CHAPTER 29: THE THIRD EXAM (PART 1)
(Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. I do own my OC's, however)
"Talking/Jutsu"
'Thinking'
'Flashback'
"Flashback talk"
"Demonic voice"
Letter
After a month of anticipation and preparations, the big day was finally here. The third exam was minutes away from starting and people, both locals and foreigners, were fighting just to get a decent seat. Merchants were taking advantage of the occasion and brought a number of products with them, such as food, drinks, fans, etc.
Of course, there was one business that took the cake. Outside of the Arena were several stands in which people could bet on their favorite candidate. Some adults were handing out fliers with the information of every Genin that was going to participate in the third exam, as well as the official battle fixture presented by the Hokage administration.
The match between Sasuke and Gaara was, without a doubt, the main attraction. The name of the Uchiha was coming out of everyone's mouth, and the people in charge of the wagers sure capitalized on that. Some of them even started spreading rumors about Sasuke, like how his abilities rivaled those of a veteran Jounin and how the only reason he was still a Genin was because the Hokage didn't want to risk losing the last member of the Uchiha clan by promoting him. They had no idea what they were talking about, and as long as they were making money, they didn't have a problem with it.
Was Shujinko aware of what was happening outside? No, he wasn't. Right now, he was standing alongside the rest of the competitors as thousands of spectators were shouting and chanting at them. Shujinko had never seen such a large crowd before. He felt weird and out of his comfort zone as he wasn't used to this kind of scene.
The golden-eyed boy noticed there were two candidates missing: Dosu and Sasuke. He could care less about Dosu, but what about Sasuke? His fight with Gaara was the first in the fixture, he couldn't afford to be late! Was he pulling a Kakashi or something?
Naruto, who was standing next to his teammate, gently tapped Shujinko's ribs with his elbow. "Ne, have you seen Sasuke? His fight is about to start."
"I have no idea where he is. What is he thinking? Unless he shows up immediately, his match with Gaara will be canceled and he'll be out of the tournament."
"Keep it quiet back there." said the proctor that was going to supervise the third exam. This man had long, brown hair and wore his forehead protector like a bandanna. He was holding a senbon with his mouth, for some reason. His name was Shiranui Genma, the Tokubetsu Jounin who was replacing Hayate. "Stand straight and present yourself proudly to the spectators. You guys are the protagonists of this show, after all."
Meanwhile, the highest authority of the village was watching everything from his seat in the tallest tower of the Arena. Hiruzen was aware of the delicate situation. His bodyguard Raido had recently informed him that the ANBU squad were unable to find Sasuke despite their efforts, and they had to accept the possibility that Orochimaru was behind all of this. The only thing left to do was to wait patiently, hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.
In that moment, the Kazekage made his appearance. He was accompanied by two other bodyguards who wore traveling clothes. For some reason, the Kazekage was covering his face. Only his eyes were visible, as he was also using the traditional Kage hat. "Greetings, Kazekage-dono." said the Hokage. "We are honored to have you as our special guest. You must weary after traveling all the way from Sunagakure."
"Not at all. The journey was quite peaceful." the Kazekage responded while taking a seat next to him. His voice was strangely softer than usual, almost smooth. "I must say, I was rather surprised when I received your message. I was under the impression that Konohagakure had already chosen a new Hokage by now. Haven't you considered retiring for the sake of your village? I imagine your age must make it hard for you to maintain your duties."
The Sarutobi laughed, seemingly unaffected by the disrespectful statement. "You have nothing to worry about, Kazekage-dono. I am perfectly capable of leading my village despite my age. Now, if you excuse me, I have an event to inaugurate."
The Kazekage nodded. "By all means, please do."
After clearing his throat, Hiruzen stood up and began his speech as the crowd waited in silence. "Welcome to you all. We are gathered here to witness the final trial of the Chunin Exams, and in the name of our village, I would like to thank you for attendance. The purpose of this event is to determinate which of the present candidates are worthy of becoming a Chunin. We heavily advise you to remain in the Arena until the matches are over, otherwise, you may be unable to enter a second time. Without further delay, let us begin. I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, hereby declare the start of the third exam. The participants may now be announced."
