"Honey! Don't say things like that!" Sango snapped.
"But it is true," said Lee. "I was so useless to you. I could not even protect our son from -" He was silenced as Sango wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.
"Don't. Say. Things. Like. That. I. Said." She kissed him gently on the cheek. "Yes you could. And you did. You bought us time to get there and help. That's all any of us could've done in your situation. You were outnumbered six to one. You had to protect yourself, our son, and Konohamaru. Face it, Honey. Even Naruto couldn't have won that easily." She smiled and touched the bloody bandages around his head and torso.
"Heh. This is nothing, Lee! We give each other worse wounds all the time! And Jitchi doesn't have a scratch on him! Naruto and Sasuke are recovering well, and Konohamaru's wounds were minor. Any way you look at it, this couldn't be much better in the end." Lee smiled back at her.
"I wonder," he said, "how you always manage to say just what I need to hear."
"Love works in mysterious ways," Sango said in a sensual voice. "And you and I..." She sprang onto his lap and wrapped her legs around his back and her arms around his neck. "We're a match made in Heaven."
"I see," said Naruto, propped up against the pillows on his hospital bed. Sasuke and Sakura were sitting in chairs next to him, and there was an Anbu watching Sasuke warily from near the window.
"So," Naruto went on, "you really don't remember anything about our battle? About what you and I almost -"
"That's not it, exactly," Sasuke interrupted. "It's... Gah, it's so complicated to explain, but I'll try anyway. Alright, so... I do remember up to when I fought those Anbu from Tanzaku and lost... And then waking up at Hitarashi - er, I mean Lee-sama's house. I forgot she changed her name. Then she told me to leave... That was around September, I think. I stayed in the Forest of Death, in secrecy and isolation. When I had recovered enough, I grew bored with the dark and quiet of the forest. So I went back to Miss Sango's hou-"
"She won't want to be called 'Miss,'" said Naruto. "Just F.Y.I. 'Mrs. Lee; is alright, but 'Miss' anything'll just piss her off."
"Oh. Okay. So I went back to Mrs. Lee's house to try to get her to accept me. And, truthfully, it was also a means to get closer to you."
"Me? Why?"
"I needed to come back. I can't be a soulless wanderer anymore. I just can't take the loneliness for even another day! ... or so was my thought," he continued grimly. "But when I saw you and Sakura again - how strong you'd both become... I was... jealous..."
"Why would you be -" Sakura began.
"You both got stronger... became successful... found new lives... All without me. That was painful to know. So after Naruto made you and Sango leave, Sakura, I couldn't hold back my anger anymore. I lost control of my mind, and... Orochimaru possessed it."
"But, Sasuke," Naruto interrupted, "Itachi sealed Orochimaru away for all eternity. How could he possess you? How did he come back?"
"I have no way of knowing." Sakura frowned.
"But I do," she said calmly. Naruto and Sasuke looked incredulously at her.
"You?" Sasuke exclaimed. Sakura nodded grimly.
"Kekkei Genkai."
"Huh?" said Naruto.
"Kekkei Genkai. In Sasuke's blood."
"What, you mean the Sharingan?" asked Sasuke.
"No. Something stronger, rarer, more bizarre. It's that chakra, Sasuke. The black, almost nonexistent chakra you just lost. It worked in almost miraculous ways, and by willpower alone."
"How do you figure?"
"Think about it," said Sakura. "All those times you should've tied but didn't. You didn't die because you didn't want to die. Like when Haku tried to kill you on the bridge. When Orochimaru placed the Curse Mark on you. During the fight with Gaara. Or at the Final Valley when you were leaving the village. Can you think of any other times you should've died and didn't?" Sasuke paused in thought.
"There was the time I took the Mind Awakening Pill, and the time I fought Orochimaru in his soul-world. I almost died after fighting Itachi, and I guess I would've without the chakra. Killer Bee destroyed my chest and internal organs, and I was able to walk away after some healing. Okay, so the chakra may have kept me alive, but what does that have to do with reviving Orochimaru?"
"You willed him back," said Sakura. "When you met Naruto again at the Uchiha estate, his power scared you. You felt like you weren't strong enough, and you couldn't stand it. So you subconsciously wished you still had his power, and that he was still absorbed into your body. All you had to do was make that your strongest wish, and your chakra reacted to your desires."
"But the Susano'o sealed -"
"That doesn't matter," Sakura interrupted. "You didn't need Orochimaru's real soul to bring him back at first. Your other chakra did what Kabuto was trying to do. It became Orochimaru, like a reanimation jutsu. Your hatred and chakra created a new Orochimaru."
"But then," said Naruto, "how did his soul end up in the new body?"
"Ah. Now there's the real twist," said Sakura. "Sasuke, wasn't Itachi the one who sealed Orochimaru's soul?"
"Yes."
"And didn't Itachi help you awaken the Mangekyo?"
"Yes."
"Right. So based on the fact that you're both related and Itachi gave you his power..." Sasuke caught the hint.
"He gave me the key to unlock the seal."
"Mm-hmm."
"So, in other words," said Naruto, "that chakra doesn't control things on its own. It just initiates jutsu, like healing or reanimation or defense, without any effort from Sasuke." Sasuke nodded, awestruck.
"Seems like it, huh?" A sudden realization struck him like a blow to the head. "But wait. Itachi didn't have this chakra, did he?" Sakura grinned sadly.
"Sure he did." Naruto gave a start.
"Whadda you mean?!" he cried. "How could Ita-"
"Think about it, Naruto!" Sakura snapped in exasperation. "Itachi was dying of illness for five years! He shouldn't have been able to live for more than one!"
"But he was taking medicine to-"
"Medicine? Ha!" Sakura snorted. "There's nothing that could do for him except reduce some of the pain. I've researched that disease in the past few days. Not one medic - not me, not Jakku, not Lady Tsunade, not Shizune - knows any way of curing something like that. Itachi was doomed as soon as he got sick. And all that kept him alive all that time -"
"Was the unconscious healing jutsu he activated?" Sasuke finished.
"You got it." Sasuke suddenly swayed a bit in his chair, beginning to feel faint. Sakura reached out a hand to steady him, but he shook his head.
"I'm fine. Just kinda worn out."
"You should go rest, then!" said Naruto. "You don't wanna die of exhaustion after all this!"
"I guess..." Sasuke groaned. "But first, I have one more question."
"Oh?"
"How did we end up with this chakra when no one else did?" For the first time, Sakura seemed at a loss.
"Well, Madara Uchiha and his brother both had it, hence the effortless teleportation Madara used. So it was in everyone's genes, but... Hmm... The only explanations I can come up with are that you and Itachi possessed genes more like Madara's than anyone else, or you were both just really, really lucky." Sasuke nodded, contemplating the possibility. A sudden knock at the door broke the thoughtful silence.
"Enter," Naruto called. The door quietly swung open, and Sango strode in. Her hair was disheveled, and she seemed more energetic than usual, her eyes bright and cheeks flushed. Naruto smiled. "What've you been doing, Sango? Having a make-out fest with Lee?" She gasped and blushed.
"Wh-what?!" she stammered. "O-of course not!" Naruto shot her a suspicious look. "Oh, alright, yes." Sasuke smirked.
"That's so... like... him..." He slumped over in his chair.
"Sheesh," said Sango, picking him up with ease. "I'll take him back. After all this craziness, he deserves a rest."