OOC - App
PLAYER
Name/Handle: Hoshi
Contact: AIM; loneheirstomato | Email; laus.astrum[at]yahoo[dot]com, hoshii.chan[at]gmail[dot]com
Personal LJ: hoshi3
CHARACTER
Name: Uchiha Sasuke
Series: Naruto
Canon: OU
Age: 16 when apped
History: At a young age, Sasuke has always come across as second best - a replacement, yet not good enough. He had always been the first of his class, but it just wasn't good enough. He has always been in Itachi's shadow, genius or not. However, the only one member of the family to accept Sasuke for his accomplishments was his brother, Itachi, who would act as the loving older brother up until the Uchiha Massacre.
Sasuke had been coming home that night from training and came across something unusual -- all the lights within the Uchiha district were off, despite it being only mid-evening. When he turned the corner toward his home, he was greeted by a horrific sight - the bodies of his kinsman strewn everywhere. Fearing for his parents and brother, the child rushed home.
Dull thuds within the house alerted Sasuke that someone was there along with him, alone in the empty house. Though he was scared by the events of the night and what he might find beyond the doors where the thuds originated, he pushed on. He was a ninja.
What met him on the other side of those doors was just as, if not more, devastating than what he had witnessed outside in the streets of his clan’s district. His parents lay in the middle of the room, dead, with their killer still standing above him. When the moonlight revealed the killer, Sasuke was faced with his own brother.
Having assumed that Itachi had killed the murderer, he advanced toward Itachi, only to be stopped in his tracks by a shuriken being thrown at him and cutting his arm. This confused Sasuke. Why would Itachi hurt him, his little brother? And all of a sudden, for that matter?
Instead of answering Sasuke’s questions right away, Itachi used his Mangekyou Sharingan on his brother and showed him a replay of him killing, brutally murdering, their entire family. Sasuke retaliated after recomposing himself, though the moment was short lived.
Now frightened by his brother and what he was capable of, Sasuke fled the house and ran. The attempt to get away was futile, however, as Itachi easily caught up to the frightened child. The two held a brief conversation before Sasuke finally passed out, leaving Itachi able to flee the village.
Sasuke was the only one who had been spared during the massacre, being "unworthy to kill" in Itachi's eyes. As he was growing up, Sasuke only had two things in mind: Kill Itachi and revive the Uchiha. He made his goals known when Team 7 had been formed and asked by Kakashi. For this, he held high expectations for himself and trained vigorously when necessary. Yet still, he did not possess the Sharingan.
It wouldn't be until Team 7's first out-of-village mission that he would awaken his clan's bloodline limit. Between protecting Naruto from Haku's attacks and finding a way out of the dome of ice mirrors, Sasuke slowly began to see the mist-nin's movements more clearly. At first, he wasn't sure what was happening to him; the awakened ability made it easier to ward off Haku's attacks and counter with his own while protecting his teammate. Though, it was doing this that he met his untimely demise (though he wasn't *really* dead, it just seemed that way.)
Due to Haku's kind nature, the mission was deemed a success and Team 7 returned to Konoha in time for the Chuunin exams. There, he tested his Sharingan against Rock Lee and lost. However, the most significant events during the exams took place during the second stage, within the Forest of Death. While fighting the disguised Orochimaru, Sasuke gains the heaven seal and passes out soon after.
He doesn't awaken again until Sakura and Team 10 are in dire need of help. Sasuke awakens with the seal already activated, power overflowing within his body. In order to drive off the Sound-nin, Sasuke breaks both of Zaku's arms. Throughout the rest of the second stage and during the third's preliminaries, the seal pulses periodically, reacting strongest when Sasuke's own chakra is used.
During his fight with Yoroi during the preliminaries, the seal reacted more strongly due to his chakra being forcefully absorbed and taken, resulting in the involuntary release of the heaven seal. However, Sasuke had to regain control over himself and the seal or risk being disqualified and unable to advance. Fortunately, he did, and using one of Rock Lee's attacks as base, Sasuke defeated his opponent. Afterward, Kakashi took him in order to place an Evil Suppressor seal on top of Orochimaru's, after which Sasuke promptly passed out once more.
There was an attempt on his life while he was unconscious by Kabuto, who had easily gotten passed the ANBU that had been guarding his room. That would be the only try by the spy. Once he regained consciousness, Sasuke left the hospital before he was released, meeting Kakashi on top of a mountain to train during the one-month span given by Sandaime. It is during this time that Sasuke learns Kakashi's original technique and honed his own abilities.
It wasn't until his match with Gaara during the second part of the third stage that he was to be seen again, arriving just in the nick of time before he was to be disqualified. To this day, Sasuke has been the only one to seriously injure Gaara, as claimed by both Temari and Kankurou.
Gaara fled from the stadium with Sasuke following at his heels. Both Temari an Kankurou had tried to stall him, but it didn't take long for Sasuke to get past Temari. Kankurou would have been his next opponent, if not for Shino's intervention and help, allowing Sasuke to move on and continue to Gaara. Of course, being threatened with Sakura's life, Sasuke tried to defeat Gaara on his own, being reminded of both his brother's last words to him and his encounter with the jinchuuriki during his training with Kakashi.
However, he was not meant to be the one to defeat him, as he attempted to attack with a third chidori - his limit being only two at the time - and as a result, the seal was released forcefully and restricted his movement. He could do nothing but watch as Naruto fought, witnessing just how much he had improved in just one month.
After the exams, Sasuke heard the unwelcome news that his brother, Uchiha Itachi, was back in the village, but not after him. Itachi was after Naruto, which angered Sasuke deeply and prompted him to chase after Naruto. After many attempts, Sasuke finally found his brother trying to kidnap his friend.
Enraged, Sasuke attacked head-on, only to receive a broken wrist and thrown into a wall. Sasuke then fought Itachi on his own with no intervention by Kisame, Jiraiya, or Naruto. Of course, he was no match for his brother, proving that the gap between them was still wide, and not smaller as he had thought. And like when he was eight, Sasuke suffered the torture of his brother's Mangekyou Sharingan and rendered unconscious.
Until Tsunade, a legendary sannin, could be found and brought back to Konoha, Sasuke lay unconscious in the hospital once more. Having seen his brother after five years, he was reminded of his original purpose for his existence: to kill Itachi. Here, Sasuke fought Naruto for the first time, although it had been cut short due to Kakashi's intervention.
Not even a day had past since the fight before Orochimaru sent the youngest Uchiha an invitation to join him. Desperate for more power, he accepted. Within the night, Sasuke fled Konoha and left for Otogakure along with the Sound Four.
Naruto and several other genin had been sent after to retrieve Sasuke from the Sound nin, and it wasn't until Sasuke had awakened from achieving Level Two of his seal that any of them would lie eyes on Sasuke. Naruto chased after him after Lee had stepped in to help, and the two wouldn't stand face-to-face until they reached the Valley of the End.
