A/N: I'd like to thank all of my readers for continuing to check out my fanfic. I know that it's caused some conflicting feelings about Sakura's role, the similarities between the Phoenixes and the Amazons, and so on, but again I stress that this IS a fanfiction.

I'd also like to thank all of those who added my story to their favorite list and/or their alert list. I appreciate the support and the fact that you give me reason to continue this story. I have sent you all private messages personally thanking you each time I received the notification of your like and/or follow.

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 24: Clash

Sakura felt her body come alive with exhilaration as the newly formed Team 7 headed towards the chaos.

The presence of her two companions made her feel invincible, and also giddy. Even with all of her training and sparing matches with her fellow sisters-in-arms, that confidence was an entire world away from how she felt fighting alongside the two young men.

Said people zoomed through the treetops on her left side, their bodies tense in anticipation of the coming battle, yet also in excitement.

For the first time since her capture, Sakura felt a sense of freedom.

"The alien chakra signatures are getting stronger," Naruto called out.

Sasuke grunted. "Hn, we'll cut down their numbers soon enough."

Sakura let out a brief chuckle at her companions' show of excitement, before a confident smirk formed on her face. "Let's not keep them waiting," she added while sending an even more concentrated boost of chakra to her feet.

Naruto yelled out in agreement as Sakura turned her face towards the two men.

She was surprised to see Sasuke looking at her with what appeared to be a fond expression. His normally cold eyes were warm and sparkling, and a small smile teased the corner of the man's lips.

A strange sensation formed in her stomach, and Sakura suddenly felt bashful under his gaze.

She offered a nod, and looked away, confused as to why her heart was beating erratically.

"Hurry up you slow pokes!" Naruto yelled from up ahead.

Sakura snapped to attention, and sped up. She was all too aware of the annoyed sound the young Uchiha made as he followed behind her.

It didn't take long before the trio witnessed the first signs of conflict.

Numerous trees were badly damaged; some were even completely turned over from their roots.

The ground was littered with craters, and there were numerous spots of the Akuma's acidic blood and human blood mixing together like a science experiment gone wrong.

The trio felt it before they heard the strong vibrations of the deep-pitched growls and shrieks of the Akuma.

Sakura couldn't help but wince as the animalistic sounds were soon followed by human cries of agony.

The rosette nearly lost her footing as the ground rumbled violently, and shook the tall trees.

She let out a short surprised sound, but went mute when she felt an arm wrap around her slim waist, before she was slowly let go once she regained her balance, and set off once more.

Sakura quickly moved away from the hand, and tensed when she saw the young Uchiha eye her with a strange expression.

"Be careful," he said lowly, before he looked in front of him. "These creatures have different strengths, and coordinate attacks to overwhelm their victims. We should stick together."

Sakura nodded awkwardly. "If I can get a clear shot, I'll fire up my strongest blow, while you and Naruto-san pick off the rest. I can even take down some of the bigger ones."

The young Uchiha glanced back at her. "Your strength is indeed impressive. I could use someone with your skills to help me with my goal."

Sakura offered him no reply as she stared back in confusion.

Naruto decided to jump in then. He stared at the pair with an unimpressed expression. "Look, I hate to slice through the obvious sexual tension that's going on between you two, but we've got some ass to kick."

Sakura whipped her head to face the blond. She narrowed her eyes dangerously as normally suppressed thoughts started to leak through her mental barrier.

Even her embryo was furious with the remark, sending scandalous ideas through Sakura's head.

The rosette gritted her teeth together. "Is that what it always come downs to: sex? Do you men only see us as pleasure beings for you to exploit whenever you want?"

Naruto's eyes widened in alarm. "Eh? Sakura-chan, what are you…"

Sakura didn't give him time to continue as she flew by like a speeding bullet, leaving the men to eat her dust.

"Way to go, dobe," she heard Sasuke murmur.

The rosette gritted her teeth together in frustration, yet also in disappointment. I thought that those two were different… I'm such a fool for believing that.

Human men are manipulative liars. That is why we use them to birth our young.

Sakura scowled. You mean just like how you're using me to birth you?

The woman forcibly sealed away her pitiful thoughts as well as the embryo's comments, yet her heart panged with outrage.

When the last row of trees disappeared behind her, and the village outer walls came into view, Sakura's predatory side of her came to life.

For the numerous time since her capture, Sakura cursed the fact that her reliable weapons were taken from her.

The strength she inherited from Tsunade was indeed formidable and deadly, but at least her sword didn't require chakra to be effective.

The rosette pushed her complaints to the back of her mind as she ran the remaining distance.

She could clearly see the conflict as several of the smaller Akuma climbed over the walls; some of them were kicked off, yet an alarming amount still managed to make it through.

