Nara Shikamaru vs. Tsuchi Kin
A groan echoed from somewhere along the observation balcony. Shikamaru Nara. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, his shoulders rounded forward. Anyone could tell, he really wasn't up for it.
"What a drag..." Shikamaru muttered as he pushed himself off the railing. He shuffled toward the stairs with the slowest walk ever. "And how embarrassing… Being expected to fight a girl."
"Shikamaru, don't you dare lose!!!" Ino shouted in support, already awake from her draw.
His opponent was the remaining Sound kunoichi. Kin Tsuchi.
"If that's the way you feel, I'll put you out of your misery quickly!" Kin glared at him.
Lee watched the opening exchange with moderate interest. He's heard about the Nara clan's shadow manipulation techniques but never seen them in person for himself. He's surprised they aren't in charge of the police force with that jutsu. Out of all the clans beside the Hyuga Clan, they would be the second best fit in his opinion.
"Begin!"
Shikamaru's clan technique races across the arena floor like a dark stain stretching. The Shadow Possession Jutsu shot toward Kin's position with a speed that was, in Lee's honest assessment, a bit lacking...
Even Kin was fast enough to move out of the way and respond by throwing two senbons with bells toward his stationary figure. Shikamaru canceled his technique, allowing him to dodge. It appears that he couldn't move when he used that jutsu. And it seemed like it wasn't able to curve or chase an opponent either if they weren't parallel to Shikamaru? Lee wasn't sure, he'd have to watch some more.
"What an obvious trick!" Shikamaru grinned. "I suppose next you'll fling your needles in two groupings, some with bells, some without. I dodge what I can hear, think I'm safe, and the silent ones perforate me. Right?!"
"Chatty for a guy, aren't you?!" Kin tossed two more objects.
The rest of the match went unfavorably for the sound kunoichi. Her main tools of fighting turned out to be her own undoing. She didn't have the necessary skill and fighting intellect to outsmart Shikamaru Nara. It was just a bad match up from what Lee could determine.
"Winner: Shikamaru Nara."
"She tried her best?" Lee tried to say something positive.
"It was boring." Neji replied.
"A bit more training wouldn't hurt." Lee didn't want to sound as mean as Neji.
The Nara clan's shadow techniques were interesting as a puzzle, but they held no mystery for him as an opponent. Unless Shikamaru was hiding more about what he could do. The shadows didn't seem to move that fast. As long as he kept his wits about him and didn't give the shadows more coverage to jump from and reach him, he'd be fine.
Lee's speed, even with his weights on, was many times faster than anything those two showed. He could circle around the shadow and Shikamaru before he could react. The guy was good at thinking for sure. But intelligence alone had its limits.
"Nice one, Shikamaru!" Ino cheered.
"Awesome!" Choji cheered alongside her.
The board cycled.
Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba
"Well, it's about time! Thanks for being patient, everyone! I'm gonna make this worth your wait!" Naruto boasted.
"Oh, yesss! Thank you! Thank you! We can definitely beat freaking Naruto!" Kiba boasted alongside Akamaru's barking.
The fight began with Kiba dominating. Brutally. His Tunneling Fang technique turned him and Akamaru into spinning vortexes of claw and fang that tore across the arena floor with enough force to crater stone. Naruto took hit after hit, his body bouncing off the arena floor and walls with impacts that made the watching genin wince. Blood flew. Teeth might have been loosened. It was, by any reasonable assessment, a one-sided beating.
Lee watched Naruto's taijutsu with a second look. This was a different situation from what he witnessed before the exams. Naruto wasn't facing against an extreme taijutsu specialist like himself. He was facing someone who graduated in the same year as him. Although the Inuzuka was still primarily a taijutsu-focused clan, it was different. Kind of.
He was still bad.
He fought like someone who had never been taught how to fight and had instead just went at it through guts and trickery alone.
