Bab 59: Chapter 59: Aurora Part II
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Chapter 59:
Aurora Part II
Kakuzu had come to know of many different legends throughout his career as a shinobi. He had grown up in a dangerous time, after all. But out of all of them, the rogue ninja had accepted that none would ever come close to the Shodai Hokage. That man had been in a different class of monsters. In some sense, Kakuzu would go as far to say that he had been godly. That was how powerful Senju Hashirama had been in his time. He had also been the most troublesome opponent Kakuzu had ever faced.
But now, the Uchiha before him was looking to be just as troublesome. If not more.
Kakuzu had many questions at the moment, though. The most prudent being just how young the Uchiha was. Although Tobi had already warned them all about this, Kakuzu was still having a hard time twisting his head around it.
"You've had a genjutsu around you that whole time then," Kakuzu muttered in realization. But Sasuke was able to pick this up, smirking slightly in response.
But Kakuzu was forced to come out of his thoughts as Hidan waved his hand in front of his eyes. "Oi, Kakuzu. Don't blank out on me again! Just who the hell is this brat anyway? He seems to know you."
"He's the Uchiha we were told about, remember," Kakuzu answered through a sigh.
Hidan blinked before turning his gaze back to Sasuke. "Is that so?" He then grinned. "It looks like my wishes were answered sooner than I thought! Jashin-sama is such a kind god to me!"
"It looks like your idea of a companion has going down since the last time I saw you," Sasuke commented with some mirth as his eyes went to Hidan's grinning form.
Kakuzu grunted in annoyance. "It wasn't by choice, believe me. But my partner's stupidity aside." Ignoring Hidan's indignant 'oi,' Kakuzu continued, "What exactly are you doing here, Uchiha? And I doubt it's for a simple chit chat."
Sasuke shrugged. "To be honest, I didn't come here for you. But imagine my surprise when I did stumble upon you two. Although since Fuka has apparently become a member, I'm not too surprised to see that you decided to join as well, Kakuzu. But I never would have pegged you as someone to work well with others for a long period of time."
"Then that just goes to show you just how little you know of me," Kakuzu retorted. "But enough with the idle chat. We're here. So what happens now?"
"That all depends on you really," Sasuke said honestly. "Are you willing to answer my questions peacefully? Or am I going to have to get them out of you by force?"
Before Kakuzu could reply, Hidan jumped forward, his scythe hanging loosely around his shoulders. "I've heard enough already. Kakuzu, let's kill this piece of shit already. I want to give Jashin-sama the proper sacrifice he needs. And I can't think of anyone better right now than this brat."
Both Sasuke and Kakuzu sighed. For different reasons, however.
"Hidan, believe me when I say that you don't want to have anything to do with this boy," Kakuzu stated. "Our best option is retreat right now." Although the money loving man didn't know how Tobi would react to this. Their mission in Iwa was important to push the next war forward. And if they left before they could complete it, then there would be a major setback for their plans. But then again, there was no gain if they were killed here.
But Hidan didn't pay the warning any mind as he brought his scythe forward. "Fuck that! I'm taking care of this brat this instant!"
Sasuke didn't say anything in return as he charged another Chidori in his hand.
Kakuzu was forced to sigh again. This was certainly turning into a situation that wouldn't benefit them in any shape or form. But he had also come to know of Hidan's secret skills. It wasn't something that was easily bypassed. So he was a bit curious to see if the Uchiha had anything to get around that. Even if he wasn't as optimistic about the idea as Hidan was, if they did take care of Sasuke right now, it would be a major win for them.
"So be it then," Kakuzu said at last. "But don't expect any help from me."
Hidan smirked. "I won't need it!" And with that, the religious man charged straight towards Sasuke, his triple bladed scythe in hand.
Sasuke was forced to admit that the man had great speed to him. But it wasn't something that he couldn't handle as he sidestepped the incoming scythe with ease. Not wasting anytime, Sasuke used the opening the swing gave him as he rammed his Chidori straight through Hidan's arm.
