Title: Naruto Shippuden Evolution

Book one: Rise of the Betrayer – Chapter two: Thoughts

Author's note: This story takes place in the world of Azeroth during the Naruto Shippuden time period. It is a crossover between Warcraft, Naruto and Avatar but the main focus will be on Naruto and his adventures. It is mostly an adventure story, but I may consider a few pairings later on. Please review so I can write better! Also, please beware of spoilers! Note: words in italics are either jutsus or spells.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Warcraft or Avatar. All three are properties of their owners, Masashi Kishimoto, Blizzard, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko respectively.

Flashback: Final moments of Sasuke's and Itachi's battle

"Sakura! Move!"



The pink-haired teen reacted quickly to Sasuke's shout, and leapt out of the way, sliding to a halt behind one of the giant concrete walls around the top of the shrine. Once she was gone from the immediate area in front of him, Sasuke formed his hand seals and took a deep breath, Sharingan eyes blazing at Itachi who was standing about sixty metres in front of him.

"Katon! Dragon flame jutsu!" With a shriek, a great gout of flame shot out of his mouth and travelled at high speed toward Itachi. The flame, a massive, solid pillar of fire hurtled toward the elder Uchiha, who closed his eyes and then opened them a fraction of a second later.

Sasuke recoiled at the sight. Itachi's eyes had become blood red, the Sharingan symbols rearranging themselves into a spiral-triangle like shape. The blood vessels in his eyes had become clearly visible, and as Sasuke's jutsu got ever closer to him, he shut his left eye and, glaring at the oncoming flames, unleashed his technique. At once, fresh dark blood started to run down from his eye, trickling down his face.

'His eye…it's bleeding!' Sakura observed silently in shock. Just then, with just a metre to go before Itachi was about to get hit, black flames exploded in the air in front of him. There was a raging battle being fought as the two different colored fires collided, the flames flickering and hissing. Amazingly, Itachi's black flames were pushing Sasuke's jutsu's flames back, inch by inch, and a split second later, the normal fire was overcome completely by the mysterious black flames. "No way!" Sakura gasped, as Sasuke was forced to jump out of the way. The black flames smashed into the ground, continuing to burn with their insane intensity. Itachi had paused, panting heavily, and no new flames had formed. 'That justsu…what could it be? A Sharingan ability?' Sasuke thought frantically, wiping some sweat which had formed on his forehead. It was incredible. The flames were so strong that they had overcome his jutsu in seconds, and Itachi seemed to be able to control where the flames would appear. How was all this possible?

Itachi's cold voice jerked Sasuke out of his train of thought. "That was a Sharingan ability. It's called Amaterasu, and as you have seen just now, it is so strong, it can consume everything it touches." Itachi had one hand over his bleeding eyes, staring at Sasuke through a gap in his fingers. "Whatever I look at will burn."

"Whatever you look at will burn…" Sasuke repeated softly, raising a hand to strike the cursed seal symbol on his neck. At once, the familiar curse-markings started to spread on his body, glowing red, then slowly turning to black. Itachi's eyes widened slightly, and then dropped his hands to his sides, shutting his eyes again. 'Oh no!' Sakura thought,' he's going to use the flames! Sasuke still needs time to transform!'

Without hesitation, Sakura ran at Itachi from behind the wall, gathering chakra into her fist and then, once she was within striking distance, she threw a punch at his back. If she had thought that Itachi would be too busy preparing his jutsu that he could not react in time she was terribly mistaken. Itachi swiftly turned to one side, his cloak whirling. A moment later, his leg came sweeping at Sakura's, trying to knock her down. Sakura, being a medic, was more than capable of dodging enemy attacks, so she reacted just as quickly, jumping above Itachi's attack and aiming towards his head with her leg for a devastating kick as she descended towards him. Itachi was unfazed by the imminent threat and leaned backwards, letting Sakura's leg pass in front of him. Before the girl could land on the ground, he grabbed hold of her ankle and swung her over his head, bringing her crashing heavily on the ground in front of him. Sakura winced as she collided painfully with the ground, rolling quickly to one side to avoid Itachi's kick a split second later. All the while, Itachi had countered her attack with both eyes closed!

But the momentary diversion by Sakura had been enough for Sasuke, who had finished his cursed seal transformation but maintained his human form, now sporting a set of demonic wings behind him. Itachi looked up sharply as Sasuke came charging forward, wings spread wide and a crackling black chidori in his hands. "Raaaaaaaahh!" Sasuke howled, leaping above Itachi and coming down at him with his chidori attack. Itachi, still shutting his eyes, focused chakra into the soles of his feet and leapt backwards, the chakra propelling him backward by thirty metres. Sasuke changed course, and continued running straight at him. At that moment, Itachi opened his right eye, and the black flames appeared in front of him. Sakura looked up, half expecting to see Sasuke getting hit by the flames that he had apparently flew into, but Sasuke was already gone.



