Disclaimer: I do not and will not ever own Naruto or any of its Characters!
-Konoha-
On the day of the Chunin finals, all of Konoha was busy with activity, important lords, Daimyo's, business men and shinobi heads from other villages had come from all around to watch the Chunin finalists compete with one another. Among these important lords were the Daimyo's of Mizu no Kuni (Water Country), Kaze no Kuni (Wind Country), Kaminari no Kuni (Lightning Country), Hi no Kuni (Fire Country) and the Kages of their respected Shinobi villages.
Up in the Kage box seats, the Sandaime Hokage was seated in his chair, below him Civilians, Shinobi, Noblemen and women were filling up the stands bellow. Standing next to him was one of the members of the Hokage's Guard, Namiashi Raidō, who the Hokage was currently speaking to.
"Have there been any reports regarding the whereabouts of Uchiha Sasuke?" the Sandaime asked with some concern, as there had been no sign of the young Uchiha heir since the preliminaries.
"Unfortunately no Hokage-sama, several teams of ANBU are searching for him and Kakashi, but they are nowhere to be found" Raidō replied in a low voice. "I'm afraid there is a good chance that Uchiha Sasuke may have already fallen into Orochimaru's hands."
"If that is the case, it will be impossible for us to find him" Sarutobi thought with concern.
"Also Hokage-sama…" Raidō added "…it seems that Senju Naruto has yet to arrive in the stadium with the other finalist. It is likely that he may have been seized by Orochimaru as well."
"No I don't believe so" the old Hokage responded. "I just saw Naruto myself yesterday and I highly doubt Tsunade or Jiraiya would let Naruto go far without them knowing."
"But if that is true then where are they?"
"I do not know, but I'm certain, Naruto-kun is safe" the Sandaime replied, where his guard just nodded in understanding.
After a few minutes, the Sandaime was joined by his counterpart from Kirigakure (Hidden Mist) the Godaime Mizukage, Terumī Mei and her guard Ao.
When Mei first arrived, the Sandaime was both surprised and curious to see the new Mizukage a day before the Chunin finals. The reason why she had come early was because she wanted to speak to the old Hokage about forming an alliance with Konoha. Given how the recent coup in Kiri had weakened her village's military strength and their economy and she feared that the other villages, like Iwa or Kumo, would attack or take advantage of their weaken state.
Naturally the Sandaime welcomed the idea of forming an alliance with Kiri and proposed to begin talks for a new treaty after the Chunin exam.
When the Mizukage arrived at the box, the Sandaime stood up and greeted the female Kage where he then invited her to take the seat that was to his right, which she took.
Soon after, the Yondaime Kazekage and the Yondaime Raikage arrived with their respected Bodyguards.
The Yondaime Kazekage was a tall middle age man who wore the traditional robes and hat of a Kage and a mask to cover his face, allowing only his eyes to be seen.
The Yondaime Kazekage was a well-respected Shinobi, who possessed the Jiton (Magnet Release) Bloodline and used it in a similar manner to his predecessor the Sandaime Kazekaze. Although unlike the Sandaime, who used Iron Sand, the Yondaime used Gold Dust.
Accompany the Yondaime Kazekage were his two bodyguards, two tall men wearing light brown robes.
The Yondaime Raikage was a tall dark-skinned man with a large muscular build. He had blond hair that was combed back and a small moustache and beard. His face was very distinguished with pronounced cheekbones and tear troughs under his eyes, and a prominent crease across his forehead. Like the Yondaime Kazekage, the Raikage wore the traditional robes and hat of a Kage, but without a shirt underneath, which further displayed his hulking physique. He had gold bangle bracelets on each wrist and wore a gold belt around his waist with a boar's face engraved in the centre.
The Yondaime Raikage was a famed Shinobi from the Third Shinobi World War. Like most Shinobi of Kumo, the Raikage was highly skilled in Lightning Techniques, and was renowned for using Nintaijutsu (Ninja Body Techniques), which combined Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, making his attacks more devastating. But he was practically famous for his immense speed which was said to rival even the Sandaime's former successor the Yondaime Hokage.
Accompany the Raikage where two Kumo Shinobi, the first Shinobi was a tall young man with short blond hair, dark eyes and wore the standard uniform of a Kumo Shinobi.
The second Shinobi was a dark-skinned man with a slightly bulbous nose and lazy look in his eyes (which reminded Sarutobi of a certain Konoha Shinobi). He had white shaggy hair that covered his left eye and wore a high-collared, sleeveless uniform with loose fitting pants and a standard Kumo flak jacket. He also carried a cleaver like sword on his back and had the kanji for Water and Lightning tattooed on each of his arms.
Unlike the first Shinobi, Sarutobi knew this shinobi well. His name was Darui and he was a renowned and powerful Shinobi from Kumo. He was a highly skilled Lightning and Water user and an equally skilled swordsman and possessed the Ranton (Storm Release) Bloodline. He was also the inheritor of the Sandaime Raikage's Kuroi Kaminari (Black Lightning) technique, which allowed him to use unique Lightning techniques that only he could use. This earned him the moniker Darui no Kuroi Kaminari (Darui of the Black Lightning). In terms of skill, the man was easily on par with Konoha's top Shinobi Maito Gai and Hatake Kakashi.
When they saw the two other Kages, both the Mizukage and the Hokage stood up and greeted them. After which Hokage invited them to take whatever seats they wished, where the Kazekage took the seat that was to the Sandaime's left, while the Raikage took the remaining seat, which was next to the Kazekage's on his left.
"Greetings Kazekage-sama, Raikage-sama, I'm pleased that you could both make it, you both must be tired after your long journeys."
"Not at all Hokage-sama" the Kazekage replied. "In fact, I'm glad that the Chunin exam is in Konoha this year, since you are not as young as you once were and a journey to another village would be rather tough on you. Perhaps you should think about retiring and appoint a new successor? "
The old Hokage just laughed at this remark "Don't treat me like an old man, now. I'm still considering holding my position for at least another five years."
At this remark, both the Kazekage and the Raikage narrowed their eyes, but did not comment on.
As the four Kages looked down in the area, they saw that most of the finalist where in the arena waiting for the finals to begin.
"If I'm not mistaken, Hokage-sama, we're missing three finalists, two of them being Uchiha Sasuke and Senju Naruto" commented A with a frown. Since his plan to humiliate Konoha depended on both Naruto and Sasuke being in the exam. He also knew that most of the lords and officials here had come to the exam for the sole purpose of watching Naruto and Sasuke compete in the exam and bet on them.
