In that split second, Tobirama spat a barrage of senbon needles directly from his mouth toward Madara. Madara staggered, instinctively preparing to raise his Susanoo to block them, but the next moment, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. A small, familiar hand had already reached out and rested upon his shoulder.
Phasing through!
Sasuke's blade thrust cleanly through Madara's form. To his utter shock, Sasuke looked down at Kanon and then at the tip of his own Kusanagi Sword, because they had completely phased through Madara, his thrust had driven straight into the back of Tobirama's head instead.
Before Sasuke could even attempt to turn around, a massive hand composed of Kanon's crimson Susanoo ribs snapped shut around him, pinning him firmly within its grasp.
He was completely immobilized, his body entirely restrained by her Susanoo. He desperately willed his own Susanoo to manifest, only to realize that his visual prowess and chakra were entirely suppressed. Sasuke thrashed and struggled with everything he had, but it was entirely in vain.
"Kanon! Are you completely out of your mind?! The Infinite Tsukuyomi is wrong!"
The moment Sasuke's words left his mouth, Kanon slowly turned her head toward him, her face twisting into a terrifyingly deranged and ecstatic smile.
"Then what Itachi did was right?!"
Her words struck Sasuke like a physical blow, leaving him utterly speechless. He wanted to claim that Itachi was right, but he knew that would only push Kanon further over the edge. Right now, he needed to calm her down.
And the only one who could possibly stabilize Kanon's fractured sanity was himself, her older brother.
However, from a short distance away, Madara merely cast a dismissive glance back and spoke indifferently, "This world is exactly the contradictory mess that Hashirama created."
"Kanon, to protect certain things, you must be prepared to lose others."
"Even if that person is your own kin, your closest friend, or your very own child."
"I leave the rest to you."
With that, Madara lifted Sasuke's dropped Kusanagi Sword and handed it over to Kanon.
Kanon gripped the hilt of the sword. Having come this far, her resolve had long since been forged in steel; she didn't need Madara to remind her of what needed to be done.
"Stop acting so high and mighty, old man Madara. I've had that exact resolve for a long time now."
"Hmph, you brat," Madara muttered, throwing his hands up in a rare display of helpless amusement before turning to walk away.
The clearing was left dead silent, occupied only by Tobirama, who lay pinned before the Gedo Mazo, and Sasuke, trapped within the grip of the Susanoo.
"Stop this right now! He is your brother!" Tobirama roared from the ground.
"Brother? How utterly laughable."
"Sasuke Uchiha, I gave you a chance at the very beginning. I told you explicitly not to step foot onto this battlefield."
"Are you truly that obsessed with Itachi? So much so that you would ruthlessly abandon both me and our entire clan just for him?"
Kanon's tone carried a manic edge, her expression deeply warped and sickly. Sasuke was held tightly in her Susanoo's grasp, hoisted right up to face her.
Kanon stared into Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, her eyes completely devoid of warmth.
Meeting her frigid gaze, Sasuke felt a cold dread wash over him. He bellowed frantically, "Kanon! You know the truth as well as I do! Itachi's will was to protect Konoha from the shadows! You should be standing by my side, helping me carry out this rev... olution—"
Squelch!
It was the sickening sound of flesh being skewered. Tobirama let out a furious roar: "Hey! He is your brother!!!"
Madara didn't bother to look back, though his face curled into a cold, satisfied smirk.
Sasuke's pupils dilated to microscopic pinpricks as he stared at Kanon.
"Do you still remember the day you drew your sword against me beneath the setting sun? In that exact moment, the agony in my heart was ten-thousand times worse than this."
"Don't look at me with that expression, Sasuke-niichan~ I gave you chances and more than enough time, over and over again."
"Regrettably, in the end, you still chose to stand against me!"
"Hahahahahahaha!" Kanon burst into a frantic laugh. The Kusanagi Sword in her hand had driven clean through Sasuke's heart. Blood mixed with tears ran wildly down the corners of her eyes, yet she continued to laugh.
Through that manic laughter, the tears flowing from her eyes turned to pure crimson, tears of blood that only manifested when the soul experienced a catastrophic emotional shock.
"Since you love Itachi so much, I'll send you off using his very own words."
"Forgive me, Sasuke... This is the last time."
With those words, Kanon extended two fingers and tapped them gently against Sasuke's forehead, the exact gesture their family had always used to convey unconditional love.
Schlack!
As she ripped the Kusanagi Sword out, a spray of fresh blood splattered across Kanon's face, making her look incredibly warped and menacing. Yet, her features were so breathtakingly beautiful that no matter how twisted her expression became, she remained one of the most stunning beings in existence.
"Madara! Kanon! You absolute bastards!"
"Shut your mouth, you useless Senju old fossil."
Kanon casually flipped Sasuke's limp body aside and delivered a vicious kick that sent Tobirama flying through the air.
Meanwhile, across the battlefield, Tobi, fused with Yamato's body, had actually manifested the True Several Thousand Hands, engaging the remaining Allied Shinobi Forces and the Five Kage in a brutal clash.
The current situation was disastrous. The First Hokage was incapacitated by black receivers, the Second Hokage had been utterly crushed by Kanon in a direct confrontation, the Third Hokage was tied down dealing with the True Several Thousand Hands, and the Fourth Hokage was deep in the rear desperately trying to save Naruto.
