Explosive Crushing Strike!
Jugo drove his fist forward like a cannon.
Kimimaro raised his arms on instinct. Bone met fist—and the impact forced him back several steps, boots tearing grooves in the dirt.
Jugo swayed from the recoil but held his ground.
Then water crashed down from above.
Sakura's Water Release: Water Bullet Technique struck him head-on.
There was no time to dodge.
Jugo twisted his body and took the blast with his back. His muscles trembled, but he endured it and grabbed Lee, forcing chakra into him to shatter the genjutsu.
The moment Lee's eyes cleared—
Kimimaro was already there.
Bone blades shot toward Lee's vital points.
Axe Chop: Explosive Crushing Strike!
Jugo's arm came down like a guillotine, slamming into Kimimaro and forcing him away.
But blocking Kimimaro meant exposing himself.
Sakura attacked immediately.
Water Release: Heavenly Cry!
She fired three compressed water needles straight at Lee.
Lee's mind had only just recovered. Sensing danger, he raised his arms on reflex.
The needles buried themselves deep.
A muffled grunt escaped him as blood soaked into his green jumpsuit.
"Dynamic Entry!"
Lee ignored the pain and launched a flying kick at Sakura.
She answered by throwing four kunai in a cross pattern.
Lee twisted midair, dodging two and kicking the other two aside.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A massive dragon of water surged into existence in front of Sakura.
Lee hadn't even landed.
"Konoha Gale!"
He forced a kick into the dragon—but it was like striking a tidal wave.
The water swallowed him whole and hurled him backward into a tree with a brutal crash.
His vision spun. Pain rang through his body.
Sakura flicked her wrist again.
Four more kunai screamed toward him.
Just before they hit—a figure stepped in front of Lee.
"Violent Leaf Hurricane!"
Naruto kicked the kunai away in one sweeping motion.
"Naruto?!" Sakura's heart lurched as she glanced toward Sasuke.
But Sasuke was still locked in battle with Naruto and a swarm of shadow clones.
This one—was a clone.
Sakura exhaled slightly.
Naruto had immense chakra, but split too many ways. Individually, his clones weren't overwhelming.
She could handle this.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
The clone rushed her at blinding speed.
Sakura countered by throwing kunai and forming seals in the same breath.
The clone dodged and kicked—
"Water Release: Continuous Bullets!"
Streams of water burst from Sakura's palms.
The clone ran straight into them.
After absorbing several hits—
bang!
Smoke.
Sakura exhaled in relief.
But the delay had cost her.
Lee was back on his feet.
He was soaked, bleeding, and unsteady—but conscious.
His arms throbbed. The wounds weren't deep, but prolonged fighting would make them worse.
He looked down at them.
'If I'm going to win… it has to be the Dragon God.'
But injured arms would weaken the technique.
While he hesitated—
boom!
Another shockwave echoed nearby.
Kimimaro and Jugo collided again.
Kimimaro slid back two steps.
From the outside, Jugo seemed to have the advantage.
But the truth was the opposite.
Jugo had already activated Curse Mark Stage Two.
Kimimaro hadn't used his yet.
If he simply stalled, victory would come naturally.
But waiting wasn't his way.
Cursed Seal: Stage One!
Dark markings spread across Kimimaro's body.
He stopped there—no need for Stage Two yet. He still had to conserve strength for Sasuke's fight.
Jugo's expression hardened.
He knew exactly what this meant.
Against Kimimaro's base form, he could compete.
Against Stage One… victory wasn't guaranteed.
But retreat wasn't an option.
They clashed again.
"Wind Release: Shuriken!"
Naruto and his clones launched a storm of spinning blades.
Sasuke advanced without expression, Thunder God Sword flashing as he deflected them one by one.
When the gap closed—he vanished.
"He's coming again! Watch out!" Naruto shouted.
Hatake Sword Technique!
A crescent of steel exploded into view.
Naruto kicked at Sasuke's wrist—but as his second strike followed through, the blade trembled and erupted in lightning.
Naruto yanked his foot back and retreated.
The nearby clones weren't so lucky.
Lightning swallowed them whole.
Smoke filled the air.
Sasuke stepped forward to press the advantage—wind screamed behind him.
Another Naruto swung Samehada in a brutal arc.
