Naruto : Uchiha : Chapter 99

Pain.

That was the first thing Naruto's mind registered as his eyes blinked open in a blurry haze. Blue eyes flickering back and forth to their crimson counterparts could only do so much as to comprehend the shadow of an arm hovering over his head.

His mind told him to stand down, every fiber of his being screaming not to move but his pride whispered otherwise.

Raising his arm to stop his enemy's sword, and cursing his own weakness for not being able to stop his arms from shaking; Naruto spat a glob of blood and spit aside. "You're done, Uchiha. I've won at last. Resistance is futile and you will submit." Hanzo stated thick and firm, his voice commanding authority.

"...damn it." Naruto cursed for what seemed like the millionth time today. "Why did you stop?!" the blonde hissed. His Sharingan finally gave way to naturally aspirated azure eyes. Hanzo's blade hovered over his forehead like an ominous shadow, just an inch here or an inch there, and Naruto's life would be done for.

"…All I want to hear from your mouth is that you give up." Hanzo said after a moment of silence.

Naruto couldn't help but wince out a laugh, "What? Seriously?!" he clutched his bleeding innards to give himself some more time in this world. Hanzo smirked himself, moving on to sheathing his blade behind his back.

If Naruto hadn't fought him, he have labeled him an overconfident jerk. But alas, given the position he was in right now, his words lacked the weight.

"This whole battle all you've done is taunt me, smirk to my face and if that wasn't enough you even disrespected my strength. You've tried some underhanded tactics, sure, but not once have you aimed your attacks at my back.

Why is that?" Hanzo's words made absolutely no sense to the blonde. Here he was, ready to be killed and put six feet under and yet his opponent was taking his time. This bastard was enjoying this, wasn't he?

Pathetic.

"The same goes for you. My back was open to you plenty of times as well."

And there it was, the thing that both annoyed and elated Hanzo at the same damn time. That godforsaken, prideful smirk of his. "Admit it. Admit your defeat" Hanzo said with a bit more force than was necessary to get his point across in that thick skull of his.

Naruto shook his head, having no idea just what more this man wanted from him. "Well I do. I give up. I've given everything I've got and there's still no way I can beat you. The gap between our strengths is too large right now. You're strong, as loathe as I am to admit it."

Hanzo clasped his mask back onto his mouth to hide his smile, "It's good to see you finally realize the full terror of Hanzo the Salamander. You knew from the very start that you were no match for me. Even your comrades ran away with their tails between their legs.

Then w not stay back and chance an escape when you know the inevitable?" Hanzo questioned in honest curiosity.

"I can't just turn my back to an opponent willing to give me a fight. And when your blade first met mine *cough* I don't know. Blood started pumping into my head and all I knew was that I couldn't just turn my back on you. It's sort of like an instinct I have, you know. Plus, Tsunade and the gang trusted me enough to take care of you and watch their back. I've let her down. Again."

"Instinct you say?" Hanzo rubbed his chin and sat down cross legged, "Intriguing."

"Yeah. I have my moments." Naruto sat a little upright to be eye level with the man. "Why don't you finish me off? Or is even finishing me off too belittling for someone of your stature?" Naruto knew his bark had no more bite to it. But this was all his ego could take.

To be utterly destroyed by an enemy who was toying with him to the very end, add pitying to that… and well… it wasn't sitting well with his dazed mind and bruised ego right now.

It was mostly the latter than the former though.

"Quite the contrary actually," Hanzo dismissed his words with a wave of his hand. "I've lived longer than your feeble little mind can even begin to comprehend and fought more battles than the years you've been a ninja." Hanzo scoffed, practically insulted that his legendary status was being looked down upon, by a genin no less.

"But I know strength when I see it. And yours is formidable I must admit. To vanquish it right now would be a terrible waste, wouldn't you agree?" Naruto shook his head in disbelief and just let it be. His body and mind were way too tired and beat up to even begin making sense of this situation.

Hanzo couldn't help but envy this runt's confidence. Even after being put through the grinder, standing in the face of likely death, Naruto seemed disappointed in being given the chance to live rather than being overjoyed about it.

And to think that this brat reminded him so much of himself, sitting defeated in front of that man, all those years ago was annoying. Speaking of which, there was one other thing he had wanted to ask.

"Tell me, boy. What is the name Uchiha Madara to you?" Hanzo questioned. He had way too much resemblance to Madara for it to be a mere coincidence.

Looks wise they maybe poles apart but there was something about them in common.

Their eyes and the pride that shone within them.

The only thing this brat didn't have was Madara's fabled strength. But given a few years, even Hanzo believed this runt could prove to be a worthy adversary. Not on the level as the once revered Uchiha had, however, he could still make a name for himself given some time.

There was a moment of silence when all was quiet in the clearing for a few long minutes "...Nothing. Never even heard of him." Naruto whispered and his hair shadowed his eyes.

