CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Reunion!
XXX
"Do you have any idea what it's like to fight… to strive… to work your whole life for something… only to have it taken away from you at the very last minute?" Sasuke began as he heard a pair of footsteps stagger out of the forest to join him on the edge of the cliff. Arms behind his back, staring out at the Valley of the End, he let out a soft sigh, "Ten years ago. My brother massacred my entire family. He took from me, everyone I loved, man, woman, child, no one was safe, not even our own parents, except for me. Me, he chose to torture me by making me relive the moment he killed my whole family, over and over and over and over and over again… until I begged him for mercy. When I finally mustered the strength to ask him why, why he hadn't killed me too. He told me it was because I had no value, he told me to hate him, to detest him, to run away, he told me to cling to my pitiful life, and only return to face him when my eyes were the same as his. I dedicated ten years of my fucking life to killing Itachi Uchiha… and you took that from me. I didn't get to kill my brother, Itachi, Naruto, but I'm going to enjoy killing you… who are you?" Sasuke asked, finally turning around.
"Uhh… hi, my name's Fuu, ssu," the mint-haired jinchuuriki waved.
"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke was interrupted by a pair of arms wrapping around his waist. Time slowed to a halt. Sasuke turned his head to glance over his shoulder. Naruto violently exploded out of the earth and suplexed Sasuke into the valley. He crashed into the lake, lifting gallons of water into the air.
Sasuke rose to the surface in a coughing fit.
Naruto landed on the water's surface, his bright red robe fluttering behind him.
"I didn't expect you of all people, who preaches so much about fighting me one-on-one, to bring reinforcements," Sasuke climbed out of the water to stand on it, "No way you're that scared of me, are you?"
"She's not here for me," Naruto replied, face like thunder.
Sasuke's eyes trailed upwards. His eyes were fixated on the skies overhead, in awe. The sun was barely peeking over the mountains in the distance allowing him to see the rough outlines of the massive cage as it slowly descended onto them. The lower it got, the larger it seemed to get.
Naruto had asked for a barrier that was at least 100 metres tall, so that if he had to use Kurama, he could, but Fuu had outdone herself. The cage sunk into the earth. Its roof was about 500 metres above the battlefield with its walls sinking into the cliffs surrounding them. When the movement ceased, Fuu created a floor, several metres underground.
A technique she dubbed, "Barrier Ninjutsu: No Man's Land." Two men walked in. Only one could walk out. As were Naruto's instructions.
As the technique sunk into the earth, Sasuke's eyes lowered to meet Naruto's. Naruto hadn't taken his eyes off Sasuke. His hands were shaking. His gaze was intense. His whole body was nearly still, aside from his breathing. He was ready to go. Like a hound, he waited on Fuu's word. As hungry as Sasuke was to face Itachi, Naruto was even more hungry for Sasuke.
"Barrier Ninjutsu complete," Fuu stated.
And so, the battle began.
Naruto zigzagged. Water lifted into the air. Sasuke activated that Sharingan. He tracked the Uzumaki's movements.
"Behind me!" Sasuke spun. His sword met Naruto's kunai.
They jostled back and forth. A test of strength.
Naruto won. He grabbed Sasuke's hand and tossed him across the water.
The Uchiha sat up for a moment. They held eye contact for another moment as Sasuke reached into his kunai pouch. Naruto did the same.
They launched metal at each other. Sparks flew. Kunai knives fell into the water and floated to the surface, only to be picked up by either Naruto or Sasuke and tossed into the blender once more.
Sasuke reached to grab one. His cheek was sliced, "Damn it," the Uchiha grabbed his cheek.
He lost focus.
Sasuke rolled as blades dug into the water where he once stood.
The water below Sasuke's feet began to spiral.
He leapt away.
A shadow clone exploded out of the water with a Rasengan in hand. The clone gave chase. Sasuke dodged around him. A second shadow clone joined the mix. Sasuke fended them both off with his sword.
