Dangerous Bond: Clan of Peace

Part 14

Kakashi wasn't fond of confrontation by any means. He enjoyed the notion of watching chaos unfold before him. It was entertainment in its most sadistic ways which came with being a shinobi. Even his students were concerningly sadistic at times but the older Jounin also knew when a line had been stepped over.

Kakashi's mind wandered back to a time that was simpler yet still so complicated. When his students were genin and still growing their bonds, Kakashi had seriously contemplated leaving the village and going rogue but his students kept him from doing that. He only hoped he could continue leading them to a lighter path than what they were feeling right now.

As he walked through the familiar woods of Konoha with his Uchiha student walking silently beside him, the man could feel the hatred seeping off him in waves. Before any of them had realized it, a line had been crossed and now Sasuke was paying the price most of all. 

Along the way, through their journey, no one had realized or concluded that Sasuke would have trained with Orochimaru at some stage. Whether he was with Itachi or not, the older Uchiha had been away for missions with the Akatsuki many times for too long which left Sasuke no choice but to find appropriate training for himself.

That training being Orochimaru.

That aspect wasn't what bothered Kakashi. He knew it was likely to have occurred but what he didn't account for was the snake altering the curse mark without even the Uchiha's knowledge of it.

When Kakashi questioned the young Uchiha about the mark, the teenager immediately became defensive. It was as though Orochimaru had slithered his way into the young man's mind and whispered lies into his ears.

Luckily, Sasuke trusted his Sensei enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. It would explain the sudden turmoil he'd been feeling within himself. He'd been dealing with the curse mark since he was a child and thought he had pretty good control over it but if Orochimaru altered the mark without him knowing about it, it would make it that much harder for the Uchiha to find control again.

"Why didn't you tell us you'd trained with Orochimaru, Sasuke?" Kakashi questioned casually. He cautioned himself to tread carefully around the Uchiha as he was no unpredictable with the mark.

"It wasn't worth mentioning. It was only for three months before Itachi sent word to return to him" Sasuke plainly stated.

In truth, it wasn't worth mentioning. Three months could hardly teach the boy anything extremely dangerous but it was enough time for Orochimaru it seemed. Not only that, Kakashi didn't want to admit he felt slightly betrayed at his student training under the man that nearly killed him but even before the team had decided to leave the village, it was planned for the young Uchiha to train under Orochimaru for a time.

"Besides" Sasuke continued, the air shifted subtly as the boy shot a glare to his Sensei "It's not like any of us shared our experiences in the time we were apart".

Kakashi internally cursed himself. The boy was right. None of them had shared what they'd been through and what they'd learned on their journey's and that could well be because Kakashi shot down the notion of it by keeping his journey to himself. 

At the same time, Kakashi sighed. Ninja were tools from the beginning to the end of their lives. There was no obligation to share stories of each other's journies. All shinobi had experiences that would most likely benefit them if they shared but it would also weaken them. By sharing journeys, shinobi would risk leaking their secrets and those of others. It wasn't worth the risk.

Then again, Kakashi glanced at Sasuke and couldn't help but feel regret for not opening up to his team more. They weren't just a team to him. They were his family and he'd already lost a family before. He couldn't, wouldn't allow it to happen again.