chapter 1

"I admit it. That I've…. I've lost".

Those were words that he never thought he would say to someone in a million years. After everything that had happened, everything that he had gone through, the measures he took to ensure that all of the hatred of the world would be focused solely on him by cutting ties with everyone who was close to him in the pursuit of everlasting peace. All of it was turned upside down by the dogged determination and persistence of one hopelessly naïve and idealistic friend.

A friend who never gave up on redeeming him, not even in the face of certain death by his own hands.

In the end, Sasuke Uchiha's revolution had failed. All the pain and suffering he undertook to gain the power needed to plunge himself into the darkness became irrelevant as Naruto stubbornly clung onto his hand and pulled him back into the light.

Yet for some reason, he wasn't sad, or angry or disappointed by the outcome. For reasons he couldn't fathom, Sasuke felt like the burden he had been carrying his whole life was finally being lifted off of his shoulders. As if he finally realized the depths of the feelings that others had for him and how much his connections meant to them.

"Idiot!"

Naruto shouted back, despite being immobilized and in an equal state of pain as he was.

"Don't you get it? This fight was never about winning or losing at all, I just wanted to punch a stubborn friend to make him snap him out of it!"

Sasuke listened as best he could in his current state, unable to stop himself from chuckling just a little bit over how loud, obnoxious and passionate Naruto still remained even after taking the beating of a lifetime from him.

"And the real fight that I want, comes after doing that"

Naruto finished his little tirade.

All the broken bones and bruises in his body couldn't stop Sasuke from letting out a small smile when he heard the rant. An entire day's worth of battle, unleashing their entire arsenal of jutsus, the power of the tailed beasts combined with the Susanoo and even redrawing the entire map of the Valley of the End wasn't enough for his blonde friend to consider it the real battle in their rivalry.

"Only a loser like you could ever think of this as a game"

Sasuke laughed on the inside.

Still, Sasuke felt that it wouldn't hurt to let him know about what was on his mind as well.

"Hey Naruto"

he called out.

"What!?"

Naruto angrily replied. Even a bruised and swollen left eye couldn't stop him from looking over at Sasuke's direction.

"You know. I just acknowledged you"

Sasuke addressed as his blonde rival finally stopped talking and started listening intently.

"If I die here, the long cycle of destiny the Sage mentioned might end. That's a…kind of revolution too. Release the Infinite Tsukuyomi once I'm dead by transplanting my left eye into Kakashi or someone else. And I…I will just put an end to myself".

Those were the last words that Sasuke spoke before the world around him darkened and eventually ceased to be.

…..

For what felt like an eternity, there was nothing but emptiness all around him. The blank void of oblivion was enveloped him as Sasuke tried to make do of where he was. For some reason he could still feel his body lying prone and motionless on the ground, the agonizing pain being present all over. But the morning sky was gone, and Naruto wasn't by his side either. Moreover, Sasuke felt the coldness of water, its ripples touching his back as a strange purple light emitted from the ground. This was a place he was somewhat very familiar with, a place he had once seen while on the verge of death.

"Am I …...dead?"

"It is more complicated than you might think"

a familiar voice answered. From the linguistic style to the elderly tone in the voice, Sasuke had not doubt as to who was calling him.

Despite the immense pain, Sasuke somehow managed to pull himself up from his weakened state to a more seated position as he turned around to face his new companion, who was floating with his legs folded together as a black staff rested by his hands and black floating orbs surrounded him. With two small horns on his head, a very long goatee and a strange third eye with patterns synonymous with the Rinnegan, there was no doubt that this was Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki: The Sage of the Six Paths.

"Welcome, my dear Sasuke, to the realm between the living and the dead. We have met here before"

the Sage said, continuing to float around with his ominous presence.

"A realm between the living and the dead?"

Sasuke pondered, unsure as to whether he was referring to a purgatory of sorts or something else entirely.

"What are you talking about?"

he asked, genuinely confused as to what was going on with him. The Sage had a way of explaining in cryptic nonsense, so much so that Sasuke was surprised that a blockhead like Naruto could even understand what he saying.

