The Art of Appropriation

by AlphaDelta1001

The world of the shinobi is a wild and dangerous place, more than enough for our favourite troublemaking jinchuriki to handle. However, what would happen if the world beyond their borders suddenly started bleeding onto theirs? NaruTenTayu...?

21. Land of Dusk Arc: War of Two Worlds

NARUTO

The Art of Appropriation

The War of Two Worlds

"Naruto-kun?!" Kasumi exclaimed, looking down in surprise at the trio grinning up at her from the bottom of the stairs surrounded by weary looking guards, all of whom were bearing their weapons down at them in force. "You three? W-What's going on here?"

"Princess Kasumi, this is highly unorthodox," Mr. Churchill stated loudly, stepping out from behind Vincent who had placed himself between his country's representative and the three kids down below. Okita had done the same, only he stood at the guard of his village leader, hand on his sword. "Why are these children interfering with the ceremony? This offense just cannot stand!"

"Sir, please stay behind me," Vincent exclaimed, glancing over his shoulder at the delegate.

"Explain yourselves, immediately!" Churchill said broadly, pointing down at the smirking youngsters.

By this point in time, most of the people in the audience were now looking around them in confusion, bewilderment and distress, murmuring starting up and transforming the stunned silence into a low drone. Though those up front were able to get a full picture of what exactly was going on, those in the back were slightly more or less in the dark, while the cameras all around captured everything. Tayuya and Sakon especially, concealing themselves within the mass of bodies, found interest in the sudden turn of events yet kept their queries to themselves. They used the situation to their advantage to try and figure out what was going on, and perhaps uncover any dirt behind this unexpected yet grand folly.

It was universal.

The most pressing matter that was brought to their attention was that the signing ceremony had come to an abrupt halt, but why and for whatever reason it had they did not know. However, the two infiltrators, as well as those standing in attendance with a great deal of self awareness, wisely kept their mouths shut and ears trained onto the stage. If all suspicions were correct, they were going to find out what the problem was soon enough.

Shoving the rifle barrel pointed at his face out of the way, Naruto stepped forward and pointed up at the delegates up on the podium, "You and I Mr. Churchill have a really big problem!"

"Excuse me?" the official replied.

"After what we've seen, I think it is YOU who is the one that has some explaining to do, not us," the blonde continued, placing his hands on his hips. "Now start talking?"

"About what?" Kasumi asked, looking around at the perfectly composed delegate with a questionable expression drawn across her face. Churchill had his hands behind his back and was staring back down at the children with an unflinching gaze. "What are they saying, Mr. Churchill?"

"That's what I'd like to know too, your ladyship," the man replied, glancing over at her briefly. "As passionate as they are, all there shouting is making no sense to me whatsoever."

"No sense, huh?" Shikamaru suddenly spoke up, also pushing himself to the front of the pack and letting both of his teammates fall back into the limelight. "Then let's start off by clearing the air a bit? For instance, Mr. Churchill, would you care to explain to us why you have an additional two battalions of Britannian soldiers and weapons stationed outside of this village?"

That seemed to strike a rather tightly wound up chord with the Britannian emissary, as well as all of the other generals sitting behind him. The sounds of chairs grinding sharply and backs straightening were so pronounced it echoed above the mutterings of the crowd inside of the courtyard. Heck, even the soldiers belonging to the westerners bearing knowledge of this stiffened.

Looking over at the Guard of Four, Asuma noticed that Periklis had developed a few beads of sweat and an even more serious expression from before, whereas Nai, William, and even Vincent were looking around at each other in misperception. This confirmed both the Jonin and Shikamaru's uncertainties that only those that could have been trusted with the true goals of the forces sent here had been given the full story. Not even the cavalry officer guarding the Britannian representative knew which came as quite a surprise to the shinobi.

"Two battalions?" Kasumi parroted, keeping her stare locked on the now withdrawn Britannian envoy.

"What two battalions, sir?" Vincent asked, also glaring over his shoulder. "Are they talking about the outpost? I thought only two squads were stationed out there."

"Something FOUL and UNDERHANDED is afoot here!" William suddenly shouted, scaring the shit out of everyone standing around him while he himself straightened up and folded his arms. "My goodness, my manly senses are telling me that dark forces are at work here! Is it… is it this stench in the air, the instability in the ground, or the atmosphere from up above?! OH, my gorgeous muscles are twitching with unease; it's an otherworldly phenomenon taking place, I KNOW IT…"

"No… I'm… pretty sure that's just you, William," Nai murmured, leaning away from the young man who had tears pouring out of his eyes like miniature waterfalls.

"If you don't believe us," Shikamaru exclaimed, interrupting the show above them while turning over to Naruto and Hinata to see the two of them smiling back at him. "Guys…"

Grinning widely, Naruto ducked under the guards holding their weapons out at him and ran towards the nearest news crew. Grabbing a mike off of the reporter standing up front, he then ran back to the stairs, got to about half way so that he could see the entire crowd and jabbed his fist out towards them, "Ladies and gentleman; if you would all kindly look to your right!" He directed their attention over the castle wall with a pointing gesture, "The fireworks will begin in three… two…"

"One!" Hinata finished, slapping her hands together into a hand seal and making the soldiers surrounding her and Shikamaru jump with a start.

All of a sudden, there were several bright flashes of light that lit up the entire sky and blinded everyone in sight, as if paparazzi camera flashes were off right in front of their faces. The next thing the people inside of the castle grounds became aware of was the sight of several, red, yellow and pink plumes of smoke shooting up into the air followed by a dazzling array of colorful explosions. Even though it wasn't even close to night, in fact it was the middle of the day with the sun at its highest point; the crowds could see the bursts and sparkles of fireworks over the horizon as clear as they could under a midnight sky. Hell, the rockets going off were so sharp and so well crafted that the timing behind each jet and blast was like a performance in itself.

The crowds 'oohd' and 'ahhhd' all at once at the spectacle. There exclamations grew in enthusiasm and intensity, especially when the display became even more stunning. Team 10, the Guard of Four, and even the delegates in the stands gawked at the explosions and jets of smoke filling the sky.

Clapping his hands together, Naruto struck a rock star's pose and screamed into the mike, "AND NOW, FOR THE GRAND FINALE!" He formed one last hand seal, followed shortly by the greatest explosion anyone has ever seen, which shot up from over the hillside with an almighty BOOM that chucked a great, purple mushroom cloud into the heavens. Like a nuke, the fumes choked the air and reached high into the stratosphere, accompanied by even more bursts of fireworks and sparklers.

It was simply awe-inspiring.

Clearly entertained by the sight, the crowds applauded, whistled and cheered, completely overcome by the sheer magnitude of the demonstration.

When the explosions slowly began to die down and the fireworks started to reach their closing stages, the front gates to the castle grounds unexpectedly burst open and, sprinting into everyone's midst, appeared the charred and scolded Corporal Stanton, the soldier that had picked a fight with Team 10 the week prior.

Judging from his current condition, he'd obviously been caught up in the heart of the cataclysm that had just started to recede.

Panting heavily, the distraught looking soldier waved up to the generals at the top of the stairs from the crowd below, and all eyes in the area immediately trained on him.

"Sirs! Sirs! The tanks and supply tents of 3rd and 4th Battalion have all been destroyed, and the entire valley has been covered in sparkle dust, and pink and red paint!" he cried out, visibly shaken up from the repeated explosions and flashes of light that had engulfed him and his crew.

A very uncomfortable, awkward, and surprised silence followed after that exclamation. Jaws dropped, whole groups blinked in unison, and Periklis who had previously been standing up on the podium behind Winston Churchill groaned and slapped himself in the face. He ran his hand down to his chin in an irritated manner.

"Idiot…"

Naruto laughed out loud and leapt down to his friends, where both the soldiers and guards surrounding them had stood down, effective since the first firework went off. Tossing the mike to Shikamaru on the pass, the Nara held the piece up to his lips and grinned up to the astonished audience of officials. "Princess Kasumi, if you send a scout party over that rise to investigate the lowlands, you'll find a destroyed campsite once occupied by an expeditionary force that was set to march across the Land of Dusk into the Land of Fire the next morning!" He then held the mike down to Hinata, who took it with great care and brought it up to her own lips.

"W-We also took paperwork and documents from the barracks listing a number of Britannia's targets inside of this continent, all sheets sighted personally by Sir Winston Churchill and approved by his staff."

"If the idiot blurting out the full damage from the disaster zone over there isn't proof enough, then we've got tons more," Naruto grinned, pointing at the charred corporal still standing at the gates, before pointing up at the podium. He lowered his hand and folded his arms, "You wanted an explanation? There you go!"

Asuma grinned, nodding proudly towards his students. Though he too had been stunned by the display of firepower, it did do one measure of good in this case and that was in capturing everybody's attention. He couldn't have asked for anything more. "Nice work guys. I knew I could count on you…"

"Mr. Churchill," Kasumi rounded on the man in question while stepping forward sharply. Though held back by her personal guard and also finding her path blocked off by Vincent, the princess still managed to fix the suit with her best, most unpleasant glare.

Now that this new information discovered by the punctuate Team 10 had been brought to light, all focus she had once put forth into the ceremony had now been forgotten. With the news of a present danger clearly standing in her presence, she decided to direct all of her suspicions and aggression toward the Britannian, and held her ground firmly against him. "It's time you told me everything. No more gifts and no more discussions, I want answers…NOW."

Churchill remained silent, with the officer standing at his defense lowering his weapon slightly and looking over his shoulder at the man with a great amount of inquisitiveness. Everyone in the vicinity could feel the cameras rotate toward the head honcho, turning the eyes of the crowd into the eyes of the world, as the entire incident was being recorded and broadcasted to every television in every household. Team 10 remained where they were, surrounded by soldiers with ears waiting open for orders, and Asuma held his position behind both the village leader and Okita.

Things had been going so smoothly for both sides up until this point. Now that it has been revealed that Britannia had other less agreeable intentions hidden underneath the words printed in the trade accord, the scales were suddenly being thrown out of balance. It wouldn't be long now. Since every person aligned to the princess of this country were slowly but surely becoming aware of the growing state of affairs, the visiting westerners would soon be finding themselves surrounded and pressured for more than just answers, should things escalate beyond that.

This was how things were done in the elemental nations. If there was deception afoot, then it was up to the leaders and the people with the ability to get things done to sort out the issue as quickly and as decisively as possible.

Even more problems could arise if something like this was held out for too long. If Britannia knew something that they didn't that concerned everyone involved, then the Land of Dusk as well as the shinobi at hand needed to get into the loop.

"Your insistence and information gathering abilities are commendable," Churchill admitted finally, his eyes closed. Breathing in deeply to compose himself, he straightened up and turned to face Princess Kasumi eye to eye. He was a man of principle after all, and come hell or high water he was going to proceed along the path that his personal beliefs dictated, "Very well then."

Kasumi's frown deepened, "Two battalions… that's equivalent to over a thousand soldiers, maybe even three. Inexcusable! That is not the number you listed when we agreed to distribute the security forces throughout the village for the ceremony."

"No… it is not."

