Chapter 2: Fate
Fate. It had been gouged into Sasuke's mind until it left a scar. Fate, Madara's deep baritone had insisted. The Senju of the Forest never let the Uchiha rest properly...nor did the Uchiha wish for such peace. The desire to fight, to spill their rival's blood, ran hotly in their veins.
So it was fate that had brought Konoha to its knees in the wake of the Uchiha's hatred. It was fate that took the lives of the innocent who lay sprawled in front of Sasuke, glassy eyes staring unblinkingly up into the twilight sky, where the stars watched silently. Their pale, celestial heads bent towards the earth in quiet observation, never to grace the living with their secrets. The last fire-bright hues of the sun stretched over the earth as it sank, the rays of ruddy orange light clinging to the earth like the fingers of a dying man to clinging to life.
It was nature's way for the light to give in to the darkness, Sasuke observed, the corners of his mouth twitching. He looked to Madara, standing high on the sheer cliff face where the faces of the Leaf's Hokages were carved, black cloak rustling with the wind. His face forever obscured by the spiral orange mask, Sasuke was unable to read him. He felt rather than saw Madara's eye bore into him, and Sasuke looked forward to the destruction.
"Sasuke!" A voice, grief-stricken, screamed into the unnaturally still twilight. A grim satisfaction gripped Sasuke's heart, and he reveled in it. It was fate that he and Naruto should fight. It was this fight, this end, that Sasuke had been anticipating with a fierce determination. His old childhood friend was standing in the gateway to the village, the stone walls around him crumbling and cracking. The village beyond him was still mostly intact, but the forces sent out to deal with the Akatsuki had been severely tested, paying the ultimate price for their loyalty and courage. A good number had fallen at Sasuke's blade, the metallic glint in the sun's setting rays the last thing their living eyes had the pleasure of seeing.
Sasuke gripped his blade, the chakra humming excitedly through his body as he sent it coursing down the blade's deadly length. Naruto glared at him, his eyes fringed with orange, pupils horizontal slits as he transitioned into the infamous sage mode Sasuke had heard, and sneered, about.
"The Kyuubi will be your task." Sasuke remembered Madara instructing. The gleam in his crimson eye had secretly infuriated Sasuke. The thought that this battle amused Madara made his hackles rise, and made his hunger for the other Uchiha's blood to intensify. Sasuke liked to believe he couldn't be fooled or manipulated. However, ever since Madara had whispered the truths of Konoha's inflicted horrors upon his deceased clan, his clearest reason seemed to have deserted him.
The icy numbness of Susano's chakra frosted over his bones, creating shadows in his mind where he might have once harbored feelings such as sympathy or love. Overall the chill was slowly overtaking him, pulling him somewhere dark and cold, until he was no longer a person, but revenge with a blade. It was no different than allowing an evil such as Orochimaru to overcome him, yet he could not muster the fear nor the concern to care. In any other circumstance, he knew he should have been afraid that he was losing to this unbearably cold and suffocating chakra.
Not that it mattered. None of it mattered. A chill seized him, and for a sickening moment, he couldn't remember what mattered, or why his heart festered with hate like an infected wound. It was like this every time he summoned the Mangekyo demon of hate and embraced its darkness. Every time, he slipped farther. Sometimes, he couldn't remember what Itachi's face looked like, or what it felt like to feel loved. It was as if the darkness, the rage, the bloodthirst had been all he'd ever known. He'd slipped into the world covered in gore, and he sought to die that way.
The indigo skeleton of Susano sprouted in front of Sasuke, forming a cage. The burst of cold and the burn from its chakra was so terrible Sasuke always bit back a pained grunt. Sometimes he was amazed that his skin hadn't blackened or blistered, sloughing off from the strange burning chill. Nestled in the rib cage of the terrible demon, Sasuke looked to Naruto, who had summoned an immense toad. He stood on its fat crimson head, black cloak billowing in the wind.
"Don't do this, Sasuke," Naruto cried out, arms crossed like he was some sort of imposing figure.
Sasuke laughed at the words, laughed at the anguished look painting Naruto's face. He opened his mouth, swallowing a breath, but no words came, only chilling laughter. He knew the demon was acting through him. He doubled over, a cramp in his ribs, and he coughed violently while he laughed. Trembling, he stared at the ground, frantically trying to remember where he was or what these efforts meant to him as he pushed back the insanely gripping urge to simply lash out and spill blood.
