Guest: Minato is a prime example of what a person born in Sakura's circumstances can be. The only thing different is that he's a prodigy, and actually an even better example is Guy, sooooo I fail to see how this matters at all.

Alvinsimon: Naruto was enwrapped in his clan and his anger.

Wolvmbm: That's not why Naruto's training, but he does recognize the danger to Lee's life that Gaara poses. Hayate's death notice took the same time as was shown. That's why I didn't cover it. As for clan origins, well he tells someone it this chapter, but his summonings connection with his clan he himself doesn't really understand. He just knows that Mito had the Hellhound Contract. Tsume and Kushina did not have a fight over Minato, although if I had thought of that before you stated it, I would have included it. To late to really incorporate it now though. Fire does beat sand, glassifies it actually - hint hint wink wink.

CainOmega106: Naruto was pissed off about not knowing about his clan. Hiruzen, I'm sorry if I didn't really show this well, was displeased by Naruto's behavior and didn't pull rank on him only because it would make things worse. Kiba liking Hinata is one of the reasons Kiba becomes pretty damn strong in my story, like A-class level strong. Another reason makes him S...a reason that is actually kinda sad. Also true.

YamiChaos27: Sorry. Typo.

Okay to marquis I can't actually type your name as it comes up blank sooo: Reaching Lee's speed in a month was kinda BS, but the power jumps were not simply for Sasuke. Learning the Chidori wasn't bullshit, it actually made a lot of sense for Kakashi to teach him it because of the matchup he was going to have. He didn't learn to master the second level of the cursed seal. The activation of it was forced upon him by the Sound Four. And that was always the point of the show, to have Naruto always striving to outshine Sasuke was one of the main points of the show. Making sure Sasuke seemed to be two steps ahead at all times was kinda important to Naruto's growth. Reaching Sasuke's level and earned his approval was something Naruto always desired. He needed it because without it Sasuke would be to weak to do anything in the war, and the EMS isn't even all that strong. That's like complaining that Madara got the Rinnegan or something. He wouldn't have been strong enough without it. You do realize that at the end of the manga Naruto is stronger than Sasuke right? Naruto held back against him so he didn't kill him, and that was why Sasuke stated Naruto won the match. Sasuke's Rinnegan wasn't enough to change the tables, even against Naruto's Sage Mode. You don't have to have an affinity towards an element to use it. Affinities just make things easier. And look at the Sage chakra, it explains the question.

Wake Up

Naruto sat down on his bottom, thinking over what he was doing, sporting a long-sleeved, collared black shirt and black pants. A belt was wrapped around his waist, and his spiky blonde hair was gelled downwards slightly. His bright blue eyes looked at the young Hyuga in front of him.

"Hanabi," he said. Hinata's little sister look back at him, a judging look on her face. "Boy who lost." Naruto's eye twitched as he looked at Hanabi. "That was rude Hanabi-chan." Hanabi smiled playfully, pointing at Naruto and laughing. "Aniki, you're so easy to make fun of." Naruto blanched, jabbing a finger at Hanabi. "Look here Hanabi-chan, I basically won that fight." Hanabi raised an eyebrow. "The official recording says differently."

"Hanabi…you wanna go?"

"Fight me."

"Excuse her," Naruto and Hanabi heard. The duo turned to see an old man walking up to them. The man was dressed in a white robe and looked extremely old yet he was walking like a veteran of war and gave off the aura of a highly skilled warrior.

"Tobiume-sama," Hanabi said, bowing. Naruto glanced at Hanabi, frowning at the Sama ending of her speech. Naruto turned back to Tobiume, refusing to bow. The man gave him a bad feeling. Tobiume narrowed his eyes as he noticed Naruto did not bow to him but did not comment.

"You must be Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto nodded. "Hyuga-san." Hanabi's eyes widened as she glanced up to Naruto, a deep fear for him in her eyes. 'He didn't respond respectfully. Naruto you idiot! Don't you understand clan politics?'

Tobiume gave Naruto a glare that would have withered the strongest of shinobi. Yet Naruto stood strong, for some reason he himself didn't know. "I do not bow to anyone, not you, not Hiashi, no one. Level your glare elsewhere."

Tobiume looked absolutely furious, and although Naruto looked calm and secure on the outside, on the inside he was utterly confused. 'I have no idea why I'm acting like this!'

The Kyuubi frowned. 'He's becoming a hell of a lot like Minato Namikaze. Only thing I think could make this worse is if he became as strong as his mom. I can already see him reaching that guys level. Minato Namikaze…the duo have to be related.'

Naruto was surprised when Tobiume's eyes began to dilate, his Byakugan slowly activating, yet Hiashi appeared between the duo. "Is there a problem here, father? Naruto?"

Tobiume looked absolutely livid and prepared to kill Naruto with no regrets yet he restrained himself. "Hiashi, I'd recommend you make sure who yet let stay in Hinata's company."

With that Tobiume turned on his heel and left. 'He may be useful as the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, but his disrespect must be curved. Danzo and I can handle that.'

Hiashi rounded on Naruto, his face calm, despite the fact he wanted to beat the boy senseless on the inside. 'This little idiot will ruin everything. Just because I support him and Hinata being a couple does not mean he can act like this.'

"Naruto, remember where you are. Anyways, I presume you are here for Hinata?"

Naruto nodded. "I would like to take her out on a date if you don't mind." Hiashi seemed surprised. "That's…surprising. Where will you be going? We both know that you're not exactly…"

Hiashi dragged the sentence off, causing Naruto to nod. "Yes. But I have an idea. I was going to go to one of the Nara places." Hiashi nodded. 'The Nara and the Hyuga have no quarrels. This should be fine.'

"Alright. I shall retrieve her. In the meantime, wait here."

Naruto nodded, watching Hiashi leave. He however was surprised when he felt a hand burn into his face. He turned, to see Hanabi glaring at him. "You idiot!"

Naruto's eyes widened. "Hanabi, what did I do?" Hanabi simply glared at him before she ran off, tears falling from her eyes. Naruto, an apologetic look on his face, prepared to run after her, yet a voice stopped him.

"Look, it's the failure."

Naruto's body tensed as he turned to Neji, taking in the Hyuga's appearance. He honestly looked ragged, as if he had been training extensively. "Oh look, it's the Hyuga who is weaker than the failure."

Neji snorted. "I think the fact that I'm going to the finals and you're not disagree with that statement." Naruto released a bit of killing intent and flared his chakra violently, cracking the wooden floor. "Would you wish to test this statement Neji?"

Neji smirked, dropping into a stance. Naruto did the same. The two rushed each other, preparing to strike, yet Hiashi appeared between the two, deflecting the strikes with ease and sending them both flying. Neji landed against a wooden poll violently, yet Naruto flipped midair and landed on his feet.

Hiashi glared at the duo. "Neji! Naruto! Enough!"

Naruto bowed his head, his respect to the clan head shining through despite his distaste for Neji. Neji simply grunted, glaring at the Hyuga before stalking off. Hiashi frowned. 'His attitude is getting worse. At this rate my father will do something about him, regardless of the fact that he's his grandson. This is bad.'

Hiashi then sighed before he stepped to the side, revealing Hinata wearing a white dress that slightly clung to her body, highlighting her developing body. The dress ended at the calf and was slightly strapless. Her hair was styled backwards into a slight ponytail and a bit of makeup highlighted her face.

All in all, Naruto thought she looked gorgeous.

Naruto had to turn away from her briefly to remove the shell-shocked expression from his face, although when he turned around he still couldn't keep from staring. Hiashi coughed, breaking the awkward silence. "Naruto I expect you to take very good care of my daughter."

Naruto gulped, nodding. 'She looks gorgeous! Sakura has nothing on this!'

Hinata blushed as Naruto couldn't take his eyes off of her. She felt very out of place. She usually wore baggy clothing, and thus when her father chose this outfit for her to wear she immediately felt awkward. It highlighted her curves and her breasts slightly. Yet the entirety of her awkwardness had melted away into nervousness as she looked at Naruto. She thought she looked quite attractive in the black he wore.

Naruto slowly walked up, slowly beginning to regain his composure. He extended his hand and Hinata carefully took it. "You look quite handsome Naruto-kun," she said, barely managing to control her emotions. Naruto blushed. "And you look gorgeous Hina-chan," he blurted out, his brain still failing to start working again.

Hiashi frowned, still highly disapproving of the affectionate nickname Naruto had given his daughter, although he completely despised him calling her princess, but he put up with it. He would let his daughter be happy this night. He was not going to meddle in their life on their first date.

Other than making sure Naruto did nothing to his daughter by sending guards to watch their date from afar of course.

Overprotective father some called him. He called himself a smart one.

Naruto led Hinata from the estate, and they walked down the street awkwardly, attracting stares from several people. "How have you been Naruto-kun?" Naruto sighed, looking up. The awkwardness of the first date was starting to melt since they had began. He was getting used to it.

"Honestly Hina-chan, not to good. I've discovered a lot of things that I wish I hadn't. I don't even know who I can trust anymore, and now that I know Lee will be fighting Gaara in the finals. I'm just really worried."

Hinata smiled as she looked at Naruto from the corner of her eye. He was doing it once again. "So you're being exactly like you usually are then huh Naruto-kun?"

Naruto lifted an eyebrow, opening the door to a restaurant and allowing Hinata to walk in first. As the duo were seated Naruto finally responded to her question. "What do you mean like I always am?"

Hinata smiled. "You're worrying about everyone, looking for ways to protect them." Naruto blushed. "I do that?" Hinata nodded. "You do it a lot."

Before Naruto could respond a waiter walked up to them. "What can I get for you two today?" Naruto responded with water while Hinata asked for tea. The waiter nodded and scurried off, like a mouse would run from a cat.

"Hinata," Naruto suddenly stated after a while breaking their uncomfortable silence. She looked directly at him. "Who is fighting who for the finals? I only know the Lee is fighting Gaara. That's it."

Hinata nodded. "The matchups, in order, are Neji-nii against me, Shikamaru against the fan user from the sand, Shino against the puppet user from the sand, Sakura versus Sasuke, and Lee against Gaara."

Naruto paled. "Sakura will struggle, and Lee might die…but you're fighting Neji!" Hinata nodded. "Yes." She began to look slightly concerned. "Hinata you can't! We both know how Neji is…he might doing something brash and…"

Hinata nodded, quite calm despite Naruto's panicking. "Calm down Naruto-kun. Father has been teaching me personally. He thinks I can defeat Neji…and it's all because of you."

"Me?"

Hinata nodded. "You gave me the courage to stand up for myself. You were the person who gave me the strength to reach this level. So I can't very well lose, even if father wasn't training me. I have to honor the fact that you helped me reach so far." Naruto's eyes widened as Hinata said this, "But Hina-chan, you were the one who was truly strong. You've been fighting all this adversity in your life and have to deal with being used as a piece in clan politics."

Hinata nodded. "Yes…that may be so but…you're the one who has had a truly hard life Naruto. Don't think I didn't notice how the villagers look at you."

Naruto was silent, so Hinata reciprocated the action. The duo were silent until the waiter returned. The waiter then asked what they wanted for food before rushing off to satisfy their order. As he came back the duo ate in general silence, Naruto still mulling over his thoughts. Naruto then paid the bill before he stood and the duo left the building.

"Hinata," he said, gaining her attention. "Yes?"

"I wanna show you something."

