"And so we've come to this, ladies and gentlemen, the main event of the finals of the Interuniversal and Intertemporal Chuunin Exams!" Konohamaru continued to rattle on commentary. Whether he knew or not that Sasuke Uchiha was nowhere to be seen, at least not in the waiting room, remained as of yet unclear.
"That's right, and while all matches have been decided at random, this one certainly did end up being a treat that deserves its title and hype," Udon nodded with enthusiasm a couple of times. "Yamanaka Kiyomi is the prodigious heiress of the Yamanaka clan's management in this universe and Uchiha Sasuke is an infamous missing ninja who, technically, is still a genin, despite having been one of the most dangerous ninja alive at the time."
"They're really killing us with the anticipation here, neither of the two are walking out and I really want to see Yamanaka Kiyomi whoop this guy's butt!" Moegi cheered on.
"Aren't you supposed to be completely objective about this?" Konohamaru scratched his head.
"Why? I'm a commentator and not a referee. Plus, what's wrong about cheering on a fellow kunoichi?" Moegi crossed her arms. "It would be such an inspiring victory for Yamanaka Kiyomi to triumph over one of the most dangerous ninja of his time that would eventually become one of Konoha's bravest protectors and best friends of Lord Seventh. Seeing something like this coming true is more inspirational to little girls wanting to be ninja than anything teachers or parents can tell them."
"Moegi… You're getting a little…" Udon was about to bring to her attention how preachy his friend was being but then all three commentators spun their heads to focus on the screens that closed in on a blur that sent a ripple of wind which scattered the fallen leaves present in the arena. In the center of the minor disturbance of peace and quiet stood one young man of dark, shoulder-length hair and a long, dark cloak over his shoulders.
Sasuke Uchiha had arrived at the scene, though his eyes remained closed.
"Good grief, what a drama queen…" Kiyomi sighed. "Well, I'm off…"
Meiko let out a hefty breath and looked at her friend. She still felt a bit winded after her fight, still, she was one of the few examinees still capable of returning to the waiting room and checking out the rest of the matches. The place had quickly become empty though Meiko had thought that being the type of guy Sasuke was, he'd arrive after it had emptied out. Turns out, he chose to skip the chaff altogether and just show up for the main course.
"He's a pretty scary guy, a friend of Seventh Naruto, you know. You gonna be okay?" Meiko wondered.
Kiyomi put up a relaxed hand and waved it in dismissal. She did not feel inclined to say a single word in response. Meiko chuckled to herself, her friend probably got offended. Kiyomi wasn't too fond of the Uchiha her entire life and while she had managed to get over her blatant classism toward the folks, she never claimed or felt obliged to get along with them or like them too much either.
"So you're my opponent? I wondered if I even needed to show up…" Sasuke turned to Kiyomi and chose to open his eyes only in acknowledgment of her appearance through the exit from the hallway leading out of the locker room and entrance to the arena.
"How so? Choose your answer carefully though," Kiyomi spoke with a certain suave taste to her tone. She did not foster any heat toward her opponent, she walked out to face him as she would have faced just about anyone else she needed to eliminate from her path.
"Well, the way I saw it was – either you will chicken out and I'll have shown up for nothing, or I'll just crush you in no time flat and end up with the same result on my hands… Reaching out for that promotion feels useless, at this point," Sasuke taunted Kiyomi with a confident smirk.
"Oh, you think you have me in the palm of my hand, you see me as a page of a book you can see clearly then?" Kiyomi struck a wide-open pose, flaunting at her opponent and daring for him to exploit his chance.
"Something like that," Sasuke admitted, though his face betrayed this to be just smack talk. He looked at least a little bit excited by the fact that his opponent showed up and from the way she carried herself around the place as if she owned it. "I've met Yamanaka before yet not a single one I was impressed by. Mostly, you guys are just really annoying…"
"Well then, feel free to hold back a little, okay?" Kiyomi pressed her index to her bottom lip, using her nail to dig into it lightly, just a few inches short of a pinch.
