Naruto entered the Konoha stadium, the venue for the final round of the Chuunin exams. The whole place was buzzing with anticipation and excitement. The stands were filled with spectators, and Naruto saw some familiar faces among them. His Rinnegan, covered under the illusion devised by the sage, could pick up the large and small chakra sources surrounding him. He could easily find the Jonin sensei and his former classmates near them. Hinata was still looking a little worse for wear from her battle with Neji. He would make sure to kick his ass for her. Next to her, he saw Sakura. Her chakra was minuscule, and Ino's wasn't much better.
He was surprised to find that Gaara's chakra was one of the largest among those present, barring the Kage and Jiraiya. Speaking of which, there was something not quite right about the Sand Village Kage sharing the booth with the old man. He figured it was probably a bloodline limit, but he was weird. Naruto didn't know how to explain it, but the guy felt evil.
He joined the other genin who were lined up, each one standing tall and ready. Well, except Shikamaru, who was slouching. He grinned and stood next to the lazy Nara. Shikamaru's chakra was the smallest among the contestants, but he could see that it was heavily Yin-natured with only a little Yang chakra. That explained the Nara clan's affinity to shadows, Naruto supposed. He felt thankful that the Hokage had given him a brief review of all the known chakra natures and their combinations.
Naruto frowned as he couldn't locate Kakashi or Sasuke in the crowd. They were probably running late, which was unsurprising since it was on form for Kakashi. Speaking of which, that's another bastard that needed some ass-kicking.
The proctor for the exams stepped forward, his voice booming across the stadium. "Welcome to the final round of the Chuunin Exams. Today, each of you will have to fight for your life to show that you are worthy of the title of chunin. Anything goes from this moment on, although you may get more points if you keep your opponent alive at the end of it. As one of the contestants for the first match is no longer with us, the first match will be Naruto Uzumaki vs. Neji Hyuuga. The remaining contestants are to observe from the stadium until your turn arrives."
As the other contestants moved to the gallery, Naruto took his place in one half of the arena. Neji faced him with his usual calm demeanor, his Byakugan activated. A tense silence fell over the stadium.
"I see that you have decided to fight fate and partake in this meaningless battle. Know that it is futile." Neji smiled, knowing that his words would grate on his opponent's nerves.
Naruto took a calming breath. "If you're so sure of yourself, Neji, let's make a wager, shall we?"
"What do you have that would be of use to me?" Neji snorted.
"Afraid of losing, I see..." Naruto nodded understandingly.
"Wager something worthwhile and I might take you up," Neji glared fiercely. "Or stop this childish babbling."
"I'll wager my forehead protector." Naruto declared. "And you have to stop being mean to Hinata if you lose instead."
"Naruto, what are you doing?" Sakura shouted from the stands, horrified. Wagering one's forehead protector would be equivalent to giving up being a shinobi.
"He's lost it." Ino shook her head. "There's a time and a place for showing off..."
"He's gained a lot of confidence..." Shikamaru frowned. "I know he's an idiot, but this seems... excessive."
Many in the crowd were equally perplexed by Naruto's declaration, having already decided that the fight was a foregone conclusion. Hiruzen Sarutobi watched intently from the Kage's booth, wondering if Naruto could afford to be that confident.
Back in the arena, Neji's grin widened. "Either way, you win. You will not die a pitiful death in the field if you are no longer a ninja. But, I accept your challenge. It will be amusing to see you fail."
Naruto grinned right back. "I'll make sure you regret underestimating me, Neji."
The proctor raised his hand, signaling the start of the match. "Begin!"
Naruto immediately created several shadow clones, surrounding Neji. The clones rushed in, attacking from all sides.
Neji's eyes narrowed, his Byakugan active. He moved fluidly and struck the approaching clones with pinpoint accuracy. His Gentle Fist technique disrupted the chakra of each clone he hit, causing them to disperse in puffs of smoke.
Next, Naruto created even more clones and had them take out shuriken this time. A barrage of shuriken assaulted Neji from every direction.
Neji was no stranger to facing such an onslaught of weapons, thanks to his teammate. He didn't hesitate and automatically switched to his default counter.