"Sadly I'm afraid the finalist from Otogakure (Hidden Sound) was found dead last week on the rooftop of a building. His body was crushed and we could barely identify him, my ANBU are currently investigating the matter as we speak, but they have yet to identify the perpetrator.
"And what of Uchiha Sasuke and Senju Naruto?" Mei asked.
"I'm afraid their whereabouts are unknown"
"You're telling us that you've lost track of your own Shinobi?" the bulky Raikage asked in mild disbelief, where the old Hokage could only smile in embarrassment.
"Please do not worry Raikage-sama, I'm certain both boys will show up, as neither of them are the type to miss out on something like this."
At this the Raikage could only scoff in disgust, since it was his opinion that both boys should have decency to be on time, especially for an event this important.
"Clearly Konoha has become lax in this time of peace, if it can't even find two of its own Shinobi" the Raikage taunted. "This would never happen in my village."
Sandaime did not respond to the Raikage's taunt, instead he simply ignored it and remained silent. Although his bodyguard Raidō narrowed his eyes and glared slightly at the large man.
Eventually though, the Sandaime turned to his fellow Kages and asked them if they should begin, where the three other Kages all nodded. After which the Sandaime Hokage stood up and went to the railings and began to speak to the audience bellow them.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for coming to Konohagakure no Sato (Village Hidden by the Leaves), for this year's Chunin finals. We will now begin the main matches with the fifteen finalists who have passed the preliminaries. So please enjoy the matches and good day."
-With the Audience-
"What? They are going to start the preliminaries without Sasuke and Naruto-kun!" Ino cried in surprise.
"Well you hardly expect them to wait for them Ino" commented her Sensei Asuma.
"But Naruto-kun's match is first, what if he doesn't arrive?" the blonde girl asked
"Then he will be disqualified, as will Sasuke, if he doesn't show up either."
At hearing this, Sakura, who was sitting next to Ino became concerned and began to wonder what happened to Sasuke, remembering how he was in his room when she went to visit him in the hospital.
Seeing that neither Sasuke nor Naruto were here, Gaara's sensei Baki became concerned.
"Did he? …I told him to avoid doing anything that would attract attention…Damn it, Did he kill Uchiha Sasuke and Senju Naruto?" Baki thought, remembering when Gaara went out for a while by himself during the training month.
"Where's Naruto-kun?" Rurichiyo asked, while sitting between her Grandparents, (who had recently arrived in Konoha), looking for her friend down in the arena. Standing near the royal family were also Rurichiyo's personal guards Kenryū and Enryū, as well as several Samurai guards, who were led by Kensai, the strongest Samurai and Swordsman in Hi no Kuni (Fire Country) (1).
"It seems that the Naruto-kun has yet to arrive" the Fire Daimyo replied, after seeing that Naruto was not with the other finalist.
"Where could he be? I hope nothing has happen to the poor dear" Madam Shijimi said.
"Well he was fine yesterday when I met him and he showed me around Konoha" Rurichiyo replied, who was starting to become concern for her fellow blonde.
"Where is he?" Mai thought with a frown, as she couldn't understand why her "fiancé" had yet to arrive.
"Hmph, looks like Senju and the Uchiha are a no show" Kurotsuchi remarked with a slight frown. Since she was sort of interested in seeing what the son of Tsunade and the Uchiha heir were capable of and if they were worth all the attentions they were getting.
"Maybe, but let's just wait and see, as there still time" Akatsuchi replied.
"Damnit, where the hell is Naruto-nii?" Konohamaru asked out loud who was sitting in the stands, with Moegi, Udon and the rest of their class.
"I don't know" Moegi replied.
"Maybe he decided to quit, since that Hyuga Neji guy looks pretty tough" Udon answered.
"No way! ...Naruto-nii would never run away from a fight, you saw how he stood up to those Suna jerks from earlier."
"Then why isn't he here yet?" Udon asked.
"I don't know, but I do know he will be here soon."
-Outside the Arena-
"My, my there quite a bit of activity today" Kabuto commented as he stood over the dead body of an ANBU agent in a large tree overlooking the Arena.
"I do hope Naruto-kun puts on an entertaining show. As I have a rather tough job ahead of me and I do not like having gaps in my in my profiles" the Oto spy thought as he took off the ANBU agent's mask and cloak and placed it on himself. After which he then hid the body and disappeared in a whirl of wind and leaves.
-In the Arena-
Down in the arena the second member of the Hokage's guard Shiranui Genma was explaining of the rules of the finals to the Genin finalist.
Genma had taken over the role of referee from Gekkō Hayate, after his body was found roughly at the same time as the Oto Genin. This led the Hokage and the investigating ANBU team to believe, that the Suna team were somehow involved. Given how the Sandaime had ordered Hayate to follow Gaara and his team, after learning that Gaara was a jinchūriki.
After Hayate's body was found the Hokage placed the village shinobi on highten alert and deployed two teams of ANBU at the stadium and had several other teams patrol the surrounding area. He also had the Kekkai-Hans (Barrier Team) go on full alreat and report to him of anything strange, no matter how small, fearing that Orochimaru may infultrate the village again.
When Genma finished explaining the rules of the finals, he turned to Neji. "Given how your opponent Senju Naruto has not appeared and we cannot delay your match until he arrives, we will have to declare you the win…"
But before Genma could finish speaking, a whirlwind wind and leaves suddenly appeared behind him. When it died down, Naruto, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, Kushina and Yamato were present.
When Genma turned around and saw the group, he was immediately greeted by Kushina.
"Heya Genma, it's been a while…we aren't late are we?"
"Actually you just made it, we were just about to disqualify your student."
"Sorry about that… we would've been here sooner, but we were held up with something" Naruto said, where his mother and the others all glared at the Toad Sage. Who looked to be fairly beating up, with two black eyes, a swollen lip and several bruises around his face.
The reason for his current state was because of a beating he received from Tsunade and Kushina when he went off peeping an hour before the exam. This forced Naruto the others to go looking for him and making them late.
When they finally found him and found out why he had disappeared, a furious Tsuande and Kushina decided to discipline him.
"Your late, Naruto!" an annoyed Yugito said, while glaring at the spikey blonde with an irritated look.
