Hey guys! For this Chapter so no one is confused. Good Sakura when she is about is referred to as Sakura. And Bad Sakura is referred to as Inner. Hopefully, it will make sense when you read it.
__________________________________
Sakura wanted to cry. She wanted to give up, to give in to the inky darkness that surrounded her consciousness. It felt like she was being squashed in her own mind like she was trapped in a box that continued to get smaller and smaller.
She was running out of room to fight, to breathe, to think. It hurts like every thought she gives is another reason the box squeezed tighter. It wasn't this bad before. Before she could breathe, she could fight.
Now she had no energy to try. She was tired, Oh so tired. the more she gave up, the easier it felt to let go… to never look back. Who would miss her anyway? Her life had already been ruined, been destroyed beyond repair.
Perhaps it was time she took her own advice and gave up. She had been trapped in her own mind for too long.
Yes.. this felt right. There was nothing else she could do. She wasn't strong, or brave. She wasn't loved or wanted. She was nothing… so maybe it was time to let go and fall into the nothingness that surrounded her.
Everyone would be fine without her. In fact, she doubted they'd even notice.
There was a small light…
It was miniscule, practically nonexistent.
To hell with it. She was going to die anyway. She uses the last of her energy to reach forward and grab it.
She heard a voice…
Hinata?
"I saw you as a friend, a Rival an equal! Someone to challenge me when I needed it,"
She did? Sakura… was worthy in Hinata's eyes? She was her Friend? A Rival… she would love to be her friend. She would love to apologize for everything. Oh, what she wouldn't give to go back to the academy days. When she was sound in mind when the only thing she worried about was if Sasuke would look her way.
Oh to be a child again….
"The girl before me is nothing like the Sakura I knew as a child! That Sakura was Brave!"
She was?
"That Sakura kept trying even when she knew all hope was lost!"
She kept trying huh… yeah… yeah she did. She did keep fighting. She had fought against Inner for so long. Was she really willing to give up now?
"That Sakura would never turn her back on Konoha!"
She didn't want to. Konoha was her home… right… her home. Inner was a threat to her home… to her loved ones, she might not have her friends but her parents still lived there. Inner wanted destruction and chaos. It was like Inner wanted the world to burn.
Get up
She could do this. She couldn't be the damsel in distress forever. Her home was suffering and whether she liked it or not it was her fault.
Get Up!
She couldn't give up. Not now! Not ever! Not when Inner is trying to destroy the peace for everyone else. Inner was a part of her, so she would stop her!
GET UP!
This was her body! This was her mind! This, was, her, home! To hell with Inner! Hinata was right! When did she stop fighting? When did she start to give up!? This battle between her and Inner is a mental warfare, it always had been!
Get up! Now!
She wouldn't lose anymore. Not to her own mind. Not with so many lives resting on her shoulders!
So Sakura began to push. She pushed back against the tight cube. She slammed her fist into the walls, she fought with everything she had.
Because her home was in danger.
Let me out! *bang*
LET ME OUT! *Bang!*
LET ME OUT!!! *BANG!*
*****
BOOM!!
Two powerful sources of flames collided creating a distinct roaring sound that filled the silent forest. The pillar of Red and black drew high into the sky alerting all friends and foes that this was not an area they wanted to be in.
Sasuke had marked the majority of the trees in the vicinity. It allowed him to appear around his father from any side.
*CLANG!*
The ringing sound of metal against metal cried out once more. Sasuke swung his sword down, following through with the motion he jumped and flipped over his father to get an overhead strike.
Fugaku crossed his arms, a Kunai in each hand and blocked the attack. Weapons shook from the intensity as Sasuke held his position and Fugaku held his. Gritting his teeth, the elder Uchiha put more strength into throwing Sasuke up into the air.
In the blink of an eye, Fugaku was suddenly gone from sight. Sasuke landed in the burnt clearing alone, he looked back and forth, up and down.. nothing. Was he fighting a clone? Likely.
