c25 The Battle of Fate
Seeing Lee's appearance, Naruto immediately guessed that Gaara would definitely arrive shortly afterward, and recalling the manga's original sequence, he estimated that Kimimaro should still be at his peak his Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai granting him terrifying close-quarters power. If Kimimaro hadn't been terminally ill, Naruto truly didn't know how Lee or even Gaara could have defeated him. Naruto created a shadow clone and hid it in the nearby forest to prevent Lee from encountering fatal danger, while Naruto himself bypassed Kimimaro and continued chasing Sasuke. Although he had left earlier, Sasuke's trail had vanished completely, so Naruto could only depend on instinct, the faint trace of the Cursed Seal's chakra, and the emotional pull between them. Even though Naruto didn't genuinely wish to stop Sasuke by force, it felt as if some invisible fate or perhaps the Nine-Tails' instinct was pulling him forward.
On the other side, Might Guy's training bore fruit as Lee used pure taijutsu to fight Kimimaro. However, Kimimaro already using his Dance of the Larch and Dance of the Camellia fought with an overwhelming advantage. Lee, who had only recently recovered thanks to Tsunade's surgery, found himself barely able to dodge the rain of bone swords and piercing bone spines. Yet thanks to Lee's speed and agility, he managed to save himself repeatedly. When he accidentally drank a large bottle of medicinal sake meant for recovery, the Drunken Fist a unique and unpredictable style erupted. Kimimaro had never seen such movements before. Although Lee struggled to land substantial damage due to Kimimaro's abnormal skeletal armor, his bizarre rhythm, drunken sways, sudden bursts of explosive force, and irregular footwork temporarily neutralized Kimimaro's precision. Even so, the overwhelming gap in raw power kept pushing Lee into danger. When Kimimaro escalated to a larger scale assault using a barrage of bone projectiles and the battlefield began filling with deadly bone forest attacks, Lee's movements, no matter how unpredictable, became insufficient.
Just as a bone spear was about to stab through Lee, Gaara appeared, riding on a wave of sand, blocking the attack with his automatic Sand Shield. The sand's natural advantage mid-range and long-range responses combined with omnidirectional coverage was the perfect counter to Kimimaro's melee-focused Shikotsumyaku. As long as Gaara stood still, the Sand Armor and Sand Eye allowed him to defend and attack simultaneously. When he made hand seals, advanced techniques like Desert Avalanche could be unleashed with overwhelming force. Kimimaro was forced into a purely defensive position. If not for his inhuman bone density and regenerative durability, he would have already fallen. Naruto's hidden shadow clone observed everything carefully and estimated that Kimimaro's illness would soon reach its limit, just like in the manga, deciding the battle regardless of which side gained the upper hand.
As for Naruto, after a long pursuit through the forest, across broken terrain, he suddenly stepped into an open vista marked by two colossal statues overlooking a roaring waterfall. He instantly recognized it the Valley of the End, where Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had once fought their legendary final battle. Sasuke stood atop Madara's statue, looking down with a coldness that carried the echo of Orochimaru's curse. Seeing this, Naruto wondered quietly: was this destiny repeating itself? It seemed that a fated confrontation with Sasuke was unavoidable.
Before Naruto could open his mouth, Sasuke's voice rang out sharply from above:
"Naruto! Let's have a real fight. I want to see who's stronger now me or you. You're the only one I acknowledge. Come, show me your true power!"
Hearing Sasuke's words, Naruto replied, "Sasuke, I've always considered you my closest friend. You and I share the same loneliness, the same pain. But Sasuke, there are many ways to seek strength. I don't object to you wanting power, but Orochimaru only wants your body. That path isn't your real strength."
But Sasuke seemed deaf to reason. He launched forward, his eyes glowing with the tomoe of the fully awakened Sharingan. Naruto immediately formed shadow clones and surrounded him from all directions. Yet the moment they clashed, Naruto felt the terrifying enhancement granted by the Cursed Seal Level One. Sasuke's punches and kicks were far stronger than before, his reaction speed sharpened to a razor edge. Even surrounded, he kept up with the clones effortlessly, countering and dispersing them with near-perfect precision. Sensing the stalemate, Sasuke leapt high into the air and performed swift hand seals mid-flight, unleashing the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique. But unlike his earlier academy-level versions, this blast carried both the Uchiha clan's refined power and the curse mark's boost, its size and heat were far greater.
Naruto reacted instantly, using Wind Release and strong wind pressure. Although Wind Release naturally enhances Fire Release, Naruto angled the wind to redirect the fireball's trajectory, causing it to collide with the waterfall and explode into steam. The torrent of vapor surged upward, and within seconds, a thick fog enveloped the battlefield.
