Disclaimer: See previous chapters


SulliMike23 - I'll leave that up to you to decide.

THE 7TH DEMON OF RAZGRIZ - *nodding in agreement*

Fusion Blaster - Fair enough.

KamehameGadoken - Of course. It wouldn't be Mortal Kombat without it.

undaed15 - Which is why I based the story around early Shippuden, so that all characters are still within respectable limits. Besides, it wouldn't be fun writing about an overpowered Sasuke.

airnaruto45 - *shrug* Doesn't stop you from wincing in pain at the thought though.

sageof6way - Cursing aside, yeah, he did deserve it.

Allan - Thank you


-0-

"Fight!"

With that announcement, Sasuke bent forward in stance, eyeing his opponent who stood at the ready, wearing yellow and black garbs and with a mask covering his face. He didn't know who this shinobi was or what jutsu he used, but he didn't care. As far as Sasuke was concerned, he was just another obstacle on his path of vengeance. The young Uchiha was about to make his move when his opponent -Scorpion- spoke, with a ghastly voice that seem to echo out everywhere.

"We have the same eyes."

Suddenly, the yellow-clad ninja disappeared, shocking even Sasuke. And that shock was quickly followed by a brutal punch to the jaw, sending Sasuke whirling back. But the young shinobi remained on his feet and as he spun, he lashed his arm out, his fist backhanding Scorpion in the face. Still in motion, Sasuke reached back for his sword and unsheathed it, but his earlier blow barely stunned Scorpion, who grabbed hold of his arm as he came in to slash with his sword. Sasuke was forced to gaze into the pale, pupil-less eyes of his opponent up close now as the warrior continued speaking.

"Then you know that I will not stop, not even for a fellow avenger!"

With his free hand/fist, Scorpion rushed in, intending to hit the youth with an uppercut. But Sasuke saw it coming and stepped back, kicking the ninja in the chest as he did. His sword arm now free, Sasuke lunged in to attack. But in the last moment, Scorpion descended down to the ground and swept his legs about, taking Sasuke down in a scissor-takedown. With a grimace, Sasuke took the fall and rolled backward, but somehow, Scorpion was already on his feet and pursuing him.

'Who the hell is this guy?'

Upright fully, Sasuke found himself pressed as the yellow-clad shinobi relentlessly attacked him with a barrage of strikes and kicks. Sasuke was fast enough to dodge most of them, but he soon saw that his opponent didn't seem too fazed by any attacks Sasuke hit him with, while whatever blows Scorpion managed to hit Sasuke with contained a great deal of force, which was naturally followed by a great deal of pain.

'His stamina… it's like…Naruto's!'

Several times, Sasuke tried to back away to get some breathing room, but then the yellow-clad ninja would teleport close with a punch and the whole process would start all over again. And it didn't help that in staying close, Scorpion managed to minimize the effectiveness of Sasuke's kenjutsu (sword technique) attacks. So Sasuke discarded his evasion tactics and physically blocked an incoming kick. He then followed that with an elbow to the face, catching the masked fighter right between the eyes.

With Scorpion stunned (at least for the moment), Sasuke stepped back and rapidly slashed forward, his blade seeking the other fighter's chest. If the blade wound itself didn't take him down, then the venom on the blade certainly would. Scorpion skipped back in avoidance, but Sasuke pressed on, using his advanced speed to attack again and again. As long as the young shinobi kept the fight at mid-range, he would stand a better chance in this fight.

But as Sasuke slashed out with another attack, Scorpion whipped low with his leg in a sweep. Sasuke quickly jumped over it and landed behind Scorpion, who was just now rising up with his back to him. An open shot, Sasuke wasted no time in lunging in. But the yellow-clad ninja took a step back and snapped his fist back, smashing it right into Sasuke's face. Dazed and hurt, Sasuke backed away, dropping his sword in the process. Scorpion pressed on, swinging at Sasuke with a roundhouse kick. But Sasuke managed to recover enough to dodge the kick and hop back; his hands moving blindingly into seals that were second nature to those of the Uchiha clan.

'Katon: Gokakyu No Jutsu!' ('Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!')

Inhaling deeply, Sasuke unleashed the burst of fire at Scorpion, who was only able to make it back a few steps into the treeland before the jutsu exploded, setting some of the shrubbery aflame. Now with a moment of reprieve, Sasuke peered into the fire, the crimson spiral of the Sharingan coming into bloom as he searched about for his opponent's chakra signature. Despite the still-lingering flames, Sasuke should still be able to detect his opponent. But his search revealed nothing, at least not before him.

'Could he have teleported…?'

