Chapter 1

Sasuke's eyes barely cracked open long enough for him to see a healer running their hand along his mangled arm. What little of the walls he could see matched nothing of Hi no Kuni's buildings. He remembered which way Konoha was from the Valley of the End. Not that hard for him to miss.

He fought Naruto. Won, by some strange account, and managed to walk away from the battlefield. Only problem was that he didn't really win. That much was clear because the last thing he remembered before blacking out from pain and exhaustion was the sound of him yelling at him. When he awoke, Naruto was gone.

Confused, tired, in pain, and hungry, he got up from his spot on the ground and started the slow march towards Konoha. Not to where Sakura and Kakashi were. If Naruto was nowhere to be seen, then he wasn't chancing a meeting with Sakura and Kakashi. In his present condition, he was certain he'd lose that fight. Even fighting one of them would end him.

So, he did the only thing he could think of: Head to Konoha.

Everyone should still be trapped inside the Infinite Tsukuyomi, so when he got there, he could treat his injuries and plan from there in silence. He was thankful for the peace and quiet. His left arm was mangled from their final clash. How he kept it was beyond him, but he was certain that any further damage and he wouldn't have kept it. Truthfully, he was uncertain how it stayed with him at all.

It was far from his mind, though at times when looked down at it; banaged in the tattered remains of his shirt, he wondered how he kept it all.

Those moments were rare and thankfully far between. His mind was full of other thoughts.

Two days of traveling through the forest he realized that something was amiss. The forests in Hi no Kuni were different to the one he walked were almost kept in a neat row, as if a gardener had worked the forest to keep them clean and proper, as one major difference. But the real reason he knew something was different came down to the noises. Through the thick canopy of the trees, at time, he could see stars that moved at slower paces in the night and hear noises like thunder without a cloud in the sky.

On the third day, hunger began to set in and he could feel his untreated injuries finally kicking in. The pain, mental and physical exhaustion, and chakra depletion finally took its toll on his body. He collapsed next to a large tree, resigning himself to his fate. If death was upon him, he wanted to avoid seeing the face of that Shinigami and try going peacefully in his sleep. Doubtful as he was that such a fate would befall him so gracefully, he still opted to try.

Fate seemed to be kind to him.

Sasuke cracked his eyes further, eyeing the healer. It was a female wearing kimono robes with short hair pulled back into a small ponytail. Seeing that he was waking, she stopped tending to his arm and stepped back from him as shinobi stepped forward, their hands resting on the hilt of the katanas.

"Who are you?"

Sasuke shut his eyes tightly. Their voices were loud. Actually, he figured they were yelling at him. Maybe they were, but the voice didn't belong to the original speaker when the question was asked again.

"Who are you?"

He felt his chakra leave him, almost like it was blocked. Have I really not fully recovered? Realizing that he was at a disadvantage, he licked his lips and grimaced as he spoke. "Uchiha Sasuke…"

"What clan do you hail from?" It was the same voice from before. The man on the left who was taller than the other one.

"Uchiha Clan."

"Where is that clan located?"

His mind raced for a proper answer. "It's gone…" he finally answered. "I'm the last survivor."

"Fiends? Black Spider Clan?"

Sasuke shook his head. He didn't know either of them. "I'm from Konohagakure no Sato of Hi no Kuni." The smaller shinobi glanced curiously to the taller one as Sasuke propped himself up as best he could. His sides hurt from moving just that much? How badly was he messed up? "My clan was destroyed by my older brother after receiving orders from the village council to destroy them after they were seen as traitors." It was best to stick to the truth for the time being.

The taller shinobi nodded slowly. "Coup?" Sasuke shrugged. "When did this happen?"

"Years ago. I was too young. My brother spared me because he wanted to atone for his choice by my hands."

"Did you?" The smaller shinobi asked carefully and slowly. Sasuke nodded slowly, watching the now clearly younger one turn slowly to his sensei? Master? ...Father? "I'm sorry."

"I'm not." That brought fire to the younger shinobi's eyes. Sasuke stared him down, fighting the desire to intimidate him with his Sharingan. "Konoha was rotten in the end. They allowed the people who gave the orders to destroy my clan a place on the village council."

The older shinobi put a hand on the younger one and motioned for him to leave. When the younger one looked confused by the idea of his request, the older one simply nodded and jerked his chin to the door. The healer ushered him out with her and shut the door behind them.

"Forgive me for my questioning of you, but what you say…" The older shinobi pulled down his mask to show stubble and a small scar along his cheek. "...is hard to believe. While I would like to say I am familiar with all clans and villages, I can not in all honesty believe you outright. I'm sure you understand?"

Sasuke stared at the door and then down to his bandaged arm. "I'm not lying to you. I'm trusting you with what I've said only for the chance to continue living." He had his own questions he wanted to ask. The most immediate question concerning how the three of them escaped the Infinite Tsukuyomi. But until he could move around and defend himself it was best to play along.

The older shinobi nodded. "Yes. I believe you, but I'm sure you understand why I'm hesitant to trust you fully. For example: I know you don't know what a Fiend is. I can't think of a single village that doesn't know what a Fiend is. The fact you don't know what Fiend is was proof enough to know you aren't from around here."

