Prologue

Prologue

A chilling breeze swept across the endless sea of a desert, sweeping up large curtains of sand. On top of a small dune, two men faced off. Below them, others watched with some amount of anticipation. Both men were relatively the same size, and both had the same determined look in them. One had dark hair, and an odd set of red eyes with three dots in them. This man wore a blue-white T-shirt with a symbol of a fire being fanned by wind on its back. On his head, he wore a forehead protector, showing a leaf with a slash across it. His name is Sasuke Uchiha, one of two remaining survivors of the Uchiha Clan.

On the other side, a blonde man stared him down. Distinct features on his face distinguished him from the other. For one, his bright blue eyes provided an obvious contrast to the other man's red. On his cheeks were six small lines that seemed to resemble whiskers. He wore a black jacket, with square-like patterns of orange near the bottom. His orange pants, black sandals, and black forehead protector completed his outfit. The same leaf symbol was on this man's protector; only it did not have a slash across it. This man's name was Naruto Uzumaki, the strongest Genin in Leaf Village.

"Looks like it's come down to this," said Naruto, darkly. He shook for a second, "Damnit Sasuke, why do you gotta be so stubborn? Come back with us. Repent for your crimes."

"Why?" asked Sasuke, with a sneer. "Even if I were to come back with you, what would I be returning to? That wreck of a place you still call home? Open your eyes Naruto! The world as we know it is gone. Everything you and I worked to achieve has been lost. Even the village has been destroyed!"

Naruto's jaw hardened at the mention of the village he grew up in. It was true. The story went all the way back to the discovery of the organization called Akatsuki. With their black robes with red cloud designs, they had gone from country to country, seeking the nine tailed beasts and their hosts. And one by one, they had slowly obtained each and every one. All of them save for the eight and nine tails. Strangely enough, none of the Akatsuki members, including its leader, could ever manage to defeat their hosts. Time and time again, they failed to kill the Cloud Ninja Killer Bee, as well as the same blonde who now stood against Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto Uzumaki…the host of the nine-tailed fox and without a doubt the next Hokage should there ever be one.

With each attempt, Akatsuki members began to dwindle. From the original ten, they dwindled down to just one; Madara Uchiha. The puppet master Sasori had been crushed by Sakura and Chiyo. Kakuzu had been executed by Kakashi after having been severely injured by Naruto. Hidan had been left for dead after having his body destroyed by Shikamaru. Deidara and Itachi were both killed by Sasuke. The scourge of mist village, Kisame, was defeated by Killer Bee and his brother, the Raikage. Their spy and hunter Zetsu had been defeated by the Sand Village Kazekage Gaara. The acting leader Pein as well as his partner Konan had both attacked leaf Village, causing much of it to be destroyed.

Fortunately, Naruto arrived, single handedly wiping out Pein's six bodies before confronting the original himself. Despite Pein's immense chakra and his attempts to confront Naruto's justice, he was brought back to his senses by Naruto's vow to restore peace and order to the ninja world. Meanwhile, Konan had defected, allying herself and the Land of Rain with Naruto.

As the last one, Madara, in possession of seven tailed beasts, gained control of them, and launched a devastating attack upon the world along with his remaining supporters. While Leaf mustered its remaining might, the other Shinobi nations banded together to defend the last remaining beast host on earth. Enemies set aside their distrust and anger with each other. But alas, against the might of seven tailed, many of those nations and villages fell. The smaller villages: Rain, Sound, Waterfall, and all others were the first to lose all their forces. The first Great Nation, Cloud, fell after that. However, the brute nature of its forces as well as the valiant stand by the eight tailed host Killer Bee felled two tailed beasts. The next to go was Rock Village. The old Tsuchikage proved his worth and he and his village destroyed two more beasts. The next to fall was the weakened Mist Village. Led by the Mizukage, its small force only managed to eliminate one of the tailed beasts, before utter destruction. After that, it was sand village. Led by the greatest Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand; who ironically once held a tailed beast of his own; they made their stand. In one of the most brilliant displays of strategy, Gaara single handedly killed off three of the remaining four beasts, forcing Madara to kill him instead. Their allies, Team Seven from Leaf Village, arrived too late, and saw only the charred remains of their friends. In one of the saddest moments of their lives, Team Seven honored their allies by burying the remaining corpses of his brother-in-arms.

