Leave The World, Part 3

I don't own solo leveling or Naruto

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Cha Haein walked down the halls of this hospital with a strange and unwanted sense of deja vu. The last time she walked to his hospital room he didn't know him, but now that he was her student she couldn't keep the worry away from her face.

Turning a corner she spotted Master Choi leaned up against the wall dressed sharply as always but his face was unreadable. However, she knew that when she scrunched up her nose in disgust, Choi Jongin was not doing much in keeping his aura in check.

"Master?" She called out, her nose covered by a handkerchief.

Choi broke from his brooding, "Ah, Vice Master Haein, I'm glad to see you here."

"He's my student so of course I would make it my mission to check on him. It is the responsibility you bestowed upon me. He is alright?" She asked.

Choi chuckled softly, "Yes, of course, I would expect no less from one as diligent as yourself. The doctors say that his vitals are steady and he's not suffering any other complications. However, he is in a coma for now so we'll have to wait and see what happens."

"I see…" She gazed beyond the window pane to Sasuke Uchiha, eyes closed, expression serene even from the side as he laid in bed peacefully. "To be honest I can't believe something like this happened. Although that team was inexperienced, it was full of A-rank hunters, Sasuke shouldn't have been left in this state at all. To be honest I blame myself." Choi admitted bitterly.

Choi Jongin blaming himself for something was a sight she wasn't used to even though she knew him to be one of the most compassionate people she's ever met, he rarely let situations like these affect him, or maybe he did and she never took notice or he was just good at hiding it. Either way Cha Haein realized that this wasn't normal in the slightest.

'It's different when a child is harmed because of your actions then compared to an adult.' She figured.

Haein was clueless as to how to console him when he blamed himself for something nor would she try to. "I'm sure it's not as simple as you think, sir. Anything happens beyond the gates, it's a lesson I've learned and you've taught me," She placed her hand on the glass allowing a preview of Sasuke's condition, "Sasuke is very competitive during our sword training and always pushes himself to the limit. I'll admit it scares me how eager he is to do battle, but I recognize that it's not a desire you can temper or push aside. If you want my opinion, I'd say letting him go was a good decision."

"Although there's no law against minors participating in dungeon raids I didn't think you'd be the one saying that." Choi admitted.

"What did you think I would say, sir?" She asked, curious about the impressions he had of her. She also hoped he wouldn't take what she asked the wrong way, but after nearly a year under his wing he should be able to recognize that she wasn't intentionally being testy.

He grew pensive, considering her for a moment, "I'm not sure, it just wasn't an answer I was expecting from you. But he's just a child. He shouldn't have been in there let alone without me supervising. I was being careless just like that other time." he grit his teeth, trying to push away whatever horrible memory trying to claw its way to the surface of his psyche.

"I don't think he's an ordinary child. He's got the instincts of a warrior and he likely has seen combat more times than myself. I'm sure fighting if you were there supervising things would have ended differently, but Sasuke has a fighting spirit that will not be tamed. He will fight on his own whether you like it or not."

Choi huffed at Haein's words, "When did you get so talkative? Although you might be right, those eyes of his aren't normal. He's seen far more than he should have. No wonder he's always so gloomy." The master of the Hunter's guild grew melancholic once again, thinking about what he would do next. That purple haired agent must have already reported the events of that raid to his superiors already and he'd been in such a rush to get to Sasuke the hospital that he didn't stop to hear from Lee Bora's report. He needed to know what happened very quickly because depending on what happened he would have no clue as to how fast the Association would close in on his asset.

'He's a very powerful, but also a troubled child. I don't want to see him in this state. I hate it.'

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"Hmmm. This is a very troubling report, Agent Gang Taeshik. Thank you for your work." Chairman Go compliment, stewing over internally about the report on anomaly hunter Sasuke Uchiha. "Any idea on his whereabouts?"

"He's rehabilitating at an unknown location at the moment and Choi Jongin is unlikely to disclose that information very soon. However, I do believe this, sir. Sasuke Uchiha if he joins his guild will be a more valuable asset to him than even Cha Haein." Taeshik said.

"Stronger than Cha Haein…"

It was a profound proclamation to make as Cha Haein was already making a name for herself being known as 'The Dancer'. She was perhaps even as strong or even stronger than himself. 'If he's making such a claim then this is not a situation that can be put off for much longer. Especially, considering that we don't know his intentions yet.' He thought. He was not one to suspect a child of any ill-will but when they were this strong or this much of an unknown he couldn't let his grandfatherly impulses cloud his judgment. This was a very delicate situation.

A hunter that can grow stronger was unheard of and it is no wonder that young man Choi had been so difficult with Woo Jinchul about the boy. "However, this Indra character is another factor that we must consider if Choi Jongin already hasn't. Although a hunter who can grow stronger is a prospect that has its own caveats for us and the world at large, we must focus on figuring out the boy's intentions and then we can focus on swaying him to our side. We don't want a potential like that to be not an ally at the very least."

"Are you suggesting that we offer him a position in our organization, sir? Or perhaps even lock him down?" Taeshik narrowed his eyes, testing Chairman Go.

"No. For now we should figure out his intentions and see what will happen from there. In any case, I want to know as much about this Indra character as possible, even more so than keeping Sasuke from joining Choi's guild. I don't like not knowing what's going on in my homeland." Chairman Go crossed his arms.

He shortly dismissed Taeshik for the evening, telling him to rest and recover for the next few days. He thought back to the first time he'd met Sasuke Uchiha not even a few days ago. He was a snappy, rude and sarcastic child with an uncanny sharpness and infliction for fighting and combat. There was a darkness about him that had the potential to chill and wither away anything in his path.

It was almost sad, how miserable he seemed when he asked him that question.

"Tell me of your past, young one."

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Walking through this dark abyss Sasuke Uchiha grew weary and tired of the isolation. It felt like he'd been trapped here for eons. Left to stew on the words of that pathetic, sad sight of himself before everything flashed white and left him here.

Regret.

What did he have to regret about leaving them behind? They were holding him back, no he wasn't progressing fast enough with them. He couldn't trust in his teammates like Kakashi said if he wanted to kill Itachi. Not only did he want to do it himself, he wouldn't subject them to the horrors that man was capable of.

It had to be him and him alone and it's for that reason he couldn't regret leaving them behind. He'd severs those bonds completely.

'Although now that I'm here, wherever here is, does it even matter? I feel like I'm going crazy.' He gripped his hair in frustration.

"Huh?" He raised a brow, spotting a gleam of shining light in the distance. Curiosity and boredom being the main driving factors as to why proceeded towards the light.

And as he grew closer the beginnings of a fog made itself noticeable to the boy. The fog had a strange heavy feel to it, like it had a weight or presence.

"What's going on?"

He didn't get to wonder for long as a single spear shot through the fog at terrifying speed. If Sasuke hadn't been so on edge then his face would've been skewered.

"Tch! What the?"

Another hail of projectiles showered him as he tried his best to avoid every single one. At one point he even tried to grasp one in his hand and use it to parry away some spears but it vanished into an ashy fog the moment he made contact. It didn't take long for him to become overwhelmed.

A spear through his thigh, through his arm, through his abdomen and shoulder as he tried to remain standing despite the excruciating pain he was in.

'Arghhh, I can't use jutsu or even my sharingan right now. What the hell is going on?' Sasuke raged.

That same feeling was creeping in, that feeling of death. Hadn't he already accepted that he was dead? So why was he feeling this way again? Was he genuinely afraid or was it instinctual?

He couldn't tell.

The light that had spurred his curiosity earlier slowly approached as his vision grew blurry and void like the vacuum of space. He tried his best to back away from the light, to escape because he knew deep down that if he lost here, he wouldn't come back.

'Move! Move! Move! Move!!!'

Sasuke let out a primal roar, somehow conjuring the strength to use his arm to swat the ball of light away. He used the adrenaline to rid himself of the spears penetrating his person, feeling them disappear into the nothingness of fog.

"Such indomitable will. The passion to claw at life so feverishly. Hone it and then face the light again."

"That voice?" Sasuke was breathless as he saw white once more. In the span of a single moment his injuries were healed and he was covered by darkness once more.

He gasped for air, holding onto his shaking hand and pounding heart. He tried his best to calm the nerves and the adrenaline hoping to piece together what was going on.

"Was that genjutsu? And that voice? It was familiar."

He looked up and found that same gleaming light from before. It was far away again and there was no fog encompassing him. He was left scratching his head at the turn of events.

