Itachi

"Hinata, I think it's time we start locating Itachi." I said a few days after I had finished my seal.

"So we need to gather information on the Akatsuki to see where they have him go." Hinata replied.

"Yeah, but the Akatsuki will probably realize that I want to find Itachi, so they might send a member to attack us. Konoha could potentially also look for Itachi to lure me back to them, so it's a race against time to see who finds him first. I think we should start by scouting out the Akatsuki bases Orochimaru knew of when he was a member, even if they're most likely abandoned it might give us a clue." I said.

"Well, from what you told me of his memories, the closest one is a little ways away from here, so we should head out as soon as possible."

We then went about sealing up all the stuff we had taken out to make living in this hideout a little more comfortable and made our way out of the base. We walked in the direction of the closest base Orochimaru knew of.

'I should be attacked by Deidara and I can definitely handle him especially with Hinata helping me. Then it won't be long until I find Itachi.' I thought. When I thought of how close I was to finding Itachi, I had to clamp down on my emotion control. I couldn't slip up now, not when I was so close. Once everything was done with, I could let go of that control, but for now I needed to stay focused.

We continued to walk for the next day, training along the way. Hinata had gotten to the point that she could manipulate small animals by controlling their blood. She could move my arm with her blood control, but as soon as I shifted to my fire form she lost that control, so I had worked on small, internal shifts to counter someone with an ability like hers.

It was as we were walking that Hinata called out "Deidara and Kisame are approaching on a clay bird."

'If Kisame is here Itachi shouldn't be that far. The Akatsuki probably elevated my threat level if news about what happened in Kumo got to them, especially since Hinata is with me.'

"We'll be ready when they get here and Kisame probably knows where Itachi is." I said to Hinata.

Hinata nodded her agreement and we waited as the two Akatsuki members got closer and attacked without saying anything at first. Kisame jumped off Deidara's bird, falling towards us with Samehada raised to swing down when he got close.

I activated my Lightning Cloak and pushed off, meeting Kisame head on with my sword. Our two weapons pushed against each other, with my strength being superior to Kisame's so I was able to hold my own despite my sword being the smaller of the two.

"Ha, so you're Itachi's kid brother. He's been waiting for you to get competent, looks like you're finally able to face him. That is, if you survive this fight." Kisame said with a shark grin on his face as we broke off, landing on the ground.

Hinata was standing to the side watching to see when Deidara would make a move. She didn't have to wait long, as soon as I hit the ground Deidara sent a barrage of clay spiders towards us. Hinata reacted quickly, sending a water wave to wash away the spiders. When the water made contact with the spiders, I sent a Chidori Senbon into the water, electrifying it and neutralizing the bombs.

"You shall know that art is an explosion!" Deidara called out as he flew above us as threw a clay golem to fall towards us. He detonated it when it got close to us, but Hinata used rotation to prevent the explosion from reaching her. Kisame and I ignored it, the explosion wouldn't be able to pierce my Lightning Cloak and Kisame was durable.

Hinata then pushed off the ground, flying up towards Deidara and infusing her Gentle Fist with Lightning chakra, rapidly attacking his bird, disabling it and sending Deidara flying towards the ground. He cushioned his fall by pushing chakra to his feet, but that gave Hinata the opportunity to close the distance, cornering him with her Gentle Fist, closing the chakra points in one of arms quickly.

Meanwhile, Kisame and I were clashing with our swords. Orochimaru was an expert in Kenjutsu and had taught me a lot, but Kisame was a former member of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. If it wasn't for my Lightning Cloak giving me an even greater advantage in base stats than I already had, I wouldn't have been able to keep up with his swordsmanship at all.

As we continued to clash swords, my sword began to crack. Kisame smirked when he noticed and said "Your equipment just can't keep up with Samehada."

"It doesn't matter, I'll just have to change tactics." I say and push off the ground, gaining some distance between Kisame and I. Then, I pulled out a special Kunai and threw it at Kisame, with him simply dodging it.

"What has a kunai ever done at this level?" Kisame asked.

"More than enough." was my reply as I vanished in a flash, appearing behind Kisame and slashing at his exposed back and simultaneously pressing on his back, leaving my mark. My slash delivered a deep wound to his back. Kisame used a water Shunshin to get away from me as he looks at me in surprise.

