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Kurotsuchi's POV (Courtyard of Iron Arena - Land of Iron)
Kurotsuchi had known this fight would be a good one. Naruto had admittedly impressed her in his battle with Tenten. She had figured in the Trial of Janus Naruto was simply a clown, someone fun to be around but not a shinobi to be careful of. Naruto had shattered that perception; in fact, it had made her slightly annoyed. Because Kurotsuchi was still determining if she could beat him based on his fight with Tenten. Naruto hadn't seemed particularly challenged during the battle and, upon taking it seriously, had utterly overwhelmed her. Kurotsuchi would've struggled against Tenten. She had doubts she could've done much better. But more than frustrate her, it had excited her. Kurotsuchi had seen an opportunity, the opportunity to defeat someone who had the same ambition as her. Someone who seemed incredibly powerful would serve as her stepping stone. All she had to do is prove herself better.
Though this was ridiculous! Naruto had dominated their first exchange using pure physicality; now he seemed to be countering her ninjutsu using pure kenjutsu and damn clones! She jabbed at a clone who swayed around it, helpless it was to dodge the gauntlet around her fist, suddenly spiking out and impaling it. She twirled as she held her hands together. The gauntlets became a large club that smacked several more clones away. She tore it apart, forming blades as she blocked the slash of two more clones. Kurotsuchi's eyes widened as another appeared before her, its blade coated in chakra; she also felt another behind her! 'He's faster than me! Worse yet the clones make it impossible to hold my own!'
"Smashing Waves!" The clone yelled in unison as they slashed toward Kurotsuchi. Desperately, she formed her gauntlets into shields. She raised both to her front and back to block the slashes. This managed to stop the blades, but the chakra still boomed with energy, destroying the rest of the clones and stunning Kurotsuchi, leaving her slightly singed and dazed. Before she could fully recover, Naruto unleashed a powerful and harsh kick to her ribs. She spat blood as she flew away. Before Naruto could pursue her further she seemed to sink into the earth. Kurotsuchi took the time to breathe and reassess the situation.
'This is ridiculous; up close, he's picking me apart; I need to limit his movements to guarantee I can hit him with one of my stronger techniques. Time to stall; let's see how easily you deal with this, Shortie!' Kurotsuchi thought as she weaved hand signs underground.
From the surface, Naruto saw none of this, instead feeling a slight tremble of the ground; this was the only warning as suddenly a large portion of the ground beneath him writhed with large earthen hands. Each erupted from the ground and attempted to swat or crush him.
"Earth Style: Gaia's Grasp!" She called from her hiding spot. Naruto jumped back narrowly, avoiding a hand directly underneath him. He leaped again to prevent another, but a third caught him mid-air. It sent him high up in the air, avoiding the rest but leaving him wide open for the last two that surged forward to clap Naruto, crushing each bone in his body. Kurotsuchi rose as this happened, using her hands to direct the stone. He summoned two clones, each grabbing an arm and leg, spiking him towards Kurotsuchi.
"Naruto Spear!" Kurotuschi flinched before Naruto crashed into her painfully. Head collided to head as the two "future Kages" crashed into each other. The force of which caused the two to bounce and skid. Naruto beat her to her feet and rose Riptide to finish the fight. Before he could one final hand of Gaia burst from the ground blind siding him. Naruto twirled through the air painfully; Kurotsuchi watched as he summoned several clones to cushion his collision with a tree. The clump of clones crashed through the tree. But they somehow managed to ensure the original come out barely damaged, only showing minor cuts and bleeding which seemed to be already healing.
'He's wearing me out just like he did her.' "Luckily, I have something for powerhouses like you! Earth Style: Earth Golem!" She called as her creation rose from the earth below. Easily twenty feet tall, it was a rough resemblance to an Iwa Shinobi, though it made up for this simple appearance with intimidation, it was large and roughly assembled with both stone and metal.
