Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Moon On Fire ❯ Different Plans, Same Goal ( Chapter 20 )

Chapter 20

Different Plans, Same Goal

“It would be much easier to concentrate without you hovering over my shoulder like that.”

“You're a Jounin, you're supposed to be able to concentrate in the middle of a life and death battle.”

“Yes well a life and death battle doesn't usually smell like three cups of coffee with too much sugar. It's distracting.” Neji grumbled at his unusually hyperactive partner.

“Whatever. Do you see anything yet?”

“I can only see Mizuki-chan. I know he's close but I can't see any…wait. I think that's him.” Neji narrowed his eyes, pushing his Byakugan to its limits.

“Is it him? Where is he?”

“I can't tell if it's him or not. It's just a figure in a black cloak and…” Neji paused and his eyes widened slightly in surprise. “I can't see this person's chakra network.”

“Why not?”

“If I knew, would I sound this surprised? Honestly Shikamaru, I don't think I've ever seen you this jumpy before. You're usually quite calm and collected. What's gotten into you?”

“It's this cockamamie plan. Sasuke comes up with it, Mizuki changes it, and now she's off on her own and we're playing catch up trying to…well…catch up. I don't like it.”

“I understand but I also believe she knows what she's doing.” Neji said, remembering how confident Mizuki seemed when they had headed out. “We just need to protect her until Sasuke and Kakashi can make their move.”

“Yeah I know.” Shikamaru grumbled. He turned away from where Neji was still concentrating heavily, sat down on a branch and plucked at a leaf lazily. His eyes opened wide as the leaf suddenly seemed to melt onto his fingers. He flicked his fingers together in a useless attempt to get rid of the strange substance but it oozed down his arm, growing bigger as it traveled. He looked to Neji who was no longer looking to where Mizuki continued to walk but was staring at his own fingers in disbelief.

“Neji…” Shikamaru said quickly as the leaf/ooze creature began to crawl up the side of his face.

“I know.” Neji said as he watched his own arm peeling itself like an onion. “It seems we were a little careless.”

XXX

Mizuki walked in the direction Itachi had told her for about twenty minutes before stopping dead as she heard two anguished yells far behind her. Her heart rate doubled. He'd found them. Now she truly was on her own. Praying for her friend's safety and that she was correct in her assumptions, she continued on.

Just a few minutes later, she came to a stop again and turned around. When she had left Konoha, the sun had just begun to peek through the trees, filling the forest around her with warm rays of light. But the path she had just woven through the forest was black as pitch. And walking through it towards her, even blacker in his hooded cloak than the pitch darkness in his wake, came Itachi. He stopped not ten feet away from where she stood.

“Are you ready?” His voice was low and strained.

“Can't see how I'd ever be ready for you to kill me but I am resigned.” Mizuki replied and, ignoring the furious pounding of her heart, took a step towards Itachi.

“I have dealt with the two shinobi who were following you. There is now no way for Sasuke to track us. I will not be denied this time.” Itachi took a step closer to Mizuki who immediately went pale under his intense glare.

“Are they…”

“I have not killed them. I will keep my end of the bargain.” Itachi said in what passed for a soothing voice. Mizuki sighed and he could see the tension and resolve leave her body. He chuckled to himself. As long as she believed her friends were safe, she would cooperate. Once she was dead however, and her eyes were his, all bets would be off.

“Then do what you will.” Mizuki took a step closer again.

“No.” The word was simple and demanding but Sasuke thought he could hear the anxiousness in Kakashi's voice all the same. “Not yet.”

Sasuke hissed his frustration as quietly as he could. Even knowing his own plan as well as he did, he couldn't keep his heart from trying to thump its way clear of his chest. Its beat was so violent he almost wished he could shoot it upon his brother, knowing it would do more damage than any ninjutsu he knew. As it was, his chest was far too effective a barrier, keeping his furious heart yelling, but restrained within him. The thought brought no comfort.