"Well well, someone has picked up an interesting trick." Kisame said, still smirking, but I could see that he was encumbered by the injury.

Hinata, meanwhile, had made short work of Deidara. He was one of the weaker Akatsuki members and with her ability to disable his chakra, he couldn't form his explosive clay. Both his arms were useless and he was trying to dodge Hinata's final strike.

"Hinata, take him out now he has a suicide bomb." I called out to her.

Hinata nodded and rushed at Deidara at full speed, appearing in front of him and delivering a blow to his chest, killing him as she closed the chakra point in his heart.

'Phew, I'm glad she finished that before he could use it, it would be hard to get to her in time to teleport away from here.'

Looking at Kisame, I charged him again, but he smirked and said "Looks like you're ready kid. We'll see how you hold up to Itachi, though" and through a smoke bomb down. Hinata could still see him, but I gestured to her to let him go.

Once Kisame was no longer anywhere near us, I looked at Hinata. "I managed to mark him during our fight. We'll wait a little while and teleport to him. He should most likely be with Itachi." After saying that I sat down, thinking about that fact that I would be confronting my brother soon.

'It won't be too much longer before you answer for what you did Itachi.' I had to keep my emotions tightly controlled, I couldn't lose focus right now.

Hinata moved over to me, wrapping an arm around me and saying "You know I don't like it when you completely shut down your emotions."

"I know, but I need to be focused. I can let go when this over." I reply.

We sit there, waiting a little while until Kisame had time to get to wherever Itachi is. After a suitable amount of time had passed, I stood up, with Hinata following suit.

"Ready?" She asks me.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I respond and take her hand, teleporting us to the mark I had placed on Kisame.

When we arrive, I was ready for an attack, but instead I found Kisame waiting for us.

"I knew you would come when you showed me you knew the Fourth Hoakge's jutsu. Itachi's waiting for you, and you alone." Kisame said, nodding towards Hinata.

"I'm coming with him, you're in no condition to stop me." Hinata said.

"No, Hinata I need to do this alone." I tell her.

"Sasuke, are you sure?" Hinata asked me, not looking particularly happy with letting me do this on my own.

"I need closure. I need to finish this on my own, between brothers." I reply.

Hinata still didn't look happy, but nodded.

I moved out the door, exiting the room to find an open area, where Itachi sat on a chair.

"So it's come to this little brother." Itachi said.

"I've spent a long time working to catch up to you, to make you answer for what you did, and I'm finally ready." I respond, activating my sharingan, breaking out of the initial genjutsu Itachi had tried to place me under, since I knew he would try to.

"Tell me, what do you see with those eyes of yours?" Itachi asked me.

"The only thing I can see..." I say and close the distance between us, with Itachi reacting quickly and meeting my sword with a kunai. "Is your death" I finish.

Itachi pushes off from the clash, kicking off my sword to appear above me and and grab my shirt. I move quickly, shifting into fire, phasing through his grip and reforming to grab his arm and through him into the wall.

He recovers midair, landing upright. I form hand signs and spit out a fireball towards Itachi. He meets mine with one of his own, resulting in a clash that forms a smokescreen. I use a wind jutsu, clearing the smokescreen to find Itachi has disappeared. Moving my sword behind me, I block Itachi's kunai and spin my sword around, knocking it out of his hand and thrusting my sword forward. It pierces him, but he turns into crows and reappears on the other side of the room.

"You've grown skilled Sasuke, but you still don't have eyes like mine." Itachi said, with his eyes morphing into the Mangekyo Sharingan.

"So this is the true eye of the Uchiha clan." I say, taking in the pattern that had formed.

"Indeed, allow me to show you what it's capable of. Amaterasu." Itachi said, with the black flames moving towards me. Forming my hand into fire, I through a fist, forming a wave of fire to meet the Amaterasu flames. Amaterasu, however, quickly eats through my flames, continuing towards me. I activate my Lightning Cloak, speeding out of the way of the flames and closing the distance between Itachi and I. The entire fight I had been focusing on his body, never looking into his eyes so I wouldn't be caught in Tsukuyomi.

Throwing a fist into Itachi's mid section, he coughs up some blood and is sent through the roof. I push off the ground, chasing after him. Landing on the roof, I see Itachi standing across from me.

