The time we have all been waiting for is here. Yes. This chapter will be dedicated to Naruto's battle! I originally wanted to push everyone's favorite blonde's battle back a bit further, but I can't resist the temptation anymore.
Guest: I was a little skeptical of changing the scene because you were the only one who complained about it. I only changed the scene after you brought up those vital points, and I felt they were rather correct.
The True Not Important: To be honest, I only came up with a nice Gaara because I dislike the bloodthirsty Gaara! But do share with me your ideas about this, and I might incorporate it into this. :)
Pyr00tje: Whut?
Charrmed: It means a lot that someone thinks highly of my battle-writing skills. Thank you!
Swordianspeed: Yes, she is! All in all, if you put Karin in a one-on-one battle it would be a tad bit boring to write because she has little to no offensive jutsu at all, so I settled on a chakra absorption jutsu for her.
Thanks to Guest, The True Not Important, merry1995, Pyr00tje, Charrmed and Swordianspeedfor the reviews!
Naruto glared at the board in anticipation.
You better have my name now, board.
Please?
My name! Come on!
I know you're a nice, kind board, Mr. Board. Please.
From within Naruto, the Nine-Tailed Fox viewed his foolish container's thoughts in amusement.
The board finally stopped.
Naruto slowly opened his closed eyes.
"Naruto Uzumaki vs Neji Hyuga. Please come down to the arena."
"Yesssss!" Naruto cheered. "It's my turn!"
"Go for it, Naruto," Itachi smiled at his student.
"Show everyone you're not the dead last they think you are!" Sasuke added.
"We've gotten through to the preliminaries! You better join us!" Sakura mock-threatened, grinning at Naruto.
"Don't worry about that!" Naruto shot his teammates and sensei a thumbs-up. "I'll definitely be beating this Neji Hyuga guy or whatever!"
Itachi's expression turned serious. "Naruto. No matter what you do, don't let this guy hit you. Avoid all his attacks. You got me?"
Naruto frowned. "How am I supposed to go on the offensive if I keep being defensive?"
Itachi sighed. "Just trust me, Naruto. You won't want to get hit by a Hyuga."
Before Naruto could question further, Hayate called for his name again, and quick as a flash, the blonde jumped down into the arena, to face his opponent. Neji Hyuga had long hair, and white eyes with no pupils. Like a typical Hyuga.
Naruto-kun got Neji nii-san! Hinata thought, her eyes widening.
Heh. Naruto doesn't stand a chance against this guy. Kiba glanced over at his female teammate. Hinata is always telling me about how strong her cousin is. Even if Naruto beat me to a pulp in the forest...
"Say, isn't that last year's Rookie of the Year?" Ino observed Neji. "Ha! The dead last won't stand a chance against such a person."
Shikamaru shook his head wearily. "Naruto looked pretty strong in the forest. Don't underestimate him. Even if he loses this troublesome battle, he'll definitely put up a good fight."
"Yo! Hyuga!" Naruto roared, pointing at his opponent. Neji stared at him with an emotionless face. "Let everybody in here bear witness to this! I, Naruto Uzumaki, am going to become the Hokage! And to do that, I will beat you and advance to the third exam!"
Neji twitched.
Hinata, Itachi, Sasuke and Sakura all smiled.
The Third watched from his position at the top of the room with an amused look. It should be interesting to see how much Naruto has grown.
"Alright, if that's all..." Hayate brought his hand down. "Begin."
It's starting... Sakura thought, her grip on the railing in front of her tightening.
Come on Naruto. Don't get yourself beaten by this guy. Sasuke glanced at Neji.
"Byakugan."
Activating his dojutsu, Neji got into the Gentle Fist stance.
"Hehe." Naruto unsheathed his katanas.
"What?!" Ino gasped. "Naruto can use a weapon?"
No weapon can be a match against the Gentle Fist, Neji thought confidently.
