Predator, or Prey?

New chapter here and I'd like to think I had a decent update schedule last year at this time. RIP, one update a week.

AN at the bottom will have a somewhat brief rundown on why it took a bit longer for me to update.

///////////////////

Naruko gripped me tightly as we made our way to the memorial, my arm starting to go numb from her holding me.

I had asked her why she was scared of going here, and her response was downright adorable.

She was scared of ghosts.

In hindsight, I shouldn't have told her that ghosts weren't scary because they didn't haunt areas, they could just be reanimated with a Jutsu that the Nidaime created.

She hadn't let go of me since this.

I silently wondered how she'd react if I told her that I myself was technically a ghost inhabiting the body of the reincarnation of somebody who was dead several times.

It didn't require a superior intellect to know she'd react as well as a cat tossed in an ice cold bath.

"We're almost there, don't worry." I said softly, knowing how nervous I was when I first came here.

But I was on my own now.

We reached the memorial and my eyes traced along the names, spotting the one I was looking for.

Uzumaki Kushina.

"Right there." I pointed towards it, Naruko's eyes following my hand.

A faint gasp came from the blonde, her grip slackening as she stepped forward, almost like she was in a trance.

"Kaasan." She whispered, her hand pressing up against the cold stone.

Naruko then started shaking, a faint sob coming from her.

"It's not fair." She said, wiping at her eyes furiously. "I never got to meet you."

She started talking at a rapid pace, barely understandable as her body was wracked with tremors.

Naruko was openly crying now, my breath catching from how much it was reminding me of my own thoughts.

Not wanting her to be completely alone, I walked up to her and wrapped my arm around her shoulder, feeling her shaking under me.

"It's not fair, Sasuke." She mumbled into my sleeve, hiccuping slightly.

"I know," I replied, swallowing thickly as I could almost smell the blood of my parents as I remembered it all, "I know."

For this moment only, I would've chosen to kill Obito. If he had done nothing to wrong me personally, or if Itachi had done it all himself, I would have still decided to kill Obito because he made the girl currently sobbing in my arms cry from his actions.

It fed my own sense of despair at what I lost, reflected back at me through the eyes of an innocent little girl.

After my sleeve was thoroughly soaked through with her tears, Naruko managed to steady herself enough to look up at me with watery blue eyes.

"Does it get any better?" She asked quietly, looking towards her mother's name now.

The breath I was holding slowly escaped me, the amount of vulnerability and trust I was being shown by a girl I was actively manipulating making me almost I truly thought of who best I could be compared to.

Just like Itachi indeed.

"I don't know."

//////////////////////

"How safe is grafting flesh and blood from a different clan member into another unrelated subject?" I asked inquisitively, my hands feeling a faint chill from stitching the freshly made wound of the stray cat off the street.

Alley cats and other animals were tolerated in Konoha for two reasons. One, it helped with genin training to track and apprehend targets...

And two, Iryo-nin needed something to train with.

Fortunately, this particular cat was old by even non-feral cat standards and had its nerves temporarily blocked off by Kabuto, so I didn't have to deal with the idea of torturing a cat.

The question I laid out to Kabuto had him frowning, looking at me thoughtfully.

"That's some really complex stuff, Sasuke." He said, his eyes tracing along the relatively content cat. "Why the sudden interest?"

"I remember stories of the Senju clan having such potent chakra that ensnaring them with Genjutsu was difficult and fights of attrition against them were almost unwinnable because of their reserves." I was completely honest in my explanation. "I just thought of what I would be if I had the Sharingan and chakra reserves like that."

This was a bit of a risk to ask, but asking teachers or ANBU would lead directly to Sarutobi, who I definitely didn't want to start drawing parallels between me and Orochimaru, especially since I harbored no loyalty to the village whatsoever.

I planned on being the most powerful Shinobi in history. Even with my status as an Uchiha with Indra's chakra, it wouldn't be enough for me to be comfortable.

I could still be killed... and death terrified me now. Living longer or straight up not dying had slowly started to creep up the ladder of my priorities when I made two realizations.

Death itself was terrifying, and it also meant Indra would be reborn in my descendants, assuming I was able to bring back my clan.

I plan on ensuring the parasite never leaves my body. I'm keeping his power for myself.

Only the ear-damning, faint hum of the light made any noise as I thought of that, the grey haired teen's eyes holding a glint to them that I didn't recognize.

"I would advice that you not ask anybody else," He said slowly, looking around like he were putting on a show to convince me that someone might be listening in, "That sounds similar to Bloodline Theft and others may misunderstand why you're curious."

'Oh.' That put a dampener on me disguising my hunger for knowledge as some innocent curiosity if I asked Sarutobi.

Before I could re-ask the question, Kabuto shook his head slightly.

"But," He adjusted his glasses and gave me a faint smile, "Grafting flesh can work to give a rudimentary version of a kekkai genkai or assist in making your chakra more malleable."

"And the unspoken reasons for why Iryo-nin across the Elemental Nations don't just aim to get blood or a limb and graft it on to somebody?" I raised a brow, cutting the chakra feed and gently rubbing the cat's ears, hearing it purr at my ministrations.

Kabuto chuckled. "You're the sharpest kid your age I've ever met. But the answer isn't simple: Organ rejection, chakra incompatibility, and the risk of the host body attacking the transplant are all possible, if not likely. I hope I haven't lost you." He added quickly, looking genuinely hesitant when he realized I might not understand all of that.

