Son of the Sannin(Back)

The Coming Storm

Land of Sound, Orochimaru's Lair

In a vast, cavernous underground chamber, two young men fought each other with everything they got. The chamber shook with each fist that connected, with every kick that landed, with every jutsu that was cast.

Giant snakes made of stone witnessed the fight that took place between two of the most promising Konoha ninja. One fought with hatred and lies in his heart, the other with the pain of betrayal and steel-hard determination.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke Uchiha breathed a huge fireball at his target, who pulled out a kunai with a blue paper seal and tossed it. Kunai and fireball met midway, and the seal attached to the kunai burst in a watery explosion, putting the Uchiha's attack out, creating a wall of steam.

Coming from the steam, Naruto dashed at Sasuke, his trusty chakra blade in hand, ready to cut his former friend open. Sasuke was quick to unsheathe his own katana, and after infusing it with his own chakra, used it to block the attack. Before Naruto had any time to react, Sasuke delivered a painful kick to Naruto's gut, which pushed him a couple meters backwards.

"Sasuke," Naruto spoke, looking at him with pleading eyes. "It doesn't have to be like this."

Sasuke's eyes flared with anger. "Shut up. You have no idea what you're talking about!" the Uchiha angrily protested.

"I do. I admit that I used to be quite dense back then, but now...now I know the truth. Now I see everything the way it is, and I know the way to fix it. If you only let me..." Naruto continued.

"Let you? LET YOU!?" Sasuke roared. "To let you help the man responsible for the death of my clan!?"

"That's why you need to help me, Sasuke! To make sure that such a tragedy won't happen again!" Naruto protested. "I can't be Hokage and let something like that happen again!"

"You won't be Hokage if you follow your actual path. Only death awaits you," Sasuke grimly reminded him.

"Perhaps. But a Hokage should be willing to die for the greater good," Naruto adopted a fighting stance. "But my death won't come today, Sasuke, nor it will come by your hand."

"We'll see about that," Sasuke replied as he adopted a fighting stance as well.

"We already fought once, I proved to be stronger than you. Even that jutsu with two elements wasn't enough to defeat me. You have no chance of winning against me," Naruto stated, hoping that maybe he could make Sasuke to stand down, but deep down he knew the Uchiha was as stubborn as himself.

"Things change. That jutsu was incomplete, and it's not the case anymore. And this isn't a mere fight for a promotion. There's too much at a stake for me to hold back, even if it ends in your death," Sasuke replied.

Naruto chuckled. "So, you are willing to kill me? It is true what they say about you Uchiha. You'd kill your friends without remorse."

"Do not dare to insult my clan!" Sasuke roared as he charged against Naruto.

Naruto smirked, as he prepared for Sasuke's onslaught. Even if the situation was dire, he was going to enjoy the fight.

...

Konoha, Two Days Earlier

Things were quiet in Konoha after the Chunin Exams. The four newly minted Chunin slipped into their roles nicely. All of them took no time to notice that their new rank carried a lot more responsibilities and workload, something they hadn't quite got used to.