Chapter Text
Sasuke woke to the low, steady hum of machinery. At first, everything felt weightless. The faint vibration of engines, the hiss of pressurized air, the sterile tang of recycled oxygen. His eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the soft glow of the capsule above him. The inside was white and clinical, lit with a soft, even light that reminded him of the labs he’d grown up in.
Memory returned like a sudden jolt. Pandora. The mission. Itachi.
Itachi had trained for years to be the one chosen for the Avatar Program, the one meant to walk among the Na’vi in a body genetically engineered from his DNA. And then he disappeared, without warning, without explanation. Nothing remained but the empty space of expectation.
There had been no time to mourn. The program had to continue. Sasuke’s DNA had been used to create the avatar body, a hybrid designed to link to his mind and allow him to live and move in a world humans could not breathe. Five years in transit, five years in stasis, and now… he was here.
A hiss echoed as the capsule unlocked, the lid lifting slowly. Air rushed in, denser and heavier than what his lungs remembered.
“Vitals stable,” a voice said. One of the operators stepped forward, arms folded, eyes scanning his readouts. Sasuke’s chest tightened.
Across the lab, another operator leaned against a console with a casual smirk, while a third worked quietly at a panel, eyes calm and precise.
“Where am I?” Sasuke asked, his voice rough.
“Pandora,” the first operator replied. “You made the trip.”
Sasuke swung his legs over the edge of the capsule and stood. Every muscle ached, every joint stiff, but the weight in his chest. The years of waiting and training made him steady.
“You’ll be briefed again,” the operator added, though Sasuke already knew what he would hear: Observe. Infiltrate. Gain trust. Report.
The shuttle shuddered as it began its descent. Sasuke approached the viewing panel. Below him, Pandora stretched like a living painting, floating mountains shrouded in mist, waterfalls spilling from impossible heights, forests so dense and vibrant they seemed endless. The world pulsed with life, colors and smells richer than any report or simulation could convey.
“Listen up!” a commanding voice barked.
“I am Commander Hidan. You will report to me. Pandora’s atmosphere is toxic to humans. Masks on at all times. Stick together. Everything out there can and will kill you if you’re careless.”
Sasuke secured his mask and nodded. His expression was calm, controlled, betraying none of the thoughts swirling in his mind.
The shuttle landed, the hatch opened, and he stepped out. The forest greeted him in waves, warm, thick, alive. Every sound was magnified, every scent sharper.
“Keep moving!” Hidan called, and Sasuke obeyed, stepping on the wet concrete of the base.
Inside the lab on Pandora, screens displayed streams of data, Na’vi language symbols, and bioscans. The leaf-clan Na’vi, the group he had studied endlessly, were humanoid, graceful, and perfectly adapted to the dense forest. Their skin was a muted teal-green, blending seamlessly into the foliage. They moved with a fluidity Sasuke had memorized but never witnessed in person: long limbs, flexible tails, eyes alert to everything around them.
A woman with pale blue hair stepped into his path.
“You are Itachi’s brother, correct?”
Sasuke nodded.
“My name is Konan. Come with me, please.”
She started walking without waiting for a response, guiding him through the intricate lab. Then she stopped, stepping aside. Standing before him, inside a glass containment unit, was the body he would inhabit.
Tall. Lean. Blue.
Sasuke frowned. “…It’s… not green,” he murmured.
“We tried making it green,” one of the scientists said, eyes on his console. His name badge read Nagato. “Your DNA stabilized in this shade. Creating another body to match the locals would have taken years, millions more credits. Not feasible.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Sasuke said quietly, voice calm but firm. “It’ll still do the job.”
Konan led him towards the link unit machine, Sasuke waisted no time as he immediately jumped up and laid down.
The sensors clicked into place along his scalp, mapping neural pathways, aligning his mind with the avatar. Lights pulsed, the hum of machinery grew louder. He closed his eyes, breathing steady, and then—darkness.
When he opened them again, the world was alive. His body moved before his mind caught up. long, blue arms, striped and powerful. Muscle memory aligned instantly. The air tasted heavier, the sounds sharper, the forest alive in every sense.
“Field test begins,” Konan’s voice crackled in his earpiece.
Sasuke stepped out of the lab, alone, and the forest embraced him. He ran, jumped, climbed. Testing every muscle and joint, marveling at how instinctive the movements felt. Branches slid past him, roots rose to meet his feet, and the air seemed to carry him.
Hours passed. Each movement strengthened his connection to the body, each breath attuned him more closely to Pandora. By the time he returned to the lab, muscles burned pleasantly, sweat matted his hair, and quiet satisfaction settled in his chest.
The next day, he went out again. Fully armed, wearing protective gear, straps for his weapons. Two operators walked beside him, scanning the undergrowth.
“Stick close, keep your eyes open,” one said casually. The man stood guarded his bright blond hair tied in a half up ponytail. “We don’t know what’s out there.”
Sasuke nodded, keeping his gaze on the dense forest. His body moved silently, observing patterns in the shadows, cataloging the smells, the sounds, the life moving around him.
Then chaos erupted. Shadows dropped from the trees with clawed limbs. Shouts and gunfire broke the air. In the confusion, Sasuke was thrown off balance, scraping his side against a jagged branch. He ran as fast as he could, tripping and falling on the untamed earth beneath him.
He didn’t know how long he ran. When he finally staggered to his feet, exhaustion weighed him down. The forest swallowed him. Base, lab, patrol, all gone. Static crackled in his earpiece. Alone.
His legs gave out. He slumped against a massive tree, pain flaring in his side. Around him, unfamiliar plants twisted and glimmered in the fading light. Vines hung low. Birds chirped loudly. The sun was setting. He wouldn’t make it through the night.
And then he saw it.
A flicker of orange moving through the shadows. Golden-honey skin, dark orange markings, sapphire-blue eyes, and a spiral seal at the stomach.
Not green. Not leaf-clan. Not anything he had read about.
The figure stepped closer, cautious but unafraid, curiosity shining in those impossible eyes.
Sasuke’s body couldn’t stay awake any longer. Darkness crept into the edges of his vision. The last thing he saw before surrendering to it was that impossible orange figure drawing nearer.