Chapter Thirty-Four
Reborn In Fire
Sasuke swung his arm forward, bringing down the sword held by his Susanoo onto the area the Path stood at. His strongest defense, even in its partial skeletal form, has been withstanding the gravitational attacks of the Deva. But he can see the small cracks forming on one of the ribs. He knows it won't last much longer.
He himself was bruised and bleeding from his fight without the Susanoo. His clothes are scuffed and ripped, his left arm swelling at the forearm from when he had to block a kick from the Deva. His left eye is crying blood as he had used Amaterasu too much and it was now straining his Mangekyo.
The Deva is looking worse for wear but it was not nearly as bad as the Uchiha. His cloak is ripped open to reveal an athletic physique that is modified with the black piercings but larger. Sasuke doubted they were piercings of any kind as he can feel and see a type of chakra flow from them.
Then there are the new arrivals who he has had to keep an eye on as well. The Akimichi patriarch and Choji, both of whom are ready to fight him as much as the Path. It's not like he blamed them, but he didn't want someone stabbing him in the back when he was trying to fight this insanely strong opponent.
Naruto wouldn't be struggling this much if he was here.
The thought was one of melancholy as he knew that his brother would have the tenacity to make the Path be on the defense. Add in the fact that he would have had the time to be trained by Jiraiya, there was no doubt this fight would have been over by now. But here he was, struggling against one in a head-on fight.
"Sasuke, the other Paths are coming to you! Pain wants to surround you!"
Karin's information from his earpiece made him grit his teeth, spreading his senses to the surrounding area. Sure enough, four large chakras were coming straight to him and the others. He wasn't too sure if the Akimichi or Kakashi sensed them but Suigetsu was nearby and had an earpiece as well.
"Suigetsu, can you try to get the Konoha ninja to cooperate with us?"
"Ehh," Suigetsu's unsure voice was received as he glanced at the white-haired jonin watching the fight intently. "I could try but I doubt they will listen to me."
"Get them to." Sasuke swung his blade again when he said this.
Deva jumped back to avoid the dark purple blade and held out his hand. Like the other times before, the large blade was sent to the side from the gravitational push. The blade dug across the ground and shoved the rubble to the side, cleaving a scar into the earth. This also left the skeletal ribcage housing the Uchiha open to an attack.
Amaterasu.
The black flames created a wall in front of him just in time to prevent an attack from the Deva Path. He closed his left eye as the pain got unbearable but he did not undo his Mangekyo. The moment he does that, the Susanoo will fall and that will leave him open to more ruthless attacks.
"You won't be able to continue for much longer." Deva drawled as he landed back on the ground. "You will not outlast my attacks as it stands. Give up and your death will be swift."
Sasuke scoffed. "Give up? That's not part of my vocabulary."
"But treason is."
Sasuke glared up at the unfazed man when he said that.
"I know of your story; Sasuke Uchiha, once a loyal Konoha shinobi that left to serve Orochimaru. You betrayed your village, and killed your former teammate Naruto Uzumaki."
"Keep his name out of your mouth." Sasuke's voice is cold and chilling, stopping the Path from continuing.
"A nerve? Yet, you are the one who killed him."
Sasuke swung his sword at the man and like he expected the man dodged the attack by jumping. He opened his closed eye, ignoring the hazy vision and used his unholy flames to consume the Deva.
Amaterasu is a near instant flame attack that eats anything it touches and will continue to burn until his Mangekyo deactivates. On top of that, as it seems, it is unaffected by the repulsive technique of the Deva. They consumed the right side of the Path with ravenous hunger, eating away at the robe and his limbs as he only partially avoided the technique.
As the Deva fell to the ground, Sasuke hunched over as a painful throb shot through his skull from his left eye. Fuck, that's too much.
"Sasuke, your chakra is dropping rapidly! What happened?!"
"Nothing to worry about, Karin." Sasuke stood back up weakly as his head exhaustively lulled back.
"No, there is a lot to worry about! I feel chakra spiking to the Path you are fighting!"
"I just hit him with Amaterasu, he shouldn't be getting up." But something bugged him as he said that and he looked at the prone man. "Hey, Karin, what's the possibility that all of these are not the original?"
"..."
Fuck. Sasuke knew by that silence that it was not good in his favor. So all I've done is exhaust myself and none of these are the real Pain.
"For them to be like puppets, there has to be a radius at which the real Pain cannot exceed. He must be near the village."
"Find him." Sasuke ordered before turning to face the incoming Paths. "Find him quick and then handle him. I'll hold these Paths' attention."
