Naruto's POV (Courtyard of Iron Arena - Land of Iron)
Naruto stared at Kurotsuchi, not paying attention to Kakashi stating the rules. He had always enjoyed a good fight. Neji and Ino often teased him that he was some sort of berserker. But the truth was fighting simply made things simpler. Naruto felt he could understand someone better in combat, and as long as things were kept safe, he could work through grief painlessly… for the most part, anyway. Perhaps that was why he was so excited to fight Kurotsuchi.
Kurotsuchi had seemed intent on fighting him as well, not because she hoped to kill or hurt him like Gaara, but more out of a competitive urge. Naruto could understand such. Happy to hear of his dream to be Hokage, she had seemed determined to gauge their progress by determining who was stronger.
Naruto supposed he could see where she was coming from, but it seemed so… weird. They had the same dream and ambition; the singular difference was the title of the position and the village over which it would grant them dominion. Why did it matter who was stronger? Why should their fight have anything to do with proving someone superior? Naruto simply wanted the two to do their best; he wanted to win, but he didn't think that would make him better.
Why did Kurotsuchi decide to become a Kage? Had it been out of a desire to be beloved like himself? The drive to be the best? Why did Naruto feel as if her answer would upset him? Naruto had never been an over-thinker. He would get to the bottom of this.
"Hey, shortie! Come on, already, the fight has started!" Kurotsuchi roared, knocking Naruto out of his inner musing. "I don't want any excuses from you when I'm done kicking your ass!"
"Keep joking," Naruto replied with a small smile. "I was just thinking, can I ask you something?"
"Yes, I'm single, and no, I'm not interested," Kurotsuchi said with a raised brow.
"Ya not interested." Naruto countered, with a slight frown now. "I was just wondering why you decided to become Tsuchikage?"
"Why? It was expected of me; I'm the granddaughter of Onoki of the Scales. To become anything less would shame my family. Besides, I want to prove to that old bastard I'll surpass him and everyone else."
Naruto seemed to frown a little deeper at this. "But you don't need to surpass anyone to do that. Why do you seem so keen on being superior to people?"
"Keen? No, I'm not keen on it, but that's how the world works. They are people in this world who are simply greater than everyone else. Then, some are born weaker than everyone else. If you want to be remembered as anything more than another body, you gotta prove you are better than the rest. Give them a reason to remember you as a bar they can never surpass. I want to leave behind a legacy just as my grandfather has done. And in the process, serve my village well." Kurotsuchi explained. "Not that it matters much, but I can tell you don't like my answer." She finished with a shrug.
Naruto cracked his neck as he drew Riptide and did some slow stretches. "No," He started as he now eyed Kurotsuchi intensely. "No, I don't." His mind wandered to his time training with Jiraiya.
"I haven't thought to ask yet, brat." Jiraiya mused as he lay lazily on a branch. He sipped greedily from a bottle of sake as Naruto and a clone of Jiraiya were engaged in a vicious Taijutsu spar below him. "Why do you wanna become Hokage anyway? You realize just because Minato did so, you don't have to either."
"No, of course not, you damn drunk pervert!" Naruto growled angrily after crawling up to his feet after a particularly harsh beatdown from the clone. "I just wanna become the kind of person everyone can count on. Make the Hidden Leaf a better place to live. Prove everyone who looked down on me wrong. Become the best, I guess. It never really mattered to me what my dad was. I never intended to become a copy of either of my parents anyway. I'm my own man."
Jiraiya nodded somberly as his clone whipped Naruto violently into a tree. "So it's an ego thing for you. You want to become Hokage to fix your reputation and show your worth. Figuring you can help out the village in the process."
Naruto slammed back into the clone with a flying knee; done with enough force, the clone slid back. "So what? Something wrong with that?"
"Not quite, but your thinking is, well, naive, I would say." Jiraiya countered.
"How s-" Naruto was interrupted as the clone landed a powerful body shot on him, silencing him as he crumbled into a ball of pain.
"Assuming you were gonna say how so." Jiraiya continued with a smirk. "You can't fix your reputation or treatment by becoming Hokage. A Hokage is beloved by the people of his village long before he is given the mantle. And if you're becoming a leader out of spite, you've already failed."
