A/N: Well, I'm back again, with another update, and really sooner than even I expected. But I was just relaxing on my bed on this holiday (New Year's), when I just suddenly had a burst of inspiration on what to write in this chapter, so I will be able to give you all an amazing New Year's Gift today ;) I hope you all enjoy this chapter since a lot of things will happen. Really epic stuff!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. But I am really happy that tumblr exists and NaruSaku goes on strong there.

The Two Geniuses

Neji's route

Hyuuga Neji proceeded along his chosen path, which, unsurprisingly to him was almost pitching dark. No surprises there, he thought. After all they were in a cave. However, he wished that the lighting was better. He contemplated using his Byakugan for a while, but then decided against it, knowing that he needed every last ounce of his chakra in the ensuing battle. Remembering that the enemies were all S-class criminals who were capable of destroying as much as a hidden village, his resolve strengthened and he clenched his fists, while biting his lower lip. Naruto, please be safe, he thought.

The path continued getting narrower and narrower and Neji had a harrowing sensation in his stomach. Ignoring it and deciding to proceed further, he was met by an unpleasant surprise. Damn it. A dead end. There was nothing but rubble at the edge of this path, which made Neji slump his shoulders in defeat. He decided to head back, noticing that he had not walked a really long distance and that getting back would be a cinch. He made up his mind that he would follow the path that was next to his, since it would provide him with a chance of assisting whoever had followed that path.

After walking a few steps which he was sure was equivalent to those he had walked earlier, he stopped in his tracks puzzled. Something was odd. He could still see the entrance to the pathway far away, albeit with difficulty. Shrugging it off as a misjudgment, he decided to walk again towards the entrance. However, he did not seem to be getting there. He looked at his feet to ensure that he was indeed moving forward, and there was no mistake, he was indeed moving forward. He stopped in his tracks for the second time that day, and realized what the harrowing feeling he had felt in his stomach a few minutes ago had been.

Damn it, he cursed again for the second time that day. He realized that he had walked into the enemy's genjutsu, and by the ingenuity of it it looked like one that Madara had set up. He remembered Shikamaru explaining to the Konoha 11 once in the past about how Madara had remarkable visual prowess, and he was indeed experiencing it firsthand for himself. It was a genjutsu that seemed to make one feel as if the path to the exit was never ending, but the alternate path into the route did have an end. Under normal circumstances, the one ensnared would have to stay there with no chance of escape.

Neji, however, was the undeniable prodigy of the Hyuuga Clan, and his class's best student in his year, so he would not let such a "feeble" trap stop him. "It's a good thing I decided to choose this path then. If it were the others I don't think they would have noticed such a thing, and if they did they probably wouldn't have had a chance to dispel it," Neji said to himself. His thoughts suddenly shifted to a green clad kid in spandex and a loud ninja with a mutt, and he sweat-dropped a little. "Especially those two," he concluded.

Realizing that he wasn't left with much choice in this scenario, Neji placed his hands together, closed them and after a while his Byakugan was activated. Veins pulsating from both sides of his head, the trademark genius quickly looked around the cave, noting that he didn't exactly have a lot of time to leave his Byakugan on. He looked for some sort of trigger that was used to activate the jutsu, and luckily enough he spotted it. It was at the point where the path had unnaturally gotten narrower, and Neji realized that was where the harrowing feeling in his stomach had started from. It was a seal that had the kanji for "Endless" engraved on it. Floating in midair, Neji concluded that he must have activated it when he passed through the route. The seal didn't seem to be visible to the naked eye, so Neji assumed that it was made from chakra, and most likely Sharingan or Byakugan could see it.

Wasting no time in proceeding to the seal's position, he examined it carefully to ensure that there were no other unpleasant surprises that lay in wait if he dared to touch it again. After doing a thorough scan of it, and deducing that it held no more, he infused chakra into his fist before shaping it into a recognizable form. "Juuken," and the seal fell to the ground, torn into two. Immediately there was another sensation that Neji felt, and looking towards the exit, he noticed that it was now nearer than it had been before. Smiling a little, he headed to the exit, while restoring his eyes to their normal state.

