Let It Burn: Life [Sasuke Uchiha]

Chapter 26

Sasuke was so close the anticipation to finally face his brother was building inside him. All their efforts were leading him to a former Uchiha hideout in the mountains. The ninja ignored his team that ran at his heels as the hideout came into view. The deserted structure had been taken over by overgrown wildlife. A shell of what it once was. He knew Itachi waited inside.

"Hold on!" Karin shouted.

The Uchiha already came to an abrupt halt at the presence of another chakra. And it wasn't subtle. They weren't trying to hide from the levels on display. A moment later, a rather tall blue skinned ninja stepped into their path. The man grinned toothily at Hebi sporting a large wrapped sword resting on a shoulder as his black eyes stared at them in a dangerous manner. Sasuke knew who he was instantly.

"Sasuke, if you could continue on by yourself," Kisame instructed. "Itachi would prefer that the rest of us wait here."

"No problem," the teen answered. "I only formed this team to make sure no one would interfere when I finally found him."

"That's crazy!" Karin exclaimed. "We should kick this guy's butt and fight Itachi together!"

"I'm really not in the mood for another fight," Kisame sighed, "but if you insist on passing together, I won't go easy on you."

As if to prove a point his hand tightened on the hilt, adjusting his position. This only made Seigetsu smirk at the prospects of a challenge against the swordsman.

"Don't even think about it, Karin," Sasuke cut in. "You three wait here. This is my revenge."

Hebi begrudgingly agreed to the terms, watching the Uchiha disappear into the shadows of the trees. It didn't take long to make his way through the ruins and find himself in what remained of the main hall. His attention immediately landed on the only occupant in the room that sat on the small dais in a rather relaxed manner.

"So, you've finally come." Itachi stared at his brother without emotion. "What does your Sharingan see?"

What an ignorant question for him to ask. It made Sasuke glare.

"What do you see with your Sharingan?" he mocked. "With the power I've gained, I see one thing, and it's crystal clear."

The young man cocked a brow in mild interest at his answer.

"I see you dead."

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Mai wanted to cry out in frustration. About everything. Never had she been so frustrated before. Never had she felt so out of control. And whenever the Be Fong lost sight of the crows, panic would well up in her. Of course, she could track the chakra, but that was never certain. Especially when she was in such a state of panic. Itachi's words continued to ring in her mind. But one word stuck out.

Time.

Why was he so concerned about time? When did he ever have to worry about something like that? Why was he running out of time?

The question only fueled Mai to throw herself through the air putting all her strength into the pull of the strings.

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"You see me... dead?" Itachi mused. "Well then..."

Suddenly the young man moved, no longer sitting on the dais, but standing beside his brother.

"Let's see how good your eyesight is."

From below, Hebi and Kisame could hear them clash above. The Akatsuki member grinned. This was going to be quiet a battle. A fight to the death between the only Sharingan users still alive. A battle that would be a true test for the brothers to prove just how powerful they really were.

As their blades clashed, Genjutsus running wild, for a brief moment Sasuke thought he managed to pin his brother.

"You have gotten stronger," Itachi mused.

"This is the end, Itachi," Sasuke stated.

A blade was held to his throat as another ran through the young man's chest.

"But before I kill you, I have one more question."

The criminal raised a hand, two fingers reaching for his forehead. Instantly, the teen recognized the gesture. Unsure if he should to allow the contact or not. The fingers suddenly swiped to the side before touching, drawing his attention back to the dais. Where Itachi continued to sit, unmoving. The figure below Sasuke turned into a flock of crows before vanishing. The rogue stood.

"What do you want to know?" Itachi asked. "The end is still a ways off, but I'm willing to listen."

Sasuke glared, teeth clenching out of irritation and anger from the answer blasé response. Didn't he understand the gravity of the situation?

"Have you gone deaf?"

A strangled gasp escaped Itachi's throat, quickly glancing down to see a blade piercing the chest. It rammed through him from behind, having cut through the stone chair he sat on without so much as a sound. The figure of Sasuke warped towards the center of the space contoured into a handful of snakes as they slithered away.

"Genjutsu..." Itachi mused. Blood spilled from the corner of his lips.

"I said, 'This is the END', you murderous, traitorous fucker," Sasuke growled. "But before I kill you, I have one last question."

His mind went back to that terrible night. Having remembered before losing consciousness what Itachi had said to him in the darkness regarding their Clan. One of the only things that kept him going, trying to hunt down his brother and kill him.

"Go to the Main Hall of the Nankno Shrine beneath the seventh tatami mat from the back wall," Itachi had said.

A terrified Sasuke felt completely useless. Weak. He wasn't even worth killing in his brother's eyes, that's how pathetic he was to him.

"On the right side is our Clan's secret meeting place. The true purpose of our Clan's eye technique and its secrets are recorded there. If you can awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan, then there will be three people who can use it, including myself. And if you do, only then my letting you live will have meant something."

Itachi's lips twitch in a ghost of a smile. "You avoided striking a fatal blow on purpose," the young man said.

Sasuke ignored the statement, "On that night when you said there was a third person. I realized that it could only be someone you didn't kill, which meant that he must've helped you wipe out the rest of the Clan. Even you could not have killed the Leaf's entire military police force on your own."

Impressive. He had finally begun to put the pieces together of their shattered past. "So, you figured it out," Itachi said.

"Who is the third Uchiha survivor?"

"Why do you want to know about him?"

The teen's grip on the blade tightened. The Akatsuki member felt the movement when it caused the blade to shift inside him.

"Because he's next on my list after I kill you."

"You kill him?"

The question was met with silence. But Itachi saw no reason as to not tell him since he had come so far and the time was nearly at hand.

"Madara Uchiha. One of the Leaf's founding fathers and the first person ever to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan."