*Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist, Yu Yu Hakusho, or Naruto.

Sorry for not updating recently. 1, I've been having serious writer's block. 2, I've been busy with important things. 3, I've been sick recently, which has caused major problems. 4, I'm getting the feeling that many people are losing interest (which may effectively end the story), so a little extra encouragement would be greatly appreciated... Now on with the story.

Ch. 23 "Perilous Combat: Wicked Alphonse!"

"Naruto..." Hinata whispered fearfully, again. Please, be careful, Naruto. There's something strange about him...

"Go, Naruto!" Sakura yelled out. "You can take him, no problem!"

"Damn straight," he answered quietly.

"Now," Genma began, between them, "whenever you're ready, begin!"

"You don't gotta tell me twice!" Without hesitation, Naruto ran straight for Alphonse, ready to land a hard blow.

"Too slow," Al answered, as he ducked, grabbing Naruto's wrist with one hand, and his shirt with the other, and easily tossed him across in midair.

"Wha-- Yahh!" This caught Naruto by surprise, as he landed on his back, several feet away.

"Are you serious?" Al looked with a vague grin as he walked up to him. "I know you have more in you than that. Come on." He stopped over Naruto. "You gotta put your hips into it!" He quickly dug one heel into Naruto's chest.

"Aagh!" He coughed in pain. Quickly, he did the only thing he could think of. He grabbed Al's ankle, and lifted his hips, raising one leg up to kick him in the gut.

However, Al easily caught his foot with one hand. "You'll have to do better than that." Suddenly, he jumped (pushing off of Naruto's chest), and pulled Naruto up with him, slinging him away in the opposite direction, to roll to a halt. "You're not very bright, are you, kid? I've barely even attacked you yet, and you're already losing."

"Shut up," Naruto growled as he rose back up. "I'm just getting started!" Again, he ran head-on for Al. "Haaa!!"

"Great, another genius," he sighed. This time, instead of countering, Al began dodging Naruto's punches with ease.

"Damn you!" Naruto yelled at his ellusive enemy. "Hold still!"

"Now where's the fun in that?" Al asked as he ducked down, catching Naruto's leg between his own, and twisted, pulling Naruto's knee forward and down to the ground. He rolled until he was on top of his younger opponent, who lie strained on his stomach with his legs bent so far behind him. "God, you're pitiful. If you're any indication of what this village has to offer, then there was no reason in even coming in the first place. They ought to call the match right now and name me the winner." Al began laughing loudly.

"You bastard..." Images of Al's fight with Hinata began flashing in his mind.

"Now, since I handled your best attack," Alphonse told her, still grinning, "it's about time to wrap things up." After only two or three fast revolutions, Al twisted his stomach, tilting Hinata for her head to crash into the ground.

Al continued tossing around the helpless Hinata like a ragdoll. "Hey, come on," he told her, tossing and attacking her violently. "It's no fun if you're not awake to enjoy it!"

"Let her go, you bastard!!" Naruto yelled again, nearly ready to jump over the rail.

Edward yelled beside him, "Alphonse, stop it!! You won!! She can't fight anymore!!!"

"That's what makes it worth the while," Al whispered into the frightened young girl's ear, before tossing her into the air.

"No!!!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs, fighting to get over the rail, Kakashi holding on to the neck of his jumpsuit.

Kakashi, Kurenai, Izumi, and Guy all moved down to the arena, and, along with Hayate, stopped Al only inches above Hinata's now limp body, his knee at her throat.

"Hinata..." Naruto said as he slowly reached the scene. He saw the condition she was in: her face and body covered in blood, gashes in her face and arms, her shirt torn in several spots, her eyes half-opened and glazed over. She had passed out.

"Damn you... You think this is just some kind of game?!" Suddenly, with a burst of rage, Naruto swung his legs back, toppling Alphonse back to the ground, and lifted himself up to begin attacking again. "I told you before, I'm not letting you get away with what you did to Hinata!"

"Whoa!" Al was now forced to block the attacks instead of easily dodging them. "Now this is more like it. Looks like you're the kind of kid who has to get mad in order to do anything, huh?" He immediately caught a right with his right, and pulled Naruto towards him by his fist, ramming his left fist into his side.

"Aahh!" Naruto pulled back, both hands over his side. "Why you--" He was abruptly interrupted by a jumpkick to his head, knocking him back yet again.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura and Hinata yelled simultaniously, both surprised.

"Ah! Naruto!" Edward yelled with equal concern.

"There, now," Al taunted. "That's the kind of fight I want to see. That fire is the key to making this fight worth something."

