Been a while since I've worked on this. Then again, I did say this story wouldn't take too much precedence over my others. An experiment is what this is, and what it has always been, with hopes that more writers will see this story and think "Hey, that's true that Sasuke didn't go crazy! Let me write a story about what would have happened if he did!"

Considering that's my end-goal for this fic, it gives me a lot more liberty to experiment with certain ideas because ultimately, that's what his is - a live experiment.

Fair warning, this fic will be somewhat less wish-fulfilling than my others, because that's not the endgoal here. I mean, of course there'll still be wish fulfillment - just... done differently.

This chapter will certainly make one or two people rather uncomfortable. That said... enjoy.

The Sociopathy of Uchiha Sasuke

"Just five more minutes –"

"Come on Kino. I need to lock up the place."

She grumbled underneath her breath as she stared at the stack of papers before her. Ink stains frolicked on her fingertips like a mosaic design. Her untidy hair possessed three pens stuck into it, all of which already possessed their contents emptied out.

"Just – the library is the only place I can get any work done!"

"Your house –"

"I live in the Red Lights District."

"Ah." Jian said. "You could always move out. Rent a better place."

"On what? The salary of a Chunin desk-pusher isn't going to cover the cost of getting and renovating a new place."

"You could always take more missions."

She clicked her pen. Clicked it, again and again. Her lower lip folded underneath her teeth.

"It's been three years –"

"No."

Jian let the issue drop. She watched the Chunin sigh, grumble, and then yawn. "I'm heading home Kino." He tossed the keys to her. "Once you're done with whatever it is you're writing, lock the place up."

"You're leaving? But – but – who will protect the library –"

"From what? Enemy shinobi? Like they would actually try to steal jutsu from a shinobi library. No Genin or Chunin would be stupid enough to try either. It's the library."

"But –"

"Goodnight Kino."

She heard him leave. The doors slammed behind him. She was torn between being disconcerted at the complete silence and appreciating the chance to get some more work done. She flinched at the movement of shadows, and leapt to her feet at the tiniest of sounds. Several minutes passed in this manner of ease and unease until she gathered her wits and returned to her work.

…and so, in this manner, Konoha has only just begun to rebound from the debilitating losses incurred from the tragedy of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, which occurred twelve months earlier.

The greatest threat to Konoha's economy was the loss of the labor and personnel in the form of the Uchiha Clan. The loss of over a thousand shinobi brought questions about Konoha's ability to defend itself from internal threats, and reduced public opinion of the village, thereby reducing the number of investors, tourists and clientele requesting missions. However, this reduction was not crippling to the economy, but instead proved to be unexpectedly beneficial. As Konoha was now over a thousand shinobi short, the reduction in missions enabled the village to be capable of meeting the demand of clientele without being excessively overworked.

Nevertheless, the reduction was temporary, and the influx of mission requests brought Konoha to a crises as more and more shinobi became overworked, barely completing a C-Rank Mission before having another B-Rank handed to them. This led to an increase in the amount of alcohol, tobacco and pornography consumption as shinobi searched for quick ways to unwind from the stress of the seemingly endless stream of missions.

Furthermore, crime rates in Konoha skyrocketed following the Massacre. As the Uchiha Police Force were the primary source of law-enforcement within the village, numerous thugs and brigands saw their destruction as an opportunity to commit different felonies without the threat of arrest and imprisonment. There were several reports of burglaries, robberies, extortion and violent assaults. There were twenty-one cases of sexual harassment, and three cases of sexual assault, which, as of now, have been brought to justice courtesy of beheadings delivered by the Head of T&I, Morino Ibiki.

The Hokage proceeded to deliver a statement indicating that lawbreakers would be treated severely and urged all of Konoha to maintain the Will of Fire in trying times. Following that, the presentation of the now named: Uchiha Remembrance Monument crafted by the sole survivor of the Massacre aided in quelling and rekindling the fires of compassion in the heart of the people. The Uchiha Remembrance Monument has been visited numerous times by tourists, some of which claim to weep at the sight and upon hearing the story of the Massacre, and the solitary boy locked within the walls of his compound.

Kino stopped writing. She inhaled, deeply. She turned her attention to the clock, noting the time. Her lips turned into a frown as she stared back at her report. With a bit of trepidation, she continued.

