Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1.
AN: Chapter Title: Fate
"Ugh…" Ino slowly opened her eyes, blinking rapidly at the too bright light above her. She rose an arm up and covered her bright blue eyes with it. "My head…" She attempted to roll on to her side on the bed but her leg protested such an action. Even numbed, it still prevented her from moving. She could do nothing but lay where she was.
Lay there and think.
'I never stood a chance.' The thought came without any grief or despair. Her mind told her a fact she would need to accept. 'I should have known it was too easy after Asuma-sensei spent so long telling me just how outclassed I was in this fight.' She only felt disappointment that she had let Asuma down. She had wanted to win for him, make it so that he wasn't wasting his time with a girl who should have had her eyes opened years ago to what was really in front of them. Sadly, she hadn't had that happen until fairly recently. 'I shouldn't have spent so much time thinking on the fly. Asuma-sensei told me to get him off balance and I hardly did that. He caught on too quickly, made it worthless when he collected himself so quickly. I should have kept pressing him, kept him from doing anything but waste his Chakra.'
'But I probably couldn't.' The Uchiha truly did have massive Chakra reserves. He was a sure Chunin simply from those alone. They weren't titanic like the Uzumaki in the Chunin Exams but he was certainly eligible for promotion simply because of them. She had some Sensor training and knew for a fact some of the village's Chunin were outstripped by him in terms of Chakra. 'Judging from what I can sense from him even now, after our match, he's still got plenty of Chakra. He's got a lot more than I had at the start of our fight too.'
"Yamanaka." The Uchiha's voice came from across from her. Ino let her arm fall back to her side and shifted enough to lift her head up, catching sight of the Uchiha. She didn't have the energy to glare at him so settled for a passionless stare.
"What do you want Sasuke-kun?" She still used the term of endearment with mockery.
"There's no need to be so rude Ino-chan." He seamlessly responded in kind. Ino took notice of the fact that he was sitting up, his legs hanging over the side of the bed. He lacked his armor. "I can't be concerned for the state of my opponent after my victory?"
"It doesn't sound like you. But what do I know besides the fact that you tried to burn the last girl you fought to death, Sasuke-kun?" She ignored the pain in her leg as she forced herself to sit up. Ino noticed the infamous Dojutsu of the Uchiha in Sasuke's eyes.
"That girl deserved worse than what I tried to do to her." Sasuke lifted a hand, waved away Ino's concerns. "She was an irritation beyond anything else and a fool who tried to match an Uchiha in Genjutsu." He shifted, turned his body so it faced her more. "You were nothing like her. You're far smarter for one and you're stronger than she was by a long shot."
"I feel so honored Sasuke-kun." Ino crossed her arms, rested her back against the metal frame at the end of her bed. "You really know how to make a girl swoon with that smooth tongue of yours."
"If I didn't know you any better Ino-chan, I would think you were insulting me." Sasuke smirked at her. She stared back. "I'm still surprised you managed to wake up so soon. Caesar's match is taking place now and I intend to see his victory."
"Against Neji?" Ino couldn't help but let her head fall back and laugh, ignore the fact that she banged her head on the metal frame behind her back. "If I know anything, I know Naruto doesn't stand a chance against someone like him."
"You know nothing then." Sasuke looked towards where his armor rested and rose from his bed. "I'll be departing there soon enough and I'll be happy to tell you the outcome."
"And you expect me to believe anything you say? You'll lie about Naruto winning with some crazy A-Rank Jutsu." Ino threw the blanket covering her off. She put her good leg on the floor first, noticed the bandages wrapped around her leg. She moved it and winced. She was proud of herself for not crying out.
A little over a month ago and she would have been screaming and actually crying.
"I'll rather see Neji win with my own eyes than trust you." Ino forced herself to get up on one leg, forced herself to deal with the pain coming from her leg, and focused on the task at hand.
Walking on one leg wasn't that difficult, right?
"You should stay and recuperate Yamanaka." Sasuke had dressed in his armor remarkably quick. Ino had certainly taken no more than two minutes to get herself out of bed with her injured leg and he was tightening the straps that kept his armor on his arms. "You're not fit for travel."
