-Inner Sanctum-
-Naruto-
As the team split up, Naruto made a beeline straight for the grand altar, where Tobi waited by the Divine Fruit. Sasuke had stayed behind to fight Danzou, while Sakura, Hinata, and Chopper charged off towards the distant tree's trunk, where Orochimaru was carefully tending to the two sacrifices that would power the Divine Fruit's return. Naruto's destination, however, was ahead of him. Tobi stood at the top of the altar underneath the glowing orb of the Divine Fruit, looking down upon him with an unreadable masked expression.
On Naruto's shoulder, the two elder toads from Mount Myoboku balanced perilously. They seemed determined, insofar as one could judge determination in a toad's expression, but they also seemed quite confused.
"Naruto-boy," said Granny Shima, "-this is it, right? The final battle?"
"I guess so," said Naruto, eyes locked on the figure in the distance.
"You've got a plan, I suppose," stated Grandpa Fukasaku. "We'll help how we can. What do you need from us?"
Naruto nodded firmly. "I want to try linking with you two again."
"You mean what we tried during your training? But-"
"Yeah. I'm gonna be fighting a guy who can beat me and anyone else here, but I'm pretty sure he won't try to kill me. So all I need to do is make sure I'm tough enough to keep fighting. That means I need to be in Sage Mode and I can't ever run out of chakra."
Unfortunately, Sage Mode's fatal weakness was that you couldn't gather the required energy when in motion. He doubted that Tobi would let him stop to recover his chakra any time he wanted.
He considered that thought a little further. Actually, Tobi might actually just agree to let him take a breather if he asked nicely, but it couldn't be wise to rely on that.
Ma and Pa shared a confused look before Ma spoke up. "The last time we tried that the Kyuubi stopped us. It might work for for Jiraiya, but…"
"No, I got this," insisted Naruto. "It's not gonna be a problem this time."
He directed a thought inward. "Right, Kurama? I'm still no good at pulling in natural energy on the go. I need the toads to help pull it in for me. Is that gonna be a problem for you?"
There was inner silence for a long moment.
"Kurama?"
I hear you. I make no promises, but I can attempt to restrain my chakra to avoid interfering with whatever link you make with them.
Back in reality, Naruto gave the two toads a reassuring nod. "Yeah, Kura- er… the Kyuubi says it's alright. He'll let us try again."
The toads blinked in confusion. "Yer speaking to the demon?!" exclaimed Pa.
"Yeah, just, look, long story short, right before you got here we had a conversation with the ghost of the six-whatever sage. He said a lot of stuff about the prophecy, got freaked out because Sasuke didn't have a Rinnegan of his own, told you toads to go screw yourselves, and got me and Kurama here to work together for this one fight. So now I can speak to him when I need to."
The toads' eyes boggled. "T-that sounds like a hell of a long story told really darn short!"
"Not telling them about the rest of it?" thought Sasuke, his voice intruding into his heart.
"No time for the rest right now," said Naruto, answering both questions at once. "Come on, let's try it."
Still off-balance from Naruto's worrying proclamations, Ma and Pa placed both webbed hands together.
[SAGE ART: AMPHIBIAN TECHNIQUE]
Abruptly, the toads fused their bodies to his, each mounted on one shoulder as they began pumping a steady stream of natural energy into his chakra system. There was a momentary probe from Kurama's chakra, but it soon passed. In moments, Naruto was able to begin transforming that same energy into the chakra required to enter Sage Mode, his face subtly changing coloration as he became one with the natural world. At the same time, his speed, strength, and stamina increased immensely, and with it came a deeper awareness of the energies of nature.
The Divine Fruit blazed like a star in his mind, completely unlike anything he had ever felt before. Beneath it stood Tobi, guarding the fruit like a watchdog.
"Boy, what's wrong?" asked Pa. "Yer losing control of the energy!"
Naruto took a deep breath and readjusted the flow of chakra through his body. "Sorry. I just… got a bit angry."
Buoyed by his new vitality, Naruto charged to the grand altar, ascending its steps in leaps and bounds until he reached the top. Tobi watched him approach, his driftwood mask blank, though his hands twitched uncomfortably at his side. Finally, Naruto stopped nearly fifty feet away, staring at the masked man with a fierce expression.
"Tobi," said Naruto.
Tobi looked guiltily back and forth. "Uhh, who are you, young man who I don't know, and why do you know my name?"
"Cut the crap, Tobi. I know it's you. Take off that damn mask already."
Tobi raised a hand to his face, running a tentative finger over the rough driftwood. "I, uhhh… Yeah, well… I'm not really comfortable without the—"
"Just take off the mask!" shouted Naruto. "You already lied to me enough! I'm not talking to a piece of wood!"
Tobi pulled away the mask, revealing his scarred face to the world once more. He looked at Naruto and shrugged. "Dun dun dun…" he intoned, a sad series of descending notes. "Yeah, it's me."
"I know, Tobi."
"Sooooo…" said Tobi, feigning cheer. "You look great. There's something different about you, though. Gained some weight? Got a haircut? Are those shoulder-toads new, or-"
"Stop fooling around! You know why I'm here."
Tobi winced. His expressions were greatly exaggerated, as always. "I know you're probably here to kill me, but, umm… Well, the good news is that I'm going to be dead anyway pretty soon so really you don't need to—"
"I'm not here to kill you, Tobi!" Naruto shouted, before returning to a low mumble, "-not that I don't feel like trying or anything."
Tobi blinked, his confusion evident on his face. "You're not?"
"No! I'm here to stop you before you get that far."
Tobi shuffled his feet. His eyes glanced off into the distance where Danzou was fighting Sasuke.
"Tobi!"
Tobi whipped his head back to focus on Naruto. "Oh, sorry… Is… is this because you think we're still friends?"
On his shoulder, Pa spoke up."Naruto, what in the nine hells is goin' on here? He thinks yer friends with him or something?"
"Umm," began Tobi. "Did that toad just talk, or was it just me?"
"No, it didn't," insisted Naruto, casting a pointed glance towards his own left shoulder. "-it'd be really weird if these toads started talking, you know? I know you're not all that good with new people, and it might freak you out or something."
Pa took the hint and shut up. Naruto continued talking. "Tobi, I don't know what the hell we are, man. You killed my family, hurt tons of people, then lied to me about it again and again. You've probably done worse things that I don't even know about, but one way or another I'm not gonna let you die until I know why!"
Tobi looked deeply confused. "Why... what?"
"Why…!" Naruto struggled to find his words. "Why this?! Why everything?! Are you crazy?! Was everything you told me all an act?"
"I… I don't follow."
"Who the hell even are you, Tobi?! Why are you so set on killing yourself?! You acted like the kind of friendly goofy guy that just has fun living no matter what he's doing, but was that all a lie?!"
Far off in the distance, Orochimaru shouted in their direction. "Tobi! Now is not the time to play around! Kill these people!"
Tobi shifted uncomfortably. "I… I don't want to talk about all that right now," said Tobi, "-and that means no more questions. Naruto, you'd better get out of my way. I know they call me the 'Good Boy,' but I'm really not. Not good, I mean."
"Tobi, you're not running away from me!"
Tobi shook his head. "No. I can't run from here. This is where I have to be, after all. But I don't have to deal with you, either. I have helpers to do that for me."
As Naruto readied himself to fight, Tobi clapped his hands together. There was a vast explosion of smoke and a rapid-fire barrage of noise. Slowly, the clearing smoke revealed hints of four tremendous beasts that towered over Naruto and Tobi despite having been summoned at the base of the grand altar.
"Behold," declared Tobi, indicating his summoned monsters with an elaborate flourish. "Mister Crabby! Rhinodon! Ape-Ape! And last but not least, the Dreaded Long-Horse!"
Despite already having been briefed on the Rinnegan's ability to summon giant animals, the jaws of Naruto and his two toad friends dropped in utter shock as Naruto's eyes locked onto the tallest of the beasts. "That's… that's a giraffe," he stated.
Tobi blinked, and then turned to look at the long-necked yellow beast. It stared down at Naruto with murder in its bloodshot eyes. Despite the assurances he'd been given by the rest of the crew about a giraffe's supposedly herbivorous nature, this one had sharp, terrifying fangs. As he watched, it ran a long, purple tongue out of its mouth, licking its eyeballs one at a time in anticipation of a bloody battle.
