//------------------------------// // The Sharingans Trump Card // Story: Akatsuki in Equestria // by chaos2012 //------------------------------// 'Get up...' ..... 'Get up....' ..... ..... "Get up!" "Ah!" Rainbow Dash's eyes shot open at the sudden yell. Her eyes shifted around several times trying to focus. She looked up to the blue face staring right back at her. "F-Fleetfoot?" Fleetfoot smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you're up. I was starting to think you weren't getting up." Rainbow rolled herself onto her side, wincing at the sharp pain in her side. She grunted and put a hoof to her head. "What happened... We- Her eyes widened as she whipped her head around behind, her jaw nearly dropping to the ground at the sight. Wh-what the...." A massive crater as far as she could see lay across the landscape. Every tree and and shrub had been disintegrated into dust, leaving nothing more than a dusty brown hole in the earth over three hundred feet deep. This was all that was left of Deidara's final attack. "Is... Is that from that crazy pony?" Rainbow slowly stuttered out. Fleetfoot just nodded her head. "what happened... I don't..." Rainbow rubbed her head in confusion. "Honestly... I don't know." Hearing that voice made Rainbows ears perk up. Her eyes shifted over to Soarin trotting over towards them. She could see his burns still there, but he was alive and that is what mattered. She couldn't help but smile. "Soarin, you're okay!" He nodded in agreement."Yeah, all thanks to you.." "What?" Rainbow asked in confusion, "what do you mean me?" "As we were fleeing from the blast, we weren't able to fly fast enough. We were all going to die... Until you started flying faster than I had ever seen." Soarin answered. "You starting going faster and faster, pulling us away from the explosion. We tried calling out to you but you never answered us. It was as if... You past out but kept going." "Wait.... What?" Rainbow shook her head in confusion. "What do you mean?" "He's right..." Fleetfoot interjected. "I yelled out to you several times but you never looked back. Once we made it out of the range of the attack, you collapsed and fell to the ground already knocked out. You've been down for about an hour now." Rainbow couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I... I don't know what happened. All I remember was we were all flying and trying to get away from that crazy pony, then that's when I can't remember anything else." "Well, he's gone and that's all that matters." Soarin answered with a grin. Rainbow smiled back. "Yeah, now we can..." Her smile disapeared as she looked around. "Wait, where's Rapidfire?" The smiles of the other two wonderbolts disappeared at the question. "He took off the moment we landed on the ground." Soarin answered. "What?" Rainbow yelled out in shock, "He left us?" Fleetfoot nodded. "He didn't even say a word. He started walking off towards Canterlot." Rainbow turned towards the direction of the capital, now concerned of the condition of her friend. "Rapidfire..." Fleetfoot had to wipe away the tears that formed in her eyes. "Spitfire was one of my best friends, but she and her brother were inseparable. I can't even imagine what he is going through now." Soarin shut his eyes to hold back his emotions bubbling up. "We have to head to Canterlot now. He'll be there and we have to tell the princesses what happened. I just hope the city's been okay while we've been gone." --- Princess Luna stared up in terror at the massive red skeleton that formed around Itachi's body, illuminating the area around both of them. "What.... What is this power?" She shakingly said out loud. Itachi cast a small grin at the look on her face. "It is only natural you would be this confused at what this is. Ninjutsu isn't something of your world. But this... Even most shinobi have never seen this before." The susanoo's body began growing tendril like features down its arm, eventually solidifying together and making muscle over the bones beneath. The same thing began happening to the upper body, it's head growing an outer skin and thickening into a strong casing. Luna's skin crawled at the sight in front of her. She knew her own forms of conjuration, but that was only limited to weapons and smaller enchantments. No kind of magic she had ever heard of created something like this. It was as if he had created a living creature from himself. Itachi closed his eyes, squeezing out the blood that had formed in his eyelids. Streams of red continued down his cheeks, constantly soaking the fur there. The pain was growing stronger every moment he used his sharingan and was not subsiding in the least. He knew he only had a little more time left. Itachi opened his eyes and looked toward the princess. "I hope we can continue this now so that we can finish- His words were cut short as he felt a piercing pain shoot through his chest, forcing him down to his belly. His body lurched forward as a large pool of blood burst out of his mouth and splattered all over the ground in front