Sasuke and Kisame moved through Fire Country with casual confidence.
They weren't hiding. Weren't sneaking. Just walking through the forest like they owned it.
Because, in a very real sense, Sasuke did.
"Your Byakugan is really something," Kisame commented, watching Sasuke navigate without hesitation. "You can see the patrols before they even get close."
"Thirty kilometers in every direction." Sasuke's eyes—showing both the lavender-blue tint of Byakugan and the red base of his Eternal Mangekyo simultaneously—tracked multiple targets. "Three Konoha patrol teams within range. All chunin level. Completely unaware of our presence."
"We could eliminate them."
"Why bother?" Sasuke's tone was dismissive. "They're not threats. Not resources. Just... obstacles that aren't even in our path. Killing them would be like swatting flies—pointless effort."
They continued deeper into Fire Country. After an hour, Konoha itself came into view through the trees.
The Hidden Leaf Village. Sasuke's former home.
He felt nothing looking at it. No nostalgia. No anger. Just analytical assessment.
"Defensive perimeter is standard," he muttered, his Byakugan dissecting every detail. "Barrier jutsu at the walls. Sensor ninja at key points. ANBU patrols rotating every four hours. Adequate for normal threats. Completely insufficient for me."
"You're planning to infiltrate?" Kisame asked.
"Yes." Sasuke's draconic pupils gleamed. "There's something in Konoha I want. Something I should have taken years ago."
"What?"
"The Scroll of Seals."
Kisame's eyebrows rose. "The forbidden scroll? The one with all of Konoha's most dangerous jutsu?"
"Yes. Created by the Second Hokage, added to by subsequent Kage. Contains techniques like the Reanimation Jutsu, the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, and—" Sasuke's voice carried particular interest, "—the Flying Thunder God technique."
"The Second and Fourth Hokage's space-time jutsu?" Kisame grinned. "You want to learn that?"
"I want to analyze it. Understand how space-time manipulation works at a fundamental level." Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyo spun slowly. "My Mangekyo can already manipulate space through dimensional techniques. But Flying Thunder God is different—instantaneous teleportation without the chakra cost of dimensional shifting. If I can combine that efficiency with my existing abilities..."
He trailed off, but the implications were clear.
"You'd be completely untouchable," Kisame finished. "Teleportation plus your defensive capabilities plus your offensive power. You'd be impossible to counter."
"Exactly." Sasuke began moving toward the village. "The scroll is kept in the Hokage's tower, third floor, eastern vault. Heavy security, multiple seals, ANBU guard rotation."
"How do you know all that?"
"I lived here. I paid attention." Another lie built on future knowledge. "The question isn't whether I can reach it. It's whether anyone will notice before I'm gone."
They approached the village walls. Sasuke's Byakugan tracked every guard, every sensor, every potential obstacle.
"There's a blind spot in the barrier," he said, pointing to a specific section. "Seventeen-second gap when the patrol shifts and before the sensor jutsu resets. We go then."
"We?" Kisame looked amused. "You want me to come?"
"No. You're too distinctive. Stay here and intercept anyone who tries to follow me out." Sasuke's eyes blazed. "I'll be inside for approximately twelve minutes. If I'm not back in fifteen, assume I've been delayed and prepare for combat."
"You're that confident you can break into Konoha, steal their most guarded treasure, and leave in twelve minutes?"
"I'm confident I can do it in eight. I'm giving myself extra time in case something interesting happens." Sasuke watched the guards shift positions. "Three... two... one..."
He vanished.
Not teleportation—just pure speed. Dragon Sage Mode enhanced his physical capabilities to the point where he seemed to flicker out of existence.
Inside Konoha.
Sasuke landed silently on a rooftop, his Byakugan already tracking the optimal path to the Hokage tower. The village was peaceful—civilians going about their evening routines, ninja returning from missions, children playing in the streets.
Pathetic, he thought coldly. They have no idea a monster just walked into their home.
He moved from rooftop to rooftop, completely invisible to normal observation. His chakra was suppressed to nothing. His movements made no sound. His presence was ghostlike.
Two minutes to reach the Hokage tower.
He landed on the building's roof, his Byakugan piercing through every floor simultaneously. He could see everything—the Hokage's office where Tsunade was reviewing paperwork, the ANBU stationed at key points, the vault three floors down where the Scroll of Seals rested.
