Chapter 268 - My OC Stash #68 - The Deadliest Touch by slythefoxx2 (Naruto) (1/2)

-Naruto with Rogue-like powers, yoinking ninja's skills & memories... Author is known for nailing OP Naruto stories, also expect a big load of canon derailment in this one~ Same author of Seals Are Easy, People Are Hard!

Sypnosis: He thought an uncontrollable power was his biggest problem. A group of S Rank Missing Ninja, A demanding mother figure and a really confident heiress would disagree.

Rated: M

Words: 12K

Posted on: m.fanfiction.net/s/13537094/1/The-Deadliest-Touch (slythefoxx2)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 1

It was nearly dusk he noticed as he came out of the thicket of trees. He thought the sky was always so beautiful around this time, such an enticing orange overtaking the pure blue, made all the better by the sparse but fluffy clouds. Generally, he would take a seat and just look at the sky as he transitioned from day to night. It was a simple p_l_e_a_s_u_r_e but hard-earned.

Day or night, there were people out there that were willing to prey on anyone they deemed weaker. Be it for money, their bodies, or just the sheer p_l_e_a_s_u_r_e of dominating another. The young man was honest enough with himself to know he didn't cut a particularly imposing figure. Five-foot six, well-conditioned but not heavily muscled. He looked like a fit and healthy sixteen-year-old. Even the sword at his side often didn't do much to deter attackers, them assuming it a mere prop.

But if one could find a safe space or create one, the simple p_l_e_a_s_u_r_es could be enjoyed. Though, he doubted he'd get the opportunity this time as just beyond the thicket, in a baren clearing, lay hundreds of downed people. He assumed they were ninja, they were dressed like ninja. Two men, one older and the other as young as him, stood amongst the defeated warriors, seemingly having noticed him just as he noticed them.

'Shit', our traveler thought. If he ran, that instantly made him a problem. A little rabbit to be chased and pinned down. Maybe, he hoped, he could just pass by. He had no quarrel with either of them, he had no intention of sticking his nose in their business. Maybe they were reasonable, he'd hope they were. As he walked over and past the beaten attackers he noticed none of them were dead. Regardless of their level, that was impressive. He soon reached the duo and gave a short bow.

”Gentlemen,” he began, ”I assure you I am not affiliated with any of these men and only seek to pass by without conflict,”.

”Kukuku, you've only stumbled across Sasuke-kun's training exercise,” the taller man reassured him, ”passage would not be an issue.” Even with saying that, the smile on his face made it known he had no intention of simply allowing the traveler to leave. ”But maybe we can have a moment of your time. As you can see, none of my men were of much challenge to my student but I see you carry a sword. Would you indulge us with a spar?”

”If your student could defeat so many with such little effort then I would offer no challenge. This sword is mostly to scare away cravens, I flee from stronger opponents when possible. As I said, I just want to pass by.”

”I don't see how I'd get stronger fighting someone that clearly doesn't want to fight, it won't bring me closer to that man,” the younger male now spoke. The traveler thought the boy, who couldn't be much older than him if at all, had a regal air about him. His body language screamed shinobi but still, there was a sense of nobility.

”Please excuse my student and me as we share a brief word,” the taller man said. The two separated from him and he wondered if he should just run. He wasn't all that familiar with the area so escape could be tricky or he might invite disaster upon some unsuspecting town but should that be his problem? What did he owe perfect strangers? What would be the moral thing? He released a soft sigh. If it were just a simple spar no one would get hurt but if he angered the duo then that may change. Maybe further diplomacy could get him out of this. Maybe he could just talk at them until they grew bored and left him alone.

As the traveler was contemplating his next move, Orochimaru was having an exchange with his future body. He would remove that accursed softness from the boy, corrupting him as much as he could until he finally broke his will. ”I want you to kill that boy,” Orochimaru said. He continued before Sasuke could retort that it was beneath him or some other inane response. ”If you refuse I will teach you no longer. It is time you removed that softness that Konoha forced into you. Strike this boy down, now.”