The fight was a long one, exhausting the two of them and forcing them to use all of their strength. However, in the end, Sasuke was the one left standing, and he left to Orochimaru without further incident, leaving behind an unconscious Naruto.
Two and a half years would pass before Sasuke was to be seen again. Not much, if anything, is known about Sasuke during this time, other than the plain fact that he had sufficiently gotten stronger under Orochimaru's training. His speed, stamina - everything grew. He was no longer the weak twelve-year-old that he had once been. The only people he has been seen with or known to keep contact with during these years is Orochimaru and Kabuto.
But, after an infiltration by Team Kakashi, Sasuke is seen once more. The meeting itself was brief - a quick fight between Sasuke himself and members of Team Kakashi. Though, during that time, Sasuke used his Sharingan to see into Naruto's mind, consequently confronting the Kyuubi. After a brief conversation, Sasuke suppresses the demon, his parting words not to kill Naruto or he'll regret it. Yamato, who had been pinned by Sasuke, used this time to attempt to capture the rogue nin. It was not to be. After escaping a capture attempt, Sasuke tries to use one of the new jutsus that he had learned during his training, but Orochimaru stepped in and stopped him. After a brief conversation, both he and Orochimaru, as well as Kabuto, leave to move onto one of the other hidden hideouts.
After his run-in with his former team, Sasuke would once again not been seen for several months - approximately six more months, as it was around this time that Orochimaru began to grow sicker as his body began to reject him. Though, during the time that he was not heard from or seen by others outside of Sound, it was obvious that his skills further progressed. He was now able to take out an army of shinobi - albeit it a small army - single-handedly, and without dealing a fatal blow to even one ninja. He was saving his first kill for his brother.
Orochimaru was pleased with Sasuke’s progress, but at the same time found him lacking when it came to ruthlessness. Sasuke himself was not happy to hear this. Taking matters into his own hands as well as taking advantage of Orochimaru’s temporary weakness, he attacked the sannin while he was in bed with a variant of chidori - an extended blade that acted much like a sword, yet was able to expand and contrast on his whim.
Sasuke declared, then, that if the snake sannin wanted to see ruthlessness from him, then he would demonstrate it by killing him, since Orochimaru no longer had anything of value to Sasuke. With the sannin pinned to the headboard with chidori, Sasuke moved in to deal the final blow. However, before he had the chance to, Orochimaru had spat something out behind the Uchiha, who in turned to face his real opponent - Orochimaru in his true form. The body that lay on the bed was now dead.
Sasuke seemed unphased that the amount of experiments that Orochimaru performed on himself resulted in losing his own human form. With the same resilience that he possessed before and now the resistance to injury, Sasuke was forced to use his heaven seal at level two, while at the same time taunting the sannin at how worthless he was before an Uchiha. With that, he sliced Orochimaru’s body and presumed him to be bed. However, that was not to be the case. Orochimaru, still alive, told Sasuke that a snake’s poison was vaporous before lunging at the seemingly weakened teen.
Where Sasuke found himself next was inside a different dimension - the one Orochimaru used during his transfer - amongst the lumps of flesh and tissue that had been the previous host bodies. The only indication that implied such were the remaining faces on said lumps of flesh.
Sasuke would not be one to give in that easily, though. As Orochimaru attempted to take over Sasuke’s body as snakes surrounded his body, Sasuke countered with his own genjutsu, paralyzing the sannin and driving stone stakes through his body. “The Sharingan counters every technique used against it, making the attempts a failure” was what Sasuke had told Orochimaru, and then began to turn the jutsu against Orochimaru, consuming him instead.
Kabuto, having run to Orochimaru’s room at the sound of the fight, was shown what had happened. Sasuke denied the conformation of Orochimaru’s death by stating “I’ve taken over.”
With Orochimaru now out of the way, Sasuke leaves to travel to Orochimaru’s other bases to gather those who stood out the most, in Sasuke’s eyes, and had the potential to be useful to him when it came to tracking down and killing his brother. Sasuke first freed Suigetsu from his watery prison, one who was said to be the heir to the Seven Mist Swordsmen and a second coming of Zabuza. Together, the two went at retrieved Zabuza’s sword at Suigetsu’s request before moving on find Karin, who had the ability to locate others by sensing their chakra signature.
The final member of their team, Juugo, proved to be a little more difficult than getting to both Suigetsu and Karin had been. Juugo was mentally unstable, notably the curse seal’s origin, and jumped to kill at an instant, though always regretted his actions afterward. Kimimaro, Orochimaru’s previous to-be host, had been the only one to calm Juugo. But now, with Kimimaro dead, Suigetsu argued that there was no way that it was possible. Sasuke ignored the warnings and advanced anyway, freeing Juugo from his cell. As expected, he jumped and tried to kill Sasuke, who easily blocked the attack by partially transforming to his curse seal level two state.
Suigetsu then prompted a fight from the unstable Juugo, but the two were stopped by Sasuke under the threat of being killed. Afraid, Juugo ran back into his cell and demanded to be locked up and left alone. Sasuke refused, saying that he would free Juugo and be there to keep him from going on a murder spree. Juugo, remembering Kimimaro and his last words, asked who Sasuke was. Upon hearing that the teen before him was the one that Kimimaro sacrificed his life for, Juugo agreed.
Now that Sasuke had gathered his own team of shinobi, he declared the four to be ‘Team Hebi,’ with its only purpose in finding and killing Uchiha Itachi. With Karin’s abilities, they began to track the other Uchiha down and split into groups. It was then that Sasuke had run into Deidara and Tobi from Akatsuki.
After scaring Tobi by delivering a seemingly fatal blow through the abdomen, Sasuke’s attention was forced onto Deidara as the blond toyed with him, first using his lowest level explosives. Sasuke would have none of it, however, and quickly negated the explosives or simply blocked him. Deidara didn’t expect Sasuke could be as fast as he was and upped the level of explosives.
Deidara used a large clay dragon as a distraction while Tobi maneuvered underground, setting land mines in support. Sasuke, once again, went to his curse seal level two state and took to the air with his wings. Deidara wouldn’t have it, though, and finally managed to get rid of one of the wings with his explosives, then when Tobi emerged from underground, boasted how Sasuke no longer had anywhere to go and was unable to retrieve his own weapon, which had been knocked out of his hands.
Sasuke only allowed that to happen, though, and soon used his sword as a launch pad in order to get within rage to use his blade chidori variant in order to tear off one of the dragon’s wings. He also used one of his most favored moves, Kage Shuriken no Jutsu, in order to pin both of Deidara’s arms to the dragon. He also pulled the dragon down toward the minefield, forcing Deidara to suffer his own ‘art.’
