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Naruto mutely ascended onto the field. He felt numb and heavy, each foot lifting like a block of lead. Sasuke was unreadable. Uneo was ferociously waiting for them both to assume their starting positions.
Naruto tried to shove his worry for Sakura out of his mind but failed. She had an unfair disadvantage in the tournament and it was all his fault. Uraya and Yamamoto wouldn't have targeted her, she wouldn't be pulled into this mess if it wasn't for him and his unique chakra.
Naruto clenched his fists in anger. He leveled his gaze upon Uneo.
Uneo still didn't break his glare from Sasuke. He was out for blood and would tear down anyone who stood in his way.
The match began.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan. Uneo produced a long whip that was clipped to his belt. He cracked it, the sound echoing throughout the arena.
Naruto wasn't going to stand by and watch. Though the twins were after his chakra, Uneo would kill Sasuke above all. He needed to protect his teammate.
"Hey! I hope you didn't forget about me," he growled. Uneo's head turned to him ever so slightly.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He shouted, sprinting towards his opponent. Fifteen clones of himself attacked alongside him.
Uneo dodged the first three clones. He sliced through two of them with a crack of his whip. Four clones threw shurikens at him. He expertly darted away from each of them, save for one that ripped through his shirt and sliced his forearm. Uneo did not look phased.
The clones surrounded him in a tight circle, all prepared to strike. Uneo stood in the center, scanning all of them with slitted eyes.
His raised his forearm, the whip gleaming against the sun. Slowly, he started moving the whip above his head in a wide circle. He kept twirling it, the whip speed gaining momentum. It began to crackle, like it was charging with electricity.
Uneo's hand, holding the rope of the whip, was glowing blue. The blue glow filtered throughout the whip as it turned rapidly through the air above Uneo's head. Dust gathered into the air, leaves and pebbles caught in the whirlwind. The clones struggled to see amidst the dust storm.
"Naruto, watch out!" Sasuke yelled above the commotion, "He's charging the whip with his chakra-"
Sasuke wasn't able to finish his sentence as Uneo brought his whip down. The glowing weapon sliced through the air in a circle, smashing through every clone and exposing the real Naruto.
Naruto went flying backwards, rolling in the dirt painfully from the blast.
The crowd gasped.
Sasuke growled at Uneo, "Neat trick, but you've got to settle before you can summon that much chakra again."
He roared and leapt forward. Uneo dodged his kick and rolled in the dirt. Naruto struggled to his feet a few yards away. The blonde shinobi rubbed his scalp, smoke rising off of his orange jumpsuit.
H-How did he do that?
Uneo cracked his whip at Sasuke. Though it wasn't filled with his chakra anymore, it still packed a punch. Sasuke jumped out of the way, but Uneo was too fast. He swiped to the left and the whip's end followed him and knocked him out of the air.
Sasuke fell to the dirt painfully, a bright red streak across his body.
Uneo didn't stop. His murderous tendency took over, zeroed in on Sasuke Uchiha. He ran forward and snapped the whip so its tail wrapped around Sasuke's neck.
"No!" Naruto shouted.
Sasuke tried clawing the rope constricting his throat to no avail, it only tightened as Uneo's resolve hardened. Sasuke was starting to turn blue, choking from lack of oxygen.
He's going to kill him! Naruto thought, panicked.
Uneo's hand started to glow blue again, his chakra building. If the whip didn't kill Sasuke, the blast of chakra would. The chakra was growing, rising from his hand, up his arm, and through the long whip's rope.
Naruto felt a rush of adrenaline and anger course through him. He remembered Sakura lying defeated in the dirt after protecting Uraya from Yamamoto. He saw Sasuke's movements start to slow as the chokehold grew worse, moments away from death.
Naruto growled, feeling something unlock inside of him. Something that did not activate quite often.
His eyesight grew sharper and covered by an orange haze. He felt his teeth grow longer like fangs. He felt his hands develop claws. He felt a fire burn through him, the red chakra of Kurama engulfing him. Immeasurable strength coursed through him and rage was all he knew.
Yamamoto almost fell out of his seat on the sidelines. His jaw dropped, "It's-it's the demon. The Nine-Tailed Fox," he uttered in disbelief.
The physical manifestation of the beast was even more spectacular in person. Naruto completely morphed from a young, human shinobi into a half-demon hybrid that could channel the immense chakra of the Fox. It was unbelievable. Yamamoto's eyes narrowed in delight. That would be his soon.
Uneo's eyes widened slightly. His blue chakra stopped glowing halfway through the whip as Uneo remained distracted by the sight before him.
"Let…him…go!" Naruto snarled at Uneo.
He lunged at the ninja. Uneo was forced to release his grip on his whip, dropping it to the dirt. The blue chakra faded from within and lay slack, releasing Sasuke. Sasuke gasped for breath, heaving on the floor as Uneo turned to Naruto.
Uneo hurled three shuriken at Naruto. He dodged them with ease and sprinted towards the twin. Uneo reached for his whip in the dirt and struck it at Naruto.
Naruto gripped the tail's end in his hand, catching it in mid-air. He closed his fist around the end. Uneo tried to yank it free to no avail. It was firmly gripped in his hand, Naruto's claws ripping through the leather.
Naruto hissed with laughter, watching Uneo struggling to rip it from his hand.
"What happened to your powerful chakra now?" Naruto taunted, "Let's see if you can handle mine!'
Naruto concentrated on the whip's edge and its feeling in his hand. He summoned a burst of chakra. The red glow engulfed the rope in his hand. Uneo narrowed his eyes in challenge as his hand glowed blue. His blue power rapidly rose through the rope, meeting Naruto's chakra at a stand still.
"You almost killed Sasuke" Naruto growled, "Your sister almost killed Sakura."
The red chakra starting to inch forward, overpowering the blue.
"All because you want me and my chakra," he continued, "this is a friendly competition, meant to test our strengths in a respectful manner. But you put my friends in danger when they tried protecting me!"
His anger kept rising as he spoke, his red chakra almost completely engulfing the whip. Sasuke unsteadily rose to his feet, observing the scene. Naruto was completely surrounded by his red chakra, surrounded in a protective sphere of Kurama's pure power. The ground was shaking, the arena glowing red with energy. Uneo was on his knees, struggling to keep his chakra maintained against the sheer will of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Only a tiny portion of his blue chakra remained as Naruto inched closer and closer to him, along with his red power.
"You tried to kill Sasuke, you tried to kill Sakura, and you tried to kill me!" he snarled, standing above Uneo. The air was vibrating with energy as his fury engulfed him, "and now I'm going to kill you!"
The red chakra was about to explode in Uneo's hand, sentencing him to death.
"Naruto, no!"
It was too late.
The red chakra exploded through the whip in an enormous blast. Dust and dirt flew everywhere. Uneo and Sasuke were blown back. Naruto was at the epicenter of the explosion.
The arena was silent, the crowds watching in open mouthed shock as two competitors lay unconscious in the dirt.
Naruto felt his anger subside immediately, replaced with horror. He looked at his teammate in the dirt.
Kakashi leaned forward in his seat, expression stern.
Yamamoto smiled with glee.
"Sasuke…?" Naruto said to himself, eyes wide.
Sasuke and Uneo were defeated in the match.
Naruto was the victor, advancing to the next round.