Disclaimer – I own nothing.
Premise: Dying is complicated. It hurts, it's painful, it's freeing, but it is also very annoying. Not many could testify to this, our favorite whiskered knucklehead could. When Uzumaki Naruto makes a sudden movement during the Chūnin exams Hyūga Neji's fingers slam straight into his heart. That's the day Uzumaki Naruto dies and comes back, because even death will not stop him from fulfilling his dreams.
Chapter 1. Seals are complicated.
Hyūga Neji had killed before, it was in his line of work, he knew it was a necessity, he had understood this at a freakishly young age – at 6 – his mind supplied, but Neji had never expected to have the life, the blood of an ally on his hands, on his conscience. He didn't expect it would go downhill this quickly after telling the whiskered idiot his past struggles, but when the damn blond-haired idiot suddenly moved, had tried to dodge the final strike of his Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms) Neji knew, it was too late, his hand had struck the upper part of Naruto's ribcage, the area that protected the heart.
Neji's chakra had already been in the process of being released, he tried to move his hand back, his eyes widened in fear, he had been too slow. The chakra had been pushed straight into the Tenketsu (Chakra Points) and into the heart, a sudden high amount of chakra like that would block all close Tenketsu (Chakra Points) to the heart and causes sudden cardiac arrest, that's why the Hyūga clan used such a high amount of chakra with their last strike. He had purposefully changed the trajectory for it not to be fatal, but when the dumb whiskered fool had pulled some sudden stamina out of Kami knows where it had reached the perfect Tenketsu (Chakra Points) to stop his heart, death awaited him.
The first of the Rookie 12 who noticed had been Hyūga Hinata, with her Byakugan active she could see the chakra being forced into the Naruto's heart and Tenketsu (Chakra Point). It was suddenly all going in slow motion. She had gasped and screamed, quickly jumping over her fellow shinobi to get to Naruto as fast as she could, she didn't want to lose him, she couldn't lose him. An ANBU, Hinata barely registered the cat mask, stood in front of her, she twirled around the ANBU in one swift move and was about to jump over the ledge before the ANBU had suddenly moved.
It didn't matte, Hinata halted her movements as she saw Naruto sinking to his knees, head pressed against the scarred ground. Tears fell down her eyes, and then, time moved again. She stumbled back when she saw the explosion of dark red Chakra; the vile, evil chakra, from Naruto's core before it had even manifested out of his body. She saw her cousin be flung backwards, when the vile chakra burst from Naruto's body and concentrated around him, forming a dark red sphere around, covering him from view, even from her Byakugan. Out of the corner of her eye she barely noticed Shiranui Genma, the third Chūnin exam proctor, catching her cousin and speeding out of the warzone of an arena. That was the last thing she saw before everything went dark.
The second Sarutobi Hiruzen felt the sudden influx of Bijuu Chakra from Naruto he signaled the ANBU specialized in handling Naruto if the Kyūbi no Yōko (Nine-Tailed Demon Fox) ever got control over his body, or even worse, broke out of the seal. Two Fūinjutsu users, specialized in Naruto's Hakke no Fūin Shiki (Eight Trigrams Sealing Technique), one Mokuton (Wood Release) user and finally two short-ranged ANBU, who had been exposed to a good amount of Bijuu Chakra in their lives, making them react less violently then others when touched by the volatile chakra, they had been trained for this exact same situation.
He cared for Naruto as one of his one, he hoped it didn't come to that.
The 5 ANBU stood hidden in the walls around the arena, they couldn't get closer, for one, to not make the civilians and shinobi panic, and second, the amount of chakra that Naruto or the Kyūbi were releasing, sporadically pulsed, making the earth crack and burst. They'd get flung away if they got too close. Tenzo, the Mokuton (Wood Release) user signaled to his comrades,
Chakra too dense, Mokuton ineffective, full assault or standby?
The leader of the squad, one of the short-ranged ANBU, signaled back,
Standby, sealing impossible, target needs to be restrained.
Tenzo tensed, he felt the demonic chakra suddenly weakening,
Weak spot detected, permission for full restraint?
The senior shinobi twitched, not sure what do to, this was the first time this happened,
Yes. All out. Cover will be given.