But I did.

"I understand all of that." I said flatly, "My technical skill might be slower, but my theoretical is much better overall."

The cat trilled slightly and tried to nip at my fingers lightly, but I gave it a look and stopped petting it for a moment, which it got the message and set its head back down to let me continue stroking its ears.

"Cat likes you," Kabuto pointed out unnecessarily, "And I shouldn't be surprised by your theoretical stuff. You always have seemed to be ahead of the curve on any concept I've explained."

I nodded along, content with listening to Kabuto fill me in on how to become a god, all the while petting a surprisingly docile cat.

"Nobody has really managed to augment their bodies with different flesh grafts because our chakra naturally resist contrary ones. An example," Kabuto gestured towards my face, "Uchiha have Yin dense chakra, while the Akimichi have Yang dense chakra, or the Senju for that matter. Your chakra wouldn't mix properly and you'd be lucky to not get cancer or a compromised immune system if you succeeded."

'Oh, how little you either know or are willing to share, you four eyed tool.' I thought sinisterly, knowing a little thing about Naruko and me.

Her chakra, by all accounts, should be the most caustically anti-Uchiha in the world. Yin vs Yang, siblings having the split chakra that became diluted over generations.

But her chakra would give me the Rinnegan.

Other than Itachi's, Naruko's chakra would mix with mine to an incomparable degree.

Probably the same for any descendants of Indra and Ashura for that matter, given that Madara and Obito both had Hashirama's cells grafted into their bodies, with Iryo-ninjutsu at that, and it worked.

"Unfortunate." I muttered, turning to look down at the cat. "It sounded fascinating."

Kabuto gave me a strange look again, which I prayed wasn't as bad as I feared it was. He then seemed to shrug and we went back to doing other technique related things, including something I'd wanted to learn the basics of for months.

Chakra scalpels.

//////////////////

'I'm going to rip his Sharingan from his skull if he keeps avoiding me.' I growled internally, practically stomping to the memorial again to try and catch the silver haired son of a bitch that was Hatake Kakashi.

Yugao said he was supposed to help me within the week on Raiton... two weeks ago.

Every day, I went here and paced around, Naruko sometimes tagging along when she wanted to visit the monument and I'd give her company.

Sure, it diverted time that would have been Raiton and Sharingan training into Iryo-ninjutsu with Kabuto and some kenjutsu with Yugao, but I needed the others.

I despised being lied to by those who claimed to be a friend or ally, and Kakashi practically lied by not arriving.

Sarutobi was a spineless prune for not putting him in his place and Kakashi was a lazy prick that was only eclipsed by his Uchiha teammate in being a less than useful Shinobi of Konoha.

Getting to the area as my internal fury was being stoked constantly, my eyes focused on a sight that had my blood pumping harshly, my heart pounding in my ears.

A mop of silver hair atop the head of a man in ANBU armour.

'Fucker.' I growled, my fists clenched as I walked straight up to him.

"Inu!" I barked, drawing his attention as I saw Hatake Kakashi for the first time in the flesh.

Gravity defying silver hair, a dog mask on, and a patch that obscured his left eye for now.

"Where were you when you were supposed to be training me?!" I demanded, stomping straight up to him.

"Um, I'm not sure I know who you are." Kakashi offered, his bored tone making me want to punch him.

"Well I know who you are," I barely restrained myself from snarling at him, "Yugao said you were supposed to turn up, but you're here instead."

A slight tilt of Kakashi's head clued me in on him probably not caring that I was angry.

"Would it help ease your little tantrum if I told you I was injured on a mission and that's what delayed me?"

That simple question took all the fire out of me, my mind blanking completely.

'I... uh.' I blinked owlishly, trying to formulate a response.

"Next time, don't try and stalk me to cause me discomfort." Kakashi said with a hint of coolness in his tone, his arms crossed as he kept his weight mostly distributed on his right leg, "Kami knows how you even knew I visited the monument often."

'Think, Sasuke. Think.'

"Um," I licked my lips nervously, feeling a faint chill go up my spine as I realized how badly I just screwed up in flying off the handle with no sense of restraint, "My Tousan," My breath caught as I remembered that it was actually Itachi that said this, not my father, "Told me about an ANBU with silver hair that visited the memorial."

"And you never thought for a moment that I come here for a reason that might be considered sensitive?" He asked with a leading tone.

I wasn't going to apologize. I couldn't stomach it, especially from my apprehension about the ANBU being compromised. Kakashi being the only trustworthy one, but still not helping out, coloured my perception of him.

His comment about an injury had to be a lie. He would've shown the injury to prove it.

"It... might have been better if I asked Yugao where you were at." I said listlessly, resigned to another day of no Raiton.

The awkward silence that followed had me almost feeling sick with anxiety, my skin crawling.

"Well you're in luck." Kakashi said mercifully, walking up to me. "I'm free for the next few hours."

I blinked and looked up at him, surprised by that.

Without saying a word, I turned and went to the one training ground Yugao and I had trained at earlier, Kakashi following me.

///////////////

'I thought his social skills were bad, but this is outright ridiculous.' Kakashi thought, having just finished giving Sasuke some pointers on lightning release and a few things related to chakra control that Yugao told him Sasuke would be able to understand.