Hinata nodded, and Naruto wrapped an arm around her side. She blushed at the physical contact, still not used to being touched by him and almost squealed from a mixture of embarrassment and delight when he picked her up bridal style. He then shot upwards into the air, towards the Hokage Mountain, getting there in record time. He landed on the mountain, before letting Hinata down. As the possible Hyuga heir stood she turned towards the village and couldn't help but let out a gasp of awe.

"It's beautiful," she said looking over the village with the setting sun illuminating it, giving it an almost peaceful look, despite the troubles it was going through at the time. "This is where I always came when I felt down," Naruto stated, causing her to look at him. He sat down on the ledge of the mountain, looking over the village. "I don't really know why honestly. Whenever I felt sad I always ran here. All I knew at the time was that I was free from the villagers and that was all that mattered. This place is special to me."

Hinata sat down next to Naruto, before she leaned her head against his shoulder. She closed her eyes, sighing in contentment. Naruto smiled at the beautiful girl next to him. "I think you came to this palce because it was what called to you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"I think it was the thing that gave you the dream to become Hokage, the real reason why." Naruto's eyes widened as the girl he cared for continued. "It was what gave you the dream to aspire to become greater. It was what made you care for the village and not run away…isn't it?" Naruto smiled. "Maybe."

Hinata smiled, opening her eyes and looking at Naruto. He smiled, but then frowned. "Hinata I have something important to tell you, two things actually." Hinata rose, looking at him. Naruto took that as a signal to continue. "Well the first is…I'm from a clan."

Hinata looked completely surprised when he said that. "How do you know?" Naruto looked forwards. "I was told. When I confronted jiji about it he confirmed it for me. I'm from the Uzumaki Clan, distant relatives of the Senju Clan, and one of the three clans that created the village."

Hinata smiled. "That's great! That means you might not be alone in the world after all! Some of your clansmen could be out there!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?" Hinata smiled. "Because even in a clan as strict as the Hyuga's we have relatives out of Konoha."

Naruto smiled. "That's good. I may find a family after all." Hinata frowned. "I thought I was family Naruto-kun…" Naruto panicked and wrapped a hand around the young Hyuga princess. "You are family to me. More than you could ever know. And I treasure that." Hinata giggled. "I know I was just making fun of you." Naruto blanched.

"It's because your family Hina-chan," Naruto said, still glaring at her slightly. "That I have to tell you something." Hinata nodded. "Do you remember the Kyuubi no Kitsune stories told by the Academy?"

Hinata nodded. "Remember how they said the Yondaime killed it." She nodded. "They lied." Hinata looked ready to pass out in fear. "The Kyuubi no Kitsune is alive?" she yelled in shock. Naruto nodded. "It's impossible to kill a Bijuu, they even taught us this in the Academy. You can only seal it. And it was sealed on my birthday." Hinata started to connect the dots, her eyes beginning to widen, but she didn't fully recognize the fact until Naruto said it. "Hinata, I am the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Hinata looked shocked, frozen. Naruto mistook this as fear and he slowly stood. "You're afraid. That's understandable Hinata. Don't worry, I won't bother you again."

Naruto slowly began to walk away, yet Hinata reacted and grabbed his sleeve stopping him. He turned, surprised to see her looking at him pleadingly, a look of sorrow on her face. "That's not it."

Silence.

"I was just surprised to find out that you suffered such an incredible burden. You have such a weight on your shoulders…it was a lot to take in."

Naruto looked surprised. "But how can you not hate me?" Hinata stood, looking at Naruto firmly. "Like all the villagers? How could I be as cruel as them Naruto? They don't understand the difference between a sword and its sheath, and they don't know what a Jinchuriki is. They don't see you for the hero that you are."

Naruto looked ready to argue with her again, but Hinata had had enough. 'If that won't convince him,' she thought. Naruto prepared to talk but then Hinata did something no one would have ever expected her to do.

She kissed him.

Naruto's eyes widened with shock as Hinata kissed him tenderly. It took Naruto a while to get his brain functioning but he slowly began to reciprocate the kiss. She pulled away, looking at the Jinchuriki with nothing but love in her eyes.

"Naruto-kun, nothing you say will change the fact that I love you."

Naruto was silent, but a gentle smile came onto his face. "Thank you Hina-chan." Hinata smiled, dragging him with her to the edge before she sat down and resumed laying her head on his shoulder. Naruto smiled at her, leaning his head on hers.

"I love you Hinata."

"I know."

XxX

Naruto smiled as he looked over the arena, smirking. He glanced to his left, noticing Kiba and Choji both watching intently…and Choji eating some of the plethora of chips he brought. He looked to his right to see Tenten grasping her knuckles as she looked at Neji and Hinata, worried for both of them. Naruto guessed more so Neji than Hinata. As for Ino…she was shouting at Shikamaru to stop slouching.

The arena was large, very large, it dwarfed the preliminary arena in size. It was shaped like a cylinder, only that the top half of it was lobbed off unevenly, leaving a slight incline for the Hokage's and their bodyguards to reside. The arena itself was open to the sky, and had a wall that extended high into the air. The edges were covered by trees and the middle of the arena was a mixture of grass and dirt.

"Naruto," Kiba asked, causing Naruto to glance at him. "What is it?" KIba frowned. "Do you think Hinata can beat Neji? She's up against him first, in the first round of the tournament no less. I know she trained, hard…but I really don't know if she can handle him. Neji was considered a genius after all."

Naruto snorted, "Kiba don't you go getting all soft on me now. Hinata's strong. She'll win. She trained hard. As a friend of mine says, 'Even a failure can defeat a genius if they train hard enough.'"

Kiba smiled. "I really do hope you're right," Tenten said. "As much as I like Neji…he's getting way to stuck up for his own good." Naruto smirked. "Ten-chan, I already told you, if Neji got to outrageous just let me kick his ass."