"You said you only brought a thousand with you as protection for your fleet should they unexpectedly land in hostile territory," the princess fumed. "What's more, you sent soldiers outside of the village in force without my consent, and from what Shikamaru-kun just told me, you've also given them marching orders."

"I will not deny it, yes," Churchill murmured uneasily. "They were being arranged for a special mission."

"And what mission would that be, exactly?" Kasumi asked, storming forward even further. She bumped into Okita's extended arm, the man keeping her at bay and suppressing any of his leader's urges to do bodily harm. "When you announced your intentions to do business with us a month ago, we accepted your appeal out of good will and offered you our harbor to do as you wished. We extended to you a hand of friendship, and in spite of that, you snuck a knife under my gesture and positioned forces outside of the village beyond my knowledge with the express purpose to invade. Tell me, what do you want?"

"…"

"What is it?" Kasumi snapped when all she got back was silence. "Resources? Land? Peace? War? What are you after?"

"It is not what we're after that is the real reason for us being here," Churchill quickly interjected. His gaze narrowed even further. "Yes, while it is one of our intentions to establish trade routes with our allies and neighbors, our main goal here is to find and apprehend a certain individual; a person listed prominently in our books as the most wanted man in Europa and is currently top priority on our watch lists, a criminal… a monster."

Kasumi blinked, now looking completely taken aback at the man's answer. Heck, even Naruto and his friends were dropped into a stupor. Any and all murmuring was immediately silenced at the response given by the Britannian representative, something that had Asuma listening in with greater interest.

The Jonin raised an eyebrow in the speaker's direction, "A criminal?"

"It seems a little bit excessive, don't you think?" Shikamaru asked, drawing Churchill's attention down to him when he spoke up. The Nara folded his arms and nodded to the soldiers with guns standing to their right, "Bringing over three thousand troops across the ocean just to find one guy? Isn't that overkill?"

"Not for this man, my boy," the representative replied with a frown. "Believe me; all of our actions to this point have been executed with the best of intentions, for our world and for this one."

"Who is this man then?" Kasumi asked, falling back into topic with a hardened glare. "Why commit such a large force to bring down a single individual from across the seas? In fact… why go to all the trouble at all?"

The official ran a hand through his hair and turned to face the young princess fully. He did so with great earnestness, "This insolent vagabond contaminated our soil by setting foot inside of our King's palace; his majesty's place of residence and our nation's crown. He broke down the front gates, decimated the defenses posted there, and nearly took the life of our country's monarch and his family. Had our top agent Mata Hari; codenamed Agent Deep, not been attending a meeting with the king at the time, he and everybody inside of the palace would have been killed."

"A-A single man did that?" Kasumi murmured, finding the story quite outrageous.

This wasn't some feudal Lord they were talking about; it was a country's sovereign, emperor, king, and the highest ruler, whatever you liked to call them. Surely a person of that stature would have been extremely well guarded. The fact that Churchill was speaking about a single individual and said that this person broke into the royal palace of all places, the castle belonging to the monarch of their empire, told the princess that whoever this person was, was definitely dangerous. Though she was surprised at the boldness of the criminal, she kept her gaze narrowed and ears open.

Surely there was more to the story.

"Does this man hail from your country?"

"No," Churchill replied firmly, "Not from ours. He gave no name and held no title. His weapons, though primitive, were incredibly refined as was his proficiency with them, and he dressed in the manner of the warriors of these lands you people refer to as 'samurai'."

"Samurai?" Okita blinked, responding to that piece of news in surprise. He rarely spoke out of term even in serious situations but, hearing that it was someone of his classification responsible for the above offenses, well… he just had to have a voice in the matter, "One of my own?"

"Because he wore the clothing and looked like he originated from this continent, in response to his disgraceful conduct and actions against our country's leaders, we immediately began a worldwide search for him," Churchill continued, looking down towards Team 10 standing at the foot of the stairs. "We have pictures. They are few and not very good ones, since the perpetrator kept most of his face hidden from view under a straw hat, but we were able to track him based on his outfit's description alone. If you looked into those reports carefully, you three should know that he not only attempted to assassinate our monarch, but many others across the world?"

"Seriously?" Naruto whistled, placing his hands on his hips. "That's one busy body."

"It's no laughing matter," Churchill said to the boy, his brow furrowing even more so. "Though he failed in successfully assassinating any leaders or heads of state, our sources tell us he's amassed a large amount of resources and a number of powerful allies. Last reports came from the Americas, where a man fitting his description could be seen wandering the coastal cities. It is most likely that he traversed the great pond from the states, and returned to his land of origin here…"

"And you followed?" Kasumi queried, seeing the man nod back to her.

The princess folded her arms and thought long and hard on the subject, wondering where this whole thing could possibly lead them next.

A criminal of high prominence across the oceans and had originated from this continent, had returned to his place of birth. They had no name and no identifying marks. Aside from the samurai aspect, they could not substantiate his level of threat or confirm his actual identity, which was a real problem. However, that wasn't the main problem at this point. The most glaring issue as of right now that stood out above Britannia's excuses was that the representatives had twisted if not violated their agreements entirely, and dropped battle ready forces in walking distance from her village.

This was something Kasumi could not overlook and rounded back on Churchill with a deep scowl. "You intend to catch this man then?"

"Catch him and make him answer for his crimes," Churchill stated, "By God, even if I have to do it myself, I will see to it that he will stand before the highest courts and face punishment."

"Nevertheless, when you came here asking to deal peacefully with us, you also sent forces here with the intent to do ill will. You're only lucky that you were found out, and I'm glad you were," the princess said, pointing across at the envoy with renewed fury. "Do you know what you could have done, what kind of damage you could have wound up causing by the end of the week? You would have crossed boarders without considering the consequences of your actions, and instigated war between the clans if not entire countries. The delicate balance of peace between the Five Great Shinobi Nations of this land is already hanging by a thread, and you wanted to send foreign troops into those countries to start raiding homes? That is both reckless and irresponsible!"

"A necessary sacrifice," the leader replied, also stepping forward impatiently. "The man we are after is dangerous and powerful, more powerful than you can believe, and I highly doubt that even your people will be able to handle him on your own should an issue arise. In order to capture this criminal, we need the full cooperation of all military and governing bodies, and not just from our own allies. Empires from our world have joined forces to track this individual down, and it is most prudent that the nations here do the same."

"I'm telling you, it's not that simple…"

"Tell me, Lady Kasumi," Churchill began again, sticking his chest out, "If a complete stranger broke into your home and attempted to end your life and the lives of your loved ones, would you do anything to see that the architect responsible for the infraction was caught and thrown behind bars?"

"Of course I would," Kasumi replied, looking offended at that question. "I wouldn't feel safe until he was brought down…"

"Then we are in agreement here." The envoy sniffed and held a hand out towards her. "This man attempted to take the lives of country leaders back in our world. What makes you think he won't do the same here? This fugitive must be hunted down and brought to justice." His hand clenched tightly into a fist, a sign that told everyone in registry distance that what he said, he intended to carry out no matter the cost.

"You can't just come here, even under the writings of a paper signed and approved by only one nation, and try to hunt down a single individual in OUR lands!" Kasumi shouted, slapping a hand over her chest and gritting her teeth angrily. Brazenness aside, this man was trying to jump over boundaries while trying to avoid provocation, when in fact his plans promised to cause more problems than procuring any solutions. It wouldn't be the first time national leaders tried this, but it was something the princess wanted to put a stop too right now before it got out of hand. "Your rule, guiding principles and system of government doesn't work here. This continent is run by independent states with their own leaders and councils, all with different ideologies and internal disputes. If there is indeed a dangerous criminal residing on this plain amongst our people, then you have my word as a leader and a princess that we will capture him ourselves."

"This is not something for you to get your hands dirty with…"

"Don't underestimate me!" Kasumi shouted, throwing her hand out dismissively. "If there is a problem on this soil, in our territory, on our turf, it becomes OUR affair and no one else's!"

"And how will I know you will keep your word and bring this man in yourselves?" Churchill inquired, tilting his head towards her. "How do we know you are not in league with this criminal and are harboring the fugitive… protecting him? He is one of your own, after all."

"I can't guarantee full cooperation from my neighbors, but between the two of us, a man and woman chosen to represent their communities on the world stage, I promise you that we will find him…" Kasumi stated with what were apparently her final words on the matter. Adjusting her kimono, she straightened up and backed away, before pointing towards the gates. "Our business here is concluded. Leave this land and take your soldiers with you!"

"Not an option," Churchill replied, stepping back as well and bringing his hands around swiftly. "We are here under orders from both the prime minister and the crown, with the full interest of our allies riding on this mission! Our task is to capture this man, with or without the assistance of the locals. I will complete this job given to me and take aggressive action if necessary… FOR KING AND COUNTRY! TO ARMS MEN!" He threw his right arm into the air, the signal that all soldiers in the area responded to on sight.

Guns cocking and chambers loading, the troops patrolling the crowds immediately took up battle positions and hopped up onto the nearest advantageous posts. Their training directing their crosshairs, they rounded their weapons on the palace security under Lady Kasumi. The men surrounding Naruto also leapt back and trained their rifles on the people they identified as enemies, the audience quickly erupting into panic.

The entrance was instantaneously taken by the Britannians.

The moment she saw Churchill's response to her authority, Kasumi too raised her hand, "I don't think so! GUARDS!"

Her own cards reacted just as Churchill's came into play. Crossbows loading and arrows training, the impressive armor and firepower under the Land of Dusk banner assembled on the surrounding walls and seized the other side of the courtyard. Within seconds, both Britannian soldiers armed with their rifles faced off against an equal number of heavily armed troops under the princess' command armed with automatic bows that fired explosive arrows. A line was drawn right down the center of the quad in the form of an aisle, with a baffled Team 10 standing right in the heart of it, formed into a circle and backs turned to each other. Civilians and officials cowered under the sheer display of force that presented itself as the power of both Churchill and Kasumi.

Britannia on the left and Dusk on the right, the whole ceremony transforming from a purely diplomatic gathering to a battle zone in just a few seconds. Like one trench line facing the other, the masses faced off, without a single shot or round being let loose yet.

Now that the tensions had been wound, it would only take one word from either side's commander for the entire village to be thrown into absolute chaos.

However, amidst the stand-off, with the crowds pulled back against the high walls and hiding behind any barriers that had been within running distance, the only people maintaining their cool about them were Asuma, Tayuya and Sakon hanging out on the sidelines, C.C up in the stands, and Periklis. Those who were looking around in confusion were the young members of Team 10, Nai and William.

While Churchill and Kasumi were glaring across at each other with the backings of the soldiers loyal to them at their sides, the incredible intensity of the moment was unexpectedly and seemingly inadvertently interrupted when Asuma, clearing his throat, stepped into view and stood between the two angry dogs.

"Hold on a second you kids," the man spoke up, brushing Vincent and Okita away from each other with a few gentle nudges and, upon assuming the role of the mature one meant to settle this conflict, breathed out a sigh and faced the audience before him.