Together, the two ANBU sped through hand seals, the senior officer finished his technique and four thick walls of earth rose around Naruto, a ceiling forming quickly after, the two Fūinjutsu experts sunk into the ground and came back in the inside of the make shift room, they slapped one seal on all of the walls and on the ceiling, they activated the seal, a genius seal created by the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, it made a dense wall of chakra wherever placed, making it almost impossible for Byakugan users to see through. The two close-ranged ANBU were flung against the wall, the only thing stopping their skin from burning away in the waves of Bijuu chakra had been their previous exposure to it.
Tenzo's hands met as he sunk in the ground, his wood tore through the weak spot, weakening and calming the Bijuu chakra. His two comrades were released and sunk to their knees. He rose in the room, just as his superior officer and the last remaining teammate joined them. It hadn't been necessary, the chakra sphere flickered and died out, Naruto's eyes snapped open and he howled.
Naruto didn't know what happened, he was trying to dodge the attack of the cocky Hyūga bastard and then suddenly everything darkened, he couldn't see. He could feel his knees slam against the unforgiving ground and his head met the ground shortly after.
Was I dying?
Was this what dying felt like?
Was this the end?
He questioned himself. He pondered,
It was oddly calming, freeing, maybe it wasn't that bad. I didn't have a lot, anyway.
He stopped his train of thought, that wasn't true,
"Jiji, I want to be Hokage!" The Hokage let out a hearty, deep laugh, "Is that what you want, Naruto-kun?" The whiskered boy nodded, the hat on his head shaking with his excitement. The Hokage smiled and patted Naruto's head, "Then I cannot wait to see the day of you surpassing me, Naruto. I believe you can do it. I believe in You." Naruto teared up and pressed his head against the Kage's robes.
"Iruka-sensei…" Umino Iruka looked down at one of his students, "Yes, Naruto?" The whiskered boy twitched almost unnoticeably. "Can you help me, sensei? I don't know the proper stance." The young boy looked down, prepared to be rejected, again. Iruka smiled and ruffled the boys hair, "Of course, Naruto-kun." The boy's head snapped upwards in surprise a giant smile forming on his face.
"Oi, Sasuke-teme!" The Uchiha grunted and turned, "What do you want, dobe?" The Uzumaki smiled, "Let's spar!" 30 minutes later they both collapsed to the floor, covered in sweat, bruises and cuts. Naruto slowly stood and extended his hand to the downed Uchiha, the Uchiha grabbed the offered hand, a small smirk on his face as he stood too, "See ya tomorrow, dobe." The Uchiha started walking away while his best friend screamed at him, "TEME!" With a smile on his face.
He looked around and laughed, his fellow Genin around him enjoying their meals looked at him, he finally had friends, he had people who he cared for and cared for him. He was happy, he wasn't alone anymore.
And then, his heart stopped and Uzumaki Naruto SAW.
Combining the Shiki Fūjin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal) and the Hakke no Fūin Shiki (Eight Trigrams Sealing Technique) had been a work of genius, Naruto was truly one of a kind. That's why no one perfectly knew how Naruto's seal worked, the person who understood the most, Namikaze Minato, sadly wasn't alive anymore. The seal had bound Naruto and Kyūbi together, if Naruto passed, then the Kyūbi would follow. The Kyūbi would not stand for that, it was the mightiest of the Bijuu, it would not let his container die, not because the demon fox cared about the human, but because it would not, did not accept death.
The Kyūbi had funneled all the chakra it could towards the damaged area, anymore and it would've only made it worse. It growled and more chakra than almost half the village had formed a protective sphere around Naruto. It could not let anyone interfere. The boy's heart had already stopped, and it could feel the seal disintegrating around its body. It felt the cold grip of the Shinigami's essence already tugging on its soul. The Kyūbi was forcing the heart to pump and eventually, hopefully, it would start pumping on its own.
It didn't know what his container was experiencing, what its meddling with the natural cycle of Death was doing. The Kyūbi did not care, it was not its problem. The Shinigame's seal was created to absorb the Kyūbi's soul, it's chakra, it's essence, when the container's body passed away. Naruto's soul had been sucked through the Hakke no Fūin Shiki (Eight Trigrams Sealing Technique) first, and into the Shinigami's stomach, but the body was still alive. The Kyūbi had been just fast enough to keep the body alive, so it still existed. Now the human's body and soul just needed to take over.
The Shinigami noticed the soul of the little boy who it had sealed a part of the Shinju (God Tree) in. His all-knowing eyes filtered through every dimension, every plane of existence and stopped at the correct one. He saw the boy's heart stop and start almost seconds after. The body was alive, the deal had not been broken, the body was alive, so the boy would be sent back.
Naruto had the Shinigami's essence inside of him, it was a part of him, of his soul. Uzumaki Naruto was part Death. When the young Uzumaki had entered the Shinigami's stomach he become one with it, it's all seeing eyes filtered through him, and Uzumaki Naruto SAW.
What did Uzumaki Naruto see, you may ask. Some would say he saw everything that ever existed, that was not true, he was not a God, the young boy only had a fraction of a God's essence printed on his soul. Some would say that Naruto saw his deepest, darkest desires and wishes, that was also not true. I would say that Naruto saw himself, all versions of himself, every possible version of Uzumaki Naruto over every plane of existence, from beginning to the end. The Shinigami saw all what he had control over, Naruto saw all he had control over, meaning he only saw himself. He saw every Uzumaki Naruto, ever.
Naruto did not have to worry about his body or his brain being able to handle the sudden influx of everything, he had neither to worry about. It was so much, too much. His eyes glowed.
Chakra;
He saw himself level Konohagakure no Sato (The Village Hidden in the Leaves)
to the ground with a swipe of his hand. Dark red chakra.
He saw himself tear the earth asunder with anger for lives who shouldn't have been lost in an unnecessary war. Deep blue chakra.
He saw himself revive millions of people, his chakra forcing the souls back from the afterlife. Pure green chakra.
Names;
He saw himself fighting along side Uchiha Itachi, both wearing ANBU gear. Holding back a whole army on their own. He killed them in the name of necessity.
He saw himself comforting one Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, protecting her from faces he recognized, older, but recognizable. He killed them in the name of peace.
He saw himself fighting against his Jiji, Sarutobi Hiruzen, his blade carved through the elderly man while his soul cried in anguish. He killed him in the name of revenge.
Techniques;
He saw himself flash through hand seals faster than he could comprehend, he slapped his hands together and the elements collided. Fire roared, Wind blew, Lighting crackled, Earth rose, and Water flowed. The strongest Ninjutsu Technique.
He saw himself move faster than he thought possible, he appeared miles ahead within seconds and he stopped facing his opponent. He moved. Punches broke the barrier of sound, kicks tore through mountains, and blocking created earthquakes. The strongest Taijutsu Technique.
He saw himself meet eyes with Jōnin, ANBU, Kage and even Bijuu, they all fell to his whims.
He smiled at his perfect control, Jōnin whispered secrets to him, ANBU fought for him, Kage's led for him, and the Bijuu offered their Loyalty to him. The strongest Genjutsu technique.
Uzumaki Naruto SAW.
The Kyūbi almost visibly relaxed when he felt the human's body take over fully, the heart beating on its own without the beast's assistance. The seal around him slowly regenerated, putting the Demon Fox back in its old prison. It huffed and laid back down, it hadn't used its Chakra so precisely in ages. It had taken quite a bit of energy and concentration out of it. The Bijuu's chakra wasn't made for precise work, when they had a problem they usually just slammed through it. He was the only one of his siblings who had the control to force a heart to beat, anyway.
The Demon Fox's senses went haywire when it felt something step out of the seal. It stood fast and appeared close to the bars of the seal. The whiskered child was pressed face first into the sewer water and was slowly sinking into to it, into the floor. What the hell… It could feel it, that was the boy's soul, the boy had passed then…
How did he come back?
Had the Shinigami sent him back to his body because it was still alive?
The Kyūbi's body sagged down, it had been so close to being in the Shinigami's stomach for the rest of existence. That was not something it would like, even if its other half was also prisoned, as long as a part of it was in the living world it had the chance of being complete again, one day. He owed the boy.
The 5 ANBU were unceremoniously slammed against the walls around them. They almost collectively sunk to their knees as the captain of the team flashed through ANBU sign language.
Retreat, Jinchūriki alive, no Bijuu detected. Situation clear. Report to commander.
All 5 of the ANBU sunk into the earth as Naruto's chakra shredded through the walls with ease, the ceiling being disintegrated as it almost fell down on his head. A few seconds later and they would've been just smears on the floor. Naruto's screams slowly died out as the pressure of the turbulent chakra inside of his core lessened. The burns covering his body, caused by the volatile chakra, slowly mending while Naruto gasped for breath.
