CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Team Seven Reporting For Duty!

XXX

"Now then, the next group will be Team Seven," Iruka Sensei said, reading from his list of academy graduates.

"… Naruto Uzumaki," was the first name called. The twelve-year-old jinchuuriki perked up upon hearing his name called. Hopefully, he'd get teammates that he actually liked, like Shikamaru or Chouji, or better yet, maybe he'd been in a team with Sakura Haruno, the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

"… Sakura Haruno," was the next name. Met by two different reactions.

A, "YEAH!" from Naruto.

And an, "I'm doomed," from the pink-haired kunoichi.

"And… Sasuke Uchiha," was the final name.

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.

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"YEAH!" it was Sakura's turn to celebrate.

"I'm doomed," Naruto's head dropped.

But hey, maybe it wasn't going to be that bad. "As long as you don't get in my way, we won't have any problems," was the only thing Sasuke wanted to tell his teammates.

Sakura wouldn't dare to do something like that, but Naruto had other plans.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" he yelled in the Uchiha's face. The two orphans locked eyes.

"You heard me, usuratonkachi."

"Why don't you all introduce yourselves? One at a time," Kakashi Hatake, the trio's new teacher, announced.

"What are we supposed to say?" Sakura wondered.

"Just introduce yourselves. Talk about the things you like, things you don't like, dreams for the future, your hobbies," he said behind his mysterious navy mask.

"Why don't you start us off, so we can see how it's supposed to work?" Naruto suggested.

"That's a splendid idea. I'm Kakashi Hatake," the jounin began, "Uh… things I like and things I hate? I don't feel like telling you that… my dreams for the future? I never really thought about it… and as for my hobbies? Well, I have lots of hobbies."

Naruto and Sakura dropped their heads in disappointment. That was useless. Other than learning his name, they were exactly where they started with this guy. "Okay, now then. Let's start with you," Kakashi said, referring to the blonde one on the right.

"Alright, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, dattebayo. I like instant ramen in a cup, and I really like the ramen Iruka-Sensei gets me when we go down to Ichiraku's Ramen Shop. I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the hot water in the ramen cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and then comparing them to see which one tastes the best. And my future dream is… to become the greatest Hokage! Then the village will have to stop disrespecting me and they'll treat me like I'm somebody important."

The pink-haired kunoichi was next.

"My name's Sakura Haruno. What I like is… I mean the person that I like is…" Sakura paused to stare at the brooding Uchiha sitting next to her. "My hobby is… um… hm…" she tried to avoid staring into his deep onyx eyes, but she couldn't resist, "And my future dream is…" her imagination ran wild. She pressed her hands against her warmed face and squealed.

"And? What do you hate?" Kakashi asked.

"NARUTO!" she replied in an instant.

The Uzumaki couldn't hide the disappointment in his face.

It was time for the man in middle.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha… I hate a lot of things… and I don't particularly like anything," it was Sakura's turn to try and hide her disappointment, "what I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and kill a certain someone."

.

.

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Kakashi let out a soft sigh, "What an interesting bunch of shinobi."

"Hey," Sasuke called on the downed Uzumaki after they'd just survived an encounter with a pair of deadly Kiri shinobi. As expected, Naruto had proven himself useless in combat as Kakashi and Sasuke had managed to defeat both ninja without even breaking a sweat.

"Yeah," Naruto replied.

"You're not hurt, are you? Scaredy cat."

"Hehe, you should see the look on your face. You're such a loser," Sasuke whispered, looking back over his shoulder. His body was riddled with holes from the senbon that'd been thrown at him by the Kiri hunter-nin.

"But… but why did you?" Naruto slowly rose to his feet. It was him who was supposed to take the barrage of needles, not Sasuke. Why? "… Why did you save me? Why did you do it, Sasuke?"

"… I don't know why. I just did," he said, turning to stare at the hellscape around him. A prison of ice mirrors. "You. Usurantonkachi. I hated you!"

"Then why? Why did you save me then? I didn't ask you too!"

"I don't know… my body… it just moved. There was no time to think," he finally said before collapsing. The needles had punctured his vital points. Naruto could do nothing but kneel over him with tears in his eyes. "Hey… he's still out there. My brother. I promised myself that I'd stay alive until I killed him. Naruto, don't let your dream die."

