Naruto: Journal of Hope

After the second half of the Chunin Exams Naruto is passed over by Kakashi to train Sasuke. Angry, he storms out and runs far away to an almost forgotten place. There he stumbles across a journal, written by his mother and holding the secrets of his lineage. Inspired by his parents' love, hope and dreams, he decides to become the Ninja his parents believed he could be.

Chapter X: Fate vs Guts

The morning sun rose upon the Village of Konoha as Naruto stood in front of his mirror. He had woken up an hour earlier, and he found himself feeling a sense of anxiety about the upcoming battle. Seeing as he couldn't get back to sleep, he decided it was best to be proactive and changed from his tattered clothing to the new outfit Jiraiya had gifted him.

His new outfit consisted of a black long-sleeved zip-up hoodie, with two thin Orange Stripes down each arm, an orange interior in the hood and an orange T-Shirt. Black pants with matching sandals and black fingerless gloves with metal plating on the hands. The blue cloth of his headband had been swapped out for the black one, but still retained the metal from Iruka Sensei. On his forearms and shins were the light grey shinobi shin pads and arm guards with the scroll harness strapped to his left leg. The Scroll Harness held two Sealing Scrolls as he patted them to make sure they were secure. The last item was the dark red leather shinobi chest armour that had the Uzumaki Clan Symbol stamped on the front.

His fingers brushed against the slightly faded family crest as he felt a sense of weight to it. The legacy of his clan now rested on his shoulders, and he wasn't planning on letting them down.

"Today's the day…" he said to himself as he looked in the mirror, and then patted the small journal he had sealed inside his pouch. "Mum…Dad…wish me luck…" he said as he left the apartment. Deciding to take a more scenic route to the stadium, where the finals were to be held.

Along the way, he mentally went over everything he needed for the upcoming fight. He made sure his weapons were sharp, his scrolls sealed and strategy in mind. Of course, it all depended on how far Neji had progressed himself in the last month and how much he would have to alter his plans on the fly.

'Still…my real concern…is Gaara…' he thought as memories about the Sand Shinobi stirred up. 'If he is the Jinchuriki of the One-Tails like Pervy Sage says, then Sasuke might not be able to defeat him and he'll end up like Lee. But I think that won't happen this time. But if Sasuke can't beat him, will I be strong enough to?' he worried before he felt a small breeze and felt as if the wind was directing his gaze to the Hokage Mountain and the face of his father.

'...No…I have to beat him…because he and I…are the same…and I want to help him,' he thought as he walked past the hospital. He blinked when he saw Hinata, bowing to the doctor as she was discharged.

"Hey! Hinata!" he yelled as Hinata nearly jumped out of her own skin.

"N-Naruto-Kun! W-what are you doing here!?" she yelped as Naruto pointed.

"I'm on my way to the stadium, I've got a little time so I wanted to take the scenic route, you just got discharged?" he asked as she nodded.

"Y-Yes…the doctors said I've recovered enough that I no longer need to be in the hospital. But I need to be careful and not over-exert myself," she said as Naruto sighed.

"That's a relief," he said as she blushed and twiddled her fingers together. "So, you on your way to the stadium?" he asked as Hinata nodded.

"Yes…Um…y-you changed your clothes I see," she said as she blushed at his new appearance.

"Yeah, during my training my old gear got wrecked, luckily I was able to get some new clothes. Although, it doesn't have as much Orange as I'd like," he said as he fiddled with the clothes.

"I-I think you look really cool…in anything…" she said as Naruto blinked and then grinned.

"Yeah, I am pretty awesome! And so are you Hinata!" he said with a grin as she blushed. "So, you want to walk with me to the Stadium?" he asked as she blushed.

"I-I would like to, but Kiba was going to meet me at the training grounds so that we'd go together," she said as Naruto felt somewhat disappointed.

"Oh, I see…" he said, as they both stood in silence. "Then, how about I wait with you?"

"N-No, you can't do that Naruto-Kun, your match is up first. I'll be fine," she said as Naruto sighed.

"Yeah, but not for another hour. I'll have plenty of time, plus I kind of like hanging out with you, you're a lot of fun," he said with a grin as Hinata blushed deep red. "By the way…I forgot to ask but, were you okay?" he asked as she blinked in confusion. "With Gaara…that guy, he's pretty scary wasn't he?" he said as she nodded.

"Y-Yes…" she said as she lowered her head. "I saw him before, in the forest…he killed a team of Rain Shinobi…like they were nothing…" she said as Naruto gasped a little. "It was…it was terrifying…I honestly thought I was going to d-die…" she said as she trembled slightly. "Seeing him again in Lee's room…I…I felt that same fear again…" she as Naruto cursed himself.

"Hinata…I'm sorry, if I had known, I'd have never dragged you with me," he said as she shook her head.

"I-it's okay…I wasn't as scared as the last time, because…I was near you…" she said as he blinked and she blushed. "W-whenever I'm near you I-I don't feel as scared anymore…y-you make me feel s-safe…a-and it makes me happy knowing you cared…" she said as she hid her face behind her hands. "I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to bother you with my rambling!" she said and shook her head as Naruto stared before grinning.

"Nah, it's all good. I'm glad you feel that way Hinata, thanks…" he said as held out his fist. "And don't worry, I will always protect the people I care about, even you!" he said as she smiled with a blush and nodded, slowly bumping her fist into his.

"Thank you…Naruto-Kun…" she said as she felt a warmth in her heart. Right before he and Hinata heard a Bark and turned to see Kiba and Akamaru walking towards him.