"Troublesome, knowing you Naruto, you were probably waiting till the last second just so that you could make a bigger entrance" a board Shikimaru said, who was wishing he was somewhere else right now.
"I'm glad you arrived in time Naruto-kun, I-er…I mean "WE" were was beginning to worry about you" Haku said, with a slight blush of embarrassment, which thankfully went unnoticed.
The Suna Genin Gaara also seemed to be pleased that Naruto arrived in time, although for an entirely different reasons that Haku and the others were.
"Yea sorry about that guys…" Naruto replied with a goofy grin, before glaring slightly at his godfather "…but like I said we were held up with something."
It was then at this point, that the others notice Naruto's new attire. He now wore simple black Shinob pants with a bandage around his right leg and a brown Shinobi utility belt around his waist and the same black boots from before. On his upper body he wore a short sleeve fishnet shirt and an open short sleeve black top with a black fingerless glove on his right hand and white bandages wrapped around his left. He had a new cloth for his headband, which was now black instead of blue and wore the Shodaime's Hokage's necklace around his neck and the ring Rurichiyo on his right middle finger and his chain earring on his right ear, allowing them to be clearly seen by everyone.
But the thing that caught most people's attention was the coat that he wore over his new attire. It was a long white sleeveless coat with decorated flames-like motifs on the edges.
This was a gift from Jiraiya, who had it made for Naruto to wear in the Chunin exam. The coats design was based on Minato's own coat, which he wore after he became Hokage. Jiraiya had given this to Naruto since he knew how much the boy admired his father and thought it would be a nice way for Naruto to have a piece of his father with him at all times. The only differences between the Yondaime's coat and Naruto's, was that Naruto's coat had the symbol of the Senju Clan on its back, which was blocked by his Kanata that was slung on his back with a brown leather belt. (2)
After getting over his surprise at how much Naruto reminded him of the Yondaime Hokage. Genma decided to get the exam under way, where he asked the Genin finalist to go up to the box where the finalist would wait for their matches.
He then asked Tsunade and the others to also leave, so that they could start the match.
Nodding in understanding, the five senior Shinobi bid Naruto good luck and then Shunshin'd (Body-flickered) away.
-In the Kage Box-
After Body-flickering from the arena, Jiraiya and Tsunade appeared in the Kage box, next to their former Sensei, who was pleased to see his former students again.
When the two Sannin appeared, the other Kages greeted them in a respectful manner.
The Mizukage was especially delighted to meet Tsuande, as she had long wished to meet the Slug Princess in person. Tsunade in return had been pleased to finally meet a female Kage, believing it was about time that a woman took charge of one of the five great Shinobi villages.
When Jiraiya first saw the Mizukage, he instantly went into Pervert Mode and planned to use his withy "charm" on the female Mizukage.
Fortunately though, before such a disaster could happen, Tsunade nipped it in the bud by pulling Jiraiya away by his ear and giving him the "look."
Not wanting to be fed through a drip, Jiraiya wisely decided to stand down and behaved himself.
When the Sandaime asked what took them so long to get here. Tsunade simply glared at Jiraiya again, (making the elder man gulp), before stating that they had an unexpected detour.
"I have to say Tsunade-sama, I'm looking forward to seeing your son compete" the female Mizukage said. "I have heard much about him from my Shinobi, Momochi Zabuza and Yuki Haku, who both speak highly of his skill."
"Naruto is a capable Shinobi, as you will soon see Mizukage-sama" Tsunade replied before her former student Shizune appeared next to her.
"Here you are Tsunade-sama" Shizune said, as she handed Tsunade a slip of paper before Shunshin away again.
"What's that hime?" Jiraiya asked.
"Just a betting slip… I beat twelve million ryo on Naruto winning his match."
When Sarutobi and Jiraiya heard this, both of them looked at the blonde haired woman with shocked and worried looks.
"No offense hime, but are you freaking INSANE?" Jiraiya cried. "Do you want him to Lose? …You know your luck when it comes to gambling and by betting on the brat, he might actually lose!"
In response Tsunade just smirked, not the least bit worried with what Jiraiya said. "I only lose at Gambling when I bet on myself. But when I bet on Naruto, I never lose, as his good luck is stronger than my bad luck."
"Well for his sake I hope so"
"We'll see soon enough" the Raikage commented with a slight frown, who was staring down at Naruto.
As he looked down at the blonde Senju, the Raikage couldn't get over how much Naruto reminded him of his former rival the Yondaime Hokage. Despite being enemies, the Raikage greatly admired and respected the former Hokage, not only for his skill and power, but also for his immense speed. Since he was the only man alive who could move faster than him. Minato's speed was so great, that the Raikage had never been able to land a solid hit on the former Hokage.
A had of course notice the resemblance when he first saw a picture of Naruto, but seeing him now wearing the same kind of clothing as the Yondaime Hokage, made the resemblance even stronger. It was almost as if he was seeing a younger version of the Yondaime Hokage.
"I still can't get over how much that brat looks like Namikaze. If I didn't know any better I would swear the two of them were father and son" the Raikage thought. Before shaking his head and scoffing at the idea. "What the hell am I thinking? It's impossible; there no way Tsunade and Namikaze would have a child together. If the boy's surname name was Uzumaki I might believe he was Namikaze son. Hell I would sooner believe Jiraiya was the boy's father that Namikaze."
"That's quite an interesting coat the boy is wearing Jiraiya-sama, it reminds me a lot of the coat that your former student the Yondaime Hokage use to wear" A remarked.
When A said this, Tsunade glanced angrily at Jiraiya. She had been against the idea of Naruto wearing the coat in the finals when Jiraiya first gave it to him last night. But she couldn't convince Naruto not to wear it, as he had been ecstatic when Jiriaya gave him the coat.
It was obvious to Tsunade, that Jiraiya had designed the coat to be like Minato's, not only because he was Naruto's father. But also because of how much Naruto reminded Jiraiya of Minato. This was something that always troubled Tsunade, as sometimes Jiriaya forgot that Naruto wasn't Minato.
She of course understood why Jiraiya found it hard to let Minato go, since he had been like a son to the Toad Sage and in many ways Naruto was like his grandson. But still she sometimes worried if Jiraiya was trying to replace Minato with Naruto.
"Eh yea" Jiraiya replied nervously, "I gave it to the kid as a gift, since he idolises Minato."