"Eight triagrams: Palm Rotation!"
Neji spun where he stood, and a spherical dome of chakra expanded outward, surrounding him. The spinning barrier deflected the shuriken with ease, sending them clattering to the ground.
"What's that jutsu?" Sakura asked, curiously. She hadn't seen Hinata use something like that before.
"T-the Palm Rotation is a secret technique of my clan," Hinata said softly, surprise evident in her voice. "I didn't know Neji-niisan had mastered it. It relies on expelling chakra through all the points in the chakra network to create a shield. It's our clan's absolute defense."
Sakura frowned, worried. Naruto's go-to move was his shadow clone. 'I hope he's learned something new.' She didn't have much hope, since Kakashi sensei was focussing on Sasuke.
As soon as the wave of attacks subsided, Neji dashed towards the nearest Naruto clone. With a single strike, the clone dispersed in a puff of smoke. Neji moved to the next clone, striking it down with the same efficiency.
Naruto smirked and created more clones. Half of the clones and Naruto quickly flipped through some hand signs.
"Water Style: Water Bullet!" they shouted in unison, launching a barrage of high-speed water bullets toward Neji.
Neji's eyes narrowed as he activated his Byakugan, tracking the incoming attacks. He spun rapidly, calling out, "Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!" The spherical dome of chakra expanded around him, deflecting the water bullets with ease.
Naruto intently watched the dome and locked on to the moment the dome began to subside. The other half of his clones immediately began to perform the same hand signs as earlier.
Neji was annoyed when he realized Naruto's strategy. To keep alternating attacks using two groups of clones and force him to maintain his technique.
As soon as the technique slowed, the second wave of clones launched another barrage of water bullets. Neji gritted his teeth and spun into another rotation, deflecting the attacks. 'He's trying to wear me down,' he thought, irritation evident on his face. 'And he has a very large chakra reserve.'
Naruto grinned. A battle of attrition was always in the favor of a Jinchuuriki.
"Well well… It looks like Naruto learned a few tricks." Kiba laughed with glee. If Naruto didn't put on a good showing, it would reflect badly on him too.
"Water style jutsu…" Sakura breathed, stunned. A moment ago, she was sure that Naruto didn't have much hope against Neji. But it seemed the tables had turned. She was shocked that Naruto had learned elemental jutsu in such a short span of time. She had started to feel that she was out of her depth ever since the forest of death. That feeling came back with a vengeance when she realized how much Naruto had improved.
As the first set of clones began preparing for another barrage of water bullets, Neji abruptly broke off his technique and attacked the nearest Naruto. He was grazed by multiple water bullets and hit by two, but Neji had ensured that the ones he allowed to land were in non-lethal spots. Dispelling the clone, Neji promptly put some distance between himself and his opponents.
'He made it seem like the technique takes some time to stop. But also knew how to stop it suddenly.' Naruto was impressed. Neji had executed the slowed stop of the Palm Rotation mostly for show and finesse, and quite possibly for deception.
As soon as he saw Neji break off the technique, Naruto began to form another set of hand seals.
"Earth style: Mud wall!" He shouted, slamming his hands to the ground. His clones that were not yet dispersed copied his actions.
While his earlier demonstration of water style had caused some surprised murmurs, the revelation of a second elemental nature caused an outroar, especially among the ninja of the leaf village who knew Naruto well.
"That's impossible!" Kurenai exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise. "He learned two elemental natures in such a short time? He only used sub-par Taijutsu against Kiba!"
Asuma nodded, his expression serious. "It seems Kakashi has been holding back on what he's been teaching Naruto. Tree walking my ass."
The Hokage watched Naruto with interest. 'It seems he was able to speed up the jutsu as I asked him to. He will become a formidable shinobi soon.'
'Rasa', the Kazekage, narrowed his eyes. 'Something has happened to the Jinchuuriki. Jiraiya could not have taught him so much in such a short time, even if they exploited shadow clones to the fullest. The boy was hopeless in the forest.'
