The Escape (Patreon)

"They said an Anbu would come, Kakashi-sensei. Not you," Naruto said, confused.

"They did? I wouldn't know. Tsunade-sama sent me to give you this," he said, revealing the green vest.

Shikamaru, Hinata, and Konohamaru all gasped; even Sakura looked a bit confused. "Is that a Jonin vest?" she asked.

"It seems as such, troublesome. You've gotten promoted as well," Shikamaru said, looking at the vest lazily.

Naruto looked at the vest reverently. He had never envisioned himself reaching ranks this quickly. It wasn't easy; three years of training had paid the price.

And he was still progressing, his new fuinjutsu style still in its infancy. It would take him years to master, a reason he taught Hinata the Konoha style and not his own. His style would be for Uzumaki, his descendants, his children, if he were ever to have any. He wasn't forgetting the solitary life most Jinchuriki lived; emotions, if not controlled, could cause havoc.

And although he wasn't keen on using the power of the Nine-Tails, he had tried to converse with it. But the fox wouldn't appear, hidden behind the cage in darkness.

Was it afraid? Naruto doubted that; a being purely made of chakra, and of god-like complexity, rarely had anything to fear. No, it was probably biding its time, waiting for the right opportunity to dig its claws into him.

"I am proud of you, the first of my students to achieve the rank of Jonin," Kakashi said, his eye-smile present. He looked behind him, at Sakura. "I would have never imagined my knuckle-headed student becoming the first Jonin."

Sakura glared at Kakashi for a second before saying, "Yeah, congratulations, Naruto."

"Congratulations, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, giving him a smile.

"Ne, Nii-chan, you can take me as an official apprentice now, can't you?" Konohamaru asked eagerly, pulling at his jacket.

Naruto looked down at him with a grin. "You need to first draw those seals, Konohamaru. You're a bit young for anything but a Genin team."

"Hey! That's not fair," the Sarutobi boy whined.

"Congratulations, Blondie. I can't say you deserve it," Shikamaru said, patting him on the shoulder, Sakura and Hinata sniggering behind them.

"Hey! What do you mean by that, Lazy Ass? I totally deserve it, right Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto looked to his teacher.

Kakashi tilted his head to the left, his eye-smile still in place.

"This is absurd, Tsunade. You should have asked us before promoting the boy," Koharu said, her voice tight.

"So you can coddle him some more? No, I am the Hokage. The decision lies with me to do as I want," she replied icily, glaring up at them.

"The council has a right to look over the proposal of promotion with the Hokage," Homura said a bit calmly.

"A right not enshrined in the official law book. It's on Hokage discretion that you enjoy that power," Tsunade countered, her hands clenched beneath the desk.

"Hiruzen—" Koharu started but was interrupted by Tsunade.

"Is dead. I am the current Hokage and I will run the village as I need," she snapped.

"That is not how the village should be run, Hokage-sama," Danzo said silkily, his voice grating on her nerves.

"And you'll tell me how it should be run? Don't forget, Danzo, that you're here just because I allow it. Sensei had disqualified you from the council," she said.

"And you allow him because his advices are valuable," Homura said.

"Not valuable enough that you'll presume you can order me around. Naruto earned his promotion. Go through his test results if you're concerned," she replied, signing another form.

"A Jinchuriki shouldn't be allowed such leeway," Danzo said silently, the sternness in his voice irritating her.

"If you can't look beyond his tenant, you'll never see more. He's Minato and Kushina's child, one of the last Uzumaki, a loyal shinobi, a master of sealing arts, and now a Jonin of this village," she bit back.

"We could have allowed him a Tokubetsu status; that would have given him appropriate leeway," Koharu supplied.

Tsunade looked up at that. "And what about missions? He would have been restricted to missions that required his specialty, but he is far more able."

"We've skilled shinobi," Danzo said neutrally.

Tsunade snorted derisively. "And what a good job Sensei and you all have done with them. Uchiha clan wiped out, Hatake Clan wiped out, Senju Clan wiped out, the remaining Uzumaki wiped out, and the iron shield of Hyuga handed over as a pawn."

Koharu and Homura bristled at the insult but chose to remain silent.

"You've driven Hatake Kakashi out of the Anbu, where he was achieving something good. And Sensei had to wrestle Tenzo out from you, Danzo," Tsunade pointed at the bandaged elder, but he stood there calmly.

