"I see... so being a Water Release user gives him the advantage here, does it?!"
Suigetsu, now piloting the massive water construct, struggled to maintain his grip as he grappled with the Eight-Tails.
"I'll hold him off! All of you, run while you still can!!"
Sasuke, leaning heavily on Karin for support, felt his heart tremble as he watched Suigetsu pour every ounce of his strength into shielding them from the beast.
"Suigetsu..."
"We have to go, Sasuke-kun..." Karin urged, pulling him away.
Watching the rest of Team Taka retreat, Suigetsu actually managed a small, weary smile. He found it ironic, how many times now had he thrown his life away to protect these people?
With a roar of effort, Suigetsu blasted the Eight-Tails backward. Staggered, the beast watched Sasuke's group flee and began condensing a Tailed Beast Bomb-like ink blast.
"That looks bad, really bad!" Karin glanced back, her face ghostly pale.
Gritting his teeth, Suigetsu threw himself into the line of fire. He maneuvered the water giant in front of his comrades, tanking the direct hit with his own body. A terrifying explosion rocked the Unraikyō, alerting two nearby Hidden Cloud shinobi.
"Is that... Lord Killer Bee's...?"
"Quick, over there!"
When the two reached the scene, their pupils dilated in shock. Why had Killer Bee entered his Full Tailed Beast state? The sight of the weakened Sasuke and his team provided the answer.
Seeing Suigetsu reduced to a gelatinous puddle, Sasuke gasped for air.
"We can't get away... what do we do?" Karin asked, her voice bordering on panic.
Sasuke looked at his broken team. Everyone was risking their lives for him. He couldn't be the only one being protected. Memories of Team 7 flashed through his mind, followed by the words his sister had spoken to him under that setting sun.
"I will never forgive Itachi. Never."
Sasuke closed his eyes. Seeing this, Killer Bee seized the opening to finish them, swinging a massive octopus tentacle down toward the four members of Team Taka.
Sasuke's left eye snapped open. The Mangekyo pattern flickered and spun within his bloodshot iris.
"Amaterasu!"
Terrifying black flames instantly ignited upon Killer Bee, sending him into a thrashing howl of agony.
"Is that the inextinguishable black flame Sasuke talked about?!" Jugo shouted in awe.
Killer Bee screamed, thrashing wildly against the water's surface, but the waves did nothing to quench the flames.
"Incredible..." Karin whispered, stunned.
In his frantic rolling, a tentacle wreathed in black fire whipped toward Team Taka. Sasuke and Jugo scrambled back, but Karin was a step too slow. Just as the tentacle was about to crush her, Sasuke severed it with a Chidori Sharp Spear.
Unbeknownst to them, Killer Bee's true body was concealed within that very tentacle. As it fell, Sasuke screamed at Karin.
"Karin! Run!"
But Karin staggered; her chakra was completely depleted. She tried to run toward Sasuke, but the severed tentacle flopped onto her, and the black flames leaped onto her back.
"Dammit... the black flames!" Sasuke hissed, gritting his teeth.
Seeing Karin fall, Jugo made a grim calculation. "Karin's done for! We need to leave before we're caught in it too!"
"No... wait, Jugo!"
Sasuke's right eye flared. Kagutsuchi, the power to control the flames, manifested for the first time. He focused intensely, drawing the black flames away until they vanished. A sharp spike of pain lanced through his brain, and he clutched his head.
"Jugo... save Karin, quick!"
Jugo pulled his arm back, seeing that the black flames on Karin's back were indeed gone, leaving only her bite-scarred skin behind.
"The black flames... they're gone. How did you do that, Sasuke?"
Sasuke forced himself to stand once more.
"I suppressed the Amaterasu... is this the visual power of the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
That girl, Kanon... just how much pain did she endure every time she used these eyes? Sasuke thought of Itachi, but his mind lingered longer on Kanon. Orochimaru had told him she awakened these eyes at only eleven years old.
The sheer weight of that suffering made Sasuke's jaw tighten; a wave of uncharacteristic guilt washed over him. Though he claimed Itachi was more important, in his heart, Kanon had surpassed their brother. She was alive. She was his only remaining family.
Next time... I have to apologize properly to her. But for now... Sasuke focused his right eye. With Kagutsuchi, he extinguished the remaining flames on the water. Killer Bee lay charred and unconscious on the surface.
"The Eight-Tails seems to still be alive," Jugo noted.
"Then we can take him back alive... move, quickly..." Sasuke said, his voice faint with exhaustion.
The two Cloud shinobi watched from the shadows.
"Impossible... Killer Bee-sama lost?"
"Should we go in?"
"They're members of the Akatsuki! Don't be reckless!" The older shinobi held back his younger, more impulsive partner. He then noticed the crest on Sasuke's back.
"That's—?!"
"What is it?!"
"The Uchiha crest! It's not the female, it's not Kanon Uchiha... then that must be Sasuke Uchiha?!" the older ninja whispered, breaking into a cold sweat.
"An Uchiha?!"
"Yes. Rather than charging in, it's wiser to report this to the Raikage immediately. If he finds out what happened to his brother, the Raikage... will never let this rest."
…
On the journey back, Sasuke stumbled.
"Your injuries are severe," Jugo observed. "Not only has Orochimaru's Cursed Seal vanished, but your wounds from the fight with Itachi haven't fully healed."
"Yeah... I didn't expect such a hard fight..." Sasuke nodded. "But at last..."
…
The Flower Realm.
A young woman with raven hair sat cross-legged in a vast field of spider lilies and roses. A fox mask rested on her forehead, but her eyes were wrapped in thick white bandages.
"The transplant was a success, Kanon."
"We have to wait a while before removing the bandages to let you adapt," Konin said softly.
"I understand," Kanon replied with a nod. "If all of this leads to the future you promised... I will endure it."
"Mmh. Just follow your own will. Don't worry about me," Konin said, sitting down and leaning her back against Kanon's.
Suddenly, Kanon let out a soft laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"I just thought about how strict you used to be when you taught me ninjutsu. You're so different now, it's almost funny."
"Keep laughing and I'll sentence you to a hundred rounds of Dust Release practice."
"I'll stop! I'll stop, okay?"
"I'm just saying... if," Konin began, her voice thoughtful. "If Naruto didn't die this time, what would you do if you met him again?"
"The road to the flower field of peace must be stained with blood," Kanon replied coldly. Her tone was starkly different than before, it carried a genuine, lethal intent. "If he dares to block my path, I will kill him."
"But he's certainly dead. The Nine-Tails capture was successful. By now, he should be in Amegakure for the Sealing Ceremony."
"Itachi Uchiha is dead, and Konoha is destroyed. What are your plans now?" Konin asked.
"Since that man wants to carry out Itachi's will, I won't forgive him either. To me, to the Uchiha clan, Itachi is an unforgivable existence! I will defeat Sasuke and prove that Itachi was wrong."
"I want to see if the peace Nagato-senpai described actually exists. Until then... I'll keep my eyes on the path."
Kanon's lips curled into a smirk. Though her world was currently pitch black, a single beam of light seemed to shine down, allowing her to see the road ahead.
————
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