This researcher questions the ethics of utilizing the tragedy of the Uchiha Massacre and Uchiha Sasuke as a profitable avenue for tourism. The sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan purportedly attacked and defeated his colleagues and seniors at the Konoha Shinobi Academy, and requested to be promoted to the rank of Genin, but was firmly rebutted, ten months ago. He has proceeded to lock himself up within the walls of his compound, and is only seen once a month in the village, buying groceries and amenities. Tourists and even the populace of Konoha have taken to treating the orphaned child as some form of mythical celebrity. This researcher believes that it is morally bankrupt to continue to allow –

Kino tore up the paper. She ripped it twice and folded it into a neat ball, taking time to toss it into the nearest bin. She was letting her personal sentiments cloud her writing. Perhaps it was because Uchiha Kashimi had been her teammate. She wondered if it was a good thing that Kashimi died three years before the massacre. No – no it was not. Uchiha Itachi would have merely killed her without hesitation, not drag her out in front of a town and –

She slapped her cheeks lightly. Forget it. It's in the past. Yes, it was in the past. It was why she could not, would not, ever return to active duty, unless in the explicit case of an attack against the village. Now was not the time to be thinking of such. It was almost two a.m. and she needed to lock up the library. Just need to wrap this up – she turned back to her paper, scratching her hand through her hair as she began writing.

Tomorrow, it will be exactly one-year since the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Konoha has suffered great tragedy and loss, friends, lovers, colleagues and more were removed from this world by the now infamous S-Rank Missing Nin, Uchiha Itachi. There have been no records or details of where this abhorrent criminal vanished to, but the lives of those of Konoha have begun to begrudgingly move on. Changes in structure, such as the newly found Konoha Police Force operated by individuals of the Inuzuka and Akimichi Clans, prove that the people of Konoha are indeed resilient, strong, and will live on and carry the memory of the fallen with us.

The Aftermath of the Uchiha Downfall, as recorded by –

There was a loud bang and Kino leapt from her chair.

Her hands went straight to her kunai pouch, and the weapon was held before her in a protective stance.

"Who's there?"

No one responded. Cautiously, she took several silent steps forward. Her eyes flickered back and forth to attempt to find the source of the noise. She hoped it was just an over-eager Genin here for some light reading and nothing particularly ominous.

A black shape blurred between bookshelves, and she felt her breath go still.

"Whoever you are, you're currently trespassing!"

She had not seen combat in three full years. She trained, lightly, to ensure her shape did not falter, but she was never the best of Chunin even while she was at her prime. Three years lacking combat had deteriorated her skills to that of High Genin-level at the very best.

Hence, when she witnessed the tall figure cloaked in black robes, standing across from her like a ghastly apparition, she knew that she was in trouble.

The world around them melted – literally melted, as books and corridors and bookshelves dripped away from reality like ink washing off wet paper. Her confusion gave way into terror and rapidly turned into understanding as she slammed her hands together into the seal for Genjutsu release, and screamed out the word. "KAI!"

The world did not stop melting. No, the world only seemed to melt at a faster pace, the library washing away and a forest clearing immediately coming into existence.

"KAI!"

The forest did not melt away. Her heart was beating quickly within her chest now. A voice told her that this forest was real, but she did not want to accept that. The implications of accepting it were horrifying.

"KAI!"

Again, the forest did not fade. The smell of leaves and night breeze was unmistakable. The feeling of sand and dried leaves crunching underneath her sandals were unmistakable. She realized that it was, indeed, real. It meant this was the worst case scenario.

It meant she had been under a Genjutsu for an inordinate amount of time, and was brought to this forest without ever realizing it.

The cloaked figure stood in front of her, eerily unmoving. She swallowed the saliva in her throat and did her best to appear unfazed. Her façade was brief. It failed as the figure before her vanished into falling leaves, and a kick connected strongly with her stomach. She felt the wind hurry out of her lungs as she keeled over, a second kick striking the side of her cheek. The world revolved endlessly as she crashed against grass and tried her best to breathe. The cloaked figure stood, his left leg still extended, before he slowly placed it down.

"Fight."

