Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Faith in Humanity ❯ Naruto Vs Neji ( Chapter 15 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Title: Faith Arc - Faith in Humanity (PG-13)

Author: Karrafear

Summary: AU. What if Naruto survived a murder attempt on his life at the age of 6 and had to leave Konoha for his protection. Now 12, Naruto and Jiraiya returns to face the genin test.

Disclaimer: Naruto is an anime and manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. It does not belong to me; I'm simply using the characters and plot for my own creative devices.

"Demon's talk", /Thoughts/, "Speech", 'Speech emphasis', (FLASHBACK), Titles, (Author's interruptions)

Pairings: eventually NarutoXHinata.

Warning: Naruto OOC. PG-13.

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Chapter 15 : Naruto Vs Neji

Upon the centre of the arena belonging to the stadium used as the official stage for the final Chuunin exam, there stood 8 Genins and 1 Jounin examiner. In a row, the participants arranged themselves into a line, with Dosu Kinuta, Kankuro, Temari, Gaara on one side of the examiner, and on the other side stood Hyuuga Neji, Aburame Shino, Haruno Sakura and Nara Shikamaru.

Sakura turned her head from side to side, trying to see who was at each end of the line of Genins with a look of concern on her face. /Neither Naruto or Sasuke is here yet. Sasuke, being with Kakashi-sensei, I can understand him being late... But Naruto? He's never been late for any important meetings before so where could he be?/ Shifting nervously, Sakura looked up at their new examiner, Genma, and asked timidly: “Um.. excuse me… we have two missing participants at the moment… what would happen to them if they don't make it on time?”

“Heh… that Uzumaki is probably running away from this fight because he knows that there can only be one outcome to our battle.” Neji replied snidely.

Suppressing her anger, Sakura narrowed her eyes at the white-eyed boy. “What's that suppose to mean?”

“Geniuses will always be geniuses. I will definitely win.” Neji responded succinctly.

Sakura narrowed her eyes even more in anger. “I don't think so. You have no idea how powerful Naruto is...”

“Enough! The both of you!” rebutted Genma, irritated at having to referee these pathetic kids. “Act your proper age and station in front of all the customers!” Both Genin immediately quietened down at being scolded. After a few seconds more of silence, Genma turned towards Sakura to finally answer her previous question. “If they don't make it in time then they will automatically be disqualified unless specified by the Hokage himself.” With the question answered, he turned back to gaze forward at the large cheering crowd.

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High above the stadium, there is a VIP platform, in which the Hokage of Konoha was currently located, sitting peacefully, awaiting his two guests. Upon hearing an unfamiliar noise, the third Hokage looked up to see that one of his guests had finally arrived. Rising from his chair, the Hokage greeted his guest with a bow of respect. “Welcome to Konoha, Kazekage-dono. It's a pleasure to see you again.”

Pleasantries were exchanged between the two Kages as they continued to chat about non-essential things, until the third and final guest made an appearance to both. “Well. Well. I'm glad to see you've decided to join us for this important event, my Lady,” announced the Hokage cheerily, while the Kazekage turned around to look suspiciously at the three strangers walking towards them. (A female in white, a tall male in black, and another short figure in a white cloak) The Hokage had not been certain whether or not the Lady would make an appearance at the function at all, but had a hunch she would since Naruto was participating and so had arranged for the extra seat.

“Let me introduce you both. Kazekage-dono, meet Lady Uzumaki Ruri, also known as the Lady Oracle of the Hidden Air village. And if you may not have already known, Lady, this is the Kazekage of the Hidden Sand village.” The third Hokage politely introduced each of his two very important guests before moving on to their more renowned subordinates. “Behind the lady are her faithful servant, Kaga-san, a true Shadow Master; as well as her nephew and heir apparent, Uzumaki Naruto.”

At this point, Naruto had pulled back the hood of his oversized white cloak and revealed himself to the two important figureheads. On his forehead displayed proudly the head protector of the Hidden Air village (a dot surrounded by 2 circles), not the Leaf. Though Kazekage's face remained placid, his eyes did widen slightly at the implication of Naruto being part of `that' family line. However, unable to voice his inner thoughts, the Kazekage decided to play along with the cheery greeting. “It is a great honour to be able to meet the legendary ruler of the Hidden Air village face to face. Please accept my humble praise of you and your clan's powers.” He bowed in respect to one of the oldest and most powerful clans in the world.

