Dawn of War

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

Scene change or flashbacks

Scene changes within flashbacks

"Summoned Animals"

Demon talking

Demon talking within their jinchurrikki's head or a demon talking through their jinchurrikki

The Flower and the Snake

The Konoha and Suna shinobi all gaped at the new turn of events. The two blades Sakura had gained from Naruto were held in an X form, blocking Kusanagi. The two blades of legend, Ishinaga, a blade of earth, and Kusayaiba, the sister blade of Kusanagi.

"I can't believe this..." Sasuke muttered. "I offered to protect you and-" He was cut off as Sakura broke their blades' lock and slashed from both sides with Ishinaga and Kusayaiba.

"Cut the crap, Hebi," Sakura responded, coldly. "I won't listen to you anymore. You're either going to die here by my hands or have to kill me."

"Fine then...have it your way," Sasuke answered, slipping into his stance with Kusanagi. "But you're doing this alone. Those pathetic excuses for ninja are all affected by my poison."

"Good," Sakura spat. "I'd rather kill you by my hands." With that, she launched forward, cocking back her fist to stab at Sasuke. Sasuke brought Kusanagi up to deflect it and backflipped over the second blade. Sakura stab the ground with the Ishinaga and made a hand seal over her hold on the hilt. "Iwasentou(Rock Spire)!" A spike struck out from the ground beneath Sasuke, but he just burst into smoke, leaving a log to be skewered in his place.

"Katon: Kitora(Fire Release: Flame Tiger)!" Sasuke shouted from behind. A firey tiger shot from his mouth, lunging for Sakura. As it closed in, Sakura tore Ishinaga out of the ground and slashed with both that and Kusayaiba.

The tiger's jaw clamped down on both blade just as Sakura got done gathering chakra. She shot chakra out of the two blades causing the flames instantly dying down, leaving Sakura in its wake. Sasuke landed and the two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. The Konoha and Suna-nin all seemed to stop breathing as they watched the two ninja battle.

"You're better than I remember..." Sasuke commented.

"There's a lot you wouldn't remember," Sakura replied, dryly.

"Why do you fight me, Sakura?" Sasuke asked. "I would protect you. I would keep you safe from everyone. That dobe-"

"Naruto could have been our ally," Sakura replied. "We could have become the three strongest nations. Suna had ties with Naruto. Kiri had ties with Naruto. All the others wouldn't be a match for five nations with our strength and bonds."

"Do you even know what Naruto is!?" Sasuke shouted. "I saw first hand. You remember the story of the Yondaime?"

"Of course...He gave his life to kill the Kyuu-" Sakura was cut off by Sasuke.

"No one can kill a demon," Sasuke answered. "He sealed him within a newborn. His son. Naruto." Sakura was stricken. She couldn't believe such a secret was held from her knowledge.

"Why wouldn't you tell me this!?" Sakura shouted back.

"I didn't want it to bother you or scare you from facing Naruto...or should I call him Kyuubi no Kitsune now? Anyway, I wanted to prote-" Sasuke was cut off this time as Sakura appeared in front of him, neither blade in her hands now.

"I never needed your damn protection!" Sakura screamed as she planted her fist into his stomach. Sasuke was lifted off his feet and the blow was followed by a side kick. Before Sasuke could get far, Sakura planted both hands on the ground and delivered a devestating kick filled with chakra to the side of Sasuke's head, slamming him into the ground.

Everything was quiet again as Sakura flipped back to where her blades were pierced into the ground. She brought the blades up and started panting. The effort to move this quickly and using all this chakra was taking its toll on her. Sasuke lay motionless on the ground before her and she thought for a second that she had won.

"Tsunade's strength, huh...?" Sasuke was slowly getting up from where he crashed. "Too bad...I still have the Sharingan." Sasuke rose now and opened his eyes to show his one tomoe Sharingan, swirling wildly. Sakura shot forward with the two swords trailing the ground before lifting them both up.

Kusanagi was instantly before Sasuke, blocking the two blades, but also lifting him up. As he was lifted, he almost didn't notice Sakura let go of the hilt of Kusayaiba and rearing back for a punch. As the punch was almost to his face, he tilted back, causing it to go over him. He failed to notice, however, the kick launched into his stomach.

Sasuke slammed back into the ground as Sakura twirled back to slice him in half. Sasuke brought Kusanagi in the way again, blocking the Ishinaga. The two stayed there, their blades locking in place. There was silence to the two of them. No war, no other ninja, just the two, locked in battle.

