The Cursed Sharingan

Chapter 9

Once Naruto returned, they had a tearful goodbye. Sasuke said goodbye to his nephews and niece before she returned. Choosing to keep it private. She packed him some food and almost suffocated him in a hug. She ordered him to keep in touch and after he told her to do the same, he went on his way.

Lucky for Sasuke he was able to use the summoning scroll he left with Jugo to transport to his team. When he magically appeared in their camp he frowned. "Where's Karin?" he asked, the orange haired male, who immediately stood at the presence of their leader.

"She's at the river a quarter-mile away. After you left we collected her as ordered. She should be back soon" Jugo answered his voice raising to combat Suigetsu's loud voice.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched at Suigetsu's loud crowing in the background. He shot the oblivious kappa a glare before turning to Jugo questioningly.

"He's gloating about his sword and complaining that Itachi-san was the one to take down Kisame" the orange-haired male stated, cringing when Suigetsu let out a loud swear. At Sasuke's blank look, he continued "It appears that Samehada does not like Suigetsu's chakra. The sword appears upset that it's master was killed".

Sasuke suppressed a sigh. "Suigetsu" he called, taking advantage of a quick moment of silence. "Go fetch Karin. We're leaving now" he demanded, turning to look at the white-haired male.

Suigetsu scowled. He went to place Samehada on his back, when the flesh eating sword took a snap at his shoulder. With a scream of frustration, he pulled out a scroll and unsealed Kubikiribocho. Placing Samehada into the sealing scroll with a short fight, he picked up Zabuza's famous cleaver and strapped it to his back. Scowling once more at the sealed scroll, he stuffed it into his pocket. Grumbling he made his way to where Karin was.

Jugo immediately started packing up what little belongings they had. Sasuke stood waiting, his mind racing furiously. He regretted not asking Naruto about any of the Akatsuki, she had much more contact with them then he had. She was responsible for the death of Kakuzu. From what he heard Sakura had took out Sasori and Shikamaru, Hidan. With Kisame being killed by Itachi it didn't leave many left.

Kisame hadn't had any reason to expect it, so when Itachi had appeared he didn't avoid meeting his mangekyou. Put under genjutsu it was easy to dispatch him. Suigetsu had been angry but one look from Sasuke had shut him up, at least while Sasuke was present. When Sasuke had questioned Itachi on his method Itachi had simply stated that Kisame was foolish for trusting him, there could not be any trust in the Akatsuki. The group forged their bonds on the betrayal of their villages, so how could they trust one another not to betray them? Each member of Akatsuki had their own reasons for serving the leader. He added that as Kisame's partner he knew quite a lot about his skills, but probably not even half of what he was capable of. As S-ranked ninja it was quite rarely that they found an opponent that would cause them trouble. Furthermore, he had never seen Kisame fight for his life and had no intention of finding out what skills made him a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. The way he did things, while unfair had saved them from messing anything up and allowing Kisame to report his betrayal to the Akatsuki. He added that Kisame was not an innocent man he slaughtered without remorse, but a criminal.

After his explanation, Sasuke had conceded to his brother's points. He was interrupted from his musings by Karin and Suigetsu's loud reappearance.

"Let's go" he stated, taking off into the trees. From their spot at the Hotsprings/Fire Country border, it was only a few hours at ninja speed to the Hotsprings/Ice Country border. Once getting there the four would wait for any information Itachi would send them. Then wait for Karin to sense any high-level chakra signatures and complete the ambush.