Naruto vs. Sasuke

At Konoha Hospital, Kakashi lay quietly in his hospital bed while Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura watched Tsunade treat him with eager anticipation.

Kakashi's condition had left every doctor in Konoha Hospital helpless, yet Tsunade cured him with ease in just a few moves.

When Kakashi woke up and saw Tsunade, he said in surprise, "It's you. I never expected Lady Tsunade to return!"

Tsunade mocked him, "And here I thought you were a genius. Turns out you got taken down by two little brats!"

At this point, Tsunade did not have much of an impression of the Akatsuki. She only thought they were one of those mercenary organizations that used to be everywhere and did not take them seriously.

Cold sweat covered Kakashi's face. "I'm sorry."

"Ah, Lady Tsunade, Lady Tsunade..." Suddenly, an urgent voice called out as Might Guy rushed over. He was extremely excited when he saw Tsunade.

"Lady Tsunade, please come and look at my beloved student!"

"Rock Lee, the one Naruto told me about?" Tsunade's expression also turned serious. On the way to the hospital, Naruto had told her about Rock Lee.

After arriving at the ward, Tsunade examined Rock Lee's condition. His injuries were even worse than she had anticipated.

Though Rock Lee's condition stirred up towering waves in her heart, Tsunade smiled on the surface and said to Naruto, "Naruto, isn't Kakashi being discharged? Aren't you his student? There's nothing more to do here. You can go celebrate Kakashi's discharge together."

Naruto glanced at Rock Lee, then nodded lightly and left. They really treated him like a child who knew nothing of the world. From Awen's memories, he knew perfectly well that Rock Lee's condition was grave. He would not be able to become a ninja in the future. Even with surgery, there was only a fifty percent chance of recovery. The other fifty percent meant death.

"Lady Tsunade, is my condition... not very good?" Seeing Tsunade's serious expression, Rock Lee immediately changed his expression after Naruto left.

Tsunade told Rock Lee everything about his condition with great seriousness, including how severe it was. As a medical ninja, she had encountered too many situations like this before. Yet no matter how reluctant she was, she still had to tell him the truth. Even if people cursed her for being heartless, she still had to do it.

After Naruto returned to Kakashi's ward, he found that Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke were all gone. Only after asking a nurse did he learn that Kakashi had already been discharged and left long ago.

"What the heck? I was even thinking of having Kakashi-sensei treat us to a celebration!" Naruto muttered as he walked out of the hospital.

At the hospital entrance, Sasuke stood in place with his hands in his pockets, looking cold and detached. When he saw Naruto appear, that indifferent expression changed slightly.

"Sasuke, why are you here? I just asked a nurse, and she said you had all left. Where are Kakashi-sensei and Sakura? Sasuke, were you waiting for me on purpose?" Naruto asked.

"I was waiting for you on purpose, Naruto," Sasuke said. "Because I want to fight you."

Naruto's expression instantly changed. Sasuke's calm words carried complete seriousness. He was not joking.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke said solemnly, "I want to know exactly how far apart I am from you, you dead last. Ever since what happened in the Land of Waves, I've wanted to fight you!"

After Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki appeared, Sasuke often woke from nightmares. His mind kept returning to that night of the clan massacre, to Itachi Uchiha's nightmare-like voice endlessly echoing in his head.

During the time Naruto and Jiraiya had gone out in search of Tsunade, four ninjas wearing Sound Ninja forehead protectors had infiltrated Konoha and met with him. They were Orochimaru's subordinates, and they had defeated him.

It was only after his encounter with those four Sound Ninja that Sasuke understood he could no longer remain in the village and live such a peaceful, tranquil life. If this continued, he would never grow stronger, let alone take revenge on Itachi Uchiha.

Naruto took a deep breath. "Fine, Sasuke. Let's go to the training ground."

The training ground was where Kakashi had tested Team 7. Sasuke and Naruto stared at each other, both serious and solemn, while the green grass swayed in the breeze.

Whoosh!

It was as if that were a signal. Naruto and Sasuke charged at each other at the same moment, their arms colliding.

The Two-Tomoe Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes flickered with an eerie light. Naruto's pupils widened as he fell under the Sharingan's genjutsu, but in the next instant, he forcefully broke free and grabbed Sasuke's incoming fist.

"What?!" Sasuke found it hard to accept, his expression turning grim. He knew Naruto could break his Sharingan genjutsu, and he had never expected to defeat Naruto with it alone. He had only wanted to interfere with him, yet Naruto broke free in less than a second.

That surprised thought lasted only an instant before Sasuke swept his leg toward Naruto's lower body.

Naruto was no longer the same as before. During his training with Jiraiya, aside from learning about summons, he had spent even more time sparring with Jiraiya. If this had been back in the Land of Waves, Naruto definitely would have been knocked down by Sasuke's kick!

Naruto took two steps back and released Sasuke's fist at the same time. Sasuke seized the chance to pounce again, engaging Naruto in hand-to-hand combat between ninjas!

At first, Sasuke's attacks were fierce because he had seized the initiative. But Naruto began to shift from defense to offense. More importantly, Naruto had not even used the Shadow Clone Jutsu, yet he was already suppressing Sasuke in a one-on-one fight.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!

After seizing an opportunity to pull away from Naruto, Sasuke unleashed a ninjutsu, ruthlessly condensing a massive fireball and launching it at Naruto.

Wind Release Rasengan!

With a casual throw, Naruto sent the Wind Release Rasengan flying. It easily pierced through and dispersed Sasuke's Great Fireball Jutsu before continuing toward Sasuke.

After using the Great Fireball Jutsu, Sasuke had already formed the hand seals for Chidori. His Two-Tomoe Sharingan caught sight of the Wind Release Rasengan, but there was no time for any further reaction. At this moment, he had only one choice.

Boom...

Sasuke's Chidori collided with the Wind Release Rasengan Naruto had thrown. As the energies crashed together with a deafening bang, Sasuke was blown away by the enormous impact and slammed onto the ground.

"Damn it, so the gap between us has already become this huge!" Sasuke forced himself to his feet. The explosion of Chidori's energy had left his right arm numb.

"You lost, Sasuke." Naruto's voice was calm, yet tinged with worry. The time for Sasuke to leave Konoha was drawing closer and closer.

Naruto did not keep it to himself and instead said directly, "Sasuke, I know you want revenge. You want to leave Konoha and seek Orochimaru for power, but I won't let you go. Orochimaru is extremely dangerous. The reason he wants you to go is to take over your body. I won't let you throw your life away!"

Sasuke did not answer. The Two-Tomoe Sharingan faded from his eyes. Naruto's words had neither frightened him nor changed his mind. He was Sasuke Uchiha. He had his own thoughts and considerations, and he would judge matters according to his own circumstances.