Haku gradually rose to his feet, as Sasuke's arm dropped, and his body went limp. The masked man was impressed. "Somehow, he found the strength he didn't realise he had. Why? Because of a certain person who he deemed precious to him. To save that person, he rushed in, knowing full-well that it was a trap. He was a true shinobi. Worthy of honour," he declared. "Is this the first time that you have seen a friend die in battle? This is part of what it means to be a ninja," he said, slipping back into his ice mirrors.

"Shut up."

Orochimaru broke out from the giant trees riding a giant snake. Petrified, Sasuke could do nothing but watch as the creature slithered around the trunks surrounding it and made a beeline for him.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled, too far and too weak to make a difference.

The giant beast crashed into the tree.

Naruto had stopped it.

He was breathing heavily.

He lifted his head to stare into Sasuke's eyes, his own eyes a bright red. "Hey kid… you're not hurt, are you? Scaredy cat."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura hovered next to each other in the void. They stood there in a three-way deadlock. Naruto of the Nine-Tails, Sasuke the last Uchiha, and Sakura the Slug princess.

Handpicked by Kakashi Hatake to be the best shinobi group in the world.

Separated by circumstance.

Sakura Haruno, who fought for the Hidden Leaf.

Naruto Uzumaki, who fought for the Hidden Whirlpool

Sasuke Uchiha, who fought for the Akatsuki.

If only things had been different.

"Oi, Naruto, come out," a knock came from Naruto's door. It was Sasuke, dressed in a white shirt and navy pants under a camo green hoodie.

"I'm sick," Naruto replied from behind the door.

"We're going to Ichiraku's," Sakura yelled, wearing a pink shirt under her camo green overalls.

There was shuffling behind the door. They both heard chairs flip over, tables fly across the room, and doors fling open. Naruto opened his door, dressed in a black shirt and baggy orange pants. "What are we waiting for?" he asked, rushing past them, down the hallway.

The three young adults stepped out of the apartment block and made it onto the streets of Konoha. Naruto frolicked through the streets, singing about his love for ramen whilst circling Sasuke and Sakura, who walked hand-in-hand.

"What type of ramen are we getting? How was thinking maybe miso, or perhaps tonkotsu, unless you guys wanted shoyu, I'm down for shoyu too. Actually, I'm down for anything. Anything at all."

"We're not getting ramen, Naruto," Sasuke smirked. The blonde's happiness died. "We just needed an excuse to get you out of your room."

"Then if we're not going for a ramen, what the hell are we doing?"

"We're going for a walk," Sakura explained.

"A walk? From where to where?" he wondered.

"Just a walk. With no destination in mind. As all friends do," Sasuke explained.

Naruto clutched at his hair and protested. "You guys pulled me away from my duties just to go on a walk? I'm the next Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, you know. There's a lot of paperwork I have to go through in order to make the transition process possible. I was genuinely in the middle of filling out my Hokage Rock face permit when you knocked on my door."

Sakura looked back at the Hokage Monument looming over them. The beautiful rock was adorned with six different faces. From left to right: Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen, Minato, Tsunade, and Kakashi. To the right of the masked Hokage's face was scaffolding and carving tools. The moment Naruto finished submitting those forms, his face would be there too. The pink-haired kunoichi brushed it off. "I promise you, in twenty minutes, you'll still be the next Hokage. No one's coming for your spot."

"Ahem," Sasuke raised his hand, "I'm right here. Sasuke, the Seventh Hokage and the First Uchiha Hokage… that sounds pretty good to me."

"You as Hokage, as if," Naruto smirked.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean, usuratonkachi?"

"It means I'm gonna be the Seventh Hokage, teme, and there's nothing you can do about it, dattebayo."

"Arguing about becoming Hokage now, you two will always find something to disagree on, won't you," a fourth party said, entering the conversation.

"Kakashi-sensei."

"Kakashi."

"Lord Cyclops."

"Are you guys on your way to get ramen together?"

"No."

"No."

"Yeah!"

"Then let's go," Kakashi already had his answer, he was getting ramen with his students whether they wanted it or not.

"Don't you have super important Hokage business to attend to?" Sasuke shrugged.

"I have… a replacement… arranged," he said, smiling with his eyes.

Shikamaru sat at the Hokage's desk with his head surrounded by piles of paper. "This is such a drag. Are all Hokage like this?" he asked, looking up at Shizune. The much older woman who now had the right to say she'd served under two Hokage nodded in disappointment. "How troublesome."

