Quietus

by Seraphina Scribes

When first he laid eyes upon her, he thought her the very personification of spring. He watches, from the depths of shadow; waiting to steal her away from the land of the living. Waiting to make her Queen of the Dead. Hades/Persephone retold. SasuSaku/AU.

83. Chapter 82

Second update of February. Happy reading.

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Chapter LXXXII

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Prejudice is an ugly trait,
Masquerading as righteousness in its hate,
While it whispers venom to lending ears,
Instilling within them doubts and fears,
By one who seeks to bend the will of Fate,
Heeding its lessons far too late.
A thief who desires within his possession,
Searing crimson - his life's obsession.

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~x~

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"Sasuke!" Naruto's heart slammed against his ribcage as his azure eyes frantically sought to locate the death deity, shoving forcefully past the ANBU who stood in his way.

But it was no use. They were too late. Sasuke truly had vanished into thin air - along with Danzo.

"Where the hell did he go?!" Naruto roughly grabbed one of the ANBU soldiers by the collar of his uniform, hauling him in close. "Tell me, asshole!"

The brown-haired ANBU guard in his grasp remained resolutely silent. Enraged, Naruto swung a punch straight at his face, its impact hard enough to knock the man's mask off, before throwing him at his colleagues who scrambled to catch him.

Kakashi shook his head. What in the world had happened? It looked like Sasuke had been dragged right into a Kamui vortex - but nobody else possessed that particular space-time ability, besides himself and Obito. It was unique to Obito's Sharingan. And yet, Obito was surely incapable of breaching such a secure stronghold. He would have had to alight on the landing platform at least, and would immediately have been detected had he done so.

How, then, had Sasuke been sucked into a portal? And why?

"No!" Sakura lifted her hands to clutch at her hair, a thoughtless, frantic gesture that reflected her open state of panic. The ANBU had stepped aside, finally allowing them free passage. She ran into the room they'd vacated only minutes earlier, her gaze darting desperately around the space in stunned bewilderment. Wooden shelves had been blown apart and debris and torn scrolls lay scattered about the floor, denoting that a brief scuffle had clearly ensued.

Homura and Koharu lay unconscious on the ground. Kakashi rushed forward, kneeling beside them.

"Are they…" Naruto began, looking over his mentor's shoulder uncertainly, "...dead?"

Kakashi shook his head, detecting faint pulses. "Incapacitated." He turned his gaze to the ANBU, but before he could question them further, they formed hand-seals and vanished abruptly into plumes of smoke.

"Those shady bastards!" Naruto ranted. "I knew there was something up with that ancient creep!"

"There's no way Sasuke did this," Sakura shook her head, refusing to accept the idea. "He wouldn't just attack them. They were about to remove his binding contract; it makes no sense!"

"Danzo!" Naruto's hands balled into fists. "He did something to set Sasuke off, believe it!"

"You are right," came a calm voice from the doorway. They turned their heads to find Chiyo, surveying the damage in the room. She appeared remarkably unconcerned.

"Old-Bag Chiyo?" Naruto began hesitantly.

Sakura's whirling thoughts cycled back to the moment when Chiyo had chosen to leave the room. She stared at the ancient goddess, her eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. "You… knew?" she got out.

Chiyo merely looked back at them in silence.

"How was Danzo able to use Kamui to warp Sasuke out?" Kakashi questioned.

Chiyo shook her head. "It was not Kamui, but a very similar transportational technique. Danzo has in his possession plenty of ancient scrolls that have all manner of effects when invoked."

"What does that bastard want with Sasuke?!" Naruto exclaimed angrily.

Chiyo leaned upon her staff. "He has long since harboured a strong distrust and hatred toward the Uchiha folk," she responded evenly. "He believes that under the correct, pressured circumstances, they are all capable of succumbing inevitably to the Curse of Indra, to falling victim to the same corrupt darkness or something of that ilk." Her lips twisted to form a sour expression. "Blind to his own corruption, naturally, whilst declaring himself the champion of righteousness."

"The Curse of Indra?" Sakura blinked, nonplussed.

"Indra was the grandson of the goddess Kaguya." Kakashi summarised. "The first to awaken the Sharingan alone, when the ocular bloodlines were split between Kaguya's sons."

"Indeed." Chiyo agreed. "Though Cronus founded and named the Uchiha clan, it was, in fact, Indra who first possessed the Sharingan in its pure form, and it is Indra from whom all Uchiha truly descend. He was once of the most noble, most honourable and most exalted of gods. But his jealousy toward his brother - the founder of the Senju line Asura - and his greed to defy the Fates themselves consumed him. The more hatred he awoke, the more powerful, unstable and dangerous a force he became. He is said to have been the first being to embody the gifts of darkness and chaos. It was his younger brother, Asura, who was forced to put a stop to him."

"What's all this got to do with Sasuke?" Naruto demanded.

Chiyo pursed her lips. "Indra was in possession of the most forbidden eye-techniques, techniques that have been locked away and shrouded in secrecy since his demise. Danzo fears their revival. That an Uchiha, somehow, will come to unlock these abilities and seek to alter the course of fate itself. To shape the future as they see fit. It is a wonder that Cronus himself knew not how to awaken them. Had he possessed these abilities, we would have surely lost the war."

"What abilities?" Sakura frowned.

Chiyo met her eyes. "The Izanagi and the Izanami."

"I..." Kakashi began slowly, "have heard of these in passing. So they truly do exist?"

"They do. The Izanagi is capable of forging fate, changing its path to the outcome its wielder desires - and Izanami is an ability created to counter the Izanagi. It traps its target in an eternal loop from which they cannot break free until they cease use of Izanagi and accept true reality over their own projected truth.

"Both techniques caused permanent blindness in the eyes that cast them. Indra took and implanted Sharingan from his own kin, in his desperation to rewrite fate to his own design - until Asura put a stop to his dreadful schemes."

Sakura's thoughts spun, trying to piece together the information Chiyo was sharing with them, to link it to their present circumstances.

"Are you saying Danzo thinks Sasuke might awaken those abilities?" she asked anxiously.

"Even despite everything we have told the Council, he still harbours suspicion toward Sasuke?" Kakashi's visible eye narrowed.

"Danzo fears history will repeat itself, and believes all Uchiha have an inherent tendency to turn to violence." Chiyo sighed. "He wilfully ignores those amongst them who were averse to war, and sought to avoid all conflict. Shisui and Itachi are two such examples."

"So why has he taken Sasuke?" Naruto repeated. "What does he want from him?!"

"The power of an Uchiha is in their eyes," Chiyo stated simply. "Strip them of their eyes and they are unable to use any of their ocular gifts."

Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura stared at her in horror as clarity dawned upon them.

"You mean…" Sakura began slowly, lifting a trembling palm to her left cheek. "He wants Sasuke's eyes?"

Chiyo nodded gravely.

"What the-?! But that's-!" Naruto sputtered in disbelief and fury. "No, damn it!"

"He has no right!" Sakura gasped in dismay, panic exploding within her, setting her heart galloping within her chest.

"Danzo doesn't care about rights," Kakashi remarked, and there was even a hint of anger in his cool voice.

"We have to stop him! Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto turned his head imploringly to his mentor. "Can't we track them down and-"

"You cannot," Chiyo interrupted firmly. "Danzo is thorough in his usage of seals. He has likely taken him to a place that we cannot locate, one that stops their chakra signatures from being sensed."

"But we have to try!" Naruto protested.

"You knew he'd attack Sasuke," Sakura turned to the goddess in anguish. "If you knew, why didn't you stop it from happening?!"

"Why have you let that old slimebag stay on the Council all this time?" Naruto raged. "I knew there was a reason my dad never liked him!"

"Danzo served a purpose, for a time," Chiyo replied. "His ANBU were useful in the surveillance services they provided, and yet… he ventures down a path now none of us agree with. I had hoped that he would come to see reason, that he would someday put aside his suspicions and change his ways and yet it is clear now that he will do everything in his power to place restrictions upon Sasuke. In truth, his prejudice has been a blight upon us for millennia. There is no way forward for Danzo."

"You could have stopped it!" Sakura cried in distress, razor sharp claws of apprehension raking beneath her skin. Fear for Sasuke's well-being closed around her like a vice, like ice-cold, crushing fingers of bone. They had barely had a chance to recover from being captured by Cronus. Sasuke had barely had an hour or two to rest and regain his bearings before being whisked away into another unfamiliar place against his will, where he would be forced to fight for survival once more. Her heart ached for him. "What if he gets hurt?!"

"I was outnumbered," Chiyo pointed out. "Koharu and Homura have always mindlessly supported him up until now, and would not listen to reason. His betrayal ought to open their eyes. Besides that, you know I cannot intervene in the will of the Fates. I must allow things to pass, just as we all do."

Sakura shook her head, speechless.

"Sasuke's in trouble!" Naruto paced restlessly. "We can't just stay here! We have to do something!"

"No." Chiyo's answer, heavy in its finality, stunned them. "This is not your fight. Danzo has wronged the Uchiha and Sasuke personally. Therefore it is Sasuke's fight, and Sasuke's alone."

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~x~

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"How?" The thinly-veiled displeasure in Uchiha Madara's voice was terrifying. Ice-cold, hard-edged. Furious. "How was the boy freed of the curse? You had better have a good explanation for this, you wretched cur."

Orochimaru's lips pressed together to form a thin line as he mulled over the unanticipated turn of events. His chakra had devoured and overwhelmed all of Sasuke's reserves. The curse seal had started to paralyse him, as was expected. His body had started to succumb to it. And yet… once he had lost consciousness entirely, something entirely unexpected had occurred. Something extraordinary and remarkable. Something that ought not to have been possible.

The death deity had fully recovered. Another foreign chakra had permeated through his body, warding the curse seal back, undoing its venom while replenishing Sasuke's depleted reserves with its own, allowing Sasuke the opportunity to heal and recover. It had effectively returned the Underworld ruler's body back to him.

It had been a chakra signature so potent, so powerful, so precise and absolute in its action, that the curse seal's malicious venom had been completely overwhelmed, flushed out of Sasuke's chakra pathways and forced to return to its point of origin.

Orochimaru had been shocked to recognise the foreign chakra signature. He had felt it only once before - yet would never forget the coldness of its intimidating aura. The arm he had lost to Thanatos of the Uchiha - the arm that had never quite been the same - throbbed with a phantom pain at the mere memory. Somehow, Itachi had locked away a remnant of his own chakra within Sasuke, and that chakra was what had saved the God of the Dead's body from being possessed by Orochimaru.

But how to explain this unfortunate development to the wrathful deity who stood looming over him upon the steps ascending to the Olympian throne? There was no doubt that Cronus's fury would magnify a hundred-fold, and yet, it was through no fault of theirs that Sasuke had slipped through their grasp. They had plotted meticulously. Down to the final detail. It ought to have been the case that his body had surrendered to the curse.

How could they possibly have anticipated another's involvement and influence, millennia after his demise?

Once more, the ever brilliant Thanatos had found a way to foil Cronus.

"The curse seal had indeed incapacitated him," Orochimaru reassured the Titan. "However, it seemsss that a fail-safe of sorts was planted within him, allowing his chakra to recover before the process could reach its completion. I did not anticipate for thisss. It is most unexpected."

Madara's dark eyebrows lifted, before he scowled once more.

"A 'fail-safe', you say…?" He spat out, his deep voice rumbling across the throne room. "What mean you by that?"

Orochimaru's tongue ran along his lower lip slowly. Cautiously, he regarded Chaos incarnate. He knew the next words that would spill from his mouth would displease the Uchiha patriarch greatly.

