Naruto: The Unwoven Threads of Fate

"Let's start from the beginning." A smooth and collected voice says from a few meters away from me.

I've found myself in a tight situation. By that I mean literally tight. I have a set of manacles around my wrists and ankles that draw me spread eagled against a wall. The chains that connect the manacles to the walls are reinforced with seals. On my bare chest is a seal made specifically to suppress all five elements of chakra. I've even been blindfolded though I don't have a dojutsu. On all the masks on my back are seals that are meant to keep my monsters within me. Over all, I've never been more effectively restrained.

"You mean like from the beginning beginning?" I casually ask the voice of my interrogator. "Isn't it funny how just repeating a word twice gives it a whole new meaning?"

"Sure. Let's start there." I hear the click of a pen ring out once in the otherwise quiet moment in our conversation.

"Alright, you asked for it. I don't know the specifics here, but I assume my Dad took my Mom out on a date that went really well. Maybe she took him out? Whatever, who cares. Then they went home and tried to break their bed. And couch. And maybe if they were feeling adventurous the kitchen counter too, which is impressive since it was probably some kind of stone - granite I think? Oh God now I'm picturing my parents fucking each others brains out all over the house. Gross, I didn't need that. Anyways, around a few months after that shit went really wrong and my parent's wanted out of the Land of Rice and they had to buy their way out by letting -"

"Yes yes, I am familiar with your pre-birth encounter with Orochimaru." The smooth voice interrupts me. "And the next time he visited you in the Forest of Death during the Chunin Exams. I even know that you encountered him while in the company of Jiraiya and Tsunade just after the Invasion of Konoha. Then you left Konoha for him with Sasuke Uchiha and have been trained by him personally ever since. Queue a few more scuffles and public sightings with him. Actually, I'd say I know quite a bit about you. Student of Kakashi of the Sharingan despite graduating last in his class on a technicality, proceeded as usual with D-rank missions until one fateful C-rank that turned A-rank which you insisted on completing even though you had more than enough reason to turn back, did surprisingly well in the Chunin Exams but didn't make the cut because you decided to chase after a known S-rank criminal with teammate and best friend Sasuke Uchiha. You were also part of the group that brought Tsunade back to Konoha. Then a few months later you left with the Uchiha for Orochi-"

"Holy shit man I don't need a detailed recounting of my life so far, I was there you idiot. And how the hell do you know all that? Are you a fanboy or something? That would explain the chains I'm in." I wiggle my wrists to rattle the long seal enhanced chains that bind me to the wall. "I'll have you know that I'm very hard to work over so if you're hoping for a Stockholm Syndrome thing here, good luck. You wouldn't be the first to try and no one has succeeded yet. It's a thing that I pride myself on if I'm being completely honest. Though I do have to admit, you're starting off really strong. These are by far the best chains I've ever been in. Wait no, second best. There was this one time at a whore house-"

"I do find myself curious though." He continues casually, completely not phased by my insinuations. "Orochimaru has kept you close. He never intentionally sent you out on missions that were high profile. So why did the Snake Sannin send you to save the Kazekage? Why did Orochimaru send his 'child' to save the leader of a Village that wants his head on a pike?"

"It's really simple." I lean forward dramatically and let a smile work across my features. "He didn't."

"What?" For the first time the smooth voice of my interrogator hikes up. He definitely wasn't expecting that. Yet playtime in a whore house with chains didn't phase him, I'm actually a bit sad about that. "You disobeyed Orochimaru? Why would you do that?"

"It's surprisingly simple." I attempt to shrug but only achieve a slight rattle of the chains. "He told me no."

Orochimaru's Office, Two Weeks Ago

"Hey Orochimaru?" I poke my head into his office. The large map is still there, it frames him and his desk rather nicely. What a weird thing for a backdrop. I'd much rather have a picture of the ocean or something equally mundane. Grazing animals maybe? That'd be nice. "Got a minute?"

