Chapter 12: That is Your Fate
The flight was uneventful to say the least. Kisame was unusually quiet for his normally talkative attitude, and Deidara was still debating what to be angrier about: Itachi's new-found strength or Tobi's betrayal. Madara may have been killed, but Deidara found it hard to settle the grudge easily.
"This is boring," Deidara mused. "How are we supposed to find a guy who can fly between the countries in a hop and a skip, hn?" He glanced sideways to his new partner, who sat completely still and silent on top of the clay owl Deidara had created for them. They were flying over a vast lake surrounded by a foggy marsh, vainly searching for their former colleague. "You still fuming over what that bastard did, hn? Don't blame you. I hated his guts since the first time I met him, hn."
"Hate him?" Kisame whispered. In a single motion, he grabbed Deidara by his cloak and brought him close. "Don't patronize me, you fruit," he snarled. "Itachi didn't just betray Akatsuki. I TRUSTED the son of a bitch. He betrayed ME. And I'm going to kill him for it! I'll feed him his own eyes and shove that ring finger where the sun doesn't shine, and then I'm going to skin him alive!"
"Whoa, easy, Kisame-san, no argument there," Deidara said while holding up his mouthed hands up. "I wanna see the bastard suffer too, hn." Kisame snarled again, then forcefully let go of his new partner. Deidara righted his cloak's collar. "So then, how do we go about it once we find him?"
"I don't care," Kisame said. "Figure something out and point me in the right direction. Whatever Itachi does, I will kill him."
"Can you believe Pain?"
"Not a good time, Hidan."
"Bah, it's never a good time with you, isn't it Kakuzu? It's always 'Shut up, Hidan' this, 'Shut up, Hidan' that... damn this swamp!" Hidan scowled as his foot sank into a mushy pocket of mud. The team of Hidan and Kakuzu made their way across a fetid swamp that reeked of decay. The humidity made the heat of the afternoon sun almost tortuous, making their cloaks drenched in swamp water and sweat. "Zetsu better be damn right about this shortcut to the Sound, or else I'm going to kill him oh so slowly."
"That's an annoying one-track mind. Everything's about death with you," Kakuzu complained.
"Of course! As a loyal servant of Jashin-sama, it is my sacred duty to kill all my enemies without mercy."
"Feh. That cult of yours could find better things to do with your time and skills."
"And do what? Pillage and steal for money? You don't get to bring cash to the world of the dead, Kakuzu."
"I don't plan to," his partner answered. "Just like you, I intend to live forever."
"Oh, joy," Hidan grimaced. "Spend an eternity partnered with you. I can hardly wait."
"Keep it up, and I might just figure out a way to kill you."
"On that day, Jashin-sama will be especially pleased when I deliver your corpse to his feet."
"Your god will have to wait a while," a voice spoke from the duo's left. Hidan and Kakuzu casually glanced sideways and saw the black and white figure of Zetsu sprouting out of a mangrove tree. "I've traced Uchiha Sasuke's chakra. You will find him two kilometers northeast from this location."
"Finally!" Hidan muttered.
"I should warn you, his chakra seems erratic. Whatever Orochimaru did to him, I can't say if he's stronger or weaker," Zetsu added.
"How troublesome. Let's just get this over with," Kakuzu grumbled.
Itachi slowly glided over the grassy landscape, his aura dimmed to attract little attention. It also allowed him a chance to think. His mind had a lot to process.
"Uchiha Itachi. Report?" his ring said.
"I see you've returned, Sinestro," Itachi replied. "Were you... inconvenienced in your arrival into this dimension?"
"A minor squabble. Nothing for you to concern yourself with." After a brief pause, Sinestro continued: "Have you had any further contact with the Green Lantern?"
"No," Itachi answered, putting aside his own suspicions about Sinestro's whereabouts for the moment. "However, I have heard rumors of different-colored rings finding bearers."
"I see. Which Corps?"
"Unknown."
"Be wary of them all," Sinestro cautioned. "Rage and greed are too volatile to be trusted, and the rest seek to extinguish fear."
"Fear is the most powerful force in the universe," Itachi countered. Casting aside the doubt about why he said that, and ignoring a barely audible, malevolent chuckle from Sinestro, he added: "They will pose no threat."
"You sound awfully certain of yourself, Earthman," Sinestro chided.
"As should you, Sinestro," Itachi replied. "You have witnessed my handiwork already, and I'm certain my ring has given you abundant information about my... past deeds."
