Chapter 30. Sasuke and Kaguya

The cold impenetrable darkness of the night surrounding the small hut in the middle of nowhere didn't let the lonely man see anything behind the old dirty window with his dim lifeless eyes. The eyes that had great power in them once, and could see a lot of things normal people couldn't. Even nowadays, whenever he activated it here, his Sharingan revealed every inch of this tiny room that was, in fact, his cell, with far more clarity than regular eyes ever could.

Actually, he could navigate his prison even without using his dōjutsu. At this point, he knew every single piece of the ageless parquetry on the floor, every seal around that bound him, preventing the ninja from leaving this damned chamber. He knew them by sight, by touch. He knew the way his footsteps would echo with every one of the twelve steps it took him to pace across the room. He felt the flows of his former student's chakra all around, too. Seal after seal, one jutsu after another, this tremendous power intended to do only one thing: make sure he stayed buried here, forgotten and dead to everyone who still remembered him after these... weeks? Months? He wasn't sure, and it didn't really matter. Time flew differently in this forsaken world, or maybe it just seemed to. It didn't matter either.

The one who incarcerated him intended this dead place to be his tomb, without a doubt. If not for the poor young woman who was still kind and caring enough to have visited Kakashi from time to time, providing him with food and sometimes with brief talks about various seemingly irrelevant things, he would have been sure that Sasuke had already forgotten about him by now. Frankly, he should have killed him. It would have been much more kind and fair considering everything that'd happened between them in the past. They used to be teammates and friends, after all. And yet... instead he let him live, pretending it was mercy on his part. Funny.

Did it let Sasuke feel better about himself...? Or was it just a whim without a real reason behind it? Or perhaps Kakashi was still alive only thanks to the kindness of Uchiha Hinata...? And even she hadn't come to see him in weeks by now... Had something happened back in their world? Had Sasuke's plan succeeded... or failed?

The man fell back on the small couch, rubbing his sleepy eyes and letting out a loud helpless sigh.
He could still remember their last conversation like it had happened just yesterday...

-v-v-v-

A few days ago ago...

Kakashi flinched, putting aside the book he was rereading for the fourth time since he had nothing better to do in his prison, focusing his eyes on the rift that opened in the middle of the small room. It was looking familiar – unlike when Sasuke opened them by himself, this one was spiral shaped, sort of reminding him of his own Kamui. Meaning that it was her, again... using whatever trinket he'd created for her to be able to come here.

Just like the last time, the young woman dressed in the long sleeved black coat without any signs or ornaments on it popped in the room as the rift closed. Her face wasn't masked this time – apparently, she'd come here either straight from their home or not from Konoha at all this time, for there was obviously no need for her to conceal her face for once.

"Hello... Hokage-sama."

He smirked without a sign of joy on his face.

"Yo, Hinata. Still Hokage, huh? I guess Naruto is not in power yet, then?"

She frowned, coming closer to him and putting the small bundle with a few boxes of food and, more importantly, another book for him on the small table.

"I'm afraid I can't tell..."

He nodded, looking away.

"Understandable. But seeing that you have come here again, I assume that everything is fine... for now at least."

She let out a small smile, nodding as well.

"Yes... you could say so. At least nothing nasty happened yet." The woman sat on the couch next to him, unwrapping the bundle. "I cooked your favorite stew as well as some rolls, and – ugh, what was it called..."

"Thank you," his warm smile wasn't visible, but it was genuine nonetheless. "I really appreciate everything you do for me, even though I don't see why does he let you."

Strange, but the white eyes seemed to be afraid to meet his gaze, reminding him of the shy and powerless girl this Uchiha had once been.

"I–," she lowered her head and bit her lip, looking uncertain. "I think it will be over soon."

"Huh?" Kakashi frowned, moving a bit closer towards her but reluctant to give the kunoichi a reassuring gesture, not sure how she would react to it coming from him. "How do you mean?"

She paused, still afraid to look at the man, clearly picking the words very carefully as she opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally uttering:

"Sasuke is about to set his plan in motion... Actually, it would have already happened if not for some... unexpected complications," she smiled shyly, touching her belly before hugging herself.

"Oh...?"

That wasn't completely unexpected, but at the same time, according to Tsunade, it could drive Hinata closer to becoming the vessel for Kaguya. Was this the reason behind Sasuke's change of plans...? Probably... but it wouldn't hurt to try to get some confirmation of his assumptions. Luckily, the Uchiha matriarch wasn't the smartest woman he'd ever encountered, so it was relatively easy to retrieve small pieces of valuable information out of her indirectly, approaching her by tangents and shamelessly abusing her respect and former trust for him.

"Does he know?"

She gave him a slightly scared look before slowly shaking her head, smiling apologetically.

"No, not yet. By complications, I didn't mean this... It's just that he wants everything to go perfectly, as usual. Well, you know him. He doesn't want to take any chances."

Yes, that sounded very much like Sasuke indeed. But at the same time... something here wasn't quite right.

"Why didn't you tell him yet? Are you afraid? Afraid of his reaction?"

She giggled to his surprise, and shook her head again.

"No, not at all. It's just that... They are so busy lately, him and Naruto. I don't want to distract Sasuke by telling him just yet. It could wait a bit, don't you think so? And besides, it doesn't really matter all that much comparing to what we'll have to deal with soon..."

Hatake pursed his lips, looking away and frowning. So, apparently, she didn't know that pregnancy was a risk in her situation... And why the hell did Sasuke not tell her this?

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at Hinata's slightly baffled face as she looked back at him in confusion. Whatever was the reason behind his former student's silence on the matter, someone needed to tell her...!

"Hinata, don't you know that this... condition... makes you more vulnerable to Kaguya's spirit?" asked the man carefully, to which the kunoichi lowered her eyes sadly, though not looking surprised at all as she nodded.