Sasuke weighed the option of using his Sharingan, but his left eye suddenly burned. The Rinnegan is acting up? His left eye was covered by the bangs of his hair, but he could feel a steady drain of chakra from his body. It's activating on its own? Can I stop it? He reached down to his bandages and tied it around his to stop it from draining chakra. If he couldn't see, the drain was lessened. It wasn't much, but it was enough.

The old shinobi had watched the entire thing in silence, and once Sasuke was done, he nodded approvingly. "Our Shrine Maiden said something was off with that eye of yours. Evil Spirit?"

Sasuke touched his eye as he looked to the door. "No. Doujutsu."

"Really?" The man looked to the door for a moment. Sasuke could feel a pressure in the room. A signal? His Sharingan sprang to life and he got to his feet as quickly as he could, shaky as he was. The man didn't seem surprised by it. "Your eye is unique. Not the first time I've seen something like it."

"What?"

"Humans who turn into Fiends have different eyes. Ones that retain their soul can even manipulate them to appear normal or inhuman. Your eyes aren't that unusual to me."

Sasuke stood up a little straighter. The Sharingan left nothing hidden to him. He saw all and knew all with his eyes. No lie could stay spoken in his presence with it. And yet… this man wasn't lying. Perhaps unique eyes like his weren't common here, but they were seen before. Not eyes of his design, but eyes that were different. Monkey paw, perhaps?

"My eyes can pierce all lies and leave nothing hidden before me. What you speak is true, as unbelievable as it is for me. I've only ever heard of two other eye Doujutsus'. I have the other in my left eye, but it works similarly to my right eye." He stopped and looked around the room when he felt something off in the room. A scent that was… fertile? His eyes went wide and he stared at the man as he pulled his hand away from his weapon. "Truth aroma?"

He smiled at him. "I needed to be sure about you. Unlike your eye, I have my methods of seeing through the darkness and lies. I know you speak only truths. Half-truths, but truths nonetheless." The older shinobi put his hand on the end of his sword that hung at his side. "My name is Jô Hayabusa, leader of the Hayabusa Clan. Until your injuries are healed and your story checks out, I would ask that you please remain in this room. I will have Kureha bring you food and water."

Sasuke gave a slow nod as he started thinking of ways out of this situation.

Jô departed and Kureha returned a short time later with some fish, bread, and water. Sasuke thanked her as he started to eat. He paid her no mind the moment he started eating and let his mind wonder about the problems he was now facing.

The first and foremost problem wasn't that he was in an foreign village with a clan that - To his knowledge didn't exist. - it was that he was most likely subjected to the Infinite Tsukuyomi. How he was subjected was unknown to him. Kaguya had been sealed away in a giant sphere made of earth and then thrown back up into space, which realistically meant that there should be a second moon or something akin to one. The only logical way he could see himself being trapped in the jutsu would have been right at the start when he used Susanno to stop it from affecting Kakashi, Sakura, Obito and Naruto. That was the only time that it could have been affected by it.

So, supposing he was stuck in said jutsu, he needed a way out. But how? The old man that gifted him some semblance of his power should have enabled him to avoid the jutsu completely, which he did. He was certain of it.

While his knowledge on Genjutsu was limited, he knew that it could make anything you feel, see, hear, and taste real. Nothing could be trusted with an illusion. Which meant that if he was in the jutsu, none of this was real. And it might explain why Naruto had suddenly disappeared after their fight.

That was the second problem to this whole thing: Naruto's sudden disappearance. He couldn't call it his victory because he never saw the body of Naruto. Naruto had simply vanished. One moment they were fighting, their final gambit playing out as they slammed their respective attacks into one another. There was blinding pain, sweltering heat, and a roar not unlike thunder from a bolt of lightning striking close enough to feel the heat. A quick flash of light and he awoke in the forest, Naruto nowhere to be seen.

That wasn't right. Naruto would have been near him. The idiot was stubborn enough to drag himself with his chin to fight Gaara. He was certainly stubborn enough to limp in any direction to find him, which he should have done. So, Naruto was either dead or had been thrown in a completely different direction. While both options were possible, neither one sounded right. Senjutsu, according to Orochimaru, was a powerful tool and one that Naruto had access to. So the chances of him not finding him were slim to none.

Then, there was the third and most glaring problem: Other people being active right now.

Just before Kaguya took over Madara, she consumed everyone in large pods to hold them and potentially take back her chakra and punish all life in the Elemental Nations. To his knowledge, everyone was grabbed up. Everyone that had come to fight against the Akatsuki. So if they were grabbed up, that meant that everyone else not present were most likely grabbed up as well.

If Obito, back when he was going by the handler Madara, was right when he told the gathered Kage that the jutsu would reach across the world and trap them in the illusion the jutsu created, then no one should be active right now. Taking his word for truth it would mean that the people that had helped him shouldn't be up and about.

Of course, he could just be dead, but he didn't figure that death would allow him to feel pain.

Only, he knew he wasn't dead. Not because he could feel pain and exhaustion, but because he still bore the crescent moon mark on his left hand. Doubtful that it would go away upon his death, the fact that he still bore it was proof that he was alive.

