So, I might've fallen down a bit on this chapter's ending, but I feel I've gotten both characters as good as expected, if not a bit moreso. I also wanted to add more in the end after, but it didn't feel right, so I left it as is. Also, I've gotten several reviews saying that I got the Sage's brothers mixed up in chapter 17, so I went back and fixed it so understanding of which became Senju and which became Uchiha is correct. This chapter has 4800 words, so it's kinda lengthy- though not what I expected of it, hence the personal letdown.
Lucidity stands at 36,606 hits (Even odds it'll reach 50K by the end of the month, depending on how often I update this month), 10,500 visitors (w00t, I guess. That stat is truly shocking), 189 alerts, 166 faves, 162 reviews and 13 C2s.
Onward to answering reviews!
beloveddaughteroftheking :Well, the ending of that battle won't be one you'll expect, but it'll certainly be one to remember, I hope. As for you not reading Canon, I'd have to say that it's a little of both. I myself question the things that happen in Canon, and occasionally prefer stuff in the fandom. Still, I do recommend reading that chapter of Naruto to understand, though I may take the time to devote a scene to the Zetsu army in any case...
Scurryfunger :Well, I'll have to leave that up for speculation at the moment, but how he got the Mangekyo is presently irrelevant (not to say I won't provide an explanation, just that there won't be sufficient explanation for the next chapter or two). Pein and Konan part in Madara's plan, well, you'll just have to see in the next chapter. As for who's trapping who, I'll just leave that up for the story to explain, otherwise I'd be giving up the future of Lucidity's plot.
TenshiSaWaDa :Wow. Thanks, I guess. I was just owning up to the much-needed plot, which will be playing out with good pacing for the rest of the story. Figure I've reached the half-way point with this chapter... I'm keeping the Jinchuuriki plot close to the vest, but I will reveal that Bee's part is fully planned out- as is his personality, which will stray from Canon (why Kishimoto would have Bee act like that is beyond me). There's more on characterization of the Jinchuuriki in this chapter (if you look for it, though some of it's pretty obvious). And you need not worry, I've got more than a good amount of stuff planned for Konoha- at least one chapter planned, though length is indeterminate at this point in time. As for retaining thought process while conducting dialogue, I'm working on that bit, so there'll definitely be improvement in that regard.
Cobra0000 :He would, yes, I just kinda flew past his reaction.
Lazruth :I'm glad to say I agree with you on the unoriginality of Banishment fics- Biggest hump to pass with this fic was figuring out a believable reason to banish Naruto. The personalities of each Jinchuuriki are pretty much how I view them to most likely be and act, so hearing what you think of them really pleases me. As for Fu, I'm surprised- never thought of my incarnation of her as being a great character, as her personality was kinda built on the fly (but given how well it's paid off, not a chance will I make her contradictory to what I've built her up to be- she will always be funny and rather sporadic in some form). Naruto is just how I kinda view him in Canon- a fairly smart guy who has a lot of bad luck with people expecting more from him or situations undermining his smarts (now I just need to ensure that this doesn't become the default personality I defer to when writing future Naruto fics).
Disclaimer the First: Work on my next fanfics are progressing pretty good. Look on my profile to see which one will most likely be published in the near future.
Disclaimer the Second: CHALLENGE! I know this is kinda odd given what the previous disclaimer said (and I've no precedent on this kinda thing), but I disclose upon you, fanfic readers, a Challenge! I've yet to read a decent fic that has Naruto given the Curse Mark, so I challenge thee thusly: Create a fic using the given idea, following these guidlines:
1. No harem (don't care how believable you can make it, no harems)
2. NOT, I repeat, NOT NaruHina. Or NaruSaku. Definitely not OroNaru, or I declare a "Challenge Fail!" on your head (note that all other pairings, barring those three, are free range, be they Yuri, Yaoi, or Het).