"So let me see if I've got this straight," the peacekeeper began, looking towards Churchill and pointing to him, "While one of your goals here is to set up a secure trade route between the two nations, you're also using the ceremony as a cover up to move troops in and utilize the agreement to stretch your military muscle; all in order to hunt down and capture a man responsible for the attempted assassinations of a dozen or more nation leaders including your own, yes?"

Churchill, maintaining a serious expression, nodded in acknowledgement.

"And you, Lady Kasumi," Asuma restarted again, turning to the young princess standing on his right, "Your only intention here was to form a bridge of peace between your country and the Britannians, as an example to the rest of the shinobi world to inspire others to do the same, to form bonds and what not. However, you were also lead into believing that both sides' intentions were true, and had no idea the Britannians were assembling forces here to chase down a world wanted criminal, and you will run them out to prevent them from doing so?"

"It's all for the benefit of our world," Kasumi stated, furrowing her brow. "I will not be the one to go down in history as the person who opened the gates of our continent to these ruffians and be an accessory to war."

"Well then, it's clear now what needs to be done. To be quite honest with everyone here, I'm actually more on your side than that of the Britannians, since I sincerely believe that any visitors to a home that is not their own must treat that domain with the utmost respect and consideration," Asuma exclaimed, walking down the steps a bit till he stood about halfway, between the delegates up at the top near the plinth and his team encircled down at the bottom. The man smiled and turned back to gaze up at Churchill and Vincent, "Isn't that right guys?"

Reminded of his own words, Vincent looked both ashamed and guilty of his actions, whereas Mr. Churchill appeared bowled over. Naruto, Shikamaru and Hinata listened in carefully, while also keeping an eye on the wall of rifles and arrows on either side of them. They hadn't forgotten that every single soldier and guard in the vicinity was still pointing their deadliest of weapons at one another. Nobody liked sharp objects directed at them, especially if they were made to kill.

"The ceremony here was meant to finalize the completion of a bridge to peace. That is a brilliant idea," Asuma held his hands out. "It was meant to bring people together, not blow them apart. As mature and responsible leaders, I'm sure there is some way that we can settle this diplomatically without the need for violence. This disagreement doesn't need to be resolved through war, just with words."

Kasumi and Churchill considered the man's statements carefully. They looked at each other as if sharing a telepathic conversation and quietly worked out what course of action needed to be taken. The leaders read each other's expressions while also processing everything that had taken place from the day they met at the harbor to the present. Nai and William stood back uneasily, looking down to see Churchill's hand clench and unclench repeatedly, his body clearly responding to the debate taking place in his head.

Naruto also noticed from his position that Kasumi was shaking, conflicted by everything that has happened thus far. Worried for her, the boy jogged up the stairs between the soldiers and guards glaring at each other and stood beside the princess.

The girl jumped when she was unexpectedly jolted out of her reverie by his hand grabbing hers. She looked up at the blonde and saw him smile at her.

In that brief instance of exchange, Kasumi's expression visibly transformed from worried to surprised, his gaze radiating like that of the sun, assuring her that everything was going to be alright. This seemingly brought her back around from her stunned state, allowing her to divide her decisions made through friendly gestures from the aggressive responses. Able to identify the contrast clearly thanks to her train of thought leveling out and her mood calming down, she smiled, tightened her grip around Naruto's hand and turned to face the Britannian representative.

"Asuma is right," Kasumi said with a voice that was noticeably calmer. "We're better than this. As representatives of our countries, we are meant to act as voices for our people and were chosen to make decisions for them on their behalf."

Churchill smiled back, raising a hand. The officers and soldiers on his side noticed his gesture and wordlessly lowered their weapons. It was at this action the princess commanded her troops to do the same, and once all armed forces had stood down and were at ease, the two leaders approached each other. They ordered their personal guards aside so that they could meet with each other face to face, using the plinth as the center point for a renewed period of discussion.

Hand placed on top of the paper meant to be signed by both parties the Britannian official smiled pleasantly, "My actions were… unbecoming for a person of my position. No point needs to be made through unnecessary means. I'm sure that we can come to some sort of an arrangement without the need for bloodshed."

"I agree," the princess replied, folding her arms. "But what arrangement can be made, that is the question? I still wish to set up trade with your nation, yet you still wish to capture this criminal. Unfortunately for both of us, I have very little pull with the other communities outside of the Land of Dusk and the Land of Fire, so negotiations with our larger neighbors to allow your forces in will take some time…"

"I can commit some of my soldiers here if you wish, with me as chief overseer…"

"The nations of this land abide by strict codes of conduct. The only armed forces able to cross borders without initiating war are shinobi and those with special clearance, because they have the backing of multiple nation leaders, have the ability to or are under contract. If an army from another country were to suddenly cross into another person's country, that is immediately regarded as a threat and war would surely break out."

"That may be the case, but I cannot leave this land unless I have a guarantee that this man will be caught."

"Then you can count on our efforts to bring him in," Kasumi stated, pointing at her chest. "I will send a dispatch to the other nations to be on the lookout for this criminal of yours, and if he is as theatrical and as much of a threat as you say he is, we will have him within the month…"

"Though I have your word that you and your people will be on the lookout for this individual, I have my doubts on whether you have the ability to effectively handle him," Churchill stated, gesturing towards the Guard of Four standing beside him. "The armies of Britannia and her neighbors possess the finest soldiers in the world and the most formidable of weapons, yet this one man was able to shrug them off without even breaking a sweat. How will your warriors be able to contest with a fiend like that?"

Kasumi remained quiet, facing down the representative with a hard stare. Of course, the question of how was indeed a reasonable one; Churchill was suggesting that the elemental nations' soldiers, warriors and shinobi, wouldn't be able to handle this one person because theirs couldn't. Though his identity remained a mystery, surely an individual like the one the delegate was describing wasn't invincible. The audience, officials and soldiers on the sidelines waited patiently and on edge, wondering what decision this discussion would eventually lead the two emissaries to.

The one thing that shone above this was the terms of power. Churchill was challenging the quality of his warriors against hers, something that stuck out in the minds of Team 10 and the Guard of Four standing close by. It was then, after a minute of tense silence and contemplation, a thought suddenly snapped inside of Nai's head.

He looked over to Kasumi, where he could see Naruto also scratching his head.

Sensing opportunity, the boy from Siam smirked, stepped forward and approached the village leader. The young princess acknowledged his presence when he stopped before her, hands on his hips.

"If I may Lady Kasumi," the boy turned back to his boss with a nod, "Mr. Churchill, sir." Receiving their attention, Nai smiled back at the princess, "I think I have a solution to your problem."

"And… what would that be, Nai-kun?" Kasumi asked.

The pugilist grinned from ear to ear and held up his fist, "You believe your warriors are strong enough to deal with this criminal, yes, but Mr. Churchill seems to think otherwise and wishes to deal with this matter personally, with his own forces?" He then looked across at Naruto, the blonde blinking in surprise when he saw Nai's eyes fix onto him before the kick boxer turned back to smirk at the Britannian representative. "I think the best way to decide whether this country's warriors are more than capable of dealing with this foe is to decide through contest!"

"Contest?" Kasumi murmured, the attentiveness of Team 10 in regards to the conversation immediately skyrocketing at what the boy was proposing.

Nai turned back to the princess with a twinkle in his eyes, "You said that Naruto and I could have our match immediately after the ceremony was concluded as part of the performance program, correct? Well, why not have it right now!" He slammed his fist against his chest with a loud thud, showing all that he was not only putting his soul on the line but also his heart. "Pit the strongest fighters representing Britannia now against the strongest fighters in this land! If we beat your warriors, you let us stay! But if your warriors beat ours, then we'll leave without a fuss."

Periklis smiled. His sword and belts clicked as the head member of the Guard of Four moved into the spotlight to personally address the issue. The audience down below noticed the impressive looking individual take to the stand while C.C, still hanging out on top of her roost, was quietly helping herself to all of the pizza she could find. She watched her companion as he made his approach, wondering all the while where he wanted to go with this.

The representative from the Hellenic Republic stood beside Churchill, showing that he had an equal stake in this as the rest of them, "That's actually a really splendid idea."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying; a contest to decide who the strongest under heaven is?!" William suddenly exclaimed, also marching forward. His footsteps shook the very foundations of the castle with thundering quakes, announcing his presence clearly to the world as the cameras circled in on him. The American struck a pose. "A MARVELOUS IDEA! The strength of one's people can be accessed through an epic clash of might against might, will against will, and mind against mind! Oh, how I relish an opportunity to test my mettle against one who embraces the same concept of manhood as I do! OOOOOHHH-YEAAAAAHHH!" He was about to remove his top to start showcasing his biceps, but thankfully Vincent grabbed him by the collar to stop the exuberant one from taking it too far.

"Calm down, William. Not yet," the spearman hissed before looking around at Churchill standing firmly behind him. The boy's glare became that much more serious, "Though I admit to being disillusioned by this turn of events and share my disagreements with Lady Kasumi about your attempts to alter the trade agreement to satisfy our country's ends, I actually feel that a competition to settle this dispute would be the wisest course of action to take, sir." Vincent gave one of his dashing trademark grins at the end of his speech. "It could be fun."

"If there are any doubts, then a contest of skill and strength will refresh the air," Periklis exclaimed, looking over at the princess to see her looking around at the Guard of Four members in surprise. "Why don't we test these people, and see how strong they really are. If they can beat our most skilled contenders then I'm sure we can count on their support in this matter."

Churchill blinked, looking up at the swordsman when he turned to smile back at the envoy, "Are you willing to challenge these folk to contest, Periklis?"

The man chuckled and removed the kepi from his head, before brushing his hair back with his hand, "I may not look it sir, but I've been dying to face a strong opponent for a while now. This might be the perfect opportunity for me to showcase my abilities and see how polished they actually are." Periklis lowered his head and slipped his hat back on. "I believe it's only fair. These people trusted us to stay the course, so what's wrong with putting trust in them ourselves and seeing what they have to offer?"

Things quieted down when the Guard of Four and their charge of charge faced the villager leader with looks of anticipation. Shaking a bit from having so many eyes locked onto her, Kasumi looked around at Naruto to see what the boy had to think. The blonde smiled and shrugged, before turning his attention down to Team 10 scattered on the staircase below. Though Shikamaru and Hinata were looking unsure for the moment, Asuma seemed relatively composed. Heck, he had a cigarette in his mouth and everything; it was almost like the matter wasn't concerning him one bit.

"It's up to you, Lady Kasumi," Asuma spoke up, blowing out a plume of smoke. "What do you say?"

Meeting the encouraging gazes from Shikamaru, Hinata and their teacher, Kasumi felt her spirit lift. Her attention was taken back to Naruto when he nudged her in the arm, "If you think it's the right thing to do, then do it. Hell, I think it's a way better option than… you know…" He was of course referring to the risk of war between the shinobi nations and the Britannians. This was something they wanted to avoid, and something Naruto and the others were all for.

Returning the jinchuriki's smile with her own, Kasumi turned back to Churchill to relay her decision, "Well, I think it's a great idea. If you want to see what we've got," she raised a fist of her own to Nai's challenge, "then I think I'll adhere to that proposition; if the strongest warriors from your world can defeat the strongest warriors from ours, then your troops have my permission to stay in this country. But if you lose, and my champions manage to beat yours, then you will order your forces back to your homeland and let us hunt down your criminal in your stead."

