CHAPTER 19

The End Of The Battle

*Warning: You might want some tissues for this chapter.*

Barely standing, Miyuki was using every ounce of her energy to keep herself standing. Because of the dark patches on her skin, she was having a hard time. The exhausted blonde fell to her knees and Jugo saw what was happening to her. Just by looking at her, he noticed that her muscles were steadily becoming weaker.

"Miyuki, quickly!" Jugo yelled out to her, getting the others' attention. "Heal yourself right now!"

"Jugo, what's wrong?" Suigetsu asked, worried about his sudden outburst.

"Sanguinaria canadensis commonly known as the 'Bloodroot' is a perennial, herbaceous plant that can produce morphine-like benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, primarily it's the toxin sanguinarin. If the flower is exposed on human skin, it forms large scabs called eschars. At this very moment, her muscle tissues are being destroyed!" Jugo explained and the other eyes widen slightly from his explanation.

"That little flower from earlier..." Karin said as she glanced at the marks that we're slowly spreading around her body. "...is doing that much damage...?"

"I'm afraid it is...and if she doesn't heal herself fast enough, it can destroy all the muscle cells in her body as well, making her unable to fight again..."

Suigetsu looked at Miyuki, who was trying to heal herself at the moment and she winced from the pain. 'Miyuki...I honestly thought that you were a weak girl who couldn't do much when it came down to fighting. And this battle just proves that you're even stronger than I thought you were...You have my respect as a fellow shinobi...'

In a instant, the chakra that surrounded the members of Taka had vanished and everyone was finally healed. The other sighed in relief that the jutsu had finally wore off and Miyuki turned to them as she gave them a thumbs up for dealing with that healing jutsu for so long. She believed in them and knew that they could do it.

Karin was glad too, but something was still bothering her. "Something isn't right. Miyuki won and the battle is over, but...Why is the lightning barrier still up...?"

"Because I'm not dead, you stupid bitch!" A voice roared. Hearing this made the others stopped what they were doing and looked over at the battlefield where Miyuki was still trapped inside the barrier.

Ami was slowly rising up from the ground and dark purple chakra was now seeping through the open wounds of her body. When she sat up, her neck was slightly twisted and she realigned it back with ease to how it used to be before Miyuki had almost broke it earlier. Jugo's bottomed jaw dropped from seeing that and Karin gripped her neck out of reflex from witnessing something so disturbing.

'Are you fucking kidding me...? What is it going to take to keep that bitch down...?' Suigetsu gritted his teeth from Ami standing up again. For her to still be able to move from all that, it's not even humanly possible. He was beyond nervous and scared and he didn't know what else to do at this point.

Miyuki lowered her head from sensing Ami's chakra again. If her final attack didn't do anything to stop Ami the first time, then what technique would? The guys couldn't get through the barrier on account that Ami was still alive and even if she used the "Wind Release: Dance of the Spiraling Phoenix" technique for a second time, it wouldn't be as effective as it was the first time and Ami would possibly get up from it again. They were running out of options and time was not on their side. 'Sensei...why...?'

"Miyuki-chan, behind you!" Karin screamed from where she was.

Snapping out of it, the blonde turned around and she noticed that Ami was now approaching her in high speeds with a kunai knife in her hand. Miyuki gasped and her eyes grew larger in fear when she saw what was in her sensei's eyes. Her eyes were glazed over with death, bloodshed, and destruction. Ami was not gonna stop fighting until one of them was dead.

There was one technique that she could use, but she didn't want to resort to using that. It would drain her completely and she wouldn't have anything left.

In this situation, Miyuki only had two choices: either be killed by Ami or she gave the finishing blow, killing her instead. If she wanted the the happiness for her future parents and everyone she knew and loved, Miyuki had to take the initiative. She had a mission and she couldn't die yet. But in order for her to do this, Miyuki was gonna have to kill any kindness in her heart she had left for her sensei. Judging from the speed Ami was traveling, Miyuki only had a few seconds before she made any type of contact with her.

It was now...or never.

Miyuki's fearful look suddenly turned into devious cold glare as she closed her hand, clenching it tightly in the dirt and formed a fist. She didn't have a choice and her blonde bangs covered her eyes as she started to dashed forward. 'I'm so sorry...Sensei...'

Memories of the old days with her kind-hearted sensei assaulted the blonde's vision and Ami was closing in on her, preparing to give the finishing blow to Miyuki. With the momentum that she gained from running, Miyuki leaped into the air and she was ascending towards Ami. She drew her arm back as power gathered into her fist. The chakra aura surrounding her fist quickly changed from a translucent blue to a dark blood red with black specks in a instant.

Karin gasped in horror when she saw the power emitting from Miyuki's fist. "That power...!"

"DIE!" Ami yelled with malice, ready to slit open her former student's throat.

With all the strength that she can muster, Miyuki punched Ami in the center of her torso, ceasing her from doing anything further.

"Makai no Riki!" [地獄の強さ(Hell's Strength)]

Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo were not only stunned and shocked from the technique but the strength and power behind it. It was unreal. They've never seen anything like it.

