Naruto: The Crimson Error

(A.n- Bonus chapter for 75 Powerstones, We are close to 100, So keep them coming)

Meanwhile, Naruto was having the time of his life. Sure, Sasuke was picking off his clones like dango off a stick, but that just meant he got to make more! And more clones meant more chances to land a hit on the stuck-up Uchiha.

"Hey Sasuke," one of the Narutos called out as he aimed a kick at the raven-haired boy's head. "Your hair looks extra duck-butty today. Did you use a special gel or is it naturally that ridiculous?"

Sasuke ducked under the kick, retaliating with a sweep that dispelled three clones in one smooth motion. "At least my hair doesn't look like I stuck my finger in a lightning jutsu, dobe."

"Ooh, was that an attempt at humour?" another Naruto chimed in, grinning widely. "Alert the Hokage! Sasuke Uchiha has discovered emotions beyond 'brooding' and 'extra broody'!"

Sasuke's eye twitched. He was surrounded by orange-clad idiots, each one more annoying than the last. It was time to change tactics.

Leaping back to create some distance, Sasuke's hands flashed through familiar seals. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

A massive sphere of flames erupted from Sasuke's mouth, barreling towards the clones. For a moment, the clearing was illuminated in a hellish orange glow, and Sora briefly wondered if he should have specified "no turning the battlefield into a replica of Mount Doom" in his rules.

As the flames died down, Sasuke allowed himself a small smirk of satisfaction. Surely that had taken care of a significant portion of the dobe's clones.

His satisfaction was short-lived.

"Wow, teme!" Naruto's voice called out from the smoke. "That was pretty hot. Get it? Hot? Because it was fire? Man, I'm hilarious."

As the smoke cleared, Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief. There stood Naruto, completely unharmed, surrounded by a protective barrier of clones who had apparently substituted themselves with nearby logs at the last second.

"You know," one of the clones piped up, gesturing to the charred logs scattered around, "I think you just violated the 'no setting the forest on fire' rule. That's a penalty! Hey, Sora, what's the penalty for arson?"

Sora, who had been watching the exchange with growing amusement, called back, "Well, normally it would be disqualification, but I think we can let it slide this once. After all, it's not a proper ninja battle without at least one attempt to burn down the surrounding area."

Sasuke growled in frustration. This wasn't going according to plan at all. The dobe was supposed to be easy to beat, not... whatever this was.

"What's the matter, Sasuke?" Naruto taunted, his clones spreading out to surround the Uchiha once more. "All out of fancy jutsu? Or are you just enjoying the view of my awesome clones?"

Something in Sasuke snapped. He was an Uchiha, dammit! He was not going to lose to the dead last, not like this. With a burst of speed, he charged towards what he hoped was the real Naruto.

What happened next would be talked about in hushed, awe-filled whispers for weeks to come.

As Sasuke's fist connected with Naruto's face, time seemed to slow down. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, his body already moving to the counter. But Sasuke saw it all - every twitch of muscle, every shift in balance. It was as if the world had suddenly come into crystal-clear focus.

"Teme," Naruto said, his voice sounding oddly distorted to Sasuke's ears, "your eyes..."

Sasuke blinked, momentarily distracted. In that split second, Naruto's hand shot out from the ground, grabbing Sasuke's ankle.

Time resumed its normal flow as Sasuke found himself being pulled downward. With a yelp that he would later vehemently deny ever making, the Last Uchiha was yanked into the earth up to his neck.

"Ha!" Naruto crowed triumphantly, dispelling the clone Sasuke had punched. " How do you like them apples, teme?"

Sasuke, his head poking out of the ground like the world's grumpiest daisy, was having an existential crisis. He had awakened his Sharingan, the pride of the Uchiha clan, in the middle of a spar with the dead-last. And then promptly got himself stuck in the ground like a turnip.

Somewhere in the afterlife, he was sure his ancestors were facepalming.

Sora, meanwhile, was trying very hard not to laugh. And failing miserably. "Oh man," he wheezed between giggles, "this is better than the time I convinced the ANBU that the Hokage Monument had come to life and was demanding tribute in the form of fancy hats."

Sasuke glared at the giggling redhead, his newly awakened Sharingan spinning menacingly. Or at least, as menacingly as one can look while being buried up to their neck. "Are you going to referee this match or just stand there laughing?"

