Adrik leaned in to whisper to the Hokage, having both his mask and black cloak on. Luckily, the Kazekage and the four jonin behind him didn't seem to notice as they were looking elsewhere.
"Lord Hokage, the Kazekage isn't here. That's Orochimaru."
The Hokage nodded, not surprised in the least. His former student was crafty. Betraying his allies was something the man was not above doing.
"Keep calm and maintain your position. When the invasion begins, you have your orders."
Adrik gave a slight nod.
"And what about Orochimaru betraying the Sand? Should we inform-"
"-Not yet."
Adrik nodded after a second of hesitation. He, the Hokage, the "Kazekage", and the four Sand Jonin continued on to the Chunin Exams stadium where the finals were being held. As they got closer and closer, they couldn't help but notice the loud chatter of the lively crowd.
X
Naruto looked around in wonder at the audience made of civilians, ninjas, and the foreign dignitaries. He assumed the last group was the people sitting in the viewing box closest to the Hokage's viewing box. He smiled as looked up to see Hinata sitting between Kiba and Kurenai, her headband now covering her forehead much like how Neji had arranged his.
Speaking of Hinata's cousin, he was staring at Naruto with an air of confidence and the expression of a pompous asshole, just like Naruto expected.
The teen, along with all of the other contestants, looked up at the Hokage as he approached the railings. His presence quieted the crowd down to the point that one could barely even hear their whispers.
"Thank you, one and all, for arriving here today to witness the final rounds of the Chunin Exams! It is with great honor that we present to you the strongest of the genin from our village, the Hidden Leaf, the Hidden Sand, and the Hidden Sound!"
The crowd cheered as the Hokage waved his hand downward at the ten genin participants. They became quiet once again as the Hokage cleared his throat.
"Now, I believe it is time for the exam to begin. To the proctor, Genma Shiranui, I leave the rest to you!"
The jonin in question, a tall man with a bandana style Leaf headband and a senbon between his lips, nodded up to the Hokage before raising his hand high to draw the crowd's attention.
"Thank you, Lord Hokage! Now, the rules of the matches are as follows. You are only to attack each other after I begin the match. While killing your opponent is allowed, it is frowned upon and I will stop the match if I believe it has gone too far. Also, there may be some confusion present for the number of participants. Indeed, there will be an uneven number of participants for the second round and the final round as we just felt there were too many talented individuals to hold back from competing. For your entertainment and to challenge the genin just a little more, it has been decided that the winner of match five will sit out the second round and will compete in a three-way free-for-all match against the two genin who progress to the third round!"
The crowd cheered excitedly as the idea of a free-for-all match sounded far too intriguing. The people who had witnessed more than one instance of the Chunin Exams were equally as excited as three genin fighting against each other in one final round wasn't exactly common.
"For the participants, there is a viewing box for you up the stairs in the corridor leading here into the arena. Once I call your name, you will come down to stand before me. For the first match, I would like Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga to remain present while the rest of you head up to the viewing box."
The participants all nodded as most of them made their way over and up to said area. Naruto and Neji stayed behind, staring each other down in anticipation. Genma looked between the two and raised his hand.
"With everything settled, are the two of you ready to start?"
The jonin got a nod from each genin. He nodded himself and chopped his hand down.
"Begin!"
Genma jumped back to get out of the way.
Neji smirked and closed his eyes for a second.
"You would be wise to forfeit now, Uzumaki."
Naruto's only response was the narrowing of his eyes and the drawing of his katana. Neji frowned as he opened his eyes at the noise of the blade being unsheathed.
"Very well. When I win this match, I look forward to seeing the despair on your face for making such an idiotic deal."
Naruto's eyes narrowed even further as Neji got into his fighting stance.
"How much did those pieces of shit tell you?"
Neji smirked again.
"You struck a deal with Lord Hiashi. If you win, Lady Hinata's Caged Bird Seal would be removed. If you lose, you will join the Branch Family as just another pawn of the Hyuga Clan. You are a fool, Naruto Uzumaki, and you will share Lady Hinata's fate as a weakling crushed by the might of the Hyuga Clan."
Naruto stared at Neji for another moment before nodding to himself. Without even needing to make the hand seal, four clones appeared next to him each with their own katanas drawn. Neji activated his Byakugan, noticing how each Shadow Clone was the exact same as the original.
Naruto and his Shadow Clones rushed forward with their blades ready to strike. Neji pulled a single kunai into his left hand as they approached. In an instant, he stabbed one clone in the gut and kicked another away, dispelling them both with one strike each.
Neji ducked to avoid a horizontal slash and thrust his palm into the clone's chest, making it vanish in a burst of white smoke. The last clone came up and swiped at him, barely missing the older teen's outstretched arm. Neji spun and sent his knee into the clone's back, dispelling it. When he turned to face the original, he was met with an empty space.
Neji's eyes widened slightly. Behind him was a small army of Shadow Clones, their swords all ready to attack. Neji focused as the wave of Shadow Clones descended upon him. He slashed a few, only for them to be replaced by more clones once they were dispelled. Neji sent a palm thrust into another clone, sending it flying back and knocking down more clones. Each one caught in the attack was dispelled. Neji scowled as the clones were again replaced almost instantly.
The clones jumped into the air, their swords aimed directly at Neji. The older teen cursed.
Naruto watched from a tree branch as the pile of clones in the middle of the formation were pushed away in all directions.
"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!"
A dome of blue chakra could be seen through the sea of clones. In a matter of moments, dozens of clones flew away from the dome, crashing into each other and rapidly dispelling the army.
By the time the rotating dome of chakra died down, Neji saw only a dozen or so clones remained. He stared down the clones with a smirk.
"That is one of the techniques that only a few members of my clan are even allowed to learn. Through my talent with the Byakugan, I have mastered it to a degree that only a few of the Main Family have achieved, even with this seal that keeps my fate on a leash. Do you understand, now, Uzumaki? This is the difference between us. You can throw as many clones at me as you like, but they will never compare to the genius of a Hyuga Clan member."
The original Naruto scoffed as he hopped down from the tree branch behind his few remaining clones.
"You're almost as stupid as those old shit bags in your clan if you think that's all I can do."
Neji's eyes narrowed dangerously at his opponent.
"Well, then, I look forward to seeing you at your best so I can make the payback for the insults to the Hyuga Clan all the more embarrassing."
Naruto's remaining clones spread out to circle Neji while the original stayed behind. Neji rushed towards the original Naruto instead of of focusing on the clones.
The original Naruto smirked as his clones slammed seal tags on the ground.
"Tether Seal: Activate!"
Before Neji could rush out of the circle of clones, he stopped dead in his tracks. Naruto held up his one handed hand seal with the smirk still present on his face, now mirrored by his clones.
Neji looked around with his Byakugan as he was unable to turn his head. To his surprise, he saw a string made of chakra coming from each of the seal tags placed on the ground, all wrapping around him several times.
"You like it? It's my own design. Thanks for helping me test it out, Neji!"
Neji scowled as Naruto taunted him. He took a second before his expression changed to one of stoic calmness. Slowly, Neji began to move his body against the chakra strings. Naruto narrowed his eyes as his smirk dropped.
In the next moment, Neji broke free of all of the chakra strings and threw out thirteen kunai, each hitting their mark on the clones that circled him. The original stumbled back in surprise as Neji rushed towards him with his palm held back, preparing to thrust forward. Neji's eyes widened when, right as he was about to land a palm strike on Naruto, the blonde teen smirked and brought up his hand with a seal tag in his palm.
Neji was unable to slow down in time and was subsequently hit by Naruto's own palm strike that stuck the seal tag to his left arm. Naruto painfully took the palm strike from Neji, not moving back so much as an inch as he was hit directly in the chest.
Neji was surprised when his Byakugan was forcefully deactivated. With the last moments of keeping his dojutsu active, he saw the chakra in his palm fizzle out and fade before it could do damage to his opponent.
Naruto smiled, even with the pain in his chest from Neji's attack, as he could tell his seal had done its work. Before Neji could regain his bearings and recognize the problem, he was hit by gale force winds that sent him flying back.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Naruto ran after Neji as he was sent flying. The older teen recovered in mid air and, before he could land, he was hit in the back by a strong punch from Naruto, sending him into the ground.
Neji rolled to the side to avoid a stomp that cracked the ground slightly. He stopped in a crouch and jumped back as Naruto drew his sword and slashed horizontally at him. Neji was surprised when a cut appeared across his stomach, barely being enough to draw a drop of blood. He narrowed his eyes in confusion as he was almost certain he avoided the attack.
