Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto.
Ch- Sarada Uchiha (Part 3)
"On to the next one then" said Hiruzen.
Kakashi nodded gravely. Looking uncharacteristically serious for the moment.
"Play" said Hiruzen.
"Wait…wait, how are you controlling this cube anyway Hokage-sama" said Shikaku.
"Oh" said everyone in surprised. How are they doing this?
'You are asking this to me now' thought Hiruzen sweat dropping.
"Pause" said Hiruzen.
"Ahem…right, this cube is designed to respond to my chakra. I realized some things after spending a year with this. It has a story mode where it shows everything and manual mode where it shows things we want to see the way it is set. I can also change the user of this cube with my permission. This is very convenient actually" said the professor.
'You realized this just in a year' thought everyone actually amazed. He managed to decipher things from a device nobody knows off by himself. That's to be expected of the professor.
"Can we begin now?" asked Kakashi irritably.
'My rival, to see you get so worked up…' thought Gai in worry.
Hiruzen nodded.
Naruto's eyes had an orange pigment around it. As he opened his eyes, one could see the toad like eyeballs.
"So, this is your sage mode" said Jiraiya appraising it.
"It looks pretty cool" said Kiba.
"It's no use…" said Naruto and his eyes turned back to normal.
"They either went really far away, or escaped inside a barrier…I can't sense Sakura chan's chakra at all" said Naruto.
"You are a sensor as well…" said Choji.
"Sage mode allows you do this sort of stuff" said Jiraiya.
"Sarada…" said Cho-Cho in worry as Sasuke's daughter closed her eyes in worry.
"Mom" said Sarada.
Sakura was in father Shin's hideout…she was glaring at Shin who was lying in a bed due to his grievous injuries.
"Don't take your eyes off her" said father Shin towards…all other junior Shin uchiha who were surrounding Sakura with their large tri shuriken blade in their hands.
"Yes father" said all of them.
Sakura tensed they took a step closer towards her.
"Please behave…you are not of uchiha blood, but we can still use you" said father Shin.
"So they want to lure Sasuke to them" said Shikaku.
"What do they want from me?" asked Sasuke looking at Shin with a hateful glare.
"Your eyes probably, they are not subtle about it" said Kakashi.
"That's the only reason why I'm letting you live" said father Shin.
"Letting her live, brat…this girl can utterly destroy your hideout, especially when you are out of commission" said Jiraiya snorting.
"Why are you that much confident in me?" asked a meek Sakura.
"Not in you young lady, but in the seal you have in your forehead" said Jiraiya.
"Is it that much special?" asked Ino.
"You have no idea" said Inoichi, her father who once fought alongside the female sanin.
Father Shin winced in pain while talking as he brought his hand close to her chest.
"You didn't hold back, did you?" asked Shin.
'I feel you there brother' thought Jiraiya as he again brought his hand closer to the life threatening wound he suffered from his former female teammate.
"It's because you tried to kill my husband and child! As well as my dear friend!" said Sakura.
"At least, she isn't in the danger of being killed yet" said Kakashi.
"But how will the seventh and the others manage to find them…they look like they are in a different dimension" said Hiashi.
"Indeed this is worrying" said Shibi.
"That child needs medical attention soon or he'll be in danger…I'll help" said Sakura as she looked at the burned to half death junior Shin.
Honestly, nobody was still coming in terms with the future Sakura. She looked so confident and more like a kunoichi unlike the fangirl they knew.
Nobody was as surprised as Sakura herself, she already had confidence issues and the wave mission didn't help but remind her of her weakness again.
She was looking at her future self in awe.
"You don't want to lose your child, do you?" asked Sakura.
"A great medic indeed, not caring whether they are enemies or allies…your future self does remind me of Tsunade-hime a lot" said Hiruzen praising the girl.
Sakura blushed.
"My child" started Shin.
"Don't misunderstand…they are clones created by culturing my teeth and nerves" said future Shin as Sakura listened a bit shocked.
"Clones" said Choza.
"Is such a thing even possible?" asked Asuma shocked.
"Sound like something my student would do" said Hiruzen sadly.
"Technology has advanced to a great extent in the future" said Hiashi.
"Clones, that's…that's just like him" said Sakura.
Shin laughed evilly.
"Yes, that's right…my master was Orochimaru" said father Shin as Sakura's eyes narrowed as she let the information sink.
"I thought so…" said Hiruzen.
"How far he has fallen…" said Jiraiya solemnly.
Shin used his prowess to control some of his projectiles and brought them above his injured clone.
"What are you…" said Sakura in surprise.
One of the knives cut into the flesh of the child and opened his chest.
"S-stop it" said Sakura but the child was beyond saving as his young life perished away in front of her eyes.
She averted her eyes from the cruel display of fatherly care.
"What the hell?" asked Tenten in shock.
"He killed him…" said Lee horrified.
"Orochimaru?" asked Sarada.
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei said the same thing…he felt the enemy this time could be connected to Orochimaru" said Naruto.
"Always the sinister one" said Hiruzen.
"Who's that?" asked Cho-Cho eating chips nonchalantly.
"I've heard of him before…He's a notorious criminal who tried to destroy hidden leaf village a long time ago" said Sarada.
"He did what? How dare he try to destroy the very same place where he grew up" said Hiashi with venom in his tongue.
"Is this related to the chunin exams taking place in the future?" asked Jiraiya.
Hiruzen nodded solemnly.
"You know how it ends then…" said Jiraiya.
"Indeed" said Hiruzen softly knowing how his journey will end in the hands of his own student's…no, the criminal's hands.
"He's a tremendously dangerous individual" said Naruto looking weary.
'You have no idea child' thought mostly every adult in the room.
"That guy who called himself Shin uchiha…" said Sasuke drawing everyone's attention.
"Huh?" asked Sarada.
"His left arm was implanted with multiple sharingan. The only one capable of doing something like that is Orochimaru" said Sasuke.
"So then, Sarada's mom was taken to this Orochimaru guy's place" said Cho-Cho.
"If it's true then I will kick his ass" said Naruto.
"Hold your horse kid, he has already kicked your ass once" said Choji.