When the Raikage heard Jiraiya's explanation he narrowed his eyes slightly, as the story did make some sense. He could also see Jiraiya doing something like that, especially given how the boy was his former team-mates son. But what bothered him most was that he felt like he was overlooking something, as if there was more to this story.
Regardless though, the dark-skinned man decided to put the matter aside for now, but planned to investigate it later, since he wasn't a big fan of surprises.
-In the Audience-
After Body-flickering from the arena, Kushina and Yamato appeared in the stands, where they took two free seats in the front stands, which were right next to Anko, Asuma, Kurenai and their individual teams.
"Hey Kushina, Yamato you guys are late, what took you so long?" Asuma greeted when he saw the two former ANBU members. He was also curious as to why they were late, especially when Yamato was with them, since he was a stickler for protocol.
"Our apologise Asuma-san, but we were held up looking for Jiraiya-sama, who had disappeared earlier on" Yamato answered.
"Let me guess, he was peeping on some girls when they were at the hot spring" Anko amswered, since she knew the man well enough after the number of times she met him back when she was still Orochimaru's student.
"Actually it was some girls swimming at the falls outside Konoha" Kushina replied.
After hearing this, a disgusted look appeared on Kurenai's face, while a furious look appeared on Ino and Sakura faces, (who were sitting near her).
"Ugh! I can't believe someone as renowned as Jiraiya-sama, can engage in such deplorable things" the crimson eyed woman commented in disgusted.
"Well like the old saying, great men, aren't always great people" Asuma replied as he let out a puff of smoke.
"Did you get any good hits in?" Anko asked where Kushina just smiled and said she got Jiraiya good in the nose and groin, which made the snake woman smile.
"I'm assuming that since I didn't see Uchiha Sasuke with the other finalist that he and Kakashi-senpai have yet to arrive?" Yamato asked.
"Pretty much" Asuma answered.
"Figures" Kushina commented, "Kakashi would be late for his own funeral."
"So…" Asuma said, in an attempt to change the subject "…has the kid improved much, since the preliminaries?"
"Yes...he has improved a great deal, as you will soon see" Yamato replied, as he indicated to Naruto and Neji, who were now facing one another.
"Well it should be interesting regardless, especially after what he promise to do to that Hyuga punk" Anko remarked. Not noticing the worried look on a certain Hyuga heiress, who was sitting near her.
Hinata had of course heard what happened at the preliminaries after she lost to Neji and what Naruto promise to do to him and regardless of what her cousin did to her. She couldn't help but be concern for him, since he was still her cousin no matter what. She was also slightly concerned for Naruto, since she knew first-hand how strong and how skilled Neji was, and regardless of his amazing strength, Naruto's battle with Neji would not be an easy opponent.
When Anko made her comment, her friend Kurenai remained silent, which was unusual since she would've normally rebuked her for making such comments. But given how Neji had tried to kill her student, his own cousin. She had little sympathy for the male Hyuga and what would happen to him, since she was one of the few people who knew how strong Naruto really was.
A couple of rows away from the group, the Hyuga Clan head Hyuga Hiashi was sitting in the audience waiting for the match to begin.
"Watch closely Hanabi" Hiashi said to his youngest daughter, who was sitting next to him. "There is no one else who has inherited the Bloodline limit of the Hyuga Clan as strong as him. Your older sister does not even compare with him."
"Even more than my sister?" the young girl asked in surprise as she turned to her father.
"Yes, and most likely more than you" the elder man replied, shocking the young girl.
"Let us see how well you do against someone like Neji-san, Senju-san" the leader of the Hyuga Elders (Hiashi's father) thought. Who was sitting not far from Hiashi and his daughter and like them had come to watch the match between his grandson Neji and Naruto, along with the rest of the Hyuga elders, who were interested to see what Naruto could do.
Sitting not far from them were the Hokage's advisors Danzo, Koharu and Homura. Who like everyone else was interested in watching this year's Chunin exam and to see more of Naruto abilities with their own eyes.
-In the Arena-
"I must say Senju-san, I was actually starting to believe that you wouldn't show up" Neji commented, as he faced off against Naruto.
"Hmph! As if I would run and hide from the likes of you" Naruto scoffed, before he started to crack his knuckles. "I told you before at the preliminaries, when we meet again, I would beat you into the ground and I always keep my word."
Seeing Naruto cracking his knuckles, Neji began to frown, as the memory of Naruto's super human strength was still fresh on his mind. He knew he would have to be careful when fighting Naruto, as his immense strength was no joke. Lee's current condition and the state of the fighting arena in the forest of death tower, was a testament to the destructive power of Naruto's strength.
The best way to deal with that was to use his Jūken (Gentle fist) and to seal up Naruto's tenketsu and prevent him from using his Chakra. The only problem with that was that he needed to get close to Naruto, which would then give the young Senju the opportunity to send him right through the arena wall with one punch.
As the two boys continued to glare at one another, the match referee Genma suddenly spoke, "Now that both of you are here and are ready, let the first match of the Chunin finals Begin!"
Despite Genma yelling begin, neither boys moved forward, instead they kept their distance and fell into their individual fighting stance.
Seeing that Naruto hadn't gone for his Katana, the young Hyuga Branch member began to frown, wondering way Naruto wasn't going to try and use his Katana, which would give him a clear advantage in their fight. But as he wondered why, he suddenly remembered Naruto's fight with Lee and smirked.
Seeing the young Hyuga smirking Naruto frowned, "Care to let me in on the joke teme?"
"It's nothing" replied Neji, who was still smirking. "I've just notice that you haven't reached for you Katana yet. Does that mean you acknowledge me as a worthy an opponent and wish to fight me fairly?"
"Heh, hardly" Naruto replied with a scoff, making the Hyuga frown. "I acknowledge that you're strong, but that's it. When I fought Lee I wanted to fight him fairly because I not only respected him as a Shinobi, but also as a person, I don't regard you in the same way. As far as I'm concerned, Lee is a hundred times better than you will ever be."
"Then why?" Neji asked in an irritated tone, as the idea of a failure like Lee, being better than him, irked him.
"I won't be satisfied by just cutting you up with my Katana, as that would be too easy, you going to suffer just like you made Hinata-chan suffer in the preliminaries.
"I see" Neji said with a frown before he activated his Bakyugan. "Well then, your welcome to try, but I will tell you now this match has already been decided. For I have seen the outcome with my eyes, destiny will see me as the winner."
