Hey! So I managed to get some more chapters ready for this week. I hope I post the next one soon!
Anyways, enjoy the chapter and remember:
I do not own DB or Naruto, all the credits go to Masashi Kishimoto and Akira Toriyama.
"Yep, you're late." Chouji calmly said as he continued to eat his chips.
Asuma turned to look at Gohan, waving at him while he gave him a kind smile. "Ino won, if you were wondering."
"Really? She's gonna kill me if she finds out I missed it..." The half-blood saiyan laughed nervously as he imagined how the blonde kunoichi would kick his ass.
"Why did you leave like that?" Chouji asked, his sight remaining in the arena, his bag of chips finally getting empty.
Asuma raised his eyebrows towards Gohan, asking the same questions with just his sight. The half-blood saiyan looked down, hiding his face, and therefore his emotions. "Nothing important... J-just remembered I left the oven on."
"Oh, you should be more careful the next time." The jounin said as he smoked. He knew it was something else, it was obvious even, but he didn't give it importance for now. The son of the Third observed as Gohan sat back down next to Chouji, then looking back at the arena, he'd already decided that he would have to talk to his student and gather as much information about him as possible, he had to be ready for everything.
The Hokage's voice filled the arena once again, everyone in the audience was expecting Sasuke's match to come next. "I've been informed that Sasuke Uchiha hasn't arrived yet, so we have decided to move his match to be the last." The crowd was disappointed about the announcement, but some still were excited about the rest of the matches to come. "Therefore, the next match will have Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga face each other."
"YEAH! Finally my turn!" Naruto yelled as he raised his fist up. He turned back to look at his opponent, remembering what he had done to Hinata. He's going to pay.
Huh, I wish I was the one to beat that guy's ass... I hope Naruto can do something against him. Kiba thought, as he stared at the genin with the white eyes. I'd have to beat Sasuke if I want to beat him, dang it... It's unfair, but Hinata...
Lee observed with a serious expression as his teammate went down to the arena, calm and confident, but his face was filled with surprise when he noticed that same confidence in the blonde genin, who was even excited about the fight. That Naruto had a good fight against that other masked guy, maybe...
When both genin were already positioned in the arena, Temari spoke up. "That blonde kid is dead."
"Naruto?" Kiba asked, already knowing the answer.
Shikamaru turned his sight to the ground before looking back up. "I don't know, I know what the other guy did to Hinata, but Naruto has improved a lot." He laughed softly at himself before continuing. "I can't believe that I'm the one saying this, but maybe he has a chance."
"I doubt it, I don't think Naruto will be able to do it," Kiba added, "I hope he manages to, though." He finished, of course wanting his crush to be avenged by someone. The genin with the pony-tail mocked him with his eyes, knowing perfectly about his feelings for the girl.
Neji stared at his opponent with his arms crossed, his arrogance clear in his eyes. Naruto got in his fighting stance as Hayate crouched down, figuring he would give the signal soon.
"Anything you need to tell me?" The Hyuga mockingly said, his face remaining serious despite of his tone. This called even the referee's attention, who turned to look at the genin.
The blonde, once again, remembered what Hinata went through in her battle against the one standing in front of him. His fists clenched in frustration and anger. He raised his fist and pointed it towards Neji, who didn't even move a single bit. "I'll never forgive you for what you did to Hinata," in the audience, the girl nervously observed as the one she loved confronted her cousin, "that's why I promise I will beat your ass!" He yelled, his determination translating to his menacing stare towards his opponent.
Neji got in the fighting stance typical of his clan in response, several veins appearing in his face as the Byakugan was activated. He's calm and even confident in himself... But that's better for me. "I cannot wait to see your desperate face when you realize that your promise is impossible to fulfill."
"Naruto is dead, isn't he?" Chouji disappointedly asked as he grabbed another bag of chips he had kept under his green haori.
When Asuma was about to answer to this, Gohan interrupted, wanting to respond to that. "I sense a greater power coming for Naruto, way greater..." He explained, then imagine a horrible outcome the fight could have. "If something bad happens I'm jumping in."
"Just like previous matches?" Chouji sarcastically asked, then laughing at the face his teammate had gotten as a result of it. "I'm joking."
Gohan threatened his teammate with his eyes, causing Akimichi to smile nervously as he told the saiyan that the match had already started.
"Go!" Hayate yelled, his hair moving as Naruto dashed towards his opponent.
In his way to the white-eyed genin, the blonde threw several kunai at him, all being blocked by his hands with impeccable technique. Naruto did not flinch, continuing his attack by taking another kunai and trying to cut his face with it, also being avoided by the Hyuga genius in the last minute. This position was used against the blonde genin, his torso being uncovered and clean for Neji's hand to land a powerful yet precise hit.
Naruto jumped up to avoid it, needing to walk with his hands for a couple of seconds before standing up back again, just in time to dodge another hit from his opponent. The brown-haired genin continued with his barrage of attacks, each one of them precisely aimed at the blonde's chakra points, whose efforts in this battle were totally focused in avoiding every single one of those hits, as he was conscious that receiving just one could decide the match in favor of his opponent.