"Alvarcus?" Orochimaru looks up in mild surprise. It's not unusual for me to drop by, but I just barge right on in and make myself at home. I'm being strangely polite. "Of course, I always have time for you. What brings you by?"

"I… uh… don't really know how well this is going to work. I'm trying something new. Ish." I sheepishly and awkwardly scratch the back of my head as I enter into his office and gently shut the door behind me.

"Yes?" He prods me to continue as curiosity causes his eyes to light up. It's very rare to see me act meek. "Did you need a test subject to try out a seal on? You know you don't need to ask for that - even though you never have before - they are always at your disposal."

"No, not that. Thanks though." There's the morbid yet caring Orochimaru I'm used to. It's strange how he can make human experimentation into a nice gesture. "Well… frankly one of our last real talks had more of an impact than I'd like to admit so I'm trying something new. I'm asking for permission to leave."

"Oh good, the lesson did finally sink in. I'm glad that you came to ask this time." Orochimaru praises me. I know that the chances of me actually getting permission are low but this damn pit in my stomach compelled me to at least attempt. "Where do you want to go?"

"Suna." I softly say the single word like the quiet tone will make a difference in his answer. "Though probably just near it. I don't think I'm actually going to go into the Village. Wait wait, not Suna. The Land of Rivers? Shit. I forget, let's just call it Suna."

"Suna." He repeats in a flat tone. "One of our enemies. One of the Villages that would gladly take your head. One of Konoha's allies. Before I give my answer, I have a question. Why?"

"I've got a hot date?" I wince as the definitely-not-the-real-reason leaves my mouth. "I'm lying. You know it, I know it, I don't even know why I bothered. Gaara is going to be kidnapped and I want to save him because I owe him a debt. And I think we're pseudo friends? But mainly the debt."

"Gaara is going to be kidnapped." Orochimaru repeats the phrase to himself as it sinks in. "The One Tailed Jinchuuriki is going to be kidnapped. Very few people would be capable of such an impressive feat, even fewer would be bold enough to try. Fewer still would attempt if the Jinchuuriki is also a Kage and loved by his village. Only mad men would do something so brazen."

"Yeah I know." He's connected the dots. I can see it in his face. The way his eyebrows furrowed together and the creases on his forehead. The way his fingers have curled into fists. He knows that it's a move by the Akatsuki. "That's why I want to help out. Let's face it, Suna only has a few shinobi capable of standing against a threat to their Kage, probably not any that could actually make a difference. But with my help, I know we can save Gaara."

"Alvarcus, I am sorry, but I have to say no." Orochimaru looks regretful. He doesn't want to tell me no, but he is because he thinks it's the right thing to do. Hell, it is the right thing to do. "I know who will be going to kidnap him. You're good, very good, but they're still out of your league. I'm sorry."

"I thought that would be your answer." I sorrowfully say to him as I steel myself for what comes next.

"You're going to go anyways, aren't you?"

"Yeah." I swallow after the word leaves my mouth to force that ball in my throat back down. "I am."

"You know that I'm going to stop you." Orochimaru says softly yet firmly as he stand up from behind his desk. "By any means necessary."

"You can try." I boldly stare back into his vivid yellow eyes. I see a swirl of emotions spinning in them. Anger, regret, fury, resignation, anxiousness, worry, and many more. Yet most interestingly, I see pride swimming along with the rest.

"You've never bested me before." Orochimaru says calmly to me as tensions rise higher in the room. We've both started to flex our killing intents. It's nothing noteworthy, it's only a way for us to express our seriousness of the situation. Playtime is over, now it's down to business. "Landing a blow is not the same as victory."

"You haven't beaten me in years." A smirk, not one of sass but rather one of playfulness, spreads across my face. "Landing a hundred blows is not a victory if your opponent still walks away."

"Then let us relocate." He calmly stolls past me, passing so close that our shoulders nearly brush together, and opens the door to his office. "Shall we go somewhere more suitable for combat?"

