Naruto and Kiba stood face to face in front of Hayate, glaring at each other, and neither of them was being nice to the other. They were insulting each other relentlessly, telling each other that they were the one that was going to come out on top. Hayate did the usual introductions and then signalled the beginning of the fight. Sakura began shouting profanities about Kiba, to which Akira laughed, making Ino yell at her for getting so mad for cheering for Shikamaru. Hinata was cheering for Kiba, as was Kai, and Akira joined in on the cheering for Naruto, much to Kiba's dismay.
Initially, Kiba set Akamaru aside, thinking that he alone would be capable of taking Naruto down. He crouched down and put his hands together in a sign that was familiar to Akira. Kiba's body began seeping bright blue chakra, rising out of him like flames. Akira rose an eyebrow; she didn't recall him being this strong. He then got on all fours, his nails shifting into claws and his already prominent canines turning into fangs. With lightning-fast speed, Kiba launched himself at Naruto and elbowed him in the stomach. Naruto was sent flying across the arena and though he was down now, Akira knew he wouldn't be for much longer.
As predicted, it only took a few more seconds for Naruto to stand back up. Kiba was visibly irritated and everyone but Akira and Sakura was shocked; no one expected Naruto to recover after that blow. However, Naruto made the mistake of mentioning Akamaru. Kiba and Akamaru then ran at Naruto and, second later, the whole arena was engulfed in purple smoke from a grenade that Kiba had thrown. Akira was suddenly nervous for Naruto. This was Kiba's ideal environment. Surely he was going to do some damage to Naruto like this. After a few moments, though Akira couldn't see anything through the smoke, she could hear Naruto getting hit repeatedly. Then, Naruto emerged from one end of the smoke cloud, thinking he was free and clear.
However, Akamaru was waiting for him and the dog bit down on Naruto's arm, sending them both back into the smoke. Kiba walked out of the smoke and waited patiently for it to dissipate. When it did, all Akira could see was Naruto lying in the fetal position with Akamaru sitting peacefully beside him. But then the unthinkable happened. Akamaru bit Kiba, and quite violently at that. Akira looked back at Naruto and smiled.
"Yes, that's it, kid!" Akira cheered.
Suddenly, Akamaru vanished in a puff of smoke and Naruto appeared, biting down on Kiba's arm. The supposedly knocked out Naruto stood, holding Akamaru captive. Akira laughed gleefully. She was right. Kiba was going to have to work for his win. That was if he was going to win. At this rate, Naruto was going to take this match.
However, Kiba threw something at Akamaru which he caught in his mouth. Seconds later, the dog's fur turned a deep shade of brown and he became much more vicious, kicking the Naruto clone in the head to escape to Kiba's side. Kiba tossed one of those same pills in his mouth and his canine attributes became much more enhanced. Akamaru jumped onto his back and, in a puff of smoke, they both transformed into a more rabid version of Kiba. Akira couldn't help but smile—it was the jutsu Kiba had been struggling with.
"Man-Beast Clones..." Akira whispered, in awe.
Akamaru and Kiba were now both part man and part beast, but both just as rabid as a starved wolf. There was a crazed look in their eyes, and that's when Akira knew Kiba wasn't fooling around anymore. Because of the food pills, his and Akamaru's chakra must have been doubled in power.
The two beast clones immediately lunged at Naruto who barely had time to move before their razor-sharp claws swiped at him. They wasted no time in lunging again, swiping their claws at Naruto again. The clones climbed walls and jumped off of them to launch themselves at Naruto from different angles at the same time. Kiba was relentless. Already, he fought like a wild beast, his chakra already intense without the food pills, and now this? Naruto was going to have a hard time as well. Neither of them was going to go out easily. To win, Naruto was going to have to outwit Kiba. For Kiba to win, he was going to have to drain Naruto until he reached his limit.
During one of Kiba's onslaughts, one of Naruto's feet left the ground and he was sent off-balance. He dodged a few attacks then jumped up high to land and reposition himself, but it seemed that that was what Kiba wanted. Both clones jumped in the air as well but began spinning themselves so that they'd drill into anything they came into contact with. They intersected with one another and hit Naruto at the same time, sending the boy flying several feet away. Naruto landed flat on his face, spitting blood, while the man-beast clones landed unscathed a few feet away. Naruto stood up again, determined to win, and it made Akira smile.
