Disclaimer: I'm back! And naruto doesn't belong to me…still.. Damn…
Mizu sulked over the railing and let out a long, tiring sigh.
"Cut with the dramatics… Hyuuga boy has talent and all, but it's not like he's the only one suffering," Mizu muttered.
Kairen, overhearing, answered, "Well, one of us wanted to know why he's like that."
"Huh? Who?"
Kairen nodded over toward Hiyony. Mizu glanced over and noticed how Hiyony was concentrating on the fight. And was that a look of worry?
"She knows him?"
"Remember? He's the boy she wants to befriend with," Kairen reminded.
"…She wants to make friends with a lot of people. How should I remember who is who?" Mizu stood back up straight. "But no one is going to forget him now."
"No one will forget Naruto either," Kairen grinned down at Naruto. "Go, dattebayo!"
Mizu and Kairen had their small conversation and laughed. Temari had been watching them for a short while.
How can they act like that when they're about to fight each other? I wouldn't mind kicking Kankuro's ass any day, and I wouldn't be having a nice conversation with him either.
Temari glanced over at her opponent who was filled with half concern for his friend, and half laziness because… he's just lazy.
Still, I have no worries. Temari smirked confidently.
"Examiner," Neji spoke up, "it's over. Hmph. You drop out."
"HE IS NOT A DROP OUT!" Akio stood up and screamed. "HE'S AN ORANGE WEARING FREAK, SO TAKE THAT BACK!"
"What did Akio say?" Mizu asked.
"…Nothing that really has anything to do with this fight," Kairen sighed and shook her head.
Neji began to walk away, thinking he was triumphant.
"Don't run away…" Naruto struggled making Neji stop. Naruto stood up slowly, holding his ribs and shaking slightly from pain. "I'm not running away… I'm not going to take back my words… That's my way of the ninja!"
Neji gave him a heated glare. His words stirred a memory about Hinata. Neji recalled Hinata saying the exact same thing, struggling in pain the exact same way. But he put it off and chuckled.
"I've heard that somewhere."
"I won't lose to a guy like you… a coward who blames on fate and other crap!" Naruto glared.
"YOU TELL HIM, NARUTO!" Akio cheered. (actually, she's the only one cheering right now. Big surprise there…)
"You know nothing…" Neji muttered with a tone that made Hiyony worry even more. "Don't lecture me. People are born carrying an unchangeable fate. To carry a seal that is unrecoverable, a guy like you will never understand what it means!"
"Neji…" Hiyony whispered.
But Neji was wrong. Naruto knew it. Naruto knew… exactly what it meant.
"No… I understand," Naruto disagreed, leaving Neji in confusion. "So… what about it? Heh! Stop acting cool! You're not the only special guy here. Hinata… was suffering like you! She was from the head family, but tried her best to change herself because no one would acknowledge her. That's the determination she had, and she fought you even after she was injured! That goes for you as well! The branch family is supposed to protect the head family, yet you did that to Hinata when it was only an exam. You were trying hard to fight against fate, weren't you!?"
Naruto hit the spot. Even Hiyony knew. She knew it from the day she laid eyes on him. Neji was fighting against something, yet killed his emotions only to suffer. That's why she wanted to be friends with him. That's why she wanted to protect him. He was hurt. And speaking of hurt, the ANBU who had carried Hinata off had almost completely healed her. The color was already coming back to her face, and she looked more peaceful.
Hinata looks more lively now. ANBU guys are good… Kiba thought.
"She's okay now. She just needs to rest," the ANBU informed.
In the end, you are going to follow the same fate as Hinata-sama," Neji smirked at Naruto's coughing. After all, he had already sealed Naruto's chakra.
"Shut up! Stop talking as if you know everything with that Byakugan of yours!"
"Then show me if what you say is true," Neji provoked.
"Did Neji just twitch?" Mizu was slightly freaked out.
"Uh.. I don't know," Kairen shrugged.
"Well, he is a little angry. Naru-chan can do that to people," Hiyony laughed.