"Now, before we begin, I want you to look at the fixture one more time in order to clear any doubts that you might have," Genma said as he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. The Genins took a step closer to have a better look.
Shujinko was about to dismiss the piece of paper, but then, something caught his attention. 'Wait a minute, what the...'
"So, let's see who we have fir-"
"Proctor, wait!" Shujinko exclaimed. "There's something wrong with the fixtures. I'm supposed to fight Kankuro, not… Iruka-sensei? He's not even participating! I mean, he's already a Chunin!"
Genma let out a frustrated sigh. "Oh, that's right. I forgot to mention something important. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we were forced to change some of the matches. Kinuta Dosu is no longer participating in the Chunin Exams, and in order to avoid starting the tournament with an uneven number of candidates, we replaced the missing candidate with Umino Iruka. Which one of you is Aburame Shino?" Shino raised his hand quietly. "Very well. From now on, your match will be against Sabakuu no Kankuro. As for you, Shujinko, you'll have to test your abilities against Iruka."
"But that's not fair! All of this time, I trained specifically to beat Kankuro, not Iruka-sensei. Why do I have to face a Chunin when no one else has to?"
"We're here to judge your performance, not Iruka's. In the real world, you're not always going to fight people of your level. You'll be forced to go against enemies who are much stronger and experienced than you, and that can happen even during a C-rank mission. A Chunin must be able to handle a situation in which the unexpected has occurred. If you can't do that, then you might as well throw the towel and quit right now. What's your decision?"
Shujinko had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from saying something he would later regret. He couldn't believe how unlucky he was. It was already bad enough that he was supposed to fight one of the Sand Siblings, but now he had to fight against Iruka? Against an actual Chunin?
He wanted to be angry, and he was to a degree, but he was also relieved. Despite being strict, Iruka was a kind and friendly teacher who wanted nothing but the best for his students. The Ozuma couldn't imagine Iruka using brute force against someone he used to teach, or against a fellow comrade for that matter. Kankuro, on the other hand, shared no ties or bonds with him. They were ninjas from different villages, villages that weren't exactly hardcore allies.
Besides, he would bear no shame if he lost. No one would think less of him or undermine his abilities for losing against a Chunin. If anything, he would earn the respect of many, including Iruka himself. Knowing all of this, the golden-eyed boy made up his mind.
"I'm staying."
"That's what I like to hear," Genma said while smirking. "This test will have the same rules as the Preliminaries. In other words, there are no rules. The match ends when one of the participants dies, admits defeat, or is unable to continue. That being said, I do have the authority to stop the match if I decide to intervene, regardless of your wishes. The first round was supposed to be between Uchiha Sasuke and Sabakuu no Gaara, but given that the fixture has been altered, we'll start with Hyuuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto. The rest of you can go to the designated area where you can wait for your turn."
Do you have any last words before we begin?" Neji asked, extending his palm and taking the traditional Juuken stance.
"I don't have anything to say to you," Naruto growled. "You already heard me before. I swore to Hinata that I was going to win, and I'm not going back on my word anytime soon."
Neji couldn't help but smirk at the boy's foolishness. It was mildly amusing how someone so naive had survived this long. "Hinata-sama also thought she had a chance to win, and we all know how that turned out. I cannot wait to see the look on your face once you realize that you are nothing but a failure, a failure who refuses to accept his place in the world."
"And I can't wait to see the look on your face once this failure beats the crap out of you! Are you gonna stand there all day or are we going to fight?"
"I see you are eager to meet your fate. Fine then, I will make this quick."
"Are you two ready?" Genma asked as he received confirmation from both fighters. "In that case… Begin!"
