Beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow
Things as they are
Chapter 14
The Shadow Clone Sasuke noted the snakes and their effectiveness on the battlefield. It was quickly dwindling. The Suna and Oto nin were learning how to avoid the snakes, and how to attack the Konoha Shinobi.
Sasuke pulled a kunai from the wall near his head and flicked it towards one of the snakes. He knew where to hit them. He'd been with Orochimaru long enough; sparred with the sannin too many times.
The purplish reptile puffed out of this dimension, sent back to his own world.
"You seem to have a lot of experience with snakes." Jiraiya noted with a thoughtful hum.
"I suppose." Sasuke shrugged, flicking another kunai. "Or perhaps I have a lot of experience with summons."
This kunai didn't meet its intended target. Instead, it was knocked away from the snake by an Oto nin. Sasuke turned his attention to the Shinobi, noting that the Oto ninja had managed to turn the situation around, move things so that they were in Oto and Suna's favour.
Their Shinobi were standing in predetermined locations, waiting for the snakes to attack, taunting them . . . and indirectly causing damage to Konoha's infrastructure that was causing entire buildings to collapse.
"The snakes must go. They've outlived their usefulness." Sasuke commented, not caring if Jiraiya had heard him or not. If the Sannin did hear and helped him it didn't make much of a difference than if he didn't hear and didn't help him.
Sasuke took a more active role, jumping onto the rooftops and launching kunai as he went. Two of the three hit their intended targets and two snakes puffed out of existence.
The three headed one remained.
Sasuke grit his teeth in annoyance, forced to leap back to safety as the building he'd been standing on exploded into rubble. The Suna nin had been following his movements and had destroyed the foundations of the small coffee shop in an impressively short amount of time.
The explosion however, was loud and obnoxious. It would have carried all the way to the stadium where the last round of the chunin exams was taking place, which from the sounds of things, was still in full swing. . . Oddly enough. What was Orochimaru planning? The people should have been put to sleep already. Unless Kabuto had been taken care of before it ever got there.
That alone wouldn't stop Orochimaru, but it would delay him.
A sudden jerking sensation rippled through the shadow clone, causing him to pause mid motion.
The Toad Sannin opened his mouth to relay his plan to the mysterious Uchiha, only to close it again, pouting at his misfortune.
Jiraiya watched moodily as the cloak and porcelain mask fell to the ground, one shattering into a hundred different shards and the other fluttering gently in the wind.
A shadow clone huh . . .
That was to be expected, but what troubled the sannin was the cause of the clone's disappearance. He hadn't been hit. He hadn't been exerting himself at all. In fact, his chakra had been relatively stable until just before he'd puffed out of existence.
So the fault lay in the original Shinobi.
Who could be anyone, and virtually anywhere.
Jiraiya sighed deeply, turning his attention to the snakes now regaining control of their minds. It was fun having another do his work while it lasted. Biting his thumb and jumping into the air above one of the snakes, Jiraiya grinned before landing upon the head of a toad.
"Alright, let's get this party started and show these armatures how it's done!" Jiraiya laughed loudly as his toad landed on top of the snake.
In the corner of his mind he noted that the stadium had gone quiet and in the pit of his stomach he knew that something was very wrong. But he couldn't focus on that now. Not when he had this to worry about.
.0.0.0.
Sasuke couldn't seem to move. He was frozen in the arena, unaffected by the genjutsu and keeping a wide eyed gaze of pure panic upon the shimmering cage the Yondaime was now trapped in.
Was he trapped? A tiny childlike voice asked within the corners of his mind.
Sasuke felt himself drawn into his own thoughts once again, a habit that had started happening more and more frequently.
"He's the Yondaime. He's Namikaze Minato. Was he really trapped in there?"
Orochimaru – a Shinobi relentless in his cause. And right now his cause was to kill the Fourth Hokage. But was it? What would be the point of taking Naruto then?
Why did he want Naruto?
What was his aim with Minato-Oyaji?
What did he want with Konoha?
Were his goals the same as the first reality?
Was Konoha really safe?
Did he only have the snake summons helping the Oto and Suna nin so that there was enough of a distraction that the Konoha Shinobi didn't interrupt whatever it was he was doing with the Yondaime?
Was there something more than Gaara?!
WHAT WAS THE SNAKE PLANNING!?
Sasuke screamed out his frustrations, the sound ear splitting in the eerie quiet of the stadium, unable to stop the thoughts racing through his mind. His calm was gone, his focus, shattered.
Sasuke ran towards the barrier, blind to all else that was around him, while his scream of frustration turned to rage.
Why hadn't it occurred to him that this time would be different? That this time it wouldn't be exactly the same?
The Preliminaries had been different. The draw for the matches in the final round had been different. So why had he assumed it would all go the same way?
An arm slammed around his middle and all the air whooshed from his lungs. His yell of war was cut short as pain shot through his body, protesting the violent loss of air.
"No Sasuke!" Itachi shouted, desperate to get through to his enraged younger brother. "Think through the pain, focus your thoughts. You have to move past the anger that is consuming your mind, the darkness that seeks to control you!"
