Author's Note: Welcome back, everyone! Read this chapter at your own risk, it gets DARK. Mature Content Warning Below

Disclaimer: Naruto and Inuyasha belong to their respective owners.

Mature Content Warning

Naruto vs. Neji is not a fight; it's a systematic disassembly of Neji's mind and body. To paraphrase The Dark Knight Returns, the Chuunin Exams Finals arena is an operating table, and Naruto's the surgeon. Some of the earlier fights in this fanfic have depicted gore. Orochimaru vs. Danzo, short as it was, comes to mind. So does Team 7's first fight with Zabuza. I go far beyond what happened in those encounters here. If you are sensitive to or offended by vivid descriptions of torture, then I implore you NOT TO READ THIS CHAPTER. Nothing occurs in this chapter aside from the "fight" itself and the discussions needed to convert a Chuunin Exam exhibition fight into a legal death match. Furthermore, there's no endnote at the bottom of the chapter to look at. A TLDR summarizing this chapter's events and their ramifications will be at the beginning of the next chapter. Once again, CONTINUE READING AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Chapter 20 – Neji's Death

Chuunin Finals Coliseum

"The rules for the Final portion of the Third Stage of the Chuunin Exams are the same as they were for the Preliminary portion." Genma Shiranui, the new proctor for the Third Stage, addressed the finalists. True to his word, Naruto had lodged a formal complaint to Hiruzen regarding Hayate's ruling. Naruto had interfered with Neji's and Hinata's match, but only to ensure that a core rule of the preliminaries would not be broken. Hayate's pardon of Neji's murder attempt reeked of favoritism. Hiruzen barely gave Naruto's complaint a second glance before arresting Hayate for preferential treatment, stripping him of his Tokubetsu Jonin rank, and sentencing him to five years in Konoha's prison.

"For the record, I will repeat the rules: anything goes in combat; your fights will not stop until one you of is killed, admits defeat, or is deemed by me to be incapable of fighting. Once I make that call, the fight is over; killing an opponent who is unable to defend themselves is forbidden and will result in your disqualification. Are there any questions?" Genma allowed the prospective Chuunin several seconds to speak up. None of them did. "All right, then, the Final Stage of the Chuunin Exams begins now! Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuuga: remain here; the rest of you, proceed to the waiting area!"

Before Genma could declare the official start of the first match, Naruto threw a storage scroll onto the ground. Once it had fully unfurled, he activated it remotely with a hand seal and an enormous banner emerged from it. On the left side of the banner was the Namikaze Clan symbol – a massive dog surrounded by waves and wind baring its fangs at the sun – and on the right side was the Hyuuga Clan symbol. Dominating the space between the clan insignias were three shuriken. Unlike the two Clan symbols, which were drawn with conventional ink, the shuriken had been painted with blood.

The banner's meaning, while clearly ominous, was lost on many of the civilians in the stands, as well as all of the Genin watching the match except Shikamaru. The foreign dignitaries, Clan Heads, and visiting Kage on the other hand were dumbstruck.

"Kyoushin Kaikou!" (Deep Resonance) Naruto cast a Jutsu that drastically amplified the volume of his voice. "I AM NARUTO NAMIKAZE, SON OF MINATO NAMIKAZE AND ACTING HEAD OF THE NAMIKAZE CLAN! BY THE LAWS OF HI NO KUNI, I DECLARE THE START OF A BLOOD FUED BETWEEN THE NAMIKAZE CLAN AND THE HYUUGA CLAN! NEJI HYUUGA HAS GRAVELY INSULTED NAMIKAZE HONOR; HIS BLOOD SHALL BE SPILLED IN RETRIUBUTION THIS DAY!

In addition to Hiashi, several Hyuuga Clan elders were also in the bleachers. These men and women attempted to leap from their seats and restrain Naruto for his "insolence" but were restrained by numerous Anbu who had been deployed for additional security. Hiashi alone was left free to Shunshin into the arena.

"I am Hiashi Hyuuga, Lord of the Hyuuga Clan." Hiashi spoke far more calmly than Naruto, but he was also using Kyoushin Kaikou to ensure that all present could hear his words. "As Neji Hyuuga is not yet of age, I shall mediate on his behalf; Naruto-dono, what cause do the Namikaze have to start a blood feud with the Hyuuga?"

"The attempted murder of one pledged to the Namikaze!" Naruto suppressed his fury to speak with Hiashi with an air of calmness. "Your eldest daughter, Hinata Hyuuga, is my fiancée and it has been agreed that she shall marry into the Namikaze Clan once I am eligible for marriage in three years. From a legal standpoint, she is already Namikaze in all but name and blood! During the Preliminaries, Neji tried to kill her when she was clearly unable to defend herself! All Jonin present bore witness! Neji is a kinslayer, an Oathbreaker, and a traitor to Konoha!"

Upon hearing this, a riot nearly erupted in the bleachers. Hinata was well-loved by many commoners and middle-class citizens in Konoha, while Neji was detested for his haughty attitude. Even those ranked higher in Konoha's social ladder believed that Neji was too arrogant for his age, Hyuuga prodigy or not. The revelation that Naruto was the son of Minato was not hard for many of those in the stands to swallow; after all, he was practically a mirror image of the Yondaime Hokage. Only the presence of over twenty full regiments of Anbu stopped those in the stands from expressing their outrage with more than angry screams.

Hiashi was stunned, both by Naruto's explanation and the realization that Hinata had lied to him. 'My daughter knew Naruto would seek vengeance in this manner, and she deceived me to ensure that the Hyuuga as a whole would remain ignorant.' Before Hiashi could respond to Naruto, Hiruzen also Shunshined into the arena and activated Kyoushin Kaikou.

"As the Sandaime Hokage, I – Hiruzen Sarutobi – declare myself the arbiter of this dispute. Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, Hiashi Hyuuga, do both of you consent to my arbitration of this matter and vow to submit to my judgment?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Naruto and Hiashi said in unison, and then both they and Hiruzen canceled their voice-amplifying Jutsu.

"Hiashi-dono, as Naruto-dono has already stated, Neji-san's attempted murder of Hinata-hime is a well-documented event witnessed by both myself and several Jonin of Konoha. However, based on the fact that Neji-san was allowed to compete this day, I must assume that he has not been reprimanded in any way for his transgression. Did you truly have no knowledge of Hinata-hime's attempted murder before today?" Hiruzen glared into Hiashi's eyes.

"To my eternal shame, I must confess that such is the case." Hiashi admitted. "The other Hyuuga elders see Hinata for the weak girl she has been for most of her life rather than the powerful kunoichi she has become in recent memory. Neji is the pride of the Hyuuga, and many of the elders would see his star rise at my daughter's expense. However, to conceal this damning truth from me is an act of open rebellion!" Hiashi turned his head to glare at the other Hyuuga elders in the audience. "Hiruzen-sama, you have my word that a grand cleansing of the Hyuuga shall occur when our business here is concluded."

"Glad as I am to hear it, we must first attend to the matter at hand." Hiruzen's glare softened but did not entirely fade. "Hiashi Hyuuga, have you anything to say in Neji-san's defense?"

"I do not, my lord; as Naruto-dono has stated, Neji is an Oathbreaker. However, for the sake of peace within the Hyuuga, I would beg Naruto-dono's consent to allow Neji the opportunity to acquit himself on the field of battle." Hiashi turned to face the Namikaze Lord."

"I accept; it's better this way." Naruto's voice betrayed a sadistic glee. "Now, I can show all of Konoha – if not the world – that the Hyuuga are no longer the only clan in the running for the title of Konoha's strongest!"

"So be it!" Hiruzen Shunshined back to the VIP chamber of the bleachers and reactivated Kyoushin Kaikou. "Naruto Namikaze, Hiashi Hyuuga, and I have come to terms regarding this blood feud. The match between Naruto Namikaze and Neji Hyuuga shall continue. However, the laws and customs of the Chunnin Exams shall no longer apply, for their match is now a blood rite that can only end in death! No outside interference shall be permitted, and any who attempt to disrupt this rite shall be executed as traitors to Hi no Kuni! Regardless of who stands triumphant at the end of this death match, all hostilities between the Namikaze and the Hyuuga shall cease once the duel is concluded!"

