A/N: It's finally here! What you've all been waiting for! Cleverly titled...
Chapter 25: The Long Awaited Match
"Sorry, are we late?"
The smoke cleared to reveal Sasuke and Kakashi. The former's attire had changed since anyone last saw him. He now wore a black shirt and shorts. His left hand and forearm had bandages wrapped around them as well as a number of black bands. Those band were also located on his legs.
Genma approached them. "Consider yourselves lucky. It was decided that Sasuke's match would be postponed, but now that you're here, we can start it now. Will Naruto Uzumaki make his way down here."
Hesitantly, Naruto made his way down. Hinata flashed him a reassuring smile, but it did little to raise his spirits. As he entered an empty hallway, he heard someone call his name. "Hey Naruto!" The boy turned and spotted Kabuto waving at him. "Just wanted to wish you luck."
"Uh, t-thanks." Naruto said, not knowing what to say. Dosu had revealed that Kabuto was really working for Orochimaru, making Naruto very anxious around the bespectacled shinobi. "W-well I g-gotta g-go, so…" Naruto turned back and started walking away.
"Just one more thing." Naruto nearly jumped when he heard Kabuto whisper into his ear. "Two messages from Lord Orochimaru. The first is to warn that traitor that he'll get his one day. The second, try to make the fight interesting. My master wants to see what Sasuke can really do before the real fun starts."
Naruto turned his head, but Kabuto was gone. 'Creepy.' The young continued on his way, dragging his feet. 'What was I thinking when I made that bet with Sasuke. I can't beat him!'
Going down a flight of stairs, he spied someone near the exit. "Yo."
"K-Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto exclaimed in surprise. "W-what are y-you doing here?"
"Did you forget about the seal in your forehead?" Kakashi asked before approaching the boy. He removed the headband and released the seal, Naruto's Rinnegan now showing. "There."
"T-thanks sensei," Naruto said as he made another handsign and his eyes returned to their normal blue state. Noticing the shocked look on Kakashi's face, Naruto explained. "I-I'd rather n-no one know yet. S-so I'm using t-the transformation jutsu."
"Ah, good idea," Kakashi complimented. "I better go. Good luck," Kakashi said as he walked past the young Uzumaki.
"W-wait," Naruto called out softly, though Kakashi managed to hear him. He turned around. "Um, d-do you think I… T-that I can…"
"Win?" the jonin finished for him. The genin nodded. "Honestly, I can't say you'll win for certain." Naruto looked crescent fallen. "But the same can be said for Sasuke. You've made great strides while training with me. So while I can't say you'll win for sure, I can say you do stand a good chance."
"T-Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." With a bit more confidence, Naruto walked out into the arena.
The long awaited match was finally about to begin.
The crowd watched as the two genin stood in the middle of the arena. "Demon brat doesn't stand a chance!" one spectator commented, as many more agreed or said something similar.
Their words reached the ears of Naruto's friends. "Unbelievable! How could they say such cruel things about him?" Tsunami asked Haku.
"Unfortunately, human beings are fearful creatures," the ice user said sadly. "They fear those who are different, and that fear brings out the worst in them."
"But how is Naruto different?" Karin asked. "I mean, he seems like any other person, besides those cute whisker marks on his face."
"There's… more to him than meets the eye," Haku answered vaguely. Karin gave him a confused look, but shrugged her shoulders and looked back down at the arena.
Hiashi sat next to his youngest daughter with a mask of indifference, but in truth he felt conflicted over the match due to the bet Neji informed him about. On one hand, Sasuke winning would keep his daughter away from Naruto, whom he perceived as a potential threat to his clan's public image and his daughter's safety. But on the other hand, if Naruto won, he'd have a valid reason to end the arrangement and hopefully win his daughter's love back.
Down at the arena. "Alright, do you remember the rules? You fight till one of you gives up, dies, or is unable to continue. And I will end the match if I deem it necessary. Understood?" Both gave a nod. "Good." Genma backed away. "Begin!"