XXX

Naruto kicked Sasuke away. The Uchiha flew over the railing and landed on the river that ran through the village. "I should've noticed that there was something different about you, the haori… the headband. No matter, this way I finally get to kill the real you," Sasuke said.

Naruto held himself for a minute before turning to Sasuke and sighing, "If that's what you wish to do, then this village is the perfect battlefield for one of us to die, isn't it," Sasuke was a bit taken aback by how serious Naruto was all of a sudden. "Sasuke, the moment I heard that there was a possibility you'd be here, in Konoha, I ran over as fast as I could. I've been running near nonstop for the past seven days. Just so I could get the chance to look you in the eyes one last time, before I never see you again."

"Is that so?" Sasuke asked before reaching into his pocket. "If that's the case, then let's end this right here. Konoha, where both our stories started, and where one of them will end."

Sakura looked down at the Uchiha.

Naruto hopped over the railings and landed on the water's surface.

Sakura gripped the railing.

Sasuke pulled from his pocket, his headband. Still in pristine condition. He wrapped it around his forehead and tightened it.

Both Naruto and Sasuke were already panting harshly. Naruto, from the fact that he'd traversed thousands of kilometres in just seven days. Sasuke, because of the beating he'd just taken from Naruto's tailed beast rampage. Either way, this battle wasn't going to last long.

"Okay," Iruka took a step back to allow Naruto to see Sasuke and Sasuke to see Naruto. "It's time for the one-on-one sparring session between Naruto Uzumaki… and Sasuke Uchiha."

A single tear left Sakura's cheek.

It dropped into the river.

This was the pair's first sparring session, "Begin!"

And this was their last. Naruto and Sasuke clashed forearms. Waves rose around them after the fact, as they stared into each other's eyes. Naruto's cerulean blue eyes laced with regret and confusion. Sasuke's deep onyx eyes filled with anger and the lust for power. They held that position.

Jostling for dominance.

"You know, Naruto, they say when two legendary shinobi engage in battle, they don't have to say a single word to one another. Rather, they can read each other's thoughts simply by an exchange of fists."

"Huh?"

"So, tell me, Naruto. Can you read my thoughts?" Sasuke asked before punching him across the face, sending him flying back. "How about it, Naruto? No more words from this moment on," he said, weaving through the appropriate hand seals, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Naruto took him up on the offer. Slipping around the bright balls of fire to land a blow on Sasuke's jaw.

The Uchiha held firm.

They traded blows.

Naruto throwing a hit. Taking one. Throwing another. Taking another. Over and over again. Each one hitting like cinderblocks and sending ripples out through the river.

Sasuke realised quickly that going toe-to-toe with Naruto wasn't a good idea. He caught the next punches and wrestled with the blonde.

He activated his Sharingan.

Their interlocked hands formed the ox hand sign.

Naruto tried to jump away but was yanked back.

The hare hand seal.

Naruto dragged Sasuke to toss him away. Not before he made the monkey sign though.

Chidori exploded into reality.

Naruto dropped his foot onto the Uchiha's head, sending him under the water.

"Chidori Nagashi!"

The Uzumaki was electrocuted.

Sasuke emerged from the water, letting off a barrage of punches and kicks.

Naruto's head swung back as he took a high kick.

He threw it forward. Headbutting the Uchiha. He rocked him in the stomach with a punch before sending him flying with a kick.

"Tailed Beast Style: Eight Gates Formation. First Gate: Gate of Opening. Open."

"What is this technique?" Kurama wondered, feeling some of his power coursing through Naruto's pathways. "I'm not lending you any more of my chakra after you stole control from me back there."

"I don't need your permission anymore, luckily. Thanks to a scroll that I found in the Catacombs, I've discovered a way to use your chakra without you."

Sasuke got back to his feet before spitting out a bit of blood. Naruto closed the gap. Sasuke ducked under him, tapping his liver as he dodged. Naruto kept the distance close, turning despite the pain. Sasuke bobbed. Hit him with a one-two, then leapt away.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu," Sasuke announced.

Naruto spawned a wall of shadow clones to absorb the blasts.

Steam coated the river's surface.

Sasuke landed. He summoned a row of shuriken from his arm protectors and flung them in Naruto's general direction.