"…." Itachi said nothing as his black flames only burned the air. Sasuke appeared in a flash behind him, his chidori slamming into his back. It was too early to start celebrating though. Itachi was lifted off his feet by the impact, but then his body seemed to fall in slow motion, doubling up. Sasuke's eyes widened as he recognized Itachi's substitution jutsu. Black crows formed out from Itachi's falling 'body' and flew behind Sasuke, quickly forming back into human shape. Itachi lashed out with a foot, hitting…nothing. "Ngh." Itachi muttered as he scanned the area for Sasuke with his left eye, keeping his right tightly shut, the blood streaming down his face. Sasuke's cursed seal had empowered him with superhuman speed, and as Sakura realized, he was using his speed to render Itachi's deadly Amaterasu technique useless.

"Heh," Sasuke appeared again, rushing around the battle ground at high speed, circling Itachi rapidly and forming another chidori," what use is your jutsu, if you can't even catch me in your line of sight?"

Itachi looked concerned for a moment, but that expression was quickly gone as he opened his right eye. "Sasuke, watch out!" Sakura screamed as black flames started to appear behind Sasuke. As he flew, he turned to see the black flames catching up on him, eyes widening. 'How?' Sasuke thought frantically, trying to increase his speed. Then the black flames were on him. It all happened in slow motion. The black flames leapt oh Sasuke's right wing, and spread to his lower body. Sasuke let out a yell and collapsed writhing on the ground. Sakura stared wide-eyed, as the flames spread to Sasuke's other wing and legs. Itachi appeared in front of Sasuke, his eyes closing briefly. The flames disappeared, leaving half of Sasuke remaining. The rest of his body was a pile of blackened soot and flesh. Sakura clutched at her chest, feeling very weak. She crumpled to the ground, unable to tear her eyes away from the sight in front of her. "No no no no!" She screamed, and then, tears brimming in her eyes, she got up and rushed at Itachi, pulling her arm back for a punch.

"You killed Sasuke! You killed him!" Sakura threw a punch at Itachi, the tears blinding her, stinging her eyes. She didn't care anymore. Losing Sasuke like that was just too much for her to bear. She just wanted to hurt Itachi, injure him, kill him. Itachi, who was bending down as if to remove Sasuke's eyes, looked up at her, his face expressionless. Once she was near, he avoided her half-hearted attack and slammed a fist into her stomach, causing Sakura to double up, reeling backwards from the pain. Itachi was on his feet, beside her the next moment, and easily caught the next punch that Sakura had aimed poorly at him. Itachi turned and rammed his knee into the girl's stomach, forcing her down on her knees, hacking and coughing. Sakura gagged, and coughed up some blood, which trickled down the side 

of her mouth. Her mind was reeling, her vision unfocused as she waited for the finishing blow. But it never came.

Itachi suddenly grabbed Sakura, using one hand to hold her wrists together behind her back, and the other to wrap around her shoulders, keeping her in front of him, and then leaping backwards. Sakura barely had time to ask herself what in the world could be happening, before a colossal fireball, shaped as a huge dragon head smashed out of the ground where Sasuke's body lay. It continued upwards and quickly disappearing into the grey clouds above. A huge, smoldering hole was left in the ground in front of Sakura and Itachi, who was still holding her tightly. Sakura, stunned that Itachi had saved her from the fireball attack, peered into the hole, her spirits lifting as she saw Sasuke, in the room below.

Sasuke had meant for Itachi to 'hit' him with his Amaterasu. Once he collapsed, Sasuke had let the flames burn a hole through the ground and used his own substitution technique to escape into the room below. Once there, he had used this chance to prepare for his ultimate attack. Sasuke leapt out of the hole, landing on the extreme far side of the shrine roof. Sakura looked up suddenly at the sky, which had become dark grey. A deafening blast of thunder was followed by a huge arc of lightning that lit up the sky. Rain started to fall, first a drizzle, then it became a torrential downpour.

Lightning crossed the sky again, thunder rumbling above. The entire ground was shaking. Itachi nodded slowly, almost resignedly as he spoke," You used that fire jutsu to superheat the air above us, creating a giant thundercloud?"

"That's right Itachi." Sasuke sneered, his arm crackling with electricity.



Sakura watched the two brothers in silence. Itachi was still holding on to her, but she did not seem to have the energy to move anymore. Her eyes were trained on Sasuke; whose face was now every bit like a person possessed who was. He had a murderous look on his face, lips curled into a cruel smile and killing intent was pouring out of him. Sakura shivered, her body trembling. She had never seen Sasuke like this before…it was wrong.

"It's over," Sasuke said coldly," I'm going to gather the lightning in the cloud with my chakra and unleash it all on you with one attack. This is the end for you, Itachi."

Sasuke's face was impossible to read. Sakura's mind was racing. 'But that means…I'll be caught in the attack!'