“The pleasure is all mine... Kazekage-dono.” The Lady Oracle's stern gaze pierced through the Kazekage's very soul as she countered succinctly to his praise.

Feeling the tension in the air, the Hokage decided to interfere by officially starting the Chuunin Exam. “Well. Since everyone's here already, let's get this show on the road, shall we?” He inquired innocently.

Turning her gaze away from the Kazekage, Ruri looked towards Naruto and nodded her head slightly. Naruto bowed low to his waist before turning around and walking towards the edge of the balcony.

Seeing the confusion in the Kazekage's eyes, the Hokage decided to explain the odd behaviour of the Uzumaki heir apparent. “Naruto is a participant of the Chuunin Selection Exam which is why he must make his way down to the arena. He only stood here because he is the Uzumaki heir and it is required of him to make an appearance at the very least.”

Upon reaching the handrail, Naruto simply jumped over the obstacle and immediately started plummeting onto the ground below, head first. His white cloak fluttered wildly in the breeze of the air rushing by, just as his hair defied gravity by standing almost straight up. An instant before his impact landing however, Naruto released small amounts of chakra from all of his opening points, and started using that chakra to collect, condense and swirl the very air around his body. /Tenshi no Doki!/ He thought to himself as he performed the move as well as flipping himself mid air so that he lands on his feet instead of his head.

Upon impact, a giant boom resonated through out the arena, silencing the crowd. Soon after, Naruto was revealed, standing impassively in the centre of a small crater, visibly showing no signs of injury as his body's landing had been cushioned by the very air itself, similar to the way Gaara's sand would have cushion himself if he were ever to fall. Walking towards his fellow Genin, Naruto stood next to Shikamaru and ignored all the curious gazes of his fellow participants at his changed clothes and forehead protector.

Amazed at Naruto's show of power, though he didn't show it on his face, the Hokage decided that now would be a good time to finally commence the matches. With both of his guests firmly seated, the third Hokage walked towards the same handrail that Naruto had just jumped over, but stopped in his motions before he actually had to grasp the metal object. “Thank you allfor coming to the Hidden Leaf Chuunin Selection Exam! We will now start the main tournament matches between the ten participants who made it through the preliminaries. Please stay in your seats and watch until the end.” The third Hokage announced in a loud and clear voice, heard by everyone in the stadium.

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Finally given the signal to start, Genma turned around to face all the remaining Genins. “Well. The rules are the same as the preliminary matches. You fight until one of you dies, or one of you admits defeat or I say so. Now, will the rest of you please make your way to the above waiting area so that I can start the first match.” Genma drawled, seemingly uninterested in the upcoming fights, though internally, he was already very curious about the extent of the Air Nin's ability. /Not many people had ever seen an actual Air Nin fight.. This battle will be very interesting../

Once the rest of the participants had left the immediate area, the two opponents of the first match stared impassively at one another awaiting the examiner's commands. Neither spoke or made any gesture towards the other, but both had already waged a mental war against one another. Genma looked at both boys before speaking up: “The first match! Uzumaki Naruto Versus Hyuuga Neji! Begin!” He yelled.

Immediately following that announcement, Neji placed himself into a defensive Hyuuga Jyuken stance, waiting patiently for Naruto to attack. Naruto, on the other hand, quickly unclasped his white cloak and left it on the floor, revealing his strange outfit underneath. He had on traditional Air Nin attire - high collared, long sleeved, zipped shirt with intricate beads patterned all over, as well as a slightly baggy jumpsuit pants folded in at the bottom to reveal black combat boots instead of the normal Ninja sandals (the only article in which wasn't white in colour as dictated by Uzumaki customs).

Naruto then started performing his favourite seals. “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique)!” Naruto yelled as 10 of his own clones appeared out of nowhere surrounding him. Five of the ten clones launched themselves at Neji in a close hand combat situation, while the other five and the original Naruto stayed where they were, waiting, watching and analysing their opponent's strengths and weaknesses.

Using his Byakugan, Neji was able to avoid all of the kicks and punches aimed at him from the various clones. Though fast, the clones were still holding back a lot of their true speeds; they were only testing out the extent of Neji's ability after all, and they saw no reason in revealing their own trump cards so early in the fight.

