Shadow Fang vs Uchi Ita of the Hidden Rain.
Those words flashed on the board signaling the fighters for the next match. Tsunade tensed up from where she was sitting, now she could see how strong Naruto had really become. The other Jounin also seem to observe the next fight. Kakashi meanwhile just continued to read his book already knowing the outcome of the fight.
Shikamaru looked at the two fighters infront of him. 'Tck This is so Troublesome..but I wanna see how strong Naruto is' He thought as he gave the signal to fight. The two fighters just stood there staring at each other waiting for the other to make the first move. Naruto waited for Ita to make the first move since he didn't know what Ita can do.
Itachi smirked under his gray cloak and immediately threw a barrage of senbon needles at Naruto. After throwing the senbons , using lightning fast reflexes Itachi performed a set of handseals.
"Senbon Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu" itachi muttered as the Senbon multiplied while slicing thru the air. Naruto quickly flipped backwards avoiding the senbons from hitting him. He landed a few feet from Ita who was now charging towards him. Naruto smirked and quickly engaged Itachi in taijutsu , launching attacks to Itachi's upper and lower torso. Itachi quickly countered and blocked some of Naruto's attack while a few punches connected with his body. 'He's holding back' Itachi thought as he winced in pain after receiving a punch in the gut. 'Time to reveal your secret Naruto-kun' Itachi thought as he raised his Sakkat and revealed to Naruto his Mangekyou Sharingan for a few seconds.
Naruto stood there for a moment shocked when he realized who he was fighting. 'Itachi!' Naruto thought as he quickly dodged Itachi's attacks while blocking a kick aimed for his head. Naruto quickly ducked down and sweeped Itachi off his feet. Applying chakra to his fist Naruto then punched the disguised missing-nin in the chest. Itachi flew backwards crashing into the wall. POOF The henge that Itachi was under disappeared revealing his true identity.
The jounins immediately went into action stopping Sasuke from leaping into the arena to fight his brother. Tsunade quickly signalled to one of her guards to get the ANBU team here. Meanwhile she signalled for the match to continue. The Jounins protested and cried out that the match should be cancelled but Tsunade sent them a glare that said She wanted to see the outcome of the match.
Naruto meanwhile readied himself for a battle he wasnt really prepared for. Itachi quickly performed a set of hand seals "Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!" Naruto quickly countered with his own answer to the Housenka a jutsu from Kyuubi's arsenal. He performed a set of rather complicated hand seals and blew out black flames. "Kaku Houou no Mera!" The red and black flames met in mid-air creating a large explosion. Itachi came out of the smoke from the explosion , charging forward towards Naruto.
Kakuhouou no Mera [Black Phoenix Fire] - An alternation to the Ryuuka no Jutsu instead this attack creates double the amount of flames with triple the amount of strenght with the flames coloured in black and the flames in the shape of phoenixes
"Amaterasu" Itachi muttered creating the black flames that immediately shot out towards Naruto. Naruto immediately leaped into the air to evade the flames but it caught the edge of his cloak. The cloak erupted into flames making Naruto removed the burning material in haste. He landed at the center of the ring, his hand gripping the hilt of his Katana. From the balcony shocked and surprise expressions were plastered on the genin's faces. 'Naruto!' were the thoughts of 10 genins as they watched the blonde teen fight Itachi.
Sasuke looked on as he saw his ex-teammate fight with his older brother. 'Naruto' Sasuke thought as he tried helplessly to get loose from the the vice like grip of the Jounins. Sasuke struggled to pry loose Gai's hand from his shoulder blade. 'Damnit!' Sasuke thought
Kakashi meanwhile had revealed his Sharingan and was watching the match. 'Let's see how strong you really are Naruto' he thought as he saw Naruto smile and began to mutter a few words under his breathe.
Naruto was tired of playing games it was time to get serious. Now that his secret was revealed He didnt need to hold back so much. Itachi meanwhile also got tired of this little game so He immediately ran at Naruto at an insane speed. The on-lookers only saw a blur running towards Naruto but all the blonde teen did was raise his hand pointing towards the advancing Itachi.
"Oi Itachi! Your not getting out of here without me beating you up!" Naruto yelled loudly as he instantly vanish from everyone's sight.
'Nani? where did he go?' Itachi thought as he felt a fist connect with his face. Itachi flew backwards wincing in pain from the punch. 'He's grown stronger' was only Itachi;s thought as he found himself being kicked into the air. Itachi quickly turned around executing a series of handseals while plummeting towards the waiting Naruto. "Amaterasu Makyou Sharingan" Itachi uttered as a large corona of black flames flew out from his mouth heaing straight for Naruto.
Naruto tried to evade the blast but because of the effects of the Sharingan the blast hit him full force. 'Itai The hurts..Ggrr..Okay time to use fire with fire' NAruto thought as he skidded backwards from the blast. Scorch marks can be seen in his clothes, Naruto then raised his hand into the air his face were void of any emotion.
