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Chapter XCII
An eye imbued with power complete,
Ravenous - in time will deplete,
And sacrifice all vision's light,
Before it lends its hallowed sight,
A most coveted prize, the rarest treasure,
Its gifts divine, without equal measure.
~x~
The shadows whisked them to the cave just outside Chiyo's hut. As Sasuke withdrew his arm from around her waist, Sakura reached for his hand, grasping it before he could push aside the heavy, leafy curtain that marked the entrance to the ancient crone's dwelling place. He paused midstep, looking questioningly back over his shoulder at her.
Meeting his obsidian eyes, Sakura murmured, "I'm sure she'd tell us everything if she could. We have to try and ask the right questions."
He held her gaze for a moment, before offering a brief nod. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, and together they stepped into the hut.
They found Chiyo seated in the chair beside the fireplace, her ebony pet cat curled sleepily at her feet. The large tawny owl in its open, hanging bird-cage ruffled its feathers at their arrival, staring at them with huge, unblinking eyes. Something was bubbling in the cauldron suspended above the crackling hearth - a potent mixture that filled the space with an almost over-powering herbal aroma.
"You have recovered well," Chiyo croaked as they drew to a stop in the centre of the hut.
"Yes," Sakura cast Sasuke a fleeting glance, before adding, "Thank you for helping me."
Chiyo chuckled dryly as she continued to mix the brew with a large wooden spoon. "It was not my magic that roused you, child."
Unlike Sakura, Sasuke wished to waste no time exchanging pleasantries of any sort, for he immediately began, "You knew Shisui wove his chakra into the seal and that it would restore her."
"I did," Chiyo agreed calmly. "Though it took somewhat longer than I anticipated for its effects to manifest."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "What other ploys have he and Itachi left behind that you have spoken nothing of?"
The goddess's frank reply surprised them both. "Those were the only remnants of their chakra that they sealed within you both to aid you - with the exception of the crow, and the feather that you have already harnessed. They have left nothing else intended for you."
The death deity paused, deeply suspicious that she appeared to be cooperating - all too willingly. "Why did you not tell me?" he demanded.
"You have an eye to awaken, if I am not mistaken?"
Sasuke glowered at the back of her head, silently irked by the offhanded blitheness of her manner. Her rhetorical question hung oppressively in the air, underlining the unspoken point that she had purposefully chosen not to tell him in order to increase his internal agitation. There was no doubt that the stress he had experienced would have been considerably less jarring had he been notified beforehand that a failsafe had been interwoven into the seal. Still, her acknowledgement caused his suspicions to flare even more wildly.
She was notorious for concealing information, and he wondered how much of that was truly down to her function, and how much was down to convenience and her own, hidden agendas. She had watched over him and guided him. Despite her frustrating nature, he was certain she could be trusted. But the other High Council members had harboured secrets. How did they know Chiyo didn't hold her own? Sasuke had been acquainted with her since the aftermath of the war - but how much did he really know the real Hecate?
"Two eyes," Sakura corrected. "I was able to talk to Shisui while I was unconscious, and he told me that the eye we need to remove my seal can't appear until Sasuke activates the Rinnegan first."
"That is so," Chiyo finally set the spoon aside and turned in her seat to face them.
"If you knew of its hindrance all along," Sasuke stalked closer toward her, his gaze simmering with accusation, "then why allow me to ascend the summit?"
"Shisui said that Sasuke should've never been able to meet with Cronus," Sakura added. "He said it was forbidden."
"That is also correct," Chiyo stated, resting her age-worn hands atop her staff.
Sakura licked her lips, trying to word what she wanted to say as delicately and respectfully as possible. "He wondered why Sasuke wasn't stopped."
"I do not intervene in personal choices," she reminded them.
"But..." Sakura shook her head in confusion. "It wouldn't have been an interference."
"You would break no pact by enforcing the law," Sasuke's tone was blunt and hard-edged.
Chiyo regarded them pensively for a few seconds. Then she sighed lightly. "It is true, I did have it within my power to compel you to remain. You may see it as a transgression of sorts, for my failure to intervene and uphold the law as an esteemed member of the High Council.
"But do not forget; I am first and foremost the Goddess of Crossroads. I see things you cannot perceive. I know the past of this world, I know the present, and I am privy to the knowledge of the Moirae and the future. I appear before you in body as one entity, for this is the form I choose to inhabit, and yet I am not one, but three."
"The Moirae?" Sakura repeated.
"The Fates," Sasuke muttered under his breath.
Her lips parted, and she directed a bewildered look at him, before turning her attention back to the goddess. "What did you mean, you're three?"
Chiyo's thin lips curved with amusement. "My existence is most unique. I possess not a single life-force, alone. I am a gatekeeper to the past, of hopes and dreams and of innocence lost. I am the guide and protector of the present. And I am the ward and teacher that watches the future. One face I possess for each thread of time. Six eyes that look in all directions at the cross-roads of the Moirae. The great magic and powers that accompany my function were entrusted to me to protect the flow of destiny. To be omniscient, is to be burdened with knowledge beyond your comprehension. Whether I choose to act, or not - whether I choose to speak or not - always serves a higher purpose. My actions must always honour the will of the Moirae."
"Are you saying you let Sasuke get the Rinnegan because that's what you've seen is the will of the Fates?" Sakura asked, disturbed by the concept. "But I thought they were just responsible for deciding how long someone lives?"
"Far more than that, Little Flower. Klotho spins the thread of life," Chiyo explained. "Lakhesis measures it, and Atropos cuts the string at the determined hour of a mortal's demise. All must submit to the will of the Moirae. Even we immortals must honour them. It is the reason we are punished and perish if we choose to deny our own functions. They are the enforcers of all laws. They are the bestowers of roles. And they have the ability to sever and devour all life, as required, to maintain the natural order."
Sakura felt a chill wash over her. Goosepimples prickled along her skin. She had never given the mysterious 'Moirae' much consideration up until that moment, but was starting to comprehend that they were perhaps the most powerful and influential deities of all. Hidden out of sight and clearly inaccessible, they worked to weave and shape the flow of fate, spinning beings into life and executing as they saw fit.
"I don't understand." Confusion addled Sakura's mind. "How can they hold such power?"
