"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
Sakura created one last wall of mud before dropping to one knee. With the amount of Shadow Clones Naruto was pumping out and the amount of barriers she made between the two of them and Sasuke, she should have enough time to do what she felt she still could do with her chakra running so low.
Naruto clutched his side in pain as he panted. Sakura moved next to him as her hands lit up green. She placed her hands over his side as he moved his hand away and the green chakra slowly began to flow towards him.
'Brat, this isn't working. The curse that the Snake Freak inflicted on the Uchiha is much more powerful than I first thought.'
'Yeah, it's crazy. It feels like I'm fighting Adrik after he opened those gate things.'
'I will try to give you more chakra, so be careful. We still haven't tested the limits of your control, so you may experience more than just physical backlash.'
Naruto nodded to himself, making Sakura look at him questioningly. Without breaking her concentration, she spoke up.
"Naruto, do you have a plan?"
Naruto shrugged slightly.
"Maybe. You might wanna get back, though. I don't know if I can keep the both of us safe."
Sakura raised her eyebrows in confusion. She hadn't questioned when Naruto's eyes turned red with slit pupils as it had happened before, but with the appearance of a cloak of red chakra, along with the outline of a tail being made, she was starting to wonder.
Naruto growled slightly as the tips of his fingers sharpened into claws and his whisker marks darkened. He bared his teeth as his canines elongated slightly. Even his voice had changed, being made apparent when he spoke to a confused and slightly frightened Sakura.
"Sakura, get somewhere safe."
Sakura barely had time to retort before she was grabbed by one of Naruto's clones and dragged away.
Naruto looked ahead as the last cluster of his clones came flying through the last Mud Wall. Sasuke flew through the dust cloud kicked up by the Mud Wall collapsing, his tanto aimed directly at Naruto's chest.
Naruto grabbed the blade of the tanto just in time to keep it from stabbing into him. He grunted slightly as Sasuke tried to push the blade further, only serving to cut Naruto's hand more. Sasuke's golden eyes narrowed slightly before his tanto lit up with electricity.
"Lightning Style Kenjutsu: Dancing Bolt!"
Sasuke quickly pulled his weapon out of Naruto's grip, slicing his hand up even more, before spinning with rapid slashes. Naruto drew his katana just in time to block the strikes one after the other. Sasuke continued, however, spinning faster and faster and putting more chakra and power into his slashes.
Naruto stumbled slightly as he kept getting pushed back closer and closer to the shore of the pond. With a final yell, Sasuke slashed once more. The lightning chakra coursing through his blade lit up brighter and took on a paler color for a split second. Naruto's eyes widened slightly as his katana broke into pieces.
Sasuke came to a stop with an electrified palm ready to strike Naruto. The dark haired teen was caught off guard when a tail made of pure red chakra whipped around and grabbed his wrist, shaping itself into an extra hand. Naruto raised his chakra tail up high before yanking Sasuke down quickly, slamming him into the ground.
Naruto made a few quick hand seals as Sasuke was pinned by the chakra tail.
"Water Style: Water Bomb!"
A large ball of water appeared over Naruto's head before speeding down towards Sasuke. Sasuke brought both of his hands up in front of him.
"Lightning Style: Shock Palm!"
Right before the water hit Sasuke, it burst into an electrified mist upon making contact with his hands. Naruto crossed his arms in front of him as the mist sprayed towards him.
He put his arms down and looked around as Sasuke was no longer below his chakra tail, instead being replaced by a log. Naruto turned around as he saw multiple fireballs heading towards him.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
Naruto raised his hands forward and brought up a wall of water. His eyes widened as he caught the glimpse of metal hidden in the flaming orbs. A clone instantly appeared next to him and ran through hand seals.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Right as the flaming shuriken came into contact with the Water Wall, they were blasted back by incredibly strong winds. The clone vanished as it no longer had the chakra to keep itself from dispelling.
Naruto didnt have time to turn his head as he felt his chakra tail instinctively grab something. Turning around to look, his eyes widened as an explosive tag, one of his own design that he gave to his teammates for their own use, was attached to a kunai that his tail caught. The only thing he could do was close his eyes as he knew the power even one of his high end explosive seals could do.
