Chapter Forty-four

The Uzumaki and Hinata walked towards the edge of Kuo, with the Uchiha and Sakura quickly following behind, or rather they chased down the Uzumaki with clear intent to fight regardless of any duel that had just been given. They had no clear plan for such a fight, nor had they taken the time to come up with a plan in advance anyway, they simply intended to assault their enemies. To their surprise, their targets did not retaliate, they just ran out of the forest evading them and came to a stop roughly half a dozen meters on the other side of the stone boundaries of Kuo. The Uchiha stopped themselves just before they left the perimeters of the forest, fully capable of seeing the Uzumaki stand and grin at them as if they had won something.

"Go ahead and keep it up, if you're willing to risk it!" Kushina taunted with a shout, then she and Kuramamaru with Hinata walked away. Sasuke in frustration threw a kunai but it missed, irritating him more. He then took a look around, seeing nothing around the border of the forest except the stone formations. Feeling confident, he got ready to walk on out, but he was stopped by Sakura grabbing his wrist.

"What are you thinking Sasuke-kun? They said you'd turn into a fox if you left this place."

Sasuke pulled his wrist free of her grasp. "And you believe them?"

"Look at this place. There's nothing here keeping us inside this forest. Even the Forest of Death had a fence, this place has nothing. We can walk away if we want. Who traps prisoners like this? I think Naruto's mom was telling the truth."

Mikoto frowned, finding it hard to take the pinkette seriously. "You thought she was Kyuubi for a while Sakura, you're in no position to talk."

"You saw her change." Sakura protested, throwing her hands in the air trying to reason with them.

"Genjutsu genius, nothing but a genjutsu." Mikoto rolled her eyes while Sasuke ended up nodding in agreement.

"Well are you really going to risk that?" Sakura challenged, folding her arms. "And aren't you guys the ones with special eyes capable of spotting genjutsu? wouldn't you be able to prove me wrong if I was?"

Mikoto and Sasuke looked to each other for a moment, then back at her. "You might be right about the perimeter at least. After all the Uzumaki were talented with fuinjutsu so it's entirely possible that Kushina set up some kind of barrier seal or trap jutsu around this place. But there's no way it can turn someone into a fox. The only way to know what it truly does is to test it."

Sakura looked confused. "How exactly do we do that?"

"Simple, we activate it." The Uchiha matriarch then came up to the pinkette, making her a little nervous. Without warning, Mikoto grabbed a hold of Sakura's arm rather firmly, making her gasp in realization.

"What? You can't be serious!" Sakura tried to break free, but the older woman grabbed her other arm as well.

"Someone has to try it, and it's not going to be me or my son." Mikoto stated matter-of-factly.

"Sasuke-kun stop her!" Sakura pleaded, looking at the aforementioned boy. He responded by moving behind her and grabbing her feet, lifting her up so both he and his mother had her off the ground. "You can't do this to me!" She shouted, kicking and screaming but to no avail. Mikoto and Sasuke had taken their physical training more seriously than Sakura had, and there had been no Tsunade around, so Sakura was incapable of overpowering them. "What if I do turn into a fox? Or what if it kills me?"

"If there was a fuinjutsu that could kill that easily, Yondaime-sama would already have taken it and be using it against the Uzumaki." Sasuke replied.

Mikoto nodded. "Agreed. Besides whatever happens, better it happens to you than us."

Mikoto started to swing her arms along with Sasuke to build up momentum. Sakura still tried to break free, getting a leg released at least, but then the two Uchiha literally hurled her outside the forest. Her body landed on the ground and rolled past the stone pillars around the forest.

Sakura's body spasmed and convulsed, like she was having a seizure and muscle cramps at the same time. Pink hair started to sprout all over her body while her body shrunk into her clothes. Her face lengthened, her fingers shortened, and soon enough nothing could be seen except some squirming lump covered by her outfit.

Mikoto and Sasuke looked on with wide shocked eyes, stepping back from the forest edge. "Well, I guess that bitch really was telling the truth." Mikoto commented.

After a few moments the head of a pink fox popped out of the neck hole of Sakura's outfit, looking at its own paws for a moment before looking to the Uchiha. "You… how the hell could you do this to me? I thought I mattered to you!"

Rather than answer her, Mikoto turned around. "Come on Sasuke, if we're stuck in this forest for seven days we're going to figure out the best way to kill those Uzumaki and make sure they can't stop it."

Sasuke nodded and the two walked away, acting as if Sakura no longer existed.

Sakura just stood there looking on in shock. Then she ran towards them, or rather she tried to. Sakura fumbled over her legs rather quickly like a fawn still unable to take its first steps. Groaning, she got back up and slowly worked to coordinate herself. Now she had to move with four legs that were shorted than her human limbs, with feet that required a different weight distribution on them. Not to mention her nose was being hit with numerous scents and it was making it hard for her to breath for a moment.

Eventually feeling better about her mobility, she resumed going to the Uchihas. They were faster than her, but they had been walking with no sense of urgency at all so it didn't take too long for her to catch up. "Hey! What gives! How could you-?!"