"They have lived from the days of Gaia, overseeing the destiny of humans, and the balance of functions," said Chiyo. "They do not interact with mortals, and only a select few immortals have ever been permitted an audience to enter their realm and speak with them. Everything that unfolds and everything that has unfolded in history is in accordance with what has already been foreseen by their eyes. They ensure that the fate assigned to every being bound under eternal laws takes its course without obstruction."
"So they wanted a war to happen?" Sakura was appalled. "Was that their will?"
"They knew at the time of Cronus's creation, what he would inevitably become," the crone confirmed. "They foresaw the destruction his greed would cause. The war was necessary, to stall his ambitions."
Sakura shook her head. "But we can change the course of fate, can't we? Or are you saying everything is already pre-determined in life? That we really have no choices at all?"
"Mortals always have a choice. Immortals do not choose their roles. Rather, their roles choose them, but what they do with their powers - that is their choice. The Moirae are all-seeing. They already know what paths shall be chosen, and to what ends they lead. A part of my role is sharing in that knowledge. But we do not intervene in the matter of free will. That is why I did not stop Sasuke. It was his decision."
"You stopped me from fading," Sasuke glared. "Was that not an overruling of my wishes?"
"Your safety was entrusted to me by your noble brother," Chiyo reminded him. "I gave him my word, and was bound by honour to prevent your untimely demise."
"So you let Sasuke go to Olympus because that's what the Fates have shown you needs to happen, or something?" Sakura guessed, scrambling to put the pieces together.
"You choose to interpret matters according to your understanding of them," Chiyo responded cryptically, and Sakura silently assumed that perhaps she was thinking along the right lines. After all, the Goddess of the Crossroads wasn't allowed to confirm or deny anything that risked giving away the outcome of the future.
Sasuke's hands balled into frustrated fists. "The Rinnegan delays the crow's awakening. You knew this. You should have stopped me."
"Do you seek to blame me for actions you willingly chose to pursue in ignorance? I warned you against heeding Cronus's words. I told you to tread carefully. You chose not to listen," Chiyo chastised.
Sasuke bristled. Sakura reached out, laying a soothing hand on his left arm. She could feel the tension in the steely muscles coiled beneath the fabric of his tunic sleeve, as he went on indignantly, "If I acted in ignorance, it is because you told me nothing. How could I have known it was not the eye required?"
"You were foolish enough to choose to listen to Cronus," Chiyo's eyebrows arched. "To accept anything that he offered to you. Tell me, what magic could I have truly used to prevent you from journeying to the summit, young Sasuke? Forget not that we are in your Kingdom. Where the very air displaces at your will. You would have been able to discard any binds easily enough in a realm that responds to your every whim. Your honourable cousin ought to have understood that nothing I could have used would have contained you for long, unless I imprisoned you indefinitely. Given the importance of your role, how could I have justified such actions without risking my own existence?"
"How would you have risked anything had you told me of Itachi's eye beforehand?" he retorted.
Chiyo held up a silencing hand. "What you perceive as harmless, may not be so. Knowing even the smallest fragment of truth can affect the course of destiny. You see not what I see, and you know not what I know."
Sakura's mind sprinted, trying to work out the possible implications behind Chiyo's cryptic words. "Wait. If you didn't intervene, then does that mean the Rinnegan is going to influence the future?"
"I speak not of the future," Chiyo stated.
"That has to be it, even if you can't tell us!" Sakura looked at Sasuke, who was still shooting daggers at the old crone. "The Rinnegan's the strongest eye there is. It can definitely help us in our fight against Cronus. You were able to poison Orochimaru's White Zetsu army by making that trade. That helps us too. And if you hadn't gotten the curse seal, then you never would've met with your brother or had the chance to speak with him."
Sasuke blinked, and his gaze shifted briefly to meet hers as he silently acknowledged the truth of her words.
"Well," Chiyo remarked. "At least one of you is in possession of your wits, and sees the advantages your actions have afforded."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Some positives had come from pursuing the eye, but that did not alter the fact that Sakura's existence was now at risk from the obstruction it posed to awakening the Sharingan that was needed to save her life.
"You can't speak of the future," he said. "Then tell us of the past. Shisui said the crow's transplant is internal. That is not the manner in which my clan implanted eyes."
"Quite so," Chiyo nodded. "And on that matter, I may now shed some light. The crow is intended to respond to your chakra alone. None other can extract it from you. It was designed to fuse within your pathways to prevent its gifts from falling into the wrong hands. Your brother's Sharingan was exceptional in its illusionary prowess - you understand, I believe, why such precautions had to be taken."
"Does the crow actually have the eye itself?" Sakura questioned.
"It indeed holds Itachi's Sharingan."
Sasuke gritted his teeth He thought of his selfless brother, willingly gouging out his own eye, sacrificing his sight shortly before he had sacrificed his own life. Enduring such gruesome horrors in order to leave behind the key they required to unlock Sakura's seal. It filled him with a fresh uprising of suffocating grief. Itachi and Shisui truly had given up everything to save not only him, but to ensure that he had a means to save and restore Sakura, too.
"But how can an eyeball be transplanted internally?" Sakura pondered. A horrific thought then struck her as her imagination ran wild. If the crow had an actual eyeball transplanted into it, would it manifest by somehow pushing Sasuke's present one out and replacing it that way? But surely not. Chiyo had mentioned something about fusion and pathways.
Chiyo chuckled, seeming to read the repulsed expression on Sakura's face. "You are limited by your mortal perception. For the gods, anything is possible. Itachi's Sharingan is a perfect genetic match to Sasuke's. They are brothers, possessing the same blood and elemental affinities, and so it is indeed able to merge with his - under the correct conditions. All the cells required are contained within the crow, and so is the seal Itachi wove upon it that was put in place to facilitate the completion of the transplant. With enough chakra, it can evolve and manifest in Sasuke's own."
"Speak plainly," Sasuke said. "What are these conditions?"
"The same that any Mangekyou would require in order to be awakened. Because the transition is internal, you must facilitate it through the same conditions that would normally trigger it, to allow it to fuse with your own Sharingan and unlock your brother's eye."
Through extreme emotional agony, such as by witnessing the loss of a most precious person. Sasuke swallowed, his heart thudding unpleasantly in response to the spoken confirmation of what he had already suspected and dreaded would be the case.
"Isn't there any other way?" Sakura asked urgently. "Shisui said that maybe my death can awaken both eyes together, but isn't there any way we can speed up the appearance of the Rinnegan before then? So that Sasuke can be prepared the next time I have an episode? He's already gone through so much, and the Rinnegan still hasn't appeared."
"Once you have already experienced the clarity the Rinnegan affords - no matter how brief - it is not long after that it tends to manifest. In terms of hastening its awakening - I will clarify how the process occurs. Initially it requires triggers, great surges in chakra in response to extreme emotional and physical distress, to activate the dormant Senju cells. Once these cells have been activated, they attach to the chakra and optical pathways of a Sharingan, where they then steadily consume chakra flow, until enough is gathered to unlock the eye.
"In your case, Little King, due to the intensity of emotions and stress you have endured, the cells have already been triggered and activated. That is the most elusive part. All that remains now is to accumulate enough chakra to allow it to manifest. The more surges in chakra you are able to direct to it, the quicker that will be. But know that in time, the Rinnegan will reach a limit where it has accumulated enough, and will remain dormant as it enters its final stages of transformation. Once it reaches that peak, it will essentially be a matter of waiting. No further chakra flow will hurry its appearance - it will manifest of its own accord."
"We have no time to waste," Sasuke uttered tensely.
"Then find a way to feed it a powerful influx of chakra," Chiyo raised her eyebrows once more, as if the solution was obvious enough. "Make use of it. The more strain and use, the more chakra the eye consumes. The pain you experience is a strong indication that you are reaching the most advanced stages of its awakening. But there is one further symptom you must endure. A final sacrifice, before it grows dormant and the process is complete."
"Well...?" Sasuke prompted impatiently when she paused.
Chiyo gestured at his eye. "Tell me, has your vision been compromised thus far?"
Sasuke considered, thinking back over all the strange symptoms he had experienced in his left eye. "Several times"
"Why?" Sakura asked, looking back and forth between the two in confusion, feeling her stomach churn into tight knots, as though she were certain that she wouldn't like what she was about to hear. Chiyo had mentioned a final sacrifice. That sounded ominous to Sakura's ears. "What does that mean?"
"Blindness is the final stage," Chiyo revealed.
Sasuke blinked, the muscles in his jaw clenching. Next to him, Sakura released an alarmed gasp. "What?" she gripped onto Sasuke's arm. "He's going to lose his sight? No!"
"It is a necessary part of the transition," the goddess informed them. "The Rinnegan will merge with his Sharingan, and in doing so, will exhaust all its light, before awakening its own."
"But-!" Sakura began to protest.
"The result will be only temporary," Chiyo interrupted. "It is nothing to be alarmed about, and at that point, it will not be long before it makes its full appearance."
Sasuke's eyebrows knitted together. Despite Chiyo's assurances that the effect was only temporary, he still didn't like the disconcerting thought of having vision in one eye alone for a brief period. It made him feel distinctly uncomfortable. How long would the blindness last for, exactly? How long did temporary constitute? He supposed there was no specific time frame. The Rinnegan clearly matured at different speeds depending on its host. There was a reason only very few had ever been able to awaken and keep it.
"You are fortunate, Sasuke," Chiyo went on. "It has taken you a matter of months to reach stages that others could not attain in centuries and millennia."
"Is there no way to avoid that happening?" Sakura bit her lower lip.
"There is no way to bypass the blindness. Not once the transformation is underway."
Sakura glanced worriedly up at Sasuke. His expression was indecipherable, giving away nothing of his internal thoughts. "But what about the crow? Isn't there a way to get it to come out? To externally transplant its eye, so we can get it sooner?"
"It will not willingly depart Sasuke's body," Chiyo supplied. "The seal upon it prevents it leaving - so long as his body remains under his control."
There was a pregnant pause - in which both Sasuke and Sakura caught onto her odd choice of words at precisely the same moment.
"Wait-" Sasuke began sharply.
"What?" Sakura's eyes widened. "What do you mean, under his control? If he was taken over by the curse seal again, what would happen to it?"
"There is another mechanism." Realisation dawned over Sasuke. It made perfect sense. Itachi had surely left behind a way to keep the crow safe in the event something went disastrously wrong and his own chakra system was compromised. But what was the failsafe? What would happen to the crow that was intended only for him, if his internal pathways were poisoned? Would it vanish forever? Would the seal placed upon it cause it to somehow self-destruct? He could only speculate, and supposed the reason why it hadn't left him the last time was because Itachi's chakra had saved him just before he lost full possession of his body.
"Would it appear then?" Sakura asked. "But if it leaves him, where would it go?"
"I have told you all that I can, now," Chiyo replied.
"No- wait," Sakura entreated, stepping forward. "Say he gets the Rinnegan in time, and I have another attack. If Sasuke then awakens his brother's eye, is that when he's meant to remove the seal from me? While I'm unconscious?"
"If he comes into possession of the eye," the old crone explained, "he would be able to see the seal upon you. He would know its combination, and how to reverse it. If the seal is removed, your memories would be first to return. You would then be able to be reborn as an immortal, for your soul would no longer reject your body - so long as it is reunited with your deity blood.
"Should Sasuke remove the seal when you are already unconscious, then we would have to act quickly to restore you, for becoming immortal would then be the only way you could regain consciousness."
"And I'm guaranteed to wake up? So long as he has the eye?"
"As your soul is already immortal, your body should be capable of enduring. But in order to be reborn as a goddess, you must die in the process. Your humanity must perish in the transition, before you can reawaken," Chiyo said.
Apprehension fluttered through Sakura, and she bit her lower lip, glancing at Sasuke, who flicked a surreptitious look beneath his lashes at her.
'I will keep you alive', he telepathically informed her, his words loaded with conviction.
She nodded faintly, and turned her gaze back to the crone. "If in theory, I was somehow still awake when all this happens - my memories would come back first, and then my immortality...?"
"That is so." Chiyo rose to her feet, indicating that their conversation was over. "Shisui's chakra protects you from further harm for now, Little Flower - yet it is not indefinite. It is for the best you focus on quickening the Rinnegan's awakening," she nodded at Sasuke, "and that you make the most of the additional time you have been afforded."
