"Battle..."
"Sakura Haruno!"
Naruto walked confidently into the arena, but as he looked at the girl walking towards him, a strange sense of dislocation washed over him.
There was a time when he had been hopelessly infatuated with her.
But now, looking at her, she felt... unfamiliar.
"Sakura-chan, I didn't expect to be fighting you..."
Sakura tightened her gloves, her expression determined. "I didn't expect it either, Naruto. But don't think I'll go easy on you."
"Oh! I know!" Naruto grinned, scratching the back of his head. "You've gotten way stronger since you started training with Kurenai-sensei, right?"
"But I won't lose!"
They stood opposite each other, teammates yet strangers, bound by history but separated by growth.
The proctor signaled the start.
Sakura wasted no time. Her hands formed the Ram seal instantly.
"Genjutsu: Cherry Blossom Blizzard!"
In an instant...
The world dissolved into a swirl of pink. Thousands of cherry blossom petals fell from the sky, obscuring Naruto's vision and burying him in a storm of flowers.
However.
Naruto didn't panic. He stood his ground, a confident smirk playing on his lips—the result of hellish training with two legendary perverts.
"This level of genjutsu won't work on me anymore..."
"Sakura-chan!"
"Kai!"
*Buzz—*
A ripple of chakra exploded from his body. The cherry blossoms vanished instantly, the world snapping back into sharp, clear focus.
Sakura gasped. "What?!"
Up in the stands, Kakashi smiled. "Naruto has improved significantly under Jiraiya-sama's tutelage."
Hinata clasped her hands together. "Do your best, Naruto-kun..."
Sasuke merely snorted, though his eyes narrowed.
Panicked, Sakura immediately transitioned into her next technique.
"Genjutsu: Triple Cherry Blossom!"
She dropped into a crouch, seemingly gathering petals from the ground. To Naruto's eyes, the air filled with petals again—a distraction meant to cover her real movement.
In reality, the crouching Sakura was an illusion. The *real* Sakura had already launched a frontal assault, her fist cocked back for a heavy strike!
*Bang!*
Her punch connected—straight into Naruto's open palm.
He caught it effortlessly.
"How... how did you..." Sakura stammered, trying to pull her hand back.
Naruto smiled, his blue eyes clear. "Your genjutsu has improved a lot, Sakura-chan..."
"But so have I!"
A faint, almost invisible sphere of chakra shimmered around him for a split second.
Kakashi's Sharingan spun wildly. "That... that's impossible..."
Kurenai frowned. "Kakashi, how did he see through her so easily? That was a layered genjutsu."
Asuma and Guy leaned in, equally confused.
"I knew he was training with Jiraiya," Kakashi murmured, stunned. "But I didn't think he'd master *that* technique..."
"Barrier: Toad Gourd Prison!"
Asuma dropped his cigarette. "What?!"
Hinata leaned over the rail. "Kakashi-sensei, what is that? Is it powerful?"
"It's incredibly powerful. It's one of Jiraiya-sama's signature barrier techniques."
"Once activated, the user creates a detection barrier around themselves. Within that space, they can sense everything clearly, rendering sneak attacks and visual illusions useless. It relies entirely on chakra perception, not sight."
"But barrier ninjutsu is notoriously difficult. It usually takes years to learn the basics..."
"For Naruto to master it in a single month... it's unbelievable."
Asuma exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Well, he does have Uzumaki blood. Sealing and barrier techniques are practically in his DNA."
Kakashi nodded, a pang of nostalgia hitting him as he thought of his teacher's wife.
Meanwhile, the VIP box was equally shaken.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened. "He learned the Toad Gourd Prison?!"
Beside him, "Kazekage Rasa" (Orochimaru in disguise) felt his breath hitch.
*Naruto Uzumaki...*
*As expected of the boy who forced me to change my plans...*
*Such enviable potential...*
He instinctively licked his lips before remembering his disguise. He quickly composed himself, but the hunger in his eyes burned brighter than ever.
Sasuke clenched his fist on the railing. "Damn it... how far ahead has that idiot gotten?"
Hinata beamed. "Naruto-kun is amazing..."
...
Naruto had completely nullified Sakura's specialty. The outcome was no longer in doubt.
He gently raised a kunai, stopping the blade just inches from her throat.
"You lose, Sakura-chan."
Sakura slumped, her face pale with defeat.
"So... even after everything, I'm still not enough?"
Naruto shook his head vigorously. "No way! I can resist genjutsu because I trained specifically for it with Kakashi-sensei and the Pervy Sage. Most ninja would have been totally caught by that!"
"You're really strong now, Sakura-chan!"
Sakura looked up, seeing the genuine sincerity in his eyes. For the first time, she smiled at him without pity or annoyance.
"Thank you, Naruto."
For a fleeting moment, Naruto felt dazed, seeing the girl he used to chase overlap with the kunoichi standing before him. But the moment passed as quickly as it came.
"Hehe, it's nothing! Just telling the truth!"
Genma raised his hand. "Winner: Naruto Uzumaki!"
The crowd cheered. Naruto waved enthusiastically, running a victory lap around the arena, soaking in the applause.
Kakashi sighed. "That kid... where does he get the energy?"
Sasuke scoffed. "Big idiot."
...
The first round of the finals had concluded.
With Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga incapacitated, the bracket for the semi-finals was set:
Naruto Uzumaki.
Sasuke Uchiha.
Gaara.
And Temari, who advanced due to Shikamaru's forfeit.
The proctor wasted no time.
"The first match of the second round..."
"Sasuke Uchiha!"
"Versus..."
"Temari!"
Sasuke frowned as he walked down the stairs. "Hn. Not Naruto or Gaara?"
He clearly had no interest in fighting anyone else.
Naruto leaned over the rail, grinning. "Hey, Sasuke! If you win this, you'll face either me or Gaara in the finals!"
"Unless you lose to Temari, of course..."
Sasuke stopped, looking over his shoulder with a smirk. "Impossible."
"See you in the finals."
Naruto blinked, then pumped his fist. "Yeah! See you there!"
Sasuke and Temari met in the center of the arena.
"Begin!"
Temari was fuming.
Her "victory" against Shikamaru felt hollow—a win by technicality against an opponent who had outsmarted her completely. It was a stain on her pride.
She glared at Sasuke. "I'll use you to wash away that humiliation!"
"Sasuke Uchiha!"
Sasuke didn't bother replying. He flicked his wrist, unleashing a high-speed barrage of shuriken.
Temari scoffed, whipping out her giant iron fan. She slammed it open, channeling chakra into a powerful gust.
"Wind Scythe Jutsu!"
*Whoosh!*
A violent gale exploded outward, catching every single shuriken in an invisible net of wind and blasting them away harmlessly.
Luck or not, Temari was still a formidable opponent. The sheer force of her wind pressure cracked the ground beneath Sasuke's feet.
__________________________
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