For those of you who missed the previous 27 chapters, I do NOT own Naruto.

Author's Note: I was hoping that this week's manga chapter would show me a little more about Naruto's new ransengan jutsu so I could use it properly in the last battle. However, that was not the case… so that's that. But there is a reference to this week's manga on the later half, so if you haven't read it yet, beware. It doesn't give away much, but you've been warned.

Also…there is only ONE more chapter after this.

Chapter 28: The Way Things Work

Hachimata launched herself off of the mountain, winging down towards where she saw medics fussing over the tiny form of Naruto.

She landed on the palace roof, inadvertently crushing the building slightly with her massive size. Amused, she watched as the shinobi behind the wall ran from her in fear, some readying their defenses.

She did not have time to be bothered with them.

Snaking a head down near Naruto's still form, her voice echoed against the mountain as she spoke. "Oi, Kyuubi! You are leaving the war so soon?"

Naruto grimaced and looked up at the laughing green face. "I…Sakura-chan…" He struggled to get up as his body slowly healed. Each major transformation caused him to heal slower. His badly burned skin was only now beginning to recede.

"Hmmm. You are not as strong as I thought." The dragon looked at him questioningly. "Perhaps watching your friends die will do you some good."

The comment had the desired effect.

Naruto's eyes shot open. But he was still too painful to sit up properly.

Hachimata watched with amusement. Though she was no fan of the demon fox, the boy himself had started to grow on her.

She was aware that the rest of the injured Leaf shinobi were watching her in awe.

She flashed them all a grin that sent them back into cover.

"I can't." Naruto said quietly. "I can't transform again. I don't think my body could handle it."

The green head raised an eyebrow. "So you are going to let your village down? That's not something a Kage is supposed to do."

"Well what is it you want from me!? I can't control the fox like that. Even if Sasuke were here I don't think it would be possible."

"Ha! Do you know what will happen if you don't get up? Something much worse than the destruction of those you hold dear." Her other seven heads kept a steady watch on the events occurring on a nearby roof. "It will be the destruction of the world."

"Will you help us then?"

She laughed. "No. And do not ask me again. I still might eat you."

But when Naruto didn't respond, her expression softened.

"Boy, why do you think you need to use the demon fox?"

"It's Akatsuki." He shook his head.

"So? They no longer control any demons that I know of."

He looked at her, on the verge of realizing what she was getting at.

Hachimata frowned at him. "You are strong enough without the fox…"

"…Naruto."

She hadn't called him the Kyuubi.

When he grinned she knew it had registered.

"I will help your body heal." Hachimata leaned in closer. "Afterward you had just better get your act together."

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Sakura was alone. And no matter how long or far she walked the red scenery remained the same.

To the pink-haired medic, it seemed like she had been wandering for hours. But she was not unfamiliar with the way Itachi's mangekyo sharingan worked. Kakashi had given Tsunade a full report on it and Sakura had been allowed to read as well. She knew that, in reality, she had only been under his influence for a short while.

Unexpectedly, a thousand black figures appeared.

Surrounded, Sakura felt intense fear well up inside of her. She knew the rules in this place and she knew she had no control over anything. She hadn't felt this unsure of herself since she was twelve. The horrors of Kakashi's story haunted her mind.

One of the Itachi figures spoke. "Welcome, Sakura. You're going to stay here with me for a while."

Her palms were sweating. She looked down at her shaking hands. What is wrong with me?

"It's the fear." Itachi said. "This place is made of it and feeds on it. I could leave you here long enough for the fear to drive you mad." He smiled slightly. "It takes much out of me to keep you here, so hopefully my dear brother will make a wise decision. But I hope you realize that things here are as I want them. Fighting or resisting is pointless."

Sakura shuddered as the Itachi figures stepped in closer to her.

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Sasuke stared at the suddenly shivering form of Sakura. He could tell by Itachi's distant look that the older Uchiha was within the sharingan.

His rage intensified a hundred fold. If Sakura survived this ordeal, she would never forget the things that she saw in that place. Sasuke knew the truth of that himself.

"Stop."

Itachi's eyes focused back on Sasuke. "So? What have you decided?"

Sasuke glared at his brother. He could not kill Naruto any more than he could watch Sakura suffer. They were the two most important people in his life and to have to choose between them was impossible.

"I'll—"

"Sasuke!"

Both Uchiha looked at the form racing toward them. Sasuke cringed. Damn it, Naruto. You should have stayed away!

Itachi's eyes strayed momentarily to the massive green dragon watching him from the palace. He smiled. Soon even she would be no match for him.

