Chương 34: Chapter Twenty-six: Hyuga vs Senju Part Two
-In the Audience-
Naturally when the audience saw what had happened, many were dumbfounded by the complete turnaround of the fight. As one second ago it looked like Naruto was about to win, but out of nowhere Neji used some strange technique to block Naruto's attack and send him flying into the arena wall.
"W-Wh-What was that?" Ino asked in surprise and confusion, as like most people she couldn't understand what had happened.
"I don't know?" Sakura replied. "It looked like Naruto's punched him, but instead of Neji being sent flying, it was Naruto."
"That move? Could that kid actually mastered that technique" Kushina thought, as she stared at Neji with a frown.
From the Kage booth, Tsunade, Jiraiya and the Hokage were all thinking the same thing as Kushina. Knowing that it was only feasible way Neji could've blocked Naruto's punch like that and send him flying.
"Naruto" Shizune thought, who was sitting next to Kushina and Yamato and had a look of concern as she saw her godson/surrogate brother in trouble.
She was of course not the only one as several other people were also showing concern for the young blonde.
Among the number of concern people was also the young Hyuga heiress Hinata. Who was also one of the few people who knew what technique Neji had just used.
"That's…" Hinata thought.
"Kaiten (Revolving Heaven)…" Hiashi finished in disbelief.
"Impossible!" a shocked Hyuga elder said, who like the other elders couldn't believe that Neji preformed another one of the main family's secret techniques.
"But how...could Hiashi have thought him it?" another one of the elders asked.
"He wouldn't" Hiashi's father said, refusing to believe that his son would teach a branch member the secret techniques of the main family.
"Then how?" another elder asked, who received only silence as none of them could answer him.
-In the Arena-
Confused and frustrated by what had just happened, Naruto stood, ignoring the pain he felt from smashing into the arena wall.
Wanting to figure out what Neji had just done, Naruto created eight more Shadow clones and sent them to attack Neji, where they quickly surrounded him.
Neji of course remained perfectly still and did not try to move away. Instead he waited for the clone's attack, where once they had surrounded him, they attacked him from all sides at the same time.
But like before, Neji immediately started to spin around and released his Chakra, once again creating the large spinning dome of Chakra, while crying out "Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven)!"
Like Naruto earlier, when the clones made contact with Neji's technique, they were all sent flying away and burst into smoke soon after.
-In the Audience-
"That move, but father that is…" Hanabi said, but before she could finish, her father interrupted her.
"Yes, that is Kaiten a secret technique that is only passed down to the successors of our Clan…or in other words, the members of the main family. But somehow he was able to come up with this move himself, just as he did with the Hakke Rokujūyon Shō? Such incredible talent…I never expected him to be so gifted..."
"To think a boy from the branch family, who cannot succeed as head of our Clan, has inherited our Clan's bloodline ability to this extent" a Hyuga elder with wonderment at Neji's skill and ability said.
"It a disgrace" another elder angrily spat, as he was furious at branch member being able to perform two of the main family's most carefully guarded secret techniques.
"Perhaps I made a mistake when I choose Hiashi to succeed me as Clan head instead of Hizashi" Hiashi's father thought as he stared down at Neji.
"You're skilled Naruto-san, but I am afraid you cannot get by Neji's ultimate defence as it is perfect." Tenten thought.
-In the Arena-
"What will you do now Senju Naruto?" Neji asked. "I told you earlier I had studied as much as I could about you; I knew I would have to face your immense strength sooner or later. That is why I developed this technique, so that I could counter your inhuman strength."
"No technique is without weakness teme, therefore your technique has one and I'll find it, just as I did with your Byakugan."
"Heh, your living in a dream world Senju, just like Lee with his foolish belief that hard work would allow him to overcome those of us who are gifted and make his dreams come true."
At the mention of Lee, Naruto remembered his battle with Lee and how no matter how hard he hit him the green haired boy kept getting up, he refused to back down or give up. He then remembered how Neji scorned and mocked Hinata during and after their battle.
Remembering this, Naruto grew even more determined to beat Neji, as he refused to let him get away with mocking his friends or spitting on their beliefs and dreams.
"Why don't you just shut your mouth" Naruto angrily said, "Just because you've more natural talent and ability than most people. It doesn't give you the right to put others down when they try their hardest and tell them they can never become stronger."
"That's rather amusing coming from you," retorted Neji. "Given how you were the one who destroyed Lee's career as a Shinobi…"
-In the Audience-
"That was low" Kushina said with a frown, as she knew how guilty Naruto felt over what happened to Lee, and how may have destroyed the boy's career.