The sword's massive jaws opened, aiming for Sasuke's skull.
Genjutsu: Sharingan!
Sasuke's eyes pulsed.
Naruto froze mid-swing.
Body Flicker.
Sasuke appeared beside him and cut clean through.
Smoke.
Samehada clattered to the ground—then twitched, sprang up, and flew back toward the original Naruto.
Naruto grabbed Samehada and swung it in a wide arc.
"That's not Konoha Style Swordsmanship at all!" Sasuke snapped automatically—but his body never slowed.
Konoha Style: Willow!
Naruto froze mid-motion, bound by illusion—but a chakra tail whipped across his body and shattered the genjutsu instantly.
Sasuke's Thunder God Sword followed right behind.
Fortunately, Naruto wasn't alone.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
A shadow clone slammed its hands together. The wind wrapped around Naruto, boosting his speed just enough for him to slip past the blade.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Sasuke answered with a massive burst of flame.
Heat flooded the battlefield.
Naruto hurled Samehada forward without hesitation.
The blade smashed through the fireball, scattering it, then lunged toward Sasuke with its jaws open.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
Naruto amplified the throw.
The gale wrapped around Samehada, turning it into a screaming missile.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
He thrust his sword forward and struck Samehada dead center.
The recoil surged back through the blade.
Sasuke used the force to launch himself upward instead of resisting it.
Midair, his gaze swept the battlefield.
Jugo was being pushed back under Kimimaro's assault.
Meanwhile, Sakura had Lee on the defensive.
The situation had completely inverted his original plan.
Reality didn't care about strategies.
"Wind Release: Shuriken!"
Naruto and his clones unleashed a storm of blades toward the airborne Sasuke.
Every escape path vanished under spinning steel.
Lightning Release: Chidori Blade!
Lightning exploded along Sasuke's sword.
This wasn't Kitazawa's teaching—it was Kakashi's refinement of Hatake Swordsmanship.
The blade shone like a crescent moon.
One swing—
and the shuriken were sliced in half.
A gap opened.
Sasuke flashed through it and dove toward Naruto.
With Chidori Blade active, the sword became nearly indestructible—capable of cleaving steel like paper.
"So strong!" Naruto muttered, raising Samehada to block.
Clang!
The Thunder God Sword bit into Samehada's spikes but couldn't break through.
Sasuke clicked his tongue and disengaged.
Naruto stepped forward—then both of them froze.
A violent surge of wind erupted behind them.
They turned.
"Konoha Dragon God!"
Lee inhaled deeply and spun.
Chakra detonated outward.
A roaring green dragon formed around him, wind blades shrieking through the air.
Sakura's breath caught.
Facing it head-on felt like standing before a natural disaster.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
She raised a spinning barrier—
but the dragon tore straight through it.
Sakura ran.
Sasuke tightened his grip on his sword.
He wanted to help—but Naruto and his clones pinned him in place.
If he turned his back now, he'd die.
Fortunately—
"Sakura!" Kimimaro shouted, abandoning Jugo. "I'll take him!"
"Got it!"
Sakura pivoted instantly.
"Water Release: Water Bullet!"
Her stream of water slammed toward Jugo.
Meanwhile—
Cursed Seal: Stage Two!
Kimimaro transformed mid-charge.
Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Larch!
Bones erupted across his body like armor.
He shielded his head and jumped straight into the dragon.
Jugo and Naruto both stared.
"What?!"
Only Sasuke and Sakura understood.
The green dragon's outer shell was nothing but rotating wind blades—but Kimimaro's bones were just as unbreakable.
And Lee's injured arms weakened the technique.
A screeching, grinding roar filled the air.
Kimimaro pierced the storm.
Inside—
silence.
The eye of the tornado.
He dropped directly onto Lee and struck.
The dragon collapsed.
Wind vanished.
Lee hit the ground unconscious.
Kitazawa appeared instantly to treat him.
Kimimaro stood there breathing hard.
He'd won—but the vibrations had traveled through his bones and rattled his entire body numb.
"Naruto," Sasuke smirked faintly, "looks like my teammates are stronger."
"I'll inherit Lee's youth!" Naruto roared.
"Konoha Dragon God!"
Chakra exploded around him like wildfire.