Jumping up, away from all the clones' barrages, Neji did a somersault in mid air, over all the blonde heads, and landed several feet away from the two groups of Naruto. “Even though the Byakugan cannot tell the difference between a clone and the real entity because your chakra has been divided evenly among them, but I can tell you this now... Victory will be mine; you're only prolonging the inevitable.” Neji drawled in an arrogant and cold voice.

“Whatever!” yelled most of the Naruto, and this time, seven of the clones launched themselves at Neji, while another three prepared themselves by performing seals, leaving one Naruto standing by the side and watching all of them.

Noticing the change from defensive to offensive manoeuvres from the extra clones, Neji decided to stop playing around with them. Waiting for the first two clones to reach him, Neji ducked underneath both their punches, twisted his body as he crouched, and slammed both his palms into the chest of the clones. Both clones disappeared into puffs of smoke straight away. Swiping the next incoming clone off his feet with one sweep of his leg, Neji quickly disposed of it by crushing another palm into the forehead of the clone.

Rolling backwards onto his hands, Neji pushed himself up, off the ground and into the air, narrowly avoiding two kicks from two more Naruto clones. While still in the air, Neji rotated his body around in a spin. Pausing mid way through his spinning movements, Neji suddenly lashed out with both his legs outstretched, smashing into the chests of the two clones that had aimed kicks at him from before.

Landing lightly on both his hands and feet, Neji paused minutely in time, waiting for the two clones behind him to start attacking. Finally seeing the two clones moves using his Byakugan, Neji quickly reached back, grabbed onto their hands holding protruding kunais just before they struck his back. Pushing backwards rapidly, Neji bashed his bent elbows right into the Naruto clones' faces. Releasing his grip on their wrists, twisting his feet and turning around, Neji crushed both his open palms onto the chests of the two clones, resulting in both disappearing into smoke. Now, seven of the once ten clones had been dealt with, which only left three more clones and the real Naruto.

“Raikan Mahi no Jutsu! (Lightning Shock Paralysis!),” yelled one of the four remaining Naruto as he finished his seals. This Naruto readied himself into a defensive, Taijutsu stance, placing his hands out in the open, in front of him.

“Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu (Flame type: Powerful fire ball technique),” yelled another of the four remaining Naruto as he completed his seal. This Naruto took a deep breath and quickly blew out a giant fireball aimed at Neji who stood only several metres away from the blast.

Throwing a Chakra-enhanced (control-enhanced) shuriken into the fireball just released, a third Naruto silently commanded it to collect the burning flames within the Gokakyuu no Jutsu, and then to continue spinning in the direction aimed at Neji. The move almost completely imitates the `Katon Housenka' (Mythical Fire Flower Jutsu) technique used by the Uchiha. However, Naruto had another trick up his sleeve to add to the combination. Straight after he threw the shuriken, this Naruto quickly performed another set of seals. “Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shuriken Shadow Clone technique)!” This act resulted in the sudden appearance of hundreds of burning shurikens all at once, swirling through the air in constant motions.

Neji gazed silently at the incoming fireball as well as the hundreds of burning shurikens all heading his way. Knowing he couldn't hold back, lest he suffered an injury of two, Neji immediately launched himself into the Kaiten. “Hakkeshou: Kaiten (Hand of the Eight Divinations: Heavenly Spin)!” Neji called out as he started spinning his body while releasing chakra from all of his opening points at the same time.

The Kaiten performed by Neji effectively neutralised the giant fireball that had been aimed at him by one of the four Naruto remaining. (1) With the Gokakyuu no Jutsu rendered useless, it was easy picking for Neji to deflect the burning shurikens in the same manner. Upon contact with the Kaiten, many of the shuriken clones also puffed out of existence, due to the stress of combating the chakra force field in the first place. Even though they were chakra-enhanced shurikens, but these enhancement of control didn't let Naruto have any other effect except control over their movements and directions, not their life expectancy. Once all the shuriken clones were deflected out of existence, Neji easily caught the original shuriken, which had already ran out of flames and threw it towards the last of the four remaining Narutos, who had not yet entered the battle.

The last Naruto figure, who had stood impassively as he watched the other three Narutos attack Neji again and again, watched the incoming shuriken with a glazed expression on his face. Just before the shuriken made contact and slice into his face however, Naruto quickly reached up and caught the single shuriken firmly between his two fingers and thumb, still eyeing Neji with a cautious stare. /Hyuuga Neji... He's a difficult opponent... Especially when I can't use any of the Tenkun no bukis anymore.../ Naruto thought silently to himself as his eyes glazed again.

