CHAPTER 25: A Fight Straight from the Heart

The waves crashed below the place where Hashirama and company were watching the fight. They could see land from so far a distance that what was in front of them was practically just sea. There were islands here and there, but the lower land structures had sunk under the water.

Naruto had flown away from Gamabunta when the strong surge of water hit them a moment ago. When Gamabunta felt that no one was riding his back, he grew worried. "Naruto! Naruto!" He looked around. That was when it occurred to him that Naruto must have fallen unconscious. Gamabunta dived into the water and searched for Naruto. He was right. Naruto was slowly sinking towards the bottom. He swam to him and pulled him into his mouth with his tongue. He then swam out of the water and laid Naruto on land. "Naruto! Can you hear me, Naruto?" Naruto stirred. Gamabunta felt relieved. He flicked Naruto's cheek, and, because he was a giant, of course, his force was too much. Naruto skidded away and hit a rise on the land.

Naruto jumped onto his feet with a throbbing cheek. "Are you trying to kill me?" he yelled.

"Good. I thought you died."

"Died my ass! That hurts!"

Gamabunta looked over his shoulder. "There's no time for arguments. Look."

Naruto was amazed with the scenery. "What the…why is there a sea? Did Tobirama-oji-chan teleport us to somewhere?"

"No. He made the sea."

"Ehhh?"

"Right now, he is resting because this technique uses a lot of chakra. Take your time to replenish yours. You've taken heavy damage from that attack."

"I think I'm fine. Why don't we look for him, instead? I can defeat him while he's charging up."

"I can't help you with that." Gamabunta looked at Naruto. "But you can try. Using your Sage Mode."

"Okay." Naruto closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened it, he was in Sage Mode, again. He spread his hands, palms down, and attempted to feel his surrounding, searching for a dubious spot.

"You don't need to do that," said a voice. It was Tobirama, arms crossed over his chest, standing on the back of a giant whale shark. "Let's resume, Naruto."

"Tobirama-jii-chan…"

"Naruto, he's with Kujiro, the boss of the fishes. He's no ordinary summon. He's like me, very picky with his master."

Naruto grinned, but a drop of sweat, which crawled down from his temple, contrasted his confidence. "I should give everything I've got."

"Good. Hop on." When Naruto was on his back, Gamabunta faced Tobirama. He paid more attention to Kujiro.

"Kujiro," Tobirama said.

"All right. Let's crush them." Kujiro began to move. His acceleration increased by the second. Soon he was fast enough to part the water with his dorsal fin as he sliced through. Tobirama lowered his stance to brace for balance.

"He's coming. Naruto, I'll spit oil at him. You lit it with fire," Gamabunta said.

"Okay."

Gamabunta formed hand seals, put a hand on his stomach, and spat out a ball of oil. Naruto lit the ball in perfect timing with a fire release technique. It flared up and cruised the air with a promise of serious damage. Gamabunta went on, spitting more oil out his mouth. Naruto lit them all. Soon, Gamabunta was sending tens of fire balls a second.

The first fire ball to come, Tobirama just parried aside. The ball erupted a few meters away, sending showers at them. The second, the third, the fourth came. Tobirama did the same. Water towers bloomed from the explosions of the fire balls. Gamabunta followed them wherever they went. The giant toad was like a warship with its unrelenting attack.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!" Fast projectiles shot out from the water surface, aiming for Gamabunta. They shot from everywhere that their tails formed a pyramid-like structure around the island where Naruto and the toad were.

"Hold on!" Gamabunta yelled. As the projectiles closed in, he leaped up towards the sky with his powerful legs. The projectiles hit each other and dispersed into drizzle. The momentum of the projectiles was so high that those projectiles which had reached the island destroyed it. The chunks of earth sunk down into the water.

Kujiro launched out of the water towards Gamabunta. Tobirama slid to the whale shark's tail and instructed it to swat him in the direction of the giant toad.

"Shit!" Gamabunta said.

Tobirama caught the fabric of Gamabunta's shirt and used it to throw himself towards Naruto. "Kujiro, take care of Gamabunta!"