A kick in the back and Sasuke slammed into the trees, denting one so badly it fell over anyway. He stood up straight and continued looking, listening. A connection straight to his stomach and Fugaku was visible once again. Sasuke couldn't breathe for a second before getting sent painfully to the ground.
Looking up, Fugaku was gone again.
"Kai!"
Nothing.
"You're odd, that's for sure Sasuke," Fugaku's voice echoed through the clearing.
Sasuke's head was grabbed and slammed Into the ground. He jumped up rubbing the blood that poured from his nose. The Bijuu chakra in him would heal it soon enough.
"An Uchiha that doesn't use Genjutsu, it seems you've forgotten your clan's speciality,"
Suddenly he was no longer in the forest, but instead floating in water. It was dark, and he couldn't breathe. Sasuke used the Flying Raijin but instead teleported to another spot in the water.
Placing his hands in the Ram sign he tried to break it once more. Only now the water grew boiling hot. It felt like he was being cooked alive, but deep underwater where he couldn't scream.
"We specialize in making others forget reality. In confusing our enemies. We Uchiha were feared because our enemies never knew if the monsters they saw were real or simply Genjutsus. Yet you use the Fourth Hokage's techniques instead?"
Pain! PAIN PAIN PAIN!!!
It was too hot, no matter how many times he teleported or tried to break out nothing would change. He was running out of air, he was running out of time.
"Sasuke! Calm yourself!" Matatabi's voice echoed through his head. But he was too panicked. His survival instinct had taken over, he couldn't hear her.
"Come on Kid! It's just a Genjutsu!" Shukaku's voice echoed.
"Don't let your hard work end here," Son Goku added.
"Be calm. Every Genjutsu has a weakness," Gyuki agreed.
"Kit, that Hyuga is waiting for you." Kurama finished.
Sasuke's eyes flashed grey. Right, Genjutsu. Breaking out of one isn't just as simple as feeling pain, since he's being boiled alive, but also expelling Chakra. It's about Chakra disruption, he needs to mess with his own flow of Chakra to be able to finally see the difference between Genjutsu and reality.
It really had been a long time since he used Genjutsu if he has to go back to the basics. There were a multitude of ways to do this, and Sasuke had access to the best kind. Closing his eyes he brought his left hand up to cover his clenched right.
Collect the chakra and feed it through your system. Natural Chakra flows all around him, while he can't see it at this moment he could sure as hell feel it. Dark grey marks grew on his face and formed stripes.
Snapping his eyes open, his Sharingan had a grey outline and a slit for pupils. He expelled his Chakra violently, releasing him from the Genjutsu. Gulping up the fresh air, he glared up at his Father who looked anything but impressed.
"An Uchiha who struggles to break out of Genjutsu…Hn," Fugaku grunted.
Sasuke ran the fight back through his head. He at no point made eye contact, so perhaps like Itachi, Fugaku could use another point on his body. Where were the go-to places to look? The hands and face.
OK… let's try this again.
He charged again, moving faster than before, and clashed with his Father. Now he was watching the man's body language, not his eyes or hands.
Fugaku went to kick Sasuke, who jumped up and spun before slamming his sword down. Fugaku leant back barely dodging the swing, turning to kick Sasuke who was upside down from the air. Sasuke lifted his other hand catching the kick and slammed his feet onto the ground before using the momentum to throw Fugaku overhead and into the ground cracking the floor.
From the cracks burst a pillar of flames causing Sasuke to jump back and expel his Chakra again. He watched as the flames dissolved into nothing.
Fugaku stood behind Sasuke. So it wasn't just, Hands or eyes. Where else could it be?
"It seems you've forgotten who taught your brother everything he knows," Fugaku stated. "Any part of you can be a pivotal point if you’re smart enough,"
Any point… he kept moving it. As far as Sasuke was aware, just looking at Fugaku was enough to get caught in a Genjutsu. Very well then. With sage mode came the added bonus of Chakra Sensing. Sasuke took off His Scarf and tied it around his eyes.
If looking was going to put him in a Genjutsu, then he wouldn't look at all. Shutting off his sense of vision seemed to only amplify his Chakra sensing ability. He could see the Chakra flow through the ground and into the trees. But he could also see the Chakra flowing through Fugaku.
"A wise decision. Let's see if you can use it well," He grumbled. "Fire style: Great Flame Flower!"
Jumping high into the air, Fugaku released a multitude of massive fireballs that rained down on Sasuke. Relying on the Chakra he could sense from each ball, Sasuke threw a multitude of Kunai straight up towards Fugaku teleporting and weaving through the flames.
"Fire style: Great fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke released a huge Fireball. Larger than all the flames sent before up into the sky to Fugaku, who had nowhere to run.
Landing on a tree branch. Sasuke pulled down his scarf to look at the damage. As the smoke cleared, it revealed a large red Skeletal arm that was clearly protecting the user.
"The Susanoo," Sasuke muttered.
Hearing loud laughter made Sasuke wonder if his Father had lost it. "Look at that, I've had to use my Susanoo. That's never happened before." Fugaku looked up at his son with a proud look on his face. "I'm proud to call you my son," He said.
Sasuke froze before raising his hand in the air and gathering all the electrical currents that had formed from all the heat. "Hn, yeah well.." He collected the Electricity and moulded it with his Chakra. Thunder bombed across the sky as dark clouds and rain gathered.
ROOOAAAARR!!!
An earth-shattering roar broke through the clouds and echoed across the battlefield making Every Ninja around look up to the sky.
"Mother is still my favourite parent," Summoning Kirin, Sasuke swung his hand down, sending the Lightning Dragon speeding down in a single bright flash of light. As the Dragon passed, Sasuke slapped a seal he had been saving onto it just to make sure.
BOOOOM!!!!
A massive explosion of Flames and lightning struck alongside Kirin.
When the chaos passed, the clouds began to clear up and the rain calmed down. Sasuke was taking deep breaths, this had been a severely stressful fight. He honestly had to thank the Bijuu, because having a piece of them increased his Chakra storage expediently. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he hopped down and landed on the ground and looked through the dust.
He really wished he had enough time to create a seal to send Fugaku back, but Sasuke had never done it before. To do so would take time, time that at this moment, he really didn’t have. Dammed Memory, if only he hadn’t forgotten.
As the smoke cleared he spotted his Father reforming in the crater he was shoved into. Sasuke was about to attack when it looked like Fugaku's skin began peeling off and revealed his true self.
"It's been released," Fugaku muttered. "I'm proud of you Sasuke," He said.
Sasuke wanted to appreciate the moment, but there was no time for that. "Mother's message! What was it?" He asked, desperation clawing at his voice.
"Ah. Minato passed along your message to us. She says she is proud of you and what you're doing. That she never worried for you because she knew you would do the right thing. That your mistakes are lessons and that she couldn't be happier knowing that you've learnt from them." Fugaku said with a smile. "Though why you decided to relay that message through Minato who has his soul trapped in the Reaper's stomach and not directly to us I will never know," Fugaku sighed.
Sasuke blinked a stray tear away at the reprimand. "Wait… if Minato's soul is in the Reaper's stomach, how did the message get to you?"
"Ahh, you have two parts to you. You're spirit and your soul. They are essentially two halves of a whole. The reaper death seal takes your soul half into its stomach while your spirit moves on. The result is eternal pain and misery since it constantly feels like you're being torn in two."
Fugaku glowed brighter and began to shred apart slowly. "Looks like I'm out of time. I hope that Idiot Cousin of yours gave your brother his message. Good luck Son,"
Sasuke watched as from feet to head his father shredded apart.
"Oh, last thing, your Mother and I give you our blessing,"
Sasuke blinked… "Huh?"
"For the wedding between you and the Hyuga," Fugaku gave a smirk as he disappeared.
Sasuke stared at the empty air for a moment before he felt a burn on his chest from one of his seals being triggered. He knew this one… he had prayed it would never go off.
"Hinata!"
In a flash, he was gone.
*****
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
The cave rumbled as attacks were hit and dodged. The cave entrance has long since been blocked. The only light in the room came from the Raikage himself who wouldn't stay still long enough for Itachi or Shisui to use Genjutsu.
The man zipped across the room in flashes of loud, thunderous booms. Any attack they retaliated with was treated as if it was a mere fly.
"Dammit, if we had more space I would just use my Susanoo," Shisui growled. It had been a long time since he faced an opponent faster than himself.
"Hn, do that and we'll be buried alive," Itachi responded, barely ducking one attack only to be immediately hit by another and sent flying into Shisui.
In a flash Shisui was punched in the stomach knocking the wind out of him, he grit his teeth and flickered above to attack only to miss and hit the air when the Railage moved out of the way once more. The worst part about this fight was that it didn't even seem to matter if Itachi or Shisui hit him as the Raikage's Lightning Armor was far too powerful. He just kept shrugging off the hits.
"You mean you will, I'm already dead," Shisui deadpanned. His short distraction got him a punch to the face and slammed into the cave wall causing more rocks to crumble and fall.
"We'll just have to buy time and put faith in Hinata," Itachi grumbled, dodging yet another lightning attack. The attack was more of a piercing move as it had created a small but destructive hole in the wall as if slicing through the air.
"Well someone tell that Hyuga Hime to hurry up!" Shisui yelled out. They would love to run past the Raikage, to charge Sakura and use the Kotoamatsukami to make her undo the Jutsu, but the Raikage wouldn't let them. They could try and use the Kotoamatsukami on him instead, but the Raikage had fought enough Uchiha to know not to stand still for long.
They were stuck and the Raikage wasn't letting them pass. So they had two choices, Wait for Sasuke, or put faith in Hinata.
Itachi sighed, life could never be simple.
"How long have we even been fighting!" Shisui yelled frustrated with the current events.
"I've never measured a battle," Itachi replied.
The Raikage went to use his lightning-piercing attack, while Shisui went to use his flame sword. Just as the two attacks were about to collide, the two Ninjas went straight through each other.
They were both glowing, it looked like their skin was peeling away, and they began to levitate. Shisui gave a heavy sigh of relief.
"That Hyuga did it," He smiled.
"I'm impressed. Not many have gone up against me and lived to tell the tale," The Raikage spoke for the first time the entire fight.
"Hn," Itachi grunted. He was just as happy that it was over. Things were about to get much worse, he couldn't waste any more Chakra on this battle.
The pair started shredding into nothing before Shisui started panicking.
"Ah, Dammit! Ah 'Tachi! Aunt Mikoto says she loves you and trusts your choices! That she's proud of you and hopes you'll forgive yourself since she already forgave you!" He managed to get out before he disappeared completely.
Itachi stood alone in the badly damaged cave for a moment. A smile grew on his face as he registered the words. His mother forgave him… thank Kami.
"AAAAAARRRRGHHHHH!!!!!!"
BOOOOOM!!
A scream so loud shook the cave before a massive explosion went off. The cave began collapsing. Wasting no time Itachi sprinted further into the cave towards the source of the noise.
*****
Neither Kunoichi had moved. Both were glaring at each other.
Inner and Hinata stood across from each other with venom in their eyes. Both Kunoichi were angry at the other for various reasons.
Inner, because Hinata took Sasuke from her, ruined her dream future and was downright a constant thorn in her side.
Hinata because a girl that she wanted to befriend had betrayed her home, had caused such unnecessary harm, had started a war with the 5 nations, all for a Man that didn't want her.
Sparks of lightning flickered off the Hyuga Hime, her lavender eyes seemed to have an electric blue glow to them and the veins around her eyes were more prominent as she held her Clan fighting stance.
It was as if a pin dropped and the two charged at each other.
Inner swung a dangerous right hook but Hinata merely lifted her left arm to direct the attack up. Inner tried again with her right, only for Hinata to duck slightly and attack with her chakra palm to said arm.
The two exchanged blows for a moment, Inner only barely landing hits, but Hinata hitting most of her well-timed attacks.
Inner jumped back and gave a devastating Chakra punch to the air, kicking a lot of rocks and causing the cave to rumble. Hinata returned the favour with an equally powerful chakra palm using the same technique.
"I don't recall you ever being taught by Lady Tsunade," Hinata said.
She had of course spotted the familiar gem on the pinkett's head as she had one of her own. But the ability to expel chakra at the right moment to create a powerful blow was another of Lady Tsunade's techniques.
"I was taught by her long before you ever were," Inner chuckled manically. Her eyes blew wide as they shook as if unable to stay still.
Hinata watched as the black line from the Byakugou seal was released by Inner. Hinata gave no visible reaction, yet she refused to activate her own.
There was still a war going on outside of this cave, and she would save that seal for when she joined them. For now, she had to help, she had to get Sakura to undo the Edo Tensei Jutsu.
She couldn't waste time.
Inner charged at her with her newfound strength, But Hinata returned with equal determination.
Blue Chakra flames lit up on her fists as she attacked.
"Twin Lion fists!" In exchange for a few hits, Hinata hit Inner twice as hard. She could see the effects finally getting to her. Inner was beginning to slow down, to weaken.
Hinata ducked under a dangerous swing before she spun around to pick up momentum and slammed her chakra-coated fist into Inner’s chest sending her flying across the cave.
Hinata stood up straight and wiped the blood that dribbled down the cut Inner gave her.
Inner struggled to stand, she was wobbling, barely holding herself up. "What is this!?" She cried. She held up her hands as if she couldn't quite believe they were in front of her. "What the hell have you done to me!?"
"It feels off, doesn't it? Like your limbs won't respond correctly? Like your body is numb? Almost as if you can't tell if they're even there." Hinata muttered. She tilted her head and gave a small smile. "It's what happens when you fuse hitting Chakra points with small electrical shocks into your Chakra."
Inner's eyes went wide. "You shut down my nerves alongside my Chakra points…"
Hinata nodded, "Fascinating, isn't it? What happens when one mixes their Elemental affinity with clan techniques," Hinata proceeded to stop smiling and entered the familiar stance for the 8 Trigrams. "I can demonstrate another,"
Hinata charged forward, Inner was about to react, she had a poison Kunai, she could strike Hinata right as she went to attack her… Only Sakura interference wouldn't allow it. Sakura's eyes changed, they went from dark and sinister to full of life. As a result, Sakura stood still, and let Hinata's attack hit without Inner getting a chance to do anything.
"Fire Style: 8 Trigrams, 64 Palms!" Flames surrounded Hinata in a circular motion as she followed through with each strike. "2, 4, 8, 16, 32! 64!"
With the final strike, an explosion of Flames followed, hitting the exact same spots Hinata did, each explosion causing more pain as Inner slammed against the cave wall causing such huge cracks that the wall crumbled and revealed an opening to the forest outside.
Inner laid, unable to move, unable to feel, to think. She couldn't do anything. Hinata had bested her once again… Her eyes changed… Inner was tired, but Sakura was still fighting… Inner had a plan though.
Hinata walked through the dust and sat on the ground beside Sakura, who was watching the star-filled sky. The two sat in silence, for a moment, just them and the cool breeze.
"In another life… Do you think we could have been great friends?" Sakura asked. Tears began to gather in the corner of her eyes. This was hell, and it was all her fault… no… Inner's fault.
"It never had to have been another life. It could have been this life…" Hinata replied.
Sakura looked and saw Hinata's eyes reflect the moonlight making them look like moons. "Is that so?"
"It is… so why did you do all of this?" Hinata asked.
Sakura was silent. Only for a beat… "I don't think it would make sense… but… I didn't want to. It was like being trapped in my own body…" Hinata's eyes turned more serious as she listened, though her eyes never left the moon. "I was practically fighting myself for control. I would watch myself do these horrible things, say these horrible things… but I was too weak to stop it… too weak to change it" Tears freely fell down her cheeks.
"Like a second soul took over you?" Hinata asked.
"I guess…"
The girls sat in silence once more.
"I-If, Ino or Inoichi had a look inside your mind. If they could free you from the chains of your mind… would you let them?" Hinata asked.
Sakura gave a smile, she nodded as she began to cry. She could be free, she could finally apologize and live how she wanted to live. "I think it's time I worked for my forgiveness," Sakura muttered. While she couldn't feel her arms she could still move them. She lifted them to the Ram sign and released the Edo Tensei Jutsu.
Hinata smiled. "Well then, let's go join the others," Hinata stood up and held her hand out to Sakura. "For a better future,"
Sakura took Hinata's hand and got pulled up, she fell forward, but Hinata caught her. With Sakura's head over her shoulder, Hinata failed to spot when her eyes flashed dark green, and a grin took over her face.
Lifting her hand she released the poison Kunai hid in her sleeve and stabbed Hinata in the back directly in her heart.
"You should have just killed me," Inner whispered. Before giving control back to Sakura who stood there shocked with tears running down her cheeks.
She pulled the Kunai out and backed away. Hinata looked at Sakura and gave a warm smile. "It's Ok…. I forgive you," She dropped to the ground.
Before Sakura could react Sasuke appeared.
Fear… he was going to kill her.
Sasuke saw two things, a Kunai in Sakura's hand and Hinata on the ground bleeding out and some yellow substance bubbling up from the wound.
"No… no no nononono," Sasuke slid to his knees and held Hinata in his arms. "You can't do this… hold on… please,"
Hinata didn't respond. Her heart had stopped. The poison was a powerful one and with the stab wound to the heart on top… there was no hope.
Tears cascaded down his cheeks as he held her close. "Please.. please my Hime… please don't leave me," Sasuke quietly begged as he rocked her back and forth, his voice cracking in pain. "Please come back, we can take walks in parks, we can train together, we can go to every damn festival available! W-we can go to the bakery and try every pastry they have! Y-you can cook your meals and I'll eat every single one! I'll never leave you alone again! You'll… you'll never have to worry about being lonely! Heck, I'll be around so much you'll beg me to go away so PLEASE!...." His voice grew raw as he began to give up hope.
He couldn't do this again… not again… "please come back to me…"
He took long deep breaths. He could feel his seal becoming undone. He could feel the Chakra reacting to his emotions. It would be OK… he would be fine if he could JUST BREATHE.
Sakura… chose this moment to mistake his silence for him calming down. She was sobbing silently. "I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry," She curled up into a ball and stared at Hinata with shock and fear.
Hearing her voice triggered all the emotions he wanted to keep down. He could feel the seal open, and allow all nine Tailed Beast's Chakra to fuse into one, he was hurt, he was broken and he was Angry.
"AAAAAARRRGHHHHHH!!!"
BOOOOOM!!!!
Sasuke was empty. He felt empty as if a part of his soul was missing. He couldn't even hear the Bijuu calling out to him.
Sasuke was gone, and Cold-blooded Rage was all that was left as Ten tails of Dark Murky Grey Chakra swished back and forth. His empty red eyes locked onto one thing, and one thing alone.
The petrified Kunoichi, who had her back to a wall.
__________________________________
Phew! OK first of all, 4650 Words, this is officially the longest chapter of this story.
Second, I know some of the fights might have felt rushed, or that it didn't seem right but also I hate writing fights soo.... yeah deal with it I guess???
Third! Sasuke doesn't have the Rinnegan so he is NOT immune to Genjutsu yet, he also hasn't gone up against Genjutsu in years, and Fugaku did indeed unlock the Mangekyou Sharingan. I looked it up just incase. His Susanoo was never seen but its theorised to have been red or Orange, since Itachi's is More Orange I went for red.
Fourth! Yes the Third Raikage is way faster than Shisui, it's also theorised the guy was faster than Minato too. He also fought 9000 Shinobi for 3 days and 3 nights on his own so Needless to say he was a powerful dude. Hence why their fight ended in a tie.
Finally!!!!!
What did you guys think?
Hope you enjoyed!!
Ja ne!