"What I sensed…" Orochimaru continued. "Was the powerful chakra of another that had been implanted within him. It seemsss to have been triggered as soon as he lost consciousness, when the paralysisss began to take hold. It pushed the venomous chakra back and forced it to return to its ssseal, and in doing so, allowed Sasuke-kun to heal..."

"The chakra of another…" Madara sucked in a sharp breath, his mind quickly analysing the information. Joining the dots.

"A chakra mossst potent and compatible with Sasuke's own..."

Madara was silent. He knew only two individuals capable of such perception, such intuition, such premonition and foresight. Realisation dawned upon his features, and his fury was absolute. His plans to acquire the Rinnegan had once again been stalled. Once more, he was forced to wait for his prize.

His expression darkened, growing thunderous, ominous, sinister as the name left his lips in a menacing, bitter hiss.

"Itachi..."

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~x~

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Ino found Sakura hiding miserably away in the alchemy lab, sitting on a high stool at a table that was littered with glowing, freshly harvested chakra crystals.

"Forehead?" She drew another stool from the side of the square-shaped table, and sat beside her best friend, peering at her in concern. "I've been looking for you. What're you doing in here?"

Sakura considered her answer. What could she say? She had been in the assembly chamber with everyone else earlier following Sasuke's disappearance, staying dutifully by her mother's side while Chiyo relayed Danzo's actions to the others.

Tsunade had listened in silence. Sakura had never seen her mother so withdrawn. Though her expression was stony, Sakura knew she was stricken inside. She was merely trying to suppress her emotions. To give the illusion that she was strong, as strong as she had always been. It had broken Sakura's heart, not knowing what to say or do, to offer her mother comfort for a loss she, herself, felt profoundly too.

A disagreement had broken out amongst the surface gods over Sasuke's role in everything, what it would mean if he slayed Danzo, a long-time member of the High Council. Most advocated that Danzo had to answer for his crimes. That death was no solution and that he ought to face trial. And yet nobody questioned what would happen if Danzo gouged out Sasuke's eyes - nobody voiced their concerns over the injustice of that, apart from herself and Naruto. Sakura could see it from the looks on all their faces - they still didn't fully trust Sasuke and considered him to be bad news. A wildcard who could switch sides at any moment, whose true loyalties lay only with himself and with avenging his clan.

Though it frustrated her, in a way Sakura couldn't blame them. They hadn't seen the many sides to Sasuke that she had. The sides that Naruto also knew. Kakashi had remained oddly quiet, listening to everyone's view points, not giving his own opinion on the matter. The dialogue had continued on, until Sakura, unable to stand it anymore when they began to discuss the dangerous possibility of Sasuke being permanently possessed by the curse seal, had chosen to exit the room, seeking space, a silent place to process everything that had happened in absolute privacy.

Had even a day yet passed since they'd been stolen away from the Hot Springs village? She'd somehow lost all track of time, and yet so much had transpired in the space of twenty four short hours. It had been such a long time since she'd truly been left alone to her own thoughts, unwatched and unguarded by the eyes of others.

Sakura turned her gaze steadily toward Ino. "I just needed some space to think. I'm fine."

Ino pursed her lips. She knew Sakura's expressions as well as she knew the back of her own hand. The forced resolve she glimpsed in those cypress-green eyes belied the worry and sadness Ino could clearly see glimmering beneath the surface.

"You're not. What's wrong?"

Sakura shook her head. "Ino, I'm not going to burden you with my worries. Not when we've just lost so many of our own."

"Sakura," the Goddess of Love began slowly. "I know it's hard, and it doesn't feel right, when we didn't even get a chance to retrieve them, to bury them. But... what good does it do anyone to sit and cry? That's all I've been doing since I got here and I…" she took a deep breath, blinking back the fresh tears that threatened to well in her red-rimmed eyes. "Your mother's right. All we can do now, is focus on avenging them. Nothing we do can bring them back. And that bastard wants us to despair. We can't. We can't give into it."

Sakura thought of her mother, and bit her lower lip. "I've never seen her so down," she confided. "She's trying to be strong, to keep it together, but Shizune was like a sister to her. They were inseparable. I just can't believe she's really gone." She swallowed thickly, overcome with another wave of grief that caused wetness to pool into her eyes. "I can't believe we lost so many, all at once."

"They won't catch us off guard like that again," Ino's hands closed into fist. "Once our powers are unsealed, we'll be able to use our chakra freely. We'll be strong enough to defeat them, even if they swarm us again like they did."

"But what about you?" Sakura turned anxious eyes onto the blonde. "Your powers aren't active anymore."

Ino's lips twisted to form a wry smile. "I'm still immortal," she said. "But it does suck. I miss my abilities. I would've liked to crush a few hearts."

"Is there no way you can ever get them back?"

Ino shrugged. "Maybe when you turn immortal," she pondered. "I gave them up so you could reincarnate, so I'm not really sure what happens when the cycle is broken. I've wondered the same thing, but nobody seems to be sure, either."

Sakura considered this. She appreciated that Ino wasn't mentioning the other alternative - what would happen in the event the cycle was broken if she ended up dying instead.

"Maybe I could've even made that son-of-a-bitch Cronus fall for someone and suffer the sickness of a broken heart, though I doubt he has it in him to love anyone anywhere near as much as he loves himself." She snorted in derision. "Even my powers wouldn't soften him. There's too much hatred and bitterness in his heart. It's as if he doesn't even possess one."

"He's a monster," Sakura agreed, frowning. "What he did to Sasuke…" she shuddered at the memory. "Ino, it was horrible."

"It sounded terrifying. And that's to his own kin," Ino pointed out, playing with the ends of her silky long hair. "If he can do that to his own descendant, imagine what lengths he's willing to go to, to hurt the rest of us."

Sakura lifted a palm briefly to her chest, placing it over the location of the deadly wound that Cronus had inflicted upon her, subsequently healed by Sasuke's hand. She didn't doubt Cronus's ruthlessness for a minute. After all, she had witnessed and experienced it first hand. He was cold-blooded, lacking in all compassion. A force of chaos and destruction and hatred, melded into the body of a powerful Titan god.

A comfortable silence fell between the two girls. Noticing that Sakura had started fidgeting with a chakra crystal, Ino prompted, "You're nervous about something." Eyeing her friend closely, she guessed, "Is it Sasuke?"

From the way Sakura tensed, Ino knew she'd struck the nail on the head. She watched the blossom-haired girl chew on her lower lip, clearly wrestling with keeping her thoughts to herself, or confessing everything that had happened. Sakura weighed her options in her mind. Who better than the Goddess of Love, she reasoned, to help her make sense of all her scrambling thoughts and rioting, conflicting emotions?

"Uh, hello?" A finger poked her left arm. "Sakura?"

"I'm so worried…" she blurted out. "That Danzo will hurt him." Turning despairing eyes to Ino, she rambled on, "He's already gone through so much. I…" she hesitated, before continuing, "I know none of you fully trust him yet, but I do. Because I finally understand what he's gone through. His memories were stolen, Ino. He can't remember anything about us in the past, because they were deliberately sealed away to ensure he ascended the Underworld's throne. To stop Cronus commanding it through Obito. He spent all this time thinking his brother murdered their parents, but Cronus made him do it. He forced Itachi to choose between saving Sasuke's life or their parents'."

Ino's eyes widened, startled. "By Olympus…" she murmured. "That's horrible."

"And he's just found all that out," Sakura continued, wringing her hands together restlessly. "Can you imagine what he's going through? And he barely has time to even process it, he almost lost control of his entire body and consciousness saving my life, and now that Danzo creep has stolen him away and wants to steal his Sharingan!" Her words began to tremble with anger.

"He's not having a great time, is he?" Ino remarked dryly.

"Ino!" Sakura was appalled. "I'm being serious!"

"I know. I'm sorry," Ino sighed. "Look, I'm willing to work with Sasuke if he's sincere about being on our side."

"He is. He hates Cronus."

"Maybe so, but until recently, he hated us, too," Ino reminded her.

"He didn't know the truth. He forgot he was friends once with Naruto and Kakashi. Cronus changed some of his memories, too."

Ino was silent for a moment. "I just don't want you getting hurt again." She looked uncomfortable. "If he hurts you anymore, I'll find a way to rip his heart out if its the last thing I do, I swear it."

"He isn't going to hurt me."

"How can you be so sure?" Ino gave her an incredulous look. "He broke your heart in the past. It was so terrible, you wouldn't let me heal you."

"It was Cronus," Sakura defended. "Whatever happened in the past, I know Sasuke would never hurt me on purpose. Cronus manipulated so many people, I'm sure he did it to Sasuke, too. He didn't kidnap me back then, Ino. He wasn't the one who took me to Cronus. He didn't even know I was going to be poisoned when he released me back onto the surface. I know he didn't. He must have thought he was saving me by getting me out."

"How do you know that?" Ino regarded her dubiously. "Neither of you remember what happened."

Sakura looked down at her hands, splayed open atop the table. "When Sasuke was unconscious, he was able to speak to his brother. Itachi sealed a part of his chakra within Sasuke. It was Itachi who took me to Cronus. He volunteered to do it, so he could start weaving the seals on me, knowing there was no way to save my first life."

Ino was quiet. Itachi. Feared Thanatos. The name caused searing crimson eyes, hidden behind a gilded onyx mask, to flash vividly across her memory; the recollection of a silent, stern, piercing gaze as it flicked briefly onto her, pinning her in place with the awful weight of an all-knowing stare. She recalled the hand that had lifted, elegant, ringed fingers gesturing toward her, rolling ripples of shadows unfurling at their master's command. The stabbing pain of a sudden, biting coldness beneath her tongue, that had caused her throat to constrict.

'You will speak no word of this, goddess. To silence, eternal, you are sworn.'

A shiver shot down her spine at the memory of the compelling words that had woven their dark spell upon her mind and she shuddered. Rubbing at her arms, she hastily continued, "So... you really believe in him, huh? What's made you change your mind?"

Sakura hugged herself, trying to find the right words. "I know from the way he protects me. He was willing to give up his life to save mine, Ino. Even if it was just out of guilt for everything he's done-"

"It's not guilt," Ino stated bluntly. "Guilt isn't enough to sacrifice your life for someone else's. Only one emotion is strong enough to compel that, and we both know what that is."

Sakura's heart fluttered in her chest. She tried to ignore the way it skipped a beat in response to Ino's candid words.

"Whatever the reason," she hastened to go on, "I know what it's like, to believe that something is true, only to find out your entire life, the circumstances around your existence and survival, are nothing like you thought they were. It hurts, Ino," she swallowed thickly. "I feel his pain, because I've gone through something similar. I just..." she lifted her hands helplessly. "He's been alone, frozen out and misunderstood for so long, with only the dead for company. I think he just needs kindness and…" her voice trailed off.

Ino watched her quietly. "Sakura…" she murmured. "You really do care about him."

Sakura's hands dropped back to the table top. Looking down at them in silence for a moment, she then clasped them together, and confessed, "It's stupid, isn't it? He's done so many things that've hurt me, and I resented him for it for so long. I couldn't accept what he did. I didn't want to make peace with it - until I realised that any day could be my last. And... he's changed, Ino. When he first took me, he didn't care. And now… now he's going through so much, putting himself in danger just to try and free me from this cycle."

Ino's eyes lowered. She picked up a healing orb from the wooden box in front of her, and rolled it between her hands on the table as she listened in silence to her best friend. Sasuke had changed? There was only one emotion powerful enough to compel that, too. She frowned lightly to herself, understanding the situation perfectly. It wasn't a match she would have chosen to repeat, and yet it seemed the two fools were incapable of staying away from each other.