"Yes, Sasuke told me that. But I... I still insisted."

Hatake gasped, staring at her in disbelief.

"You what? Hinata, this is insanely unwise and irresponsible! What if–"

"I'm out of danger," she suddenly snapped, sounding slightly aggressive for the first time as far as he could remember, giving the shinobi a grim stare. "Kaguya will never reach me. He won't let her."

A few seconds of silence passed before Hinata's features softened and her eyes became slightly scared again, for she had realized that she'd just told the Sixth something he wasn't supposed to know.

"I–I...," she stuttered, covering her mouth with her palm.

"Don't say a word," said Kakashi quietly as his suspicions got strengthened. "Just... please, tell me... or give me a sign, anything, I'm begging you... Was this why you insisted on... getting pregnant before he would... do something? Is... Is Sasuke in danger?"

She paled, standing up and backing off.

"I need to go... Goodbye, Kakashi-san."

"Will I see you again...?"

There was no response as she disappeared, leaving the man alone and, what was shockingly surprising to him, scared for the Uchiha family.

Long days and nights had dragged by when he never heard the voice of another living thing. He didn't even have any jailers aside from Hinata, and it was the most maddening torture to Kakashi. Come to think about it, it was quite ironic considering his rather introverted personality. Never before could he have imagined himself craving for a contact with another person so much...

The man flinched, suddenly feeling the unfamiliar disturbance in the space around him.

What was that? A faint tremor in the ring of chakra that connected the binding seals? Or something more? Were the wards weakening for some reason...?

Impossible. There was no escape from this place. Not even death, for Sasuke's genjutsu prevented him from commiting suicide, and the Uchiha's chakra healed any harm he might inflict on himself. It also kept him alive without need for water or food even though he still ate with pleasure whatever Hinata brought to him – her dishes were always quite delicious, to his amusement that was a rare thing lately, obviously.

In any case, these bonds had been woven by someone of the Sage of the Sixth Paths level, drawn so tight, intertwined so deeply that they could be undone only by this very person who had buried him alive in this lifeless world. And he probably would never do that... At least not anytime soon. Sasuke had to be too afraid to possibly set Kakashi free, and justifiably so. After all, although Hatake was pretty sure that he had figured out what the Uchiha's real plan was about, Sasuke wouldn't trust him enough to put said plan under a risk by blindly counting on his old sensei again. And should Kakashi miraculously return to the realm of the living now, it would be very troublesome for Sasuke to explain everything to the people of Konoha and of their Akatsuki formation. Not to mention that the young man couldn't be sure that Hatake himself wouldn't try to interfere with his plans...

He flinched again, snapping his head up and looking at the locked door.

Was that the sound of footsteps? Whenever Hinata came to visit him, she appeared directly in the room via Sasuke's space time jutsu, so it couldn't possibly be her... could it?

He pushed the thought aside. No, it was probably just his impression. After all, this dimension was almost completely empty. Sasuke had put him in one of Kaguya's worlds, the icy wasteland with not a single human being alive aside from himself, only ancient ruins visible on the horizon. Therefore, Kakashi refused to let hope well up within his chest. There was no one out there who wanted him free. His comrades and his friends had no idea where he was or was he even still alive. The only ones who might still hope to find him could be Naruto, but the blond knucklehead had no ability to travel between dimensions. Besides, his jailor would kill him rather than let his friend find him. And as long as the wards remained in place, there was nothing anyone could do to stop Sasuke.

Yet there it was again. Another tremor in the flows of chakra around him. The weaves of power that had bound him all this time were weakening, without a doubt – he felt it clearly now. He raised his palms in front of his face, flexed his fingers, reached out to draw upon the chakra. For the first time in weeks, something responded, a trickle so weak that he thought he might be imagining it. He then activated his dōjutsu, the legendary 'borrowed' power – his Sharingan. Unlike before, this time the power flowed through his eyes easily, almost making him feel like he could move to the next level – his Mangekyo...

Would Kamui let him get away from here...?

His heart beat faster. His mouth felt dry. There was a chance of freedom after all. He clenched his fists tight. The person behind the door was getting closer... he felt it now, too.

With a raspy sound the wooden door opened slowly, letting the dark figure dressed in simple black pants and a gray sweater enter the room, the snowflakes on his shoulders instantly beginning to melt – it looked like there was a storm outside, accompanied by the horrible howl of wind.

"Sasuke...," whispered the man, swallowing and sitting back on the small couch. With the Uchiha around, the weak hope of getting out of here died out in a matter of seconds. "Why are you here? Did you come to kill me, at last?" Strangely, it almost felt relieving. At least this horrible torture of helpless solitude would finally come to an end.

"No," snapped the dark haired man, leaning his back on the door and eyeing his old teammate up and down, as though feeling conflicted about whatever he had come here for.

Kakashi frowned, suddenly feeling overly cocky for no apparent reason. Perhaps it was because he simply had nothing to lose anymore?

No matter.

"It's been a while since you came here in person, and I can't say I'm very glad to see you again. Although, you know, I got used to your wife's company and especially to her cooking. Could you send her here again next time instead of coming here yourself, please?"

"I need your help," said the young man abruptly, apparently deciding to ignore the weak taunt.

"Oh?" The gray eyes of the former Hokage suddenly sparked with long forgotten fire and narrowed at Sasuke as the gray haired man stretched his back. "That's new, albeit not completely unexpected. I suppose you are smart enough to have considered the way you are going to persuade me, then? Unless you want to just put me under your genjutsu, that is. I must warn you, that would be quite disappointing."

