The rat followed Sasuke closely for the next few days, sleeping only went he slept, changing to other various forms to keep sure that he never noticed the same animal followning him; even if it did drain some chakra away, it was hardly any compared to what he has attained. Besides, if worse came to worse, he could draw on what was left of the kyubi. It was true what Kiba had said: Sasuke was only guarded sixteen out of the eight hours of the day.Shino and Tenten defended their lord whilst he slept, and Neji and Lee watched him for the first four hour after he awakened, and the last four before he slept. The hokage spent many hours alone, simply waiting for people to come in to ask for jobs, or for someone to come in to give a job to assign, or simply filling out paperwork. Into the fourth day, Naruto took his chance: Neji and Lee had just left, and wouldn't be returning for the next four hours. The hokage had a busy day of paperwork ahead of him, but was always looking from the corner of his eye.
But Naruto was ready.
Naruto used Transformation one last time to become a spider. As a spider, he crept up to the edge of the windowsil he was on, and flew on a web to the other side of the room. he crept behind Sasuke quietly, and undid the jutsu as quickly as possible. As the Hokage turned to the sound, Naruto grabbed a kunai from his pouch and threw his arm around the trhoat of his adversary, blade at the jugular. As he was about to take advatage of the surprise, he remembered what Iruka-sensei had said: Remember, Naruto, you'll have to make yourself known before killing him. Make him aware that it is you doing it, or it will not matter. Naruto took a second to whisper his identity, to ensure Sasuke was aware. "Naruto, Usuma - HEY!" Naruto yelled as he was thrown into the air as Lord Sasuke bent, and the clone disappeared as soon as it hit the ground.
"I should've known it was a clone." The hokage was still bent. As he tried to stand, three shuriken flew at him! Sasuke jumped, bounding himself off the ground, and on to the ceiling, holding himself there with his chakra, trying to find his friend-turned-foe. There! Sasuke perfromed the hand signs upon spotting the yellow feathered bird outside, and fired a powerful fire ball on another clone.
"Poor little Sasuke!" The voice came from a thosand different directions: apparently there were many clones, all in the guises of different animals or objects. "Can't you tell which one is the real me?"
"Sharingan!" Sasuke closed his eyes and reopened them, revealing the three-piece Sharingan, and scanning the room. Damn, thought Sasuke. I can't see through the clones!
"That's right, lord Sasuke! Don't forget, Shadow Clone jutsu isn't Genjutsu: You can't see through it!"
The seventh smiled. "I don't have to see the real you," an impatient Sasuke replied, "to kill the real you!" Sasuke performed the hand signs once again, but this time performed the Pheonix Flower Jutsu. Balls of flame rained down on Naruto and his clones from all sides, setting the building aflame. Sasuke, Sharingan still active, searched frantically through the smoke for any sign of Naruto. Upon finding none, Sasuke thought it better to take no chances. "Fire style! Pheonix Flower Jutsu!" Still more flame rained around him, and he heard the sweet sound of shadow clones dissapating. Hearing a noise behind him, Sasuke raised a kunai and sailed it in a wide pattern all about his body, blocking twenty shuriken from his vital spots.
Naruto tired, and focused his wind-based chakra to his palm, creating a sword of chakra. Using the wind weapon's innate abilities, he moved it in a fast circle, focusing still more chakra to his hands for a better spin. The smoke cleared, and now the two opponent's could see each other clearly.
"About time you came out of hiding, Naruto. I was starting to wonder if you'd ever show up."
"Of course I did! I'm not some coward, all talk and no action! I'm taking you down, Sasuke! Believe - !"
"Lord Sasuke!" A feminine voice called out from outside of the building, still partially flaming from Sasuke's jutsu. Tenten and Neji looked around, searching for an entryway.
"Byakugan!" Neji circled the building, and finally fond a spot safe neoiuygh to break down. Tenten! here! by now, Shino had arrived as well, and Lee was well on his way.
"Sasuke.. you can't let them stop this! If you do, we'll never get the fight we've wanted since you returned to the village! You'll never know how strong you truly are."
It was this that convinced him. Sasuke heard Shino's bugs approaching, saw them with his Sharingan. "Stay away! I have to do this for myself!"
The bugs retreated. "Are you certain, Sasuke? We can help you if you need us." (God I love the way he talks!)
"...Yes. I will make it out. Don't worry abot me." He snapped his gaze back to Naruto. "You, old friend, are quite different." Sasuke smiled towards Naruto. "Life or death, then?"
"The way it was meant to be." Naruto smiled, and, snarling, called on the last of the Kyubi, banishing his wind sword for now. His whiskers grew back in all their fury, the nails grew and sharpened in seconds. His canines were now long and fierce, biting and thrashing. Naruto was once again the Kyubi. But this time, he had power over it. Long ago, he had mastered the fox' chakra, and now, it was time the last be spent.
Naruto ran towards sasuke, left arm extended, claws out, right arm quickly performing a one-handed Rasengan. He slashed quickly, the Hokage quickly dodging, and sent the Rasengan arm into hjis friend's stomache. Sasuke managed to block, but barely, and the Rasengan shredded his arm badly. He let out a yelp, causing a cry of "Sasuke! No!" from Lee, but Sasuke responded with a quick, but grunted,
"I'm fine! Leave!" His guards left, as Sasuke looked back to Naruto. The Kyubi-driven Naruto was smiling, already having generated another Rasengan, and ran to Sasuke again. Sasuke jumped quickly, and pulled two scrolls out of his shirt, trailing his blood along them. He threw them to the ground, shouting, "Summoning!" And the large snake appeared, along with a gigantic spider. "Go." The simple command was all the animals needed, and they both fired poisonous acid at the blonde ninja, who quickly summoned the great Gamebuntan. The frog deflected the shots with two attacks of his own, and as frog, snake and spider did battle, Naruto went for Sasuke. Now it was his turn to dodge projectiles as three kunai and two shuriken passed through a nearby flame, which Naruto blocked using his chakra sword, which he called back after the summoning. Sasuke passed through the flame quickly, and stood, smiling at Naruto. "As good a fight as I had hoped, Naruto." Sasuke charged and attacked with Chidori. Naruto's Rasengan blocked, but just barely, when the two met,m the same thing happened as always: The great flash of light, sphere, lifting them off the ground, the great surge of power, and the fear that the other might prove stronger. At this point Sasuke's shadow Clone vanished, and Naruto found himself falling into the blade pf the real one.
OH! OWNED! So, Naruto's in trouble now! So, Sasuke and Naruto are fighting to the death in a burning building, the roof of which has been knocked off by their summoned animals, and Naruto's hrudling towards a kunai-holding Sasuke! what happens next??? review to find out!