Lee didn't consider him utterly hopeless. There was undeniable grit within Naruto. The Power of Youth was burning bright like his jacket. That could be honed into something actually good.
If Lee ever faced Naruto in real fight, it would be over in the time it took to cross the distance between them. One clean hit. Maybe two if he was feeling generous. Shadow clones wouldn't help. Whether Naruto made five or five hundred or five thousand, each clone had the same poor foundation, the same flaws, all of it, Lee could exploit without breaking a sweat. Numbers were meaningless when the difference between the two was so far apart.
And then Naruto surprised him.
Not with taijutsu. Not with some hidden physical prowess that suddenly manifested. With something far more dangerous: creativity.
When Kiba and Akamaru used their Beast Human Clone technique, transforming Akamaru into a copy of Kiba to confuse their opponent, Naruto countered by transforming himself also into a copy of Kiba. Most people thought that it was absurd. It was stupid. It should not have worked.
It worked.
The transformation sowed enough confusion in Kiba that he hesitated, unable to tell which copy was his dog and which was their opponent. Kiba punched the clone that didn't smell like his dog. Only to see that Kiba suddenly turn into Akamaru! Then he turned to strike the other clone which also turned into Akamaru! He didn't understand it at all.
From there, Naruto attacked Kiba from behind. This time with Akamaru out of the fight. It was over from there. Naruto farted, incapacitating Kiba. Allowing him to create four shadow clones. The five of them ganged up and finished Kiba with the ultimate expression of teamwork, Naruto Uzumaki's Barrage.
"And the winner is Naruto Uzumaki!" The proctor decided.
Lee was certainly surprised by this outcome. He had no hope in Naruto-kun. It looks like even if the odds are stacked against you, as long you don't give up, anything can happen.
"Did you expect this outcome, Neji-kun?" Lee asked, genuinely curious.
"A lucky fool and an idiot. A match made in heaven." Neji felt irritated just looking at that match.
"Luck is a skill as well, Neji-kun." Lee felt.
"Ridiculous." Neji turned his head to the screen.
"He also had more than luck. His transformation jutsu can't be critcized and he used his brains as well." Lee gave Naruto some credit.
The aftermath of Naruto's victory played out in a flurry of celebration and disbelief. Naruto pumped his fists in the air, shouting about his victory to anyone who would listen, his face split by a wide grin. Kiba and Akamaru were carried away by medical-nin. Hinata Hyuga walked up to Naruto.
Hinata approached Naruto with a jar of ointment clutched in both hands, her face burning red, her voice so quiet that even Lee's enhanced hearing could barely catch her words. She offered the ointment for his wounds, and Naruto accepted it with the oblivious cheerfulness of someone who had no idea what the gesture meant.
"Thanks, Hinata! You're a good guy!"
"Well, aren't you looking carefree, Hinata-sama…" Neji muttered.
The board cycled again.
Hyuga Neji vs. Hyuga Hinata
Neji walked away. Down the stairs, onto the arena floor, his footsteps echoing in the heavy silence with the steady rhythm of a countdown. He took his position in the center of the arena and stood there like a statue carved from marble, waiting, his back straight and his hands loose at his sides.
Hinata descended from the opposite balcony. Her steps were filled with anxiety. Kurenai, her jonin sensei, watched from above with an expression of absolute worry. Kiba cursed at her unfortunate luck.
They faced each other across the arena floor. Branch family and main family. Servant and master. Cage and key.
"I never thought I would have a fight with you… Hinata-sama." Neji didn't smile.
"Neji-nii-san…" Hinata muttered.
"Brother?" Sakura said in confusion.
"Eh?! Those two are siblings?" Naruto wasn't expecting this as well.
"One of the most honorable old clans in the Hidden Leaf, the Hyuga Clan." Kakashi explained. "But they're not siblings."
"Then, how are they related?" Sakura looked up at him.
"Hmm… Well, the relation of a head family and branch family… That might be a way of saying it…" Kakashi explained poorly.