"So, don't tell me what you think should be done with Naruto. I am the Hokage, and I make decisions around here. Like it or not, you'll have to follow it," she said, standing.

Homura and Koharu looked appropriately chastised, but Danzo stood there eyeing her with contempt.

"What about Team 7? You promised you'll reform it with Sai as a part," Danzo asked, his single eye narrowed.

Tsunade looked at him. "I will. Sakura, Sai, and one more member. Naruto will be a member too, when he isn't on mission, solo or with a team."

"Means he'll be a member on paper only," Danzo said.

Tsunade shrugged. "It's as far as I can go. Take it or leave it."

Danzo nodded, his frame stiff. "Thank you for your time, Hokage-sama." He walked out of the gate, taking support of his cane to turn.

Homura and Koharu looked to each other. "We will still tell you to reconsider. Give him a team. Tie him to the village."

Tsunade looked at them sternly. "Did you allow Kushina a team? She wanted one; I heard her plea quite a few times."

"Her condition was unstable, Tsunade. She was not fit to coach a team. Naruto—" Homura was interrupted by Tsunade.

"Is also incapable of leading a team. He's taken Hyuga Hinata and Sarutobi Konohamaru as students. He doesn't need more burden," she replied easily.

"That shows how capable he is. Yuhi Kurenai also took a team at a young age. It would hold him to the village," Koharu attempted again.

"He's loyal to this village. I will not stand here letting you question that boy's loyalty to the village. And this discussion is over. I told you no, and I will not budge," she said.

The duo nodded and exited the room as a team, like they were.

"Shizune," Tsunade called, and her apprentice entered, the pig weighing in her arms.

"Bring me a bottle of rice wine. These old coots gave me a headache," Tsunade said.

"This is too early, Tsunade-sama. You've a mountain of paperwork to work through," she said, and surely there was a twelve feet tall stack of paperwork on her left.

Tsunade sighed. "I really needed that Sake."

Sasuke woke up sweating bullets. He groaned, rubbing his eyes. The Sharingan was active whenever he saw himself in that field. A thousand shinobi, butchered for power. Did it make him powerful? Not that he could see. Then why did he do it? Because Orochimaru wanted it.

And what Orochimaru wanted, he got. That was a fact that he had accepted long ago. Long before he had tried to rebel, long before he had tried to escape, and long before he had been experimented on for those transgressions.

But his stupid Uchiha pride couldn't handle him being shackled, being submissive to someone. Especially one so cruel as Orochimaru.

Oh, he had thought himself cruel, vindictive, filled with bloodlust. After all, he had nearly killed Naruto on two occasions, he had nearly slain Sakura as he escaped the Leaf. But what Orochimaru did, his past actions paled in comparison.

It had been clear from the beginning, when he had escaped to Orochimaru's lair, that the treacherous Sannin would hold power over him. But it hadn't been until he was secured behind Otogakure borders that Orochimaru showed his true prowess.

It was not to be said that he came here despite his wish to stay. And it would be wrong to say that he regretted coming here; he still thought the Leaf would have held him back. He stayed here because he was made to, and he wanted to, he wanted to due to her.

The gate suddenly opened, and in slithered Orochimaru. His appearance had changed over years, his sticky, nearly greasy black long hairs was stark white with red ends. His eyes were mismatched, one red Sharingan and another dark red, nearly black. His shoulder was wide and he seemed a bit taller than before, his skin still milky white and his fingers painted purple. It was the body that Orochimaru took for his entire immortal life, his quest for immortality quenched.

"Sasuke-kun. It's morning, come to the training yard. You're needed." The man said with his skin stretched into a smile.

Sasuke nodded, not trusting his voice to avoid saying something rude; it would cause pain in his Cursed Seal. A liability that was.

He stood up, his grey hair covering half of his face. He was taller, almost reaching Orochimaru's height. His frame was still lean, though. He looked down at his left hand, three fingers missing and replaced by prosthetic fingers, blue in color due to the metal used in them.

Orochimaru was out of the gate before Sasuke picked up his katanas and strapped them at each side of his waist. Picking up the shirt to cover the seals and scars on his body, he walked out.