Sasuke's expression was impassive as always, but this time, Kakashi could read him like an open book. The ninja was being torn by some bizarre inner conflict... this was very unusual and weird. And almost frightening, too. What could have possibly driven the boy to such condition? Something horrible, probably.

"I'm going to die soon," finally said Sasuke, making Kakashi blink a few times and close his mouth for a few seconds, swallowing another taunting joke he had prepared.

"Come again?"

"I'm planning to encounter Kaguya's spirit in order to cut it from the realm of living permanently. I will most likely die in the process."

The Sixth Hokage's eyes widened in the shocking realization. Was this it? The thing Hinata had desperately tried to avoid talking about whenever Sasuke's plans were concerned in their conversations...? All of sudden, it all started making perfect sense. His intuition hadn't failed Hatake, after all. The Uchiha hadn't gone down Madara's path at all. This was completely different... still absolutely insane, but it was nowhere close to the dire intentions of Indra's previous incarnation.

"Is this... is this why you searched for the remnants of the statue...?"

"Yeah." He nodded, looking away thoughtfully. "I didn't expect you or anyone else to understand. And it turned out to be the right decision not to trust you at the end of the day. None of you would have let me claim it, and we all would be doomed by now."

The older man lowered his head, thinking for a few seconds. As painful as it was to admit it, Sasuke was right. The reputation of his clan and himself would always precede him now matter how hard the Uchiha would try to redeem himself and his name. Nothing ever goes unnoticed, and some damage simply couldn't be restored no matter how every side of the conflict wanted it.

"I... I see."

Sasuke smirked, meeting the man's sorrowful gaze with a slightly painful searching stare.

"What? No doubts? No questions? Nothing at all? I'm disappointed. You are getting old and boring, Kakashi."

Hatake sighed, shrugging weakly.

"I've had enough time to think on your possible motives. Besides, Hinata isn't very good when it comes to keeping secrets from those she finds likable, and we have talked a lot whenever she brought me those wonderful meals. Considering the threat coming from the moon, and the way how it's supposed to affect your wife, it is only natural that you want to prevent it all by yourself, knowing you. But... Are you really going to sacrifice yourself for her sake? Or is this because of her... condition?" he wasn't sure if it was wise to mention the fact that he was aware of Hinata's pregnancy, for he wasn't even sure if Sasuke knew about it himself.

Uchiha frowned at the man's shrewd questioning gaze, giving him a slightly arrogant glare.

"Not quite. Unlike her, I'm beyond death and life at this point, Kakashi."

It was now the Sixth's time to frown as he felt confused.

"What's this supposed to mean? I thought you said–"

"I know what I said. I will most likely die soon. However, I'm not planning to stay dead forever. And this is what I need your help for."

Kakashi blinked a few times again, suddenly feeling reassured. It seemed like his students always could find a way out of the most hopeless situations... no matter how much they had to aspire for it.

"Well, that's interesting. I'm all ears."

Sasuke nodded slowly, taking a long sigh and almost looking a bit nervous now to Hatake's surprise, appearing to be completely concentrated on the task at hand.

"I came up with a complex plan, but I'm positive that it is doable. We've performed harder things, so it shouldn't be too much for us to handle. If we succeed, it will allow me to ensure the safety of Hinata and of our children, to arrange my own revival and to get rid of Kaguya's menace for good, all at the same time. It won't be easy by any means either, but if we make everything right, the risks are minimal. Will you help me? Can I trust you... for once?"

Hatake shrugged .

"You always could, Sasuke. You simply didn't allow yourself to. You know, you should have learned it by now... In truth, the only restrictions on our capacity to astonish ourselves and each other are imposed by our own minds."

The Uchiha sneered, but his features softened at his friend's words.

"Please. Spare me from your pretentious lectures at least this time. Let's get started, we don't have much time left."

-v-v-v-

A week earlier, back in Konohagakure...

Neji focused his gaze on the moon high up in the sky, locking his hands behind his back as he looked out the window in the guest room of the Uchiha estate. It was deep night out there; without his dōjutsu activated, he could barely see a thing in the yard outside, for the lights of the street were barely visible from his current position and the place itself wasn't very well lit – probably because some things here were still under construction, the ninja guessed.

It was awfully quiet, too. Normally, he used to enjoy silence and tranquility prior to his death. But now... After finishing her tale about everything he'd missed in the last few years, Hinata had been almost completely mute for a few hours by now, both during the dinner and now that she was sitting in the chair in the corner of the spacious room, carefully knitting a bloody red scarf without looking away from her handwork – the only thing she cared to take shortest breaks for from time to time was, for some reason, activating her Byakugan – probably to simply check the space around them, because she shut it down in a matter of seconds every time before returning to the monotonous work that seemed to somewhat calm her down, at least for a while.

Yet still it was undeniable that she was becoming more and more nervous with each passing hour, and the strangest thing about her behavior was that she completely refused to tell Neji the reason behind her anxious state no matter how many times he asked her about it. He was smart enough to have figured out that she was afraid of talking about it aloud for some reason – most likely because of the sannin who was still inside the house, reading some scrolls down in the basement and, without a doubt, somehow observing their movements with great attention, although never showing up himself. Possibly listening to them, too...

Activating his own Byakugan, Neji took a stealthy look across the room, instantly spotting a couple snakes that were watching his sister without pause. Did they belong to Sasuke? Having scouted the area, Hinata was aware of their presence, without a doubt, and considering how uncomfortable she appeared to be right now, these were probably Orochimaru's.

Then...

He let out a tired sigh, thus making the glass of the window slightly fogged up and then quickly writing on it a single word with his finger:

Escape?

Making sure that the kanji was readable with his dōjutsu, Hyūga coughed, covering the sign with his body so that the snakes wouldn't see it and then saying:

"Hinata-sama, please, take a look," he knocked on the glass with his fingernail to draw her attention. "I think it would be a wonderful idea to plant your favorite flowers down there. What do you think? Do we need it?"

He could see that she gave him a perplexed look before frowning and, seeing as he wasn't going to move away to let her see it, she activated her own eyes. Her lack of reaction was a pleasant surprise – Hinata clearly had read his message, yet there was no sign of emotion on her face aside from a small polite smile she gave to his nape.

"Yes... Yes, I think that's just what we need, nii-san."

He sighed in relief, quickly wiping the window with his sleeve and turning around, maintaining a neutral expression himself.

"Shall we go and buy them now? Also, I think you are spending too much time indoors for your own good, a walk would be good for your health, don't you think so?"

Pretending to weight his words out for a few seconds, she smiled and then nodded.

"Sure, that's a wonderful idea. I'll go and warn Orochimaru-san. Please, take a cloak with some hood from the wardrobe below – no, actually, two of them, and wait for me at the door. I'll be there in no time!"

Giving her back a worried glance as she walked downstairs, Neji nodded, doing as she'd told him.

Apparently, either the Snake Sannin felt completely in control of the situation, or the Hyūga really underestimated his sister's acting skills, but anyhow, she showed up in just a minute, carrying a crumpled blank piece of paper in her hand as well as a single pencil put below her wrist and a silver bracer that rested on it – these were the only things she was going to take with her, it seemed.

"Let's go, shall we?" She smiled at him, putting her cloak on and adjusting the mask on her face.

"As you wish, Hinata-sama," he replied, making sure that his hood hid his face well enough – they had yet to come up with a good idea how to announce his return to the village, or rather to the world of living, and until then, it wouldn't be any good if somebody accidentally spotted him on the streets.

Enjoying the refreshing chilly wind as they walked towards the flower shop owned by Yamanaka family, Neji kept his Byakugan activated, watching Hinata as carefully as he could, afraid to miss a sign coming from her.

It took her a few minutes to finally unwrap the piece of paper and quickly write on it:

Snake is following; find Kiba and Shino; kill it; leave the village asap. Orochimaru!

The Hyūga didn't react, waiting half a minute before saying,

"Don't you think it would be a good idea to get your old teammates, Kiba and Shino? Perhaps they are not asleep yet, and it would be nice to talk to someone from the past," he suggested, thus indirectly telling her that he had read the note.

Hinata nodded slowly, hiding the paper in her sleeve.

"Yes, it's indeed a splendid idea, nii-san. But, uh... I think they should be on duty tonight. Although they both mentioned that they wanted to visit Kurenai-sensei before departing. We could catch up with them there, it's not far away."

Neji smirked. Never before could he have imagined that working together with his formerly hapless sister would be such a pleasure. She had become an amazing kunoichi, and even just by how cunning she was now, he could tell that she easily lived up to the fame of the Uchiha clan's name. It was still a bit hard for him to admit, but Sasuke had indeed made this once fragile flower bloom into something strong and beautiful.
And by this alone, the Uchiha had earned more than his personal respect.

"Sounds good. Lead the way, please. I find it a little hard to navigate here these days."

Present time.

Giving one final glance to the unstable looking rift in space behind his back that led to the dimension with the giant moon which he and Naruto had created a few years ago clearly visible on the unnatural purple sky, Sasuke stepped towards the huge altar in front of himself, reaching out but stopping his hand an inch away from its cold ancient surface.

His eyes then moved to the inky sky of his own world – it was late in the evening at the moment, and everything around was awfully quiet. Of course, this hall was sacred and absolutely forbidden from entering for the cultists – they couldn't even assume that somebody would be able to slip inside not on a ceremonial day, let alone go to check the place without the permission of their patriarch. In other words, it was a safe place for his corpse to rest for a while... Hidan made it clear that nobody would appear here in the next few weeks for sure.

What a wonderful place to die, he thought grimly, closing his eyes and taking one last and deep breath. Don't fail me, Kakashi... Everything depends on the two of us now. No... Actually, Naruto shouldn't fail at protecting the village either. So I guess it's all about Team Seven again, huh...

It was a bit strange, but he hesitated. Of course, he knew that there was no other way around. Nobody else could do what he was about to do. And even if his seemingly perfect plan was to turn a failure... If this was the price for their world's and, more importantly, his family's survival, he was more than ready to pay for it with everything he had.

After all, this was what he'd desired back then, wasn't it? Just like Itachi always had been, right now, Sasuke himself was in the shadows, completely alone and ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of peace.

Can you see me right now, Itachi...? We'll meet again soon enough...

He bit his lip to the point of getting the brief bitter taste of his own blood, clenching his fists, suddenly feeling angry at himself. He couldn't hope to defeat Kaguya's spirit while feeling so weak and sentimental here. Therefore...

He needed to get rid of his emotions. He was already a dead man, after all, wasn't he?

The ninja smirked. With this suddenly relieving thought, he clenched his sword with his left hand and then placed his other palm on the altar, instantly covering it with the unique permanent seal of his own design – well, actually, Karin and Naruto had helped him develop it, to be fair.

The rift behind his back closed the moment his body hit the stone floor of the hall.

Sasuke opened his eyes in a second, quickly squinting at the annoying white light that surrounded him. He tried to stride forward, only to realize it that he was, in fact, floating in the middle of milky infinity with nobody visible around.

Was he... dead? Was this the afterlife? Or rather Kaguya's mind... or soul...?

"Where the hell am I...?" the man mumbled to himself, and, for the lack of any other option, tapping into his chakra and trying to activate his dōjutsu.

Surprisingly enough, it worked, although the sight didn't change at all – there was still nobody and nothing around. However, what he found pretty interesting was the lack of the common feeling... It wasn't very notable in the last few years for him, because his chakra reserves were nowadays truly immense compared to his childhood, yet still...

