Naruto:A New Path

Final Battle! Naruto vs Sasuke!

Naruto and Sasuke jumped at each other, the waterfall roaring from beneath them. Naruto threw a left hook as soon as he was close enough but Sasuke was quick to raise his right arm to meet the blow. The two glared at each other before gravity pulled them both down.
The two ninja fell down the waterfall but didn't let up. Sasuke punched at Naruto's face but met only an open palm. Eyes widening, the Uchiha was pulled towards Naruto before receiving a hard punch to his face. His head was snapped to the side before the blond proceeded to knee the Uchiha on the stomach.
Sasuke doubled over in pain with an audible gasp, leaving himself wide open. Naruto held his hands together before bringing them down on Sasuke's exposed back. The Uchiha was drilled into the water with a large splash while Naruto landed safely on the water.
Naruto kept his gaze on the water, waiting for his once teammate to resurface. He scowled when not seeing the Uchiha resurface yet. Sasuke, even under the influence of the Curse Mark, was a strategist and giving him time to think was a big mistake.
The Uchiha jumped out of the water just behind Naruto. The blond quickly stopped the flow of chakra on his feet, instantly dropping into the water just as Sasuke punched at the area where he had just been standing. Naruto took hold of Sasuke's feet before pulling him into the water as well.
The Chunin quickly threw a punch at the Uchiha, meeting his chest in a hard blow. Sasuke let out a silent groan before raising his right leg and digging it into Naruto's stomach.
Naruto's breath left him and was quickly replaced by the water he was in. His heartbeat rose as he tried to swim out to regain his breath but felt a pair of hands take hold of his right leg. The blond swallowed more water as desperation kicked in.
He kicked at the Uchiha but the latter simply gripped his other leg with his right hand. Now without the aid of his legs and almost no air on his lungs, Naruto began to panic, failing wildly in an attempt to get out of the hold.
' Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Think you idiot!' Naruto screamed in his head. His mouth closed shut as he quickly ran through hand signs. 'Summoning Jutsu!'
Sasuke kept his grip on Naruto before a large cloud of smoke formed beneath them. His brows furrowed before he was pushed out of the water by a large figure.
The water built up on the bottom of the waterfall shot out of its resting place as a large summoning toad emerged from it, standing on the water with its arms crossed. Naruto rested on top of the toad's head, coughing violently and gripping his chest in pain.
The Uchiha managed to land on the water without a problem but kept his gaze on the newly arrived summon. He had never fought a summon before but he figured that this particular summon, a large red toad with a katana strapped to its back, wouldn't pose that much of a threat. Since it was big he figured that it would be slow.
"Why did you summon me, boy?" the toad asked the ninja on top of its head.
Naruto coughed up water before glancing down at the toad. "S-sorry…" he managed before looking over at Sasuke, "I was… I was desperate. You can leave now."
The toad was quick to leave in a cloud of smoke, obviously angry at being summoned like that. Naruto fell on the water on all-fours, still griping his chest in pain and trying to regain his composure.
"You look a bit shaken Naruto," Sasuke smirked, earning a heated glared from the blond, "It reminds me of our first mission out of the village. You had that same helpless expression on your face."
Naruto growled before running through hand signs, "Wind Style: Air Bullets!"
"Wind Style: Devastation!" Sasuke countered with the large gust of wind, engulfing the incoming blasts.
The Chunin frowned before running through more hand signs, "Wind Style: Devastation!"
The two gusts of wind met in the middle of the water, creating a powerful cyclone. Water splashed about as Naruto and Sasuke ran at each other once more with the wind howling around them.
A single sharingan came to life as the two ran at each other and Naruto instantly knew that he had to kick it up a notch. Using the momentum from his run, the blond leapt at Sasuke with his right fists held back. Sasuke leapt at the blond as well, cocking his left fist back.
The two ninja threw the punch at the same time. Naruto's right arm meeting Sasuke's face but receiving a punch to his face as well. Both let out groans of pain before jumping away from each other.
Sasuke broke into a smirk, ignoring the lingering pain on his jaw. "Now Naruto…" he muttered as black marks scattered around his face, burning a red color as they moved around his upper body. Purple chakra swirled around him as his uncovered eye closed, "I'll show you my true power."
The Uchiha's eye suddenly shot open upon hearing the sound of footsteps. A gasp involuntarily left his lips when seeing Naruto standing right before him. Before he could process what happened, Naruto's fist met the left side of his face in a powerful punch. Sasuke staggered backwards before receiving a kick to his stomach.
Naruto watched as Sasuke doubled over in pain with cold eyes, not wanting to drag the fight any longer. His jaw clenched as he delivered a kick to the Uchiha's face, flipping him backwards.