There, in the training ground, she was, her hair red as blood and eyes focused on him. She looked relaxed to others, but Sasuke could see tension in her shoulder. He climbed down the stairs, focusing on her. Her eyes trailed his movements too.

The sparring area was filled with hopefuls. After the death of Kimimaro, he was termed as the strongest after Kabuto, who didn't join the spars either way. If they could match him, or luckily beat him, then they would be trained by Orochimaru himself.

He stood to the side as Karin walked forward. It was open for all. If they believed they could defeat her, then they would come forward as norms dictated. A raven-haired teen, barely in his teens, entered, probably thinking Karin was a weakling, considering her height. Sasuke knew better.

The first punch was dodged, the second came close but Karin avoided it, getting faster as she moved. The third was where she entered his guard, a kick to the sternum and the boy was thrown back.

A few hand seals and a water jutsu left her lips, washing the boy down, who was probably reconsidering his actions now. Karin hadn't even revealed her curved katana yet. Her famed kenjutsu prowess was still restricted behind her confidence.

Another set of hand seals, and a fire wave rose. The boy didn't have any options now, his clothes were burnt off. He raised his hand in a sign of defeat before collapsing, making sure that he didn't get killed.

It was a crude and cruel habit that he had seen; Oto nins fought till death or surrender. If you didn't surrender before collapsing, you'd be killed to declare victory. A wasteful tradition that Orochimaru didn't drop. His sense of cruelty always at the top.

Karin stood there, eyeing them, waiting for anyone to move, but none did. Orochimaru's eye found him and gave him a nod. Sasuke walked to the center, eyeing her, knowing that she would give him a good fight.

Karin had been a studious little girl, hidden behind her glasses and lab coat, but the 'experiment' had changed her. She was no longer timid and agreeable; her excellence hadn't decreased, but her mind was in combat as much as studying.

Karin shrugged before clashing with him. Despite being small, she had strength. He grunted as her punch bruised his forearm. A kick was redirected astray, and he gripped her second punch. Smirking for the first time, she gripped his forearm, leveraging it to deliver a kick. He ducked, already familiar with her versatility in taijutsu.

"You're getting faster," he said, low enough that only she would hear.

Suddenly, her hand went back. The long, curved katana she used was out, ready to meet against his twin katanas. A slash to the right was blocked; she spun to come from the left, which was blocked too.

Locking in a battle of strength, she pushed him back. He reversed his grip and came at her again, a slash from the right but she ducked under it. An upward slash from her was blocked with his left katana, locking in a test of strength. Sasuke took the initiative and kicked her in the abdomen.

Free again, Sasuke rushed, a downward strike already in motion. Karin blocked again, moving into his guard with a spin. This time her left slash cut the strings of his shirt, too near to his neck for comfort.

Sasuke tried to jump back but she followed him, her katana diagonally positioned, ready to strike. And she did strike, but this time Sasuke was ready; he parried it and pushed her back, pushing forward with an upward slash of his own, cutting strings of her red precious hair.

"Not my hair, you dumb man!" she hissed, her hand outstretched. Chains erupted from her hand, and gave him chase as he tried to avoid them. He dodged them efficiently; he had done so hundreds of times. At the beginning it had been hard, the chains moved at random. But with his Sharingan active and years of training dodging them, he could predict their descent and avoid it. He hissed, as one of the chains cut his cheek.

He ran forward, running through the chains with his katana, creating sparks. Karin had become complacent as her chains were doing all the work. He batted out the chains as he rushed forward until he reached her. Her eyes widened as she noticed his closeness. She tried to raise her blade but he misdirected it with his katana. Already in his guard, he pointed his other katana at her neck. She gasped.

"Yield, Karin." he said.

"I forfeit," she accepted, raising her hand. She stepped back, giving him a hint of a smile for mere moments.

"Good show, Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru said, slithering an arm over his shoulder. "We'll move next day after tomorrow, it seems Kabuto's contact inside Akatsuki is dead."

Sasuke nodded, not truly interested in the talk. Their next excursion would be to employ some new additions to the village.

"It seems your former teammates have grown some spine," he looked up at the man. "Sasori of the Red Sand, the one who had a hand in the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, is killed by your pinkette teammate, Sakura. Not on her own, though; Chiyo helped her."

"Surprising," Sasuke blurted out, a clear sign that he was shocked by it.