(FLASHBACK)

“Naruto. There will be one more thing we must do before you start your matches,” informed the Lady Oracle as she stopped half way up the stairs to the VIP platform.

Naruto looked confused at his aunt, wondering why she would interrupt his concentration at this particular time, just before the exam itself, but he nodded in acquisition none the less.

Seeing his acknowledgement, Ruri went straight to the point of the matter: “I forbid you to use the Tenkun no buki in any of your upcoming matches or any time after the Chuunin Exam without my explicit permission.”

Naruto's eyes slowly widened at her order. “But...”

Before he was able to voice his thoughts, Ruri beat him to the punch. “You WILL follow my orders, word for word!” She emphasized with a heated glare at her nephew, whom shrunk back at the vehemence of her tone and could only nod back in admission.

Releasing her glare, the Lady Oracle continued to look sternly at Naruto. “This is for your own good. It is not to your benefit to rely on the Tenkun no buki so often. Remember your battle against Orochimaru? If you had not been taken away from the immediately vicinity, or if Orochimaru had returned any sooner, you would have been dead because you were defenceless. The Tenkun no buki requires their users to take a very long time to recover after just one use, and currently, you DON'T have any time to waste. I prohibit the use of any Tenkun no buki without my permission or my immediate presence. You need to learn how to rely on your other sources of power, namely, the beast that resides in you. It's about time you learn how to draw out the Kyuubi's power to your fullest efficiency.”

That said, Ruri then bit her thumb to draw out some blood, quickly performing a complicated seal, she grabbed onto both of Naruto's hands and pulled them from under the cloak. Drawing a strange and yet intricate design (2) on the back of each hand, the Lady Oracle continued to hum and whisper to herself a special charm that accompanies the intricate sealing system. Once the blood pattern was complete, Ruri finished up the rest of her hand seals and called out shortly after: “Ichi Hoshi Fuuin no Jutsu - Tenkun no Buki Fuuin! (One Star Sealing Jutsu - Weapons of Heavenly Warriors sealed!)”

Naruto blinked at the hot flash of sensations running from his palms all the way to his heart and stomach (the source of his Chakra). Soon after, the eccentric looking seal started disappearing from the back of his hands until they appeared completely normal, as if nothing had been done to them in the first place. The strange feeling that came with the sealing also died away leaving Naruto even more confused than ever.

“From now on until I release you from this seal, you will not be able to summon the Tenkun no buki again.” Turning around, Ruri then started to walk back up the stairs, with Kaga trailing not far behind. Naruto, however, took a few minutes to digest all of the Lady Oracle's reasons for her decisions. In the end, he could only sigh in frustration and started running after her.

(END FLASHBACK)

Naruto blinked back to reality only to realise Neji had abruptly ran towards him in the short amount of time he had been day dreaming. Being in such close range already, Naruto had no time to evade and no way to block the attack effectively. Neji, taking his chance, punched brutally into Naruto's stomach, forcing the breath out of him. Naruto choked out some blood, dropped the shuriken that he had been holding in his hand previously and glared at Neji with all his worth. In the background, two of the clones (the one who created the Gokakyuu no Jutsu, and the one who formed the Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu) disappeared into clouds of smoke.

“To be distracted while in battle… It's one of the most basic mistakes that any Ninja could do. As I have said before, victory was mine the very moment I've been chosen to be your opponent.” Neji sneered cruelly as he stepped back from the crumpled form of Naruto.

Naruto continued to glare at Neji while he continued to choke out more blood. Taking a deep breath, he forced out three words through his clenched teeth: “Don't underestimate me...” And with that, he too, disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

/WHAT!! A BUNSHIN!!/ Neji realised too late as he quickly reactivated his Byakugan (of which he had disabled when he believed he had taken out the real Naruto). Once the Byakugan was activated again, Neji saw that his opponent was directly behind him, already pressing a palm into his back.

Unable to dodge, Neji quickly tried to create a chakra barrier on his back (pushing chakra out of the Tenketsu - opening points - that are located on that part of his body) to prevent any major injury from happening. However, to his continual horror, Naruto's palm bypassed his chakra barrier (as it is made out of chakra as well) (3) and smashed brutally against his body. The momentum and the force of the strike flung Neji forward violently. Landing roughly on the hard ground and dragged some metres, Neji's body shuddered against the forced entry of an alien chakra into his own inner coil system, disrupting his own chakra control and electrifying some of his organs.

