//------------------------------// // The Fight // Story: Visual Prowess // by UgalaaWriter //------------------------------// The entire battle was started off with Naruto’s Rasengan spinning into Sasuke’s Chidori- and they clashed against one another before Sasuke pulled away, scowling, and jumped away a decent amount of space. Chidori couldn’t stand up to the drilling power of Rasengan- not when Naruto was healthy like this. He took his out sword and held it in one hand, and started running Chidori Nagashi throughout it. Naruto took his cloak and threw it to the side. He cracked his neck a few times- and it wasn’t like any other time that he’d fought Naruto. Naruto was stronger than ever- and from what he’d seen from the last battle, in The War, he had full control over his beast. Sasuke’s crimson irises spun rapidly as Naruto tensed himself. Naruto knew Sasuke was going try something- and got ready for it. Across his body, orange flames and chakra appeared- and he activated his Kyuubi Chakra Mode- and at the same time, hands of chakra came out of his body and pushed him away into the air, from the ground, as Sasuke used Amaterasu where Naruto used to be standing. His eye’s blood vessels burst as he did so- and the blood ran down his face, but he ignored it, as usual. By now, he was used to the pain. Black flames exploded and ate away at where he used to be. Naruto landed adroitly, a little farther away. Naruto reached into his back pocket and felt around- and with incredible speed that Sasuke was barely able to match, they began to launch shuriken and kunai at each other. The shining metal numbered in the hundreds- and through the hail of weaponry that screeched across the town square of Ponyville, every other noise was drowned out from the sound. Sasuke and Naruto panted as the metal clattered to the floor- Then, immediately, before all of it had even hit the floor, they dashed at each other, and engaged in a melee battle- throwing in jutsu when they could manage it. Sasuke jumped at Naruto and threw a rapid punch at his face and, at the same time, attempted to kick his side, but was blocked by Naruto- who jabbed at him with a fist, and managed to catch him in the side. Sasuke slugged him good in the face, and both jumped away and breathed a bit before launching themselves again. As rapid punches from Naruto blocked quick strikes from Sasuke, Sasuke shouted at him while they fought. Sasuke’s red, angry face seemed to have no effect on Naruto, who only fought him harder even as Sasuke argued with him. “Naruto! I don’t want to go back to The Leaf Village, maybe later, but I’m not ready for it, not yet! I’ve found peace here, and you’re not going to take it away from me!” Sasuke screamed as he slammed Naruto in the gut with one arm. Naruto groaned but didn’t let up, and formed a large Rasengan in one palm that was heading for Sasuke’s side alarmingly fast. Sasuke twisted, his visual prowess granting him aid in the battle, and barely moved out of the way of the attack as it swung through midair. At the same time, Sasuke slashed at Naruto with his sword, but Naruto moved, and the most he managed was a small cut that was already healing by the time that they touched down onto the ground. Sasuke grunted as he knew that bruises would be forming later- despite the fact that they blocked most of their strikes on each other, a few hits did land, and he could feel the pain fading from his torso as he readied himself. Naruto created a few red-orange chakra arms- Sasuke was still getting used to the strange method of attacking- and in them, rapidly formed multiple gigantic Rasengan. Sasuke’s eyes widened, and he did several backflips as the arms shoved the Rasengan into the ground where he’d been a split- second before. Sasuke eyed the huge craters they created- the spinning balls drilled hard into the ground and created miniature dust clouds that blocked the vision of the two combatants for a few seconds. When it faded, Sasuke had already charged at Naruto with Chidori- who weaved back and forth as Sasuke furiously tried to bury the deadly lightning jutsu in his body. He struck at him with his huge, red-orange arms, but Sasuke dodged them, before jumping off the ground and attacking from above. “NARUTO!” He shouted as he fell upon Naruto. Naruto didn’t move- and instead, raised a palm and formed his Rasenshuriken- and Sasuke eyed it with caution. He was in midair and it was hard for him to move- and he desperately wished that he still had his curse mark so he could form wings- because, at the very least, he’d be able to move. He had another way, if he needed to, but he preferred not to use it yet. When Naruto threw the Rasengan that suspiciously looked like a Fuma Shuriken