Despite Sasuke being trapped in a quagmire of thoughts, he still tried to read more of these historical records as he understood that was all he could do to find answers to his questions.
The next book he began reading was called 'Forgotten Lullabies'.
It was a children's book and detailed some folklore and legends, though it seemed rather reminiscent of German fairytales from his past life in terms of brutality.
One of the various stories that managed to catch his attention was a story of two young children named Ryo and Natsume.
The two children lived in a small remote village surrounded by dense forestry and foliage, isolated from most of the world.
The story went on about the various adventures the two went on, imparting lessons about things like teamwork, communication and resolve.
However, it took a strange turn in their last adventure.
They ventured into a cave near the village, which they were forbidden by their parents from entering as they warned of there being dangers hidden within:
Entering the cavern, Ryo and Natsume felt an immediate shift in the atmosphere. The air turned colder, carrying a dampness that seeped into their skin.
The dim light filtering through the entrance quickly dissipated, leaving them in almost complete darkness.
Looking around, the stone walls, now devoid of any warmth, seemed to have entrapped them in this eerie cave. The wind rushed in from outside, setting off a haunting howl that drowned the hearing of the two boys.
Once the sound from the wind had settled, Natsume turned and asked Ryo beside him, "Hey, do you think we should head back?". Natsume's eyes meanwhile darted around the grim, hardened walls of the cave that surrounded them.
"Come on, Nastume. You know those back at the village are going to laugh at us if we run back and we'll get told off too.
If we go further, at least if we get caught it wouldn't be for nothing."
Ryo waved his hand dismissively as he persuaded his friend, encouraging him to join him in delving further into the cave.
"Ho- How about you go in? I could wait here for you...?"
Natsume twiddled with his thumbs, still not desiring to venture into the maws of darkness in front of them.
"Fine suit yourself."
A bit annoyed by his friend's sudden lack of courage, Ryo left him behind and went into the cavern.
Watching the figure of Ryo get devoured by the darkness, Natsume felt his heart stuck in his throat.
He should be fine, right?
Comforting himself, he sat on the stone-cold floor waiting.
In what felt like hours, Natsume could finally see Ryo return- whose face remained impassive, displaying neither joy in finding anything nor disappointment in not finding anything.
"What did you see in there?"
Natsume couldn't hold back his curiosity, wanting to hear about what was in the cavern.
"Nothing."
Ryo stared into Nastume's eyes before calmly answering; he then walked past the confused Natsume and strolled out of the cavern.
What happened to him?
Why does he feel different than normal?
Natsume's eyes trailed after Ryo, confused at the sudden change in behaviour from him.
After their cavern escapade, life returned to normal for the two boys for the most part.
However, Natsume swore he could feel that everyone in the village including Ryo was acting weirdly.
They seemed to display fewer and fewer emotions as the days passed, they even seemed to forget he even existed at times!
A few months after Natsume's initial failure to enter the cave he found himself by the entrance of it once again.
Ryo hasn't asked me to join him on any adventures recently...
I guess I'll just try and enter here one more time, I mean Ryo confirmed there's nothing there...
There's no reason to be afraid any longer.
Walking into the depths of the cave whilst on his tiptoes, Natsume remained alert despite his ease earlier.
Oh, come on. There's nothing here. Why am I still so afraid?
Annoyed at his cowardice, Natsume gave himself a quick pat on his cheeks and pressed further into the cave.
Suddenly, he could see a light coming in from the tunnel in front of him.
Curious, he entered and his eyes soon fell upon a strange room.
It was covered in dust, with various tables and sheets of paper left around there. The papers seemed very old to him as they were no longer white and looked rather decayed.
However, he soon saw something that made his blood run cold.
There. On the side of the room were a series of steel bars. Most of them were empty and damaged as if whatever was in there broke free.
But what caused Natsume's horror was the bloodied and rotting figure left in one of the cells.
It was Ryo.
Ice filled his veins, as his eyes were stuck to the corpse he saw.
If that was Ryo, who was...?
His thoughts were disrupted by the sound of footsteps behind him which echoed within the confines of the walls of this cave.
It didn't take long for Natsume to find out who it was.
It was Ryo.
No, it was something that looked like Ryo.
His limbs began to tremble as the blood drained from his face and despair began to take over his mind.
He thought of the end his friend met and how he had thought of this thing in front of him as Ryo for so long.
"What a pity you found out so soon. Not like it would make a difference."
Ryo's mouth morphed into a wide, hideous smile as he spoke to Natsume in front of him as if everything that was happening was completely normal.
Natsume's eyes dilated as he saw the figure of Ryo in front of him morph into a strange white humanoid figure.
A paralysing dread engulfed Natsume's body as he found himself unable to retreat and all he could do was watch the strange creature near him.
Before he even realised anything, his vision turned to darkness.
Unknown to anyone else in the ninja world, an entire village found itself slaughtered and impersonated by unknown entities.
The only evidence remaining was the cave.
Where an eternal silence hung in the air as the remains of two vibrant young children were left there- untouched by anything other than the cruel passage of time.
Putting down the book, Sasuke found himself staring at the space in front of him as he found himself reeling in shock.
'Damn... That's for kids?'
Though on second thoughts, he had heard of more messed up children's stories from over in central and Eastern Europe.
However, despite his confusion regarding whether this was suitable for children- he knew that he had found something important.
'Did this refer to the village in Kusagakure?'
The descriptions fit, an isolated village surrounded by lush foliage and linked with White Zetsu- despite however vague the description might seem.
Nevertheless, Sasuke couldn't be certain about that.
'I'll need to go back there and see if there are any caves nearby. Hopefully, I might be able to find something there...'
Whilst Sasuke was enthralled in his reading, time soon passed. The rising sun dying the world in a warm amber hue, as it announced the incoming dawn.
Sasuke was finishing up reading the various things he found with the help of some wood clones he had summoned.
Whilst placing everything back to how it was, Sasuke's mind felt incredibly refreshed despite his lack of sleep.
He had found quite a few pieces of information that could be helpful to him in the form of the records from the Senju and that one children's story. And, his clones had gone on a spree reading the Hijutsu of various ninja clans.
Ensuring that everything was as it should be in the office, Sasuke rushed back to his home.
Pretending to have woken up, Sasuke greeted Karin and prepared himself for another day of training as he awaited his next Anbu assignment.
The days soon passed as Sasuke found himself rotating between his training and his Anbu duties.
Three months after he infiltrated the Hokage's Office, Sasuke stood before the stall in Anbu HQ that assigned missions.
"Impressive, you managed to capture that Sunagakure spy alive and well. Seeing your ability, Lord Hokage has decided to give a different type of mission."
The man took out a dossier, handing it over to Sasuke who opened it up and scanned through the document.
Mission Briefing: Elimination of Kumo-nin
Objective: We have been notified by our allies in the Land of Frost about the presence of a squad of ninjas from Kumogakure.
Your mission is to confirm if that is true and discover their purpose there.
If in your ability, neutralise all potential threats present there.
Current Intel: Possible presence of Kumo-nin in Land of Frost.
They seem to be heading towards to Land of Frost-Land of Fire border.
Number= ~5
Number of Jonin= ~1
Number of Chunin= ~1
Number of Genin= ~3
Jonin= Toroi (Magnet Release)