Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1 still.

AN: Full Chapter Title: The Gentle Fist Fails? Neji's On The Ropes!?

"A Hyuga? I'm lucky to get to fight one such as you." Yoroi stood across from the blank face Hyuga, his arms crossed over his chest. Pale eyes looked over his opponent and expressed nothing. "I have wanted to test my skills against someone like you for quite some time."

"Stop whatever act you're putting on." Neji shifted his stance, Chakra beginning to slowly gather at his fingertips in preparation of his use of the Hyuga's iconic Gentle Fist. "Don't act as if you have a chance of winning this battle." His Byakugan appeared without further words needed.

"Alright then." Yoroi's concealed face offered very little but his shift was clear.

He was ready to fight. It was suicide to many.

"I hope you didn't set to high expectations for you student coming into this exam, Megane-san." Gai looked to his fellow Jonin, the sandy brown haired man turning to him with a somewhat unreadable look in his eyes before they were warm. "Neji is a Genin like few others in this exam."

"We'll see about that." Megane turned his eyes back to the match without another word.

Gai spared him one last look, noting the sudden change that took hold of him rather quickly, before he turned his eyes to his student.

'I wonder how you'll overcome this challenge, Neji?' The Jonin knew of the rival Genin's ability. His student would have quite the challenge on his hands. 'Will you rely on your belief in fate or overcome it and become greater without such imagined limits on yourself? Will you at last see how fate is malleable, created by the strength one possesses, changed by the drive they hold in their heart? Will you believe in your own strength or will you believe that fate remains a roadblock in your path?'

"Show me your resolve, Neji." Gai spoke to himself, his words difficult for even his fellow Jonin to pick up. The eyes of Konoha's Green Beast would not be leaving the battle between the two Genin below him anytime soon.

"Begin." Hayate once again removed himself from the arena.

"Prepare to meet your fate." Neji threw himself forward, Yoroi merely standing where he was. A weak block was all he threw up, a poor hope of stopping the devastating Gentle Fist all Hyuga made use of.

'Pathetic.' His fingers struck the arm, an act of fate showing him the tenketsu to render the limb useless to his opponent.

Nothing happened.

Yoroi grinned beneath the cloth covering his mouth as Neji retreated, his Byakugan showing his shock as he tried to understand what had happened.

'He absorbed my Chakra?' The brief contact, the spike of Chakra he sent into his opponent's Chakra Pathway System, was rendered useless. He had struck the tenketsu with practiced precision and nothing had come of it besides a drop in his reserves. 'How can he do something like that?'

"You always preach about fate, right?" Yoroi brought his fist into his palm, his grin wide behind the cloth. "What do you think about fate matching you up against someone like me, Hyuga?" The Genin did not give the Hyuga a chance to think of a response before he darted forward.

On impulse, Neji once again made use of the Gentle Fist. Three swift and glancing blows that would have stopped the attack of any other foe were useless to stop the charge of the Konoha Genin. He batted away Neji's arms and his hand took hold of his face.

The Byakugan that was the pride of Konoha for so many years now was gone. His Chakra was ripped from him before the Genin could draw a kunai and force his foe away lest he disembowel him with the tool in his hands. He nearly fell regardless of the success of his tactic, stumbling back as he held the kunai in front of him. It was clear just how unbalanced the Hyuga was in this fight.

His Gentle Fist was a complete failure against the opponent in front of him.

"I've figured you out." Neji did not lower his weapon as he spoke. His face didn't carry arrogance, his eyes did not look down on his foe. "You can absorb Chakra through direct physical contact."

"I'm surprised you could figure that out so fast Hyuga." Yoroi chuckled, a number of shuriken drawn to fill his hand. "You must be feeling like fate is screwing you over right now, right? You only know the Hyuga Gentle Fist and that kind of attack is worthless against a guy like me."

He threw the shuriken forward, Neji's pale eyes narrowing as he deftly deflected them. Yoroi appeared behind him, dust sent into the air from his sandals striking the ground. He swiped at Neji with a kunai in his hand but the Hyuga deftly avoided the slash as well, the veins around his eyes far more pronounced but not for long. His Byakugan faltered a moment later as he threw his kunai forward and rushed through hand signs.

The Academy Clone Technique was used by the Hyuga as three identical Genin landed in front of Yoroi and each drew a new kunai. The Konoha Genin showed no concern with the three, he spun the kunai he had caught out of the air by the ring on his finger.

"Face it, you can't beat me." Yoroi dashed forward again, his hand extended to grab hold of one of the Nejis. "You're done for Hyuga!"

He had made the right choice, it was the real Neji that his fingers hardly brushed before he was jumping away and landed on the ground to the side of the Konoha Genin. The useless illusions that were his clones vanished from sight, a haze consuming them as they faded from existence.

