Hey everyone ... thanks for all the reviews ... and yes ... this story is approaching its ending ... as in ... we'll be done within the next ten chapters ... im sorry to say this ... but well ... im finding it harder and harder to write this story ... but thats not the whole reason ... believe me ... im still a diehard Naruto fan ... lol ... yeah ... so well ... i hope that mi last few chapters for this story will be ... mi best ...

p.s - ok ... don't go telling me that for the time the last chapter took ... i should have written more ... frankly ... i just stopped where I thought it was make a decent ending for a chapter ... and on top of that ... i don't have the time to work on this everyday

but all the same ... i am sorry that it took so long ... so ... I'm sorry ... yeah ... i hope you guys like this chapter

Face Off: Rising Odds

Last Time on The Path to Hokage:

Sakura gazed in horror and curiousity at the beast before her. This match would be dangerous, but it would also be the greatest battle she would ever fight. (As well as her last real fight in this story ... at least as of 9/19/06) She yelled as she began to concentrate her chakra throughout her body. She formed a seal ... the seal of ...

... of the ...

Shark?

----------------------

Itachi immediately began to go through an incredibly long set of seals. Sasuke attempted to imitate them but for some reason he couldn't. "What?" he asked as he rushed forward, attempting to stop whatever jutsu Itachi was about to pull off. He raised his kunai to kill Itachi when ...

CLANG! A shuriken knocked aside the kunai in his hand. "What?" Sasuke gasped. It was Claire.

"CLAIRE!" Sasuke yelled, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Claire just shook her head, saying, "Sorry, Sasuke-kun. My allegiance is to Akatsuki." She attacked him.

"Claire!" Sasuke yelled as he jumped back, attempting to avoid Claire's onslaught. "Why are you doing this!" He stared at her, unable to believe that the person he loved was fighting him to the death. "I LOVED YOU!" he screamed as he pounded his fists into the ground creating two huge craters.

Claire's eyes showed no emotion, but her mind was going crazy. She loved him too. He was everything to her. She silently apologized, 'I'm sorry, Sasuke. But neither of us are a match for Itachi and the Six-tailed Weasel."

Meanwhile, Itachi paused his hand seals. He smiled for the first time the entire battle.

"Little brother ..." he muttered, pointing his finger at Sasuke. "This is the end for you. This jutsu ... I copied it from Orochimaru many years ago." Sasuke's eyes widened. "Yes ... it is that jutsu. And as you well know ... it will take me another few minutes in order for me to finish the rest of the seals. So until then ... Claire will handle you." He continued.

Claire jumped at him, throwing a series of kunai yelling, "Hidden Mist Jutsu! Blinding Fog!" Immediately mysterious mist began to rise completely shrouding them. Claire sadly chuckled. "Sasuke ... I know the Sharingan's weakness. You ..." A tear dropped from her face. "Can't leave here alive ..."

Kai and Takeshi ran straight forwards toward their father, Isashi. They had decided that Rin's medical skills would be necessary to win this battle, and that she shouldn't endanger herself by entering the battle.

"CHIDORI!"

"RASENGAN!"

"RED MOON BLADE!" Isashi yelled, swinging an inverse chakra blade. (you know the inverse effect in pics .. where its all like photo negatives? ... yeah)

"AAAAGHGHGHGH!" Kai and Takeshi yelled as the blade completely finished off their ultimate moves. A piece of a pillar strayed towards Takeshi. Takeshi's eyes opened as he attempted to dodge it.

CLINK! He looked to see the jagged piece imbedded in Kai. "You better win ... Takeshi ..." He muttered as he fell down to ground, bleeding profusely. Kai landed heavily on the ground.

"KAI!" he yelled, tears streaming down his face. He landed on the ground when ...

Takeshi found himself attempting to pry his neck free from the grip of his father's hands. "AAGGGHH!" he yelled, attempting to use his lightning chakra to shake his father off of him.

"Give up, Takeshi," Isashi chuckled. "You always were the weakest of you three ..." Takeshi's eyes narrowed.

Rin had landed next to Kai, and had began to try to heal him when they heard what Isashi had said. "FATHER! STOP!" Rin yelled. "TAKESHI IS BETTER THEN ANY OF US NOW!"

Isashi's grin widened as he continued, "Always tagging after Kai and Rin ..." He growled in frustration. "Getting his butt kicked by Kai ..." Takeshi looked down, his chakra dieing down ... giving up.

Rinyelled, "Don't listen to him, Takeshi! Don't give up!"

