A Rose By Any Other Name (A Sasuke Uchiha Story)

(Let's just get things straight. Tatsujin no Kakusareta means 'The Hidden Master', so that's what they're referring to when everyone starts talking about it, okay?) 

Sasuke had seen this guy around the village before, but hadn’t known it would end in battle.

Then again; it’s not like it mattered now.

If anything, Sasuke was accepting of it. The more battles he fought, the more experience he gained and ultimately, the more training he received. He might have Suigetsu, Juugo and Karin with him, but his fight against Itachi would have to be alone; he wouldn’t—couldn’t—let them get involved. Therefore this training would be solitary, and overall it would only make him stronger. And he needed to be as strong as he could get when coming up against Itachi. Dodging another blow from his opponent, Sasuke rolled to the side and climbed up to the roof, unsheathing his chokuto and readying himself for the rest of the battle. He hadn’t been fighting this guy long enough to fully see his strength, but he doubted he was particularly powerful.

But either way, Sasuke wouldn’t let himself get killed.

Not until he had what he wanted.

“So you’re this great Uchiha; the one everyone’s so interested in. Though now that I’m here…now that I’ve seen you…I expected more than just a child,” the guy spat, Sasuke quickly avoiding the shuriken that came his way and heading straight for the voice, managing to throw him back against the wall with a punch. Smirking at the position, Sasuke replied in a growl,

“I am not a child. And I you have no place to say things like that in the position you’re in,” before he swiftly raised his chokuto, swinging it down for the final blow.

Only to find there was no one there when he did so.

A moment later and his back was against the floor, having been hit in the side, and scowling at how he hadn’t noticed it, Sasuke jumped back up and darted across the rooftops to gain some space. The guy appeared across the street, on the opposite roof, staring Sasuke down and smirking calmly at the situation. Serving to only anger Sasuke more, he tried to keep a clear head in order to figure out the battle. He knew he was stronger than him; so why was he unable to finish him off? The longer the battle went on, the more Sasuke wanted it—and the more he began to feel irritated at himself. If he couldn’t kill him…how was he supposed to kill Itachi? He couldn’t just knock him around a little and let him go. Clenching his fist around his chokuto, he analysed the area, trying to come up with a plan.

“You disappoint me—Sasuke, is it? I admit, the Sharingan is a powerful weapon, and one I wouldn’t mind having myself. But it is clear that the skill to use it died along with the rest of your clan,” the guy sighed, and scowling viciously, Sasuke snapped back,

“You know nothing about my clan. I have more skill with the Sharingan than you can perceive!”

Sprinting forward, Sasuke re-sheathed his chokuto for the moment as he performed handsigns, and for a few moments there was no sound about from clashing metal and those of the battlefield. But the same thing always happened. Sasuke would get into just the right position to kill him—and every time he wriggled out of it somehow. No matter what he did, nothing worked. His opponent only continued to rile him up, laughing off the injuries he had, knowing that Sasuke would never truly be able to end things. Destroying a wall that got in his way, Sasuke darted forward, snapping as he saw him up ahead,

“You can’t avoid this forever—I am stronger than you, remember that.”

“You’re not truly strong—and you never will be. You think you have all this great power because you’ve got the Sharingan; but still the villagers around here dismiss you as nothing. Why? Because they know of Tatsujin no Kakusareta. Only he could give you that true power…and yet you content yourself with nothing,” he taunted in return, and as he dodged Sasuke’s attack, smirking at the cry of rage that came with it, he simply laughed once more, backing up into the shadows. Following swiftly afterwards, Sasuke could only slam his fist into a nearby tree in response.

He was gone.

Tatsujin no Kakusareta? He’d never heard of him. As Sasuke, embarrassed by his shortcomings, walked back to the place he was staying, he tried to push away the idea of this guy. He was just trying to tempt him and was making up lies to annoy him. And yet the idea plagued him in his sleep, causing him to question a few villagers about it the next day—and discover it was true. This ‘hidden master’ really did exist—and really could give him this power that had been mentioned. The battle he had fought had only shown Sasuke that he had so much more to learn and so much more training to complete before he would be able to defeat Itachi, leaving him uncertain as to his abilities. Although he didn’t want to be taken in by that guy’s words, a part of him still knew it was true—and with all that he was doing—all that he had done—he couldn’t leave any room for doubt.

So for the rest of the day Sasuke questioned about Tatsujin no Kakusareta. He researched him completely, finding out all he needed now that he had made his decision. He was going to go and find him. There had to be many more ninjas who knew of Tatsujin no Kakusareta, and he couldn’t risk them gaining that power. What kind of power it was, Sasuke didn’t know, but if it was this legendary in the area, then it was clear that it was special. He had to go after it—and as soon as possible; he couldn’t waste anymore time than he already had in this village just wandering around. By going after Tatsujin no Kakusareta, it gave him purpose. A purpose that would result in a huge step forward in his training. So with a few more questions, Sasuke headed back to the others.

That—for the moment—he would be continuing alone.

“You’re leaving, Sasuke-kun?” Karin cried in despair the moment he revealed what he was doing, and simply glancing up at her, Sasuke pointed out he had to, before continuing to prepare himself, beginning to head for the door.

“Sasuke, what does it matter? You defeated that guy, and he wriggled out of your grasp and disappeared! Why get so riled up about it? It doesn’t mean you have to leave!” Suigetsu burst out vehemently, causing Sasuke to halt in his path, his back to them all, and gritting his teeth, he returned simply,

“I’m not disappearing forever. But my fight last night merely showed me how much I still have to learn. How much I have to improve before facing Itachi.”

 “And so you wanna learn from this...Tatsujin no Kakusareta...the guy told you about?” Karin blurted disbelievingly, not sure about the whole idea—but Sasuke wasn’t about to be told otherwise. He knew what he was going to do, and the others would not sway him in this opinion, causing him to look over his shoulder and state determinedly,

“Yes. He’s the only one who can train me now—so get comfortable,”

Before continuing on, walking out the door and towards the forest, setting off right away. He knew where this guy was supposed to live, and he was willing to do anything to get trained by him, regardless of what it took.

He wasn’t coming back until he found him.