Chapter 39

Kiba charged forward as soon as the match began. He rushed forward, fist cocked, and closed in on a smirking Neji. Kiba threw the first punch, which was dodged, Kiba continued to throw punches but Neji dodged with ease. Kiba attempted to sweep his legs but it was avoided. Kiba continued his momentum and spun to kick Neji. Neji blocked it and countered with a palm strike. Kiba avoid it but he couldn't avoid the two quick palm strikes that landed flush on his chest. Kiba was set back a bit and skid against the ground. Kiba was quick to his feet, surprising Neji a little.

Kiba rubbed his chest but pain quickly went away. He was glad that he took his sister's advice and wore extra padding. Either way, the first few minutes did not go his way. Granted he was not going all out yet. Akamaru trotted next to him and the two glared at him. Neji just looked at him with a smug smirk.

"Was that it? Is that all you have?" Neji asked mockingly.

"Oh, don't you worry. I haven't even begun yet." Kiba spat before pulling out a pill and tossing it to Akamaru. The pup ate the pill and his fur began to turn red. Kiba also began to remove the bands that were around his wrists and ankles. They hit the ground with a thud, revealing that they were weights.

"So you train just like my teammate? Do you think that this will help you? It does not help Lee and he will always be a loser." Neji said.

"Shows what you know pal. I might not be on Lee's level but I'm going to show you what you're in for when you face him!" Kiba shouted and did some seals. He then got on all fours. "Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu!" Kiba began to get more feral and his body began to adjust to his chakra. Akamaru then jumped onto his back and Kiba did another set of hand seals. "Man Beast Clone!" In a puff of smoke, Akamaru transformed in a copy of his friend and partner.

"Let's go Akamaru!" Kiba exclaimed and he got a bark for confirmation. The two darted forward and vanished. Neji was surprised at the speed and it caught up to him when he caught a jab to his face. A second blow landed against him and Neji was on alert. His eyes darted around, trying to find the two. He was able to block another punch but not the knee. Neji was on the defensive as the blows came from everywhere. He could barely defend as Kiba and Akamaru were fast enough to attack and get away. It was starting to annoy him.

"Byakugan!" Neji said. His pupil was more defined and veins appeared around his temples. He was able to see flashes of Kiba's and Akamaru's chakra but they were moving to quick for his eyes to track.

"What's the matter Hyuga? Can't keep up?" Kiba said and the assault continued.

XXX

The crowd watched the fight with surprise and were entertained by it. Who would have thought that the match would have been this exciting. Everyone, even the normal civilians, would have thought that the brash Inuzuka couldn't keep up with the Hyuga prodigy. Everyone in village knew that fighting any Hyuga in close combat was idiotic. Still, not only was Kiba engaging Neji in close combat, he was actually winning. The crowd was excited with the exception of the Hyuga clan members who were watching from the stands.

Kurenai was proud of her student's success and smirked at the surprise that Asuma showed at the fight Kiba was giving Neji. Guy just laughed and commented about how youthful Kiba was. She looked toward Kakashi who unveiled his Sharingan, probably to keep up with the fight. In the competitor's box, Naruto was cheering on his friend with Lee while the others watched without cheering. Tenten was in disbelief at what she was watching and couldn't believe that Neji was losing. That's when Shikamaru saw something.

"This match is about to get interesting." he said. That got the attention of everyone. They all watched the fight carefully.

XXX

A punch snapped Neji's head back and he skid to a stop. He covered himself up and was getting even angrier. He couldn't believe that this nobody was doing this to him. He was supposed to be dominating this fool and his mutt. His speed should not have made this much of a difference. He could also see the displeasure of the Hyuga in the stands. Doubt began to creep into his mind. Could he actually lose here?

"Let's finish this Akamaru!" Kiba's shout brought Neji's attention back. "Man Beast Ultimate Taijutsu: Fang Over Fang!" Neji watched as two drills came at him at high speeds. He knew that this would end the fight. He quickly expelled chakra from all points, creating a dome of chakra. The two drills hit the dome but could not penetrate. That's when Neji began to spin.

"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!" The dome began to spin and it sent the two drills flying off in different directions. Kiba and Akamaru hit the ground. Neji came out of his spin, heavily breathing but unharmed. Kiba and Akamaru slowly got to their feet and looked at Neji with surprise.

"H-How… how the hell does he know that jutsu?" Kiba asked with surprise. Neji just looked at him a glare.

"So she told you about the Palm Rotation? I'm not surprised." Neji said with an edge.

"Told me? She can do the damn jutsu." Kiba said, stunning Neji. "What I do know is that jutsu is only exclusive to the main house of the Hyuga clan. So either you stole the scroll for that jutsu or…"

"Heh, you not as stupid as you look. You are right. I taught myself the jutsu without a scroll or instruction. Now do you see how useless it is? You might have done well so far but it is over. You will never break the Hyuga's ultimate defense." Neji said. Kiba didn't say anything and just looked at Akamaru with some worry.

XXX

Hiashi Hyuga was not a man who showed emotion often but he could not keep them off his face at this moment. Seeing Neji pull off something that he shouldn't, Hiashi was proud of his nephew. The elders were not happy but it was an incredible achievement and he would not hide his pride. He continued to watch as the Inuzuka tried again to attack but was one again thrown away. Hiashi knew that the young Inuzuka was brash but he was going to get hurt if he continued on his path. There was no way to beat the clan's perfect defense.

XXX

Kiba hit the ground again, Akamaru landing right next to him. He groaned but was quick to shrug off the cobwebs. He looked at Neji who had his smug grin on again. But he did not focus of him. He was focusing on the ground.