The larger ones repeatedly slammed into the wall's metal doors, and paid little attention to the shower of kunai that bounced off their massive crest heads.

Sakura took a deep breath, before she quickened her pace and concentrated chakra to her fists.

Once she was close enough, Sakura took a great leap, and aimed her body completely straight downwards. "Brace yourselves!" She shouted to the weary wall guards.

She paid no attention to the alarmed shouts of the guards. She had her eyes only for the demons.

The big ones glanced up at her, and hissed in warning.

It was then that the rosette realized that they were bodies of other Akuma underneath their large feet.

Traitors; kill them all! The embryo within her resonated inwardly.

For once, Sakura agreed with its opinion, and let out an inhumane growl.

She crashed to the ground in a violent explosion of overturned dirt, materials, and flying bodies.

The Akuma screeched, and the shinobi guards screamed as they held onto the wall with chakra-infused hands.

Sakura didn't drop her guard, as some of the smaller ones who made it over the wall began to jump back down.

The rosette performed a back flip in order to avoid being tackled by one, only to spin around as another aimed its deadly tail at her.

Sakura grabbed the appendage, and yanked on it hard.

That particular Akuma shrieked in surprise, and Sakura used the momentum to twirl it around in a full circle. She slammed the Akuma against several of its siblings, knocking them back several feet, before she threw it towards the wall.

The Akuma crashed against it, and groaned as it shook its head in disorientation.

It was quickly muted by a katana that stabbed through its skull.

Sakura saw the young Uchiha land gracefully beside the corpse, and carefully yanked his weapon out.

He nodded in greeting. "I see you've already started without us," he commented.

Sakura scowled in reminder of Naruto's earlier remark. "Was I supposed to wait for you men to do the job?" She spat out.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her remark, but was unable to reply as a loud screech caught the shinobis' attention.

Sakura adopted a fighting stance, and Sasuke held out his katana as a large Akuma studied them.

It sniffed the air, and snorted.

Sakura tensed as it fixed its eyeless gaze upon her.

Thankfully, a blond and orange mass collided with the creature, and it shrieked as it took the full impact of the attack.

It gurgled as its skull was crushed, but immediately went still.

The person responsible for its violent demise was no other than Naruto.

He grinned. "I'm not too late to the party, am I?"

Sakura snorted humorlessly as she frowned. "No, you're just in time to save the damsel in distress," she replied sarcastically.

Naruto regarded her, and his grin was wiped off as a serious look replaced it. "Hey Sakura, I'm sorry for what I said back there. I was just kidding around, and I didn't mean for it to offend you." He held out a hand. "You're once heck of a kunoichi, and I'm pretty sure that I would stand no chance against you on a full-on battle. Can you forgive me?"

Sakura blinked in surprise, and she stared hesitantly at the blond's outstretched hand.

Mixed emotions swirled within her. Maybe I overreacted a bit? She thought to herself.

Wordlessly, Sakura shook his hand, which prompted a smile from the man.

He nodded his head. "Alright, let's go kick some alien ass!" He exclaimed, before he jumped over the wall, and shot off towards the village's center.

Sasuke scowled in annoyance. "That idiot. We don't know the full extent of what we're facing, yet he just dove right into the mess."

Sakura nodded in agreement, though an amused smile threatened to appear on her face.

She glanced up at the slightly cowering wall guards. "Are you alright?" She asked.

One of them nodded feverishly. "Yeah. That was quite an attack you've got. We could use your help in stopping these things."

"What happened here?" Sasuke added.

Another guard snorted. "Hell if we'd know. One minute I was taking a piss, the next there's an army of those things crawling up the wall. Doesn't seem to matter how many we kill, there's always more to replace their numbers."

Sakura frowned in worry. These creatures are reproducing far too quickly. Even with all of the villages they've attacked, it doesn't seem possible that there's so many of them.

The first man continued. "Orochimaru-sama and his high guards have set up a defensive position in the center. You can make his job easier by taking out as many of these things as you can before they reach his group."

Sasuke nodded, and turned to face Sakura.

The woman nodded back, and the two shinobi headed towards their destination.

They weren't any enemies for the duo to take out as even from where they were, the sound of furious wind could be heard overpowering the screeches and cries of the Akuma.

Sakura was impressed with the result of Naruto's devastating signature attack.

Even the normally moody Sasuke could appreciate the value of the attack. "Seems like the dobe is not as useless as I thought," he commented in a bored tone.

Sakura, for one, was thinking about how Naruto's attack could be combined with her chakra punches and with Sasuke's chidori. If it could work, the resulting technique would be unstoppable.

"I'm also going to be looking out for the injured, so I'll need you to watch my back," Sakura stated.

Sasuke made a sound of agreement, and the pair continued their journey in silence.

They landed on a relatively undamaged roof.

