Chapter 126: The Duel

Disclaimer:

Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto.

I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 126: The Duel

Sakura was completely perplexed to hear him declare something like this all of a sudden. "Sasuke, what are you saying? You're still in the hospital. A sparring match can wait until you—"

"Shut up!" Sasuke screamed at Sakura, his voice filled with pure rage. The four tomoe of his Sharingan were spinning rapidly.

Sakura became frightened. She let out a yelp and fell on her butt as she tried to back away from him.

Sasuke didn't seem to care about what he just did. His eyes locked onto Naruto's.

"You think you helped me? You and that meddling woman who calls herself Hokage?"

"What?" Naruto was genuinely confused for a moment. Then it hit him. Everyone probably assumed he had gone through all that trouble to save his teammate and sensei.

In reality, Naruto had only done it because he wanted to learn the Eight Gates technique and maybe gain some connections with a big clan.

He didn't consider himself bad or cruel, but he wouldn't have gone out of his way to help someone unless he expected something more valuable in return.

That kind of thinking was normal where he came from. Truly selfless people were rare there. And they didn't last long...

"Sasuke, what's with you today?... You're scaring me." Sakura continued to tremble from the floor. "Naruto, please, tell him to stop!"

"Come with me," Sasuke said coldly.

It wasn't a request. If Naruto refused, Sasuke would attack him right here and now.

Naruto watched as his teammate got out of bed and walked toward the door, pausing only briefly to see if he was following.

"How annoying..." Naruto shrugged and followed him. He knew it would be more troublesome if he refused.

He didn't like complying with demands from spoiled brats, but sometimes it was better to just humor them.

Sasuke led him to the rooftop of the hospital, with Sakura hurrying after them. She didn't try to stop the fight; she at least understood it was pointless to interfere.

"Is there any real purpose to this, or are you just using me to vent your anger?" Naruto asked.

"Shut up and—" Sasuke glanced at Naruto up and down.

"Where are your weapons?"

Naruto had left home in nothing but a white shirt and sandals. He didn't bother bringing his tools bag with the kunai, shuriken, and other ninja gear.

"Why would I carry those when I'm not on a mission? I left them at home," Naruto said.

"Naruto, we're supposed to carry basic gear at all times. And you should be wearing your headband too," Sakura pointed out.

"I forgot, okay?" Naruto replied before turning to Sasuke. "Who cares about that? You don't have any weapons either." Not that he was going to need them.

"Fine, I'll beat you like this!" Sasuke charged at him.

"Wow, you're really confident, aren't you?" Naruto said, disappointed.

Even if Sasuke didn't know everything about his abilities, he should at least remember that Naruto had already defeated a Hyuga clan genius in taijutsu.

Yet, he wasn't taking any precautions and was attacking head-on.

"Ahh!" Sasuke threw a flurry of quick punches, followed by a high kick.

Naruto easily deflected the punches and grabbed Sasuke's ankle, tossing him aside.

Sakura screamed, thinking for a second that Sasuke was going to fall off the building, but then saw him caught by the metal net placed around the rooftop.

Sasuke grunted in pain as he hit the ground.

"Damn it!" He quickly realized that his Sharingan wouldn't help him if Naruto wasn't using ninjutsu, just like during his fight with Rock Lee.

And if he tried the same strategy, he would lose quickly. He didn't know where Naruto had learned his taijutsu skills, but he had no choice but to admit he was outmatched in that regard.

As soon as he got back on his feet, Sasuke's hands moved at lightning speed, forming a series of hand signs.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" A gigantic burst of flames erupted from Sasuke's mouth, engulfing most of the rooftop.

Sakura barely managed to take cover behind the door that led to the roof.

"Naruto!" But she couldn't see any sign of her other teammate.

"Sasuke, stop this, please!" she cried.

Sasuke's red eyes scanned the area as the smoke cleared, but he couldn't find any trace of Naruto. "Did he jump off the roof?"

"No." The voice came from behind.

Sasuke reacted instantly, twisting around and swinging with all his might.

But Naruto was faster. He struck Sasuke in the chest with his right palm.

Sasuke felt a wave of pain invade his body as he was sent flying into the metal fence once again.

This time, he had taken real damage. He could feel blood filling his mouth.

"Blegh…" He spat it out onto the floor.

"Sasuke!" Sakura panicked when she saw the blood.

"That's not a bad jutsu, but it leaves you wide open. You should never use it in such a confined space against someone skilled in close combat unless you're trying to bait them," Naruto remarked as he walked closer.

"Shut up!" Sasuke yelled, his voice filled with fury. The last thing he wanted was to be lectured by Naruto.

"Naruto, Sasuke! That's enough, please!" Sakura pleaded with them. She couldn't bear to see her teammates hurting each other anymore.

"We can leave it here. You can't win against me," Naruto said calmly.

That only enraged Sasuke further.

"No! I'm not done yet!" Electric chakra began crackling around his right hand.

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