'So that's how far his dome goes? Heh, he'll never know what hit him.' Kiba thought. He looked at Akamaru. "Okay boy, hit him hard. I'll clear the way for you." Akamaru nodded and charged forward. Kiba waited until Akamaru began his spin. Neji just looked at them with scorn.

"Sending your mutt was a mistake. Palm Rotation!" Neji began and Kiba moved. He quickly moved ahead of Akamaru before slamming his hand on the ground.

"Earth Style: Mud Wave Jutsu!" Kiba shouted. The ground began to move like a wave around Kiba. It extended far enough to catch Neji in its wave. It is because of this, Neji began to lose his footing and came out of his spin. He stumbled, trying to get his balance. This also left him wide open and he was hit by Akamaru. Neji felt a few blows hit him all over and tossed him into the air. Kiba saw this and prepared himself.

"Let's finish this Akamaru! Fang Over Fang!" Kiba roared and launched forward, spinning like a drill. Akamaru turned around and came at Neji. Realizing that he had no way to protect himself, Neji covered up as much as he could. The two attacked, moving around the suspended Neji, hitting him from all sides. Neji was twisting and turning with each blow that was landed. The two stopped their attack and landed on the ground. Neji, clothes torn and bruised, hit the ground hard. He laid there unmoving while everyone was stunned silent.

XXX

"Oh yeah, Kiba's won!" Naruto cheered. Every competitor was looking at the match with various looks, mostly surprise. Even the Sand ninja were interested.

"Wow, I really didn't expect him to win." Temari whispered.

"Yeah, I thought that he was just a loudmouth." Kankuro said. He then looked at the blond who was the loudest. He narrowed his eyes at him. "Do you think that blond is as strong as Baki said?"

"I really don't know but we have our orders. He has to die." Temari said.

"Then he will die." Gaara whispered, ending the conversation. They turned back to the match to see something incredible. Neji stood up.

XXX

Neji struggled but was able stand on his feet. He was in pain and angry. He couldn't believe that he allowed this weakling and a little puppy put him in this position. They humiliated him, beat on him and made him look weak. He would not allow this continue. He would make Kiba pay for this now.

Meanwhile, Kiba was breathing hard. The last combination tried him out. He knew learning the Earth Style: Mud Wave Jutsu would come back to bite him in the ass as the technique took a lot of chakra to use. Including the Fang Over Fang technique, Kiba was nearly empty.

"It looks like that I'm running low on energy boy. I probably have one more attack in me." Kiba said. Akamaru looked at his partner and began to do motions. It was something that the two learned in case they got into a situation. Kiba understood the motions and his eyes widen. "No way! I can't let you do that!" Akamaru furiously began to make motions toward Kiba to try to get him to understand. Kiba was snarling at him but he realized that there was no choice. "Fine, just give me two minutes." Akamaru nodded to him and looked at Neji.

He took off like a shot and rushed Neji at full speed. While he charged, Kiba began to do hand seals for his jutsu. Neji watched as Akamaru charged forward and glared at him with his Byakugan. He didn't know what he was planning but it wasn't going to work. He waited and watched as he vanished. That's went Neji slipped into a stance.

"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!" Neji shouted and attacked with two consecutive strikes to his right, catching his target. Neji didn't stop and continued his assault with viciousness. Two strikes because four consecutive strikes, four strikes became eight, eight strikes became sixteen, sixteen became thirty-two and finally thirty-two became sixty-four. Akamaru let out a gasp and Kiba's eyes widen with worry. Akamaru went sailing in the air as he changed back into his form. The puppy hit the ground hard and rolled for a few feet before coming to a stop. Kiba looked at his partner and friend laying there unmoving. His eyes turned toward Neji and they were blazing with rage.

"Lightning Style: Depth Charge!" Kiba roared. Kiba was enveloped in lightning. He poured all his chakra into this jutsu. Lightning arc'd off him and nearly travelled up into the crowd. It burned off his coat and burned some skin. Kiba didn't care about that. All he cared about was to destroy the person who hurt his friend. Kiba launched himself forward and moved at incredible speed.

"Lightning Fang!" Kiba spun like a drill and it looked like his speed doubled. Neji's eyes widen before unleashing his chakra. He quickly did the Rotation just as Kiba's attack hit. The two attacks clashed and Kiba tried to push his way through the dome to get to Neji. However, he would not succeed. Kiba missed Neji and was tossed away. He hit the ground awkwardly and he felt something pop. Kiba landed on the ground and was not moving. After a while, Hayate stepped forward.

"The first match is over. The winner of the match is Neji Hyuga." Hayate announced. The crowd cheered but it was mostly due to the fact that it was a great match. Neji looked at the downed Kiba who was holding his shoulder. He watched as the medic came out for him and his puppy. He scoffed at the two.

"You should have just accepted your fate. Your fate was failure." Neji said. That's when he winced in pain. He felt it coming from his back. He thought that it might have been for an earlier attack but that's when he felt a liquid going down his back. "W-What?"

"It seems that *cough* he managed to tag you before *cough* you threw him away with your *cough* jutsu." Hayate said. Neji's eyes widen at that.

"No! Nothing can penetrate the Palm Rotation!" Neji exclaimed.

"Nothing yet but it seems *cough* that someone is close *cough*." Hayate said. He called for a medic to help Neji as well. The medic began to work on Neji but he pushed him away and walked off the field. He might have won the match but he did not truly feel like like he did.

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Authors' Notes

So, I finally got this chapter out of my head. Anyway, I hope that I didn't make the fight too one-sided. I went back and watched the match between Kiba/Naruto and Naruto/Neji. Everyone knows that Naruto could have easily lost both matches if it wasn't for luck. I imaged that Kiba would have a better chance against Neji, or rather, my verison of Kiba. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the match and the chapter.