"You ask me what's so funny. I'll tell you, silly Neji. You claim to have eyes that can even see the future, but you don't even know that I can copy your eyes, by blinding myself!" ~ Naruto
Hinata Hyuuga vs. Neji Hyuuga
Naruto growled; a fact not missed by the nearby Leaf-nin who glanced at the cherry red former pieces of metal clutched in his hands, the molten metal dripping to the ground. Though their most prominent question was 'How is he not effected by the heat, I can almost feel my skin blistering?'
"Hey, Hinata." Naruto mumbled as the girl turned to leave, a fearful look on her face at the prospect of facing her cousin in combat.
"Ye-Yeah, Naruto." Hinata answered, taking the chance to prolong the inevitable.
"Kick his butt!" Naruto grinned in an almost foxish way, as if considering something ironically humorous.
"O-Okay." Hinata nodded, trying her best to smile at her crush.
"But, if it gets to be too much for your safety, I want you to forfeit, got it? I don't care if you lose, I would rather have you alive. Promise me you'll come out of that arena alive, please." Naruto said, and despite Hinata immediately retort to the contrary, she felt it die away at the second part of Naruto's request. He cared more for her than her ability to fight?
"Yeah, Naruto, I promise." Hinata mumbled; her face growing red for a second before it dispelled along with her inner turmoil. As she walked down the steps, her face never betrayed her inner thoughts. "Even if you care more for me, I'll still stand beside you and fight, even if I have to pierce my heart to stand beside you, Naruto-kun."
"Why do you try and resist so much Lady Hinata, Fate has already declared me the winner of this match. Now matter how you try to fight it, you will lose here today." Neji said, his smug manner getting to Hinata. "Can I really beat Neji-nii-san? I'm not even the worthy heir, and he's a prodigy; how can I stand against him?" Hinata thought, her inner turmoil fighting to take over. But for now, she'd fight.
"Shut up, Neji-nii-san, if Fate has truly declared you the winner already, then surely you have nothing to fear in facing me!" Hinata spouted out before she lost her nerve, immediately after slipping into the Taijutsu stance of their shared clan, the Jyuuken.
Whatever Neji had expected from the bluenette across from him to say, her confident response wasn't it as he looked at her with a mixture of contempt and surprise, although the latter emotion was virtually unperceivable.
Growling, Neji copied her stance; the spectators falling silently as they awaited the match. But before it could begin, Neji sent one more dig at Hinata. "Just give up Lady Hinata, these eyes have seen the truth of the world, and the future that awaits you Lady Hinata, and all that awaits you is pain and loss. I can see that you don't want to fight me, and so your strikes will not get through to me." Neji said smugly, but this time, instead of Hinata, Naruto shouted a response.
"I believe the lady said to shut up, Neji. So shut up!" Naruto shouted, and a quiet smattering of chuckles could be heard from his fellow watchers.
"Hmm, well then if you're both ready." Hayate glanced to each fighter, who nodded. "Hajime!" Leaping back as both made a single seal to activate their clan's Dojutsu.
The two Hyuugas then began to circle one another, sizing the other up while seeing which would make the first move. Finally, the tension became too much as Neji leapt at Hinata, his palm outstretched to strike his cousin, who bent backwards just as quickly, effectively evading any damage from his attack.
She retaliated immediately, with three quick jabs with her fingers which he swatted aside, using the motion to leave her right side open as he sent another open palm attack right at her lung. However, before the attack could connect, Hinata used her free left hand to deflect the attack, spinning her body around subsequently with the motion. Then, before he could take advantage of her exposed back, she used her hands to handspring away to safety, her body twisting in mid-air to land with her front facing Neji once again.
"Try as you might, lady Hinata, you can't fight it. I will get you; it's only a matter of time until you run out of cute tricks." Neji taunted, and Hinata frowned slightly, his words ringing true in her mind. But that didn't mean she was going to give up just yet, after all, little tricks were Naruto's specialty and he always found a way to turn the fight around.
Her silence seemed to assure Neji that he was getting to her, so when he opened his mouth to send another taunt at her, he was caught off guard when she charged him recklessly, her hands floating listlessly behind her as she ran.