"(Eergh...) You want to see worth, do ya?" Naruto grunted as he got back on his feet, and crossed his hands in the sign for his now-famous jutsu. "Then let's see how you like my Shadow Clone-no Jutsu!" With that, nine more Narutos appeared in midair, circling Alphonse, for a total of ten. "Now, try dodging this!" All attacked at once.

Fine. Now, Al realized he now had a fight on his hands. Maybe he'll actually make me break a sweat... He caught the first punch, ramming it into the second Naruto, then kicking the first, eliminating them simultaniously. A third came, where Al grabbed his arm, to roll over his back, kicking him into two more oncoming clones from the air. The next pair, he grabbed hold of their sleeves and proceeded to swing into the previous two clones, eliminating the four at once. Within all the smoke from the disappearance of the clones, it was becoming difficult to see. Alright, I'm pretty sure that was seven. He pulled a kunai out in each hand for another attack. Three more to go.

"Shadow Clone-no Jutsu!" Another set of clones appeared, this time out of Al's sight.

"What?!" Al knew he was quickly finding himself at a disadvantage. I don't believe this. The more of this kid there are, the more difficult it's gonna be to fight him. Al turned in the direction he heard Naruto's voice. "That's it. Time to put an end to this nonsense." With that, he jumped up out of the thick smoke, ready to hurl his kunai at his targets. "Uh-!"

"Surprise!" Naruto was within arm's reach, and, before Al could respond, landed a solid hit on his jaw.

"Alright, Naruto-kun! That's how you do it!" Sakura jumped out of her seat and yelled for her teammate.

Al was immediately sent flying into the stone wall only a few meters away, where he landed with a crash, dropping his kunai. "Aahh!" And, just as quickly, fell back to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Now for the second course!" An entire wave came from all forward angles at Al.

"Al!" Edward yelled out for his brother, who was quickly on his feet again.

"Don't worry, kid," Greed told him from the side. "He takes a bigger beating than that in sparring matches."

"Is that so?" A familiar voice came from the door behind them, with unhastened footsteps. "Then I take it we aren't too late to watch the remainder of Naruto's battle with your brother." Kurama walked out of the shadowed entrance, with Shikamaru behind him.

"Yeah. It's just started." Edward turned back to the match. "But it looks like Al is actually winning."

"Of course, you mite-sized fool," a more abrupt voice chimed in. Who else would so bluntly answer, but Hiei. "Why do you think he would even be able to last on our team?"

"Excuse me..?" Edward looked over to him with a grim glare.

"Heh. What's the matter, little alchemist? Did I stutter? Or perhaps you're more accustomed to the more mainstream slangs of 'Shrimp' and 'Midget?'"

"Oh, dear," Kurama stared at the two with a tense experession as he took a step back, much to Shikamaru's surprise. "Hiei, I think it not wise to--"

"Or perhaps 'Pipsqueak' is simply more suited to your taste."

A moment passed in uneasy silence, with even Shino watching with intrigue, while Naruto could still be heard in his fight against Al. ("Aagh! Crap!") Then, Edward began to grin. "Heh.. He-ha.. Ha-ha-ha...!" And he burst into laughter, clutching the rail.

Kurama stared in astonishment. This must have been the first time he had ever seen Edward take such insults without physical retaliation or verbal threats.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" He spoke between guffaws. "I can't believe you actually said something like that... to me! Calling me short... Come on! You're four-foot-nothing with your hair-do!"

"Hrrmm..." Hiei growled.

"Yes," Kurama spoke up, struggling to keep his giggles down, "he does seem to get that quite a lot..."

I wouldn't doubt it, Shikamaru silently aggreed. And to be that small, if I hadn't seen what he can do with my own eyes, I wouldn't think he was much of a threat, either.

"Well, at least I'm not so insecure about my height that I would resort to something as desperate as elevated boots!"

"(Haa--) What did you say?" This quickly changed Ed's attitude.

"Well," Kurama started, surprised, "That's a new one."

"That's it! I'm shutting you up!" Edward quickly swung for Hiei, missing him by a fraction of a second as he vanished, and nearly losing his balance. "Where'd you go?"

"I'm right here, Child." Edward turned to find Hiei standing right behind him, with his large sword pointed only an inch from Ed's throat.

"Impressive," Temari commented quietly at the scene.

Edward stood frozen, a sweatdrop running down his chin as he stared anxiously. The cheers of the crowd and the blows from Naruto's fight echoed in the background. "I am not the one who wishes to fight you," Hiei continued. "However, I have no problem if or when you feel so inclined to challenge me." He then decided to resheath his sword. "Though I seriously doubt you have it in you to meet me in the finals, if you can even last long enough to face Greed."

"Excuse me," Kankuro chuckled. "But did I just hear you right? You actually think our team is gonna lose to you guys?" Hiei simply turned his attention back to the match, paying no heed to Kankuro (much to his displeasure).