Sasuke looked back at the unknown boy, finally taking a good look. He was covered, almost no skin showing, except for the top part of his face and his sandaled toes. His sword mounted on his left side with a modern hostler instead of being tucked into an obi. The black and gold haori was well taken care of and looked relatively new as he was dr_a_p_ed over a matching midnight blue shirt and pants combo. He truly hated Orochimaru but needed training, power if he were ever going to kill Itachi.

When that goal was threatened, it made Sasuke neutralize any moral concerns that would cause him to falter so it was simple for him to justify this. It was senseless but necessary. If his soul was the price for killing Itachi then it would be a deal he'd make every time. He pittied the unlucky fool as he tried to calm the shaking in his sword hand, the last vestige of his resistance to senseless murder. Wordlessly he nodded to Orochimaru and they walked back.

”Thank you for your patience, Wanderer-san. Now, as I was saying a simple-”

”You told him to kill me and he agreed,” the wanderer interrupted, causing Orochimaru to smile.

”Kukuku, well now that we're all on the same page, yes Wanderer-san, I want you to be a step in Sasuke-kun's development. Please be a sport and die well,” Orochimaru said with unhidden glee. The wanderer looked to Sasuke to see him already gripping his sword.

”I don't know what he's promised you or has over you but you don't have to do this. A bad decision yesterday doesn't forbid a good decision today nor a better one tomorrow,” he advised. His masked covered face frowned when he saw Sasuke quickly dismiss his words.

”I have to embrace a darkness you wouldn't understand to achieve my goals. I can allow nothing to stop me.”

”This is a mistake, we all can walk away right now. No one has to die,” the wanderer argued. Orochimaru shook his head in disgust that the boy was seemingly begging for his life. Sasuke also thought it was pathetic, the boy's words reminding him of when he was weak and stood before a significantly stronger opponent. He wouldn't even activate his Sharingan for this, he didn't need a perfect memory. He steeled his resolve as his grip on his chokuto tightened.

This needed to be done, no hesitation and no mercy. Only a ruthless killer could defeat Itachi. He glanced at the eyes of his future victim and saw disappointment but his attention was quickly diverted to the hands going for the sword. He got into a textbook iaido stance and for some reason that made Sasuke feel better, as if it were more acceptable if the person before him was a true warrior.

Sasuke watched as what appeared to be golden lightning surged around the boy and a fraction of a fraction of a second later Sasuke only knew pain, the firmness of the ground and the blazing orange ruthlessly overtaking the blue sky. He tried to will his body to get up but he couldn't, soon feeling the pooling blood, his blood surrounding him, feeding the soil with his essence, his dreams, his ambitions.

'It can't end here,' he thought as he reached out to the curse mark to heal him but was shocked when he couldn't feel its power, nor its corruption any longer. If Sasuke could turn he would have seen his master, the Snake Sannin himself, with a sword through his heart and his body seemingly drained, revealing it to be the husk it truly was.

What Sasuke could see was the wanderer standing over him, one hand ungloved now and reaching down to him. He wanted to run, to scream, to cling to life. It couldn't end here, he'd done too much and gone too far. He'd embraced the darkness, he'd betrayed his village all to kill Itachi. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair.

Those would be Sasuke's final thoughts as a finger touched his forehead, much like Itachi used to, and Sasuke's essence left his body.

'F_u_c_k!' the wanderer thought.

'Hehehehe,' he heard in response.

'Did you know this boy was an Uchiha, Kurama?'

'I suspected, Naruto,' the bijuu answered.

'Why didn't you tell me?' Naruto asked.

'I don't like Uchiha,' was Kurama's reply and Naruto didn't even bother to reply. Instead, he found a nearby water source and looked at the reflection while channeling chakra to his eyes.

'Oh great,' he thought as he watched two fully m_a_t_u_r_ed Sharingan spin lazily. He shook his head as he heard Kurama continue to laugh. 'Kurama, please stop. I know you hate the clan but this one was on a righteous quest.'

