I don't own Naruto... Haku does, and he likes it.
Alright, going through the reviews it seems more people are against the chains than are for it. Sorry to those who wanted it but the majority did specify to do crystal chains instead, so that'll probably happen.
Quote of the chapter/day: "Behind a perfectly normal face can lay a demon in waiting. Therefore trust should never be given – but earned – lest you find yourself betrayed."
Chapter 14: The Finals Commence
-Last Chapter-
Naruto had also received the addition to his outfit that he'd ordered a while back, and was rather pleased with it. It definitely would get a nice reaction anyway, even if he did feel like a bit of a copy-cat while wearing it.
One thing was for certain, the finals would be a spectacle to behold.
-Start-
It was now the day of the finals. Naruto and the other contestants were finally going to show the fruits of their labour; the effects of their training and determination. The blond couldn't wait to finally have a chance of becoming a Chūnin, it seemed almost fictional to him that he could improve in rank so early in his Shinobi career, but here he was.
He hadn't had much success sleeping the night before until he managed to shift his thoughts to less exciting things. Fortunately for him, he felt well rested despite his short sleeping cycle. The last thing he needed was to be tired before he even did anything, especially since he was first against the Hyūga prodigy... or so he was called.
Naruto went about his morning rituals before getting dressed, donning the new part of his attire with a large grin. He had plenty of time to get ready, and he was aware that wasting time would make him late so he didn't do anything unnecessary. He already made a plan with Jiraiya to make his entrance a little more... interesting. He grabbed his mask as he approached the door and made his way out.
-At the Stadium-
Most of the fighters were assembled and ready in the stadium, all but Naruto, Sasuke and Dosu (one of which wouldn't turn up at all). Haku and Sakura were getting a little worried the two of them may not arrive, while Karin – who was with Sakura and Ino in the stands – was just worried about Naruto.
"Where could Nii-san be?" Karin said while looking around the arena. Sakura sighed and shook her head while Ino just frowned.
"I have no idea, but if he and Sasuke-kun don't turn up then they'll get disqualified." Sakura said, making Karin frown while Ino just sighed.
"I still can't believe Naruto has a sister, technicality or not." Ino said. Karin just smiled somewhat at the girl while Sakura nodded in approval.
Haku in the arena was just doing her best to seem confident. Ever since she'd stopped wearing her mask at all times she noticed she got nervous more often, though that could've just been the fact that thousands of people would be watching her.
'Where could he be? He better not be a no-show... ' Haku thought somewhat deviously, thinking up ways to punish him if he weren't to arrive in time.
Then there was a large poof of smoke in the centre of the stadium that grabbed the attention of just about everyone. As it began to clear two figures became visible within it, with a large mass below them. It fully cleared to reveal Jiraiya of the Sannin – a big enough surprise for most of the Shinobi present – standing atop a toad with a crouched figure next to him.
The crouched figure was wearing a long, black, high collared and short sleeved Haori with blue wave patterns adorning the bottom of it, with the Uzumaki spiral depicted on the upper back, with a red almost crystalline fox spiralling around it. Around the collar it had the kanji for 'Crystal Fox of Konoha'. The individual was also wearing a red mask with the kanji for 'Nine'.
The individual in question then stood slowly to his feet and jumped off the toad to land before the other competitors, before removing his mask slightly to the side to reveal a single blue eye and a few whisker marks while giving a small smirk.
"Am I late?" Naruto said, as the crowd along with several competitors stood pretty much dumbstruck. 'Oh yeah, that entrance was worth the time it took to set up.' He thought to himself. Genma Shiranui – the replacement proctor – shook himself out of his daze and shook his head to say he was on time.
Up in the crowds Karin was basically bouncing in her seat upon seeing her brother be so cool. Sakura just smiled and shook her head while Ino actually had the decency to gawk at the entrance. It was pretty cool.
Haku gave him a quick once-over before turning away to hide the blush that appeared on her face. He looked very attractive to her at the moment, and she was having trouble containing her excitement at seeing him. Naruto then turned to Jiraiya.
"Thanks for the help Jiraiya-sensei, you can go now." Naruto said with a wave, making the man raise his hand in a lazy wave while he and the toad disappeared. 'Wait, how'd he disappear with the toad? We needed to use clever timing and tricks to get in here for that entrance...' Naruto thought with a slight tick mark.
Several people in the audience once again gawked upon seeing Naruto – the demon brat – address one of the Sannin as 'sensei'. How the boy managed to receive training from one of the greatest Shinobi of their time was a mystery.
'Hmm, Sasuke and Dosu aren't here. I'm sure Sasuke will show up eventually... but hell, the audience would never let the last Uchiha get disqualified.' Naruto thought to himself bitterly. He didn't have a problem with Sasuke, but the special treatment was a little irritating.
Naruto looked around the audience and gulped. Despite everything he couldn't help but feel a little dwarfed by the number of people watching him. He steeled his face and began to scan the audience until he noticed Karin and gave her a discrete wave, to which she returned adamantly. Sakura sweat-dropped at how similar the red-head was to the old Naruto, at least in terms of how excitable she was.
Meanwhile, in the Kage booth Hiruzen and the 'Kazekage' were discussing things like Hiruzen's age and whatnot, before the elderly Hokage walked up to the railing and decided to begin things.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to the Leaf Village's Chūnin selection exams today. We will now begin the main matches with those who passed the preliminaries. Please enjoy the matches." The Hokage said. Genma decided to clear a few things up before they began.
"There are some things I need to tell you before the matches. Look at this." He said, pulling up a diagram of the scheduled matches. Apparently something had happened to Dosu since he wasn't there at all, instead having Haku fight the winner between Temari and Shikamaru before the winner of that match fought the winner between Shino and Kankuro.
"Say, Proctor-san..." Naruto said, earning Genma's attention. "...what'll happen if Sasuke doesn't arrive in time?" He finished, making Genma frown slightly.
"If he doesn't come here by the time his match starts... he will lose by default." The man replied, making Naruto frown behind his mask that everyone was questioning the need for.