He fought hard, grappling with the black, dense chakra that was unnatural to him. It was trying to seize control, but Sasuke never allowed it to get that far.
He gasped, fending it off. From the shadowy corners of his mind, he could feel something that resembled fear, but it surrendered to darkness and he knew none of it.
The chakra twisted around him, suffocating him like a snake squeezing the life out of its prey. Eyes bulging, Sasuke looked to Naruto, trying to appear as though he wasn't having an internal war with the very demon he'd summoned. He righted himself, a maniacal grin stretching his dry lips. It didn't feel natural. He felt there were hooks tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Just give in..." the demon's voice whispered in a breathy sigh. Just give in to it, this is what you desire. Let me maim, kill, blacken and burn! Let me wreak devastation and tear into the bowels of this village.
Yes...yes, this was why he was here. To maim, to kill, to blacken and burn. The beauty of true rage was terrible to behold, and Sasuke would be sure every last member of Konoha looked upon it.
Aiming for Naruto, Sasuke sent an arrow of freezing chakra hurtling towards the blond, who deftly dodged. He took a flying leap off the toads' head, landing nimbly and producing several shadow clones. Sasuke fired another arrow, but the giant toad swung at it with his own blade before it could hit Naruto, and it ricocheted, crashing into the cliffs and causing a rockslide.
In a brazen show of courage, or maybe stupidity, Sasuke couldn't decide, Naruto charged, producing at least one hundred clones. With Susano'o's arms, Sasuke swiped at the clones. They popped like bubbles wandering too close to the sun at the slightest contact from the evil chakra.
Naruto's clones proved to be as stubborn, and they swarmed like the soldiers of a angry ant colony, each one clawing its way towards Susano.
Sasuke grinned. If this was what Naruto was going to pull, winning this fight was going to be easy.
"Is this all you've got?" Sasuke cried.
The moment Naruto noticed Sasuke tremble and cough, he knew something wasn't right. It frightened him, seeing such a maniacal light embrace his friend's features, while his onyx eyes whirled as if in confusion.
"This is Susano'o." Gamakichi observed gruffly, beads of sweat slipping down his large brow and rolling off his skin like water on leather.
"What is it doing to Sasuke?" Naruto demanded, eyeing Sasuke warily.
"It is a demon summoned by the Mangekyo. It's power is great and terrible, but summoning it comes with a price. Susano'o is the manifestation of hatred and revenge, it sees nothing else. It has a chakra so cold and malicious, it's said your fingers will blacken and burn with frostbite at the its touch. Its user is affected at the first summoning.
Not only will using the Mangekyo to summon it cause inevitable blindness, but its chakra will eventually overtake its host. Sasuke will eventually be lost to its power. Susano'o will cut out his heart and shrivel it to stone. He'll be nothing but a monster looking for blood. Killing him would be doing the boy a kindness. He's far too lost as it is," Gamakichi advised sagely.
Naruto shook his head. "His death can only mean my own." He sliced his hand through the air, fierce and determined. He thought of his self-made prophecy bitterly: should he and Sasuke fight, it would only end in their deaths. This Naruto knew, like a truth long ago engraved in his very bones like a curse.
Gamakichi eyed Naruto warily, unaware of the depth of the boy's thoughts. "Do not be a fool," he said, not unkindly. "Sasuke is beyond repair. The humane thing to do would be to kill him before he loses himself and becomes the demon's victim."
"I have been at a demon's mercy. If I could be brought back, so can he!" Naruto argued.
"Susano is not like the Tailed Beasts. He is a demon wrought from the powers of illusion. One cannot dispel Susano from the body without the aid of a Sharingan nor can he be bargained with. We have neither the time nor do you have the bloodline limit to accomplish such a feat. Sasuke must die, it is the only way," Gamakichi's throat puffed out in indignation.
"If he is beyond repair in this life, I will mend his broken spirit in the next," Naruto finished, done with the conversation. "If this battle ends with death, it will be the end of both of us. Don't act like you aren't aware of it, or that you haven't thought it."
Gamakichi frowned deeply, disturbed by Naruto's words, yet he said nothing as Sasuke quickly regained composure.
Arrows flickering with indigo flame shot at them. They dodoged, andGamakichi deflected the next, which Naruto found impressive, since the arrow was formidable concentrated chakra. As it whizzed by, he shivered violently from its chill, his teeth clenching.