Kakuzu didn't bat an eye as his partner screamed in pain as the Chidori sliced through his arm, said arm falling to the ground a second later. The scythe also fell to the ground along with the arm.
Through the pain, Hidan wasn't able to even see Sasuke coming in for a second blow, this time the Uchiha shoving his Chidori straight through Hidan's chest and as a result his heart.
"You're as heartless as ever I see," Kakuzu commented with an air of indifference.
Sasuke's sharingan enhanced gaze fell on him. "I have no mercy to give right now. You of all people should understand that."
Kakuzu chuckled. "True. But before you focus on me, you should deal with my partner first."
Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what Kakuzu meant by that. It wasn't until a knee collided with his gut that he found the answer staring angrily at him.
But now aware that his opponent was still alive and kicking, Sasuke instantly jumped back, putting some distance between himself and the one armed Akatsuki member.
Hidan growled angrily as he looked at Sasuke with a furious gaze, not paying any attention to his now missing arm and stabbed heart.
"I did tell you to be careful, didn't I," Kakuzu called out calmly.
This only made Hidan even more angry before he picked up his scythe with his other and still attached hand. "Fuck you, Kakuzu. Just you watch. I'll show you a beautiful ritual in a couple of moments."
Kakuzu rolled his eyes. "Please. Spare me."
"Fuck you!"
Sasuke on the other hand was wondering just how the hell Hidan was still alive. It didn't make any sense to him. He was certain that he had hit Hidan's heart straight on. And yet, the man was still pretty much alive. He didn't even seem to have any problems moving.
'I guess I underestimated him too much,' Sasuke thought with a frown. 'He's still a member of Akatsuki. Even so, this revelation only makes all of this even more annoying.'
Sighing, Sasuke threw his cloak to the side just as Hidan pointed his scythe straight at him.
"Mark my words, brat, you'll be nothing more than a gagging corpse on the ground in a few minutes."
Sasuke h'mphed. "Unfortunately for you, I'm in no mood to toy around with you. So you'll have to excuse me when I end this in a couple of seconds."
Hidan broke down in laughter before he charged for Sasuke a second time. "Hahaha! I would like to see you try, brat!"
'I guess he'll make the perfect guinea pig then,' Sasuke thought as his left eye morphed into the Rinnegan.
But this wasn't something that Hidan noticed as he continued with his charge. At least, that was the case until he suddenly felt his scythe leave his hand. The Akatsuki member was only able to glance up a second before another Chidori tore right through his neck, beheading him instantly.
Kakuzu's eyes were wide in shock now. Not because Hidan was just beheaded. No, far from it. He was shocked to see what Sasuke had just done. More importantly, he was trying to understand just what Sasuke had done.
Sasuke looked down at Hidan's beheaded body without any remorse. 'It looks like it works just as fine as in practice. That certainly simplifies a lot of things for the future. Now then.'
The Uchiha turned his gaze towards Kakuzu. "Now that he's out of the way, it's time that you and I-"
"Oi, Kakuzu! What the fuck! Isn't this about the time when you're supposed to help me!?"
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly before looking down towards Hidan's dismembered head. And to the Uchiha's immense surprise, the head was still full of life.
The Uchiha frowned. 'What the hell…..'
"Don't look at me," Kakuzu replied with annoyance. "I warned you not to try anything. But did you listen to me?"
"Yeah, well, that was then. This is now. Now help me dammit!"
Kakuzu sighed. He was doing that a lot ever since he had joined Akatsuki. But he wasn't stupid like his partner. He knew that jumping in now wouldn't get him anywhere. And while Sasuke had failed to kill Hidan so far, Hidan wasn't actually faring any better. In fact, he was doing worse. He no longer had a body, after all.
But Kakuzu was still interested in Sasuke's technique, especially when he noticed how Hidan's scythe was now in the same spot that Sasuke had been before he had suddenly appeared next to Hidan. And Kakuzu knew that it hadn't been pure speed.
