Fate

"Kakashi, your team made it through the second exam too. Not bad!" Jonin Might Guy suddenly said to Kakashi. "But with my subordinates here, they won't get through the next round so easily! Sasuke's up first. I can't wait to see how he does!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "My subordinates... are very strong too, so don't underestimate them! Otherwise, you'll be in for a big surprise!"

"Sasuke!" I grabbed his shoulder. "Remember, don't use your Sharingan. Beat him with Taijutsu! And... don't push yourself!"

"Hmph, thanks for worrying! I'll win, so don't worry," Sasuke said, turning to look at me. "I still have to fight you, after all!"

"Good luck, Sasuke! Don't go getting beaten by someone else before I defeat you!"

"Naruto... just watch how I beat him!" Sasuke said seriously. "I'm looking forward to fighting you just as much!"

"Will the two contestants please come forward? Everyone else, please wait in the viewing gallery above!"

The other candidates and I went up to the viewing gallery with the Jonin leading our teams.

"I heard the new graduates this year were strong..." Neji suddenly said to me. "But even though you and Sasuke were often tied for first at the Ninja Academy, everyone agrees that Sasuke, with his Uchiha bloodline, is the best of the new graduates!"

"So what?"

"But... only those who know the inside story understand that, when it comes to talent, you're the one who truly deserves to be called a Ninjutsu genius! We'll soon see how strong Sasuke is, but just how strong are you, the so-called Ninjutsu genius?"

"You want to know how strong I am..." I lowered my eyes, unwilling to waste any more words on Neji. "Fight me and you'll find out!"

"Also, Sasuke was injured earlier and can't use many of his techniques. You won't see his true strength today!"

After I said that, silence returned between us. Down below, Sasuke was greatly restricted in the fight, unable to use his Sharingan and affected by the Cursed Seal. For a while, Akadō Yoroi and his strange abilities had him on the defensive, but Sasuke still won without serious trouble thanks to his superior Taijutsu. The only dangerous moment came when Sasuke's Cursed Seal flared up again during the match. I suspected Orochimaru was behind it, but Sasuke suppressed it through sheer willpower, without even needing the little backup measure I'd left when I patted his shoulder earlier.

"That was pathetic, Sasuke!" Though Naruto was delighted that Sasuke had won, he couldn't resist nitpicking. Those two really did have an awkward way of getting along!

I merely waved at Sasuke, and then Kakashi took him away.

Next was the second match. I looked up at the big screen-

"Zaku Abumi vs. Shino Aburame!"

It was basically the same as in the original story.

Some thought had gone into arranging these matches. Sasuke, for example, had been put first because his injury needed prompt treatment. The others had been matched as evenly as possible in terms of strength, or according to other factors. These minor characters weren't much different in strength from their original counterparts, so I guessed that, aside from me, the others' matchups probably wouldn't differ much from the original. Even though Naruto was much stronger than in the original, he'd only managed to win there thanks to a flash of fighting instinct and a few coincidences, so he and Kiba Inuzuka should still have been fairly evenly matched now.

I'd broken Zaku Abumi's right arm with a kick earlier, and now he was dressed as someone with a broken arm would be. But his fracture seemed to have healed, because his expression turned resentful and vicious for an instant as he passed me, as if he'd forgotten the pain now that the wound had healed. So I suddenly called out to stop him.

"Zaku Abumi, looks like your right arm has healed, hasn't it? Giving me a look like that! Are you planning to get revenge on me?"

Zaku Abumi's expression changed, as if I'd exposed his greatest secret.

"Even with both arms intact, you couldn't beat me! I suggest you face the facts before you say anything! Otherwise, next time I'll break all four of your limbs!" I smiled at him maliciously. "But first, try to survive this exam!"

Sure enough, down below, Zaku Abumi was toyed with by Shino's various secret insect techniques and ended up blowing off his own arms.

How miserable! I remarked without a shred of sympathy.