~x~
Naruto slumped back against the concrete wall and raked his fingers through the blond spikes of his hair in frustration. They had been training almost non-stop for over a week. Kakashi was making steady progress in channelling lightning from the skies to his hands. His masked mentor had begun with irregular sparks of electricity that were poorly controlled, but with practice was starting to fashion stronger, solid bolts into existence.
Naruto, in contrast, found himself struggling to harness Hiraishin, a technique that worked only with the most precise level of chakra control. Sage Mode he could maintain easily enough - it was the challenging process of drawing electrical energy from the atmosphere and directing it to where he needed it to go within his own chakra pathways and the marked kunais simultaneously, that he was finding difficult to master.
"Damn it! I just can't warp the whole way."
"Patience, Naruto," Jiraiya handed him a glass of replenishing ambrosia. "Even your father required time to perfect this technique. It is one of the most difficult to pull off."
"We don't have time," Naruto gestured, before he paused to hastily chug down the sweet wine.
"We have yet to locate Orochimaru's main stronghold," Jiraiya answered. "There is time, yet."
"Still no luck with that?" Naruto frowned.
"Two more countries left to search, and Suigetsu hasn't found anything underwater as of yet."
The loud crackle of a thunderbolt slamming powerfully into the stone floor sent vibrations humming beneath their feet, and drew their focus to where Kakashi stood in the centre of the courtyard, training with lightning.
"Nice work, Kakashi!" Jiraiya complimented.
"Those bolts are growing stronger," Tsunade observed from her position on the stairs beside Kurenai.
"It sure helps that his elemental affinity is lightning," Shikamaru commented behind them.
"This sucks," Naruto sulked. "Even Kakashi-sensei can pull off my old man's moves better than I can."
"Yo, you idiot, you baby fool! Feeling sorry for yourself just aint cool!" Killer B hollered at him.
Naruto dragged himself to his feet. "Hey! I'm doing my best!"
"You aint trying hard enough! Look at you, loser fool, giving up! Oh yeahh!"
"I'm not giving up!" Naruto stiffened, glowering at him.
"Then quit it with being so lazy!" B rapped. "Stop your whining, you deadbeat baby!"
"What the hell did you just call me?" Naruto pointed animatedly at him. "Take that back, 'ttebayo!"
Temari, who sat beside her brothers and Shikamaru, remarked coolly, "He's doing it on purpose, isn't he? Winding Naruto up."
"Riling him up and getting him mad enough to try harder?" Shikamaru scoffed. "It's a smart move. Naruto hates being underestimated."
"Focus, Naruto!" Jiraiya chastised. "Use your emotions to fuel your power. Feel the static in the air. Will it to respond to your command."
Naruto clenched his teeth and closed his eyes. Inhaling deeply, he concentrated hard, engaging Sage Mode once more. He felt the familiar prickles of electrical current flowing in the air around him. He could detect the element he needed. That wasn't the issue. The problem was molding it precisely into the form he required it to take within his own chakra pathways, and to direct it externally at the kunais embedded across the courtyard at the same he used the internal energy to propel himself forward. It was a precise balancing act.
He felt the surge of electricity spiking through his veins, heard the buzzing hum as it filled his head with static a split second before his feet left the ground and he flew swiftly forward - but it wasn't fast enough. Once again he fell short, failing to reach his intended destination om the marked kunai ahead of him.
"Damn it!" he cursed again.
"Take a break," Kakashi, who had been observing him closely, advised. "We can try again later."
Naruto said nothing and slowly the courtyard cleared as the others returned indoors, talking amongst themselves.
"Naruto," Jiraiya called to him at the entrance, glancing back over his broad shoulder. "That's enough for now. Don't exhaust Sage Mode."
"Yeah. I'll be right in," Naruto answered, but his hands balled into fists as he glared at the kunai embedded in the ground before him.
At length only Gaara remained behind, arms folded over his chest, watching him silently.
"It shouldn't be so hard," Naruto picked up the kunai, clutching it tightly in his hand. "I can't even get close."
"You aren't trying hard enough," Gaara informed him plainly, his features devoid of emotion.
"Why does everyone keep telling me that?" Naruto snapped in irritation. "What else can I do? How much harder can I try?! I'm giving it everything I've got!"
"You're thinking about it too much," came the calm response. "You must feel the elements. It isn't the will of nature against yours. You must be as one."
"Jiraiya-sensei already told me that," Naruto mumbled. "I can feel the chakra I need. I just can't fine-tune it fast enough to make the jump."
"Then perhaps you need some more motivation," Gaara stated. "Perhaps by overthinking the process, you are hindering your own chakra-control."
Naruto lifted his cobalt blue eyes to the stoic Olympian guardian, confused. "Huh?"
Gaara blinked, and turned his gaze upward. Naruto followed his direction - only to step forward in surprise.
"Hinata?"
The moon goddess had climbed onto one of the trees that formed the well-tended garden section of the spacious training courtyard. She was perched on the uppermost branch, and had evidently been watching him. Behind her, the sun was starting to set. Slowly she rose to her feet and balanced on the bough, high above the ground.
"Hinata?" Naruto's eyes widened. "Hey, what're you doing? Hinata-!"
With a graceful leap, she jumped off the branch and somersaulted in midair, plummeting head-first straight toward the floor. Naruto's heart lurched, and hornets of dread assaulted his belly as he moved on autopilot, flinging the kunai in his hand in her direction. Golden light enveloped his form and the world seemed to pass in a breathtakingly blinding blur of movement.
He took no heed of it, his sole focus on reaching Hinata before she could crash to the ground. He caught her just before she did, and tumbled awkwardly to the grass with her, unable to stop the momentum of his movements in time. Cushioning her fall, he squawked, "What the heck?! Hinata!"
She sat up, the curtain of her silky, long hair enveloping her face like a glorious dark halo. Her cheeks were tinged pink, and a wide beam graced her rosy lips.
Naruto blinked, gawking at her in bewilderment, when Gaara drew up behind them, and extended a hand to help him to his feet.
"Well done," he congratulated, giving him a curt nod. "You reached the kunai."
"Wha-?" The sun deity spluttered incredulously. "Y-you set me up?" he demanded. "I could've not made it!"
