[GUtW]—❈—57:: Sixteen Down: Sixteen To Go [V]

On the screen, the next match, which has already half-begun here in the loge is announced:

Naruto Uzumaki (Leaf) vs. Karui (Cloud)

“Alright,” Naruto shouts excitedly, but I grab his wrist before he can run off.

“Don’t forget why we’re here,” I say.

“Huh?” The blonde blinks at me.

I barely restrain from pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration. “The plan, Naruto. Shock and awe.”

“Oh, right.”

“Did you seriously forget our whole reason for being here?” Sakura asks in amazement.

“Hey, Loser, you coming?” Karui calls. “Or you chickened out already?”

Naruto snarls.

“Just challenge her to a clash of your most powerful attacks,” I say, before Naruto can get distracted by the Cloud-nin. “There’s no way someone like her will turn that down.”

Just as important, of course, is the fact that there is no way someone like Naruto will turn that down, and when his eyes light up as the idea takes root in his head (just as I’d known it would), I have to refrain from shaking my head in disappointment.

How the fuck is he a ninja?

My words having had their desired effect, I release his wrist, and Naruto dashes off, Karui chasing after him for some reason, the two of them bickering like nosy, old ladies.

Watching them go, Sakura makes a face like she just sucked on a lime: “Oh, Sage. There’s two of them now.”

I take a moment to think about it; two Naruto… she’s right, that is pretty terrible to think about.

Down at the arena, Naruto and Karui’s bickering announce their presence before the announcer can manage it.

“Were they seriously arguing the whole way down?” Sakura asks, looking at me like she expects me to give her an answer.

I don’t, but if I do, it would be a “yes.” Because from the looks of things, these two idiots did actually argue into the elevator leading down to the arena, argue down it, argue out of it, and argue into the arena proper, where the “microphones” set up there to pick up conversation between contestants naturally caught and broadcasted it to the entire audience.

“Well, looks like the next fighters are fired up for their match,” the announcer says, trying to wrest back some measure of control over the situation so he can do his job.

“You bet I’m fired up,” Naruto says, stealing back said control. “I’m gonna blow her away.”

“Blow me away,” Karui scoffs. “Pipsqueak, by the time we’re done, I’ll have zapped you to pieces.”

“Prove it then,” Naruto screams, getting in her face as they butt heads. Literally butt heads. The image is reminiscent of two stubborn goats in conflict. “Me and you,” Naruto continues, “our most powerful attacks, let’s see who’s better.”

“You’re on,” Karui screams back.

“Oho! A challenge to a clash of attacks; ninja vs. ninja. Who will come out on top? The Leaf-nin rookie with a seeming penchant for blowing away his opponents? Or the Cloud-nin who may or may not have already earned herself the moniker “The Tigress”?”

Naruto and Karui face off.

“You ready?” Hayate asks them.

“Hell yeah!” they scream together.

Hayate nods and disappears, and in the moment before the gong strikes to begin the match, Naruto and Karui stare at each other, and with big, anticipatory grins, they say; “I’m gonna blow/blast you away.”

The gong rings.

Hands moving so fast that even my sharingan notices the speed, Naruto and Karui cast their attacks.

From the blonde comes The Wind Scythe Storm, an attack that is more like a natural disaster than a technique that can be repeated at will by one person; while from the redhead comes The Lightning Dragon, a colossal beast of lightning that was created, not to be used in fights against singular opponents, but as bombardment against fortifications.

The attacks clash, and the only thing that protects much of the audience from dying immediate, messy deaths is the barrier that has been set up around the arena for situations precisely like this.

Naruto and Karui on the other hand, trapped as they are within the barrier, are nowhere near as safe, because when the lightning dragon meets the wind scythe storm, the blades of wind rip into it, and the lightning dragon does what it's designed to do when it comes in contact with anything strong enough to noticeably stop or damage it.

It explodes, causing a hurricane of wind and lightning as it’s violent eruption disrupts Naruto’s wind scythe storm.

The volatile mix of both jutsu blasts towards both ninja way too fast for them to avoid, and Naruto and Karui are both swallowed by enough energy, I suspect, to power a small town from Caleb’s world.

I wince in sympathy.

As the announcer begins to scream himself hoarse over how amazing the clash was, Kakashi sighs.

“I warned him about that,” the jōnin says.

“What?” Sakura asks as we both turn to him.

Kakashi gestures down at the arena. “That,” he says. “I warned him about it. It’s why I tried to teach him the Hide Like A Mole Jutsu.”

“Tried to?” I ask.

“He had too much trouble learning it,” Kakashi says. “And he said he didn’t want to hide from his own attack. Wasn’t “cool” enough, apparently.”

That does sound like Naruto. Including the part where he had trouble learning the Hide Like A Mole Jutsu; that’s Earth Release, and Naruto’s chakra nature affinity is solely Wind. Pair that with his crappy chakra control and well…

After ten whole seconds, the hurricane mix of jutsu trapped in the arena with Naruto and Karui finally exhausts itself, allowing the members of the audience who don’t have eyes that can see through flashing lightning and raging wind to see what’s going on down there. And at the sight of it, there’s an almost collective gasp.

“They’re…” Sakura says in amazement.

“They’re standing!” the announcer unwittingly finishes for her.

That they are.

Apparently, these two idiots are so hardheaded that, even through everything they’ve just been through, they refuse to fall.

Cut and battered and with twin divots marking where their feet had dragged on the sand as they fought the raging storm of their clash, but on those same feet they remain, eyes burning with shared determination.

There is a moment of stillness, then, by some unspoken agreement, both ninja begin to stagger towards each other, steps gaining strength as they close the distance.

By the last dozen feet they’re running, and right before Naruto lands the first punch, they’re screaming.

Karui’s head whips back as Naruto’s fist cracks onto her jaw, but almost immediately, the Cloud-nin recovers, and retaliates with a punishing haymaker that wrecks Naruto’s nose.

Naruto staggers back two steps, and Karui instantly tries to capitulate on it, only for Naruto to launch a front kick into her gut.

The Cloud-nin folds into the kick with a violent exhale, then she grabs Naruto by his jacket, pulls him in, and head-butts him so hard that both their skulls fracture.

It continues; blow for blow, blood for blood, a contest of wills between two idiots too bull-headed for their own good.

And the crowd eats it the fuck up.

With every blow they cheer, screaming along with the fighters, connecting with them on a level that they’ve hardly managed with any of the other fighters so far.

This is more than just a fight for them. Somehow, Naruto and Karui have made these people who know little, if anything, about them genuinely care about their struggle.

No one is getting sided with here because they’re the underdog. No, they’ve won the crowd over with nothing but the sheer power of their will and a whole lot of charisma.

Finally, after thirty-six seconds of brutal, physical combat, Naruto swings at Karui and hits nothing but air.

Not because he’s missed, or because his opponent has dodged, but because she’s slumped to the ground, unconscious.

For several seconds, there’s this collective pause, like “is this it?”

And then Hayate appears.

The proctor checks Karui, and, after a moment, he gives the sign.

The gong rings.

“He’s done it!” the announcer screams. “‘Hurricane’ Uzumaki has beaten The Tigress. Ladies and gentlemen, we have our winner.”

The resounding cheer literally shakes The Phoenix Arena down to its foundations.