And the defenses. Multiple barrier seals. Pressure-sensitive floor panels. Chakra-detection sensors. Explosive tags wired to trigger if unauthorized persons approached.
Adequate defenses, Sasuke assessed. For someone without Byakugan and Sharingan working simultaneously.
He descended through the building using a maintenance shaft his Byakugan had identified—one of the few paths not covered by sensors. Moved past two ANBU who never saw him. Avoided three separate barrier triggers.
Four minutes elapsed.
He reached the vault door. Thick steel, chakra-reinforced, sealed with multiple jutsu formulas that would take a normal ninja hours to decode.
Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyo analyzed the seal structure in seconds. His Sharingan saw the chakra flow patterns. His absorbed dojutsu provided multiple perspectives on the same problem.
He formed hand seals—a variation of a technique he'd seen in Orochimaru's notes. "Unsealing Jutsu: Divine Reversal."
The seals unraveled like thread. The vault door clicked open.
Six minutes elapsed.
Inside, illuminated by chakra-infused lighting, sat the Scroll of Seals.
It was massive—easily two meters long, covered in intricate seal work that would kill anyone unauthorized who tried to open it.
Sasuke picked it up without hesitation.
The kill seals activated immediately—
His Eternal Mangekyo blazed. "Takama-ga-hara."
The seal technique tried to attack his chakra network, but his absorption ability simply consumed the hostile jutsu. The seals meant to protect the scroll became nothing more than energy sources that fed into his collection.
"Impressive craftsmanship," Sasuke murmured, studying the now-dormant seals. "But insufficient."
He opened the scroll.
Forbidden jutsu spilled across the parchment. Techniques so dangerous Konoha had locked them away.
Reanimation Jutsu—bring the dead back as controllable puppets.
Eight Gates—push the body beyond human limits at cost of life.
Multi-Shadow Clone—create hundreds of physical copies.
Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags—infinite explosion loop.
And there—the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Sasuke's eyes devoured the information. His Sharingan recorded every seal, every hand movement, every principle behind the space-time manipulation.
Fascinating, he thought, his analytical mind already breaking down how it worked. It's not true teleportation—it's ultra-high-speed movement between marked locations. The chakra cost is minimal because you're not creating dimensional rifts, just moving through existing space at speeds beyond perception.
With my Dragon Sage Mode enhancing my speed and my Eternal Mangekyo providing the ocular precision needed to track the marks... I could master this in weeks instead of the years it took Minato.
He continued reading. Other techniques, other secrets. Some were useless to him—why would he need Reanimation when he could just take what he wanted from living targets? But others were invaluable knowledge.
Eight minutes elapsed.
Sasuke created a perfect memory copy of the entire scroll using his Sharingan. Every word, every diagram, every seal formula—all recorded in his mind with perfect fidelity.
Then he rolled the scroll back up.
Should I take it? Or leave it?
Taking it would alert Konoha immediately. They'd know someone had infiltrated. They'd increase security. It would be... inconvenient.
But leaving it meant Konoha retained access to these techniques.
Compromise.
Sasuke formed hand seals, channeling chakra into his fingertips. He wrote a new seal on the scroll's surface—one of his own design, incorporating techniques from Orochimaru's research and the Uzumaki seal work he'd studied.
A degradation seal. Over the next six months, it would slowly corrupt the scroll's contents, making the techniques progressively harder to read until they became illegible.
By the time anyone noticed, the knowledge would be gone.
I'll have learned everything I need by then. And Konoha will be left with nothing.
He placed the scroll back exactly as he'd found it. The vault door closed. The seals reengaged—though they'd find them mysteriously easier to open now that he'd analyzed and weakened their structure.
Ten minutes elapsed.
Sasuke made his way back through the building using the same route. Passed the same ANBU guards who remained completely unaware. Emerged onto the Hokage tower's roof.
And then—he paused.
His Byakugan had caught something interesting.
In the training grounds below, a familiar chakra signature. Bright, powerful, unmistakable.
Naruto.
Well, Sasuke thought, draconic pupils gleaming. I did want to see how strong he'd become.
He changed direction, landing silently in the trees surrounding Training Ground 7.
Training Ground 7.
Naruto was practicing alone, clearly working on some new technique. Sweat poured down his face. His chakra flared repeatedly as he attempted to compress a sphere of wind chakra in his palm.
