"And... begin!"
Naruto sprung into action, launching a barrage of punches and kicks. But to his surprise, Lars was evading them all.
One block there, another sidestep there. Each failed attack was making the boy.
"Is that all you've got?" Lars taunted.
Arthur noted the smirk on Lars' face. Then it donned on him as to why: Lars was gauging the boy's capabilities.
When Naruto finally managed to land a hit, he felt the repercussion reverberate through his arm. "Ugh!" He recoiled slightly, shaking his hand to alleviate the sting. "I gotta admit, you're really strong!"
"If you don't start trying," Lars replied with a dismissive tone, "you'll never hope to win."
"I'm just getting started!" Then Naruto formed a hand sign. "Multi-shadow clone jutsu!" Ten duplicates of himself that spread across the arena.
Since Arthur had fought the boy before, he knew exactly what was coming. But there was something more structured about Naruto's approach this time.
Instead of launching a disorganized assault, all the clones formed a hand sign. "Wind style: air bullet!" they called in unison, unleashing blasts of wind from multiple angles.
The audience gasped as Lars dodged and blocked the initial waves with an impressive display of speed. But the attacks never stopped.
Swoosh, swoosh, bang!
Once the dust began to settle, Lars' armour bore cracks from the onslaught.
'So he'd been training since,' Arthur noted. 'But that's still not enough.'
Lars was still standing just as strong. With a sudden intensity, he dashed towards one of the clones. That made the other clones lunge to catch him off guard. But he was ready even for them.
Bang!
A smooth pivot to a kick knocked one back. Then he dived under a punch and shot his left arm to intercept another one. The clone's wrist was grabbed and then thrown into the closest clone, sending both to the ground.
"Next?" he taunted as he squared off against the remaining clones.
"You ain't seen nothin' yet," a Naruto shouted. "Shadow clone jutsu!"
In just moments, the arena was filled with a mass of identical figures. Lars narrowed his eyes, assessing his surroundings as the clones swarmed towards him.
Fists came from all directions, but using his agility, he sidestepped the first few punches and retaliated with a backfist that connected with the nose of a clone, causing it to tumble backward into others.
Another clone aimed a kick at his side, but he blocked it effortlessly, catching the attacking leg under his arm. Then he twisted and sent the clone crashing into several more that had rushed in to help.
Numerous down. Tons more to go.
The remaining clones circled him with synchronized movements. They feigned attacks, trying to bait him into a mistake, but he remained calm as he dodged them.
Then they charged at him once more as a single unit.
Bang-bang-bang!
Lars had unleashed a combination of rapid punches and kicks, striking at any Naruto who came near.
One clone was spun by his ribs, then uppercut into the air. While the clone remained hovered, Lars delivered a roundhouse kick to several clones trying to ambush him.
Plop!
The clone finally dropped to the ground. Not a single one of them was able to react to Lars' speed.
"This is child's play," he taunted with a confident grin.
Clearly, the man was enjoying himself, fighting so many Narutos at once.
The clones, momentarily taken aback, regrouped for one final assault. They charged at him in unison like a sea of green. But Lars was rigid, crouching low to time their movements correctly.
Bang!
One devastating sweep caused them all to lose their balance before colliding into each other.
The next batch that came were sent tumbling over the remnants of their fellows. More were summoned and tried to flank him from behind.
Bang-bang-bang!
All of those clones were met with lightning-fast punches, dropping them in a heartbeat.
Poof-poof-poof-poof-poof.
Now all of the clones had dispersed, leaving only the original Naruto standing in the arena.
"I counted forty-nine," Lars clarified. "Summon more, and I'll have to start thinking about my next match…"
"I'm not done yet!"
"Good... Then let's see what else you've got."
Naruto bit his thumb and smacked his palm on the floor. "Summoning jutsu!" Many gasped from the stands as the arena filled with smoke, revealing not just one but four combat toads the size of an average man.
"Naruto?" the smallest toad asked after looking at his surroundings. "What sort of mess are you in now, and what's with that silly outfit y'er wearin'?"
"Glad to see you, too, Gama," the boy responded with a smile.
From group ten, Jada wondered aloud when Naruto learned to do that. She glanced at William for clarification.
"What?" he grinned. "It's not like it's against the rules."
"That's not what I meant, Will."
"Calm down, Jada. Besides, that's what happens when you make me Naruto's cousin!"
Amidst their conversation, the sound of lightning zipped through the arena. And when they looked, they saw purple electricity slice through all of the toads, turning them into puff clouds.