In another corner of the cave, unbeknownst to everyone who had set foot in there a few moments ago, a masked figure sat down in silence. "Not bad," he said to himself, while grinning under his mask.

Lee's route

Rock Lee walked along his route, in sheer silence, looking around to get a better feel of the area. This path seemed much smoother than the one the group had just come from outside, and there were no stalactites or stalagmites either. Looking up towards the top of the cave, he noticed that it was perfectly smooth, with no cracks or any deformities. However, something about it made him feel uneasy in his wavering footsteps, and he felt as if something bad was about to happen any time soon.

Mere moments later, he had a soft sound (which sounded strangely similar to him) muttering the words "Release." The sound came directly from the direction he was heading to. Suddenly, explosions were heard from overhead and the entire roof came down in the form of huge rocks. Lee realized that there were probably explosives that had been melded in perfectly with the roof, causing the coming down of the entire thing in one fell swoop. Wasting no time in defending himself, he immediately removed the cloak he was wearing, since it would prevent mobility. Jumping in the direction of the landing rocks, he shouted,"UWAAAAAAAAAH!" and immediately began shattering the rocks with his limbs. The rocks crumbled easily under his pressure, and Lee scoffed a little, remembering the grueling training sessions he had with Gai-sensei daily, and he noticed that this was nothing compared to what he went through.

He easily shattered the rock one by one, all in all while making sure to keep a lookout towards all directions to ensure that no other booby traps were there. After calmly shattering the last rock, he landed with a soft thud on the ground, and went to pick up his cloak. However, he heard the distinct sound of someone clapping their hands amidst the rubble, and the sound grew closer and closer, till it was finally recognizable. Lee's eyes widened in shock. "You!" he shouted, his voice carrying an angrier tone than normal.

Uchiha Sasuke stood among the rubble on the ground. "Well, well, I certainly love what you've done with the place," he suddenly spoke up. Lee realized that the person who had said the word "Release" earlier was Sasuke. "Anyway, I have to admit that explosives aren't really my thing, so I didn't exactly appreciate the idea of Madara giving me the control over the explosives he had set up in the area. But at least it provided me with a show to enjoy," Sasuke continued, the sarcasm in his voice growing with each sentence.

"Sasuke-kun, where is Naruto?" Lee asked him, deciding that he didn't want to waste time dawdling around there. Sasuke made an inaudible sound, but nonetheless, to Lee's shock, pointed towards the end of the wall. Surely enough, Naruto lay there. His hands and feet were bound by what looked like chakra chains, attaining to the glowing nature of the chains, and their unusual colour. He looked terrible, as if he had not eaten for days and he was unconscious. Lee immediately felt tears rushing into his eyes.

"You bastard! ( Sasuke was a bit surprised, he never thought the green-clad shinobi was capable of hurling insults at anyone) What have you done to Naruto? I swear if he's dead I'll…I'll-" Sasuke cut him off at this point, in his ever calm and sarcastic voice, "Relax. He's not yet dead. But he will be when we've finally extracted the tailed beast from him. For now, he's unconscious, and don't even think of shouting his name, since he won't be able to hear you. I've injected some of my electric chakra into his system to ensure he doesn't move, since his legs and hands will be paralyzed. For insurance anyway." Suddenly, Sasuke placed his hands on the hilt of his sword, and his voice became a tad serious," Now, it goes without saying that if you want to get to the dobe you have to go through me, and personally, I believe I have a little score to settle with you." Lee immediately realized that Sasuke was referring to the time during the Chuunin Exams, when he had single-handedly handed the Uchiha's ass to him. However, he immediately realized that the said raven-haired Uchiha was not standing in front of him.

A fraction of a second later, Lee felt the cold steel of a blade closing in towards his face, and immediately jumped a few steps backwards. Sasuke was crouched in the position where Lee formerly was, holding his sword upwards. Blood trickled from the end of the sword, and Lee immediately realized that if he was a few seconds later, his face would have been cleaved in half.