"Minato-Oyaji!" Sasuke shouted as though that was everything he ever needed to say. He struggled against his brother's hold, clawing at the arm around his waist. He didn't care that his nails drew blood. His mind was consumed with a single thought. To get to the Yondaime and stop Orochimaru. "Minato-Oyaji! Minato-Oyaji! Minato-Oyaji! Minato-Oyaji!-"
"Calm down Sasuke! You have no idea of what you've just awakened!" Itachi ordered, tightening his hold and activating his own Mangekyou Sharingan in an angry swirl. He would use them on his brother if he had to but in the current situation, they might need Sasuke's help. The boy was still hiding much of his skill judging from his match with Gaara. It showed far too much experience, far too much foresight.
Not to mention the Chidori.
The sight of Itachi's Mangekyou caused the struggling genin to freeze up once more. "Those eyes . . ." Sasuke whispered, nearly whimpering as fear overwhelmed the genin's mind, over-riding his need to save the Yondaime.
Itachi's confusion only grew. He'd never shown the Mangekyou to anyone aside from the Hokage, Shisui and Obito.
Yet Sasuke knew them. The recognition in his gaze, the terror, it all pointed to Sasuke knowing about his Mangekyou and perhaps even knowing their power.
What had happened to his baby brother and who had done it?
But . . . the awakening of his Mangekyou meant something far more significant to the older Uchiha. Sasuke's loyalty to the village was infallible, unquestionable. Those eyes wouldn't be there if he was a spy. The emotions wouldn't have been strong enough.
But then, that opened so many more doors than what it closed.
Why did Sasuke act so differently? Where had all his skill come from?
All of a sudden Sasuke struggled even more violently to get away from Itachi. "I won't! I won't!" The smaller Uchiha yelled, confusing the older even more, and hurting him far more than the scratches on his arm.
Won't what?
Itachi sighed before focusing chakra towards his eyes. He forced the younger Uchiha's gaze to meet his and Sasuke stiffened before going limp, swaying slightly as he now hung in Itachi's arms. "Forgive me, little brother, but I had no choice. The power you have just awakened is too much for your young mind right now." Itachi whispered, knowing that Sasuke couldn't hear him but needing to say the words all the same.
"What the hell happened?!" A masked ANBU dropped into the arena and rushed towards them. Shisui.
"He awakened the Mangekyou." Itachi stated tonelessly but also quietly. It wouldn't do to have others hear him.
Above them, in the stands, the jonin were fighting the Suna and Oto spies that had been hidden in the crowd. Konoha had prepared for those spies well, thanks to the mysterious Uchiha's advice.
The Suna and Oto nin were not doing well, but strangely, the entire battle had a negative feeling, a foreboding that shimmered in the atmosphere like a bad aftertaste.
"So you put him in a genjutsu?" Shisui asked, looking towards the limp genin.
"I had to. He was . . ." Itachi trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence. "Suffering."
Pain clouded the Uchiha's eyes for only a moment, the same pain that had clouded his Sharingan the day Sasuke had left the Uchiha clan. That had been a sad day for them all. Even Sasuke's parents, though they refused to admit it.
Itachi's pain wasn't a physical one, not from his leg being broken, not from being thrown across the compound and crashing through several walls. It was more of an emotional one. Having to watch his baby brother, see the boy's pain and not be able to sooth it and to take it all away.
Shisui would almost say it killed Itachi from the inside a little every day. Every time he had to watch his younger brother and see that pain, Itachi died a little more.
Sasuke's pain was his pain but Itachi hid it well. Shisui just knew him well enough to know what to look for.
Itachi looked at the barrier, asking at the same time, "What's the status on that?"
"It's impenetrable from the outside. We've lost two ANBU already who tried getting in. One tried a physical attack and the other tried a jutsu. Both were met with a painful end upon contact. The jutsu attack seemed to have been absorbed into the barrier. Perhaps strengthening it. We can't tell for certain." Shisui stated, obliging the other Uchiha in his silent request to change the topic and to focus in the matter at hand.
"If Hokage-Sama was able to shunshin out of the barrier, it's unclear as to whether or not he'd have done so by now. It's possible that he wants to have a fight with Orochimaru without hurting someone else. The barrier could provide him with an area to do just that." Itachi mused. "However, that might not be the case and he might not be able to escape the barrier with his Jutsu at all."
"Unfortunately my mind is leaning towards the latter." Shisui grit his teeth in annoyance. "Orochimaru came prepared. We're receiving reports of snake summons. Those were being taken care of by Jiraiya and the mystery Uchiha. But the latest report shows that the mystery Uchiha was nothing more than a Shadow Clone and unexplainably dispersed, leaving Jiraiya to sort out the snake summons." Shisui paused, tilting his head slightly, "There are also reports of more Oto nin moving towards the village walls. These Oto nin all appear to be different, slightly and sometimes grotesquely. Experiments of Orochimaru's perhaps. They're attacking from the east."
"That is troubling. It gives them the element of surprise. We should deploy the Uchiha Police Force units to handle them. The Sharingan would come in handy against those Shinobi." Itachi stated thoughtfully. "Unless they were all using some type of kekkei genkai. However, the Sharingan has its uses and will be best suited to deal with this."
"Hai, I agree. I'll inform your father." Shisui stated, turning towards the Uchiha section in the stand.
"No, I'll go." Itachi stated calmly. "I need him to watch Sasuke anyway. I don't trust Orochimaru to not try and take Sasuke. Unfortunately my little brother has shown far too many interesting traits that just might concern the snake in the last month or so and I'm not taking that chance. After all Sasuke is the only one without the seal."