"Indeed. And I await this new opportunity for you to again prove your worth."
"Oh?"
"You do realize you are being stalked."
Itachi stopped and now hovered still in midair above the grassland. "Of course I do. I knew since before we even began speaking."
"Then do your duty to fear, corpsman. I will observe your performance with much interest." Sinestro's voice faded from the ring just as a massive column of water erupted from the ground below and enveloped Itachi entirely. His aura automatically covered Itachi and provided him oxygen for breathing, but the violent currents buffeted him and tossed him chaotically among the growing, crashing waves. Focusing his thoughts, Itachi expanded his aura to grow fins and then flew straight up. At first the new shape allowed him to navigate more freely, but the mass of water itself rose along with him preventing his escape.
"I know you're there, Kisame," Itachi said. "Why prolong the inevitable def-" He was cut off when a large shape darted towards him and struck his left arm fin. The shape barely missed his arm, but when Itachi looked closely, the construct had been ripped off completely. He quickly examined the markings on the breaking point. "Teeth-marks?"
"So this is what fear tastes like?" In front of Itachi, a hulking, muscular grey shark-shaped humanoid swam gracefully, unaffected by the buffeting currents. "I want more." Kisame swam straight towards Itachi, who swiftly created a net construct and enveloped Kisame. The mutated human flexed his massive muscles and ripped the construct apart after a few seconds. Itachi took the time to summon a score of orcas that surrounded his opponent. With more speed than his bulk would imply, Kisame out-swam the killer whales and rushed the Lantern. The water currents prevented him from moving too much, but just enough to avoid Kisame's attack. Kisame deftly turned and made another pass, which Itachi deflected with a hastily summoned water turbine.
"Not bad," Itachi said as he noticed the mass of tiny clay krill that Kisame dropped in front of him after each attack.
"Finally! Now you get to learn, my art is a BANG!" At once, the krill detonated. Kisame swam out of the top of the sphere just as the explosive shockwave, bolstered by the liquid medium, ripped through the entirety of his jutsu and engulfed the Lantern at its center. Still arcing upwards from the momentum, Kisame turned and strengthened the jutsu, forcing the explosive shockwave to rebound back to the center, where it crashed together once again. Itachi disappeared in a turbulent mess of water and smoke that completely opaqued Kisame's jutsu.
"Did we get him, hn?" Deidara asked from on top of his clay owl.
"Doubtful," Kisame replied as he began to fall back into his jutsu. "But that should at least put a dent on him. Prep some more of those bombs of yours, while I..."
"Kiiro Amaterasu!"
Bright yellow flames, decorated with pitch black silhouettes, erupted from the center of the water globe. The inner portions of the liquid boiled, the outer areas thermally expanded, and the flames grew and burned whatever they touched. Jets of the unearthly flame shot out from the sphere and straight towards Deidara. The ninja barely jumped off his creature in time, just as the fire ate the owl so completely and quickly that the explosive clay was unable to detonate. Kisame too, just dodged the expanding yellow and black fire from inside the water globe and rushed out into the open air just as the last of the water was boiled or burned off. The two Akatsuki ninjas fell towards the open earth.
But just as Itachi's jutsu at last dissipated, violent winds rushed towards Deidara and Kisame, buffeting them and forcing them towards the center of where Kisame's jutsu once hovered. As they closed in, they gasped for breath as the air raced past them and out of their range. They realized, to their horror, that the enhanced Amaterasu had done more than boil and burn off the water.
Everything in the flame's path, water, dirt, the air itself had been consumed in the conflagration down to the last molecule. There was nothing inside the fire's radius, only an empty vacuum devoid of anything at all. Anything, except the jutsu's caster. Deidara and Kisame found themselves together as violent winds blasted all around them to fill the void and tight hands gripped their throats. Itachi floated menacingly in front of them, unscathed, and effortlessly held them in place.
And he was smiling.
"I can taste your fear," he hissed, and licking his lips, he added: "And it's exquisite. Let the feast begin!"
"He is near," Kakuzu whispered to his partner. "I can sense his chakra."
"I smell blood in the air," Hidan added. "It smells horrible, but fresh. He must've killed something recently."
"You're right, it stinks worse than this whole swamp," Kakuzu agreed. The two walked as quietly as possible, stalking their prey with the utmost care. If Sasuke had managed to kill Orochimaru before, he would be a dangerous opponent that deserved caution. Hidan saw their target first. He motioned to Kakuzu to stop and glance over a patch of tall shrubs.