Mud walls blocked his path as Neji rushed to attack Naruto. He jumped and maneuvered around the small obstacles adeptly. The fight was taking far longer than he calculated, and he was exposing most of his techniques. The same could be said for Naruto, but Neji could see that the boy hadn't exhausted even a fraction of his chakra. He had misjudged him greatly. Naruto and his clones were moving around too fast and the terrain was changing along with them. A few clones also pestered him with water bullets to keep him on his toes.
'I need to finish this now!' Neji thought as he dodged another bullet. He leaped into the air and landed on the other side of the stadium.
"You are within the range of my divination!" He announced, changing his stance.
Hiashi jolted, recognizing the secret technique of the Hyuga clan. "Watch carefully, Hanabi," He instructed. "It seems your cousin has learned the most coveted technique of the Hyuga clan."
From the stands, Hinata froze in her seat as she recognized the technique. "The sixty four palms…" she whispered.
"What now?" Sakura asked, afraid of the answer.
"That is the highest-ranked offensive technique of my clan. The speed of the attacks increases exponentially with each step of the technique. If Naruto-kun gets hit, the fight will be over." She said sadly.
"Come on, have more faith in him, Hinata!" Kiba shouted. "Yo Naruto, you better not get your ass kicked!"
"I don't plan to, dog-breath," Naruto muttered as he flipped through yet another series of hand seals. Three of his clones imitated him. "Earth style: Mud River!"
In an instant, small rivers of mud flowed from each of the Naruto clones, converging on Neji. For a moment, Neji lost his footing. He quickly adjusted the chakra beneath his feet and started to charge towards Naruto, intent on finishing his technique. Although he had not executed it on muddy water before, he was confident in his success. However, he could not move as quickly as before.
"Now for phase two," Naruto muttered, and eyed four other clones that were going through a slightly different set of hand seals. Neji was closing in fast, but he would be faster.
"Earth style: Swamp of the underworld!" The second set of clones shouted while slapping their palms in the muddy water.
"That boy…" Hiashi shook his head in disbelief. It seems the rumors were true. Jiraiya had indeed trained Naruto for the chuunin exams. The evidence lay in the form of Jiraiya's original jutsu that Naruto was now showcasing.
"Well, looks like it's a wrap for the Hyuga." Asuma said with surprise evident in his voice. "I never imagined that kid would learn an A-rank jutsu in addition to two chakra natures."
"He probably trained with the help of shadow clones." Kurenai guessed. "But this is incredible. Isn't this Lord Jiraiya's jutsu?"
Asuma glanced at Jiraiya, who was smirking next to the Hokage. "It seems Naruto found a new mentor for the chuunin exams."
"Now that's what I call out-of-the-box thinking," Jiraiya commented, impressed. "He found a way to increase the speed of the swamp with shadow clones!"
Hiruzen nodded approvingly. "He set the stage quite well with the liberal use of water-style jutsu and mud river."
'Rasa', or Orochimaru in disguise, shifted his eyes to make eye contact with Kabuto, who was disguised as an Anbu. Kabuto shifted his position slightly, understanding the message.
Neji had noticed the secondary jutsu a moment too late. He had assumed that the clones were all going for the same jutsu. However, the chakra that spread through the mud was thicker, and the mud suddenly became much stickier. He could no longer keep his feet above the mud and each step caused him to get dragged down little by little. He tried in vain to jump, but he could not get a foothold in the thick swamp. Even expelling chakra from his feet to disperse the mud had little effect. The chakra traveled sluggishly once it left his feet and was unable to impart any force.
Neji's mind raced as he tried to find a way out. "I can't let it end like this," he thought, panic setting in. He focused his Byakugan, scanning the swamp for any weak points or inconsistencies that he could exploit. But the swamp was dense and filled with shifting chakra which would pull him down wherever he escaped to.
Neji attempted to use his Gentle Fist to push away the mud, striking the surface with precise chakra-infused blows. However, the chakra dispersed harmlessly through the mud. He then tried concentrating chakra on his feet in a desperate bid to create a solid platform to leap from. But he could not create a foothold in the ever-changing swamp.