-In the Arena-
Gripping his fist in anger, Naruto glared at the Hyuga member. "I never wanted to do that to Lee and if I could change things I would."
"Yet it did, so I don't see how you have the moral high ground here Senju."
"I never tried to kill him like when you did with Hinata-chan nor did I ever put him down or mock him for wanting to become a great Shinobi. In fact I respected and admired him for it, he may have lost the fight, but as far as I'm concerned he proved himself as a great Shinobi. The fact that he nearly defeated me proves it, as I only won by chance."
"It was not chance…it was fate, I told you before Senju our fates are decided from the moment we are born, they cannot be changed no matter what you believe or how hard you try to fight it. The fact that Lee still lost to you despite how close he came, proves that, as does Hinata-sama's fight with me."
"What is it with you?" Naruto asked. "Why do you persist to go on with this fate crap? What is your deal with the Hinata-chan and the main family of your Clan?"
"I don't see why it should concern you?"
"The fact that you tried to kill Hinata-chan, who is my friend…makes it my concern."
"Very well I will tell you since you seem to care so much…about the Hyuga's Clan fate of hatred!" Neji said with an angry look as he remembered. "The Hyuga Clan has a secret technique that has been passed down within the main family. This technique is called the Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu (Hyūga Main Family's Cursed Seal Technique)."
"Curse seal? As in like the one that Orochimaru put on me?" Naruto thought in surprise.
"That curse seal symbolises a cage bird…and is also a symbol of those who are bound within an inescapable destiny." Neji said before he took off his headband and revealed his Curse seal, after which he continued on with his story. "With it, the main family controls the fate of all members of the branch family. It allows the head family to destroy the brain cells of any branch member who tries to fight their fate, killing would be just as easy as well. And this curse seal will only disappear after I die when it seals up my Byakugan."
"But why?" Naruto asked in surprise, as it made no sense to him for a Clan to do something like this to their own members.
"The Hyuga Clan as you know has a unique Bloodline limit and there are many who are after it or want to learn it secrets. So to protect it, this curse seal was created to ensure that the branch family protects the main family and keeps our Clan's secrets, as well as ensure that no branch member goes against a member of the main family."
"So you hate Hinata-chan because she is a member of the main family, and because they are the ones who forced the curse seal on you?"
"It is hardly that simple."
"Then explain"
"One day when I was four this detestable seal was carved into me with that Cursed Seal Technique. On that day there was also a large ceremony in the village, celebrating a new peace treaty between Konohagakure and Kumogakure…"
"I already know about this" Naruto interrupted. "On that day that the treaty was to be revealed, the head Ninja who was sent by Kumo to negotiate the treaty was revealed to be a spy. The treaty was a cover created by Kumo to allow the head Ninja to enter the village so that he could kidnap Hinata-chan and steal the Byakugan Bloodline and learn its secrets. But the plan failed as Hinata-chan's father stopped it by killing the head Ninja before he could escape with Hinata-chan. When it was revealed, Kumo denied any knowledge of what the head Ninja had done and blamed Konoha for what happened. They then demanded that Konoha pay, resulting in a Konoha Shinobi having to sacrifice himself to prevent a war from breaking out."
"He did not sacrifice himself, he was murdered" Neji replied angrily, "With their head Ninja dead, Kumo demanded that Konoha give up a Shinobi, or to be more precise they demanded the body of the Hyuga Clan head Hyuga Hiashi."
"But he's alive" Naruto answered
"Precisely" Neji replied as he narrowed his eyes angrily, "Wanting to avoid a war at all cost Konoha agreed, but instead of Hiashi being sacrificed the main family replaced him…with my father, who was Hiashi-sama's identical twin brother."
"No way" Naruto said, as didn't know any of this.
"Yes" Neji replied with a pained and angry look. "To protect the main family…to protect our Clan's secrets…to avoid another war with Kumo, the head family murdered my father."
When he finished speaking Neji closed his eyes in sorrow as he remembered the pain of seeing the dead body of his father, who was killed just to protect the main family.
Naruto of course said nothing, as he had no clue of any this, he did not know that there was more to the story than what he was told.
-In the Audience-
In the stands the audience remind silent, digesting everything that Neji had said.
When Neji had finished his story on the Hyuga incident, several Shinobi like Kushina frowned, as like her. The incident had left a bitter aftertaste in their months and they did not agree with what happened.
