The ever present rivalry between Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha is one of the main narrative threads that runs through both Part I and Part II of Naruto, and each of the story's two halves culminates in a fiery battle between them at the Valley of the End. Apart from providing an avenue for the tension between them to escalate, both battles also serve the role of showing how far the duo have come over the course of their journey.