Quickly growing annoyed and angry, Deidara emerged, though wounded, and made a gigantic version of himself that soon burst into thin air. He celebrated his victory as Sasuke saw himself being slowly eaten away from the inside. However, the celebration was short, as what Deidara witness was nothing more than genjutsu. The real Sasuke had him pinned with one of chidoris, able to identify the previous attack with his Sharingan due to the chakra within.
He originally planned to interrogate the missing-nin for information on his brother, but the Deidara he was pinning was none other than a fake, as the real Deidara emerged from the bird and turn the tables on the Uchiha. Deidara then explained that, due to a previous encounter with Itachi, he trained his left eye to resist genjutsu before pulling on Sasuke by surrounding him with clay.
By this point, both fighters were quickly growing wary due to exhaustion and limited supplies of arsenal and weapons. Sasuke was still, however, able to free himself from the clay tomb, but not before Deidara made another huge explosion. Sasuke, once again, made Deidara believe that he had won the match by falling hard to the forest floor. Again, another effort thwarted on Deidara’s part, and Sasuke then explained that all of the ex-terrorists hand seals revealed all of his jutsu to be that of the Earth element and that he possessed lightning - he had the elemental advantage and was able to negate all of the bombs that Deidara had tried to use against him by using his chidori and its variants.
Frustrated beyond words, Deidara made one last-ditch effort in order to get rid of Itachi’s little brother. He revealed that, in addition to the miniature mouths on his hands, he had one on his chest as well. He removed the stitches that held it closed and shoved his last chunk of clay into that mouth. The markings around the newly-revealed mouth began to spread across his body, much like the curse seal would spread across its users’ body.
Soon, light erupted violently from Deidara’s body and explosion that seemed inescapable proceeded. Sasuke was barely able to make it out alive by summoning Manda at the last second, forcing him into submission with his Sharingan, and hid inside his body.
Having seen and heard the massive explosion, Suigetsu took out a scroll and summoned Manda. Sasuke emerged from Manda and soon after, collapsed after a brief conversation with Suigetsu. However, prior to Sasuke losing consciousness, Manda cursed Sasuke with its last breath for forcing it against its will.
Sasuke and the rest of Hebi took the time to rest at a nearby inn to allow Sasuke to recuperate. Though, that didn’t stop the other members to Hebi to continue bickering as if nothing had happened.
During the time that was used to rest and allow his injuries to heal, Sasuke began to think. Since he had counter-absorbed Orochimaru, using his own kinjutsu against him, he had gained the ability to recover quickly - the one thing that gave Orochimaru his vitality. It was during this time that Karin had sensed an oncoming threat heading in their direction, cutting Sasuke recovery time short. Though faced with the threat of meeting with a group of ninjas from Konoha, Sasuke chose to ignore them and continue with his pursuit of his brother. Juugo and Karin - two of Sasuke's teammates - meanwhile, planned a diversionary tactic used to force the Konoha nin on detour by scattering some of Sasuke's clothing.
Eventually, the search for his brother proved to be successful. Sasuke found his brother within a cave, and after a brief moment of reminiscing, the two fought. Determined to not be outted so quickly, Sasuke gained the upper hand by using a variant of chidori. However, during the brief fight, Itachi was not even real; merely an illusion. Prior to the illusion dispersing into his signature flock of crows, Itachi told Sasuke that their fight would conclude on an abandoned compound out in the middle of a forest that was once used by the Uchiha.
below is additional information from toshima
At this point, Sasuke was brought into Toshima, where he chose the occupation of a fighter to continue to hone his skills. However, he lost his ability to use any of his more complex jutsu, such as his chidori variants and fire jutsus. His summonings were sporadic at most, and would often fail him when he needed them most, with a success rate of only 25%. But he never let that hinder him, and he never used it as an excuse for anything.
About a week after his arrival, Sasuke met Hallelujah Haptism, and in doing so made an interesting discovery: He couldn't use his Sharingan without feeling migraine-inducing pain. But at the same time, Hallelujah also experienced the same pain. They fought, briefly, before Sasuke eventually withdrew to recover and figure out why his Sharingan was causing him such pain while in proximity to that man. He considered him a threat, being able to cause such pain.
While he was recuperating from both his fight with Deidara and Hallelujah, Sasuke discovered that he was unable to use his favored jutsus, since when he had tried them during his scuffle with Hallelujah, he believed that he was in too much pain to perform them.
As soon as he felt better, Sasuke began to actively participate in Igura, easily dealing those that got in his way. During this time, Itachi arrived. But not before Sasuke met Matt through an...interesting encounter, having gone through a staring contest that quickly bored him. Since he lost, he agreed to go to the teen's birthday party at the White Magnolia.
A couple of weeks pass before Sasuke is chosen to fight in the still-standing stadium against none other than Hallelujah Haptism. Prior to the official fight, however, Zdenko had come to find him to escort him to the stadium. This fight, just like the last, didn't last very long before Sasuke won. His prize, in addition to his unwanted fame amongst the natives in Toshima, was an apartment in downtown and one of Hallelujah's face tags.
After the fight, Sasuke declared, quite openly, that Itachi was his next target. He designated the site of their fight to be at Nakano Chapel, wanting a sign of irony for Itachi's death to be similar, in name at least, where Itachi had killed their cousin, Shisui. He waited every night at the Chapel for Itachi to show up, and finally, he did.
It wasn't easy to fight his brother without the use of his elemental ninjutsu. They fought hand-to-hand and with weapons. Itachi, naturally, used clones as well as his own Mangekyou whenever Sasuke was pinned to the wall with his own weapon. It took a lot out of him, but Sasuke did manage to break out of the genjutsu. While suffering through the genjutsu, Itachi had made sure to injure Sasuke's legs enough so that he would not be able to use them efficiently.
The fight didn't last much longer after Sasuke had managed to break free from the genjutsu. With his legs injured, he was at a severe disadvantage yet pressed on. Eventually, Itachi managed to knock Sasuke out by a simple punch. Whenever Itachi left, he had made sure to leave behind one of his face dog tags - The King of Hearts. To this day, it is something Sasuke has cherished, although when he regained consciousness after the fight, he was severely disappointed with himself.
Matt helped Sasuke out of the church, carrying him after Sasuke collapsed after trying to walk on injured legs.
During Sasuke's recovery in Matt's room at the White Magnolia, Toshima was attacked. Bombed, actually. The apartment that Sasuke had won from his fight at the stadium was destroyed from the attack, leaving him without a place to live. Since he was already there, and tolerated Matt, Sasuke decided to simply stay at the Magnolia with the redhead.
A couple of weeks later, Sasuke demanded an audience with Itachi to ask him a few questions, namely as to why he had left him the dog tag and why he didn't bother to finish him off, and only knock him unconscious. Originally, for this meeting, Sasuke had wanted to talk to Itachi at the location of their fight - Nakano Temple - but later changed his mind to do it at Matt's flat after a conversation with him, mostly because he didn't want to deal with any paranoia of a fight that wouldn't happen.