Blinking his eyes open after a short moment of dizziness, Neji gave Naruto his best glare with a hint of fear and confusion in them. /He anticipated that I would be suspicious of any outstanding clones and so, he purposely created a clone to stand out, luring me into a false belief that it was the real him. I don't know what kind of attack he used on me but it's very similar to my own Jyuken style, only this own doesn't have to attack the Tenketsu (opening points) to be affective. In fact, as long as he can touch any part of my body, I would sustain damage. It's truly a deadly attack./ Neji analysed quickly as he remembered Naruto's previous move.

Luckily for Neji, Naruto didn't attack him then and there. He simply stood still, waiting for the effects of his technique's paralysis to wear off, waiting for Neji to stand up and fight again.

Finally, after a few moments of further embarrassed shuddering, Neji collected himself and stood up firmly. /I have to end the fight as soon as possible. He knows my body's weakness to Chakra enhanced electrical shocks and he can repeat the same process again, and I would be helpless against it. I can't let him have the chance to use that move. This ends now!/ Neji thought to himself.

Taking a few steps forward towards his opponent, Neji abruptly stopped moving and took up a strange battle stance. He drew his legs apart, bend them at the knee and curved his body forward, stretching his left arm forward with his upper body until it almost touched his feet while his right arm was left stretched upward behind him. It was the classic Hyuuga stance for one of their bloodline techniques.

“It's over. You are within the field of my Hakke...” Neji stated as narrowed his eyes in preparation. “Hakkeshou: Rokujuu Yonshou (Hand of the Eight Divinations: Sixty-four Palms)!!” Neji yelled as he immediately launched himself into the sequence of prearranged movements, pressing all of Naruto's Tenketsu all at one go.

“Hakke Two hands!”

What looked like a dance to all the crowd members was a deadly attack that would render the victim unable to mould any chakra for a temporary period of time.

“Four hands!”

Naruto tried to avoid the hits but it was no use.

“Eight hands!”

His speed (even at its highest) was unable to help him dodge the impressive manoeuvres made by the Hyuuga prodigy as he determinately continued to strike one opening point after another.

“Sixteen hands!”

Naruto yelped as he felt all the Tenketsu within his arms close suddenly.

“Thirty-two hands!”

Naruto shut his eyes tightly, knowing that there was nothing he could do now that his hands were unable to mould any chakra, let alone perform seals.

“Sixty-four hands!”

Naruto landed roughly on his back, trying to catch his breath as he felt pain from all corners of his body.

“I have hit all 64 points in your body. You should no longer be able to stand, let alone try anything else.” Neji said coolly, once again, having his ice-cold mask firmly in place.

Taking some time to look over his opponent, Neji mentally thought to himself. /Naruto had been a worthy opponent, but still, destiny was on my side and destiny dictates that I am the true victor./ Turning away from Naruto, Neji looked sternly at Genma. “Examiner. It's over.”

“No…it's not…” Naruto murmured out as he struggled to his feet. First, using his hands to lift his upper body up, bent his knees to straighten his back, then slowly but surely, Naruto stood up on shaky legs. He lifted his head high and looked straight into Neji's eyes with a determination unmatched by anyone Neji had ever met, the look could even rival Lee's.

“Why do you push yourself? You know that it is your fate to lose and my fate to win. You know the result of this fight already.” Neji asked impassively.

“You…” Naruto's eyes softened slightly. “You have the same eyes as me… or at least… the same eyes that I once had..” He clarified ambiguously. Looking at Neji's slightly confused expression, Naruto tried to explain. “The eyes of a loner, of one who suffers silently, of one who has seen too much, heard too much, beared too much on his shoulders. I know that look, the look of loneliness, pain and a deep-seated frustration and anger. You're like me… a prisoner in your own body. A caged creature, struggling for freedom, one who was cursed since the moment he was born.”

Neji narrowed his eyes in complete fury. It wasn't that Naruto had just insulted him; it was just that through out Naruto's speech, he really seemed as if he understood Neji, which was unsettling. Even with the Byakugan and all of its ability at reading the enemy's motives, Neji couldn't tell what Naruto was fighting for, and yet, Naruto could read him so clearly like an open book. He was in rage, that someone, namely this stranger, was able to pinpoint his weakness so quickly and effortlessly, disconcerting.

“WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW!!?” He yelled. “You don't know anything! Some people are born with burdens that they cannot oppose. You could never understand what it's like!” Shutting his eyes tightly, Neji tried to suppress memories of his father - the pain and the suffering he had went through, all the suppressed hate for the main family - he forcefully willed these painful reminders that he was truly a prisoner away. Suppressing tears that he refused to allow to fall; Neji opened his eyes to glare hatefully once more at Naruto. “You could never understand what it's like to be burdened with a symbol you hate, a symbol that you could never rid yourself of!!” He roared as he pointed his index finger at Naruto.

“YOU'RE WRONG!!” Naruto's anguished cry could be heard through out the entire stadium and all the audiences watching were silenced instantly. In a softer voice, he continued: “The future is not a straight line, Neji. It has many inter crossing pathways in which we may make our own decisions and have an impact on the resulting future. If a human's will is strong enough, he can defy destiny!” Looking back at Neji's cold, unblinking eyes, Naruto took a few moments to gather his breath. “That's what I believe…”

Within Naruto's mind, he earnestly debated with himself. /I have to do something... I can't just let him suffer like this any longer… I just have to do something… but how? I can barely move! All of my Tenketsu are closed! How am I supposed to knock some sense into him if I can't even reach him!?/ Naruto thought frantically, and then, suddenly, a memory of what his Aunt had told him previously came back to him.

(FLASHBACK)

“You need to learn how to rely on your other sources of power, namely, the beast that resides in you. It's about time you learn how to draw out the Kyuubi's power to your fullest efficiency.”

(END FLASHBACK)

/The Kyuubi! Of course!!! Aunt Ruri purposely told me that just before the exam! She knew I was going to be in this predicament, she knew I needed to hear those words!/ Naruto realised, feeling very happy at the notion that his Aunt would care enough to give him this extra hint. He lowered his head slightly, hiding the gentle smile he now displayed on his face. /Thank you, Aunt Ruri. I won't disappoint you./ Naruto thought vehemently.

Shutting his eyes, Naruto held both his hands together in a simple seal. Concentrating hard, he rid himself of all his emotional baggage at the moment, freeing his mind and emptying his soul. Then and only then, did he try to communication with his other half…

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“Kyuubi? Kyuubi!” His voice called out to the darkness.

“I hear you…” A deep, snarling voice echoed back.

“I need your help…” Naruto's voice drifted back, almost unwillingly. “I need some extra chakra…”

Kyuubi's voice chucked back. “Heh... All you needed to do, Kit… was ask...”

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Naruto then returned to the real world, feeling a huge surge of power flooding from inside of him. Lifting his head and looking at Neji's shocked expression, Naruto smirked. “Hey Neji!” Naruto called, now having the other's boy's attention on him, he continued his taunting. “I told you before… we were the same. But unlike you, I believe that people can change their destinies. When you have the strength and the will, you can rewrite your own destiny.”

Neji on the other hand, had been watching, with avid bewilderment, at how a huge quantity of chakra (red, not the normal blue) suddenly surged out of Naruto's body. Spiralling out of Naruto's belly like wild fire, the excess chakra quickly overloaded and overflowed Naruto's natural body size, spilling out into the surrounding environment. Minor cuts and bruises immediately healed up using the surplus chakra as fuel. Following that, the untamed flame like chakra suddenly morphed itself into nine flapping, waving entities, all surrounding the still burning Naruto. They wrapped themselves around the blonde haired boy as if protecting him from outside influences, and then seemingly merged back into Naruto's body where it once originated.

“I know what it's like to carry a symbol that you detest, but can never be rid of... and I accept that truth. I accept it as another challenge in life; I accept that burden and will (to the best of my ability) defy the course of destiny that fate has laid out in front of me. Nothing and no one can break my resolve, for I am Uzumaki Naruto! Remember it!” Naruto finalised his speech before leaping into action.

With an exponential burst of speed, Naruto seemingly disappeared from view, when in fact; he had run to the other side of the stadium in less than one tenth of a second. Seeing his opportunity, he withdrew and threw three power-enhanced kunais at Neji. Knowing that Neji could easily deflect his kunais, Naruto's main aim in the move was just to kick Neji out of his stupor, not to harm him.