He produced shadow clones, giving each one instructions to swarm around Sasuke, to distract him with their frenzy. As hundreds of clones popped into existence, Naruto settled in the back of the swarm to observe, nodding at the clones to his side.
While Gamakichi warded off more arrows, Naruto signaled his clones. They formed a rasengan and hurled it at Susano'o. Completely useless as an offense Naruto had guessed, but he wanted to see the after effect and gauge if there were any chance the energy could slam through the skeleton.
Sasuke and Susano reeled back, teetering for a moment, and Naruto grinned. Instead of bouncing off the demon, the rasengan appeared to have been swallowed. Naruto guessed the demon must be using the energy to keep strong and standing.
The technique was very similar to that of one of Pain's six bodies, and Naruto mused that ninja must have learned their many jutsus from observing the power of demons.
Nodding at Gamakichi, who seemed to read Naruto's mind on his plan of attack (and looked disgruntled about it), the giant toad shot out a powerful jet of water to deter Sasuke from searching for the real Naruto as he prepared himself.
The music of battle was fast and glorious in Sasuke's ears as he warded off the clones. He searched every face, wondering each time he swiped where the real Naruto was. The anger that churned within him was teasing the boundaries of real rage with these tedious attacks. Finally, the blond tried something different but equally as unimpressive.
Naruto hurled a giant rasengan at Susano'o, who only swallowed the attack instead of side-stepping it. Sasuke supposed the demon must be flickering in order for it to welcome the energy.
The toad then shot a lethal water jet square in Susano's chest, but his good aim was useless. Susano'o held up its shield, protecting itself and Sasuke. For a moment, the world before Sasuke was bathed in an indigo blur. Suddenly, Susano'o lowered the shield, as a rasen-shuriken hurtled his way. The demon hummed in pleasure, and prepared to absorb the energy.
Then-
Impact.
Confusion.
Hands were gripping Sasuke's shoulders as a body crashed through Susano's protective skeleton, all because the demon had allowed the "rasen-shuriken" access to its insides in order to swallow it.
Impressive, an expertly done transformation jutsu. Sasuke should have seen it; with his Sharingan exposed he should have taken care to notice the immense living chakra surrounding it and figured out what it was before Naruto could hit. But Susano clouded his vision and made things difficult to see and feel.
The demon took Sasuke's eyes every time, leaving his vision blurred. Even Sasuke could be fooled and caught unaware. Roaring in anger, Sasuke reached up, grabbing Naruto under the armpits with the intention of throwing him, but with the speed Naruto was traveling at, and granted the fact that both had seized the other, Naruto took Sasuke along with him.
Susano'o disappeared as Sasuke was hurtled into midair. He and Naruto grappled mid-leap, Sasuke dealing a hell of a right hook to Naruto's chin. Naruto twisted away just in time and aimed a swift kick to Sasuke's face. He aimed true, and Sasuke soared even further from him as they landed and skidded across the grass and dirt.
Sasuke felt the skin graze off his elbow, and he grimaced, rolling in the dirt as he fought to regain control. Naruto was on him in an instant, aiming for another kick right to his chest. Sasuke rolled away and Naruto slammed into dirt. Sasuke swiveled back around with his right leg outstretched, sweeping Naruto off his feet. The blond grunted and fell face-forward.
Sasuke stumbled slightly as he righted himself and reached for his blade. The effects of Susano'o's chakra still shrouded his senses and made his skin pucker from its lasting chill. Even now as he fought against it, the evil in it was begging him to abandon reason and rip out his opponent's throat. It wanted to see Naruto's blood soak the ground. Sasuke could already imagine Naruto surrounded by it; a dark sinister halo of death.
Just give in, the demon he'd conjured sighed. Sasuke felt tempted. He'd done it once before, with Karin. He'd given in, he dimly remembered, as the black chakra feasted upon his mind, so that he felt weighted down. It was an other-worldly experience to feel evil consume you alive. To feel as though you had never existed as person who'd once felt warmth. Sasuke felt as though he'd never been alive to begin with. He was only a festering hate. He lived off hate and rage, fed off of it…
Needed it. He needed the anger, the cold, the hate, the metallic smell of freshly spilled blood wafting through the air.
Remember! Some dimly lit corner of his mind not yet touched by Susano'o murmured. Sasuke battled with himself. Remember what? Why was he here, what was his purpose? He tried to remind himself as he grappled with the darkness.