The distorted voice spoke. She could not place age or gender, and she could not see past the obscured cloak. She registered the words and contemplated laughing. Fight? She could not fight. Fighting a Genjutsu expert at night was suicide, and her Clan Jutsu was not optimized for one-on-one melee brawls. There was no way she could –

A second kick connected with her ribs and reestablished her priorities. Her attacker did not seem to care about her breasts as he slammed his foot into her chest in the manner that a child would kick a ball. She skidded away from him, breathing hard as she did her best to rise to her feet and raise her kunai in defense.

He was in front of her again. She rushed him with her taijutsu, and he slapped away her palms like they were offending pieces of string and connected a palm strike between her chest. Another palm strike crashed on her stomach before she could react to the first, and she toppled like a child pushed over by a neglectful adult.

I'm outclassed. The horrifying realization came to her as she collapsed to the ground, and her attacker pinned her down with his foot against her chest.

"Weak."

Kino could not deny it. She knew it. She knew, and she accepted it a long time ago. A one-on-one fight was not her specialty, however, if she could trap her opponent –

She locked her legs against her attacker's knees. Solid! It's not a genjutsu! She rushed her hands to move into a handsign that she had been practicing since she was old enough to walk.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu!" Yamanaka Kino roared as she felt her soul eject her body and rush straight towards her attacker. It slammed directly against his consciousness, and –

And the sight of thousands of decomposing severed heads crying blood and swallowing maggots told Kino she made a horrible mistake.

XXXXX

How many hours did the average Shinobi train?

Eliminating the hours needed for missions, feeding, rest, relaxation and personal hobbies one would estimate roughly about three-to-four hours a day, every day. Some, the particularly dedicated ones, would train six to seven hours a day, every day. The fanatics would train perhaps eight-to-nine hours a day, every single day.

However, even these 'fanatics' were limited because they needed to interact with people. They required a social life, possessed family, duties, obligations and responsibilities that made it so they could not train more than nine hours a day.

He had no such restrictions, and hence, he clocked in twenty hours a day, every single day.

How hard was their training regimen?

Most shinobi did not train themselves until they collapsed from exertion, woke up, cooked a brief meal and ate it before returning to train, and collapsing from exertion again. Indeed, most shinobi trained on things they were already good at, focused on retaining a level of skill they had attained, and their training was set at a steady, repetitive pace. They were training to be strong, yes, but not everyone trained to be the strongest. They were training for missions, yes, but not everyone trained with a particular mission in mind. At the end, with the exception of one or two individuals, no one trained like their life depended on it.

He did.

Finally, how effective was their training?

The average shinobi could move from the rank of Genin to the rank of Chunin in about three to four years, if they maintained a steady training pattern and garnered experience from combat and missions. The average amount of time it took for one to move from Genin to Jonin was about seven to eight years. If you survived for that long, you were doing the right thing, you had not gotten yourself killed yet, so that meant that you had gained the skills and expertise needed to keep yourself alive, and potentially, others as well.

Individuals labeled "geniuses" were also faster at moving up in rank, and their training sessions were doubly effective because of their ability to understand the subject, draw rational and helpful connections, see the bigger picture, and grasp concepts at a rate that left their peers in the dust.

Yet, again, most individuals labeled "geniuses" often did not see the need to train as hard as the average shinobi, yet alone harder. They did not train constantly with an attainable mission in mind, and they most certainly did not train like their life depended on it.

Training one's hardest, every single day, stopping only to cook and eat for an hour and sleep for three, before awakening and returning straight back to the training was a feat that would have turned a mediocre shinobi into an exceptional one and an exceptional shinobi into a genius.

It was only given that it would transform a genius into something utterly terrifying.

"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

He watched the Yamanaka woman screaming, as she tumbled and ran and tumbled again in circles. A massive pile of bleeding, decomposing heads chased after her as she fled. They grabbed and bit at her ankles. Some managed to latch onto her shoulder. She screamed further as she pushed them off and continued to run, around and around, unaware that the landscape was a perfectly spherical.

He ignored her screams as he tested the illusion for flaws in its making. Cracks, errors, little things that would make it overwhelmingly obvious that it was an illusion. It was his first time testing this against a human being, and months of theories and conjecture could only ever be validated by actual experiments.