When Itachi arrived, they talked, albeit awkwardly. The brothers hadn't had a conversation that didn't end up with one attacking the other since before the massacre, and it was obvious that, while they remained civil, they were uncomfortable, although Sasuke was more demanding of the two.
He wasn't happy with the answers he was receiving. "The winner can do what he wishes," "I did not intend to have you die." No matter how much he pressed Itachi for answers, he never got one that he was pleased with.
Work in progress.
Personality: When he was younger, Sasuke was a bubbly child who would follow his beloved brother around at every possible moment. Though, when Itachi was accepted into ANBU and he into the academy, he would often spend all or most of his free time improving his skills as a developing shinobi in order to get a little closer to his idol, Itachi. His determination started young, wanting nothing but the approval and acknowledgment from his brother, as well as his father, for being a strong ninja at such a young age. This would only last until after he turned eight-years-old, when his brother brutally murdered his entire family in a matter of hours.
"Foolish little brother. You’re not worth killing. If you wish to kill me, then hate me, detest me, and live in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life."
Sasuke took these words, a glaring reminder of the massacre and his own weakness, to heart and served as a form of motivation for him to continue to grow stronger.
Following the massacre, Sasuke's personality made a 180. He grew quiet and became antisocial, giving off a very cold demeanor. He avoided association with others, concentrating on nothing but his training. He was also the top of his class, as expected from an Uchiha. He often would spend his days after school alone at the Uchiha Lake, and it’s there that Sasuke had decided: He would become and avenger. He would aim to kill Itachi. To make him pay for the crime that he committed.
With the guidance of Kakashi, however, that outlook gradually changed. The Uchiha began to accept his teammates and work together, more-so with Naruto than with Sakura. He used the growing rivalry between himself and Naruto as a form of motivation to get even stronger, while Sakura was a source of information for him. Still, both helped him grow stronger, whether or not he will admit their aid in doing so. As time passed, Sasuke grew softer around his team, and was even willing to sacrifice his life in order to save his fellow teammates, even if that meant that he could no longer pursue his brother.
In the midst of battle, Sasuke is excellent when it comes to thinking fast and on his feet. He always makes sure that he has some sort of plan in mind before going on the offensive, unlike Naruto. The plans might be formed quickly, but they're never executed poorly nor are poor in quality themselves, showing evidence of his intelligence. Evidence of this would be during his preliminary match in the chuunin exams. Sasuke himself was already worn by the time it started, and was unable to use his chakra due to the curse seal on his neck. In the midst of facing defeat, Sasuke used his last ounce of strength to defeat his opponent, basing the finishing blow off of one of Rock Lee's own attacks, despite having only seen it once before.
It was after the Chuunin exams that his personality made another adjustment. He was desperate for power, but he did not rely on the curse mark on his neck for that power. He trained hard with Kakashi, learning new techniques and honing his abilities. Yet still, he did not see it as enough. This was proved through a brief reunion with Itachi, by how easily he had been defeated in mere seconds. Nothing had been changed between the siblings, like Sasuke had first thought. After that encounter, his rival, Naruto, no longer stood way behind him in terms of strength. Naruto was catching up to him quicker than he would have originally thought possible, learning more powerful techniques than he had been taught himself. In the past, it had always been Sasuke that would be the one rescuing Naruto from harm, but the tide was slowly turning to the point where Naruto was the one saving Sasuke from harm.
Often times, Sasuke would use his opponents as measuring sticks for himself; to see where he had improved and which areas that he still needed to strengthen. Still, he felt that he was not growing fast enough. His pride would not allow for him to slack off, nor would the task of having to kill his brother. Watching others grow at a faster rate than he was grated against him; he was not one to be dependent upon others.
Sasuke had had enough and left Konoha for Orochimaru, cutting bonds. He saw them as points of weakness, not strength. Instead of growing stronger as he grew closer to his teammates, he grew weaker. He was heading in the opposite direction that he needed to go, and he saw that the peaceful village of Konoha no longer had anything to offer him in terms of gaining what he needed, of fulfilling his goals. Though met again with Naruto, Sasuke defeats Naruto after a long, tiring battle, walking off and declaring their friendship-rivalry bond severed. Now with Orochimaru, Sasuke is once again cold toward others, only speaking when necessary, whether it be a simple response, demand, or cut down. Sasuke keeps from associating with others, once again becoming a loner in order to grow stronger so that his goals can be fulfilled.
It can be seen in the reunion with his teammates that, fueled by nothing but his hate for Itachi, he had grown stronger. Gaining the power he sought; he didn’t care if staying with Orochimaru would mean the ultimate sacrifice by his part, as long as Itachi was to be killed, it was fine with him. He had no remorse for leaving behind his home. However, with the formation of Hebi, Sasuke unconsciously began to open himself back up, even if only a smidge.
below is additional information from toshima
This would continue as he was brought into Toshima by the Il-Re. While he initially continued to keep himself distant, he eventually became comfortable within his surroundings.
He did not plan to allow himself to open up enough to gain allies, but it happened. He got comfortable enough with Matt that he actually considered him to be the closest thing to a friend that he would allow himself while still maintaining distance. When it came to Itachi, however, it was different.
After his fight with his brother, they held an unspoken truce of some level. They wouldn't talk often, but they did have a single recon mission together. But afterward, his brother left and he was left feeling somewhat left behind.
When Madara arrived and told Sasuke of the truth, he had a hard time believing it at first. He was in complete denial of it. But when Itachi returned and confirmed everything, he finally accepted that Itachi wasn't the bad guy - Madara was.
With knowledge of the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre, Sasuke slowly began to get closer to Itachi. By the time of the second bombing, they had already regained their relationship of siblings.
Third-Person Sample: Taken from toshimarp.
A small frown creased Uchiha Sasuke's face as he observed his new surroundings. He had been making his way back toward his teammates after having confronted his brother for the first time in over three years. He had been fine then, yet he could feel that something had been... off. He knew immediately that it was not due to a genjutsu; the cave had been void of life other than himself following Itachi's departure.
Yet here he stood, in the middle of who-knows-where, surrounded by destroyed and collapsed buildings, debris littering every surface it can touch. As far as he could tell, there was no life here, either.
"... Che." Turning his back on the scene before him, Sasuke left the area of his arrival to explore. It would not do him any good to stand idle and expect everything to simply fall back into place.
First-Person Sample Journal Post: Taken from toshimarp.
Igura... Survival of the fittest, is it? It will ultimately delay my fight with my brother, but if it happens I benefit from this, all the better for me.
And this 'Il-Re' character... Should I defeat him, perhaps he'll return me to my world. Five tags shouldn't be difficult to find.
[Private: Unhackable]
It seems this 'Igura' will be more difficult than it sounds.
Heh. It's been a while since I've had an interesting challenge. I've been needing a good test and an even better way to take out my frustration on.
I am still not pleased with being taken away from my revenge.