"Head family and branch family?" Naruto didn't understand.
"Yes. Hinata-sama is from the head house. Neji-kun is from the branch house. The branch serves the main house." Lee explained correctly.
"In other words, it's a fight between relatives. It must be uneasy for both of them…" Sakura figured.
"Well… uneasy for one maybe…" Lee rubbed the back of his head. "The relationship between the branch house and the main house isn't the best."
"Why?" Naruto didn't understand.
"In the Hyuga Clan, the lives of the branch members are at the control of the main family. Whether they live or die is at their will."
"What?!" Sakura and Naruto both exclaimed.
"It is a practice from long ago that's still in effect today."
"So the main family can just do whatever they want to the branch family and there's nothing they can do about it?" Sakura asked.
"Pretty much." Lee nodded.
"Why doesn't the Hokage do something about it?" Naruto questioned.
"I'm unsure." Lee couldn't understand it either. It was a disgusting practice in his view.
"Start the battle please." Hayate requested.
"Just one thing before we square off against each other in the fight. I should advise you, Hinata-sama. Forfeit." Neji warned her. "You are not suited to being a shinobi."
Hinata seemed startled to hear these words.
"You're too nice. You wish for harmony and avoid conflict, you're open to going with the thinking of others. And, you have zero confidence in yourself. You're always feeling inferior. You even believe that it's a good idea to stay a Genin. However, you can't register for the Chunin Exams without three members. The only reason you're here right now is because you didn't want to disappoint Kiba and the other one. The truth is you entered this exam reluctantly. Am I wrong?!" Neji looked her in the eyes.
"T-That's wrong… That's not true. I- I only… I wanted to change that about myself. So i proposed it myself…" Hinata shook her head, avoiding eye contact.
"Hinata-sama. You are a spoiled one main family member." Neji told her. "People can never change!"
Hinata shook.
"A failure will always be a failure. That personality and strength won't change." Neji began to talk. "Since people don't change, differences exist among them. And expressions like 'elite' and 'failure' are born. Everyone judges and are judged based on the value of their face and brain, ability and body type, good and bad points of their personalities. People have to suffer and live within the means of elements they cannot change." He crossed his arms. "Just like the fact that I'm from the branch family and you're from the head family, these things cannot change. I've seen everything with this Byakugan. That's why I understand!"
Lee noticed Naruto-kun was shaking next to him.
"You're really thinking that you'd like to run away from this place." Neji figured her out.
"T-That's wrong… I really…" Hinata didn't get to finish her words as Neji activated his Byakugan. She couldn't even main eye contact with him as she looked away.
"My eyes cannot be deceived. Just now from my killing intent, your line of sight was pushed to the upper left. This is the sign that you're recalling your past experience… your bitter past. And soon after that, your line of sight moved to the bottom right… This is the sign that you're imagining physical and mental suffering. That means you're picturing your old self, and from all of your experiences up until now, you're imagining the result of this battle. The image of you losing!" Neji glared at her, causing her to flinch. "You know it's true, don't you? Changing yourself is something you absolutely can't!" Neji declared.
"SURE, SHE CAN!" Naruto shouted.
Neji slightly turned to the upper area to see who interrupted him.
"You don't have the privilege of deciding what a person is like, stupid! Give it to him, Hinata!" Naruto seemed on the verge of hopping over the railing himself. "Hinata! Don't just take it! Argue back! I'm getting irritated just watching this!"
What an annoying fool. Neji thought as he focused back to Hinata.
He was shocked. That look in her eyes. She was looking directly at him. Hinata-sama was maintaining eye contact with him. Something's changed. She's no longer shivering and shaking anymore.
"So you're not going to withdraw? I'm not taking responsibility for what happens next." Neji warned her.
Hinata didn't respond, weaving through multiple hand signs before activating her own Byakugan, and getting into her own gentle fist stance. "Neji-nii-san, I challenge you!" Hinata declared with her spine straight.