X
Sakura watched as an explosion erupted on top of Naruto, sending him flying back painfully. She quickly ran over to catch him before he could crash into the ground but stopped when his chakra tail dug itself into the earth and supported him.
Naruto landed on all fours as his tail retracted to its original size. He snarled as he stared at where Sasuke was standing on the water.
"Naruto, wai-"
Naruto sped forward in a red and orange blur with his hand held out to his side. A ball of dark purple-ish blue chakra appeared in his hand, whirling violently.
"Rasengan!"
Sasuke instinctively knew whatever Naruto had in his hand would devastate him. He sighed mentally as he considered his best option.
"Susano'o!"
Sakura and Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke surrounded himself in a purple ribcage seemingly made of chakra. The chakra orb in Naruto's hand died down after it made dozens of cracks and a deep dent in the ribcage. Naruto looked closer at Sasuke and heard a shout come from his mind.
'Shit! He's awakened his Mangekyou!'
Naruto didn't have time to think before a skeletal arm appeared and backhanded him away. He crashed into the shore of the pond and groaned as he pulled himself out of his small crater. Sakura rushed over to help him up as his aura of red chakra disappeared, yet his features remained animalistic and his eyes were still a deep red. The two of them looked up as Sasuke approached them, the purple ribcage and arm floating around him.
Sakura managed to get a good look at Sasuke's eyes as he stepped closer. Where once there were three tomoe, there were now three intersecting ellipses.
"Sasuke, what the hell-"
"This is the Mangekyou Sharingan."
Sakura and Naruto stopped as Sasuke finally seemed like he would talk.
"It is acquired when someone with a fully matured Sharingan witnesses the death of the person or people closest to them."
Sasuke paused for a second to look at the ethereal skeleton protecting him.
"The Susano'o is one of the abilities it grants me, along with the flames of Amaterasu that will forever burn anything they spread to until there is nothing left, unless I wish otherwise."
Sakura's eyebrows furrowed as she spoke up.
"But, none of us have died..."
Sasuke shifted his gaze back to Naruto and Sakura.
"That's what I keep telling myself."
Sasuke looked down as his face twisted in a mixture of sadness, anger, disappointment, shame, and self loathing.
"I can't help it! I see the two of you... Adrik... Kakashi... I see everyone I know and love... Everyone is dead at my feet. People laugh at my failure and curse my weakness."
Sakura's and Naruto's expressions dropped to ones of concern.
"I keep trying to say it's just some bad dream that Itachi made me go through, but it isn't working! Every time I close my eyes, I see my own future! I'm too weak to protect anyone and they die because of me! I'm nothing but a useless little coward who can't even save one god damn person!"
'Brat, this is bad. His chakra is growing stronger.'
Naruto took note of the purple skeletal structure growing brighter as Sasuke put a hand on his face.
"Just get out of here! I don't want to see either of you die! Please!"
Sakura put a hand out to reach for Naruto as he stood up. She froze when she saw the determination in Naruto's blue eyes.
"The only way I'm stoppin' is if you kill me yourself, Sasuke."
Naruto walked forward without a hint of fear.
'Brat, I hope you know what you're doing.'
'I don't, but I'll be damned if I don't even try.'
Sasuke's eyes narrowed as Naruto walked onto the water surface, completely unbothered.
"Damn it! I said go away!"
Naruto continued walking forward as Sasuke's Susano'o vanished and the dark haired teen ran forward rearing his fist back. The blonde genin grunted as he was punched directly in his chest, several of his ribs cracking under the force of the hit. Even with the pain in his body, he reached over and grabbed Sasuke's arm before the other teen could pull it away.
"That's what this is about?! Some stupid illusion?!"
Naruto brought his free hand back and balled it into a fist. His eyes flashed red as his features momentarily became more animalistic. He swung his fist forward, hitting Sasuke square in the stomach, making him double over and spit out some saliva.
"Get it together, dipshit! I ain't dyin' til I become the Hokage, and I'm gonna make sure everyone's there to watch me!"
Sasuke clenched his jaw and looked up at Naruto with a scowl.
"You don't get it! What I saw wasn't just some illusion! I'm not taking any chances on if it could become real or not! I need to get stronger! I need to kill this nightmare!"
Naruto's body tensed as he saw Sasuke's left hand light up.
"Lightning Style: Shock Palm!"