In the audience, Sakura and the rest knew that if the match continued like this, Naruto would eventually be hit by the Hyuga genius. In the balcony of the participants, almost everyone already gave the win to Neji.
Damn it, damn it! I don't even have time to try anything against him... Naruto said as he tried to force his opponent's attacks to cause an opening for him to exploit, but his position and technique were almost perfect. He finally blocked one attack by hitting the genius' arm up, giving him time and space to jump back.
"Well, will you surrender already or do you want me to destroy you just like I did with Hinata?" Neji arrogantly asked. "It is my destiny to defeat you, and there's nothing you can do about destiny. That's the reality of losers like you."
Naruto ignored the comments of his opponent and dashed back at him at his greatest speed to try and turn the tables of the match. For some moments, Naruto managed to have the Hyuga genius blocking his constant and swift attacks, but he still managed to break the barrage with his open hand landing a hit in his left hand. The blonde was scared at first, but he was still able to move it. What wasn't as relieving was that he was now back to dodging the attacks of the genius.
Neji was about to say something to the blonde genin when his hand was suddenly kicked away by said blonde, pushing the genius back a couple inches. Naruto quickly jumped back and gestured several hand signs, creating a cloud of smoke from where 6 identical clones of Naruto emerged along with the original one. As they approached the white-eyed prodigy, they ran in a pattern that attempted to distract Neji from the original, but it proved to be ineffective because the genius was still able to foresee, dodge and block every attack him and his clones attempted. Naruto was finally hit by Neji, directly in the stomach, causing him to put his hands on his abdomen.
"And you want to become Hokage? Only an idiot loses his time trying to become something he can't." The Hyuga genius said, his voice filled with arrogance.
"Who are you to judge what someone can or cannot be?" Naruto replied, being quickly answered by his opponent.
"Do you think anyone can become Hokage? That you just need some hard work and that's it?" He asked, the blonde's eyes widening as he was caught by surprise. "They are chosen by destiny to achieve that. And there's only one destiny we all share, death."
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as dozens of clones appeared all around him, all going after the Hyuga genius right after they appeared.
Neji easily defeated every single clone that reached him, finally running through the horde and landing a hit right in the blonde's chest. Clones started to disappear all around the arena as Uzumaki coughed up blood. Hinata gasped in horror as she saw what probably was the blonde's defeat, while Sakura couldn't believe he had truly lost so fast.
"I told you." Temari grinned at Shikamaru, who didn't answer and hardly looked back at the dark blonde girl.
The Hyuga genius retrieved his hand from his opponent's chest. "You are the original one, aren't you?" He walked back. "I told you it was useless."
Naruto struggled to laugh between his coughing, then disappearing into a cloud of smoke. This caught the genius and everyone in the audience by surprise, making Sakura, Hinata and Kiba cheer at the blonde as he ran from behind Neji alongside another clone.
"Impossible!" Neji said as he turned back, leaving his face uncovered for the blonde's punch to land on his face.
Unfortunately for Naruto, as soon as he landed the punch, the genius started rotating, swiftly creating a chakra barrier that threw both the original and the clone away from him. The blonde stood up once again, creating another 8 clones and surrounding Neji with them. This was only for Neji to repeat the same move he'd done before, although this time it also created an expansive wave that threw them away.
"This is the end for you." Neji confidently said as the clones disappeared at the contact with the floor. "You are no match for my 8 trigrams." He adopted a more offensive fighting stance as Naruto tried to recover. "Gentle Fist Style: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Naruto's eyes widened as he was swiftly attacked by Neji with his fingers, every single hit landing in the exact points the Hyuga genius wanted them to.
"4 palms!" The hits landed perfectly, which caused the blonde to scream with every one of them. "16 palms!" By this point, Hinata had lost hope, mainly because she knew what that technique was about. "32 palms!" The last hits landed and even Kiba and Sakura lost hope. "64 palms!" Shikamaru looked away as the blonde was thrown away.
Naruto was laying in the floor, trying to get up. "Ugh."
"I just attacked your 64 chakra points, surrender." Neji said, although he was ignored and then surprised as his opponent stood up. "Impossible!"
"I never surrender." Naruto struggled to even speak.
"Come on, surrender already, I don't have anything against you." Neji replied, already annoyed that the blonde continued to try.
"Oh well, I do have many things against you." Neji raised his eyebrow as his Byakugan deactivated. "Remember what you did to Hinata?"
"That doesn't concern you." The genius replied, the blonde starting to get on his nerves.
"You have no right to choose who is a loser! That's what I have against you." Naruto angrily explained.
"The Hyuga clan is built on hatred!" Neji yelled, finally exploding. "For decades, the main branch has practiced secret ninjutsu, known as the cursed mark." Neji removed his headband as he spoke. "It's the mark that represents a destiny some can't escape."
As the genius' forehead was shown to him, Naruto widened his eyes in surprise. "Is it that one?"