A third shadow clone descended on him.
"Chidori Nagashi!"
They all dispelled.
Naruto rushed through the smoke. He cleaned Sasuke's clock with a kick across the face. Sasuke's legs gave out on him. He began to sink. Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the neck to keep him up and swung him around a couple of times, before launching him into one of the cliffs.
Dozens of boulders rolled down the cliffside into the water.
Sasuke jumped out and landed on one. He fell to his knees.
The Uzumaki dashed in.
Sasuke tried to calculate his every move. He stood up just in time.
They traded blows. Sasuke dodging everything Naruto had to offer. Naruto eating everything Sasuke threw at him. Sasuke ducked under one of Naruto's punches, he spun on one leg to come back with a punch of his own. Like a man possessed, Naruto blocked the punch with his face. Smashing his forehead against Sasuke's fist, bruising the Uchiha's knuckles.
Even Sasuke didn't know what to do at that point.
Naruto grabbed Sasuke's swollen hand. He pulled him in before trying to crack Sasuke's skull open with his fists. Every hit felt like a sledgehammer to the head. The Uchiha fell back onto the cliff. Naruto hit him with everything he had. Fists, elbows, knees, and kicks. He went to kick him.
Sasuke dodged. Naruto's foot drilled into the earth.
"Your anger has failed you!" Sasuke decked Naruto against the back of the head with a Chidori.
Naruto sunk into the water. He twisted around a few times. He swam back up to surface.
He leapt out of the water. Sasuke turned to run but Naruto crashed into him. They resurfaced. Naruto smashed Sasuke against the wall, over and over again. "Where's that smart mouth of yours gone, huh?" Naruto hammered Sasuke deeper into the cliff. "You said that when two legendary shinobi meet in battle," he hammered Sasuke deeper into the cliff, "they can tell what the other's thinking just by a meeting of fists," he hammered Sasuke deeper into the cliff, "What are my fists saying now? Sasuke!"
Naruto punched rock.
Sasuke stumbled away.
Naruto flung a kunai at him.
Sasuke caught it.
Naruto teleported to Sasuke and kneed him in the gut. He lifted Sasuke into the air before slamming him against one of the boulders that'd fallen into the valley earlier.
The boulder shattered. Sasuke sunk.
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Sasuke didn't come back up for a while.
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The water went purple.
Naruto leapt into the air. Susanoo emerged from below.
Naruto landed on the water.
One, two, three arrows launched in Naruto's direction.
"HOLY SHIT!" Naruto tried to dodge them. He dodged one. Dodged two. Got pinned to the falls by three. It had barely missed his body. His robe had gotten caught. He was being battered by the waterfall.
His vision was blurry.
Another five shots. One above him. One below. One to his right. One to his left. One dead on him.
They were huge. If they got him, he was dead.
Fuu sat up, "NARUTO, MOVE!"
Naruto threw a kunai. He didn't care where it went or what it hit. He just teleported to it. The Susanoo arrows destroyed the area where he once stood. They moved faster than he could comprehend, and were deadly accurate. Regardless of Naruto's speed, bar teleportation, none of his movements were fast enough to dodge them.
"You wanted me to talk? I'll talk," Sasuke said. The ominous purple veil clouded the Uchiha, but through the deathly indigo aura, Naruto could see Sasuke's bright red Mangekyou Sharingan staring back at him, "Do you know where we are right now, Naruto? The Valley of the End. These two statues, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, being locked in combat was enough to scar the land forever. If we are to be legendary shinobi, Naruto, it's not enough that one of us dies in battle. LET'S REDRAW THE MAPS WITH THIS BATTLE!"
"Fine by me!" Naruto threw several kunai knives into the air and around the battlefield. Some drilled into the cliff, some landed in the water, others hid behind the falls and tucked themselves in and around the statues.
