AN: This is a bit of a content warning. This chapter will be more intense than usual, and some of the violence a bit more graphic. Gather your spoons, homos and homies. If you're not down for that, stop reading as soon as Hinata walks down the steps for her fight, and I'll summarise what happened in the chapter end notes.
Also, I feel like this is one of the best chapters I've ever written and I almost cried both while writing and editing it so I really hope you all enjoy! I was looking forward to writing this chapter for so long before I actually wrote it (which was back during NaNoWriMo last year lol) and so I'm super hyped to be posting it now!
After everyone had gotten over their disappointment at the abrupt end of the match between Haku and Katsuki, and Hatake had finally gotten everyone quiet, the screen began cycling through names once again. 'Uzumaki Naruto vs. Nara Kaya'.
"Yatta!" Naruto screamed as he jumped up and down on the spot. "Finally, I get to show everyone how strong I am!" He leapt over the guardrails of the observation platform and landed on all fours before pushing himself up and grinning back at his friends. His opponent was still fatigued from her last match, and chose to walk into the arena in order to conserve energy. She had a look of resolve upon her face, one that easily showed Naruto that she meant business. She had a year's experience in the field over Naruto and she wasn't going to let him show her up.
In the same moment that Hatake declared the start of the match, Naruto formed a snake seal before slamming his palms into the ground. "Earth Clone Jutsu!" As he called out, a group of five clones rose up from the ground and rushed straight towards the Nara girl. Deftly, she palmed a kunai from her pouch and swiped one, two, three, four, five times. Five expert, practiced strikes, one for each clone. Clone heads tumbled to the ground, and their bodies disintigrated.
"Not bad, not bad," Naruto praised, earning a scowl from Kaya.
"I don't wanna hear that from some rookie genin. You shouldn't even be in these exams, fresh out of the academy with no experience!" Kaya spurted out angrily, before realising her outburst and collecting herself. After her match with Shikamaru, nobody would believe that's what she truly thought. Perhaps she was resentful of her last match and projecting that onto all of Shikamaru's peers. Or perhaps, like many of the others in the village, she simply hated the Uzumaki twins. Regardless, Naruto knew he had to prove her wrong.
Despite her being far more experienced, Kaya was simply no match for Naruto's brute force. With Naruto not only being highly proficient in taijutsu, having trained under Might Guy, but also being able to spare the chakra for jutsu after jutsu, the older kunoichi tired out quickly, and was knocked unconscious.
The team of medic nin quickly came out and carried Kaya away on a stretcher. Naruto left the arena, and the screen began cycling through names to decide on the next match.
'Hyuuga Hinata vs Hyuuga Neji'
A few gasps were let out from amongst the remaining onlookers. This was the final fight, and the fact that Neji was selected as Hinata's opponent drew a mix of reactions. Some were wondering just how 'random' these matchups were, whilst others worried for Hinata's wellbeing. Amongst the genin from Konoha who had entered into the chunin exams, it was no secret that Neji was the most skilled combatant. He was said to be a prodigy of the likes that the Hyuuga clan hadn't seen in generations. He was the pride of the clan, the branch member who would be one day trusted as the main branch's finest guardian.
Meanwhile, most knew of Hinata as the clan's greatest failure. There were rumours escaping to the wider village that the Hyuuga elders were preparing to move Hinata to the branch clan and declare her younger sister, Hanabi, as the new heir. Those of the most recent academy graduates, who knew Hinata a bit better, knew that she wasn't a pushover. Still, they expected Hinata to lose, and even pitied her upon seeing this matchup.
Neji walked past Hinata with a formal step of clearly feigned respect, moving to take his place within the arena. Meanwhile, Hinata was rooted to the ground where she stood. Despite all her newfound confidence since her academy days, this match struck far to close to her insecurities and family trauma. Noticing a panic attack draw near, Hinata took a deep breath and attempted to shove all her worries into a tiny little box in her mind to deal with later. She had to believe she could win this, or she would make a fool of herself regardless of the outcome.
Anko put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, firm but supportive. "Go get him, kiddo."
She steadied herself, banishing the tremor that had possessed her hands, and walked blankly down the steps.
As his weakling cousin, the pitiful excuse for a clan heir, walked down the steps, Neji scoffed. It was a simple truth that Hinata's fate was to be a weak, timid failure of a kunoichi. At times he wondered why Lord Hiashi had yet to declare Hanabi to be the clan heir, but he knew that such thoughts were above his station and so he tossed them aside. His job was to become strong and defend the main branch and its interests. His fate was to be the best, and bring the Hyuuga clan great pride and glory.
But he simply could not condone the leadership being handed to such a weakling, and now he was being presented with a golden opportunity. Here, he was allowed to hold nothing back, and put the clan heir to shame. Here, he could show everyone what a pathetic, bumbling excuse for a Hyuuga kunoichi this girl was. Then, perhaps, Lord Hiashi would set things right, and make Hanabi the clan heir. She could find a role that better suited her… temperament. This is her fate. When Hinata walked up towards Neji and looked him in the eye, he had to tame himself, lest he respond uncouthly.