Match number one: Naruto vs Neji
Naruto acted first, throwing a bunch of kunais at Neji, who effortlessly dodged all of them. The Uzumaki took advantage of this 'distraction' and tried to attack Neji in straightforward hand-to-hand combat, completely ignoring the fact that he was putting himself at great risk. Engaging Neji in a Taijutsu match was simply a terrible idea.
Fortunately, Neji wasn't taking him seriously and merely deflected Naruto's punches as if they were nothing. Shujinko, who was watching everything from the waiting area, was anxiously rubbing his hands in desperation. 'What are you doing? Don't stay close to him, that's exactly what he wants you to do!'
Eventually, Neji decided to answer. He raised two fingers together and aimed them at one of Naruto's tenketsu. The Kyuubi Jinchuriki had barely enough time to jump back as Neji's fingers made contact with his shoulder.
Naruto gritted his teeth in pain as he stared at his right shoulder where Neji's fingers touched him. It was like having an invisible kunai cutting his skin and flesh over and over again. He could still move his arm, but it definitely didn't feel normal or comfortable.
"I missed," Neji stated. His Byakugan gave him access to the tenketsu located in Naruto's chakra system, and while he succeeded in hurting his opponent, Naruto's chakra points were still working. "Had you not reacted the way you did, your arm would be useless right now."
And Naruto knew that very well. He saw what happened to Hinata during her fight with her cousin, It didn't take a genius to figure out Neji had the high ground in terms of Taijutsu, and he needed his two arms in order to fight back. "Heh, that was a lucky shot," Naruto said with a forced smirk. "You didn't really think I was serious, right? I was just checking you out, that's all. Now that the warm-up is over, I can finally fight for real. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Five clones came into existence, all of them ready to attack. Shujinko sighed in relief. 'That's what I'm talking about. Neji can't touch Naruto if he's too busy handling clone after clone. If Naruto keeps creating clones to fight for him while maintaining a safe distance, Neji will eventually grow tired.'
That strategy made sense. After all, no one could match Naruto's insane stamina. The Hyuuga genius may have a lot of advantages against the Uzumaki, but the ability to create shadow clones in mass numbers was certainly not one of them. However, if Naruto managed to get hit by Neji's Juuken, he was done for.
The five clones attacked Neji while the real Naruto stayed behind. The clones surrounded the Hyuuga and attacked all at once. Most of the civilian spectators thought that Neji would have trouble dealing with five adversaries at once, but they were greatly mistaken. Neji dispelled the clones one by one, hitting specific chakra points in the process.
Hinata, who was watching the fight from the stands with Kiba, felt a shiver going down her spine as she witnessed her cousin taking out Naruto's clones. It reminded her of how Neji blocked her tenketsu during the Preliminaries, and how she almost died that day. She didn't want to think what could happen to Naruto. After all, if Neji was willing to end the life of his cousin (who also happened to be the future head of their clan), why would he consider being merciful towards the Uzumaki?
'Damn it, this guy is not messing around.' Naruto thought. 'He destroyed my clones and he's not even sweating. But I'm not gonna give up just yet...' "Let's see you do that again! Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
POOOOOOOF
This time, Naruto created thirty clones and commanded them to attack. Neji faced an orange stampede coming at him. Even Shujinko doubted Neji could handle thirty Narutos at once and come out in perfect conditions. The clones surrounded the Taijutsu user, who started throwing sharp jabs in multiple directions. When Neji seemed to be completely overpowered, he surprised everybody by running through the sea of clones until reaching the real Naruto, who was standing noticeably away from his clones.
"Aaaaaaggghhh!" Naruto seemed to choke as Neji thrust his fingers into his chest like a knife. The clones were unable to do anything as they quickly became dust in the wind, one by one.
"Do you really believed you could fool me using such a pathetic trick like that?" Neji asked as he deactivated his Byakugan. "I don't need my eyes in order to recognize you. You wanted to avoid getting struck by my Juuken. That is why you commanded your clones to attack me while you remained at the back, ignoring that it would instantly make you identifiable. It's over."