To maim, to kill, to blacken and burn. Came the chilling answer. Was that all? Sasuke wondered, was there no greater purpose?
…Burn…his mind whispered again. Sasuke screamed.
"Sasuke!" someone was screaming. A man. A boy? Sasuke couldn't remember. It was a voice that for an instant, made Sasuke want to fight it. It made him want to feel again. But in his current state, he couldn't process who it was that made him that feel way, or why it was.
In the black cold, Sasuke felt a ray of warmth as a body crashed into him, knocking him to the ground. In his internal strife, Sasuke had lost control of himself, dropping his blade and clutching at his hair, yelling. Finally, after believing himself to be better than the madness that was slowly sweeping over him, the curse of the Uchiha had overtaken him.
He was dimly aware that Naruto was on top of him, gripping his shoulders with bruising strength and shouting. Rocks from the ground jutted into his back as he seized, but he was hardly aware of the discomfort as he writhed and cursed and screamed.
Out, out, out! The black chakra cried with malicious glee. Inside himself, in the dark abyss that was slowly becoming his soul, Sasuke was fighting off the shadows, but their numbers were overwhelming.
You chose this. They hissed as he sliced through them. Somewhere, beneath the black shroud of the chaos, was a tendril of sunshine. Bright warmth cradled against his skin. Naruto was holding him, he dimly realized, but the thought vanished in an instant as his madness regained control.
What was his purpose? He tried to remember, tried to grasp the face of a brother he once loved, the face of a friend he would have died to protect once…
He couldn't remember their faces. He was slipping away, into the chill, into the black. The shadows were winning, he realized, too stunned to even try and feel afraid.
You chose this. You welcomed hatred, delicious hatred, into your once warm heart, and now it has frozen into stone, stone that can never melt. Thus is the curse of Susano'o. You are lost, forever lost in my threatening maw. Come to me. Let me consume you. The shadows chimed with dark amusement.
He heard himself shout, as he fought with a shadow that was constricting him, but it was too late. He felt the warmth drain from him, felt his very soul freeze, and let a primal rage burst from within him.
Sasuke suddenly ripped himself free of Naruto's grasp, and the blond went soaring, slamming into a nearby tree trunk. With the impact, he felt his teeth jut against each other, and he swore he felt a molar chip. He slid to the ground, shaking himself, trying to blink away the white spots that blurred his vision. To his horror, he noticed that Sasuke seemed…colder, if possible. The same, maniacal grin was plastered onto his pale face, and the youthful glitter in his obsidian eyes had dulled into a murderous gleam that on Sasuke looked far beyond his years. It was unnatural.
This wasn't Sasuke. Naruto's heart sank, and angry tears stung his eyes. Sasuke was still in there, he had to be. Somehow, Naruto would pull him out.
"It is Susano'o's curse!" Gamakichi cried. "Naruto, he is lost! He must be done away with! You have stalled too long, he is far more dangerous!"
Naruto shook his head. "Sasuke!" He screamed, furious. "Are you so weak!?" Sasuke laughed. When he looked Naruto in the eye, his eyes spun with the patterns of the Mangekyo Sharingan, the dark eyes bleeding red. In that moment, in that split second Sasuke cast his genjutsu, a curious thing happened.
At first Naruto thought that Sasuke's genjutsu had somehow impossibly backfired, sending him and Naruto spiraling into a fearsome illusion. The sky was stained red, the ground shook, and a mighty wind blew, until Naruto realized that it was actually aiming its gusts at Sasuke, tugging him roughly to his knees, then throwing him, prostrate, on the ground, as if invisible chains were holding him fast. It was a very unnatural wind, and yet its effects seemed mostly lost on Naruto, who still managed to stumble through it.
"How?" Sasuke screamed, eyeing Naruto murderously from the ground, his cheek pressed in the grass. Naruto took a moment to look around for Gamakichi, for anything. He was confused, but realized the valley was mostly the same, and empty, save for him and Sasuke.
Ah, so this was a type of genjutsu. But how had it been cast? The hoarse cry of ravens sounded nearby, and a flock disturbed by the fight and wind, flew from their perches in a vast oak tree. They ravens circled, until they fluttered to the ground and came together to form an image of Itachi Uchiha.
