Naruto leaned back to avoid a blast of ember and heat only to suddenly somersault further to avoid a punch. "Cute…" he murmured, "But lacking."

"Cute?" asked the kid.

"Yeah," Naruto said with a nod, "Cute. That's not how you throw a punch." He dispersed into smoke.

Heatblast stepped back…

"This," Naruto announced, "Is how you throw a punch."

…and he saw stars.

The fire-based alien was knocked backwards from the force of the strike and thrown to his back. Slowly, he got up to look at Naruto. "Nope." For his efforts, he received a boot to the head. Pressed against a nearby wall, he couldn't even see Naruto.

But he knew that this guy… he knew this guy was just standing there with his foot holding his face in place. "See, Gaki, you bother me…" Naruto grunted, "You bother me a lot."

A jet of fire burst from the alien's hands, propelling Naruto back… only for him to disperse into smoke.

"You're a ninja, right?" Heatblast asked, "So that means you're going to hide-"

"I see what you're thinking, and I'll tell you right now: Don't." Heatblast paused. Naruto continued, "See, I am a ninja. So you have to realize that in this place, it's practically black as pitch. Walking around like you are, you're not a searchlight. You're a lantern. Guys like me; we don't just disappear in the dark. We can disappear anywhere."

Heatblast launched a burst of fire. The sewers briefly flashed… Naruto just stood there. Just when the flames were in striking distance, he swung his left hand. The stone band burned blue and knocked away the fire.

"I used to run around my village all the time," Naruto kept going as the sewers grew dark again, "I'd pull off a prank and somebody would come to stop me. They were the elites. And I ran them around like they were infants. That was in broad daylight." Heatblast could hear Naruto smile, "Keeping that in mind, how do you expect to find me unless I let you? And… how do you expect to hit me if I can block everything you send my way?"

Heatblast lit up brighter suddenly. Naruto's eyes widened. "I'll just burn everything."

"…of course." Naruto muttered, "And what do you think that'll do to everyone up there? I'm a thief, not a murderer…"

"Right. That's why I'm not going to collapse the sewers… just flush them out."

A wall of fire struck Naruto in the face. He felt his clones disperse all throughout the sewers. The band around his wrist glowed brighter and brighter before, suddenly, it burst.

Naruto rolled across the ashen surface of the tunnels for a moment before looking up to glare at Heatblast. "You nuked me." He noted, "That hurt. And you broke my watch. My girlfriend gave me this watch." He glared, "Yeah. Now I'm suitably pissed off."

"Not like you couldn't take it." Heatblast told him with a shrug, "Just give up. I got rid of all your clones by doing that, so I'll see when you make new ones."

"You're better off giving up on making me give up." Naruto said while shaking his head, "It's just not going to happen." He rushed forward.

Heatblast backpedaled, firing wildly. One shot clipped Naruto's shoulder, but he spun with the momentum and leapt at the alien.

A blue sphere of energy was in his hand, now. "Rasengan!"

And it struck Heatblast in the gut. He tumbled before falling to his knees. Naruto kicked him in the face. Heatblast looked up at him, "…why are you even doing this, anyway?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you doing this?! You could be using those powers to save people instead of just taking from them! So why… why are you just…"

"You're asking the wrong question, Gaki." Naruto said while shaking his head, "You believe your cause is just, so you're wondering why you're losing. Moreover, since you save lives all the time… you're wondering why you're losing to a guy like me. I'm a thief. I'm just a guy who steels things, but I pride myself on not hurting anyone in the process. I screw around, so I must do it for fun. I've got a girlfriend, so I must do it for love."

"Is that it?"

"No. See, kid, the reason I steal things isn't something superficial like wanting a thrill out of it. And it's not my way of lashing out at the world for some deep, dark and depressing tragedy. It's a method of survival. I've got no other source of immediate income and an itching to use my talents for something."

…There was a red flash of light. The kid collapsed in front of him. "W-What?!"

"You lose." Naruto murmured.

"Wait!" the kid shouted at him, "You're just going to walk away?! What about everything you stole?!"

"Well… it wasn't much of a haul, really." Naruto admitted with a shrug, "After so many successful thefts, they decided to bait me with something really neat. But they overdid it on the cubic zirconium and the projected value – I mean, come on. Who's ever heard of a multi-billion dollar gem? No. There's no such thing." There was a pause, "The mask's real, though."

"What about-"

"Already cut and sold. I've got a good number of connections and deals. Most of the times, after I steal some artwork or diamonds… I'm able to sell them off immediately. It's useful. I just smash them to tiny pieces and distribute them."

The kid's eye twitched.

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'This guy…' Ben wondered, 'Is he an idiot?'

"What? What's with the stare, now?"

"You… You're serious?" Ben asked, "You broke everything you stole? That's… I don't even… why? How does that make sense?!"

"Meh. The sense comes and goes."

'…that makes even less sense!' Ben's mouth opened a little. Then it closed. He opened it again… there was a pause, "…What."

"Anyway… I'm going to be late if I don't hurry off." He checked his wrist. The thief paused. "Wait… Damn. Gaki, you broke my watch. Nice seeing you. Later." And he… he burst into smoke.

Of course he burst into smoke.

Disappointed and covered in filth, Ben found his way back to the surface. And he vowed never to speak of this again.

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End 3

A Final Battle…

It was anti-climactic. And it was more than an end to this story; it's an end to a brief chapter of my life. Maybe I'll add an Epilogue to this. Maybe not… Assuming I'm alive in a hundred years, there will be a chapter five.

Another reason for it being rushed? Exams. College. Four years ago, when I started this, testing was no problem for me. Now? It's a nightmare.

Here's to the good times we've shared.

Forever Signed in Blood,

Slayer End