The kid was definitely extremely sharp. Even with Kakashi's lacking ability to flesh out proper explanations for things, Sasuke was able to follow along on most of it.

But the two hours of them interacting had Kakashi pondering what he had told the Sandaime during the debriefing after they had finished.

"Sasuke shows no deference whatsoever to me."

It was something that had been noticed by the teachers at the academy, the ANBU, and Kakashi himself just today concerning the behavior of one Uchiha Sasuke.

Whatever Itachi did seemed to have completely killed any sense of respect or even desire to feign respect that Sasuke contained for authority when he felt slighted. He sounded borderline apathetic, and only stopped being angry when he turned out to be wrong.

Sure, Umino Iruka swore by Sasuke being a polite, but obviously quiet, boy that was studious and did his work before lazing off.

But that ran contrary to his behavior towards himself and Yugao. It made little sense, unless it was because...

'Hmmm, Sasuke is not too far off from Iruka in skill. Perhaps that is why.'

Not a lack of deference, but fear of those stronger than him.

There seemed to be an exception only for the Sandaime with that theory, who said that Sasuke did give genuine respect/fear of him.

It could be possible that it applied only to the ANBU he spoke to because he was reminded of Itachi and became adversarial as a defense mechanism.

'Kami forbid he sees my Sharingan if he's that sensitive.' The silver haired man grimaced as he thought of that.

But the lack of apology over getting angry was a red flag, at least for Kakashi.

But to be candid, the injury comment was a half truth. Kakashi was delayed by an injury, but that was a week ago. He ended up volunteering for another mission just to avoid having to teach a child basic things, or at least what were considered basic to him.

With this latest day's events going just as awkwardly and robotic as Kakashi knew it would be, he could reasonably explain his request to steer clear of it for now.

Kakashi opened up his fridge and pulled out a bowl of leftovers, preparing to reheat it.

As the silver haired man tossed it in the microwave, he thought of the one thing eluding him, a thing that had his overly stimulated paranoia on alert.

Sasuke knew something about him.

Him taking Naruko to the memorial is explainable enough, but something rubbed Kakashi the wrong way about Sasuke's statement that his father mentioned a silver haired ANBU that visits the memorial.

Yugao told Sasuke what he looked like, but still. It didn't sit right with him that a child could have that much wrath and iciness within, and at a rather minor thing at that.

He just hoped Sasuke wouldn't break under the pressure he was putting himself under. Kami knows what an unstable Uchiha was capable of.

//////////////

"Son of a whore." I hissed under my breath, my fingers twitching when I messed up the transitioning of my chakra into a lightning nature.

Kakashi was somewhat helpful, but us talking sounded downright weird. He looked out of his depth, struggled to not jump between basic and definitely not basic elemental release explanations, and my already short mood made it difficult for me to suffer it.

All in all, an abysmal start to me interacting with the last loyal student of Namikaze Minato and the only person who can give me genuine field lessons on the Sharingan.

I had enough of the encrypted lesson journals in my clan library to know what to do for ocular Genjutsu, explanations on how to try and stave off tunnel visioning, but none of those could hold a candle to getting actual in person lessons.

Out of all people that I need help from. I sighed, eying my already scorched black target and forming hand seals to shoot another fireball at it.

The ball of fire shot from my mouth and struck it, a loud whoosh echoing from the air displacement as it was engulfed.

The flames died away and unsurprisingly, the target was scorched a little bit more.

With little else to do, and since I didn't fancy hurting my fingers from badly done lightning release, I made three hand seals and focused on the tenketsu in my fingers, just as Kabuto taught me.

A thin layer of chakra glowed around my fingers, a faint blade I could see with my Sharingan extending a few inches out.

It wasn't fancy at all, but it was still a chakra scalpel. It just seemed to click. All the other medical techniques took diligent study, but this was disturbingly simple for me to pull off, surprisingly.

Turning to look at the rabbit I caught with a snare an hour or so ago, I reached down and pulled open the cage, the poor thing trembling as it couldn't get away.

I severed the nerves to it's back legs just minutes ago, only to get cold feet and try other training.

The red of my Sharingan glinted off of its eyes, my left hand raised as I looked directly at where its heart and right lung would be.

With a soft jab, I struck it in the chest with a chakra scalpel, the poor thing spasming and trying to wriggle away, blood spurting from its mouth when it let out a loud squeak.

'Damnit.' My lip curled in disgust, hitting it again in the same spot.

It still didn't kill it, but it stopped trying to escape and let out a wet wheezing noise, which disgusted me.

A third strike killed it.

My breath was faint as I looked down at the now dead rabbit, trying to stop the tremors in my hands.

It was supposed to kill it instantly, not make it suffer.

More training will be needed to sharpen the scalpel to make the damage more distinct. I wasn't a sadist, I didn't cause needless pain for my own gain.

I wasn't Itachi.

I picked it up and tossed it into the trees, knowing something would be getting a free meal soon.

With that unsettling moment over, I went through the rest of the day's training regimen, wearing myself downing to build myself up.

///////////////

"I hate your stupid eyes!" Naruko nearly snarled, barely missing my face as I ducked under her kick.

A grin was on my face as I saw through all her attacks, dissecting and countering them at a rapid and unrelenting pace.

Today was an off day insofar as I was extremely happy.

