"Akamaru Unleashed! Who's Top Dog Now?" (赤丸参戦!!負け犬はどっちだ?, Akamaru Sansen!! Makeinu wa Dotchida?) is episode 44 of the original Naruto anime.
Synopsis[]
Naruto is immediately at a disadvantage, realising that Kiba fights with the assistance of his dog, Akamaru. Kiba charges at him, and delivers a blow to his stomach, knocking him down. Assuming he won, he tells Hayate to call the match, when Naruto gets back up, taunting him he’d be better off sending his puppy. Kiba throws Smoke Bombs, before using the commotion to deliver more blows. When the smoke clears, he sees an unconscious Naruto laying on the ground, unaware it’s just a Shadow Clone, and calls “Akamaru” towards him who latches onto his arm. Naruto reveals himself to have transformed into his dog, while his clone holds the real Akamaru.
Kiba flicks a food pill at him, causing his fur to turn red and ferocious, before taking one himself. Once powered up, Kiba and Akamaru use a combination of Four Legs Technique and Beast Human Clone to overwhelm Naruto with two beastly opponents. Finishing the combination with Fang Passing Fang, Naruto falls flat on his face, and swears to persevere in order to become Hokage, while being taunted.