Up in the Kage stands the Sandaime just lowered their heads, with some shame. He remembered those days all too well, in the grand scheme of things, sacrificing one man's life to stop a war that would result in the death of hundreds if not thousands of Shinobi seemed like a small price of pay. But still, it had not made it any easier; especially knowing the pain that Hizashi's loved ones would feel with his death.
At the same time both Jiraiya and Tsunade frowned, they were familiar with that incident, since in the end, both Konoha and Kumo suffered, because of it.
The Raikage himself also frowned, as he did not like remembering how bad that incident turned out for his village. The plan had seemed so simple yet perfect, but in the end it turned into a gigantic mess, where they'd not only lost one of their best Shinobi, but his village's reputation fell greatly. Even Hizashi corpse gave them nothing thanks to his curse seal sealing up his Byakugan and when they later learned that Konoha had tricked them. They couldn't do a thing since if they tried they would look even more petty than they did before.
"Damn, our village really screwed this guy over" Omoi thought, who could not help feel a bit ashamed for what his village had done.
-In the Arena-
"Now you see why you can never change your fate, like my father who could not escape his fate of being used to protect the main family. You cannot hope to defeat me, your fate is sealed."
"From what I can see this fight is far from over teme, so don't go preparing your victory speech, as I am far from done" Naruto replied, staring back defiantly at the Hyuga boy, who frowned with annoyance.
"I may not know what it feels like to lose a father, since I never knew mine. But if that is your sole reason for you believing that our fate is predetermined, then you're a bigger fool than I thought."
Frowning again, Neji retied his headband to his head and said, "I tried to open your eyes Senju, but you stubbornly refuse to see the truth."
"I see just fine, the only one who is blind to the truth is you."
Angered by this remark, Neji charged forward, intending to shut Naruto up with a hand strike to the heart. But just before he could hit Naruto, the blonde Senju used a Kawarimi no Jutsu to replace himself with a wooden log.
The next thing Neji knew, Naruto reappeared behind him and threw several Shuriken at him, in attempt to hit his blind spot. But before they could hit him, Neji preformed his Kaitan again to block the incoming Shuriken, forcing Naruto to Shunshin away and reappeared high up on the side of the arena wall opposite Neji, channelling his Chakra to his feet to keep from falling off.
"Dammit, thanks to that Kaitan technique, I can't hit his blind spot any more, but I think I am beginning to understand how it works now. I just need to see it one more time to make sure" Naruto thought.
Creating three more clones, Naruto had them go to different ends of the arena wall, so that they would surround the Hyuga prodigy on all four sides.
At the same time Neji positioned himself to the centre of the arena, so that he could see any incoming attack with his Byakugan.
Once the Shadow clones were in position, Naruto had the clone on the left side of the wall throw several Kunai. He then had the one on the right thrown several Shuriken and the clone standing on the opposite end of the wall from him, throw several Shenbon needles.
At the same time Naruto also had his clones preform the Gen'ei Tajū Shuriken no Jutsu (Multiple Phantom Shuriken Technique), multiplying the number of projectiles greatly.
Knowing he couldn't avoid all the flying projectiles, Neji once again forced to preformed his Kaitan to deflect them.
After he had deflected the majority of the projectiles, Neji slowed down and in impressive feet of feet of skill and accuracy. He caught the last three shuriken and individually threw them at one of the Naruto clones, hitting them dead centre in the head and destroying them.
"I think I now understand how the technique works. Obviously it compensates for the Byakugan's blind spot and relies on Neji releasing a huge amount of chakra from his body. But just releasing the chakra from his body wouldn't be enough to stop physical attacks. That's why Neji needs to spin around and by doing that he is also able to turn the energy of an opponent's own chakra against them, which also explains how he was able to block my enhance punch and send me flying" Naruto thought, as he now understood the basics of Neji's technique.
"But still, that doesn't tell me how to counter it" Naruto thought as he continued to try and think of a way to break Neji's defence. "If I use any of my Suiton (Water Style) and Doton (Earth Style) Ninjutsu, he'll just block them like he did my punch. The same goes for my Surasshu-fū (Wind Slash) technique. I can't draw the battle out in the hope of reducing his Chakra reserves since I need to conserve my own energy for my other fights, so I need to finish this match quickly. I suppose I could try something like what Yugito-chan did in her fight with Kiba and use Ninja wire to trap Neji or at least prevent him from spinning. But I doubt that would work, as Neji has keener eyes than Kiba and will probably see them and figure out what I'm doing if I tried. Then again if I used my Mōkushōku no Jutsu (Wooden Tentacle Technique), I could probably catch him off guard and restrain him. But if I do that I reveal my ability to use Mokuton (Wood Release) and Kaa-chan and Kushina-sensei said I should hold off from using it unless I have to, especially if I go against either Yugito-chan or Gaara."