He spun.
A dragon three times larger tore into existence.
The surrounding forest disintegrated into dust under its blades.
Sasuke's expression tightened.
He leapt and struck with lightning—
but the attack shattered uselessly against the storm.
Naruto's Dragon God was on an entirely different level.
And Sasuke knew it.
Lightning Release: Double Chidori!
Sasuke clenched his teeth and surged forward.
He had been rationing his chakra the entire fight, carefully measuring every move against Naruto.
Not anymore.
If breaking the Dragon God meant ending this battle, it was worth the cost.
Both hands plunged into the spinning storm.
The rotating wind blades faltered for a split second.
An opening.
Sasuke burst inside.
Midair, he drew the Thunder God Sword and slashed down without hesitation.
Lightning erupted.
Naruto vanished inside a blinding flood of electricity.
The giant green dragon collapsed instantly.
Kimimaro and Sakura turned at the same time.
Jugo was already down—after Kimimaro joined the fight, he'd been overwhelmed two-on-one. His Curse Mark had hit its limit and sealed automatically under Kitazawa's improved Eightfold Earth Seal.
"We won!" Sakura shouted.
Naruto lay on the ground, convulsing under the lightning.
Sasuke stood untouched.
Kimimaro's chest tightened with excitement.
First place… was theirs.
"Naruto. You lost."
Sasuke raised his blade.
"Konoha Gale!"
A shadow clone slammed into him from the side.
More clones swarmed in immediately.
"Tch—annoying!"
Sasuke frowned.
Naruto's Dragon God forced the clones to retreat earlier, but now they rushed back to protect the original.
And Naruto…was still conscious.
Anyone else would've been unconscious already.
Sasuke didn't have time to question it.
He dodged the kick and snapped his wrist, throwing the Thunder God Sword.
A clone leapt in front of Naruto —and was pierced clean through.
The blade kept flying.
Just before it struck Naruto —
CLANG!
Samehada intercepted it automatically, shielding its master.
Sasuke's eye twitched.
That sword had belonged to the Second Hokage.
Why wasn't his weapon this loyal?
The delay was enough.
The clones dragged Naruto away.
The lightning faded.
Naruto stood up again.
Sasuke stared.
…Are you even human?
"Sasuke-kun!"
Sakura sprinted to his side.
Kimimaro followed.
Sasuke exhaled slowly.
Lee and Jugo were down.
Three versus one.
They should have had this.
Except Naruto still stood there—surrounded by clones—and somehow it didn't feel like an advantage at all.
Then—
pop pop pop
Clones started vanishing.
Sasuke blinked.
"Is he out of chakra?" Sakura said, eyes lighting up. "We actually won!"
"Don't—" Sasuke started.
Too late.
The dissipation stopped.
Seventeen clones remained.
Plus Naruto.
Eighteen.
"Sasuke!" Naruto grinned, giving a thumbs-up. "You're really my lifelong rival! My blood's boiling!"
"Your team's already down," Sasuke said coolly. "Surrender."
"I've still got one more taijutsu move!" Naruto announced proudly.
"I call it—Eighteen Dragons of Youth!"
"…?"
"…what?"
Sasuke stared.
Sakura voiced the collective confusion:
"What kind of technique is that?!"
Naruto and his clones shouted together:
"Eighteen Dragons of Youth!"
They spun.
Eighteen green dragons erupted into the sky.
The Forest of Death screamed.
Trees weren't blown away this time —they were shredded.
Sasuke.
Sakura.
Kimimaro.
All froze.
How exactly were they supposed to fight eighteen Dragon Gods?
Observation Platform
"Isn't this… a little excessive?" Kurenai asked blankly.
"…Yeah," Kakashi agreed immediately.
Tsunade blinked. "Tell me this was Kitazawa's idea again."
"He's responsible," Chen sighed. "But those aren't my Dragon Gods anymore. They've evolved into monsters."
"Simple," Hiruzen murmured, stroking his beard.
"Crude."
"Effective."
He paused.
Then added quietly:
"If Naruto learned my Five Elements Great Bullet… the world would burn."
Tsunade stood.
"The winner's decided."
Even she didn't want to fight eighteen of those.
And these were exhausted students.
The match was already over.
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