Shikamaru grit his teeth in frustration. What an absolute nightmare. They didn't even have the luxury of time to analyze the situation; they had to find a way to take down the monstrous wooden statue in front of them immediately.
Deep within the ranks of the Allied Forces, Ino suddenly stiffened. Through her sensory abilities, she perceived that Naruto had been brought back in critical condition, but worse still, she sensed Sasuke's life force rapidly flickering out, catching the exact phantom sensation of him being run through by Kanon.
"How could this happen..." Ino and Hinata both gasped at the exact same moment.
The two girls collapsed weak-kneed onto the ground.
"What's wrong?" Shizune asked anxiously from their side.
"Sasuke... he was just killed by Kanon!"
The announcement left the entire area in a stunned, deathly silence. Sakura's pupils shrank to tiny points. Kanon actually killed her own biological brother? How is that even possible?
The very same Kanon who used to cherish family and bonds above anything else had just slaughtered her own brother with her own two hands!
Seeing Naruto in such a state, Hinata felt as though a blade were being repeatedly twisted in her heart. She could only weep, praying silently for Neji's spirit to protect Naruto.
Back on the main battlefield, Sasuke lay collapsed on the earth while Kanon stood over him in absolute silence. She watched him bleed into the dirt, feeling his breathing and heartbeat grow faint and erratic.
Finally, Kanon slowly tilted her head back toward the heavens and erupted into a fit of unrestrained, hysterical laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"Itachi! Is this the precious little toy you threw your life away to protect?!"
"I'm sending him up to reunite with you now! It's not like either of you ever intended to let me live anyway, right?!"
Kanon screamed her lungs out into the open sky, a sight that brought a pang of genuine pity to Madara's heart as he watched from the side. It seemed that family bonds were truly the most agonizing ties to sever.
Madara walked over to Kanon's side, waiting patiently for her erratic breathing to calm down before presenting her with two small containers.
"What are these?!" Kanon asked quietly, her voice hoarse.
"Inside one is a composition of my flesh and Hashirama's flesh. It will provide what you need to awaken the Rinnegan."
"As for the other... I have no intention of taking your brother's eyes. His death is undoubtedly a massive blow to you, and I am not one to take advantage of someone in an hour of grief."
"The ultimate fate of his eyes belongs entirely to you to decide."
Kanon stared blankly at Madara. For the first time, the legendary shinobi offered her a gentle, reassuring smile. He reached out, his calloused hand softly brushing against her cheek to wipe away the stained tracks of blood and tears.
"I told you before, Kanon. The fact that you siblings possess these eyes is living proof of how much you have lost up until now."
"But I know exactly what your heart truly desires."
"It is all coming to an end very soon. The thing your soul longs for, I will personally ensure it becomes reality once more."
"As for your brother... he will lose his own identity, which is the only true end."
Watching Madara wrap an arm around Kanon's shoulder like a protective parental figure to soothe her shattered emotions, Sasuke grit his teeth, hacking up a violent spray of fresh blood. Within his fading consciousness, Itachi's noble, towering figure materialized once more.
"I am truly happy to have been your older brother..."
"It's fine if you and Kanon never forgive me."
"No matter what you or she become from here on out, I will love you both forever."
"Sasuke, I leave our little sister in your hands..."
In that desperate instant, Sasuke somehow forced his broken body to push off the ground. He let out a ragged, desperate snarl toward Madara and Kanon: "I can't die..."
"There's no way in hell I can die here..."
Sasuke roared through cracked lips, though his vital organs were rapidly failing him. He collapsed heavily back into the dirt.
"The entire purpose... of Itachi's life..."
"I can't let it end in a wretched place like this..."
"Before I establish a true village... before a true Hokage rises to lead it..."
"I... absolutely cannot die!"
Madara had already walked away, leaving Kanon to look down silently at Sasuke. As the siblings' eyes locked one final time, a flood of memories struck Sasuke's mind like a tidal wave, the beautiful, untainted days he had shared with Kanon.
From the moment she was born, to growing up side by side, to enduring the horrific trauma of the clan's downfall together. They had relied entirely on one another to survive, serving as each other's sole anchor in a cruel world.
In this fleeting moment, the invisible thread known as family bound Sasuke and Kanon tightly together, a tether that absolutely nothing in existence could ever truly sever.
Even when they had both abandoned Konoha, they had constantly carried the thought of the other in their hearts. During those dark years, Sasuke had cherished Kanon above all else.
But everything had changed after his final battle with Itachi. Kanon hadn't changed at all; it was Sasuke himself who had unilaterally severed that bond, inflicting a soul-crushing, agonizing betrayal upon her.
Staring up at the sister who returned his gaze, Sasuke lay completely helpless, clawing at the dirt as he gasped desperately for a single breath of fresh air.
At that moment, tears spilled over the corners of Sasuke's eyes, tears wrought of profound, suffocating regret and agony.
Seeing those tears, Kanon subtly averted her gaze. Her face, which had briefly regained its composure, was instantly soaked anew as fresh tears welled up and spilled over her eyelashes.
"Rest in peace, onii-chan... because my dream is finally within reach. We will see each other again in the new world."
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NOTE: This fic has been completely translated. If you want to read the whole story head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]