Chapter 40: Connection

Sayuri was growing increasingly irrate as she stood away from the group, her arms crossed over her chest and her Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan glaring brightly at the seemingly never-ending combination of purple darkness and light blue platforms that spreaded endlessly.

Obito was sitting calmly, his legs crossed over one another and his eyes closed. Sakura and Sai each sat by their sensei, also waiting patiently. The goal was to wait long enough to let Naruto and Sasuke battle it out, and yet. . .

"It's been fifteen minutes," Sayuri barked, her anger evident. "Why haven't you told us what's going on?"

"Because I haven't checked yet," Obito answered, his eyes still shut. "You do know that battles between powerful shinobi can last hours to even days, right?"

"Then they can't be that powerful." She bit back, remembering the fight with Itachi.

"Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha would like to disagree," Sai unexpectedly spoke up. "Their battle lasted two days and two nights before the First Hokage finally triumphed in the end." Sakura glanced back at Sayuri, worrying that the correction could set off the already extremely small fuse that led straight to the bomb that was always 'Sayuri Uchiha'.

"Just check already!" She hissed, whirling around and her eyes spinning wildly. "Before I take out one of your eyes and do it myself!" Sai was the first to stand up, unsheathing his sword and holding it at his side, ready to move.

"Don't," Obito breathed out. "I'll check, but when I don't have enough energy to fight, blame yourself when you have to save me." He opened his eyes and met Sayuri's raging glare.

"I'll just let you die," The darkness in her voice sent chills down Sakura's spine, her emerald colored eyes widening in surprise at her old friend's words. Could she really be cold-hearted enough to let one of the last of her clan die? Her sensei for that matter?

"Well you just killed any motivation I had for this stunt," Obito replied bluntly, forcing himself to his feet. He activated Kamui and everyone watched in shock as Obito's face seemed to be transparent, all of them able to see right through him.

Obito's arms fell to his side, defeated. Sayuri noticed it first and rushed forward, grabbing the Uchiha's shirt and shaking him. "Send me there now!"

"No use," She heard his muffled reply, the unmistakable sound of grief filled his tone, causing Sayuri's heart to sink.

"What do you mean, sensei?" Sakura's spoke, and only then did she realize just how small her voice really was. She was terrified, terrified as to what her sensei could have possibly saw.

"I said send me!" Sayuri screamed, her voice cracking from the volume. Obito's arm rose hesitantly, but after a moment, he made his choice and grabbed Sayuri's shoulder before she felt herself getting sucked in by his Kamui.

She closed her eyes, her head swimming and pounding in her skull. She hated this feeling, but she had to push through!

She fell to her hands and knees, pushing into the ash as she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw were the embers flying wildly in the air. She pushed herself up, stumbling slightly as she shook her head and cleared away the dizziness.

"What happened?" She heard herself speak in astonishment and horror, surveying the burning land underneath her. What was once the proud Village Hidden in the Rain, turned into rubble, was now nothing but ash. Not a single nail remained lying anywhere in sight, just the endless desert of ash in every direction.

"You," She heard the devil's voice speak, it sounding like a whisper in her ear. She whirled around and saw the source of Naruto's suffering, Sasuke Uchiha, standing twenty meters away. "The female fake version of me. I thought you lot would have returned to Konoha to warn your slavemaster of the unstoppable threat, but it seems stubborness is a multiverse-wide trait that every version of Sasuke Uchiha shares."

"Where's Naruto?" She asked, ignoring everything he just said. She had to find Naruto, the thought that he wasn't around anymore. . . hurt. She didn't know why. It pissed her off! She hated the lying blond bastard but now that the possibility that he couldn't be around was truly there, it sent a worrying feeling through her body that she hated with all her mind.

"The flopping between allegiances is also a trait," Sasuke, clearly amused, spoke fluently. "Well I have some good news for you, I finished one of your goals!" He smirked and his identical lone Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan sprang to life, meeting her own. "That fake who lied about Itachi, is dead."

"You're lying," She whispered. No way Naruto would die. No way he'd allow himself to die after everything he went through! "You're lying, you're lying, you're lying." She repeated, trying to convince herself of anything but the truth.

But the truth was evident.

This man, this alternate version of herself, this filthy Sasuke Uchiha, had never told her a lie once. If he was saying it, then it was most likely true.

Naruto was dead.

"No," It came out as a pathetic whimper, all of her anger and rage gone and replaced by an overwhelming sadness that she hadn't felt since she killed Itachi. It didn't make sense. Why would she feel this way?

"Ah, if you give me just a moment, I'll be happy to resume our conversation after I've finished dealing with the Tailed Beasts. Sayuri didn't know what he meant for a moment, but remembered that the Tailed Beasts had been released after Naruto had broken the Gedo Statue. Where had they gone?

By the looks of Sasuke, he hadn't become a Jinchuuriki, so where?

