Windblown sand swept through the shattered barrier, stirring clouds of dust. Sasuke Uchiha stood atop a stone pillar, his Akatsuki cloak snapping in the wind. Dark purple chakra flowed slowly around him like a living thing, radiating a pressure that made hearts tremble. His scarlet Sharingan swept coldly over the somewhat bedraggled Konoha squad below before settling on Ling.
"You managed to find this place. It seems Konoha's 'Purifying Karma' has some skill after all." Sasuke's voice was level, betraying neither joy nor anger, but its distance felt like an invisible wall.
Ling took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his body caused by maintaining intense senjutsu perception and breaking the barrier. Though he had expended a considerable amount of his azure senjutsu chakra, he was nowhere near depleted. It still swirled steadily around him, standing in stark opposition to Sasuke's dark aura.
"Sasuke, turn back." Ling's voice was clear and firm, offering no plea, only a statement. "You know exactly what this power is. It's exploiting your pain."
Sasuke's gaze shifted slightly, only to be swallowed by an even deeper chill. "Exploiting it? Or giving me power? Ling, you've stood in the light for so long that you've forgotten what the darkness feels like. To me, this is power. Power enough to sever everything and reshape it all."
He said nothing more. His figure abruptly blurred! Rather than charging straight ahead, he seemed to melt into the shadows, leaving eerie afterimages among several stone pillars. His path was unpredictable, his speed astonishing!
"Careful! He's even faster than before!" Kakashi's Sharingan spun rapidly, barely tracking his movements, while Lightning Blade already crackled in his hand.
But Sasuke's target was neither Kakashi nor Ling, who appeared to have expended the most energy. He appeared like a phantom just behind Tokuma