"Heh, my future self is surely stronger than that snake lady man guy" said Naruto.
"Whatever you say" said Ten ten still unsure.
"No…that's not possible. We have leaf shinobi keeping strict surveillance on him" said Naruto.
"I don't believe he would be involved in this, ya know" said Naruto.
"Why not kill him outright, his crimes are already piling up, and he committed invasion against the village…a monster like him shouldn't exist in this world" said Tenzo.
"I'm sure the future has an answer to that" said Kakashi.
"For his sake…I hope so" said Hiruzen.
"However, in order to track Shin's whereabouts, we need to find all we need from Orochimaru…let's head to his research lab" said Sasuke turning around.
"Dad" shouted Sarada stopping him.
"S-Sarada" said Cho-Cho surprised.
"What is it?" asked Sasuke turning back.
"How can you be so calm? Aren't you worried about mom?" asked Sarada angrily.
"Hey, Sarada, Sasuke is…" said Naruto trying to tell her that he was trying his best to keep his calm but Sasuke beat him to it albeit not in a gentle way.
"Personal feelings only get in the way of the mission. If you intend on becoming a shinobi, remember that" said Sasuke.
Sarada growled angrily and was about to retort but a packet of chips was thrust in between the uchihas shocking them both.
"I only have lightly salted chips left, but…" said Cho-Cho.
'I totally hate intense heavy situations like this! The only thing heavy should be my weight. You can do this, my delicate heart of glass' thought Cho-Cho.
"Cho-Cho…" said Sarada smiling.
"Well done, we don't need more of your introverted speeches" said Ten ten.
"Yeah, they were amusing in the beginning but now I'm starting to feel pity for your kid" said Asuma.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you should've let Naruto handle this. He was doing far better job in handling her than how you are doing" said Kiba.
Sasuke himself repressed an urge to sigh at his future self's actions. He surely couldn't be that bad.
"Teme, even in the future you didn't change your ways" said Naruto.
Sasuke glared at him.
"Alright, do the two of you want to come with us?" asked the seventh Hokage.
Both of looked quite a bit shocked.
"Naruto, what are you…" asked Sasuke.
"They came after Sarada too…It's safer to stay together" said Naruto smiling confidently.
"Do what you want" said Sasuke and walked away.
"It's logical…there's no reason to believe your daughter would be safe, despite having Sakura-san as a hostage he can still go after her for her bloodline limit" said Shino.
"Yes, this is the best option they have at the moment" said Shikaku.
"Even then…this is not a field trip…we are talking about his hideout…are you sure they will be safe" said Tenzo.
"My awesomeness knows no bounds ya know, I'm sure I can protect the teme along them even if he becomes an extra baggage" said Naruto.
"The only useless creature out there is you dobe…" said Sasuke.
"Still I don't understand why he is pardoned" mused Kurenai.
"Besides, we may be able to see those people in the photo at Orochimaru's" said Naruto in Sarada's ear.
"What?" asked Sarada surprised. Naruto nodded.
"Okay it's decided. We will set out at daybreak" said Naruto.
"Your teammates from Akatsuki huh" said Shikamaru.
The scene shifted to Shin's hideout.
Everyone tensed remembering Sakura was still a hostage.
Using his prowess Shin slowly took out the organ of the recently deceased clone needed for his surgery.
"How horrible!" said Sakura looking away.
The Konoha 12 faces paled considerably. Some of them barely resisted the urge to puke.
"Even if they are clones, didn't you raise them like your own sons?" asked Sakura.
"They're just my stand-ins for my organs. Nothing more, nothing less" said Shin.
"What did the bastard just say?" asked Naruto angry at his words.
"Naruto, calm down" said Kakashi.
"So, they are just tools for him huh, what does he think of human life, that bastard" said Naruto snarling.
'He can sort of understand how the clones feel, they both are tools in a sense' thought Kakashi.
'N-Naruto-kun' thought Hinata in worry.
He placed the organ on a tray and moved it close to him.
"There's no need to grieve. Living creatures don't truly die" said Shin.
"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.
"Without a doubt, the body of a living creature decomposes with in time. However, genes through reproductive cells survive forever without change in the shape of progeny. That is the system we call life" said Shin.
"Yeah, that's basic science bruh, we all know it. Say something new" said Kiba.
"What is that which we call death? It's merely the expiration of the disposable corporeal vessel" said Shin.
"The hell" said Lee.
"You're wrong…you're wrong thinking the body is just a vessel" said Sakura.
"That's where one's feelings and will reside, what exists between parent and a child is more than a mere gene transmission, much more" said Sakura.
Then she remembered the time when she brutally punched the innocent ground making Sarada cry. She now realized it's the same for Sarada and Sasuke despite them never meeting even once.
And she was starting to sound like a hypocrite. Thus, she gritted her teeth.
Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder, eye smiling.
"Genes are the essence of life. Weaker genes perish, and stronger genes hybridize to create stronger beings. That is evolution" said Shin.
"Are all the evil scientists are messed up in the head like him?" said Naruto.
"That is why they are mad or evil dobe" said Sasuke smirking.
"And you went to the evilest one willingly" said Naruto forcing Sasuke's mouth close.
"You don't understand at all, what should be important as a parent" said Sakura.
Shin clenched his fist in anger.
"For evolution…" said Shin raising his said clenched his fist.
"Conflict is essential in the further selection of superior genes" completed Shin.
"Through countless battles, new ninjutsu and other arts were developed rapidly…and strong shinobi were selected" said Shin.
A figure of Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, Tobirama Senju, Tsunade Senju, Kakashi Hatake and lastly Naruto Uzumaki appeared on the screen displaying some of their signatures.
"They fought for peace idiot, what a twisted bastard" said Jiraiya.
"Like master, like student I guess" said Hiruzen.
"In the past, the organization known as Akatsuki stirred up such conflict…for the sake of human evolution, I will revive the Akatsuki…and carry out the wishes of Itachi uchiha" said Shin with a smile on his face.
"Your brother is dumb too if he is like…" started Naruto but was stopped by a death glare from his rival making him gulp in fear, his undivided attention went to the screen.
"But if we were to believe this idiot out here, Akatsuki could be far more dangerous than we pegged them to be" said Shikaku.
