As they stared at the Raikage, Akashi noticed Sasuke shift from besides him. The boy dashed behind the Raikage and slashed at his back with his lightning-charged blade. The hit did nothing and the blade was sent flying away. Sasuke landed back next to Akashi and immediately did hand-signs for his Chidori. “Sasuke, wait!” The boy did no such thing and instead decided to go for a front blow. “Damn it!” The redhead whipped his chains out and grabbed a kunai out of his pouch.
He threw it towards the Raikage and it whizzed past Sasuke. Before Sasuke’s Chidori could hit the older man, Akashi teleported between them and used his chains to block the Raikage’s elbow hit. Sasuke, seeing the redhead in front of him, whipped his arm back, as to not hit him. The Raikage forced his arm down, but the chains didn’t give in.
“You’re fast, little boy!” He exclaimed and whipped his other arm at him. Using the brief moment of time in which the Raikage shifted the strength from his right arm to his left, Akashi side-stepped the hit and whipped his sword to the man’s back. Unsurprisingly, the sword broke in half and Akashi had to duck so it wouldn’t hit him. Hearing the familiar sound if the Chidori, Akashi threw a kunai in the air and teleported to it. He watched as Sasuke ducked under a hit and thrust his hand into the Raikage’s chest.
It also did next to nothing and the Raikage grabbed Sasuke by his clothes, raising him in the air. “Liger Bomb!” He yelled out and slammed Sasuke into the ground. A giant crater formed under them from the force of the hit. But, a giant purple skeleton-like armour had softened Sasuke’s fall. The Raikage went for another hit, but the skeleton-thing had moved Sasuke out of the way. In the meantime, Akashi had grabbed the kunai in the air and threw it down to the Raikage.
He raised his hand in the air and his chain started changing its form. This had to work! He gripped the hilt of the newly formed blade and teleported right above the Raikage. He whipped his arm down and it connected with the man’s shoulder. The Raikage’s eyes blew wide as his lightning chakra was cut through and something cut into his shoulder. He raised his other arm and grabbed the redhead by his arm, throwing him towards the Uchiha ahead.
Akashi grit his teeth as he sailed through the air, but before he could slam into anything, he was grabbed. He glanced behind himself and saw that the skeleton-thing had its skeleton hand wrapped around his waist. He was then lowered down next to Sasuke. “What the hell is this thing?” Akashi asked as he watched the unusually different chakra of the boy next to him. He received no answer and watched as drops of blood slid down Sasuke’s cheek.
A burst of black flame was sent towards the Raikage, but he moved out of the way and the samurai behind him was hit with it. Akashi whipped to the side as the Raikage neared them and raised his blade to block the oncoming hit. He held the blade in his left hand and used the right one to push forward at the hilt. The Raikage was strong! Very strong! Akashi’s feet skidded towards Sasuke’s skeleton-thing from the force of the hit. He met eyes with the older man and felt his own widen.
Another fast hit came from the side and Akashi couldn’t block it. It slammed into his ribs, forcing the breath of of him, and he whipped to the side, away from Sasuke. The man forced his fist towards Sasuke, ignoring the black flames which were around the boy, and punched him. Sasuke flew away and into the ground. The Raikage jumped to the air and forced his leg down. Then, another black flame formed over Sasuke as a means of protection. The man’s eyes widened as he was about to step into the flames, but before that could happen, a flurry of sand blocked his hit.
The Raikage jumped back to his two ninjas.
“Gaara…”. Akashi mumbled, meeting eyes with the boy. Damn it… Things just keep getting worse and worse! The samurai’s armour was taken off by Kankuro and Temari who appeared alongside Gaara.
“You samurai, please step back”. Gaara said as he stepped closer. “This is a matter for the ninja world”. He stopped. “There’s no need for you samurai to become sacrifices”.
“Thank you, Kazekage”. One of the samurai said.
“Why did you interfere, Kazekage?!” The Raikage angrily asked. “Depending on your answer, I might not let you get away with this!” He warned.
“If you had continued your attack like that, more of your body would be burned by the black flames”. Gaara explained. “Also, I would like to talk with Uchiha Sasuke… and his accomplice… Uzumaki… Akashi”.
From the corner of his eyes, Akashi saw the Raikage cut his burning arm off and tell one of his ninja to quickly stop the bleeding.
Akashi got up to his hands and knees, wincing as something shifted inside his body. He reached a hand to his ribs and felt that one of them was out of place. No surprise there… The Raikage packed quite a punch… Still, he forced himself to stand up, dropping the blade in the process. Before it even touched the ground, it turned into a chain and went back inside Akashi’s body. At least that had worked out… He needed to be careful from now on… If the Raikage aimed the hit a little better, the bone from his broken rib could have possibly pierced a vital organ.
He grit his teeth and stumbled towards Sasuke. “I didn’t expect this, Akashi… To see you join him”. Gaara commented as he stared at him with his arms crossed across his chest. Akashi threw him a blank look and stopped next to Sasuke.
“That was the fucking point”. He bit out, shifting his body as he took a deep breath and popped the rib back in place. An audible crack resounded, followed by an exhale.
“You helped the others save me… And yet, here you are”. The teal-eyed boy added. Akashi bent down to Sasuke’s level and hovered a hand over his injured jaw, healing it with his medical jutsu.
“I did and I regret it”. He replied, not even sparing the redhead a glance.
“I’m sorry things turned out this way…”. Sorry? He was sorry? Akashi clenched his fist shut and stopped healing the boy next to him. He stood up and looked at the other redhead.
“You had no influence on my decision so shove off”. He stared the redhead down, feeling the muscles in his jaw contract. Gaara looked like he wished to say more, but chose against it and decided to break their eye contact to glance at the Uchiha on the ground.
“Your eyes are just like they were back then”. He said and Akashi wondered what he meant. Back then? Back when? Three years ago? Back at the Chuunin exams? Was that what he meant? “I know now that living only for revenge will resolve nothing”. Akashi almost scoffed at his words. “There’s still time”. He added. “Don’t become obsessed with hatred and take refuge in a world by yourself!”. He raised his voice. “You’ll end up not being able to come back!”
Akashi looked at Sasuke once he noticed him shift. “And? So what if I returned, what would be there for me?” He questioned.
“Gaara, stop it”. Kankuro said. “Not even Naruto was able to persuade him… I don’t know about the other guy, but if he’s with him, then the two of them are the same”. He turned back to glance at Sasuke. “He’s just a petty criminal who’s fallen so low as to join Akatsuki”. He lowered his head. “He’s different from you”.
“Also, the Raikage as well as the others who have been attacked by Akatsuki won’t be standing still”. Temari jumped in. “When he attacked the Five Kage Summit, he became internationally wanted”. She added, peering at the Uchiha and Akashi. “No matter what path they take, they both have no future”.
“Sasuke… Akashi, the two of you had walked in the darkness of the world just as I have… Therefore, you should be able to see even the smallest flicker of light!” Akashi stomped a foot into the ground as he narrowed his eyes at the redhead.
“The last flicker of light I saw, was when Konoha got destroyed in a giant blast!” He yelled at him, feeling his anger overflowing.
Sasuke shifted from behind him and got to his feet. “I closed my eyes long ago”. He said. “My goal lies only within the darkness”. He reached a hand and placed it on Akashi shoulder. “Our goal…”. He added, the both of them staring at the redhead in front of them.
“Don’t let personal feelings interfere! You are the Kazekage!” Kankuro reminded Gaara.
“Yeah…”. Gaara mumbled, sand slowly starting to exit his gourd. “I know”. One, transparent, teardrop fell from his eye and the sand behind him whipped out of the gourd.
Both Sasuke and Akashi jumped back, the skeleton enclosing around the former. Sasuke used his black flames on Gaara, but his sand kept on blocking them. “You did well to protect yourself from my flames… Looks like your Absolute Defense is still doing its work”. He taunted the Kazekage and Akashi stepped besides him.
“Be on guard”. Akashi raised his hand and a chain blade appeared in it. He twirled it between his fingers and grip the hilt in his left hand. “Things are about to get real interesting”. He cracked his neck, lips curling up into an excited grin at the feel of the enemies chakra. They have something planned.
“Didn’t you once say you hated the sound of that?” Akashi huffed out a laugh.
“You remember that? What can I say? Things changed…”. Then, in a split second, Gaara, Kankuro, Temari and one of the Raikage’s ninjas threw their jutsu at the two of them.
Akashi impaled his blade into the ground and went on one knee, closing his eyes. Chains burst out and fully wrap around him, shielding him from view and from the attack. As the dust cleared away, Akashi stood up without a scratch and the chains went back into his body. He glanced at Sasuke and saw that the skeleton thing had spread even more, gaining the whole upper part of a body.
“Gaara… behold the true Absolute Defense”. Sasuke exclaimed and Akashi ripped the blade out of the ground. The Uchiha’s chakra… It had changed… Turned colder than before… Much colder… “This is power only those who have awakened the Mangekyo in both eyes can attain… The third power… Susano’o”. The skeleton ‘Susano’o’ released something akin to a low groan.
“Susano’o, eh?” Akashi leaned back to look at the apparition. He could feel just how strong that thing was… Too strong…
Then, with a strong slash of its blade, Susano’o cut the pillars in the room and the ceiling started to collapse. Akashi was grabbed by Susano’o and thrown towards a small hallway, along with Karin. She landed on her backside, while Akashi kicked off a wall and came to a skid on his feet. He turned around just to see Sasuke face the blockade that Susano’o had created to separate them from the others.
“Karin, have you located Danzo?” He questioned.
“Ye… Yeah”. She stuttered. At least he won’t have to track him now… Akashi looked at the redhead on the ground. She was useful… Tracking Danzo down while they fought.
“Show us”. He turned around and walked up to her and Akashi. The said boy had grit his teeth at the mention of the man and he released his blade. It turned into a chain and went back into his body. That bastard will pay…
He will pay for everything…
“What about Juugo and Suigetsu?” She asked, nervously looking away. “Their chakra is still…”.
