Ch. 9
The council meeting was not going well. The council, with the exception of Tsunade, Kakashi and one other member, was trying to confine Sasuke to the village. He had received a full pardon because of his actions in the war, but since he hadn't returned to Konoha, he was still considered by some to be a rogue ninja.
As tensions rose, Kakashi tried to stay rational, "This idea that we can confine Sasuke to the village is unreasonable. What would he even do while he was here?"
A random councilman blurted out, "I don't care if he has to sit out in the fields gathering weeds! If we let him out of our sight, he's too much of a threat!"
Tsunade saw this meeting was going nowhere fast and decided to speak up. "The biggest problem with what you all are suggesting is the fact that if we confine Sasuke to the village, we'd also have to confine Naruto to the village. If Sasuke turned on us without Naruto here, no one would be able to stop him."
The same councilman from before replied, "Couldn't we just put a seal on him?!"
Kakashi simply answered, "On what grounds? He came here willingly. He was pardoned for all his actions due to his assistance in the war efforts, and even if we did seal him, he might be too powerful for any seal to contain. It's obvious he hasn't stopped training."
There was a moment of silence as the council members started running out of reasons to confine Sasuke to the village. Tsunade and Kakashi were making progress.
Naruto and Sasuke were standing on training ground 6. They were standing about 100 feet from each other as the water from the lake splashed against their feet. Naruto looked across the lake and half-yelled, "Same rules as our sparring matches when we were kids. Also, no flashy techniques. We don't need the attention."
"Agreed."
Naruto looked across the lake and said to Sasuke, "Give me a second." with a slight smirk.
Naruto entered the chamber where Kurama resided. "I know I haven't used your power in a while because I haven't really needed to, but this is Sasuke, so if we don't work together we'll probably both get humiliated…" he said while rubbing the back of his head and sporting an uncomfortable smile. "That's the first real smile I've seen in years. If this will help you go back to being the regular Naruto, then I'll help." Naruto was taken aback. He knew that he and Kurama no longer talked as much but he had no idea that Kurama actually cared about how he acted. He turned to Kurama and with a wide smile said, "So you did like me before."
"I just thought it was interesting to watch you."
Naruto looked at Kurama quizzically. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that the village hated you and ostracized you. Then your best friend turned on you, but despite all that, you never broke or cracked. You were an anomaly. You always had this positive attitude, no matter what the circumstances. It was quite interesting to watch. But what was more interesting was watching what, or rather who, finally broke you." Naruto let his head slightly drop as he pondered Kurama's words.
Suddenly Kurama turned from Naruto and was extremely alert. "Sasuke's coming."
Naruto left Kurama and found himself on the receiving end of a fist coming straight at him. He quickly used his forearm to block the incoming blow. "Your second is over."
Naruto grinned and activated his Kyuubi Chakra Mode (KCM). Sasuke activated his Sharingan and in a flash the lake was no longer still. Waves rolled over each other as the two shinobi were suddenly dealing a variety punches and blows. Naruto tried to start a Taijutsu barrage, but Sasuke's Sharingan was too good for that. Naruto threw two punches that were easily dodged then tried to surprise Sasuke with a third Kyuubi arm sprouting out of his back. He planned on making the arm go over his head so that he could attack from above. As Sasuke saw the third arm overhead, he sidestepped and landed a swift blow to Naruto's core. As Naruto reeled back to catch his breath, Sasuke pulled out his sword and began to attack, quickly changing his fighting style to keep Naruto off balance. He sliced in the general direction of Naruto's head. Naruto dodged and lost a few golden locks to Sasuke's sharp blade. Naruto used arm extensions of Kyuubi to block the blows, but it was proving more and more difficult. Naruto was stuck on the defensive, so he decided to create some distance between him and Sasuke. He manipulated the chakra in his feet and pushed himself a reasonable distance across the lake. It was apparent that Sasuke's movements were quicker and much more precise than when they last met. Naruto didn't think that was possible, but it was just proof that Sasuke had definitely been training these past few years.
Kakashi had sensed when Naruto entered KCM and started fighting Sasuke. He snuck a glance at Shikamaru who simply thought to himself, 'This is already turning into a major drag.'
Tsunade had noticed as well but tried to keep her composure to avoid stirring up the council.
Sakura was walking back towards her apartment. She was reaching for the complex door when she noticed a faint orange glow over one of the training grounds. She knew she was ordered to stay put until Naruto called for the team, but she was determined to find out what was going on. As a member of Team 7 she had a right to know. She was already hopping across the roofs of Konoha with a million thoughts racing through her head. 'What was going on? Why was Naruto being so secretive? Why was Sasuke here? Why did it seem like Naruto and Sasuke were already on the same page?' She felt like her head was about to explode and decided that the only way she'd get some answers was if she got them on her own.