Naruto was waiting for Tobirama. As the Second came with a propped knee, ready to hit him in the face, Naruto sent a powerful punch. Tobirama held his wrist and kicked him in the side of his cheek. Blood spurt out as Tobirama's wooden sandal made contact with his skin. He flew to the water. It was just fortunate that he hadn't fainted with the strength of the kick, for he managed to prevent himself from sinking. He stood up on the surface of water. From a distance, he could see Gamabunta battling with the whale shark Kujiro.

Tobirama and two of his clones skidded towards Naruto with alarming quickness. Naruto put his hands together at his right hip. The three Tobirama closed in. A ball of wind Rasengan formed on Naruto's palms, and the air around it swirled. "Sage Art: Super Wind Sphere Shockwave!" He thrust the wind sphere forward. It gushed out into a threatening tornado-like force, tapering outward to do maximum damage to its target. The high point of the technique, it was incredibly fast. It only consumed a split second to dig a trench on the water surface and reached the three Tobirama. The shockwave destroyed a nearby island.

Suddenly, Tobirama shot out of the water beneath Naruto. He attacked Naruto with a Taijutsu combination, lifting him up in air. For his last attack, Tobirama spun and sent a heel kick to Naruto's stomach. Naruto's limp body plummeted towards land. He lay there gaping, his vision blurry, and his breath short.

Tobirama didn't move from where he was, waiting for Naruto to get back on his feet.

"It might have been better if Naruto used a technique that didn't obstruct his view," the Third said. "Tobirama-sensei obviously wanted to get near."

"It's not that. Something is wrong with Naruto," Hashirama replied. "Look. Tobirama seems to notice it, too."

Naruto recovered his vision. He looked at Tobirama. He's really something. Even though I'm in Sage Mode, he's inflicting damage on me as if my Sage Mode doesn't matter. If I get close, I'll get beaten up. I need to be careful. He stood up and made fifteen Kage Bunshins.

Tobirama started to sprint over the water towards Naruto. Naruto ordered his clones to attack. In no time, Tobirama was surrounded by the clones. They attacked with Taijutsu and Rasengan. Skillfully, Tobirama clashed with them with his hands and feet. The clones were dispersing one by one.

Naruto's heart raced in nervousness. He formed another series of hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Columns!" Cylindrical columns plunged out from the water one by one in a straight line towards Tobirama. The last column caught Tobirama and it took him up fifty feet from the water surface. "Earth Chain Capturing Technique!" Chains the color of the column appeared and bound Tobirama's hands and feet. Tobirama tried to escape, but the chains were tough. Since it was a capturing technique, he couldn't counter with Kawarimi, like for example, turning himself into water. "Attack him, now!" Naruto shouted. The three remaining clones crawled up the column.

Tobirama closed his eyes.

"My master is calling me," Kujiro said. "Bye for now, Gamabunta." The whale shark swam away.

"Kujiro! Shit!" Gamabunta tried to catch up, but Kujiro was fast.

One of the clones reached the top and was struggling to get on the platform. Suddenly, Kujiro leaped up from the water and crashed into the earth column, easily destroying it. The earth chains binding Tobirama were destroyed with the column. Tobirama used the falling chunk of earth to push himself on top of the next column, and then he used the other columns to close in to Naruto.

As Tobirama jumped off of the first column, Naruto made a circle around his mouth with his thumb and forefinger. "Fire Release: Great Fire Ball Technique!" He blew out a huge fireball at Tobirama. The lash of hot air destroyed the earth column behind.

"Water God Art: Fire Diffusion!" Tobirama sent a fist-sized water ball into the center of the fire ball, and, in the blink of an eye, the fire ball erupted into nothing. Naruto froze. Tobirama attacked with a Taijutsu combination Naruto couldn't defend against. For his finale, Tobirama sent a double fist in Naruto's chest. Naruto coughed up blood, sliding until a rise of earth stopped his motion.

Tobirama approached and stood beside Naruto. He cocked his hand up to his ear.

"Naruto!" Kushina shrieked. "Tobirama-sama…" Her hair rose behind her like the tails of the Demon Fox. Her eyes spoke of death. "Let me fight you, instead!"

Hashirama hooked an arm around Kushina's neck. "Calm down."

Tobirama's cocking of his arm was actually to grab Naruto and pull him up so that he was in a sitting position. Tobirama hunkered in front of Naruto.

"Can you hear me, kid?"

Naruto blinked his dizziness away.

"Naruto?"