Sakura was cut off by Mikoto turning around and kicking her like a ball, sending her flying into a tree. She didn't die from this, but boy did it hurt.

"Get lost Sakura. You think you matter to us? You don't." Mikoto said, getting closer to the girl stuck in a fox's body. "I only ever put up with you because Minato-kun asked me to. I didn't know what he saw in you but I trusted him so I tried to help you. For four years I tried, but do you know what I saw in you all that time? I saw a shallow child who never wanted to grow up and yet believed she already had at the same time. I saw a fan girl who wanted to live in a fairy tale and was only interested in my son because he was the one who could make it happen for her. I saw someone who claimed to be a genius but never once actually thought for herself or outsmarted the Uzumaki in a way that wasn't graded."

Mikoto then grabbed her like she was a naughty puppy and held her up. It hurt Sakura but Mikoto looked completely unconcerned for her well being. "You really think you're so special Sakura? You only got away with everything because Minato-kun wanted you to. Remember how you killed those other fan girls years ago in Konoha? Minato-kun and the Sandaime knew full well you had done it and they let you get away with it. Did you really believe you were talented enough to trick the hokages and interrogators of Konoha?"

Sakura gulped, reflecting on that part of her past. She did remember how Inoichi had covered for her, and she had assumed that was a sign that she was special enough that the rules didn't apply to her. That she was as special as Sasuke, and therefore worthy of him and he her. She had never considered that she should have been punished for it, that her actions could have consequences for anyone other than the intended victim.

"And apparently the only reason Minato-kun gave you any special consideration was because of his sick incest plans for you and Sasuke." Mikoto continued. "You don't matter Sakura, you don't have anything to brag about or anything to contribute to our cause. No more than Naruto ever did. And he at least trained and made some accomplishments. You can't say the same. You may hate Naruto but guess what? You're no less worthless than him as far as I'm concerned."

Sakura went still and looked like she was on the verge of tears right then. Her mouth opened to protest but no words came out.

Mikoto dropped her unceremoniously. "The real ninja here have work to do. Why don't you go find some hole to crawl in? It's not like you ever intended to put yourself at risk anyway." She turned away and walked off again.

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura pleaded, as if begging for her life. He didn't spare her a glance or a word, breaking her heart and shattering her world.

For a time, she just laid there in the dirt, filled with physical and emotional pain. How could they just discard her like that? The boy she had devoted her entire life to and the woman who had been like a second mother to her. She had spent years with them both envisioning triumphant victory over the Uzumaki. She had trained with and supported them both since day one, in her own preferred way of course, and this was what it all came to in the end?

Tears started to come out of her eyes and she grit her teeth in anger while her body trembled a bit. She crawled up on all fours, then walked out of the forest, glaring ahead at the village in sight. With a growl, she began to pick up the pace and head towards there.

To her surprise, someone appeared to be waiting for her. She slowed down when she saw a human figure standing there alone, their stance showing they had clearly been expecting her. A closer look showed Sakura just who it was, and they too decided to get a closer look at her as well.

"Just as I thought, you couldn't resist ignoring our warning." Kushina said, walking up to the pink fox with her own fox features still showing. Kuramamaru and Hinata were nowhere in sight, having gone ahead to attend to their own business. Kushina didn't ask what that was, as they deserved their own time away from others.

"Change me back damn you! Change me back now!" Sakura ordered, sounding rather close to barking like a fox does as she did so.

Kushina looked amused, a vulpine smile on her face, and her arms crossed. "When did I ever say I could do that?"

"Don't bullshit me! You obviously know how to become human, you were doing it when we got here!"

"No, I merely looked human. I'm still a fox." Kushina correctly. Though this wasn't entirely accurate, she was a kitsune hanyou that had the ability to appear fully human. But it wasn't like Sakura would have cared about the specifics so why go into them?

"And what about your son and that Hyuuga bitch? How do you explain them?" Sakura demanded.

Kushina replaced her smile with a dangerous frown. "I don't owe you any information, and I don't owe you your human body back either."

Sakura blinked then glared. "The hell you don't owe me!" She pounced in an attempt to bite her. Kushina pivoted, causing Sakura to faceplant into the ground, then she put her foot down on the pink fox's back pinning her down.

"You must be Haruno Sakura. Did the other two get out too? Or were the only one stupid enough to tempt fate?"

"I said change me back! You and your dipshit son ruined everything for me! My parents are dead, my home is destroyed, Sasuke-kun betrayed me, and now I've been turned into a freaking animal!"

"Are you expecting an apology?" Kushina asked mockingly. "Because it's your own fault all that happened to you."

"My own fault? How the hell is anything that happened to me my own fault?" Sakura asked in disbelief. After all, she had followed orders and listened to others that had assured her everything would work out, and then the Uzumaki fucked things up. Therefore it had to be Naruto's fault and by extension Kushina's fault too.

"Remember how I 'cursed' you to have a happy ending?" Kushina asked rhetorically. "Didn't you ever once ask yourself why would I do that? Curses are supposed to make things worse, not better. And you've made it perfectly clear to my son what happy ending you wanted. Why would anyone on his side want you to succeed in getting it? Why would we want you to acquire what you want?"

