DIsclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's affiliates. Not even when I asked nicely.
"Speaking"
'Thinking'
Jutsu/Techniques
Flashback
Future Vision
"So, who wants to go first?"
TD's words
were like a shot of caffeine to everybody in the room. It caused most of their pulses to race and minds to whrl. Ironically eough, all this Inner turmoil caused nearly everyone to go stockstill and quiet. His words about asking something personal and Important they wanted to know about the future had people thinking. It wasn't as easy as they first thought since they either didn't know what they really wanted or didn't know how to put It Into words. Well...almost everybody.
Neji knew what he wanted to ask. He had been doing some thinking since his loss against Naruto and his subsequent visit from Hiashi, and he had decided to make some changes in his life. Yet he had some fears, and he was hoping the opportunity that he had been given would help assuage those fears.
He stood up and said, "I would like to go first.", causing all eyes to turn to him. The sudden attention he was getting caused him to become fidgety and nervous, things he prided himself on not being.
"Hey, would you all stop looking at him like he just said he likes icha icha it's very rude.", they heard TD say. Neji spluttered in anger and embarassment and turned to yell at him but stopped and blinked when he saw him. The others turned to see what was so interesting and saw TD in dark blue jogging pants with a bright green stripe running down each leg and a black shirt with an eagle on It and the words 'American Original' underneath.
"What, do I have something on my face?", TD asked.
"Your clothes.", Ino said.
"Oh yeah. You guys were taking so long that I decided to get some exercise in.", he said, seemingly oblivious to Ino's real question, which irritated her.
"Ok listen, you were only out of sight for like 10 seconds so there Is no way you could've changed your clothes so fast, let alone work out.", she said.
"I'm a master of friggin time and space, what did you expect?", he said. Then he snapped his fingers and he was wearing a pair of slightly ripped blue jeans.
"Why didn't you change your shirt?", Sakura asked.
"I like this shirt. Now is everyone done asking stupid questions?", TD asked. Nobody spoke. "Good. Now, Neji would you kindly come up here and place your hand on the podium?"
Neji moved to the front and did as Instructed, and when he placed his hand on the podium It started glowing.
"Hello Neji Hyuga."
Neji jumped at the voice. It was female but It sounded automated and monotonous.
"You may now ask your question.", the voice said.
"That Is a most Interesting feature, but I must admit that the voice Is quite unsettling and could use more work to be more realistic.", Neji told TD.
"Well your voice Is extremely pompous and you look like a girl, yet you do not hear me complaining.", the voice said.
"Holy crap that thing can think?", Obito exclaimed.
"Funny, I was just about to say the same thing about you.", the voice said.
Obito fumed while quite a few people let out a laugh. The voice's statements were made even funnier by the monotone of It's (her?) voice.
"If you have managed to regain the ability of speech perhaps you could ask your question Mr. Hyuga.", the Voice said.
Neji thought about firing a retort back but decided It would be better to simply continue on.
"Right. You see, not too long ago I fought someone who defied everything I believed In. No matter what I told him, no matter how much I put him down he refused to give up."
His words were having an effect on Naruto. 'Whoa, is he complimenting me? I didn't expect him to change so quickly.'
Neji continued on. "And yet, he was still able to sympathise with me, and didn't hold a grudge after..."
"He kicked your ass.
", the Voice said.
"It was a very close match.", Neji sulked. "Anyway, not long after that I was told something very important that I never knew before. Both of these things have made me realize what's Important In life."
"And that would be?"
"Family, and those who are precious to me."
Hinata couldn't help but smile at that. She didn't hate her cousin, despite him trying to kill her. She just wanted them to act like family again, since she had so few that actually cared about her.
Gai looked on with a proud smile at the fact that his student no longer held onto his anger and hate.
"I am not hearing a question.", the Voice said.
"As I said, I am trying to turn over a new leaf.", Neji said. "But I hurt so many people with my actions and I fear I may never be forgiven."
Hinata, Naruto, Neji's team, and a few others started to speak in order to tell him that he was already forgiven when they were interrupted by the Voice.
"You want to know if you ever manage to redeem yourself. However, It seems that those you seek forgiveness from have already given it. I think what you really want to know is if you are ever able to completely forgive yourself.", the Voice said.
Neji was surprised by her insightful answer, especially since that was exactly how he felt. He gave her a nod showing that that was what he was asking.
"The answer to your question happens a few months after the chunin exams.", the Voice said.
"Well what is it?", Neji asked impatiently.
"Are you deaf as well as blind? TD made It clear you are going to SEE the future. I am not going to tell you, I am going to show you. So please sit down so we can get started.", the Voice said.
Neji Ignored the joke about his eyes and did as he was told and he, along with everyone else faced forward as the screen turned on.
It was a clear day without a cloud In the sky. The sun was shining down on a large forest, where the chirping of birds could be heard. The silent monotony of the forest was broken when 4 figures jumped across the branches. At first glance the identities of the figures couldn't be determined, the only noticable feature being the color of their clothes: one green, one grey, one cream colored, and one bright orange.
"Geez Naruto, even I can tell that's you, and I barely know you.", Tenten said.
"She's got a point brat.", Kushina said. "How did you even become a ninja wearing that eyesore?"
"Hey, don't diss my jumpsuit.", Naruto said. "Besides, you're one to talk with that hair of yours. You look like a chili pepper."
Kushina got a tick mark on her forehead. "At least I'm not a midget. .
"At least I'm not some old hag.", Naruto fired back.
"Would you both stop acting like little children.", Kurenai said.
"I'm not the child he/she is.", they both shouted.
"Well then both of you need to end it or I will.", Tsunade added in.
Kushina and Naruto reluctantly went back to their seats, but not before sticking their tongues out at each other.
Jiraiya looked on with amusement. 'Those two are so alike. I wonder if I should tell them?', he thought. 'Naw, they'll find out eventually. Besides, this is more fun.'
Suddenly, the viewpoint changed to show a better view of the individuals, who were revealed to be Shikamaru, Naruto, Neji, and Kiba along with his canine partner Akamaru.
"That's an odd team.", the Sandaime observed. "All four of them are from different squads. That'll make it much harder to work together effectively."
"It looks like somebody just threw a team together on short notice.", Asuma said.
"I wonder why they would do that.", Kurenai said. "There are more than enough squads in the village. Surely there aren't so many missions that they couldn't spare some other shinobi."
'Yeah, I wonder...', Kakashi thought, with a bad feeling in his gut.
Akamaru sniffed the air before barking at Kiba.
"We're getting close.", Kiba said.
After hearing Kiba, Neji activated his Byakugan and looked ahead.
"That's strange, it's been quite a long time and we still haven't encountered a single trap." he informed the others. "Well Shikamaru? What's your assessment?"
"Wait, why is he talking to Shikamaru like he's in charge?", Ino asked.
It was then that everyone noticed the vest Shikamaru was wearing on the screen.
"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me!", Temari yelled.
Most people in the room ignored her outburst. The room was filled with a mixture of cheers, congratulations, and words of disbelief. Mostly the last one.
Naruto and Choji slapped him on the back and started congratulating him and laughing at him (good-naturedly of course).
"This is either extreme irony or proof that the world likes messing with you," Choji said while laughing. "You tried your hardest to fail and now you're stuck with all that responsibility."
"But it looks like I didn't make chunin.", Naruto said sadly.
"Don't sweat it Naruto, most of us didn't even make it to the finals or win their fights.", Choji said. "Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if Shikamaru was the only one who passed."
"Oh man, for some reason that makes it even funnier.", Naruto said. And they both started laughing again while Shikamaru grumbled under his breath about no-good friends. Temari didn't seem to find it amusing, for obvious reasons.
"You lazy ass, not only do you embarass me in our fight, now you have to rub it in my face by making chunin anyway.", she said as she poked him in the chest.
"What are you talking about? I didn't choose to become chunin, I didn't even want to.", Shikamaru said.
"That makes it worse!", Temari fumed.
"Ok look, I know it's very tempting to hit Shikamaru.", Ino said. "But how about we save that for after ok?"
"You've got a deal.", Temari said with a smile.
"Why are blonds so troublesome?", Shikamaru groaned.
"It looks to me like we've been underestimated.", Shikamaru answered. "They're cocky, they think we're all dead now and their big guy is the only one following them. They don't need to set a trap for their own man do they?"
"Those idiots.", Naruto growled. "They think we're so weak."
"It seems you're right about our enemy Shikamaru. And it's insulting to be underestimated like this.", Neji said. "But still, this could be our chance."
The four of them dropped down to a lower branch and continued on.
"I hear ya. Now we can take 'em by surprise.", Shikamaru agreed.
"So it looks like you're chasing after some group, probably hostile shinobi.", Minato said. "And at least one of them is incapacitated."
"I wonder why.", Sakura said.
"They probably stole some information from the village or were spying and have to be captured before they can leave the country." Neji said.
"That seems most likely. Information is power after all.", Ibiki said.
Not too far ahead of the 4 leaf village shinobi were 3 people with a coffin. The one In the front was a male who had grey hair and looked like he was wearing dark eyeliner and lipstick. The one in the middle was a female with red hair and a hat covering most of her head. The last one was a male with brown hair in a high ponytail, and had six arms. He was also the one carrying the coffin. The three of them wore the same clothes: a long grey tunic with black leggings and a large purple rope tied into a bow in the back.
"Oh god, they're wearing the same thing as that creepy pedophile shemale from the 2nd exam.", Naruto blurted out.
Everyone was caught off guard by his statement. Luckily Sakura stepped in. Literally.
"Naruto, you idiot", she said as she kicked him, "you can't go around saying things like that."
"But you know it's true.", he argued.
"I know, but that doesn't mean you have to shout it so the whole world can hear.", she said.
"What are you guys talking about?", Ino asked.
"Yeah we're all kinda lost here.", Obito said.
"You're always lost.", Kakashi said. Obito gave him the finger.
"In the Forest of Death we were attacked by this really strong person who was way above chunin level.", Sakura explained.
"Wait, are you guys talking about Orochimaru?", Kakashi-sensei asked.
A shiver went down the spines of Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.
"Oh god, everything about him was creepy.", Sakura said. "Like the way his body moved. No man should be able to bend like that."
"The way he looked at us.", Naruto said. "And that creepy ass smile."
"And the tongue, dear god the tongue!", Sasuke said.
While everyone else was mesmerized by the three genin, Ibiki noticed that Anko had gone rigid and her hands were clenched so hard that her nails had cut into her palms. He knew that any mention of her old master brought up painful memories, so he placed his hand on her shoulder. He couldn't help her forget, but he could help her deal with the pain. It was one of the reasons he had taken her under his wing.
"Thanks Ibiki.", she said gratefully.
"Don't mention it.", he replied.
Eventually everyone calmed down enough to continue watching.
"Jirobo's pretty late, isn't he.", the grey-haired one said.
"He was, but he just arrived.", the six-armed one replied.
A fourth man wearing the same clothes as the others appeared. He was large, with orange hair in a mohawk on top of his head and a little on the sides.
"Well it's about time. You were gone a while, what took so long?", the grey haired one questioned.
"Sorry. It took longer than I thought to eat all that loser's chakra.", 'Jirobo' answered.
"I thought they took that other guy out?", Naruto asked.
"I know what's going on.", Shikamaru said.
The redhead gave him an irritated look. "Listen fatso, don't slow us down so you can eat more. You see that coffin", she said, pointing at the item in question. "you're the one who's supposed to be carrying it. So do your job you slob."
"Ok", he said.
The other three gave him suspicious looks when he said that.
"Well well Jirobo, aren't you awfully easygoing today.", the six-armed one said.
"Yeah, so what?", 'Jirobo' said
"Well it's just that I'm not gonna be handing over this coffin to you. Because you're not the real Jirobo!", he yelled before throwing the coffin to the redhead.
"Shit.", Tenten cursed. "How'd he know it wasn't him?"
"It must've been something he said.", Gai answered.
"What's up with the music?", Kakashi asked out of nowhere.
"Yeah I was about to bring that up.", Minato said. "Why IS there music TD?"
"I told you we were gonna be doing this in style.", TD said with a smile. "There's gonna be background music, special angles to make things look cooler, slow motion, diagrams to make things easier to understand, and I've made chakra visible. It's gonna be epic."
Kiba and Naruto seemed to really like what he was saying.
"Alright!"
"This is gonna be awesome!"
"That's the kind of attitude I like.", TD said. He then high fived them both.
