"You seem like you're in a bad mood."
"If you don't have important anything to say. Leave."
"Wait wait, my Mentor wanted me to pass on something to you." These words caught his interest.
"You may not know, but I actually secretly have a Mentor that is extremely powerful in Fuinjutsu."
"Sealing Ninjutsu?"
"Exactly, he gave me these special Bloodline Seals he created that were specifically created to enhance the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan. He had been planning to pass it to your father when he was alive, but now can't after the tragedy that happened years ago." She whipped up an incredibly hard to believe story on the spot.
Sasuke, having a more of a brain than a certain knucklehead, obviously didn't believe her immediately. There were so many holes in her story that it would take a day pointing them all out.
"What proof do you have?" A kunai was pulled out of his pocket and pointed at this suspicious 'friend' of his. He had been betrayed once, and he wasn't going to allow someone else to manipulate him.
"I know more about the Sharingan than you do."
"...Such as?"
"I know about the innate cursed nature of the Sharingan as well as the repercussions that follow trying to achieve its highest form." Like knowing that 'killing friends' isn't the actual requirement for unlocking its higher form, as despair was enough.
"Your Mentor told you that?"
"Absolutely~!" She put on an innocent expression.
"Then come. Tell me what you know." After getting to know Sakura over the few months they trained together with Gai, he knew that even if she did try lying to him, she wouldn't do anything to harm him.
He was curious about this Mentor of hers and how that person knew so much about Uchiha.
The pink-haired kunoichi jumped down from the roof before sitting at the a table where Sasuke was gesturing towards. Sasuke also sat directly opposite her before giving her a look that told her to speak. He didn't want her to hide anything.
"Actually, my Mentor is a Uchiha who survived the massacre." These words were like a explosion in his head. His eyes widened as the possibility of her truly having a Mentor with great skills occurred to him. It made all the puzzle pieces fit together.
"He said that he wanted you to get stronger, but he also wanted you to do a favour for him in return."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed seriously at this request.
"What does he want?"
"He said that there was more to the Uchiha's Tragedy that meets the eye and wanted you to investigate for clues after becoming a Jonnin." She tried to give him a goal different from finding and killing his older brother in a useless effort for revenge. Knowing the truth herself, she was thinking of putting down some breadcrumbs of clues to lead his investigations the right direction.
The black-haired youth's entire body shook as he contemplated on her words. He already had a suspicion that Itachi's sudden massacre of his own Clan had something to do with the Hidden Leaf.
"I myself don't know what my Mentor is talking about when he told me to tell you this. Can you tell me anything?" She tested him with a question she already knew what he'd respond with after hearing.
"It's personal. Just tell me more about these Bloodline Seal things you were tasked in passing on to me." Sasuke avoided the subject entirely. He didn't want to get his friends muddled up in his self-destructive path of vengeance, but what he didn't know is that this answer really disappointed the girl who had known him for longer than he could remember. Again, he chose the same path...
'The same as always… leaving me out of everything and burdening yourself.' She didn't show a heartbroken expression. Instead opting to show the Bloodline Seals that were glowin on both her palms to give him a better explanation on what HIS Seal was like. She wasn't going to back out on what she said just because he gave her the wrong answer.
"The red one is called the Strength of a Berserker Seal while the black one is called the Strength of a God Seal." The reaction he had after hearing the names of these Seals made his heart beat in excitement. They sound extremely strong!
"What do you think makes an Uchiha stronger?" She asked a question that seemed out of the blue.
"...Hatred." Despite the suddenness of it, he found himself unable to lie as he spoke what he truly believed. Most Uchiha were always driven by anger as if it was their sole driving motivation in life.
"You're wrong." She shook her head.
"The actual answer is 'Hatred born from loss of love'. I have heard from my Mentor that he achieved the Mangekyō Sharingan after his friend died to protect him… He told me that one day, you might also try to achieve power through cutting your bonds. Even though it isn't advised to 'artificially' give in to despair." Her words were as cold as ice, but he only turned his head in return.
"He said that whether you choose to do so or not, only even think of attempting it once you have truly reached the highest mastery of the Sharingan. Master what you know to the highest extent first." Sakura continued, and Sasuke still didn't respond as he once again looked at the glowing red and black Spades Seals on top of her palms.
"He said that he'll one day meet you and tell you more about the Mangekyō Sharingan. However, before he can tell you anything, he wanted you to have eyes that can counteract the weakness of gaining this type of Dōjutsu." She finished off her explanation. She wanted to delay him from ever thinking about attaining those eyes as long as she could, and the only way to do that was using hope.
"...They have a weakness?" Although Sasuke wasn't aware Mangekyō Sharingan's power, he knew that this power was what Itachi used to start the massacre. As long as he knew one of its weaknesses, he'll focus his development in trying to take full advantage of it. It was a plan just like he used in the previous timeline to kill Itachi.
"The Mangekyō Sharingan deteriorates with each use of its great power. One day, the user of it will completely lose sight in both his eyes if he was to use it recklessly." These words didn't disappoint him, but instead gave him the hope he needed in being able to kill Itachi, who had become an insurmountable existence in his mind.
If those eyes had their limits, then he could definitely kill him as long as he forces him to overuse it!
Sakura ignored the malicious look in Sasuke's eyes and instead decided to get to the main point.
"The Strength of a Berserker Seal was made to 'refine' the Sharingan using chakra infused with hatred rather than relying on amplifying your own emotions in order to improve it. After I've applied it, you won't be able to use your left eye, but after it has fully unlocked its potential, you'll be able to access the Eternal Sharingan. Eyes that will never lose their light even if you obtain its Mangekyō Sharingan form.
