PROLOGUE
"THE RETURNED & THE REINCARNATED"
The Fourth Shinobi War was at its climax. All of the five great Shinobi villages had joined forces in hopes to destroy a single evil opposing them all: Uchiha Madara. The sole reason the Uchiha name was such a taboo; the reason the Uchiha were pariahs, disdained, shunned, discriminated, and eventually…destroyed. His legacy was an evil kind, and the battles he fought were for the sake of his own morbid enjoyment and love for spilt blood—pointlessly spilt blood to be specific. The tide of battle had yet to be turned.
At that moment, all five Kage—the strongest of their respective hidden villages—stood tall at the very forefront of the waves of endless Shinobi, all of whom battled for the sake of their peace, and more importantly, to protect the dreams of the kings of their future: the children.
Rushing to the forefront was a young, pink-haired woman. She pushed and shoved through the concentrated crowd of people to reach her master's side.
"This world is mine…" said Uchiha Madara. His voice was laced with ominous intent and a sick pleasure in it. It was horrifying. "Your saviour is dea—"
"Uchiha Madara, forfeit this war," whispered Tsunade—the last remaining Senju and the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village. Her comment elicited a mere chuckle from Madara. She grit her teeth tight. It didn't help that she and her fellow leaders looked like they'd been dragged through hell and back. Her face was dirty with earth, scrapes and scratches and bruises marred her once-beautiful visage. "Have it your way then…"
Tsunade clapped her hands together with a great deal of force. First came the largest plume of smoke, the size of mountains; then came the sound of diamonds shattering. And when Madara looked closely upon Tsunade's battered and bruised figure he found that she no longer remained as such. Odd markings weaved and coursed vibrantly across her face in a long criss-cross. The beauty she was lauded for returned to her at once. Gone were the cuts and scratches, replaced with a look of victory.
The smoke dissipated, revealing the Shinobi Slug, Katsuya, Tsunade's legendary summon. The creature broke out into a hundred miniature versions of itself, and then thousands, millions, hundreds of millions…it was endless. They all crawled their ways onto the limbs of the surrounding Shinobi, attaching themselves and healing each and every one of them.
Hope was renewed amongst all. Cheers and battle-cries could be heard miles away—though there was no passerby, it was simply to say that they were more than feeling up to the challenge of fighting against the legendary Shinobi.
Madara merely chuckled once more. He raised his hands in front of him and whispered something. Tsunade saw something change in his eyes. The Sharingan seemingly vanished, replaced by purple…
The Shinobi Alliance in it's entirety was pushed back violently, falling on top of one another. The Kages did their level best to oppose the force of gravity pushing them all back. It was pointless. They all fell on their heads and found they were kept there. Something heavy weighed them down.
Madara, Tsunade thought. Her mind flashed back to the battle against Pain, Nagato. She bit her lip in anger—smashed her fist into the earth beside her.
"You see," Madara began, "it is pointless…it's all over. Submit defeat. And then allow me to bestow peace upon this world—"
"Bullshit!" retaliated a high-pitched voice from amongst a crowd of Shinobi. Haruno Sakura arrived to the front of the crowd, pushing against the force of gravity with all her might. She bore the same markings as her master, Tsunade, and chakra seemed to be rolling off of her in waves. "Fuck your peace!" she shouted. And then she raised her hand high above her head.
A beat, and then…
A gigantic ball of pure chakra rotated wildly, hovering inches above the palm of her right hand. It was heavier than she thought it would be. She pumped even more chakra into the technique. It turned a beautiful pinkish-blue colour. Sweat beaded down her forehead as she held the massive boulder of chakra above her shoulders. It looked something like a spirit-bomb, like something out of that Dragon Ball anime they all watched as children. She smirked despite the strain.
"Rasengan," she whispered proudly, before tossing the giant ball of chakra a few inches in the air, cocking her left fist back…
"Sakura, NOOO!"