Neji pulled out a kunai in each hand as Naruto came at him with a flurry of slashes, each one just as fierce as the last. Neji began to sweat as the attacks were getting increasingly hard to block. On top of that, he could make out dents forming in his kunai from the slashes of Naruto's katana.
Neji ducked under a slash and kicked Naruto as far away as he could without having his chakra to help, noticing how he received a large cut across his right arm in the process. Luckily, the cut was only a grazing one and it did little more than draw some blood.
X
Hinata watched in worry as, while she was rooting for Naruto to win, she wasn't entirely happy that her cousin would get beat up in the process. Kiba noticed this and put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"Don't worry, Hinata. Naruto's definitely gonna win this. I mean, he beat me, after all. There's no way he'll lose"
Hinata nodded shyly.
"Th-That is what I-I am worried about."
Kiba raised his eyebrows in surprise before he frowned. While he knew Hinata was a kind person and didn't wish harm upon her cousin, he wouldn't just go out and say this was Naruto delivering some divine karma to Neji for almost killing her. He would still think it, though.
X
Orochimaru, disguised as the Kazekage, raised an eyebrow behind his veil.
"The genin with the katana... Naruto Uzumaki, I believe his name is."
The Hokage turned his head slightly in the Kazekage's direction to indicate that he was listening.
"He is quite intuitive. He used both himself and his clones as distractions. His opponent, the Hyuga, tried to go after the original after realizing defeating the clones would be a waste, only for the clones to use fuinjutsu to bind him while he was focused on his target."
The Hokage nodded.
"Indeed. He has come a long way since his first days as a shinobi. Depending on how this match goes, I would not be opposed to making him a chunin."
The Kazekage couldn't help but nod in agreement. Adrik, still concealed by his cloak, kept glancing at the fake Kazekage and his four jonin guards from behind his mask. He couldn't help but grow anxious as the time of the invasion grew closer with each minute that passed.
X
Neji removed the seal tag from his arm and relished the feeling of his chakra returning. He frowned as he noticed he had a little less chakra than before the seal was placed on him.
"I will admit, it was smart to try and shut down my chakra. I hope you know, though, that you will never get that chance again."
Naruto nodded with a small frown as he sheathed his katana.
"Maybe. But who says I need to?"
Neji narrowed his eyes as he activated his Byakugan in time to catch the sword strike aimed at his back with the two kunai in his hands. Upon inspecting the sword with his dojutsu, he frowned.
"Wind nature chakra. You covered your blade in it to give it extra cutting force and extend its length. That explains why I received those cuts from the attacks I thought had surely missed."
Neji smirked as he pushed Naruto away. Naruto couldn't help but nod before his clone in the distance that Neji had originally been talking to dispelled itself.
"Now, though, I am afraid your efforts must come to an end. Your fate is sealed."
Naruto raised an eyebrow as he raised his sword up, Neji throwing his two kunai to the ground as they were too damaged to continue using.
"You are within the field of my divination!"
Naruto's eyes widened as Neji vanished in a burst of speed, reappearing right in front of him.
"Two Palms!"
Two of Naruto's chakra points were shut down instantly.
"Four Palms!"
By now, Naruto's right arm was beginning to twitch.
"Eight Palms!"
Naruto raised his left arm to try and block the attacks, but only succeeded in switching Neji's target to his left arm.
"Sixteen Palms!"
Naruto's left arm dropped to his side limply as he was hit with even more strikes from Neji's chakra laced fingers.
"Thirty-Two Palms!"
Naruto's right arm joined the left in hanging at his side. Neji continued further, much to the surprise of many Hyuga members, matching the surprise they felt at seeing the Palm Rotation.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!"
Neji struck Naruto thirty-two more times in an instant, shutting down a large portion of the chakra across his upper body. Neji followed this up with a palm strike directly to Naruto's chest, mirroring his attack against Hinata.
X
Sakura began to sweat nervously as she saw Naruto getting hit with the exact same attack that was used on Hinata. Only, this time, it was twice as impairing.
She looked to her right to see Choji had stopped eating, Shikamaru's eyes were narrowed sharply, and Shino's head was tilted downwards slightly to an almost unnoticeable degree. She knew that these signs meant they were concerned for Naruto, perhaps even as much as she was.