"How the hell would you know?" Naruto argued sourly. He didn't get much enjoyment out of someone challenging his dream. "You're no Kage; or some great leader. I'm not even sure what your rank is. Sannin is just some title they gave you for whatever reason." Naruto offered a challenge of his own.
"Technically, something like an Anbu, I guess." Jiraiya chuckled with mirth. "And while I may not be some grand leader, I've known plenty, both great and bad. Only the bad ones follow the motivations you mentioned. If your only reason to achieve accomplishments is to prove others wrong, what will you do once you've done so? How far will you go to prove them wrong? How will you even do so before becoming Hokage? Why would you be a better Hokage than someone else if they were equally powerful? Equally Wise? Wisdom and Power are merely aspects of a good Kage. The two alone don't make one. To become a great Kage or leader, you must master yourself and win the hearts of your fellow brethren."
Naruto was stunned into silence.
"See? Becoming Hokage is a fine dream, one I think you are capable of one day, brat. But you must recognize that becoming Hokage isn't just an accomplishment or a way to display your legacy. It's about becoming someone so beloved and needed they feel the need to give you the reins. At this point, we, as your people, will expect you to serve not only loyally but effectively. How you'll improve the Hidden Leaf as all the predecessors have before you. It will be the determining factor on whether you remember well or poorly. Consider all of this, and figure out the answer to those questions for yourself." Jiraiya lectured with a smile. "Only then will you be something close to a good leader."
Naruto blinked and refocused on the tense Kurotsuchi. "You're not worthy of your dream yet." He declared bluntly. Jiraiya had made him see that more clearly. He felt compelled to challenge her flawed vision of their dreams. "And unless you change your attitude, you never will be."
Kurotsuchi's eyes narrowed at this, and she lowered herself to a more aggressive stance. "Let's see about that Shortie."
Naruto's eyes hardened as he grumpily sighed. "I'm not even that damn short." As soon as he did, Naruto blinked, so he heard the sudden air shift. 'The match has already started. Let's see what you got.' Kurotsuchi dashed forward as soon as she saw Naruto's guard lowered.
Naruto leaned his head to the left, managing to sway out of the way of Kurotsuchi's punch. He quickly trapped her arm with one arm and used it to attempt to throw her directly onto her head. Kurotsuchi, showing a surprising level of flexibility and acrobatics, managed to land on her legs in a bridge form. She quickly lashed out with a flexible kick for his face as well. Naruto deflected it using Riptide and attempted to stomp on her head. Kurotsuchi rolled away, firing off Kunai rapidly. Naruto pursued her doggedly, deflecting each with Riptide with skill and ease. He then spun in a circle, aiming for a slash to Kurotsuchi's ankles. She jumped over the slash with a flying knee aimed at his face. With one arm, Naruto caught it, and the two both let go, each aiming for a head kick. The two kicks met with a loud, painful, sounding thud. Naruto proved to be the more vigorous blow, knocking Kurotsuchi off balance. As she stumbled back, Naruto slashed for her torso. Which she sloppily leaped back from. Seeing this, Naruto swept her legs, grabbed her arm, and hauled her with his impressive strength as he did. He threw her bodily towards the stony part of the field. His power and angle of throw caused her to rise and fly away from him towards the challenging ground area of the Courtyard.
'She's no slouch regarding close combat, but I think I have the advantage.' Naruto mused. 'She didn't show any jutsu, but it's safe to assume she uses Earth Style. Better to keep this fight in my preferred range.' As he organized his thoughts with one hand, he summoned ten clones. The clones did not hesitate, immediately chasing after their airborne foe.
She flipped upright in the air and, with a skid, landed on and stayed on her feet. As the Naruto's closed in, Kurotsuchi smiled, showing she had finished a series of hand signs. "Earth Style: Quivers of Earth!"
Several straight and sharp stone lines emerged from the ground, racing toward the clones. Two of them, who were close to her, could not react. The thin lines of earth speared from them with silent poofs. The rest continued their charge as one dived towards the incoming earth spikes.
"Uzumaki Style: Casting Net!" The clone cried as it slashed several times; this led to a blue net of chakra flying forward, slicing through the stone projectiles as it met them. The rest of the clones surged forward to the pressured Kurotsuchi. As they did so, she summoned stone on her fist with a whisper from her; fearlessly, Kurotsuchi charged forward to meet their attack.