Naruto held his breath, a memory seizing him. A long while ago, Itachi had held him under his stare, and seemingly transferred something to him, but after appearing normal afterwards and experiencing no strange side effects from the encounter, Naruto had dismissed it.
"It's a trigger." Itachi's voice was low, smooth as velvet. It had a calming effect and Naruto tried to rid himself of his current shock. Naruto could only stare at him.
"I made it so that if Sasuke should fall under Susano'o's curse, and begin to lose himself, he could be saved…by you. The powers of the Uchiha are an inevitable portal to madness. It was one last trick, one last attempt at saving his life." Itachi's voice trailed, eyes locked on the captive form of his younger brother, whose wide eyes stared unblinkingly at the apparition.
"One chance, Sasuke." Itachi whispered. He nodded to Naruto.
"You were my backup plan. I took precautions, in case Madara hadn't been killed by the Amaterasu I had implanted in Sasuke's left eye. I feared that should my brother come to learn the truth of my mission, he would not view the village is the same light I beheld it in. Susano'o can only be lifted by an extremely powerful genjutsu that can only be administered by the Mangekyo Sharingan. You must rid Sasuke's body of the malevolent chakra, or kill him. He will be lost if you fail. There will be no stopping him alive. You have one chance, and it can only be done by someone the host holds dear." The apparition began to disintegrate, his features tearing away like smoke in the wind, but his crimson eyes bored into Naruto, who shivered at the word 'dear'. Finally Itachi dissolved into shadows that burst into the forms of ravens.
The only sound was the roar of the wind as it chained Sasuke down. Naruto looked wildly to Sasuke then to the disappearing ravens.
"Wait!" Naruto cried, suddenly frantic. "You didn't tell me how to lift the curse!" Fear gripped him, unlike any he had ever known. He had the ability to save Sasuke, and if he failed, all was lost. Sasuke was lost.
"Look into his heart," came the cryptic answer, and then any trace of Itachi Uchiha vanished with the roar of the wind. Sasuke cried out, and Naruto looked over at him, fighting to make himself upright as the wind gusted over him. Ahead, Sasuke lay sprawled on the earthen floor, limbs outstretched and unnaturally still. His red eyes swiveled over to Naruto.
"I'll kill you," he spat venomously. Naruto took a breath, finding it odd how he could hear Sasuke so well despite the wind, and began to walk against it towards the rogue nin. The wind clawed at his face and his eyes watered from the force of it.
"I'll kill you," Sasuke whispered, watching Naruto with the intensity of a caged predator. Naruto dropped to his knees, eyes flashing as he looked Sasuke dead in the eye.
"No, you won't."
Sasuke's mouth went slack, and Naruto noticed the tomoe spin dizzyingly as their eyes met.
He would never be able to remember exactly what happened after that.
Be still my beating heart...
Cryptic thoughts danced through Madara Uchiha's mind. Outwardly, there were no signs of his elation. Inwardly, each thought was laced with excitement. He stood as stoic and aloof as ever, enjoying the screams of dying villagers echoing off the cliffs and ringing in his ears like silver bells.
It was all he'd ever hoped for. Finally. Salt to add to the wound. His heart swelled. I hope this burns you as much as the fires in Hell do, Hashirama, Madara thought in malicious excitement. His revenge, after many years of careful nurturing and planning, was finally coming to fruition.
A thin smile tugged at his lips. He ignored the strange feeling of hollowness in his chest as he thought so. Gone were the days when he and Hashirama Senju, Konoha's first Hokage, were rivals.
Long gone were the days they were lovers.
Gone were the days Madara thought he had felt something for the son of a bitch. The argument over who should have been Hokage had been a bitter one. Both men had desired power, and both were equally powerful with unique abilities vital for the protection of the village they had built.
Once they had desired nothing but to defeat one other; to prove their strength and cunning against the other. One day it had evolved into more, although to the human eye, it would have appeared as though Madara had never accepted Hashirama in the first place. He had, oh he had. Their passion was always quick, consuming, and brutal. Animalistic. A sort of power Madara had never known before, and once he'd tasted it, he could never whet his appetite for it.
However, he had to admit this passion never clouded his desire to be the Hokage. He couldn't describe the rage and betrayal he felt when his own clan had dismissed him. Ostracized him. Exiled him. He had been driven from his home for poisonous slander and sabotage, carefully executed by someone only Madara could have held dear.