"My sand would have caught her," Gaara assured him. "You made it," he added, "because you did not overthink."
With those parting words, he turned away and went indoors.
Naruto shook his head in disbelief, then turned his attention back to Hinata, offering her a hand to pull her up. Together, they followed after the red-haired guardian, walking side by side.
"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," she apologised gently. "I didn't mean to frighten you."
"Are you serious? I can't believe you did that, 'ttebayo!" Naruto mumbled in complaint to her as they stepped inside the building. They passed a small alcove in the wall, and he reached out, catching hold of her upper arm and drawing her into it before they reached the main corridor. "That was really reckless, Hinata!" he berated, frowning down at her.
Her beautiful, winter-grey eyes met his own in earnest.
"I knew you could do it, Naruto-kun," she answered softly.
He felt the breath flee from his lungs, struck speechless in the face of her steadfast faith.
"I trust you with my life," she added.
His features softened, his displeasure immediately melting away. How could he possibly remain upset with her? Slowly he reached out to her, as if in a trance, hesitating only minutely before taking her hand in his. It felt delicate and small curled inside his own larger palm, and yet he knew she was a goddess of extraordinary strength and endurance. Who had proven to him, time and time again, that her belief in him was unwavering - regardless of whether he was worthy of such devotion or not.
"Hinata," he whispered, and inside his chest he could feel that his heart had begun to pound. Or perhaps it hadn't even stopped racing, ever since he had caught sight of her balanced on that tree. He stepped to her, remembering all at once the feel of her lips the last time they had kissed. Their softness and warmth. How right it had been, holding her in his arms. She was a flame, and he, a helpless moth, spellbound and incapable of staying away from her.
He wanted to kiss her again. He hadn't realised, up until that second, just how badly he had been longing to touch her again, and before he was even conscious of it, had pulled her closer, unable to tear his eyes from her. He lifted a hand, pressing his fingertips gingerly to her flushed cheek, marvelling over the silkiness of her skin. He could feel her eyes reeling him in, could feel himself flowing toward her like a river finding its direction, flowing toward the sea.
When he bent his head to her, she caught her breath, and tilted her face up to his, her own pulse fluttering in anticipation. His lips brushed against hers tentatively, and a different kind of electricity zig-zagged through him, one that set his veins crackling with a riveting current as he wrapped his arms around her, pulled her against him and lost himself to her kiss.
~x~
The final monster disappeared in a plume of smoke, and Sasuke crouched down on his ankles, pressing a hand to his left eye. Following their meeting with Chiyo, they had headed to the banqueting hall, where he had ensured that Sakura had eaten to replenish her strength, before summoning her attendants to accompany her back to her room so that she could freshen up and change. He no longer wanted her to be alone, wherever it could be helped. Even knowing that Shisui's chakra would provide them with a brief safety buffer and respite, he still did not wish to take any chances. If another episode occurred, he didn't want Sakura to be by herself.
He had then gone straight to the training dome in an attempt to speed up the Rinnegan's activation. Chiyo had informed them that great surges in chakra were required, and Sasuke knew that there was more than one way to facilitate that besides emotional distress. Physical stress, too, could result in dramatic internal flares and spikes. The more he used his eye, the more chakra would flow to it. And unlike the Mangekyou, the Rinnegan didn't specifically require extreme emotional trauma to complete its manifestation. He had no option but to keep straining the eye in battle to ensure it received the chakra it needed to advance the process.
He had just laid waste to five ferocious Ismenios Dragons, a frantic battle in which he had heavily made use of his left Sharingan. He winced, paying the price of over-exerting it. It burned, a stinging, uncomfortable, crawling sharp pain that made him, not for the first time, want to tear the eye out. It was becoming an increasingly regular occurence to experience some manner of discomfort in the organ. Sasuke took this to be a positive sign, and couldn't wait to be done with the unpleasant metamorphisis.
Had he known it was not the eye he needed, he never would have bothered to go through such torment and chase it. He wondered whether that was another reason Chiyo had chosen to stay quiet. Maybe the Rinnegan was needed to defeat Madara once and for all.
He pulled his palm away from his eye, only to scowl when he met the sight of angry blood staining his skin. Briefly during the battle, he had experienced a sharpness to his vision that he knew was indicative of the Rinnegan. He could almost feel the struggle in his ocular pathways, the war between Senju and Uchiha cells as they merged together, fuelled by the chakra the Rinnegan hungrily consumed.
"Tch," he exhaled, gritting his teeth when a sudden, more piercing stab of discomfort throbbed through his iris, forcing his eye to shut.
When he dared to open it again, he was startled to find a murky bleariness obscuring his sight. His heart pounded, and he blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision. Was this the blindness that Chiyo had warned them of? Was it finally happening? He rose to his feet, holding his breath - but the blurriness gradually faded away, the pain ebbed, and his sight was restored.
He cursed inwardly. How much longer was the blasted procedure going to take? He couldn't simply rely on battles alone. He would exhaust his chakra supply if he threw himself into continuous combat, and that would aggravate the curse seal all over again. He stood, fuming to himself impatiently. No, this would not do. He needed to find some other way to obtain a large surge of steady, uninterrupted chakra flow. There surely had to be an easier way. Wiping the blood hastily from his eye, he left the training arena then returned to the King's quarters to shower and freshen up.
~x~
Ino exited the laundry room, carrying a basket of freshly washed clothes. She found herself monumentally bored in Sakura's absence, and had contemplated, several times, paying her best friend a visit. It had been just over two months since she'd returned to the Underworld, and Ino wondered how Sakura was adjusting. Had Sasuke made a move yet? Or were things still awkward between them? Perhaps sparks had flown on the very first day? After all, they were alone and unsupervised.
Ino smirked to herself, confident that Sakura had it within her capabilities to become a seductive little minx that could drive even the Underworld's cold, fearsome ruler insane with temptation. All she had to do was realise the power she wielded in her hands. Sasuke was willing to do anything for her. Surely she had now come to see that?
Ino pursed her lips. She needed updates on the situation, and sitting around not knowing was gnawing at her. But she wasn't so certain about showing up unannounced at the Underworld's entrance. The ferocious, three-headed, mighty Cerberus guarded its mouth, and if one simply strolled in without prior invitation, she was certain that the hound was commanded to provide a less than hospitable greeting. She hadn't seen Chiyo, either, to ask whether she could possibly take her back with her for a brief visit.