"Shannaro, bitch!" she said confidently as she slammed her fist into the hovering technique.
It rocketed across the battlefield, faster than a sharingan could perceive. The ball began to spin more wildly and the chakra within it began splashing out in slaps and thrashes like giant, cutting waves.
Sakura huffed, out of breath and nearly out of chakra. She felt the proudest she ever had of herself for accomplishing that jutsu. And then disbelief overran her pride.
Madara stuck his hands out in front of him just as he did before pushing the Shinobi Alliance down to the ground. Instead of pushing the Rasengan away though…he absorbed it. All of it.
"Ahh, that was refreshing," Madara said as he felt a comfortable chill run through him. He still wasn't used to the feeling. He locked his eyes with Sakura, and that's when she saw it:
Rinnegan. Shit, she thought. She glanced at her master, who looked up at her with terror in her eyes. She'd never seen that emotion on her face. It scared her. She turned her eyes back to Madara.
"You're a strong one, I like that. Here—for you…" He burst the jutsu right back out of his hands. It flew faster than when she had launched it in his direction.
There was nothing to be done. This was it. She knew…this was the end of her life. She tried. She fought. She stopped crying and whining for Naruto and Sasuke, but despite halting her pleas, she knew deep down that this war needed them here. I love you both. And those were her final thoughts as she shut her eyes and awaited the end.
SHINGGGG! KSHHH! CLANGG!
She opened them, and what she saw, she could not believe…
Smoke ushered beneath his feet as he stood upon the Earth. A lengthy cloak stamped with the Uchiha Clan symbol glided across the wind—it carried such an animated flow. His eyes…convicted. He'd found purpose, it seemed. His hair was tied high into a samurai knot; dark stubble littered across his face; he was taller, stronger, looked…different. A large staff was slung around his shoulder and he held his famous kusanagi blade in his left-hand grip. Strength and hope radiated from his being.
"S-Sasuke-kun…?" Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. She felt deceived. None of this could be real… Perhaps the dream had already begun.
"U-u-chiha S-Sasuke?" Tsunade questioned disbelievingly.
"Uchiha…?" Uchiha Madara inquired intrigued with his observation. He was the Uchiha.
"Sakura." Uchiha Sasuke locked eyes with the astonished young kunoichi. She saw it—them—and she knew. Those eyes. "Just for a while." He smiled. It was funny, nobody had ever really seen Sasuke smile. Those eyes crinkled with ingenuity and promise. He was back now. No more running away.
Sakura nodded. She'd understood. His eyes said it all. She didn't quite know how, but she knew; like he connected with her…not her mind—but her heart. She'd seen it then felt it. We need to stall. But for what?
Sasuke's eyes wandered away from her for a moment, he searched among the fallen Shinobi. Sakura caught his gaze, turned her head and found Ino to be the target of his search. Then epiphany struck within her. She hoped she was right, and as if he'd read her heart once again, he answered her question. She looked back at Ino, nodded her head—needed to relay her newfound information. Ino nodded back.
In an instant, Sakura found her head flooded with Ino's mind—her possession was so powerful now. And just like that it was gone as quick as it came. Sakura's eyes had never left Ino's. She saw it—and now Ino had too. She knew…
Naruto…
A young man prepares for his battle—for his longest journey. He threw on a cloak—clasped the notch at the front. Secured a pack to his back. Ready.
"Is it already time, Uzumaki Naruto?" a gruff voice asked from behind the young man.
Naruto turned to face the voice. An aged man stood across the room. He wasn't old, he appeared mature in age though. He was a warrior.
"Hai," Naruto said.
He'd grown. Time had flown indeed. His hair was longer, more wild; his eyes more sharp. He held a certainty in them now. His cheeks and chin were covered in the lightest blonde scruff. His whiskers were still there, deeper, hidden probably, behind that scruff. He'd also grown taller. His cloak did a good job hiding all his hard work. His training had paid off in the end. Underneath all those cloaks and garbs his scarred and battered body was stronger than ever. His mind was sharp. He felt clear.
