Unless they caught the Dark Thunder group as soon as possible, a similar tragedy would likely unfold once more. He had to get information on them. “‘You fallen Dark Thunder.’”
“Hm?”
“That’s what Iou said yesterday. What did he mean by ‘fallen’?” Sasuke remembered what the old man had said because that part bothered him, somehow.
“Ohh, the Dark Thunder group, I guess they used to work as sort of gentlemen thieves.”
“Gentlemen thieves?”
“Yeah. They’d hit bad guys, take their money, and then give it to the poor. Although back then, they were called the Bright Lightning Group.”
“I guess it’s only since they changed their name to Dark Thunder that they’ve been pushing the limits of cruelty,” Nowaki added.
So then they were originally an ally of the weak? It was hard to understand why they would flip to the exact opposite position—but Sasuke knew it only took an instant to fall into darkness. No matter what you might live through, a single incident could turn the world upside down. Love into hate, kindness into curses, bonds into isolation.
The Uchihas had been a deeply loving clan. Thus, when they lost that love, sometimes, everything was painted over and transformed into hate. It had been the second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, who said that. Having been isolated and made to grow up with the power of hatred, Sasuke’s way of life had maybe proven Tobirama right. Although he had come through out of the darkness, he contained the latent potential for something similar to happen in the future. A violent impulse that ate into reason slept within his body.
In order to not commit the same error again, Sasuke needed to be alone, and have the time to reexamine himself. He would likely never in his whole life put it into words, but he couldn’t betray the trust of his friends. No, he didn’t want to betray it. Which was exactly why he had to learn how to control this Uchiha blood. Because if he made connections, then he would inevitably have to experience parting, and losing that love at some point. Naruto had said he would stop him if he took the wrong path again, but next time, he wanted to stand on his own two feet.
That reminds me. So, like, Sassy, are you heading home to Konohagakure?
He had several reasons for not returning to the village, but there was likely also a part of him that was afraid of making intimate connections with other people.
“Hey? What’re we going to do now? You wanna look around here a little more?”
Sasuke looked around the ruined village again. From Iou’s story, he could guess that they also had no mercy on women and children, but this was really too awful a torment for weak opponents who couldn’t really fight back. It made him want to ask if they had some serious grudge against this village.
Iou had probably seen the body of his dead daughter here, after she had been cruelly ripped apart. It was perhaps no wonder he sought revenge.
While he thought about this, Chino suddenly sat down on the spot. She put her ear to the ground and closed her eyes.
“What’s the matter?”
“I felt like it moved just now.”
“Moved?”
“The water underground.” Ear still pressed to the earth, Chino wove signs. Nowaki put his index finger to his lips to indicate that Sasuke should be quiet. Chino’s body was enveloped in chakra, and this began to enter the earth. “I’m connected. It is moving … Something’s closing in on Takeno.”
So was she a sensor ninja?
Karin, a member of Taka, was also excellent at sensing; she could see through to the nature of, and changes in, chakra that even Sasuke couldn’t even begin to understand. It wasn’t a surprise to find a sensor like Chino, who could feel things over long distances.
“Dark Thunder?”
“It could be.” As she stood up, Chino looked up at Sasuke.
“We’re going back.” Sasuke kicked at the ground, and charged through the village into the woods. He leapt over the tree roots and jumped from branch to branch, gradually gaining speed. Chino and Nowaki chased after him frantically.
It had taken them three hours to get from Takeno to Iou’s daughter’s village, but Sasuke had taken his time with that trip, searching out the surrounding areas for any auras or other clues. Now he was practically running in a mad dash, and he quickly closed the distance to Takeno.
When the trees finally start to open up into the bamboo grove, they heard the loud boom of an explosion.
“Sassy, I smell smoke!”
Takeno was upwind. When they saw it, there was no doubt what was happening. Sasuke ran even faster, the bamboo leaves crunching under his feet.
“Aaah! Heeeelp!”
He heard the sharp cry of a woman. When he looked in that direction, he saw a young woman fleeing from the direction of the village toward them. Behind her, men with leering grins on their faces chased after her. Nowaki shouted.
“Sasuke, it’s the Dark Thunder group!”
The men held swords in their hands and brandished them at the woman.
“Ha ha! We’re killing everyone!”
“Aaaaah!” In a single fluid movement, Sasuke pulled a kunai from his pocket and threw it.
“Aaoh?!” The kunai knocked away the sword aiming for the woman’s neck just as it was on the verge of striking. “Wh-who are you … ?”
The enemy were three in number. Without replying to their question, he pulled out three more kunai, and released them in the direction of the woman.
“Eeep!”
“Hey! You’re gonna hit—” Chino raised a voice in panic, but all the kunai slipped past the woman and plunged into the bodies of the men behind her.
“Ngaaah!”
Sasuke leapt over the woman’s head and landed right next to one of the men felled by his kunai, lying face up on the ground. Sasuke closed his eyes, focused his power there, and then opened them again. His red sharingan with the three tomoe marks. He caught the man’s gaze with these eyes.
“Ee. Kah … hah …”
Control via genjutsu. Foam spilled out of the man’s mouth. He wouldn’t be able to move for a while.
“It’s Sasuke. It’s Sasuke of the sharingan! We have to tell Lord Karyu—” the second man yelled, yanking the kunai out of his body and getting to his feet.
Sasuke somersaulted across the bamboo leaves, leaned in toward the man’s feet, pressed his right hand to the ground, and pushed his lower body up. The sole of his left foot kicked out, and caught the man on the chin. The blow gave the man a concussion, and his eyes rolled back to the whites as he dropped to the ground. And that was two.
“Ee, eep …” The last man gave a pathetic cry and tried to run. Sasuke unsheathed his sword and let his chakra flow into it. With the blade enveloped in crackling electricity, he thrust it at the man’s defenseless back.
“Gah gah gah gah gah gah gah gah gah gah gah!” The electricity poured into the man’s body, and he collapsed from the shock. With that, all three of the men who had been chasing the woman were on the ground.
“… Scary!”
“Instant kill—”
“I didn’t kill them.” Sasuke shook off the electricity and sheathed his sword before surveying the area. It appeared other villagers were fleeing as well, and being chased by the Dark Thunder group. He moved to help them, but then, he heard another loud explosion from the village.
“Sassy! We’ll deal with the escaping villagers somehow. You go to the village!” Chino had apparently also sensed the enemies; she ran off in that direction. Nowaki pulled out a chakra blade and followed her.
Deciding to leave them to handle that situation, Sasuke ran toward the village. When he slipped through the bamboo, he found the villagers sitting on the ground, motionless. It seemed that their legs had been injured and they couldn’t move. So Dark Thunder was planning to torture and kill them, once they ensured the villagers couldn’t get away.
“Him?”
In the center of the village, a man stood, holding a ball in each hand. He appeared to be the leader.