In that fog, Naruto could see almost nothing, but Sasuke's Sharingan allowed him to read chakra flow and movement. Naruto was caught off-guard and kicked hard from the blind spot, sent flying across the wet stone. But Naruto did not panic. He used the momentum to retreat beyond the fog, planting his feet firmly at the edge of the valley.
Across from him, Sasuke lowered his stance and began forming hand seals. Lightning chakra crackled violently from his palm the sound of a thousand birds crying out. He was preparing Chidori.
Seeing this, Naruto summoned a shadow clone beside him, focused his chakra into his palm, and began forming the swirling sphere of compressed chakra the Rasengan.
The clash of fate had finally begun.
The two rushed toward each other in an instant, and Chidori and Rasengan collided with explosive force. Both sides immediately sensed the violent chakra surging from the other. The two powerful techniques clashed fiercely, with neither gaining the upper hand. The overwhelming impact shook both of them apart. In terms of form manipulation, Rasengan surpassed Chidori, while Chidori excelled through lightning nature transformation, piercing power, and acceleration. Ultimately, the power depended on the user. Under normal circumstances Naruto should have overwhelmed Sasuke, but Naruto hesitated because he refused to kill his friend, and Sasuke's strength boosted by the Cursed Seal had risen drastically, making the confrontation evenly matched.
Realizing this, Sasuke understood that his base form was still inferior to Naruto's. The black markings of the Cursed Seal of Heaven quickly crawled across his skin, and his chakra spiked violently. His strength skyrocketed again. In that instant, Naruto didn't even catch the movement before Sasuke's strike knocked him backward. Naruto no longer dared to be careless. Drawing on chakra control training from Jiraiya and the Nine-Tails' instinct, he burst forward with enhanced speed, a flicker of power rippling across his body, allowing him to evade Sasuke's follow-up blow. Naruto quickly leapt back, forming hand signs. Using Earth Release, the ground surged upward and mud gushed forth, obstructing Sasuke's charge long enough for Naruto to regain his footing.
At the same time, Naruto created several shadow clones some moved in to stall Sasuke while others assisted him in forming additional hand signs. The clones engaging Sasuke were erased almost immediately by his Sharingan-guided counterattacks, but Naruto completed his technique. A violent Wind Release tore forth as a spiraling tornado formed, swirling with debris and violently pulling Sasuke. Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu followed as Naruto mixed wind-enhanced flames with precise control to avoid killing Sasuke. Yet the curse mark's evolution intensified dark energy surged and a grotesque, wing-like appendage emerged from Sasuke's back, a sign of the second stage beginning to manifest. Though twisted in appearance, the wing's durability was enormous. Under its shielding, Naruto's combined technique failed to injure Sasuke.
After blocking Naruto's assault, a second wing protruded from Sasuke's back, and his chakra spiked again as the Cursed Seal Level Two took shape. Sasuke concentrated chakra into his hand, the natural energy-like sinister power within the curse mark amplifying his lightning to a frightening level. The Chidori's shrieks grew louder, sharper, and more monstrous. Seeing this, Naruto was deeply shocked by Orochimaru's unnatural jutsu this seal could force out a transformation that pushed Sasuke's power to a nearly unstable extreme. Naruto also summoned shadow clones and began gathering chakra for the strongest technique he could currently produce.
Wind chakra spiraled violently in his hand as a massive Rasengan began forming.Jiraiya's Big Ball Rasengan. The Chidori in Sasuke's hand pulsed with a purple-black tinge, its power warped by the curse mark. Even from a distance, Naruto could feel the terrifying destructive energy radiating from Sasuke's attack.
"Come on, Naruto!" Sasuke roared, eyes blazing with madness and determination.
Naruto responded with equal force, shouting: "Let's finish it with this move, Sasuke!"
Both charged forward, meeting over the center of the waterfall. Their techniques clashed again, and the eruption of chakra was so fierce that it split the waterfall cleanly in two. Naruto felt Sasuke's overwhelming power, far stronger than any previous clash, yet still slightly inferior to the Big Ball Rasengan's raw force. But at the final moment, Naruto deliberately suppressed his chakra, refusing to kill his closest friend. Sasuke's body faltered his chakra nearly drained, and the curse mark's transformation consuming tremendous physical energy.
Catching his breath, Naruto said quietly, "Either come back to Konoha with me, or continue to Orochimaru. It's your choice. I won't force you. No matter what happens, you'll always be my friend."
Sasuke offered no reply, turning away silently.
Watching Sasuke's silhouette disappear into the mist, Naruto exhaled heavily. "Maybe… maybe he really believes Orochimaru's path is the only one left for him."
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