From where he stood to watch the fight Jiraiya saw the change in Naruto. 'So he's going to use it.' Tsunade looked on curiously wondering what the once loud mouth brat would do. The jounins and the genins were watching shocked at the power that Naruto now possessed. To be in par with Uchiha Itachi ,the most wanted S-rank Missing-nin all over the world, was something not to be taken lightly.
Itachi suddenly a blow hit him in the chest knocking him back. He looked around but there was nothing since Naruto stood not far from him not even moving an inch. Itachi took a step forward and instanty vanished running at a fast pace to attack Naruto. Before he could reach Naruto he suddenly felt multiple blows from all over his bodystopping him in his track. Naruto meanwhile never took his eyes off Itachi , his mouth moving muttering silent words as he used one of the techniques of the Uzumaki Clan.
"That was a Front Skill of the Uzumaki Clan: Clay!" Naruto said as he quickly charged forward aking the offensive. Itachi quickly found himself being attack from all directions as Naruto ran circles around him. He tried to read Naruto's movements but the speed that Naruto went was too much for his Sharingan. Itachi flipped backwards to evade Naruto's attacks and think up of a plan to escape.
Itachi soon found himself facing Naruto's index finger which hand a small orb spinning spinning wildly. Itachi leaped into the air to escape but another Naruto kicked him in the gut and pile drived him into the ground. 'Kage Bunshin? When did he?' Itachi thought as he began to perform a set of hand seals to counter whatever Naruto was gonna throw at him.
Instantly the sounds of a thousand birds started to fill the arena, 'Itachi knows the Chidori!' Naruto thought as he saw Itachi charge towards him destruction following Itachi as he ran with the charged up attack. Naruto quickly charged forward, blue rings of light can now be seen spinning in his sapphire orbs. Itachi smirk since Naruto didn't use his Rasengan to counter the Chidori. 'Heh I win' Itachi thought as he increased his speed the ground he ran on cracking under the pressure of his speed.
What Naruto did next made all of those present in the arena never forget. Naruto leaped backwards when Itachi reached him creating a sort of a gap between the two of them. Blue Rings of Light appeared right infront of the advancing itachi who was shocked from the sudden turn of event. " Gate of Gales : Rasengan Rendan!!" Naruto yelled as he fired the still spinning orb in his index finger. The spinning orb shot toward Itachi at an alarming speed, it then passed thru the rings of light which amplified it making it grow bigger. The orb connected with Itachi's stomach blowing him away from the force of the Rasengan.
Itachi felt the attack start to rip thru his skin , tearing away and completely starting to deplete his chakra. Itachi crashed thru the wall as the Rasengan continued to push him even deeper into the wall. Naruto just smirked and said "Boom" The Rasengan exploded sending Itachi even further thru the thick walls of the Tower. Naruto immediately raced forward and grabbed Itachi's arm from the smoke. "Oh no you don't I'm not done with you yet Itachi!" Naruto cried out as he continued to pummel Itachi with his fist.
Itachi was now struggling to breath as all of his chakra was completely depleted from trying to shield himself fro any further injury. He never expected that Naruto to be this strong and skilled. He always thought that Naruto was an pathetic excuse of a shinobi.
Meanwhile the ANBU team had arrived just waiting for Tsunade's orders to capture Itachi. Hoshigaki Kisame was currently surrounded by 10 ANBU having revelaed his true identity.
Sasuke meanwhile finally able to get loose from the jounin's clutches leaped out into the arena. In his hand the Chidori glowed dangerously as his Sharingan flared to life. The curse seal on his neck already acting up from the way Sasuke's rage consumed him.
Naruto stood a few feet from Iachi who after healing most of his wounds still stood up to fight. Naruto gripped his katana tightly ready to slice and dice Itachi to pieces.
When both fighters heard the distant sound of a thousand birds closing in fast towards them. Naruto immediately leaped out of the way letting Sasuke pass by. "DIE ITACHI!!!!!!" Sasuke yelled as he poured on the speed , his Sharingan spinning wildly not leaving Itachi from his gaze. He was so concentrated in Itachi that Sasuke didn't see a metalic blur shoot pass him. A Katana was not sticking right thru Itachi's shoulder holding him in place.
Sasuke continued to run the Chidori glowing brightly and the sound getting louder with each step that he took closer to Itachi.
"Foolish little brother" Itachi's voice filled with unbearable pain and anger as his hand shot out and grabbed Sasuke's arm. Sasuke quickly pivoted and aimed a kick to Itachi's head but the Uchiha prodigy quickly blocked the kick and at the same time twisted Sasuke's arm. He flung Sasuke backwards towards a pillar. Itachi quickly pulled the katana out of his shoulder gritting his teeth trying hard not to scream in pain. After pulling the sword out , Itachi threw the sword at NAruto who caught it by the tip of the blade and twisted it.
Naruto then grabbed the hilt and pointed at Itachi, anger still in his sapphire orbs. Itachi held on to his wound and said "I'll be back" as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Kuso! He got away!!" Naruto yelled as he ran towards the unconscious Sasuke. The jounin's soon joined him and brought the Medic to tend to Sasuke. Tsunade strode in checking Sasuke's pulse then told the Medic Nins to bring Sasuke to the hospital. Meanwhile the genins had surrounded Naruto asking him what happend to him. Sakura quickly shoved the other genins away until she came face to face with Naruto.