Even so, she swallowed her worries and continued watching. If there was one thing she knew Naruto wouldn't do, it was that he wouldn't just stay down. As much as she had her doubts, her faith in her teammate wouldn't be lost so easily.
X
"It appears I was mistaken to think that the Uzumaki could become a chunin. Perhaps more study and training is required on his part."
The Hokage grunted in response to the Kazekage's claims. While he agreed that Naruto did require some more education on the more technical side of being a ninja, the blonde teen was certainly able to compete for the rank. Perhaps he had met his match, though.
X
Hinata covered her mouth in shock and fear as Naruto was hit by an all too familiar attack. Next to her, Kiba was also worried, Akamaru whimpering from the comfort of his friend's jacket.
"Damn... I really thought Naruto had him."
Kiba sighed as it seemed the match was coming to a close. Next to the two genin, Kurenai raised an eyebrow. Naruto, while obviously in pain, seemed to be zoning out.
X
'Pick your sorry self up, brat. I won't have you losing to a weakling like that.'
Naruto groaned in pain as he responded to the voice in his head mentally.
'Oh, so now you wanna help me. Great.'
The voiced growled angrily.
'Listen to what I have to say!'
Naruto stayed quiet and the voice calmed down.
'I still won't have you using my power just yet. The most I will do is give you a burst of chakra to open your chakra points back up.'
Naruto nodded with a sigh.
'I can work with that, I guess.'
'Good. Now, get ready.'
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
'Ready for what?'
Naruto's eyes widened as chakra began to flow through him violently. He slowly stood up as an angry orange-ish red aura enveloped him. Neji, with his Byakugan activated, widened his eyes as his opponent's chakra began to visibly change colors from blue to red.
Everyone who was watching became both shocked and fearful at the sight in the arena below.
Naruto breathed out as he felt some of the pain subside. The aura wrapped around him shifted and floated upwards, creating the outline of the head of a fox with large ears that roared at Neji.
Naruto turned to face his frightened opponent with a glare.
"I hope you're ready, Neji! I'm goin' all out from now on!"
Neji stared at Naruto for a few more moments before his frightful expression was replaced by a confident smirk.
"Oh, please, you won't be able to lay a finger on me anymore. That chakra you used, whatever it is, has vanished. Now, the only threatening thing about you is gone. Your fate is to lose, Uzumaki."
Naruto raised his eyebrows.
"Seriously, what is up with that stupid bullshit you keep saying about fate?"
Neji frowned as he stared at Naruto. He sighed as he took off his headband, showing the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead. Naruto, however, wasn't exactly surprised. Neji pointed at his seal as he spoke.
"This is what I mean. There are many things that control a person's fate, each to varying degrees. This Caged Bird Seal is one such thing. From the moment I was born to the Branch Family, this seal was destined to control my life. But, I presume you already know that."
Naruto nodded expectantly and Neji continued indulging him.
"My father was the younger brother of Lord Hiashi, only by a few hours. Even such a small gap in time meant the writing of my father's destiny. He was to serve the Main Family, his own brother, like a slave. And, one day, that all came to a close. A man from the Hidden Cloud infiltrated the Leaf Village to kidnap Lady Hinata to acquire the secrets of the Byakugan by a unbranded child of the Main Family. Unfortunately, he also happened to be playing as an ambassador of the Cloud. For the man's death, the Raikage demanded compensation. Lord Hiashi was to serve as a sacrifice to prevent the outbreak of a war between our village and the Hidden Cloud. But, my father, Hisashi, was almost perfectly identical to Lord Hiashi. Seeing how their few differences would go under the radar, the Clan Head and his elder council ordered my father to take Lord Hiashi's place as a sacrifice."
Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly as he came to an understanding.
"So, you hate your uncle and the rest of the Main Family because of that?"
Neji nodded with his anger evident.
"If not for them, my father would still be alive. The only thing I can do is continue to serve those murderers until my usefulness runs its course. That is what I mean by fate, Uzumaki. I, and so many others, are destined to die without ever having an ounce of control over our own lives as a result of arrogant men wanting more power."
Naruto nodded and looked down. He brought a hand up to trace the seal on his stomach as he thought over what he had been told. Neji tied his headband back to his head, glad that the few members the Hyuga Clan who were in the audience hadn't overheard what he said.