"And when I met his eyes underwater when he tried to get to me… and I saw his panic... when I thought he was about to die… every terrible thing that had ever happened between us… it all just... faded away. Because what's happening, the fate of the world that depends on us all working together, is so much bigger than just the two of us."

Sakura paused, licking her lips as she detailed, "He was meant to find me again, Ino. He didn't do it the right way… but I know he was meant to. His involvement in my final life isn't just a coincidence. I believe that now. Shisui had no reason to allow Sasuke to keep one memory of me that would let him recognise my soul, if he and Itachi didn't intend for us to ever meet again when the time was right."

"Is that what he did...?" Ino said softly. "Hypnos...?"

'It is done. He will recognise only her light. Nothing more.'

Tears stung at the fair-haired goddess's eyes. Everything was unfolding precisely as Sleep and True Death had planned. She had hoped it wouldn't. She had hoped that Kore would be spared the pain of encountering Hades again. But the moment she had learned of his abduction of Sakura, she had known it in her heart. A sinking realisation. Hypnos's words had been fulfilled - and there wasn't a soul alive she could tell. She had suffered the burden of that knowledge in silence - but now Sakura knew it, too.

"Sasuke's brother told him that," Sakura nodded. Taking a deep breath, she finished, "I know my mother won't ever forgive him. But I have, and I want to move past the past. He's on our side."

"Your side," Ino corrected. "He's in love with you, Sakura, and it's clear his priority is to protect you."

Sakura felt heat pool into her cheeks. Those words, once more, caused her heart to quicken and somersault within her chest. She turned her face away, embarrassed.

But Ino was going relentlessly on. "The rest of us, if push comes to shove, he'll always pick you. We're nothing to him. Just because we're all aligned against a common enemy, doesn't mean we're all going to get along. Respect is something that has to be earned."

"On both sides," Sakura argued.

"You're right," Ino conceded. "But let's face it, your mother is never going to like him much. And she doesn't even know the details about your past together."

"Everyone thinks he's bad news," Sakura lamented, covering her face with her hands.

"Can you blame them?" Ino raised her eyebrows. "I mean, we've only just found out the truth about his brother and cousin's involvement in the war, not to mention what he's gone through. Before that? He was just your stuck up, stick-up-the-ass kidnapper who damned you by offering you the Food of the Dead. It'll take a while to thaw that ice out. And Sasuke doesn't exactly do himself any favours. He might look smoking hot, but he has the social skills of an ice-cube."

"I'm not asking you all to like him. Just give him a chance to prove that we can rely on him." Sakura sighed, running her fingers through her hair stressfully. "I just can't stand sitting around here doing nothing, when I know he's in trouble."

"Elder Chiyo said we have to wait, so sitting tight is all we can do." Ino rolled the sphere between her hands, before continuing, "I never liked that Danzo. And if he's really trying to rip out Sasuke's eyes, and not letting anyone else stop him, then that gross old fart's just asking for trouble."

Sakura placed her arms atop the table and lowered her head, resting it upon them. She sighed heavily again.

Ino watched her for a moment, sympathetic to her plight. The heart did not choose whom to love. She knew this fact better than anyone. Some souls were tied together by the Fates, beyond even her esteemed influence. No matter how much time passed, or how much the world changed, they remained intended. She suspected that Sakura and Sasuke, Hades and Persephone, were one such hopelessly damned couple.

"You know, Forehead..." she began slowly. "It isn't about what we think. This is about you. You have six months a year to spend in his world. In a few months' time, you'll have to go back. Are you ready to face that?"

"No," Sakura answered dejectedly. "It makes me nervous, just thinking about it."

"I'll say," Ino mused in amusement. "Six months alone with a brooding, drop-dead gorgeous guy? Dark King of Riches beneath the surface? You have every right to feel nervous."

"Pig, stop." Sakura muttered. "You're not helping."

Ino released a short chuckle. Then, growing serious again, she continued, "Whatever you decide, I want you to go into it empowered. Prepared. I want it to be what you want. Don't worry about what everyone else thinks. If it feels right, chase it. If it's wrong, you're under no obligation to give anything to him. You can just remain... 'friends' or whatever." She pulled a face.

"It's too late for that," Sakura mumbled, before she could check herself. It was only when the words had left her lips that she froze, realising what she had inadvertently allowed to slip.

Ino froze in turn, catching on immediately. "What? What do you mean, 'too late'?" she demanded. When a mortified Sakura remained silent, and refused to lift her head, Ino gasped, "Sakura! What did he do?! That damned Hades, I swear-!"

Sakura bolted upright in horror, her cheeks ablaze. "He didn't! I- it was me! I started it!"

Ino's eyes widened. "Started what?" When Sakura stared back at her with frightened eyes, she shrieked in surprise, "You little minx! What did you do?!"

"N-nothing!" Sakura stammered, wanting to die of embarrassment right then. "I just- I kissed him!"

Ino's jaw dropped. She struggled to speak for a few seconds. "You what...?" she finally forced out. "When?"

Sakura covered her burning face with her hands. "In the Underworld. After he saved my life. It just... it just happened, okay? Don't judge me. Please don't."

Ino slapped a hand to her forehead in dismay, and released a groan. "Ugh. Forehead, you..." she seemed to think better of lecturing her friend, however, for she released a heavy, tired sigh. "Well..." she leaned into her, nudging her shoulder playfully, a teasing smirk curving on her rosy lips. "Was it good?"

"Ino!" A dismayed Sakura peeked at her through the gaps in her fingers, blushing even more fiercely at the memory of just how good Sasuke's kiss had been. So good, that it had reduced her legs to jelly and left her breathless. "Stop!"

"Must be," Ino concluded with a sassy snort. "Since you can't seem to stay away from that grumpy Uchiha regardless of what happens."

"It's a mess," Sakura bemoaned. "I know it is. We're both messed up."

Ino rolled her eyes. Love did that to mortals and immortals both. She reached out and gently lowered Sakura's hands from her face. "Look. Your feelings... what are they? Don't mistake attraction for deeper emotions. You care about him, you say you've forgiven him… but can you love him again, Sakura? Is that what you want? After everything that went wrong between you before, do you trust him enough to give him your heart again, and trust that this time, he won't break it?"

Sakura remained silent. She told herself it was because she didn't know the answer. But in her heart of hearts, the very same organ that was sprinting so fitfully within her chest, she knew that perhaps it was simply because she was still too afraid to admit it out loud.

---

~x~

---

Sasuke landed roughly on the ground, flung violently out of the swirling vortex that quickly dispersed into thin air. He blinked, surprised to discover a leaf-strewn, flowering forest floor around him, but scarcely had a moment to absorb his new surroundings when another detonating tag whistled right by his left ear. He immediately flash-stepped out of harm's way, somersaulting nimbly backwards to avoid four more quick attacks in succession before he finally skirted to a stop. Gripping Kusanagi tightly in his left hand, he took a moment to survey the area, his dark eyes narrowing as they darted up to the tree tops around him, locking straight onto the masked ANBU who were stationed upon the branches.

They were armed and aiming their weapons in his direction.

Sasuke glowered contemptuously up at them. Was that the best Danzo could do? Had the old god gone senile, choosing to deploy humans against him? His entire army was mortal and the death deity was in no mood for mercy. He had only one priority in mind; to hunt down the treacherous filth whose actions had led to the ostracism of Shisui and Itachi and brought into question their honour by the Olympians. Actions that had ultimately forced Sasuke's older brother to take the lives of their own parents.

"Where is Danzo?" he questioned the soldiers, his tone cold, like jagged black ice.

They responded by firing another barrage of long-range projectile attacks his way. The air exploded with the sound of flying weaponry but Sasuke was swift to evade them and raced through the forest in a blur, seeking out his target, his speed too great for the combat-trained humans to keep up with and track. He effortlessly weaved and flash-warped through the trees, until at last he came upon an open clearing that led to a dead end. The looming wall of what appeared to be a ruined old tower stared back at him, its stone weathered and worn down by time, blocking out the light of the sun shining in the cobalt blue sky. The ground in the area was trodden, mostly dirt, grass growing only sparsely through it.

Sasuke didn't recognise the place. Where had Danzo spirited him to, and how had he even used Kamui to do it? Only a wielder of the Sharingan had the power to manipulate the laws of space and time in such a manner.

The ANBU caught up to him, moving faster than was natural for ordinary mortals. Was it their strict training that afforded them that ability? The death deity thought not. As they surrounded him, countless in their numbers, raising crossbows pointed straight toward him as they encircled Sasuke, he suspected that their bodies had been pumped with all manner of unnatural supplements and drugs that enhanced speed and strength.

It didn't matter what they had been given. Their hearts would still at his command.

"A coward, to hide behind mortals." Sasuke's voice rang clearly in the opening. "Show yourself."

Bolts from the crossbows were fired at him without warning. They soared through the air and struck against the rib-shaped Susano'o barrier the death deity immediately summoned into being to enclose around his body, with resonating clangs, falling harmlessly to the ground.

"Show yourself," Sasuke repeated darkly, lifting his right hand. At his command, shadows collected in his palm, fusing together to form a spinning black shuriken star, its edges razor-sharp and cutting. "Or I will slaughter every last one of them."

Still Danzo did not appear. Sasuke lowered his hand slowly, paying no heed to the onslaught of weaponry the humans around him were firing his way. They were mere toys, misplaced and useless when wielded in the playground of the gods. He blinked, losing his thinly-worn patience, and at his telepathic command the lone, glinting shuriken immediately flew forth in a wide arc, spinning with unstoppable force. It struck the first row of soldiers at the weakest points in their armour - the small opening between their masks and the metal plates at their collarbones, slicing into their throats. The ANBU guards' hands flew to their necks in shock as crimson blood spurted from the wounds, inflicted with deadly accuracy to their jugular veins. Rasping, they fell to their knees, choking on their own lifeforce, succumbing to a slow, torturous death.

"I said…" Sasuke uttered ominously, as the soldiers surrounding him continued to fall to their knees, like puppets clipped off their strings, "show yourself."

There was a tense moment of silence, punctuated only by the rustling of leaves stirred by the spring wind in the forest trees behind him and the sound of mortals gurgling for oxygen.

"How very like your kind," a gruff voice finally remarked from above, "to shed blood so freely."

Sasuke's gaze lifted to lock onto its source. Danzo was standing atop the wall of the ruins, looking disdainfully down the barrel of his nose at him. The death deity's hands balled into fists, immediately paralysing the entire ANBU army that surrounded him. They fell to the ground, clutching their chests, heaving for air that would not come. Their hearts prisoners to Sasuke's iron will.

"Liberties you take with your role, indeed," Danzo remarked. "To terminate mortal lives so easily."

"Their deaths are on your hands." Sasuke retorted coldy. "They follow your command."

"They are loyal, ready to lay their lives down." Danzo answered calmly. "They understand the work that I undertake and its importance. They will sacrifice what is required to see it done."

"Your puppets will not help you here," Sasuke's tone was cutting as he allowed his Susano'o armour to dissipate, seeking to preserve his chakra.

Danzo tilted his head thoughtfully. "The Susano'o. That is something I have not seen for a while. Such power those eyes must wield, to have inherited every last gift of your clan."

Sasuke's expression darkened. "I know the truth. That you attempted to steal Shisui's eye. Tell me why, when my brother and cousin sought to work with you to avert the war?"

Danzo remained silent, gazing aloofly down at him.

Sasuke clenched his teeth. "Are you the Olympian who betrayed them to Madara?"

