Chapter 13: Shadows in the Night

"Alright, that concludes today's lesson. Class dismissed!" Iruka announced from the podium, his voice carrying a forced cheerfulness that did little to lighten the heavy atmosphere that had clung to the academy since the massacre.

A collective, weary sigh of relief went through the room. "Finally, school's over. Shikamaru, let's go to the snack shop!" Akimichi Choji said, already rummaging in his bag for his allowance.

"Tch. So troublesome," Shikamaru drawled, slouching in his seat. "Your mom is so easygoing. If my mom found out I was buying snacks again…" He shuddered dramatically.

Sasuke listened to their mundane exchange, a scowl etching deeper onto his face. Their trivial concerns felt like they belonged to another world. As he stood to leave, Sakura materialized at his desk, her expression a mixture of hope and anxiety.

"H-hey, Sasuke-kun! Do you… want to walk home together?"

"Not interested," he bit out, not even granting her a glance as he shouldered his bag and strode out of the classroom.

"Hey! Sakura-chan! I'll walk with you!" Naruto bounded over, his usual grin in place.

"Get lost, dead-last!" Sakura snapped, her worry for Sasuke transforming instantly into fury. She punched Naruto squarely on the head, sending him sprawling with a large, swelling bump.

*'Nice one! He totally deserved it!'* her inner voice cheered.

The classroom slowly emptied, the students scattering to homes that were, for most, still whole.

Sasuke didn't go home. He couldn't bear the silence. Instead, he went to the training ground in the woods behind the abandoned Uchiha compound—the same spot where Ren used to train. Now, it was his sanctuary, his prison, his forge.

He trained until his muscles screamed and his lungs burned, hurling shuriken after shuriken at weathered wooden posts until they bristled like metallic porcupines. Sweat poured down his face, mixing with tears of frustration he would never admit to shedding.

His obsession was a living thing inside him, gnawing at his insides. To kill Itachi, he needed power. Real power. And he was pathetically weak. The gap between a talented academy student and an S-rank missing-nin, a man who had single-handedly exterminated Konoha's strongest clan, was an impassable chasm.

"Ahhhh! I'll kill you! I WILL KILL YOU!" he roared, the name 'Itachi' a silent scream in his mind.

Fueled by pure hatred, he forced his trembling hands through the familiar seals. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" A sphere of flame erupted from his mouth, slamming into a post and setting it ablaze. The effort drained the last of his energy, and he collapsed onto the damp earth, his chest heaving. For more chapters visit Nove1Fire.net

When he finally found the strength to move, dusk had fallen. He dragged his exhausted body back toward the empty shell of his house, the night air cool on his feverish skin.

He never made it.

A figure appeared on the path before him without a sound, as if woven from the shadows themselves. Sasuke froze, his exhaustion replaced by a jolt of adrenaline. He fell into a clumsy fighting stance.

"Who's there?" he demanded, his voice tighter than he intended.

The man was clad head-to-toe in the standard uniform of an ANBU operative, but the mask was different—a plain, unadorned one that offered no identity, only anonymity. The aura he emitted was cold, professional, and utterly oppressive. It was a feeling Sasuke had never experienced from his Chunin teachers at the academy.

"Uchiha Sasuke," the man's voice was flat, devoid of inflection. "An important person wishes to speak with you. You will come with me."

"An important person? Not interested," Sasuke retorted, though a cold dread was beginning to pool in his stomach.

"Hmph. You misunderstand. This is not a request." The man's voice remained calm, but the air around them suddenly grew thick and heavy.

A wave of pure, undiluted killing intent crashed down upon Sasuke. It was so visceral, so overwhelming, that his breath hitched in his throat. His limbs locked up, his body refusing to obey his brain's commands to run or fight. He was a tiny boat in a hurricane, moments from being shattered and swallowed by the sea.

*This… this is…* he thought, panic seizing him. *I'm… I'm going to die…?*

Just as suddenly as it appeared, the pressure vanished. Sasuke gasped, staggering back a step.

"Do not attempt any further struggle. You will only waste my time. Come." The man took a step forward.

In that instant, the sharp *whirr* of cutting air split the night. Three kunai buried themselves in the ground where the masked man had been standing—he had already vanished, reappearing a few feet away with preternatural speed.

*Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!*

Sasuke's head whipped around. Figures, also clad in ANBU gear but with the standard animal masks, now stood on the branches of the surrounding trees, forming a loose perimeter. Their presence was different—still dangerous, but lacking the chilling, impersonal malice of the first operative.

The first masked man straightened up. "ANBU. Explain this interference. You are interrupting Root business."

"We have no quarrel with Root," one of the new arrivals, a man with a boar mask who seemed to be the leader, stated calmly. "We are here on the direct orders of the Hokage. We are to escort Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uchiha Sasuke is a person of interest to our superior. We cannot relinquish him," the Root agent replied, his tone cautious but firm.

"Are you refusing a direct order from the Hokage?" the Boar-masked ANBU captain's voice grew hard. "Or is Root now in open rebellion against Konoha?"

The Root agent went very still. Root, though answerable only to Danzo, still officially operated under the Hokage's authority. To openly defy a Hokage ANBU squad was tantamount to treason. The numbers were also against him.

"…I would not dare to imply such a thing," the Root agent finally conceded, his voice tight.

"Wise. The situation is clear then."

"…I will report this to my superior." With that, the Root agent performed a swift hand seal and vanished in a faint swirl of leaves, his chakra signature disappearing into the night.

The ANBU captain turned his masked gaze to Sasuke, who was still standing frozen, trying to process the deadly political dance that had just unfolded around him. "Uchiha Sasuke. You are free to go. You will speak of this to no one. Is that understood?"

Their orders, in truth, were not to escort him but to ensure he was *not* taken by Root. Mission accomplished, the ANBU captain gave a sharp gesture. In unison, his team flickered and disappeared, melting back into the darkness as silently as they had arrived.

Sasuke was left alone on the dark path. The silence they left behind was louder than any explosion.

The reality of what had just happened crashed down on him. He had been completely powerless. That Root agent could have killed him or taken him without a second thought. He had been saved not by his own skill, but by the intervention of a rival faction. He was a pawn, a prize to be fought over by unseen powers. His life, his freedom, meant nothing to them.

"Damn it… DAMN IT!" he screamed, falling to his knees and slamming his fists into the hard-packed earth until his knuckles were raw and bloody. The physical pain was nothing compared to the humiliation and fury burning inside him.

*How can I kill him like this? How can I get revenge when I'm this weak? This pathetic?*

Tears of pure, unadulterated rage finally overflowed, tracing hot paths through the dirt on his cheeks.

*No! I will have my revenge! I MUST!* his mind shrieked. *I need power! More power! I'll do anything for it! ANYTHING! I'd sell my soul to the devil himself!*

Alone in the darkness, Uchiha Sasuke's desire for power mutated, twisting into something desperate, all-consuming, and dangerously dark. The path of hatred stretched out before him, more desolate and treacherous than ever.