With four of the Great Shinobi Villages out of the way, Madara and his last tailed beast turned their attention to Leaf; still arguably the strongest village of the five. Weakened already by the rampages of the first seven beasts, and from Pein's initial attack, their forces were halved. When Madara and the eight tails attacked, even Leaf succumbed to its might. The last Sannin, Tsunade died in the arms of her apprentice, Sakura Haruno. The battle was long and Shinobi after Shinobi fell until only four remained. Team Seven: Kakashi, Naruto, Sai, and Sakura, with the first three having returned recently from Sand Village.

With the strength of Naruto's nine-tails, he single handedly succeeded where countless others had failed. He had utterly destroyed the last tailed beast. All might have ended their however. Weakened by chakra exhaustion, Naruto was unable to fend off Madara Uchiha. The Uchiha's final attack might have killed Naruto, save for a last minute appearance by Sasuke Uchiha and his allies. Saving his former team, he forced a battle exhausted Madara to flee.

It seemed like a break was in order until Danzo showed up with a group of ANBU. After a fierce fight which resulted in Sasuke losing an arm, Danzo was defeated. It was then that Team Seven had learned what Madara had revealed to Sasuke. Their world had gone topsy-turvy then. Itachi had been ordered to kill the Uchiha Clan. Madara had exiled himself, before attacking the village. The Uchiha could control the nine-tailed fox. All of it was mind-boggling.

Before they could ponder these thoughts, Sasuke had summoned Manda, the Great Snake Lord, and escaped. Since then, Team Seven put all their efforts into finding Sasuke and Madara, who had hidden himself. And now, at the top of this sandy dune, Naruto confronts one of the last surviving Uchihas. Down below, Sasuke's three supporters lay defeated, with Sakura, Kakashi, and Sai as the victors.

"So," said Naruto, "what are you going to do now? Don't tell me you're just going to disappear; hide yourself just like Madara, eh? You can't think of anything except your fucked up life. Don't you remember our days as a team? You must have…otherwise you wouldn't have saved my life."

"Hn," grunted Sasuke. "Don't mistake my intentions, Naruto. I only saved you out of pity." It was clear in his eyes, however, that Sasuke did not mean these words. "In any case, I'm not rejoining Team Seven, Naruto."

"You bastard," growled Naruto.

Sasuke did not reply. "Don't you get it," shouted Naruto, flailing his arms into the air. "True power…the thing you've been seeking all these years. Ever since the time of Itachi, all you cared about was getting stronger. Think about Orochimaru. He was a gifted genius, but he failed to see beyond techniques. And now where is he? Trapped inside your body; his own technique having backfired upon him."

"Actually," corrected Sasuke, "Itachi killed his spirit."

Naruto's mouth dropped in confusion, "Wha? Wait, no…that's beside the point! When will it end, huh? Stop running away. Come back with us…your true friends. Together, we'll be unstoppable."

For a moment, it seemed Sasuke might succumb. His eyes seemed to have unfocused, and he was looking at Naruto oddly. However, the same dark look took over once again. "No, Naruto. I couldn't go back to you guys… No! I don't need you guys. I'm going after Madara. A man like him can't be left alone. And then…I'll gladly end my life."

"WHAT," shouted Naruto, "you freaking emo son of a bitch! How the fuck do you think Sakura would feel, huh? I'm not the only one who still feels empty without you."

Sasuke shifted his attention to the pink haired medic who gazed up at him. "Sakura, huh? I heard you two were married…congratulations…"

"Th-Argh! You're evading the question…"

"Look," said Sasuke, "nothing you can say will change my mind. I can't go back and I'm not going to give up. The only thing I can do is keep moving forward."

"That so? Well, that's not going to stop me from trying is it? If I have to knock you out and drag you back with us, I'll gladly do it."

"Shut up," shouted Sasuke. "I told you, Naruto…just like I told you that day I left. The Sasuke you're searching for is gone. He's been dead ever since the day he received this curse mark. My only goal now is to kill Madara, and I'll never rest until I do so. And if you try to stop me, I'll have to kill you too Naruto."

Naruto's shoulders visibly slumped, and he sighed deeply. "Nothing I say can change your mind, huh?"

"Nothing!"

Dropping his head, and looking down where his teammates watched, Naruto said, "I'm sorry. I did my best." When he looked up again, Sasuke noted that the sparkle in his eyes were gone. "In interest of fair disclosure, I'm not the same brat I was back then, either," said Naruto. "I admit you were stronger than me last time we fought, but its different now. Sasuke, I'm bringing you down!"

"You can try," said Sasuke, before he vanished. The Uchiha appeared behind Naruto, throwing a forward punch. Ducking, Naruto let the punch sail over his head, before grabbing it, and throwing Sasuke forward. In turn, Sasuke opened his mouth as he sailed over, releasing a snake with poisoned fangs.