3. Naruto cannot have been physically abused by the villagers- that means no mobs, no people calling him "demon" (there's a law barring that thing in the Narutoverse, abide by it), nor anyone having molested him when he was younger, drunk or sober. Psychological abuse, however, is free range (within reason as defined by those taking up the Challenge).
4. Finally, Naruto MUST leave the village and go with Orochimaru (that means no Toad Summons, as they'd just reverse summon him back to Konoha).
Abide by these rules and use reference material to get spelling and Canon knowledge correct (I suggest Narutopedia), and PM me if you're taking up the Challenge. (please note that the Challenge will be going on my profile for reference)
Now go forth and plan and plot, people!
Lucidity
Chapter 21
Sight
"So, has someone gone to make sure that Naruto and Fu aren't doing the nasty?" Utakata's blunt statement cut through the air and caught everyone's attention. Most of the group rolled their eyes at his choice of words while Roshi had gotten up to ensure that neither teen were going to be parents anytime soon. Yugito, for her part, was watching their reaction with growing amusement, sitting next to Utakata as they ate dinner- rabbit stew, if she heard right. Ever since she'd woken up in their care several days ago, she'd found their antics hilarious (though if anyone called her out on it, she'd kill them without so much as a single thought).
As she'd learned, Fu had originally launched herself at Naruto and clung to him, having proclaimed that they were something akin to soulmates- or something like that. Apparently, Fu's upbringing had her thinking that Jinchuuriki were a species separate from Human (which sparked her ire and required the majority of the group in holding her down before something bad could happen), so when she'd felt the attraction to Naruto, she'd latched onto it and didn't let go. As they'd continued their travels, Fu had let up on her clingy-ness, and even had corrected her way of thinking, The idea of that woman having once thought that she was a species other than Human and had no qualms in using all the power her Biju had against humanity was frightening.
"I wonder how long until Roshi realizes that they can feel him coming." Gaara mused on the other side of the fire, and that sparked a ripple of laughs from the remaining Jinchuuriki.
Gaara, Yugito was told, had once been a psychopathic insomniac, killing anyone who even looked at him oddly. Even then, it was only after Naruto had beaten him and instilled the knowledge that friends were the greatest source of strength one could ever need that the red-haired teen had changed.
For some reason, Yugito couldn't imagine the amicable teen in front of her with that of the psychopath that he'd once been.
"Really." Han remarked. "Anyone else would've long since learned that those two only do it when they have the greatest chance of being caught. Brother going only ensures that they're doing it."
Han was one of the more open of the group, as Yugito found out. When she (or anyone in their group, for that matter) needed to talk, the giant seemed to instantly know and spirit them to the edge of the camp or group, listen to their worries and then console them.
The man also had one hell of a sense of humor, when it came down to it. She'd been regaled with horror stories of when he'd played pranks on the others in the group, or those he'd worked with back before leaving his Hidden Village.
Which brought her to her inner dilemma.
She knew that, as Jinchuuriki, they were all Shinobi of each of the 5 greater Hidden Villages, with the exception of Fu, who came from Takigakure. As such, they'd all held at least Chunin rank, though from what she heard, Naruto had been a Genin when he'd left Konoha.
Which doesn't make sense...
Yugito shook her head, banishing those thoughts for a later time, and returning to the fact at hand. Each of the different Jinchuuriki had had different reasons for leaving their Hidden Village, and that was the problem in her eyes- they'd left.
She'd been taught that being a Jinchuuriki was a great honor, as it made them one of the strongest Shinobi in all the Elemental Nations. And with that honor came the duty to their Hidden Village, living to serve as it's diligent soldier until they died from either old age or in battle.
But she knew that most didn't even have that chance, dying from failing to fully control their Biju. She herself could not be counted as having total control over the Nibi, the most she could do was draw on enough Yokai to become the Bakeneko for a little over a minute- any more and she ran the risk of it pulling in too much of her chakra and killing her.
But that wasn't what was bothering her.
They'd left their Hidden Villages, abandoning them for some reason she couldn't fathom. Such a sense of independent-mindedness was what she couldn't understand. Why would a Jinchuuriki go missing-nin?
