The sky was dark. The moon hung high in the sky casting ominous shadows through the night. The moon itself was red with multiple rings on its surface and nine Tomoe on those rings. This was the Jutsu known as the Infinite Tsukuyomi. An eternal Genjutsu that had trapped everyone in a dream world for eternity, or until their Chakra was drained and they were all turned into mindless slaves. It was this very moon that shone down on the Valley Of The End. Nine enormous balls of rock floated in the air near the area, each as big as a small town. Two lone figures stood atop each of the statues of the founders of the Hidden Leaf Village. One had black hair, spiked up at the back and black eyes to match.
He wore a white shirt with long wide sleeves that were wider at the ends. His pants were black and he had a purple rope belt tied around his waist. This was Sasuke Uchiha, the last Uchiha and the one person the other teenage boy had that he could call a best friend- maybe even a brother. The other person was another teenage boy with long spiky blond hair trailing down his back, and two bangs framing his face, like his father. The boy had lightly tan skin and bright blue eyes. He was wearing black underclothes with an orange version of the Shodai's armour. On his back was a red Gunbai with blue around the edges. This was Naruto Uzumaki, the only known holder of the elemental Bloodline Itsu No Yoso (Five Elements), and the Fifth Hokage of Konoha. Both boys were pretty badly beaten up already, and they were about to fight each other.
Suddenly Naruto jumped into the air with Sasuke copying the action. The two, both anticipating the other to punch them, blocked at the same time, the result being the boys hitting each other in the same spot with their forearms. The Uchiha leapt back and drew his sword. Naruto pulled his Gunbai off his back. They once again leapt at each other, Sasuke enhancing his sword with fire Chakra, while Naruto formed a single hand sign with one hand. "Suiton: Water Shockwave!" The Godamine Hokage called, as a massive wave of water flew at his Uchiha opponent. Sasuke sliced through it with his Chokoto, with the Fire Chakra causing Naruto's water jutsu to evaporate into a huge thick cloud of steam. Sasuke glared and activated his Sharingan to see through it and find the other boy.
Suddenly a movement appeared behind him caught his attention. Naruto had appeared behind the black-haired teen and was in position to bring his War Fan down onto Sasuke's head. As the weapon descended, Sasuke opened his left eye, which had until then been closed, allowing a red Rinnegan with six Tomoe on the rings to be seen. Suddenly he wasn't standing where he had been mere moments before, and the Uzumaki's weapon impacted with the ground with a crash, debris flying everywhere. Naruto straightened from his crouching position, then turned his head and glared behind himself. Sasuke walked forwards slowly with his sword drawn, "is that all you've got Naruto?" he asked, Rinnegan glowing slightly. Naruto scowled, but at the same time he felt his heart ache. He'd never wanted this. The Seventeen year old turned around, making sure to keep his eyes on the other boy.
"Not even close!" Naruto pulled his scroll off his hip and unrolled it, causing multiple weapons to be unsealed from it. The Uzumaki crossed the middle and index fingers of both hands and created multiple Shadow Clones. Each of them grabbed a weapon, some of which were a giant sword, regular sword and Demon Wind Shuriken. The clones threw the weapons, or charged at Sasuke with them. However, the Uchiha simply dodged, weaved or blocked every attack sent his way. The real Naruto leapt at Sasuke, while Sasuke did the same. Sword and Gunbai clashed against each other. Naruto leapt back and channelled Wind Chakra into his War Fan. Sasuke channelled lightning Chakra through his sword. The Uzumaki and Uchiha leapt at each other once again, their weapons clashing in a tempest of opposing Chakra.
Both were thrown backwards and skidded on the ground. Naruto placed his Gunbai on his back, and Sasuke sheathed his sword. The last Uchiha then leapt into the air again, shooting another fireball at the blond. Naruto grit his teeth and entered Six Paths Sage Mode, creating a large hand of golden chakra and using it to catch and extinguish the ball of searing flames. In the resulting smoke, Sasuke teleported behind his friend, his hand covered in lightning in the form of the Chidori. Naruto sensed this and spun around, his Chakra shroud bocking any damage he would get from the attack and was simply thrown backwards due to the force. Thankfully though, the Godamine Hokage used the ability to fly that his Six Paths Sage Mode granted him to stop this movement in mid-air.