"Listen up." Genma started. "The rules are the same as the preliminaries; there are none. The match will end by forfeit, death or my intervention. No argument is allowed. The first match is... Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyūga. The rest of you need to go back to the waiting room." He finished, as everyone began to make their way to the waiting room, though Haku walked up to Naruto.
"Good luck." She whispered, giving him a very quick and discrete kiss on the cheek that made him blush bright red as she walked off with a large smile. He coughed slightly as the red tinge disappeared and he placed his mask back on.
Up in the crowds plenty of discussion about the current match was occurring.
"So, do you think Nii-san can beat this Neji boy?" Karin said quizzically. Sakura took a thinking pose while Ino just scoffed.
"Yeah right, he could never beat Neji. That guy was rookie of the year... last year. He's going to win." She said confidently. Sakura didn't really have a retort since she'd been in a coma for so long but she still wanted to believe Naruto could succeed.
"Hmph, I bet Nii-san will kick his ass." Karin said, making Ino look at her with surprise at the confidence she displayed.
Many of the Chūnin and Jōnin in the stands were not even considering the notion that Naruto might actually win the match, since all of them remembered how he was not too long ago.
Surprisingly, Kiba was mentally on the same team as Karin. He'd been the one who actually fought Naruto, and he'd been pretty much slapped around like some sort of fool by the blond. He may not believe Naruto could win hands down, but he believed he could win if he tried hard enough.
Hinata obviously believed in Naruto, that was just who she was.
Naruto and Neji stood opposite to one another on the field. Naruto was giving Neji a rather even gaze through his mask, which was just about the only facial feature Neji could see. To Naruto's surprise, Neji actually seemed angry at him for one reason or another. He wasn't sure why, but he could guess.
"You want to say something?" Neji asked neutrally, having settled back into his usual passive expression.
"Not really, other than I look forward to this fight." Naruto said with a surprising level of cheeriness. Neji scowled at his lack of worry, not believing the Dobe could defeat a prodigy.
Neji took his Jūken stance while Naruto got into the stance of his unnamed style.
"In this fight, I will show you the true reality of this world." Neji said, making Naruto just shrug at him with an even gaze.
"Talk is cheap... Let's dance!" Naruto shouted with glee, making several people in the audience gain looks of confusion while the Sandaime and other noteworthy figures somewhat paled at the familiar words of a certain Uchiha patriarch.
-Naruto VS Neji-
"Let the first match... begin!" Genma called out, as the crowd went wild. Naruto immediately jumped back, not wanting to drag on a useless stare-down. To test Neji's eyes, Naruto pulled out a Kunai and ran wind chakra through it before tossing it at Neji, all in the space of about a second. At first Neji seemed unfazed, but his eyes then widened as he dodged it, just barely missing a deadly hit.
"Your eyes are as strong as they say, Neji." Naruto said passively, as Neji scowled slightly. 'How could he use chakra flow exercises with such ease?' Neji thought angrily, making Naruto all the more amused.
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu." Naruto said quietly, as 7 clones appeared around him. The clones then all begun running around the young Hyūga into various points in a circular formation around him. Neji quickly took note of their spacing and location before crouching lower in preparation for attack. Naruto narrowed his gaze as the clones all charged in, while Naruto quickly summoned another clone to replace himself and watching carefully.
As the first clone arrived with a jump kick, Neji blocked it with the side of one of his arms before quickly moving said arm and grabbing its leg. He then swung that clone and threw it into another while throwing the palm of his other hand into the chest of a third clone, immediately dispelling it along with the first two.
One clone then tried attacking him from below, bursting out of the ground to hit him, but Neji immediately sprung into the air and twirled his body, allowing his to hook his foot on the back of another clones head and forcing it on top of the clone in the ground, dispelling both of them once more, leaving three clones. Naruto sighed at the performance, clearly Taijutsu wasn't the most recommendable option.
The last three clones attacked in tandem, one immediately receiving a palm strike to the heart and dispelling while the other two went in with Kunai from the sides. Neji allowed himself to drop to the ground as he spun to face upwards and tripped both clones before springing to his feet and launching another palm strike to each clone. He then re-entered his stance with a superior smirk while Naruto stood with his arms crossed, clearly unamused.
"Well that didn't go well..." Naruto mused aloud. Neji's smirk deepened while Naruto just rolled his eyes at his opponents clear air of superiority. He'd spent enough time around Sasuke to know the look, even if the boy was less stuck up now.
Naruto ran at Neji, creating two more clones that each ran to a side of him. As Naruto was about to reach the boy they both let a handful of Shuriken fly at his head and feet to force Neji into a bad situation. Neji scowled and jumped backwards, making Naruto smile as he jumped into the air and came down with an axe kick right above the young Hyūga. Neji scowled and quickly grabbed Naruto's leg, but the blond wasn't having any of it. He quickly spun his body and kicked Neji in the chest with his other foot, sending him back a few feet, but still standing fine.
"That went much better." Naruto said with an almost infuriating level of cheeriness. Neji was fuming, the Dobe had gotten through his defence in only three separate attempts, he had to find a way to foresee the blond's movements, but it was easier said than done.
"Don't get cocky Uzumaki, you have no chance of winning this. Fate has declared me the victor." Neji said with confidence that was almost laughable to Naruto who had to withhold a sigh.
"If you say so. Say, you mind telling me who's giving you these prophecies? I think that kind of information would be useful." Naruto said sarcastically, making Neji fume and a few people in the audience drop their jaws that Naruto Uzumaki was mocking the Hyūga prodigy.
Ino was – to be quite frank – shocked that Naruto had even touched Neji. Sakura was happy he did so and Karin...
"YOU GO NII-SAN!" The red-head bellowed, making nearby people either scowl at her or raise their eyebrows in confusion of who she was referring to.
Haku was watching carefully with a smile on her face. After hearing the about the Hyūga's skills she was a little concerned Naruto wouldn't be able to fight him at close quarters at all, but it seems as though even she underestimated her blond teammate.
Many of the Jōnin and Chūnin present in the stadium were surprised a the usage of chakra flow and Kage Bushin, as both were not Genin level abilities. They were also perfect against a Hyūga due to the way they functioned. The shared chakra level made it impossible to tell which the original was.