Name/Handle: Hoshi
Contact: AIM; loneheirstomato | Email; laus.astrum[at]yahoo[dot]com, hoshii.chan[at]gmail[dot]com
Personal LJ: hoshi3
CHARACTER
Name: Uchiha Sasuke
Series: Naruto
Canon: OU
Age: 16 when apped
History: At a young age, Sasuke has always come across as second best - a replacement, yet not good enough. He had always been the first of his class, but it just wasn't good enough. He has always been in Itachi's shadow, genius or not. However, the only one member of the family to accept Sasuke for his accomplishments was his brother, Itachi, who would act as the loving older brother up until the Uchiha Massacre.
Sasuke had been coming home that night from training and came across something unusual -- all the lights within the Uchiha district were off, despite it being only mid-evening. When he turned the corner toward his home, he was greeted by a horrific sight - the bodies of his kinsman strewn everywhere. Fearing for his parents and brother, the child rushed home.
Dull thuds within the house alerted Sasuke that someone was there along with him, alone in the empty house. Though he was scared by the events of the night and what he might find beyond the doors where the thuds originated, he pushed on. He was a ninja.
What met him on the other side of those doors was just as, if not more, devastating than what he had witnessed outside in the streets of his clan’s district. His parents lay in the middle of the room, dead, with their killer still standing above him. When the moonlight revealed the killer, Sasuke was faced with his own brother.
Having assumed that Itachi had killed the murderer, he advanced toward Itachi, only to be stopped in his tracks by a shuriken being thrown at him and cutting his arm. This confused Sasuke. Why would Itachi hurt him, his little brother? And all of a sudden, for that matter?
Instead of answering Sasuke’s questions right away, Itachi used his Mangekyou Sharingan on his brother and showed him a replay of him killing, brutally murdering, their entire family. Sasuke retaliated after recomposing himself, though the moment was short lived.
Now frightened by his brother and what he was capable of, Sasuke fled the house and ran. The attempt to get away was futile, however, as Itachi easily caught up to the frightened child. The two held a brief conversation before Sasuke finally passed out, leaving Itachi able to flee the village.
Sasuke was the only one who had been spared during the massacre, being "unworthy to kill" in Itachi's eyes. As he was growing up, Sasuke only had two things in mind: Kill Itachi and revive the Uchiha. He made his goals known when Team 7 had been formed and asked by Kakashi. For this, he held high expectations for himself and trained vigorously when necessary. Yet still, he did not possess the Sharingan.
It wouldn't be until Team 7's first out-of-village mission that he would awaken his clan's bloodline limit. Between protecting Naruto from Haku's attacks and finding a way out of the dome of ice mirrors, Sasuke slowly began to see the mist-nin's movements more clearly. At first, he wasn't sure what was happening to him; the awakened ability made it easier to ward off Haku's attacks and counter with his own while protecting his teammate. Though, it was doing this that he met his untimely demise (though he wasn't *really* dead, it just seemed that way.)
Due to Haku's kind nature, the mission was deemed a success and Team 7 returned to Konoha in time for the Chuunin exams. There, he tested his Sharingan against Rock Lee and lost. However, the most significant events during the exams took place during the second stage, within the Forest of Death. While fighting the disguised Orochimaru, Sasuke gains the heaven seal and passes out soon after.
He doesn't awaken again until Sakura and Team 10 are in dire need of help. Sasuke awakens with the seal already activated, power overflowing within his body. In order to drive off the Sound-nin, Sasuke breaks both of Zaku's arms. Throughout the rest of the second stage and during the third's preliminaries, the seal pulses periodically, reacting strongest when Sasuke's own chakra is used.
During his fight with Yoroi during the preliminaries, the seal reacted more strongly due to his chakra being forcefully absorbed and taken, resulting in the involuntary release of the heaven seal. However, Sasuke had to regain control over himself and the seal or risk being disqualified and unable to advance. Fortunately, he did, and using one of Rock Lee's attacks as base, Sasuke defeated his opponent. Afterward, Kakashi took him in order to place an Evil Suppressor seal on top of Orochimaru's, after which Sasuke promptly passed out once more.
There was an attempt on his life while he was unconscious by Kabuto, who had easily gotten passed the ANBU that had been guarding his room. That would be the only try by the spy. Once he regained consciousness, Sasuke left the hospital before he was released, meeting Kakashi on top of a mountain to train during the one-month span given by Sandaime. It is during this time that Sasuke learns Kakashi's original technique and honed his own abilities.
It wasn't until his match with Gaara during the second part of the third stage that he was to be seen again, arriving just in the nick of time before he was to be disqualified. To this day, Sasuke has been the only one to seriously injure Gaara, as claimed by both Temari and Kankurou.
Gaara fled from the stadium with Sasuke following at his heels. Both Temari an Kankurou had tried to stall him, but it didn't take long for Sasuke to get past Temari. Kankurou would have been his next opponent, if not for Shino's intervention and help, allowing Sasuke to move on and continue to Gaara. Of course, being threatened with Sakura's life, Sasuke tried to defeat Gaara on his own, being reminded of both his brother's last words to him and his encounter with the jinchuuriki during his training with Kakashi.
However, he was not meant to be the one to defeat him, as he attempted to attack with a third chidori - his limit being only two at the time - and as a result, the seal was released forcefully and restricted his movement. He could do nothing but watch as Naruto fought, witnessing just how much he had improved in just one month.
After the exams, Sasuke heard the unwelcome news that his brother, Uchiha Itachi, was back in the village, but not after him. Itachi was after Naruto, which angered Sasuke deeply and prompted him to chase after Naruto. After many attempts, Sasuke finally found his brother trying to kidnap his friend.
Enraged, Sasuke attacked head-on, only to receive a broken wrist and thrown into a wall. Sasuke then fought Itachi on his own with no intervention by Kisame, Jiraiya, or Naruto. Of course, he was no match for his brother, proving that the gap between them was still wide, and not smaller as he had thought. And like when he was eight, Sasuke suffered the torture of his brother's Mangekyou Sharingan and rendered unconscious.
Until Tsunade, a legendary sannin, could be found and brought back to Konoha, Sasuke lay unconscious in the hospital once more. Having seen his brother after five years, he was reminded of his original purpose for his existence: to kill Itachi. Here, Sasuke fought Naruto for the first time, although it had been cut short due to Kakashi's intervention.
Not even a day had past since the fight before Orochimaru sent the youngest Uchiha an invitation to join him. Desperate for more power, he accepted. Within the night, Sasuke fled Konoha and left for Otogakure along with the Sound Four.
Naruto and several other genin had been sent after to retrieve Sasuke from the Sound nin, and it wasn't until Sasuke had awakened from achieving Level Two of his seal that any of them would lie eyes on Sasuke. Naruto chased after him after Lee had stepped in to help, and the two wouldn't stand face-to-face until they reached the Valley of the End.