Naruto decided it was time to go on the offensive. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Around 20 Shadow Clones popped up all around the two.
Sasuke smirked and said, "Still using that jutsu huh..."
Naruto grinned and started a taijutsu barrage with the recently formed shadow clones. Sasuke used his Sharingan to avoid most of the attacks as he dispatched the shadow clones one by one. He was able to dodge most of the attacks but got caught with a punch to the jaw at the very end. As he flew back and caught his footing, Naruto immediately launched a barrage of shuriken and kunai. He was hoping to sneak in a kunai with a tag on it to go in for the finishing blow with his Flying Raijin Technique. And it would've worked…if Sasuke didn't have a Sharingan. As Sasuke weaved through the shuriken and kunai, he noticed a tag similar to the one Minato used in the war. He immediately realized what Naruto was planning but even with his enhanced reflexes, Naruto was on top of him faster than he thought he would be. Naruto was just about to grab Sasuke and finish the fight, but right before he could touch him, Sasuke quickly pushed out his hands, "ALMIGHTY PUSH!" A huge shockwave suddenly blasted back Naruto and caused a mini earthquake. Naruto had just been within inches of winning the fight but now he was sky high having been blown away by the abilities of Sasuke's Rinnegan.
As Naruto steadied himself in the air, he noticed that Sasuke was the first person to successfully counter his Flying Raijin technique. He let out a slight grin as he noticed he could finally let loose a little. It was as if Sasuke was reading his mind and thinking the same thing because he wore a similar grin.
Tsunade and Kakashi had been successfully persuading the counsel to lean their way but then it felt like a mini earthquake hit. Kakashi sighed and closed his eyes, Shikamaru put his head down and Tsunade was visibly annoyed. Konoha wasn't known for earthquakes so a councilwoman turned to look out the window, "What is going on out there?!" As she looked out, she saw a small orange light floating above one of the training grounds along with the silhouette of a man standing on the water. "My, my. I do believe there's a fight going on between the Kyuubi and the Uchiha." The councilman from before immediately ran to the window. As soon as he saw it with his own eyes he yelled out, "SEE! I told you the Uchiha couldn't be trusted! He's already started a fight with our strongest shinobi!" Tsunade, Kakashi and Shikamaru all looked at each other as their faces filled with exasperation.
Sakura had just arrived at the training ground and was surprised to find Neji, Kiba and Shino already there. She looked at Naruto who was now floating high above the water and Sasuke who was standing on the water. Upon looking closely at the two figures, she noted that they actually seemed to be in good spirits. She now had more questions than she did when she had originally started to journey towards the training grounds. 'What had started this fight? Why were Naruto and Sasuke already fighting within an hour of his arrival? Was it a serious fight or some friendly sparring? And it if was a friendly sparring match, how were they already on such good terms?' As her mind bombarded her with questions, her thought process was interrupted by a sudden shout.
"SUSANOO!"
Suddenly an incomplete Susanoo formed around Sasuke. The Susanoo was the same distinct purple color. It consisted of a ribcage and an arm that hung over Sasuke. After the Susanoo had fully materialized, Sasuke flew straight up towards Naruto. As Naruto charged back towards him, Sasuke flung his hand out and yelled, "CHIDORI!" Suddenly his hand was filled with a dark lightning. Naruto replied by flinging his hand behind him and yelling, "RASENGAN!" The Rasengan was fully formed within a second.
Neji looked over to everyone who was standing around him, "This is getting out of hand." Shino kept his eyes on the fight, but replied, "We know, but none of us could even come close to stopping them."
Sasuke and Naruto were getting closer and closer to colliding, but right before they collided they heard a loud shout.
"KAMUI!"
Both shinobis came to a dead halt as the area they were about to clash into started twisting and distorting into a different space-time. Sasuke and Naruto defused their attacks then turned to look down at the obvious culprit. There stood Kakashi, with his Mangekyo Sharingan on display. Beside him stood Tsunade, Shikamaru and the council. Naruto and Sasuke then turned and noticed that Naruto's team had been watching the fight from the other side of the lake.
Sasuke looked at Naruto with a blank stare and Naruto automatically knew what he was thinking. Their sparring session was officially over.
Author's Note
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I am constantly working on this story so quick updates may become a thing. I have no planned release schedule, so stay vigilant...
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