Semi Finals! Battle Between Rivals!

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Chapter 102: Semi Finals! Battle Between Rivals!

Jutsu of the day:

<Fire Release: Great Flame Flower> || <Combination Jutsu: Oil Flare Breakthrough>

Courtesy of Tsundere Uchiha and Sunshine Fur Ball.

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Continued from Chapter 101

[Mitsu]

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"Winner of the match is... Uzumaki Naruto! He will move to the semifinals. This ends the quarterfinal matches.

The semifinals will start in 10 minutes.

Now for the matchups!

1st Match- Hyuga Hinata vs Temari.

2nd Match- Uchiha Sasuke vs Uzumaki Naruto." Fuse dutifully announced the results and the fixture before flickering away.

The crowd were talking to each other animatedly. As they reviewed the fight. Even though nothing was announced, they were already starting to connect the dots.

I chuckled at the scene from where I was standing with Hina.

"Hear that? Your match is in 10 minutes. And did you even watch the fight?" I reminded my girl, who was leaning on my shoulder with a blissful smile on her face.

"Hmm? That means we have 10 more minutes. And I did! Good for Naruto. Now let me get my 10 minutes on my favorite spot please." She said sweetly, without opening her eyes.

I chuckled at her immense cuteness.

Gently tapping on her nose, I replied, "Go ahead, hime, go ahead…"

…

Ten minutes quickly passed, and Hina was called for her match, causing her to groan in displeasure.

So being a good boyfriend, I decided to motivate her again.

Leaning gently, I spoke softly in her ear, "I will take you on a special date tomorrow if you win."

She instantly perked up, her eyes dazzling beautifully.

'Damn, she is so pretty.'

"Really?" She asked with excitement.

I scoffed, "Since when I lied about our dates?"

She giggled as she said, "Just making sure~", before she gave me a chaste kiss and said with a grin, "I will go and win quickly!"

Saying so, she flickered to the arena.

I chuckled as I watched Temari tense up when she glanced at an excited Hina-bunny. She knew she fucked up by winning the last round.

Well… I will pray for your soul… Sand girl…

…

And just as we all thought, it wasn't much of a semifinals.

Hina, beat the sand girl up in 3 minutes.

Temari's wind Jutsus were hard countered by Hinata's fire Jutsu and she had no chance against Hinata's speed.

All in all, she was easily defeated.

Hinata didn't appear happy or excited about the win, but she was amiable to her opponent as she showed sportswomanship by helping her up and giving her some friendly advice and compliments for her efforts.

I could see the sand girl looking grateful. They simply weren't in the same level after all...

I checked their levels.

<Temari. Lv. 27>, <Hyuga Hinata. Lv.43>

*CHEER*

The crowd obviously loved my Hina-bunny, I mean why wouldn't they? She is the best girl after all!

Though Hina didn't return to me this time, instead she waited in the stands to watch her two teammates battle.

Furball and Tsundere Uchiha were equally matched 1 month ago, maybe with Naruto having a slight edge because of his stamina and chakra.

But no one knew who would win this time. The 1 month training they went through this time was much different than in canon.

In canon Naruto barely noted down his summoning and chakra control.

But this Naruto not only learned the Summoning from what I heard, he also used the <Rasengan> earlier. Other than that, he has some good Jutsus for different situations.

Now I didn't watch Tsundere Uchiha train…But, if I was Naruto, I would be afraid.

Looking at the Uchiha's status, I whistled with raised brows. What I saw impressed me.

Not only the Uchiha had Kakashi as a teacher. Apparently, he also trained with Fugaku, Itachi and Shisui… And how do I know that?

Simply from the skills he learned, of course.

Honestly, if Naruto didn't have his bullshit plot armor skill, in paper he would lose every time... But I know better from the anime, that Naruto somehow makes everything right with his bullshit Rasengans...

Well... this will be fun.

I looked at their levels and smirked.

<Uchiha Sasuke. Lv.39>, <Uzumaki Naruto. Lv.36>

They were already reaching Jonin rank, level wise.

And the furball hasn't even unlocked his own cheat yet. Tsk, tsk.

Even though Sasuke's level was higher, it won't matter much. Cause, after all... Naruto somehow makes things work.

Oh well… Let's hope for a great fight.

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[General]

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In the stands where the Jonin senseis were sitting,

Asuma said in clear envy, "Can't believe all 3 of your students are in the top 4… That team placements were bullshit!"

Kurenai couldn't help but agree.

To which Kakashi gave an eye smile and replied, "Well that's how awesome their sensei is." Only to receive glares from the other 2 Jonins.

"But I must confess… If I had Hinata-chan in my team… and made her specialize as a tracker… I would have wasted so much potential… It's scary…" Kurenai said in a self-depreciating tone.

"Makes me wonder if I am doing injustice to my other students…" She finished.

Asuma squeezed her hand gently to comfort her, "Nonesence! You are a great teacher! Your students are turning out fine. And yes, after watching Hinata reach such high levels, might make you second guess yourself. But trust me, you are doing Kiba and Shino justice. And I am sure they won't have any other teacher beside you."

He did his best to comfort his crush.

Kurenai didn't really feel convinced but she returned a smile to Asuma.

That's when Guy interjected, "But, I must agree, Kakashi's students are all youthful! They will all get promotions… They are certainly deserving enough."

To that, they all agreed.

…

Fuse again returned to the arena to announce the second semifinal match.

It was 40 minutes passed 3 in the afternoon, and they needed to wrap up the tournament before 5, so he quickly called out the next contestants.

"For the second match, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, please come to the stage."

And as soon as his announcement ended, 2 figures flickered into the arena.

On the east side stood the serious looking Uchiha, with a scabbarded tanto on his left hand.

And on his opposite stood a grinning Uzumaki, with his Bo held behind his back.

…

"Show off!!… Both of them!" Kiba grumbled in the stand.

"Hehehe, don't feel jealous Kiba! I am sure you will look cool too if you stop pouting all the time." Ino interjected.

Making the boy growl in annoyance, while Akamaru barked in laughter.

On the other hand, Shikamaru had a serious face as he stated, "This match will determine the strongest male Ninja in our generation…"

"Hmm? Maybe even the strongest Ninja of our class?" Sakura asked hopefully. She was obviously gunning for Sasuke to win.

Shikamaru shook his head and replied, "No, we all know who the strongest in our class is… And other than him, it's Hinata without a question…

I am not sure if you understand or not… But the speed and power that Lee guy showed was beyond a Chunin. He could beat all of us down in minutes... And Hinata beat HIM down without breaking a sweat."

He let that sink in before he continued,

"So trust me when I say that not even Sasuke and Naruto, even after all their training, is a match for her. I am pretty sure Mitsu even taught her some bullshit Jutsu that she hadn't used yet… Damn that troublesome prince and his girlfriend making others look bad…

But enough about that… This match might be the last match of this tournament. Last I checked, they were evenly matched with Naruto only having more endurance. So, I doubt if they go all out, they can fight another match after this one. And I know for a fact that they WILL go all out."

Everyone shuddered when they heard that. To them, what they already saw of Hinata was scary enough… And believing that she was even stronger than that simply felt unbelievable.

But they all agreed that Naruto and Sasuke will fight till one of them can't move any more.

Sakura clenched her hands together as she put them over her chest in worry for her beloved Sasuke's match… She wanted him to win… But she didn't want him to get hurt.

…

In the arena, Nartuo and Sasuke were measuring each other.

They weren't normal opponents after all.

They were teammates.

Friends.

RIVALS!

Both knew the other better than anyone else, as they have trained and sparred so many times.

Both of them developed respect for the other's skill and a healthy rivalry.

Being similar in strength helped them start competing, and having someone who was beyond them to reach for helped them grow.