Naruto landed on the roof and pointed at the former Akatsuki member. "You bastard! I'll kick your ass right here and now!"

Expressionless, Itachi's eyes became distant and Sakura twitched violently behind him.

Sasuke placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, holding him back. "No, Naruto. We can't do anything or he'll just torture her more."

"Tell him." Itachi looked at the fuming blond. "Tell him what is required of him in order to save Sakura."

Sasuke looked at the ground and then faced his best friend.

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Not even able to retreat into the confines of her own mind, Sakura protectively held her hands over her head, curling into a ball on the red ground. The figures had moved away for now.

Tears fell down her face and the fear and despair were so heavy it made it hard for her to breath. She tried to focus on something—anything—to help keep herself sane.

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Naruto's blue-eyes stared at Sasuke, unbelieving. He looked back to Itachi and then down at Sakura.

But instead of the acceptance Itachi thought he would see, the look in Naruto's eyes turned to one of determination.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?!" The blond raged. "Do you think I believe that you won't hurt Sakura-chan even if we help you?! He raised his fists in anger. "HANG ON SAKURA-CHAN!"

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"N-Naruto?" Sakura whispered, her body uncurling slightly. Naruto?

The thoughts that had been so disconnected within her mind slowly began to take solid shape again. She closed her eyes and focused on the power she had heard in Naruto's voice. Her own will power had strengthened and she stood.

For so many years, Sakura had lived in the quiet uncertain world born from years of battered self-esteem. In the time before Sasuke had left, she had always doubted herself and had always questioned her own worth. She had hid behind a shy countenance but inside she had harbored a vicious second-self. This "inner Sakura" had been a true reflection of her feelings and as a shocked Ino had discovered, actually existed as a second spirit within Sakura.

But during her years of training, "inner Sakura" had become more and more of who Sakura truly was. She had now become the outside personality, brought out by harsh training with the sannin. "Inner Sakura" was simply the manifestation of Sakura's own determination.

This is my mind too. Sakura's eyes narrowed. This is my mind too!

Itachi looked at her in amusement. He could hear her thoughts, spoken or not. It was her mind too, but he was in control.

Sakura closed her eyes. She had shattered Ino's hold on her mind once. She knew she could do that same thing again.

She looked up and smiled. The Sakura who stood surrounded by Itachi was afraid.

But there was another part of her and she felt that part rise up violently. It was her own personal demon.

And "Inner Sakura" was pissed.

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Itachi stumbled back a step and he flinched visibly.

Inside his sharingan world, he glared at Sakura. She stood tall and defiant, the smile still on her face. Behind her loomed a more sinister version of herself.

This new Sakura, Itachi could not control. But he was not so easily beaten. He turned his attention to the original medic. This one he could still destroy.

From the outside, Naruto and Sasuke watched as Itachi's hands went to his head as if in pain. They looked at each other.

Behind the older Uchiha, Sakura's body twitched more violently than before. But, as Sasuke studied it, he realized that the motions were not random at all.

Sakura was trying to move.

She…she's fighting him! The impossibility of it astounded him. No way…

He tore his eyes from her and looked at Naruto. It was a chance—a risky one—but if they attacked him now, perhaps his hold on her would break altogether.

Understanding the situation, Naruto nodded.

And the two charged at Itachi.

The former Akatsuki member saw the charge even though he was still inside Sakura's mind. The mangekyo sharingan extracted so much chakra from him that he was forced to drop his connection with Sakura in order to protect himself from the attack.

He met their charge defensively and blocked the kicks intended to throw him off the building.

"Is that the best you can do?" He sneered.

Behind him, Sakura stirred. She lifted herself slightly, using her knees and elbows to prop her body up off of the roof. She groaned loudly.

Face to face with Itachi, Sasuke saw his brother's eyes grow dangerous. Before he could stop him, the oldest Uchiha braced himself against their hold and kicked backwards.

He caught Sakura squarely in the stomach and sent her flying off the roof.

"No!" Naruto broke the connection and leapt toward the edge but he was too late. Sakura lay on the roof of the adjacent building. She didn't move.

With Naruto gone, Itachi spun backward and broke free of Sasuke's grip. The three stared at each other.

"Foolish little brother." Itachi shook his head. "What are you going to do? Kill me?" He chuckled softly. "Don't you realize that will make you no better than I am? You'll be the one to finish off the Uchiha clan, not I. Interesting when you think about it."

"Shut up!" Sasuke's chidori current raced through him. "Shut up!"

But the words hit home more than he wanted to admit. For all the hate and all the loathing Sasuke felt for his brother, what he felt most was hurt. Hurt that the one person he had been so close to had betrayed him. And in the end, that was what had driven him to revenge. And Sasuke knew, deep down inside it would kill him inside to kill his older brother.