Sasuke landed on the water and began to sink before regaining his posture and using chakra to help himself stand. He grit his teeth in anger, looking at the dead-last standing in front of him, holding a calm look on his face.
"I'm done playing with you Sasuke," Naruto announced before charging at the Uchiha.
The sharingan couldn't follow his movement, much to Sasuke's anger.
'When did he get so fast?' Sasuke wondered as he stood his ground, knowing that charging at Naruto would be a bad idea. 'Why can't I follow his movements!' his eye stung a bit as he focused his gaze before finally being able to see Naruto's movements, now appearing slower.
Naruto kicked at Sasuke once close enough but, to his shock, the Uchiha caught his leg in a tight grip. He was then flung away but quickly regained his balance and landed safely on the water.
"It looks like I have the advantage Naruto," Sasuke spoke with an air of smugness. Naruto looked at him oddly, having no idea of what he was talking about, "My sharingan is finally able to follow your movements."
The Uchiha broke into a full charge, heading straight for Naruto while running through hand signs, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
The powerful ball of fire shot at Naruto, who quickly used a single hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he exclaimed as a single clone appeared at his side. Without a word the doppelganger took hold of the original's extended right arm and flung him to the side, successfully dodging the powerful fire that engulfed the clone.
Naruto landed on the ground beneath the First Hokage's statue. 'Damn, now that he can read my movements I'll have to use a new strategy,' he concluded before running up the statue and landing on its head. He saw Sasuke at the bottom of the waterfall, still not moving from his spot on the water.
Chakra gathered on the seal on his glove before Asuma's blade appeared on his right hand. Naruto gripped the blade tightly, knowing that its extended length would help on this fight. Sasuke could read his movements but he wouldn't be able to dodge the wind of his blade up close.
With that in mind, Naruto created two clones. He would need a distraction in order to get close before Sasuke could land any hits on him. Naruto jumped down the statue with the two clones falling into line behind him. As soon as their feet touched the water, all three of them charged at the enemy.
Sasuke ran at the three while taking out a kunai in response to Naruto's blade. His sharingan caught the movement of the clones with ease, both of them running ahead of the original. Thinking that it would be a simple charge, Sasuke threw the kunai at one of the clones, dispersing it upon contact. The remaining clone leapt at him but Sasuke was two steps ahead, already jumping towards him and diving under a punch before delivering an uppercut to the clone's chin.
The clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke, blocking Sasuke's view of the original Naruto. His single eye widened in realization, Naruto had planned to use the clone as a way to hide him from view. No sooner than he realized this, he was met by the sight of Naruto emerging from the smoke with the blade on hand.
His sharingan caught the trajectory of the blade and, to his horror, it was heading straight for his remaining eye. Sasuke, not wanting to go blind, quickly raised his left arm to block the blade.
Blood splattered out of Sasuke's arm, as Naruto's blade ran through it. He suddenly caught a shift on the Uchiha's right leg and quickly raised his left arm to cover the incoming knee. Naruto pushed off the knee before spinning in the air and delivering a harsh kick to Sasuke's head. The Uchiha let out a cry of pain as he sailed through the air before crashing on the water's edge.
Naruto stood on the water with a frown on his face, hoping that their fight was over as he stared at Sasuke's prone position.
Sasuke coughed lightly before pushing himself into a kneeling position. "You'll pay for that Naruto…" he growled as he began to stand, staggering a few feet backwards when doing so. The black marks on his body lit a bright red as dark purple chakra flared around him, closing the wound on his arm.
Naruto let out a short breath before gathering chakra on his blade. His eyes hardened on the Uchiha before breaking into a full charge against his opponent. Sasuke held his ground before running through hand signs.
"Wind Style: Devastation!" the Uchiha exclaimed as a powerful gust of wind shot at the charging Naruto.
Not expecting the jutsu, Naruto was blown away by the strong wind. He gritted his teeth as he sailed through the air before setting eyes on Sasuke once more, already running through more hand signs.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" a blast of fire shot at the blond, mixing with the still raging wind blowing against him.
"Shit…" Naruto muttered as the fireball grew closer. "Shadow Clone Jutsu," two clones appeared next to him, quickly taking hold of the air bone Naruto before flinging him away from the incoming fire jutsu.
The fire and wind met in a large explosion that silenced the roaring of the waterfall. Naruto was caught in the explosion and was sent spiraling towards the water.
Sasuke watched as Naruto crashed into the water with a large splash. The rain was falling harder against the ground with no intention of stopping. He turned to the water to see Naruto climbing out of it with his right sleeve missing, showing his slightly wounded arm.
"It looks like we're evenly matched," Sasuke spoke in a smug tone.
