Three weeks later, Sasuke stood in an abandoned fortress deep in the Land of Rice Fields.
Team Taka watched from a safe distance as he practiced the Flying Thunder God technique. Kunai marked with his seal formula were scattered across the area—on walls, embedded in the ground, hanging from trees.
"Ready," Sasuke announced.
His chakra flared. His Eternal Mangekyo blazed—the fifty-three node pattern spinning rapidly as it tracked all the marked locations simultaneously.
He vanished.
Reappeared at the first kunai. Vanished again. Second kunai. Third. Fourth. Moving between them so fast it looked like teleportation, though it was actually just movement at speeds beyond normal perception.
"Incredible," Karin breathed, her sensor abilities tracking his chakra signature as it flickered between locations. "He's already this good after only three weeks?"
"The technique took the Fourth Hokage years to master," Jugo said quietly. "Sasuke is doing it in weeks."
"Because he's a monster," Suigetsu muttered. "A monster with advantages Minato never had."
He was right.
Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyo gave him the ocular precision to track marked locations across vast distances. His Dragon Sage Mode enhanced his physical speed, making the movement between marks nearly instantaneous. His Hashirama cells provided the chakra reserves to spam the technique repeatedly without exhaustion.
What should have taken years was being compressed into weeks through sheer genetic and ocular superiority.
Sasuke materialized in front of them, not even breathing hard.
"The basics are mastered," he announced. "I can mark locations, sense their positions, and move between them at will. The chakra cost is minimal—I could use this technique hundreds of times without significant drain."
"So you've learned Flying Thunder God," Karin said. "What now?"
"Now I refine it. Increase the range. Mark more locations. Combine it with my other techniques." Sasuke's draconic pupils gleamed with anticipation. "Imagine—I mark a target with Amaterasu's black flames. They try to run. I teleport directly to them using Flying Thunder God. They can't escape because I'm faster than their perception. I hit them with Ame-no-Sakahoko while they're still processing that I moved. Fight over in seconds."
"That's terrifying," Suigetsu said.
"That's efficient." Sasuke began collecting his marked kunai. "I'm also working on marking living targets. The Second Hokage could mark enemies during combat, then teleport to them later for assassination. If I can replicate that..."
He left the implications hanging.
"You could mark someone, let them escape, then hunt them whenever convenient," Jugo finished. "They'd never know they were already dead."
"Exactly." Sasuke smiled coldly. "Though I need to perfect the marking technique first. Living targets are more complex than static objects."
He pulled out a scroll—one of several he'd been filling with his own research and stolen knowledge. The Scroll of Seals' contents were fully memorized and analyzed. Now he was expanding on them, creating variations and improvements.
"The Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu is also interesting," Sasuke mused. "Naruto uses it recklessly, but the principle is sound. Each clone can practice different aspects of a technique simultaneously, accelerating learning. Combined with my Sharingan's perfect memory and analysis..."
"You could learn techniques even faster," Karin said. "But doesn't it split your chakra?"
"Normally, yes. But my chakra reserves are..." Sasuke considered how to phrase it. "Excessive. The Dragon Vein absorption gave me reserves comparable to a tailed beast. Splitting that across even a hundred clones still leaves each one with jonin-level chakra."
He formed the hand seal. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Fifty perfect copies materialized around him.
Each one immediately began different tasks—some practicing Flying Thunder God variations, others analyzing seal formulas from the scroll, others testing combinations of different dojutsu abilities.
"This is absurd," Suigetsu muttered. "He's literally doing fifty different training exercises simultaneously."
"And when they dispel, all their experiences and learning will return to him," Karin added, awed despite herself. "He'll progress fifty times faster than normal training."
Sasuke dismissed the clones after an hour. Knowledge flooded his mind—fifty hours of practice compressed into one hour of actual time.
"Efficient," he said with satisfaction. "I'll master the remaining techniques from the Scroll of Seals within weeks instead of years. Then I can focus on more important objectives."
"Like?" Jugo asked.