Their relationship with Sasuke was still very much on shaky foundations. Just because he'd come to realise that they weren't the ones responsible for starting the war, didn't mean that they were all suddenly the best of friends, or that he welcomed them all to hang out freely in his realm. Ino was pretty sure he still disliked them all. So simply turning up rudely without giving him the courtesy of announcing their intentions wasn't really an option.
She sighed heavily, heading toward one of the larger study rooms that had become a make-shift lounge of sorts for the surface gods. The square-shaped room was filled with wooden furniture including writing desks and armchairs, plush, crimson rugs and shelves of books. It was always illuminated by two large fireplaces that cast the space in a bright, golden glow. She entered it and discovered that it was surprisingly empty - save for Roshi, who was reading a book in one corner and Sai who had his scrolls open at one of the tables.
Ino paused, considering, then made up her mind and headed toward the dark-haired messenger deity. She saw that he had a selection of different sized paint-brushes, as well as blocks of black paint, resting atop the table. His focused concentration was broken at the sound of a chair scraping back as Ino pulled it out and took a seat on the opposite side of the table.
He blinked at her, before offering her an automatic smile.
"Hello," he greeted.
"Hi," she nodded back. "What're you doing?" she then asked curiously, as she busied herself with folding her laundry.
"I am creating more scrolls," he answered, his inky gaze lowering back to the parchment. Ino watched as he drew precise strokes onto it with the brush he held. Her eyes lingered on his hands. Why hadn't she ever before noticed how elegant his long, slender fingers were? Just like a painter's - which made perfect sense, given his artistic talents.
"So you can, like what?" Ino questioned. "Draw anything you want and bring it to life?"
"That is the nature of my technique," he confirmed, continuing to direct his brush across the paper to complete the lions he was painting.
"Anything?" Ino tested skeptically.
"Yes," he set his brush down neatly and looked back at her. "I detect some hesitancy in your statement. Do you believe otherwise?"
"Oh." Ino shifted in place under the weight of his stare, feeling oddly embarrassed at being called out. "Uh, no. I just thought you could only really animate animals and things that attack."
Sai gave her a thoughtful look. "Perhaps you would like a demonstration of something else."
"It's fine, I believe you." Ino waved.
"I insist." He said, lifting another brush and unrolling a smaller piece of parchment. "Choose something."
Ino hesitated. Why did every conversation with him turn out to be so weird? She couldn't tell if she was simply being paranoid and imagining the tense awkwardness that hung in the air between them, or whether all her uncertain, on-edge feelings were actually justified. It drove her a little crazy. She was an expert on men, and yet Sai was an infuriating conundrum of contradictions. He was difficult to read, and his social responses were always unpredictable. She could never tell whether he was about to insult and aggravate her, or unexpectedly pay her a compliment or a sweet - albeit capable of bordering on creepy - gesture, as he had with the portrait he had given to her.
He didn't fit any of the categories most guys she had come across fell into. It was disturbing. That had to be why she felt so alert around him, she told herself. He wasn't like her other friends. He was a misfit, a loner, and she was never sure what he would do next. She wasn't even sure she knew his true self at all.
"Uh, I don't know?" she shrugged, gesturing vaguely with her hands. "Anything else you want?"
Sai's eyes lowered, and he set to work, his paintbrush gliding over the parchment. She only realised what he had drawn once he had animated it and held it up to her. A beautiful bouquet of inky black flowers. Ino blinked, stunned. An unexpected heat bloomed to life in her cheeks. For her?
"Maybe he likes you?" Words Sakura had spoken to her a while back drifted through her mind, and she was mortified when she felt her cheeks flush a deeper shade of pink. Was Sai even capable of liking anyone in that way? Of even holding such emotions? She couldn't imagine him being passionate or romantic. He had always been so- so robotic.
But he was holding flowers out to her. Something she never would have expected him to do - just like the portrait. When she didn't accept them right away, his hand lowered, and he looked at the flowers in confusion. "Am I mistaken?" he asked, and hesitated, before adding, "Do you not enjoy flowers?"
"Ah!" Ino dropped the laundry in her hand, flustered. "No, no! They're lovely." She accepted them, looking down at the animated drawing in silent wonder. The exquisite details on the petals were stunning. How had he prepared it so quickly? For someone who was habitually expressionless and who acted like he really didn't pay attention to others, Ino found herself shocked by the depth of care and detail evident in his art.
Releasing a nervous little laugh, she said, "They won't stain my laundry, will they? I just washed all this."
Sai's eyes closed and he angled a sheepish smile at her. "Place them back on the parchment. I can return them to drawings."
Ino held onto the bouquet for a moment despite herself. "You know, you're pretty talented," she complimented awkwardly.
His eyes flew open, and he appeared startled. As if he wasn't accustomed to being complimented, or as if he hadn't expected to hear such kind words from her again. Ino was astonished when she detected the faintest red tinge on the tips of his ears. As if he were embarrassed. Her lips parted. Was it true? Did he really like her beyond friendship? But he had already averted his gaze, his expression walling off once more as he picked up his brush again and set to drawing his next creation.
A brief pause ensued, which was broken when Ino cleared her throat, deciding to change the subject. "So, you're our messenger. Do you think you could maybe take a letter down to Sakura for me?"
Sai's hand froze, hovering over the parchment. Returning to the Underworld wasn't something he wished to repeat anytime soon. Not after the last incident when he had gone searching for Sakura, that had almost cost him his head. The very thought filled him with apprehension. Sasuke didn't like him, he was more than aware. In fact, Sai was certain that Sasuke didn't particularly like or tolerate anyone - other than Sakura.
"Only," Ino was going on, "I don't know if we're actually allowed to visit without that jerk's prior approval. I was thinking, if I can just get a letter to her and maybe she can write back? That might be an easier way to avoid all the politics. I mean, I could go down there, but what if Sasuke isn't around? Does Cerberus even let immortals pass?"
"Nobody can pass without permission," Sai notified her.
"Then how'd you get in?"
"My gifts," he replied simply.
"Right, well then can't you use your gifts to deliver a letter to her for me?" At his hesitation, she added, "I really miss her. I want to know how she's doing."