The landscape was the familiar terrain of the Uchiha Clan compound, a place he knew better than the back of his hand. He watched the woman burst through one of the doors, slamming herself in, and locking it, breathing harder and harder as she muttered incoherent words under her breath.

"This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real. It – it isn't real. No one's mind can be this fucked up. It isn't real. I – I must be under a Genjutsu. This – this is a Genjutsu."

She took a deep, heavy breath, and slammed her hands together. "KAI!"

The severed heads banged furiously against the door. "KAI!"

Maggots trickled into the room, crawling up her legs at speed they should not have possessed. "KAI!"

One of the heads burst through the door. Blood poured freely from its eyes as it spun slowly in the air, and the decomposed head smiled. Worms dripped from its teeth, and a new stream of maggots rushed at her.

She screamed.

Watching from his position on the moon, he scribbled slowly into a notepad. Chunin-Level opponent has failed to identify the Genjutsu for twenty-seven seconds. Immobilized by fear.

The Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu, or as it was commonly known, Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique, was a D-Rank supplementary Genjutsu that he found amongst the belongings of one of his deceased clan members called Uchiha Kashimi.

She was one of the members deceased before the massacre, who died after she surrendered herself to stop four A-Rank missing-nin from massacring a village they held hostage. The missing-nin in question proceeded to assault her in front of the village and her teammates. One teammate attacked in fury and got killed, and the other one sat back in fear and watched as the missing nin violated one comrade, killed another, and proceeded to massacre the village regardless.

A fortunate happenstance for him. Happenstance that her teammate happened to be a Yamanaka, additionally, one that was not in active duty, and one that moved away from her clan compound. Hence, a suitable test subject.

The Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu was a technique that Yamanaka Kino's teammate, Uchiha Kashimi often used. He had anticipated the woman to realize what it was and break free with little difficulty. Or was it simply that she did not realize that the Genjutsu was altered?

"PLEASE! AHH! AHHHHHHH!"

Judging by how she seemed to be crying as the maggots filled her mouth, she clearly was yet to realize the trick. Is this all a Chunin is capable of? Or perhaps she was this disgraceful because she was a kunoichi?

If it were a shinobi placed in this position, they would realize that tears were a waste of time and attempt to find the most accurate way to save their lives. Or at the very least, if they did begin to cry, it would be a pitiable sight. He scribbled some words into his paper. Are kunoichi inherently subpar to shinobi?

If the answer was yes, he would avoid contracting any kunoichi in tasks relating to assassinating his brother. He watched further, for an additional thirty seconds, as the woman failed to identify the illusion, and his lips pressed firmly against each other.

Chunin-level opponent has failed to realize the true nature of the defensive Genjutsu for sixty-one seconds.

Most utilizations of Genjutsu were external. Genjutsu was perceived as a ninja art for offensive purposes, to catch or ensnare an opponent, to demoralize or terrorize. Hardly anyone utilized genjutsu for defense, where its applications were far more suitable.

After spending years witnessing his clan's death over and over, he learned it was a grave error. His target was a master of Genjutsu. It was common sense to prepare defensive mechanisms against your enemy's greatest strength.

The woman seemed to stop crying and sniveling, and burst free from the maggots and heads, before running towards, and through several houses. She reached what she believed was the mental representation of the exit: a pair of giant black gates. She began pulling at it, roaring and screaming in effort and frustration.

Chunin-level opponent consistently fails to unravel true nature of the technique.

This world, everything in it, even the gates that she assumed was the path to escape – all of it was false. It was the work of the Magen: Narakumi, a basic D-Rank genjutsu he casted onhisownmind. Requiring two handseals, the Snake seal and the Rat seal, it was something that anyone with decent control of chakra could learn. The technique subjected people drawn into it to visions of their greatest fear, or the things they least want to see.

Casting it on himself for the first time provided the image of Itachi standing over his corpse. There was no emotional connection to it. He was not frightful of the image, rather, he understood that it was a feasible possibility if he did not prepare dutifully before facing his target.

From there, he began to mold the genjutsu. Molding it until he could alter it. He was both the caster and the victim, the user and the used, and hence, it was easy to shape it into something, anything that he desired, all within his mind.

Further experimentation and abuse of the D-Rank Supplementary Genjutsu brought him to the realization that he now possessed access to something called a mindscape, where he could infinitely run the jutsu in the background with little to no extra cost of chakra.

