Naruto: Power in Play

Chapter 23

"The name's Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm gonna be the next Hokage, believe it!" shouted a short, blond boy, his voice brimming with energy and determination. He stood proudly in the center of the ring, a second-year academy student dressed in an orange pair of shorts and a short-sleeved white t-shirt. The whisker-like markings on his cheeks made him stand out even more, as if his personality alone weren't enough.

At the opposite side of the ring stood another second-year academy student, Naruto's opponent. A tanned boy with short black hair. And standing between the two was none other than Mizuki.

"Start!" Announced the ninja as he retreated outside the ring.

Separated from the spectators' stand, the rest of the participants watched the various fights unfold in the numerous rings.

Standing among the crowd, Ando observed the energetic boy, a spark of recognition flashing in his eyes. Ando looked at the information hovering above Naruto, and was met with a bunch of question marks at the place where the age and levels should have been.

He watched the blond boy prance around the ring, grinning as if victory were already his. The boy—Naruto Uzumaki—was loud, brash, and surprisingly enough, a lot like Ando, back when he still did not know how to fight. He was fearless, and seemed to have unlimited energy.

"You're having some flashbacks?" a familiar voice quipped from his left.

Ando turned his head slightly to see Chika standing beside him, her arms crossed as she watched the fight intently.

"Because I sure do," she added with a sly grin.

"Was that how I used to fight back in the day?" Ando asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chika didn't miss a beat. "What do you mean 'back in the day'? You're still—"

She ducked to the side just in time to avoid a mock punch from Ando, her smirk never wavering.

"You were worse!" she teased, leaning back as if dodging another imaginary strike. "At least this kid's got some strength behind his attacks." She glanced at Ando with a glint of mischief in her eyes. "You, on the other hand, hit like a baby."

Ando rolled his eyes. "Just wait until I run into you in the ring. I'll show you. I won't hold back this time!"

"Oh, this time?" Chika shot back, her smirk widening. "I thought you never held back?"

Ando chose to wisely ignore her jabs, redirecting his attention to the ongoing fight.

Naruto was charging left and right at his nimble opponent. It looked like the orphan had no actual strategy to win the fight. But he was actually keeping his opponent on the backfoot. The tradeoff? He was wasting a lot of energy while doing so.

In a simple one on one fight, such a strategy would have worked. Given Naruto's large reserves, he could potentially wear his opponent down. But in a tournament format, he would not go far.

Still, it was a good effort. Though it looked like Naruto's opponent wouldn't go down easy. The boy, Horie Yasushi, a tanned kid with a slightly muscular body, did not look like he was someone who was just there to participate. While dodging and parrying Naruto's wild strikes, he was always on the lookout for openings. Taking the chance to land a light jab or two whenever he had the occasion.

But strangely enough, those jabs did not seem to do anything to stop Naruto. It looked more like he was getting even more worked-out the more Horie hit him. In a moment of frustration, the blonde boy discarded all defense and simply lunged at Horie for a grappling match.