Naruto yelled in pain as he let go of Sasuke's arm and was sent flying back. He tumbled on the ground and eventually came to a stop in a crouch on one knee.
Both Naruto's and Sakura's eyes went wide as they heard what sounded like thousands of birds chirping all at once.
"Chidori!"
Sasuke's left hand became engulfed in a blade of white and silver lightning as he ran forward in a mad dash.
So caught off guard by the technique Sasuke was using, Naruto had no time to move. He flinched as he tried to take a step back and braced himself. Moments later, he felt an incredible pain erupt in the right side of his chest. He looked down with wide eyes to see a hand had put a hole in his chest all the way past the wrist.
Naruto stumbled back as the hand was yanked from his chest. He looked back up to see Sasuke staring down at his bloody hand with wide eyes. His head started to feel light as he stumbled back further before falling flat on his back. His body twitched as he began coughing up blood.
"Naruto!"
The blonde genin could barely hear the shout from his pink haired teammate through the pain in his chest and the ringing in his ears. He gasped for air before having to spit out more blood, barely noticing as Sakura crouched next to him with her hands glowing bright green.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit... Just h-hang on, Naruto! I need you to hang on for me!"
Sakura shook as Naruto convulsed below her, blood trailing from the corners of his mouth. Neither of the two noticed as Sasuke fell into a sitting position while staring in horror at his blonde teammate. The changes brought on by his Curse Mark had completely disappeared, leaving him sitting with his crimson Mangekyou Sharingan active to take in every last detail to burn into his memory.
'Brat, just wait, I'm sending you my chakra now!'
Naruto felt a burning sensation join the piercing pain in his chest and gargled on the blood at the back of his throat as he tried to yell. His eyes flashed red in and out as red chakra tried to leave his body.
The green aura around Sakura's hands began to grow dim as the last of her chakra began to fade. She breathed hard as she tried to keep her technique going. Through the terror in her eyes and her shaking body, however, it was clear she wasn't able to keep up any longer. The green light completely died down, yet she held her hands in the same place as if waiting for something to happen.
'Damn it! Alright, brat, this will be rough, but you need to stay with me! I'm going to send you more chakra than you can handle, so I need you to do as I say!'
Sakura watched blankly as Naruto stopped moving entirely, his eyes remaining wide open with his features still animalistic. She carefully moved her hands to put on Naruto's shoulders and gently shook him.
"N-Naruto..."
She stopped as she felt how cold his body had become. Her eyes began to tear up as her arms went limp. She stared down at her lifeless teammate for a few more seconds before tilting her head up. She stared at the sky for a few more seconds before closing her eyes and letting out a sorrowful cry that rang throughout the area.
Sasuke watched with his eyes filled with tears as Sakura got on her hands and knees and cried harder than he had ever seen before. She yelled in a mix of emotions over Naruto's body and slammed her fists into the ground.
Sakura let out another yell as she slammed her fists against the ground again, the small rocks of the shore tearing up and bloodying her fists. She yelled louder as she slammed her fists again and again, each time making the small crater she had formed wider and wider.
Sasuke's eyes slowly moved from the hole in Naruto's chest to the broken form of Sakura. He was startled when he saw a faint green glow surround her entire body that slowly grew brighter and brighter.
Sakura continued slamming her fists down as she wailed, making the crater grow larger and larger until it nearly reached the shoreline. Sasuke flinched as he felt a burst of chakra come from Sakura. He watched as her form began to change before his eyes.
The green glow faded to reveal Sakura had drastically changed. Her hands were entirely green with cracks forming just past her wrists and bordering her regular skin color, like a fissure breaking apart the earth. Her hair began to flow as if caught in a breeze with a green streak appearing in her locks. Four more cracks appeared on her face in a plus shape, two intersecting over each of her eyes. When she opened her eyes, her pupils became the same shade of green as her irises, which were now glowing a bright emerald color.
Sasuke flinched back as Sakura's head snapped in his direction with a look of unmatched fury. He had no time to react before he was hit across the face by a bone rattling right hook that sent him flying across the pond. Sasuke caught himself on the water and immediately reactivated his Curse Mark's second level.
The purple ribcage and arm of Sasuke's Susano'o came up to guard him as Sakura sped forward, running across the lake at speeds above most chunin. She reared her left fist back and thrusted it forward the moment she got close enough to Sasuke.
