"I don't know how to thank you all for what you did; I hope you like it."
"Haha, your cooking is really good, ma'am. Thank you." Sasuke chuckled, enjoying the pancakes made by Carol; she had been cooking whatever may be considered good with the ingredients they had on them.
It had been a day since they came here. Carl woke up this morning, and the first thing the kid said was asking whether they found Sophia.
Katniss had been doing well on their 4-hours training so far.
2 hours focused on building stamina and cardio in the early morning. The others in the evening are in physical combat, tedious but affordable with the miracles of shinobi soldier pills, which give enough nutrition to put the body back to its peak in short minutes per day.
"You are amazing; you can fight well, you have a good vision, and you treat your people well. They all...me included, see you as someone worth following. I can't thank you enough for saving my daughter." She squeezed his hand gently with a smile.
"But know this: I will do anything to help you. I can't really fight, but I'm willing to learn to be able to protect her too."
"That's all that's needed, the will to change and become even better. They will hold gun-firing practices starting today. I taught a few from my group and the Harrisons recently how to clean their guns and use them. You can always join at noon."
"Katniss, that sweet girl, she talked to me...and a few other women, explained to us how things should be done more cautiously, and made me realize how reckless I was to leave Sophia wandering away all alone, but I will change...for the better," she smiled, watching her daughter playing a short distance away with Ciri.
"I'll be off with some of our people to a nearby town to see if we can find something. Is there anything you guys need?" Sasuke asked as he got ready to leave.
"I can join you."
"As soon as you are good with guns, for now...stay with Sophia; she needs you close."
"Alright, thank you. I guess we have what we need for now; just be safe."
"I will, and thanks for the amazing treat; it tastes great...see you around." He waved, seeing a few women coming their direction and left.
...
Billy, the two Everdeens, and few others were already waiting for him, as he was the last to step away from the treat Carol made for them.
And of course Daryl was the first to grumble at the latecomer.
"Finally, were you giving her a damn critique in there? Why the hell did it take you 10 minutes more to finish the damn plate?"
"Probably his first fresh pancakes in a long time. You were savoring it, weren't you? ..." Billy smirked, leaning on the windshield...he knew that Sasuke was possibly there comforting that mother.
"It's not me who eats slow; it's you guys who eat fast. I swear you seemed to be skipping the munching part." Glenn laughed seeing Sasuke gesturing to how Billy wolfed the plate earlier while he was still at the first piece.
"Ei, stop bothering him, guys, ready?" Andrea patted Daryl and followed Sasuke to his Humvee.
"Yeah, let's go." They soon boarded two Humvees and set off; Morgan stayed back with his family.
The town they were about to search in was only a mile away; thus, they soon were there, parking beside the pharmacy Maggie told them about.
....
"So you are really the only ninja left? The real ninja?" Daryl asked after he, Billy, the blond sisters and the Everdeens separated from others following Sasuke to the school nearby to check if its cafeteria hold any useful thing.
"Not really, I am the last Uchiha."
"But you said...that they—"
"All Uchiha were killed, yeah. But there was a hidden division, not Uchiha...they were called Black Ops Anbu.
Serving directly the clan's head and answering only to him."
"And..." Katniss spoke, holding Ciri's hand and gesturing for the two Harrisons to stay silent as they heard the talk about Sasuke whose whole family was murdered.
She doesn't have to fear about Ciri too much with Sasuke nearby, as keeping her with others is more dangerous.
"Many of them died, but there are still survivors, the few who weren't in that place on the night the massacre happened...the skilled who were doing missions away. The last time I saw them was before coming to study here. Funny how it was brief before the outbreak."
Bullshitting? He was becoming a master of that.
"But, you said they served the leader?" Daryl asked him; he was honestly very interested in knowing more about ninjas, like everyone who saw the impossible feats of Sasuke.
"And I'm his son; I know they should be surviving this easily..."
"So, you are some kind of an heir?" Amy tilted her head, still not getting the whole picture.
This guy rarely talked about his life after all. Maybe he allowed them to hear this only after they gained his trust. Those couple days they worked hard under his tutelage and her promise to follow him wherever he goes with her sister.
"Yep, and the current clan head. A head without a body, haha. Anyway, they will come to find me sooner or later." Sasuke shrugged as he finally revealed his backstory, the fake one, to be the opening factor to his shadow clones.
He was sure they will be available for his use some time in the future, with the chakra he is gaining, and he didn't want to be asked why there is suddenly another masked ninja with him.
'Family, hah,' Katniss wondered.
She already knew that he had no one left; maybe that's why he treated them like family. And she decided to help him ease that pain somehow.
"So the current leader? Wait a minute...so there are other shi...shinobi? Who are your father's bodyguards or whatever? Some of them didn't die and are expected to be joining you at some point? I didn't get you to be the naive and hopeful type." Daryl said, taking down a walker as they walked through the town.
The first he got so far actually before that bow girl, who had a freakish style of firing multiple arrows at fast succession.
He didn't really know whether he should be annoyed or admiring that skill.
"Why so? I don't see anything wrong," Billy asked, and Katniss nodded.
What brought the naivety to whatever Sasuke said? Ninja? If they were half as skilled as Sasuke, then crossing countries in the future when they supply themselves won't be that hard.
"You think a bodyguard would care about him? No offense man, but...your father is no more, and your clan too. I don't see why the few survivors would still be tied to you, ready to cross all the distance here just for you. They would be enjoying glory alone if they survived this, without having to obey someone." Daryl wasn't alone; Andrea too didn't believe someone would do that for a lone guy.
"Oh, I get it, but Daryl, you are missing something; we are shinobis." That analysis would hold some truth actually, but not for clones.
"And so?"
"And so, discipline, loyalty, and rules are the things that matter the most to us shinobi; we can be killing machines to be frank, so of course not anyone can become a shinobi, let alone an Anbu. We are trained to follow the hierarchy strictly; there's no doubt or other choice when it comes to that."
"Brainwashing?" Daryl noted...otherwise what could make others obey a stranger.
And Sasuke decided to loop them...
"Hmm, let's say...you are a war orphan, a homeless kid, or maybe an abused kid who has no one, nothing.
Then a man came to you and said that he can make you stronger, that you won't feel that weakness anymore, and that he can feed you and give you a home and clothes...a new life.
He can train you, give you status that most people in the world can't reach or even hear about in their lives. In return, you work for him.
So yeah, if you consider something that gives you a path to overwhelm squads of military-elite men with ease, break through the human body's limitations, broaden your horizon, and funnily...even make you able to survive this and get glory is brainwashing, then yes, Anbu were brainwashed."
Daryl reflected on that: if the men joined the army for the benefits and stayed loyal to their countries, why would becoming shinobi be different?. Sasuke explained thay they got to live and join the clan, marry and all like normal people.
"But why don't they just make the Uchiha Anbu? Their own kids..." Katniss asked as they started loading the few useful things they found in the cafeteria of the school.
Sasuke never said he was Anbu, and she felt that it was wrong, hearing how they made kids serve them.
"I wasn't because I was too young when it all happened, Anbu aren't exclusive to those outside the clan; it's the other way around actually. Anbu is an honor given only to the sharpest, strongest, and most prodigious; 80% of them were Uchiha.
The remanents were geniuses who were brought from outside the clan. My own teacher wasn't an Uchiha, yet he became their captain through sheer skill alone at the age of 13, leading a whole squad, and only Father had the right to order him; not even elders have a say in that...he was a legend on his own."
What Sasuke didn't say is that the man who actually massacred his clan, his own brother, was an Elite Anbu too, and the Anbu was never theirs; they were enemies.
As ironic as that is, he still decided to create his own Anbu...there's just much that others can do following his suggestion without feeling rebellious, as he was way too young to be respected the right way.
Thus, he needed trained men to trust specific things with, without needing to grind into winning their own trust.
"Why did no one in the world know about you guys?" Billy asked him.
"Hidden in the leaf, Konohagakure, our village's name...we had technology far advanced, so we hid our presence quite easily."
"But even so, you guys stayed there the whole time? No one left and revealed that power to the rest of the world?" Andrea didn't believe that, how could it happen that someone ^strong^ resist bossing the ^weak^ people out here.
"We had our own system and had never interacted much with the outer world or interfered in its affairs. We were strictly disciplined and had everything you people had, and more.
Furthermore, nothing—not even money was as alluring outside as pushing your body to its limits."
"I don't understand. If I could live in a villa with a wealthy person and enjoy life, why would I choose to spend years training my ass to serve someone and have a terrible life?" Andrea shrugged her shoulders since she thought the whole Ninja situation was utterly ridiculous.
"..."
"Would you rather be able to do this?" Sasuke glanced at her as they were heading back to the pharmacy with their haul, then kicked an abandoned coupe car that was by the side of the road.
