Chapter 12: Choosing your own Destiny
A chill ran right through Tsunade's body as she stared out into the distance. She wasn't sure if it was the cold of the morning breeze that had caused it, or if it was a sign of something more sinister. Whichever one was to blame, she knew that she didn't like it. However, it did serve a purpose in snapping her out of another one of her nostalgia induced daydreams, which were becoming much more frequent. Sitting on top of the Hokage's office didn't exactly help in this regard, as it only caused her to remember all of the times they had sat there as children, while Sarutobi Sensei lectured them. She could almost see Orochimaru's captivated face as he listened intently and hung on their teachers every word and she could practically hear Jiraiya's snores, as he drifted off to sleep out of sheer boredom. Without a doubt, they were the best days of her life and she would do practically anything to have them back.
"Damn it" she whispered, after realising that she had wandered off once again. "I need to stop doing this, living in the past isn't going to help me. Orochimaru is my enemy now and he has been for years. It doesn't matter how close we once were those are the facts. As for Jiraiya-"
Tsunade felt a lump in her throat as she tried to continue speaking. The fact was that she had no idea where Jiraiya was at that moment. He had been gone for days and hadn't sent any word in all of that time. While it was true that he had been gone for longer without contact, Tsunade couldn't help but worry about him. After all, he didn't usually infiltrate the notoriously secretive Hidden Rain Village where he would encounter the Akatsuki leader.
Thankfully, Shizune walked up the stairs to join Tsunade on the roof at this moment. Her apprentice's company was a welcome relief for her at a difficult moment.
"We've been able to stabilize all of the injured Shinobi" Shizune declared, referring to the two teams that had came back severely injured from their mission the night before.
"Thank goodness" Tsunade replied, trying to act as calm as possible. After all, the last thing she wanted was Shizune to worry about her. "Has the Feudal Lords advisors arrived yet?"
"I'm not sure," Shizune admitted, as she desperately began searching through the papers she had brought with her. "We haven't had any contact from the front desk so we can't be sure."
Tsunade let out an annoyed grunt at this news. She wasn't in the mood to deal with unprofessional Chunnin that had been greeting the visitors in Koetsu and Izumo's place while they investigated a case with Asuma. However, she knew that if she didn't intervene the problem would only get worse.
"They picked a bad day," Tsunade said, as he made her way towards the front gate. She spent the entire walk there wondering how she could have stopped Jiraiya from leaving. After deducing that it would have been possible, she started scolding herself for not leaving Katsuyu with him. That way she could have at least known where he was and how he was doing.
Predictably, Tsunade was greeted at the front desk by two tired Chunnin who had an unorganised mess of papers strewn in front of them. She didn't even have to open her mouth as the two Chunnin knew exactly what they had done wrong and they began apologising profusely, while confirming that the advisors had not yet arrived.
"This better be the last time that I'm down here," she grumbled, as she began to turn around and head back towards the office. However, before she did she noticed a man hobbling in the distance. She couldn't tell if he was in trouble or if she was just seeing things. She stared at him for the next couple of minutes, before making a horrible realisation.
"It's Jiraiya!" she yelled, as she began running towards him. "Send word to Shizune to bring out a couple of Medical Ninja at once!"
Tsunade eventually reached her comrade and almost burst into tears at the sight of him. His face was all battered and bruised and his right arm looked to be broken. His clothes were completely torn and he seemed to have lost his headband. Tsunade had never seen him in such a sorry state and it scared the life out of her.
"What the hell happened?" she asked, as she placed his left arm across her shoulders and took his weight.
"You see?" Jiraiya croaked, having completely ignored Tsunade's question. "I told you that I'd make it back."
Sasuke wasn't sure what to think as he walked through the darkened halls of the Uchiha hideout. He had thought of nothing but this moment for years, it was all that he had ever desired. He was desperate to fight and kill Itachi yet there was a small portion of doubt eating at the back of his mind. It was a ridiculous notion but Sasuke couldn't help thinking: Will he be happy once Itachi is dead? He had spoke about moving on, but he didn't know where too. What do you do once you've completed your life goal?
"Never mind that," Sasuke thought, as he turned the final corner that lead to the giant open room. "I can't afford to think of anything else right now. If I let my concentration slip for a moment, he'll kill me. The rest of the Uchiha clan learned that the hard way."
He entered the dimly lit room to be confronted by a sickening sight. Itachi was sat on a large stone chair at the far end of the room, casually relaxing as he did so. The clan's crest adorned the walls and the pattern lead back to the throne on which Itachi sat. Sasuke felt like he was being mocked, while Itachi stared back at him with his Sharingan active.
"I thought that you might back out of this" Itachi smirked, as he twisted ring on his finger. "After all, you've not proven yourself to be the most courageous person when you are in front of me."
"That was a long time ago" Sasuke snapped, as he clenched his fist tightly. "I have the resolve to fight you now, the resolve to kill you."
"Resolve? Don't make me laugh" Itachi snarled, before revealing the smallest of smirks. "I told you how to gain the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, yet you didn't have the resolve to kill you best friend to attain it. You had the chance to go to Orochimaru to gain power, yet you stayed in that pathetic little village without daring to venture out. You have weak resolve Sasuke and it is what will get you killed today."
The room was filled with the sound of birds chirping as a sword of lightning flew from Sasuke's hand towards Itachi. The attack penetrated Itachi's torso, who was wide eyed in shock. Itachi spat blood from his mouth and gasped for air. Yet, Sasuke frowned at this and appeared to be disappointed.
"How did you dodge that?" Sasuke asked, as he retracted his attack.
"Ah, so you saw through the genjutsu?" Itachi replied, as the Itachi directly in front of Sasuke disappeared to be replaced by another one, who had moved his head out of the way of the beam.
"These eyes can see through all of your deception" Sasuke growled, while he placed his hand at the base of his katana.
"I very much doubt that" Itachi retorted, as he stood up from his resting place. "Even if they can see through my weaker illusions, they cannot resist my special eyes."
"Your special eyes?" Sasuke mocked. "I swear to you that I'll rip those eyes out of your skull before night falls."
This line caused Itachi to laugh. It was a strange sound, as if Itachi wasn't sure exactly how to laugh. However, the intent behind it was clear and that was what had Sasuke feeling slightly worried.
"That's rather ironic" Itachi said, after he finished chuckling. "Because taking your eyes is the very reason that you are alive."
"What? Why would he want my eyes?" Sasuke wondered, while tension he felt increased tenfold.
"I won't bore you with the details, so I'll get to the point" Itachi continued, as he began to walk over to his younger brother. "The more you use the Mangekyo Sharingan, the closer it comes to losing it light. The only way to stop this is to exchange eyes with another Uchiha. Although, not everyone's eyes are compatible. Fortunately for me though, I have my new eyes right in front of me."
With that, everything suddenly made sense for Sasuke. The reason why Itachi had kept him alive became clear, it really was for his own benefit. Everything that Itachi had ever said to him was tainted with new meaning and those happy childhood memories were destroyed. While considering this, Sasuke missed the barrage of Shiruken that were flying towards him. He quickly reached for the Shiruken in his weapons pouch and Itachi's attack was deflected at the last second.
"Interesting," Itachi commented, as his eyes changed to his Mangekyo design. "You somehow managed to deceive my eyes as well."
"Naruto! Duck!"
Naruto did as he was told and flung himself to the ground, avoiding Samehada's sharp edges. Using the water that Kisame had summoned earlier, Kakashi fired a giant mass of water at his enemy, which was unsurprisingly blocked. Sakura's attempted attack was blocked, as was Naruto's Rasengan. Kisame grinned slyly, as he rested the tilt of his sword on the ground.
"Is this really all you can do?" he asked, sounding slightly disappointed at his opponents efforts.
"Not even close" Kakashi shot back, as he stretched out his right hand. Lightning sparked into life but the general shape was different from that of Chidori. It soon became obvious why, as several bolts of lightning shot out from the hand and formed the shape of a dog, which ran at pace towards Kisame. The attack collided with the Akatsuki member, who then disappeared in a wave of water.
"Of course it was a water clone," Kakashi said, as Naruto and Sakura stood beside him. "Are you two running low on chakra as well?"