Neji – having enough of being on the receiving end – decided to try an attack of his own. He charged forward at impressive speeds as Naruto entered his stance. He threw his arm forward with speed and precision towards Naruto's shoulder, making Naruto lean out of the way. He then spun around and tried to land a blow on Naruto's stomach, leading Naruto to twirl his form to escape the blow.
Naruto attempted to swat away Neji's arm during the next blow, but was easily intercepted by Neji's other arm due to the Byakugan. Neji's unblocked strike landed on Naruto's lower arm before he released Naruto's other and attempted to get another blow in. Naruto replied with a quick back-hand towards Neji's face, which the Hyūga easily caught, before realising it held little force. Naruto's knee then shot towards Neji's stomach as he defended with his other arm, leaving him defenceless against Naruto's remaining arm, which hit Neji in the chest as he jumped off the ground with his remaining leg and attempted to deliver a kick.
Neji had realised his mistake by now and decided to release the captured limbs of his opponent before jumping back, leaving Naruto to clutch his slightly numb arm. 'Hmm, my sensing tells me he missed the Tenketsu... good. I don't want any uninvited handicaps.' The blond thought to himself statistically.
"I think that's enough Taijutsu, right Neji?" Naruto said plainly, making Neji raise an eyebrow as Naruto created a single clone. The clone and original both began going through hand signs simultaneously as Neji ran forward to try and stop them, but to no avail.
"Doton: Doro Hōshi!" Naruto called out, as a river of mud rushed towards Neji, who stopped in place in surprise. The other clone then finished his own seals.
"Katon: Endan!" The clone called out, as he shot a flame bullet at the mud river. This caused it to ignite into a river of flames as Neji looked on in shock at the usage of two elemental Ninjutsu by a Genin. He quickly got into a different stance as the burning river approached.
The audience was stunned seeing Naruto use two elemental Ninjutsu in collaboration at such a young age, it was almost unheard of. There were obvious exceptions like Kakashi and Itachi who both became Genin at a young age and were prodigies among prodigies.
"Hakkeshō Kaiten! (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!)" The pale eyed boy shouted as he began to spin his body into a literal dome of chakra, causing all the burning mud to either go around him or be shot off in random directions. Naruto stood there with an inquisitive gaze as he fist bumped his clone and dispelled it.
"What an interesting technique... that is pure chakra, but the rotation gives it the resistance necessary to repel incoming attacks. Quite ingenious, expelling chakra from the Tenketsu like that." Naruto mused aloud, but quietly so nobody would here him but Neji. The boy ceased his rotation a few seconds later as the river finally stopped, giving Naruto a large victorious smirk. Naruto rolled his eyes in irritation as he addressed the boy.
"What? Are you going to give me that look every time you do something right?" Naruto said with irritation, ignoring the Hyūga family in the audience having an uproar upon seeing a branch member using the Kaiten. Neji ignored the jab and just looked at Naruto evenly.
"I heard your goal was to become Hokage correct?" Neji stated while staring at Naruto who simply looked on passively.
"It is. Is there a reason this is relevant right now?" Naruto replied, making his irritation directed at the topic clear as day. Naruto grit his teeth in fury when Neji actually started laughing at him. He was used to having his dream put down, but he refused to stand for this.
"You're a fool Uzumaki..." He said, after getting himself in control. "...you were born a failure. These eyes see everything you know, and your empty dream isn't excluded. All people are born with a destiny, as the Dobe your destiny was failure. I was born as a winner." Neji said, making Naruto snort in derision.
"Liar." Naruto said, getting Neji's attention. "...if you were born a winner, why are you in the branch family?" Naruto said. He knew it was low and uncalled for, but this was the best way to wake the stubborn boy up. Neji literally began to tremble with anger, as Hiashi in the stands lowered his head.
"Don't speak about things you don't understand!" Neji shouted at him, making Naruto take off his mask and give him a hard stare.
"I understand perfectly. You – Neji Hyūga – were born into the branch family of the Hyūga clan, who are essentially the lower class of the clan. The branch family are limited in the techniques of the clan and they are destined to be guardians of the main house." Naruto said, while Neji continued to stare at him, as though wishing looks could kill someone.
"You were born a servant with limited potential, and yet mere moments ago you used the Kaiten, a main house technique. YOU are defying YOUR fate, so don't go preaching to me that mine is set in stone you hypocrite." Naruto said, as he was all but shouting by the end. Neji actually took a moment to contemplate his words until his gaze hardened once more.
"No! Fate cannot be defied, I will be a branch member forever..." He said, untying his headband. "...this seal will never leave me, I will always be a mere servant! This seal lets the main house do what they want with us, we have no freedom." Neji continued, his seal being displayed to the world as Naruto frowned. He was not aware of the seal, it wasn't documented anywhere. It was clear the Hyūga clan were either ashamed of the seal or didn't want people to know about it.
"Then how about you stop complaining about it and do something?" Naruto said as if it was clear as day. "...the main house may control the branch, but they could not afford to lose every member. If you stand up for yourselves you could change your... fate." He continued, as Neji's resolve began to wane, until he shook his adamantly and charged forward at Naruto who scowled at the unexpected attack.
"You know nothing!" He said, as he threw a palm strike at Naruto's arm. "...my fate cannot be changed..." He continued, spinning around and striking Naruto in the chest. "...you will never be more than a failure..." He said, as Naruto attempted to strike back. Neji grabbed his wrist and struck him in the lower stomach. "...you will never be Hokage!" He finished as he did a two hand strike to Naruto's stomach. Naruto coughed up blood as he was thrown backwards.
Neji then let out a small growl of annoyance and looked up at Hiashi before closing his eyes and standing still. Naruto also lay still, seemingly unconscious from the barrage of blows he received.
'Naruto-kun, don't you dare lose like that. I know you can do it, come on!' Haku mentally screamed, trying to do her best not to seem overly concerned for a potential competitor, but feeling her fortitude waning quickly.
"Nii-san!" Karin shouted, as Sakura lowered her head while Ino sighed sadly. "...you better not lose you idiot!" She continued, feeling herself tear up slightly.
"I guess he really didn't have it in him." Kotetsu said, making Izumo nod while Hinata and Kiba just looked on worriedly.
