Dangerous Bond

Part 29

Akamaru quickly rejoined his master's side and lightly licked the dog boy's hand, showing comfort to the concern still etched onto the genin's face.

"Are you done?" Naruto monotonously questioned and retrieved a kunai from his pouch.

Kiba frowned deeply "you're acting strange Naruto. What happened to the obnoxious knucklehead that everyone knew in the academy?" He asked as he, too, took out a kunai and readied himself.

"People change." The boy simply stated but in truth, the obnoxious knucklehead never existed. It was always just an act. At least...it was just an act to the people he never really considered close enough to him for them to see that side.

"Let's be done with this." Naruto grumbled and dashed forward.

Kiba leaped to the side in an effort to dodge but was caught unaware, once again, of the boy's increased speed.

Naruto twisted his body around and plunged his kunai into his friend's stomach. Upon noticing Akamaru leaping for him, Naruto gave a swift kick to the pup who was sent sailing toward the arena wall.

Naruto, still holding onto his bloody kunai, was forced to retreat as Kiba growled with ferocity and swiped a clawed hand at him.

The blonde frowned as Akamaru made a quick recovery as well and jumped toward his master who had thrown a red pill toward him. The pup caught it and took on a smug appearance - if animals even could show expressions like that.

"Get ready to lose, loser!" Kiba growled and crouched down into a weird dog stance as Akamaru jumped on his back and transformed into his master. Kiba flinched slightly at the dog's weight because of the open wound Naruto had inflicted.

Naruto glared down at the two Kiba's and dashed forward, only halting as the two clones used a jutsu he was unfamiliar with and started spinning drastically toward him.

"Tch!" The blonde clicked his tongue and used futon: Sensougouheki (wind style: Rumbling wind wall) to stop at least one of the Kiba's as the other barely missed him.

He could tell it was Akamaru by the lack of human noises coming from him and the increase of vulgar language coming from the other. The big red gash on the real Kiba's stomach helped a lot too.

As the real Kiba's spin came to a halt, Naruto grinned mischievously at him with a normal looking Akamaru in his arms before the blonde threw down a smoke bomb and swiftly sealed the struggling pup into a scroll. He transformed into the young genin's dog and pretended to look around confused as to where 'Naruto' might've gone.

"Can you smell him, boy?" Kiba growled, still transformed into a harsher primal state of himself. The boy knew his pup couldn't keep up the transformation for too long which is why he didn't question the white dog's normal appearance. Though the Inuzuka had thought Akamaru had more chakra reserves than that, it simply meant they had to train extra hard after they won.

Naruto/Akamaru shook his head and growled lowly.

Kiba walked up to him and looked to the proctor, giving him a look to announce him the winner by default.

Naruto/Akamaru narrowed his dog eyes and leaped onto an unsuspecting Kiba while releasing the transformation.

The blonde pushed him down to the floor and held him there with a weighted foot that the Inuzuka wasn't used to.

Naruto had gripped a kunai in his mouth as his hands also held the sharp weapons that pointed down in a cross against the back of Kiba's neck. One move and the Inuzuka would have a severed head.

Naruto grinned, looking a little twisted with the kunai in his mouth but nevertheless, he was happy. He knew he'd won.

"Winner: Naruto Uzumaki!" The proctor yelled out, making the feeling of victory all the more real for him.