- To hate…or to Protect…
What do I need to do…?— Excerpt from the first chapter of Guilt of Innocence
Desperate for power, Sasuke Uchiha betrays Konoha to become Orochimaru's apprentice and new vessel.
Or so everyone thought.
Right after getting his trauma refreshed by his thrice-damned older brother, Tsunade reaches out to Sasuke and gives him a new mission — to be Konoha's spy in Oto since Orochimaru might strike back at any moment. This way, she provides Sasuke an alternative path where he can still acquire power but remain loyal to the village and, more importantly, his team. He also gains time to evaluate the best way to attain power — Itachi's path of selfish hatred or Naruto's quest to protect others.
Guilt of Innocence
, by Chosha Kurenai, is a What If? Naruto fanfic currently dead.note
Guilt of Innocence provides examples of:
- Adaptational Heroism: Although the outcome is apparently the same, the circumstances behind Sasuke going to Oto are all it takes to make him selfless and brave instead of selfish and obsessive. In canon, it's only for the benefit of his personal goals that he willingly goes there and cuts his bonds with everything he holds dear. In Guilt of Innocence, he's being asked by his Hokage to risk everything (his sanity, his bonds with his team, and his own integrity) so Orochimaru doesn't attack Konoha again while the village is recovering. And to learn valuable information about his operations.
- Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: Sasuke and Tsunade weren't very close in canon, rarely interacting and always in an antagonistic manner. In Guilt of Innocence, she becomes way more involved in his life to the point of the two of them developing an aunt/nephew relationship. First, she decides to comfort him after his encounter with Itachi and assigns him the mission to spy on Orochimaru. As a result, she becomes his only contact with Konoha and, by extension, his loved ones for the duration of his stay in Oto. The two even start bantering and is clear they are fond of each other by the time he gets back to Konoha.
- Benevolent Boss: Tsunade, and more than in canon.
- She not only acknowledges Sasuke Uchiha is a flight risk but acts to solve the problem before it's too late. Namely, at a very vulnerable moment in Sasuke's life. Even while buried in paperwork and directing the village's reconstruction, she takes her time to have a personal talk with Sasuke.
- Regarding Sasuke's mission, Tsunade gives him a special scroll that acts basically as a text messaging app through which he can report whatever he learns, get some news about the village and his friends, and vent when the horrors of Orochimaru's lair become too much. Additionally, she made sure to include Kakashi in the briefing since he is the only adult in charge of Sasuke.
- Later, when Sasuke's mission finally comes to an end, she gradually releases the news of Sasuke's mission so as to avoid unnecessary panic, prevent Sasuke to get attacked by an uninformed ninja, and let the village acknowledge him as a hero. Finally, she promotes him to ANBU operative as a reward.
- Confound Them with Kindness: Inverted. Sasuke confounds his friends with hostility so they won't question his sudden Face–Heel Turn. It also serves for convincing Orochimaru, his enemy, of the same. This way, nobody suspects that he's gone to Oto on an undercover mission to spy on Orochimaru for Konoha.
- For Want Of A Nail: Tsunade's quick thinking prevents Sasuke from spiraling into hatred and trauma. Even if he still does the same as in canon (betray Konoha for Orochimaru), it's all an act. He doesn't really sever his bonds with his loved ones nor feels desperate enough to think being Orochimaru's vessel is his only way to attain enough power. Instead, his motivation slowly shifts from revenge to a desire to protect Konoha and Team 7 — all in all, he remains a loyal Konoha shinobi. Upon his return, he is awarded a promotion to ANBU operative and is sent on a mission with his team: to retrieve some of Orochimaru's former subordinates to gain intel about the Akatsuki.
- In Spite of a Nail: Most of the events of the canonical Sasuke Retrieval Arc still happen, noteworthily, the fight at the Valley of the End. The encounter between Sasuke and the modified Team 7 (plus Yamato and Sai, minus Kakashi) in one of Orochimaru's bases also still takes place. On top of that, Danzo sends Sai to assassinate Sasuke because none of the Konoha elders were privy to Sasuke's mission. It's justified, though, since Sasuke had to keep up his cover so as to convince everyone, even the people closest to him, that he has turned traitor; and that Tsunade distrusts Danzo. Finally, after killing Orochimaru, Sasuke still recruits Suigetsu, Karin, and Juugo to aid him in his purposes. And in the same order, to boot.
- The Mole: This is Sasuke's role in Otogakure, therefore rendering the whole "defecting the village in pursuit of power" an act. Tsunade assigns him the mission of spying on Orochimaru for Konoha seeing the latter is already interested in capturing Sasuke. By means of a special scroll, Sasuke passes on information about Orochimaru's experiments, plans, subordinates, and the location of his bases. More importantly, Sasuke gets some intel on Akatsuki.
- Secret-Keeper: The only people who know about Sasuke's mission as a mole in Otogakure are Kakashi, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. Kakashi because he is the only adult in Sasuke's life on account of being his sensei, Tsunade because she's the Hokage and the one who came up with the idea, and Jiraiya because he is Konoha's spymaster.