at him, though, he didn’t hesitate any longer, and quickly formed the required seals and bit his finger, and shoved his hand downwards, into the air- and instantly, smoke obscured the vision of Naruto as Sasuke summoned a large brown hawk that only barely dodged the Rasenshuriken. Naruto glared at Sasuke as he formed another Rasenshuriken. “I’m your friend, Sasuke. But I’m doing what I have to. I still have my responsibilities as Hokage, and you need to come back to the Village- even if you don’t want to. By law, as the Hokage of Konoha, I’m going to capture you and bring you in.” Sasuke snarled as he listened to Naruto. It was like Sasuke hadn’t even spoken. He considered how to handle this battle even as he formed seals and spat out a large battle to make the Rasenshuriken detonate- and the first he’d simply dodged, but the second had come into contact with something, and so it exploded. Sasuke’s eyes widened as he watched the destructive power of the jutsu. Naruto was using extremely deadly force. He had, for some reason, always assumed that Naruto would only try to take him in with slight force- but Naruto wasn’t playing around. He was too good of a shinobi to be distracted by even this realization, however, and as Naruto’s chakra arms formed nine normal Rasengan and raced to his position on them, he stayed on his hawk as it dodged them. He launched another large fireball at Naruto. Naruto backflipped and jumped off a tree, high into the air- as the large fireball came into contact with the ground, and Ponyville, as well. While he was glancing at the ground for a fraction of a second, he saw Luna and Celestia arguing, furiously- waving their hooves at each other- and it almost looked like it was going to turn into a fight- but he had no time to pay attention to it as Naruto charged at him. Naruto had gotten much faster- so, so much faster. His chakra form grants him that speed, Sasuke guessed, idly, as Naruto’s fist was buried in Sasuke’s cheek. He was sent flying with spittle leaking out of his mouth as he crashed through the roof of a house and slammed hard into the floor. He groaned and dug himself out, and glared at Naruto who was still falling right towards him- wind whipping at his clothes as he did so. Sasuke wiped the blood off his face and the side of his mouth as he got ready- and used his Eternal Mangekyo to form a shield of Amaterasu around himself- again, making his eyes bleed more as he fought with Naruto. The Rasengan crashed uselessly into it- and soon all petered out afte drilling into the shield for a few moments. Naruto leaped back and narrowed his eyes as the black flames around Sasuke disappeared. He’s good, Sasuke realized. Better than I realized he’d be. I didn’t get a real feel for his strength at the war because we hadn’t really fought enough. But now, we’re doing this until one of us is knocked unconscious- or, perhaps, further, even. Again, he launched himself with such great speed- and again, Sasuke failed to dodge it. He remembered something as he was ruthlessly punched in the gut, repeatedly. The fists pounded into his stomach, relentless, and he was starting to have trouble breathing. He did his best to block what he could, but the speed was hard to fight- he wasn’t going to lose instantly, but he was at a definite disadvantage. Just like Rock Lee, Sasuke realized. It does not matter how fast your eyes can see if your body cannot keep up. As Naruto caught him in the same right cheek again, and Sasuke went flying through three houses before he righted his body and jumped off a tree, he realized he’d have to do better than this if he wanted to stay here. Naruto wasn’t screwing around; he was taking him down already, and if Sasuke didn’t start taking this as a fight for his life- which it was, in a way- a fight for the happiness he’d just acquired- then he’d be taken away. He didn’t want to go back there. Mangekyo spinning, he paid very close attention- and tried to let his Sharingan guide him. These things had happened to him before- sometimes, when in a battle of an opponent with greater speed, he simply had to rely on his kekkai genkai to guide him. And he did so, and watched- with only split-seconds to react to the punches- the images appear in front of him. They were hazy, and blurry, but showed how his punches would go- and Sasuke was able to block most of them, even landing a couple of hits back. He caught Naruto in the side with a particularly hard kick, and Naruto wheezed, before jumping back a few feet. But now that Sasuke had an advantage, he wasn’t going to let up. He chased after Naruto, and continued kicking at him- landing a few, but mostly, just hitting Naruto without getting hit himself, which was good. He could see