Looking up at Sasuke, he saw that the other boy had already activated his complete body Susanoo, and was flying down towards him with his sword drawn. 'Kurama!' he called in his mind. "Yeah, let's do it Kid!"the Nine Tailed Fox replied. The Chakra version of the Nine Tailed Fox appeared. Sasuke's sword hit Kurama's arm, which due to Naruto's quick thinking was able to simply block the attack rather than having the Ethereal blade slice right through it. The blond blocked two more attacks before the Uchiha flew back and formed the Horse hand sign with one hand. Naruto's eyes widened, 'oh shit, he knows that one!' he thought, quickly forming the Tiger, Ram and Snake hand signs, just as Sasuke shouted: "Katon: Great Fire Annihilation!" "Mokuton: Deep Forest Emergence!" Naruto called, just as his friend unleashed a massive wave of fire at him.
The giant mass of trees shot out of the ground, and towards Sasuke. However, the powerful flames caught it first and set the trees alight. The Uchiha continued to pour out the fire jutsu, but the fact was that Naruto had much larger reserves of stamina and Chakra than he did, and he soon began to run out of energy for the technique. So, to be able to continue using his Susanoo and other Jutsu, Sasuke cancelled the technique, and the flaming branches advanced towards him. However before they could touch him or his Chakra construct, Sasuke's Susanoo sliced them all in half with one of his swords. Sasuke then summoned his Ultimate Lightning Jutsu, Kirin. As the lightning beast emerged from the sky, Sasuke smirked, "now Naruto, it's over- be gone with a thunder clap!" he cried, bringing his lightning coated hand down and pointing it at his best friend/rival/enemy.
Naruto gritted his teeth as the lightning animal raced towards him. There was a huge blast of light, and the Uzumaki was seemingly obliterated. Sasuke began laughing, "I did it, I'm finally alone!" he cried. "Check again!" a voice from the smoke and debris called. Sasuke gasped, "it's not possible!" he roared. As the smoke cleared, their stood Naruto Uzumaki and the Chakra version Kyuubi No Kitsune encased in a protective barrier of crystal. The Uchiha was seething. Naruto had survived one of his most powerful attacks! "Just stop Sasuke, I don't want to kill you!" he called out. The Uchiha's face became one of impassiveness, "you going on with this whole lone wolf act again- I can't let that happen and you know why!" Naruto roared, preparing his Chakra for another jutsu. "Naruto, you're naive" Sasuke said in an even voice.
The blond clenched his fist, "I'm naïve? Sasuke your plan would only lead the world to eternal war! You still don't know what's really important!" he cried. Naruto formed several hand signs, ending on Snake, "Doton: Mountain Jutsu!" Two large semi-spherical dome's of earth rose on either side of the Susanoo and attempted to crush Sasuke between them. The Last Uchiha had his ethereal warier hold them apart with its arms, "you think that's enough to stop me?" he asked, before he let out a powerful pulse of his Chakra, which shattered the rock and allowed him to fly upwards. Naruto and Kurama followed, as the blonds Six Paths Sage Mode allowed them both to fly while Naruto was using the Chakra version of the Kyuubi. Sasuke formed a Chidori in his Susanoo's hand, while Naruto and Kurama formed a Rasengan with their combined power. When the two Jutsu clashed it created an explosion that shook the entire Valley.
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Naruto and Sasuke floated in a white space. "Quit being so loud will you" Sasuke rebuked, "we're no longer kids- this isn't like before, I understand what you're doing, and you understand me too, don't you, Naruto" he said. Naruto scowled, "so you're saying, after everything we still have to fight each other?" he asked. "It's precisely because it's you that we have to fight," Sasuke replied, "I have to get rid of you" the Fifth Hokage clenched his fists. "You're willing to destroy everything you've had up till now for your new world… but how're you so sure it won't just turn out exactly like it is now?" Naruto asked. Sasuke stared at him, "I'll be watching over it, that's the difference" he replied. "Are you hearing yourself!?" Naruto asked incredulously, "aren't the five villages finally together now?!" he demanded.