Reacting quickly, Naruto dropped onto his back and swiped across with his own kunai, beheading the creature in the process.

As Sasuke landed, chakra appeared on his foot and he kicked back, throwing out a piece of earth. Leaping to his feet, Naruto swung his arm out, breaking the piece of earth. A small cut appeared on his arm.

In another quick movement, Sasuke raised his arm, "Hidden Snake Hands!" A cluster of snakes shot from his sleeves, wrapping themselves tightly around Naruto. Sasuke cursed before he twisted, and the snakes bit through their target. Naruto vanished with a puff of smoke.

"Still using your shadow clones, eh, Naruto? Weak…I would have thought you'd pick up some new tricks." And jumping up, he avoided a dashing Naruto, who had two Rasengan in his hands.

Tossing a kunai, he hit Naruto in the back, destroying the second clone. As he landed, some fifty clones materialized around him. "As usual, the number amazes me," complimented Sasuke.

"Why, thank you," shouted the Narutos, before charging. Forming hand signs, the Uchiha muttered, "Chidori All Around!" Exploding from his body were bolts of lightning spread to form an electric field around the Naruto clones, shocking each of them. When each clone had vanished, Sasuke dispelled his jutsu, before leaping away, to avoid another Rasengan attempt.

"Really Naruto," said Sasuke, "the same tricks aren't going to work. If you really want to do me in, you'll have to kill me. This half-assed attempt to "bring me down" isn't working. I'm already too far along, Naruto. This will be our last battle. Either you die or I die. It's the only way it can end."

Furious, Naruto spun around to face his opponent. "Why, Sasuke? Why can't you just trust your heart for once? Even you…you must still have it somewhere…a conscious."

"Ridiculous," said Sasuke. "I have a heart…true. But, I've seen too much Naruto. I can't handle it like you can, you know." And forming a hand sign, he muttered, "Fire Style: Phoenix flower Jutsu!"

"Stupid," said Naruto, as he formed his own hand sign, "Wind Style: Divine Wind. Trapping the fireballs in a vortex, Naruto sent his mini-tornado, now appearing to be a twister of fire, back at Sasuke.

"Tch!" Leaping up, Sasuke avoided the twister entirely, though it was bad overall move.

"Bad move," pointed out Naruto. "Wind Style: Wind Blades! Sweeping his arm out, Naruto sent out currents of wind. Sasuke raised his arms in defense, letting his chakra out to nullify the attack. He was pretty successful, landing with only one major cut on his stomach. The Uchiha glared at the bleeding wound.

"Still going easy? Your pitiful attack barely grazed my skin. Didn't I tell you? I'm not coming back with you guys!"

"Ah, shut up, Sasuke," demanded Naruto.

"Once an idiot, always an idiot," said Sasuke. "I told you Naruto. It's either you kill me or I kill you. I'm going all out now, so you better shape up and come at me."

And before Naruto could throw out a reply, a chakra unlike any Naruto had ever seen exploded from Sasuke's body. To the blonde's surprise, it was not full of malicious intent he had felt when they fought at the Valley of End. This new, purple chakra seemed to be a mixture of emotions; sad and angry.

"I see," said Naruto, "you're fighting an emotional battle within yourself. Part of you knows that I'm right. The other part is what makes you cling to revenge and hatred."

Sasuke grunted, "Idiot…"

Grunting, Naruto reached for a scroll tied to his back. In confusion, Sasuke stood still, waiting to see what his former comrade would do. Opening the scroll, Naruto raised a finger, "Reverse Summoning!" A Naruto clone appeared before him and then promptly vanished.

Sasuke's eyes rose, until he noticed a change come over Naruto. The blonde's pupils' eyes dilated and promptly turned red. A yellow-green chakra exploded from his body. At the same time, two shadow clones popped up behind him.

Sasuke glared at the figure ahead of him. "What…is that?"

"It's called Sage Mode," said Naruto, "it's like my Nine Tailed Fox form, except it uses the Natural Energy around us to enhance my attack. I left a clone in a safe place to gather the natural energy for me, so I can use it in battle. I'm sorry Sasuke…but even your Cursed Seal transformation will do no good for you now."

And he vanished. Sasuke's eyes shifted to the right, his Sharigan eyes flashing. And then he was sailing through the air, spinning uncontrollably from the force of Naruto's punch. Before he landed, he felt a kick slam into him like a baseball bat knocking him into the ground. Coughing, Sasuke landed on all fours, before flipping forward, using his hands to push himself up. Landing, he turned, and, just in time, blocked a punch. He grunted from the brute force and was pushed back several feet. Ahead of him, Naruto got into an unfamiliar stance.