"Alright enough of that, let's continue.", TD said.
The six-armed guy gave an evil laugh as the Jirobo imposter took out a kunai and leapt at him.
"Let me take down this one fellas.", the six-armed man said with a smile. "Sakon, Tayuya, go on I'll catch up." The other two heeded his words and took off.
The Jirobo imposter gave a battle cry as he swung his kunai in a downward strik. Unfortunately, the other man was able to block it.
"The real Jirobo is always scolding Tayuya about her rather coarse language.", the six-armed man explained.
"Oh, so that's how they knew.", Sakura said in understanding.
"I can't believe he was discovered because of something so small.", Ino said.
"That's one of the benefits of working with the same people for a long time. You end up knowing every little detail about them.", Asuma said. "It definitely makes it harder for an enemy to impersonate them. Though it doesn't seem like such a good thing right now."
He then started chewing something in his mouth.
'Jirobo' was enveloped in a cloud of smoke cleared to reveal that it was really Shikamaru.
"You got me.", Shikamaru said. He then jumped and tried to kick the other guy in the head, but was blocked once again. The six-armed man then spit out a spider web at Shikamaru while saying,
"Ninja Art: Spider Web Net".
The web pinned Shikamaru against a tree, where he was unable to free himself.
"Whoa, is this guy part spider or something?", Kiba exclaimed. "Those arms were weird enough, and now he's spitting out spider webs."
"It's obviously a jutsu.", Kakashi said.
"But he didn't use any hand signs and it didn't look like he built up any chakra, so it would stand to reason that it was made inside his body.", Shino said, talking for the first time since they arrived.
"That's actually a pretty good theory.", Shikamaru said.
The spider guy was smiling at his handiwork when a shadow fell over him. He looked up to see six Narutos about to attack him.
"Surprised to see me?", all six yelled.
The spider guy jumped backwards off the branch and spit a wad of spider silk into his hands. After molding it a little, he threw it to make a giant web between him and the Narutos.
"Ninja Art: Spiral Spider Web", he said.
The six Narutos got caught in the web that now acted as a barrier between them and the spider guy.
"Naruto!", Shikamaru yelled in concern.
'Kiba, Akamaru, now's your chance.', Naruto thought. 'When he's in midair like that there's no way he can defend himself'
Kiba and Akamaru appeared out of the trees spinning like drills and headed straight for spider guy.
"Fang Over Fang.", Kiba yelled.
Spider guy saw them coming and used some very thin threads that nobody had noticed to pull himself out of the way of their attack.
Kiba and Akamaru stopped spinning and landed on two separate branches.
"I won't let you get away!", Kiba yelled upwards, where spider guy was standing upside down on a branch above them.
"Heh heh, you stole my line punk.", spider guy said. "You should look down at your feet."
Kiba looked down and saw that his feet were trapped In spider webs.
"You coward!", he yelled. "Do you really think you can stop us that easily?!"
"Why don't you shut up.", spider guy said with a smirk.
Obito whistled. "Man, this guy's good.", he said. "He captured the three of you in less than 30 seconds."
"He just caught us off guard. I'm sure our future selves are gonna figure out a plan.", Kiba said.
"And besides, Neji is still free.", Lee said. "I am sure he will be able to free the others and take down this enemy."
"Excellent point Lee. It seems Neji has embraced the springtime of his youth, and though this foe may be skilled he will be no match for our Neji, let alone the combined might of his team!", Gai proclaimed with passion.
Gai's words had an energizing effect on nearly everyone in the room. Neji, Kiba, Naruto, and even Shikamaru felt like they could do anything.
"Gai-sensei, your words seem to have awakened the youth in everyone here. Let us continue on so we may witness how they use this energy in battle.", Lee proclaimed.
"Lee, you do know that the people on screen can't hear you right?", Tenten asked.
"There is no limits to what the power of youth can do Tenten.", Gai said.
Tenten let out a long-suffering sigh. 'That doesn't even make sense.'
Meanwhile, Sakon and Tayuya were moving further away from the skirmish between their teammate and the genin chasing them.
"Where is he? What could that fatso be doing?", Tayuya fumed. "This stinks."
"Well we did leave the weakest one behind to take care of those brats.", Sakon said. "Perhaps that was a mistake."
"They don't seem to have much faith in this Jirobo guy.", Naruto said.
"I don't know kid. They may be insulting him, but they also seem genuinely surprised that he didn't take all of you out.", Jiraiya said.
"I agree.", the Sandaime said. "Being the weakest member on a team doesn't necessarily make one weak."
"It doesn't really matter now.", Choji said. "They still took him down no problem."
The spider guy was staring down at his captured prey with a smile on his face. Unbeknownst to him, Neji had jumped up and was about to attack him.
'My turn', Neji thought.
But spider guy saw him coming and dodged at the last second, letting Neji fly past him.
Spider guy spat another glob of spider silk into his hands and formed it Into another large web which he threw out to capture Neji, who was still in the air and unable to dodge.
"Neji no!", Naruto yelled.
"He's stuck.", Kiba said.
'Darn it.', Shikamaru thought. 'He got me, Naruto, Kiba, and Neji. We followed the plan but it's not working.'
"He got Neji!", Tenten gasped.
"I cannot believe it.", Lee exclaimed. "This enemy is more powerful than we originally thought."
"This foe certainly looks like he will be a challenge. But like young Kiba said, they were caught off guard by his unique abilities.", Gai said. "Now that they know, they will be able to counterattack."
Akamaru returned to his original form and whimpered as he watched his partner and his teammates all captured. All the while Neji struggled to escape from the web.
"How'd you like to see the inside of an airtight cocoon?", spider guy told Neji with sadistic glee. He started wrapping more of his spider silk around Neji until he was completely covered from head to foot.
"No.", Naruto said. He took out a kunai and tried to cut the web he was in with no success. "Come on, come on, what the heck's this thread made of? I can't cut it."
The spider guy chuckled at Naruto's efforts. "It's useless.", he said. "My spider silk Is so strong that nothing can break It. 2 elephants couldn't pull It apart."
"GaI, I know you keep saying that they'll ffigure out a way out of this but it looks pretty bad from where I'm sitting.", Kurenai said.
"And that freaking music's not helping. It makes it feel like there's no possible way for them to get out of this.", Anko said.
Spider guy focused on Naruto. "That one's able to use shadow clones.", he said. He began chewing something again.
"Wait a minute, hold it.", Tsunade said.
"Will everybody please stop Interrupting every 5 seconds?", TD said exasperatedly.
"You brought us here so you have to deal with the consequences. Now shut up and let lady Tsunade speak.", Tenten said.
"Hey you um, Naruto right? Are you telling me you know how to use shadow clones?", Tsunade asked while pointing at Naruto.
"Yep.", he answered.
"He can get quite enthusiastic with them.", Neji added.
"He means that Naruto throws them around like they're going out of style.", Sasuke said.
Tsunade had a shocked look on her face. 'This kid knows one of my grandfather's jutsu and he acts like it's no big deal.', she thought.
"Lady Tsunade are you alright?", Shizune said when she looked at her mentor.
Tsunade let out a sigh. "I need a drink."
All the while, Neji struggled to find a way out of his predicament. 'No matter what I do this thread keeps sticking to me. The stickiness must come from combining his chakra with some sort of fluid.', he thought. He took a closer look at the threads. 'And the strength is unreal. Even after he releases the thread he still has chakra flowing through it, giving It power. Impossible, the level of this jutsu is out of this world, it's unstoppable.' He closed his eyes. 'No wait, I've got to calm down. Focus my chakra.', he thought as he began to do exactly that.
Spider guy landed on a branch above where the 6 Naruto's were trapped. He finished chewing whatever was in his mouth and stuck all 6 of his hands in his mouth, pulling out six gold colored threads, which were shaped into weapons at the ends
"Ninja Art: Sticky Spider Thread", he said.
'That's a different color than the thread he used before. What's he planning?', Shikamaru thought.
Spider guy pulled the weapon ends off of the rest of the threads. The new weapons then began to harden.
'I see, it's solidifying.', Shikamaru thought.
"What the hell man?", Kiba exclaimed. "Every time it looks like our selves have a chance to fight back he pulls out some new trick. Can't we catch a break?"
Nobody could deny that things kept getting bleaker, but there was still hope that they would find a way to succeed.
Spider guy pointed one of the weapons at one of the Narutos. "Since you'll be my first victim, let's make this entertaining. I'm going to play a little game to find out which one of you is the real one.", he said.
"What did you just say?", Naruto growled. Kiba looked like he was imagining ripping out spider guy's throat.
"Contestant 1, let's try you at the end.", spider guy said. He threw one of the weapons at one of the Narutos.
"No, Naruto!", Shikamaru yelled. The weapon impaled the Naruto only for him to disappear in a cloud of smoke, revealing it was just a clone.
"This is bad.", Kakashi-sensei said. "Naruto is at the mercy of that guy with nobody to help him."
"It's also a psychological tactic. Most shinobi would take out all their enemies at once if they managed to capture all of them. He's going to take them out one by one, which will increase the anxiety of not only the kid in the net but the other two too, since he's forcing them to watch.", Ibiki said. "This man is a sadist."
"Oh well, looks like that one was a clone. No problem, let's try another.", spider guy said. He threw another weapon, but luckily the Naruto that was stabbed was another clone.
"Whichever you are, you're pretty lucky. Next let's try 2 at a time. The odds will be doubled in my favor.", spider guy said. He threw 2 more weapons and hit 2 more Narutos, who both disappeared in clouds of smoke.
Spider guy started laughing. "You are a very lucky guy, you know that. But now I have a 50/50 shot.", spider guy said. He threw a weapon at one of the 2 remaining Narutos. It hit him and there was a moment where it seemed like it was the real Naruto, which caused Shikamaru, Kiba, and Akamaru to look on in horror. To their relief, the Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Well somehow he made it all the way to the bitter end.", spider guy said. "Well weakling, it was fun playing with ya, but unfortunately the game's over for you now.", he told Naruto.
"Oh god, I can't watch!", Sakura said. She covered her eyes as Ino tried to comfort her. But even Ino was finding it hard to watch. She may not be particularly close to Naruto, but that didn't mean she wanted to see him get killed.
"Sakura it's ok.", Naruto said. "I'm sure I'll figure something out."
"You better, because I swear if you die I'm going to kill you.", Sakura said.
Naruto didn't bother pointing out the absurdity of that statement. He was too busy with his own thoughts. He had an idea of what his future self might be doing and had some confidence that he would be alright, but he couldn't be sure so he was still afraid. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice Hinata giving him a worried look.
'Naruto must be so scared, yet he is still trying to comfort others. Why does he have to die?', Hinata thought in sadness. 'No, I mustn't lose hope. Naruto never gives up no matter what. I'm sure he will survive, he has to.'
"Now die!", spider guy said as he threw the last weapon at the last Naruto. The weapon impaled Naruto in the side.
'One down, three to go.', spider guy thought in satisfaction, when suddenly the last Naruto burst into a cloud of smoke, revealing it was really a clone. Spider guy was shocked.
"Wait, where'd he..."
Naruto appeared above spider guy, and with a battle cry attacked him. He delivered a punch, which spider guy was able to block, but the force of the blow pushed him off the branch. Spider guy was able to slow his fall by wrapping some threads on a branch above him and he landed on a branch below, while Naruto landed on a branch above him.
'Of course, he let his shadow clones get captured while the real one hid and waited for a chance to strike.', spider guy thought. 'For a wimp like that to come up with such a deception in the heat of battle.', he added. "He's not so dumb after all.", he finished out loud.
"He has a point kid.", Kushina said. "It was smart to send in your clones to attack the guy since you didn't know what his abilities were at the time. And now you know that he uses 2 types of webs, each with different properties. I guess you're alright after all."
"Thanks. You're pretty cool yourself. And your hair is actually kind of awesome.", Naruto said. "We should totally hang out. I know this great ramen place."
Sakura looked a little irritated. "Naruto, not everyone likes..."
"Now you're talking my language. How can I refuse the greatest food In the world.", Kushina said with enthusiasm.
"Finally, someone who understands how great ramen is.", Naruto said. Both of them began talking about ramen, which irritated Sakura.
"Can we please get a move on?", Sakura almost shouted. "Nobody else cares about ramen."
"Fine.", Kushina huffed. "Sorry Naruto, Miss Prissy over here is getting bent out of shape."
"That's alright Miss Kushina, not everyone appreciates ramen. We can continue this conversation later.", Naruto said.