"I'm fine." Ino rolled her eyes as she laid her hand on the bed next to her, hopping over to a nearby supply locker. "They're probably some crutches or something around here."
"I'll find them." Sasuke was faster than her with two perfectly healthy legs. He should have been walking with at least a slight limp but Ino wasn't surprised that he could just ignore whatever was bothering him. She was fine admitting she didn't do as much damage as she hoped to the Uchiha currently looking in the open supply locker.
Ino didn't make a further comment in the half a minute it took the Uchiha to find a set of crutches. He walked back over to her and she rolled her eyes at the infuriating smirk on his face as he handed them to her.
A little over a month ago and she would have been jumping for joy at the way he was looking at her.
"You're smug." Ino found moving on crutches to be challenging but something she could manage. She got the hang of them before she got to the door, the Uchiha at her side.
"I thought you would call me arrogant." Sasuke stepped past her, pulled open the door and she did glare at him this time.
"You're that too." She 'walked' past him on her crutches and started down the hall towards the arena.
"I'm honored you think so well of me Ino-chan." Sasuke was at her side after closing the door behind him.
Ino rolled her eyes. She didn't need to look to him to know he was smirking again. She could hear it in his voice.
"Naruto..." The name, despite the situation, was spoken with something approaching fondness. "I should have known you would master polearms too."
Tenten looked on as Neji and Naruto continued to clash, the Hyuga currently on the defensive.
A pilum lunged forward, a Chakra backed blow from the Gentle Fist user stopped it cold. The aura of Chakra around it was dispersed but reappeared in the blink of an eye, Neji unable to capitalize with a second surge of Chakra and shatter the pilum. He dodged to the side to avoid the thrust of the second and stepped back to prevent himself from being closed in by them. Naruto continued after him, lunging forward with one once more but Neji batted it off target with another blow using the Gentle Fist. Naruto wasn't left open, he had risen the second pilum over his head at a slant during his lunge and made use of it. He brought it down in a stabbing motion, impaling the blade of the weapon in the ground. Neji avoided the blow by stepping back from his attempt to strike at Naruto.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!" Neji threw his palm forward and Naruto grinned as he turned the second pilum in his hand and it joined its brethren in the ground.
Neji could see the truly massive amount of Chakra that anchored Naruto to the ground at his feet, the two pilum preventing him from being forced to bend. The Hyuga didn't need a Byakugan to know the Chakra currently running up and down the weapons strengthened them far beyond their normal durability.
'He's better than I thought.' Neji put distance between himself and the Uzumaki before the force unleashed by his attack ended. Naruto cut the flow of Chakra to his feet and withdrew the two pilum impaled in the ground. 'He's countered everything I've done so far with overwhelming power.'
Neji darted forward even in the midst of his thoughts, striking at Naruto's neck with a Chakra laden hand and being deflected by the flat head of a pilum to the side of his hand. His blow was slapped aside but he continued turning with it, let his arm come in to his chest, and struck out with both at Naruto's armored chest. A spike of Chakra came from each of his fingertips and aimed to strike through Naruto's armor and strike his chest. A surge of Chakra to the area repelled the effects of his blow and Neji drew away before Naruto could cut off his head with the sweeping blades of the pilum in each of his hands.
Naruto pressed forward before the Hyuga prodigy could recover. He lunged forward with both pilums and Neji struck the blades into the air with his palms. He moved to attack Naruto once more, aiming for his neck once again as well, and the Uzumaki leaned back to avoid it. He also brought the sharp edges of the pilums down on either side of Neji.
Chakra released from the nearest tenketsu pushed the blades away at a reasonable cost to the Hyuga's reserves. He didn't bother with trying to retreat again and only continued forward with Naruto's weapons currently out of play. His blow struck true, each of his palms striking a shoulder, and Naruto's grip on his weapons was suddenly nonexistent. They fell to the ground and Neji took the chance to kick at least one away as it flew through the air and catch the second in one of his hands.
A surge of Chakra from Naruto ripped through the blockages Neji's Chakra created in his Chakra Pathway System and the Uzumaki ducked low to avoid the amateurish thrust from his opponent using his own weapon. The blonde was grinning as he rose back up to his full height as Neji withdrew the weapon and shifted his grip on it. He held it more towards the upper half, no doubt surprised at the unexpected weight of the weapon but adjusting to hold it without issue. Naruto didn't bother with summoning a new pair of weapons to his hands.