Wasting no time, Naruto made three clones who rushed at the Uchiha. Sasuke smirked as he easily dodged one's punch, grabbing his arm and throwing him into another clone. The third went into a slide kick, which Sasuke dodged by jumping, but the real Naruto did a flying kick. Sasuke crossed his arms to block, but because he was in the air, the hit still sent him back.
Flipping in the air, he landed on his feet and dispelled the last clone with shurikens. Sasuke looked back at the real Naruto, a bored look on his face. "Is that all? Pitiful." Making a few handsigns, Sasuke inhaled deeply. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Naruto watched the stream of fire as it approached him and used one of the jutsu Kakashi taught him. "Water Style: Raging Waves!" A stream of water shot out of his mouth and collided with the fire.
Hinata looked at her friend in shock, not knowing he had learn elemental jutsu. "Alright! Get him Naruto!" she cheered.
"It appears Naruto is lucky," Shino commented. "Why? Because his element happens to be water, which can counter Sasuke's fire element."
Lee watched as the two jutsus fought for supremacy. "Guy-sensei, shouldn't Naruto's jutsu be overpowering Sasuke's?" Lee asked. "After all, water is strong against fire."
"Normally you'd be right Lee, but that's not the case here," Guy informed his student.
"That's right," Kakashi agreed. He was standing next to Guy. "While Naruto possesses the elemental advantage, his mastery over the jutsu is inferior to Sasuke's. You see, Sasuke has known the fire ball jutsu for years and has practiced it many times, whereas Naruto has known his for less than a month, making Sasuke's jutsu the stronger of the two and counteracting Naruto's elemental advantage." Kakashi turned back toward the arena. "Still, Naruto has one more advantage."
Naruto continued to pour chakra into his jutsu in order to keep it going while Sasuke was starting to feel the drain in his own reserves. Not wanting to waste more chakra than necessary, he ended the stream of fire from his mouth and narrowly dodge the jet of water that passed where his head had been.
"Let's go Sasuke!" Sakura cheered.
"Come on Naruto!" Ino shouted.
"Wha…" Sakura looked at her rival in confusion. "I thought you'd be cheering for Sasuke?"
Ino frown at the name. "I am completely over that jerk," she said harshly before continuing to cheer for her friend, leaving one very puzzled pink-haired girl.
"Huh? I don't know he already started his elemental training," Jiraiya commented.
"Yes, he had trained with Kakashi for few weeks," Hiruzen informed him.
"Copy Ninja Kakashi?" the Kazekage asked. "I heard a rumor he trained Sasuke."
"He trained both," the Hokage clarified.
Sasuke closed his eyes, then opened them, revealing his Sharingan. "Didn't think I'd be using this now." He drew two handfuls of shurikens. Naruto dropped a smoke bomb and became engulfed in smoke. "That won't save you." He threw many of the star-like projectiles, some colliding with others until the came at the smoked area from all directions.
Hinata gripped the railing, hoping none of them hurt the blond, at least too much.
The smoke dispersed and to everyone's shock, there was a dome of hardened mud with Sasuke's shurikens embedded in it.
Kurenai looked at the dome in shock. Asuma noticed the expression on her face. "You didn't know, did you?"
"I was planning to wait until after the exams to find out his element," the Genjutsu mistress admitted. "Seems Kakashi beat me to it, but there's no way he could have taught Naruto to use two elements in just a few weeks!"
"Unless he has an affinity for both. But even then, to have learned so fast…" Asuma shook his head.
Sasuke prepared to pull out a paper bomb to blow open the dome when Naruto burst through the ground and uppercutted him. His friends cheered while everyone else looked in shock as Sasuke had yet to land a single blow on the real blond.
Recovering, Sasuke growled softly. "Fine. You wanna play seriously? You got it." Sasuke rushed at Naruto before he could react and punched him in the face, then performed a sweep kick that knocked him on his back. Bringing his foot up, Sasuke brought it down. Naruto rolled out of the way and made three clones. But the moment they were made they were hit with kunai Sasuke threw, dispelling them. "Clones won't save you." Closing the gap with great speed, Sasuke unleashed a barrage of punches. Naruto crossed his arms, barely managing to block most of them
"I… I don't believe it," Lee said, wide-eye'd. "Sasuke's speed… He's almost as fast as me!"