"Very well, you may begin," the proctor declared, swinging his arm down to officiate the beginning of the match.
"Lady Hinata, I urge you to withdraw from this match," Neji advised scathingly. Despite his efforts otherwise, he could not entirely restrain the contempt from invading the tone of his voice. "After all, the hierarchies of our clan have no place in this arena, and it is expected that I do not hold back. You are not suited to being a shinobi, and it wouldn't be smart for you to sustain an injury that may hinder whatever other endeavours you may choose to pursue."
Hinata looked down, shivered ever so slightly, and then looked up at Neji again. She opened her mouth as if to say something, yet no words emerged. Maintaining steady breathing, she stepped into a basic Gentle Fist stance. One open palm positioned forward, close to her body for defense, the other extended outwards with a slight bend of the elbow, ready to turn in any direction and strike.
"Please, Lady Hinata. You are too kind to be a shinobi. You strive for harmony and avoid conflict, and easily follow along with the plans of others. People can never change! This is your fate, it is how you will always be! So I ask you this one more time - will you withdraw?" Neji spoke measuredly, only a subtle venom to his tone now.
The tension in the room broke immediately when Obito burst out laughing from up in the stands. Neji snarled. "What? What do you think is so funny?"
"It's just... it's just that your read on your own cousin is so incredibly off," Obito called out from up in the stands, a wide grin stretched across his face. "Anyway, I don't need to speak for her. Hinata has a voice of her own. Besides, she's gonna introduce your face to the ground soon enough."
Obito gave Hinata a thumbs up, and she smiled. Neji noticed that her teammate's words seemed to boost her confidence quite a bit - not that it would help her in any way. Pulsing chakra to his eyes, Neji activated the power of his Byakugan, allowing him to see all that stood in the room. He watched as Hinata did the same. Then, he engaged. If Hinata would not withdraw, he would just have to defeat her quickly.
They both charged forward, closing the gap promptly. Neji was the first to strike, aiming for one of the larger tenketsu on Hinata's left shoulder. To his surprise, she was able to swat his hand away without great exertion, and move in for a strike of her own, aimed low towards Neji's thigh. He swerved out of the way, spinning into a series of strikes aimed at Hinata's torso. The way she was able to bat each and every strike out of the air should not have been possible. Shouldn't have been possible at all.
So she has grown somewhat. But she will never possess the talent required to lead the Hyuuga Clan, and today I will show that to her!
"Fine, you want to resist? Have it your way, then," Neji spat, bouncing backwards several paces.
Neji focused carefully on the room around him before locking his sights on Hinata. He watched how her body moved, down to the flow through each and every tenketsu in her body. Identifying those that would be the least guarded, Neji prepared to strike. "Allow me to show you what real talent looks like. Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
He danced forwards, and struck the first two times. Those, Hinata was able to fend off. The next two strikes were also apparently defensible, as Hinata blocked each and attempted unsuccessfully to return fire. Then, Neji upped the pace with four strikes. Somehow, the main clan weakling could still keep up her guard. But Neji could tell. He noticed - she was beginning to get pushed back. Another eight strikes, and Hinata was struggling to keep up.
Sixteen strikes, and a few broke through, closing a total of three tenketsu across Hinata's chest. Not enough to disable her, but enough to do some damage. Neji paused for just one short moment before launching into the final movement of thirty two strikes. This, Hinata could not defend against. And that was how fate willed it. A plethora of tenketsu across her body now sealed away, Hinata coughed up blood. Neji had avoided tenketsu connected to vital organs, but only those. Clumps of red struck the ground with an audible splat, bringing a cruel satisfaction to the fore of Neji's mind. This was what she deserved. Hinata had to learn the consequences of trying to resist her fate.
Yet somehow… the failure still stood. Though sluggish, chakra flowed through her body. It had to find longer, more indirect pathways, but it persevered all the same. It appeared as though Hinata, and her chakra itself, lacked the common sense to give in to fate. If she wouldn't concede, then Neji would just have to make her concede. Stepping in, Neji noticed that Hinata seemed to have less of the surprisingly skilled reflexes she'd shown earlier. Her guard was slow to rise. She was losing. He struck. She did not fall. He struck again. She did not fall.
"Just stay down, you damn weakling!" Neji roared, striking again, and again, and again. No matter how hard he pushed, no matter how fast he struck, Hinata refused to give up. Even if not all of his strikes got through, Hinata should have fallen by now. "You're fated to always be weak - you should stop playing at being a shinobi and just! Give! UP!"
