Valley of the End.
Two waterfalls plunged down from above, their roar echoing through the gorge. It was not the sound of water, but the sound of time. A thousand years ago, Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju had fought the battle of their lives here. Their statues stood carved above the water. Madara's statue was on the left, Hashirama's on the right. Their hands reached toward each other—not to shake hands, but to form hand seals. A seal that would never be completed.
Two boys stood facing each other on the water.
Naruto's clothes were torn, his face smeared with mud, his chin covered in blood. He had not been beaten bloody. He had bitten himself bloody. He had clenched his teeth and chased for three hours, through forests, across rivers, past the outskirts of Orochimaru's base, all the way to the Valley of the End. Not to fight, but to bring Sasuke back. Sasuke stood opposite him, the Curse Mark spreading across his face. Not black, but dark red. State Two. His chakra was no longer blue, but purple. Purple chakra formed two hands behind him—not hands, but wings. Two purple wings unfolded beneath the moonlight like those of a cursed bird.
"Sasuke! Come back with me!"
"I'm not going back. Going back will only make me weaker. And if I'm weak, I can't kill that man."
"Then why are you leaving? Not to go to Orochimaru! You're leaving me! Leaving Konoha! Leaving everyone who sees you as a comrade!"
Sasuke's Sharingan glowed. Not two tomoe, but three. Against the purple chakra, the three tomoe did not look red, but black. The black tomoe spun faster and faster, until they blurred together and became a black leaf. Not a leaf—but the mark of Chidori. Chidori gathered in his right