All my training in taijutsu, kenjutsu, and Ninjutsu had been meshing together better over the last month, my chakra scalpel in particular getting sharp enough to sever clean through the tendons that ran from a person's fingers into their forearm.

It meant I could cripple someone if I landed a proper hit.

Naruko finally, after taking a punch to her face, landed a hit as a trade for getting a follow-up hit to her nose, my own head jerking back when the blonde's fist hit my jaw.

I staggered back, recovering almost instantly as she dove at me, ignoring the blood flowing down her face.

'Don't take to the air.' I thought exasperatedly, using the chakra sticking technique to snag her pant leg and twisting her as I jerked my arm.

The girl squawked as she ended up falling upside down on her back, a soft umph leaving her as she hit the ground.

I didn't help her up, opting to look down at her and give her a minor critique.

"What did I say about jumping?" I asked calmly, knowing that she was aggravated with me.

The girl groaned as she got up and dusted herself off, the orange eyesore that was her outfit being just a bit vexing to me.

"That hurt." She complained, glaring at me with an icy expression.

"It would have been worse if I had a sword," I pointed out, visualizing the result in my mind, "You would've lost both legs above the knees and your left arm at the elbow." I fought the urge to grimace when Naruko paled and looked at me apprehensively.

"Please don't say that." She requested, her legs shifting awkwardly as she fought the urge to fidget.

"I would only give the grisly details to someone I don't want it happening to," I said clearly, glancing at her arm, "Remember our talk about bone marrow leakage?"

Despite how much she probably didn't want to remember that incident, it still obviously stuck with her because she flinched slightly.

"Yeah." She mumbled.

"Unlike random civilians who fawn over me, you actually mean something to me." I said, keeping my inner thoughts to myself. "So that's why I bring up uncomfortable things."

She did matter to me, but not in the way she either knew or would prefer.

Currently, the single greatest threat to me and my goals was Uzumaki Naruko. Not Sarutobi. Not Danzo. Not Itachi. And not even Orochimaru, the Akatsuki or Obito...

It was her.

She was the only person alive that could match me in potential, and manipulating her to be strong earlier and loyal to me especially created the perfect shield against the Akatsuki and Konoha if I ever went rogue.

I'll just sic her on them, and she definitely will be a hellion within a few years.

The only reason I wasn't black and blue from sparring against her was because I could intercept and divert her punches with my Sharingan. She punched like a freight train and I could feel my jaw pound with my pulse where she hit me, but I wasn't going to let her know how much it hurt.

"You need me to heal that?" I asked, ignoring the rather cold thoughts in my head as I saw how much her nose was bleeding.

"It's fine." She shook her head, wiping it away with her sleeve as best as she could.

I ignored her and walked straight up to her, going through the necessary hand seals rather quickly. Green chakra formed around my fingers and I gave her an unimpressed look.

"I don't believe you." I said flatly, bringing my left hand up to her face. "Let me fix it."

"No, it'll heal." Naruko protested, looking up at me with a frown.

"Naruko," I almost whispered, my eyes narrowing as a laced as much authority as I could in my tone, "You are hurt, and I'm wanting to heal it properly."

"I said it's fine, Sasuke." She hissed, "I'm not a weakling that can't handle pain."

A defiant little brat that didn't have a single clue what was for the best of her.

'So certain of yourself.' I sighed, reaching up quickly and pinching her nose lightly before she could get her hands up or push me away.

The shriek that came from her had me cringing internally, but I didn't stop and pushed medical chakra into her nose, healing the possible fracture that would have taken a couple minutes to heal from her accelerated kind.

Letting go, I let her shove me away roughly, tears of pain and anger both running down her face.

"I'm gonna break your nose to see how it feels, 'ttebayo!" She snarled, her fists clenched as she shook in anger and...

She looked scared.

"Your nose was broken, Naruko." I said gently, "I healed i- don't give me that look." I commanded sharply, spotting her scowling viciously, "Just because you naturally heal faster doesn't mean your nose would heal straight. Imagine having a crooked nose where it has to be re-broken to straighten it out."

The anger in her gaze seemed to dance like a sapphire inferno, my statement getting to her because she knew I was right.

"You could've just left it alone," Naruko bit out, "I would've just tilted my head back and changed shirts."

The way she worded that had me tilting my head confusedly.

"Why would you need to change your shi-" I began to ask, but then an errant thought entered the forefront of my mind and I capitalized on it with a loaded question, "Do you often vomit when you get a broken nose?"

The awkward look of embarrassment seemed to override her anger at me, the reaction confirming my continued suspicions.

She'd broken her nose before, and most likely on several occasions.

Villagers.

Whether she wanted it or not, I'm killing a few people when I find out their identities.

"Don't ever tilt your head back when your nose is bleeding," I groaned, fighting the urge to pull at my hair in frustration at the situation, "The blood drains into your stomach and you'll get sick. Our stomachs don't like blood and will force you to puke."

"Well," She sputtered, waving her arms in frustration, "How was I supposed to know that?"

'Good, she's embarrassed instead of angry.'

"I'm not blaming you." I said, trying to assure the temperamental blonde that I wasn't angry at her. "But could you not fight me when I'm trying to help you?"

That simple question had her slumping her shoulders, her hand wiping at her face to get rid of the tears.

