As morning arrived, Naruto woke up. He was a bit on edge. Naruto knew full well that this was the big day. That this was the day of the finals, the day of his big match against Neji Hyuga. It was his chance to show the world that he wasn't a loser or a lame knucklehead. He was going to prove that he was greater than they all realized. He was up early as usual and did a light workout. Not having Guy there for an early morning run was odd, but his training for this match had come to an end.
Naruto decided to go for a run anyhow. It was just part of his daily routine, that he had been doing far too long now. He loved the run, but it felt a bit off without Guy sensei to set the pace for him as he ran around the village just as he had done so many mornings the last month with Guy.
He finished his run, and the sun was still not up. Back at his apartment, he cooked himself breakfast—or tried to. It was edible, but that was about the best he could say about his cooking skills. Still, he knew a good breakfast was essential for a day that would be really hard and challenging.
He got ready, finding his normal orange jumpsuit. Sitting around idly, he quickly became bored. To pass the time, he wandered into the village and towards the stadium where the matches were going to be held. Walking around the stadium, he took it all in, making mental notes about the arena. Nothing important, but he figured it might help to understand where he would be fighting.
As he stood there on the grass of the arena. Naruto looked over the many seats of the arena. He knew that in a few hours they would be filled with people. People curious about the future of the village, about the young ninja fighting to make chunin. There was something that was exciting to think about so many people watching him fight. Yet, at the same time there was something a bit intimidating about so many people watching him.
Either way, this was going to be his chance to show them all just what type of ninja he was, and that he was not just some horrible monster that it felt like most people thought he was when they looked at him.
After a few more moments, he went inside and rechecked all his gear. Still bored, he wandered back into town and came back with a bowl of ramen to go. After eating, he took a nap while waiting for everyone else to arrive for the exam finals, as well as for the crowd to show up.
When he woke up, he noticed others were there. He rubbed his eyes and stretched. He saw his fellow Konoha ninja who had advanced to this part of the exam: Shino, Neji, and Shikamaru. Sasuke was notably absent, which seemed odd to him.
"Hey," Naruto said, walking over and nodding his head as he looked at Shikamaru. He was at least a friendly face. Shino was not social, and Neji wasn't either. Interacting with Shikamaru seemed like the best option given the group of them sitting and waiting for their turns to enter the arena.
Shikamaru looked up, his usual bored expression on his face. "Yo, Naruto. Ready for your match?"
Naruto grinned, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness. "You bet! I'm going to show everyone what I'm made of."
Shikamaru sighed, glancing at the stadium. "Troublesome... but I guess that's what this is all about. Just don't do anything too reckless."
Naruto chuckled, giving a thumbs up. "Don't worry, I'm sure that we got this!"
"You're against Temari right, Shikamaru, I know that she looks really strong, and I am sure that you are in for a hard match," Naruto said, pausing for a moment giving Shikamaru a smile. "However, I am sure knowing you, that you already have thought up at least a couple of ideas for how to handle her, right?"
"Yeah, she is a tough fighter, I remember what she did to Tenten in the prelims," Shikamaru said, "she will be really troublesome to fight against," he added, pausing as he leaned back against the wall of the waiting area. "But as troublesome as it is, you're right, I have a few ideas of what I can do in the match, how well it will work, I don't know yet."
Naruto grinned, his confidence buoyed by Shikamaru's calm assurance. "That's what I thought! I know you are always a few steps ahead of everyone else.. I'm sure you'll do great!"
Shikamaru gave a small, almost imperceptible smile. "Thanks, Naruto. I appreciate it. Just don't get too carried away in your own fight. Focus and use what you've is not a easy foe to be against."
"Yeah, true, but don't worry Shikamaru, I will show everyone what I got," Naruto said with a smile, "Just you watch, and you will see just how awesome I am now, believe it!"
Shikamaru shook his head as he looked at Naruto. He was rather troublesome, but he meant well and he did want to see Naruto do well. He had a feeling that Naruto was going to just keep getting better and would someday be the hokage he wanted to be.
Naruto nodded his head as he could see that most of the crowd was there. It was time for him to head down and get ready. He noticed Neji had already headed down and was ready in the arena. Naruto followed suit as he started to see Guy walk over towards him with a grin on his lips.
Guy's eyes sparkled with pride and excitement as he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "My youthful student, it has been rather quiet without the normal training today," he said with his signature grin. "Go out there and show Neji-san just how much hard work and the power of youth can do, okay?"
Naruto met Guy's gaze with determination, his smile wide. "Of course, Guy-sensei. I'll show everyone just how much I've learned from you and Ero-sensei," he replied, his voice full of resolve. "I'll do my best and not let you down. Believe it!"
Guy nodded approvingly."I am sure you will let that youthful spirit shine. Now go out there and show the world just who Naruto Uzumaki is. Let them all see your youthful energy shine."
Naruto nodded his head before he turned and jumped into the arena. Naruto landed gracefully in the arena, his heart pounding with both excitement and determination. He scanned the stands, taking in the eager faces of the crowd before locking eyes with Neji, who stood across from him with his usual calm and composed demeanor. Neji's confident, almost indifferent expression only fueled Naruto's resolve.