"If only I could use Yomi Numa (Swamp of the Underworld) like Ero-sennin!" Naruto thought. "I could then just let him sink into the mud. I suppose I could summon a Toad or a Slug to help me, but I like to keep my ability to summon hidden until I really need it… Damnit how the hell do I beat this guy's technique?"
-In the Audience-
"Looks like it's a stalemate" Yugito commented, as right now neither Naruto nor Neji could successfully attack the other.
"Agreed" replied Samui.
"What is Naruto-kun doing? Why isn't he attacking that Neji guy?" Ino asked, since Naruto hadn't moved from his position for several minutes and just kept staring at the Hyuga branch prodigy.
"My guess is that he is trying to think of a way to counter or break through Neji's Kaiten" Asuma answered.
"I don't see how it's possible" Kurenai replied. "Since the Kaiten is one of the Hyuga Clan's most powerful and prized techniques."
"Every technique has it weakness no matter how powerful, Naruto just has to figure it out" Kushina responded.
"But why hasn't Neji attacked, he hasn't moved since Naruto last attack?" Sakura asked.
"I believe it's because Neji-san knows that if tries to attack Naruto when he is on the wall, he will become vulnerable to attack from above. But if he stays where he is, he can see and incoming attack from any direction and block it, also he knows that Naruto is a close to mid-range fighter, meaning he will eventually have to come off the wall to attack" Yamato answered.
"Naruto-kun…" Hinata thought with concern as she wasn't sure if Naruto could actually beat Neji's Kaiten. She knew how strong the technique was, since she had seen her father use it several times.
"Come on Senju, don't let that bastard beat you, you promised to make him pay for what he did to Hinata-chan, so turn this fight around already!" Kiba yelled as stood up from his seat.
-In the Arena-
"Dammit Kiba don't you think I would if I could" Naruto thought angrily when he heard Kiba shout at him.
But just as turned to look at the Inuzuka, inspiration suddenly hit him, "Wait! …Turn…That's it!" After which Naruto turned his head to look at Neji before looking back at Kiba again.
"Kiba, if you were a girl right now, I would kiss you" Naruto thought with a smile and gave the male Inuzuka a thumb up in gratitude.
-In the Audience-
"Huh?" Kiba said in confusion when he saw Naruto smile at him and give him a thumb up. "What's that about?"
"Looks like you said something that helped Naruto" Kushin answered.
"But what did I say that helped him?" Kiba asked
"I don't know, but I'm sure we'll see soon enough." Kushina responded where she then watched Naruto created a dozen Shadow Clones.
-In the Arena-
"What's he up to this time?" Neji asked inside his mind, when he saw Naruto create several Shadow Clones. But wasn't able to ponder the matter for long, as he saw the clones race down the wall and head straight for him.
Seeing the clones coming towards him, Neji fell into a defence stance, while at the same time keeping his senses alerts and watching the real Naruto, who remained on the wall overlooking things.
It did not take long for the clones to reach Neji, where they quickly surrounded him from all sides.
At the same time Naruto moved from his position on the side of the wall and raced up to the top the wall where he watched his clones battle with Neji.
After skilfully defeating three of the twelve clones with his Jūken, Neji caught a kunai with his right hand that a clone from behind had thrown at him and then used it to deflect two more Kunai that were thrown at him from his right side. He then caught a third Kunai from his left side and threw it right back at the clone that threw it, destroying it instantly.
When Naruto saw this, he smirked, as his plan was finally ready, where he drew his Katana from his back and jumped into the air with his Katana held forward. He then began to release a large amount of Chakra around himself while spinning counter-clockwise at a high velocity, taking the shape of small tornado falling toward Neji.
Naturally when Kiba saw this, he was shocked at how similar Naruto's technique was to his own Gatsūga (Fang Passing Fang).
At the same time the remaining Naruto clones repositioned themselves around Neji and prepared to attack from all sides at the same time.
Seeing that he was being attacked from all sides, (including above), with his Byakugan, Neji knew he had only one technique that could save him. Yet despite his situation he remained perfectly calm and confident.
"Heh, I don't know what trick you're up to this time Senju. But it won't work as my Kaiten cannot be broken" Neji thought before he once again preformed his Kaiten, destroying all eight remaining clones instantly. But when Naruto's attack made contact with Neji's Kaiten a large explosion erupted, causing a large dust cloud to appear.