Sasuke lay hunched over the broken and mutilated carcass of a crocodile. Its intestines were strewn all over the bloodied grass and mud, and its chest cavity was ripped open. Sasuke clawed at the dead beast almost desperately, and then he reached down and bit on the raw flesh. He ripped a chunk of meat off with a guttural snarl and devoured it whole.
"Now THAT is something Jashin-sama would approve of," Hidan mouthed without a sound.
Kakuzu gave him a look that clearly told Hidan: "You disgust me." The two observed their target more carefully now, and noticed he wore a skin-tight black and red costume that did not seem to stain even with the bloody splattering of Sasuke's feast. Kakuzu felt as the boy's chakra levels fluctuated mildly with each movement and chew. The skeletal wings that jutted from his back and his long hair made them suspect that his level 2 Curse Seal had something to do with that. It was Hidan, though, who first saw something on Sasuke's right hand. When his arm swung to claw again at the dead crocodile, he saw the gleam of a red ring on his middle finger.
"He's a Lantern!" he couldn't help say out loud. At once, Sasuke turned toward the pair, and from his mouth came a flood of fire and blood that the two ninjas barely avoided. Despite the dampness, the rotting plant life erupted in flames and the soil bubbled and almost melted at the vile liquid's touch.
"Those fires Zetsu mentioned... it was the kid all along!" Hidan deduced as he landed on a moldy tree branch. The instant his feet touched the wood, Sasuke was already in front of him.
"RAAAAAAAAAARRRR!" The Red Lantern ripped apart the branch with a downward strike that narrowly missed Hidan. The latter rebounded off another close tree trunk and aimed at Sasuke with his massive triple-edged scythe. With some unearthly strength powering him, the boy jumped in midair, landed on the scythe's blunt side, and ran up the rope straight towards Hidan.
"Futon, Atsugai!" The enormous blast of wind that Kakuzu cast tossed both Hidan and Sasuke violently. Leaves and branches came off their trees and joined the tumult. Hidan dug his weapon into a thick bark and held on as hard as he could. Sasuke at first lost control, but all of a sudden, as his red aura flared and his skeletal wings expanded, he stopped and hovered in place, seemingly unaffected by Kakuzu's jutsu.
"Grrrrrrrr..." he growled. The Red Lantern aimed his ring at the still-chaotic air and let loose with a torrent of flame. Fanned by Kakuzu's wind, the living fires of the red light of rage became a bloated inferno that devoured the swamp, Hidan, and almost got the jutsu's caster. Kakuzu landed on a patch of wet mud, followed afterwards by an acid-covered Hidan.
"DAMN this stuff BURNS!" Hidan yelled. Sasuke heard his opponents and dove straight towards them. The duo jumped out of the way, and the Red Lantern landed with such power that he cratered the ground and sent debris flying all around him.
"Suiton, Suijinheki!" Kakuzu cupped his right hand to his now uncovered mouth, and from it poured a torrent of water that bore down on the young Uchiha. The wave expanded in all directions and drenched Sasuke and the burning swamp. Hidan jumped right into the fray, making sure to wet his entire body.
"Shit! This stuff still burns!" he said. Although the water washed off the Lantern's crimson acid, the individual patches and droplets still burned despite being diluted.
"So this is the power of a Lantern," Kakuzu mused just as Sasuke flew straight up and out of the torrent. "Pain was right to suggest caution."
"This guy is seriously pissing me off," Hidan added. "Kakuzu! Don't you dare go easy on this bastard!"
"Never planned to. Hiden ninjutsu, Jiongu!" At this, Kakuzu formed various hand seals. From above, Sasuke growled as the masked ninja's back began to churn and bubble. With a defiant roar, the Red Lantern released a torrent of burning rage from his ring. Kakuzu's back stopped moving when he was forced to dodge the newest attack. "I need a moment, Hidan!"
"Get over here, you little prick!" Hidan tossed his scythe at Sasuke, who sidestepped the weapon and then flew right at his attacker. In his fury, he paid little attention when Hidan tugged at the rope connecting the scythe. The triple-bladed weapon whipped back towards the long-haired boy, and Hidan sneered when it closed in on the oblivious Lantern.
"Grah!" Sasuke snapped in surprise as Hidan's weapon slammed into his back. The bladed edges cracked and dulled against Sasuke's churning force field, saving the berserk Lantern from being cut in half, but they still bit into his skin.