She watched as Naruto eyed it warily, as she predicted he intended to eliminate it rather than risk it. 'This should buy me a little time. I doubt I can land a clean enough hit to keep him down. Better to win by disabling him!'
"Let's see it! Show me that technique you used on Tenten!" Kurotsuchi roared. "Show me why you'll become Hokage! Show me your village isn't inferior to mine!"
Naruto nodded solemnly as he raised a hand sign. "Personal Atmosphere: Level One" Like his bout to Tenten, wind surrounded the blonde. Gust of it sent dust and lightweight objects flying through the air; Naruto's eyes almost seemed to shine as he gazed at the large construct before him. The breeze seemed to be utterly wild and uncontained if not for its waning influence, slowly waning as it got further from the blonde. "I don't care about proving my home to be better than yours. They both mean the world to us, and I have no interest in saying otherwise. I'm fighting you only to prove my power, not superiority. I won't fight you to prove the Leaf is better than the Stone, but I'll fight you to see which of us is stronger. It won't mean the victor is better, merely further ahead than the other."
Kurotsuchi was stunned by his point. She thought it over before she suddenly burst out into laughter. Rising from the earth as she did so. Momentarily forgetting her own strategy to face the blonde. Kurotsuchi wanted to gauge his honesty. She was shocked to see he meant his words. "I've never met anyone quite like you, Uzumaki. Maybe you have a point; prove it by beating me!" Kurotsuchi screamed as her Golem surged forward with some unseen signal. It ran forward and attempted to punch Naruto. Naruto jumped up, twirling around the punch with precise control. Seemingly unbothered by gravity entirely. As if he was merely willing his body through the air. The giant spun and attempted to swat the blonde. But Naruto seemed to jump against the air, to dodge the strike and fly toward the creature.
'Good luck hurting it like that, Shortie. Even with your monster strength, my Earth Golem can tank explosive tags.' She thought as Naruto reared back his fist to punch the giant. He roared as he did so, speeding in and unleashing a powerful punch to the Golem's head. This splintered the stone throughout the head and made the construct stumble back. Kurotsuchi couldn't believe her eyes. 'He is hurting my golem with his bare hands?' Naruto did not rest; after his punch, he once again seemed to jump against the air; shooting off like an arrow, he slammed feet-first into the Golem's upper arm, breaking it off. He appeared to skid against the air somehow, bodily stopping his own momentum and shooting off again with a kick to one leg, which broke it off, and a powerful hand chop to the other leg made the giant golem fall. 'Is he secretly the son of Tsunade the Slug Sannin?!'
"Size doesn't matter when it's that weak!" Naruto teased. As he did so, the Golem managed to rise behind him silently. This left him open for the somehow fully formed Golem to slam him into the ground, not unsimilar to swatting a fly. Naruto painfully climbed to his feet, feeling sore. 'Best to avoid getting hit by that thing again.' The beast seemed determined to repeat the action as it marched towards him to continue smashing him.
Naruto seemed to skip up into the sky. Glaring at the Earth Golem for his airborne view. He now bled from a cut above his right eye. Naruto thought over the Earth Golem. It was undoubtedly an impressive jutsu, and it seemed to be able to repair itself. Jiraiya had talked to him about complex techniques, summarizing almost any technique could be countered. If a man was creative and gutsy.
Jiraiya laughed bodily as the blonde struggled to drag himself free from his jutsu. "Ya "Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld" is one of my favorites. It's easy to avoid if you know it's coming, but it can be shockingly effective if used correctly.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, drunk!" Naruto yelled, still stuck ankle-deep in the dark mud. "What kinda mud is this anyway! I can smash concrete with my bare hands but can't escape this!"
"Rumor has it, this is the mud one can look forward to in the afterlife, a grim preview of what awaits most shinobi. In truth, it's a mixture of mud and chakra, which makes it sticky and incredibly durable." Jiraiya explained.