"… Yeah? Well, think again!"
Neji's eyes widened in surprise as the Naruto in front of him suddenly became a cloud of smoke. His astonishment only grew bigger when he turned around and saw the Kyuubi Jinchuriki and another clone coming at him at full speed. 'Impossible! He was never trying to avoid me. He lured me into a trap and waited for me to deactivate my Byakugan. There is no use. I must use that technique...'
"This is for underestimating me!" the real Naruto said as he pulled back his right fist and attempted to break Neji's face.
"Hakkeshoo Kaiten!"
The second Naruto's fist met Neji's face, something happened. He and his clone were thrown back by an invisible force that came from Neji, who was spinning at a high speed while releasing a thin layer of chakra around.
"What the hell was that?" Shujinko asked himself. Naruto's clone dissipated itself almost immediately, while the real Naruto was groaning in pain several meters away from Neji.
The people were cheering and shouting in excitement, pleased by the flashy show that was in front of them. However, out of the hundreds and hundreds of spectators, there was one who, unlike the rest, was almost speechless. Hiashi Hyuuga, the head of the Hyuuga clan, knew better than anyone the level of difficulty of that technique. To think that Neji, a thirteen year-old member of the Branch Family, was able to pull it off flawlessly… He always knew his nephew had talent and abilities beyond his age, but this was definitely something else.
"This is the end for you," Neji called out as Naruto struggled to get up and fight back. He was heavily disoriented and his vision was starting to get slightly blurry. "You are within my range."
Hiashi's heart skipped a beat when he saw Neji's stance. That specific stance was used for one technique and one technique only. 'No, it cannot be… Not at his age...'
"Juukenhoo: Hakke Rokujuuyon Shoo!"
Before Naruto knew what was happening, Neji was right in front of him. The genius of the Hyuuga clan then threw several jabs at Naruto's upper body, arms, and legs, blocking his chakra points one by one. The Uzumaki experienced the equivalent of getting his torso and limbs showered by bullets, only these bullets were actually Neji's chakra-infused fingers. "Two palms! Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen palms! Thirty-two palms! Sixty-four palms!" Neji finished his opponent with a vicious blow that almost sent Naruto flying.
Hinata, who was watching all of this from afar, was having trouble breathing. Neji's brutal assault on her hero triggered an emotional trauma inside of her. Only a month ago, her existence nearly came to an end after suffering a cardiac arrest inflicted by her cousin's Juuken. And now, it was Naruto who was experiencing the pain brought by her family's fighting style. Just thinking about what could happen to him was enough for Hinata to start hyperventilating. That, combined with the delicate state of her hearth, resulted in a panic attack that made Hinata lost her consciousness. Fortunately enough, Kiba was sitting next to her and called a nearby ANBU guard for assistance.
The attack only lasted for a couple of seconds, but the damage in Naruto's chakra pathway system was massive. To the civilian eye, it seemed like he only had a couple of bruises on himself. However, all of the Konoha ninjas knew just how devastating the Hyuuga's fighting style was, and no sane shinobi would wish to be in the receiving end of the Juuken.
"It is over. I have blocked all sixty-four of your chakra points. You are lucky to still be conscious," Neji said with an arrogant tone of voice. Naruto was making short, awkward moves on the ground, shaking in sheer agony. A trail of blood was running down the left corner of his mouth, staining his jacket. Meanwhile, his lungs were desperately shouting for more oxygen, but the pain made it almost impossible for him to breath. "Proctor, I highly suggest you end this match. My opponent is in no condition to ke-"
Neji's sentence was cut short by Naruto. Konoha's Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead ignored the killing pain that his body was going through and clumsily began to stand up. He wanted to look at Neji's face and make fun of him, but all he could do right now was to keep his eyes open and try his hardest not to fall because if he did, he doubted he would be able to get back up again.
