Boom!
A violent explosion ripped through the earth, splitting the ground apart.
The deafening roar shook the entire valley so fiercely that Hinata and the others nearly lost their hearing. Dust and shattered stone filled the air as two monstrous figures clashed in the center of the battlefield.
They were once comrades.
Best friends.
Brothers in all but blood.
Yet now they fought with killing intent.
One wielded the power of lightning.
The other commanded the fury of wind.
At this moment, Sasuke's chakra reserves and raw strength were still slightly superior to Naruto's. His movements were sharper, his attacks more precise, and the cursed seal amplified every strike with terrifying force.
But Naruto's Wind Release: Vacuum Sword was able to stand against Sasuke's legendary Chidori.
Lightning screamed.
Wind howled.
The two techniques collided in a shower of sparks and razor-sharp shockwaves.
Neither side yielded.
Neither side stepped back.
For a brief instant, they were perfectly equal.
Then—
BOOM!
The collision detonated.
Both Naruto and Sasuke were hurled backward through the air like broken dolls. Their bodies slammed into the ground, blood spraying from their mouths as the aftershocks tore into them.
Their skin was split with cuts.
Their clothes were shredded.
Their bodies trembled with pain.
Yet even then, neither was willing to surrender.
Sasuke forced himself onto one knee first, his chest heaving violently.
"Damn it…"
His eyes were filled with rage and disbelief.
"I've fought so many battles… trained so hard… suffered through everything…"
"Why are you still this strong?"
"Why can't I crush you completely?"
"Why won't you fall?!"
Across from him, Naruto coughed up blood, then slowly pushed himself upright.
His arms shook.
His legs barely obeyed him.
But he stood.
"Because…"
Naruto lifted his head, blue eyes burning with determination.
"I won't give up until I bring you back to Konoha."
Those simple words struck harder than any jutsu.
Sasuke stared at him in silence.
Then his expression twisted.
The cursed seal spread violently across his skin once more.
Dark markings crawled over his face and body like living flames. This time, the transformation did not stop at the first stage.
His body changed completely.
His skin darkened.
His hair lengthened wildly.
His features sharpened into something inhuman.
A giant star-like cross pattern spread over his face.
And from his back—
A single wing of pale bone burst outward.
Hinata gasped.
Ino covered her mouth.
Even Shino's normally calm eyes narrowed.
"The second stage of the cursed seal…" Naruto muttered.
He had seen similar transformations before when facing the Sound Four and Kimimaro.
But seeing Sasuke like this felt different.
This was not just power.
This was corruption.
Sasuke's voice had changed as well. It no longer sounded fully human.
"Naruto…"
"If you try to stop me again…"
"I won't hold back anymore."
"I'll kill you."
Naruto only smiled faintly.
His body was battered, and blood ran down his face, yet his eyes never wavered.
"If you can…"
"Then come try, Sasuke."
A sudden gust of wind tore through the valley.
Both boys' hair and clothes whipped wildly in the air.
Leaves spiraled upward.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
Then both of them roared at the same time.
"CHIDORI!"
"WIND RELEASE: VACUUM SWORD!"
Sasuke pushed the cursed seal to its absolute limit.
Black lightning crackled violently around his arm, darker and more destructive than before.
At the same time, Naruto unleashed every ounce of the Nine-Tails' chakra he could control.
Red chakra surged around him like flames.
His wind blade changed form—no longer invisible and clear, but blazing red like burning blood.
This was their final attack.
Their strongest attack.
The moment their techniques met, the world changed.
Blue lightning screamed across the sky.
Red wind tore through the earth.
Black sparks exploded outward.
The collision shook the mountains themselves.
The ground cracked open in every direction.
Trees were uprooted instantly.
Massive boulders shattered into dust.
The sky seemed to split.
Hinata, Ino, and Shino could do nothing but stare.
"Naruto-kun…"
"Sasuke…"
No one knew who they were praying for anymore.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!
A blinding white light swallowed everything.
For a moment, the world became silent.
No sound.
No wind.
No movement.
Only emptiness.
Then the shockwave came.
The force blasted outward in all directions, flattening trees and hurling debris like arrows.
The battlefield was transformed into a giant crater.
No one knew how much time passed afterward.
A second.
A minute.
An eternity.
Eventually, the white light faded.
The sound of the world slowly returned.
And within the crater, two broken silhouettes could be seen.
Naruto and Sasuke had both been thrown to opposite ends of the massive pit.
Neither moved.
Their clothes were torn apart.
Their bodies were covered in blood.
Their faces were pale.
They looked like corpses.
"Naruto-kun!"
Hinata ran forward immediately.
"Sasuke!"
Ino sprinted toward the opposite side.
Shino followed behind, scanning the area carefully.
Hinata dropped to her knees beside Naruto and lifted his upper body into her arms.
His face was stained with blood and dirt.
Tears filled her pale eyes instantly.
"Naruto-kun… are you alright? Please… say something…"
Her tears fell onto his cheeks.
Naruto struggled to open his eyes.
Blurred vision slowly focused.
The first thing he saw was Hinata's trembling face.
So warm.
So gentle.
He tried to smile.
But he didn't have the strength.
"Sas…"
Hinata understood what he meant immediately.
She turned toward the other side of the crater.
Ino was supporting Sasuke, helping him sit up. But even that seemed difficult for him now.
"Sasuke… can you hear me?"
Tears were streaming down Ino's face as well.
"He… he's still alive…"
Hinata let out a breath of relief.
But the fact that "still alive" was the best description possible showed just how close both boys had come to death.
Shino stood silently nearby.
His heart was heavy.
They had been teammates.
Friends.
Rivals.
Brothers.
And yet they had nearly killed each other.
Why had things come to this?
After several moments, Naruto recovered enough strength to move.
With Hinata supporting him, he slowly sat upright and leaned weakly against her shoulder.
Then he looked toward Sasuke.
Ino was helping Sasuke remain seated as well.
Naruto forced himself to speak.
"Sasuke…"
"I told you before…"
"Even if I have to break your legs…"
"I'm bringing you back to Konoha."
"You don't have the strength to run anymore."
Sasuke's face was ghostly pale.
Blood covered his body.
With the cursed seal gone, he felt emptier than ever.
Its recoil ravaged his muscles and nerves.
But none of that pain compared to what he felt inside.
He glared at Naruto.
"Why?"
"Why are you so determined to stop me?!"
Naruto coughed violently, blood spilling from his mouth again.
Still, he answered.
"Because…"
"I can't just stand there and watch you walk toward your death."
Sasuke laughed bitterly.
"If I stay in Konoha…"
"Can you give me the power to kill Uchiha Itachi?"
Naruto froze.
Sasuke's voice trembled with anger and despair.
"I once thought Kakashi-sensei might teach me that kind of strength…"
"But he was defeated completely by Itachi."
"If even Kakashi is only at that level…"
"How am I supposed to avenge my clan?"
"How am I supposed to kill him in this lifetime?!"
His breathing grew ragged.
Then years of buried resentment finally exploded.
"What do you understand, Naruto?!"
"I'm not you!"
"Iruka-sensei cared about you."
"Kakashi-sensei guided you."
"Might Guy encouraged you."
"Asuma respected you."
"Even Jiraiya—one of the Legendary Sannin—taught you personally!"
"They all acknowledged you."
"They all gave you something."
Sasuke clenched his fists so tightly they bled again.
"What do I have?"
Silence fell.
Naruto's heart shook.
For the first time, he truly understood.
The reason Sasuke was willing to abandon everything…
To join Orochimaru…
To throw away his future…
Was not hatred alone.
It was desperation.
He wanted power.
Power strong enough to kill Itachi.
Power no one in Konoha had been able to give him.
And that truth hurt more than any wound Naruto had taken that day.
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