Naruto : a hero's journey

As Tatsuo and Kaito left the arena, the atmosphere shifted once again as Dai and Nawaki made their way toward the battlefield. Both were determined, their faces set with a mixture of excitement and focus.

It was clear that this match was personal—these two had trained together for years, developing their respective fighting styles through friendly rivalry.

Dai, known for his incredible physical strength and mastery of taijutsu, stepped onto the arena with confidence. He wasn't skilled in ninjutsu or genjutsu, but his strength in hand-to-hand combat was legendary among their peers.

His fighting style, which he called the "Strong Fist," focused on delivering devastating blows with raw power. Unlike many shinobi, he relied purely on physical ability, nothing else.

Nawaki, on the other hand, was a more well-rounded fighter. While his taijutsu was on par with Dai's due to their training together, he had an advantage when it came to ninjutsu. His proficiency in water and earth release made him versatile in combat.

He had also learned chakra augmentation from his sister, though his control and strength with it were still developing.

Despite this, Nawaki had a secret technique he hadn't yet revealed

The match began.

Dai charged forward first, his speed surprised everyone. He aimed a powerful right hook at Nawaki, but the Senju boy dodged with a fluid sidestep, using a swift rotation of his body to avoid the attack.

Nawaki immediately countered, sweeping his leg toward Dai's torso, but Dai blocked with his forearm and pushed back, forcing distance between them.

"Not bad!" Dai grinned. His hands came up in a traditional guard as he prepared to unleash another barrage.

Nawaki responded with a quick sequence of hand seals. "Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!" A pressurized stream of water shot from his mouth toward Dai. The attack wasn't intended to do significant damage but rather to keep Dai on his toes.

Dai jumped to the side, but Nawaki was already closing the gap, launching a roundhouse kick toward his midsection.

This time, Dai didn't dodge. He blocked the kick with both arms, but the force behind it made him skid back a few feet.

The moment Dai regained his balance, he lunged at Nawaki with a series of punches, his fists a blur. Nawaki managed to dodge some, but a particularly strong blow to his shoulder forced him back.

"Your hits are as strong as ever!" Nawaki winced, rolling his shoulder.

Dai chuckled. "I hope you've got more than that up your sleeve!"

Nawaki smirked. "You'll see."

The two clashed again, Nawaki tried using his Earth Release techniques to create barriers and obstacles, but Dai's strength shattered through them with ease. Every time Nawaki tried to widen the distance and use his ninjutsu, Dai closed it again, forcing them back into hand-to-hand combat.

With every exchange, Dai was overpowering him in pure physical combat. Nawaki's chakra reserves were depleting faster than he had anticipated, and he was starting to struggle.

Dai landed a heavy punch to Nawaki's chest, sending him tumbling back. The crowd cheered, sensing that Dai was gaining the upper hand.

Panting, Nawaki pushed himself to his feet. He was running low on options, his chakra almost drained.

'If I don't use it now, I'll lose for sure,' Nawaki thought.

As Dai prepared for another charge, Nawaki closed his eyes for a brief moment and focused his remaining chakra. "I didn't want to use this... but you're not leaving me much of a choice, Dai."

Dai raised an eyebrow, curious. "What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, Nawaki's body seemed to surge with energy as his muscles tightened, and veins began bulging on his forehead and arms. A new intensity radiated from him as he took a deep breath.

"Eight Gates: Gate of Opening… Open!" Nawaki shouted, his voice echoing through the stadium.

A shocked gasp rippled through the crowd. Even Satoru, who had been casually observing, sat up straighter, his attention fully captured. 'So, Nawaki knows the Eight Gates,' Satoru thought, his eyes narrowing.

The burst of power from the first gate was enough to rejuvenate Nawaki's body. He dashed toward Dai with blinding speed. Dai barely had time to react as Nawaki's fist came crashing toward him. He managed to block it, but the force behind the punch sent shockwaves through his arms.

"What the—!" Dai grimaced, feeling the raw power behind Nawaki's blow.

Dai tried to counter with a punch of his own, but Nawaki weaved around it effortlessly, landing a heavy kick to Dai's side. The force of the strike knocked Dai off balance.

Dai grit his teeth and steadied himself, His body ached from the hits. He raised his fists again, this time more cautiously. 'I'll have to block and wait for an opening.'

Nawaki launched another assault, his punches and kicks now coming at a speed that Dai struggled to keep up with. For every blow he managed to block, two more slipped through his guard, and each strike felt like a hammer slamming into his body.

'I can't hold out much longer at this pace.'

Nawaki, sensing the end was near, pushed himself for one final attack. He lunged at Dai with a powerful punch aimed at his chest. Dai crossed his arms in front of him, bracing for impact.

From the sidelines, Satoru's eyes widened as he heard it—a faint cracking sound. Nawaki's fist broke through Dai's guard, the impact reverberating through the stadium. Dai was sent skidding backward, his feet digging into the ground as he struggled to stay on his feet.

The crowd fell silent, waiting to see if Dai would recover.

Breathing heavily, Dai remained standing, though his arms hung limply at his sides, clearly battered by the powerful strike. A grin spread across his face despite the pain. "You got me, Nawaki."

Nawaki, panting and exhausted from the use of the Eight Gates, nodded in acknowledgment. "That was a tough fight, Dai."

With that, the referee called the match in Nawaki's favor, and the crowd erupted into applause. The fight had been a spectacle, showcasing both fighters' incredible strength and determination.