"Sasuke…"
"Do it, Karin!"
Sasuke's shout silenced the girl and even Suigetsu turned to look at their leader, getting a questioning look from the Konoha ninjas he had approached enough to talk to. He did not give them his attention as he was focused on the arrival of the rest of the Paths. He didn't have much chakra left and his Amaterasu was no longer able to be used in his current state.
All I have is the Susanoo, now. He grimly glanced at the ribs that protected and saw the small cracks beginning to form. Even that will fail soon.
"The Konoha ninjas agree to help," Suigetsu's voice came over the earpiece. "The Copy-nin will be able to use two assassination techniques and the Akimichi will be able to handle the flanks."
"Perfect."
Sasuke had raised his arm, swinging his Susanoo's blade through the body of one of the Rinnegan summons; a massive rhinoceros with a black rod through the skull. He tossed the two halves to the side, taking care not to squish his temporary allies.
"Water Style: Water Cannon Technique!"
Suigetsu used the moisture in his right arm, utilizing his Hozuki clan's special ability to power the jutsu. He targeted the lone female Path since she was wide open while commanding the summoned creature. She did not even move when she saw it coming for her but he realized that she did not have to.
Preta had jumped in front of the technique and summoned a circular barrier that began to absorb the blast of water.
"You can't do that if the others have an eye on you!" Sasuke shouted at Suigetsu as he eyed the other two Paths. The two main fighters are down, leaving only the supports.
Animal quickly went through hand seals before slamming her hands on the ground, creating an array of seals. In a large plume of smoke, a three-headed dog appeared and savagely growled while eyeing them with its Rinnegan eyes.
"We will handle the dog and the summoner!" The Akimichi patriarch shouted before expanding to meet the size of the summoned beast. "Come on, Choji!"
"Yes, pa!"
"We'll take care of the tall and long-haired one," Suigetsu told Sasuke, including the white-haired jonin into the tactics. "We will try to handle him before coming to assist you!"
"Go," Sasuke nodded his head without looking away from the last two Paths.
"Sasuke!" Karin shouted hastily, breathlessly. "I'm following the chakra signature coming from the west. But I needed to tell you that you need to be careful for one of the Paths. They have the ability to repair the others!"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at that. "Do you know which one?"
"No."
Sasuke sighed and cracked his neck in preparation for the fight ahead. He was running out of chakra fast but he will have to make it work. I doubt Naruto would have suffered this much.
The Uchiha's thoughts were halted when he noticed that one of the Paths had grabbed the body of the one that could manipulate gravitational forces. He's the one!
Sasuke quickly swung his sword to cleave the Path but he was surprised with the sudden appearance of a gigantic armadillo rolling in the way. It quickly uncurled itself, deflecting the ghostly blade to the side, before pushing itself into a roll directly into the torso of the Susanoo. The ribs rattled at the impact and he grit his teeth as he was pushed back a few yards.
Fucking die! He grabbed the edge of the armored shell and flipped the armadillo onto it's back.
He moved the blade tip to the stomach of the summoned creature and plunged the weapon in. The animal squealed in pain but was silenced the moment the blade was ripped up and severed everything from its navel up.
He had prepared to charge the Paths that looked to resurrect the dead one but he was sent falling backwards from an immense push shoving him down. The entire area seemed to blow up more from the point of origin, sending all of the ninja flying away and into the rubble near Sasuke. The Paths were undisturbed, however, and grouped together at the center of the push.
"I grow sick of this." A familiar voice said and Sasuke looked up to see the Deva rising into the air. "I will end this once and for all."
No! Sasuke got rid of the blade and summoned a ghastly bow and arrow.
He notched the arrow and prepared to let it fly but was flattened down with another gravitational push.
"Time for all of you to feel…
…Pain!"
He had sensed the gathering of chakra and that the Paths had all cleared from the area. Above him he felt more chakra than he had felt in any single person before in his life; not from Itachi, not from Kakashi, not from Hiruzen, and sure as hell not from Orochimaru.
Fuck!
Sasuke quickly gathered Suigetsu and the Konoha-nins with his Susanoo and shoved them under his ghastly body. He did it just in time as, as soon as the ninja were under him, he winced as an immense power began pressing down on him and the bones of his technique started rattling violently. Chips and pieces shot from the ribs but he kept pushing more chakra into the technique to just rebuild.
I'm not going to survive.