"Aagh!" Naruto fell back, knocked down by another hard left. What's with this guy? His punches feel like solid lead. And every time I make more clones, he just plows right through them. "Damnit, I didn't think I'd face someone like him."

"Don't feel bad, kid. Chock it up to experience and sheer physical strength," Al told him as he kneeled down beside him, his hand at his throat. "You're younger than me, and you've barely been able to test yourself in a real fight. I, on the other hand, have been doing it for a while." He then lifted him back up.

"Don't get cocky, pal," Naruto told him with a disgusted look. "I already said I'm not gonna lose this fight!" He grabbed Al's wrist, and twisted to kick at his head.

However, Al saw the kick, and managed to tilt his head far enough that it slid across his head. Too easy, he thought, before getting hit by Naruto's other leg.

I gotta get out of his grip! Naruto immediately tried to pull away, but Al tightened his grip, refusing to let go.

"You know, Naruto," Al started, looking up at his opponent, "you've got a lot to learn about the way the world works!" He immediately turned and threw Naruto into the air, and jumped up to follow him.

This is my chance! Naruto formed another set of hand signs.

"Oh, no you don't!" Al pulled out a few shuriken and quickly hurled them at him. However, Naruto was quick enough to finish the jutsu in time, leaving a puff of smoke and a log to take the brunt of the attack. No, damnit! Al caught the log, pulling out the weapons, and fell back to the ground. "Where are you, you little brat?"

The crowd was silent, waiting anxiously to see what would happen next. Damnit! Naruto thought to himself in one of the bushes where he silently lie in wait. This guy's a tank! And he hasn't even used any of his jutsus yet. He paused with a realization. Wait a second. He's not using any jutsus. Images of Al's fights flashed in his mind. All this time, he's been relying just on taijutsu. It's a little different, but it's the same as with Bushy-Brow. Maybe he can't use genjutsu or ninjutsu. I just gotta figure out a way to use that to my advantage. As he started to lean back, he accidentally knocked at a branch, causing the leaves to rustle. "Ya-ugh..."

"Huh? Heh-he..." Al gave a conniving grin at the bush. "Gotcha." He quickly swung his shuriken towards Naruto in the bush.

Oh, crap! Naruto tried to dodge the quick projectiles, managing only to move enough to avoid damage to any major organs as they only impaled a few muscles. "Aahh!"

"No, Naruto-kun!" Sakura and Hinata yelled in unison once again.

"Damnit," Naruto cursed silently, pulling the shuriken out of his stomach. "I've gotta find a way out of this. I just have to!" Once again, he made another hand sign for... "Shadow Clone-no Jutsu!" Of course. A puff of smoke appeared around the bush, with two Narutos jumping out towards Alphonse.

"Come on, kid. Give it up!" He jumped up, kicking one clone into the other, and jumping back off of them. However...

"Hey!"

"Huh?" In mid flip, Al saw another set of clones from his opposite direction in midair. Oh, crap...

"Eat this!!" One clone jumped off the other's arms, and landed a devestating blow to his chest, sending him flying back in the opposite direction, where he crashed into the wall, creating a large cloud of dust.

"Al!" Edward struggled to restrain himself, gripping at the rail once again.

"Ouch," Greed commented with a smirk. "That's gonna leave a mark."

Naruto's clones landed on the ground, looking up at the cloud of debris on the wall. After a few seconds, he pondered, "He hasn't come down, yet. Did I knock him out with just that punch?"

"That's the way to do it, Naruto," Sakura cheered out to him.

Everyone watched with anticipation, waiting for the cloud to dissipate. And what came surprised Naruto more than anyone. "What the--?" Through the clearing smoke, a body-sized crator could clearly be seen, but Alphonse was nowhere in sight.

"No way, it can't be!" Sakura was nearly as surprised as him.

"Where did he go?" Ino pondered out loud. Hinata simply continued to watch, worried, silent.

"See, kid," Greed spoke up, snapping Edward out of his tense gaze. "Whad'I tell you? He's not gonna have any problems out there."

"This is turning out to be a rather amusing match, don't you think, Hokage-sama?" The Kazekage asked.

He looked over to his counterpart. "How do you mean?"

"Well, as I'm sure you've noticed, one fighter seems to simply be toying with the other, who is apparently doing everything in his power to win."

The Hokage looked back, concentrating intently on the match. "Yes, I suppose you're right. It certainly seems to be keeping the spectators on the edge of their seats, at any rate." He continued in thought. But the match has been going on for several minutes. Certainly, the Mizukage would have been informed of the intruder's arrival by now. Just what has he been called away for that is more important than capturing an infiltrator to his own village? I wonder...

