Neji stands facing Naruto, eager for this fight. Naruto, Neji believes, is his equal.
"Do you have anything to say to me?" Neji asks.
"Only what I said before," says Naruto. "I WILL beat you, Neji Hyuuga."
Neji smirks, waiting for Naruto to make the first move.
Naruto pulls out a brush and charges forward, painting a design on his hand. "Fuuin: Lightning Cannon!" A burst of lightning shoots out of the design Naruto drew on his palm.
Neji dodges, running behind Naruto, who managed to get in range. Neji strikes Naruto's wrists, carefully blocking his opponent's chakra flow. Naruto spins around, placing the brush between his teeth and aiming a punch at Neji's face. Neji evades him easily, and carefully strikes more of the chakra points on Naruto's arms. Naruto keeps up his attack, but Neji soon realizes he is in control of the fight. He strikes Naruto's shoulder, blocking the chakra point which channels chakra into the arm, sending Naruto flying backwards.
"So it seems like does attract like after all," sneers Neji. "You are just as weak as Hinata."
"Oh shut up," says Naruto, pulling himself up off the ground. "I was just getting a feel for how you fight. But now that I'm done, let's get serious." Naruto makes a handsign Neji is unfamiliar with - one that is basically just a cross. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Four more Narutos appear.
Neji inspects them with his byakugan. Naruto's chakra is distributed evenly among the clones, making it impossible to tell which is real. This is no ordinary clone jutsu. Neji adjusts his stance and waits.
All five Narutos pull out kunai and charge Neji but Neji easily fights them off and dispels them. One Naruto is left standing. Neji is disappointed. "I thought you were my equal," Neji says scornfully. "But I was wrong. You are nothing but a talentless loser. There is no place for someone like you in the shinobi world. Give up now while you still can." He remembers Naruto saying something about wanting to be Hokage. "You think you can be Hokage? What a joke. Of all the shinobi in the world, very few ever become Hokage. They were destined to be Hokage: their fate was decided at birth. It is fooling to waste your time being something you can never be. Each person is given their own path to follow, and we all must follow it, obediently, to the end. There is only one destiny we all share equally: death."
"Oh yeah?" sneers Naruto. "You can think that way if you want. But I don't believe it, 'tebayo!" he makes that hand sign again. "Shadow Clone jutsu!" a lot of Narutos spawn this time. Too many to count in the heat of battle, but Neji estimates about 50.
Naruto's clones begin to attack Neji in groups of three or four. As Neji fights them, dispelling them a few at a time, he sees one Naruto holding back. "You thought you could deceive me?" says Neji, turning towards that Naruto, who is obviously the real one.
"Yes," says one of the clones, as four of them box him in, drawing seals in the air like Karin did in her match against Kabuto. Neji realizes what Naruto is about to do and prepares to counter. "Fuuin: Wrath of the Shinigami!"
As the combination of fire, earth, lighting and blizzard bears down on Neji, he activates the jutsu he spent years of hard training alone perfecting. The Heavenly Spin: a technique taught only to the Main House. The fuuinjutsu bounces off Neji's shield and takes out all of Naruto's shadow clones, and sending the real Naruto flying backwards.
Naruto pulls himself into a sitting position. "What was that?" he asks.
"Did you really think you'd won?" asks Neji. What possessed him to to think NARUTO was his equal? "This is the end for you. You are in range, and you can't escape my Eight Trigrams." Neji prepares to launch his attack. The diagram forms on the ground. "Gentle Fist:" says Neji, taking the stance. "Eight Trigrams, 64 Palms." Keeping his movements smooth and fluid, Neji strikes. "Two Palms, Four Palms, Eight Palms, 16 Palms, 32 Palms, 64 Palms!" Naruto flies backwards, blood flying out of his mouth. Neji finishes by slipping back into his normal gentle fist stance as Naruto hits the ground.
The proctor walks over to them and says, "It looks like this is over."
Naruto is still conscious. After a few seconds, he pulls himself back to his feet.
"Impossible!" says Neji, not quite believing his eyes.
Sparky watches Naruto's match with interest from his perch on Hinata's shoulder. Sparkles was not allowed in the arena, and wants all the juicy details about how Naruto beats up that Neji kid. Sparky could have done that from anywhere, but he is worried about Hinata. While everyone around him is becoming increasingly more impressed by Naruto and Neji's jutsu, Sparky is becoming increasingly worried about Hinata.
