The Fateful Uchiha

Sasuke was tired and hungry. He had no desire to leave Sakura and Kiba behind as prisoners, but that was his only chance to escape. Therefore, he pretended to be passed out. The guard wasn’t a shinobi, so he was easily fooled. With his eyes closed, he counted the seconds. He waited for the man who carried him to climb the stairs, receive instructions from Gato, and then set out. He waited for them to walk for several minutes. He waited until the sounds of the city had faded and replaced by those of waves. He waited until his kidnappers let their guard down.

Then he opened his eyes and made his move. Being on his kidnapper's shoulder put him in an uncomfortable position, but he was very close to his enemy's neck. Sasuke was hungry, groggy, and handcuffed. But above all else, he was furious.

The man carrying him uttered a piercing cry when Sasuke's elbow crashed into his ear, and he released his grip. Sasuke fell forward, rolled on the ground, and stood up. He faced the enemies and activated his Sharingan. He felt like his body was moving on its own. His brain operated instinctively, like a cornered animal. There were five people, five enemies he must overcome. 

One of them reacted quickly and tried to catch him. Sasuke leaped back. Though he was handcuffed, his feet were free. The genin kicked and used his knees and elbows. He put one of the men out of commission, then another one. The third drew his sword, and Sasuke tensed up.

“No, the boss will kill us if you damage the goods!” Another warned.

Sasuke's fury intensified. Goods?! They were treating him like a mere object. He was Sasuke Uchiha, one of the last descendants of a prestigious ninja clan. He rushed to attack again, targeting the man who had referred to him as a good. He jumped and kicked his neck, breaking his windpipe. As the man was falling, the Uchiha jumped and used his shoulder as a trampoline to rush toward the man with the sword.  

He caught him off guard and struck his stomach with his elbow. The man bent over in pain, holding his belly. Sasuke delivered a kick to his temple and sent him flying. The man who was carrying him had recovered from his blow to the ear. He rushed toward the genin. Sasuke started breathing hard, but he didn’t give up. He dashed forward and tackled him on the ground. He put his knees on top of him and struck him with his handcuffed fists. After repeated blows to his skull, the man no longer moved. Sasuke stood up.

There was a brief moment of silence. Then the rush of adrenaline faded. Sasuke sat down. He felt the blood rushing to his head. His hands shook a little, but he was free. He didn’t know where he was, but it didn’t matter at the moment. He was finally free. 

He looked around. He was along a rocky coast, a good distance from the village. He wasn’t too far away as he could still see the houses from afar. He knew he was being transported to be sold to Kusa. Where was he being taken exactly? He had no idea… probably at a location where the contact from Kusa awaited. He didn’t know what Kusa wanted with him, but he was glad he managed to escape.

Sasuke managed to get rid of his handcuffs after several minutes of struggling with the metal. He massaged his sore wrists with a grimace. His skin was red and painful. He tried to make a fist several times, checking the mobility of his hand. Satisfied with his test, he heaved a sigh of relief. He searched the five bodies on the floor. He had to go back for his comrades, but he needed some weapons.

The genin recovered some knives, a set of shurikens, which, he was pretty sure came from his stock of weapons that had been taken from him when he was captured, and a sword. He would have preferred some kunais as well, but he couldn’t be too picky now. What he obtained was better than nothing. He also found some food as well. Sasuke devoured the bread he retrieved and drank some water to push it down. He could feel his energy level increasing. 

The Uchiha was about to put the weapons when he felt a presence. He turned around, sword in hand, and saw who had appeared between the rocks.

“Haku. What are you doing here?”

Haku had a faint smile.

“You’ve managed to free yourself, that’s good. Zabuza didn't like Gato’s deal. He sent me to eliminate Kusa's contact and make it look like Kakashi’s work. That way, Gato would be forced to turn to Itachi. 

Sasuke didn't expect an honest answer. He remained silent for a brief moment before opening his mouth.