Naruto lay still for a few more moments, and just as Genma was going to call the match his eyes sprung open as he scrambled to his feet. He cracked his neck as he evened out his stance and placed his mask back on before giving Neji a determined glare.
Haku was relieved to see Naruto on his feet and alright. The other competitors in the waiting room had already begun to notice that Haku seemed to be worried more than she should be for Naruto's sake. Shikamaru – being the lazy genius he is – had already guessed the reason for that. Naruto was one lucky guy.
Karin let out a sigh of relief that Naruto wasn't hurt, as Sakura smiled and Ino raise here eyebrows in surprise.
The audience couldn't believe how entertaining this fight was. They thought this would essentially be a warm up for Neji, since he was facing Naruto... but instead they were actually fighting quite evenly, despite everything they thought they knew about the blond Uzumaki.
"How can you still function properly?" Neji said, as Naruto snorted.
"If you didn't get so pissed off you may have noticed you didn't hit almost any of my Tenketsu." Naruto said evenly, as Neji examined his handiwork and found no fault with the blond's deduction. Naruto just jumped away and gave Neji a hard look as he began going through hand signs again.
"Doton: Doryūsō." Naruto whispered, as earth spikes began to flew out of the ground to impale Neji. The pale-eyed boy began to jump away to avoid the spikes but Naruto wasn't having any of it. He continued to create more and more spikes as Neji continued to evade them. Suddenly, Naruto smirked and released the jutsu.
Neji was about to sigh gratefully due to the break in the assault when two hands broke through the ground and grabbed his legs. He tried to struggle free, but then another Naruto emerged from the ground behind him and gave him quick jump kick to the head as the clone below him released his legs, making him fly across the arena.
"When did you... hide those clones?" Neji growled out, as he rose from the ground. Naruto just smiled behind his mask.
"Right at the beginning when you were fighting the first eight clones I created..." Naruto said, as Neji looked on in slight awe at the tactical foresight Naruto had displayed. "...I did my research and I was confident the Byakugan couldn't see underground, so there we have our answer." Naruto said, as the audience began to grow loud with the revelation. The Hyūga clan members in the audience were furious the weaknesses of the Byakugan were being revealed publicly.
"You... shouldn't be able to... fight this hard..." Neji said, earning another hard stare from Naruto. "...you were the Dobe; the loser! I am a prodigy! You can't defy fate!" He shouted in what sounded like desperation; his ideals being shattered around him. Naruto gave him a slightly sad stare as he spoke.
"Let me explain something to you Neji. I belong to the Uzumaki clan; a clan that rivals the Senju or Uchiha..." Naruto started, earning the attention of... just about everyone. "...my clan was wiped out a long time ago and as far as I know there are only two surviving members. That's what I am, the survivor; the victor. If you believe in fate think of it this way, I have defied the fate of my clan, that fate was its extinction. I am a living example that fate isn't binding, that things can change." Naruto said, making Neji just look down at the ground as he tried to clamour for a retort.
Neji decided not to indulge the blond by acknowledging his statement and got back into his stance. Naruto let out a small 'Tsk' in irritation that Neji was still denying what was readily apparent. 'Looks like I'll just have to beat it into him...' Naruto thought with a small smile.
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu." Naruto said, as dozens of clones appeared all around Naruto. Many of those in the audience were shocked by the pure quantity he could create. Even Jōnin level Shinobi could not produce that many without repercussions. Naruto was just standing there unfazed, as if he'd just used the Bushin no Jutsu to create a single clone.
"You all know what to do." Naruto said in a bored tone. A large portion of the clones shot towards Neji while others stayed back for reasons that weren't readily apparent. Neji began to start wading through the clones, destroying them as he went. Even he had to acknowledge he was being pushed by the sheer quantity of clones, along with Naruto's deceitful Taijutsu style.
"Kaiten!" He shouted, as he felt the clones start to overwhelm him. The original just watched passively to see any signs of weakness with the Kaiten, so far he couldn't find one. Neji then stopped rotating and began to go back to slaying the clones left and right. He noticed, however than occasionally he'd have to stop to block a Kunai or Shuriken.
"What are you trying to do Uzumaki? You won't defeat me with one Shuriken every now and then!" Neji shouted at Naruto, who just remained impassive, much to Neji's ire. He continued destroying clones and intercepting the occasional ninja tool. That was – however – until he felt something sharp pierce his back. Naruto's eyes then became amused as he shifted his stance.
"Found it." Naruto said cryptically, as Tenten's eyes widened in shock that a ninja tool could hit Neji. The Hyūga in the audience were equally concerned with this turn of events as Naruto stood there as though he'd just gotten an average gift for his birthday; mildly pleased. Haku smirked at the blond's ingenuity while everyone else was unsure what the big deal was.
"How... did you... hit me?!" Neji all but shouted at him as he struggled to pull a Kunai out of his back. Naruto narrowed his eyes and gave a slightly apologetic look to the pale-eyed boy; the wound did look painful.
"It's rather simple really... I used the clones to fight you up close so you'd not realise I was picking your oh so proclaimed 360 degree vision apart with the clones I left at a distance..." Naruto said, as Neji began to realise what he was saying. "...during my research, I saw mentions of mysterious cases of Hyūga clan members being killed without seeing an attack coming, something that is said to be impossible. I came to the hypothetical conclusion – which I have now proved – that the Byakugan has a blind spot." Naruto said, as though answering a question in class.
The Hyūga clan in the audience were fuming. This damn brat had just told the world that the Byakugan was not as perfect as they made it out to be. Now everyone would be trying to find that damned weak spot. Hiashi was simply shocked at how easily Naruto was able to deduce and prove this weakness in the middle of a fight.
The stadium fell into silence. Everyone who had arrived today – bar those who knew Naruto personally – were sure without a shred of doubt that Neji was going to win this fight with ease. Then Naruto Uzumaki, the village pariah managed to not only put up a damn good fight but also deduce one of the least known secrets in the Shinobi world. The blind spot of the Hyūga clan's Byakugan was known by under 1,000 people in the world, until now... and the majority of those people were either members of the clan or those who fought them and won.
