Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 1

Sasuke sat in the teahouse, and there was a faint sound of music in the background. The music consisted of the melodic tunes of a bamboo flute. The teahouse bustled with the excessive chatter of men and women, but Sasuke ignored them. He sat in a corner far off from everyone else, a bottle of plumb sake sat on the table in front of him, and he took a sip of it out of a saucer like cup. Sasuke had on a gray cloak that hid his body, and a katana mounted on his hip. The alcohol alleviated his tense body, but Sasuke knew that the alleviation would be short-lived. He was constantly on guard to the outside world around him, it was the direct result of wandering, aimlessly through the shinobi world. Whenever he slept, if that is what you want to call it, he found himself aware of any kind of noises being made in his presence. This presented a problem for him, often Sasuke slept in caves or exposed to the elements, and even the faint whistling of the wind caused him to be on edge.

The noises that he found himself aware of couldn't possibly be made by a human being. He knew that no one would dare sneak up on him, not if they valued their lives, and the likelihood of that happening was slim. Not in this so called Era in Peace. It sickened Sasuke to no end! Villages that once were enemies were now good friends, and the philosophy of loving your neighbor had become a widespread accepted ideal. The Fourth Shinobi War had transformed the world that Sasuke had grown adapted to, a world that was cruel, unforgiving, where people used you for their own gain. Sasuke found himself alienated from this new world, he was so accustomed to seeing conflict between shinobi, hell, he had even been a part of the conflict. However, Sasuke would not subject himself to this new era of peace! Everyone else was swayed by it, abandoning all of their initial motives for their actions, but Sasuke was not an easily influenced young man.

There were so many who thought that the new peace would change Sasuke, bring him back to Konoha, and Sasuke would redeem himself in the form of becoming a benevolent shinobi. What fucking fools! These incompetent fools included Sakura, and that fucking dobe, Naruto. Hell, Naruto had even built him a new estate in the newly resurrected Konoha. They had built the estate for Sasuke after he aided them in the war, thinking that he would join the village afterwards, but they were sadly placing false hope in him. Sasuke had seen the estate once or twice, it was nice he had to admit, fit for the sole heir of the Uchiha clan, and at times Sasuke did stay at the estate. He would go into Konohagakure without being noticed by anyone, and he would stay there for a couple of days. It beat having to sleep in a hotel room, or outside. However, the presence of Konoha was insufferable, he could only look and be in it for so long. It reminded him of his failed plan to decimate Konohagakure, to wipe its inhabitants off the face of the earth, and send them into the afterlife.

Two young men got up to their feet, one of the men staggered back, and his cheeks were flushed red. The women who poured their drinks, snickered at the sight, and the men balled up their fists.

"You want to fight, Ryuuji?" The severely drunk man asked, curiously. "I can take you on!"

"As if, Jobo!" Ryuuji snickered at him, and he wrapped his arm around his drunken friend's neck. "Why fight each other when we can start a teahouse brawl?" Ryuuji's drunken friend grinned, wildly at the thought, and he started to look around the room.

"Who wants to fight, anyone!" Jobo shouted. Jobo staggered to other tables, eyeing the men who sat with other women, and the teahouse fell silent. The women looked at the two young men, slightly apprehensive for what would come next, and Sasuke stared at Jobo, disgusted.

"What a fucking nuisance." Sasuke took a gulp of his sake, placing the money onto the table, and he put the hood up on his cloak. He walked past Jobo, Sasuke kept his eyes forward underneath the hood, and a hand came flying on his shoulder. Sasuke's body stiffened, and he scowled as his hand moved to his katana.

"Hey, you, where do you think you are going?" Ryuuji demanded. Sasuke didn't answer him, and he turned around. Half of his face was darkened by the hood, obscuring the identity of the Uchiha heir. Ryuuji twitched when he saw that Sasuke would not answer him, and he whistled to his drunken friend. "Hey, come over here, Jobo, I think we have found your man to fight" Jobo turned, grinning at the sight of Sasuke, and he walked up to him.

"So, you want to leave out of here on me eh?" Jobo asked Sasuke. He frowned when he saw that he wouldn't get a rise out of Sasuke, and Sasuke kept his mouth in defined line without any hint of emotion.

I don't have time for such senseless bullshit.

"He's not much of a talker, Ryuuji." Jobo observed, quickly. "And just who the hell are you." Jobo reached to grab Sasuke's hood, Sasuke unsheathed his katana, and the blade sat underneath his arm, ready to cut it off. The movements made his hood fall, revealing Sasuke's crimson eyes, and his face was hard. There was a heaviness placed in the air, suddenly, as everyone in the teahouse realized the man who stood before them was no other than the murderous traitor, Sasuke Uchiha.