He and Kakashi had been waiting not entirely patiently for the sign from Shikamaru and Neji. Which they had received quite clearly not even ten minutes before Mizuki came into view. Sasuke watched as she walked slowly but with purpose and his heart ached. She believed completely that their plan would succeed and he would protect her. He hadn't the heart to tell her she was only half right. He thought he had seen a flicker of annoyance in her eyes after he had last kissed her in front of his house. He wouldn't be at all surprised to learn she had figured out what he intended to do. He fought back a smirk. Her annoyingly accurate perception was one of the reasons he'd fallen for her in the first place. The other reason was made painfully clear as she turned to face Itachi with a straight face and voice she fought to keep from wavering.

Sasuke looked from Mizuki to Itachi and was heartened to realize that he had gotten at least a part of his plan right. Itachi looked horrible! The skin around his eyes had turned red and swollen. His eyes themselves were squinted almost shut and they were watering incessantly. He lifted his right finger as thought to flick something annoying from it. Mizuki flinched but did not move.

“I was right.” He thought, fighting the urge to burst from his hiding spot and take him out right there. “Even with the few days of rest, he's used his eyes too much in the last few weeks. Attacking Shikamaru and Neji was it. He's at his limit. It's even affecting his ability to move properly and speak. He probably wouldn't be able to take Mizuki's life never mind her eyes. Not unless she…”

“What's she doing?” Sasuke said a little too loudly, causing a bird to take flight from where it had been sitting mere feet away from him quietly only seconds before.

Mizuki had closed the distance between her and Itachi and was looking up into his eyes with a small smile on her face! And as Sasuke watched, suddenly frozen, she reached up with her right hand and gently caressed the side of Itachi's face!

“Mizuki…” Itachi began but his voice was no louder than a whisper.

“Itachi-sama…” Mizuki said quietly. Her face was deathly white and her eyes glistened with unshed tears but she closed the last bit of space between herself and Itachi and before Itachi could react, she leaned in and laid her head on his chest!

“But…that's impossible!” Sasuke bit his tongue to keep from saying a few random curses out loud. He looked to Kakashi, his own shocked reflected back at him. “This wasn't part of the plan at all!” Sasuke thought desperately, feeling the small stirrings of panic. “He wasn't supposed to be able to put her under his influence again! He was supposed to be at his limit in trying to stop Shikamaru and Neji! He's this strong?” He watched in no small amount of shock, trying desperately to reconfigure his well thought out plan as Mizuki wrapped her arms around Itachi!

“I missed you so much Itachi-sama.” Mizuki murmured. She looked up at him with a wistful smile on her face, which disappeared as she saw his eyes. “Itachi-sama! What happened to you? You're eyes are all swollen!” She reached up with her left hand and gingerly brushed the hair from his face.

Itachi's smile was as sinister and malicious as any smile could be as he looked down at his once again willing victim. He'd tried the Tsukuyomi, almost certain it wouldn't work this time. He knew he was at his limit, the strain was certainly showing. He thought he wouldn't b able to pull it off after taking care of the two meddlesome Konoha ninja's following Mizuki. But here she was, right back in his arms. Ready and willing to do anything to help him. Ready to die for him.

“My love.” He crooned as he hugged her close to him. “I'm so glad I found you at last. I've looked everywhere. Did Sasuke and his horrible friends hurt you?” He asked this last with an eyebrow raised, uncertain he should be bringing up the name of the man she loved but needing to know how under his control she actually was.

She looked very confused. “Who?”

Itachi's grin could have split his face in two. “It's not important anymore. What matters is you are safe.”

“Those people you mentioned…” Mizuki looked like she was trying to remember something hard but she shook her head in dismay. “You must have rescued me from them! That's why you're injured! Oh Itachi-sama I'm so sorry you were hurt because of me! I'll never forgive myself!” She buried her face in her hands and let out a few sobs.