The answer, she'd observed, was in the form of two hitherto unknown factors.
The Akatsuki, allowing for the Jinchuuriki to leave their village without being labeled as missing-nin.
One Uzumaki Naruto, who the group had attributed with having been the entire reason they were together.
"You didn't have to go all crazy on us, did you?" Grumbled a smooth-toned voice behind her, and from the darkness a put-out Naruto and Fu were being led by a nearly apoplectic Roshi.
Speak of the devil...
"You're too young to be doing those kinds of things!" Roshi seemed near the edge, and Yugito needed only one look at both teen straightening their pants to realize the scene that the older man must have walked in on.
"So what, we just wait until we're your age? Is that it?" Naruto retorted, and the Yonbi Jinchuuriki sputtered, trying to find some way out of the wall he'd backed himself into. Next to the teen, Fu slung her arm over Naruto's shoulders, pulling him into an impromptu make-out session that looked to send Roshi into conniptions.
Yugito tried, she really did, but no matter how she looked at it, she couldn't see what it was about the blond teen that drew the others to him- and even deferred to him, no less! All she saw was an immature man who took too much pleasure in making the older members of the group uncomfortable.
Maybe it's when he fights... Yugito mused to herself, before snapping back to reality to find that she'd been staring at Utakata. Glancing away, she turned back to the small fire and huddled closer to it, once more grateful that they'd taken the time to outfit her in garb more suited for the snowy land of the Land of Iron. Feeling the rush of heat to her face, Yugito was internally thankful that they were in a cold environment, lest the rising blush on her face might be attributed to something other than the chill in the air.
It wasn't like she didn't find Utakata attractive, much the opposite, in fact, but it was that she'd never been in a relationship- nor did she have any idea of how one with her would proceed, having spent most of her time training to reach the status of Jonin and fighting to gain the amount of control over the Nibi as she'd gotten rather than spending her free time trolling the dating scene.
Still, it didn't mean that she was ready to start doing so at a time like this.
Packing up his tent, Utakata glanced over at the newest member of their group, and was eternally grateful for the extensive vascular training that he'd learned when he was in Kiri's hunter division.
Hefting the small bag that held all his stuff over his shoulder, he moved to talk with his closest friend.
"Hey, you got a minute?" Utakata didn't really need to wait for an answer before he continued. "See, I-"
"You are crushing on the woman." Han's blunt statement, earned a deadpanned glare from Utakata, and the two shifted to start their trek into the territory of the Samurai, moving several paces behind the rest of the group.
"Say it a little louder why don't ya?" Utakata joked, and then turned ashen as he saw the glint in Han's eyes. "Joking! Joking!"
"But you are infatuated with her." It wasn't a question, and Utakata only nodded, the color slowly returning to his face.
"Yeah." Here Han looked thoughtful, and focused on the path ahead for several moments before replying.
"And you aren't sure if she feels the same way." Utakata nodded once more, not even questioning how the man had figured that fact out. Han's next comment, however, had him seriously wondering why the giant was the confidante of the group. "Why haven't you asked her, then?"
"Are you kidding?" Utakata kept his voice low, glancing at the group in front of them before continuing. "How would that solve my problem?"
"You would ultimately know if your infatuation was well-founded or not." Han answered with a shrug of the shoulders, and Utakata had to fight not to leave an imprint of his face in the snow-laden grown in front of him. "And it would open the floor for discussion, allowing her the chance to learn if the two of you should be together. Real love comes from knowing everything about your partner and not caring." Han's sagely advice came with a pat on the back, sending Utakata reeling forward, and he had to fight not to fall onto Yugito, who was conversing with Yagura directly ahead of them.
"Is there a reason you've interrupted our talk, Utakata?" Yagura quirked an eyebrow at the taller male, who only gave an apology and then began to mutter about "meddling giants who don't know anything". Ignoring the mutterings of the Rokubi Jinchuuriki, Yagura turned to Yugito. "It seems that our talk has come to an end. I should make sure that Naruto isn't doing anything to send Roshi into an early grave." An indignant "hey!" could be heard from the front of the group, and within seconds, Yagura was next to the blond teen in the procession, leaving the pair alone.