"Hm." Hanzo hummed, "…That's disappointing,"

All his younger life, Hanzo had thought himself to be unbeatable - omnipotent even by the time he'd hit his teens.

But one day, in scourge of some wandering Leaf shinobi who had lost his way in his country and was trying as he might to sneak into the Land of Earth, Hanzo had ambushed a certain someone in hopes of taking his head and retrieving a fortune for it.

It had not ended well for him. At all.

Hair dancing in the wind, arms crossed. "Go on and cling to your wretched life, worm. Come see me in a hundred years when you are worthy to call yourself a man. Until then, survive." Madara had once spoken to a defeated Hanzo. He had been but a bug in his way. A bug who Madara had been more than obliging to squat.

That day, in a rare occurrence, Madara had shown mercy to his enemy. Hanzo had made a name for himself by becoming a person who had the balls to fight Madara one on one, and survive the next day to tell his tale.

A tale Hanzo had been ashamed of even thinking about, much less telling someone.

Maybe Madara had pitied him. Or Hanzo had been unworthy to die by a legend's hands.

It was probably the latter.

This Uchiha certainly had that same look in his eyes and the ego to match if nothing else. It was truly a shame that the two weren't related though, "Why do you ask?" Naruto's question broke Hanzo off of his trance. Hanzo was getting to nostalgic for his own good.

"Nothing. Just reminiscing about old times." he waved him off. "It doesn't concern you."

Naruto chuckled, "Don't you go dying on me from old age next," now that would be embarrassing.

But the shouts growing louder and louder from afar broke Hanzo off his reverie as he stood up. Turning around to leave, he stopped for a moment and looked back. Hesitant if what he was about to do was right or not. But after a minute or so of deep contemplation, Hanzo chucked a vial in the boy's lap and turned to leave.

"That antidote will only relieve you off the poison. If fate should have it that you do indeed survive those wounds - I'll be looking forward to our next battle in the near future. Though the odds for you are one in ten. At best." well, the odds at least were humbling, Naruto thought in mild bemusement.

Naruto laughed again and removed his hand to show Hanzo a gaping hole in his lower left waist - a hole wide enough that it was showing the boulder behind him like clear glass, "What makes you think I'll survive this?" he asked with a touch of sarcasm, eyes smiling.

Mischievous, chivalry, twinkle of hope and happiness beyond measure. But he still didn't have an ounce of fear in those eyes of his, cheeky little brat that. He'd live, probably.

"I have a gut feeling is all," Hanzo walked away, hand held high in a non-committed wave. "But I would watch my back from now on, if I were you." he remarked as an afterthought.

"Bastard," Naruto chuckled when Hanzo was out of hearing range and popped the vial open. Gulping down it's contents in one go, the antidote spread through his bloodstream like liquid fire.

The pain became so intense that he had to let the pressure off of his wound. But even then, Naruto willed himself not to scream.

If he did, Tsunade would lose her wits and her focus if she head him. And probably do something stupid to rush back to his aid. That was simply unacceptable. Now that gave Naruto a different perspective to contemplate.

What did Hanzo mean by that?

Were his friends in trouble too?

What if Tsunade needed him right now?

Was that what Hanzo meant by that?

What if she was hoping for him to return to her aid and was in trouble?

That would not bode well for her, or for him. At all. He had to get his body moving.

And get it moving now!

"But I've got to do something about this wound first," he muttered in annoyance.

His hands idly searched around for a kunai in his holster and upon finding one, Naruto stuck it in between his teeth and clasped the bloodied hole in his abdomen tightly closed with his fist.

Naruto threw his head back in anguish and pushed his hand inward and inward while his chakra transformed into flames, burning his innards to a crisp.

His legs swatted back and forth in agony and he slammed his head on the boulder as he willed himself to change his seal into a horse sign with his free hand. This was truly the one moment he regretted not having any medical expertise. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

It was either dying like that, or die like a dog.

And he'd rather die trying than dying a useless death.

If his life could save another, a life as precious as hers…

"F-Fire Style-

Naruto hesitated. Even through all the torture training Tobirama had put him through, Naruto couldn't help but let fear overtake him for but a moment. A couple of tears rolled down his eyes in sheer terror. His mind couldn't even begin to comprehend the kind of pain that would ensue after this.

But the thought of those smiling hazel eyes, that charmingly stupid smile and Tsunade's loud laughs made his resolve steel once more. Shaking hand morphed itself into a composed Tiger Seal and Naruto breathed a narrow stream of flames to sear his wounds close and to keep that vision of a smiling paradise still a reality.

"AHH!"

It was even more painful than he'd ever imagined. His entire body shook, eyes widened like there was no tomorrow, heart convulsed, lungs ached for air and his face writhed in agony as the foul smell of smoldering flesh struck Naruto's nostrils.

It took all his willpower just to stay awake and not pass out then and there. But he couldn't pass out like this, not when…

Tsunade could have need of his help.

...

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