Meanwhile, outside of the hideout of Orochimaru, the Hokage and his comrades stood beside a man.
"It's been a while, Yamato-taicho" said Naruto.
"It's me" said Tenzo.
"So, I'm keeping a watch on him myself" said Tenzo looking pleased.
"Why do I call you Yamato, is Tenzo not your name?" asked Naruto confused.
"Well, Naruto…it's an err codename of some sorts" said Tenzo.
"ANBU" said Shikamaru snorting.
Tenzo deadpanned at him.
"What, it was obvious, troublesome" said Shikamaru shrugging.
"ANBU, so cool" said Naruto admiring the man who was constantly bringing them food for entertainment.
"How did they come to know each other?" asked Choza.
"Given his ability, it's not surprising. Perhaps, he was assigned to Naruto sometimes in the future" said Shikaku.
"You look old" said Kakashi.
Tenzo shrugged.
"Well, I'm in the new era…I've lived long enough" said Tenzo.
"Please stop that, I don't want to be called 'Captain' by the Hokage" said Yamato with a small smile on his face.
"I can't help it…you'll always be Yamato-taicho to me" said Naruto.
"We seem close" said Tenzo.
"Uh-huh" said Naruto.
"Seeing the way Naruto-kun refers to you as captain perhaps you were his squad leader in the future" said Hiruzen.
'He's definitely not my dad' thought Cho-Cho.
Ino failed to stop his laughter seeing Tenzo's reaction to Cho-Cho's comment.
Naruto laughed out loud.
Tenzo blanched at the little girl on the screen and then sighed out depressed.
"Not so young anymore, Tenzo" said Kakashi.
'Unlike you, senpai' thought Tenzo glaring daggers at the man who again went back to his porn.
Sarada looked at the photo in her hands.
'So they're Orochimaru's partners. But why's dad in the photo with them?' thought Sarada.
Sasuke tried his best to ignore all the glares and looked on the screen neutrally as always.
Cho-Cho who was behind her yawned as Sarada was in deep thought.
Sarada looked in front again.
'I guess I really don't know anything about dad…' thought Sarada.
Tenten felt conflicted about it. She was an orphan, while as a shinobi she can understand Sasuke's position in the future but it hurt her to see Sarada like that.
Thus she had a conflicted expression on her face.
"Lord sixth filled me up for the most part…but I'm sorry, this is my mission and I can't leave this spot" said Yamato.
"I understand Sasuke will lead from here" said Naruto.
"Follow me" said Sasuke and sprinted forward followed by Naruto and the kids.
Instantly the tension in the room increased tenfold. After all, they were visiting Konoha's one of the most heinous criminal's hideout.
"We should acquire as much information we can get" said Hiruzen.
"I know" said Jiraiya.
While walking towards Orochimaru's base Sarada kept glaring at her father's back.
They entered Orochimaru's base. The passage was moderately dark and there were snake shaped lantern on the walls lighting the place with dimly yellow light.
"H-hey Sasuke, It's not like we're going to one of your favorite restaurants here, be more on guard, will ya?" whispered Naruto to Sasuke.
Tsume snorted.
"Kid's got balls" said Tsume.
'But that goes to show the power he possesses and his confidence in his own abilities' thought Inoichi.
All four of them stopped as two figures blocked their path in front.
"Damn it! See?!" said Naruto.
"Been a while, Sasuke" said Suigetsu.
'This guy looks familiar' thought Shikamaru.
Sarada's eyes widened in surprise.
'The guys in the photo!' thought Sarada.
'Ah the adult version' thought Shikamaru.
"This isn't the kind of place you bring kids for a field trip" said Suigetsu.
"I know right, you can't be too wary of that snake" said Tenzo.
"The Hokage…" said Jugo taking notice of Naruto.
Naruto still blushed; he still couldn't believe that he actually managed to achieve his dream.
"Hold on, this guy…I remember now. His data was entered just some days ago into the bingo book" said Inoichi.
"He is in the current bingo book" said Asuma a bit surprised.
"According to the timeline, he should be about 13 or 14 Inoichi" said Choza.
"Someone that young…wait of course" said Hiashi realizing who Inoichi was talking about.
"Jugo…Jugo of the scales, of course it's him. His face seemed familiar from the beginning to me" said Inoichi.
"Leave it to you to remember every single person in the bingo book" said Shikaku drawled.
"Jiraiya…" said Sarutobi.
"I know…I need to find out whether this guy is working for Orochimaru currently or not" said Jiraiya.
"If he is not then we need him on our side" said Kakashi.
"Well, you found better teammates, wouldn't you agree traitor?" asked Kiba angrily.
"K-Kiba-kun, c-calm down p-please" said Hinata putting her hand comfortingly on his shoulder.
Sasuke ignored him. Despite Naruto and Sakura's saddened looks he ignored them. Although he did feel remorse for doing this to them in the future he was interested in the strengths of his so called new team in the future.
"Good timing. Take us to him" said Sasuke.
"Huh? Hold on? Are you ordering us around?" asked Suigetsu.
Shall I take you to him?" asked Jugo.
"Well, they sure have contrasting personalities" said Ino.
"Sasuke, looks like that won't be necessary" said Naruto.
Footsteps approached them.
The tension in the room increased again.
"He is coming" said Jiraiya grimacing.
"Oh my…we have an unusual visitor" said Orochimaru standing in front of them as Sasuke glared at him.
"Orochimaru" said Sasuke.
Sarada gulped.
"Orochimaru…so this is the person…" said Sarada softly.
"Wait, what the hell, he looks just like the one we saw in the chunin exams video" said Tenten.
"This has to be a transformation right" said Choza.
Hiruzen grimaced remembering how Orochimaru invented this jutsu and its process.
"You know something about this" said Jiraiya.
"Yes, and unfortunately it's not a transformation jutsu" said Hiruzen.
An audible gasp was released from everyone except Naruto from the room.
"So…what does this mean?" asked Naruto scratching his head not understanding what everyone was so shocked about.
"This means Naruto, that Orochimaru might have actually found his way to immortality" said Kakashi.
"What? For real" said Naruto now feeling shocked.
