Ascending (Sequel to Rock Bottom)

Chapter 1 - All These Coincidences

Recap: 

Team 7 went to Suna to escape execution in Konoha. They became Suna shinobi and decided to put the team on hiatus so that they could all try to find out more about their past. 

Fast forward two years and this is where we are now:

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When most people wake up in the morning, the first thing that goes through their head is usually something along the lines of "What am I doing today?" But for the past year, the first thing Sasuke's been thinking about in the morning is "Thank god I can still do stuff today."

After a short encounter with the Uchiha clan (That was way too long in Sasuke's opinion), the ravenette hightailed it out of Konoha. He was still without the answers he sought, but now, if he had a choice between getting an explanation in Konoha, or staying in the dark and never having to set foot in that godforsaken village, he would choose the latter.

Sasuke was now laying low in a shabby inn in the Land of Rivers, close to the Land of Waves. It was the last place the Uchiha would think to check, or at least that was what he hoped. Now, all he had to do was sit in his room and waste time for the next few weeks. Not seeing the countless faces of strangers would be a nice change.

The ex-Uchiha sighed, laying on his back on his bed. He was remembering everything Itachi and the rest of the Uchiha told (yelled at) him. All they mostly did was fighting, but when they did manage to have a civil conversation, a lot of it was incoherent grumbling and loud "hn's", which were little to no help, though when they spoke actual words, it might have been worse.

Sasuke shook his head, as if he could physically rid himself of his thoughts. He didn't need to think about his old clan now, or preferably, never again.

Maybe he could try those instant ramen Naruto had rambled about for years...

His thought process was abruptly cut off when an explosion wracked the building he was in, making the ceiling collapse. Shit, they had caught up to him faster than he had anticipated. Sasuke used the convenient exit to get the hell out of there. It seems that he would be arriving in Suna sooner than expected.

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Sakura sighed, she had recently decided to make her way back to Suna, taking the long way around because it was the farthest route from Konoha. She had scoured the Land of Hot Springs for years. Not weeks, not months, a whole freaking year. And what did she find? Nothing, nada, zilch. It made her want to rip her hair out.

Though she should've seen it coming. It had been over 5 years after all. Of course, it's not like she assumed that the locals would know about two famous ninja passing through or anything.

Maybe she was overlooking something, maybe her parents came her undercover...or maybe they straight up lied to her when she was five. Either way, it was clear that Kizashi and Mebuki weren't in Yugakure. And she had no other leads.

No, that's not right, they wouldn't have left her in Konoha just like that...right? What else did they tell her before leaving? As the pinkette began the walk back to Suna, she felt the weight in her pocket become more noticeable, and she pulled out the object; a kunai. The one Sakura's father told her to keep with her at all times.

She held the old weapon up to the moonlight, examining the scratched, rusty metal and blunt edges while turning it over in her hands. It was obvious she didn't use it for combat anymore. It was more of a sentimental object now.

Sakura narrowed her eyes when they landed on the wrapped handle. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary handle, with bandages for grip. But when the pinkette looked closer, she could just barely make out an unnatural pink glow emanating from just under the bandages.

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"You know, most people are happy to meet their family dattebayo!" Naruto yelled to Kurama, who was running beside him.

"Yeah but since when is your family 'most people', Naruto." The jinchuuriki nodded,

"Good point." And then he ducked just as bright gold chains shot out at him, turning around and launching a bijuu bomb in the general direction of his pursuers.

"You know that probably wasn't the best idea. You've just alerted all the other Uzumaki to our location." Naruto shrugged,

"It doesn't really make a difference. We can take 'em either way dattebayo." Kurama grunted in agreement, occasionally nudging Naruto away from raised roots that his jinchuuriki couldn't see due to the lack of light (or his obliviousness).

"Whoa wait...do you smell that Kurama?" The fox sniffed the air while running.

"Yeah, it kinda smells like Sasuke...or Sakura when she hasn't showered in 3 days. Both smell almost identical." Naruto snorted, but agreed with the Kyuubi nonetheless.

The two of them then said nothing as they kept running. The smell was getting stronger now. And Naruto started sprinting faster, eager to see his teammate.

But what he wasn't expecting was to see both of them.

Sure enough, when Naruto entered a clearing, he saw a worn out Sasuke in front of a confused Sakura.