'There is nothing righteous about revenge. It flattens all other concerns, makes the monstrous seem noble and is a path toward destruction. He could have sought justice.'

'People have to be guided toward justice, Kurama. It is a practice and no one showed him the way. Even if you hated his clan, please don't take delight in his demise. His was a life of tragedy.'

'Fine, what about the Sannin?'

'Eh, f_u_c_k that guy,' Naruto answered, his compassion having found its limit. He sealed up the bodies, not looking forward to what he was going to do next. Each of these bodies likely had a high bounty on them and he could take them to a bounty station but the information contained within them could be a threat to Konoha. He had to, for the first time in eight years, return home. Before that, he had to meet with his travel companions, one of which would be far from enthused.

Gate duty was boring, Kotetsu wouldn't say this aloud, it would only cause Izumo to bitch at him but he still felt it so. It's not that he longed for danger or battle, just something new. Missions outside of the village could be just as boring but at least there was a chance to experience something different. He wondered if he could sneak off to the Jounin station without Izumo admonishing him for shirking his responsibilities.

”Tsunade-sama?” Kotetsu heard Izumo ask and he broke from his internal musings to look up. It was her, the Slug Princess returning to the village with two companions and a pig? Kotetsu thought that was a weird choice for a pet.

”Yea, yea, we need a meeting with the Hokage so get an escort or do whatever it is you do,” Tsunade informed the gate guards. Izumo signaled for an ANBU, who arrived at a moment's notice, waiting to escort the trio once check-in was completed. The brunette was next, Shizune, Kotetsu heard her say. The last of their party checked-in last, his name possibly being even more startling than Tsunade's.

”Uzumaki Naruto,” the boy, nay, the young man said and everyone in earshot froze. The Uzumaki Naruto? The container that disappeared eight years ago for seemingly no reason? Seeing Tsunade-sama getting angry got everyone to return to their previous activities and got her companions and her on their way. As they disappeared from view Izumo teased Kotetsu for ever finding gate duty boring.

A shunshin and a short wait later, the Sannin and company stood in front of the Godaime Hokage. The Hokage eyed the trio but gave most of his attention to the youngest of the three. He couldn't stop himself from remembering that fateful day when he found the boy, shaking and crying as he begged no one to come near him. One ANBU already on the ground, appearing dead to most but rather comatose.

”It's ok, puppy. I'm not here to hurt you and you won't hurt me,” Kakashi had said.

”I will, I-I didn't mean to. I just wanted to help, dattebayo,” the boy said in distress. It took several minutes for Kakashi to get the full story and only a minute longer to do something that would change his life. If the Sandaime knew of Naruto's abilities he would allow Danzo to ”discover” them. And being as weak, in resolve, as he was the Sandaime would come to a grand compromise that meant weaponizing Naruto but doing it in a way he found palatable. Kakashi wouldn't allow Minato's son to become like Kinoe or Itachi.

”It appears that you can absorb memories and skills through direct contact, puppy. We don't have time to find the limits but it'll be important for you to do so so. I want you to travel north to the Temple of the Fire Monks and tell them you're the ember of the Fire Shadow. Can you repeat that, puppy?”

”I'm the ember of the Fire Shadow, 'ttebayo,” he said. Kakashi favored him with an eye smile as he ungloved his hand.

”Now, I want you to touch me for just a second or two. That should give you enough information to make it there. I'm betting if it is just a quick touch you only get a little information. No matter what happens, though, you must go to the Fire Monks, ok?” He watched the boy nod and took his hand. Kakashi had been right in his unstated assumption, brief contact wouldn't kill him but he'd been wrong about how much the boy would pull in even two seconds of contact.

”You… you knew my mom and dad, dattebayo?”.

”Yes, puppy and when you become strong enough to return to the village we can talk all about it,” Kakashi said, attempting to hide how weak he felt. He fished out a scroll he kept on him with a few weapons and money, handing it to Naruto. ”Get going before anyone else gets here. And Naruto, be happy,” was the last thing Kakashi said to his sensei's son before the boy ran off and he passed out.