"How is this possible? What process did that snake use lord Hokage?" asked Tsume.
"You will see it when the time comes; there is no need to spoil everything now. But trust me, it won't be a good sight to behold" said Hiruzen.
Every adult grimaced at that.
"How unyouthful" muttered Gai.
"Hey, you look younger than before" said Naruto.
"You should know me by now, so don't keep prodding at it, would you?" said Orochimaru nonchalantly.
"What, that bastard" said Naruto snarling.
"H-he's different from what I imagined" said Sarada a bit bewildered.
Cho-Cho turned to Sarada.
"Hey, so if this person is my parent, would he be my mom or dad?" asked Cho-Cho.
"Which? Which one, Sarada?" asked Cho-Cho.
"Huh!" said Sarada not knowing what to answer to this out of the box question.
Everyone sweat dropped at that.
"Is she for real?" asked Tenten.
Neji wasn't speaking for a long time. Just observing the situation, he still had trouble believing that Naruto managed to change his fate.
"Way to go Choji, your daughter sure knows how to ruin the tension" said Shikamaru.
Choji chuckled.
"My wife was kidnapped by a man who seemed like an underling of yours. If you're up to something, spill it now" said Sasuke.
"Yeah, give us back Sakura-chan" said Naruto.
"Yosh" nodded Lee.
"I wonder…have I done something suspicious?" asked Orochimaru with a smile on his face.
"What's the watcher outside for?" asked Orochimaru.
A tick mark appeared on Tenzo's forehead.
"How dare he…" said Tenzo.
"Ma ma…calm down" said Kakashi with an eye smile.
"Then explain who the man who calls himself Shin uchiha" said Sasuke taking a step towards Orochimaru.
Orochimaru looked taken aback for a moment. Then his smile returned again.
"Let's go to another room. Come along" said Orochimaru.
"Of course, he would have to be connected" said Jiraiya sighing.
The room they went to had many test tubes filled with some kind of chemical induced water. All of them had naked babies inside.
"Shin…I haven't heard that name in a while. He's gone off on his own already, but he was one of my old experiments" said Orochimaru.
"This Shin guy…I will try to see if I can find more about him" said Jiraiya.
Danzo's silhouette appeared on the screen with him having a whitish grey colored hand which was supposed to be broken. What's more that hand had sharingan embedded in them.
"Danzo Shimura, the man you all fought…his right arm came from Shin" said Orochimaru.
"What?" asked Hiruzen.
"Why the hell does that man have so many sharingan on his hand" said Sasuke angrily.
"But Danzo…he is…" said Kurenai.
"You know of him sensei?" asked Shino.
"Who doesn't know of him? He is a war hero and a current councilor of the Hokage" said Asuma.
"Wait wait, but didn't the cube say the man you fought" said Shikamaru.
"Don't tell me he became an enemy of Konoha…" said Choza.
'Well, knowing him it wouldn't be unexpected but…' thought Tenzo inwardly.
'Sensei…' thought Jiraiya sadly looking at his mentor. Hiruzen looked downwards clenching his fist tightly.
'Danzo you, did you truly lose yourself' thought Hiruzen with a broken expression. It was hard for Jiraiya to see his sensei like this.
'First Orochimaru and now even you' thought Hiruzen.
"How are they gaining so many sharingan to begin with…" said Shikaku as realization dawned upon him.
"My brethren…" said Sasuke horrified. For the first time, he had shown an expression like this publicly.
Realization dawned upon everyone and some genin needed to keep the food they ate in their stomach as they covered their mouth with their hands.
"Could it be that…they are using the dead bodies of the uchiha in secret for experiment" said Inoichi thoughtfully.
Sasuke slammed his fist on the ground as he unconsciously released killer intent scaring Sakura off.
"Teme" said Naruto as even he was unnerved.
"I'm going to kill that fucking bastard" said Sasuke.
"Well, this proves that Danzo and Orochimaru were allies" said Tsume with a scary glint in her eyes.
"No wait, we don't know whether Danzo has yet to do such things" said Hiashi.
"That doesn't matter; he will do it in the future. Let's kill him now…" said Sasuke angrily.
"You went with someone who was in charge of this whole experiment in the future Sasuke" said Kakashi.
Sasuke stopped in his tracks and realized that he was being hypocritical.
"After this an investigation will be launched on Danzo. We will dig out the dead uchiha and see whether they still have their dojutsu or not. That will show us whether Danzo is loyal or not" said Hiruzen recomposing himself.
Hiruzen hoped Danzo had yet to start on his traitorous path. Because then Hiruzen could still try and show his best friend the light. But if he already had started working with Orochimaru then…
Sasuke nodded although one could easily see his anger through his expression.
"Damn it" muttered Sasuke.
'Sasuke' thought the rest of the team 7 worriedly.
"That child possessed a peculiar trait where his body wouldn't reject any kind of tissue transplant. He was the optimum subject for cloning experiments" said Orochimaru.
"Cloning?" asked Naruto.
"To put it in simpler terms for you…he was like a shadow clone that never disappears" said Orochimaru.
This perked Naruto's interest.
"Never disappears? So once you are done, what happens to them?" asked Naruto as realization dawned upon him.
"If you want them to disappear…your only option is to kill them" said Orochimaru without a single emotion showing on his face.
"What?" asked all of the genin in surprise.
"What did he say?" asked Naruto snarling. He was really starting to get pissed off by this lady-man.
"Humans aren't simple things like that!" said Naruto agitated.
"Yeah" said Lee.
"Humans are much simpler than you think…Humans are practically slaves to their genes" said Orochimaru while turning his back on Naruto.
"For example take you Sasuke-kun, the reason why your daughter looks like you is because your genes were passed on to her" said Orochimaru.
Sarada was understandably a bit spooked when referred by such a heinous criminal.
"Everything about her is simply data that was recorded into her genes" said Orochimaru.
'Genes' thought Sarada.
"Yeah Mr. obvious, we know science" said Kiba deadpanning.
"Like what the hell does that prove anyway? That doesn't mean you can kill humans. Even if they are clones, they have feelings as well" said Choji.
"How one comes up with inhuman conclusion like cloning and killing humans just from something like genes, is he a psychopath or what" said Shikamaru.
