Naruto didn't really want to be a ninja.
The only thing he wanted was to learn about chakra and get strong enough to live his life in peace. And the way the village worked, this meant becoming a shinobi.
He didn't really believe in all the Will of Fire ideology, either. That was his honest truth.
Konoha was a nice place to live in, but he was sure he would say the same thing if he was born in… let's say, Iwa, Suna, or Kumo.
They probably had their own form of patriotic "truth". Wish of Sand, Will of Stone, Cloud's Edict or something…
He snorted.
He had people he loved in here, and he wanted to keep them safe. Just like many others, he was sure. This was the best way to bring people in the fold, after all.
Even more so when most of the people you were close to as a ninja… were also ninjas.
The loop was almost perfect, really.
Truth be told, if he knew of a safe way to get out of the shinobi corps, he'd take the time to learn everything he could, and then get out.
But if there was a way out, he didn't know of it yet.
So he would do the seven years he had signed for — and man, he really should have read the fine print, but well, he had been six at the time — and then retire.
"Nineteen-years old retiree." Had a nice ring to it.
So yeah. He didn't really want to be a ninja.
But, if this were entirely true…
Why was his blood boiling?
Why was he so excited to test himself against Sasuke?
Despite himself, he grinned.
He felt something deep within him stir.
"Father is watching". Sasuke thought . Mother was here too, sitting with the rest of the clan. "Wait… Is this..?"
He squinted his eyes, then remembered he had the Sharingan.
That was Itachi, indeed, leaning against the railing, in the Jōnin lodge.
"He managed to come!"
Despite himself, he felt giddy. He would show all of them how much he had improved.
"Here we go."
He slipped in the Uchiha loose Taijutsu stance.
Gaara watched attentively.
He would face one of them later on, and he was getting very eager.
His brother stepped a bit further away from him.
Sasuke threw a fistful of shuriken.
Both Naruto and he knew they couldn't drag the fight for too long, considering this was only the first match.
They would try to settle this quickly.
Naruto dodged to the right, mindful of the fact he had probably hidden a second volley within their shadows. Possibly ninja wire, too. So he rushed him.
They exchanged blows.
The only reason Naruto was able to keep up with Sasuke's speed was because of sporadic Lightning Release use — this was the best he could manage for the moment.
He tried the Electric Palm, which Sasuke dodged easily.
The Uchiha's fist scuffed his chin in retaliation.
All the while, he was trying to make eye contact.
"Avoid his eyes." Kakashi had said.
Sasuke might have been pretty average at Genjutsu, — for an Uchiha — but he decided not to take the risk.
His teammate was faster than him, when he was not using Lightning Release.
He had stronger mid to long range techniques and could also predict his moves when he came into melee range.
Overall, the odds were against him.
Luckily, he had had a full month to prepare. He put some distance between the two of them.
Sasuke let him do it, knowing he had more techniques he could make use of at this range anyway.
Naruto put his fingers in the cross shape he had become familiar with.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."
Toru groaned. He hated the Shadow Clone technique.
"Not this again."
Two clones appeared, each packed with a third of his chakra.
This should allow them to take a few hits. He hoped. Otherwise, this was a lot of chakra expanded for nothing.
Each of them unhooked their staff. This should help prevent Sasuke from just bursting them with Taijutsu or weapons.
"Lightning Style: Flash Step."
Their legs wreathed in electricity, the clones dashed to form a triangle against Sasuke, negating some of the advantage his Sharingan gave him.
If that wasn't enough, the flashbangs they carried on hand and were ready to throw down at a moment's notice should help.
Even if the two other Narutos were blinded, the one who made use of it could prepare adequately.
"Not bad." Gai said. "Goot footwork on young Naruto, too. Did you teach him this, Kakashi?"
"Eh." It had mostly been the Sandaime.
"What's your brother gonna do, Itachi-kun?" Asuma asked, curious.
He shrugged. "Wait and see." His Sharingan eyes were spinning lazily, but the interest in his eyes was real.
The crowd roared in approval.
Flashy jutsu, clones. Add some fire, explosions, and this was everything the civilians liked about shinobi fights, Sasuke thought.
Sasuke's eyes roamed over him and his clones, understanding that he would have to keep his guard high.
He also noticed that all three Narutos kept their eyes on his upper body, making sure to dodge eye contact. What's more, he could see that the clones had bound their hands with copper wire, and a thin wire linked all three of them.
Naruto and his doubles stayed unmoving. Sasuke would see them dash before they did.
The Uchiha threw six kunai, so fast that most of the audience missed the moment he got them out.
Three were headed straight at the clones, and three to the wires.
He then leaped in between two of them, intent on getting out the triangle.
