Kurenai Yuhi clenched her teeth in rage watching Naruto and Hinata's fight.
"I'll kill that brat once this is over."
Tsunade glared at her.
"Be quiet, Kurenai Yuhi. Behave professionally. This is just a match."
Guy walked over.
"Ahhh! Did you all witness the flame of youth blazing brilliantly from that boy?!!!"
But no one gave him the time of day…
Anko snickered,
"He's about to get sliced up."
Neji activated his Byakugan and suddenly lunged toward him.
Neji redirected Naruto's attack, dodging past his punch and striking his wrist.
Naruto created a Shadow Clone and swiftly performed the Substitution Jutsu. Neji struck and destroyed the clone.
Naruto unsheathed his sword from behind and charged at Neji.
Neji started dodging Naruto's slashes. Suddenly, Naruto retracted his sword, grabbed Neji's ponytail, and executed an over-the-shoulder throw, slamming him hard into the ground.
Neji cried out in pain while holding his head.
Anko continued,
"Next up… uh, I mean, Match Eight! Naruto versus Neji Hyuga! Begin!"
Neji picked up speed.
"Eight Trigrams: Two Palms!"
Naruto dodged.
Neji continued,
"Four Palms!"
Naruto kept evading.
Neji increased his speed.
"Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms! Thirty-Two Palms!"
Naruto barely dodged the flurry of attacks from Neji.
"Sixty-Four Palms!"
Finally, Neji landed a hit, beginning his rapid strikes.
"Eight Trigrams: One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!"
Naruto was knocked down. Neji stood tall, looking down at him.
Naruto quickly stood back up, seemingly unharmed.
Neji became tense.
"How?!"
"You forgot—your Gentle Fist doesn't work on me. I can clear my tenketsu points anytime I want."
Naruto infused wind chakra into his sword, directly severing Neji's chakra pathways.
Neji stood motionless for a moment before collapsing to the ground, blood spurting from his chest and back.
Naruto walked beside Neji and pressed the blade against his throat.
"Sweet dreams."
The medics carried him away.
Anko shouted,
"Naruto wins!"
Naruto turned around and saw Choji stepping onto the battlefield, standing opposite him without any guard up.
Anko stood between them.
"Match Nine! Naruto versus Choji! Begin!"
[Human Bullet Tank!]
Choji's enlarged form began rolling toward Naruto, who immediately defended himself to avoid being flattened.
Despite transforming into a giant ball, Choji remained highly agile in this form.
Naruto infused wind chakra into his fist.
[Wind Release: Wind God Fist!]
The Wind Release slammed him into the stone wall, but he bounced right back.
Naruto extended his leg backward and delivered a powerful kick, sending Choji flying into the spectator stands.
To prevent crushing the audience, Choji canceled his jutsu and tumbled down the stairs.
Shaking, Choji slowly stood back up facing Naruto, blood trickling from his lip.
"You... are really strong, Naruto. I know I can't win. I forfeit."
Anko nodded.
"Naruto wins!"
Anko turned toward the crowd and continued.
"Match Ten—the final bout of the day!"
NARUTO VS. SASUKE!
The crowd roared for Sasuke, who had a smug grin on his face.
Sasuke lunged forward. Naruto blocked his first punch, grabbed his ankle, yanked him closer, and landed a powerful punch to his throat.
Sasuke crashed heavily onto the ground, clutching his throat and gasping for air.
Sasuke staggered to his feet, eyes blazing with rage, and charged at Naruto again.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, caught Sasuke's fist mid-air, then drove a brutal punch into his side.
Gasping, Sasuke dropped to his knees, coughing up blood.
Naruto seized his collar as Sasuke struggled wildly.
With a headbutt to the face, Naruto sent him crashing flat on his back.
Blood poured between Sasuke's fingers as he clutched his nose and looked up at Naruto in shock.
Kakashi stiffened.
"I need to stop this fight before someone dies."
Tsunade snapped,
"Kakashi, stand down. Don't interfere with this battle."
Kakashi turned toward her.
"Lady Fifth, if I don't stop this now, there'll be a fatality."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"Naruto won't kill him, and Sasuke can't kill him either."
Wounded and seething with fury, Sasuke rose again.
"There's no way you're stronger than me!"
A dark mark began spreading over the right side of Sasuke's body.
Roaring like an animal, Sasuke surged toward Naruto at blinding speed.
[Chidori!]
Naruto smirked.
As Sasuke charged forward, he suddenly halted behind Naruto, a smirk curling his lips.
Naruto straightened, drawing his blade in a single casual motion before stepping aside.
Sasuke stood frozen, blood spurting from his severed right arm. He groaned, clutched his wound, and collapsed.
Anko raised her arm, pointing directly at Naruto.
"Naruto wins!"
[Three Days Later]
Naruto was getting ready to head to the Hokage Tower for a mission when he spotted Shizune dashing about in a panic, clearly distressed.
"Shizune-chan, what's going on?"
"Naruto! Thank goodness you're here! Lady Tsunade needs you!"
Without hesitation, Shizune grabbed Naruto and dragged him into her office.
Tsunade shot up from her seat.
"Naruto!"
"You and Granny Tsunade okay? You've never used my name like that before."
Tsunade yanked him toward her desk.
"Orochimaru sent Sound ninja to kidnap Sasuke. I've already dispatched a team of genin to bring him back."
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"Did he go willingly, or was he taken?"
Tsunade shrugged.
"We don't know. Either way, we cannot let Orochimaru get the Sharingan. It would spell disaster for Konoha. Naruto, you'll help Shikamaru's team retrieve Sasuke."
Naruto nodded.
"Leave now. Catch up to them as fast as you can. I'll send reinforcements soon."
With that, Tsunade tossed him a pouch of soldier pills.
Naruto caught it and took off immediately.
Bounding through the trees, he finally reached a clearing that bore the scars of a brutal fight. He was definitely on the right track.
******
Choji watched the enemy ninja approaching with a mocking grin. He stared at the pillbox he'd carried with him.
"Red Pill... I took it... It should be strong enough to finish him off, but what comes next..."
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~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!