"Yeah, that's it, Naruto! On your feet!" she shouted. "If I can't kick Kiba's ass, do it for me!"
"It'll be... my pleasure... Akira," Naruto said between breaths.
Kiba and Akamaru used the same move again, and although Naruto saw it coming, he only just had the time to move out of the way. He landed clumsily and then Kiba came at him with more smoke bombs. Once again, the arena was engulfed in purple smoke. Kiba and Akamaru used their Fang Over Fang method repeatedly, but because of the smoke, Akira couldn't tell if any of the attacks were landing.
"Come on, Naruto. You can't beat him with strength—think! Use that damn brain of yours," Akira muttered.
"Brain?" Shikamaru scoffed.
"He isn't you, granted, but thinking up weird tactics on the fly is his speciality."
When the smoke dissipated and Akira could see again, she smiled brightly and cheered to herself. Naruto had transformed himself into Kiba, making him indistinguishable from the other two. Now, Kiba wouldn't know which was Naruto and which was Akamaru. Meanwhile, Naruto was safe attacking either one.
"Brilliant."
"Gotta hand it to him," Kai said. "My partner in crime has gotten good."
"You haven't done crime in a while, Kai. He's my partner, now," Akira smirked.
Kiba sniffed out Naruto and punched one of the versions of himself, but it skidded across the room and turned into Akamaru. Outraged, he punched the other one, but it also turned into Akamaru. Akira grinned. The resident class clown was in business. Suddenly, the Akamaru that was behind Kiba disappeared in a puff of smoke and revealed Naruto. He ran at Kiba and kicked him square in the jaw. After he fell, Kiba sat back up and stared at the knocked out Akamaru. With a growl, he turned to Naruto, angrier than ever.
Kiba lunged at him, throwing shuriken by the dozen. Naruto narrowly dodged every single one of them, but he left himself open to an attack. Kiba saw this and grew out his claws again, aiming straight for Naruto. He landed on the ground and got hit straight in the chest with Kiba's fist. He was sent skidding backwards and when he stopped, Kiba was already at his side, aiming to punch him square in the jaw. He knocked Naruto sideways and, again, before Naruto had time to build up his chakra, Kiba slashed down at him with his claws, creating a gash on Naruto's face.
Akira sighed, nervous. Right now, Kiba was too fast and too strong for Naruto. It would take some kind of miracle for Naruto to win at this point. But then, as if by chance, Kiba slashed at Naruto head-on which allowed him to grab Kiba's arm and toss him into a wall. Naruto's arm was bleeding now, beads of blood dripping on the floor and creating a small puddle. Kiba was unphased and, again, he built up his chakra, allowing it to visibly create an aura around him. He ran at Naruto with incredible speed and slashed at his other arm, landing a hit. Then, he came from behind and landed another hit. But Naruto stood up again, undefeated.
And then, whether by a stroke of luck or the gods of stupidity that were watching over Naruto, just as Kiba was about to launch an attack from behind, Naruto passed gas, shocking Kiba's sensitive nose so bad he recoiled and left himself open to an attack. Naruto took the opportunity to send dozens of shadow clones at Kiba, which beat him into submission and made Naruto the victor of the match. Hayate formalised the win and, as soon as Naruto began cheering for himself, Akira jumped down from the viewing area and ran up to Kiba, tripping over her feet a little. She skidded to a halt and stood beside him as the medical-nin were lifting him onto a stretcher.
"Kiba? You awake?" He nodded. "You know, that was a battle to be proud of. You would have won if the stupidity gods weren't on Naruto's side today."
"I know. Guess you win, huh?" Kiba said, turning his head towards Akira.
"Well, I win this bet, yeah. But who knows, maybe I'll lose my battle as well. You never know when the odds are stacked against you, or if talent is going to be enough to save you," Akira said, shrugging. "Besides, my arms are so burnt I can barely feel them anymore, the rest of my body is in excruciating pain, and I don't have my swords to use. Right now, the odds are against me."
Kiba glanced at Akira's burnt arms, and his eyebrows knitted.
"Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself and Akamaru, Mr Food Pills." Kiba chuckled. "You realise that you'll be out for days because of them."
"Just one, I guarantee it."