"Oh, Hey Hianta! I thought we were going to meet up at the Training grounds, what are you still doing at the hospital?" he asked as he walked over to them.

"K-Kiba! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hold you up!" she said as Kiba shrugged.

"Eh, it's no big deal. We just happened to be passing by when - hey…is that, Naruto?" he asked and spotted the newly dressed Naruto. "Got yourself some new clothes, huh? Now you don't look like a living bullseye," Kiba asked as he smirked.

"Least I don't smell like a dog's breath," Naruto remarked as Kiba felt a blood vessel appear on his forehead.

"What was that!?"

"You heard me! Dog breath!"

"Noodle noggin!"

"Fleabag!"

"Enough!" Hinata suddenly shouted as both Naruto and Kiba snapped to Hinata in surprise, the young girl herself just as surprised by the sudden outburst. "I-I'm sorry, but please don't fight," she said as Naruto and Kiba slowly nodded.

"O-Okay…" they both said as they glared at each other.

"What are you doing here anyway Naruto? Shouldn't you be at the stadium?" he asked as Naruto nodded.

"I was just on my way when I ran into Hinata, and figured I would walk with her," he said as Kiba raised a brow.

"Really…huh…since when have you two been so close?" he asked, gesturing between the two. "Before, you two could barely talk to each other,"

"Oh, I visited Hinata because I wanted some advice on Neji, we got to talking and well. She's a lot of fun to hang around!" he said with a grin as Kiba raised a brow.

"I see…well since we're all here might as well get going huh?" Kiba said as Hinata and Naruto nodded. "Besides, I wouldn't want to miss your match, still annoyed that you progressed further than I did. Only because you farted in my face," he grumbled as Hinata shook her head.

"Kiba, that's not-"

"No, it's okay…" Naruto said as he sighed. "Listen Kiba…I'm sorry about that, it may have helped me win the battle, but I kind of felt bad about it. Not how I wanted to win, so how about after the exams, you and I go one on one? But first I need to make Neji see he's wrong about Hinata and make him pay," he said with determination as Kiba blinked at the boy.

He was honestly a little surprised at the maturity of Naruto. He half expected him to deny it, and say that it was part of his plan. But seeing him admit it, and even wanting a rematch from him made Kiba realize that Naruto wasn't the same as he was a month ago. And the determination in his eyes was stronger than usual.

"... well…Okay, if you insist. But I won't go easy on you like last time, you got that!" Kiba said as Naruto nodded.

"Sure, no problem. Now, let's get going, I've got a match to win and an asshole that needs his head realigned," he said as he pounded his fist into his palm.

"Naruto-Kun, please don't be too harsh, Neji is-" Hinata begged as Naruto nodded.

"I know, he's still your cousin and it's not all his fault. I get that. But he still needs a good ass whooping, to make him see his views and ideas are wrong. And the only way it will get through his stubborn head is for me to beat it into him,"

"Takes a stubborn person to beat a stubborn person huh?" Kiba smirked as Naruto glared at him.

"Laugh it up, but remember who made it to the finals," Naruto said with a smirk as Kiba felt a blood vessel pop in his brain and he butted heads with Naruto.

"Oh yeah!? Just because you're in the finals doesn't mean you'll be promoted! We'll see who makes it Chunin first!" Kiba shouted as both of them shot lightning out of their eyes. While Hinata and Akamaru just sighed at them.

"Kiba, Naruto-Kun, we need to get going, or Naruto will be late," she said as Naruto and Kiba nodded and continued walking down the street.

"...Hey, Naruto… kick Neji's ass…" he said as Naruto nodded

"I will, that's my promise…" Naruto said as Kiba nodded.

"Good, and watch your back," Kiba said as Naruto looked at him. "That guy Sasuke's facing…Gaara…he's not someone you should mess with, there's something not right about him," he said as Naruto looked away.

"You have no idea…" Naruto muttered as he thought about the one person he met that could understand the life of a Jinchuriki.

Chunin Exam Stadium

The Stadium was packed with many shinobi, foreign and domestic dignitaries, businessmen, lords, Shinobi Leaders and potential clients as they looked down upon the assembled Chunin Examinees. Many of them had been taking bets on who would win the following matches. The first match would be between Neji Hyuga and Naruto Uzumaki. Many of them had seen Neji's and Naruto's profiles and had instantly drawn a conclusion that the Hyuga would win against some no-name brat.

However, the stat sheets they had been provided only had the statistics for the last month. None of them was up to date with the recent progress that many of the combatants had been through. So at this point, it was anyone's game about who would win, yet Naruto it seemed was already deemed a failure.

A lot of people were about to find out the hard way that they should never underestimate Naruto Uzumaki. In the stands, Sakura was looking concerned as she noticed Sasuke had yet to arrive and worried that it had something to do with the curse mark he got back in the forest.

"What is going on, it's going to start soon and Sasuke isn't here yet," Ino said as she looked amongst the participants while Sakura looked worried.

"I know…I'm getting worried," Sakura said as Ino looked at her old friend with concern.

"Hey, I'm sure Sasuke will be here, his match isn't till after Naruto's so he still has time," Ino tried to assure her as Sakura nodded. "Hey, speaking of, where is Naruto? I thought he'd be here by now?" she said as she looked amongst the teens. "You'd think we'd have spotted him wearing that much orange," she said as Sakura blinked and looked around.

"Hey, you're right. Where is Naruto? I could've sworn he was first up, it's not like him to be late for his own…wait a minute…" she said as she peered and spotted spiky blond hair amongst black and the red chest. "Ino, I think…I think that is Naruto?" she said as Ino blinked

"Huh, what are you talking about?" Ino asked as Sakura pointed.

