I do not own Naruto
Later, team 7 training ground
"Welcome back, Risu-sensei" greeted Sakura with a smile.
"How did your mission go?" asked Sasuke.
"It was successful. I'll tell you all about it, but first: tell me about your training."
Sasuke smirked, flashing through hand signs.
Suiton: Mizu Bunshin no jutsu
Sasuke spat five balls of water. As they impacted the ground, they twisted, growing into five clones of Sasuke.
"Kakashi-sensei and I have been working on a Raiton jutsu, while I've been working on some combination jutsu with my summons following Jiraiya-sensei's advice."
"Well done. Naruto?"
"Kawazu Kumite is awesome, but it's hard to learn. Ero-sennin kicks my ass every time we spar."
"He's a sannin, of course he kicks your ass" commented Sasuke drily.
"Yeah, yeah… But I'm getting a lot better with the Kyuubi! I can even use its chakra to unlock a pressure point blocked by the Juken!"
"That's amazing. A perfect counter to your opponent." Risu nodded in approval, then looked at Sakura.
"I'm good enough with the Chakra no Mesu for basic surgery, but I don't think I'll be able to use them in battle yet. I didn't really do much apart from medical training since the doctors sent me to work in the lab to increase the number of antidotes we have in stock and the assistants say I can do it without their supervision. I've been trying to gather some information, but security has increased a lot all around the village. Just yesterday they caught one of the Suna genin trying to enter the hospital by himself, but they stopped him at the entrance."
She turned serious "Sensei…are we going to war with Suna?"
Risu frowned, then took a deep sigh.
"We are. Suna is planning an attack on the day of the final, most likely during the finals. From what I've heard, Gaara will unleash his Biju as the first stage of the assault."
He turned to Sasuke, ignoring the trio's shocked look.
"That means that you will most likely suffer the brunt of the first attack. During the fight, do all you can to weaken Gaara, make him waste as much chakra as possible. If you can wound him, do it. But when Gaara lets out the Ichibi, I want you to stop fighting to win and start fighting to stall. Cover him in Kibaku Fuda, distract him with shuriken, but whatever you do, stay on guard, keep your distance and do not take unnecessary risks."
He turned to Naruto.
"If the battle starts before Gaara can free the Ichibi, join with Sasuke and support him as best as you can. As Konoha's jinchuriki, some may expect you to take on Gaara, but I am going to be perfectly honest here: while you and Sasuke together should be more than enough to handle Gaara, if the Ichibi is freed the two of you will die. Jiraiya-san will take over the fight and us three will assist him without getting in the way. You will follow his orders, no objections nor questions. The time to play heroes is during the match, not during the invasion. Get it out of your system before facing off against the Ichibi. The containment of the Biju will fall on Jiraiya-sama and another special jonin named Tenzo."
He turned to Sakura.
"You will stay in the back. When the invasion starts, you will assess the situation and Shunshin to any combattent in need of medical attention, but you will not engage the enemy nor get close to any enemy. Focus your attention on keeping our team and Jiraiya-sama in fighting condition, but if you see another ally in need of urgent medical assistance, go help them instead. Do you three understand your assignments?"
"Yes, Risu-sensei" said the three in a chorus.
"Excellent. Your stocks of Kibaku Fuda?"
Naruto smiled "Between the three of us, about five thousand. I have about one hundred Fuin Fuda and ero-sennin has given me and Sasuke a chakra suppression seal. I wanted more, but he said he doesn't even think we'll get to use it."
"Makes sense. Those seals need to be in contact with the body, and putting one on Gaara is not going to be easy. Just be happy you were given one, those things are expensive."
Naruto frowned a bit "I know, but I could have swarmed him with Kage Bunshin until I got a tag on him."
Risu snorted "You might as well throw stacks of Ryo at him in an attempt to smother him."
"So sensei…what do we do now?" asked Sasuke.
"You continue your training, make all the preparations…and hope for the best. And don't forget the fight. Naruto… I know your battle with Neji may not sound that important, but you'll still need to fight like you didn't know about the invasion. There's no telling what may happen if Suna or Oto think we might be onto their plan."