"Lucky bastard," Hidan scowled. "Don't worry, I plan to enjoy every second of..."
"Rage."
"RRRRRAAAAARRRRRRR!" Sasuke roared and increased his speed despite his injury, slamming into the unsuspecting Hidan. The Akatsuki ninja's body crumpled to the ground, with Sasuke pinning him with his weight and by continuing to fly down against the earth. The rabid boy viciously clawed and punched Hidan relentlessly, ripping off skin, breaking bones, and smashing his face into the compacting soil. Hidan's blood splattered Sasuke's suit and face, and drenched the ground around them so much that the earth drank its full of it.
"DIE!" the Red Lantern ring hissed.
"For once... wish I..." was all Hidan could gurgle through a crushed windpipe. The possessed boy opened his jaws wide, and a torrent of burning blood prepared to gush forth to his helpless opponent.
"Doton, Domu!" A mass of black tendrils, each one as hard as a diamond, slammed into Sasuke and sent him crashing onto the withered trunk of a rotten tree, which then collapsed on top of the young ninja.
"As much as I'd like to see him dead, I swore I'd be the one to do it, kid," Kakuzu stated. Four grotesque, pulsating abominations composed of black tendrils, each one adorned with an ornate mask, stood around Kakuzu and eyed the spot where Sasuke fell with dark intent. "Get up. I know you have more of a fight in you than that." Almost as if obeying the older ninja's command, the fallen tree exploded in a flash of crimson fury. Sasuke roared in defiance and then flew straight at his new opponent. Two of the masked thread beasts opened their mouths. On one, a small candle-like flame appeared; on the other, the faint hiss of the wind emanated from the opening. "No more flying!" The wind elemental released its attack first. Harrowing, hurricane-force winds buffeted the incoming Sasuke, whose flight path faltered from the sudden gusts and violent air currents. The wind stripped the land bare, heaving loose rocks, vegetation and water into the maelstrom. "Burn!" The fire elemental shot forth a massive column of orange flames. Spurred and fanned by the wind, it grew into a massive conflagration that consumed the loose debris in its fury and enveloped Sasuke whole.
"Kakuzu you bast..." Hidan was unable to finish as the combined jutsus also consumed his broken body.
"You'll live," Kakuzu sneered. "You always do. This kid, on the other hand... well damn." Sasuke leapt out of the inferno unharmed with his fist enveloped in crackling red and black bolts of electricity. Another of Kakuzu's puppets jumped in between Sasuke and its master, and a tight, compact ball of pure lightning met the roaring Lantern's attack. Pure chakra crackled against corrupted chakra in a forceful struggle that lasted an instant. The dark mix of red light and cursed chakra quickly overwhelmed the construct's, and Sasuke's charged hand raced towards its head. A mere inch before the tips of the Red Lantern's fingers tore through the abomination's mask, the earth beast rammed a fist made of tentacles into the rabid boy's face. Sasuke's strike cut through the side of the lightning beast but missed its mask as he was sent tumbling to the ground.
"That ring is really something, brat," Kakuzu said. "I've broken through solid steel with that jutsu." Sasuke got up, hunched down against the blasted soil and breathed heavily. "The ring makes you powerful, true, but it also turns you into a stupid, mindless animal," the older ninja said while Sasuke punched the ground with his ring fist. "Frustrated already? You're mine, boy. As long as you don't hit me, I will eventually def..."
The ground suddenly cracked open, releasing torrents of fiery red acid that enveloped the earth and wind monsters. Kakuzu and his other two constructs barely jumped back in time to avoid the fountain of crimson light. But just as the old ninja landed, the ground at his feet cracked open and let loose another eruption of Red Lantern energy. Kakuzu retreated again, and another geyser followed him. Soon there was little room left to avoid the attack. Kakuzu joined his hands together, and the two remaining beasts merged back together with him. Kakuzu jumped high just as the tendril bodies of the former summons expanded into web-like wings. With mighty flaps powering him, Kakuzu hovered just above the near-volcanic hell below him.
"You selfish son of a..." Hidan coughed, his body regenerating painfully but not quickly enough to avoid the rising flood of rage that covered him.
"He used his ring underground? If he's not as dumb as I thought..." Instinctively, Kakuzu grew his right arm and flailed it behind him like a mighty whip. Though he guessed correctly, the sudden attack was not fast enough to hit the flying Sasuke, who dodged below the massive black arm. With a single deft flap of his skeletal wings, the Lantern cut off Kakuzu's arm. The much older shinobi grunted and observed helplessly as Sasuke's right hand was covered in red lightning.
"GRRRRAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!" With a mighty roar, Sasuke plunged his charged fingers like daggers into Kakuzu's diaphragm and out his back. Kakuzu coughed out dark blood mixed with black ichor as his entire body tensed from the electricity pouring out of the Chidori. Sasuke then grabbed Kakuzu by the neck with his free hand and dove down into the slowly deepening pool of vile Red Lantern energy.
"Monster… You… that ring… forged in Hell…" Kakuzu said as the duo descended. Sasuke brought back his right arm out of the wounded ninja, leaving a gaping, bleeding hole in his chest. The boy growled again and aimed to strike Kakuzu through his head.
"Grraaaaaaaaaa… RGH!" Sasuke suddenly recoiled with a sudden stabbing pain in his abdomen. Three bleeding wounds appeared near his stomach, which he instinctively covered with both his arms. Kakuzu, free from the Red Lantern's grip, used the last of his strength to grab a charred tree by the trunk with his remaining tendril arm and hauled himself to safety. Sasuke crashed into the boiling pool of hate he had created. As he rose to the surface, he heard someone laugh from his side.
"Forgot about me, asshole?" Hidan taunted from just outside the lake of burning blood. Sasuke glanced at the other ninja, who had embedded his scythe into his stomach and was holding a finely pointed spear in his left hand. His body was charred all over, with pieces of his hands and fingers burned to the muscle or bone, but he still stood defiant against the Red Lantern. Hidan's face and skin were now black and adorned with white tattoos, and he stood inside of a simple circle with an inscribed triangle. "I figured out your secret. That acid puke of yours is also blood. Let me tell you, it was a bitch to drink, but I did. Thank Jashin-sama for my healing factor, and for this ritual. You're dead, brat!"
Sasuke stood up despite the pain and hissed at Hidan. The latter observed how the wounds were beginning to close. "You can heal fast too, huh? I'd prefer to enjoy your pain further, punk, but I'll settle for your death." Sasuke lunged at Hidan, but the older ninja swiftly raised his left arm and readied the spear. "DIE!" With that, Hidan plunged his spear straight into his heart.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"Sasuke-kun!"
Haruno Sakura woke up in a start, her face and regular clothes drenched in cold sweat. Her breath was quick and shallow, a consequence of the panic brought on by the blurry images her nightmares showed her. To her left, Naruto grumbled in his bed, turned over to his side, and promptly fell back asleep with a loud snore. To her right, Hinata made no apparent movement and continued to sleep peacefully. Sakura stood up quietly and headed for the bathroom.
It was the night after their escape from the ANBU Root's lair in Konoha. While Lee returned to the village to report back to the Hokage on their behalf and to reveal Danzou's machinations, the three Lanterns took Sai's advice and began searching for the blue ring of hope. In just one day, they searched the entirety of the Fire Country without success. With their remaining money, the group was able to get a room in a small inn to spend the night once Naruto's ring charge was nearly depleted. They planned to continue their search in the Wind Country next as soon as the sun rose. But Sakura's visions just a few moments ago overrode all their plans.
The Predator's host opened the faucet and washed her face with lukewarm water. The feeling let her relax slightly, just enough to regain her focus and remember her nightmare more clearly. As she usually did, she dreamt of Sasuke training with Orochimaru and losing his self to the evil Sannin. But tonight, her dreams were filled with dark thoughts. She felt an all-encompassing rage devour him, completely overpowering his hate for Itachi and releasing something far worse to the world. Her heart beat so furiously she could almost hear it.
"Sakura-san?" With a sharp gasp, Sakura whirled around and aimed her ring behind her right into Hinata's face. "Calm down, Sakura-san," the Hyuuga girl said as she raised her hands. Sakura sighed and lowered her ring arm.
"Hinata, I'm sorry."
"It's alright," the other Star Sapphire answered. "I'm sorry I startled you. Is something wrong?"
"Nothing," she said.
"Please don't do that," Hinata scorned her, seeing right through the lie. "Even without my ring, it's obvious something is bothering you." This time Sakura said nothing, instead opting for lowering her head and putting a hand on her own shoulder. "Is it Sasuke-kun?"
"How did you know?" Sakura asked, her voice neutral and unsurprised.
"You look the same as I do when I worry about Naruto-kun," Hinata admitted, glancing towards their loudly-snoring companion.
"Something's happened to him," Sakura told her fellow Lantern. "I can feel it, even without my ring's help." She glanced towards Hinata, then to Naruto. "I'm so selfish," she said with a sniff. "We have a mission, a duty to our lights, and to find the blue light of hope… and here I am, only thinking about Sasuke-kun…"
"A Star Sapphire does not ignore what lies in the heart," Hinata said.
"What?"
"That's what my ring told me before choosing me," the other girl explained. "What does yours want?"
Sakura fell silent for a moment, but it did not take her long to reach the conclusion Hinata already knew she would make. "I have to help him. But…"
"Then there is nothing else to be said," Hinata interrupted. "Naruto-kun and I will find the Blue Lantern. Do what your heart compels you to do, Sakura-san. What the Entity of Love chose you for."
Sakura stared at Hinata for a few moments as the pondered her decision. She repeated Hinata's words in her mind again, and her ring gave her just enough encouragement for Sakura to make up her mind. She smiled at Hinata and said: "And here I thought I was the more decisive of us two."
"S-S-Sakura-san! It's not... I mean..."
"There's the Hinata I used to know," Sakura joked. "But the more decisive you is very welcome." Sakura placed a reassuring hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Promise me you'll look after Naruto."
Hinata smiled at her fellow Star Sapphire and nodded. "I promise."
With that, the two girls stepped out of the bathroom. Careful not to wake Naruto, Sakura opened the room's lone window and stared at the night sky. She closed her eyes and focused all her thoughts and emotions on Sasuke.
"Star Sapphire Haruo Sakura," her ring said. "An eternal love is in jeopardy. The heart is being attacked in Sector 2814."
"I know," Sakura whispered. As she opened her eyes again, her clothes transformed into her Star Sapphire uniform. "Take me there, now."
"Two hearts attuned. Tether connected." From Sakura's heart came the same beam that just a day before had tracked Naruto for Hinata, this one racing away high into the night sky and far off in the distance. Sakura flew out in pursuit.
"Wuzzat?" a groggy Naruto asked.
"It's nothing, Naruto-kun," Hinata assured him. "Just go back to bed."
"'Kay." Without needing more encouragement, Naruto promptly passed out again and resumed his loud snoring.
Hinata strolled back to bed, but before lying down, she looked back out the window and whispered: "Good luck, Sakura-san."
"Oooooh, that's the stuff…" Hidan trailed off as his entire body trembled from feeling both his pain and Sasuke's death. The mix allowed by his unholy ritual sent waves of sadistic pleasure throughout his entire body, and Hidan moaned with every single shiver. Kakuzu, who after collecting his severed arm had sealed the hole in his chest with a leaking mass of tentacles, hobbled over slowly toward his partner.
"I swear, you sound like you just creamed your…"
"Shut the hell up, Kakuzu!" With a grunt, Hidan ripped off the spear from his chest. The tattoos disappeared and his skin returned to normal, though his wounds were taking longer to heal.
"Is he dead?"
"No one survives being stabbed in the heart," Hidan said. He walked over towards the still, slumped Sasuke and stabbed his shoulder. The Red Lantern did not react. "See?"
"We should still take his body," Kakuzu suggested. "Although Pain wanted him alive, his carcass may still faze Itachi enough for the rest to subdue him." The much older ninja extended his free arm, and more tendrils weakly reached out. While most entwined Sasuke, a few aimed at his red ring.
"What the hell are you doing?" Hidan asked.
"Ignoring Pain," Kakuzu answered. "Orders or no orders, I want his ring. He almost cost me my collection of elemental hearts. I will not leave empty-handed." His organic ropes touched the ring.
BaBUM BaBUM BaBUM
"Rage."
Sasuke's aura flared to life, burning off the tendrils that surrounded him. With a swipe of his skeletal wings he cut off more of Kakuzu's tendrils and nearly sliced Hidan's torso in half. Sasuke stood up and released a torrent of boiling blood from his frothing mouth that the two Akatsuki barely avoided.
"You said he was dead!" Kakuzu yelled at his partner while he struggled to contain what passed for his intestines inside his stomach.
"He should be! I've still got the hole in my heart to prove it!"
Kakuzu dodged another spray of plasma and countered with a weak water jutsu to dilute the torrent. "Curse him again! Cut off his head if you have to!"
"I plan to do better," Hidan said. He dashed to a spot where some of Sasuke's raging blood mixed with Kakuzu's water, and swiftly gulped down a mouthful. Kakuzu saw him cringe as the acid burned his throat, but was pleased to see his partner's skin darken and the tattoos reappear. "Jashin, this stuff is searing! Buy me a few seconds while I prepare the rest of the ritual!" he ordered Kakuzu with a raspy voice.
"Easy for you to say," Kakuzu complained, but acquiesced nonetheless. He hit Sasuke with a blast of wind that was intended to distract the Red Lantern. To his surprise, Sasuke staggered when he took the attack. "That super-healing of yours has it limits, boy?" His taunt was met with a swift tackle from Sasuke that pinned him to a charred tree bark. The Red Lantern then plunged left fist into the hole in Kakuzu's abdomen.
"AAARGH!" Kakuzu screamed when Sasuke ripped through his insides and into his chest cavity. He achingly and fearfully felt when the boy gripped one of his hearts.
"Got you!" Hidan yelled.
At once, Sasuke's right hand, along with his ring, plopped off from his wrist and fell to the barren soil. Releasing his hold on Kakuzu's heart, Sasuke gripped the bleeding stump and howled with an unholy cry that made both Hidan and Kakuzu tremble. In all his long years, never before had Kakuzu heard what he could only describe as the pained roar of a demon bathed in holy light. Soon after, Sasuke grabbed his chest tightly with his remaining hand.
"His heart again? I told you to cut off his head!" Kakuzu yelled at his partner.
"I only got the bastard's hand!" Hidan shot back as he momentarily cradled his own right stump.
"Just kill him! Kill him now while we have the chance!" the older ninja ordered. As Sasuke fell to his knees in deep, ragged breaths, Hidan raised his triple-bladed scythe to his own neck.
"Tether targeted. Heartbreakers located."
Just as Hidan made the barest cut on his own throat, two bright beams of violet light struck each Akatsuki directly on their hearts. Instantly, two crystal prisons completely encased and immobilized the two. His breath weakening and his chest aching beyond what the red ring could do, Sasuke barely glanced up and saw as a female form, clad in a violet suit, descended upon the charred battlefield and raced towards him just as he collapsed.
"Sasuke-kun!" was the last word he heard before his mind and senses, starved from the life-sustaining blood of his now ruined heart and the severed red ring, gave out entirely to the deep darkness.
"Pathetic. I expected the two of you to at least put up a bit of a fight before my inevitable victory."
Itachi towered over the fallen, unconscious forms of Kisame and Deidara. Their cloaks were torn, scarred and burned, while Itachi hovered over them untouched.
"Well done, 2814," Itachi's ring voiced. "Your combination of the ring's power with your innate skills gives you quite an advantage."
"It's too simple," Itachi said. "The power of fear and the Uchiha clan combined is enough to lay waste to all."
"Do not expect the same ease once we expand my corps to the stars. You will face challenges your mind cannot yet comprehend. But for now, just complete your duty."
The yellow ring shone brighter as Itachi kept it aimed at the unconscious duo. He tightened his ring fist and concentrated more power into the ring. He stayed still for some time.
"What are you waiting for? Kill them, and be done with it."
"I... must there be more death?"
"Consider this a final test of your loyalty, Earthman, Now do it."
As if obeying Sinestro's command, the ring generated its own construct. Itachi found himself holding a sharp, golden katana blade on his right hand. He faintly twitched at the sight of the sword, and his mind flashed back to years in the past, where he drove an identical blade into the back of his own mother and father.
"Is this all I am?" he barely whispered. "A thoughtless tool for death?"
"I heard that," the ring transmitted. "You are a member of the Sinestro Corps. You are my instrument of fear. What I will, my corps does. How different is that from your former duties to your little village?"
"I..."
"Kill."
Itachi grasped the hilt of the katana with both hands and held it in front of him. If Deidara or Kisame were awake, they would see the slightest tremble on it from Itachi's own shaking.
"Killllll themmmmmm..."
"Do your duty, corpsman. Obey me!"
"Killllll themmmmmm..."
Itachi's arms raised the katana over his head. His aura began to flame.
"Stop it!"
"Obey!"
"Kill them!"
The katana swung down at Deidara.
"NO!"
At the last second, the sword moved to the side, cutting off Deidara's clay left arm.
"You dare disobey me?!" Sinestro snarled.
