The desert heat was nonexistent within the radius of Sasuke's Reiatsu. The air felt crystallized, vibrating with a frequency that made the very atoms of the sand scream. Pain stood his ground, the Six Paths adjusting their formations, but the silence that followed the failure of the Almighty Push was deafening.
Just as Sasuke was about to draw his obsidian blade to end the Six Paths, a voice resonated from the heavens—not a shout, but a whisper that carried the weight of the world.
"Sasuke."
Aizen's image did not appear, but his presence manifested as a pillar of white light from the direction of Las Noches.
"Master," Sasuke said, bowing his head slightly, the black wings of his Resurrección folding against his back.
"Do not extinguish the candles just yet," Aizen's voice commanded. "The Akatsuki still have a role to play. They are the collectors of the old world's fragments. Let them gather the remaining Tailed Beasts. Let them believe they are building a weapon. It is far more amusing to steal a finished masterpiece than to paint it oneself."
Sasuke gripped his sword hilt, his eyes fixed on Itachi. "And my brother?"
"Capture him," Aizen replied. "He is the only link left to your human weakness. Bring him to me. I wish to see if the legendary 'Prodigy of the Uchiha' can find a way to bleed in the presence of a true God."
The Harvest of the Raven
Sasuke turned his gaze back to the Akatsuki. The order was clear. He ignored the Six Paths of Pain as if they were statues. He blurred through space, moving so fast that even the Rinnegan could barely track the distortion.
"Sekisho (Red Barrier)!"
Sasuke didn't use a sword; he simply pointed a finger. A wall of crimson spiritual energy erupted, separating Itachi and Kisame from the rest of the group.
"Itachi!" Kisame roared, swinging Samehada.
Sasuke didn't look. He caught the massive sword with two fingers. The Hierro on his skin was so dense that the shark-skin blades of the sword shattered upon contact. With a flick of his wrist, Sasuke sent Kisame flying a mile back into a sand dune.
Now, it was just the two brothers.
"You look tired, Itachi," Sasuke said, stepping into his brother's personal space. "The sickness in your lungs, the darkness in your eyes... it's all so small. So human."
Itachi activated his Mangekyo, the blood leaking from his eye. "Amaterasu!"
The black flames ignited on Sasuke's white cloak. In the past, this would have been a death sentence. But Sasuke simply watched the flames. He reached out and touched the black fire with his bare hand. The flames didn't burn him; they began to spiral into his palm, being absorbed by his Void-Sharingan.
"You cannot burn the Void, brother. The Void is where all fire goes to die."
Sasuke grabbed Itachi by the throat. He didn't squeeze to kill; he injected a needle-like burst of Aizen's spiritual energy directly into Itachi's chakra system, paralyzing him instantly.
The Retreat of the Broken
"Konan! Withdraw!" Pain commanded, realizing that even with the Rinnegan, he was facing something that didn't play by the rules of their world. "We collect the beasts. We grow stronger. This is not the end."
Pain used a massive Universal Pull to snatch the remaining Akatsuki members away, retreating into the safety of the Rain Village's hidden barriers. Sasuke let them go. He had his prize.
Sasuke looked down at the unconscious Itachi in his arms. He felt a flicker of the old Sasuke—the boy who wanted to cry—but the Hogyoku hummed in his chest, and the feeling died before it could reach his heart.
"Welcome to Las Noches, Itachi," Sasuke whispered. "I will show you the world Aizen-sama has built. And then, I will show you how it feels to have your soul rewritten."