The Rasenshuriken, Sasuke recognized immediately. He's further along than in canon. Interesting.
He watched Naruto struggle with the technique, fail multiple times, curse, then try again with determination that would be admirable if Sasuke cared about such things.
He's grown stronger. Chunin level, maybe low jonin. Impressive for someone with no natural talent. But compared to me...
Sasuke almost laughed.
The gap between them had become a chasm. An ocean. A gulf so vast that calling them rivals was absurd.
He could kill Naruto right now. Step out of the shadows, hit him with Tsukuyomi, trap him in genjutsu for subjective decades while only seconds passed. Or just use Amaterasu—black flames that would burn through even Naruto's healing factor. Or simply activate Dragon Sage Mode and crush him with raw physical superiority.
So many options. All of them easy.
But what would be the point?
Naruto had nothing Sasuke wanted. No dojutsu. No unique abilities that couldn't be replicated. Just the Nine-Tails, which Sasuke could control with his eyes anyway if he ever needed it.
Killing him would just be... tedious. It would alert the village, force a confrontation, waste time.
Not worth it. Not yet.
"Keep training, dead-last," Sasuke whispered, too quiet for even enhanced hearing to catch. "Maybe one day you'll be strong enough to be worth killing."
He turned and vanished into the night.
Naruto never knew how close death had been.
Eleven minutes total.
Sasuke appeared beside Kisame at the extraction point.
"Back already?" Kisame looked impressed. "Did you get it?"
"Memorized the entire scroll. Flying Thunder God technique, multiple forbidden jutsu, various seal formulas." Sasuke's eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "And I left a degradation seal that will slowly destroy the original over the next six months. By the time they notice, Konoha will have lost one of their greatest treasures."
"You didn't just steal their secrets. You're erasing them." Kisame's grin was sharp. "Brutal and efficient. I approve."
"Why leave resources for potential enemies?" Sasuke started walking away from Konoha. "I take what I want. I destroy what I don't need. Everything else is wasted effort."
"Anyone see you?"
"No. Though I did observe Naruto training." Sasuke's voice was dismissive. "He's gotten stronger. Still completely irrelevant compared to me. I could have killed him in seconds if I'd bothered."
"Why didn't you?"
"No point. He has nothing I want." Sasuke activated his Byakugan briefly, checking for pursuit. "Besides, killing him would have alerted the entire village. I came for knowledge, not pointless confrontation."
"You're getting strategic." Kisame sounded approving. "Most powerful people get reckless. You're getting more calculating."
"Power without intelligence is just destruction. I'm building toward something specific." Sasuke's draconic pupils gleamed. "The Flying Thunder God will let me move anywhere instantly. Combined with my other abilities, I'll be nearly impossible to track or corner. Perfect for hunting specific targets."
"Like more dojutsu users?"
"Exactly." Sasuke's mind was already planning. "There are scattered Sharingan and Byakugan users across the continent. Refugees from the clan massacres. Missing-nin. Hidden bloodlines. With teleportation, I can hunt them systematically without wasting time on travel."
"Building your collection."
"Always." Sasuke glanced back at Konoha one last time. The village lights twinkled peacefully in the darkness. "They have no idea what just happened. What they lost. What's coming."
"Are you planning to destroy Konoha eventually?" Kisame asked curiously.
Sasuke considered this. "Only if they get in my way. Or if they have something I want. Otherwise, they're not worth the effort." He turned away. "Though I am curious if Kakashi still has Obito's Mangekyo. That would be worth taking."
"You'd kill your former sensei for his eye?"
"Without hesitation." No emotion in Sasuke's voice. "Sentiment is weakness. Kakashi is just another Sharingan user. If I decide his eye is worth collecting, he dies. Simple as that."
They moved deeper into Fire Country, away from the village.
Behind them, Konoha slept peacefully.
Unaware that their forbidden knowledge had been copied.
Unaware that their greatest defensive techniques were now compromised.
Unaware that one of their most dangerous missing-nin had walked through their village like a ghost.
In six months, they'd discover the Scroll of Seals was corrupted beyond use.
By then, Sasuke would have mastered every technique within it.
The Dojutsu Hunter had evolved.
Now he was collecting more than eyes.
He was collecting everything.