Alternatively, Neji had finally pulled himself out of his astonished paralysis. Never in his life, had he ever known anyone who could still summon forth chakra after all their Tenketsu have been closed, not to mention the unique way that Naruto had beckoned his. Watching the kunais flying directly at him with his Byakugan, Neji performed the Kaiten to deflect the blow. However, to his further astonishment, the kunais were not completely deflected without harm. Since these were power-enhanced kunais, their speed and force that impacted on the Kaiten created a large explosion, resulting in three small craters (1 metre in diameter) all around the original Kaiten circle.

Having caught the now normal kunais in his hand, Neji threw them back at Naruto, who quickly disappeared to the side to avoid the volley of flying weapons. /DAMN! HIS SPEED IS INCREDIBLE!!/ Neji frantically analysed, loosing his composure after watching Naruto's incredible feat.

Quickly jumping to one side, dodging what his Byakugan saw as Naruto's fist, Neji paused for a tenth of a second too long, for Naruto had already reappeared behind him in that instant. Immediately moving away as fast as he could to avoid whatever blow Naruto has up his sleeve, Neji was still a tad too slow.

“Tenshi no Doki!” Naruto shouted as he swung his right arm in an arc, directed at Neji, while still standing in the same position. With his Byakugan still activated, Neji's eyes widened slightly as he watched a wave of chakra mixed in with air particles leave Naruto's arm, flying through the air like a condensed wind slash (4), heading directly towards him. Without any time or distance to create the Kaiten, Neji quickly crossed both his arms across his chest and ducked his head waiting for the attack to hit. He didn't have to wait long, for a second later, he was slammed onto the arena's wall by the impact of the technique Naruto had just used against him.

Bruised, battered and out of breath, Neji pulled himself out of the wall's crater (which had been formed when he crash landed on it) by sheer will alone. He stood up proudly though on unsteady legs and glared at Naruto with his enhanced eyesight. Taking several steps forward, Neji stoped approaching when he was four metres away from Naruto's position. He then finally spoke with an intensity rarely heard from his voice. “Prove to me what you believe in. Prove to me your word's worth.”

Naruto narrowed his eyes and replied back just as vehemently: “I will.”

With that said, Naruto readied one of his most powerful techniques, the Rasengan, while Neji prepared himself for the strongest Kaiten he had ever dared to create. Once the Rasengan was formed in the middle of his right hand, Naruto launched himself at Neji, who was already in the process of forming his Kaiten.

“RASENGAN!!!!” Naruto yelled as he pushed his Rasengan into the spinning sphere of the Kaiten barrier.

Both forces slammed into one another and the resulting explosion rocked the entire stadium like an earthquake. The entire audience whom had been silently watching the fight before hand erupted with murmurs and cries as they were startled by the sheer power that these Genins could pack. Many of them had stood up in their seats, trying to find out what had happened to the two combatants while thick smoke and sand particles covered the arena, hiding everything from view.

Once the smoke and dust had cleared, almost all of the audiencegasped in shock at what they saw. From the centre of the battlement in which both combatants had made their final stance just a few seconds prior, there was a large groove on the ground stretching from the centre of the arena to the stadium wall, where a big impact crater can be seen at the juncture between the earth and the wall. The groove looked like it had been roughly made and large enough to indicate that a shortish human had been dragged through it at an incredibly high speed and with immeasurable power.

Naruto kneeled on the centre of the original impact crater in the middle of the arena, heaving as his tired body tried to catch its breath. His once pristine white clothes were now completely covered in dust, dried blood and soot, ruining his previous image as a dignified Air diplomat. Now, he was simply seen as any other normal Ninja, just a very powerful one. Gathering his strength, Naruto struggled onto his feet and trudged his way towards where Neji had landed, right in the middle of the stadium wall impact crater.

Once reaching his destination, Naruto gazed silently at his fellow combatant, now lying unmoving on the dirty ground, but still awake and coherent about his immediate surroundings. “You held back...” was all Neji managed to say.

Naruto nodded and dropped with a sigh onto the ground next to the battered boy. “Yeah… But so did you...”

Neji tried to shake his head, but couldn't find the energy and so he decided to use his coarse voice instead. “No… I gave it my all...” He struggled to pull the words out of his dry mouth.

“If you had really wanted to defeat me, Neji, you could have, you would have, but you didn't. There were many chances between us that this battle could have swung in whichever way, if we had taken those chances in the first place, but we didn't. Don't you see, Neji, it was our choices that led to this future. I didn't want to lose... and you did...” Naruto explained in a drained voice.

