Sasuke stood tall atop Manda, the massive serpent coiling beneath him with an unsettling hiss. Beside him, Orochimaru balanced effortlessly on his own summon, his expression unreadable, golden eyes flickering across the battlefield.
Behind them, Karin steadied herself on Manda's thick, scaly hide, her fingers pressing against her temples. Her sensory abilities stretched across the war-torn village, filtering through the chaos to find the one person they had been searching for.
She inhaled sharply.
"I sense Uchiha Itachi!" she called out over the howling winds and distant screams.
Sasuke's eyes flickered with a sharp, dangerous gleam.
"And Danzo?" he asked.
Karin shook her head, frustration lacing her voice.
"I can't sense him anywhere. But Itachi... he's hidden behind the Great Stone Faces. There's a passageway leading deep inside the mountain. He's being held there."
Sasuke turned, his back facing the village as he stared toward the distant Hokage Mountain.
A slow smirk spread across his face.
"Tch. Of course."
Karin leapt down from Manda, landing lightly on the fractured ground below, but Sasuke didn't move yet.
His Sharingan spun, scanning the destruction beneath him. Flames crackled where buildings had once stood. Blood pooled in the dirt, the bodies of fallen shinobi and civilians alike scattered across the streets. He could hear their pleas for help, the weak gasps of those trapped beneath the rubble.
And then, his eyes landed on what used to be the Uchiha Clan district.
Or what was left of it.
His jaw clenched.
The compound was in ruins—Pain's attack had reduced it to ash and shattered stone. There was nothing left but remnants of a home that no longer existed.
Sasuke exhaled slowly, turning away.
"Location."
His voice was sharp. Emotionless.
Karin hesitated for a second, sensing something shifting in his chakra—something colder.
"Behind the Great Stone Faces," she repeated. "Itachi is deep inside the mountain."
Sasuke nodded once, shifting his stance. But before he could move, his Sharingan caught movement.
From above.
A massive rhino with the Rinnegan stamped into its skull crashed down from the air, its weight obliterating an entire street below.
More summoning creatures followed—a monstrous bird with pitch-black feathers, its eyes swirling with the same eerie Rinnegan patterns. Its wingspan darkened the sky as it let out a deafening screech, swooping down toward the battlefield.
Sasuke scoffed.
"Annoying creatures."
His gaze flickered toward the other side of the village.
Naruto's three massive toads had already engaged the beasts on his side, their combined might tearing through Pain's summons. Further away, the slugs Katsuyu and Katsumi had begun spreading out, healing the injured shinobi.
So... they had already started.
"Orochimaru," Sasuke called over the chaos, his voice calm yet edged with authority. "We need to get rid of these pests first."
YOU ARE READING
Forged Beyond
FanfictionNaruto, orphaned in the wake of the Kyuubi's wrath, was marked by the village as a monster. No mentor extended a hand; no peer stood by his side. As others played, he lingered in the shadows, craving the warmth of recognition. His pranks, his laught...