The dark haired teen's eyes widened as both the arm and ribcage of his Susano'o shattered almost instantly and faded. He brought his own arms into a cross formation in front of him with his wings doing the same, only for that to still not be enough to stop Sakura.
Sasuke flew further across the lake, nearing the cliff face which the two statues were a part of. Right before he could steady himself in the air, he was grabbed by his neck and dragged along by Sakura. He gasped for air as he was slammed into the wall of the cliff face, making a large crater in the stone. He barely had time to get a breath in before he was forcefully dragged through the stone and was thrown into the sky facing upwards.
Sasuke opened his eyes after a second to see Sakura above him with her hands together high above her head.
"Giant's...!"
Sakura brought her hands down as one directly on Sasuke's abdomen.
"Reign!"
Sasuke's eyes widened as far as they could as he shot straight down like a rocket, impacting with the ground at speeds he himself could never hope to match. The crater he made at the bottom of the cliff was more than twice as large as the crater made around Naruto and kicked up just as much dust.
Sakura began falling back down to the ground with her appearance returning to normal, aside from the green streak in her hair. She used the cliff face to slow her fall by digging a kunai into it before running down the rest of the way.
Sakura reached the edge of the crater that she made using Sasuke just as the dust settled. Sasuke laid in the middle of the crater embedded in the stone with his features returning to normal, completely unconscious. She could barely take another step before she tripped over herself and began tumbling down the sloping crater. She came to a stop as she finally caught herself. With her chakra practically empty and her physical energy being just as drained, she was barely able to pull herself onto her stomach where she began crawling towards Sasuke.
Sakura reached just before where the dark haired teen was before snapping her head up with wide eyes. A figure stood at the edge of the crater with his shirt torn to pieces and his headband hanging onto his neck by a few threads. He smiled down at the pink and now green haired girl as he slowly limped down into the crater with his red eyes returning to their normal blue color.
Sakura stared at the form of Naruto as he approached, barely even taking notice of the seal on his stomach that faded shortly afterward.
"Naruto..."
Her voice came out raspy as the blonde genin crouched down next to her.
"Come on, let's get you up."
She didn't object as Naruto carefully picked her up and supported her weight as she tried to stand. Sakura looked down at Sasuke and took a glance at Naruto. He frowned down at the dark haired teen before nodding to his teammate. Sakura looked back down at Sasuke before carefully letting go of Naruto.
The teen crouched down next to her unconscious, rogue teammate and raised her hand. A vein bulged on her forehead before she balled her fist and backhanded Sasuke across the face with a shout.
"Wake the hell up!"
Sasuke coughed as his eyes shot wide open with his cheek red from where Sakura hit him. He looked at where the hit had come from and blinked a few times in disbelief.
"N-Naruto... You're..."
Sasuke pulled himself from his place embedded in the ground but laid back down as his entire upper body erupted in pain.
"... Why didn't you tell us?"
Sasuke looked back up at Naruto and Sakura as they stood over him, the blonde teen helping his pink haired teammate. He closed his eyes as he let out tears that he had previously tried to keep from getting out.
"I... I don't know..."
He glanced up at the two disbelieving teens before looking back up at the sky.
"... I didn't want you guys to worry about me. I thought that maybe I'd forget about these fake memories sooner or later. I thought I'd get over it. Every time I see someone I care about, the only thing I can think about is what their dead body looks like. And, every time, it's on me. I'm too weak to keep anyone safe. There's nothing I can do to keep that illusion from becoming a reality."
Naruto and Sakura stared down at Sasuke blankly as he cried for the first time that they had ever seen. The dark haired teen looked up when he saw a hand be offered to him. His eyes widened as he saw it was Naruto, the person he thought he'd killed with his own hand. Looking closer, he saw the blonde teen's chest no longer had a hole in it. In fact, the scar on his chest would barely even be visible from a distance.
Sasuke took the offered hand and struggled to stand, even with the help he was provided. His eyes widened once again when he stumbled forward, only to be brought into a warm hug he hadn't ever felt. His eyes began to close as his tears fell and he wrapped his arms around his two teammates.
"I-I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
He continued to apologize as he cried his heart out and held the embrace for as long as he could. He wasn't able to see it, but his two teammates held equally warm smiles as they simply stood there and held their friend.