"Inferno Style: Susanoo Flame Control!" Sasuke sent several black flame tendrils outwards with his Susanoo the epicentre. Naruto flashed from kunai to kunai. He launched himself straight at Sasuke.
A giant arrow through the stomach stapled him to the cliff's walls. He dispelled.
Naruto emerged from the waters directly under Sasuke. He bypassed Susanoo's one weakness. Trading blows within the flaming avatar to try and knock Sasuke out of it.
Sasuke ducked. Susanoo committed seppuku, forming an Inferno Style tanto blade in his free hand and slicing his own stomach open to decapitate Naruto. Naruto dispelled.
Only now did Sasuke notice a Rasenshuriken making a beeline for the hole Susanoo had just opened in itself. Unfortunately, this time, the surprise had worn off. "Not quite enough," Sasuke noted, destroying the Rasenshuriken with his Flame Control sword.
Clone after clone emerged from each kunai knife. Each one wielding a Rasenshuriken. They flung it at him.
Sasuke sunk into the water.
Susanoo was destroyed by the Rasenshuriken explosions.
The clones plunged into the water.
They were all taken out.
Susanoo climbed out of the water, swinging a spear around like a helicopter.
Sasuke was breathing heavily. He didn't expect to have to use Susanoo twice in such a short span of time.
Naruto was standing on the cliffside, looking down at his opponent. The real Naruto. He dropped down into a seated position before folding his legs. He remained focused. His breathing still.
Naruto had buckets more stamina and chakra than Sasuke could possibly muster. If Sasuke was to win this, he had to end it all quickly.
Three more giant arrows.
Naruto teleported away as the entire section of the cliff came rolling down into the waters.
"There you are!" Sasuke turned. Susanoo slapped Naruto out of the water. The Uzumaki was lifted out of the waves and slammed against the cliff. "Susanoo Flame Control!" The black flames of Inferno Style slammed into the cliff after him.
Naruto hopped away just in time.
Sasuke growled as the black flames of death pursued the Uzumaki. "BURN!" he demanded, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Susanoo spit flames.
They caught Naruto. The orange flames of Susanoo's fire style mixed with the black flames of Flame Control. He tossed his robes aside before being hunted down by two more giant arrows. Naruto dove into the water.
Sasuke scanned his surroundings.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Naruto came up from underneath Susanoo to uppercut the Uchiha out of his avatar. Naruto grabbed him by the ankles and tossed him into the air. Sasuke landed on the cliff face.
Naruto rushed up to him.
They traded blows momentarily before Naruto made the mistake of staring into Sasuke's Sharingan.
Sasuke punched him across the face before pulling him back by interlocking their hands. He went through a series of hand seals together with the Uzumaki, before kicking him away, "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"
Naruto was blown all the way into the water. When he rose to its surface, he was greeted by Susanoo. Three more arrows barely missed him. He dived deeper and deeper into the water.
He swam until the darkness consumed him.
Then…
A purple hand wrapped around his frail body.
Susanoo roared. It rose out of the cliff and grew taller and taller, growing stronger armour and more potent weapons, until it pulled Naruto out of the water as a 100-metre-tall flaming samurai warrior equipped with massive wings.
"What the fuck is that?" Naruto cried as Susanoo lifted him closer to his face. Whereas Sasuke once stood at Susanoo's base, where he was nice and vulnerable, he was now tucked away within a gem that lay on the creature's forehead. "Sasuke, what have you become?"
"This is a demon of your own doing, Naruto. You took my brother from me, but you gave me his eyes. And now I have ascended beyond the restrictions of the Mangekyou Sharingan and my own mortality, and gained the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan… my light will never dull. See, I came prepared, Naruto, knowing very well that you're a very special shinobi. This is why the Akatsuki was always chasing after you… but what you didn't know is that I'm more special than you!"
Naruto remained silent. Still mystified by the massive samurai warrior standing in front of him.
