75 A Fallen Hero.

(3rd Person POV)

Itachi's and Kei's Sharingan rotated and morphed into their Mangekyou Sharingan form, rotating at high speed as both of their eyes bled. The two simply stood in place as they studied each other, waiting for the other to make any indication of an attack.

Itachi stood on his chair as he waited only for another Itachi to appear behind Kei as another Kei appeared behind Itachi, both beheading the other as Kei cut through the chair Itachi was sitting in, in one fell swoop and Itachi sent the other Kei's head flying as well, a short sword suddenly appearing in his hand during the attack.

Now, their positions reversed, the two simply looked at each other. Soon a sigh escaped Itachi as he looked at Kei.

"You should have just killed me. You'll have to pay a steep price for this. It's not a problem for a dead man like me but for you…" – Itachi mentioned as he looked at Kei.

"I can't exactly go around fighting shinobi that are almost dead. I can't give you a peaceful death, but this must be much better than the alternative." – Kei responded as he lunged forward, his sword descending upon Itachi as he parried it to the side, only for Kei to use that momentum and rotate, delivering an elbow to Itachi's face that sent him sliding backward.

Itachi moved his hand to his face, feeling the small trickle of blood from his mouth as he smiled.

"Indeed, this is much better." – Itachi responded as he stabbed the sword in the ground, going through hand signs at incredible speed as Kei quickly closed the distance.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu." – Itachi said as a giant fireball met Kei head-on.

As Kei was already rushing toward Itachi, he slid, one palm on the floor as he didn't even need to go through hand signs.

"Earth Style: Mobile Core Jutsu." – Kei said as the ground beneath him moved lower, letting Kei slid right beneath the fireball and jump at Itachi, his sword aiming directly for his heart.

As the sword pierced through, Itachi exploded, sending Kei hurling in the distance, taking him a second to recover as a dozen smaller fireballs headed straight for him.

Nature energy flowed through Kei as he waved his sword, sending a wave that dispelled all of them.

At that exact moment, Itachi appeared behind Kei, bringing his sword straight for Kei's neck only for him to be stopped mid-air as countless chains broke through the ground below him, piercing through Itachi, the chains flinging Itachi away quickly.

A moment later he exploded, the shockwave hitting the Thoracic Cage of his Susanoo that appeared around Kei as he stood in place.

Not letting up, Kei's Thoracic Cage turned into a complete Susanoo, chakra waves spreading from Kei as his eyes glowed bright red together with his Susanoo's, the blackish-red Susanoo rose, as it raised one hand and brought it down immediately, a chain extending rapidly as it did so, continuing to fall with momentum, crushing its way as it tore the building in two as it collided with something.

The pressure descending with chain raised up smoke and destroyed the ground, the walls cracked and blew away from the force of the impact and only a ruin remained from the former fortress

As the smoke cleared, a reddish-orange Armored Susanoo appeared at the end of the chain Kei's Susanoo held, its sword tangled together with the chain.

With a sudden pull, Itachi's Susanoo pulled Kei's forward slightly, giving it enough leverage to bring its shield down on top of the chain, bringing Kei's Susanoo closer suddenly as it was dragged forward, leaving it open for Itachi as his eye spun rapidly.

"Amaterasu." – And black flames hurled towards Kei's Susanoo.

"Amaterasu." – Kei's Mangekyou spun as the black flames from both of them met, creating a clash of dark flames in the middle.

Without waiting any further, armor covered Kei's Susanoo, giving it a terrifying pressure as it grabbed the chain with one hand and pulled, showing its considerably superior brute strength as it pulled Itachi and his Susanoo through the black flames, the Yata mirror being the key factor that made Itachi disregard the flames, and lunge forward with the sword of Totsuka almost piercing Kei's Susanoo.

Evading the blade by centimeters, Kei's Susanoo secured the arm and the blade of Itachi's Susanoo, putting it into an armlock with his left arm, his right arm grabbing the reddish-orange Susanoo's Yata Mirror and keeping it open and away from the body.

Stuck in a struggle, Kei's armored Susanoo showed cracks in its faceplate, expanding along its face as it opened, making it look much like a beast with razor-sharp teeth… but it didn't lunge to bite.

Opening it's mouth, chakra gathered in front of it, a small compressed ball of dark chakra growing rapidly, almost outgrowing the distance between the two Susanoo.

Not waiting, Itachi let go of the pinned-down Yata mirror, making Kei's Susanoo use its arm to hold Itachi's by the neck as Itachi used the free arm to attack the midsection of Kei's Susanoo.

As chakra was gathered, Itachi attacked Kei's Susanoo again and again.

A moment later, the Susanoo that was punching suddenly changed its fist to a straightened palm, intending to pierce through the other Susanoo.

As it pierced through its midsection, the other Susanoo fired the concentrated dark charka, blowing away half of Itachi's Susanoo, creating a mark on the earth that couldn't be measured by eye, stopping the reddish-orange Susanoo's attack as it slowly dispersed, Itachi grunting as he fell on his knee, looking to his right as his entire arm was blown away.

'Even in here, my strength has a limit.' – Itachi thought as he looked at his dispersing Susanoo. He could certainly dodge the beam if he dispersed the Susanoo… but that would mean going up against Kei's Susanoo without one of his own. He knew that he didn't have the strength to raise another one in time for it to matter… or if he could raise another one at all.

Suddenly the entire scenery, the destroyed Uchiha compound faded fro sight as in its place the original, untouched structure appeared, Itachi's right arm still in its place as the only difference was that Itachi was in front of Kei, looking exhausted as if a small breeze could blow him over.

A battle inside Tsukuyomi, albeit much more advanced Tsukuyomi than the normal one… something along the lines Itachi wanted to use on Izumi.

A battle in a place where he could breathe freely without feeling the burden of his illness. He was grateful for having Tsukuyomi in those few moments he experienced in the illusion.

But it still was a battlefield, his strength had a limit, not physical but mental. He won with everything he had, to win, not because he wanted to live, but because he knew he was going to die either way.

As Itachi looked at Kei he smiled lightly.

Kei nodded simply as he raised his sword to Itachi's heart, a simple push away from killing the Uchiha.

As he was about to push it in, the sound of running came from behind him as Kei turned his head, smiling softly outside of Itachi's view as Sasuke's face came into view.

Kei stared at Sasuke who had his eyes wide open at spotting Kei inside the compound.

Positioned so someone at the door wouldn't have a clear view of what was happening exactly, Kei flipped the sword quickly, making sure to keep eye contact with Sasuke, whose surprise had kept him from noticing anything wrong.

As Itachi saw Sasuke and the sword, he immediately understood Kei's meaning.

The last sin for him to bear so that his brother would have the necessary strength.

"What…" – Sasuke began as he suddenly stopped, his eyes opened wide as he witnessed despair for the second time in his life.

Not waiting any longer, Itachi's arm grabbed the sword as he plunged it into Kei's chest, making sure to avoid the vitals but also making sure to make it as bloody as possible.

"In the South-West corner." – Itachi whispered to Kei as the sword went right through him.

As Kei's body fell, Itachi's eyes stared into Sasuke's noticing the change in them as he let go a sigh of relief, falling on his back as light began to fade from his eyes.