Naruto nodded. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he still wanted to give Neji a piece of his mind for how he treated Hinata during the preliminaries. Besides, what better way to calm his nerves than a good fistfight?
"Now, you three turn around and show me your back. You should still have the Tensha Fuin I placed on you back on the way to Wave country, but I want to check if it still works."
Naruto wanted to slap himself. How had he forgotten about that? After a quick glance to his teammates revealed that he hadn't been the only one, he felt a little bit better about himself. With a smile, he showed his Sensei the seal on his back.
Day of the chunin exam final, Konoha's Mokuton arena
Naruto took a deep breath. The smooth, wooden stone that seemed almost alive was imposing, and the knowledge of what was about to happen made it positively terrifying. He clenched his fist, calming himself down
"You alright, scaredy cat?" asked Sasuke, his mocking tone hiding his own apprehension.
"As if! I just need to calm down because I'm too excited! 'ttebayo!" shouted Naruto, stepping into the arena and taking his place besides the other candidates. The arena itself was large, much larger than the small one used for the preliminaries, and had some terrain variety as well. On Naruto's left side there was a small pool of water with some bushes and a collection of trees dotted around the arena's wall, one of them tall enough for the genins to not only climb but fight on. The central area was made of soft soil with a handful of large rocks placed on top, almost casually tossed there, and seemed like they could move just by stepping on the wrong corner. To Naruto's left, there was an almost empty field of gavel with only a handful of bamboo trees planted around the wall. He turned his head towards the competitors and smiled at Karin, who in turn smiled back at him. The two didn't have the chance to spend time together since the preliminaries.
"Hey, stop looking around and face the customers." said the proctor. Something happened to Hayate-san and another jonin, a tall man with a long senbon perpetually stuck in his mouth like the world's longest toothpick, had taken his place. Naruto was worried about his mother's student, but no one had told him anything. Was it because they didn't want to trouble him or because they didn't know anything?
The jonin faced the crowd of dignitaries entering the stands "In this tournament, you guys are the stars."
In the meantime, Kage booth
"It's nice to meet you again, Kusakage-dono, Kazekage-dono." said Sarutobi, gesturing at the two chairs beside his own.
"The pleasure is all mine, Hiruzen. It's been quite a long time since one of our ninjas has made it to the finals and I have to say I'm ecstatic to see young Karin and Fuzaku both on this stage." said an old woman bearing a purple hat with the kanji for grass.
"I am happy to see you too, Misara-dono. Allow me to offer my condolences for the other team."
Misara's face turned grim "What happened is a horrific loss for my village. Their sensei has already been reprimanded and we took steps to better test our teams before sending them to needlessly die in these exams."
"A shame indeed" nodded the Kazekage solemnly, his green hat perched atop his brown hair
"Ah, Rasa! A pleasure seeing you too. You must be tired from your journey."
"Nothing at all. It's a good thing the exam is being held here this time: despite you still being young, the trip may have been too much for you, Sarutobi-dono. Maybe it's time you decided on the fifth?" asked the Kazekage.
Hiruzen laughed "Please, don't treat me like an old man. I intend to do this for another five years at least."
"The wisdom of the elderly is a valuable thing for a village." said Misara, poking fun at Sarutobi's age.
"Misara-dono, you wound me. You of all people should know how sensitive I am about my age."
The Kusakage narrowed her eyes "What exactly are you implying by 'you of all people', Sarutobi?"
The man chuckled lightly. "Nothing, my dear, nothing."
He took a step forward, grabbing the microphone from one of his shinobi.
"Thanks everyone for coming to the leaf chunin selection exam! We will now start the main tournament matches between the 10 participants who made it through the preliminaries. Please stay and watch until the end!"
Arena grounds
"Alright guys, this is the final test. The arena is different, but the rules are the same as in the prelims, which is to say there are none. You fight until you die or acknowledge defeat. However, if I determine that the fight is over, I'll step in and stop it, you got that?"
The genins nodded in approval.