For those who witnessed all of the Preliminaries, the current scene was surprisingly familiar. It was like watching Lee against Gaara all over again. The boy who was constantly being ridiculed by his peers was now giving everything he had against a much stronger opponent, enduring the pain and fighting back even if there was nothing he could do.
"This is my last warning," said the Taijutsu user while frowning in annoyance, feeling slightly irked by Naruto's perseverance. "If you continue to push me, you will only get more of the same."
"Yeah? Well, that's... just... too bad," Naruto responded between pauses. "I don't know… when to give up… But I do know… that I'm not letting off the hook… Not after what you said… to me… and Hinata..."
"I see no reason for you to hold a grudge against me. I merely told both of you how the world works. If hearing the truth drives you this mad, then you have no other choice but to quit being a shinobi."
"That's exactly what I'm talking about!" The Uzumaki nearly exploded. He wasted almost all of his oxygen on that last shout, so he forced himself to calm down. "All I hear coming out of your stupid mouth is destiny this, destiny that. Why are you like this? Why do you feel the need to talk down to others just because they're not geniuses like you?"
The combination of Naruto's stubbornness and blindness ultimately forced Neji to take more drastic measures and, for the first time, reveal some of his past. Maybe then he could get through Naruto's thick layer of ignorance that surrounded his mind. "Fine. Since you are so interested, I shall let you in on a little secret..."
Shujinko furrowed his brows as he watched the strange exchange between Naruto and Neji. At first, he thought Neji was going to deliver the finishing blow, but instead, he was engaging with Naruto in a conversation in the middle of the brawl.
His stupefaction only grew when Neji decided to remove his headband, revealing a strange green mark with the 'X' symbol on his forehead. Shujinko thought it looked awful. Why did Neji have such a thing? He couldn't hear what Neji was saying, but judging by the look on his face, he wasn't pleased in the slightest. 'Not that I can blame him. I wouldn't like to have that thing carved into my forehead either.'
"… And that is the story behind the Hyuuga clan's Bird Cage Seal. My father lived and died for the sake of the Main Family because it was his destiny, and it is only fitting for his son to share his fate. Do you understand now why destiny is unchangeable?"
Naruto was shocked by Neji's tale, to say the least. All of this time, he thought that the Hyuuga genius was born a douchebag, not that he became one. The story of how he lost his father at a young age due to a broken peace treaty in which Hizashi had little or nothing to do with in the first place was… he had no words to describe it. Now that he knew what corrupted Neji, his deep resentment for the Main Family seemed a lot more understandable, and maybe even justified.
However…
"… I don't know how much it hurt that your dad was killed a long time ago, but thinking that fate is decided just because of that is nothing but a huge mistake! I'm going to prove it to you right here, right now. There's no way I'm gonna lose against a guy that keeps whining and whining about things he can't control!"
Neji, who had his forehead covered by now, smirked. "You truly are hopeless, aren't you?" He then looked at Genma. "Proctor, this foolishness has gone long enough. If you refuse to stop the match in my favor, I will not be held accountable for my actions."
"Nothing's over yet!" Naruto protested. "I can still fight!"
But how was he supposed to fight? Naruto had all sixty-four of his tenketsu blocked. Trying to use his chakra was like trying to squeeze water from a rock. Not to mention, his body was hurting like crazy.
'Damn it, what am I supposed to do? I can't take two steps without falling and my chakra is as good as dead. If this guy gets his hands on me one more time, I'll be done for. Okay, calm down. What was that thing that Ero-Sennin told me about my chakra? Come on, focus, focus, focus...'
"… You're the owner of two types of chakra: Your own chakra and the Kyuubi's. Of course, you already know how to use your own, but you'll never reach your full potential unless you learn how to use the Kyuubi's chakra at will. Search deep within you, and once you feel that mysterious energy, get a hold of it and take a small portion. Trust me, learning how to do that will provide wonders for you in case you find yourself in a tough spot..."