Sora wiped a tear from his eye, composing himself. "Right, right. Sorry. Ahem. As the totally impartial and not-at-all-amused referee, I declare this round goes to Naruto. Sasuke, do you yield, or do you wish to continue this match as Konoha's first mobile garden gnome?"

Sasuke's glare intensified, and for a moment, Sora wondered if it was possible to spontaneously develop a Sharingan technique that could set people on fire through sheer force of will.

"I. Do. Not. Yield," Sasuke ground out, each word dripping with enough venom to make Orochimaru jealous.

Naruto scratched his head, looking genuinely confused. "Uh, Sasuke? Not to state the obvious or anything, but you're kind of... stuck. In the ground. How exactly are you planning to fight like that?"

As if in answer to Naruto's question, the earth around Sasuke began to crack and crumble. With a burst of chakra-enhanced strength that would have made Tsunade raise an appreciative eyebrow, Sasuke exploded out of his earthen prison.

Dirt and small rocks went flying everywhere. One particularly large clump smacked a Naruto clone right in the face, causing it to dispel with a surprised "Ack!"

Sasuke stood there, covered in dirt, his hair even more dishevelled than usual, but with a fire in his eyes that spoke of imminent pain for a certain blonde ninja.

"Oh," Naruto said weakly. "That's how."

Sora, who had taken cover behind a conveniently placed boulder (he made a mental note to thank the universe for always providing comedically appropriate hiding spots), poked his head out. "Well, folks, it looks like we're in for round two! In this corner, we have Sasuke Uchiha, recently unearthed and looking mad enough to glare a hole through solid steel. And in this corner, we have Naruto Uzumaki, who's probably regretting not taking up gardening as a hobby right about now."

Sasuke's Sharingan eyes locked onto Naruto, tracking every minute movement. "No more games, dobe," he growled. "Let's finish this."

Naruto gulped audibly. He had a feeling things were about to get a lot more explosive. Literally.

"Alright, teme," Naruto said, trying to sound confident despite the nervous sweat trickling down his neck. "You want to finish this? Let's finish this!"

With a burst of chakra, Naruto summoned another wave of clones. The clearing was once again filled with a sea of orange and blonde, each clone wearing an identical grin that was equal parts excited and terrified.

Sasuke moved towards a nearby clone that was present before, ready to dispel it, but now that he could see chakra with the help of his tomato-like eyes, he instinctively knew that something was wrong. 

He jumped back and as expected, something weird happened.

The area around along with the clone exploded, saving Sasuke from chakra burns and whatnot.

"Oh, I didn't know my clones could do that" The original Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke's Sharingan eyes narrowed as he assessed the situation. The dobe had somehow learned to make his clones explode. It was unexpected, unpredictable, and utterly annoying - much like Naruto himself.

"You know, Sasuke," one of the Narutos called out, "I bet you're feeling pretty heated right now. But don't worry, we're about to turn up the temperature even more!"

Sasuke groaned internally. Exploding clones weren't bad enough; now he had to endure terrible puns too?

From his vantage point, Sora was practically vibrating with excitement. "Ladies and gentlemen," he announced to no one in particular, "what we're witnessing here is nothing short of legendary. In one corner, we have Sasuke Uchiha, whose eyes are redder than a tomato with sunburn. And in the other corner, Naruto Uzumaki, who's apparently decided that the best way to win a fight is to turn himself into a human fireworks display!"

Sasuke ignored the commentary, focusing instead on the sea of orange before him. He needed a strategy, and fast. The problem was, with his newly awakened Sharingan, he could see the chakra in each clone - and they all looked identical. There was no way to tell which one was the real Naruto.

"What's the matter, teme?" the Narutos taunted in unison. "Scared of a little boom?"

Sasuke's eye twitched. "I'm an Uchiha," he growled. "We don't get scared. We get even."

With that, Sasuke charged forward, his hands already forming seals. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

A barrage of small fireballs shot from Sasuke's mouth, each one aimed at a different clone. The Narutos scattered, some dodging, others deflecting the flames with kunai.

"Hey, watch it!" one clone yelped as a fireball singed his hair. "I just got this outfit dry-cleaned!"

Another clone snickered. "Liar. You've never dry-cleaned anything in your life."

"How would you know?" the first clone shot back.

"Because I'm you, idiot!"

Sasuke watched the exchange with growing bewilderment. Were the clones... arguing with each other?

Sora, meanwhile, was having the time of his life. "Oh, this is gold!" he cackled. "Naruto's greatest enemy isn't Sasuke - it's himself! Literally!"