'Should I go over there again? It didn't feel like that was a genjutsu. Was I spared or something?' Trepidation gripped him tight like a vice. He wasn't sure what had just happened but he felt that he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

Sasuke was pensive staring ahead. He was not normally one to deliberate on any course of action, but this time he felt that he had to take things slow. 'I can't use ninjutsu right now, which means no sharingan. Those projectiles aren't too fast but there's so many of them to keep up with that I'll eventually get overwhelmed, plus that fog is doing me no favours.' He huffed, recalling all the previous events of that short exchange. 'It would be unwise to just rush in ahead if I had other options, but I don't, so this is the only thing I can do.'

He let out a breath, closing his eyes before moving forward. That's the only thing he could do.

As he pushed on the lowly mist slowly formed into a thick fog. 'Ugh, this is tough. I can barely see anything now…' he thought. It was due to his countless experiences in life or death battles that he was able to rotate his body at just the right angle to avoid the humanoid beast that snatched at him.

"Where'd you crawl out from? You're pretty big," Sasuke taunted the werewolf towering over him. It was twice as tall and triple the muscle mass, but that shouldn't have matter in a battle of shinobi and monster because of the great equalizer that was chakra.

He flipped away when the beast moved to strike. The beast didn't waste a single moment and brought both hands together forming a hammer fist. Sasuke leaned to the side and avoided the blow, launching his own counter strike. A quick right hook to the jaw.

Sasuke screamed out in pain when his fingers broke against the werewolf's rock hard jaw. 'What the hell?! My fingers?' He thought in shock and horror. He didn't get to ponder longer however when the beast grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him out. He glared into its red beady eyes and razor sharp rows of teeth, foaming at the mouth.

'Think! Think! Think!' He chanted, trying his best to come up with ways to escape his predicament. It wasn't long before he felt his neck snap and a flash of white once more filled his view.

He gasped, grasping his neck, eyes wide in horror. "What's…going on?" he panted, looking ahead at the speck of distant light once more. "I…died. Again?"

"That's never happened before. I thought I couldn't use ninjutsu but can I not use chakra altogether?" It was a scary thought, but there was another thing that had him even more stumped. 'If it's true that I can't use my chakra then how come I didn't feel that it was missing? Is it because I'm so used to circulating it that I never noticed that there was nothing there?' He shook his head. That couldn't be true.

When he closed his eyes and focused there was something there at the pit of his stomach and it had a weight. It wasn't quite chakra but definitely something very familiar. What was it?

'Could it be?'

He rushed forward to the light once more and the lowly mist became a fog once more. 'Now I know the funny feeling I had about this fog. It feels the same as whatever is sitting in my stomach. Is this mana?' Sasuke wondered, clenching and unclenching his fists in amazement.

'Goblins this time?'

It wasn't a surprise attack this time as the tiny green monster walked out of smoke, their faces twisted into crazed and manic grins to show off their razor sharp teeth.

"Tch! How insulting!"

They beasts rushed forward with a feverish vigor and lust for blood. His dexterity, agility and physical prowess gained from years as a shinobi allowed him to avoid the goblins trying to overwhelm him. He constantly kept them at a good distance, never close enough for them to capitalize on his lack of initiative in the fight but that he to change very soon.

The goblin to his right overextended and he took that as his chance to disarm the beast and rob it of its small dagger. In a single swift motion he pulled the goblin in close and stabbed it through the temple with the dagger.

He motioned to move away once the job was done, however, the little strength that remained in the goblin managed to stall him for a single second. More than enough time to get slashed in the back by its crazed companions. Blood sprayed from his body as he went crashing to the floor. His instincts didn't allow him to stew in shock, rolling away from the goblin trying to jump and stab through him.

The pain of moving was almost enough to make him pass out, but that was something he couldn't afford in this desperate situation. He needed a lucky break to turn the tides.

'Calm yourself! You're getting too flustered Sasuke, it's not like you. You can win this. You just have to focus.' He mentally berated himself, getting to his feet.

Time seemed to slow.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and focusing on the feeling in his stomach. After years of moving internal energy through his body like it was as natural as breathing, this would be no problem. However, when tapped into that small well of power it exploded from every pore of his body in a furious, torrential wave. He opened his eyes and found a small axe at his neck.

The goblin struggled, pushing the blade further forward and only ended up shattering on his neck altogether. Sasuke smirked triumphantly.

"You're not strong enough to hurt me."

He swiftly decapitated the goblin with a swipe of his hand, grabbing the last one by the dome and then driving it into the floor before stomping it under his heel.

'This is mana, huh? It feels new, but not unfamiliar…' He stared at his open hands, the magic power swirling around him like an invisible vortex.

He closed his fists. "Alright. Bring it!" He called with renewed confidence.

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"It's a pleasure doing business with you once again, Miss Kiha." Dal said cordially.

The transaction was swift and efficient like Dal always prefers. He watched the pile of C-rank monster corpses being loaded into the truck by his lackeys.

"Of course, Mr. Dal. I hope we remain allies throughout this project of yours." Miss Kiha said. The woman herself sported a tight-fitting dark blue drees with a bright pink fur overcoat. She had tanned skin uncharacteristic of people in their country, wavy dark hair and stress lines running down either side of her nose. "You're not the first to experiment with hunter stimulates and enhancements, but the reports from your scientist are far more promising than anything I've ever seen."

Dal nodded. "As long as your guild keeps supplying me with what I need then things should get done much sooner rather than later. We'll be making a fortune selling this on the black market."

Kiha nodded her head as if to say that 'I couldn't agree more'. She wasn't very powerful in her own right—being a mere C-rank hunter, however, being the master of the Courage Guild, a guild mostly composed of D and C-rank hunters, was impressive. In the context of that, Dal supposed it was commendable that she was even the leader of a predominantly male-oriented guild.

'Things are going smoothly and the doctor should be done with the first batch by next week. From there we can start distributing amongst the desperate E to D-rank hunters out there.' He thought with internal childish glee.

"So, what are you going call this little drug of yours?" The older woman asked smoothly.

"Does it need a name?"

She laughed like he told her the funniest joke. "But of course. The people need to be talking about something to get the product sold and business moving. I thought someone as astute as yourself would know that much," She giggled once more.

"Is that a snide remark?" Dal eyes glowed with a not so hidden veil of threat.

She didn't seem bothered by his aura which annoyed him. "Of course not, but I can give some names if you're struggling." She offered almost innocently.

He scoffed. "No need. We'll call it 'Eclipse'."

"Ooh, I like that name."

He agreed.

Time passed as the few members of the Courage Guild on shift loaded the last few corpses on the truck. Under cover of night things moved smoothly and it was a relatively quiet night where he could laze around and enjoy his favorite tea, watching the fights that would spark between his lieutenants. He wondered if Daijo could beat Dong this time around.

"A little birdie told me that you're having trouble with a pesky non-awakened." Kiha started, breaking him from his thoughts and causing an unpleasant frown to adorn his features.

"You really should watch your tone. You're getting too familiar Miss Kiha." He reached out and placed a simple hand on her shoulder.

Kiha's eyes widened, choking as the air left her lungs in a rush. Dal knew it was in her nature to be playful and he found it annoying that she rarely stepped on eggshells even around him, but she was useful so he would spare her.

He released the grip he had on her shoulder and watching her on her hands and knees gasping for air in between each cough.

"Apologies…sir. It won't happen again." she bowed, managing to ground out the words despite her clear anguish.

"His name is Sook and he is an awakened being although his rank is still unknown to even myself."

"So… he's like you?" she rose to her feet once more. Dal's eyes glinted with amusement, 'Getting to her feet so quickly after I nearly crushed her lungs. A woman of pride she is.'

"Perhaps…" Dal was not one to give too much away, but it very much irritated him that he still hadn't stomped out that minor gang in its entirety yet. After all, there was only one of them left, he and his four lieutenants having purged the rest in the infancy of its conception; now there was only the leader left—Sook.

'He knows my identity somehow… He's a risk even though I know he'll think better than to go to the authorities considering what he has on his rap sheet. Although one cannot be too careful.' He thought.

"I'll take care of it. You just keep things under the radar from the Hunters Association, you're not that big so you can't operate as freely as the Top 5 guilds." he reminded, leaving her side swiftly. He climbed into his SUV and bid her a muted goodbye following the trucks filled with monster corpses all the way to the Yeouido dockyards.

"Dal…" Kiha gritted her teeth in anger, holding onto her still paining chest.

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Sasuke breathed heavily, wiping the sweat that dripped from his chin. Scores of goblins and other low-level monsters like monkeys and bats had been rushing him with practically no end in sight. His hands felt numb and his feet like lead. If there would be another beast coming for him then he doubted he'd have enough left in the tank to defeat it, regardless of its rank.