"Kakashi!" His shout was drowned in the violent noises of his technique facing the gravity and his former teacher looked up at him with wide eyes. "I'm sorry! I should have paid more attention to your lessons!"
The roaring of the winds and whining of the bones as they constantly broke and rebuilt themselves reached its apex. But in it, a teacher and student were finally able to meet one last time. And with that, one sought not the forgiveness of the other but the ability to apologize.
To apologize for so many failures that plagued him for years.
"I wish I had listened to your lessons of teamwork…"
"Sasuke."
He looked up at his brother when he spoke. "Yes, Itachi-niisan?"
"Do you know why the Uchiha are always so adept with Fire Style?"
His face scrunched up in confusion before shaking his head. "No, I don't. I thought it was because we are from the Land of Fire."
Itachi chuckled at his innocent answer and shook his head. "No. It is actually much more interesting than that. You see, the Uchiha believe in many things that give us our control over such a dangerous and majestic element such as fire. Some say that our souls are so violent that we are destined to be nothing but destructive."
"But the main line of the Uchiha have faith in something else. In our hearts are the purifying flames of the Eternal Flame's Phoenix. The Flame That Purifies is an ancient tradition that was lost during the Warring States period that preceded the formation of villages."
Sasuke's eyes widened in awe at that and clenched his hands in excitement. "Is that true, nii-san?!"
"I believe so," Itachi nodded his head in amusement. "The Flame That Purifies is the ideal that our ancestor had gone through the flames of oppression and damnation, taking on all judgment of his future clan. It is through him being judged that we are able to wield the flames that burned him, cleansed us and our future, and use that in the defense of our clan and the old faith."
Sasuke nodded his head vigorously at his brother's words but he slowly stopped and became confused. "But…what is the Phoenix you mentioned?"
"She is Solara, the Phoenix of the King's Flame. She followed our ancestor on his path of judgment, deciding whether he followed the task given to him by the King's Flame. We recognize her as an important figure of our clan's formation."
…
"That is an interesting memory, child. To think that my name survived the ages to this very point in time."
Sasuke heard the voice and his eyes opened to find himself in a tundra not found anywhere he had been. It is not mountainous enough to be Lightning Country, nor is it cold enough to be Snow Country. In fact, it is quite hot for the region.
"Are you not going to speak, hm?"
Hearing the voice again, he turned to find what was making the heat. Over forty feet high and an imposing stature, he is shocked to find a golden bird burning in pure white flames. With a beautiful radiant light surrounding her that is not uncomfortable to be around despite the clear heat coming from her, he knows that this was unlike anything he had been around. Even the flames of Amaterasu did not give such a purifying and destructive feeling as this.
"Y-you're a phoenix."
The bird gave a small trill of amusement and raised her head high. "Indeed I am. My name is Solara, I am the Elder Phoenix."
Her voice comes to him like a beautiful birdsong, the soft noise somehow being understood by his ears. It only served to confuse him more as it was not like speaking to the snake summons while serving Orochimaru. This was more innate, more intimate in his soul. But he remembered where he was just moments ago, sacrificing himself for the lives of his former sensei and his companions.
"I'm losing against Pain," Sasuke said mostly to himself, but also to Solara. "I'm not strong enough to fight them. My Susanoo is protecting me and my team but there is nothing else to do. Konoha is lost."
"Yes, that is true," Solara nodded her avian head at his words. "You will die, and in your death you will have saved five people to carry on your story. You will be remembered."
Sasuke scoffed but a sad smile was on his lips. "If Naruto was here and still alive, he would have handled this no problem. He'd save Konoha and defeat that bastard."
"There is no use wondering about what ifs and what could have been." Solara sternly told the Uchiha with a rustle of her feathers. "That only paves way for doubt and unrest. You did your best, and now you may rest."
Sasuke shook his head at that and looked up at the bird. "There has to be something I can do! If I leave that maniac to continue on, he will kill more innocents! I can't look Naruto in the face if all I did was beat two of them and still be unable to protect Konoha!"
Solara sang an unintelligible song as she stared at the endless gray-blue sky as if asking permission. "If it is what you wish, I may help fuel the fire in your heart."
"Really? How!"
"You will ensure your death if you do this," Solara warned. "To use the power I will offer you, it will burn out your mortal body and leave nothing to bury. You will continue on to your judgment, but you will have the power to finish your goal."
"I don't care about any of that." Sasuke nodded his head. "I will do it. Help me, Solara-san!"