She was interrupted by the raven-haired boy. “Leave them be!” He exclaimed. “Danzo comes first”. He glanced down at her. “Hurry up and show us”. She nodded her head and Akashi almost felt pity for her.
“Okay…”.
_
Sasuke and Akashi ran through the hallways which led to where Danzo was. “They’re here!” One of the men exclaimed as soon as they neared the room. They lunged inside and Sasuke jumped onto the ceiling, using chakra to keep himself there, while Akashi stood on the doorway.
“Above us!” Another one said and everyone looked up at Sasuke.
“You missed one”. Akashi commented, making them glance at him. “How nice of you to finally notice me”. Sarcasm dripped from his words as he threw them a humourless grin, before his eyes snapped to Danzo. The said man opened his eyes and looked up at Sasuke, ignoring the redhead. Akashi clenched his fists at his sides at the sight.
Danzo…
Then, one of the people there jumped up to Sasuke with his blade drawn. Their blades collided in the air. “I shall fight him”. The older man declared. In that moment, Akashi saw Danzo and his two men run through a giant hole in the wall. The redhead immediately went after him.
“Sasuke! I am going ahead!” He yelled to the raven-haired boy and ran through the hole, closely followed by a man with an eyepatch over his right eye. Akashi didn’t wait for Sasuke’s reply.
_
He increased his speed as he ran after Danzo… but the man seemed to have noticed that, since he and his two ninja picked up speed. Akashi grit his teeth and continued following them.
The eyepatch man was far, far behind him now.
_
He ran and ran and ran. He followed them so far, that the snow began to melt and disappear, replaced by warmer weather. Damn it! He needed to get to him fast… He needed to get him!
He needed to have him killed!
Violet eyes shifted to crimson as his speed increased even more. He darted through the trees at such speed, that he looked like a blur to the rest of the world.
Then, he arrived at a clearing just in time to see a man, wearing Akatsuki robes, use the same jutsu Kakashi had used against Deidara. Another man, who’s skin was stained purple, was sucked in the jutsu, disappeared from Akashi’s sight.
Why the hell did he have the same jutsu as Kakashi? Wasn’t that a special ability of Kakashi’s Sharingan?
Why did that man have the same one?!
Something was definitely up… Something big…
Akashi stayed hidden until the man used the jutsu on himself. Without a second thought, Akashi exited his hiding spot and jumped on the giant bridge, close to where Danzo was.
“Danzo…”. He greeted, raising his hand and making the blade appear in it. “We meet again”. He gripped the hilt of it and glared at the man in front of him. He was finally there… He was finally going to do this… He was finally going to exact his long awaited revenge… For himself… For Shinya…
This will be the end of Danzo…
“Uzumaki… Akashi… Might I say I never expected something like this…”. Danzo spoke, nonchalantly staring at the redhead in front of him. “Can I ask for what reason you’re here?” Was he fucking with him? Was he fucking with him?! The reason?!
“The reason?! You wish to know the reason?! You should already know the fucking reason!” Akashi pointed the blade at the man, taking a step forward. His crimson eyes bore straight into the man’s one visible eye. “Do not act dumb! I know what you did!” He yelled, teeth gritting together. “And you know what you made me do!”
Danzo blankly stared at the boy in front of him. “Ah, so you know… The boy had promise… But he decided to waste his life on you…”. He took a step towards Akashi. “He decided to chose your life over his own, is that right?” Akashi’s breathing quickened as he felt his temper rise. “How did you deal with it? … Did you, perhaps, kill him yourself?” The redhead felt the blade in his hand grow warmer.
“You spared me the trouble of getting rid of him myself… In the end… He was nothing more, but a broken tool…”. The ground beneath Akashi’s feet broke as he lunged at the bandaged man. Danzo moved to the side and he felt the air next to him rip in half at the speed the boy moved. Impressive… Akashi skidded to a stop, furious crimson eyes blaring at the man.
“I will kill you!” He growled out as chains burst out of his body and started wrapping around his arm and hand. They gave off a golden hue which pulsated, resonating with the boy’s anger. “I will fucking tear you apart!” He pointed the blade at him again.
“Spoken like a true monster… I always knew you would end up like this, that’s why I ordered him to kill you”.
“You are part of the reason I am like this!” Danzo watched as the air around the boy shifted. He watched as the space around him ripped open and he disappear in a flash of crimson. The man’s eyes widen as he glanced to the side, just in time to see the sharp steel of the blade near his chest. The boy thrust his blade forward, cutting into Danzo’s shoulder. He quickly twisted the blade to the side, widening the gap and disappeared once again.
Danzo clamped a hand over the wound, feeling the blood slip through his fingers. How did the boy move so fast?! His eyes widened once again when he saw the kunai in the redhead’s hand. It looked just like…
The Fourth Hokage’s!
Did the boy replicate the jutsu the Hokage had used?! That would explain how he moved so fast! And at such a young age, too… The redhead in front of him straightened up and flicked his wrist, splashing the blood off the blade, and onto the ground in a wide arch.
“The blood on my hands will never be washed away… And I will enjoy the sight of you drowning in it!” He growled out, bending his knees. Danzo watched as multiple chains exited his body and hovered around him.