the frustration and growing anger on Naruto’s face- red, furious, and twisted features opened up into a snarl that was more than a little demonic. Well, he DOES have a demon inside him, Sasuke thought. Naruto pulled out more speed- from where, Sasuke had no damn idea- but he sure fucking felt it when two hard fists slammed into his stomach and blasted him back with force. He was propelled backwards and smacked the side of a tree- which slowed him down enough that he was able to grab a branch, swing up, and breathe for a second- but damn it, already, Naruto was coming for him again! This is fucking ridiculous, Sasuke thought, growling. I should be stronger than this. Is it me that’s weaker, or him that’s stronger? I can’t tell. He blocked a blow that would’ve sent him reeling with his forearm- and he could feel the force, really, really feel it as it smashed into his arm with ruthless strength. He struggled to block Naruto’s attacks- it was like he was fighting ten Kages at once. Naruto certainly had gotten stronger- it wasn’t him that had gotten weaker. It was more like he’d stayed mostly the same, but compared to the last time he’d really fought Naruto- which had been back at Orochimaru’s, when Naruto had been incredibly weak- this was on a different level of difficulty. A kick to the stomach sent him flying- and right then, Sasuke saw his chance. He had to thank his visual prowess, always, because it gave him such an advantage. He saw the way Naruto was moving- and saw the tiniest possible opening. He held a huge Rasengan in his palm, Odama Rasengan, he thought Naruto had called it, and was preparing to race under Sasuke’s flying body and shove it into the middle of his back- something that would no doubt deal serious damage to Sasuke. If I get hit by that, this fight will become nearly impossible, Sasuke realized. Quick as a flash, Naruto was upon him- but in the same instant, Sasuke activated his Eternal Mangekyo Susanoo- and large purple hands were the first parts that formed, surrounding his body in a protective cloak of violet, powerful energy. Naruto’s Rasengan pushed against it repeatedly, but to no avail- and instantly, one of the arms smacked Naruto. He was shot down onto the ground, instantly, in the middle of Ponyville- and Sasuke looked around, noticing how wrecked Ponyville was already. They’d already crashed or used a technique to destroy both Sugarcube Corner and Rarity’s Boutique. A few other buildings and homes were destroyed, there were multiple small fires raging in different areas, and the grounds in places were scorched, from Sasuke’s fireballs. With his Susanoo now out- and using his unfair advantage, he went to work. He trusted his Susanoo to hold up for a decent amount of time- hell, a while, provided Naruto didn’t start using anything ridiculous like the Tailed Beast Bomb. The bow materialized in the cloaked figure’s hands, and it starting firing arrows at a ridiculous speed. They were huger than Naruto was himself- if he got hit by one, if it was direct, he’d die instantly, and if not, it’d probably rip off a limb. Naruto was too fast for it, though- and dodged all of them. The Susanoo kept up, firing arrows as Naruto struggled to dodge them, desperate. He jumped and did all kinds of flips and different kinds of movements that were so quick, graceful, and well executed, that it would make gymnastic students look like crippled people in comparison. All of this, to dodge the deadly arrows that Sasuke was firing. Sasuke, meanwhile, was calming down. He’d forced Naruto on the defensive, at least for the time being, and knew that he had time to think out at least a few steps ahead while the Susanoo occupied his opponent. He wasn’t anything like Shikamaru, but he could plan out things well enough- probably better than Naruto could, anyway, he reasoned. He knew that Naruto’s stamina- combined with his speed and strength, would no doubt win him the fight in the long run. He had to figure out a way to beat him quick, and, if not that, then some other way, but he couldn’t be captured. That was the one thing that mustn’t happen. Sasuke wouldn’t allow it. Naruto, even while avoiding his attacks, though, was steadily making his way closer- and it was still hard to react to his movements, even while relying and trusting on his kekkai genkai. Despite how good the Sharingan and its advanced forms were, it couldn’t do everything, and Sasuke was finding this out the hard way as he backed up around Ponyville, shooting arrows at Naruto, leaving craters in the ground, but running out of space to run. Over half of Ponyville was demolished now, and Sasuke realized that, by the time they were completely done, there would be nothing left of it. He snarled and fought harder, trying desperately to save both himself and the town. He couldn’t remember having this much trouble in a fight before- the last ridiculously hard fight that he’d had before had been against Itachi, and since then, nothing else had been on this level of difficulty. He would’ve found this out if he’d been able to fight at the War, but instead, he’d been tossed here, so that hadn’t worked out. And now he was finding out how strong Naruto had gotten- and he didn’t want to see what other tricks he had up his sleeve. Naruto had been strong enough to become Hokage for more than a little while now, it was clear, because he was much stronger than a Kage right now. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Sasuke growled, each time he missed, and then Naruto was close enough to shoot a Rasenshuriken at his Susanoo- but no, it hit, and damn it, that took away too much stamina! Every time he was hit while the gigantic, purple being was active, it protected him, and that was good, but it also drained his energy to do so- not to mention that using Susanoo supposedly draining his life force, though he didn’t know if that was true or not. Sasuke was starting to get a little more and more frantic as time went on. He knew that it was starting to become harder to win the battle. He struggled to hit Naruto at all, with any attack- but at the same time, he noticed that Naruto wasn’t exactly in top shape either- Sweat dripped off of his face like a river, and even though he was fighting as hard as he was, Sasuke could still see the exhaustion that wracked his body. Sasuke only hoped that he could outlast Naruto- but, at the same time, he was getting tired, too. Still, they had a long way from even being close to done. He decided to mix in Chidori with his Susanoo arrows at the same time, and hoped that the sheer number of projectiles would possibly be able to hit Naruto. It paid off a few moments later, when, after Naruto came close to use a Rasenshuriken on him, he caught him in the shoulder with a Chidori Sharp Spear- and the attack carried through, impaling Naruto’s shoulder. He dropped the beam off immediately, but grinned at his success- and watched as Naruto leapt back for a moment and fought much, much more defensively. He knew that had hurt, and for a variety of reasons. Not only did it make him have to waste energy regenerating with his Fox Chakra, it also was worse because he was already exhausted. He was glad that he’d finally landed a hit on Naruto after all this time. Naruto slowly stood up, and for the first time, made Kage Bunshin- and now, Sasuke was both scared, and wary. He didn’t know about the limitations of the Chakra Mode, but what Naruto had really been doing was conserving his strength. He only couldn’t use clones if Kyuubi was trying to get out- meanwhile, now, with Kurama on good terms with him, he could really start to dip into his energy and use his full power. Sasuke wasn’t aware, though. He only thought that it was a pretty even fight with a slight advantage over Naruto. So he was surprised when two Rasenshuriken came crashing into his Susanoo at once, and it nearly broke through- it shattered most of the ribs of the complete Susanoo, and drained Sasuke of a lot of his energy. But he wasn’t ready to give up yet. He’d just have to rely on basics, now, and hope that it was enough. The second Naruto charged at him, and rushed him with that ridiculous speed that Sasuke was still getting used to, he leapt up, and left Naruto in the trap he’d prepared- and watched, with satisfaction as Naruto ran right into multiple explosion tags that went off immediately, and then- right behind him- a hoof crashed into his back and there was pain all over his body, as well as a contorting sensation. He knew what it was, though, and flared his chakra, and turned and glared behind him- at Luna, who’d started taking a side in the fight. Meanwhile, Celestia had taken to doing the same to Naruto- and had repeatedly tried to use telekinesis on him, to no avail, as Naruto easily flared his chakra and dodged all kinds of spells that she threw at him. “What the hell are you two doing?” Sasuke snarled as he gestured at the area around them, throwing his arms wild and wide, “You do realize if you get caught in the crossfire of this, you’ll die, right? One serious attack from Naruto or I could end you if it hit you right.” Luna didn’t respond at first, only flapping her wings and rushing at him with her horn glowing. It seemed to take on a sharper tone, and Sasuke realized that she’d made it much stronger and sharper than it should’ve been- which was revealed by the little whistling it made in the air as it came towards Sasuke at full speed. “Fine, then,” Sasuke