As Sasuke continued growing more and more, Naruto wasn't about to fall without a fight. He wasn't about to sit down and let his rival get stronger than him. Naruto knew to stay on the ground was suicide, so he powered chakra to his feet and hands and clung to Sasuke's enormous toe. With as much speed as he could muster, he began his ascent up Sasuke's still growing big toe. Naruto finally managed to get to the top of the toe, where he stopped to rest. The first part of his plan had succeeded. At this point, he at least wouldn't be crushed by Sasuke. From his vantage point, he couldn't see what was happening to the earth as Sasuke's feet began to overcome it. Slowly, he brought his feet closer and closer together, as the earth shrank down to apple size, then ping pong ball size, then marble size, and then, nothing. When Sasuke lost sight of the planet, he instantly lost interest in it. By a miraculous stroke, the planet, though badly damaged, had still survived! It was lost among Sasuke's feet, but still there. How long it would last, was yet to be seen. Naruto, stuck on Sasuke's big toe, unknowingly had brought more survivors with him. Tsunade and her small crew of genin were still performing experiments on Naruto to try and find out what caused his growth, how to reverse it, and how they were even going to find a way to get him to take it. At his current size, they were barely able to use dead skin cells to test on. But Tsunade was determined. This had gone from a simple matter of protecting the village to a colossal matter of protecting the planet! She worked tirelessly, using all the skills she possessed as a Sanin, to discover this abnormality in Naruto. She had decided that it couldn't have been something that was created naturally in Naruto's body since Sasuke had also started growing. Therefore, it must've been something both boys were exposed to. The question was, what?

Naruto, having rested enough, looked out at the plain of flesh that lay out before him. He was so angry, angry that that jerk Sasuke had stolen his order away from him, his power. No matter what, he would grow bigger than Sasuke and crush him like the arrogant over proud bug he was!