They both nodded their confirmation as they gasped for air. Kakashi sighed and shook his head.
"There's probably no point in trying avoiding this then" Kakashi said, as the water behind them exploded into life. Kisame howled as he swung his sword backwards.
"So long!" he screamed, as he swung his sword straight through the body of the three Leaf Shinobi. However, rather than the familiar sight of torn flesh and blood, all Kisame saw was two white clouds of smoke and a small mass of lightning. He stared at the area in disbelief before smiling once again.
"Now then Itachi" Kisame purred, before staring in the direction of the Uchiha compound. "What will you do now?"
"You've blown your cover, there's no point hiding anymore" Itachi called out to the shadows.
Three bodies jumped out and stood next to Sasuke. They all stared down Itachi, ready to attack and end Sasuke's nightmare.
"Kakashi, Naruto and some girl" Itachi remarked, which seemed to touch a nerve with Sakura. "I'm surprised at you Sasuke. I always thought that you wanted to face me alone."
"Sorry to disappoint you" Sasuke replied, "but I'm not following the path you set for me. I refuse to be the loner that you tried to create. Once I'm finished with you, I will no longer be an avenger."
Itachi studied his brother for a moment, completely confused about how this had happened.
"How has his path changed so much?" he wondered, perplexed by the drastic change in his brothers personality. In any case, he had bigger problems at that moment. Fighting four Shinobi in his condition was going to be next to impossible.
"Ready Naruto?" Sasuke asked, as he placed his hands together and made a hand sign.
"Let's do it" Naruto responded confidently, as he made a seal of his own. They then made a succession of hand signs.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
"Wind Style: Wind Release Stream!"
Sasuke's fire reacted with Naruto's wind, causing Sasuke's technique to expand violently and cover a much greater area. The attack burnt through the ceiling and created several holes that left the room exposed to the elements. Itachi dived out of the way but burnt the bottom of his cloak. As he landed, Sakura jumped towards him with her fist pulled back. Itachi was able to avoid the potentially lethal hit and knock her away, before pulling out his kunai and blocking Kakashi's incoming sword.
"Why am I not surprised?" Kakashi asked, before he prevented Itachi's clone from sneaking up on him. Itachi glared at the team as they regrouped and noticed that Sasuke was gleaming with excitement.
"Looks like we've got you a little worried" Sasuke smirked. Itachi's eyes reverted to the Mangekyo once again and he closed his right eye.
"Enough of this" he declared, as he right eye began to bleed. "Amaterasu!"
Black flames suddenly appeared and collided with Sasuke. Sakura screamed out in horror as the Uchiha's body fell backwards. She tried to help him, but Naruto and Kakashi pulled her back.
"You don't want to go near those flames," Naruto advised, as he looked on.
"What are you saying!" she cried, stunned that Naruto would just watch Sasuke burn to death.
"We've prepared for this" Kakashi reassured her. "Just watch."
Incredibly, the flame just seemed to fall off of Sasuke. He then stood up in his Cursed Seal form, with the only difference being a lack of wings.
"I had to remove both of them," Sasuke said bitterly. "He caught me by surprise, I took too long in severing the wings. I was at least able to keep the flames from touching my body, so that's something."
Sasuke reverted back to normal, only to notice Itachi casting the jutsu once again. He yelled out and the team dived in several directions and ran up the walls, only for the flames to follow them.
"He won't be able to keep this up for long" Sasuke yelled, as he tried to locate exactly where his teammates were.
"Neither will we" Naruto pointed out, as the heat from the flames burn the back of his legs.
"Take this outside!" Kakashi yelled, as he smashed through the ceiling with his Lightning Blade. Naruto did the same with his Rasengan while Sasuke and Sakura jumped through the holes that had been created earlier. Standing on the roof, Sasuke looked up into the black sky and smiled.
"Good job" Sasuke said, "You've prepared the sky perfectly. I can definitely use this."
A giant flame smashed through the roof and Itachi jumped through the hole that was created by it. His right eye was stained with blood and he was gasping for air.
"Kakashi, get them far enough away" Sasuke said, as he ran up the nearby wall. Kakashi did as he was told and lead a protesting Naruto and Sakura away from the area. Sasuke raised his left arm in the air, where it glowed with lightning.
