The atmosphere on the battlefield grew heavy, almost suffocating.
When Sasuke's cold words cut through the air, Sakura finally couldn't restrain herself anymore. Her voice cracked with fury and heartbreak as she shouted:
"Uchiha Sasuke! Stop talking about Naruto like that!"
Her fists trembled as she glared at him. "You're the one who's changed. You're not the boy I knew—you've become… a devil. All you're doing now is venting your hatred! You think I can't see through you, Sasuke?"
For just a flicker of a second, Sasuke's brows furrowed. The sincerity in Sakura's voice, her raw anguish, reminded him of the bond he had once chosen to sever. But just as quickly, his expression hardened again.
"Oh? So that's what you think?" His voice was flat, almost disinterested.
Whatever he had once felt toward Sakura—her devotion, her persistence—had long since been burned away in the fires of his vengeance. He no longer cared about Team 7's bonds. His path was his own, carved in hatred and shadow.
Naruto stepped forward, cutting through the rising tension. His voice was calm but firm.
"Tsunade-baachan… please, have everyone fall back. This fight—Sasuke's fight—leave it to me."
Tsunade's eyes lingered on him, weighing his determination against the danger she sensed from Sasuke. But Naruto's expression carried the kind of conviction only someone who bore the weight of countless battles could hold. She exhaled slowly.
"Alright."
Turning sharply, she barked orders to the shinobi around them: "All units, retreat! Clear the field—do not interfere with Naruto's battle!"
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
The Konoha shinobi responded in unison, their movements swift as they pulled back, giving the two rivals the space they needed.
Hinata lingered for just a moment longer, her pale eyes locked on Naruto. Her chest tightened with worry. Even knowing how strong he had become, even trusting him more than anyone else, she couldn't help the fear that welled inside her.
Then, a gentle hand touched her shoulder. Ino's voice, uncharacteristically soft, reached her.
"Hinata. Believe in him. He'll be fine. He's not the weak dead-last from the Academy anymore—he's the strongest one of us all."
Hinata's lips parted, her throat tight, but she nodded. "...Thank you, Ino."
Nearby, Sakura clenched her fists, unwilling to retreat. Every instinct screamed at her to stay, to fight alongside Naruto, to stop Sasuke no matter what. But when Naruto turned and met her eyes, silently urging her back, her resolve crumbled. With trembling reluctance, she obeyed.
Kakashi stepped forward last, his single eye watching Naruto closely. His voice carried the weight of a teacher, a comrade, and a man who had lost too much already.
"...Naruto. If you need anything—anything at all—say the word. I'll back you up."
Naruto smiled, a reassuring grin that reached his eyes. "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei."
But deep down, Naruto knew this fight couldn't involve anyone else. Too many would be caught in the storm. And Sasuke—his brother, his rival, his friend—had to be faced by him alone.
Sasuke's gaze shifted to his own comrades.
"Jūgo. Suigetsu. Karin. Stay back."
"This battle is mine and Naruto's."
The three of them exchanged glances. Suigetsu scratched his head, groaning. "Tch… why does it always have to come down to those two lunatics? Staying here's just asking to die."
"I agree with Suigetsu," Karin added quickly, hugging herself nervously. "If we stick around, we're dead."
Jūgo, calm as ever, simply nodded. "Then we follow."
With that, the three of them turned, already preparing to retreat toward Sasuke's trail.
But Tsunade's sharp voice rang out once more: "Don't let them escape! After daring to step into Konoha, they think they can just leave?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
The Konoha shinobi surged forward in pursuit.
Suigetsu's face twisted in misery. "Damn it! We're dead, we're dead, we're dead—why did I ever agree to this?!"
"Shut up and keep moving!" Karin snapped, though her voice was nearly breaking.
Jūgo simply pressed on in silence.
But Sasuke didn't look back. Not once. His mind was consumed entirely by Naruto, by the battle that had been inevitable since the day he walked away from Konoha.
At last, Naruto and Sasuke reached the Valley of the End.
The statues of Hashirama and Madara loomed, silent guardians of history, staring down at the two who now stood where they once had. Water roared below, churning violently as if anticipating the clash to come.
Naruto leapt onto Hashirama's statue. Sasuke rose to Madara's. The symmetry was undeniable.
They stared at each other across the divide. For a moment, time seemed to fold back three years, when they had last fought here as boys.
Sasuke's eyes flicked upward to the sky, a haunted look crossing his face. "Back then… we stood in these same places."
Naruto's voice was steady, tinged with quiet determination. "Yeah. Three years ago, Uzumaki Naruto was just a fool chasing after his friend. Time changes everything."
Sasuke's gaze hardened. "What happened to you in those years, Naruto? You're not the same idiot who wouldn't give up, no matter what. People don't change this much without… something breaking them."
Naruto slipped his hands into his pockets, a faint smile curving his lips. "You've changed, too, Sasuke. We both have. That's what life does to people—breaks you, rebuilds you, changes how you see everything."
But only Naruto knew the real truth—that his very soul was different now, carrying knowledge from another life. A truth he could never tell.
Sasuke's eyes burned with his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. "Three years ago, I couldn't kill you. This time, I won't show mercy."
Naruto's grin sharpened. "Then come at me. Let's see just how strong those eyes of yours really are."
The Eternal Mangekyō flared, and chakra surged around Sasuke.
Susanoo erupted, its colossal frame glowing with a fierce blue radiance. It grew quickly, forming into its armored fourth form, a titanic warrior of chakra.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Sasuke's voice thundered from within, "your arrogance ends here."
The Susanoo raised its bow, conjuring a massive arrow of condensed chakra. With a single release, the arrow howled through the sky, splitting the air as it rocketed toward Naruto.
Naruto's hands clapped together. His eyes glowed as he drew deeply on the Dragon Vein's chakra—vast, ancient power that resonated with the natural world itself.
A spectral dragon's head surged forth, roaring as it unleashed an energy cannon from its maw.
The two forces collided midair.
Boom!
The shockwave ripped through the valley, flattening trees, churning the river into violent waves. The arrow veered off course, crashing into the forest and obliterating everything for hundreds of meters.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "That… wasn't Kurama's power. What are you hiding, Naruto?"
Naruto smirked faintly. "You'll find out soon enough. Think of it as a new kind of Sage Mode."
They leapt skyward at the same time, fists and chakra dragons clashing with Susanoo's massive arms. Explosions thundered across the valley, water erupting into towering geysers.
But Sasuke's thoughts were razor-sharp. "If I let this drag out, Naruto will wear me down. I need to finish this quickly."
Closing his eyes for a heartbeat, Sasuke poured every ounce of his pupil power into Susanoo. The chakra giant began to shift, armor layering over its form, its aura intensifying.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. He could feel the change instantly. "...So you're going for it. Perfect Susanoo, huh?"
He didn't try to stop him. Part of him wanted to see it—wanted to crush Sasuke's greatest weapon head-on.
Blue armor sealed into place. Susanoo straightened, now towering over the valley like a god of war. Its power was suffocating, its presence enough to make the air vibrate.
Sasuke's voice shook with madness. "Hahaha… This popowerItbeyondd anything I imagined. With this, I am invincible! I am the strongest shinobi alive!"
Naruto grimaced. "...Tch. You really are crazy, Sasuke."
The Perfect Susanoo drew its colossal sword, raising it high.
"Watch closely, Naruto!" Sasuke roared. "This is the power that will erase you!"
The blade swung.
A single stroke cleaved through the land, carving a bottomless trench hundreds of meters long. The force alone sent shockwaves tearing through the valley.
Naruto's instincts screamed. If he had taken that head-on, even his body might not have withstood it.
Still, his smile returned. "Fine then. Time for me to stop holding back."
He unleashed the Dragon Vein's chakra fully. The power poured from him, resonating with the world itself. A colossal blue dragon, a hundred meters long, coiled into existence, its roar shaking the heavens.
The valley itself trembled.
For the first time, Sasuke felt a flicker of unease. "...What is that power?"
Naruto raised his hand, his eyes locked onto Sasuke's. "Sasuke… this ends here!"
The Dragon roared as it surged forward, meeting the Perfect Susanoo head-on.
The clash was apocalyptic.
Dragon fangs snapped against Susanoo's blade. Energy detonated outward in blinding light, the sound of their collision echoing like thunder across the Land of Fire.
And as the dust swallowed them both, neither boy yielded an inch.
Naruto's breath came steady, his heart firm. This wasn't just about strength. It was about saving the friend who had lost his way.
Sasuke's eyes burned with hatred and desperation, his soul convinced that only through destruction could he find peace.
The Valley of the End shook as their powers tore at the world itself, each strike deciding not just their fates—but the future of shinobi.
And neither was willing to back down.
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