"Err… Are you sure you're okay, Hiyony?" Mizu asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"No. Nothing."
"U-uhh… Guys? What's… Naruto doing?" Kairen asked.
They all turned back to the battle. All three of them suddenly felt a pulse. It sent shudders down their spine. Akio had felt it, too, and she was quiet for the first time. (SHOCKING!)
"Examiner, I intend to kill him," Neji spoke with confidence, apparently, not sensing any pulse at all. "If you're going to stop me, stop me whenever you want."
"Cocky son of a-"
"Michiko?! You're actually paying attention to the fight?!" Akio interrupted.
"…Huh?" Michiko looked up from her book.
"You were watching the fight?!"
"…Nooooo, I'm reading. Can't you see me holding this book?" she pointed to it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"But! You just said! ….I'M GOING CRAZY!" Akio screamed earning her a smack on the head by Michiko.
Akio turned back to the fight noticing Naruto's scream. He was in a stance and seemed to be trying to conjure up some Chakra.
"OH MY GOD! NARUTO'S CONSTIPATED! WHERE'S THAT ANBU?! HE NEEDS TO BE HEALED!"
Of course, her sisters heard exactly what Akio had screamed… Everyone gave a mushroom sigh and tried their best to ignore and forget Akio's outburst.
"But she's right, you know. Naru-chan does look-"
"Don't… say…. that word…" Mizu struggled to hold in her temper.
"…He might fart again," Kairen spoke with a cheerful tone.
"KAIREN!" Mizu exclaimed, remembering the horrible smell.
"Hmph. Why do you fight against your fate that hard?" Neji smirked.
There was a moment of pause. Even Akio didn't say anything. Yes. Akio said nothing.
"Because…" Naruto started, "you called me a drop out!"
Naruto began to struggle even more. He gave a loud shout and suddenly, the rocks began to float. The wind began to swirl beneath him, along with a familiar red… As the red swirl rushed around him, his wounds and scars began to heal rapidly.
This can't be! Chakra is leaking out from him! Neji gritted his teeth. What's going on!?
Neji's Byakugan saw it all. Naruto's Chakra was not only leaking, but it spread around him like a poisonous fire. He looked closer. The Chakra inside Naruto was forming something. Almost as if it were a monster… and the Chakra seemed to growl at him. He almost paralyzed Neji with shock and fear.
Even up on the railings, Shikamaru was grabbing a hold of it and staring at the battle as if it was unbelievable. Kairen slightly shuddered. She recalled this red Chakra in the Forest of Death. It didn't seem as evil as it was back then, but it was evil nonetheless. Gaara himself was slightly shaking. Whether it was from fear or excitement, Naruto was surprising everyone there.
This Chakra is no doubt… Kyuubi's. The Hokage thought.
Naruto let out another scream as more Chakra began to flow through him. The red Chakra swirled behind him as if they were nine tails, causing a huge gust of wind and made the rocks defy gravity.
"Let's begin!" Naruto cried.
Neji was speechless. It was almost like standing before something that couldn't be touched. Couldn't even be killed. The Chakra continued to madly swirl around the air and began to wrap itself onto Naruto. Slowly, it steadied and finally made the wind stop. But as of now, Naruto was surrounded by nothing but red Chakra. Naruto suddenly disappeared from Neji's sight. Only at that moment did he finally come back to his senses and turned around to see Naruto in the air behind him.
Naruto threw weapons at Neji only to have him use Kaiten. As Neji stopped, he caught the weapons thrown at him and added his own. He threw them violently at Naruto who had jumped off the wall and headed straight for him. But in that instance, Naruto disappeared. Neji was panicking. He was completely astonished by Naruto's increase of speed. In the nick of time, he managed to dodge a punch that was aimed from behind him.
He took out a kunai, and Naruto did the same thing. They both threw it with sheer force only to have the kunais cancel each other out as they both slid back. They both jumped and grabbed the kunais they had thrown and crossed over each other only to have the kunais impact each other. They both slid back on the ground. Naruto looked up and glared.
"You… are confident about close combat, right?" Naruto smirked.