Naruto knew about Neji's view of the world. He knew Neji's view of predestined, and his near fatalistic view on it. Naruto knew that his job was to show who he was. Yet, if he could show Neji just how wrong he was, that would even be better. He wanted to show his foe that they were wrong, that destiny wasn't predetermined and that one could make their destiny what they wanted with determination.
As he took his stance, mimicking the strong fist style that Lee used, Naruto aimed to communicate his readiness and resolve. He wanted to make it clear that this fight wasn't going to be the easy match Neji might have anticipated.
"Neji Hyuuga," Naruto called out, his voice steady and full of conviction, "I'm going to win this fight. I'm going to show you that your views on fate are wrong. It's not about what you're born into, but about what you decide to make of it. You're going to see that with hard work and determination, anything is possible."
Neji's expression remained stoic, but there was a flicker of curiosity in his eyes. He had always believed in the inevitability of destiny, and Naruto's words were a direct challenge to that belief. As the match was about to begin, both fighters readied themselves, the tension in the arena palpable. For Naruto, this was more than a fight—it was a chance to prove that he could defy the odds and change his own fate.
The fight started as Naruto moved in quickly, hoping to catch Neji off guard, but not even for a moment was that possible. Neji slammed him quickly, hitting him in the right side of his chest, but Naruto pushed through, landing a punch in turn to Neji's chin. It wasn't a very deep strike, but a fair trade-off, as if to say he wouldn't be defeated so easily.
Pulling back, Naruto put his fingers out. "Shadow clone jutsu," he called out as a dozen or so shadow clones surrounded Neji and attacked. Each clone moved in quickly, using what they had learned to test and try to find openings in Neji's defense. The movements were far better than ever, and they served as a test. He was using his shadow clones to gauge Neji's defense and figure out how to adjust to Neji's absolute defense. He watched as Neji moved quickly, dodging strikes and countering them, knocking clone after clone out with fast and powerful attacks. Slowly, Neji was whittling down the number of clones in the fight.
Naruto remained calm as he watched, taking in the information as Guy had told him to use his clones as scouts. Jiraiya had advised him the same, to measure how Neji would fight against his style of taijutsu. He wanted to rush in and join the fight but held back for a moment longer. Then, he jetted forward, coming up from behind Neji as he handled two more clones with quick movements. Naruto slid in with a sweeping kick that caught Neji off guard for a moment, followed by a punch to Neji's back that sent him forward. Neji regained his footing and turned, now focused on Naruto. He could see the style of his own teacher in Naruto's movement. He hadn't known Guy-sensei had been training Naruto until that moment, which added a whole new element to the fight.
"I see. Well, that won't be enough. I will win this and show you that fate, for everyone, even you, Naruto, is predetermined. There is nothing that can be done to change our fates," Neji declared, his eyes focused on Naruto. He was not close to losing or giving up. Naruto was undoubtedly better, but not good enough, just like Lee was never good enough to defeat him.
Neji took the offensive. He blocked an attack from Naruto and got in close. "Eight Trigrams, two," Neji said as he hit Naruto with the first two blows. "Four, eight, sixteen," Neji called out, confident he had Naruto in a situation where he had won the fight. When he went for the next two follow-ups, he found Naruto somehow blocking the attacks, his wrist knocking Neji's palm off-angle to avoid the strike. Naruto then followed up with a strong punch to Neji's chin, sending him flying into the ground. Naruto had to stop, his chakra being disrupted by the chakra points Neji had hit.
Naruto closed his eyes and focused his mind. "Nine-tails, I need some of your power now, please," Naruto called out loud. A moment later, his chakra points returned to normal as his overwhelming power as a jinchuriki became visible to everyone. A red aura swirled around him in a chaotic manner.
"Here I go. Best be ready, Neji," Naruto called out as he attacked, moving quickly. His chakra was thick and dense.
Naruto came at Neji, "Dynamic Entry," he called out, launching a jump kick that Neji knocked to the side. Neji turned and hit Naruto, only to find Naruto countering quickly, deflecting his attack carefully to the side. Naruto followed up with a fist to Neji, but was hit again by another of Neji's gentle fist attacks. The two exchanged blows, neither backing down.
Naruto pulled back, knowing he wouldn't have this advantage for long. He knew he wasn't supposed to use it much, but it felt like the right time to stack or try to stack the two abilities. He took a deep breath, "Gate of Opening, open," Naruto called out as he activated the first gate. "Second gate, gate of healing, open," he called out, his nine-tails chakra mixing with the effects of the two open gates. All eyes were on him as he jetted forward. Neji was shocked. How had Naruto managed to open two gates in a month? How had he gotten so strong? How had someone like him, destined to fail, gotten stronger than him?
Neji blinked, amazed and shocked. Naruto quickly slammed his fist into Neji's gut hard, causing Neji to cough up some blood and double over in pain.
"Neji, fate is what we make it. Our fate isn't determined by others. If you don't like your fate, then start over and remake it how you want," Naruto called out before landing a quick combination that won him the fight against Neji.
As Neji fell and started to lose consciousness, he had a lot to think about. This day was a shock for him. Maybe, just maybe, Naruto was right, and he wasn't destined to just die off as a pawn to his clan.
"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki," the proctor declared as Naruto stood, breathing hard, holding his knees. He could feel the impact of using the two gates and stacking them on his jinchuriki chakra, but he knew he would be fine. He had just shown everyone who he really was.