"Hello Sakura" Naruto said while staring at her coldly. Hinata already by Naruto's side holding onto his arm. The other genins encricling Naruto. Rock Lee giving Naruto a nice guy pose.
"Naruto-kun" Sakura said ass she flung herself towards Naruto but all she met was the floor. Naruto had side-stepped and began to walk back to the other room Hinata following closely behind. He was met by Gaara who just nodded and said they were to report in the arena for an announcement.
The other genins quickly went back while leaving Sakura all alone to walk by herself to the arena. She was hurt by the way Naruto had coldly stared at her and ignored her.
First Sasuke ignores her now Naruto ignores her. 'I thought I was one of your precious people' Sakura thought as she stared at Naruto's retreating back. Sakura sighed and fought the urge to cry as she joined the ranks.
Tsunade , with the Jounin Sensei's behind her, stood on the stage her eyes scanning the winners of the preliminaries. "Good work to all of you and Congratulations to the winners although we are now on high alert since Akatsuki members had ilfiltrated our village. We were able to capture the third member of the Akatsuki group Mizuki sadly Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi escaped" Tsunade announced while reaching for the scroll to display the Finals Match.
"The finals will be held in 3 weeks. So you have time to rest and train for your next matches. Here are the next matches." Tsunade said showing them the scroll for the final matches.
First Match Uchiha Sasuke vs Uzumaki Naruto
Second Match: Gaara of the Desert vs Rock Lee
Third Match: Temari vs Sarutobi Konohamaru
Fourth Match Aburame Shino vs Hyuuga Hinata
Fifth Match Ino vs the Winner of the fourth Match
After reading the matches Tsunade dismissed them. The genins immediately piled out of the tower eager to start training for the finals. Naruto with Hinata by his side and Konohamaru corps following behind, started to walked towards the exit when Tsunade's voice called out "Naruto-kun please Stay we need to talk" Naruto whispered to Hinata to go ahead while waving a bye to the Konohamaru Corps.
After giving Hinata a goodbye kiss , Naruto walked with the Hokage towards her office. "What is it Baa-chan?" Naruto asked impatiently. Tsunade lightly punched Naruto on the shoulder for calling her old. They finally reached the office with Naruto impatiently waiting for what Tsunade had to say.
"Well You handled yourself quite nicely in that fight. You even beat Itachi " Tsunade said while ruffling Naruto's hair affectionately. Naruto gave Tsunade a foxy grin which shortly broke into laughter.
"Hehehe Well It was nice of a challenge really Didn't expect my opponent to be him." Naruto replied while scratching the back of his head.
"Well i called you here because There is something that belonged to your father which will now be passed on to you. After the Exam you will recieved it" Tsunade said giving Naruto a warm smile.
"Thanks Baa-Chan" Naruto replied giving her his trademark Foxy Grin.
Meanwhile back with the genins
"Man I can't believe Naruto is back!" Rock Lee said while sitting at the ramen bar with the other genins they were waiting for Naruto to come here. Hinata had told them to wait here since Naruto wanted to talk to them. Catch up on old times as Naruto had put it.
The owner of Ichiraku had a huge grin on his face when he heard Naruto was back. His business hadn't been that great ever since Naruto was driven out 4 years ago but now that the boy was back the owner felt a glimmer of hope for his business.
Sasuke who was immediately discharged after receiving treatment from the Medic-nins immediately joined the rest of the genins. he wanted to talk to his blonde ex-teammate. 'How? How did that dobe get so strong in four year?? I haven't even improved much except for my Mangekyou Sharingan and the skills behind it' Sasuke thought as he walked towards the Ichiraku knowing that the blond would be there.
Kakashi meanwhile along with the Jounin senseis were gathered in a room with the ANBU Interrogation Squad in the next room. In the middle of the room Mizuki was tied to a chair surrounded by the Jounins.
"So ready to talk? " Ibiki's voice called out from the shadows. Mizuki glared at the shadows in defiance not wanting to divulge the secrets of the Akatsuki. "Very well with the torture" Ibiki said walking to the other room.
"Anything yet?" Kakashi asked while the other Jounins waited in anticipation about the information being held by Mizuki.
Ibiki shook his head "Not yet..he hasnt craced yet but don't worry He can't last that long." Ibiki said as Mizuki's totured scream was heard from the other room. Kakashi winced in pain from the way Mizuki had screamed.
"Does he have to scream like a little girl?" Asuma said while lighting a cigarette with his lighter. Ibiki shrugeed and said "He was always a girlie kind of man to me"
Kakashi chuckled and lead the ther Jounins to the exit "Let's go we still have to run a search for any other signs of Akatsuki activity.
The jounins quickly leaped towards different directions , to start the search for any signs of Itachi and Kisame.
Next Chapter : Heated Discussion and Training for the Finals.