"That's not really all that nice Naruto." Naruto turned, to see a surprising person being dragged by Margaret. "Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. Margaret smiled, holding up the peace sign. "He was gonna be late. Figuring that would get Sasuke disqualified, I took matters into my own hands."

Kakashi sighed. "Mah, mah Margaret. You didn't have to do this." Margaret glared at the Copy Ninja. "Yes I did." Guy watched, a fire burning in his eyes. "My eternal rival was going to sacrifice the possibility of Sasuke becoming a Chunin to make Sasuke stronger. His flames of youth are admirable! To make up for this, Lee and I will do 300 laps around the village on two fingers!"

The genin all blanched at the outrageous claim by the eccentric Jonin. 'I don't think that's what she meant,' they all thought.

XxX

Hiruzen smiled as he looked at the approaching Kazekage. "Kazekage-dono, it is good to see you again."

"Hokage-dono, it is good to see you," the Kazekage responded, nodding to the other shinobi. Hiruzen smiled, sitting in his seat. "Yes we have not spoken in a while. I was hoping to see you again on friendly terms without all this business."

The Kazekage, his mouth covered by his veil, smiled. "Yes, I was hoping to see you also on friendly business. Then again, it was probably best for me to come to Konoha no? You're getting quite old, the trip could have been strenuous for you."

Hiruzen laughed. "I'm still good enough to give anyone a good fight," he said, causing the Kazekage to tense. Hiruzen ignored the reaction. "Besides, I'm still too young to retire quite yet."

The Kazekage nodded. "Yes, that would be fairly true. This kids still don't understand the meaning of leadership." Hiruzen smiled, nodding. 'There is a completely different reason why I am not retiring. Naruto will be my successor, of that I will guarantee.'

"Well then how about we start this whole shebang?" The Kazekage nodded in agreement. Hiruzen stood and walked to the front of their section of the stands, overlooking the entire arena. "Welcome everyone!" he called, and the entire crowd suddenly went silent.

XxX

"It's about to start," Konohamaru said, looking down towards the arena intently. Iruka nodded next to the child, "This will be an interesting Chunin Exams. It's just a shame that Naruto couldn't get in this year."

Konohamaru was silent. Behind them, Danzo sat, his usual scowl on his face. 'It is a shame indeed. He may be a weapon, but he is broken. If the Kyuubi cannot defeat the Ichibei, then there is no reason to keep him. His Jinchuriki abilities need to be honed or he needs to be destroyed. Luckily, I can do just that. Hiruzen just needs to get out of the picture.'

XxX

"Are you ready, Hinata?" Hinata glanced at Sakura, extremely nervous. "Not really," Hinata mumbled. Sakura smiled, putting a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll do fine." Sasuke nodded, standing next to the Hyuga.

Sasuke sported a black, one-pieced outfit that was similar to the one that he previous wore only in different colors. Many arm-belts adorned his left arm and he had bands very similar to them around his legs.

"You're going to beat the prick Hinata." Hinata smiled, although she had mixed feelings about what Sasuke. He did just call her cousin a prick.

XxX

"I thank all of you for coming to watch the Chunin Exams this year. I know it will be an exam to remember. But for now, we should begin the final stage of the Chunin Exams. Let the proctor take it away."

Hiruzen stepped away, sitting back in his seat, looking down to the arena. 'Good luck all of you.'

XxX

Genma Shiranui was a Jonin with brown, shoulder-length hair that hung around his face and brown eyes. He sported his forehead protector like a bandanna, and wore the standard jonin outfit. A senbon was in his mouth.

"Alright then, we're getting started. Would Hinata Hyuga and Neji Hyuga stay here? The rest of you go to the competitor's box."

Everyone but the two mentioned beforehand walked off, Sakura glancing at Hinata one more time and wishing her luck. Eventually there were only three people in the arena, Genma, Hinata, and Neji.

"Give up," Neji said.

XxX

"Bastard," Naruto said. "He's already gonna start his speech about who a failure is and who isn't. He doesn't have the right to talk about that!"

Ino nodded. "I agree with you there Naruto. Neji's a jerk." Choji somehow managed to grunt in agreement with all the food in his mouth. "Let's just hope she wins," Tenten stated, despite still feeling conflicted about matters.

XxX

"Father," Hanabi asked, getting Hiashi to look at his daughter. "What is it Hanabi?"

"Who do you think will win?"

Hiashi looked at Hinata, his blank face turning into one of fatherly pride and confidence. "Hinata."

That was all Hanabi needed to hear.

XxX

"Give up Hinata. You're too weak to fight me. You don't have the will. You're supposed to be the clan heir yet you can't even hurt a fly. You're a failure. And once you're a failure you're always a failure. You can't change that. It's simply destiny. It's not your fault."

Hinata frowned, shaking her head. "You're wrong Neji-nii." Neji looked shocked she openly disagreed with him, and looked even more surprised when she settled into a fighting stance. "You're wrong. Your destiny doesn't decide who you are. You decide what your destiny is. Sure, a person has options, and sure tragic things happen, but you can't throw it all on destiny. If we did that no one would be here today. No, we create our destiny."

Neji looked furious, his Byakugan activating almost on instinct. "You brat!" Hinata frowned. "You are right Neji. I am a failure, or maybe I was. But I will never give up. I will never surrender! Because that's my nindo! That's my ninja way!"

Neji roared, almost blocking out Genma's voice as he shouted "Begin!" and rushed his cousin. Hinata activated the Byakugan quickly, avoiding Neji's strike. Neji snarled, spinning into a stance and sizing his cousin up with a couple weak strikes.