His eyes widened, trying to see which Tenketsu, or chakra point, she would aim for this time. Only, she left her arms loose as she almost got inside his guard. Well, he couldn't not take advantage of her perceived opening as he smirked sending a jab right at her heart, only for Hinata to drop to her knees, sliding right under him.
Neji jumped to avoid getting tangled up with her, only to realize his mistake too late as Hinata smirked, a rare sight, as she looked him straight in the eyes, sending a rapid set of jab straight into torso, blocking up all the tenketsu from his use. Her momentum carried past him as she rose to her feet easily, gazing at Neji as he landed, gasping heavily from getting attacked so quickly.
Yet, he could see with his eyes that she had purposefully avoided damaging any point near his internal organs. That was her mistake, and Neji knew just how to teach her the difference between them. His plan in mind, he glared cockily at Hinata, who seemed to shrink from his glare.
He got back into the Jyuuken stance; Hinata mirroring him seconds later, a small nod causing both combatants to run at each other, fully intending to end the fight as the fiercest bout between them began. Then, as if in an instance, it stopped.
Neji jumped back, putting a little distance between the two Hyuugas, Hinata breathing heavily this time from the intense bout. Yet, she could still recognize the stance Neji got into when he landed, his knees bent slightly, his arms forming a curving downwards slope; just the same way she knew she needed to stop him.
She merely chalked up Neji's smirk due to his about to use one of the higher Jyuuken techniques, regardless of the fact that he shouldn't know them since he was a Branch family member. She was soon corrected as she struck at him only for the Branch family member to turn slightly, changing her target to his heart.
She stopped instantly, and realized her mistake. "I knew you didn't have it in you to actually injure me, lady Hinata. After that sneak attack, you still avoided hitting my organs, even though if you had, you could've ended to fight easily." Neji said, and everything seemed to move in slow-motion after that, "Fate has delivered me a victory today in your weakness, Hinata."
"Eight Trigrams: 64 Palms!"
"One Palm!" Neji shouted as he struck a single point on her front, Hinata not able to anything to stop him.
"Two Palms!" "Four Palms!" "Sixteen Palms!" "Thirty-two Palms!" "SIXTY-FOUR PALMS!" Neji roared as Hinata was sent flying backwards in a limp heap, the rough stone floor scrapping some of her exposed skin, as well as tearing her jacket in several places.
"You're done, Hinata, just give up on being a shinobi." Neji said, turning to leave. He stopped when he heard several rough coughs behind him.
"You say things so easily, Neji-nii-san, but with my eyes I can see the truth too. The truth is that your heart is crying out, trying to fight your fate which you can't escape. I promise, I will help you fight that fate, and I'll never go back on my word, that is my nindo, my way of the ninja." Hinata said slowly, standing hesitantly, her hands resuming the Jyuuken first stance as she tried to prove, not only to herself, but to Neji, that one could change their fate. However, she stumbled forwards, barely managing to stop herself from falling as she coughed up some blood which stained the floor crimson.
The bluenette looked up at Naruto, and he seemed to smile at her, and she closed her eyes. "I forfeit."
"Pathetic. You have no idea what you're talking about." Neji scoffed, charging at the female Hyuuga, aiming to strike her heart, only for a blonde to obstruct the attack as Naruto glared into his eyes, his eyes boring into Neji's soul.
"Sir, I believe you were ordered not to interfere in any of the matches. Return to the viewing platform, or I will be forced to eject you from any further matches, and your chance in the finals will be forfeit." The proctor said, only for Naruto to turn on him as Hinata breathed heavily behind him, her vision flickering.
"Shut up! Don't tell me what to do! You can order me to shut up, forfeit me, eject me, and I don't care if you decide to make me a Genin permanently, but don't you dare tell me not to help my most precious person, do you understand, or else I will make you understand why I earned my moniker!" Naruto yelled, getting right in the proctor's face, his face a solid red in anger. He was so gone with anger; he didn't realize he'd just confessed to Hinata, had she not fainted before he started his rant. Everyone in the platform was caught off guard by this Naruto, who'd never made an appearance in the Academy years.
Just then, Hinata collapsed forwards, only for Naruto be under her as she fell on to his back, Naruto hooking his arms under her legs, lifting her effortlessly as he handed her off to the medics. Once she was gone, Naruto turned his rage on Neji, and the words uttered further surprised his friends, not to mention the Jounin watching.