"Interesting mark."

Sasuke snapped from his thoughts and looked up at the speaker. A woman, probably a little older than he was. She had long hair pulled into a tight ponytail and wore white and red colored kimoni. Her smile was apologetic and when she stepped back away from him did he notice that another person was behind the door. As to who it was, he didn't know.

"Tattoo…"

"Really?"

"Yes." The woman eyed the mark critically for another minute before seemingly accepting his answer. "Are you healing me?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"No. I'm a Shrine Maiden. Not a real healer. I'm training to be one." She blinked when he looked to the door with an almost concerned expression. "Don't worry about Ryu. He's curious about you. Doesn't trust you."

"And you?"

"You're new." She confessed, sounding no longer like a woman of grace and strength, but sounding more like an excitable child. Her gaze was soft and kind, throwing the Uchiha off as she sat down on her knees, her hands placed neatly in her lap as she watched him finish eating. "The marking… What is it?"

"It's just a tattoo."

Her face was the picture of innocence, but Sasuke could tell that his lie was understood as it was. "Are you certain?"

The Uchiha nodded, though her smile never once faltered as she got up and walked out. The other shinobi, Ryu, stood at the door, his eyes hard and focused on the Uchiha as he stared out the door and to the small wooden building across a dirt path. The unknown woman shut the door, and once more Sasuke was allowed to ponder on his current situation.

Looking at his damaged arm, he winced as he felt the sting of something hot run under his flesh. The scars spiraled around his hand and went half way up his forearm. He remembered the last attack they both used. Naruto had gained enough strength to form a proper Rasengan, something that did counter the Chidori, and at the last second remember it sputtering out just as Chidori did the same.

With the last of Naruto's strength, the outcome should have resulted in the loss of his arm. But it didn't. Why? Surely Naruto had to have known that it would have given him a leg up in their fight. Sasuke was certain that both would have passed out directly after that final attack. They DID pass out. Did Naruto lose his arm?

No! How could he?

Their two attacks might have connected, but if Naruto ended his prematurely for any reason, it would cost him greatly. Unless… it had been a clone the entire time.

Sasuke put his hand to his face, feeling intense pain in his left eye. Even covered up, the Rinnegan was acting up. It was draining his chakra. As long as he didn't go into a fight, his chakra reserves could hold out.

Looking at the remains of his food, he felt a growing sense of dread before he pushed them aside and laid back down to rest. If they had wanted to harm him, they'd have done it already. Clearly… they could be trusted for now.

It was hours later that he felt the presence of another near him. His arm which had been injured no longer burned and the pain was lessened a great deal. When he cracked his eyes to see the healer, he was not surprised to see the young shinobi from before with his hard eyes down on him.

The healer, Kureha, smiled when she saw him awaken. "You've slept through most of the healing." Sasuke sat up and looked down at the bare arm as he flexed his hand a few times. "Remarkable healing, even with my assistance. You must have great control of your spiritual prowess."

"...Yeah…" Sasuke stared at the younger shinobi, who, by all accounts, was probably older than himself. Ryu, if Sasuke remembered the name right, glared down at him, the wheels in his head most likely already spinning as he tried to process what he was seeing before him. "Where did you find me?"

Unfolding his arms, the shinobi finally spoke. "Near our village gates." He glanced down at Kureha and motioned for her to leave. She gave a slow nod before offering Sasuke a smile and departing. Once she was out of the room, Ryu tugged his mask down and stared at the teen in front of him. "Father has asked that I respect his wishes and let you be. But you are new and an outsider." His eyes hardened and Sasuke felt a pressure in the room again. "You're aura is strange, nothing the likes I've seen. The healing as well. Spiritual or not, nothing heals that fast. Not without help."

Sasuke stared him down, wondering if he could take down the shinobi and bolt before anyone would notice. He could still feel the pull of chakra being drained by the Rinnegan. It had to bend to his will eventually. This was his gift, his strength, and his body. So it must bend to his will. But even so, could he take him down fast enough with his Sharingan and leave before no one noticed. He didn't know which way to go even if he could.

"But," Ryu looked to the door and for a moment, there was an understanding that flashed across his eyes. "...perhaps I might not be as wise as others think I am. You are different, but not a monster. Until you're healed, I will watch over you."

"Your father asked that of you?"

Ryu nodded slowly.

Sasuke stood up slowly, rubbing his forearm, his mind once again returning to how he managed to keep his arm. It should have been gone. "I have a few questions for you." His Sharingan sprang to life…

A/N

Again, I kind of want to clarify that this will focus on Sasuke for a good bit of time. And, in keeping with what Sasuke said in the first chapter, "I won't go over everything," I'm keeping him in line with that. So, my goal is to have it be stuff that only he knows. Meaning, that things he doesn't know won't be talked about. He can't see what Jo is doing right now, so it won't be talked about. Same with Ryu during the events of Ninja Gaiden 1,2,3 and the events of DOA. There is a purpose behind focusing primarily with Sasuke because it's supposed to show a growth and a change for him and a power difference between himself and others for later.