"Touch me, and you will be living without that arm." Sasuke threatened, menacingly. Jobo staggered backwards as his eyes pulsed with apprehension, and Ryuuji raised his hands up in front of him.

"Sorry, we didn't know!" Sasuke smirked at the Ryuuji, and Ryuuji staggered backwards as Sasuke approached him. Ryuuji ended up, collapsing on his back, and he looked at Sasuke, horrified.

"What?" The Uchiha heir asked, disappointed. He pointed his sword to the man's throat. "I thought you wanted to fight?"

Ryuuji began to stammer. "No, I-I-" Sasuke cut him off.

"Are a pathetic piece of shit." Sasuke informed, curtly, and his gaze directed to Jobo. Jobo looked at Sasuke with his jaw clenched, and his hands were shaking.

"Leave him alone." Jobo commanded Sasuke, Sasuke's eyes narrowed at him, and he walked up to Jobo. Sasuke watched Jobo tremble with each step towards him, and he couldn't help, but chuckle at the sight. He grabbed Jobo by the collar, and lifted him off the ground.

"You dare command me?" Sasuke hissed. His grip tightened on Job's collar, his knuckles pushing into Jobo's throat, and Jobo shook his head as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Please, I have a wife and children." Jobo pleaded. The Uchiha heir stared at him, icily, and he scoffed at Jobo's excuse.

"Hmph!" Sasuke threw Jobo away from him like a rag doll, and Jobo hit the ground with a loud thud. "Like I give a fuck if you have wife or kids." He headed out the teahouse, leaving the atmosphere of the teahouse filled with fear, and Sasuke wandered away from there. The teahouse was located in a small village that was isolated from the rest of the world, it was the kind of village that Sasuke often took refuge in, since its inhabitants were just common ordinary folk. There were no shinobi in the village, and Sasuke liked it that way. The Uchiha heir pulled his hood back over his head, and he cursed underneath his breath. If it wasn't for that altercation in the teahouse, Sasuke would be able to take a room at a hotel in the village, but he knew that word would soon spread about the Uchiha's presence.

"That is just fucking great." The Uchiha heir snarled. The clouds began to darken, and the sky started to rumble with the sign of an alteration in the climate. Sasuke looked up at the sky, a rain droplet started to hit against the ground, and soon one droplet multiplied into many. Sasuke looked up at the sky as a rain droplets hit his cheek, rolling off his skin, and onto his shoulder.

"It would be fucking raining." Sasuke was not too keen on sleeping in the rain, he had grown weary of sleeping outside because that was last resort kind of thing. The Uchiha heir wasn't near any forest neither, Sasuke began to weigh out his options as the rain began to saturate his rain, gluing it to his skin. Well, he could just sleep in his estate in Konoha since Konoha was not too far away. Cursing at the predicament he was in, Sasuke made his way to Konoha, reluctantly.

Konoha was clearly visible for miles, and the lights were vibrant through the blanket that the rain. Sasuke ran up towards Konoha, making sure that his movements were quiet, and he stopped at the outskirts of the village. He watched two shinobi look into the abyss, lazily, and bored. Also, Sasuke noticed that the shinobi guarded the gates of Konohagakure, halfheartedly, and the Uchiha heir chuckled to himself. He did some hand signs, creating a clone, and the clone moved forward towards the gates. He sat there, watching his clone create a diversion to distract the two shinobi, and they took notice of the clone. The shinobi ran after the clone as fast as they could, Sasuke made sure that no one was coming back, and he moved towards the gate. Taking advantage of how gullible they were, he slipped into the gates, and made sure that no one was looking at him. Sasuke made his way to the estate, but he could have sworn he saw the faint figure of a Konoha shinobi, and it caused him to instinctively reach for his sword. However, Sasuke was too fatigued to deal with the shit right now, and he pursed his lips. The Uchiha heir awaited for a shinobi to come for him, but none did.

"Hmph!" Sasuke grunted to himself. The Uchiha heir headed for the estate, and the estate stood far off away from everyone else. The estate stood, empty, and somewhat haunting as opposed to the other homes. The gates were closed up, and Sasuke pushed past the gates. He closed the gates behind him, quickly, and the Uchiha heir stood behind the gate. He wanted to make sure there was no commotion, and he walked into house. The walls were bare, there was nothing in the house except for the necessities, and Sasuke walked into the bedroom. He stripped down his clothes, tossing them to the corner, and he opened the closet. There was rows of untouched men's kimonos aligned adjacent beside on another, and Sasuke scoffed at the sight. He put on a white kimono, and fell onto the bed. The Uchiha heir found himself, staring at the ceiling, and the house was eerily still. The sound of the rain hitting against the roof was peaceful, the bed was comfortable, and it beat sleeping in any cheap hotel bed or out in the open environment. The Uchiha heir felt his eyes get heavy, and soon he drifted off into a light sleep.

-The next day-

The sound of lively Konoha citizens woke Sasuke up, he frowned to himself at the sound, and Sasuke lifted up in the bed.

"It would be quiet if I would have killed everyone." Sasuke thought to himself. Sasuke fell back in the bed, putting his arm over his face, and a knock came at the door. Sasuke's sharingan activated, instantly, and he got up off the bed. He grabbed his katana, walking through the house, cautiously, and Sasuke leaned up against the wall. He figured that whoever it was would end up leaving, but the knocking continued to persist.

"Sasuke!" shouted a voice. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he immediately recognized the voice, and he growled at himself. Naruto.

"What is he doing here?" Sasuke thought back to the figure he could have sworn he had seen, and he cursed underneath his breath. He had let his fatigue get in the way of his judgment, the Uchiha heir should have known when he saw that figure that he should have left right there. Sasuke knew that Naruto would not go away, but Sasuke was not going to humor him. He stood against the wall, the knocking became frantic, and the Uchiha heir watched the door shake underneath the force of the knocks. Sasuke watched the door, cautiously, and then the knocks subsided into nothing. He kept his eyes on the door, and Naruto busted through it.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. "I know that you are here, I can sense your chakra!" Sasuke walked out to meet his former teammate, and he pointed his sword at Naruto. The hokage's jacket was draped over Naruto's clothes, and Naruto crossed his arms. "I heard you came last night."

"So." Sasuke sneered.

"So do you like the estate?" Naruto asked, curiously. Sasuke looked at him, apathetically, and he put his hand on his hip.

"Don't mistaken, I will be leaving today." Sasuke informed." Now get out, and fix the damn door."

"Oh yeah, sorry." Naruto chuckled at him, as a smile came across his face, and he scratched his head. "So what makes you come to Konohagakure?"

"None of your business." Sasuke growled. The Uchiha heir looked at the warm smile on the Jinchuuriki host's face, and it made him grind his teeth at the sight. He was not here on any friendly visit, he didn't yearn to see his blasts from the past, and all he wanted was a warm bed.

"So how have you been?" Naruto inquired. "You look good." Sasuke didn't answer him, but he saw Naruto was going to keep up the one sided conversation. "So you know, I have become Hokage, and I have gotten married to Sakura."

"Congratulations." Sasuke said, condescendingly.

"You could live here, you know, instead of living that nomadic life of yours." Naruto smiled at him, wryly.

"No, now get out." The Uchiha heir reiterated.

"Okay, I can see that you have you mind set up." Sasuke saw a sullen look spread across Naruto's face, he watched Naruto walk up to the door, and he placed the door back on the hinges. The Uchiha heir lowered his katana when the door closed, and he walked back into the bedroom. Sasuke picked up his clothes, but they were still saturated. He took them outside with a stream of water trailing behind him, and Sasuke laid the clothes out onto the porch. The Uchiha heir figured that he would let them dry, and then be on his way. His stomach growled, lowly, Sasuke walked into the kitchen, and he opened the fridge. The fridge was empty to his surprise, and he slammed the door shut. It meant that he would have to go out into the town, and Sasuke cursed his body for such primal needs. The Uchiha heir grabbed a pair of sandals, and he took some money out of the pocket of his clothes. He walked out of the gate, some of the inhabitants of Konohagakure quickly took notice of him, and there was a series of whispers that broke out.

A woman shielded her child away from Sasuke, avoiding eye contact with her husband pushing him along, hastily. Some children played with a ball along the streets, the ball came heading towards Sasuke, and it hit him against his leg. The children stopped, catching sight of Sasuke, and he directed his sinister glare to the ball and then back to the children. Sasuke left the ball where it was, walking past it, and the children hid until he was away from them. He watched the children grab the ball, scurrying away as fast as they could, and Sasuke smirked to himself.

They feared him, the villagers, the sight of them struck dismay in their hearts.

It delighted him to a certain degree, but the Uchiha heir could see that it was becoming a quick nuisance. This is why he liked to stay in villages that were unaware of his identity. The Uchiha heir walked into the first restaurant that he could find in Konohagakure's district. The people in the restaurant stopped eating, immediately, an eerie silence fell over the restaurant, and Sasuke walked over to a booth. He relaxed, closing his eyes, and he placed his chin in his hand, awaiting for his waitress or waiter. It wasn't long before a waitress was assigned to his table, and she walked up to Sasuke, hesitantly. The waitress had a menus in her hands, and she placed one in front of him.

"Hi, my name is Ofumiko and I will be your servant today" Ofumiko introduced. "What would you like to drink?"

