Chapter 95 - ArcXIV: Uchiha Legacy vs. Heaven's Temper- Chapter 1

Facing off with Sasuke now, Yuji could feel that this purpose was at an end. Even the scant few weeks that separated his suicide attempt from now, Yuji felt different. He felt he could find another purpose to give his existence meaning. Attaining the true form of Ten no Kishootsu had been damning enough in his mind (what was there to aspire to when you reached the plateau?), but to see it so soundly defeated was something much harder to accept.

But ‘it’ had not been defeated. Yuji was defeated. That was good. It meant something could change. Ten no Kishootsu’s power was now firmly a part of Yuji, and it would not change. But he, Yuji- he was not done growing yet. The more he grew, the more he could utilize Ten no Kishootsu.

Upon understanding this, he formed his strategy. An unwinnable scenario. He set a trap for himself and walked into it. But he who sets the trap is the one who may walk out.

What Yuji had come to understand was that Ten no Kishootsu was like mastery of a martial art. There was a physical portion, yes. But a good deal of it was mental. How could he have been so blind so as not to see what was right there in front of him? His own strength- genjutsu.

I wrote it off because of Sasuke’s Sharingan. But if I remove the Sharingan from the equation, then the battle is mine. Physically, he can outmaneuver me- unless I play my cards right.

They clashed with no further preamble. Sasuke attacked viciously, and Yuji defended. Sasuke attacked again, this time with more energy. Yuji blocked yet again, this time countering with a low-strength fire attack. Sasuke dodged it effortlessly. Then two more came, and he was forced to block them rather than dodge. They did little damage, so he shrugged the attack off.

“Great Fireball Jutsu!”

The jutsu filled the cave, just as Yuji had intended. He let his Ten no Kishootsu chakra take over. His hair and eyes turned a dark obsidian and the wings extended from his body. He closed them in a protective cocoon, deflecting the fire with his stronger, more pure fire.

Through the haze his wings created, and looking through the small flecks of fire falling to ground as though blazing orange snow, Yuji could see Sasuke’s eyes. One eye was closed, and blood was beginning to well under it.

I thought so. Go for it, Sasuke.

“AMATERASU!”

Jets of black fire shot toward Yuji, forming columns that threatened to pierce him and burn him into nothingness.

Yuji threw his cloak in the way of the flames. Bizarrely, the flames were contained by the thin material. Sasuke froze in shock, completely dismayed that his attack had been stymied so simply. He looked closer, however, and it became apparent:

“You sealed it using your cloak!”

Yuji looked up from his cloak, where he’d been busy making a blood seal.
“Don’t be absurd. I didn’t seal anything. Teleportation Jutsu, though- that’s another matter.”

As Sasuke stared, Yuji’s face took on a solemn expression.

“It’s fitting, isn’t it? At the memorial obelisk, black flames that cannot be extinguish will mark the passing of beloved Leaf comrades.”

Sasuke gave a great roar that contained no words. Only an emotional protest. He had inadvertently helped honor those who had taken advantage of his brother’s sacrifice. It was completely contrary to his mission. And his mission was all he had left.

“We’re the same. Truly the same,” Yuji said plainly, his wings stretching behind him, looking for more room to maneuver, since the ceiling of the cave was too low for the them. The tunnel-like place was both blessing and curse.

“We’re nothing alike!”

Yuji rolled his eyes. “Idiot. Just keep proving me right. You live for your mission- so do I. This fight isn’t personal for you- it isn’t personal for me. You’re an outcast in your eyes- I’m an outcast in mine. The only difference between us is that my power is protective; yours is destructive.”

Sasuke had heard this so many times over the years. The same redundant philosophy that these weaklings kept trying to hand him!
“You’re going to tell me that revenge is a black hole. That I’m on a path to destruction. And you’re going to bestow upon me the merits of righteousness and justice. And-”

“And you’re interrupting me. Fine representative of your clan,” Yuji interjected, sarcasm dripping in each syllable. “No, I’m not here to lecture you. If you were too stupid to listen the first three times you heard it, that’s your business. I don’t care what you do. As I said, this isn’t personal. I personally think you’re an obnoxious jackass who uses words like ’revenge’ and ’avenger’ because you’re a scared little boy who can’t grow up. Why don’t you get over yourself? If you need a purpose, find a real one, besides blindly defying the wishes of your brother. Itachi had a clue. That’s the skill difference between you two. He wised up a lot faster than you. You always had more potential physically. You were just too stupid to figure it out.”

Yuji rolled his neck, watching Sasuke; gauging his chakra. Easily a third was gone from his use of the Amaterasu. Good.

“I said I wouldn’t lecture you, and now I suppose I am. So I’ll make my point quickly: Your excuses are lame. Your reason for existence is not valid. You’re just doing the opposite of what good people do. You’re just playing at being ’evil’ because it makes people pay attention. You’re not ’poor little Sasuke’ anymore. You’re some badass now, right? Chief bad guy in your own mind? Well, I’ve got news- you’re just an older, more powerful version of the same little boy that sat in the academy classroom hating the world. Rebel without a clue.”

