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Disclaimer-See last time. Thanks to Uzumaki Nasadi for use of her name. Thanks!

Chapter 10-The Final Battle/Epilogue

The smoke faded.

Haruka stood on top of another black snake, slightly smaller than Manda, but still a great creature.

Circling above her was a creature partway between bird and man, a winged creature with creamy feathers and a beak, and arms bearing a pair of katana.

"Raiton: Arashibakuha!"
A stream of lightning spiralled towards Orochimaru.
He just curved out of the way.

"Futon: Daitoppa." said Orochimaru.

A blast of wind flew towards Haruka, who flipped over it.

Meanwhile, the two snakes were fighting, biting at each other, blood flowing from many wounds. The hawk repeatedly slashed at Manda, trying to help it's friend.

"Dokusumi…" hissed Manda. "I have long waited for this day."
He bit her again.
"Manda, I have waited for my entire life to see you die." said the younger snake.

Manda hissed again, oddly, laughing.

A katana hit him in the eye.

He recoiled, screaming in pain.
"Ninpo: Dokuso Daiga." said Dokusumi and the Hawk.
His katana glowed, and the edges were suddenly green with poison.

He took flight, and again attacked Manda, cutting deep wounds into his scales that fizzed and melted away at him.

Haruka had got closer to Orochimaru, both of them with swords drawn, fighting on Manda's head.

The Kusanagi sword cut into Haruka's weapon, damaging the edge.

"Haruka, Haruka… the Kusanagi can cut anything." said Orochimaru mockingly.
"Ninpo: Daigaripea." was her only response, the blade melting back together.

* * *

Naruto howled, forming a sphere of red chakra on his hand.
Nasadi was silent, red chakra forming a Rasengan on each of her hands.

"KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" shouted Naruto.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." said Nasadi.

The hundred or so clones of each charged, the glittering sphere of each leading the attack.

They collided.

"How the hell does she know that attack…" complained Naruto to himself, bleeding. "Jiraiya can't have taught her… and why does she look so familiar?"

* * *

"Haruka, why?" asked Orochimaru, dodging another attack, and kicking Haruka back onto Dokusumi's head.

"Because you've done so many things that are unacceptable." she said.
"You killed the third, you destroyed Konoha, you kill hundreds of the people you are sworn to protect just to further your own power."
"Oh? Not for personal reasons?"
"No." said Haruka. "The fact that you took away my best friend and killed my first love is totally incidental. The fact that you killed my father is nothing to do with it. The fact that you made my only living relatives Jinchuriki is irrelevant."
Orochimaru smiled, and laughed.
"Of course it is. Surely, Haruka, you must know that you cannot defeat me. With every technique you know, I know its weaknesses."

"Raiton: Rasengan," said Haruka, using both hands to form the rotating sphere of energy in front of her.
She passed the hands over it, covering it in a coat of blue chakra before drawing back her arm, leaving a trail of blue energy connecting the two.
"Kiri Tama!" she cried.

Orochimaru's eyes went wide as the Rasengan flew towards him, the long tail providing it with the chakra it needed to remain intact.

Manda reared up, taking the Rasengan on his side.

He screeched as the hawk dove in and slashed at the wound, getting the green venom into it.

The great snake was bleeding heavily. There was no way it would survive without being sent back to wherever it was summoned from.

Orochimaru smiled.

"And now I know that one too. My, my, Haruka, you're slipping. Oh, and if I've done so many things… would your little coalition know what you've done?"

Silence.

"I didn't think so. Well." said Orochimaru, addressing the hundreds of Ninja below.
"Haruka here was the one who killed the Fourth Hokage. Haruka has been spying for Konoha since weeks after I became Kage. Haruka had a child with a leaf-nin while we were at war. And that child doesn't even know. So, would you forgive Haruka, Ruriko?"

There was another silence, a tear running down Haruka's face.

A scream rang out from where Ruriko was, in the audience.

A wave of sound slammed into Orochimaru, almost knocking him over, and almost certainly breaking bones.

Haruka smiled weakly.

"I killed the fourth Hokage because he asked me too, when all else was lost, as one last favour. I spied for Konoha because they were the victims, and you were the one who killed our leader and wiped out an entire village. I… never told Ruriko because I thought it would be easier for her that way."

Orochimaru laughed, and suddenly he was behind her.
"You never see what's in front of your face. The Konohans and survivors from Namigakure had to tell you themselves that I was behind it. You didn't believe about the experiments until you saw the labs it was done in. You didn't realise about your brother and sister until… well, you haven't. Shall I tell you why they're so different?"
She didn't say anything, tensing up and reaching for a kunai.
He grabbed her arm, whispering almost lovingly in her ear.
"Because I made them that way. I took Nasshimaru, and split him with a seal into two opposites."

Haruka turned and punched Orochimaru off of Dokusumi's back.

He smiled, flipping onto Manda's back.

"I may have done wrong." said Haruka. "But I have not forced myself on this city. I have not betrayed what I am meant to stand for. You have."

* * *

Naruto howled.

He ran towards Nasadi, lashing out.
She blocked, knocking him to the floor.
"Give up." she said, emotionless.

Naruto growled.
"Never."

A clone leapt up behind Nasadi, slamming into her head.

She collapsed.

And got back up again.

"I don't give up." they both said, Naruto spitting the words out, Nasadi just saying them as if they didn't matter.

Naruto formed four Kage Bunshin.

They both began forming Rasengan, Naruto getting his clones to form one on each of his hands, Nasadi doing it alone.

They each had a blue and a red.

They charged.

The attacks crashed together.

Both of them were thrown back, unmoving, unconscious.

* * *

"Haruka. There's nothing you can do. In one battle I learn more techniques than you can in a lifetime. That is the power of Sharingan." said Orochimaru, his eyes changing from gold to the famous red and black.

Haruka used a short series of handsigns.
"Raiton: RAIKOUKAHEN!"

A huge chakra output was converted into electrical energy, and blasted out in over a hundred beams of devastating power.

Each one curved around, towards Orochimaru.

He flipped upwards, away from them, but still one struck him, throwing him backwards off of Mandas back.

More of the tendrils came out, striking Manda's head.

The Snake screamed, electricity coursing through it's body, and the remaining tendrils passed over it's body towards Orochimaru.

A kunai struck Haruka in the back.

Kabuto appeared next to Orochimaru, grabbing him and performing the Shunshin.

He vanished, and some of the assembled ninja followed him.

Haruka was near exhausted.

She released the summons, allowing Dokusumi and Nagareboshi, he hawk, to return home.

She saw, glinting on the ground, the multifaceted jewel that Orochimaru had wore.

She picked it up.

"Haruka! Haruka! Haruka!" someone shouted.

The crowd picked it up.

"Godaime Sutakage." someone said to her.
She hesitated.

"Accept it." said someone else.

The crowds picked it up.

"Haruka for Godaime!"

She put the necklace on.

"Haruka! Tsunade has vanished!"
"Haruka! Orochimaru has taken some of the prisoners with him!"
"Haruka! Orochimaru came into the prison block and killed one of the prisoners! As he left his eyes looked really weird, they had this strange diamond pattern in them, different to normal Sharingan…"

Haruka fell unconscious from chakra exhaustion.

* * *

"I hope we can create friendly feelings." said Haruka to Kakashi.
"I'll extend that invitation to the Hokage." he replied. "Are you going to need any more help?"
"I don't know. Not at the moment." she said, the jewel on her neck shining. "We'll call you."

* * *

"Tsunade… you will do it." said Orochimaru. "If you like… I could have the ones you love alive again."

Tsunade stiffened.
"I could not have that on my conscience."

"Then do it for your old teammate." he said.
"…I'll do it if you leave Suta and Konoha alone." she said.
"I will never cause an attack on either of them." said Orochimaru.
"Then I will do it."

* * *

"You know what you need to do."
"Bring you the one-tail. I know."
"And keep searching for the one who is capable of bearing the Jyubi."

Setup and an ending. The first arc, Sutagakure and the False Kage, is over.

The second arc will be up when I can be bothered!

* * *

Raiton: Arashibakuha-Lightning Release: Storm Blast
Futon: Daitoppa-Wind Release: Great Breakthrough
Ninpo: Dokuso Daiga: Ninja Art: Toxin Blade
Ninpo: Daigaripea-Ninja Art: Blade Repair
Rasengan-Spiralling Sphere
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu-Shadow Clone Technique
Raiton: Rasengan, Kiri Tama-Lightning Release: Spiralling Sphere, Drill Shot
Raiton: Raikoukahen-Lightning Release: Lightning Blossom