Chapter 43: Plummet

"Kakashi-sensei!' The words left his mouth before he could even think about his situation. What was this? His words stirred the young Hatake awake as he let out a groan. Wait, young? 

Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt as if the oxygen had been sucked out of his lungs. He took a single step back, his hands trembling as his Sharingan reverted back to their original onyx black. Why did Kakashi look like he was a teenager too? Why was he covered in that distorted white that looked vaguely familiar? 

"WHERE THE HELL AM I?!?!?!!" Sasuke couldn't help but scream, his voice cracking as his words rippled throughout the abandoned cave, echoing as the Uchiha began to hypervenilate. This wasn't right. None of this was right. 

Kakashi was dead. He saw him die. And yet, here he was alive and breathing. Shorter, younger, why? 

"If you don't quiet down," A dark, gravelly voice spoke out. Sasuke turned his head and saw two crimson Sharingan eyes staring at him from the dark. "I shall render you unconscious." An elderly Madara erupted from the shadows, his starch white hair crawling down his back and past his hips, his posture crooked and slouched over as he used a cane to support his weight. 

Yet those eyes held all the power in the world. 

"Tch," Sasuke's nostrils flared as anger began to replace his anxiety. "Madara. . ." The younger Uchiha growled, his Mangekyou flaring wildly. Madara's eyes widened by a fraction, not expecting this sudden development. 

"I see, so you're privy as to whom I truly am. Then allow me to ask you  a question," Madara's own Sharingan morphed, transforming into the three connected, circular centerless-tomoe. He raised his cane and pointed it in Sasuke's direction. "I know of every Uchiha in existence. Yet, who are you?"

"Like I'd tell you, bastard!" Sasuke bit out as he summoned chakra to his eyes. "Amatersau!" Black flames erupted from Sasuke's left Mangekyou as they shot towards Madara, who merely felt a twitch in his lips, tugging ever upward. 

The Amaterasu flames reached their target, and Sasuke felt triumph for a fraction of a second, before it was shattered as his flames seemed to freeze in place. "My my," Sasuke heard Madara speak in an impressed tone. "Are these the famed flames of Amaterasu? I've only heard of its legend from the Uchiha Tablets, but to see it in person, I must say it's quite the treat." 

Madara moved the flames with an outstretched arm, the black flames being just centimeters away from his middle finger. Moving his arm to the side, the flames followed and revealed Madara's smirk as he looked at Sasuke's shocked gaze.

"What's wrong? You seem surprised that I was able to control these flames so easily, it's only natural after all," His Sharingan seemed to glow brighter as Sasuke suddenly felt small, as if the runt of the pack was being taught it's place by the alpha. "My Sharingan is far superior to yours."

Madara's eyes traveled to Kakashi's still form, the Hatake still unconscious and recovering. Madara shifted his hands, his fingers curling and moving freely as if he were controlling a puppet with strings. Sasuke watched in a mix of amazement and horror as his Amaterasu flames began to move, slowly shifting like a snake as they slithered towards Kakashi's sleeping form. 

"For some reason, you know of the son of the White Fang. I was originally going to use him to continue my plans after his death, his potential is quite extraordinary. I had hoped to grab that Uchiha boy instead, but it seems my plans were foiled." His eyes shot wickedly towards Sasuke who was staring at the black flames that hovered just inches over Kakashi. 

"But fate has delivered another Uchiha right to my doorstep, one who already has a Mangekyou Sharingan. I no longer have any need for Hatake, he simply a waste of resources and time as of now." 

"WAIT!" Sasuke screamed out, sweat drenching his forehead as his breathing began getting faster. He couldn't let Kakashi die again! The man had went so far in order to save him, to reach out and bring him out of the darkness. 

He had pushed away the man who hid his pain away the best. One of the very few in the village who could understand what it felt to lose everything. Kakashi had succeeded in saving him alongside Naruto and Sakura. He couldn't let that debt go unpaid. 

"Please," Sasuke pleaded. "Don't, he doesn't need to die. I'll do whatever you say, just release him." Sasuke felt weak, pleading before the enemy. Begging the man who had destroyed his world and killed him. Sasuke's fingers curled through the dirt as he felt his forehead press into the ground. It was infuriating. 