"Water" The Uchiha heir commanded, not making eye contact as boredom spread across his face. "And I would like to order now"

"Oh!" said Ofumiko "p-please hold on, let me get out my notepad" Ofumiko searched in her pocket, fumbling through it, frantically, and Sasuke looked at her, annoyed. She looked young, probably about his same age, maybe a year younger, but that was all irrelevant and superfluous information to Sasuke, and Ofumiko pulled out her notepad.

"I would like a plate of takoyaki, and a bowl of katsudon" commanded Sasuke. He picked up the useless menu, and Ofumiko nodded at him. She took the menu, turning around and almost running away from his table. The Uchiha heir could hear the whispers in the restaurant.

"Why is he here?"

"I thought he was a wander, and nobody"

"No, doubt he is here planning something."

Sasuke sighed at the gossip, he looked around the restaurant, and caught sight of Ino sitting at a table not too far from him. Ino looked at him, baffled with her mouth hung agape, and Sasuke stared at her, uninterested. His gaze directed to those who were sitting at the table with her, there was no one that he had paid particular interest in, except for one. The Hyuuga heiress. Hinata sat across from Ino, she looked at Sasuke, shyly, and Sasuke stared at her. He had never really paid attention to her, only that she was too kind for her own good and she was extremely weak. However, the Uchiha heir had also remembered how strong she was during the fight with Madara. It was clearly evident that the Hyuuga heiress had grown, exponentially in perfecting her byakugan, and Sasuke began to smirk to himself. He had just found the key to his boredom. Sasuke would test his skills against her, he had never fought with a Hyuuga before, and if she proved to be worthy. The Uchiha heir would strike up an alliance with the Hyuuga heiress. The Uchiha heir watched Kiba who was sitting next Ino get up, Sasuke glared at him, and he walked over to the table.

"What are you doing here?" Kiba asked, angrily. "You should not be here."

"Oh?" Sasuke asked, coldly as he stood up. "And why is that?" Kiba cringed at him, Akamaru appeared next to Kiba, and he growl at Sasuke. Sasuke looked at the dog, and he let out a chuckle.

"Keeping a mutt around I see." Sasuke sneered.

"What did the fuck did you just say?" Kiba reached to grab the collar of Sasuke's kimono, Sasuke balled up his fists, and his onyx eyes flashed to crimson ones. The Uchiha heir watched Ino and Hinata walk over to them, hurriedly.

"Stop it, Kiba." Ino commanded, trying to ease the situation. "You really shouldn't cause a scene."

"This asshole already did the moment he walked into Konoha." Kiba objected. "So tell me why are you here, to destroy the village, to eradicate us off the face of the earth, tell me."

"I don't owe any of you an explanation."

"P-please stop it." Hinata pleaded, softly. Kiba looked at her as the anger suddenly disappeared off his face, and Hinata looked at Sasuke. "I'm sorry, w-we have disturbed you. Uchiha-san." Sasuke stared at her, icily, and he pursed his lips. Her voice was soft and gentle, it agitated him. "We are d-delighted to have y-you back here in Konoha."

"I hardly doubt that." Sasuke scoffed.

"I'm sorry for the r-reception that y-you are getting." Hinata murmured, lowly.

"Why?" The Uchiha heir glared at her. "Why are you sorry?"

"Because e-everyone is a human being and s-should not be ostracized regardless of w-what they did in the past." Hinata explained with a warm smile.

Definitely, too kind.

"So tell me, Hyuuga, why are you associating yourself with such low company?" Sasuke asked, coolly.

"What the hell did you just say?" Ino asked, angrily. Sasuke ignored the irate expression on Ino's face, and he kept his eyes on Hinata. "And she has a name."

"They are not l-low company." Hinata said, defensively. She frowned at him, and Hinata pursed her lips.

"Whatever." The Uchiha growled. "Then that makes you a low life for associating with them."

"I am n-not." He watched her cheeks flush red in embarrassment and perhaps anger. " Y-you shouldn't say such cruel things to p-people."

"I don't give a fuck." Sasuke chuckled at her.

"Come on, Hinata, you don't need this!" Kiba grabbed Hinata's arm, and he began to lead her towards the door. Ino stared at Sasuke, infuriated before she followed behind them, and the Uchiha heir smirked as Hinata took one last look at him. If he was going to have Hinata filled his boredom, it meant that Sasuke would have to stay in Konoha till he was satisfied with her, and he cringed at the thought. However, he would be sleeping in a nice warm bed, and he would have warm food to eat instead of scraps.

"Guess, I will be staying after all." The Uchiha heir murmured to himself, and a sadistic grin spread across his face. "Till we meet again. Hinata Hyuuga."

Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator.