Chapter 043

A moment later his train of thoughts was interrupted when Ino and Hinata appeared, asking if they could eat alongside him. He thanked them but declined their offer, explaining to them that he has a lot on his mind and would rather eat alone in order to clear his mind. Both girls were disappointed that Naruto declined their company since he always welcomed it. However they saw the look his eyes and acknowledged that a lot more seemed to trouble him than his battle with their kidnappers. Choosing not to pry in his privacy, both girls respectfully departed from him and said that they would talk with him later.

A couple of minutes later after Naruto was done eating his lunch, Naruto stood up and prepared to leave when he sensed a presence from behind him. He turned to see Sasuke looking at him with livid eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that," Naruto asked, already knowing why.

"Fight me," Sasuke stated with coldness in his voice.

"Say what," Naruto said being caught off guard by Sasuke's challenge.

"FIGHT ME NARUTO!," Sasuke said louder catching the attention of the other students who started gathering around them.

"You can't be serious," Naruto retorted, "I have no reason to fight you!"

"I have reasons to fight you," Sasuke challenged, "You're one of the main people I've always wanted to fight and defeat!"

The crowd of students was getting rowdy as many were expecting a good battle between Sasuke and Naruto, the top two students of the academy. Sakura, Hinata and Ino were among those in the crowd. Though the three girls were not cheering and hoping for a fight however, they couldn't help but worry how this would turn out. Naruto though saw this as a potential one-sided fight that would not end in Sasuke's favor for many reasons.

"Ridiculous," Naruto said, "I don't have time for this!"

Naruto turned and walked off from Sasuke. The Uchiha youth, angered by Naruto's refusal to fight him, sought to provoke the young blonde.

"Coward," Sasuke spat, "Don't turn your back on me dobe!"

"Say what you will," Naruto retorted, "Right now I have more important things on my mind."

Enraged even more by Naruto not seeking to fight him, Sasuke took the initiative in attacking Naruto from behind with the intention of goading him into fighting. Naruto however ducked and dodged the punch that would have made contact with the back of his head. Turning around, he was met with a barrage of punches and kicks there were sent at him from Sasuke, all of which were evaded and blocked with sharp efficiency and grace. The crowd of students yelled and cheered the fighters on in hopes that things would get interesting. Kiba and Chouji were cheering Naruto on; yelling things like "Bust his ass," "Show him a thing or two." Shikamaru simply mumbled, "How troublesome."

Shino was attentive and silent, interested in how this battle was going to end. Sakura was yelling for Sasuke to stop fighting but her words fell on deaf ears. A majority of the girls present were pulled between loyalties between Naruto and Sasuke. They were distraught about the event and saddened that their two favorite guys were engaged in a heated combat, with Sasuke throwing all of the assaults and Naruto doing all of the evading and blocking. Ino and Hinata, though witnessing how Naruto was able to effortlessly prevent harm from befalling him still couldn't help but be worried for their friend's well-being.

Things got serious when Sasuke pulled out a kunai from his pocket, and attempted to use it on Naruto. Pulling out his own kunai, Naruto started clashing his kunai against Sasuke's. The blonde shinobi knew that he could have ended this fight a long time ago, even before the fight even started at all. However he wanted to see how far Sasuke could go and so far none of them used any form of ninjutsu. Soon the two met each other and their kunais clashed and wrestled against each other in a tug of war for supremacy. The two boys looked each other in the eyes. Sasuke saw calmness and steadiness in Naruto's eyes, as though he wasn't bothered by what was going on. The Uchiha sworn that the blonde was smirking underneath his ninja mask. Naruto saw only coldness, fury and hatred in Sasuke's eyes, with a touch of bloodlust.

"Sasuke you can be better than this," Naruto counseled, "Don't walk down this path of hate. Don't follow in your brother's footsteps."

Just the mere mention of his brother made Sasuke's blood boil, in spite of the fact that Naruto was trying to keep him from walking down the path Itachi went. Pulling away for a second, Sasuke charged at Naruto slashing his kunai at him before grabbing a few shurikens from his pocket and throwing them at him with the intent of striking him. The shurikens instead struck a nearby tree and deeply embedded into it.

This guy is serious, Naruto acknowledged. Seeing that the fight turned seemingly deadly, Naruto decided to end it before things really got out of control. With a speed that none present were able to grasp, Naruto charged at Sasuke and did a pressure point to his neck, which knocked him into an instantaneous state of unconsciousness. Sasuke went falling toward the ground facedown before Sakura hurriedly ran and grabbed him before he actually hit the ground. A few other girls went over to Sasuke to see if he was alright while Ino and Hinata went over to Naruto who didn't look fatigue at all. Iruka, Mizuki and a few other Chuunins came to see what was going on, only to see Naruto and the other students standing before the unconscious Sasuke.

"He's not dead," Naruto informed everyone, "But he won't be awake for the next few hours."

"Why did you do that for," Sakura yelled. Not phased by her reaction, Naruto replied, "He needed time to cool down and think things over. And in case you haven't noticed, he attacked me first and I was getting bad vibes from him during the fight. So I decided to knock him out painlessly."

"Alright everyone back inside," Iruka said. Everyone but Naruto groaned as they complied. Iruka went over and picked Sasuke up off the ground and carried him back into the building. While walking into the building he overheard Ino and Hinata talking to Naruto about his battle with Sasuke.

"That was quite a fierce fight you and Sasuke were in," Hinata said.

"True but it was so awesome! You sure showed him, didn't you Naruto-kun," Ino added more emphasis on his name before turning and grinning at Sakura, earning a sneer and death glare from the pink-haired girl.

"There was nothing for me to show him," Naruto replied, "I could have ended that fight the entire time if I really wanted to. I was more interested in seeing what he was really capable of."

"And what did you see," Hinata inquired. Naruto replied, "Sasuke has potentials that he does. His deeply rooted handicap however is that he has a terrible rage and lacks the conviction needed to let go of his hatred. If he's not careful, that very handicap will consume him."

Again, Iruka looked at Naruto with wonder, before concluding to himself that it must be because he's the son of Tsunade. Yet even that did little to satisfy the many questions his mind had about Naruto.

(End Flashback)

The Genin exam ended with Sasuke and Naruto being tied for the title of Rookie of the Year; what many didn't know however was that Naruto held back a great deal and willingly put himself in a tie with Sasuke for the title, thus a tie breaker was to be held. Iruka and the other teachers used Naruto and Sasuke's past records and performances both inside and outside the academy to break the tie. They also used the reports that discussed Naruto's battle with Itachi and Kisame. They reasoned that Naruto, who wasn't even a Genin at the time, was able to hold his grounds against a former ANBU captain and his S-level criminal partner, and successfully rescued and saved Ino and Hinata. Iruka then presented a report of a fight Sasuke started up with Naruto who defeated him with a one-hit blow.

With these facts they gave the title of Rookie of the Year to Naruto. The blonde preteen shinobi knew that this only served to add to the growing rivalry between him and Sasuke, something he was trying to condense.

Sending his mind elsewhere, Naruto recalled another incident that guaranteed that he would never be the same again.

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