"Minato-Sama did say that the Kyuubi would protect him." Shisui reminded the other Uchiha.
"But Orochimaru can still use Sasuke, and having the Kyuubi won't hurt the Sannin either." Itachi replied before shunshinning over to where his father was tying up a Suna nin.
"Otou-San." Itachi greeted.
"Itachi."
Too old for kun but too formal to use san.
"I need you to deploy the Police Force to the east side of the village. We're receiving reports of Shinobi with enhanced capabilities. Capabilities afforded to them through Orochimaru's experimentations." Itachi didn't bother with pleasantries. There wasn't any time.
Fugaku had stopped questioning Itachi's reasons years ago, when he'd learnt the true extent of Itachi's genius. The way Itachi had stopped the coup, the way he'd worked with Minato. All of it had placed Itachi in a new light for the Clan Head.
He rarely stopped to consider the oddity that was his son. Not anymore.
"Hai, I'll go immediately. Does the report have any information on the number of enemy Shinobi?" Fugaku replied, inquired.
"Shisui has the report." Itachi gestured towards the ANBU in the arena. Fugaku knew their ANBU identities so Itachi rarely used their codenames in his presence.
Itachi waited aside while Fugaku directed one of the members of the police force to Shisui with his instructions of finding out the specifics of the forces in the east and his instructions of which fractions in the police force units to deploy.
"What do you plan to do with him?" Fugaku nodded towards Sasuke's limp form.
"I need you to watch him." Itachi stated calmly. "I need to go help the Hokage." He ignored the slight flinch. He ignored the disgusted glares being sent his way from the other Uchiha who were in hearing distance.
"I'm sure he's capable of watching himself. His fight was . . ." Fugaku replied, trailing off before sighing and stating "Eye-opening. Have you been working with him?"
"Only for the past month on the Hokage's orders." Itachi replied, releasing his hold on Sasuke as Fugaku picked him up. "Hatake-san was training with Naruto-san."
He didn't need to tell his father the details, didn't need his father or anyone else to hear that Sasuke was suspected of being a spy. But with the Mangekyou at least Itachi could confirm that Sasuke's love for Minato was absolute.
"Also, I placed him in a genjutsu. He won't wake up for a while yet." Itachi added, by way of replying to his father's comment of Sasuke looking after himself.
He didn't bother with telling his father why he'd placed Sasuke in a genjutsu. He shunshinned away before the man could consider trying to get an answer. He knew that as much as they feared Sasuke and the Kyuubi within him, they would still protect him because after all, he was Konoha's Jinchuriki, he was a Shinobi of the Leaf, and he was their son.
They, for all their flaws, never denied that.
.0.0.0.
Sasuke looked around the dark space surrounding him, unable to see anything, not even the surface he was standing on.
Where was he?
He took a careful step forwards, wondering if there was anything around him at all, but his feet didn't make any noise. He didn't even feel the impact of his foot meeting the ground.
Narrowing his gaze he raised a hand and a Chidori burst to life effortlessly.
The blazing ball of lightning cast no shadows for there was nothing around Sasuke for the Chidori to cast shadows from. Absolutely nothing. In fact all the jutsu did was sting at his eyes.
"You look weird."
Sasuke swirled around, instantly in a fighting position only to freeze in surprise.
Facing him, was a younger, more childlike version of himself.
But no, this version was different.
More . . . . not younger, but younger yes, not weaker, but weaker yes. There was something in his eyes. A cheerfulness but also a . . . a hardness that Sasuke had only seen in one person.
Naruto.
So this was the real Sasuke, the Naruto version of himself.
He was smaller than Sasuke had been at that age, kind of how small Naruto was. Which made Sasuke realise just how much taller Namikaze Naruto was in comparison to Uzumaki Naruto.
And he wore a much lighter blue, almost like the sky. With orange lines around the edges and orange stitching. His shorts were black, dirty and patched. His hair was messier, like he hadn't even attempted to comb it like Sasuke used to.
His gaze wasn't cold, disinterested, and distant. It was hard, cautious, but curious and wide. Ignorant. A trusting, unknowing child that had also known hardships.
Like Naruto had been.
"Do you always wear that?" A child like voice filled with curiosity and disapproval just as his nose scrunched up to show his distaste.
Sasuke looked down at himself and saw the way he had been. The bands around his wrists that hid his seals. The half-closed shirt to allow him easy access to the clawed bat like wings Orochimaru's seal granted him. The larger than necessary purple rope that also held his sword in place, finished off with the high reaching shoes that also served to protect his legs and give him a better grip with all surfaces he landed on or jumped off of. The Shinobi shoes that he'd worn in Konoha had a certain degree of slippage that had been difficult to eliminate.
"It has its uses." Sasuke replied, the same toneless drawl of the teen he'd been before.
"You look like me." The smaller Sasuke stated, tilting his head slightly. "Does that mean I have another older brother that no one told me about? I mean I like Aniki a whole lot and he looks out for me as best he can, but it would be cool if I could have another Aniki too. I would be able to tell Minato-Oyaji all about it every day. And maybe you're a cousin like Shisui, I mean you have the sharingan too. Do you have awesome mind jutsu like Shisui? Is that how you're here?" The other Sasuke paused to take a breath, "And you are able to see me. I haven't had someone see me in a while other than the fur-ball. It really sucks. Do you think you could talk to Minat- I mean the Yondaime about that."