The staff member raised his arms up for the declaration of the beginning of the final match and withdrew from the arena promptly. Just as the noise of the baggy, dark pants rustling in the speedy movement of the Konoha chuunin withdrawing from the arena disappeared from perception, a light tap followed as Sasuke's sandals landed on the other side from Kiyomi with just the deeper edge of his blade reflecting the beams of sunlight it managed to catch.
A dark shadow lingered over Kiyomi's head. An image of a malformed, demonic entity with all-swallowing white eyes and a cruel smile that then burst into light as vicious lashes tore it asunder, forcing it to erupt from within and dissolve into nothingness. And yet… The Yamanaka girl stood tall and brave, unmoved by the assault of her opponent.
"What was that supposed to be?" she even found some time to mock him. Sasuke's form vanished, brief and numerous eruptions of storming sparks burst from fierce collisions in mid-air of Sasuke's Kusanagi sword against something invisible yet material all the same. The two light-stepping figures proceeded to dance a lethal tango, uncaring and unwavering for the damage caused on the outside as violent projectiles of compressed air slashed into the ground and fell trees all around him.
A deafening pop sent Sasuke vaulting backward and sliding on the ground with his sword in hand, ready to respond to danger and his Mangekyou Sharingan in full-activity. The face of the young man was as serious as Kiyomi had ever seen it while hers still carried that pre-match aloofness which she enjoyed flaunting her confused opponent with. This entire time, the girl in the black dress stood in the center, and calmly observed Sasuke's struggles.
"I see…" Sasuke spoke up. "You're no ordinary Yamanaka."
"Wh… What was that!?" Konohamaru exclaimed on commentary. "It seemed to me like Uchiha Sasuke had moved, yes, for sure I've seen him attacking with his sword. His movements were incredibly fast, I'm sure that they'll slow things down for you civilians watching at home or those that were incapable of tracking Sasuke's movements but… It appears that Kiyomi had deflected all of his strikes, right?"
"Umm… I'm not sure… I think I noticed Sasuke Uchiha employing genjutsu to lock her down in place and then striking at her at first but… Then I got so lost…" Moegi ran her hand through her hair in frustration. "Just how will I explain this to all those brave, little girls? They need to get what's going on to get inspired!"
"It does seem odd but I am sure that examinee Kiyomi has not moved a muscle!" Udon proclaimed. "I have on good authority that on this universe a speed surpassing the speed of light is impossible, meaning that there is no way that Kiyomi could have moved without vanishing or us seeing any trace of her movement. And yet… Somehow she's fended off all of examinee Sasuke's attacks."
"It must feel really vexing, to see something you wish destroyed, and not being able to crush it. Tell me all about that frustration, please," Kiyomi proceeded to taunt her opponent though Sasuke composed himself and took a deep breath, closing his eyes for just one blink only to reopen them without the Mangekyou Sharingan and only the ordinary crimson eye blaring in his orbs.
"You overestimate yourself," Sasuke answered. "After killing Itachi and talking to Naruto I've changed a bit. The only person I want to see destroyed is Itachi. I no longer intend on destroying everyone that stood in the way of my revenge. The only vengeance I seek is against Itachi, every single version of him across time and space. By traveling with Naruto, I'll have that accessible to me."
"I see…" Kiyomi sighed. "My intelligence was right then. You are so consistently inconsistent…"
"What I am is an avenger!" Sasuke grunted, charging forward with a vanishing attack. After his blade collided with something invisible just inches away from Kiyomi's face, the Uchiha blitzed away and continued his assault. This time it prompted Kiyomi to move after him. The two black blurs continued to spit out sparks and spread screechy clangs every time their ambitions collided.
