When Sasuke wakes up, he can't move. His wrists and ankles are bound tightly with coarse rope that chafes against his skin, and his knees throb from hours spent pressed against the hard stone floor. There's something tied over his eyes, and all he can see is black.
For a second, there's a terrifying sense of disorientation sweeping over him. He can't remember what happened, where he is now, or even his own name.
And then the moment passes. He remembers now.
His name is Sasuke Uchiha, and he just killed his brother. Itachi Uchiha, the man who wiped out his own clan, is dead now. And Sasuke should feel triumph, should feel satisfaction—
But all he feels is a hollowness in his chest and a lump in his throat. Because all he wants to do right now is break down and cry, to let the tears fall for the brother he once knew.
He misses the Itachi who would play with him in the meadows outside the village. He misses the Itachi who'd carry him in his arms when he got tired. He misses the Itachi who'd sleep in his bed when he was little to keep the nightmares away.
And nothing Itachi does will ever change that. There's nothing that can fully erase this bond. And while Sasuke hates what he did, hates Itachi for what happened, there's still a part of him that doesn't.
This is the shameful, shameful truth. In the end, under all the pain, under all the hatred, Sasuke Uchiha loves his brother.
Loved. He loved his brother. Itachi's dead now.
A strangled breath escapes him as he struggles to keep the tears back. He can't cry, not for Itachi. He can't break down now. He has to be strong.
But Sasuke's spent his whole life trying to be strong. When he was a kid, he wanted to be strong like Itachi. When he grew up, he wanted to be strong enough to stop Itachi. And now that Itachi's gone, he—
He doesn't know how to be strong anymore. He doesn't have anything to be strong for.
So the rough blindfold over his eyes grows a little damp, and his breathing grows a little labored.
Then a rich voice, layered with majesty and malice, rings in his ears. It's deep, mesmerizing, and prideful, and Sasuke flinches as he hears it.
"You're awake."
The blindfold is ripped away, and Sasuke cringes at the sudden brightness. He opens his eyes slowly, cautiously, taking in the man standing before him.
"Who are you?" he asks, hating the way his voice falters. The man steps into the light, a swirled orange mask covering his face. There's a red glow coming from the single, dark eye-hole of the mask, and Sasuke can't breathe.
"My name is Madara Uchiha," the man says, leaning closer. But Sasuke's vision blurs, there's a sharp pain in his eye, and he can feel blood vessels bursting—
Heat.
The room's suddenly hot, the stench of burning flesh filling his nostrils and making him gag. Agonised screams fill the room, ringing off the walls until his head hurts.
And then there's laughter. Booming laughter echoes through the room, and the masked man steps back into the light.
"What was that?" Sasuke asks, scooting as far back as he can while bound. The man tilts his head.
"One last trap, set by Itachi Uchiha," he says, amused. "His final attempt to protect you, Sasuke."
No. No, that's not possible.
"What? What did you say?" Sasuke says, his voice growing shrill. Itachi didn't-he wouldn't protect him, not after—
"He spent his whole life protecting you. It's only fitting that he tried to do so in death, too," the man says, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.
Now Sasuke's confusion turns to anger.
"That's-shut up!" he snarls at the man, spit flying from his lips. "Don't say another word! Itachi was a monster! He killed our parents, our clan-"
"You think you know everything about your brother," Madara says, interrupting him. "But you were deceived. Remember your gentle older brother, and ask yourself this: do you really think he would have hurt you willingly?"
"You're lying!" Sasuke screams, scrunching his eyes closed, struggling wildly against his restraints. But the anger's giving way to the doubt that's always been there, and he can't stop thinking about the cracks in the story he's been told. He can't—
He can feel Itachi's arms around him. He can see the unshed tears glimmering in Itachi's eyes as he stands over the bodies of their parents. He can hear Itachi's final words, delivered in a raspy whisper:
'I'm sorry, Sasuke. This is it.'
Sasuke looks upon the masked man with growing horror as the puzzle pieces fall into place, trembling as his world falls apart.
"You will know the truth of how Itachi lived, and how he died," Madara says, grabbing Sasuke's chin and forcing his face up. "It is your obligation. Because every action Itachi ever took was to save you, his younger brother."
And Sasuke desperately tries to shake his head, to struggle, to hide from Madara's words. But in his heart, he knows the truth. Tears break loose without abandon, accompanied by hiccuping sobs and strangled breaths.
Because this is the inescapable, cruel truth: Sasuke has killed the one person who loved him the most.