"No. I'm not your brother." Sasuke stated choosing the simplest route as well as feeling a sudden sense of nostalgia. This was Naruto. This small boy in front of him reminded him so much of everything he'd thrown away. Everything he couldn't have back. "I'm an older version of you."
"Not possible." The small boy stated with a surprising amount of certainty. "I'd never wear something like that!"
"I'm an older version of you, but from another world." Sasuke replied blandly.
"Eh?"
Jip, Naruto alright.
"I don't know how it's possible, or who did it. But I do know that you and I are the same person, but we grew up in different worlds." Sasuke had to be patient, to explain it just right otherwise his younger self would not understand.
A deep rumbling growl that could almost be a laugh filled the darkness around then and Sasuke raised his Chidori encased hand a little higher. Enormous sharp teeth glittered back at him, reflecting the light from the jutsu and revealing the manic rage of the Kyuubi.
He'd seen the beast before, fought against its rage and had dispersed it's presence with more effort than what he'd shown. The power of the Kyuubi was something he had never experienced in his life and yet, in that fight with Naruto just before he'd joined Orochimaru, Naruto had been able to beat him. He'd had the power to. But he hadn't. He'd held back.
Having felt that same power back in Wave, he understood exactly why the blond had held back.
The Kyuubi, while a great powerful being of chakra, was one of terrible rage. A fearsome one that ate away at your heart and intentions. If he wasn't careful he'd end up nothing more than a shell bound by the will of the beast within him. He'd carry out all manner of destruction for no other reason than the pure joy of it.
That was the power of the Kyuubi. It was the reason to hold back.
"You are more foolish than the boy if you believe you are one and the same person." The Kyuubi did actually sound amused just as much as he sounded enraged. This is what Naruto had had to contend with? "Your fates are in entirely different directions Shinobi, and don't be misled into thinking that you are here by chance. Something pulled you here but fate pulls you into acting in accordance with the path designed for the idiot Uchiha boy next to you."
"So you mean that the way I'm acting now is not the merging of my personality and his?" Sasuke narrowed his gaze at the fox, taking in the violent red of his irises and the burnt rusty orange colour of his fur, a colour that was close to that of dried blood.
It looked soft though, a strange contrast to the roughness of the Kyuubi's personality.
"The boy is still here, locked within his own mind and with no one else to talk to but me." Kyuubi stated disinterestedly. "I've tried to dismiss his presence but yours overrides his."
"Is there a way for me to leave? To go back to my world?" Sasuke queried, thinking that if he could then he'd go back to Konoha. He wasn't past forgiveness. It would take a lot of work but he wasn't past it.
"No. You are bound here."
Sasuke wondered what that meant for his own world, and who sent him here. Maybe even what. He would not easily forget this world, and would often wonder about it should he find a way to return to his previous reality. He'd always wonder about his clan and his brother, dreaming of a reality that would never truly be his own.
But that was his biggest problem. It was not his own world and these were not the people he called family.
The Kyuubi it seemed, was not his solution. The beast did not know anything more than he did. Other than being able to see the strings of fate or whatever it was the demon saw. He would stay and help this world but in the end he'd always be restless, looking for a way back. He didn't know what had become of his body in his own reality and he did not want to know. But knew that he'd look for a way till the day he died.
Especially now that he knew the other Sasuke, the real Sasuke, was trapped within his mind. And that was not something that sat well with him.
Sasuke froze, his thoughts meeting with a solid wall of remembrance. Those eyes . . . those eerie red and black eyes. Itachi's genjutsu.
Was this actually real? Or was this just another illusion?
.0.0.0.
Minato watched Orochimaru carefully, wondering what the other's intentions were. He'd managed to get this far, even with the warning from the masked Uchiha. Had someone not discreetly killed Kabuto? Was the traitor that good?
Or had Minato gotten soft in his older years?
It was times like these that the blond really wished he could ask the Sandaime for advice, but that was no longer possible.
"Yondaime Hokage."His attention was pulled back to his current predicament as the words were hissed out at him. "A position I had long fancied to be mine." Orochimaru stated conversationally. The face was all wrong, the feminine quality, the voice. All of it was just wrong. Orochimaru was drawing out his words, speaking with a jeering lilt that grated on Minato's tensed nerves.
Just because he couldn't escape the barrier with his jutsu did not mean he couldn't still use it against the Sannin. He watched Orochimaru's movements carefully, trying to anticipate every attack.
"But my teacher saw differently. I suppose he always knew what I truly was. He just loved denying it because of that sentimental paternal side of his. Imagine my surprise when he actually acted on his hunch and came after me." Orochimaru paused, his eyes shining with the contained excitement of what was to come. "But then he let me go, those feelings of his getting in the way again. And I'm sure you're the one sorriest for that fact. You'll soon find yourself questioning why you let the old fool come after me himself when he'd begged it of you all those years ago."
Minato didn't need the reminder of the horrific events all those years ago. It had been a day in his life he'd rather not remember. Kushina . . .
"What do you want, Orochimaru." Minato deadpanned, not in the mood for the snake's usual games. He always had felt the sannin's eyes on him during the times Jiraiya had taken his team to see the other Sannin. Or when Orochimaru or Tsunade visited. A gleeful interest in his talents, concealed away but something that Minato had always picked up on.