Well he was and everyone here in the room knew it.
"Like master, like student I guess" said Jiraiya sighing remembering Shin's words to Sakura before.
"Hey, that's not a nice way to put it!" said Naruto.
Sasuke stopped Naruto and stepped forward.
"Why does he call himself an Uchiha?" asked Sasuke.
"Oh, that's just him proclaiming that himself. Granted, he is a reproduction, but as someone who possesses the sharingan, he was obsessed with the uchiha name. In particular, to your late brother, Itachi Uchiha" said Orochimaru.
"Nani, not only that guy is a fake, he is obsessed with…him" said Sasuke growling.
"So, we have Uchiha fan boys in the future huh" said Jiraiya snorting.
"I see…I understand Shin's background now" said Sasuke.
"Do you know his whereabouts?" asked Sasuke.
"Oh my, such one-sided questioning! You've become quite shameless" said Orochimaru jokingly.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Seeing that, Orochimaru's demeanor changed as well.
"Well, anyway…It would benefit me as well if the leaf were to capture that troublesome Shin" said Orochimaru.
"I still don't understand why you didn't just kill him" said Tenzo looking at Naruto.
Besides, I kind of do owe you one, right Naruto-kun?" asked Orochimaru.
"Hm, what's this?" asked Tsume.
"How is the child doing? Well, I hope" asked Orochimaru.
"Yeah, the kid seems to be doing well" said Naruto with a smile on his face.
"Really? That's great" said Orochimaru with a smile on his face.
Orochimaru slowly started walking.
"Wait what child?" asked Jiraiya looking at Naruto.
"I don't know dattebayo" said Naruto.
"Why will you willingly let a subject of Orochimaru enter the hidden leaf in the first place?" asked Tenzo.
"That's not a good decision" said Hiashi.
"Like I said…ask the me on the screen dattebayo" said Naruto pointing to the Hokage version of himself.
"I'll explain more, come along" said Orochimaru.
As the whole group was walking alongside Orochimaru, Sarada started a small talk with Suigetsu.
"Um…you are all my dad's former partners, right?" asked Sarada whispering.
"I guess" said Suigetsu.
Another glare from everyone and yet Sasuke had yet to be unnerved.
"Then…" said Sarada and stopped Suigetsu and showed the picture to him.
"Can you tell me where this woman is?" asked Sarada.
"Oh, Karin…She's at a different hideout. She's not here" said Suigetsu.
"So, the girl's name is Karin huh. It would be great if we can get this white haired boy's name as well" said Jiraiya.
"I see…" said Sarada sounding a little disappointed.
"Then…could I ask you one other favor?" asked Sarada.
"This is stupid. There is no way Sasuke-kun will cheat on me" said Sakura.
"Yeah, he is not that bad, despite his questionable decisions in the future" said Kakashi.
"Hn" said Sasuke.
Naruto noticed the both of them talking.
"EHHHHH" shouted Suigetsu looking surprised.
"N-No way, I didn't know Sasuke was that much of a scummy bastard" said Suigetsu.
"We didn't as well" said Kiba looking at the future traitor, giving him the dirty look and until he noticed his mother looking at him angrily and stopped.
And then appeared a picture of young Sasuke and young Karin looking all hot and ready for some action.
Immediately, Ino and Sakura had a nosebleed looking at Sasuke the stripper.
"Well, he looks hot" said Tenten with a small blush.
"Damn it. Why dobe?" asked Naruto jealous.
"What is this jutsu, why is it that my power of youth doesn't attract girls and only good looking guys are getting them all" said Lee.
"Lee, unfortunately that is the only thing hard work can't beat" said Gai.
"WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE, WHY IS THAT GIRL CLINGING TO MY MAN" shouted Sakura.
"YOU MEAN MY HUSBAND BILLBOARD BROW" said Ino.
"Just drop it" said Asuma as he separated both of the fangirls from cat fighting.
"Could Karin actually have…" said Suigetsu as he remembered the old days.
"Well, right now, it's still only a possibility!" said Sarada.
"A genetic test would show whose child I'm, right?" asked Sarada.
"Honestly, this is good for her. The test would be negative and her mind will be at ease" said Jiraiya.
"You should take better care of her" said Tenten to Sasuke who didn't say anything.
"Yeah teme" said Naruto.
"That's funny. I could've sworn it was around here…found it" said Suigetsu smiling as he searched for something in the drawer.
There was an umbilical cord. Then Suigetsu took a sample of Sarada's DNA from her tooth.
"All right, we'll compare the genes that we harvested from you with the genes from Karin's umbilical cord" said Suigetsu as he proceeded with the test.
Sarada nodded worriedly.
"Here we go" said Suigetsu and started the test.
ANALYZING
ANALYZING
PERFECT MATCH
The room fell silent, the atmosphere turned chilly quickly.
Sakura slowly brought her hands to her face and cupped it disbelievingly. Her whole body was trembling from shock.
All the present members in the room except for Naruto looked at Sasuke disbelievingly.
Kakashi looked at Sasuke in a disapproving manner and Jiraiya sighed. Both the green spandex wearing warriors had 'unyouthful' written on their face. Tenten was fuming, and Naruto…well as always the last one to take notice didn't find anything wrong, blissfully unaware at what the scene has implied continued smiling happily.
'Fuck no' thought Sasuke and for the first time in a while he showed a expression of disbelief himself and cursed his older self for his stupid decisions.
Sarada looked on at the green light in horror.
"Seems your mom is definitely Karin" said Suigetsu.
"Wait, what dattebayo" said Naruto confused.
As Suigetsu was talking, he was unaware that Hokage Naruto listening on their conversation.
Sarada looked at the screen as her whole world was slowly crumbling down.
She was starting to remember what her mother told her whenever she was longing for her father.
"Your dad and I are connected through our feelings, so don't worry"
Naruto slowly started looking around and noticed everyone's gloomy expression and definitely put two and two together.
Naruto's expression slowly changed into anger. He hissed and then grabbed Sasuke by his collar.
"Teme, how dare you treat Sakura-chan like this, she deserved better" said Naruto.
Sasuke didn't say anything and looked down.