The fight was a long one, exhausting the two of them and forcing them to use all of their strength. However, in the end, Sasuke was the one left standing, and he left to Orochimaru without further incident, leaving behind an unconscious Naruto.
Two and a half years would pass before Sasuke was to be seen again. Not much, if anything, is known about Sasuke during this time, other than the plain fact that he had sufficiently gotten stronger under Orochimaru's training. His speed, stamina - everything grew. He was no longer the weak twelve-year-old that he had once been. The only people he has been seen with or known to keep contact with during these years is Orochimaru and Kabuto.
But, after an infiltration by Team Kakashi, Sasuke is seen once more. The meeting itself was brief - a quick fight between Sasuke himself and members of Team Kakashi. Though, during that time, Sasuke used his Sharingan to see into Naruto's mind, consequently confronting the Kyuubi. After a brief conversation, Sasuke suppresses the demon, his parting words not to kill Naruto or he'll regret it. Yamato, who had been pinned by Sasuke, used this time to attempt to capture the rogue nin. It was not to be. After escaping a capture attempt, Sasuke tries to use one of the new jutsus that he had learned during his training, but Orochimaru stepped in and stopped him. After a brief conversation, both he and Orochimaru, as well as Kabuto, leave to move onto one of the other hidden hideouts.
After his run-in with his former team, Sasuke would once again not been seen for several months - approximately six more months, as it was around this time that Orochimaru began to grow sicker as his body began to reject him. Though, during the time that he was not heard from or seen by others outside of Sound, it was obvious that his skills further progressed. He was now able to take out an army of shinobi - albeit it a small army - single-handedly, and without dealing a fatal blow to even one ninja. He was saving his first kill for his brother.
Orochimaru was pleased with Sasuke’s progress, but at the same time found him lacking when it came to ruthlessness. Sasuke himself was not happy to hear this. Taking matters into his own hands as well as taking advantage of Orochimaru’s temporary weakness, he attacked the sannin while he was in bed with a variant of chidori - an extended blade that acted much like a sword, yet was able to expand and contrast on his whim.
Sasuke declared, then, that if the snake sannin wanted to see ruthlessness from him, then he would demonstrate it by killing him, since Orochimaru no longer had anything of value to Sasuke. With the sannin pinned to the headboard with chidori, Sasuke moved in to deal the final blow. However, before he had the chance to, Orochimaru had spat something out behind the Uchiha, who in turned to face his real opponent - Orochimaru in his true form. The body that lay on the bed was now dead.
Sasuke seemed unphased that the amount of experiments that Orochimaru performed on himself resulted in losing his own human form. With the same resilience that he possessed before and now the resistance to injury, Sasuke was forced to use his heaven seal at level two, while at the same time taunting the sannin at how worthless he was before an Uchiha. With that, he sliced Orochimaru’s body and presumed him to be bed. However, that was not to be the case. Orochimaru, still alive, told Sasuke that a snake’s poison was vaporous before lunging at the seemingly weakened teen.
Where Sasuke found himself next was inside a different dimension - the one Orochimaru used during his transfer - amongst the lumps of flesh and tissue that had been the previous host bodies. The only indication that implied such were the remaining faces on said lumps of flesh.
Sasuke would not be one to give in that easily, though. As Orochimaru attempted to take over Sasuke’s body as snakes surrounded his body, Sasuke countered with his own genjutsu, paralyzing the sannin and driving stone stakes through his body. “The Sharingan counters every technique used against it, making the attempts a failure” was what Sasuke had told Orochimaru, and then began to turn the jutsu against Orochimaru, consuming him instead.
Kabuto, having run to Orochimaru’s room at the sound of the fight, was shown what had happened. Sasuke denied the conformation of Orochimaru’s death by stating “I’ve taken over.”
With Orochimaru now out of the way, Sasuke leaves to travel to Orochimaru’s other bases to gather those who stood out the most, in Sasuke’s eyes, and had the potential to be useful to him when it came to tracking down and killing his brother. Sasuke first freed Suigetsu from his watery prison, one who was said to be the heir to the Seven Mist Swordsmen and a second coming of Zabuza. Together, the two went at retrieved Zabuza’s sword at Suigetsu’s request before moving on find Karin, who had the ability to locate others by sensing their chakra signature.
The final member of their team, Juugo, proved to be a little more difficult than getting to both Suigetsu and Karin had been. Juugo was mentally unstable, notably the curse seal’s origin, and jumped to kill at an instant, though always regretted his actions afterward. Kimimaro, Orochimaru’s previous to-be host, had been the only one to calm Juugo. But now, with Kimimaro dead, Suigetsu argued that there was no way that it was possible. Sasuke ignored the warnings and advanced anyway, freeing Juugo from his cell. As expected, he jumped and tried to kill Sasuke, who easily blocked the attack by partially transforming to his curse seal level two state.
Suigetsu then prompted a fight from the unstable Juugo, but the two were stopped by Sasuke under the threat of being killed. Afraid, Juugo ran back into his cell and demanded to be locked up and left alone. Sasuke refused, saying that he would free Juugo and be there to keep him from going on a murder spree. Juugo, remembering Kimimaro and his last words, asked who Sasuke was. Upon hearing that the teen before him was the one that Kimimaro sacrificed his life for, Juugo agreed.
Now that Sasuke had gathered his own team of shinobi, he declared the four to be ‘Team Hebi,’ with its only purpose in finding and killing Uchiha Itachi. With Karin’s abilities, they began to track the other Uchiha down and split into groups. It was then that Sasuke had run into Deidara and Tobi from Akatsuki.
After scaring Tobi by delivering a seemingly fatal blow through the abdomen, Sasuke’s attention was forced onto Deidara as the blond toyed with him, first using his lowest level explosives. Sasuke would have none of it, however, and quickly negated the explosives or simply blocked him. Deidara didn’t expect Sasuke could be as fast as he was and upped the level of explosives.
Deidara used a large clay dragon as a distraction while Tobi maneuvered underground, setting land mines in support. Sasuke, once again, went to his curse seal level two state and took to the air with his wings. Deidara wouldn’t have it, though, and finally managed to get rid of one of the wings with his explosives, then when Tobi emerged from underground, boasted how Sasuke no longer had anywhere to go and was unable to retrieve his own weapon, which had been knocked out of his hands.
Sasuke only allowed that to happen, though, and soon used his sword as a launch pad in order to get within rage to use his blade chidori variant in order to tear off one of the dragon’s wings. He also used one of his most favored moves, Kage Shuriken no Jutsu, in order to pin both of Deidara’s arms to the dragon. He also pulled the dragon down toward the minefield, forcing Deidara to suffer his own ‘art.’