"Ya, well, it's so stupid; you keep catching me in it. How am I suppose to learn from you if you keep trapping me in this shit!" Naruto complained.
"Blame yourself for falling for it. I use it every spar and you seem unable to avoid it. Find a way around good techniques, brat; it separates the greats from the average." Jiraiya lectured.
"Sorry Shortie! My Golem can heal pretty quick! Better do something better to keep him down!" Kurotsuchi taunted. Naruto merely nodded as he summoned six more clones. Each suddenly were turned headfirst facing the Golem. The clones were each frozen in the air as if in the grasp of a large invisible being. Suddenly, each shot forward as an arrow; the slow Golem could do nothing as each impacted relatively ineffectively. Causing craters in the summon but little else. Kurotsuchi smiled before Naruto offered his own. It was clear he needed to destroy the golem in one go to stop it. Luckily overkill was something Naruto might as well specialized in.
"Naruto Artillery." He said calmly as the Walking Landmine Clones exploded, destroying the entire Golem in a chain series of explosions. Before the chunks could begin to reform Naruto smiled as Riptide glowed with power. "Uzumaki Style: Raging Wave!" A large blast of chakra blast into the construct. Destroying the remains left from his previous attack. Kurotsuchi was stunned as Naruto landed softly in front of her. Riptide in hand and seemingly glowing eyes locked onto her.
'He took apart an Earth Golem Casually?' She thought with shock. 'I suppose it's good I have one more trick.'
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Guren's POV (Somewhere Within Land of Fire)
Guren eyed the group of Leaf Anbu; she had battled many in her time as Orochimaru's heavy. They often lacked the power individually to be a threat to her, but in groups, they were capable of facing most. They had been tracking them since their little foray in the Leaf. And if Guren had set it up correctly would have seen the trail lead them outside of Leaf Jurisdiction. She watched warily as they followed such, up until it lead to the technical line of their territory. They surely reasonably assumed she had left the land to escape them. Guren was amused how easy it could be to avoid shinobi.
It died rather quickly. After all was she truly all that better herself? While they might mindlessly serve a village, Guren had mindlessly served Orochimaru. The stress of which lead to her fleeing the man. Surely she could find peace away from him. How hard could that be.
Apparently harder than she had thought, Guren had tried hard to live peacefully after her disappearance. After Orochimaru's assault on the Leaf, she knew he would assume she had fallen. One could hardly be blamed for losing to an entire platoon of Anbu after all. To make an earnest living and simply live freely without harming others. Yukimaru had often attempted to persuade her to do so before his demise. And she figured living his dream would allow her happiness, perhaps offering her and the deceased Yukimaru peace.
Guren had found no peace in peace. Despite living the dream Yukimaru had wanted for them, it had been meaningless without him there to enjoy it. Guren had made a decision at that point to get revenge against Orochimaru. To kill the man who had ordered the death of the one person who had meant anything to her.
Quite the goal she had set for herself and plotting it had taken. As one of Orochimaru's former most trusted subordinates, she knew how difficult doing such would be. At least, at first. Finding allies had been easy; reaching out to a surviving Dosu and Zaku bore fruit immediately. Both recognized the death mission the Sannin had sent them on and knew alone they could do little more than be silenced by Orochimaru. Tayuya had been lucky; she had been disloyal for a while and often vented to Guren; at first, Guren had simply allowed it due to her needing companionship. In time, they became earnest friends, and Tayuya decided to aid her in her goal. The other two were more complex but useful all the same.
Once she had some allies (even if they were relatively weak), she knew she needed to set up a situation even Orochimaru would struggle to slither out of. Guren had been surprised by how easy this had been; by reaching out to two parties, she had arranged for them both to attack Orochimaru (unknowingly) simultaneously.
From there, she wanted to ensure the wild car wouldn't ruin her ploy. Kabuto Yakushi is the right-hand man of Orochimaru and the most lethal man in the Sound, except for the Sannin himself. Sure, Guren and Kimmaro had been individually stronger than him (something she now knew had not been entirely accurate), but he was more helpful. He used his intelligent mind, cruel intentions, and healing abilities to be their equal. With him around, Guren doubted Orochimaru could fall; Kabuto simply was too good at his job, Guren supposed. If he was around and well he very may be the difference between Orochimaru living or dying.
Now, with Kabuto taken care of, Orochimaru would be vulnerable. Well more vulnerable since Guren was aware Orochimaru would need to switch bodies soon. He had selected his next body a while ago. But she knew it would take him time to return to full power.
Guren returned to their temporary camp; Dosu was tending to his prosthetic foot while Tayuya cleaned her flute. Upon her arrival, both looked at her.
"We lose the tree huggers?" Tayuya asked. "Getting to meet my cousin was nice, but those nice guys drive me nuts. Like they can't all tell their faker than shit."
"We certainly did," Guren said with a ghost of a smile. "Rest for now; we don't have long before we need to move."
"See, that's what confuses me," Dosu complained. "You suggest we fight Orochimaru, which is already a death sentence. But you suggest we do so while other powerful groups do so. If you wish to commit suicide, must you include us?"
"I hate to agree with Shit Mummy over here." Tayuya said, ignoring Dosu's less-than-polite response. "But this seems risky."
"For one, we must attack with another party and/or parties doing so as well. We lack the strength to kill Orochimaru otherwise. Furthermore, we simply have to pick our moment well. Knowing our former master, he'll somehow find a way to escape the situation. We will ensure when he does so, the exhausted Sannin runs into an ambush."
"Okay… but even if that Snake bastard is greatly weakened, he'd make easy work of the three of us. Hell, even with that creep Zaku, we'd be lacking the firepower." Tayuya countered.
"We are not alone; two more will join our side. Besides, I have been planning this for much longer than you know. Kabuto was a test; I'm now confident that I can kill Orochimaru, assuming he's significantly weakened of course." Guren assured. "For the sake of the many he has harmed, for the sake of our lives he's ruined. Orochimaru the Snake Sannin will perish." She promised the group darkly.
"You wouldn't be moving subtly unless you believed you had a shot. You earnestly believe that the three of us and two strangers can somehow ensure the death of Orochimaru. Seems fanciful. But it works for me all as well." Dosu replied evenly. "I can see plain as the day my group was to perish to test Naruto Uzumaki. Either we achieved an unreasonable victory, died, or would be killed for failure. Orochimaru has always been the type to tie loose ends; it's best to ensure he does not have the opportunity to do so to me."
"Bastard has been targeting the Uzumaki with Ikam for years. Behind my own back. That being said, you best not lead us to early death, you bitch." Tayuya agreed.
Guren didn't bother answering. They all could feel they may not live much longer. She wouldn't lie to her new allies.
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Naruto's / Kurotsuchi's POV (Courtyard of Iron Arena - Land of Iron)
Naruto landed, staring intently at Kurotsuchi. Her summon had been a powerful technique that screamed of either stalling or desperation. Based on Naruto's overwhelming performance thus far, he would guess both. But what was her gambit? Why did she think the time would aid her? Best to finish things before she could utilize them.
Naruto stepped forward, prepared to use his superior speed to close the distance before Kurotsuchi could use whatever she was hiding. The earth below him splintered before Naruto could wholly lean into the step. His balance was thrown for a loop as the ground beneath him gave way. It exposed a hollow chamber of earth quickly, the cavern or pit was the size of the arena.