And those who don't know him well watched stunned, seeing it skidding ten meters away and crashing into 2 walkers. as if it was hit by a speeding truck from the side.
Its side showing a clear, deep dent where his foot kicked.
"Or live in a villa where falling from stairs or having a mere tree fall upon you can get you crippled or killed, heck...a random thief can stab you to death. I said it before, I am recovering, somehow still at my weakest point right now; that's why I came here from Japan to have a rest and recuperate."
Sasuke then decided to give them a picture of what he could achieve if he weren't ^sick^.
"So you can imagine what kind of things a shinobi can do. Kakashi, my teacher...he was a grandmaster in over 100 fighting styles, master in every shinobi secret art, could make a whole military base turn to a cemetery any time he wanted, run faster than most cars, deflect bullets with one eye close...
When you reach that point, money becomes something trivial; and fortune something easy to gain. Competition in the clan was the only thrill that can really work you out. Mastering arts and such things...an ant would give it a take to become an elephant anytime given; would an elephant do the same?"
"Are you sure you guys aren't some kind of military secret project?" Amy asked with an agape mouth; she seriously wondered if she was really awake right now.
He just kicked a ton of heavy metal away like nothing, and that Kashi teacher is faster than a car? She saw movies depicting the government doing tests to make superhumans...were they real after all?
"No, it's in our bloodline. The few who knew about us from the government side tried to replicate those feats but were all failures in the end. At some point we decided to eliminate them as their experiments got out of hand and they started hurting innocents.
That was also why our leaders decided to just stay hidden; our secrets can attract the wrong crowd, and we didn't want them starting experiments on humans again to try and get that power. Because in the end, it's just in our blood."
"But how? You are human too. Why so different?" Amy asked him, half believing, half confused.
"You tell me...I just know it's due to our ancestor. I can have a child, and he or she would be innately this strong with little training before hitting their teenage years." Sasuke shrugged, unaware that the phrase he just spouted lightly had already planted deep, wicked roots in one female around.
' This surprised them? After all he did? I guess I'm the one weird here ' Billy wondered if they were gonna pass-out from shock if they knew Sasuke can mess with some fucking space laws.
"I'm still not convinced that your Anbu or whatever are coming for you. Why hadn't they left Japan with you in the start if they are that loyal?"
Daryl wanted to believe that Sasuke was bluffing, but...he had already slaughtered a big horde all alone and destroyed bulletproof glasses and now kicked away a fucking car like he was some damn Capt with a shield...he started envying this shit.
"I prohibited that."
"Why?"
"First, I sent them to look for any surviving Anbu that may be hiding after that incident; only Anbu can track another Anbu in hiding. Second, it was peaceful; I saw no need to keep them around just following me like shadows. Anyway, Daryl, wanna bet?"
Sasuke grinned at Daryl, trying to provoke him and end the damn subject.
"On what?"
"Whether my Anbu are to come looking for me or are going rogue"
"Sure, what's the bet?"
"I train you to be an Anbu if they come to find me again, or become your Anbu if they don't appear within a year."
==========
[A/N: I know most of this chapter has nothing to do with the TWD trope, maybe even boring...but it's necessary.
I can't just let his actions be accepted like nothing; people are curious, and they need to know him more and his background.
Why and how the hell is he so different (his feats)? I can't imagine seeing someone slashing through bulletproof glasses without me breaking his head with questions if he was as approachable as Sasuke (MC)...
So yeah, I have to do a chapter focusing on this; otherwise, it would be ridiculous how they can just accept he is a different breed who can kill hordes all alone and bypass bulletproof glasses with a freaking sword and let it at that.
The "I am at my weakest" part? It is not a bluff or arrogance of him; Sasuke just has to make it clear that they have to expect something more in the future, in case he is ever forced to unleash his true physical strength.
__sending a human (Shane) flying away with a kick__ --> __taking down a horde__ --> __piercing through bulletproof glasses__ --> __killing a bigger horde__ --> __kicking a car away__ ... I think this development is much more acceptable to be seen throughout time rather than seeing him directly breaking a tree with a kick on the first day you meet him.
{He is holding back a lot even without chakra; just remember what kind of freak chakra-exhausted adult Sasuke was.}
Welp, I figured I had to blabber this in case someone was wondering why the hell I am bothering with this useless chapter.
+This note isn't for word count; the raw chapter still has 2250 words.
Stay safe, and may you have an amazing day.]