Upon hearing his master's declaration, Genma Shunshined out of the arena to join Hiruzen in the VIP chamber while Naruto and Neji stared each other down. Neji's attire had not changed from the preliminaries, but Naruto was no longer wearing his gray and black Shinobi armor. Instead, the Namikaze lord was wearing a much more regal set of armor. Spiked pauldrons covering his shoulders were attached by red ropes to the upper section of his black cuirass. Lotus petal faulds possessing light gray trim shielded his lower torso. A long, flowing yellow sash with violet wave patterns secured Tenseiga and Tokijin to his cuirass. Beneath the armor, Naruto wore a white kimono with a red and white cherry blossom flower crest at the collar and sleeves, a white hadagi undershirt made from silk, a white sashinuki hakama, and black ankle-high boots.

"You've dressed up nicely for your funeral." Neji smirked. "It's a shame you'll be buried in such a beautiful suit of armor."

"Funny. After I'm done with you, there won't be enough left to bury!" Naruto retorted.

"LET THE DEATH MATCH BEGIN!" Hiruzen ordered.

"Byakugan!" Neji was shocked after activating his clan's Doujutsu. Naruto's Chakra Network was glowing an extremely bright, jade-green color. While not harsh enough to blind the Hyuuga prodigy, the verdant light almost completely concealed Naruto's Tenketsu.

"What's the matter? Can't see what you're looking for?" Naruto mocked.

"Silence, fool!" Neji launched a blistering series of Juuken strikes. His inability to see Naruto's Tenketsu was irritating but irrelevant. He had long since memorized the layout of the human Chakra Network. What was far more problematic was Naruto's defense; hardly any of Neji's strikes broke through it!

"It was rather hard to know for sure by just looking at your fight with Hinata, but I can tell now that I'm experiencing your Juuken first-hand." Naruto mused while casually blocking or evading the vast majority of Neji's onslaught. "You're faster than Hinata, and more skilled than her, but not by much in either category. Since I'm considerably both faster and more skilled than her, and I've spent many a sparring session on the receiving end of her Juuken, just how do you think this fight will go?"

"I TOLD YOU TO BE SILENT!" Neji redoubled his efforts, but Naruto did the same – and then some – resulting in a humiliating display; the Namikaze Lord was now fending off Neji completely with just one hand!

"I was born with an affinity for Fuuton, you know." Naruto maintained his one-armed defense despite Neji's sincerest efforts. "Last month, I made quite a bit of progress toward mastering it. So much so, that I can now do this!" Naruto started weaving one-handed variants of several hand seals. Neji abandoned his assault and leaped back, barely landing in time to prepare a defense!

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" Naruto's wind blast was far stronger than the last time he used it.

"Hakkeshou Kaiten!" (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven) Neji spun rapidly in place, producing a swirling Chakra sphere that deflected Naruto's Jutsu. Undaunted, the Namikaze Lord maintained Daitoppa. With his increased control over Fuuton Chakra and his gargantuan Chakra reserves, overpowering Neji's defense would have been child's play, but Naruto's immediate objective was only to exhaust Neji. He wanted the Hyuuga prodigy as undamaged as possible when the fun began.

After an entire minute, Naruto canceled his Jutsu. The clash between the two techniques had created an enormous cloud of debris. A bomb kunai flew from the cloud; Naruto saw the feint for what it was but took the bait anyway, dodging to the left. He had proven the futility of one of the Hyuuga's two most prized techniques. Now, he would ridicule the other.

"You are within range of my divination." Neji assumed the stance required for his clan's ultimate technique.

"Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms), right? Hinata really wants to learn this one. Let's see it!" Naruto grinned.

'Damn it all, how many of our clan secrets has Hinata-hime disclosed to this oaf!?' Neji shrugged off his indignation and rushed Naruto. The young Daiyoukai remained as still as an unblemished pool of water. "Two Palms! Four Palms! Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms! Thirty-two Palms! SIXTY-FOUR PALMS!"

Throughout Neji's onslaught, Naruto endured the first four strikes, began to stumble after the next eight were finished, was barely standing by the end of the next sixteen, and was blasted off his feet by the final set of thirty-two. His armor was damaged in several places.

"Do you see now, simpleton?" Neji gloated. "The Yondaime Hokage must be weeping in his grave knowing his heir is as pathetic as you!"