Churchill rubbed his chin thoughtfully, taking her proposition under advisement, so to speak. Now that he was calm and able to think straight thanks to Asuma's intervention, he weighed up his options and checked out the cards in his hands carefully. It didn't take him long to come to a resolution, which he then announced with a beaming expression drawn across his face.

"Very well then, since everyone is all for it," Churchill stepped forward and extended a hand towards the young princess. "We have an accord." The village leader shook his extended gesture, consenting to a settlement that, though it wasn't the one that he and Kasumi were hoping to approve, took them one step closer to the finalizing of a treaty. As to what kind of treaty, that would come later, depending on how the next chain of events went.

Stepping away from one another, the two leaders then attended to their next tasks. They reassured their staff and council that a new course of action has been decided, and after directing all of them back to their seats, instructed their bodyguards to rearrange the troops and move the audience to the rear end of the courtyard. The stands that had been setup closest to the walls originally for performances were now going to be used as seating arrangements for a makeshift stadium.

Soon enough, the courtyard was clear of all civilians and public officials, with dimensions large enough to make even the biggest of Chunin Arena grounds look insignificant. Everyone had been moved to the back, and the highest ranking of diplomats remained at the top of the stairs. It was then, after seeing the area clear of all patrons not taking part in the actual competition, Churchill turned his attention to the Guard of Four, all of them having been assembled behind him.

Receiving their gestures and smirks of approval, the representative then turned his attention back to Kasumi, who was still overseeing the herding of the crowd.

"I have my contenders, Lady Kasumi," Churchill stated, the Guard of Four moving so that they stood in front of him. "If four of the strongest warriors that you have with you right now can defeat these ones, then consider my armies gone from this continent."

Smiling, the princess then turned to Team 10, the four of them having moved up the stairs and taken up posts behind her alongside Okita. Shikamaru, Hinata and Asuma withdrew a little when they noticed the young leader's eyes fall on them, whereas Naruto grinned back at her as if her direction of attention in the face of the already decided just blew right over him. It was pretty obvious what she was planning, and the youngsters saw it before they even needed to hear it for themselves.

"Guys…?" Kasumi said hopefully.

"N-Now hold on," Shikamaru choked, pointing at the four formidable looking warriors on Britannia's side of the plinth, "You don't expect us to…"

"F-Fight them?" Hinata gulped, her shoulders starting to tremble beyond her control. "How? Naruto-kun, Shikamaru-kun and myself, w-we're only Genin…"

The raven haired teen walked up to them and looked at each of the squad members pleadingly, "P-Please hear me out. The only challengers I could possibly have to fight these guys are either Okita-kun or you four… and… well… if I was to choose my commander over you guys, it would be a four against one advantage in their favor…"

"B-But," Hinata spluttered.

"Nai-kun and his comrades are strong… really strong. None of the Britannian regulars or my own are a match for them, and I should know. Okita would never be able to defeat all four of them by himself, even if he was to take them on one at a time. So please, I'm begging you. Fight as my champions and stop the elemental nations from falling into another era of conflict. This world has already seen three great wars and enough lives lost, we don't need another…"

"Fighting to decide the strongest warriors on a world scale is not part of my job description, your ladyship," Asuma informed in shock, trying to light another cigarette to calm his nerves. Failing in this endeavor, he threw it away and went back to conversing with the young princess, now starting to look more disheartened by the second at the lack of confidence she could hear coming from the team. "I don't think we're the ones meant to fight for your country…"

"Then don't fight for my country. Fight for yourselves! You four are strong shinobi, aren't you?" the girl continued, looking from one worried face to the next. "If I don't come up with fighters soon, then we're going to lose!"

Naruto, seeing her plight, decided to disperse with the tree graph known as the leadership structure of his team and answered her call. Still grinning from ear to ear, the boy stepped forward with his hands casually placed behind his head and a spring in his step. Unlike everybody else, he just couldn't see any problems with the plan whatsoever. In fact, the word problem didn't exist in his dictionary. He made this perfectly clear when he strolled into the princess' terrified gaze and announced his team's intentions on behalf of the group.

"Don't worry about it. We'll fight!"

The squad leader and members looked toward the boy flabbergasted, the spiky haired blonde spinning on his feet and flashing them a look of complete poise.

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head on anything, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, looking more and more distressed at their prospects with every tick of the clock that came and went. "Because I swear you did recently. Dude…"

"Come on, Shikamaru-kun. Don't tell me you're wussing out on me."

"We can't fight these guys!" Shikamaru whispered, using his eyes and nods to gesture Naruto's gaze toward the four Britannians in question. "I mean, look at them! Periklis is intimidating as hell, William is crazy strong, and I'm pretty sure Vincent's got some incredible skills too, and Nai…" All of their eyes shifted between their compatriot and the kick boxer, who was at that very moment, flexing his arms and looking raring to go. In fact, all four of them were readying themselves for a bout, especially William and Nai. "You don't need me to remind you of what he's capable of."

"Oh, I know what he's capable of," Naruto grinned, turning back to the fighters representing their nation. He and Nai's eyes met, both of them exchanging smirks and stances. In that instant of exchange, the jinchuriki removed his hands from his head and brought them down to his sides. His fists clenched tightly, "And I know what I'm capable of. Trust me… this will be a piece of cake."

Asuma, Shikamaru and Hinata looked up towards the tough looking bunch, and contemplated on past events. Ever since they'd met them, the Guard of Four had established themselves as responsible and powerful individuals. In their own ways, they held an air and influence about them that told stories about their strengths. The Jonin had felt intense vibes coming off of the swordsman when they met at the conference that had made the man feel uneasy, Vincent made Hinata incredibly nervous for a whole bunch of reasons, and that William fellow had muscles on him that made him look as though he could withstand cannon fire. This didn't bode well at all for those who were not Naruto.

While it had never occurred to any of the other members of the team outside of their jinchuriki companion that they would end up fighting these guys, now that they had pretty much been 'volunteered' to fight for the Land of Dusk, it seemed like there was no backing out of it now. They had no choice either way.

If they chose to fight and lost, they would not only embarrass themselves but also unlock the gates of their country and the rest of the shinobi world to Britannia. The same could be said if Kasumi decided to commit her men to the fight. Though it meant that Team 10 wouldn't fight now, the chances for failure were significantly higher. If her men were to lose, which they probably would, Britannia would have free reign over the entire continent and send their troops in without restraint, and likely spark a war which they'd get wrapped up in sooner or later. Then they would be in real deep shit.

Hell, the odds for victory in their favor were the same if they tried to fight, but Naruto wasn't at all worried. He had chosen his opponent, and Nai was prepping for an epic showdown.

Not Shikamaru or Hinata though. They swallowed nervously and looked up at their teacher for instruction and council in this daunting time.

Asuma sighed and ran a hand over his face, before looking down at his still grinning eccentric apprentice. The boy was still looking towards his opponent with eagerness and anticipation. Though the challenge was made only between the two of them, looking at it now, it seemed as though Naruto had unintentionally tangled the rest of his friends in with his agreement. Why did things turn out this way?

It was like when the team went after Tora and left it in Shikamaru's care the first time. Apparently, the cat disliked other shinobi outside of Naruto too and the moment the guy slipped up, he ran off. The team spent the next hour trying to catch it, this time bringing a cage along with them to help with securing the little bastard. Naruto made the same mistake on the second mission involving the animal, proving once and for all that it is share and share around on their team.

"Great… and now Naruto's streak of getting into a boat load of trouble with the rest of the world has rubbed off on us too!" the Jonin groaned, shaking his head. "Can things get any worse around here?"

Unbeknownst to him, yes… things were about to get a whole lot worse…

OOO

Tayuya and Sakon stood at the base of the stands at the far end of the courtyard behind the very front row of people unable to find a seat. Though the atmosphere had changed in addition to the entirety of the crowd's focus, the quality of their cover and guise didn't change one bit. They used this new set up well to stay out of sight while hanging in plain view, so that they got a good view of the quad now decided to act as the stage for the competition to come.

As much as they were interested to see a fight, the two of them were a little thrown to find that it was a bunch of Konoha shinobi, mainly a cluster of nose-wiping Genin, who would be the other side's opponents. Surely a group of kids weren't passing off as champions representing the entire continent? Really? If that were the case, then the efforts villages went into producing the 'best of the best' in their forces was really falling short this passed decade. The only powerful shinobi hanging around nowadays were from the previous generation.

"Well… I can see this whole thing going down the toilet right off the bat," Tayuya commented, watching as the young Team 10 marched down the stairs alongside the Guard of Four fighting for Britannia. When the two groups reached the bottom, they exchanged a last second glance at one another before splitting up and heading off to different sides of the quad. While Konoha went to the audience's left, which was Kasumi's side on her right, the four warriors representing Britannia went to the audience's right on Churchill's side. This pretty much drew the line of no-man's-land between two opposing trenches.

The soldiers made sure to veer clear of the two squads.

"We're doomed," Tayuya groaned, sizing up the three kids from Konohagakure. "Look at them; they're all wimps. How do they expect to last even a few seconds against these westerners?"

"Perhaps they have some interesting tricks up their sleeves. That or… maybe they were enlisted against their own will?" Sakon suggested with a shrug, arms folded. What kind of idiot volunteered them for this job? "Still, at least we'll be able to see a good show before the shit hits the fan. That's really the only plus we can gain from all of this bull."

"Though I hate to say this, I think you're right on that one," the red head murmured, tilting her head as she looked across at Team 10. "Fuck… what is this world coming to?"

While the two Oto shinobi recognized the hulking Jonin with the beard as one Asuma Sarutobi, son of the Third Hokage and former member of the twelve guardian ninja, they weren't too confident in the idea that he would be able to fight all of the rounds soon to come. Since it was an equal setup of four on four, this competition pretty much meant that both teams would be participating in a manner so that there was one opponent for each of them.

How the contestants were going to be decided was a good question, but the most pressing matter at the moment was in fact the appearances of each participant, and how strong each of them looked in contrast to either side.

While Britannia boasted an impressive four champions; including a fierce looking swordsman, an officer with a staff, a hulking brawler and what looked to be a well-rounded fighter, the three kids on Konoha's side didn't look at all impressive. That was the first impression Tayuya and Sakon got from them the moment they were able to single out a skinny, slouching, unmotivated looking brat with brown hair, a timid little mouse with blue hair shuffling about on the spot nervously, and a blonde haired boy who, in spite of appearing to be the most energetic of the three, was wearing an outfit that was absolutely horrendous.

How did that orange travesty pass off as appropriate shinobi guise?

Seeing the above mentioned blonde drop to the ground and start stretching, Tayuya groaned to herself and rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly, "This is so not going to end well. Those trash bags are going to die…"

OOO

Naruto stood up, slamming his fist into his open palm and grinning widely. "Alright, let's get this show on the road!"