Kushina's grin grew more wicked. "Unless... what you wanted wouldn't make you happy after all. What you wanted most was to be the Uchiha boy's wife, wasn't it? A smart person in your place would have asked questions. Was there something we knew that you didn't? Was there something about the Uchiha that would ruin your dreams? I gave you your warning Sakura, the only warning you would listen to coming from us, so it's no one's fault but your own that you ignored it."

"That changes nothing!" Sakura protested. "My life was taken from me by you Uzumaki and now thanks to you I've even lost my humanity! You had no right to do any of this to me! You had no right to interfere in the Yondaime's business or anyone's!"

Kushina scoffed. "So if someone tried to kill you, you'd simply stand there and let them Haruno?"

"That's completely different! My life matters more than yours or Narutos!"

Kushina wrapped her fingers around Sakura's neck. "Do you expect me to agree with you?" Her grip tightened. "That wasn't rhetorical Haruno, I want an answer. Do you genuinely believe I am supposed to believe you are more important than my own son?"

Sakura froze, scared for her life. There was no way she could get out of this situation. Not unless she pacified this woman. "...N... no, of course of."

Kushina's grip did not loosen. "And yet despite that, you keep claiming I owe you happiness and the chance to continue hurting my son?"

"Please, just make me human again. You can drop me off back in the human world and I'll go hide and you'll never hear about me again." Sakura whimpered, hoping that Kushina would show some mercy.

Kushina pretended to think it over. "So you want me to not only give you a chance to reunite with Namikaze, however slim that is, but you also want me to let you off the hook for all your crimes against my son? Is that what you're asking?"

"Please, spare me."

Kushina narrowed her eyes. "Hmmmm... no!"

In a flash her hand shifted rapidly and Sakura's neck snapped with a very painful sound. It was so quick that Sakura didn't notice her life ending instantly. Kushina then used foxfire to ignite the limp body in her hand, burning it to ash. Many fell to the ground and got caught in the wind, but a pile remained in her palms.

"That's your happy ending Haruno, death. I could have taken you to Kyuubi-kun, but he would have tormented you without ever letting you die. You'd probably spend the rest of your life being a prisoner or a servant, maybe to my son or someone else you thought was beneath you. At least my way spared you the humiliation and growing hatred you would fester inside yourself for years to come. That's the only happy ending I can offer to someone who hated my son as much as you did."

Facing away from Kuo and the nearby fox village, she threw the ashes into the air, letting the wind carry them away, then she walked off.

Haruno Sakura was no more.

Days went by, with Kuramamaru and Sasuke both training in anticipation. Word got out around Shobikou, with everyone wanting to know how the Uchiha got here and what would happen to them regarding the outcome. A few questioned the necessity of this duel and wondered if the enemies should be executed or returned to the human world. The second option was not favored, but it was pointed out that if the Yamanaka erased their memories that there would be no harm to Shobikou later.

Kyuubi had decided that the duel would take place, as a morale booster for Shobikou since their ninja were in need of one. Why not have Kuramamru help boost morale by showing that the apprentice of Namikaze was defeatable, therefore renewing their faith in victory against Namikaze himself?

Then the day came, and the inhabitants were ready. Hinata went back into Kuo, finding the two Uchiha at the hut. Mikoto and Sasuke looked irritated and impatient, and less than idly hygienic, though they at least looked healthy so she assumed they had succeeded in foraging in the sacred forest. Without a word she went up to them both, grabbed their arms despite their protests, and summoned herself to the human world in a random location taking them with her. Then just as quickly she reverse-summoned herself and the Uchiha back to Shobikou, as that was the only way to avoid the barrier around Kuo if you were not a fox or a fox sage.

"What did you just do?" Mikoto demanded to know, managing to get her arm free, though the more accurate answer was Hinata letting her go. Looking around she could see she was outside Kuo, back in the valley they had been led through when the foxes had taken Mikoto and Sakura prisoner. Kushina and Kuramamaru stood there, clearly waiting, along with many of the Shobikou nin wanting to watch this fight. Beside the whiskered Uzumaki was Kyuubi in his fox form but the size of a lion. Seeing the fox made the Uchiha nervous.

"How did you get the fox out of Minato-kun's seal?" Mikoto demanded, surprised and scared but trying not to show it.

"Your hokage should know better than to use an Uzumaki seal on an Uzumaki." Hinata stated teasingly.

"This is where the fight between our sons will take place. No interference from either of us." Kushina stated, ignoring the question with a slight yawn again. "I'm not going to bother setting or repeating terms. Just know that whatever fate your son earns here Mikoto, you will share with him."

Mikoto frowned. "You sound awfully confident that your son will win."

Kushina grinned and tossed her head back. "That's because I am." The Uzumaki matriarch then walked away, using a chain to bind her former friend and make her leave the fighting area as well. She was put close by Kyuubi, close enough that the bijuu could pounce and kill her at any given moment. A few jounin were there too, some with weapons ready. The Uchiha matriarch recognized a few and was tempted to call them traitors, but she knew well enough to know that wouldn't accomplish anything productive on her end. Hinata gave Kuramamaru a kiss then left as well, leaving the two boys alone in the open valley.