"Sasuke..." Sai began slowly, "does not permit unannounced visits to his palace. I could get in, but..." he trailed off. Getting out was another matter.
Ino understood the remainder of his unspoken sentence. "He's not going to do anything to you," she reassured him, reaching out without thought to place a hand over his. "He's crazy over Sakura, and we're her friends. Besides, she's not a prisoner there anymore. Even if you can't get to her, you can still deliver a message, right?"
Sai's gaze fixed on the slender, feminine hand resting on the back of his own.
"Please?" Ino pressed. "Or if we really can't see her or get near the palace, then maybe we can go and deliver it together, if you think that's safer? I just didn't want to go down to that creepy place on my own."
Sai's ebony eyes lifted, meeting brilliant, powder blue. He already knew he couldn't refuse her request. Not when she was looking at him so hopefully. They stared at each other for a long moment, in which the goddess held her breath.
"Alright," he finally agreed. "We'll go together."
Ino beamed at him, and squeezed his hand gratefully. Sai felt a strange sensation within his chest - the fluttering skip of a heartbeat - before he tentatively offered her a smile in return.
~x~
Exiting his private chambers, Sasuke secured his cloak around his shoulders then returned to the entrance hall of the palace, lost in the cyclone of his thoughts. Trying to escalate the Rinnegan's appearance through battle and physical exertion would take up too much time and effort, he decided. He needed to find another, more efficient way, and determined that it was time to pay Kakashi another visit.
"Sasuke?"
He turned, finding Sakura at the end of the staircase. She had exchanged her green dress for a midnight blue gown with a one-shoulder neckline, the strap of which was secured by an ornate gold clasp. Its pattern matched the belt wound around her waist and a long, rippling cape trailed behind her right shoulder, its rich fabric pooling to the polished, black-marble floor. Her hair, fashioned into an attractive crown braid, was adorned with deep blue periwinkle flowers.
He released a quiet breath at the sight of her. It didn't matter what was required of him, he thought, his resolve hardening. He would throw himself into the pits of Tartarus itself if that was what it took to save her.
Darker colours suited her well, he found himself appreciating. They complemented the creaminess of her complexion.
She walked forward to join him, reaching for his hands. He allowed her to take them, and her eyes trailed over him, noting the damp spikes of his freshly washed hair and his change of clothing.
"Where were you?" she asked.
"The training arena."
A light frown touched her brow. "Without me? Wouldn't it be better if we fought together? If there's a risk of you going blind all of a sudden, you shouldn't be alone."
He held her gaze steadily. He had purposefully descended to the arena while she was occupied to avoid having her join him. The simple truth was that they didn't have time to waste sparring leisurely together anymore. It wasn't that he didn't believe her to be capable of fighting alongside him. He knew better than anyone that she had become more than proficient and intelligent in battle. But his priority was to awaken the Rinnegan. He couldn't afford to be distracted with Sakura's welfare while locked in combat with deadlier monsters. He needed to focus on the most pressing matter.
"Don't concern yourself," he dismissed.
She hesitated, trying to decipher his line of reasoning. "But I am worried. Losing your sight is a big deal, even if it's temporary. And nothing's changed, Sasuke. I can still fight."
He didn't respond. Instead, he drew one of his hands up to her face, brushing his fingertips in a fleeting ghost of a caress over the soft curve of her right cheek. The chaste touch sent dangerous tingles through Sakura's skin, and she lifted her own hand to capture his, pressing his warm palm against her face. He observed the contact for a moment, before his smoky eyes locked with hers.
"Stay with your attendants," he said. "I will return."
"What?" Her frown deepened. She had not missed the way he'd deliberately chosen not to comment on her previous words - and she was reluctant to spend time apart. She wanted, very much, to be with him. To spend every second they could together, where possible. His departure was sudden, and caught her off-guard. "Where are you going?"
He tilted his head, and she felt the warmth of his breath fan over the sensitive outer shell of her ear, as he exhaled, "To the surface."
Before Sakura could say anything else, shadows rippled around his form, removing him from her sight.
~x~
"If you've completed Hiraishin once, that's the hardest part done," Kakashi said. Night had fallen, and he and Naruto sat alone on the stone steps in the courtyard.
"I can do it," Naruto's eyes were aglow with determination. "I was just overthinking it, and wasn't channelling it right before. I think if I use a small amount of Kurama's chakra to refocus the chakra flow, that can help me pull it off."
"He's cooperating?" Kakashi's voice contained a hint of amusement.
"When he feels like it, 'ttebayo," Naruto mumbled. "I talked to him again. Think I've finally convinced him that my old man only sealed him inside me to keep him safe. That bastard Cronus would've kept him prisoner and brainwashed instead."
"It's likely he would've sealed him within Obito, like the others," Kakashi mused.
"But how is that possible, sensei?" Naruto frowned. "Holding that many tailed-beasts in one vessel?"
Kakashi shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "Obito has become a ticking time bomb. Nobody should be capable of wielding such power, not without great consequences and risks. It's never been done before. It's possible it's some manner of dark art, but he's only a temporary holder for the beasts. There's no way he will survive the extractions."
"Isn't there a way we can capture him and extract the beasts? Seal them into new hosts ourselves?"
"He's too difficult to capture, Naruto. Remember, Ares inhabits his consciousness, too, and we still don't really understand the full extent of his influence. We could try, but we need to take Orochimaru, Kabuto and their creations out first. That will leave only Obito to focus on, and our odds are better if we go up against him alone."
"I guess," Naruto sighed heavily.
Kakashi's head suddenly lifted, and Naruto followed his line of sight, watching as a figure melted out from rippling wisps of shadow before their eyes.
"Sasuke?" Naruto immediately rose to his feet, surprised to see him. "What're you doing here?" His eyes widened. "Is Sakura-chan okay?"
He gave them a curt nod.
Kakashi met the death deity's gaze, understanding that his unannounced visit meant that something significant had unfolded that required their urgent attention. Otherwise, there was no way he would have sought them out - not unless he had important information to share, or needed their cooperation and assistance.
"What's happened, Sasuke?"
~x~
They listened in silence as the death deity relayed the details of Sakura's last attack, her dream encounter with Shisui and their subsequent meeting with Chiyo. Once he had finished, Naruto began to pace about in agitation.
