End It Fast

Sasuke staggered toward the arena, every step feeling like he was treading on blades. He shoved Sakura's supporting hand away.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried out, her voice choked with tears. She wanted to go after him, but Kakashi reached out and stopped her.

"Let him go," Kakashi said in a low voice. "This is his own battle."

Sasuke's opponent, Akato Yoroi, was a Konoha Genin—and in truth, a Sound spy working for Orochimaru. He had already been waiting in the arena. Seeing Sasuke look ready to collapse at any moment, he wore a contemptuous smile.

"Match... begin!" Gekko Hayate announced weakly.

Akato Yoroi did not hesitate in the slightest. He formed hand seals, his body turning into an afterimage as he charged forward. He specialized in absorbing his opponent's chakra; Sasuke, in his current state, was the perfect target.

Sasuke barely raised his head, his scarlet Sharingan turning sluggishly as it tracked his opponent's movements. He wanted to counterattack, but the Curse Mark on his neck began to burn at that very moment. Black patterns spread across his skin, and the searing pain made his body go limp. He nearly dropped to his knees.

"Now!" Akato Yoroi's palm was about to press against Sasuke's chest.

In the stands, Kakashi clenched his fist.

At that moment, an image flashed through Sasuke's mind—Naruto Uzumaki subduing him barehanded. That unreasonable charge, that joint destruction precise to the smallest margin, that method of dismantling the human body as though it were made of parts.

Humiliation ignited within him like fire.

"Aaaagh!"

Sasuke let out a suppressed roar, not from pain, but rage. He forcibly twisted his body, abandoning every graceful evasive maneuver, and slammed his shoulder straight into Akato Yoroi's arm.

Bang!

A dull impact rang out. Akato Yoroi felt as though his palm had struck an iron plate. A brutal force rebounded through him, numbing his entire arm.

Sasuke did not stop. Using the incomplete Warhammer-style Taijutsu he had copied with his Sharingan, he launched a frenzied counterattack. He gave up ninjutsu, gave up the fighting rhythm he knew so well, leaving only the most primitive and savage style of trading injury for injury.

He swung a fist at Akato Yoroi's face. His opponent tilted his head aside to evade it, and Sasuke's punch missed—but his knee was already driving viciously into the man's abdomen.

Akato Yoroi staggered back in pain, but Sasuke followed him like a shadow. The Curse Mark on his neck flickered between light and dark. Each wave of agony made the scarlet in his eyes burn brighter and his movements grow more vicious.

This was no longer a duel between Genin. It was a savage, beast-like tearing match.

In the end, Sasuke caught an opening and chopped the side of Akato Yoroi's neck with his hand. Akato Yoroi's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious.

"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha!"

Sasuke stood where he was, gasping for breath, his body swaying unsteadily. He had won, but it had been an utterly miserable victory. He turned and looked toward Naruto Uzumaki in the stands.

Naruto Uzumaki merely watched him calmly, then turned to Kakashi beside him.

"The safety on this weapon isn't very reliable," Naruto Uzumaki said, his words reaching Kakashi clearly. "It needs reinforcement."

Kakashi's cheek twitched. He was rendered speechless.

The next names appeared on the screen.

[Naruto Uzumaki vs Kiba Inuzuka]

"Whoa! It's finally my turn!" Kiba shouted excitedly as he leaped down from the stands. Akamaru on his head barked as well, looking equally fired up.

"Hey, Naruto Uzumaki!" Kiba pointed at Naruto Uzumaki below and grinned broadly. "Never thought a dead last like you would make it this far! Watch me take you down in ten seconds!"

Kiba's provocation drew a wave of laughter. In most people's minds, Naruto Uzumaki was still that troublemaking failure.

Naruto Uzumaki said nothing and slowly walked down into the arena.

"Don't get cocky, Kiba." Shino pushed up his sunglasses. "His chakra is very wrong."

"Relax, relax!" Kiba waved him off carelessly.

Gekko Hayate raised a hand. "Match... begin!"

Before his words had even faded, Kiba and Akamaru pounced.

"Ninja Art: Beast Man Clone!"

"Fang Over Fang!"

Two rapidly spinning tornadoes came from the left and right, carrying shrieking gusts that tore through the air as they rushed straight at Naruto Uzumaki.

Anko raised an eyebrow in the stands. "Not bad speed."

Asuma nodded as well. "Kiba's explosive power really is impressive."

But Naruto Uzumaki did not move.

He neither formed hand seals nor dodged. He simply stood there quietly, allowing the two deadly tornadoes to close in.

"What is he doing?!" Even Neji's Byakugan could not decipher Naruto Uzumaki's intentions.

Just before Fang Over Fang's claws were about to tear Naruto Uzumaki's body apart—

Naruto Uzumaki moved.

His body shifted slightly to the side, precisely avoiding the spinning cores of Kiba and Akamaru. Then he leaned forward, dropped his shoulder, and unleashed his strength.

An elbow strike.

There was no chakra enhancement whatsoever, only pure physical force. From the most vicious angle, it smashed into the exposed spine on Kiba's back as he spun at high speed.

Thud.

The sound was muffled, like a Hammer striking flesh.

Kiba's rotation stopped dead. He did not even have time to scream before he and Akamaru were sent tumbling through the air like a pair of broken sacks. They slammed heavily into the wall and instantly lost consciousness.

The entire arena fell silent as death.

Everyone's mouths hung open, unable to believe what they had just seen.

Fast.

Too fast.

Less than fifteen seconds had passed from the start of the match to its end.

Gekko Hayate was stunned as well. After coughing several times, he stammered, "W-Winner... Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto Uzumaki turned around expressionlessly and walked out of the arena, as though he had merely swatted a fly to death.

In the Jonin section of the stands, the atmosphere turned heavy.

"That just now..." Kurenai's expression became solemn. "That was a pure killing technique. The timing, angle, and force—there was not a single unnecessary movement."

Asuma exhaled a ring of smoke, but it could not hide the shock on his face. "How does he know that? Kakashi, did you teach him?"

Kakashi gave a dry, bitter laugh. "I can't even do that myself."

Asuma patted Kakashi on the shoulder and forced an ugly smile. "Kakashi, I really envy you. You have such an outstanding student."

"You want him?" Kakashi answered weakly. "He's yours."

Naruto Uzumaki returned to the contestants' waiting area, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes. The other examinees instinctively moved farther away from him. That invisible pressure made it hard to breathe.

Footsteps stopped in front of him.

Naruto Uzumaki opened his eyes and saw Rock Lee in his green jumpsuit. Beneath those thick eyebrows were eyes burning with flame.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Lee's voice boomed. "Your taijutsu is incredibly impressive! Please, you must spar with me—"

"Your taijutsu is excellent." Naruto Uzumaki cut him off. His ice-blue eyes swept over Lee from head to toe, as though assessing an object. "Your will is worthy of recognition as well."

Lee froze.

Naruto Uzumaki continued in the same calm, flat tone. "The makings of a qualified Berserker."

Berserker? Lee did not understand what the word meant, but that did not stop him from sensing the affirmation contained within it.

"Don't die without worth."

After saying that, Naruto Uzumaki ignored him and closed his eyes again.

It did not sound encouraging at all, yet Lee's blood instantly began to boil. He felt that this was recognition from one strong man to another! A form of motivation on an even higher level!

"Ooooh! I can feel it! The flames of youth are burning!" Lee struck his classic passionate pose, then turned around, ready to face his battle with Gaara.

In the corner, Shikamaru yawned as he watched everything unfold.

"This is getting... more and more troublesome."

Compared to Naruto Uzumaki, even that lunatic Gaara seemed a little more normal.