said, though he couldn’t hide his frustration. He could only hope that Naruto dealt with Celestia slower than he did and didn’t use the time to take free shots on him- something that could certainly spell his downfall if he had to start fighting two of them at once. He flipped backwards and gasped as Luna attempted to impale him with her horn that was probably as hard as a lance, and much sharper. Sasuke was pissed, and had had enough of this shit. He didn’t have the time for this. Naruto would no doubt deal with Celestia faster- as he spared a glance that had probably only lasted half a second behind him, and watched as Celestia was being systematically destroyed by Naruto- and he had to do the same thing to Luna, quick, or he’d risk getting ganged up on. He let out a scream of frustration and brutally punched Luna so hard in the side that it sent her flying towards the ground- and it seemed that Naruto had done the same thing, as Celestia went flying in the same direction. Sasuke landed on the ground after being in the air, and glanced behind him, in the opposite direction. There it was, that small reprieve, and then again, Naruto was after him- and Sasuke watched as he zipped forward, and tried to counter his hits with his own limbs- and a flurry of blocks, grabs, and punches and kicks followed. Through the haze of all the attacks at a nearly blinding speed, Sasuke was barely able to keep up, and he knew that he was both falling behind and slowing down, and then a wide strike from Naruto caught him in the side. It sent him crashing into a house, and he climbed out of the rubble, really pissed off, now. He forced himself to calm down and assess the situation. He watched as, far off, Celestia and Luna battled each other- and he could barely even pay attention to that as Naruto was already rushing him and approaching him rapidly again. Right as Naruto was about to hit him, he traded places with a log halfway across Ponyville- one of many split pieces of wood from all the trees that had been destroyed in the fight. He slowly slid his sword out of its sheath, after he’d put it back there, and charged Chidori onto it- and waited. He watched as Naruto raced forward, and was soon upon him. Sasuke used his skills in kenjutsu to battle him- and Naruto couldn’t try to hit him head on with one of his limbs or risk using it. He started using a kunai, but he’d still be shocked. He jumped back and glared at Sasuke, and then glanced up. Sasuke did as well, and watched as, in the sky, the two Princesses were still fighting. He couldn’t overhear the furious conversation they were having, but it must’ve been brutal, as Celestia got a good hit in with one of her spells, and managed to send Luna flying towards the ground- but she didn’t hit as hard as the shinobi did, and Luna was able to right herself in mid air. Luna responded with a barrage of light-orange magic projectiles that looked similar to a plume of fire when launched like that- even though they were just large magical arrows. Celestia dodged most of them, though a few caught her in the sides, and flew towards Luna with clear intent- That was all Sasuke had time to observe, as Naruto was already coming at him again, and he had no choice but to dodge and defend, and try to strike back with his sword when he could- which was becoming a rarer and rarer chance as the battle went on. He’d shocked Naruto a couple of times, but it was still hard to do so, and Naruto broke away from it each time pretty quick, leaving Sasuke tired, and with few results. He breathed deep as he assessed the situation. He knew that it was becoming harder and harder for him to win, and he’d soon have to pull something off- what, he didn’t know. But he’d have to do something, or he’d be beaten, and he’d be dragged back to the Leaf Village, no doubt to try to be integrated back into the society. He didn’t understand why Naruto didn’t just get it. Maybe Naruto didn’t think he’d really changed. “Naruto,” Sasuke called, as Naruto approached, and the young Kage stopped, curious. “I’m not sure you get it,” Sasuke said, and Naruto was beginning to understand what he was talking about- and already, was creating clones to make multiple Rasenshuriken to launch at Sasuke, “there’s no point in bringing me back. I don’t want to go home. I’m never going to be the same,” Sasuke said. Naruto didn’t respond at first. “Don’t you think I know that? I’m only hoping for you to get better, but…” Naruto said, launching his Rasenshuriken at Sasuke- who dodged, and they exploded, taking almost the rest of Ponyville with them. The entire small town was little more than charred grass and pastures, smoking buildings, and ruins all around. Sasuke only watched in shock as Naruto went