Holding his head in annoyance, Sasuke turned his attention back to Kakuzu. "Seeing as though your partner over here can't actually do anything anymore, we can still have our long awaited reunion."
Hidan didn't take too well at being ignored. "Just you wait, you piece of shit! Even if I can't cut you, I can still bite you!"
That was the last straw as far as Sasuke was concerned. With his right sharingan morphing into his Eternal Mangekyo, Sasuke was about to Amaterasu the talking head until he felt two new chakra signatures entering the area.
"Well, we were wondering what had held you two up. Now it makes sense."
Looking up, Sasuke saw two women, one with orange hair and the other with dark green, standing on a nearby branch as they watched the battle in front of them with obvious amusement dancing in their eyes. Well, the one with green hair did. The other one had a passive look on her face.
'So, these are the puppets Naruto told me about,' Sasuke thought, instantly recognizing them as Nori's lackeys.
Kakuzu turned his attention towards them. "It's about time you showed up."
"Oh, don't give us any of that!" Envy said with a scowl. "It's your damn fault for being too weak!"
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. Even if he wasn't excited to go head to head against the Uchiha, he still had enough confidence to take these two head on. He wasn't about to be labeled as anyone's lap dog. But his experience soon kicked in, reminding him that getting into childish squabbles wouldn't bring anything beneficial to the table for him. Especially since Sasuke was still in the picture.
It was why he turned his attention back to Hidan's head which was still lying on the ground. But the head was staring angrily at Sasuke, no doubt wishing that he could go ahead with his biting plan.
"It seems like we're pulling out, Hidan."
"Not yet," Gluttony said as she landed next to Kakuzu. "You are still to carry out your mission. Meet with Pride at the second rendezvous point. We will handle the Uchiha here."
Kakuzu merely grunted at this. It seemed like these two were about to take care of the big problem in his hands. Well, that certainly worked well for him.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he heard all of this. With these two women now in the picture, it was certain that Nori was up to something in Iwa. And from the looks of it, it was something big.
'A plot by both Obito and Nori…..this certainly isn't good.' And that was the understatement of the year.
Taking a step forward, Sasuke was resolved to take all four of them out until Envy was suddenly on top of him, a blade made entirely of bone in her hands.
Sasuke was forced to duck down. But he wasn't allowed to fight back as Gluttony suddenly appeared in front of him as well, a blade of her own in her hands.
Kakuzu h'mphed as he walked up to Hidan's head before picking it up.
"It's about damn time, Kakuzu!" Hidan screamed in outrage. "Now come on! Help me to my body so that we can kill all these bitches!"
"You're forgetting our mission, Hidan," Kakuzu said with a sigh as he walked up to the rest of Hidan's body. "I doubt those two will be able to hold the Uchiha for long. That's why we should use this opportunity to get out of here."
"No way in hell! That's against my principles!"
"Then I guess you're going to miss the massacre I'm going to cause then," Kakuzu said in return with an uninterested tone as he reattached Hidan's head to the rest of his body.
Now that made Hidan pause, remembering the exact details of their mission. It made the man torn, wondering which option was better.
"Fine. I'll just give that Uchiha a proper ritual later."
But in the end he chose quantity over quality.
Kakuzu had no visible response to this other than to grunt in disinterest.
Sasuke was scowling heavily as he dodged another barrage of bone bullets that were shot at him, now running through the forest with the two women hot in his heels.
"Come on, Indra!" Envy said with a grin. "Don't disappoint us now!"
Sasuke didn't bother to respond as he landed on a nearby tree branch. He could already see that both Kakuzu and his partner had retreated by this point. But that didn't concern him all that much right now. With the arrival of these two, Sasuke saw a better opportunity in his hands. In his mind, Nori was a bigger threat than Obito right now. So any chance at getting closer to figuring out his plans would benefit them greatly so. That was why these two had become his priority now.
It was something that Gluttony picked up on as she and her sister landed in another branch in front of the Uchiha. They had left the main road by now.