Every pressure point was struck simultaneously with intense chakra, sending shock waves throughout and doing some serious damage to Ami's body. Blood splattered on Miyuki's cheek from Ami coughing up blood as a blackish-purplish orb flew out from her mouth. The woman is sent flying towards the other end of the barrier and Ami's back slammed into the barrier, electrocuting her in the process. After for what seemed like an eternity, the barrier was completely destroyed and Ami fell face first into the ground...

Naruto and the others were getting closer and closer to the clearing and they were having a hard time keeping with Naruto's speed. He was determined to save Nariko and that's what he was going to do.

"Holy shit..." Suigetsu whispered and his gaze returned to Miyuki, who stood with her legs spread apart and was slightly hunched over, her fist was still extended as she panted labored breaths. Her face had small specks of dried blood on her cheeks that had splattered on her from Ami's mouth.

Miyuki tried to stand up but finds that difficult to do and lost her balance. Thinking that she's gonna fall back on the ground, Suigetsu caught her in his arms.

"Karin, what was that power you were speaking of earlier?" Jugo asked.

Karin finally worked up the nerve to speak after everything that had happened. "That power...that was Hell's Strength!" she said after removing her shaking hands away from her mouth.

"Hell's Strength? What is that?" Jugo questioned. He had never heard of this technique and he was now curious about it.

"Hell's Strength is a darker form of Chakra Enhanced Strength...and it much more powerful..." Karin said. "I didn't think it was possible for anyone to master it..."

"Stronger than Chakra Enhanced Strength?" Jugo inquired.

Karin nodded before continuing, "That's right. The name alone is scary but that's not even half of it. Hell's Strength is a last resort power that you can only use when you...kill the kindness in your own heart. But for those can use that power, they are either gentle spirits or those who have hatred buried deep within their souls. More or less, Miyuki has both of those qualities."

Jugo was now wondering how did Miyuki, a gentle spirit like himself had that much power suppressed inside her? He didn't even sense her real power at all.

"Hell's Strength works like this. After killing the kindness in your heart, that feeling manifests itself into chakra, giving it an ominous look and dark power. Then, you strike the opponent's body with it, simultaneously giving them severe external and internal damage. Judging from the strength of it, she was only able to use 25% of its full power." Karin explained.

Miyuki sighed sadly that she had to end this battle by killing Ami. She didn't like unnecessary bloodshed, casualties, and killing people but she was pushing her patience with this constant fighting. When it came to giving the final blow to an opponent and killing them, she could never go through with it...even though most ninja must have the instinct to kill. She could never find it in herself to kill another human being, no matter how evil and corrupted they are.

"But that's not the only thing that I figured out. I didn't understand it until now but from the very beginning, this battle...was meant for Miyuki to kill Ami on purpose. In order words, Ami was never evil from the start! That thing that was inside of her was controlling her..." Karin concluded.

Miyuki felt her heart stopped and the world around her just shattered like glass when she heard Karin had said that. 'What...what did she say...?'

Zooming at high speeds, Sasuke continued to run through the countless trees, hoping to reach Naruto as quickly as possible. It wouldn't be long before he made to the clearing, reaching the middle of Konoha Forest.

'Ami was never evil from the start and the thing inside her body is what controlled her?' That couldn't be right. Everything the blonde knew...everything down to the new found hatred that she had for Ami for being with the 'Bakudai'...was inaccurate? Was that really true?

Not wasting any time, Miyuki rushed over to her sensei and turned her body around to try and heal her from all of the heavy damage. Sitting Ami up in her lap, Miyuki tried to focus her chakra to use the Mystic Palm Technique on Ami. When her hand glowed slightly, the light flickered and the energy disappeared. She refused to believed that her own attack drained her of her chakra completely and she tried it again for a second time. This time, her hand didn't even glowed the green aura in order for the technique to work. 'Sensei, I won't let you die...!'

"Mi...yu...ki..." Ami said to her in small breaths as she smiled weakly at her.

Miyuki's face lit up with hope when her sensei spoke to her. Maybe they could save her sensei after all. "Thank goodness. Ami-sensei, you're gonna be all right now! My chakra might be drained, but if we hurry back to Konoha, I know we can get you the..." The blonde stopped talking when Ami shook her head in protest and placed her left on the wound of her torso.

"It's okay, Miyuki..." Ami breathed. "I...wanted this to happen..."

"What do you mean?" Miyuki asked in desperation, hoping to get a clear answer because none of this was making any sense. The others had finally came to where they were, but they were standing a couple of feet away from them.

"That orb that came from out of my body is a Dark Chakra Seed and like your friend said, it was controlling me..."

Miyuki's eyes instantly filled with tears. It was true after all.