As the dust cloud began to envelope the arena below, the audience saw something fly out of the dust cloud and crash into the arena wall. But before anyone could get a better look at what hit the wall, the dust expanded further out and blocking their view.
-With the Audience-
"Damnit this is nuts" Shikamaru thought.
"What's happening? What's going on? Where Naruto-kun?" Ino asked.
"I don't know I can't see anything" Sakura replied.
"Naruto-kun…" a worried Hinata thought.
When the dust slowly began to settle, the audience saw a silhouette kneeling on the ground in the middle of a small crater in the center of the arena.
Eventually the dust faded and the audience could finally make out spiky yellow hair.
"Look its Naruto, he's alright!" Choji shouted after seeing the blonde boy, who looked slightly ruffled and dirty from the dust, but fine otherwise.
"Thank goodness" Ino sighed, not knowing that the young Hyuga heiress near her and several other girls nearby also sighed in relief.
"But where's Neji?" Tenten asked herself, and quickly got her answer, when she turned to the opposite end of the arena from Naruto and saw her Hyuga team-mate. Who was on the ground, coverer in injuries, struggling to get up and massive dent in the wall behind him "No way, Neji!"
"It can't be!" a Hyuga Elder said, "He used the Kaiten, how could he have lost?"
"I don't know" Hiashi's father replied, who frowned deeply.
"What sort of technique did that boy use?" the elder man asked himself not knowing that his son Hiashi was also wondering the exact same thing.
-In the Arena-
After the dust from the explosion settled, Naruto stood back up and sheathed his Katana back into its sheath on his back.
At the same time, Neji got back onto his feet, but was fairly shook up from Naruto's attack, where he was panting and shaking heavily, as well as covered in injuries that were bleeding and could barely stay on his feet.
"W…Wh…What w-w-was that technique you just used?" Neji asked slowly as he looked over at Naruto who was dusting himself off. "H-How did you break my Kaiten?"
"I call the technique Kaigiri (Spinning Cut) (A) and as to how I broke it. Well I told you before Neji-teme, no technique is perfect, every technique has it weakness and yours has three."
"What!" Neji yelled angrily, not believing the blonde.
"It's true; the first weakness is the Chakra requirements, since you need to release a large amount to preform it. That's why it's not an ideal technique to use multiple times in a drawn out battle. The second weakness is your requirement to spin around, since it's not enough just to release your Chakra, you need to spin and if I prevent you from spinning you can't use it" Naruto replied as he counted down the weakness of the Kaiten with his finger.
"And the third?" asked Neji.
"Well the third weakness, is the spinning itself"
"What do you mean?"
"As you already know, to perform the Kaiten, you release a large amount of Chakra from your body and spin around at high speed. This gives you a powerful defence that allows you to block almost any attack. But the real secret to your technique is its ability to turn the energy of an opponent's own chakra against them. That's how you sent me flying when you used your Kaiten to block my enhanced punch" Naruto explained, enjoying the stunned disbelieving look on Neji's face when he revealed the secret ability of the Kaiten.
Neji of course wasn't the only one who was shocked at Naruto knowing the secret ability of the Kaiten, as every other member of the Hyuga Clan who was in the audience (including Hiashi and his two daughters) mimicked the young boy's face.
"H-How did you…"
"…Know?" finished Naruto, "Wasn't too hard to figure out, as I had experienced it and seen you use it just enough times to figure the basics out. But as for that hidden ability, it was the only possibility that explained how you were able to deflect my super charged punch so effetely without taking damage."
"But that still does not explain the third weakness you mentioned?"
"The simple answer is that the spinning itself is both your greatest asset and your weakness."
"What?"
"Think of it like this, in the game of spinning tops when two tops that spin in opposition direction from one another collide, they normally cancel each other out. All I had to do was use an attack that used rotation in manner similar to your Kaiten and spin in the opposition direction that you were going."
"That why you mimicked the Inuzuka Clan's Gatsūga!" Neji said, realizing what Naruto was saying.
"Correct, although I'll admit I can't use it in the same manner that Kiba or the rest of his Clan do, which was why I had to go to the top of the wall and attack you from above."
"But that still doesn't answer how you were able to hit me, since as you said the two techniques should have just cancelled each other out?"
"Oh that is just another benefit from spinning in the opposite direction that you were going. Since as you know, when an opponent hits your Kaiten it sends the attacking energy right back to him or her. But given how I was spinning in the opposite direction from you, all the energy you sent back just doubled my attacks power, which was why you were blasted away."