This was the fifth line of defense against Itachi's genjutsu prowess.

The fourth line of defense was an illusion, still using the Magen: Narakumi as a base, cast on himself that prevented him from looking into the eyes of anyone with a Sharingan. It triggered when he saw the glimpse of a Sharingan eye, and would make it so he averted his gaze. As long as he lived, he did not want to be subjected to Itachi's time-altering genjutsu again, and he would go to any length to prevent that.

The third line of defense was a genjutsu that made anyone who possessed a Sharingan eye appear to be wearing pink spiral-shaped sunglasses.

The second line of defense were a pair of goggles that utilized the same material as one-way mirrors, enabling him to see through them, but preventing the opposing party from doing the same.

The first line of defense was the use of the Henge, or Transformation technique that would appear to make him faceless, hence, preventing any measure of eye-contact from ever being established without physical contact first being made.

Thus, if Uchiha Itachi desired to cast a genjutsu on Uchiha Sasuke, he would have to make physical contact and break Sasuke's Transformation, then he would need to remove Sasuke's one-way goggles, and finally, be required to break through three layers of genjutsu that Sasuke had already placed upon himself.

He theorized that his genjutsu-defense could also be used against individuals of the Yamanaka Clan, because they would not expect people to cast Genjutsu on themselves as protection against foreign mental disturbances.

His theories were being proven right.

Knowing it was an illusion did not mean she could dispel it. For starters, it was not a Genjutsu cast on her, so she could not merely flare her chakra to remove the intrusion providing the mental illusions to her brain. It was a genjutsu cast on himself, and the only way she could break it, were if she were to physically insert her chakra through his body. A feat which was impossible as the greatest weakness of the Yamanaka Clan's body-possession was the forfeiture of the ability to move and guarantee the safety of their own physical form.

"P-please! Let me out! Get – get off me! Get off me! GET! GET OFF! GETOFFGETOFF!"

The woman was engulfed entirely by the illusion. The wriggling worms and bleeding heads buried her in a large, ever-growing pile, and Sasuke took note of the amount of time it took to have accomplished the feat.

Chunin-Level opponent has been underneath the genjutsu for eighty-nine seconds. He reached out to a mental notepad. Imaginary, as was everything else in this world, and began to write.

Test against Chunin-level opponent successful. Chunin-level opponent successfully immobilized for over one minute-thirty three seconds. Estimated probability of success against ANBU-Level opponents: medium. Hypothesized time for ANBU-level opponents to break free: twenty seconds. Estimated probability of success against Jonin-level opponents: Medium-Low. Hypothesized time for Jonin-level opponents to break free: ten seconds. Estimated probability of success against Kage-Level opponents: Low. Hypothesized time for Kage-Level opponents to break free: three seconds.

Note: Genjutsu requires increase in rapidity and verisimilitude. Terrorizing images would fail against capable shinobi*.

*=Terrorizing images may be more effective on kunoichi. (Insufficient Data to support hypothesis)

Possible upgrade: Need to craft an illusion that appears to not be an illusion. Potential sources: memories, events, locations.

The Last Uchiha stopped writing as a thought occurred to him. Addendum: Genjutsu can be utilized to display false memories. Potential opportunity to confuse Itachi with memories that do not exist. Potential of success: unknown.

Requires further experimentation.

Sasuke returned focus of his consciousness to the real world. The woman's body lay prone and unmoving on the floor: the greatest weakness of the Yamanaka Clan's signature jutsu.

Inefficient.

Indeed, there were numerous ways to overcome this weakness. His mind worked through dozens of them at a time, sifting through potential solutions one after the other, as his body mimicked the exact handsign he witnessed earlier, and his chakra proceeded to follow the pattern.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu."

There was work to be done.

XXXXXX

Konoha

Red Lights District

One misconception many individuals possessed regarding the Last Uchiha was that he desired vengeance for his clan. The misconception, it seemed, existed even within the mind of the Yamanaka woman. A misconception that Uchiha Sasuke personally desired to stake a kunai into the heart of Uchiha Itachi.