"Trying to use techniques like that against me now?" Yoroi laughed from where he now stood. "You're one pathetic guy, you know that? The moment you lose your precious Gentle Fist, you resort to Academy level techniques! It'll be an embarrassment if a guy like me fell for simple tricks like that clone thing." Yoroi raced through hand signs. "Let me show you areal technique!"

"Suiton: Mizurappa!" The same technique Kakashi had used to stop Sasuke's immolation of Kin earlier was used by Yoroi, shooting a stream of pressurized water forward from his mouth. Neji dodged it by jumping to the side but Yoroi showed rather impressive Chakra levels for a Genin. He pursued Neji, the stream of water consistently after him no matter how fast the Hyuga ran.

'This isn't good.' Neji at last jumped onto the walls, standing horizontally on them and ready to continue avoiding the attack when it suddenly stopped. The arena floor was partially flooded by the large amount of water the Genin had unleashed with his attack and he easily stood on top of it. 'My Taijutsu is useless against him.'

His Byakugan reappeared in his eyes with a moment of concentration, the veins pulsing as he struggled to maintain it. He looked out at the changed arena and didn't do much else before it faltered and his eyes returned to normal.

He dropped onto the surface of the water and was once again joined by a duo of illusionary clones.

'Idiot.' Yoroi instantly picked out the real Neji. It was simple since the one on the left was the only one to produce ripples on the water's surface while the other two failed to do the same. 'He doesn't understand how to fight without his Byakugan.'

Yoroi began his attack again, intentional heading towards the one on the right. Neji, the real one, immediately shifted his stance to intercept him as the clone in the center did the same. He was about to launch himself forward and strike Yoroi unaware from the side when he finished his next set of hand signs.

"Suiton: Daibakuryu no Jutsu!" A whirlpool grew around him, tearing his footing out from under him and sending him stumbling and falling into the water with a splash. The water around him broke his concentration and the Bunshin no Jutsu was broken as Yoroi chuckled. The two were in a swiftly growing mass of water as Neji was powerless to overcome the growing strength of the whirlpool as more water gathered.

"This is too easy." Yoroi went through his next set of hand signs and the whirlpool began to tighten and take shape around Neji, waves consumed him and a sphere of water now had him floating in the center. "Suiton: Suiro no Jutsu!" He plunged his hand forward and took hold of Neji's hair.

The Chakra leaving the Hyuga and entering the Genin was visible to the observers as blue strands in the water. Neji pulled himself free from Yoroi's grip but he still floated in the sphere of water. It was only a matter of time until he would be defeated if he remained inside.

'Dammit.' Already Neji could feel his oxygen dwindling. He was a Shinobi and could hold his breath far longer than civilians could but he had his limits, high as they might be. He had minutes to think up a plan or else he would pass out and Yoroi would be victorious.

"It looks like the match is over, Gai." Megane turned to Gai with a grin, a flash from his glasses as he pushed them up the bridge of his nose. "It looks like your student lost the fight." Pride was in his voice and Gai merely shook his head.

"We will see who will be victorious." Gai spoke even as bubbles burst free of Neji's mouth as the water seemed to attack him, no doubt another of Yoroi's Water Release techniques making it do so. The Genin was seemingly highly versed in a number of techniques. "My student is not yet defeated."

'Don't give up Neji.' Gai's eyes did not leave his trapped student. 'It is not a question of if you can win, it is a question of if you can overcome your own limits. If you refuse to believe in the power of fate and destiny,I am sure you will prove triumphant!'

"NEJI!" Lee's voice carried down the arena, his bandaged wrapped hands taking hold of the railing as he leaned forward. "I WILL NOT SEE MY RIVAL DEFEATED SO EASILY! IF YOU DO NOT WIN THIS MATCH THAN WE CANNOT FACE EACH OTHER IN THE FINALS!"

'I can't believe this.' Despite his situation and the preciousness of air, bubbles escaped Neji's mouth as the normally stoic Hyuga laughed. 'Lee's trying to motivate me to success.'

'He can absorb Chakra.' His mind flashed back to the numerous times his opponent had made use of his ability. 'But it's not a Kekkei Genkai. It's nothing but a technique he's been taught. A technique I can find the flaw in and overcome.' He gathered his Chakra in preparation for his next act. 'I am a Hyuga and I will not lose to some common trash.'

The Byakugan slowly took hold of his eyes. He knew it would be the last time he would make use of the Dojutsu.

'Success in the Chunin Exams is my destiny.'