"But how could you have known which direction I would have gone?
"That was actually the easiest part, you see when you took one of my clones Kunai you held it in your right hand, meaning you were right handed and would favour your right side. So the chances of your spinning in a clockwise direction were pretty high" Naruto answered, while silently thanking Shikamaru, since he had picked up that little tip from when he battled team ten.
-In the Audience-
"Impossible he actually found a way to counter the Kaiten" a Hyuga Elder in shock said.
"So it seems" Hiashi's father said, who like the rest of the Hyuga Clan elders, wasn't pleased at how Naruto not only found a way to countered one of their Clan's most prized techniques. But also with how he was humiliating their Clan, by revealing the weakness of their techniques and making it look so easy.
"Ingenious" Kurenai said in disbelief as she couldn't believe Naruto had come up with such a simple yet brilliant counter to Neji's Kaiten.
"Indeed" Yamato replied who was just as impressed with his student.
"Alright!" Kiba yelled as he pumped up his fist into the air excitedly, as despite being a bit peeved that Naruto copied one his Clan's technique, he was really impressed with the blonde. In fact the way Naruto did it gave him some ideas.
"Unbelievable, he actually found a way to defeat Neji's Kaiten" Tenten said in complete disbelief, as she honestly didn't think it was possible
"Extraordinary" Kohura commented.
"Yes the boy is talent in many ways, but it is to be expected from the new heir of the Senju" Homura replied.
"Your skill is truly remarkable young Naruto, but show me what else you are capable of" Danzo thought as he stared intently at the blond boy.
"Not bad Naruto not bad" Kushina thought with a smile.
"Yea! That a way Naruto-kun!" Ino cheered loudly
"Your amazing Naruto-kun" Hinata said with awe as she couldn't believe that Naruto figured a way to break one of her Clan's most powerful techniques.
"As expected from my future husband" Mai thought with a smile.
"I hate to admit it, but this guy is pretty good…for a Konoha-nin" Kurotsuchi commented, where her partner Akatsuchi just nodded.
"Not too shabby" Omoi commented with a smile as he sucked a lollipop
"Hmph, I guess" Karui replied who couldn't deny that what Naruto did was pretty impressive.
"It's to be expected, Naruto is not someone that we can underestimate," Yugito added as she joined the conversation. Although her team-mates noticed that she was smiling a bit, as if pleased that Naruto was winning.
"Agreed" Samui said, "Also it highly possible that Naruto-san has yet to show us is true ability, as for most of the fight he has only used his super strength and Kage Bunshin."
"I would be surprised if he didn't have something else up his sleeve" Yugito replied, as Naruto was the type of person who always had a few tricks to use.
"Most impressive" the Kazekage said as he turned to Tsunade, "You were indeed correct Tsunade-sama, your son is a very capable Shinobi"
"I agree, to come up with something like that in the heat of battle is no small feat" the Mizukage added, where she was joined by the Raikage. Who nodded in agreement, since he had to grudgingly hand it to Naruto for coming up with such a simple yet effective counter to the Hyuga's Clan ultimate defence.
"Thank you, he takes after me" Tsunade said with a smile as she watched her son.
"In more ways than one" Jiraiya muttered quietly.
"Did you say something?" Tsunade asked, in a sweet but dangerously tone.
"Nothing" the white haired man said quickly, not wanting to be on the receiving end of the blonde woman's fist just yet.
-In the Arena-
"I suggest that you surrender now teme, I've broken your so-called ultimate defence, and you can barely stand let alone move."
After Neji had heard everything he grew furious at how Naruto was basically putting him down like he was some weakling.
"This battle is far from over Senju so don't act like you've already won!" Neji yelled as he charged at Naruto.
Seeing this Naruto just shook his head and thought "And you call me a blind fool, you've already lost this fight, but you refuse to accept it."
Before Neji could even cross half the distance between his and Naruto, the blonde Senju disappeared in a blur and appeared right underneath Neji, and delivered a powerful rising kick that sent the Hyuga Prodigy into the air. The next thing Naruto did was preform the Kage Buyō (Shadow of the Dancing Leaf), allowing him to match Neji's movement and appear behind him and hit one of Neji pressure points in the back, preventing from moving.
Normally Neji would have prevented this, but given the state of his body from Naruto's early attack, he was in no shape to counter Naruto.
After hitting Neji's pressure point, Naruto then disappeared and reappeared above Neji and performed mid-air flip, followed by his Gekikyaku (Hammer Kick) that was enhanced by his super strength and sent Neji crashing to the ground like a meteor, causing a large dust cloud to fill the area again.