Neji mirrored her in his own gentle fist stance, similar, but not identical. "Fine… And here I was trying to spare you."
"The strongest taijutsu style of the Leaf, facing off against one another…" Lee muttered.
"Strongest?" Sakura asked.
"The Gentle Fist. That's their clan's unique Taijutsu. It's considered the strongest taijutsu style in the world. Or at least in Konoha. My team hasn't traveled outside the Land of Fire much, so I don't know much about other Hidden Villages." Lee shared.
"What makes it so strong?"
"It can kill a person in one hit." Lee shared.
"What?! No way!" Naruto exclaimed.
"I've seen it myself." Lee nodded before focusing back on the match. It was starting!
Hinata charged toward Neji, a right palm intended to strike his left chest. Neji deflected the blow with his left hand. Hinata followed up with three quick palm strikes. Neji altered the trajectory of those as well before landing a clean palm thrust to her chest that sent her sliding back with blood leaking from her mouth. But he didn't allow her to simply get distance for nothing. He immediately slid inside her space.
The two began a high-speed exchange of blows while circling around one another. An upward palm aimed at Neji's chin that he swayed out of. A straight right palm aimed at Hinata's throat that she barely avoided. Neji landed two more critical blows on Hinata, one on her stomach and another on the right side of her chest. Those two blows were enough for her to vomit a concerning amount of blood.
But this did not stop or halt Neji's offense at all. Just as Hinata was finished puking blood, Neji connected his foot to her chin, knocking her into the air.
"Hinata-sama. What we have here is an unchanging difference in abilities. It's what distinguishes the elite from a failure." Hinata's head was about to make contact with stone.
Neji in a blur struck her multiple times at once, two palms to the chest, four palms to the four quadrants of the stomach, and a final palm to the center. Hinata spiraled into the wall of the arena much to the shock and gasps of those watching. Neji turned his back to her and crossed his arms before locking eyes with an enraged Naruto. He smirked. "I gave her a chance to forfeit. She was the one to throw it away." Then he turned to the proctor to call the match.
When Neji saw the eyes of the proctor, he was momentarily stumped. He wasn't looking at him or getting ready to call the match. He was looking at Hinata-sama. Neji was confused. The match was over. Then he himself turned to see a shaking figure on all fours attempting to stand with a substantial amount of blood leaking from them.
"I- I meant it…and am…sticking by…every word… I said! Because that's my Ninja Way…" Hinata somehow miraculously got back to her feet.
Neji couldn't believe it. The extent of what he did to her body was visible in her eyes. It was frankly unbelievable that she could stand and talk right now.
"I had no idea Hinata was this tough…" Naruto muttered.
"She reminds me of you." Lee pointed out.
"Come to think of it… She's always watching you." Sakura remembered.
"What?" Naruto had no clue what she was talking about. "Go, Hinata!!!" He cheered.
Life came back into her eyes once again, Neji noticed. It was him. That embarrassing fool. His words are the key that strikes life back into her eyes.
Hinata ran toward him, showcasing none of the impressive speed of a shinobi. It was messy, it was uncoordinated, and it was slow. She attempted to strike him multiple times. Neji could avoid these sloppy blows in his sleep. His head swayed left to right. When she went for a low kick, he leaped over her attack, and deflected the follow up spinning palm thrust aimed at his heart. Countering with an enraged right punch directly in her face, sending her sliding back on the floor with a broken nose.
"You just don't get it, do you? We were in two different leagues from the very start. It's the end." Neji begin walking away.
"As further fighting is not feasible under these conditions…" Hayate started to speak.
"Don't stop it!" Naruto shouted. "Do not stop the match! Believe it!"
"Naruto, stop! What on earth are you saying, stupid?! She's had it. You can see she's unconscio-" Sakura saw Naruto smiling before turning her attention back to the arena.