"Alright," Naruto crossed his fingers once again. "Time to look sharp!" However, before he could do anything... "Huh?" A strange noise caught his attention. "What's that?" It was an unplacable type of static sound, which, apparently, only he had noticed. "Is it him? Where'd it come from?" Naruto was now looking around, desperate to know.

"Bad move, kid!" Alphonse swiftly jumped out of the tree, which was to the far right of where he had hit the wall, towards Naruto, who looked in surprise. "And now, it'll cost you." He pulled out a handful of kunai, tossing them towards Naruto, who barely managed to avoid them. Almost immediately, Alphonse landed right in front of Naruto, catching him by surprise, and spun around, swinging for his head.

Naruto managed to block it, but felt himself forced back while trying not to give into the impact of Al's hit. But without hesitation, Al grabbed Naruto's arms, and quickly spun around behind him, holding him hostage by his wrists.

"You dirty rat," Naruto scorned, as he immediately popped his head back, nailing Al square in the nose, making him release his grip momentarily. "Now you're mine!" He spun around, pulling out some kunai of his own, and started swinging for Al, who was struggling to dodge at the moment, and nearly up against the wall, literally.

Damnit, he thought. This kid is really starting to piss me off. Maybe I should just go ahead and end the games. I'm putting myself at risk already. With that, he quickly jumped up into the air, kicking for Naruto again. However, this time, Naruto managed to block the kick, and stand his ground. What?! And instantly, he came back, his kunai, digging into Al's ankle on each side.

"AAHHH!!!" Al yelled out.

"No, Alphonse..." Edward was on the verge of tears having to watch a battle where his own brother was the enemy.

To compensate for the pain, and lost mobility, Al came off his good leg, landing on one hand, and kicked straight for Naruto's gut.

He managed to block the hit, but lost his kunai, as well as being sent backwards.

Crap! I don't know if I can keep this up, Al thought, leaning up against the wall. "This kid's better than I thought."

What? Naruto thought. He's not moving. That must mean I've got him cornered. This is my chance! "Shadow Clone-no Jutsu!" More of Naruto appeared, and began running towards Al.

Fine, kid. Al straightened his body flat against the wall, with his hands out to the sides.

"What the-- No!" Greed finally spoke up, catching everyone's attention, especially Ed's. "You stupid twerp! Now isn't the time for that!!" He yelled to his teammate over the rails.

"What? What's going on?" Ed asked anxiously. "What's my brother up to?!"

Al continued in thought. I'll admit, you're a little too good for me to just toy around with. A bright light began to flash at his back, where he was up against the wall. He began to grin. But that just means I get to have some real fun, now.

"What the hell?" One clone questioned as they all stopped in their tracks.

"What?!" Ed looked on in shock. "No. No way! That's impossible!" Kurama moved closer to inspect as well. Al was moving back, using the flash to disappear into the wall. "How... There's just no way.." Edward continued in disbelief. Quickly, Al's entire body had absorbed into the wall, with his face disappearing into the light.

Interesting... Sarutobi thought to himself.

"Stupid bastard, why couldn't you just wait?" Greed was not pleased, for some reason. He was supposed to wait until we had the targets, like we planned... Damn!

"What just happened?" Sakura looked closely. That jutsu... It's just like the one those guys used against us in the Forest of Death. But... When he did it, he didn't use any handsigns. And that white flash... She then reached a realization. "No way!" She immediately turned around to find Hinata, frozen, eyes wide with fear.

"What is it, Sakura?" Ino asked.

"Hinata," Sakura started. "You don't that Alphonse..."

"Alphonse..." Flashes of her fight with him entered her mind, followed immediately by Greed's fight. "That flash of light... Greed did the same thing with his arms."

"What?" Ino asked, confused.

"I thought so," Sakura turned back to the fight with a concerned look.

"Edward," Kurama asked solumnly. "Could this possibly mean that--"

"No!" Edward slapped away at the question. "Don't you dare finish that sentence, Kurama!" He looked at him a desperate expression in his eyes. He immediately turned to face Greed and grabbed his vest, tears forming in his eyes. "Say it, Greed. Tell me it's not true! Tell me Al isn't..." He paused, hoping, praying he wouldn't have to finish. Greed just looked him in the eyes solumnly. "No." Ed released him, and stepped back, stunned. "But... I, I saw him at the Gate. Body, soul... everything." He dropped to his knees, staring aimlessly. "I thought I did everything right..."

Naruto and all of his clones were still on the ground, waiting for Al to reappear. "Where'd you go, you coward?"

"Alphonse..." Edward talked to himself, quietly.

"Edward..." Kurama kneeled in front of him, trying to get his attention. Shikamaru stayed close by, paying close attention.

"Al is... He's... a homunculus."

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