"You're saying the next time it happens, she won't wake up unless you have both those eyes?" he exclaimed. "What the hell, 'ttebayo?!"
"Be quiet, you moron," Sasuke hissed, leaning against the courtyard wall beside the steps. He angled a quick, surveying glance around them, not wanting to attract a larger audience - especially not Sakura's mother. He'd determined to leave the enjoyable task of updating her on affairs to Kakashi.
"How can I be quiet?!" Naruto seethed back. "And how come you've left her alone, you jerk? What if it happens again?"
"You weren't listening," Sasuke's eyes narrowed in irritation. "I said Shisui's chakra has given her extra time."
"Yeah, but you don't know how long that's for," Naruto argued.
"So long as she remains underground, it'll hopefully buy us a while yet," Kakashi reiterated what Sasuke had already told them.
"What do we do, sensei?" Naruto asked anxiously.
Kakashi rubbed thoughtfully at his chin. "From what I understand about the Rinnegan," he began, "it's the initial activation of Senju cells that is the most difficult part to achieve. Provided that's done, it shouldn't take too long for the eye itself to manifest - so long as it accumulates enough chakra to fuse with and replace the Sharingan."
"But Sasuke has used his Sharingan loads," Naruto gestured toward the Underworld's king. "All those missions and monsters we fought! So why's it taking so long?"
Kakashi released a light sigh. "Unfortunately, the Rinnegan is unpredictable. Unlike the Sharingan and its steady evolution, not much has been documented about the exact moment of the Rinnegan's awakening, because its appearance has been so rare over the course of history."
"But it must have stages or something, right?"
"There are known stages." Kakashi agreed. "But the final trigger itself isn't clear, and the speed of progression varies based on the individual." He nodded at Sasuke. "You've managed to get far along in the process relatively quickly, all things considered. But that's not so surprising, given what you've experienced."
"There has to be some way we can help," Naruto's hands balled into fists. "You heard what Sasuke said! If Sakura-chan has another attack before he gets the Rinnegan, it'll be way too risky. We might really lose her!"
"Sasuke," Kakashi addressed him. "Have you experienced any problems with vision in the eye? Blurriness, or any other symptoms?"
Sasuke nodded.
"Huh? Blurriness?" Naruto echoed. "What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?"
"It's rumoured that the final stage before the Rinnegan activates is blindness. You'll lose all sight in the eye," Kakashi explained.
Naruto halted abruptly and sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes widened in alarm. "Say what?"
"It's temporary," Kakashi added. "The Sharingan has to lose its light before the Rinnegan is born. Or so the recounts suggest."
"It's true," Sasuke confirmed.
"Well, how long will he be blind for?" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, disturbed by the revelation and Sasuke's apathy to it. How could he be so composed? The sun deity felt nervous on his behalf. "That's too creepy, 'ttebayo."
"We can only speculate how long temporary would be," their masked elder regarded Sasuke levelly. "But if you've experienced any blurriness in your vision up until now, then that's a sure sign that you're close to that stage. When you reach it, you'll only have one eye to rely on during that time, so it's probably for the best that you avoid combat while your field of vision is compromised."
"Could it go wrong?" Naruto's frown deepened. "Could it just not appear at all?"
"It will. Once the process has begun, it's only a matter of time until it activates, so long as it collects enough chakra." He paused, before venturing, "So what we need is a faster way to increase chakra flow to your eye, without wasting time or energy on simulating combat."
"Wait," Naruto's eyes widened as a sudden thought occurred to him. "Wait a minute, I've got an idea!"
Sasuke cast him a suspicious look. Now that he had possession of his memories of Naruto and Kakashi again, he knew from experience that whenever the knuckleheaded sun god had ever declared the four words "I have an idea", it usually hadn't been a particularly outstanding one, and had more often than not had led to disaster, mischief, or both at the same time.
"Naruto?" Kakashi raised a curious eyebrow.
Naruto approached the death deity, and held out his hand. Sasuke glanced down at it, his arms still folded firmly across his chest. Then his dark eyes flicked back onto Naruto.
"What're you doing?" he drawled stonily.
"I think I can help."
Sasuke's gaze narrowed, unimpressed. What did he think he could do?
"I'm serious! I inherited the blood of the Senju from my old man and my Ma, right? Maybe what you need is Senju chakra. Sure it's not as pure as my parents', but it's worth a shot, right?"
Sasuke exchanged a dubious look with Kakashi, who slowly rose to his feet.
"There's nothing written about that specifically in the scriptures," he mused. "No mention of Senju chakra being required, besides the initial cells being implanted."
"What've we got to lose? Maybe, because it needed Senju DNA to begin with, it might help at the end, too! Maybe it can speed things up. How about it?" He offered his hand again.
Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed together. Still he did not move. "You've lent me your chakra before, idiot," he quipped sarcastically, referring to the time they had spent travelling together to obtain the relics. "Nothing happened."
"I wasn't unsealed before. This time I can channel way more, and I can harness Kurama, too!" Naruto told him. "His chakra's really powerful, and I can transfer it to you in spikes, just like you said you need. Just trust me, okay? Gimmie your hand already!"
The God of Death hesitated despite himself, sceptical over whether it would work. He had always been accustomed to dismissing almost every stupid word that left Naruto's loud mouth, and yet the more he turned the idea over in his head, the more it began to gain traction. The Rinnegan simply needed to accumulate enough chakra, and the Kyuubi's was a huge reservoir of potent, natural energy. It didn't matter where he got the chakra from.
"Well," Kakashi shrugged. "It's worth a try. At the very least, it'll feed the Rinnegan cells and that should help speed things along. It's the strongest chakra we've got access to, provided Kurama cooperates."
"I think he will! The Rinnegan will help us kick Cronus's ass. He wants revenge on Cronus just like the rest of us do!"
"..." Sasuke met Naruto's hopeful gaze, loath to admit that he'd actually thought of a decent idea for once. "Hn," he uttered, and with great reluctance, finally extended his hand.
"Alright!" Naruto gripped it in a firm handshake, grinning widely. "Let's do this!"
~x~
Author's note
Next chapter will be uploaded very soon. I had to split the content to make proof-reading easier. Feedback would be appreciated, thanks for reading!