DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO (IF I DID THEN I'LL BE DAMNED HAHA)

A Test Of Skill

- Hidden In A Tree Somewhere: 2:00 PM -

One of Naruto's clones was placed up in a tree so as to remain hidden in the event that someone tries to trespass and take the bait, Clone Naruto was looking around whilst staying ever vigilant of his surroundings. He remain focused until he heard a voice from a distance.

"Watch where you're stepping, imbecile…" a man's voice said

"Sorry about that brother" his brother replied

"Just shut up and get to it"

Clone Naruto heard all of this and decided to wait and see who shows up. After a while of waiting, three men showed up just outside Takeo's ranch. It was a good idea that they left bait to lure them in, there were indeed bandits that were stealing cows from the ranch. Clone Naruto then decided to leave the area and warn the original.

- Moments Later: 2:10 PM -

Naruto was leaning on a hay bale, all asleep and drooling on himself. Clone Naruto then shook him to wake Naruto up in order to inform him of his findings.

"Oi, wake up, wake up" Clone Naruto said

"Huh?! I wasn't sleeping Asuma-sensei I swear, I was just resting my eyes" he replied

"I'm not Asuma-sensei you idiot" the clone said

Naruto rubbed his eyes and realized that it was just one of his clones, "Well if I'm an idiot then you're an idiot" Naruto returned

"Whatever, that doesn't matter. We have intruders, they took the bait" he reported

"How many?"

"Three and they're by the unfinished section of the fence"

"Alright then, return there and follow their tail. I'll wake the others up" he ordered. The clone nodded and quickly left, somehow Naruto was all giddy about getting some action after waiting so long.

- Takeo's Cabin: 2:15 PM -

"Asuma-sensei we have trouble" Naruto said whilst tapping his sensei's shoulder. Asuma was sleeping on a couch upstairs while Shino and Ino slept in a spare bedroom where the three of them slept for the past few days.

"Took them long enough" Asuma groaned, he then asked Naruto the same question he asked his clones earlier to which Naruto simply spat back the information his clone gave him. Asuma told him to wake the others and gear up.

"Go wake the others, meet me at the back" Asuma said as he took his pouch full of ninja tools with him and headed downstairs

Naruto then started to wake them up, starting with Shino since he's certainly the easier one to wake up

"Shino, get up. Go meet Asuma-sensei at the back, it's go time" he said while giving him a slight nudge. Much to no one's surprise, Shino woke up without any qualms and did as he was told

Now, onto the hard part which was waking up Ino. "*sigh* I am so gonna get punched in the face" he thought to himself as he knelt down to make up Ino. But as he was about to nudge her, Ino's eyes shot wide open to see that Naruto was too close.

Out of instinct, Ino decked Naruto straight in the face with one clean punch. He stumbled back and rubbed his cheek, "DAMNIT! I knew I was gonna get punched… What the heck was that for?…" Naruto complained.

"What're you doing you pervert!"

"Pervert?! You punched me you psycho!"

"When I said wake me up I didn't mean to get on top of me!" she argued

"WHAT?! I was nowhere near being on top of you, you're crazy y'know that? Forget it, Asuma-sensei wanted me to wake you guys up. We have company" he explained.

"They took the bait?" she asked

"Yeah yeah… Just gear up and head to the back. I'm gonna go there now, we'll wait for you" he said to which she nodded

- At The Back of Takeo's Cabin: 2:30 PM -

"I already informed Kaneshiro-san and Akemi-san about the intruders and told them to stay put so we can handle this. Are all of you good to go?" Asuma asked. All of his students nodded in return

"Okay good, did you send a clone to follow them?" he asked

"Of course!"

"Okay, where is it?" Asuma inquired

It then hit Naruto that he doesn't know where his clone is right now, "Uhhh…" was all he could say

"What's the matter?" Asuma wondered

"I don't know where my clone went…" he said sheepishly

"Then how are we supposed to find them now, Naruto?" Ino asked

"I'm sorry… I didn't quite think this through. Maybe if I make more clones, then we could probably find them" he offered

"No kid, dispel all of them" Asuma retorted

"But why? Then the clone I sent to follow them would be gone…" Naruto said

"Just trust me on this one, now go ahead and dispel all of them" Asuma ordered

Naruto reluctantly agreed but eventually did the hand seal to dispel his clones, "What now?…" he asked

"Just give it a second" Asuma replied

After what Asuma said, Naruto now knew where the bandits were all of a sudden. "I know where they are! B-But how?…" he asked his sensei.