Naruto frowned. "Tell me why you want to leave the village so badly," he demanded, feeling a bit curious as to what exactly drove Sasuke to leave the village, "Are you sure the Curse Mark isn't making you do this?"
Sasuke shook his head with an amused smile on his face. "Don't you know already Naruto? I told you before. My whole purpose it to kill the man that murdered my clan. That's why I'll leave to get more power from Orochimaru," he explained, pointing a finger at his face, "Thanks to this power my sharingan has grown stronger. With the power of this 'curse' I can kill the bastard who took everything away from me."
"Didn't you already have this power when Itachi beat you in less than two seconds?" Naruto asked with a smirk. Sasuke glared at Naruto with the upmost fury, fists clenching in anger, "I'm taking you back to Konoha, Sasuke. I'll finish this mission once and for all."
Neji's byakuugan scanned the area rapidly, looking for the Sound ninja moving through the many spikes in the area while he stood in front of Kiba protectively. Ino kept watch of his wounds, slowing his bleeding as much as possible.
"Right there!" Neji exclaimed, pointing at a nearby spike.
Gaara quickly shot a wave of sand at the spike just as Kimimaro emerged from it. The Sound ninja was pushed through the air with Gaara moving after him. The jinchuuriki reached out with his right arm, the sand covering it shooting at the Sound ninja before encircling around him and covering his lower body.
Kimimaro let out a growl as the sand-covered arm held him in a tight grip. He was pulled towards the jinchuuriki before receiving a hard punch to his chest followed by a hard kick to his side. Gaara procceded to point his sand-covered arm at the Sound ninja as sand shot out of it, pushing Kimimaro through the air before knocking him against one of the spikes.
The Sound ninja dissolved into the spike as soon as he made contact, making Gaara curse as his eyes darted around the area before turning to the Hyuuga.
"Where did he go?" Gaara asked in a gruff voice.
Neji focused his gaze on the area below before turning to Gaara with a frown on his face, "He's in the spikes again, moving a lot quicker than before."
Gaara nodded, "I'll try to drive him out with my sand."
Neji's head suddenly snapped to the left, eyes narrowing in focus, "There's someone else coming this way."
The jinchuuriki's attention turned to the left, seeing a Sound ninja with orange hair jump out of the nearby trees and land in an area surrounded by spikes. The newly arrived enemy ninja looked around the area before Kimimaro emerged from one of the spikes.
"What are you doing here Jugo?" Kimimaro asked in a concerned voice.
"Another Konoha shinobi interrupted my fight. A Jonin this time," Jugo explained.
"I see…" Kimimaro muttered with his attention on the gathered ninja standing on top of the cloud of sand. He turned back to Jugo and gave a nod, "Escape while I take care of the remaining ninja."
The sound of chirping birds suddenly echoed through the area, everyone watching as Kakashi arrived with lightning around his right hand. "Chidori!" Kakashi exclaimed as his attack neared the distracted Jugo, but let out a short gasp when another spike of bone suddenly rose from the ground, taking the attack head and protecting Jugo from the deadly jutsu.
Kakashi's arm dug into the spike as Jugo and Kimimaro jumped away from him, landing on top of one of the larger spikes of bone. The copy ninja ripped his arm out of the spike before noticing the ninja standing on top of the cloud of sand.
"Over here Kakashi-sensei!" Ino called with a wave of her arm. Kakashi turned to the kunoichi, catching the alarm on her tone, before jumping up the cloud of sand.
He first noticed the bleeding Kiba and was instantly on his side, kneeling next to him, "What happened to him?"
"He was attacked by the Sound ninja with a lance made of bone," Ino explained in a worried tone, "I can't stop his bleeding. He doesn't have a chance unless he's taken to a hospital."
"Shadow Clone Jutsu," Kakashi muttered as a single clone appeared next to him, quickly taking Kiba on his arms. "Take him to the hospital as soon as you can. Do not stop for anything," he ordered. The clone nodded before leaving in a fast speed, shooting through the trees at an incredible pace.
Gaara, seeing as they now had the aid of a Jonin, dropped the demonic chakra flowing through him. The sand gathered on his face dissolving into his gourd as he let out a short breath, feeling a bit worn down due to using it.
Kakashi cast an eye at Ino's ankle, seeing it a bit swollen. "Alright, Ino stay here and try to heal your wound. We might need you later on," he ordered before turning to the remaining ninja, "I'll attack the enemy first. I want you two to back me up."
Meanwhile Kimimaro analyzed the situation with a careful eye. Now that there was a Jonin on the fight taking them all down was out of the question. Fleeing along with Jugo was the best option for the moment.
"Things have changed. You and I will escape while I create a large diversion," Kimimaro informed while placing both hands on the ground, "Leave as soon as I cast my jutsu."
"Got it," Jugo nodded as he readied himself.
