Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto franchise or its characters.
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Storm Arrives Part (II)
"Naruto Uzumaki versus Neji Hyūga!"
The crowd buzzed with excitement as the names of two major powerhouses were called out. Thousands of spectators erupted into cheers as they realized they were in for a treat of a fight as their voices blended into an unintelligible cacophony of roars. Sakura winced at the piercing sound, her hands immediately coming up to block out the noise. She looked towards the others who had similar expressions. Shikamaru was curled into a ball, trying his hardest to avoid the sound. Lastly, she glanced at Naruto, expecting him to be nervous if not slightly panicked.
The blond in question was silent, his eyes closed and arms crossed.
"Uhh…Naruto? Are you okay? Sakura asked, voicing the question that everyone else had in their minds as well.
Naruto opened his eyes, revealing blue orbs that seemed to be dancing with excitement. "Yeah, but I can't seem to control my excitement!"
On closer thought, Naruto's hands were shaking as they balled them into fists.
"Excitement?" Choji questioned dubiously. "Why would you be excited to fight him? Isn't he your relative or something, Hinata?"
Hinata shifted in her seat, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Thankfully enough, Kiba answered for her. "He's an absolute ass! I met him once or twice, and I'm still not sure what's worse between his attitude and his hair. Don't get me started on how he treats Hinata…"
Ino frowned. "Who in their right mind would treat Hinata badly? She's the poster girl of innocence!"
"Someone not in their right mind," Kiba responded, scoffing.
The Hyūga shuffled again. "Neji-san isn't a bad person…he's been through a lot of troubles because of our clan. Please don't—"
Naruto cut her off. "Circumstances don't excuse what he said, Hinata. All of us have our own circumstances—that doesn't mean we can use those as a reason for being a bully."
That's one of the few things Naruto respected Sasuke for. Naruto could say with certainty that his teammate had suffered a lot, and yet the Uchiha had never made it his mission to trouble others, mostly keeping to himself in the end.
Hinata hesitated once more but nodded in the end.
"May the contestants come to the stage," the proctor said loudly, his eyes sweeping the crowd searchingly.
Naruto grinned. "Alright, now it's time to go. Wish me luck—not that I need it, dattebayo!"
His friends did exactly that, except for Sasuke, who simply nodded. Always trying to be different, eh? Just wait, I'll beat the arrogance out of you too! Naruto daydreamed about his eventual fight with his teammate until he found himself face to face with pale eyes. Unlike Hinata's, these eyes were narrow and cold, completely opposite to the large dow-like expression Hinata always had. Veins protruded from around his Byakugan, mostly covering the top half of his face.
Naruto's mind immediately blanked, his focus tunneling on the opponent in front of him. Neji was easily the strongest opponent he would ever have to face. Lee was a close second, because Naruto simply had a perfect counter for his Taijutsu, and the green spandex ninja didn't have a chance unless he managed to open his gates. Opening his gates in a small enclosure without any cover—a very unfortunate winning condition against opponents who were dead focused on preventing the Taijutsu specialist from doing so.
Neji could be classified as a Taijutsu specialist as well but was just as proficient in the other arts. Therefore, Naruto was facing a version of Lee that had access to chakra, along with that busted doujutsu that came with literally zero disadvantages (other than looking creepy).
Observe! The observation was successful.
Name: Neji Hyūga
Title: N/A
Occupation: Genin of Konoha
Level: LV20
MP: 100/100
Chakra: 200/200
STR: 14
VIT: 15
DEX: 17
INT: 7
WIS: 5
LUK: 3
Reputation: 10
For a second Naruto thought the reputation was also a stat but quickly realized that Neji hated him to a higher degree than he thought. Naruto didn't blame him—he hated him just as much. It wasn't like they were mortal enemies, in fact, Naruto and Neji had barely interacted, and only interacted through words.
The truth was that they were paragons of completely conflicting ideals. There was Neji, who believed that life was merely a servant to fate, and that destiny was a fixed path in life that offered no change. Then came Naruto, a boisterous blond who despised fate and destiny for leaving him an orphan and overall making his life shit. He hated the idea of not being able to change his life, and thus the goal of becoming Hokage was his entire life's motive.
If Neji was the symbol of the inevitable and unwavering nature of fate, then Naruto symbolized the whirlpool of change that relentlessly tore through the threads of the same fate.
As such, it was no doubt that both calamities would eventually have to face each other.
