Chapter 56 Kabuto Yakushi
As Sasuke makes his way toward the battlefield he crosses paths with Itachi who is heading in the opposite direction. Sasuke recognizing Itachi follows after him trying to catch his attention but, Itachi ignores him and keeps on going. However, Sasuke attempts to catch Itachi with his susanoo but, Itachi blocks the susanoo with his own, he then summons a flock of crows to distract Sasuke as he breaks into the cavern where Kabuto is hiding. He states to Kabuto his intention to end edo tensei but, Kabuto states that it requires him to be alive in order to undo it. Sasuke arrives having followed Itachi who can't help lamenting how things turned out. Kabuto comments on his good fortune and offers Sasuke to join him in destroying the hidden leaf but, Sasuke refuses claiming his ambition is his own. He moves to attack Kabuto but is stopped by Itachi claiming he needs him alive in order to undo edo tensei. Sasuke agrees to help Itachi on the condition that he answers his questions when the battle is over.
Kabuto covers his hood claiming he is an introverted person and doesn't like to be stared at by too many people. Kabuto launches several large snakes at Itachi who catches them with Susanoo as Sasuke beheads them with his susanoo's blade. Sasuke reaches for Kabuto's hood only to reveal several more snakes that retreat further into the cave. Sasuke tosses his sword at one of the snakes splitting it at its tail but Kabuto uses the hydrification technique to heal himself. When Sasuke asks if he has Jugo's abilities Kabuto confirms that he does using his abilities to passively absorb nature energy to maintain sage mode. Kabuto pulls himself out of a snake's mouth claiming to have surpassed Orochimaru. Kabuto stands with horns growing from the sides of his head and uses sage art: white rage technique to generate an attack causes a blinding flash of light and sonic vibrations that cause Sasuke to lose his ability to maintain susanoo. Kabuto makes an attempt to capture Sasuke but, Itachi uses his susanoo to protect Sasuke preventing Kabuto from capturing him.
"How did you know I was aiming for Sasuke?" Kabuto asks
"It wasn't that hard to figure out since he is your target of course you would try to capture him." Itachi says
Sasuke attempts to impale Kabuto with his chidori sharp spear technique but, Kabuto jumps onto the ceiling. Itachi asks Sasuke if he remembers the mission they went on to capture a boar to which Sasuke nods. Itachi uses Yasaka magatama to launch an attack at Kabuto as Sasuke fires an arrow from his susanoo at Kabuto pinning him to the ceiling by the tail. As Kabuto makes for Sasuke's sword and grabs it Itachi appears to attack Kabuto but, is impaled on the sword only for it to be revealed to be a crow clone. Kabuto loses his grip on the sword and Itachi grabs and swings the sword at Kabuto, lopping one of his horns off. Kabuto jumps away as Itachi jumps back toward Sasuke.
"Strange that you two can work so well together." Kabuto says
"Is it strange for two brothers to be able to work together." Itachi says
"It's strange that Sasuke would work with you since he should despise you for what you did Itachi unless something happened after your battle which can only mean that Sasuke has learned the truth about you Itachi." Kabuto surmises
"I learned the truth of how the village used my brother to annihilate the clan." Sasuke says
"That would explain why you never returned to Konoha but, then it would make more sense for you to join with me Sasuke in my goal to crush Konoha just as Orochimaru planned." Kabuto explains
"We aren't alike Kabuto I have plans to crush the leaf village on my own." Sasuke says
"We have more in common then, you might think I was also, an orphan of the village. I can become your new brother Sasuke all you need to do is come to my side." Kabuto says
"Don't listen to him, Sasuke he is a better liar than me." Itachi says
"What of you Itachi the two of us have even more in common as an orphan I was made into a root agent and became a spy for my village but, eventually Danzo had me used to kill my adopted mother who was also, a spy for him in the hopes that we would kill each other for knowing too much." Kabuto says
"We both may have had ties to Danzo doesn't mean that we have anything in common." Itachi says
"Sasuke I plan to use one of our clan's ultimate doujutsu so, stay close to me." Itachi says
"Do you mean Izanagi?" Sasuke says
"So, you know about Izanagi sasuke."
"Yes Danzo used it against me in our battle where I killed him."