"Of course." I fall in step next to him. "There's no reason we can't be civil."

It's a strangely welcoming silence that accompanies us on our short journey to one of the training fields. Neither of us are mad at the other. It's like some unspoken agreement. We've both acknowledged the reasoning of the other and understand their motives. Now it's simple; the victor gets his way.

"You know, this seems like a waste." I say to Orochimaru as we take our positions across from each other in the training field. It's like a cave with stalactites reaching down from the ceiling and stalagmites rising up from the floor seemingly at random. He's picked a field to his advantage, there's plenty of cover to get behind for my ninjutsu assault. For anyone else, he'd also have the advantage of them being near blind in this dark cave but my eyes are better than most.

"So you don't want to fight me then?" Orochimaru asks as he draws out his trusted Kusanagi sword. Even in the dim light the polished edge manages to reflect light. It's truly a beautiful sword.

"Of course I want to fight you." I smirk as I pull out a hilt of a sword. "How else does the student know he surpassed the master? But that's not what I meant. I was hoping to save this for something else, but now is as good a time as any."

In a blinding flash of steel Orochimaru lunges forward. It's a move he's used against me many times, and each time it's worked. In a burst of speed he closes the gap between us and cuts off a limb, grabs me by the throat, or even nails me to the floor. It's his way of disciplining me.

CLANG

"You blocked it?" Orochimaru says as his Legendary Blade struggles against an eerie black blade. "All those times… you let me do it?"

"Well the first few I couldn't block, I could barely track them." I push back with my own hand crafted Legendary Blade. "But someone taught me very well."

"Kukukuku, you really are a cunning one. The mark of a true shinobi." There's approval from him despite our bladelock and current disagreement. "And this blade, is it what I think it is?"

"Indeed." With a mighty heave I shove Orochimaru back a few meters and elegantly swing the sword so he can admire my work. "A perfectly functionable Sword of Totsuka. I call mine the Void Sword."

"Congratulations, fellow Seal Master. It is a true masterpiece, one that I do not know if I could replicate." Orochimaru respectfully dips his head in acknowledgement without ever taking his eyes off of me. "But it will take more than that to best me. Even with your Void Sword, even with your ninjutsu, even with your Jiongu, even with all of your skills, you're forgetting that I taught them all to you."

"True. You did teach me nearly all of my skills and abilities." With a hissing snap the eerie black blade retracts into the hilt. "I openly admit that I thought about using this scuffle as a way to prove to you that I'm ready to face what I've chosen to. I toyed with showing you things that you've only dreamed of, things that you cannot achieve, things that would bring you joy and terror beyond measure, but there's no real need to. You've already handed me victory on a silver platter. You did it years ago."

"Did I?" Orochimaru's eyes narrow as he searches his memory for what I'm talking about. "When did I do such a thing?"

He lunges at me once more with even more speed. This lunge isn't a straight line to his goal, instead he's zig zagging around. He's leaping from stalagmite to stalactite at awkward angles and taking a confusing path to get to me.

"It does feel a bit like cheating." I don't tense my guard despite him closing on me. The light glints once more off of the Kusanagi Sword but I still don't raise my guard. "But you know how the saying goes, if you aren't cheating you aren't trying."

He draws within striking range and thrusts his blade forward once more. He's aiming to take out my eyes with a single attack.

"Pause."

All of Orochimaru's movement comes to a screeching halt. The Kusanagi sword is barely a few millimeters from my eye, just begging to be plunged deep into it at a mere thought. For a blade that can extend nearly endlessly, it would be so easy to sink into my skull.

"Kukukuku." Orochimaru starts to chuckle. At first it's soft, but soon it swells. He leans back, tilting his head to the sky, and lets loose a long cackle. "All these years. Kukukuku! You've held onto that since Konoha's Chunin exams from so long ago! KUKUKUKU! It predates even your Jiongu! Alvarcus Mar, my brilliant beautiful child, you have thirty seconds."

"Thank you." I fly through hand seals as my chakra swells and slam my hand to the ground. "It's funny, now that I really think about it. The only reason I won this is because of you. Summoning Jutsu: Linked Doors."

Behind me rises up a small door. It's a navy blue with white trim on it. Over all, it's rather unassuming and plain. So plain, that one might mistake it for the door to my lab.

"You really should have explored the Rashomon more." I tell Orochimaru as I open the door. Looking through it, we both see the interior of a small stone room. It's barely a four meter cube and only has a single chest in it. "Remember when I told you about the door that eats people? Turns out it just needed a source of chakra to function."

"So then this is the teleportation technique you used to leave last time?" Orochimaru asks with true interest. No doubt he's counting down seconds in his head, I know I am. "The chakra consumption is rather steep, it matches Karin's description. How does it work?"

"The door on the other side supplies itself with chakra thanks to your random minion it ate so it doesn't dispel and isn't a constant drain on me. I summon it's pair and simply walk through." I step through the open door, not yet closing it behind me. "This is a safe room I built using earth jutsu on one of my excursions. It's a ways underground so no one stumbles upon a random door just hanging out. Unfortunately, I have to place the door at the destination. I can't just pop up anywhere, it's just here."

"How many Gates are capable of this feat?" Orochimaru asks, both in interest and to stall me just a little longer.

"Just this pair. I'll be back soon, kay? A few days at the most."

"Of course. I'll have a punishment waiting for you, as per the usual."

"I expect no less. And thanks for the extra five seconds, you didn't have to." I shut the door behind me.

"Can't a father spoil his child?" Orochimaru sheaths his sword and spins towards the exit. "What a day today's been!"

The Present

"I don't know what to say." My interrogator says as I listen to the sound of pen on paper. "I don't think I've ever met anyone as brazen as you are."

"I'm sixteen." I shrug lazily - really just shaking the chains more in a petty attempt to unnerve him - while letting my head loll back to thud against the cool stone wall. "Chalk it up to my rebellious phase. I should grow out of it in a year or two. Or not. Depends on how I feel in the moment to be honest."

"Where is your safe room then? Near Suna?" The interrogator prods me for information.

"Nah, it's on the moon." I snort out once. "Did you really think I'd tell you where it was? Idiot."

"You did just tell me about an interaction with Orochimaru with hardly any prompting." He points out. I bet he's pointing his pen at me too, it just feels like that's what he's doing.

"Alright, fair point." I concede this one. "But come on, who wouldn't want to brag about getting one over on Orochimaru? Do you have any idea how rare that is? News flash: It's pretty fucking rare."

"So what happened next?" I hear the pen return to paper once more. "You ran off to be a knight in shining armor for the Kazekage?"

"When you phrase it like that it sounds wrong. But basically that's what I did. It sounds so much worse when said like that. I'm not a knight in shining armour, I'm a badass in shinobi gear! Well I'm not in shinobi gear right now, but you get it."

"Right." He says to a sharp click of the pen. "And you ran into Team Kakashi on your way there."

"Yep." I pop the 'p' because I can. "If you can even call it Team Kakashi. I'm pretty sure those are supposed to be the Jonin and Genin team names. How lazy can Konoha be, just naming teams after the person with the most seniority?"

"And what happened next?" He asks me in that smooth and collected voice of his. Now that I think about it, it's slightly familiar.

"And why would I bother telling you that?" I snarkily say to him. "Go ask one of the others, I'm sure they're much easier to get answers out of."

"I want to hear it from you." He calmly says to spite me. Or just because he's supposed to always be calm. "You have such a unique viewpoint on things and I find that I'm rather enjoying it."

"Hmm…"

Two Weeks Ago, Somewhere In the Land Of Rivers

"Kakashi!" A familiar mop of blonde hair barks out to his team leader. "We have to hurry! Gaara could be dead any moment! Every second counts!"