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed at him, trying to make him come to his senses. 'Is he really going to kill me as well? Just for his revenge?'

Itachi looked at Sasuke calmly. The lightning was gathering above him in the shape of a huge lion, illuminating the entire area in near-blinding white light.

"This attack will devastate the entire area. I will be killed in an instant. She will die as well." Itachi told Sasuke calmly, observing the lightning crackling in the sky. He fixed his brother with a piercing look, his eyes giving nothing away.

Sasuke acted as he had not heard. Smirking, he lifted his hand up. The lightning chakra danced at his fingertips. The lion shaped lightning above snarled and crackled.

"Sasuke!" Sakura choked, tears falling freely now. 'Was this how it was all going to end?'

"Disappear with the lightning…" Sasuke said darkly.

Time seemed to stand still.

Itachi said nothing. Sakura looked at Sasuke, almost pleadingly.

Sasuke brought his hand down.

End of Flashback

Ichiraku Ramen Shop:



The rest was nothing but a blur. Sasuke's Kirin attack shook the shrine to its foundations. To be precise, it blasted the shrine to its foundations. Itachi saved both himself and Sakura with his last and final jutsu. Summoning a giant ethereal warrior using his Susano jutsu, Itachi blocked most of the damage from Kirin, but he and Sakura were still injured by the jutsu. A few minutes later, Itachi succumbed to his apparent injuries sustained during the fight and chakra exhaustion, collapsing to the ground after using Susano to seal Sasuke's chakra. Sasuke, although critically injured by Itachi's final attack with Susano, seized the chance and attempted to run Itachi through with his katana. He was stopped by Sakura, who held him back and told him that she did not want to see him become a murderer like Itachi. Both of them fell unconscious soon after, also because of chakra exhaustion and injury. It was then that Team Gai arrived at the scene with Kakashi, who were all dispatched by Tsunade after Naruto and the rest failed to return. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Jiraiya were immediately rushed back to Konoha, where they were all treated for their wounds. Sakura was the first to recover, and spent the next two days by Naruto's and Sasuke's side, taking care of them and helping them to recuperate. Those two days had really taken a toll on her emotionally. Naruto was suffering from shock, and refused to talk to anyone. Everything he had believed in had just come crashing down. He just stared blankly up at the ceiling, eyes unfocused and oblivious to what was happening around him. Similarly, Sasuke also kept to himself, refusing anybody's company and insisted on being left alone. Sakura guessed that he was ashamed about what he had almost done. Although she had told him repeatedly that she did not blame him for what had happened, he was still lost in his own thoughts, continuing to blame himself for almost killing her. During this time, Sakura simply did not know how to comfort the two of them, and had broken down crying many times. Kakashi avoided them, and so did their friends, who were told by Tsunade to 'shut up and leave them alone'.

Eventually, the period of emotional turmoil had passed, and they had been declared well enough to leave the hospital. They were back to their usual selves, especially Naruto, and had decided to eat out at Ichiraku ramen shop. 'And so, here we are…' Sakura concluded her thoughts and lifted her head, feeling a hand on top of hers. Her eyes met Sasuke's and he looked genuinely worried for once. Naruto was also looking at her, tilting his head, cheeks bulging with noodles.

"Sakura, something bothering you?" Sasuke asked her with some concern. Naruto nodded vigorously in agreement to his question, the stray noodle that snaked out from his mouth flapping around.

Sakura managed a small smile, wiping away the tears that had gathered at the corner of her eyes.

"I'm fine Sasuke. Really."

"You're a terrible liar." Sasuke told her, smirking. He managed to lift one hand and put in around her shoulders. Sakura smiled contentedly and scooted closer to him, leaning on his shoulder.

"Ow." Sasuke said in monotone as her head bumped into a bruise on his shoulder. Sakura giggled and held his less injured hand in hers.

"Teme!" Naruto suddenly put his chopsticks down, squinting at the two of them and pouting.

"What dobe?" Came the irritated reply.

"Don't get all romantic and stuff here!" Naruto sulked. A minute later, he held his head in his hands and groaned. "I wish Hinata-chan was here!"

Sasuke and Sakura smiled at his outburst. "I wonder what Kakashi would say if he saw us now?"



"What?" Sasuke inquired with a raised eyebrow."Something like, important shinobi rule: ninja must not have any feelings? That's just nonsense. Anyway… Kakashi used to have feeling…"

Poof! Kakashi appeared in a cloud of ninja smoke. "Yo!" He greeted cheerfully, squatting on the table.

"Speak of the devil…" Naruto muttered.

Kakashi surveyed his students with a crinkled eye, obviously smiling. "So, all okay?"

"Hn."

"Yep."

"Of course! Dattebayo!"

Kakashi twitched.



Author's note: So so? Do tell me what you think! Next chapter up soon…stay tuned!