"Yeah… but that's only because they've found common enemies- Akatsuki… Madara… Kaguya… they've had to put aside their differences and band together just to defeat them. That was the only way to survive," the Uchiha explained, "now the enemy is no more- and I'm sure they'd start over eventually." "So you're planning on being the next enemy? What'll happen when you're gone?" Naruto asked. "I've finally, found my solution," Sasuke said, "I have my Sharingan, and now the Rinnegan as well… immortality is in my hands- there's always a way, and their won't be any battles like the ones so far, everything will be controlled in the shadows..". Naruto stared at his friend, "are you- planning to stay in that hell all alone for the rest of eternity?" he asked, "being hated by all…" "Well, that's what being Hokage means to me- and you, as the Fifth Hokage must die for that- as will the rest of the past".
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Naruto and Sasuke, on top of Kurama and in Susanoo respectively flew backwards in the air, "what, is that all you've got?" Sasuke asked, "not even close!" Naruto replied, forming the Dog hand sign, "Hyton: Multi Giant Ice Spears!" Around one hundred giant spears made entirely of ice formed in the air around the blond and the Biju. Once they were fully formed and frozen, the Godamine Hokage sent them shooting towards the other teen. Sasuke closed his left eye, the one with his Rinnegan in it. A moment later twin trails of blood began to leak down from his closed eye. When the Uchiha opened it again, it had changed from his Rinnegan to his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
Black flames appeared on the ice spears and melted all of them before they could even get close to him. The two Shinobi flew towards each other, fists of each of their giants reared back and then- *boom!* they met each other with a shockwave that created huge tidal waves in the water below them. As they held their ground, memories from each other's childhoods flooded their minds. Naruto saw Sasuke lying all alone on the floor in his Clan's compound. Sasuke saw Naruto lying alone in his apartment. Naruto saw Sasuke sitting on the pier, staring sadly at his reflection. Sasuke saw Naruto walking along by himself, staring at the ground with a broken expression on his face. Both watched as Naruto went down and began to talk to the Uchiha.
In the present the two were engaging in a Tai-Jutsu match with their respective giants. Sasuke tried to use his sword against the blond, but Kurama knocked it away with one arm, then punched the Uchiha's Susanoo in the chin, causing it to be knocked backwards. Sasuke and his Susanoo stood up and managed to block Naruto's double-handed shove with it's hands, both pushing against each other. Sasuke then let go of the Kyuubi and tried again to hit him with his constructs sword, but Naruto used Kurama's tail to block it, causing a massive wave of water, that was pushed out of the valley due to the force of their attack. Sasuke flew back, "you're not going to kill me with an attack like that" he stated. Naruto's eyes narrowed as the pain in his heart increased, 'Sasuke, please, don't make me do this- don't make me kill you' he begged in his mind, "I'm not trying to kill you!" he shouted, "I'm-" he started but was cut off by Sasuke, "enough".
The Uchiha formed the Rat hand sign. The Nine Chibaku Tensei that contained the other Biju, including the half of Kurama's Chakra that Naruto originally had sealed inside of him floated towards Sasuke and surrounded his Susanoo, "I'm the strongest there is now," the Uchiha said, "and I'll begin my journey into the shadows from this moment on". It was at that moment that Chakra from each of the Tailed Beasts began flowing out of the miniature moons and combining in Sasuke's Susanoo. Naruto watched this with wariness, anger and slight fear, though he didn't allow it to deter him. 'Kurama, is he doing what I think he's doing?' he asked his partner as Sasuke's Susanoo began to change. "Yes- this is bad, he's combining the split Chakra's into one- and he's doing it so damn well- it's like he's at- Old Man Rikudo's level, except he's doing the exact opposite of the old man,"the giant fox explained, "since there aren't any Gedo Statues here, his Susanoo might become a sort of pseudo-Juubi, with Sasuke becoming it's vessel. Stay on your toes Naruto- a big one's coming!" Kurama said.
When the Uchiha had finished combining the Chakra of the Tailed Beasts, his Susanoo had defiantly changed. The inside was now a sort of light blue smoke-like substance, while the outside was a purple armour covering it in strip-like sections of Chakra. Both Naruto and Kurama then formed a cross hand sign with both their hands. "You're using that one again?" The Uchiha asked, amused, as one Kurama and Naruto became four, "Naruto, that Jutsu is the symbol of your weakness," Sasuke stated mockingly, "a jutsu that shows exactly how lonely you are!" Those words caused Naruto to flinch unintentionally, but it was enough. Using the power of his Rinnegan, Sasuke appeared in the middle of the group of Kyuubi clones. Caught off guard, one of the Shadow Clones was knocked back by the Chakra staff the Susanoo now held. The Clone was knocked a far distance away, past the mountains in the distance and they landed near what was left of the Divine Tree with a huge *crash* that caused pieces of earth to explode everywhere.