Glancing behind him Utakata was given the the hand-shove of 'go on' from Han, and turned back to find that Yugito was trying not to stare at him.
"Somethin' on my face?" Here the tables were turned, with Yugito being the flustered one, and Utakata feeling uncomfortable at having freaked out the woman he liked.
Han's eyeroll from behind was not lost on him, and he mentally added Han to his Death List- the people who, if he could get away with it, he'd kill.
The fact that Han was a regular name on that list did not make itself known to the lanky man.
"If you don't wanna talk, that's fine." Utakata spoke, banishing all plans of Han's slow and painful death to the back of his mind- no doubt to be brought to the forefront the next time the giant did something that Utakata didn't agree with.
"No, no. I do want to talk." Yugito replied, bringing Utakata's gaze upon her own, gazing into those beautifully slanted eyes that seemed to glint in the-
Not now! Utakata once more squashed the part of his mind that found Yugito attractive, knowing full well that it wasn't a permanent solution.
"Right, right." Utakata stalled, inwardly panicking at the prospect of regular conversation. "So, you're from Kumo, huh?" At her dubious nod, he continued. "What was it like?"
"Honestly?" She looked at him askance. "It was... strange."
"Strange." Utakata repeated the word, trying- and failing- to understand that description. "Strange how?"
Like the Shinobi I've worked with have all these weird idiosyncrasies." She laughed. "This one kid's so pessimistic it's hilarious. He's once thought that a thrown rock would bring a mountain down on the village."
"Seriously?" Utakata was trying to hide his laughter.
"Seriously!" Yugito was chuckling, and took a second before continuing. "But that's nothing to the kid's Sensei."
"Bad?" Utakata questions.
"He rapped." Yugito paused, wincing. "horribly."
"No." Utakata shook his head, disbelief marring his face.
"His first words to me still haunt me." Yugito said with another shudder before fixing him with a glare. "Don't ask what they were."
Utakata brought his hands up defensively.
"Wasn't gonna." Yugito playfully punched him in the shoulder, and the two continued talking.
Maybe there was something to Han's advice after all...
Itachi could feel the pain in his head, the vertigo from moving as fast as he did, but ignored it in favor of the task at hand. Watching the path ahead of him, he saw the crags and mesas approach him seconds before they would, and he effortlessly moved around them as though they weren't even there. Far ahead of him, he saw the lone watchtower marking his destination- Orochimaru's Northern hideout.
He knew that he was about to enter a battle that he would not survive, yet he only cared about one thing- ensuring that when he died, Orochimaru was taken with him. He'd thought little of the man, having once revered him as having been the genius of his generation, until he met the snake in person- he'd been a smooth-talker, and had he not taken to the Shinobi profession undoubtedly would have been a swindler of the highest degree. The snake Sannin had also been self-centered, only caring about learning the secrets hidden within all Shinobi- what made them capable of manipulating chakra, and what made civilians incapable of doing anything with theirs at all. To that extent, the Sannin had taken to performing gruesome experiments on many people, Shinobi or civilian, living or dead. And in his quest, he'd taken to creating a jutsu that allowed his soul to overwhelm and absorb another's ultimately taking over their body- something that Itachi found distasteful.
Shinobi were eternally aware of their mortality, even more so when they built up a reputation like Orochimaru had with the Sannin, so his quest to extend his life would ultimately prove his downfall- and a quite ironic downfall, given that Itachi, the one man who'd stopped the snake Sannin's attempt to possess his body, would be the one who killed Orochimaru.
Stopping, Itachi could see that he had a kilometer left until he reached the hideout, but fighting in such confines would only lead to pointless deaths as the victims of the Sannin's experiments were caught up in the undoubtedly massive battle. Flaring his chakra as far as he could, he felt the faint echo it sent back to him of the sentries in the tower. They'd obviously felt the pulse and were bound to find him any second now.