"Isn't it? But what is more shocking is the news that Uzumaki Naruto defeated Deidara of the Explosion Release. That too, single-handedly." Orochimaru chuckled, his clear white teeth on full display.

Sasuke looked at him stunned. It was really surprising. Naruto had been the dead last of his class, the weakest link in Team 7 despite his large chakra reserve. He had seen what Naruto was capable of if he put his mind to it; the Chunin Exams had proven that. He still couldn't forget the enormous toad he had summoned, and his use of the Fourth Hokage's famous technique.

But to actually defeat an S-ranked nukenin, a member of Akatsuki at that, was unfathomable. The red cloud group only took the best out of the S-ranked nukenin, although Deidara had been a low S-rank, if not a high A-rank. The man wasn't clearly as skilled as Kakashi, but he was still one of the best Iwa had produced in years.

"Shocking, isn't it? Although considering his parentage, he was destined to be a formidable shinobi." Orochimaru said, and that piqued his interest.

"His parentage? He was an orphan, right? Nobody knew his parents," Sasuke said, looking at him.

"Or nobody said they did," Orochimaru put forward.

They walked out of the training room, Sasuke already prepared to meet Suigetsu and Ototane. The two of them were assigned to his team. The former was a water specialist and master of Kirigakure-style kenjutsu.

The latter, on the other hand, was an experiment, said to be a clone created by combining the DNA of Hanzo of the Salamander and Tsunade Senju. He was a poison specialist and a better healer than even Orochimaru. His master had exceeded the conventional norms of cloning a few years back; his own body was proof, after all.

"What do you need me to do, Danzo-sama?" The masked shinobi asked, his frame stiff.

"You'll trail Uzumaki Naruto, inside or outside the village. Keep your distance; he's not a sensor like his father, but I won't risk you getting compromised," Danzo said, still looking down at the Hokage mountain.

"If I may, Danzo-sama, I thought I had to join his team?" the boy asked.

"Plans have changed. You'll still occupy the apartment you have been given. If you're called on a mission, go and get another to keep an eye on him," Danzo said.

The dark hair of the boy fluttered as he nodded. "As you command, Danzo-sama."

The boy disappeared in a shunshin, leaving Shimura Danzo to his thoughts.

Another figure appeared on the head of Hiruzen's carved face. "You're getting soft. She disobeyed you, disrespected you, and here you stand, still moving in shadows."

Danzo looked behind him. "Hold your tongue, you're alive because I let you."

The shinobi sneered. "Remove these seals, and I'll show you how powerful you are."

Danzo grunted, an evil smirk on his lips. "I was always fascinated by you. No matter how many hours of pain you endured, you were resilient." The lone shinobi frowned at that. "That is until she came back. If she dies, I will lose my control over you. She'll live, until I need you. The day you die, she'll too."

The shinobi looked to the other side, his face red with anger. "He's achieved what he should have. You can't control him now. Killing me would only make him eager to kill you."

"You give the boy too much credit. He's only mastered a few jutsu. The scrolls on those are not forgotten; I can make some of mine learn them too," Danzo said.

"If you think your scrolls can hold a candle to Minato's diary, then you're a bigger fool than I thought you to be," the man said with a knowing smirk.

Danzo looked back at him. "Your dear Fourth Hokage was a one-trick pony. He died sealing the Nine-Tails, even with that Uzumaki girl helping him."

"And you think you could have sealed it without killing yourself? You were never the right choice for Hokage. The Second Hokage saw that and chose Hiruzen," the man replied.

"Sensei was not a far-sighted man. He thought what he did was right. I will be a better Hokage than Hiruzen ever was," the one-eyed war hawk whispered.

"He wouldn't let you," the man said knowingly.

Danzo scoffed. "That boy will die. I will make sure of that. The legacy of the Fourth Hokage will be forgotten, and you will be long dead to see it."

"You can try, Danzo. As you have tried for years," the man said, vanishing into thin air.

Karin slipped past the guards of the living quarters. Orochimaru, citing concerns about copulation interfering with his experiments, kept the boys and girls separated, even denying them the satisfaction of sex as a coping mechanism between willing participants.

The door to his quarters was unlocked, as always whenever they had to meet. The door clicked behind her as she entered. Uchiha Sasuke sat on his cot, looking up at her calmly.

"You're late," he said simply.