"I'll explain it some other time, now where are they?" Asuma asked once more

"Come on, they're this way! Follow me" he said enthusiastically as he began to sprint in the direction where the bandits are. His teammates (Asuma included) chased after him as well.

- Somewhere In The Woods: 2:50 PM -

"How many more cows were you able to lure, Takeshi?" a man asked

"I got 3 more to follow me, where's Tadashi-aniki?" he asked

"Do I look like a fucking psychic to you?…" he replied

"Jeez… I was just asking"

"Well quit opening your trap and get these cows outta here"

The two men ventured further into the forest along with the cows they had just stolen. It was quite a hassle to get the cows to stay as one group, it was tedious to say the least. But the bandits kept on wrangling them up since money is money.

After a while, they reached yet another clearing, but a much smaller one compared to Takeo's ranch. Another difference is that this clearing is beside the foot of a rather tall cliff. In front of them was their elder brother.

"Where are the cows, Katashi?" he asked

"We got em right here aniki, now what?" Katashi replied

"We head east, the nearest town is located in Ta no Kuni (Land of Rice Fields). Once we sell these cows, we're going to get a hefty payday" Tadashi chuckled at the prospect of getting more money.

"Now that the farm's fences are almost done, where do steal from next?" Takeshi asked

"Just leave that part to me, just do as I say" he said much to Katashi's annoyance. All of a sudden they then heard rustling from afar

"What was that?…" Katashi asked. A couple of kunais were thrown from the tress which they were able to somehow dodge

"Shinobi… YOU IDIOTS! YOU TWO WERE FOLLOWED!" Tadashi yelled

"It's not my fucking fault! If anything, it's Takeshi's fault for being so incompetent" Katashi argued

"I-I didn't know there were shinobi in the area" Takeshi offered

"THAT IS WHY I FUCKING TOLD YOU TO SCOUT THE DAMN AREA A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO! BOTH OF YOU ARE FUCKING USELESS!" Tadashi exclaimed, "*sigh* Let's just get this over with, we know you're out there. Come out and we can settle this, you want these cows back? Come and get em!" Tadashi taunted.

Team 10 emerged from the forest to face the bandits head-on, the sight of three kids and one adult made Tadashi chuckle. "What's so funny?" Ino asked

"I didn't expect to fight three children and their babysitter. Looks like I was worried for nothing" Tadashi replied

"WHY YOU!" Naruto gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. He was about to launch an attack on the man but was stopped by Asuma

"Naruto, don't… He's trying to get under your skin. Control your temper, now is not the time to throw a tantrum" Asuma ordered

"Yeah, listen to your babysitter. You're far away from home kid, you shouldn't have come here boy" Tadashi kept on taunting. He then cracked his joints and prepared for the incoming battle. "You two deal with the kids, I'll deal with the big one. I didn't think a time would come that I'll be using this" he said whilst grabbing a pouch containing pills of some kind.

"Take three and finish the fucking job" he said to his brothers. Katashi and Takeshi then took three pills from the pouch while Tadashi already gulped one down.

"What did he just consume?" Ino asked

"It appears to be some kind of an enhancement pill, much like the soldier pill that was given to us" Shino said

"Remember what I told you guys before, this isn't training anymore cause this right here is the real deal. Make one wrong move and you're dead, so don't underestimate them. I don't want your deaths on my conscience, cause if you guys bite the dust, that's on me. Am I understood?" Asuma reminded his students to which they agreed.

"Awww how sweet… Enough of this mushy crap, let's settle this" Tadashi said as he unsheathed his tsurugi that was strapped on his back. He then rushed toward Asuma and swung his blade at him, Asuma was able to block the attack with the use of trench knives.

"Heh, not bad for some bandit"

"Who says I'm just a bandit" he said as he began pumping chakra into his arms. Asuma began to feel that his opponent's blade becoming heavier and heavier.