The answer came to her when she heard a whistling sound in the air and she instictively lifted her chin upward and her eyes widened as she saw eight large figures falling out of the sky.

Sasuke grinned and he held his arms out. "I was wondering when you would rejoin me! I knocked your asses up their almost three minutes ago!" He glanced over to Sayuri and scoffed. "You didn't actually think Naruto and I did this to the landscape, did you?" She didn't answer. "Naruto barely lasted against me, these demons were what turnt every blade of grass to ash here. It was actually that attack that got them sent into the air like balloons."

The eight Tailed Beasts hit the ground with such force that made both Sayuri and Sasuke jump into the air. Sayuri saw Sasuke free falling gracefully, his eyes focused on the Tailed Beasts with pride. She took the chance she was given and hurled a kunai at him.

However, the moment the kunai left her hand, Sasuke suddenly replaced himself with the kunai and planted a devastating right-hook on Sayuri's face, sending her flying down into the ground with the same force the Tailed Beast hit it with.

"Defiance towards your betters is also a trait multiversally shared among us." He said after landing silently next to her. He lifted his foot and put it on Sayuri's head. She was face was pressed against the ground as he pushed, slowly squeezing her head.

Sasuke tilted his head in confusion as Sayuri burst into a cloud of smoke. He barely reacted in time, ducking as Sayuri's sword flew where had just been a second ago. Sayuri's face was focused. She sent a kick towards her male counterpart and he blocked it with his own foot before spinning around and landing a direct hit on Sayuri's shoulder with his fist, causing the female Uchiha to stumble back.

Sayuri grit her teeth as she tried to forcibly stop herself from giving this man anymore room, but was failing spectacularly as with each movement he made, she had to take a step back in order to avoid it.

As far as both of them were concerned, he was currently setting the pace for this fight, not her. Electricity crackled around her blade and she plunged it into the ground, the electricity shooting around her and causing Sasuke to launch himself into the air.

"Are you an idiot? I already told you," Sasuke condescendingly spoke, twisting in the air. Sayuri felt his hands on either side of her head as he spun over her. "I invented your entire arsenal!"

He slammed the back of her head into the ground, the ashy earth splitting apart even further. Sayuri's mouth opened as blood left it freely, her vision getting blurry as she felt the earth tumble down on top of earth.

Sasuke looked at the ground, admiring his handywork. He didn't mean to send her that far into the ground, but he wouldn't complain. He turned his attention back on the Tailed Beasts and noticed that only the Eight and Seven Tails were rising slowly.

"I'm surprised you two still have the strength to stand up," He said mockingly. "Even if you beasts are made up of chakra, you shouldn't be able to get up after being dropped from orbit."

The two beasts glared at Sasuke, neither saying a word. He had dispatched the last person to use the Sage of Six Paths chakra, he even had the strength to send eight of them almost all the way into space, all without looking the least bit exhausted.

He was truly a devil of mass proportion.

Sayuri wanted to let out a groan of pain, but the weight on her throat silenced any oncoming noise. Everything hurt. She hadn't expected him to beat her so easily, she had thought that she had at least stood a fraction of a chance of beating him.

But she realized just how arrogant she had been, she knew why Obito had wanted to get out of there. How could they beat a monster like this? He not only carried the same Uchiha blood that flowed through her, but he also possessed a special Rinnegan!

It was hopeless.

The complete darkness surrounded her, the earth trapped her. She was in her coffin. She was going to die.

Accomplishing nothing.

Could she accept that? Was she completely fine with dying and letting everything go?

'No! I refuse to die like this!'

Sasuke looked at the defeated Tailed Beasts, his purple Rinnegan glowing slightly. He had won. He had killed the fake and brought the Tailed Beasts to their knees. And now. . .

"Even if I'm missing the Nine-Tails," Sasuke said mockingly as he approached the fallen Eight Tails. "The power of eight, as well as my Uchiha prowess, I'll be able to burn this hell down to ash and finally get to heaven."

The image of Itachi appeared in his brain, the face of his smiling brother moments before his death. The picture in his head was so vivid as if he were remembering what he had eaten that morning from breakfast. "Itachi. . ."

He hadn't thought about him specifically in a long time. He avoided the Itachi Uchiha from this universe, not wanting to somehow taint the standing image of his late brother. And yet, nearing the end, his thoughts led him to the moment his entire life altered its supposed course. Both times. . .

"Itachi. . ." He repeated, surprising himself even further at the tone of his voice. Was it regret? Sadness? He couldn't even tell anymore. . .

He was interrupted from his thoughts as he felt the ground shake violently beneath his feet. His eyes darted to the Tailed Beasts, thinking that maybe one of them had woken up from their forced slumber, but saw that they were still.

So what?

The silent question was roaringly answered as a gigantic purple Susanoo emerged from the ground. His eyes widened as he saw the armored chakra arm push on the ground before the distinct sound of heavy flapping wings reached his ears and he watched as the Susanoo took to the air.

"So your refusal to die has led you to reach new heights," He commented as he saw Sayuri standing in the middle of the flying Susanoo, freely glaring at him. The same hatred he looked at Itachi with.

He shook his head. He had to dismiss these thoughts, they led to nothing but a dead end filled with broken hearts.

Sayuri had completed her Susanoo. The light purple of the chakra armor was glowing. It mirrored Sasuke's own Susanoo. It stood almost three hundred feet tall with samurai-looking armor decorated the chakra body completely, only leaving gaps at its wrists and ankles. It also mirrored the large sword on the left side of its hip and the eyes were glowing a blazing yellow.

As if the time for admiring her accomplishment was over, Sayuri flew down, descending the several hundred feet she had flown in a second as she rocked her fist down on the man that looked like an ant from where she was standing.

However her fist crashed into an invisible force field, creating a shockwave so powerful that the ash on the ground rose into the air before the strong winds began swirling it around and creating an ash tornado that flowed violently across the battlefield as lightning began crackling across from the top of it.

Sayuri couldn't see Sasuke, but she knew her attack wasn't even close to powerful enough to finish him off. She instantly used Amatersau and coated her right Susanoo arm with the black flames of heaven before smashing her fist in the same spot once again.

She used her left eye to move the flames off of her arm and shoot in blades in every direction, hoping to hit that bastard wherever he was. She knew she missed when Sasuke appeared in her lane of vision. He was in the protection of his own Susanoo, however only the first level of it.

He met her eyes and smirked, mocking her that even if she further improved her jutsu and ocular prowess, she would always be outmatched compared to him.

Letting out a scream of pure rage, Sayuri unsheathed the gigantic chakra sword and raised it above her head before bringing it down. "Almighty Push," Sasuke said, his Susanoo's skeleton arm raising in the air before Sayuri's Susanoo was pushed back a considerable amount, the Susanoo's feet dragging through the ash.

Sayuri's throat vibrated as she released a growl. She charged forward in fury.

Sasuke saw the quickly approaching Susanoo and almost released a sigh. "Your greatest weapon," He vanished from her sight, causing her to halt in place as she scanned the area for him. Her eyes landed on her sword that laid where he had stood just a second before.

Understanding dawned in her eyes, but it was too late. "Is also your greatest weakness." She heard the older male version of her whisper before she felt the hot sensation of a blade sliding through her body, a shocked gasp escaping her lips as the air left her lungs. Her eyes shakily trailed down and she saw the dripping crimson of the pointed-half of Sasuke's sword sticking out of her stomach.

Her Susanoo faded from existence as she began free falling. The wind whipped her raven-colored hair all around her as she suddenly hit the ground with a sickening thud, the sound of several of her bones breaking pounded in her ears. She wanted to scream in agony, but she couldn't open her mouth. It hurt so much worse than before. . .

Sasuke landed silently in front of her, smirk still plastered on his face as he placed a knee on Sayuri's stomach wound, making her find her voice as she suddenly let out a shrill scream.

"Shut up!" Sasuke roared as his fist struck Sayuri in the head, causing her screaming to stop and her vision to swim, the dull ache of the blow resonated in her head. "Just. . . be quiet." He sounded sadistic.

In his hand was a kunai and he placed a hand on Sayuri's shoulder, balacing himself as he shifted his weight on her and held the kunai just an inch above her neck. "And die with dignity!"

He plunged the kunai down and to Sayuri, time seemed to slow down. She could see the clear mixture of pain and pleasure in Sasuke's Sharingan eyes. She could see the blade of the kunai inch ever slowly to her neck. This time death was certain.

She could not beat this man. She could not beat herself. She couldn't even avenge her clan. She could do nothing. If she could have, she would have shut her eyes and enjoy the rest of this slowed time in peace without having to look at the man killing her. But alas, she couldn't.

But she did see a glowing square appear behind Sasuke as well as a certain blond emerge. She couldn't believe her eyes as she watched his arm slowly reached out and grab Sasuke's wrist just as the tip of the blade hit her skin.

Time seemed to resume properly as Sayuri's eyes widened at the sight of a frowning Naruto. He was still frowning, something she rarely saw the blond without, and yet. . .

She could tell something was different. His crystal sky-blue colored eyes held something different in them that she couldn't place her finger on. They seemed to be burning with determination.

As quick as it happened, Naruto flung Sasuke a hundred feet away from Sayuri and the Uchiha skidded in the ash on all fours, his eyes just as wide as Sayuri's as he looked at Naruto with disbelief.

Naruto looked at her and sent her a small smile. "I'm sorry," He said genuinely, turning around so that his back was facing her. "For everything." His eyes were trained ahead and he looked at Sasuke, who's features looked downright murderous.

"I'll start making things right again."

How was it? Good? Bad? Tell me!

Long time no see, sorry about that. My laptop broke and funds are empty atm.

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Til next time my lil demons!