See Author's Note at bottom...

Legacy of the Rasengan II
Makaze Rekidaishi
By: Tellemicus Sundance
Chapter 8--The Error of His Beliefs

Near Orochimaru's South Base
7:30am

The black and red cloaked figure watched in silence as one of his leader slowly walked back to the mainland. The island that had once served as a secret research facility and a fortress for one of their former members was nothing more than ruins littered with mutilated corpses amidst a flaming inferno by now. Yet despite the gruesome acts that he'd done on the graveyard he left behind, there was not a scratch nor speck of blood on his figure.

Though he reluctantly had a healthy respect for the man's fighting ability and brutality, Uchiha Madara despised him more than anyone else on the planet. This man, whose origins were shrouded in mystery in even their very organization, had wrested control of the Akatsuki from his own hands the very same day that he'd joined. As the direct heir to the infamous Uchiha Madara who had founded the Uchiha clan, he believed that not only was it his duty to lead that organization but his birthright.

Like his namesake before him, Madara's ultimate goal was simple. By harnessing the power of all the Bijuu, the Kyuubi no Kitsune's in particular, he would be able to recharge and evolve his Sharingan. Thus he would ascend to a level that would forever mark him as a god among those dust mites called shinobi. Dust mites like that little army that was even now rushing to storm the facility that had just been destroyed for them.

I swear, he promised himself as the tall man drew closer to him. When the opportunity presents itself, I shall reclaim what is rightfully mine that you have stolen from me.

Konoha Hospital
Next day, 6:30am

Ugh…that hurts, Sasuke groaned darkly to himself. All of it. He tried in vain to find a more comfortable spot to alleviate the bodily pain he was suffering. I don't care how comfortable these beds are suppose to…wait a second, a bed?

Cracking his scarred right eye open, it took only a moment for the Uchiha to recognize his current surroundings. He was in the hospital again. But how did he get here? Wasn't he just on the battlefield that had once been Orochimaru's research facility?

Quickly thinking back, he vaguely remembered fighting and being badly beaten by both Kiryoku and Orochimaru. Then when Kiryoku saved him, his injuries and chakra exhaustion had overcome him. The last thing he remembered seeing was blinding flash of light before everything went black. What had happened though?

"I see you're finally awake," an unfamiliar feminine voice nearby said.

Turning his head slowly, lest he irritate the throbbing pains in his neck more and the massive headache he was feeling, Sasuke gazed over at middle-aged brown-haired woman who was sitting near his bed. If it weren't for the almost cold and calculative gleam in her baby-blue eyes, the woman might've struck him as quite beautiful. She was dressed in a hospital gown and had bandages covering her shoulder and the stub of what was left of her arm.

She somehow balanced on the stump of her arm and in her lap a blanketed bundle while holding a bottle of what seemed to be milk towards the baby's face.

"Is that--?"

"Hai," she answered, a small smile spreading her face. "He's such a well-behaved baby…hardly even cries."

Sasuke noticed the slight amount of warmth she held in her tone as she watched the baby slowly drink from the bottle. I guess she's quite smitten with him, he realized, almost feeling the urge to smile.

"What's your name, ANBU-san?" he asked, very slowly and unsteadily pulling himself into a sitting position.

"I'm no longer an ANBU or a shinobi, Uchiha-san," she pointed out bitterly. After a moment, she answered, "I am Kurojin Yukina…and I have a request of you, Uchiha-san." Looking Sasuke straight in the eye, she said simply, "I wish to raise this child as my own…until you are ready to become a father."

That request had both surprised and not surprised Sasuke at the same time. He was not surprised that that was what she wanted, but was anyway for her to actually ask. Then he realized just what she'd said. "How do you know he's an Uchiha?"

"Two ways," Yukina said, returning her attentions to feeding the babe. "Before the research facility started to collapse, some of our shinobi had discovered the other clones that Orochimaru had been growing. They couldn't save any of them though."

Sasuke's slow nod of acknowledgement was all the provocation she needed to continue. "The second way is when we returned here, the medics ran a blood scan of this child. It quite stupefied them to see that this boy had nearly the exact genetic code as yourself."

Sasuke didn't say anything in reply, just shifted his stare between his clone and the woman who desired to raise him. "If it is your wish to raise him, then I shall not stop you, Kurojin-san. But when the time comes, I'll take him and train him as an Uchiha."

"Of course," Yukina said, returning her attention to her new son. "…Do you wish to name him, Uchiha-san? Or should I?"

"Name?" This caught Sasuke by honest surprise. Truly, that was the last thing he'd even thought of!

Seeing his unmasked befuddled expression, Yukina smirked as she ventured out, "How about Osamaru, Uchiha Osamaru?"

"Osamaru?" Thinking about it for a moment, he nodded his approval. "'To be at peace,' a good name for him…Let's hope he can live up to it."

"He will," Yukina said, firmly and without hesitation. "and I'll help."

I truly hope you can, Sasuke thought absentmindedly. But at least the clan has gotten a new member sooner than expected.

3:23pm

It was quiet when he woke up for the second time that day. Kurojin Yukina and the newly named Uchiha Osamaru were long gone by now. And that suited Sasuke just fine for now he could think about what Orochimaru had said in peace.