Keeping his eyes activated didn't take any chakra from him!

The Uchiha smirked. It seemed like this was sort of a mindscape, after all, just like Naruto had explained it to him. Either that, or this was just some sort of hallucination but, in either case...
He tapped deeper, draining the small pieces of the tailed beasts' chakra from his system as well as the chakra of Gedō Mazō.

Sasuke gasped then, eyeing the nine black orbs that appeared behind his back as his skin took the unhealthy greenish shade and his long hair became snowy white.

"Oh welp," he muttered, trying to infuse even more chakra.

Yes, it was exactly as Naruto had told him – no matter what kind of chakra he'd had in the real world, it turned to be endless in here. Therefore, while he was present in this bizarre reality, whatever it actually was, his power was on par with that of Madara in his prime... or perhaps even greater.

So at least one of his calculations justified itself. This was good... Even though this power was temporary, at least now he would be able to put up a good fight. The question was... with whom?

From what it looked like, Kaguya was nowhere around to be seen. How was he supposed to search her? Logically, in an infinite space, possessing infinite power, he sould be able to summon her somehow. But, again, how to do that...?

"It looks like you could use some help, Sasuke."

He flinched as his eyes widened in horror at the awfully familiar voice. The young man quickly turned around, backing off the next second as he saw the person whom he'd never dreamed of ever meeting again.

"Itachi? How on earth...! Am I seeing visions now...?"

He looked as alive as ever here in this realm, and it was clear that this wasn't an artificial Edo Tensei body like the last time they'd met. However...

"So many questions right away... I can see that you don't change even though you look a lot older now, little brother." Itachi smiled softly, looking around himself slightly curiously. "We're not on Earth right now, as you could have noticed. Actually... I have no idea where we are. But I would assume that some small portion of my chakra remaining in the eyes you now possess somehow allowed me to take this form thanks to you, whether you did this willingly or not. At least I don't see any other explanation."

Sasuke gasped, almost slapping his face at the belated realization.

"Of course... any chakra I had back in our world is limitless now. You're probably right; when I tested my limits, I must have accidentally released your chakra as well. After all, I was planning to die. I thought about meeting you, too. That must have served the trigger."

Itachi shrugged with indifference.

"Yeah... sounds about right. So, what exactly is this place?"

The younger brother frowned.

"I suppose we are both creations of pure chakra as of now, then..."

"Probably." Itachi gave him a searching gaze, eyeing the ninja up and down. "You look approximately my age... How old are you?"

"I'm twenty one," snapped the white haired Uchiha, shaking his head. "So, yeah, I guess we are both the same age now. But it doesn't matter right now, Itachi. I've come here to end the evil that's been corrupting our clan and our entire world for centuries. I–"

"I'm aware of that," suddenly interrupted him the other shinobi, making Sasuke give him a confused look. "I possess the memories of everything you've seen in the last few years, it seems."

"Ah...," Sasuke frowned, nodding. "Of course. This chakra was inside my eyes all along, after all."

"Indeed," Itachi continued, "What I asked you was if you have any idea what this place actually is. And what are you going to do from now on, too."

His brother sighed.

"Let's see..." He formed a few hand signs, closing his eyes, but then flinching as another idea hit him. "Wait. Itachi, can you use your techniques here? Like, any technique?"

The man paused for a second, apparently testing his capabilities before replying:

"I think so. Why?"

Sasuke grinned.

"Then I guess I know why does she not show up. Initially, I had planned to revive you with Orochimaru's help, but Orochimaru told me it was impossible."

"Good," Itachi nodded calmly. "I don't want to return."

"What? But... why? Surely, I could revive you now that I have the access to your chakra by sacrificing one of my eyes as a portion of your flesh, so–"

"No, little brother. I'd rather you don't."

"But why?!"

Itachi lowered his eyes sadly before uttering softly:

"I have no place in your world, Sasuke. I've seen what you've seen, so you should be able to understand... I've served my purpose. I think I have deserved rest. The future is up to you now, and I... I don't want to come back."

This time the younger sibling didn't argue, frowning and staring at his beloved brother thoughtfully for a while.

For the first time in his life, Sasuke felt like he finally understood this man. Having suffered as much as he did, with his life being endlessly ravaged by their world since the day he was born, Itachi simply didn't see a place for himself among them. Death was something he'd craved... perhaps for years before Sasuke'd killed him – it was his redemption and his salvation.

Yes... He simply had no interest in keeping living his life. Could someone blame him for it, really? To him, real world was utter and literal hell...

"I see," finally said Sasuke, clearing his throat as he suddenly felt himself on the verge of crying, but for the first time ever, he didn't feel angry at his brother's decision. "Regardless, there was a good reason why I wanted to revive you."

"Oh?" It seemed like his last line made Itachi snap out of his thought, meeting his troubled gaze. "And what reason was that?"

"Totsuka's blade. I wanted to retrieve it in order to seal Kaguya away. This was my initial plan."

Itachi frowned then.

"Hn... I suppose you are truly lucky, Sasuke. I wouldn't have been able to give you the blade, for it is bound to my chakra and to my soul. I did it so that nobody would ever be able to get their hands on this weapon, because it is too powerful for a mortal to possess."

It made sense, of course. If it ever ended up in the hands of someone like Orochimaru, the consequences would be absolutely unpredictable.

"I see. But now that you're here... you said you can use all of your abilities. Can you use the blade, too?"

He smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. That's why I told you that you are lucky."

Sasuke smirked and then laughed aloud, almost shaking under the sudden wave of joy.

"Just like I thought! Ha! Can you hear us, you bitch?" He laughed again, turning around and looking into nowhere. "Is this why you are so scared to show your face? Because you know that it's over, am I right?"

His laughter died out as the tall woman appeared right in front of him, her face just a couple inches away from his own.

"No... You're wrong, Indra."

Sasuke gasped, suddenly feeling unable to move.

"You–!"

She caressed his cheek gently.

"Calm down, child. I won't hurt you... even though I probably should for how much of a stubborn brat you were."

Her smile was so genuinely kind and motherly that it almost made the Uchiha feel delirious as he tried to raise his hands, but failed again.

"What... what have you done to me...?"

"Nothing at all," she looked at Itachi, narrowing her white eyes at the man who, Sasuke could feel, had already activated his Susano, seemingly waiting for an opportunity to strike. "I know why you came here, but it will be no good. Stop fighting, and perhaps I'll let you get out... alive."

"Sasuke, I really think you should listen to her now," suddenly said Itachi, raising his voice a bit.

"What the...?"

"You are forgetting, again. Analyzes require a calm mind. This is her realm... she can do anything here, clearly. If you want to take her down by bluntly attacking her, it would never work."

He gritted his teeth. Itachi was right as always, of course. But now that his nemesis was right in front of him... he was beginning to panic, probably.

Sasuke took a deep breath, trying to calm down as he said quietly:

"Fine... Release me now, will you?"

She smiled again, but now it didn't look as creepy and shocking at all. In fact, it looked very natural... and oddly familiar.

"Of course I will. Just be a good boy, please. At least just this once... Indra."

Finally able to move his limbs again, Sasuke flew a few yards backwards, eyeing Kaguya's image carefully with caution.

She now looked a lot more humane than the last time they'd met. Her skin had the normal white shade, if only a bit pale; she had no horns, and all in all her face and her body seemed to be a lot more expressive now than before. Was this because Black Zetsu wasn't anywhere around?

"I take it you've known some of my previous incarnations, huh?" he asked just to break the awkward silence, even though the answer was pretty much obvious which she confirmed it with a light nod.

"Of course I did, Indra. I was the one who raised you, after all."

He gave her a deadpan stare.

"What...?"

She smiled warmly, though not moving.

"You don't remember it, but you never had a mother, for Hagoromo found you and your brother in one of the settlements I destroyed as a punishment for their rebellion. And because Hagoromo himself was too busy trying to find a way to defy me by using your brother Ashura, I was taking care of you meanwhile, trying to give you a proper upbringing. Why do you think I always cooperated with your incarnations in the past?"

This was new, but not really surprising. As far as Sasuke could remember, neither Ashura's nor Indra's first incarnations looked anything like Hagoromo. And the connection between Indra and Kaguya had always been pretty obvious.

So, the Sage probably bestowed his power upon them, children of some commoners, and hence why it's been degrading with each new generation – it was unnatural to their kind, after all, so that explained it.

Byakugan, however...

"What about the others?" he suddenly asked, and Kaguya looked at him quizzically.

"The others...?"

"Me and Ashura were not of your kind, I get it. But you had two sons, didn't you? Hagoromo's brother... Hamura. He inherited your eyes... Didn't he?"

She smiled once again, nodding at him.

"Correct."

"Then I guess all the Byakugan users in our world are his descendants."

She nodded again.

"I would assume so as well."

"But Hagoromo told us that Hamura and the rest of your kind went to the moon! They wanted to leave our world for good, protecting it from your possible return!"

Kaguya sighed sadly, shaking her head slightly.

"This is only partly true, I believe."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her.

"What? Are you going to try to convince me that you were a good girl yourself all along?"

She giggled childishly, and it was so creepy that the Uchiha felt shivers going down his spine. Despite her seemingly friendly attitude and her silky voice, this woman was truly scary.

"No... not at all. I am not going to deny that I wanted to do what I wanted to do. But there was a very important reason behind it... A reason neither of my sons was ever able to see."

He frowned, and so did Itachi who was silently listening to their conversation.

"So, there is some outer threat to our world, after all?"

The goddess looked at him in surprise.

"You have figured it out again? I am impressed."

"Again...?"

"Your first incarnation did. No matter... Originally, I was a princess in my home world, Indra. My father sent me to conquer yours with the help of our people... the people who cherished me and adored me with their hearts. Their loyalty was never a question to me, so, naturally, when I fell in love with someone from your kind, they started considering that man their leader as well. Things were going good... for some time."

"What happened?" suddenly asked Itachi who appeared to be really curious all of sudden.

"Treachery, of course. Some people of your kind ambushed my husband a few months before Hagoromo and Hamura were born, and so started a great war. And this was when I began to loathe your people almost as much as I loathe my own. However... your civilization was and still is a very young one. You still have a chance to follow the right path. Therefore, I decided to become the ruler of your world myself... with the help of Shinjū's power and with the assistance of my sons, too."

Sasuke hesitated for a while before nodding.

"Yeah. It's your kind, isn't it? They want our world for themselves."

Kaguya smiled and cocked your head.

"Shrewd, aren't you, my child?"

He winced.

"I'm not your child. Tell me why did you want to take all the chakra from everyone. Tell me why did Hamura decide to isolate his people on the moon and if he really did this, why are there Byakugan users in our world?"

She sighed, taking the lotus pose right midair and crossing her hands on her chest.

"So many questions at once... This man is right," she looked at Itachi. "You never change. But it's not like we have a reason to hurry, for time doesn't exist here. Concerning your first question...Using this energy called chakra is the only way they can reach your world. Without it, there would be nobody who could ever open a gateway for them. And the only way to ensure your world's safety forever would be sealing all the chakra away, as you probably realized by now. So I wanted to seal it all in myself."

"And to become an eternal tyrant for us all?" asked Itachi, to which she shrugged indifferently. "That's not the wisest thing to do."

"This would be far better than total extermination, don't you think so? And this is what my kind is going to do with yours eventually, without a doubt. As soon as someone mad enough will find a way to let them come there."

Sasuke's face paled as he was beginning to grasp the full picture.

"Were there such people in your age?"

Kaguya frowned, nodding at him slowly.

"Let us go in the order you set yourself, Indra. Speaking of Hamura... Unlike Hagoromo, he was always quite pragmatic. He was no idealist at all. He didn't think that our two kinds would ever be able to live side by side with each other peacefully. That's why he decided to go a separate way... but not everyone agreed with him."

"Not everyone...? You mean Black Zetsu? The jerk you kept in your sleeve while we fought."

She sighed, shaking her head.

"No. He was just a creature of mine... A useful one, but he is irrelevant at this point. I am talking about Hamura's daughter, for instance... A fine girl who inherited her grandmother's great talent and wonderful looks," she gave Sasuke a light grin. "Do you not remember her at all?"

"Why would I?" muttered the man, frowning. Her smile was really, really annoying right now...

"Because she was your wife, Indra. You two gave the beginning to the clans you call Hyūga and Uchiha in this current age."

Yes, this was definitely making sense right now. Hamura's daughter was Hinata's ancestor who inherited Kaguya's power. That was the reason behind the connection between Kaguya and his wife...

"Unfortunately, her brother was a heavy supporter of Hamura's idea of separation. Just like you and Ashura, he found a way to attain immortality through the cycle of reincarnation. Eventually, though, having watched the way your people lived in your world, a lot of Hamura's followers started to feel jealous of the nature and luxuries you had while they were forced to struggle in order to survive on the lifeless piece of rock my tomb was. When Hamura's daughter left the moon for you, Indra, her brother became furious. In the wake of his hatred for humans, he joined those who wanted to conquer your world, and eventually they discovered what was sealed inside the moon."

"You mean yourself," said Itachi.

"Precisely," she nodded. "They realized that only by reviving me could they reunite with the rest of their kind from other worlds... and in our motherland. And so Hamura's son, their leader, decided to use his sister as a vessel for my power. And yet he failed, and you, Indra, as well as Ashura, created a spell to protect your planet from them, preventing any possible invasion for centuries. It took them almost a millennia to figure out a way to come down from the moon, but they have figured it out anyway. And now they are about to complete the ritual."

"Toneri... Is he her brother's incarnation?" She nodded. "Don't you support their idea, though? They're going to revive you, so everything would go according to your plan. You should be happy about it, shouldn't you?" asked Sasuke bitterly.

She sighed, shaking her head.

"My power, Indra. Not myself. They don't want to revive me. They are going to use your wife's current incarnation as the vessel for my chakra, and then they will force her to open portals to other dimensions, letting countless armies fill your world. This is their ultimate intention."

The three of them became silent as Ssauke was rapidly thinking on what to do. If Kaguya was telling the truth, their world was in critical danger right now. But, could he really trust her...?

"I want to read your memories," he said then, for this was the most logical thing he could do right now.

She blinked at him, looking at Sasuke with a slight sneer before slowly uttering:

"That... is acceptable. Go ahead and use your eye's power on me. I have nothing to hide, especially since we are all trapped here for eternity."

He hesitated, giving Itachi a questioning gaze, but his brother only shrugged.

"If she wanted to do something to you, she had the opportunity."

The younger brother nodded. This was a fair point, so he approached the ageless woman and touched her forehead, noticing belatedly that her Rinne Sharingan wasn't there either at the moment.

Endless stream of alien memories filled his mind the next moment, showing him countless pictures from various ages and places he'd never seen, of people he'd never met. Some of them looked distantly familiar, but most of it was completely foreign to him...

Slightly stunned by the amount of information that was beginning to tear his mind apart, he tried to find the few key memories he needed to confirm her words. It took him a few minutes – or perhaps hours? He wasn't really sure – to finally reach it, but then he moved his hand away, panting heavily and wincing in pain that pierced his skull like a burning sword.

"Now you can imagine what I feel every day, child," she gave him a sorry smile, patting his head lightly.

"Yeah...," he paused and gulped soundly. "Fine, you told us the truth. Yet still... I don't want you ruling our world. What are we going to do?"

The woman shrugged.

"You tell me, Indra. I ran out of options very long ago."

He frowned, lowering his eyes.

"Could I get out of here?"

She nodded.

"Perhaps you could, but it would come with a price."

"Name it."

"My own freedom."

He looked up at her, narrowing his eyes at her impassive, dead serious face.

"If I set you free... I want you to promise to give up on your plan of total domination."

"In favor of what, if I may ask?"

He smirked and narrowed his eyes at her.

"I suggest a compromise. Let's put it this way: I'll take care of Toneri and his brethren. As soon as I'm finished on the moon and my family is safe, you'll leave our kind alone, staying there in charge of the descendants of your people. We will cooperate... working together to achieve peace in our worlds and to protect Earth."

She frowned, locking her fingers in front of herself and pursing her lips, giving Sasuke a long, estimating look.

"And for how long do you think this truce would last?"

"For as long as we'll be able to maintain it."

Kaguya sighed, shaking her head again.

"This is a very dangerous game, Indra... But I accept your offer nonetheless. I would have one condition as well, though."

"I'm listening."

She gave him a very serious look before saying quietly:

"Neither of us will be allowed to retrieve Shinjū's power from the world where you and Ashura sealed it."

Sasuke's brow cocked at the unexpected demand.

"Oh? And why so generous all of sudden?"

The woman snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Generous? Make no mistake, Indra. This is not a gesture of generosity. This is a precaution."

"Precaution, huh...?"

"You and Ashura have proven to be more powerful than I. No matter how much power I gather, you would always find a way to defeat me. However, if you or him claim this kind of power, I'll be at a huge disadvantage. No... there will be no parity at all."

This was ridiculous. So she was afraid of him and Naruto? It seemed to be the case, but somehow it didn't make the Uchiha feel self satisfied. Instead... it actually gave him an opportunity to do something very selfish... something he had dreamed of for too long.

"I want to take a precaution as well, then."

She frowned at Sasuke's self assured smirk.

"How interesting. I'm listening."

"Itachi...," he turned to his brother, meeting the gaze of his notably troubled black eyes. "If you had a reason to live, would you agree to return to our world?"

"You want Totsuka's blade, after all," instantly replied the older Uchiha, to which Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. I also think it would be fair for you to get to try living a normal life. And with you at my side, I'd be sure that we have a way to deal with this granny of mine should she suddenly go insane or get a dementia."

Itachi closed his eyes and shook his head, letting out a sign of resignation.

"Fine... I suppose you have a point, Sasuke. This is a convincing reason to come back. But," he looked at his beloved sibling thoughtfully before uttering, "I'll stay on the moon."

"What...?"

"I'll need to stay close to this woman in order to be able to react in time should anything bad happen. Besides, I really don't think that coming back to our society would ever work for me."

"But–"

He suddenly felt so helpless, especially understanding that Itachi was absolutely right in everything. But, come to think about it... when they would be done with this threat, he would be able to visit the moon whenever he wanted. This was far better than any other option without Itachi alive... wasn't it? And this way, his brother might finally find his happiness... and get the well deserved reward for everything he'd been through, even though in a different world (literally, this time around.)

"Alright... that's fair enough. So," Sasuke turned to Kaguya again, "You'll revive the two of us."

Her face darkened.

"I'm afraid this is not quite possible. I can't revive either of you, Indra," she added before he could interrupt her. "The best I can do is to link the chakra of the three of us together. But we can't get out of here on our owns. Somebody has to revive you, your brother or myself... in your world. So, I'm afraid your ambitious plan is doomed, after all."

Sasuke's mouth curved into a grin of amusement at her words.

"Not quite, old hag... not quite."

-v-v-v-

A week earlier, not far away from Konohagakure...

The four ninjas and one dog ran through the deep forest down the path which under different circumstances could have risen nostalgic feelings in Hinata's heart. But ever since the moment Akamaru killed off Orochimaru's little spy, all of them felt too nervous and perhaps even scared to stop even for a moment, trying to get away from the Uchiha estate as far as possible. The fact that none of them felt or saw anybody following them was even more disturbing for some reason...

Had they managed to fool the Sannin and Naruto, after all? Had both of them yet to notice that the four of them were missing? Or...

The kunoichi gritted her teeth, taking the mask off and throwing it somewhere into the darkness of the woods, finally enjoying the feeling of fresh air filling her lungs, closing her eyes in joy for a second.

"I guess it could work as a diversion, but won't you need this when we come back?" asked Kiba curiously, to which she frowned, looking backwards with her dōjutsu one more time.

"I don't know...," she replied honestly, biting her lip. "Whatever is to come, I have this uneasy feeling, Kiba-kun... It will change everything."

The brown haired man snorted, rolling his eyes and trying to look cool.

"It sounds scary when you put it like this. Relax, everything is gonna be fine. Sasuke's not an idiot, he won't fuck up."

The corners of her lips twitched ever so slightly.

"I hope you're right..."

"He is right. If anything, it is our concern not to fail in this. I still think we shouldn't go there," mused Shino without looking at either of them.

"Where are we going anyway?" muttered Neji, frowning at their small argument. It was so weird to see Hinata virtually being the leader of their squad... making decisions and ignoring her teammate's objections like that. And at the same time, she looked so natural in this position... As though she'd always been meant for this. Was this really Hiashi's fault to have suppressed her true self for so long? Or was this just another tragedy cause by the cruelty of their world and by a few humans' arrogant and foolish mistake...?

"The hidden Temple of Jashin. The shortest route to reach it would be going over sea by using a boat, so our current destination is Nami no Kuni. We'll make a stop there for a few hours, I think...," Hinata smiled, lowering her eyes dreamily as the nostalgia finally hit her. "I'd also like to visit a few old friends there if you boys don't mind. Who knows... this may be my last chance to do it."

None of them argued this time, for she was pretty much stating the obvious. From what it seemed, they were all going straight down the highway to hell, after all.

"The town is pretty close. How many hours are we planning to spend there?" asked Neji.

Hinata narrowed her eyes at the horizon.

"Well, there are no signs of anybody chasing us yet, so I think it would be safe to stay there until dawn. Don't you agree?" she gave him a questioning, slightly sheepish look, and all of sudden Neji also felt something very familiar – even after all these years, she still looked up to him. Some things never changes, it seemed...

The Hyūga smirked in joy. Somehow, he just knew that this adventure would not end badly. After all, he hadn't returned from the afterlife just to witness another tragedy, had he?

Now then, a few things regarding myself and the future of this story/other stories.

First of all, the reason why it took me so much time to return to working on this story was my real life issues, my family life, specifically.

Secondly, I am planning to finish this story and to rewrite the first part of it so that it would match my current level of skill, but I'm not sure how long it would take me, for I have many other ideas concerning writing on my mind. I'll be honest, it will highly depend on you guys. If I see the interest (reviews and all), I'll work faster, I promise. If I don't, then I'll give the priority to my new ideas - no offense.

And finally, thank you for the amazing support you gave me so far and for staying with me for so long. Hopefully, you'll find this chapter and the ending of this story (there are 5 chapters left btw) enjoyable.

Until next time, guys! Next chapter: Toneri and Hinata!