on an angry tirade- crying, the entire time, with tears running down his cheeks from his bright, blue eyes. “Don’t you ever fucking think that I’d considered giving up on you? YOU have no idea how hard it’s been for ME! Everyone else at home and everywhere else has already given up on you, and you still act this way- as if it’s my fault or something. BIG FUCKING HINT, SASUKE,” Naruto yelled, furious and nearly incoherent, screaming, “YOU’RE THE ONE WHO RAN FIRST! YOU’RE THE ONE WHO RAN AWAY BECAUSE HE WASN’T STRONG ENOUGH, NOT ME!” Then, the volume of Naruto’s voice dropped significantly, until it was hardly a whisper. “And you act like it’s all about yourself… as if I don’t know that you don’t want to come home… you haven’t wanted to come home in years, and I doubted that you would, even now..” Naruto grew more furious then, if it was even possible, and his chakra flared, “YOU’RE SO FUCKING SELFISH! YOU FORGET ABOUT MY RESPONSIBILITES! You’re a missing-nin of the Leaf, and I’m Hokage, and you need to be brought to justice.” Naruto calmed himself down and glared at Sasuke- and Sasuke realized, a little too late, that it wasn’t furious- it was a completely cold, logical anger that possessed Naruto, now. No longer would his emotions be interfering with his skills as a ninja. Even as he wiped the tears from his eyes, he charged Sasuke again, and they argued as they fought- fists flying, kicks landing, but still, voices echoed throughout the destroyed Ponyville as they fought- and above them, another conflict raged, as the two Princesses fought for the first time in a thousand years. Sasuke had dropped his Susanoo to save energy, but he was considering reactivating it- he needed breathing room, and Naruto was getting closer, and- And then Naruto’s fist was buried in his stomach, and he had no idea what had happened. Maybe he’d missed it- hadn’t been paying attention, because his eyes surely wouldn’t have missed it. It didn’t matter, though. Naruto had already delivered a bone-cracking kick to the side of his jaw and sent him sprawling and reeling into the ruins of a building that had already been destroyed in a similar manner. Sasuke groaned as he rose to his feet. Simply put, he was getting his ass kicked. He needed to focus and get in another good shot- he saw that the hole he’d put in Naruto’s shoulder was still bleeding, and still there- but it was healing way faster than it should’ve. Sasuke knew that if he didn’t get in some sort of damage soon, then it would be over way before the fight should’ve been. He wouldn’t have a chance to come back; he’d be defeated, pretty effortlessly, and then he’d be hauled back to… there. He didn’t want to go back there. Not after he’d overcome a lot of his problems regarding the place that was for sure. Naruto was rushing at him again, and he activated Susanoo once more, the violet being encasing his entire form, and then some. It raised its hands and shot the arrow from the bow- Naruto twisted and barely avoided it, but still kept coming- and Sasuke balked at his, for lack of a better word, balls. He closed the gap in another second or two and started firing rapid punches at the Susanoo’s cloak- which was rapidly denting. The ribs had regenerated, but the Susanoo was weaker than before. It swung its arms and tried to shoot its bow, but Naruto was able to dodge them- that was, until, by chance, he messed up his rotation of dodging, and an arm caught his ankle. For one single second, he hung in midair upside down- and it reminded him of when Naruto had fallen for Kakashi’s simple trap during the bell test, when they’d originally began being a team. Sasuke’s crimson irises swirled and his eyes widened more, if it was possible, when he saw it. It was his chance- his chance. He went through handseals faster than he’d ever thought he’d been able, and charged a Chidori that he shoved in Naruto’s chest. Instantly, Naruto leapt back, but the damage was already done. It hadn’t touched his heart or any vital organs, but it had gotten pretty damn close- and that was all that mattered. He was slown down, and Sasuke tried to take advantage of it as best as he could. Sasuke rushed forward- and for once, it was Naruto that was on the defensive. He frantically dodged as Sasuke’s Susanoo rained down blows on him- and the large, purple hands held an incredible amount of force, easily capable of crushing or shattering bone. He caught Naruto in the torso/shoulder, and it wasn’t even a direct hit, but more of a graze- but it didn’t matter, the Susanoo was too powerful. It was Sasuke’s best defense and offense for a reason. It hit Naruto incredibly hard, and broke most of the bones in his upper arm, his shoulder, and a lot of his ribs, to boot. Naruto