"My vengeance has been enacted, the only purpose I've ever known – gone. Don't talk to me like you know what feeling empty feels like!" Sasuke taunted Kiyomi after forcing one of their collisions onto her and pressing the offensive. The Yamanaka slid under, surrendering to the physical force in order to attack her opponent down low. Her limbs shuffled in an acrobatic flash before the Yamanaka found herself vaulting back up on both her feet.
Sasuke's cloak flew away from his shoulders with a wide gash across it. The black and white, loose, long-sleeve shirt carried a similar, flapping cut over the side though the resulting cut on Sasuke's chest was significantly smaller. It was as if the young man had sensed the attack before it happened and retracted his body where it would have hit him.
"Those ethereal attacks, the invisible weapons, and barriers, my eyes can see them all," Sasuke declared, and directed his Sharingan back at Kiyomi.
"Indeed, it doesn't seem like you can tell what's exactly hitting you, but you know it's there and that it's about to hit you. Your vision of my technique is inferior to what someone with the Byakugan would be able to see but you still get some hints," Kiyomi flexed and hopped on her feet. "Still, don't presume to know what I am capable of, had I used a sword and not a knife to slash at you – you might have been more seriously injured than this."
"Interesting…" Sasuke admitted with a smirk of excitement that not many people got to see on his face. "You can manifest weapons in your mind and affect the material plane with them. I have never seen such a Yamanaka technique before. Though I have a similar jutsu of my own."
A gaunt vision of an ethereal, indigo-colored specter appeared looming over Sasuke's head. The skeletal form radiated an intense aura of chakra as well that felt like trouble all the way back where Kiyomi was looking at it from. If the face of the blond Yamanaka princess was of any indication, she didn't think Sasuke's proclamation to be all that clever though she put up her arm like wielding a sword in her right hand.
"I guess there's no use in hiding it then…" she said while a white and cottony, almost cloud-like formation faded into the visible spectrum. An intense and sharp beam that ended in a sharp tip, surrounded by a coil of cumulus formation and thinning out at the hilt area, where Kiyomi held her ethereal weapon.
"Wh-What is that!?" Konohamaru pointed at the screen and exclaimed in surprise. "Both examinees have just revealed some crazy, invisible weapons they've been using this whole time!"
"Yeah, though why would they show them to us now?" Moegi wondered.
"If my theory is correct and examinee Kiyomi is capable of taking her Yamanaka techniques to the next level in forming mental constructs that affect the material plane, it would be a reasonable assumption to make that by intensifying its mental frequency to where it becomes apparent to the naked eye, she would strengthen such a construct many times over. Perhaps even to the point where it can hurt the adamantine armor of the Susanoo…" Udon pondered, scratching at his temple with his index finger.
"I don't care what your excuses are, I don't care if you're backing out on your word even…" Kiyomi leaned on her back foot while raising her mental sword up for a charging thrust. "You're just a common criminal with very uncommon abilities. A talent that you employ at bringing you further in the path of trash. In that path of garbage, you become just like every other criminal filth before you."
Kiyomi charged onward, sliding across the ground like a water striding riding the lake's surface while she thrust her mental sword forward, aiming it right at the center of the Susanoo ribcage and challenging its integrity head-on. Sasuke, though, had better plans. Coiling streams of Lightning Release energy burst forth from inside his Susanoo, creating an electrical discharge of chakra that seemed like one thousand Chidori all released at once, in all directions.
The streams hit their intended target dead-on, dazing Kiyomi and making her flinch. In that momentary hesitation that it took for her to wince in pain and in the disruption in her nervous system that interrupted the channeling of her mental construct, Sasuke's Susanoo grabbed hold of its intended target and tilted it over the head of its master.
"You're really annoying…" Sasuke mumbled before the skeletal Susanoo clutched its grip in an attempt to break the young woman it held in its arm. Much to Sasuke's surprise, it was the armor of Susanoo that broke down by the hand and continued to shatter until it reached the shoulder of the skeletal construct. The Susanoo folded to a mere mental shockwave of Kiyomi's resolve and continued to unravel. Contrary to its master's commands, the collapsing armor reeled in horror while it continued to fall away like the shell of a boiled egg, slowly being disassembled bit by bit and falling away before dispersing into thin air.
Sasuke vaulted back a few times, avoiding a silver-colored, ghastly flash that would have lobbed his head clean off had he not moved in time, reading Kiyomi's intent to manifest another sword of focused mental power.
"That hurts, doesn't it, trash?" Kiyomi straightened her back out and tilted the edge of her blade to point at the youth she was addressing. "Well, you can't blame anyone else but yourself for your own reeking choices. You have talent, talent surpassing that of the other Uchiha who were already gifted by nature beyond measure. Yet in becoming just another garbage criminal you defecated all over that talent, reducing yourself to nothing but filth. I do realize the irony that being ordinary is the worst nightmare to something like you but you were the one to reduce yourself to what you are now."
"What can you possibly understand!?" Sasuke lashed out. His Sharingan took a step further, drowning in more black markings and taking the Kaleidoscope tier of exalted vision powers. "Being ordinary is all that I've ever wanted!"
Kiyomi's blunt gaze clashed against Sasuke's angst for a pair of moments. Neither one of the two faltered for a second, every single bit of the sharp mental blade that the Yamanaka heiress wielded was meant for the adamantine armor that Sasuke coated himself with, just so it could eventually find the soft heart deep inside and pierce it.
"Just an ordinary boy with an ordinary family and ordinary brother, a clan of relatives with like-minded thoughts and aspirations, that's all I've ever wanted! I never wanted to become an avenger, I never wanted to hunt down and slay my own brother! If a lowly criminal is all that I am, I've had little choice in what I've turned out to be," Sasuke replied while letting his Susanoo manifest again, this time layering an additional weave of ethereal flesh on top as well as a layer of cold, steel in the shape of the Karuta on top.
"Whatever makes you feel easier before I send you to burn in hell…" Kiyomi took her thrusting stance again, fully reforming the blade of focused willpower, mental energy weaved with her chakra. "Even if your brother is yet another evil bastard, you chose to go after him, you chose to become the same as him. You heard it right, I was afraid you wouldn't get it the first time, you're evil, just like him."
"I'm nothing like Itachi!" Sasuke yelled out.
"All men become alike when they are evil. Lament as you may, you display no particular sort of evil. Just plain evil that I intend to crush without hesitation," Kiyomi declared with stone-cold eyes.
Meiko couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had never seen Kiyomi like this. Sure, she always hated criminals and she hated Uchiha too back when, though what the blacksmith saw in her friend's eyes in this clash was not hatred. She didn't fear Sasuke nor did she feel jealous about his talent, she didn't look at him from down on her knees, Kiyomi didn't gander at her opponent from a position of submission and defeat, admission that she wanted to crush him with all her strength though she lacked the power to do so, which gave birth to hatred.
Kiyomi was ice-cold in her statement, at that moment, she truly believed that she was facing just another criminal. Sasuke was not an Uchiha to her, he was not a murderer or a rogue ninja, he was no associate of Orochimaru, there was nothing specific of this young man that interested Kiyomi. To her – he was just evil, like a walking kanji symbol that glowed with annoying, neon tint and demanded to be crushed into oblivion.
Was this really her friend anymore? Back when she just hated and felt jealous, when she groveled for lacking the strength to kill a criminal in her way she hated more than hatred itself, she was relatable, Meiko could understand it as a flaw that Kiyomi would grow out of and leave behind. Now… It felt like Kiyomi had traversed a dark and frightening path and was so far down that path that Meiko could no longer see her friend at the end of the tunnel, just hear her voice and therefore know that she must have been there.
"Wh-What's all that talk of murder, I wonder…" Konohamaru spoke with a similarly shaken voice on the commentary, reflecting the public opinion with one, uneasy expression.