Hinata coughs a little and Sparky notices the tiniest speck of blood on the human's hand. Sparky looks around, searching for someone he knows is a medic. There! Right over there is Wind! Except that it is not the Wind he has met before. The clothing is identical, and so is their approximate height and build. To anyone not paying close attention, they would seem identical. There must be two Winds. But everyone who knows anything about Wind knows she is a medic. So either both are medics, or one never goes on missions that require a medic.
Sparky is about to find out. He flies off Hinata's shoulder and swoops over to Wind. He lands on her leg and squawks loudly. Here's hoping this Wind is as smart as the other one. Stupid humans and their under-200 IQ levels! Why couldn't they be smart like him? Heck, even Sparkles is smarter than the humans, and his IQ is only 200-and-something, unlike Sparky's, which is well over 300.
Thankfully, this Wind is as smart as the other Wind. "What's the matter?" she asks, softly. "Perhaps you had better show me."
Sparky flies into the air and swoops back over to Hinata, who is now coughing terribly.
"Hinata!" Kiba is saying. "You must still be injured from your match."
"Hey is there a medic anywhere?" one of the gate guards, who are sitting beside Hinata and Kiba, says.
The other Wind realizes what is happening and rushes over to Hinata. "Excuse me," she says. "May I help?"
"Who are you?" asks Kiba, instinctively moving between Hinata and Wind.
"It is alright," says Wind soothingly. "You can trust me. My name is Wind. She carefully scoops up Hinata and carries her to the back of the stands. Sparky follows, wondering why there are two Winds. Perhaps there are even two Rains.
Sparky struts back and forth beside Hinata while Wind #2 heals her. It would not do for Naruto to win his match only to find that Hinata died during it. Finally the colour comes back to Hinata's cheeks.
Wind stops healing Hinata and says, "She will be alright now, she just needs rest."
Sparky sees the tell-tale glint of contact lenses in Wind's eyes as she turns away, showing the shadowy top half of her face for an instant. Sparky is sure Wind #1 did not wear contact lenses. Ah the plot thickens.
"Just give up," says Neji. "You're only going to get more of the same. I have nothing against you personally."
"Aw, that's so sweet of you," says Naruto, bitterly. "You're gonna make me cry! You might not have anything against me, but I have PLENTY against you!"
"I don't know what you mean," says Neji, glaring at Naruto. "What could you possibly have against me?"
"Oh so you don't remember?" says Naruto, his voice more acidic than a ten meter square vat of boiling acid. "You don't remember how you beat down Hinata and shattered her confidence in herself, tormenting her with your little mind games?"
"Never mind that," says Neji, dismissively. "It doesn't concern you."
"You're wrong! It does concern me!" snaps Naruto. "Or did you forget that Hinata is my best friend? I don't care about your stupid in-clan quarrel, but don't you EVER hurt Hinata AGAIN!" Naruto glares at Neji. "Why are you so concerned with destiny anyway? Why do you hate Hinata so much?"
"Very well," says Neji, unsure why he suddenly feels the need to tell Naruto his life's story, despite the fact he vowed he would not say anything on the subject before the match. "Since you're so interested, I will tell you about the Hyuuga Clan's Heritage of Hatred."
"Well, isn't this getting intense?" purrs the leader of the Hidden Sound.
Hiruzen wasn't going to let the leader of the Sound sit in the Kage box, but then he met her and thought it would be gentlemanly to let the lady have the best seat in the house. Besides, the Kazekage doesn't seem to mind. It has nothing to do with the fact that the leader of the Hidden Sound, who refuses to give her name (he has to guess), is a beauty like something out of one of Jiraiya's novels. Such long, flowing dark hair and golden eyes! Such large breasts and such- No. Nothing to do with that. Nothing at all.
"Can't the proctor just call the match already?" grumbles young Rasa the Kazekage. "That Hyuuga has obviously won."
"Oh don't be so grumpy, Lord Kazekage," pouts the leader of the Hidden Sound. "I want to hear all about the Hyuuga clan."
Behind Hiruzen, Fugaku sighs.
"Arg, fine," mumbles Rasa.
Hiruzen wonders where Orochimaru will strike from. Hiruzen will protect the lovely princess from the Hidden Sound if Orochimaru targets her as well. Maybe she'll give him a kiss in gratitude. Just like in one of Jiraiya's novels…
Where is Jiraiya, anyway? He hasn't been in the village for years.