Chapter 14 – Round 1: Naruto vs. Neji
A/N: Since many of you have asked me to fix the grammatical errors from jmac615's chapters I decided to grant those requests; these changes will not occur all at once as it takes time to fix those chapters and I have to write the newer chapters for both of my stories. These fixes are for grammar only; no plot changes, no exceptions.
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Disclaimer: Still applies.
Recap:
After seeing their matchups the genin were dismissed by Sarutobi so that they could have their month of preparations. Naruto soon began training in preparation for his fight with the Hyuga prodigy...
[Chunin Exams Stadium, Konohagakure]
One Month Later...
The start of the Chunin Exam Finals was 15 minutes away and the stadium which the matches were to be held was packed with spectators which included Konoha shinobi and villagers as well as dignitaries from other nations. Sakura and Ino, who had found an empty section of seats in one of the middle rows, were talking about some of the finalists when a female's voice interrupted their conversation.
"Mind if we take those two seats next to you, Sakura-chan?" the voice asked; both genin turned their heads to the sound of the voice and saw Tiraran and Jango standing in the steps next to their seats.
"Not at all, Tiraran-san. I'm rather surprised that you and Jango-san would wait until now to arrive, though, since Naruto-kun's fight is the first one to take place," Sakura pointed out; Sakura, as well as most of the Rookie Nine (A/N: That's the name group of shinobi that is made of Teams 7, 8, and 10), had gotten to know Naruto's fracciones rather well in the month before the finals with Sakura and Tiraran becoming good friends despite the fact that the Arrancar found Sakura's infatuation with Sasuke to be annoying.
"Tiraran didn't want to get out of bed today; I had to remind her of that fact just to wake her up," Jango explained as he and Tiraran sat down.
While Sakura explained to the Arrancars the matchups for the Finals Naruto, along with Sasuke and Kakashi, had arrived five minutes before the Finals were to begin; after talking with the two genin for a few moments Kakashi went to the stands while they, along with the other finalists, stood before the Sandaime and Genma.
After congatulating the Finalists for their successes, and giving a little speech about what these Finals mean to the shinobi, the proctor asked the contestants if any of them wanted to forfeit right then as now would be a good time to do so. Shikamaru immediately took him up on the offer; this was partly due to his laziness and, more importantly, because he already knew that he would've been unable to defeat his opponent. That opponent, Gaara, now had a spot in the semifinals and would fight either Naruto or Neji, depending on who won that fight.
After no one else forfeited Genma asked for all the remaining finalists, minus Naruto and Neji, to head for the viewing area; as the two finalists face each other the sounds of excitement from the stands was defeaning.
"Is that blonde-haired one the kid who killed Orochimaru?" one spectator asked rhetorically.
"This is going to be an interesting fight," another one said.
"A Hyuga prodigy and a Sannin-killer; I can't wait to see what happens," yet another spectator said.
While most of the spectators were getting restless Izumo and Kotetsu, who had taken a day off from their guarding duties, were watching the two genin very closely.
"So who do you think might have this fight?" Izumo asked his best friend.
"Neji is a Hyuga prodigy who has yet to be beaten in battle, while Naruto defeated a member of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist and a Sannin without getting a scratch on him in either battle; if a had to put my money on it, I would have to give to Naruto. Heck, depending on how the fight unfolds he might become a chunin regardless of the outcome," Kotetsu replied.
Neither of them realized that Kiba, who was sitting next to Hinata in the stands, sighed at the last part of Kotetsu's answer.
"They're talking as though Neji can actually beat Naruto. You had better beat this Hyuga kid, Naruto," Kiba thought to himself.
Naruto, meanwhile, had already unsheated his zanpakuto as Neji smirked at him; Neji had a small conversation about his belief in destiny and his past with Naruto and had angered the normally unfazable ninja when he said that Naruto did not now what it was like to be burdened with a symbol that he couldn't rid himself of.
"Do you actually consider as an equal to you, Uzumaki?" Neji asked, having figured out the meaning behind Naruto's strange habit of sticking his sword in the ground; Naruto simply looked at him with his usual calm expression.