of him. The susanoo itself also sputtered out, reverting back to its skeletal form. Luna jumped back in shock as she watched her foe seeming to give out in front of her. "What the... What's happening to him?" Itachi gasped for air as he spit out another mouthful of blood, using his hoof to wipe away what didn't fall. He could only get a few quick pants in without swallowing back any blood, causing even more discomfort without enough air. "Damn it..." He cursed between breaths, "... It's worse than I thought. Without my medicine I can't slow it down any further." The illness in his body was something he had been fighting for several years now, the last several months really taking its toll on him. Along with that and his diminishing sharingan, his pain only escalated even further. But that only encouraged him to push harder than before. "I can't give in yet..." He said as he pushed himself back up. "...only one can finish me off." His breaths came quicker as he raised all the way to standing. "Only one person..." The aura around his body began to swirl around faster than before. "Only one..." Itachi's eyes shot open in anger at the alicorn. "Only one can be allowed to kill me!" Music link Luna's eyes widened as Itachi and the susanoo leaped through the air at her, the skeletal arm throwing a large punch towards her. Jumping at the last moment, she barely dodged the fist as it crashed into the spot she was just standing in. Before she could react again however, the body spun around and swung its other fist at her. She shot out a beam of magic and struck the palm, directing it just a few inches over her head. Flapping her wings, Luna rose up above the susanoo and charged her magic once again, her horn sparking with static and burst out in another lightning bolt. Striking her target, she was shocked it only bounced off the skeleton as if nothing happened. "But... How.?" "Fire style; fire ball jutsu!" Luna's focus returned as the fire rushed up towards her, forcing her to duck and release another beam of magic. She circled around and released several more streams of magic, all seemingly useless as they simply sputtered out against the red armor. After a few more shots, her head pulsed in pain and nearly made her crash down. "My magic..." She whispered as she shook her head. "... My body only has enough for a few more strikes. Her eyes shifted back to Itachi's, his bleeding sharingans staring right back at her. "I have to finish this now before I can't even move." Itachi spit out a mouthful of saliva and blood as he reached into his cloak. "I can tell she's almost spent as well. Let's see which of us can outlast the other." He released several shuriken towards the princess, clasping his hooves together and creating dozens of shadow clone shuriken as well. Luna quickly created a shield, blocking all of the incoming weapons and followed up with another large beam of magic. As it crashed into Susanoo's chest, she teleported herself behind and unleashed another strike onto the spinal area of the skeleton. This time, she noticed a small crack beginning to form on the back. "Right there! A weak point." Luna shouted to herself. If I can hit once more..." "Amaterasu!" Luna's eyes shot open as the black flames rushed towards her body, barely fast enough to create a magical shield in front of her. The intense fire immediately began melting her barrier, forcing her to fly to the side and into the path of an oncoming fist. Panicking, she created a bubble around herself as susanoo's fist crashed into it, launching her across the ground and into a massive tree. Luna gasped out in pain as her bubble burst around her and she slumped to the dirt. Her body ached in every place and she could hardly feel her magical connection, meaning her power was nearly depleted. Never once in her life had she ever been pushed this far before, and she knew she had used everything the had available. "No..." She gritted her teeth and stared up at the Uchiha. "I won't let you win!" Luna's eyes glowed white as her body began producing electricity across her fur. Her horn shined bright as she charged up for one final blast. "I won't lose!" A massive beam of energy burst out from her body, blinding out all sight of anything in front of her and racing directly toward Itachi. In the next instant, everything around susanoo exploded in a giant burst of blue energy, vaporizing all the dirt and rocks from the intense heat of her attack. Then in another instant, the blast disappeared, leaving nothing but an enormous dust cloud behind. Luna gasped out and fell to her knees, barely able to calm her racing heart. Her hoofs clenched the side of her head as she tried to lessen the pulsing sensation of her mind, gritting her teeth in pain. She could feel her nose dripping blood once again, much more than before. She knew this was now her physical limit now. Any more would be putting her into life threatening levels. "I can't.... I can't anymore." She whispered to herself. "That was all I had." She opened her eyes in hope she had nothing else