The three Kyuubi Shadow Clones that were left all attacked Sasuke's Susanoo at once, but the Chakra construct blocked the fists with his hand, armour and staff. Then the Uchiha twirled his staff and knocked all the clones backwards a short distance. The three clones combined a fire, wind and lightning technique to create a bright beam of yellow light, "Light Style: Uzume!" they cried, the beam of light shooting forwards and attempting to disintegrate their opponent. Sasuke merely held up his right hand and used his Rinnegan to absorb the Chakra from the attack. He then created three lightning spears and threw them at Naruto and his clones. However, the blond countered with three Tailed Beast Balls, one from each of the clones and the real Naruto and fox. The two techniques collided in mid air, creating three huge explosions in the sky.
Then an even bigger explosion was caused from the released energy of the two attacks. Naruto glared at Sasuke, while the Uchiha smirked, "you've only got so little Chakra from the Tailed Beasts left- there's nothing you can do" he said, turning his staff into a cross bow, and creating a lightning arrow. Naruto could tell that this arrow was different- the lightning was purple. The two remaining Naruto clones combined with the real Kurama, creating a construct with three heads and six arms. 'C'mon Kurama!' he called in his head. Over the mountains, near the Divine Tree's base, sat Naruto and Kurama's other clone. The clone was covered in Sage markings, "heh, I think I've collected waaay too much," the fox replied, "I'll send you all I've got!" he said, as the clone vanished in a giant cloud of smoke.
Naruto and his two Shadow Clones felt the amount of Nature Chakra flowing into them. The amount felt godly, 'I can feel it! all this Nature Chakra, coming so suddenly!' he thought as the Sage markings appeared on Kurama's body. Sasuke smirked, "so, you've finally gotten serious?" he asked "good". Naruto used all six arms to focus his Chakra into two special RasenShuriken's. "We've got a lot of burdens to carry- but you know-" he paused for a moment, memories of the past flashing through his mind before staring resolutely into Sasuke's eyes, "when it comes to battle, I- really want to fight you too!" Sasuke shot his arrow at Naruto, "but, not the you the way you are right now!" he yelled. "You know that, don't you, Sasuke!" he threw the two RasenShuriken's each one infused with different Chakra types and Nature Chakra as well.
'Indra's Arrow- it's the strongest attack I have right now,' Sasuke thought 'and now- disappear!' The Lightning arrow and two RasenShuriken's clashed in an explosion larger than anything else that came before. The clouds covered the sky, and giant bolts of lightning shot down and tore up the landscape around them. The water whipped everywhere in a frenzy, the ground was smashed to rubble. The waves battered the two statues of Hashirama and Madara, and shook the branches of the Divine Tree.
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The storm clouds churned and twisted. Two forms fell from the cloud. One was enshrouded in golden energy, and the other was dark purple. They were Naruto and Sasuke. The two teenagers hit the ground hard and gasped in pain. Looking up, you would find that the heads of both the Hashirama and Madara statues had been blown clear off due the last collision of attacks and now rested behind each of the boys respectively. Both boys panted hard as they sat up, Naruto enshrouded in the Nine Tails Chakra Cloak, which was protecting his right arm from being burned to ashes by Sasuke's Amaterasu. He wore only his black undershirt and black pants, as his armour had been destroyed during their clash.
Sasuke crouched on the ground with his hands clapped together and blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. 'I can only use it as a decoy- it doesn't work as a technique,' he thought to himself, 'the Biju are-' suddenly Sasuke flinched in pain as his left eye, the one with his Rinnegan began to bleed. "Gh…" he gasped and covered his eye with his hand, trying to stem the bleeding and the pain, 'I've definitely used too much Chakra… I can't control my left eye properly' he thought, as his other eye narrowed.
Naruto was up and had created three Shadow Clones. Now the clones and the original were running at him. The clones kicked him into the air, while the original Fifth Hokage leapt above the other boy. Just as they were even in the air, Sasuke brought his elbow down while Naruto aimed a punch at the Uchiha. Both hits connected with the others face, causing them both to spit out some blood. Sasuke and the original Naruto hit the ground with gasps of pain, while the three Shadow Clones ran towards the Uchiha to attack. As he skid across the ground, Sasuke pulled his left wrist band off, revealing a seal wrapped around his wrist. Three shuriken popped out of the seal and he held them in between his fingers.
