Chapter Text
Valley of the End
The Valley of the End is a testament to the might of the shinobi. Carved by the titanic clash of Hashirama and Madara so long ago, it sat in the mighty foothills of the snaking Dragon Tail mountain range. Named for its curving tail-like appearance through the boundaries of Lightning, Sound, Demon, Earth and more, it stands in ethereal beauty, and dark forbearance. The Valley was carved from this range, and it was used as a more convenient border ever sense. Now, after so many decades of misty silence, it felt the roar of intense battle.
On the water, wreathed in mist, two young men who were teammates, brothers-in-arms, and even friends, now clash with fists, steel, and Jutsu. The blue clad Sasuke Uchiha, missing-nin to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, now entered deeper into his Cursed Seal, his right hand wreathed in black lightning. Across from him Naruto Uzumaki, clad in a deep orange bestial aura, tipped with a large fox-like tail, stood his ground opposite with a orb of swirling purple chakra surrounded by the orange cloak. Red eyes, one set slitted like a cats and another with a ring of three tomoe marks, bored into the other's souls. As if wanting, even begging the other to turn tail and run, to give up, something, anything. Yet, try as their posturing might, neither of the stubborn teens were willing to back down. Digging into the last reserves of energy they had, Rasengon and Chidori were charged. Their most powerful techniques, ready to clash again.
Chakra flowed through their legs as they each made a monstrous surging leap before each other. With arms stretched out, the two’s blows clashed and formed a dome. For a split moment, the world practically stopped as the two brothers-in-arms looked into each other's eyes. Then everything happened all at once. Sasuke’s lightning wreathed spear hand plunged deep into Naruto’s chest. However, Naruto’s response was just as swift, but far more lethal.
Normally, he would have tried to deflect his own blow up, to try and avoid a fearsome attack. To try and slice into his headband to prove his friend wrong. However, his momentary distraction looking into Sasuke’s eyes was all he needed to prevent such an outcome. Instead, his chakra clawed hand slid along his arm, jutting forward and slit open Sasuke’s neck from one side to the other. The warm blood splashed along his arm and soaked into his sleeve, coating it in the crimson ichor of the lifeblood of the Last Uchiha. Naruto only fully realized what had happened when the right half of his face became a crimson mask.
The shock and rapid blood loss ravaged Sasuke’s system, forcing him to drop out of his Cursed Seal form as his Sharingan deactivated. With no active chakra control, the missing-nin plunged into the deep, dark waters below. A bloody cloud marking where he made his watery entry.
“Sasuke!” Naruto yelled, fighting through pain, shock, and blood loss of his own as he dove down into the water after him.
Using the enhanced power of his bestial chakra form, he surged into the depths after his friend. As he made his descent, his eyes were forced to adjust to the increasing cold, dark water.
‘Come on, Sasuke. Start swimming, you bastard! Do something!’ Naruto thought, his heart racing and adrenaline surging through his veins more than blood.
Grabbing hold of the last Uchiha with his right arm, Naruto began to use his tail to help his legs propel him up to the surface. Swinging it back and forth like a crocodile, he forced the water to part with sheer raw power, determined to reach the surface in time to save his friend.
‘Don’t die, Sasuke! Don’t die! We all didn’t come this far, fight so hard, just for you to get a big head and die like this! Stay with me! Stay with me!!’ Naruto thought, practically begging as he finally surfaced.
The force of his tail and legs propelled him from the water akin to a porpoise, careening through the air towards land. With his feet outstretched, and chakra flowing to his feet, he landed on top of the water and rushed full tilt towards the rocky shore. He could feel Sasuke’s heartbeat weakening, his breathing staggered, blood flowing down his own back. Whatever that seal had done to him, it might be the only thing keeping him alive.
“Sasuke, just keep breathing! Just keep breathing, man! Focus on breathing!” Naruto yelled, trying to keep his friend focused.
“Don’t… bother… I’m not… gonna… make it…” Sasuke choked out, tasting his own blood mixing with air in his throat and mouth. The taste overwhelming his thoughts and making breathing hard. “Please… Kill Itachi… Avenge… Us…”
“Don’t talk like that, goose head! Focus on breathing! I got you! Just breathe!” Naruto yelled, setting him down finally on the shore.
“P-Promise… Me…” Was all the Uchiha could gasp out, his eyes taking to a desperate, almost begging form Naruto had never seen before. He lurched up, grasping his former teammate's jumpsuit at the shoulder.
“Promise… Me!!” Sasuke gargled, trying to yell through the blood with tears in his eyes.
“I promise! Now hold still so I can patch you up!” Naruto yelled, not entirely thinking about what he was saying as he got his first aid kit out.