"Yes, let's just keep bringing up the fact that my brother is on the brink of death." A young woman with a giant fan on her back snaps back. "Oh wait, both my brothers are on the brink of death. Way to go dumbass."

"Oh be quiet girl, I'm old!" The oldest person here - with small black eyes, lavender hair tied up in a bun and an unmarked cloth headband - lets out a sharp laugh. "I could fall over at any time and you don't see me complaining!"

"Can we please just focus on retrieving the Kazekage?" Kakashi sighs out. He's had a rough day.

First, he gets back from an off the books mission that wasn't even given a rank - that's how hush hush it was - and suddenly he's needed to go to Suna's aid. Why? Because their Kage got kidnapped while battling a member of the Akatsuki. Second, he got stuck with Naruto on his team because the blonde idiot insisted on being included on the mission and for some ungodly reason Tsunade has a soft spot for him. Third, they ran into Gaara's sister Temari who just left Konoha after a diplomatic mission and wouldn't stay in Suna where she belonged. She kept spouting something about making sure the tree huggers didn't fuck it up. Fourth, he was mistaken for his father Sakumo and was attacked by Chiyo the moment she saw him. The best part? Once Chiyo admitted she was wrong and apologized, she won't stop staring at his ass.

Even now he can feel her eyes lingering.

And of course it's these three that were sent with him to retrieve the Kazekage. Why would it be anyone else? Can't poor Kakashi get a break? It's times like this that he misses his favorite student. At least he knew when to be quiet.

"There's a clearing up ahead." Kakashi alerts the rest of the group mainly to give them something else to talk about. "We'll take a short break then keep going."

The rag tag team of four shinobi easily leap into the clearing and quickly scan it for danger. It's a very good thing that they did too, because they are not alone.

"Hello again, Kakashi Hatake." A deep confident yet monotone voice calls out. All four of the shinobi reflexively flinch at the unexpected intrusion. "It's good to see you've regained your health after our last encounter."

Kakashi can't help himself from feeling a pinch of worry as he takes in the sight before him. Naruto's jaw actually falls open for a fleeting second before he regains controls and snaps it shut with an audible click. Temari slides her feet further apart, lowering herself to the ground and rearing back with her fan. Chiyo's old eyes quickly dart up and down the unexpected person, quickly drawing a few conclusions about the stony faced young man.

"Itachi Uchiha." Kakashi calmly says despite his slightly too tight grip on his kunai. "It's been a while."

"That's Itachi Uchiha?" Temari softly whispers to Naruto as a tinge of fear settles over her. This man, he's the Clan Killer. He slaughtered his own family just because he wanted to see if he could. He waded through a sea of his own blood because he wanted to test himself. And he's supposed to be their opponent? Just who are the people who took her brother?

"Well aren't you a pretty one?" Chiyo's aged voice calls out to the enemy. "You know, I've fought a few Uchiha in my day. I got pretty good at it too, once you realize all you have to do is not look them in the eyes it becomes much easier."

"It's good to know that we're being taken seriously." Itachi turns his eyes to Chiyo and let's them bleed into the familiar crimson of the Sharingan. "They sent one of the Honored Siblings after us, though she is mislead. I stand far above any Uchiha you've ever fought. If you think simply avoiding eye contact with me will win you the battle, you are greatly mistaken. All I need is a finger."

"I've met this guy before." Naruto confidently says as his hands form a cross for his signature jutsu. "He was scared of Jiraiya-sensei and ran away. We've totally got this!"

Roughly a dozen clones poof into existence around Naruto, every single one looks ready to brawl. With a proud and loud battle cry, the mob of blonde shinobi charge straight at the lone adversary.

They didn't even make it ten steps.

A cloud of what can only be described as small metal leafs blew through the air and assaulted the orange mob. The razor sharp pieces of metal tore through the clones like a red hot knife through butter.

"Though overwhelming an Uchiha with numbers is a good way to counteract the Sharingan, it won't work on this one." A new voice inserts itself into the conversation and the battle.