"I am no longer anyone's puppet!" Itachi yelled back. At once, he hunched over, grunting, and collapsed to his knees. He held his head by the temples, which did little to relieve the pain that pounded furiously. Itachi almost collapsed completely, using one arm to keep himself kneeling while his other held his aching head to no effect.
"I should have known better than to place my faith in a pinkskin," Sinestro's scornful voice emanated from the ring. "Ring, obey your true master."
"Override activated," the ring's voice now said. The katana construct next to Deidara rose from the ground and placed itself over Itachi's neck.
"What...?"
"I will find a better use for your ring. Die, cowardly Earthman!" The katana rose into the air, and second later, it swung to cut Itachi's head off.
"NO!"
As three voices, including Itachi's own, rang out in unison, Itachi's whole body glowed bright. The light shattered the katana construct into nothingness, and despite the pain, Itachi felt the ring's control return to him.
"Impossible!"
"Leave... me... ALONE!" Itachi defiantly stood and shot into the air. He flew straight up high into the sky, leaving a fading trail of golden light behind him. He continued on, until he was gone from sight.
Calm returned to the meadow that had seen the one-sided battle moments ago. Deidara and Kisame's unconscious forms remained still, oblivious to what had just happened. Minutes passed, and Deidara finally began to wake up. Still too weak to talk or move, all he could do was lightly open his eyes. Between himself and Kisame, he saw two yellow boots, and as his vision slightly cleared, he saw the shape of a man in a uniform like Itachi's but with purple hands.
"Such a waste," the man said.
"I thought I told you not to kill anyone?" a voice echoed from somewhere Deidara couldn't tell.
"Your concern for his life is touching," the man sneered. "At least the Earthman's failure is not a total loss." Deidara tried to move his head to get a better look at his observer, but his vision blurred when his migraine pounded his head.
"So you want to go ahead with it, then? Do you think you can fully control them?"
"You doubt me?"
"We'll see. For now I have to help Itachi. Something's wrong with him. I'd ask you to do it but we both know that's not going to happen."
"I suspect nothing is 'wrong' with him, as you will no doubt find out soon enough." As the man talked, Deidara felt the man place something on his middle finger that felt cold to the touch. "In the meantime..." When he did the same to Kisame, Deidara saw it was a ring just like Itachi's. He allowed himself a weak smile. "Deidara and Hoshigaki Kisame of Sector 2814. You have the ability to instill great fear." Deidara felt his strength return, and more. His eyesight fully restored, he saw the face of their benefactor, a purple-hued man with pitch-black hair and short mustache.
"You belong to MY corps!" Sinestro declared.
The journey had been slow, but finally Pain and Konan were reaching their destination. Pain was taking no chances, Konan reminded herself. It was rare for him to bring out all six Paths and to come out himself for a mission.
"If Zetsu was correct, we should be getting close to the Yonbi," the Human Path said.
"How far?" Konan asked to no one in particular. She was used to any one of the Paths randomly responding in her comrade's name.
"Close," the Deva Path replied. "It should be just on the next clearing."
As Konan continued walking, Nagato held back, and the Deva and Preta Paths stayed with him. Konan did so too. The remaining Paths went on by themselves. Thanks to the Rinnegan's technique, Nagato was able to see as the group cleared the forest and reached an outcropping of rock overlooking a cliff face. Guided by Nagato's commands, the four Paths turned to search separately for their target.
Just a few seconds after they split, a loud crack caught the four's attentions. The Paths turned to the source of the sound and saw part of the cliff had collapsed, and dust and smoke filled the spot where the rock had broken. Soon after, a still body of a red-haired and bearded elderly man landed, conveniently, right on the Animal Path's feet.
"The Yonbi Jinchuuriki?" he said. Before the rest of the Paths, or Nagato or Konan for that matter, could react, an orange glow caught his eye. All four Paths as well as Nagato beheld as an army of orange phantasms, human and non-human alike, rose and hovered menacingly past the cliff's edge. One last apparition rose last, and this one Nagato recognized at once.
"He is MINE!" Orochimaru declared. "And now, you are too!"
Author's blurb:
Busy, busy, busy.
Three years... wow. It's taken me a huge time to update, I know. I didn't think the next time I updated Naruto would be over! A lot can change in just three years. Remember that Star Sapphire I mentioned in my last chapter? I married that Star Sapphire more than two years ago, and today we're celebrating our daughter's sixth month. Further updates may obviously be far in between but as it stands this story is something I'm proud of so I'll keep making the effort to finish it. It'd make a good example as a dad: finish what you start!