He got the idea that Orochimaru would have snapped him up had Jiraiya not been so fond of him; had Minato not blindly returned that affection and love. They had created a sensei and student bond that meant Orochimaru never had any hold on him. That love stopped Minato from having any sort of revenges or grudges, any quests for more power. Jiraiya was the one that taught him how to live in the Shinobi world and how to enjoy it.
Orochimaru, as a consequence, had absolutely no hold on Minato. He had no way to bring the blonde willingly over to his side of life. Where power and secrets meant everything.
"But Minato-kun, wouldn't you like to catch up. It's been ohhhh so long since we last sat down and spoke." Orochimaru taunted with that irritating snicker.
"There is nothing to discuss other than what you plan to do with my village and my son." Minato stated waspishly, already focusing his chakra, preparing to fight.
"Your son is just itching to get out from under you. He sees you as nothing more than a prisoner holding him back. I'm going to show him that with me it'll be different. And you can't blame me if he willingly walks out of the village gates and into my waiting arms." Orochimaru snickered again. "But that is, if you're alive long enough to see it. You'll die today, Minato-kun, knowing that with your death I will prove to young, impressionable, Naruto-kun that I have the power he so desperately craves. You'll die knowing that I will have your son and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
"It won't work. Naruto won't go to you. He wants to defeat me with his own power and if you kill me, he won't go to you." Minato was less sure of his own words than he was happy with. When this was over it was high time he tried to calm his son's raging temper, tried to suppress that burning need for revenge and show his son the importance of his team and his village. "Besides, have you overlooked the reason why he wants power in the first place?"
Orochimaru's smile grew wider.
"He doesn't see his father quite the same way as he sees his mother. See, Minato-kun, while you were busy being your brilliant self and keeping the village safe, your son has been sitting at home, his anger growing as much as his impatience. He's all alone in the big old house. The same one you should have moved him out of after that admittedly terrible event. Now he has nothing but daily remainders all around him, without your guiding hand as his anger grows to ferocity." Orochimaru could barely contain his glee as he watched Minato's features turning to stony silence.
"While you were trying to move past your pain by throwing yourself into your work, little Naruto was crying in the dark corners of his room, waiting for you to come home like you usually did and comfort him. But you didn't. Instead you left him. To wallow in his own guilt over not being able to do anything, of being too weak to change the fate of those around him." Orochimaru's face was mockingly pitiful as he recounted his tale. "And poor little Naruto had no support from the person he needed it from most."
"He told me to go away, they said he just needed space." Minato stated as though it were his only defence, muttering more to himself than to Orochimaru. "I won't let you mock my choices as a parent." He stated more loudly, defiantly. "And I'm not letting you take my son. You'll find I'm not that easy to kill."
Orochimaru chuckled as he placed a hand on his face. Minato narrowed his gaze, far too aware of the fact that he had to be ready for anything and everything. As he watched, the Sannin's nails dug into his own skin before ripping it away in an indifferent sweep of his arm.
The pale feminine features fluttered to the ground a few meters away, revealing the face Minato expected when he faced the Snake Sannin – the true face of Orochimaru – marred by the tatters of skin still clinging to his features.
"Let's get started shall we?" Orochimaru offered sweetly. "I'd like to test your theory, only, I'd like to add a little one of my own. How many Hokage does it take to eradicate a Hokage?"
Minato didn't like the connotations that that statement had and he liked it even less when three coffins were summoned into the barrier that closed him off from the rest of the world. He had a feeling that Orochimaru was about to use that jutsu and unfortunately it looked like he wasn't going to be waiting long to find out if he was correct.
.0.0.0.
Sasuke jerked awake, his body sluggish from the genjutsu his brother had placed on him. Although it seemed that the genjutsu had merely been used to keep him unconscious. No illusions. Not like last time. Itachi's genjutsu was unmistakable and what had happened in his mind was a true 'meeting' of sorts in his mind. There was no taint of the older Uchiha's chakra. It wasn't an illusion.
He glanced around, taking in the room he found himself in and sighed. His brother appeared to have left him with his father and his father's idea of 'safe' meant a jail cell.
Using a chidori, he cut through the bars and stormed his way out of the police station. The few Uchiha stationed at the building gawked at him, having all recognised the symptoms of Itachi's genjutsu – Knowing that it usually took Itachi himself to wake the afflicted from the genjutsu –, but none made a move to stop him.
Sasuke had no idea how long he'd been out or even what the situation outside of the genjutsu was. Having met his younger self, the true Sasuske of this world, he couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat, something that reminded him an awful lot of guilt. Was there a way back to his world? With that Sasuke trapped in his own mind, what did that mean for his body back in the other Konoha?
Should he even go back? He didn't know how to or if he even wanted to.
The emptiness of the village was eerie, but the young Uchiha assumed it was due to the evacuation that had been put into place. If he was by the Uchiha compound then he was a long way away from the centre of the village where the arena and the Hokage were closer to.
He hopped up onto the rooftops, still stiff from the genjutsu. How long had he been in it?
As he sprang from one building to the next, he gradually began to work out the stiffness and kinks. He knew that he was running out of time, might already be too late and his emotions leaned towards anger at his brother's actions. But he'd needed it. The talk with the Kyuubi gave him a whole new perspective. He had to focus on that but not right this minute.
As he got about halfway to his destination he finally picked up on the signs of fighting around the village. The Uchiha compound really was isolated if this was the scale of the attack they were under and he'd only just sensed it.