Hiruzen paused the screen and sighed as he watched his predecessor's son.
"Say something, teme. Why are you silent now dattebayo?" asked Naruto shaking his rival and still Sasuke didn't say anything.
Seeing this Naruto was about to punch Sasuke but Kakashi stopped him.
"Stop it Naruto, we are not alone here" said Kakashi.
"But sensei, he…" said Naruto and was trying to retort.
"N-Naruto, please stop now. You don't need to hurt Sasuke-kun for my sake" said Sakura looking down on the ground and was almost about to sob.
"But Sakura-chan…" said Naruto and let go of Sasuke who straightened his collar back up and looked away from his team.
"I mean, it could only be a dream right. Sasuke-kun would never acknowledge some on like me anyway" said Sakura.
Sasuke flinched after hearing this and he trembled a bit but quickly composed himself.
"Don't say that Sakura, don't be so harsh on yourself" said Ino as she left her team and quickly went towards Sakura and tried to comfort her.
Naruto looked at Sasuke angrily but one look from Kakashi stopped him from going any further.
"There might be other complications that we are not aware of, because of that I think we should see the ending and then judge the uchiha" said Shino, happy that no one interrupted him this time.
"What's there to judge, it was already a deal when we learned that he is a traitor, and now he pulls this shit. Why should we give him the benefit of doubt- OUCH" said Kiba but before he could finish Kurenai bonked him on the head.
"What a drag" said Shikamaru sighing.
Hiruzen restarted the cube.
"Well, you have similar glasses too" said Suigetsu.
"Just read the atmosphere and stop why don't you" said Tsume.
But Suigetsu stopped as he saw tears fall down Sarada's cheeks.
"Uh, anyway…I gotta go" said Suigetsu panicking and ran out of there as fast as he could leaving the girl alone to vent and process the heartbreaking truth that she wished she had never known.
"Seriously, you are going to leave her alone there" said Choji.
"Well, it's not his business anyway" said Choza.
"What an unyouthful fellow" said Gai.
As Suigetsu walked out of the room, he saw Naruto leaning behind the door. He rubbed his forehead and talked in an apologetic tone.
"I kinda feel like I did something I shouldn't have" said Suigetsu.
"Since the old days, you guys have always messed things up! You idiot!" said Naruto frustrated.
"Well, when Naruto of all people tells you have messed up, then it means you have indeed messed up, big time at that" said Kiba drily.
"Isn't Sasuke the one at fault?" said Suigetsu dodging his mistake.
"Did you even know about this?" asked Suigetsu.
"Of course not! Sasuke that bastard!" said Naruto angrily.
"Well, if the Hokage of all people doesn't know about this, then there is no chance of this being some confidential stuff" said Choji.
"It's a simple case of infidelity huh!" said Neji amused, finally gathering his bearings.
"Unless the umbilical cord itself isn't that red haired girl's and by some stroke of luck it's Sakura's…nothing's defending you anymore Sasuke" said Shikamaru.
Sasuke just stared at the screen with an unreadable expression, but trained veterans could see how tightly he had clenched his fists in frustration.
"Well, you take it from here!" said Suigetsu waving at Naruto and dipped as fast as he could.
"Hey, Suigetsu! Wait-" said Naruto to stop him but he was already gone.
"Wow, he really left Naruto to take care of his mess huh!" said Choza with a sigh.
"Well, let's see how you handle this jano" said Jiraiya.
Naruto slowly took a step towards the room.
"U-Um…Sarada…" said Naruto approaching the girl who was having a mental breakdown.
"We need to go and rescue your mom…right?" said Naruto.
"Liar…" whispered Sarada.
"Hm" said Naruto.
"You lied to me, Lord Seventh! Why do I need to go and rescue who's not even my mom?" asked Sarada angrily.
Sakura couldn't stop her tears anymore and leaned into Ino's shoulders for comfort. Ino rubbed her hair to soothe her, forgetting their rivalry for the time being.
Kakashi inched towards Sakura himself, his book forgotten in his pockets, and stood over them. Naruto also went towards Sakura to help her in his own way, with his stupid jokes which failed miserably as always.
Sasuke was left alone by his own team, even if the distance between them wasn't that great, it was clear that he was getting the cold shoulder from everyone in this room.
"I'm done with people who've lied to me…all my life" said Sarada as her eyes turned into sharingan due to the emotional shock that she was going through.
"Poor girl" said Inoichi.
Naruto quickly handed Sarada a mirror to show her the sharingan that she didn't know she had.
Although surprised, Sarada hanged her shoulders down looking depressed.
"At this point, I'd rather not look like that person at all" said Sarada.
Even Sasuke couldn't help but flinch at that.
"What are you going to do?" asked Naruto seriously.
"That has nothing to do with you, Lord Seventh" said Sarada coldly and was about to walk away.
But Naruto grabbed her arm to stop her.
"What is it?" asked Sarada annoyed.
"Nothing to do with me, huh? Well, it just doesn't work that way" said Naruto smiling.
"I've told Boruto the same thing time and time again. To a Hoakge, everyone in the village is family" said Naruto.
"Now that's a good way to start. I'm impressed" said Jiraiya looking at young Naruto approvingly.
"I dunno why, but thanks pervy guy" said Naruto giving him a thumbs up.
"Stop calling me that jano" said Jiraiya annoyed.
"So what? Isn't that just a convenient excuse?! Dad's away from the village so much. He even forgot his own daughter's face" said Sarada.
Many people grimaced hearing her say that. Especially the last part made some people look at Sasuke disapprovingly again. Especially the younger generation of shinobis.
Sasuke himself was failing to keep his character together anymore. He was looking at the floor with genuine sadness.
"And mom…She's been lying to me the whole time" said Sarada.
"I-I'm sorry, I-I don't know why my future self did something like that" said Sakura with a broken voice, as she spoke between sobs.
"It's okay Sakura-chan, we still don't know the full story right. I'm sure you have some reason why you had to lie to her" said Kakashi eye-smiling.
"Yeah, Sakura-chan" said Naruto beaming at her warmly.
Although everyone was giving future Sakura the benefit of doubt, no one was going to give Sasuke that. Not surprisingly, considering he was revealed to be a traitor earlier, and then this came along.