'That's it! I'll just use the Kyuubi's chakra instead of my own!' And with that in mind, Naruto performed the Ram hand sign and started to explore the dark regions of his subconsciousness, where a certain bloodthirsty fox could be found. 'Alright, you stupid fox. If you can hear me… GIVE ME YOUR STRENGTH!'
"I already told you, it is useless," Neji said. "Your chakra pathway system is restricted in its entirety."
Naruto wasn't going to answer. He was looking for that powerful chakra that he used to summon Gamabunta when his life was in danger. There was a tingly sensation in his stomach were his seal was placed…
"Why? Why do you go against your destiny so much?"
This time, Naruto did answer. He looked at Neji straight in the eye.
"Because people have been calling me a failure all my life… And I'm gonna prove them wrong… HAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Neji, who still had his Byakugan activated, witnessed something truly astonishing. A strange seal appeared in Naruto's stomach. That very same seal started pouring energy into his chakra pathway system, forcefully uncapping each and every single one of his chakra points. It wasn't long before the Uzumaki's chakra pathway system was working at full force again. Neji had never seen so much chakra concentrated in one individual before, it was insane!
'I-Impossible! He shouldn't be able to do that, I made sure to block his chakra! No, this is no ordinary chakra, this is...'
What Neji saw next made his blood freeze. The enormous amount of chakra that was coming from Naruto's seal suddenly morphed into the face of a demonic creature with fangs. Neji had never seen anything quite like that in his entire life. He was staring at the face of a monster whose growls sent chills down his spine.
'Who-Who is he?! What is he?!'
Naruto's chakra was so amazing that it even became visible to the naked eye, surrounding Naruto's body and creating several fox-like tails. Some civilians thought that the Kyuubi Jinchuriki was getting out of control, but those with more experience could see that Naruto was perfectly conscious. Shujinko was very alarmed at first, for he had seen Naruto under the influence of the Kyuubi's chakra before, but this time it was different. The Uzumaki didn't look like he was about to go on a rampage. Instead, he looked confident and deeply satisfied.
Even the Sandaime Hokage himself was impressed. His tobacco pipe almost slipped from his mouth. 'There is no doubt about it. That is the Kyuubi's chakra. But when did this boy learned how to handle its power? Jiraiya, is this what you have been teaching Naruto?'
"I hope you're ready to fight! Here I go!" Naruto shouted before throwing himself at Neji, who barely managed to escape. Naruto's newfound speed was staggering, even for someone as talented as Neji, who had seen the likes of Lee and Gai in action before.
His doubts were cleared when he threw several shurikens at Naruto, who was coming at him directly. The Uzumaki was able to dodge all of them in a blink of an eye. 'His speed has increased tremendously! What happened to him?'
It was only thanks to his Byakugan that he managed to sense Naruto behind his back. This time, it was too late for him to move out of the way. He had to counterattack…
"If you're too scared to go out there and change your destiny, then fine! You don't have to do anything! Because when I become Hokage..."
"Kaiten!"
"… I'll change the way of the Hyuuga!"
BAAAAAAAAM
Naruto's wild chakra crashed against Neji's Kaiten, resulting in a loud blast that shattered the ground. Even Shujinko, who was watching everything all the way from the waiting area, missed the outcome of the collision. Once the dust started to dissipate, two huge steaming craters were revealed.
'Man, that was intense.' Genma thought as he waved his hand in front of his face to get rid of the dust particles in the air. 'That Naruto brat sure knows how to catch people off guard. But who won? I think I'm gonna need some help here.'
In fact, Genma was about to call one of his assistants when he heard some noises coming from one of the craters. He approached the place where the strange noises were coming from and he saw some rocks moving back and forth.
And then, an arm popped out of the crater.
A bandaged arm.