Isashi continued, "You know that she don't mean it. After all ... Kai's dying now because of you ... They hate you. They really ha-"

"SHUT UP!" Takeshi yelled, his lightning chakra burst out of his body, completely obliterating the surrounding area. Isashi immediately let go, looking at his son. "You have no idea of how hard it was to get here ..."

Isashi just chuckled before responding to his son's outcry. "Then show me how hard ..."

"Your arrogance is going to be your fall ..." a voice weakly said. Kai slowly opened his eyes. He looked at Isashi and said, "I wanted to be the one who killed you ... but I've realized now that ... revenge isn't everything ... it's love ... and family ..." Isashi glared at his son, furious.

He turned to Takeshi, "Beat him, dobe." he murmered, sending a beam of chakra into Takeshi. Kai collapsed, tired from the chakra exhaustion. Rin signaled that he was ok.

Takeshi nodded before attacking his father.

"The Seal of the Shark!" Sakura yelled twisting her arms around her body , chakra molding around her as well, giving her the appearance of as shark. Her bright green eyes, began to darknen till they were more brown then green.

Gaara chuckled, "So this is the amazing power of the Godaime's apprentice. A form jutsu ..." He silently thought to himself, 'It's a good thing too ... I doubt that Kisame would know of this ... especially since its a move unique to the Fifth. ..." He observed the chakra as it began to heal her at an alarming rate ..."

'A better version of the Genesis of Rebirth .. yet ... more flawed then it could ever be. She can at most keep fighting with that jutsu for two minutes ... It'll destroy her muscles ... not permanently ... but it'll keep her out of the ninja business for a month or two.'

Sakura smiled to Gaara, assuring thim that she was going to be ok, as Kisame took several steps backward. "The Isonade ... No!" he gasped, taking out Samehada from his back, preparing to block any attack.

"This battle is over ..." Sakura said, slowly, shifting slightly. Gaara decided to just watch Sakura in action. At this point ... he'd just be in the way. "Gaara ... good." She turned to Kisame. He tensed. She disappeared.

Kisame raised his sword upwards as a fist zoomed towards him. The sword collided with Sakura's fist. He chuckled, "Your chakra is now mine!" Samehada began to glow. Sakura just chuckled. The sword snapped in half and her fist collided into his face.

"AAAARGGGHHH!" he yelled as he collided into the several pillars of rock. He fell down to the ground, bleeding profusely. Sakura disappeared again, and continued to pound away at Kisame. His biju chakra was slowly leaking out.

Gaara could only think ... 'Damn ... she's scary ...'

Sakura raised her fist for a final blow when a sudden wave of chakra kicked her off of Kisame. Sakura neatly did a backflip and landed on the ground, slightly fazed but unharmed.

"What the hell is going on?" Gaara asked, as he felt Shukaku awaken. "No ... the Sanbi ... It's being released! Sakura!" he yelled. "RUN!" The two of them immediately burst backwards running as fast as they could when a growl emanated from behind them.

"G:GGAHAHAHAHAH!" it growled. They looked back, still running, to see a giant turtle emerge from his body, physically. Kisame was gone. The Sanbi was back.

Sasuke appeared behind Claire. "Stop this Claire!" He had a kunai at her throat. "If not for me ... do it for all of your friends!" Itachi smiled. He was enjoying this melodrama before him more then he could have expected. His seal formation nwas almost complete. Just thirty more seconds.

Claire remained silent as she twisted in the air, throwing a series of kunai and shuriken at Sasuke. Sasuke easily dodged and began to attack Claire, but stopped. Claire took the advantage and pummeled him straight into the ground.

"It's over, Sasuke," she muttered. Her kunai was at his throat.

Itachi finished the last seal. "Stand aside, Claire. Claire. Now move aside and let me finish him off." Claire couldn't move.

"Sasuke ..." she whispered ...

She gripped her kunai and threw it Itachi. He gasped for the first time in his life. He couldn't dodge so he released his jutsu, "FOUR SEASON DEATH JUTSU!" Immediately a huge beam of multicolored chakra fired from Itachi towards Claire.

"CLAIRE!" Sasuke yelled as the beam engulfed her ... tearing at her body ... dissolving her body in the light ...

hey everyone ... ok ... i know that this chapter was really short ... so ... sorry ... but i wanted to update .. i feel that I did a reasonably good job with this chapter ... yeah ... so anyways ... im sorry for before ... and I hope you guys are happy with the chapter

u know the drill

ten reviews or nothin (PLEASE!)