Hinata didn't even bother to block them, she simply dodged them, frowning. 'He's testing me. Well then…'

Hinata lashed out with two quick strikes, hitting Neji in the test before she followed up with a palm strike that sent him skidding backwards. Neji cursed, growling as he felt his chakra system function irregularly but it slowly returned to normal. Hinata hadn't shut him down. 'She can't!' Neji thought.

Hinata frowned. 'Next time I can't be as nice.'

Neji looked at his cousin before he paled, beads of sweat trailing down his face as he saw Hinata. "What the hell!" He yelled. "When did you get so much chakra!"

XxX

Hanabi nervously scooted away from Hiashi was was radiating…something. Shikaku looked at Inoichi who shrugged. They were both severly confused with the Hyuga heads behavior.

XxX

"Sasuke, what's he talking about?" Sasuke held up a finger to Sakura, his eyes turning crimson. He noticed it to. "Hinata has much more chakra than she had a month ago. A much more noticeable amount."

Sakura's eyes widened. "So she can win?" Sasuke shook his head, his Sharingan turning off. He wanted to conserve energy for his fight. "No, amount of chakra doesn't necessarily mean victory." Sakura frowned, looking at Hinata intently. "Come on Hinata," she said, gripping the railing of the box so tightly her knucles turned white.

XxX

Hinata decided not to answer Neji and instead rushed inside his guard, almost hitting him with two quick strikes, yet Neji managed to dodge and counterattack. Hinata blocked the three strikes, returning with one of her own that was blocked, yet she jumped spinning and launched a kick, yet Neji blocked it. Neji pushed against the leg, making Hinata unbalanced. As she landed she stumbled and Neji shot forwards, his hand already moving. He struck her in the arm, yet Hinata used her out of control moment and swept with her legs, knocking Neji's legs from under him, making the blow a glancing one. Both of them hit the ground before rolling back onto their feet, a decent distance away from each other now.

Neji frowned, shooting forwards, yet Hinata decided to stay still, barely shifting her foot. Neji, feeling gutsy, rushed directly into her, just as she began to spin. "Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven)!" Hinata shouted. A dome of chakra expanded around her as she rotated, creating a spinning dome of chakra guarding every angle of attack. Neji, unable to stop himself in time, rammed into the dome and was sent flying, landing harshly. Hinata stopped the defensive technique, dropping into her stance once again. Neji rose, blood trailing from the side of his head. "Hinata! You will regret that!"

Hinata shook her head. 'Forgive me cousin. But you must let go of this hatred.' "No, I will not."

XxX

"Goodjob Hinata!" Naruto shouted, pumping his fist in the air, acting just as wild as Ino was about Shikamaru. "Kick his ass!" Margaret watched the blonde with amused satisfaction. "Naruto, with the way you're cheering it's almost as if she's your girlfriend."

Naruto looked at Margaret like she was an idiot. "She is."

And Naruto regretted saying that the instant he said it. It was like a nuclear bomb had just went off as Ino, Margaret, and Tenten immediately started bombarding him with questions faster than he could even think to respond.

"When?"

"Who asked who?"

"Why you?"

"Why her?"

"Why didn't you ask my permission!"

Naruto felt very self-conscious to say the least as he slowly began to answer their questions. Kiba watched the blonde with a strange look.

XxX

Hinata heard Naruto's cheering and smiled. "Neji," she stated, gathering his attention. "Let's say fate exists."

Neji looked confused at her but nodded nonetheless. "If fate is a millstone, then we are the grist. You believe there is nothing we can do. But I do. And for that I wish for strength, a strength I achieved. And with this strength, I will protect my family from that wheel. But if I cannot, then I will use my blade, and all my strength, and with that blade, I will shatter fate!"

The entire crowd looked stunned by Hinata's speech, several of them impressed, yet Neji was an exception. "You think it's all so easy don't you? To run away from fate! Well it's not! You can deny it as long as you want, but fate exists. Think of all the one in a million people chosen to be Hokage! Do you think they were just randomly selected because they were strong! No, plenty of people are strong! They were chosen, by fate! That's why a person like the one you admire, no one like Naruto Uzumaki can ever become Hokage! They were not chosen."

"Even if you are right," Hinata cried. "Even if you are right, what gives you the right to say who was chosen and who wasn't?" Neji was silent at this. "You don't have it! Naruto is the most worthy shinobi I know to become Hokage, and I will help him achieve this goal!"

Neji glared at his sister. "Fate will make you fail."

"Then I'll just break it!"

Hinata and Neji rushed each other, engaging in a flurry of strikes. Hinata lashed out with a palm strike to the stomach, however Neji blocked and hit her arms with two stikes. Hinata stumbled backwards, noticing Neji lash out with another strike that she blocked. She pushed Neji's hand out of the way, striking forwards with two strikes in succession, however Neji blocked both, a look of concentration on his face.

'He isn't getting distracted anymore. It's going to be harder now.'

Neji stepped forwards, getting into Hinata's guard and lashing out with a palm strike, however because of the closeness of their bodies he wasn't able to put much force into it. However, it did its job. Hinata coughed, blood spitting from her mouth. Neji smirked, spinning and hitting Hinata in the neck with a choip, sending her sprawling into the dirt.

Hinata groaned, attempting to rise yet Neji was not feeling kicked her upwards before he cocked a hand backwards. "Shōtei (Palm Bottom)!" Neji shot his palm forwards in a precise, quick thrust, striking Hinata's side. The affect was clear. Hinata spat blood, being sent flying from the violently force of the attack. Hinata coughed up even more blood as her body hit the wall, jarring with it violently. Hinata hit the ground with a thud, not moving.

XxX

Tenten looked on in shock and worry. "You're taking things to far Neji," she mumbled, balling her palms into fists. She clenched so tightly her knucles went white.

