"Hippocrates had no means of recognizing the heart as a pump, because there was no such item in his world and no such word in his vocabulary."
-Guido Majno
Naruto brought a hand up to wipe away the blood that was slowly trickling down his face from a cut above his left eye. The behemoth of a missing nin standing across from him smirked at the action.
"Ready to give up boy?" he shouted in a condescending tone.
"I never give up!" was the heated response. And then, they were at it again.
Blows flew, jutsus exploded, kage bushin appeared and vanished in violent whirls of smoke. At one point Naruto was quite certain that he had been thrown into a tree. None of it mattered.
All Naruto knew as he fought, the one truth he allowed to echo through his head, was that he would find a way to prevail. Yes, his opponent was stronger than him, but he was faster. The enemy had more experience in the field, but Naruto had been taught by the best. The missing nin was a much larger man, standing a good two feet taller than Naruto and being at least twice as wide, but all that meant to Naruto was that there was more surface area to pummel, more places a weak spot could be hidden.
And when that weak spot was found and the enemy rasenganned into oblivion, Naruto was proudly victorious, but not surprised. And as Sakura and a freshly healed Yamato met him at the edge of the battle field their faces expressed a similar pride and lack of astonishment.
After all, although Naruto acknowledges the strength of every opponent he faces, he has never allowed the thought to exist within him that one of them could be unbeatable.
~*~
AN: So, I read the quote and it made me think of Naruto. How about you?