Hinata was attempting to stand once more. She shook. She fell a couple of times. Her body looked like it had no further strength to spare. But she rose to her feet once again after several seconds. She was panting heavily.
"Why do you stand up?" Neji couldn't understand and it was making him angry.
This figure. This scene. It reminded him of someone. Someone he hated dearly. Someone he hated with a passion. Someone he would've killed for certain if it wasn't for a certain sensei interrupting their duel.
"If you continue like this, you will really die! Don't you care?!" Neji found himself losing control over his emotions. "Tell me why!" Neji demanded.
"I-I am far from finished!" Hinata exclaimed.
"Cut the crap! Anyone can tell you're just barely standing." Neji balled his fist. "People cannot change! That's just the way it is. If you force me any longer, I'll end your suffering for you." She reminded him of Him… "So give up and accept it!"
Hinata shook her head weakly. "You're wrong, Neji-nii-san. Because I can tell… that you are suffering much more than I." She realized. "You are the one who is torn up over the fate of head and branch family."
"You dare pity me?! Someone like you?! You of all people! You!!!" Neji screamed as he dashed toward Hinata with a body flicker.
He brought his palm completely back. Full extension. Killing intent could be felt like a sauna's heat radiating from his body. If this blow went in, there was no doubt that Neji's arm would be piercing through her body.
"Neji, the match has been called!" Hayate shouted as he began running seeing that Neji didn't care at all about his words. "Oh crap!"
Just as his palm was mere inches away from her heart, Neji was completely, utterly, and absolutely subdued by three jonin and one special jonin. And it seems that even that was almost not enough as his palm momentarily still inched forward.
"Enough, Neji. Control yourself. You promised me, you wouldn't let the head family thing get you riled up." Guy held him in a tight headlock.
Neji could be seen breathing through his teeth as utter hatred spilled from his eyes onto Hinata. That trash. That filth. That garbage! Dared to pity him! Say he's weak! He's suffering! When she reminded him so much of that handicapped fool!
"I understand you, Sensei! But why are all the other jonin butting in?! The classic main family special treatment, eh?" Neji spat with vitriol rage.
Hinata coughed before dropping to the ground. Her sensei let go of Neji's wrist as she went over to kneel by her side. Naruto and Sakura dropped down to the arena to check up on Hinata. She tried to say something to him but before she could, she fainted. Fainted from the damages to her body.
"Hey you, failure!" Neji called out to Naruto, now free from the jonin holding on to him. "I have two pieces of advice for you."
Naruto turned to him with a glare.
"First, if you intend to call yourself a shinobi, stop that revolting cheering of yours. And the second… a failure will always be a failure. There's no changing that!" Neji shared with him.
"Do you want to see about that?" Naruto stood up straight.
"Hmph." Neji smirked at him, flicking blood off his wrist as if Hinata's blood was disgusting trash.
Naruto ran toward him in fury. Just before he could make it to Neji who was more than satisfied to let out some of this extra frustration, Lee appeared in front of Naruto with a somber smile.
"You!" Naruto bumped into him, not even seeing him arrive.
"Naruto-kun, I get where you're coming from, believe me. But all fighting must be done officially in a match! Wouldn't it be better to prove your ideals through an actual battle? The jonin would most likely stop you two before it could reach any satisfying conclusion anyway, don't you think?" Lee reasoned with him. "And if you're stopped by the exam proctors, you'll never have your chance to fight with Neji."
"All right already." Naruto let out a frustrated exhale before turning and walking away. "You got lucky, Bushy-Brows saved you!" He called out.
Lee turned to Guy-sensei with a thumbs up. Guy nodded in pride at being able to convince his fellow comrade to put away his emotions and listen to reason, giving a thumbs up back.
Neji noticed Hinata's sensei glaring at him. He smirked. "The precious little time you have would be better spent seeing to her than glaring at me." He told her. Not giving her any kind of respect as the jonin she was. After all, he's never heard of her once from his sensei's mouth. She can't be anywhere near as impressive as Kakashi. His sensei's eternal rival. Which probably meant he was closer to her in strength than she was to Kakashi or Guy.