And today was an opportunity.

An opportunity to see which one of them was ahead.

"Glad you didn't run away, dobe." Sasuke smirked.

"You wish, princess! I apologize, but I will be rearranging that face of yours." Naruto quipped back.

"Heh, like you can even touch me… Hope you won't disappoint me. I have learned a lot from my Niisan over the break." Sasuke looked proud.

"Of course you did, princess… While you get to learn from one of the best… I had to train under a pervert…" Naruto grumbled.

"We fight with the same rules?" Sasuke asked. He didn't mind Naruto's taunting. He was over it a while ago.

"Sure. Weapons first it is." Naruto smirked.

Sasuke only nodded as he unsheathed his tanto and waited.

Fuse seeing that both parties were ready, as were the crowd, he announced the start of the battle.

"BEGIN!"

*Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Clang*

As soon as the battle started, the two opponents rushed at each other, attacking with their weapons.

And both Naruto and Sasuke were surprised at the deadlock.

Naruto's Bo was infused with wind Chakra, as he learned from Sarutobi, so he was surprised to see that his attack wasn't stronger than the Uchihas.

While Sasuke's tanto was fused with lightning Chakra, so he too was surprised at the deadlock. As he believed he could beat back his rival's staff away with his lightning.

They separated at the same time, before they started duking it out with their weapon arts.

*Clang* *Clink* *Clang*

The continuous attacks were sending sparks flying as they kept attacking each other with fervor.

The weapons were moving at rapid pace, making them look like blurs.

But neither was relenting to the other.

Naruto was stronger and more skillful with his Bo while Sasuke was faster. But this caused a break of balance.

As Naruto was slightly pushing him back.

But Naruto knew that he was going to lose the weapon bout. And his fear came

Sasuke was being pushed back due to losing in the strength department, so he decided there was no point in holding his eyes back.

He knew himself that he was only evenly matched with Naruto with his eyes. So he used them right away.

<Sharingan>

Sasuke brought out his 3 tomoe Sharingan to aid the fight as he started analyzing Naruto's movements, and like a strong wave assaulting the shore, the balance tilted.

*Thud*

Naruto's Bo was sent flying as the Blond boy jumped back pouting.

"You lose the weapon bout." Sasuke smirked.

"Those eyes are damn cheats!" Naruto grumbled.

Sasuke only scoffed before he threw his tanto away.

"Taijutsu?" Naruto asked.

"Taijutsu." Nodded Sasuke.

And they again started exchanging blows.

To them, this wasn't just an exam fight. This was to prove their own superiority over the other. So they would fight in the same discipline to see who was better.

And as the blows started getting faster and heavier, it was again noted that Sasuke was pushing Naruto.

Naruto simply couldn't match Sasuke's speed and couldn't hit him back because of his Sharingan bullshit.

"Use your damn clones, Dobe…" Sasuke snorted.

Pouting Naruto answered, "They are a Kinjutsu, falling under Ninjutsu… It will be considered cheating…"

"Don't be a fool! Your whole style depends on your damn copies. I am using my eyes too... They are considered Doujutsu, which is under Jutsus... Now stop being a baby and use them!" He shouted.

Naruto didn't mind and grinned at his rival as he made the hand sign as 11 clones appeared around him and the fight resumed.

The blows were more diversified, more brutal and especially dirty. As Naruto and his clones were fighting in the most chaotic way possible, as they used dirty brawling, kick boxing and Jujutsu techniques on the Uchiha.

While Sasuke could still block most of the blows, but there were simply way too many of them. And it didn't take long for the balance to tip again, as Sasuke was beaten back.

Grumbling at the result, his eyes flashed as he reflexively used <Genjutsu: Sharingan> only for the blond to laugh out loud as he mocked,

"Was that supposed to be a Genjutsu, princess? Too bad you LOSE. Hey, that makes 2 wins for me! Taijutsu and Genjutsu!" He cheered as he pressed his knuckles.

Sasuke felt like facepalming. As he remembered that his teammate was somehow immune to most Genjutsus.

"Tsk. You don't win on the Genjutsu battle… You can't even use a Genjutsu!"

"Oh yeah?! But I am immune! So that makes it my win!" Naruto grumbled.

"Tsk, whatever, Dobe. Now time for Ninjutsu!" Sasuke declared as he jumped back and started making hand signs.

"Be prepared, Dobe. This was taught to me by Niisan."

Naruto frowned, as he knew that this will be one of his own disadvantages, because Uchiha clan Ninjutsu's were mostly fire based and he was a Wind user.

So he decided to quickly use his best option.

Biting on his thumb, he quickly made hand signs and used his summoning Jutsu.

<Summon: Gamakichi> <Summon: Gamatatsu>

Two toads, one red and one yellow, appeared in front of Naruto.

"Yo, Naruto! Wha-" Gamakichi was going to greet Naruto, but Naruto cut him off as he pointed at Sasuke, who was breathing in a huge amount of air, and said,

"Quick! Kichi, Tatsu! Use Water gun at that bastard!" Naruto shouted.

The toads were confused, but they quickly complied as a massive amount of water burst out of their mouth.

<Water Release: Water Gun>

While on the other end Sasuke finished his Jutsu,

<Uchiha Style Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu>

And many volleys of fire balls were spat out of his mouth as they rushed towards Naruto and the toad.

The Jutsus met at the middle.

Fire met Water and both cancelled each other out. Much to Sasuke's annoyance.

"I see you brought toads with you, Dobe… But they won't save you from this one!"

He kneaded more chakra as he jumped up and as he readied his Jutsu.

Naruto had a bad feeling about this, so asked the toads.

"Yo! You two got any bigger techniques?"

To which both the toads shook their heads comically.

So Naruto decided to hide underground and concede defeat. But Gamakichi said at the last moment.

"But maybe we can combine our Jutsus? Tatsu can use toad oil, as I can use flame bullet. You know a wind Jutsu yeah?"

Naruto nodded and his eyes shone as he grinned.

"Alright guys, lets do this!"

He started making hand signs for <Wind Release: Great Breakthrough>

While the toads got ready to combine their attack.

They were going to fight fire with fire, oil and wind!

In the air, Sasuke completed his Jutsu as he spat out 3 large fire balls.

"TAKE THIS DOBE! <FIRE RELEASE: GREAT FLAME FLOWER>"

"DON'T MOCK ME, PRINCESS! <COMBINATION JUTSU: OIL FLARE BREAKTHROUGH>"

And 3 gigantic fire balls met a flaming blast of equal power as they collided with each other.

The <Great Breakthrough> only fanned the flames, making the explosion even larger.

*BOOOM*

The blast caused winds to blow in all directions as dust cloud rose.

And the crowd grew quiet as they couldn't see what was happening in the arena.

…

"Will they be alright? That was some powerful blast…" Asked Ino with worry.

"Like that sort of blast, can keep down those clowns!" Kiba answered.

…

In the stands, Mitsu was smiling as he watched the supposed protagonists of the original anime fight in front of the crowd.

He looked at the arena and chuckled.

"I guess… This will be the last fight… Those two idiots are more stubborn than a donkey to end it after that bout… I guess I have to make it up to Hinata with an awesome date."

…

And as Mitsu thought, as the dust cloud settled, everyone could see 2 figures standing in opposite sides.

Naruto was covered in mud, while Sasuke had some burns here and there.

But both of them were looking excited as they stared each other down. Neither of them were finished. No sir. Far from it.

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[To be continued.]

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[A/N: Hey there, beautiful people!

Sorry again for the late chapter… Didn't have electricity. So posting the Friday's chapter on my break day…

As for the Cliff hanger… The fight will continue for 1k more words, and the chapter is already 2.9k words long…

If you want to join the discord! The link is on the synopsis!]