Sasuke watched from his hiding place, feeling very much like a deer caught in headlights. He wanted to leap down and rip Mizuki away from Itachi but seeing her act this way was making him feel a little shell-shocked. “Is this what he did to her before?” He thought amazed and more than a little disgusted. “If I didn't know better I'd swear that was someone in a henge. That is not my Mizuki.”

Itachi put his arms on Mizuki's shoulders gently. “It's alright. It's over now. I'll never leave you again.” He leaned over and gently kissed her on top of her head.

Sasuke didn't even feel himself move. One minute he was sitting on a high tree branch watching this impossible scene unfold and the next, he was standing where Itachi had been only moments before leaping out of the way. He looked from Itachi's sneer to Mizuki's terrified but completely blank expression and back to Itachi.

“Let her go.” Was all he said but had it been anyone other than Itachi the words were directed to, they would have taken off with their tails soundly between their legs.

“I beg your pardon little brother.” Itachi sneered. “But it's rather rude of you to intrude on a loving couple's intimate moment I must say.”

Sasuke gritted his teeth in forced restraint but turned to Mizuki. “Mizuki get out of here now. I'll hold him off.” He had hoped that seeing him would jog her brain into fighting the genjutsu but watching as she backed away from him and then ran so she was in front of Itachi with her arms spread wide to protect him, Sasuke realized it wasn't going to be that simple. She was well and truly befuddled. His mind raced frantically. How could he take Itachi out without hurting Mizuki?

Itachi laughed. “What was that you were saying little brother? It seems the girl is quite determined to stay. What do you say Sasuke? Are you willing to go through her to get to me?”

Sasuke looked from Mizuki's frightened but determined expression to Itachi's utterly merciless eyes and growled his frustration.

XXX

"I can't take it anymore!" Naruto said for, what felt like to Sakura, the thousandth time. He jumped up from the chair beside her bed and paced angrily to the window. He stared out of it with a dangerous look, hoping desperately for any sign of his returning friends; the ones he could not help.

Sakura just stared after him saying nothing. She knew it wasn't worth getting into another fight about their inability to help their friends. Truth be told, she was just as frustrated and worried about the team in the woods but thanks to the maturity and restraint that made her such a perfect match for Naruto, she was able to stay relatively calm.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto said quietly from where he still stared out the window.

"No." She replied simply to the unsaid statement.

Naruto turned to look at her. "There's something wrong Sakura-chan I can feel it! Something's gone horribly wrong! They need my help!"

"You're help with what? You can't use chakra right now or are you looking to damage yourself to the point where you can never use it again?"

"What good is chakra if I can't even use it to protect my friends?" He growled and opened the window.

Sakura looked at him surprised but that was quickly replaced with a tender look. She gingerly got out of bed and walked to where she could tell Naruto was having great difficulty keeping himself from leaping out the window. She put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at the surprised look on his face.

"Sakura-chan what are you?....You shouldn't be out of bed yet!"

"I know you're going to go whether or not I say so aren't you?" She looked at him seriously. He tried to look back just as fiercely but had to turn away from those beautiful eyes. Sakura sighed.

"Alright then, let's go." She grabbed the window sill before Naruto grabbed her hand and quickly removed it.

"What the hell do you mean 'let's go'? YOU are not going anywhere Sakura-chan. YOU are not even supposed to be out of bed yet!"

"WE'RE going Naruto or WE'RE staying. It's really as simple as that. Besides, if you're intuition is right, they didn't take a medical ninja with them. I can't fight in this condition but I can do that much."

Naruto looked supremely unhappy but he knew there was nothing for it. "Fine." He grumbled as he gently picked her up. "But stay the hell out of the way this time. If I see you within one hundred feet of any sword I will not forgive you!" He heard her chuckle slightly and sigh behind him and he leapt out the hospital room window.

"Okay Sakura! I know it's early but Gaara's occupying himself for a few minutes so I figured I'd stop by and see if I can't make any more improvement..." The rest of Tsunade's words fell soundlessly from her lips as she entered Sakura's all too empty room. She looked to the open window and sighed heavily. "That's it. I'm going to have to live forever aren't I?"