"We'll see about that" Naruto replied as he narrowed his eyes before he formed a hand seal and cried "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!" and created eight clones of himself.
-In the Audience-
"Smart move" Anko remarked.
"What an interesting kid" Kotetsu commented in amusement.
"Kage Bunshin is a Jonin level technique. I didn't know he could use it" Izumo said in surprise.
"Well we shouldn't be surprise given all the rumours we have been hearing about him lately and something tells me we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg" Kotetsu responded as he looked down at Naruto and his clones.
-In the Arena-
"Kage Bunshin?" Neji thought with a frown as he remembered hearing of the Technique from his sensei Gai. "I see, if the Charka is distributed equally among the clones…even my Byakugan cannot tell which of them is the real one. But still it doesn't matter, as there can only be one real one."
"It doesn't matter how many of you there are Senju, you will still lose."
"I suggest you don't act so tough" all nine Naruto's said together before four of the Naruto clones charged forward.
In an impressive feat of speed, two of the Naruto clones suddenly appeared behind Neji and attempted to attack the young Hyuga prodigy from behind, while the other two attack from the front.
Seeing the clone appear behind him, thanks to his Byakugan, Neji easily evaded the Naruto clones by flipping into the air and over the forward clones.
After landing back on the ground, two more Naruto clones charged forward and attempted to flank him from both side. But before they could hit them, Neji spun around and skilfully slapped away their hands, while at the same time kicking them off their feet, causing them to fall to the ground.
Once the two clones hit the ground, another Naruto clone appeared in front of Neji when he stopped spinning and attempted a sharp knee kick to his chin, which appeared to hit the Hyuga Prodigy and send him up into the air. But in reality Neji had skilfully evaded the knee kick and by leaping backwards into the air.
Realizing he hadn't hit Neji, Naruto had four of his clones surround the Hyuga Genin and attack him from all sides.
Once they had surrounded him, the four Naruto clones attacked from all sides, but right before they could hit him. Neji jumped into the air again and preformed a mid-air double spin kick, hitting all four Naruto clones and causing them to explode into smoke.
But as soon as the first four clones were destroyed the second group appeared and like before, they attempted to attack Neji from both sides, where the first two attacked together from behind and the other two attacked from the front.
Seeing the two clones coming from behind with his Byakugan, Neji skilfully slapped away the clone's punches and allowed to them to run pass him. After which he then delivered double palm strikes to their chests, just as they were turning around to face him.
After the two clones were destroyed, the last two attempted to use the smoke of the destroyed clones as cover. Sadly though their plan failed as Neji easily saw through the smoke with his Byakugan and delivered a double hand strike to their stomachs causing them to explode into smoke like the others.
After seeing all his clones destroyed Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly. "So the stories about the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan Bloodline are true. It's as if he really has eyes at the back of his head."
Back when Naruto was gathering info on Lee and his team, Naruto had heard some of the stories involving the Hyuga Clan and their abilities. He had even asked his mother, Jiraiya and his teachers about the Hyuga Clan's bloodlines and given what he was told; Naruto knew how dangerous Neji was in close combat.
"It will take more than this to defeat me, Senju. I can see much with these eyes of mine."
"Oh and what exactly do you see?" Naruto asked in a board tone and folded his arms.
"They allow me to see the truth of this world. Like everyone else, your talent is determined when you're born. In other words, everything is predetermined at birth."
"Huh, so that's what you believe, well I'm afraid I don't buy into any of that fate crap, we make our own destiny" Naruto replied with a scoff, although frowned again when he saw Neji smirk.
"That's rather amusing coming from you, as you are the perfect example of what I have said. Think about it? Everyone in the Shinobi world has heard of the legendary Senju Clan, who were known for having the strongest Shinobi. Your own ancestors were the Shodai and the Nidaime Hokages and your own mother is one of the Densetsu no Sannin (Legendary Three Ninja), so it is of no surprise why you are so strong, you were fated to be strong before you were even born."
Narrowing eyes, Naruto spoke again "Why do you always try to label people like that?"
"I am speaking only the truth, you and I were fated to be stronger than others, just as Lee and Hinata-sama were fated to be born as failures. It didn't matter how much they wanted to win, they were fated to lose to us from the very beginning. Everyone is different; they can only live in the indisputable flow of life and walk the path that has been laid out before them. But there is just one fate that everyone possesses… and that is death."
-In the Audience-
After hearing everything that Neji had said a sober look appeared on everyone face, as many could find little flaw with what Neji was saying as there was a ring of truth in it.
But the one that was taking what Neji was saying the hardest was the Hyuga Clan head Hyuga Hiashi. "Those eyes…He still curses the Main family for what happened."
-In the Arena-
"Are you done?" Naruto asked with the same board tone and look.
"What?" Neji asked with a frown.
"I told you before I don't believe in fate, we make our own destiny by the choices we make, and the reason I am strong is not because of who I am related to. It's because I worked my ass off to get this strong, and because I had good teachers supporting and helping me. Even if what you said is true, it wouldn't change a thing, as I intend to beat you no matter what."
After he said this Naruto then formed the same hand-seal as before and created a large number of Shadow clones.
"Clones again? I would've thought you would come up with something more original by now" Neji remarked as he stood in front on the small army of Naruto's.
"You know the old saying if at first you don't succeed try, try again" all the Naruto's replied before they circled around Neji and surrounded him from all sides and attacked.
Unafraid of the group of Naruto's, Neji stood his ground and prepared to defend himself from the coming onslaught of clones.
He did not have to wait long as within seconds they were upon him.
Thanks to his Byakugan being activated, Neji was able see the Naruto clones from all directions and skilfully evaded and blocked all their attacks with ease.
This continued for the next few minutes, all the while one Naruto stood back from a safe distance watching Neji closely as he fought the other Naruto's.
"Do you think I'm a fool Senju?" the Hyuga Prodigy asked as he avoided a leg swipe from a Naruto clone by flipping backwards. "Your pitiful strategy in wearing me down with these clones will not work. All I have to do is hit the real you and I already know which of you is the real one."
The next thing Naruto and the clones knew Neji disappeared in a blur and in an impressive feat of speed. He sped through the army of clones before they could stop him and went right for the Naruto that stood away from the group and hit him with a strong hand strike to the heart.
