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Ch XIX

Humanity is entropy; to chase perfection, an impossible task, we set ourselves for failure. Should we achieve it, we will end. Rather, it is the perpetuation of flaw that will make of us immortals.

The Tsuchikage's agonized cry split through the chamber, reigniting the grin on an exasperated Sasuke. Time was short; he could already feel the drain of the Chidori, for some unfathomable reason the strain increased nearly fivefold. He had to act quickly. A gamble, made all the worse by the persistent dust pervading the air. Why can I not see through this damned dust? Even the Mangekyou Sharingan…

Wasting no time, he pivoted his body around to swing his legs under the paralyzed Tsuchikage. Releasing the current at the last viable moment, Sasuke scissored Onoki's ankles, violently dropping him to the floor. Still shaking off the last ravages of the electricity, the Tsuchikage could not prepare himself for Sasuke's right elbow. An inelegant, clumsy blow, he literally threw his whole mass forward into the blow. It caught Onoki in the back of the neck, propelling him forward, only to once again have his ankle snagged by Sasuke's free hand.

The Tsuchikage flipped himself onto his back, only to find Sasuke's left forearm plunging downward onto his throat. With no room to maneuver, and no momentum to speak of, the Tsuchikage lay trapped. As Sasuke's right hand rose, blazing with the ephemeral energy of a Chidori, Onoki nonetheless smiled. Sasuke's hand plunged.

Onoki caught his fist. In the last moments, Sasuke's grip weakened as he knew his opponent's ability waned. Physically strong as he was, the Tsuchikage's hand should not have saved him. Sasuke's mind flew into panic, his eyes locked upon the frieze before him.

Onoki's small fist encompassed his own, but this was not his concern. The ambient dust flowed through the air with purpose, as if guided toward Sasuke's hand. Thick tendrils wrapped around his whole forearm, slowing the blow, and causing the built-up energy to crackle and dilute into the ether. Several facts snapped into Sasuke's analytical mind.

The few moments in which it took Sasuke to comprehend nearly stole his life.

'Chirai Enkan!' The Tsuchikage slammed his free fist into the ground, pulverizing the stone beneath in a shower of debris. Defying physics, the rubble and dust congregated into a voracious maelstrom, impacting into Sasuke's shoulder and throwing him from Onoki. Only the slightest of movements had prevented the storm from striking Sasuke's head.

He landed dexterously, twisting slowly to alight on his feet. Despite Sasuke's effort, it was at best a stumble. To his horror, the dust storm encompassed nearly his entire left arm, shredding the flesh beneath and bathing Sasuke in agony. The world narrowed to the exclusion of all else as Sasuke dropped to his knees.

On the barest impulse of his ragged mind, at last Sasuke finally unleashed a Chidori Nagashi. The pain of the backlash was minute in comparison to the bladed dust, but the sum nearly caused Sasuke to black out. Sound and light faded, tunneled, and yet Sasuke managed to maintain the technique.

The dust storm faltered. Tiny flecks of burning glass glittered on the ground in the erratic radiance of the Chidori still flaring about Sasuke's form. The quiet flow of blood onto the floor filled his ears.

What will you do if you cannot save him?

The stone streets lay all but abandoned before Naruto; only the foremost of his simulacrums encountered hints of resistance. The city withdrew before him, and Naruto was tempted to liken the event to waves on the distant shore: pulling away, only to flood back in moments.

He couldn't help but smirk at this last legacy from his father; every so often, he could decipher the faint cries echoing in the turmoil. Yondaime! The Fourth is here! Even in death, Minato Namikaze's legacy spanned nations.

What will you do if you cannot save him?

Itachi's voice resounded through his mind unanswered. Naruto's small grin dissolved into the scowl so often dominating his face of late. Somehow he couldn't help but relive the last few moments in which he saw the specter alive.

You wanted to bring Sasuke back, but what if it doesn't work out?

Even walking through the vast mountain village of Iwagakure, it felt to Naruto as if the Uchiha's breath swept over his neck. Naruto closed his eyes, walking slowly and impassively through the desolace. Even if his senses were nowhere near as sharp as Kakashi or Hinata, he could feel the absence of natural chakra emanating from the stone. This village felt dead to him, even before his arrival.

I'm asking you what you'll do if Sasuke attacks Konoha.

Naruto focused to control his breathing. For so long Itachi had been the greatest evil he could conceive, the nemesis of everything Konoha existed for. With this recent… revelation, his memories and judgments of the elder Uchiha were distorted and in flux. It was mentally taxing, and at this juncture Naruto could ill afford the stress and psychosomatic side effects.

Sasuke is still pure. He can become anything. If that happens, will you be able to stop him?

In his mind's eye, Naruto could still see the sinister crimson of Itachi's Mangekyou. The spiral blades of Itachi's Sharingan shifted – slowly, hauntingly - into the six pointed star belonging to his brother.