Sasuke stared at the Uzumaki in his hand. Motionless, for a moment. "Goodbye, Naruto…"
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"KURAMA!"
Suddenly, there were two suns in the sky.
Susanoo's hand evaporated. Then his forearm. Then his shoulder. He lifted his other hand to his face, just in time to save Sasuke's life.
Sasuke was thrown out of the Susanoo. He fell a hundred metres before crashing into the water. Waves, taller than buildings, lifted him up and out of the water before dunking him against the cliffside.
If Sasuke wanted a battle of titanic proportions, that's what he was going to get.
For the first time in years, Naruto called upon the strength of his tailed beast. His skin peeled off, revealing a deathly red chakra that grew in volume. The chakra was covered by bones, the bones grew muscle fibres. The fibres tightened until they were covered by skin, then fur, then the scent of death.
It was Sasuke's turn to look up in utter horror.
Kurama's tails slammed into the cliffside, destroying entire rock formations in moments. He exhaled, filling the valley with mist so thick, that Fuu could no longer see the battle. It was just Sasuke and the monster he'd summoned.
"Come!"
Kurama pounced. He was fended off by Susanoo's hand as the chakra avatar grew around Sasuke for what had to be the last time. He stood up to the tailed beast's height before tackling him. Dust clouds enveloped them.
Kurama bit at Susanoo's neck, clawed at his back and tried to tear his limbs apart with his tails.
Susanoo created an Inferno Style Tanto Blade and slashed the fox's side.
Kurama roared before tearing Susanoo's right arm off.
Susanoo floated back, spreading its wings to fly.
Kurama opened his mouth. It gathered both negative and positive chakra to form the dreading Tailed Beast Bomb. The whole valley shook as the ball began to form. Sasuke didn't know what that was, but he knew he had to stop it.
He fired a deadly arrow straight into Kurama's mouth, pinning him to the cliff and ruining the bomb's stability.
It went off.
Both Susanoo and Kurama were caught in the blast.
Severely weakened, they fought on.
True to their word, they redrew the maps, sending chunks of earth flying out of the barrier ninjutsu with techniques Fuu could only dream of. Thankfully, no ninjutsu could pass through the barrier, but even still, she flinched with every world-ending clash.
They tore chunks out of each other with another clash. Kurama launched a continuous volley of mini-tailed beast bombs. Susanoo deflected what he could before launching a volley of arrows at Kurama.
"You like your stupid arrows so much! Have one yourself!"
Once more, Kurama gathered tons of positive and negative chakra in front of his mouth. He shaped it into an arrow. Susanoo watched in bewilderment. Kurama just kept going. Susanoo created three arrows with his own bow. "Inferno Style: Susanoo Flame Control!" he coated them in the black flames of Amaterasu.
They both fired.
Both techniques breezed past each other, one missing the other by inches. Which was nothing considering that each technique was about as large as a building.
Kurama was stapled to the cliffside by three large arrows.
Susanoo's neck was destroyed as the Tailed Beast Bomb: Arrow penetrated his neck and nailed him to the cliffside.
Both Naruto and Sasuke paused to breathe.
What next?
They couldn't move.
And if Naruto left Kurama, he wouldn't be able to reform him. It was his first proper transformation into the creature, meaning even with his near-infinite bouts of chakra, it had drained him.
The same went for Sasuke. Although Susanoo consumed less chakra to use, this was his fourth Susanoo, two of which were Perfect. He simply didn't have the chakra for another one.
They had to end it here.
"Fuck…" Kurama muttered.
The sound of thunder echoed around the valley. A massive blue dragon descended from the clouds to stare down at Kurama. It was larger than both creatures. Such a powerful jutsu, where did Sasuke pull that one from?
Kurama scanned the valley for a few moments. The Amaterasu's black flames coated the battlefield. It felt like the flames burned hotter than the surface of the sun. Sasuke had created an ascending air current using the rising heat. Kurama looked up. Cumulonimbus clouds encircled the barrier.