He merely brought his fist into his palm.
"Your skills are impressive Neji Hyuga." Naruto rolled his shoulders as he brought his hands up in something closer to a boxing stance than anything else. Neji's keen eyes recognized it for what it really was and he didn't approach the Uzumaki with anything but caution. "You overcome challenge after challenge it seems without a single failure."
"Fate is on my side Naruto Uzumaki." Neji threw himself forward, the blade of the pilum dodged by Naruto and knocked aside with an armored forearm. He threw himself towards Neji and his fist met the Gentle Fist strike of the Byakugan user.
Naruto didn't move back but a grimace crossed his face as he looked to his fist and Neji attempted to bring the pilum he had liberated from the Uzumaki into play by sliding it across his armored forearm. He aimed to bring it back and then lunge forward with it again, this time towards Naruto's chest, but the Uzumaki had other plans. He moved his hand and took hold of the pilum before it could be moved pass him. He drew it, and consequently Neji, back towards him with a powerful tug.
The Hyuga released his hold on the weapons and threw his now free hand forward, wisps of Chakra escaping his fingertips as it cut through the air towards Naruto's arm. The Uzumaki noticed his new weapon and immediately made use of it.
He snapped the pilum when he slammed it into the Hyuga's exposed side. Neji didn't allow it to stop him from continuing his blow more than it forced him to the side and briefly left him airborne. Naruto glanced down to the half of the weapons he now held, the useful bladed end, and tossed it away. He didn't care for the broken weapon and instead charged towards the airborne Neji to beat him with his fists instead of anything else.
The Hyuga's arm stabbed through the air like a snake striking its prey then, successfully striking Naruto in the arm and he immediately pulled back.
Chakra was visible around him as it pulsed as an azure aura before fading. The Uzumaki didn't press his attack as Neji landed in a crouch on the ground before hastily rising back to his feet and throwing a pair of kunai forward from each hand as he dashed to the side he had not flown through the air from.
Naruto's eyes narrowed as he easily batted away one pair of kunai with his armored forearm and the other two were avoided with contemptuous ease. He looked to Neji and found him now charging him from the side with his arms behind him. Chakra leaked from his fingertips and Naruto drew back instead of engaging the Hyuga.
Neji suddenly put on a burst of speed and met the Uzumaki before he could put any adequate distance between the two.
'I have him.'
"Two palms." They were made to disable Naruto's arms at the shoulder, the Chakra sent there far above the normal amount Neji would place in a strike but he made the acceptance here. "Four palms." Neji continued to strike, further disabling the arms. "Eight palms!" His Byakugan showed him where to strike best to impede the flow of Chakra to Naruto's entire body and he made use of such knowledge. "Sixteen palms!" Neji delivered a powerful palm to Naruto's armored chest. "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Naruto was thrown back, his ability to anchor himself to the ground gone with his Chakra Pathway System surgically disabled by Neji for that exact purpose. The last attack sent Naruto hurtling across the arena in an airborne state before he slammed into a wall.
'The Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms isn't as effective as I hoped.' Neji maintained the Gentle Fist stance he had transitioned too once Naruto had been sent hurtling through the air and his Byakugan stayed focused on his opponent. 'He's already using his Chakra to remove the blocks I've placed and his armor took most of the force of my last blow and his impact.'
Neji resisted the urge to shake his throbbing fingers.
'The fact hitting his armor makes my fingers hurt is also a point of concern.'
'That armor isn't making this any easier for Neji.' Tenten's brown orbs watched the match with an attention to detail many would be hard pressed to replicate. She followed each of Neji's blows and had been sure to keep in mind the state of his hands. 'Despite the Gentle Fist focusing on internal damage, he still needs to strike Naruto with a certain amount of force each time. The armor makes that force increase. He won't break his fingers anytime soon but they'll definitely be sore for a few days after the match. He can't strike Naruto anywhere else either. His armor is there to protect him from much harsher attacks and Neji knows that. He's gone for his neck anywhere and Naruto is quick to defend himself.' Tenten focused on the cloud Naruto had formed on impact with the wall. 'Naruto isn't going to go down from an attack like that and Neji probably knows that as well. He'll be anxious to see the state he's in but it's probably not what he wants.'