"I-impossible!" Neji retorted, to which Naruto let out an amused laugh. He'd literally just proven that it was possible, using Neji himself as his example. Some people could be so foolish when presented with something they didn't want to hear.
"Oh, then you just so happened to miss that Kunai did you?" Naruto said sarcastically, as Neji just stood there dumbstruck. He didn't even know this himself, he'd never encountered any sort of blind spot before.
Neji was a smart person, and everyone knew it. He knew the wound on his back would give Naruto the advantage from here out, because the placement of the wound meant he would always be in pain whenever he moved his torso. It wasn't looking good for the almighty Hyūga prodigy.
Naruto stood motionless as he observed his opponent. He knew just from the boy's body language that the wound was already affecting him; making his movements a little more robotic and stressed. He could also decipher the look of denial and fear in his eyes, as though he couldn't believe and was actually afraid of being beaten by Naruto. It seemed nothing the blond did would break his 'fate' philosophy until he'd fully lost.
"Why do you persist Neji?" Naruto said almost solemnly, making the pale-eyed boy pause and give him an attentive glare. "...I've given you evidence, examples... I've given you clear indication that fate can be rejected... why do you cling to it like an instruction from Kami?" He asked, making Neji look down with sadness and anger displayed in his eyes.
"Because the main house killed my father." He answered. Naruto was taken aback by the proclamation but quickly reined himself in.
"What do you mean? Clan or not, they couldn't get away with killing a Shinobi of this village." Naruto stated, not wanting to believe what Neji was saying.
"Nine years ago Kumogakure sent an envoy along with their head ninja to sign a peace treaty with Konoha. At this time Hinata – the heir of the main branch – had just turned three. One night, Hinata was kidnapped and almost taken from the village before Hiashi-sama killed the kidnapper..." Neji said, as the Hyūga members of the audience began to sweat.
"...that kidnapper was the head ninja of Kumogakure..." Neji stated, making several of the audience gawk. "...in return, Kumo demanded the body of Hiashi-sama as a reparation. My father – who was the twin brother of Hiashi-sama... was killed as a replacement, since he had the curse mark of the Hyūga clan and could not be used to obtain the Byakugan." Neji finished, making Naruto look at him evenly.
"Can you prove that?" Naruto said, catching Neji off guard.
"What?" He asked, surprised by the question.
"I said... can you prove that? If you have no evidence whatsoever that your father was killed by the clan to replace Hiashi then this could all be an illusion you've dreamt up." Naruto said neutrally. Neji looked down and struggled to find the words to retort, he'd assumed everything. The clan was just the source of his blame, nothing more.
"..." Neji couldn't find an answer, which made Naruto sigh in exasperation. To be fair, in a way this conversation was actually helping Naruto. Neji's wound wasn't getting any better and this pause was giving Naruto time to recuperate a little.
"I thought so..." Naruto said evenly as Neji shook his head in defeat. "...now then, can we finish this dance? The music can't go forever you know." Naruto said, referring to how long the audience was willing to put up with this chat in the middle of a fight. Not that anybody got that, and just looked at him funny.
"I guess we should finish this..." Neji said, having retrieved his voice. "...let's end this... Naruto." He continued. Naruto smiled behind his mask at the small but noticeable thing he did to show his gratitude for waking him up from his illusion; simply saying his name.
"You better watch your feet Neji..." Naruto started, earning Neji's attention and confusion. "...don't want to get lost in the song and slip..." He continued, again giving everyone a rather confusing dance reference. The Sandaime was sighing in irritation and the blond's choice of words while the 'Kazekage' found it all rather amusing.
"You have some very interesting Genin Hokage-dono." The 'Kazekage' said to Hiruzen, who smiled widely at the words. Truly if one word described Naruto, it was interesting. The 'Kazekage' was still a little annoyed that the blond wouldn't be his, but he'd work on that another time.
"Indeed I do Kazekage-dono..." The elderly Sarutobi spoke, making the Kazekage let out a small snort of laughter. "...I am looking forward to seeing how your children perform in this exam, they must be very skilled to have all made it this far." He continued, not realising he was giving the 'Kazekage' a topic he couldn't really lie about.
"Y-yes well... you'll see just how skilled they are soon my friend." The man replied, inwardly patting himself on the back for the quick and effective way of dealing with that little issue. Hiruzen just smiled at the man, though he was beginning to have his suspicions.
"I hope I will... it would be a shame if they were to lose to quickly." The Hokage said, watching the reaction of his opponent. To his annoyance, the man didn't even flinch at the mention of his children being assumed weak. That was strike 2.
In the arena, both fighters were preparing to finish. To show respect to his opponent, Naruto removed his mask and strapped it to his waist. Several girls in the audience blushed for reasons that Naruto was obviously oblivious to. Neji smirked at him and they both charged forward.
As they arrived near each other, almost everyone in the audience began to think Naruto had lost his mind. He was blatantly attempting to fight a Hyūga at close range, something that was very inadvisable. At least last time he'd had some clones to assist him.
Neji began to throw palm strikes at Naruto, who avoided most of them. Neji then decided it was more advisable to use smaller but quicker finger blows to deal with Naruto's tricky Taijutsu style. He started throwing his fingers around, prodding at Naruto's weak spots. Naruto – through the use of clones – had ensured he didn't have any obvious weak spots though, as through all the different perspectives of the fight he was able to see where he was failing to defend and adjust accordingly. It was an amazingly simple but equally brilliant solution.
The fight actually went in a slight stalemate, neither of them really getting more than a glancing blow. Neji then jumped back suddenly and assumed a low stance as the Hyūga audience gasped for the thousandth time today.
"It's time for this to end... you are within the field of my divination." Neji stated, making Naruto gulp as he remembered what came after those words from Haku's fight with Hinata. He prayed his solution to this technique actually worked.
Haku's eyes widened after hearing those words. That attack from Hinata had been effective enough to damage her ice dome, which was about as strong or maybe a little weaker than her ice mirrors. It was capable of very high levels of damage to both the Tenketsu and the body. She prayed that Naruto had a plan to combat this.