Itachi-sensei said not to get hit by this guy, Naruto frowned. Dropping his swords, he formed a hand seal. Let's see what this guy can do before I charge in.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Fifty Narutos, all wielding dual katanas, charged towards Neji.
Neji raised an eyebrow.
Impressive, Gaara stared at the overwhelming amount of clones.
Is this the Naruto Uzumaki that's supposed to be the dead last of his class? Asuma Sarutobi, the Jonin sensei of Team 10, leaned back against the wall, cigarette in mouth as usual. From what Shikamaru, Ino and Choji say, this Naruto can't do anything more than a few basic jutsu. But here he is now, using weapons and Shadow Clones and all. Itachi, what exactly did you teach him?
Asuma's gaze swept over to Itachi. The Uchiha Jonin returned the stare, and finally broke it by smiling and nodding.
In a minute, half of the Shadow Clones had been dispersed. Neji jabbed and jabbed, destroying the Naruto Uzumaki army.
Two Shadow Clones remained, and they jumped back to stand beside the original.
The three Narutos brandished their swords.
"Now!" The original screamed. A yellow flash followed and suddenly, the two clones were surrounding Neji.
No way, Guy frowned, as he watched the battle beside Tenten. That speed! It's almost like Lee without his weights!
"Leaf Style..."
Neji looked up, to see the original Naruto descending upon him, sword raised.
"... Crescent Moon Dance!"
It's too late to stop him, but there's no way anyone is getting out of that attack alive, Itachi thought. Well, hopefully he was from the Branch Family so there won't be a lot of fuss...
"Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation!"
"Huh?" Itachi's eyes flew open, to see the three Narutos being thrown back. The clones dispersed, while Naruto himself fell onto the ground.
There's no way you can beat Neji's defense, Tenten grinned.
"What the hell was that?" Naruto complained.
The Hyuga's Rotation! I forgot about that! Itachi stared hard at Neji. So is this guy from the Main House then?
"The Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation," Neji stated simply. "I release chakra from every chakra point on my body, to create a rotating shield of chakra. Any one who attacks will be tossed away." He got into the Gentle Fist stance once more. "You will not be able to land even one hit on me."
"Don't be so sure about that, tough guy," Naruto growled.
Neji grunted.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Four Shadow Clones appeared, and ran towards Neji with their swords.
Without much effort, Neji dispersed one with a jab to the stomach, and then another with a painful-looking jab to the neck. The third clone puffed away with a jab to the chest.
The last clone attacked, and Neji ducked as the katana swung over his head. Tackling the Naruto clone to the ground, Neji hauled it back up and dealt five continuous jabs to it's stomach, knocking it down and dispersing it.
"Become Hokage, eh?" Neji smirked, finally showing some form of emotion. "That's impossible."
The original Naruto was annoyed by this. "What did you say?"
Pointing to his eyes, the Hyuga chuckled. "These eyes can see it all."
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked impatiently. Part of him wanted to spring an attack. He wasn't interested in White Eyes' stories.
"Talent is decided at your birth. Everything is decided when a person is born. Those that become Hokage are born into that destiny. You don't become it by trying. It is decided by destiny!"
Irritated by his opponent's speech, Naruto glared at Neji. "Who are you to blabber about destiny and all that?" Leaping towards the Hyuga, with his katanas crossed, the Jinchuriki yelled. "So you're saying I'm not destined to become Hokage, eh?"
Dodging Naruto's attack easily by diving to the side, Neji thrust his hand forward, but Naruto was faster.
The Hyuga drew back, now clutching his bloodstained palm.
"Too bad I'm not good at giving up!"
Charging towards Neji again, Naruto attempted a kick. His opponent drew back, and Naruto kept up the assault, swinging and thrusting his katanas expertly.
"Rotation!"
"I'm not getting hit by that a second time!" Naruto declared, zipping away from Neji.
Stopping his Rotation, Neji blinked.
No one has managed to dodge the Rotation before...
