Rivals
"What are you doing here loser?" Sasuke's tone shifted from a cold one to a more jovial one, with Sasuke retaining his smirk. Wendy and the others were by Hinata's side now.
"W-Who are you people?" Hinata asked Wendy, who smiled at her.
"I'll explain later when we're away from here." Wendy had heard what Sasuke had said to Hinata. 'This person, he threatened to take her life without hesitation.'
"I'm on a job just like you, but it involves Hinata and that means I can't let you hurt her." Naruto told him seriously, which made Sasuke frown.
'Did my father send them? Then that must mean they're here to take me back there!' Hinata did not wish to return to her father but right now, these people saved her life. 'I have no choice to but to follow them for now.' Hinata just looked down and Wendy noticed this.
'She doesn't want to return to her father. I'll ask her after we get to safety.' Wendy resolved to figure out what was going on after all this was over.
"Hey, Sasuke. I'm giving you a free hit, since I landed a surprise attack on you first. Just this once and make sure it's not enhanced by your magic." Naruto told him, surprising everyone, including the black-haired youth in front of him.
"Oh, what makes you think I'll just punch you instead of just blasting you with my lightning?" Sasuke's smirk returned but he was surprised by Naruto's own.
"Because I know you, you won't be satisfied if I just let you hit me. You've beaten me 50 times and right now I'm catching up, but as sad as I am to admit this, we've never even tied with each other. However, you're also too prideful, you want to fight me at my best because anything less means it's not a real victory for you!" Sasuke did not say anything and instead became enraged, slowly walking towards the blonde and punched him, making Naruto skid back, though he was still on his feet.
"So, you can actually land a decent punch." Naruto wiped the blood off his lip and maintained his smirk. "That was the only ever free hit I'll give you, so, don't hold back!" Water surrounded Naruto's feet and danced around him wildly, covering him in aura. Sasuke had blue electricity surrounding his body.
'S-Such magic power!' Wendy had not expected two young wizards to exude this much magic power and was also surprised to see Naruto's element. 'He's using water. That must be what Kurama meant about Sasuke having an advantage over Naruto. If Naruto was truly able to fight back despite an elemental disadvantage, then that means he's much stronger than I thought.'
"Get out of here, I'll meet you all back at town." Naruto told them. "Kurama, get them out of here now." The fox transformed instantly to his other form.
"You better not take too long and try not to destroy everything in your path." Two of Kurama's tails extended and wrapped themselves around the other three. One was wrapped around Carla and Wendy and the other around Hinata.
"H-Hey what are you doin…..KYAHHH!" Carla screamed alongside the other two as Kurama took off in great speed.
"It doesn't matter if she runs off for now, I'll find her and deal with her after I deal with you." Sasuke told him and disappeared from Naruto's sight, appearing in front of the blonde, only for Naruto to expect this and blocked his lightning-enhanced palm, covering his arm with water. "You should have dodged, your water cannot match my lightning!" The lightning around Sasuke grew more violent and Sasuke almost shocked Naruto with it, but Naruto's water blasted him back.
"Match it? No, I'm surpassing it!" Naruto ran towards him, with Sasuke slamming his palm to the ground, making a stream of electricity race towards Naruto. Naruto jumped and channelled water into his right fist. "Water Dragon's Deep Fist!" Naruto closed the gap, with Sasuke taking a direct hit on his stomach.
"Agh!" Sasuke was sent flying back, but he used his sword to stab the ground and stopped himself from tumbling further. 'He wasn't this strong the last time we fought!' Sasuke pointed his left hand upwards and released a bolt of lightning that split into several bolts. Naruto dodged them, not seeing Sasuke use his other hand with his blade pointing at Naruto's direction to send a blast of lightning towards Naruto, with Naruto noticing too late.
"Sh-Agh!" Naruto took the attack head on and was on one knee, his body smoking from being slightly burnt.
'He's still conscious! Last time it took him out completely!' Sasuke's mind flashed and image of a fallen and badly burned Naruto. 'Wait! He can't move, now's my chance!' Sasuke pointed his sword to the sky and formed a large lightning bolt that was shaped like a serpent which headed towards Naruto.
"Not this time!" Naruto recovered and jumped out of the way, surprising Sasuke with his speed and was already in front of Sasuke. Naruto almost hit Sasuke with his open right palm but was blocked with Sasuke crossing his arms. Sasuke still channelled lightning through his sword and electrically shocked Naruto, who flinched a little but then smirked, confusing Sasuke until he felt Naruto's palm building up power and water surrounding it.
'What the….?' Sasuke's train of thought was interrupted as Naruto blasted him with water and sent him backwards. 'I won't lose to you!' Sasuke quickly used a powerful but unstable lightning that almost hit him too if not for Naruto's attack blasting him away. Sasuke landed on his back and took a significant amount of damage. 'T-That loser! How did he get this strong!?' Sasuke panted slightly and was now on his feet before he breathed in deeply and regained his composure.