Most of the Rookie 12, their teachers and even the Hokage visibly relaxed when they saw that the boy was okay. Most of the civilians and ANBU were still tense. An ANBU black ops member appeared close to Hinata as Kiba came running. The ANBU moved to his knees and gently pressed his hand, covered in green healing chakra into her abdomen as Kiba looked helplessly at Hinata.
Nara Shikamura had a face of resigned understanding. He didn't know everything yet, he was going to talk to his father. He'd find out. The genius could only speculate.
Haruno Sakura almost broke down. She almost lost her teammate and she was helpless to stop it. She needed to become stronger.
Rock Lee had tears streaming down his face, his youthful comrade was okay. YOUTH.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had to clamp down on his tumultuous chakra, the boy was almost family. His grandson in all-but-blood.
The Kazekage looked intrigued as the young Jinchūriki stood like nothing had happened, his curiosity was piqued.
Uzumaki Naruto took a deep breath, he felt good.
Nay, he felt beyond good, even if he felt that he barely had any chakra left, barely for him meant more than most Kages had.
He felt absolutely incredible. He had no clue what everything he saw meant, he barely remembered anything from it, but he knew it meant something, it had certainly drained him, that's for sure.
The whiskered boy slowly stood, his legs still a bit shaky. In the corner of his eye he saw the proctor appear with Neji following closely behind the man, he didn't know what his name was, but something supplied the answer,
Shiranui Genma, Tokubetsu Jōnin.
Naruto almost visibly startled,
What the actual hell was that, dattebayo?
The boy shook his head and fully looked towards the proctor, the man walked closer and opened his mouth,
"Are you okay, Naruto-san?"
The boy smiled his usual big smile and nodded. He bounced on the soles of his feet,
"I feel incredible, dattebayo!"
He had so much energy, it was amazing. The Tokubetsu Jōnin spoke and glanced to both the boys,
"Are you ready to continue the fight?"
Both boys nodded as Genma applied chakra to his vocal cords,
"Our regularly planned schedule will continue, I apologize for the small interference."
The two boys moved to face each other for the second time today, the man chewed on his senbon and spoke, his voice reverberating through the whole arena with the help of his chakra,
"Now let the first match continue! BEGIN."
It seemed Naruto had learned from his previous encounter with the Byakugan, he backpedaled as quickly as he could, his hands pressed his fingers together, forming a cross with them,
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!"
Neji sped forward, dispelling more than 10 before they moved and circled around him, the real one included, the Hyūga had 18 clones surrounding him. He stood still and waited, Neji knew that Naruto didn't like waiting, the blond-haired boy would attack first.
Naruto cursed inside of head,
What now? How could he defeat the Byakugan?
Again, something gave him a hint,
Blind spot, thoracic vertebrae.
What the hell! I really need to figure out what that it is.
Naruto breathed in and started his assault, the clones and the original reached for their kunai pouches and started flinging them towards Neji. Some clones pushed chakra into their kunais, others did not. Naruto needed to find out if the Byakugan really had a weak spot, chaos would help.
His clones started using the Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique) and the Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) in tandem. Some changing into kunais, tree logs, even rocks, some rushed Neji and others kept flinging throwing weapons as the real Naruto aimed and flung one kunai perfectly in the weak spot of the Byakugan. Before it hit Neji the clone-turned-kunai dispersed on Naruto's command, Naruto didn't need to let Neji know that he knew the weak spot of the Byakugan. Neji at this point had already taking out more than 10 of the clones.
Naruto also found out that while Neji could see him use the Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique), he could not see what happened with the results of the Henge no Jutsu if they were inanimate objects. He made sure some of his clones kicked some 'stones' towards Neji. Naruto cackled to himself, this was already going a lot better.
Hyūga Neji was quite surprised that Naruto had not decided to attack him head on it, it did not matter. Fate would show the boy his place. At least Naruto was putting up some sort of fight.
Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes almost unnoticeably. He had seen the kunai that almost reached the back of young Neji's neck, it had not been pure luck. The kunai had dispersed, it had been done purposefully, to test the only weakness of the Byakugan. The sleeping dragon stroked his goatee thoughtfully, maybe Naruto had actually studied the Byakugan.
Naruto dispersed most of his clones, and, in the smoke, he created another seven. Four of those seven sped towards Neji. The second the clones got clones enough Neji spun, the Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation) forming around him, just before the clones were hit they changed their directions and started running clockwise against Neji's technique. In sync, the four clones moved their left hands towards their kunai pouch, chakra moving into their muscles, tendons and into the kunai. Strengthening them and giving the kunai a blue outline, a testament of the amount of chakra in them.