Putting his hands into the all-too-familiar hand seal, Naruto called forth ten Shadow Clones.
"No matter how many Shadow Clones you use, or what techniques you try," Neji smiled. "It's useless."
"Useless, useless, blah blah blah. Shut up already, you arrogant bastard!"
Twitching again, the look in Neji's eyes hardened. "When I'm done with you, you'll never be able to use one single jutsu again."
Ignoring the threat, Naruto placed his katanas in front of him once more. All his clones did the same.
"Come on!" Naruto roared, jumping towards Neji with his clones.
What are you going to do, Naruto? Itachi looked on. He was becoming increasingly worried for his student. If he kept engaging the Hyuga boy in close combat like this...
"Leaf Style: Extreme Crescent Moon Dance!"
Neji's eyes narrowed as eight Narutos all went for him together.
"Rotation!"
At the sound of his call, the eight Narutos jumped into the air, out of range from Neji's spinning, to join the other two Naruto clones and the original. When the Eight Trigrams Rotation was executed and finished, Neji looked up, to see eleven Naruto Uzumakis descending upon him.
It's over, Sasuke smirked.
The Extreme Crescent Moon Dance... Itachi mentally laughed as the eleven Narutos closed in on their target. I never thought you would expand on the Crescent Moon Dance. Naruto, you really are the number one unpredictable ninja.
"Take... thhhhhhiiis!"
The first blow was a kick from the first Naruto that descended - the original. The ten clones followed up, piling on top of the Hyuga wonder, and creating a mini explosion that filled the arena with smoke.
"Did he do it?" Sakura asked no one in particular, leaning forward to desperately catch a glimpse.
The smoke cleared, to reveal a bloodied Neji, fingers jabbed into Naruto's abdomen.
"I've got you."
Naruto gasped, dropping the two katanas in his hands. My chakra... where is my chakra?
"Shit," Sasuke swore.
Itachi frowned. "He waited for Naruto to get close, and when he did, took the opportunity to strike."
Tenten observed her teammate's body. It was littered with at least six visible scars. Blood stained his cheek and lips. Neji's got him, but... wow. No one has ever dealt so much damage to Neji!
"You're in range!" Neji smirked. "8 Trigrams..."
His hands becoming full palms, Neji struck. "2 Palms!"
Naruto was knocked back.
"4 Palms!"
Neji kept up the assault.
"8 Palms!"
Coughing out blood now, Naruto tried to get away, but Neji kept him in place with more of his palmed attacks.
"16 Palms!"
Unable to resist letting out a gurgling sound, Naruto coughed out more of his blood into the atmosphere.
"32 Palms!"
Neji had a victorious smirk on his face now. The match was his.
"64 Palms!"
With the final scream, Neji's last palmed attack was executed, and Naruto was blasted straight into the wall.
"Naruto!" Sasuke and Sakura both yelled.
Neji looked over to Hayate with a nod. "You may end the match now, examiner. This battle is over." Looking towards the smoke around the wall that the impact had created, the white-eyed prodigy smirked again. "He won't be able to fight anymore."
"Y... Yeah...?"
Naruto emerged, blood leaking down his mouth.
"Naruto..." Itachi sighed. He couldn't help but agree with Neji. This match was over.
"I told you I'm no good at giving up!" Naruto shouted. He couldn't feel any of his chakra now. He didn't know why, but the spiky-haired boy couldn't care less. All he knew was that he was going to defeat the bastard in front of him.
"Give up," Neji laughed. "With my Gentle Fist, I've closed all your chakra points. You won't be able to use any jutsu for at least an hour!" He looked away. "I've told you before, didn't I? A person's destiny is decided at birth. And you, a loser who can only work hard, will always be destined to lose to me, a genius at birth."
"Shut up and stop deciding the fate of others..." Naruto sneered. "I told ya, I'll beat you, and I will! Believe it!"