Looking around him, the jinchuriki calculated the amount of space on the arena that he had available, which was roughly around a kilometer squared, since this was a huge courtyard meant to accommodate an entire regiment of troops for ceremonies.

Basically there were three walls around four stories high surrounding them, with the castle serving as another barrier for the ring. From where Team 10 stood, the palace and its stairs sat to their far left and the stands of crowds to their far right where the gates to the grounds stood open. There were a lot of people in attendance, and if you were to include the cameras, that was a total of a worldwide audience right there.

While the quad was basically a stretch of stone floor comprised of slabs with no canvas whatsoever, there were a few things lying around that could possibly serve as either a hindrance or an advantage to either side. Down the length of footpath that led from the gate to the palace stairs across the courtyard, there were statues lined up on either side. These would probably be destroyed by the end of the day. Furthermore, there were also trees growing right next to the walls and running alongside them, behind both Team 10 and the Guard of Four.

Nevertheless, with the people moved out of harm's way and their higher class audience sitting safely atop of the stairs, this was the perfect setup.

All they had to do was redirect their fire away from the audience in the stands and gates, now all being held back by soldiers lined up in front with temporary barriers erected for their protection, and they were all good.

Naruto stepped forward, shaking his arms out, "Looks like I'm up first."

"Four matches; consisting of one-on-one bouts, huh?" Asuma rubbed the back of his head. Just like his two other apprentices, he was unable to shake the uncertainty from his expression. "It looks like we're going to have to pick our opponents."

"We need to have at least three wins out of four over Britannia to win this entire thing," Shikamaru noted, scrunching his face thoughtfully. "Ugh… how troublesome."

"Now don't go saying stuff like that, kid. We all need to work together, pitch in and come out on top. No child left behind under my watch," Asuma said, patting his students on the shoulders and getting them to look up at him. "You've all worked really hard over these past several weeks, so let's show these guys what all of that blood, sweat and tears were for, alright."

Shikamaru seemed hesitant, Hinata nodded her head affirmatively, whereas Naruto grinned and threw the man a thumbs-up.

"No problem," Naruto exclaimed, turning back around and heading across to the center of the quad where the pathway stood. He stretched his neck from side to side, stopping about mid-way on their half of the clearing. "Don't get too comfortable guys. I'll finish this up quickly so that you can have your turns!"

"Take your time, Naruto. We're all good here!" Shikamaru called, stretching his own arms back and resting them behind his head. "Try not to break a leg this time."

"Gee, thanks," the jinchuriki shouted over his shoulder, his eyes glued on the four ahead of him.

Nai, seeing the blonde step out first, allowed a grin to spread across his face and held up his right fist. With his free hand, he tightened the rope wrapped around both the arm and wrist, making sure that all preflight checks were done before beginning to walk forward to meet his opponent.

"I've got first dibs," the kick boxer said, looking over his shoulder to see his friends also smiling at him.

William grinned and struck a tearful pose, diamonds sparkling around his head, "GOOD LUCK, NAI! Remember, muscle… EQUALS POWER!"

"Sure… I'll… I'll remember that, William," Nai chuckled, looking over at Vincent who had his lance leaning against his shoulder and an arm draped over it. "Well… anything you want to say?"

"No," the Britannian officer replied. He smiled at the kick boxer without a hint of objection evident in his facial or bodily expressions. It was safe to say he was comfortable with the arrangement at this point, and was willing enough to wait on for a bit and let the others have their fun. Of course, only time will tell. "Just try not to get yourself killed. Remember what that kid did to you last time."

"Oh, don't worry," Nai said while turning back around, seeing his opponent waiting patiently for him. His gaze narrowed and his face darkened considerably at the memory, "I've got a plan for dealing with that when it comes. I'll just break him down before he has a chance to use it."

He then moved off, leaving his comrades on the sidelines to watch how the engagement opened up. Periklis, Vincent and William kept their eyes on the kid's shoulders as he swaggered along, his bare feet padding along the cold ground before he arrived in the center of their half of the quad, and both opponents stared each other down across the path.

Kasumi and Churchill leaned back into their seats as they saw the first two fighters enter their line of sight of the arena, with the former smiling excitedly at the prospects of finally seeing her brave shinobi in combat. After seeing him training up close, it was understandable why she was so psyched about this. In fact, the faceoff between the two rivals from different nations was having everyone on the edges of their seats, soldiers and audience, if their chattering and murmuring was of any indication.

Though they were young, these teams were chosen for a reason.

That reason was that they had to be strong in order for this to be an accurate comparison of strengths between the warriors of the elemental nations and the ones representing Britannia.

The cameras zoomed in to capture the action.

Okita, stepping up to the podium, raised his hand and projected his voice out across the clearing, making sure everyone at the very back was able to hear his exclamations, "Ladies and gentlemen," his voice echoed loudly, drawing all eyes up to him for the moment, "The match between the representatives of Britannia and the representatives of the Land of Dusk is about to begin. The fights will progress in a series of one-on-one matches. The winners will be decided by either fighter conceding defeat, losing consciousness, or dying…"

"Dying?" Shikamaru shook his head, clearing his ear out. "Wait, I don't think I heard that right. Was that dying… or lying?"

"I'd… very much like it to be the second one," Hinata murmured uneasily.

"Why don't we just have a game of rock-paper-scissors to decide who the better fighters are?" the Nara asked, shrugging his shoulders suggestively. "It seems less troublesome."

"A game like that doesn't have much of an impact on those watching," Asuma replied, folding his arms. "Besides, little games like those are mostly left up to chance."

"The side that secures the most points wins the contest. Should a tie breaker be necessary, a secondary bout will be held between two additional contestants to determine the overall victor," Okita concluded, bringing his hand up and holding it above him and the challengers. "And now, without further ado, the match shall begin! Fighters… you may proceed!" At that announcement, a great cheer came up from the crowd, signaling the beginning of the first fight.

Naruto smiled, placing his right fist into his left palm and bowing toward his opponent. After which, he extended his right palm and slid his right foot out and across, following a circular motion as he assumed a Southpaw Spring Chant stance. "Naruto Uzumaki: Wing Chun."

Nai grinned, thrusting his left fist out declaratively, "Nai Khanontom: Muay Thai."

"Ready when you are," the blonde followed up, stepping forward into an orthodox stance. Since he was right hand dominant in this respect, the previous stance didn't feel as natural as this one. However, he was able to compromise whenever the situation called for it.

The jinchuriki was raring to go, but he was in the right state of mind to allow his opponent to set the pace for the match so that he could begin a string of counters. After all, his style revolved prominently around the idea of using his opponent's strength against him. He could afford the wait.

It was precisely the reason why he didn't even bat a single eyelash when Nai, instead of charging into a head long clash with him the moment the bell was rung, started off by dropping to his knees and bowing repeatedly. He then began a rather unusual routine across the floor space, performing a variety of body, hand movements, and knee thrusts in a manner that closely resembled a dance of some form. The audience and Team 10 stared in bewilderment for the next couple of minutes as the boy strode circles, completely engrossed in his activity.

Shikamaru blinked, "What in the world?"

"W-What's he doing?" Hinata asked curiously, seeing the boy pace around again and rotate his legs in the form of knees, which he moved outwards. He balanced himself on his toes, completely entrancing those watching his remarkable display.

Scratching his chin, Asuma drank in the youngster's movements and timing, getting a visual feel for this style of his, while also trying to figure out what the purpose of this dance was. It didn't look like some otherworldly or metaphysical technique, nor was it something genjutsu related. No, this was something else entirely. Though it held some sort of importance with the kick boxer, it presented a great intrigue for the rest.

Eventually figuring out what it could be, the Jonin smiled and waved a finger at the striding teenager, "I believe that this is some kind of warm up… a ritual…"

"Oh, really?" Hinata exclaimed. Watching on a little bit longer, seeing him perform a few 'flapping' motions as well as more knee checks, the girl then smiled and cupped her hands together in awe. "Wow… it's really nice." As much as it was a baffling sight to see before the start of a battle, she was greatly appreciative of it.

Nai paced around several more times, as if traversing to multiple corners on a ring. After another minute or so of bowing and slow shadow sparring, his bizarre ritual soon came to an end, and he finished the Wai Khru steps in a kneeling position, his back turned to his opponent.

Naruto continued staring at him, his eyes narrowed as he observed his opponent bowing towards his side. He didn't want to rush the guy. After all, he wanted this fight to start out clean and balanced. If they wanted to decide who the strongest out of the two of them was, they needed to begin fresh and well prepared.

Silence fell. The absence of voices gave Nai all the calm he needed to compose himself in the allotted time he had. Eyes shut and head bowed, he then opened them up and glared ahead of him, his expression changed from previously being utterly collected and composed, to completely focused and serious. All those looking at him swore that the moment his body started to straighten up into a standing position, that an aura of pure intensity started to rise off of him like flames.

Naruto noticed it too.

However, no time was given thereafter to determine the cause of the choking feeling suddenly filling the air. Before the jinchuriki had a chance to figure out what this odd sensation was, the opponent once standing a distance from him with his back turned suddenly vanished. There was a springing motion in his body before he disappeared from sight, dust kicking up when the kick boxer, using agility and leg strength neither of the ninja could have anticipated, leapt skyward.

Eyes widening, Naruto looked up in shock when he noticed a shadow growing darker around him. His eyes instantly reengaged his target, which he could see plummeting towards him knee first with a smirk across his face.

"Shit, he can jump!" the jinchuriki thought before leaping away, just in time too when the muay thai fighter slammed into the ground he had been standing on with catastrophic effects.

Like a landmine going off, the tiled floor that had once remained seemingly untouched and perfectly flat, exploded into a cloud of rubble, debris and dust. The plume rocketed several meters into the air, choking the atmosphere and clouding the battlefield. Naruto, who had been the intended target of this drop knee technique, had managed to jump out of range of the shockwave. He flipped across the floor before sticking the landing.

Skidding to a stop, the blonde looked up in astonishment. "Damn that was quick. I didn't even see that coming!"

He had barely avoided being pancaked. Even though he knew his opponent would be the first one to strike, all account on giving him the opportunity to do so, Naruto just didn't expect the guy to come at him so swiftly. The speed and strength the boy just showcased to the world was way above the level he first gave in their street bout. It was unprecedented.

Naruto furrowed his brow, dropping back into a defensive stance when he saw the cloud of dust lift, and his opponent come strolling out of the massive crater. Looking completely unscathed, Nai looked up to face his target, at the same time unbuttoning his yellow martial arts top. He yanked it off with a simple tug, throwing it out to the side and letting it catch on the wind.

Disrobed, Naruto and everyone watching from the sidelines could see just how tanked Nai actually was.

In spite of possessing a slender build than most, the muscles packed up on top of each other made the kick boxer look like a veteran brawler. His abs, chest, shoulders, biceps, calves… every bump and curve on him was literally shining in the sun. These were muscles developed and grown from years of backbreaking labor and tender care. The boy was the perfect example of physical fitness and strength at its peak.

Cracking his neck, Nai smirked and dropped into an orthodox stance. "That was just a sample. Now it's time for the entrée!" With a shout, he lunged forward at dashing speed. His sprint between the crater and Naruto was covered in barely over a second, the blurring motion of his form shocking his opponent.