Swoooo!


'Interesting…'

It wasn't often that such a thought passed through the mind of Itachi with regards to an opponent. In his time in the Akatsuki, he had met few who challenged his skills and even though here in the tournament, there were some interesting challenges, it wasn't anything he couldn't handle with as minimal effort as possible. Regardless, he kept in mind that as Mortal Kombat, the fighting would only grow further with intensity.

Case in point, his current opponent…

The Shoalin monk was proving to be quite a formidable opponent. The taijutsu he employed was quite reminiscent with that of Maito Gai, minus the theatrics. That alone made him a dangerous opponent for the rouge shinobi, but he also noticed that Liu Kang was avoiding eye contact with him and fighting him by watching his body movements. Either the Shaolin monk realized the effects of the Sharingan in prior matches or he may have had dealings with it before.

Interesting…

Meanwhile, Liu Kang was gauging his opponent, who at the moment was in a stationary position. But he knew that could change very quickly, as Itachi was impossibly fast, too fast. If not for the tells Itachi gave before his attacks as well as witnessing one of his matches earlier on, the Shaolin monk would not have lasted long. But he also noted that Itachi was doing his best to keep the fight at a distance. Given his speed, it was odd to the Shaolin that he would do that, but regardless, if Liu wanted to win this match, he would have to press in at close-range

A slight shift in Itachi's posture warned Liu Kang that another attack was coming. But rather than wait for it, Liu Kang charged first, rushing in with a reverse roundhouse kick. Itachi smoothly ducked under the attack and then jumped back upon seeing the sharp mid-kick that quickly followed right after. Landing low to the ground, a kunai instantly sprang out from Itachi's sleeve. Liu Kang prepared to deflect it should it be launched, but after a moment's pause, he shot his fist backward.

And nearly hit the doppelganger Itachi behind him…

The second Itachi blocked the blow and Liu Kang pressed on fierce punch to the mid-section. The attack just managed to graze near Itachi before he sidestepped it. At the same time, the first Itachi had rushed in from behind, kunai still in hand and cutting through the air toward the Shaolin monk. But Liu Kang wheeled about in the air and the blade passed harmlessly beneath him. Touching down to the ground, Liu Kang smoothly went into a leg sweep, forcing Itachi to jump back and away.

'There!'

Through the momentum of his sweep, Liu Kang had been concentrating his chi, causing power to surge through his arms and into his hands. As he rose, he shot them forward together, launching a medium-sized bolt of fiery energy directly toward one of the Itachi's; the one still wielding the kunai. Due to the close proximity and the impressive speed of the attack, Itachi was unable to so much as defend as the fireball blasted him right in the face.

And caused him to explode into black feathers…

Liu Kang only had a moment to frown, not only because he had nailed the wrong Itachi, but that Itachi, the first Itachi had been the doppelganger the whole time, while the one that he had first countered from behind had been the real deal.

'He really is fast.'

"You're good… But this is where it ends."

The closeness of the voice caused Liu Kang to react automatically, shooting his elbow toward the sound. Itachi ducked his head to the side to dodge and as it went down and low, his gaze finally locked with the eyes of the Shaolin monk. It was only a brief moment, but it was in that moment where the black tomae of the Sharingan expanded, darkening his eyes and exposing Liu Kang to the Mangenkyo Sharingan.

"Tsukuyomi…"


'I hope I'm not lost.'

With a heavy sigh, Sonya Blade trudged on through the treeland area. Forsaking her room in the palace (because the place was creeping her out for some reason), she instead made her way back toward the area where she had left the young woman who had been hurt fighting against Kano. She had been skeptical about leaving her out there by herself, and despite Sakura's assurance that her companion would return, she was still a bit concerned.

Given this tournament, she had every right to be…

A soft orange light caught her attention. Recognizing campfire, she made her way toward it and soon found Sakura along with her companions. She recognized the young man sitting next to Sakura with spiky blond hair, whisker-like marks on his face and clothed in black and orange. Both he and Sakura had their eyes closed and their fingers clasped together pointing upward in what Sonya assumed was some kind of meditation stance.

The other companion was an older man, with spiky white hair (what is with their hair?) and a mask over his face. One of his eyes was covered by a band with a metal plate that had a symbol on it, the same band that both Sakura and the boy had. But unlike the two youths, the elder had his eye open and it had turned toward her.

"It looks like we have a guest."

Their eyes opening, both turned to look at her and Sakura exclaimed. "Sonya-san, you're back."

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Sonya replied with both a nod and a smile. "…Or at the very least, not by yourself out here."

