In the forest, not far from where he had fallen into the river, Kiba cradled his injured Akamaru:
"If I were stronger, Akamaru wouldn't have gotten hurt. I couldn't beat both of them... I'm not a real ninja."
He held his wounded stomach.
"Why aren't you running off this time?"
Kiba saw Sakon and Ukon approaching.
Suddenly, a puppet rushed in and separated the two brothers.
"Man, looks like out of all you Konoha ninja, only Naruto doesn't need backup."
"That's bold of you—Naruto did help me, but I didn't actually lose either."
Neji and Kankuro landed from above.
Sakon asked:
"Who are you guys?"
"I'm Kankuro of Sunagakure, and today, I'm here to kill the two of you."
"Ahhh!"
Kiba looked on at the puppet loaded with blades.
The next moment, blood trickled from the base of Kankuro's puppet, Black Ant. Kankuro smirked. He walked over, knocked on it once, and two lifeless bodies tumbled out onto the ground.
******
As two figures soared through the forest back toward Konoha, Tayuya, whom Naruto had knocked unconscious, woke up mid-flight and started cursing nonstop.
Shikamaru yanked her hat off and stuffed it into her mouth. Everything went quiet at once.
Shikamaru thought to himself:
"Without Naruto, we'd have been toast. Those guys are way stronger than us."
Suddenly, nearby leaves rustled violently. Choji set Tayuya down and got ready for a fight.
When Temari landed on a nearby branch,
"Woohoo, finally caught up to you guys."
Shikamaru demanded,
"What are you doing here?"
Temari blinked.
"We received an urgent call for backup from Konoha."
******
Naruto and Kimimaro stood facing each other. Kimimaro had transformed into the first stage of his Cursed Seal, while Naruto had already transformed into Nine-Tails form.
Naruto ducked under Kimimaro's twin slash but was eventually kicked backward.
Naruto pushed himself up with his sword, glaring at Kimimaro with rage-filled eyes.
He unsheathed his blade and charged forward. The clash of bone and steel rang out around them.
Suddenly, Naruto hurled his sword at Kimimaro. It hit him square in the chest but didn't sink deep.
Naruto sneered as Kimimaro yanked the sword free and tossed it aside.
Naruto dashed toward Kimimaro again. This time, he created a Shadow Clone as bait. The real Naruto leapt over Kimimaro and appeared behind him: [Wind Release: Wind God Fist]!
Kimimaro sensed the surge of chakra and turned around. Just in time, the Shadow Clone kicked him straight into the path of the Wind Release technique.
The clone also released the same jutsu, slamming into Kimimaro's body.
Kimimaro crashed heavily to the ground, gasping for breath.
Naruto noticed that his whites had turned blood-red. Blood trickled from his ears, nose, and even under his fingernails. He clearly was in excruciating pain.
Kimimaro dropped his sword and began transforming:
"I fight for Lord Orochimaru and his ambitions—I will give everything for this cause."
His skin turned brown, six massive bone spikes erupted from his back, and a spiked tail burst forth from his spine.
Kimimaro stood up, smirking at Naruto.
"This is a gift from Lord Orochimaru," he said. "I'll use it to eliminate anyone who stands in his way."
Kimimaro pulled out his own spine and fashioned it into a spiked whip-like weapon.
[Dance of the Iron Spikes!]
"You've driven me this far, but victory is still out of your reach."
Naruto also drew his sword.
"Then let's fight!"
Kimimaro lashed out with his whip-like weapon. His speed was faster than before.
The whip struck Naruto's shoulder, tearing deep into his flesh. Then he coiled it tightly around Naruto's right arm, yanking him forward and delivering a brutal kick to his ribs.
Naruto's arm was already torn and bleeding badly.
He let out a roar and staggered back to his feet, glaring at Kimimaro. He resolved to strike again, but each swing of his blade was met with a lash from the whip.
With one final desperate strike, Naruto attempted to cut through, but Kimimaro sent the sword flying with a sharp crack of his whip.
Kimimaro stepped back, continuously lashing Naruto with his weapon until Naruto's body was left lacerated from head to toe.
Naruto fell to the ground, trembling in pain, blood splattering onto the grass below.
Kimimaro wrapped the whip around Naruto's arm and dragged him across the ground. But as Naruto finally steadied himself, Kimimaro was taken aback to notice a faint glow emanating from Naruto's left hand.
Naruto extended his left palm. A swirling blue sphere whirled in his palm.
[Rasengan!]
The explosive force of the Rasengan hurled Kimimaro backward. The whip tore free, ripping a chunk of flesh from Naruto's arm.
Naruto collapsed on the ground, clutching his wounded arm and dragging himself toward Kimimaro.
Naruto gazed across and saw Kimimaro standing back up. The impact had exposed brown skin and a white membrane beneath, etched with deep spiral grooves.
Naruto pounded the ground and rose to his feet.
Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku had shielded him from most of Naruto's damage.
Before Naruto could catch his breath, Kimimaro struck again, swinging his weapon viciously.
Naruto did his best to dodge the bone needles, but Kimimaro accelerated his attacks and finally drove him to his knees with a blow to the leg.
Kimimaro swung the weapon once more, aiming to ensnare Naruto—only for a surge of sand to intercept it mid-air. The sand wedged itself between the whip and Naruto, shielding him from the strike.
More sand appeared, rushing toward Kimimaro and forcing him to retreat.
Spotting the incoming figure, Naruto broke into a grin.
"Hey, Gaara!"
Gaara slowly approached the still-kneeling Naruto.
"Need some help?"
"I'm glad you're here! I already sent Lee after Sasuke—you should go back him up."
Gaara raised an eyebrow.
"Looks like you're busy enough as it is, Naruto."
Naruto took off his torn shirt and laughed.
"Yeah, I've got to finish him off. You go help Lee—I'll be fine."
Gaara looked at him a moment longer before turning and running toward the border.
"All right then, Naruto. Just don't die."
Naruto waved him off.
Kimimaro strode forward, his tail swaying menacingly.
"So noble—choosing to keep fighting one-on-one to protect your comrades. I'll make sure your end is swift."
"I don't need anyone else to deal with you," Naruto grinned broadly.
Naruto unfastened the pouch at his waist and emptied its contents into his hand, wearing a taunting smile.
In his bloody palm lay three soldier pills. He looked at Kimimaro and taunted him by swallowing all three pills in one gulp.
A moment later, Naruto began to convulse, his temples throbbing violently.
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