A flash of lightning.
Followed shortly afterwards by the roar of thunder, and the booming of dozens of tons of rock collapsing.
"That was-" Sakura cut herself off.
"Raiden, yeah." Naruto grunted.
He jumped up, quickly scaling the wall of the base. Sakura followed him only moments later, as did I.
Raiden. Not Kirin.
I turned my attention to Itachi's Heart- which was still present.
Whatever Raiden was, it hadn't been enough to kill Itachi. He was in a lot of pain, his Chakra was surrounding him and draining quickly, but he wasn't dead.
Susanoo, probably.
There was a lot of smoke and dust up the top, obscuring Itachi's form, though not Sasuke's.
Sasuke was up high, standing on top of one of the massive rock extensions, looking down at where Itachi was.
Still is.
Naruto and Sakura came to a stop on the rim of the destroyed rocks, nowhere near the battle, but ready to jump in at any moment.
"You're not dead, Itachi." Sasuke called. "Stop hiding."
A pulse within the smoke promptly pushed it aside, revealing Itachi- and the skeletal Susanoo wrapped around him.
Knew it.
Itachi glanced to the side, spotting Naruto, Sakura, and myself, before turning back to Sasuke.
"An impressive effort, foolish little brother." He stated. "But mere lightning cannot destroy the Susanoo."
Sasuke stared on, impassive. "This is your greatest trick, Itachi? A Chakra skeleton? I continue to be unimpressed."
"Hah." Itachi's Chakra surged, ethereal muscles beginning to wrap around the Susanoo skeleton, followed shortly afterwards by ethereal armour.
"This is the Susanoo." He stated. "The third Jutsu of the Mangekyo Sharingan. Available only to those who have unlocked the abilities of both their eyes."
Itachi raised his hand, the Susanoo following his movement. In the Susanoo's hand, a gourd appeared, melting into existence.
"I should-" Itachi coughed, beginning to hack and wheeze. He fell to his knees, spitting out blood on the ground in front of him.
He breathed heavily for a few moments, before standing back up, using his sleeve to wipe away the blood. "This fight... Has gone on for a bit too long."
"Agreed." Sasuke stated, not even fazed. "If you die from that, I'll never find out what it was like killing you."
"You will never know." Itachi stated. "I will be the one who will kill you. Then I will take your eyes, and surpass even Madara Uchiha himself."
A flare of hate from the Kyuubi's Heart came with those words. A bit of concern in Naruto's, as well.
"Madara Uchiha is dead."
Itachi nodded. "Indeed." His eyes closed, and his head tilted to the side. "But he was one of the most powerful men in the world. Only a single equal."
"I wouldn't call Hashirama Senju an equal when Madara lost to him." Sasuke scoffed. "Enough delays, Itachi."
He flicked his hands, launching a number of explosive tags at Itachi's Susanoo, which raised its other hand and summoned yet another mass of Chakra, this one in the form of a round, circular mirror.
Itachi stepped forwards, his Susanoo following him, the Yata Mirror protecting him from the explosions. "It won't work." He claimed. "This is the Yata Mirror. It is imbued with all five nature transformations. It is a perfect defence, it cannot be pierced-"
Sasuke vanished with a Shunshin, reappearing in front of Itachi, Chokuto stabbing forwards and aimed for Itachi's chest.
The edge met the Yata Mirror and the Yata Mirror lost, the Dark edge cutting right through the shield of Chakra.
Itachi barely had time to widen his eyes before Sasuke buried the blade in his chest. Itachi let out a grunt of pain as it did, and slumped forwards.
"Incredible." Itachi wheezed. "That sword broke through the Yata Mirror like it didn't even exist." He coughed, spitting out yet more blood.
"So much for your 'perfect defence'." Sasuke scathingly remarked.
The Susanoo evaporated, vanishing into nothing. Slowly, Sasuke pulled his sword out of Itachi's chest, letting him fall forwards to his knees.
He flicked the blood of it, before sheathing it.
"You..." Itachi coughed. "You have grown strong, little brother."
Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them, the Sharingan no longer present.
"You're not my brother, Itachi. You lost the right to call yourself that when you murdered my parents."
Itachi fell forwards, twisting and landing on his side, rolling onto his back. "Our parents..." He could barely move.
"Mine." Sasuke reiterated. "You lost the right to call yourself family when you murdered them." Sasuke looked down, facing Itachi. "Ironic, isn't it? In the search of power, Itachi Uchiha- No. You are undeserving of that name. You lost the right to call yourself family, and you lost the right to call yourself Uchiha. In the search of power, Itachi Nanashi murders his own family and creates his own downfall." Sasuke's voice was cold. "The sibling he spared, the sibling he told to gain the power that he himself had gained, kills him without ever needing to."
"I...ronic." Itachi agreed.
His eyes closed.
I saw his Heart and Soul leaving his body. I watched them as they floated upwards. I watched as they vanished.
Naruto and Sakura landed on the ground behind him.
Neither said anything.
Sasuke looked up, staring at the slowly dispersing storm clouds.
He breathed in, and out.
Sakura moved over, pulling Sasuke into a hug. Naruto followed her a moment later, wrapping his arms around both of them.
Sasuke didn't try to push them away. His eyes closed, and his head tilted forwards, coming to rest on Sakura's shoulder.
A small flow of content found its way through his Heart.
Eventually, he pulled away, taking a step back and looking at Itachi's body. He pulled a scroll out of his pocket, unfurling it and placing it along the ground, before shifting Itachi's body on top of it, and then sealing it away.
"How do you feel?" Sakura asked.
Sasuke looked up for a moment, before turning to her and simply smiling.
A true, honest smile.
That was answer enough.