to worry about... Only to feel her heart drop even further. "No." Through the clearing smoke, the susanoo's body was now encased in a thick suit of armor. It's head was covered by a large open helmet with a long horn protruding off the forehead. The biggest difference however was the massive flaming shield set in front of it. --- music link Deep in the badlands, the cold wind whipped across the barren landscape, whipping over rocks or whatever plain thing happen to be in its path. On this night however, the dust blew over something that wasn't seen often in these parts, especially since this species ruled the lands here. Changeling bodies lay scattered across the ground, their limp forms sprawled out in broken and dismembered pieces. Their green blood was sprayed all across the rocky ground beneath them, creating a bioluminescent glow. In the middle of all the bodies however, a single changeling coughed life. His eyes flicked open and could barely see what was in front of him. "How..." He winced out in pain as he tried to lift his head. "Who are those monsters..." "Now monster is a great compliment." Before the changeling could turn towards the voice, a hoof slammed down onto his back and forced him back to the ground. He screamed out in pain as the shell on his back cracked under the pressure from above. His eyes looked up in terror at the one responsible. "Y-you." Kisame cast a tooth filled grin down at his victim, his large Samehada blade held on his shoulder by his other hoof. "I'm disappointed by how weak you all are. You looked more intimidating than the soldiers I came across earlier." "I wouldn't know about that myself..." Sasori commented from the side, wiping off some off the changeling blood that got on his cheek, "but I was disappointed as well." The changeling couldn't respond out of total fear running through his body. His eyes slowly drifted over to the other pony, who was rolling up a scroll he had pulled out for earlier; along with the horror that came out of the scroll. When he and the others on patrol came across these two earlier, they had assumed it was going to be like every other time some strangers came into their land; although this was unlike anything they had even seen. Powers that were not like any magic they had ever seen before came from the blue one who wasn't even a unicorn. Water erupting out of him and crushing those who got hit, along with a blade that ripped apart several of his comrades. But the scariest part wasn't that one... It was the other. The red unicorn pulled... Something out of the scroll he had inside his sleeve. A monster covered in a cloak that produced blades out of every part of its body. Black clouds of metal shot out of the creatures mouth and obliterated anything in its path, and clouds of poison burst out as well. It was something even the nightmares of this world were terrified of. Even when another patrol of twenty changelings came across the battle taking place to help, it only added to the bloodshed that came by the akatsuki members. Not a single one of them were able to escape and warn their queen of what was coming. Kisame sighed at the little creature beneath him. "Well, I do thank you for this warm up, but now I have better things to do." Raising his hoof up once more, Kisame slammed it down onto the changelings neck, snapping it like a twig. He only smiled wider as he watched the creature twitch several times before going still. "I won't lie, that was a little fun actually. I was growing bored." "Agreed." Sasori finished rolling up his scroll and slipping it back into his cloak. "I was surprised when a few of them changed their appearance to look like us." Kisame grunted. "Kind of useless I think. It's not like they could use our ninjutsu or anything." "Perhaps if it were a larger scale battle they would use that to confuse us with each other..." Sasori added, "we should remember that at least." "Doesn't matter. Let's just go and find this leader of theirs. I hope it this one is strong like Zetsu mentioned." Kisame chuckled to himself as he imagined what he would see. "I want a challenge to see what I can do now in this world." Sasori raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Oh, but didn't you get injured by only a few warriors when you were with Itachi?" music link "Heh heh, that's true. That was when we first came here though...." Kisame chuckled as he began walking towards their target. "It's just been over a day and I already feel much better." He licked his lips and looked back at his partner. "I'm getting stronger the more I'm used to this body." --- Itachi's full susanoo towered above the grassland, it's burning form showing off its power to the terrified princes. "Now you've accepted you don't have a chance at defeating me, Luna?" He said coyly. "My susanoo has fully manifested itself now. This shield you see it's the true ultimate defense that comes with my ability." He paused and wiped away more blood from his mouth. "You however don't have any power that I can see. Don't cause me more