Where the woman assumed was the village's center, a large crystal enveloped it like a shield.

Sakura's eyes widened at the power behind it.

"That's Guren's technique; I'd like to see even these creatures get past it," Sasuke remarked.

The rosette hummed in agreement, before she surveyed the damage around.

It was frighteningly similar to the Black Death that devastated Konoha nearly twenty-one years ago. There were numerous smoke fumes rising from buildings in the distance; the wind carried the scent of burnt flesh, as well as the screams of the dying.

Sakura couldn't help but shiver at the nightmarish sight. "I never imagined that something could cause such damage."

"Didn't something similar happen in Konoha?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura lowered her head, causing strands of her hair to hide her face.

Yūgao's revelation about the truth behind the Black Death came to the forefront of the rosette's mind. She couldn't believe that Tsunade: her mentor, her adoptive mother, would keep such a secret from all but a selected few of her people.

She blinked in surprise when she felt a shadow over her.

Glancing to her left, she saw Sasuke regard her carefully. "Are you alright?" He asked quietly.

Sakura's eyes hardened in determination. "Let's get going."

Ignoring the puzzled look the young Uchiha gave her, the Phoenix led the way towards the center.

At the pace they were going, it merely took a few minutes to reach the barrier of Guren's giant crystal.

"Rasengan!"

Sakura and Sasuke covered their eyes as large gusts of wind assaulted them from the distance.

Once the wind calmed down, the duo ran the last few meters, before jumping down onto the street.

They weren't surprised to see Naruto and his clones standing in triumph over their dead enemies.

One of them noticed their arrival, and waved. "About time you got here!" He shouted.

Another clone giggled mischievously. "They probably wanted time to themselves. They've got a thing going on."

Sakura's face flushed in indignation, while Sasuke scowled. "Didn't you just apologize to Sakura a few minutes ago for your stupid comment?" He gritted through his teeth.

All of the Narutos had the decency to look embarrassed. "Erm, right. Though I'm just saying, you two would look good together."

"That's exactly what I said!" A familiar voice added. "And they are sharing the same room. You never know what they do behind closed doors." A cackle followed suit.

Sakura's face turned a darker shade of red, and even Sasuke didn't say anything.

Naruto's eyes widened comically. "You're sleeping together?!"

The Phoenix champion didn't think it were possible, but her entire body flushed at the scandalous suggestion.

Sasuke, for one, was at the limit of his patience. His Sharingan glared viciously at the blond man. "Would you just shut the fuck up, dobe?" He hissed. "If you have any brain cells left in that thick skull of yours, you'd realize that Sakura is under surveillance."

Said person in question was confused by the conflicted feelings she felt from Sasuke's statement.

Naruto, however, became angry. "That's right, I nearly forgot. You're holding Sakura-chan here against her will! You can't just keep her as a prisoner; let her go!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed even more, yet a deep chuckle caught all of their attention.

Sakura glared as her eyes zoomed in on the snake sannin.

He met her gaze with an amused expression. "As entertaining as your little drama is, we have more pressing matters," he said lowly as he stared at something on the ground.

Sakura followed his gaze until she spotted the mutilated corpse of an Akuma.

This kill was obviously Guren's as several crystal shards were embedded in the creature's hide.

The rosette lifted her gaze when Orochimaru spoke once more.

"Guren has done a fine job of maintaining the barrier, but it does require a large amount of chakra. If this infestation isn't taken care of soon, she'll exhaust herself, and we'll end up with an even bigger problem."

Sakura looked past him. "What is back there?" She asked.

"Schools, markets, various neighborhoods, and the hospital." The snake sannin turned his gaze to the young Uchiha. "Itachi's being treated there."

Sasuke stepped forward. "Itachi's in there?" He asked tightly.

Orochimaru nodded. "Kabuto transferred him there when the first wave of attack hit the base. He's currently tending to him."

Worry filled Sakura at the news. She wondered why Katsuyu hadn't informed her of the relocation.

Seemingly reading her mind, Orochimaru glanced at her once more. "The part of Katsuyu that you've summoned has been destroyed. It appears that not even she has protection from these creatures' instinct to eat."

The Phoenix champion's eyes widened in shock. Katsuyu, a being which was practically indestructible, had become the Akuma's meal?

She looked at the snake sannin with a hard look. "And Itachi?"

"Kabuto managed to cut him out of Katsuyu before he too was eaten. He's being treated for minor burns to his leg."

Sakura nodded in understanding, yet her mind was a chaotic whirlpool of thoughts.

She was startled back to reality by the sound of Guren's voice.

"Hey Phoenix, don't go pissing your pants yet. Your pet slug may be dead, but these things will eat us all if you don't kill them before I run out of chakra. So man up, and give those bastards what they deserve!"