Naruto block another punch and tried to counter with his own, but Sasuke spun around him and kicked the back of his head, sending the blond tumbling. Naruto made four clones this time. They rushed the Uchiha.
"Odd," Hinata commented. Shino and Neji looked at Hinata, silently asking her to elaborate. "I know the way Naruto fights. He usually uses more clones. He can make a hundred with ease, so usually he tries to overwhelm his opponents with numbers. So why is he using such a small amount?"
"That is a good question," Shino agreed.
Sasuke made short work of the clones as Naruto launched another stream of water from his mouth. Sasuke sidestepped it and rushed. Naruto. The young Uzumaki turned his head in an attempt to hit Sasuke with his jutsu, but the Uchiha jumped over him and kicked his back. Again, Naruto got up and turned around, only for Sasuke to appear below him, kicking him up and using Dancing Leaf Shadow to appear below him. "Lions Barrage!" Sasuke twisted his body and kicked Naruto down, then landed with a kick to Naruto's gut. All the air in the blonds body left him. Sasuke started to walk away. "He's done."
"Just remember, no matter how many times he knocks you down, you get right back up." Jiraiya's words echoed in his mind. Panting, Naruto rolled over and forced himself back up. "N-no… I… I'm not…"
"Persistent little guy, isn't he?" the Kazekage commented. "Though his chances of winning are very slim."
"Well, everyone loves an underdog," Jiraiya said. 'Good to see he's taking my words to heart.'
"Perhaps, but this is the real world. And in the real world, the underdog loses," the Kazekage argued.
"In some cases, yes," Hiruzen admitted. "But there is always a chance for them."
Sasuke scoffed. "You just don't know when to quit." He rushed the blond, planting a fist in his gut. "It's over. You lost." He pushed him away and Naruto fell to the ground again.
"Come on Naruto! Get up and kick his ass!" Hinata shouted.
"He's lost. That was decided the moment he was assigned to fight Sasuke. You can't fight destiny," Neji told her.
"That's not true at all," Hinata argued.
"The proof is right here. Naruto started with element of surprise, but now Sasuke has the advantage. Despite all his efforts this past month, he still isn't strong enough."
Hinata shook her head. "Naruto will win. I know it."
Naruto fell to the ground again after a kick from Sasuke. "Give up already. Kicking your loser ass has gotten boring." Naruto wrapped an arm around his stomach, but still got up. Sasuke shook his head. "Fine. Have it your way."
'Why? Why can't I beat him?' Naruto thought as Sasuke's onslaught began anew. 'I trained so hard…'
"If you know you can't beat him, why keep getting up?" the Nine-Tails asked.
'Y-you know why?'
"That little wager you made in a feeble attempt to save your mate from the arrangement her clan made. I remember, but it makes no difference. At this rate, you'll be knocked out before you can tire him out enough."
'W-well… I gotta do something.'
"Yes. Watch this is starting to get dull. Let's kick it up a notch," the demon fox said with sinister snicker.
Sasuke readied the final punch to finish off his bruised and battered opponent. But when he threw the punch, Naruto's hand shot up and caught it. "What the…" He looked at Naruto in shock. Red chakra emanated from his body like an aura. His eyes turned red and slitted, since the fox decided to help keep the blond's dojutsu hidden, and his fingernails sharpened into claws. Before Sasuke could react, Naruto threw a punch with his other hand that sent the black-haired boy flying.
"Alright! Sasuke's in trouble now!" Hinata cheered while Shino looked at his blond friend, slightly weary.
Neji, however was shocked by the transformation and activated his Byakugan. 'Where did that red chakra come from?' He could not pinpoint the source, but noticed the odd amount of chakra in his eyes. 'It's like he has a dojutsu, but that's impossible.'
Haku heard Karin gasped and turned to see her hugging herself, as if she were fearing. Fear was plastered on her face. "Something wrong?"
"N-Naruto's chakra… It's changed!" Karin exclaimed. "It's so cold and full of hate, much different from what it was before!"
"T-there's… an explanation for that," Haku said hesitantly. Karin looked at Haku, expecting said explanation. "One that I can't really give. You'll have to ask him, but it's kinda a sore subject so don't expect him to just come out with it."