"And you! What you just did, aiming to kill not only a family member, but a fellow Konoha shinobi, it makes me so sick, it makes me regret ever choosing to become a shinobi of Konoha! But just you wait, I will make you pay for every insult, every putdown, every burden you put on Hinata-chan, I will make you experience as I shove them down your throat!" Naruto howled, and before he thought, he was in front of Neji, forcing the boy to look directly into his eyes.
"You think you can see fate huh, well see this, your fate is to be crushed at my hands. You see it don't you, TEME!" Naruto hissed, and from the observer's point-of-view, the temperature seemed to be dropping rapidly, or rising would be appropriate as flames began sprouting up around Naruto.
"Tell me, Teme, do you know what it feels like to have your blood boil inside of the veins, until it gets so hot that you're cooked from the inside out, just you wait, I can make that happen, so just you wait until I get you, and then we'll see who's laughing!" Naruto yelled as his whole body lit up like a human torch.
"This, chakra is flooding the place, even from this distance I can feel it rising non-stop. Yet, I can't sense any of the Kyuubi's chakra in it; this is purely Naruto's rage taking form." Sarutobi thought from his place far overhead. Just as he got ready to step in, he saw the girl on Naruto's back begin to squirm.
Just like that, the temperature went away as if it had never existed. Naruto simply glared at Neji one last time and Shushinned back to his place on the viewing platform, setting Hinata gently down, removing a blanket from his bag and using it to prop her head up as he leaned her against the wall.
Neji seemed to want to say something, but his fear overwhelmed it as he stayed silent, heading back to his place. Tenten seemed to look at him with pity, as if knowing what fate awaited him too.
"Well, then, shall we continue?" Hayate asked rhetorically, looking at the board overhead as it began to filter through names once again.
Meanwhile, on the walkway, Naruto's fellow classmates were looking at the cheerful blonde with fear evident in their eyes. The chief thought in their heads was, 'Can this really be the same Naruto who got held back twice?' Although, some of the Jounin present were wondering about, 'how I earned my moniker,' portion of Naruto's speech.
"Hey Naruto. Did you really mean it when you said that you regret being a Konoha shinobi?" Kiba asked hesitantly from beside his Jounin sensei, just in case Naruto decided to jump him too.
"*sigh* No, I simply meant if Konoha shinobi were all like that, I couldn't blame some of the traitors we've had for leaving. Hypocrites are one of my pet peeves, along with perverts; you aren't either one, right Kiba?" Naruto said; his tone sickly-sweet.
Kiba shook his had furiously, causing Naruto to chuckle as he gripped the edge of the fence, climbing on top of it. "Good, I'd hate to have to kill you, unlike some people." Naruto said, leaping to the ground below, leaving a confused Kiba behind.
"What did he mean by that, and where's that idiot going?" Kiba wondered aloud as Kurenai chuckled beside him, pointing to the board, after which Kiba paled a color that matched Akamaru's fur.
Naruto Uzumaki vs. Kiba Inuzuka
"What! I don't want to fight that guy!" Kiba said, although he slowly made his way down to face Naruto, who was smiling in a kind way, as if he hadn't almost turned the tower into a kiln. Still, Kiba was wary to face the blonde in combat.
"Don't worry Kiba; if things get too hot for you, I'm sure Kurenai will step in. Besides, just think of Sakura waking up to see you fighting so hard." Naruto teased, and Kiba spluttered before retorting.
"And what about you and Hinata, if I beat you, then how do you plan to avenge her?" Kiba said, expecting Naruto to mirror his response. Instead, the blonde smirked.
"Was that supposed to make me give up, because you don't seem to be doing so hot in the teasing department?" Naruto said, and his smirk seemed to alight something in Kiba as he growled, Akamaru responding as he dropped to the ground beside Kiba, baring his tiny fangs at Naruto, who grinned.
"Hajime." Hayate leapt back, not wanting to get caught between Naruto and his target as the boy stood still, watching for Kiba's first move which came within moments of the match beginning.