Naruto came into Sakura's view. "She's right, Sakura-chan. Let's get going while we all still have some fight left in us!"

The rosette inwardly slapped herself to pay attention, before she locked eyes with the blond shinobi.

She nodded, and Naruto grinned in response. "Alright!" He glanced at Sasuke. "Bet that you can't kill as much as me." He smirked.

The young Uchiha narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "This isn't a competition, you idiot. Just do your job, and try not to get killed or force Sakura to waste her chakra on healing you."

Naruto whimpered at the pink-haired woman. "Bah, you'd heal me anytime, right Sakura-chan?"

The woman in question chose not to reply as she regarded the snake sannin. "Where are the majority of these creatures coming from?"

"I noticed that many of them came from the forests. Perhaps they have some sort of nest there," he answered as he took on a thoughtful gaze.

Sakura narrowed her eyes as she looked at the thick forest in the distance.

Her embryo twirled restlessly, causing Sakura to barely prevent herself from wincing.

They are traitors. Hunt them done!

Sakura let out a quiet, shaky breath.

"Not even ten minutes ago, they were swarms of these things coming at us. After the blond brat took care of this last group here, I haven't seen any more come this way," Guren stated.

Naruto puffed up his chest in pride. "They're obviously too scared to go up against me!"

The rosette barely paid attention as Sasuke started a new verbal fight with the hyperactive ninja.

She glanced out at the forest outline in the distance as something didn't sit right with her. It's as if someone is actively hunting them out there.

She shook her head, and glanced back at the men she hesitantly called her "teammates". "You two are acting like a bickering old couple. Would you two stay focused for once? We've got to eliminate the last of these creatures," she scolded.

The two men in question gave each other one last glare, before they silently followed Sakura towards the forest.

Her unease grew when they didn't encounter any more Akuma on their way. Indeed, someone was killing them before they could reach the village center.

Sakura wasn't sure whether to be grateful to the unknown force for making her job easier, or to be worried about who else they would kill.

The trio at last made it to the outskirts of the forest. They landed just in front of the first line of trees, and studied it carefully.

They were various scratch marks on the bark, along with the same goo that the Akuma secreted.

Sasuke tightened his hold on his katana, and stepped in front of the group. "Something's not right," he started. "These alien chakra signatures are mixing with each other, as if they were in a conflict."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, they nature chakra here is disturbed. It must have been one hell of a battle that happened here."

Sakura stared at the men in confusion. "Are you saying that these creatures were fighting each other?"

Sasuke glanced at her from the corner of his eye, and nodded. "That could explain why no more entered the village. They took each other out."

Naruto shook his head. "We don't know that for sure. I still sense some lingering alien chakra. It could be coming off of a recently dead body, or it could be that the surviving ones made a retreat."

"Whatever the reason, we've got to investigate," Sakura said firmly.

The men nodded in agreement, and the trio slowly entered the woods, led by the Uchiha.

Sakura's senses were on high alert as her eyes moved from side to side. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but her instincts were crying out that something was watching them.

She abruptly stopped when she felt something warm and sticky fall on her shoulder.

She glanced at it, and saw that it was a sickeningly familiar goo.

Slowly, Sakura raised her head and felt her throat constrict as she saw one of the smaller Akuma perched on the tree branch above her.

She faintly remembered that there was something particularly deadly about it.

The rosette was somewhat relieved that the Akuma seemingly didn't notice her, yet that relief was outlived when she realized that Naruto and Sasuke were unaware of the danger.

The creature also knew that it had surprise on its side, and jerked its head up.

It spat out a yellowish secretion aimed for Naruto's back.

Sakura bolted to action. "Watch out!" She shouted.

Even though her eyes were wide in horror, her body already took off on its own accord.

Sakura pushed the hyperactive shinobi out of the way, and took the full blow of the attack.

She hissed loudly as the acid ate away at the black sleeve covering her left arm, and began to melt her skin.[1]

Groaning in pain, Sakura ripped off the burning material of her shirt, and her eyes widened at the state of her skin.

Nasty blisters already began to form and oozed a clear liquid. Her skin color was an angry red, and the area radiated immense pain to her central nervous system.

The sensation overwhelmed Sakura, and she collapsed to her knees.

"Sakura!" Someone shouted.

The pain caused Sakura's eyesight to go blurry as she fought off dizziness.

Various colors came into her sight, as well as incomprehensible speech.

A loud ringing sounded in Sakura's eardrums, and she moaned loudly.

"… ar me. …kura!"

Sakura directed her gaze upwards, and was met with the sight of blood-red eyes staring back at her, before her whole world went dark.

[1] This part was inspired by the Naruto manga when Obito accidently teleported to a dimension full of acid, and Sakura took the blow for him.