-With the Audience-
When this happened a worried looked appeared on Hinata's face, as despite what happened between her and Neji, she hoped that he wasn't seriously hurt.
"Neji!" thought Tenten in concern when she saw what happened to her team-mate.
"Damn, that's gotta hurt, Naruto sure doesn't hold back" Kiba said, although didn't feel the least bit sorry for Neji and believed he deserved it.
"Yea" replied Choji, who had just stopped munching on some chips.
-In the Arena-
After sending Neji crashing to the ground, Naruto gracefully landed on the ground, just outside the large dust cloud.
Eventually the dust died down and when it cleared everyone could clearly see a badly injured Neji crumpled up in the ground. Surprisingly Neji remained conscious, but was coughing and spitting up blood and struggling to breathe.
"Ngh, my body…cough…can't move."
Seeing this Naruto slowly walked up to the Hyuga Prodigy and redrew his Katana from his back. Once he reached Neji he stood on the Hyuga boy's chest, causing him to hiss in pain, making Naruto guess that he had a bruised lung, along with several dozen broken bones.
Once Naruto stood over Neji, he pointed the tip of his Katana directly at the Hyuga's face.
"What are you doing?" Neji asked
"I was just thinking that maybe I should show you the same kind of mercy that you were planning to show Hinata-chan had Kushina-sensei and the others not stopped you, as killing isn't illegal in the exam."
When Naruto said this, Neji surprisingly remained calm, and stared directly at Naruto, "You won't...you're not the type."
"Your right" Naruto said as he removed his foot from Neji's chest and sheathed his Katana, "I'm better than you…I don't kill unless I have to."
"Nngh" groaned Neji in pain as his entire body was scremaing in pain right now and he couldn't move a figure thanks to his injuries. "It seems I was mistaken, I should have known that you were fated to win…you're a Senju after all."
"Tsk! This is why I hate being called a prodigy; as it makes me sound like someone like you. An arrogant teme, who belittles and looks down on those who don't have as much natural talent as you and think they are better than everyone else around them. But do you want to know what the funny thing is? You're nothing more than a coward."
"What?" Neji said angrily as he glared up at Naruto.
"You heard me your nothing more than a coward, when things don't go your way you blame it on fate or destiny, because you don't have the courage to face your problems and deal with them. You then put down others like Lee and Hinata-chan, who don't have the same natural talent as you do, just so that you can feel better than yourself."
"You know nothing, so don't you dare lecture me. People are born carrying an unchangeable fate."
"For a person who has the ability see more than most, you really are a blind idiot. Don't think that you're the only special one here. I may not know how hard you had it when your father was killed. But I do know that you've got the wrong idea to think that reason alone proves that our fate is predetermined and that it gives you the right to put others down. The fact is, people like Lee are stronger than you, as despite everything that went against him, he trained as hard as he could and more, just so that he could become stronger. Unlike you, he never hid behind some crap like fate or destiny; he faced his problems head on and overcome them. Even Hinata-chan showed more courage than you, when she fought you, she knew she couldn't win, but she still fought you with everything she had. She could've simply just given up, but didn't and kept fighting even after you injured her."
"It doesn't change anything, they still lost!" Neji retorted, "Fate cannot be changed."
"They may have lost" replied Naruto, "but they proved to be better than you, they never gave up like you did, while you hid behind so-called fate."
"You don't know what is like to have a curse seal placed on you against your will" Neji snarled. "To carry a seal that can never be removed. Someone like you could never understand what that feels like."
When Neji said this, Naruto remembered what it felt like when Orochimaru gave him his curse seal. He also remembered the seal of the Kyuubi and how it would remain in him for the rest of his life.
"Oh I understand better than you might think and it still doesn't give you the right to do what you did" Naruto answered, causing Neji to glare angrily at him. "It's not the head family or the curse seal that they placed on you that confines you to this so-called inescapable fate of hatred…It's yourself. You're unwilling to try and move pass it and try and change both yourself and the ways of your Clan. That's why as long as you remain this way, you can never be free or realize your true potential;"
"And how…cough… do you expect me to do that?"
"I could kill you right now if I wanted, but I won't. Destiny and predetermined fate are just excuses, we make our own fate by the choices we make and I choose not to kill you. If you're as smart as everyone thinks you are. Then you can learn to move past the strife of your Clan and change your fate and become stronger and when the time comes. If you are willing I will help you change the ways of the Hyuga Clan."