"How thoughtful of you." spoke the silver-haired man.

His eyes narrowed in squints at her, Naruto suddenly blurted out. "Hey, who are you anyway?"

That was soon followed by a swift fist to the back of his head from Sakura. "Naruto! Be polite!"

Sonya had to keep herself from chuckling at the display as Naruto moaned and rubbed the back of his head. The tournament itself may be beyond her full understanding, but she knew a sibling relationship when she saw one. Holding her smile, she waited for Naruto to recover and after Sakura's apology to her before she answered Naruto's question

"I'm Sonya. And you are Naruto, right? Uzumaki Naruto."

"How'd you know?" the boy blinked.

"I think everyone knows you after that little announcement of yours that first day."

The blond chuckled in remembrance, scratching the back of his head as he did. "Oh, yeah, hehe…"

"Aren't you going to introduce me, Sakura?" the silver-haired man said suddenly, almost comically.

"Oh, right. This is our sensei, Kakashi."

With a masked smile, Kakashi lent a hand out. "Since you're here, would you like to join us?"

Nodding in acceptance, Sonya moved around and sat down on the ground with them near to Sakura. "To be honest, that palace is a little creepy for my taste."

"I can imagine." Kakashi replied. "If you want, you can stay with us for the night."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Was you able to find that creep you were looking for?" Sakura asked.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips. "Unfortunately, no, which is as frustrating as it is unbelievable."

It was probably more frustrating than unbelievable. It was bad enough that she had to be pitted against some of the best (and dangerous) fighters of the world, which delayed her search for Kano. In fact, she had just located him on that day, but she had chosen to help Sakura instead.

Sakura lowered her eyes sadly. "I'm sorry; if you hadn't stopped to help me…"

"Don't worry about it." Sonya waved off. She didn't regret her decision to help. If anything, Sakura may have made her job easier. Even though she had lost, she did more than a fair share of damage to the Black Dragon. What upset her was that Kano had managed to elude her despite the injuries.

"Besides, I couldn't have just left you there the way you were." Sonya continued. "As long as he's here, I get another chance."

"So who is this guy anyway?" Naruto asked.

Sonya gave a moment pause, but then figured it wouldn't hurt for them to know. "His name is Kano. He's the ringleader of the Black Dragon criminal organization and as she said, a real creep."

"Ah. So you're here to apprehend him, then." Kakashi reasoned.

Another nod. "Yes. Once I found out where he was heading, I took off after him."

His eyes widening with awe, Naruto replied. "You must be really tough to go after this guy by yourself."

Sonya gave him another smile (she couldn't help it with him it seemed), but it came out as a sad one. "Yeah, well, normally, I would have gone with my partner. But in our last encounter with Kano, Jax had gotten hurt and I…kind of rushed off." With a mirthless chuckle, she added. "My superiors are probably having a fit right now."

It was supposed to be simple; or at least as simple as it was tracking down one of the most notorious criminals in the world and leader of the Black Dragon organization. In their last encounter, her partner, Major Jackson 'Jax' Briggs had been injured saving her and Kano had disappeared. Soon afterward though, she received an autonomous message informing her of Kano's participation in Mortal Kombat as well as her own invitation, she had to take a chance in pursuing him alone.

"So you're in trouble with your leaders now." Kakashi stated.

"Probably." Sonya shrugged. "But that scum hurt my friend. If I can bring him down, I'll accept whatever consequences they give me."

There was a moment of silence between them and Sonya could see something pass between the three that she recognized as understanding. It might explain why she was at ease around them. It was strange, given everything that was happening in this tournament. Who knows? These guys could wind up facing her the next day. But

So, what the story with you guys? Why are you here?

Almost immediately, Naruto declared. "We're here to save the world!"

Sonya blinked…


It was pure instinct alone that made Sasuke dodge the kunai that came out at him from the smoldering flames. But while he managed to prevent it from plunging into his chest, he was unable to avoid it fully and it stabbed into his shoulder instead, running it through. A sharp cry was stifled in the youth's throat as his hand began to reach up to grab it. But before he could, Sasuke noticed the thick wire that was attached to the end of it.

"Get Over Here!"

This time, Sasuke gasped aloud in pain as the wire pulled him so suddenly that he actually left his feet and was pulled through the air and the residual flames to where his opponent awaited, the wire retracting…into his hand? Pulled in close, Sasuke was soon met with devastating uppercut, with the spear tearing out of his shoulder as a result, inflicting further pain on Sauske.