Sasuke shoved Sakura off, but she just backflipped away, landing just in time to see Sasuke charge. Sakura blocked the blow easily and gave Sasuke a hard punch to the face. This punch, filled with chakra, forced Sasuke to lose grip of the Kusanagi. Sakura stabbed the two blades into the ground and charged forward at that. She delivered a hard punch to his back, sending him into the air. Then turned back to kick him into another building nearby.

"Oh, the snake lost its venom?" Sakura asked with a small grin at her victory against him. She moved to Kusanagi and picked it up. "And you lost your blade." Sakura swung it once and moved back to her two blades once more. She picked up Kusayaiba and flipped the two blades in her hand. "Get up, Sasuke!" Sakura slipped into a stance with the two blades and waited as Sasuke slowly rose out from the building. He had blood running down his face now and his back seemed hurt pretty bad, making him limp a bit.

Sasuke and Sakura were both starting to get low on chakra from the intense fighting and the fact that they had gotten done with their own battles against the Akatsuki. Sasuke's three tomoe were swirling, angrily as he stepped forward.

"I won't be defeated by a bitch like you..." Sasuke said through gritted teeth. He mentally cursed that worthless old man for sealing his Cursed Seal away. Sasuke then made a hand seal and watched as Kusanagi twisted from Sakura's grip and tried to slash at her. She quickly flipped over the slash and made her own hand seal to make it go limp, grabbing the hilt as she went.

Sakura then charged forward, ready to slash Sasuke with Kusanagi and Kusayaiba. As she drew near, she brought both down over his head, but he had his hand, covered with a blue chakra, to block it. Sakura spun back and placed a shallow cut into Sasuke's side. Sasuke brought his chakra covered hand up, but Sakura jumped back, remembering Shizune's warning about the chakra scalpels during her training. Normally used as a medical technique, it could be deadly if connecting. And with Sasuke's lightning affinity, she'd be doomed if she let him connect and charge lightning through it.

Sakura moved in quick and brought Kusanagi down, but it was blocked with a chakra scalpel. Sakura brought down the Kusayaiba into the ground and used it to jump up and kick Sasuke with both her feet into his stomach. Sasuke skid back from the blow, inevitably crashing through the wall of a building.

Sakura was panting hard from the strength it was taking to keep up with the Otokage. The chakra put into her feet at that moment was also leaving her exhausted. She put a considerable amount of chakra into all of her moves just to keep up with Sasuke while the Cursed Seal couldn't be used. He may be at the three tomoe, but a lot of the extra chakra given from the Cursed Seal couldn't be used after Jiraiya's seal.

A large chunk of debris was shot out of the remains of the building at that. Sasuke stood there, glaring at where Sakura had stood, but not she was gone. He looked around and didn't see anything. Until a fist was planted into his face. Sakura forced Sasuke to fly through the building again, even deeper. As Sakura followed at a walk to regain her stamina, she realized what building he was pushed through. The hospital of Yuki.

"Reminds you of Tsunade, huh?" Sasuke's voice came with an amused edge in it. He stood in a doorway he had been punched through, a slight smirk on his face. "The bitch got what she deserved when fighting Orochimaru and the rest of Oto. The only regret is that I didn't make that death two with the dem-"

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled back. "He isn't a demon, Hebi!" Sasuke laughed at that.

"You call me a snake?" he laughed as he walked forward. "I'm more snake-like than you know..." His grin grew as his body burst into snakes. Sakura instantly forced them all back with a punch to the floor, bringing debris into the air to knock them away. Sasuke was right behind the snakes, ready with Kusanagi that he had recently recovered from the kick. Sakura blocked with Kusayaiba, but the two were at a stalemate, unable to give a second hit with a kick or a punch.

Sakura quickly rolled back to the side of Sasuke to deliver a hard punch into Sasuke's side. Sasuke flew into a group of the beds that sat for injured or sick people. Sakura grabbed hold of the bar on another bed and threw it to crash atop where Sasuke landed.

Sasuke slowly pushed off the beds and began getting up, but Sakura was gone again. He looked up to see Sakura plant her fist into his face again, slamming him into the ground, hard. Dust surrounded the two combatants as they continued. Sasuke's hand glowed briefly before a shot of lightning brought Sakura off of him and flying through the roof of the hospital.

Sakura was getting too tired for this. From her perspective, she had enough for her best jutsu, but that wouldn't be enough for Sasuke. Maybe she could buy some time...That was her best hope at this moment. Buy time for who, she didn't know, but she'd try to stop Sasuke with the next jutsu.

She flipped back and landed as Sasuke walked out of the hospital from the hole they had created earlier. Sakura sped through hand seals before stopping with a unique one that Sasuke didn't recognize. "Hanajutsu: Chimeiteki Sakura Tatsumaki(Flower Art: Fatal Cherry Blossom Tornado)!"