Naruto backed off sharply, weaving left and right when his opponent's fists cut through the air at him. He was forced to hasten his retreat when Nai added swift kicks toward his legs in with his combinations, forcing him to use his footwork a little more.

Every attack dodged was accompanied by a loud 'whooshing' sound, like someone was swinging a jackhammer around. This was something that warned the jinchuriki to stay well away from, the boy going all out to dodge and avoid the other teenager's attacks. Naruto shimmied left and right, his own hands weaving through the air and repeatedly knocking the fists coming his way in another direction. He parried the upper body strikes and slid back when Nai swung at him with a couple of kicks.

Frowning, the kick boxer lunged in suddenly with an elbow, attempting to slam Naruto in the chest. But the blonde was able to cover his center at the last second with a right parry, a left cross snapping out at the kick boxer in return. Nai ducked his head under the fist at the last second, before twisting in with a left hook. The jinchuriki weaved his head back in avoidance, before suddenly dodging to his left when the boy's right cross shot out like a bullet.

Naruto staggered away from the dodge with wide eyes, his opponent rotating to face him again while hooking out with another left.

Leaping back and taking guard, the blonde faced down his opponent with a look of shock drawn across his face as the boy switched into orthodox attack mode. "Damn, his attacks are sharper than I remember. Not just that…" He glanced down at his right cheek, where he saw a bruise mark had been cut underneath his eye. There appeared to be smoke rising off of it, something that had him shaking uneasily. "But his straights… they're heavy as hell." This observation certainly told Naruto one thing about his opponent and that was that Nai had spent all of his time training to increase both his offensive capabilities and hitting power.

That was a worrying realization.

Brushing away the graze, Naruto took another defensive stance, his opponent dashing at him once more. "Here we go!" The blonde shimmied back, dodging left from a right straight and crossing upwards with a quick back fist, his opponent blocking with his shoulder before coming back around with a left hook. The jinchuriki caught it against his arm at the elbow, so the power behind it was cushioned.

Still feeling pressure from the momentum, Naruto cut out with a quick jab and straight, but his opponent blocked both before hooking across with a right, forcing the boy to duck. The jinchuriki swiftly leapt back when a knee thrust up towards his chin, urging the Genin to put some distance between them. The power behind each of those attacks was enough to make the ninja reconsider a fight at extreme close range.

"I'll be beaten black and blue if I stay too close to him!"

However, he had to try, even if it meant taking one or two hits.

Noticing his opponent stepping in deep, Naruto crossed both hands up to block. Nai, in response to the defense, gritted his teeth and jabbed out with a full body hit, the power behind it evident in the motion in his legs. The jinchuriki expected to take another heavy hit, his body bracing for impact, but when the pugilist's fist impacted with his guard, what he got instead was something equivalent to a kick from a mule.

The sound of a gunshot exploding into the air had Naruto recoil back in shock when his guard was cracked open. A shockwave echoed throughout the arena and stunned the crowds.

Shikamaru saw how far his friend actually slid back from taking the hit and leaned forward in bewilderment, "What the heck?"

"N-Naruto!" Hinata cried out.

Naruto gritted his teeth and bit against the attack, forcing himself to a stop and digging in once more. He reacted just in time to see another left rocketing out at him from his opponent. Not wanting to take it, he brought his arms over his face a second time to take the hit, this time with a turtle guard. However, just like before, the attack exploded against him with a clap of thunder and a force of a wild animal's kick pushing it on. The jinchuriki was blasted back through the air and his defense was split open like a can, a look of clear astonishment coming upon him when he fully realized the power behind the two-hit combo.

The blonde landed several feet away from where he was previously standing and, after regaining his footing, looked up to see his opponent with his fist still extended. Naruto's eyes wavered with disbelief and his arms trembled in response to the damage he got just from blocking the awesome attacks.

Nai brought his left back in, assuming another offensive stance against his target. The intensity in his glare increased even more from before, his eyes flashing and darkening over as a result.

Feeling killing intent rising off of his attacker, Naruto backed away, bringing his trembling hands up into another firm fighting stance. Though he was able to get it together in the end, he could still see smoke rising off of the impacted areas in his limbs. The fists had buried into him like a hammer on a nail through wood. There was no way he could have taken those shots without a guard and survived.

He would have been knocked out cold… or had his neck broken and killed.

"Geez, the pressure behind his glare is incredible, and his jabs… it feels like he's ramming an anvil into me…" They weren't just jabs; they were God damn piston engines. How the hell could someone possess that much power in their attacks? It just wasn't possible. Looking the boy over again, and judging by the way he held his left fist further out in front then his right with his elbows tucked in, he was also able to defend effectively while attacking, something Naruto took special note of as he attempted to search for a good place to counter.

However, after recalling the way he fought and the way he was able to chase him down while also continuously unleash hit after hit showed the jinchuriki that there were very few windows of opportunity open to him. Even his offensive stance had a guard to it. His fists, elbows and knees were a damn good barrier.

"There aren't many holes. I'll just have to wait till he's in the middle of attacking, and then strike where he can't see!" Naruto thought, putting faith in the counterattacking capabilities of his Spring Chant style.

His opponent may have power, speed, sharpness, and was radiating with such overwhelming intensity and killing intent that he could shake down his opponent just by looking at them, but the jinchuriki knew above all this that he could be beaten. He wasn't invincible.

"Come on!"

As if responding to the boy's thoughts, Nai charged forward, leading with his left. Naruto backed off bit by bit, weaving from side to side and parrying the punches that flew his way. He backed off so far and so quickly across the clearing that he was almost in jumping distance of the staircase of the castle. His eyes darted back and took note of his surroundings, a second before he unexpectedly weaved right, parried and crossed with his right at his opponent's face.

Nai shoulder blocked, before coming back around with a wide sweeping right hook. Naruto ducked under and struck with a body shot to the boy's left side. However, with his own quick in-fighting movement, though he was able to land a hit, the jinchuriki didn't have enough power to penetrate the kick boxer's thick body. As a result, Naruto's hit landed and the force bounced off with little to no effect.

So, instead of hitting once, Naruto instead returned with several more body hooks and chain punches. They bombarded the boy's open side with several dozen hits before Nai was able to come back around with a left roundhouse to counter against the onslaught a second later. The jinchuriki leaned back sharply and dodged, feeling the wind grow hot from the leg cutting across at the speed it traveled.

"Damn it! I need to move faster!"

It was easier said than done. Naruto leapt back again, this time adding more speed and following a zigzag pattern as his opponent pursued, jabbing out with swift left and rights. When Nai got in close with a step-in jab, the blonde leapt back even faster, before suddenly changing directions and moving right. With his opponent thrown off balance from a left, the jinchuriki then struck out with a straight shot, only for his opponent to head slip back when he retracted from his own lunge.

"Alright… NOW!" Naruto slid to a stop, taking ground and stepping into a Southpaw dominant stance. Nai was upon him in seconds, jabbing out with his left. The jinchuriki slid right with a left strike to the boy's body and a grab to his opponent's arm. His free arm came up to lock it, but the kick boxer brought his arm in quickly to avoid the lock and hooked upwards with his right. Naruto weaved the other way, but was then met with an elbow and a full knee.

It was a check movement. Naruto crossed his arms and his knee up at the last moment when he was suddenly shoved back with full force. Staggering, the blonde brought up both his arms to cover his face when Nai dove in at and began cutting into his guard with repeated straight punches. After taking several hits with his shoulder and bodyweight helping to defend against the power of his foe's attacks, Naruto then began ducking and weaving around them again, parrying and redirecting each of his hits as they came, while trying to snap his own hits in.

Blocking conventionally without redirecting the force of the attacks was damaging. He could feel his arms go numb just from stopping a single hit!

He needed to weave and dodge. That way he could avoid damage.

"There may not be many openings, but defending forever won't get me anywhere!" Naruto thought furiously, his eyes darting about this way and that as he swerved around a wide straight from his opponent, who brought it back in swiftly and struck out with his left. The jinchuriki watched carefully, allowing his evasions and blocking to carry him for this part. "He's attacking with mostly his upper body, just like before, and he's using a very monotonous pattern. I can use this to my advantage!"

He crossed his right arm in front with his left, parrying a left jab when his opponent swung in wide. The blow was powerful, it shook Naruto up despite his defense, but the jinchuriki wasn't deterred. He gritted his teeth against it as Nai withdrew his fist for another straight.

"I can reach him from here!" Naruto shouted in his head, his left fist clenching suddenly.

With the power in his body, he uncorked a sharp jab of his own, which shot out for his opponent as Nai dove in with a full right straight.

Naruto's attack slammed his opponent square in the face, catching his nose, eye and cheek, utilizing the full power in the blonde's body. At first it looked as though Nai would stagger. However, much to the jinchuriki's shock, the boy plowed forward without even flinching, even with the shinobi's fist in his face. The blonde pulled back in astonishment, his opponent's right cutting out as if his counter didn't even happen.

"FUCK! HE'S NOT STOPPING!"

Naruto threw his arms out in front, blocking the right straight that drove into him like a kick. The blonde held his ground as more straights exploded against him, his opponent repeatedly going at his guard and shaking him up physically. Feeling it weaken, Nai then corked back his dominant arm and lunged in with an overhead, his fist exploding against his opponent's guard, smashing it open, and sending the jinchuriki flying back across the arena, right to the center of the quad.

Staggering under the blows with his arms shaking from the damage, Naruto glanced back up. Blood trickled down his nose and from his lips from where he took the remaining power of the attack, but despite the damage he was able to lock back onto his target, where he could see him dashing at him again.

"Damn, he's got a strong body. He can take my hits like they're nothing and just keep moving forward," the blonde thought furiously, his teeth gritting. "In order for my counters to work on him, I need to either add more power to them or give him back ten shots for every two he gives me!" He took the defensive, his feet digging in as Nai dove with a right shooting out at his target. "I can do this!"

Naruto backed off, parrying each of the boy's coming blows and countering his assault by locking in his combination. In between chain punches, which the jinchuriki was able to dish out in between his ducking and weaving, the boy locked up each individual attack Nai attempted. The boy leapt from left to right while moving back continuously, ducking and dodging whenever his opponent lunged in at him with more attacks, while also switching directions sharply to stay out of reach of his powerful hits.

It was a persistent in-fighter pursuing a shinobi using long-range evasive maneuvers he'd honed from weeks of training under the guide of his teachers. Finally, Naruto's hard work was paying off.

Nai frowned, becoming a little tired of trying to hit the orange boy darting in and out of him. Though he was closing in, the boy kept on backing away to stay out of reach. Honestly, it was starting to get to him.

"Alright. I've had enough of this running around. Time to switch it up a gear," Nai thought, his toes suddenly planting themselves after landing directly in front of his opponent. His body began twisting in and his feet pivoted along with it, an action Naruto was able to spot after leaning away from the boy's jab, "Take this!"

