As Naruto walked calmly back to his spot, he was followed by the gaze of every shinobi in the room. He caught a smile from Sandaime, which he returned with a wink. "A-ano…congratulations, Naruto-kun," whispered Hinata.
"Thanks, Hinata-chan!" he answered, as he once again leaned against the railing for a better view of the matches. "ahem. The next match is Hyuuga Neji vs. Hyuuga Hinata."
Shock and fear were written all over Hinata's face. Seeing this, Naruto spoke. "Good luck Hinata-chan. I know you can do it!" he said, with a pat on the back.
Shakily, she answered, "h-hai." Slowly, she made her way down to the lower level. As the match began, Neji spoke. "Give up, Hinata-sama. You are not suited to be a shinobi. You are too kind. You seek harmony and avoid trouble. You are completely compliant. You will do whatever other people say. And you have no self confidence. You always feel inferior. That's why you didn't really care to become more than a genin. You only came because if you didn't your team wouldn't be able to come. Am I wrong?"
"I-I… no…you're wrong. I wanted to change myself so I came willingly…" she argued back, feebly.
"People cannot change. A failure is a failure. His personality and power will not change." This struck a nerve with Naruto. "Hey you!" He called down at Neji. "I failed the academy three times and graduated dead last. Am I still weak now?"
Neji turned and stared at Naruto. "Your opponent was weak. Don't think you are strong for defeating that arrogant dog."
Angry, but knowing he can't step in, he held it in. "Beat him Hinata!" At this, Hinata looked up at him, lingering fear was still in her eyes.
"Don't be foolish. People cannot change. That is fate." Said Neji.
"There is no such thing as fate. We make our own destinies!" argued Naruto.
While Naruto argued with Neji, Hinata thought back on her memories…
It was the day of graduation, and as all the students celebrated, Hinata looked at Naruto, who sat all by himself. She felt sorry for him. She had seen him many times practicing by himself, working hard to improve, but he had failed in the end. But the next day, she saw him again in class with the rest of the graduates! He had succeeded! She felt so happy for him then. Soon, everyone went off in their teams for missions and she still watched him some of the time. Just seeing him gave her courage. Not too long after, they had both been nominated for the chuunin exams. Once again, he had succeeded! Even during the exam, he continued to grow stronger. He nearly hit the examiner for the second exam and he made it to the tower before her team did. And now, he had just defeated Kiba as if it was the easiest thing in the world. If he can do it…So can I!
With those thoughts in mind, Hinata said with much more strength, "Neji-niisan, lets fight." Seeing the newfound strength in her eyes, Neji replied, "very well." And they both got into the Jyuuken stance. They charged and a strange taijutsu match began. As the two combatants seemingly danced through the battle, the attack pattern changed abruptly. They both went for a critical hit, but unfortunately, at the last minute, Neji turned her hand to the side.
However, the attack didn't seem to faze her, surprising the both of them. "What!" exclaimed Neji, his calm exterior broken. Although she was equally surprised, she reacted quickly to the lowered defense. With a quick jab, she tried to hit the elder Hyuuga. 'Shit!' thought Neji. It was too late, he couldn't block with his hands. "Kaiten!"
The attack was blocked and Hinata was blown back into the wall, unfortunately, head first, knocking her out. "Winner, Hyuuga Neji." As Hinata was being retrieved by the medic nin to be treated for her concussion, Naruto went to her. Discretely, he made some seals and whispered, "ketsueki ijutsu: iyasu." Immediately, her head stopped bleeding and healed completely. As he walked back up to the upper level, Sasuke approached him. "So, it was you." He whispered.
Grinning, Naruto replied, "Yeah. I blocked that critical hit."
"How?"
"I slipped my blood in her coat when I was wishing her good luck."
Sasuke's memory replayed the moment. "The pat on the back?"
"Yep." The two of them returned to the upper level to watch the next match. 'Something's wrong with that Neji guy. He seems to truly believe in the fate which he claimed to keep Hinata-chan down. He wasn't trying to scare her off. I'll prove it to him in the finals.'
Jutsu:
Kaiten Heavenly Spin
Chakra is expelled from the tenketsu around the body and the user is spun around rapidly. Defensive maneuver, Hyuugas only.
Ketsueki ijutsu: iyasu Blood Healing Arts: Heal
Original jutsu created for the chosen of the blood. All that is necessary is to cover the wound in Naruto's blood and the blood will mend the wounds as long as it isn't too serious. It can be used on the user or some one else. If it is used on Naruto, it can be powerful enough to reattach a limb! On anyone else though, it will only stop the wound from getting worse. It can heal burns and other physical wounds.