Naruto ran at him with so much speed, the ground broke behind him.
Become Hokage, eh? You can't like this. Only a few are able to become Hokage. Look at reality closely! Those who become Hokage are born with that fate. It's not something you can become because you want to. It's already determined by fate. People are different. They can only live in the unappeasable flow of life.
These words only caused Naruto to become more determined about winning. And more determined about proving him wrong. He sprinted with all his might at Neji and shouted, "I don't know about the Hyuuga's fate of hatred, but if you think it's impossible, then don't do anything!"
This isn't good! I need to start Kaiten! Neji panicked.
"After I become Hokage," Naruto continued, "I'll change Hyuuga for you!"
Everything exploded into smoke from there. The entire audience gaped at this tremendous battle. As the smoke slowly cleared, there were two holes that were caused by the explosion.
What a kid… Genma though. This kid used an enormous amount of energy there. The Hyuuga kid is now…
"Which one is Naruto!?" Sakura wondered worriedly.
"I wouldn't be surprised if both were out," Mizu mumbled to herself. "I mean… that was one heck of an explosion."
"COME ON NARUTO! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Akio looked back and forth at the holes.
An arm popped out to the surface, struggling to pull itself up.
"Naruto?" Kairen gasped.
Long, brown hair rose to the surface. Neji coughed away the dust that had formed in the air. Some people's faces were filled with horrified expressions. Tenten, who had practically been at the edge of her seat, gave a small sigh of relief. Neji struggled over to the other hole of which Naruto lay unconscious.
"Dropout, sorry, but this is reality. This is truly the end…"
Something suddenly cracked beneath the earth. Before Neji realized what was happening, a fist popped out and directly hit Neji under the chin causing him to fly away and cough blood.
"No way…" Mizu gaped at the drops of blood on the floor. Naruto's nails were broken and bleeding. The one behind him was a clone that disappeared. It had been covering the hole that Naruto had dug.
"Naruto won?" Kairen still couldn't believe her eyes.
"Naruto thought ahead of a prodigy!?" was all Mizu could say.
"MICHIKO! MICHIKO! NARUTO TOTALLY THOUGHT THREE STEPS AHEAD OF MR. PRETTY BOY!" Akio shouted.
Michiko busted out laughing madly.
"NO! I'M SERIOUS! HE DID!"
"..Huh? What did you say?" Michiko looked up from her book.
"….WHAT WERE YOU LAUGHING ABOUT!?"
"…The book?"
"NARUTO JUST WON!"
"…Kanbai!" Michiko instantly went back to reading.
Neji was unable to move after that attack. He laid there glaring.
"You made a Kage Bunshin in that situation? Your favorite ninjutsu, eh? I was careless…"
There was a short pause until Naruto began talking.
"I've failed three times in the academy finals. Unluckily, the ninjutsu that was given in the finals was always Bunshin, the ninjutsu that I hated the most…"
Neji let out a small gasp.
Naruto continued. "Bunshin no Jutsu was the move I sucked at. Stop complaining about fate and saying how it can't be changed."
A bird flew over head, flapping freely in the air.
"You're different from me. You aren't a dropout…"
Neji stared at Naruto for some time and looked up to the sky to see the bird. His eyes moved toward the railings and saw Hiyony looking down at him. He recalled what Hiyony had told him once that he simply shrugged off.
Fate shouldn't be something that rules your life! Fate is not predetermined! You choose your fate! You always have a choice! You shouldn't be so inconsiderate of someone else's life because you're not the only one who's suffered! Right now, I only see that you're choosing to be alone! But you have people who care about you! I care about you! Doesn't that mean anything?!
He stared up at the bird once more and squinted his eyes as it flew over the shining sun. Genma smirked and declared, "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."
And the crowds went wild.
"YATTA!" Sakura exclaimed.
Naruto suddenly looked up curiously at the applauding crowd. He was a bit embarrassed, but then began to run around happily. Sakura was slightly saddened because she knew that Naruto was getting stronger, and that she isn't going anywhere.
