Sasuke fired bolt after bolt of lightning. The rubber dummy he'd been practising on was already charred and melting from the electric assault.
Sasuke heard Kakashi step inside.
"Hello, Sasuke."
Sasuke turned to face him.
"Hello, sensei. Is there anything that I can do for you?"
Kakashi said nothing and simply stared at him.
"I haven't seen that look on many people. Most I've had to assassinate. The other was a girl named Rin, and she is for another day."
"I just want to know. You were Itachi's captain in ANBU, right?" He nodded. "How strong am I, compared to him at my age?"
"Itachi killed his family only three years after he was your age."
"A lot could change in three years, though. Please answer the question."
"Comparatively, he was a little bit stronger than you. However, he still hadn't awakened his Mangekyo yet."
"Is there anything that I can learn here that Itachi can't?"
"It depends. As time passes, new information is disseminated and you can find it more easily than Itachi. But if you want to talk about strategy, tactics, jutsu, you're out of luck. The only thing that you have over Itachi is your lightning affinity. You could learn the gates, but your body is not robust enough to handle the strain of higher gates."
He sighed. "That said, there is merit to staying here. If you went to other villages in search of harsher training, you would still be weaker. And don't even think about trying to become a jinchuriki. Even if you succeeded, Naruto would never forgive you."
"So, what? Stay here and play games while that murderer roams free? I'd rather die."
"You will die if you go after him. That, or you'll die before you ever even get close."
Kakashi's posture straightened and his gaze turned just a bit too hard for his comfort.
This was not his teacher. This was an ancestral blade, sharp and cold and old and oh so much deadlier for it.
This was the hound. And it was out for blood.
His posture slackened and he sighed.
"Besides, you could be happy if you left it behind. Naruto and Sayuri care for you as much as they do for each other. You know that."
"Look, I'm going to be on a mission for the next few days. Whatever you do then is up to you. But you should always remember that you could be somewhere worse."
---
Sasuke saw their approach from half a kilometre away.
Five people, all with fairly impressive chakra, according to his sharingan.
To sell the ruse, Sayuri and Naruto moved out of the Uchiha compound a few weeks ago, leaving him all alone.
And...
"Fight me," Sasuke said.
"What?" Naruto asked.
"I said fight, stupid! What, have you gone deaf?" Black markings spread across his face.
"You're not in your right mind, Sasuke! Give it a- ack!" Fire whips wrapped around Naruto's arm.
He doused it with a burst of water and made a hand seal. "Why?"
"That's not important!" Sasuke shouted. He kicked Naruto through a building. "Fight me seriously, damn it!"
Sayuri dropped down behind him, and grabbed his shirt before throwing him into the floor. "You need to leave it behind!"
YOU ARE READING
Sage's Resurrection
Fanfiction"I have found you to be worthy of being my successor." Naruto Uzumaki was a boy who was snubbed and looked down upon for his entire life. For him to be acknowledged by someone like the Sage... "You will be strong enough to achieve world peace..." ...