Still, Danzo said nothing.

"Answer me!" Sasuke yelled.

Abruptly, Danzo blinked out of sight. Sasuke's eyes widened. No. He wasn't about to let him escape! Leaving the ANBU crippled behind him, he flash-warped to the top of the structure, to find the ruins of what had once been a large, square-shaped arena of sorts stretched out on the other side ahead of him. Columns of varying heights surrounded its perimeter like silent stone sentinels, some in better condition than others. Clumps of rock and rubble lay on the ground, and everywhere Sasuke could see beyond the crumbling walls was surrounded by dense forest. No doubt an area that was close to Danzo's hideout, he thought to himself.

He found the High Councillor standing in the centre of the arena. Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke leapt off the wall, swooping down low with the grace and speed of a hawk diving into descent.

Alighting before the older deity, he repeated bluntly, "Answer me. Was it you?"

"Hmph. I wonder at Minato's decision to include that particular memory." Danzo sniffed. "He never struck me as the type to divulge such private matters to the likes of you. An outsider."

His remarkably unaffected, unhurried manner grated on Sasuke's nerves. The death god glared stonily at him, wondering, once more, what was concealed beneath the bandages of his right arm. Wounds? Scars? Or something else?

"Hypnos and Thanatos may have had Minato fooled. But I saw right through their intentions, all along." Danzo said. "They cared not for aiding any surface folk, nor was their plan effective in nullifying the possibility of future rebellion from the Uchiha. They sought only to remove Cronus from his seat of power - and following that, would have wielded in their hands the means to fashion the army of the Uchiha according to their will.

"With Hypnos's dangerous abilities of manipulating minds and memories, I could not allow them to succeed in their plans. Nobody else recognised the threat they posed, they all fell to their charm and diplomacy but not I. I saw the truth. The true greed in their ambition. They had free access to Olympus. Had they desired it, they could have stolen the seat of power itself."

Sasuke listened to him in disgusted disbelief, growing more and more irate by the second. Danzo's views of Shisui and Itachi were so twisted, so completely false; the deluded thoughts of one who knew nothing of their characters and shamed them with his blind ignorance. Greed? Shisui and Itachi, both of whom, for all their excellence, had never possessed a greedy bone within their humble bodies! To hear them slandered in such a disrespectful manner made Sasuke see red.

"They would have used our resources to their advantage, were imparted knowledge of the most forbidden seals by that fool of a king Minato, who trusted them blindly. They sought to dupe us into believing they desired true peace - when the truth of the matter is no Uchiha can be trusted! Such has been the tainted nature of your war-mongering, blood-thirsty filth since the days of Indra himse-!"

Sasuke's eyes widened, flashing threatening crimson. Before Danzo could speak another word, Susano'o had enveloped him in its glowing fist, its mighty fingers squeezing around his body with crushing force.

"So it is true, then…" Sasuke's voice was deadly quiet. "It was you. You betrayed them. It was your actions that framed them, that forced my brother to kill our own parents!"

Solid tendons of muscle began to enclose around Susano'o's skeletal shell, strengthened by the escalating anger brewing within Sasuke like a tumultuous storm.

"I did what I did… to protect us! Your response…" Danzo ground out, "is precisely... why... all the Uchiha had to be slaughtered. One wrong committed to them… is a declaration of war… they always choose bloodshed and vengeance, no matter… the cost!"

Sasuke's breath escaped his lips in an unsteady exhale. He could not believe his ears. Danzo had purposefully stabbed Itachi and Shisui in the back - because he had wanted them to be dealt with by Madara, because he had been unable to deal with them himself? Because he had ultimately not wished for the war to be averted, but for all the Uchiha to be annihilated?

"The system… was flawed... " Danzo continued. "Argh…" Blood spurted from his mouth, as the enormous fist around his body continued to tighten. "Minato… himself… was flawed… too weak… too… blinded by his emotions... to… guh... clearly see…! I tried… to take… Shisui's eye… to rectify the mistakes myself… to prevent all risk of future uprisings, but Itachi's meddling-!"

The fingers of Sasuke's right hand twitched and flexed. Blood splattered in all directions as Danzo was abruptly crushed within Susano'o's powerful hold. Sasuke did not so much as even blink as droplets stained his face. Crimson liquid dripped onto the ground, running in rivers from the god's sandal-clad feet.

"Do not speak their true names." Sasuke whispered, before retracting Susano'o once more, watching, unfeelingly, as Danzo's mangled body collapsed lifelessly to the ground, his skull smashed into a pulp.

His Sharingan receded. Sasuke didn't feel any manner of elation over Danzo's death. Instead he felt empty inside. Devoid of all emotion, acutely aware of his solitary existence. Would Itachi and Shisui have survived, he wondered, had this treacherous rat not betrayed them?

Sasuke's shoulders slumped, as the shutters of emotional and mental exhaustion slammed down over him. He watched the blood oozing over the cracked stone floor with blank detachment. If the High Council would put him to trial once again for murdering one of their own, then so be it. He had no regrets. Danzo had deserved to die. And though it was no consolation for his losses, at the very least Sasuke had made the one who had caused his brother and cousin such strife pay for his actions.

He shifted and began to turn away from the gruesome sight of the deity's remains.

"A powerful tool Susano'o is, indeed."

Tension seized Sasuke's body, and he spun around on his heel, his brows furrowing together in astonished disbelief when he discovered Danzo standing in the same place he had been prior, completely unharmed. The God of Death's eyes darted to the ground in confusion, to find that there was no corpse there. The blood had disappeared.

He blinked. A genjutsu? No. Surely he would have perceived it. He had seen Danzo's body being pulverized with his own eyes. How was he standing before him once more?

His gaze lifted, returning to Danzo, watching in livid silence as he slowly began to unwrap the bandages from around his right arm.

"Let us see what that Sharingan of yours can do," Danzo stated evenly. "A demonstration, if you will, before you are relieved of your gifts."

Rage flared within Sasuke's chest. Danzo meant to attempt to steal away his eyes? He had the audacity and dared to believe himself to have a right to take the very power that was Sasuke's by birthright?

Seeing the thunderous look on Sasuke's face, Danzo elaborated, "The others once more do not see the danger that stands before them. All that is required is for you to be depleted of your own chakra and your body will inevitably be possessed by the curse mark. For all your promises, Cronus has already seized you once. We cannot allow such a risk again, or those eyes and that physical shell, with all its abilities, will be turned against us." Tugging on the dressing, he added, "I must act now, to prevent that from happening at all costs."

He was insane, Sasuke realised, appalled. Delusional. Out of his mind. So hell-bent was Danzo on what he perceived to be protecting the surface gods and mortals, that his view of reality had been completely skewed over time. His actions had nothing to do with protecting others and everything to do with his own hatred and mistrust toward the Uchiha, his obsession to control every last one of them. His suspicions were deeply rooted in prejudice. He sought to hold dominion over everyone else. To be the one in charge, who made the important decisions. Those he could not manipulate - like Shisui and Itachi - and now Sasuke himself - were disposed of through any tenebrous means possible.

Sasuke's breath caught in his throat, his eyes widening in stunned horror as the bandage fell away to reveal Sharingan eyeballs implanted into the flesh of Danzo's forearm. Moving Sharingan, that flitted left and right, as if they possessed lives of their own. Ice lodged itself within Sasuke's chest as a terrible stillness befell him. He could not tear his gaze away from those eyes.

Those were the eyes of his kin. Eyes he had been searching for, from the moment he had spied them in jars within Orochimaru's hideout. Eyes that had been stolen from the Uchiha.

His mind was catapulted into turmoil, an array of conclusions rebounding wildly around in his head. Just how deep did Danzo's treachery run? Was he the reason why Madara had known the details of Sasuke's trial? Was he working in league with Orochimaru? Had the serpent given Danzo those eyes from his own collection?

Did he pretend to serve the surface gods' best interests, while liaising with the enemy himself? Sasuke's outrage at his hypocrisy was absolute.

"How did you get those…?" His voice sounded like a hollow, distant echo to his own ears, his gaze still locked on the Sharingan.

"Various ways. You need not concern yourself with that," Danzo responded.

Was that how he had utilised a Kamui like technique? Then that meant the bandage over his eye concealed another Sharingan? Just how many were in his possession? The frost within Sasuke's chest fractured, giving way to white-hot fury that crackled through his blood-stream like a detonating catalyst, causing pure unadulterated hatred to explode and overtake his senses. Darkness seeped through his veins, forming a malicious, sinister aura around his body, a reflection of his killing intent. In that moment, there was no compassion, no mercy in Sasuke's heart, his entire being emptied of it. Nothing but death remained, the desire to maim and rip to pieces the thief who stood before him.

Danzo formed rapid hand-seals and abruptly blurred out of sight, reappearing behind Sasuke, who immediately summoned Susano'o once more and turned to face him, slamming the fist savagely toward Danzo's body. Danzo evaded, lifting his hands to craft a wind-release technique, shooting sharp needle-like bullets out his mouth. They showered down upon Susano'o like steel rain, harmlessly deflected by its barrier.

"Such magnificent armour," Danzo complimented.

Sasuke extended his hand, quickly ensnaring Danzo in ropes of shadow, constricting them around his neck, seeking to crush his windpipe and his ability to speak at all. Danzo's body exploded into smoke, signalling the use of a clone. Sasuke's eyes darted rapidly around the arena, catching sight of him falling into descent in the air above him. Danzo lifted his fingers to his mouth, sending a spinning blaze of flame at the death deity.

Katon. Sasuke's eyes widened, incensed. Not content to harvest his kin's organs, Danzo had found a way to steal his clan's prized techniques as well? He quickly retaliated with a larger fireball that roared toward the Council member, who leapt nimbly backward and responded with a mighty cascade of water that crashed down toward Sasuke. The death deity alighted atop one of the columns to avoid it, trapping Danzo's ankles to the floor with freezing ropes of shadow once more before unleashing Amaterasu at him, causing his body to be engulfed in the very element he had sought to turn against Sasuke.

Whatever stroke of luck had spared Danzo the first time would not work again. He watched as the elder god screamed and writhed in agony, overcome by the punishing black fire, before he collapsed, succumbing to the inextinguishable flame.

Sasuke once more dispelled his Susano'o, and landed before his burning body, his eyes narrowing as he watched one of the Sharingan eyes close - but he had only a minute to contemplate what that meant - when he narrowly avoided being decapitated by a spinning, wind-propelled shuriken, its offensive power greatly enhanced by the circular radius of slicing air that surrounded it. Skirting backward, he spun around, his dark cloak billowing behind him, to find that once more Danzo stood unharmed atop a column above him.

He blinked, frowning in frustration. How? His Sharingan sensed no disturbance in Danzo's chakra. That was no clone he had killed. How, then, was he revived again? Avoiding three more bullet-like attacks, he somersaulted agilely backwards and landed on the column directly opposite the elder god's.

"Amaterasu," Danzo commented. "To be expected, that you have awoken the black flames."

Sasuke's eyes flicked onto the Sharingan on his arm. Ten in total, he counted. Two of the eyes were now closed. But why?

Lunging forward, he alighted behind Danzo, stabbing at his midsection with a lightning charged Kusanagi. Danzo evaded it, aiming a well-placed kick to Sasuke's side. Sasuke spun and crossed his arms to absorb the shock of impact, before flash-stepping behind him. Danzo warped away, unleashing a rain of explosive tags at Sasuke.

The death deity blocked the explosions again with Susano'o. Summoning its full form, he bolstered a glowing arrow into its humongous cross-bow and aimed it straight at Danzo. The stone ground was smashed by the impact, sending debris shooting out in all directions.