leapt back some, and leaned on his right side a lot more- it was his left side that had been disabled. He breathed heavily and heaved- it had taken a lot out of him, that hit. Sasuke was tiring, and had been hit pretty hard several times, too, but he was in a better position. Sasuke was fairly sure that he could win, now. It was about then that Celestia launched herself at Naruto- again- and started firing red bolts of magical energy, that he frantically tried to dodge. Luna did something similar to Sasuke. It was clear by now that Celestia was siding with Sasuke, and Luna, with Naruto. Sasuke didn’t care that much, but figured it would make the battle more annoying- having to worry about a minor, but potential threat, was distracting enough that it could ruin things. So, with that in mind, both of them did the obvious thing. Naruto used his speed and clocked Celestia in the jaw so hard that a breaking sound was easily audible- so hard that she stumbled, and then fell backwards, knocked unconscious. Her eyes were unfocused, and Naruto looked down at Celestia, and then at his hand, before closing his eyes. Not too far off in the distance, Twilight trembled and then shouted a wordless shriek of disbelief before charging forward- away from the group of Ponyville citizens that cowered as the battle raged on. She stumbled halfway there- but Twilight kept going, as she cried, tears running down her purple face. She was probably close enough to hear it when Naruto said it. “I didn’t like having to do that.” She ignored everything, though- she practically ran through Sasuke’s and Luna’s fight, who was soon knocked unconscious by the flat of his blade to her forehead- and then Naruto and Sasuke were fighting again, but she didn’t care. Twilight ran past everything, ran through smoking ruins of buildings and small, sparse fires that raged, here and there, occasionally using short teleports to cross spaces that were dangerous. She arrived faster than she thought she would- she almost crashed into her mentor’s unconscious body. She sobbed over her, thinking her dead, and Twilight’s tears stained her mentor’s coat. Celestia groaned, and even through the loudness of the fight that was happening behind her, she could hear it- hear it, very easily. And she smiled, even while she cried, happy that her mentor was alive. Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke fought heavily- and Sasuke had gotten a few more good hits in. A good percentage of Naruto’s bones were broken now, probably more than half. He wasn’t ready to give up yet. Meanwhile, it seemed that Sasuke was simply being exhausted. He knew that he had to end this soon. He activated Susanoo and fought more furiously than he ever had before- and Naruto seemed on the defensive. Naruto growled, and brought his hands together in a tiger seal- and a huge, huge plume of smoke erupted as Naruto transformed into the Nine Tailed Demon Fox. Sasuke balked at the bulk of the gigantic creature- it was barely big enough to even fit its front half in Ponyville- and the tails waved wildly behind it. It was clear that Naruto was on his last legs- he was breathing even heavier, even as large as he was. But he was going to try to take Sasuke down before he completely ran out of energy. He charged a small Beast Ball- and ate it, and Sasuke tried to run, tried to move, but it was too late- and the beam erupted. It was all Sasuke could do to block it- they were far away enough from anyone that could be hurt, but still, Sasuke hadn’t been able to move in time. Naruto had clearly practiced to be as fast as possible with the technique. The Susanoo’s ribs broke, though, and the Susanoo disappeared, and Sasuke fell as his last vestiges of energy gave out. He swore as he landed on the ground, back first. Naruto seemed done too, though, but as he fell, he angled his huge, huge paw to hit Sasuke- and Sasuke felt himself slammed against the ground by incomprehensible force as most of the bones in his body were broken. Still, with Sasuke’s will to live, he wasn’t dead- just knocked unconscious. Naruto transformed back into himself- and let the fox chakra dissipate, and put all his energy towards healing himself. Naruto had broken many bones, and was tired, but victorious. He simply stood over Sasuke’s broken form for several seconds- and then began to cry, and his tears hit Sasuke’s body as he did so. He hadn’t like having to do that to his friend- but it was done, now. He’d beaten Sasuke, and now he would be taken back to the Leaf Village. He hefted Sasuke’s body over his own- and it was hard work, considering he was tired and wounded, but he managed it, nonetheless. Everypony from the town only watched in shock as Naruto calmly strode across