Remember the last disclaimer, the one about the not saying a disclaimer in a foreign language? Well, here's the disclaimer in cow language: Moo.

"Then it will happen this way: You make the kill, but the pain doesn't die with Harvey, it grows. So you run out into the night to find another face, and another, and another, until one terrible morning you wake up and realize that revenge has become your whole life, and you won't know why." Bruce Wayne to Dick Grayson, Batman Forever.

Chapter 14: History of the Darkness

Despite the sound of the roaring waves, everyone heard what Sasuke said. With the Mangekyo Sharingan fading from his eyes, Sasuke turned to Taka and said, "If you won't help me, then you are free to leave, but ask yourself this: 'Why am I here?'".

Mixed feelings overcame everyone. For Suigetsu, he had said that he would stay with Sasuke until he got Kisame's sword, the Samehada, and he intended to keep his word. As for the Leaf, he didn't really care what happened to it.

For Karin, she went with Sasuke just so that she could be near him at all times. Despite his possession of the Darkness and his increasing malevolency, her feelings for him didn't waver, and she felt like Sasuke would still need her abilities. No matter what would happen, she intended to stay at his side until the very end.

For Jugo, he accompanied Sasuke just so that he could be near someone who can suppress his killer instinct. Out of everyone in Taka, he was the most disturbed by Sasuke's revelation to destroy the Leaf Village. Nevertheless, in his heart, he still believed Sasuke to be Kimimaro's reincarnation, and he didn't want to leave his friend anytime soon.

When no one spoke up, Sasuke walked past them and said, "Let's go."

"Sasuke," Madara blocked his path, "you still need some rest after that last battle, plus there are still some things we need to discuss."

"Like what?" Sasuke was not in the mood to talk to this guy.

"Like your plan of attack on the Leaf Village. Also," he lowered his voice so that Taka wouldn't hear, "I can tell you more about the past history of the Darkness."

This caught Sasuke's interest. He said in a commanding tone of voice, "Then talk."

"Not here." Madara shook his head. "There's a place nearby where we can all meet up and talk."

"Hurry up and lead the way then."

Madara thought to himself, Insolent boy, but he led the way nevertheless.

The place the group arrived at was an old, petrified forest. In it, they found two small wooden buildings in a little enclosure. One was on ground level while the other was nestled in a petrified tree, with a spiral staircase wrapped around the tree leading up to it. Everyone in Taka had to wonder what kind of place this was. Did the Akatsuki build this place, or was it an old settlement that they were just occupying?

Taka entered the ground building and found it to be bare, save for four conveniently placed futons. Sasuke looked out the only window and saw that the sun was already setting. He leaned against the back wall and slid himself down into a sitting position. He watched his team settle down in the single room building. Jugo walked up to the window and sat on the rim. Once more, as if expecting him, several little birds flew up to him and perched on his shoulder.

Karin muttered something to Suigetsu and the next thing Sasuke knew, they were both arguing about Suigetsu's fight with Kisame. Sasuke was about to get up to break them up, but he felt his eyelids droop. Why was he tired already? Maybe he didn't get enough rest after the fight? He shook his head. Maybe he just needed some air. He stood and, fighting drowsiness, slowly walked out of the building.

A ways away from the two buildings was a giant skeleton. Sasuke walked up to it and had to wonder if it was the bones of a long deceased summon, or if it was a stone structure made to look like a skeleton. Either way, he scaled it until he was sitting on top of one of its large vertebra. The gentle wind and the sound of birdsong didn't make it any easier for Sasuke to fight off his drowsiness. He shut his eyes once and he dozed off.

Dear Shuichi,

If you are reading this, then I am dead. Thank you for sending your sons to put me out of my misery, though I must admit, only one wanted to do the deed. Madara wanted to reunite the Darkness with the clan so that they could gain the upper hand against the Senju once more. I mean no insult to your son, but he is too much like the older members of the family. Izuna, on the other hand, was more sympathetic and he was aware of the true nature of the Darkness. Therefore, it was Izuna who used the Amaterasu to burn me and my ashes into oblivion.

Listen carefully, Shuichi: document my letters to you so that everyone in the clan will know just how horrific the Darkness really is. I want these letters to serve as a reminder that the Uchiha can be great without the Darkness. I want the clan's past history with the Darkness to remain in the past. Pray that the Darkness is gone for good, and that it has no way of returning.

Shuichi, I must also thank you for saving me. "How did I save you", you ask? You see, every wielder of the Darkness has a "light" that they must hang onto in order to retain their "selves". Should that light ever die, then that wielder will lose his "self" and his very being will merge with the Darkness, giving it complete control. If it weren't for you, Shuichi, then I would have lost my "self" a long time ago. (Here, you must be wondering about your stepfather, Ketsueki, whether he lost his "self" or not. Actually, as far as I could tell, though he was completely mad, he had never lost his light: our mother.)