He'd gotten him. There was no way Danzo could have possibly avoided the attack in time, Sasuke told himself. But as the smoke cleared, he was once again shocked to find the elder deity unharmed. A large, thick tree-trunk stood beside him, Susano'o's bolt wedged deeply into it. Somehow, at the last moment, Danzo had altered its course.

Enraged, Sasuke aimed three more monstrous arrows at him. The unstoppable projectiles flew forth, and through the billowing smoke he clearly observed one of them strike Danzo, impaling him into the ground. Sasuke immediately flash-stepped toward him, landing by his side, watching as he choked on his own blood. His eyes then locked onto the Sharingan embedded into Danzo's arm, watching them closely.

A third eye shut, and with it, Danzo's form vanished.

Sasuke stiffened. Genjutsu! He caught his breath, his suspicions confirmed. But it was a level of illusion that he had never encountered before, one that made it impossible to separate truth from hallucination. Just what manner of Sharingan technique was this?

"It is useless," said Danzo, who had rematerialised above him, unharmed, upon another column. Sasuke tensed, clenching his teeth.

There had to be a link between the eyes closing, and Danzo's apparent state of invincibility. Sasuke scoured his mind, trying to account for what he was seeing. What other technique was there? This was no regular illusion. His mind hurtled at the speed of light, trying to solve the mystery, to nullify Danzo's advantage.

Blurs of movement around him alerted him to the arrival of more ANBU reinforcements. They charged at him, opening scrolls from which leapt forth beast summons and flung kunai and spinning shuriken at him.

Livid at the insult of Danzo commanding yet more humans to attack him, Sasuke impatiently snarled, scaling down and cocooning himself within Susano'o's protective rib-cage once again, "You waste my time!"

Immediately the ANBU soldiers were staggered to their knees.

"Such absolute dominion over mortal souls, as is expected…" Danzo observed, regarding him cooly from his position high atop the pillar. "Yet how differently your eyes perceive the world. It is plain to see that you care not for any truths and are unwilling to recognise the danger leaving you unchecked presents to us all. You desire only to shed blood here, rendering all the sacrifices your own kin made to ensure your survival meaningless."

Sasuke froze. Danzo had knowledge of that?

As if reading his thoughts, the elder deity stated, "I know the price Itachi and Shisui paid for your miserable life. I wonder, is this what they foresaw you would be? If so, then you are without doubt their greatest mistakes."

His every word was an insult. Sasuke glowered up at him, his fury and loathing growing colder, more dangerous, more volatile by the second.

"See the pitiful state you are in, boy, hell-bent on vengeance, upon the only one amongst us who is willing to do whatever it takes to preserve peace and the balance of life and death itself. Are these the actions of one who calls himself a king? Uranus was right to deny Cronus the throne of Olympus. He saw Indra's curse within him, the very same darkness that has taken firm root within you.

"You have the chance to cooperate. And yet you fail to perceive that what I do is in the name of ensuring that Cronus cannot use you to his advantage. All your actions now prove that the Uchiha are nothing but a violent lineage too unstable in emotion and mind to be deserving of their gifts. A race that will always choose revenge over peace. Their abilities can only truly be controlled by one removed from all sentiment, one of a sound judgement-"

"I said do not not speak their names!" Sasuke snarled, aiming another gargantuan arrow from Susano'o's crossbow. It hurtled through the air, striking the column upon which Danzo stood, blowing it to smithereens. Smoke and rubble filled the area, cloaking Sasuke's surroundings briefly.

When it cleared, he noticed that the ANBU had strangely vanished around him. How could their bodies have moved when he had yet to release them from his strangle-hold? Blinking, he watched, thrown, as they suddenly dropped back into position, surrounding him once more. Again they attacked with scrolls, explosive kunai and shuriken. Again Sasuke compelled them to their knees. Danzo was back on the pillar Sasuke had destroyed but moments earlier.

Sasuke's eyebrows knitted together as the projectiles again bounced harmlessly off his Susano'o armour. He had just blown that column to pieces. What in the world was happening?

This time he stilled the ANBU soldiers' hearts entirely, causing them all to collapse lifelessly to the ground before lowering his Susano'o guard once more to preserve chakra.

"All your attempts are futile." Danzo's voice spoke, composed and untroubled, in stark contrast to Sasuke's mounting frustration. "You cannot defeat me. I allow you the freedom to move, merely as a means to see the limits of your abilities with my own eyes."

Sasuke's head whipped around to angle a stabbing glare up at the elder god. His thoughts sprinted, recognising that a change in strategy was required. Going full force with his most powerful attacks clearly wasn't working, and was only draining him of chakra sooner. Abilities that would have destroyed anyone else, were having absolutely no effect on Danzo. Sasuke needed to figure out how he was avoiding certain death after being incinerated by Amaterasu and impaled and crushed by Susano'o. Each time he seemingly perished, the reality of the situation seemed to reset, and he was returned to an unharmed, living state-

Sasuke's thoughts whirred to a sudden halt. Resetting. That was it! Danzo kept 'returning' to an unharmed state!

Understanding roared to life within him, and in that moment, he was dragged back in time, to the archive rooms of his palace, shortly after he had first ascended the throne. He'd entered hidden chambers, deeply concealed within the palace's lower floors, accessible only through covertly concealed, vaulted passageways, where he'd discovered troves of texts he'd never before encountered, locked away in dust-covered old storage chests. Drawing them out, he had leafed through thick, heavy, leather-bound books detailing the world of old, written by the hand of an unspecified author. Hungry to devour new knowledge, Sasuke had spent countless hours poring over pages upon pages of parchment that had contained forbidden techniques hailing back to the days of old. Days before even Madara had been born into existence.

Sasuke recalled that he'd come across an ability in those texts that allowed a wielder of the Sharingan to warp the boundaries of space-time, to change the course of fate itself. An ability that was the most difficult to obtain. What had it been called?

Izanagi, his cycling mind supplied. An ability first unlocked by the powerful deity and descendant of Kaguya, Indra himself. With Izanagi, any situation disadvantageous to the wielder was rewritten as if part of a dream. Anything advantageous that benefited the wielder, was kept as part of reality. It was known as the ultimate genjutsu that blurred the line between fantasy and reality, allowing its user to shape destiny according to their desires, rejecting all other realities. The eye that used Izanagi lost its light and never opened again.

The eyes on Danzo's eyes were closing, too. Danzo had ten Sharingan on his right arm that Sasuke could see. With that many eyes, he was capable of rewriting and resetting fate ten times over, extending the effects and duration of Izanagi. That was it. That had to be it. To think that an Olympian had found a way to master what even Madara himself had never acquired - what Itachi and Shisui themselves had never utilised - filled Sasuke with revulsion.

He had never seen Izanagi - or its counterpart, Izanami, that trapped a user of Izanagi into an endless loop of repeating events until they were forced to accept true reality and reject their own - the only known way of escaping from it - in use within battle before. Not just any Sharingan was capable of unleashing it. One had to possess powerful Senju cells to activate and control it. How had Danzo found a way of unlocking it, when he was not even of the Senju line? Had he betrayed that lineage too, engaged in shady dealings to acquire those cells as well?

"Fūton: Shinkūdama!" Danzo breathed in and powerfully exhaled, releasing a barrage of wind vacuum bullets at Sasuke that scattered outward in all directions. The death deity somersaulted backward to avoid them, dancing around the blasts, but they were difficult to avoid, and he released a hiss of pain when he felt the concentrated wind chakra slice at the skin of his upper arms and right cheek, drawing blood. Danzo followed up the cutting attacks with wind-propelled shuriken. Sasuke landed on the ground and caught one of the shuriken's circular openings with Kusanagi's tip with deadly accuracy, using the spinning disc of air that surrounded it to repel the other weapons that had been flung at him before tossing it straight back at Danzo, who backflipped to avoid it.

Sasuke flash-stepped toward him, attacking with an onslaught of fireballs, forcing Danzo on the defensive, before imbuing shadow shuriken with Amaterasu. He threw them at the elder deity, who evaded several, but Sasuke was swift to warp behind him and sent another shower of star-shaped weapons spinning toward Danzo. One of them succeeded in clipping him on the sleeve of his left arm, setting his body immediately alight and Sasuke counted down in his head as Danzo fell, writhing, to the ground.

When he reappeared this time on top of another column, like clockwork to the timer in Sasuke's mind, the death deity was prepared. His head lifted and his murderous gaze locked onto the Council member, and crows began to fly outward from his form, dispersing his body into feathers.

"What's this?" Danzo's visible eye narrowed. Sensing a looming presence behind him, he turned - just in time to be impaled through the chest by Sasuke.

Danzo looked down at the blade that had pierced his body. The pain was gone the moment he effortlessly dispelled the illusion.

"Hmph. If this is the best you can do, then your genjutsu ability pales in comparison to your brother's," he remarked gruffly. "A far cry from Itachi's masterful Tsukuyomi, where he was able to freely manipulate time and matter down to the last molecule within an illusion."

Sasuke flickered into existence in the air above him, aiming the tip of Kusanagi, charged with screeching Chidori, straight at the High Council member's head. Danzo evaded, hopping off the column, and rapidly formed hand-seals which caused mighty pillars of wood to rise up and entrap Sasuke within a makeshift cage.

Immediately they were set on fire, and Sasuke cleaved through the burning wooden posts with a Chidori lance, charging chakra into his Sharingan once again. His left eye was burning, and he winced against the stinging, sharp pain that throbbed through the sight organ, causing its vision to blur dangerously.

Shit! He thought to himself. Was he over-doing it? A sense of urgency filled him, setting his pounding heart climbing to an even faster rhythm. Time was not on his side. He needed to end the battle and fast. Five more eyes remained open on Danzo's arm. He had to close them, down to the last one, but Danzo was proving to be no easy opponent.

Enshrouding his form with Susano'o again, he fired three more bolts at Danzo, anticipating his course of action with his Sharingan. He caught another spinning wind disc that had been thrown at him and batted it right back at the elder deity with lethal accuracy. Danzo barely avoided having his arm sliced off, but Sasuke had already swooped in for the kill. He reappeared behind the elder and grabbed onto the wrist of his right hand before brutally severing his Sharingan arm, following up with a savage, whirling strike to Danzo's neck. Kusanagi cleaved into his flesh, spurting blood. Danzo's head lolled to the side, and he teetered sideways off-balance before slumping heavily to the ground.

Breathing deeply, Sasuke narrowed his eyes, once more dropping his armour, his gaze locking on the body sprawled out before him.

Four, three, two, one… he silently tracked, and at the final count of zero another Sharingan eye closed, losing its light before Danzo's corpse melted into the ground, nothing more than a mirage within a dreamscape that the elder deity was controlling.

Sasuke tensed, as powerful jet-streams of water were fired at him. He skirted backwards to avoid them, only for a looming shadow to fall over him, blocking out the light of the sun. His eyes widened, lifting to find that Danzo had summoned into being a humongous creature that resembled an elephantine, tapir-like chimera. A Nightmare Eater named the Baku. Its striped front and hind legs possessed fearsome, curved claws that looked sharp enough to shred through steel, and its snout resembled that of an elephant. Its coat was tan in hue and enormous tusks sprouted from its mouth, while its jaw tapered off to form a sharp point at its end.

