Saved or not?
Konohagakure no Sato resides deep within a forest surrounded by mountains. After the explosion, Itachi took his opponent’s weak state as a golden opportunity and escaped with him in tow.
He planned to thoroughly kill him and dump his body in the mountains behind Konoha but he overestimated himself. He can only drag his brother into the forest near a cliff on the outskirts of Konoha when his body began to twitch convulsively and coughed a mouthful of blood which led him to let go of Sasuke’s limp hand.
When freed, Sasuke propped himself up with great difficulty to the tree nearby and raised his katana to Itachi who is slumped on the ground, coughing. He gathered his remaining chakra and channeled it to his katana. Chidori Nagashi is what he calls it.
He pointed the end of his blade to his brother’s neck and closed his eyes.
“Itachi, over the years I feigned ignorance over your poisoned tea. I drank them as proof that I cherished and valued our relationship as brothers. Father once told us that we can only ascend to greater heights and protect the weak if we learn to forgive and forget. But since we have come to this point, as the Grandmaster of the Uchiha Clan, and a son to our father and mother, I hereby announce that from now on you are no longer my brother and you are no longer part of the Uchiha clan. The land, the forest, the birds, the sky, and the heavens will be our witness as we henceforth sever our ties!”
Sasuke’s hand shook but he immediately steadied his grip. Tears started streaming down his pale face, he bit his lip to stop himself from sobbing. He wanted to ask why? But with Itachi’s current state of mind, he will never get a sane explanation.
“You..” Itachi tried to speak but his spasming body prevented him.
“To honor our past relationship, I shall not kill you today, but you must remember that if our paths should cross someday, I won’t hesitate to take your life,” he said weakly and swung the dull edge of his blade to Itachi’s back with a thought of rendering him unconscious.
But who could’ve imagined that Itachi who is seriously injured and almost dead suddenly sprung to action and tackled Sasuke’s lower body! The two of them fell to the cliff and Sasuke’s blade was thrown away because of the impact.
“Sasuke! Sasuke! Our p-paths will...never cross… again in this land…because...you will die with me!” Itachi yelled, his mind demented. He was just gasping his remaining breath earlier but now his strength came back swiftly like a coursing river.
They are both falling but he can still utter those vicious words. Sasuke’s heart trembled with sadness and bitterness. The brother he once loved and respected is now nowhere to be found. The warmth and security he made him feel before vanished like a gust of smoke.
Thinking about the old times, Sasuke once again, shed tears as his body met the cold freezing water of the river beneath the high cliff, his vision slowly darkening.
But before he completely close his eyes, Sasuke saw a hand eagerly grabbing to his freezing body and he thought, even at that very moment, that maybe it was his brother Itachi.
xxx
A man wearing a black robe with a dragon pattern in a golden orange accent sat in the most inconspicuous corner of the busiest inn in Konoha, the Nikkou inn. He raised his left hand and combed his disheveled blond voluminous crown which swiftly tapers into wispy layers that moves like a windblown shag. He then ordered a bottle of liquor and the best dishes as he quietly observed and listened to his surrounding.
“Have you heard? The Uchiha grandmaster is dead. Apparently, those demons Akatsuki’s went to the Ninja Tournament and killed him!”
Like a drop of water in a boiling oil, these words immediately created a big commotion inside the inn. People started to speculate and fight among themselves. They all have different opinions regarding with the grandmaster’s death.
“Do you think he is dead?”
“His body is yet to be found and it’s only been a day. What are you saying that he is dead? The grandmaster is one of the strongest ninjas, how can you be so sure that he didn’t survive? You better shut your mouth if you have nothing better to say!”
A puny looking man wearing a green Konoha flak laughed, “Gentlemen don’t fight. There may be a reason why he ain’t showing up but you can’t deny the fact that he lost against Akatsuki! Strongest? I doubt that!”
Someone slapped his hands on the table and said, “All of the Akatsuki demons and their leader Pain joined forces to corner the grandmaster, if it weren’t for that masked man who killed some civilians the grandmaster wouldn’t lose.”
What was said was true. Ganging up to beat the grandmaster is absurd. In other words, those Akatsuki demons weren’t that confident that they could win against Sasuke one-on-one so they have to join hands and use an inhumane process to kill him. Everyone knows that obvious truth so they can’t help but feel sorry for Sasuke but above all, there’s the strong admiration that prevailed because it only proved that the grandmaster is way too strong.
“It’s a pity.” They could only say in the end.
A pity indeed.