"What? Long-Horse?" asked Tobi.
"No… no, man, it-it's called a giraffe."
"What, really? That's a stupid name! I thought he was just a mutant horse or something!"
"Y-yeah…" Naruto shook his head rapidly. "Shit, that's not important right now!"
That said, he bit down on his thumb, drawing blood in preparation for his own massive technique.
Tobi continued talking. "Anyway, enough about horses. You'll have to fight these guys until I get back from whatever Orochimaru is yelling about. And… Naruto? Sorry, but all that stuff I said before? Down on the island? It still holds true. You can't talk me out of… huh?"
There was another massive explosive barrage of smoke, this time from Naruto's side. When it cleared, several tremendous toads, loaded with weaponry, stared back at the array of Rinnegan beasts.
"Err," began Tobi, surveying the battletoads with disbelief. "Wait, what?"
"Tobi," said Naruto, "I don't give a shit about any big dumb giraffes! You're not getting rid of me, so you and I are gonna talk this out whether you like it or not!"
-Sasuke-
Sasuke circled his opponent warily. Though his companions had dashed away to their respective encounters, his true fight lay directly ahead of him. Shimura Danzou, former shadow of Konoha, stood as gatekeeper, one eye hidden behind an ornate black eyepatch. The moment that Sasuke had fired his pistol and grazed the old man, Danzou had abandoned his attempt to chase down the rest of the team. Now he watched Sasuke with what seemed like equal wariness, his eyes downcast to avoid meeting his gaze.
"What's wrong, old man?" sneered Sasuke. "Can't look me in the eyes? Afraid of what you might see?"
Danzou's expression could have curdled milk, and Sasuke exulted in the feeling. Anyone who was preparing to fight an Uchiha did well to practice avoiding even incidental eye contact with the Sharingan, but even with such training it would be a brutal handicap for the old man. If Danzou was so afraid of being trapped in the Tsukuyomi with Itachi that he wouldn't even take that risk at long-range then that only spelled good things for this fight.
A brief pulse of anger rushed through him. In reality, Itachi was dead twice over, and it was this bastard old man who had killed him; it was right and just for him to live in terror of the ghost of his victim.. Though… it still wouldn't be a good idea to try and catch Danzou inside the Tsukuyomi again. After his last disastrous attempt at torturing the old man, he was pretty sure he didn't have what it took to become Itachi.
Off in the recesses of his mind, Sasuke could hear thoughts from Naruto breaking their way through the still-developing mental barrier between them, but he ignored them. Something about horrifying yellow beasts, but nothing was directed towards him, and this fight was too important for him to be distracted.
"Nothing to say?" asked Sasuke, continuing to slowly circle Danzou. "No snide, condescending remarks? You wouldn't be trying to figure out how to run away, would you?"
One of Danzou's facial muscles twitched. Apparently coming to a decision, he reached up and slowly removed his eyepatch, exposing the Sharingan underneath. Sasuke took the opportunity to examine it in detail, his improved visual acuity letting him see the chakra flows and physical microstructures inside the stolen Sharingan. One thing was immediately clear; the eye was nearly blind. Interesting.
"That's better," said Sasuke. "For a moment I was afraid you weren't going to take me seriously."
Abruptly, Danzou's hands flashed through several seals. A cloud of cutting wind blasted across the room. Sasuke dodged out of the path of the Ninjutsu, only to be intercepted as Danzou descended upon his location, black sword raised for the kill.
Sasuke smirked and then disappeared.
[SORU]
Danzou's sword cleaved through the air where Sasuke had just been. Moments later, a torrent of flame Ninjutsu washed over the area, catching Danzou in the edge of the blast before he escaped. He hit the ground rolling and slightly smoking before leaping back to his feet.
Soon, they were back in their original positions, with Sasuke openly laughing at the old man's misfortune. "Hahahah! Okay, I take back what I said about taking me seriously. What, you thought you could just assassinate me and move on? Please."
Danzou said nothing, narrowing his eyes and watching Sasuke's feet carefully.
"Though, I am curious," said Sasuke, pointing his cutlass in Danzou's direction, "-about that sword. That looks like a real masterpiece you've got there. And since you've stolen everything you have, whose family did you have to murder to get it?"
Danzou exhaled an irritated breath. It looked as though the old man had finally accepted that he'd have to actually engage in real combat and conversation. He raised the sword before him. The black blade caught the light in odd ways, reflecting a brilliant crimson watermark. It looked as though someone had trapped a dark nebula beneath the surface. Despite himself, Sasuke was actually a little bit jealous.
"The legendary blade, Shusui," said Danzou, passing the sword in front of himself. "It is an unending demon forged into the form of curved steel. Neither fire, nor lightning, nor even burning magma can harm its edge. If god itself saw fit to test its strength then god itself would break first. It is inviolate."
Sasuke scoffed. "That's a little melodramatic."
"Adults can learn to appreciate the finer things in life in ways that a child cannot," remarked Danzou, turning the sword this way and that. "And this… this sword is truly one of those finer things. It makes me somewhat curious about the kingdom that forged this blade. Apparently they have their own shinobi tradition. Perhaps our own people emigrated at some point in the distant past, hmm?"
Sasuke was silent.
"Ah, but perhaps I'd better not look into it too closely," said Danzou. "This ocean has a peculiar way of… corrupting everything it touches. Seeing what such ninjas have become would surely only aggravate me further."
He nodded in Sasuke's direction, indicating the two weapons he held. "Far too late for you, it seems. A shinobi who relies on a firearm is one who has lost all confidence in his own capabilities."
"Worked well enough for me so far," snapped Sasuke, watching the blood drip from the cut on Danzou's cheek that his first shot had gouged out.
"Entirely my mistake," admitted Danzou. "It won't happen again, and it certainly won't save your pathetic life."
Sasuke and Danzou charged forward at same time, and the noise of steel clashing against steel echoed through the room. Their swords locked in ferocious combat from the very start, and Sasuke brought the full fury of Gold Roger's copied fighting technique to bear. He exulted in the expression of shock that came over his opponent as Danzou realized just how much Sasuke had improved. Danzou was definitely no slouch, but this was doable! He could actually take revenge! This was it. This was what he had wanted to do for so many years. The first time he could fight someone not only with the willingness to kill, but the desire to. A flick of his wrist, a flash of fire, then the smell of gunpowder, and he felt himself eagerly hoping the bullet would strike home, though the old man dodged the weapon's trajectory by the slimmest of margins.
"Calm down, man," thought Naruto, inside his soul. "Don't go off the deep end on me now."
"I've got him!" thought Sasuke. "He's mine!"
"Geez, be careful! I can't believe I'm the one telling you to stop and think. We're just trying to keep these guys busy right now. Feel free to go all out after the others rescue Ace."
Sasuke withdrew from the bloodlust, feeling somewhat chagrined. His attacks lessened in ferocity, recovering his practiced form. He half-expected Danzou to make a condescending remark about his resolve, but the old man still seemed shocked to be challenged as an equal.
"This isn't your power alone," said Danzou, thrusting and parrying with increasing ease as his surprise waned. "You're fighting me with another's strength."
Sasuke snorted. "Hah… Once upon a time a dig like that might have bothered me, but yeah. I've had help, alright. I've had help from people you wouldn't even believe."
"Oh? You really think you can beat me with stolen power, boy?"
"Stolen power?!" growled Sasuke. "A man who ordered his lapdogs to slaughter a village for him and then ran away licking his own wounds wants to tell me all about honorable combat? What the hell do you call that eye of yours, huh?!"
Danzou shook his head. "Hmph. I don't know why I even bother trying to lecture a child throwing a tantrum. What a waste of time. You haven't made that strength your own yet, which means you're about to learn just how fragile stolen power can be."
Sasuke saw the chakra building behind Danzou's eye, and he was already leaping to the side when the three-pronged sigil of a Mangekyou Sharingan appeared.
[YATAGARASU]
There it was. The unknown Mangekyou that Itachi had seen. Though it was impossible to guess what power it possessed, the safest bet for now was to dodge its sight entirely. Sasuke hit the ground running, disappearing with the speed of Soru. Blurring into a new position, he spun to face Danzou, but the old man was already running towards his new location, eyes still locked onto his lower body.
Well, apparently evading wasn't going to work, but he hadn't yet burst into flames either, so that was a plus. This Mangekyou must be of a type that doesn't kill you just by looking at you.
Sasuke repeated his earlier disappearing act, only to stumble halfway through his dash as a kunai nearly struck him in the neck. Then Danzou was upon him, and Sasuke turned to ready his stance. Danzou raised his black sword and attacked. Sasuke moved to parry the first strike, and then was overwhelmed by a burst of adrenaline as Danzou smoothly countered his defense as if it hadn't even mattered. Sasuke hurriedly swept his cutlass down, barely deflecting the hit after it had already cut into his side.
He cried out as a line of pain shot through his body. Stunned, he tried to regain his stance, only to find his defense obliterated once more. Another cut blazed a fiery trail across his arm and Sasuke immediately retreated. Danzou was on him in an instant.
The attacks came fast and furious. They drove him back with a merciless, unyielding precision that made him feel like a child learning to fight against a master. It felt just like the times he had gotten too cocky training under Kakashi, and his teacher had decided to drill into him exactly how low he still stood on the ladder of power. The only thing that let him keep his cool in the face of Danzou's onslaught were the last three days he had spent getting absolutely destroyed by Gold Roger. If the Pirate King couldn't break him then neither would this evil old man.
But inside the Tsukuyomi he had been immortal. Out here in the real world he couldn't keep taking hits. He had to run, but Danzou wasn't letting him get any room. Was there anything he could do to get some space?
Ah, yes. Yes, there was.
Danzou looked surprised before Sasuke had even done anything. Kicking hard off the ground, Sasuke leapt into the air, barely dodging a final swipe of Danzou's blade. Danzou immediately flicked his fingers through a quick series of hand seals and blew a barrage of wind chakra in his direction, but for once Sasuke saw it coming.
[GEPPOU]
At the height of his jump he jumped again, dodging the Ninjutsu completely. Soon, he was kicking off of the air every couple of seconds, dancing in the sky. Danzou stopped fighting entirely, settling instead for glaring up at him in a way that reminded him of the legions of adults he and Naruto had pissed off back in the days of their youth.
Hmm, that was a little odd. Jumping this high should be no problem for a ninja like Danzou, but he was staying firmly earthbound. Attacking Sasuke in the air would put the old man at a disadvantage, but considering how overwhelming he had been the sudden stop to the fight was somewhat jarring.
Eventually, Danzou grew impatient enough to ask a question. "What do you think you're doing?"
Well, time to make like the good old days and piss off a geezer.
"Uhh, flying?" said Sasuke, as if he was talking to an idiot child. "What, you're telling me you've been out here longer than I have and you haven't even learned how to fly yet?"
Inside his heart, Naruto snorted with amusement in between dodging hits from Tobi. Danzou looked briefly like he was about to blow a gasket, but then took a deep breath, shook his head, and sighed. "I despair of this world ever making sense again," he muttered. "If you're done showing off, you can come back down to earth."
"What if I don't feel like it?"
Danzou disengaged his Mangekyou, turned around, and began walking off towards the other fights.
"What a waste of time. Perhaps your earthbound friends will be more inclined to fight me."
Shit. Sasuke continued jumping in the air, following after the old man and thinking carefully. One thing was for certain; he couldn't go back to the ground until he knew just how Danzou's Mangekyou worked.
He'd have to review what he knew.
Danzou's eye was nearly blind, so he wouldn't keep it activated unless it was accomplishing something. He hadn't been trying to make eye contact even after activating it, which meant it was less likely to be a Genjutsu-type. Neither had he done anything overt, such as controlling living lightning or summoning endless black flame, which meant his power was probably something subtle and constant.
Which meant… what, exactly? That was the toughest kind to predict.
As quickly as possible, Sasuke reviewed his visual memory of every moment of the fight starting with the activation of the Mangekyou. The answer would be found there. The thing that had changed was Danzou's sudden burst of overwhelming skill; every move that Sasuke had made was suddenly countered effortlessly, and he'd had to scramble to react in time to save his own skin.
"Dude," thought Naruto. "You're thinking too hard. I'm fighting for my life over here and you're still putting me to sleep."
Sasuke sighed. "I didn't ask to be connected to you, jerk. I have to figure out the technique's weakness or I'll get killed."
"You're still alive, yeah? Focus on why he hasn't killed you yet!"
"If it were that easy, don't you think I would have-"
He paused. Why was he still alive? When a ninja as cold-blooded as Danzou gets the upper hand the fight should be over immediately, but he had survived multiple strikes. Not unscathed, admittedly, but he was still breathing. Every time Danzou had attacked, Sasuke had been overwhelmed and forced to react at a disadvantage, at which point he had deflected death by a narrow margin.
Wasn't that backwards? How could he have put up a better defense with no time to think than when he'd been focused and prepared? It went against everything he'd ever been taught. It was almost as though Danzou had known exactly what he was going to do, but couldn't follow through after Sasuke saw it coming. Except for the Ninjutsu Danzou had fired right before he had escaped to the air.
No, wait! There too! Danzou had started readying his attack before Sasuke had even known he was going to be jumping. He'd aimed it perfectly, and only the fact that Sasuke could redirect his course in midair had saved his life.
"Mind-reading or something?" thought Naruto. "I dunno how these stupid eyeballs work, so…"
Sasuke's breath hitched at the terrifying thought, but he calmed down a moment later. "I don't think so. If it was actually mind-reading then he would have known that Itachi isn't here to help me anymore. I think he might literally be able to see what I'm doing before I know I'm going to do it."
"What?! That's crazy!"
"Maybe… but not as crazy as you might think. Sharingan-users have always pretended to be able to see the future, but the fact is that we're just incredibly good at analyzing the tiny unconscious movements in a person's body. You'd be surprised just how much the Sharingan can read from the little things."
"Oh, shut up about your damn eyes for once, okay? I know you brag about 'em all the time out loud, but you do it in your head, too?"
"You're jealous," chuckled Sasuke. "I get it. But it's not uncommon for a new Mangekyou Sharingan to develop based on the specialties of the person who it comes to. Itachi specialized in flames and illusions, and he received eyes that reflected those interests perfectly. If whoever these eyes belonged to had focused their training on reading the future in every tiny clue then it wouldn't be out of the question for them to develop a more advanced version of that. Something that takes in everything it sees and makes predictions from there."
He silently seethed. "If that Mangekyou was formed on the night of the massacre then someone's family and friends died to make it. I doubt they would appreciate it being used by their murderer."
Naruto was silent for a moment. "Man, no offense, but that's bullshit. If he can see the future then why aren't you dead?"
Sasuke paused again, still trailing behind Danzou. Again, why wasn't he dead? A skill like that might not be the flashiest ability around, but it still should have made mincemeat out of him. What should he-
"AGH!" exclaimed Naruto. "Stop thinking and just do something already! I'm having enough trouble over here! I can't keep listening to you thinking yourself in circles and distracting me!"
"I don't see you coming up with any good ideas."
"You want a Naruto-style good idea? If he's predicting everything you do then you just need to be too unpredictable to predict!"
"Too… too unpredictable to… what?"
"You need to keep him guessing," thought Naruto, "-and I know just how to do it. I hope you've been paying attention to the rest of the crew, man."
Sasuke drew a blank before realization hit him. "You want me to copy the crew?"
"I dunno! Copy everything! Make it so he can't adapt to what you're doing even if he can see the future! Hit him with everything and keep changing it up!"
Sasuke frowned, thinking furiously. "I don't think that'll work. As long as he can see me he'll still see what I'm planning long enough in advance to be prepared. The only way that'd work is if I was out of his sight when I made the decision to switch it up. I guess I could try a smoke bomb or something, but that might hurt me more than—"
"No!" interrupted Naruto. "Listen to me! If he can't see me and I'm the one giving you orders then neither of you will know what you're doing until the last second, right?"
"…" Sasuke drew another blank. "What?! You want me to just go in there and start fighting him based on whatever you tell me to do next? That's crazy!"
Sasuke watched Danzou nervously from above. The old man had picked up speed, now running directly towards where Sakura, Hinata, and Chopper were trying to rescue Ace. Giant monsters battled against each other in between, but he had no doubt that Danzou and Orochimaru working together would be an insurmountable challenge. He had to try something soon.
"Okay," he thought. "Crazy or not, we'll try it. But don't tell me what to do, just give me names, alright? Anyone I've seen fight or sparred with."
That said, he took a deep breath and then dropped to the ground, landing lightly before stretching his legs after the aerial exertion. Danzou turned back immediately, his Sharingan swirling back into its advanced form. A smirk on his face, he approached at high speed to resume the battle.
"Alright," mumbled Sasuke, raising his weapons. "Guess it's this or nothing. Naruto, I need a name."
The first command came through just a second before Danzou arrived, his black blade raised for the kill.
"Zoro!"
Sasuke's hand blurred, swapping his pistol for his personal katana.
[NITOURYU]
His grip on both swords firmed, and then he flickered forwards, stopping directly in front of his opponent with both katana and cutlass held to the side.
[NITOURYU: NIGIRI]
Danzou's motions faltered, seeming momentarily shocked as Sasuke brought both swords straight up into the air.
[TOUROU]
Sasuke cut upwards. One sword knocked Danzou's guard aside, and the other bit into his chest as Sasuke rose into the sky like an ascending eagle. Stunned by the pain, the old man cast his gaze upward, but couldn't see where his foe had gone.
[OOTOUROU]
Sasuke descended from behind, pushing off the air to attack from a blind spot. The dual-swords smashed into Danzou's hurried defense, and Sasuke smirked victoriously as he followed with a storm of attacks.
"It worked!" he thought.
Though it had indeed harmed Danzou, the old man quickly regained his footing, deflecting Sasuke's swords with a flurry of precise motions that swiftly turned the tides. His advantage hadn't lasted long.
"Another one!"
"Sanji!"
Sasuke didn't think; he just dropped to the ground and spun, snapping a kick at Danzou's legs. When the old man jumped into the air to dodge the attack, Sasuke kicked off the stones, one foot spearing upwards.
[POITRINE SHOOT]
It struck Danzou unerringly in the chest, driving the air from his lungs. He flew back into the air, spinning wildly. Cursing, he landed from the brutal attack and skidded backwards across the stones, scanning the area for sign of Sasuke.
[CONCASSÉ]
Sasuke dropped out of the sky spinning like a buzz-saw. Danzou dove out of the way to dodge the vicious axe-kick just in time to miss an impact that shattered the ground with its force, sending up a cloud of broken rock shards. Then Sasuke charged forward, and though his opponent's movements quickly began adjusting to his barrage of kicks, he took courage from Danzou's worried expression.
"Another name!"
"Jiraiya!"
He immediately switched to everything he had learned by copying Jiraiya's bombastic fighting-style, throwing wide-angled punches and kicks with reckless abandon, only switching out when Danzou adjusted. He kept at it, with Naruto sending more and more names his way.
"Those CP9 guys!"
"Kakashi!"
"Gold Roger again!"
"Uh, Luffy!"
Sasuke snorted at that one. If it weren't for the fact that he'd been ready for Naruto to say something like that then it might have confused him. Instead, he switched out for another name, sheathing his swords and grabbing two kunai to duplicate Commodore Flounders' dual-knife aerial fighting style. He also made a mental note to remind Naruto that the Sharingan wouldn't let him stretch his limbs, no matter how amazing it was.
His daggers licked out, deflecting Danzou's sword yet failing to harm the man. Whether it was because Danzou was getting used to his technique swapping or because the copied technique was weaker than the others he couldn't say. Either way, Danzou was recovering from every subsequent change in his fighting style faster and faster, which meant this wasn't tenable in the long run.
"Any more ideas?" he asked, when Naruto's suggestions flagged.
"Sorry," thought Naruto. "Busy trying not to die over here!"
Sasuke frowned. Come to think of it, it didn't really matter any more. Danzou was getting so used to fighting him that even figuring out new surprises wouldn't help. It was time to back off and think of a new plan. He jumped into the air and kicked into flight, abandoning Danzou entirely.
The old man watched him go with rage burning in his eyes. "It seems you've forgotten something, child!" he spat. "You're not the only one with a Sharingan!"
That said, the old man jumped into the air... and then jumped again.
[GEPPOU]
Sasuke's eyes opened wide as Danzou shot towards him, sword raised for the kill. The fight began again in mid-air, and all he could think about was how screwed he was.
-Naruto-
The battle against Tobi, if you could call it that, had been raging for several minutes now, but little progress had been made in either direction.
Tobi's Rinnegan exploded with power and Naruto flew away at high speed, soaring over the battleground below, where an army of toads fought the four hideous Rinnegan monsters. Grandpa Fukasaku's tongue sprung from his mouth, stretching out to ridiculous lengths and wrapping around a low-hanging branch of the Divine Tree. Before Tobi knew it, Naruto was being swung back towards the fight once again. Tobi grunted with frustration. This wasn't the first time, or even the fifth time this had happened.
"Ugh!" exclaimed Tobi. "Leave me alone already!
"Tobi! I'm not leaving until you answer me!"
"FINE! I'll answer you! Whatever, just leave me alone!"
Naruto landed back on top of the altar. "Look, I don't know exactly what I wanna ask you yet, but-"
"Then why are you still talking to me?!" screamed Tobi.
"Because you're my friend!" yelled Naruto, though he immediately looked like he regretted it.
Tobi was silent for a moment, but he didn't seem particularly moved by Naruto's confession. "Am I? Am I really? Because I asked people, you know? I asked them if you could be friends with someone if you killed their parents and they said 'no!' They called me stupid for asking! And you know what? After thinking it through, I agree with them!"
Naruto growled, not at all aware of what he was planning to say until he said it. "Okay, you want me to call you stupid? You're a stupid idiot, Tobi! I can't even believe all the boneheaded things you've been doing, and I'm saying that as someone who's pretty damn good at making boneheaded decisions! And maybe you're not my friend! But you know what? You should be! If your dad hadn't screwed you up then maybe you could've been!" He shook his head. "That's who I'm talking to here. Not you, but some other Tobi inside of you who isn't trying to be a total piece of shit all the time!"
All of a sudden, Tobi looked deeply uncertain. "Some... other Tobi? But there's only me in here. I don't… I don't get it? My... dad? Why-"
"You think I wasn't paying attention to what you were saying down there?" interrupted Naruto. "You told me all about how your dad made you do all of this crazy stuff, but we found out who he really was! Uchiha Madara. We learned all about him before coming up here."
Tobi looked nervous. His expressive face made every emotion shine through without any filters. "Umm… but…"
"Tell me the truth, Tobi," said Naruto. "Was the rest of what you told me really true? You're really planning on killing yourself to bring Madara back to life?"
Tobi stilled for a moment, then slowly nodded. When he spoke again, he sounded sombre. "The Rinnegan has the power to bring back the dead in exchange for my own life. That was always his plan… to be revived so that he could bring peace to the world one day."
Naruto's jaw dropped. He looked back and forth to Ma and Pa, but they looked just as stumped as he did. Far off in the distance, several large snakes appeared in puffs of smoke as Orochimaru revved up the fight to protect his sacrifices. A second after that, a big chunk of what looked like a slug plopped mightily into existence, making the monster mash trinity complete.
"Peace?!" exclaimed Naruto. "That's what this is about? He wanted all this done for peace?!"
"Well, umm… nobody else is doing it, so…"
For a moment, Naruto stammered and stuttered. On one hand it was probably the best possible reason Tobi might have had for going to war with the world, but on the other hand it was literally the most ridiculous idea he'd ever heard. "You and the rest of your cronies have practically been a walking warzone! If you care about peace so much then why aren't you working towards that yourself?!"
Tobi looked aghast. "Oh, no! I couldn't dream of bringing peace to the world myself, Naruto. Lord Madara said it was very hard, and you may not have noticed this, but I am not very smart."
"And Madara was?! There are lots of smart people in the world who want peace! Why can't you help one of them?! Why does it have to be a dead guy?!"
Tobi looked increasingly uncomfortable. "But… if I chose someone else… then Lord Madara would stay dead?"
"Yeah, he would! That's what happens when you're dead, Tobi! You're supposed to stay that way! Look, is this really about peace at all, or is it just about making him happy?"
"Ummm… both."
"Argh! What's Madara's plan, then? What's he going to do that anyone else couldn't?"
"I don't really know…"
"You don't even know?!"
"I wasn't the plan guy, to be completely honest."
"Tobi, what if his idea of peace was just killing everyone and then calling it quits?!"
Tobi finally seemed on firmer ground now. "I don't think that sounds likely. He's probably got a really cool idea."
"A cool idea?! That's what you're willing to die for?!"
"Well what's your idea, huh?!" shouted Tobi, now thoroughly agitated. "-and don't say 'grab all the Tailed-Beasts and use them to trap everyone in the world inside a big monster tree-'" he smirked, "-because we already thought of that."
"Damnit, Tobi!" Naruto snarled, provoking a pulse of concern from Sasuke and his two toad minders.
"Naruto," thought Sasuke. "I'm only catching like half of this, but if you're not making progress then don't beat your head against the wall. Try a different angle."
Sasuke was right. Tobi was either too dumb or too stubborn for this line of reasoning. He'd have to take a different approach.
"What about your dad?" he asked, grappling onto the one thing Tobi seemed to care about. "Was it his idea for you to kill yourself for him, or was this some stupid thing you came up with on your own?"
Tobi winced. "Uhh, actually it wasn't supposed to be me… it's just that…"
"Then this wasn't the plan at all, was it?" Naruto pushed forward, drawing on all of the good things he had heard about dads in the past. "Look, you really love your dad, right? So that means he loved you too, right? So if your dad were here right now, would he really want you to die for him, or would he want you to stay alive and live happily?"
Though everything Naruto had heard about the experience of having parents had led him to believe otherwise, this appeared to be the wrong question to ask. Tobi froze in place, clutched his head, and screamed. "HE'D WANT ME TO DIE!" he shouted.
As Naruto reeled back from Tobi's sudden outburst, Tobi exploded into movement, charging at him with overwhelming speed. His fist connected with Naruto's face, knocking him off the altar and to the ground below. Shouting in pain, Naruto stood up only to see Tobi descending upon him. He dodged out of the way between the legs of various enormous beasts with all the speed he could muster in Sage Mode, but Tobi caught up quickly, his face contorted in anger.
"Are you happy now?! I know! I know! He'd want me to die for him and it hurts to think about it! I know all of that already, so JUST SHUT UP AND STOP TALKING TO ME!"
It looked as though what little hope he'd had to resolve this peacefully had gone right out the window. His last thought before the fight resumed was a desperate plea to Sasuke for ideas.
-Sakura, Hinata, Chopper-
A viper fifteen feet wide uncoiled itself with massive force, smashing Sakura through the air. She recovered just in time to avoid breaking her back on the Divine Tree's trunk, turning the crushing impact into a horizontal three-point landing. She looked to the side. Chopper was barely fifty feet away, still carefully removing the invasive medical implements that had been implanted inside Ace to connect his chakra system to the tree.
Their defense line shattered, Orochimaru saw a chance to attack. He dove forward, slipping past Hinata in an attempt to drive the reindeer child away from his sacrifice once and for all. Two serpents abandoned the skirmish to follow him in formation, forming a deadly spear that would bring death to the distracted Chopper.
Before he could get very far, three tremendous blobs of wet, white pseudo-flesh dropped to the ground right in front of the snake-man's advance. Lady Katsuyu had gladly agreed to help Sakura fight this battle, though Sakura only had the chakra reserves to summon a small portion of the slug queen's immense bulk. It was still a tremendous boon. She had occasionally heard her master Tsunade mention just how effective her great slug ally was against Orochimaru's snakes, but it hadn't sunk in until right now. A brightly-ringed serpent sank its fangs into the slug, its ridiculously deadly poison accomplishing absolutely nothing as Katsuyu secreted a potent acid in return. In seconds the snake was thoroughly dead, and the slug fragment was free to move on to other targets.
Orochimaru, however, didn't seem to care. He dove straight through the center-most slug like a penetrating drill, and the flashy attack distracted Katsuyu from noticing the moment when he dissolved inside her body, the true Orochimaru diving out of the ground behind the defenders, continuing his charge towards Ace uncontested. Chopper was defenseless, Hinata was busy fighting off no less than half a dozen super-serpents, and that left Sakura alone to stop Orochimaru's assault. She winced, but couldn't let herself be paralyzed with indecision. There was really only one choice now.
"Hey asshole!" shouted Sakura. Orochimaru glanced to the side just in time to see her lift a chunk of masonry the size of her torso and chuck it overarm straight at the second sacrifice, Kakuzu's lightning heart. Orochimaru dove sideways so quickly he seemed to blur, leaping up and slicing the stone projectile out of the air.
She allowed herself a grim smile.
Orochimaru may have been an unbeatable monster, but he still had to defend his sacrifices at all costs or else lose the Fruit. By attacking the second sacrifice with everything she had, he was forced to defend it instead of killing them. Unfortunately, it also meant that every single time she attacked she was gambling with the fate of the world, but she had to trust that Orochimaru could handle anything she threw at him.
Wasn't that a laugh.
More thrown stones followed the first until one of the tremendous snakes charged at her from the side, fangs bared. Hinata rushed in, bringing both palms into its scaly side in a crashing blow that sent it flying out of the way, hissing in pain from its internal injuries.
Without warning, the black-stringed beast that was serving as the second human sacrifice began writhing and twisting in apparent pain, lightning exploding from its body in unregulated bursts. Orochimaru shot a surprised glare over his shoulder before leaping backwards and rushing to his sacrifice's aid. He shielded himself, grabbed the bound sacrifice, umbilical cable and all, and leapt up to a tree branch far above, giving them some degree of relief.
Hmm… if that thing really was one of Kakuzu's hearts then that meant the rest of the gang had managed to hurt him somehow.
"Hey!" shouted Chopper.
She glanced to the side. Chopper was waving in their direction.
"Ace is okay!" He shouted, relief, pride, and worry warring in his expression. "I've fixed him up, but I can't take off his handcuffs! They're made of seastone!"
"I've got it," said Hinata, immediately bursting into a run.
Above them, Orochimaru finished stabilizing the stringed monster, ripping its electrified heart from its body and inserting the umbilical cable into the pulsing flesh. His fingers glowed with blue flames as he jabbed the heart, each palpitation generating another arcane seal upon its surface. When he was done, the heart had returned to a normal rhythm. That done, Orochimaru put the sacrifice in a safe position and turned to look down at the fighters below him.
Chopper stepped up beside her, and Sakura nodded to the young reindeer. "Good to have you with me."
He nodded nervously. "Are we okay? Are we winning?"
"We're doing alright," she lied. She and Hinata had been burning chakra at absolutely unsustainable levels in order to survive against Orochimaru's onslaught, and things really weren't looking good for them. There was only one bright spot in this mess. The Hyuuga family, she had learned, were absolutely ridiculous at picking locks. One of the many benefits of being able to see through objects at will. "Hinata will get Ace free. Just hold on a little longer, okay?"
Her confident tone seemed to bolster his nerves, but from that moment on, the attacks came fast and furious. Ironically, now that Orochimaru had retreated from combat with his sacrifice he was far freer to attack them than he had been before. He began supporting the snakes fighting below him by rapidly bombarding the ground with wide varieties of Ninjutsu, gradually forcing them closer and closer to the place where Katsuyu was shielding Hinata and Ace.
Clouds of poison drifted down from above, forcing the two medical specialists to ready counter-agents. Sakura summoned a bulwark of stone to shield herself from a descending ball of fire that exploded like a bomb. When she recovered from the blast, another emerald serpent lunged directly at her, only to be devastated by a catastrophic hoof-strike from Chopper.
There was no relief from the unending assault, and it didn't take long before they were pushed to the point of collapse.
From far above, Orochimaru raised both hands a took a deep breath. His fingers moved from seal to seal, carefully forming a technique that they were helpless to interrupt. When he let out his breath, it erupted from his mouth in an explosive blast. Cutting wind dropped towards them, expanding wider and wider until it was large enough to cover everywhere they could possibly have run to. Sakura took stock of her chakra reserves, but she already knew she wouldn't be able to guard against this.
She watched as the killing wind came closer and closer, helpless to defend herself or Chopper. Then, moments before the end, a hand was placed on her shoulder. She jumped in surprise and struck out behind her only for the newcomer to catch her fist with one hand. She spun in place.
"Miss me?" asked Ace, a pained expression showing through his handsome grin. He looked gaunt, as if something had been permanently taken from him, but he stepped forward nonetheless. Looking up at the incoming wind, he raised both hands, flames tearing from his body as if they yearned to escape.
[MERA-MERA: HIBASHIRA]
-Sasuke-
Blood dripped from the sky as swords clashed. Sasuke had taken too many hits, and now he was running on empty. His breath burned in his lungs, and his legs were beginning to feel dull and heavy, an event that would spell his death in this aerial duel. Chakra loss was starting to become as much of an issue as blood loss.
Then, just as suddenly as it had rose, Danzou's luck faltered. The old man twitched, leg spasming, and he dropped from the sky like a stone, barely landing safely down below. Sasuke quickly reviewed what he had seen, and found something he hadn't noticed before; the chakra manipulation being used by Danzou to copy Geppou wasn't a perfect replica of his own technique. Whether it was because his eye was in bad shape or because Danzou wasn't a true Uchiha, the CP9 secret art had finally betrayed him.
Sasuke knew he should be exploiting this moment of weakness, but he simply didn't have the strength. He landed a moment later, quite some distance away, so that he could catch his breath.
He couldn't help but feel it was a bit silly that in the middle of this life and death battle, both of them had to stop to take a breather. Off in the distance, toads, snakes, slugs, and other random giant monsters were still fighting throughout the tremendous room. Compared to what was happening over there, this superpowered swordfight was practically mundane and boring.
Wait, that yellow monster in the distance. Was that a giraffe?
"Yep," thought Naruto, sounding distinctly harried. "Cause my day couldn't get any worse, right? Listen, Tobi started kicking my ass all of a sudden. Can you see what Danzou knows about what's going on?"
Gathering his breath, Sasuke straightened up, noticing that Danzou had done the same. He called out across the distance.
"So I have a question for you," asked Sasuke. "You know that Tobi's planning to betray you guys, right?"
Danzou actually scoffed, the noise erupting from some seemingly genuine source of disbelief. "Is that supposed to surprise me? Tobi isn't exactly a master of deceit, you know. We've all known he was planning something from the very beginning. The idea was that the rest of Akatsuki working together would prove to be a sufficient deterrent to prevent him from taking the fruit alone."
"Really," Sasuke said flatly. "All of you working together."
"Heh. Indeed."
"So it wouldn't surprise you," continued Sasuke, "-to learn that Tobi was planning to resurrect Uchiha Madara and give him the Divine Fruit?"
Danzou raised both eyebrows in an elegant gesture, though Sasuke's eyes caught the flickering moment of shock that had been hidden behind it.
"Yeah, I guessed you wouldn't have known that..."
Danzou sighed. "Ridiculous... What connection could Tobi possibly have to that man?"
"The Rinnegan are originally Madara's. Tobi was simply keeping them safe until the moment came to give them back."
Danzou's expression soured once more. "So… young Uchiha Obito met with Madara and became his pupil, hmm? Well, that would answer quite a few questions, wouldn't it? I'd always wondered how a third-tier Uchiha reject became this powerful, and if the Rinnegan weren't his originally then that would explain why he's so terrible at using them…"
"Uchiha… Obito?" asked Sasuke. The name was familiar somehow, as if he'd heard someone mention it before, though he couldn't place it at the moment. He glanced over in Tobi's direction, hawk-like vision piercing the great distance as if it were nothing. Sure enough, now that he was unmasked, the scarred face of an Uchiha was clearly visible.
"Oh, I see what you mean," said Sasuke. "No, Tobi isn't an Uchiha at all. His body was stolen by whatever's inside of him. One of Madara's creations."
"Hmm... interesting. And again, it answers some of my questions while providing more at the same time. Assuming you are telling the truth about all this, I can see why he would have hid this from us… speaking as someone who actually knew that rabid beast Madara, clearly Tobi is far more insane than I had thought."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "But you're not worried. You were planning to betray him first."
He smirked. "Why do you state obvious truths as if I should be impressed? Any shinobi worth his salt should have a plan to betray his fellows ready at a moment's notice."
"This guy's a piece of crap," thought Naruto.
Sasuke pressed further. "Betray him like you betrayed Konoha? How'd that work out for you, by the way?"
Danzou began laughing, a low chuckle that burst forth into hearty laughter.
"What's so funny?" asked Sasuke.
"I don't know what I find more hilarious; the fact that you can say such a thing when you've obviously been shirking your own duties, or the fact that you think that my exile was ever a setback for me. You think that I've been disgraced simply because they cast me out from the village? Exterminating the Uchiha clan was necessary, and all of the village elders will recognize that! My exile was a political maneuver and nothing more."
Sasuke froze, heart hammering in his chest as his blood began pumping faster. Danzou continued to speak.
"This exile is just another mission to me. One way or another, some of Konoha's greatest enemies will be dealt with by my hand, and I will return victorious, having made us stronger. Strength through betrayal is just the final stage in the life of any truly successful shinobi, something that I had thought your brother had understood. Instead, he died like a worm, leaving me to finish his work."
Sasuke's rage exploded inside him, and he gripped his sword hard enough to hurt himself. The instant before he could charge into the fight again, Naruto's spirit latched firmly onto his heart.
"Don't you DARE just fly in there, man! Calm down and focus!"
The rage he had felt slipped away like ash through his fingers, flowing through the link and leaving behind only the uncomfortable sense of shock upon realizing that Naruto was somehow better at controlling this heart-link than he was.
"Yeah, apparently this is my thing," thought Naruto. "Sorry for messing with you, but you were about to get yourself killed."
"Yeah… sorry," thought Sasuke, well-chastened. "Won't happen again. Also, apparently Danzou is planning to betray Tobi. Might want to let him know that."
There was a pulse of agreement through the link, and then Sasuke returned his focus to the fight. Danzou was glaring at him.
"Hmmm…" hummed Danzou, seeming disappointed that the young man hadn't taken the bait. Then he started running, reengaging his Mangekyou and raising his sword.
Sasuke had seen this inexorable advance several times before, but this time he didn't have any tricks left to deal with it. Every surprise he'd revealed had barely been sufficient to even the playing field, and he still didn't have a way to beat this Mangekyou. At this point, his only hope was that Danzou would either run out of chakra or go blind in that eye before he dealt a killing blow, but the chances of that seemed slim, even if he wasn't a real Uchiha.
All of a sudden a light went on in his mind.
That was it! Danzou may see the future, but he's no true Uchiha! His connection to the Sharingan is weaker than it would have been for the true owner, and to top it off his Sharingan was nearly blind. Finally, every time Danzou acted on his visions, he changed the future he saw, which meant that whatever Sasuke did in response was unknown to him until it was processed. All of those problems compounded upon each other to form a huge weakness in an otherwise unbeatable technique.
There was an answer in there. He could beat Danzou. He just had to exploit that weakness. He had to act the moment that Danzou's future-sight went blind. He had to… he had to...
Let go.
Danzou came at him, sword pointed at his heart, and Sasuke emptied his mind of a plan. He abandoned all thought, all attachment to a style or technique. He stood before a master of death, wielder of a legendary blade, and he was empty of skill. His sight sharpened further and further, one eye his; the other his brother's. He stood, focused on nothing but the moment and the movement of Danzou's body. Time slowed, solidified, and crystallized. Death came closer and closer.
Sasuke would react the instant Danzou committed to an attack and not one millisecond sooner.
Danzou's muscles twitched, preparing to change the stab into a diagonal slash. Sasuke reacted with the speed of the Sharingan, summoning the proper response out of pure muscle memory. His counterattack was written entirely in that instant.
Danzou's blade-hand faltered in surprise, and Sasuke's sword cut through the visions of the future, knocking the dark blade aside and scoring a red gash across Danzou's chest.
The old man shouted in surprised pain, but managed to bring his sword up to deflect Sasuke's follow up strike. Soon, they were returning to their former rhythm. The fight began again, but this time Sasuke held victory in his hand. If Danzou wanted to make this a battle over reaction times, then that was a fight he'd gladly accept! He was younger, he was faster, and he had a pair of Sharingan in perfect working condition!
Swords crashed out at the speed of thought. Soon Danzou was on the defensive, never completely sure if the future visions he saw would be accurate, or if he'd risk a bullet wound for his trouble. They danced around each other, and the old man was driven back step by step.
Then, abruptly, parity returned to the battle. No longer was Danzou losing ground, and soon it was Sasuke on the rear foot once more. He scanned the old man in confusion, trying to figure out what had changed, before he saw it: Danzou's Sharingan was in its base state again. Apparently, the old man had turned off his Mangekyou, and was now fighting without its help, which meant Sasuke's current disadvantage was because he was simply being outclassed.
This was ridiculous! Was this the true difference between a young man and an experienced shinobi? His body was youthful, his reaction times faster, his connection to the Sharingan far more powerful, and yet every time he got the upper hand Danzou would adapt, completely countering Sasuke's technique. This was the power of the old snake who had been peer to the Third Hokage.
Victory was slipping through his fingers. Could he actually beat this man, or would he die in the attempt?
-Naruto-
One way or another, the end was near. Naruto could feel the Divine Fruit's energy pressing down upon the room like a physical presence. Though he couldn't begin to guess exactly how much time they had left, it clearly wouldn't be long now. Not that it really mattered, since he was terribly busy getting ten kinds of crap kicked out of him.
"Tobi, seriously, stop it!" he shouted, blocking a hit that sent him sliding back across the ground. "If you really wanna make peace with the world then step one is not beating the crap outta me!"
Tobi no longer showed any trace of his previous happy and airheaded persona. His facial expressions seemed to be waffling back and forth between rage and extreme frustration. "What if I want to beat the crap out of you?! Maybe this isn't about peace at all, alright?! Maybe I don't care about any of that because I'm not a good person!"
"Then why?! Why are you so hung up on bringing him back if you don't even care about what he's doing?!"
"Because he's my father!" screamed Tobi. "Because I love him!"
Tobi's unexpected statement left Naruto so surprised he took another hit. The furious punch sent him flying up into a tree branch, and the impact left him jarred and stunned in pain. He recovered with barely enough time to land safely. Beside him, Granny Shima muttered her admonishment. "Boy, keep your focus. You ain't tough enough to take hits from this man. If you need to calm him down then do what you gotta do."
"I can't calm him down," groaned Naruto, well aware of the state of his pained and creaking bones. "I'm finally getting something real out of him. Now that he's angry, he's finally stopped being such a doofus airhead and saying what he's really feeling."
Tobi shot straight for him like a screaming bullet, and Naruto barely dodged in time.
"Kurama," said Naruto, addressing his inner demon. "I'm gonna need some serious help here if I wanna avoid dying. Just give me-"
Don't you dare order me around, child. I know exactly how much you can handle. And for the record, diplomacy seems to be failing. The Tobi that I remember had no understanding of right or wrong. Give serious thought to finding a way to kill this man.
Naruto didn't respond, though he could feel the toads' reluctant agreement from his shoulder. A second later, a bolt of adrenaline hit him straight in the heart as chakra flooded his system. His strength, speed, and durability shot upward as he struggled to contain his increasing aggression.
Tobi darted back into combat, throwing a wild haymaker that he barely dodged in time. A burst of unnatural rage filled his heart for a moment, but soon he reached equilibrium. He might not have been as powerful as the demon had made him in the past, but he was also only 'mildly peeved' rather than 'a ravenous pit of endless bloodlust.' Kurama, it seemed, had upheld his end of the bargain.
"Kill him? I dunno if you've noticed, guys," muttered Naruto, "-but he's just plain better than me. The only reason he hasn't killed me yet is 'cause he's going kinda crazy. He's not even using his eye-magic anymore."
There was no response to that, and Naruto returned his attention to the fight. Tobi continued rushing in, throwing barely controlled punches and kicks that were delivered with ridiculous strength.
"I love him!" Tobi shouted again. "And I'm gonna bring him back to life! There isn't anything you can do to stop me! It doesn't matter what you say! So shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
Naruto took a grazing hit that sent him careening into the side of the grand altar. He recovered just in time to dodge the follow-up strike. "AGH! Shit! Damnit, Tobi, what kind of parent wants their kid to die for them so they can live, huh? Madara didn't love you in return! He just wanted to use you!"
Tobi actually snarled, the noise bestial. "You think I don't know that?! He told us that to our faces! We were his tools! He called us an extension of his will, and that's it! Nobody loves a tool, they just use them!"
"How can you love him so much if you know he doesn't even love you back?"
Tobi screamed and charged forward, his hands spread like talons. He continued attacking wildly, looking for all the world like he wanted to tear Naruto apart with his bare hands. "Maybe you would understand the way I feel if someone hadn't killed your parents, huh?!" shouted Tobi. His face was contorted in an almost obscene parody of pain. "Oh, wait! I did kill your parents! I did it because I'M NOT A GOOD PERSON!"
Naruto winced, dodged an attempt to grab him, and connected with a roundhouse that knocked the air from Tobi's lungs and sent him flying back towards the grand altar.
Sasuke's voice entered his heart. "Naruto, are you okay? Don't let him get to you."
"Yeah, fuck it. He can't piss me off anymore," thought Naruto. "I made him hurt inside so now he's trying to hurt me back without even knowing why he's doing it. He really is like a kid."
"Madara really messed this guy up, huh? The dead shouldn't meddle in the affairs of the living," thought Sasuke. "I think I learned that lesson the hard way."
Tobi charged back into combat, and Naruto resumed dodging and blocking his wild attacks. "Tobi, listen to me! My best friend? The one I talked about all the time? His brother died a long time ago too, but he obeyed him for years like he was still hanging around!"
"What's your point?!"
"My point is that that it didn't work out for him! You can't live your life the way someone else wants you to! The only thing you can do is live the way you want to!"
"I can too live my life the way he wants me to!" shouted Tobi. "That's what I've been doing for the last twenty years! I grew up strong! I gathered all of Akatsuki! I came up with a plan! I killed so many people! And now we're going to win! It's working out for me, alright?!"
Naruto thought back to the information Sasuke had shared earlier. "You think those guys have your back? They're not your friends, Tobi! Danzou's even planning to betray you!"
"That doesn't matter! I know I don't have any friends, but I don't need them, either! When Lord Madara comes back to life he can kill all of them!"
"But you'll be dead! Argh! Why don't you get this, you dumbass?! Bringing back Madara won't make anything better for you!"
Naruto snapped a kick at Tobi's chest, but the man caught it and swung him into the air. Tobi ripped a chunk of stone from the ground and threw it at him, which Naruto only dodged thanks a swift redirect courtesy of his toad helpers' tongues.
"But I want him back anyway!" shouted Tobi, chasing after him. "It was the only time in my life things made sense! The only time I had a family! I had brothers that depended on me! When I bring Madara back, even if it's only for a moment I'll know that I finally did things right for a change!"
It felt like he was beating on a wall. Worse, even. He'd broken through his fair share of walls in his time. Tobi might as well have been immovable, but he had to keep trying. "You keep talking about family, but what's the point of a family if they're just a bunch of assholes?!"
"Oh, what would you know about it?!" growled Tobi. "I'd love to have him take my place! He's better than me! He can do everything I can't! He'll make the world a paradise! I know it!"
Naruto cursed, but then an answer came to him in a burst of dubious epiphany. He finally saw a chance to change the pattern, and he took it, jumping forward through the conversation without even being sure of where it would lead him. "If Madara's so damn awesome, then why are you still here, huh?!"
Pa muttered in his ear. "Boy, I trust you, but are you sure you wanna go with that question?"
Tobi slowed in his headlong attack. "W-what? What do you…"
"You heard me," said Naruto, defending himself from Tobi's onslaught much more easily now. "I know you can bring him back whenever you want, so why didn't you resurrect him the first chance you got?"
Tobi stopped fighting entirely. "I… I don't understand the question."
"You've been putting this plan of yours together for decades, but if all you really cared about was bringing him back because you love him so much then why didn't you just do that, like, twenty years ago?! Then Madara would've been alive and he could've done all this in your place, right?"
"I… I don't..."
"You said it yourself! He'd have done a better job at all this than you did, right? So there was no reason for you to stick around! You risked everything that he wanted to accomplish because you waited until now to bring him back, and for what?! Nothing!"
"But," started Tobi, who was beginning to shake nervously, "-but I was just following the plan, and the only part of it I knew was that we had to wait to bring him back to life until everything was ready! It's not my fault! I was just-"
"Bullshit! Don't make dumb excuses! You're willing to go to war with the whole damn world, but you're not willing to change your dumb plan when it goes wrong?"
"No! I wouldn't-"
"I'll tell you why you did all of this," stated Naruto, stepping closer and glaring desperately at his opponent. "The only reason you waited this long was because you didn't want to die! You didn't want to die, or else you would've brought him back ages ago."
"No!" sobbed Tobi, tears streaming down his face. "That would be wrong! No!"
"Yes! You wanna keep living, and running around, and eating stupid food, and…" he rummaged through his memory, "-and pooping, so you ignored everything that Madara would have wanted just so you could spend your life living the way you want to."
"No, no, no! I didn't! I wouldn't! I was just following the plan! Tobi's a good boy! Tobi's a good boy!"
"You could've brought him back at any time, but you didn't! And you know what? You still don't have to do it! You can give all this up and live life the way you want to! All you have to do is stop being such a dick!"
There was a time of muffled sobbing from Tobi's direction. Naruto watched him nervously.
The only warning he got was when the sobbing stopped, and then Tobi's hand shot up, lifting Naruto's body off the ground with the Rinnegan's telekinetic power.
"Gah! Tobi!" exclaimed Naruto.
"I'm done," said Tobi. His face was hard, and his sobbing had stopped. "And you're right. Bringing Madara back to life wasn't my only dream, but that's all over now. I've given up on that other dream, like I should have done a long time ago. The fruit is almost ready. It's time to finish this."
He clenched his hand and pulled, sending Naruto flying towards Tobi at high-speed. The toads quickly tried to correct Naruto's course, though their efforts bore no fruit in the split-second before he was in Tobi's grip. Tobi pinned his hands behind his back in a single motion as the Rinnegan's chakra absorption field sprung up around both of them, and Naruto felt his energy being ripped violently from his body.
"Sorry, Naruto," said Tobi. "I really don't want to kill you, but I can't accept you getting in my way any longer. Once you run out of chakra, I'm sure you'll stop bothering me."
The chakra drain intensified further and further, and inside his heart Kurama chuckled.
And just like that, you've won. Who would have expected victory to be so anticlimactic.
Though they didn't speak, Ma and Pa rapidly accelerated their collection of natural energy. Naruto nodded to each of them in turn, feeling the wild chakra flow in a raging torrent through the Rinnegan's absorption field and through Tobi's body.
This really could be the end. If an untrained human absorbed too much natural energy they would swiftly begin manifesting the traits of animals. Shortly after that, they would turn to stone and die. He had won the battle, and all he had to do was not say anything. His brief moment of uncertainty about whether or not to let Tobi die was interrupted when Tobi let him go and staggered backwards, both hands clutching his face as if in pain.
"Aghh!" he cried. "What- what's happening to me?!"
Naruto could sense the natural energy running rampant through Tobi's body, and soon twisted white tentacles exploded from his ears, nose and mouth, wriggling wildly back and forth. They wrapped around his body, bending his limbs unnaturally in each direction.
"Whoa! What the hell?!" shouted Naruto.
"GAAAAAAAAHHH!" screamed two voices in unison, both of them Tobi's. His wriggling tendrils grasped at his face, struggling helplessly against the fatal wave of natural energy that ripped through his body.
Or so they thought. Shortly afterwards, Tobi stopped screaming and the tentacles retreated into his skull one after another. When Tobi removed his hands, his face was covered in the deep red markings of a perfect Sage Mode transformation. The lines around his eyes were especially pronounced, and a thick circular sigil adorned his forehead.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Tobi. Naruto and the others watched in shock as the man examined his limbs. "Wow, what… what is this? Did you do this to me? This feels super cool!" He looked toward Naruto, who stared back dumbfounded. "Oh! This is what you're doing yourself, isn't it? Do I look as weird as you do?"
Before Naruto could speak, Pa broke his self-enforced silence. "Impossible! You can't just control natural energy like that without any training! You don't even have any animal traits showing on you! The only living thing who was that good at mastering sage chakra was the great Hashirama!"
"Hashi… rama?" muttered Tobi, before recognition lit up his newly-marked face. "Oh! I know that guy! I'm actually kind of a clone of him, can you believe that?" He laughed, suddenly cheerful once more. "Man, small world, huh?"
"Oh, shit," said Naruto, summing up a great many problems in very few words.
Tobi stretched in place and hopped up and down as he spun around. "Wow, this lets me sense all kinds of stuff all around me," he said. "It's like the whole world opened up for me!"
"It… uh…. it doesn't happen to make you want to give up and stay alive, does it?" asked Naruto.
Tobi shook his head. "Nope. Sorry. But it does tell me that the Divine Fruit is almost ready."
He disappeared, almost teleporting to the base of the grand altar and beginning his ascent.
"I have to thank you, Naruto," said Tobi. "You're right. Until now, I don't think I was ready for what I needed to do."
Naruto cursed, sprinting after Tobi and leaping into a flying punch. He blocked the hit without even looking and knocked Naruto away. Naruto rebounded from a tree branch and tried again, but had no more luck this time. Every attack was rebuffed with almost pitiful ease, and Tobi's Rinnegan meant all Ninjutsu would be completely useless as well.
"I'm sorry for everything I did to you," he said, ducking his head to the side to dodge a thrown kunai. "Really, I am. And… umm, I'd really suggest you run away as soon as you can. I'll leave Madara a note or something telling him you're cool, but I can't guarantee he won't try and hurt you."
In the end, Tobi returned to the top of the grand altar unharmed, where the Divine Fruit glowed more fiercely than ever. Tobi turned to face him, took a deep breath, and sighed.
"I just wanted to thank you. I know we couldn't really have been friends, but… but I think hanging out with you was the most fun I could have had… before the end."
"Tobi, you don't have to do this!" exclaimed Naruto.
"Yeah," he said, determination burning in his eyes. "Yeah I do."
He took another deep breath, and the world itself seemed to flex around him. "Alright. Time to do this."
"Shit," muttered Naruto. "Guys? Any ideas?"
-Sasuke-
"Sasuke!" thought Naruto. "Don't you dare give up on me! I need your help here!"
"I'm not giving up!" thought Sasuke, defending against Danzou's vicious onslaught with all of his might. "I just can't figure out what to do about this guy!"
"Look, if Tobi's telling the truth then we're like a minute or less away from the fruit being ready. Ace is back in action, but I don't think I can keep Tobi from summoning Madara any longer."
"...Do you think you can take the fruit from him if it comes to it?"
"Dude, he's turned into a Sage Mode clone of the First Hokage with the Rinnegan. So, no, we're pretty far past the point of me beating him, alright?!"
Sasuke backed off, leaping into the air. One final idea came to him in a fit of sudden inspiration.
"Naruto, I need to get Danzou to look me in the eyes."
"…You think you can do that illusion thing to him? I still don't think you should be torturing anyone, man!"
"No, I…" he paused, not used to having to give his thoughts until he'd had a chance to work out what he was going to say. "I don't think I need to. I think… I think… I'm not sure what exactly it'll be, but... but I have a plan. Can you give me like ten seconds and then yell out that the fruit's opening up?"
There was a pulse of agreement from Naruto.
It was time to go all in. The fight would end here, one way or another. Sasuke darted through the sky, each jump causing a sound blast of displaced air. He tore wide circles around Danzou, and the old man watched him warily as he went, still avoiding direct eye contact.
Then Naruto called out his distraction.
"SASUKE!" shouted Naruto. "GET BACK HERE! THE FRUIT'S READY!"
The noise echoed throughout the room, and Danzou's head whipped around in surprise, only to catch sight of the one thing he has been avoiding this whole fight. Sasuke had maneuvered directly into his line of sight, and in that single shocked and unguarded moment he and the old man finally locked eyes.
[TSUKUYOMI]
Once again, time slowed to a crawl.