"Nice reflexes," Sasuke complemented him, before standing upright. "Nut not nearly there yet." He disappeared instantly again, but this time Lee was prepared for him. Stretching out his hand to his right, he immediately felt it making contact with something warm, and immediately knew he had managed to capture his target. His hand was on Sasuke's sword hand, grabbing it by the hilt. A bemused Sasuke, staring from his hand to Lee's hand, simply stated, "Well, well, who would have thought you knew about the right way to block my Kusanagi. It seems you guys have been talking about me in the village. Missed me much?" Lee said nothing, immediately remembering how Sakura had informed the rest of the rookies about Sasuke's abilities after the mission with Sai and Yamato, which involved Orochimaru.

At the end of the memory, Lee looked at Sasuke then said, "This is the end of the line Sasuke." Tightening his grip on the Uchiha's hand, he waited for Sasuke to drop his sword in defeat, but what met him next completely caught him off-guard. Smiling in an evil manner, Sasuke shouted, "Chidori Nagashi!" Lee shouted, "Oh, cra-", but his sentence was cut off halfway as electricity channeled from Sasuke's entire body, and zapped Lee, making him fly a distance away. Relinquishing his hand on the sword, Lee now stared at the hand which had held Sasuke mere moments ago. It was slightly charred, but still usable, since Lee flexed his fingers a few times before resuming to looking at Sasuke.

However, what met him next was completely uncalled for. Sasuke had his eyes closed, and Lee, having been told about this before, braced himself for the worst. Opening his eyes slightly, Sasuke said, "Amaterasu." Lee realized that there was no stopping this. He had heard about the unquenchable black flames of Amaterasu, and knowing that none of the techniques in his arsenal could help him in this scenario, closed his eyes, preparing himself for his ending that was nigh."This sucks," he said to himself, and knew that he was in for a world of scorching pain.

However, the pain never came. A few seconds passed, before Lee opened his eyes. Did I die? He thought to himself, but staring at his charred hand, he realized that this was not the case. It still pained slightly, so Lee assumed he was still alive. But how? He thought to himself again, and wondered if Sasuke had missed his target. However, Sasuke's face was contorted in shock just ahead of him, so Lee immediately realized that he had no intentions of missing at all.

A familiar voice snapped him out of his confusion, "Oi! How long are you going to stay in that state! Stand up Lee!" Joy welled up in him as he looked in the direction where the voice came from, which happened to be the side where his good hand was. Neji stood a few feet away from Lee, and was holding up a huge scroll. "Fire Sealing Method:Release," Neji said, and immediately the black flames which were lingering on the surface of the scroll disappeared, leaving a red kanji on the scroll. Sasuke continued to stare, bewildered at the scroll, before asking Neji, "Ho- What kind of a scroll is that and where did you get it?! Why aren't you burning up yourself?!" His voice was trembling. Sasuke's voice only trembled when he felt he could not understand how something had happened, or when someone beat him at something which he thought he had complete control over. In this case, it was obviously the latter.

The other genius simply replied, "Simple. I sealed the flames of your technique into this sealing scroll. On its surface is embedded a formula that reacts to any fire technique and immediately seals it away. Even Amaterasu." He concluded with an air of pride in his voice. Lee stood there and chuckled a little. Truly, there was no cure for a geniuses' pride. Neji however, looked at the scroll and muttered under his breath, "Thanks, Naruto."

Flashback

Uzumaki Naruto was strolling the streets of Konoha, heading home after a long day. That day, they had managed to successfully bring Tsunade back to the village. Sasuke had been treated and although Naruto was happy that his friend and teammate was alive and kicking again, he could not help but feel pain at the scene that greeted him soon afterwards. Sakura had immediately rushed to Sasuke and hugged him, making Naruto feel really terrible. The pain from that event resurfaced in his mind, and he clutched his chest area, hoping that it would recede that way. However, he felt something soft there. Reaching his hand into his jacket, he pulled out a white scroll, which he immediately recognized as the scroll which Jiraiya had left him earlier.

"Why don't you keep it? I'm not even interested in fuinjutsu anyway," he rejected the pervy sage's attempt to give him the scroll. He remembered how he had used it to seal away Itachi's Amaterasu earlier, and although marveled at how the Pervy Sage had done it, he really didn't want to be left with something that could possibly set him ablaze any moment.