"I'm disappointed Senju, I expected more from you. It was obvious that you were the real one, as you were the one who attacked the least, because you fear I would hit your Tenketsu if you got to close to me. The more you had your clones attack me, the more you stood out" Neji said with a satisfied smirk, believing he had won. But to his shock the Naruto he hit smirked and before he knew it, the clone exploded, blasting him away and sending him flying to the other end the arena.
-In the Audience-
"That's Bunshin Daibakuha (Great Clone Explosion)!" Izumo said in surprise. "To think a Genin could use an A-rank technique like that?"
"Not bad" Kotetsu commented, who was rather impressed with Naruto, "To think he has mastered the Kage Bunshin Technique to that extent."
"Alright Nii-san, you show him!" Konohamaru yelled as he stood up from his seat and cheered Naruto on
"That brat pretty sneaky, I'll give him that, he was already well ahead of that Hyuga punk" Anko remarked with a smirk.
"Trust me Anko, you haven't how seen how sneaky Naruto can be" Kushina replied, given all the pranks she and Naruto had done over the past few months.
-In the Arena-
After being sent flying to the other end of the arena by the explosion, the Hyuga prodigy slowly got back onto his feet. The explosion had thankfully not been too powerful and mainly singed him. But it was still strong enough to cause some injuries, where he had a few small wounds that were bleeding and some light burn marks on his face and arms.
"Uhnnn, Damnit he was already a step ahead of me, he had one of his clones stay back while he hid with the rest of the clones. He knew I would attack the one that stayed behind, believing it was him and lured me in…how was he able to get his clone to explode like that?" Neji thought angrily as he couldn't believe he had been tricked so easily.
"You shouldn't be so confident Hyuga-teme, I told you before not to underestimate my abilities" the real Naruto said as he walked forward and stood in front of the clones.
Glaring at the blonde, Neji spoke "I did not think you would use such a cheap trick Senju."
"Heh, Have you forgotten? We're Shinobi, that's what we do. Besides the cheap ones are usually the best ones" Naruto replied with a smirk before he ordered the rest of his clones to attack, while he stood back and watched the battle.
-In the Audience-
"What is Naruto doing, why is he only using Clones? Why doesn't he use his other Jutsu? He's much stronger than this" Sakura said as she watched Neji fight with Naruto's clones.
"Because he's thinking ahead" Kushina answered, gaining Sakura's and the others attention.
"What do you mean Kushina-sensei?" Ino asked.
"When you are running in a marathon, you don't go all out at the very beginning, you pace yourself and use you energy wisely and save yourself for the end."
"So your saying that Naruto is holding back, because he doesn't want wear himself out" Sakura said, realizing what Kushina was saying.
"Precisely, if Naruto was to use his more powerful Jutsu or other abilities to beat Neji, the opponents he would later go against would know what to expect and be prepared for it. By fighting this way, Naruto will have his bigger guns to surprise his opponents with later."
"That may be true Kushina, but I'm sure there is more to reason why he's using Shadow clones this way than just keeping his better abilities hidden" Asuma added as he joined the conversation.
Kushina did not reply of course, but smirked, which told the younger Sarutobi that he was right.
"What do you mean Asuma-sensei?" Ino asked.
"If I were to guess I would say, that the kid is using his clones to study Neji?"
"How so?" asked the blonde girl.
"Well unlike other clones, Shadow Clones can use high level Jutsu and when they are destroyed everything that they saw or heard is sent back to the person. This makes them ideal when scouting or spying on people, as once they disperse all their info is sent back to the user. By sending his clones to fight and watching them from a distance, Naruto gets to see two separate points of views, which allows him to analysis Neji's fighting ability and find any weak points."
"Not bad Asuma, you catch on quick" a smirking Kushina commented. "But I would expect nothing less from the son of the Professor"
"That's actually pretty clever" Anko remarked as she was rather impressed.
"How strong is Naruto-kun really?" Ino asked turning to Kushina.
"That you'll just have to wait and see" the red headed woman replied as she continued to watch her student's battle.
-In the Arena-
As the battle continued, Naruto had some of his clones fall back and thrown Kunai, Shuriken and Senbon needles from a distance, making it even more difficult for Neji to fight the clones.
But despite being attack from long range and close range, Neji was still able to block or avoid all of the clones attack, thanks to his Byakugan and his lightning fast reflexes.
Seeing this, Naruto had the majority of his clones attack Neji all at once from all side, so to see how he would defend against this.
Reacting fast, Neji quickly fell into a Taijutsu stance that Hiashi, his daughters and the Hyuga elders all recognised instantly, and where shocked beyond words to see him use it.
"Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!" Neji yelled, where with lighting fast speed, he struck at all the clones from all directions with powerful hand strikes that destroyed them instantly.
Naturally the audience had been stunned by how quickly Neji defeated all the clones. But before the Hyuga prodigy could enjoy his moment, he suddenly saw several projectiles coming towards from behind.
Acting fast, Neji quickly fell to his knees to avoid them, but was unable to evade all of them, where a Senbon needle hit him in the shoulder.
Seeing this Naruto smirked, "I final found it…hah, I knew it, no defence is absolute, everything has a weakness and I found his. Thanks to his Byakugan, Neji has a three hundred and sixty degree vision and can see through objects and see things from far off distances, making in nearly impossible to sneak up on him. Adding his lighting fast relaxes he's able to counter, block or avoid enemy attacks from almost any direction. That's why he was able to avoid my clone's projectiles, or at least most of them, as one of them was able to get through. Meaning that he wasn't able to see it coming and avoided it, therefore he has a blind spot at his upper back. And if I'm right, there is one other place I can attack from, where he won't see me coming from."
After realizing where Neji's weak point was, Naruto signalled his remaining clones with some regular hand seals, telling them to go for the next phase of his plan.
Nodding understanding, the clones took out several Kunai and from their utility belts and attacked Neji from all sides, who had just finished taking the Senbon needle in his shoulder out.
Wasting no time, Neji quickly fell into his Hakke Rokujūyon Shō stance again and began to eliminate the remaining Naruto clones. But just when he was about to finish off the last clone, he suddenly felt a sharp pain from his back, causing him to fall forward where the last remaining Naruto clone delivered a stronger kick to his stomach and sent him crashing into the wall.
After hitting the wall, the young Hyuga slowly picked himself up onto his knees and pulled out several needles from his upper back, which he was surprised to find.
"But how? Why didn't I see these needles coming?" Neji muttered in confusion.
"I guess those eyes of yours can't see everything after all" Naruto mocked as he joined his last clone.