"I'm sorry," She said quietly, avoiding eye contact with me, "I shouldn't have gotten mad."

Taking a bit of a gamble, I reached out to her and took her hand, giving her a soft smile.

"It's okay," I held her hand delicately, surprised by how soft her palms were in spite of her non-stop taijutsu training over the last couple of months, "Just... I'm just trying to help, you can trust me."

The small manipulations were disturbingly easy, the opportunity to do it clear and present. I didn't intend for another way to get her tied closer to me, but the situation presented it.

Naruko nodded sheepishly, both our eyes flicking to the watch on my wrist when it went off. It meant the time was up on our sparring.

"3:00 already," I mused, letting go of Naruko's hand and letting mine fall back to my side, "You need something to eat?" I asked.

My training partner and closet thing to a confidant nodded eagerly, seemingly casting aside the near argument we had as best as she could manage.

"Yes!"

"I'm choosing where to eat." I added, turning to walk away, the adorable little chibi of a blonde trying to catch up hastily.

No ramen today. Normally, I ate copious amounts of meat and eggs to keep myself on a good amount of animal protein, but I was going to treat us today, the slight argument with Naruko not doing enough of a dampener on my mood to make a difference. And thankfully there wasn't any of that processed shit in this world like in my sort of old one.

Perfectly organic meat, milk, and fruit to maximize physical health.

I continued thinking of different things I had planned as Naruko and I walked side by side, ignoring the strange looks I was given by the villagers.

////////////////

The memory of Naruko's blood from her nose being on my fingers struck me as I prepared for my own individual training, looking at the sun that was starting to sink.

I'd be a liar if I claimed that I hadn't been thinking of her specifically when I asked Kabuto about grafting flesh into my body to gain abilities.

If I figured out how to do it properly, I could do what Madara did, but much faster. He only bit a chunk of flesh out of Hashirama and stitched it into a wound, but I had a constant source of blood and chakra from Ashura's current reincarnation to pump into my system when I figured out how to do it.

The thought of obtaining more stamina, faster healing, and larger reserves had me giddy in excitement, even if it was a modest amount in comparison to what Naruko had.

'Whatever.' I thought, my Sharingan drinking in the targets I set up in front of me, the clearing in the wooded area being perfect for me.

Making the necessary hand seals, I Shunshined at one target, slashing at it with a kunai and managing to not dislocate my shoulder like I did last week.

Progress.

That positivity died when I pivoted and my ankle rolled, sending me to the ground as I felt the joint pop.

The abrupt stop had the added downside of my head striking against the ground, making my vision spin.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" I groaned, fighting the urge to puke from the pain.

I glanced down at my foot and swallowed thickly, feeling bile creep up my throat as it kept hurting.

With shaky fingers, I managed to properly activate the Mystical Palms technique and grabbed my foot, moaning audibly as the pain faded under my ministrations.

After I was confident that I healed my ankle, I put some weight on it and stood up, still trying to recover from how it hurt.

"I hate you, Shisui." I growled under my breath, glaring at the targets that Shisui's little booklet said needed to be cut down within 3 seconds minimum to be considered passable at combat use of the Shunshin.

His small journal on it was put in the clan library, probably when he died based on how it was in the newest addition section, and I had read through it.

It was going to be a slog before I got good.

Steeling my resolve, I repeated what I just did, jetting across the training ground with the assistance of my chakra.

////////////////

I collapsed into my bed with tears in my eyes, my ankles and legs burning too much for me to even think.

What normally would have taken me minutes to get home took me almost an hour, my legs too weak to carry me there without several breaks.

Unlike going straight properly, which only took a week of dedicated training to do right, I made no progress today on turning while moving. All I did was probably get myself early onset arthritis in my ankles and knees.

I whimpered in pain as I slowly straightened my legs, Iryo-ninjutsu only taking the edge off.

There had to be something wrong I was doing, and I had no idea what. Shisui managed to make this a core part of his fighting style by the time that he was about 11, and I wasn't even close at 9.

Rolling to lay on my back, I decided I wasn't going to have supper tonight. I was just going to lay here and contemplate my life while I white knuckled my way through the pain as best as I could.

/////////////

"Iruka-sensei," I asked politely, catching the man's attention, "I have a question about this portion of the history chapter we just read." I gestured towards the mentioned page.

"What about it, Sasuke?" He asked warmly, conveying a calm air as he usually did.

In a better world, he'd be a fantastic kindergarten teacher, not a trainer of killers.

"Why does it say that the treaty with civilians that moved here under the Nidaime mentioned blood as a 'commodity'?" I voiced my question, suspecting why, but not truly knowing.

"Hmmm," Iruka gave me a curious look, "The answer isn't exactly history centric, but I may as well explain it because it's important. Now," He called out a bit louder to make sure everyone was still paying attention, Shikamaru feeling obligated to listen now and Naruko was clenching the desk to not fidget, "Chakra is what gives Shinobi great power and mastery over the elements, but there are a few downsides to it, and one of those is that transfusions to treat blood loss run the risk of chakra poisoning."

"Why is that, Iruka-sensei?" A civilian girl spoke up, looking almost painfully generic.

"The chakra of each person is 100% unique," Iruka explained, "And our chakra network sometimes reacts to foreign chakra in the same way our bodies react to getting sick. It attacks what it sees as an invader."