Sasuke's face leered at him, malice and insanity flooding through his accursed eyes.

Even if it means killing me..?

'Haha! Ha! Did you really believe yourself capable of matching a Kage in his own territory?' The Tsuchikage's voice grated and echoed through the vast chamber. Anger flushing forward, Sasuke rose from behind one of the many stone edifices adorning the room in concentric circles.

'Katon: Gokakyu!' A searing bolt of fire erupted from Sasuke's pursed mouth, exploding toward the probable source of noise.

'Jinton: Chiri Tama!' In his weakened state, it strove Sasuke's mind to near breaking point identifying the killing blow in time to react. In the obscure distance, his grand fireball impacted into a tubular maelstrom of concentrated dust. Sasuke's eyes widened as he witnessed his enemy's technique emerge from the furnace heat as crude, molten glass. Already his legs tensed to jump, but Sasuke's senses were beginning to dull from blood loss.

The shrapnel tore vicious chunks out of the simple cover, decimating the desks nearby. Sasuke was thrown, wheeling chaotically, as a smattering of glass caught and shredded part of his left leg. The impact into a stone bench threatened to send him back into the peaceful oblivion of unconsciousness.

Sasuke lay where he fell, winded and bleeding heavily; he had never felt quite so powerless as he felt now. He was, for once, grateful that his arc had landed him into a small furrow in the concentric ring structure of the room. He pulled himself up to rest his back against one of the tables, grunting in agony. To the Uchiha's terror, the peripheral of his vision was fading black, and refused to clear.

He baited me, Sasuke thought angrily. I have nothing to counter his infernal dust, both his technique and the ambient variant. It was clear to the young shinobi that no natural dust could have blocked his Sharingan; rather, the dust was heavily infused with chakra, to the point where it became opaque to his vision. He could not discern the color either – this type of chakra was foreign to him, belonging to none of the six primary schools.

Perhaps… Amaterasu? No; the dust would either block the technique point blank, or enhance his attacks in the same way my Gokakyu did. I cannot afford to destroy my chakra reserves extinguishing myself. My Katon is useless, as is my Raiton. Offensively they only bolster his offense, and defensively… Sasuke glanced at his savaged left arm. His Chidori Nagashi had saved him from losing the limb, but at this point it appeared he was just as dead.

Two options left… and only enough chakra for one or the other.

Sasuke gradually rose to his feet, head hanging limply forward. Onoki watched him with disinterest, slowly swaggering onto the central ring where he first encountered Sasuke. His would-be assassin was finished; it was obvious, even to Sasuke. Perhaps he would grant him death while still standing, while he still had some pride remaining.

'I guess this is where the Uchiha clan ends, whelp.' With a single stride, Onoki leapt into a low arc toward his target. Perhaps sensing his impending fate, Sasuke's head snapped backward, and an unearthly scream erupted from his throat.

'Jinton: Genkai Hakuri!'

Hinata edged carefully, quietly, to the ledge of the parapet enshrouded in the border of Iwagakure. Somehow, despite the singular lack of physical destruction, the city appeared to be in catastrophic disarray. To her dismay, even with her Byakugan, she failed to locate Naruto in the turmoil.

But… I do have n idea of where he might be heading, she thought, as the gargantuan citadel loomed in her vision. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, so strong it felt as if it would break free. Hinata slipped over the edge, crouching low. She suddenly felt awkward, remembering that not only had she left her jacket outside the forest, but her hitai-ate as well.

Lost in thought as she was, it was only at the last moment she noticed a haggard four man patrol forty feet to her left. They were arranged sloppily, two pointmen, a single rearguard, and the central figure – their jounin – caressing a massive abdominal wound. It was obvious they were frightened, but that worked to her disadvantage. A frightened foe will see phantoms everywhere.

At present, she was in little danger of being spotted; if they continued on their course however…

No time now… she hastily slapped an explosive tag on the parapet floor a few feet in front of her.

In moments, the ground disintegrated in a flash of light and boom of thunder. Hinata, however, paid no heed, sailing through the explosion. She landed in a tight roll, rising in a steady stance before the two astounded pointmen. Her right hand, two fingers extended, jabbed in the meat of the right chunin's thigh. With a brief flash of chakra, his leg convulsed beneath him, but already her left hand had impacted just above his partner's right pectoral.

Before the first opponent even fell, Hinata pivoted on the balls of her feet and slammed her elbow into the falling shinobi's head. Twisting back around, she threw her combined momentum into a palm strike on the second ninja's sternum. He dropped quietly, blood dribbling from his mouth, and his partner sprawled unconscious.

Already the jounin and rearguard were reacting to her presence, the senior pulling backward as the junior prowled in low, a simple gladius in one hand. The jounin was performing hand signals, although to attack or signal insurgency, Hinata didn't know.

Time slowed down as her nervous system flooded with chakra. Coruscating energy flowed from her eyes and outstretched hands as her stance sunk lower.

'Hakke Sanjuni Sho!' In a brief flurry of movement and flaring light, Hinata landed no more than six feet behind her targets. They stood for a moment, transfixed, before their bodies recognized the catastrophic damage and collapsed. As she stood, breathing slightly heavy, Hinata could see the terrible mistake she had made.

Shouts suddenly pervaded the area as Iwagakure shinobi rallied toward her; obviously alerted by the luminosity of her assault. They flooded the western path of the parapet, and below, in the heart of the city, they swarmed like a churning hive. Every direct route to the central tower would not be available without a fight she would surely lose.

One option left, I guess… Hinata took off at a sprint, following the winding battlements eastward.

It took Onoki a moment to realize he was soaring backward through the air. With a shattering crash, he split a handful of the stone desks in half with his impact. Sasuke stood erect, unharmed, in a Vitruvian pose nearly six inches off the ground. His screaming had not stopped.

Black fire emanated from the transfixed figure, evaporating the dust haze wherever it contacted. The Tsuchikage watched, mouth agape, as primitive bones coalesced into existence around Sasuke. Flesh and muscle wove itself slowly onto the superstructure. Obsidian skin, punctuated by a sickening crimson hue, grew onto the bipedal figure surrounding the entrapped Uchiha.

Slowly, the figure dropped forward, mimicking its suffering host. Onoki stared at the spectacle; Sasuke's first full manifestation of Susano'o. The great beast moved clumsily, shuddering in transference agony from Sasuke.

Is this what Itachi felt..?

The creatures gaze suddenly snapped up to the Tsuchikage. Malice emanating from it like disease, it raised a single crossbow-clad arm.

'Genkai Hakuri!' The great shaft from the bow annihilated with the Tsuchikage's technique, the overpressure throwing him yet further back toward the edge of the chamber. Onoki flipped onto his feet, skidding the last few scant inches, to witness the macabre beast reloading the bow. Without sound, the bolt sped toward him fast enough that it seemed to elongate as it flew.

'Genkai Hakuri!' In firm footing, the blast failed to move the small man more than a few inches. The sonic boom from the bolt met his ears a moment later. Thrice more the creature reloaded, and thrice more Onoki could only hope to neutralize the bolts. He couldn't dodge; it simply moved too fast. The only way he could counter it at all was from the sheer animalistic method with which Sasuke assailed him.

The Tsuchikage was pressed against the wall, sweating profusely from consuming so much chakra. He was empty; Dust Release required massive amounts of chakra, and even bolstered by the rudimentary natural chakra he could collect, it was never intended for prolonged engagements. That the whelp had survived so long was, Onoki grudgingly admitted, much to his credit.

'This is the end.' Sasuke's voice whispered, somehow reaching the Tsuchikage's ears. 'My life for yours. Fitting, I guess.' The creature readied its crossbow one final time, the flesh melting from its bones like soft wax. Onoki knew he could not summon another Genkai Hakuri; this was the moment of his death.

With a titanic explosion, a full third of the domed roof above the doorway exploded inward. Massive sandstone slabs slammed to the ground, flooding the chamber in impenetrable dust. Sasuke's Susano'o overloaded from the impact, just as Onoki was buried and lost consciousness. Sasuke was smashed backward as a small portion of the momentum his Susano'o blocked transferred into him. He rolled, landing spread eagle on his back.

'SASUKE!'

Disclaimer - I do not know Naruto

I'd like to start off by saying DO NOT REVIEW THIS CHAPTER. I'm going to be moving it backward on Friday to replace the note I left before my hiatus, so if you do review it you won't be able to review chapter 20. So review 19 instead =D

I will be continuing the story, but probably not on a terribly regular basis. Probably only once a week; we'll see how I feel. Regardless, I've decided I'm going to put a few brief descriptions and rationales at the end of each chapter. And by the way, for those interested: whenever I quote something an a character says in the canon, I quote it verbatim from onemanga (ie. Itachi's words from this chapter).

Genkai Hakuri - Onoki's cube attack, see the manga

Chirai Tama - 'Dust Bullet', effectively just a very fast moving stream of dust

Chirai Enkan - 'Dust Torus', effectively an anti-Raiton attack. An unguided spiral of rapidly moving dust; the reason it stuck to Sasuke was pseudo static from the residual charge inherent in a Raiton user.

I assumed the Tsuchikage would have a very basic knowledge of natural chakra because Dust Release doesn't appear to be a kekkai genkai, nor part of the six primary schools, and hence could be seen as nature manipulation. Nowhere near as powerful as a true sage, however. Also explains his strength and stamina for his stature.

By the way, about 1/5th of the time I spend writing is actually finding a suitable quote, so if anyone has some free time I'm open to suggestions.