The creature towered over him, dwarfing Sasuke's Susano'o, and as it opened its gargantuan mouth, the death deity realised that he was in trouble. An incredible suction of air pulled at his impenetrable armour, forcing Sasuke to solidify it to keep himself rooted firmly in place, compelling him to expend even more chakra. He clenched his teeth with effort, feeling the overwhelming pull of gravity shake Susano'o's barrier, causing it to rattle loudly all around him. He could feel the floor quaking from the force of the suction as rocks and rubble were devoured into the Baku's open mouth.

The Nigtmare Eater was dragging everything into its yawning chasm of a mouth, making it impossible for Sasuke to move. He sensed Danzo behind him, waiting for the spine of his shield to falter with his dwindling chakra levels. He could neither turn to attack Danzo, nor move to attack the Baku.

Gritting his teeth with the effort to maintain his chakra flow in order to avoid the vacuum suctioning him into the colossal creature's jaws, Sasuke lifted his fingers, sucking in a deep breath before exhaling forcefully, sending a colossal Katon fireball raging toward the Nightmare Eater. It slammed into its open mouth, drawing a roar of agony from the summon, encasing its form in flame. It dissipated moments later and without turning Sasuke commanded an armoured fist to slam down upon Danzo, forcing him to leap off the pillar. The hand shot out, swiping at Danzo midair, disturbing his balance as he began to fall into descent.

Sasuke was waiting for him. Pivoting, he aimed a vicious Chidori lance at the elder god, skewering him in the centre of his chest before Danzo could move to avoid it. His body crashed to the ground, and once more, Sasuke counted down from a minute in his head. At sixty seconds, Danzo's motionless body vanished from sight.

The armour around his body flickered, reflecting his fluctuating chakra levels. Panting heavily, Sasuke allowed it to dissipate, lifting a hand to his stinging left eye. His entire skull throbbed terribly, and a cold sweat had broken over him. It was too soon, he knew, to over-exert himself in another physically taxing battle. Even though Itachi's chakra had allowed him to fully recover his own reserves, he didn't know the repercussions of straining his eyes again so soon, especially now that the process of awakening the Rinnegan had begun. When he pulled his palm away, he was shocked to find crimson liquid smeared upon his skin, and even more alarmed when his vision began to blur again, welling with fresh blood.

Another sharp stab radiating in the centre of his iris stole the breath in his lungs. His eye felt like it was on fire, and he fought the horrifying instinct to claw it out, covering the organ with his palm once more. It was a piercing, eye-watering sensation, akin to the heat of a fire burning too close to one's eyes.

How many Sharingan were left in Danzo's arm? How much longer could he use his eyes at maximum potential?

"I have seen enough," Danzo's voice echoed above him coldly. "You are precisely the disappointment I suspected you would be." He lifted his hands. "It is time to bring this little experiment to an end."

Sasuke fluidly leapt off the column just before Danzo destroyed it with flying, explosive tags, but not before thick boughs of wood criss-crossed before him, knocking him aerially off-balance. The death deity cleaved through them rapidly with Chidori bolts, sending a rain of wood scattering all over the ground in all directions. Tinder for flames, Sasuke thought to himself, quickly swiping his thumb across his lips to draw blood and call upon his hawk summon. Garuda materialised in a plume of smoke and faithfully caught his master, soaring through the air, gliding to avoid the various elemental projectile attacks Danzo flung at him.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke focused chakra into his right eye, unleashing Amaterasu that spread like wildfire, tracking Danzo's movements. In an attempt to slow the ferocious intensity of Sasuke's attack down, Danzo destroyed several more of the surrounding pillars, seeking to shroud himself from view with smoke. A disdainful sneer tugged at Sasuke's lips as he spied an opening, crouching low on Garuda's back as his eyes followed his target.

There was nowhere to hide.

Calling upon Susano'o once again, he bolstered an Amaterasu charged arrow to his armour's crossbow, and let it loose. It whistled through the air, and slammed down on the arena floor, setting the wood that had fallen onto the ground alight with crackling black fire, causing it to spread rapidly so that most of the ground was covered with the inextinguishable flame.

He glimpsed Danzo, burning amidst the billowing smoke. Three eyes remained open, but Sasuke was running out of time, and running out of chakra. There was no way of knowing whether Danzo had any other replacement Sharingan he could use, and Sasuke knew he couldn't afford to take any chances. Every attack needed to be deliberately placed and timed, accurate. His gaze jumped left and right, seeking out the elder. Not on the ground, he realised. He would have to reappear - there!

Without missing a beat, Sasuke leapt off Garuda and blurred into existence right behind Danzo, drawing Kusanagi back, ready to run him through the throat with his trusted blade. But he felt a sudden resistance grip his body, paralysing him in place.

Sasuke blinked, stunned. Danzo hadn't even turned to face him, but his sword-arm had frozen in midair, and no matter how hard he tried to move, his limbs would not respond.

What… is happening? He thought in alarm. It was as though he had been cast into stone by a gorgon, incapable of even the slightest of movements. His body was no longer under his control. Clenching his teeth, Sasuke struggled against the invisible binds, but no matter how hard he wrestled to wrench himself loose, the unseen chains would not relinquish their hold on him.

Danzo turned around to face him calmly, slipping a scroll out from beneath the sleeve of his left arm. Unrolling it before Sasuke, he held it up for him to see.

"It was not only one binding agreement you signed," he informed the death deity. "Your blood is also present on another. One that has granted me the power to paralyse your body, and seal away the chakra flow to your eyes."

Sasuke stared at the parchment in horror, his eyes fixing on the spot of blood that underlined the terms of the contract.

I pledge, by oath of blood, he read with sickening dread, to afford the wielder of this scroll the power to obstruct the flow of chakra to my Sharingan upon invoking this contract, sealing its use until it falls into their possession.

I pledge, by oath of blood, to afford the wielder of this scroll the power to still my movements upon invoking this contract, to prevent my hand inflicting harm upon them.

Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief. Destructive fury bubbled through his veins, a suffocating maelstrom of malice, stifling in its intensity, so overpowering that he felt his entire body thrum from it. The emotion rendered him breathless as he sensed the chakra flow cutting off from his eyes, returning his irises to onyx.

Danzo had tricked him. He had deceived them all. Abused his power and rank, to manipulate Sasuke into unknowingly signing another contract without his knowledge. The God of Death was incensed at himself - and yet how could he have possibly anticipated or known what low levels Danzo was prepared to stoop to, to obtain an unfair advantage? He knew little of the High Council members besides Chiyo. He had assumed them all to be the pinnacle, shining upholders of surface-folk laws.

How misguided. How wrong he had been in his assumptions. It seemed that Madara was not the only corrupt Titan in existence.

Why had Chiyo allowed him, then, to walk into a trap? His heart slammed against his rib-cage, the sinking realisation that he was well and truly helpless - unable to rely on the very organ that allowed him to summon his strongest offensive and defensive attacks hitting him full force. No matter how hard he tried to refocus the chakra in his pathways toward his eyes, he felt a block, an obstruction preventing it from reaching his irises, effectively sealing the Sharingan from use.

Damn it... he thought, cold beads of sweat rolling down his forehead as he strained against the concrete hold that kept him suspended in place. Something akin to panic began to whisper through his veins.

"A disappointment," Danzo repeated, his voice brittle, devoid of any emotion. "Why Itachi and Shisui threw their lives away to protect such trash, is beyond comprehension. You are the living embodiment of all the hatred that lives in the hearts of the Uchiha. You may have fooled the rest into believing you will stand against Cronus. And perhaps you will - but for your own selfish reasons, that have nothing to do with protecting the surface and its peace. If it came to choosing to save your world or ours, we all know which you would allow to burn."

He calmly rolled the scroll and slotted it into the rope-cord belt tied around his robe. Then he reached out and relieved Sasuke of his blade.

"See how vulnerable you are, without your Sharingan," he stated levely. "Strip the Uchiha of their eyes, and they have nothing left. Nothing that makes them even remotely remarkable. It is your Sharingan that affords you your gifts, Sasuke. And yet it is also a dark curse that corrupts the blood. That is why, it is only safe in the hands of one strong enough, sound enough in mind and removed of weak sentiment to wield it. Fret not. I will take good care of your eyes. You do not need them in your lightless kingdom. They are not required to rule the dead."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, enraged. The anger that blazed within him was a vindictive, malevolent force so potent, that it tore the chakra from his curse seal free without conscious thought. He felt it explode through his veins, and with an infuriated, strangled yell, he drew from its reserves, straining against the barriers that prevented chakra from reaching his eyes. In that moment, Sasuke did not care how much he was recklessly using. His eyes, locked murderously onto Danzo, glared death at him, potent enough to still his heart had the elder god been mortal. There was nothing he wanted or desired more in that second than to rip Danzo apart, limb from limb, to incinerate him to ash, to maim and disfigure and crush and slice him to pieces. To carve out his insides in the most barbaric fashion imaginable and gouge out every stolen eyeball he possessed, to tear out his tongue and impale Kusanagi right through his skull.

Danzo drew his arm back, ready to strike Sasuke down with his own sword - when a black, malicious aura suddenly pulsed around the death deity's form. A moment later, it detonated outwards, sending a startled Danzo flying backward, Kusanagi clattering from his hand to the ground. Four large, hissing white snakes shot out from Sasuke's shoulders, striking viciously at the elder. Caught off guard, Danzo was snapped by two pairs of clamping venomous fangs, straight through his neck, as the others swiftly wrapped their scaled bodies around him, binding his arms and strangling him until the poison had taken effect.

Another Sharingan closed on his arm. As soon as Danzo's body fell to the floor, Sasuke released an incensed yell, tearing at the invisible bindings on his limbs, mentally heaving at his body to respond.

He needed to act at that moment to free himself. In seconds, Danzo would reappear and not hesitate again to take his eyes.

Move, he willed himself. Move!

He dragged out more chakra from the curse seal, and compelled his body to act. Something suddenly shifted. A strange feeling overcame him, and he felt himself sinking through the ground, the curse chakra overwhelming him, dragging him down. The displacing sensation of shedding out of his own skin made his entire body crawl, as he slipped through the earth itself, leaving behind a white, empty shell of his form just as a restored Danzo began to rematerialise.

Beneath the ground, Sasuke's body was temporarily back under his command, released through the loop-hole the body replacement technique had provided for him. An unexpected lifeline afforded to him by foreign chakra that he would not waste. Immediately, he clasped his hands together, rapidly forming seals. In the air, Garuda, who still hovered in the skies, released a shrill cry.

Danzo's visible eye narrowed in displeasure. Damn the Uchiha brat. He had cunningly broken free by utilising Orochimaru's defensive body substitute technique, which would allow him to remain free until he resurfaced. Who would have thought that the chakra of the very daemon who had assisted him in obtaining the Sharingan would prove to work against him? The curse marks had spread over Sasuke's body like wildfire. Danzo had not anticipated him to call upon the corrupt chakra in his present state. It was a great risk. The moment he depleted himself, would leave his body vulnerable to Orochimaru's possession.

Danzo was no fool. He knew the serpent desired Sasuke's body as a vessel for himself. He could not allow the Sharingan to fall into Orochimaru's hands - which meant he had to stem its flow within Sasuke's body.

His gaze scanned the remaining columns around him. Where was Sasuke? He had vanished, leaving behind a sickly white pile of freshly shed snake-skin. The feel of cold scales wrapping around his ankles startled Danzo. He glanced down, tensing, just in time to see a large white snake shoot out from the pillar he stood upon. He leapt back - but was intercepted by Garuda who had swept down, retrieved Sasuke's blade and timed his flight, flinging the sword with his powerful talons straight toward Danzo at such speed that it was impossible to defend against in time. It sliced through his right forearm, sending blood spurting into the air as half of the limb was severed.