"Now, the first match is Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuuga Neji. Those two stay here while the others go to the waiting room."
As the rest of the genins left, Neji smirked at Naruto. "It seems like you have something to say."
Naruto clenched his fist, mimicking his gesture during the preliminaries "I told you before. You're definitely going down."
Neji chuckled, entering an offensive stance "That's what makes it worthwhile. It'll be fun to watch you fall apart when you discover reality."
"Stop all the blabbering and fight me!" shouted Naruto, entering a stance of his own.
"Now, the first fight begins!" shouted Genma, jumping out of the arena.
Kage Bunshin no jutsu
A small army of clones appeared besides Naruto, Ashina's swords in hand.
They charged at Neji, five at a time engaging Neji, blades swinging. The Hyuuga swiftly dodged the five, but was forced to jump away as he noticed the hail of shurikens aimed at him from the clones in the back. He frowned, charging at the closest clone, but halted as another Naruto dropped from the air onto his position, blades swinging. Neji raised his hands, the chakra glowing in his palms stopping Naruto's swords from touching him, then immediately countered with a palm strike, dispelling the clone.
He twisted his body, dodging even more shurikens as he watched four clones slamming four tags on the ground in a square formation around him. He launched himself to the side, shoulder bashing a clone, dispelling it, while a shuriken sliced his hair tie and the tags began to smoke
Kekkai Hojin
The four Kibaku Fuda exploded, their energy directed square towards Neji, then stopping at the edge of the formation, exploding mere centimeters away from their target.
The smoke of the explosion gave Neji the second he needed to go on the offensive, dashing toward a group of clones and striking with speed. Half his strikes were blocked by the blonde's blades, but that didn't matter to Neji. One strike was all he needed and he had found the original. It was the Naruto further in the back, staying safe while his clones did all the work.
"I'm not stupid, I already see through your attack pattern." declared Neji, dodging more shurikens as he hit another clone on his leg. He smirked, only to be immediately reminded not to underestimate his opponent by a kunai drawing a red line on his left shoulder. He darted in between the last two clones, fingers pointed at the last Naruto's head. Naruto raised Ashina's swords, protecting his head, until at the last second Neji's attack shifted, lowering his target and striking at Naruto's heart. Naruto knelt, tossing up blood as Neji vaulted over the boy to stop the clone's onslaught.
"Fearing having your point pressed, one body is refusing to face me in close quarters. The more you attack, the clearer it becomes. You're the real one." he declared, staring down at the Naruto kneeling in front of him.
Naruto fell on the ground, gasping for air "You shouldn't…automatically deciding things" he said, before popping into smoke.
Neji's saw the barrage of kunai headed toward him, but his eyes widened in horror as he noticed every single clone waving through hand signs and the wave of Kibaku Fuda rushing towards his feet, already smoking
Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu
Katon: Kibaku Enjin no jutsu
Neji began to glow, expelling chakra all around him as he started to spin
Hakkesho Kaiten
The explosive notes detonated, impacting but having their energy repelled against a revolving dome of chakra. The projectiles bounced off, the Naruto clones being forced to try blocking their own attacks redirected towards them, failing miserably and dispeling, leaving only the real Naruto covered in tiny cuts.
"You thought you had won?" asked Neji with a smirk.
Up in the stands, Hyashi Hyuuga stared down at his nephew. To master a technique only taught to the main family on his own…
"It's over. You are within my field of divination." stated Neji, lowering his posture and extending his arms.
Hyashi's eyes widened, recognizing the stance immediately.
Naruto didn't recognize the technique, but he knew something bad was about to happen.
Suiton: Suijun no jutsu
Hakke Rokujuyon Sho
Neji dashed forward, impacting against the water shield Naruto had created to protect himself.
Two palms.
Naruto's shield shimmered.
Four palms.
Naruto got splashed with water, his defense losing cohesion under the power of the attack.
Eight palms.
The shield shattered and Naruto felt the first hit.
Sixteen palms.
Naruto raised Ashina's blades in an attempt to intercept Neji's strikes.
Thirty-two palms.
Naruto groaned in pain, losing his grips on Ashina's blades.
Sixty-four palms.
The final impact launched Naruto backwards, his body slumping to the grounds. Hinata blocking his arms was nothing compared to how painful this technique was. He could barely crawl up, trying desperately to go back on his feet.
Hyashi Hyuuga frowned. Neji, a branch house member, had surpassed the main family. All that extra training, everything that Satoshi-sama taught him about his destiny to rule the clan with an iron fist, about his blood being superior, all his certainty were shattered in this very instant. Neji shouldn't know the Hakkesho Kaiten. His inferior branch house body shouldn't even be able to attempt to use the Hakke Rokujuyon Sho, let alone execute it perfectly. Had Satoshi-sama made a mistake? The infallible leader, the visionary of the Hyuuga, the prophet of Hamura…was wrong?
Risu smirked. Naruto had trained specifically to counter this very situation. It was now his moment to stand up and defy everyone's expectations. He glanced at Hyashi, gloating at the man's views being shattered under his very eyes. And now, it was Neji's turn. The last cancerous growths of Satoshi's toxic ideology were about to be shattered right that instant, and Risu couldn't contain his excitement.
Neji stared at Naruto trying to stand.
"I have hit 57 tenketsu on your body, you can no longer stand."
Naruto groaned, one knee slipping back on the ground.
"Is it painful?" he snorted "Stay on your knees before a power you cannot change and realize you're worthless. Having dreams come true through hard work is an illusion."
Naruto's feet finally found stability, his body slowly rising to Neji's challenge.
"I'm not… going to give up." he said with a deep breath.
"Quit already…continuing won't change anything. I have no grudge against you."
"Shut up! I do!"
Neji stared at Naruto in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Why…Why if you're this strong…why did you mentally attack Hinata who was trying so hard?"
Neji's expression hardened. "That's none of your business."
"Insulting Hinata, automatically deciding she's a loser. I don't know what the hell happened in your family, but pieces of shits like you who dismiss other people's hard work and sacrifices…I cannot forgive that!" shouted Naruto.
Neji frowned. This boy was seriously starting to get on his nerves. He should have realized it by now: everything was predetermined. His destiny was to lose, to fall under Neji's power, just as much as Neji's destiny was to be a slave, an obedient servant chained to an unworthy master such as Hinata-sama. Would Naruto finally see the light if he knew of the burden he carried? The burden the fool's own sensei carried? No. No, he wouldn't. Not with a sensei like Risu, who foolishly tried to break his fate by childishly rejecting everything that made the man a Hyuuga. No. Even while knowing the full story, Naruto would never understand with simple words. He needed to learn this lesson through pain and despair, just like he had. This was the truth Satoshi-sama had revealed to the clan, the truth their founder Homura had revealed to the previous clan head, the same truth the man had passed down to Hiashi-sama, the same truth that one day even a weak heir like Hinata-sama would submit herself to.
Neji scoffed "No matter what I say, you will never understand. You're too stubborn, too naive, too lost in your own infantile dreams and aspirations. Your destiny is to fail."
Neji charged at naruto, open palm striking at his chest, pushing the blonde back and sending him tumbling to the ground.
"Proctor, this is over." he declared, deactivating his Byyakugan.
"Stop!" shouted back Naruto, slowly getting back on his feet. "There is no way I'll lose… to a coward who's whining about destiny." he shouted, slamming his hands in a ram seal and concentrating into his mindscape, trying to ignore the pain to reach the fox's cage.
"Your tenketsu are closed, you can't use chakra. In the end, you and Hinata share the same destiny."
"Shut up! Stop trying to act like you can decide someone's destiny!" he could see the cage, the familiar eye of Kyuubi glaring evilly at him.
Neji scoffed, turning at the proctor "This is enough. Proctor, I'm going to kill him. You should call…"
His sentence got interrupted as he felt Naruto's chakra coming to life, the closed tenketsu popping open. No, this wasn't Naruto's chakra. It was raw, stronger, denser, and it was red. A malicious tint of red that he had never seen, with an evil intent that he hadn't imagined possible. He watched in shock as Naruto's wounds sizzled, sealing shut and restoring his body to what it was before their battle began. This… this was impossible. Nothing could defeat a master of the Juken. No one but a Hyuuga could open a closed tenketsu, and yet this boy was defying logic. Defying nature. Defying destiny. Defying what Satoshi-sama had decreed to be immutable truths.