"Hm," Sasuke heard Madara hum to himself, thinking it over. However, Sasuke saw from the top of his eyes Madara's finger twitch. Darting to Kakashi, he saw the Amaterasu flames begin to descend slowly. 

His eyes widened immeasurably as he felt something within him break. "No," He whispered. He wouldn't let this man take another thing from him. He wouldn't let him. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Purple chakra flooded the younger Uchiha as his Susanoo formed, the ground around his feet cracking as he pushed forward, his anger and vengeance providing the fuel he needed to reach Madara within half a second. Sasuke brought down his giant chakra fist, the purple chakra coming down like lightning as Sasuke intended on completely obliterating the older Uchiha. 

He felt the fist hit something, hopefully the ground with Madara becoming one with it in a red paste. Dust erupted as the cave shook violently, loose rock and dirt falling from the ceiling. Sasuke's chest kept rising up and down quickly as he panted, his smaller chakra reserves not being used to such an intensive technique. 

"Heheheheheh," Sasuke heard a chuckle erupt from the cloud of dirt and dust he had caused. "To think that you even know how to use Susanoo at such a young age, I'm no longer simply impressed. I dare say I'm in awe at your potential, whomever you are."

Sasuke saw Madara standing in a blue chakra ribcage, the first form of his Susanoo. Sasuke wanted to curse and shout, but he fell to his knees as he felt his chakra reserves run dry, his Susanoo disappearing. 

"And yet you don't have the reserves to hold it up. Quite curious," Madara was mostly talking to himself, but found it appropriate to voice his thoughts aloud for his next few actions. "You're no doubt a full-blooded Uchiha, yet none but myself have defected. All of the Uchiha either died or joined the Leaf Village when it was first formed. Perhaps your the descendant of a straggler who faked their death?" 

The old man shook his head as Sasuke could do nothing but watch. He looked back over at Kakashi and saw the black flames still hovering just millimeters away from his face. What was this power that Madara had? Some type of telekinesis? 

"No, that couldn't be it. You knew my identity despite myself hiding since I've been a middle-aged man. Not many would recognize me as I am now, only those who were close to me or those I've dominated in battle. I wonder. . ." Madara trailed off as a single arm sprouted from the back of his Susanoo, lurching out and grabbing ahold of Sasuke as the raven-haired boy could do nothing but struggle vainly. 

"Are you perhaps from another world? Or. . ." He glanced over at Kakashi as a smirk seemed to evolve into a sinister grin. "Are you from the future?" Sasuke's eyes widened as suddenly everything seemed to make sense. 

Why he was younger. Why Kakashi was suddenly younger. Why there was a battle at that bridge, that was the Battle of the Kannabi Bridge! Kakashi fought in that battle! But, Kakashi was never supposed to come to this place, that was reserved for Obito Uchiha. 

Did he. . . somehow change the past?!

But how? How did that make sense? He was supposed to be dead, he wasn't supposed to be sent back in the past! Was it perhaps a chance to change the future for the better? To stop Madara? 

Madara looked at Sasuke's horror-stricken face with curiousity. "It seems I've hit the nail right on the head. To think such a thing was possible. . ." He muttered to himself. This opened up an entire new branch of possibilities. ". . .Hey." 

Sasuke looked up and he saw Madara pointing to the side to where Kakashi was. Sasuke slowly turned his head and his pupils shrunk as he saw the black flames of Amaterasu devouring Kakashi's lifeless body completely, burning away his flesh as well as the white goo that had enveloped his left side. 

............

What? 

. . . . . . . 

. . . . . . .

. . . . . . .

What?

What was this? 

This isn't some second chance to fix things. . . 

. . . . . .

. . . . . .

Sasuke was suddenly slammed into a wall, still in the clutches of Madara's Susanoo as the old man advanced upon him slowly.

. . . . . . 

. . . . . . 

This wasn't divine intervention to save the world from Madara.

. . . . . .

"Just a few minutes ago, you asked just where you were. Well, I'll tell you boy." Madara's voice was dark and deep, yet spoke so confidently that it penetrated Sasuke's mind as he looked lifelessly ahead. 

. . . . . . . 

This. . .

This is. . . 

This is. . .

THIS IS. . . 

"This is hell."

Another step forward. 

Fourteen feet. 

Another step foward. 

Twelve feet. 

Another step forward. 

"Ten feet," Sasuke breathed out. He would kill this fake once and for all. He would kill the demon who dared wear the face of his best friend, his brother. And then, once he was finished with that, he would destroy the rest of this hell and break free. 

Another step forward. 

Sasuke stood tall, wearing a cloak that hung loosely around his wrists and feet, it extending into a hood that hung just above his eyes. His face was hidden behind a blank white mask that had a swirl leading to a single hole that revealed his left eye, showing a tomoed Rinnegan. 

When he had arrived in this hell, he had figured he was roughly the same age as he was when he had became a Genin, so around thirteen. Adding that to the two years he spent training and honing his skills, he deduced he was around fifteen now. 

Far stronger than he was when he had allowed Kakashi to be killed. . .

"At least I can boast to have killed the Ghost of the Uchiha." Sasuke whispered. He had killed Madara in a rage that had activated his Rinnegan. The sudden ability had taken Madara by surprise, allowing Sasuke to use the Human Path of the Rinnegan and taking Madara's soul as well as absorbing all of his knowledge. 

He had to find a way to break out of this hell. With that single thought and motivation, he had delved deep into Madara's research, utilizing Zetsu, who had suspiciously pledged himself to Sasuke after he had killed Madara. 

Sasuke decided that he would follow in Madara's, or rather Obito's, footsteps in the way of forming the Akatsuki by manipulating Nagato from the very beginning, as well as placing a genjutsu on Danzo in order for him to sway Hanzo the Salamander to betray the Akatsuki and to ensure Yahiko's death, as well as to completely break Nagato. 

The sudden train of thought caused Sasuke to get irritated, not liking acting like the man who had stolen everything from him and then placed him in hell. 

He didn't like what he was about to do, surveying the Leaf Village. But he knew that he had to. He had one single hope in this world, and that was the birth of Naruto Uzumaki.

And today was October 10th. 

Naruto needed to become an orphan, as well as become the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Naruto needed to become ostracized by the village in order to BECOME Naruto. If somehow, in some way, he could grab ahold of the light that Naruto Uzumaki brought into his previous life, then surely this place wouldn't feel like hell. 

Surely this place wouldn't be so lonely. 

Sasuke slammed the mask down on a concrete table, shattering it as his Eternal Mangekyou and Rinne-Sharingan shined uncontrollably as his chakra became unstable. "GRRRRGGGGHHHH!" He growled as he slammed both of his forearms onto the table, causing it to crack and break in multiple places as the Uchiha slouched over, his face just inches from the concrete as he felt tears slide down his cheeks. 

"I," He whispered to himself, his voice cracking and filled with remorse as he grabbed at his cloak where his heart was. "I just," More tears flowed down his cheeks as he began to break down. "I JUST MADE MY BEST FRIEND AN ORPHAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!" He cried out to nobody. 

Sasuke wept alone. 

Oh man, wrote this in less than two hours. Kinda got hyped writing from Sasuke's perspective because it's new so my hands just kept going and I kept playing scenes. Sorry I killed old Madara off screen after making him such a force to be reckoned with, but I truly have no more plans for him other than making him a motivation or using him to explain Sasuke's actions or plans. 

Anyway, how'd you like it?  Good? Bad? Rushed? Nicely paced? I would've written more but I didn't wanna stretch out the next flashback with Sasuke without writing another 2k words to go along with it. 

I'd say there's about. . . five or so chapters left. Maybe a tad bit more, or a tad bit less. It just matters how many words I manage to get out and how many scenes I have to get out in a single chapters. 

I know a lot of you were worried I had abandoned this story, but you'd be wrong. Things just happened, and I also didn't have a laptop charger. But things are changing once again, whether for the worst or better idrk, but at least I get to write again. Wow I'm writing a big AN huh? Just putting my thoughts onto the thingy majig. Oh well

Go read Unshackled after this or else I'll discontinue it

Til next time my lil demons!