Truly…
This boy…
Could have been…
Magnificent!
Akashi had no time to move, because, out of nowhere, he sensed Sasuke’s chakra behind himself. He whipped around just in time to see Sasuke, Karin and the man with the orange mask appear.
“Who are you?” Akashi enquired, narrowing his eyes at the masked man. The man stared at the redhead in silence.
“You’re one of the Nine-Tail’s Jinchuriki, aren’t you?” The man asked, staring him down. Akashi straightened up and pointed his blade at him.
“I asked you a question”. He almost growled out at him.
“Uchiha Madara”. Akashi felt his fingers twitch in reply. This was Uchiha Madara? The man in front of him?
“He’s with me”. Sasuke spoke up, glancing at Madara. “Leave him be”. His Sharingan activated and he took a step towards Danzo. “We have unfinished business”. Akashi lowered his blade and walked up to Sasuke, stopping next to him and turning to face Danzo.
“Indeed we do”. The chains, which had gone back into his body in the meantime, exited once more, hovering around him.
Danzo stood at a fair distance away from them. “Uchiha Sasuke, huh?” He asked.
“You should step back a bit, if you get in the way, you’ll die”. Madara told Karin as he watched the Jinchuriki in front of him. He didn’t look like he will be leaving anytime soon… Seems like he was with Sasuke. He left Konoha, huh?
He never expected something like this from Minato’s offspring.
He still needs the Eight-Tails first… So he’ll leave him be…
For now…
He jumped away and onto one of the higher pillars, observing the fight which was about to happen. Just how strong was Minato’s eldest son? He wondered.
“This is perfect”. Danzo commented, moving his hand away from the bleeding wound… Previously bleeding wound. It had healed almost fully while the others were talking…
Akashi watched as he took off his bandages and metal binds. “Sasuke! Madara! I will be collecting your Sharingans as well!” He declared and the last bit of the bandage was taken off. Akashi felt his inside curl in disgust at what was under the bandage. Multiple Sharingans were embedded inside his arm. Just how much Uchihas had he killed for this? Just how much eyes had he stolen?
“Why do you have those eyes in your right arm?” Sasuke questioned.
“I picked them up here and there. It’s a long story”. Danzo nonchalantly replied, making Akashi grit his teeth.
“Picked up?! You mean stole?!” He yelled at the man and took a step forward, but was grabbed by Sasuke.
“I don’t need to know, it would probably just upset me more… I’ve already decided I was going to kill him”. Akashi shook his hand off and glared at Sasuke.
“Not if I do it first”. He looked back at the man. Just how many people did he use?
“Before that, though, I have one thing that I’d like to ask you”. Sasuke glanced at the man. “Is it true that the mission to exterminate the Uchiha clan was given to Uchiha Itachi by the upper echelons of Konoha?” He questioned.
Akashi grew alarmed when Danzo, instead of answering, started doing hand-signs. The man dashed forward and threw a punch at Sasuke, but it ended up being blocked by Susano’o. Akashi used this opportunity to swing his blade at the man’s arm, but he moved out of the way and directly into Susano’o’s open palm.
“So this is the power they call Susano’o”. Danzo said, but gasped as Susano’o tightened the grip it had on him.
“I’ll ask you one more time! Is it true?!” Sasuke demanded, but Danzo remained silent. “I’m asking you a fucking question!” He yelled out at the silence and Susano’o tightened the grip once more. Blood spilt from Danzo’s mouth. “Answer me now!”
“I never thought he would turn out… to be that type of man”. The man mumbled out. “Damn you, Itachi. It seems as though he revealed everything before he died”. Danzo basically confessed. “Just as I thought, you were more valued than the rest”. Akashi noticed Sasuke had started trembling at the revelation.
“The truth… Does that mean it’s the truth?!” He raised his voice, Sharingan glaring straight at Danzo. Suddenly, Susano’o’s arms grew to look more like a human’s arms.
“Self-sacrifice… That is the essence of ninja”. Danzo forced out. “Never witnessing the light… moving in the shadows. In the past that was what a ninja truly was!” He exclaimed.
His next words were like static in Akashi’s ears. The only thoughts in his mind were the man’s previous words.
Self-sacrifice? Never witnessing the light? What a ninja truly was? Was that what Shinya was? A true ninja? One used left and right for ‘the greater good’? What was this bullshit he was hearing?
Akashi was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Sasuke crush Danzo.
“Don’t ever speak Itachi’s name again”. Sasuke said. Then, a shift in chakra made Akashi whip back around just to come face-to-face with Danzo. What? Were the in a Genjutsu?! How didn’t he notice it?!
Danzo whipped forward with a kunai in hand, but before it could even make contact with Susano’o, Akashi whipped his blade down and it broke through the kunai. Then, sensing Sasuke shift, Akashi jumped back and watched as Susano’o slammed Danzo into the ground. A chakra spike from ahead made him look forward.
Danzo?! What the hell was going on?! What kind of Genjutsu was this? Was it even a Genjutsu?!
Susano’o whipped forward, slamming around and breaking the ground, until Sasuke looked at Danzo and used Amaterasu on him. The man started burning and fell onto the ground, unmoving.