"T-That all you got you jerk?" Naruto was still on his feet and then shook his head rapidly before taking a battle stance again, seemingly shrugging off Sasuke's lightning spells. "I remember your attacks packing a stronger punch than this."
'What are these two? Not even Kakashi was this powerful when he was their age?' Anko arrived just a minute ago after sensing their magic earlier. 'The one with the black hair, he's using the same type of Lightning Magic as Kakashi. This must be the kid he was talking about, Sasuke Uchiha. And the blonde one, to withstand powerful lightning spells like that and it only looks like they're getting started.'
"Hey, if you want to fight, then you can wait your turn." Naruto looked at Anko's direction, despite her masking her presence and hiding from site. "And don't bother hiding, my nose can sniff out people that are miles away."
"He's right, come out of there or else I'll make you." Sasuke could sense Anko's presence too and pointed his sword towards her location too.
'Dammit! I didn't expect them to sense me.' She sighed and came out the forest and into the field the boys were fighting in.
"Are you a bandit?" Naruto asked her, annoying Sasuke as one of his eyes twitched since it was obvious that Anko was one.
"Do you not see what she is wearing? She is wearing a cloak similar to the one that the bandit that you saved from me had. This surprised Anko, who questioned them.
"Was it a girl with strange eyes?" When they did not answer immediately, a dark magic circle appeared underneath her and she was covered in light.
'Take Over Magic? And it feels like Mira's before she worked at the bar…..That takes me back.' Naruto was impressed by Anko and saw her completely transform into a humanoid snake creature with pale brown scales. Her legs were completely now one tail, the tail of a rattlesnake. She had two large fingers and a thumb on each hand, with a sharp nail at the tip of each. Her face still mainly the same, except for a forked tongue and her nose looking more like snakes.
"Take Over Magic which involves snakes? Ah, you must be Anko Mitarashi. Master Jose told me about how a former member of the Fiore's military forces was discharged. To think, you lowered yourself to joining bandits, such a waste." Sasuke mused before his sword was charged with lightning again. "Hey, Naruto. How about we settle the score later, I've got a job to do." Both young wizards dodged Anko's snakes which she summoned by activating magic circles that appeared next to her.
"And I can't let you finish your job. Hinata is a not a bandit, she's just a girl that ran away from her home. It's my job to bring her back!" Naruto told Sasuke as he dodged more snakes.
'My job was to take care of the bandits, as long as they are prevented from taking out further deliveries for my client, then I'll still get paid.' Sasuke looked at Naruto as he cut down several snakes with one strike. "My main objective is to get rid of these bandits. So, you can take this Hinata girl and let me complete my task."
"I guess I can live with that." Naruto then avoided Anko's jaw as she slithered towards him to bite him. "Sorry, but I'm not on the menu."
"Too bad! I won't let you harm the Hyuuga girl even if it kills me!" Anko told him, confusing Naruto. "She's just a girl that got mixed up with all of this and deserves to be left alone."
'Did Hinata become friends with these bandits? I thought that they would be scum, but I'm not getting that feeling from this one.' Naruto was brought out of his thoughts as Anko then breathed in and released a purple fog. 'Poison?' Naruto jumped away, allowing Sasuke to channel lightning into his blade, which was completely encased with lightning. The sword extended and pierced the left side of Anko's abdomen.
"Agh!" Anko hissed and was about to remove the blade until her body was completely electrocuted by the lightning. "AGHHHHH!" Anko screamed until Sasuke's attack subsided for now, with Sasuke retracting his blade from Anko's body. Sasuke hovered above her, ready to cut off her head if not for Naruto stopping him from landing the killing blow by grabbing his wrist.
"What are you doing loser?" Sasuke glared at Naruto and demanded an answer from the blonde.
"She's weakened, there's no need to kill her." Naruto replied, not taking his eyes off the raven-haired boy, who pulled his wrist away from the blonde.
"That girl Hinata, I can let go, but this woman is one of the more dangerous bandits and a traitor to the kingdom. My job is to exterminate these vermin." Sasuke and Naruto then turned to the laughing Anko.
"Hahaha. You know, for someone considered a genius, you really are a moron!" Anko was on her hands and tail, breathing deeply. "You're being offered a million jewels to exterminate bandits and most likely without the approval of the council since jobs that involve killing must be approved by them. You don't find it odd that an old fart is over-paying for a simple bandit mission and is specifically asking to kill the bandits instead of capturing them?"
"Hn. Of course, I already realised that, however, I verified it with my Guild Master that this request was approved by the Magic Council." 'And my curiosity got the better of me. It was a good thing I came on this quest, next time I will crush Naruto with ease and no longer underestimate him.' Sasuke moved out of the way as Anko quickly slithered to bite Sasuke, only for him to step aside and then swung his sword at her. Anko shed her skin to dodge the sword strike and slithered towards the forest, stopping Sasuke from following her by creating a poison smokescreen.
'Gato must be paying off a corrupt official and I bet I know who. Damn those two! This operation must be bigger than what we thought. First I need to escape!' Anko created another poison smokescreen and made it to the trees where she escaped into the forest.
'1 Million for a bandit job? Okay, even I know that sounds fishy. And Sasuke, when did you become so heartless?' Naruto stood to the side and thought about what he heard, be he also knew that if Sasuke found her, Anko would surely die.
"Maybe you did me a favour, now she'll lead me to the rest of the bandits." Sasuke sheathed his sword and looked at Naruto. "Are you going to stop me from taking her head? Or will you be dealing with your own quest and leave me to mine?"
"There's no way I'm letting you fall, Sasuke and I definitely wouldn't trust that old short guy. He was definitely hiding something from us and I have a good guess what." Naruto then revealed what he discovered whilst he was at Gato's workplace. As Naruto told him, Sasuke's raised an eyebrow and began to connect the dots.
(With Wendy's group)
"We'll rest here for now and wait for Naruto." She noticed how distressed Hinata was and gave a reassuring smile. "It's alright, you'll be home soon and then we will clear up the misunderstanding with your father." Hinata looked even more upset than before. "What's wrong? Was it something I said?" Wendy looked worried for the other girl.
"N-No. It wasn't what you said. It's just…I…." Hinata started to stutter and could not say what she wanted to say. Wendy now sat in front of Hinata and reassured her that it was alright.
"It's fine if you do not want to talk about it. But I can't help you if you won't say anything." Wendy told her softly as possible.
"Let me guess, a father who either neglects or abuses you." Kurama interjected, making Hinata's eyes widen, with Wendy placing her hand over her mouth, her own eyes widening too. Carla was also surprised, looking at Hinata sympathetically now.
"He never hit me, but he wasn't the best father. Before he became the Mayor, he did not make time for me or even acted as a father, always putting his business first and then his campaign into becoming Mayor. The last straw is when he tried forcing me to marry someone I didn't know." This last piece of information shocked Wendy and Carla, but Kurama remained calm.
"I see, well, when Naruto comes back, we can discuss what we'll do next, but knowing him for a long time, I know what he'll decide." Kurama would follow Naruto's decision because he knew that the blonde would decide what's right in the end.
"I don't think I can carry on with this job now that I know Hinata is being forced to marry someone against her will and after how her father treated her." Wendy let her honest thoughts out and surprised Hinata with her words.
"Yes, even I must admit it is distasteful. Despite the amount he offered for her return, I cannot allow a young lady as yourself to suffer emotionally and mentally." Carla's words got a smile from Wendy and even a grateful one from Hinata.
"Well, like I said, we wait for my partner and discuss it with him. I understand that your father is an arrogant bastard, but we must be patient." Kurama then suddenly fell face first and worried the females.
"K-Kurama!" Wendy and Hinata were worried and Carla was shocked. Wendy and Hinata checked up on him, only to nervously laugh as Kurama only fell asleep with Carla muttering that he was an idiot.
"Oh, I must have fell asleep." Kurama woke up almost instantly and made the other three fell in comedic fashion. "By the way Wendy, you and Naruto said that you smelled something at Gato's workshop. What was it?" Kurama brought this up now as they now had some time.
"Wait? You couldn't smell that vile substance? And you too Carla?" Wendy then asked the white cat who was confused.
"No, I do not know what you are talking about, but if you smelled something strange, then it must be because of your enhanced senses. But if Naruto could also smell whatever you are talking about, then that must mean Naruto also has enhanced senses comparable to your own." Carla knew that as a Dragon Slayer, Wendy's sense were far keener than any human, even better than a whole group of tracking dogs. "Wait, what did you smell at that place?" Carla asked her, shocked at the answer Wendy gave her.
(With Anko)
Anko was now human again, holding the wound Sasuke gave and headed towards the bandit group's hideout.
'Damn! This mission just got harder. I need to find where Gato is hiding those drugs and then get out of here!' Anko revealed the reasons for attacking the carriages, believing that Gato was using them to transport drugs to different locations. 'The Magic Council entrusted me with this mission, and I must complete it!'
End. Sorry for the wait, but every time I find myself inspired, someone sends me on errands, and I forget what to write. Also, have a nice Christmas everyone and I hoped you enjoyed the revelations. Sorry it they are a little confusing, but I want to also get to other arcs and make this one a small one.
Now it was tricky to figure what snake-related ability to give Anko, but I gave her Take Over Magic. Now, for those who think she lost a little too easily, I believe at this state, Naruto and Sasuke are strong, both being powerful wizards for each of their guilds, against most other opponents Anko is more than a match but these two are powerful rivals who also have yet to reach their potential.
I also made sure to give you fans a brief taste of what Naruto and Sasuke can do and for a later battle. Sasuke has underestimated Naruto in this chapter and will make sure that their next battle will go differently, as Naruto has never even stalemated with Sasuke in their previous fights and as we know, Sasuke had an inferiority complex in his younger years in the series. This will motivate Sasuke to use more powerful spells, Naruto meanwhile has toughened up and is able to withstand Sasuke's lightning, another reason is that he was also hit by Laxus' lightning which is superior to Sasuke's lightning. You will see in later chapters.