The fury in Shisui's eyes was an almost physical thing.

Next to him, Sasuke shook his head in disbelief, hidden by his own pink wall of chakra. The horror in his eyes surprised Naruto. Was it just about the dead shinobi…?

Shisui had struck the first blow. What did they expect? He wouldn't play nice, if they didn't. But then again, he had come with a lethal trap set up, so maybe playing nice had never really been in the cards.

Same thing went for the civilians. They had been under Nagato's thrall… but he had killed a few more of them. Not so many, and only the ones too far gone. He had some trouble remembering where. It hadn't seemed particularly important at the time.

It was a mercy.

It really was. A voice whispered in his mind. How he hated it.

Stay quiet. He growled back.

"Why?!" Sasuke screamed. "Why did you come here? Why did you do… this?"

Sasuke's chakra levels were lower than usual. Had he been fighting? Training, perhaps...?

No matter what the answer was, that was good news.

Naruto released a smoke screen. Behind it, he divided his chakra almost evenly, keeping less than half for himself. He summoned four Shadow Clones, and six Lightning Shadow Clones. They stepped in between him and the Uchiha. He summoned swords for them.

Naruto shrugged as the smoke faded. He adjusted his chakra levels to match the clones'. One of the clones spoke for him, and they would alternate in order not to reveal which one was the real one.

"I really came here to propose an alliance. I just didn't expect you to accept, that's it."

"And that's what you call negotiating?" Sasuke roared. "You killed them!"

"Only because your cousin attacked. Really, maybe you should ask him about it." Naruto said mildly.

Shisui blurred.

Naruto and his clones jumped out of the way, and they closed their eyes. Naruto felt chakra build up and summoned a flash of lightning with a twitch of his fingers. Just like his clones did.

Naruto pushed his base Lightning cloak to its limit. It would cost more chakra, and the pain would likely be debilitating later on, but in this sort of fight, there simply was no other option.

His attention remained on his own chakra system, so that he would notice if Shisui caught him in a Genjutsu.

Some of his clones engaged Sasuke. Sasuke tried to fight back against them using his Susanoo, at first. The clones were too fast, and he figured he was wasting too much chakra, so he quickly brought it down. His flames didn't fare much better, as the clones made sure to coordinate their movements to seal most of them away.

The four shadow clones used the swords around the area to pull themselves into place. They spread around Sasuke, before he even noticed what they were doing.

"Four Blue Flames Formation!"

A solid chakra barrier was erected around Sasuke, separating him from Shisui.

It was an Uzushio ninjutsu, supposed to dispel most chakra attacks that came in contact with it, but considering this was Sasuke… It would likely only buy Naruto some time.

Sasuke understood exactly what he was doing, and raged helplessly about it, but the six other clones were already engaging him. He focused on them.

Naruto had to make it count.

He summoned swords in an impossibly quick motion. Then more of them, that he threw all around the area in a blur of motion.

Shisui flung three kunai at Naruto, who caught them by their handles.

He enhanced two with Wind, and one with Lightning, before throwing them back. Shisui dodged them as easily as he had thought he would.

Naruto felt the chakra buildup in Shisui's eye, and he dashed, pulling himself to a discarded sword, breaking the line of sight.

A clone moved in front of him, and Naruto kept his chakra senses on that clone's network.

"Fire Release: Blooming Flower!"

Blooming tongues of fire erupted from Shisui's mouth, flames hot enough to level a building.

Naruto and his clone blurred to the left, gliding along the floor at extreme speeds.

Shisui fell down on the clone like a bird of prey. Naruto committed the strike to memory.

There was one thing Naruto had to do. As quickly as possible, too. He turned to face him.

Naruto pulled himself to one of the swords he had thrown earlier, dodging Shisui's ensuing fireball entirely. He let go and used his forward momentum to slide along the earth, rising in a kick that Shisui countered almost casually.

Naruto tapped the floor with his hand, and the seal for a flashbang wrote itself down. He leaped in a backflip over Shisui's sweeping strike, and as he was flying upside down, he triggered it, forcing Shisui to back off.

A clone of Shisui leaped out from somewhere he hadn't seen, swinging for Naruto's head. He whipped his blade into place, before realizing the chakra signature of it was off.

Naruto dispelled the illusion affecting his chakra senses, and he barely knocked Shisui's sword away. Flames licked at his elbows, and Shisui's following kick took him in the stomach. Naruto flew away.