Naruto pulled back, but the rise of earth prevented him from getting away. "Tobirama-jii-chan."

Tobirama pulled a long breath. "What are you doing?"

Naruto frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"I also prepared for this fight, you know." He looked at Naruto, and then stood up. "Is that all you got? You're facing a Kage, Naruto. Please don't forget that."

"I know that, Tobirama-jii-chan."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

Naruto stood up, now, puzzled with the conversation. "I don't understand you."

Tobirama glanced at Naruto. "Did you train for this?"

"Of course. I sweated blood to be stronger for this day."

"It might have been better if you had not."

Naruto looked at Tobirama.

"I've been using my strongest techniques. Can you see this sea? How about you? You've been using A-Rank techniques, all right, but how many techniques of your nature affinity have you used? One. Honestly, Naruto, I'm disappointed in you. This is not what I've expected. Hiruzen told me that you were a reckless and aggressive fighter. Earlier, you showed promise, but as the fight progressed you stayed irritatingly passive. What are you afraid of? Why can't you enjoy our fight?"

"Enjoy?"

"Effective fighters don't win their fights by strength alone. They win because they employ their techniques in the manner they are comfortable with. That way they are able to stay calm and have some sort of fun. You're depending too much on your strong techniques, waiting for me to make a mistake by attacking from a distance. I'm an experienced fighter. I seldom make mistakes, and, if I do, they are of minor importance. If you don't fight from the heart, you're certainly bound to lose."

"Fight from the heart." Naruto closed his eyes and absorbed what Tobirama had said. Tobirama was right. He had been waiting, just waiting. He had been afraid to lose. He inhaled a lungful and exhaled. "I'm sorry." He stood up, and, when he opened his eyes, he felt his fear disappear. He took a red band from his shirt. His mother had made it for him, but he had been embarrassed to wear it. Kushina had embroidered "The Strongest Hokage of All Time Uzumaki Naruto!" on the red band. Naruto wore it around his forehead. He grinned. "I'll defeat you, oji-chan."

Tobirama looked Naruto in the eyes and grinned back. "That's it, Naruto." He dispersed into smoke. He was on an island. Naruto had been looking at him and not at his clone.

Seeing her son wear the band she had made for him, Kushina almost cried in joy. Her doubts disappeared. She thrust her fists up in the air—hitting Hashirama in the process (umph!)—and yelled, "Go, Naruto! You can do it!"

Naruto lowered his stance and charged up. Blue chakra enveloped his body as if it was burning him. Ripples materialized around the island where he was.

Hashirama and company had to cover their faces against the wind.

"Now you'll see how strong Naruto has become," Minato said.

Naruto disappeared. They could only hear the zoom and see how the water parted as he passed over it.

Tobirama formed seals. "Water God Art: Tidal Requiem!" The water in front of him rose until it became a giant tsunami.

Naruto did hand seals, and then jumped up. The tsunami hit nothing but its own. Naruto used the gravitational pull to reinforce the impact of his attack. He attempted to stamp a foot on Tobirama, but Tobirama quickly dodged. He chased after Tobirama. A high-level Taijutsu battle ensued over the water. Eruptions there and here. Hashirama and company should maintain focus or else they would lose sight of the two. Naruto and Tobirama were moving in blinding speed.

"I didn't expect Naruto to be this proficient in Taijutsu," the Third said.

"I've been his sparring partner, Sarutobi-sensei," Minato said. "He's used to enemies at high speed."

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto created two shadow clones. The two shadow clones held his ankles, whirled him around, and hurled him towards Tobirama.

"Water Release: Water Wall!" A cubic wall made of water emerged from the surface. It tried to block Naruto, but Naruto had a Wind Rasengan in hand. When it hit the water wall, it bored a large hole through it. Naruto managed to reach Tobirama, successfully hitting him with a kick in the face. Naruto grabbed the chance and attacked Tobirama with a combination. For his coup de grace, he hit Tobirama with his Rasengan. Tobirama hit land, but, suddenly, he dispersed into water. Naruto looked around. He was breathing through his mouth, already.

By turning into water, Tobirama hid himself from Naruto. His speed increased and he hasn't been hesitating a bit. And I'm already a little out of breath. The first two Water God Art techniques consumed a lot of my chakra. I need to rest for a bit. He chuckled. I wonder if waking him up was a good decision. It's as if I asked for my defeat. Well, I really need to rest first.