"While you're not worth using my sword I told you that I show you that your belief in destiny is nothing but a load of bull," Naruto replied.
"And just how do you plan to do that?" Neji asked. Naruto answered without any change in his expression.
"You place a great deal of confidence in the abilities of your clan which you inherited; I cannot think of a better way, therefore, to enlighten you than by showing you the gap in power between the abilities you've had since your birth and the abilities that took me seven long years of intense training to hone," Naruto explained. Sakura, who heard their conversation, was a little confused.
"What is Naruto-kun talking about?" Sakura asked to herself... out loud. Tiraran and Jango paled when they saw Naruto extend his right arm while he had the blade of his zanpakuto pointing at the ground.
"Uh-oh," Jango said, scaring Sakura and Ino.
"Why are you saying uh-oh?" Ino asked him.
"What did this Hyuga guy do to provoke Naruto-sama?" Tiraran asked in response. After a few moments of awkward silence Sakura told the fracciones about Naruto's confrontation with Neji a month prior; both of the fracciones breathed a sigh of relief at this.
"That's good; Naruto-sama is probably not going to go that far over something like that," Tiraran said, confusing the two kunoichi even further.
"Just watch the fight and you'll understand," Jango said as Genma told the two finalists to begin their match.
Neji immediately got into his fighting stance.
"Byakugan," Neji yelled as the veins in his pupils and around his temples began to bulge. Neji, confident that he would neutralize Naruto's chakra before he could do anything, looked up at Naruto to locate his chakra points. What Neji saw, however, made his heart stop cold and made his eyes widen in terror.
"I can't sense any chakra flowing thorugh his system. What is going on?" Neji thought to himself as Naruto now smirked, knowing what was the cause of the change in Neji's expression.
"What's the matter, Hyuga? Can't sense my power with those eyes of yours?" Naruto asked mockingly; the blonde continued before Neji could say anything.
"Do you want to know why you can't sense any chakra within me? The reason is real simple; I don't have any chakra. It was all converted into another type energy known as reiryoku; whenever you feel my reiryoku emanating from me it means that I've released some of it, at which point it is known as reiatsu. This energy is much lighter and more potent than chakra and it is channeled through a different circulatory system; that is why you can't see anything flowing within me which means that your precious Gentle Fist techniques are useless against me," Naruto explained, causing Neji's eyes to widen even further; everyone in the stands, including Hiruzen and Team Guy but minus Naruto's fracciones, were equally surprised by this.
Neji, in his shock, charged at Naruto and threw a right hook, which Naruto easily sidestepped; Naruto immediately threw a reverse roundhouse kick at Neji, who could do nothing but place his hands up to block the attack. Though Naruto only applied one percent of his physical strength in that kick it was enough to send Neji flying across half the length of the stadium.
As the Hyuga tried to recover his footing he saw that Naruto was still holding his sword in the same position since the fight began.
"And now, Hyuga, behold the power that I'm about to release; the part of my power that is manifested within this blade. I will only use a part of it against you, but don't worry; this will end before you even know what is happening," Naruto said coldly. Everyone watching shuddered at those words, including Hiruzen.
"I hope your godson was telling the truth about having tamed the Kyubi, Jiraiya," he said to his former student, who was standing next to him.
"Don't worry about it; I'm pretty sure it won't be too bad," Jiraiya said in response; Naruto had explained the nature of the changes in the seal that kept Kurama within him and how it let him wield Kurama in the form of a blade to both men a few days prior, so they both knew was going to do.
As everyone, including Neji, looked at Naruto the blonde ninja took a deep breath.
"Devastate, Kurama: Zensō Katachi (A/N: Roughly translates to "Prelude Form"; it's Naruto's Initial Jinchuriki Form)," Naruto said; the sword in Naruto's hand suddenly disintegrated except for the red wrappings around the hilt, which turned into some sort of red energy that soon enveloped the ninja, which made his whisker marks thicker and his blue irises blood red in color while his pupils becoming slit-shaped. His canine teeth grew longer while his nails did the same, turning them into claws; despite the more feral appearance, however, Naruto's demeanor did not change as well, thereby proving that Naruto could indeed use Kurama's chakra-turned-reiatsu without any risk to himself.
The nature of Naruto's zanpakuto meant that Naruto had two different types of releases. The first type allows him to summon Kurama himself to fight alongside him, with the Tailed Beast's size and strength determined by how many of his tails Naruto chooses to release, while the second type allows him to use Kurama's reiatsu to varying levels; these levels ranged from the Zensō, which was the weakest level, to using the full power of Kurama, in which case he would meld his reiryoku with that of the Tailed Beast, which would envelop him a shroud that looked like a modified form of the Tailed Beast. Regardless of what release he used, however, the increase in abilities was undeniable, as this display showed.
"Wh-what is this power? Is this Naruto's full po-?" Sakura asked before Jango answered.
"No it's not Sakura-san. As powerful as you may think this form is, Naruto is still not using even ten percent of its power; his speed alone in that state would only be a faction of what he's capable of if he used the full power of that form," Jango said, which shocked the young kunoichi; she, at that moment onward, secretly hoped that Naruto would never be forced to use his full power as the situation necessary to force Naruto to do so would probably be darker than she could ever imagine.
That was the least of Neji's problems, as he was now rendered immobile by the massive amount of energy emanating from his opponent; even breathing was now a laborious endeavor for the Hyuga.
"Let's begin," Naruto said nonchalantly; before Neji could register Naruto's words the ninja had closed the distance between the two combatants and punched Neji in the abdomen, sending the Hyuga flying. It had all happened at speeds too fast for Kakashi and Sasuke, who had both activated their Sharingans, to follow.
As the jaws of everyone in the stands dropped to the floor Naruto, having gotten enhancements for both his normal speed and his flash step due to the release, moved into Neji's "flight path", grabbed his shirt collar, and tossed him towards a nearby cospe of trees; before Neji could even reach those trees, however, Naruto appeared to the Hyuga's right and proceeded to hit him with a palm strike to his side. Naruto continued this pattern of striking and intercepting Neji as such speeds that the afterimages he left in is wake were able to land their own attacks on the helpless Hyuga; to the spectators Neji appeared as if he were a pinball in a broken machine as his injuries piled up.
After Naruto broke half of Neji's ribs, half of his bones, and ruptured three of his organs, he decided that Neji was though and went to drive his point home; he appeared in front of the Hyuga yet again and grabbed his shirt collar before he threw him twenty feet into the air. Naruto then appeared above the Hyuga before he elbowed him in the abdomen rupturing another organ. Then, to the surprise of the spectators, Naruto grabbed Neji before he could fall to the ground; Naruto then floated down gently before placng his opponent on the ground.
After Naruto was declared the winner, three minutes after the fight had begun, the ninja resealed, and sheathed, his zanpakuto, which returned to its sword form, which caused him to revert to his previous appearance. After picking up his forehead protector, the cloth of which was black instead of blue after Naruto had swapped the cloth a week earlier, which had fallen during the fight Naruto went to where he had placed Neji and proceeded to use his healing Kido to treat the Hyuga's wounds; in place of reiatsu Naruto used Neji's chakra for the same effect since Neji still had almost all of his chakra, not being able to use it in the battle. Once he finished healing, and lecturing, the Hyuga two medics carried him on a stretcher to take him away for treatment of his remaining injuries.
After a few more moments of slience Tiraran's voice could be heard by the everyone in the stadium.
"Way to kick ass, Naruto-sama!" she roared happily as the rest of the audience gave the victor a big round of applause. Naruto simply smirked and raised his right fist in victory before he "flew" to the viewing area that set aside for the finalists.
While talking to Sasuke and Shino about their upcoming fights Kakashi, who was watching from his seat, couldn't help but smile at the boy's growth, even if no one saw him.
"He's long surpassed both of us, Minato-sensei," Kakashi thought to himself, happy to see that faith Minato placed in his son was rewareded.
Naruto, meanwhile, proceeded to watch the next fights; though he didn't appear to be aware of it Naruto had already noted the looks of killer intent he was getting from the red-haired Jinchuriki who was to be his next opponent...
Next Time - The Two Vessels: Naruto vs. Gaara