Kuramamaru took a stance, encouraging Sasuke to do the same. Sasuke naturally activated his sharingan, but his eyes started to hurt. He ignored that and thought back to what his mother had warned him about for this battle.

"The Uzumaki had only one true advantage over our clan Sasuke, as loathsome as it is to admit. They possessed more chakra than us and weren't afraid to use it. So while you can use your sharingan to analyze and predict their movements, you must never copy their jutsu. If you do, you will be copying such jutsu as they use it, and your body will attempt to do the same. That has led to many Uchiha dying of chakra exhaustion due to them trying to mimic Uzumaki chakra levels while performing. I know you don't want to believe that the dead last can be superior to you in any way, but remember this dead last has made deals with the kyuubi, and even Uchiha Madara could not copy the kyuubi's chakra levels. Don't delude yourself into thinking you can do it when no other Uchiha could."

Sasuke grit his teeth, still not liking that part. His sharingan told him that Kuramamaru was ready to move, but couldn't predict exactly how. It was like his stance provided optimal evasion and maneuverability.

"These high chakra levels mean that Uzumaki can high levels of stamina. They prefer to tire out their opponents, so Kushina's son will try to make you tire yourself by making you use jutsu after jutsu or get you in taijutsu and keep you going until you slow down. But this preference for evasion and stamina means they're weak if hit, and you only need to hit him once. So I'd say your best bet is to go for a lethal move right away that he can't avoid to finish him off quickly. However don't use your more powerful jutsu to do it. Save it for in case you miss, and when you need to kill his mother and force the foxes here under our control."

Feeling more reassured with that memory, Sasuke reached into his weapons pouch and took out his collapsible demon wind shuriken. He opened it and spun around to build momentum before throwing it at the whiskered Uzumaki. His doujutsu saw the second shuriken discreetly disconnect and follow behind, hidden by the spinning blades of the primary shuriken and its shadow, and he smiled.

That smile faded when Kuramamaru held out a hand and suddenly both shuriken froze in the air, fully exposed. He then flicked his hand and the two shuriken went up in the air, falling to the ground out of sight. Taking advantage of the surprise, Kuramamaru rushed in, throwing a punch to Sasuke. Sasuke reacted appropriately and avoided it, throwing a punch in return that Kuramamaru dodged too. Sasuke used his other hand to take out a kunai and swiped it at Kuramamaru, aiming for the jugular.

Kuramamaru deflected the throwing knife with his left arm, his sleeve getting cut but the mesh armor sleeve underneath protecting his flesh from suffering the same fate. Kuramamaru followed by kneeing Sasuke in the gut, succeeding because the attack came from outside the Uchiha's immediate area of focus, then spun around and kicked him from the side. Sasuke blocked to lessen the blow but still felt the impact and was briefly stunned.

Kuramamaru backed away, evoking the Asura Path, and transformed his right arm into a scythe and his left arm into a gunbai fan. Sasuke saw and immediately recognized these as the most famous weapons used by Uchiha Madara.

"How fucking dare you mock the Uchiha clan by using our weapons?!" Sasuke shouted, feeling very insulted by this. "You are a nobody! You have no right to steal from us!"

"Considering that the entire bloodline of the Uchiha's is based on stealing from others, I'd say don't dish it out if you can't take it. Also Uchiha Madara was a fox sage like myself, so if he could use these then so can I."

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke charged at the Uzumaki. He did some hand signs and once finished brought his hands to his mouth. "Fire Style Salamander Jutsu!" He spat out a massive fireball that propelled ahead of himself taking the shape of a ferocious lizard coming for Kuramamaru.

"Wind Style Eyewall Jutsu." Kuramamaru countered, spinning around with the gunbai out. A wall of wind quickly came to life around him, looking like if a Hyuuga Rotation became a tornado, and it created a sort of suction in the air. The fire lizard got pulled into the cyclone and got dispersed among the wind, none of the flames touching their intended target. Sasuke had to stop, waiting for the jutsu to end before taking advantage of the next window of opportunity.

Sasuke winced as his eyes started to hurt more. It was minor, feeling like he had something stuck in it like some dirt or an eyelash, so he ignored it. The wind wall faded away, exposing Kuramamaru, and so he rushed in with another kunai. He wouldn't even bother with a jutsu, knowing that the extra seconds of doing hand signs might just give his enemy an opportunity to do more. He went in and thrust forward his weapon...

...and it dug into Kuramamaru's torso, looking like it pierced a lung.

This made the Shobikou nin gasp and both Sasuke and Mikoto grin with pleasure. He quickly yanked out the kunai, being sure to add some additional damage to the Uzumaki boy, and enjoyed seeing blood spurt out. Sasuke knew that no matter how this fight went from this moment on, Kuramamaru would surely die from internal bleeding or choking on his own blood by this point.

He was doomed, Sasuke was certain of it.