"Very well." Solara breathed in and from her beak she blew a sea of flames at the raven-haired boy. "Then burn like the flame that had cleansed your ancestor. Become a raging inferno, burning to ash every wrong so that it may all grow anew."
He felt the flames burn him intensely, choking him of oxygen but even as he choked he could breathe. Even as he choked he could feel the pain burn every inch of him but no mark was left on his body. And in it all he felt something grow inside of him, setting every cell ablaze with the heat of a sun's core.
"Burn, Sasuke Uchiha. Burn so you may be reborn."
"Sasuke! Sasuke!"
He awakened to screaming in his ear but that was slowly dying with warbled waves. He had realized too late that it was Karin trying to reach him through his earpiece. The little bud that was in his ear fell onto the dirt as a melted ball of plastic.
He got to his feet slowly, his body aching, screaming at him as he did so. But it was not the effort of standing that hurt him. No, it was the heat lighting a fire all across his skin.
"Sasuke…?"
He turned to who said his name, Suigetsu taking a few steps back from the blazing inferno surrounding him. "Suigetsu. Is everyone safe?"
The Hozuki nodded his head. "Y-yeah, they're fine. What about you? Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine for now," Sasuke answered his teammate, bringing up his hand to watch the flame spanning his entire body flicker with his movement. "I'm going to go after the puppet master. I want you to contact Karin and ask her where they are and for her to leave the area. understood?"
Suigetsu nodded his head and activated his earpiece. "Karin- hey, hey, calm down! Yeah, Sasuke is right here. No he can't talk to you right now. Hey, just listen for a second. He wants to know the coordinates that you found the true Pein."
The young adult was quiet for a few seconds before looking at Sasuke. "Five miles west, half-mile north. Cave entrance."
"Okay. Tell her to leave that area now."
Sasuke did not wait for a response, blasting off in an arc through the sky and in the direction Karin gave. He was using the flames as a kind of propulsion to reach speeds exceeding his top running pace. It allowed him flight easily enough, much to his surprise.
Cave mouth. Cave mouth. His burning Mangekyo Sharingan eyes scanned the surface and trees below, just waiting to find the cave Karin had mentioned.
"Sasuke!"
He looked over and found, under the tree canopy to the distance, Karin and Jugo staring up at him. Karin was trying to flag him down, to get his attention, but he shook his head and looked further north. He doesn't know how long this transformation will last and he doubts it is forever.
There it is! It is hidden under a group of trees but he can see it clearly. And the Paths are there.
With the exception of the mechanical one, the other five Paths can be seen loitering outside the cave entrance. They had barely caught sight of Sasuke with the sun's position right behind them before he landed in front of them. In the next moment, the first surrounding him had exploded like a supernova; the Paths of Pain stood no chance as the raging flames consumed them in seconds.
The Uchiha walked past the ashes and into the cave, his Dojutsu taking in every unique detail of the walls and path he walked. It was not far, this cave being a small one, and he soon reached the end where his target was hiding. The first is a gaunt, skeleton of a man with dull red hair and multiple chakra rods piercing his back. With him is a purple-haired woman with a flower in her ear made of paper.
"So you survived the Almighty Push," the redhead wheezed. "Interesting…"
"Your attempt on my life is applaudable, and after I kill you it will have been a success. But only when I've finished you." Sasuke's words are steady and resolute, his crimson eyes betraying no hesitance. "You will no longer pose a threat to my home or the other villages. For all the lives you've taken, you will come with me to Pure Lands."
"What makes what I do different from any other," the man wheezed and hunched over as he lost his breath suddenly. "Why is it that I am the villain… when I have only done what I've learned from your village."
Sasuke took a deep breath before shaking his head. "I am not here to argue morality or theology. We are just pawns in the cycle of hatred. Like clockwork we continue on… until this world turns to ash."
Sasuke raised his hands and closed his eyes. Kakashi. Karin. Remember me. Naruto, brother… I will see you soon.
Instantaneously, the air around him seemed to come alight and the flames crawled out wide. The cave room was consumed in flames, taking over the bodies of the two Akatsuki leaders. The scream of the fire drowned out their screams as they were burned alive with him,
Despite his own life coming to an end, Sasuke had a smile on his face.
"Your sacrifice will be considered in your judgment in the afterlife, Sasuke Uchiha." Solaria's voice spoke in his ears as he and his enemies burned in the flames. "With your sacrifice, your flames will bring back those lost here. Do not worry. Even if they do not know that it was by your sacrifice that they are saved, God sees all."
"I will remember your name, Sasuke Uchiha, descendent of Indra."