Hopefully this would work.
It did not, Naruto violently cursed, even with that amount of chakra reinforcing his arms and the kunai they were still dispersed right away, barely affecting the circulating dome of chakra. He used his customary clone technique and sent another 5 clones towards Neji. The small disturbance caused by his clones distracted the Hyūga enough.
Neji saw Naruto smirking in the corner of his vision, just on the barrier of his blind spot. That was the real one. Neji's eyes suddenly widened as 2 clones dispelled their Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) inside of the dome of chakra. His mind spun, it must've happened during the chaos. It was too late to react. The first clone hit his left leg out of under him, Neji's hand flashed towards the clone and dispelled it, he moved to dispel the other, his circulating dome of chakra flickering and disappearing around his body. He saw another 8 clones appearing around him. Hyūga Neji decided that fate hated him.
Hyūga Neji was fast, incredibly fast for his age, he was not fast enough. The second clone slammed his knee into Neji's jaw, the crack of a dislocated jaw that followed could be heard throughout the whole arena. The clone was dispelled, having used all its chakra in its attack, as Neji was sent flying into the air. Neji saw 5 clones of Naruto around him, they had used other the clones as springboards, dispelling the clones-turned-springboards, 3 were still on the ground, as the airborne clones started flinging themselves towards Neji with the help of their clone brothers. Neji started spinning in the air, preparing for his strongest defensive technique.
Naruto almost jumped in joy. It seemed it was going to work. Neji was preoccupied with his clones, now he just needed to make sure to aim correctly. He grabbed one kunai, and flung towards Neji's neck, towards his thoracic vertebrae, almost perfectly in his blind spot. Naruto did really jump this time, of one of his clone's back and into the air and just before the kunai sliced through Neji's neck he used the substitute technique with the chakra laden kunai. The clone Naruto used dispersed.
Neji knew something was incredibly wrong when a laughing Naruto was suddenly behind him, what Naruto didn't know was how incredibly skilled Hyūga Neji was, calling him a prodigy in the Jūken (Gentle Fist) was an understatement, Hyūga Hiashi had not been wrong to say that Neji had inherited the strongest kekkai genkai (bloodline limit) of the Hyūga clan. Neji unleashed a torrent of chakra around his body, even faster than before. It had been just enough to stop Naruto from hitting him full on.
Naruto was rocketed towards the unforgiving ground, his clones dispersed on his command, covering the arena in smoke, he needed to cushion his fall, or he'd be a goner. Naruto let out a bloodcurdling scream as he finally collided. Neji landed, nursing his sore jaw and putting more pressure on his right leg. Naruto tried moving, but he couldn't. He was covered in bruises, blood and dirt. Naruto cursed, he was still so incredibly weak, even with the knowledge of the Byakugan's weak spot.
The crowd was on the tip of their seats. Most of the Rookie 12 was surprised, not many had expected Naruto to last this long against the strongest Genin of their generation. Choji had even already chowed down all his packets of crisps. Yamanaka Ino spoke, her head swiveling to Sakura,
"How did Naruto do all that?!"
Sakura's eyes widened as she stammered out her answer,
"I dunno…"
The higher-ranking shinobi were enjoying the action-packed match, Hagane Kotetsu spoke to one of his comrades, Kamizuki Izumo,
"You think they're Chūnin material, Izumo?"
Izumo looked towards Kotetsu,
"They are powerful enough to become Chūnin. The Hyuga for sure. Not sure about blond kid though, doesn't seem to think before doing a lot and it doesn't seem he can continue anymore, anway."
Kotetsu looked thoughtful,
"The blond kid did try to use the Byakugan's blind spot, he has potential, even if he loses."
Izumo agreed and laughed,
"Now he only needs to change his clothing style."
Kotetsu lifted his eyebrow,
"Says the one with a bowl on his head."
Izumo's eye twitched.
Hyūga Hanabi looked towards her father. It seems that her father hadn't overexaggerated her cousin's strength.
When the smoke cleared Naruto was on his back, blood dripping from his lips, even with almost all the chakra he had gotten back from his clones he could only barely strengthen his body enough to survive a fall from that height, with that velocity, Neji was staring down at him in contempt.
The Hyūga started turning to walk away and spoke,
"You're a failure."
Naruto slowly stood on shaky, bruised legs,
"W-Wait. Don't you dare walk away from me."
Neji turned his head back and scoffed as Naruto continued,
"I'm not done yet. I don't quit, and I don't go back on my word. That's my Nindo, my Shinobi Way. I vowed to beat you, and I will do so!"
Neji's mind flashed back to his match with Hyuga Hinata, his cousin,
Hinata was on her knees with blood dripping down her lips as she shakily spoke, "I don't go back on my word, because that too is my Nindo, my Shinobi way."
Naruto stood, blood dripping from his hands, Hinata's blood. The whiskered boy narrowed his eyes, "I vow to beat you."
Neji let out a condescending laugh, fully turned back and closed his eyes,
"I've heard those words before."
Naruto's chest heaved as he spoke,
"You and your foolish fate! Well, if you really believe it, then why are you the one walking away?!"
The Hyuga scowled,
"You, impudent little brat. Why waste my breath explaining it to you? We are all given a destiny at birth, and it is pointless to fight against it."
Neji's mind flashed back to a memory of his father comforting him after he received his Caged Bird Curse Seal. He bared his teeth,
"You do not know what it's like to branded with a mark that sets you apart,"
Neji's voice shook,
"A mark that can never be wiped away.
Naruto opened his eyes, his pupils dilating, and met Neji's white ones,
"Oh yea, I know what that's like. Well, big deal. Who cares?!"
"You worthless, little…"
"You think you're the only one who has troubles? I have news for you, Neji. You're not the only special one around here.
Naruto's eyes flashed red in anger,
"Did you ever think that Hinata might be suffering too? It was not her fault that her father was born in front of yours, but you resent her for it, you disrespect her, even when she's trying so hard. All she wanted was your respect."
Naruto's voice rose,
"That was what she was fighting for, even if it almost killed her! And what was that about anyway, I thought it was your fate to serve the main house, but you don't really believe that?! Do you?!"
Naruto coughed, he should've been more careful with his chakra. He didn't know what happened when he was blacked out, but it had most certainly taken most of his chakra, and the Uzumaki at least knew that he had a lot of chakra, Kakashi-sensei had told him so.
Neji relaxed his eyes, the veins slowly disappearing, as the proctor of the third exam moved closer towards them.
"Give up, you don't have any chakra left. How are you planning to fight without chakra?"
Neji smirked,
"It's fitting you sympathize with Hinata, you will meet the same end as her, weakling. Even after your magical stunt you're still the one gasping and covered in blood. You've barely scratched me, give up. Faith has decided this match."
Naruto growled,
"I'll show you how wrong you are."
He took one step forward and his knee gave out, Naruto coughed and splattered blood on the earth. The Hyūga smiled mockingly down at him. Naruto's mind flashed back to his conversation with the pervy sage, Jiraiya.
I could use the Kyūbi's chakra…
Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated, Neji spoke to the proctor,
Kyūbi, I know you can hear me…
"Proctor, this has gone on long enough, I suggest you stop the match. If he's idiotic enough to continue to fight I will not be responsible for what happens to him."
Give me your strength!
Genma looked towards the two Genin, as Naruto was slowly rising back to his feet, Genma could clearly see how injured Naruto was,
"Fine."
Naruto's body shook as Neji faced him,
I need to win. I can't lose. I will not lose!
"It's pointless, I told you."
Naruto growled and pressed his fingers together, forming the tiger sign.
"Why are you fighting a hopeless battle, trying to defy your fate?!"
Naruto opened his slowly reddening eyes,
"Because people called me a failure, I will prove them wrong!"
Slowly, the ground under Naruto's feet cratered, he bared his teeth and screamed. Deep red chakra poured from his body, circling around him.
Neji activated his eyes and stumbled back slowly,
It can't be, where was that chakra coming from!?
Naruto's canine teeth sharpened, Neji was dumbfounded, every Tenketsu (Chakra Point) in the Uzumaki's body was filled with the red chakra.
It's not possible!
The Hyūga concentrated on Naruto's navel and he stumbled back as the deep red, almost fire-like, chakra coalesced into some sort of terrifying animal. Neji was terrified,
What is he?!
Shiranui Genma booked it as fast as he could.
Hyūga Hiasha's eyes widened as he recognized the violent chakra,
Impossible! That chakra!
Tenten, Neji's teammate, felt the sweat dripping down her cheek,
This can't be happening. No way!
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked down at the scene playing out in front of him,
No question, it's the chakra of Kyūbi no Yoko, but when did Naruto learn to harness its strength?
Hagane Kotetsu looked down in utter surprise,
"But how? He didn't have any chakra left over!"
The ANBU group, created to stop Naruto if he lost control, tensed, the Jinchūriki still seemed to have control.
Neji covered his eyes with his arms as the incredibly strong winds that the red chakra was creating tore up the ground and made the rocks and dirt fly into the air. Neji rolled out of the way as a tree was dislodged from the earth and was sent speeding towards him. Naruto roared, almost all civilians and Genins flinching at the guttural, animalistic sound. Neji dug his hands into the earth and applied chakra to his feet, else he'd be sent flying too,
This incredible, powerful energy. What kind of chakra is that?! Is it even chakra at all?
And all of the sudden it was gone, absorbed back into Naruto's body, his eyed bled blue again. Neji stood slowly, quite shaken up,
"Was that it? Some cheap parlor tricks!? How are you going to become Hokage if you can't even defeat me!? You are not fated to become Hokage!"
His voice wavered. Naruto growled and heaved, eyes suddenly glowing. Neji laughed mockingly, gaining his confidence again. Naruto suddenly tensed, and deep red, dense chakra erupted from every Tenketsu (Chakra Point) in Naruto's body. Naruto moved into a stance he did not know, it did not matter. His soul knew it. Neji closed his eyes, having to deactivate them or chance damaging them and as he opened them, Naruto was in front of him, teeth bared, blood dripping and leg already barreling towards Neji's stomach, almost faster than the pale-eyed boy could see. Neji was sent skidding backwards, eyes blown wide, barely managing to stop himself. The blond-haired demon had disappeared.
Neji's confidence had all but disappeared, again.
Neji stressfully activated his Byakugan just fast enough to see Naruto appearing behind already in movement, he barely saw the two-fisted punch crash into the upper part of his spine, the Hyūga arched his back and screamed. Neji was sent flying and this time he fully saw the demon in human skin appear in front of him. The pale-eyed Genin felt a burning hand wrap around his neck before he was sent flying with a swing of Naruto's arm, his back thundered against the unforgiving floor, aggravating his already painful injuries, his mouth opened in a soundless scream.
The Hokage smirked, Naruto would become a very powerful Hokage one day.
Most of the Rookie 12 were terrified.
The ANBU stayed tense, they couldn't afford to lose concentration.
Jiraiya smiled down at his new charge, Naruto was certainly his son, the sage sped away.The civilians were almost losing control over their bladders.
Naruto smiled, making him even look more demonic. His deep blue eyes, with a slit pupil, glowed in the cloak of dark red. Two tails were waving lazily behind him, moving with his breathing. He clenched his hands and felt the power in them, internally he thanked the Kyūbi for its assistance. Naruto's sharp hearing picked up movement in front of him, Neji was slowly moving to his feet.
When the Hyūga shakily made it to his feet, Naruto growled and moved,
"Let's finish this!"
He sped forward and Neji moved into a familiar stance and screamed,
"Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation)"
The spiralling dome of chakra, moving faster than 1000 KM/H appeared around the prodigal Hyūga, and Naruto did not care, he knew who would win. The boy-demon barreled against it, with all the chakra in his body, every ounce of chakra he could muster. The Hyūga did not disappoint, the revolving dome kept stand. One tail disappeared, and the dome dented.
Every Hyūga in the arena were looking at the match in shock, it shouldn't be possible. The rotation should've countered the chakra.
Naruto ripped through the dome, he wrapped his right hand around Neji's face, digging his sharpened nails into the Hyūga's face, drawing blood and before the chakra could detonate, his chakra shroud flickered out and Naruto growled into Neji's ear,
"I will become Hokage, and I will change the Hyūga clan, you make your own FATE."
Neji's eyes widened and then, the arena shook, and two bodies shot out of the dust, they collided and cratered the earth when they landed.
The whole arena was quiet, you would've heard a pin drop. Wide-eyed, almost every person
in the arena stared at the battleground. Shiranui Genma moved closer and looked at the two craters,
Man, that's some chakra that kid has got, never seen anything like it. No way that Hyūga kid could've…
Sakura's voice wavered as the young kunoichi looked at the two craters,
"But which one is Naruto?!"
Ino gaped,
"Don't ask me, I don't even know what happened just now!"
Gaara's mouth salivated,
MOtHeR wiLL HaVE YoUr BlOOd, UzUMaKi.
The Kazekage stopped himself from licking his lips in sheer ecstasy, he looked towards his fellow Kage,
"My, my… What impressive shinobi you have, Sarutobi-dono."
The Hokage smirked, his hand clenching around his pipe,
"What else would you expect, Kazekage-dono?"
Shiranui Genma turned his head as he saw an arm appear out of the smoke, a body slowly following after. Previously white, now dirt covered, robes appeared. Long hair, disheveled, but still held together came out slowly after. Genma's eyes shot towards the other crater, Naruto lay there, unmoving, breathing roughly. It seemed the Hyūga had won.
The Hyūga took shaky steps to the other crater, blood dripping from his body, he coughed,
"Sorry, but this is reality. You're a failure. This match is finished…"
And then Hyūga Neji heard the ground in front of his feet crack and as he looked down he felt the chakra strengthened left fist of Uzumaki Naruto thunder against his chin, Neji was sent sprawling to the floor, blood dripping down his lips.
Naruto breathed heavily, the last clone he made dispersed in a cloud of smoke, leaving a giant hole where the real one had dug through. His left eye was almost swelled shut, hands dripping blood and chakra fully exhausted, but Uzumaki Naruto had defied fate, Uzumaki Naruto stood victorious, while his opponent, the so-called strongest Genin of their generation lay bleeding on the floor.
Genma pondered to himself, eyes wide,
Had Naruto planned so far ahead? Incredible, he had never lost his faith in his ability to win, Naruto knows instinctively that believing in yourself can give you the power to change your own fate, and on top of that, the kid has got one hell of a left hook.
Hyūga Hiashi looked down solemnly at his downed nephew,
I wish you were here to see how much your son has grown, otouto. He embodies what it means to be a Hyūga, I need to speak to him.
Hyūga Hanabi was left gaping,
I-I can't believe it, Neji-nii-san lost… He actually lost against that boy, who is he?
Rock Lee shouted his approval of the amazing match,
YOSH, I will spar Naruto-san!
The 5 ANBU slowly untensed and moved away.
Naruto took uncertain steps towards the downed prodigy, he stopped as Neji started speaking,
"I should've expected you to use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique). It's your specialty, after all. I was careless."
Naruto huffed,
"Wanna know something funny, Neji? I failed the Graduation exams exactly 3 times, because there's was one damn Jutsu that messed me up each time, one damn technique that I could not master. My clones were pathetic…"
Neji's eyes narrowed as Naruto continued, a small smile forming on his lips,
"That's right. I failed because of the Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique), every single time. I defied fate at that exact moment, tell me I did not, Neji."
The Hyūga remained silent, Naruto smiled,
"Now stop telling me that you can't change who you are, you can do it too, because unlike me, you're not a failure. Fate is what you make of it. Don't let yourself be stopped by it."
Shiranui Genma looked away from the conversation and chuckled before speaking, lifting his right hand up and pointing it towards Naruto, and before he could speak, ten clouds of smoke formed around the arena, signaling the sudden dispersing of 10 transformed clones. Naruto's smile transformed into a laugh as Neji's eyes widened,
I didn't even notice them…
Genma's voice wavered in the middle of his sentence, not expecting the interference,
"The winner is, Uzumaki Naruto!"
And then Uzumaki Naruto sunk to his knees, completely and utterly exhausted. No one noticed his pupils glowing softly before it stopped. He smiled softly, his core of chakra already filling up slowly.
The crowd clambered to their feet in their excitement, showing their approval of the action-packed match and welcoming the next with thunderous applause and screams of joy.
Inuzuka Kiba gaped at Naruto,
"WHAT THE HELL! How did NARUTO get that strong!"
Hagane Kotetsu laughed as the clones dispersed,
"I told you, Izumo! The kid has potential, I'm pretty sure he'll make Chūnin."
Izumo had to pick his jaw up of the floor before he answered,
"Y-Yea,"
Izumo dug his hands into to his pocket and produced some bills before slapping them into to waiting hand of Kotetsu,
"You win, bandage-face."
This time Kotetsu's eye twitched.
Hyūga Hiashi stood up, his steps even, moving towards the exit.