"However...", spider guy said as he looked at the thread he had wrapped around Naruto's hand. "...It looks like you're at the end of your rope!", he finished. He pulled Naruto off the branch and down towards him, but before he came In range of an attack Neji appeared and stuck the thread, cutting It.
"How did he...", spider guy began in confusion.
"Naruto.", Neji said. He caught Naruto before he hit the ground. "Thanks for stalling him for me."
"Neji.", Naruto said. He was placed on a branch where Shikamaru and Kiba were standing, having been freed.
"I trapped you.", spider guy said. "How did you escape?"
"Your web had a chakra base.", Neji said. "And chakra based substances don't stand a chance against my Gentle Fist attack."
There was a collective sigh of relief from nearly everyone in the room.
"Phew, thanks for saving my self's ass Neji.", Naruto said.
"Well it wasn't really me, but your thanks is appreciated. Besides, I'm sure you would have done the same for me. ", NejI replied.
"You know it!", Naruto said.
"I am very proud of you Neji. Your quick thinking and heroic bravery has quite probably saved your team and exemplifies the best our village has to offer. You carry with you the Will of Fire.", Gai said .
Neji liked to keep his emotions under control, but he couldn't stop a small smile from appearing on his face. His sensei may be a bit crazy at times but he respected him greatly. The knowledge that Gai was proud of him caused both happiness and embarassment since he said it in front of everybody.
"I think It's best If we continue.", Neji suggested so nobody would notice how flustered he was.
Neji looked down at spider guy. "This guy's jutsu, I think I'm the only one who can handle it.", he said. "Go on you guys, I'll take care of him."
Akamaru whimpered and backed up. "What is it buddy?", Kiba asked. Akamaru suddenly leapt into Kiba's coat. "Hey wait Akamaru.", Kiba said, concerned. "Well it looks like this guy is stronger than the big guy we fought before. Much stronger."
The four of them stared down at their enemy. "'We're going to have to go one on one to have any chance to succeed', isn't that what you said?", Neji asked Shikamaru.
"Yeah, that's what we agreed.", Shikamaru replied.
"And besides, if we all stay here we won't be able to catch up to Sasuke.", Neji said.
"What about Choji?", Kiba asked. "He hasn't come back yet."
"Wait what?!", Sasuke said.
Naruto gasped. "That's why they were carrying that coffin!", he exclaimed. "They must've kidnapped you and stuffed you in there.", he told Sasuke.
'I should've known.', Kakashi-sensei thought. 'He's already shown that he's interested in Sasuke. But what's he planning to do with him?'
"Forget about Sasuke, didn't anyone hear what they said about Choji?", Shikamaru asked.
Ino was too worried about her teammate to care about the insult to Sasuke. "So wait, does that mean he was part of the team when they set out?", she asked no one in particular.
"I was wondering why there was only 4 people, since teams led by a chunin are supposed to have 5 members.", Anko said.
"Do you think it has to do with that big guy they keep talking about Asuma-sensei?", Choji asked.
Asuma could see how worried his student was. "Maybe, but don't worry Choji I'm sure you're able to handle yourself. You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for.", he said.
"Yeah Choji, I've known you for a while and I'm sure my future self wouldn't have left you behind unless he was sure you would win.", Shikamaru assured his friend.
"Besides, you're so bullheaded that once you set your mind to something nothing can stop you.", Ino said.
Choji smiled at their words, but he wasn't sure if they meant It or were just being nice. He pushed it all to the back of his mind. He would get his answers later.
"We all embarked on this mission to find Sasuke and bring him back home, to the village. But that's not the only reason that we've come.", Neji said. "We are on this mission to protect a fellow shinobi, to defend the bond of the Hidden Leaf village."
The other three were now hanging onto his every word.
"At the Third Hokage's funeral, when Iruka spoke, do you remember what he said?", Neji asked.
There was a shocked silence in the room at the revelation that the Sandaime Hokage, the Professor, the 2nd God of Shinobi, would soon no longer be with them. He was like a surrogate father or grandfather to quite a few people in the room and he freely gave his help and guidance to those who needed it. There was hardly a dry eye in the room.
"That's impossible!", Naruto yelled.
"Naruto calm down!", Kakashi-sensei said.
"No!", Naruto said. He then turned to the Sandaime. "Jiji you're the Hokage, the strongest ninja in the village. No one's supposed to be able to beat you.", he said In denial. His shoulders began to sag. "Please tell me it's not true.", he said in a small voice.
He wasn't the only one who was heavily affected. Anko was extremely sad. The Sandaime was the one who gave her the benefit of the doubt after she was abandoned by Orochimaru. If it wasn't for him then she might've spent years in prison.
But perhaps the most affected was Asuma. He and his father had never really been on the best of terms, something that he had begun to regret recently. The thought that he might never be able to make it right between the two of them caused him great pain. He turned to his father so he could begin to apologize and close the rift between them when he saw something that infuriated him. His father seemed completely unaffected by the news. In fact, he thought he could see a smile on his face.
"What the hell dad?", Asuma yelled. "Would it kill you to show some emotion, some remorse or regret. What about Konohamaru huh? Because in case you haven't noticed, nearly everyone here is in pain and you don't seem to care!"
The Sandaime let out a sigh. "Asuma, I am old. I have lived a full life, full of both good and bad times, and I will hold noregrets as I pass on.", he said. "But more Importantly I am Hokage. It is the duty of the Hokage to protect the people of the Hidden Leaf, even if it means laying down our lives. It was true for my predecessors as well as all those who come after.", the Sandaime said. He gave a proud but sad look at Minato, knowing he exemplified everything the position of Hokage stood for, even unto his last breath. "We all took up the mantle knowing this, yet I can say for certain that none of us had any regrets about giving our all to protect our home and those we love. I know many of you may be saddened at my passing but I am not, since I have watched over the shinobi of this village and I can tell just from the people in this room that the Will of Fire will continue to burn for many years to come."
There was silence as many took a moment to absorb his words. Naruto was still saddened that his surrogate grandfather would soon be gone but he felt comforted that he would most likely die as he lived; as a hero.
"I'm sorry dad", Asuma whispered so only his father could hear.
"As am I", the Sandaime said with a smile.
It was a rainy day. There was a large group of people In black with the Sandaime's grandson Konohamaru, Naruto, and Iruka in front. All of them were standing in front of a memorial service, with many people's pictures in a row.
"Iruka-sensei, why do they do it?", Naruto asked. "Why do people risk their lives for other people?"
"Well, when someone passes away, it's the end. His past and future, all the dreams he once had, they disappear along with him.", Iruka said. "This is true even if he dies honorably in battle, like so many have. As Hayate did.
"Hayate died? That's terrible.", Rin said.
"Wait, who's Hayate?", Choji asked.
"He was the proctor for the Chunin exam preliminaries.", Kakashi-sensei said.
"That guy who kept coughing?", Kiba asked.
"Yes.", Ibiki said. "He was found murdered about a week ago while he was out on patrol."
"It must've been someone extremely skilled if they got the drop on him.", Anko said. "He may not have looked it, but he was the best damn kenjutsu (sword-fighting) master in the village."
The older ninja in the room didn't miss the way Baki's body tensed during the conversation.
"All the ties that bind him to the living are severed. All except one, the most important of all: people.", Iruka said. By now many other people in the crowd were listening to Iruka's speech. "Parents, siblings, friends, lovers; the people who were important to him. And these people, the ones left behind, are joined together in a great circle by their shared memories of him. A circle of friendship, trust, and sacrifice that grows larger and stronger as time passes. It's hard to explain it. We remain in the circle together, we have no choice. It is important to us."
Naruto had a contemplative look as he finished remembering Iruka's words.
"Listen, Sasuke's out there right now, heading to Orochimaru. We can't allow such evil to take someone from our village. It is not our way.", Neji said. "What's more..."
Neji turned to look intently at Naruto, who was surprised at the sudden attention. Neji closed his eyes with a smile on his face. "Naruto, sometimes your eyes are even better than mine.", Neji said. "Wherever he is, Sasuke is in the darkness." He turned away so he was facing spider guy. "Now get going, I'll be right behind you."
Naruto gave a determined nod.
"Well alright, let's do this thing.", Shikamaru said.
Kiba grinned. "When you catch up with us make sure you bring Choji too.", he told Neji.
"Of course I will.", Neji said. The other three then finally took off to continue the mission, but not without looking back one more time at their teammate.
'Neji, I better see you again.', Naruto thought.
Most of the people in the room were moved and inspired by Iruka and Neji's words.
"Man Neji, who would've thought that you would be the one saying that to Naruto.", Kiba said. "It's like opposite day or something."
Naruto and Neji looked at each other and smiled.
'It looks like the Will of Fire will burn long after I am gone.', the Sandaime thought with a smile.
Spider guy spit a glob of silk into his hands.
'Oh no you don't.', he thought.
He then threw his hand forward and shot out 3 silk threads that were tipped with sharp points made out of the hard gold-colored substance. The 3 threads were connected by many smaller threads.
"Byakugan", Neji said as he activated his dojutsu and prepared for the attack. However, the threads went past him and headed towards his 3 teammates, while he was caught in the smaller threads.
Naruto noticed the threads coming towards them.
"Incoming", he yelled to the other two.
Neji struggled for a bit before he started focusing chakra into his hands. In a flash he cut through his bonds before doing the same to the rest of the threads.
Spider guy was smiling. "He's pretty good. This is gonna be fun.", he said.
Since the threads were cut they lost their momentum and simply fell.
"Thanks Neji", Naruto said.
"Yep, that's him alright.", Shikamaru said.
'Not so fast. I won't let you escape that easily.', spider guy thought. He was about to spit more silk into his hands when Neji landed in front of him, blocking him.
"If you want them you'll have to go through me.", Neji declared.
Spider guy spit out a web at Neji, who cut it apart with ease. "Not good enough.", he said.
Spider guy narrowed his eyes before he chuckled. "Well that's just fine by me.", he told Neji. "Besides, you're by far the strongest one of the lot."
"What are we? Chopped liver or something?", Kiba complained.
"Quiet Kiba.", Ino said. "Besides, you know he had a point."
"But..."
"Kiba, just drop it.", Kurenai said firmly.
Kiba sighed. "Yes sensei.", he said.
"Don't worry Kiba. I still think you are a gifted shinobi.", Kurenai told him with a smile.
"Ah man, I'm really itching to play with you. And we should play slowly, or else the game's not as fun.", spider guy said. Above him, a small spider sat in the middle of it's web.
Spider guy chuckled as he watched Neji get into a fighting stance, while he cracked his knuckles in preparation for the fight.
"Ok, the game is I'll kill you in 3 minutes or less", spider guy said.
Neji used his byakugan to observe spider guy's chakra network. He finished in time to see that spider guy had finished chewing more silk. Suddenly, spider guy started rapidly spitting webs, which Neji began to dodge. Neji then jumped up and grabbed onto a branch which he used to swing around the tree, where he landed on another branch. He began cutting through every web that came his way one after another. Web after web came at him, until he was a split second too late and he was hit In the chest by a web. It propelled him backwards and pinned him to a tree. Spider guy then spit 2 more webs which pinned both of Neji's arms to the tree.
"Ha, you're not going anywhere.", spider guy taunted.
Neji grit his teeth as he struggled against the webs binding him.
"For a wimp you're pretty good at handling chakra, aren't ya? And those eyes of yours are pretty sharp.", spider guy said. "You fire off chakra from the chakra points in your hands, like a sharp needle. Then you target the thin part of my thread with chakra running through it and strike there."
Spider guy chuckled evilly. "Yes, I heard this from lord Orochimaru. It's the technique you call Gentle fist, right? But if you can't use those annoying hands of yours, then you won't be able to cut through my silk!", spider guy said as he jumped onto the same branch as Neji.
"Hey wait.", Naruto said.
"What is it?", Sakura asked.
"During our match he released chakra from all over his body to do that spin thing, so he should be able to free hImself, right?", Naruto asked.
"You mean the Kaiten (Heavenly Spin)?", Tenten asked. "Well I wouldn'tworry about that Naruto, I'm sure Neji's very aware of that fact."
Neji had a small smirk on his face.
"That was way too easy. Once you figure out your opponent's rules of engagement, games like this one are no longer amusing. ", spider guy said. "IIt's only been a minute or so, and I'm already tired of playing with you."
Spider guy started chewing. Neji strained against his bonds one last time before suddenly relaxing. He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Spider guy leaned his head back. 'Die.', he viciously thought. He threw his head forward and shot out a long sharp spike made out of the gold colored material out of his mouth, right at Neji.
Neji focused his chakra as the spike neared him. Suddenly, he burst through the webs binding him and jumped up to avoid the spike, which stabbed into the spot he was just at.
Spider guy gasped and his eyes widened.
"Letting your opponent think he has the upper hand so that he drops his guard. Not bad kid.", Anko said.
"Did you see the look on that guy's face?", Naruto asked. "That'll teach him to underestimate you Neji. Not that it'll do him any good now."
"it's just what I would expect from one of my talented students!", Gai said.
Neji landed on the spike, which was stuck in the tree and was still in spider guy's mouth. He ran along it until he jumped off it and landed in front of spider guy and got into a fighting stance.
'How did he...', spider guy thought In disbelief.
"I suppose you want me to explain how I broke free.", Neji stated. "You see it's not just my hands, there are chakra points all over me. I can emit chakra from any one. And now, as you would say, game over."
A yin-yang symbol surrounded by green markings going outward appeared on the ground with Neji in the center, to show the range of his attack.
"Gentle Fist Art: 8 Trigrams 64 Palms"
Spider guy bit off the spike still in his mouth, in an attempt to dodge the attack that was to come.
"8 Trigrams 2 Palms"
Spider guy was unable to dodge and was forced to take the hits. All of the them.
"4 Palms"
Spider guy began to be pushed to the tree behind him by the speed and force of the attacks.
"8 Palms. 16 Palms. 32 Palms."
Spider guy was pushed up against the tree.
"64 Palms"
The final barrage of hits was so strong it sent Spider guy straight through the tree, and he plummeted to the ground below. He hit the ground hard, sending dust and debris flying everywhere, while Neji landed gracefully in front of it.
"Damn, you didn't hold back did you Neji.", Ino said.
"In battle you can't afford to give your enemy an inch, because you can be damn sure that they won't give you any.", Asuma told his only female student. "Be sure to remember that Ino."
"Yes! Always put your heart and soul Into every battle. That is the meaning of youth.", Gai stated.
"You are very wise Gai-sensei!", Lee yelled.
"LEE"
"GAI-SENSEI"
"LEE"
"GAI-SENSEI"
Asuma found himself under the glare of virtually everyone in the room, save for Lee and Gai obviously.
"Nice going Asuma", Kurenai said.
Asuma sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.
Neji stared iinto the dust cloud and could make out the figure of spider guy begin to get up.
'What's going on? ', Neji thought in confusion.
Neji gasped as the dust cleared to reveal spider guy with his skin covered in a layer of the gold-colored material.
'The surface of his body.', Neji thought in amazement.
The material began to break apart and fall off of spider guy. Neji used his byakugan to examine it.
'It's the same material as that weapon he spit from his mouth.', Neji realized.
"Well well, that was close. I know if I take just 1 direct hit from that Gentle Fist of yours my whole chakra network goes out of wack.", spider guy said with a smile. "You keep me on my toes kid."
"That material, where does it come from you monster?", Neji spat.
"Impressive, yes? My Sticky Spider Thread is actually a type of metal that hardens the Instant It leaves my body. It's impervious to chakra.", spider guy said. "And what's more, not only can I secrete it from my mouth, as you've seen, but from every sweat gland In my body."
He lifted his arm to show more of the metal growing on his arm, before letting his arm drop and allowing the metal to crack and fall off.
"Come on man!", Kiba shouted in exasperation. "Does this guy have a fucking counter for everything?"
"Kiba, language.", Kurenai said.
"Deep breaths Kiba, deep breaths.", Naruto told his friend as he patted his back.
"For once I agree with Kiba. This guy is irritating.", Neji said.
'That explains it. No wonder my attacks on his chakra points have no effect.', Neji thought.
'The Spider Web Net won't work, and close range combat is suicide against that Gentle Fist of his.', spider guy thought. 'I'll just have to keep my distance, and look for a blind spot.'
"Ha. He may act tough but he's really just as nervous as Neji.", Tenten declared with glee. "He may think that attacking from long range will work but Neji has an Impenetrable defense that he has no chance of getting through. And no matter how far he goes and how well he hides Neji will find him."
"Yeah, Neji's gonna wipe the floor with this guy.", Naruto said confidently.
Some of the tension in the room disappeared with the knowledge that Neji would be ok. He wasn't considered a prodigy for nothing.
Both fighters stared each other down when suddenly Neji's eyes widened. Spider guy had disappeared. Neji was tense as he looked around trying to find him.
Meanwhile, spider guy landed silently in a tree behind Neji. He lifted his hand, which had a thread wrapped around his index finger. The thread was connected to something that couldn't be seen.
'It'll come in a flash, without a sound.', spider guy thought in satisfaction. He released the thread.
Neji dodged to his left to avoid a kunai, which stabbed Into the ground where he had just been standing. He noticed an explosive tag attached to the end of it.
'Game over.', spider guy thought with a smile. He released a bunch of threads that he had been holding.
Neji was still staring at the tag, which had yet to explode.
'The knife's just a ploy.', he realized.
He looked around himself to see dozens of kunai made of the gold metal heading right for him. He began to turn.
'What?', spider guy thought in confusion.
Neji began to release chakra from his body.
"8 Trigrams: Rotation"
Neji began started to spin incredibly fast while releasing chakra, creating an impenetrable dome of chakra. The kunai bounced off harmlessly, stabbing into the ground around the dome.
'What the...? Impossible!', spider guy thought in disbelief.
The barrage of kunai ended and Neji stopped spinning, leaving him standing in a small crater caused by his technique.
'He...he repelled my attack with his chakra.', spider guy thought. ' But how... how did he see it coming? Does he have eyes in the back of his head?'
Many of the people in the room couldn't help but laugh. Spider guy didn't know how right he was.
Naruto, Kiba, and Shikamaru continued on through the forest towards their target. All the while, Naruto was deep in thought.
"'We're going to have to go one on one to have any chance for success.', isn't that what you said?", Neji asked Shikamaru.
"Now get going. I'll be right behind you.", Neji told the others before they took off.
'We're gonna have to go one on one.', Naruto repeated in his head.
"Naruto, sometimes your eyes are even better than mine.", Neji told Naruto.
'Come on Neji, you hurry and catch up with us got it?', Naruto thought as he looked back.
"Wait didn't this just happen like 10 minutes ago?", Kiba asked. "Why are we flashing back to it already?"
"It was obviously an important moment between me and Neji, so of course it would be on my mind still.", Naruto defended.
Kiba let the matter drop but muttered under his breath about 'unnecessary distractions' and 'missing the ass kicking'.
Neji was still standing in the crater he had made when he suddenly spun around and threw a kunai at spider guy. Spider guy was barely able to duck In time. 'No way!', he thought. The kunai stuck into the tree at the place his head had just been, mere inches from killing him.
'Can he actually see me?', spider guy thought In confusion. 'What kind of a freak Is this guy?'
"I know you're there.", Neji stated in a loud and clear voice. "Come out."
Spider guy observed Neji's eyes, veins popping out around them.
'It's those eyes. The chakra flow is not the only thing they can see.', spider guy thought. 'The power of his visual jutsu is beyond belief.'
'Long distance combat is not to my advantage.', Neji thought. 'I've got to get closer to him somehow.'
"Okay then.", spider guy said. He attached a couple webs to the branch he was on and used it to hang upside down. He then began to be covered by black markings that were web-like. "I give you credit. You've made this game more of a challenge than I thought it would be.", spider guy said. "Time to start playing for real"
"That motherfucker has a curse mark?!", Anko shouted. She was so pissed that Ibiki, Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi-sensei had to restrain her.
'I should've known. This man and his abilities have Orochimaru's handiwork all over it.', the Sandaime thought worriedly. 'And I get the feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg.'
Sakura shivered as she remembered Sasuke having similar markings and the vile chakra he had.
Neji re-examined his enemy with his Byakugan.
'He's like a totally different opponent. His chakra output is staggering. And those markings...', Neji thought as he remembered Sasuke having those marks and going crazy during the chunin exams.
'So he's able to see me in the dark, and to dodge an attack from behind. In other words he's got 360 degree x-ray vision. On top of that, there's that jutsu.', spider guy said as he remembered Neji's 8 Trigrams: Rotation. 'Alright', he thought as he bit his thumb, causing it to bleed. He went through several hand signs with 2 of his other hands, before he spread them to make a small web. He placed his bleeding hand on it and said, "Summoning Jutsu."
There was a burst of smoke, and when it cleared there was a massive spider standing upside down on a giant web.
"Holy shit!", Naruto yelled.
Kushina would've chastised him for his language, if she didn't wholeheartedly agree with his words. She hated spiders.
"It's times like this that makes me glad that I signed the Toad contract.", Jiraiya said.
"You and me both sensei.", Minato agreed.
There was 1 person who wasn't recoiling in disgust at the spider summons. Although Shino knew that it was being used by an evil man, he couldn't help but be in awe of the creature. He always loved arachnids.
Spider guy sat on the back of the summons, also upside down.
"I warn you kid.", he told Neji. "However strong your defenses are I can find a way around them."
The summons began laying a giant egg sac.
'If he can stop the physical attacks by emitting lots of chakra and rotating...', spider guy said as he opened his mouth and pulled out another gold colored kunai, '...then all I have to do is stop that rotation.'
He used the kunai to cut open the egg sac.
"Scatter!", he yelled. Dozens, if not hundreds of smaller spiders began to pour out. Each one was roughly the size of a human head and each one had a thread of silk trailing behind them.
As they neared Neji he began to rotate in order to protect himself and take out the spiders. However, with each spider he killed the thread they were carrying wrapped around the dome, making it harder to keep on rotating.
'There, that slowed him down.', spider guy thought in satisfaction.
Neji grit his teeth as he tried to keep up his rotation, but despite his best efforts he found himself slowing down.
Spider guy got his kunai ready as he waited for the opportune moment to strike.
Finally, Neji could no longer keep up the technique and stopped completely.
"H-he stopped the 8 Trigrams: Palm Rotation!", Neji said in disbelief.
"No way!", Lee gasped.
"That's impossible!", Tenten exclaimed.
"Didn't you say that it was even better than Gaara's defense?", Temari asked Tenten with a small smirk. Tenten sent her a death glare and muttered some rather choice words.
"It's actually pretty ingenious.", Shikamaru said. He sighed when everyone gave him incredulous looks. "It's considered the perfect defense, like Gaara's sand. And they are...against straightforward attacks. Gaara's sand acted even when he wasn't consciously controlling It, but Lee circumvented It with his speed. The Kaiten is a pretty well known hyuga technique. And since it's reputation is legendary no one, both those who use it and those who have fought against it, have ever thought of finding a way around it instead of through it. They think it's unstoppable and don't even try. This guy made sure Neji is simply unable to use it. It's so simple nobody else has tried it."
Everyone absorbed his words as they turned their attention back to the screen.
"Now!", spider guy said as he threw the kunai at Neji. "Now you die!"
Neji heard his shout and saw the kunai coming. He blocked it using his chakra, sending it flying into a tree.
'He slowed my dagger with chakra at the last second.', spider guy thought.
Neji was standing in the same spot, with several strands of silk on him.
'What? His webs stopped my rotation. Our chakra cancelled each other out.', Neji thought. He cut the threads that were on him. 'Enough of this. If my rotation jutsu won't work, I'll just have to cut the threads one by one.'
Spider guy was swinging between trees. 'His strength is close range taijutsu, so as long as I keep my distance I should be ok.', spider guy thought. 'Just keep pounding away at him. I've got all the time in the world.'
Spider guy released more threads, setting off more web spring traps which flung more of his kunai at Neji.
Neji saw them and leapt high into the air, the kunai peppering the spot he was just at.
As he was in the air he saw more kunai heading for him. He blocked one that was heading right for him, but was forced to contort his body to avoid the rest, many of them missing by inches.
Kiba gave a low whistle.
"I know you're fighting for your life Neji, but you gotta admit that looked pretty badass.", Kiba said.
"It's nothing special really. But the members of the Hyuuga clan are naturally graceful, even in combat.", Neji said with false modesty.
"Yep, the slo-mo really captures the death defying moves you make.", TD sai.
Naruto shook his head at Neji's disguised bragging but he wasn't actually upset by it. The fact that he was slightly joking instead of condescending was a big leap forward for him and Naruto didn't want to spoil it.
