Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters in this story.
Just to let you guys know, I had no idea how to start this chapter, and so the beginning is just something I thought of off the top of my head. I hope you all like it. If not, let me know.
More Than Just Comrades
Chapter 38
Sasuke let out a long sigh as he walked through the door of his apartment. He had been away all day on a mission to Kirigakure and he was beyond exhausted. So exhausted in fact, that his body had given out and the only thing pushing him on was the thought of seeing his beloved Naruto when he returned home. By the time he'd actually gotten back, it was well into the night and the house was darker than a cave, as was expected considering how late it was. Though, what struck Sasuke as odd was that Naruto hadn't come to greet him. Even if the dobe was asleep, his overly-sensitive hearing would've alerted him to Sasuke's arrival. Besides, this wasn't the first time Sasuke had gotten home this late, and the blonde would always jump out of bed and tackle him in a hug. This time, however, that didn't happen and it appeared as though there were no life in the house. Nothing moved and the only sound was Sasuke's breathing.
"Naruto! I'm home!" Sasuke called out into the darkness.
However, his answer was a deafening silence, which only continued to get louder the longer he stood there. Something was definitely off here, and it was making Sasuke feel very uneasy.
"Naruto, you there?" Sasuke called out again.
Still no answer.
However, a moment later, Sasuke jumped slightly as he heard a loud 'THUMP' come from down the hall. It sounded like a body hitting the floor. Sasuke swallowed as he felt the adrenaline begin to surge through his body. Taking a deep breathe, Sasuke walked forward and clicked on the lamp in the living room. However, he immediately wished he hadn't.
Blood was splattered on the walls, there were numerous slash marks on both sofas, the television was smashed to pieces, and the screen door was wide open. The door itself was nearly ripped off its hinges, and the door frame had numerous scratch marks around it from where someone had tried to get out. In all, it was the scene of a struggle. On the wall, written in blood, were the words: YOU COULDN'T SAVE HIM.
Sasuke's eyes widened as he read the message and saw the trail of blood leading down the hall.
"No...please, no! Naruto!" With his heart beating frantically, Sasuke raced down the hall, following the trail of blood and calling his lover's name. By now, Sasuke's breathing had become erratic and he was now officially in panic mode, which was only made worse when he stopped and saw where the trail of blood ended.
Right in front of Naruto's bedroom.
Another loud 'THUMP' caused Sasuke to jump again. Putting his ear to the door, Sasuke could hear someone crying on the other side, though it was muffled. Then there was another loud 'THUMP' before Sasuke heard a muffled and choked scream of agony. Even still, Sasuke recognized the voice as Naruto.
Without another thought, Sasuke twisted the doorknob and pushed open the door. The scene in front of him was almost as bad as the memory of seeing his dead parents.
Naruto lay on the floor in his boxers, bound by his arms and ankles and soaked in his own blood from head-to-toe. His blonde hair was loose from its ponytail and dotted with large red splotches of blood. There were numerous cuts on his body, his mouth was gagged with a cloth, and his right eye was purple and swollen shut.
Sasuke just stood there, frozen to the spot from both utter shock and horror. Now visibly trembling, Sasuke looked up at the dark figure towering above Naruto's broken body.
A moment of silence passed between them.
"It's been a long time...Sasuke." the figure said in a cool, emotionless voice, a voice that Sasuke recognized instantly.
The figure then turned around fully, revealing the Sharingan and the blood-stained sword its hand. As the moon came out from behind a large cloud, a ray of light shone through the open window, illuminating the figure's face.
"I...Itachi." Sasuke choked out, his eyes wide in disbelief.
Smirking, Itachi reached back and drug Naruto in between him and Sasuke. Whimpering, Naruto looked up at Sasuke with his one good eye and pleaded with the younger Uchiha, silently begging to be rescued.
Looking into Naruto's bloody face, Sasuke tried to make a move toward him, but his legs would not respond. It were as though his entire body had suddenly become paralyzed.
"You want to save him, don't you Sasuke?" Itachi asked coldly.
Sasuke didn't answer. His body simply would not respond.
"Hn. He put up quite a fight, I'll admit. I can see why you indulge him, he is strong." Itachi continued as he pulled back roughly on Naruto's hair, causing the blonde to cry out.
"He cried out for you the entire time, wanting you to come and save him from his suffering. Unfortunately, you never came. Even now, you still cannot save him. And do you know why, little brother?"
Still, Sasuke didn't respond. He remained frozen to the spot.
"It's because you are too weak, Sasuke." Itachi said, eerily calmly. "Do you know why you are weak? It's because you...don't...have...enough...HATE. And you know something, little brother? You never will."
With a cold glare, Itachi forced Naruto forward with a shove to the back of his head and reared back his sword.
"Itachi, please, don't do it! Please Itachi!" Sasuke pleaded, finally finding his voice and sinking to his knees helplessly. "Stop it!"
Unfortunately, Sasuke's words didn't get through, and he could do nothing but watch helplessly as Itachi swung the sword and disconnected Naruto's head from his shoulders. The blonde's head rolled across the floor, stopping directly at Sasuke's knees. Naruto's one blue eye was still wide open in surprise as he looked up lifelessly at Sasuke, still silently begging for his life. Sasuke's mouth hung open and tears streamed down his face.
"Hn, watching a loved die right in front of you. Dejavu, eh Sasuke?" Itachi taunted before chuckling darkly.
Sasuke covered his ears to drown out the sound of Itachi's evil laughter, but the sound still got through anyway. The evil laughter bounced around the inside of his head, echoing and seeming to grow louder and louder until...