"You are not dead but you are not alive either. You are Sasuke but at the same time you are not the Sasuke that you know of"

Hagoromo explained.

This was getting more and more complicated by the moment. Even someone as brilliant and observant as Sasuke could not make heads or tails about what the father of shinobi was trying to explain to him.

"I'm Sasuke but I'm not? What nonsense is this?"

he argued back.

"See for yourself"

Hagoromo answered, pointing his left hand towards the back of Sasuke.

The young Uchiha got up and turned around, complying in the hopes of getting an answer. But what he saw, was something beyond his comprehension.

"That's…. that's"

Sasuke tried to form the proper words to explain what he was feeling at the moment, as his eyes widened in utter horror and bewilderment as the world around him changed and he was manifesting right back into the same place that he was in moments ago.

Sasuke was witnessing himself still alive and lying next to Naruto as Sakura came to their aid.

"This…this is…."

"Impossible?"

Hagoromo completed his sentence.

"But how!?"

Sasuke continued asking.

"I'am uncertain of it myself, but I believe that you have, without knowing, split yourself into two halves"

Sasuke nearly choked when he heard those words. At this moment, he was dumbfounded by what he was hearing and felt like his comprehension of the world was being questioned. But then again, stranger things have happened and if he was truly gone for good, he might as well plunge his sanity further.

Hagoromo for his part, noticed that Sasuke was not taking his news too well, understanding that someone like him isn't used to such a strange phenomenon.

"It does seem like a strange concept and it is rare but it's not entirely based without merit either. I believe Kurama, the nine tailed fox himself was a victim of such a causality, having been split into two halves before one half was passed onto your friend Naruto"

Hagoromo elaborated.

"That tailed beast inside Naruto was split into two halves?" Sasuke pondered inside his mind. If what the Sage said was true, then it was possible that he himself was now a victim of such a thing. But the question now was, who did it to him and why?

"That does make sense. But I'm still not following you; when we fought there was no one else around, everyone else from humans to animals were trapped under a genjutsu. With the exception of Kakashi and Sakura, who else would do this to me and why?"

Sasuke asked, his tone almost demanding

"Was it you?".

The Sage for his part was calm and composed as ever as he took his time coming up with an answer for Sasuke.

"No, of course not. Rather, I believe that it was you who did it, without knowing what was actually happening"

he bluntly replied.

"Me?"

Sasuke questioned, almost shocked at what the Sage was saying.

"But how? And why on earth would I do that?"

"You said it yourself: As Indra's reincarnation, you have made peace with Asura's reincarnation, ending the eternal cycle of hatred and conflict between my two sons. As a testament to that peace, you stated that you preferred to end your life right then and there, unknowingly casting out the chakra and the piece of yourself the represented the hatred that festered within Indra and inside of you all these years"

This detailed explanation was the answer that Sasuke had sought after and the truth that horrified him. As he continued to look on, he could see that his other half was now trying to make peace with everyone else.

"Sakura I…...listen"

the other Sasuke tried to explain.

"Just stay quiet"

Sakura quickly shot him down

"I need to stay focused."

"I'm sorry"

Sasuke could see that his other half struggled just to say those words. Not because of pride, but because of the sheer guilt that he had felt. The current Sasuke reciprocated the sentiments of his counterpart, kneeling down and lowering his eyes in shame as he placed his right fist onto the ground, clenching it tightly.

"Sorry? For what"

Sakura gently asked. After all the pain and heartbreak, he had caused her, to see her still carry those feelings for him made Sasuke's heart heavy. Sometimes, he wondered how much of the love and support he had wasted in his shallow pursuit of vengeance, and just like Naruto, Sakura never gave up on him, for some time at least.

"For everything"

both Sasuke's said in unison.

Sakura began to shake uncontrollably as tears began to well up in her face while she continued healing the both of them.

"You got that right"

she tearfully chided.

"Dammit"

she continued, droplets of tears falling onto her tights, while Sasuke looked on

"It's about time…...you idiot".

As the girl continued healing the both of them, Sasuke got up and let out a deep breath. Turning through the corner of his eyes, he could see Kakashi watching from above, forming what looked like a smile underneath his mask. And why wouldn't he? Seeing his precious students reunited and smiling together; it was a scene that made even the current Sasuke feel a little warm on the inside.

"Even when the pain of loss and the feelings of hatred overtakes oneself, the sensation of reconciliation over bonds reconnected are just as strong, if not stronger than the sufferings endured. The Sasuke that you see before your eyes, is the Sasuke that has come to accept the feelings of others and has chosen to cast out the hatred from within him. You, on other hand, are the Sasuke that now has to carry the burden of that hatred and shoulder it for the rest of your life."

As Hagoromo explained that to Sasuke, the world around the both of them eventually reverted back to the dark, cold state that it was once in.

"I see"

the Uchiha answered, his tone quiet and his expressions somber.

"I truly apologize for the terrible burden that has been placed upon you, Sasuke" Hagoromo tried to console him.

"You don't have to apologize"

Sasuke addressed

"It's a fitting punishment for someone like me."

After all the pain and suffering he had caused in his pursuit of vengeance, this felt like the most appropriate punishment that Sasuke could think of. Forced to live with the darkness within for all eternity, walking between the realm of the living and the dead.

"If that is how you feel than I will not judge you"

Hagoromo commented

"but know that you are not solely responsible for your sins either."

Sasuke was taken aback by what the Sage had just said.

"What do you mean?"

he asked.

"My son Indra was the progenitor of this hatred, but it was I who helped cultivate it by my foolish actions. Instead of trying to temper the darkness within his heart as a result of his growth in power, I foolishly ignored it and acknowledged only his talents instead. This led to Black Zetsu influencing him into becoming a cold-hearted individual who relied only on his own power and cut off his feelings for others, including his younger brother Asura, who he once adored in his youth. In the end, by choosing Asura, I twisted his love for me into a hatred so deep it ran for generations. That is why I'am partly responsible for the sins you now carry"

Hagoromo addressed.

"Therefore, my dear Sasuke"

the Sage continued

"I have as much atonement to carry out as you do".

"Oh really?"

Sasuke said in a deadpan tone

"and what do you intend to do about it?"

. It was a strange experience for him, seeing someone considered mythical and godlike to acknowledge his own faults.

The Sage of Six Paths paused, rubbing his chin with his right hand as if to show that he was seriously pondering that statement. "Hmmm, you have given me an idea that might be productive for the both of us" he finally answered, as if hit with a revelation.

"We both share the burden of the curse of hatred, so I feel it is only fitting that we both share in our atonements as well."

Sasuke raised a brow as he heard that. It would not be a lie to say that this idea of the sage had genuinely piqued his interest. "And how do you intend to go about it? Are we just going to stay here and do nothing forever?".

"Not at all. The proposal that I have in mind is a bit different. As a matter of fact, it involves reincarnation"

Hagoromo admitted.

"Reincarnation?"

"Yes, but not in the way you think. Rather than being reborn as a completely different person, my idea of reincarnation is to create an appropriate body to host both of our spirits and chakra, to give it life in a world beyond our own"

the Sage elaborated.

Now this was getting more and more interesting for Sasuke. He never thought about the idea of being reborn with all the memories of his previous life intact as viable, let alone possible.

"But how is that even possible? And what do you mean a world outside of our own?"

Hearing this, Hagoromo let out a smirk that could only be described as confident or cocky, as if to say 'who do you think you're talking to?'. It was body language that Sasuke was very familiar and it was only shown by those who knew they could pull off the impossible.

"I'm sure you are already aware of this by now, but the Rinnegan gives us power over life and death. That is to say, it gives us the power over the Yin and Yang paths. We can form something out of nothing using only our imagination through the Yin and give life to that creation with help from the Yang. That was how I created the tailed beasts, who were once nothing more than pieces of chakra of the ten tails split into nine parts and gave each of them a life of their own"

He elaborated further.

Sasuke nodded in response, showing that he was slowly beginning to make sense of what he was trying to do.