Asuma pushed him back and back-flipped away from him to put some distance between them, "Apparently this guy knows how to use chakra to a certain degree…" he thought to himself. Tadashi didn't relent though as he rushed towards Asuma once more, swinging his tsurugi again at him hoping that he could land a hit.

Their blades clashed, metal hitting metal could be heard. Sparks flew from their blades. Asuma then backed off and went on the offensive instead, he slashed one of his knives at the man. But to his surprise, he was also fast enough to dodge it. 'Seems like what they ate wasn't just some basic soldier/chakra pill' he said to himself. Asuma kept on slashing his blades at the man but Tadashi was able to block or dodge each and every one of em.

- With Shino, Ino, and Naruto -

"Look we don't wanna fight you" Naruto said

"Well I don't wanna fight me as well, so back off and stop poking your nose in someone else's business"

"Oh wow, cool business you got here. Didn't know stealing was a business" Ino jabbed

"Don't say I didn't warn you" Katashi said as he ingested his very first enhancement pill. Consuming the pill made him feel power course through his body, he felt more lively and more stronger than he was before. Takeshi did the same as well and felt the same way too.

Katashi then pumped chakra to his legs which granted him increased speed, "I'm going for you missy!" he said as he swung that tanto he was holding. He was almost near Ino but Naruto was able to intercept him by blocking the blade using one of his kunais.

"Oh ho, pretty brave for a kid. Think you got the guts to kill, little boy" Katashi said

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size, you sissy"

"You're pretty feisty too. Since you interrupted me, I'll be killing you first" he said as she swung his weapon again. Naruto still blocked the strike but felt his arms become weak, he still needs to get used to using weapons just like Asuma advised him.

"What're you waiting for you moron! Don't just stand there! Help me!" he yelled to his brother who was just standing behind him.

Takeshi also pumped chakra to his legs allowing him to go faster than normal. He also ran toward Naruto in the hopes to overwhelm him but Shino stopped him from doing so by throwing some shurikens at him.

Takeshi dodge the projectiles which made him go in the other direction as a result. Shino then threw some of his bugs at Takeshi but those got incinerated quickly with the use of a fire-style jutsu

"It seems they're not just some bandits…" Shino said

Naruto and Katashi were still fighting using their blades with the occasional assistance from Ino with the use of her projectiles. All she needed was to land her Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Change Technique) to finish the job. Unfortunately, she just couldn't shoot her jutsu all willy-nilly as it would be a dumb move.

Naruto pushed him back allowing him to back off from him, he then used one of his signature moves. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique)" Naruto yelled

"What? Can't deal with me alone, you need some backup huh?" Katashi kept on provoking Naruto in the hopes of causing him to make a wrong move

"Naruto! Don't listen to him, he's trying to get in your head" she yelled

"Shut your trap kid! I'll deal with you later" he replied

"Seems like you don't want to listen, fine by me. I'll show you what Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure no Sato can do dattebayo!" he yelled as he rushed towards him. His clones ran to him as well, kunai in hand.

The clones surrounded Katashi from all directions, they just kept on coming at him. But with the help of the enhancement pills, Katashi was able to fend off the clones. He dispelled them by punching, slicing, kicking, tossing, and many more ways to inflict harm.

"Naruto! Keep him still" she yelled

"We're trying!" all of the clones yelled

- With Shino -

Shino and his opponent fought one another in a distant area that was far away from his teammates but close enough to hear them fight.

"Look man, it's nothing personal but I hafta kill you. If I don't, my brothers would kill me instead" Takeshi said to Shino

"The feeling is mutual, I bear no grudge towards you, I am just doing my job. Though my peers didn't threaten to kill me if I fail" Shino returned

Takeshi then threw a smoke bomb on the ground causing a large cloud of smoke to spread across the battlefield. Shino lost sight of his opponent but luckily for him, he was the sensory type. Shino released some of his bugs to locate his enemy, for a while everything was silent. Until suddenly Shino jumped to the left, effectively dodging a fireball aimed at him.

He then countered Takeshi's attack by throwing some of his bugs at him since he had just cast a jutsu earlier. "Hijutsu: Mushidama (Hidden Jutsu: Insect Sphere)" said Shino. Unfortunately, Takeshi wasn't able to form the hand seals for the Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu) in time. He was then swarmed by Shino's bugs thus overwhelming him for a moment, "Ughhh gross! Get these things off of me!" he yelled.