"You seem to have something in mind," Gluttony said with a calm tone. "You didn't even try to stop us from getting you away from those two."
"That's because they're no longer important to me right now," Sasuke said in return.
Envy scowled. "Don't get ahead of yourself, brat. Do you really think we're afraid of you?"
"It makes no difference to me whether you are or not," Sasuke replied honestly. His Susanoo in its second stage then sprung to life around him, knocking aside many of the trees in the forest around them. "But I'm also very annoyed right now. So I'm not in the mood for any chats. Let's just end this already. I have many questions I need answered."
Envy gritted her teeth, feeling Sasuke's gaze eerie familiar. "You still haven't changed. You still think nothing of others."
Sasuke didn't reply as his Susanoo readied itself to fire an arrow.
Gluttony took a step back as she saw this, already being aware of how dangerous those arrows could be. Especially if they were covered in Amaterasu flames.
But Envy didn't feel the same apprehension as her chakra flared up, becoming denser and more concentrated. It was something that Sasuke noticed with his sharingan and Rinnegan.
A single black diamond appeared on Envy's forehead before her whole body was covered in armor made completely of her bones.
Gluttony could only look at her sister in shock, not believing that she was going this far. The drawback of using their second stage was big. It was why none of them used it unless absolutely necessary. And with others around so that they could be taken care of after they collapsed.
But Sasuke didn't seem to be intimidated at all. Instead, the Uchiha merely grunted before he signaled for his Susanoo to fire.
Noticing this, Gluttony took for the ground instantly, already knowing that leaving this to her sister was for the best now.
To Sasuke's immense surprise, Envy actually caught his Susanoo arrow with her hand, stopping it in its track. This was something that he had not been expecting at all.
'That armor of hers, it's actually tougher than I gave it credit for,' Sasuke thought to himself with a slight sigh. If even his Susanoo arrow couldn't penetrate it, then using his basic jutsu was out of the question too. Including Chidori. He would only be wasting chakra.
"I'll show you just how much you should fear us, Indra," Envy stated as she tossed the Susanoo arrow behind her like it was nothing.
Sasuke didn't reply. Already knowing that he was going to have to expend some chakra here, his Susanoo around him began to shrink in size until it surrounded him like an actual armor.
Materializing two of its blades in his hands, Sasuke smirked. "I'll admit. That armor of yours is impressive. But let's just see which one is more so: mine or yours."
Envy growled before she disappeared in a blur with Sasuke following suit.
Gluttony looked up to the sky to see two blurs clashing with one another in midair, sending many shock waves throughout the forest. Gluttony knew that if she wanted to step in, she would have to go into her own stage two form. But if she did, she would leave themselves exposed. And with the others deep within their tasks, they couldn't hope for any backup.
Envy for her part felt her annoyance with Sasuke grow more and more as their clash continued. Her swords made entirely of hardened bone kept being shattered by Sasuke's own Susanoo blades. But Envy already knew why this was. Even if it wasn't the same size, the Susanoo armor shrouding the Uchiha's body still had the same pure power as its immense perfect counterpart. It was why her blades were no match for it. But she had confidence that her armor was. It had never been destroyed before, after all.
It was probably because of this arrogance that Envy left some wide openings for Sasuke to exploit. But the Uchiha kept hesitating because he was trying to see if the woman was leaving herself exposed on purpose due to some strategy that she might have. But growing short with his patience, the Uchiha finally took one of the openings and scored a hit against the woman, bypassing her defenses.
Envy's world was shattered as the Susanoo blades collided with her armor, cutting through it like it was nothing.
Sasuke found this information helpful, going in for a second blow that had Envy flying down for the ground.
Two wings sprouted behind Sasuke a moment later, making the Uchiha float as he looked down at Envy who was holding her shoulder, the spot where Sasuke had penetrated her armor. She looked up at Sasuke in seething anger.
"It seems that you overestimate yourself," Sasuke commented in a calm tone.
Looking to the side, Sasuke raised one of his hands as a barrage of bone bullets came flying for him in a different direction.