Amazingly, the young Uchiha managed an awkward roll and come back upright to his feet, but not without a great deal of pain and more than a few stars twinkling in his vision. Aside from the blow to the head, he also had an open wound in his shoulder, being more cauterized than bleeding somehow. But Sasuke had little time to reflect. He had to deal with this guy now, before he actually killed him.

Denying him his vengeance…

Cold hatred surged through the youth, allowing his mind to dismiss the pain briefly and giving him focus he needed. For the longest while, Scorpion had been putting him on the defensive. If he was going to beat him, he was going to have to meet aggression with aggression, but he would have to be smart about it. As his thoughts went into motion, the yellow-clad shinobi sprang forward, ready to batter the Uchiha with another round of hurt.

Teeth gritted, Sasuke met him mid-charge. Without his sword, Sasuke went straight into his taijutsu, sweeping his leg across the ground. Scorpion hopped back, but Sasuke pursued, staying close to Scorpion and attacking him for all it was worth. While Scorpion's taijutsu may have stronger and more brutal than Sasuke's, the youth still had the edge in speed.

Through an exchange of blows, Sasuke finally managed to put Scorpion on the defensive, with the yellow-clad ninja flipping back once again. In midair, Sasuke pursued once more, but upon closing in, Scorpion somehow managed to reach out, grab Sasuke's shoulders and throw him backward in the air with his foot, directly toward a tree. Spinning about, Sasuke stepped onto the tree and clung to it with his feet. It was at that point that Scorpion landed on the floor and with a single whirl of his hand, sent the wired kunai out at him from his hand again.

'This is it.'

In the last minute, Sasuke dodged the weapon, causing it to stab into the tree he was clinging to and hooking it in place. His opponent now stuck, Sasuke went on the move, rushing down from the tree and toward Scorpion. The sound of a thousand birds cried aloud as his hand became charged with chakra, crackling about like electricity. Scorpion, still hooked, watched as the youth came in close with his jutsu and then he disappeared, causing Sasuke to miss, or so it seemed.

'Now!'

Relying on his other senses, Sasuke suddenly reversed the direction of his hand, sending it backward instead. At that very moment, Scorpion had reappeared and was coming in for a counter-attack only to see that Sasuke hadn't intended to hit him where he was before after all.

'Chidori…Eisou!' ('One Thousand Birds…Sharp Spear!')

The initial justu suddenly sprouted forward, impaling Scorpion upon a blade of energy. Supporting his arm with his other hand, Sasuke poured more chakra into the jutsu. Normally, it was meant to stun an opponent, but if focused enough, it could do more damage. Another surge of chakra sent a bulge of energy rippling up through the blade and exploding violently into Scorpion, sending the yellow ninja flying and smacking down onto the ground in a smoking heap.

"Sasuke Uchiha wins!"

Breathing heavily, Sasuke partially collapsed onto the ground. The victory was his, but it was hard won and costly. The justu he used had taken a good deal of his chakra, and it didn't help that he had used up a great deal of it in fighting back, not to mention the brutal beating he had taken from Scorpion and the (searing?) wound he had in his shoulder. Karin would have much to heal on him and he wasn't exactly looking forward to that either. But still, he had managed to win.

And that what he would keep doing until he had his revenge…

Forcing himself up to his feet, Sasuke gazed over at the fallen Scorpion, who was still lying on the ground. Sasuke wasn't sure if he had killed him or not and right now, he didn't care. His Sharingan was still active, but he saw nothing as he gazed at his fallen opponent; no chakra signature whatsoever. It certainly explained how he surprised Sasuke while his Sharingan was active. Somehow, Scorpion was able to block his visual jutsu. Sasuke was about to turn away when the eyes of the yellow-clad ninja suddenly snapped opened; the void of pale focusing directly into the crimson spiral of Sasuke's eyes. It was then that Sasuke saw, but a brief glimpse of….

"Until I have avenged the deaths of my family and clan, my soul will never rest!"

With those words, Scorpion suddenly disappeared in a hiss of flame, causing Sasuke to step back. For a moment, Sasuke expected another attack, but none came. Cautiously, Sasuke turned about and walked away, greatly fatigued and wounded; his mind on the words of the warrior. 'So that's his story, huh. No matter. I have my own to avenge'. Yet, for some reason, only one set of words continued to remain in the back of his mind, reinforced by…whatever it was that he saw in that last moment.

-"We have the same eyes..."-


He blinked…

He blinked in shock…

Outside the ring, Kisame watched as Liu Kang suddenly counter-attacked with a kick to the mid-section, nearly hitting Itachi and causing him to jump back and away. 'What the heck…?' was the only coherent thought that went through the mind of the swordsman. While he had enjoyed watching the match between the two, Kisame knew it was over the moment his partner had managed to lock gazes with Liu Kang and unleash his dreaded genjutsu (illusion technique).

