"What are you?" Naruto asked. He shifted in the puddle, moving closer to the gate.
The beast beyond the gate shifted as well, creating ripples in the water. Its head became clearer. The head of an enormous fox.
Naruto stared, wide-eyed at the beast.
"You're the fox," He said. "Inside of me."
"You sound disappointed. Don't let that freak take any more of my power."
Naruto snapped awake. He was on the battlefield again.
Yoroi hesitated.
"What?"
Naruto shot up, filled with energy. He punched Yoroi in the gut, knocking him backward.
"Now, shadow clone Jutsu!" Naruto performed hand signs and created several clones.
Naruto's clones charged Yoroi.
"Don't mock me!" Yoroi regained his footing and kicked through the first clone. "Hey, leaf brat, back me up!" He swiped a kunai through another clone. A third clone tackled Yoroi to the ground.
Nearby, Choji was hesitating. He glanced at the stands. Shikamaru was watching him.
"What do I do?" Choji wondered out loud. He wanted to win, but not like this. He'd felt so confident before the fight started but when Yoroi started beating Naruto up, Choji wasn't so sure. He looked to Asuma, but he was focused on Naruto's fight with Yoroi. Choji felt useless.
Naruto dodged Yoroi's grab and punched him in the chin.
"Damn you!" Yoroi swiped at Naruto again, grazing his cheek.
Naruto faltered. He'd stolen some chakra.
At that moment, Yoroi kicked Naruto in the chin. Naruto stumbled. Yoroi lunged, catching Naruto by the throat.
"I'm gonna kill you!" Yoroi yelled.
"Like hell," Naruto jammed a kunai into Yoroi's hand. "I won't let you steal anymore chakra from me!" Naruto shouted, falling to the ground.
Yoroi glared at him.
"Enough of this." He started performing hand signs. "I'm ending this now."
Naruto tensed, panting. He reached for a kunai.
"Partial expansion Jutsu!"
A giant hand swept Yoroi aside. He was sent flying into the arena wall. Yoroi sunk to the ground, unconscious.
Choji's hand returned to its normal size. He offered it to Naruto.
"What?" Naruto took Choji's hand. He helped Naruto to his feet.
"What the hell are you doing?" Raikage screamed from the stands.
Choji looked to Raikage, then to Asuma.
"I'm doing what I think is right!" Choji yelled. He stepped away from Naruto.
"Does this mean I win—" Naruto started.
Choji took a deep breath and his body expanded to the size of a giant balloon.
"Oh, crap."
Choji tucked his limbs and head in.
"Here I come, Naruto! Human boulder!" Choji started spinning, rolling towards Naruto.
Naruto dove out of Choji's path.
Choji rolled across the battlefield, crashing into the wall.
"Go Choji!" Ino cheered from the stands.
Naruto watched as Choji struggled to get free. He'd embedded himself in the wall.
"You okay, Choji?" Naruto asked. He walked over to the balloon boy.
"Let me just…" Choji said between wheezes.
Suddenly, Choji shrunk to his original size. He landed on his feet with a hup.
"Oh," Naruto said. "Hi."
"Partial expansion Jutsu!" Choji's hand expanded instantly, smacking Naruto. Naruto skidded across the ground.
"Come on, Naruto!" Choji yelled as his hand shrunk. "Fight back!"
Naruto jumped to his feet and created a few clones.
"I'm not gonna lose, Choji!"
X
"No one reported missing?" Kakashi asked. Yamato shrugged.
"None."
The two of them and another anbu were in an alley.
A body was lying on the ground in front of them. It was a naked man with his limbs removed. Its face was smooth, lacking any facial features.
"This is the fifth one this month," Yamato said.
"You're saying it's Orochimaru," Kakashi knelt by the body, tracing the face where the eyes would be. "You think he's in the village somewhere."
"I don't understand what he'd be after," Yamato said. "Why would he kill apparently random people?"
Kakashi turned the man's head. There was a mark on his collar bone. He recognized it.
"Curse mark," Yamato said.
"Why would the hokage lie?" Kakashi asked, standing up.
"I beg your pardon?" Yamato asked.
"Don't you remember?" Kakashi cocked his head. "A few years back, the hokage hunted down Orochimaru and killed him."
"Oh, that's right," Yamato said. "Could it be a pupil of his, perhaps?"
Kakashi scratched his head.
"As fun as this speculation is, it really isn't helping," Kakashi said. "Have any of these bodies been identified?"
Yamato shook his head.
"We don't even know if they're from the leaf village."
"All of this, on top of the cloud…" Kakashi stepped away from Yamato and the other Anbu. "Things really are going to hell."
X
Naruto was running from Choji.
Choji had inflated himself again and was rolling around the battlefield.
"Damn it, Choji!" Naruto yelled. "Give me a second to make a clone!"
Naruto spun to face Choji, but he was gone.
Naruto blinked and looked around.
A shadow grew around him.
Naruto looked up.
"Human cannon!" Choji screamed as he descended towards Naruto.
Naruto took a deep breath and planted his feet. He performed some hand signs.
"I don't really know any Jutsu," Naruto said.
"That's sad," Sasuke said.
"I could teach you something basic," Kakashi suggested from behind his book. "Why don't we check your chakra affinity?"
"What's that?" Naruto asked. "It sounds lame."
"It's the nature transformation you specialize in," Sasuke said.
"What kind of Jutsu do you know?" Naruto asked, turning to Kakashi.
"Most of them." Kakashi hand waved Naruto. "What about this?" Kakashi snapped his book shut and performed some hand signs.
Naruto and Sasuke watched him closely.
Kakashi extended his arm towards Naruto, palm out. Naruto leaned forward, eyes wide.
Naruto raised both of his hands towards Choji. His palms were burning.
Choji reached Naruto. A simple Jutsu. A strong, direct release of chakra to create force.
"impact!"
There was a flash of light above Naruto.
Choji was propelled sideways through the air, deflating as he flew. He landed in the crowd. People screamed and someone pushed Choji off of them.
Naruto panted, his arms ached. He stumbled to the side.
"Naruto wins!" Asuma yelled. "The match is over!"
Naruto cheered, jumping up and down.
"Yeah! I won!"
In the stands, Hiruzen was laughing.
"About that wager, Raikage?"
Raikage stood up, glaring down at Hiruzen.
"Are you backing down?" Hiruzen asked.
Raikage stood up. He watched as the arena was cleared out.
Asuma was staring up at them.
"Fine then."