Then, behind them, Akashi, once again, sensed Danzo. He dashed in front of Sasuke just in time to block the oncoming jutsu with his blade. One managed to cut through Akashi’s shoulder, making his hand waver and consequentially making both him and Sasuke have to move out of the way. But, as Sasuke moved to dodge, he had jumped too far away from the bridge.
Akashi grabbed his bleeding shoulder while in air and extended his arm towards Sasuke. Just as chains were about to whip out, he stopped them when he saw Sasuke use a Summoning Jutsu. He summoned a giant hawk which stopped him from pummelling into the water below. So, Akashi used his chains to wrap around one of the pillars and pull himself atop it.
Sasuke dashed at Danzo atop his giant hawk and Akashi watched as Danzo did the same hand-signs as before. Sasuke was forced to jump off the hawk as the jutsu was aimed straight at him. He fell onto the ground and slashed at Danzo, who disappeared inside the smoke of the destruction his jutsu caused. Akashi took out a kunai and threw it straight at Danzo, since he could sense where he was and teleported to it just in time to force his blade down upon one of the shurikens he was about to throw at Sasuke.
“I wasn’t finished yet!” Akashi growled out at the man and kicked him backwards into Sasuke. The said boy went to slash at him, but he was grabbed by the throat, which stopped his attack. Then, a hawk descended from the ground, carrying one of Danzo’s thrown shuriken and used it to cut his arm off. The arm fell onto the ground and Sasuke slashed across Danzo’s chest, passing him by.
Just as Akashi thought things were done, he sensed Danzo again. He glanced up at one of the pillars and narrowed his eyes at the man. “You like playing around that much, huh?!” He growled out at him, feeling rage course through his veins. He was playing with them! Then, he noticed Danzo had stopped moving and he sensed Sasuke had used a jutsu.
Did he use a Genjutsu? He watched as Sasuke jumped on top of the pillar, but Danzo didn’t do anything. Then, just as he was about to stab the man, he stopped.
“Sasuke?!” Akashi yelled out as he noticed his body was starting to tremble along with his blade. A black seal appeared on his body. Akashi dashed forward when he saw Danzo take Sasuke’s blade and swing it at him.
Shit! He was too late! “Danzo!” Akashi threw his blade forward and watched as it sailed through the air towards the man. Then, Akashi froze in his tracks. Sasuke’s chakra… Had changed once again…
Susano’o burst to life, more bigger and more powerful than before, knocking both Akashi’s blade and Danzo away from Sasuke. Akashi stood still as he watched Sasuke let out a scream, blood dripping down his cheeks. The seal which was on his body faded out of existence.
Susano’o aimed its crossbow at Danzo and waited until he landed to fire the shot. Danzo, forced to do something to block the arrow, summoned a giant tree from his right arm, which knocked the arrow off course.
Akashi clenched his fists at his sides. Damn that man!
“That Danzo is the real one! He removed the jutsu that makes him invincible!” Karin yelled out to the two of them.
Susano’o fired off another arrow at Danzo, but in that moment, Akashi sensed a brief shift in Danzo’s chakra. Did he activate that jutsu again?! Akashi watched as the Danzo that was hit disappeared and the real one appeared right in front of him.
Suddenly, Sasuke let out a cough and blood dripped down his lips. Akashi glanced at him from the ground. Seems like using Susano’o is too tasking on his body…
Susano’o fired off another arrow at Danzo and it hit him, but he just appeared again and stopped below Sasuke, aiming his jutsu at him. It was blocked by Susano’o.
Using the blood of the cut he received, Danzo used a Summoning Jutsu. A giant, elephant like creature appeared and started sucking in air, pulling everyone to it. Danzo used this opportunity to throw another jutsu of his towards Sasuke.
Akashi shifted on the ground and raised his finger to his lips, biting in. He slammed his palm onto the ground. “Summoning Jutsu!” He yelled out and a big amount of space in front of him got covered by smoke. It was soon all vacuumed up by the elephant thing. Once it cleared away, in its place stood Cornelius in all his glory.
“Cornelius! Take care of that thing!” He pointed at the elephant and received a nod in return. The giant wolf lunged forward, clamping its jaw across the elephant’s neck and sending the both of them off the bridge and into the water below. Akashi turned back to Danzo and watched as he was sent flying into a nearby pillar. Then, something caught his eyes… An eye on his arm closed and it was then, that he realised something.
Only a couple of his eyes were opened, but all of them had been opened when the fight started…
Did that mean…?
Madara stood on the far edge of the bridge, observing everything that was going on. Cornelius, eh? He had heard of the great beast of Mount Gekko… Nobody had been able to make a contract with the wolves for hundreds of years… So how did this boy do it? How did he manage to gain their trust? How did he manage to get the contract?
A howl ripped through the air and Akashi glanced below the bridge. Cornelius had defeated the other summon and was sending a signal that he was leaving. Not a moment later, he disappeared.
Akashi looked back at Sasuke and watched as blood continuously dripped down his lips. The Susano’o above him went back to being a simple skeleton and started flickering in and out of existence. Sasuke was clearly struggling.
“I figured out a part of his technique! Pay attention, alright?!” Karin yelled out from her hiding spot.
“When all ten eyes on your right arm close your jutsu will be released, right?” Sasuke interrupted her, staring straight at Danzo. So Sasuke also figured it out, eh?
“You… knew about Izanagi?” Izanagi? So that was the name of the jutsu…
“As I thought!” Sasuke exclaimed and jumped off the pillar.
“Idiot! Why are you attacking?!” Karin yelled out in bewilderment. Danzo used his jutsu to hit Sasuke again, but Susano’o slammed into him, making another eye close on his arm.
“Sasuke! Get back! You need to draw out the fight!” Karin told him, but he paid her no mind. Akashi walked up to them, stopping next to Sasuke.
“Would it not be better if we ended the fight as soon as possible? Each time he is forced to use the jutsu, one eye closes”. As soon as the words left his lips, he whipped around and threw a kunai at the approaching Danzo. It swished past him and Akashi teleported to it, grabbing it and creating his blade in the meantime. Not being able to move out of the way, Danzo was forced to take the blow. Akashi’s blade slid from his shoulder, to the middle of his chest and Danzo immediately disappeard, but not before one of the eyes on his arm closed.
He threw the kunai back onto the ground and teleported to it. Ripping it out of the ground, he felt himself stumble forward. A cough ripped out of his throat and as he covered his lips with his hand, something wet splashed against his palm. “Damn it…”. He had used too much chakra… All the teleporting around, the chains, summoning Cornelius… He was worn down even physically…
Danzo appeared behind Akashi and Sasuke and the both of them jumped away. Sasuke created a lightning blade with the last remenants of his chakra and Akashi created a chain blade with the last of his. Danzo did the same with his kunai. Sasuke and Akashi landed onto the ground away from Danzo, and dashed forward with their blades drawn.
“How many Uchihas did you slaughter in order to get that arm?!” Sasuke demanded as they neared Danzo.
“The one who did that was Itachi”. The man ran at them.
“You forced him to do that!” The two of them whipped their arms forward and Akashi was too late to realise the second, hidden, kunai Danzo carried with him. The moment they stabbed their blades into him, was the moment Danzo stabbed his kunai into them. Akashi winced, but didn’t move away, isntead, he twisted his blade inside the man, widening the wound it made.
“You acted hastly. My eye is still open”. Danzo commented and Akashi let out a laugh, before he went into a coughing fit. “What’s so funny?” Danzo demanded and then froze in place.
“Take a better look at that eye of yours…”. Akashi mumbled, taking a step back and pulling his blade out of the man. “You seem to have made a mistake in your ‘calculations'”. Sasuke had used a Genjutsu to make Danzo think he had one eye left, while in reality, he had none. Akashi stumbled backwards, almost falling onto the ground. Danzo did the same and fell onto his hands and knees. He struggled on the ground and hurriedly stood up to grab at Sasuke, but just fell before he boy’s feet.
“This is what a true battle of the eyes is. Don’t underestimate the Uchiha!” Sasuke said, breathing heavily, before he winced and fell down. Karin ran out of her hiding spot and uncovered her arm.
“Are you alright? Here, hurry up and bite me!” She told him, pulling her sleeve further up. Akashi glanced at all of the bite marks on her arm. What the hell? Sasuke did as she said and bit down on her, making her throw her head back with a blush on her face. What in the actual hell? Was what he thought and then his eyes widened. Sasuke’s chakra was being replented at a fast rate… Was that what that was for? If people bit her they replentish their chakra?
Akashi sighed out and hovered a hand over his bleeding stomach. The bleeding will be hard to stop, since he had so little chakra left. “Need any help with that?” The fox asked inside his mind. Akashi shifted and let out a wince as an oncoming wave of blood seeped into his clothes, staining it an even darker red.
“You offering?” He asked back and watched as his medical jutsu flickered out of life. He had little to no chakra left… Damn it!
“I am”. The fox replied and Akashi immediately felt his wound start to burn. He closed his eyes, biting back a groan at the pain and taking his top layer off, leaving him in his long-sleeved shirt. He ripped the part around the wound and watched as the skin started stiching itself back together, before nothing was left except a, thin, light, scar.
“I appreciate that”. He thanked it inside his mind and received nothing else as a reply.
Suddenly, he whipped towards Danzo and saw a giant tree starting to grow out of his right arm. As it reached a giant scale, Danzo cut it off, leaving himself armless.
“This guy just won’t give up!” Karin exclaimed when she and Sasuke stood up.
Danzo reached a hand to the bandage around his right eye and once he took it off, a Sharingan was revealed. “Not yet. Now we’ll have a real battle of the eyes!” He declared.
Sasuke dashed at him with his Chidori, leaving Karin behind. Using that opportunity, Danzo evaded Sasuke and went behind Karin, holding her by the throat. “You’ve used your occular powers too much”. Danzo commented once he saw that Sasuke’s Sharingan had deactivated.
“Sasuke!” Karin choked out.
“I’m surprised you preach self-sacrifice, yet end up taking a hostage”. Sasuke said, Chidori still active in his left hand.