"Your lucky then but, I'm not talking about Izanagi, I'm talking about Izanami." Itachi says as he lunges at Kabuto with Sasuke's sword but, Kabuto blocks it with a chakra scalpel and forces Itachi back toward Sasuke. Kabuto attacks the two with sage art: Inorganic reincarnation causing the cave formations to come alive and attack them but, Itachi protects Sasuke with his susanoo as Itachi is impaled by stalactites. As Kabuto heads toward them with a talisman in his hand that he plans to implant in Itachi to rewrite his mind Sasuke uses amaterasu to form a wall of fire around them causing Kabuto to stop.
"An excellent strategy showing that offence is a good defence." Kabuto says
"However, there is no chance of defeating me as I am currently the closest to the sage of six paths compared to that the uchiha are nothing." Kabuto says mockingly
"Don't look down on the Uchiha!" Sasuke shouts but he relents as Itachi begins to comment.
"Kabuto you're a lot like how I used to be. I didn't understand my own limitations, the value of comrades, and who I really was, you'll be doomed to fail as I did in life." Itachi says calmly
"You're the one who doesn't understand you know nothing about me; all my life I have been trying to discover myself and to find out who I was, from the beginning I had nothing as a clan prodigy you couldn't possibly understand my position." Kabuto says coldly
Kabuto uses the DNA he acquired from Orochimaru's pawns to showcase his power by transforming his navel snake into Sakon. He uses the attack of the demon twins to transform into Jirobo and uses him to perform earth release: earth shore return to part the flames surrounding the brothers he then forms Kidomaru who uses spider web unrolling to trap the brothers that use amaterasu. Kabuto continues by forming Kimimaro who uses dance of the seedling fern to generate bones from the ground. Sasuke cuts down the bones with susanoo's sword but, a web has formed in front of them trapping the brothers. Kabuto then forms Tayuya that uses a flute to produce genjutsu that traps the brothers in genjutsu keeping them from moving they look into each other in the eyes and perform genjutsu on each other in order to break out of the one trapping them. Kabuto forms Orochimaru from his navel snake and it takes on his white snake form that lunges at the brothers. Sasuke Susanoo catches it by its hand but, Kabuto appears out of the white snake and bisects Itachi and plans to place a talisman in Itachi's head but Itachi calls out to Sasuke who tosses his sword at Itachi but, it's caught by Kabuto's navel snake. Kabuto grabs the sword and impales Itachi with it who disappears into a flock of crows causing Kabuto to drop the sword and Itachi catches it severing the regrown horn on Kabuto's head.
"You can do better than repeating the same attack pattern Itachi. As I've pointed out, genjutsu doesn't work on me." Kabuto says
"It already has." Itachi says as he jumps back to Sasuke's side. As Kabuto lunges at Itachi again and gets as sense of Deja vu as no matter what he does he ends up repeating the same sequence of events. Realizing he has been put in a genjutsu he charges forward in order to find a way to break out of it. On the outside of Kabuto's mind Itachi stands before him and opens his eyes.
"So, what's Izanami?" Sasuke asks
"While, Izanagi can change fate, Izanami can decide it. You see Izanami was created to counter those who would abuse their eyes by continuing to alter their fate by using Izanagi but, by using Izanami against them they would be forced to accept their fate in order for them to break free of Izanami that traps its victim in a loop that forces them reenact the same events over and over." Itachi says
"Why would you use a genjutsu that Kabuto can escape from?" Sasuke says irritated
"I want him to accept his fate, something I wasn't able to do in my lifetime." Itachi says as he commands Kabuto with his sharingan to show him the hand signs to end edo tensei. Once Kabuto does Itachi has him begin to perform the hand signs.
"If you're going to undo edo tensei doesn't that mean you will disappear as well?" Sasuke asks
"Yes, I no longer have any attachments to the living world. I'm just glad I could protect Konoha one more time." Itachi says
"I can forgive you for what you've done but, I'll never be able to forgive the village." Sasuke says coldly
"I'm done trying to change you Sasuke from now on I entrust that to my comrades." Itachi says as Kabuto finishes the hands signs to cancel edo tensei.
"I will destroy the village for what it did to you, Itachi I swear it goodbye brother." Sasuke says as Itachi begins to start turning into ash but, Itachi turns to Sasuke and walks up to him and performs a genjutsu on Sasuke showing him the truth behind the massacre.
"It doesn't matter if you forgive me Sasuke, no matter what you do from this point on just know this I will always love you." Itachi says as his soul ascends to the pureland leaving the body of the sacrifice behind. Leaving Sasuke by himself to contemplate Itachi's actions and his feelings.