That was not correct. He wanted Uchiha Itachi dead, that was true. He did not care how it was done. Whether it was by poison slipped into his wine as he relaxed, or a needle driven into his neck by a courtesan he visited for stress relief, Sasuke would be pleased regardless. He did not need to be the one to deal the finishing blow. Even if it were a random shinobi, who managed to win via pure skill or luck, Sasuke would be pleased.

The goal was not to 'beat' Itachi, the goal was to 'kill' Itachi.

The only reason Uchiha Sasuke bothered to increase his skill as a shinobi was because he knew how exceedingly unlikely it was for his target to be eliminated via other methods. The most likely way he would kill Itachi, would be in personal combat.

The first problem he possessed with that, however, was finding Itachi.

Information on the Uchiha Killer was scarce and nearly non-existent. The complete and total erasure of his presence from the face of the earth did not sit at all well with the Last Uchiha. The Hokage had proven himself useless in that regard, and Konoha in its entirety, had proven itself useless in that regard.

Worse than useless.

Replicating her body-language and walk was a task which came natural due to his time spent gathering intel. His experiences from the hunter proved invaluable, and transferred over to his work as a shinobi. Thus, his performance held steady as he navigated the seedier part of Konoha's underbelly.

Shinobi were predominant in the area, visibly lounging outside of bars and brothels, conversing within and amongst themselves in inebriated stupor. They drank heartily. Chatted amicably. The incident of the past, the night of bloodshed and woe, all but forgotten in their minds.

Forgotten.

A year. A full year had passed since his family was killed. Konoha stumbled momentarily, mourned fleetingly. Their lives returned to normal sooner than his parent's bodies could rot. The flowers on gravestones grew scarce as the weeks passed, until he saw them no longer.

Tomorrow was the anniversary.

Tomorrow, they would remember, and then they would return to drop flowers and mourn once more.

They would remember.

While the rest of Konoha would remember, he never forgot. He never forgot the sounds of a clan filled to the brim with people. The scent of mothers preparing dinner. The cheers and rackets of toddlers running around, making fake handseals and shouting names of jutsu.

The kind aunt running her tiny pocky store, waving at him as he came back from school. The old grizzled war vet with a scar over his eye, who'd always tell him to chin up and stand straight as Fugaku's son. His four-year old granddaughter, who could melt the man into incoherence when she asked him to taste her baked goodies.

The pregnant women gossiping, newlyweds chattering, and first-time parents bemoaning –

The babies crying, toddlers and infants nattering, and old women humming the songs of a new generation –

All that the Uchiha Clan Compound possessed today, was silence.

Silence and dust.

Thus, unlike the rest of Konoha, he had not forgotten.

He could not forget.

"H-hey, Ya-Yamanaka?"

He almost hesitated. Remembering his form, his experience, and drawing from the Yamanaka-woman's memories enabled him to accentuate pitch, body-language, and tone. The man approaching him was a Chunin. She did not have any knowledge or dealings with this Chunin.

Not acquainted.

"Yes?" in the woman's body, he turned. He furrowed 'her' nostrils and engaged a body-language that visibility said 'wary' and 'cautious.' "Do I… know you?"

The Chunin cleared his throat. "Um, no – we uh – well, we used to be in the Academy together. It's Iwana. Akame Iwana."

Akame gestured his hand. 'She' did not take it. The man's face melted into a grimace.

"Is there a problem, Iwana-san?"

"W-w-well, no, but um… I usually see you around, and… I was wondering if you... if you'd be willing to join me for a drink, some time, maybe?"

'She' gave Akame a quick-onceover. Dilated eyes. Irregular breathing. Flushed face. He looked over the Chunin and made his theory. Inebriated. Physically attracted to the Yamanaka-woman.

"Would you happen to know of any… useful, jutsu?"

Akame blinked, staring oddly at the change of conversation. "Um… well, I don't really take that many active missions and –"

'She' made a look of heavy disappointment. "I see."

Akame's face turned a higher shade of red. "But – but!" he cleared his throat, eager to regain his social footing. "Um – I know, one, amazing A-Ranked Jutsu!"

'She' kept her expression amused. "Oh?"

"That's right," Akame bashed on his chest. "I learned it from my good friend, Ebisu!" He crossed his arm. "It's a Jonin-level technique, and he said it even has a super-powered version said to be in the Forbidden Scroll."