"No, kiddo," Jiraiya retaliated. "I want you to keep this scroll. It may come in handy, since you may face Uchiha Itachi one day again, and I may not be there to bail you out this time. Besides I have other scrolls like that so it won't really handicap me. Look, just go and give it a look at home, kay? "He finished. Naruto looked at the scroll a little as if contemplating something then lowered his shoulders before admitting, "Okay then. But I'm not promising anything." He took the scroll from his masters' hands, who smiled before rubbing his head a little. "That's a good apprentice."

Now Naruto was left with a scroll with which he had absolutely no idea what to do. He looked at the scroll but failed to understand what was inscribed on it. Lowering it and preparing to stuff it back into his jacket, he caught the sight of two white-eyed people walking towards him on the opposite side of the road. It was Hyuuga Neji and his cousin, Hyuuga Hinata. Immediately, he got an idea in his head and smiled mischievously, before calling out, "Hey, Neji! Hinata!"

Hinata immediately squealed and went to hide behind a nearby pole. Neji, staring at her, just heaved a sigh of disappointment, "Hinata-sama." Naruto, who seemed oblivious to what was going on, immediately reached Neji and placed the scroll into his hands. "Happy Birthday, Neji!" Neji stared at Naruto, clearly at a loss of words, before replying, "Nice prank, kiddo. But my birthday isn't until a month later." Naruto, realizing that his trick had not worked, sweat-dropped a little before quickly mumbling, "Just think of it as an early present dude!" Neji was about to protest again, but Naruto immediately dashed away, leaving Neji standing there at a loss of words. He stared at the scroll in his hands. "Weird. Wonder what that was all about." However, concluding that Naruto was far past the habits of pranking people anymore, Neji stuffed the scroll into his weapons pouch, deciding to go and take a look at it when he had reached his house.

The scroll proved to be one of the most important things handed down to him, alongside the letter from his deceased father.

Flash in

Neji recounted the events of that day with an unnatural fondness, and once he managed to recap everything, he made a mental note to thank Kami for remembering to carry the scroll during this mission. He had studied it and managed to understand what it was used for, even managing to master the technique behind the working of the scroll. Before the mission, he decided to carry the scroll, just in case they were met by an Uchiha who had the same eye ability as Itachi, namely Madara or Sasuke. Sasuke was the one after all.

"Lee! Prepare to attack, don't just sit there!" Neji shouted, but Lee was a step ahead of him. Having released the weights on his legs ( Neji recounted how he was shocked the first time he had seen that happen), he dashed towards Sasuke. This time, Sasuke was the one who was caught off-guard. Quickly initiating the Omote Renge, Lee hoisted Sasuke into the air and appeared behind him, preparing to pile-drive him into the ground. Sasuke, having been stunned by Lee's quick attack, however, just smirked. "The same attack as two years ago,huh?" His Mangekyo still activated, he waited till the two almost reached the ground before shouting, "Susanoo!"

For the second time that day, Lee did not find the expected outcome. He awaited the bone-crushing sound that would appear immediately Sasuke hit the ground. To more of his amazement, however, he saw what looked like a rib-cage surrounding Sasuke. The rib-cage was purple and covered in purple flames, and they seemed to have cushioned Sasuke's fall. Neji, who had returned the scroll into his back, noticed that the ribs had cracks in various sections, so he realized that it was an ultimate defense just like Gaara's.

Giving Sasuke no time to steady himself upwards, Neji charged towards him, intent on breaking the rib cage. He knew that no normal attacks would work on Sasuke while he was within the Susanoo, so he prepared to activate his Byakugan. However, he was suddenly grimaced by the site of half a humanoid monster in front of him. "Shit! Not again!" For the second time that day, Hyuuga Nejio had fallen prey to a genjutsu. The humanoid monster absorbed him, and he fell limp to the ground.

"Neji!" Lee shouted, immediately rushing towards him. Sasuke looked at him from within the rib cage, his eyes focused intently on Neji, before relaxing his glare a little. "It's useless. He's already caught in my Susanoo genjutsu,'' Sasuke explained, but he held his head in his hands a while later. The strain of using his Mangekyo Sharingan was clearly catching up to him now.