"I see… no wonder you could still pull such a powerful jutsu out of your ass…"
Sasuke smirked, "… It's also how this jutsu manages to get through your barrier. This isn't ninjutsu, Naruto. This is lightning, in its rawest form, all I'm doing is directing it in your direction. This technique cannot be evaded, it cannot be dodged, it cannot be blocked, all this technique does is mark the end of this battle…"
"You got anything in the tank to counter that?" Naruto wondered.
"I was hoping you had a plan."
"Maybe I do… can you give me two Tailed Beast Bombs?"
Kurama moaned, "What do you have in mind?" Naruto remained silent, but Kurama could feel the Uzumaki's smile widen. Hopefully, whatever he was cooking up was enough to counter this technique. Kurama looked back up at Susanoo and his massive lightning dragon.
Kurama's mouth cranked open. The valley began to shake as two more balls formed from a mixture of positive and negative chakra. "There you go," Kurama placed his hands under the Tailed Beast Bombs and held them in both hands similar to how Naruto would wield his Rasengans.
"My turn…"
The Tailed Beast Bombs doubled in size, "What are you…?" the tailed beast was nearly overwhelmed by the sudden increase in strength that Naruto had pulled out of nowhere.
"It's the Tailed Beast Style: Eight Gates Formation: Sixth Gate: Gate of Joy… open!"
Kurama purred under the sudden rush of chakra. Naruto enhanced the Tailed Beast Bombs, turning them into Enhanced Tailed Beast Bomb Rasenshuriken. The water beneath the tailed beast swirled and rose to meet Kurama's hands, forming dual tornadoes under the Enhanced Tailed Beast Bomb Rasenshuriken.
Kurama and Susanoo made eye contact once more. He was still pinned to the wall, left arm raised to channel the lightning dragon. It was Sasuke's turn to be taken aback. His fear turned to euphoria. The Uchiha burst into a laughing fit. "So, you've finally decided to kill me, huh?" Sasuke asked. Kurama grunted. "Well, unfortunately, it's a case of too little, too late… the name of this jutsu is Kirin," Sasuke said, before looking up at the dragon. "Be gone… with the sound of the thunderclap…"
Sasuke's voice faded as the sound of lightning and thunder filled the valley. Kurama threw the Rasenshuriken first. Kirin flipped backwards, into the air, and disappeared into the clouds, before coming back down, raining fire and destruction on whatever it touched.
The techniques clashed. For a moment, everything went silent. Sasuke threw his hands over his face. Kurama did the same. A ball of light consumed everything and everyone.
Susanoo disappeared into the light.
A second later, Kurama was met with the same fate.
The Hashirama and Madara statues followed suit.
Fuu was saved by the barrier jutsu. The pulsating ball of chakra only stopped when it met the nigh-impenetrable chakra cage. Fuu's chakra control was taken to its limits. The light sliced through the cage, but the actual chakra simply bombarded it until Fuu finally gave up and dove into the nearby bushes, destroying the cage.
XXX
Tsunade was awoken by rampant knocking on his office door. The buxom blonde looked around, groggily. She was surrounded by piles of paperwork with a headache that felt like a knife had been driven through her skull. She hadn't been drinking last night, so the stress of planning this final counterattack must have taken its toll on her.
"Lady Tsunade!" the knocking returned, with more fury.
"Who is it?" Tsunade moaned.
"Lady Tsunade, it's Mei! Open the door!"
Tsunade massaged the sleep from her eyes before hobbling over to the door and opening it. She was met by Mei, Temari, Kurotsuchi, and A, four of the five other Kage, all their faces laced with sombre expressions. Tsunade didn't care. "Why the fuck are you guys knocking on my door at… six in the morning?"
"Naruto's not in his room…" Mei said.
"So? It's a big village, he probably went out on a walk."
"Fuu left with him," Temari added, "He's going to defeat Sasuke."