Orochimaru said that Naruto was a clone of the Yondaime Hokage. Was that true or was he lying in an attempt to get under Sasuke's skin? Well, whether that was the Hebi's goal or not, it had worked regardless. How could that bastard's words possibly be anything other than a lie?! Of course he was lying!

Yet the nagging feeling at the back of his consciousness told him otherwise. Sasuke had seen too many similarities and heard of too many comparisons between the two. Did Naruto not look almost exactly like the Yondaime? Did Naruto not only somehow recreate a special ninjutsu that only the Yondaime had been reputed to be able to use? Was Naruto's birthday at about the very same time that the Kyuubi attacked Konoha? Wasn't the Yondaime Hokage late to arrive at the battle and finally defeat the fox by sealing it into Naruto?

With all this evidence stacked so high and heavily above him, Sasuke was forced to reluctantly admit it to himself. It just wasn't possible for there to be that many coincidences and not have Naruto somehow be the Yondaime's clone. It fit perfectly.

"Good, you're awake again," a familiar voice said as she entered the room. Looking up, Sasuke spotted the Godaime Hokage as she walked over to his bed. "Can you answer a few questions, Uchiha?"

"Hai, Hokage," he said absentmindedly, not really paying attention.

"What happened to Orochimaru and Kiryoku?" she asked. "I've read several reports that state they'd had been present but that they'd had disappeared after fighting you."

"…I think Kiryoku…incinerated Orochimaru and himself," Sasuke said, resolutely staring out the window. Thus he missed Tsunade's look of slight surprise. "I don't know for certain though…I'd fallen unconscious at about that time."

Nodding, Tsunade studied his expression. It was troubled and his gaze stared unseeingly into the distance. "What did Orochimaru tell you?"

Snapping back to reality, Sasuke shifted slightly to glance at her. "What do you--?"

"Don't try to fool me, Uchiha!" Tsunade snapped, her gaze narrowing in irritation. "Did Orochimaru say something?"

"He said…" Now Sasuke was torn. He wanted to tell Tsunade, surely she'd know the truth. But at the same time, if the truth was anything like what that snake had said…he'd rather not know it. But he had to tell her. "He told me that Naruto was a clone of the Yondaime Hokage."

There was a moment of silence that hung like fifty-ton weight between them. Sasuke studied the elderly woman's expressions closely. At first there was a look of slight surprise. Then she glanced away, clearly in thought or remembering something. Then she frowned and closed her eyes, stretching the silence. Grinding against his patience considerably, Sasuke fought to not interrupt her as she continued down memory lane.

Looking up unexpectedly, a sliver of a smile spread across her face. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'there's two sides to every story'?"

Slightly widened and hopeful eyes was all the answer she needed. "Let me assure, Sasuke, your friend is not a clone."

If he were younger, Sasuke might've contradicted that 'friend' part. But now he ignored it since it was irrelevant. "How do you know, Hokage-sama?"

"I've taken several samples of Naruto-kun's blood while he was recovering for his fight with you," she said, launching into what Sakura had called her 'lecture mode.' "At the time, I had been searching for answers to a question I had of his heritage and I had a positive match to one of my suspicions. He is indeed a close relation of the Yondaime Hokage. After running a few tests on your own clone, I can honestly say that Naruto is Namikaze Minato's son…"

"Is that how Naruto can use the Celestial Gates?" Sasuke asked outwardly calm, but his mind was running at millions of miles per second. "So that was how could recreate the Rasengan…it is an instinctive move passed down through the generations…like his 'Kekkei Genkai.'"

"Something like that," Tsunade said, unable to prevent the small smile of pride for her favorite blond.

Looking up at Tsunade shrewdly, Sasuke said, "What is this bloodline limit called?"

"It doesn't truly have a name," Tsunade said, turning serious. "All we know of it is what Minato-san had been able to tell us of what he'd found of it. That he could use the Celestial Gates instinctively. That he could recover from wounds far faster than most shinobi…he called it the Tenrai Kekkei Genkai. The Divine Bloodlime Limit, perfect for combat."

"Tenrai?" Sasuke couldn't prevent the slightly conceited smirk that spread across his face. And to think everyone used to call the Uchiha clan arrogant!

Turning to the door, Tsunade said, "You can come out now, Sakura-san. I was just leaving anyway."

As the elderly woman walked through the door, a wide-eyed teenager stepped into view. Sakura couldn't stop the goldfish imitation that she was doing save her life as she turned back to Sasuke. "Naruto is the Yondaime's son?!"

Suddenly, Sasuke felt much better now that he wasn't the only stupefied one.

(Author's Note) I have done a lot of soul-searching lately. I've come to an extremely reluctant decision. I am about to do something that I detest others for doing. I am officially naming this chapter segment the final chapter in Makaze Rekidaishi.

My reasons are simple: this story is becoming a burden on me, if I continue to allow the plot to sway too much farther from canon it will be so nearly impossible for certain events to take place in the future, and these previous few chapters have just felt wrong to me (as I've stated several times). But because I do like some of the things that have occurred, I'm not deleting this story.

Keep your eyes open for Legacy of the Rasengan III: Chuuten.

In case some of you haven't already done so, I still HIGHLY recommend you check out FictionReader98's fanfic: Clash in the Land of Snow: Legacy Version.

Chuuten--Rising into the Heavens
Osamaru--to be at peace (among other similar meanings)