With a scream, Sasuke woke up and bolted upright in bed, panting and drenched in his own sweat. Instantly, he was blinded by sunlight that now flooded the entire room, causing him to cover his eyes. After his eyes had stopped hurting from the sudden bright light, Sasuke opened them again and let them adjust to the brightness. After he'd given himself time to wake up, Sasuke finally became aware that the spot beside him was empty, the spot having already gotten cold. Apparently, Naruto was already up.
Groaning, Sasuke stretched and lazily lowered his feet to the floor, already dreading the day ahead.
It was now the last week of the month long break, or to be more specific, the day before the final round of the Chunin Exams. Ever since their loss to Shikamaru and Choji a number of weeks prior, both Naruto and Sasuke had resolved to pushing themselves to their limits, training relentlessly to get as strong as they could for their upcoming matches. It had been tiring work, and neither could wait until these exams were finally over.
After doing his usual morning routine, Sasuke slipped on a clean outfit and emerged from the bathroom. Upon entering the living room, Sasuke was surprised to see Naruto sitting on the couch putting a new coat of sky-blue nailpolish on his finger and toenails. 'Keep on Moving', by Soul II Soul, was playing softly on the stereo system. Looking up after finishing his toenails, Naruto noticed Sasuke and gave the Uchiha a warm smile.
"Good morning emo." Naruto said as he screwed the cap back on the nailpolish. "Glad to see you're up."
Sasuke glared at Naruto, and was about to make a really smartass remark that was sure to piss Naruto off, when his dream suddenly came flooding back. Upon landing his eyes on Naruto, the image of Itachi chopping Naruto's head off flashed before his eyes. For a brief moment, a look of pure horror crossed Sasuke's face before being replaced by the usual passive expression.
"Hn." was Sasuke's only reply before he walked through the sliding screen door, leaving Naruto sitting on the couch and blinking in confusion.
Upon stepping outside, Sasuke sat on the stone bench and put his head in his hands. All of this, these nightmares, were just so damn frustrating. Originally, Sasuke had hoped that they would just eventually stop on their own. However, that was wishful thinking. Sasuke knew that the nightmares would never end...not until that bastard was dead. Only with Itachi's death would things be right again.
Wrapped up in his thoughts, Sasuke didn't notice when Naruto came and sat down beside him, causing Sasuke to jump slightly.
"Alright, what's up with you?" Naruto asked. "I called you an emo, and you just let it slide? Not likely. And if you say nothing is wrong, I swear I'm gonna kick your ass."
Sasuke said nothing and instead opted for staring straight ahead, his face completely expressionless as always.
"Well?" Naruto demanded impatiently.
Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"I had a nightmare that Itachi had broken into our house while I was away, and killed you. He cut off your head right in front of me...and I could do nothing about it." Sasuke finally revealed, opening his eyes.
A moment of tense silence passed between them...
"So that's it?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke was halfway through a nod before the realization of what Naruto had just said dawned on him. He whipped is head in Naruto's direction with a look of genuine surprise.
"How can you sound so casual?" Sasuke asked. "I just had a dream about my older brother decapitating you, and you're okay with it?"
"I didn't say I was okay with it, but just look at the reality of the subject. For one, Itachi doesn't know where I live. Secondly, he doesn't know about us, meaning he'd have no reason to kill me. And finally, there's no way he could even get inside the village without being noticed. He's bound to be discovered before he gets within two feet of my apartment. Plus, with all the training you've done, you could easily kick his ass. So there's nothing to worry about." Naruto reassured as he placed a hand on Sasuke's back. "It was all just a bad dream. That's all."
Sasuke stopped and actually thought about it for a moment. Naruto actually had some very good points. As far as he knew, Itachi had no way of knowing where Naruto lived, nor did he have any way of knowing that his little brother was with anyone. Itachi was sure to kill anyone who became close to Sasuke, just to torture Sasuke further. However, since Itachi didn't know about Naruto's relationship with Sasuke, Itachi would have no reason to kill Naruto. Not only that, the entire village was guarded by a detection barrier on all sides, and no one could sneak inside the village without being detected.
Feeling a little better, Sasuke nodded in understanding. He was still shaken up, but to a much more bearable degree. Giving a small, but genuine, smile, Sasuke pulled Naruto into a warm hug. Sometimes, the blonde really was the answer to Sasuke's prayers. For the next few minutes, Naruto sat there comfortably, his head resting in the crook of Sasuke's neck.
"Are you ready for that sparring match we have with Kakashi today?" Sasuke asked Naruto, though rather suddenly.
"Oh yeah, I'm glad you reminded me!" Naruto said as he sat up enthusiastically. "I know that you've really been looking forward to using your Lightning Style Armor, so I've thought of the perfect strategy. You'll mainly be support, but just listen to me first, okay?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but nodded anyway.
"Okay, here's how it works..."
After going over the original plan, and making a few adjustments here and there, Naruto and Sasuke finally left for the training field to meet up with Kakashi and Sakura. Along the way, the pair decided to stop by Ichiraku's for some breakfast since they still had a little bit of time left. Of course, Teuchi was more than happy to serve his two favorite customers.
After leaving Ichiraku, the duo finally arrived at the training field and were surprised to see Ino and Sakura there. They weren't surprised, however, to see that Kakashi still hadn't arrived and both Sakura and Ino were sitting under a tall oak tree, waiting for Kakashi to show up. Sakura was wearing her usual red top and biker shorts while Ino was wearing a white-tank top that showed off a lot of cleavage, and a pair of dark-gray sweatpants that clung nicely to her ass. Currently, Sakura was sitting in Ino's lap and resting her head on the latter's ample sized chest.
"Naruto-kun! Sasuke-kun! You guys made it!" Ino exclaimed when she spotted the pair making their way into the training field.
Sakura rose her head up off Ino's comfortable chest and waved at the two as they came over.