"Plus…we are not even related by blood at all. I know now that I don't have a real family" said Sarada sadly.
"So unyouthful, Sasuke-kun. You have been constantly hurting your daughter, intentionally or unintentionally" said Lee with a frown.
"And…you're not me, Lord Seventh. So, you can't understand what I feel in my heart" said Sarada.
"You and I are not family!" said Sarada countering Naruto's previous statement. She tried to shake Naruto's grip off her but Naruto pulled her back again. She looked at Naruto with anger and frustration in her eyes.
The scene switched back to the past where Naruto is seen sitting in a swing at the park near the academy with tears on his eyes.
"T-This is…" said Naruto surprised.
Then the scene switched to the part where Iruka took the fuma shuriken, and the tears of joy Naruto had when he was finally accepted as a citizen of Konoha by Iruka. Iruka's smiling face after that incident.
"Why am I remembering them all of a sudden dattebayo?" asked Naruto in confusion.
Naruto and Iruka eating ramen in Ichuraku.
Young Naruto and Sasuke arguing in the valley of end.
"Pause, pause" said Tsume and Hiruzen immediately paused the screen.
"Did this happen already?" asked Inoichi.
"I don't really think this happened between them yet" said Kakashi.
Naruto and Sasuke looked at the screen surprised.
"Yo Naruto's bleeding man" said Kiba.
"Any ideas old man" said Jiraiya.
The hokage grimaced.
"You will see later" said the Hokage.
"Hmm, you already know about this huh" said the military advisor, Shikaku.
"Unfortunately, yes" said sandaime.
The screen changed to show young Sasuke with three tomoe Sharingan and Naruto with red eyes looking at his friend.
Then it changed to the future as Hokage Naruto remembered all these memories.
"Whatever happened between them must have had a lot of effect on Naruto huh" said Choji.
"Is that the extent of your bond with your mom and dad?" asked Naruto.
"Huh" said Sarada.
"Bonds aren't just about history or blood. It's something much stronger" said Naruto.
"Then tell me, what is it?" asked Sarada frustrated.
"Let's see how our future hokage handles this situation" said Jiraiya.
"Feelings of love, that's all you need. Nothing more" said Naruto softly.
"So check yourself again to see if you feel any" said Naruto.
"Go for it Naruto" said Choji.
Sarada looked towards the ground and contemplated what Naruto said. She remembered the time when she was sick and Sakura kept watch over her.
She remembered the photos her mother had of her and her father's.
"Hey…when is dad coming home?" asked a cute little Sarada.
"He's out doing really difficult job, so he can't come home right away" said Sakura as she was doing the dishes.
"Aww, she's so cute when she was small" said Ino gushing.
Hinata nodded in agreement.
"Doesn't dad care about you and me?" asked Sarada softly.
"What? Don't ever think that!" said Sakura and looked at her.
"Then why doesn't he come home?" asked Sarada.
Sakura kneeled down.
"Sarada…dad treasures us both deeply" said Sakura.
Sasuke looked at Sakura in surprise, glad that someone's defending him despite everything.
"That's why he can't come home. You may not get it right now…But
I know one day you'll understand" said Sakura at the pouting Sarada.
Tears appeared on Sarada's eyes but Sakura bear hugged her daughter.
"You're squishing me mom" said Sarada.
"I-I'm sorry, I can't help it because you're so precious" said Sakura as she let go of her daughter.
"You guys are so cute together" said Ino as Sakura stopped crying and looked at the screen.
"Sakura-chan looks so beautiful with long hair" said Naruto.
"Mom, have you ever kissed dad?" asked Sarada she cheered up slowly.
"Huh!?" asked Sakura surprised as she looked up in thought and blushed.
"Teme" said Naruto frustrated.
Many of the Konoha 12 snickered as Sakura in their room blushed up like a storm.
"What? What's the matter?" asked Sarada as Sakura l=touched her forehead.
"Nothing…I was just remembering something even better" said Sakura.
"Mom…that's pervy" said Sarada flatly.
"Oh my" said Tenten with a hand on her mouth.
"Now now give me all the details" said Jiraiya excitedly as he looked at the screen.
And he was immediately hit by a kunai by the courtesy of Tsume.
"Have some shame" said Tsume.
"No! Not that" said Sakura.
"Then tell me! What was better than a kiss?!" asked Sarada excitedly.
Sakura tapped Sarada's forhead with her fingers.
"I'll tell you next time" said Sakura.
"I think you'll understand when you see your dad" said Sakura.
'That was what Itachi did to me…' thought Sasuke as he slowly clenched his fists tightly.
'What happened in the future?' thought Sasuke.
The present Sarada cried as she remembered all her time with Sakura and said "mom"
Naruto looked over her.
"I guess I do wanna recue mom!" said Sarada.
"Oh yeah?" asked Naruto.
"But…it won't be like before…What am I supposed to do?" asked Sarada.
Naruto pulled her towards him.
"It doesn't matter whether she's fake or real. As long as you feel the desire to save her, That's what's real" said Naruto.
"Let's go and rescue your mom" said Naruto.
"Yeah!" said Sarada and turned her Sharingan off.
"Well done boy" said Inoichi appraisingly.
"It seems the future is safe in your hands Naruto" said the sandaime.
"Truly" said Choza.
Lee was crying youthfully as he looked at the screen, even Tenten had some tears on her eyes.
"Wow, I still can't believe how mature Naruto is" said Kiba.
"Yeah, I am awesome like that" said Naruto with a thumbs up.
Hinata smiled and congratulated Naruto on her head, too shy to actually speak to her crush.
"Thank you Naruto, thank you so much" said Sakura and hugged him.
"S-Sakura-chan" said Naruto surprised.
Kakashi eye-smiled as always, even Sasuke was feeling grateful towards Naruto, not that he will ever say it.
"You should take lessons from Naruto and learn how to be a good father" said Shikamaru teasingly towards Sasuke.
Sasuke scowled but didn't dare retort knowing very well what his current position is in the room.
Sasuke, Cho-Cho, Orochimaru, Jugo and Suigetsu were waiting for Naruto and Sarada as they came out running.