But what choice did he have?

He cast a look over at Naruto. The blond was angrier than Sasuke had ever seen him and soon the roof was crowded with angry-looking clones.

Itachi studied his opponents. He did not have enough chakra left to use the mangekyo sharingan again. He could still use his genjutsu, but it would not work on another sharingan user and Sasuke would just release Naruto from it anyway.

He would have to manipulate Sasuke into accidentally killing Naruto. No small feat. But it was Itachi's last chance.

He fought off Naruto's shadow clones, inching his way towards Sasuke. The other Uchiha pushed though the clones, his chidori gone. He had some inkling of what Itachi wanted and he wouldn't make it easy on him.

Fighting off the clones was secondary in Itachi's mind. He did it almost as second nature. It was the onslaught of his little brother that caused him to focus. Sasuke had become incredibly skilled since they had last met.

But Itachi's mistake was ignoring Naruto's clones. He was oblivious to the fact that two clones still surrounded the young man and were helping him create something terrifying in the palm of his hand. But eventually, both Itachi and Sasuke were forced to look over as a swirling wind began to whip around the building.

Naruto stood, his clones gone, holding a massive ball of wind chakra. The force of it caused an impenetrable shield of swirling wind around the Kyuubi host. It was a force to rival any wind-based attack anyone had ever seen.

And Naruto had a bigger plan. He had once said that it was good his chakra was wind based—because wind was the force that fanned fire and encouraged it to become more powerful. He had been referring to Sasuke at the time and had been nearing the end of his training with Yamato. The ANBU had been warning him that his wind chakra could not beat Sasuke's fire jutsus.

Naruto knew what they needed to do.

"Sasuke!" He screamed through the gale-force wind. "Fire! Hit me with your best shot of fire!"

The Uchiha looked at him, incredulous. A ball of fire would incinerate his friend. He must have been mad.

But the look in Naruto's eyes left Sasuke without a doubt that he knew what he was doing. Almost against his will, he took a huge breath and let Naruto have it.

Right as the fire hit Naruto, it was sucked into the whirlwind that was around him. The blond pulled his arm back and threw the ball of chakra at Itachi. The spinning orb flew threw the air, sucking everything to it in its wake.

It was all Sasuke could do to jump out of the way in time.

Itachi, however, was not so lucky. As he tried to dodge the attack, he found himself caught up in the windstorm of fire. The ball of power hit him as he tried to block it, sending him off the roof and smashing him into the buildings beyond.

The power was so intense that it left a massive crater where the building had once been.

Only the form of Itachi remained in its base.

Sasuke helped Naruto to his feet. The young man was badly burned from when he had emerged from the protective shield of air.

He shook his head, motioning to where Itachi was clawing his way along the base of the crater. "Go, Sasuke. Finish it."

The youngest Uchiha grasped his friend's hand momentarily and then hopped down to face his brother.

Itachi sat up on his knees. Blood dripped in a steady stream from his mouth. He smiled at Sasuke as the young man stepped next to him.

"Go on, little brother." He coughed, still smiling. "Do it and become what I was."

Sasuke looked at Itachi, his face as blank as ever. And he realized that his thirst for revenge had been sated. Seeing his older brother, helpless before him, only left him with a deep feeling of pity—and relief.

"I'm not going to kill you, Itachi." He said.

"Hn. Still too weak, eh?"

Sasuke's eyes flicked up as he saw the other figure behind Itachi.

This is how it should end.

He turned and walked away from his brother…

…and Kisame obligingly ended the former Akatsuki member's life.

The blue man watched Sasuke leave. He clutched his own deeply injured side. And that is how traitors die. He thought, looking at Itachi's still form. I liked you, kid, I really did. But you left the rest of us to die. So I had to teach you—betrayal has two faces.

As he climbed out of the crater, he briefly caught Sasuke and Naruto's gaze. There was no expression of thanks—nor should there have been. They were still enemies and always would be. But in the end, the two Leaf shinobi let him leave alive.

A favor for a favor. That's how things work.

Sasuke helped a badly injured Naruto carry Sakura back towards the palace.

The Uchiha was at peace for the first time in his life. Whatever happened next would only be good. He sighed.

"Eh, Sasuke?" Naruto leaned heavily on him. "Do you think the ramen stand survived?"

"Shut up, Naruto." He replied gently.

The palace was close now. And the green dragon that had held her place there was no where to be seen.

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Coming soon, the last chapter: Chapter 29: Epilogue