As they left the arena, Satoru couldn't help but be impressed. 'If Nawaki can use the Eight Gates, I'll have to be even more careful in my match.'

Satoru watched as Nawaki collapsed after his match, drained from the strain of opening the first gate. Tsunade leapt down from the stands, her face a mixture of anger and worry. She carried her brother away, his body limp. The crowd whispered amongst themselves, as everyone awaited the next match.

Satoru stood quietly for a moment, thinking about what he had just witnessed. 'Nawaki has the Eight Gates… I might have some trouble fighting him,' he thought, remembering the sheer force of his punches. But that technique took a toll, and Nawaki's collapse was a clear warning.

His match against Chosuke was next, and Satoru wanted every advantage he could get. With his hands in his pockets, he walked over to the principal. "Are soldier pills allowed?" he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.

The principal raised an eyebrow. "Depends. What kind are you planning to use?"

Satoru reached into his pouch and handed over a small, dull-colored pill. The principal took it, inspecting it closely before giving a slight nod. "This is a common pill, It won't do much, and the side effects are minimal, so It's allowed."

A slow smirk spread across Satoru's face as he retrieved the pill. pocketing it again. Without further delay, he turned and began walking toward the ring.

As he made his way, Satoru felt the familiar rush of adrenaline start to build. He had spent weeks training for this moment, perfecting his chakra control and his strategies. Chosuke Akimichi was no pushover—he had already proven that in the earlier rounds—but Satoru wasn't going to let this match slip away.

The audience watched with anticipation as Satoru stepped into the ring. Chosuke was already there, his large frame towering over the smaller boy. The Akimichi clan's size and strength were well known, and Chosuke had the bulk to match.

As the match was about to begin, Satoru glanced around at the faces in the crowd. He could see Tatsuo watching intently from the stands, his eyes following Satoru's every move. Hiten was there too, leaning back with an almost casual air, though Satoru knew his friend was silently assessing him. This was a test for all of them, and Satoru was determined to pass.

The principal signaled the battle to begin.

Chosuke remained at his position as Satoru ran towards him, he jumped with a kunai in his hand on top of him.

Chosuke used his bo staff to block the attack , he pushed satoru off him, sending him flying while he himself stood unmoving like a mountain.

Satoru took out a scroll and opened it, revealing a sword. He rushed Chosuke again, he swung his sword at his staff, their clash reaching a stalemate.

Satoru suddenly caused a burst of chakra and pushed against Chosuke's staff, making him stumble backwards.

Chosuke looked down and saw the skid marks on the ground and understood the magnitude of the threat he was facing, it was no small deal that an Akimichi was forced out of their defense.

Satoru continued pursuing him and landed a barrage of slashes at chosuke,

Most of them were blocked only letting some minor cuts to occur.

Chosuke grabbed his staff with both hands and pushed Satoru away, he swung his now chakra-enhanced staff and smashed it on the ground causing rocks and dust to blast outwards.

Chosuke weaved some handseals "earth style : debris scatter jutsu! "

Satoru flipped mid-air and landed to see Chosuke do handseals, he weaved some as well, "Wind style: Breakthrough!"

His Earth style chakra radiated outwards and mixed withe the debris, all the stones and dust clumped together and shot towards Satoru like a shotgun.

These attacks collided in the middle and created a dust cloud , reducing everyone's visibility significantly.

Satoru sneaked behind him and slashed Chosuke's leg, making him grunt in pain.

Chosuke traded the damage by grabbing him by the neck and slamming him to the ground and stomping him, keeping him in place.

Satoru tried more handseals for Breakthrough again, chosuke used his staff and separate and hold down his hands.

"Give up, you can't get out of this. It's over for you." Chosuke said as he weaved handseals for a fire style jutsu.

"Who said I need to get out of this? I'm winning afterall! "

Satoru then suddenly saw a bag of sugary snack on Chosuke's belt and used Boogie-Woogie and moved it near Chosuke's mouth the moment he released the jutsu.

The fire exited his mouth and suddenly the snack appeared near his mouth,

The sugar dust ignited and further ignited other sugar dust present in the packet causing a exothermic chain reaction, also known as dust explosion.

A explosion occurred and chosuke was flung away. Everyone gasped, they thought Satoru took the the full force and might have gotten fatally wounded.

Being flung in the air was not a common expireience for Chosuke, he looked at where the explosion occurred and was worried that Satoru might have been hurt more than he wanted to.

Satoru stumbled out of the placed while holding his head. His hair was heavily burned and had become very short. ' the air trapped in the packet was super heated and expanded out as a Shockwave.'

"Can you still fight ? Did you get hurt too much?" Chosuke asked, worried for Satoru as he saw his hair had caught fire and he was forced to cut it off.

Satoru smiled as he popped half of a soldier pill and threw the other half to Chosuke as well.

Chosuke caught it and was confused as why was Satoru helping him.

"Let's restart the match shall we ? At our strongest! " Satoru said while giving a thumbs up.

" He ate the other half, so It's probably isn't anything suspicious, it even smells like roasted chicken." Chosuke mumbled before eating it.

The kind of pill they both ate was child friendly, so it was flavored unlike like the military grade pills.

Satoru dusted himself off and stood in his position while Chosuke was ready to strike once again, just to pass out instantly.

The audience were confused seeing Chosuke suddenly pass out while he was still going strong.

" zehahahaha!!! It was poisoned! " Satoru laughed hysterically as he was declared the winner.

He walked to the stand as the first round ended.