And now they did.
The crowd began to roar louder than ever before as the proctor began counting down. Naruto didn't hear a single thing.
It's showtime!
"Begin!"
Activate Uchiha Taijutsu!
[Activating… ]
[Skill: Uchiha Clan Taijutsu- Lvl 5 Activated!]
[Usage drains 8 MP Points each minute. User can initially use this skill for 2 minutes without draining MP.]
This skill had become Naruto's go-to for engaging any enemy as he had become comfortable with the fluid style, and along with the lack of MP drainage as long as he used it for only two minutes, it was very cost-efficient as well.
Naruto dodged the kick that went over his head with a simple duck, then parried the palm heading for his stomach with his forehead, pushing Neji's hand to the right. A counter left hand missed its mark right on the liver as the Hyūga backed up with a strong kick of his foot on the ground.
"Water Release: Surging Sea!" Naruto said after he made the proper hand signs. With a forceful exhalation, a torrent of water escaped from his lungs, swiftly cascading forward as a powerful wave that threatened to sweep up the Hyūga into its grasp.
Neji responded with inhumane speed, his hands flashing as he intoned something Naruto couldn't hear through the sound of crashing waves. Two walls of mud rose from beneath him, dividing the aggressive tide in the middle. The spear of earth parted the cohort of rushing water with ease, leaving a relatively dry Neji standing on it with an emotionless expression on his face.
Naruto shook his head in disbelief at how fast Neji had been able to dismantle his jutsu. He was in no delusion that his opponent would have faltered, but he was looking forward to Neji using his ultimate defense. Instead, it was almost as if Neji knew beforehand that Naruto was going to attempt such a technique with how fast he was able to cast his mud wall. He decided to file away the information for later.
He met Neji in the middle once again, pulsing chakra through his feet so that he could avoid plunging his legs into water and greatly reducing his speed. The Hyūga did the same, making Naruto realize right then that Neji was much faster than him.
The next bout of Taijutsu didn't go as well for Naruto. Neji's Taijutsu was honed with years of grueling training, each strike a result of countless hours of practicing stances by himself. Naruto's Taijutsu wasn't his own and never would be. It was just that, an imitation. It lacked the heart and soul that Neji's Taijutsu did, and more importantly, lacked the experience and finesse. Another startling realization overcame Naruto. He was inferior in Taijutsu.
Neji was reading his moves with practiced ease, his eyes flying back and forth as he parried any attack Naruto tried to attempt. And then he began to truly fight back.
Naruto wasn't an idiot—he knew that the moment he started to defend, Neji would have easy access to his chakra points, which would more than likely win him the fight. That's why he continued his relentless barrage of hooks, uppercuts, and kicks with disregard for Neji's strikes. He had to take damage now to prevent a further, greater loss in the future.
Meanwhile, Sasuke frowned from the stands. "The dobe shouldn't have used my Taijutsu in the first place." He still had no idea how Naruto was so good at copying Taijutsu and ended up scrapping it up to talent. He knew that his teammate was hiding something, but getting annoyed by that would be hypocritical considering the bundle of secrets that Sasuke himself held.
Sakura had her hands on the rails, worriedly looking down at the fight. "Why is he so aggressive right now?"
"N-Naruto-san doesn't want to be on the d-defense against the Gentle Fist," Hinata murmured a second later.
"What's so special about the Gentle Fist?" Ino asked confusedly.
For once, Hinata didn't mumble, her eyes completely attached to the fight before her. "The Gentle Fist is a deadly Taijutsu style created by the Hyūga clan to fully optimize the Byakugan. We can disrupt the opponent's chakra pathway by injecting chakra along with our strikes directly into the nodes of the tenketsu. Someone like Neji-san can prevent someone from even drawing their chakra if he lands his hits."
Her face blushed right after as she realized just how much she had just spoken.
The others looked at her in shock.
"Good explanation, Hinata," a new voice said from beside them.
Sasuke glanced to his left, recognizing Tenten and Lee as they stood watching the fight.
Tenten had a smug smirk on her face as she watched one of Naruto's hooks helplessly pass Neji. "I told the brat that he shouldn't have underestimated Neji—of course, he didn't listen. Look where that got him now…"
"What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked annoyedly.
Tenten smiled mischievously. "Oh, I just wanted a better view. We all are Konoha Genin, aren't we? Plus, I wanted to meet the famous rookies everyone keeps boasting about."