Jumping towards Neji, Naruto managed to punch the unsuspecting genius to the ground. Another punch to the face followed.
"Get off!" Neji was annoyed.
Hauling his opponent up with him, Naruto tossed Neji away. The long-haired Genin did a twist in mid-air and landed on his feet.
"Tell me..." Naruto paused to cough out the blood stuck in his throat. "... why do you go on blabbering about fate, destiny and all that?" His question was more out of curiosity then anything else. "Why can't you accept that geniuses aren't the only ones who can succeed?"
Within the Genin and Jonin audience, Hinata tensed.
Neji chuckled mirthlessly as his hands moved to his Konoha forehead protector. "Since you've asked... let me tell you all about the..." He paused, finally managing to untie the headband and letting it fall into his outstretched hand. "... the Hyuga's destiny of hatred."
"Destiny of hatred?"
This was when Naruto looked up, and realized the sight of a green mark on Neji's forehead.
"The Main Family of the Hyuga clan have a special jutsu..." Neji's hand went up to the mark. "The Hyuga's Cursed Seal Jutsu."
Itachi nodded in understanding. Then he's a member of the Branch Family. But those techniques he used earlier were from the Main House, weren't they? So, how...?
"The curse of the mark represents a bird in a cage. It is the symbol of being tied down to an inescapable destiny."
Is he... talking about that mark on his forehead? Naruto stared hard at the green mark. It didn't look like something he would want on his forehead.
"I had this seal carved into my forehead when I was just four," Neji sighed. The memories came rushing back. "That day, a grand ceremony was taking place in Konoha. A shinobi leader from Kumogakure, the Hidden Cloud, had arrived to sign an alliance treaty."
Naruto nodded. Kumo, huh...
"But at this ceremony which everyone attended, one clan was missing. The Hyuga clan..."
"Why?"
Neji looked up, and his eyes fixed onto Hinata with a hateful look. The heiress shifted her feet uneasily, shrinking back with an uncomfortable look.
"Hinata-sama's third birthday."
"Hinata?"
Come to think of it... they both have the same eyes! So Hinata's a Hyuga! He mentally smacked himself for not discovering that sooner. Naruto had always found her eyes weird. So it was a clan trait.
"Hinata-sama was of the Main Family. My father, Hizashi, and Hinata-sama's father, Hiashi-sama, were twins. But Hinata-sama's father was born into this world first as a member of the Main Family, and my father, the second son, became a member of the Branch Family."
"Neji nii-san..." Hinata whispered, her sad eyes fixed on her cousin.
"When the first child of the Main Family becomes three..." Neji glared at the floor. "The Branch Family member closest to the age of the child is inflicted with the curse of the 'bird in the cage'."
Recalling his uncle using that technique on his father so many years ago, Neji almost cried, but stopped himself.
"With a simple secret and seal, the Branch member's mind can be easily destroyed by a member of the Main Family."
Naruto's eyes widened.
"And this curse disappears only when in death, sealing the Byakugan along with it." Neji gestured towards his eyes, and as he did so, deactivated the dojutsu.
That's... that's...
Naruto couldn't find words to describe how he would have felt if born into the Branch Family of the Hyuga. He looked up towards Neji.
Is that why he's like that? Always talking about destiny and fate?
"My father was killed by the Main Family."
The prodigy's words pulled Naruto out of his thoughts.
"Hinata-sama was kidnapped... her father, of course, took care of it and quickly killed him. It was dark, and he was wearing a mask. Who do you think it was?" Neji chuckled.
"Um..."
Neji didn't wait for an answer.
"The one I mentioned earlier... the shinobi leader of Kumo, the Cloud country."
What a twist, Itachi thought. He remembered this incident rather clearly.
"It became clear that he was here after the secrets of the Hyuga, and not to sign some alliance. But Kumo, with one of their leaders dead, demanded the Hyuga's Byakugan from Konoha, as a form of compensation, you could say."