Naruto's chakra condensed into a red cloak, a single ethereal tail trailing off behind him.
Just like during training. Control the chakra like it's its own entity. Like it's another limb.
He lunged, Neji barely dodging the red chakra separated from Naruto's shoulder, hitting him in the face like another punch and propelling him backwards with far more strength than Naruto had any right to have. Naruto landed on the arena walls, tossing four kunais at the ground. Neji blinked, still recovering from the shock and the power of the strike. Had Naruto missed? No, he saw how the kunai landed, he saw the tags tied to the kunais. This was a fuinjutsu formation.
Fubaku Hojin
Dark lines of fuinjutsu shot towards Neji, crawling up his legs and preventing him from moving. It was a simple sealing tag formation, he knew he could break free. He only needed to gather enough chakra to break the seal. He only needed…
Naruto was in front of him, crouched against the ground, fist cocked back ready to strike with the strongest uppercut the boy could muster. Neji knew he had to dodge, to block, but he couldn't move.
The chakra enhanced fist connected with his jaw, the sheer strength of the impact breaking the seal holding him in place and sending him flying into the air, before slamming down into the arena floor. His jaw was sending waves of pains across his body with every breath, each movement so painful he felt his consciousness slipping.
Naruto's red chakra dissipated. "I failed the academy graduation exam three times. That's because the final jutsu test was always decided by the one jutsu I still cannot use. Destiny can't be changed, bla bla bla… stop whining about crap like that. You're not a loser like me."
Genma smirked. "The winner is Uzumaki Naruto!"
"You won!" shouted Sakura from the stand next to Risu-sensei. Then, one by one, the spectators started clapping.
"An impressive display from your jinchuriki, Hiruzen. I'm sure the Daimyo appreciated the spectacle. But… fighting over a girl AND an ideology? Don't you think this was a bit excessive?" asked Misara.
Hiruzen chuckled. "I can assure you that, despite what you might think, nothing about this fight was staged."
The Kazekage scoffed. "I'm sure it wasn't. As I'm sure a fight to settle petty grievances in a public arena where all the most important people of all the nations are watching was entirely their idea. Don't try denying it Hokage-dono, we've all injected some drama into these fights for entertainment value."
"Speaking of entertainment, your son will fight against one of my boys in the next match. what can we expect?" asked the Kusakage.
"A one-sided massacre. Kankuro is a prodigy when it comes to puppeteering. He'll mop the floor with your ninja."
A tick mark appeared on the woman's head. "Well, I suppose we shall see."
Notes
Misara, the Kusakage, is a completely made-up character. The title of a Kage being reserved for the five major village always felt a bit... meh, so Misara has now her own title, complete with her cool hat with a purple symbol. You'll see more of her during the invasion, hope you like her.
Rasa is still alive. His death being off-screen never really sat well with me, so you will also see more of him during the invasion.
You got a few extra glimpses about the Hyuuga clan during Neji's monologue, but I have purpusfully omitted the Hyuuga Incident with the cloud. Maybe it's me, but a public exhibition match with many world leaders attending doesn't exactly seem the right setting for airing your family's dirty laundry
Naruto's chakra cloak changed a bit, and will now always have at least 1 tail of chakra (unlike the chakra cloak he had in his canon figth against Neji), because I honestly like the aesthetic. Each Jinchuriki will have its own chakra cloak different from the rest, so stay tuned to see Gaara's (tho, you probably already know how it looks like just by rewatching thr Konoha Crush arc)
New techniques:
Hakkesho Kaiten: The Hyuuga's rotation. it's not a -no jutsu tecnique because it's a taijutsu move
Hakke Rokujuyon Sho: 8 trigram 64 palm. Taijutsu move again, so no -no jutsu for this one either