“Uchiha clan must be having a hard time,” someone suddenly whispered.
“You’re right, I bet Itachi and Shisui are now fighting for the grandmaster position.”
“How could you say that? Do you want to lose your head? It’s dangerous to talk about their clan like that!”
“Hah?? But we can talk about the dead grandmaster?”
“I told you he is not dead!”
The man in the black robe didn’t join the clamor he only raised one corner of his lips as if deriding those idiots who can only gossip about others. When his meal arrived, he started munching the food without care for the world. While those drunk halfwit men continued to discuss the Uchiha affairs until they started to venture into Sasuke’s appearance.
“Did you know that the grandmaster is the most beautiful mortal I have seen in my entire life?”
The question piqued the interest of the inn’s patron so they turned their heads to listen.
“How so?”
“I just saw a glimpse of him when I went to the tournament and I’m telling you my friend, his stature is the best, his plump yet thin mouth the cutest, and his skin is the fairest.” The drunkard babbled like a dog who was starved for a whole day and suddenly acquired some meat.
“If only I could hold onto that narrow waist and touch his supple skin…”
As soon as he finished his last word, a thin golden light sparkled dangerously and hit the drunkard. The people around him screamed and covered their mouth with their hands when he suddenly convulsed and rolled on the floor in pain.
The person responsible only sneered and finished his food, drank the last drop of his alcohol, and then vanished away after leaving a couple of bills to the table.
“Pathetic lots,” he muttered.
After he vanished from the inn, he went directly to Hachou Village which lies at the outskirts of the border of the Land of Fire. The distance from Nikkou to Hachou is by no means near. The man teleported using the Flying Thunder God technique that’s been tweaked to its full capacity. No distance limits, and no marking needed.
He landed on the roof of a small and simple Minka that is built on the big rocks above Hachou Lake. The minimalist incorporation of natural elements in the home’s view and living space gives a tranquil feeling to anyone who would pass by it.
Before going inside the house, the man scanned the surroundings first and when he deemed it safe, he started removing his black robe and threw it inside his space storage. He fixed the blue kimono that remained on his body.
Upon entering the genkan, the man removed his dusty boots and sauntered languidly inside his house. The lights are turned off but he did not bother to turn it on, he opened the bedroom door where a body clad in a simple white robe lies peacefully.
A small, cold smile crept across the man's face, and said with a faint sneer, “Sasuke.”
He went to the right side of the injured man and stood there for a long time.
Sasuke was badly injured, thankfully there was no visible wound on his face. The man studied Sasuke’s appearance from his long eyelashes to the curve of his nose down to his tightly closed bloodless lips.
He looked so beautiful that it wasn’t hard to imagine how much his eyes would shine once they opened. He carries an air of aloof restraint paired with elegance and dignity.
A peerless beauty.
The man reminisced about the moment he saw the Uchiha brothers fighting near the cliff of Hachou’s mountain. He was there languidly resting on the wide branch of a tall tree when they appeared. It was such a sight to see not until Itachi decided to throw their bodies down to the ravine.
An enigmatic smile crept across his face and he decided to dive and catch Uchiha Sasuke before he plunges into the river full of spiky boulders but he was 0.02 seconds slow. Sasuke's body fell with a gut wrenching thud. The man did his best to catch the hand that's swaying in the cold water.
From his peripheral vision, he saw a shadow that roughly grabbed Itachi from the water, thus saving him from his death and then they both disappeared. He suddenly had the urge to click his tongue but he waited until he and Sasuke reached the surface of the river and then they flew out of the ravine. He already mastered the last stage of chakra manipulation, allowing him to glide through the air easily. They teleported to his home and laid Sasuke on his bed. A pill popped out from his space storage and he fed it to the injured Uchiha to prevent him from dying because of his fatal wound and broken chakra meridians. Once finished, he left the house and went to the Nikkou inn to eat and now he’s back, silently studying the renowned grandmaster's face.
He spent a long moment staring at Sasuke in a daze and only afterward did he finally make up his mind to raise his hand and restore the body in front of him in his former glory. A golden chakra emerged from his palm and it spread all over Sasuke’s form.
It glowed like the sun and the man’s dark blue eyes shone brighter than it ever has. After a good 10 seconds, the golden light slowly vanished. He poked Sasuke’s wrist and he clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“As expected, I can’t restore his chakra meridians,” his rough voice came out harshly.
If the meridians won’t be restored, the Uchiha grandmaster may spend the rest of his life weaker than a common man.
Such a pity.