Author's Note: No internet issues so the wait wasn't too long this time, haha. I have to say that this was another chapter I really anticipated writing. I like focusing on the emotional aspect of characters, especially Sasuke since he's my favorite fictional character. I'm glad mostly everyone seemed to enjoy the action in the last chapter too, as I feel that action or fight scenes are one of my weak points as a writer. Thank you all for your continued support! Enjoy!
Kenshi was paralyzed with fear when Sasuke fired the flaming arrow towards him. He couldn't move a muscle or even blink, his body refusing to comply. The man could only stare and wait for the worst. Just before the flaming purple arrow met its target, a thick blue wall formed in front of the terrified swordsman, shielding him from the weapon. The arrow crashed into the shield, which held up and prevented Kenshi from becoming a pile of ashes.
Sasuke's red and purple eyes widened a fraction with surprise and annoyance. He uttered a curse at Kurushimi for spoiling his chance to end Kenshi once and for all.
"Why are you worthless idiots just standing there?!" Kurushimi yelled in fury at his subordinates. One hand was pressed against his throbbing skull while the other was outstretched towards the massive blue wall he'd quickly configured to protect Kenshi. "Stop cowering and attack!" the man ordered. He lowered his hand and the chakra wall serving as a barrier evaporated. Kurushimi brought his floating boulder down to Kenshi and helped him up, pulling the injured male to sit beside him on the object.
As the rock rose into the air once more, Kurushimi looked on as his men began to steadily creep towards Sasuke in preparation for an attack. "Well done Kenshi," the mastermind said.
"Ah," the swordsman breathed with indifference, wiping perspiration from his brow. His expressionless features gave away the same vibe as his reply.
Kurushimi spared his friend a questioning glance before turning to view the unfolding battle below. "I'll make sure you acquire some medical attention after this concludes," he announced. "Just rest for now."
Kenshi offered no response this time. He shifted his head to peer downwards while recovering. The swordsman again pressed a hand to the open wound on his stomach.
"I wonder how many more losses I'll take here?" Kurushimi pondered. "Not that it matters. As long as I can take control, I've won." The man grinned upon seeing the Uchiha ready himself to attack. "Yes Sasuke, fuel your bloodlust and your rage. The more you do so, the faster I gain total control."
Kurushimi slapped a hand to his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut as the pounding pain residing in his head intensified. Every time the throbbing sensations returned they proved to be stronger than the last. No matter how much it hurt and irritated the man, he had to ignore the pain momentarily. Kurushimi had a mission to complete.
"Why are you worthless idiots just standing there?! Stop cowering and attack!"
Sasuke silently eyed the approaching enemies, watching with satisfaction as they cautiously inched forward, their facial expressions revealing immense terror. He couldn't withhold his smirk upon noticing the fear in their eyes. It only grew as he took a step forward, causing the alert bunch to immediately stop and point their weapons at the Uchiha.
Suddenly, a group of Kurushimi's men surrounded the Susano'o that shielded Sasuke inside. His smirk fell and was replaced with a look of irritation. The evenly spaced men simultaneously performed a series of hand signs and slapped their palms to the ground. The earth around Sasuke rumbled and shot upwards from the ground, encasing the half-bodied Susano'o until only its vast purple head was showing.
Kurushimi's underlings relaxed after a moment, lowering their weapons. Their moods immediately soured once more when the rock formation restraining Susano'o exploded, the giant purple monster shattering its restraints easily. The men were petrified with fear as their gazes latched onto the matching purple sword forming in Susano'o's hand.
Sasuke limped forward, his right leg still in great pain. He wouldn't let that hinder him now though. The last of his clan would do what he must in order to annihilate all these men cowering in terror. "Tch, you all bore me," Sasuke growled darkly. He made a small motion with his hand and Susano'o brought down the sword on top of Kurushimi's underlings. The crowd dispersed, all the enemy ninjas dashing away to escape the massive weapon's strike. Even if the male's subordinates were too far away for the sword to hit them head on, the impact caused a ripple effect and the nearby rocky ground separated from the earth, flying in all directions.
"This isn't good," Naruto thought as the sword slammed into the cold stone, a thunderous boom sounding throughout the caves upon impact. The Uzumaki shifted his gaze to the hideout's walls and then the roof, noticing the cracks beginning to form in the structure. "This REALLY isn't good." Naruto whirled around, searching for Kakashi amongst his group of friends. "Sensei!" he called upon finding the silver-haired man.
Kakashi's mind was far away from where he stood. It took the Uzumaki two more shouts before Kakashi finally returned his focus to reality. "Naruto?" he questioned quietly.
"Sensei, I need you to listen to me," Naruto began, his voice filled with urgency. "Don't ask any questions, you can do that later. Just do what I say."
Kakashi's eyebrows raised in surprise. A million questions raced through his mind but the Hatake decided to heed the blond's advice and ask them later. "What is it?"
Sasuke observed the men flying every which way after shattering part of the ground with his gigantic sword. The burning desire to hear more screams of agony, watch more blood spatter against the damp rock, see more expressions of utter fear cross people's faces fueled Sasuke.
He just wanted more.
Sasuke felt as if he were numb to all of his own pain now. The pain in his leg, the pain over Sakura, the hurt had been replaced by rage and bloodlust.
The black markings engraved in his back glowed a fierce red.
Kill. Kill. Kill.
Something or someone at the back of his mind kept whispering the word, over and over and over... Sasuke didn't care anymore. What could he hang onto now? What else did he have to live for?
There was another voice there, so faint he could hardly hear it, willing him to stop. The whisper was drowned out and quickly forgotten soon after it began begging him to halt his brutal assault.
The Uchiha resumed his destruction of Kurushimi's army. The Susano'o slashed sideways with the flaming purple sword, clearing out another crowd of enemy warriors. Behind him, another group used a variety of ninjutsu in a desperate attempt to stop the beast before them. Sasuke and his Susano'o nonchalantly turned to face the group, their attacks not even issuing a scratch on the purple armor shielding him. The sword slammed down again, causing the ground to quake once more.
Kurushimi stared at the horrific scene below with a grin resting on his lips. He could feel his control growing stronger with each fleeting moment. "You've almost completely relinquished the rest of your humanity to me Sasuke." He only needed a bit longer until he gained complete authority over the male's actions. "You put up a good fight Sasuke, but you have lost."
Kurushimi's fingers twitched with concern upon noticing a detail he hadn't exactly planned for. Sasuke was clearing out every last one of his subordinates. Their lifeless bodies were strewn all across the cave floor, only a few dozen left alive. They would certainly be eliminated soon as well. "Not to worry," he silently reassured himself. "Even if all of them do perish, I'll still receive full command by the end of it. They were always expendable anyway."
Kenshi's eyes were elsewhere on the battlefield. He'd been watching Sasuke's comrades for a minute. He grew bored when they didn't make any motion to attack and shifted his gaze once more. He faltered upon catching a glimpse of something peculiar.
Pink.
Kenshi's lips parted, his weary eyes scanning the battlefield for the bright color. He searched and searched for a minute but it seemed to have vanished. The swordsman peered cautiously at Kurushimi. It was obvious he'd failed to notice the bright flash of pink down below.
The man Susano'o clutched in its purple fist was chucked across the cave, smashing into a wall. After the rumble caused by the impact died down, Sasuke searched the battlefield for anymore of Kurushimi's goons. Only lifeless bodies scattered across the cave floor met Sasuke's sight. They were all dead, by his hand no less.
The Uchiha's gaze drifted upwards, landing on the two men he despised most, the two men who would suffer the most horrific deaths at his hand. His face contorted into an expression of pure hatred, his eyes narrowing at the floating rock.
Susano'o grew in size to take on the form of a full body, its massive head close to the cave's roof. Sasuke himself was now at eye level with Kenshi and Kurushimi.
Kenshi crawled backwards in an attempt to get as far away from Sasuke and the purple giant as possible. The boulder didn't allow him to travel very far. Still clutching the bleeding wound on his stomach, Kenshi quickly looked to Kurushimi. To his surprise, Kurushimi moved to the very edge of the levitating rock, closer to Sasuke.
Sasuke's anger flared upon noticing the smirk present on Kurushimi's face. The two males stared each other down through the shield of purple, figuratively burning holes through the other. The Uchiha clenched his fists hard, knuckles turning white. He felt the rage building up inside of him the longer he watched Kurushimi smirk. How could this man appear to be enjoying this?! He'd lost and was about to suffer a terrible fate! What in the world could possibly be making Kurushimi so elated about that?!
"My my Sasuke, it seems I've underestimated you," Kurushimi drawled. "I expected to have at least a handful of men alive by the time you'd finished with them," he chuckled.
One of Sasuke's eyebrows quirked upwards a fraction at his opponent's words, confusion mixing with his anger.
"You think you've won, so ignorant of you," Kurushimi taunted. "How disappointed would the Uchiha clan be if they could see you now Sasuke? You've been thoroughly outplayed by me," he finished calmly. Kurushimi raised a hand to his face, pointing two fingers up in a one-handed seal.
Sasuke was driven over the edge, he had no patience left to spare for this man. Susano'o raised a balled fist. Sasuke was ready to end Kurushimi and Kenshi once and for all. The purple fist swung towards the floating rock.
"You don't want to do that Sasuke," Kurushimi stated, unperturbed.
Suddenly, Susano'o halted its movements, the fist stilling just above Kurushimi's head.
Kenshi, who had squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation for the worst, slowly opened them and marveled at the giant purple being in front of him. The tension in his body relaxed at the realization that the vast monster stopped.
Sasuke struggled to move his own body. He cursed in frustration, willing his frozen form to make any sort of movement. He peered towards his tormentors and found Kurushimi standing in the same position, his hand still holding the one-handed seal. There was one difference, however. His multicolored eyes glowed brighter than ever before. The Uchiha couldn't shift his stare away from them. The same thing that had frozen him in place now froze his gaze too, ensuring that he saw nothing else besides the glowing eyes. Sasuke felt the burning sensation on his back once more, the markings engraved into his skin igniting again to display a fiery red.
"You played directly into my hands Sasuke," Kurushimi explained. "You tried so hard to stop me, but every attempt was vain. The moment you came into my hideout alone to sacrifice yourself was the beginning of your ultimate downfall. I knew exactly what would set you over the edge, and you gave into the rage with barely any second thoughts. Now you've allowed me the opportunity to obtain complete control over you." The man's smirk morphed into a devilish grin. "You don't want to kill me Sasuke."
Sasuke blinked repeatedly, still struggling to regain any form of movement in his body.
"You don't want to kill me Sasuke..."
The words echoed in his head. The Uchiha felt himself steadily losing what control he still possessed of his being. "No," he grunted out. He had to keep his grip on reality.
"You can't fight it any longer..." Kurushimi was slowly but surely taking over. Sasuke was sinking further and further, drowning in the darkness, the unknown poison that was instilled into his mind. He was losing...
Susano'o unclenched its fist, bringing the arm down to rest at its side.
Naruto and his comrades watched the scene closely, hearts thundering against their chests.
"You put up a good fight, but I've won," Kurushimi declared. He shifted his attention to the enemy ninjas below. "Ah, it must be difficult for you all to accept it, that all your efforts were in vain," the man jeered.
"Sasuke, come on!" Naruto yelled from the battlefield, willing his friend to attack Kurushimi again. The Uchiha nor his Susano'o moved an inch.
"Sasuke is dead," Kurushimi announced victoriously. "He's my mindless slave now... Those demons of his never truly left Naruto, they were only sleeping. I delved deep into his mind and located them. All they needed was something to wake them up," Kurushimi explained, his smirk making a reappearance. "There's nothing else any of you can do for him, not even you Uzumaki. Sasuke willingly let his demons take control and I only took advantage of it. He's too far gone now."
"That's a lie!" Naruto responded without hesitation.
"Ah, but will you still believe that after this?" Kurushimi drawled. The male glanced back at Sasuke and pointed a finger towards the shinobi from Konoha and Suna. "Kill them," he ordered.
On command, Sasuke motioned to turn and Susano'o obeyed.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, squinting to get a better view of the Uchiha. His expression was blank, except his eyes were cold, filled with something Naruto hadn't seen in his friend's eyes for a long time, something he'd never wanted to witness again... He heard the others lower themselves into defensive stances. They knew there wasn't much they could do against the Uchiha while he had the massive suit of armor surrounding him, they only moved on instinct. The Uzumaki took a deep breath. He knew what he must do and that he had to stay calm, no matter what. The blond readied himself.
"Kill, kill, kill..."
That was the only word that registered in Sasuke's head. Staring at the group below, he didn't see his friends, he was laying eyes on strangers he desired to hurt, to kill, to destroy. Susano'o drew its purple blade once more, striking at the cluster of shinobi.
"Let's go Kurama!" Naruto shouted. On cue, a fiery orange suit coated Naruto and the Kyuubi erupted from the man, growing in size to match Susano'o. The gigantic fox form caught both of Susano'o's wrists, gripping them tightly. As the two battled for control, Naruto allowed his gaze to travel to the purple hand that held the sword. "I gotta be extremely careful," he thought, noticing how the sword's blade scraped the cave's roof. The Uzumaki exerted more energy, enough to force the hand to twist sideways so that the blade no longer touched the ceiling. Parts of the roof shifted from where the weapon had made contact with it. "This place will collapse if we go all out," Naruto realized.
"Just like old times," Kurama commented sarcastically.
"A little too much like old times if you ask me," Naruto responded with a grin.
Susano'o wrenched its weaponless hand free, drawing back and delivering a punch to the massive fox. The Kyuubi hit the wall and Naruto grunted with frustration from inside it. He pushed himself away from the rock and worriedly looked back. The Uzumaki breathed a sigh of relief, as it seemed that the impact hadn't been too rough. Though he didn't know how much more the hideout could take before it collapsed. Naruto knew he had to end this quickly, and there was one thing he must do in order to accomplish that. Naruto had to get Sasuke out of Susano'o.
Kakashi stared as his students battled, the man's expression indecipherable. Naruto and Sasuke had been fighting for a while now, but Kakashi hadn't kept track of how long. He became concerned as time continued to tick on, the fight appearing to have made no progress either way. The rest of his comrades from Suna and Konoha were growing increasingly restless as well.
"We must do something to assist Naruto!" Rock Lee shouted, hopping to his feet.
"What the heck would we do?" Temari questioned, pointing towards the pair of battling giants. "We're all exhausted and unless you have something big enough to match that then..." she trailed off, obviously as frustrated as Lee that they couldn't be of much help here.
"We can only hope that Naruto wins," Shino remarked.
Kiba growled and marched towards Kakashi. "I know it seems impossible, but we can't just sit here and be useless!" he yelled at the Hokage.
"We're not going to attempt anything," Kakashi replied.
"But-!"
"I have faith in Naruto," Kakashi interjected. He remembered his conversation with the Uzumaki earlier. The Hatake still didn't know exactly what Naruto's plan was, or how he perceived future events, but he certainly trusted Naruto. The blond always kept his word and Kakashi wasn't about to begin doubting that he'd do it now.
"Look!"
"What the-?!"
"Is he insane?!"
Kakashi peered curiously at his comrades, wondering what in the world they were so worried about. He raised an eyebrow at their gaping mouths and then followed their gazes. His sight landed back on the purple and orange giants. Kakashi's eyes widened with utter shock. Yes, the man still trusted Naruto with his life, but that didn't mean he couldn't doubt some of the decisions the Uzumaki made. "Oh boy," Kakashi muttered with dread.
The Susano'o and the fox were at a total deadlock. They were once again struggling for power, their arms shaking from the effort they put forth.
Naruto cursed under his breath. "I'm not getting anywhere with this," he muttered. The small space the pair had to battle it out didn't assist him any. The mindless Sasuke he was fighting didn't help either, as the blond had to repeatedly keep the both of them from slamming into the rocky barriers. "Sasuke, snap out of it!" Naruto yelled with frustration. The Uchiha's expression didn't falter at hearing his friend's voice, although the Hokage-to-be could've sworn he saw a slight change in Sasuke's eyes, only for an instant.
Naruto racked his brains for any way he could get the last of the Uchiha out of his Susano'o. He'd made multiple attempts over the course of their battle, but under such constraints he couldn't try anything too crazy. There was one idea that popped into the male's head, but it fit into that category of crazy. Naruto seriously considered the idea, debating in his head whether or not it was worth a try. The person he was fighting looked like Sasuke, but he wasn't the Uzumaki's best friend by any means. This Sasuke was slower and was no where near as calculated as the real Sasuke. The idea just might work, but there was also a significant risk of the cave collapsing, too.
"What the heck else can I do?!" the Uzumaki silently screamed. "Please don't collapse," he begged. Naruto continued to silently pray that the impact wouldn't cause too big of an earthquake. "Everyone's gonna think I'm crazy, but here goes nothing..."
The Kyuubi jerked away from Susano'o's grip, lunging forward and clutching the giant purple warrior's shoulders. The mindless Sasuke hadn't anticipated the counterattack and failed to stop Naruto as he swept one of the monster's legs out from under him. Using the movement to his advantage, the fox hoisted his opponent higher into the air, Susano'o's head banging into the rocky surface above. "Come on!" Naruto screamed aloud, determination filling his being.
"He won't," Kurushimi stated to himself, daring the Uzumaki to go through with his intentions.
Everyone including Kurushimi stared in complete shock as the fox body slammed Susano'o into the ground. The impact was thunderous, causing all to cover their ears and turn their bodies away from the debris sailing in every direction. The deafening bang echoed throughout the cave system, amplifying the sound to make it more unbearable. It seemed like forever until the chaos finally died down, the debris settling.
Kakashi slowly stood from his crouched position, removing his hands from his ears and carefully surveying the environment around him. Everyone else appeared to be okay, but the cave structure was another story. There were massive cracks lining each of the walls. The roof was not left unscathed either, to say the least. Yet the structure still stood, none of it besides the cracks showing many signs of incoming collapse. Kakashi breathed a heavy sigh of relief, his gaze shifting to the new crater in the middle of the battlefield. The debris there was just now settling amidst all the mayhem.
Sasuke coughed in raspy breaths as the dust continued to enter his lungs. He waved the cloud of dust away from his face with one hand, finally able to remove his other hand from its position shielding his eyes.
"Kill him... kill him... kill him..."
Sasuke's eyes immediately roved the area for the male he'd been battling.
"Break him, make him bleed, kill him!" the voice commanded again.
Sasuke repeated the order in his mind over and over. It was his mission, he must complete it even if he died. He quickly spotted the stranger amongst the settling debris. It wasn't very hard, considering the man was still glowing a fiery orange.
"Pleh! Pleh!" Naruto spat out the dust that had gotten into his mouth. "Ugh," he groaned, wiping his tongue with one hand in the hopes that it'd relieve him of the foul taste. "Huh, I can't believe that actually worked," Naruto commented. The cave hadn't crashed down on top of him yet and he couldn't see any remnants of the purple Susano'o, so everything appeared to have worked out. A crackling noise captured Naruto's attention.
Sasuke limped towards the male coated in fiery orange, a scowl present on his features caused by the lingering pain in his broken leg.
"Kill him... kill him... kill him..." the voice said repeatedly.
"Kill him Sasuke!" Kurushimi shouted out loud, echoing the commands in the raven-haired man's head.
The Uchiha limped onwards, raising his hand and relishing the moment it started chirping, lightning crackling louder and louder in his palm. He felt the power coursing through his body. The stranger was staring past him, a grin starting to form on his lips. The mindless Sasuke was oblivious to everything else around him, only focusing on the voice in his mind ordering him to strike the glowing man, even if it killed him.
Someone reached out and clutched Sasuke's arm with an iron grip. The snarling Uchiha immediately whipped around, freezing when he caught sight of the person. It was a woman, a beautiful woman with pink hair. Purplish lines covered her face and he could see that the lines spread across the rest of the girl's body as well. Whoever she was, she was interfering with his mission. He growled and attempted to wrench his arm away in order to strike her with his lightning-filled palm.
"Sasuke?" she spoke, unsure.
He halted. That voice... The lightning in his hand fizzled out and he stopped struggling against her grip. "Sakura...?" Sasuke smacked a hand against his forehead, his teeth gritted in pain. How did she know his name? How did he know hers? He felt the woman's, Sakura's hand leave his wrist. Sasuke hunched over in pain, one hand still grasping his head while the other stayed on the ground to support him.
Kurushimi was speechless. He spared the other ninjas from Suna and Konoha a fleeting glance when he heard their gasps of wonder. They were as shocked as he himself was. "What?" the man was able to croak out. He'd witnessed the medic die, felt her chakra signature vanish. "How?" he whispered, hesitantly shifting his gaze to the man who sat behind him. Kenshi's head was lowered, making it impossible to decipher his expression. Kurushimi turned once more, his strange eyes glued to the scene unfolding below. His hands shook with fury and confusion, heart hammering against his chest. This was the last error he expected to occur with his plan. Errors... Kurushimi never made a flawed approach, so how did his plan fail? What went wrong?
Sakura was terrified. Her fear only increased the longer she stared at Sasuke's ominous glare. At first, she remained quiet when he began to struggle against her grip. The kunoichi wasn't scared of Sasuke himself, she was horrified at the possibility that she couldn't bring Sasuke back this time.
Sakura's worries were somewhat put at ease when she said his name and he'd responded with her name. That moment, she'd caught a glimpse of it. When Sasuke said her name, she caught a flicker of Sasuke in his eyes, not this Sasuke, but her Sasuke. Kurushimi hadn't entirely gotten rid of the Uchiha she loved so dearly. The woman released his hand when he curled up and gritted his teeth in pain.
"I know you're still in there Sasuke," Sakura began as she watched him struggle. "You have to fight it, okay? Don't let Kurushimi do this. Don't let him destroy you Sasuke..." The woman paused upon seeing the glare full of hatred he cast in her direction. "Do you remember...? All those fun times we had together with Team 7? Or when you came back to the village? I was so happy. We were all finally together again..." The corners of her lips lifted upwards in a smile. "I heard you, you know? You told me you loved me, when you thought I was dead. Do you remember that Sasuke?"
His glare was replaced by a frown, his eyes once again showing that Sasuke was still inside this man in front of her. The Uchiha shook his head and growled with fury, launching his hand towards Sakura's throat. Just before he could reach her neck, Sasuke's other hand shot out and clutched his own wrist. "No!" he grunted, struggling with himself.
Sasuke was fighting back. Sakura stifled her grin and peered at Naruto with a serious expression, giving her teammate a nod. Naruto returned the nod, understanding immediately and preparing himself for the kunoichi's signal. Sakura took a deep breath and looked at the struggling Uchiha once more. She knew this was going to hurt the man quite a bit. Sakura uttered an apology to Sasuke before leaping forward, using her strength to wrestle him onto the ground with his stomach pressed against the cool rock. When Sasuke began to try to throw her off him, she applied pressure to his broken leg. Sakura winced at hearing Sasuke's howls of pain. At least he'd momentarily stopped moving though.
"Now Naruto!" Sakura yelled, moving to the side so her friend could take aim easily.
Naruto leaped towards the pair, landing beside the downed Sasuke. "This better work!" the Uzumaki shouted, launching his fiery orange hands into his best friend's back. The burning marks on the Uchiha's skin shined a fierce red. Naruto grimaced at the intensity of the heat radiating from the marks. Sasuke arched his back, releasing another scream of pain. Sakura used more force to hold his body down while Naruto pressed harder against the marks with his fiery orange hands. "You better not give up Sasuke! We didn't chase after you all those years for nothing! You gotta keep fighting it!"
Kurushimi stared down at the scene in horror, frozen on the spot. "No, no no no... NO!" This wasn't supposed to happen. This was the absolute last thing Kurushimi expected to occur. His master plan was steadily unraveling. Anger built up inside the man until he screamed in frustration. Kurushimi raised his hand and small blue chakra shards appeared out of thin air. He took aim at Naruto and Sakura, hand shaking with fury. The throbbing in Kurushimi's head increased to the point that it was too much to ignore. The man fell to his knees, slapping wobbly hands over his head. The chakra shards disappeared and Kurushimi was left curling up in pain on the rock's edge.
Kenshi, who'd been silently watching the unfolding sequence, jolted from a sudden movement. The floating rock he and Kurushimi were perched on was beginning to slowly drift towards the ground.
It had been a long time since the last of the light above the black water vanished. Sasuke was dragged down, down, down in the water until the light from the world above disappeared. The Uchiha gave up struggling a while ago. He was too weak to fight out of the strong restraints' hold. Instead, he relinquished himself to the black hands, his eyes slowly closing as he drowned in the dark water.
Total darkness.
That's what Sasuke woke up to. Nothing of any color but black surrounded him. Sasuke's weary eyes roved the area, not even able to see the rest of his body. Somehow he could breathe. The restraints were still wrapped tightly around him, he realized. The Uchiha made no effort to free himself again. There was no point, he lost. Sakura was gone, his power had failed. Failure... Sasuke failed yet again... The younger Sasuke was correct, it was all his fault. He'd let Sakura die, he couldn't save her, and every bit of the blame was on him.
Sasuke was numb to his feelings, to the pain caused by the black hands stretching his hidden limbs out. He didn't know what was happening elsewhere, outside of what he presumed was his own mind. Nonetheless, he perceived his friends were in serious danger. There was nothing he could do about it though. He was powerless.
Events, thoughts, played in front of him. Sasuke watched as they played, pondering silently. He could've done something to save Sakura's life. If he hadn't panicked, what would have happened? Anything would've been better than what he let occur, anything... Regrets, he had so many in life. This only served to make the list longer, but it was also his greatest. Sasuke cursed himself for failing, failing to make her happy, to return the love she deserved, and now for failing to save her life...
Maybe Naruto could still do something to save the rest of them though. He'd always come through even in the most impossible situations.
"Sasuke, snap out of it!"
The Uchiha's eyes popped wide open at the voice. "Naruto?" he whispered. Sasuke searched the dark waters for his best friend, as much as the restraints would allow him that is. Sasuke's curiosity waned when he found no other sign of the Uzumaki. The voice must've been a figment of his imagination. As much as he hated to admit it, disappointment crossed his mind that Naruto wasn't there.
Sasuke's thoughts wandered back to the previous subject that occupied them, still partially focusing on the environment around him in case he heard Naruto's voice again. He remembered the day Team 7 was at the graveyard, when he found out that Sakura's parents were killed in his absence. Ever since his return, she'd never shown any sorrow over the topic until then at the graveyard. Sakura tried to hide her pain over it, he knew. The Haruno was a strong woman, but there was no way she couldn't suffer over something such as the death of both her parents. "I should've been there for you," Sasuke thought with remorse. All the things he could've, should've done for Sakura crossed his mind.
"Sasuke?" sounded a quiet voice.
Sasuke's eyes snapped open again upon hearing another familiar person. "Sakura?" the Uchiha questioned out loud, unable to believe his ears. He jerked forward on a whim, but his confinements immediately tugged him back into place. Sasuke knew he hadn't been dreaming when the voice entered his ears this time. The first person truly was Naruto. He replayed the male's words in his mind. "Sasuke, snap out of it!" Snap out of it? What was going on? Sasuke became frantic when he realized the true weight of his situation. Something bad was happening on the outside, he wasn't in control anymore. The younger Sasuke wasn't really Sasuke, it was...
"I know you're still in there Sasuke. Don't let Kurushimi do this. Don't let him destroy you Sasuke..."
Sasuke's breath came out heavily. She was there, it was real, Sakura was alive... He let her words sink in for a moment. Kurushimi, this was his plot all along, kill him from the inside. A sense of determination filled the man's being, willing him to fight. Sasuke started to struggle against the black hands restraining him again, but quickly gave out. He couldn't do this, he wasn't strong enough...
"Do you remember...?"
He remained still as Sakura's voice entered his head once again.
"All those fun times we had together as Team 7? Or when you came back to the village? I was so happy. We were all finally together again..."
Within the darkness, Sasuke could make out an image. Sakura crouched in front of him, the seal on her forehead activated and a smile on her lips. A smile, her smile.
"I heard you, you know? You told me you loved me, when you thought I was dead. Do you remember that Sasuke?"
Sasuke's parted lips morphed into a frown. He recalled everything she talked about, except everything after her supposed "death" was a blur to him. His attention shifted back to the scene when he heard a distorted growl and saw a hand, his own, shooting out towards the woman's throat. "No!" Sasuke grunted, reaching his hand out to catch the other on instinct. To his surprise, the action took place in the scene he was watching. The bewildered Uchiha looked downward. The restraints had lessened, the black hands losing enough of their hold for him to somehow perform the action.
Determination ignited inside the Uchiha like a fire. He used all his might to break free of the demon-like claws clutching his body. Sakura and Naruto were right, he had to snap out of it, to fight these claws keeping him underwater. The more he pulled and the longer his determination fueled him, the more his restraints loosened. Sasuke fought until he felt like passing out and he realized that he was growing increasingly weaker, his remaining energy draining rapidly.
"You better not give up Sasuke! We didn't chase after you all those years for nothing! You gotta keep fighting it!"
Naruto's words set something off in Sasuke. They sparked the small flame inside Sasuke so that it became a raging wildfire. "One more," he thought, narrowing his eyes with intense focus. He had enough left in him for one more attempt. Sasuke gathered whatever strength remained inside of him and launched himself forward, a scream of perseverance erupting from his lips. He couldn't give up. The things he was fighting for filled his thoughts, taking prominent reign over them. Sakura, Naruto, and the rest of his friends and comrades were still here, still fighting.
A bright orange light flashed above the water, capturing Sasuke's attention as he struggled. The light grew stronger, illuminating what was below the surface.
Snap!
The black hands let go of Sasuke's body one by one, until he was completely free of them. The Uchiha floated upwards, glancing downward as the bright orange light shot down into the water and past him, forming into hands themselves and attacking the black claws. The darkness that previously engulfed him grew smaller and smaller, shrinking as the bright orange hands crushed the dark ones.
When two hands wrapped around his own, Sasuke whipped his head upwards, noticing that they were two human hands. A small grin lifted the corners of his lips. He knew exactly whose hands they belonged to. One hand was gentle and small, Sakura's, while the other was large and calloused, Naruto's. Sasuke clasped his own hands around theirs, letting his teammates pull him upwards out of the water.
They were gone when Sasuke surfaced, water splashing everywhere and rushing in streams out of his hair. The last of his clan blinked rapidly and pushed his soaked raven locks out of his face. He glanced into the water to notice that the light had won the war with the dark down below, rushing through the water as if it was some sort of celebration of victory.
A horrified voice reached the man's ears. "No, no no no... NO!" Sasuke elicited a low growl, swimming to the pier's end. He hoisted himself over the pier's edge and pushed himself up to a standing position, breathing heavily from the effort. His eyes narrowed and came to rest on his younger self, who looked like a severely wounded animal.
Upon seeing the male climb out of the water, the other Sasuke had fallen to his knees, unable to stand anymore. He cowered in fear as the man locked gazes with him.
Sasuke advanced towards the petrified teenager, water dripping to his feet with every step. His voice came out in ominous pants and a steadily increasing chirping noise sounded from his palm. "Get." Step. "Out." Step. "Of." Step. "My." Step. "Head." Sasuke reached his target and leaned down, grabbing the male roughly by the shoulder and forcing him to stand at eye level. "Kurushimi," the Uchiha finished with a snarl. He drew back his lightning-filled palm and violently thrust it through his younger self.
The younger Sasuke's mouth flew open upon impact, but no sound came from his throat. Sasuke watched as the teenager morphed into Kurushimi, removing his hand from the man's body. Kurushimi's eyes shifted towards the hole in his chest as he slowly fell to land atop the wooden pier in a motionless heap.
The boulder smacked into the ground with a harsh thud. Kurushimi's screams of agony echoed throughout the entire cave system. The man tumbled over the rock's edge and hit the cold stone below, still holding his head and whimpering in pain.
Kenshi carefully slid off the large chunk of earth and landed shakily on his feet. The man quickly leaned against the rock and lowered himself to sit against it. He closed his eyes and tried to regain control of his breathing. The scarred swordsman clutched at the wound on his stomach. The blood loss was taking its toll on Kenshi.
Naruto and Sakura slowly removed their hands from Sasuke's body. His bare back was free of any markings, cleansed of the wounds that'd been engraved into the Uchiha's alabaster skin. Sasuke came to with a start, forcing his heavy lids open and causing Naruto and Sakura to glance at each other with the biggest smiles plastered to their features.
Sasuke made a motion to sit up and the pair quickly assisted him with the task. The two kept their hands on the Uchiha for support as he studied his surroundings, surveying the battlefield in front of him, then his own body, and finally...
Sasuke whipped his head to the side, his mismatched orbs locking with Sakura's emerald ones. The Uchiha didn't think twice when he wrenched his arms away from his friends' hold and wrapped them around the woman sitting in front him with Sakura immediately returning the embrace. Sasuke's labored breaths entered her ears while Sakura's muffled cries entered his.
"I... thought I lost you," Sasuke panted breathlessly, holding her close.
Sakura buried her face into his neck. "I'm not going anywhere," she cried.
"Guess I'm officially the third wheel now, huh?" Naruto asked jokingly, a gigantic smile present on his lips.
Sakura giggled as she leaned out of her and Sasuke's embrace, wiping the tears away and gesturing for the male to join them. "Come here Naruto," the medic called, a big smile forming on her lips as well. The Uzumaki's fiery orange coat disappeared until he was back to his normal appearance. He scooted forward and wrapped his arms around his teammates in a tight hug. Sasuke allowed a small smirk to rest on his lips when he removed one arm from Sakura and threw it around Naruto.
"Glad you're back jerk," Naruto announced cheerily.
"Ah," Sasuke hummed in agreement, the smirk growing larger. In truth he was happy to see his best friend too, but there was no way he'd admit that to the blond out loud.
A wide grin settled on Kakashi's lips the longer he watched the scene, although the expression was mostly hidden by his mask. He heard the rest of his comrades cheer with happiness, or in Ino's case sob with joy. Sakura was alive, Sasuke was no longer blind from rage, and Naruto was fine. All was good. The ninjas were about to make their way towards the trio when a loud shout of fury halted them in their tracks.
"NO! NO! NO!" Kurushimi screamed repeatedly as he stumbled to his feet. He hissed with anger at the scene in front of him and the agonizing pains in his head. His multicolored eyes throbbed painfully as well. The man slapped both hands to his head again and muttered a string of curses. Kurushimi could feel his power steadily draining. He forced his pulsating orbs to open and gritted his teeth in fury. "I... will not... lose!" He raised a shaking hand and watched as thousands of chakra shards formed in the air. One more. He held enough power left to deliver a singular strike so devastating it would kill all the enemies sitting across the battlefield. With one hand gripping his head and the other outstretched in front of him, the man focused his concentration on creating more shards. "Even you," he growled towards Naruto, "will not be able to stop it!"
Naruto quickly shot to his feet. He himself was quite worn out and didn't know exactly what was left in his tank, but he'd protect his comrades at all costs. He stared at the millions of sharp objects suspended in the air and gulped. He racked his brains thinking of a way to protect Sasuke and Sakura along with Kakashi and his other friends all the way on the other side of the cave.
Kurushimi laughed menacingly, preparing to bring his hand down and send the millions of shards flying. "Prepare to d-GUH!" he spluttered. The man's eyes widened, his hands slowly dropping and the chakra shards disappearing. He looked down at the blood coated blade protruding from his chest.
Naruto and the rest of the shinobi from Suna and Konoha shared a gasp of bewilderment. Sakura was the exception to this, as she quietly watched the scene with a hint of sadness in her eyes.
Kurushimi hesitantly turned his head to peer at his attacker. "K-Kenshi?" he questioned, betrayal and shock filling his quiet voice.
"Sorry old friend," Kenshi responded with a sorrowful smile.
Author's Note: Quite a cliffhanger, huh? The full truth will be exposed next chapter! Only two more chapters left with this story and I'm a little sad, as this was the first fanfiction I ever made. The next chapter will more than likely not be done by next Saturday because I have prom and a big paper due this week, but we'll see. Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Thank you all for your support and please review!