Neji landed on the ground as another wave of spiders came at him. He once more got into a fighting stance in preparation of the incoming threat.
"8 Trigrams: 64 Palms"
Neji began rapidly taking out spiders as they neared him, yet no matter how fast he attacked the deluge of spiders was neverending.
'There's no end to them!', he thought in desparation.
Suddenly he stopped and closed his eyes, taking on an appearance of complete calm and concentration. He got the green yin-yang symbol appeared around him once more as he got into the stance for his 8 Trigrams: 64 Palms technique. As he prepared for the next onslaught of spiders, he changed his stance and another layer was added to the green symbol.
'Huh? He changed his stance.', spider guy noted in mild confusion.
Neji and Hinata had shocked looks on their faces.
"What's wrong Neji?", Gai asked in worry.
"N-Neji...isn't that...?", Hinata began.
"I-I-it is. But I never thought I'd be able to master it.", Neji said.
"Would you stop being dramatic and tell us what's going on? Or do I have to hurt you?", Tenten asked.
Neji turned to his teammate with a serious yet slightly proud look on his face. "That Tenten is a technique known as..."
"8 Trigrams: 128 Palms"
Neji began striking down spiders at a blistering rate. He was moving so fast that to him the spidera were practically staying still.
'What?! The number of blows has doubled. He gets the chance to use that on me, I'm finished.', spider guy thought in shock.
"Yeah no kidding.", Naruto said. "Hey Neji, not that I'm complaining, but why didn't you use that in our fight?"
"Because I've barely even began working on it. Besides, I figured it would be at least a year before I got it down.", Neji replied.
"Looks like Naruto's work ethic rubbed off on you.", Kiba said.
Although there were some chuckles at that, quite a few people were fairly confident it was true. Especially since Neji had Rock Lee as a teammate.
'Well if it's a numbers game, 2 can play at that.', spider guy thought before he jumped away.
The giant spider gave a roar before it started releasing even more spiders than before.
Using his new technique, Neji was tearing through every spider came within arms reach. Yet despite the insane speed that he was attacking with It barely seemed to make a dent In the wave of spiders.
'There's too many of them, and not enough time.', Neji thought In frustration. He began turning, attempting to use his 8 Trigrams: Rotation, but found himself caught by webs before he could get started.
'Just as I thought, the Rotation won't work!', Neji thought. Out of nowhere, several kunai came at him from behind. He saw them coming and cut the webs around him In time to duck down. Most of the kunai missed him, yet 1 sliced his shoulder as it passed him, making him grunt in pain, before it struck the ground with the other kunai. Spider guy's eyes widened when he saw this.
'So that's how it is?', spider guy thought.'He's been anticipating my attacks by combining his x-ray vision with telescopic long-range vision, as well as a 360 degree line of sight. Add to that his lightning fast reflexes and this kid's got an almost impenetrable defensive barrier.'
As he was speaking, a dragonfly* landed on a branch above him.
'Judging from his reaction time, he's able to see and react to the kunai knives once they get within 50 metres of his position. Not quite all.', spider guy continued in his head. Above him, a spider prepared to pounce on the dragonfly, which was unable to see the danger It was In. Somehow or another, one of them got through. That means, there's a blind spot.' The spider attacked and killed the dragonfly before It knew what hit it.
Spider guy released more threads. At the same time, more spiders moved towards Neji, who got into a fighting stance once again.
"8 Trigrams: sixty-ARRGGGHH", Neji gasped in pain.
"Yeah, just as I thought.", spider guy said in satisfaction.
One of spider guy's kunai was embedded in Neji's back.
"So there really IS a blind spot?", Naruto asked in shock.
"I thought your eyes were perfect man.", Kiba told Neji. He turned to his hyuga teammate. "Hinata, did you know about this?"
"N-no this is the first I've ever heard about it.", Hinata answered.
"It's because she hasn't trained with her byakugan to the extent I have.", Neji said. When Hinata's face fell he quickly said, "That wasn't an insult. You have trained harder than most In our clan. I have just been more...obsessed than you and I happened to stumble upon it. Very few hyuga become aware of it and it has been a closely guarded secret for years, even among the clan. It's not the sort of thing we want just anybody to know."
"So you're up against a fighter who you can't get close to, but who can attack YOU from pretty much anywhere. And now he can launch attacks you can't see coming.", Shikamaru surmised.
"SHIT!", Naruto yelled.
Neji stood there In pain and shock as more spiders began covering him In threads.
Spider guy started laughing. "Now more.", he said as he released more threads.
Neji was forced to rapidly dodge the incoming kunai, while at the same time take out the spiders which were coming at him. He was moving as fast as he could, yet it wasn't fast enough as a kunai got so close to him that it cut the hair tie keeping his long hair together.
'Now 2 should get through.', spider guy said with glee. Suddenly, 2 more kunai stabbed into Neji's back. Neji fell to his knees with a gasp of pain, before he fell face first onto the ground.
Spider guy laughed cruelly. "I told you I'd find a way around your defenses. Actually, right through your defenses.", spider guy yelled down to Neji's unmoving form. "All those fancy moves of yours, they're all just an attempt to hide your blind spot, aren't they?" Neji clenched his right hand as spider guy continued talking. "Those eyes don't quite see everything, do they?"
"That fucking bastard!", Kushina growled. "Taunting an opponent that's already down, that's despicable."
"Well we'll see who gets the last laugh. Because, Neji may be down but he's definitely not out.", Naruto said.
Neji struggled, but he managed to stand up despite his injuries.
"Am I supposed to be impressed? Why bother? The game's over.", spider guy said.
Neji gasped for breath as he struggled to get his strength back.
"What is the point? What the heck do you hope to accomplish?", spider guy asked. "Don't make this messier than It has to be, just roll over and die why don't you. You can't beat me!"
"Bet you never thought you'd be on the receiving end of that statement, huh Neji.", Kiba said offhandedly.
He then felt a massive amount of killer intent directed at him, and he turned around to see most of his peers and a few of the adults glaring daggers at him. Even Naruto was giving him a look that said, 'This is seriously not the time.'
He gave an apologetic look at Neji and luckily the others let it go so they could continue watching.
Neji's eyes narrowed as spider guy's words brought up some bad memories.
A younger Rock Lee was knocked down in a spar with his teammate Neji, while his other teammate, Tenten, watched from the sidelines.
Lee struggled to get back up. "I...am not...finished yet.", he said in a pain filled voice.
Tenten sighed. "Lee you just don't know when to give up, do you? You're never gonna be able to beat him because Neji's something you're not; he's a genius."
Tenten felt guilty when she remembered what she had said. At the time she figured that she was simply being honest with Lee about how he was deluding himself. But now, it simply sounded cruel. She had always considered herself a good person, a kind person, and It hurt her to realize that she was just like the people who were putting others, who she always said she hated. She never thought Lee would become strong or that Naruto could beat Neji, and they both proved her wrong. Yet Lee didn't harbor a grudge against her or Neji despite everything. He told them as much every chance he got, saying they gave him extra motivation to succeed. And though she didn't know Naruto that well, he seemed to be the forgiving type. She found it ironic that the type of people who are put down the most are the most likely to forgive. So she made a vow to no longer doubt another person's dreams, no matter how Impossible It may seem.
"A genius? I do not care what he is. Even without his talent I can still take him, if I just work hard enough.", Lee declared.
"It's no use Lee.", Neji said. "It doesn't matter how hard you work, you will never beat me. The outcome has been decided."
Now Neji was standing In front of Hinata during their fight In the chunin exam preliminaries.
"Hinata, you are the pampered offspring of the Hyuuga's main branch.", Neji told his cousin. "People can't change no matter how hard they try."
Hinata looked like Neji's words cut her deeply.
It was the chunin exam finals and Neji was standing in front of Naruto with his headband off during their match. The Caged Bird Seal on Neji's forehead was on full display.
"This match is the same.", he told Naruto. "Your destiny was decided the moment I was chosen to be your opponent."
"Oh yeah? Well we won't know that until you beat me will we?", Naruto fired back.
"Geez man, you were a real dick you know that.", Obito said.
"Hey lay off him. He's not like that anymore.", Naruto said.
"Yes, I agree with Naruto. Besides, I have forgiven him, Naruto has forgiven him, and Hinata has forgiven him. And since we were the ones who were wronged then it is our opinion that matters.", Lee said.
Obito wisely let the matter drop.
"Oh Naruto that reminds me. How did your match go?", Kakashi-sensei asked his student.
"Yes, do tell Naruto. Gai-sensei and I also didn't arrive in time to see you fight.", Lee exclaimed.
"Though judging by Neji's newfound youthfulness, I think it's safe to say you won.", Gai said.
"You would be right Gai-sensei. And I felt more at peace after my loss than I ever did after a win."
Gai smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder, before both of them grew serious as they, as well as everyone else, remembered the dire future events they had been watching.
Neji stood still as the memories of how he used to be washed over him.
Spider guy brought up another thread wrapped around his finger. 'Time to wrap this up.', spider guy thought. He then strummed the thread like a guitar string.
The large spider summons gave a loud roar as it detached itself from it's web and dropped towards Neji.
Neji didn't move. He slowly looked up towards the descending spider like It was an Interesting cloud.
With a massive crash, the spider landed on the spot where Neji was standing.
"Why the fuck didn't you try to dodge Neji?!", Kiba asked angrily. "It's like you didn't even care."
"I've never been in a fight where the odds were against me, so my future self is probably having a crisis of confidence.", Neji answered.
Spider guy had a satisfied look on his face, which then turned to a look of surprise.
"Gentle Fist!", Neji said as he delivered a chakra powered palm thrust into the spider's underbelly. The spider gave a loud pain filled roar as it started to swell up, before finally exploding, leaving Neji standing in the middle of it's remains with his palm in the air.
'Perfect. That's 1 pest down, 3 to go.', spider guy thought.
Neji looked around in time to see dozens of kunai coming at him from all directions. The screen went white and all that could be heard was the sound of flesh being pierced by knives.
When the image came back Neji was facedown on the ground, unmoving, and with his back full of kunai.
There was a sad silence in the room. Gai looked like he was on the verge of tears. He knew how dangerous the life of a shinobi was, but he always assumed that he would go down before any of his students did. It never crossed his mind that one of his students might fall in the line of duty, so the image of Neji's unmoving body caused a deep pain in his chest. He now understood why some of the older shinobi said that having a genin team was both one of the best, yet also one of the worst things a ninja could experience.
Tenten, Lee, and Hinata had tears flowing freely down their faces. And though he didn't know him as well as his close friends and family, Naruto's eyes were shining a little brighter than usual.
Spider guy turned to leave. 'I actually enjoyed myself, even though the ending was predictable.'
"Bastard", Naruto growled.
Before spider guy could leave he got a surprised look on his face. He turned back to see Neji start to get up again.
You could actually feel the tension leave the room. Before Neji could blink, he found himself being embraced by Gai, Lee, and Tenten. Normally he would be uncomfortable with such overt physical affection, but he knew that not only did they need it, but so did he.
"That's all well and good, but why did he get up?", Tsunade asked.
"What do you mean Lady Tsunade?", Shizune asked.
"I mean, he could've just laid there and waited for the enemy to leave.", Tsunade answered. "He could've lived, but now he's probably going to die. He couldn't defeat him when he wasn't injured."
"Because if I did that then he would go after Shikamaru and the others.", Neji replied. "I made a promise to stop him any way I could, and it's my duty to carry out that promise."
Tsunade turned away, but under her breath she said, "A fool's words."
As Neji got to his feet, breath coming in ragged gasps, the black markings on spider guy's face and body began to glow red and started completely covering every inch of his skin.
'That many hits from that distance and he's still standing? I'll have to work on my aim.', spider guy thought. 'This kid is something else.
He's turning out to be more entertaing than I ever dreamed. I'll have to demonstrate my appreciation.', spider guy thought, his voice getting deeper with each word. His skin took on a reddish tint. He spat out a large glob of the gold colored metal. It started to take on a curved shape, with a thread of the regular spider silk attached to the end.
Meanwhile, Sakon and Tayuya were moving through the forest with the coffin.
"I don't expect much from that slob Jirobo, but what the heck Is keeping Kidomaru. He should've caught up by now.", Tayuya fumed.
"Hey we finally know that guy's name.", Obito said.
"And that helps us how?", Kakashi asked.