Naruto gasped, his instincts telling him to bring both his arms and his knee right up on his left side, which was exactly what he did. A split second later, there was a crack of lightning, followed instantly by a clap of thunder when the blonde was hit full on by what he first thought was a charging bull. However, what was now threatening to bend his body at the center wasn't a wild creature ramming into him, but the roundhouse kick thrown by his powerful opponent.

The force behind the attack sent the Genin flying off to his right, with dust blasting into the air from his cannonball of a body sailing across the ground at the speed of sound. His eyes glazed over as a result of the impact, the power behind it being so great it cut him right down to the bone. He was shaking so much because of the hit he felt like every solid in his body was turning into gravel in that instance of flight.

Asuma gasped, eyes widening when he saw the distance Naruto was covering from the launch. At first it was five meters, but then the number doubled, tripled, before he had soon covered half the courtyard.

"Shit!"

"It's his specialty… muay thai roundhouse kick… FUCK! WHY THE FUCK DOES IT HURT SO MUCH!" Naruto would have screamed this out, but he was so physically traumatized by the attack that he lost his voice.

Feet slamming into the ground, he skidded to a stop, biting down hard and attempting to regain his consciousness. His perception and awareness of reality had apparently been unable to follow him at the speed he was traveling, but once he was able to slow himself to a stop, his awareness eventually bounced back in. He blinked away the darkness and returned to the realm of the living, after blacking out for about a second.

Dust kicking up behind him, Naruto threw both his arms to his sides and clenched his fists tightly. Though his knees were shaking, he was still up and still breathing, so there was no way he was going down after just taking one hit. The wall of fumes blasting away, the boy dove forward and charged back toward the kick boxer, who had dropped into his usual stance after executing his kick.

Nai, seeing Naruto finally go on the offensive, grinned widely and switched from attack to defense. "Yeah! Bring it!"

The brawler backed down, avoiding the spinning kicks launched by the jinchuriki the moment he was in range. The pugilist's arms switched from low to high, blocking the combination of hooks and uppercuts that came at him after the jump kicks, and parried his straights. Pressing in deeply, the blonde plowed into the kick boxer with his shoulder, accompanied by a body shot and an arm shove, which buried itself under Nai's jaw.

Gritting his teeth against the full body lock, the kick boxer attempted to push his opponent off, but Naruto wasn't going to let him. He held his position, pushing up with his legs and using the strength he'd built from his exercises to take the head.

"Yes! G-Go Naruto!" Hinata exclaimed, seeing the boy lock horns with his opponent in a grappling match. It appeared like he was finally gaining the upper hand, but from the distance they stood from the engagement, Shikamaru and Asuma could see that that was not the case.

"No," Shikamaru murmured, folding his arms uncomfortably as he analyzed the scene more carefully, "He's not winning; he's just attacking his opponent out of desperation."

"W-What?" the Hyuuga gasped, turning to her teammate in shock. "How could that be?"

"That roundhouse kick packed more of a wallop then it looked," Asuma said while looking on even more anxiously. "It's insane. Nai has so much more hitting power then I do, yet he's able to execute attacks of that level so easily. After taking and blocking a hit of that magnitude, Naruto's now just trying to stay conscious, so he's burying into his opponent with everything he has to keep himself on his feet."

"Oh-no!" Hinata murmured, looking back across to see her crush still holding that distressed position against his target. He pressed in deeper, his body shaking violently. "Please… Naruto… hang in there!"

"Hang on… just hang on!" the boy in question growled out angrily, using his leg power to push back against his opponent from below. Though he had effectively stopped Nai from moving so that he could catch his breath, the kick boxer was still fighting hard against him to throw him off. The jinchuriki started sweating tremendously as he struggled to keep what he figured was equivalent to that of a raging elephant from trampling over him.

Nai, finding the clinch a boring and frustrating situation to be stuck in, took Naruto by the shoulders and attempted to knee him into submission. Unfortunately, the uplifted position he'd found his body in thanks to the jinchuriki's advantageous lock from a lowered state, prevented him from using the full power of his body, so the best he could do was pepper the smaller boy with half-assed checks and punches.

"D-Damn you…" Nai growled, attempting to push him away but was still being held back by the elbow shoved into his neck. "Get away…" However, just as he was finally getting leverage on both the ground and through the boy's arms, Naruto suddenly ducked low and twisted in, slamming a body blow right underneath his breastbone. The kick boxer, not expecting a hit so suddenly, bent over in shock, the wind literally getting knocked out of him.

Caught off guard, Nai growled and struck out with his own combination of hooks and uppercuts. However, the blonde managed to weave around them, ducking a grazing left hook while uncorking a series of chain punches to his body. Both opponents began trading combo shots at extreme close range at incredibly high speed, Nai keeping his attacks compact while Naruto unleashed his shots with sharpness and proficiency. Though this limited their power, the damage would stack up if any of their swift hits landed.

Locking up a jab, Naruto countered with his own, his attack cracking across Nai's face before he fired off a left roundhouse kick to his opponent's body. The blonde took it in the side but managed to stand through it, firing his own left roundhouse before Nai shoved him away. The jinchuriki struck out with a series of straights and chain punches, all the while intravenously blocking and dodging roundhouse kicks and side-kicks being launched by Nai. He bit his teeth through them, managed to land a descent left jab across Nai again, before the boy snap kicked him in his forward leg.

Staggering back from the heel shot to his calve, Nai then shot a powerful right side-kick right at his stomach. Before his attack could land though, the jinchuriki managed to fire off a right counter cross that managed to nail the kick boxer right in the chin. The two blows staggered, and both managed to send the boys blasting back across the quad in different directions.

It appeared that Naruto had finally managed to capture his opponent's rhythm, and was now exchanging blows with him equally in return for the damage he received in the opening minutes.

"Alright then, time to take it up a notch!" Naruto grinned, digging his feet back into the ground as he slowed his flight path.

"Finally… this is the moment I've been waiting for!" Nai also smirked, bringing his fists around as he too began to stop himself, his toes skidding across the concrete. "THIS IS INCREDIBLE! I'm so fired up! Naruto Uzumaki, you are the one! You are the opponent I have been looking forward to fighting all this time! Let's go!"

Both fighters sliding to a stop, they then sprang back at each other while yelling out with great effort, their punches leading them in their dashes. They once again engaged in the center, Nai opening up with hooks and knees to his opponent's body who managed to lock up his hits with his arms and elbows, while retaliating with chain punches and sharp shots to Nai's head.

They circled, the kick boxer managing to blow his opponent back with a chopping right knee from up high he managed to swing over.

The audience was captivated… all of them.

Team 10, seeing Naruto finally start trading simultaneous hits with his opponent and getting in his own, started to brighten up considerably. Hinata was the first to notice the change, and an admirable smile rose on her face. Asuma and Shikamaru followed, the Jonin stepping forward with a raised fist as he watched his student hammer blows into his opponent's body five at a time. It was just as the jinchuriki vowed to do, for every one shot his opponent threw, he would return with five more, and even ten.

The boys on the team cheered when they saw Naruto managed to nail a kick right into his opponent's gut and stagger him, before he followed up with a few more lock-ups, immediately leading up to a chain punch combo that he peppered across his opponent's face. Even though Nai was able to stand through it, he was still getting hits in.

"Yes! That's it!" Asuma exclaimed, grinning widely. "How could I have doubts about my student? Of course he can do it! Come on kid, sock it to him!"

"Whoa. It's about time," Shikamaru said, leaning forward and watching closely as Naruto took the lead in the punching race. Though he had no power, he was clearly getting more in now. Something was bound to give way by the end of this. "Come on you crazy fool, smack him a good one from me."

"N-Naruto-kun… you're amazing," Hinata whispered, watching him weave around a one-two and send a cross into his opponent's face when he lunged too far.

Things were going great, that was until the two fighters in the middle unexpectedly split apart when something fast moving and long went flying right between them. Shockingly enough, the thing flew straight towards Team 10, the trio shouting out in surprise and diving out of the way. Well, Hinata cried out and barreled out of the way, whereas Asuma yanked Shikamaru out of the danger zone so that they wouldn't get impaled by the thing that suddenly struck the tree directly behind them, and shook violently as it was buried into place.

Naruto and Nai, put off from their engagement, both stopped immediately after seeing the thing fly past, and looked around each other in bewilderment.

"W-What the hell was that?" the jinchuriki choked.

"A bird? No… wait a second…" Nai blinked, before the two of them jumped when a shadow suddenly sprinted past them from the Guard of Four's side of the quad.

Asuma and Shikamaru, after getting their footing back, looked over at the tree to see what exactly it was that had caused them all to duck and cover all of a sudden. When they spotted the thing impaled in the log, it took them only a few seconds to identify the form of the projectile.

"Is that…"

"A lance?" Asuma finished.

All of a sudden, the end of the five meter long javelin was suddenly grabbed by a firm hand. In a flash, it was yanked clear of the tree and the one responsible for throwing it spun around and lunged after Hinata, who had managed to secure a good defensive stance upon reacting to the new threat. The girl ducked and retreated quickly, avoiding the swipes from the long weapon being swung and stabbed at her.

The spear tip flashed through the air repeatedly as the girl back flipped away, avoiding it when it attempted to strike her down from above. It ended up hitting the concrete, cracking the floor with its impact.

Bringing it back up, the wielder spun the lance around his neck and arm, before catching it and holding it out. When they came to stand to full attention, Hinata and Asuma recognized the attacker to be none other than Vincent, who had unexpectedly decided to get himself involved.

With a smile, the boy reached up and removed his officer's cap, holding it across as he gazed at the blue haired girl crouching on the ground several feet away from him.

The crowds were stunned.

"You must forgive me for startling you, Ms Hinata. I'm sorry, but I just cannot stand by and watch any longer as Naruto and Nai get all the attention."

Hinata blinked, her surprised expression suddenly turning into a frown as she brought her hands around. Her palms opening up, she glared hard up at the boy who had once been so passionate about pursuing her. But now, after it had been decided that the two groups would be in contest with one another, she was chosen by him to be his opponent.

It looked as though a gun was being jumped and an all out battle was about to start.

Vincent beamed, "You look after your teammate with admiration and affection, an expression that has been built up from years of being in his presence. I don't know how I will ever compete with that… with someone like him."

"…"

"Still, I guess the best I can do to contend with such a strong boy is to show you what I can do through action." He spun his lance around before pointing the tip towards her, tossing his hat away and taking the staff into a two-handed grip. His smile disappeared, quickly being replaced by a frown. "I've put my heart and soul into the very practice I have pursued, just as I will put my heart and soul into winning you over, Ms Hinata."

Hinata nodded, rising up and assuming her Gentle Fist stance, while Asuma and Shikamaru watched them carefully from the sidelines.

"Th-Then… do your best," the Hyuuga encouraged. As much as she respected the young man's persistence, her heart was set on Naruto. She will have to make this clear to him through her own action, as she allowed the jinchuriki's smile to spur her on. "To make Naruto-kun happy… I will do my best in every battle that I fight… and never give up."

Vincent thrashed the spear tip from side to side, the shaftflashing through the air before stabbing out at Hinata. The girl's eyes followed it, her irises darting around before suddenly locking onto it and narrowing.

