Son of the Sannin(Back)

A New Mission

Author's Note:Even if that part is over, there's still quite a lot of story left to tell! So now, before we head into Shippuden, there's an arc that could be considered Part 1.5. This chapter will mostly cover how much Naruto and his friends changed during the next year and a half, and towards the end, you'll see what this new arc will be about- Enjoy:

Fourteen and a half years since the Nine Tails Attacked

Training Ground Nine

Today, two of Konoha's most promising young ninja were about to fight. Even if it was just a spar, the combatants' own reputation and the fact that they didn't clash since the Chunin Exams made plenty of ninja eager to see the fight.

"Let's hope that this time, things turn out different," Hinata, one of the many people among the spectators, commented a bit worried.

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure it won't be a repeat of the last time," Naruto assured her, as he held her hand.

While the year and a half following the Invasion of Konoha hadn't been as chaotic as the year preceding it, it wasn't uneventful either. All of Naruto's former classmates managed to score a promotion to Chunin during the Chunin Exams in Kumo, and many of them went beyond that. Naruto himself quickly earned a promotion to Special Jonin specialized in fuinjutsu when he mass produced his Chakra Blade for the ANBU to use as their main weapon. At first, it turned out it wouldn't work since the sword drained too much Chakra, but with Jiraiya's help, he realized that the original model wasted way more chakra than it consumed, something Naruto didn't notice thanks to his seemingly never-ending reserves. But once he fixed that design flaw, it could be used by people with average chakra pools.

In fact, Naruto himself was strong enough to be a full Jonin already, but Jiraiya thought he still needed more experience before he could grant him the rank. Hinata and Haku were also on their way to becoming Special Jonin, with specializations in tai-ninjutsu and ninjutsu, respectively.

"They're finally going to start," Naruto pointed out, as the two fighters got in position.

On one side, there was Sasuke Uchiha, no longer the youngest of his clan, who during the past year managed to get promoted to the rank of Special Jonin specialized in ninjutsu and sword fighting. Besides his usual katana, he also added a shoto to his regular arsenal, which he dual wield alongside his main weapon.

Facing Sasuke was Neji Hyuga, also a Special Jonin, though specialized in taijutsu, and the one who requested the spar to begin with, since he wanted to test a new jutsu he had developed recently.

"Boy, I don't know whom I should cheer," Karin whined. "Neji-kun is my boyfriend, but Sasuke is my teammate..."

Acting as referees were their respective Jonin-sensei, Shizune Uchiha and Maito Gai.

"Alright, combatants ready?" Shizune asked, looking at both of them, who nodded at her. "In that case let the fight...begin!"

Like it happened the first time, the first thing both fighters did was activating their ocular power. And the moment the word let out Shizune's lips, Sasuke and Neji dashed towards each other at such speed they were seen as blurs by some of the onlookers. Sasuke's left hand reached for his shoto, and unsheathed it in a circular motion against Neji, who prepared to deliver an arc strike.

However, Neji's opening move was a fake out, as Neji nimbly crouched and slid towards Sasuke, dodging his blade, and striking the Uchiha in the chest with an accurate palm hit. Sasuke heaved a little as he jumped backwards, holding the stricken area in pain with his free hand. He shot Neji and angry look, which was replied by a smug smirk.