"Did you send them away to save them from me, Sasuke?" Itachi taunted.
"Just so you know, you should thank Kakashi for this jutsu" Sasuke yelled, ignoring what his brother had said. "We've been working on this for the past year and we're very pleased with the results. Not even you can't dodge this jutsu. Now disappear, with the thunderclap."
As Sasuke was speaking, a beast shaped mass of lightning had appeared in the sky. Once he had finished, Sasuke dropped his arm and the lightning followed the movement. In a flash of light, the attack destroyed the entire building and the surrounding area. Sasuke hadn't been expecting the wall he had been standing on to give way and there was a horrible thud as he hit the ground. Yet, the pain in his back was numbed by feelings of adrenaline and elation.
"It's finally over, isn't it?" he thought, as he allowed himself a slight laugh.
"Not quite" a familiar voice called out. In a horrifying fashion, Itachi stepped out from the rubble. His black cloak disintegrated and fell from him as he staggered to his feet.
"If it wasn't for this, I'd be dead" Itachi said, his voice barely over a whisper. A red mass of chakra then surrounded him and expanded outwards. Within seconds, a red skeleton had emerged, with Itachi at its centre. Several layers of armour were then added, to complete Itachi's ethereal guardian. "This is the third Mangekyo technique. This is the Susano'o!"
Sasuke slowly started walking backwards, trying to ignore the searing pain that was now shooting up and down his back. Itachi followed him ominously, his arm outstretched. Sasuke did everything he could to repel his oncoming brother, which mostly consisted of throwing weapons, but he couldn't stop the onslaught.
"Their too far away" Sasuke realised, as he desperately looked around for his teams assistance. "We counted on this working and it didn't. I have no way of stopping this."
Sasuke then backed into a wall and found himself cornered. He realised that it was what was left of the wall he had been on top of just five minutes earlier. It felt strange that he had felt so superior and victorious about this battle. Now, he could only feel despondent.
"They are my eyes!" Itachi said, his condition deteriorating rapidly. He began babbling nonsensically as he reached his brother and pushed his hand towards Sasuke's face. They were about 2 feet apart from each other and Sasuke knew that he could do nothing about the situation.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke noticed a flash of metal. Using the last amount of strength he had, he caught the small sword and rammed it straight into Itachi's chest. There was a moment when everything was still, as the brothers contemplated what had happened. The Susano'o disappeared and Itachi swayed forwards and backwards slightly, apparently unsure what to do. Eventually, he stumbled forwards and touched Sasuke's forehead before hitting the floor. Sasuke stood still, uncertain about what he should do. Thankfully, his team appeared within seconds and were right by his side.
"Is it over?" Naruto asked, as he stared at Itachi's dead body.
Sasuke nodded, before he began to fall to the floor. Naruto and Kakashi caught him in mid-air and pulled him back up. They both kept their arm around him, to keep him steady.
"Let's get back to the village" Kakashi declared, relieved that it was all finally over. He lifted Sasuke onto his back, before turning to Naruto. "Take Itachi's body, we can learn a lot from it. Now, we can get going."
"I don't think so," a deep voice declared from behind them. The team spun around to be greeted by a strange looking man. He wore an orange mask with one hole to the right side and his clothes were all black and tight fitting. He then reached up to his mask and began to slide it off.
"I think that Sasuke will want to talk to me after he sees this" he continued, until he revealed his right eye. To everyone's shock, a Sharingan stared back at them. However, before anyone could do anything, black flames consumed the man. He screamed out in pain and stumbled backwards, falling behind the rubble that was still gathered there. The group immediately turned to Sasuke and saw blood pouring from his left eye. Before they could start to ask any questions, Sasuke passed out.
"Run!" Kakashi ordered. The group headed straight for the nearby forest and disappeared into the trees. A few seconds later, the Masked Man walked out from the rubble.
"You want me to get them for you?" Zetsu growled, as he emerged from the ground.
"Getting Sasuke in this situation wouldn't be to my advantage" the man replied, before turning back towards Zetsu. "As for the other two targets, I have a much better idea for getting them."