"Yeah... I think I can get that..."
Neji nodded.
"Then you must know why you are destined to only reach so far."
Naruto shook his head. Neji narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"I can get it, but there's no way in hell I'm gonna agree with it!"
Neji looked at Naruto with surprise. That surprise quickly turned to anger.
"You talk as if you aren't fated to lose here. You are more idiotic than I first thought, Uzumaki."
Naruto looked up at Neji with a frown as he shouted.
"I don't believe in that fate shit, so go shove it up your ass! If you think some stupid seal is gonna hold me back, you're more of an idiot than I am!"
Neji stared for another moment before shaking his head and dropping into his fighting stance.
"Then I will make you believe in fate just as I was forced to."
"Come on, then!"
Naruto made hand seals as Neji rushed forward.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Naruto pointed his hands at the ground as he let loose his technique. Neji covered his face from the wind pressure that launched Naruto up into the sky well above the arena walls. Neji looked up and his eyes widened as over a hundred clones appeared in the air. He heard a shout come from each clone simultaneously.
"Wind Style: Wind Bullet Rain!"
Each clone spat out three wind bullets each straight down at the ground. Neji hurried to use his technique as he saw no other out to the situation.
"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!"
A blue dome of chakra formed around Neji as he spun in place, releasing as much chakra as he reasonably could. He grit his teeth as the torrent of wind bullets rained down on him and the area around him, kicking up clouds of dust.
When the wind bullets died down, Neji slowed to a stop. The moment he let the chakra dome fade, however, his eyes widened. From the dust cloud shot Naruto and one of his Shadow Clones collectively holding a ball of dense, spinning chakra in the original's right hand.
"Rasengan!"
Neji tried to bring up his hands in time but was too late. He was hit head on by the spinning chakra ball. Naruto roared as his clone disappeared and he continued pushing Neji back with the chakra orb. Neji yelled out painfully as he was launched backwards and into the side of the arena at an astounding speed.
Naruto breathed out slowly as he lowered his hand. The dust at the other end of the arena cleared to reveal Neji embedded in the concrete wall, a crater being formed around him. A giant hole had been made in his clothes, revealing a large portion of his chest that was badly injured by Naruto's jutsu.
Genma hopped down from his spot on top of the arena wall and ran over to check on Neji. Seeing as the older teen was barely even conscious, he raised his hand.
"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!"
Naruto took a small step back as he realized he had actually won. Of course, he expected to win, but he still felt surprised. Or maybe he was just surprised that he got the Rasengan to a point that he could finally reliably use it. At least he only used it at a little less than half power, though.
Naruto looked up at the stands in surprise when people cheered for him. He stared as the people in the crowd smiled down and applauded the match. He smiled widely after a second and waved both of his arms to the audience. He relinquished his mind to the emotions of the moment as this was the first time he had been cheered on by so many people.
Naruto looked back down when he noticed the proctor helping Neji over to a stretcher held by the medical ninjas. He walked over to the two with a small grin still on his face.
"Hey, Neji!"
Neji turned his head painfully with a frown.
"Thanks for the good fight!"
Neji's eyes widened slightly in surprise before he gave a small nod. He was even more surprised when Naruto came over and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Also, I just wanted to say somethin' before they carry you off."
Neji leaned in as Naruto whispered in his ear.
"That fate stuff needs to go. You're the one in control of your life, you hear me? That's the reason you got here in the first place. You're strong because you've been defyin' that stuff you call fate. Keep doin' that and you'll turn out great. I mean, it worked for me."
Neji looked at Naruto with surprise, having a few more questions than he did previously. He didn't get a chance to ask any of them, however, when pain erupted in his shoulder. He saw it was Naruto, who's grip was tightening more and more by the second. He became terrified when he saw the expression on the blonde teen's face. Naruto was smiling a bit too widely at Neji with an aura of death surrounding him.
"And, just so we're clear, if you do anything to hurt Hinata like that ever again, I have a very good friend who knows exactly where you are at all times."
Neji watched in horror as Naruto let go of his shoulder and waved at him as he was loaded onto the stretcher. He stared up blankly at the sky as he thought over the threat.
'... Why do I feel like I've made a huge mistake...'