Declaration of War

Ares stared at his sister's face before starting to chuckle. "Sister, don't tell me..." The god of war began. "Don't tell me that you're planning to fight…me." Ares finished as his cosmos spiked to an incredible high.

The girl flinched inwardly at her brother's power, but in the outside she stood unmoved at the god of war's demonstration.

Ares' chuckles turned into a laugh. "What's with this act dear sister?" Ares mocked. "You know that you can't hide your fear from me." The blond said as he stepped forward.

"S-Saori-san…don't." Seiya said weakly as he tried to stand up. "We'll protect you; we promised that we would defeat him." The Pegasus Saint said while continuing to struggle.

"No Seiya. There's no way you'll be able to defeat Ares in that state. He's not like any opponent you've ever faced." The goddess began. "It was always said that Ares and me were the most gifted of Father's children. While I received Father's shield, his wisdom, Ares received his spear, Zeus' power." The purple haired girl explained.

Ares merely smirked at the goddess' words. "Not even Hades or Apollo has been able to match him on the battlefield." Saori added as she closed her eyes, she knew that this was a terrible truth and that it will be hard for Seiya and the others to accept. "Ares…" The girls started again. "…my brother…. it's the true prince of Olympus…" Athena stood quiet after those words, hoping that her saints and the others will understand the situation, and why they would not stand a chance if they interfere.

After a couple of minutes of silence the blond sighed. "I think we should end this." Ares said as he raised his right arm and a sphere of golden cosmos started to gather in his palm. "Farewell sister, see you in the next life." The god of war said.

Athena gather her cosmos, she wasn't sure if she could block her brother's attack at this distance, but for the sake of Seiya and the others, she had to try.

Suddenly flames appeared between the two gods, blocking Ares' path as a terribly powerful presence let itself known.

The god of war smirked as he watched flames as dark as the night swirl in front of him and two crimson orbs appear inside the fire, from the blazes a dark figure formed. "I picked…" A voice came from the black fire. "….a great day to come back home" The flames dispersed and revealed a young man with black hair and wearing a black cloth with red cloud patterns, his eyes where crimson and had a weird wheel-like symbol in them.

"Uchiha Itachi" Sai said from the ground as he too struggled to stand up.

Itachi ignored the group behind him and focused on the blond. "Why doesn't it surprise me that the outburst of power I felt had something to do with you, Naruto-kun?"

Ares chuckled. "You should know by now that my weaker half is not in charge of this body anymore; I could feel your presence for sometime now."

Now it was the time for Itachi to chuckle. "I am talking to Naruto-kun, because I heard and saw everything from the beginning, I know that Naruto-kun is still in there and that you don't have complete control over that body." The Uchiha commented.

Ares merely shrugged the comment off. "It's not like my weaker half can do anything at this point of time." The god of war commented, not giving the Uchiha's words too much importance.

"Naruto-kun might not be able to do anything at this moment…" Itachi said as he removed a few strands of his hair from his face. "…But I can, Amaterasu!" The Uchiha unexpectedly said right before the god of war's body was completely engulfed in flames.

Even the black flames of Amaterasu, that were said to burn for days, started to extinguish by simply coming into contact with the god's body. Before the flames that were currently obscuring his vision disappeared, Ares moved his head to the left right before an arm with a kunai in hand appeared where his head had been less than a second ago. "That's pretty bold of you." The blond started. "To come in such proximity of me" The god of war said as he looked at the Uchiha in front of him. The glint in the black haired man's eyes bothered the blond. Suddenly, Ares' eyes widened just before Itachi's body exploded.

"As a god you should know that one must never trust what he sees." Itachi said mockingly appearing at a safe distance as he watched the cloud of smoke created by the explosion.

Suddenly, Ares' spear went flying through the cloud of smoke and impaled the Uchiha on his chest; Itachi fell on his knees as blood started to sprout from. The blond walked towards the fallen shinobi. "That was quite a trick Itachi" The god of war started. "But it's not enough" Ares said as he placed his hand on his spear. Then, the blond became aware of the glint in the black haired man's Sharingan once again before the body exploded. "The same trick twice?" Ares asked.

"It works quite nicely" Itachi responded as he appeared behind the blond with a kunai next to the god of war's neck.

Ares merely smirked as he turned his spear with one swift move, impaling Itachi before the Uchiha had a chance to move. For the third time, the blond saw the nukenin's shun with an ominous light. "Another explosive bunshin?" The god of war wondered as he expected the clone to blow up into another cloud of smoke. Ares was surprised when the bunshin merely turned into water and fell on the floor. "A water clone…?" Ares said to himself as he wondered what the Uchiha was planning.

