The king of the snakes and the heiress of the phoenix

As soon as Kari loses control of her body, I deliberately do not continue to tell from the first-person perspective, because it just sounds better otherwise ^^
Now it's going to be pretty fantasy-heavy .. ^^ "
Otherwise: No comment ...

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A huge snake rose from the ground and broke through the back wall of the hall with its huge bodies. Itachi, Sasuke and Sakura ran outside. Unfortunately, none of the three had made a pact for the jutsu of the familiar spirit, otherwise they might have had a chance ...
Suddenly Manda's tail shot forward and Sasuke and Sakura were thrown against the wall and slid down it.

Meanwhile I was still in the hall. + Shujaku? + ++ yes? ++ + What happens when I give you complete control over my body? Would you be strong enough to pull off a complete transformation? ++ + No, it wouldn't be enough for that.I would need a huge amount of energy all at once and you can't possibly muster that! ++

A scream made us sit up and take notice, and I was horrified to find that it was from Itachi. It took a lot of effort to straighten up, but when I saw what had happened, I wished I couldn't see anything.
A huge fang from Manda had pierced Itachi's shoulder and the wound was oozing green poison. Itachi himself was lying on the ground and blood soaked the ground around him.
° Itachi! No! .......... You will atone for this, Orochimaru! First you take my family from me and now you take Itachi too! ° Tears of sadness, despair and anger ran down my cheeks and dripped onto the dirty floor. ++ Kari! You can't do anything! ++ + I've been told this sentence too often, but this time I won't listen! I have an idea Shujaku! Do you remember Rock Lee taking the Chunin exams? + ++ Yes ... and? ++ + He opened the inner gates to become stronger.Would the strength be enough if I opened the eight inner gates and gave up my life force? Could you then go for a complete metamorphosis? + ++ Yes it would be enough, but you would die! Are you tired of life? ++ + Itachi is already dead, what should my life be worth without him? + ++ But ...! ++ + Please Shujaku! Do it! Please do it! + ++ I ... well ... okay ... are you ready? ++ +… Yes… + My life is no longer life without Itachi, it would be hell on earth. I want to use my last strength to at least save my friends, and then maybe I'll be with Itachi again ...
+++ The eight inner gates! TO OPEN! +++
It felt like something inside of me had exploded and at the same moment my vision blurred and I felt like I was losing control of my body. Red and gold feathers floated in front of me and everything was shrouded in darkness.

Sakura and Sasuke had pulled themselves up and were shocked by the picture that was presented to them. Itachi covered in blood on the floor and Orochimaru with a confident grin on his face on the giant snake Manda.Again the giant snake's head shot forward to ram its teeth into the flesh of Sakura ;; He still needs Sasuke as a body ;;
Suddenly a melody sounded beautiful and clear and the line stopped. Sasuke and Sakura both felt it. Their hearts felt like they had doubled. Her fear of Orochimaru and the snake had given way to an unbelievable feeling of drive and the will to win, while Orochimaru had fear and horror on his face and he hardly dared to move. As the melody reached its highest note, flames broke out in midair. A scarlet bird, slightly larger than a swan, emerged from the flames and sang its song. A golden beak, clawed and gold-colored eyes adorned his face and a long tail, similar to that of a peacock, fluttered around him.
Sasuke and Sakura opened their mouths.

With rustling wings, the beautiful bird landed next to Itachi and rested its head on his wounded shoulder.Suddenly Orochimaru began to laugh again.
"Do you see Itachi you are dying. Even this bird knows. Do you see what he's doing? He's crying." Sasuke and Sakura looked more closely.
Indeed. Thick tears dripped from the gentle, golden eyes and hissed at Itachi's wound. But what happened now nobody would have guessed.
Itachi's wounds healed, and even the poison disappeared. His shoulder looked like it had never been wounded.
"What? That's impossible!" shouted Orochimaru. The phoenix spread its wings again and rose into the air. Manda snapped furiously at the bird, but couldn't get a hold of it.
Flames blazed around the giant snake and began to sink its flesh. The bird pounced on Orochimaru and the giant snake as swiftly as an arrow, but the flames rose up and obscured the view.
For a few moments nothing happened, but then the phoenix shot out of the flames without showing the slightest scratch and watched everything from high above, while the flames still hid Orochimaru and the snake.Itachi felt heat and opened her eyes. He was surprised to find that he no longer felt any pain. With an effort he straightened up and looked at his shoulder. Sure, the shirt and coat were torn, but his wound was gone. Only now did he lift his head and see the huge fire and the red and gold bird circling above it. Only after a long time did he realize what he was seeing and ran to Sasuke and Sakura.
"You live?" Sasuke asked his brother shortly. He just nodded and asked: "Where does the bird come from?" "Can't you guess who it is?" replied Sakura and eyed Itachi. This thought and it fell like scales from his eyes. "Kari?!?" "Exactly that!" answered Sasuke.

Finally the fire went out and the view was clear. The giant snake was gone, but Orochimaru lay motionless on the floor. There were deep, bloody cracks across his torso and it was obvious that he was dead. Everyone stared in disbelief at Orochimaru and then at the bird still hovering in the air.To her horror, the bird suddenly shrank and fell towards the ground. The other three quickly ran off. The bird got smaller and smaller as it fell and eventually resumed the shape of a body. With a long jump they caught Kari and landed with her on the ground.

Itachi sat down next to me and finally I opened my eyes. I looked straight into Itachi's face. I raised my arm carefully and put my hand on his cheek. "And I thought you were dead ..." I mumbled and smiled weakly. I closed my eyes and my arm fell back to the floor.

In that one moment it was clear to everyone: It was over. Both with Orochimaru and with Kari ...

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* Hide from possible assassinations *
I know you all wished for a happy ending, but I just had to write that! For everyone who has already unpacked tar and feathers, axes, swords and bombs for me: There is still the epilogue!So please spare me, maybe it's not as bad as you all think ...
If you're not too angry, you can write me a couple of clerks before the epilogue begins ...