Shinobi were clashing across the walkways and in the sky, metal meeting metal in a shower of sparks. The space was too limited and confined to use much ninjutsu. Still some tried, yet were not able to utilise the full strength of the jutsus.
Sasuke would have stayed and helped but he didn't have the time. He had to find out what had happened to the Yondaime.
He did however, spot a stray sword. It was thicker than his own preferred one and it wasn't as simple in design. But it would be needed if he was to do what he wanted to; if he was to use that particular jutsu.
Touching down lightly, Sasuke picked up the sword. He was too inconspicuous to even be noticed and by the time a Shinobi looked in his direction he had already jumped towards the rooftops again. The enemy that had looked in his direction hadn't been Suna or Oto nin. Sasuke's heart grewe heavy.
No, they had been Iwa nin.
Sasuke had sorely underestimated the Snake Sannin. He'd probably used Iwa's hatred of the Yondaime as part his reasoning in convincing them that this was a good idea. Could things end well for Konoha?
Sasuke grit his teeth as he sped up. Konoha would be okay so long as they didn't lose their Hokage. Above all else, even Naruto at this point, Konoha needed their Minato.
The Uchiha dashed past all the fighting hot spots, ignoring the fact that it was Uchiha against Oto experiments. He thought he saw some of the people he'd considered adding to his team after abandoning Orochimaru but he didn't dare slow down in order to be certain. Besides, they were not his allies now.
He didn't bother with trying to create another Kage Bunshin to represent his Uchiha sensei. It was too suspicious to have the shadow clone pop upon his entering a genjutsu and then reappear upon waking from it. Besides he needed all his chakra.
Minato was still his focus and he wasn't even aware that the Mangekyou Sharingan blazed hauntingly, active and determined. He had nothing else on his mind other than to destroy that barrier and pray he wasn't too late.
He saw it five buildings before he landed on the outer wall of the arena. Shimmering and foreboding directly across from him. He was going to hit it with the most powerful jutsu in his arsenal. He had to. If the barrier was still up then Minato could still be saved.
Suna and Konoha jonin still battled in the arena grounds, ducking past each other and moving through the seats. Surprisingly both where careful to avoid the sleeping spectators. Sasuke saw Gai and Kakashi-sensei taking out their fair share of Suna jonin.
He saw the latter spot him and he waved once, features blank. Kakashi didn't respond and Sasuke didn't expect him too.
Obito and Itachi were no longer in the arena either. Instead they were by the barrier trying to find a way to break in. Sasuke wondered about that. His brother, in all his brilliance, should have been able to get into the barrier already, right?
But then again, Itachi was probably worried about the wellbeing of their Hokage and the ANBU under his command. Sasuke's next idea had the potential to put a crater in the centre of the village as well as severely harm Minato.
Dashing through the arena, avoiding the confrontations as he went, Sasuke approached Itachi. He was going to need the older Uchiha's help. When Itachi's gaze landed on him, his Sharingan tomoe twitched slightly but that was the only sign he gave of his surprise.
"Itachi, I need your help." Sasuke knew that those words were enough for now to stop Itachi from sending him back out of harm's way.
"Actually, Sasuke-kun, we need yours." Itachi surprised him right back with his own simple statement. "We can't get into the barrier because every jutsu we throw at it just gets absorbed into the barrier."
Sasuke glanced through the whispy tendrils of chakra the separated him from the Hokage, heart sinking when he saw nothing but vines. The Shodai. He definitely had to hurry. He knew that there were several things they would try to dislodge the barrier and essentially they should target the Sound Four, the pillars of the barrier corners. But they were within the barrier themselves and if one was going to break through to get to them, one might as well break through and aim for Orochimaru.
"Amatarasu." Sasuke stated tonelessly, "All around the barrier. I need a storm and there isn't one forecast for days, so I need to make one." He elaborated as an afterthought.
"We'll help." Obito stated, his own features grim. Sasuke couldn't know that Obito's own jutsu had been rendered useless. He hadn't been able to morph out of his own dimension and inside the barrier. It was as though that square of space had been frozen into its own tiny world and no one could reach the occupants. "We don't need to go to those extremes. We just need normal fire jutsus at a higher intensity than normal."
Obito knew that the sudden heat would increase the likelihood of a storm but Itachi knew how to guarantee it.
"You two get into position on either side of the building's apex." Itachi went to stand on the slop of the roof, waiting for the other two to get into their positions. Once they had their chakra focused, Itachi flicked through the hand signs needed to create a descent tornado of water that raged into the air above the barrier.
As the water reached its peak, twin plumes of viciously hot flames met it and a steaming hiss filled the air. All fighting in the immediate area froze at the display, confusion flickering in their eyes. What good would it do to aim above the barrier rather than at it? And why use two jutsus that appeared to be cancelling each other out.
Kakashi looked up at the sky, sensing the sudden foreboding atmosphere and narrowed his gaze at the Uchihas. Sasuke had managed to gain a sword. . . Water and fire that was creating a hell of a lot of steam, and that Chidori earlier, the way Sasuke had turned the sand to glass. Kakashi's thoughts swirled around the facts he was taking in and come to the conclusion that things were not about to be very peachy.
"Gai, we need to get out of here. Get all the Konoha Shinobi to start grabbing the civilians and move them out. NOW." Kakashi barked, his every instinct screaming that this was the right decision.