"I've seen this before!" Inari commented. "It was back when he helped save our country from Gato! It was scary, but he used it to help us, so he's still good."
That calmed Karin down a bit, but the question of what happened to Naruto still lingered in her mind.
"Interesting power-up. He must be your jinchūriki," the Kazekage concluded. Neither Hiruzen nor Jiraiya said anything but watched. In the crowd, the shinobi tensed looking for any sign that Naruto would rampage.
Ino looked shock, knowing this was the power of Naruto's tenant. 'He's still him,' she reminded herself. 'He's still Naruto. Have to remember that.'
"You ok Ino?" Sakura asked. Even though she and Ino were rivals, they were once best friends and seeing the platnium blond girl look shaken worried her.
"Fine," Ino assured with a dismissive wave, though Sakura was not convinced.
Sasuke stood up. "Quite a punch. I…" He was interrupted when Naruto dashed at him with great speed. Sasuke got ready to defend himself but Naruto passed by him. Before he could turn around, he was hit with an elbow to the back. Making two clones, the Narutos delivered a devastating onslaught of punched and kicks that overwhelmed the Last Uchiha.
"Should you ninja do something?" one spectator demanded of Kurenai and Asuma. "That brat has let the demon loose!"
"That 'brat' is my student!" Kurenai said angrily. "And until we see any real sign of him losing control, we have no reason to do anything yet!" Still, she looked at her student with concern. 'Please keep it together Naruto.'
The clones started to knock Sasuke up into the air. Naruto made two more clones that hit him further up. Jumping off each clone, the real Naruto did a flip in the air and delivered an axe kick the sent Sasuke crashing down.
Groaning, Sasuke struggled to get up, wiping blood from his mouth. He glared at Naruto. "You think you've won? Think again!" The curse mark started to spread across his body. "It's just getting started!"
'This is not good!' Kakashi thought as he watched Naruto and Sasuke rush at each other. 'They shouldn't be doing! Don't they realise the consequences to come?' Kakashi turned to the Hokage, looking for any indication to interfere with the match, but saw no such thing.
Hiruzen looked at the two combatant with concern. Both were utilizing forbidden powers not to be used lightly. An amused chuckle from the Kazekage drew him from his thoughts. "I must say, this match is more interesting than I thought it'd be."
Hiruzen motioned his student toward him. "Be ready, just in case," he whispered. Jiraiya nodded, turning to the match.
A cry of pain captured Temari and Kankuro's attention. Gaara was clutching his head, muttering to himself. "Mother! Mother please! Don't be mad! I'm sorry I fed you such disgusting blood earlier! But I'll feed you some better blood. Their blood!"
"Crap! Gaara's losing it!" Kankuro whispered to his sister.
"Gaara please, not yet!" Temari whispered to her youngest brother. "You need to wait. We have to follow the plan!"
'Plan?' Shino thought, listening in on their conversation through one of his bugs.
Naruto punched at Sasuke, who leaned his head to the right to dodge and grabbed the blond's jacket, pulling him down as the black-haired boy brought his knee up, connecting with Naruto's gut. Naruto countered by grabbing Sasuke and headbutting him and kicking him away. "Enough! Time for this to end!" He jumped high into the air and landed on the side of the wall and started weaving through handsigns.
Kakashi's visible eye widened, confusing Guy. "What is it Kakashi?" He watched Sasuke grab and lower his left hand. Recognising his movements, Guy understood Kakashi's concern. "No… Kakashi, you didn't."
"I told him not to use that jutsu!" Kakashi said angrily as lightning emanated from Sasuke left hand. "Not for this match!"
The Uchiha ran down the wall at high speed, his Sharingan eyes locked onto Naruto. The blond made five clones that rushed at Sasuke. But he weaved past each one of them.
"Sasuke no!" Kakashi cried out as he ran forward, but it was too late.
"Chidori!" Sasuke thrusted his hand forward. The crowd went silent, but a few gasped could be heard...
As Sasuke's jutsu pierced through Naruto's chest.
Alpha: And so end this chapter. Hope it was worth the wait.