Danzo clenched his teeth, re-alighting upon the pillar, his arm intact once more. Only one Sharingan eye remained in his hand. One last chance to use Izanagi to reset and reshape fate to his will. And this time, he would not be caught out by any further serpentine attacks. Once he took Sasuke's eyes, he planned to replant more Sharingan into his arm. So long as he had them, he would always be capable of controlling the path fate took.

Sasuke finally re-appeared, standing on top of the pillar opposite him. His entire body was streaked with the blotched ink of the curse seal, raging out of control. But his dark eyes were locked onto Danzo.

Danzo lifted his hand, immediately commanding the seal to paralyse his body once again. Sasuke froze in its hold, as expected. The elder god alighted before him, and closed in, slowly reaching out with his right hand.

"You will not escape me, this time." He said gruffly, stepping forward, his fingers pressing around Sasuke's left eye.

The death deity did not flinch. Those bottomless ebony depths speared through Danzo, ice-cold, blistering with open hatred.

'You're finished,' he telepathically communicated.

Danzo paused at the words, his fingers closing around Sasuke's eyeball, ready to violently tear it out - when his heart leapt in his chest at the feel of unbearable, freezing, searing heat at his feet. He glanced down, to find that a white snake had slithered behind him. It was alight with the black flames of Amaterasu and the hem of his robe was on fire.

His eyebrows drew together in confusion. How? How could Sasuke have possibly used his eyes against him, when they had already been sealed? When the contract prevented his hand from harming Danzo? His gaze flew back up to Sasuke. His eyes continued to burn into his, and Danzo realised his mistake far too late. The floor of the arena was still blazing with fire. Sasuke had commanded one of the snakes to set itself alight and used it to attack Danzo in the absence of his ability to expel Amaterasu from his own Sharingan. He had cleverly found a way to hurt Danzo, without attacking him directly himself.

The muscles in Danzo's jaw tensed as the flames began to spread to his skin. He still had one chance left. But when the fire continued to climb higher along his body, and the scalding pain did not abate, a foreign emotion exploded into being within him. Panic.

The scroll at Danzo's waist had caught fire, incinerating, the heat of Amaterasu so immense that it was capable of destroying the binding contract, overwhelming the protective spells placed upon the parchment that prevented ordinary flames from damaging it. The moment it burned away, Sasuke was wrenched free of his binds. Garuda screeched above him, throwing Kusanagi down to his master. Sasuke caught it, and stepped toward a convulsing Danzo who was struggling to douse out the flames. It was no use. Only Sasuke's Sharingan could save him. The very organ he had tried to steal.

"I said…" Sasuke repeated, his tone chilling. "You're finished."

"H-how?!" he ground out. "I have… one eye left!"

"Look again." Sasuke sneered, his voice dripping acid.

Danzo's eye flicked to his arm. To his horror, he saw that all the eyes had in fact closed. Understanding slammed into him. Sasuke had cast a genjutsu upon him at some point, and allowed him to believe that one of his eyes was still open, when in fact, he had already expended them all through his repeated use of Izanagi. His over-confidence, bordering on arrogance, he realised, had severely cost him. He had severely underestimated Sasuke's battle strategy, reading his attacks as rash, heedless wastes of his chakra reserves, overlooking his ability to surreptitiously cast blinding illusions. A skill not so unlike Itachi's.

They were brothers, after all. And he had made a fatal mistake. He had forgotten the fundamental differences between a true Sharingan wielder - and one who merely adopted the organ as his own.

Danzo's heart pounded. He lifted a hand and tore the bandages away from his right eye, confirming Sasuke's suspicions as he revealed yet another implanted Sharingan stolen from the Uchiha. He had just enough chakra left to activate his final technique. There was no saving his body, he knew. The only choice he had now, was to take Sasuke down with him.

"I will not lay my life down for naught!" Danzo rasped, rapidly weaving hand-seals. "I will end the cursed lineage of the Uchiha here. I cannot... allow... your gifts to fall to the enemy. You will be stopped here!"

The fingers of Sasuke's right hand clenched, and shadow cords immediately wrapped around Danzo's body, preventing him from moving any further. He stood locked helplessly in place, the crackling black fire zigzagging higher up his torso, his mouth agape in pain. Blood spilled from his lips. Still he battled to complete the seals.

Sasuke stepped forward, eyes widening in fury. Danzo convulsed as the death deity ruthlessly stabbed Kusanagi straight through his right eyeball, destroying the Sharingan he possessed.

"This is for Shisui," Sasuke hissed, tearing his blade back, causing blood to gush and spatter outwards from the horrific wound, before slashing his sword across the elder's throat. Danzo choked at the barbaric strike to his jugular, unable to move as crimson spurted into the air. Without blinking, Sasuke savagely drove Kusanagi straight through the centre of his chest. Into Danzo's heart, the same organ he had broken in Sasuke's own brother, in forcing him to slaughter his own mother and father. Danzo vomited blood, and fought against the urge to howl in pain. He would not give Sasuke that satisfaction.

"For Itachi," he continued coldly, roughly wrenching his sword free, before gripping Danzo's right arm in a vice-like hold and severing it at the shoulder. Ripping it away from his body, he then proceeded to stab his sword ferociously through his open mouth. The blade impaled Danzo's head, splitting cleanly through the other side.

"And this," Sasuke finished, his tone hollow, unfeeling, "is for all the filth you spoke of the Uchiha."

The elder god's face twitched in agony. The black flames had now reached his shoulders, the burns sustained to his body unhealable. He could no longer feel his lower limbs, charred to the bone. Sasuke yanked his blade back, satisfied that he had inflicted enough damage - only to watch as a black gravitational ball began surrounding the grievously wounded surface deity. It began to pulse and expand outwards, and Sasuke felt a sudden, strong gravitational pull tug at his body. His eyes widened, realisation slamming into his gut like a physical punch, making it knot unpleasantly.

An explosive sealing attack of some kind, he faintly registered, immediately retreating backwards. Danzo's last-ditch, desperate attempt to kill him before he succumbed to his own eternal demise. But the gravitational sphere continued to grow, devouring rocks and debris and everything around them into it. Danzo's body had completely vanished at its epicentre, replaced by a howling orb that sucked objects in with the power of an inescapable vacuum.

Sasuke, precariously low on his own chakra and with the curse seal still swarming over his skin, flash-stepped backward and leapt off the pillar, onto Garuda's back. His faithful summon caught him and flapped his mighty wings, but the force of suction was too great, and Sasuke could feel the majestic hawk struggling to break free of it.

His heart thundered uncontrollably within his chest as his mind hurtled to find a way to escape in one piece. The gravitational pull was too strong, and he didn't possess enough chakra to call upon Susano'o to shield himself and Garuda. His body was exhausted from the curse raging through his blood, and he knew he couldn't risk dropping his reserves to any lower levels. But he would not damn his summon to a needless end. Dispelling Garuda, he called instead on Aoda, who exploded into being on the arena floor. His gargantuan size, Sasuke knew, would protect them both from being drawn in so easily.

Aoda opened his mighty mouth, swallowing Sasuke protectively within it. Then he burrowed into the ground, bearing his master swiftly to safety, just as the sphere finally detonated, destroying the entirety of the arena and taking what remained of Danzo with it. Within the protective confines of Aoda's tightly clamped jaws, Sasuke felt the ground around them violently rumble, and the giant snake dove deeper to avoid damage from the aftershocks.

Aoda soon resurfaced back within the forest, depositing Sasuke safely down on the ground, before vanishing in a large plume of smoke. Hunched over on the grass, Sasuke lifted his head at the ear-splitting sound of the gravitational sphere exploding, sending aggressive tremors through the surrounding area that he could feel shocking the earth beneath him. It was accompanied by a great gust of wind that shook the boughs of the trees above his head, before everything once again grew eerily still.

Sasuke panted breathlessly, lowering his forehead to the ground, willing the curse seal back with what shreds remained of his own chakra. Orochimaru's abilities had saved him this time - an unlikely saviour - but not without a cost. He had once again come precariously close to allowing it to take over completely and almost lost control of his body entirely - without Itachi's chakra available to save him, this time. It had been a great gamble, a perilous risk, but one that had paid off. Sasuke acknowledged that he had gotten lucky in ending the battle just in time. Minutes longer and he likely would not have made it.

He gritted his teeth, clutching a palm to his left eye as he forced himself to sit upright. The pain was near unbearable. Was it the Rinnegan merging into his Sharingan that was responsible, or had he simply over-exerted himself? He was too tired to move, too emotionally and physically spent to heal or warp himself. Releasing a ragged breath, he collapsed onto his back on the forest floor, staring dazedly up at the thick, leafy green canopy above him with one open eye.

Danzo's death was only one half the revenge he sought - but it was a start to making peace with the demons that had haunted him for millennia.

Itachi… Shisui… Sasuke thought numbly to himself, his heart constricting deeply within his chest as he watched the sunlight filter through the leaves high above him.

I…

I did it… for you…

The sound of footsteps walking through grass drew his attention to the ANBU that had alighted on the forest floor. Sasuke blinked, his left hand falling away from his eye as he turned his head. He winced, allowing it to open, and realised dimly that he was surrounded.

"Sasuke Uchiha. You are charged with the murder of the honourable High Councillor Lord Danzo." One of the masked men said. "The penalty for this heinous crime is death."

Sasuke blinked, one corner of his lips curling at the irony of the word. Honourable? The brainwashed fools - and their now deceased leader - did not know the meaning of the word. But he barely had enough strength to sit himself upright, let alone cripple another army of ANBU puppets. He couldn't afford to waste another drop of chakra, not when he was barely managing to keep the curse seal from ravaging his system entirely.

He stabbed Kusanagi into the earth and with great effort, dragged himself into a sitting position again as the ANBU reared back and lunged at him, extending chakra nets to ensnare and capture him. Time seemed to slow down around him at that moment, as Sasuke watched them close in - just before a swirling vortex appeared right before him and dragged him inside its gravitational pull.

---

~x~

---

He was flung out of the vortex, straight into a pair of strong, sturdy arms that instantly caught him, preventing him from stumbling face-first to the stone floor.

"Sasuke!" A familiar, loud voice yelled, followed by a feminine gasp. Sasuke winced. Naruto was vocal enough to wake the dead.

"I've got you, Sasuke," Kakashi's voice murmured reassuringly above him. Sasuke sagged tiredly against him in relief, too drained to be stubborn and fight against his hold, and allowed himself to be lowered onto his back on a low bed. The room was spinning around him. He closed his eyes, fighting against the rising tides of nausea crashing within him and the coldness that was beginning to seep into his limbs as a result of the curse seal's venomous chakra raging through his blood-stream.

The soothing warmth of healing chakra began to seep into him. He opened his eyes in surprise, to find Sakura's large emerald eyes staring down at him with open worry. She was perched by his bedside, and had started to heal him. Behind her, Chiyo's crinkled eyes smiled down at him.

"What a dreadful state you are in, little King," she admonished, clucking her tongue, mild amusement in her tone.

Sasuke grunted, too drained to angle a withering glare at her, or to snap back that she had known precisely what would happen when she'd allowed him to be whisked away by Danzo to begin with. He closed his eyes again, welcoming the comforting warmth of Sakura's healing.

"Sasuke..." Tears welled in Sakura's eyes. The sheer relief at seeing him alive - albeit severely exhausted and in a bad state - was almost suffocating. Once again, angry black markings blemished his skin. Her heart raced as she worked to soothe his discomfort as quickly as she could, channeling the healing orb from the new arm-brace Chiyo had given to her over the three hours of Sasuke's absence. Three torturous hours she had spent restlessly pacing about in agitation, plagued with worry over his well-being.