The Inuzuka opened up with a roundhouse punch which Naruto ducked under, sweeping his legs under Kiba who simply jumped back, avoiding the attack as Naruto used the momentum to spin to his feet, a 'bring it on' gesture with his hands appearing.
This ticked off Kiba who charged headfirst at Naruto, who smirked as he copied Kiba, leaping back, only to be caught off-guard as Akamaru appeared from behind Kiba, landing on his back as he leapt at Naruto, latching on to the arm Naruto used to protect his face and neck area.
Naruto let loose a string of curses as he tried to shake Akamaru loose, still managing to avoid any major hits courtesy of Kiba, who didn't let up while Naruto pried Akamaru loose from his bleeding arm.
Finally, the puppy let go, Naruto flinging him across the arena as he bounced off the ground several times, finally coming to a stop several meters away. "Akamaru!" Kiba shouted, running to his partner's side as he checked him over quickly using techniques his clan were taught to check their partners for injuries.
The puppy got back to his feet, growling at Naruto, who hissed loudly as a small flame appeared over the wound, the flames cauterizing the bleeding almost immediately.
"You think we need to go to the next level, buddy?" Kiba asked quietly so that Naruto would hear him as Akamaru yipped softly, Kiba smiling at his partner's enthusiasm.
"Okay, here buddy." Kiba said, giving a food pill to Akamaru, who swallowed the pill whole, his fur turning brick red, ad ruffling out like needles.
"Okay, Naruto, I hope your ready for a fight, because I and Akamaru are the best team ever!" Kiba shouted getting down on all-fours, Akamaru jumping on to his back as Kiba made a hand seal.
"Ninja Art: Man-Beast Clone." A puff of smoke concealed the pair before dissipating seconds later, revealing two identical Kiba's, who fingers now had claws, his feet the same, and his canines elongated giving him a more bestial appearance.
"Gatsuga!" One of the Kiba's shouted, and the pair seemed to begin spinning like a drill, coming straight at Naruto who couldn't get out of the way in time as the drilling pair hit him, sending him into the air as they attacked him without mercy, the blond getting battered by the frequent attacks.
"I think your student is about to lose, Kakashi." Kurenai said as the silver-haired man reappeared finally, looking around confused.
"What'd I miss?" He asked not spotting Hinata anywhere. He knew where Sasuke was, and he could clearly see Naruto being hit time after time in the battle below, but he didn't see Hinata.
"She's resting behind you. She almost bit down there." Asuma interjected, Gai looking downcast nearby.
Looking behind him, and seeing the girl resting calmly, he sighed. "Judging from Gai guilty look, she fought Neji, huh?" His response was a nod by all three Jounin. Another sigh. "Well, thank you for stepping in in time. I doubt Naruto would've forgiven me for leaving Hinata undefended, and something tells me that an angry Naruto isn't a pretty sight." Kakashi said, only to be caught off guard by the sharp bark of laughter courtesy of Asuma, who was sharply elbowed by Kurenai a second later.
"Did I say something funny?" Kakashi asked.
"In a sense, yes. None of us stopped Neji; we never had the chance to. One second he's about to finish off Hinata, the next, Naruto stopped him. I never even saw he move from his place up here. You really missed it Kakashi, Naruto then made a speech worthy of a Hokage." Kurenai said admiringly.
"Of course, he nearly cooked us all extra crispy." Asuma added, only to get another elbow.
"Huh?" Kakashi asked again. It usually took a lot to get him confused, but whenever things involved Naruto, the norm seemed to go on vacation.
"That boy seems to have an affinity unparalleled for fire. Without a single hand seal or mention, flames began appearing around him in response to his anger. Just how powerful that affinity could be, I guarantee it goes beyond simply calling flames at will." Kurenai said, before thinking of something else, only for Asuma to beat her to it.
"Oh yeah, he mention something about his moniker; you wouldn't happen to know what he's talking about, would you?" Asuma asked. Kakashi just looked at him in confusion.
"I have no idea, although if you really want to know, I would suggest we wait until the end of the match." Kakashi suggested and the three Jounin nodded in agreement.
Naruto was focusing on the fire building inside of him, as he recalled a technique he'd learned in Wave.