"There, the one wearing the black and red, I think I can make out a bit of orange but…I think that is Naruto," she said as Ino looked a bit closer.

"Hey, I think you're right…whoa, he looks…kind of cool in black," Ino said as she looked over the Uzumaki. "Who'd have thought? He's still not as cool as Sasuke is!" she said as she crossed his arms. "Despite his new looks, I'm afraid this is as far as he'll get. Sorry Sakura, but my money's on Neji," she said as Sakura merely stared.

'No…something's different…' Sakura thought as she looked over at her teammate. 'He's not just dressed differently, there's something else…' she thought as she stared at him.

Naruto on the other hand was looking around as he too was wondering where Sasuke was. He had arrived on time and lined up with the rest of them. But his teammate was nowhere to be seen, nor even his sensei.

'Where is Sasuke, did he not fully heal in time?' Naruto observed as he looked around. 'That teme better not be late…or maybe it'd be best if he was, if he has to fight Gaara I don't know if he'll actually be able to beat him. No, just relax, I'm sure Kakashi Sensei knows what he's doing, you need to stay focused on your own match…' he thought as he looked over to Neji who didn't even give him a glance.

Shikamaru on the other hand noticed that the guy with the bandages and metal gauntlet that beat Chouji was absent.

'Odd, that Dosu guy isn't here either,' he thought as Shikamaru silently observed his surroundings.

"Hey, pay need to face the customers," Genma Shiranui said as he stood in place for his deceased comrade. "In this main tournament, you guys are the stars of the show. You represent the best of your villages, so you need to put on a good front," he said as Naruto nodded.

'Right, this is where I need to make a good impression if I want to be promoted to Chunin. Show them how much I've changed…and most of all…' he glared at the crowd. 'Show them who I really am,'

Meanwhile, up in the Kage's Box, the Third Hokage sat in his seat as he looked over the examinees. His eyes roamed over all the potential shinobi that wished to be promoted to Chunin and his eyes fell upon Naruto Uzumaki.

'Naruto…he looks so much like Minato right now. It seems his new training has changed him quite a bit. But is it enough to be promoted? Well, that remains to be seen…' he thought before he noticed Sasuke was still missing. "Sasuke still hasn't been found yet?" he asked as the leaf shinobi next to him, Raido, nodded.

"We have several teams of Anbu looking all over the village for Sasuke. But so far none have been able to locate him," he said before leaning closer to the Kage. "He may already be in the hands of Orochimaru. If that is the case, we may never be able to find him…" Raido said as Sarutobi hummed to himself.

"...Understood. But there is still a little more time left, he may be running late with Kakashi. The man has unfortunately picked up Obito's tardiness," he said before he turned to see the Kazekage and his entourage walking behind him. "Well, well. Lord Kazekage, it's an honour to meet you again," he said as the 'Kazekage' stared at the old man.

In the stadium, the three Sand Shinobi glared at their father. Gaara glared especially hard, as he felt a deep hatred for the man that had made his life a living hell. Naruto noticed the glare as he could almost understand the hatred he had. But in his mind, he knew his father loved him, and trusted him to keep the Nine-Tails in check.

The Kazekage took his seat beside Sarutobi as the Third Hokage smiled. "You must be very tired after travelling so far," he said as the Kazekage shook his head.

"None at all. I'm glad the finals are being held in the village. Even though you are still young I'd imagine it would be quite difficult to travel to another place. Shouldn't you retire and elect the Fifth Hokage by now?" he asked as Raido glared at the visiting Kage. But Sarutobi merely laughed.

"I'm not that old, I've still got a few more years left in me. I still plan to be Hokage for a few more years!" he joked.

Meanwhile, behind his mask as the Kazekage, Orochimaru smirked as he sat near his former mentor. 'That's right, laugh it up, old man. By the end of the day, the Village Hidden in the Leaves will be no more, and the line of Kage's will die with you…old man…' he smirked under his mask as Sarutobi stood up and addressed the crowd.

"Thank you everyone for coming! It is my great honour to welcome you all to the final rounds of the Chunin Exams! There are eight promising Shinobi that have made it through the preliminaries! They are the best of what each village can bring to the table, and we hope to see them advance to the rank of Chunin! Please stay and watch until the end!" Sarutobi announced as he sat back down.

"Eight? I see that one appears to be missing," the 'Kazekage' said while in the arena Genma turned to the seven.

"Before we begin, I'd like to make an announcement about the match selections," he said as he showed them a piece of paper with all eight of them. "Check who you are fighting to see if your match is correct," Genma said as Naruto glared.

'Odd, I was supposed to have an extra match after Dosu. But if he's not here, he must've forfeited…but then why not announce it before now?' Shikamaru pondered as he looked over his name placement and saw he was now fighting Temari in the fourth round.

"Excuse me?" Naruto said as he raised a hand. "What about Sasuke? He's not here yet, what happens to him?" he asked as Genma sighed.

"If he's not here before his match starts then he is automatically disqualified. Which means Gaara will advance to the next round, and then fight either you or the Hyuga," Genma explained as Naruto nodded.

'This is strange, there's no way Sasuke would miss his match. He's like me in that sense, won't turn back from a fight, so where is he and Kakashi sensei?' Naruto pondered as thought about his teammate while the Sand Ninjas worried that Gaara may have killed Sasuke.