This was backed up by what Kabuto mentioned on the dangers of flesh grafting, but I was curious about the societal perception on it, which Iruka was fulfilling right now.

"The blood from a relative won't be a problem, so long as you have the correct blood type." Iruka added, looking around at the different clan kids.

'I have AB blood.' I thought, knowing it was the blood type that could receive any kind of blood safely.

"But as to your question, Sasuke," Iruka got back to me, "Civilians have very little chakra, so their blood isn't saturated with it. Most blood transfusions done for Shinobi forces is with civilian blood, and that is why there were deals made with the civilians of Konoha by the Nidaime."

I nodded at the answer, my curiosity sated.

"Thank you for the lesson, Iruka-sensei." I set my hands on the table, moving my book a little to the left.

The rest of the class was uneventful, being just your typical couple of hours of near pointless lessons for me.

/////////////

'Hmmm.'

I twitched when the clone popped, giving me memories of the day's lessons. I'd always wondered about why Tobirama made a deal with civilians related to them giving blood.

I shrugged and compartmentalized the additional tidbit of information and went back to my Nature release training, trying to get my lightning chakra to be stable enough where my clones could train with it without it shocking them and prematurely popping them.

////////////

"I probably should have been more understanding of the situation before I made an assumption." Sasuke gave probably what was the closest thing to an apology he was capable of giving, considering the circumstance.

Kakashi tilted his masked head, the second meeting between them being a little bit better.

They were currently in the training ground that Sasuke frequented with Yugao, being closer to the forest than most.

"People go to the memorial for a reason." Sasuke continued, before falling silent.

'Either he's uncomfortable because he knows he intruded on somebody in a way he'd hate it himself, or he hates admitting wrong.'

Kakashi gave a bit of a shrug. "Good enough for me. Bygones are bygones."

He just simply didn't have the interest or motivation to stay annoyed with the kid after the first day, it was that unimportant to his day to day life.

Now, if Naruko, with those eyes and hair that were identical to Minato-sensei's, was that angry, it might have done more.

"But, how fares your Lightning release training?" Kakashi asked politely, knowing that if Sasuke could pull it off decently enough, he could do minimalistic work for offering other stuff to placate and distract him from experimenting unsafely. Just throw a few Raiton jutsu at him to copy and instruct him to work on precision with them to save chakra.

"To be honest," Sasuke said slowly using his words precisely, "I'm more interested in anything you know about some more esoteric things. Yugao spoke of you like you were... uncommonly intelligent."

"She would not be wrong." Kakashi said, not denying that he was the sharpest of his generation in Konoha. "What kind of things are you curious about?"

"Ways to mimic sensory abilities with Ninjutsu, Genjutsu via sound as a medium, and how to train to use half seals." He rattled off, but not fast like he was impatient. More matter of factly than anything else.

'A clear picture of what he wants.'

"Precocious, aren't you?" Kakashi couldn't help but smirk at the clear-sighted nature of Sasuke's curiosity.

"Uchiha." Sasuke shrugged in a near perfect mimic of how Kakashi did it.

'Well. Well. Well. He just might be tolerable.'

"The first is extremely difficult to do properly," Kakashi explained, deciding he would inconvenience himself to explain it as best as humanly possible, "Each elemental nature has its own way to sense around you. Earth works by pulsing your chakra through the earth and pulling back so it stays connected to you still, like a Kage Bunshin. Follow along?" He asked, to which Sasuke nodded.

"But I have an affinity for lightning and fire," Sasuke pointed out, "Any for those?"

"None for lightning that I'm aware of that is 'safe'," Kakashi used air quotes for the word, "Arcing out small amounts of electricity through the air will get you detected by even non-sensors. It makes the air it touches smell like ozone."

The slight furrowing of Sasuke's brow indicated some frustration on his part, which was fair.

"I'm guessing wind is the easiest to explain?"

"You'd be correct." Kakashi nodded, not bothering to explain what Sasuke obviously knew.

"Fire and water?" Sasuke queried.

"Water is similar to Earth, using it as a medium for a chakra ping," Kakashi stated, "But there is a way to improve it if you have trained with wind as well."

That got Sasuke's attention.

"The reliability of all the techniques depend on how adept you are at that element..." Kakashi paused for dramatic effect, eying Sasuke's expression closely, "And your chakra control."

The boy's eyes widened minutely and his breath stilled for a fraction of a second, before the look of surprise disappeared.

"Didn't think of that when you were learning chakra control exercises?" Kakashi raised a brow amusedly.

Sasuke shook his head. "But it's good to know." He said, his demeanor much brighter now.

"So, water vapour or particles in the air can carry your chakra if you have enough control of your chakra to bounce it from source to source, keeping it from bleeding into the air. That's also where intimately understanding where water ends and wind begins helps."

Kakashi could almost see the gears working in Sasuke's head, his eyes holding a faraway look as he focused on deciphering it all.

"Fire?" He finally asked.

"Fire has a unique way to detect wind and water sensing, but it's the hardest to pull off. I've not been able to do it properly to be considered a combat safe technique." Kakashi admitted the last part with a bit of annoyance. His chakra control was good, but you needed immense levels of it.

"And how is it done?"

"Internalize fire chakra, flow it through your tenketsu, and when foreign chakra brushes up against you, the fire will react." Kakashi said, realization dawning on the raven haired boy.