"What's he talking about... 'field of divination'? What's that mean?" Ino asked in a confused manner, earning a shrug from Sakura who knew less than anyone else here about Neji. Karin was a very skilled sensor, so she was able to recognise Naruto's chakra fluctuation as Neji finished his sentence and hoped her brother had a plan. If he didn't... the chakra output from Neji was not good for him.
"Hakke Rokujūyon Shō! (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!)" Neji called out as he envisioned a large eight trigrams symbol along the ground. He then shot into action towards Naruto, as he noted the unusual field of chakra surrounding the blond, along with a strange reflective illusion.
"Two Palms!" He started, feeling strange resistance as he struck.
"Four Palms!" He continued, as his hands began to hurt and Naruto growled slightly.
"Eight Palms" He said, feeling the pain continue.
"Sixteen Palms" He continued, as his hands began to receive various cuts.
"Thirty-Two Palms!" He said again, feeling his hands in serious pain.
"Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!" The pale-eyed boy finished, as he slammed his hands into Naruto for the last time. As Naruto staggered back, Neji noticed that his hands were bruised and bleeding. He also noticed the fact that Naruto was still standing.
"Congratulations Neji... you made me use my Shōton." Naruto said, as – to Neji's horror – an almost invisible layer of crystal began to crack and fall away from all over the blond's body, the thing that had previously formed a very discrete but effective armour.
"But.. but how did you get that active so quick?" Neji said, his hands in serious discomfort since he'd been essentially slamming them against a wall of crystal.
"That's the fun part. My Kesshō no Yoroi (Crystal Armour) is a chakra flow technique, so it requires no obvious movement to activate." Naruto said with a smile, making Neji gawk. However, Naruto then coughed up a large amount of blood and sank to a knee.
"I guess... it wasn't strong enough... to completely negate that attack." He coughed out. Neji would've taken the time to finish the fight, if his hands hadn't been badly injured when he'd attacked Naruto's armour. Naruto staggered to a stand as Neji began to to back away slightly, inwardly realising this fight was probably lost.
"I guess our battle ends here..." Neji said with erratic breathing, having used far more chakra during this fight than he'd originally intended. Naruto nodded lightly, trying not to strain his body too much.
"Let's finish with a show." Naruto said in reply, earning a nod from his opponent while the audience were on the end of their seats. They both shot forward and threw their respective right arms forward, Naruto in a fist and Neji in a forced palm. Naruto allowed himself to lose his footing to evade Neji's attack while his fist encroached upon the boy's face. Neji noticed the chakra around the boy's hand and noted this was going to hurt...
And it was going to hurt a lot.
Naruto's fist slammed into the face of his opponent, the crystal armour covering it drastically increasing its power. Neji felt as though he'd literally broken his skull as he flew away from the blond quickly; skidding across the ground. Naruto landed on the floor with a slight thud as he took a deep breath and noticed Neji's unmoving form. He lay there for a few seconds before rising to his feet and shaking his head a little before running a hand through his hair, walking towards his downed opponent.
"Looks like you won after all... impressive, for a failure." Neji said jokingly as Naruto gave him a small smile.
"I guess so..." He replied. "...say, what's that seal of yours called?" Naruto asked, curious about the seals name.
"The caged bird seal." Neji replied somewhat downtrodden as Naruto nodded with a smile on his face.
"How appropriate..." Naruto started, making Neji look at him with an interested gaze. "...if it tries hard enough, even a caged bird can be free." He finished, gazing up at the sky with a smile as Neji just lay still. Genma looked over the two of them for a few seconds before he came to a conclusion.
"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki." Genma said, as the crowd erupted into cheers. Naruto was certainly not expecting cheers from almost the entire crowd, it was such an alien feeling to him... widespread acceptance; praise. He smiled deeply as he gave a thankful gaze up at the crowd and waved a little as he walked over to the waiting room.
He crossed eyes with Karin and gave her a wave with closed eyes and a genuine smile, making her jump up and wave back at him, much to the irritation of those behind her. Sakura and Ino had varying opinions. Sakura was very pleased that Naruto was able to win while Ino was shocked he'd actually won... he'd even admitted to have been holding back his Kekkei Genkai.
"Told you he'd win didn't I!" Karin said loudly, making Sakura chuckle while Ino just crossed her arms with a 'hmph. Kotetsu and Izumo were certainly not expecting Naruto to do anywhere near as well as he'd done.
"To think he'd be able to beat the Hyūga kid... I didn't think the fox boy could fight like that." Kotetsu said, making Izumo nod as they both clapped. Shikamaru was rather disappointed that Naruto won... but not for the reason you'd expect.
"He won, are you serious? I thought he was in the 'not-so-cool' group with me." He said, making Shino turn to him with a curious gaze.
"Not so cool group?" He replied, as Shikamaru continued.
"He's getting all those cheers, which means he's a part of the cool group... actually I probably can't beat him..." He said, before letting out a sigh. "...I'm in deep trouble. Now I feel down." He continued, lamenting the loss of a fellow 'not-so-cool' group member. Haku let out a small laugh drawing their attention.
"I think you underestimate Naruto-kun, Shikamaru..." Haku started, as she looked down at him and smiled. "...he's probably stronger than me or Sasuke." She continued, making Shikamaru face-palm.
"How troublesome." He said quietly, earning a few groans from around him in various places. He looked around in confusion before shrugging his shoulders and dropping it. It was far too troublesome to see what was wrong.
Asuma and Kurenai were shocked that Naruto was able to beat the previous year's Rookie of the Year without even using his curse mark or the Kyūbi's chakra. It made them wonder just how strong he would become... they could certainly see him being promoted, that was for sure.
"I can't believe that idiot that barely graduated was able to do this." Kurenai muttered out, making Asuma nod in agreement.
"I think the entire stadium is surprised if I'm honest." He said absently. Meanwhile, Hiashi went off to speak with Neji about the truth of his father's death; to give him closure. Naruto arrived in the waiting room to see everyone either looking at him with surprise, shock or – in Haku's case – happiness. He simply smirked and walked over to the girl who was standing with Shikamaru and Shino.
"You're such a troublesome guy Naruto... geez..." Shikamaru said, earning a slight glare from Haku who had heard quite enough of the word troublesome for one day. Naruto chuckled as he caught her expression... she'd just have to get used to it. "...then again, why do I expect anything else anymore?" He finished rhetorically. Naruto just smiled with his eyes shut at the lazy Nara, who just rolled his eyes at the blond's admittance to his own troublesome nature.