Shisui seemed to flicker for a second.

And then there were two of him closing in on Naruto.

Then four.

Even with his senses extended, he could not tell which one was the real one.

Two of them closed the distance and he got ready to parry their attacks. Their bodies faded away into nothing.

He could not tell which attack was the feint of the two remaining pairs.

Naruto had prepared for something like this.

Naruto summoned the weapon he had crafted for this, his chakra already ready to surge through it. A gleaming ōdachi.

He let his armor fade away, focusing all of the electrical energy into enhancing his reflexes.

Time seemed to slow down.

Which Shisui was the real one? Were there physical clones thrown into the mix, as well?

He had used an illusion on Naruto again, this much was obvious. A more complex one, this time, one that affected more than just his sight. Otherwise, his chakra senses would have been enough to identify the real one.

If he did dispel it, though… Then Shisui would notice and adjust. This was too good an opportunity.

Two Shisui in front.

One to his left and back.

One to his right, coming from above.

Faster.

Both his head and his nerves seemed to be on fire, as he pushed himself beyond his limits.

Time seemed to slow down even further. Naruto could not hear sounds anymore, or it felt like it, at least. His body was not answering him, as though he were encased in ice. Or maybe it was just going too slow, compared to this instant of clarity.

Something touched his left sleeve. A tanto, a real one, slipping in through a weaker part of his armor.

Naruto let the chakra flow back through his body.

Time resumed.

Shisui's weapon stabbed through his left bicep, on course for his heart, and Naruto prevented it from spearing him entirely by lifting his arm out of the way.

Naruto directed his chakra through his ōdachi.

His weapon released the accumulated Lightning chakra in a flash of white.

For a second, Shisui was blinded. Light wreathed the blade, and it seemed as though he were staring at the sun. Blinded and much too close.

Naruto's blade flashed upward.

Shisui twisted in midair, narrowly avoiding it. A blade made of chakra extended from the weapon, over a short distance. It was enough here.

The chakra edge cut along Shisui's face messily. And through his right eye.

The Uchiha fell to the earth with a curse.

His right eye was ruined, and blood flowed freely down his face.

He still managed to dodge Naruto's subsequent strike, one that would have taken him in the throat.

Even with his eyes closed, Naruto felt him stare at his weapon, the soulforged ōdachi he held in his right hand. A long white ribbon flowed from its pommel.

"This…?" He asked him quietly. "Ah. I was inspired by Kakashi's… and by Toru's weapon. This is my Moonglare. I made it with one specific purpose in mind."

Naruto smiled grimly, as he healed his arm. Shisui gritted his teeth.

"I assume you know exactly what I mean." Naruto continued. "Let us see how good you are without this."

This being the most problematic eye. The one that didn't require eye contact to ensnare an enemy.

Shisui roared and swung at him again.

They went on like this for a while.

Striking at each other, blocking, stepping back… and in again. There was something wild and unrestrained in Uzumaki's eyes. And something else. Something that had been there last time, in the hospital, but was… stronger now. It was hard to describe it, but it reminded Shisui of the Uchiha's cat summons.

Cats had a strange gleam in their eyes. Something uncaring, like most predators. Something that only had one question in mind.

Could I eat this?

And despite the fact it was a life-or-death battle... the Uzumaki seemed to be having fun.

And not because he thought he was winning.

Every strike Shisui parried, deflected, dodged…

Uzumaki Naruto seemed to get a clearer picture of his fighting style. Shisui even saw him use some of his own moves against him.

Shisui scrambled and clawed, bucking under the weight of Naruto's two-handed strikes, strikes that felt like blocking a mighty hammer blow every time they landed. His hands shook.

The Uchiha stepped back, avoiding yet another sweeping attack.

He stepped back in, aiming for Naruto's face with his tantō. Naruto raised his blade and parried diagonally. He was only using one hand, right now.

Naruto brought the blade back to his hip. His next attack looked as though he were trying to hit Shisui's face with the pommel of his weapon.

Then his left hand came up in a flash and pushed against the flat edge of the blade.

Jyuppo.

Shisui dodged the blade that had been aimed at his throat. The chakra edge that extended still nicked him.

Naruto's moves were strange, right now. He twisted and the pommel came back up again. Shisui felt fabric touch his wrist.