Lee just shook his head, an apologetic look on his face. That didn't stop him from not so innocently scooting closer to Sakura.
Sasuke just gritted his teeth. You better beat this bastard, Naruto! I won't let you live if you lose right now.
Naruto felt a stray bead of sweat reach the corner of his lips, the salty taste not welcome in the already humid environment. He managed to dodge another punch, but his luck couldn't last forever. As long as he isn't able to hit my chakra points, I'll be fine for right now.
He was too slow for the impending kick right on his shoulder, knocking Naruto several meters to the right as he briefly rolled on the ground before pushing up with his hand to get back into position. That fucking hurts. Naruto internally groaned, unwilling to show his pain to the world. But this was good. There was some distance between the two, and Neji wasn't showing any rush to head towards him. Without wasting another second, he reached into his utility pocket and threw four swords into the air, making sure to not throw them too high as it would take too long.
The previous bout made one thing known: Naruto would never win in a regular Taijutsu fight. The year of experience and age Neji had on the Jinchuuriki was more than crucial. Thus, Naruto had to rely on his skills to even the playing field. If only I could use my shadows. He thought bitterly. He wallowed in his self-pity for a little bit before snapping himself back to reality. There was no time for indecision.
[Activating… ]
[Skill: Seven Swords Dance, Acrobat Kenjutsu- Lvl 2 Activated!]
[Usage drains 15 MP Points each minute. User can use this skill for 30 seconds without draining MP.]
He simultaneously disabled the Uchiha Taijutsu style just in case there was some sort of consequence by having both active at the same time. He wasn't sure if there would be any effect but he also didn't want to risk any result during such a moment.
Naruto felt three of the swords land in the appropriate crooks of his arms and legs, and anxiously waited for the last one as he saw Neji moving forward.
It never landed.
Klang!
A shuriken hit the sword midair, diverting the weapon's trajectory entirely. Naruto could either maneuver his body and allow the sword to drop into the correct position or leave the fourth sword and attack with only three. The issue with the first option was that he was risking being open for a hit by Neji, which he absolutely couldn't let happen. Three it is. Naruto thought with a grimace.
Naruto rushed forward, eager to see how his Kenjutsu would fare against Neji's Taijutsu. It wasn't as comfortable without his fourth sword as it left an open spot near his left side, but Naruto wouldn't let that stop him.
He somersaulted into the fray, making sure to give the name of the Acrobatic Kenjutsu justice. A solid palm launched itself towards his abdomen, which 'coincidentally' wasn't covered with a sword. Naruto, in a terrific show of flexibility, bent his knees, faltering to the ground purposefully to dodge the strike. His hands fell palm first to the flat surface before tightening and pushing upwards. Naruto converted as much force as he could into torque so that he could spin his body into Neji.
He grinned as he felt his sword make contact with the pale-eyed Genin, spraying blood onto his weapon and the ground. Finally!
Neji leaped backward, not at all eager to continue fighting against the unpredictable style of the shinobi in front of him.
Naruto, sensing blood in the water and the chance to secure an advantage, leaped forward without hesitation, spinning in the air as his swords twirled dangerously. The glint of metal and ruby blood shone in Neji's once again narrowed eyes.
Time itself seemed to slow down as the midair boy descended upon the defenseless Hyūga.
"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!"
A ball of rotating chakra manifested almost instantaneously; the insane speed at which the jutsu worked caught even Naruto off guard. The two of the three swords which made contact with the blue dome immediately crumbled, but also saved Naruto, who stopped himself from falling into the sphere of doom soon after.
What's the smell? Naruto looked down to see cuts all over the arms from where the swords were. His black and orange uniform was cut up into shreds at random places. Blood oozed out slowly, covering his exposed skin in red. Naruto took his bloodied hands and swept them through his hair, not caring about the uncleanliness of his actions right now. Red specks covered his hair and face, and along with the grin on his face…Naruto looked frightening.
"Demon…" one of the audience members whispered. He was met with looks that didn't necessarily disagree but clearly wanted him to quiet down.
Neji stood in the middle of the small hole he created in the ground, unperturbed by the manic state of his enemy. If anything, he welcomed it.
Now, we can finally start fighting for real! Naruto thought excitedly.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Nine other clones formed around Naruto, each of them sporting a bloodied look. Neji's eyes were transfixed on his clones, sweeping through each one without a particular preference for the original. That means….no way! The Byakugan can't tell between a shadow clone and the original! This is perfect.