They were all instantly repelled.
Gluttony, who was the source of the bullets, saw this with wide eyes. "You-"
"Don't tell me you forgot about my left eye now," Sasuke said, his calm demeanor still present. "I've had almost five years now to practice with it. You didn't honestly think that I wouldn't exploit it to its greatest possible heights."
Gluttony glanced over towards her sister. Against a trained Rinnegan user, the only way they could possibly come out on top would be in stage two. But if she did…..
"Don't overthink it, sister," Envy said with a growl as she stood back up. "Right now, we have to show this traitor the meaning of pain."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this. "Excuse me?"
Envy gritted her teeth. "You once joined our Master, Indra. So don't act like-"
In a show of pure speed, Sasuke was instantly in front of her, one of his Susanoo swords raised towards her. Envy was sent flying back, the sword clashing with her abdomen this time.
"I'm not Indra," Sasuke stated with narrowed eyes. "I suggest that you don't make that mistake a second time."
Feeling another spike in chakra, the Uchiha turned his head to the side to see Gluttony going into her own second stage.
'It looks like they're going serious now….'
Already knowing that time wasn't on his side, Sasuke took off towards the skies again with Gluttony following close behind.
Struggling to get back up, Envy was treated to a sight of seeing her sister trading blows with Sasuke in a similar fashion to what she had done moments earlier.
'Just hold on, sister. I'll be right there!'
But not one to waste time, Sasuke was throwing all he had against Gluttony as he tried to bypass the woman's defensive counters. But she was much more calm than Envy. She was also aware that his Susanoo swords could penetrate her armor. So she wasn't about to overestimate herself and let herself be hit by one of them.
It was something that Sasuke could respect. But he wasn't about to let the woman go either. He also realized that he only needed one of them alive.
Gluttony was panting as she and Sasuke ended their clash, landing back down on the ground softly.
"Is that all you have to offer?" Sasuke asked. "It does seem like Nori has underestimated me greatly."
That wasn't it at all. It was more like they weren't expecting Sasuke to suddenly show up like this. With Miyuki joining Naruto, the woman could easily sense if Nori tried to use his jutsu to keep tabs on them. It was something that got under Nori's skin a lot. But it was also something that couldn't be helped. They did share the same jutsu in the end. And with the sudden plans and deals he was making, Nori hadn't bothered to see if Naruto and Sasuke would separate again, something that was really biting them in their ass right now.
"Don't get cocky, brat!" Envy shouted as she suddenly appeared behind Sasuke, her own spinal column in her hands which she used to bind Sasuke tightly with. In her other hand was what appeared to be some sort of drill made entirely of her bones as well.
"Tessenka no Mai: Hana!"
Feeling victory in her grasps, Envy was about to tear right through Sasuke's Susanoo armor.
"Too slow."
But that victory left her sights as she was instantly repelled back down to the ground with incredible force.
"Shinra Tensei!"
"Sister!" Gluttony shouted, watching how one of their strongest attacks was repelled just like that. But already knowing just how powerful the Rinnegan was, Gluttony wasn't too surprised at this. But she was still incredibly worried for Envy, leaving herself opened for an attack.
It was an opening that Sasuke used to his advantage as he dismissed one of his swords, forming quite a number of magatama projectiles in his now freed hand which were covered in Amaterasu flames.
"Enton: Yasaka no Magatama!"
Gluttony's senses instantly kicked in, which were telling her to dodge. And looking up, she knew that she had to listen to them.
Sasuke t'ched when he noticed how the woman was able to dodge the projectiles without even being caught in the flames. It reminded him that the woman was still quite fast in this form, certainly faster than before. But that would only get her so far. With that in mind, Sasuke then brought his hand forward again.
"Bansho Tenin!"
Gluttony suddenly felt herself being pulled forward. Realizing what was happening instantly, she had the brains to pull out another long blade from her arm before sticking it down on the ground roughly, preventing her from being pulled away completely.