That just left waiting for the snake to come out of it's hole.
Closing his eyes, Itachi ignored the strain he felt and let his senses extend all around him, including underground. Given how Orochimaru fought, it would be prudent to-
KRAKOOM!
The ground exploded beneath Itachi, revealing a giant, darkly-purple snake that had an intricate design of black lines stretching over its scales. Within it's massive maw were the crumbling pieces of the ground that Itachi stood on, and was crushed under the full force of the snake's jaws, revealing a deadly row of teeth set for holding it's prey headed by a pair of fangs that oozed a clear liquid that fell onto the patch of dirt, eating away at it like a hot knife through butter. As the mouth closed down, the Summons realized that the only thing in it's mouth was the rapidly dissolving earth. Tilting it's head, the snake looked around, searching for the object of it's hunt, before it was besieged by a seemingly endless barrage of ravens, which soon tore into the snake's skin and began to rent it to pieces. Feeling the danger to it's life, the snake cut it's connection keeping it outside of it's territory, leaving for it's home in the land of the Summons.
"How sad." Itachi commented, standing several yards away, yet looking as though he'd been there all along. "I wonder..."
"Why did I send a Summon to kill you?" Before he knew what was happening, Itachi was sliced in half from behind by the Kusanagi, and Orochimaru stood holding the mythic sword, looking positively gleeful.
His grin didn't waver as the two halves of the Uchiha exploded into ravens and circled him, each wielding the odd Shuriken-shaped Mangekyo Sharingan that their creator possessed.
"Why Itachi, you're later than I expected." Orochimaru taunted, his yellow eyes bleeding into the red of the Sharingan, making the ravens dissolve into black smoke that dissipated into the wind. "Honestly, you just can't count on anyone to be punctual. Kid's these days.." The snake Sannin sighed dramatically, holding his head in the wrist of his hand, the blade of Kusanagi glinting in the light as it was held over its' wielder's head. "Think they know everything."
Orochimaru turned and swung Kusanagi in a full circle, sending out a wave of wind that sliced through the entire valley, revealing Itachi as moved out of his place of hiding, holding two fingers to his lips as he exhaled a cloud of black ash, burning bright with embers, that twisted in the air to reveal a dragon of fire. The fire dragon sent out a massive breath of actual fire that formed into another dragon, which sailed straight for the snake Sannin.
Orochimaru, for his part, simply swung Kusanagi, the blade extending as it halved the second dragon, causing it to implode in a blinding display of fire that turned into a snake and attacked the ash-made dragon that borne it. The two beings fought, searing the air until it was ripe with the dry heat and ash that they emitted, turning the surrounding area into a scene usually found near an active volcano: ash covering the ground and falling from the sky like snow, while burning embers lit up piles of the ashes in great pyres.
It was in this scene that Itachi looked over, watching Orochimaru through his Sharingan, seeing the face of his brother beneath that fake skin that the snake Sannin used to mold his host's form into one like his old body.
Above the Sannin, the two forms fought until they suddenly fell apart, their creators having lost all concentration on keeping the jutsu that borne them. As great pieces of flame and ash dropped to the ground, two forms danced between them, one holding a katana while the other wielded a Kunai. They clashed often, like blurs to the naked eye. Suddenly Orochimaru stopped, twirling Kusanagi in his hand and using a blast of wind to launch one of the falling ash clouds at Itachi, setting it ablaze in the process. Itachi countered by sending a fireball of equal size into the blaze, causing the two to explode brilliantly, igniting the ash in the air and sending a wave of flames towards both fighters. When the flames died down, neither could be seen, until a nearby mesa was halved, falling into the sea of flames that was once the canyon floor.