"Good. I will miss you, son. You remind me a lot of my brother—the best parts of him, I suppose." The man had lived long but remained young. He'd seen the best and the worst and Naruto had always reminded him of why it was still worth living.
"I'll miss you as well, Hamura Jiji," Naruto said, smiling genuinely at the man who'd served as his teacher for some time. "I know enough today to defeat the end of us, and I only have you to thank for it."
"I merely opened your eyes, Naruto," Hamura said. He paused—stared at the young man with a sentimental expression. "You'll always be welcome—drop by anytime," he said, and he smiled the brightest he'd smiled in the longest time.
Naruto chuckled. "Of course—did you think I wouldn't drop in on you if you didn't say that?"
Hamura chuckled too.
"See you around, kid."
"See you around, Jiji."
Sasuke fired off another arrow from Susanoo. Madara dodged it. He activated his Rinnegan in time—pulled the arrow back around—Madara dodged once more. He pulled the string back—shot a million more. His Rinnegan spun madly as he manipulated the battlefield around him. Madara met him at every end with his own Rinnegan.
CLING!
Sasuke's blade clashed with Madara's staff violently. The reverberation shattered the Earth around them. The surrounding ground trembled. Everyone felt the power of the Uchiha.
The two Uchiha's battled endlessly, powerfully, and with nothing held back. Sasuke with a purpose, and Madara for the sake of pleasure.
Sasuke manipulated the battlefield with Susanoo's million arrows jetting around constantly and infinitely while battling the legendary Shinobi hand-to-hand, trading blow for blow without fear. He exhausted every outlet of energy he could. He even pushed through Limbo with a few of his own imitations. He wasn't used to his Rinnegan as much as he'd hoped, but this battle was helping him to adapt—quickly. He could tell Madara and him were on the same level until he'd begun the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
He just needed to stall a little while longer. Just a bit more. Until Naruto was ready. Soon enough, he felt it—through the connection. Naruto. He was ready.
Sasuke didn't waste any time. He pushed his Susanoo into Madara, forcing him back. He needed distance and just a tiny bit of time. He had to do this perfectly. With focus. Just the way the Old Man taught me.
Madara relished the battle at hand. He hadn't met such a match before. He was finally feeling something more than boredom. He felt challenged! He didn't expect the push from the Susanoo. Inventive. He chuckled madly as he was hit head on by the towering figure of chakra.
Sasuke quickly leapt back a great distance. He searched for any wounds on him; surprisingly, he hadn't a cut anywhere on him. He used his sword to knick his finger. Shut his eyes. Smeared a thick line of blood across the lids. He focused all his thoughts, all his energy, all of his will into an idea. No hand seals, no tricks. No Jutsu. DESIRE! His will of fire.
Sasuke's eyes shot open—bloodshot red—magatama spinning wildly around the rim of his Rinnegan. He held the universe within his eyesight. Tomoe.
"CREATE!" He uttered once with all his strength.
BANG!
A big bang popped across the entire battlefield. Everyone heard it. The world around Sasuke's eyes changed—morphed into something horrifying and then beautiful. He defined everything there as it…became. He imagined Naruto, the young man he remembered. The man in his thoughts at that very moment, encouraging him through their connection. The moment was failing. The creation was beginning to fall apart. Madara was beginning to rise.
What am I missing? he thought. He'd put every ounce of strength and his entire will into the thought. So what am I missing?
Love.
Naruto spoke through their connection. Love. Something you know but don't have…yet.
It was true. He'd known love long ago, but now he had nothing of the kind. Love was a distance away. His sight split momentarily towards Sakura but she wasn't there in his thoughts. He didn't let her love him. Didn't let himself love either.
Naruto filtered his self through their connection. Filled the void Sasuke could not feel yet. All of his memories. He didn't let himself drift into the past. He thought of the future. The future he was fighting for. Ino—
PROLOGUE END