Chapter 8: Kimimaro's Revenge
Sparks flew as the fight between Kimimaro and Itachi intensified. Emotions ran wild and rage was almost at its peak.
"Why do you defy Lord Orochimaru?" Kimimaro asked in rage. "He would've put your body to good use and treated like king's temple!"
Itachi was disgusted. "The destruction of my village is NOT of anything good, Kimimaro! Also, what good is giving him my body if it's just going to be discarded a few years later?"
Kimimaro had enough of this argument.
"I'll show you the grace and blessing that is Orochimaru's creation! Watch closely, Uchiha, this will become a world revolution." Kimimaro engulfed himself with the lethal chakra that the legendary sannin created and Itachi could sense his power growing more powerful and cold.
"Mangekyou Sharingan!" Itachi activated the most powerful form of his clan's trademark in order to stop Kimimaro in his tracks, but he was soon rejected by the black chakra. Itachi managed to invade his mind, but his psychological development had become so complex and dark, Itachi was immediately forced to retreat.
"Damn it all…" Itachi watched as Kimimaro transformed into a being like none of the other Sound 4 could achieve. Power even more deadly than them and a thirst to kill that even bigger than Orochimaru's. As Kimimaro finalized his transformation, Kabuto became assured he could finish off Sasuke.
"See that, Sasuke?" Kabuto asked all cocky. "The revenge you wanted for so long will be crushed to the ground and into nothing when Kimimaro rips your brother LIMB FROM LIMB!" His excitement was overwhelming as his laughter screeched to as far as the heavens.
"You're a mad man…who should really pay more attention." Kabuto snapped out of his moment too late to find Sasuke holding him a choke hold, and he heard the screeching noise of the Chidori being formed. Kabuto struggled to get free, but Sasuke wasn't going to let his chance slip. He tightened his grip around Kabuto's neck.
"You…won't…win." Kabuto managed to spit out. "Itachi…will die…and Lord Orochimaru will…have Naruto as his…vessel…the Kyuubi will…be his."
Kabuto began to cloud himself with the black chakra in a last second attempt to gain the strength to get free, but he was in the arms of Death himself. Sasuke struck Kabuto's chest and pulled his heart from the whole, vital veins and arteries still connected to his body. Kabuto spat out blood and lots of it to cover his jaw almost completely.
"Please…" Kabuto begged. "Have…mer.."
"You've given us too much grief for me to show any mercy no, you monster." Sasuke sent violent volts from his Chidori through Kabuto's heart until it exploded in his hands. He released Kabuto from his choke hold and watched him fall to the floor and left him with his blood spilling into the soil beneath him, later to be eaten by passing animals. He joined the now frightened Itachi as Kimimaro finished obtaining his ultimate form. His eyes turned into pools of pitch darkness, his hair turned blood red, his skin turn dark grey and his muscle tone grew as well.
"Well?" asked a now horrifically demonic Kimimaro. "Do you see the blessings of Orochimaru! The power he can provide? THIS is his revolution!" Itachi and Sasuke stared in complete shock. This was the maximum power anyone's used with the black chakra.
"Now…" Kimimaro said, licking his lips. "Prepare to be the first to die by this power!" Kimimaro shot bone bullets through the palms of his hands. The bullets were also blood red and were much more powerful than the last time he fought Naruto. Itachi and Sasuke knew if they were hit by even one of those bullets, they could be rendered helpless, so they dodged and ran as much as they could. "What's the matter?" shouted Kimimaro. "Afraid to take the pain like a TRUE shinobi! You Uchiha talk so much about your reputation, your power and your blasted Sharingan, but you're NOTHING compared to me! And to think one of your own wiped out your ENTIRE CLAN!" Kimimaro halted his attack and let out a horrific laugh as guilt struck Itachi. No one knew that the extermination of the Uchiha clan was a mission from the elders of the village to stop the coup d'etat that was under planning to take over the village and overrule the hokage. Sasuke was beginning to turn his attention to Itachi when Itachi stopped him.
"I said I'd fight you, Sasuke." Itachi proclaimed. "So unless you want to be distracted then killed by the enemy, you'd best take care of more important things." Sasuke grinded his teeth together in protest, but agreed. Kimimaro chuckled at their teamwork.
"I guess you foolish Uchiha would stick together, whatever the circumstances." he said in a humorous tone. "I suppose I'll just take you both out at once!" Kimimaro aimed his palm at the pair and out came a giant speared bone, extending in length every second. Sasuke ran towards Kimimaro and jumped over the spear in an attempt to attack while there was an opening, but suddenly the bone bended and wrapped around Sasuke. Sasuke struggled, but couldn't find a way to break free.
"What the hell?" Sasuke yelled. Kimimaro laughed. "See the powers I've been blessed with, Uchiha? No one can overcome Lord Orochimaru!" Kimimaro slammed Sasuke into the ground and released him on impact. Sasuke fell unconscious. Itachi ran in to defend Sasuke. "There's no way he can fight Kimimaro with his power like this…" Itachi said to himself. He threw off his cloak and activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. "I'll defeat you all by myself, you demon." Kimimaro experienced great humor from Itachi's claim and laughed once more. During his moment of laughter, he felt a thrust in his chest and he clenched at it. "UGH…!" Kimimaro grunted. Itachi could feel his chakra depleting greatly, then sense Kimimaro gain control over himself again, though he was deep breathing.
"I see." Itachi said to himself. "He can't control that immense chakra for long. I just have to play with his emotions long enough for him to use so much at once, that his own chakra collapses on itself." Itachi got into a taijutsu stance. "Come, Kimimaro! Let us end this."
"A quicker death, eh? As you wish!" Kimimaro lunged at Itachi with bone swords extending from both of his palms. Itachi quickly withdrew a kunai and began blocking Kimimaro's sword swings. It became a battle of close combat bone and steel. "Give up, Itachi! You'll never defeat me!" Kimimaro grinned.
"Pretty big words for someone who's just a pawn in the master's game." Itachi grinned. "WHAT?" Kimimaro's frustration grew. "How DARE you speak ill of Orochimaru like that! I'm one of his best henchmen he's taken under his wing!" Kimimaro's swings became faster and more violent, but Itachi was well prepared to defend himself as his speed picked up as well. "He let you die once before, Kimimaro, just to bring you back to die again?" he asked. "You claim you're so important to him, but you're no longer going to be his vessel. You're nothing but a delivery boy who's going to be disposed of once he's done his job, just like last time. That 'black chakra' you're so proud of will kill you in the end and you know it."
Kimimaro had enough of Itachi's speech. "I'll make sure you pay for those sour words, you blasted foolHe lunged for Itachi with his blood red sword of bone when he was struck in the back by Sasuke's Chidori Spear. "Ugh!" Kimimaru yelped, spitting out blood. "You brat…" He turned around to find Sasuke panting while controlling the spear, but soon fell back to the ground because he was still restless. "Heh, brat is out like that?" he said distracted. He turned around to face Itachi, but he wasn't there. Everything around him seemed to fall apart until all that was left was pitch darkness. He was caught in Itachi's Tsukuyomi. He was faced with images of Orochimaru speaking highly of Naruto being the next vessel, and it only angered him more. "THIS TRICKERY IS NOTHING, ITACHI!"
"Yes, I can feel his temper slipping." Itachi said to himself as he watched Kimimaro struggle with himself. "You think your little Tsukuyomi can hold me? All I need is more chakra to free myself, Itachi!" Kimimaro yelled as he started gathering all of the black chakra he could possibly can. Itachi grinned. "Exactly what I was counting on." Kimimaro had freed himself from Tsukuyomi no problem, but he didn't realize it because he was so busy showing off how much chakra he could gather. "SEE, ITACHI! THIS IS MY MAXIMUM STRENGTH!" Itachi braced himself for an attack. "I'll send you straight to hell, you mongrel." Kimimaro said and took a step towards Itachi. All of a sudden, he felt multiple jolts through his body. He couldn't control the chakra, or himself in general. "Wha…what's going on! UGHH! I, can't move…"
Itachi grabbed Sasuke and moved a distance away from Kimimaro. "No!" Kimimaro yelled helplessly. "Get back here! I must defeat you! I…must…show you…" All of the black chakra Kimimaro possessed erupted from his body and made him the center as it covered the field and turned I into a swirling dome of black power. Itachi watched, ensured in his victory. Kimimaro laid in the center, his body paralyzed. Then, the dome of chakra began to shrink, re-entering his body. "What?" Itachi yelled. Soon, the chakra was back in Kimimaro's body and he had full control once again, even though his physical characteristics had reverted back to normal. He got up on his feet, panting hard. "Hah…hah…I see you tried…pulling a fast one…Uchiha…" Itachi quickly got into a fighting stance. "This is impossible…the chakra should've killed him…" Kimimaro caught his breath well enough to get into a fighting stance himself. "What did I tell you?" He asked with a cocky attitude. "The black chakra is Lord Orochimaru's blessing!" He began to channel the chakra once more, but then his skin color began turning pitch black and his hair fell off his head. "What…what's going on!" His skin began to bubble and boil. The pain was unlike anyone's imagination. Kimimaro screamed in immense pain. He couldn't move at all as the boiling of his body intensified. Itachi immediately knew what was happening. He threw Sasuke over his back and ran as fast as he could away from Kimimaru's growing, uncontrollable power. The ground began to shake as Kimimaro screamed even more. Then, at last, Kimimaro's body exploded with the force of the black chakra releasing like an atamic bomb. The chakra created a crater unlike the Earth's ever seen. The earthquake caused such a sensation that Itachi nearly lost his balance running. All of the animals in the nearby forest were disturbed.
When the shaking calmed down, Itachi went back to the scene of the battle, laid Sasuke in an area outside the crater and looked inside it in amazement. Kakashi and Naruto arrived at the scene. "What happened here!" asked the shocked Kakashi. "Kimimaru fell to his own power. Such monstrous chakra cannot be wielded alone." Itachi answered, still looking inside the crater. There was nothing left of Orochimaru's loyal servant. "And Kabuto?" Naruto asked. "I took care of him." answered Sasuke, regaining his strength. Naruto grinned and the brothers' history, but was short lived for he was snatched from behind. Naruto quickly turned his head to see it was Orochimaru, but his face seemed it was beginning to melt. "Naruto…we must become one NOW!" Kakashi began to intervene, but Itachi grabbed his shoulder to stop him. "It doesn't matter how bad Orochimaru wants the power of the Kyuubi." he stated. "A tailed beast such as him won't allow it."
Naruto struggled with Orochimaru, but Orochimaru wasn't going to let it slide. He was standing on his last breathes of life and he knew it. He had to perform the ceremony at this moment, if he had hoped to live. Naruto found himself and a black/purple-ish domain with white snakes crawling all over the ground. He was scared for his life. Orochimaru appeared in front of him. "Shall we?" the devilish snake asked as he began the ceremony. "Orochimaru, you foolish sannin." said a dark, frightening voice. "No…it's you, Kyuubi!" Orochimaru yelled. He looked at Naruto; he was no longer conscious. "Yes, Orochimaru. I have to remain in this boy's body until he dies and I'm not about to let you move in like that!" The Kyuubi's chakra rejected Orochimaru and he couldn't perform the body transfer jutsu. "NO!" Orochimaru yelled. "I was so close! The Kyuubi was suppose to be MINE!"
The fox's laugh echoed Orochimaru's dormain. Naruto snapped out of the jutsu that was placed on him and he saw Orochimaru, now melting even faster. "This can't be!" Orochimaru yelled. "I planned so much for this! I CANNOT DIE HERE! I AM IMMORTAL!" Orochimaru continued to yell as he liquefied faster and his voice was muzzled. At last, he was nothing but a puddle of melted organs, steam flowing from it. "What a tragic end to a sad man…" Naruto said to himself. He turned around to find Sasuke staring down Itachi. "What's going on?" Naruto asked.
"The time has finally come, brother." Sasuke proclaimed. "You're not getting away this time." Itachi stared back at his younger brother, no reaction to his words. "I suppose you're right, Sasuke. It is time this dispute was settled." Naruto tried to but in. "NO! I WON'T ALLOW IT!" Sasuke glared Naruto down with the sharpest eyes. "How can you say that after what he's done to my people! I don't care if you're in love with him. This is a 10 year battle that's about to end." Naruto looked at Itachi, hoping for some reassuring words that a fight between him and Sasuke won't occur, but to his disappointment, Itachi agreed with him. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but I have done unforgivable things, and I must go out like a true shinobi." He looked towards Sasuke. "We'll do this at the Uchiha Hideout. Be there as soon as nightfall hits. We'll have our destined battle." Naruto clung to Itachi. "Please, don't do this…" tears filled his eyes. Itachi held Naruto close to him. "Go back to the village, Naruto." He ordered. "I'll be back, I promise." He linked his pinky finger with Naruto's and Naruto, assured Itachi's promise was true, agreed to do as he said. Itachi quickly disappeared into the forest.
Kakashi looked at Sasuke. "Are you returning to the village to rest up?" Sasuke turned his head away from his sensei. "No, there are other places known by the Uchiha I need to visit in order to prepare." He prepared to leave the pair, until he said something to Naruto. "Naruto, I know your feelings must be strong, but you must realize what I must do. What I, the sole Uchiha he didn't kill, must do to avenge his fallen clan. Not everything is going to go your way because your feelings can't stand it to be different. He WILL die tonight, so prepare yourself for heartbreak." Naruto felt his heart jump. He turned his head to say something, but Sasuke was gone. A tear rolled down his cheek as he thought of what could be the last day he'll ever see Itachi alive. Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Let's go home, Naruto. You've had a rough day."
As sunset rolled around, Naruto went and sat under the tree where he and Itachi spent most of their nights together. Many memories rushed through his head as tears rolled down his face. He couldn't help but let his emotions take control. Nearby was Ino and Sakura, hiding in the bushes. "Do we really need to be inconspicuous?" Ino whispered. "Lady Tsunade asked us to watch him and immediately report if we suspect he'll try anything drastic. Even though no one knows where the Uchiha Hideout is, we can't risk Naruto going off to find out, so we must watch him like a hawk." Sakura explained.
Naruto, still reminiscing about the past, didn't realize he was falling asleep due to his exhaustion from earlier. Soon, he was snoring quietly. Sakura sighed. "I don't think he'll do anything stupid, actually. He'll probably be out for a good while. Plus, he still has no idea with the hideout is, so I'm sure it's alright if we leave." Sakura and Ino left Naruto to his sleep. He continued to sleep as nightfall finally came and the full moon lighted up Konoha's nightlife, and the final battle between the Uchiha.
NEXT CHAPTER: Sasuke vs. Itachi
NOTE: Probably noticed I posted a list of upcoming chapters in a previous, but I realized that I can't devote an entire chapter to names like "The End of Orochimaru" or "Sasuke's Anger/Naruto's Plea." Honestly, I was ready to get Orchimaru and Kabuto killed already. It was annoying writing about those fools. Hahaha. So, what I'm really trying to say is that I'm not going by the list and the number of chapters is likely to be shorter than intended so bare with me as I continue this fanfiction!