"Suirou no Jutsu" Was heard from the distance as the water around Ares trapped the blond on a sphere.

"I was wondering if that trick would be enough for a god" Itachi said as he appear in front of the god of war, the Uchiha's face was alight with amusement and confidence.

Ares merely chuckle. "I have to hand it to you Itachi" The blond began. "I never expected you to use this type of strategies, but still…" The god of war's body started to glow. "…It's not enough, Phalanx Shield!" The water prison burst as many energy blasts went flying straight towards the Uchiha.

Itachi jumped to prevent being hit by the god of war's counter-attack. When he finally landed, the Uchiha realized that the blond had completely disappeared from his field of vision. "Where did he go?" Itachi thought as he searched for the god of war.

"Remember one thing Itachi" Ares said from behind the Uchiha, the blond appeared back to back with the black haired man. "You're fighting against a god." Ares finished by increasing his cosmos to add to the meaning of the message.

The Uchiha's eyes widened as he realized where his opponent was. Immediately, Itachi moved quickly to get away from the god of war. "So this is what it's like to fight a god?" The nukenin said once he was at a safe distance from the blond. "The total feeling of inferiority, the extreme sense of helplessness. Those feelings seem so foreign to me now; I can't remember the last time I got acquainted with them." Itachi commented.

Saori clenched her heart as she watched the black haired shinobi fight her brother. "Ares is only playing with us…" The girl thought. "Ever since the beginning he has only been in the defensive, but now…he's starting to reveal his true power, yet it's merely a fraction of it he's revealing…" Athena didn't know how much more of this she could take, the last time she had felt so much dread was when Seiya was dying in her arms after being impaled by Hades' sword, but this time, she could do nothing about it, nothing at all.

"My chakra is running low…" Itachi thought as he watched the confident smirk in the blonde's face. "…I probably only have enough for one last attack…let's make it worthy of the god of war…" A smirk broke through the Uchiha's frozen mask as he started to gather his remaining chakra.

Ares watched as the nukenin made another series of bushins and they all charged towards him. The god of war chuckled at the similarity between this attack and Naruto's usual strategy. The blond was about to swing his arm to wipe all the clones out when every last one of them exploded, causing a large cloud of smoke and dusk to cover the whole battle field. "Come on Itachi, this has got to be the oldest trick in the book." Ares commented as he tilted his head slightly to right.

Immediately, Itachi's fist went flying from behind the blond right through where his head had been less than ago. Ares grabbed a hold of the Uchiha's wrist and turned him around. Just when the nukenin's face came into the god of war's view, Ares realized that the explosive bushin and this attack had been nothing but facades. "Goukakyuu no Jutsu"

The god of war's eyes widened slightly as a streak of flames went flying straight towards him. Itachi's fireball was strong enough to cause an explosion right where the blond stood, yet the Uchiha's attack was still unfinished as a second fireball combined with the existing flames, sending more smoke and dust into the air.

Athena watched with amazement as a third and fourth impacts were heard. "Could it be that…." An explosion indicated the fifth impact. "……this person……" The sixth and seventh explosions occurred. "…...is actually able….." The eighth and ninth blasts raised a bigger cloud of smoke. "……to stand up against the gods…?" The tenth explosion vibrated throughout the battlefield.

Out of the cloud of smoke, the burned figure of Itachi appeared, the Uchiha was panting as streaks of blood ran from his arm and the corner of his mouth. The nukenin's body was seriously burned, the price to pay for carrying out that type of attack, but even with the immense pain on his body, Itachi's gaze stayed fixed on the cloud of smoke in front of him.

Suddenly, Ares' figure appeared right next to Itachi. "That was quite a trick" The god of war taunted, his cloths were only mildly singed, unlike the Uchiha's cloak that was almost completely destroyed.

Itachi eyes widened in terror as the god of war stood next to him, facing the opposite direction, but completely unharmed. "…I…I was sure that I would have been able to do at least some type of damage to him……" The Uchiha thought as acceptance started to form in his mind. "Yet… I wasn't even able to reach him………"

"Sadly…, your strategy wasn't enough" Ares commented as a smile adorned his face. Suddenly, Itachi sensed a strong pain all over his body, the Uchiha looked down and, to his horror, he found Ares' hand a couple of inches away from his, charging a Rasengan. "…..It's over now….." The blond said before releasing the Rasengan, and sending Itachi flying into the sky

Itachi screaming in pain, something that the nukenin hadn't done for so many years, as he was sent higher and higher into the sky by the god of war's attack. "I guess…this proves it…" The Uchiha thought as gravity started to pull his body back down. "……the limit to my power……"

"H-he…" Hyoga started as he watched the black haired man hit the ground, with no signs of getting up anytime soon. "He got farther than all of us, yet he still didn't stand a chance, none of us ever did." The Cygnus Saint's eyes fall on the other blond present. "What kind of monster are you?"