"I don't get what the panic is about. Isn't capturing Sasuke a good thing?" Tsunade groaned.
"I use defeat euphemistically," Temari explained, "According to Gaara, this is Naruto's final attempt to kill the Uchiha."
The sleep was flushed from Tsunade's body, "Shit. He can't kill our last fucking Uchiha," the Fifth Hokage cursed before rushing over to her desk and grabbing her Hokage robe, "Do you know where they are?"
"No," Temari's face lit up, "but I'm sure Hinata knows."
XXX
The light began to die down in the Valley of the End.
After a few more moments of silence, the sound of rushing water returned. The valley had tripled in size, its trademark statues were nothing but rubble, and the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound had grown wider by a few hundred feet.
Fuu emerged from her bushes, thanking the gods she was alive.
Naruto fell to earth. Kurama's chakra guiding him down.
Sasuke fell too. His massive purple samurai avatar was now just a ball of fire surrounding his tiny body.
They hit the ground at the same time.
Not a second was wasted.
Naruto rose to his feet. Sasuke did the same. They collapsed simultaneously. Hitting the ground hard.
They were in the endgame now. And they both knew it.
"This can all stop, dattebayo," Naruto began, "You can end this. I'm gonna ask you this, one last time, Sasuke… are you ready to leave Orochimaru's side and come back to the Hidden Leaf Village? Come home."
Sasuke responded with laughter, "Come back? Come back! Look at the symbol on your forehead, Naruto. Neither of us can call ourselves Hidden Leaf Shinobi… I have about as much right as you do to call Konoha home."
Naruto unwound his headband. He held it in both hands. "You're right. I… I really am an Uzushio shinobi."
"So, you acknowledge it… then why? Why are you fighting so hard to bring me back to a place that even you abandoned?"
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"Because as much as I may be an Uzushio shinobi now… at one point in my life, I called myself a Konoha shinobi, and you did too. And that part of me will never leave me as much as I want it to," Naruto began, "Sasuke…" his voice cracked. "I… I want you… the reason I'm fighting so hard to bring you back is that I want you to become Hokage. One of us has to stay in the village to protect it for the future generations to come… that was my dream at one point, but I failed. The village doesn't want me. The village doesn't like me anymore… it never did. So, I need you there as reassurance. Reassurance that, regardless of whatever happens to me, Sakura, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Ino, Shino, Konohamaru… all of them… will be safe with you. So, that's why I said I'm bringing you back home."
"Finally," Sasuke sighed before staring up at the skies. Kirin had left and taken both the clouds and the flames of Amaterasu with it, leaving a beautiful pink sunrise in its wake, "The truth is revealed to me… well, unfortunately, Naruto… not only am I not allowing you to live vicariously through me, but when you're dead, I'm stepping over your corpse, and burning the Hidden Leaf Village to the ground. And I'm killing everyone that you loved, starting with Sakura, Shikamaru, Chouji, and ending with that bitch, Hinata…"
Naruto's whole demeanour shifted when he mentioned that last part, "Is that so…" he looked away. Naruto's blinking rapidly intensified to hide the tears, "Then it's time to end this battle…"
"I agree…"
"And every battle we've had up until now." From their battles in the academy to the battle of Konoha. From infancy to young adulthood. From bittersweet brothers to fated rivals. If Sasuke was so resolute in his destruction of everything Naruto loved, then Naruto would have to kill what he loved the most.
"COME, NARUTO!"
Rotation. Power. Containment. Naruto gripped his right wrist with his left hand, channelling the remaining chakra in his body to form the Rasengan.
Sasuke did the same with his right hand around his left wrist. Sparks flew.
They used the techniques like daggers. Bouncing off each other. The first to strike a blow would be the victor but with two legendary shinobi like Naruto and Sasuke reading each other's minds with every move, who would be the first to break?
Unfortunately, it was Naruto.
