Although their instructor was satisfied, Sasuke Uchiha was not. He looked at Naruto and chuckled, "Kakashi-sensei, the fight isn't over yet!"
"Ha, Sasuke..." Naruto showed a knowing smile, clearly understanding what Sasuke was thinking. "You want to test my new ninjutsu?"
"After all, we're teammates..." Sasuke's smile was a bit wicked. He tightened his grip on his kunai and said in a deep voice, "Only by understanding our teammates' strength can we cooperate better, right?"
"That makes sense." Naruto nodded, twirling the Spiral Dance Umbrella in his hand. "And I happen to want to get more proficient with my new ninjutsu, too."
Ever since Kakashi had been hospitalized, Sasuke and Naruto had their days free for training outside of their nightly guard duty. They had sparred many times. Sometimes it was to help with training, other times to test out a new jutsu, push their limits, or simply hone their skills.
Sasuke was stubborn on the outside, but he knew his teammate's strength was growing just as his was. He wanted to test just how long it would take to surpass Naruto again. His pride as the top student was on the line.
Now that Kakashi was out of the hospital, Team 7 was complete again. Sasuke had mastered many new techniques, and in terms of strength, he was like a different person.
Kakashi thought for a moment, then leaped between them. "We have a mission this afternoon," he instructed in a deep voice. "So I will use my judgment and stop your fight if it gets dangerous. Any objections?"
Sasuke and Naruto's expressions turned a bit strange. If the fight between them became truly intense, did Kakashi really have the strength to stop it?
Even Sakura looked a little perplexed. Kakashi was their team's supervising jonin, but he seemed to get injured more often than his two genin students. This jonin seemed a bit watered-down, didn't he?
"Hey, hey, what's with those expressions?" Kakashi couldn't help but roll his eyes. His subordinates were always questioning his strength. Not cute at all.
Besides, it wasn't his fault. Every time they encountered an enemy, he was targeted by some powerful jonin, and he also had to worry about the safety of his students. He secretly made a little calculation. In a little while, if these two brats started fighting for real, he would take them both down with one move and teach them to respect their jonin instructor.
Kakashi raised his arm. "Alright, begin!"
As soon as his voice fell, the two charged.
Sasuke dropped the kunai in his hand, drew a short-bladed katana, and rushed toward Naruto. The two clashed once again.
Clang!
The sound of their chakra-infused weapons clashing echoed through the training ground. The short katana in Sasuke's hand was a chakra blade, which could be infused with his own chakra to increase its sharpness and length. The Spiral Dance Umbrella in Naruto's hand was a solid weapon condensed directly from chakra, and its strength was not at all inferior.
"Sasuke, is this all you've got?" Naruto suddenly swung the Spiral Dance Umbrella in a wide sweep, making full use of its advantage as a long-handled weapon.
The Spiral Dance Umbrella was like a spear, its sweeping motions keeping Sasuke from getting close. The tip of the umbrella flowed with sharp, wind-natured chakra.
However, Sasuke wouldn't just stand there and take it. The short katana in his hand cut through the air, and an arc of fire suddenly slashed out, heading straight for Naruto.
"Uchiha Style: Sword-Leap Flame!"
"That kind of nin-taijutsu is a bit sudden, isn't it?" Naruto looked at the approaching flame in surprise, but he didn't panic. The chakra on his Spiral Dance Umbrella flowed, and the umbrella's surface suddenly opened, turning into a shield. This strange change in form was the effect of his Yang-natured chakra. The opened umbrella shield blocked the attack of the Sword-Leap Flame.
Sasuke watched as the shield in front of him closed, returning to its spear-like form. His expression was a little strange. "No wonder you call it the Spiral Dance Umbrella..."
"That's right!" Naruto held the solid chakra weapon and pointed it at Sasuke. "And I can use it to fire a Spiral Shockwave!"
A burst of azure chakra shot out from the tip of the umbrella. Sasuke dodged it, and the shockwave shattered a large tree behind him.
"Isn't that a little too scary?" Sakura, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but shiver. "None of the ninjutsu that guy Naruto researches is safe..."
"The purpose of ninjutsu is to kill enemies more efficiently," Kakashi said softly, watching the clash between his two subordinates with a serious expression. "It's a pity the new jutsu Naruto researches aren't something most people can use."
It was more than that. In all of Konoha, only Naruto himself could use the ninjutsu he developed. Almost every one of them consumed a massive amount of chakra.
Just as Kakashi was about to explain further, his gaze suddenly froze. A wry smile appeared on his lips. "As expected, I suppose. A true Uchiha, huh?"
On the training ground, the battle grew more intense. Sasuke had activated his Sharingan, and his feet were covered in lightning-natured chakra, making his movements incredibly fast. His speed was already astonishing after training in Shisui's Body Flicker Technique, but now Sasuke's flicker was so fast it was almost invisible.
Naruto could only swing the Spiral Dance Umbrella, using horizontal sweeps and vertical chops to block Sasuke's advance.
"Uchiha Style: Mad Wind Sword!"
Sasuke's figure suddenly penetrated Naruto's defense. He used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Naruto and was about to slash out a flame with his short katana.
Naruto frowned. Just as he was about to turn and counter-attack, a strong gust of wind came from the air. Someone had suddenly joined the battlefield.
Could it be Kakashi? Did he think it was dangerous?
It shouldn't be. The battle between him and Sasuke hadn't reached its limit yet. This level could only be considered regular practice.
"Konoha Hurricane!"
Clearly, it was someone else stopping their fight. A deep green blur entered their vision, separating the two with one move.
Kakashi's brow twitched. He pulled at his headband and said helplessly, "Hey, Guy, what are you doing?"
"Kakashi! That sword technique just now was too dangerous! It could have cost them their lives! I saved a little one in the nick of time!" The newcomer was Might Guy. He didn't feel his entrance was abrupt at all and gave Sasuke a thumbs-up. "That move was very strong! As expected of this year's strongest newcomer!"
Sasuke Uchiha was speechless.
For the past half-month, every time he used the Mad Wind Sword, Naruto had just shattered the flame with a single Spiral Shockwave. He had no idea what "danger" Guy was talking about.
-----
Bonus:
Kakashi: If there's danger, I'll stop the fight.
Sasuke: But if there's danger, won't you just get hurt trying to stop us?
Kakashi: What nonsense are you talking about? I'm your jonin instructor!
Sasuke: Should I list how many times you've been injured so far?
Kakashi: You're saying...
Sasuke: The ambush at the bandit hideout...
Kakashi: Alright, you little brat. How about I arrange for you to fight four jonin and we'll see if you survive...