Selfish Desire [Sasuke Uchiha]

Chapter 16: The Treasured One

[The next day...]

Ayuda's P.O.V

Sasuke, Suigetsu, and I were now sauntering over the ocean water, heading for a specific direction which would bring us to the Southern Hideout. This morning, Suigetsu succeeded in claiming the Executioner's blade from Daikoku Tenzen in the latter's castle. It turned out that the actual reason why Sasuke went out last night was that he snuck into the same castle and warned Daikoku Tenzen to gather as much of his army as possible this morning. Then Sasuke let Suigetsu deal with all of them with only one rule – do not kill anyone. Now that Suigetsu had the sword he desired, he was willing to join Sasuke in his journey.

"Can I ask you one thing?" I heard Suigetsu ask Sasuke, "Why are you gathering companions?"

"I have a goal," Sasuke replied with no reluctance, "A platoon will be more effective at closing in on that goal. From the moment I approached Orochimaru, I've thought and prepared for the situation after I'd killed him, hand-picking shinobi with considerable power."

"Then, if that's the case, I don't see why we're bothering with Karin. Unlike me, she's Orochimaru's bitch. She's been devotedly rounding up research subjects for him, and is 'Miss Jailer' for the Southern Hideout," stated the white-haired man, "Plus, she's messed with my body a bunch of times under Orochimaru's orders or whatever. And most of all, I just can't stand her personality. I bet Ayuda wouldn't be able to tolerate her presence too."

Sasuke sent me a glance that flitted like a bird. Then he looked ahead of him and said flatly, "If she refuses, there are plenty of other strong shinobi out there. However, she has a unique and special ability."

"Well, I'll at least acknowledge that," admitted Suigetsu.

I, who walked alongside Sasuke, was staring at them in obvious puzzlement. This Karin girl has a unique ability to have even caught Sasuke's interest?

I set my pace a little slower than before, allowing the two men to walk ahead of me before I caught up with them but this time I moved around to walk with Suigetsu. Because of what occurred last night, I was beginning to feel safe and less rigid around him. I called him, "Hey, Suigetsu, what is Karin's ability?"

Suigetsu's lips curled a tad bit, "You'll see soon enough. I'm sure she has sensed us by now."

Soon enough, the three of us arrived on a small island with three protruding rocks. After ambling deeper into the area, we ended up standing before a massive door. Suigetsu sliced the door in ease and we advanced further. Sometimes, we would occasionally see prison cells that contained living prisoners. They were flabbergasted to catch sight of us three especially Sasuke.

We continued to delve deeper into the dark building when a figure came into our view and stood before us. A woman with a pair of crimson eyes and fair skin revealed herself to her. Her hair seemed odd to me because one side of her hair was short and spiky while the other was long and straight. With her nose high in the air, she regarded us rather solemnly, "So it's you after all, Sasuke."

She was frowning at us as though displeased to know we invaded this hideout. She continued, "Sasuke, since you came here by yourself, it seems the rumor is true."

"How mean, giving me the cold shoulder," interjected Suigetsu.

"So, what have you come here for?" quizzed Karin, this time blatantly showing that she was ignoring the purple-eyed man.

Since Sasuke still hadn't spoken yet, Suigetsu responded instead, "Sasuke wanted to talk with you, y'see? And standing around here talking is kind of a drag, so could you take us to another room. It's been a while since I've walked so I'm beat."