"Oh, I'm sure he's crying; tears of joy, that is!" Naruto laughed as he stood up, completely unfazed by Neji's attack. With a quick application of Youki, his armor instantly repaired itself.

"I-I-Im-Im-Im" Neji's lips were trembling.

"Huh, please speak up, Neji-kun." Naruto goaded.

"IMPOSSIBLE! NO ONE CAN WITHSTAND THAT TECHNIQUE COMPLETELY UNSCATHED!" Neji cried.

"The ocean was once believed to be an insurmountable barrier, until some genius whose name Time forgot decided to cut down a tree and carve it into a boat." Naruto countered. "I'm sure it took near-countless tries before that genius made a functional vessel, but with ambition, determination, and a little luck, we now have ships that can sail the seas. Very few certainties are absolute, Neji-kun."

"AAARRRGGGGHHHH!" Neji flung himself at Naruto without the slightest trace of technique. A three-year-old Hyuuga who had just awakened the Byakugan would have more coordination.

"I'm disappointed, Neji; I fully expected to have to break at least a few of your bones before your spirit crumbled." Naruto sighed and countered Neji with a brutal gut-punch that launched the Hyuuga prodigy several yards away. Naruto walked toward his foe's position with all the patience of a spider that knew the fly could no longer move.

"St-Stay AWAY' Neji begged.

"Why so cowardly, Neji-kun?" Naruto smirked. "When fighting Hinata, you were convinced that all actions in this life are predetermined and that struggling against your fate is pointless. It's only been one month; what could possibly have happened in that span of time to shift your worldview so drastically?"

"Please, stay aw-way-way-way-aay!" Neji sobbed.

"You know I can't do that, Neji-kun. You heard Hokage-sama; this match between us can only end in death!" Naruto assumed the condescending tone a parent might take with a consistently disobedient child. "And after you nearly killed my future wife, I'd never dream of killing you quickly!"

Naruto grabbed Neji by the throat and clawed out his left eye. "This is one of the disgusting eyes you used to almost kill my fiancé? It doesn't seem so special now!" Naruto crushed the eye, used Suiton Chakra to create water in the air near Neji's mouth, and poured the remnants of Neji's eye into the airborne water puddle.

"You're sobbing quite a bit, Neji-kun. Can't have you getting dehydrated in the middle of our deathmatch; here, have a drink!" Naruto willed the disgusting mixture of water and eye tissue into Neji's mouth. Neji was in too much pain to even consider closing his mouth before the horrendous concoction poured down his throat. It took a few seconds for his brain to process what had just occurred, but Neji vomited the entirety of his breakfast when it did.

The pride of the Hyuuga was now shivering on the ground, completely defenseless. Naruto grabbed one of Neji's wrists painfully enough to force Neji to open his hand. "Setting your other eye aside for the moment, these hands of yours were essential to Hinata's plight last month! They need to be punished!" Digit by painful digit, Naruto broke every last bone in Neji's right hand. Before he could move further up Neji's right arm, the abused Hyuuga lost consciousness.

"Sleeping during our duel, Neji-kun? That's not very respectful to your opponent. You need to wake up now, please!" Naruto produced a storage scroll from his Shinobi pouch and conjured a large basin from it. After using Suiton Chakra to fill the basin to the brim with water, Naruto shoved Neji's head into the basin. Several seconds later, Neji was involuntarily forced into wakefulness as his lungs worked overtime to purge the water invading them. After he awoke, Naruto freed Neji's head from its watery prison and used Suiton to dispel the water in his victim's lungs.

Naruto had to repeat this process three more times as he shattered the bones in Neji's right arm in as many places as he could.

"Make him stop, please make him stop!" Sakura was appalled by what she saw but she – like all the others in the stands – could not tear her eyes away from the horror occurring before her. Ino having, already witnessed the inner workings of Sasuke's mind and the nightmares contained therein, was somewhat desensitized to Naruto's torture of Neji but still had to resist the urge to vomit. She wasn't sure how any of her fellow Genin were resisting the urge, nor did she want to know.

"NARUTO-KUN THAT'S ENO – " Guy got no further before Kakashi disabled him with a brutal gut punch.

"You may never forgive me for this, old friend, but I'm not losing my rival over this when Orochimaru can strike at any time." The Copy-Ninja wrapped his rival in several dozen spools of ninja wire and then applied no less than eight Chakra-suppressing tags to Guy's face and neck.

"Kakashi, damn you!" Guy struggled to free himself, but not even the Green Beast of Konoha could escape his current bindings with his Chakra sealed and Kakashi watching his every move.

"Hmm, it seems not even drowning you will keep you awake much longer at this rate." Naruto mused after Neji's eightieth brutal resuscitation. Every bone in all four of Neji's limbs was now shattered in multiple places. The muscles in said limbs also bore – at least – one major laceration each. Unlike Gaara's mutilation of Lee, Naruto had been very careful to ensure that his fractures and cuts did not create gaping holes in Neji's cardiovascular system. The anatomy books in his clan vault, supplemented with a few medical texts provided by Koteru, were invaluable to Naruto's efforts.

"Don't worry, Neji-kun; I planned for this!" Naruto withdrew ten food pills and shoved them, one by one, down Neji's throat. "There you go, Neji-kun! Just one of those pills has enough stimulants and nutrients to keep a Shinobi awake for three days and three nights, and they're designed to take effect almost instantly." Naruto howled with delight. "With ten of them in your system, you couldn't fall asleep now if you wanted to!"

"P-P-Please, just kill me now!" Neji shouted hoarsely.

"Ah-ah-AH, Neji-kun; the muscles and bones in your limbs are spoken for now, but I still have to punish your spine and back muscles!" Naruto drew Tenseiga and lashed out at the cervical section of Neji's spine, putting just enough force behind the blow to ensure some degree of skeletal damage.

"AAAARRRHH!" Neji screamed.

Again

Again

And Again

Over and over Again!

As with Neji's limbs, Naruto was careful to cause only enough damage to Neji's spinal column to inflict severe pain but not to induce paralysis. Once all portions of Neji's spine were too compromised to damage further, Naruto turned his attention to crippled Hyuuga's back muscles.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Neji's screams alternated between hoarse whispers and shouts that echoed throughout the stadium, depending on how long Naruto paused between his whip-like strikes with Tenseiga.

Finally, Naruto had disassembled Neji's body as much as he could without killing him. He conjured an oiled rag from his storage scroll and cleaned Tenseiga before sheathing her. A burst of Youki cleansed the gore from his armor. Now ready for the final act, Naruto created two Kage Bushin. The doppelgangers grabbed Neji's pulverized arms and pulled him to his ruined feet. In far too much agony to move, Neji could only silently weep from his sole remaining eye as Naruto cast his voice-enhancing Jutsu once more.

"THIS IS THE FATE OF ALL WHO WOULD DARE TO BARE THEIR FANGS AGAINST THE NAMIKAZE OR THE UZUMAKI. ANY WHO TREAT ME AND MINE WITH RESPECT SHALL BE RECIPROCATED IN KIND! THOSE WHO WRONG ME AND MINE SHALL ALSO BE REWARDED IN KIND!"

His declaration complete, Naruto drew Tokijin and impaled Neji's skull. Tokijin's blade exited through Neji's right eye. The Namikaze Lord then unleashed Tokijin's power. Demonic lightning surged through the baleful blade electrocuting Neji to death within seconds and severely charring his already-devastated body. Before Hiruzen could declare the end of the atrocious deathmatch, Naruto's enhanced voice echoed through the stadium one final time.

"THREE HOURS AGO, WHEN THIS MATCH STARTED, I PROMISED NEJI HYUUGA THAT THERE WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH OF HIM LEFT TO BURY! I KEEP MY WORD!" Naruto retrieved over a hundred paper bombs from his storage scroll and mummified Neji's corpse with them. After Shunshining to the very edge of the arena, the Namikaze Lord detonated his bombs remotely with a hand seal. The explosion left little more than ash of the once-proud Hyuuga prodigy. Unwilling to allow his next of kin the courtesy of even gathering Neji's ashes into an urn for a funeral, Naruto flashed through a series of hand seals.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" Naruto's Jutsu scattered Neji's ashes to the uncaring winds.

Chapter End