"Frog Katas," explained Naruto, "this Sage Mode form allows me to use it."

"Enough of this," said Sasuke, unleashing more chakra with his body. "Chidori Stream!"

Naruto leapt away as lightning blasts struck the ground where he had been standing. Swinging his arm, Sasuke sent more blasts at the blonde, eventually catching him off balance. "Got you," said Sasuke, sending out a finishing strike.

Glaring up, Naruto focused chakra into his arm, and swiped across, canceling out the attack.

With surprise, Sasuke glared at him.

Raising his palm, Naruto gathered all of his chakra in his palm, forming first the devastating Rasengan. Then mixing wind elemental chakra, he formed the green shuriken like sides. "Wind Style: RasenShuriken!"

Sasuke glared at the attack with malice.

With a shout, Naruto launched the attack forward. Closing his eyes, Sasuke placed his hands together. Summoning chakra, he opened both eyes, revealing the Mangekyo Sharingan. A dark shadow emerged from the ground, taking a skeletal form. Surrounding Sasuke, it took the full force of Naruto's RasenShuriken. The dune however, did not. With the fierce wind generated by the jutsu, a deep crater was created.

Panting, Sasuke fell to one knee, as Naruto appeared at the edge of the hole, glaring down. "So that's Susanoo?"

"You can't touch me," grunted Sasuke, who was back on his feet. The skeletal figured raised a bony hand protectively surrounding Sasuke's battle weary body.

"I see," murmured Naruto. His eyes followed Sasuke's movements as he returned to level ground. A shadowy sword emerged in the Susanoo creature's hands. With a swipe of his own arm, Sasuke sent a sword slash Naruto's way. The blonde vanished quickly, appearing closer. Raising a hand, he dashed forward, a Rasengan in his hands.

With Naruto within the range of Susanoo's reach, Sasuke grinned arrogantly. "Idiot, you'll never get past the chakra cloak." He swiped his arm, bringing Susanoo's sword towards Naruto's back. "Got ya!"

The sword went through Naruto's body and for a second Sasuke was sure he had won. And then a poof of smoke alerted him that he had struck a clone. "What the…"

The first sign of trouble came with the slight rumble underneath his foot. "Oh shit," he murmured just as Naruto popped out of the ground, a Rasengan extended from his hand. He had created a clone and ran forward hiding in its shadow. While the clone had dashed in, the real Naruto had burrowed underground, bypassing the Susanoo cloak. The high level chakra from the clone's Rasengan had prevented Sasuke from noticing it.

With the Susanoo temporarily disabled due to Sasuke's concentration disrupted, Naruto created a second RasenShuriken.

"Last time, I used the Nine Tailed Fox's chakra. This time, I'm using my own strength. There's no escaping, no pulling back this time. I'm going to finish you off. It's the least I can do for the 'real' Sasuke..." And with that, he leapt up and threw the RasenShuriken forward.

As he watched Sasuke fall into the path of his spinning technique, his eyes widened in horror as Sasuke's expression changed from surprise to that of happiness. And to Naruto's surprise, Sasuke made no attempt to block the attack, allowing the wind shuriken to strike him full. In slow motion, Naruto picked out his whispered words. "Goodbye Naruto." Thousands of microscopic wind needles punctured Sasuke's body inside of a swirling torrent of wind. The finishing explosion was great enough to send up large chunks of sand, creating a deep hole that both Naruto and Sasuke fell into.

Nearby, Team Seven was forced to leap out of the way, in fear of being caught up in the attack.

"Oh no," said Sakura, "Sasuke…." She turned to Kakashi, "Sensei, why didn't Sasuke defend himself? He just let Naruto hit him."

But Kakashi was equally stunned. As much as he had seen in his life, nothing could have prepared him for the day when Sasuke Uchiha willingly let his life be taken. Without replying, he dashed forward towards the smoking mess that lay before him.

"It'll be okay, Sakura," said Sai, trying to reassure his teammate, "Naruto is strong."

"I know," said Sakura, trying to breathe, "it's Sasuke I'm worried about it. He took that thing full on." And following Sai's lead, she went to go see the damage, only to find out her life was about to be turned upside down.

Nearby, a fourth watcher stared in amusement. "Hm… Well, that's something you don't see everyday. But, this might just work out to my advantage." And chuckling evilly, Madara Uchiha crouched forward, watching the scene unfold; already the seeds of a brilliant plan taking root.