"Tell me Itachi, why did you do it?" I asked him.

"I needed to test my power, to prove I was the strongest." was his reply.

"No, I don't mean the lie you've been telling me. I already know the truth, about the Hokage and Danzo ordering you to. No, what I want to know is what made you choose that village over your family. You were willingly to kill our entire clan, to protect that village from a civil war." I say, slowly losing my grip on my emotions.

Itachi's face took on a shocked look, but when he heard my question, his face was a resigned one.

"So you know the truth. The reason I chose the path I did is the Uchiha's actions could've started a World War. The other villages would've gotten involved and took advantage of Konoha's weakened state." Itachi said.

"So you cared more about the world than your own family. The Uchiha are strong, we could've won a Civil War against Konoha. Look at the power the Mangekyo Sharingan gives you, we would've survived and thrived. But you chose Konoha over us. I've hated you my whole life Itachi, but it wasn't until I knew the truth that I really hated you. If you had killed the entire clan to test your power, I would hate you. But the fact that you killed the entire clan to protect that stupid village that spurned us, leaving us on the outskirts and constantly treating us with suspicion. I despise you, I hate you with every fiber of my being." I say, completely letting go of my emotional control.

Itachi looks at me and responds "If that's the way you choose to feel."

I snarl, blitzing towards Itachi and thrusting my sword at his heart. Itachi blocks with a kunai, but I continue to barrage him with slashes. His sharingan was able to keep up with my speed, but I was pouring more and more chakra into my Cloak, making myself faster until even Itachi couldn't keep up, managing to deliver a slash to his arm. It was a thin cut, but I was moving to the point that Itachi would soon lose.

Itachi gained some distance and said "I'll show you the ultimate power of the Sharingan Sasuke."

An ethereal chakra covered Itachi as his full bodied Susanoo formed around him. The Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror present on it.

"This is the Susanoo, the true culmination of an Uchiha's power."

I rushed at him, rearing my fist back and throwing a chakra-enhanced punch, but Itachi met it with the Yata Mirror, cancelling the force behind my punch. He swung the blade at me, but I dashed back, regaining my distance.

'The Yata Mirror is so stupidly broken. I need to barrage his Susanoo, until he doesn't have the chakra to sustain it.'

I shift my arm to fire and shoot flames into the air, creating cumulus nimbus clouds above me. Lightning begins to flash in the air. A dragon made of lightning forms in the clouds.

"Begone with a thunderclap, Kirin." Gesturing my hand down, the dragon charged towards Itachi, with his Yata Mirror meeting it. A massive flash of Lightning appears, obscuring my vision. When it clears, I see Itachi's Susanoo still standing, but battered. Itachi himself is swaying within it.

Rushing at him while he's swaying, I deliver another chakra enhanced fist to the Susanoo. He isn't able to move the mirror in time to react and my punch shatters the Susanoo, sending Itachi crashing to the ground.

Standing over him panting, I look down at Itachi. 'Even with all of my training. Even with all the work I put in, I couldn't find a concrete way to bypass his stupidly broken Susanoo. He's half dead and still put up this strong of a fight.'

"You killed our family Itachi. I can't forgive you for that. The fact that you did it for the sake of that village makes it even worse. You're my brother, I looked up to you. I aspired to be like you. But now, looking at how far you've fallen, all I can feel is relief that this is over." I say.

Itachi looks up at me and I swing my sword down at him to end it. My perception slows as I look at Itachi, watching as my blade inches forward. Before it can make contact, Itachi smiles and mouths "I love you Sasuke" before falling over, dead. My sword slams down next to his head, not making contact.

'Even in death, you couldn't let me just kill you.' I fall to my knees, looking at Itachi's bodying and cry. As I cry, I can feel my eyes changing, but I don't care. I don't know how long I sat there, crying, but I felt someone wrap their arms around me. Glancing up with tear stained eyes, I find Hinata looking at me in worry. I just lean into her embrace, continuing to cry.

We sit there, neither of us saying anything for a long time, before I finally calm down enough to stand up. Moving over to Itachi's body, I seal it away in my storage seal and move over to Hinata.

"Let's go home." I say.

Hinata stays silent, moving over next to me and giving me a hug as I warp us away, back to the base we had spent so much time at.