Disclaimer: See previous chapters

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"Rhaaah!"

Suigetsu leapt away and Naruto's blow missed him by inches, smashing into the ground instead and leaving a small crater. With a grimace, Suigetsu back-flipped away, hoping to give himself some distance from the raging jinchuuriki. Once settled, he turned to look at Naruto rushing at him again, rage clear on his face.

Sheathing the sword onto his back, the oto-nin (sound ninja) then clasped his hands together and began to hop back for more room as well as time as he went through the appropriate hands seals as quickly as possible. Naruto continued to approach, coming in within a few of Suigetsu, but the seals were finished soon enough and with it, a very familiar jutsu.

'Suiton! Suiryuudan no Jutsu!' ('Water Release! Water Dragon Bullet Technique!')

A great swirl of water encircled around Suigetsu, knocking Naruto back again, but not hard. The young shinobi rolled backward and up to his feet, only to look up and see a column of water in the shape of a serpent dragon bearing down at him. Naruto could only cross his arm together as the jutsu smashed down on him hard, briefly flooding the entire area.

When the deluge subsided, Suigetsu moved over to the spot his opponent would be at. In truth, he hadn't meant or wanted to use the jutsu. Aside from the lengthy hand seals, it took quite a bit of chakra for him to use it and true enough, he felt the strain on his body from the use. But Naruto had been coming much too close for his liking and he had to put him down as soon as possible. And sure enough, the body of the jinchuuriki was on the ground, face to the ground, soaked and slightly submerged in water. Upon seeing this, he couldn't help but grin and let out another taunt.

"Like I said, weak. Sasuke's better off without-"

He didn't even see it coming. The water beside him suddenly exploded and there was a fist on the side of his face that rocked him so badly that for a split second, he thought his jaw had been rearranged. He didn't even have a chance to see the next blow that floored him a good foot away. Gasping, Suigetsu managed to regain his footing, although unsteadily. Oddly enough, he wondered why Naruto didn't press the advantage and attack him further.

Then he sensed a build-up of chakra.

A huge build-up of chakra.

'Naruto…'

Bent on the ground, Kakashi became vaguely aware of a growing and, unfortunately, familiar surge of chakra. 'The Kyuubi.' He could only imagine how bad things must have become if Naruto was using that power, not to mention the problems that would come up if he was left unchecked for too long. But Kakashi was in no position to try anything as he was stuck with his own problems.

…Or more to the point, problem.

He had encountered the Lin Kuei warrior long ago, during his days in ANBU. Kakashi had been sent on a mission to retrieve a scroll containing some very important information. He wasn't privy to the details of the scroll, but it did possess the same seal of the black dragon that was on the invitation to the tournament. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one after the scroll and just as he had obtained it, he was faced with this guy.

It was the most grueling fight he had ever been in. Not only did the Lin Kuei warrior possess formidable skills, but Kakashi was unable to use his Sharingan to copy the freezing techniques employed by him. In the end, the scroll had been destroyed in their conflict, cancelling both their missions and leaving them with little choice, but to withdraw.

He didn't figure withdrawal would be an option this time.

Meanwhile, Sub-Zero steadily began to circle the copy-nin, one of his arms up in a defensive posture. Despite Kakashi's position and appearance, the Lin Kuei did not want to take any chances and risk being caught in a surprise attack, of which Kakashi was very good at. Taking a breath, Kakashi rose up and the two soon circled each other. Kakashi would have to move, he was just beginning to stretch the limits of his Sharingan and any more time would put him in a bad position to fight on in the tournament, provided he could survive this particular opponent. And the sooner he could win, the sooner he could get to Naruto.

In a burst of speed, Kakashi charged and as he neared, he took to the air and spun about, his leg sailing through the air with force. Sub-Zero managed to duck the slashing kick, but Kakashi was far from done and his body continued to spin about as he hit the ground, with his leg now spiraling into a sweep, completing the Konoha Senpuu (Leaf Hurricane).

But Sub-Zero back-flipped over the sweep, all the while maintaining the same close position. Due to the momentum of his attack, Kakashi's wasn't caught off guard, but still, the sharp kick of the ice warrior came close to hitting his face square-on. Kakashi took a step back while Sub-Zero assaulted him with a series of strikes, many of which Kakashi dodged and soon returned.

A simultaneous punch from the two was dodged, causing them to almost fly past each other. Their backs to each other, Sub-Zero spun with a short elbow, jabbing into Kakashi's ribs. A groan escaped his masked lips and Kakashi threw himself forward into a roll as Sub-Zero rotated the other way with a vicious elbow that would have hit his head. But as he made his way back up to his feet, Kakashi felt a spike of chakra and realized that the second elbow was a feint to get Kakashi to roll away and give Sub-Zero space to use his famed ability.

…and send a bolt of chill energy flying at the copy-nin.

Infuriated, Sakura glared at her opponent, who continued to wear a grin/sneer on his face. Like Kakashi, she had sense the rise of chakra that could have only come from her annoying teammate. Unlike Kakashi though, she paid it no heed; her focus and simmering anger was focused solely on Kano.

Initially, she faced this like any other fight. Evade until she had a clear attack. As a medic-nin, she couldn't risk unnecessary injury, not only for her benefit, but for that of the team should something happen to one of them. But her opponent was persistent and kept coming at her, all the while leaving her no real opening. It was frustrating.

Almost as frustrating as his mouth

Kano repeatedly taunted her throughout the fight, some of his taunts being quite obscene. Despite her temper, Sakura was generally a level-headed person (except with Naruto and on occasion, Kakashi) and as a medic-nin, it was practically a requirement. So it was strange that this thug's words were affecting her so. But they were, and her temper was being cut short because of it.

"C'mon pinky. Don't ya wanna git close to a real man? Or you 'fraid I'll dent that forehead of yours?"

Real short

Discarding her usual tactics, Sakura went on the offensive, charging at Kano with a snarl. Despite baiting her into attack, Kano was still surprised by how fast she came at him, forcing him to dodge her awkwardly (and very narrowly) and dive to the ground. Falling into a roll, Kano quickly picked himself up, his hand already reaching into his back and pulling out a throwing knife from his utility belt. Sakura turned just in time to see the weapon thrown at her and pulled her head back to avoid. However, the weapon had come close and a thin mark crossed her cheek as a result.

'He…cut me…!'

Red blurring her vision, Sakura almost missed the second knife being hurled at her. Concentrating her chakra into her fist, she smashed it into the ground, causing it to erupt toward her foe, deflecting the knife at the same time. Kano quickly jumped to the side and rolled back up to his feet, at which point, Sakura charged at him again.

A third knife in his hand, Kano lifted it back readying to throw it. Seeing this, Sakura veered off to the side to dodge, all the while still heading toward her opponent. But Kano had set this up and instead or throwing the knife, he rushed at her. Sakura blinked in surprise, which was followed shortly by a collision of bodies and sharp pain.

"Aaahh!"

Kano's rush had resulted in his shoulder hitting her face and was followed by his knife being stabbed into her side. Sakura began to back away in order to pull it out, but Kano quickly grabbed her collar with his left hand, all the while holding and pressing the knife further into her with his right. With the usual grin/sneer, he twisted it slightly, eliciting a gasp from the pink-haired chunnin.

"Now I want ya to beg for me, darlin'. Beg like a-"

His words got no further than that. In a grunt of stifled rage, Sakura smashed her forehead into his face, causing him to reel back and release her completely. The knife was still in her side, but Sakura made no move to remove it. All she wanted was to hurt this piece of garbage. And as her fist reared back and shot forward, that's just what she did.

…With a snapping and crunching of bone as a result.

Kano's scream snapped Sakura out of bloodlust enough to see what she had done. Kano had managed to revive from her head-butt and mostly dodge the blow, only resulting in her blow striking his shoulder, but it had enough force to dislocate it, almost completely. Her shock soon turned to horror as she realized what she had done. She had concentrated her chakra into her blow too tightly, which in turn, concentrated the force of her blow as well. Had she put more effort into it, she could have knocked his arm right off altogether.

For that matter, she could have crushed his chest in totally if he hadn't dodged.

Through her shock and terror, Kano somehow managed to recover from the attack. The red eye behind the metal plate on his face gleamed brightly, matching his anguish scowl and a thin beam shot out at the kunoichi. The beam burned at her chest, causing her to cry out in pain and for her earlier fury to return. But he didn't give her the chance as he rushed at her and suddenly shot through the air, tucking his arms and legs to his body, making himself a literal cannonball.

…With all the force and impact to go along with it as well.

WHAM!

The spiral of the Sharingan spun rapidly as the bolt of ice flew at Kakashi. His hands reacted immediately and so quickly that it was as though he hadn't moved them. Even Kakashi was surprised by how quickly he pulled out the jutsu as he blew a gust of water out of his mouth (through the mask of course).

'Suiton! Sujinheki No Jutsu ' ('Water Release! Water Wall Technique!')

The burst of water suddenly formed around the copy-nin just as the bolt came close, resulting in the water wall freezing around him. Sub-Zero rose up from his attack and awaited the Kakashi's next move. He was well aware of the abilities of the Sharingan as well as its limits. He had no worries about him copying his freezing abilities since they were inherent in the Lin-Kuei and could not be copied. But Kakashi couldn't have gotten his reputation off the Sharingan alone.

…But then again, neither did he

A slight vibration alerted his attention to the ground below and Sub-Zero instinctively back-flipped as Kakashi's form burst up and out of the ground with a shooting uppercut. Now back on his feet, Sub-Zero quickly reversed direction, suddenly sliding along the ground and sweeping down the copy-nin. The fall wasn't too serious however, and Kakashi rolled back on his feet and charged swiftly, his hand reared back for a blow. With Sub-Zero's back turned, the attack hit home on the ice warrior's head, causing it to shatter.

Shatter..?

Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized what he struck. 'What? A Hyouton Bushin?' (Ice Clone). But too late was this realization as his arm froze rapidly and quickly encased his body in ice. Meanwhile, the bushin itself shattered completely, revealing the Lin Kuei behind it, who was watching Kakashi freeze into ice. Without delay, Sub-Zero focused his energy once again, forming a dagger blade out of solid ice. Rearing his arm back, Sub-Zero struck the throat of the frozen copy-nin with the efficiency of a skilled assassin.

And then Kakashi exploded.

Sub-Zero was caught completely off guard as 'Kakashi' erupted into a flash of lightning, knocking the ice warrior back. Dazed, Sub-Zero rose to his feet, only to hear the sound of a roar coming in toward him. Looking up, he caught glimpse of a hound charging at him, made completely out of lightning. But it was only a glimpse, as the hound quickly rushed into him and exploded, knocking the Lin Kuei down and out. Seeing this, the shadow monk announced.

"Hatake Kakashi wins!"

'That was too close.'

From the now-dissolving water-ice wall, Kakashi stood up and glanced at his fallen opponent, not for once was Kakashi glad for the training he pushed himself into. One of the things he worked on was to increase the speed of his hand seals, after seeing how well it worked for Itachi during their fight. Without that, he very much doubted that this fight would have ended in his favor.

'Naruto.'

The chakra of the Kyuubi was growing stronger by the moment and he knew he had to hurry. Whisking away from the battlefield, Kakashi quickly rushed toward the violent chakra, pulling down his hitai-ite to cover his Sharingan. Unfortunately, he knew that getting there would take time. Aside from not know where exactly Naruto was, he was also strained from the fight he was just in. In addition to the use of his visual jutsu, using that Raiton: Kage Bushin No Jutsu (Lightning Release: Shadow Clone Technique) cost him half his chakra and the Raiton Ryouken (Lightning Hound) had cost him even more. Both gambits paid off in the fight, but now they may hamper him from reaching a possibly greater threat.

'I hope I won't be too late.'

'What the hell..?'

Shaking his head, Suigetsu looked up dazedly at his opponent, whose body was now simmering with demon chakra. The oto-nin hadn't had a chance to recover and/or regain his bearings since the rise in chakra in Naruto. And Suigetsu tried everything he could reasonably think of. But his chakra was running low now; he couldn't even use his liquid form anymore. And the jinchuuriki just wouldn't let up; coming at him with such fury that Suigetsu was actually starting to regret having taunted him the way he had earlier.

Too late now…

Snarling, Naruto dashed at Suigetsu, using both his hands and feet to run at him just like a canine animal. Dashing backward, Suigetsu unsheathed the giant blade on his back and held it up front and across in defense. Suigetsu braced himself for impact, readying to fly backward and tuck himself into a roll. As long as he stayed on his feet, he would have a chance, however minute.

What he didn't expect was for the attack to smash through the sword

With a gasp, Suigetsu watched the clawed hand of Naruto tore through the giant blade, leaving a nice-sized hole in it, and almost into his chest. He probably figured he was lucky the force of the attack still threw him back, preventing Naruto from ripping through his chest as well. But that was a moot point as he rolled back and up to his feet, since the oto-nin was now badly wounded and almost depleted of chakra. It was a surprise in itself that he was still on his feet. His body shaking with fatigue, he couldn't even hold on to the giant sword anymore and it slipped out of his weakened grasp.

Finish him…

Still raging with the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto glared at his weakened opponent with enraged eyes. It was clear that the fight was over, but the rage of the jinchuuriki would not settle and bloodlust flooded his vision like a tsunami. Lifting a clawed hand and opening it, Naruto gathered and focused his chakra, forming it into a familiar sphere of energy.

Finish him!

With the addition of the Kyuubi's chakra, the sphere grew larger and brighter, becoming the very same Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere) that he had used in his battle in the Final Valley. Only now, there was nothing that was going to stop it. No Chidori to clash against; no hesitation in fear of harming his best friend. With his opponent out of sorts, the attack would send Suigetsu on a high-speed, one way ticket straight into oblivion.

FINISH HIM!

With a primal roar, Naruto charged at the dazed Suigetsu. The oto-nin wasn't even coherent enough to sense Naruto charge and therefore, hadn't turned around. Of course, even if he had, Naruto was coming in too fast for him to try anything at this point. As Naruto zeroed in, his gaze lifted for the briefest of moments, catching sight of motion. But that moment was more than enough as his feral glare was suddenly looked outside of the arena and onto another pair or eyes

Eyes that bore the Sharingan…