The hot air smells like smoke and scorched earth as Sasuke takes a deep breath in, letting his eyes open. The crackle of burning and falling trees around him is deafening, but his Sharingan easily picks out five chakra-signatures through the smoke.

Three of the signatures-Danzo's guards, presumably-fan out, coming closer to the water's edge. His quarry is fleeing, two signatures sprinting away into the distance. It's fine, though. Danzo can run all he wants. It won't do him any good.

He'll just die tired.

Sasuke strides across the surface of the water, watching as three masked ninja step into the flickering light of the inferno behind him. They're moving slowly, as if they're wary, and—

They're not Root.

He stops moving for a second, taking a second look at the porcelain masks these ninja bear. These aren't Root ninja, they're ANBU, and Sasuke can see a very distinctive shock of silver hair poking out from behind one of the masks.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

This is Kakashi's ANBU team. He can't just rip through them. He doesn't want to hurt them. And because he can't kill them, he can't reveal that he possesses the Sharingan and the Rinnegan. Gritting his teeth, he lets the Sharingan fade away and closes his Rinnegan.

"Who are you?" The silver-haired ANBU asks, and an involuntary tremor wracks Sasuke's body. Because that's Kakashi's voice. The last time he'd heard that voice had been the day his version of Kakashi died. It had been the day Kakashi had murmured a couple breathless words in his ear—

I'll always be proud of you, Sasuke.

"Surrender now. You have one chance," Kakashi's voice calls out, and Sasuke clenches his fists to stop them from shaking.

"Get out of my way," Sasuke says, his voice low and tense.

It's a split-second distraction. Sasuke's gaze is locked on Kakashi, and he almost misses the flurry of motion from the ANBU to his right. The world lights up as a fireball races towards him, impossibly bright and lethally hot.

He body-flickers a dozen feet back, sweat springing up on his brow as the roaring flames surge past him. It's a flashy attack, too slow moving to actually hit him, but it corrals Sasuke into the shallows by the lake's edge.

Then the water around him explodes upwards. Vines, woody and coarse, erupt from the silty lakebed to wrap themselves around Sasuke's hands and legs, winding themselves painfully tight. He groans. That's just great.

One of the ANBU has Wood Release.

What the fuck?

Blue lightning crackles up and down his limbs, burning and blasting the vines away as Sasuke retreats to the relative safety of land. Hazy steam rises from where the fireball had skimmed the water's surface, obscuring the ANBU squad temporarily.

Until Kakashi bursts from mist, moving with breathtaking speed as electric sparks arc over his muscles. Sasuke falls into the same trap again; he's so focused on Kakashi's headlong charge that he doesn't notice the black-haired ANBU until a fist is slamming into his ribs, driving the breath from his lungs.

He retreats further, until the heat of the forest fire is at his back, wary and bewildered. He hadn't even seen that ANBU move—

Sasuke spots the black-haired ninja again, moving to his right with such speed that he leaves behind afterimages. He's body-flickering, Sasuke realizes. There's only one Leaf ninja known for mastering that technique to that degree.

With a twinge of annoyance, he recognizes the black-haired ANBU as Shisui Uchiha. Another thicket of vines bursts from the ground, trying to wrap themselves around his leg. He spins away, only to look up and find Kakashi bearing down on him.

This is shaping up to be a miserable day.

Kakashi moves and strikes with fluid rapidity, his tanto whistling as it slices through the air. Sasuke dodges one, two, five, ten slashes, then grunts as Shisui lands a kick to his side that sends him sprawling.

He hits the ground with a dull thud, breathless and already rolling back to his feet. There's a tug on his cloak as Kakashi's blade slashes through the dark material. But Sasuke's been gathering his chakra, and with a smirk, he lets it out.

His eyes water as the world turns white. It's a wall of molten fury, a firestorm flowing over the charred ground. Shisui blurs and disappears as he flickers away from it, but Kakashi's fingers fly as they weave a half-dozen hand signs.

Kakashi's fireball slams into Sasuke's jutsu with a boom that makes his teeth shake. Red-orange, snarling tendrils of fire climb into the sky, and a blast of bone-dry, hot air nearly knocks Sasuke over. For a moment, all Sasuke can see is the searing-bright afterimage of the blast.