"More than likely he will fight me," Neji said as Naruto turned to glare. "Our fight will be meaningless, fate has already decided the outcome," he said as he turned to Naruto and gave a mocking smirk. Naruto returned the glare and gripped his fist. But instead of lashing out, he breathed out calmly and let go of his anger.

'No, he's just trying to rile you up. Don't fall for it…' Naruto said to himself as his mind flashed back to the genjutsu trick. '...I won't make that mistake ever again…' he thought as Neji raised a brow but brushed it off.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch," Genma advised before he looked at the seven. "Now this arena is different from the previous one, but the rules are the same. In which there are no rules. You fight until either you die or one of you forfeits. But if I determine the fights over, I'll step in and stop you, understood?" he told them. "Now the first match is between Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Neji. You two stay here, the rest will follow me," he said and then guided the others to the viewing box.

Up in the stands, everyone was weighing in their thoughts about the upcoming match.

"This will be good," Kiba said as he sat next to Hinata who watched anxiously, worried about what could happen.

"Hate to say it Sakura, but against Neji, Naruto doesn't stand a chance," Ino said as Sakura stared at her teammate.

"This will be the easiest bet I've ever made,'' One of the nobles said as he held his betting ticket. "He's some no-name brat against one of Konoha's strongest clans, there's no way I can lose,"

"I hear that, after this let's go celebrate at the tavern," his comrade spoke as Hinata glared at those mocking Naruto.

"Kid made it pretty far, but against the Hyuga Clan he has no chance," Izumo Kamiuki said as his partner nodded.

"Kids' luck was bound to run out sometime, but if he does win, I'll do gate duty for two years." Kotetsu Hagane said as Izumo chuckled.

"I'll join you," Kiba looked over at them and smirked.

'I thought that way two, but if I've learned one thing about Naruto, it is never underestimating him.' Kin thought before Akamaru nudged his cheek. "Huh, what is it, Akamaru?" Kiba asked as Akamaru pointed to the stands, where he saw an Anbu sitting at the far back. 'An Anbu? What's he doing here? Is something going on?' Kiba speculated, while back in the arena Neji and Naruto glared at each other.

"From the look of your eyes, It looks like you have something to say," Neji said. "Whatever it is, it won't matter. Fate has already deemed you a failure, it will not change today," he said as Naruto glared then held up his fist.

"As I told you before, you are going down…" he said as he slid back into a fighting stance, hand reaching behind him for his shuriken pouch. Neji glared and activated his Byakugan as he looked into the boy's eyes.

'He's not like Hnata, there's no hint of doubt…' he surmised as he got into the Hyuga fighting stance. "But that just makes it more worthwhile, it will be fun to watch you fall apart when you face reality,"

"You're the one that has to face reality, Neji. By the end of this, you'll realize that Destiny and Fate don't control us, we control them…" Naruto said back as Neji glared. While up in the stands, Hisashi Hyuga and his second daughter Hanabi watched the match.

"Hanabi, there isn't anyone else that has inherited such a strong Byakugan as Neji. More so than your own sister," Hisashi said as Hanabi looked back at her father.

"More than Hinata?" she asked as Hisashi nodded.

"Perhaps even you, so pay close attention," he instructed as she nodded.

"Understood," she said as she watched the match intensely. Genma raised his hand as he got ready to start the match.

"The first round of the Final Exams: Uzumaki Naruto vs Hyuga Neji…" he said as Naruto and Neji glared. "Begin!" he shouted as Neji tensed up, ready for Naruto to charge at him…

However, Naruto didn't move, as that caught him off guard.

"Huh? What the heck is Naruto doing? I thought he would've jumped right at the moment the match started?" Ino said she was just as surprised as Sakura.

"I know…this isn't like Naruto…" Sakura said as Kiba raised a brow.

"Wait…is Naruto…actually being patient!?" he said as Hinata stared at Naruto, who glared at his opponent as he mentally went over his notes.

'He can stop my chakra if he can hit any of my Chakra Points. Not to mention the Byakugan is like having eyes in the back of your head if what Pervy Sage said is true. Close-quarters combat isn't a good idea, but that won't stop him from coming to me. But luckily I have just the Jutsu in mind for that…' Naruto thought as he pulled a Shuriken from his pouch.

He then threw the Shuriken as it flew towards the Hyuga who smirked. "Is that all? Pathetic," he said before Naruto flashed through some hand signs.

"Ninja art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he shouted as his one Shuriken suddenly turned into twenty. Neji's eyes widened as he quickly pulled out his Kunai and deflected them.

"Whoa! Since when did Naruto learn that!" Ino shouted as Sakura nodded. While the Senseis watched.

"That's surprising," Kurenai said as Asuma and Gai nodded.

Bakc at the fight, Neji had just finished defecting the last of the shurikens as they dissapaered in a puff of smoke. 'Those weren't illusions, those were actually clones! So he knows more than just Shadow Clone, annoying,' Neji surmised before Naruto flashed through some hand signs.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He shouted as he was enveloped in smoke and from the smoke ten other Naruto's appeared. "Okay, you guys know what to do!"

"Right!" they shouted as they then split up and surrounded the Hyuga. Two of them then ran to the sides of him as they threw their shurikens and shouted. "Ninja art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" they shouted as their shurikens became multiple and Neji cursed.

"Cheap tricks!" he shouted as he managed to jump back and deflect more of the attacks.

Then two clones came rushing in as they held their Kunais in reverse grips and attacked Neji. Neji half expected to be able to dispatch them easily, as he avoided them and was prepared to strike. But they weren't as uncoordinated as the last time, as they seemed to be fighting in synchronicity. When one strike failed to land, another followed its partner's attack to allow its clone partner to get out of the way of Neji's attack, attempting to keep Neji off balance. But Neji was just as fast as he managed to avoid their blades and clashed them with his own.