Hashirama had insisted it was for the best. Madara had not been meant to lead the village. Madara still flinched at the memory...the betrayal. The memory of the terrible fight and being forced to submit to that horror. But Madara never submitted, nor did he beg. Never in his life had he felt such betrayal, from his lover and his clan, but not once had he begged. It had cost Hashirama, and the Uchiha, a loyalty one couldn't afford to lose.
Of course none couldn't have known it at the time. Hashirama should have known a scorned heart is the most dangerous one. Madara had left, humiliated, vowing vengeance. He spent too long slowly becoming consumed, alone in the forests, in the mountains. Nothing but a pitiful exile who belonged nowhere. He returned after what felt like a lifetime later, to challenge Hashirama at the Valley of the End to a historic battle to the death. During his time alone he had come across a horrific beast, and a most interesting ability...
He had hoped the Nine Tails would help him defeat Hashirama, and with his death Madara would take his seat as Hokage. He would change things. Of course, the bastard one-upped him. Humiliated him once again. At that point, Madara fled, allowing the village to assume he had died. It was best to lie low at times such as those.
Eventually, he came across a simple man with a ruined face, one eye, broken teeth, and no memories beyond his later teenage years. This simple man had been kind to the ancient, skulking stranger on the border of his property. Offered him water, a blanket, a bowl of stew and some stories while Madara ate. Madara had watched this man as calculatingly as an orca eyeing sea lions on the shore; this man was a man with familiar, angular features and black hair. Half of his face looked like someone Madara had once known...
He'd had his own body then. He'd still been alive, more or less, and had barely begun to think of the possibility of a new, fearsome illusion.
He couldn't test it without a decent subject, however.
Tobi had been his first really successful victim, and to date, only successful, victim. Before that momentous meeting, his little trick only worked on feeble, elderly people; stretching each one to live a little longer with his own strength as he walked in their bodies. No matter how feeble, or how brittle-boned, his jutsu always strengthened and revitalized the body to accommodate Madara. It was like magic, but better.
He'd discovered the secret to life beyond death.
Then he'd found Tobi. But the man really wasn't Tobi, or at least, he had no idea he was more than that. Madara had quickly identified the man as Obito Uchiha, once presumed dead. Just because Madara hadn't lived in the Leaf, didn't mean he wasn't keeping tabs on goings-on in the village.
Apparently, Obito been one lucky bastard (once, anyway) and had survived his freak accident, only to wake up without a clue of who he was in a hospital far off. All this time, he'd been living life as a farmer in the mountains near the border. He'd obviously suffered some brain trauma, and was slower-witted than usual, more stiff in his movements, and he walked with a cane and couldn't even make a fist with his right hand. He was lame.
He was expendable. He was of no use to the Uchiha bloodline. Not that Madara cared for the Uchiha bloodline anyway. Being an Uchiha by blood only made Obito a more desirable victim. Not only for his untapped Sharingan, but for Madara's own rage against his clan.
Obito hadn't looked afraid until he'd realized he couldn't move.
Madara had left the farm nestled on the mountain the next day. He'd left with a spring in his step he hadn't possessed in over forty years. He skipped along the path Obito had rimmed with wildflowers, doing a little jig with Obito's once lame leg.
And Madara had laughed, feeling a hundred years younger. Now he could come out of hiding. Now, he knew he could begin his journey back towards the Leaf, without needing a new host every couple of years, and finally, finally, being able to be stronger than a genin in a body. As he traveled, he hatched his most impressive plot to date, and became even more thrilled when he finally managed to unlock the Sharingan that had lain dormant in Obito's eye.
He had, after all, hijacked the body of an Uchiha, and all Uchiha were capable of just about anything.
Madara finally came across Nagato, the man with his six levels of Pain, and his faithful companion, Konan, after what seemed like another life of solitude and scheming later. They were the first of his recruits. Madara whispered of a better world, a safer world. A world without pain. He allowed Nagato to seek his vengeance against the evil in the world. He used Nagato's goal to achieve his own. Slowly, he gathered followers. They followed him like rats to a pied piper, his words a music that hypnotized them, made them believe in something more. They listened to Madara's great, world-changing plan. They worked on gathering the Jinchuuriki and stealing the demons that were locked away inside them. If they had known Madara's true purpose, they would have hid in the shadows and bared their teeth like the rats they were.