"That was an impressive showing Neji Hyuga." Naruto's voice came before his form emerged. He was dirty and his chestplate was damaged but there weren't any more changes to his appearance. He rose a hand to his hair and ruffled the blonde locks, doing his best to dislodge the dirt and dust he knew was there. "You would have defeated any lesser foe with such an onslaught."
"I'm almost not surprised you're standing after that attack." Neji didn't move from his stance. He had created a plan rather swiftly when he knew Naruto would emerge nearly unharmed from his attack and his impromptu trip into the wall of the arena. "It would have surprised me if fate decided for you to be defeated so easily."
"You speak of fate as if it is your ally Neji Hyuga." Naruto strode forward without issue, as if he had not just been victim to an attack from the strongest Taijutsu style in all of Konohagakure. "Fate is not your ally as fate is nothing to a Caesar. Consider fate an illusion you have allowed yourself to live your life in and I am at last the stimulant that will destroy your illusion. Fate has had nothing to do with your life as it was your own might, your own genius that created your present. Even if fate truly did dictate your life, dictate the lives of all, I would find myself excluded from such a force. I am a Caesar. My fate is mine and mine alone to shape. With my might, with my intellect, with my power I shape my present into the next step on my path to the future I know lies ahead of me."
"You've never experienced the power of fate then Naruto Uzumaki, I can clearly see how you hold some foolish idealism. You don't know how cruel fate can be, how powerless one can be to change it, and how fate has already charted out our lives." Neji did not move away as Naruto stopped in front of him. "If you know fate like I have, you wouldn't dare speak as if one can choose their path in life. We are all destined to follow a specific path, play a specific role, and never live beyond that role or step off that path."
"You are a member of the Branch House of the Hyuga Clan." Naruto spoke the fact. Neji did not bother with nodding, nothing in his body language showed he was even accepting that Naruto had spoken at all. "You speak of fate because of the brand the Hyuga Clan forced on you because of the circumstances of your birth. You decry the individual as powerless to fate and I can understand why Neji Hyuga. Fate has been nothing but a cruel beast to you, fate has forced you to live the life of a servant despite the talent the eyes before you clearly see, and fate cries out to you even now. Fate is a demanding beast, is it not? But it is nothing but such a thing, a beast." Naruto lifted his hand into the air, pointed at Neji as he was consumed in an aura of Chakra. "Fate is nothing to my power Neji Hyuga, I have forced the beast known as fate to kneel, I have caged it where it belongs, and I now offer to you the same!"
'What?' Asuma wanted to rise out of his seat. He had a feeling he knew where this was going and frankly didn't like it.
'He can't be serious.' Kurenai took hold of his arm to stop him.
'This kid is hilarious!' Anko fought down the urge to break out into giggles.
'Naruto…what are you planning now?' Sakura wished she could see into his mind and also wished she couldn't. She wouldn't like what she saw inside.
'I should have known you'll offer Neji a spot Naruto.' Tenten shook her head as much as she could. She would have laughed if she didn't have good control of herself.
"Well, looks like he was serious about replacing you." Ino and Sasuke stood together, Ino turning to the Uchiha to catch his reaction. He only chuckled at the sight and turned his red and black eyes to her light blue eyes.
"Caesar will not replace one who is undefeated." Sasuke turned his eyes back to the arena. "I will maintain my position as Legate of the Orange Legion for the foreseeable future Ino Yamanaka."
"Or are you just lying to yourself?" Ino let out her own small laugh at the idea. "Just imagine, Naruto kicks you out and replaces you with Neji."
Sasuke was silent. Rage shined in his eyes for a moment before it was gone. It was replaced by nothingness.
"If Caesar so wishes it, I will concede my position to Neji Hyuga."
"Are you saying what I think you're saying Naruto Uzumaki?" Neji did not approach Naruto, he didn't scoff at him either. He showed no reaction beyond the steely focus he had kept on him since the match began. "Are you asking me to join you, join your insane Legion?"