'These aren't just clones, but physical copies of the original! So, this is the Shadow Clone Technique. Their Chakra levels have been split evenly amongst these clones that it's making it hard to find the original! And there's something different, they aren't just rushing me recklessly, they're organized! One attacks, the other follows up then the other pulls away, they're keeping me off balance!' Neji released before two more attacked him from behind. He managed to clash blades with them and kicked one away as it puffed into smoke.

"Hey, Naruto is acting differently. He's not rushing in, and his clones aren't trying to dogpile him. They're actually moving in sync with one another and coordinating their attacks," Shikamaru noted as Shino nodded.

"Indeed, it seems Naruto spent his month training wisely…" Shino noted while the Sand Shinobi watched on.

"This is different from before, I think Neji might be in trouble," Asuma said as he watched the match.

"I kind of agree, but Neji is still stronger than naruto. It will be a close call," Kurenai said as she and others evaluated his skill.

"I must admit, I've never seen Neji look quite as annoyed as he is now. This will surely be an interesting match," Gai admitted as he carefully watched his pupil fighting Kakashi.

Neji meanwhile was doing his best to avoid the Clones Synch attack and their blades. If it had been a month ago, he'd have been able to easily dispatch the old Naruto's reckless clones. But…

'This is not the same annoying brat from a month ago, this one is different. His tactics are more refined and he's doing his best to avoid me and keep me on the defence! But, while these clones are attacking me, the original must be…' he looked over to one of the clones stationed far off from the battle as he smirked.

'There! Of course, he'd put himself furthest from the battle while sending in his clones to keep me off balance, clever but futile. Now that I know where the original is…' he smirked as he then rushed.

"I'll go straight for the real you!" he shouted as Naruto's eyes widened and two clones got in front to defend him. "Ha! That only confirms my suspicions! You are the original!" he shouted as he managed to break through the clones and then palm-strike Naruto in the chest.

Naruto coughed loudly as Neji smirked. "I win…" he said before Naruto grabbed his arm, and looked up as he smirked.

"Want to bet?" he said before Neji noticed something happening inside Naruto.

'Wait…the Chakras is not dissipating, it's building up, why would - Shit!' he shouted as he tried to palm strike Naruto off him, only managing at the last second before Naruto's body suddenly exploded and Neji was thrown back. His left arm smoked slightly as he landed back from the explosion.

"What the heck!?" Kiba and probably most of the stadium nearly shouted as they watched the boy explode

"N-Naruto-Kun!" Hinata yelled in shock, but when the smoke cleared and Neji was seen cradling an injured hand, she sighed in relief as she realized it was merely a clone that blew up.

"Whoa! What the heck was that!?" Ino shouted as she and Sakura stared wide-eyed. "Did Naruto just…explode!?" Ino shouted as she turned to Sakura. "Sakura, did you know he could do that?" she asked as Sakura shook her head.

"No, I didn't know Naruto could do that!?" Sakura shouted.

"Ha! That'll show him!" Kiba said as the sensei blinked at that.

"What was that? That wasn't just a Shadow Clone, nor was it a paper bomb," Kurenai said as Asuma nodded.

"I see what happened, it was the Shadow Clone Explosion Jutsu," Asuma noted as he watched intrigued. "When he made those clones he stationed one off to the side, making Neji think that he was the original, while in reality, he mixed in the Exploding Clone, so when Neji went to attack it, the clone would detonate. He basically lured Neji into a trap, that was clever…" he said as Gai nodded.

"Indeed, I didn't expect the young man capable of that," Gai said as Neji held his slightly burnt hand. Tenten glared as gripped her fist.

"Damn, we didn't think he would pull off something like this. Neji, be careful…" Tenten said as she watched the match. While up in the Kage box, Sarutobi chuckled as he watched the match.

"Rather impressive, an Exploding Shadow Clone is almost identical to the regular Shadow Clone. So the Byakugan wasn't able to detect it before it was activated. You have quite the Genin there, Lord Third." the Kazekage said as Sarutobi nodded.

"Indeed, Naruto has always been one of constant surprise," he said as he looked at the match. 'Good plan with the Exploding Clone, Naruto. I have to admit when Jiraiya said he was going to use Shadow Clone to increase your training I never expected results like this. He's gone leaps and bounds beyond what he was before. Naruto, you're certainly making your parents very proud of you…' he thought as he returned his gaze to Neji. 'So how will you handle this, Neji?'

"Damn it…you tricked me!" Neji growled as Naruto smirked.

"What? Did you think I would be stupid enough to sit in the back? Nah, that ain't my style," one of the Naruto's said. "I'm more the kind to fight with my comrades," another said. "But that's not all I learned in a month…" Naruto said as he and the other clones drew a second Kunai knife.

Naruto then channelled his Chakra into the blade as the edges of the charkha became sharpened, a lot like when Asuma showed him a month back. Asuma noticed this as his eyes widened.

"No…he couldn't have…"

Naruto rushed towards Neji, who was forced to pull out a Kunai to block the blade, but his eyes widened as the blade was cut in half and he was forced to jump back, but not before the chakra blade sliced a gash in his shirt open.

"Damn it!" he yelled as he was then forced to dodge other wind-enhanced kunai knives thrown at him. But went wide-eyed as the blade passed through a tree and impaled itself deep into the wall.

"Sweet Spring Time of Youth! Is that!?" Gai shouted as Asuma nodded.