As Naruto's clones closed in, Sasuke threw the Shuriken with deadly accuracy, hitting one in the chest, while the other two blocked with their arms. The Uchiha pushed himself up, his hand sparking with his Chidori and shoved his hand through one's chest. However, it grabbed his arm in a tight grip, while Naruto got off the ground and punched his friend in the side of the head, while the clone exploded into Chakra smoke. *Pant, pant* Sasuke pushed himself up slowly, bruises and dirt covered his skin, and sweat poured down his face. He'd never felt this exhausted before in his life, not even after his battle with Itachi. Yes he'd been drained of Chakra, but he'd never felt such complete and utter exhaustion, both mental and physical.
Dredging up the last of his dwindling Chakra reserves, Sasuke pushed himself into a crouch and focused his Chakra into his right hand, forming a Chidori. Naruto, also panting, formed a large Rasengan with one hand. Suddenly Sasuke's Chidori disappeared and he stared at his hand- he really was running on fumes now. Naruto ran towards Sasuke, his arm drawing back, ready to ram his jutsu into his friend's body. However he tripped on a piece of stone that was sticking out of the ground, and the Rasengan made a large hole in the ground where it hit. When Naruto looked up, he saw Sasuke right in front of him with his foot reared back. Then the Uchiha kicked the Godamine Hokage in the face, sending him rolling across the dirt.
When the blond stopped, he was lying on his back. Sasuke stooped over him and grabbed him by the throat. Roaring, the Uchiha gave a hard punch to his friends face. And again. And again. Again, and again, and again, and again. Naruto coughed blood. Sasuke attempted to punch the blond once more, however the Hokage instead head-butted the Uchiha- hard, knocking him off of him. The Uzumaki pushed himself up, panting as he did so and rubbed his face to get rid of some of the blood there. Naruto stood, battered, but with the same determined look in his eyes that he'd had throughout the battle. Sasuke wearily lifted his head up, his left eye closed, while glaring with his black right eye, 'still-' he thought with irritation, "just... give up-" he ground out, before forcing himself to his feet and running towards the other teen, "Narutooo!" he yelled.
The Godamine Hokage also ran towards the Uchiha, "Sasukeee!" The two then engaged in a fierce Tai-Jutsu match, which really appeared as more like a common brawl, as the two combatants hit each other in every place they could reach, each trying to cause as much pain to the other as possible.
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The sun was just coming up over the Valley of the End. The first rays of light peeked over the top of the now headless statues of Hashirama and Madara. Naruto and Sasuke stood, exhausted, panting in the middle of the valley on the river. Both were and looked utterly exhausted. Naruto's fist collided weakly with Sasuke's forehead, while the Uchiha's fist was rammed into Naruto's stomach. The two teens collapsed to their knees in the water, panting, each of their own Chakra completely gone, panting raggedly and trying to get some air back into their lungs.
"Hold on," Yang Kurama called from Naruto's mindscape, his hands clapped together, moulding Chakra "it's just a little bit, but I can give you some Chakra!" he said. "Okay, finally…" the fox started, but gasped when he felt the Chakra he'd just given the blond getting sucked out of his friends body. Sasuke absorbed Naruto's Chakra through the fist he'd just hit the blond with. 'Shit,' the Godamine Hokage thought, 'he's absorbing… the Kyuubi's Chakra…'. "This is one of the Rinnagan's powers," Sasuke stated with a superior smirk, as Naruto trembled and clutched onto the Uchiha's shoulder in an attempt to keep upright, but more and more of his strength was slipping away as Sasuke drained his Chakra.
"It's me, who has the eyes of the Uchiha Clan… that is destined to win" the black-haired teen said, just as Naruto's hand slipped from his shoulder while the blond gasped and he fell into the water with a heavy crash. Sasuke held his left hand out and created the Chidori once again. 'With this… I can finally be alone…' the Uchiha thought. "See you. My only-" Naruto glared up at him, "friend!" he cried as he reared his arm back, ready to thrust it through the blonds chest and end this once and for all.