*Flashback*
"Kuso! I can't get the fire to come with all this mist around." Naruto complained as he leaned back against a tree, his hand outstretched as he tried to will the flames to appear. When the attempt ended in failure, he growled, closing his eyes as he let his chakra sight extend outwards.
"I can sense you, no need to hide." Naruto said seconds later as a teenaged girl exited the cover of the trees, a basket held in one hand.
"No, I'm sorry, I was searching the forest for some herbs to heal my friend and found you resting. I simply didn't want to disturb you, although, it would seem you weren't asleep." The girl said; extending her free hand which Naruto noticed was covered by an arm-length glove.
"Are these plants poisonous?" Naruto asked, and when the girl looked confused, he gestured to her glove.
"Oh, no, I simply don't like the mist's touch. It makes me feel sweaty and cold." The girl said, smiling kindly and in way that made Naruto do the same.
"Yeah, I understand. Usually I can start a fire to warm me up, but all this mist keeps making it go out. You got any ideas?" Naruto asked, forming the question as if he were making a normal fire. He could feel that despite the girl's traditional outwards appearance, she was a skilled shinobi due to her large chakra pool. While it was nowhere near his own, it was nearly a third of Kakashi's.
"I would say that if your fire is dying out to quickly, you'd need more tinder to make it stronger at first so it can survive long enough to become bigger." The girl said, and Naruto thought over how to translate this to his problem in his head.
"Thanks, I'll have to try that. My name is Naruto, do you live around here. I'd like to send a gift to the person who helped me with such a vital problem." Naruto said, extending his hand, and the girl smiled kindly.
"Yes, I live about a mile away; my name is Haku, pleased to make your acquaintance." Haku said, taking his hand.
*Flashback End*
Naruto focused the fire through his chakra pathways towards his hands as the tunneling attack approached him. However, this tie he was prepared.
"Snap Dragon Display." He called out, snapping his fingers a small explosion about the size of beach ball appeared, hitting the tunneling pair, sending them a different direction.
This seemed to tick them off as they split up, presumably to come at him from two different directions this time. However, he had no such plans as his hands began to snap at high-speed, explosion popping up all over the place like a fireworks display, consistently blocking the two attacks in succession as they tried to break through his defensive flames.
They never did get through, and Naruto landed evenly on his feet, pausing momentarily to get his bearings as the twin fangs flew at him, trying to pin him between them. However, just before they struck, a plume of purple smoke erupted from the spot, obscuring all three fighters.
The crowd stood in silent expectation as they awaited the results of the attack.
Finally, the cloud blew away, leaving three identical Kibas standing there. All three seemed to look at the other two with contempt in their eyes.
"You think this will fool me Naruto? My nose is as strong as a dog's right now, and I can easily smell which one is," He turned and nailed one in the face, sending it rolling backwards into a wall, "you."
The hit Kiba vanished in a plume of smoke, revealing an injured Akamaru. Kiba's eyes widened as he rounded on the other one. "I don't know how you did that, but you'll pay!" Not waiting a second for the Fake Kiba to defend himself, Kiba punched him across the cheek, sending him spiraling through the air before landing harshly back on the ground, knocked out cold. He then erupted in a second plume of smoke to reveal an out cold Akamaru.
"Haha, while you're right I can't fool your nose, I can still fool your eyes, Kiba. Looks like it's just you and me now." The first Akamaru said, jumping to his feet as he vanished in an identical plume of smoke as the first time around, this time revealing an almost uninjured Naruto.
"You prick! I'm going to beat you for hurting Akamaru!" Kiba shouted, charging at Naruto, who smirked as he dodged Kiba's anger-fueled swings.
"Strangely, I don't feel scared of your threats, mutt." Naruto taunted as Kiba growled, flinging himself at Naruto, who side-stepped the attack as Kiba slid behind him, whirling on the exposed blonde.
"I've got you now!" Kiba shouted, leaping at Naruto like a wolf pouncing on its prey, which was fitting considering their respective animal spirits. And just like his animal, Naruto was a trickster by nature as he dropped a small ball second before Kiba could reach him, a large cloud of yellow smoke erupting as the two remaining fighters vanished from sight.
"Ha, didn't I just say Naruto that you cou-. Oh Kami, what's this wretched smell?!" Kiba howled as Naruto leapt out of the cloud, holding his own nose tightly until he landed.