The Strength of a God Seal will give a qualitive improvement to your right Sharingan. However, my Mentor told me to warn you to only release it's full power once you have mastered its initial form."
The words coming out of her mouth seemed to put him in a Genjutsu as he looked at the Seals in a trance.
"Allow me to apply it." After seeing that he was willing to trust her, she covered his eyes with her palms.
The chakra Kurama gave her infused into Sasuke's left eye while the chakra she took from Naruto enhanced his right eye. Although Naruto's chakra wasn't as great as Kurama's, the mixture of Uzumaki and Uchiha was the key to obtaining the Rinnegan, a Dōjutsu that was at the pinnacle when it came to space-time manipulation. Sasuke felt a change occurring in both his eyes but he ignored the irritation he felt so she wouldn't be interrupted midway through the process.
"Your right eye is done." She removed her right hand from his face. The implementation of the Seal proved to be a success just from the fact that there was now a grey iris around his right eye's pupil.
"The form your right eye has taken is the Embryo Rinnegan. It's only strengths are it's extremely high spacial awareness and ability to sense chakra. I suggest you wait for your Eternal Sharingan to fully form before you open your left eye." She spoke while also taking her left hand off his face. Once she did, the youth before her tested out the new Dōjutsu he had been gifted by 'her Mentor'.
"It's amazing…" Sasuke realized that even if he closed his right eye, he'd still be able to see the world around him even if it had lost all its colour. This made him a little impatient to lift its seal and obtain a true Rinnegan, which he had heard a little about in rumours of the Three Great Dōjutsu.
"Don't be too impatient. Even if you tried obtaining the Rinnegan using the Bloodline Seal, it would take too much time for you to learn how to control it. The best way for you to improve right now is master what you already have." As she spoke, the youth nodded in turn.
"I will remember your Mentor's words. Next time you see him, tell him I'll be waiting for our meeting." Sasuke held his right eye as he spoke. Since he needed some time to adapt to his new eyes, he was about to send her off by herself. He didn't even bother saying goodbye to her as he turned since he saw their meeting as her Mentor passing on a message to him.
Although he was curious about her Mentor, he didn't feel any reason to be social towards Sakura right now.
"Wait." She stopped him the same way Ino did to her and took off his headband. Before he could even complain about her actions, the Leaf Headband that he only saw as a head protector was turned into a blindfold that can both shield and cover his eyes.
"What's all this about?" He spoke, but he didn't take the headband off his head. Instead feeling that wearing his head protector this way is the most logical solution to hiding the fact that his eyes had mutated.
"You should take care of yourself more." She used this opportunity to hug him, which seemed to finally break the facade he had up all this time. He embarrassedly tried to slip out of her hold, only to find he couldn't escape her embrace.
But fortunately, she took the hint and let go of him.
"I'm going to stay at Naruto's house from now on." The next words she spoke almost made him fall over.
"You're going to LIVE WITH NARUTO?!" He showed a rare burst of emotions as his heart somehow felt uncomfortable at the prospect of the two of them, a young boy and girl, living together.
"He doesn't have anyone to watch over him when he's outside the Academy. On top of that, my Mentor told me to stay with him in order to teach him properly after he got his own Bloodline Seal." These words deflated the arrogance he felt from having his Bloodline Limit enhanced while also igniting his competitive spirit.
If his own improvement was so amazing, who knows what kind of abilities Naruto gained as a result?
"I'm coming as well."
"That's good. (I'd be lonely if you didn't.)"
"What did you say?"
"Nothing important, just be sure to pack your stuff and come over. I'm going to leave first." She said before using the Body Flicker Technique to disappear. Sasuke became less interested in testing his limits as he decided to only take a few things before leaving. He was unsure why but the thought of Sakura and Naruto being together actually made him a little angry. He could be bothered to figure out why he felt this way as he decided catch up to her.
When he finally got to Naruto's apartment, his eyes widened at how Sakura was practically making herself at home as if she owned the place. Even though the apartment was small, there was no problem if the three of them wanted to sleep over.
That is, if all three of them were males...!
"Sakura, you can't live here!"
"Why not? Believe it, my house is amazing!" Naruto clearly didn't think things through as he was planning in his mind how to get Sakura to notice him. A frown appeared on his face as he looked at Sasuke.
"You got that Bloodline Seal as well? Also, what's with the way you're wearing your headband?" He asked in confusion, not understanding how his rival-in-love was able to see while blindfolded.
"Hey, can I help him out with 'training'?" Sasuke got annoyed by that face of his and wanted to beat him real badly.
"Oh, you think you can win against me?" Naruto spoke while dishing out the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"..." The young Uchiha was speechless after seeing the most incompetent ninja he had ever met pulling off the Shadow Clone Technique as if it was no big deal. Although he only made four Shadow Clones as of now, he was well aware that the person before him was no longer the idiot he could smack around without needing much effort.
"Sasuke, I know what you're thinking, but don't burn the apartment down, and Naruto, calm down and get to bed. We all have serious training to do tomorrow before we go back to the Academy." Sakura clearly didn't want him to show off his Fire Style here.
"Where are you going to sleep?" These words Sasuke was also what Naruto was secretly curious about.
"Since I'm a girl, I can't sleep here so... See you two tomorrow~!" And with that, she disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto felt most deceived about this situation as he realised the girl he'd been talking to the entire time had actually been a Shadow Clone!
How, when, what? They were both puzzled at when she switched herself out and felt really conned!