He then took out his wakizashi and streamed chakra into it, "Katon: Hi Shinten no Jutsu (Fire Style: Flame Spread Technique)" Takeshi yelled as he flailed his flaming blade around thus eradicating the bugs that were swarming him. Once he got rid of all the bugs he then turned around to see that his opponent was missing.

Takeshi was then forced to go on the defensive by standing his ground while keeping his guard up. He kept looking around him to see where Shino was hiding until he heard the bush behind him rustle.

Three copies of Shino emerged from all directions, all clones threw shurikens at him simultaneously. With the aid of the pill he took earlier, he was able to deflect and/or dodge the projectiles aimed at him. Takeshi successfully thwarted Shino's earlier attack but to his misfortune, he was left in a rather awkward position. He was so preoccupied with dodging the shurikens, Shino and his clones were able to close the distance between the two of them.

Fighting in close combat was rather tough for Shino since he's a mid-to-long range fighter just like Asuma said. But in this scenario, he was alone due to the fact that Naruto and Ino were busy handling the other guy who was much more aggressive and volatile compared to the foe he was facing. This was why Shino was forced to get out of his comfort zone by engaging in hand-to-hand combat and transitioning to long-range fighting occasionally.

Takeshi wasn't able to prepare himself to counter Shino's attack. As a result, he got tackled by one of Shino's clones causing him to tumble along with the clone across the ground.

After a few seconds, Takeshi was able to get back up on his feet, he quickly dispelled the clone that tackled him by slashing it with his weapon. The other clone lunged at him from behind but was dispelled as well with ease.

This left both of them panting but Takeshi was more exhausted compared to Shino. He was burning through his chakra pool and he was running out fast whereas Shino utilized minimal chakra throughout their battle.

"I believe it is wise to concede now" Shino interjected

"Why should I? They'll kill me!" Takeshi rebutted

"Cause you are almost out of chakra, if you use any more then you'll die anyway"

"Then I'll just ingest one more pill, problem solved" he said as he reached behind him only to realize that his pouch was missing

"Are you looking for this?" Shino said as he walked over to the pouch that was in front of him

"B-But how?!" Takeshi couldn't believe what was happening right now

"One of my clones that tackled you were able to detach your pouch from your hip during the scuffle, you just didn't notice"

"But how the fuck did I run out of chakra that quickly?!"

"Not only were you using your chakra in an inefficient way, the bugs I sent to swarm you didn't only serve as a distraction but a means to suck away some of your chakra as well" Shino explained

Takeshi gritted his teeth and held his blade tighter in his hand, "They're gonna kill me" Takeshi said in a scared tone

"Then turn yourself in" Shino replied

".….." Takeshi couldn't say anything but drop his weapon to the ground

Shino saw this as a sign of defeat, he then took out some ninja wire from his pouch to restrain him. Shino was about to tie him up but at the last second, Takeshi threw a smoke bomb on the ground causing a plume of smoke to cover the area.

Shino coughed due to the sudden release of smoke. Once the smoke dissipated, Takeshi was nowhere to be found.

- With Naruto and Ino -

"Crap I missed!" Ino said after failing to hit Katashi using her shurikens

"You're gonna have to try harder than that girly! And you, getting tired ?… " he asked Naruto condescendingly

"Physically? No. Tired of this battle? Yes" Naruto jabbed

"Ha! You got moxy kid. I respect that, too bad I still need to kill ya"

"You have to find me first! Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu)" Naruto yelled once again. In an instant, the area was filled with copies of Naruto. Katashi was surrounded from all sides.

"That jutsu again, you're a one-trick pony kid" he said

"What's the supposed to mean?" Naruto asked due to being oblivious of its meaning

"Stupid too" he replied. This pissed Naruto off quite a bit in response

All of his clones then rushed toward him this time, Katashi was able to dispel the first few clones. But as time went on he was finally overwhelmed and got tackled by the clones

Katashi was essentially under a huge pile of Naruto Clones, things remained quiet for a while though. "Did you get him?" Ino asked

All of the clones were hurled into the air revealing an angry Katashi who broke free with ease. "ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT! NOW YOU'VE REALLY PISSED ME OFF. TIME TO DIE" Katashi hissed

"What the heck happened, how did he get stronger?" Ino asked

"I think he took another pill, this one's probably more potent than the first" Naruto retorted

"What now?" Ino asked

"I guess it's now or never then, I'll try to hold him down while you try to land your jutsu. I've got a plan" Naruto said and Ino nodded though she did not know what Naruto's plan was yet she trusted him that he can pull it off.