"It was an impressive match Naruto-san. Why you ask? It is because you defeated both a Rookie of the Year and a prodigy." Shino said with his strange manner of speech. Naruto just nodded a little awkwardly at the boy. He'd never really had to deal with Shino much and the guy was a bit too... odd... for his tastes.
"Thanks Shino, Neji was a tough opponent, that's for sure." Naruto replied, getting a nod from the stoic and all but emotionless Aburame. Haku seemed to be shifting uncomfortably in her spot, for reasons Naruto couldn't quite deduce. 'I want to hug him, but I shouldn't... this is so difficult!' Haku thought to herself with annoyance. She not stopped thinking about him since their kiss, the mind blowing experience it was constantly popping up in her mind. It was his fault she was like this, why did he have to be so damned perfect?
"Something the matter Haku?"
Those words instantly cut her out of her slightly inappropriate thoughts, which had begun to shift away from hugging. She shook her head quickly and gave a forced smile to the blond, thanking Kami she hadn't been conscious enough to blush in embarrassment. Naruto just looked at her quizzically as she calmed herself.
"No, I'm fine..." She said convincingly, making Naruto shrug off his doubts. "...that was a great match by the way, not just the fighting either. I'm glad you were able to get through to him." She continued, making him smile and look away.
"Yeah, at the end of the day he was just a guy who had a bad hand at birth and lost his father. I can't really fault him for that." Naruto said. He'd really wanted to tell Neji to shut the hell up and tell him how everything that Neji had, he had worse... but that wouldn't solve anything and would make Naruto sound like a petulant child.
"Yeah, I know what you mean..." Haku replied somewhat sadly. That seemed like a bit of a theme around here. Naruto, Neji and herself... they all lost their families and were born with something that could be seen as a curse, at least where they were born. Naruto had his demon, Neji had his caged bird seal and she was born with a bloodline during the purges. All in all, they didn't have the best hand... but that was finally turning around for all of them.
Shikamaru had managed to deduce that Haku obviously felt something for Naruto due to the subtle ways she reacted to certain things during his match. The way the two interacted seemed to mirror this, so when he'd gotten the chance he'd discretely dragged Shino away to give them a little privacy. Noticing this Naruto decided to bring something up.
"He remind you of anyone?" Naruto said quietly and softly. The girl just smiled with a little melancholy.
"Yes... us..." She said. Naruto wasn't actually referring to himself, he wasn't one to wallow in his past since he couldn't really do anything about it. "...both of us were born either with a curse or were given one... both of us lost our parents at some point." She continued, as Naruto did a subtle motion to place his arm around her shoulder.
"Yeah..." He said quietly, trying not to worsen the already poor mood. He really shouldn't have brought this up, it killed the sense of accomplishment he felt from winning his match and had ruined his... sort of girlfriend's mood as well. He saw Haku brighten almost instantly from the small act of comfort he gave her, and was amazed he had such an effect on her.
"At least we have... each other now." Haku replied somewhat meekly. Naruto smiled genuinely at the proclamation and rubbed her shoulder before looking right at her. She returned the smile and they both just waited for whatever came next.
They couldn't help but notice the lack of one Sasuke Uchiha, regardless of the fact that his match was next. Naruto scowled slightly as he looked over at Gaara, who seemed rather unfazed by the lack of his opponent. His ruthlessness that was displayed in the hospital could easily have been shifted onto Sasuke.
"No, Sasuke wouldn't allow himself to die that quietly... he'd probably shout 'You can't kill me! I'm an Uchiha; an elite!' and get everyone's attention." Naruto thought to himself with a small smirk on his face upon remembering his teammate's less than desirable attitude and outlook that he used to possess.
Naruto then noticed a man with scars decorating one side of his face talking to Genma, the current proctor. Naruto furrowed his brows as he recognised that the man was near the Sandaime prior to this, so this spelt trouble.
"Ladies and gentlemen... one of the examinees for the next match has not arrived, so the match will be delayed. We will now begin the succeeding match." Genma called out, to try and get everyone to hear him after the scarred man left him alone in the arena.
Naruto didn't know whether to adorn himself with a frown or a smile; to be pleased or annoyed. The fact that Sasuke wouldn't be disqualified and therefore would still have a chance to participate was nice, but Naruto knew the reason was likely the fact that he was an Uchiha. It was a very annoying thing to have to deal with, your friend getting special treatment. Haku noticing his expression just sighed.
"I know it isn't exactly fair, but there's nothing we can do about it." She said quietly, making Naruto pout cutely. This made Haku let out a small 'aww' that Naruto immediately caught and blushed at before looking at the girl, with wide embarrassed eyes. She laughed at his expression making him fume slightly.
Genma – after giving a few seconds for the new schedule to sink in amongst the audience – coughed into his hand before speaking once more.
"The next match is... Kankuro and Shino Aburame. Come down." He ordered, as Kankuro began to sweat nervously with a worried expression. He thought about their 'plan' and decided the match wasn't worth revealing his tricks for.
"Proctor! I forfeit!" He shouted, earning looks of bafflement, confusion and shock from all the other competitors. There was absolutely no reason coming if he was going to forfeit the match he had an entire month to prepare for... something wasn't adding up.
"What?" Genma said in evident annoyance. Kankuro didn't flinch at the tone at all and spoke up again.
"I forfeit! Move onto the next match." He said, getting a death glare from the usually stoic Aburame. Naruto shivered seeing the way Shino was staring at the boy... he was not happy at all. Not one bit.
"Kankuro has given up. Shino Aburame wins by forfeit." Genma said tiredly, earning more outrage from the audience. They were already on the fourth match in and two of them hadn't even happened!
Temari scowled and grabbed her fan, opening it and twirling it around creating a small wind storm in the waiting area. Naruto stood unfazed and glared at her slightly as the over-the-top action was unnecessary along with annoying. At least his entrance had been cool.
She lowered herself to the arena atop her fan; slowly gliding down to the arena.