When a clone of Naruto jumped up to intercept him, Sasuke had already weaved the signs for the Flame Bullet technique.
He prepared to let loose-
And felt a wire dig into his left shin, pulling him to the ground. The next instant, a powerful electrical shock went through his body.
This made him release his hold on his technique early, and miss the clone entirely.
He cursed as he was brought back to the ground. He tried to cut the wire, but it was a bit thicker than he thought.
Also, he had trouble mustering enough strength, when he was getting lighting shocks every half second.
He reached for his chakra.
The clones rushed to get him.
One of them smashed his staff into his ribcage, making him lose his breath. The second came at him with the electric palm, with the intent of ending it right away.
Sasuke saw it coming though and dodged it easily enough.
He got another electric shock for his trouble.
He grunted, and transformed the chakra he had been cycling into Fire.
Sasuke grabbed a firm hold of the wire, and the flame went along its length quickly.
One of the Narutos yelped as he got burned, before bursting in smoke.
"Finally."
Sasuke leapt away at full speed. The wire had left burn marks around his shin.
"Two people can play this game, you idiot!" He called out, not sure what came over him.
Whenever he and Naruto fought seriously, something overcame him. He had the feeling that he became a different person. One that was way more hot-headed.
"Still so confident, Itachi?" Kakashi asked neutrally.
"Yes."
The two clones gave up on the copper wire. His own improvised version of the superior Lightning Transmission worked well enough, but he wasn't about to risk getting himself set on fire if he could avoid it.
Ox. Tiger. Horse. Snake.
He focused his chakra in his hand and held it.
Sasuke watched curiously as nothing happened. He could see his hand shining brightly, as Naruto came towards him, and probably figured it was a melee attack.
Naruto's clone threw a smoke bomb, forcing Sasuke to leap back, keeping his eyes on the cloud.
"Fūinjutsu: Smoke Absorption Technique." "Lighting Release: Blinding Flash."
Naruto and his clone had their eyes closed in the smoke so they avoided the worst of it. Even then, particles danced behind his eyelids.
Sasuke, well… Got the worst of it.
"Aaahhh, my eyes! Shit, it burns!" He jumped back, blindly.
Naruto and his clone didn't hesitate, sending Sasuke flying away with two coordinated, Lightning-enhanced staff attacks. They jumped after him.
"That was… pretty nice." Itachi admitted.
"Keeping Sasuke's eyes on the flashbangs so that he would get blinded by the jutsu he didn't see coming." Gai nodded.
"Naruto is a crafty little bastard." Kakashi admitted easily.
He got weird looks for it.
"Fire Style: Fire Wall"
Naruto only barely managed to avoid getting roasted on the two-meters high jutsu.
His clone didn't.
Combined with the chakra he had recovered — and expanded, too —, he was at a bit less than half his full capacity.
Sasuke glared at him, cornea red from having rubbed his eyes.
Naruto answered by throwing an explosive kunai at him.
He saw Sasuke's eyes widen.
Then he waited.
He didn't see Sasuke come out of the smoke.
"Uh. Did he dodge, or…?"
A fist hit him in the back of the head, making him eat dirt.
Sasuke stood behind him, fist extended.
"How did he move so fast…? Did he learn the Body Flicker?"
He didn't think too hard about it. This was unimportant. Focus on Sasuke.
He cycled his chakra.
He led with a straightforward staff attack, which Sasuke redirected. He twirled around, trying to knock his legs off the ground, and the Uchiha jumped.
Sasuke came down with a vertical kick, and Naruto let go of his staff, to his surprise. He caught it with his left forearm.
Lightning transformation.
The electricity that went through his right arm enhanced his speed and strength.
Sasuke only had the time to widen his eyes before the Lighting Strike technique hit him.
"This should definitely knock him out."
Naruto had used most of his remaining chakra in the blow, confident in his ability to hit him just once, with the effect of surprise.
His fist caught Sasuke in the plexus. A perfect hit.
Then it went through, like butter.
"What-"
Sasuke exploded in flames.
"Your son sure is something, Hokage-dono!" The Raikage said in approval. He was entertained.
"Yes. He is." The proud father admitted.
Naruto groaned, covered in burns. His shinobi gear was mostly ruined too, especially the fabric parts.
He stood up slowly, removing the remnants of his shirt.
…Did he hear somebody whistle or was he just out of it?
"I've been stupid."
The real Sasuke got out from the smoke, similar burns covering his skin.
"You… took an explosive note head-on?" Naruto asked, dumbfounded.
"Of course not." He snorted. "Just had to make you believe I did. It was a close call, anyway."
Ah. He had caught his eyes, hadn't he…?