"It will flare for wind and diminish if it's water," Sasuke breathed, before his eyes narrowed, "That would require such a deep connection to your own chakra to feel it."

"I'm sure your chakra control exercises will help with that, especially since your coils keep growing some even after you stop physically growing."

Most stopped or slowed to a crawl around their early to mid twenties, which was when the brain also finished developing, or at least that's what Kakashi thought. It wasn't something Kakashi was well versed in, but he knew the very basics of it.

"It's going to be difficult for me to do it." Sasuke muttered under his breath, "Any tips on how to?"

Kakashi pondered how to respond, before answering. "You'll have to figure it out on your own. Each form has to be tailormade, because your tenketsu and chakra network aren't identical to mine."

A flaring of the boy's nostrils had Kakashi rushing to clarify something else to dissuade him.

"This will be something that you won't be able to make into a workable technique anytime soon," The man looked down at the prodigious little Uchiha, "I was sixteen before I managed to get it to not hurt me if I tried. Training Iryo-ninjutsu and Ninjutsu will serve you better for now, especially with your Sharingan." He added the last part to finally dispel the illusion of Sasuke keeping it secret.

Predictably, Sasuke visibly flinched, his eyes flicking away from Kakashi's.

He didn't understand why Sasuke kept it secret. Shame? Selfhatred from how it manifested? Kakashi simply didn't know.

"When..." Sasuke said quietly, looking his actual age for once instead of the motivated fighter he acted as constantly, "When did you figure it out?"

"Surprisingly, it took several weeks for any of the ANBU to figure it out when you were training and we..." Kakashi tried to word it delicately, so he tried, "Made sure you didn't injure yourself too badly."

"Thanks." Sasuke snorted, looking mildly amused by the statement.

"It was only noticed when you dropped something and caught it," Kakashi revealed how he spotted the fact that Sasuke had his Sharingan, "A cute little party trick Uchiha I've been on missions with did sometimes."

Itachi was less than enthused when a few of the ANBU, during his initiation, had him catching things thrown at his face constantly where his hands started to be a blur.

Even at 11, he was an animal.

"And what does that mean for me?" Sasuke asked, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

This was where Kakashi could set the groundwork to instill civility in Sasuke's actions. To not do it now might lead him on the path of seeing comrades as mere instruments of progress, and nothing else.

"A very simple thing really; be polite and refrain from copying anything without permission." Was Kakashi's flat response, "Get better at Katon and Raiton, and I'll give you Jutsu to copy. I know quite a bit of both natures and I'm willing to share, but only if you adhere to that one rule."

Sasuke didn't hesitate at all to reply.

"What if the techniques aren't personal ones, ones that many people already have?"

Kakashi closed his eyes and took a deep breath, knowing why Sasuke asked.

"For your continued safety, I'd recommend that you refrain from copying the Juken or try and replicate clan techniques. I was the one on duty when you were spying on that genin team with a Hyuga girl."

Sasuke scowled at that.

"Guilt tripping me won't work when it pertains to that clan." He gritted out, his eyes flashing red for a moment.

'Defensive about it... why?'

Before Kakashi could probe for why Sasuke was that harsh spoken on the Hyuga, the boy's dark eyes focused on him.

"I will never brand my descendants like cattle."

'Ah, of course he would take family seriously.' Kakashi thought, silently looking at the youngest living Uchiha with a muted since of pride.

The inner workings of the Hyuga weren't the most popular, but a treaty was signed to ensure they would be loyal to Konoha. Self-governance to a certain point on traditions, or something along that line.

"I just realized we haven't discussed the Genjutsu or half seal subject," Kakashi fought the urge to chuckle, realizing that their discussion took much longer, "You still wanting to?"

Sasuke nodded eagerly, looking up at him with barely disguised excitement.

I might just be able to make this work. Kakashi smirked as he helped Uchiha Sasuke paint a clearer picture on how he was going to improve himself across many aspects.

///////////////

"Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto knelt in deference, the elusive and sinister missing nin of Konoha standing above him with calculating gaze.

"What news do you bring me, Kabuto?" Orochimaru asked, a faint rasp to his voice as he looked upon his most trusted servant.

"Uchiha Sasuke continues to progress in his studies," Kabuto replied, still remaining in a kneeling position, "But something... peculiar was said to me. "

A fanged grin appeared on the Sannin's face, knowing it was news that would be delicious. Kabuto's heartbeat did not quicken like he was concerned by a negative reaction, and his neutral tone was a truly neutral one, not the well-schooled kind that Danzo's former little pet now turned useful asset had mastered under said man's tutelage.

"Oh?" He asked with a curious lilt to his voice, his slanted yellow eyes focusing on their target like a predator ready to pounce.

"Sasuke asked about grafting the flesh of other Shinobi for the purpose of utilizing other bloodlines."

...

The space between the beats of a human heart were quick and difficult to gauge as a form of time measurement for most, but it's usefulness could be stretched out by the sharpest and most keen of minds, and Orochimaru's was rivalled by few.

Shinobi such as he could boast of thinking of things in a heartbeat, the proclamation more literal than a figure of speech.

It took three beats of his heart for Orochimaru's rapid strings of logic to reach a point where he truly comprehended what he was just informed of.

"Did he now?" Orochimaru voiced aloud, a faint sense of genuine surprise flashing across his mind, much more authentic than the similar feeling most often present when an unforeseen event occurred.

Curiosity was natural for a child, especially an Uchiha one that looked to be both intelligent and motivated beyond all conventional metrics.

But this was the second young Uchiha that managed to surprise him, and the last time just so happened to be a few weeks ago in the form of the elder brother of the other.

"I trust that you sated young Sasuke's curiosity?" Orochimaru gestured for Kabuto to stand, which he did.

"He already understood what I explained," Kabuto revealed, which only fed the burning hunger for more in Orochimaru, "He explicitly asked about Senju and Uchiha bloodlines mixing."

Thum-thump.

This time, the Summoner of the Snakes absorbed that detail within a single beat.

"Kukuku," Orochimaru felt outright elation at that particular detail, "I do not even need you to tell me he was curious about his Sharingan combined with the reserves of a Senju."

Orochimaru spotted the faint flash of acknowledgment in Kabuto's eyes, and the rogue Sannin ran different scenarios in his mind at a blistering pace.

Curiosity of that sort seldom happens organically. A likely motivation was the complete upheaval of his life, including the murder of his clan.

Another string connected to the larger picture, a minute fraction of a detail that stuck with Orochimaru even after he considered it coincidental.

"Our last meeting," Orochimaru tilted his head back towards Kabuto, his long black hair swishing with the movement slightly, "You said you believed Sasuke had been given a journal or manuals on Iryo-ninjutsu."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto nodded, "But more than just that, and I can't understand how. His reserves have grown exponentially. Before, he was fatigued after our sessions and his Jutsu would waiver at the end, bit that is not the case at all now."

'Chakra control. Iryo-ninjutsu. Flesh grafting. Reserves of a Senju. Immense reserve growth.'

Every single point of training or interest Kabuto was aware of concerning Uchiha Sasuke all pointed to something that only three people currently outside of Konoha could have ever connected together into a cohesive picture.

Himself. Jiraiya. Tsunade.

Sarutobi had likely given Sasuke information on the chakra exercises Tsunade had theorized and partially put into practice that would maximize chakra growth and minimize injury.

It was one of the rare accomplishments they did together, Orochimaru's knowledge of biology being the perfect foil to Tsunade's medical knowledge.

Everything else was easily connected as downstream of that. Wanting to heal and save lives after experiencing tragedy, motivation to have immense reserves of chakra, and a hunger to know about things many found uncomfortable.

So simple for Orochimaru to reach that conclusion, and for good reason.

Sasuke was not the only one to be molded by similar circumstances and react in such a way.

Sarutobi wanted a replacement for Shisui and Itachi, and he thought he had the good fortune of having that.

'So many possibilities to choose from.' Orochimaru licked his lips almost subconsciously, a new pet project coalescing into a tangible plan instead of a fanciful idea.

"Continue to train him, an opportunity like this will not present itself again." Orochimaru instructed gently, proud of how well Kabuto had inserted himself into being a perfect spy on Danzo, the village, and sections of the Elemental Nations when he had been in ROOT.

"Should any adjustments be made to my current trajectory of progress?" Kabuto asked calmly.

"No," Orochimaru shook his head, "It will be unnecessary. But, I will provide notes, older ones, related to topics Sasuke will find most... illuminating." He hissed out a laugh, knowing the sound sent chills up the spines of lesser willed 'people', if they even deserved the title when they exhibited more similarities to pray animals, such as rabbits.

Kabuto frowned slightly.

"Where will the notes officially be coming from?" He asked, sounding faintly confused.

"Your inheritance from your adoptive mother," Orochimaru replied, "A sympathetic ear and a gift of knowledge will go a long way to engendering trust and a lowering of Sasuke's guard. He undoubtedly is closed of after what befell him."

Kabuto nodded an acceptance to his orders, seemingly undaunted by the request. If he had misgivings about it, Orochimaru would have accepted the slightly less efficient approach because of how successful his servant had been so far.

"I will be disappearing for the remainder of the year until the Akatsuki lose any trail I have left," Orochimaru worded it as a dismissal, which the grey haired Iryo-nin understood, "We will meet tomorrow for you to receive the notes. Midnight."

With that, Orochimaru exited the underground cellar, guiding a perfectly measured amount of his chakra to his legs with a single half seal, vanishing in a blur of speed.

/////////////

End Chapter:

Like I said at the top, I'll explain briefly. Real life delayed me and I fell out of rythym for writing, which caused basically a negative feedback of me not having enough time to write to reach a good stride and it ruined my groove. Happy to announce that I got it back with a new chapter and copious amounts of writing chapters for other unpublished fics.

Basic emotional scene with Sasuke and Naruko. Has some negative connotations attached to it.

Sasuke gets some more training and there's clear steps for him to continue improving. Kakashi gets introduced properly to him, even if their interactions will be a bit rocky from time to time.

Naruko, well... a very opinionated and headstrong child that hates being pitied or babied doesn't react well to said perceived acts. Sometimes, it can be quite the detriment, but that's what a definitely not manipulative friend is for, right?

Orochimaru gets a little sneak peek at Sasuke's less than Canon mindset and curiosity, so it's going to be crazy if the resident snake summoner catches you as a source of interest.

Anyway, here's the chapter. Hope y'all enjoy. Peace!

Raging..