Duel III

Bang! The last Shadow Clone was taken out. Naruto was nowhere to be seen on the lake's surface, and Sasuke knew he was underwater. At that moment, Naruto made his move as well. Both moved at once—Sasuke leaped upward while Naruto burst from the water, narrowly missing each other. The spectators all felt it was a pity for Naruto. It had been a good plan, but Sasuke had seen through it beforehand.

"Water Release! Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" As Sasuke soared high into the air, he began forming hand seals and unleashed a B-rank ninjutsu. A water dragon chased after Naruto and shot into the sky. Seeing the water dragon behind him, Naruto immediately dispelled his Rasengan, then used a Shadow Clone to throw his real body away.

After directly striking the clone, the water dragon did not vanish. Instead, it turned and charged at Naruto again. After landing on the lake, Naruto began dodging left and right. His weakness was that he had too few offensive techniques; right now, he only had Shadow Clones and the Rasengan. When he could no longer evade it, he had no choice but to pull out a kunai and brace himself against the dragon's head. The water dragon shoved Naruto a long distance across the lake before finally disappearing.

"Naruto, you have too few ways to attack," Sasuke said after landing.

"Hmph, don't get cocky. I'll win." Naruto created two more clones, then prepared to use Rasengans in both hands. Two Rasengans formed, and after considering it briefly, Sasuke also produced Rasengans in both hands.

"You know it too?" Naruto asked with wide eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei taught me. Let's settle this in one blow. There's no point dragging this out any longer." Sasuke charged at Naruto as well, and both prepared their final strike.

"Aren't we going to stop them?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"There's no need. Let's see who can still stand in the end," Tsunade replied. Everyone wanted to see who would remain standing last.

The two finally met atop the lake, each wielding two Rasengans. They collided one against another, the rapidly spinning Rasengans grinding continuously as the two began contesting strength. Naruto had far too much Chakra, while Sasuke had trained hard and possessed great strength, so neither could gain the upper hand for the moment. But Sasuke did not want to remain deadlocked like this.

"Ninja Art! Yin-Yang Polarity!" Sasuke used the ninjutsu he had conceived. It would not matter even if it failed. At that moment, his two Rasengans changed. One became a Water Rasengan, while the other became a Fire Rasengan. Sasuke did not have Wind Release, so he needed to find another path for developing and applying the Rasengan. That made him think of Tai Chi, though it required extremely precise Chakra control. Fortunately, he had practiced it before.

"Hm? Water and fire nature transformations? But what is the point of doing that?" The Third Hokage spoke. Sasuke could now be said to possess the combat strength of a Chunin. Combined with his intelligence, he was an elite Chunin. In three years, he might become a Jonin.

Sasuke began exerting more force with both arms, drawing his hands together as he prepared to make the Water-Fire Rasengans collide. "Isn't that too reckless? A clash between water and fire attributes is extremely dangerous." Kakashi began to worry, though everyone wanted to see the outcome. Still, they were already prepared to intervene.

Water and fire collided. At the same time, all four Rasengans became connected. The force was too great, and neither Naruto nor Sasuke could fully control it anymore. "Ninja Art! Water-Fire Rasengan Break!" Sasuke suddenly twisted and thrust both hands forward. The two Rasengans erupted completely—but toward Naruto. Interwoven water and fire formed a spiraling red-and-blue pillar, knocking Naruto's two Rasengans away before smashing into his chest and sending him skidding across the lake's surface.

Sasuke had not used much Chakra, so the spectators did not move. Naruto first coughed up blood, then rolled across the lake while being propelled backward. When he finally stopped, it was not merely a simple impact attack. As it struck Naruto, the water and fire consumed each other at the same time, creating high-temperature steam. If Sasuke had used too much Chakra, Naruto could easily have been boiled alive. The intense heat of Fire Style Ninjutsu and the impact force of Water Style Ninjutsu had combined perfectly.

The clothing over Naruto's chest had already been torn apart, leaving his chest a complete mess. "Cough, cough... Sasuke, you really are amazing. Then take my final move." As he spoke, Naruto wiped his thumb across the corner of his mouth, then drew on his palm. Sasuke immediately realized this would not do—Naruto was about to use the Summoning Technique.

"Genjutsu! Feather Illusion Technique!" Sasuke formed hand seals far faster and directly used genjutsu. Naruto fell for it easily; this was his weakness. This genjutsu was also a D-rank genjutsu, one that simply induced hypnosis and required very few hand seals.

Naruto fell backward onto the water's surface. Sasuke immediately rushed forward, took out a kunai, and placed it against Naruto's throat before waking him.

"Hey, Naruto, wake up. It's over." Sasuke patted Naruto's face and woke him.

"Huh? It's over? What's over?" Naruto woke up groggily. When he saw Sasuke holding a kunai to his throat, he finally remembered that they had been in the middle of a match.

"Ah! Sasuke, you're too sneaky! You actually used genjutsu!" Naruto suddenly understood and loudly accused Sasuke of being too sneaky.

"You were about to use the Summoning Technique. I can't handle that, so I just ended it in one shot. There was no other way—I still can't beat that giant toad." Sasuke stood up and walked toward the lakeshore.

"Ah, no! You cheated! Let's do it again!" Naruto stubbornly chased after him. Kakashi and the others also walked over. Tsunade said, "Enough, Naruto. You lost. Even if you had used the Summoning Technique, it would have been useless. Your hand seals are not as fast as Sasuke's. That is how ninja fight. No matter how powerful you are, it means nothing if you cannot use it. Train hard."

"Hmph, I lost today. Sasuke, you truly are the one I've always been chasing. When you return from training, we'll fight again," Naruto said with high spirits.

"Sure. I'll wait for our next match." Sasuke naturally knew how strong Naruto would become in the future, but he did not believe he would become weaker than Naruto. His three Chakra attributes gave him countless possibilities, and he was also full of confidence in his Sharingan. In three years, we'll fight again.

"Sasuke, you already possess the strength of an elite Chunin. You may leave the village to train on your own, but you must be more careful. Outside, strength is not all that matters. There are often schemes and plots as well. Be cautious," Tsunade, as the Fifth Hokage, naturally had to offer some advice.

"I understand. Please rest assured, Hokage. I'll be careful. That is also the purpose of my training." Sasuke naturally would not underestimate the outside world. If one was careless, even an ordinary person could kill them. That was the world of Naruto.

Everyone dispersed. Sasuke and Sakura strolled back together. Sakura had now become the Fifth Hokage's disciple shortly after Tsunade's inauguration ceremony. "Sakura, three years will pass quickly. You need to make the most of your time studying. Don't let Naruto and me leave you too far behind."

"Hmph, maybe in three years, I'll surpass both of you." Sakura suddenly said forcefully. But after saying that, she ran off. After taking several steps, she stood with her back to Sasuke and said, "Be careful. I won't see you off. I'll wait for you to come back." Then she sped away. Sasuke smiled faintly when he heard her.