"Yeah, the kids managed to learn how to convert his Chakra into Wind! When he came to me a few weeks back I assumed he was just wanting to learn the basics of Wind Chakra, I didn't think he was capable of doing something like that already!" Asuma said with awe, and slight worry as he felt his wallet was about to be seriously depleted.

"But how could Naruto learn Chakra Change in just a month? It takes much longer than that to apply nature change at that level," Kurenai said as Gai narrowed his gaze.

"It would seem that Kakashi's Youth Pupil has advanced much more sporadically than anyone could ever guess!" he said with a slight grin. "Neji my young pupil, you have to be on your toes now,"

"I see, rather impressive. Wind Chakra is rare in your country, isn't it Lord Third?" the Kazekage asked as he nodded.

"Indeed, so far only my son and my late predecessor have been able to utilize Wind Chakra. It would seem Naruto has many more skills he has yet to reveal." Sarutobi said as the Kazekage nodded.

'Interesting…the boy is stronger than he was a month ago. He's still no competition to Sasuke-Kun. But, let's see what more you can show, Naruto Uzumaki,' Orochimaru thought while disguised as the Kazekage, as he watched the match with keen interest.

Neji grunted in annoyance as he found himself surrounded and avoiding the Shadow Clones Wind Enhanced Kunai slashes, only just able to avoid serious injury as they cut his arms and legs, leaving small cuts.

'Damn it! This is not happening! There is no way a loser like him could've advanced so quickly in only a month!' Neji cursed to himself. 'This is not the same loser that was shouting about becoming Hokaoge a month ago! This is someone else! I need to finish this quickly!' Neji cursed as two Naruto charged at him and he cursed. 'I have no choice! I was planning to save this for later, but in my current situation I have no choice!'

Just as the clones were about to make contact, Neji started pouring Chakra out of his hands, forming a sphere made of chakra and deflecting the two clones as he spun rapidly in one place. Hisashi's eyes widened.

"That's!" he shouted as Neji spun around rapidly.

"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!" He shouted as he created a sphere of Chakra around his body, repelling the oncoming attacks and sending the Naruto clones back as a few of them dissipated in smoke.

Naruto and the rest of the clones jumped back as they held their knives up in defence. "So…he had a secret move too," Naruto said as Neji smirked.

"Did you think that you won? Don't make me laugh, this is only the beginning!" he said as he got into his stance. 'I won't fall for the same mistake twice, if he's not at the back then he most likely has put himself at the forefront! Now, this ends!'

"Father, that was the-!" Hanabi said as Hisashi nodded.

"Yes, the Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation technique. It's one of the main branch techniques that can be only passed down to the Heirs of the Hyuga Clan. For him to have been able to master such a technique, yet he was able to learn the technique by merely watching it…" Hisashi narrowed his gaze. 'Brother…your son is truly gifted…'

Neji then slid into a new stance as Hisashi's eyes widened. "That's the-!"

Neji then rushed to the closest Naruto and struck him in the chest. "You are within my range…" he said as he focused Chakra into the tips of his fingers and struck Naruto in the chest. "Eight Trigrams: 64 Palms!" he yelled as he struck Naruto hard in the chest.

"4 Palm! 8 Palm! 16 Palm! 32 Palm! 64 Palm!" he shouted as Neji continued to deliver another set of attacks into Naruto's chest with absolute precision, as Tenten smirked from the stands.

'It's over now, no one can escape Neji once he has them in his Eight Trigrams: 64 Palms. Sorry kid, but this is as far as you go,' Tenten thought as Naruto started to fall back…

But not before smirking as Neji's eyes widened at the rapidly building chakra in his body.

"Shit! Another one!" he shouted as he kicked the clone in the chest and pushed it out of the blast range just as the clone exploded.

"What the heck!? He made another one!?" Tenten shouted as she and the rest of the audience stared in awe.

"That was close, if it had been the real naruto this fight would've been over," Gai said as he watched the fight. "On the one hand I do not like these surprise tricks, on the other hand, I have to admire his unique ability to come up with such a tactic. The Spring Time of Youth is strong within Young Kakashi's pupil!" Gai said as Asuma and Kurenai recoiled away from Gai's sunshine.

"I see, so it wasn't just the one time, he made more and spread them out amongst the clones. Which means any close combat with Naruto is…" Shikamaru said as Shino nodded.

"No longer a viable solution for Neji, "Shino finished for Shikamaru as they both watched the fight.

"Who would've thought Naruto of all people would have progressed so much in so little time? What a drag," Shikamaru moaned as he and the others watched the fight, while Neji was recovering from the explosion.

"Damn it…he tricked me again…this is really getting annoying!" Neji growled as he looked amongst the clones. "So you hid more 'exploding clones' amongst the others, forcing me to keep my distance. You cheeky bastard," Neji said while the real Naruto was watching amongst the clones.

'So, I was right, he did have some more tricks up his sleeve. It's a good thing I decided to stay away from that last attack, otherwise, I'd have been hit by that 64 Palms move. I have a feeling that if I got hit by that technique it would've shut down my Chakra. And it looks like he made that defensive dome out of chakra, surrounding himself and deflecting my attacks. So Shurkiens and physical attacks won't work, plus he said 'within my range' so I can't get too close to him without getting hit by that technique. Which means I need to keep my distance. But, that rotating defence of his l has to use a lot of chakra, so he must have a limit. If that's the case…' Naruto thought with a smirk as he crossed his fingers. 'I just have to push him to that limit…'

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as he summoned several more clones. "You know what to do!" Naruto ordered as the clones nodded.