"Well, at least you guys are on time." Sakura said as Naruto sat down beside her.
"Are you really all that surprised that Kakashi-sensei isn't here yet, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.
Sakura thought for a moment.
"Point taken." she replied.
While Naruto and Sakura chatted, Ino attempted to make conversation with Sasuke, but gave up when it became evident that he didn't want to talk. Something was obviously bothering him though. Ino could tell by the way Sasuke stared off into space with a troubled expression.
Ino sighed. 'I guess Naruto-kun really is the only person who can get through his exterior.' Ino thought to herself. However, she was brought out of her thoughts when she felt Sakura softly squeeze her left tit, causing Ino to blush and giggle.
Almost a full hour later, Kakashi finally arrived, smiling with his eye as though nothing were wrong with is arrival.
"Hello everyone, and sorry I'm late. My 'dolphin' wouldn't wake up this morning and so-"
"LIAR!" both Naruto and Sakura screamed at the same time.
"You can't keep doing this to us Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said angrily as he stood and crossed his arms over his chest.
"What's it gonna take for you to actually arrive on time for once!" Sakura demanded. "Honestly, it seems like each day you get later and later!"
"Please, try and settle down." Kakashi said as he sweat dropped and raised both hands in defense. "I'm telling the truth. My dolphin and I overslept this morning and I had trouble waking him up. Which is pretty odd, considering he's usually a light sleeper, even after our activities."
"What are you talking about? What dolphin?" Sakura asked, becoming even more frustrated.
"Iruka. That's what his name means, after all." Kakashi said, his smile still in place under his mask, evidenced by his one visible eye.
Nobody said anything as an awkward silence fell over them. Kakashi was still smiling and Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Ino were all just giving him blank stares. In fact, it was so awkwardly quiet that a cricket could be heard chirping in the background.
"Oooookay. Uh...can we just get on with training now? Naruto asked.
"Sure. Are you and Sasuke ready, or would you like some time to warm up first?" Kakashi asked, rubbing the back of his head.
"We're ready. Let's get this over with." Sasuke said as he stood up from his spot beside Ino, cutting Naruto off before he could say anything.
Naruto frowned at him, but didn't say anything. 'You didn't have to cut me off like that, bastard. He just to wants to fight so badly because he wants to take his mind off that stupid nightmare he had.'
"Alright then." Kakashi said as he uncovered his Sharingan. "This is the last time we'll be able to practice before the Chunin Exams, so I want you two to give me your best shot. Your opponents will show you absolutely no form of mercy, so you must hold nothing back. Make every movement count. When you attack, you attack to kill. Utilize everything you have learned up until now. Is that understood?"
After receiving nods from both of his pupils, Kakashi did a number of backflips in order to create some distance between himself and them.
"You may begin whenever you're ready!" Kakashi called out.
Sasuke smirked as he activated his Sharingan. That nightmare he'd had the night before had gotten him riled up, and now was the perfect time to blow off some steam. Plus, he was finally getting a chance to test out his Lightning Style Armor in battle. Even if he would mainly fill the supportive role, he was happy just to be fighting somebody. Though the thought of being secondary still irked him...just a little.
"Okay, stick with the plan and follow my lead." Naruto said as he activated the Rinnegan.
Sasuke frowned at the slightly commanding tone Naruto was using, and only gave a trademark "Hn" as a reply before he closed his eyes and focused his chakra. Almost instantly, Sasuke felt the familiar tingle as his body surged with electricity, his nervous system became artificially stimulated and he could practically feel the electricity coursing through his veins and throughout his entire body. Suddenly, Sasuke's body was engulfed in a brilliant light as sparks of electricity danced all around him, forcing Naruto to take a few steps back. Within a matter of seconds, the sparks became much more concentrated until they formed a thick layer of lightning that surrounded Sasuke's entire being. The ground Sasuke stood on became scorched and his power could be felt by anyone just outside of the training grounds.
'Whoa! So this what Sasuke's been working on this whole time.' Naruto thought as he looked at his lover in amazement. 'His power feels absolutely incredible! It's almost equal to mine when I'm in Sage Mode.'
"I didn't know Sasuke-kun could do something like that." Sakura said as she gaped at her raven-haired teammate. "Even that Sand Genin that beat Lee in the Preliminaries will hardly stand a chance against something like that!"
"What kind of jutsu is this?" Ino said as she half shielded her eyes from the light. "It sounds like...a bunch of birds chirping."
'Hm, going with that technique already, eh Sasuke?' Kakashi thought to himself in amusement. 'If you can use that jutsu effectively in this fight, you just might stand a chance against Gaara.'
"Alright, my turn now." Naruto said as he made the "Ram" hand seal. After going deep into his subconscious, Naruto was able to call up just enough of the Kyuubi's chakra to cause his eyes to turn red and his sky-blue fingernails to turn into claws.
After completing his slight transformation, Naruto made the "Shadow Clone" hand seal and created 4 crow clones of himself, one of which who ran off into the forest surrounding the training grounds. Kakashi saw this, and raised an eyebrow in interest.
"Okay, Clone #1, you're up first." the original Naruto said.
The clone nodded and pulled a chakra disruption blade, roughly resembling a sword, out of its wrist before charging forward and engaging Kakashi in combat. Pulling out a kunai knife, Kakashi parried the attack head on and managed to dodge each and every blow and swipe that was thrown at him. The sound of metal hitting metal rang out throughout the training fields as the two combatants tried to best the other. The Naruto clone fought fiercely and moved with the grace of a samurai, forcing Kakashi to rely on his reflexes alone in order to keep up or risk being sliced.