Or at least, it should have been over…

Inside the ring, Itachi returned to his stationary stance, his eyes trembling slightly; the only evidence of the strain put on him as a result of the use of the Tsukuyomi, which normally should have meant the end of his opponent. But the Shaolin monk, despite the evidence of weariness on his part, was still capable of fighting,

'To think…he could do that. I would have never imagined…'

The moment when Itachi had initiated the Tsukuyomi, Liu Kang had fallen under the power of the genjutsu and found himself stretched out hand and foot in a void of the nightmare realm. Below him (or above him?), Itachi stood in place, his crimson gaze shadowed by the surroundings as it centered in on his prisoner. Oddly, Liu Kang wasn't in panic or in fear. In fact, after a moment of gazing about, his eyes closed shut and his body relaxed.

'No matter. The pain will change that.'

From behind Itachi, a shadowy form appeared, armed with a bow, with an arrow now being trained in on Liu Kang. The arrow was smoothly pulled back on the string until it was tight and then it was released. True to target, the arrow speedily pierced right into Liu Kang's side, embedding itself between his ribs.

Nothing…

A single blink betrayed Itachi's confusion. The Shaolin monk didn't react to the attack…at all. His eyes were still shut and body still relaxed, even with the bloodied arrow jammed into his side. Curious, Itachi continued, causing another shadowy archer to materialize. Both figures armed their bows with an arrow and took aim, while the first arrow faded away into nothing, with Liu Kang's form showing no evidence of any damage.

Yet…

Both arrows flew and both stabbed into Liu Kang's body. And again, there was no reaction. No scream, no strangled cry, not even a change in countenance. This continued on for hours, with each attack adding another archer into the mix. It had gotten to the point where Itachi had an entire army of archers firing at him with flaming arrows. Yet through it all, the Shaolin monk didn't react in any pain.

When the jutsu finally ended, Itachi was surprised that Liu Kang was still able to fight him. 'This one…is dangerous.' It was impossible to break the Tsukuyomi, unless the opponent was also an Uchiha with the Sharingan. But while Liu Kang didn't break it, he had done something else that Itachi had trouble believing.

He had endured it… He took it…

For someone to endure that much pain under his illusion would take an incredible amount of mental discipline. But facts were facts; that is just what happened. And while there had to still be a level of damage to Liu Kang's psyche, it wasn't enough to put him down in the match, not if he had been able to attack right after it like the way he had. Meanwhile, Itachi was beginning to feel the strain from the use of his jutsu and his vision had dimmed a bit more, a drawback from the use of the Mangenkyo.

Considering his options as well as his opponent, Itachi realized that defeating the Shaolin monk would actually require more use of the Mangenkyo. Breifly, Itachi considered using Amaterasu, but if Liu Kang was capable of enduring the Tsukuyomi, then there was no real guarantee that anything else would put him down in time. If Itachi miscalculates, he could actually face defeat and that wasn't something that would help him in his mission.

The mission…

With a slow breath, Itachi straightened his posture, lifting his hand and pointing two fingers up before his face, bending his head forward slightly. Liu Kang prepared himself for another attack from the Uchiha, but saw nothing in his stance that showed signs of attack. And that proved true when Itachi spoke.

"I, Itachi of the Uchiha clan, request forfeit of this match to you."

Kisame gasped. 'He's…quitting?!' That seemed even more unbelievable that Liu Kang's survival of the Tsukuyomi. By the rules of the tournament, a single forfeit was permissible for each combatant. It wasn't a rule used often, largely because many who fought never gave thought to forfeit, even less with Shang Tsung machinations promoting bloodlust. And also, the forfeit only worked if the opponent accepted it. Well aware of this, Liu Kang placed a fist into his palm and bowed toward his opponent.

"I, Liu Kang of the Shaolin, accept your forfeit, Uchiha Itachi."

As the shadow monk declared the fight to be a draw, Itachi turned and walked away, heading toward Kisame who was still stunned by this act. But Kisame was still discreet enough to wait for Itachi to get in close before speaking.

"What was that about? You could have taken him if you tired harder."

"There's no need to." Itachi replied quietly, appearing to walk on. "Furthermore, our mission takes priority. No sense in using up strength that may be needed later."

A slight frown creased of Kisame's features, but it was followed with a grin as he walked with his partner. "You know, there was a chance he would have rejected your forfeit."

"No. He wouldn't." Turning his head, he gave the Shaolin monk a single glance.

"I know his type."