Sasuke stares into the face of the man who destroyed his life. Danzo's lips are moving as he draws near, but Sasuke can't hear a word he's saying. The sound of his own heartbeat is a wardrum, throbbing in his head until he can't feel, until he can't even think. Danzo's still talking, and Sasuke swallows once, then opens his mouth.
"Amaterasu."
Black fire spreads over Danzo's chest, blossoming like some infernal flower over the man's patchwork flesh. A horrific stench fills the air and Sasuke's eyes water as the air heats up. Now he can hear again, and he hears—
He hears Danzo's screaming.
The burning corpse falls to the ground, convulsing in the dirt, and he can't look away. It's entrancing, it's cathartic, it's euphoric, and a hysterical laugh slips out from Sasuke's lips as the black flames burn the body to ash.
Danzo's remains vanish, and reality distorts as he appears again, healthy and whole. There's a smirk on his face as one of the eyes on his arm closes.
"I told you, you've never faced anyone like me before," Danzo says, and Sasuke can't help doubling over with another fit of laughter.
Because maybe the first time he'd fought Danzo, this would have been intimidating. Maybe when he was a scared, angry fifteen-year-old, Danzo's apparent invulnerability would have been terrifying.
But Sasuke's not that scared little boy anymore.
And even as Danzo raises his hands, forming signs, Sasuke can't stop laughing.
Blades of wind hiss as they glide towards him. Sasuke remembers this jutsu, remembers how the lethal, chakra-infused air was capable of slicing through solid stone. But when the jutsu reaches him, he absorbs it. A gentle breeze ruffles his hair.
Danzo looks at him in disbelief, but he's already casting another jutsu. The ground's shifting under Sasuke's feet, blocky vines and misshapen wooden spikes bursting from the earth around him. It's Wood Release, unrefined and rudimentary, but still potent. The plant growth surrounds Sasuke, boxing him in.
More fuel for the fire.
The fireball that Sasuke spits out dwarfs those made earlier by Kakashi or Shisui, or even Itachi. This jutsu is the size of several city blocks, a cataclysm that rips through the forest. Decades-old trees are reduced to blasted stumps in seconds; vibrant meadows turn to cracked, heat-blasted remains. Danzo's chakra is lost in the sea of yellow-white flames, his dying scream lost in the roar of the blast.
When the older man appears again, standing amidst the smouldering ruins of what had been a vibrant forest just moments ago, he's backing away warily. Sasuke smiles at him, letting his chakra bleed into the soil and bedrock under his feet. There's a low rumble.
The ground explodes, boulders and outcroppings rupting all around them, massive chunks of rock slamming together with crushing force. Sasuke lets out a slow breath and watches Danzo's frantic movements as he slowly rips the very earth apart. Danzo dodges once, twice, five times—
Then Sasuke crushes him between two sheer stone outcroppings, so suddenly that Danzo doesn't even have time to make a noise. This time, when Danzo reappears, Sasuke can see the fear on the man's craggy face. And it feels good.
Danzo's fingers form the signs for another wind jutsu, and a smirk plays over Sasuke's face as he prepares to absorb it. But the other man directs the blast of wind down into the spiky, jagged terrain created by Sasuke's earth jutsu. Dust and dirt rise into the air, blocking his vision.
But with his Sharingan, he can see Danzo's chakra signature. It's retreating, moving at blistering speed away from him.
Danzo's running.
Sasuke rolls his eyes.
And then he reaches deep inside himself, reaching inside a place he hasn't visited in a long, long time. There's an old fire in here, one that burns hot and fast, and Sasuke feeds it. It's a familiar sensation, coursing down his arms and legs and coiling in his stomach.
Pain, searing and sudden, races through his body, and it feels fucking fantastic. Now the purple fire dances over his skin, scorching the ground beneath him and taking his breath away. For a moment, the purple flames surrounding him whirl in a tight circle—
Then they explode outwards, soaring three hundred feet into the air and vaporizing everything caught within them. Sasuke feels a dizzying headrush, an intoxicating surge of power as he shoots into the air. He looks down, his gaze sliding over armored purple limbs and majestic wings.
Sasuke's Susanoo blocks out the moon.
He holds out a hand, and his Susanoo mirrors the motion, making the air around him shimmer with heat. A spectral bow coalesces into existence, a hundred feet tall, lightning crackling down its length. Sasuke hefts the bow, drawing back on the electric string. Flocks of birds take flight from the scorched forest around him; he pays them no mind.
His focus is on the tiny speck of Danzo's chakra, accelerating as he runs up the crest of the nearest hill. For a second, Sasuke basks in the sensation. Maintaining the Susanoo sends invigorating waves of pain rolling through his body, like jumping into an icy pond. The very air thrums and throbs with the crackle of lightning and the rush of his power. He lets out a breath, and lets the spectral arrow fly. For a moment, the sky shakes violently as the very air is split asunder, and then—
Then the world turns white.
Sasuke walks through the crater that had once been a lush valley. He lets his chakra flow out from him, putting out fires, clearing away smoke, and cooling the superheated earth so he can walk over it. The air smells like burning wood and ozone, and residual power crackles through the air and makes his mouth taste like iron.
There's a Leaf outpost a dozen miles to the west, and Sasuke knows that a patrol is probably on its way to investigate. But he has unfinished business here.
He finds Danzo in the middle of the crater, taking cover behind a chunk of blackened limestone the size of a house. Sasuke body flickers forward, sitting down on the rock and looking down at his prey.
"I got a little carried away, didn't I?" he asks lightly, gesturing at the barren landscape. Danzo stumbles away, struggling to put some distance between them.
"Who are you?" he says, his once-smug voice now dripping with fear. Sasuke jumps down from the rock, walking across charred soil as he saunters towards the other man. Danzo quickly weaves a jutsu, sending a dozen wind-blades screaming through the fraut air.
Sasuke absorbs the jutsu without blinking, still leisurely walking forward. Danzo trips over his own feet in exhaustion, casting another jutsu. This time it's massive wooden spears, bursting from the ash-covered ground to impale him. Sasuke raises an eyebrow as he swaps places with the other man. The pop of displaced air is drowned out by Danzo's agonized groan as he's impaled by his own jutsu.
Sasuke turns around slowly. There's only one Sharingan left on Danzo's body now. There's only one more use of Izanagi left. He's almost sad about that. Killing Danzo in numerous different ways has been somewhat entertaining.
His Chidori rends through Danzo's torso with such force that the old man's body is quite literally ripped apart, blood and bone splattering all over the ground. And when Danzo reappears for the last time, he's on all fours. Sasuke examines the panting, spent man before him, then speaks.
"I'm Sasuke Uchiha, to answer your question," he says. Danzo looks up, bewilderment evident on his face.
"Itachi's younger brother? But-"
"Don't say his name!" Sasuke snarls, cutting him off. "Keep his name out of your worthless mouth."
For a long second, Danzo examines him. There's no more fear in that dead gaze, just resignation. Both of them know that this is the end. Sasuke turns away, examining the way the moonlight gilds the smoke hanging over the crater with ghostly, white-silver light.
"Itachi had a friend when I was a kid. His name was Shisui," Sasuke says, closing his eyes. "He was like another older brother to me. He'd always take me to eat out with him, and we'd play pranks on Itachi together."
Sasuke feels Danzo's chakra flare, and he absorbs the wind-blade that would have decapitated him without turning around. He continues to speak.
"He killed himself because of you. Gouged out his remaining eye and jumped into a waterfall. Can you imagine that?" Sasuke asks, turning to face Danzo and opening his eyes. "Going blind, and then slowly drowning?"
Danzo stiffens as Sasuke grabs him by the hair, pulling him roughly to his feet. Sasuke examines Danzo's remaining eye, then snorts with derision, tossing the man back to the ground. He holds out his hand, palm facing up, and a ball of murky water swirls into existence. It churns around roughly, splashing everywhere, as Danzo looks up with poorly suppressed horror.
"I've heard drowning is a very painful way to die," Sasuke remarks, watching the spinning ball of brown water suspended in the air. "But other people have described it as being almost peaceful. I hope, for your sake, that's the case."
Danzo doesn't even have time to cry out before Sasuke lets the water rush forward, surrounding the older man's head. It regains its spinning-ball shape, this time with Danzo's head inside. Danzo begins to struggle, hands flying up in a futile attempt to claw at the water. Muffled noises can be heard over the sloshing of water, the desperate final pleas of a man doomed to die.
Sasuke watches dispassionately as Danzo thrashes around in the dirt. He watches as the man's movements slow. He watches until Danzo's body goes limp, the life leaving his tortured form. Then, and only then, does Sasuke let the water splatter all over the ground, sinking into the earth.
For a long moment, he stares at the face of the man who had once destroyed his life. And then, smiling faintly, he turns around and walks away.