Sasuke attacked again, but not with the Amaterasu. His version of the Kusanagi was sweeping toward Yuji almost faster then he could track. He dodged backward twice, but was rapidly running out of room. He couldn’t let Sasuke exit the cave yet. So the next time the sword came, Yuji closed his wings around him and let the blade bounce off. It rebounded with force, allowing Yuji to attack quickly with a firey palm to Sasuke’s chest. The blowback knocked Yuji back a couple steps, but the force of the attack had put Sasuke into the far wall.

Sasuke was so infuriated now that he was bleeding chakra. He lay imbedded in the stone wall, panting and staring in fury at Yuji. How could this novice be beating him? Yuji had lost so handily last time, and had even been on the verge of death.

It’s like fighting a different man. But why? I have to find out why if I‘m going to win! Sasuke thought desperately. When they were kids, Yuji was an adversary he could respect to some degree. Enough to not ever let him get momentum in a sparring match. Now, that was doubly true, when both boys were playing for keeps.

Yuji came flying in again. Preceding him a ball of fire big enough to fill the cave. Sasuke had to dodge it.

“SHOUKYAKU JUTSU!”

Sasuke rolled aside just in time as a jutsu he wasn’t familiar with was cast. Where he had been, rock had just exploded. The remains were so tiny it was as if the rock never existed at all.

The precision of the attack shook Sasuke. It shook him to his core. That was not the attack of a normal human being. It made him look at Yuji- really look at Yuji- for the first time since this fight began.

His eyes could see things most eyes couldn’t. And his eyes could barely see through the thick, black chakra Yuji was radiating. He could just barely sense the boy’s original red chakra. But even beyond that, he sensed a green chakra. A chakra full of energy. Not at all like Yuji.

“You’re curious?” Yuji questioned mildly. “I’ll tell you why you’re seeing what you’re seeing. You see, there are three aspects to martial arts. No, actually, the world.”

Good, keep your Sharingan activated. You don’t know it, Sasuke, but I’ve already won.

“They are the mental, the physical, and the spiritual. All are in tune with each other. But doubly so with my chakra. Ten no Kishootsu- ‘Heaven’s Temper’- does not allow just anyone to possess it. In order to attain it, you must be strong enough mentally to understand it. Strong enough physically to control it. Strong enough spiritually to believe it.
“The chakra you sense is that of my predecessor. I don’t know his name. I only know that he was a samurai, and very different from me. He was a passionate, strong man. Full of energy and willing to channel it into physical combat. His forte, if you will.
His chakra was sealed away and eventually found it’s way to our Third Hokage. And then, to me. From there, the prophecy that we both know about defines the history. And here we are. SHOUKYAKU JUTSU!”

The Jutsu was cast so quickly that Sasuke couldn’t dodge. He was hit by the full force of the blow.

Yuji considered this, his head cocked. “Dear God, did you survive that? It must be all that lightning chakra you’ve got bottled up inside you. If you were normal, there’d be nothing left of you.”

Yuji’s face broke into an uncharacteristically nasty grin.
“Bet you can’t survive it twice. SHOUKYAKU JUTSU!”

Sasuke had to call on it quickly. There was no choice. He’d been pushed too far by this jutsu. But to call on his best technique with such a lower reserve of chakra meant diminishing it’s effectiveness. Still there was no choice.

Yuji looked on quietly, sure he‘d done it this time. Sasuke would protect himself in the only way he could. The most mystical- and demanding- of the Sharingan techniques. A technique that had pushed even Itachi to his limits.

Susano’O

The behemoth formed inside the gave, eventually collapsing the ceiling and sides to make room for it. Yuji flew out of the cave and hovered in the air, nearly quivering with excitement and fear. To see this was amazing.

To survive it- legendary.

Yuji could see Sasuke’s chakra; no, his entire body; taking a pounding. It was clear he hadn’t mastered Susano’O by any definition of the word. Just maintaining it was a horrendous strain.

“SHOUKYAU JUTSU! SHOUKYAKU JUTSU!”

Two rapid-fire succession jutsus hit Susano’O. Each one visibly reeled Sasuke, protected though he was.

For his plan to work, Yuji needed this fight to last a little longer. So he let his wings carry him high up- out of even Susano’O’s reach. He circled Sasuke from above, making sure he was just out of reach. The more angry and frustrated Sasuke was, the better. It made him do stupid things, like attacking when Yuji was out of reach. It made him waste chakra at a phenomenal rate.

Susano’O flickered and began to recede in a surprisingly short amount of time. Sasuke’s body was cracking under the strain of maintaining his defense. Yuji attacked a few more times, using very little chakra. It took him little to attack; it took Sasuke a lot to block. He battled the inevitable for nearly a minute, but finally surrendered and allowed Susano’O to collapse back into him.

Yuji fluttered down and landed opposite Sasuke.

“Give it up. You only won last time by distracting me. It won’t work again. I’ve brought nobody you’ll be able to target- not like this, anyway.”

Sasuke was panting; blood fell from both eyes. Gradually, his Sharingan, too, faded.

And Yuji struck.

Summoning the Ten no Kishootsu chakra, he attacked Sasuke- mentally. Their battle would be decided based on mental strength.

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