When his punch caught nothing but cold air, Ā whirled around expecting a counter blow from his longtime rival. He was shocked then infuriated when he saw that the Yellow Flash was nowhere to be found.

This had happened before.

None of their encounters had ever ended conclusively. Whenever the two would face in battle, for some reason or another, the Konoha shinobi would always disappear before a final blow could be struck. Begrudgingly, the Raikage could admit that usually a stalemate had been to his benefit. He hadn't felt confident that in a protracted battle he'd be able to touch the man, let alone defeat him. This time was different, though. He had been building up his chakra in preparation to add another layer to his lightning cloak and was nearly ready to unveil it before Minato retreated.

As he mulled over that, he heard a familiar roar off in the distance followed by a loud explosion.

Bee…

It sounded like his brother was getting carried away facing Fugaku. Ā cracked his knuckles. If he couldn't finally end his personal rival, he'd settle for bringing his political one to his knees. He jumped into the air, leaving a trail of lightning beneath him as he cleared the trees. Above the canopy, he could partially see the battle between his brother and the Hokage.

I'll catch him off guard, Ā thought. He had enough chakra built up now that he could finally take his lightning cloak to the next level. And with the boost in speed he predicted he'd have, Fugaku would never see it coming.

His chakra surged and he could feel the electricity prickling up and down his skin, causing the hairs to stand on end. Then, he unleashed a burst of energy from his feet and dove to where his brother was. The red cloak of his brother's pseudo-Hachibi form grew closer but as Ā prepared to attack Fugaku, his vision was slightly distorted. When things cleared up, Fugaku was nowhere to be found, instead replaced by a massive plume of fire.

Ā burst through it and hit the ground, grinding his teeth in annoyance. How had Fugaku been able to predict his movement enough to simply get out of the way? Impossible…

"Big bro!" Bee's voice was more feral than normal. "You smash the Yellow Flash?"

Ā spat. "No. He disappeared before I could put my hands on him." He glanced around the battlefield, noting the scorch marks in the ground and the charred trees. Whether they had been the work of Bee or Fugaku, he wasn't completely sure, but his brother did not appear to have sustained any damage in their exchanges. This was good. If Bee was at least able to fight equally against the Hokage, it would be no problem for the both of them to overwhelm him and beat him into submission.

"What's the plan?" Bee asked.

Odd… His brother wasn't speaking in his normally rhythmic intonation. Perhaps the severity of the situation had caused him to drop it.

"Where did you last see him?"

"He was here before you landed," Bee replied. "I saw you were going to sneak an attack in, but you got caught red handed."

"It would appear so," Ā said. Then, their plan would have to involve drawing the Uchiha out into the open field, something that someone as calculated and cautious as he was would not do without either significant provocation or trickery. Ā had already used the provocation angle in their initial encounter. He didn't suspect that Fugaku would fall for it again. That left trickery…

The task of deceiving someone who was as politically savvy as him would be daunting to the average shinobi. But not for the Fourth Raikage. Ā had a plan, one that he and Bee had been preparing to unleash.

He turned to his brother and gave him a nod. "Bee, we're going to use that combination."

For the briefest moment, he saw a blank expression on his brother's face before realization washed over him and he gave a thumbs up. "Right! Let's go fight!"

Ā let out a misty breath. They had to execute their moves perfectly. His instinct told him that a false move against Fugaku would not end well for either him or his brother. He sparked his lightning cloak again and watched as the crimson chakra of the Hachibi flowed over his brother.

Victory would be theirs.

Without Minato present to teleport him away, Fugaku would be forced to either dodge a Bijuu bomb or match it with a jutsu of his own. With Ā's heightened perception from cloaking himself in lightning, he would be able to quickly perceive what the Konoha shinobi planned and then herd him into the open field.

That was the plan.

However, Fugaku attacked first.

A massive plume of fire burst from the trees, incinerating everything in its path as it blazed towards them. Grinning, the Raikage turned to his brother and nodded to him. Bee's own smile was a demonic display of sharpened teeth, but he appeared to receive the message. He screamed, letting loose a wave of concentrated air that split Fugaku's flames and exposed the Uchiha behind them. Ā thought that he saw fear flash in the man's Sharingan.

That fear fed his satisfaction.

His lust for battle.

His desire to avenge the slights against his village.

To finally mark himself as a shinobi on par with his father who he was named after.

The image of his predecessor flashed in his mind. The pinnacle of strength with an impenetrable cloak of electrical armor and skin so tough, that only he could injure himself. He was a legendary figure in Kumogakure. When Ā defeated Fugaku, he would join him among those hallowed ranks.

He grit his teeth and plunged into the center of the dissipated flames. He could feel his muscles tensing as he prepared to end their conflict in a single blow. He could feel his victory within his grasp. He could feel—

So that's what you thought would happen?

The overcast sky was darker than Ā remembered. He was lying on the ground and felt delirious but, he had enough wherewithal to turn his head to where his brother had been standing. And felt his heart plummet.

The Hachibi was staring at him. And Ā looked back into the scarlet and black pattern of the Sharingan. Smoke billowed from the beast's mouth, flickers of blue and red chakra slowly fading around its maw. Beneath it, Fugaku stood. The pattern in his crimson eyes was not the Sharingan that Ā had grown accustomed to. Three dots sat between the curves of a pinwheel that spiraled around his pupils.

Ā coughed and felt hot fluid rush out of his mouth. His blood steamed in the winter air.

What happened?

"I wondered why you rushed blindly into a battle with me," Fugaku said. He lifted a hand and the Hachibi growled then lowered itself behind him like a broken oxen awaiting a plough. "But I suppose you wouldn't have received any information about me or my capabilities, considering all those that witnessed them died soon after." The Uchiha began to walk toward him.

Ā tried to will himself to stand. Then realized, almost numbly, that he couldn't feel his legs. More accurately, that he had no legs. Blood pooled where his quads had been and his pants were a ragged, blood and snow crusted mess of fabric. Delirium and numbness fought each other for supremacy. Shock won.

When he finally told his body what to do, he forced his eyes to look at his opponent. And Fugaku had closed the distance to stand over him.

"Kisshōten and Kuebiko," Fugaku said. His Sharingan's strange pattern seemed to slowly spin. "The latter grants me the ability to read the mind and intentions of a particular person with absolute clarity, including whatever future plans or moves they may have. The former allows me to create a genjutsu space where your perception is skewed and in simple terms, things happen in reverse. With both combined, well…" His eyes were apathetic, cold, yet oddly disappointed. "The moniker of 'Wicked Eyes' was not unearned."

Ā shifted his gaze to his brother and blinked a tear out of his eye. Fugaku must have also used his eyes to control the Hachibi. And made it use the only technique strong and fast enough to hurt him. While Ā had thought his brother was aiming the technique at Fugaku, in actuality, he was setting the sights on himself.

His brother's strange cadence and lack of rhyme flooded to his mind in that instant. The odd sensation he felt when he stepped into their battle. All signs had pointed to a possible genjutsu, but he had been too blind to realize it. Either blind or foolish.

"I had hoped to come to some peaceful resolution," Fugaku continued. "But, you took my earlier restraint for weakness as you did with Lord Hiruzen. You will serve as a warning though." In his hand, he wielded a long, straight blade with a red hilt. One of Bee's. "The shadow cast by the flame dances again. And our will of fire burns all."

As the sword arced down to his neck, Ā kept his eyes on the Hach—no, his brother.

Forgive me…

He felt and saw nothing.

Nothing except the dark.