"What do you mean Tsunade-sama?" Shizune, who had almost walked right into her mentor when she had stopped suddenly, asked confused.

"I can't ever die." Tsunade said. "I'm going to have to be Hokage forever. I can't leave the future of Konoha to this generation! They're too damn stupid! They'll have the place destroyed in a month! What would my grandfather say?" And with that she turned and stormed from the room muttering angrily about sending Anbu after them, leaving an utterly speechless Shizune standing in the empty room.

XXX

Watching from his still concealed hiding placed, Kakashi cursed quietly. "So much for the plan. I never dreamed Itachi would be able to place Mizuki-chan under his influence again. I have to think fast before Sasuke decides the only way really is through Mizuki-chan."

Sasuke, for his part, hadn't moved yet. Neither had Itachi or Mizuki. It felt to Sasuke like the world's longest stalemate.

"Mizuki move. Please." Sasuke said calmly enough. Only his tightly clenched fists gave his anger away.

"Huh nice try but even good manners aren't going to get you anywhere near him. You'll have to go through me." Mizuki growled.

"You're not thinking straight Mizuki. You can't have forgotten everything that's happened over the last couple of weeks. Everything we did. Everything we are to each other!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mizuki spat out looking at Sasuke like he had three heads. "I don't even know who the hell you are!"

Sasuke looked at her shocked but quickly looked away, desperately trying to ignore the sudden crack that appeared in his all too recently healed heart.

"My love." Itachi stepped forward and placed a hand on Mizuki's shoulder. "Your loyalty to me gives me all the strength I need. I will deal with this bother. I won't have you harmed."

"Itachi-sama." Mizuki looked at Itachi with a face of such concern and tenderness that Sasuke honestly felt as though he would be sick. She placed her head against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, smiling evilly at Sasuke.

XXX

Tsunade was still mumbling incoherently to herself as she made her way back to her office when she turned a corner and came face to face with Gaara. "Gaara! What's..."

"Something's wrong." Gaara's eyes were narrowed dangerously. "The plan has failed. We must go to them now!"

"Are you sure?" Tsunade didn't get a chance to say anything else before Gaara

brought up a vial of sand before his face, popped the cork and then disappeared in a swoosh of sand and wind. Tsunade stared at the sand on the hospital floor for a long moment before she growled loudly, yelled to Shizune to hurry up and took off running down the hall.

XXX

Naruto sprinted as fast as he dared into the forest while trying not to move Sakura too much. Branch to branch he leapt, trying to ignore the pain in his arm and the intensely uneasy feeling in his heart. "I can feel it!" He thought desperately. "Something's wrong!"

Naruto hadn't made it 100 yards into the thick of the forest when he sensed movement beneath him and stopped dead on a rock. He slowly lowered Sakura to the ground and motioned for her to be quiet. He crept forward, kunai in hand to a bush just a few feet away from which some very haggard breathing could be heard. He was within a breath of moving the leaves aside when a hand suddenly shot out and grabbed his arm!

Naruto stumbled backwards but the hand on his arm held strong and consequently, he brought the person that hand belonged to right out of the bush on top of him as he landed hard on his butt. Shikamaru let go at the last minute and rolled away before he could head butt Naruto and landed sprawled on his back beside him.

"Was that..." Naruto breathed out as he rolled himself up and stared down at Shikamaru, "Really NECESSARY?"

Shikamaru looked at Naruto and let out an out of breath chuckle. "Sorry Naruto, but considering how long it's been since we lost sight of Mizuki, I thought maybe it was Itachi coming back to finish the job."

"Nice of you to show so much faith in your friend's Shikamaru." Sakura said casually as she kneeled down beside Shikamaru to heal some scratches on his arm. "Where's Neji?"

"Right here." A voice suddenly issued from the bush Shikamaru had just sprung from. "A better question is what do you two think YOU'RE doing here?"

