Update! Just for notice this is the semi-final chap. Enjoy and don't forget to review.

Chapter 12

Last Stand

"Sakura-chan."

The Shinobi's charka grew immensely. Sakura shivered as she felt such a strong power, not even with her super strength she would be able to beat that power. She looked to her side at the fallen Sasuke. 'I couldn't even protect him. I stopped him from beating this guy, I don't think I can beat him. Naruto… I need you."

"So…" The Shinobi spoke. "Ready to die."

Sakura clenched her fist as she shook her fear away. "Not just yet."

Sakura charged at her opponent, even with the odds going the other way. 'Fool.' The Shinobi quickly rushed. Their fists collided with his power surpassing hers, but she flipped herself and slammed her knee onto his face. He turned and slashed his sword, cutting her in half, or better said, a log in half. 'Substitution.'

Sakura slammed her fist onto his back, but the hit hurt her hand more than his back. He quickly turned and slammed his fist onto her stomach, blood finding its way onto her mouth.

Sakura fell on her knees in front of him. He placing his sword on the side of her neck. "You are quite good, but this jutsu is unbeatable." He smiled and clenched his fist. "Good-bye."

The Shinobi threw a punch meant to hit her heart, and with his power, it would have killed her. But instead of hitting Sakura, his fist hit nothing but air. 'What!'

The Shinobi turned to see that Sakura was on top a tree, with Naruto holding her. "Naruto-kun, your… standing!" Naruto smiled as he looked at her. "Heard you needed help." In a flash Naruto and Sakura appeared next to Sasuke. He placed Sakura there and said. "Watch him for me, I've got this guy to take care off." Sakura just nodded. 'Be careful.'

Naruto turned to face the Shinobi. "Your starting to get annoying, time to end this." Naruto took his stance, and glared at the Shinobi.

"Well, well. The three idiots are back together, you make this so easy."

"Really."

Naruto vanished and appeared behind him. "Are you sure?" The Shinobi turned and slashed his sword at the blond, but he managed to evade it and throw his own kick. The Shinobi evaded it as well and throw his own hit. Naruto easily evaded it, and saw another hit coming. He was going to evade it when he felt a strong pain on his stomach, he flinched just enough time for the Shinobi to hit him head on. Naruto fell back and crashed against a tree.

"Naruto-kun!" a worried pink-haired kunoichi screamed. 'He's still in pain, it's no wonder, he shouldn't even be standing.'

"So… you're still hurt. I did feel worried when I saw you, but if you are hurt. Then this'll be easy."

Naruto stood up once more, his body sore. "Sorry, it isn't that simple." Naruto's eyes turned bright red as the Kyubi's power empowered him. "Let's go wild."

Meanwhile Kakashi was facing a similar dilemma. He had read in the Icha Icha Paradise books that men would often be in a harem, but he didn't like this harem. 'Too deadly for my tastes.'

"Die copy ninja!"

They all rushed at him. Kakashi quickly turned and struck a kunai into as many as he could, but they kept on coming. He turned and threw shuriken at a few, but double the ones he struck attacked him. And against so many, even he got hit, a couple times. Before he was struck by about a hundred kunai, Kakashi jumped and landed on a nearby roof.

"Running scared Copy Ninja." the kunoichis taunted. "No, just need a little space." Kakashi quickly activated the power of his Mangekyō. In a flash, the kunoichi felt a strange pain, and they were all sent onto a unknown dimension. Unfortunately the real one managed to avoid his attack.

"He is strong, amazingly strong."

'Blast, I had already used to much chakra, I don't have enough for the same attack. I can probably do the Raikiri one last time, but… I doubt she'd stay still and let me kill her.' The kunoichi smiled and quickly charged. "After that attack, you must be exhausted."

'Guess the Raikiri's not an option.' Before she reached him she was stopped by a fist onto her face. Kakashi looked to see it belonged to Hinata. The kunoichi flipped and faced the young Hyuga. "So the Copy Ninja has a few more genin, I had forgotten about you. No matter, you can't beat me."

The kunoichi charged at Hinata. Hinata simply took a guard stance. The kunoichi swung her fists as Hinata used her hands to evade them, not even trying to attack back. After a quick exchange of blows the kunoichi spoke. "Your not even fighting back, to scarred to fight?"

