The cold rain struck their bodies, but it was nothing compared to the chill in their hearts. Uchiha Itachi lay in Kakashi's arms, his breathing as faint as a candle flickering in the wind. The purplish-black corruption on his left chest spread slowly but relentlessly, and his tightly knitted brow and occasional involuntary twitches betrayed the immense pain he was enduring. That wisp of cursed power from the Sacred Lord's essence had taken root inside him like the most vicious parasite, ravenously devouring his vitality.
Ling knelt beside him, his hands coated in azure senjutsu chakra as he poured everything into suppressing the dark corruption. Fine beads of sweat dotted his forehead, his expression grim. "It's no use... this power is incredibly tenacious. My senjutsu chakra can only slow its spread temporarily. I can't eradicate it. It's constantly draining his life force and chakra... he needs more specialized sealing and treatment immediately!"
Nearby, Karin had already rushed to the unconscious Sasuke's side. After probing him with the full power of her Mind's Eye of the Kagura, she spoke through near-sobs. "Lord Sasuke... his-his chakra is almost exhausted, and his soul has been badly damaged. He's terribly weak... but... but that sense of dark corruption really is gone!" Perhaps that was the only good news. Sasuke had escaped the Sacred Lord's control for now, but the price was his dying older brother and his own near-total collapse.
Guren and Jugo stood guard beside them, watching the sudden upheaval with conflicted expressions. Their loyalty lay with a powerful Sasuke who could lead them toward their goals, not the weak, unconscious master before them.
Kakashi supported Itachi, feeling his life force slip away, his Sharingan filled with conflict and resolve. He quickly surveyed the scene: two critically injured men, the members of Hawk