Hearing this Neji glared angrily at Naruto, but it was quickly replaced by realization when Neji suddenly realized what Naruto had been really up to the whole time. "You've been planning this from the very start; you used your clones to attack me from different direction, so to find my blind spot, not to wear me down."
"Bingo" Naruto answered with smirk as he began to walk towards Neji to finish him off.
-In the Audience-
"Neji has a blind spot?" Tenten said is surprise as she didn't think he had a blind spot.
"So he did discover the Byakugan's blind spot" Hisahi's commented as he had figured out Naruto's plan not too long ago.
"Impressive" the Mizukage remarked, as she was rather impressed with how effectively Naruto used his shadow clones.
"Indeed" the Raikage replied, as he too had to grudgingly complement Naruto, as he wasn't even aware of the Hyugan Clan's Bykauan having a blind spot.
-In the Arena-
Angry at how he had been duped again by Naruto, Neji started to get up, but before he could, Naruto suddenly spoke again.
"Don't bother trying to move, those needles I hit you with were coated with poison that paralyzes your body, you won't be able to move for the next few hours."
But just when Naruto thought he had won the fight, he saw Neji smirk, making him stop when he was just a few feet from the Hyuga member.
"It seems that this time you're the overconfident one Senju and are underestimating me."
Before Naruto could even ask what Neji was talking about, the Hyuga Prodigy stood up and fell into his Hakke Rokujūyon Shō stance once again.
"Impossible!" Naruto thought in surprise, as the poison that coated the Senbon needles should have completely paralyzed his body.
"Did you really think I was not prepared for this?" Neji asked. "I watched both your battles against Hattori Mai and Lee closely and studied you as much as I could. Given your training as a medic-nin it was obvious that you would've been trained to use poisons in battle so before I came here, I injected myself with an Antidote, making me immune to most poisons."
"Shit!" Naruto thought realizing that Neji had fooled him and drawn him in so that he would be in Neji's divination.
Before Naruto could even try to escape, Neji used his Hakke Rokujūyon Shō to hit sixty-four of Naruto's tenketsu stopping his Chakra completely. After being hit by Neji's attack, Naruto spat up blood and began to fall to the ground.
"Heh, as I told you before Senju, I was fated to win this battle from the very start, as he who is prepared for any situation in battle will always prevail."
But just as Neji thought the fight was right he saw Naruto smirk and say "Your right" After which he exploded into a puff of smoke, revealing he was a shadow clone.
"Another Clone!" Neji thought in surprise realizing that Naruto must have used a Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique) to replace himself with his last remaining clone at the last second, preventing his tenketsu from being sealed up.
After discovering what Naruto had done, Neji quickly spun around to face the real Naruto who had appeared and attempted a spin kick on the Hyuga branch member.
Acting fast, Neji quickly blocked the kick with his arm and attempted to hit some of Naruto's tenketsu in his legs. But before he could hit them, Naruto used Neji's arm as a spring board and pushed himself away, avoiding Neji's strikes.
"So you were prepared for my attack?" Neji asked after Naruto had landed back on the ground.
"Like you said Hyuga-teme, the person who is prepared for any situation will always win. I'll admit, I didn't expect you to be immune to my poison. But I did prepare to replace myself, just in case you tried something."
"I see" Neji answered, "But do not think you've won this battle, as now I know where you intent to attack me from."
"Really, well I'm about to show you that you've one other blind spot" Naruto replied with a smile, where he once again formed a single hand seal and created four more Shadow clones.
-In the Audience-
"Another Blind spot?" Tenten repeated in surprise.
"Impossible" a Hyuga Elder said, who like the other elders was rather irritated by how Naruto revealed that the Byakugan's had a blind spot. Something they never wanted anyone outside their clan to know about."
"Could there actually be another blind spot to the Byakugan? One that we aren't even aware of" Hiashi thought was he watched Naruto closely.
-In the Arena-
"What other blind spot is he talking about?" Neji thought. "Could he be bluffing? No I can't take that chance that he isn't."
Not wanting to give Naruto a chance to attack, Neji quickly raced forward, but before he could reach Naruto or his clones, they dropped several smoke bombs which exploded and filled much of the arena with smoke.
Stopping, Neji quickly took up a defensive stance while circling around, so to make it more difficult for Naruto or his clones to hit his blind spot in the back.
"What's he up to? He should know that this smoke won't hide him or his clones from my Byakugan" Neji thought as he looked for Naruto and his clones and wondered what they were up to. It didn't take him long for him to find the four Naruto clones as he saw them coming at him from all four sides with his Byakugan.
Acting fast, Neji raised his arm up to slap away the first Naruto clone's fist, after which he then grabbed hold of the clone's outstretched arm and flipped him over so that he would crash into the second clone that was behind Neji.
With the first two clones momentarily dealt with, Neji then jumped into the air to avoid the punches from the other two clones, who had come at him from opposite sides. After avoiding their attacks, Neji then preformed a mid-air double spin kick and kicked the two of them in the side of their heads, destroying them in one go.
Once he landed back on the ground, Neji saw that the first two clones had gotten back onto their feet.
Not wanting to give them a chance to attack him, Neji immediately spun around and delivered a sharp double hand strike to their chests, causing them to simultaneously explode into smoke like the others.
After destroying the last two clones, Neji saw that the smoke from the smoke bombs had just about blown away.
"Where is he?" Neji thought as he began to search around the arena for Naruto, but couldn't find him.
"Where could he have gone? He's not behind me or hidden in the trees and bushes and he not's above me, so that only leaves he's…" Neji thought. But before he could finish his thought, Naruto erupted out of the ground from underneath him and delivered a strong punch to the chin, which sent Neji into the air.
Not letting up, Naruto quickly spun around cried "Uzuhandō (Whirling kick)!"(3) Where he delivered a powerful spinning back kick into the Hyuga's stomach, sending him flying into the arena wall again and making a large dent in it.
"Ugh!" Neji grunted in pain after hitting the wall, where he slowly picked himself up again and glared at the smirking Senju who was standing next to the hole he had made.
"Damn you, you tricked me again! There was no second blind spot; you just wanted me to think there was."
"Actually technically that was a blind spot. Like most people you're focused on what is happening around you and not what was happening underneath you, which was why I was able to sneak up on you. To quote Kakashi-sensei, a Shinobi must always look underneath" Naruto replied, although he knew what he just said wasn't exactly what Kakashi meant, it still fitted with what he was saying.
