Tatsuya recalled the moment when they captured the Ichibi's jinchuriki.
Although the operation by itself was nerve-wracking, nothing could compare to the moment when he was exposed to the sheer desire for his death.
It was like submerging in a bog filled with viscous blood and lukewarm bodies. Each murder, each massacre left a trace that now dragged him down.
'This...'
Gasping for breath, he would've been caught in the subsequent chaos had it not been for Inuzuka Hitomi dragging him out of the way.
—Crash!
A sand claw shot out from the jinchuriki's half-transformed state and grazed past Tatsuya's limbs. Cold force permeated from the impact, numbing even his bones. The hit was sure to turn black and blue.
—Growl.
Tatsuya watched on with his Sharingan as the events unfolded in a blitzing flurry.
First, Kuromaru slammed his entire weight into the jinchuriki. The pair, now joined by a brutal collision, crashed into the nearest building. Clouds of sand and dust obstructed the night sky.
However, the Hyuga found this to be nonexistent.
Ko, with blood pumping through the veins in his forehead, threw his palm forward.
'Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!'
A shell of nothingness rushed into the jinchuriki, blasting against its hasty defense. Originally heading for the heart, now it merely brushed against its sand-armored shoulder.
Suddenly.
The sound of creaking bones echoed out. The dust cloud, already dispersing due to the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, vanished in totality. Tatsuya watched in awe, as a fist several times his size wrestled the jinchuriki down.
—Boom!
The jinchuriki responded with a stomp, and a flurry of sand burst forth in a pulse. A wall of sand met Tatsuya's gaze.
[Snake » Tiger]
'Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!'
With just two hand seals, Tatsuya breathed an explosive ball of flame, nullifying the wave in front of him. The air nearby then crackled with lightning.
The sound of a thousand chirping birds.
Ringing against the ear in a malevolent gleam.
'Chidori!'
Even with the Sharingan, Tatsuya barely caught sight of a blur of movement moving straight for the kill. A white-haired shinobi moved with incredible speed.
It wasn't even the Body Flicker Jutsu.
Sheer speed, as Hatake Kakashi weaved through the emerging sands. No attempt to block his advance succeeded.
—Slash!
Opting not for a jab, Kakashi instead cut straight through the jinchuriki's transformation. He severed the sand arm from where he estimated the real limb would be.
Then.
—Wooomp!
Shadows, formed by the shining lightning and the burning flames, converged upon the jinchuriki.
'Reversed Black Spider Lily!'
Nara Shikaku found the opportune moment to act. Momentarily bound, the jinchuriki's movements were restricted.
—Badump.
For a moment, the Ichibi nearly burst forth as Gaara's emotions poured out.
However.
'Mind Body Switch Jutsu!'
'Pure Mind Disturbance Jutsu!'
A clash of consciousness would be the deciding factor in this battle.
Hitomi thus flickered into range, moving faster than even Kakashi. Even though the jinchuriki's subconscious sand wanted to hinder her advance, her existence was as fleeting as one's breath.
'As expected of Suguru's sensei...'
Tatsuya now knew well how Suguru had become such a nimble shinobi. His jounin-sensei was a clear role model.
Hitomi swiftly formed the Seal of Confrontation.
'Seal!'
Unraveling from her back were several large scrolls, all filled to the brim with a variety of Fuinjutsu markings. They wrapped around Gaara in an instant, embracing him in their tight and mindless clutches.
It was only then that Tatsuya finally took a step forward.
As Inoichi pulled back his technique, Tatsuya's eyes swirled.
'Genjutsu: Sharingan!'
Now fully matured after having to kill his way into Sunagakure, Tatsuya realized the reason why Danzo had included him.
It was through the journey that he would be forced to master his Dojutsu. Then, he would be able to force the jinchuriki into his Genjutsu.
Already weakened by the Yamanaka Clan's mental attacks, there was no other way for the jinchuriki to fight against his gaze.
The Sharingan would thus complete its cycle, pulling Gaara into a dream that would last until he was unsealed.
***
"Now, Crow."
Back in the present, Tatsuya now watched how a true wielder of the Sharingan used their eyes. The chakra which had long pooled around Itachi's eyes suddenly surged.
Tatsuya felt a chill run down his spine.
Itachi's eyes finally stopped spinning. The typhoon grew calm, and his chakra poured out in a gentle grasp.
As if it was only natural.
As if there was nothing wrong.
As if the world that they lived in had been an illusion since their birth.
'Genjutsu: Takamagahara.'
Built upon Itachi's Tsukuyomi and then further fuelled by the Kotoamatsukami he now bore on top of it, [Genjutsu: Takamagahara] was a technique he was using for the first time today.
Ever since he put Naruto in a thousand dreams to calm his mind and influenced even the Kyuubi to heed his whims, Itachi had been thinking about combining the two ocular Dojutsu he possessed.
Now, Takamagahara was the culmination of months of diligence from a genius of his caliber.
—And the laughter stopped.
Tatsuya watched as the cocoon fully shattered, revealing a head of red hair and a blank expression painted across an eyebrow-less face. With his eyes fully opened, Gaara looked around himself, wondering...
Dreaming...
"Hello..? Where am I?"
Gaara's first words were uncharacteristic of the boy. Tatsuya still recalled the voice he had once heard, screaming for his death.
Now, not even a hint of such hatred radiated outward. Although his voice was a low, uninterested droll, it was void of malice.
"..."
Shocked beyond reason, Tatsuya looked at Itachi, whose chakra had almost vanished in its entirety.
'...What the hell!?'
Even his own Sharingan couldn't influence someone to such a degree.
'Just what did Itachi-san do...?'
Tatsuya thus fully understood the difference between himself and the renowned genius of the Uchiha Clan.
The chasm was deep.
And it was as wide as the sea.
***
If a feat of mental Genjutsu had occurred where Itachi stood, then perhaps it would finally be safe to talk about someone else.
"Yumi-chan,"
A voice, distorted yet warm, called out to a girl who had long been trapped in a dream of her own creation.
Yumiko stirred after months of unconsciousness.
Her eyelids let in light once more, opening in a snail-like fashion. As if she was making the world wait for her.
And wait, they shall.
Because when her eyes had finally opened, darkness enveloped the room she slept in.
Anyone in her vicinity fell under a Genjutsu. There was no need to meet her gaze. No need to be induced into the illusion.
Yumiko's mere presence was a call to fall.
And the world around her would thus appear as a corpse-filled battlefield.
Like an aura of darkness and death. Blood and gore.
The harrowing screams that resonated deep within the earth only proved her point.
Monsters were swimming in the sea of corpses.
However, Yumiko didn't seem to mind. A smile now painted her expression in the hues of joy and ecstasy.
"I'm finally awake,"
In the end, however, there was relief.
Sweet and beautiful relief.
—The nightmare was finally over.
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