I'll be in your care."
___
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