"Bastard," Naruto hissed in a low tone of voice, already debating going down there to beat the crap out of Neji. "I'll beat the crap of the stuck-up little ass of his!" Choji had stopped eating, looking at Hinata laying sprawled on the ground, quite surprised. "Hinata…" Choji mumbled, looking at her with pity. 'I wouldn't want to be in her situation,' Choji thought. Ino shared those thoughts, looking on the young Hyuga with pity.

Kiba himself was out of his seat, screaming at the top of his lungs. "Bastard!" Kiba looked fully ready to go down there and beat the leaving daylights out of Neji, however a sharp look from Kurenai silenced him. However he still glared at Neji with a deep hatred. He was even shocked his sensei was reacting as calmly as she was.

However, Kurenari was not calm. If anything she was furious and worried about Hinata. She sent a look at Guy, who looked at her with an apologetic look. "He's being a bit rough out there for a fellow shinobi, especially one of the same clan. When they're first cousins."

Guy looked at the ground in shame, apologizing to Kurenai vocally, although he couldn't find it in himself to look her in the eye. Kakashi sighed, looking at the duo. "This could prove troublesome," he whispered so no one but himself could hear it, even with Naruto's and Kiba's enhanced senses.

XxX

"Nee-san!" Hanabi cried out, tears falling from her eyes in seeing her older sister getting beaten by her first cousin. Hiashi was silent, watching on. 'Hinata…I gave you my permission to use it. You could have won this match instantly. What are you waiting for?'

XxX

The Sandaime Hokage looked on in shock of Neji's brutal actions against his own kin. 'I knew the boy had strong hatred…but this is of a level that surpasses that of Sasuke.'

The Kazekage looked at Hiruzen with mild surprise. "Hokage-dono, please excuse me if this offends you, but what has happened to Konoha? To let its shinobi desecrate each other so?"

Hiruzen was silent. He would not give the Kazekage the satisfaction of his response.

But he feared being silent was worse.

XxX

Hinata slowly rose, gnashing her teeth together as she did so. She shook, leaning against the wall as she looked at her cousin. "Why Neji?"

Neji looked at her with surprise, halting his sprint. He was going to strike her down, but for some reason he found himself intrigued in what she was going to say. Hinata looked at him with a kindness only she could radiate. "Why do you hate the main branch? You never told me."

Neji was silent, his eyes hard. He stood before his gaze left Hinata, looking up at Hiashi. He slowly put his hands up, untying his headband. As he brought his hands down a mark could be seen on his forehead, a mark that caused Hinata to gasp. "What is that?"

"A curse mark," Neji stated. "I was four years old when the leaders of our clan branded this symbol on my head with their curse mark jutsu. On that same day, a great celebration took place in the Hidden Leaf. You should know, Konoha and Kumo had finally ended their war with a peace treaty. The head cloud ninja came to join in the celebration. However, you should also know the Hyuga's were absent. You would know…it was your third birthday."

Hinata was silent, looking at the symbol in horror. "Lord Hiashi is sitting up there, you know that. And you also know of your uncle Hizashi, my father. What you don't know is that they're twins."

Hinata looked mortified, completely surprised at this information. "What…" she mumbled, but Neji did not give her any time to react to his statement.

XxX

Hiashi looked on in shame at Neji. Hanabi, confused looked up at her father. "Tou-san, what's that on Neji's head? And what's he talking about?"

Hiashi was silent, despite the pressure in the clan room.

XxX

"However, your father entered into the world first as the first born, so he is head of the family. You should know how the branch family existed. My father was exiled to the Branch family. It was then, the day that you turned three; that the curse mark was put on me and I was made a bird in a cage. By my own uncle."

"Why would my father do something like that? It doesn't make sense! There's no point!"

Neji snorted. "I will assure you it's not for decoration. Do you remember the time that you trained with your father when my father and I watched you?"

Hinata nodded.

Neji frowned. "Do you remember how my father screamed in pain after your father made a handseal?"

Hinata nodded. "That was the curse mark," Neji stated. "This is more than a mark Hinata. This mark showcases how the Main family keeps the Branch family in check. We fear them, because they can use this mark to turn our brains to jelly. Any…time…they…wish."

Hinata looked mortified. "This is how the Byakugan's power is kept sealed away, by the Branch family fearing the Main branch every day of their lives."

Hinata fell to her knees, looking at the ground. "No way," she mumbled, unable to believe her clan, her father, could do something like this. "It can't be true."

XxX

Hiashi was silent, staring at Hinata. He ignored Hanabi's look of shock and confusion. 'Hinata…' Hiashi thought.

XxX

"You should know why we exist Hinata. To protect the Hyuga's unique version of kekkei genkai from those who would steal it. That is the Branch family's destiny. At least, until they went to far, when you're father went too far. When he murdered my father!"

The silence in the arena was so thick it was tangible. "One night, someone entered the Main Household and abducted you. Your father caught and killed the man. However, who was the intruder? It was the head cloud ninja of the Land of Lightning, the one who just signed an alliance with us. He was after the Byakugan, obviously. And he chose the right family to attack. But the Land of Lightning was shocked, and claimed the Leaf was in violation of the treaty and demanded recompense. Things got worse until war almost broke out again. However, because Konoha did not want war they agreed to Kumo's terms. A life, for a life. The person who killed their ninja, your father, must die."

XxX

Hanabi looked at Hiashi preparing to vocalize her confusion, however she couldn't find the words to do so. She was in to much shock.

XxX

Hinata looked confused. "But my father is-"

Neji cut her off. "Exactly. He's still alive. A man was killed, but it was not Hiashi. My father was killed in his place, in order to protect the Main Household! Only in death was my father free of this curse mark! This is why destiny exists. Because despite how similar they were, their destinies were determined at birth, when your father was born first. This match is the same. Your destiny was decided the second I was chosen as your opponent."

Hinata looked silent. "It's your destiny to lose to me, and that's it. It's nothing personal."