Moving to dodge another slash at his midsection, Kakashi leaped backwards into the air in order to create some distance, but wasn't in the least bit surprised when the Clone #1 leaped after him. He was surprised, however, when Clone #2 appeared behind the first one from out of nowhere and began to go through a set of hand seals.
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!".
Clone #1 dispersed into a flock of crows and flew out of the way, just as Clone #2 released a compressed tornado-like mass from it's mouth, which struck Kakashi directly in the chest. Upon coming into contact with it's target, the tornado-like mass decompressed and exploded in a powerful gale. A wind stronger than anything naturally created swept through the training grounds in the form of a cyclone, uprooting the tallest and mightiest of trees and tearing them apart as though they were toothpicks. Ino and Sakura were nearly blown away as well, though they managed to hold onto the oak tree they were under, which managed to keep a strong hold in the ground.
As the all the dust in the air finally began to clear Sasuke silently cursed as he felt that envious feeling begin to rise within himself again. By using that strange Nine Tailed Fox chakra, Naruto was not only able to unleash a powerful Wind Style technique, but he was able to alter the battlefield, all with one attack. Sasuke clenched his fist and gritted his teeth as the frustration began to sink in, though he shook his head to clear his thoughts when he sensed Kakashi's chakra signature emerge from the ground. This battle was far being over and Sasuke was determined to show what he could do also.
"Figures that would fail." Naruto said as Naruto Clones #1 and #2 rejoined them. "He used the Sharingan to evade at the last minute."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and gave only a normal "Hn" as a reply.
A few moments later, Kakashi finally emerged from the thin cloud of dust still floating in the air, wearing only his Konoha uniform since his flak jacket and headband had been blown off.
'I didn't realize Naruto's strength had grown this remarkably. He may stand a better chance against Neji now more than ever.' Kakashi thought as he continued to walk toward his students, all the while anticipating their next move.
Just as he'd foreshadowed, Sasuke used his remarkable reflexes, boosted even more by the Lightning Style Armor, to teleport directly to Kakashi's position. Immediately, Sasuke came out attacking, slashing and swinging with his sword and forcing Kakashi to dodge each move, though barely. Charging the Raikiri in his right hand, Kakashi saw an opening and used it to try and swipe at Sasuke's neck. However, Sasuke once again used his boosted reflexes to teleport behind Kakashi only a foot above the ground.
While still up in the air, Sasuke released a stream of Chidori Senbon Needles that were aimed at Kakashi's head, all of which Kakashi managed to dodge in a style similar to the Matrix, but by jumping to the side in what appeared to be slow motion. Before Kakashi could even have a moment to catch his breath, Sasuke slashed with his sword in an attempt to cut Kakashi's head off, though luckily, Kakashi was able to catch the blade with his Raikiri charged hand. The clash of lightning against lightning sent powerful bolts of electricity flying all over the place, causing Ino and Sakura to have to shield their eyes.
As Kakashi and Sasuke tried to overpower the other, Naruto Clone #3 sprouted a chakra disruption blade from his palm, in the shape of a long spike, and charged forward to join the fray. Seeing the clone charging forward, Kakashi had just enough time shove Sasuke back slightly with a surge of lightning chakra and reach into his pocket to pull out a smoke bomb. Seeing what it was, Sasuke had sense enough to hop back at a safe distance just as Kakashi threw the smoke bomb on the ground at his feet, engulfing him in a large cloud of smoke. Unfortunately, Clone #3 was unable to stop his momentum, and he ended up running right into it.
Now blinded, Clone #3 searched around for Kakashi, but was unable to see or sense the Jonin anywhere around him. Seeing that his opponent was temporarily disoriented, Kakashi charged the Raikiri in his hand again and jumped forward to cut off the clone's head from behind. What Kakashi didn't know, however, was that the cloud of smoke was not thick enough to conceal his silhouette, which could be seen by the other Naruto clones whom all had their Rinnegan turned on. And since they could see Kakashi's silhouette, Clone #3 could as well. Without even having to turn around, he was able to duck just in time as Kakashi's Raikiri-charged hand swept passed. Any second longer, and his head would've been rolling.
Before Kakashi could get over the shock of having his target dodge his attack without even looking, Clone #2 came bursting into the cloud of smoke with a hard flying jump kick that sent a stunned Kakashi flying out of the cloud of now-dispersing smoke and hitting the ground so hard that he actually bounced a couple of times before skidding to a stop, making a small impression in the ground both times at that.
After a few seconds, Kakashi coughed and grimaced as he sat up. 'That attack should've hit it's mark, but he somehow dodged it without having to turn around. More than likely, one of the other clone's must somehow seen through the smoke screen, and thus allowing the targeted clone to see it too. If I'm gonna get to the real Naruto, I'll have to destroy those clones first. But with that Rinnegan of theirs, it's like they have eyes in the back of their heads, which makes dispersing them a helluva lot harder. I'll have to find a way around it.'
With a grunt of effort, Kakashi rose to his feet and dusted himself off before gazing over at his students and formulating a plan in his head. After a few moments, Kakashi was finally able to think of something. It was a bit crazy, but if it worked, he'd have a couple less clones to think about. Thing was, it had to be extremely fast paced and there was absolutely no room for errors.
Meanwhile, Naruto, his clones, and Sasuke watched tensely as they anticipated their sensei's next move. So far, they'd had the upper hand in this fight. Now came the hard part: keeping it that way. With a burst of speed, Kakashi broke into a run while going through a set of hand seals for a Fire Style Technique. Sasuke tried to use the Sharingan to read Kakashi's hand seals, but couldn't as Kakashi was too far away.
"He's planning something! Everyone, get ready!" Naruto commanded.
"Hn, don't have tell me twice." Sasuke muttered under his breath.