"Yeah, not everyone of us can be perfect like you," she bit back, before relieving herself of her shoes.

She looked at him for a moment before rushing forward, closing the distance as their lips met. She shared a hungry kiss with him, all the frustration she had accumulated over the day released in one kiss.

Sasuke smirked as they separated. "As impatient as ever."

Their foreheads were together as she took in his smell and caressed the back of his head, before kissing him again. This time, she forcefully shoved his hand in her top as they tangled together. He trailed kisses down her neck to her breasts, opening the top with his other hand.

They separated again. "You made sure nobody followed you?" Sasuke asked.

Karin "tsked," pushing him down. She hated when he questioned her ability to move around stealthily. "Just let me have this, without your questions," she said firmly, dropping her pants.

The next hour was spent having the best time Karin could get with her life being so messed up.

Sasuke pulled his pants back, his chest clearly showing bite marks denoting her territory. Karin was laid on his stomach, her hands spread wide. "What does he want with you? Is it not enough what we have sacrificed?" she asked, not looking at him.

"Nothing is enough for him, you know that better than others." She nodded into his stomach. "He wants me to travel with him and Kabuto, to admit someone."

"Suigetsu and Ototane too?" she asked.

"Hmm," he whispered, running his hand through her deep red hair.

He loved her, that much was clear. While he had tolerated Sakura due to her intelligence, Karin's fierceness and resourcefulness grew on him. And Karin wasn't an idiot by any chance; she had been a leading scientist in Orochimaru's lair until that fateful experiment. And at the current time, she was one of the best shinobi Otogakure had; her chakra chains and skill in fuinjutsu made her valuable.

"I heard about your Uzumaki teammate. Is he also red-haired?" she asked.

"No, he's blond. But his chakra reserves are thrice your size, and his chakra is dense," just like hers.

"A half-blooded Uzumaki, then," she said, looking up at him, her red eyes smiling.

"We'll have to leave before he can get to us again," he said.

She sighed. She wanted to leave this place too. Far away from Orochimaru, her life would be far more lively and worth living. She had lost one, she didn't want to lose twice. And looking at Orochimaru was just painful, a reminder of what he had done.

"Suigetsu wants to defect too, and so does Ototane," Sasuke said.

Karin frowned. Too many heads meant less stealth. But it also meant better chances at survival; four hands were better than two, and similarly, eight hands were better than four.

"We need to destroy the research papers too. He's done enough destruction already. I can't allow him access to them; my conscience wouldn't like that," Karin said.

"But where would we go? My ambition to end Itachi made me blind. I never thought about hideouts; we didn't need them much around anyone else. But Orochimaru isn't no one," Sasuke accepted.

Karin sat up, her mind working furiously. Her home village wasn't an option; she hadn't forgotten her mother's demise, nor the reason behind it. But there was another home village of hers, Uzushio.

She didn't know its location, though. Her mother had been too tired after hospital shifts to speak to her much. And she didn't know any other Uzumaki from whom she could ask, so she dropped the idea.

Konoha was also not an option. This Uzumaki Naruto could help them, but considering Sasuke's relationship with the boy and the latter's own willingness to get together with any of his clan mates, the chances were slim and not worth considering.

"We can start a mercernary group to earn our living, but we don't have a location." She said.

Sasuke looked up suddenly, "But we have one, Wave country. It's quite scheduled and nobody would look twice there, and even if they did we could move into Kiri. With the civil war, we could blend in."

"Kirgakure?" Karin with a frown.

Sasuke gave her a look, "I get your clan doesn't have best relations with the village, but it's our best chance at survival."

"Or we could take down Orochimaru," A voice said.

The water around the drain rose into a figure, suigetsu grinning at them.

Fortunately for him Karin was dressed, or he would have found how her new seal worked against his dexterity with water.

"How long have you been here?" She asked still, her body tense.

"Relax, lovebirds. We only entered when you were dressed, we don't want an eyeful of yours sweaty sex." Ototane said, dropping down from the roof. His chameleon jutsu fading away.

Ototane was tall, at least as tall as Orochimaru or even taller. His white blond hair came to his shoulder, and his face had deep purple marking along the cheeks. He was dressed in a green haori, with black bodysuit underneath.

"Shut up, you lizard," Karin said. "Killing Ororchimaru is no joke, not in his current body."