Quickly growing annoyed and angry, Deidara emerged, though wounded, and made a gigantic version of himself that soon burst into thin air. He celebrated his victory as Sasuke saw himself being slowly eaten away from the inside. However, the celebration was short, as what Deidara witness was nothing more than genjutsu. The real Sasuke had him pinned with one of chidoris, able to identify the previous attack with his Sharingan due to the chakra within.
He originally planned to interrogate the missing-nin for information on his brother, but the Deidara he was pinning was none other than a fake, as the real Deidara emerged from the bird and turn the tables on the Uchiha. Deidara then explained that, due to a previous encounter with Itachi, he trained his left eye to resist genjutsu before pulling on Sasuke by surrounding him with clay.
By this point, both fighters were quickly growing wary due to exhaustion and limited supplies of arsenal and weapons. Sasuke was still, however, able to free himself from the clay tomb, but not before Deidara made another huge explosion. Sasuke, once again, made Deidara believe that he had won the match by falling hard to the forest floor. Again, another effort thwarted on Deidara’s part, and Sasuke then explained that all of the ex-terrorists hand seals revealed all of his jutsu to be that of the Earth element and that he possessed lightning - he had the elemental advantage and was able to negate all of the bombs that Deidara had tried to use against him by using his chidori and its variants.
Frustrated beyond words, Deidara made one last-ditch effort in order to get rid of Itachi’s little brother. He revealed that, in addition to the miniature mouths on his hands, he had one on his chest as well. He removed the stitches that held it closed and shoved his last chunk of clay into that mouth. The markings around the newly-revealed mouth began to spread across his body, much like the curse seal would spread across its users’ body.
Soon, light erupted violently from Deidara’s body and explosion that seemed inescapable proceeded. Sasuke was barely able to make it out alive by summoning Manda at the last second, forcing him into submission with his Sharingan, and hid inside his body.
Having seen and heard the massive explosion, Suigetsu took out a scroll and summoned Manda. Sasuke emerged from Manda and soon after, collapsed after a brief conversation with Suigetsu. However, prior to Sasuke losing consciousness, Manda cursed Sasuke with its last breath for forcing it against its will.
Sasuke and the rest of Hebi took the time to rest at a nearby inn to allow Sasuke to recuperate. Though, that didn’t stop the other members to Hebi to continue bickering as if nothing had happened.
During the time that was used to rest and allow his injuries to heal, Sasuke began to think. Since he had counter-absorbed Orochimaru, using his own kinjutsu against him, he had gained the ability to recover quickly - the one thing that gave Orochimaru his vitality. It was during this time that Karin had sensed an oncoming threat heading in their direction, cutting Sasuke recovery time short. Though faced with the threat of meeting with a group of ninjas from Konoha, Sasuke chose to ignore them and continue with his pursuit of his brother. Juugo and Karin - two of Sasuke's teammates - meanwhile, planned a diversionary tactic used to force the Konoha nin on detour by scattering some of Sasuke's clothing.
Eventually, the search for his brother proved to be successful. Sasuke found his brother within a cave, and after a brief moment of reminiscing, the two fought. Determined to not be outted so quickly, Sasuke gained the upper hand by using a variant of chidori. However, during the brief fight, Itachi was not even real; merely an illusion. Prior to the illusion dispersing into his signature flock of crows, Itachi told Sasuke that their fight would conclude on an abandoned compound out in the middle of a forest that was once used by the Uchiha.
below is additional information from toshima
At this point, Sasuke was brought into Toshima, where he chose the occupation of a fighter to continue to hone his skills. However, he lost his ability to use any of his more complex jutsu, such as his chidori variants and fire jutsus. His summonings were sporadic at most, and would often fail him when he needed them most, with a success rate of only 25%. But he never let that hinder him, and he never used it as an excuse for anything.
About a week after his arrival, Sasuke met Hallelujah Haptism, and in doing so made an interesting discovery: He couldn't use his Sharingan without feeling migraine-inducing pain. But at the same time, Hallelujah also experienced the same pain. They fought, briefly, before Sasuke eventually withdrew to recover and figure out why his Sharingan was causing him such pain while in proximity to that man. He considered him a threat, being able to cause such pain.
While he was recuperating from both his fight with Deidara and Hallelujah, Sasuke discovered that he was unable to use his favored jutsus, since when he had tried them during his scuffle with Hallelujah, he believed that he was in too much pain to perform them.
As soon as he felt better, Sasuke began to actively participate in Igura, easily dealing those that got in his way. During this time, Itachi arrived. But not before Sasuke met Matt through an...interesting encounter, having gone through a staring contest that quickly bored him. Since he lost, he agreed to go to the teen's birthday party at the White Magnolia.
A couple of weeks pass before Sasuke is chosen to fight in the still-standing stadium against none other than Hallelujah Haptism. Prior to the official fight, however, Zdenko had come to find him to escort him to the stadium. This fight, just like the last, didn't last very long before Sasuke won. His prize, in addition to his unwanted fame amongst the natives in Toshima, was an apartment in downtown and one of Hallelujah's face tags.
After the fight, Sasuke declared, quite openly, that Itachi was his next target. He designated the site of their fight to be at Nakano Chapel, wanting a sign of irony for Itachi's death to be similar, in name at least, where Itachi had killed their cousin, Shisui. He waited every night at the Chapel for Itachi to show up, and finally, he did.
It wasn't easy to fight his brother without the use of his elemental ninjutsu. They fought hand-to-hand and with weapons. Itachi, naturally, used clones as well as his own Mangekyou whenever Sasuke was pinned to the wall with his own weapon. It took a lot out of him, but Sasuke did manage to break out of the genjutsu. While suffering through the genjutsu, Itachi had made sure to injure Sasuke's legs enough so that he would not be able to use them efficiently.
The fight didn't last much longer after Sasuke had managed to break free from the genjutsu. With his legs injured, he was at a severe disadvantage yet pressed on. Eventually, Itachi managed to knock Sasuke out by a simple punch. Whenever Itachi left, he had made sure to leave behind one of his face dog tags - The King of Hearts. To this day, it is something Sasuke has cherished, although when he regained consciousness after the fight, he was severely disappointed with himself.
Matt helped Sasuke out of the church, carrying him after Sasuke collapsed after trying to walk on injured legs.
During Sasuke's recovery in Matt's room at the White Magnolia, Toshima was attacked. Bombed, actually. The apartment that Sasuke had won from his fight at the stadium was destroyed from the attack, leaving him without a place to live. Since he was already there, and tolerated Matt, Sasuke decided to simply stay at the Magnolia with the redhead.
A couple of weeks later, Sasuke demanded an audience with Itachi to ask him a few questions, namely as to why he had left him the dog tag and why he didn't bother to finish him off, and only knock him unconscious. Originally, for this meeting, Sasuke had wanted to talk to Itachi at the location of their fight - Nakano Temple - but later changed his mind to do it at Matt's flat after a conversation with him, mostly because he didn't want to deal with any paranoia of a fight that wouldn't happen.