After going through the correct hand seals, Kakashi formed a ring with his thumb and index finger through which he blew a massive fireball, which continued to grow larger and larger as it roared along. The massive ball of fire incinerated everything unlucky enough to be in its way, whether it be rocks, trees, or plants alike.
"Naruto!" Sasuke screamed in alarm.
"Don't worry, I'm all over it!" Naruto hollered back reassuringly. "Clone #2, you know what to do!"
Nodding, Clone #2 rushed forward to stand directly in the fireball's path, meeting the fiery projectile head on. As the massive ball of fire came closer, Clone #2 raised his hands forward and formed a translucent shield around himself. When the fireball came into contact with this sheild, it began to rapidly grow smaller and smaller.
"I don't believe it. He's actually absorbing the entire jutsu." Sakura said as she watched in disbelief. "I didn't know that was even possible."
"Same here." Ino agreed as both she and Sakura watched the last traces of what had once a massive fireball of destruction be completely absorbed.
Meanwhile, Kakashi smirked underneath his mask as he watched Phase 1 go as planned. The Fireball Jutsu wasn't supposed to actually hit anyone, no. Instead, it was meant to do one thing: draw a clone directly into his line of fire. Now, it was time for Phase 2. Making the "Shadow Clone" hand seal, Kakashi made a clone of himself which grabbed him by the arm, swung him around, and threw him straight forward at an incredible speed, almost fast enough to break the sound barrier.
Seeing what was coming, Clone #2 had no time to react as he was struck in the stomach with a Raikiri with such force, the impact could be felt even from where Ino and Sakura stood and watched. Needless to say, Clone #2 could not withstand the attack, causing it to disperse into a murder of angry crows which flew off into the sky, cawing angrily.
"That's one down." Kakashi muttered under his breath as he dived into a roll from the momentum of being thrown before continuing to run forward, all without stopping.
Without needing to be told, Kakashi's clone unleashed a stream of Chidori Senbon Needles at Clone #1. Each needle of electricity hit its mark, causing Clone #1 to meet the same fate as Clone #2. With 2 clones taken down in succession, the real Kakashi rounded in on the last clone, ready to have it meet the same fate as the other two. Unfortunately, he was not quick enough. Clone #3 was able to disperse into another murder of crows and fly out of harm's way, setting Kakashi on a collision course with the real Naruto. Thinking quickly, the original Naruto raised his hand toward his sensei and uttered the dreaded words: "Shinra Tensei."
All the momentum Kakashi had from being hurled by his clone was shattered in an instant as he ran smack into a powerful gravitational force with impact equivalent to running into a brick wall. He was violently thrown backwards, shooting right past his clone and causing it to spin around in his wake.
With the real Kakashi out of the way for the moment, all that was left to deal with now was the clone. After creating two more clones, clones #5 and #6, Naruto used his raw speed and agility to seemingly teleport to the fake Kakashi's position and deliver a strong upper cut that sent him bouncing back a few good feet. After bouncing off the ground again, the fake found himself kicked into the air by Clone #5, punched back down by Clone #6, and then slashed by Sasuke when he bounced back up in the air. Finally, to top it all off, "Kakashi" was snatched by Sasuke and thrown higher up into the air, only to have Naruto and his three clones crater him into the ground by impaling him with a chakra disruption spike in both sides and the middle of his chest. The force of the impact could be felt throughout the entire training grounds.
'Well damn. That one was kind of brutal.' Ino silently commented to herself.
"Hn, that takes care of that one." Sasuke commented indifferently as he sheathed his sword, his body still radiating with the Lightning Style Armor.
"Yeah, but we're not quite done yet." Naruto said as he saw the real Kakashi begin to sit up.
"Whatever. Let's just hurry this up so we can go home."
"For once, I'm with ya this time. Clone #3, you take this one."
Giving an affirming nod, Clone #3 channeled a little chakra into its legs for a speed boost before rushing forward while, at the same time, going through a set of hand seals for the Lightning Style: False Darkness Jutsu.
After coming within range of Kakashi, Clone #3 began shooting arcs of lightning out his hands toward his sensei, which were made stronger by mixing lightning chakra with the chakra of the Nine Tailed Fox.
Quickly coming out of his daze, Kakashi hopped to his feet and began running in the opposite direction as fast as he could, hopping from side to side to avoid the powerful arcs of lightning that scorched the ground as they missed their intended target. After one almost grazed his cheek, Kakashi instantly decided that this deadly game of Cat-N-Mouse had to end.
After dodging a couple more shots, Kakashi began to leaping through the trees, trying to get Clone #3 to follow him. Clone #3, however, settled for shooting at Kakashi from long range, this time using a single concentrated beam of electricity. Kakashi continued leaping through the trees, barely dodging the death beam of lightning that was shot at him. Tree after tree was cut down as the beam of lightning sliced through them from Cone #3's attempts to fry Kakashi.
Fed up with missing, Clone #3 made the fatal mistake of trying to get in closer. After having been chased vertically up a tall tree by another beam of lightning, Kakashi saw his chance to strike when Clone #3 stood directly at the trunk of the tree. Apparently, it'd decided to go after Kakashi personally after missing yet again. Doing a backflip that would put any acrobat to shame, Kakashi landed foot-first on Clone #3's face, dispersing it instantly.
The second he'd landed, Kakashi took off like a speeding bullet toward his two students while rapidly going through another set of hand seals as he went.
"Chidori Stream!" Kakashi yelled before swinging both of his arms forward and unleashing a powerful surge of Lightning Chakra that ripped the ground to pieces as it surged along.
Knowing that they'd have no chance of withstanding a jutsu of that magnitude, Naruto and Sasuke managed to move in the opposite direction of each other and out of harm's way. Clones #5 and #6, however, were not so lucky as the attack hit them with full force, causing them to disperse into crows instantly.