The clones then scattered as they began to circle around him. 'What is he up to?' Neji asked himself as he watched the clones surround him while he got into another stance.

The clones then threw another series of shuriken's as they shouted. "Ninja art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" and threw multiple shurikens at Neji.

"That won't work on me!" he shouted as he spun around and released his chakra. "Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!" Neji shouted as he deflected the multiple Shurikens. Naruto narrowed his gaze as he noticed a small time delay after the attack and nodded.

"I see, Okay…Guys! Wind Maneuver!" He shouted as the clones nodded. Several Clones threw another volley of Shurikens as they multiplied and sped towards Neji. While another set went through hand signs.

"You idiot! I told you that won't work on me!" He shouted as he spun another Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation and deflected the attacks.

"What is Naruto thinking? He knows that won't work, so why is he trying it again?" Ino asked as Sakura shook her head.

"I don't know, but if I know Naruto, he has a reason for it," Sakura said, while Asuama narrowed his gaze.

'Those hand signs, he couldn't have…'

Neji managed to deflect the attacks as he slowed down from his spin, only to suddenly hear. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Two Naruto's shouted as they sucked in air and blew a huge gust of wind towards Neji and blasted him off his feet.

"What!?" he shouted before two Naruto clones charged at him, both of them going through hand signs as they shouted.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" they shouted and unleashed another blast of air that sent Neji tumbling back.

"Whoa! Naruto knows wind jutsu! I think he might actually win this!" Ino shouted as Sakura stared in awe. Tenten herself was amazed, as she had never seen Neji be pushed so far.

"Father, what is happening, how is Neji losing?" Hanabi asked her father as he narrowed his gaze and activated his Byakugan.

"It would seem the Uzumaki has discovered there is a small gap after Neji uses the jutsu. Using his Shadow Clones he has created a synchronized attack system. One set of clones uses the Shuriken Jutsu to force Neji into deflecting the oncoming attack. After this he follows up with his Wind Jutsu, leaving Neji very little time to bring up another Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation. With the fact that he has hidden exploding clones amongst the originals that can't be detected amongst the others, he's made it nearly impossible for Neji to attack the Uzumaki without potentially hitting another exploding clone. He's more observant than I give him credit for…" Hisashi said as he looked upon the match.

"The tactics are rather clever. This is definitely different from the Naruto from a month ago," Asuma commented as he and the sensei watched the match.

"But how was he able to accomplish such a level of growth within a month?" Kurenai asked as she saw Neji struggling against Naruto's barrage of Jutsu combinations.

"It would seem that Kakashi had trained his students rather well," Gai said as he looked at his student struggling. "Neji my boy, this is one fight you will have to push yourself if you want any chance of winning,"

Back in the fight, Neji managed to get up just to see another pair of Naruto throw more Shadow Clone Shurikens at him.

"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!" he shouted as he managed to deflect the projectiles, only then to be blasted by another blast of wind. "Argh!" he yelled as he rolled on the ground, and then had to use Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation again to deflect the shuriken.

He felt himself become more sluggish as he felt his chakra levels become dangerously low, the constant use of Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation was starting to put a tax on his chakra. Not to mention with having to deflect the wind-enhanced Shuriken and Kunai, he had little chance to find the original amongst the clones, without risking of hitting another 'exploding clone'. The Hyuga was caught in a trap.

"Damn it! This is not happening! A loser like you could never defeat me! You were destined to lose from the moment you were born!" he shouted while selecting another volley of shurikens before being blasted by the wind.

"Will you shut up about that!" Naruto shouted as he and his clones spoke in unison. "There's no such thing as destiny and fate! That kind of nonsense is only going to get you killed! With your eyes, you should see that there is more to life than some predetermined fate!" Naruto clones shouted as he rushed to Neji with a Wind Kunai, and managed to cut his arm, only to be knocked back by Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation, before more shurikens were thrown and Neji retreated back.

"You have no idea what you're talking about!" he shouted as his headband fell off and his Bird Cage Seal was revealed. It was that moment of hesitation that caused Neji to smirk. "You see this mark, it's proof that my life is tied to an inescapable fate!" he said as he pointed to the mark. "Everyone branded with this Mark is destined to die for the Main Branch, it's no use trying to escape it…Fate has already deemed it so," he said as Naruto shook his head.

"You still don't get it… Look, I know why you hate the Main Branch. Hinata told me about what happened to your father, but that's no way to treat someone from your own family. Hinata had no control over what happened, and even she hates the Bird Cage Seal. If you were truly smart you'd see Hinata is your best chance at changing the Hyuga clan, but instead, you've harboured this hatred for something she had no control over," Naruto said as Neji growled.

"Shut up! You have no idea what you're talking about! An orphan like you can never understand being burdened with a mark you hate so much! To be marked with something you never asked or wanted!" he shouted as Naruto's eyes darkened and he felt the Seal of Nine Tails beneath his shirt.

Memories of his childhood played out in his mind, how others would ignore him, and belittled him. Treated him like he was an outcast because of something he had no choice in or control over. In the past, he would've hated the Fourth Hokage for sealing the Nine-Tails inside him. But knowing the truth, and why his father chose him, made his resolve even stronger.

"...You have no idea….how wrong you are…" he said as Neji raised his brow.

"You think you're the only one that's special, you think you're the only one that suffered? Don't make me laugh! Other people have had it worse than you! Even Hinata has suffered just as much as you, she's a member of your so-called 'Main Branch' and yet she's never acknowledged for her strength, even when she's coughing up blood! But despite that, she still tries her damn hardest to prove them wrong! And you're no different either! You're supposed to be protecting her yet you put her in the hospital! The way you're acting proves you're trying to change your own fate as well!" he shouted as Neji stiffened at this and he glared.