When Itachi arrived, they talked, albeit awkwardly. The brothers hadn't had a conversation that didn't end up with one attacking the other since before the massacre, and it was obvious that, while they remained civil, they were uncomfortable, although Sasuke was more demanding of the two.
He wasn't happy with the answers he was receiving. "The winner can do what he wishes," "I did not intend to have you die." No matter how much he pressed Itachi for answers, he never got one that he was pleased with.
Work in progress.
Personality: When he was younger, Sasuke was a bubbly child who would follow his beloved brother around at every possible moment. Though, when Itachi was accepted into ANBU and he into the academy, he would often spend all or most of his free time improving his skills as a developing shinobi in order to get a little closer to his idol, Itachi. His determination started young, wanting nothing but the approval and acknowledgment from his brother, as well as his father, for being a strong ninja at such a young age. This would only last until after he turned eight-years-old, when his brother brutally murdered his entire family in a matter of hours.
"Foolish little brother. You’re not worth killing. If you wish to kill me, then hate me, detest me, and live in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life."
Sasuke took these words, a glaring reminder of the massacre and his own weakness, to heart and served as a form of motivation for him to continue to grow stronger.
Following the massacre, Sasuke's personality made a 180. He grew quiet and became antisocial, giving off a very cold demeanor. He avoided association with others, concentrating on nothing but his training. He was also the top of his class, as expected from an Uchiha. He often would spend his days after school alone at the Uchiha Lake, and it’s there that Sasuke had decided: He would become and avenger. He would aim to kill Itachi. To make him pay for the crime that he committed.
With the guidance of Kakashi, however, that outlook gradually changed. The Uchiha began to accept his teammates and work together, more-so with Naruto than with Sakura. He used the growing rivalry between himself and Naruto as a form of motivation to get even stronger, while Sakura was a source of information for him. Still, both helped him grow stronger, whether or not he will admit their aid in doing so. As time passed, Sasuke grew softer around his team, and was even willing to sacrifice his life in order to save his fellow teammates, even if that meant that he could no longer pursue his brother.
In the midst of battle, Sasuke is excellent when it comes to thinking fast and on his feet. He always makes sure that he has some sort of plan in mind before going on the offensive, unlike Naruto. The plans might be formed quickly, but they're never executed poorly nor are poor in quality themselves, showing evidence of his intelligence. Evidence of this would be during his preliminary match in the chuunin exams. Sasuke himself was already worn by the time it started, and was unable to use his chakra due to the curse seal on his neck. In the midst of facing defeat, Sasuke used his last ounce of strength to defeat his opponent, basing the finishing blow off of one of Rock Lee's own attacks, despite having only seen it once before.
It was after the Chuunin exams that his personality made another adjustment. He was desperate for power, but he did not rely on the curse mark on his neck for that power. He trained hard with Kakashi, learning new techniques and honing his abilities. Yet still, he did not see it as enough. This was proved through a brief reunion with Itachi, by how easily he had been defeated in mere seconds. Nothing had been changed between the siblings, like Sasuke had first thought. After that encounter, his rival, Naruto, no longer stood way behind him in terms of strength. Naruto was catching up to him quicker than he would have originally thought possible, learning more powerful techniques than he had been taught himself. In the past, it had always been Sasuke that would be the one rescuing Naruto from harm, but the tide was slowly turning to the point where Naruto was the one saving Sasuke from harm.
Often times, Sasuke would use his opponents as measuring sticks for himself; to see where he had improved and which areas that he still needed to strengthen. Still, he felt that he was not growing fast enough. His pride would not allow for him to slack off, nor would the task of having to kill his brother. Watching others grow at a faster rate than he was grated against him; he was not one to be dependent upon others.
Sasuke had had enough and left Konoha for Orochimaru, cutting bonds. He saw them as points of weakness, not strength. Instead of growing stronger as he grew closer to his teammates, he grew weaker. He was heading in the opposite direction that he needed to go, and he saw that the peaceful village of Konoha no longer had anything to offer him in terms of gaining what he needed, of fulfilling his goals. Though met again with Naruto, Sasuke defeats Naruto after a long, tiring battle, walking off and declaring their friendship-rivalry bond severed. Now with Orochimaru, Sasuke is once again cold toward others, only speaking when necessary, whether it be a simple response, demand, or cut down. Sasuke keeps from associating with others, once again becoming a loner in order to grow stronger so that his goals can be fulfilled.
It can be seen in the reunion with his teammates that, fueled by nothing but his hate for Itachi, he had grown stronger. Gaining the power he sought; he didn’t care if staying with Orochimaru would mean the ultimate sacrifice by his part, as long as Itachi was to be killed, it was fine with him. He had no remorse for leaving behind his home. However, with the formation of Hebi, Sasuke unconsciously began to open himself back up, even if only a smidge.
below is additional information from toshima
This would continue as he was brought into Toshima by the Il-Re. While he initially continued to keep himself distant, he eventually became comfortable within his surroundings.
He did not plan to allow himself to open up enough to gain allies, but it happened. He got comfortable enough with Matt that he actually considered him to be the closest thing to a friend that he would allow himself while still maintaining distance. When it came to Itachi, however, it was different.
After his fight with his brother, they held an unspoken truce of some level. They wouldn't talk often, but they did have a single recon mission together. But afterward, his brother left and he was left feeling somewhat left behind.
When Madara arrived and told Sasuke of the truth, he had a hard time believing it at first. He was in complete denial of it. But when Itachi returned and confirmed everything, he finally accepted that Itachi wasn't the bad guy - Madara was.
With knowledge of the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre, Sasuke slowly began to get closer to Itachi. By the time of the second bombing, they had already regained their relationship of siblings.
Third-Person Sample: Taken from toshimarp.
A small frown creased Uchiha Sasuke's face as he observed his new surroundings. He had been making his way back toward his teammates after having confronted his brother for the first time in over three years. He had been fine then, yet he could feel that something had been... off. He knew immediately that it was not due to a genjutsu; the cave had been void of life other than himself following Itachi's departure.
Yet here he stood, in the middle of who-knows-where, surrounded by destroyed and collapsed buildings, debris littering every surface it can touch. As far as he could tell, there was no life here, either.
"... Che." Turning his back on the scene before him, Sasuke left the area of his arrival to explore. It would not do him any good to stand idle and expect everything to simply fall back into place.
First-Person Sample Journal Post: Taken from toshimarp.
Igura... Survival of the fittest, is it? It will ultimately delay my fight with my brother, but if it happens I benefit from this, all the better for me.
And this 'Il-Re' character... Should I defeat him, perhaps he'll return me to my world. Five tags shouldn't be difficult to find.
[Private: Unhackable]
It seems this 'Igura' will be more difficult than it sounds.
Heh. It's been a while since I've had an interesting challenge. I've been needing a good test and an even better way to take out my frustration on.
I am still not pleased with being taken away from my revenge.