'She' licked her lips. Akame noticed the action. "Hm..." 'She' wagged her finger. "Would you be willing it to teach me… personally?"

XXXXX

As Uchiha Sasuke, he had been rebuffed from entering the Shinobi Section of the library numerous times. Through sheer persistence and the greasing of hands, he'd managed to convince a Genin to retrieve books from the library and provide them to him, in order to increase his repertoire of skills and abilities.

Upon devouring every book in the Genin section, he'd attempted the same tactic with a Chunin.

However, he'd underestimated a Chunin's loyalty to the village. His deed was reported to the Hokage, and the Genin boy was discovered and punished. A little while later, the Hokage informed the shinobi corps, thus permanently ruining any chances of him furthering his own shinobi education through the same method.

The village sought to stifle his progress at every turn, and so, for the last year, his skill repertoire consisted of mastering the basics to an absurd level, and rifling through his clan library and belongings of deceased Uchiha shinobi for more.

A year was enough to have learned every technique and fighting style known by every shinobi in his clan who'd bothered to document their moves. Granted, he could not perform some of the higher tier techniques as the amount of chakra he had was insufficient, or his height and reach was not suitable, or he did not have the muscle mass, etc.

He'd celebrated his accomplishment for a brief second, before a dawning thought reached him.

These techniques I've learnt… Itachi knows them all.

Itachi most likely knew of all of the Clan-specific Jutsu himself, and as far as the individual-specific jutsu were concerned, he would have faced off against them all while butchering his way through every man, woman and child. His Sharingan would have seen those movements, memorized those movements and conquered those movements –

So everything he'd learned, every technique and fighting style he'd painstakingly studied and mastered from the pages and journals and scrolls of his dead people –

They were all useless.

None would put him on an even footing with Itachi.

He needed techniques that Itachi would not expect him to know. Techniques, skills and fighting styles unorthodox to the Uchiha Clan, and which he could redesign to be made specifically to fight against an Uchiha.

Again, the village had been of no use.

They hoarded their Clan secrets and techniques, not understanding that he cared little about exposing their secrets, and desired only to garner tools necessary for his mission.

Those who didn't hoard their secrets, still refused to teach him because he was not a shinobi. If he desired to learn, he would need to become a Genin, but, the problem came in that Sarutobi was not willing to let him be a Genin.

Not without wasting his time for another four years.

He could not wait another four years. Itachi was out there, getting stronger with each passing day and second, acquiring more experience and skill, and they expected him to sit down in a classroom, learning the basics while the gap grew further?

No.

He needed to close the gap.

He needed to erase the gap.

And he would do it by any means necessary.

XXXXX

Three Weeks Later

Yamanaka Inoichi ignored the pounding headache, as he rifled through the documents on his table. He could already feel the stare of the Elders on him, their judging, angry gazes lighting him up. He rifled through the picture, the undeniable evidence, and swallowed down the conflicting set of feelings he felt within him.

"So… it's true."

"You must do something about this immediately!" Elder Morino slammed his hand on the table. "The rumors have already spread! Do you know how we are looked at, because – because of one whore?"

Patience, Inoichi. He took a deep breath. "She already lives outside of the Clan Compound. She has not been within our walls or guardianship for years now. What more do you want?"

"We demand she be officially stripped off the Yamanaka name and all associations." Elder Inore scrunched her nose up.

Inoichi scratched his head, staring further at the incriminating images. It was unlike Kino to do something like this… but at the same time, he felt it was his fault, for not reaching out to a member of his Clan so clearly traumatized.

"I don't particularly see anything wrong with what she's doing," Elder Inoka said, the woman's lips coy and amused. "We kunoichi have always used whatever advantage we have to get to the top. If anything, I commend her."

"Inoka-sama, you cannot be serious!" Elder Morino said. "Sleeping with shinobi in exchange for secrets and jutsu would be understood if we were at war, and she was consorting with the enemy, but to do such a thing within Konoha's walls is… deviant! Abhorrent! Ridiculous!"

"You forgot ingenious," Inoka said. "Considering the drama that went on in the Hyuga Clan about a branch member being executed for stealing valuable clan jutsu all just to stick his tiny cock into a wet hole for a few minutes – I say she be welcomed back into the clan with open arms."