"Like my eyes' natural evolution toward Rinnegan." Sasuke activated his Eternal Mangekyo. "I have Uchiha genetics through my bloodline. I have Senju genetics through Hashirama's cells. The combination should eventually awaken Rinnegan—the Sage of Six Paths' eyes. But the process is slow. Unpredictable."
"Can you accelerate it?" Karin asked.
"I'm researching methods. More Senju DNA integration might help. Or exposure to Six Paths chakra—though that's harder to acquire." Sasuke's eyes gleamed with obsessive focus. "The Akatsuki's Gedo Statue radiates Six Paths energy. If I could absorb some of that..."
"Pain would never allow it," Suigetsu pointed out.
"Pain won't have a choice if I don't ask permission." Sasuke's smile was predatory. "But that's a future objective. For now, I focus on mastering what I have and continuing my collection."
"More dojutsu hunting?" Jugo's voice carried concern.
"Always." Sasuke pulled out a map covered in marked locations. "I've identified seventeen confirmed dojutsu users across the continent. Scattered Uchiha survivors. Minor Hyuga branch members. Even a few rare bloodlines from smaller clans. Each one represents potential additions to my collection."
He pointed to locations marked in red.
"These three are in the Land of Water. Hiding from the Bloody Mist's purges. Easy targets—no village protection, minimal combat ability. I'll take their eyes, test if their genetics can integrate with mine."
Karin stared at the map with growing horror. "You've been planning this. Systematically hunting down every dojutsu user you can find."
"Of course. What else would I do?" Sasuke's tone suggested the question was absurd. "Every eye I collect makes me stronger. Why would I stop?"
"Because it's monstrous," Karin said quietly. "You're hunting people—not for justice or revenge or even survival. Just for their eyes."
"Yes." No shame. No hesitation. "I'm the Dojutsu Hunter. That's what I do. That's what I am."
"And you feel nothing about it?" Jugo asked. "No guilt? No remorse?"
Sasuke considered the question seriously. "No. Should I? These people are resources. Valuable genetic material that's wasted on individuals who can't properly utilize it. I'm collecting that potential, concentrating it into one vessel. Into something greater than the sum of scattered parts."
"You sound like Orochimaru," Suigetsu said.
"Orochimaru wanted immortality and forbidden knowledge for its own sake. I want power for a specific purpose." Sasuke's draconic pupils gleamed. "I'm preparing for threats you can't even imagine. The Otsutsuki—"
He stopped himself. He'd almost revealed too much.
"The what?" Karin asked sharply.
"A theory. Ancient enemies the Sage of Six Paths supposedly faced." Sasuke covered smoothly, using half-truths. "References in the oldest Uchiha texts. Beings from beyond this world who harvested chakra from planets. If they're real—and I think they are—then every power I collect is preparation for fighting gods."
Silence.
"You think aliens are going to invade," Suigetsu said flatly.
"I think the Sage of Six Paths came from somewhere. I think his mother Kaguya came from somewhere. I think the Rinnegan, the tailed beasts, the divine trees—all of it suggests something beyond what normal history records." Sasuke's voice carried conviction born from future knowledge disguised as deduction. "And if I'm right, then everything I'm doing—every eye collected, every power absorbed—is necessary preparation."
"And if you're wrong?" Karin asked.
"Then I'll still be the most powerful being on this planet. I fail to see the downside." Sasuke rolled up his map. "We leave tomorrow. Destination: Land of Water. Three targets. Should take a week to hunt them all down."
"You're not even giving them a chance to surrender their eyes peacefully?" Jugo asked.
"Why would they surrender? They don't understand what I'm building." Sasuke's tone was matter-of-fact. "No, I'll track them with Byakugan, immobilize them with Sharingan genjutsu, extract their eyes with Takama-ga-hara, and eliminate the bodies. Clean. Efficient. Professional."
He said it like he was describing a grocery list.
"You've become something inhuman," Karin whispered.