"Now if you don't mind, I think it's time we finished this battle of ours" said Naruto as he cracked his knuckles and then charged forward with his fist raised, intending to end the fight with a single punch.
Seeing the immense amount of Chakra focused in Naruto's hand with his Byakugan, Neji knew what was coming next and knew he had move or be splattered across the village.
Waiting until the very last second, the young Hyuga quickly rolled to his left, allowing him to narrowly avoid the punch.
-Enter Himetaru Toushi Soundtrack-
After Neji moved away at the last second Naruto slammed his fist into the arena wall, causing a large explosion and dust cloud.
Eventually the dust cloud died down and once it did the audience was shocked to see massive ten foot high and wide hole in the three foot thick arena wall.
-In the Audience-
"Oh my" the Fire Daimyo said in surprise.
"My Goodness" Madam Shijimi said in equal surprise.
"I knew Naruto-kun was strong but I didn't think he was this strong!" Rurichiyo thought in shock, as she had seen Naruto use his immense strength to defeat a wild bear.
"Incredible" Hiashi muttered, even though he was one of the few people in Konoha who knew Naruto's true capabilities, he still surprised at seeing someone like Naruto having such immense strength.
"Tou-san, how is this possible? How can someone have such incredible power?" Hanabi asked in surprise when she turned to her father.
"Many things are possible in the world of Shinobi, my daughter, you will see that when you are older."
"Amazing" one of the Hyuga Elders muttered. "To think a boy his age could possess such power."
"Indeed" Hiashi's father muttered, "He is truly his mother's son."
"Unreal" said Konohamaru who like the rest of his classmates was in awe of his elder brother figure immense power. But it did not take him long to get over it and once he did, he turned to his classmates who were still stunned by what they saw and said "Hah! Did you see that! I told all of you that Naruto-nii was awesome."
"He's incredible!" one student said.
"He's fantastic!" another student said.
"He's Great!" yet another student said where before long, all the young Academy students were cheering for Naruto.
The teachers of course didn't even bother to try and calm their students down as like most people they were still in shock at Naruto's strength.
"What phenomenal strength" Iruka thought, who was wondering if Naruto had been this strong when he fought Mizuki.
"Did you see that, Kurotsuchi?" Akatsuchi asked in surprise.
"Of course I did! I'm sitting right next to you, you idiot" Kurotsuchi snapped, who like her partner was stunned by Naruto's show of strength.
"Your Gramps will want to know of this" the large young man said, where his female partner just nodded.
"Looks like Jiji was right, when he said there was more to this kid than meets the eye," the Iwa Kunoichi thought."If he's this strong already, there no telling how strong he'll become later."
"It seems Naruto-kun is finally getting serious" an amused Hattori Mai thought.
"Troublesome, Naruto just doesn't know how to hold back" Shikamaru muttered as he shook his head at what Naruto had done.
"Amazing Naruto-kun…" Hinata thought in disbelief, as this was the first time she had seen Naruto use his super human strength.
"Damn, it's times like this that make me glad I'm not the one fighting Senju" Kiba commented.
"Let's just hope that things don't turn out the way they did at the end of the preliminaries or else we might have to cancel the finals" Asuma said.
"Agreed" Yamato said, even though he told Naruto not to go too far, he knew his student would probably still go overboard.
"Unbelievable" a stunned Izumo said, "How can a kid like him be this strong? I mean sure I've heard the rumours, but I didn't think they were true."
"Yea" Kotetsu muttered, who like his friend, had heard the same rumours. The rumour had started circulating about a month ago, right after the preliminaries had ended and when repairs had begun on the arena in the forest of death tower. According to the rumour, the entire arena had been destroyed by two mere Genin when they fought, one of the Genin being none other than Senju Naruto. Who was said to possess the same kind of inhuman strength that his mother had.
"Impressive, he is just as strong as the reports say" Mei said after seeing Naruto punch through the arena wall, before turning to Tsunade. "Your son is truly a credit to you Tsunade-sama."
"Indeed he's quite impressive" the Kazekage added.
"Thank you Mizukage-sama Kazekage-sama, but trust me when I say this, you haven't seen half of what Naru-chan can do."
"Well regardless, I hope Naruto-kun shows a little more restraint here than he did in the preliminaries, as they're still trying to repair the arena in the tower" the Sandaime responded.
"Heh! No promises sensei"
As the three other Kages and the two Sannin continued to talk with one another, the Raikage remained surprisingly silent and stared down at Naruto. He was of course not surprised by Naruto's show of power, as he had heard about Naruto's strength from his brother Killer Bee when he sent a message telling him of how things were progressing in the exam.
Naturally when he first heard the news he was surprised and thought his brother might have been extravagating things. But after seeing Naruto punch right through a three foot thick stone wall and hearing what the Sandaime had said in the preliminaries, he had no choice but to accept everything his brother had said in his report.
"This could be trouble" the Raikage thought silently.
-End Himetaru Toushi Soundtrack-
-In the Arena-
When the smoke died down and Neji saw the massive hole in the wall, he silently thanked his quick reactions, for he was certain that if he had not moved just now, he would've been finished.
"What's wrong teme, starting to get nervous?" Naruto asked as he walked towards the young Hyuga and began to crack his knuckles.
"Hardly" Neji replied as he stood up and glared defiantly at the spikey haired blonde.
"Well you should be, as things are only going to get worse for your now" Naruto said before he created four more clones of himself and had them attack Neji. Who was quickly forced on the defensive and pushed back. But eventually he gained the upper hand and skilfully dealt with the clones.
But just as he had destroyed the last clone, Neji saw Naruto appear from above with his arm stretched out and a large amount of Chakra focused into it.
Knowing that he couldn't avoid Naruto's attack this time, Neji decided to play his trump card, where just as Naruto was about to hit him. Neji began to release a large amount of Chakra from all his tenketsu and then started to spin around at high speed, creating a rotating shield of chakra around him.
Once Naruto made contact with the spinning dome of Chakra, Naruto was sent flying backwards into the arena wall behind him, making a large dent into it.
"Gah! What the hell was that?" Naruto grunted after he hit the wall and painfully looked toward Neji, who was now standing in a small crater.
"Don't think that you've won this battle already Senju" Neji said as he smirked at Naruto when he saw the dumbfound look on the blonde's face. "I told you before, this battle was decided long ago and I am the one who is fated to win this battle."