“Thank y-you… N-Naruto… I-I-I’m… S-Sor-ry…” Sasuke gasped out, before Naruto stopped hearing him breathing.
“Sasuke… Sasuke!!” Naruto yelled, grabbing hold of him in panic before finally looking at his face.
The light in his eyes was gone, tears flowing down from his eyes, and his cheeks partially contorted from shock. Yet, across his lips was a small smile, as if part of him was content. Everything flooded into Naruto at once, and he sat there. It felt as if he had sat there for years, as he finally could realize what he had just done. He had killed the very man he was sent to bring back. That he promised to bring back.
“No… No… No!!” Naruto finally let out, crying out to the heavens, yet receiving no answer in return.
The world went blank for him. He didn’t consciously perceive what he could see, hear, smell or touch. He closed Sasuke’s eyes, and then stood up. It was seamless, robotic in motion. Naruto gazed out into the world with a thousand yard stare.
He turned to the Dragon Tail range before him, the very way Sasuke wanted to go. Could it if he entered it, followed it, be his salvation? Naruto didn’t know, understand, or care. He made his way up into a mountain pass, fighting through pain, his dropping adrenaline, and the guilt of the act he had done. Standing at its peak before a crossroads, he looked back down onto the valley where he had left his friend.
“Konoha doesn’t need an oath breaker…” Naruto muttered, before taking the western fork in the crossroads, as a rain front loomed at his heels.
40 minutes later in the valley
Kakashi panted as he finally arrived at the valley. Fighting through wind and rain that picked up rapidly, it had slowed his progress to traverse the dense forests. The only saving grace was it allowed him to slip past any further threats. With his sharingan active, he scanned the horizon. He had tracked his students this far, and he hoped he didn’t have to go much farther. The last thing he wanted was to have to deal with Sound nin border guards, and accusations of a border incursion. It didn’t take long for him to notice on the other bank a stain of crimson on the cream white rocks. Rushing forward, he was greeted by a much more horrible sight.
“No.” He said under his breath in horror as he leapt over in a single bound.
There on the rocks lay Sasuke surrounded by a pool of blood. His body was covered by cuts, scrapes and bruises that signaled he had clearly fought in combat. Half-made attempts at first aid were also visible, indicating someone attempted to save him, however failing in execution. Looking up at the source of all that blood however, was a large gash in his neck. Knowing at least how he died didn’t give Kakashi much solace. It merely caused a cascading web of new questions. The shape of the wound, combined with its size and irregularity puzzled him on its origin. The worrying part was the realization of the only person that could make that mark.
“Naruto… What happened here?” Kakashi uttered under his breath as he knelt down in front of his student’s body.
Picking his body up gently, he carried it out of the pool of gore that it had left before setting it down again. Pulling a scroll out of his pack, he knelt down next to it with a mournful sigh. He always thought that with the amount of loss he’d suffered in his life, Kakashi would be used to it by now. Yet, every time, he realized it was just a lie he told himself. There was no closure or numbness to be had. He just had to learn to deal with and live with it. With a heavy sigh, he sealed Sasuke’s body inside the scroll for transport back to the village and stood up.
Empowering his Sharingan to the greatest extent he could, he began to search for signs of Naruto. Soon enough, he found a faint chakra trail as well as a physical one. Faint footprints laced with chakra and blood. Following it up the slope, it reached a fork in the mountain road. To his surprise, it didn’t turn east towards the Sound. It turned west.
‘Is he going to try to kill Orochimaru? That’s suicide! No, wait… then why would he head west?’ Kakashi thought, trying to piece together this puzzle.
As much as Kakashi wanted to track down his student, the practical side of his mind brought a crushing blow to that idea. He would have to track Naruto on his own, in an ever worsening rain storm, through the mountains, and was wholly not equipped for such a mission. And, as much as it pained him, Naruto had a near hour head start. As skilled at tracking as Kakashi was, he wasn’t going to catch him at this rate. The white haired Jonin sighed and put his headband over his Sharingan and powered it down to its normal level.
“I’m sorry, sensei… I’m sorry, Obito…” Kakashi whispered, his voice wracked with guilt.
He turned away and headed down the slope, before crossing the water to the other bank. His mind swam with guilt and worry. However, he also felt a morbid connection to his orange-clad student at the moment. For he was likely dealing with the same feelings of failure, guilt, and despair. He only hoped that he was okay, and found shelter in this storm. With a heavy sigh, he leapt into the trees, to meet up with the rest of the Sasuke Retrieval Team and return home. Their mission was a success… even if there was no reason to celebrate…