Naruto began running, feeling his clones following as well. They ran in a practiced V-shape, with Naruto in the rear. Neji stood his ground, unwilling to take any form of retreat against the blond. The Hyūga quickly disabled the first clone, which turned into a ball of smoke. The others fell soon after, not as desperate to shield themselves as Naruto was before, and thus falling to the chakra strikes that Neji administered mercilessly.
Naruto soon was the only one, and not wanting to end his assault, he assumed the appropriate hand sign to summon more clones. Instead, he found a kunai sailing straight for his head. When the fuck did he throw that? Why is it moving so fast? I can't afford to stop the attack right now!
The match so far was like a chess game. Whoever gave up their lead during the fight would end up losing. Naruto currently was the one applying pressure, and while the Hyūga was responding easily, he knew that Neji would eventually crumble or make a mistake that he could capitalize on. After all, Naruto was the type of shinobi to wholeheartedly believe in the saying, "Offense is the best defense." Losing his offensive position right now would force him into defense, which would likely be a loss.
With how close Neji was, Naruto knew that he needed to pull off his Shadow Clone Jutsu immediately if he wanted any chance of continuing the offense.
As such, he only had one option.
The kunai flew forward without any dip in its trajectory as Naruto's chakra built up simultaneously to summon more clones.
The Jinchuuriki leaned his head to the left.
And caught the kunai in his mouth.
The crowd gasped in surprise before launching into a rampant applause of shouts and screams. A certain mint-haired girl just shook her head fondly, with a touch of wistfulness. A certain princess shook her head in anger that her rival's life may have been at risk for a single kunai just then.
Naruto spat the kunai out, not at all relishing the taste of blood that filled his mouth from the somewhat deep cut the blade made across his gums. The only good news was the regeneration that worked overtime to take care of the issue, no matter how slowly it was doing so. His clones that were summoned just then rushed forward.
For a moment Naruto had thought he could have used iron skin to defend himself against the kunai and continue his offense, but he remembered the small window for activation that was required before any skill took place, and wasn't sure if it was worth the risk. Though some would say catching the kunai blade with his mouth was just as risky.
Speaking of iron…
Activate iron clones!
[Activating…]
[Skill: Iron Clones - Lvl 1 Activated]
[Usage takes 30 MP and lasts for a variable time before skill cooldown applies.]
Naruto ran forward along with clones, spitting out another wad of blood that had formed in the meanwhile. Neji continued to normally attack the clone, before realizing the clone was actually the 'original' seeing that it survived more than a single hit. The chakra strikes prevented proper chakra circulation, but that didn't mean the clones couldn't move at all—in fact, he didn't need the clones to cast jutsus in the first place.
Neji stepped sideways to counter the second clone, this time knowing that it would disappear after a single hit. But it didn't. Confusion bloomed on his face as he snarled in annoyance as the clone managed to sneak a fist onto his abdomen. The clones began to emerge from every direction, eager to trap the Hyūga while they had the chance, motivated by the punch that landed by one of their comrades.
They never had the chance.
"Rotation!"
The clones became smoke soon after, leaving Neji somewhat winded as he stood in another hole of his creation.
So even iron skin isn't enough for his rotation technique. No, it was iron clones. The iron clones aren't as indestructible as my personal iron skin. So maybe my iron skin could last against his rotation—though I won't be trying it out right now.
Naruto found himself face to face with Neji once more, this time his opponent's face was not as calm. A silent anger was present in Neji's expression, as if he couldn't believe the fight was taking this long to end. Don't worry. Naruto thought darkly. I'll end it soon enough.
Naruto rushed forward with a plan in mind, his mind whizzing through possibilities as he began his chess match once again. Neji came forward as well, desperate to turn the fight back into a raw Taijutsu match. For Naruto's plan to work, he needed to take a few punches. So he endured. The crowd watched in confusion as Naruto almost willingly launched himself into a fist fight. He tried his hardest, but without any clan technique equipped, Naruto's own wild Taijutsu style was utterly lacking. Every move he made was countered flawlessly, and punished almost instantly.
For the first time, Naruto truly felt what the Gentle Fist was supposed to be.
He felt foreign chakra invade his body, striking something before Naruto could even realize what was happening. It was so sudden, so quick…one moment he was perfectly fine, and another he felt a great disturbance in his body. His organs must have somehow been affected as well, for a simple hit like that couldn't do so much damage otherwise.
Blood splattered across the floor and on Neji's face as one palm hit Naruto straight in the stomach. He fell several meters backward as the nauseating feeling of…chakra sickness?…invaded his consciousness. In one seemingly last and desperate plea, the ground around Neji trembled.
The Hyūga smirked.
The hand that tried to pull him from underneath was grasped tightly. Neji pulled the clone from the ground before slamming him across the face with a flying kick, ending the short existence of the clone altogether.
Neji chuckled. "A shame…I didn't even get to use my sixty four palms technique. You were strong, Uzumaki. But nothing is stronger than fate."
Triumph filled Naruto's heart as he realized what had just happened.
Naruto summoned more clones, the act taking much longer than normal due to the chakra imbalance in his body, and thus only forming five of them. One of the clones popped immediately, covering everyone's sight of the blond ninja for a second. Naruto activated iron clones once again, hoping to make the clones last as long as possible.
Neji was more wary this time, taking all five of the clones as seriously as possible due to their tough nature. The moment he got a good angle, he brought the sphere of chakra to life. The clones dispersed without any incident, further solidifying Neji's win in the hearts of the audience.
Neji walked slowly towards Naruto, and the Jinchuuriki could only thank Kami for the Hyūga love of theatrics. With a desperate heave, he threw a kunai at Neji.
The throw was despicable.
The kunai trembled at Neji's feet pitifully, the sound vibrating throughout the quiet stadium. Some chuckled at the feeble attempt. Neji didn't even pay attention to the kunai. His Byakugan, the all seeing eye, deeming the weapon unimportant.
That was his fatal flaw.
The second Neji took one step past the fallen kunai, his loss was all but confirmed. The kunai wasn't any regular kunai…it was Naruto in a henge. But how could a henge get past Neji's eyes?
[Perfect Henge Lvl 1]
[Info: Turn into a perfect Henge, meaning even sensors will not be able to detect your transformation while active. There is no cooldown but chakra consumption is high.]
He had been testing Neji's sensitivity to his MP skills the entire fight, and noted that while Neji could sense when a jutsu was being cast, he couldn't tell when Naruto used a skill. The Byakugan could not detect MP. Furthermore, Perfect Henge wasn't called perfect without a reason. It was perfect to the utmost degree, avoiding the watchful eyes of the Byakugan with ease.
Naruto spun an extra kunai in his hand as Neji noticed the presence behind him. Focus!
A sizzling sound was formed as Naruto encased his kunai with lightning, not to a perfect degree as he did with Zabuza's sword, but good enough. Neji immediately began to try and rotate, but Naruto had none of it. He grabbed the spinning arm of his enemy with left hand before plunging the lightning kunai into the waist of Neji, making sure to aim for somewhere non-lethal (but allowing it to hurt nonetheless).
Lighting covered Neji for a brief moment as the boy stood frozen in shock, before he fell to the ground unconscious.
"Winner: Naruto Uzumaki!"
The crowd surged with applause at the ending of the thrilling fight before them. Naruto collapsed to the ground in exhaustion as he looked to the sky. "Fuck you, Fate!"
[Ding!]
[New Quest: "Schooling the Hyūga" Completed!]
[Quest Details: Defeat Neji during the Chuunin Exams.]
[Quest Rewards: Exp. 2500, learn the Hyūga Taijutsu style, and increase Taijutsu level by 2]
Phew. Finally.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations! You leveled up! Player is now LV17.]
Naruto cheered internally.
[Ding!]
[Skill Tree Unlock used.]
[Choose between the two skills shown.]
[Camouflage Lvl 1]
Uh…interesting. Does that mean I can hide anywhere I want? That sounds so overpowered!
[Black Flash Lvl 1]
What the hell is that?
…..end…
Yo!
A bit shorter than usual, but that was due to the nature of the chapter rather than my time schedule. The next one is longer. FFN was down for a few days, which was more than annoying, but it's all good now.
Question of the day:
Which ability should Naruto pick? (let's be honest we all know what you guys want) but Camouflage would probably be just as useful in a ninja world.
Make sure to follow, review, and favorite to keep up with next week's chapter!
Cya' next week.
Review down here, it really makes my day! Next chapter is releasing on Tuesday, 23rd of July.