If Naruto Were Like This, Sasuke Wouldn't Have Lost Unfairly

In the stands.

"Good! Nicely done! Beat him up!" Seeing how valiant his dream self was, Naruto Uzumaki jumped up from his seat in excitement, cheering and bouncing around, practically wanting to applaud Dream Naruto.

Naruto's stylish counterattack was immensely satisfying to watch, especially when Sasuke was forced into a frantic retreat. Naruto felt thoroughly vindicated.

"That's what you get for looking down on people! Dream me isn't someone to mess with either, haha!"

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Naruto Uzumaki detected! Emotion Points +200!]

Sakura stared at the wildly excited Naruto with black lines across her face and said speechlessly, "Hey, hey, Naruto, do you really have to get this excited...?"

Still, she had to admit that what she was seeing was indeed astonishing.

Sasuke had actually been pushed into danger by Naruto!

She looked toward the screen and saw Sasuke's hand gripping the kunai trembling slightly. Clearly, that forced defense just now had drained quite a bit of his strength.

Meanwhile, Naruto stood calmly not far away, and he even looked a little apologetic, as though he were worried about hurting Sasuke.

The contrast left Sakura utterly bewildered.

"Is that really Naruto?"

She murmured to herself. When had that dead-last idiot Naruto ever beaten Sasuke into such a sorry state?

Just as expected.

Kakashi's gaze flickered as he watched the battle, silently commenting to himself.

Shuriken Shadow Clone... It seems Naruto, who grew up under Teacher Minato's guidance, really isn't some dead last who can't do anything.

On the screen.

Sasuke steadied himself. Looking at Naruto's apologetic expression only made him even angrier.

Damn it!

The Naruto in reality must be laughing at him outside right now, wasn't he?

The thought of Naruto outside gleefully enjoying his humiliation ignited Sasuke's fury.

He secretly swore that he would turn things around. He absolutely could not lose like this!

"Naruto, you've got some skill," Sasuke said in a low voice, the fighting spirit in his eyes growing fiercer. "But I won't be careless from now on!"

Before he had even finished speaking, he suddenly opened his eyes wide and activated his Sharingan. His hands rapidly formed seals as he took a deep breath, gathering scorching chakra in his chest.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

After finishing the seals, Sasuke opened his mouth and blasted out a massive fireball.

Scorching flames surged forth, instantly painting the space ahead crimson. The fireball swept toward Naruto with a searing heat wave.

Facing the blazing fireball rushing at him, Naruto's expression sharpened.

Rather than retreating, he planted his feet firmly and rapidly formed seals, the nature of the chakra within his body changing at high speed.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Naruto puffed out his cheeks and forcefully exhaled a savage gale.

The howling wind blades met the towering flames. Wind fed the fire, and fire borrowed the wind's might. In an instant, the blaze intensified!

"Not good!" Sasuke's pupils contracted.

He had thought Naruto would dodge, never expecting him to use Wind Release against his Fire Release.

Normally, wind strengthened fire. This move looked unwise, but Naruto clearly had tremendous confidence in his chakra control.

The gale Naruto exhaled suddenly engulfed Sasuke's fireball, and the flames did indeed surge with the wind.

However, Naruto's Wind Release chakra was apparently anything but ordinary. In an instant, those wind blades transformed into several vortices, slicing apart and disrupting the fireball.

"Boom!"

With a muffled explosion, the firelight burst apart. Amid rolling heat waves, the Great Fireball Technique was forcibly scattered by Naruto's Wind Release, its flames turning into countless extinguished sparks that drifted down in every direction.

His Fire Release broken, Sasuke's expression changed. Before he could react, Naruto's figure shot out of the smoke like lightning.

Sasuke hurriedly drew his kunai to block, only to discover that the attacker was merely one of Naruto's Shadow Clones.

"Poof!"

The kunai pierced the Shadow Clone, instantly dispersing it into smoke.

But Sasuke had no time to catch his breath before a fierce gust struck from behind him.

This is bad!

He spun around sharply and saw another orange figure already closing in. It was Naruto's real body.

Caught off guard, Sasuke hastily raised his arms to defend himself, but Naruto's airborne kick had already slammed viciously into his crossed arms.

A tremendous force crashed into him. Sasuke let out a muffled groan and was sent flying several meters backward, smashing into a thick tree trunk before dropping heavily to the ground.

Dust rose from the ground. Sasuke lay sprawled there, his arms numb and aching, while a sweetness rose in his throat and he nearly spat out blood.

He tried hard to get back up, but he could not summon even a trace of strength from his body.

That close-quarters clash had been too intense. He had barely seen when Naruto created a Shadow Clone or when he closed in to attack before he had already been defeated.

"I... I lost?"

Sasuke stared wide-eyed at Naruto running toward him in disbelief.

In just a few minutes, he had not only lost, but had been completely suppressed by Naruto from beginning to end, without any ability to fight back.

The feeling of being utterly crushed left Sasuke's mind blank.

He had never dreamed that he would lose to Naruto, much less lose so cleanly and decisively.

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Sasuke Uchiha detected! Emotion Points +800!]

"Sasuke, are you okay?!"

Naruto had already run over to Sasuke.

He bent down and held out a hand to help Sasuke up, his face showing a mixture of worry and regret. "Sorry, I got too into the fight and didn't hold back in time... Are you hurt anywhere?"

Sasuke looked up at Naruto's outstretched hand but did not take it.

He had yet to recover from the shock of defeat. He simply sat there blankly, his chest heaving violently.

"I... actually... couldn't beat Naruto?"

He murmured to himself, utterly lost for a moment.

Powerful frustration and absurdity filled his mind, making him question his entire life.

This dream had overturned his understanding of who was stronger and weaker, completely reversing what he had once considered an unquestionable fact: that he was stronger than Naruto.

Sasuke's emotions were a tangled mess. His face alternated between pale and flushed, and it took him a long time to recover.

Seeing Sasuke staring blankly into space, Naruto thought he had been hurt by the kick. He grew even more uneasy and asked anxiously, "Sasuke, how do you feel? Is it serious? It's all my fault. I accidentally used too much strength..."

His tone was full of sincere apology. He seemed entirely unconcerned with winning or losing, worrying only that his friend had been hurt.

Only after a long while did Sasuke barely come back to himself.

He gritted his teeth and shakily climbed to his feet, waving a hand as he said, "I... I'm fine."

Though he put on a brave front, the complicated look in his eyes betrayed the turmoil in his heart.

Not far away, Sakura had already run over. She watched Sasuke with a face full of concern, afraid that he had been seriously injured.

But Sasuke merely brushed aside the hand she reached out to support him, staring fixedly at Naruto without saying a word for a long time.

Seeing this, Naruto tactfully withdrew his own hand as well. Still looking apologetic, he said softly, "That's good. Oh, right, Sasuke..."

He hesitated, seeming somewhat confused.

"During the fight just now, you even used your Sharingan. Why didn't you use any genjutsu? I was on guard against it for so long."

"Genjutsu?" Sasuke froze at the question, his mind still somewhat muddled. "What genjutsu?"

He asked instinctively.

The stands fell silent.

Everyone had been deeply shaken by the fierce battle just now, and no one could speak for a long while.

A few seconds later, waves of astonished exclamations finally erupted.

Naruto stared blankly at the screen, which had already gone dark. Only after a long while did he come back to his senses.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he murmured softly, "I'm... that strong?"

The power and skill his dream self had displayed just now had almost overturned Naruto's understanding of himself.

Wind Release, all kinds of applications of Multiple Shadow Clone, taijutsu...

The Naruto in the dream seemed proficient in everything.

Sasuke had actually been beaten up by his dream self like some dead last.

The reversal left Naruto shocked and conflicted, and he could not calm down for a long time.

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Naruto Uzumaki detected! Emotion Points +300!]

"That's unbelievable..." Sakura had recovered by now as well.

Thinking back to scene after scene of Naruto fighting Sasuke in the dream, she still felt as though she were dreaming.

"Was that really Naruto? He actually suppressed Sasuke for the entire fight..."

Kakashi slowly let out a breath and looked toward Naruto, who sat dazed in the stands. His eyes held both admiration and reflection.

I truly never expected this...

The Naruto in the dream not only knew Teacher Minato's techniques, but his fighting style even carried traces of Lord Jiraiya.

If Sasuke lost to someone like that, it wasn't unfair at all.