Neji landed an open palm strike to Hinata's gut. She crumpled inward slightly, and coughed up a glob of blood over Neji's forearm. In a moment of senseless anger and disgust, he jumped back and tried to shake some of the blood off. Before him, Hinata still stood straight. Something in her expression changed. In that one moment, Hinata's eyes changed from unyielding to angry. For some inexplicable reason, Neji felt fear through to the very core of his being. It truly made no sense - after all, he was winning. No matter how much Hinata refused to drop, he was winning, and she had no way to fight back. The majority of her tenketsu were closed, and some of her organs were beginning to shut down. To win this match was part of his fate. Hers was to be sidelined to the branch clan like himself, allowing the talented young Hanabi to ascend as clan heir.
"I will... never... give up," Hinata snarled. Her tone was savage, almost primal. "Especially not when faced with arrogant fuckheads like you! SO WHY DON'T YOU JUST STOP BLABBERING ON ABOUT FATE AND TAKE A LOOK AROUND YOU! I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE UP, BECAUSE IT'S HIGH TIME I BEAT YOUR FUCKING ASS!"
The stands grew silent from shock. Even Naruto and Sasuke, who had been passionately cheering Hinata on, lost their ability to speak. Hinata had never asserted herself like that before, much less shouted, no, swore at someone. Many a jaw hung open, and not a single person knew how to respond. Neji stepped back, genuinely afraid. He reminded himself that she was on the verge of passing out from her injuries, and all he had to do was keep going. But he was wrong.
What Neji saw in that moment was something he would never forget. He could have stopped her. He should have stopped her. But he didn't. Hinata raised a hand to her left temple and shouted words that she should not have been shouting. "Gate of Opening: Release!"
Hinata's body seemed to stand a tiny bit taller. She raised her right hand to her right temple. Neji watched as chakra pulsed into the large tenketsu, igniting activity within. "Gate of Healing: Release!"
Hinata's body began to heal its wounds internally. The many tenketsu that Neji had just recently shut began to buzz with chakra once again. No, no, this can't be happening! This can't be real!
Neji thought that Hinata's actions were bizarre and terrifying enough as is, but something inside of him came truly unhinged when she reached around to her back with her left arm, which was already flooding with hyperactive with chakra. "Gate of Life: Release!"
As Hinata's skin turned red, and her veins pulsed with rapidly flowing blood, Neji felt wave after wave of crashing fear surge through his body. Hinata's hair rose up, standing on end. Then, she disappeared. Neji could barely track her movements even with his trained Byakugan; they were too fast. Before he could react, Hinata was behind him. Neji felt a palm crash into his back, and he was sent soaring through the air. Blood surged out of his mouth, painting the bottom of the large stone sculpture with fresh patterns of running crimson.
He tried to recover fully, but there wasn't enough time. He'd only managed to roll over and stand up. Hinata appeared above, lightning crackling around her hands. Neji wasn't sure if she was hovering in the air or if time had simply stopped for him. All he could do was watch for the seconds that felt like years as her closed fist came crashing into his jaw. His face was launched mercilessly into the ground by the feet of the large sculpture. Neji knew he heard at least one crack, and his world spun.
At this point, Neji didn't even try to get up. He couldn't. His sight was red, spinning uncontrollably. His jaw was certainly broken, and his shoulder was at least fractured. There was definitely blood below him; Neji's last impact with the ground had been enough to rip open skin. Truly, he wasn't sure what hurt the most.
"STOP!" Hayate called out, but to no avail. Whatever had happened, Hinata was now oblivious to the sounds around her. In the stands, Anko had already started moving, hoping to restrain her student. There were even snakes wriggling out of her sleeves.
But by the time Anko had made it to the rails of the stands, Guy was already on the ground. His skin was a shade of red similar to Hinata's, if not deeper, and his veins equally bulging. He wrapped his hands around Hinata from behind, locking her at the shoulders so she couldn't move her arms. The girl kicked wildly at Guy, attempting to break free. Lightning danced throughout her body aggressively. It was incredibly obvious to everyone that it was hurting the green-clad jonin immensely. As much as he shook from the pain, Guy held for several minutes. He just held her, so that she couldn't move. Held her long enough that she passed out from the strain that opening three gates without proper training had put on her body.
"The winner of this match is Hyuuga Hinata," Hayate declared dispassionately, still in shock from the rapid change in the match and Hinata's sheer ferocity. There was no cheering; everybody was far too stunned by what had just happened. Medic shinobi appeared to take both of Neji and Hinata away, quickly loading the both of them onto stretchers and running out of the room with markedly apparent urgency. Guy walked along with them, his skin fading back to its usual colour.
AN: Okay, so for those of you who skipped Hinata and Neji's fight, here's the rundown. Neji was really really demolishing Hinata and then something in her snapped and she opened three of the eight gates and beat his ass in quite violently, and had to be held back at the end of the fight. Both of them are now receiving medical care but, in short, Hinata won pretty decisively.