"It happened a year after I was supposedly killed in battle, but Touran had other plans in store for me. He used a Reanimation technique to revive me and my partner from the dead and we were brought back to life. We were forced to obey him. My partner did it without hesitation on account he would get something out of it, but I was not going to give in so easily, so they had to forced the dark jutsu on me in order to get me to cooperate. Killing and destroying everything in sight...Having that jutsu cast on you is like living in a nightmare. The only thing you know is carnage and destruction and you can't feel any emotions or pain. I hoped that one day...one day that someone would save me from that horrid nightmare and thinking about my precious students was the only thing that kept me sane...Miyuki...you actually saved me from the darkness..."

"I think I understand it now. You wanted Miyuki to try and save you, even if that meant destroying you in the process. The Dark Chakra Seed that was inside of you was feeding on your life energy and it drove you into insanity and madness. You had to push her...push Miyuki enough to make her angry, so you tried to kill us in order to bring that hatred out of her. You were successful of making her enraged and in turn, she used that technique on you, forcibly driving the seed from your body..." Jugo guessed, quite astounded by the level of deception that Ami used against them.

"Exactly. Now that you know the truth, I can finally die happily with no regrets..." Ami smiled as tears flowed down her face.

"Ami-sensei, please..." Miyuki cried as she held unto her hand. "Please don't talk like that...!"

"Don't worry about me, Miyuki. Worry about your family and the shinobi world itself. A lot is going to happen in this time. Touran is doing everything in his power to make sure you girls are not successful in saving your parents..." Miyuki gasped from Ami knowing about their mission. "Yes I know what you're trying to do and I'm...proud of you girls for trying to change the history of that tragedy...You have to be strong and protect those who you care deeply for..." Ami glanced over at Suigetsu, the man who tried to save Miyuki so many times during this fight.

If only she could tell Miyuki how sorry she was for putting her through so much pain and suffering, but she knew that trying to apologize now would make her last moment awful and she didn't want that.

"Do...you understand...?" Ami breathed, feeling Miyuki gripped her hand tighter as she held it in her hand and she said the one thing that she had always told her students when they were kids. "Protect the people that you love and cherish them...that will make you stronger..."

Miyuki nodded trying to hold back her tears from remembering those words and she closed her eyes. "Of course, Ami-sensei. I'll do my best and so will Nariko and Sarina too..."

Ami forced her eyes open one last time, getting a good look at her blonde-haired student before her, knowing that it was the only chance she was ever going to get. Besides the fact that she was influenced by the "Bakudai" and nearly driven to insanity, she was happy and content that she was able to see one of her students again. "You've bloomed into a beautiful flower..." Feeling the pain from her stomach, she felt her breath leave her and her eyes slowly shut.

"A-Ami-sensei...?" She asked, her voice coming out in a small shrill.

At that moment, Ami's grip loosen from the place on top of her hand. Her fingers slowly entwined and the back of her hand fell limp onto the grass with a small thump. Hearing the noise, Miyuki quickly looked into her sensei's eyes, but Ami's body had became still, her brown eyes were listless, and the only thing that was moving on her was the swaying of her dark-purple hair from the cool breeze.

Miyuki got no answer and her heart clenched even tighter. She gently shook her shoulder, as if willing him to wake her up from a deep sleep. "Ami-sensei?" She asked again, more fear evident in her voice. Even more determined not to let Ami go, she tried to use her medical ninjutsu once more. Sadly, just like the last time, her chakra flickered weakly and it disappeared.

Miyuki sobbed as she held onto her sensei. Feeling as if her heart had just been brutally ripped out from her chest as she lay there with her. Trying to will away the whole thing with her soft whimpers, Miyuki wished that this was just a horrible nightmare and she will wake up, hoping to find her sensei was still alive and the kind-hearted woman that she was before all this happened. She tried with all her might and even as a medical ninja, she still couldn't save her beloved teacher.

"It all makes sense now..." Suigetsu whispered more to himself. "To do that kind of thing to your own student...and this Touran guy...that is SO fucked up..."

Suigetsu could understand the pain that she was feeling. He understood this particular pain of lost, because he lost his older brother the exact same way. The only difference was that he was too young and couldn't do anything to save him. Seeing something like this all over again made him feel remorse for the young kunoichi, caused a dull ache to form in his chest.

"The ultimate deception..." Karin stated. She was even more upset that Miyuki's teacher would so far as to lie to her and deceive her, making her believe that she was an enemy. 'How did I not see this coming...!'

Suigetsu walked to her and knelt down next to Miyuki as she continued to shed her tears, his lavender eyes filled with sadness from the outcome of this battle. "Miyuki, you couldn't escape this fight. Ami knew that and she wanted you kill her in order for her soul to be free from the darkness. For that, she chose to die again..."

From that last statement, Miyuki brought her pointer and middle fingers up to her sensei's eyes and she pulled her eyelids down, closing her eyes. She didn't like seeing her with her eyes opened like that. The blonde hugged Ami even tighter and her quiet whimpers soon turned into loud sobs as she continued to mourn over her lost of her sensei...

* * *NEXT CHAPTER SYNOPSIS* * *

The next chapter of Changing Fate is:
Reunion

The battle is completely over and when Sasuke and Naruto finally reunite after all the chaos, what will happen to them...?