Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure I don't own Naruto
Author's Notes: Sasuke, Hinata and the others are around 17. Neji, Tenten and Lee are 18. Hinata won't stutter as much. That's pretty much it. I don't want to spoil you guys. I'm taking this story to a whole new level.
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Chapter One
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Medicine (1). It was the first thing he could smell as soon as he regained his consciousness. The smell was overwhelming. Hospital, he thought. How long has it been since he had been in the hospital?
He sat up and tried to pry his eyes open but he couldn't. His eyes were covered by bandages. He reached up to remove the bandages but a hand stopped him, preventing him from removing the irritating bandages. With his vision blocked, he could not identify who had dared to touch him. He dropped his hand to his lap.
"Where am I?" he demanded.
"Konoha," a small and soft voice of a girl replied.
Hn. Konoha. It was the last place he wanted to be at the right moment. It felt as if it was yesterday he left to village to avenge his clan. Sasuke leaned back on the bed. After all, beggars don't get to choose. Before he could ask - demand answers from the girl, the door slid open with a bang. His eyes might be covered but his sense of hearing was as good any other functional shinobi. His ears picked up the sound of a startled gasp coming from the girl on his right.
Sasuke turned towards his visitor by relying solely on hearing. The sound of heels clicking against the smooth floor followed by confident strides.
"You chose the wrong moment to appear, Uchiha," the Godaime Hokage remarked. "Especially at a time like this."
He felt his lips curled up into a smirk. "It certainly is good to be back," he retorted. "However I did not came here willing, might I add."
Tsunade bit her tongue; try to hold back another retort to the young Uchiha. Senjus and Uchihas can't stay in a room together for a long time. Disaster might happen sooner or later. She turned to the girl beside her. "You are dismissed."
And with that, the girl exited the room and slide the door close behind her. Tsunade rounded on her patient, hands on her hips. "I don't like wasting my precious time on you," she said, her voice thick with venom. "So let's cut to the chase. Did you or did you not killed the S-class missing nin, Uchiha Itachi?"
He smirked dropped from his face as she mentioned Itachi's name. His face void from any sorts of emotions. "I fail to see that it is your business," he replied.
Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed quietly. "When Team 7 and Team 8 arrived at the scene, his body was not there," she informed him. "There was no evidence of his presence apart from the aftermath - and you."
The Uchiha made no sign of acknowledgment as he laid there on the bed. Even with his eyes bandaged, she knew that he was still conscious and listening. It's amazing how a 17 year old shinobi managed to kill an S-class missing nin, let alone a member of Akatsuki - without any back up.
Even with the previous encounters with the member of the Akatsuki, they had back up albeit 7 person max. They even lost a few of shinobi during the encounter.
"Here's the deal," Sasuke spoke up breaking the silence. "I will let Konoha borrow my strength and I want something in exchange."
"I'm not interested."