"Damn it!" Neji cursed, realizing that his usual techniques were ineffective. His set of skills were too specialized, and this swamp was a nightmare for taijutsu users. This was probably a very high-ranking Jutsu, something he wouldn't have imagined Naruto to be capable of. Was this fate's way of mocking him?
Neji had thought that talent was absolute and determined at birth. But someone whom he had deemed to be talentless had now completely outmaneuvered him. If this was a real fight, he would be dead already. He could not move, or dodge effectively, and his Rotation would not work from the moment he got stuck in the swamp. Naruto and his clones simply had to throw their weapons or techniques at him -there was no way he could deflect them all.
"How can this be happening? I was born with the Byakugan, the prized bloodline of the Hyuga clan. I trained relentlessly to master the Gentle Fist. You couldn't even win properly against Kiba a month ago. How did you get so much stronger in such a short time?!"
"Those eyes of yours…" Naruto replied. "No matter how good they are, they can't see anyone's fate. They can't see anyone's talent. You think you know everything about me because of your eyes, but you don't. You don't know how hard I've worked, how much I've struggled."
Neji's eyes widened slightly, remembering these words being repeated by his sensei and Lee. He remembered how Lee was able to wound Gaara. He had written it off as it was ultimately useless. But for that brief moment, Lee had burned brightly.
"Are you saying hard work can surpass destiny? That talents don't matter?"
"I'm saying that destiny is what you make it, yeah? Nothing is set in stone! And no one can just look at you and decide if you're talented or not."
By this point, Neji had ceased struggling since he knew it was futile. He was already knee-deep in the swamp. For so long, he believed that he knew the limitations of each person and that their struggles would not change their destiny. Naruto was starting to shake that belief.
Neji sighed. He had a lot to think about. "I forfeit!" He announced. It was a formality at this point since he had no way out of Naruto's trap.
The proctor stepped forward, raising his hand. "Winner: Naruto Uzumaki!"
The stadium erupted in applause. While Naruto may not be well-loved by his village, the crowd included many visitors and ninja from other places. Anyone impartial would be impressed with Naruto's performance. He had also impressed many of Konoha's ninja as well.
"Well, what do you know…" Asuma chuckled. "Quite an upset!"
"I'll say." Kurenai was equally impressed.
Gai gave a thumbs-up to the contestants. "Naruto, you have shown the true power of youth through your determination!" He turned to Neji, tears streaming down his face. "Neji, you have also grown so much! Your resolve and spirit were magnificent! This is just another step in your path to even greater heights!"
Naruto made his way to the stands to where his fellow rookies were seated.
"Hey guys! How did you like that? Wasn't I awesome? And Hinata, I told you I'd kick his ass!"
Hinata blushed deeply. "I di-didn't doubt you Naruto…" She said quietly. Naruto was touched at her vote of confidence.
"Did you hold back on me?!" Kiba blurted out, feeling a little upset.
"Wha..? No! I didn't!" Naruto raised his hands defensively.
"So you're telling me that you learned all that…" Kiba waved his hand at the mess that was the stadium "In a month?!"
Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, pretty much. I know, I'm awesome."
"Suspicious is more like it…" Ino chipped in. "How can you get that good in a month? Why didn't you do it earlier then?"
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well, I had some help from pervy sage, and I used a lot of shadow clones for extra training. I worked really hard, believe it!"
"Wait, who's pervy sage?" Sakura cringed at the nickname.
"That old geezer over there…" Naruto pointed towards Jiraiya's position in the Kage box. Jiraiya, who saw him, gave him a jaunty wave.
"Who's that? I've never seen him before…" Shikamaru frowned, trying to place the old man.
"I believe that is Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin…" Shino said quietly.
"WHAT?!" Sakura's head snapped toward the old man Naruto had just called a pervert. "No way!"
"Oh yeah!" Naruto clapped his hands together, finally remembering his teacher's name. "That was his name! After a month, it was embarrassing to ask again. Thanks Shino!"
The genin just looked at Naruto in disbelief.
Standing a little behind the group, Kabuto, disguised as an ANBU operative, caught every bit of that conversation. 'There's something you aren't revealing, Naruto. Lord Orochimaru would be most interested to know what that is…'