He looked down.

"Na…" a foot came from below to kick Sasuke in the chin. He was lifted into the air, "Ru…" another kick flipped Sasuke onto his back. "To…" Sasuke blocked this last one. He looked back over his shoulder at the waters below. His eyes widened. "2K Barrage!" the mist cleared to reveal a wave of Naruto clones coming at him from all directions. He had to fight in mid-air, stepping on a few of their heads to hold himself up. As they grabbed him, he'd flip them over and throw them away before punching the next clone and kicking the next.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Dance!" they all disappeared, except for one.

The flames spiralled and gathered around the real Naruto's right hand. Naruto had someone managed to slip around the Uchiha and end up above him. He used Sasuke's jutsu against him, "Fire Style: Rasengan!"

"Chidori!"

They clashed.

Sasuke was thrown into the water. He went so far down that he hit the riverbed and bounced back up to the surface. Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the hair and threw him back onto the village's cobblestone streets.

The First Gate made Naruto faster than Sasuke. He was stronger than him too, with a greater deposit of chakra to his name. Sasuke needed an equaliser.

Sasuke reached out to grab Naruto's ankles. The jinchuuriki could've kicked him away, he could've punched the shit out of him. He could've done anything, but he chose to wait as Sasuke scaled him like a ladder. Sasuke slowly made his way to his knees using Naruto as leverage. The Uzumaki cleared Sasuke's floppy wet hair from his eyes so they could get a better look at each other.

"I told you, I wanted to look you in the eyes when I killed you."

Sakura tackled Naruto, sending them both back into the river.

Naruto coughed up some water as he rolled around on the river's surface with the pink-haired kunoichi. "What was that for?"

"Looking straight into Sasuke-kun's eyes? Are you insane? You can't let your guard down like that!" the kunoichi reprimanded him. Naruto looked back up at Sasuke. Sakura had replaced him with a log. A log that was being consumed by Amaterasu's jet-black flames.

"Thanks," Naruto got back up.

Sasuke had activated his Mangekyou Sharingan. This was his equaliser. The cursed eyes of an Uchiha who knew nothing but pain. He turned to the pair and started laughing. Naruto swallowed hard. So, this was the scarily negative chakra Karin was talking about?

"Keep your guard up," Sakura warned. She formed the ram seal to release the chakra she'd been gathering in her forehead for the past four years. Naruto looked back at the diamond forming in middle of the kunoichi's forehead. He looked back up at Sasuke. A purple skeletal figure formed around him. The skeleton was replaced by muscles. Then by the armour and bow of the purple samurai warrior.

"Will do," Naruto nodded. They were in the home straight. He could feel it. He just had to give it his all one last time.

Sakura turned to the Uzumaki.

Naruto bent his knees and crossed his arms over his face. The water began to spiral around him. The chakra would've been strong enough to blow Sakura off her feet were she not rooted to the spot by her own chakra. "Tailed Beast Style: Eight Gates Formation," he threw his arms to the side, "Fifth Gate: Gate of Wonder. Open!"

Veins welled up on along his temples. Naruto's pupils disappeared as the sweat running off his body evaporated. He stood up to full height, trying his best to hide the overwhelming pain his Tailed Beast Style: Eight Gates put on him. Everything hurt. It felt like every bone in his body was made of glass. It hurt so bad that he was bawling his eyes out, but the tears evaporated the moment they left his eyes. If he made a wrong step or overextending by an inch, his muscles would tear apart. This was the first time he'd gone up to Five Gates. It hurt so much more than just a normal chakra cloak.

Naruto flickered away.

Rapid-fire, Sasuke followed him across the river with a volley of purple arrows. Each one would've been strong enough to kill Naruto, but none of them hit.

Sakura rushed across the river, ran up its banks, and vaulted over the railing before running across the road.

Sasuke looked back over his shoulder as Naruto collided with the demonic figure looming over him. Every kick did as much damage to Naruto as it did to the flaming avatar. Susanoo slapped the earth around itself to drive Naruto away. The Uzumaki would appear, crack the Uchiha's purple shell, then vanish. Sasuke tried to track him with the Mangekyou Sharingan, but the twitches in his muscles seemed so random that he wasn't even sure what was going on.

"Shannaro!" Sakura came down from above to land a deadly blow on the avatar. Cracks ran along Susanoo's figure.