He won," Shikamaru gasped. "Are you serious? I thought that he was in the 'not-so-cool group' like me."
"'Not-so-cool group?'" Shino asked.
"He's getting all those cheers, which makes him a member of the 'cool group.' Actually… I probably can't beat him. I'm in deep troule," Shikamaru whined. "Now I feel down…"
"There was such thing as a cool group?" Kairen wondered.
Hiyony smacked Shikamaru upside the head. "Don't talk like that! You can beat him! Just threaten him with ramen!"
"Ah… Wouldn't that just make him angry and come after me? That would be troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed.
Naruto jumped up and down laughing and cheering for himself, claiming that he was the best. Genma stood Neji with his eyes closed.
"When captured birds grow wiser," he began, "they try to open the cage with their beaks. They don't give up because they want to fly again. You lose this time."
Neji said nothing. He merely looked back up to the sky to see the same bird fly by.
I won't give up until I beat you! Both the image of Naruto and Hiyony appeared in his mind. Neji was led away by medical Ninjas.
"Mmm… Sasuke's next, isn't he?" Mizu looked toward the entrance, wondering if he was about to appear.
"Mmm…" Kairen seemed distracted.
"Hm?" Mizu wondered curiously at her sudden change of mood.
"Buttface is a coward!" Hiyony pouted.
"Iie," Naruto replied. He had returned to the balcony after Neji was taken away. "He'll come. For sure."
Kairen looked over to where the two Kages sat. A Jounin was whispering something to the Hokage. She didn't have to read their minds to know that they planned on disqualifying Sasuke.
Damn it, you jerk! Don't make me worry about you! Emo idiot!
The crowd began to complain about the next match. Suddenly, the Jounin from where the Hokage sat appeared toward Genma. The contestants watched and waited in wonder about what is to happen next.
Genma turned to everyone and announced.
"Ladies and gentlemen, an examinee for the next match has not arrived just yet. Therefore, this match will be delayed and we will begin the next match first."
"EH!?" Akio stood up from her chair. "IS SASUKE BEING A PUSSY!? I WANTED TO SEE HIM FIGHT PANDA-EYES!"
Michiko busted out laughing.
"It's not funny! Sasuke and Panda-eyes should have been fighting for love for each other!"
"Huh?" Michiko looked up from her book.
"…YOU WERE STILL READING THAT BOOK!?"
"Yes?"
Akio sat down and huffed.
"Did.. Did Akio just say-?" Mizu stammered.
"That's not surprising…" Hiyony shook her head.
Naruto sighed with relief. The next match was to be Kankuro versus Aburame Shino. But Kankuro was hesitant. Mizu glanced over at him curiously. She knew Kankuro would never hesitate in an upcoming battle. He would always underestimate someone younger than him.
"Examiner! I'm giving up!" Kankuro declared. "Go to the next match."
Shino glared at him through his glasses. The crowd began to complain once again. Mizu's eyes narrowed at Kankuro's decision.
Kankuro… What are you up to? she wondered.
"Kankuro has give up, therefore Aburame Shino wins by default," Genma announced.
Temari instantly, at that moment, opened her fan and flew down with it next to Genma.
"You are?" he asked.
"It's my turn, right?" she smirked.
"Looks like you want to do this. Okay, we're going to start the next match. Hey! The other one! Come down."
"Oi, oi! Why are you guys getting excited?" Shikamaru mumbled. "Actually, why do I have to be the one who gets his match-ups changed so frequently?"
"Nara Shikamaru! That's you!" Genma called again.
I should just copy the other guy and give up… Shikamaru thought.
"All right! Go get her Shikamaru!" Naruto jumped over, placing his hand on Shikamaru's back.
"Yeah! Go whip her butt!" Hiyony jumped to the other side, also placing her hand on Shikamaru's back.
"You can do it!" they both shoved Shikamaru off the railing.
He fell face first screaming, and without bothering to use his ninja skills to land. He managed to fall with a big thud on his back and lazily stared up at Naruto and Hiyony.
Damn you, Naruto and Hiyony…