There was a long pause in silence between the two boys while the crowd watching the fight cheered on with vigour at their performance and the examiner had already declared Naruto as the victor of this fight since he could still stand, even if unsteadily. The Medic Ninjas (with Haku at the forefront) were also making their way hastily towards where the two boys were situated.

Finally, by the time the medic Nins had strapped Neji comfortably onto the carrier, Neji had concluded the argument within his mind after reviewing all the actions that he had previously taken. He whispered to himself: “Yeah… I had wanted to be proven wrong… I did want to lose...” He then allowed himself a gentle smile and soon fell into an unconscious state.

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Haku had stayed back after the other medic Ninjas carried Neji away, and fussed about Naruto's injuries as both boys walked back towards the waiting area. Pausing to grab the white cloak he had dropped since the start of his match, Naruto took a moment to look up at the VIP stand and gazed directly at his aunt. He saw her give him a short nod in acknowledgement and he smiled back with brilliant grin on his face. /She's proud of me…/ was the thought that ran through his head.

Reaching the waiting area, Haku took a moment to heal most of Naruto's recent injuries (there weren't that many since Kyuubi's chakra had already taken care of most of them). Once done, the ex-mist Ninja gave Naruto his congratulations and left to attend to his other patient.

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“Congratulations! Naruto-kun! That was a fantastic fight!” Sakura cheered as he made his way towards her.

“Thank you. Sakura,” Naruto replied back earnestly.

“Yeah… I use to think you were a lame-ass type like me… Heh… now look at ya. You'd probably be able to kick anyone's butt...” Shikamaru drawled in his lazy tone of voice as he slumped forward onto the railing.

Shino only gave Naruto a short nod of congratulations as his reply, and Naruto nodded back in acknowledgement.

“By the way, Naruto-kun,” Sakura interrupted again as her eyes scanned the entire crowd watching the arena. “Have you seen Sasuke?” She asked worriedly.

Naruto shook his head. “I haven't seen him since I left to go with Jiraiya. But I don't think he'd be the type to miss his own match, so don't worry about it, Sakura. He'll definitely be here on time. If worse comes to worse, his match up will probably be pushed back until the last round.” Naruto detailed, as if thinking aloud. Personally, he had not noticed that his other teammate was not here beforehand so it was also a surprise for him, though not a major one, considering they did have Kakashi as their official sensei.

Just as Naruto predicted, the Hokage and Kazekage had agreed to push back Sasuke and Gaara's match until the last match of the first round, which meant that its time for Sakura and that Sound Nin's turn to fight.

“Ah man...” Shikamaru wined. “That means that my match has moved up one!” He grumbled to himself under his breath but didn't do any other physical demonstration of his frustrations. It was just too troublesome anyway.

Glancing at the slightly nervous Sakura, Naruto patted her on her shoulder in support. “Do your best, Sakura! I know you can beat him. I have faith in you!”

Sakura gave him a tight-lipped smile and a nod of encouragement before jumping over the railing and landing lightly onto the ground below. Dosu, the sound Nin, had copied the move and was now, also down at the centre of the arena.

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“Okay! Match Two, Haruno Sakura versus Dosu Kinuta. Begin!” Genma yelled as the audience quieten down to watch this match.

(End.)

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(1) Just in case someone is wondering, remember how Sasuke's Gokakyuu no Jutsu was neutralised by Naruto's Rasengan when they fought on top of the Konoha Hospital. Well, this is the same theory. If spinning Chakra can be used to control air molecules (like it does in the Kaiten to deflect weapons), it should be able to suck up the air used during the combustion of fire, therefore neutralising the attack.

(2) If you're wondering what it looks like, here's a short description: Two circles, one placed inside the other. A five-pointed star drawn into the centre of the inner circle, with tiny words of prayer (Sanskrit - Ancient Hindu Writing) written between the two circles, surrounding the star. In the centre of the five pointed star, Ruri writes the character for `Seal' and in each of the 5 pointed ends of the star, she wrote down the words: Ten (Heaven), Kun (Warriors), No (belonging / of), Bu and Ki (Weapons).

(3) Anything made out of chakra can easily be bypassed or destroyed using chakra. Neji released his chakra from the opening points located on his back to create a barrier. Naruto's palms are now infused with chakra, converted into lightning or electricity, so his chakra covered hands can bypass the barrier and enter the very Tenketsus that Neji had used in the first place.

(4) If anyone is familiar with Houshin Engi, this move was inspired by Taikoubou's Dashinban move.