Only now did he notice that the ribbon that flew from the pommel of Naruto's blade seemed to be covered in something. His Sharingan focused on it.

Shit.

These were seals. The ribbon wrapped around Shisui's wrist when it touched it. Tightly, like a vice. Or a snake trying to suffocate its prey.

It was seal-activated, and his Sharingan could not possibly have predicted this particular movement. Uzumaki Naruto had clearly prepared for this fight.

Naruto pulled Shisui to him using his blade and his own heavier weight. He pulled hard.

A left hook rattled Shisui's jaw, sending him flying. Except… the rope pulled him back again. Naruto hit him with a spinning Lightning-enhanced kick.

Shisui fought and he scrambled, but he had the feeling it was for nothing. In just a few direct hits, he felt as though he was ready to pass out.

Naruto delivered a flurry of lightning-fast blows to him. Each one rattled his skull. He was being bounced around like a yo-yo. Shisui wasn't seeing much of anything, and his numb fingers couldn't grasp the hilt of his tanto securely enough to do much.

He needed to summon his Susanoo, but his focus was escaping him, crippling blow after crippling blow.

A ball of roaring hot fire exploded from him. Raw and unfocused, it did more to burn Shisui's throat than anything else. Naruto cursed and threw Shisui away.

This was going badly.

The Uzumaki had only gotten better since last time, it seemed. This was fast, way too fast. Did he have help…? Who? If he and Sasuke didn't stop him now… What would he become, given more time and preparation?

The crux of the problem was that all three of Shisui's biggest advantages were negated, against him. He was not as fast as Uzumaki Naruto. His Susanoo would be a waste of effort. He used clones to avoid his illusions… and fought with his eyes closed.

It was not easy on him either, and he could see that he was breathing hard, too. But Shisui knew that if it came down to stamina, there was no way he was going to win this one.

Shisui's blade started glowing again, with a fiery red flame.

"So, tell me." Uzumaki Naruto began. "At this point… What are you even fighting for? The shinobi I just killed?"

Shisui gritted his teeth. He didn't answer.

"…Revenge?" Naruto continued. "For Kakashi, maybe?"

"He was a friend." Was all that Shisui said on the matter, his grip around his sword tightening.

"Toru was a friend, too. We killed Danzo, and Kakashi took a stand."

Shisui said nothing. Just hearing his brother's name coming from this man's lips made him unbearably angry.

"And what about his eye…? Was this also just about fighting back?" He spat.

Uzumaki Naruto spoke quietly. "It wasn't just about fighting back. I enjoyed defeating him. It doesn't mean I enjoyed his death. And I didn't steal his eye."

Shisui spat. "Speaking with you is a complete waste of time."

"Suit yourself." Naruto shrugged. "I didn't come here to talk."

Purple light shrouded him for an instant, before fading away. Naruto looked somewhat disappointed, but not particularly surprised.

"I would offer you to move aside, as Toru's brother." Naruto began. "But your remaining eye is still too dangerous."

"Come take it, then." Shisui gritted out. "You must be pretty good at this, by now."

Naruto frowned.

He stepped forward, his feet moving silently on the burned earth. "I don't think there's anything you can do to me. But I'd rather not take the chance."

Uzumaki Naruto sounded… tired. No, not tired. Not even exhausted. Weary.

Not physically, but his expression, his mannerisms. He sounded like a man who had been done. For a while.

Shisui blurred.

They clashed swords. Naruto was simply better than him. Each strike reminded Shisui of how tired was. He pushed even harder. He struggled to stay alive, to not be crushed. To not suffocate.

Shisui felt a powerful kick move something within him. He slammed into the ground, the blow nearly knocking him unconscious. He stood up again.

He called his Susanoo forth, even with one eye. Well, half of it. It flickered, and the Uchiha grabbed his eye, grunting in pain, but it held.

Uzumaki just blurred away, waiting. That was a waste, and they both knew it. The rain of projectiles didn't reach him.

The blond man shook his head, almost regretfully. He looked so strong, almost invincible at this moment.

Then he moved forward again, weaving through the Susanoo's swings almost casually. Shisui felt sluggish in comparison.

The Susanoo fell away and he was forced into melee combat again. Shisui tried to keep track of the ribbon as well.

Their swords flashed through the air, electric blue and fiery orange.

Naruto kicked Shisui away, following him by flipping forward. Shisui deflected the strike, but panic was starting to show on his face. He was losing this fight.

Steel found steel.

Again.

And again.

Shisui barely deflected the following strike. Naruto put more strength in the next.

The Uchiha's back bent from the next strike. He had to end this. Right now. The Uzumaki seemed to only get better as the battle went on.

Shisui read his next strike. He dodged, as narrowly as he could.

Then he thrust his own tanto forward.

Naruto… grinned?

It wasn't a pretty sight, and it reminded Shisui of a cat again. The gleaming eyes, too. Naruto accelerated. He let go of his Moonglare, and with his left hand, he grabbed Shisui's wrist, pulling him forward, and making him overextend.

Another copy of the weapon appeared in his right hand, even as the first one still fell. This one shone bright, enhanced by Lightning. Naruto slashed down with no hesitation.

Like a vengeful Kami.

Moonglare went through Shisui's wrist like butter, and his hand fell to the ground, stiff.

The wound was already cauterized by the supercharged weapon.

Shisui howled in pain. Naruto fell upon him.

"Shisui!" Sasuke roared. The barrier finally exploded under his constant assault.

Sasuke looked exhausted already.

Not just from the fight. He had been tired before.

"Don't move." Naruto said softly. "Either of you."

A clone appeared next to him, and he handed him a sword. The clone kept it pressed against Shisui's neck.

"Otherwise he dies."

Shisui settled for glaring at him.

"I can feel your chakra. This goes for both of you. And I know your abilities." Naruto said easily. "If you try anything…"

"What do you want?" Sasuke sounded defeated.

"Come here." Naruto smiled.

Sasuke took one step forward, without thinking, before he caught himself.

"Don't!" Shisui roared.

Sasuke seemed hesitant.

"He really will kill you, Shisui. I can't—"

"Better that I die than whatever he has planned!"

"It won't be quite that bad, I assure you." Naruto said quietly.

"Sasuke! Don't come any closer!" Shisui begged.

"I won't lose you, too." Sasuke growled.

"You will!" Shisui promised. "He won't let me go. But you will lose everything if you give in to his demands."

"I am. Not. Losing. You." Sasuke gritted out.

Something about his tone made his cousin understand how serious he was about this.

Shisui smiled sadly.

Naruto understood what he was about to do. Shisui was gathering chakra into his eye. And Naruto knew what he needed to do.

That was Toru's brother.

'What does it matter?'

Was this his thought, or not? He didn't know anymore.

His blade swung right through Shisui's neck and the headless body fell to the ground.

Naruto felt the same weariness return.

Sasuke howled in rage.

The Beast he was holding, the one Naruto had helped seal inside him, released its noxious chakra through the air.

Sasuke flew at him, covered in flames.

Naruto felt something move next to him and he narrowly dodged a tanto strike. It bit into his neck, but not too deeply. He started healing it, right away.

Uzumaki Naruto furrowed his brows.

"What." Naruto blinked. "You can do something like this…?"

This was likely how Toru had survived, all these years ago, then.

Uchiha Shisui stood on his feet, still ready to fight, entirely blind.

Without his eyes, though… He wasn't much.

"Don't!" Sasuke roared, pink chakra shaping itself around him. Too slow.

The Bijuu inside Sasuke roared, now awake and wrestling for control.

And Sasuke was blinded by the fear of losing someone, too. Shukaku's chakra rose up. With a grunt of pain, Sasuke stiffened.

A terrible combination.

A Lightning-enhanced kick struck Shisui and he flew away. His flight was stopped by a tree, painfully.

He fell to the ground, his remaining hand going limp.

Dead or not…? It didn't matter. Without his eyes, he was of no consequence.

The rest happened extremely quickly.

Demonic chakra exploded.

Sasuke flew at him, covered in a mix of pink and demonic chakra.

Naruto's chakra became entirely purple. It would only last a short while, with his frayed control.

Naruto's bow snapped into his hands, and he released three Storm arrows in a flurry, expending most of his remaining chakra.

The half-formed Susanoo buckled.

The Bijuu's demonic Wind shrouded Sasuke completely, and it mixed with Fire. The result looked and felt cursed.

Sasuke's flames concentrated into a powerful offense, wrapping along his blade. He slashed forward, using his momentum to enhance the wide, sweeping sword strike.

Naruto used what little time he had to dodge the powerful flames.

He knew where Sasuke expected him to move.

Instead of fleeing, as Sasuke had expected him to do, he reached into the flames, burning his right arm raw despite his reinforced armor and his storm cloak.

Naruto couldn't feel anything but pain from his right hand. He didn't need to.

His hand reached inside Sasuke's collar blindly, landing on his shoulder at the same time his storm cloak faded away.

"Five Elements Seal!"

Naruto kicked him.

Sasuke fell to the muddy ground. His control over his chakra was going absolutely haywire. And he suddenly lost most of his remaining strength.

It was no wonder, considering how entwined his chakra was with his Beast. The Beast... that was now all too silent, and distant as well.

"…Is it the first time someone uses it against you? Really?" Naruto muttered. "Did Jiraiya teach you nothing about sealing…?"

"Bastard." Sasuke growled. "Of course you know exactly how to counter mine. You made it."

A knee was pressed into his chest. The blond was above him, dead-eyed, looking like a ghoul. More demon than man.

His right arm…

Sasuke saw that Naruto's right arm was nothing more than mangled flesh, fused together with the remnants of the cloak he had been wearing. Burnt to a crisp and useless, it dangled from his shoulder and would cause him untold amounts of pain. There was no way he'd use his damnable bow ever again. Sasuke felt some satisfaction at the sight. And he knew it wouldn't heal, Nine-Tails or not. The cursed chakra ran too deep, and even with his Sharingan, he would have trouble unweaving the threads of it.

Naruto's other hand flashed toward his face.

"That is true." Naruto grunted.

His eyes. He was going to take his eyes—

Sasuke's Sharingan saw it in all too clear detail.

His fingers would press in. There would be a popping sound, he imagined. And then there would be darkness on one side, the one thing that almost every Uchiha feared. The monster above him would then do it again to his other eye. And Sasuke would be left blind and useless for the coming disaster.

It didn't happen, and the Sharingan's prediction flickered away.

Uzumaki Naruto stiffened... and did something else instead.

Naruto pressed his index on his forehead and Sasuke's chakra escaped his control entirely. The Sharingan receded.

"Do not move." The Uzumaki warned.

His eyes were still alight with blue lightning… and madness as well.

Naruto extended his left hand and a glass dagger appeared in it.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry it came to this. But this is needed."

He drove the blade into Sasuke's navel.

Sasuke shouted in helpless rage and pain. Agony swept through him and he screamed some more.

Something cold was spreading through his gut.

No… Something warm was escaping his gut.

"Why?!" Sasuke snarled.

"You will understand soon. Or maybe you won't." Naruto said quietly.

"Get off! Get off of me!"

He was feeling tired, so tired…

Then the dagger was pulled out of his gut. Sasuke screamed again.

Naruto stood up. The dagger disappeared into a scroll.

He seemed to be deep in thought. Or debating with himself. The same ōdachi as before appeared into his hand, reflecting the moon.

"Are you going to kill me?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto said nothing. Lightning and Wind gathered around his remaining arm.

"Like you killed Shisui?!" Sasuke howled.

"He lives, still." Naruto said quietly. It changed nothing.

"Like you killed Kakashi?!"

"Silence."

It looked as though Naruto was wrestling with himself. With his desire to kill him… and his desire not to.

"You should—"

"I said SHUT UP!" Naruto screamed, putting the blade right at Sasuke's throat. Sasuke didn't even know if he was still talking to him.

Naruto unnerved him.

His hand was clenching, unclenching around the ōdachi. His control was frayed, it was obvious.

Purple light gathered around his sword, and Sasuke knew it was the end. The blade pressed into his neck, drawing blood.

He kept his eyes open, and stared up at Naruto.

Sasuke didn't need the Sharingan to know what the killing blow would look like.

And then…

Naruto began to shake.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto!" He roared. "I won't be controlled! Not by you, not by anyone! Face me, you coward!"

The Storm faded, and his sword disappeared as well.

He stared at Sasuke, his face obscured by the night.

Naruto's hand reached for his forehead without hesitation and Sasuke felt some of his chakra become reachable again. His reserves were almost empty.

"Heal your wounds." Naruto rasped out. "After that... we will settle the matter."

Uzumaki Naruto disappeared.