"Gentle Fist Art: Body Blow!" Chakra erupted from his tenketsu in a precise attack steered by the Byakugan. Yoroi leapt back as the released spikes of Chakra from the Hyuga would have torn into his tenketsu if he hadn't. He didn't want to risk any type of Gentle Fist attack managing to strike him if he could help it.

"What don't you get?" Yoroi landed not too far away, water covering the arena floor once more. "Your fancy Taijutsu is useless against me!"

"You fail to understand destiny then." Neji was soaking wet but standing tall, his eyes narrowed as he took in the sight of his opponent. "Fate has guided us both to this moment you will know why soon enough. I've figured out your technique and now you don't stand a chance."

"Then let's see what you've got!" Yoroi raced through hand signs once more before he slammed a hand into the ground. "Suiton: Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!" From the water around him, two identical Yoroi Akados took shape from pillars of water that surged upward. They surrounded Neji in the rough shape of a triangle, each of the figures acting as one the points of the shape.

"This is a real clone technique." All three spoke as one as Neji's eyes took in each of them. "These aren't illusions but the real thing. If they hit you, it'll hurt. If you hit them, they'll take even more of your Chakra. Nothing you can do is going to save you now kid. Me and my clones are going to beat the hell out of you. I'll make you beg for the proctor to end this fight."

"Nothing you say matters at this point." Neji closed his eyes, wet strands of his hair falling over his eyes. "Nothing you can do will stop me from fulfilling my destiny in this fight. Your destiny to lose is the same as my destiny to triumph in this fight no matter what you may think." He opened them, the veins around his eyes pulsing. "Fate is inescapable."

"Bold words from the guy I've been beating this entire time." Yoroi spoke no more. All three darted forward and Neji slid into a more advanced stance for the Gentle Fist.

"Neji really is a genius." Hinata's comment drew confusion from the Jonin standing next to her, a raised eyebrow the only sign before her eyes focused on the boy fighting a losing battle below them.

"I wouldn't say that Hinata." Kurenai didn't catch the slow shake of Hinata's head.

'He deserves so much more than anyone knows.'

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!" Neji threw his hands out to the side, palms facing each of the identified water clones of Yoroi, and they were blown apart into two sprays of droplets. A rainbow seemed to shimmer as the water droplets split apart the light shining around them, letting the world between the two combatants be bathed in color before only one would stain the ground.

"What?" Yoroi landed on the water after aborting his attack but Neji pursued him. "How the hell did you do that?" His Gentle Fist remained useless but his Byakugan allowed him to target Yoroi perfectly with his kunai, a thin cut appearing on his arm, another thin cut appearing on his shoulder, his shirt suffering a tear from a narrowly dodged slash.

"The Gentle Fist is a versatile style." Neji's had the faint traces of a grin on his face as at last he found the opening he needed. He threw his weapon forward, Yoroi easily avoiding the weapon and it dug into the ground instead. "You should understand that if you ever attempt to fight a Hyuga, commoner."

The Hyuga's arrogant words seemed to be enough for Yoroi to cease his dodging. He had nothing to fear as the Hyuga gave up his only means of attack against him. His hand lunged forward to grab hold of the Hyuga but he was deftly dodged before Neji jumped back as he reached into the pouch behind him. He crouched down upon landing and his next action made nearly all those watching raise their eyebrows.

Well, all those except his teammates.

"Gai-sensei, did you t-" Rock Lee was interrupted in the midst of his question by a chuckle from Gai.

"I believe Neji is simply showing some of his genius to us all." Gai looked down as Neji took a kunai to the bandages wrapped around his leg and transferred them to his bare arm with surprising speed. The bandages around his other arm were loosened and cascaded down around his hand and pooled on the floor of the arena.

"You should have kept those bandages on Hyuga!" Yoroi didn't charge forward and instead brought his hands together with a resounding clap. "They were going to be the thing holding you together once I was finished with you! Now the medics are going to be quick to stop you from bleeding to death when I win!"

"You fool." Neji rose, the bandages taking on some of the water that still covered the arena floor. "You'll know your fate soon enough."

Yoroi answered such words with a growl of annoyance as the water around him began to take shape, his Chakra leaking from his feet into the water.

The water around him began to gather and build, a burgeoning wave lifting him up before lowering him as it built higher and higher. Neji made no move to stop it as he remained where he was, the water soaked bandages striking the floor once the water was gone. Yoroi let out a shout before he was thrown forward, carried forward by a wave of water towards the Hyuga. His hands remained clapped together but wouldn't be for long. The moment he was in range he would grab hold of the Hyuga and drain him dry of Chakra.

"This match is over with." Gai and Megane mirrored each other's words. The two Jonin knew the match was over the moment the wave of water had begun.

"Yoroi-"

"Neji-"

"-will win."

