The long voyage to where Sasuke had been sighted began that day, as Naruto wasted no time in leaving. He left immediately after leaving Tsunade's office, as he was cautious not to attract the attention of anybody he knew who might try to put in their word and tag along with him. This was something he needed to do himself. To prove myself once and for all, that I am good enough, that I am his equal, he thought. This will be my greatest accomplishment.
From the village he traveled south until he reached a small port town. He never got the name, nor did it really matter to him. There he took a boat across the lake to the other side of the country, a part he had never visited before. This was a brand new experience for the newly named Chunin.
Once on the south side of the country, he made his way across the coast to the east until he hit another port city, from there he went south again into a forest. The villages had called this the Shidobu Forest, but that was all the information he had gathered for what lay ahead. He gathered supplies in the village and stayed at an inn, beginning his track through the Shidobu Forest the next morning.
He went alone from this point on, all the men on the boat were going west where he went east. The forest earned the name "Shidobu," as no sunlight whatsoever made it through the treetops down to the ground.
Midday grew near when Naruto arrived at a large clear spot in the forest. He walked slowly into the middle of the spot and examined a mess on the ground.
"Looks like a fire was built here…" here said to himself. "From the looks of it not too long ago either."
He just barely managed to miss the shiruken that flew over his head. His eyes went wide after realizing what just happened. He looked back at where the throwing weapon had came from to see two men standing at the edge of the clearing. Naruto stood up to face the men.
"Hey you! What in the world do you think your doing!? That could have seriously hurt! You better watch where you throwing those things! That almost hit me right in the head!"
One of the men, the taller of the two, wearing a blue ninja robe and clothes, standing almost a foot taller than the other, came forward. "Shut up, little kid."
Naruto blew after that. "Little kid!? I am not a little kid! Your gonna pay for that!"
The other man, the shorter of the two with brown short hair and a green ninja ware on, laughed. "Try us."
Naruto stood up and put his hands together, instantly making hand signs. The signs went together like rhythm and Naruto focused his chakra together. Seconds later his head rose up.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he screamed. Instantly two copies of the young ninja appeared on both sides of the real thing, each exactly the same as the original.
The tall ninja got a confused look on his face as he saw three copies of the boy instead of one. "Shadow Clones?" he said. "Kid's got some talent." The man put up his hands and created the signs in ninjutsu.
"Long range attack! Beam Jutsu!"
Out of the mans hands shot a beam of chakra at the nartuo in the middle. The beam hit with force and went straight through the body, which erupted in a cloud of smoke. The smoke shimmered at ground level and slowly rose up, leaving two Naruto still standing.
"You missed!" Together they shouted in unison. "Now its my turn!"
Both Narutos shot forward to attack the tall ninja, leaping foreward and gliding through the air. Both pulled out shirukens and prepared to throw.
The two mystery ninjas braced their selves for an attack, each pulling out their knives as a counter to the shirukens. "Which one is he? That's the only question…" the shorter one said.
"Take this!" Both Narutos screamed as they launched their shirukens at the ninja. The weapons screamed through the air at the enemies, but both blocked the shirukens with little effort. But their guards were down for just that split second…
Both Narutos screamed through the air and rushed towards the ninjas. At last the clash arrived. The taller ninja sliced through the boy only to find a flash of smoke and nothing there. The shorter one did the same, leaving only a cloud of smoke.
"But wait! He only made two clones, and one was already destroyed! How is this possible?" The taller one said.
"Like this!" Naruto screamed from the side. Before the ninjas had time to turn around the boy launched a kick into the shorter mans face, sending him flying into the taller ninja, and therefore sending both of them flying backwards.
Naruto landed and began running at the for one final attack. "I can make my clones look like anything and you fell for it!" He said. Then he pulled his hand near is body and closed his fist. Instantly chakra appeared and began radiating outward.
The shorter ninja looked up at the charging boy and the power flowing from his hand.
"We're done for! Look at this kid!" A look of astonishment engulfed his face. The taller ninja looked up and immediately became engrossed with the same look.
"We picked the wrong kid to mess with! The boss told us he wouldn't be a threat!"
Naruto jumped into the air and raised his charging fist, now filled with the bright blue chakra. "Rasengan!" he yelled. "Don't ever mess with me!"
He came down and swung the chakra fist right into the body of the taller ninja. An explosion shot up and dust covered the entire clearing. After it cleared, the smaller ninja could be seen running back to where he came as fast as he could.
Naruto stood up and wiped the dust from his clothes and hair. "That will teach'em." He said to himself. He continued wiping off his hands when another voice shot from behind them.
"That was impressive. Now show that to me again."