He wills Susano to raise its shield arm to deflect the enormous shoulder tackle and the wave of shadow spikes—
SLAM.
He stares at the fist and the pair of green eyes behind it.
She…there isn't even that much killing intent pulsing from her. She just, really wants to punch him…
Susano folds on itself, altering the trajectory of Garuga while simultaneously drawing blood with the tip of an arrow.
Sakura takes this chance to pull back and strike again with a thundering war cry. Once more, he stares at the gloved fist through Susano's plated ribcage.
…in the face, apparently.
Susano points a palm at her, but she instantly pounds the ground before her, and a pillar of earth and rain becomes her shield against the flames.
Kiba and Akamaru dive in and whisk away Sakura just before Susano swats away the makeshift barrier.
He doesn't miss Kiba clutching his side as patches of Akamaru's fur are coated red.
In a split moment, Susano pulls back its bow, takes aim, and fires.
The arrow takes flight, at near sonic speed, and drills into—
"Kaiten!"
—hits a dome of turbulent chakra and shatters. Both and the arrowhead and the flames scatter, and soon so does the technique die down.
He watches, calmly, as Neji falls to his knees, breathing rigorously.
Within Susano, he looks behind him, tomoe spinning and spinning, and straight into the eyes of both Lee and Tenten.
The two of them tremble in midair, pupils dilating, and crashes to the ground.
The Replacement performs a shunshin to his right, a hand-sign formed, and the earth beneath him sloshes, unsettling his footing.
He grimaces and immediately charges chidori through his body, nicking off the few kikaichu that took several unexpected bites.
The Replacement takes the opportunity to close in with a brush—
"Enough," Sasuke growls.
In the one hand of Susano, black flames spread across the field in the form of innumerable discus. One in particular will burn both Shikamaru and Ino both to cinders, if not for the sudden enlarged plated arm that bears the bleak outcome for them.
In the other hand, Susano forms a giant ethereal fist, and hammers the ground before it.
It's a tsunami of wet earth, rocks, and trees. There is enough directional, widespread push that nearly everything in sight is swept.
The Replacement flew from the force with such velocity that the landing will not be benign.
He sees Shino slammed and buried under braches and stones alongside the entirety of Neji and Team Ten. As well as…
From within the blanket of rained rubble, a massive drill of ferocity and fangs bursts forth. "Garouga!"
He has to admit, the technique requires effort to hold down single-handed. Nevertheless…
Susano raises its flames, as the spin comes to a halt.
Sasuke watches, as the blood drips from both sides of the two-headed canine beast.
Slowly, Susano lowers its hand…
"Sixth Gate! Open!"
He turns just in time to guard against a kick enhanced by several levels of chakra enhancements. Yet the impact is still enough to shift his stance.
Lee leaps clear above the towering form of Susano.
Soon fists of bright flames rain over every inch of the guardian jutsu as well as the earth around it.
Sasuke grunts as short, rhythmic bursts of pain course through his arms and eyes, and he nearly goes to his knees, but with a roar he wills Susano to push against the armada of iron fists and slams.
With a loud crash, Lee snaps out from the air and into the earth, and does not get back up.
Sasuke breathes, slightly heavy.
A beat.
And another.
He surveys the nearly altered landscape, and the ensuing silence, save for the rain—
"Now! Chouji!"
He snaps forward.
In Chouji's enlarged and cocked-back palm, Sakura crouches within. Roar at the top of his lungs, the Akimichi flings, and crumbles to the ground.
She bullets towards him.
Her fist is pulled back, the other outstretched before her.
She looks straight at him, pink bangs pulled behind her in the sharp wind.
Almost in slow motion, just before the collision, and the inevitable force that is certain to follow, he watches her eyes.
"Sharanno!" She punches.
The barrier between them shatters like a broken mirror.
It feels as if she brought the winds with her because—because he is flying, sailing within the breached Susano, which fades into obscurity as he lands on his back.
He stares into the raining sky.
A beat.
He sits up.
She is panting, labored. Her fist is shaking. Her eyes clench, biting her lips and drawing blood. She clenches her fist as well, and as a resolution alights in her eyes, so does the trembling cease.
Slowly, he stands, and walks over.
She continues to breathe heavily, pink, dirt-crusted hair matted against her face. "It's…it's n-not over yet!"
She lunges at him. Clumsily.
He sidesteps. There is a tug somewhere, and he almost, almost holds out an arm.
Instead, she nearly falls on her knees.
Painfully slowly, she rises again, knees almost buckling, and as they are facing each other once again, he stares into her eyes.
She is not afraid.
A beat.
Another beat.
And another—
She cocks back a fist.
He draws his blade.
.
.
.
.
.
.
He crouches down, and lays her head down, gently.
He stares, eyes dark, as the rain continues its pitter-patter, droplets drumming atop her face.
A beat.
And another.
He brushes away the pink strands from her closed eyes, and wipes away the dry blood at the corner of her mouth.
He pulls the thick cloak up to her chin, and tucks the fringes firmly around her shoulders.
He stares for a moment longer before he rises, painfully grunting mid-stand, almost wobbling on his feet with his right hand pressing against his side, where a small red carnation blooms.
He laughs softly, unsmiling.
He watches the raining sky.
A wind howls, as somewhere in the distance behemoth forces clash.
He looks to the ground.
A beat.
Slowly, he picks up the pink-headband metal plate, clenching it in his hand.
He looks at her. One more time.
He walks. Towards the bright horizon, and into the dark. Tomoe spinning and spinning.
It continues to rain.