But in doing so, she left herself completely exposed.
Not wasting a second, Sasuke was instantly on top of her, his remaining Susanoo sword now covered in Amaterasu flames. It was the same sword that he used to cut right through Gluttony without hesitation, his Amaterasu flames consuming her instantaneously. The gash in her armor that had been opened up by the Susanoo sword was the perfect opening through which the black flames could infect her. Sasuke did not flinch as Gluttony's screams of immense pain reached his ears.
Off to the side, Envy could only watch this with wide eyes, not believing that her sister was being burned alive right in front of her. But already knowing of the jutsu, Envy knew that there wasn't anything she could do for Gluttony now.
That was why, when Sasuke turned his attention to her, she backed away from him in pure fear. "N-no…..stay away from me!"
"You should already know that I'm not as nice as Naruto," Sasuke stated as his Susanoo in its first form sprouted to life around him, discarding its condensed armor form. "Nor can I be as forgiving."
Envy felt her life being sucked out of her as the Susanoo grabbed her roughly with its hand. "A-aren't you supposed to be fighting for peace?"
"I am fighting for peace," Sasuke answered. "But I am not afraid to show my hand to those that will fight against it. You, your sisters, and your master. Supposedly you want nothing to do with this world. That is fine. But don't meddle with the lives of others then. Otherwise, we will have a problem. I'm not Naruto. Even though I can agree with what he's trying to do, don't mistake that for submission. We are equals. And we both handle our enemies a lot differently."
Envy had no response, mostly because she was still too afraid to form any other coherent thoughts.
But this didn't matter much to Sasuke as he brought the woman closer to his eye level.
"Now, you will show me everything that you know."
Onoki looked at the forest around him as he floated calmly in the air, taking in the obvious signs that a battle had taken place here. Around him were a dozen or so Iwa jonin that he had brought alongside him as guards, all of which were also looking around them with an inspecting gaze.
Turning his head back, he saw how a violet haired woman was kneeling over what appeared to be a pile of ash. Off to the side next to a tree trunk was also the corpse of a dark green haired woman who was wearing the same outfit as the violet haired one. The corpse was also covered in a strange set of markings that Onoki could't make out. But he did know that the two must be from the side organization.
"It does seem like your words ring true, Ms. Pride," Onoki said with narrowed eyes.
Pride, who looked at the pile of ash on the ground with a final sigh, stood back up and turned her attention to Onoki. "It's just like we have been telling you this entire time, Tsuchikage-dono. Suna cannot be trusted. And it looks like they have reached for Konoha to help. Given their treaty, it's easy to see why they have accepted. Luckily two members of our Night Sisters were here to stop them before they could reach Iwa. Although it did come at a heavy price….."
Onoki merely nodded, observing the area one more time. It had been over a month since this underground group known as the Night Sisters had approached him with information about an impending attack from Suna against his territory. He had dismissed it of course. Imagine his surprise when two towns were viciously destroyed, leaving no survivors behind. In face of such an attack, Onoki had almost called for war right there. But thinking on his head, Onoki had made sure that the information about the destroyed towns didn't reach any outside source. He had to quell the situation before it got out of hand. He had quarantined the two towns, warning all civilians not to come near them on grounds that they had disappeared mysteriously. But with Roshi still missing, Onoki realized that he now lacked a significant military asset. But that was where the Night Sisters had stepped in, informing him that they were willing to work for him alongside another organization known as Akatsuki. Thinking that things had played out too favorably for the Night Sisters, Onoki had hesitated in agreeing until they had brought him irrefutable evidence: a scroll with the mission's information. It was even signed by the Kazekage himself.
Apparently the Night Sisters had caught word of Suna's attack. And wanting their name recognized in the shinobi world as a powerful mercenary unit, they had decided to side with Iwa in order to make this happen as soon as possible. This Akatsuki group wanted the same thing apparently.
With that, Onoki had agreed, wanting to show Suna that trespassing into his territory was something that he would never allow.