"I'm just saying.", Obito mumbled.
"You know how he always plays around with his opponents. He likes to keep things fun.", Sakon said with a smile.
"Gives me the creeps when he does that. Too much 'fun' and he goes off his rocker and reaches 2nd state.", Tayuya said.
Sakon chuckled. "Oh indeed.", he said. "And when Kidomaru reaches 2nd state, watch out if you're the other guy."
"What's this 2nd state they mentioned? Do you know what it is Anko?", Kurenai asked her friend.
"No, it must be something that came about after I left.", Anko replied. "But if I know that snake then you can bet it's nothing good."
Neji was still catching his breath in the clearing.
Above him, red hands gripped a gold colored bow with a strand of spider silk as the bowstring, with a gold colored arrow already nocked.
'Striking Accuracy: 100%', Kidomaru thought in a deep voice. 'Destructive Power: Maximum.'
Kidomaru's full form finally became visible, and showed a terrifying sight.
Kidomaru's skin had gone completely red, with a rough looking texture. His hands had become clawed. His hair had turned grey, and it had grown about 3 times it's normal size. His face was like that of a demon's, with horns on his head, sharp pointed teeth in a perpetual grin, and yellow eyes with black sclera. Finally, a third eye, Identical to the other 2, appeared on his forehead. In his mouth was the tail end of the arrow, on the bowstring and ready to be released.
Everyone in the room had a look of complete and utter shock.
"What. The. Fuck. Is. That?", Rin asked.
Minato looked at his most polite student in surprise.
"I-I-it's like a demon from hell.", Ino exclaimed.
'Oh man. And I thought Gaara's transformations were bad. But this is...', Kankuro thought.
Sasuke was staring at the screen in disbelief. 'Is...is this the power that this mark holds?', he thought as he rubbed the spot where his curse mark was. An action not unnoticed by Kakashi-sensei.
'DIE!', Kidomaru thought as he fired the arrow at Neji's back.
The arrow shot forward like It was shot out of a cannon. It didn't even slow down when it clipped a few trees, going right through them as it headed for Neji.
It hit the spot where Neji was with the force of the bomb, sending a massive amount of dust and debris flying everywhere and making the ground shake.
Kidomaru laughed. 'It's over', he thought.
However, when the dust settled it revealed Neji still standing, the crater where the arrow hit In front of him.
Kidomaru got a look of shock and anger on his face. 'What?', he thought in confusion.
Neji was struggling to catch his breath. 'Just...barely. That was close, but I was able to throw it off course a little.', he thought. 'There's no mistaking it, he's caught on to the secret of the byakugan.'
'What's going on? How did he...?', Kidomaru began. It was then that he noticed the hole going through Neji's left shoulder. The wound was still smoking on both ends and blood was flowing down his arm.
Neji winced and grabbed his shoulder when he saw the injury his future self sustained.
"How are you still standing after that?", Rin asked. She had begun studying to be a medic and so could tell how painful and potentially lethal Neji's injuries were.
"I...don't really know to be honest.", Neji replied.
'What gives! How could I miss him by 15 centimeters?', Kidomaru thought in confusion.
He suddenly realized that there was a cloud of chakra around Neji, just as Neji fell face forward again.
'I see. That chakra. All this time, he's been releasing a steady flow and surrounding himself with it. It was such a wide range, it's no wonder he was able to see the arrow coming and alter it's trajectory.', Kidomaru thought in realization. There was a slow motion recap that showed the arrow entering the chakra cloud and being moved slightly.
Kidomaru chuckled. 'It's gotta be killing him, to keep expending chakra on that level. But if he doesn't keep It up he won't be able to dodge. There's no doubt about It, It's just as I thought, my arrow was totally invisible to him.'
Neji started to get up again, and he saw the arrow in the middle of the crater in front of him. 'He makes no pointless attacks. He's been culling information with every move.', he thought. He finally got to his hands and knees, but almost fell again due to the pain. 'And he's discovered the weakness behind my eyes. Impressive. He's the strongest opponent I've ever faced.', he thought as he got to his feet.
"Neji, stop complimenting the enemy.", Naruto said.
"If you want to win a fight, then sometimes you have to acknowledge an enemy's strengths as well as their weaknesses.", Neji replied.
"Alright, you've got a point. I did the same thing during our fight.", Naruto said.
'He's got 360 degrees of vision. He can sense all attacks within a 50 meter radius. But for some reason, he couldn't evade a few of the kunai. Why couldn't he evade them?', Kidomaru thought. 'Of course, it's because he couldn't see them. Or rather, his seemingly perfect jutsu has a blind spot.'
A diagram appeared, with Neji in the center and a large area around him showing the range of his vision, with 1 small but noticeable exception. Several kunai appeared, most going past the fake Neji, but 1 going directly down the blind spot.
'So if one of the kunai hits that blind spot, he can't react.', Kidomaru thought.
"Anyone else think these explanations are getting repetitive?", Kiba asked.
Kidomaru remembered when Neji used the 8 Trigrams: Rotation.
'That's what that other jutsu was for; to compensate for the blind spot in his defense.', Kidomaru realized. 'He analyzed all my attacks, and fully grasped the implications of their outcomes. He has a blind spot, emanating from a small point just behind the 1st thoracic vertebra.' An image of Neji appeared, to show where exactly the blind spot was located.
Meanwhile, Neji had took off into the forest, pulling the kunai from his back as he went.
Kidomaru was amused. Another diagram appeared, showing that the blind spot was continously moving as Neji ran. 'As long as he keeps that blind spot moving, It'll be hard to sling an arrow down It's path.'
"Good, It seems you have the beginnings of a plan Neji.", Gai said. 'Yet why do I still have a bad feeling in my gut.'
Neji was only slightly comforted, since he still couldn't see how his future self could get close enough to attack.
'But that's not enough to stop me.', Kidomaru thought. He opened his mouth and regurgitated another gold colored arrow, except when he pulled this one out of his mouth It had a thread attached to the tail end which led back to his mouth.
"What's he doing with that arrow?", Sakura asked. "Wouldn't the thread slow It down?"
"Maybe, but it probably serves a purpose that he's willing to sacrifice a little velocity for.", Kakashi-sensei said.
"Besides, I don't think losing a little force isn't going to make much difference, if that crater from the first arrow is any indication.", Kakashi said.
Kidomaru nocked the new arrow on the bow and took aim at Neji. 'The Gentle Fist is useless if you can't get close to your enemy, and you can't even think of approaching me in the state you're in. All you can do is run. It doesn't matter if you struggle or not. Either way, you're gonna die!'
Neji stopped running and leaned back against a tree to catch his breath.
'Looks like you're almost out of chakra.', Kidomaru observed in satisfaction.
Neji was still panting when suddenly he heard Kidomaru yell, "The weakest one in the game always goes down first!"
"Arrogant bastard!", Tenten yelled.
"Neji is far from weak! In fact he is one if the strongest people I've met!", Lee said.
"I can't wait until Neji wipes that smug look off his face!", Naruto said.
"I don't usually approve of taunting or saying hurtful things about one's opponent, but I hope Neji kicks his teeth in!", Gai said.
Upon hearing this Neji took off running.
'It's useless.', Kidomaru thought before he released the arrow. The arrow shot off with as much force as the first one, slicing through the branches and, in some cases, the sides of the trees.
Neji kept running, keeping his blind spot from being an easy target, but the action slowed down to show that Kidomaru was using the thread to steer the arrow, to ensure it would hit It's mark.
"Damn! I figured that Neji being on the move would give him more time than that.", Shikamaru said. "No matter what gets thrown at him, this guy keeps adapting."
Naruto clenched his fists as he watched the events on screen. 'Come on Neji, you can do It. Just don't give In.'
The arrow had almost reached Neji, when he suddenly dived behind a tree. The arrow tore through the tree as it followed him before it hit the ground with tremendous force, making a crater and sending dust and debris flying.
Neji's headband was sent flying high into the air. Neji's back was to the tree, his head bowed with blood dripping down. From the side and the position of the thread it looked as if the arrow had gone through his head. Kidomaru watched close to see if Neji was still alive. Neji's headband fell next to the crater, blood splattered on the front.
For a few moments it seemed as if Neji was dead, his body not moving. Finally, Neji was viewed from the front. The arrow had pierced the tree, coming out so close to Neji that it cut his cheek but leaving him otherwise unharmed. His Caged Bird Seal was on full display.
There was a collective sigh of relief when everyone saw that Neji was alive. Yet nobody fully relaxed, due to all the times Neji had nearly died.
"I don't know how much more of this I can watch.", Sakura said.
"I don't know how much more this kid can take. He's been lucky so far but sooner or later an attack is gonna come that will put him down for good.", Tsunade said.
"You can choose to see it that way", Naruto said, "but the way I see it is that no matter how many times he's been hit, no matter how many times he's gone down, Neji has got back up and pushed on. That's not luck, that's guts. Pure determination and skill. So no matter what, I know Neji will beat this guy."
Tsunade didn't have a retort so she, as well as everyone else, turned back to the screen to see what would happen.
Neji looked to his left and was surprised when he saw the thread coming through the tree and leading to the arrow.
'A thread? I see. He's using it to...', Neji thought before he was cut off by a violent cough and dropped to his knees.
Kidomaru bit off the thread In his mouth. 'The trajectory was thrown off by the trees huh?', he thought. He jumped backwards onto a higher branch. 'If that's the case, I'll add a little spin this time.' He opened his mouth and regurgitated another arrow. It had an extremely sharp, pointed drill head and when he pulled it out of his mouth it had a thread at the end, like the last one. As he nocked it he thought, 'Even If this one hits a tree, It'll slice right through to find It's target. And just like the first time, I'll spin a thread infused with chakra to control the arrow 'til it gets within his range. Even if he's moving, I'll just pinpoint his blind spot and plunge the arrow into it.' Another diagram appeared, showing Neji's blind spot and Kidomaru moving his arrow into it.
Neji managed to get to his feet again.
'Still on your feet, huh?', Kidomaru thought.
Neji was gasping for breath. 'He's strong, much stronger than I am. I'm almost out of chakra. I can't dodge another attack. Is this It?!', Neji thought with a grimace of fear and frustration.
"No, Neji you can't give up. Not after everything that's happened. You can't give in!", Naruto said.
"Don't you think I know that!", Neji snapped. "It's not easy watching your own future and wonder if you'll live or die. Yet I can't see any way that my future self can win. And your words aren't helping."
"Neji, I'm sorry. I-it's just that I...", Naruto began.
"I know. And I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that.", Neji said. "It's just that you seem to have more faith in me than I do."
"That's because I know genius when I see it.", Naruto said with a smile. Which made Neji smile too.
"That's all well and good, but it doesn't change the fact that future Neji is in a pretty hopeless looking situation and is starting to admit defeat.", Shikamaru pointed out.
"Well...I guess the only the thing we can do is hope for a miracle.", Kiba said.
Suddenly, a memory popped into Neji's head.
It was the chunin exam preliminaries arena. Naruto had a determined look on his face as he pointed his bloody fist at Neji.
"I vow to win!", Naruto said, his voice echoing.
Neji had a small smile on his face as he closed his eyes.
'Naruto, what would you do I wonder?", he thought.
"Whoa, a few seconds ago he was ready to dig his own grave, and now he looks so calm and controlled.", Anko said.
"That's the effect Naruto has on people. He makes them believe they can do the impossible.", Neji said.
'Naruto is a natural leader. Able to bring out the best in his comrades.', Hiruzen thought. 'As they say, like father like son.'
"With his newfound inspiration Neji has definitely come up with a plan that will work, without a doubt.", Lee said.
"Yeah, it'll probably be something completely insane that will catch his opponent totally off guard.", Shikamaru said. "How troublesome."
Nearly everyone agreed with them, and for the first time im a while there was an air of hope in the room.
Neji staggered forward a few step.
"I've had enough. Besides, it's not like I can dodge it anyway is it.", Neji said. He closed his eyes and just stood there, his back towards Kidomaru.
The cheerful air in the room quickly died when everybody heard that.
"Neji, what are you doing?", Tenten asked.
"I thought you were no longer suicidal. ", Kiba said.
"I...have no clue what he is thinking.", Neji said. 'What could 'I' be thinking?'
"Maybe...it's a ruse?", Shikamaru suggested.
"Yes...yes that could be it.", Neji said weakly.
Kidomaru had a look of surprise on his face. 'He stopped moving. Well, better safe than sorry. Striking Accuracy: 120%. Destructive Power: Absolute Maximum.
"Alright, this isn't funny Neji. Your future self better move his ass, or I'm gonna kick YOUR ass so hard he's gonna feel It.", Tenten told her teammate.
"I'm not the one who's doing it.", Neji said.
"He's you, which means you both have the same thought process, which means his decisions are your decisions.", Tenten said.
"What I don't understand is what brought this on.", Kushina said. "He looked so sure of himself, like he had a plan. He didn't show any sign of giving up after that memory."
Naruto was focused on the screen. 'Come on Neji, you wouldn't give up this easily. You've got a plan I know it.', he thought.
Kidomaru released the arrow. It was spinning, tearing through any trees In It's way and carving a swath of destruction.
And still Neji hadn't moved.
"Neji please, fucking move. Move. Move! MOVE!", Tenten yelled, practically in tears.
Gai's eyes were closed tightly and his hands were clasped together so hard that he was losing circulation.
Lee was rapidly whispering what sounded like prayers.
Hinata was squeezing Kiba and Shino's arms, making them go numb.
All the blood had drained from Neji's face.
And all the while, Naruto was looking at the screen with the same look of intense concentration.
Finally Neji moved, turning around to face the arrow that was coming towards him. It was only a few seconds later that the arrow hit him, piercing straight through his right side. The arrow continued on, the force of the hit pulling Neji with It.
'Got him!', Kidomaru thought in vicious satisfaction.
Neji grit his teeth in pain as he was pulled backwards, his blood hitting the ground as he went. Finally, the arrow pierced through one final tree before it struck the ground, making the ground quake and causing debris to go flyin, and leaving a crater In the ground. Neji came to a stop as he slammed Into the tree. He managed to stay on his feet, In part due to the thread that was going through him, but he nearly fell forward due to the pain and he kept bis head bowed. All the while, Kidomaru looked on at his handiwork.
There was a horrified silence in the room. Despite Naruto's words, most of them were afraid that this would be the attack that did Neji in.
Tenten looked around at the faces in the room. Gai had his hand on Lee's shoulder, as the boy tried to pull himself together. Hinata had her face buried in her hands as she . Neji himself looked like...well, like he just saw his own death. All around the room she saw the various reactions of the people around her. Some of them didn't know Neji that well (or at all), and so weren't as affected. But they had seen how valiantly he had fought and mourned the loss of such a brave shinobi. Tenten took all of this In as she looked around, and It made her sad. But when she looked at Naruto her sadness turned to white hot anger. For he had a smirk on his face.
"NARUTO!", she yelled getting the attention of everyone in the room. When many of them laid their eyes on Naruto a few of them felt angry as well.
"What's with the yelling?", Naruto asked.
"Haven't you been watching?", Tenten asked.
"Of course I have.", he replied.
"Then why aren't you worried about Neji?", she asked.
"Because, I know...", Naruto began with a smile,"...that he's gonna win! Now just watch."
Neji smirked. He raised his hand and focused his chakra Into it. "Here.", he said as he grabbed the thread.
"Gentle Fist"
He began pouring his chakra Into the thread. He kept pushing his chakra up the thread, all the way back to it's origin, where it was still connected to Kidomaru's mouth. As the chakra made contact with Kidomaru's insides, he experienced great pain and began falling backwards off the branch.
'What...what the...?', he thought in pain and confusion. 'He's still...? No, that last shot should've killed him!'
A recent memory popped into his head.
"And chakra filled substances don't stand a chance against my Gentle Fist attack.", Neji said.
'Gentle Fist. Of course. He funneled the last of his chakra...through the thread.', Kidomaru thought as he fell off the branch, scattering a group of crows.
"That was a stroke of pure brilliance.", Minato said.
"Brilliant? I'd say it was pretty fucking awesome!", Kiba said.
"I gotta admit kid, that was pretty cool. Using your opponent's own technique against him? Genius!", Anko said.
As everyone crowded around Neji, Tenten walked over to Naruto.
"Well Naruto, looks like you were right. Sorry for what I said.", Tenten told Naruto.
She expected him to gloat, but instead he said, "It's fine. You were worried and needed an outlet. I know you didn't mean it."
"You know Naruto, you're all right.", she said.
"You too. By the way, you should rescue your boyfriend before he drowns In youth.", he said as he pointed to where Gai and Lee were smothering Neji In a group hug.
Tenten punched Naruto's arm. "He's not my boyfriend", she said. "Yet."
"Alright everyone shut up! This isn't over yet.", TD said.
That immediately sobered everybody up as they turned back towards the screen.
Neji watched the crows flying overhead.
'There were 8 crows. And again, I couldn't see one of them.', Neji thought. He violently coughed. "Where is he?", he said.
Kidomaru was falling through the tree branches, the thread still in his mouth. He groaned in pain.
'He damaged several of my internal organs. But...I can still move.', he thought as he bit the thread off.
Neji was still leaning against the tree panting.
"You're a failure", Neji said.
It was the day of the third stage of the chunin exams. Neji and Naruto were standing across from each other, battling it out in the stadium.
Naruto had a smile on his face and blood dripping from his mouth. He gave a short laugh. "I told you. I just don't know when to give up.", he said.
"Why fight a hopeless battle trying to defy your destiny?", Neji asked viciously.
Naruto had an intense look on his face as he made a hand sign. "Because people called me a failure. I'll prove them wrong.", he said.
Naruto, filled with energy, was charging at Neji to attack him. "It may be the hyuga way to cave in to destiny it's not mine!", Naruto yelled. "I'll change the way of the Hyuga clan...after I become Hokage!"
Neji was on the ground with Naruto standing over him.
"It's your specialty.", Neji said. "I was careless."
"My clones were pathetic. That's right, I flunked the shadow clone jutsu every time.", Naruto said. "So don't come whining to me with this destiny stuff. And don't tell me you can't change who you are. You can do it too. Because after all, unlike me you're not a failure.", Naruto finished, his words echoing in Neji's head.
Naruto jumped when Jiraiya patted his back. "Those are some damn fine words to live by kid.", Jiraiya told Naruto.
"Thanks pervy-sage.", Naruto said. Jiraiya spluttered as Obito, Tsunade, and Kushina started laughing uncontrollably, while the rest of the konoha ninja, past and present, tried hard to keep themselves composed.
"You know, I sucked at clones too when I was your age.", Kushina once she finally stopped laughing.
"See Kakashi. This proves that anyone can beat a genius If they work hard enough.", Obito said.
"Hn"
Kakashi-sensei was looking at his most unpredictable student with pride. 'Naruto, you never cease to amaze me.'
Neji activated his byakugan. 'Naruto', he thought.
Far ahead of him, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Naruto were continuing on their mission.
"Well boys, looks like it's just the 3 of us left now.", Kiba said.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Choji and Neji are gonna catch up in no time.", Naruto said with a smile.
Shikamaru kept his face blank, neither agreeing or disagreeing with Naruto.
"Choji's got his trump card with him.", Naruto said.
"Wait, a trump card? What could that be?", Ino asked.
"Do you have any idea what he might be talking about Choji?", Asuma asked.
"No. No clue.", Choji said. Which wasn't entirely true. He had an idea of what It might be, but he wasn't sure (and he didn't know if he wanted to be right or not).
Shikamaru had the same suspicions as Choji, though he tried to hide it. 'I hope it's not what I think It Is. I hope Choji hasn't caught up for some other reason.'
"And don't forget, I fought Neji in the chunin exams, so I know.", Naruto said.
"You know what?", Kiba asked as he and Shikamaru turned to look at Naruto.
"That guy...", Naruto said as it switched back to Neji's determined face, "...is a true genius!"
Neji focused chakra into his right hand and cut the thread that was still going through his side. He took off running straight forward.
'I cannot lose. Even if my enemy is far stronger. Even if my body should fail me. I cannot lose.', Neji thought. He placed his hand over the wound in his side. 'There Is a reason, I CANNOT LOSE!'
"Neji, I've never seen you look so intense.", Tenten said. 'It's really hot!'
"YEAH! This has got me so pumped!", Kiba yelled, pumping his fist in the air.
"I've never seen Neji's flames of youth burning so fiercely.", Gai said. "It is the truly the Will of Fire. The kind that forges the heart of a person into pure steel."
"And from a hyuga no less. That must be some reason, if it can melt the hyuga's icy demeanor.", Tsunade said.
Neji and Naruto shared a look.
"Yes indeed.", Neji said.
Kidomaru shot a thread at a branch In order to stop himself from falling. He swung and then detached himself from the thread and shot 2 more threads, which he attached to his feet.
Neji continued his run through the forest.
'I let it drag on too long.', Kidomaru thought as he swung through the trees using his feet. 'I played too hard.'
Neji suddenly stopped and jumped high into the air...appearing right In front of Kidomaru, who was shocked and afraid to see Neji mere Inches from his face.
Before Kidomaru could react, Neji brought his hand up and began rapidly hitting him wIth chakra powered strikes, making Kidomaru scream in pain. Finally, Neji finished him off by delivering a spinning chakra powered kick to Kidomaru's chest. The blow was so strong that it snapped the threads on Kidomaru's feet, sending him hurtling towards the ground. Kidomaru hit the ground, tumbling as he went, while Neji landed spinning on 1 foot as he followed his enemy. Kidomaru came to a stop, groaning In pain, as Neji slid to a stop In front of him with his back to him. Neji had an Intense look on his face.
Naruto laughed. "That's what I've been waiting to see.", he said.
"He underestimated his opponent, acted so superior, and It led to his downfall.", Shikamaru said.
"He acted so in control of everything, yet when things didn't go according to plan all those tactics of his meant nothing.", Minato said.
"You guys are forgetting the most important thing.", Kiba said. When the people around him gave him questioning looks he said, "He looked badass. He didn't just take him down, he did it in style."
He received numerous eye rolls in response.
Kidomaru's curse mark receded and all of his demonic features went with it, leaving him looking normal again.
'I can't build up any chakra.', he thought in distress. "But how? You should be dead. Why are you still alive?", he rasped at Neji.
"I couldn't have evaded it anyway, so I decided to take the hit deliberately.", Neji said without turning around. "And I know my weakness much better than you do."
Neji was in a forest clearing with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and looked up at a flock of birds.
'There were 8 birds.', Neji thought In mild surprise.
A diagram of Neji and his blind spot appeared.
"The byakugan does have a blind spot, but knowing the direction your strike was coming from, I was able to focus chakra just to that one point and wait for your attack.", Neji said. On the disgram, chakra collected in the spot where the blind spot was just before an arrow came.
Neji remembered how he had moved just before the arrow had hit.
"Moving just a few inches to avoid the worst was no great feat. I'm seriously hurt, but I'm still alive.", Neji said.
Kidomaru chuckled. "So you did it on purpose huh? Knowing you were gonna die here anyway. Why would you go that far?", he asked Neji.
Neji turned his head to look at him. "You are the strongest enemy I have ever fought. But there is a reason why I cannot lose.", Neji said. "Once, not so long ago, the strongest person I fought out of everyone said to me..."
Naruto appeared in his mind and in unison they said, "You can do it too. Because after all, unlike me you're not a failure."
"Those were his words.", Neji said. "All this time I've been called a genius. So I cannot lose. I can't let down those who believe in me."
Naruto, Kiba, and Shikamaru kept on moving, confident that their friend would be alright.
"Wow Neji. I didn't think my words would have that big of an effect on you.", Naruto said.
Neji chuckled. "Naruto, you don't give yourself enough credit. I think you'd be surprised by how many people you've Inspired.", he said with a meaningful look at Hinata...which Naruto missed.
"That is very true Naruto. But you should listen to your own advice Neji.", Hiruzen said.
"What do you mean Hokage-sama?", Neji asked.
"You were given an opportunity to change for the better and you took it. Many, given the chance, wouldn't have done what you did.", Hiruzen answered. "And from what I've seen, you have finally found your reason for all your talent; to protect those that are close to you. Which is one of the best reasons there Is, If I do say so myself."
"It's why that guy lost. He might have been stronger than you, your motivation to fight, your will, well it was stronger than his could've ever been. Underneath that cold hyuga exterior you possess a burning Will of Fire.", Minato said.
"T-t-thank you Hokage-sama.", Neji said.
"Hokage-sama?", Minato asked, shocked.
"We'll get to that later. Let's finish this story first.", TD said.
Birds were flying in the clear blue sky as Neji chuckled. "'The weakest one in the game always goes down first', that's what you said isn't it.", Neji taunted. Kidomaru began coughing violently. "Well look where we are now."
"Neji trash talking? Well now I've seen it all.", Kiba said.
"Looks like there's hope for you yet.", Naruto said. "You know, those eyes of yours would come in handy for some pr..."
"No", Neji said flatly.
Naruto pouted.
"Fate isn't something for you to decide!", Neji declared.
"Damn Neji you're on a roll.", Kiba said.
Kidomaru grit his teeth in pain as he gave Neji a look of anger and hate. Neji fell forward onto his hands and knees.
Kidomaru chuckled. "I don't know, it looks like you're sitting at death's door too kid.", he said.
Neji lifted his head and saw his headband in front of him. As he grabbed it, he remembered a moment from his childhood.
Young Neji had bandages wrapped around his forehead, as his father Hizashi, a tall white-eyed man wearing a Konoha headband and a smile on his face, placed his hand on top of Neji's head.
"Neji, my son.", Hizashi said. "The hyuga bloodline trait flows stronger In you than In any other member of our clan."
"You're Hizashi's son?", Minato asked.
"Wow, I knew you were from the branch house but I didn't expect that you would be Hizashi' s kid.", KKushina said.
"You two knew my father?", Neji asked.
"Of course. He was a very close friend.", Minato said. He stared intently at Neji. "He passed away didn't he?", Minato asked. He took Neji's silence as a yes. "I won't ask how, since it's probably still painful for you, but I will say this. Hizashi was one of the bravest and most loyal person I ever met, and if what I just saw was any indication then you are every bit your father's son. He would be extremely proud of you."
Neji bowed his head in order to hide the tears in his eyes. In a choked up voice he said, "Thank you Hokage-sama."
"But I will not die...as easily as this.", Neji said despite the pain.
Kidomaru chuckled again. "Go ahead, try all you want. There's no stopping it, it's too late.", he said.
An image of Sasuke appeared, with shadows creeping over him.
"Sasuke Uchiha has fled to the Sound Village of his own free will.", Kidomaru said.
The room was quiet for a few seconds, the calm before the storm, before the room exploded in noise and movement.
Tenten was held back by Gai and Lee as she tried to attack Sasuke.
Anko was held back by Ibiki as she tried to attack Sasuke.
And, most surprising of all, Shikamaru was held back by Asuma and Ino as he tried to attack Sasuke.
"Neji almost got killed you bastard! And this whole time we thought you were kidnapped when you were really defecting!", Tenten yelled.
"Do you know what that snake has done? How many people he's hurt and killed? He's a monster!", Anko yelled. "And after all the effort that was put In keeping you out of his hands, you just walk right Into them. Good people died trying to keep you safe!"
"And I don't even know what happened to Choji. He could be hurt or killed.", Shikamaru said. "Choji's always willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, but I'm not sure you deserve It."
Those 3 were the most vocal, but many others had feelings of anger or disappointment. Shino was twitching in irritation. Ino was torn between her loyalty to her teammates and her crush on Sasuke (though her loyalty was slowly winning out). Even shy and sweet Hinata wanted to wring Sasuke's neck for putting Neji and Naruto In harm's way.
The ones most affected were the members of Team 7. Kakashi-sensei was feeling like he failed Obito and was wondering what he had done wrong. Sakura was telling herself that Sasuke was doing It for a good reason. That he wouldn't just become a traitor. And Naruto was, quite frankly, pissed. Ever since the mission In Wave Country It seemed as If Sasuke had started to change for the better. But the knowledge that he would betray the village to join the same man that had tried to kill them In the Forest of Death, the same man that Naruto had fought to protect his teammates when Sasuke was too scared to even move, made him feel hurt and angry.
Sasuke knew that he should feel guilty about defecting. But he remembered Orochimaru's power In the Forest of Death, the power he felt when he used his curse mark, and the power Kidomaru showed due to his mastery of his curse mark and he began to really wonder...
Neji's byakugan deactivated. "Sasuke is in the darkness.", Neji said. He smiled.
"Naruto", Neji said with a smile and an intense look at Naruto. "sometimes your eyes are even better than mine."
"No.", Neji said. "There is someone who can find him in the darkness...and save him from this path.", Neji said with gritted teeth.
"Sasuke belongs to Lord Orochimaru now.", Kidomaru said as a bird on a branch above them took off, leaving several feathers in the air. "I don't care who It is, they can't save him.",Kidomaru said.
"He will!", Neji forcefully said. Kidomaru was caught off guard by the conviction in his words. "Because, Naruto. ..", Neji said as various memories from his fight with Naruto resurfaced.
Naruto was staring defiantly at Neji.
Naruto was delivering the uppercut that ended the match.
"That looked like it hurt.", Rin said with a wince.
"You have no idea. He only hit me once but it hurt so bad that I couldn't see or stand straight for an hour.", Neji said.
Kushina gave a low whistle. "Naruto, I'm liking you more and more as time passes.", she said.
Naruto had a wide smile on his face and was giving a peace sign as he celebrated his victory over Neji.
"...it was you...it was you who saved me from the darkness!", Neji finished.
Neji had a smile on his face as he rose up on his knees under the bright sun. Kidomaru stared at him in hate.
Suddenly Neji fell to his hands and knees in pain.
Kidomaru got a vicious smile on his face. "Talking rubbish right up til the end.", he said. His eyes then went wide and he clutched his chest in pain before he completely collapsed onto his back, his breathing becoming even more labored. 'I haven't been pushed this far...since Kimimaro.'
"Kimimaro? Is he a part of that team?", Obito asked.
"Well we know that this guy's name is Kidomaru, and the guy that they left behind is called Jirobo. We know the girl's name is Tayuya, which means the last guy must be Sakon.", Kakashi said. "But they never seemed like they were expecting anyone else, so I doubt this Kimimaro Is part of this mission."
"Unless he gets sent as emergency backup. In which case they wouldn't know about it.", Minato said. "And I really hope this guy doesn't get sent."
"Why Minato-sensei? Sure those guys are strong but I'm sure our guys will be able to take 'em down.", Obito said.
"I agree with you Obito. It'll definitely be extremely difficult but I'm positive that our team will come out on top.", Minato said. However, reinforcements always increase the danger of a mission, even if it's just 1 man. And what'smore, this Kimimaro seems to be even stronger than Kidomaru, who we've just seen is powerful. I don't doubt that they can win, I just hope they don't have to face any more obstacles."
Obito opened his mouth to speak when he was cut off by Tenten yelling, "Neji!", as she stared at the screen.
Everyone turned to see what had her in hysterics and saw that future Neji had fallen face first on the ground. He wasn't moving.
"W-w-what's going on? I thought he was alright? Why isn't he getting up?",Naruto asked In a panic.
"His injuries are finally catching up to him.", Tsunade said. "I'd say he has a few minutes before he loses consciousness. If he's lucky, he'll have a few more hours before he..."
"No. He won. He won that means he's alright. It means he gets to come home!", Tenten said.
"Tenten", Gai said somberly, "I don't think Neji's going to make it home."
"No, Neji has been In precarious situations throughout thos fight yet he always pulls through!", Lee said.
Meanwhile, Neji couldn't think of anything to say so he simply stared. As he was staring he noticed that a lot of the older ninja had similar looks on their faces, and his eyes widened when he realized what the looks meant.
"You all knew, didn't you?", Neji said, his voice cutting clear across everyone else.
"What are you talking about Neji", Naruto asked.
Neji ignored him. "You all could tell that my future self wouldn't make it out of this alive.", he said.
Tsunade sighed. "Look kid, taking into account the kunai that stabbed into your back and the arrow that went through your shoulder, your future self must have lost quite a bit of bl
ood. And that last arrow not only would've caused more blood loss but it probably shredded one of your kidneys and damaged a few other organs as well. Add to that the massive chakra deprivation and it's amazing your future self is even conscious, let alone standing and talking.", she said. "Any experienced ninja could tell this wouldn't end well."
Neji looked around and saw that none of the older ninja were contradicting her. He grit his teeth in frustration. "Why didn't any of you say something? Why did you let us celebrate if you could tell it was pointless?", he asked.
"It was not pointless Neji.", Gai said. "From what we have seen, you will one day do something extraordinary and we wanted you to savor this victory, and trust me this WAS a victory, and trust in the knowledge that you didn't fail your comrades."
Neji was at a loss for words. He heard sniffling and turned to see Tenten holding back tears. He put his arm around her and she began crying into his shoulder as he held her.
"I think it's best if we continue on.", TD said.
Kidomaru's breathing grew fainter as his heartbeat grew slower. 'Curse...you.', he thought before his heart finally stopped beating and he breathed no more.
As Neji lay there under the sun he began to flash back to various moments of his life.
He was a young child and he had a smile on his face as he met his cousin Hinata, who shyly hid behind her father's leg.
He was screaming in fear and anger as his father writhed in pain as his Caged Bird seal was activated.
He was meeting his teammates, Tenten and Rock Lee, for the first time.
It was the day the chunin exams started and he was meeting Sasuke Uchiha for the first time.
He and his team were moving through the 2nd exam with a purpose.
It was the preliminaries and his sensei, Gai, was holding him back from killing Hinata.
He thought of his match with Naruto. Taunting him, using the Rotation on him, and the final clash they had before Naruto won.
He was in the recovery room after the fight and Is uncle, Lord Hiashi, was bowing to him.
He was at the Third Hokage's funeral placing flowers with the other ninjas of his generation.
He was at the village gates with Naruto, Choji, Kiba, Akamaru, and Shikamaru as they preparedto go after Sasuke.
'Everyone...'
Choji was blocking the enemy to allow the other 4 to go on.
Neji was staying behind to fight Kidomaru so the other 3 could continue the mission.
'...I leave the rest to you.'
Above him, a feather began slowly drifting downwards. It was twirling, almost dancing, on the wind as it floated down towards Neji's hand, palm up. Slowly and with gentle grace it settled in Neji's palm. Neji's hair fell down, covering his face as a bird flew off into the clear blue sky.
The screen faded to black.
There was a mournful silence as everyone processed what they had just seen.
"It's not fair.", Naruto said quietly.
"It never is Naruto.", Kakashi-sensei said.
"I'm so sorry Neji.", Tenten said.
"Don't be.", Neji said. "Though I am sad that my future self died, I am glad that I was willing to die for my comrades, which is something I never would have done before."
"So Mr. Hyuga, would you say your question has been answered?", the Voice asked.
"Yes, thank you.", Neji answered.
"Good. Then you will be happy to know that your future self didn't die.", the Voice said.
Everyone's eyes bugged out and their jaws dropped.
"You asshole! Why'd you let us think that?", Naruto asked.
Because, you needed to get used to that feeling.", TD said. "Though Neji didn't die he came damn close, and some people in these visions won't be so lucky. You need to be prepared for that.", he said seriously. He then got a wide smile on his face. "Besides, I brought you guys here to change the future. So even if he did die you would know how to stop it."
The room was quiet again. A couple people were shocked at how TD could go from serious to wacky so fast.
"Alright, who wants to go next?"
*I wasn't sure what kind of bug this was so I said dragonfly. If you know please tell me.
Author's Note.
First update of 2016! I feel incredible! I feel powerful! I feel indestructible! I feel like I can punch a moose!
First off, I know it's been a while since this story's first chapter. Blame the holidays people. I also had some other things going on so I rarely had time. And when I did have time I was sidetracked by Screen Junkies' Honest Trailers on Youtube (which you should watch).
Now, as you may have noticed I'm not starting at the beginning of the anime. This story will jump around between viewpoints and different points on the timeline. But it won't be entirely random, as you will. I chose Neji's sound 4 fight since it seemed a good place to start.
Finally, I have a poll on my profile where you can vote on what my next story will be. I won't be starting it til I finish 1 of the stories I'm working on right now so it'll be awhile, but I'll leave the poll up til then.
The choices are:
1. Infamous man's Ulquiorra is Naruto challenge. I really like this challenge and I have some ideas I want to try.
2. S-cry-ed Kazuma saves Scheris. For those of you who have watched S-cry-ed you know Ryuho saves Scheris. But there is this excellent story called S-cry-ed Askew that has Kazuma save her instead. Unfortunately it has been abandoned but I would like to try my hand at it.
3. Bleach characters watching the show. Pretty straightforward but that doesn't make it any less fun. Unlike this story I will be doing the entire show.
Well I hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to leave a review. XOXO