"Ask the number one hyperactive knuckleheaded ninja over there, I'm just here for the ride." Sakura said pointing to where Naruto was looking away from the group off into the forest.

"Naruto what are you thinking? You know you're in no condition..." Neji began but Naruto cut him off.

"Neji where are they?"

"What? Naruto you and Sakura should go back to the hospital, Tsunade-sama will know soon that you've left and she's going to have the whole village coming after you."

"Where are they Neji?" Naruto looked at him and Neji could see the all too familiar look in his friend's eyes. He sighed and after muttering a few choice obscenities and the magic word under his breath, scanned the trees surrounding them.

"That way." Neji said pointing North. "I can see Itachi and Sasuke, but I can't see Mizuki."

That was all Naruto needed to hear. "You two, I'm leaving Sakura-chan in your care. Follow behind quietly in case someone's hurt. I'm going..." But he was cut off by a coughing fit as a cloud of sand appeared out of nowhere and flew at him!

XXX

"Do you understand now how this will end Sasuke?" Itachi said through a pained smile. "She is mine. Completely under my control she will give me her love, her eyes, her life if I asked it. And I fully intend to, after I've taken care of you."

"Bastard." Sasuke could barely form the words. If possible, he clenched his fists even tighter as a vision stormed across his brain. The night he came home and found his parents lying dead in a pool of blood, their eyes wide open as though in complete shock that their oldest son could possibly have done this. His then small self running at Itachi, screaming out his rage and pain, only to be swatted away like an annoying insect. The constant whispers of the villagers that he was sure they knew he could hear. Naruto's face as he lay unconscious and near death after trying to stop Sasuke from leaving in the Valley of the End. Itachi's face when they had last fought three years ago. So full of confidence and yet at the same time, so full of desperation. Mizuki's face as she upped him once again with her sharp as knives wit, her face smiling at him gently before sticking her tongue out at him and walking away, the horrible look on her face as she told him she didn't know who he was....

"ARRRGGGHHH!" Sasuke didn't even hear Kakashi shout as he whipped out his sword and went charging straight for Itachi. His fury was such that had he not been in possession of exemplary reflexes, he might not have stopped in time and run Mizuki through. But just as he was about to bring down his sword he saw something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

The expression on Itachi's face had changed suddenly from one of supreme amusement and confidence to one of utter shock. His mouth opened in a wide "O" as he looked down to where he was still holding Mizuki to him. She was smiling back up at him but this smile was no longer one of tenderness and love. In fact, the anger and hatred that shone from her eyes was so intense that he would have been taken back a step, had he been able to free himself from the knife now buried in his stomach!

"Impossible!" Itachi croaked out as a thin trail of blood ran down his chin.

"I guess I'm a much better actor than I thought." Mizuki said calmly as she

wrenched the knife back and watched Itachi sink to his knees. "I'll admit my heart beat just that much faster when you moved your finger. I was pretty confident I could keep myself from falling under your spell again. Especially after you had to incapacitate Shikamaru and Neji. You see Itachi-sama, I remembered a very important missing piece of the puzzle last night. I remembered the day you forced into my body all that it meant to be a ninja. Taijutsu, Ninjustu, Genjutsu, all were mine until you stole my chakra from me. Once I remembered that, I realized that you had also given me the ability to fend off you and your itchy genjustu trigger finger. You probably didn't realize that part or you wouldn't have been so utterly confident just now." Mizuki took two steps back from Itachi still with an utterly calm look on her face.

Sasuke looked from Itachi's wound, to his shocked face, to Mizuki's calm face and felt the last of his restraint crack. "What have you done?" He yelled to Mizuki angrily. "Why did you do that? He is mine to kill! I had planned..."

"I know perfectly well what you had planned you jerk!" Mizuki's face was still calm but her voice was razor sharp. "You wanted to make the big sacrifice to kill your brother who is your responsibility! But killing him and yourself won't help anyone! It won't help me..." She trailed off. Sasuke could see her hand where it gripped the knife, white and shaking. He felt his anger melt away.