Looking up again once he had managed to stabilize his vision, Sasuke caught the momentary glimpse of a red and green blur, before being blown away to the wall. The ribs were almost falling apart at the front section, and Sasuke thought of stabilizing the Susanoo, but no such opening existed. The mass of red and green continued raining relentless attacks against Sasuke's Susanoo, and the ribs weakened with each constant attack. "I see. This is the power of the Eight Inner Gates of Chakra. They are certainly more amazing than what I heard," Sasuke thought, holding his hands in front of him as if protecting jis body from any attacks that may pierce through.

Lee, who was outside the Susanoo though, was slowly reaching his limit. Over the time skip he had managed to open up to the Seventh Gate, the Gate of Wonder, but he could not stay in this form for an extended period of time. He could feel his muscles tearing up and his bones screaming out in agony, but he could not waste the chance Neji had given him in opening the first 5 gates. After what Sasuke termed as the 20th assault, Lee immediately rushed in for a Secondary Lotus, shattering the wall on which Sasuke had been cushioned into. Raining a barrage of kicks into him, Sasuke rose into the air. "Damn it, the Susanoo won't hold much longer! He panicked. Finally descending to the earth in one final shattering blow, the duo was blown away from each other.

There was a lot of dust and rubble at the place where the two had landed. The rubble cleared to reveal a bloody Lee, whose legs and arms were bleeding profusely. He was lying on the ground, unable to wake up, and the other side of the rubble cleared to reveal a Sasuke who, even though was not in a terrible state like Lee, had his share of damage. His shirt was torn, bones which were the remnants of the Susanoo hit the ground all around him, and he was clearly out of breath.

Lee was shocked that Sasuke was still in one piece, but Sasuke, proceeding towards Lee, simply muttered, "You certainly have exceeded all my expectations, Rock Lee. But this is the end of the line for you." He made to draw his sword to finish off the bruised and battered Lee. Lee, who was slowly drifting in and out of consciousness, silently said, "I couldn't defeat him even with Seven Gates opened. Sorry, Gai-sensei, Neji and TenTen. Looks like this is it for me." Sasuke then proceeded to lower the sword towards Lee's head, but suddenly winced in pain.

"Hakke! 2 palms! 4 palms! 8 palms! 16 palms! 32 palms! 64 palms!" Neji continued his Eight Trigrams, 64 Palms on Sasuke's torso. His eyes were fully activated and his teeth gritted together. Staring at Lee's unmoving body on the ground away from where he and Sasuke stood, he landed the final blow on Sasuke, which sent him sprawling on the ground and landing a few feet away from where Lee's body stood.

"You! But how?! I thought you were in my genjutsu a few minutes ago!" Sasuke seethed from his position on the ground. He was trying to get up again, but it was no use, all his tenketsu were shut down. Neji simply looked at him coldly, then between huge gasps of breath explained, "Don't underestimate these eyes. The Byakugan can see through genjutsu just as the Sharingan can. But with more difficulty, since I had to use almost all my chakra activating them." He then proceeded to move towards Lee's body, before draping him over his shoulders and looking back at Sasuke before saying," Remember. The Hyuuga are the strongest in Konoha." Sasuke, still trying to get up, simply let out an evil maniacal laugh, "HAHAHAHA!l It looks like this is my loss this time. So this is the outcome of the match I so desired with you a while ago. Well, looks like you win, Hyuuga Neji." After the futile attempt, he simply fell to the ground and passed out. Neji, unable to move much farther due to the weight of Lee in his arms and his chakra exhaustion, followed suit, leaving a sight where three bodies lay on the cold, hard floor of the hideout.

End

A/N: Well, I think that went as I pictured in my head before writing this chapter. I've always been curious for a Neji vs Sasuke fight in the Naruto manga and anime, but since Kishi didn't fulfill my wish, I decided to just make one myself. So 5 hours of non-stop typing and my first fight scene is fanfiction is complete. I hope this fight turns out well for you guys. Please read and review. Thanks for all your continued support!