"I am not asking you to join me Neji Hyuga." Naruto let his hand fall back to his side. "I am giving you the chance to escape the sniveling beast known as fate. My fate, to the countless masses, was as a failure of a Shinobi, a failure in all walks of life, but I have discarded the very notion of fate. I refused to accept it and look upon me now." Naruto's blue eyes shifted to red for the briefest of moments. "People mocked me, decried me as one less than human and a thing, and I had nothing." Chakra surged around him, swept across the arena with enough force to nearly take Neji off his feet. "Now I am a Caesar."
"You only continue to take pride in your self-given title Naruto Uzumaki." Neji shook his head, as if in pity, before he moved towards Naruto with a burst of speed. "I'm tired of this game Naruto, fate will end this match and you will fall. That is your fate."
"So be it." Naruto shrugged his shoulders before he threw his arms out to his side, a wide grin on his face, and his blue eyes shined with amusement. "Come forth then Neji Hyuga, strike me and I shall do nothing to defend myself! I shall allow you to act as fate's champion and I shall be my own! Come forth and show me if fate truly is stronger than a Caesar!"
'This has gone on long enough.' Neji assumed a specific stance as he slowed down in front of Naruto. 'I have to e-'
Pain engulfed him. Fire seared through his mind. He wanted to scream as he fell to the ground
Fury crossed Naruto's face. He strode forward, crouched down next to Neji, and tore off his forehead protector. A mark on his forehead was glowing, Naruto could feel it and knew the damage it was doing to his opponent. He nearly snarled but somehow withheld it. Crimson replaced his blue eyes. Sasuke clutched at his arm suddenly.
"Something wrong Sasuke?" Ino looked to her past opponent and saw a grimace cross his face.
"Caesar wishes for me to act." Sasuke forced the words out through gritted teeth. He forced himself to release his arm and turned on his heel. "He dislikes this interruption to his match."
"…What?" Ino hurried to grab her crutches and followed after the Uchiha when she didn't get an answer. "What are you talking about?"
"This is shameful." Naruto remained crouched next to Neji, his eyelids closed to keep crimson eyes concealed from the world. "How dare those fools who seat above ruin such a moment, how dare those fools who sit above interfere with my match."
"Hey, kid, I need to check on him." Anko crouched down next to Naruto and placed a single finger on the seal on Neji's forehead. She winced as she withdrew it and laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder. She wasn't laughing or smiling as she looked into crimson eyes. "You win kid."
Naruto looked past her, looked to where Hiashi Hyuga sat among the Hyuga Clan.
"Hiashi Hyuga." Naruto's voice was quiet yet it carried to where the man sat. Even if it somehow didn't, the Hyuga's Byakugan let him read his lips. "How pathetic are you?" His façade of calm indifference never dropped but anger shined in his eyes, rage took hold at the sight of the disrespectful boy known as Naruto Uzumaki. "You not only dare to interfere in my match but you do so in such a cowardly way? You dare to stop my match with Neji Hyuga because of what? Your pride or is it the pride of your clan?" Naruto's hand balled into fist as he dropped his eyes back to Neji. He bowed his head, laid a hand on the pained boy's shoulder. "We will have a rematch Neji Hyuga, we will see if fate truly is stronger than a Caesar."
Naruto did not look away from Neji as a demonic power appeared next to the Hyuga.
"I advise you to stop the seal." Sasuke Uchiha looked to Hiashi Hyuga and, more specifically, the seal his hands performed. "Your goal is accomplished." The Sharingan locked with the Byakugan. The Dojutsu clashed but one did not fight the other. Cold indifference filled the red and black eyes that looked into white. "Continue and I will remove at least one hand."
The sky shifted to darkness. The world around them shifted to hell. Skeletons surrounded Hiashi, took hold of him with clawed hands, sought to consume his flesh. He did not allow the Genjutsu to affect him. Blood poured onto his head, consumed him as he fell, and filled his lungs. His Byakugan showed him it was an illusion. The world still shifted. The world forever shifted now.
He released the seal. Sasuke Uchiha broke eye contact and left the way he had come.
"Naruto Uzumaki wins his first round match against Neji Hyuga. He advances to the second round." Anko announced the obvious as the Hyuga was carried away, unconscious from pain. Even now a grimace crossed his face.
AN:...