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Sasuke thrust his lightning covered arm down into Naruto's chest. Naruto's eyes widened, and he spat out a large amount of blood that thinned out in the water. Sasuke grinned as he pulled his arm out of the other Shinobi. "Finally," he said, laughing madly to himself, "finally I've done it!" he cried madly. Suddenly, a blur shot out of the water and punched him in the chin- hard. Sasuke flew back and up, crashing into the cliff face on the side of the Madara statue. Naruto stood up, panting, but not seeming any worse for wear. He didn't even have the hole Sasuke's Chidori had made.
Sasuke groaned and glared at the Uzumaki, "you, how-" but he cut himself off when he caught sight of what lay in the water beside Naruto. It was a clone of the blond- but made of wood! "a Wood Clone! to think I of all people would fall for something like that" he growled. Naruto stood their panting, staring up at the boy he had called his best friend. "Over… and over… and over again," Sasuke said while panting, "just be a good boy and let me kill you!" he yelled. The Uzumaki stood tall, despite his fatigue and injuries, and stared resolutely up into Sasuke's eyes, "no way," he replied with conviction, "*huff* I'm the one and only *huff, huff*". Sasuke growled, and pulled himself out of the indent that his body had made in the rock.
Sasuke focused the last of his Chakra into a Chidori in his left hand. His right eye shifted into his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and the inside of the lightning Jutsu was suddenly wreathed in black flame. "He's resorting to the Kagutsuchi… got some resolution there that one, he's preparing to finish it all with this attack." Kurama explained to his partner, "he absorbed almost everything I gave you a while back. So what's left is all my Chakra and it's yours now" the fox said, while looking down at the representation of Naruto that was in his Mindscape looking up at him. "And when it's used I'll be put to sleep- so use it wisely Naruto, don't let him take any more." In the real world, Sasuke leapt at Naruto, with his attack ready to end the Fifth Hokage once and for all.
"Don't worry though, his Rinnegan's still new… so he can't absorb and cast his Jutsu at the same time." Naruto formed a one-handed Rasengan and jumped into the air, "now go!" the Kyuubi called. As the two Shinobi neared each other, they both thrust their attacks towards the other. The two Jutsu clashed in an explosion of opposing Chakra. The biggest explosion yet spread out and tore through the area, encompassing the entirety of the two statues of the Hidden Leaf Village founders.
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Sasuke groaned as he opened his left eye, while keeping his right one closed. He stared up at the red moon as the darkness surrounded them. "Awake now, huh?" Naruto asked as Sasuke flinched in pain. He looked down at where most of the pain was coming from, and his eye widened in shock. Naruto, who was staring up at the sky spoke up, "it's just as you see it, if we move too much, we'll bleed to death" he confirmed. Sasuke turned back to look at the sky and closed his eyes, while a small smile spread across his face, "just look at you- why do you insist on getting in my way?" he asked tiredly.
Naruto just stayed silent, "I- fell into darkness and gained the power to cut everything my way. It didn't matter who it was- I tried to cut the bonds I had with everyone around me." Sasuke paused and turned to face the Godamine again, "but, you never thought of breaking your bond with me-" Sasuke thought back to the last time he had fought with Naruto. He remembered the other boys words, "I'll take on all your hatred and we'll die together- I'm the only one who can". "No matter what happened- why do you care so much about me!?" Sasuke demanded. "Don't you already know? Heh, look at you, talking so much now, just cause you can't move" Naruto teased weakly.
Sasuke, still angry yelled: "shut up and just answer me!" Naruto looked over at the Uchiha, "because you're my friend, and the closest thing I've ever had to a brother" he replied. Sasuke started at Naruto intensely, "you've said that we were friends before- just what does that mean, to you?" he asked. Naruto was silent for a moment, before he spoke up again, "I can't really explain it in words very well, but, when I hear you yelling and carrying on about doing everything alone, and trying to- I can, feel the pain too" he said softly, making the Uchiha's eye widen in shock. "It hurts so much that I can't ignore you!" Sasuke's face softened, as Naruto turned to face him, "well, today I'm hurting all over, so there isn't much I can do" he joked weakly. The black-haired teen watched as the teenage Hokage groaned in pain, shutting his eyes tightly.
Sasuke thought back to the past, "Naruto, I knew that when you were young, you were always alone. Like me, the Last Uchiha, you were cast out. You acted like an idiot on purpose so that people would scold you, so that they would pay attention to you, but you were always smarter than everyone knew. At first I thought just like everyone else, that you weren't worth considering at all, that you were just a weakling playing around. But- after seeing you do stupid things and get scolded every time, for some reason I started to keep my eyes on you. Then when we actually met, I realised that you were much different than I thought- the idiot routine was just an act and you were smarter than you let on. I watched as you did everything possible to create bonds with others, you even formed a bond with me.