'This is it.' Neji threw himself forward without further delay, spinning the heavy water laden bandages in his hands while he was airborne. They formed large loops.

"You absorb Chakra but it's nothing but a normal technique." Neji landed on the wave of water as he dodged Yoroi's attempt to grab him. The release of what had to be the seal for the technique made the wave falter and Neji and Yoroi hit the ground in an explosion of water and smoke thanks to a smoke bomb from the Hyuga. "That means you need to focus to use it." The bandages were thrown forward in the resulting spray of water and thick black cloud around the two Genin, Yoroi unable to actually see them while Neji saw the humanoid mass of Chakra perfectly. "Without focus, without the eyes of the Hyuga, you don't stand a chance of keeping pace with me."

"But let's see how well your eyes match up to mine."

Yoroi's arms were bound to his side thanks to the loops of bandages being tightened against him. He tried to break free but found the bandages were surprisingly strong, one of the loops he found wrapped around him would have been difficult to free himself from but it seemed like a near dozen kept him in place.

He was trapped and knew it.

"You are within range of my divination." Neji's stance was odd, his arms were spread with one forward and one back as he leaned towards his side. A short gasp from the girl next to her made Kurenai turn to the sole other Hyuga present and narrow her eyes when they turned back to Neji.

"Neji really is a genius." Unwanted, her student's words echoed in her head.

'Is this what you meant when you said that, Hinata?' Only observing the actions of the Genin in front of her would show her if she was right or wrong.

"Two palms." Neji's Chakra laden fingers struck at Yoroi's restrained body twice, neither proving effective.

"Four palms." Four rapid strikes brought the same results as Yoroi simply absorbed the Chakra from each blow, nullifying it.

"Eight palms!" Eight rapid strikes proved troublesome, Yoroi grimacing when one managed to break through and his tenketsu was sealed. Another strike followed in quick succession of the first and a third successfully connected blow followed the second.

"Sixteen palms!" Sixteen rapid strikes were aimed and landed within an instance by the Hyuga. Sixteen more of Yoroi's tenketsu were rapidly sealed and Neji continued his assault.

"Thirty-two palms!" Thirty-two strikes followed a strong step forward, Yoroi pushed back unwillingly with each precise blow to one of his swiftly shrinking number of open tenketsu. All Shinobi had three hundred and sixty-one but Neji had cut that number down by fifty-one. It was more than enough to bring most Shinobi to their knees.

"It's over." Hinata was wrong.

"SIXTY-FOUR PALMS!" A blue haze seemed to consume the air as Neji's hands turned into a blur, his strikes so swift none bar the Jonin observing could actually track his blows and only barely. Only Gai's eyes could follow each and every single blow, track its exact position, and gauge how much force Neji used before withdrawing. His question was hidden in his eyes to all but the most keen observers.

'Neji, why are you still going? Your opponent is already defeated.'

"You said you could absorb Chakra, right?" Neji spoke even as he delivered strike after strike to Yoroi, sending him further and further back with each vicious blow but the Hyuga kept step with him, his arms never seeming to cease in their relentless attack. "You told me the Gentle Fist was worthless against someone like you but, like all others, you were wrong!" Neji's strike seemed to increase in speed, Gai's eyes watching on as his pupil unleashed one precise Chakra releasing strike after one precise Chakra releasing strike. It was incredible to see the genius of Neji Hyuga on display. Each strike was debilitating in their own right but together they would completely destroy an opponent who found themselves unfortunate enough to face off against the Hyuga. "You fell to the might of the Hyuga like all others before you because no one alive can match the Byakugan! No one can change fate when my eyes have already seen it!"

"Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!" The name of the legendary technique of the Hyuga, a technique that was to be taught only to the most skilled of the Main Family, was accompanied by a single strike, the one hundred and twenty-eighth in rapid succession, to Yoroi's chest. All in all, the Hyuga had sealed one hundred and fifteen of the Genin's tenketsu. Neji's fingers remained where they had last struck as the Hyuga prodigy's shoulders heaved up and down as he took in deep breaths of air. His Chakra was exhausted from his rapid assault but a ghost of a smirk played across his face when he realized something.

"I knew you couldn't keep up."

No Chakra was taken from him.

"Know your fate." Neji withdrew his hand and stepped back. Yoroi fell forward.

"Neji Hyuga wins his preliminary match!"

AN: Pointless fact: I named their sensei after glasses. Helmet, armor, sword, and glasses. Beyond that, Yoroi never stood a chance in my opinion. In canon, Sasuke beat him despite the handicap of the Cursed Seal he had just gotten from Orochimaru. I feel I made this unfair to Neji with however brief the match was a struggle.