As the two boys spoke the match referee Genma walked over to them and after seeing that Neji was in no shape to move let alone fight, he decided to call the match.
"I hereby declare this match over…the winner is Senju Naruto."
-In the Audience-
As soon as Genma had declared Naruto the winner, the arena erupted into applause and cheers.
"He…he did it, he won!" Sakura yelled.
"I knew he would!" Ino cried.
"Alright!" Kiba raored as he pumped his fist into the air.
"Naruto-kun…" Hinata thought with a smile.
"Not bad, there were times I actually didn't think he would win" Kotetsu commented as he joined the crowed in their clapping for Naruto.
"Yea" Izumo replied who was also clapping his hands.
"Way ago Nii-san, you were Awesome!" Konohamaru yelled as he stood up on his seat and cheered loudly for Naruto and was quickly joined by his friends and classmates, who were going wild, jumping up and down in their seats cheering.
"Just as I expected" Mai thought as she smiled down at her "fiancé"
"He's pretty good, eh Kurotsuchi?" Akatsuchi asked.
"Yeah, I hate to admit it, but he is" the young Iwa Kunoichi replied.
"I must say, Naruto-kun has certainly come a long way" the Fire Daimyo said.
"Of course, no-one can defeat Naruto-kun, since he plans to become Hokage one day" Rurichiyo replied.
"My Rurichiyo-chan you seem rather certain of young Naruto, could it be that you are rather fond of the boy?" the girl's grandmother asked with a knowing smile .
Rurichiyo of course didn't answer, but did blush a little, which was all her grandparents needed and caused them and her guards to smile in amusement.
"Nice going brat" Kushina thought with a smile.
"Well done Naruto" Yamato thought with an approving nod.
"The kid did well" Anko remarked.
"Yes, he did very well, he was able to defeat Neji without revealing most of his abilities" Kurenai said.
"Yeah" Asuma replied, who was impressed with the way Naruto defeated Neji, not by overpowering him, but by staying calm, watching and analysing Neji's abilities and finding their weaknesses. These were traits that would serve a Chunin well, especially as a team leader.
"To think he defeated Neji without having to use his Bloodline or the rest of his abilities, just how strong is this boy?" Hiashi thought, not knowing that the Hyuga elders were thinking along similar lines.
"Looks like Naruto won" Omoi commented.
"Of course, I wouldn't anything less for Naruto" replied Yugito with a smile, as Naruto was keeping their promise to face each other semi-finals.
"Man this is just great, now that Naruto has won, I going have to fight next…why do I keep dealing with these troublesome things" Shikamaru grumbled.
"Wow he was great" a civilian said.
"He's spectacular" another civilian said.
"Well of course he is a Senju after all" a Konoha Shinobi said, "Not to mention he is Tsunade-sama son.
"Yeah and he pretty cute too" a Konoha Kunoichi added.
When Ino and Sakura heard this, both of then stopped cheering where sad looks appeared on their faces. Both of them of were course thinking about their respected matches in the preliminaries and how they lost to their opponents without much effort.
Knowing this, they realized how weak they truly were when compared to others in the Chunin exam.
"Hah! So much for Naru-chan losing, I told you he would win, his good luck is stronger than my bad luck" Tsunade said with a grin as she thought about all the stuff should buy with the money she won. But quickly decided to bet all the money she had won on Naruto's next fight, doubling her profit.
"Heh I never doubted the kid would win, I trained him after all, I was just worried your bad luck would jinx him that's all" Jiraiya replied.
"What do you mean by you?" asked Tsunade as she eyed her former team-mate dangerously. Since she and Shizune had done most of Naruto's training when he was growing up, while Jiraiya only popped in every so often to help a little.
"Ehh yea right…I mean WE…we trained him" the Toad Sage said quickly while laughing nervously.
-In the Arena-
As the audience continued to cheer for Naruto, the young Senju, smiled and waved back to them, but before long he looked down at Neji.
"I suggest that later, you apologise to Hinata-chan, although she probably doesn't hold any ill will towards you for what you did. It would mean a lot to her to know that the difference between you and main family could be put aside, since you're family after all."
After saying this Naruto then walked away and headed for where the rest of the Chunin finalists were waiting.
As Naruto walked away, the medics went over to Neji and began to load him onto the stretcher. As they did this Genma suddenly spoke "When captured birds grow wiser, they try to open the cage with their beaks. They don't give up, because they want to fly again."
After he said this, he walked away and prepared for the next match, leaving the young Hyuga branch member with a lot to think about.
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