Sasuke swung for a kick. Naruto grabbed it. The force of the kick covered the left side of Naruto's face with water.
A.
Naruto, undeterred, rammed the Rasengan into Sasuke's stomach, churning his skin, destroying his guts, grinding whatever his hand came in contact with. Sasuke flew backwards until he slammed into a wall.
B.
Sasuke landed next to a kunai knife. Covered in blood, with his organs hanging from the massive gash in his midsection, he picked the kunai up. Naruto teleported to the kunai and closed his eyes before shoving it through Sasuke's skull. The Uchiha turned to lightning, shocking Naruto into submission.
C.
The jutsu was complete.
Naruto looked back over his shoulder.
Sasuke stood there with Chidori ready.
Naruto created the Rasengan.
They charged towards each other.
Sasuke countered with a kick. Naruto grabbed it. Water coated the Uzumaki. A.
Naruto made sure to nail Sasuke with his Rasengan again, sending him flying into another wall. Sasuke, once again, landed next to one of the kunai knives Naruto had thrown into the air earlier in the battle. He went to pick it up, but Naruto teleported to him. B.
He was electrocuted for his attempt to stab Sasuke in the face. C.
"Holy shit," Naruto's body seized. Moving was torture as thousands of volts surged through his body in an excruciating manner, "Déjà vu?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at Sasuke, standing there with a Chidori. "Kurama… am I in a genjutsu? Kurama… Kurama?"
Naruto was alone.
A, B, C.
A, B, C.
A, B, C.
A, B, C.
Naruto was in hell. This was hell. Forced to relive the same three moments over and over again. Forced to feel the same emotions over and over again. "Sasuke! If you're not willing to fight me yourself, then just kill me already!"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Sasuke emerged from behind Naruto with a Chidori. Naruto turned too slowly, exhausted by the genjutsu. Sasuke would've landed the final blow were it not for Naruto gripping his throat. His cheeks swelled up. He vomited a black crow that reflected the Mangekyou Sharingan into Sasuke's eyes.
"Sasuke," a hand grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and threw him to the ground. He fell onto the water and rolled a few times. Naruto collapsed too.
Sasuke's left eye went white. Even with the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, Sasuke had lost his light, "How did you?" he closed his left eye and looked across the field to Naruto. Sasuke's eyes trailed upwards until he made eye contact with a familiar figure, "Brother?"
"Itachi?" Naruto groaned. The Uchiha appeared in a swirl of crows. He landed on the water's surface before allowing his crow to land on his shoulder. Itachi had essentially dispelled Sasuke's genjutsu with a genjutsu of his own. Even in death, he was still the best genjutsu user the Uchiha clan had ever seen… but if he was dead, then why was he standing in front of the pair, in the flesh? "But I killed you…"
Itachi sighed, "You did… but in the same breath, I have to admit that you didn't," Itachi turned to Sasuke, "I was dying, little brother, of an illness that had deteriorated my body beyond belief. Which is why I could never grant you the great battle you would have wanted and deserved. I entrusted Naruto with my essence in hopes that he would push you to limits that I could never in my illness… which is why I implanted this crow inside his body, and had it lay dormant until I believed you were at your limits."
"My limits?"
Itachi pointed to Sasuke's left eye, "Izanami. A technique I specifically told you cannot be used unless you are on the verge of death because it would cost you your vision. You went months without the ability to use your Sharingan and those were the worst months of your life. If you were willing to lose your vision once more, then I was confident in the fact that Naruto truly had pushed you to the point of no return," finally, he turned back to the confused Uzumaki, "I'm proud of you too, Naruto. You did what I never had the courage to do… actually fight Sasuke with the intent to kill him."
Sasuke tried to stand back up, "What the fuck are you talking about? Don't act like some saint here. It's because of you that I am who I am today. You killed my family and were about to kill me, were I not too weak for you to kill? You're a monster."