"Not really." Hinata said with a smile. "Now Ino."

"Shintenshin no Jutsu."

It is at that moment when the kunoichi felt something hit her from behind, and her mind was then set blank. "Kakashi-sensei! Do your attack know, I don't have to much charka to hold her off for long."

Luckily Kakashi managed to do his Raikiri, Ino getting out of her body, and Kakashi striking her, thus winning the fight. The kunoichi fell on her knees, blood dripping from her stomach and mouth. Kakashi closed his eyes and looked away for a second. He was a ninja, but he did not like to kill. Hinata closed her eyes and turned away, while Ino just looked down.

"Not bad… He said you would… be good…"

Kakashi looked at the dying kunoichi. "Who said that?"

"He has your eye…" As the kunoichi fell Kakashi was left dumbfounded. 'My eye, could it be…'

Meanwhile a three-tailed Naruto and his empowered opponent exchanged lighting quick blows. Ones that Sakura could barely follow. In an instant both appeared behind each other. A death glare in each of his eyes.

'Naruto-kun, please… don't die.'

In a flash his opponent sword came an inch from his neck. Naruto had barely dodged it when he saw the same blade coming from behind. He ducked and avoided it again. The blade came again, but this time the pain came back as well. This time he couldn't avoid it. The sword cut Naruto through the chest, luckily not hitting an internal organ. As Naruto fell to the ground Sakura's eyes opened widely as she screamed. "NARUTO-KUN!"

Naruto barely got up as his body was to sore to move right. Sakura placed her hand on her chest, he was still alive, thank God. 'For a minute there, I thought I had lost him…' Sakura gave a faint smile as she had finally seen what she had been wondering about all along. Now it made sense.

'Now I finally see the difference… between Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke my best friend, I love him, but… I lost him once, and I moved on. Naruto, I almost lost him… And I felt like my world collapsed. I love Sasuke, as a friend… I love Naruto… as something even more than that.'

Sakura smiled and her eyes began to water. 'What a stupid time to relies it… I love Naruto-kun.'

The Shinobi smiled as the blonde fought to stay on his feet. "It's been fun, but you've clearly reached the end."

Naruto frowned as he tried to attack, to move, just to relies he couldn't. Naruto looked to the side, at Sakura. 'If I lose, she dies… I can't let that happen, but I can't even move.'

The sudden burst of chakra that his opponent shifted to his right hand made Naruto look back at him. "It ends for you here."

As his opponent launched himself at him. Naruto did the only thing he could.

"Rasengan."

The Rasengan hit the empowered fist of his opponent, a powerful shockwave of chakra emitting itself through the forest. Sakura placed both arms in front of her and guarded herself from the shock. They were evenly matched, but one thing was clear, Naruto had a lot less chakra than his opponent. 'No, he'll lose.'

Sakura quickly tried to do a jutsu, any jutsu, but she was also spent. She didn't have enough chakra for a substitution jutsu, let alone anything to help Naruto. 'No.'

The Shinobi pushed Naruto's Rasengan towards him. Naruto's hand getting burn in the process. He couldn't hold the Rasengan back any longer, even with the Kyubi's help, he was losing. As his opponent smiled and pushed the Rasengan closer to Naruto, it was clear who would win, but…

A familiar fireball hit the Shinobi form behind, making him lose focus, and his chakra reverting evenly throughout his body. One look out of the corner of his eyes he saw the raven haired boy he thought he had dispatched. 'You.'

Sakura looked at her friend and smiled. Naruto took that chance and with his remaining chakra, which was not much, pushed the Rasengan at got a clean hit onto his opponents stomach. Thus winning the fight. His opponent fell, his ribs broken, blood coming out of his mouth. He had used to much chakra, and thus died a few seconds after getting hit.

Sasuke signed as he sat, exhausted. Sakura smiled. "Naruto, that was… huh?"

Naruto's blood spilled all over from his chest. He just didn't have enough chakra to heal himself. Naruto fell, having obviously lost to much blood, motionless onto the ground. Sasuke looked as his friend fell, trying to move, but being unable to. Sakura's eyes watered as she saw him, the boy she loved, fall.

"NARUTO!"

Last chap next, will it be angst or fluff?