"Sasuke! Are you alright?!" Naruto's voice joined hers, laced with anxiety. He peered over their shoulders, regarding the death deity with thinly-veiled alarm, noting the pallor of his skin, the way the curse marks were shifting and snaking beneath his flesh. "Those black marks! They're swimming all over him!"

"That's Orochimaru's chakra," Kakashi observed with concern. "It's almost completely consuming him. Let me renew the binding seal."

There was movement around him, and through half-lidded eyes Sasuke glimpsed Kakashi hovering over him. Hands pulled at his right arm, and he felt the masked deity bolster his seal. Almost immediately, the corrupt chakra began to regress, as the combination of healing and fortifying the workings of the restrictive seal began to kick in. Sasuke released a quiet breath as he felt the burning venom in his veins retract, pushed back by the light of Sakura's cleansing chakra - before he once again succumbed to unconsciousness.

"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, alarmed. Sakura gasped, and pumped more of her chakra desperately into his body.

"Calm yourselves," Chiyo assured them. "He's merely overexerted himself. He should come back around, soon."

"There has to be a way to free him from this," Sakura turned pleading eyes up to Chiyo.

"Only Orochimaru himself can remove it - or it can be drawn from his body by the use of a sealing blade that unfortunately is no longer at our disposal," the ancient goddess supplied.

"So that's it? He's just stuck with that gross creep's curse thing... forever?" Naruto's features contorted in disgust.

"Once he awakens the Rinnegan, he will have little trouble hunting down the serpent and compelling him to undo the seal," Chiyo answered. "He simply needs to learn to control it better in the meanwhile."

A silence settled over the room, in which they all watched Sasuke sleep.

"Danzo?" Kakashi finally murmured questioningly.

"Is no more," Chiyo confirmed.

Sakura and Naruto exchanged nervous glances, noting that she didn't appear bothered or troubled in the slightest. If anything, Chiyo appeared satisfied.

"Aren't you… even a bit upset?" Sakura asked hesitantly, not removing her hands from where they hovered over Sasuke's chest. It rose and fell steadily, a sure indication that he was simply depleted of energy due to the curse seal's effects, and merely resting. "I mean, he was on the Council with you for a long time?"

Chiyo released a derisive snort. "And what insufferable company he was, indeed. No. Danzo has had his comeuppance for a while. I warned him not to meddle in forbidden things. In matters he had no business placing his nose into, and yet he would not listen. I do not mourn arrogant fools who choose to disregard all counsel and readily march to their own dooms."

"Is… he going to be punished?" Naruto frowned, glancing down at Sasuke uncertainly. "Are you going to put him to trial again? Because that isn't fair, 'ttebayo!"

"Danzo attacked him first!" Sakura concurred.

Chiyo chuckled dryly. "Would I have allowed Sasuke to pursue him if that were the case?" She raised a sardonic eyebrow at them. "No, indeed. Allow me to handle Homura and Koharu. It is time for Danzo's treachery to be known - his crimes not only against the Uchiha - but the betrayal of our trust, in turn. He would have stopped at nothing to eliminate the threat he perceived. Sasuke acted merely in self-defence. Danzo had no right to seek to relieve the Underworld's King of his birthright."

"That bastard," Naruto's hands balled into fists. "I hope Sasuke really kicked his ass and made him suffer."

"He is dead," Chiyo sighed. "I believe that is the ultimate suffering for a god as controlling as Danzo was. To be incapable of influencing anything else is the greatest loss, is it not?"

"So that's why you let him go," Sakura shook her head. "You wanted this outcome. You knew it would happen."

"I wish you'd tell us, instead of letting us freak out, you know?" Naruto grumbled.

Chiyo's eyes glinted with mirth. With a short chortling laugh, she patted Naruto's shoulder affectionately.

"Come," she said. "Let the Little King rest. We have preparations to make."

---

~x~

---

When Sasuke regained consciousness, he found only Kakashi was in the room with him, and that Naruto, Chiyo and Sakura had departed. A part of him was relieved for the small mercy. His emotions were still raw. His mind still spinning from everything he hadn't had the chance to fully process. He needed space. Time to think, to recollect himself, to weather the storm within. He couldn't deal with either Sakura or Naruto's emotional fussing at that moment. Kakashi, ever cool, level-headed and collected, wouldn't be so pushy.

The masked deity had been reading his novel, seated in the chair by Sasuke's bedside in silent, patient vigil. He looked up when Sasuke stirred, immediately bookmarking, closing, then slotting the small book inside the inner pocket of his dark grey, padded gilet jacket as he turned his undivided attention onto the Underworld's King.

"Sasuke," he greeted with a nod. "How are you feeling?"

Sasuke slowly sat up. His throat was dry, and his head throbbed, the lingering effects of a nasty headache. Most of the other discomfort in his limbs had waned thanks to Sakura's adept healing skills, and he saw that the curse inkings were contained again, but the worst of the pain remained concentrated in his left eye. He winced as he opened it, reflexively slapping his left palm over the sight organ.

Wordlessly, Kakashi extended a glass of ambrosia to him. Sasuke didn't think twice about accepting it, almost greedily downing its contents. The headache almost immediately eased, and the stabbing pain in his eye ebbed to a dull ache.

Kakashi peered at him closely. When Sasuke merely scowled lightly at his staring, he ventured, "It seems the Rinnegan might manifest soon. Not a lot is known about its awakening, given how rare it is, but all recounts I've read state that it's not the most pleasant of transformations. Doesn't look like you're enjoying it, either." His lone eye creased into a wry smile.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted crabbily, handing the glass back to him.

"You'll be fortunate to awaken it in one eye," Kakashi mused. "Apparently activating it in both is an even rarer occurrence."

Sasuke resisted the urge to grimace at the mere thought. One eye was more than enough. He didn't want to go through the agonising, thoroughly unpleasant process again in a hurry. One Rinnegan would doubtlessly afford him incredible, powerful abilities that far surpassed his Sharingan - but it wasn't a gift so easily obtained.

Madara had been right. In pain and blood it manifested - literally as well as figuratively.

"So, Danzo is dead," Kakashi commented lightly. "I wonder how deeply his treachery ran."

Sasuke was silent. He knew he would have to inform the others of what had happened in the battle that had unfolded. His dark eyes shifted to Kakashi, who was watching him. Clearly awaiting a further explanation.

It was strange to look at Kakashi now, the shroud removed from Sasuke's vision for the first time in millennia. This deity whom he had so deeply despised just weeks ago, was now one the death deity recalled he had sincerely respected in the past. Kakashi had been his teacher. The immortal who had taught him the Chidori and gifted him with many blades that Sasuke knew he still had in his own personal collection. How many times had the lightning technique aided him in combat? He remembered everything about Kakashi. Lazy afternoons spent perched in tree boughs, listening in exasperated boredom to Kakashi lecturing him about something or the other from the ground below. Their frequent sparring sessions. Kakashi schooling him, and causing him to land unceremoniously on his rear more times than Sasuke liked to admit.

Life had been so much simpler back then. He'd had no responsibilities, other than patrolling rounds in the Underworld. Sasuke swallowed thickly. He knew why, now. It was because all the burdens had been shouldered by Itachi and Shisui instead, and his parents, who had done everything in their power to shield him, to allow him peace of mind and freedom for as long as possible. Knowing what mountainous burdens lay in wait for him in future.

Kakashi had almost been someone Sasuke had once viewed as an uncle of sorts. He had trusted his wisdom and counsel once. As he stared at the masked deity, he wondered if he could ever bring himself to do so again. He had no reason to hate him any more. But his heart had suffered enough with bonds. It was hard enough, letting just Sakura worm her way in. Could he find it in himself to truly rely on anyone else?

His defensive mechanisms, enforced from thousands of years of pain and suffering, rejected the notion. Scorned it. To rely on others was weakness. And yet Kakashi had saved him from being caught by the ANBU. Whether Sasuke chose to rely on him or not, he knew that Kakashi would stand beside him, and vouch for him.

He always had. The fool, Sasuke bitterly thought. What did his old teacher see, when he looked at him?

"What happened?" Kakashi asked in a low voice, not really expecting an answer. And so he was pleasantly surprised to receive one.

"He implanted Sharingan stolen from my kin into his right arm," Sasuke finally replied. "He used the eyes to cast Izanagi." His hands closed into fists as he further disclosed, his voice dripping with disgust, "He sent one of his ANBU puppets to inform Madara that Itachi and Shisui were working in league with Zeus."

Kakashi's eyebrows arched in surprise as he contemplated the revelations. "Ah. I see." Then he shook his head, and sighed. "Then he betrayed us all by jeopardizing our efforts. I knew there had to be a reason why Minato did not trust him. Everyone believed Danzo when he framed them to be traitors. But Minato would not speak of it. He knew they were in earnest."

"And you." It wasn't a question. Sasuke stared steadily ahead, not meeting his old mentor's eyes.

Kakashi regarded him pensively. "Well. I hadn't the pleasure of knowing Shisui much, and only spoke to Itachi briefly in passing a few times. But I always found them to be respectful and honourable. I have never thought ill of them, Sasuke. Or any Uchiha... save for Cronus."

Sasuke was silent at that. His eyes remained lowered.

"It looks like Danzo's greed got to him in the end." Kakashi went on. "He had an obsession with controlling everything. He always wanted to be the one to call all the shots at meetings, to have the final say in any matter. In his head, he believed he was protecting the balance of life and death and lots of the decisions the High Council made - questionable ones - were authorised by him. His views were certainly misguided. And without doubt, prejudiced toward your clan."

He paused, before adding, "He tried to take your eyes, didn't he, Sasuke? The same way he tried to steal Shisui's? To stop your gifts falling into the wrong hands, instead of trusting you to have the strength and soundness of mind to wield them for the greater good?"

Sasuke said nothing. He didn't need to affirm it. The way his expression darkened was answer enough.

"Then you were right to end him for all those reasons," Kakashi sighed. "I suspect Chiyo will be telling others the truth already, the way she's already told Naruto, Sakura and I, but regardless - we support you."

There was another long pause between them, in which Sasuke swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"There are no guards stationed outside this room," Kakashi informed him. "Meet us in the assembly chamber for the unsealing ceremony, whenever you're ready. They'll be dispelling your binding contract first."

He got to his feet, preparing to leave. As he reached the door, Sasuke's voice rang out behind him.

"Why, Kakashi?"

Kakashi waited for him to expand on his question - even though he already suspected what the death deity was asking.

"Why do you and Naruto cling onto a memory?"

He meant the memory of his past self. Of what they had all once been, in a time long gone and forever changed. Something that time and warped memories and millennia of hatred had shattered on his end - but never on Kakashi's or Naruto's.

It was unsettling for Sasuke. Thoroughly disconcerting and frustrating, how they held onto hope that he would return to them. As if he had some place by their side, as if he belonged there somehow, even after everything that had happened. How could there be so much bad blood between them, and yet they refused to think ill of him in any way? To the extent they still chose to stand beside him and support him in the face of scrutiny from their own friends? Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura. Why were they so ready to believe and trust in him?

"Well," Kakashi exhaled thoughtfully. "I suppose that's what people do," he surprised Sasuke by responding quietly, "when they consider people their family."

With that he exited the room and closed the door, leaving a troubled Sasuke staring bewilderedly after him.

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~x~

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Author's Note

Next chapter is the unsealing, and soon comes to a close the third arc of this story. Only two more arcs left! There will be another mini-time skip following this