To his shock, Kuramamaru's right hand returned to normal but it glowed green and he put it on his chest. After a moment he removed his hand and the wound was gone. Kuramamaru did cough up some blood, but this was more like clearing his throat than choking on anything.

"I'll admit that was a good one. Now I have to restart my senjutsu prep, but you won't get a shot like that again Sasuke." Kuramamaru stated, his left hand returning to normal too. He quickly created some shadow clones and began running circles around the Uchiha in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions, renewing his absorption of natural chakra. The only downside was that the rinnegan showed him the perspective views of his clones, which always disoriented him for a moment, but there was enough distance between them to not be an immediate issue.

"Your son's idea of putting up a fight is as pathetic as he is." Mikoto hissed, watching from afar.

Kushina showed no offense, but rather mirth, at what she heard. "It's called playing the long game Mikoto, something you should be familiar with by now."

Nearby, Ino leaned in closer to her father and whispered. "What exactly is Kuramamaru doing? I mean, couldn't he have easily won this already with one of his special skills?"

Inoichi nodded. "He could, but that's not the point of this. Kushina wants this to boost our morale, so we feel better the next time we fight Namikaze's troops. How much better will we be if we're under the impression that we can afford to put all our eggs in one basket? Try to learn from this Ino, see what he does and ask yourself what if it had to be you fighting the enemy right now."

Ino nodded and resumed watching the fight.

Sasuke meanwhile decided not to bother with more simple direct attacks and activated the Mangekyo Sharingan. Just then the pain he had been feeling increased rather sharply, like he had been pepper-sprayed, forcing him to clutch at his eyes. All of the Kuramamaru's went in and proceeded to assault him with coordinated taijutsu.

"Uzumaki Barrage!" The clones declared, punching the Uchiha upwards.

Mikoto instinctively made an effort to go help her son, but Kushina tightened her chain around the woman. Enough to make her seriously wonder if she could be diced apart by the chakra-generated bindings. Shikaku had been tempted to use his shadows to bind her, but doing so would affect Kushina too. Anko however did come in close with a kunai and pointed it into Mikoto's back in a threatening way.

Sasuke managed to land on his feet, panting a little and squinting due to his eye pain, but he still looked ready to fight. However, something made him silently gasp. He could see Kuramamaru and everything surrounding him, but the whiskered Uzumaki was blurry. His sharingan vision was blurred. Unfocused. Blinking repeatedly did nothing to change that.

"What the hell did you do to my eyes?!"

Kuramamaru smirked and dispelled the clones. The grin on his face made Sasuke angry, regardless of how blurry it was. "What's the matter? Having a hard time looking at me?"

'I don't know what he's doing or how he's doing it, but if I'm going to make him suffer I better use the more advanced jutsu right now.' Sasuke thought, concluding that saving his stronger moves for later wouldn't do him any good anymore. Now he channeled chakra into his left sharingan, despite it hurting more to do so, and utilized a Tsukuyomi.

Sasuke saw himself in a dark valley with a red moon in the sky and smiled. He looked to his opponent, expecting him to be crucified and helpless. But he froze and came close to dropping his jaw when he saw Kuramamaru was as free as he was.

"How are you not affected?! You should be trapped-" Sasuke started, pointing to the other teen, but a memory came to him. The time when Mikoto helped him learn how to use the Tsukuyomi. She had told him that typically the victim will be trapped and helpless, but warned him that if the enemy was alert and aware before the genjutsu was cast, it might not have the same effect. So the Tsukuyomi worked best when the other person was caught by surprise. "How could you possibly know about the Sharingan?"

"Did you think no one here knew anything about your doujutsu Sasuke?" Kuramamaru asked. "Uchiha aren't exactly known for their modesty. Many of your clan members have showed off or bragged about their skills in the past, and many of my allies remembered what they said. No wonder your brother killed your entire clan, it was probably the only way to get them to shut up."

Enraged, Sasuke charged forward like a madman with no plan other than hit the Uzumaki in any way possible. After all, it wasn't like anything that happened to him in return would affect his body. Sure the same would be true about Kuramamaru, but it would feel so good to finally unleash all his aggression on his intended target with no reason in the slightest to hold back.

Thus the two engaged in a brawling match where punch after punch, kick after kick, even a bite or two, were thrown in randomly with no sign of stopping. There was no taijutsu, no form, no sense of professionalism here, it was nothing but 'Make the other person suffer as much as humanly possible and don't stop until continuation is physically impossible'. Sasuke was out for Kuramamaru's blood and he wasn't going to stop until he saw every last drop of it leave his body, even if it was just a genjutsu world.

Sasuke punched Kuramamaru in the eye.

Kuramamaru bit him on the wrist.

Sasuke cut his chest with a kunai.

Kuramamaru dug into his stomach with his claws.

Sasuke tried to gouge Kuramamaru's eyes out but missed.

Kuramamaru stomped on Sasuke's foot hard enough to heard bones cracking.

Sasuke kicked him in the crotch.

Kuramamaru grabbed his head and forced him to bend down at a painful angle before elbowing him on the back of the neck.

