Chapter 1: At the Fall

Sasuke Uchiha was usually a very cautious person. Never was he one to

charge in without some form of plan B. And, to his credit, that way of thinking had saved his life in the past. However, he had also learned that the Ghost of the Uchiha Clan, Madara Uchiha, was someone who made his own intellect seem like that of a child. Or Naruto.

It was honestly a very humbling

experience, witnessing an Uchiha who had achieved such mastery of the Shinobi Arts. Every Jutsu, every strategy, Madara had a perfect counter in place. And he was able to exploit weaknesses Sasuke didn't even know he had. For example, Madara had made it clear to Sasuke that his Rinnegan had very distinct catch to it's teleportation ability. It left a ripple in the area he intended to appear, and Madara was more than able to capitalize on that. It forced Sasuke to master his new eye far more quickly that he thought was even possible.

It was generally the same with Naruto, but the addition of his Truth Seeking Orbs made it much easier to survive the more aggressive assaults from Madara. It made Sasuke rely on Naruto for defensive assists more often than ever. They two of them were at their strongest by several orders of magnitude, and they were still barely hanging on.

The shift in the tide happened when Madara obtained his second Rinnegan. With the completed set, he was able to instantly put the two of them on the defensive, and he had kept them there ever since. He began to produce wood clones and his Limbo clones increased in number, and he was taking every advantage possible. Although, Sasuke knew that his ancestor was still not taking the fight entirely too serious. The man still had the ability to bring out the almighty Perfect Susanoo. He knew that the two of them needed to think of something fast, or else Madara might decide to take this battle more seriously.

It had been one of those moments in the fight where the three of them took a moment to breathe, and Sasuke knew that if he allowed Madara even the slightest break at this point, the elder Uchiha would have more than enough power to start dealing serious injury. He and Naruto were on their last legs, and if they let Madara regroup and have even a moment to gather Chakra, the two of them wouldn't last much longer.

So, without a moment of hesitation, Sasuke activated the Rinnegan, and vanished. Within an instant he was behind Madara, his Chokuto already in motion to behead it's target. This wasn't something backed by planning or even instinct. All Sasuke knew was that Madara had to die. Now.

But the Ghost of the Uchiha Clan was suddenly enveloped in the blazing blue light of the Susanoo, and Sasuke's Chokuto was about as effective as a child's pinky finger.

Madara had activated his Perfect Susanoo.

Sasuke instantly teleported to Naruto's side, sheathing his Chokuto and catching his breath.

"We need to do something, Naruto. That Susanoo is going to tear us to pieces if he keeps it activated. I can activate my own, but I'm nowhere near strong enough to match that kind of power by myself. Any ideas?" Naruto looked at him for a moment, then smirked.

"Let's do it like when we fought Obito. I'll take the lead, you follow in two seconds."

Sasuke nodded, and teleported a few dozen yards away. He immediately began to muster as much Chakra as he could.

One…

Two…

Now!

Sasuke released his Chakra, and focused intensely. The Purple glow which surrounded him exploded to life, the unimaginable power provided by his Susanoo's perfect form left him feeling physically lighter than before. But, he needed to move, quickly. He and Naruto had one shot at pulling this off.

The process of fusing their respective abilities fell primarily on Naruto, so Sasuke took the brief moment the think of ways they might be able to catch Madara by surprise. It wouldn't be easy. In fact, they probably wouldn't pull it off at all. This was a losing battle, Sasuke knew that. But he'd been in similar binds in the past, and he wouldn't let the seemingly insurmountable odds deter him. They could win. They had to win.

It was after a few moments that he felt it. The sudden surge in Chakra and the appearance of Naruto beside him indicated that the fusion of the Nine Tails and his Susanoo had been completed. He looked over to Naruto, who was smirking.

"You ready, Sasuke? One last attack!"

Sasuke let loose an intense shout.

"Damn right!" And with that, the two of them began to prepare for their final assault. Sasuke began to summon all of the Chakra in his body, funneling it into Naruto's Avatar to ensure that the blast from their attack would at least force Madara out of the Perfect Susanoo.

"Three!" Naruto shouted, their Avatar beginning to form a Tailed Beast Bomb.

"Two!" Sasuke continued, using his Mangekyo to coat the blast in Amaterasu.

"One!" The two shouted in unison, and Naruto let the blast fly from the mouth of the Nine Tails. A massive flash of energy blinded Sasuke for a moment, and he realised that Madara had released some for of Chakra pulse from the blade of his Susanoo. He felt panic rush into his heart, and he waited to see if the Tailed Beast Bomb would overcome the wave of energy. But, to his horror, the blast began to dissipate, and he and Naruto were mere moments away from being hit by the monstrous tsunami of Chakra barreling towards them. It was then that he also realised that Naruto had already formed a barrier of Truth Seeking Orbs around him. Sasuke shouted.

"Naruto!" His partner looked to him, and an expression of pure terror overcame the grimace from just seconds ago. He reached out to Sasuke, and had nearly expanded the shield far enough to envelop the both of them, when the torrent of Chakra Madara had released slammed into them at full force.