the complete ruins of Ponyville- there were small fires everywhere, barely alive flames that clung desperately to life. Every building was destroyed. He approached Twilight- who was still crying over her mentor’s body. She looked up at him, furious, and whispered one word. “Why?” “She attacked me first,” he said, hoarse. She ripped her face away from him for several moments and didn’t answer. “Don’t make me force you, Twilight. I already feel bad enough as it is,” he said. Twilight turned to look at Naruto. She saw a young teenager that was barely a man. She saw a heavily breathing, bloody teenager, slowly regaining his stamina, that had his best friend slung over his back- and he’d had to do this- both as a promise to himself, because of his reponsibilites, and other reasons that she knew he had to have. Twilight was educated enough about the situation. “I won’t take you, I won-“ Twilight’s voice caught in her throat as a kunai was pressed against it, and her limbs were grabbed awkwardly- preventing her from escaping. She screamed and beat her hooves against her, but he didn’t move. She looked up at him- and saw the desperation, and the need- the need to have him home. Even if he didn’t want to go home. She didn’t do anything for several seconds. “Please,” he whispered. She sobbed, and then a white, glowing light surrounded them, and they were gone- even as Rainbow Dash slammed into where Naruto had been a second later. ________________________ They teleported directly in front of Konoha- and almost immediately, the two ninja at the front gate noticed them. They only watched with open jaws as Naruto began to slug himself forward, and Twilight watched him go. “Feel free to visit,” he’d told her, right as they arrived. She probably would. Still crying, she turned, and decided that she was more worried about her mentor than anything else. She disappeared in the same white light. Naruto’s sentence was barely a whisper, but the two chuunin heard it clearly. “I did it,” he said. He carried Sasuke over his shoulder and walked into the Village- and almost right away, was met with varied cries- cries of alarm, of triumph, of happiness, and of surprise, most of all. Naruto made it all of two steps inside the village before stopping and breathing for a few seconds- refusing his body’s desire to collapse. As he rested, the strength came back to him, and he stumbled forward, more. Soon enough, Sasuke was taken off of him, and it was a lot easier to walk. “Prison,” he said. “Until further notice. Treat him, heal him. Keep him well fed, don’t let him die. Keep him weakened enough, though, and on lockdown. A special guard for him- a bunch of jonin.” The chuunin nodded, and saluted his Hokage, and dashed off, with Sasuke on his back. Naruto stumbled forward a little bit more, and then slumped to the side of a building he’d managed to make it to. The hospital. A nurse ran inside and called for help. He breathed heavy. He was alright, but exhausted. Naruto could scarcely believe that he’d somehow done it. He’d managed to beat Sasuke, drag him home, and with the help of one of Sasuke’s friends, nonetheless. It didn’t mean that he felt any less terrible about doing what he’d had to. He’d hated hitting Celestia- and he’d hated threatening Twilight even more. He knew that it had to have been worth it, though. It had to. Or, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself knowing he’d threatened an innocent. He didn’t like doing what he had to do- he was a shinobi, anyway. They weren’t supposed to fight fair, and neutral parties were techinically fair game in a mission- especially if they got in the way and/or had promised their help beforehand, as Twilight had. Naruto sighed. It had been a long day. He’d probably regret it more, later, but for now, he was happy that he had Sasuke back- and then passed out, exhausted, slumped against the hospital’s outer wall. He was carried inside and treated to personally by Sakura and Tsunade- both knowing what he’d accomplished. Hinata waited for him, ever-patient, by his bedside- happy that he’d returned. Meanwhile, in a dank, dark, prison cell, Sasuke Uchiha was doped up beyond belief on drugs and had a supply of nutrients and water. The cell had him in chains, with seals inside the cell and on the doors of the cell, too. Four Jonin guarded it- one of them, Kakashi. There was no emotion visible on his face- and, if you looked at him, it looked like he was trying to ignore who was in the cell behind him. Sasuke, mostly broken bones and barely alive, was tended to by several medics. He’d be out of commission for a while- and staying in that cell for even longer. TO BE CONTINUED Before complaining about OOC, read the new story description.