Chapter 11: An Unwelcome Interruption

My Life as Naruto Uzumaki - Harem Version

Chapter 11: An Unwelcome Interruption

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[MC POV]

Sasuke and I walked side by side and kept a comfortable silence between us. Ours was a silent friendship. We let our fists do the talking during spars and our individual efforts during training express show how we felt about things regarding each other. I admit it wasn't the most normal relationship, but we liked it that way.

I also enjoyed ribbing him on silly stuff from time to time, and he had his own ways of getting back at me. We walked over to the Academy Grounds and asked Iruka Sensei if we could have a spar on the grounds since we were technically no longer students and it was the break before classes began for the next batch of students. He said it was fine but to avoid any of our specialties. That being Sasuke's Fireball and my Exploding Clones.

Iruka and Hinata had been the only ones to see my specialty, though, and I've used them a total of two times. That time with Mizuki, and one additional time in a spar. It was against Hinata and while I played it off at the time, I'd been mortified when I saw that I nearly killed her because her DS was at 1 from full. And while she hadn't gotten hurt directly, the shockwave had left her woozy and in a terrible state. She was crying and shaking and couldn't hold her lunch. That had been the only time her reputation with me had lowered enough to lose most of her affection towards me.

Getting her stuffed full of cinnamon buns was the only way I had to apologize to her since I couldn't tell her that my life worked like a game. She also got a lot more serious about her training after that and stopped being as reluctant when it came to combat in general. Things slowly improved for her at home as a result of that change in mindset, so while I regret ever hurting her at all, I am glad that things got better for her after that.

Anyway, enough with the reminiscing. Sasuke and I started to stretch and warm up with some drills before getting into it. The others eventually got to our location and sat on the sidelines. I saw Shikamaru giving me a look and I knew that he was asking both for a Shogi match and info about my graduation. I sighed and just signaled that we'd talk later.

I looked at Sasuke and we both made the sign of confrontation before taking our respective stances.

We got into position and I decided to see if I could give Sasuke a present. I took out a scroll from my back pouch and showed it to him. 

"If you win, I'll give you this scroll with extra training for your chakra control... who knows... might help with something else..." I wiggled the scroll before putting it back in my pouch.

"If you think I'm going to play your little games, Naruto..." He grinned excitedly and sped towards me; beginning the match.

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I think being on a level playing field like this with Sasuke really shows just how different we are in terms of approach when fighting. While my focus was definitely on dodges and fast, hard-hitting, acrobatic strikes; he was more the type to probe his opponents' defenses and wait for the chance to counter. A stark contrast to when he challenged me that first time. He blocked more strikes than I did and left most of his damage potential in-store for successful counters and parries.

The battle was far less one-sided than you would expect, but not all that equal either. It was a visible but still conquerable difference in technique and ability. This was by design, of course, I wanted to encourage and challenge my friend, not alienate him.

The battle had been going on nonstop for over 30min, with exclusively taijutsu being employed, and the odd kunai here or there as a means of distraction from Sasuke. He was beginning to get used to my moves and I was sensing an increase in chakra within him. I decided it was time to really put things into perspective for my moody friend and pushed harder. 

I took out a kunai and blocked his kunai strike, the sound of clashing steel ringing in my ears. I took a step back to make Sasuke lose balance and sent a punch straight to his face. I saw him move his face to the side enough to dodge the strike and he grabbed my arm, attempting to throw me over his shoulder. I used the first jutsu of the match and substituted with a standard clone, disorienting him.

I rushed back towards him from the side and began to target the openings in his defenses. Every time he tried to block or parry, I did a counteraction to keep him on the defensive. He sent a kick to my side and, left in an awkward position, I took the kick and grabbed hold of his leg. I went with the momentum and spun him around once before tossing him in the direction of his kick's momentum.

He regained his balance and broke his fall before sprinting back. I saw his eyes flicker and used my chakra to give me a boost to throw a punch at point-blank range at a speed he couldn't normally react to. His eyes turned red and he dodged to the side before landing a punch in my gut that knocked the wind out of me. He punched me again and I was sent tumbling backward. 

I recovered and threw the kunai I'd been using all match to distract the approaching Sasuke. I used my next jutsu of the match and created copies of the kunai that forced Sasuke on the defensive once more, which allowed me to make some clones to help me fake out Sasuke's newfound increase in power. I took a quick peek at them and saw a very interesting development.

[*Sasuke* | Lv11 - DS: 4,400/ CP: 5000]

His Sharingan gave him a sizeable power-up, which means that I'm now fighting at a disadvantage. 

This was good, I could use this to motivate the rest. I haven't found a way to show how arrogance can lead to defeat. And if Sasuke actually manages to beat me right now, not only would it do wonders for his performance-dependent self-esteem, but it would also show everyone that being 'the strongest' at the start of a battle was no guarantee that you would win it. 

I wouldn't lose on purpose, of course. This was a challenge, and I will rise to the occasion. I smiled at my friend and taunted him.

"So... you got pink-eye and now you have a few more moves to dish out. Let's see how far those eyes of yours can take you." I saw his eyes widen in realization and he actively sent more chakra to his eyes. Given how they were spinning, I assumed that's what it was.

The battle raged on for another 20min at twice the pace and ferocity. The Sharingan was taking its toll on Sasuke's body, and I was starting to lose steam myself. I have the most stamina out of everyone here by a mile, but with the pace of this battle, my reserves were tested. I reinforced my body with the remainder of my chakra and saw Sasuke do the same. We both knew it, we were exhausted, but we wouldn't go down without giving it our all.

We sprang forward for one last head-on clash before green spandex and bowl-cuts interrupted our match.