Thank you for everything, Shuichi. Hopefully, someday, somewhere, we'll see each other again.

Your loving half-brother,

Kazunori

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke opened his eyes and saw that it was now night, with the full moon rising up into the sky. He turned his head and saw Madara standing next to him. The man in the orange mask said to him, "The meeting is in half an hour."

"Right…" Sasuke rubbed his eyes. He looked up at the full moon and the memories of the massacre came back, as well as the knowledge that Madara confided in him with. He said to him, "It seems like everything you have told me is true."

"Yes." Madara also looked up at the moon. He asked Sasuke, "What about Itachi's eyes? Do you want them transplanted?"

With his brother's eyes, he could easily gain the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. However… "No," Sasuke shook his head, "what Itachi wanted and I want are two different things. I don't want his eyes to see what I will do." He thought of something and he asked, "By the way, where is Itachi?"

"His body is somewhere safe, rest assured." Madara answered. He lowered his head and changed the subject, "We still have some time before the meeting, if you're still interested in hearing more about the history of the Darkness."

Sasuke looked at Madara and told him, "Tell me everything you know."

Madara paused to collect his thoughts before he began…

As far as anyone knew, the Darkness was as old as time itself. Along with the original Tailed Beast, the TenTails, it ravaged the entire known world. It was then that a lone figure, the legendary Sage of Six Paths, came to stop them both. He encased the body of the Jubi in rock and sent it up to the sky, forming the moon. He sealed the Jubi's spirit in himself, making him the very first jinchuriki. As for the Darkness, knowing that he could not risk sealing such evil inside himself, the Sage instead sealed it in a cave far away from humankind. Because of his actions and powers, he was known as the "Ninja God" and the founder of all ninjutsu.

The Sage of Six Paths later had two sons, one to represent his "eyes" and the other to represent his "body". On his deathbed, the Sage divided the TenTails inside him into nine separate beasts and, with his death close at hand, he had no choice but to release them into the world. He then entrusted the younger son, the one who represented his body, to bring and maintain peace in the world. The older son, the one representing the Sage's eyes, became jealous and he and his brother constantly fought one another, and their descendants continued to fight years later.

Desperate to defeat his brother, the older sibling went to the cave where the Darkness was sealed. He broke the seal on the Darkness and he took it into his body, becoming its first host. From there, the Darkness was passed from generation to generation, eventually coming to reside in the Uchiha bloodline. The Darkness was content with the Uchiha until it came to reside in one rebellious host many years later.

"Kazunori Uchiha." The words slipped out of Sasuke's mouth.

If he weren't wearing the mask, then the look of surprise would be apparent on Madara's face. He asked slowly, "How did you know?"

"I've been having these dreams," Sasuke lowered his head, "dreams about someone named Kazunori. In them, he always writes letters to his half-brother, Shuichi, and he tells him about the Darkness. I was never able to remember them until now. Shuichi," he looked back at Madara, "was your father, wasn't he?"

Madara paused for a minute before answering, "Yes, Shuichi was my father, and that made Kazunori my uncle." He lowered his voice, "Kazunori inherited the Darkness from his father, but unlike his predecessors, he refused to use it. Instead, he left his family and lived the rest of his life as a hermit."

"I already know all that."

"So I guess that means you know how Kazunori finally died."

"Your brother killed him with the Amaterasu, and the Darkness died with him."

I will never die. I am eternal.

"Everyone thought it was gone," Madara looked at Sasuke dead in the eyes, "but after all these years, it somehow came back and found itself another Uchiha host. The question is: how?"

"I think…" Sasuke thought back, "it was my hatred that summoned the Darkness."

You are my chosen one, Sasuke.

"So," Sasuke went on, "is that all you know about the Darkness?"

"No." Madara answered. "I also know that the Darkness can consume you completely if you're not careful."

Sasuke remembered the "ultimate price" that the Darkness mentioned that he would eventually have to pay. Odds were, it wanted Sasuke to lose his "self", but only if he lost his "light" first. He asked, "Who is my light?"

"So you know about that too." Madara muttered. He said out loud, "Your light has to be someone who is close to your heart, or rather, someone who keeps your humanity in check."

"Someone close? But I've already lost my entire family! There is no one else close to my heart!"

"If that was true, then you would have already lost your 'self'."

"Then who-?"

"We've wasted enough time here. Everyone's waiting for us."

Sasuke stood up and both shinobi left to join the others.

At the meeting, Madara, Kisame, and everyone in Taka were present. There was a long table with several chairs, though Sasuke was the only one who was seated. Sasuke explained to his group that he would target the elders of the Leaf, since they were the ones who ordered Itachi to kill his family. Kisame warned him that if he were to attack the higher-ups, then everyone else would come and stop him. Basically, Sasuke would have to take on the entire village if he wanted to kill the elders.

Madara noted that Akatsuki was running low on manpower, so he proposed that Taka should work with them. If they did, then they would get their share of the Bijus' combined power once they have captured all of them.

"That's a generous offer," Sasuke said to Madara, "but you seem to keep forgetting that I have the Darkness."

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out the Darkness's weakness." Madara countered. "Say that everyone ambushes you with floodlights, then what would you do? Having the Bijus' power as a backup is hardly a bad idea."

Sasuke had to concede to that fact. Madara went on to say that if Taka really wanted their share of the Bijus' power, then they would have to contribute to retrieving the remaining jinchuriki. Currently, there are only two jinchuriki left in the world: the EightTails and the NineTails. Taka would retrieve the EightTails in the Land of Lightning while the rest of Akatsuki would retrieve Naruto.

"One more thing," Madara eyed everyone in Taka, "if you should betray Akatsuki in any way, then you will have to die."

"You don't need to tell us twice." Sasuke said.

"Then everyone is dismissed," everyone was about to leave, "except for," everyone stopped, "you, Sasuke."

Everyone in Taka looked at Sasuke. He told them, "Go. I'll catch up to you once I'm done."

They followed their leader's orders, though they had to wonder what Madara wanted to talk to him about. When they were gone, Madara sat at the opposite end of the table and began, "Sasuke, there's something else I need to ask of you. Now that you know the whole truth about Itachi, you could just take his place in protecting the Leaf instead of destroying it. Tell me: what are your real intentions?"

Sasuke rested his elbows on the table and his chin on his hands and slouched forward. He answered, "My grief of losing Itachi is greater than any desire to follow his path. I do not want peace bought with his life. Now that I know the truth, I will never take his side and protect the Leaf. Most of all though, I will never forgive those three elders, and I believe that everyone in the Leaf enjoying the peace gained in exchange for Itachi's life is equally guilty."

"I thought you were only going to kill the elders?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I only feigned in front of Taka. No, I want to kill everyone, but by myself."

"Are you sure?" Madara, in turn, narrowed his one eye. "What about Itachi's will and sacrifice to protect everyone? Are you just going to ignore that?"

"You told me that Itachi couldn't kill me because my life was more precious than the Leaf. I feel similarly: I think Itachi's life is more precious than the Leaf, and…" He paused.

"And?"

It's all their fault.

"It's all their fault!" Sasuke sat up and banged on the table with his fist. Anger filled his heart as he went on, "They discriminated the Uchiha, ordered my brother to kill them, and the elders are not the only ones who feel that way, but also everyone in the Leaf who abide by the Senju! To me, they are the scum of the earth! They are all objects of my vengeance!"

Madara said nothing. Sasuke took a deep breath before he once again slouched forward with his chin on his hands. He said, "If you want to ridicule me as a brat swayed by his emotions, then go ahead." He looked at Madara, as if daring him to say something, but the older Uchiha said nothing. Sasuke went on, "To accept and adopt Itachi's will would be childish. If anyone who would disparage my way of living were to come forward," he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, "then I would kill the ones they love left and right! That way, they too would grasp what it's like…to experience this hatred of mine." Sasuke stood up, "If you don't have anything else to say, then I'm retiring for the night. We'll get EightTails for you tomorrow."

As he was about to leave, Madara finally spoke up, "You know that the Darkness is using you, right? I'm not going to stop you from pursuing your vengeance, but if you're going to follow your plan through, then the Darkness will surely devour you."

Sasuke didn't turn around, but he clenched his fists and said, "It doesn't matter. If it can help me kill everyone in the Leaf and cleanse the Uchiha name, then I would gladly give in to it."

With that said, Sasuke walked away from Madara and went to the ground building, where Taka was waiting for his return. Madara stared off in the direction Sasuke left and thought about the last words he had said to him. It was obvious that Sasuke was falling under the influence of the Darkness.

If nothing is done soon, then Sasuke would lose his "self" to the Darkness.

Things are looking pretty grim for Sasuke. Next time, Taka fights the EightTail's jinchuriki, unaware that a certain author will skip the entire fight scene since the Darkness is once again not involved. Sorry!

Ah, Christmas vacation at last! For this Christmas vacation, it can only mean two things for me to do: play video games and write more fanfiction!