Shinobi x Assassin - Naruto fanfiction(COMPLETED)

Chapter 27 : The etude of betrayal

Akame P.O.V

Akame: Sasuke...are you sure that they would have given up on you?

Sasuke: What do you mean?

Akame: From what I have heard, villages send out hunter nins to capture missing/deflected ninjas. Your status as an Uchiha might save you from death...but they might use your friends to lure you back to the village.

Sasuke: I don't get any benefits for being the last survivor of the Uchiha. People looked at me with pity for being the last survivor of the once mighty Uchiha clan.

Akame: No...you did receive privileges. Have you noticed my or Naruto's quarters? They gave you a high class apartment and all the cash for your weapons and needs. You might argue that with Itachi's betrayal, the entire Uchiha fortune should be placed in your hands...but the village is under no such obligations. To them you should be no different from an orphan. They have every right to seize the entirety of the Uchiha fortune for themselves in accordance with the village rules. The reason you got such a high preferential status is because they expected high things from you. I can guarantee you that they will definitely go all out to try, bring you back and tie you loyalties to Konohagakure.

Sasuke: Why are you so sure of this and...what do you want to say?

Akame: After the death of Sandaime Hokage-sama, I was merely a hired assassin for the village, not a resident or a member of team seven. The only reason that I was allowed to pretend to still be a member of team seven was so that I could protect you...it was akin to having an ANBU watch your every move. It was to protect you in case Itachi were to come back or...

Sasuke: To keep an eye on me to check if I would go on to join my brother.

I nodded and regretted it almost immediately. He looked hurt. I couldn't understand why he was hurt. Surely it is better that we both reveal our secrets so that we can openly support each other?

Sasuke: So are you trying to tell me to go back to Konoha? Turn my back on revenge?

He suddenly pushed me into a tree. I could have easily dodged it...but I knew that I shouldn't run away now or...he would never trust me ever again. I felt a warm liquid trickle down my head and wiped it away quickly. Experience lets me recognize it without seeing. It is a certain scarlet colored liquid that flows in one's veins.

Akame: Obviously not. The reason I accepted that mission was because I could protect you from Itachi...and look out for those who intend to use you as a pawn. I have no intentions of asking you to go back to the village. I know that Konohagakure is currently detrimental to your plans for revenge. I will NOT question it. It is merely a warning. There is no point in you carrying out your plan of going to Orochimaru for training if you are going to be weak-willed. If you are, then you will be broken pretty quickly by this world.

Sasuke: Broken? Me? Don't underestimate the Uchiha.

Akame: I am not. If you are not careful, he might simply break his end of the deal and...harvest your eyes. Konohagakure is too soft and has too amiable an atmosphere to raise ruthless ninjas.

Sasuke: Hn.

There it is...I thought I could finally teach him to speak proper sentences...but it seems like that is going to be a distant dream. Well...at least he is listening to me for now. By the time all this talk was going on, we had reached the meeting point. There were four people waiting at the spot.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you were supposed to come alone. Why do you have that woman with you?"

Sasuke was about to reply when the only woman in that group of four, cut in. She had long, untamed, dark pinkish red hair. She also wore a black hat with bandaged sides and introduced herself as Tayuya. She had three other companions namely Sakon & Ukon, Jirobo and Kidomaru.

Tayuya: Don't question her presence bird-brain, Orochimaru-sama did mention that Uchiha Sasuke might bring Metsujin Akame with him.

Sakon: You mean this brat is that-

Kidomaru: Silence. She is clearly 'last boss' level. Surely the difficulty level is too high even if we talk about sound five.

Akame: Sound five?

Tayuya: Don't ask questions. Orochimaru-sama might let you meet our leader if you are fortunate enough.

Sasuke: Hn.

Jirobo: Rather than that lets begin the ceremony already. I am hungry. Let hurry up and get this over with.

Akame: Ceremony?

Tayuya: You are right for once fatty. The sooner we begin, the quicker we can take him to Orochimaru-sama.

Akame: I see. But please start it tonight...after you explain thoroughly what it involves.

* * * * *

Sasuke looked regally pissed off. I couldn't blame him. His excitement towards the ceremony just grew higher and higher as he listened to the explanation. That...was something I couldn't understand. Why was he in a hurry to die? True his mission was to kill Itachi...but what is the point if he dies before that?

Tayuya kept repeating that they had survived the second stage of the cursed seal. If Sasuke couldn't survive it then he was just trash to begin with. This made the ceremony into a matter of pride for Sasuke. He seems to have come to the conclusion that if he cannot even conquer the cursed seal, then he was never worthy of being an avenger and that he'd rather die than fail in his attempt as an avenger.

The ceremony involved consumption of the Mind Awakening Pill (醒心丸, Seishingan) a drug created by Orochimaru to speed up the development of the mind to increase the level of the user's Cursed Seal to level 2. However, this will greatly increase the Cursed Seal's contamination speed, killing the user in a few minutes. To allow the user's body to get used to the Cursed Seal Level 2, they have to be sealed within the four black fogs formation, a process where he would have to be sealed within a coffin with barrier jutsu. This will reduce the permanent death to a false death state.

Akame: Sasuke...are you sure you want to go ahead with it?

Sasuke: What do you think? You always give an unbiased answer unaffected by emotions.

I sighed. I was already nervous and Sasuke's recklessness was making it worse. But it is time he learns how to make decisions on his own.

Akame: It is quite useful to come within the grasp of death and then escape it. Usually a very traumatic experience, still...it does have its benefits. It would awaken your survival instinct and make your thinking process clearer. While it will stop you from taking unnecessary risks, it will also give you courage to take necessary risks. Basically it will sharpen your reaction and on-the-spot battle strategy formation skills. Plus you are evolving into a stronger state. But...

Sasuke: Is there something dubious about the process?

Akame: No...it has an aura similar to that of the cursed seal so the part about it being related to the cursed seal is true but... you will be completely weakened during your evolution. Truthfully... I don't think these sound ninjas are strong at all... someone like Kakashi, Might Guy, Rock Lee, Gaara and Hyuuga Neji might be able to defeat them quite easily...that puts you at a tremendous risk. Besides...why are they in such a hurry to have you in the evolved state by the time you reach there? Why not do it safely within the safe walls of their hideout? It makes me worried...it feels as if they have something planned for us. There is quite a lot of uncertainty involved... Konoha would have started to search for you, your survival is not guaranteed and...we don't know what lies ahead for us when we finally reach the hideout.

Sasuke: I know that if it's you, nobody else will get to me in my weakened state. Those four are strong. Maybe you feel that way because you are too strong. I will survive the ceremony and make it to the hideout. We shall survive whatever they have planned for us, train hard and get stronger. I shall finally have my revenge on Uchiha Itachi. On that day you shall finally be free from your contract.

Sigh...he makes it sound too easy...it's a trait he shares with Naruto. I couldn't help chuckling slightly. Naruto is the light and Sasuke is the dark. They are meant to be opposite sidea but they share the same nature...love is what drives them. Just like Yin and Yang...they shall always exist in a balance in equal proportions...and I shall make sure that Sasuke survives in the end...