XxX

"Bastard," Naruto mumbled, causing Tenten to look at him. "How can you hate him for going through that?" Naruto gave Tenten a look that said even Neji hadn't gone through the worst. "Tenten, what Neji went through was horrible, a pain that few can even cope with, and for that I respect him. But that still doesn't give him the right to say who has what destiny!"

Kakashi smiled. 'Spoken exactly like Kushina.' Guy smirked at the saying. Kurenai couldn't help but smirk also.

"Naruto," Anko said, appearing out of thin air next to Kakashi. "You have got a point," she said solemnly.

XxX

Hinata slowly rose. "Really?" She rose to her feet, glaring defiantly at Neji. "We won't know that unless you beat me will we? You went through a lot Neji, but that doesn't give you the right to say who has what destiny.'

Neji simply stared before he put his headband back on. "It wasn't fair that your father was killed in my fathers place." Hinata began. "I understand. But that's got nothing to do with destiny."

Neji snarled. "You will never understand!"

Neji's Byakugan surged as he activated it again, Hinata countering with her own. "No Neji," she stated. "I won't, because I'm not you. But I can make you understand," she stated before rushing forth, an action mirrored by Neji. The two engaged in a fierce flurry of strikes in the center of arena, however Neji was pushing Hinata back as she was still injured from Neji's jutsu from before. She groaned as she felt a palm strike hit her center again followed by two quick jabs with Neji's fingers that she felt close off her tenketsu. Hinata stumbled backwards, fearing Neji might stop her from using her ace in the hole, but Neji was on her in an instant, slamming a palm into her chin and sending her flying into the air.

Hinata coughed, blood shooting from her mouth as she looked down at Neji with blurry vision. 'Neji-nii…I can't let you wallow in hatred. As the future Head of the Hyuga Clan, I cannot allow it!'

Hinata began to spin midair as she came downwards, a cold look of confidence in her eyes. "Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven)!" Neji's eyes widened as the sphere of protect chakra spun around Hinata, descending on him like a meteor. "She's creative I'll give her that," Neji mumbled before he spun in the opposite direction of Hinata's spin to cancel her out. "Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven)!"

The two defensive techniques clashed as Hinata's jutsu hit Neji's own the two grinding against each other fiercly and causing explosions of chakra to shoot outwards, the dome's shrinking with each pulse.

XxX

"What the heck are they doing," Sakura called, hiding her eyes as the pulses of chakra caused powerful gusts of wind. Sasuke frowned, his Sharingan even not explaining it all to clearly. "I think because they're jutsu's are made of chakra as they pump chakra out of their bodies the collision between the two forces sends any chakra in contact with each other flying. But if this keeps up…the fickle balance they have now will destabilize!"

Shino looked at Sasuke before he glanced at the field. 'Balance,' Shino thought a kikaichu landing on his finger. 'Broken,' he thought.

XxX

Shino proved to be correct as the two jutsu destabilized that instant, sending an explosion of chakra outwards and the duo of Hyuga flying into separate parts of the wall of the arena. A massive dust cloud cloaked the entire arena, leaving a tense silence in the stands and competitors booth, each eagerly looking in to see who had won the clash.

XxX

"Hinata," Naruto mumbled, watching with worry. Kiba, a little put off at Naruto's more than natural concern, still looked down with an equal amount of concern. "Who won," Ino asked impatiently, completely ignoring the mood.

XxX

As the smoke finally cleared it revealed Neji coming out of the wall facing Hinata on one knee. Both of them looked completely exhausted, yet Hinata still had the confidence in her eyes. "This is the end Neji-nii." Neji nodded. "This is the end Hinata. You're in my field of divination after all." Neji bent down into a specific stance, glaring at Hinata whose eyes widened as she recognized the technique.

"There's no way," she mumbled.

Neji smirked as he said the name, "Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)."

XxX

Hiashi stood up from his chair, surprising many of the other clan heads and elders, however he ignored them. The shock he felt was too great as he watched Neji prepared to perform one of the Hyuga's most prestigious techniques.

"No way, that's a Main Household technique! How did he come across it!"

Tobiume glanced at his son, displeasure on his face. "It seems he is like his father," he stated, getting Hiashi to look at him in shock. "What are you talking about?"

Tobiume frowned. "You never learned, but I watched your brother train in secret one time and saw him perform the technique. It was to the perfection one would expect of a Main Household member…and he did the technique before you were even capable of doing it."

Hiashi looked tongue-tied, unable to deal with what his father was telling him.

"What…" he mumbled. "Hizashi…did what?"

XxX

Hinata looked worried, dropping into a stance as Neji rushed her. "Don't bother trying to use Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven), you won't have the time to pull it off!" However, Hinata simply pushed chakra from her body at a rapid rate, surprising the crowd.

XxX

"Hinata…she still has so much chakra! But how? That clash should have drained her much more than it did Neji," Sasuke stated, confused. Shino also looked confused, looking at the Hyuga with an unknown expression on his face. 'This is…unexpected.'

XxX

"Hinata still has all that chakra left in her," Choji claimed, almost dropping his food. "How? That clash should have put her in a state of chakra exhaustion." Margaret also looked confused, looking at Kurenai, hoping she'd know the answer. Kurenai shrugged. "I didn't train her over the month. If you want answers look at the girl's father."

Naruto looked at her. "I might just do that," he stated.

XxX

Hiashi looked back at the arena, a stern look on his face. "Father…Hizashi was a better shinobi than me if what you state is true."

Tobiume glared at his son, preparing to scold him, however Hiashi cut him off. "Yet, it seems you're mistaken. That technique is useless against Hinata."

Tobiume looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

Hiashi smirked. "You see father, Hinata is immune to the Juken in-it-of-itself. You're about to see why."