'Shit! I guess it's up to me and Sasuke, but we're gonna have to put a move on it. The Nine Tail's chakra is about to run out! And if that happens...' Naruto let his thought voice trail off. There was no time to think about that now. Right now, all that mattered was finishing this fight.
Nodding to Sasuke, the two students jumped back to their original positions to stand in front of Kakashi after the dust and smoke from the last attack had cleared away. Not wasting a single moment, they both began to go through a different set of hand seals.
"Fire Style: Searing Migraine!"
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
Completing their hands seals at almost the exact time, Sasuke exhaled a powerful stream of fire from his mouth, hot enough to melt both rock and steel in mere seconds. At the same time, Naruto used the same jutsu Clone #2 had used earlier to unleash an incredible stream of pressurized air from his mouth. This bone-crushing stream of air fused with Sasuke's Searing Migraine Jutsu in order to form an unstoppable firestorm that now raced at Kakashi, now hot enough to melt even lead.
'This starting to get too dangerous. I'll be finished if that so much as even grazes me.' Kakashi thought to himself as he quickly went through a set of hand seals.
"Water Style: Water Encampment Wall!"
After calling out the name of the jutsu, a 25 ft. wall of water, made completely out of Kakashi's chakra, sprang up from the ground to form a protective shield in front of its caster. The Searing Migraine/Pressure Damage combinationcollided with this wall of waterwith the force of a truck hitting a cement wall, causing a loud hissing sound as the intense heat combated its rival.
Normally, the Fire element is weak against the Water element. However, when combined with Wind, the strength of the Fire element can increase 10x over, thereby making it stronger than Water. This, Kakashi was able to realize at the last second. Knowing that his Water Encampment Wall Jutsu was about to give way, Kakashi made a few quick hand seals and was able to fluidly slip under ground just as the Water Wall collapsed. The searing stream of fire zipped past and reduced most of the forest behind Kakashi to ash before finally dying down.
A few moments later, the real Kakashi emerged from the charred ground, completely unharmed by the attack. This, of course, pissed Sasuke off to no end. He had all this power coursing through him, but yet he still wasn't doing the amount of damage he'd wanted to do. In fact, Naruto was the only one who'd managed to land a hit, which only infuriated Sasuke even more.
Unable to contain his frustration anymore, Sasuke bolted forward so sharply that he not only cleared half the distance between himself and Kakashi within a few seconds, but he also completely left Naruto in his dust, going so fast that he practically tore the ground apart with his speed alone.
"You're mine!" Sasuke screamed.
Channeling Lightning Chakra to his hands, Kakashi barely had time to catch Sasuke's fist as his enraged student plowed into him with full force, causing a slight tremor. For a moment, the struggle was at a stalemate before Sasuke applied even more chakra, plowing Kakashi into the ground. The force of the impact was powerful enough to cause a massive shockwave, which then created a powerful gale which blew away many of the rocks and trees that were still standing.
When the dust finally cleared, both Sasuke and Kakashi were standing the middle of a giant, gaping crater. Kakashi was on the ground, still holding back Sasuke's fist as bolts of electricity danced around them.
'Damn. Even after all that, Sasuke's attack still didn't get through.' Naruto thought to himself in amazement.
As Sasuke and Kakashi continued to struggle with each other, they became aware that the crater they were fighting in was rapidly beginning to fill up with the water that was normally found deep underground. Knowing that water and lightning wouldn't make a good combination for either of them, both Sasuke and Kakashi hopped out of the crater right before it could finish filling up.
Kakashi landed on one of the tall piles of rubble surrounding the crater while Sasuke stood on one of the large masses of rock floating on the water's surface. Naruto joined him a few moments later.
"Whew. You two have done even better than I expected, and I congratulate you for making it this far. However, this is the final round. And judging by your chakras', your both at end of your ropes." Kakashi said as he looked down at his two students with his Sharingan eye.
No sooner had the words left Kakashi's lips when Sasuke suddenly dropped to his knees. The Lightning Style Armor fizzled out instantly and Sasuke was left with barely even a drop of chakra if any at all, not even enough to keep his Sharingan activated. Plus, at that exact moment, the Nine Tailed Fox's chakra ran out as well. Naruto eyes and nails went back to normal, and his body throbbed with an aching pain. However, Naruto paid it no mind. Right now, Sasuke was in worst shape, as he couldn't even stand.
"Sasuke! Are you okay? What's the matter?" Naruto asked worriedly, all in one breath.
"I'm afraid he has no chakra left." Kakashi said. "Don't you remember what I told you Sasuke? The Lightning Style Armor is only meant to be used with Taijutsu, since it burns up chakra so quickly. Using other forms of Ninjutsu along with it will simply drain you even faster, leaving you completely defenseless when it wears off. This is exactly why I warned you about letting your anger take control of you, Sasuke."
"Shut up! Damn it, just just the hell up!" Sasuke screamed in rage. He attempted to rise to his feet, but ended being brought back to his knees in exhaustion. Worse yet, he was experiencing shortness of breath.
Before Sasuke could attempt to try again, Naruto fought through the increasingly aching pain of his own body and lifted Sasuke up off the ground, bridal style. After throwing a marked kunai into the oak tree where Ino and Sakura were spectating, Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to teleport both himself and Sasuke to the location of the two kunoichi where he sat Sasuke on the ground.
"Naruto? What are you-"
"Don't try and argue Sasuke. I'll handle it from here. You just focus on regathering you're chakra." Naruto said, cutting him off. "Besides, you're in no condition to continue."
"But Naruto-kun, how do you plan on finishing the match? Your body isn't in such good condition either." Sakura pointed out.