"I understand." He said quietly as he strode up past her and placed his sword against Itachi's neck. Itachi did not flinch. He sat still, holding his stomach with his eyes still reading shock at what had just happened.

"I'm going to kill you big brother." Sasuke practically whispered as he pressed the blade even more flush against Itachi's neck. "For what you did to our clan and to our parents, but most of all, for the darkness and loneliness you've made us endure all this time." As he said this last he glanced back towards where Mizuki was standing, looking at him with tears in her eyes. He looked back to Itachi who, surprisingly was sitting still and unmoving with a small smile on his face!

"Do you think your impending death funny Itachi?" Kakashi said suddenly, jumping down from his hiding spot and landing just in front of Mizuki.

"Not at all." Itachi finally spoke. As he did, fresh blood trailed down the side of his mouth and oozed from between his fingers as he desperately tried to staunch his wound. "What I find funny, Hatake Kakashi, is that you seem to think you're the ones who are going to cause my death." He looked up then and glared at Sasuke. Sasuke glared right back at him and Itachi hissed as the sword against his neck drew a fresh, though shallow, cut.

"There is nothing you can do! You're at your limit! Give it up!" Mizuki yelled out through tears that were starting to pour. "Why can't you just leave us alone? What did we...what did I ever do to you to deserve this?"

"Simple." Itachi said quietly, turning to look at Mizuki. Kakashi forced her back a step from the murderous glare. "You were a pawn little girl. It's what you were, are and always will be. You were my plaything to be used and thrown away at my whim. That is, until you got that memory back. Might I inquire as to how?"

"I saw Sasuke practicing the Goukakyuu No Jutsu outside the house last night. It's what you were doing the day you...did this to me." Sasuke glanced back at Mizuki and his eyes met hers for a moment but his grip on his sword remained strong.

"Yes that would have done it." Itachi smiled ruefully. "You fooled me, I really didn't think you had it in you, but you've done quite a number on me...Mizuki-chan. But you're still fools if you think this will kill me."

"Of course it won't. You haven't lived this long to let a simple stab wound do you in. But I told you." Sasuke spat through gritted teeth. "I will be the one to kill you brother. No one else."

"That is the way it should be of course." Itachi said grimly. "After everything I've done, you are the only one who has the right to take my life. Though it will not bring back any of those I've killed, nor erase the memory of your depraved violation in our lovely Mizuki-chan's mind." Sasuke groaned, his restraint rapidly deteriorating. The sword began to shake slightly in his hands as the fresh rage coursed through him.

"You should learn to control your anger little brother. You might lose your grip, allowing me to escape." Itachi said through an evil grin.

"Even if he did, we sure as hell aren't going to!" Came the bellow just as a huge cloud of sand fell seemingly out of nowhere and enveloped Itachi! Naruto crashed through the trees, his oversized bandaged arm knocking branches out of his way. Just a few paces away, Gaara came crashing behind him. They leapt to where Mizuki was standing just behind Kakashi. Naruto stood beside Kakashi, effectively blocking Mizuki from any danger. Gaara walked up to the now immobile Itachi and glowered at him. Then he looked to Sasuke,

"What are you waiting for? Finish him!"

Sasuke's shock at the two's sudden appearance was broken by Gaara's words. He tightened his grip on the sword which had begun to waver against his will at Itachi's words but was once again straight and steady. Itachi began to struggle against the wall of sand encasing him. As he did, his neck pressed tighter against Sasuke's blade, forcing it to slice slightly deeper into his neck.

What happened next, happened in the space of a single second. Sasuke glanced back to where Kakashi and Naruto had Mizuki safely out of the way. He sighed inwardly, glad she would not see him strike the finishing blow. She'd done enough. As he started to turn his head back to Itachi for what he thought would be the last time, he heard Gaara suddenly cry out. His neck muscles tensed to turn his head that much faster but he was too late. Sand burst into his face, blinding him and catching in his throat. He coughed and sputtered the sand out of his face and saw Gaara sprinting towards an impossibly dark mass, a hammer of sand raised behind him. Sasuke blinked the sand out of his eyes as quickly as he could and suddenly wished he was still blind.

Itachi stood several feet away now, arms raised and not even attempting to staunch the slow but incessant flow of blood from his torso. At first glance he appeared to be standing in the middle of a black hole. But Sasuke quickly realized that the impossible darkness surrounding him came not from within him, but from his raised hands, to which streams of energy were being guided. Where those streams originated, Sasuke could not see. His blind eyes glowed a fierce red and he was chanting something too quiet to be heard.

Gaara ran towards Itachi, constantly adding sand and pressure to the huge hammer he carried behind him. Before he even swung the massively dense weapon however, he sensed it would have no effect and so was unsurprised when the debris cleared and Itachi stood unharmed and not even interrupted. Gaara quickly leapt back to where Sasuke stood.

"What is this?" Gaara yelled at the dumbfounded Sasuke. Sasuke could only shake his head in answer. Had everything Itachi had done until now been a trick? Could he truly have been concealing this much raw power?

"Sasuke!" Naruto ran up to Sasuke and grabbed his shoulder. "We have to stop him!"

"What do you mean? Do you know what this is Naruto?" Sasuke asked incredulously enough but the look on Naruto's face answered his question. For the first time in Sasuke's life, he saw Naruto's face overcome with terror.

"Ero-Sennin told me about this jutsu once. It was something Orochimaru had come up with a long time ago but never perfected so he abandoned it. He said Orochimaru was trying to find a way of taking the energy from other living things and turning that energy into a weapon like a bomb! But the effect was opposite. Instead of an energy bomb, it reversed, still destroying everything around it but taking the ninja along with it! He said it had the potential of destroying 3 or 4 Konoha's!" Naruto spat out as quickly as he could.

Sasuke sighed. Of course this would be something Orochimaru thought up. Who the hell else would think of something so insane and destructive? The thought made his curse mark start yelling again and he swore the pain back.

"So what do we do?" Gaara yelled to Naruto. "My attack had no effect whatsoever! How do we stop him?"

"We can't stop him while he's like this...while he's gathering the energy." Naruto yelled back. "There will be a split second once he stops chanting, before he releases the energy that he will be vulnerable."

"A whole split second huh?" Kakashi said stoically enough as he joined the group. "Well that's comforting."

"Where's Mizuki?" Sasuke demanded. Kakashi pointed behind him where Shikamaru, Neji and Sakura were a distance away with Mizuki, looking more terrified than he'd seen her. He turned back towards Itachi. "If this is going to kill him, why do it? He wants his eyesight back from Mizuki, not death! Itachi there's no point to this! Stop!"

He yelled to his brother but if he heard, he completely ignored him.

"It's possible he's found a way to perfect the jutsu, to stay alive while killing everyone else." Kakashi speculated. "Either way, we've got to be ready to hit him right when he stops chanting. Shikamaru! Neji!" He yelled back. "You two are up here ready to strike! Naruto!" He turned to his injured student. "You get Sakura and Mizuki well away from here now! As far as you can. If you're right and we can't stop him then you must try to escape the blast." Naruto looked like he wanted to argue but thought better of it and leapt away as the other two reached the group and readied their strongest jutsu's.

Sasuke wanted to look at Mizuki one last time but could not bring himself to turn away. He heard her cries of protest as Naruto dragged her away from the battle. The thought of her trying to stay even now steadied him and gave him the strength he needed. He faced his brother, now almost completely enveloped in the pitch blackness that continually absorbed into his hands and seeped out of his very pores like a miasma. He looked at his comrades standing beside him, looks of terror, determination and resignation on their faces. They knew they would not survive this but this is what they had been trained for. Death itself was nothing to fear, the only regret left in Sasuke's heart was that he would never again see the face of the one woman in the world he had come to love.

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