Naruto closed his eyes and felt his surroundings. In less than two seconds, he spotted Tobirama.

Tobirama smiled. Guess not. He sighed and showed himself. "Impressive attack, Naruto. That's what I'm expecting from you."

"It was all because of you, oji-chan. Thank you."

"Let's finish this."

Naruto nodded. "Let's do it." He dashed forward in high speed, yelling.

Tobirama formed hand seals and, when Naruto was near, unleashed, "Water God Art: Dance of the Nine Water Dragon Gods!" This will be my last technique, Naruto. Be sure to defeat it. Tobirama coughed up blood. Nine giant water dragons emerged behind Tobirama.

"My. Tobirama finally uses his ace," Hashirama said.

Kushina blanched. "Naruto! Run away!"

But there was no place to go. If measured, the dragons would be a lot bigger compared to Tobirama's Tidal Requiem a while ago.

Naruto knew this and formed his seals. A clone appeared in front of him, caught his ankle, and hurled him up to the sky. Naruto continued forming seals as he soared.

Tobirama, using his hands, controlled the dragons and made them chase after Naruto. The dragons, hungry for first blood, tore the winds for Naruto.

Finally, Naruto showed up, holding a huge spiralling wind sphere over his head with two outstretched arms. The dragons were just feet away. He looked down, and, pulling with what it seemed to be great difficulty, hurled the wind sphere down. "Sage Art: Ultimate Rasengan!"

"He completed it," Minato said with admiration to his son. "He completed the Rasengan! My son completed it!"

The huge Rasengan sucked the air and the people watching felt that they were being pulled to it.

"Hold on," Hashirama ordered.

Tobirama watched as the giant Rasengan sucked his dragons. He smiled in acceptance. "I lost. I can't move anymore. Damn it."

"This is bad," Minato said. "Tobirama-sensei can't move anymore."

"What? The potential damage of that attack will render Tobirama incapable of continuing his existence inside the barrier," Hashirama said.

"Wait here," Minato said. It had been a right decision for him to stick a teleportation tag on both the fighters back.

The ball gained more winds and began to form a tornado, sucking in the water, too. Naruto let himself plummet down, unable to move himself. It was only fortunate that the whale shark Kujiro disappeared because of Tobirama's inability to maintain its existence. Gamabunta was able to come to Naruto's rescue. He bound Naruto with his tongue, put him inside his mouth, and swam away as fast as he could. Meanwhile, Minato appeared on time to take Tobirama away to safety.

The ball hit and blew off the water until the bottom showed. Waves originated from the impact. The wind that resulted from the wind sphere was so sharp that it cut any solid fifty meters away from it. Its suction, on the other hand, created a tornado. Hashirama had to reinforce Hiruzen's earth wall with his trees to protect themselves from the tails of the attack. In his opinion, Naruto's Ultimate Rasengan was an S-Rank technique basing on the damage it could cause, on par with Tobirama's Origin of the Sea and his own Birth of a Dense Woodland. A smile played on his lips.

…

"Naruto! Naruto, wake up!" Gamabunta said.

Minato appeared by his side, carrying Tobirama on his shoulder.

Tobirama raised his head weakly. "Naruto still needs to learn how not to exceed the required energy needed for a technique. Look at him. You can see the ground through his body. He almost depleted all his chakra."

"Stop talking, Tobirama-sama. You should rest."

Tobirama chuckled, and, before he slept, he said, "He utterly beat me, your son. He's very good."

"Is he going to be okay?" Gamabunta asked.

Minato smiled. "Don't worry about it. He just needs to rest."

"I can't stay any longer. Remind him of his promise," Gamabunta said, and disappeared.

…

Naruto opened his eyes, rolling them around to take in the surrounding. He spotted his mother, knitting on a rocking chair beside his bed. "Mom…?"

Kushina stared at him and smiled. "Hi, honey. How's your sleep?"

"The fight. Did I win?"

Kushina reached out and cupped his face, rubbing his skin with her thumb. "Yes, Naruto. You won."

"How's Tobirama-oji-chan?"

"He's okay."

Naruto smiled. "I'm glad." His eyes closed and he returned to sleep.