"I was only four when the high command of the clan marked me with their cursed mark jutsu." Neji continued, causing the blonde to look down to his feet. "Lord Hiashi Hyuga is standing somewhere up there, he and my father are twins, but he was born 1 minute earlier and he is the leader of the clan," he turned back to his opponent, "while my father was exiled to the secondary branch."
"And what's that mark for?" Naruto inquired as he looked back up at the genius.
"It's not just mere decoration, it is used to torture us when it is needed," Neji remembered the many times this effect was used on his father, "we live with the fear of them torturing us to death if we do anything that annoys them." The blonde genin was horrified to see this, and in the audience, Nobuyuki wondered why Neji had shown his cursed mark, one he didn't even had as he wasn't considered part of the clan. "We live to protect the secret of the Byakugan, which they possess. That's our destiny." He finished as he looked down in repressed sorrow.
Naruto remained speechless at the words of Neji. In the audience, Sakura was worried about her teammate while Hinata had already assumed her cousin would win. Kurenai tried to convince the girl that there was still a chance, but it was useless as not even she believed it to be possible.
"And this match is the same," Neji raised his head, looking directly at Uzumaki, "your destiny was decided when I was chosen as your opponent!"
Naruto raised his voice as his opponent put his headband back on. "You are mad if you think I'm believing that."
"You'll never understand it." Neji said before quickly attacking the blonde genin, landing a powerful hit directly in his chest and throwing him away again. "Referee, this is over." He walked away from his defeated opponent, causing Hinata to cover her face.
"Come on, Naruto! You can do this!" Sakura yelled from the audience, catching Gohan's attention as they were sitting in the row in front of theirs. The pinkette remembered their training with the ero-sennin and she just couldn't believe that he was going to lose.
"There's no way Naruto is losing, I can still sense a great energy in him." Gohan said, catching his teammate's, teacher's and everyone else's around him attention.
"Hmm, maybe its..." Asuma couldn't finish as he was interrupted by the blonde genin, who stood back up.
Neji turned back at his opponent, not believing that he was actually able to continue fighting, although only to find Naruto covered in a giant orange aura of chakra. His eyes widened in surprise at such sight, activating his Byakugan once again and grabbing a kunai to finish off the blonde genin.
"There it is." Gohan said as the blonde grabbed a kunai of his own. He distracted himself by thinking of what happened just some minutes before. Once this ends, I'll think of what to do.
Sparks came out of the kunai as both clashed with great strength and speed. Neji noticed that his opponent's attacks had gotten stronger and faster, even surpassing him, which totally surprised him. Finally, the genius was pushed back by one punch from the blonde genin, who was now in full control of the fight.
"Maybe the Hyuga clan has marked your destiny, but not mine." Naruto ran towards the prodigy, both kunai clashing once again as Neji tried to create his chakra barrier. "And I'll prove it to you when I become the strongest Hokage ever!" The collision of Uzumaki's orange chakra and Hyuga's blue chakra barrier resulted in an explosion, the smoke blocking the sight for some moments.
Hayate tried to see through the smoke, trying to find a winner, finally managing to spot Neji, who was struggling to stand up, and Naruto, who was laying in the floor. The lizard expert was disappointed by the outcome of the fight, expecting the blonde to win, then raising his hand with intentions of announcing the winner. His surprise was great as Naruto jumped out of the floor, punching his opponent in the chin. As Neji fell, Naruto could finally rest a bit, his nails bleeding due to him digging a hole under the floor.
"I should've guessed you would use the shadow clone jutsu, that's your specialty after all." The white-eyed prodigy said as he looked in astonishment the silhouette of his opponent, now victorious.
"You know, I failed the clone jutsu in every exam I made," his blue eyes stared deeply into his opponent's, "my clones sucked, believe it!" Neji remained silent, not knowing what to answer to that. "So don't come at me with that destiny bullshit, stop telling me that you can't change what you are, because you can, and at least for me, you aren't a loser."
"The winner is Naruto Uzumaki!" Hayate announced, the crowd going crazy at the match they had just seen.
"Let's go, Naruto!" Sakura yelled in celebration, Hinata uncovering her face just to see if her crush had truly won.
"Impressive, are you some kind of fortune teller?" Chouji asked, turning to his teammate.
Gohan laughed in response, shaking his head while he continued laughing. "Wish I was." He still believed that his ki sensing ability would prove to be useful for many things in that world, specially now that he was the only one able to.
"He's just able to sense energy, its not like he's been keeping it as a secret anyways." Asuma replied as he turned to both of his students, giving the saiyan a mocking look.
"I hope you teach me that ability." Chouji said with a big smile on his face.
In the balcony of the participants, great shock was felt by every one of them. Lee couldn't believe that his rival was beaten by a rookie, his eyes still widened even minutes after the referee announced the winner.
"Told you." Shikamaru said as he imitated the tone she had previously used on him, causing the kunoichi to look away in defeat.
And that was it for this chapter. It was basically the same that happened in canon, but soon things will start to get interesting.
Two more matches in the next chapter!
See you soon!