"We're going to start the next match. Hey, you, other one... get down here!" He called out. Shikamaru looked a little startled at the call-out and decided to speak up.
"Hey now, why are you guys getting excited? Actually, why do I have to be the one who gets his match-ups changed so frequently?" He said, not really getting the attention of anyone.
"Shikamaru Nara, it's you." Genma said, trying to speed up this tiresome process.
'I should just copy the other guy and give up...' Shikamaru thought to himself as he leaned a little far over the railing. Haku immediately caught a devilish gleam in Naruto's eye and slightly sighed... this was going to be bad.
"Come on Shikamaru, go dance with the nice girl!" Naruto said as he dashed over and kicked him over the railing. He landed on the ground below with a crash, kicking up a dust cloud. It cleared to reveal a very unamused Shikamaru Nara laying on his back.
'Damn Blonds...' He thought to himself. Then – to just about everyone's irritation and annoyance – he just continued to lay there... for a long while. The crowd actually started to throw things at him to ensure he moved, as Naruto began to feel the need to force him to do something. Haku noticed this and gave him a lopsided smile, as though she thought he was being ridiculous.
"I swear, if he gets any lazier he may just stop breathing." Naruto sighed out, making Haku giggle at him.
"That sounds like him." She said with mirth.
Temari – having enough of having her time wasted – charged towards the boy and gave a downwards slam of her war fan. After a rather ridiculous eruption of smoke Shikamaru could be seen standing atop two Kunai on in a nearby wall. Temari blasted a wind attack at him – once again clearing to reveal Shikamaru no longer there.
Up in the stands, Chōji decided to join the girls to watch the match. Karin tried to act casual, but she was rather put off by his constant eating. It was... rather disgusting. She heard from Sakura that Naruto had been much the same in the past while eating Ramen... she was glad he'd stopped that recently.
While Ino actually believed Shikamaru had jumped into the stadium and was teeming with determination for once, he was actually the opposite. He was hidden behind a tree thinking about how lovely the clouds were.
Temari then fired a strong Fūton attack towards Shikamaru, scarring the trees and kicking up another disproportional dust storm. Out of the storm came a shadow, which Temari promptly evaded. She made a note of the length of the shadow by cutting a line in the ground with her fan while the dust cleared to reveal a crouched Shikamaru controlling the shadow.
Temari had also noted the basic concept behind the shadow imitation technique; that Shikamaru had a peak of how far and wide the shadow could stretch and thicken. Naruto was taking note of the way the two were acting outside of simple combat and could safely see this battle would be a rather tactical one, not unlike his own. He knew Shikamaru was able to defeat him in a game of tactics, but he was closer to him in that regard than people – even himself – probably realised.
To the surprise of everyone but those who knew Shikamaru's antics well – so basically, just his team – the boy placed his hand in a strange seal, each of his fingers and thumbs touching at the tips. Asuma quickly smirked, realising that the boy was focusing his mind to come up with a solution to his issue.
As Shikamaru stopped his pose and opened his eyes, Temari blasted another wind attack towards him, forcing him to take cover. He also removed his jacket and took out a Kunai. Temari continued to assault his position with Fūton ninjutsu through her fan. Naruto took note of her use of the fan as a medium for ninjutsu and decided to try it with various weapons himself.
As she continued to attack numerous Kunai shot out of the treeline and forced her to evade or block them. This was followed by yet another shadow. To her surprise it exceeded the line she dug, making her realise he used the sun's new position to extend it further. Naruto looked up and smiled deeply from what he saw... Shikamaru was a true genius.
Kankuro shouted out for Temari to move, as she looked up to the sky to see something approaching her. A shadow then formed at the end of Shikamaru's own shadow, allowing his range to extend while the girl retreated. Shikamaru's jacket – attached to a kunai like a parachute – was in the air above them like a makeshift shadow producer.
Temari came to a stop and placed her fan in the ground, fully extended to break line of sight. As she prepared to use a standard clone to confuse Shikamaru to allow her to attack, she suddenly found herself trapped. Shikamaru's shadow had extended through one of the holes in the ground from Naruto and Neji's duel straight to her.
Shikamaru walked both of them out into the centre of the arena after a lengthy discussion about what exactly had occurred. Just as he was seemingly about to win, he forfeit the match claiming he was out of chakra. This made Naruto literally slam his head against the metal bar in disbelief that Shikamaru would forfeit a clear victory. Everyone else had similar reactions. Temari won the match and that was that.
"God damn him..." Naruto said in exasperation. "...to give up in such a good position... only he's capable of such madness." He continued as he closed his eyes, running a hand through his hair in annoyance. Haku couldn't help but agree, it seemed foolish.
"Now then..." Genma spoke loudly. "...since Dosu Kinuta can not participate for certain reasons, Haku Yuki automatically wins the match." Genma finished, making Haku sigh and Naruto to twitch slightly. The audience couldn't be pleased with one no-show, one forfeit, one anti-climatic match and a mysterious missing candidate.
"Lastly, Gaara and Sasuke Uchiha." Genma said, inwardly cursing that Sasuke still wasn't here. Gaara did a quick Suna Shunshin (Sand Body Flicker) to get down into the arena while the audience began to rage about the lack of one Sasuke Uchiha. Then a large gust of wind and tornado of leaves appeared in the middle of the arena to reveal Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha back-to-back.
Naruto smirked at his teammate, it was about damn time.
-End-
So there we go. Naruto VS Neji. Now, that definitely portrayed the new Naruto if I've ever failed to do so in the past. His tactical mindset, improved intelligence and foresight allowed him to really give Neji a run for his money.
That fight was 5319 words. That's my longest fight scene so far, but not nearly as long as some I've seen. I think that's the best I can do to be quite honest, I was surprised I dragged it out that long.
So, I summed up the Temari vs Shikamaru fight because it was unnecessary to write the whole thing. I also inadvertently made the condition that was essential for Shikamaru's almost victory – the holes created by Naruto – occur during Naruto's revamped fight.
Yep, I made Dosu die so Haku wouldn't have a match. I would've preferred to have her fight, but Dosu wouldn't have lasted long anyway.
Anyway... Review, Favourite and/or Follow.
LiamMorg. Out.
Ja Ne!