Standing atop the remains of the mesa, the air around them wavering in the heat, were Itachi and Orochimaru. Neither looked perturbed at the destruction going on around them, only caring that they kill the other. High above them, the sky darkened, the heavy fire and dry air having drawn in all the moisture it could, forming a thunderstorm. Itachi barely noticed the rain as it started to fall, while Orochimaru seemed more interested in the clouds above them than his opponent. Batting away a string of Kunai, he turned his attention back to Itachi.
"You've sealed your demise, Itachi." Orochimaru scolded, wagging Kusanagi as he would a finger. "And here I thought you were smarter than that. For shame."
I so no reason for you to have gained the advantage." Itachi answered, steadying himself as he prepared for whatever the Sannin would throw at him. For his part, Orochimaru laughed, a cold, mocking cackle that set Itachi on edge. Raising his arm in the air, Orochimaru couldn't keep the grin from forming on his face. His hand suddenly became encased in static, the tiny arcs of electricity dancing between his hand and the air.
"Nature manipulation is such an amazing thing." The snake Sannin started, watching his hand in fascination. "Especially when you know how it works."
Up in the sky, there were bright flashes of light as huge arcs of lightning gathered together, drawing Itachi's gaze to the massive beast that was forming out of the lightning, it's mass so dense that it seemed to draw all the electricity from the air.
"Gaze upon true nature manipulation, Itachi." Orochimaru taunted, looking directly at Itachi. "This has been... amusing, to say the least."
Orochimaru brought his hand down.
A blinding flash of light flew out in all directions like a shockwave.
Madara didn't know what to think of that last attack.
He'd originally planned on having Itachi kill Orochimaru, dying in the process. A waste of a resource, true, but better to have Itachi die doing one last thing for Madara.
He'd watched from a safe distance, seeing that Itachi had made the first move, and appeared to hold the advantage, something that he'd always admired about the teen- he wasn't afraid to go all out against someone he knew had the potential to kill him.
Of course, that simply made it all the worse when Orochimaru started using something unheard of- manipulation of the elements themselves, beyond anything Shinobi were commonly capable of.
Yes, Madara mused from his new spot on the edge of the raincloud, waiting for the battle to start again, he'd definitely chosen the right time to have Orochimaru killed.
Orochimaru stood unharmed amongst the rubble that made up what used to be the crags and canyons surrounded by mesas. All around him, the land was vastly different from before- where once there were stretches of flat land were broken chunks of rock, and the mesas that so effectively hid the hideout were gone, the land leveled. Bringing his hand down, Orochimaru frowned at the melting skin that made up his right hand, flinging his wrist, sending the burned and sloughed skin flying into the rubble. Looking at his hand, much more colored than his own skin tone, he brought his hand and enclosed it, stabbing Kusanagi into the ground so he could focus entirely on regenerating the false skin that gave him his appearance. Feeling the skin of his left hand enclose around his right, he splayed his fingers to ensure that the new skin, that danced and rippled across his host body's skin, didn't become malformed. When he felt the rippling stop, he pulled back raising the fixed skin to his face, though he didn't stare at it.
"I never knew you were so weak, Itachi." Orochimaru murmured, surveying the land through his Sharingan. "I was foolish to think you were the best host for me."
"Is that so?" The voice came from behind him, and he didn't even move as his body was rent in two by a single swing of Kusanagi, now in the possession of his opponent, who was showing the most emotion he ever would- anger, pure and simple. As the two halves of the snake Sannin fell apart, pythons flew out of both halves from the cut, meeting in the air and intertwining pulling the body into one, setting so that the bifurcation seemed to have never happened. "Then perhaps I should remind you why you were so foolish to go against me."
"Itachi, stealing my sword. I never knew you were so underhanded." Orochimaru admonished, standing up and watching the Uchiha amusedly. "Still, that was quite stupid of you." Before Itachi knew what was happening, Kusanagi had become a snake, dropping onto the Uchiha and extending to entangle the man's body. But just as the snake moved to give the finishing blow, Itachi had dissolved into the flock of ravens once more.