XxX

A cloak of dense chakra shrouded Hinata is the shape of lion. Neji, despite his confusion launched his technique, however he was stunned when none of his blows got passed Hinata's chakra shroud or even sent her stumbling backwards.

Hinata looked at Neji with cold, hard, determination. "Juken: Gādianraion-shin (Gentle Step: Guardian Lion God)." Neji's eyes widened, completely unable to comprehend the fact that Hinata had effectively negated his jutsu without so much as moving a muscle.

"What," Neji mumbled. "What did you just do!"

XxX

Sakura was about to ask Sasuke for information, however Shino interrupted her. "She forced a good amount of chakra out of her body to form an armor around here that is very powerful. Usually Neji could pierce through chakra-based substances, however the jutsu Hinata is using seems to repel any and all foreign chakra, similar to the Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven)."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't Neji be able to pierce through that too," Sakura asked, confused as to why the chakra armor still stopped Neji's attack. Shino frowned, although Sakura couldn't see it. "That is the confusing part. Neji should, theoretically, be capable of piercing through the defensive jutsu, however, because the Juken: Gādianraion-shin (Gentle Step: Guardian Lion God) seems to negate any other chakra from affecting it. I don't know how."

Sakura looked at Sasuke for an explanation but he shrugged. "I can't make any sense of it."

Sakura frowned, 'So I don't know how to counter it.'

XxX

Naruto whistled, quite impressed. "Damn, I don't know when Hinata learned that, but that's a really impressive jutsu." Ino nodded. "Yeah, I can't believe she beat Neji like that. She basically stopped what he thought would be the deciding jutsu without moving!"

Tenten looked shocked as she saw Neji backing away from Hinata, unable to make sense of what she did. She looked towards Naruto, but he was clearly too enamored in the technique to actually know what it did. Kiba cheered, pumping his fist into the air. "Good going Hinata! Now's your chance!"

XxX

Tobiume couldn't believe his eyes. He couldn't believe he watched one of the Hyuga's most powerful techniques be countered…by a failure no less! "What have you done! You have made the Hyuga appear weak!"

Hiashi looked at his father as if he were an idiot. "Father, a Hyuga is the one using the technique. I fail to see how that makes us look weak."

Tobiume looked ready to snap, but Hiashi continued. "Besides, a technique like the one I taught Hinata is not capable of being copied by a non-Hyuga. Calm yourself."

Tobiume looked absolutely livid, but Hiashi ignored his father, preferring to watch the match. 'Now win Hinata.'

XxX

"An impressive ninjutsu for one so young," The Kazekage stated, getting the Hokage to nod. "Yes, I never knew about the Hyuga being capable of using such effective ninjutsu. They are growing to become quite the prominent clan in Konoha." The Kazekage nodded, looking at Hinata with a strange look in his eye. "Quite a prominent clan indeed."

XxX

Hinata wasted no time explaining to Neji how she did what she did, she didn't have enough time to spare doing that. She was running low on chakra. She could only maintain the jutsu for a mere matter of seconds as it drained too much of her chakra. Hinata rushed forwards, slamming a palm in Neji's chest that sent him flying backwards, blood shooting from her mouth. Hinata appeared behind him, slamming a palm into his back and sending him flying into the air. Neji laid sprawled out in the air when Hinata appeared above him, launching another palm strike. The strike landed violently with Neji's stomach sending him crashing into the ground. Hinata landed in front of him, the chakra armor fading as she began to breathe heavily, completely exhausted. She had put her all into that, if Neji got back up she would have lost.

It was a good thing for her that when the smoke cleared, Neji was completely out of it.

Genma smirked, looking at Hinata as he raised a hand towards her. "The winner is, Hinata Hyuga."

Hinata was shocked from the loud applause from the crowd, smiling and giving them a slight wave. She slowly stood before she stumbled her way into the competitor's booth and promptly sat against the wall, still breathing heavily. Sakura walked up to Hinata, patting her shoulder. "Good job Hinata, you really showed Neji who was boss!"

Hinata smiled. "Thank you, Sakura-san." Sasuke simply looked at Hinata and gave her a nod, showing his feeling towards her victory. She couldn't help but smile upon getting recognition from the Uchiha. He had never actually acknowledged her, but knowing that she impressed him, knowing that she impressed everyone felt good.

XxX

Naruto and Kiba were promptly hit on the head by Margaret, irritated by their obsessive cheering. "Bumbling idiots," she muttered as she stalked away from the two boys, irritated by them. Choji laughed at the duo, eating his chips although he was still fairly impressed with Hinata's performance. In all honesty she had not expected the Hyuga to win.

Tenten looked floored. On one hand she was shocked Neji had lost, believing it to be impossible, but on another level she was glad he had lost. Hopefully it would change his attitude. Still, to see Hinata do it no less, she was totally outdone. She hadn't expected such a good fight out of the shy Hyuga, despite the fact that she had seemed to grow exponentially from when she first met her.

Naruto himself couldn't have been prouder of Hinata. 'She kicked Neji's ass! Of course I wanted to do that myself, but Hinata doing it is better. And she also gave me a hint on creating the Kaze no Kago (Divine Protection of Wind).'

XxX

"I must say Hokage-dono, that the genin of Konoha show much promise." Sarutobi smiled at the Kazekage. "Well, we do train them to uphold our beliefs. It seems Hinata has truly taken to that. She has shown a lot of improvement here."

The Kazekage, had to agree. Hinata was very impressive in that fight. 'Very impressive.'

This was supposed to be updated yesterday. Sorry about that. Anyways, yup Hinata won, and in a pretty flashy way also. And Naruto and Hinata had a tender moment on the Hokage Monument with the duo kissing and Naruto revealing the pent up emotions he'd been feeling to her. That brought their relationship a lot closer on a personal level. But I can't really talk right now, so later.