"I know, but I have a back up plan."
Without another word, Naruto threw another marked kunai that embedded itself into the large floating mass of rock where he and Sasuke had been earlier and teleported back to that location, since any other method would put too much strain on his already sore body. He was going to have to hurry and disperse the clone that had run into the forest, as his body was starting to go numb from the aching pain.
"You still wanna continue, Naruto?" Kakashi asked. "If you wish to stop, I will not hold it against you."
"No way! If I can't even finish this match, then I have no chance in hell of beating Neji!" Naruto said as he made the "Ram" hand seal. "I'm seeing this fight through till the end!"
As Naruto spoke, a reddish-orange pigment appeared around both of his eyes, his irises went from the grayish-purple color of the Rinnegan to a dark yellow (though still retaining the ripple pattern), and his pupils became horizontal bars.
'Sage Mode? Hmm, I see. So that's why he sent that one clone into the forest, to gather Nature Energy.' Kakashi thought to himself. 'If this is his trump card, I'll have to end this quick.'
"Sage Mode, huh?. If that's your ace-in-the-whole, then it's time we wrap this up!" Kakashi exclaimed before rapidly going through a long set of hand seals.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
At Kakashi's command, the water around Naruto began to churn violently, crashing into the sides of the crater as a giant mass of water began to rise. A few moments later, the mass of water formed itself into a fierce dragon, who let out a monstrous roar that could be heard throughout the entire training field. The water dragon then menacingly rose up into the air before growling and shooting toward Naruto without warning.
"Water Clone Jutsu!" Naruto said as he made a couple of hand seals.
As Naruto completed the last hand seal, a watery blob rose from the surrounding water before forming itself into an exact replica of the caster. After receiving a nod from Naruto, the water clone grabbed Naruto by the arm, swung him around, and launched him directly at the speeding water dragon. While in midair, Naruto made the "Shadow Clone" hand seal and created 600+ shadow clones of himself, thus creating a stream of Naruto's now on a collision course with a racing water dragon.
The two forces met with a powerful splash, causing a torrential downpour. Clone after clone was rapidly dispersed as they hit the water dragon with everything they had. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the clones prevailed and managed to succesfully beat back the Water Dragon Jutsu. With nothing holding them back, the stream of Naruto clones now raced toward Kakashi, who braced himself for the impending impact.
However, Kakashi was thrown off guard when the stream of shadow clones dispersed, leaving only the original Naruto, who was already forming the Rasengan in his hand. Though, this Rasengan was different from a normal one, as it had wind swirling around it and it produced a loud, high pitched whistling sound. Kakashi had no time to gape, however, and instead formed the Raikiri in both hands rather than just one like he normally did. All he had to now...was brace for impact.
"Wind Style: Rasengan!"
"Raikiri!"
The clash of wind against lightning created a reverberating boom that practically broke the sound barrier. Sakura, Ino, and Sasuke could only gape in awe at the display of power in front of them. Who would've thought that Naruto Uzumaki, the clown, the dead-last, would one day go toe-to-toe with Kakashi Hatake, an elite Jonin? Sadly, as brilliant as the display was, it would have to draw to a close.
And it did.
Though he tried with all the remaining chakra he had, Kakashi was unable to push Naruto's jutsu back, as Wind was strong against Lightning. With a cry of effort, Naruto pushed forward with a burst of strength and drove Kakashi into the pile of rubble he stood on, hard. With Kakashi now depleted of his chakra, the battle was officially drawn to a close.
"So, Naruto-kun, how long are you gonna be like that?" Sakura asked, pointing out that Naruto was still in Sage Mode.
"It'll wear off by itself soon." Naruto replied as he looked at his reflection in his kunai knife.
"Are you sure? I remember you used it against that female Grass ninja back at the Forest of Death, but it didn't last nearly this long." Sakura pointed out.
"I know. Pervy Sage taught me how to make it last longer, but it'll only last for a few more minutes though." Naruto said.
It was roughly an hour later, and the group of Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino were making their way to the training ground exit. After the match, Ino and Sakura helped Naruto fish Kakashi out of the debris and carried him back to the oak tree where Sakura treated his injuries. As Sasuke and Kakashi gathered their strength, Naruto had the time of his life bragging about himself and how he had it all planned out, even the part where Sasuke's Lightning Style Armor wore off (not really). After letting Kakashi and Sasuke rest to regather a little of their strength, the group headed out to leave the training grounds.
"Hey, Naruto-kun, what kind of jutsu is that anyway?" Ino asked. "I've never seen something like that before."
"You like it? It's called Sage Mode." Naruto replied.
"Sage Mode?"
"Yeah. Pervy Sage is a master at this stuff. It's works like this..."
While Naruto explained Sage Mode to Ino and Sakura, Sasuke followed behind with Kakashi, a prominent scowl on his usually passive face. That envious feeling now felt like a full fledged wildfire in the pit of Sasuke's stomach. Despite all the training he'd endured with Kakashi the entire month, he still was still weaker than Naruto, even to the point of having to be saved by the blonde. That had been, without a doubt, the biggest blow to his ego. Sasuke was the dominant one. He was the one who was supposed to do the saving, not the other way around. Having Naruto carry him to safety like that had been the most humiliating experience of his life.
As if that wasn't bad enough, he was once again forced to be in Naruto's shadow. Despite how much he he had trained, despite how much he had learned, watching the rest of the fight between Naruto and Kakashi showed just how much of a gap was between his and Naruto's power. As he watched Naruto enter Sage Mode and have that power struggle against Kakashi's Raikiri, that feeling of jealousy grew and grew until it felt like Sasuke would explode.
'It's not...(grits teeth). It's not fair. Even after all that, I'm still...GODDAMN IT!"