"As for worlds beyond our own, I have explained it to you once that my mother Kaguya did not come from the world that you are familiar with. And in your own encounter with her, she transported all of you to another dimension. Therefore, just like mother, I too wish to seek out new worlds and possibilities, to see if there are new wonders and to know if love and understanding can exist in those worlds as well, transcending boundaries"

Hagoromo concluded his explanation.

If Sasuke didn't know any better, he never would've thought that the legendary Sage of Six Paths could be such a motor mouth. His speeches were probably lengthier than even Naruto's, though to be fair, others like Madara, Obito and himself were quite versed in lengthy speeches as well when the need arose. Still, while he now knew how to go about this reincarnation, Sasuke was sketchy on the reasons as to why he should go along with this idea.

"Knowing how to do it is all well and good. But I still want to know why? What you do hope to accomplish by reincarnating in another world? Are you expecting me to spread word about your teachings, to show the people of the new the ways of your so called 'ninshu'?"

Sasuke questioned the elder being.

"While I would very much like that"

Hagoromo paused for a moment,

"I cannot force my teachings or my way of life onto others. Moreover, the hands of fate and the flow of time are two constants that neither you nor I can change no matter what we do. Rather, I wish you for you to choose the path we will take, whether for good or evil."

Sasuke placed a hand on his hip and let out a smirk of his own. This man was such a strange person and his outlook on life was so different from anyone else he had met. While others hopelessly fell onto idealism or cynicism and even more found the middle ground, Hagoromo seemed to operate on a completely different set of morality in the current time. "If you're giving me the choice to choose between the path of good or evil, wouldn't that contradict the very idea of atonement? I'AM the Sasuke that still carries the hatred within" he questioned.

"Not at all"

Hagoromo bluntly replied

"besides, the hatred that is manifested within you was born out of love. Therefore, whatever path you choose to follow, I will simply observe you and see where the wind takes you. I have faith in you, Sasuke".

Sasuke diverted his gaze from the Sage and looked towards the missing hand on his left side. It was a reminder of who he was and what he had just went through.

"You shouldn't"

he grumbled, part of him thought the missing hand was a symbolic representation of the kind of person he once was and the kind of person he now had to let go. In a way, with his dominant hand gone, it felt like he had now destroyed his old self.

"That may be, but we are now at the crossroads from whence our fate will be decided"

Hagoromo stated

"the choice now rests upon you, my dear Sasuke. Tell me your answer".

Clutching what remained of his left hand, Sasuke took the time to ponder on the offer.

"I tried to enter into the darkness, to carry out all of the hatred of the world onto myself by cutting my ties to others. But even then, you still wanted to bring me back, Naruto"

the Uchiha mused,

"right now, you're probably thinking I should help you and try to make up for all of things that I did. And the other me who's with you at this moment, probably feels the same way."

"Well Sasuke, have you made your decision?"

The Uchiha closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before letting it out and opening his eyes again.

"I'm a shinobi, who for all intents and purposes, should be dead or locked up by now. I've committed betrayal after betrayal after betrayal in my path towards vengeance. But not only am I not dead, I've had people who vouched for me and believed in me till the bitter end. I owe it to them to live my life one more time and find my own purpose. I don't know if I can help others, or save the world or anything like that, but I'd like to see where my path takes me. I can't do any of this while staying here. And so…... I accept your offer of reincarnation"

"I see"

Hagoromo smiled

"very well then, I will create a body based on your memories where the both of us can manifest. I no longer possess the chakra needed to perform the act but if you can add your chakra to mine, I should be able to perform the creation smoothly."

"Alright"

Sasuke agreed as he raised his right hand. While doing so, a powerful purple aura began to manifest all over his body as it slowly merged with that of the Sage of Six Paths himself.

"Very good, now close your eyes. When next you wake, it will be in your new body and in this new world. Let us hope that the new world, be a good one"

Hagoromo lectured.

The Uchiha survivor complied and shut his right eye, with his left already being shut close since his brawl with Naruto. There was a feeling of uncertainty emanating from performing this act, but Sasuke felt that it was too late to turn back now. He had no idea what path or purpose he would choose in this new life, but whatever may transpire, Sasuke hoped that he would not have to repeat the tragedies that had happened before.