“So Zabuza wants to send me to Itachi… Is my brother on his way?”

Sasuke wanted to feel nothing but anger. But it was fear and horror that always triumphed whenever he thought about his brother, and he was sick of it.

“I don't know,” Haku replied. “It has become more difficult to contact him now that he has left the Land of Water.”

“So why try to contact him then ?! Does he... Is he paying that much for my head?”

Haku hesitated.

“It’s not about the money. It's personal. Zabuza and Itachi worked together a few times in the past. Now, Zabuza is trying to get his attention. He wants his help for something.”

Sasuke’s didn’t care why Zabuza needed Itachi. His mouth twisted into a hateful grin. The nukenin desired to use him as bait to get Itachi’s attention. His hate for Zabuza grew.  He didn’t understand how someone like Haku was working with Zabuza. Haku’s personality reminded him a little of Kazuma. But that was all. Sasuke believed Kazuma would never work for someone as bad as Zabuza. He didn’t understand how Haku stood with the nukenin even though he knew what type of person he was. Sasuke couldn’t forgive him for choosing Zabuza’s side. 

Haku's goal was to bring Sasuke back to Zabuza so the latter could deliver him to Itachi. Sasuke didn’t want that. He desired to free his comrades and go back home. Since they had different objectives, the Uchiha had no choice but to fight. The Konoha genin tightened his grip on the sword. Haku noticed the movement, sighed, and took out a kunai.

“I wish things were different,” He said.

Sasuke didn’t answer. There was nothing else to say. Words couldn’t convince Haku to back down, so he made his move. Both fighters rushed forward. 

They collided in a clash of steel. They exchanged several blows, each fighter trying to get the upper hand. Then Haku retreated and began weaving hand seals. Sasuke activated the Sharingan and rushed toward his opponent, keeping him from executing his jutsu.

There was another exchange of blows. But this time, the two teenagers dodged the other’s strikes before retaliating. They were attacking at full speed. Kunai and sword clashed once more.

“I’m surprised you can keep up with my speed,” Haku said as he was pressing his opponent’s sword back with his kunai.

“Your speed is only soso… It’s nothing to brag about.” 

“I see. I guess I have to get a bit serious.”Haku said and began forming seals with his free hand.

Sasuke was surprised as he didn’t think using only one hand to create a jutsu was possible. This allowed Haku to finish his preparation. Water needles formed around them, all pointing to the Uchiha. Haku pulled his kunai back and distanced himself. The next moment, the needles flew toward Sasuke. The latter remembered the training he did with Jun. He concentrated his chakra on the bottom of his feet to boost his speed. He vanished the instant the flying needles were about to hit him. Haku lost him for a brief moment.

Several shurikens flew toward Haku who jumped back to avoid them. 

“You’re pretty slow for a guy who was bragging about his speed,” Sasuke said as he reappeared behind Haku.

He swung his sword, but Haku reacted and squatted down to dodge. Sasuke used the momentum of his swing, pivoted on his leg, and kicked Haku. His foot landed on his face and sent him flying. Haku crashed into the ground. He rolled on the ground before getting up. Blood was coming from his mouth.

“You’re pretty fast. I’ll give you that. I must end this fight quickly. Try not to die on me.” Haku said and joined his hands together with the two index fingers pointing up.

“Secret Jutsu: Demonic Ice Mirrors.”

Several large mirrors made of ice surrounded Sasuke. The latter was trapped inside a dome made of ice mirrors. Haku entered on the mirrors from the outside and his reflection appeared in all of them.

“This is my most powerful jutsu. Only those with the Hyoton can perform this technique.”

“Hyoton? So you have a Kekkei Genkai…”

Jun had briefed all of them on Kekkei Genkai and the most common ones. However, Sasuke never expected he’d encounter a Kekkei Genkai user on this mission. The Uchiha realized he was in a dire situation. It wasn’t easy to deal with a Kekkei Genkai user. But Sasuke didn’t have a choice. He must defeat Haku.