“My own life is of no importance. However, for the sake of Konoha and the ninja world, dying is not an option here!” He yelled out. “No matter the methods I have to use!” He continued. “For it is I who will bring change to the world of ninja!” He declared.
Akashi shifted in place, fingers relaxing at his sides.
For the sake of Konoha?
For the sake of the ninja world?
Bring a change to the world of ninja?
His heart slowed down inside his chest.
The world didn’t need a change… Not at all…
The only thing it needs…
Is total destruction…
Akashi created a blade in his hand and without hesitation, he stabbed it through both Danzo and Karin. “Change the ninja world?” Akashi whispered in Danzo’s ear. “Is that what you wish to do?” He glanced at Sasuke over the man’s shoulders and was met with an indifferent expression. “That is not what the world needs… It does not need a change… The only thing thing it needs… Is destruction”. Akashi whipped his blade out of the two people and Karin stumbled towards Sasuke.
“Sasuke…”. She mumbled, stumbling on her feet.
“Since you allowed yourself to be taken hostage, you’re nothing but a burden”. The boy said and Karin fell onto the ground eyes barely open. She looked at Sasuke and at Akashi. She noticed their chakra was spiraling inside their frames… Their frames which seemed too small compared to the amount of darkness they carried… Her eyes slowly closed shut.
Akashi moved to the side and allowed Danzo to walk past him. The redhead turned to the Uchiha and waited until he came closer. The two of them, together, walked, following Danzo’s bloody footprints. Akashi watched as the man desperatly tried to run away, but was unable to do so. Then, when the two boys got closer to the man, Madara jumped in front of Danzo.
“Danzo… I’ll be taking Shisui’s eye now”. Akashi noticed Sasuke gave a reaction to that name… Uchiha Shisui… Akashi had read about him before. He was a famed ninja of the village, who had, seemingly, killed himself, but now it made sense.
Of course it was Danzo…
“For the sake of the ninja world and for the sake of Konoha, I cannot allow you to live!” He moved his robes away from his chest and a giant seal appeared on it.
“Get away from Danzo!” Madara exclaimed and started falling into the ground. The seal expanded out of Danzo’s body and both Sasuke and Akashi jumped back just in time to evade getting hit by it. The seal expanded even more and an explosion destroyed the middle of the bridge they were on.
“That was close”. Madara spoke up. “That was a collateral damage sealing jutsu that would’ve sealed you away within his corpse”. He explained. “Seems that jutsu was set to activate when on the brink of death”. Madara jumped down to Danzo’s corpse and sealed him away with his Sharingan.
He told Sasuke to get some rest back at the hideout, saying how he overused his visual powers. He told him that if he kept pushing himself, he will only hurt himself in the end. He added that in order to achive his goal, he needed patience.
“That woman… If you don’t need her anymore, then finish her off… She knows too much about us”. Madara said, looking at him.
“‘Us’? Since when did I become one of your comrades?” Sasuke questioned, staring down at Madara.
“Suit yourself… We’ll meet again…”. He glanced at the redhead besides the Uchiha. “Akashi… I’ll be seeing you soon…”. With that, Madara used his jutsu on himself and disappeared, leaving the two boys alone.
Akashi promptly plopped down onto the ground. “Get up”. Sasuke told him as he glanced at him.
“Just sit down”. Akashi ignored him and grabbed his wrist, pulling him down. Sasuke didn’t say anything as he sat down next to him. “We got him, did we not?” The redhead turned to look at him and saw the blood on his cheek. He reached a hand forward and wiped at it, partially clearing it away.
“We did”. Sasuke replied, looking back at him. Akashi didn’t move his hand away from the raven-haired boy’s cheek, instead, he leaned forward and brushed his lips over the other boy’s own. He swiped his tongue over them and pried them apart, leaning even more forward.
Neither of them had closed their eyes.
Akashi leaned back and licked at his own lips, clearing the blood which rested on the skin, before he stood up. “Come on, we have a girl to kill”. He didn’t wait for Sasuke to stand up as he threw a kunai to the other side of the bridge and teleported to it. Sasuke landed next to him a few moments later.
The two of them approached the redhead on the ground and as she raised her head to look at them, her eyes widened. Sasuke activated his Chidori and glanced down at her. “See you around”. Before he could kill her, Akashi turned towards the bridge and saw Sakura running towards them.
“Sasuke! Akashi!” She yelled out and Sasuke stopped.
“Sakura?” Sasuke whispered. “For what purpose did you come before us?” He asked, Chidori flickering out of existence. Sakura remained silent for a moment or two, closing her eyes in the proces.
When she opened them, she stared at the two of them. “I want to follow you!” Akashi raised a brow at her exclaim. She… wished to follow them? What sort of joke was this? What the hell was she doing? “I’m leaving Konoha!” She added, determination swimming in her irises. Akashi watched as she took a step forward and jumped to their side of the bridge.
“What do I gain if you join me?” Sasuke questioned. “What are you plotting?”
“I’m not plotting anything at all”. She defended herself. “I’ve just always regretted not coming with you when you left Konoha”. She admitted. “I’ll do anything you want! I don’t want to have anymore regrets!”