Slowly but surely, Neji started to come out of his crate. His clothes were dirty and almost completely ruined. While he wasn't bleeding or anything like that, it was obvious that Neji was in a bad shape. Not only did he wasted a lot of chakra on that last Kaiten of his, but he also felt like his whole body was bruised. There were multiple scratches on his face, arms, and torso. He couldn't even keep his Byakugan activated.
The other crate revealed an unconscious Naruto. Holding his left arm and minding his own steps, Neji approached his adversary, enduring the enormous pain that his body was suffering. It was almost surreal. Even though destiny prevailed in the end, Neji was no fool. Naruto did what no other had ever done before: He overpowered the effects of the Juuken and came unimaginably close to beat him. Had it not been for his ability with the Kaiten, he would've been done for. How would've thought the dead-last of the class had what it takes to put the genius of the Hyuuga clan on the ropes?
But regardless of that, the outcome was the same. Naruto was still a failure. A skilled one, but a failure nonetheless.
"Do you understand now the kind of power that our destinies have on us?" Neji asked out loud. He made a pause to catch his breath. "Sorry, but this is reali-"
"HAAAAAAAAA!"
Shujinko's mouth dropped as he saw the real Naruto coming from beneath the ground. Neji was completely taken by surprise and was unable to do anything as Naruto delivered a punch that nearly dislocated his jaw. The Hyuuga landed on the ground with a loud THUD noise.
"I-I cannot mo-move!" Neji said while coughing small amounts of blood.
Naruto said nothing. He was breathing heavily and wincing in pain as he looked at his bloody fingertips. Some of his nails were broken and his hands sported several scratches. In that moment, the 'Naruto' that was supposed to be unconscious poofed, leaving behind nothing but a trail of smoke that quickly vanished.
Genma's eyes widened slightly as he saw the hole on the crater. It all made sense now. During a specific instant, Naruto started digging a hole in order to disappear out of Neji's sight and left a clone in his place to cover it up. In the meantime, Naruto waited for the perfect opportunity to strike, and Neji took the bait.
"… I should've known you were going to use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. It is your specialty, after all… I was far too careless." Neji muttered.
"… You wanna know something funny? I failed the graduation exam three times in a row. It didn't matter how hard I tried, there was this one mandatory jutsu that I just couldn't do… My clones used to be pathetic. Even someone as serious as you would've laughed at them. So stop crying about the things you can't change and start changing the things you do… Because unlike me, no one has ever called you a failure."
For the first time in his life, Neji didn't know what to say, do, or think. Uzumaki Naruto, the clown whom he mocked and underestimated, had just pulverized him. Uzumaki Naruto, the one Neji saw as a sorry excuse of a shinobi, had won against all odds. Uzumaki Naruto, the village's pariah, dared to defy his destiny… and came victorious in the end.
What was going on? What was the meaning of this?
A smiling Genma looked at the two participants. Naruto was panting and sweating like a pig on a sunny day, but still on his feet nonetheless. Neji, on the other hand, didn't seem like he was trying to get up. And if he was, then he clearly wasn't putting much effort. Judging by his face, Genma knew the kid had given up and accepted defeat. There was no need for this match to go on any further.
"The first round of the third exam is over. Uzumaki Naruto is the winner!"
Aaaaand that was the end of chapter 29.
Well, the final exam has begun. I really don't have a lot to say about this one, except that this was a chapter that simply had to be done. I tried my best to avoid long conversations and make the fight as short as possible. Chapters like these are a pain to write because Shujinko, the main character of this story, barely has any appearances. However, if I tried to write all of this story just from Shujinko's perspective, it would soon become dull and uninteresting in my opinion.
Glossary:
Tajuu Kage Bunshin No Jutsu - Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu
Hakkeshou Kaiten - Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation
Juukenhoo: Hakke Rokujuuyon Shoo - Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms
Quick note: My exams period will soon begin, so you might have to wait a while for the next upload. I'll make sure to take some time to write every once in a while, though. Thank you for your understanding
That I'll be all for now. Remember to Review, Favorite & Follow this story.
Ja ne!
