Naruto wasn't a strategist, this he would admit himself. But on such short notice, it was better to have something than nothing. It was agreed that Naruto was best to fight her up front. But depending on how much she held back, it may not be very long.

He was looking for a wide enough area with a lot of trees around it. He felt someone was near him. She wanted him to know she was near. Naruto took a deep breath to relax himself.

"Focus," he thought to himself.

He found a good spot, eyeing the trees. He felt his other teammates were far enough. He gripped his sword on his back, waiting for her. He could hear his heart beat in his ears, but focusing on her chakra helped.

This was the first time he's seen someone's chakra. He had never seen something like it, it was the reason he could sense her earlier. He didn't understand why, but it certainly helped as he saw her quickly approach.

/

The glow, she thought, was strange.

She revealed herself to Naruto from the thick trees. She saw him gripping his sword. 'Confident in his sword. Lets see how this plays out' she thought to herself. She had to admit, swords were one of the coolest weapons. So cool in fact, that many kids used them to show off, without putting in the time to learn to use it well. She had encountered many of those kids before, unfortunately in war.

How all this played out depends on her. Like if she simply knocked Naruto out, and did the same to his teammates that were nearing around her. Or if she ignored them and held back. Naruto fully unsheathe his sword, going defensive.

She pulled out her own and ran towards the boy, aiming her sword at his chest. Naruto held his spot, waiting, his eyes moving fast. She was holding back, he thought. The sword was near enough, and with what looked like an erratic move, their swords clashed. The moment was there for Naruto to attack, but something didn't feel right, so he leaped back. But the space was closed quickly.

Up to this point in Naruto's life, these were the most intense moments of his life. No second was left to think. He was sweating, and breathing more rapidly. While Kushina seems like she wasn't breathing at all. Her eyes were not moving, there was no way to tell what she would do until she did it. Naruto then realized his mistake, his eyes. They give away everything. But there was nothing he could do, to try to imitate her would prove fatality, if in real combat.

No, this was real combat. He had to push back, just for a bit more. She is trying to test him. He'll give it his all. He would not show frustration, he would not show weakness in battle.

He gained ground, only to lose it. He was becoming more and more reliant on his instinct than his calculations of sword fighting. He was hit back many times by her fist, and would quickly get back on track. Bruises and scratch marks were visible on his face.

He saw the biggest tree through the corners of his eyes. The plan they had come up with was a distraction. The explosive seals that he gave to Ito were to be planted on the base of the tree, and when their teacher was in the right place, it would blow. The tree would fall on their sensei. But to add to it, Suteru would shoot his fire Jutsu at her. Two distractions could give them a chance, if she decided to play along.

He knew the spot he needed her to be in. Pushing her to the spot wasn't possible, but when she got close to attack, maybe he could switch spots somehow. He decided to act. He could feel the blood dripping from his cheek.

He felt that the time was right. He whistled, his hand aching.

Kushina took note of the whistle, she had heard the plan when she was eavesdropping. Naruto was smart to think someone was listening, but unfortunately his senses had limits. She looked at the trees, guessing which one they would use. She waited for the attack while staring at Naruto.

Yeah, the glow he had was strange, she thought.

Naruto's face didn't show any emotion, even though it really should. The silence didn't last much longer as Suteru and Ito jumped from bushes, looking anxious and ready for battle. Naruto's eyes connected with both of them, he couldn't figure out the emotion he saw in them.

They ran toward their sensei with false bravado. With only two moves from their sensei, they falled to the ground, knocking them towards Naruto.

Naruto quickly neared his teammates on the floor, his eyes still at Kushina.

"Suteru, Ito, wake up." Naruto was shaking them, trying to wake them up.

"They aren't getting up anytime soon. I hit them right here." Kushina said, pointing somewhere in her neck. "It'll knock them out for at least a couple hours."

Naruto looked quickly at his teammates. He felt something. At his teammates, their sensei, and mostly himself. He didn't like the feeling, it made him feel like throwing up. Why had they not listened to him, to the plan? It felt like he was finally understanding them. Had he not understood something, somewhere along the line when they were all the trees. His hopes of having people to call friends felt lost.

They could've been his first friends. Did they hate him enough to sabotage their careers? He felt defeated, not only in battle, but mentally. He felt his rational side taking control. The part that let the bad blood to form between him and Suteru yesterday. He hated being rational, it cost him so much. Yes, it was useful in battle, but what of the other parts of his life, the ones he wants to form

He wanted to make his final stand himself. He had wanted to charge at her because of his anger, but he would go slower, and harder.

More sparks flew between them as Naruto became more calculated, while taking more bolder moves to try to get an advantage. As Naruto fought intensified, so did Kushina hits on Naruto, bruises were becoming more frequent as the battle continued. No silence, only sharp steel could be heard in the forest.

Her eyes felt as if they were piercing into his. He could imagine this was how staring at a sharingan user was like. As expected, he had no hits on her, but he felt something he never felt before. A fierceness, an energy that could never end. He went faster with the sword, moving in a way he never knew he could. His sweat made the light breeze feel like ice all over his body.

No area of the open space was left to waste. Footprints could be seen all over, Naruto ignored the sensation of dirt on his eyes.

He felt like a viewer in the battle, stuck watching from his eyes. Adrenaline and instinct was putting everything together for him in this fight, but the energy he thought was infinite was starting to wane. Small mistakes piling up to major blunders.

He had one more move before he went. He struck one more time, giving all power. His thoughts briefly went to his teammates, and everything that led him here, as if he was about to die.

His sword flew away, landing somewhere in the forest. He fell to one kneel, all the pain coming to him. His hands on the ground, trying to catch his breath. He only looked up for a moment to Kushina's face, he could see sympathy. He quickly looked back down. A silence loomed over them.

Kushina looked at Naruto, the bruises and the blood on him weren't anything to be worried about. She worried she may have gone too rough on him, though. Kushina never sought to revel in battle, but Naruto fought well, so it felt right to give some of it back.

She looked at Naruto, he seemed to be lost in thought . He really got the hard end of the stick. While not a great plan, he did take charge of the situation and the best out of it. It was a real shame. She imagined he felt betrayed, like he wasn't enough. Memories of Minato's death came to mind, smoke still in the sky, like a wildfire.

The exhausted nurses and doctor had stumbled on her late at night. She was standing on her bed holding her son, still in hospital ropes. She was in a trance, looking at the aftermath through the open window. The breeze moved her hair. It felt like the end, when you lose someone important. You think of everything you should've done so it wouldn't have happened, even if it was impossible to know.

"I know how you feel, that you did everything right and tried every solution." More memories came to her. The words coming from her emotions

"But in the end, all of it falls apart in front of you." she said, taking a peek at Ito and Suteru. Too much pride Suteru had, too little with Ito. "But take this loss and mark it, and mark every other loss as well. Not to remind yourself that you failed, but to know that you aren't going to let it happen next time."

Naruto looked back at her, his ribs stinging. His eyes widened, and felt butterflies in his stomach. He was awe-struck. Kushina Uzumaki was in front of her. He was so focused on everything, his teammates, his future, that it didn't really hit him completely until now. That a hero was in front of him, and that he fought her, and now she was giving advice to him.

He almost felt happy about this, but nothing came out right today. Naruto got the idea, he wouldn't let this stop him. Later tonight he would grieve this loss, and many more nights after. Focus on what you can change, not what you couldn't, Naruto thought.

Naruto stood up, feeling the mixture of dirt and sweat on his clothes. He tried to stand straight as much as he could. He stared at Kushina

"Thank you," Naruto said, turning away from her, walking into the forest. He needed to find his sword