Sasuke entered the Hidden Sound Village following Kimimaro and the Sound Four, but as soon as they appeared, two masked figures stood before them.
The group stopped, Sasuke recognized their style, they looked like the Leaf Village Anbu, but with the typical "cow-print" pants of the Sound Village and blue vests instead of gray.
The two looked like a young man his age with white hair and an older woman with blue hair.
-Kimimaro, we have a mission.- Guren said calmly.
Kimimaro nodded without asking about the content, then turned and followed Guren and Suigetsu away, paying no further attention to Sasuke.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, saying nothing. The Sound Four looked at Guren and Suigetsu enviously, but said nothing, simply continuing on, leading Sasuke to Jugo's office.
There, Jugo's clone was dealing with more files, there weren't many, since he could separate thousands of clones, resolving the paperwork was quite fast, he only kept one clone there for emergencies.
The clone was leafing through some papers, bored, when the group arrived. Looking at Sasuke, the clone's eyes lit up, finally, some action.
-Jugo-sama, Sasuke has been brought here.- The four bowed as Kidomaro spoke.
-Yes, good work. After Kimimaro returns, you can join the Anbu. For now, you can go back and collect your mission reward.- Jugo nodded to them.
The group seemed visibly happy, not because of the money, well, except for Jirobo, who burned through his savings on food very quickly, but now, being part of the Anbu meant trust.
Of course Jugo would trust them, they were werewolves.
His ANBU was also declining at the time, he needed new members and Orochimaru had already experimented on or used most of the best ninjas, so he could only make do with what he had.
The Village of Sound was undergoing renovations while Jugo applied his own seal to its members, it wasn't mandatory, but rather optional. The strength was evident, but having a 1 in 10 chance of dying still made some think twice.
Even so, Orochimaru deserved to be Orochimaru, 99% of the Sound ninja didn't even hesitate, out of sheer force, they were willing to go very far.
In any case, even after the reform, these four were still the best, so they were promoted easily.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he watched the four of them leave excitedly. He frowned at Jugo, not understanding why he was there.
It was clear that he remembered Jugo, that Jutsu he used against Ichibi was still fresh in his memory, so he didn't dare raise his voice to Jugo, he just stood there, waiting to see what would happen next.
-Well, sit down, we have a lot to talk about.- Jugo smiled and pointed to the chair in front of his desk.
The atmosphere was claustrophobic, after all, it was an underground village, and only torches illuminated the brown stone room.
-Where is Orochimaru?- Sasuke paused for a moment before sitting down and asking.
-Him? He's teaching Karin right now.- Jugo explained calmly.
-Karin?- Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
-An Uzumaki orphan, you'll meet her soon and you'll probably be on the same team.- Jugo explained lightly, leaning back in his chair.
Sasuke frowned, more questions than answers, but upon hearing the surname Uzumaki, he narrowed his eyes. He didn't know about the "Uzumakis", but he knew one, the teammate he had beaten up a few hours earlier.
Jugo, seeing that Sasuke was becoming increasingly restless, stopped bothering him and spoke. - The Hidden Sound Village has changed a lot in the last month, to be more precise, I am the current leader of the Village.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he clenched his fist slightly, feeling the situation become increasingly confusing and his immediate safety no longer seemed guaranteed. After all, he knew Orochimaru wanted him, but what about Jugo?
Jugo ignored Sasuke's train of thought and continued. -Let's just say I defeated Orochimaru and took the village from him, now he works for me.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes again, his confusion evident.
-So it was you who called me here?- Sasuke asked calmly.
-Yes and no, Orochimaru had this idea and I didn't stop him, but unlike Orochimaru, I have no interest in your body, so you have two options now.- Jugo spoke lightly, raising a finger, he continued. -First, you become Orochimaru's disciple as you expect, I won't interfere between the two of you, just get stronger and make a deal with him, it's up to you.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, thoughtful, but didn't speak, waiting for the second option.
Jugo raised his second finger. -Two, you become my student, a member of the Hidden Sound Village. I'll give you the power you want and you'll work for me. I can even help you with your revenge against Itachi if you wish.
Sasuke didn't speak, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully.
-Of course, it's not that simple. Becoming my student truly involves becoming a member of the Sound Village. The moment you complete your revenge, if you desert, I myself will hunt you down.- Jugo finished with a smile.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, this time the pair fell into a tense silence as Sasuke thought.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, he turned his gaze to Jugo. -How strong are you? Can you defeat Itachi?
-Your brother is really strong.- Jugo approached, placing his elbows on the table and crossing his fingers while resting his chin on them.
-So you would lose?- Sasuke asked, slightly annoyed.
-No, I would win even if there were ten of them.- Jugo chuckled lightly.
It wasn't even a joke, Itachi is really strong, but the current Jugo can handle him with ease.
His greatest weapons are Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu and Susanoo.
Tsukuyomi? With his Bind, it has no effect, he can even deflect the genjutsu back.
Amaterasu? He can become incorporeal, even if the flames still hit him in that form, he can use the snake substitution to get rid of it.
Susano? If he can withstand 100 Rasenshurikens at once, Jugo will give up immediately.
Even the two artifacts that his Susanoo holds can be countered, the Yata Mirror works against direct attacks. If he freezes the entire area, Itachi won't be able to do anything. As for the seal on his sword? Jugo has some ideas for escaping, but without testing them, he doesn't know if they'll work. At the very least, he simply doesn't get close easily.
The most dangerous thing about Itachi is Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, but Jugo isn't affected by genjutsu below the Six Paths, so it wouldn't work on him.
Therefore, he is very confident that he can kill Itachi now.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, not very convinced, then Jugo sighed and said. -Come on, I'll give you a free trial, I'm already tired of being in this room anyway.
Jugo stood up and started walking out of the room, Sasuke hesitated for a moment before following him.
Wherever they went, the ninjas bowed to Jugo while calling him leader, so at least the fact that Jugo was indeed the new leader of the Sound Village was true.
They soon arrived at a training field, it was simply a large room carved into the rock, but this room was reinforced with seals to prevent it from collapsing during training.
Jugo stood in front of Sasuke, who stopped and looked at him.
-Well, I heard your group used a bell test to become genin. Here, if you can take this bell from me, you win.- Jugo grabbed a bell and tied it around his waist, causing Sasuke's face to darken slightly.
He didn't look at the bell, but looked directly at Jugo, he would take the bell after defeating Jugo.
-Come on, you can come.- Jugo smiled, ignoring Sasuke's annoyed look.
Sasuke moved the next moment, his Sharingan already activated. He wasn't going to underestimate Jugo. He advanced, pulling out a shuriken and throwing it in his direction. Jugo barely dodged, noticing the wire wrapped around it. The shuriken curved, Sasuke wanted to trap Jugo with the wire.
Unfortunately, Jugo used Earth Style to burrow into the ground before Sasuke could even realize it.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and looked at the floor, searching for where Jugo would emerge from. He jumped and fixed himself on the ceiling, looking down with his Sharingan, searching for any movement, but the next moment, his body froze.
-Where are you looking?- Jugo asked. Sasuke turned his head slightly, seeing Jugo standing on the ceiling right behind him, still with his hands in his pockets.
He leaped away while making hand signs, in the next moment, a powerful fire style was spat from his mouth straight at Jugo. His speed with hand seals and the strength of his jutsu were at a Jonin level, but unfortunately, Jugo didn't stand still.
His hands moved even faster than Sasuke's, the next moment, a large jet of water was spat from his mouth.
Fire and water met, creating a dense fog that permeated the room.