"I figured in that state, you're more wolf-like, such as your senses by on hyper drive. I first got the plan when you used that smoke cloud earlier to attack me. So, I managed to swipe one, altering it with some sulfur I had on hand. Sulfur has several properties, such as the rotten egg smell," Naruto smirked, holding a single hand out as the assembled shinobi watched in anticipation at his next move, "and the volatility of it when exposed to fire. Allow me to finish you with one of most powerful attacks."
A single snap of the finger set of a massive explosion that sent Kiba skyward, his body still reeling from the smell and sound to defend itself. Below him, Naruto created a single Shadow Clone, the fact escape most of the Jounin who watched Naruto run at the wall, attaching his feet with chakra as he sprinted up the wall.
Finally reaching his desired height, he kicked off, flipping backwards to slam a heel into Kiba's gut, sending him back to the ground. However, his momentum was cut off abruptly as Naruto latched on in a very similar manner to a certain Taijutsu move.
"Sorry for stealing your moves Lee." Naruto mumbled out as the pair began to spin rapidly in the same manner as Kiba's earlier attack.
As the dropping pair neared the ground, the clone below vanished, replacing Kiba as Naruto simultaneously substituted with a log covered in exploding tags, second before both made contact with the ground, and the clone of Naruto was covered by a mushroom cloud of flame.
"Flare Bomb." Naruto said; his foot planted firmly in Kiba's back, the Inuzuka knocked out cold.
Hayate appeared seconds later, sweating at the intense heat due to the proximity to Naruto's final attack. "The winner is Naruto Uzumaki." That said; Naruto vanished from his place on top of Kiba, reappearing next to his female teammate who was beginning to come around.
"Hey, Hinata-chan, you alright?" Naruto asked caringly, as he began to dote on the hurt Hyuuga, who couldn't speak due to her lobster red face as her crush tried to make her more comfortable. Finally, Kakashi managed to get him to watch the next few matches just so he'd have some idea for the Finals.
Naruto obeyed, although the next matches were short and boring, while not revealing much of each one's abilities.
Shikamaru Nara vs. Kin Tsuchi
Shikamaru managed to defeat her within minutes with a clever trick with his Shadow Possession Jutsu.
Tenten vs. Temari no Subaka
Tenten fought hard, but in the end it ended up just being a bad match-up due to Temari superior wind powers.
Dosu vs. Choji Akimichi
Choji had plenty of motivation in the form of barbeque, but ended up having his best jutsu turned against him due to Dosu's sound-based powers. Once again, a bad match-up.
Misumi Tsurugi vs. Kankuro no Subaka
Kankuro managed to capture Misumi in a trap when Misumi thought he had captured Kankuro's body, but it was actually Kankuro's puppet Black Ant. Kankuro offered to spare the man, only for Misumi to refuse his offer, so Kankuro broke his neck.
Ferissa Tsuin vs. Nerissa Tsuin
Naruto actually wanted to see this match, consider both twins were put on the same team, and he knew next to nothing really about their abilities. However, they seemed to have come to an agreement ahead of time, so Ferissa forfeited before the match could begin.
After this, Hayate stepped forwards. "Due to the odd number of contestants, the final contender will face one of you who have already fought. Should you lose, you will be eliminated from the finals, regardless of your previous match's result." Hayate paused to let his words sink in. "Do any of you wish to volunteer to fight again?" Hayate asked, and several seconds' worth of silence went by before he nodded turning to the board.
"Okay then, we'll just do this the traditional way. Final match-up, spin the names." Hayate said, and the whole crowd of Genin watched with rapt attention to the names that cycled on the bottom line.
As it finally stopped, the crowd paled at the pairing.
Aimee Gakinjo vs.
A/N: Hey guys, I finished yet another chapter in this arc. I had intended for it to only be two chapters, but its grown into three, and possibly would've been four had I not summarized those last few fights. Anyways, I knew where I wanted each chapter to end, with a cliffy of sorts. In other news, should I cover the training between now and finals, or summarize it up so some tricks will be a surprise when you see them later on? One final thing, I never gave the twins a surname until now, so a shout out to anyone who can figure what it means.