Sasuke's left eye began to bleed again. "Amaterasu!" Sakura was saved by Naruto.

The bleeding switched from Sasuke's left eye to his right. "Inferno Style: Flame Control," he wrapped the black flames around Susanoo like armour before firing a volley of arrows at Naruto.

The jinchuuriki vanished down an alleyway. Sasuke chased them down, breaking through buildings with his massive flaming avatar. Naruto hopped over rubble and through puddles with Sakura in his arms.

"How do I get through to him now?" Naruto wondered.

"Run headfirst into it! Kill yourself on the black flames while you kill the Uchiha with your burning hands."

"Shut up! Why are you so talkative all of a sudden?"

"You woke me up to fight your battles, then turned on me the moment I had a good opportunity. I'm pissed, so I'm taking it out on you."

"You tried to kill Sakura."

"You wanted me to kill Sasuke. You'd rather save the woman who rejected you all your life than uphold the deal you made with me?"

"If I must kill Sasuke… I'll do it on my own terms. It's a battle between him and myself. No need to bring innocent lives into the mix."

"Look around you, runt. Innocent lives have already been brought into the mix. You're running through the ruins of your old village. You left the people of Iwagakure to die. You did the same for those in Suna. The blood of the innocent has already been spilled. These are the sacrifices one must make when it comes to war."

"I said 'shut up'!"

Naruto cancelled Kurama's voice out before looking around. In the distance, he could see Konoha shinobi manning the artillery to try and keep the Zetsu clones out of the village. In return, they were met with heavy shelling and blasts from chakra cannons that took out house after house, tearing through concrete like it was nothing. Some of the Zetsu had gone it on the back of Orochimaru's snakes. They wreaked havoc through the streets of Konoha, taking advantage of shinobi who were trying to rescue civilians stuck in the rubble. Worst of all, Orochimaru was still running around in the village. He was engaged in a battle with Asuma, Inoichi, Shikaku, and Chouza. Naruto was too preoccupied with Sasuke to help.

No more running. This battle ended here.

Naruto tossed Sakura aside. He wrapped his hands and legs with Kurama's chakra before turning around, breaking through Susanoo with force, and flipping Sasuke over himself and into the Hokage Monument. The Uchiha landed with a thud.

Naruto shed Kurama's chakra. The blobs of vermillion melted away thanks to the Inferno Style flames.

"That was risky," Naruto told himself.

Sasuke was upside-down in a crater created by the impact, just under the Fourth Hokage's face. He had to deactivate his Mangekyou Sharingan. "My eyes," he cried, holding his hands to his face. He was losing vision. He needed to end this battle quickly.

"It's over, Sasuke," Naruto told him.

The Uchiha rolled back onto his feet and looked down at the blurry orange figure standing at the bottom of the monument. He was so tired. Naruto was dying. He didn't waste an inch of movement.

"I said, this ends when one of us dies," Sasuke created one last Chidori.

"You really want to kill me, don't you…" Naruto risked a few more inches of movement to hold his head in his hands. Naruto spawned two clones. Sasuke's eyes widened. "Well, that's not gonna happen."

Where did Naruto get all this chakra from?

Sakura took several steps back as the Rasenshuriken roared to life. "Huh?" Sasuke needed something stronger. The Chidori's blue sparks darkened until they were a heavy black, "Onyx Chidori."

Naruto took off. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke dropped from his ledge. "Naruto!"

"ARGH!"

"URGH!"

Immediately, the Rasenshuriken did what it does best. It expanded and ate away at everything it could get its hands on. Flesh, earth, concrete, wood, nothing was safe. It just continued to expand and destroy until only Naruto was left.

Nothing but Naruto, who'd passed out from chakra deprivation.

"Naruto!" Sakura came rushing in. She knelt next to the unconscious jinchuuriki before looking around. She didn't see another body, "Where's Sasuke?"

She looked up at the Hokage Monument.

Seeing as if the techniques clashed, Sasuke would've been dead, Orochimaru had saved him before they made contact. Technically, Naruto had won, since Orochimaru and Sasuke were retreating, but the Uchiha had lived to fight another day.

Orochimaru's snake summons dispelled.

The Konoha shinobi managed to drive the Zetsu clones away from the village.

The Invasion of Konoha had failed.

Again.