'She used the time I spent fighting the Golem to create a subtle space beneath the ground.' Naruto thought as he dropped ten feet in nearly an instant. Naruto smiled at the impressive trap as he flexed his ankles, willing the chakra-controlled air around him to shoot him up and out of the man-made cavern. Naruto shot forward toward the surface, only for the sunlight on the surface to be blocked out. He saw an absurd amount of dark gray substance falling from above. The substance seemed to cover the sky above him, globs falling like rain on a stormy day. 'A trap that lowers my mobility option. Followed by a technique that is widespread? It must be some kinda restraint technique similar to Pervy Sage's annoying swamp jutsu.' Using his Personal Atmosphere, Naruto spun around and kicked back toward the bottom of the trap. 'Need a way to repel the attack and attack her at once. Otherwise, she'll simply continue spamming attacks. No one should be able to see me down here. Suppose it's time to use it; thanks for the help, Pervy Sage.'
Kurotsuchi's POV
Kurotsuchi had spent years mastering the Earth Golem technique; hers was a lesser version of Onoki's. She and most other shinobi lacked the raw chakra to use the complete Golem. As such, she had could only summon a much weaker and smaller one. Even with such in mind Kurotsuchi had defeated Chunin and pressured Jounin with the technique. It was the achievement that convinced Onoki to send her to the exams. Kurotsuchi had known whoever she may fight would run into trouble once she used it.
Naruto Uzumaki had turned one of her aces into nothing more than mere stalling. But Kurotsuchi was self-aware; she knew she was a tad bit arrogant. Onoki often told her it was something their family struggled with. As such, she had another ace. Molding the battlefield was a familiar skill for Iwa shinobi or kunoichi. It was why they had been feared in the Great Ninja Wars, and Kurotsuchi had known it would be helpful against more troublesome opponents. A pitfall without some sort of kill mechanism wasn't the most effective of traps. Kurotsuchi could think of a method to make it much more effective.
"Lava Style: Ash Stone Seal Rain!" Kurotsuchi roared as she spat out a litany of globs. "Let's see you counter thi-"
Suddenly, it seemed like the sound was muted for the entire arena. There was a violent sound of air whistling and whooshing. The perimeter of Kurotsuchi's pit cracked around the edges. Suddenly, the loud sound of wind stopped with an earth-shaking boom. Before, just as suddenly, the dark gray substance shot out of the pit, impacting Kurotsuchi with great speed. Naruto shot out shortly after standing in the air and staring down his opponent. Kurotsuchi was bound to a tree, only her head and left arm free from the mass of her own jutsu that pinned her. Naruto walked through the air to draw close to Kurotsuchi.
Naruto's POV
He stopped before reaching her with a smirk on his face. "Man, Kurotsuchi, I didn't realize how scary you could be." Naruto said, voicing a mix of genuine respect and childish teasing. "But I think this fight is mine."
Kurotsuchi growled angrily as she attempted to pull herself free. She lacked the skill to use one-handed jutsu, and even if she could, Naruto was more than close enough to ensure it would mean little. "No… way… I… can't… lose to some Leaf…"
"Why does it matter where we're from? We share the same ambition, have the same career, and enjoy a good fight." Naruto interrupted her with a confused frown. "We're so similar; so why can't we simply be friends while we both push on for our homes instead of focusing on differences and superiority. I think you should work on uniting people and serving selfless. We can't be a great leader unless we're great people. Something I think we're both far off from." Naruto lectured seriously.
Kurotsuchi sighed heavily, forced to hear his words and recognize her defeat. "Maybe we are, but today, you showed you ahead of me." She said begrudgingly.
Kakashi appears, smiling subtly at Naruto to show his pride. He poked at the bound but was yet to surrender to Kurotsuchi. "I assume you surrender?"
"Never." Kurotsuchi replied stubbornly. Seemingly heedless of her position, she struggled as if she could free herself.
"Riiiiight~?" Kakashi replied with humor. "Anyway, since you are completely defeated."
"I resent that hippie!" Kurotsuchi roared.
"Naruto Uzumaki is the victor!" Once again, this was met by meager applause, most of the audience unwilling to support the outed jinchuriki. It mattered little. Naruto made up for their silence with his own cheering.