Three times when Sasuke used genjutsu, and one time when he was caught in an illusion

…

This wasn't the Atatsuki member Sasuke wanted to fight, or kill, but he wasn't about to run from the fight either. The blonde or his masked friend might point him toward Itachi. If nothing else, he'd get some training.

And what training he got indeed…

Everything he had learned, he used. Electrically charged needles, his katana, the curse seal, the great snake Manda – all gifts, more or less willing, from Orochimaru. Chidori, with a fleeting thought toward Kakashi. And of course, the sharingan and genjutsu. These were his weapons of choice, the ones he had been born with, the ones he shared with Itachi, like they had once shared a family.

He didn't fully win that fight; winning by suicide wasn't anything to brag about. But he survived. He confronted an Akatsuki member and walked away with his life. Very soon, he'd do the same thing again – and this time, against Itachi.

…

If Sasuke's head hurt, it wasn't from his fight with Deidara anymore. Instead, it was from Karin and Suigetsu arguing, fighting and being just much too loud. The two of them together could have taken on another loud-mouthed, annoying, obnoxious—

"Kill…" Juugo's voice started with a whisper, but rose with each word. "I want to… kill… someone… anyone…"

The familiar pattern was spreading over his neck and face, transforming his face into an unfathomable maze of inky lines and too pale skin, already darkening his eyes into those of a bloodthirsty demon.

Forgetting – for now – their senseless arguing, Suigetsu and Karin rushed to Juugo and held him down, preventing him from killing anyone quite yet. They wouldn't be able to stop him for long, though.

"Hurry, Sasuke!" Karin shouted.

Sasuke didn't need her to urge him on. He was already looking at Juugo through the sharingan, and captured his attention with a few calm but commanding words.

"Settle down, Juugo."

Their eyes met, and Juugo was caught.

This had happened a few times in the past couple of weeks, and Sasuke had become rather good at calming him. Already, without even being aware of what he was doing, Sasuke was weaving the perfect images to soothe Juugo. A lake, with just a few ripples from a handful of birds in the center. Mountains in the distance, their snowy peaks disappearing behind clouds. A prairie, a forest, a few animals surrounding Juugo…

It didn't take more than a couple of seconds. Juugo started relaxing. The pattern retreated from his face. Karin and Suigetsu let go of him, and he stumbled to his knees.

Exhausted at having used a genjutsu when he was still so weak, Sasuke was already asleep.

…

It was too easy.

It was much too easy.

The chidori ran through Itachi's body, and Sasuke followed through with his katana. Itachi fell to the ground, blood splattering around him.

For a second, just a second, Sasuke let himself believe that this was it, he had done it. He had avenged his clan and fulfilled his life's purpose. The bonds that had tied him to this path since childhood were now broken, and he'd be able to let other bonds take their place.

For just a second, the thought was nice.

It just didn't last.

"You've gotten much stronger," Itachi rasped through bloodied lips.

Except… it wasn't Itachi. Of course not. And if he was honest with himself, Sasuke had known it all along. Why else would he be crouching behind the stone throne his brother lounged in, running it through with his katana? Illusion within an illusion within yet another illusion.

When he finally faced the real Itachi, he considered his sharingan carefully, knowing it matched his own. Genjutsu wouldn't be enough. That was all right. He had other tricks up his sleeve. It didn't matter how he killed Itachi in the end. The only thing that mattered was that he would.

…

"Are we ready here?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke nodded, his eyes never moving away from Naruto's. "Yes."

"Good," Karin said behind him, sounding on edge suddenly. "Because here they come."

The sun had risen, and in the low ambient light Naruto could see the new arrivals, all cloaked in black. In a flash, the battle started everywhere around him. On his right, Suigetsu swung his sword. It met another giant sword with a deafening crash. Both fighters, Naruto thought to himself, were showing too many teeth.

On his left, the Akatsuki woman raised her hands and thousands of tiny pieces of paper swirled around the clearing, thickening the air and threatening to smother them. Kakashi performed the katon jutsu and a thousand tiny flames lit up the clearing. The next second, ashes fell over them like snow.

More Akatsuki members were moving in, still, including the masked sharingan-user who Naruto now knew was Madara. Naruto started forming the first seal for a few dozen clones, just to throw things off, but Sasuke stopped him.

"Not now. Let's go."

"What? I don't—"

Sasuke grabbed his wrist and pulled Naruto after him, forcing him to run. Naruto just caught a glimpse of Sai and the other ANBU closing ranks behind them before he and Sasuke were running through the woods.

"Sasuke!"

After a brief struggle, he finally pulled his wrist free and stopped at once.

"I won't run from a fight!" he shouted, incensed.

"We're not running," Sasuke replied, his sharingan pinning Naruto in place. "Did you listen to a word of what Shikamaru planned? We're separating Akatsuki!"

"And you're also separating yourself from your little friends. Very convenient for me."

Naruto and Sasuke whirled toward the sneering voice. Madara was standing just yards away, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. It took Naruto a moment to realize that the blackness behind him wasn't just the fading night. Instead, it was a fire that burned black – a fire that surrounded them, trapping them inside a circle of black flames.

Naruto quickly created a dozen clones, using most of them as distraction while he kept two to prepare a rasengan shuriken attack. Madara moved forward just as Naruto launched his attack, making it all that much easier to hit him.

But when Naruto's attack hit, it was Sasuke in front of him, not Madara. It was Sasuke who looked at him with a betrayed look, Sasuke's eyes already dulling, his lips flecked with blood, his body falling to the ground with no more than a whisper.

"My, my. Looks like your aim is a little off, Naruto-kun." Madara made a show of leaning over Sasuke's bloodied body and shook his head. "You should be more careful. You could really hurt someone with that attack."

Naruto dry-heaved. He couldn't… he hadn't…

Had he?

His knees folded beneath him and he suddenly found himself on the ground, just feet away from Sasuke's still body.

A slap to the back of his head shook him out of his horrified daze. He looked up to see Sasuke roll his eyes at him.

"Idiot. Can't you see you're in a genjutsu?"

Naruto's heart skipped a beat at seeing Sasuke alive and without a scratch on him. Then his words started making sense, and he realized that Sasuke had entered the illusion as well, probably to help him out.

"You shouldn't have," he mumbled as he stood. He'd never been so glad to see Sasuke – never been so glad to be offered help.

"No, he really shouldn't have," Madara said somewhere behind Naruto. "Very… noble of you to help the Jinchuuriki, Sasuke, but who will help you?"

They faced the cloaked figure together again.

"I don't need anyone's help," Sasuke said coolly. "Illusions don't affect me."

It would be fine, Naruto told himself. Sasuke was a genjutsu user himself, he'd be able to break the illusion and—

"Don't they? Are you so sure of that, Sasuke?"

A figure appeared by Madara's side. Naruto's stomach clenched unpleasantly. Of course. Madara had confronted him with the image of Sasuke dying at his hands; he had more than an image to play with where Sasuke was concerned: he had actual memories.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke to see how he'd react to seeing Itachi. His eyes were wide, and when Itachi started speaking, his jaw visibly clenched.

"Traitor," the illusion said, stepping forward and pointing an accusing finger at Sasuke. "You know what they forced me to do, and still you stand by their side. You protect them, and their pet. How dare you call yourself an Uchiha?"

The false Itachi lashed out, and the red and white fan over Sasuke's heart was suddenly ripped from his shirt. Sasuke's only reaction was a flinch.

"It's an illusion!" Naruto said very fast. "You know that, Sasuke. Itachi's dead."

"At whose hands?" Itachi continued. "You killed me to avenge our clan, yet those who guided my arm are still alive. You abandoned our clan, Sasuke. You betrayed it, like I did."

"I did not!" Sasuke cried out.

He was really trapped, Naruto realized, dismayed. Madara was playing on Sasuke's incertitude and guilt, and they seemed to strengthen the illusion. What could he do to help?

"I did not betray my clan," Sasuke repeated, his voice hardening. "I will get my revenge. I will kill them."

Electricity crackled around him before spreading out, and the fake Itachi disappeared, torn apart by lightning. In the middle of the attack, Naruto's hand rose to his throat. He couldn't breathe; something was choking him. It was like that time when Itachi had confronted him and—

The crow that had flown straight into his mouth back then suddenly flew out and croaked loudly, drawing Sasuke's and Madara's attention. It grew larger, and suddenly it wasn't a crow anymore, but a man; another Itachi illusion.

It turned to Naruto, and said, "You've done enough. My turn."

Before Naruto could say a word, before he could do more than notice the untarnished forehead protector over Itachi's brow or the absence of the Akatsuki cloak, Itachi thrust his hand toward him, palm out and fingers spread, hitting Naruto's chest and pushing him backwards. Naruto fell back and hurriedly jumped to his feet again, only to discover he was out of the illusion and back inside the circle of black flames.

Next to him, Sasuke was immobile, his eyes fixed on Madara, who was just as motionless. They were both still in the genjutsu, Naruto realized. Was Madara still in control? Or was it now Itachi who directed the genjutsu? Naruto shuddered. To think he'd had this 'gift' from Itachi inside him all this time… What was he telling Sasuke?

Back in the forest, Naruto hadn't been able to make sense of Itachi's questions. What would it matter to him what Naruto would or wouldn't do to bring Sasuke home? But now… Now that Naruto knew why Itachi had done it, now that he knew that Madara had primed Sasuke like a weapon before aiming him at the village, now he understood. He just didn't know if anything a ghost could say would have an effect on Sasuke anymore after Madara had—

Naruto's train of thought froze suddenly. Madara. He was still in the genjutsu with Sasuke, his physical body defenseless for now. What was Naruto doing, worrying about what ifs and maybes? He had a fight to finish, here and now!

He faced Madara again and grimaced. It felt like cheating to attack an incapacitated enemy, but after all, no one had forced Madara into that genjutsu; he had created it himself and entered it of his own free will. And he certainly hadn't hesitated about killing defenseless people when he had unleashed Kyuubi on the village – just like he wouldn't have hesitated about killing Naruto if the situation had been reversed.

Naruto had seen Madara evade attacks before. He wanted a clean kill, without leaving him a chance to escape. Gathering what was left of his natural chakra, he created two clones and formed the rasengan shuriken jutsu. It wasn't much of a challenge to hit an immobile target, but he didn't let that stop him, reminding himself at the last moment – this man had unleashed the Kyuubi, tried to destroy the village and condemned Naruto to years as an outcast. This same man had helped destroy Sasuke's family. He had caused more than enough hurt for a lifetime.

Naruto watched him fall, and kept his eyes on him for long seconds. Finally dispelling the clones, he went to him and bent down to press his fingers to his pulse point. He found nothing.

"Is he… is he dead?"

Naruto started at Sasuke's rough voice. He straightened and turned on his heel, hurrying back to him. Blood was trickling from the corners of his eyes.

"Are you OK?" Naruto asked worriedly. He started reaching to wipe the blood off Sasuke's face, but Sasuke flinched back. He looked at Naruto through dark eyes, and Naruto stared back.

"What did Itachi say?" he asked after a few seconds.

Sasuke blinked. "How do you know… How did you…"

Naruto shrugged, now wishing he'd told Sasuke about his encounter with his brother. "He and I had a talk," he explained. "Not long before you two fought. He said he'd leave something to help me bring you back. I never understood what that meant until today. So what did he say?"

Sasuke didn't reply. He wiped his eyes and looked first at Madara's body, then at the flames that still surrounded them. He closed his eyes, and when they opened again, it was to reveal the strange red and black pinwheels. He stared at the flames around them, and they slowly died out. When he closed his eyes once more, more blood trickled down his cheeks.

"Are you all right?" Naruto asked again, touching his elbow lightly.

Sasuke still didn't answer. "Let's go see if the others need help," he said instead.

The suggestion surprised Naruto, and he couldn't help hoping. "Does that mean you've decided?"

Sasuke's bloody face revealed nothing. "It means I said I'd keep you safe, and until all Akatsuki members are dead, you won't be safe. Now are you going to stay there and wait like a damsel in distress, or are you going to come help me?"

Naruto crossed his arms, annoyed at being called a girl. Let the fight just end, and then he'd show that bastard who was the girl exactly. And in the meantime… "Who finished Madara?" he pointed out.

Sasuke grimaced, sparing Madara a last glance. "Idiot. Let's go."