Welcome to the final chapter. It was great writing this story, and I even found myself getting emotional as I was writing the final few paragraphs. I hope you enjoy, and thank you.

Chapter 20- Legacy

"Itachi!" she called out amongst the light gathering around her. "Before I undo the jutsu, I'll break the bond you have to it, and we'll fight together!"

"Of course."

"I'll fight as well," Hajime said firmly.

"No! You and Sai have to stay back. If you got caught in the crossfire of Itachi and me, I'd never forgive myself."

"Kana, remember my question earlier? Please remember that."

She involuntarily flushed, despite the situation. Sai took Hajime's shoulder, and he reluctantly went with him to a safe distance. They both exchanged a few words, and Sai nodded in Kana's direction. She smiled and did the 'thumbs up' sign; this was his way of saying they were free to fight now.

"Good luck, Kana," Sai called.

"Thanks!"

She turned her attention to Itachi. This wouldn't be difficult; for some reason, when in four tomoe, Kana could do things unconsciously without even thinking. Before, she couldn't control it at all, but with Itachi here, things were different. He watched her in anticipation, and she focused her gaze on him.
Maybe the look in her eyes was disturbing. Itachi's brow furrowed.

"Concentrate," she told herself. She raised a hand and weaved the first sign that came into her head. A spark of intuition was all that was needed, and luckily, Kana had this in droves. Her chakra leaked out and she funnelled it directly into Itachi's internal chakra network, disrupting the flow inside him. His chakra was being controlled by the edo tensei, so if this was disrupted…

Itachi's face lit up, and a brief look of relief flashed over his countenance. "Thank you," he said. The gratitude was obvious.

They both turned to Tobi. He had been waiting in silence, arms folded, ready for this final confrontation.

"If you go for the frontal attack and I cover the blind spots, this should work in our favour," Itachi said.

"Since when did you want to fight as a team, anyway?" This had been bugging her for a while now. He was normally so aloof.

"Since I realised that relying on my comrades as well as myself is the right way to live. Even if I am half-alive, as you put it, relying on my younger sister should be easy."

"Itachi…"

"Focus, Kana."

"I will."

The amount of chakra flowing through the atmosphere right now was unbelievable, and Kana soaked it up like a sponge. Her sensory development was essentially complete now. The joy in the knowledge that she was no longer a killing machine spurred her on.

She launched herself from the ground and went straight for that damned mask. As expected, she slipped right through, but swivelled round and continued the violent assault, aiming for that frustratingly small time gap- the gap in which his jutsu could no longer be effective. As much as she hated to admit it… she was simply too slow.

This was where Itachi would have to pick up the slack. His taut face did not change when he focused his own immense chakra, now free from edo tensei, and turned on his mangekyou sharingan, fully rejuvenated.
"Keep this attack going," he said calmly.

She nodded in between punches. Wasting breath was all that would come from talking back right now.

"Don't think you are winning," Tobi said. He had not moved from the standing position since the beginning, simply allowing Kana to slip through with his space-time jutsu. That interval of a few seconds was so hard to get into. She'd done it before, but that was a fluke.

"I'm not stupid enough to think that," she snapped.

"You are. You were caught in a shadow possession jutsu merely a few months ago."

"Things are different now!" More focus… "Chidori!"

The lightning in her palm illuminated the vicinity among the dimming sunset.

Itachi swooped round the back and punched Tobi's back, ending up sliding through and narrowly missing Kana. She was so close to Tobi that she could looking him directly in the eye, and she slammed him in the chest with a full-powered chidori.

They thought it was all over, that they had won, but Tobi apparently knew different. As he lay unmoving on the ground, Kana jabbed his side with her foot. Itachi watched impassively. Hajime and Sai stepped cautiously forward, savouring in the moment, and for a few moments, they were all stunned speechless.

"Did we get him?" Kana asked.

Itachi sighed and laced his brow. "Ordinarily, I would say that we had. However, this is the real leader of the Akatsuki here. Don't lower your guard."

"That was amazing, Kana," Hajime breathed. "I've never seen you fight like that. You had a good teacher." He shot a wry glance at Itachi, whose face eased out.

"Yeah, I did." She turned to Itachi. "Thanks."

They turned their backs to Tobi's still body and looked out at the village, which had suffered heavy damage. The poor, unpainted wooden buildings scattered amongst tents were half-crushed. Kana swallowed back her tears, but thought with determination… There wasn't anything that couldn't be rebuilt.

Hajime, who still had his byakugan activated, suddenly gasped. Sai shot him a warning look and nodded. Before Kana could turn around and register what was happening, Hajime disappeared from sight. Then, he was behind her, shielding her from something…

"Hajime, what-?" she cried.

And then she saw, Tobi was up, on his feet, and shooting a wood-style stake at her with blinding speed.

Itachi moved even quicker, and was in front of both Kana and Hajime within a split second.
The wooden stake ripped through Itachi's heart, brushed past Hajime's frozen face and halted a nanometre from Kana's nose.

"Izanagi is an amazing thing, even though I had to sacrifice another eye. We'll crush their spirit from the inside… In any case, the test run is complete, and I can go now. Soon they will understand their attempts are futile. All is futile in this reality."

Kana didn't notice Tobi's departure.

"ITACHI!"

She ran in front of him, and held him up by his shoulders. Small bits of his body were drifting into the air, like pieces of burnt-up paper, ashes. He held his head up to face her tear-stained face.

"No… you can't die again… Not in a place like this!"

"It's okay, Kana… I will likely be summoned again, though not with your chakra. Don't cry."

"But you're the Leaf's…"

He was diminishing fast. Only half of his marred face remained, his sharingan deactivated, his expression calm and reflective. He put out his hand, and placed it on her shoulder. Kana held it with her own hand, realising her needed no help in standing. His skin was freezing, like a dead man's.

"I was able to die in my home. That is how things should have been. Though I will return, it will not be as it is now. I wish this jutsu would never be used again, but that wish probably won't come true. This is Madara…"

"Yes, you were… I promise Itachi, I'll stop the war with Naruto, I'll help him and the kyuubi as much as I can. I know about the plan. I will never let Tobi's plan be accomplished. Fake peace isn't peace at all if it's not real! I promise you."

Itachi gave a small rumble of a pleased laugh, though his expression did not change. It seemed like forever, staring into his eyes as his body dissolved in her hands.

"I'm glad I was able to pass on the Will of Fire to my younger cousin, or rather, my younger sister," he muttered. "I know you want to protect the Leaf, and your friends." He glanced at Sai, who nodded, and then at Hajime. "I had to kill a lover once. I know you will want to protect yours. But Kana, I will selfishly ask you to do one thing…"

"What's that?"

"Please… protect Sasuke…"

She allowed the tears to fall. "I will! I'll save him from the darkness, no matter what."

And after an eternity, Itachi's entire body was lost to the passing breeze.

Hajime and Sai came over to Kana, whose hand was still outstretched to the wind. Before long, Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and all those she had befriended since arriving in the Leaf surrounded her silently, taking in the knowledge that at last, this battle was finally over. The shadow hung over them, however, of the fact that they may have won this battle, but they may not win the war.

"Hajime, you tried to save me back there…" she said in a low voice, and took his hand. "Thanks. I owe you my life."

"Kana…"

She turned to Sai. "Thank you for always sticking by me, and being my friend all the time. I'm so sorry I let you get captured by Tobi."

"Don't worry about it. You are my friend, after all."

They stopped talking, and everyone was left to their own thoughts.

Kana breathed a sigh of relief that this was at last over. Of course she would go and live with Hajime, but more importantly, she would continue Itachi's legacy. She was, after all, the polar opposite of Sasuke and the one thing left behind by Itachi in this world to protect his home.

Itachi Uchiha was sat on a rock, his head bent, giving the idea that he was rather intrigued at his fingernails. On one finger was the ring that was given to him by a detestable man just a few years ago. The symbol, 'shu' glinted when facing directly with the sinking sun, causing Itachi to glance at it intermittently with his dark, hollow eyes. Itachi noticed after a time that the sun had now lost its battle, and the moon had taken over to govern the night time. At this time, he finally got to his feet, not taking his eyes off the moon.

"So I was summoned back for the war, after all… I cannot let this go to waste. While I am away, I'm sure that she will carry on my will."

He placed one foot in front of the other and slowly began to walk towards his new battle, a ghost of a smile creeping onto his weary face.