trouble." Luna couldn't believe the sight that was in front of her; after everything that had been thrown at him, even her most powerful spells that she knew, they were nothing. Nothing compared to the power that Itachi had. Now it seemed that it had become even more powerful than before, the size of susanoo seemingly doubled and still glowing bright. And she had nothing left. Seeing he was in total control, Itachi slowly began walking towards his target. "Now you will be coming with me." Luna's skin trembled in fear as the giant susanoo began creeping its way towards her, following its owner across the dirt. "No... Stay away!" She shouted Her horn sputtered up and gave off hint of light, barely enough to see. "Stay back!" Using whatever power left, she shot off a minuscule beam that simply sizzled against susanoo's shield, the puff of smoke vanishing instantly. "Don't try and fight anymore..." Itachi whispered as he stumbled towards the alicorn. "I have won this battle." Luna couldn't move. Part of it was her body's condition; her muscles hurt worse than she had ever felt before. Her magic was completely drained. The wings on her back were cramped and couldn't even fold right against her side. Finally the tree behind her kept her from running backwards. But that wasn't why she couldn't move. Not out of pain or exhaustion. Fear. She couldn't have made her legs move even if she tried. Her fur stuck up as adrenaline coursed through her, but it didn't make her want to run. Instead, it froze her in place and made her watch as Itachi continued is slow walk in her direction. She knew she could do nothing to stop him at this point. And he knew the same thing as well. Itachi was now only several feet from her, his breathing very uneven. "I will... Return home." He stuttered out between pants. "I have to." Luna could only tremble as the Uchiha was within touching distance, her body sweating profusely as she knew it was over. "No... Please stop." I.... Must return." Reaching up with one of his hooves, Itachi shakingly brought a Kunai up and pointed it at the princess. "I have to go back." As he stepped forward once more however.... He collapsed. music link In a single moment the susanoo disintegrated into thin air, leaving the field dark and cold. Luna's shivering body stared off into nothing... Confused as to what just happened. Her trembling gaze shifted down to the pony now beneath her, even more shocked at what was below her. Itachi's body convulsed several times before he coughed up several more times, the blood continuing to come out every time. His breathing was even more labored than before, coming in very shallow gasps between his coughing. Even his legs began to shake as well. "No... Not now." His bleeding sharingans deactivated, leaving only his faded grey eyes in their place. His blurry vision struggled to focus on his blood covered hoof, already knowing what was happening. "It can't be... Not this soon." His illness had finally caught up to him. Itachi could feel his inside tearing itself apart, causing more pain to him every moment. But the fact that he was going to die wasn't what bothered him. In fact he wanted death to come to him. The thing that hurt him more than anything was who he was leaving behind. "S-Sasuke..." His entire life he had lived in the shadows, allowing his name to be written in hatred. He didn't care though. He had a purpose for what he did and he knew the consequences. He chose to live the life of a criminal. He only wanted one thing in the end, however, and that was for one person to end his life. He needed that more than his own name to be cleared. He wanted his families honor to be restored through the one he cared for the most in the world, the one that was worth going through everything for. And now he was unable to let that happen. "I'm sorry brother..." He whispered out, his voice cracking under the strain. "I'm sorry." His mind began visioning himself back in his village, happily walking amongst the other shinobi of his home. The smiles of the people around him when peace was over the town. People greeted him like one of their own. Then around the corner, a young black haired boy ran up to him with open arms. Even as he laid bleeding on the ground, he smiled as he remembered his brothers happy face coming up to him, asking him to go play or to let him come train with him. He gave a small chuckle when he remembered poking his little brother on his forehead, his trademark for promising next time. "It looks like I won't be doing it another time... Sasuke." His vision began going black, unable to see anything else in front of him anymore. Even his mind began losing focus on his memories, images blending together until a fog seemed to hold over his dreams. He couldn't tell most things apart any longer, but that didn't matter to him. He could still see his brother there, that big smile still on his face. "Perhaps with me gone... You can find your own peace... Sasuke." Keeping that thought to himself, Itachi let his mind go, Allowing the darkness to take him.