The Return

Chapter 26

Connecting Thoughts

Sasuke fell to the ground, gasping as his chakra was stolen from him. His Susanoo withered away, and he collapsed near Kakashi and Shikamaru. If only his teleportation was working, this wouldn't be a problem. He willed himself to keep his eyes open and forced himself to his hands and knees. He was the reincarnation of Indra after all, he wouldn't go down without a fight! He looked over at the others. Kakashi wasn't in much better shape than he was. Naruto, on the other hand, was sitting with his legs crossed, meditating.

"You baka! There's no time for that, he's coming!" Sasuke wheezed, trying to get his attention. Naruto sat unmoving though. Damn it! What were they going to do now? His eyes bled as he put every last ounce of his remaining chakra into his Jutsu. He had to hold them off somehow.

Black Zetsu/Oni chuckled, jumping down from the stone faces before him. "I'll be taking those eyes now." He bent down, grasping Sasuke's chin and pointing his fingers at his Rinnegan. He reached forward and extracted his eye as Sasuke wailed in pain.

"Sasuke!" a familiar voice called.

Black Zetsu turned and found a pink-haired girl standing over Sasuke who was gasping for breath and holding a hand over his eye. Confused he looked down. His palm was empty. "Genjutsu, eh? I'm impressed you had the strength for that" he smirked. "However, that's enough playing around. Now that the girl is here too, our plans will soon be coming together. The poison has already spread across the village and the shinobi world will soon be in the palm of my hand."

Karin and Hinata gasped for breath, their chakra rapidly weakening. Sakura had a plan to counter the effects of the poison though. Just as she felt her own chakra weakening, she made a hand sign. "Haaaaaa, Shannaro!" she cried, summoning forth every drop of her chakra. More, more, more! She thought, desperately.

Sasuke gazed up at her, surprised by her sudden spike in power.

The markings of the Mitotic Regeneration Jutsu appeared slowly on her skin and Katsuyu's chakra flowed into each of them. "Come on, more!" Sakura cried. Her nose bled as the markings scaled down her arms. Without a second thought, she placed her hands on Sasuke's shoulders.

His Susanoo sprang back to life and his Rinnegan and Sharingan reactivated instantly. He felt a surge of power flood through his veins. He smirked, he knew Sakura was strong, but he felt a greater appreciation for her efforts. Now more than ever, he knew he felt a love deeper than their bonds. Not only that, but he could sense her feelings through her chakra as well. He saw images, flashes of memories, and her feelings over the past number of years spanning back to when they were children. He closed his eyes, silently wishing that he'd acknowledged her affections earlier.

They turned their attention towards Black Zetsu who was approaching Naruto. With their thoughts and feelings connected, they combined their power and prepared to strike. Sasuke summoned his newly formed chakra, "Flame Control: Amaterasu!" he shot an arrow. Black Zetsu merely slipped into the shadows again.

He appeared behind Naruto with a kunai in hand. Sakura reached out towards him, but Sasuke stopped her.

Naruto's chakra spiked and Kurama's cloak enveloped him. A massive arm caught Black Zetsu by the throat as he struggled in his grip. "C-come forth m-my c-comrades" he choked.

Immediately, four shadowed figures appeared with their weapons pointed at Naruto. He attempted to knock them all away, but it was no good, they dodged each attack.

Sakura quickly channeled her Mitotic Regeneration into segments, perfectly balancing her chakra control. She didn't have much left, but if she divided it evenly amongst her comrades, she could give them the strength they needed. She let go of Sasuke's shoulders, still encased in his Susanoo. "Shannaro!" she cried, trying to bring the last fragments of her chakra together.