"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique). Alright! Let's try this one more time!" Naruto exclaimed. "IKUZE! (Let's go)" his clones yelled on their own as they rushed towards Katashi for the third time.

"Not gonna quit huh? Fine by me, I'll enjoy killing the both of you" Katashi said heinously as he prepared for Naruto's attack for the nth time.

Half of Naruto's clones began rushing him and engaging in combat though each clone didn't last for too long as they got dispelled pretty easily. Katashi was able to dispel all of the clones once again.

The other half of Naruto's clones then began throwing shurikens at him but Katashi was able to deflect all of them thus leaving the projectiles scattered on the ground. Naruto decided to throw in more clones in the mix and he himself joined the carnage.

"This is getting tiresome boy! Is this all you know? Some shinobi you turned out to be…" Katashi attempted to get under his skin once more but Naruto didn't listen.

Slowly but surely Katashi was getting overwhelmed by the sheer number of clones that were coming at him. Sure he got stronger because of the pill, it didn't necessarily mean he was invincible and not get tired somehow. Once he thought he was about to get tackled again, he pumped chakra into his legs allowing him to jump high up in the air. Before he jumped though, he left an explosive tag on the ground causing most if not all of Naruto's clones to be dispelled in one go.

All of the dispelled clones emitted smoke. Due to there being numerous clones, the amount of smoke was equivalent to that of a smoke bomb. Katashi then landed on the ground only to see Ino and an unconscious Naruto in front of him.

"Tough luck kid, too bad that didn't work. Enough games! I'm sick of this:" he said as he diverted more chakra to his legs to boost his speed and finish off Naruto. But before he was able to sprint the ground below him cracked and the body he saw on the ground turned into smoke. A pair of hands emerged from the ground, it grabbed his ankles thus restraining him and the original Naruto came from behind and grappled Katashi as quickly as he could.

Naruto slipped his arms under Katashi's armpits from behind and locked his hands behind his nape. "NOW INO!" Naruto yelled. Ino did the hand seals and aimed at Katashi. Katashi struggled to get out of Naruto's lock, he was surprised that a young boy like him was able to restrain him in his current state. It seemed that this was it for him but with quick thinking, Katashi was able to get out of Naruto's grasp by hitting Naruto's face with the back of his head as hard as he could.

This made Naruto lose his hold on Katashi, making him drop to the ground leaving his nose broken and bleeding. Katashi kicked Naruto's abdomen causing him to gasp for air, his kick was strong enough to send him flying into a rock wall. The impact caused a rather loud crack that surely didn't sound good.

"Had enough?" Katashi said

"NARUTO!" Ino yelled as she ran towards Katashi with a kunai in her palms. She knew this was a stupid idea, but she had to help him. She just couldn't let him die, it just wasn't right. Ino lunged forward in an attempt to stab Katashi but ultimately failed.

He was able to counter her hail mary attack, his tanto collided with her kunai for a second. But after that, he was able to disarm her with ease. Once disarmed, he punched her in the gut and kicked her making her slide across the ground. "What an annoying bitch" Katashi said to himself, the blow caused Ino a lot of pain making it hard for her to get back up on her feet. Naruto groaned out of pain as he tried his very best to get up.

"Say goodnight boy!" he said as he was about to stab Naruto through his chest. Ino saw what was about to happen which made her call out to Naruto, "NOOOOO!" Ino shouted from the top of her lungs

- To Be Continued -

(A/N: I hope that you won't hate me for making a cliffhanger haha. Though that is it for the 6th Chapter of my fanfic, I hope that y'all are still enjoying it so far. Some of the moves were from Naruto RPG sites/ games I encountered in the past. Some were from games like Ultimate Ninja Franchise (gosh I miss my PSP haha) Anyway, show me some love and RnR as well if you dont mind. This is my first time writing fight scenes so bear with me. All of your support is really appreciated and yeah, cheers! ^^).