Chapter 181: The Fated Battle, The Second Tomoe Awakens!
In the center of the vast Academy training ground, the air crackled with anticipation. The preliminary matches were over, and the energy from the student body was palpable.
Iruka Umino, acting as the proctor, stood in the designated arena, a patch of worn, dusty earth. He raised his hand, quieting the murmur of the crowd.
"We will now begin the final rounds! First match: Inuzuka Kiba versus Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Yahoo! It's finally my turn!" Kiba Inuzuka leaped over the railing, his landing confident and loud. Akamaru, his small white ninken, sat perched on his head, yipping in agreement.
"Alright, Akamaru! We're gonna show these guys what real power looks like!" Kiba punched his own palm, a wild, fanged grin on his face.
"Kiba-kun, good luck!" a girl in the crowd shouted.
"Tear him up, Kiba!"
On the other side of the field, Naruto Uzumaki simply walked forward, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his orange jacket.
"Hmph. Look at him," Ino Yamanaka commented from the sidelines, crossing her arms. "He thinks he's so cool. That stupid dead-last acts like he's already won. He's so annoying."
Sakura Haruno, standing next to her, nodded in agreement, though a flicker of doubt crossed her mind. "He... he has changed. But Kiba-kun is one of the best fighters in our class."
Shikamaru Nara watched, his head tilted. "This is going to be a drag. Kiba's all aggression."
"Go, Kiba! Chew him up!" Choji Akimichi cheered, his mouth full.
From the shade of a nearby tree, Uchiha Sasuke watched, his black eyes narrowed. He ignored the cheers. He didn't care about Kiba. He just wanted to see, with his own eyes, how much the dead-last had really improved.
"Alright!" Iruka raised his hand. "Ready... Begin!"
"Let's end this, Akamaru!" Kiba roared, wasting no time. He dropped to all fours. "Ninja Art: Four Legs Technique!"
[Inorin's Note: The Four Legs Technique (Shikyaku no Jutsu) is a signature Inuzuka clan technique where the user enhances their speed and power by channeling chakra to their limbs, moving like an animal.]
A visible aura of chakra enveloped Kiba. His movements became beast-like, his fingernails elongating into claws. Akamaru barked and crouched, mirroring his master.
"Here we come, Naruto! Fang Passing Fang!"
[Inorin's Note: Fang Passing Fang (Tsūga) is a high-speed taijutsu attack where the user spins rapidly, turning themselves and their ninken into drilling, tornado-like projectiles.]
"So fast!"
"Is this the secret technique of the Inuzuka clan?"
The spectating students gasped in surprise. Kiba's taijutsu was indeed top-class.
Facing this fierce pincer attack, Naruto... remained completely unperturbed. He just stood there.
What?
"What is this guy doing?"
A hint of doubt flashed in Kiba's mind. Is he mocking me? His offensive did not slow.
At the last possible nanosecond, just as Kiba's spinning attack was about to tear him apart, Naruto leaped backward, dodging the attack and creating distance between them.
Kiba skidded to a halt, spraying dirt. "Is that all you can do, run?!"
Naruto landed lightly, a small smile on his face. He raised a single hand, forming a familiar cross-shaped seal.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Bang—bang bang bang bang bang bang!
In an instant, the entire arena was flooded with smoke and sound.
When the dust settled, Kiba's jaw dropped.
It wasn't one clone. It wasn't five.
In an instant, thirty identical Uzumaki Narutos appeared in the arena, surrounding Kiba and Akamaru from every conceivable angle.
"You're... you're kidding, right?" Kiba stammered.
"Thirty… Shadow Clones?!" Shikamaru's eyes snapped open. "That idiot... that's not the standard clone jutsu..."
"Sometimes, battles don't need so many flashy moves," a voice spoke.
In the arena, Naruto's main body, hands still in his pockets, leisurely walked out from the "Naruto Army."
He looked at the dumbfounded Kiba, grinned, and showed a mouthful of white teeth.
"How about it, Kiba? Scared now, aren't you!"
Cold sweat instantly trickled down Kiba's forehead.
He looked at the thirty identical Narutos surrounding him, all glaring menacingly, all cracking their knuckles. He felt his legs start to cramp.
How was he supposed to fight this?
This wasn't a one-on-one duel! This was a gang-up!
"Go!"
Naruto's main body lazily waved his hand, as if ordering a charge.
"Awooo—!"
Thirty Narutos roared, surging towards Kiba and Akamaru like an orange tide.
"Damn it! Don't underestimate me!"
Kiba roared, still trying to resist. He spun, kicking one clone, which vanished in a puff of smoke.
But as soon as he defeated one Naruto Shadow Clone, he took three kicks to the back, two punches from the left, and another from the right.
He was drowning in them.
Bang!
One of the clones, seeing an opening, delivered a solid kick to Akamaru. The small dog yelped, vanishing in a puff of smoke.
"Akamaru's Shadow Clone was the first to be dispelled," the original text noted, "reverting to his puppy form and whimpering as he flew away."
[Inorin's Note: This appears to be a fanfic-specific variation, as Akamaru doesn't canonically use Shadow Clones. It's likely Kiba used a Beast Human Clone (Jūjin Bunshin) to have Akamaru transform, and the clone was broken.]
"Akamaru!"
Kiba was shocked. In that single moment of distraction, he was instantly and completely overwhelmed by the "sea of Narutos."
"Bang bang bang bang!"
"Ah—!"
"My face! Not the face!"
"Don't hit there!"
"Uwaaah—!"
The screams were endless.
Everyone watched, stunned into silence, as Kiba Inuzuka, completely helpless against the "gang-up" of thirty Narutos, was beaten black and blue.
The orange wave subsided, leaving Kiba on the ground, twitching, his face swollen like a pig's head, unconscious.
The battle was over.
Time taken: less-than-thirty-seconds.
Naruto's main body, still standing in the same spot, snapped his fingers. All the Shadow Clones vanished with a "poof," turning into white smoke.
Naruto walked over to the unconscious Kiba. He squatted down and patted his swollen, bruised face.
"I told you, Kiba. I've wanted to beat you up for a long time."
After speaking, Naruto stood up. He turned around elegantly under the gaze of a deathly silent crowd. With his hands clasped behind his head, he whistled a small tune and walked back to his team.
The entire training ground was eerily silent.
Iruka's eye twitched. "...Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."
The crowd's murmuring grew loud again, but now it was full of confusion and shock.
"That... was brutal."
"How does the dead-last have that much chakra?"
"Did he even move?"
Sasuke watched Naruto walk off the field, his own hands clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms. That... that jutsu. He's just relying on a single, stupid trick.
Iruka cleared his throat, his face pale. "And now... the moment you've all been waiting for."
"Final Battle: Uzumaki Naruto VS Uchiha Sasuke!"
The silence broke. The crowd erupted.
"Here it comes! It's finally here!"
"The battle for the top! Naruto and Sasuke's fated showdown!"
"Who do you think will win this time? My money is on Sasuke! He's an Uchiha!"
"It's hard to say... Did you see what Naruto just did to Kiba? It was a one-sided beatdown! His progress is terrifying!"
Sasuke stepped into the arena, his face a cold mask.
Dead last…
He stared at Naruto, who was stretching his arms, looking completely relaxed.
You... who stole everything from me!
The top spot...
Hokage-sama's attention...
Everyone's gaze...
It should all belong to ME!
Sasuke looked at Naruto, his mind replaying the scenes of being defeated by him again and again. The humiliation was a physical, burning weight in his stomach.
"I can't lose… I absolutely cannot lose again…" Sasuke growled in a low, vicious voice.
"The final match... begins NOW!" Iruka yelled, leaping back to safety.
"Whoosh!"
As soon as the words fell, Sasuke's figure blurred. He exploded forward, a black-and-blue afterimage, charging fiercely towards Naruto!
His speed... it had increased significantly since the last time.
"So fast!"
"Sasuke's strength has improved again! That's our genius!"
A chorus of gasps erupted from the stands.
Naruto, for the first time, looked slightly startled. Sasuke's progress had, indeed, exceeded his expectations.
But Naruto showed no panic.
During his brutal, daily sparring sessions with his teacher's clones, he had long grown accustomed to combat that was a hundred times faster than this.
Facing Sasuke's lightning-fast roundhouse kick, Naruto leaned back, his spine bending at an impossible angle. The attack whistled just centimeters from his nose.
Sasuke's attack missed, but his offensive did not stop. He was a professional.
Using his extended leg as an axis, he forcefully twisted his body in mid-air, a perfect, fluid motion. He turned his other hand into a hand blade, slashing down at Naruto's exposed throat.
Puff!
Naruto exploded... into a log. Body Replacement Jutsu.
[Inorin's Note: The Body Replacement Jutsu (Kawarimi no Jutsu) is a basic E-rank ninjutsu where the user swaps their body with a nearby object (like a log) to dodge an attack.]
Behind him! Sasuke's senses screamed. He spun, lashing out with a back kick.
But Naruto was already there, blocking the kick with his forearm.
Immediately after, bang! Bang! Bang!
Their figures rapidly crisscrossed in the arena. It was a blur of orange and blue, the dull, percussive thuds of their fists and feet colliding echoing across the silent field.
A block. A parry. A low sweep. A high kick.
"Too… too intense!"
"Are these really Academy students? Are these the two strongest people of our generation?"
Sakura and Ino, standing below the stage, held their breath, their palms slick with sweat.
"Damn it!"
With his continuous, fierce, Uchiha-style attacks being repeatedly blocked, dodged, or nullified by Naruto's new, precise-but-unorthodox style, Sasuke's mood grew increasingly agitated.
Why can't I hit him?! Why is he so... so calm?!
He suddenly leaped back, breaking the engagement and creating distance. He rapidly, expertly, formed hand seals.
Snake... Ram... Monkey... Boar... Horse... Tiger!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
[Inorin's Note: The Great Fireball Technique (Gōkakyū no Jutsu) is the signature, coming-of-age ninjutsu for members of the Uchiha clan.]
A massive, roaring fireball, carrying scorching heat, erupted from his mouth, instantly engulfing the spot where Naruto stood.
"He got him!" a student yelled.
But as the flames cleared, Naruto was gone.
"This move again?" Naruto's voice came from the side. His eyes narrowed.
"My turn! Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Poof! Poof! Poof!
This time, only three clones appeared. One charged, while two fanned out, flanking Sasuke.
Boom—!
The fireball from Sasuke's second Great Fireball collided with the charging Shadow Clone, erupting in a violent roar.
The arena was flooded with smoke.
"He's just using clones and fireballs... like children," a Jōnin observer murmured.
But inside the smoke, Sasuke was not panicking. He was hunting.
Taking advantage of the smoke from the explosion to obscure vision, the single tomoe in Sasuke's crimson Sharingan spun rapidly.
[Inorin's Note: The Sharingan is the dōjutsu (eye technique) of the Uchiha clan. A one-tomoe Sharingan is the most basic form, but it still grants enhanced perception, allowing the user to see the flow of chakra.]
He ignored the two clones. Through the smoke, he could see the chakra. He could see the real one.
"I found you!"
Sasuke leaped out of the smoke, a shining kunai in his hand, stabbing directly at Naruto's heart.
However, what awaited him was not a panicked Naruto, but a trap.
Naruto, his eyes sharp and clear, had been waiting.
"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"
[Inorin's Note: A simple C-rank jutsu that creates a sharp, invisible blade of wind. It is a technique Akira would have his disciple master for its utility and speed.]
An invisible, high-pressure blade of wind, which Naruto had been molding in secret, slashed towards Sasuke's wrist that held the kunai.
Sasuke's expression changed. His Sharingan saw the ripple in the air, but too late. In his haste, he could only abandon his attack, yanking his hand back and awkwardly twisting his body in mid-air to dodge the invisible blade.
But the moment Sasuke landed, off-balance and exposed, he was met with a powerful, spinning kick from Naruto, who had used the moment to close the distance.
Bang!
The kick landed solidly in Sasuke's chest.
Sasuke was sent flying backward, his eyes wide with shock. He rolled several times on the ground, scraping his skin raw, before finally skidding to a stop.
"Pfft!" Sasuke spat out a mouthful of blood, a burning, agonizing pain radiating from his chest.
"Why… why is it like this again…"
Sasuke struggled, pushing himself up from the ground with trembling arms.
He had clearly, clearly undergone his father's hellish special training. His strength, his speed, his jutsu... he had been completely reborn.
Why… why… was he still being suppressed by Naruto?!
"It's over, Sasuke." Naruto stood ten feet away, his expression no longer playful. He looked at Sasuke, a triumphant, almost pitying expression on his face.
That look... that look... was the final straw.
"Shut up!" Sasuke roared, his voice cracking. "You dead-last! What right do you have to lecture me! WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO PITY ME!"
"I, Uchiha Sasuke, am a genius! How could I... how could I possibly lose to YOU!"
Humiliation. Unwillingness. Anger.
It was the humiliation of his father's disappointment.
It was the unwillingness to be second-best.
It was the burning, acidic rage that Hokage-sama Akira, the pride of his clan, had chosen this... THIS CLOWN... over him.
All the negative emotions instantly, violently, overwhelmed Sasuke's reason.
I will not lose!
Sasuke felt a searing, sharp pain in his eyes, as if his nerves were on fire.
"Ah... Ah... AAAAAAH—!"
"This is…" Naruto's expression changed, and he took a step back, feeling the violent, cold chakra spike.
Sasuke slowly, agonizingly, raised his head.
And in his crimson eyes, the single tomoe that was originally there was spinning. Spinning so fast it was a blur.
Soon, next to the first tomoe... a second, black comma slowly appeared, spinning into place.
The Two-Tomoe Sharingan!
Sasuke, fueled by his desperate, burning unwillingness to lose to Naruto again, had finally awakened his dōjutsu to the next level.
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