As he walked, Sasuke began to grit his teeth harder and harder. Without even realizing it, he was once again glaring at the back of Naruto's head, on the verge of seeing red. He was so pissed that no only did his Sharingan reactivate, the Curse Mark did as well. Within a few seconds, the black flame pattern spread from the backside of his neck to cover his entire face and the entire left side of his body. Seeing this, Kakashi slapped his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, snapping the boy back to reality and causing the Curse Mark to quickly recede.
"Cool it Sasuke." Kakashi commanded. He already knew why Sasuke was feeling a bit irritated. "So you got careless and used up your chakra. So what? It happens to all of us."
"Well it shouldn't have to happen to me." Sasuke snapped. "It's not fair, Kakashi. Even after everything I've done this entire month, I'm still not strong enough. Naruto is still ahead of me."
"If you keep comparing yourself to Naruto, then you won't notice your own growth, Sasuke. Think about it for a moment. Think about how far you've come since first starting the Chunin Exams. If you didn't have the skills you've learned this month, would you have done as well as you did during the match?"
"That doesn't matter. I'm supposed to be an elite Uchiha, yet my class's dead-last is ahead of me. If I can't surpass him, then I won't stand a chance against Itachi one day. I'm still not where I should be! Why can't you understand that!"
Before Kakashi could say anything, Sasuke quickened his pace to move up to the front so that he was now in the leading position of the group.
Kakashi sighed and shook his head.
'Hatred still clouds his mind. Not even his love for Naruto can make him see the light." Kakashi thought to himself sadly as he looked at the back of Sasuke's head.
After leaving the training grounds, Kakashi decided to treat everyone, namely Naruto and Sasuke, to Ichiraku for a job well done. The only person who wasn't happy about getting to eat was, of course, Sasuke, who just wanted to go home and be left alone. Throughout the entire celebration meal, Sasuke ate in silence and acted as though no one else was there but himself. Even when Naruto attempted to talk him, Sasuke merely gave him the cold shoulder and he'd glare whenever Naruto wasn't looking.
Other than that, everyone had a good time and ate their fill, especially Naruto. By the end of the day, Kakashi had been drained of both his chakra and his money.
It was dark by the time Naruto and Sasuke finally arrived at home, after escorting everyone to their own homes, and Sasuke was feeling irritable and exhausted. Right now, all he wanted to do was lay down and sleep. The final round of the Chunin Exams were tomorrow and he would need all the rest he could get.
"Ah, it feels great to be home!" Naruto exclaimed as he kicked off his sandals after taking off his headband. "I still can't believe the final round of the Chunin Exams are tomorrow! I can finally make that Neji bastard pay for what he did to Hinata."
"Would you shut up? I can do just fine without your rambling." Sasuke snapped over his shoulder as he and Naruto entered the bedroom.
Naruto stopped in the doorway and gave him a confused look.
"Are you okay? You didn't say a word at Ichiraku, and when I tried to talk to you, you completely blew me off. What gives?" Naruto asked. "Did I do something to make you mad?"
"Don't worry about it. I'm just tired." Sasuke replied as he changed into his T-shirt and sweatpants.
"Don't lie to me. You were the same way when we were leaving the Training Grounds. You cut in front of me, Ino-chan, and Sakura-chan, and then you ignored me when I called your name. I don't understand what the problem is. Why are you being such a dick?"
Sasuke took a deep breath to calm himself before he said something hurtful. He really wasn't in the mood for name calling right now.
"Shut up, dobe. Now are you coming to bed or not?" Sasuke asked coldly as he slid underneath the covers.
Instead of answering, Naruto stripped down to his night clothes and marched over to hover over Sasuke. Before the Uchiha could ask what he was doing, Naruto promptly pulled him out of bed and onto the floor.
"What the hell, Naruto?" Sasuke asked angrily.
Again Naruto didn't answer. Instead, he pulled Sasuke to his feet and pulled him over to the bedroom closet. Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke watched as Naruto began to rummage through it, finally pulling out an assortment of sheets and a couple of thick blankets which he then handed to Sasuke. Before Sasuke could inquire what they were for, Naruto began pushing him toward the door.
"What the hell are you doing, usurutonkachi?" Sasuke asked angrily.
"Since you seem to have a stick shoved up your ass, you can just sleep on the couch tonight." Naruto replied as he shoved Sasuke out the bedroom door.
At first, Sasuke thought Naruto was joking. However, when the blonde slammed the door behind him and locked it, Sasuke knew he'd be sleeping alone tonight. Begrudgingly, Sasuke made his way into the living room and turned on the lamp that sat on the coffee table beside the couch.
'I don't believe this shit.' Sasuke thought to himself as he pulled out the foldable couch and began spreading his sheets over it. "Things can't possibly get any worse."
After laying out his sheets and blankets, Sasuke crawled under the covers and used one of the couch cushions for a pillow. No sooner had Sasuke laid his head on his pillow when he heard "Yes! Oh God, yes! Harder!" coming from the apartment beside Naruto's, followed by more loud moaning. At first, Sasuke tried to simply ignore it. In the end though, it not only kept Sasuke up, it also began to frustrate him...sexually. And now, almost two and half hours later, Sasuke was laying wide awake on the couch, arms stretched out, with a pulsing erection that simply wasn't going away.
"Man, fuck me."
That concludes this chapter. Please don't forget to review and tell me what you think.
On a side note, I apologize for the long wait. I had to study for the SATs. and I haven't had very much time to write. Also, the term "Raikiri" is just the Japanese name for Kakashi's Lightning Blade. I decided to use Raikiri since it's shorter and it doesn't take very long to type. Also, if you want me to stop italicizing the name of all of the jutsu, feel free to let me know.