The ravens swirled around Orochimaru, who noticed that the sky was becoming blood-red, and he was being driven back. Before he knew what was going on, he was chained, all of his limbs connected to razor wire, yanking his arms and legs to their limits and digging into the skin.
So this is Tsukiyomi...
"Welcome to my world." The flock congregated, becoming the Uchiha once more- though this time he wore the black blade of his Mangekyo in his Sharingan. "For the next 72 hours, you will be subject to torture not even the Bloody Mist would deign to use." Orochimaru flared his Sharingan, and Itachi seemed to become incensed at that action. "Not even your stolen Sharingan can break out of this, no matter how evolved they are."
"Is that so?" Orochimaru mocked, using the same tone of voice Itachi had used earlier, before the Genjutsu world- and himself- shattered, revealing the real world once more. Spinning around, Itachi was met with the sight of a red-ringed atomic structure sitting in the eyes of his opponent, wielding Kusanagi once more. "Then perhaps I should remind you why you were so foolish to go against me."
Black flames danced as Itachi was set ablaze.
KAFWOOSH!
The black flames were sent out as Itachi exploded into identical black flames, the two engulfing and consuming each other in the rain until nothing remained.
"Impressive. Creating an Exploding Clone out of the flames of Amaterasu. You truly are a genius." Orochimaru watched before he was engulfed in Amaterasu himself. However, instead of exploding like Itachi did, the snake Sannin simply crumbled into mud. From the far end of the newly created valley, Itachi stood, his eyes firmly pointed at the form until it fell apart. Tearing his eyes away, he finds a spear of Lightning Chakra heading right at him. Jumping back, he follows the spear back to the source: a grinning Orochimaru, who stepped out of the rubble that had encased him and stood, Kusanagi resting on his shoulder. Opening his mouth, he finished what his clone had begun to say. "But these eyes of mine are oh-so-special. I daresay they surpass yours."
Itachi said nothing, already feeling the affects of having used Amaterasu, his left eye having already begun to cry bloody tears. Closing both eyes, Itachi realized that he's about to waste all that he's got on this one last stand. He's used up all that he can afford to use to fight Orochimaru on what used to be equal footing, but is no longer the case. When the Sannin first tried to take over Itachi's body, he'd been easily beaten with little to no effort on the Uchiha's part, and now the role was reversed- Orochimaru had used what little effort he deigned to give the young prodigy in their battle and was pressing the advantage. He had no choice.
"Then I shall show you my trump card." Itachi spoke, opening both eyes, though not seeing anything but the vaguest of shapes- both his eyes had gone white with the encroaching darkness. Feeling the area, he pinpointed Orochimaru's location and moved towards it, his entire body screaming in pain as all of his cells were overwhelmed by the strain of keeping up his last technique of the Mangekyo- Susanoo. Stopping his movement towards the Sannin, he felt Susanoo's protective form waver as he starts coughing into his hand, filling it with a warm liquid that tasted metallic- blood. As the coughing fit stopped, he straightened up, ready to finish his task.
"Amazing." Orochimaru's breathless reply came not from ahead, but from directly behind him- within the confines of Susanoo. "I do hope your brother's body has the potential to withstand maintaining this being after I take your eyes."
No! He was ahead of me!
"H-how?" Itachi manages to get out before the strain gets to him, and he's soon coughing up more blood. Feeling the cold metal of Kusanagi on his neck, he can do nothing in those painful wracking coughs to fend the blade. Where had he gone wrong? He should have been better than this- better than Orochimaru! He shouldn't have failed in killing that monster!
"As I said, dear Sasuke's eyes surpass yours." There was a pause, and Itachi idly wondered, as he fell to his knees, if his death will be short and painless or long and painful. "Or should I say, my eyes surpass yours, Itachi. This has been one of the more exhilarating battles I've been in, possibly the only one where I actually had fun- that hasn't happened since I fought Sensei. Die knowing that privilege. Die knowing that I'll be using your eyes to surpass Madara and will achieve my goal."
There was a swing of a blade, and Itachi knew no more.