Byakugan activating, the girl ducked at the last second and leapt back to avoid. She began dancing around and out into the open, the audience gasping audibly as Vincent began his pursuit of her. His weapon spun expertly around him, very much like a hurricane, as he began lashing out at the kunoichi with attack patterns that were unseen in the shinobi world.

The way the westerns used a lance was so much different from the way shinobi used their staffs. Vincent appeared to use it in a fashion similar to both the martial artists from this land and the practitioners from his nation.

As direct and indirect as it was, Hinata wasn't going to let that get to her. Leaping back through the air to avoid a wide slice, she tossed a barrage of shuriken at the man to drive him off. Spotting the rain of deadly weapons, the cavalry officer stepped back and spun the lance around him repeatedly like a propeller blade, using the pole to smack the projectiles out of the air one after another, and knocking them flying away.

Once the sky was clear, he dashed after her. The kunoichi landed safely away, taking a defensive stance. With the pace secured, she lunged back at him, an exchange of long reaching attacks meeting a refined evasive and defensive opposition who continued moving around him. Hinata kept the battle at long-range, using this for now to help her figure out a way to defeat this man.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth and marched forward, "Why the hell is he interfering? Come on. That's not how it works, is it?" The boy asked, looking over at Asuma behind him.

The man shrugged, looking up to see not only Hinata sparring it out with Vincent on their space in the quad, but also Naruto and Nai who had also restarted their fight. The competitors were moving swiftly across the open floor, giving a grand show to the audience and wowing the cameramen as they worked double hard to capture all of the action. This was almost too good of an opportunity to pass up. It was like the Chunin Exams had come early for them…

And speaking of competitors…

Shikamaru gasped and dived away spontaneously when both he and Asuma unexpectedly saw William come charging across the clearing. Completely disregarding Nai and Naruto's fight taking place in the middle, the hulking American decided to go after the person he had chosen as his quarry, and attempted to shoulder-plow the Nara into the wall before he could react.

Missing him by inches, the charger instead slammed headlong into the tree, snapping it at the base and causing it to come crashing down onto the grassy bed it was sitting in. Staggering away after bringing down the poor thing, William spun around and focused his best glare on Shikamaru, who was crouching on the ground and gripping his shoulder. Apparently he had landed the wrong way in his haste to get out of reach of his attacker.

After exchanging a hostile stare with one that was completely caught off guard, the hulking teen then grinned across at the sloth, before reaching up with his hand and literally ripping his tunic off, belts and all. The top part of his uniform was thrown onto the wind, where it would land a safe distance away and revealed his throbbing, sparkling muscles in all their magnificence. He pumped his chest out and flexed his biceps, giving out a primal roar that had Asuma lean away at the unexpected display.

"MEEEEEEEEEN!" William bellowed, suddenly bringing himself down into an orthodox, boxing like stance with his hands extended and unclenched. Beginning to pace from side to side with a heavy foot, he kept his gaze locked onto Shikamaru as he back-wheeled away from him. "Sorry, but I cannot hold myself back any longer. I must have you!"

"Uh… excuse me?" the Nara choked, shaking his head in shock. Did he hear the guy right, or were his ears acting up again?

"I am just so tense. Oh, my insides are jostling, my passions are burning… ah, and my inner beast!" The man breathed in deeply, before throwing his arms out and roaring out again at the top of his lungs. The audience was pretty much stunted by his performance, as were the delegates up on top of the stairs who were now all staring in shock at the boy that had so suddenly joined in on the festivities. "WHOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH HHHH! What a magnificent turn of events! The manly battles taking place before me has not only awoken the beasts inside of my companions… BUT HAVE ALSO AWOKEN THE BEAST INSIDE ME!"

Okay, scary. Sure Shikamaru had heard of crazy, but this guy was just bat-shit crazy. The boy chuckled nervously as he watched the wrestler pump his fists, and slam them into each other with an almighty thud. His footsteps pounded into the ground, upsetting the very foundations they stood on and making the Nara feel all the more concerned about his personal wellbeing.

"Come, fellow man of combat," William breathed, his pectorals twitching one after the other with loud crunching noises being heard. "Let us wrestle like real men, until either one of us is left standing or the sun has finally set over its horizon." Diamonds began twinkling around his grinning visage, a sight that had Shikamaru blink.

Gulping, the boy raised a hand and looked over to where Hinata was having her battle. "Can I trade out with someone… please…?"

"MEEEEEEEEEENNNN!"

"Damn it!" Shikamaru cursed, barrel rolling when the wrestler suddenly charged at him again and began lashing out with wide, punishing hooks.

It was almost like the Nara had seen and heard something like this before. The power, the directness, the intensity… this man was a hard brawler very much like Nai. He was infinitely scarier too. Not only did the guy have physical strength and guts to match with the muay thai fighter, he was also bigger, had more character, and was more willing to fight with anything that had a soul. He was passionate after all, which made him even more troublesome.

The only thing Shikamaru could be grateful for in this instance is that the guy's technique wasn't as refined and that he was too heavy footed when using combinations.

This allowed the smaller, lighter, and more agile Nara to keep ahead of him as he came in swinging. He ducked and jumped back when his fists and elbows lashed out, as well as his hands when they made a grab for him. He kept this up for several minutes, before the boy was eventually driven into the plinth of one of the statues lining the central path. Shikamaru felt his back hit the wall and looked over his shoulder in shock, a split second before he glanced up to see William's almighty fist come plummeting down at him.

Gasping, the Nara leapt away, while the teenager's fist plowed right through the stone monument and shattered the inanimate guardian into millions of pieces. Stunned, Shikamaru managed to barrel away from the top half of the statue scattering itself across the court, and crouched a safe distance from his opponent. William brought his fist back around, rising up to full height as he followed his swift foe with his gaze.

"My, my, you must be pretty good to dodge my megaton punches. Not bad… not bad at all!"

Praise was coming at him from his opponent? Outstanding…

He'd better appreciate it now than never because Shikamaru was pretty sure he wouldn't be receiving the same courtesy from future enemies. Just because the guy was friendly in spite of battle and still acted sportsmanly, that didn't mean he could slack off now. He had a serious issue to contend with.

"Though I'm sure guys like Naruto and Sasuke would be able to avoid attacks like that no problem, they're still really unorthodox, which is a big problem," Shikamaru huffed, sweat breaking out on his face. "The guy uses low staggering movements and not only neglects basic punching techniques; he also just comes at you swinging. There is absolutely no grace, rhythm or form to his fighting style at all, but each and every punch he throws sound's heavy. If I take one of those directly, I'm finished."

…

…

"But… I can deal with this. He's not unbeatable. Every single technique has a weakness… I just need to find his…"

Yes. His power was exactly like Nai's. Guess all of that muscle wasn't just for show. Shikamaru could see this guy hurling buildings in the future.

He sure as hell was close enough to that stage right now.

The Genin was unable to complete his evaluation of his opponent when he saw as William, using raw strength he had no idea an ordinary human being could possess, grabbed the bottom half of the statue he had destroyed and ripped it out of the ground. With a roar of sheer effort, the wrestler held the massive slab of concrete and earth above his head, before tossing the thing at him like it was a baseball.

The massive chunk of fixture spun through the air toward the crouching boy, who leapt out of the way to avoid it as it came spiraling at him in a curved motion. It cracked the ground when it hit, before bouncing to a stop just outside of the barrier the soldiers had set up for the civilians in the stands.

The crowds gaped, as did Asuma and Naruto who had managed to catch the boy's stunts from their positions.

It wasn't the only thing the wrestler would show the world today, because the next item he picked up was one of the one-ton, stone slabs making up the palace's courtyard surface. Slamming his fingers into a groove, the man single-handedly ripped the slab of concrete out of the ground and sent it hurling at Shikamaru in one, fluent motion. The boy swore to himself as he dodged that as well, but only barely.

The guy wasn't reckless; not at all. He was shockingly accurate.

"Ah, hell," the Nara groaned, seeing his opponent come charging at him once he had landed, elbow first. "Why does the world hate me so much?"

Seeing Shikamaru suddenly get shoulder-butted and sent flying across the quad, along the way bouncing along the concrete right through Naruto and Nai circling each other in the middle, Asuma decided that now was the best time for him to intervene.

Concerned for the safety of his shogi partner and less taijutsu coordinated student, the Jonin dashed out to catch his apprentice and stop his opponent. The kid was obviously not meant to fight this guy; he just couldn't see William being beaten in the conventional sense. Hell, even Naruto would have trouble against him.

Unfortunately, Asuma wasn't really in the right state of mind to make any kind of proper judgment or accurately focus on his surroundings. He was so set on going out to save his students that he was unable to notice Periklis come plummeting down from the sky above before landing directly in front of him, just when he was only halfway from Shikamaru's opponent.

Skidding to an abrupt stop, the Jonin leapt back instinctively when he saw the swordsman straighten up before him.

Adjusting the glove on his right hand, the Hellenic officer reached over and drew the saber from its sheath. His magnificently crafted blade flashing under the sun, the man stepped forward into a comfortable, jousting stance, and smiled across at the team leader.

"Your opponent is me, Mr. Asuma, sir," Periklis exclaimed with a gentleman's air about his voice. He flicked the sword out, before holding it out in front of him, his feet widening. "En guard."

A nervous bead of sweat ran down Asuma's face.

Oh yeah, the sheer intent and pressure that Naruto could feel from Nai, the raw intensity and power Shikamaru felt from William, and the heart and focus Hinata could feel from Vincent… Asuma felt all of that and more coming off of this one man.

If he thought all of his past enemies were scary, as well as all those guys he knew from his village, the Jonin was in fact getting the worst aura of his professional career coming from this Periklis fellow. The sheer killing intent he could smell, feel and everything else wafting off of this person had Asuma slide back edgily, his hand hovering over his side holster and twitching for a weapon of his own.

Gulping, the bearded Jonin smirked back at the fencer and took a stance of his own, "Alright then… bring it on…"

TO BE CONTINUED…

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Author's Note: And the fight begins!

I can't excuse Churchill's actions. We can all assume that in his wilder years or the younger years of an ordinary person, he made some pretty poor judgment calls. Making decisions out of desperation as well as loyalty can really have some unpleasant outcomes, and it was something Kasumi wanted to avoid being on the receiving end of. So, what better way to resolve a dispute and come to an agreement then to have a competition? Instead of thousands of people getting hurt, you can have Team 10 and the other guys.

Wonderful.

I made Churchill arrive at that decision based on one bad even in history he was a part of, and that was the Gallipoli farce back in WWI. I might get burned for it, but hey, this was the main antagonistic element of the arc, and one that's going to be resolved in the next chapter.

Naruto against Nai: rival against rival. Hinata against Vincent: a girl wishing to prove herself squaring off against a powerful man in the same league as Neji also wishing to prove his worth. Shikamaru against William: brain against brawn. And Asuma against Periklis, two powerful men of their generations ready to lock blades.

Things are starting to heat up.

P.S: Nai isn't using any special techniques to block Naruto's punches; the guy is built like a tank. He is that strong. Naruto needs to come up with a way to overcome his raw power and technique, because the guy is good.