"But Kakashi, we have gained the advantage over the Suna Shinobi?" Gai puzzled, still moving to do as Kakashi had asked.
"Look up Gai. That isn't going to end well for anyone, should they be caught in the crossfire and I'm guessing it's going to be one hell of a crossfire." Kakashi nodded towards the barrier.
"That is one heck of a display." Asuma grumbled, approaching them, brow furrowed in concern. "Can you feel the chakra saturating the air? It's not a natural one but it's powerful. Surprising to see Sasuke actually keep up with the older two. They're supposed to be way above him."
"Sasuke hasn't ceased to surprise me the moment he graduated from the Academy." Kakashi muttered before following Gai and grabbing onto civilians so that he could carry them out of harm's way. If Itachi and Obito were involved he knew that the blast radius of whatever they were doing wouldn't extend that far.
But if Sasuke was the one who initiated the whole process then he wasn't so sure. The young Uchiha had a tunnel like focus, hardly taking into account those around him. It wasn't that he wasn't aware of his teammates, it was more like he tried too hard to take them into consideration. He just hoped that whatever the three were doing, he'd have enough time to get all the people out of the way.
The Jutsu cut off when Itachi's torrent of water began to slow and then trickle down before vaporising in the heated air. He looked towards Sasuke and saw that the boy was watching the whisps of clouds that were beginning to gather.
"What now?" Obito questioned, eyeing the forming clouds as well.
"We wait." Itachi stated.
Sasuke didn't seem satisfied with merely waiting though. He clasped his hands together and blurred through some hand signs before facing the sky again and unleashing a flaming beast, shaped much like a lion, towards the sky. Itachi followed the jutsu's progression and was impressed when the shaped ball of flame exploded, as though detonated, across the sky in waves as soon as it reached its peak.
Sure enough, this sped up the process considerably and Itachi again got the feeling that Sasuke was far more versed in the area of experience than what he'd have them believe. He had unquestionably shown far more skill than even someone who had a secret teacher should have had. So ultimately Sasuke was still hiding a great deal. The problem was what?
As the first whip of lightning blazed across the darkening sky, Sasuke began to smirk. The crack of thunder followed almost immediately after as it was directly over their head. "I'd move out of the way for this next jutsu." Sasuke warned, watching the skies intently even when the sudden downpour was heavy enough that it soaked them all right to the bone.
Itachi took Sasuke's word for it, having the same foreboding feeling that Kakashi had and went to assist the jonin around them who had just about gotten all the sleeping spectators out of the arena. Itachi noted that some of the genin that were to partake in the final round of the chunin exams were there as well.
His gaze slid over to Naruto who was metaphorically a mini thunder cloud on his own. Naruto's attention was half on the people he was taking out of the arena and half on the display by the barrier. It was worrying that the boy hadn't gone to try and assist in freeing his father from the barrier.
Sensing and testing the tension in the air, Sasuke drew the sword and held it above his head with a chidori encased hand, ignoring the shout of protest from the ANBU closest to him. They had cleared off when Itachi and Obito had, taking it as a sign that if the Uchiha weren't going to be in the area then they shouldn't be either.
Sasuke leapt high over the barrier, needing to hit the top corner where it would do the most damage as the pillars were entirely dependent on the Oto four.
But before they could pull the foolish Jinchuriki boy out of range, a bolt of lightning seared across the morbid clouds and struck the tip of the outstretched blade. It raced along the metal, shattering it as it travelled.
Sasuke pushed his chakra into his arm, meeting the natural and definitely volatile energy of the bolt as it reached the bottom of the blade. He had no hope of being able to control that force. He'd never intended to. Instead he hoped to redirect it. The last of the sword disintegrated in his grasp and he couldn't help the snort of disdain at its quality. But it had served its purpose.
The lightning met his chakra in a searing greeting of familiarity, seeking the spark that identified them as relations of each other. It was that relation, that single aspect that ensured he wasn't charred to a crisp. This lightning wasn't natural. It was more intense, more powerful and definitely more unforgiving.
The lightning accepted his 'offering' and he used that split moment of control to push the explosive force straight at the barrier, every hair on his body standing on end as the lightning passed straight through him, lingering in his coils for the slightest moment.
Just before it hit, it was as though the world had stood still, time had ceased to exist. He wasn't even breathing. This was the jutsu he'd created, designed with the intention to kill the most prodigal Uchiha who ever lived. He could feel every raised hair as they tingled with the energy around him, feel every tiny spark as it raced through his body. The droplets of rain around him were frozen in the air, suspended just as he was, reflecting the blue light and looking like tiny sparkling jewels.
And through that all he could see through the barrier, was the face of the man he despised more than Itachi.
Orochimaru's slack jaw and wide gaze was priceless.
The barrier was designed to absorb chakra but could it handle natural energy?
The blinding flash as the two met forced the Uchiha to squeeze his eyes shut. The impact was astronomical, more than he'd ever hoped to achieve and he was thrown backwards. He felt every crash as he was propelled through the stands, creating a path of destruction in his wake.
The building the barrier had been located on wobbled for a moment before exploding outwards around the middle, like a water balloon that had too much pressure placed on top. Debris and rubble flew through the air, landing around the destroyed arena. The impact had been great enough to shake the entire building to its foundations and when this was over there'd be nothing but a hole in the ground filled with useless pieces of rubble.