"Medics!" Kurenai shouted. "Hurry! What's taking so long!"
Three medical nin came rushing over. "S-Sorry!" They laid out a stretcher. "Shit, this is serious! She's got about a couple minutes at most! Get her to the emergency room. Pronto!" They hauled it out of the arena as soon as possible.
Neji could only look in dissatisfaction that he wasn't able to connect his final blow. He then saw Naruto doing something with Hinata's blood. The boy placed his palm on it, stood up, and then balled his fist toward Neji with it dripping blood. "I will win no matter what!" He vowed.
Neji scoffed, not even taking the fool seriously. Everyone then began making their way back up as the arena was cleaned for the next round.
"Neji-kun." Lee spoke without a smile.
"What? You want to spew some nonsense to me as well?" Neji guessed.
"No, not at all. I've known you far longer than anyone else. Maybe even more so than Hinata-sama herself. I'm not surprised by what happened. All I want to say is…" Lee paused. "Try to keep our feud between us and not project your feelings about me onto innocent people."
Neji balled his fist as he glared at Lee. "And what gives you the courage. What gives you the nerve. To dare try and command anything of me, you freak?"
"I didn't command you to do anything. I simply suggested it, Neji-kun." Lee responded.
"I can't wait for us to get matched up." Neji turned away and crossed his arms.
"I feel the same." Lee smiled.
…
"Yosh!" Guy felt himself burning up. "You'll be up this time for sure. Go for it, Lee!" Guy threw a thumbs up at Lee.
"No." Lee turned away.
"Huh?" Kakashi-sensei muttered.
"What?" Sakura looked dumbfounded.
"Seeing as I've come this far, I rather be the last!" Lee declared.
The board began flashing through names.
The first name landed on Gaara! After being swallowed up by sand on the railings, he suddenly appeared on the ground floor, waiting for his next opponent.
"Hurry up and get down here…" He demanded.
"SAAAAFEEEEEEE!!!" Choji yelled, glad it wasn't his name up there to fight that scary sand guy.
Gaara vs. Rock Lee
"It worked!" Lee kicked the air. "If you say you want to go last, then you won't be last." Rapidly kicking the air now. "It's an application of the same law that says a stone thrown to hit a telephone pole will miss, and a stone thrown to miss will be a direct hit!" Transitioning into punches.
"Right! That's my protege!" Guy balled his fist.
"I absolutely did not want to go last! I threw them a beauty of a curve!" Lee added.
"Okay, so let me give you a little piece of 'nice' advice." Guy came over to him.
"Right!" Lee saluted.
"Probably no one has noticed yet, but…" Guy leaned in. "That gourd is suspicious!" He said with the seriousness of a man who believed he was sharing invaluable information.
"I see!" Lee took out his shinobi notebook. A small hand-sized little thing before writing inside it.
"Quit with the notes!" Guy told him. "You're not going to have time to read them during the match! Fool!" Guy reminded him.
"I see." Lee wrote that down as well.
"Yosh!!! Go! Lee!" Guy pointed to the arena, completely fired up.
"Yeah!!!" Lee hopped over the railing, landing in front of his opponent with his trademark smile.
One arm behind his back, the other held backwards toward Gaara in his signature pose. "I am very happy to be squaring off with you so early in the match." Lee told Gaara.
"I don't know what kind of moves that bowl cut guy has, but he will never take Gaara. Never!" Kankuro muttered.
"No." Naruto disagreed. "He's stronger than he looks." Remembering how both he and Sasuke lost to him…
Lee's eyes temporarily raised as he caught the speeding object headed toward his face. "Please don't be in such a hurry." He crushed Gaara's gourd cap to sand.
"Now then… The 9th match…"
"Begin."