The fight went on like this, neither giving an inch. Their wounds were painful as hell but not enough to stop them. It was a battle to the death where neither side could actually die.

Throughout it, Kuramamaru began to see another image, one imposing itself over Sasuke. It was faint, like a mirage or heat shimmer, but noticeable. Kuramamaru could see what looked like someone else fighting in Sasuke's place, an older man. This man had brown hair with spikes flattened to the sides rather than pointing up, and two front locks framing his face. He had the sharingan but there was purple under his eyes, what it exactly was Kuramamaru had no idea, and he wore a white kimono with a black obi. The kimono had a high collar and a magatama pattern going around it.

"Dammit Ashura, concede already!" The image of the man said, though Sasuke said nothing.

Kuramamaru saw an image around himself too now, one more familiar, and now had a good idea what was going on. 'So, Sasuke must be the other guy's reincarnation. And now they're duking it out directly just like we are. I better let them handle themselves, so I can focus on my own fight more.'

So the two fought, and so did the specters of Ashura and Indra. At first they matched their reincarnations move for move, but they started getting more independent and thus slowly separated from the two, fighting literally above them. The two boys below continued on as if they were unaware. And no Sasuke was indeed aware of this, he just didn't care enough to let the confusion get in the way of his battle lust.

"I didn't concede the last time we fought Indra and I'm not doing it this time. But go ahead, try and convince me why your way of forcing everyone to submit to a single leader works when my reincarnation has spent the last four years fighting that very thing. Convince me that for the last four years I'm the one that's been in the wrong." Ashura countered.

Indra took out a sword, while Ashura took out a staff. "You are so fucking naive! You think you can lead by example?" Indra tried to slash at his brother, but Ashura blocked it. "You think if you just say a few nice things and show kindness here and there everyone else will do the same? People don't work that way Ashura! Even children don't work that way! The only way to make anyone do what you want them to do is to make them do it and punish them for disobeying!"

"I will agree with you on some of that Indra." Ashura said, spinning his staff and getting in a hit.

"What?" Indra asked, confused. In all their clashes over the years since their deaths, and even lives, he could not recall a single time his little brother had agreed with him.

"I was naive. I did believe that leading by example was enough. I did believe that progress done little by little was the best and I was foolish to not consider that said progress wouldn't go in the direction I wanted it to go. When it came to human nature Indra I will concede that you knew more than I did."

Indra smiled, but was still cautious. He sensed a 'but' coming, and Ashura did not disappoint.

"But I refuse to agree with your solution to the problem. My way may have resulted in a lot of people disagreeing and doing their own thing, but they at least had the freedom to do so. Your solution is to take that freedom away, to enslave everyone."

The older brother screamed at his younger brother.

"It's the only way to get results! We both want the same thing Ashura! We want the world to be peaceful! We want the world to be the kind of world that our father envisioned! And yet the people who inherited it constantly squander it! War after war! Feud after feud! Crime, slavery, rape, genocide! It never ends! They even weaponized the bijuu and have the audacity for hating the very weapons they created in doing it! Do you seriously not understand what the true problem here is? It's freedom! The very freedom you choose to defend! There's simply too much of it in this world!"

"Too much freedom? That's your claim?" Ashura questioned.

"Too much of anything is a bad thing and freedom is no exception! Every horrible thing I've mentioned and didn't mention all happened because people believed they had the freedom to get away with it! There's too much freedom in this world and people are taking advantage of it! People are choosing to be horrible, to be monsters, to profit off the suffering of others, all while claiming that no matter how bad they are someone else is worse and their own evil is in some way necessary! These people do not deserve the world our father left to them, and the only way to set things right is to use our power to do so! Nothing will change unless we make it change!"

Ashura did not respond, he looked like he didn't know how to.

Indra stepped away, halting the fight between them. "Do you finally see, little brother? The world is bigger than us. We can't let things like sentimentality or fear hold us back. Sure some people's feelings might be hurt, and some lives may be lost, but the accomplishment will be worth it. A world where peace is a reality, just like Father always wanted." He then extended a hand. "Please Ashura, join me. I still would be happy to have you by my side as we fulfill Father's dream."

"Father's dream?" Ashura repeated, sounding like he was offended by those words. "You talk about how you're doing this all for our family, how you're trying to fulfill the legacy our father gave us. You claim that people need more restrictions in order to be happy. That by sacrificing some freedoms and some individuals, in the end people will like what you provide." He paused to scoff, sounding like he wanted to laugh. "That may work with cattle, but we're not talking about livestock here Indra. We're talking about human beings. With individuality, with dreams, with hopes. You say that you're doing all this for them, how you want to save humanity from itself, but in the end Indra, what your claim boils down to is you threatening people if you don't get what you want when you want it. That doesn't make you a savior, that makes you a tyrant. You're just imposing your beliefs onto others because you think your beliefs matter more than theirs."

"Dammit this is too important." Indra protested. "Look at what the world has become. What our reincarnations have to go through every lifetime. Again and again, and nothing ever changes for the better. Your way will lead to nothing but destruction."