Sasuke was still flying backwards when the barrier shattered into a thousand glittering crystalline pieces, fading away before they even hit the ground. The Shodai's trees burst into flames as the lightning made contact and four Shinobi sprang from the flames. Three went one way, with the fourth following closely making it five Shinobi, and the last Shinobi dashed towards his flying form.
Minato was faster than the impact of the jutsu, faster than what Sasuke's uncontrolled speed currently was and he found himself colliding with a warm being as the Yondaime flashed behind him and gripped a hand around his middle. The world spun dizzyingly and suddenly they were meters away from the collapsing building.
"It's more amazing than I thought it'd be." Sasuke managed to breathe out, almost inaudibly. "A jutsu with the destructive power of nature. Almost too good to be true."
Minato didn't let go of him and he didn't mind. His head was spinning and his body was screaming in pain. He didn't think he'd be able to move even if he tried. But he managed an exhausted smile. He had broken the barrier. Minato was safe.
"Sasuke-kun!" Itachi was beside himself, having not realised just how much of a dangerous jutsu Sasuke had planned. What had the boy been thinking?
The lightning could have destroyed him just as much as it destroyed the barrier. It very well could have destroyed all his chakra coils. He could have died.
"He's fine. He's just exhausted." Minato stated calmly, sounding just as winded himself. Fighting against invincible past Hokage could not have been easy. Sasuke wobbled slightly but held steady as Itachi cupped his cheeks and turned his head this way and that, physically making sure he was alright.
This concerned older brother was not something he was used to. Itachi had always been so aloof, so above it all, including Sasuke.
He blinked and the world faded from sight as his Sharingan deactivated. Details weren't as sharp, weren't as fast. They were ordinary now.
"That was quite the jutsu Sasuke-kun." Obito approached from behind Itachi, his concerned gave moving to the Yondaime rather than the genin. "Cut it a bit close with the timing though. We almost didn't get everyone out."
"I had faith." Sasuke replied with a weak grin. He didn't want to admit that he'd actually not realised that he'd be putting so many people at risk. It was a good thing there were so many geniuses in Konoha at the moment.
"We're not out of harm's way just yet." Minato warned. "Orochimaru is still around."
Sasuke doubted there was much Orochimaru was able to do. It was taking all of his concentration to keep the Shodai and the Niidaime under his control. And he was short on chakra as it was. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that the fight with Minato would have been costly and that he'd need a new body soon. He might take the chance to retreat but he knew that he couldn't leave without sending some big sign to Naruto that he had power. Otherwise Naruto would be harder to convince to go with the Oto four should he send them this time around.
For Sasuke, the fact that Orochimaru had been so bold as to walk into Konoha and kill the Sandaime without batting an eye was part of his decision to join the snake. Naruto had idolised the Sandaime and if Orochimaru could kill him then Sasuke wanted to learn from the Shinobi, maybe in some part, to spite the blond.
He wouldn't be surprised though if Orochimaru stopped using the jutsu that gave the past Hokage false life. It was taking too much of a toll on his body and chakra reserves.
Sasuke's vision faded and his hearing cut off momentarily but the Hokage shifting his hold pulled him back to reality. Naruto was approaching with Kakashi and Sakura in tow. Naruto looked more than peeved but also weary.
He looked over at Sasuke but his gaze darted away, his mouth thinning in his growing anger.
"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun is a bit tired." Minato began gently, seeing the touchy mood his son was in, "Can you and Sakura-chan please watch over him."
"Why not send him to the hospital?" Naruto replied stiffly.
"Because he's more like you in the sense that he probably won't stay there." Kakashi replied, answering for the Hokage who passed the near immobile Uchiha to the other.
Kakashi knew the damage lightning did to one's body and as such held Sasuke carefully so as not to cause the boy further pain. He was impressed with the jutsu though. He'd never imagined a jutsu so powerful in his life. It was incredible. It made the Chidori look like a light show in comparison. But the damage radius and the specific conditions required made it impractical for battle.
And it was a one hit jutsu. The sky was already clear, the air too zapped of humidity to even attempt the jutsu again. If you missed then you'd be incapacitated and vulnerable. As it was, the jutsu was barely controllable and the damage appeared to have a two way distribution. You got just as injured as the intended target. Although the target got more so upon second thought.
"What's the situation around the village like?" Minato asked gravely when it appeared that Naruto wasn't going to reply.
"There are Oto, Suna and Iwa nin scattered around the village. It's uncertain what that display of strength has done to the moral of the enemy but with the Yellow Flash now free from the barrier, it's possible that Iwa might just retreat with a very heart felt peace treaty to offer up next week." Obito offered.
"The Uchiha are handling the majority of the Oto nin and the rest of the Konoha forces are handling the Suna and the stray Oto nins. Jiraiya is helping to dismantle the summons. The unknown Uchiha was helping him but suddenly dispelled the moment the barrier was put up around you and Orochimaru." Itachi continued, tone completely expressionless. "The ANBU sent to kill Kabuto were found dead, one was missing his uniform. Kabuto then managed to successfully infiltrate the ANBU forces while disguised as one of their own."
Suddenly Sasuke opened exhausted eyes and looked towards the hospital. He grimaced before the dark irises bled to red, slitting down the middle just as tomoe spun wildly.
Minato was confused and was about to ask the Uchiha boy what was wrong when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. A foul murderous chakra filled the air, familiar in its deadly intent.
Shukaku.
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