"You can tell your men to proceed with their mission," Onoki stated with a firm tone. "They are to leave no survivors."
Despite the situation, Pride smirked. "I'm sure they won't mind that in the slightest."
"Man, there sure are a lot of shinobi in the area. I wonder if something went down again….."
"I wouldn't be surprised. I don't know what our daimyo is thinking with placing his trust on these guys."
Sasuke didn't bother to pay too much attention to the men talking around him as he gulped down another drink. After he had trapped Envy in a genjutsu, Sasuke had instantly set out to get as much information as he could from the woman. And while he had gotten some things from her, he hadn't been able to interrogate her fully due to some sort of curse seal activating, killing her instantly. With what he had learned, though, Sasuke realized that going to Iwa right now wasn't the best thing to do. So he had come to one of the cheapest bars in a nearby town, his genjutsu in place. That was how he had been able to get some sake in the first place.
"You sure seem to be drinking a ton, young man."
Sasuke spared an uninterested glance to an old man with white hair and simple clothes who sat right in front of him a moment later.
"I'm not in the mood for talking right now," Sasuke said in an irritated tone.
The old man laughed. "Hahaha youngsters these days. No respect to their elders."
Sasuke snorted. "Believe me. Age doesn't guarantee respect."
The old man hummed. "Is that so? Well, everyone has a different opinion. Gotta respect that."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this. "Really? That's it?"
The old man shrugged. "What? Weren't you the one that said that you weren't interested in talking? Why would I question you about your beliefs then?"
"And yet, here you are. Still talking."
The man chuckled. "True. The name's Gin. What's yours?"
Sasuke sighed. "Hei."
"Mighty nice name you have there, Hei. Although I've never seen you around here before. What brings you to our most humble town?"
"Business."
"And what kind of business is that?"
Sasuke gave him a look.
The old man chuckled again. "Secretive, eh? Fair enough. Although I don't see what kind of business would bring you out here. A lot of strange stuff has been happening in these places."
Sasuke grunted. "So I've heard. Two missing towns, right?"
The old man nodded. "That's right. Although most of us know that there is something else going on. But with how ninjas are, you can never get a straight answer outta them."
Sasuke found that highly amusing. "Is that so? Well, if you're so interested, why don't you try investigating then?"
Gin shot him an amused look. "This old man? I would only get myself in some trouble, believe me. Besides, there's no worth in getting anybody hurt over something like that."
"So you don't think that discovering the truth is worth risking your life? You would rather be living a lie?"
Gin chuckled. "What is truth, my boy?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this. "What?"
Shrugging, Gin continued, "Like I told you, everyone has different opinions. It's based on these opinions that people formulate the world around them. So then what can we call truth?"
"I'm not really in the mood for philosophical talks, old man," Sasuke replied in a dry tone.
Gin laughed. "Well, my bad then, my boy. But that's my answer to you. It doesn't really concern me either. So I see no interest in risking my life for such an endeavor."
Sasuke h'mphed. "And if it does?"
The old man shrugged. "Then I'll die a fool's death. In my age, it wouldn't really be surprising either way."
"It only sounds like you're making excuses to me," Sasuke said in return. "You just don't want to face your own weakness at not knowing anything."
Gin hummed. "That could very well be true. But what human being doesn't? We all make excuses at one point in our lives. None of us want to feel weakness, after all. We all want to believe that we are at control. Don't you agree?"
Sasuke sighed, shaking his head. "Forget it."
Gin chuckled but didn't say anything further. The two males simply sat there, enjoying their respective drinks. Although Sasuke was gulping his down with gusto. The disguised Uchiha had even gotten a bottle for himself.
"There's only two reasons why a man would ever drink this much," Gin observed with a knowing smile. "A woman. Or a man. Which one is it?"
Already knowing what he truly meant, Sasuke decided to humor the old man. "A man."
"Well, isn't that interesting," Gin said as he took another shot from his drink. "So? What did this man do to warrant your hatred?"
Sasuke shrugged. "It wasn't because of hatred. He was only in my way."