Kakashi jumped down the cloud of sand, landing on one of the spikes. His eyes narrowed when he noticed the flow of chakra on Kimimaro shift, meaning that he was about to cast a jutsu. He felt a wave of chakra move through the ground and quickly jumped high in the air, dodging several more of those spikes though this time they were a lot taller and rose a lot faster than before.
Neji's eyes widened as he turned to Gaara, "The spikes are too tall. They'll reach us if we don't move."
Gaara nodded as the cloud of sand broke into three parts and moved through the air, dodging the incoming spikes though barely. Ino held on to the sand as hard as she could since she had been in a sitting position and hadn't expected the sudden movement of the sand beneath her.
Kakashi moved through the spikes, his sharingan catching where they would be coming from. He ran up one of the spikes before kicking off of it, sailing through the air and landing on a tall spike. He took in his surroundings but found no sign of the two Sound ninja, in fact, all that he saw were the spikes ripping through the ground and filling the area.
The attack soon ended with the whole area being full of the spikes made of bone, nothing of the original area remaining. Gaara, Neji and Ino were being held in the air by the clouds of sand while Kakashi used chakra to keep himself in one of the spikes.
The copy ninja let out a curse before turning to the three ninja and came to a conclusion, "We'll let them escape this once."
"What?" Neji let out in disbelief, "But why? Shouldn't we just take care of them now?"
"No," Kakashi replied with a sigh, "Right now you three are too weak to fight. Besides since Naruto isn't here I take it he's up ahead, right? The two Sound ninja might be heading for him, for all we know."
"That makes sense," Gaara voiced his opinion with a nod.
Kakashi jumped to a near tree's branch before running through hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu!" he slammed both hands on the branch as Pakkun appeared before him, "Pakkun, I need you to take us to where Naruto is."
"Got it," Pakkun agreed before sniffing the air. He turned back to Kakashi before speaking, "Naruto's up ahead with your other student. It looks like they're fighting as we speak."
"Let's get going then," Kakashi announced before turning to the three shinobi, "I will be going up ahead. Neji, use your byakuugan to follow after me. I'll make sure I'm in your range."
With that the copy ninja began to move. Ino stood up shakily but managed to keep herself standing, feeling a bit of pain on her ankle though not that much anymore. Seeing as her two teammates for the mission were looking at her, she gave them a nod.
Neji's byakuugan kept sight of Kakashi as Gaara and Ino fell into step behind him. They weren't moving very fast but they would manage to get there in time, at least that's what they all hoped.
Naruto and Sasuke clashed once more. The Chunin's blade intertwined with a kunai Sasuke held on his left hand. Naruto sent chakra to his blade and began to cut through the kunai before the Uchiha kicked at his stomach. Naruto quickly rose his knee, meeting the kick without trouble before swiping at the Uchiha's torso.
Sasuke leaned under the blade before delivering an uppercut to Naruto's chin. The blond's head snapped up before he twisted his body to the left while throwing a kick, making contact with the Uchiha's face. He used the momentum to flip in the air and manage a crouching position when landing on the water before kicking off of it and heading straight for Sasuke once more.
The Uchiha, recovering from the kick, wasn't able to block the punch to his stomach before receiving a knee to the face. Blood splattered out of his nose before he jumped away from Naruto, nursing his aching nose.
"I'm done with this Naruto!" Sasuke yelled in anger. Chakra flared around him as the water beneath his feet began to move violently. The marks around his face began to connect and turn his skin a lot darker as more chakra encircled him.
"Damn…" Naruto growled as he watched Sasuke's hair began to grow. He had no idea that Sasuke could transform like the other Sound ninja and judging by the flaring chakra around him, he wasn't any weaker than them.
A large black mark appeared in the bridge of Sasuke's nose as the chakra turned a darker purple. Finally two wings sprouted from his back, looking more like hands than they did wings. Sasuke let out a hiss before setting his eye on Naruto.
"Now Naruto," Sasuke spoke with a smirk on his face. The wings on his back stretching as he bent his knees slightly, "I'll finish you!"
Sasuke shot at Naruto at top speed with his right arm held back. The Chunin gathered chakra on his blade as he prepared to meet the blow but, to his shock, Sasuke's speed suddenly increased drastically.
Naruto's eyes widened as he received a bone-crushing punch to his stomach. Blood and saliva splattered out of his mouth as he let out a gasp for air. Sasuke followed with a punch to his right ribcage, cracking some bones upon contact before sending him through the air.
Naruto crashed painfully against the ground. His eyes shut closed as he struggled to keep himself from throwing up. Sasuke had held nothing back on his attack and he could certainly feel it. He managed a standing position through shaky legs, putting a hand to his stomach.
It looked like things had just gone from bad to worse.