He shook his head. 'No! I can't think like that. I'll push through no matter what!'

Why?

"Huh?" Sasuke turned his head up sharply at the voice. "What was that just now?"

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Sasuke groaned, clutching his head in pain. The voice piercing the confines of his mind, leaving him writhing in agony. His face contorted in a visage of pain. "What are you talking about?" he grounded out through gritted teeth and clenched fists.

Why are you fighting so hard?

Why does it matter?

Why do you want to live so badly?

You're dead, aren't you?

Sasuke widened his eyes, staring at an image of his 7 year old self screaming his head off and running from the death wrought by his elder brother, Itachi Uchiha. Sasuke moaned when another round of pain came over him.

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

You've already fought long and hard. You said so yourself… You are dead.

"So why are you fighting so hard? At such a young age you've known and experienced death a hundred times over. Isn't it enough? You don't have to keep fighting. Just let go and sink into the darkness."

Even through this exhausted lens he was able to see the fog slipping away to reveal the empty voided darkness surrounding him. It was soothing, it promised an escape if he succumbed, and it was almost addictive to his senses. He closed his eyes and imagined himself with his family once more, with Team 7 once more and for some reason he could picture that annoying red hair and stupid square spectacles. He saw himself exasperated at the jokes of some brown-haired teen one year older than him and he couldn't help but smile a little at those happy memories. He could indulge in these sparing happy moments for the rest of eternity. Then his mind flashed back to his biggest insecurity.

"Leaving everything behind, huh? It probably wasn't worth it if things turned out like this. But I chose this path and the only question I can ask myself is if…"

Sasuke climbed to his feet, in excruciating pain but with the determination of a young boy he still considered dear to him. Eyes wide open staring down at the scared little boy in front of him

It's so bad out there. Why do you want to go to back?

"I don't know the answer yet, but I want to figure that out. I'm not-"

Enough. I didn't think I was this stupid. Go to that light you've been chasing and when you see what it is tell me why you fight.

"Sure." Sasuke smirked at the apparition of his younger self. The apparition disappeared in a cloud of smoke and the mist returned with feverish intent but now he was ready for what was to come.

He ran through packs of werewolves like they were nothing and battalions of salamanders with maximum efficiency and no wasted effort all the way until the final step.

The spears beyond sight.

"This is it. I've worked up to this point so bring it!" Sasuke challenged, but the fog suddenly started to clear. "Uh, what?" The shining ball of light that he'd desperately been chasing throughout his time here finally presented itself before him. He didn't know how to react as he couldn't feel anything from the orb of light. It was weightless, without presence, form or intent.

"Such indomitable will. The passion to claw at life so feverishly. Hone it and fight."

"That voice? You're…"

Sasuke wasn't spared a second or moment when his vision was consumed by a pure white light. The only thing he heard was a faint beeping in the background and his own voice talking in the recesses of his consciousness.

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I chose this path and the only question I can ask myself is if…

The sunlight peeking through the blinds are what awoke Sasuke from his slumber. He rose up from bed, sitting up and staring blankly at the plain white wall in front of him. He knew this place, it smelt familiar and the beeping machines next to him should've been a dead giveaway.

'I'm not dead?'

He smiled a soft smile of relief at the thought, plopping himself back down into the sheets.

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Solo Leveling S2 episode 10 guys! Isn't Solo leveling so peak and I'm just glad I got to see my boy Choi Jongin in action after so long. He's just so freaking cool.

I'm personally glad they got rid of that one scene where Goto has a panic attack about Jinwoo's punch or whatever. Just makes him seem less bitch-made which is always a W in my book.

Choi is still cooler, the coolest S-rank (aside from Jinwoo ofc) he does have better drip and Imma stand on that, on the guys!

Anyway, enough fanboying I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm looking forward to seeing all your reviews. Tell me what you think. I was working really hard on this.

Also going to ask once more for any more MS techniques that Sasuke can use in future. You guys have made mentions of Shin Uchiha's weapon control (which is interesting), Madara's game MS techniques which is kinda neat I'm not gonna lie. Others have mentioned space-time ninjutsu which I am still considering…

The most interesting one was shadow powers, which I'm ngl has me quite interested in how that'll work in the long run.

Other than that, enjoy whatever time the day it is for you.

Peace!