"Hohoho. Should you really be telling this to lil old me?"
"What do I have to lose? I could walk out of here right now, and you would never see me again."
Gin smirked. "Is that so? Some skills you got there then, my boy."
Sasuke looked at him with a curious look. "That's it? You're not going to condemn me or anything?"
Gin shrugged. "There would be no point in that. I don't know any of the details. I would only be judging."
"Everyone judges."
"Too true," Gin agreed. "But I try to avoid it as much as possible. Especially since you seem troubled. Isn't that why you're drinking right now?"
Sasuke looked unsure of himself. "Tell me…do you believe killing is wrong?"
Gin sighed. "That's a tough question, son. Different people would give you different answers. Me? It all depends."
"Even if it's fighting for peace?"
Gin ran a hand through his white hair. "I guess you could say it's counterintuitive. But there is no true answer I suppose."
Sasuke shook his head. "I believe otherwise. I believe that it's justified."
"Oh? How so?"
"Because there are some people that would be better off dead."
"And who are you to decide that?"
Sasuke shrugged. "It's only natural. We could both agree on a number of people that no one would miss if they were suddenly dead. In fact, the world would be far better off without them."
"And that goes right back to people having different opinions. Even if you believe that to be true, someone else might not. Point is, you'll never be able to convince everyone."
"Then that means peace isn't worth fighting for."
Gin shrugged. "Maybe so. Or maybe your definition of peace is wrong."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this. "What do you mean?"
"You believe that, for there to be peace, everyone has to agree on the same thing. But that's just not realistic. Everyone has different experiences. Different lives. Different outlooks. So not everyone will be able to agree on the same thing. But in the end, I believe that to be better. Wouldn't you? I mean, having a variety is better than having the same thing all in one place. That way you can find new answers you otherwise wouldn't have. But the key comes in finding a middle ground among all those different opinions. Without compromise, you really won't have anything remotely peaceful in the end."
Sasuke took all of this in, finding himself actually agreeing with the old man. It was surprising really. He never would have expected to have such an interesting conversation here.
"But then what if someone threatens all of that?" Seeing Gin raise an eyebrow, Sasuke continued with his question. "What if someone wasn't interested in compromise? If they only wanted their way?"
"In that case, that's where I see that violence could be justified," Gin answered. "With the threat of anarchy, there could be no other choice."
"But isn't that you just going by your own opinion then?"
Gin chuckled. "Yes. But that's where all of this goes back into a full loop. My answer is based all on my outlook, my experiences. My opinion. I'm sure there is someone out there who would disagree with me."
"Then how can you ever tell what is right?"
Gin shrugged. "You can't. You can only go by your own definition and hope that others come to understand your opinion. That's morality. It's what every proper civilization is based on."
Through his peripherals, Sasuke spotted a squad of Iwa shinobi asking some passing civilians some questions.
Knowing that he had overstayed his welcome, Sasuke stood up before placing some cash down on the table.
"Well, I've enjoyed our talk, old man. Maybe our paths will cross again one day."
Gin chuckled as he watched Sasuke go.
'I'm positive they shall, Uchiha Sasuke.'
Keeping out of sight as he made his way out of the town, Sasuke knew that he had to get in contact with Naruto. They needed to stop Nori's plot at all costs. Otherwise, a new war would really breakout.
But with what he now knew, Sasuke realized that they might already be too late to stop that. Even so, the Uchiha would make sure that the damage was minimized.
Either way, his next destination was clear. He was going to Suna.
The daimyo of the Land of Wind placed his personal fan down on the table. In front of him was the entirety of Suna's shinobi council. To his right and left were his personal advisers as well.
"It seems like we're all in agreement then."
All the councilors nodded. It had taken them quite a while to come to this decision, but in the end they had all realized that there wasn't a better option.
Smiling, the daimyo pointed to Chiyo who was sitting on the other side of the grand round table.
"Then I hereby declare Lady Chiyo as the Yondaime Kazekage."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone