Filial Piety

A Naruto Oneshot

By

EvilFuzzy9

Uchiha.

Sasuke Uchiha.

This was the name on everyone's lips. Throughout the Five Great Nations there was perhaps no single person subject to more scrutiny than this rogue Leaf genin - a fact that, in and of itself, has inspired shock and disbelief, for how could any genin, Uchiha prodigy or not, possibly have done what he had? What he had done, this sixteen year old genin of the disgraced Uchiha clan, even the most powerful assassins in the history of the hidden villages could not accomplish without entire armies at their backs.

He had killed a Hokage.

Danzo Shimura, while he was not at the time officially recognized by the Jonin Council of the Leaf village as the Sixth Hokage, he was nonetheless a shinobi of high standing performing the duties of such. And regardless of Danzo's actions as the temporary representative and leader of his village, or the opinions of his political opponents, when Sasuke Uchiha attacked him at the Council of the Five Kages, it was not merely an assassination attempt on an unpopular leader. No, it was a terrorist attack on neutral soil during peace negotiations between representatives of the five most powerful nations in the world. And when he succeeded in his murderous intentions, it was -as shall be remembered by future generations- a declaration of war on the ninja world by the Uchiha clan.

But the question that everyone wanted answered was why. Why would the last living Uchiha abandon the village that his ancestors had helped create? Was there perhaps still some remnant of that ancestral enmity between the Senju of the Forest and the Uchiha clan? Did the boy have some grand ambition to cast the world into chaos? Or did he desire "peace" as so many other madmen before him? Either way, his actions, along with those of the mysterious organization "Akatsuki" and its leader, the infamous Madara Uchiha, had instigated the Fourth Ninja World War.

It was, effectively, the Uchiha clan (a mere two ninja) plus two and a half against the world. Favorable odds. ... for them, that is.

Somewhere in the land of Lightning, said renegade ninja was traveling alone through a barren valley devoid of flora. He had been accompanied by Madara earlier, but that inscrutable maniac had recently decided to just up and vanish, leaving his rebellious descendant by himself. This did bother him, however. Sasuke rather appreciated the tranquility of solitude...

"Sasuke Uchiha!" shouted an unfamiliar voice. "Turn yourself in peacefully, scum, and perhaps you might just receive a merciful sentence!"

Sasuke looked behind him. It would seem that yet another bounty hunter had somehow managed to find his trail and sneak up on him. This was frustrating for the young man, to say the least. Here he was, a prodigy of the peerless Uchiha, being repeatedly shown up by such low-born peons. "What?" he hissed, leveling a glare at the fool who had the gall to address him so disrespectfully.

Without delay, the man continued, wildly brandishing his tetsubo. "I am Furan Goushi, shinobi of the Hidden Cavern Village!" he bellowed, "And I have come to bring you to justice for your numerous crimes!" he said, stepping forward. His eyes were bulging out of his sockets and his lips were flecked with foam.

"Hn." Sasuke tuned out the manic ranting of this overzealous imbecile. Ihayagakure no sato was, from what he knew, strictly small time: a minor village in a tiny country wracked with poverty, whose citizens were hardened by suffering and lean with ambition. And the shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Caverns, while tenacious, were generally not known for being particularly skilled in the ninja arts. This would be his third Ihaya ninja killed in as many days. Idly, Sasuke wondered what he had done to warrant so many assassins from a village he had never even acted against. Then again, Ihaya was known as a mercenary village, so it wasn't inconceivable that someone with a grudge against him had simply hired them...

"-and the world will know that not even the Uchiha are above the law!" The armored shinobi, having finished his spiel, took another step forward.

The unspoken challenge in the man's stance convinced Sasuke that a confrontation would be unavoidable. His eyes shifted from black to red, each pupil circled by three commas. "Fine," he said, conjuring a chidori in his hand. "I won't keep you from throwing yourself into the lion's mouth."

"Don't insult me, knave!" the boisterous Furan snarled. "My club will shatter your limbs along with any dreams of freedom! You're mine!" he said with a howl, recklessly charging the Uchiha.

Sasuke stood still. His sharingan tracked the Cave-nin's every movement as he quickly drew into melee range. "You talk too much."

Furan snarled. "Know your place, scum!" he roared as he swung his weapon around from behind, preparing to strike.

To Sasuke, that split second before the enemy's blow could land seemed to last an age and a half. Sasuke could see with perfect clarity everything about his opponent's movements; the club-wielding ninja was like an open book, he had no hidden techniques ready, no concealed weapons, no reinforcements. This suicidal fool was no match for an Uchiha.

Time stood still, and Sasuke unleashed his counterattack.

It was over as soon as it had begun. One strike, and the foe was felled.

But there had never any doubt as to the outcome - it was just another fool leaping to his death, as far as Sasuke was concerned.

"Another weakling," Sasuke said coldly, giving his assailant's lifeless body one last kick. "I won't lose to anyone... Not after Itachi..."

He adopted a contemplative expression. 'Is this what you wanted, Father...? Are you proud of me, now that I know the truth? Now that I know that they are the ones who did this to us? Now that I have taken up your coup where you left it off...?

'When we meet again, Father, what will you and mother think, I wonder... Those fools in the village, who scorned us, slaughtering us for the sake of their "peace" and turning brother against us... I will kill every single one of them.' Sasuke's onyx eyes smouldered with an uncertain emotion. 'With these two hands and my brother's eyes, I will tear apart their "peace" bit by bit until, at last, understanding the unmatched depths of our despair, they beg for a swift and merciful death... every last one of them!. They shall rue the day they chose to sacrifice us! And not just the Leaf... no, all of the world will suffer! My hatred for them is without limit! It is my power, the strength by which I will avenge us and wipe out all those who abandoned us!'

"I will avenge the Uchiha and crush the Leaf!" he declared aloud. His conviction was clear.

Madara, observing his protege from the shadows, felt himself smirk. The boy was becoming more promising with each passing day... Given enough time, Sasuke might even surpass him.

'This hatred, passed down from time immemorial, is the ultimate legacy of the Uchiha. Immerse yourself in utter loathing for way of the Senju, Sasuke. The Will of Fire they value so highly... the peace they chose over your family... Crush these things! That is your destiny! You are a shinobi - you live only for death!' Madara's smirk grew into a full-blown smile.

And somewhere in the world a puppy died.

A/N: The name of the character who attacked Sasuke - personal name, Furan; family name, Goushi (Furan: Law, Rule, Principle, System) (Gou: Sturdy, Strong) (Shi: Fool, to make a fool of).

You know, it's hard to decide whether I hate Sasuke or like him. As a character, his motivations are complex and intriguing, but at the same time they do not justify his actions. He acts out of a sense of loyalty to his family, committing atrocities in the name of the man he spent half of his life trying to kill. He was saved by the sacrifice of the same individual who killed half his family, and is now a pawn to the man who killed the other half. He was idolized and beloved by the very people whose "peace" had demanded the death of his clan. He is the sole living inheritor of a legacy of hatred, and the toy of a megalomaniacal monster. He chose family over country, to horrifying results.

I guess that, put quite simply, he's become the guy we love to hate, y'know?

TTFN and R&R!