"I've become what's necessary." Sasuke met her gaze with those impossible eyes—draconic pupils within an Eternal Mangekyo pattern enhanced by fifty-three absorbed dojutsu. "Humanity is a weakness I discarded. Sentiment is a chain I broke. All that remains is purpose and the will to achieve it."
"And we're just tools for that purpose," Suigetsu said.
"You're useful tools." Sasuke's voice carried no malice, just cold practicality. "I keep you around because you provide value. Observation. Combat support when needed. Karin's sensing. Jugo's adaptability. Suigetsu's utility. The day you stop being useful is the day we part ways."
"You'd abandon us?" Karin's voice cracked.
"If necessary." Sasuke turned away. "But you're all intelligent enough to remain useful. So that day likely won't come."
He walked toward the fortress entrance, leaving them in stunned silence.
That night, Sasuke sat alone in his quarters, dozens of scrolls spread around him.
The Scroll of Seals' copied contents. His own research notes. Stolen techniques from Orochimaru's libraries. Analyses of dojutsu abilities he'd absorbed.
He was cross-referencing everything, looking for synergies. Ways to combine techniques. Methods to accelerate his evolution.
Flying Thunder God + Kamui would be devastating, he thought. Instant teleportation combined with dimensional phasing. But I don't have Kamui yet. Obito and Kakashi both possess it...
He made a note on his target list. Kakashi and Obito—both marked for eventual collection.
Reanimation Jutsu is interesting but flawed. It requires sacrifices and provides imperfect copies. But the principle—binding souls to physical vessels—could be applied to dojutsu preservation. If I perfect it, I could reanimate dead Sharingan users and take their eyes repeatedly...
Another note. Research reanimation modifications.
The Eight Gates technique pushes the body beyond human limits. My Hashirama cells should let me survive opening multiple gates without permanent damage. Worth testing once I've mastered the principles...
More notes. Always planning. Always optimizing.
A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts.
"Enter."
Jugo stepped inside. "Can we talk?"
"If you must."
Jugo sat down across from him. "You said you're preparing to fight gods. Otsutsuki. Ancient enemies. But Sasuke... what if you become the thing you're preparing to fight?"
Sasuke looked up from his scrolls. "Explain."
"You're collecting power obsessively. Hunting people for their abilities. Treating human lives as resources. Discarding sentiment and morality." Jugo's voice was careful but firm. "You're becoming a monster. What if, in preparing to fight gods, you become something just as terrible?"
Sasuke was quiet for a long moment.
"That's a risk I'm willing to take," he finally said. "Because the alternative—being unprepared when real threats arrive—is worse. If I have to become a monster to face monsters, then I'll be the worst monster imaginable."
"But—"
"No." Sasuke's voice was hard. "I know what I'm doing. I know what I'm becoming. And I accept it completely. Every eye I take. Every life I end. Every line I cross. All of it is calculated. All of it is necessary."
He activated his Eternal Mangekyo—the fifty-three node pattern blazing with cold fire.
"I'm not a hero, Jugo. I never was. I'm a collector. A hunter. A thief who steals divine sight. And I'm perfectly comfortable with that identity." His draconic pupils gleamed. "The world will call me evil. A mass murderer. A monster. And they'll be right. But when the real threats arrive—when beings that make me look weak descend on this world—they'll wish they had more monsters like me."
Jugo met his gaze for a moment, then looked away. "I hope you're right. Because if you're wrong..."
"If I'm wrong, I'll still be powerful enough that it won't matter." Sasuke returned to his scrolls. "Now leave. I have research to complete."
Jugo left silently.
Sasuke continued working, his impossible eyes analyzing forbidden techniques and planning future hunts.
Outside, the night was dark and quiet.
But in that fortress, a monster refined himself.
Sharpening his abilities.
Perfecting his collection.
Preparing for a future only he could see coming.
The Dojutsu Hunter was evolving beyond even his own expectations.
And nothing—not morality, not friendship, not sentiment—would slow him down.