"I'm a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village. You were too young to notice this, but the Uchiha had grown too powerful. They'd pushed their title as the most powerful clan in the village to its extremes. They had more power than the Hokage, and unfortunately, once you become that powerful in a village as powerful as Konoha, whispers of insurrection start to echo through the streets. They'd planned to overthrow the Hokage and place an Uchiha at the top of the Village Hierarchy. Shisui had planned to stop them, but he was mortally wounded by Danzo Shimura… to the point where, in his final moments, he gave this to me… his Mangekyou Sharingan."
"Danzo killed Shisui? But… I was told he committed suicide."
"Another lie conjured up by Danzo to hide his tracks," Itachi explained, "Sasuke… because Danzo killed Shisui, I had to massacre the entire Uchiha family to save the shinobi world from a Konoha Civil War… but I couldn't bring myself to kill you, my precious younger brother. The Third Hokage pardoned me, but I couldn't live in Konoha after what I had done, so I left the village to become a double agent and spy on the Akatsuki. Another role that you seemed to have inherited from me."
The tears were starting to flow between the Uchiha brothers. "Why didn't you tell me?" Sasuke asked.
"If I knew this is what it would turn you into, I would've done so many things differently… but all I can do now is offer an apology and request – no – beg, that you leave the Akatsuki and return to the Hidden Leaf with Naruto. I was forced to walk this road… please don't force yourself to do the same."
"They won't take me back."
Itachi knelt at his brother's level to help him up, "They will. Tell them I said so," he chuckled before wiping the tears from Sasuke's eyes. "Now then, steady yourself. Present yourself as an Uchiha would. Once I leave now, I'm never coming back… but I'll give you this one last gift. One last thing that you must inherit from me."
Itachi tore the bird's left eye from its socket, "Shisui's Mangekyou?"
"To replace the light that you've lost. Don't lose it again, this is your only 'get out of jail free' card," Itachi began to fade the moment the Kotoamatsukami was ripped from the bird's socket.
The crow took off.
.
.
.
"Sasuke… are you okay?" Naruto asked. He'd been standing in front of the Uchiha for what felt like ten minutes. From his perspective, the crow exploded out of his mouth and Sasuke went from feral to passive in an instant. What was that?
Sasuke returned his attention to Naruto, who took up a defensive stance.
Sasuke extended his arm. Naruto looked down.
He was offering a Sign of Reconciliation.
To be fair, neither of them was in any shape to continue fighting, but Naruto expected a bit more after the speech Sasuke had given earlier. Was it a trap?
Sasuke continued to hold his hand out.
Naruto eased closer.
.
.
.
Their fingers interlocked.
It was over.
Naruto could finally sleep at night. He could finally live his life knowing the darkest chapter in his story had come to its conclusion. The best possible conclusion.
"That marks an end to the battle between Naruto and Sasuke. The decision… a draw."
Naruto brought Sasuke in for the tightest hug his weakened body could muster. "I never thought I'd see the day…" Naruto cried. Sasuke was still a little stunned. His left hand held, firmly, Shisui's left eye, and his gaze was still fixated on the crow as it rose over the cliffs and onward towards the sunrise.
"Neither did I…"
"Wait!" Tsunade came barrelling out of the woodlands onto the cliff overlooking the valley, "You can't kill Sasuke, he's our… holy shit," she looked out at the destruction the duo had left behind with their battle.
"There'll be no need for that," Fuu sighed. This battle had managed to drain her too, "It seems they somehow managed to work things out, ssu."
Tsunade needed a minute to take in the sheer destruction these two had caused. She turned to Fuu to ask what happened, but the mint-haired jinchuuriki was on her back, in no shape to give a detailed description of the battle. Tsunade let out a soft sigh, "Can you walk?"
Fuu sat up, "Of course, ssu."
"The Shinobi Alliance has already started moving towards Ame. Help me carry these guys towards Ame. We'll sort everything out when we get to the Hidden Rain."