Everything went to night. Cherry blossoms surrounded them in their little clearing with the full moon shining down. The wind picked up and cherry blossoms got caught up in the wind, flying around. As they swirled closer, everything dispersed and they were in a dark world. The sky was red and everything around was black.

"Pitiful...Fighting a Uchiha was genjutsu?" Sasuke asked, moving towards Sakura who was standing frozen, staring into the Mengekyou Sharingan. "You should know better, Haruno..."

"You have...that?" Sakura gasped, not realizing her fatal flaw. She did not think he could do this yet...He only had the three tomoe last she checked... "Well...I guess I'll have to use..." Everything went back to normal in an instant.

Sasuke looked around in shock and saw Hinata and Neji on their knees with hand seals held up, their Byakugan blazing. He then noticed the others. This just put Sasuke into shock now. Each of the ninja from Konoha and Suna were holding up hand seals, with the exception of Gaara, who had put himself to sleep, and Shikamaru, who had exhausted himself through his jutsus.

"Pitiful...Keep rising to be beaten down again..." Sasuke muttered, drawing Kusanagi into a ready position. Before any one could react, Sasuke was past Sakura, leaving a cut along her shoulder that edged to her back. Ino rose up and got into a fighting stance she had learned from her father.

"Bastard! Don't touch her!" Ino shouted. "I won't let you do any more harm to Sakura!"

"What do you care for a bitch Hokage?" Sasuke smirked, moving quicker than any could see. He was in front of Ino, ready to slice her in half when he froze. Sasuke's eyes widened in realization and saw Shikamaru, still chewing a food pill Chouji had given him.

"No more of my teammates...shall die to this war..." Shikamaru managed to get out, still knelt down and trying to keep his jutsu going. Sasuke sighed before moving around quickly to smash his heel into Shikamaru's shoulder. Shikamaru let out a cry of pain as his jutsu was easily defeated. Sasuke knelt down and grabbed hold of Shikamaru's throat, tightening his grip to the point of suffocating him. With a single head butt, Shikamaru was sent flying back into Temari and Kankerou, knocking them back into a wall behind them.

"This is just sad...This is all you have to offer now?" Sasuke asked. Before he knew it, Shikamaru was in front of him with Chouji's spear. He stabbed forward, but with a fluent movement, Sasuke moved to the side, chopped the point of the spear off, and sliced into Shikamaru's side. Shikamaru fell to the ground as blood seeped out, putting everyone into shock. Sasuke had defeated Shikamaru so easily...

"Not yet!" Sakura shouted, not wanting another to get hurt. She was moving in quick with Kusayaiba and Ishinaga held ready. She tried to slice both at Sasuke, but he easily jumped over it, landed on the tips and launched himself higher into the air. Both blades had been driven into the ground as Sasuke flipped over to see Sakura.

"It's over now, Sakura," Sasuke said as his blade charged with electricity. Flames burst from the hilt to make a swirl around the electricity and this just made him grin further. "DIE NOW!" Sasuke brought his blade down quick, sending a giant shockwave to keep Sakura off balance before moving down at her, quickly. He was closing in fast, but before he could make it...

"It's not over yet, teme," a familiar voice said as a red blade blocked Kusanagi. Sasuke's eyes widened. Shikamaru and Sakura, along with the rest present, were in utter shock. It wasn't possible to live through a blade to the heart, was it?

Yet, none other than Uzumaki Naruto stayed locked with Sasuke's Kusanagi. "You should know, when you're facing my friends, it's just getting started before I show up." Naruto's foot was brought back to get him in the side before landing in front of Sakura and looking back with a grin to get ready for what would be the most difficult battle of his life.

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Rock Spire-A spike of rock shoots up to skewer the opponent.

Flame Tiger-The user shoots out a flame in the shape of a tiger. It attempts to bite down on the opponent, causing a searing flame pass through their body. If it misses the bite, it will still burn as it passes by, especially if it touches the opponent.

Flower Art: Fatal Cherry Blossom Tornado-Sakura's special jutsu that she learned during her training when Tsunade was alive. It causes a mass of cherry blossoms to appear and swirl around, giving the illusion of the opponent being torn to shreds.

Naruto: Miss me, teme?

Sasuke: You can't be alive! I stabbed you through the heart!

Naruto: Well...I have been known as the Number One Unpredictable Ninja.

Next Chapter: The Demon's Rebirth, the Gama VS the Hebi

Naruto: Having a father that is already in Hell has its benefits too, y'know.