"His final body now," Suigetsu said.

"Yes, that. We need to move and move fast if we want to exit," Ototane said, sitting on the ground.

"You want to meet her, don't you?" Karin asked, a bit saddened.

"I don't know if she'll accept me or not, but I do want to know her better," Ototane said.

"After this mission then, he will leave to tread with one of his funders. Kabuto will be in command; he is tough to beat, but no Orochimaru," Sasuke said.

"We need to free Jugo too; he's a worse weapon under Orochimaru," Suigetsu said.

Karin looked at him. "You're talking strategy today, Suigetsu. Got your mind out of the gutter?"

Sasuke moved closer to her, his hand wrapped around her waist.

The next day, their mission took them to River Country. There, a compromised former merchant sought Orochimaru's help. He offered a group of his men as recruits and became a funder himself.

Unknown to Sasuke, this was the same merchant who had mediated trade with Kirigakure years ago, and whose documents Naruto had stolen. That act had bankrupted him, pushing him into the drug trade. The drug trade was now harming the youngsters in his village, and high officials of the Tea Country wanted him out. The guards he employed were some of those addicted men and boys who had no family to return to.

Their journey back took a week. During that time, Sasuke, Ototane, and Suigetsu exchanged knowing glances. It wasn't until they re-entered the borders of Otogakure that Orochimaru separated from them.

"Bring them to Kabuto, he will take care of them," he said plainly, looking east.

"And the funder?" Ototane asked in his strong voice.

"To guest quarters. Karin knows where to place him," Orochimaru replied, dismissing them.

Sasuke bowed, Ototane and Suigetsu following his lead.

Orochimaru disappeared in a shunshin. A moment later, they entered the lair.

The recruits were handed to Kabuto, who smirked, herding them in. Karin, on the other hand, led the fat merchant to a different room, not luxurious but better than the room the recruits could ever get.

And the plan began.

The four shinobi grouped together, with Sasuke taking command.

"Suigetsu, go to the third layer. Free Jugo, bring him to the gates," Sasuke ordered. The water specialist nodded, speeding off to the stairs.

"Karin, you know where the experiment journals are, test subjects, and anything else of note. Burn them down, nothing should remain, and clear the tubes, destroy them." Karin nodded.

He looked to Ototane. "You and I, we'll subdue Kabuto. If we can, we'll eliminate him, but the chances are slim enough."

The corridor they rushed to was deserted, which wasn't surprising given the time. Sasuke signaled Ototane, who pushed open the door. Empty. Nobody was there. Sasuke activated his Sharingan, considering it could see chakra. Nothing, not a sliver of chakra.

Ototane frowned, then suddenly jumped as a figure emerged from the ground.

"Going somewhere, Sasuke-kun?" Kabuto asked, having hidden himself in the earth just like Orochimaru.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "How do you know?"

"You're not as discreet as you think yourself to be," Kabuto replied, dashing forward.

Ototane ducked under a chakra scalpel, knowing a single touch would cause too much harm. Sasuke joined the fray, his punch grazing Kabuto's cheek as the medic-nin avoided him.

"Katon: Fireball Jutsu!" The fireball shot by Sasuke didn't touch Kabuto. He had already vanished beneath the ground. Ototane grinned, punching the ground forcefully. The floor cracked, and Kabuto hastily rose on the head of a snake summon. He jumped down, allowing the snake to tackle Ototane.

While the snake engaged Ototane, Kabuto focused on Sasuke, coming down with chakra scalpels in both hands. Sasuke revealed his twin katanas, blocking Kabuto's attack and pushing him back. He spun, bringing his katana from the right, but Kabuto ducked under it.

Coming from the left, Sasuke redirected his hand and pushed his katana forward. The medic-nin curved his body like a snake, letting the sword pass unharmed. He was moving similarly to Orochimaru, and that was not good news.

Sasuke dashed forward, swinging at him from the left. The man stepped back before spitting a glob of poison toward his head. The Uchiha cut through the glob with his katana, his instinct taking over as he spat another ball of fire, this time not requiring any hand seals.

Kabuto parried the fireball, a coating of chakra over his hand protecting him.

But he never saw Sasuke's thrust. The Uchiha cut through his collarbone with precision. Sasuke quickly changed his other katana to a reverse grip, swinging to cut Kabuto's head. But the medic-nin was resilient; he pushed his body back, the deep cut healing at a rapid rate. His other hand came up and gripped the katana, not getting cut even slightly.

Sasuke was surprised but didn't get the chance to react as suddenly Ototane appeared behind Kabuto.

He gripped Kabuto's head with one hand and his shoulder with the other. With a forceful pull, he separated them. Kabuto screamed bloody murder, but his screams were silenced as Ototane tore him into two halves like paper, throwing them aside.

"Fucking hell, always wanted to do that with the bastard," Ototane said, his face and chest covered with blood.

Sasuke looked behind the man to see the snake summon vanish, covered in blood and gashes.

"Do you have to be so grotesque?" Sasuke asked, sheathing his katana back.

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy this, the bastard was also helping in the experiment," Ototane said, wiping the blood from his face and chest with a towel from Kabuto's bed.

"Come on, we've to catch up with Karin and Suigetsu. With Kabuto gone, there's no one to track us, and Orochimaru will return the day after tomorrow," Sasuke said, walking over half of Kabuto's body, this one without the head.

They climbed down the stairs to reach the base level. Suigetsu was already there with Jugo supported on his shoulder.

"This bastard is drugged to his limits," Suigetsu grunted, handing Jugo to Ototane, who picked him up over his shoulder.

"Where's Karin?" Sasuke asked.

The question was answered as the girl entered the chamber, a stack of scrolls in her hand. She walked to Sasuke, reaching up to kiss his right cheek.

"I thought Sasuke told you to burn them down," Ototane said.

"Not these. This is proof that Orochimaru was working with someone in Konoha. Someone named Shimura was aiding him to garner Sharingan," Karin replied. Sasuke looked down at her sharply.

"Is it Danzo Shimura?" he asked.

Karin nodded. "There are other papers I thought you might like to look over."

"Seal them. We'll have time to read them. For now, we need to escape from here," Sasuke said.

"Is everything else destroyed?" Suigetsu asked.

Karin grinned. "Burned to a crisp."

Sasuke nodded. "Let's move then. I will take the lead, Suigetsu will take the back. Karin and Ototane in the center."

The three nodded and followed him as he ran out of the base to the rice fields of Otogakure.

Nobody noticed the two parts of Kabuto merging together and turning into bloody slush before evaporating with a sizzle, like boiling water. Another Kabuto dropped from the ceiling from under the roof tiles, groaning on the ground.

He was intelligent enough to create a blood clone before confronting the duo, or else he would have surely been ripped apart.

The substitution had been seamless, but Kabuto had still incurred his fair share of injuries. He crawled to his bed, removing the broken tiles from beneath it.

The green scroll he brought out was an emergency signal scroll, one Orochimaru had provided him in case of any kind of emergency, be it infiltration or a large-scale escape. He drew a cross with his blood on the top of the scroll, and it burned bright green.

Kabuto heaved a breath, his ribs on fire. He lay down on his stomach, focusing his chakra to heal the injured parts. The clone had nearly ripped him in two, and Sasuke had already done his damage before he could substitute.

Orochimaru would reach him as soon as he could. With that thought running through his mind, he gave in to the temptation of closing his eyes and blacked out.

Sasuke and his group were already past the Country of Hot Springs and on a ship in Haran Bay when he opened the first scroll.

'Experiment Zero: The host is a victim of explosion, fortunately his eyes are intact. Danzo-sama has given the instructions...'

The scroll detailed Orochimaru's gruesome experiments. Bodies were provided by Danzo – members of the Senju and Uchiha clans, and even some Hatake and Uzumaki.

Tests were conducted to understand the full extent of their Kekkei Genkai, with further experiments attempting to copy these abilities, though failing to achieve solid results. There were even "special subjects," live individuals who were experimented on.

Nothing yielded the desired results for Orochimaru and Danzo. The scrolls contained various theories, including a full passage speculating about the Sage of Six Paths, more conjectures, and mission details.

It wasn't until the third scroll that Sasuke found something truly shocking. It detailed a procedure for implanting a Sharingan using Hashirama's cells, aimed at bypassing rejection and enhancing the ability. The subject's name was most surprising: Shimura Danzo.

Disclaimer: All rights are reserved for Masashi Kishimoto.