"No, peace will come eventually. It's not going to happen overnight no matter how much you want it to. We make it happen by winning hearts and minds first. We convince people to lay down their arms and embrace their fellow man. We don't force people to do it, and we certainly don't put a sword to their throats and say 'accept it or die'."

"Dammit we have to do this. They'll never change unless we make them change."

"Maybe, but being the son of the Sage of Six Paths doesn't give you the right to make that change. No more than a prophecy gives another man the right to do the same."

Ashura and Indra resumed their fight while down below Kuramamaru and Sasuke continued their own, neither ending until the Tsukuyomi did.

Forced back into the real world, Kuramamaru and Sasuke panted and rested, mentally exhausted for fighting for 72 hours straight. Sasuke saw that his vision was still blurred, and while he wanted to continue fighting the adrenaline rush was gone. So he deactivated his doujutsu, yet his vision remained blurred. Thinking quickly, he did some hand signs and cast a Phoenix Flower Jutsu, certain at least one of the fireballs would hit him.

Kuramamaru used the Asura Path to turn his hands into shields and deflect the fireballs. He then started walking towards his opponent. Sasuke reactivated his sharingan, his eyes hurting more and his vision getting worse, but then he unleashed the Amaterasu flames. He could see well enough to know that Naruto blocked with his shields but the flames remained.

'I don't know how you can transform your limbs into weapons dobe, but right now it doesn't matter. The Amaterasu burns all, and you will burn with it.'

Kuramamaru's hand returned to normal, covered in black flames that tried to spread up his arms. Kuramamaru closed his eyes and activated his Ghost Path, absorbing the chakra fueling the flames and essentially snuffing them out.

Sasuke's jaw dropped, as did Mikoto's. Even several of the Shobikou nin were surprised to see this. They had never seen someone else extinguish the Amaterasu. The only thing that came close was Namikaze demonstrating a fuinjutsu Sasuke could use if Itachi ever used the flames on him, but Kuramamaru just appeared to will it away.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke decided it was time to go big, and attempted to manifest what he could of his Susanoo. He couldn't do a complete form, not having enough experience to do so yet, but he could at least have some weapons and armor to use. Some armor and a large sword began to materialize, while Sasuke felt like needles were being dug into his eyes from behind. He persisted, but then the pain became excruciating and he collapsed to his knees, the Susanoo fizzling away back into nonexistence.

Sasuke clutched at his eyes, feeling something warm. 'Blood? Are my eyes bleeding?' He wiped them, definitely feeling something warm and wet on his hands. He opened his eyes to confirm this, but now he saw nothing. No shapes, no colors, no blur, nothing.

Sasuke was blind.

"What the hell happened to my eyes?!" He screamed, showing fear for the first time that Kuramamaru could remember seeing in him.

"I've been preparing for a fight against you for years Sasuke." Kuramamaru said, crouching down as if the Uchiha would hear him better that way. "Remember back when you were in the Chuunin Exams? Remember how I took your old eyes? Didn't you ever ask yourself why didn't I just kill you when I had the chance?"

Sasuke tried to back away, all arrogance and bravado gone from him. "I... I thought you couldn't do it. That you didn't have the guts to go for a finishing blow seeing how much of a loser you are."

"I had the guts to leave Konoha and more guts to come back and fight off ninja in the Forest of Death to humiliate them. I had the guts to sneak into Namikaze's house and destroy his hiraishin tools. Why would killing you be the line I won't cross?" Kuramamaru asked in a low whisper.

"What did you do to me?" He asked.

"I did nothing, but the doctor that helped give you those new eyes, she worked for me and my mom. We gave her a fuinjutsu to hide inside your skull, one that would be triggered by you using your sharingan on me. When you looked at me, analyzed my chakra, your eyes and optic nerves would degenerate from the inside, until you couldn't see anymore."

Sasuke's blind eyes widened in horror. It was the Forest of Death all over again, only worse. "You... you destroyed my sharingan?!"

"Twice if you think about it."

Outrage began to replace Sasuke's fear, prompting him to irrationally throw a punch hoping to accomplish something. Kuramamaru caught it and used the Ghost Path to drain more chakra from the Uchiha. Sasuke could feel the drain and tried to pull free, but Kuramamaru used both hands to hold onto him and drained more.

"Let me go!" Sasuke protested, trying to free himself.

"Not this time Sasuke. Letting you live the first time was okay because I knew it would pay off for me later. This time, letting you live would do more harm than good so I won't repeat the same mistake twice. I'm not going to risk letting you get back to Namikaze and help him defeat us, and I'm not going to leave you to maybe escape and make things worse for everyone here yourself. So that leaves me with one option, and it's not one you like."

'This can't be happening! I wasn't supposed to die this way!' Sasuke struggled, though his body was starting to give into the drain.

Mikoto decided she wasn't going to watch this for one more second and activated her sharingan. She sent out her own Amaterasu flames, figuring that Kushina's son would be too distracted to defend himself from them. The flames ignited and struck Kuramamaru.

"Yes! Die you worthless-!" Mikoto ranted, but was cut off by both Kushina and Hinata slugging her in the back of the head sporting two large lumps. Anko also jabbed her kunai right into Mikoto's flesh, certain that death would be inevitable even if not instant for the woman.

Kuramamaru felt the burn but he was already using his Ghost Path, so he adjusted his absorption to include the chakra of the flames. Then he got an idea, and maneuvered Sasuke's hands to touch the flames while they lasted, causing them to spread up his arms.

Sasuke screamed and pulled away, this time Kuramamaru let him get free. He tried to brush off the fire, but that only made it spread over him more.

"Sasuke!" Mikoto shouted in horror, blood dripping out her mouth as she watched her son start to burn from the very fire she had started. She tried to use her eyes to cancel out the jutsu, and she succeeded, but the burns were quite clear on his skin and his clothes. "Release me!" She demanded, struggling against the chains.

"I know one way I'd love to release you." Anko claimed.

'Dammit, there's got to be a way to get out of this.' Mikoto thought. She had been trying multiple times during the fight between their sons to get free, from the substitution jutsu to brute strength, yet nothing worked. It was like the chains were restraining her chakra as well as her body. Which wasn't that hard to believe as Kushina's chains were strong enough to subdue the Kyuubi himself should she need to.

"Fitting, isn't it?" Kushina said, watching Kuramamaru resume absorbing Sasuke's chakra. "Years ago you killed me while plotting the torment and death of my son. Now your son is dying while you're being forced to watch."

"You loathsome bitch." Mikoto rued. She was tempted to use Amaterasu on her, but if it didn't work on her son it was possible it wouldn't work here either. "Only a coward would do something like this."

"At least I didn't abandon my son for several years to shack up with a man, leaving him to deal with psychological trauma and an unhealthy ego." Kushina taunted.

"You can't... kill me like... this..." Sasuke wheezed, having a hard time breathing now. His skin was getting paler. "It's my... destiny... to..."

"Do I look like someone who cares about your destiny Sasuke?" Kuramamaru asked, feeling the amount of chakra coming from the avenger get smaller and smaller. "Namikaze said I exist just to be used! An old toad said your hokage is supposed to decide the fate of the world! My own past life said you and I were supposed to fight each other! Destiny, destiny, destiny... well fuck destiny! Fuck everyone who thinks they have some kind of authority over the future!"

"And what makes you so damn special when you do it?" Sasuke countered, amping himself up for one final attack. He pulled his head back and swiftly brought it forward, slamming his head into Kuramamaru's face. The impact hurt and caused Kuramamaru to release him and cease absorbing chakra. Free but breathing heavily, Sasuke shoved him with his shoulder and Kuramamaru was too dazed to stop himself from landing on his back. Sasuke then stomped his foot on his right arm, resulting in a loud painful snap.

Kuramamaru let out a yell of pain. Many Shobikou nin winced and Kushina nearly went out to help him, only to have Hinata stop her.

"Not now. Don't prove her right and admit you don't have faith in your son." Hinata stated, pointing towards a smirking Mikoto. This made Kushina nod and look at her son with hopeful eyes.

Sasuke found himself collapsing to the ground sitting down, breathing like he had run enough laps to even exhaust Guy and Lee. He tried to get back up, but his body refused to cooperate. "You think... you're so noble dobe? Aren't... you trying to control... other people's future too? Force... your own ideas of what... the world... should be on them? What... makes you any... better than the very people... you're fighting? What makes you better?"

Kuramamaru cradled his broken arm, having to use his stored sage chakra once again to heal himself. Though the process wouldn't be quick. "What makes me better? I've asked myself that many times over the years Sasuke. How do I fight the monsters without becoming a monster? And maybe from a certain point of view I never will be better than you. But it's not about being better, it's about fighting for what I believe in. And I agree with Ashura, I fight for a world that doesn't have tyranny in it. What do you fight for Sasuke, other than the death of people you don't like?"

"What more would I need to fight for?" Sasuke challenged, trying to find a weapon he could use. He did have some kunai and shuriken left, but he didn't want to relay on weapons that had already failed.

Kuramamaru sighed and altered his uninjured hand into a scythe. He swung it before Sasuke could hear anything, and before everyone's eyes Sasuke head was cleaved from his body, falling to the ground one after the other.

"No! Sasuke!" Mikoto shouted, tears beginning to pour out her eyes. "This... this can't be! How could this be possible?!"

"You taught your son to kill. I taught my son to survive." Kushina answered, somewhat smugly.

Mikoto turned to her, only for Kushina to dig her claws into her throat, cutting into the trachea and the nearby veins and arteries. Mikoto could immediately feel herself choking on her own blood, moreso than the kunai in her back causing internal bleeding.

"If only you had been smarter Mikoto. If only you had been a real friend, none of this would have happened." Kushina said, now sounding somewhat regretful. "But this is what you chose. And you have to live with it. Or should I say, die with it."

The chains came off, Mikoto futilely clutched at her throat and turning towards her son, his still body being the last thing she saw as her soul vacated her body.

Kushina sighed as if she just finished along struggle. "Now we only have two targets left. Akatsuki and Namikaze."