I've never heard of this... Naruto took in the story. It sounded vile, and his disrespect for Kumo shot up considerably.
"Kumo demanded the corpse of Hiashi-sama, but of course, thanks to my dad, who sacrificed himself...!" Neji spat. "Hiashi-sama is still well and alive today!"
His emotions rising, Neji let out a low growl.
"They were twins, and their strength was virtually the same. Born first, born second..." Neji got into his Gentle Fist stance once more, and his Byakugan was activated. "... destiny was decided by just that."
Naruto pulled out his katanas again. One more time, huh...
"And this fight... your destiny was decided the moment I became your opponent...!"
"If you think destiny is decided just because of that, then you're making a huge mistake!" Naruto protested.
"Just because of that?!" With a snarl, Neji released some killing intent, and jumped forward to attack Naruto. The latter ducked, and just as Neji was above him, kicked him in the chin.
Neji's Byakugan eyes widened as he felt himself being pushed into the air. Naruto jumped into the air to join his opponent.
Is that... the Dancing Leaf Shadow? Guy, Tenten and Neji thought simultaneously.
"Just you watch..." Naruto crossed his hands into a hand seal.
Nothing came.
Neji smirked.
"Your chakra points have been closed. As I said before, you can't use any of your jutsu!"
"I don't believe that!" Naruto cried out. "I know, my chakra is in here somewhere, and I'm going to get it out!"
Naruto, Itachi couldn't help rolling his eyes. The Gentle Fist completely blocks your chakra out. No matter how hard you try, you won't be able to do anything about it!
Focusing, Naruto formed his hands into the Tiger hand seal.
His eyes flew open. He could sense chakra!
It felt different compared to his normal chakra, but Naruto couldn't care less. This different chakra felt faint and little, but Naruto drew out as much as he could.
Placing his hands into the hand seal he wanted, Naruto called out. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Neji shook his head in surprise as three Naruto clones formed in front of him.
"Impossible!" The Branch member roared. "I blocked off all your chakra points!"
"I told you," Naruto grinned. "I'm not good at giving up!"
Hiruzen looked down towards the scene. "Is he drawing out the chakra of the Kyuubi?!"
Itachi had the exact same question on his mind. The answer was evident. The newly-summoned Naruto clones had a faint red chakra emanating from their bodies.
One of the clones grabbed Neji and tossed him further up into the air before dispersing.
The second clone got onto Naruto's back, jumping towards Neji and giving him a punch in the chin, sending him up higher.
The last of the clones was given a lift by Naruto's hands, flying towards Neji and giving him another punch in the chin.
Both clones dispersed, and Naruto felt himself finally descending onto the ground. Leaping up again, it was his turn to give Neji a punch, and that was what he did. The former Rookie of the Year was blasted into the ceiling.
What... is this strength?! Neji could feel himself growing weaker and weaker. The punches were doing no good to him.
The two fell towards land, and as they neared the ground, Naruto sent the back of his foot crashing into Neji's face. The Hyuga choked in surprise. Naruto's foot forced his face down, resulting in him slamming face-first onto the ground.
This created the sound of a sickening crunch.
"What was that about destiny you were talking about?" Naruto looked down at his fallen opponent, smirking.
A statement formed in the minds of almost every single Genin present.
Naruto won?
The dead last, won against a Rookie of the Year?
"You... you..."
Neji struggled, but he couldn't. He just couldn't move anymore.
He couldn't believe it. A silly K.O. move had finished him, while his 8 Trigrams 64 Palms did nothing much to bring this tiresome blonde to defeat.
"When I become Hokage, I will change the Hyuga." Naruto swore. "You have my word."
Naruto Uzumaki... you... Neji couldn't resist a smile breaking out on his face, as he drifted into unconsciousness. Destiny... huh...
"Winner: Naruto Uzumaki!"
That didn't come out as well as I liked - but let's hear the readers' opinions. Anyway, until next time. See ya!