“Do you know what I want?” Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes.
“I don’t care I’ll do exactly as you-!” She was interrupted by him.
“I’ll destroy Konoha!” He declared. “That’s what I want”. Her eyes widened at the confession. “Would you really betray Konoha for my sake?” He asked.
“Yes, if that’s what you want from me”. She replied without hesitation. Ehh? Sasuke can’t possibly be convinced she was telling the truth?
“Then prove it”. There it was… “Finish her off”. Sasuke pointed at Karin. Akashi couldn’t help but think the situation was hilarious… It was as expected… “If you do, I’ll believe you”.
“Who is she?” Sakura asked when she pulled out a kunai.
“A member of my oraganisation, Taka”. Sasuke replied and Sakura glanced at Akashi next to him.
“Is Akashi also part of that organisation?” She questioned, looking at the nonchalant expression on the redhead’s face.
“I am, nice, right?” He sent her a humourless grin and she bit back a shiver.
“As you can see, she is rather useless now, you’re a medic ninja, right? You can take her place”. Sakura nodded, walking up to Karin. Once she got there, she stopped in her tracks. “What’s wrong, Sakura?” Sasuke asked, seeing her hesitation.
“Can’t you do it?” Akashi taunted from the side and watched as her hands started trembling. From the corner of his eyes he saw Sasuke step behind Sakura.
“Stop it… Sasuke…”. Karin mumbled out and Sakura’s eyes widened as she heard the sound of Chidori blaring to life. Akashi whipped to the side when he sensed Kakashi and had no time to do anything as the man blocked Sasuke’s hit.
“How far you’ve fallen, Sasuke!” He exclaimed and jumped over a kick Sasuke threw at him, subsequently kicking the boy away, making him skid back a few feet away from them.
“Oh? Kakashi? You seem to have recovered just fine from death”. The silver-haired man snapped to the side when he heard Akashi’s voice. “Good to see you in form”. The redhead tilted his head, hands stuffed inside his pockets.
“Akashi! You’ve gone to him?!” Kakashi’s glared at the boy in front of him. He couldn’t say he was surprised when he heard the news that Akashi had left the vilage from Naruto… But to see him together with Sasuke…
“Why are you so surprised? I have always had a better chance than Sakura, right?” He grinned at them, sharp teeth flashing dangerously.
“You…!” Kakashi threw a kunai with a string tied to it, trying to bind him, but Akashi just summoned his chains and hit the string away.
“That will not work on me”. Akashi said and jumped to where Sasuke was, stopping besides him.
“It’s just one after another”. Sasuke commented once Akashi landed next to him and received a nod in reply.
“Sasuke… I don’t like repeating myself”. Kakashi started, staring straight at the raven-haired boy. “However, I’ll say this one last time…”, he stopped for a moment, before continuing, “… Don’t be consumed by your revenge!” Akashi sensed a shift in Sasuke’s chakra, and not even a second later, the boy burst into laughter.
“Itachi, my father, my mother… Even my clan! Bring them back to me!” He yelled at the man in front of him. “If you can do that, I’ll stop!”
“I don’t want to kill you”. Kakashi said, almost making Akashi scoff.
“You seem to think that he is alone…”. Hearing those words, Kakashi glanced at the redhead. “And as it turns out, surprise, surprise, I am here”. Akashi placed a hand on his chest. “And we both know you cannot take me on…”. He narrowed his eyes at the silver-haired man.
“Akashi… What happened to you?!” The man exclaimed, making Akashi furrow his brows. “How did you end up like this? With him?! Wasn’t the village enough for you?! Wasn’t Naruto enough for you?!” He yelled and Akashi raised his palm in the air.
“You…”. Akashi’s pupils dilated and he threw his head back in laughter. “Are you fucking with me?! Or are you seriously that screwed up in the head?! You’re part of the fucking reason I left the forsaken village!” Kakashi flinched back as if slapped.
“Kakashi! Stop acting like you’re still out teacher! I’m itching to kill you!” Sasuke spoke up, eyes blown wide as he stared at the man.
Akashi saw Kakashi whisper something to Sakura, before she grabbed Karin and took her away. Kakashi threw off his cloak and looked at them. “As the leader of Team 7, I’ll settle everything right here, right now!”
“I don’t like repeating myself either”. Sasuke spoke up. “Don’t act as if you’re still our teacher”.
Kakashi reached a hand to his forehead protector and pulled it up, revealing his Sharingan. “I now understand how the Third Hokage felt”. He said, closing his other eye.
“And you’re gonna end up just like he did”. Sasuke said, staring the man down.
Akashi shifted from besides him, chains melting together and turning into a blade. This is going to be harder since both he and Sasuke were not in top shape after that fight with Danzo…
But…
Kakashi shouldn’t give them much trouble…
![[Mtl, Bl] Zombie King’s Guide To Pretending To Be Well-Behaved](https://i3.wp.com/readawrite.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/28508.jpg?resize=165,225 "[Mtl, Bl] Zombie King’s Guide To Pretending To Be Well-Behaved")
Comment