"Raaah..." The instant the gravel exploded beneath his feet, pale gold waves of chakra surged around Naruto.
He drove his left foot into the ground and shot toward Sasuke like a cannonball, his right fist wrapped in the Nine-Tails' savage force. Tiny sparks crackled as it tore through the air. "Sasuke, take this! Vortex: Super Naruto Mighty Whirlwind Fist!"
This punch was thirty percent stronger than it had been that morning. Even Choji, watching from a distance, couldn't help covering his mouth. "Wait, Naruto's going all out?! Even my Multi-Size Technique might not match that."
Kiba stared, dumbfounded. "That's his own teammate. Brutal." Akamaru trembled. The Nine-Tails was terrifying, after all.
The others had grown somewhat numb to it and quietly waited for the result.
"You're still a long way from beating me."
Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan spinning rapidly as the movements of Naruto's contracting muscles trailed across his vision.
Instead of retreating, he advanced. A flick of his wrist sent his kunai tracing a silver arc. He slipped past the fist, and the blade skimmed Naruto's forearm, drawing a string of blood droplets.
"Too slow!" With a cold snort, he spun into a side kick, driving his boot straight toward Naruto's ribs. Naruto blocked it head-on with his arm, and the dull impact left both their arms numb.
"Ha!" Naruto used the recoil to hop half a step backward. A basketball-sized Rasengan had already formed in his palm, the blue mass of chakra humming as it ripped through the air.
"Take this!" Sasuke's gaze sharpened, and his hands rapidly formed hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Flames instantly swallowed half the sky, but the moment they struck the Rasengan, its spinning chakra shredded them into a shower of sparks. Naruto's lips curled upward. "Heh-heh."
Amid