Ares chuckled at the Bronze Saint's comment. "The kind of monster that will put an end to your pathetic existence." The god of war said as he spun his spear in his hand.

The god of war started to make his way towards the Bronze Saints and the three shinobi on the ground. Ares stopped and looked with amusement at the sight in front of him. "Haven't we been through this before, dear sister?" The blond asked the purple haired girl that had placed herself between the god of war and the warriors on the floor.

"Brother….." Athena started; it was obvious that she was having a hard time even speaking in Ares' presence. "…..I will not let you harm them…." The goddess raised her cosmos slightly to emphasize her point.

Suddenly, Ares appeared right in front of Athena. "My, my, aren't we brave?" The god of war said as he leaned his head towards his sister and whispered in her ear. "But we all know that you won't be able to do a thing…." Ares pressed his cheek against the girl's and wrapped his arms around her figure. "After all…." The blond whispered in her ear once again. "You will always be my little sister….."

The moment of shock had slightly receded for the girl, and she was, somewhat, able to think clearly, The goddess gathered all the cosmos she could and teleported herself away from her brother, this actions caused a snicker out of the blond. Suddenly, Ares disappeared from the girls view. "You're not scared, are you?" The god of war's voice came from besides Saori.

Once again the purple haired goddess found herself unable to move, Ares was standing next to her, and their shoulders were barely touching. Out of desperation Athena tried to teleport herself once more, but again, the blond had disappeared as well. The girl felt something resting against her back. "You're acting irrationally sister." The god of war was back to back with the purple haired girl, Ares could feel his sister tremble behind him.

Saori couldn't control her trembling anymore; the mere presence of the blond next to her was clouding her mind with pure fear. It had failed the last two times, but Athena tried to teleport herself away from Ares again, the only thing in the girl's mind was getting away from her brother. Immediately after reappearing, the goddess felt a pair of strong arms embrace her from behind, a chin pressed on her shoulder, and was able to see strands of blond hair and the glint of a pair of orange eyes. "Is it me that is making you like this, dear sister?" Ares asked as he drew the girl to him a little bit more, pressing her back against his chest, and rubbing his cheek slightly with hers.

Athena wasn't even capable of breathing while in her brother's embrace, Ares' aura and cosmos were just too overpowering. The girl gathered all her strength to push herself away from the blonde's arms. Saori started to turn around, it was a desperate attempt, but she couldn't just keep trying to run away from her brother, because pretty soon Ares would get bored and stop playing. Athena knew that this could mean her end, but if she wanted to give her Saints a chance of surviving, she would have to take her brother on.

A smile formed in Ares face he took a step forward. When Saori completely turned around, she saw Ares' hand was less than an inch away from her. The girl's eyes widened as she felt the blonde's cosmos completely consume her; the pressure created by it was too much to bear. Without feeling anything else besides her brother's raw power, the girl's world started to turn to darkness.

The god of war caught Saori in his arms as she felt unconscious. "I told you little sister; you cannot match up to me" Ares commented as another smirk formed on his face.

"Saori-san!!" Seiya screamed as he struggled to get up.

Ares' attention fell back on the group of teenagers in the ground. "You guys are still here?" The blond asked. "I though for sure you would have tried to escape by…." The god of war trail off as he looked back, the smirk of confidence in his face was replaced by one of amusement.

Surprising every single one of the boy on the floor, Itachi had managed to stand up and was making his way towards the god of war. Both Saint and shinobi were amazed by the nukenin's endurance.

The blonde's attention went to the Uchiha once again as Itachi drew closer to him. "I don't know if it's genetic….." The black haired man started as something resembling a smile appeared on his face. "….but an Uchiha always follows where the power is" Itachi commented before bowing slightly to the god of war.

The Uchiha's actions shocked Seiya and the others while Ares' smirk deepened. "Very well…." The blond responded simple as the girl in his arms, Itachi, and himself were surrounded by his cosmos.

"Saori-san!!!" Seiya shouted as he forced his body to stand up and rushed towards the god of war.

Ares merely swiped his arm, creating a shockwave that sent the Pegasus saint flying back. "Consider yourselves lucky" The blond started. "I'm giving you one more chance. After you recover from those injuries, come find me, and maybe then you would prove that you're worthy to be among my sister's Saints." With a final smirk, Ares disappeared along with Itachi and Saori, as the Bronze Saints and the shinobi watched helplessly from the ground.