Naruto was left wide-eyed.
"Ugh... What just happened?" William questioned.
Lars' expression became one of contempt. "Fighting should always be one-on-one. I let your clones slide since they're you. But relying on help like that puts this match to shame…"
Naruto was taken aback by the unexpected criticism.
Why wouldn't this Tekken fighter be so passionate about this match? This was Lars Alexandersson, someone who regularly went toe-to-toe with the best of the best. And what the boy didn't know was that all his matches were one-on-ones.
Naruto quickly understood this fact: that was Lars' ninja way.
"You're right, Lars." He then took an earnest breath and added, "I... I guess I should apologize."
That was new. Or rather, that was quite mature of the main character to say during a heated battle.
Lars smiled, a genuine gesture that reflected the fighter in him. "Glad you understand. Now! Show me what you can really do now."
"Alright then!" Emboldened, Naruto re-entered a fighting position, channeling his chakra for a direct confrontation. "I, Naruto Uzumaki, will show you my ninja way! Believe it!"
Cheers erupted as the match escalated into a flurry of punches and kicks spiraling between the two.
But as things continued, it became clear that Lars was in a league of his own. Each strike from him seemed to send shockwaves through Naruto's body.
Not long, Naruto found himself bearing the brunt of a relentless assault.
Bang-bang!
Two devastating blows were delivered to his gut that sent the boy crashing to the ground. Lars then leapt and followed it with a 'boom!' A stomp had slammed Naruto further into the floor.
The crowd gasped due to how loud the impact was.
Dazed, bruised, and now sporting a swollen eye, Naruto struggled to rise but couldn't. His bloody lip was the clear sign of the punishment he'd just received for having disrespected the Tekken fighter.
Eyes closed, Lars slowly turned away. "I've beaten you; it's over."
"He-he..."
The faint laughter made the man stop. He then turned, only to see Naruto getting back on his feet!
"I've fought stronger guys than you," Naruto smiled, surprising even himself.
Lars' incredulity was written all over his face, so he questioned, "Naruto Uzumaki... Where does your fighting spirit come from?"
"Fighting spirit?" No one's ever asked Naruto that before. Then something dawned on him. "You never had any friends, huh? I can tell by the look in your eyes."
Lars blinked, taken aback by that response. The comfortable facade he wore cracked just slightly at the corners.
"I used to be like you," Naruto continued in a softer yet determined tone. "Before I met my cousin and made tons of friends, I felt alone too. But these bonds I have now are what made me stronger than I could ever dream of."
Just who was this boy?
It's then that Arthur saw something churning inside Naruto.
By the time anyone could react, Naruto's figure changed; the very air around him shimmered with what looked to be flames as his entire form started emanating the Nine-Tails' Chakra Mode!
Gasps filled the arena. Even Naruto had an expression of shock, almost as if this was his first time seeing this transformation.
That's because it was his first time seeing it!
"I see..." Lars admitted. "So that's your fighting spirit."
As quickly as the admiration arose, the officials signaled to the announcer, who boomed, "Naruto Uzumaki, you are hereby disqualified for using Tailed Beast chakra!"
Naruto finally looked up at Lars. Instead of anger or confusion, he had a smile of appreciation on his face. Whatever had happened during his speech, it seemed as though he had been communicating with the Nine-Tails inside of him.
"It's fine," he said with gratitude. His transformation then ceased as he clinched his hands. "I enjoyed the fight, Lars. You taught me something, too."
"And what was that?"
In a show of sportsmanship, Naruto approached him and extended his arm for a fist bump. "To never give up on my friends!"
Lars looked at Naruto's outstretched fist, hesitating only briefly before he reciprocated the gesture. "I hope we meet again... Naruto Uzumaki."
"Same here, Lars Alexandersson!"
Now Arthur was certain on this: while Naruto was speaking, the boy had indeed been engaging with the Nine-Tails. He knew this because of that fist bump, a gesture special in this world, and also something the boy wouldn't know the meaning of until he met Killer Bee.
But how was this possible? To achieve that form meant Naruto would have had to take the Nine-Tails' chakra. And to do that required unlocking the Eight Trigrams Seal.
No, something was off.
It only took Arthur a second to figure out what it was: Naruto had met Kushina Uzumaki.
Arthur wasn't entirely sure when or how, but that was the only logical explanation. William was also to have played apart in all of this.
The only question alluding to Arthur was what triggered this boy into awakening that transformation this early in his story.
'William... you have no idea what you're doing.'