A few days later, at the Valley of the End on the border of the Land of Fire, Hyuga Kei stood atop Madara Uchiha's stone statue, quietly waiting for the two to arrive.
This was where Madara Uchiha and Senju Hashirama had fought their decisive battle years ago. The colossal statues facing each other were proof commemorating their clash.
Hyuga Kei watched the two figures running in from the distance. The one fleeing ahead was Second Pillar, while the one relentlessly pursuing him from behind was Uzumaki Naruto.
Here, the scene of best friends breaking apart would play out once more. Beneath the moonlight, the young couple began fighting.
They started with a taijutsu duel. Later, Naruto entered his Tailed Beast Cloak state, while Sasuke entered the first stage of his cursed seal.
However, it was clear that Naruto surpassed Sasuke in both strength and speed. Sasuke's Sharingan could no longer keep up with Naruto's movements.
Midway through the battle, Sasuke's Sharingan evolved into Three Tomoe. Accordingly, he could draw upon more of the cursed seal's power. A pair of fleshy, scale-covered wings grew from his back, and black scales spread across his body.
But Naruto likewise used even more power. Not only did he wield the Nine-Tails chakra more skillfully, he also used the Uzumaki Clan's Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Finally, shouting each other's names, Sasuke's Mourning Chidori collided with Naruto's Crimson Rasengan. Sasuke narrowly won, and Naruto collapsed unconscious.
Sasuke bent down and stared intently at Naruto's face, but he could not bring himself to strike the killing blow.
Sasuke forced himself to stand, only to see a dark figure slowly approaching from afar. Under the moonlight, he could vaguely make out the newcomer's appearance.
"Did Orochimaru send you to pick me up?" Sasuke asked.
"Who I am is