And then the flames part as a massive wooden golem emerges, a giant fist hurtles towards him. Sasuke barely dodges the blow, landing on all fours as the fist smashes into the earth and the ground shakes and bucks wildly under him. Vines surge over Sasuke's arms, pinning him to the ground and draining chakra from his body. He curses as more vines wrap around his ankles, holding him prone.

Shit. He hadn't realized how out-of-practice he was at fighting without the Sharingan or the Rinnegan. Craning his head to his right, he can see Kakashi charging at him again.

Sasuke sighs. He's just going to have to wipe their memories after this. It can't be helped. He opens his Rinnegan, feeling time slow down as his perception widens. The seconds pass slowly, each one ringing in his head.

One.

Kakashi's almost upon him, hand already raised to deliver a crushing blow. To the side, Sasuke sees Shisui standing still, weaving some jutsu. It only takes a split second—

Two.

There's a sharp pop of displaced air as Sasuke exchanges their locations, standing where Shisui just stood a moment ago. He turns towards the lake, spotting the Wood Release user standing behind his golem.

Three.

A pained squawk rings out as Kakashi strikes Shisui by accident, and Sasuke can't help but chuckle as he extends one palm towards the Wood Release user. Chakra thrums under his skin.

"Universal Pull."

Four.

The Wood Release user struggles frantically to arrest his forward motion, summoning vines to ensnare and entangle himself, but he's moving far too fast for that. Sasuke lets lightning-chakra crackle and swirl around his fist.

Five.

Sasuke slams the paralyzing punch into the Wood Release ANBU's jaw, sending his unconscious form flying away. He turns his attention to Kakashi, who's pulling Shisui to his feet.

Six.

Shisui and Kakashi's fingers move in unison, forming a familiar sequence of hand signs. This fireball is much larger than the earlier ones that had been hurled at Sasuke; it blocks out everything in his field of vision as it rips through the air.

Seven.

Eight.

The fireball warps and distorts, swirling into Sasuke's palm as he absorbs the jutsu. He lets the stolen power rush through him for a second, then flexes his palm.

"Almighty Push."

Nine.

Kakashi hurls himself to one side, narrowly dodging the attack. Shisui-probably still dazed from Kakashi's strike-isn't fast enough. There's a yelp as the jutsu picks him up and hurls him backwards, out of sight.

Ten.

Now it's just Kakashi, swaying a little as he stares Sasuke down. His chakra flares, and Sasuke tenses, but it's not directed at him. Clouds of dust, ash, and dirt rise into the air, obfuscating Sasuke's vision and making him cough. He can't see anything through the haze—

Eleven.

And then he hears the chirping of a thousand song birds, a grating clamour that makes the back of his neck prickle. He knows this noise intimately well.

Chidori.

He lets his Sharingan spin into existence, searching through the blinding dust clouds.

Twelve.

Thirteen.

Fourteen.

Sasuke whirls around, letting his Rinnegan drain the lightning chakra from Kakashi's Chidori as he catches Kakashi's fist with one hand. For a moment, he can see Kakashi's startled, heterochromatic gaze.

Then he returns the lightning chakra as a crackle of paralyzing energy, shocking Kakashi into unconsciousness.

Fifteen.

Kakashi hits the ground, and everything is still and silent now.

The three ANBU lay side-by-side in the dirt, tied up neatly with their own ninja wire and their masks stacked in a pile to their left. Sasuke scowls as he gets to his feet, gingerly feeling his ribs.

That's going to bruise.

He lets out a slow breath, wincing as he stretches. With his Sharingan, he can faintly see Danzo's chakra signature in the woods on the other side of the lake, moving fast.

"What is he running for?" he grumbles to himself, rolling his shoulders. Sasuke casts one last look at the incapacited ANBU. He'd taken off their masks to wipe their memories of the past day, and his gaze keeps landing on Kakashi's face.

Kakashi's still wearing his signature mask over the lower half of his face. Sasuke had left it on. The silver-haired man's face is relaxed, unguarded, and it's just—

He really misses the Kakashi he knew. He didn't think he would. It doesn't even make sense. They hadn't been very close during the war at all, but—

You don't get to choose who you care about.

Naruto used to say that to him a lot. Sasuke clears his throat and looks away. This is ridiculous. This isn't even his Kakashi.

The man lying unconscious in front of him is the same age as him, with none of the easygoing gentleness Kakashi had exhibited later in life. For all intents and purposes, this is a different person.

Sasuke shakes his head as he begins to stride across the water, towards Danzo. He has more important things to think about right now.