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Question: Since Itachi and Tsubaki are both gonna be resurrected, should they meet before or after the Itachi and Sasuke-Kabuto fight?
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"Why are you a part of this invasion?" Fugaku yelled at his daughter.
"Because this is a part of my path to power," she replied monotonously, casually deflecting shurikens that were thrown at her.
"What do you mean 'path to power'?" Fugaku engaged Tsubaki in a taijutsu battle although he wasn't really intending to harm the latter.
Tsubaki kicked Fugaku away. They both skidded to a halt, facing each other. "Staying in this village has suppressed my potential. I left to gain power."
"So you attack your own village?" The shock was evident in Mikoto's voice. Tsubaki turned her cold Sharingan gaze onto her mother.
"This village is the reason I was weak three years ago. I guess this attack could be called…revenge."
"Why didn't you just stay in Konoha and train?"
"Konoha has too many rules. One cannot truly become strong in a village," Tsubaki replied, closing her eyes, "Since I'm here, I have something to show my fellow Uchihas. Something that I gained over the past three years."
The Uchiha Clan tensed as Tsubaki's eyes fluttered open again. Her eyes still had the black and red of the Sharingan, but Itachi saw that the design had changed. Instead of the three tomoe circling the pupil, there was a spider web-like pattern in both eyes. What surprised Itachi even more was the reaction of the Clan.
"You…!" Fugaku was lost for words. Mikoto gasped, eyes wide.
"You killed my sister!" Tekka Uchiha snarled, glaring at Tsubaki with hatred.
"Indeed, I did. Kaeri was easy prey since she knew nothing about my true intentions, just like all of you," Tsubaki confirmed.
"I won't forgive you!" Tekka formed seals and performed the Great Fireball Technique despite Fugaku's command to stop.
Tsubaki raised her hand so her palm was facing the fireball roaring towards her at an alarming speed. The flames surrounded her until only her flickering silhouette could be seen.
"Come on, Tsubaki! Don't let yourself get caught that easily!" Momuri called from where she grappled with three Konoha shinobis.
The flames were diminishing, and when the last flare disappeared, Tsubaki was completely unharmed. She lowered her arm. "Idaina shōheki (1). The shield that protects the user from all ninjutsu attacks."
Tekka became angrier. "Die!" he shouted, pulling a scroll from his pouch. Tearing it open, he threw it above Tsubaki, who watched it with cold interest.
Kunais materialized from the scroll, surrounding Tsubaki from all directions. Tekka formed a sign, commanding the kunais to kill.
The kunais zeroed in on their target, closing all escape gaps.
Tsubaki just stood there, calmly watching the kunais approach. From Itachi's position, it looked as though his sister was shrinking. Glancing down, he saw that her sister was sinking into the ground, becoming a mere shadow.
The kunais struck the ground where Tsubaki had stood. The shadow dodged out of view, camouflaged with other shadows. The Uchihas glanced around wildly, hoping to seek it out.
Momuri grinned. "I guess that's my clue to get out of here while I can." She commanded the wind to carry her up into the sky, where she hovered to watch what was going to happen next.
"Up there!" Itachi shouted, pointing up at the sky.
Heads turned to see Tsubaki outlined against the moon. Large, black wings flapped powerfully to keep the kunoichi in the air. Meanwhile, said kunoichi was holding a black energy sphere in her hands. Itachi would have thought his sister looked cool if she wasn't trying to attack them.
"Scatter!" Fugaku howled just as Tsubaki sent the black sphere flying towards them.
It was too late to run. Fugaku grabbed Mikoto and dodged behind a large boulder. Itachi and Shisui threw themselves on top of Sasuke, shielding the latter from any damage. The rest of the Uchiha Clan buried themselves under anything that could shelter them.
The moment the sphere touched the earth, a black ring appeared at the place of contact. It expanded swiftly and silently. Fukoku, who had just arrived, let out a shriek as the ring approached her and flung herself to the ground to avoid it.
One of the shinobis that Momuri fought failed to hide himself in time. The ring passed through him. His eyes widened and he let out a strangled cry. The skin on his face sagged and fell off, revealing his skull. His skeleton collapsed on the ground on top of the decayed flesh. Sasuke, who had the terrible timing to peer out from under Itachi's arm, screamed.
"Nii-san! There's a ghost over there!" he wailed, pointing at the corpse.
Footsteps in their direction made Itachi and Shisui scramble up to protect Sasuke. Momuri stared down at them.
"Looks like this little brat is suffering from a traumatic experience," she called to Fukoku and Tsubaki, "Can I kill him to put him out of his misery?"
"Leave my brother alone!" Itachi planted himself firmly in front of Sasuke. He stared past Momuri to where Tsubaki, now wingless, stood. She stared coldly back.
"What's going on here?" Natsubishi and Orochimaru jumped down next to Fukoku.
"Leader-sama said that your Kuraiton: Dākuparusu (2) should not be used, Tsubaki-san," Natsubishi reminded.
"Too late for that…hmm?" Fukoku was interrupted by a faint buzzing in her mind, something the others felt too.
"It's time to retreat," their Leader's voice echoed through their minds.
"Already? But we haven't found the Kyuubi yet!" Fukoku objected.
"Sand Ninja are coming to assist the Leaf. Remember that we want our organization to remain secret. Retreat." With that, the buzzing faded.
"Eh, whatever." Fukoku immediately turned and jumped away, followed by Orochimaru. Natsubishi paused when Momuri and Tsubaki didn't move.
"Are you two coming?" he questioned.
"After I deal with this little brat," Momuri answered.
"I'll take care of him," Tsubaki insisted, "You go on ahead."
Momuri cast her partner a curious glance but backed off. Tsubaki placed her hands together in a seal. A tiny, purple light appeared at the tips of her fingers. It headed towards Sasuke, who freaked out and tried to run. Instead, he found that he couldn't move. Itachi and Shisui ran forward in a desperate attempt to stop Tsubaki, but Momuri and Natsubishi stopped them.
"Be grateful, brat, that Tsubaki-san isn't killing your little brother," Momuri hissed in Itachi's ear.
"Then what is she doing?" Itachi writhed in an attempt to free himself.
"She is performing Memori chūshutsu (3) to erase his memories of this night," Natsubishi said in a bored voice as he held Shisui.
Itachi and Shisui watched as the purple light entered Sasuke's forehead. The little boy's eyes became glazed and he fell to the ground in a limp heap.
(1)Great Barrier
(2)Dark Release: Dark Pulse
(3)Memory Extraction
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