"...That…was nothing…merely…a footnote on my own predetermined fate-"

"It wasn't nothing! Stop trying to use Fate and Destiny as a damn excuse because you're afraid of trying! That Byakugan may see almost anything, but it can't see people's fate! In the end, it's all up to you! So what will you decide, Neji!? Are you going to give up and be fates bitch! Or are you going to fight for your own sake!?" he shouted as Neji felt a strange stir within him.

It was something he couldn't describe. This boy, this Uzumaki Naruto was like no one he had ever met before. Someone that seemed to just defy everything thrown at him. It infuriated him, it challenged everything he believed in. So why…

Why did he…believe him?

Neji smiled as he got into one last stance and activated his Byakugan again. "Very well…then prove to me Fate can be changed…Naruto Uzumaki…" he said as Naruto grinned and nodded.

"I will…" he said as he slid back into his fighting stance. "Let's finish this," he said as Neji nodded, then grinned.

"But in telling me your opinion…" Neji said as he rushed towards the real Naruto. Doding the Clones, and the Shurikens as he rushed forward. "You've inadvertently given yourself away!" he shouted as he charged at Naruto.

"Aw crap! He should've seen that one coming," Shikamaru said in the viewing box, as he slapped his own forehead.

"The match is not yet over, Naruto has surprised us so far. Perhaps he has one more trick up his sleeve.

Naruto however didn't panic as Neji rushed towards him, it was only at the last moment did Neji see Naruto going through a series of hand signs as he smirked.

"You won't be able to stop me with that Wind Jutsu in time!" he shouted as he went for his Eight Trigram: 64 Palms technique. "You are within my range!" he shouted just as he finished the hand seals…

And then slam them on the ground.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!" Naruto shouted as a slab of earth shot up between them and the Hyuga slammed his hands into the stone wall and ended up breaking his fingers upon impact.

"What!?" he shouted as he stared at the slab of stone. "Earth style!?"

"What the heck, how long did he have that up his sleeve!?" Ino shouted as she and the others stared in awe.

"Holy crap! When did he learn that!?" Kiba shouted as he gaped at the scene, while Hinata felt joy rushing through her.

"Naruto-Kun," she said as she watched the boy she admired stand firm.

"Well I'll be, looks like Naruto has more surprises than we thought," Asuma said as he and the other sensei stared in awe.

Neji cursed as he held his now broken fingers after slamming them headlong into the stone. "Damn it…" he grunted before two clones rushed at him and threw two Kunai at him. Forcing him to use Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation. Only this time, when he deflected the Kunai, two more were shot at him with Ninja wire attached as they wrapped around his wrists.

"What!? This is!?" he shouted before two clones on each wire pulled and held his arms apart from him. "Damn it!" he shouted before two more wrapped around his ankles and he was held in place.

"Like I said before!" Naruto shouted as looked up in time to see Naruto's fist coming straight at him. "I'm going to make you wake up to reality! And make you see Fate is what you choose! Because I plan to become Hokage one day!" he shouted as his fist slammed into Neji's face and he crashed hard into the ground. Saliva rocketed out of his mouth as he lay on the ground, broken and defeated.

The Audience stared in silence as they watched the Uzumaki deliver that final haymaker to the Hyuga Prodigy as he went down like a sack of potatoes. The Hyuga in the stands were stunned that someone had managed to beat their Byakugan and techniques, while those that had bet against them had gone white as sheep at the loss of their money, while those very few that took a random gamble on the Uzumaki just found themselves a few money heavier. Then there were those that knew of Naruto and were just as stunned at the powerful display of the once 'Dead-Last' of the Academy.

Naruto stood over his defeated opponent as Neji stared up at the sky. His body was sore, his fingers were sprained and possibly broken, and he couldn't move an inch of his body.

"...I see…so destiny has decreed you the winner…I should've known…you mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu after all, what chance did I have?" Neji asked Naruto.

"...You want to know something funny? I actually failed the Genin Exam three times," he said as Neji looked up with a slightly shocked expression. "Every time I failed in the last portion of the exam, no matter how hard I tried I always failed it because I could never use my worst jutsu…you want to know what it was? …a simple clone jutsu…" he said as Neji's eyes widened.

"You keep saying that destiny can't change, well I say you're wrong. Because if I believed the same as you, I would've quit a long time ago. So don't say a loser like me can't change my fate when you yourself aren't a loser…" he said as Neji stared at the boy before him and nodded.

"...I see…" Neji sighed as he accepted his defeat and yet…he was happy. Genma smirked as he raised his hand and announced to the stadium.

"Winner of the First Round…Uzumaki Naruto!"

And Scene. Well here is Chapter X of Journal of Hope, I hope you all enjoyed it. Now before we begin, I would like to point out that the only reason Hinata got worse was that she exacerbated her heart when she saw Naruto get injured, but this time Naruto wasn't hit by the 64 Palms, so there was a lack of stress on her internal organs. So she was able to watch the match to the fullest. Plus I wanted to mix things up a bit, change the pace and have Naruto dominate the battle instead of reacting as he did in canon.

Naruto has progressed a lot in a month, thanks to the Shadow Clone technique, but is it enough to be promoted to Chunin? Well, only time will tell. For now we've got two more matches and then the true battle will begin, so stay tuned for the next exciting chapter in…

Chapter XI: Yondaime's Legacies