The Genjutsu Sasuke had placed on him faded.
No wonder he wasn't thinking too hard on how Sasuke had moved. He had been under the effect of Sasuke's suggestion.
Average at Genjutsu for an Uchiha still meant heads above almost any ninja.
He could see that Sasuke was getting tired, too. He would try to end this. He weaved through hand signs quickly, ending on Tiger.
"Fire Release: Ember Clone Technique." A double of Sasuke appeared.
"Oh, that's what I hit, then."
"You're not the only one who knows how to make clones, Naruto." Sasuke said with a half-smile. He was getting really tired, now.
"Eh. At this point, I don't think I can even make any."
They settled for a Taijutsu match.
A weaponless Naruto weaved under a fist. A knee hit him in the nose. "Ow."
He dodged the kick aimed at his back. Not the elbow in his liver.
"God. I hate close combat with Uchihas."
At this rate, he'd get knocked out in two minutes, at most.
"Time to improvise".
He smiled a bloody grin.
When both Sasuke and his clone's attacks reached him, he let his chakra engulf him.
"Lighting Style: Depth Charge."
The fire clone exploded, engulfing both him and a surprised, very real Sasuke in flames.
"Uh. That doesn't look very safe." Karin winced.
"He… probably knows what he's doing…?" Ino said, tentatively. She was worried, though.
"Why the hell did you do this?!" Sasuke shouted, his own hair singed. His arms were raw. He wasn't sure he was going to be able to go on.
Naruto grinned, a bit shaky on his feet.
"I'm not going to let you win easily, 'yaknow."
It was time to end it. He'd go in with a Flash Step and…
Yup, anytime now.
Why was everything so blurry?
"God, I'm so exh-"
Naruto fell on his back.
"… You know what. I'm good. You won this one, Sasuke." He managed.
"Wait, what?" Sasuke said, in confusion.
"Winner: Uchiha Sasuke!" Shisui declared.
The crowd roared.
"Welcome to the club." Ino said, hiding her own worry, after Toru and Karin had left the infirmary.
"What club…?"
"Losers'."
Naruto snorted. He was covered in ointments and bandages. Everything hurt.
"At least I gave my opponent some trouble."
"What did you say?!"
Kakashi laughed. Naruto seemed in decent spirits, at least.
Rock Lee's match against Akimichi Chōji was a short affair.
The Akimichi was stronger physically, for sure, but Lee was so much faster that there was not much he could do.
"Uchiha Toru, from Konoha, against Gaara, from Suna."
Shisui observed his brother a bit longer than needed.
Toru nodded.
"Begin."
"You're going to die." Gaara said, flatly.
"I've heard this one before."
Sand exploded from Gaara's gourd. This was not the person he really wanted to kill, the Sarutobi. But he had likely overestimated that one, if he had lost already.
Disappointing.
By crushing this one, he could also reach the Hokage's son next. Gaara wondered what the man would think when he killed his son.
The corks' stopper exploded, and sand rushed out.
Toru initiated with a fire jutsu.
"Uchiha Clan Hidden Art: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique." He shouted.
For the audience.
"Why must he always be like this…?" Shisui groaned, hiding his eyes.
Itachi, who had come down the stairs to join him, just threw a side-look.
You tended to get the brother you raised.
The seven fireballs halted against Gaara's sand.
"Hmm. No damage, then."
Sand came to him in a line of vertical spikes.
Sharingan on, he sprinted to the right.
He drew his tantō, full speed ahead, and went for Gaara's neck. He came from a clan of ninjas, and had no particular qualms with killing.
Especially when it came to somebody like Gaara, who definitely didn't, either.
He struck.
"Ah, shit." His sword was stuck in the sand. He somersaulted away, rather than try to catch his sword. "It's yours, now."
Gaara crushed it.
"I see it's going to take more firepower, then."
He quickly figured explosive tags did nothing, either.
Gaara was getting a bit antsy, it seemed. Probably didn't like having trouble catching him.
He still was only decent with the Body Flicker, compared to Shisui, but that was enough to stay away from the sand.
His Sharingan also would allow him to spot any possible trap the Sand ninja could set up.
There was no point in waiting. If this technique didn't work… He'd have to improvise.
He started weaving the hand signs for his most powerful fire jutsu.
Bird, Dog, Bird, Ox, Horse, Ram, Snake, Monkey, Rat, Horse, Ox, Dragon, Monkey, Snake, Monkey, Horse, Rat, Dragon, Hare, Tiger.
"Uchiha Clan Hidden Art: Dragon's Piercing Hellstrike." He called out, as loud as he could.
The Raikage asked. "Hokage-dono. I'm getting curious. Are these really Uchiha clan techniques…?"