However…
Madara frowned. It was true, there was a flaw to his magnificent plan. All had gone accordingly, until that fool Orochimaru had plucked the Sanbi from his grasp and attempted to seal it within a boy who could control the terrible Tailed Beast. And for what? A little more power? A little longer life? Madara sneered. As if the second-rate ninja could have achieved such a feat. A feat only Madara Uchiha was capable of.
No doubt the sannin had believed that by accomplishing this, he could create a Jinchuuriki with the ability to control his demon without the hassle. Unfortunately, the plan had backfired. To Madara's horror, a spy had reported that the sealing had gone wrong, killing both boy and beast. In order for Madara's plan to work, he needed all nine demons.
For now, the blip in his plans was still being mulled over, so he assumed his villainous role as if he actually had the Sanbi. It terrified the ninja, and that is how they needed to be kept and controlled. Even so, the Akatsuki triumphed, and Madara loomed over them all like a fearsome god, and so the rats never stopped seeking him.
The bitterness and hatred of the scorned can never rival the courage of the naïve. Over years of exile, this was what Madara had learned from his wanderings. The outcasts, the denied, the despised, all flocked to him, seeking the blissful release of the revenge he promised each and every one. Sasuke Uchiha among them.
As if Itachi could have stopped him, Madara Uchiha, by giving Sasuke a nearly blinded, eye. Pathetic. What a waste. Itachi could have been great; he could have been laughing alongside Madara in triumph this very moment, but Itachi had been weak. Itachi had been a fool. He had believed he could kill an Uchiha as powerful as Madara. He had believed he could fool him, lure him into a trap once Madara went looking for the youngest Uchiha, Sasuke. Itachi had cared too much for his little brother. He'd cared too much for the village he'd spilled too much blood over. Love had been his greatest flaw, the biggest mistake he could have ever made.
Madara had no need, nor any desire, for love. All he truly desired was power. That was all the aphrodisiac he needed. Sasuke was like putty in his hands, though he was sure the boy thought himself no puppet. No, Madara was convinced the boy believed he could easily double-cross his elder. He knew Sasuke never had any real intention of joining Madara in the first place. At this point, it was Sasuke's hunger for revenge and consuming madness that kept the boy trailing behind him. Madara chuckled to himself. Sasuke had skill, he had the cunning and swiftness of a leopard, but he was young and his eagerness was his greatest flaw.
As if Madara was as weak as that bastard Orochimaru! He resisted the urge to snort. No, he couldn't be gotten rid of that easily. The destruction of Konoha was for him, and him alone. Sasuke would be deprived of his desire, unfortunately, for Madara had plans. Big plans. Obviously he had summoned the Kyuubi all those years ago, contrary to what he'd told the boy. Obviously he had been behind the attack on Konoha. Kyuubi was a lethal weapon no one but Madara could woo. Sasuke had been foolish enough to believe his denial in any involvement. Poor soul. He fell too easily into the trap. Too easily succumbed to his rage and grief after the truth about Itachi was revealed. He would avenge his brother, and his clan.
What a sap.
For now, Madara would let him run and play. He'd let Sasuke go about his mission. He'd give the boy orders and make Sasuke do the tedious tasks he wanted finished fast. The real prize was Naruto. The Kyuubi. Then Madara would watch the last hope for the Uchiha succumb to the dark madness of Susano'o, and he would laugh at the Uchiha name. At its weakness.
He would revel in Sasuke's madness once he killed the one he guessed Sasuke secretly loved. Why else was it, that despite Susano'o's dark influences, that only Naruto could make Sasuke wait and listen to whatever sentimental crap the kid spouted?
Why else did Sasuke's gaze never waver from the blond's, even as he departed? Madara hardly had any doubt, had Sasuke not been infected with the dark chakra, that he most likely would have avoided Naruto at all costs unless absolutely necessary. Then again, had that happened, Madara wouldn't have gotten the boy this far.
He would delight in the anguish sure to follow after he removed the evil chakra from the boy, and showed him the destruction he had caused. Madara already knew what he would say. Look at what the Uchiha can do, boy. Look at what your precious bloodline limit can do.
And Madara planned to make the boy look at the life he had taken, so that Sasuke would understand. He would laugh as the last Uchiha lost meaning in life. Giggle in glee when he died.
Madara would laugh at it all. Thus would conclude his revenge, on Hashirama of the forest, and the Uchiha.