Road To A Darker World

Chapter 1

"I'll End The Cycle of Hatred Myself."

Note: Dub names will be used in this fic, rather than sub. See the end of chapter notations for the sub versions of these names.

As they stood on opposite ends of the location of their last battle, Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help but to think back to the first time they were here.

"Sasuke!"

"Well, if it isn't the hopeless little loser."

"Sasuke! Are you gonna run away from me again?! Answer me! I won't let you go! You'll never come out of there alive! Orochimaru just wants to use your body like a new suit of clothes!"

"None of that matters now. All that matters is achieving my goal."

"Why, Naruto? Why do you go so far?"

"Because this is the first time… That I've ever had a bond like this."

"If that's what it is, then I'll just have to sever that bond."

"FIRE STYLE! DRAGON FLAME JUTSU!"

"Sasu…ke…"

"It's too late now, Naruto. IT'S TOO LATE NOW! NAAARUUUTOOO!"

"Naruto… Just what the hell are you?! Are you… Some kind of monster?!"

"I'm your friend!"

"Once I unseal this Curse Mark… I'm not all that sure of what'll happen to me in the end. But you're not giving me a whole lot of choice here. There's no question that you're special, Naruto, but you're not as special as I am."

"Naruto, do you know where we are? It's called the Final Valley. An appropriate setting for our battle, don't you think, Naruto? Oh, right, I said there'd be no more talking, didn't I?"

"This is the end, Naruto. The end of this fight, and all of the fights up until now."

"NARUTO!"

"SASUKE!"

"CHIDORI!"

"RASENGAN!"

Those moments seemed like nothing more than distant memories as Naruto and Sasuke stood opposite each other in the Final Valley. Their battle had begun just after the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War.

"This is the end, Naruto. This last attack will decide it. Chidori!"

"Sasuke… I'll bring you back home, no matter what! Rasengan!"

Then everything faded to white.

It was finished. Sasuke had fatally wounded his best friend. Naruto lie dying at his feet.

"Sasuke… Why… Why did you do it? Didn't Itachi… Want you… To protect… The Village?"

"To Itachi, my life was more precious than the Village. The reverse holds true as well. To me, Itachi's life was more precious than the Village. Don't worry, Naruto. I'll end the cycle of hatred myself. And you'll have a front row seat to all of it."

"What… What do… Do you… Mean?"

"Since you're going to die anyway, I suppose there's no harm in telling you. I'm going to kill the Five Kage. And then… I… Am going to become the new Pain."

"No… Grandma Tsunade… Gaara… A… Old Man Tsuchikage… Mei… How… How could… How could you, Sasuke?"

"I already told you, didn't I? Killing them means that the entire world will focus all of its hatred on me, ending the cycle."

"Sasu…ke…"

"Good bye… My one and only friend."

And with that, Naruto Uzumaki had breathed his last. The ninja that so many had looked up to during the war as a beacon of hope, was gone forever. Images of their time together flashed through Sasuke's mind as he took a moment to mourn.

"Someday, I'll become the greatest Hokage! Then the whole Village will stop disrespecting me, and start treating me like I'm somebody!"

"Hey you… The freak with no eyebrows. Put this in your Bingo Book. The guy who's gonna become Hokage… He never gives up… And his name's Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Hey, kid. You're not hurt are you? You scaredy-cat!"

"Hey, Sasuke! Don't lose. 'Cause I wanna fight you, too."

"I don't ever want to see that again. My trusted comrades… Falling right in front of me. Naruto! You have to protect Sakura!"

"What's so funny?"

"I'm not laughing 'cause it's funny. I'm just psyched. Because I know… That today's the day when I finally beat you!"

"Let's get started already."

"Put on your headband and we will! I'll wait."

"I won't even need that thing! Because you won't be able to put one scratch on my forehead."

"That's not the point! C'mon, you know putting your headband on is a testament to fighting on equal terms as a Leaf shinobi!"

"You don't honestly think we're equals?!"

"Heck yeah, I do. All this time, I've never thought of myself as inferior to you in any way!"

"You're strong, Naruto. It's the loneliness inside of us that makes us stronger. Meaning that if I sever that bond, I'll become even more powerful."

"Then let's finish this… As equals. But you still won't be able to put a scratch on my forehead."

"I will defeat you, Itachi, but I won't become like you. I'll acquire that power my own way."

"I see you're as misguided as ever, Naruto. I severed that bond a long time ago."

"That's a lie! Our bond isn't something that can be broken that easily!"

"I spared your life on a whim that day."

Sasuke remembered other moments among these, such as their battle underneath the Samurai Bridge and fighting side-by-side in the war.

"Naruto, take comfort in the fact that your death was a sacrifice necessary for the dawn of a new world. My new world."

End Chapter Notations:

Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu – Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique (Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu)

Final Valley – Valley of the End

Fourth Great Ninja War – Fourth Shinobi World War

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Shouldn't you have updated YGO ARC-V: VoAG by now?!" Well, the thing is that it was supposed to be up on the 19th of August, but I didn't get around to it. I'm trying to update that one exclusively on the 19th of a given month, which means that VoAG chapter 2 should be out on October 19th. Oh, and you may realize that I didn't show the actual clash during the last fight between Naruto and Sasuke. Trust me, I have a good reason for that. The Final Valley also wasn't destroyed in this AU.