Fugaku just sighed.
Next to him, the Third said nothing.
"This is worse than Minato. At least, he invented his own techniques instead of renaming existing ones." He thought.
Toru's cheeks bulged, and his face was sweating from the strain.
Gaara watched on, curiously.
He almost missed it.
A thin spear of compressed flame and heat shot through his automatic defense, turning part of it to glass.
For a second, Gaara's heart stopped beating.
He couldn't see anything.
When he got his breathing under control, he realized that the same thing had happened with his second layer of armor, the one he wore over his entire body.
With a grunt, he peeled off the crystallized layer that had protected him from the beam.
…What was that feeling?
Something was in his eyes.
He wiped them and his forehead with a hand.
Blood. He was bleeding.
"Ah. Well." Shisui said to Itachi.
"Yes. The sand was too much for him, it seems."
"Lightning would have done the trick, I think. Too bad he doesn't have any affinity for it."
Toru walked toward Gaara, breathing a bit harder.
"Ah. Well." He scratched his head. "Fire Style has never been my strong suit. Don't know what I was thinking here."
"…What did you do?" Gaara asked.
"Oh, wow. It actually scratched you?" He said, surprised.
"I will kill you."
Toru said nothing. He had said it before already, but the air around him seemed heavier this time. Better not to provoke him too much.
Well…
His strongest elemental attack had failed him.
He had no way of getting through the sand, he knew as much now.
Luckily, he had one last weapon. If this failed too, he would give up as well.
"What is he going to do?" Naruto, who had managed to crawl his way to the stands again, — sneaking past a nurse — asked.
"Nothing good, most likely." Sasuke answered. He knew this expression.
Gaara let his chakra flow freely. The earth reacted accordingly, and sand rose from it.
He would take his time.
No. He would do it in an instant. Crush him before the proctor, who definitely was related to him, reacted…
First came the wave-
"Will you forfeit, Gaara of the Desert?" Toru asked.
"What." He thought.
He said nothing.
"I said." Toru repeated. "Will you forfeit, Gaara of the Desert?"
"What kind of empty threat is this." Gaara ground out.
Toru shrugged. "No threat here. Just asking."
"Die instead."
Sand projectiles forced Toru to run.
Gaara started using his hands, making them go even faster. Some of them nicked him.
He wouldn't be able to keep it up for long.
Toru asked again, breath ragged. "Will you forfeit, Gaara of the Desert?"
Gaara snorted.
He knew what he had planned to answer. "Why would I forfeit , when you're about to die?"
What came out instead was "I forfeit."
Gaara blinked. "What had just-?"
Toru beamed. "Great!"
"Winner: Uchiha Toru!"
The crowd was too confused to know how to react.
There were a few timid claps, from people who had guessed this was some ninja technique, and some jeers, even.
Toru took it in stride, waved at the audience and left the arena sprinting, before Gaara could understand what had just happened.
When he did, the Kazekage had to step into the arena to calm him down from his rage.
In the end, only the presence of the two other Kage — one with the threat of a fully matured Sharingan — prevented an international accident.
"Um." Naruto blinked.
"What happened here…?" Ino asked, just as confused.
"You mean, why Gaara gave up, I guess?" Toru asked.
They nodded.
"Well…" He looked at them very seriously.
"Yes." They were hanging on to his lips.
"…is a family secret!" He laughed.
"You little-" Ino started, her temper already flaring. Toru was only laughing harder.
"Trigger." Sasuke said.
"What did you say?" Naruto asked.
"He used a trigger?" Karin asked.
Sasuke nodded. "Yes. My brother showed me how it worked." He rubbed his head, bashful. "I'm pretty bad at it though. Not like Itachi. He taught you, didn't he?"
Toru pouted. "Why do you always have to ruin it?"
Sasuke ignored him. "I assume the trigger was a word. "Forfeit", right?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I practiced this specific trigger during most of last month. I still kinda messed the execution up, I guess."
"Oh, that's why you repeated the same question over and over again?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah. After he heard the trigger, the next sentence he would try to make with the word in it was supposed to come out as "I forfeit". I forgot to take into account that this was a bit too specific."
He shrugged, before continuing. "Anyway, according to the rules, a forfeit is a forfeit. The genjutsu was pretty light, in the end. It was the only way to make sure he didn't notice I had cast my jutsu on him. And it would only work one time."
"…So. When did you cast it?"
Toru grinned but didn't elaborate.
"Before the match, then?" There was no explicit rule here, which in ninja terms basically meant it was allowed.
"I'm a ninja."
That was all the answer Naruto needed.
The proctor called for a hour-long break, for the contestants to rest and heal up by their own means.
Then the second round would begin.
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