Elder Inoka's lips curled even more, and Inoichi gave her a look, as if to say, 'please don't make this worse.' The wider smile she gave off only told him that it was a lost cause.

"All I can hear, Morino, is the sound of old shriveled balls and dried up cunts unable to handle a young woman's sexual freedom."

Why do I even bother?

The cries and shouts, pointing and accusations returned, and once again, the Yamanaka Clan Leader Meeting dissolved into a flurry of insults, accusations, and juvenile name-calling. The clan fabled for their mastery of the mind arts and unrivaled knowledge of psychology and the human mind –

"I still remember having your memories of jerking over psychosomatic hallucinations of me in my youth!"

Was terribly, terribly childish.

The meeting ultimately ended with a 'nobody wins, nobody loses' agreement of inviting Kino back into the clan to discuss her motives and methods, which, as far as Inoichi was concerned, was a decent win in his book.

"You need to have a firmer hand with these old coots Inoichi," Inoka said, smacking the back of his head. "Back when your father was in charge, he didn't give them the chance to strongarm him. He'd make a decision, and stick by it, and not even taking over his body would be able to force his lips to say otherwise."

Inoichi sighed. "I try my best, mother."

"Try harder," His mother furrowed her nose. "Speaking of young kunoichi… how has Ino-chan been doing in the academy?"

"…surprisingly well," Inoichi said. "She's more focused and determined. She's also made a friend –"

"From the Hyuga Clan? Inuzuka? Sarutobi?"

"A civilian friend, mother."

"From a merchant family? Noble? Daimyo?"

"A female civilian friend, mother."

"Hm… well," Inoka scratched her nose. "The times are changing. I suppose with a surrogate –"

Inoichi gave out an exasperated breath. "For god's sakes she's eight mother!"

"And I was six when I was betrothed to your father." Inoka sniffed. "It's never too early, Inoichi. You're not dumb enough to think all the major clans in Konoha having children around the same age is a coincidence, are you? You need to start planning Ino's future. Heavens forbid she ends up marrying some no-name, emotionless, clan-less, and background-less man because he whispers a flattering word or two into her ear."

Inoichi let out another sigh. "And you keep asking why I rarely let her visit you."

"What about the Uchiha-boy?"

Inoichi straightened up. "What about him?"

"I didn't raise a daft son. You know what I mean."

"That's out of the question."

"Uchiha blood is old and potent. Once the boy grows older, he will no doubt begin to repopulate his clan. If the Yamanaka Clan were to have Uchiha blood –"

"Absolutely not."

Inoka smacked him on his head. "Stop thinking with your emotions and think with your head for once Inoichi! We are a Shinobi Clan. You are the leader of a Shinobi Clan before you are a father. The good of the clan comes before your personal feelings – that is the burden of leadership."

He got up, grumbling under his breath. "I think I've had enough of this discussion mother."

"But I have not," she stamped her cane unto the tatami floor. "I do not have many years left in me Inoichi, and I want to be guaranteed that the Yamanaka Clan has a bright future before I leave and meet your father. I can't imagine going up there and telling him that his son let an opportunity slip by his fingers because he didn't have the heart to be the type of man his father was."

"Mother, you know I hate –"

His stopped his words as a masked ANBU wearing a boar mask appeared in the room. Considering ANBU had limitations as to where they could and could not go, he realized the ANBU in question was also a Clan Member.

"Inoichi-sama, Inoka-sama," the male voice behind the mask spoke. "Apologies for the interruption. A matter of grave importance has occurred related to the clan and the Hokage has requested me to bring Inoichi-sama immediately."

Inoichi could already feel the headache coming. "Let me guess, this is about Kino?"

The ANBU's voice attained a slight hint of surprise. "You are… aware?"

"We just concluded a meeting about it," Inoichi sighed. "To think sleeping with a few shinobi would cause so much ruckus that even the Hokage would get involved."

"…Inoichi-sama… that isn't why the Hokage requested your presence."

He frowned. "It isn't?" Odd. "I thought you said the matter had to do with Yamanaka Kino?"

"It does," the ANBU said. "It has to do with her murder."

The room temperature dropped instantly.

"…What?"

"Yamanaka Kino is dead."