"Oh, there they are!" said Naruto.
"Sarada!" shouted Cho-Cho waving at her.
"Where have you two been?" asked Sasuke.
"You of all people shouldn't ask this" said Kiba.
Sarada avoided Sasuke's gaze in disgust and Naruto straight up came at Sasuke angrily.
"Sasuke" shouted Naruto angrily.
"We gotta discuss something later!" said Naruto accusingly.
"Tell him Naruto" said Tenten supportively.
Suigetsu dipped.
Nearly all of the Konoha 12 and even Jiraiya chuckled at that.
"What about?" asked Sasuke.
"Not now!" said Naruto.
"First, we're gonna rescue Sakura!" said Naruto.
"Let's go" said Naruto raising his fist.
"She might be dead already, you know!" said Orochimaru.
"How tactless is this guy" said Jiraiya with a face palm.
"That's not what we need to hear right now" said Asuma.
Sarada and Cho-Cho looked on worriedly but Sasuke came to defend his wife's honor.
"My wife's not weak" said Sasuke.
Asuma whistled.
"Heh" said Jiraiya.
"If she has truly mastered Tsunade's craft then we have nothing to be worried about" said Hiruzen reassuringly.
"Sasuke-kun acknowledged me" whispered Sakura.
Even Sasuke looked surprised by what his future self said.
"Hell yeah, we are gonna kick that guy's ass" said Naruto grinning.
"But I will thank you for telling me where he is" said Sasuke as Suigetsu looked at the group from behind a rock.
"This guy's so funny" said Kiba snickering.
"I want to watch him more" said Naruto snickering alongside Kiba.
"That's what you get for sticking your nose in someone else's business" said Ino.
"I will take everyone there, my visual prowess just came back" said Sasuke.
"That eye, its mangekeyo" said Sasuke.
"How did you get them?" asked Jiraiya narrowing his eyes.
"I have no idea" said Sasuke just as shocked.
"To think that I would have the same eyes as him" said Sasuke in disgust.
And then Sasuke's Susano's head manifested around Sasuke.
"HOLY SHIT" said Asuma.
"W-what is this?" asked Kurenai just as shocked.
"I-I don't know" said Sasuke.
"That looks so cool" said Naruto.
"Just how powerful are you two?" asked Kiba frustrated.
"The susanoo" said Hiashi.
"You know about this power lord Hiashi?" asked Tenzo. Hiashi just nodded but didn't respond.
"So that's the legendary power of mangekeyo Sharingan" said Jiraiya.
"Are you aware of this power as well lord Jiraiya?" asked Kakashi intrigued.
"I have heard enough tales from the old man over there" said Jiraiya indicating at Hiruzen who looked at the screen with an intense look on his face.
Sarada and Cho-Cho looked at Sasuke's power in surprise.
"Your visual prowess was diminished? That explains things…" said Naruto.
"What do you mean it explains things, you mean to say he was nerfed all this time" said Kiba astonished.
"I would say it's safe to assume that's the case" said Shino.
The complete Susanoo towered over them.
"You have no right to criticize" said Sasuke.
"Oh my god" said Tsume in awe.
"I-Is this the power of a god?" asked Shikaku.
"Incredible" said Sakura in awe.
All of the Konoha 12 looked at the screen at awe.
"I have that much power" said Sasuke in awe and relief.
"With these two, I have no qualms about Konoha in the future" said Choza.
"Indeed" said Shibi.
'I was worried what would happen when I saw Sasuke going over to Orochimaru but I guess it turned out all right in the end' thought Hiruzen smoking his pipe.
"You guys have completely left me in the dust, all three of you" said Kakashi looking over his cute little genins proudly.
"Everyone, get on" said Sasuke.
The scene switched to Shin's hideout.
"Just a little more time Sakura, backup is coming" said Ino.
"We will rescue Sakura-chan" said Naruto.
"Hn" grunted Sasuke.
"Y-yup, I believe in you guys" said Sakura smiling.
"In order to revive Akatsuki, I will kill Sasuke and take his Sharingan" said Shin.
"Yeah, no buddy, I don't think you are at his level at all" said Jiraiya.
"SUCH IS THEIR POWER OF YOUTH" shouted Lee.
"INDEED" said Gai.
"They are not young anymore though" sighed Tenten.
"He doesn't deserve to carry on the Uchiha name" said Shin.
"You fake, how you dare question my legitimacy" snarled Sasuke.
"The one who does is me, Shin Uchiha" said Shin.
Sakura was surrounded by projectiles controlled by Shin.
On the other hand, Sasuke's susanoo flew leaving Orochimaru, Jugo and Suigetsu behind.
"You can even fly" said Choji in surprise.
"Hn" said Sasuke smirking.
"This is actually getting ridiculous" said Kiba.
"Wait for me, mom…I'm coming" said Sarada.
And the episode comes to an end.
"Wow, a lot happened huh" said Choza.
"Yeah, to think the future generations have reached such prowess" said Inoichi.
"Indeed, it's the first that someone has reached the same prowess as Hashirama and Madara" said Hiruzen.
"Now if only we can prevent Sasuke Uchiha here from going rogue" said Shikaku.
And immediately the atmosphere darkened.
The Konoha 12 all looked at Sasuke with disappointment.
"Teme, you better not cheat on Sakura-chan" said Naruto.
Sasuke sighed.
"I know" said Sasuke.
"I will see the mistakes made by my future counterpart and improve upon them" said Sasuke.
"We will hold on to that for now" said Asuma.
"And you better not cheat on women you hear me" said Ino.
Sasuke flinched at that.
"Can you really say he cheated though, Sakura in the future must be aware of the circumstances and still is supportive of Sasuke" said Shino.
"True, there is something we are missing" said Shikamaru.
"Indeed, we must continue watching to see what exactly is going on" said Shibi.
"I do need to ensure my student's safety as well" said Kakashi seriously.
"Yeah, teme and I will definitely save Sakura-chan" said Naruto.
"Hn" grunted Sasuke in approval.
"On to the next one then" said Hiruzen.
This is it for now. Next chapter will come soon. Follow my discord server.
8yNGRHep