And for some reason, I felt relieved. But I also felt jealous of you. I had always been in the darkness. Even as a child, I felt like I was a darker being. But you were different. You exuded a kind of warmth and light that I desperately wanted. I wanted to be able to form bonds with others, to walk beside you in the light. But I was afraid. Afraid of forming a bond with you- afraid of hurting you, of losing you, just like how I had lost my own family. So I pushed you away to protect you from my darkness, to try and keep you safe. I tried to sever my bond with you, but you- you just wouldn't give up. No matter what I did, or how hard I pushed you away, you still kept chasing after me, begging me to return, never giving up on me, even as I embraced the darkness for power. You were always there, holding out your hand and there were so many times I felt my conviction waver.
I wanted so much to return to those days, but I also felt like you wouldn't be safe around me- I never wanted your light to go out. I began to feel your pain and understand you more and more, despite how much I tried to cut you off, I wanted to return so many times, but I was also afraid that my brother would kill you if I got attached, so I tried to protect you, my best friend, my brother. I pushed you away again and again, shrouding myself in darkness, always envious of your light, but knowing full well that I could never be like you. But now- now after everything, I can't keep fighting anymore. You are stronger than me, and you are the best friend I always wanted. And the brother I could never have. I've had enough of running away. From now on, I am going to start walking forwards with my eyes opened, and our bond strong in my heart'.
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Naruto slowly opened his eyes to the light of the sun in his face, "where are we, did we die?" he asked, his blurry eyes staring around himself slightly. "Looks like we slept till morning" Sasuke said. He smiled slightly, "Naruto" he said. Said blond turned his gaze to his best friend, "I'll admit it… I, lost" he said. Naruto stared at him, "hey, Naruto" Sasuke said. Naruto made a humming noise, "I finally… acknowledged you, if I die now, the destiny, that, according to the Sage has bound us together will end" he paused and Naruto growled, "did you even hear a thing I said?! I don't want to kill you! And that includes having you die! All this time- all this time, I have been trying to bring you home, save you from the darkness that has been trapping you, and return you to the way you were before! Not kill you damn it!" the blond exclaimed.
He gained a determined look, "my dream is for all Shinobi to work together, including you!" Naruto exclaimed. "Do you really think that I can be redeemed, after everything I've done?" Sasuke asked, eyes downcast. Naruto huffed, "of course, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: "no matter what's happened during the day, sunset always comes, and wipes everything clean, readying the world for the new day at sunrise. That's why, whenever a new day comes, I always see it as a new beginning, a new chance to change myself and the world, just a little bit. I always tell myself that, 'there's always tomorrow' because when tomorrow comes, I am never the same, I have always changed just a bit more, just like this world that's bathed in light- a new day always comes, bringing with it new possibilities and new chances. Chances to become smarter, or stronger, or even just a bit better. Everything changes at sunset, that's when the next day is allowed to begin".
"Everyone deserves a second chance, and that means you do too- so don't you dare think you can just die without even trying to change yourself!" the blond exclaimed. Sasuke stared in awe at the other boy. That was the same thing Naruto had told him the day they met at the pier. The black-haired teenager stared at the rising sun, bathing everything in new light, even the two of them. Sasuke took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "maybe, maybe it is time I let go of the past- and embraced the new day" he said softly. The two just laid there, watching the rising sun, before Sasuke spoke again, "Naruto, I-" but the fifth Hokage just cut the other boy off, "it doesn't matter what happened in the past between us, all that matters is here and now, because that will create the future" . The Uchiha turned back to look at the sun, "yes, it will. Thank you- Anija".
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After Naruto had healed himself and Sasuke, the two stood together with their hands placed in the Rat hand sign. Chakra was expelled from their bodies and the Infinite Tsukuyomi ended as the Divine Tree withered and died, releasing all those trapped inside. Yes everything was over now. But it wasn't the end of the story. For life is never ending, and all those twists and turns are what make it so exciting to live. Now, it is time for us to find out exactly how things got to this point, so don't stop reading now, because there is a lot more to come.
To Be Continued