Next came the third match, Misumi Tsurugi vs. Kankuro. Using his flexible body, Misumi Tsurugi completely wrapped himself around Kankuro's... puppet, which was precisely why he was quickly defeated. Come to think of it, his special skill really wasn't suited to fighting at all. The closer a ninja got, the greater the danger, and with his lousy strength, I really had to admire him for courting death like that!

Kankuro's puppet was remarkably good at imitating the presence of a real person; even the examiner watching from the side had been fooled. But if Kankuro had been fighting me, he would have died a miserable death. My Ninjutsu was exceptionally effective against puppets!

"...Since Misumi Tsurugi cannot continue, Kankuro wins the third round! Next, we will begin the fourth round!"

New words appeared on the screen:

"Sakura Haruno vs. Neji Hyuga!"

Were they comparing me with Neji Hyuga?

"Kakashi-sensei, don't you have anything to say to me?"

"Oh, good luck, Sakura!"

"What? Sensei, you're playing favorites! You were so concerned about Sasuke!"

"With your strength, is there anything I need to say...? Haven't you already completed the second stage of Azure Water Release? Though you were a little pressed for time, with your current abilities... you should be a particularly bad matchup for Taijutsu-type ninja now, shouldn't you?"

"Huh? Sakura's gotten that strong?" Naruto had never noticed!

"Idiot! That's because you spend so much time around me that you haven't noticed!" I smiled. "I'll have to wait until at least the fourth stage of Azure Water Release to become immune to Taijutsu... but as I am now, I'm a perfect counter to the Gentle Fist!"

"I'm the only one who can win this match!"

I walked slowly down from the viewing gallery and passed Kankuro on the way.

"Even a Konoha Ninja as weak as you managed to pass the second exam? Is Konoha really so short of talent?!"

"Hmph... what a loudmouth! You should be glad I didn't bother with you the last time we met. I could crush ten thousand puppet masters of your caliber as easily as ants... Don't provoke me again, or even that guy who plays with sand won't be able to protect you!"

"Move! I'm not interested in talking to you!"

Azure Water Release quietly wound around his limbs, locking him in place and moving him aside. Only then did I stroll past.

Down below, Neji had already jumped into the arena and was waiting for me.

"Fifth round... Sakura Haruno versus Neji Hyuga! Begin!"

Neji and I assumed close-combat stances at the same time!

In the viewing gallery, Might Guy watched the two of us enter the arena and spoke to Kakashi-

"Kakashi, I didn't expect our students to meet so soon!"

"Really...? I don't find it strange at all!"

"Is Sakura Haruno a Taijutsu-type ninja too? That's unfortunate for her. Neji's Gentle Fist is a perfect counter to Taijutsu-type ninja! Kakashi, it looks like I'll be the first to win a match between our subordinates!"

"Don't jump to conclusions... If Neji counters Taijutsu-type ninja, then Sakura... counters Taijutsu itself! Neji doesn't have the slightest chance of winning this match!"

"What?!"

"Kakashi-sensei, aren't you being too hasty? Neji's Gentle Fist and his ability to strike pressure points are both highly effective against attacks from Taijutsu-type ninja. No matter how you look at it, Sakura Haruno can't be a match for Neji!" Lee couldn't help protesting.

"You've got it all wrong. Although Sakura has taken a Taijutsu stance, she's actually a Ninjutsu-type ninja... Keep watching and you'll see why I said Neji doesn't have a chance!"

"To tell the truth, if I used only Taijutsu, even I couldn't do anything to her now..."

"Without a Kekkei Genkai or Ninjutsu inherited from her predecessors, she forged a new path in a field where no one had ever taught her. Sakura is the real genius!"

"Is that so, Kakashi? Hearing such praise from you has made me curious about her! Let me see for myself how she counters Taijutsu!"

Down below.

"Although you've taken a Taijutsu stance, you're actually... a Ninjutsu-type ninja, aren't you?" Veins bulged around Neji's eyes, and his pale eyes stared at me fiercely!

"That's right, I am better at Ninjutsu. So what?"

"I've heard a few things about you. You're very talented in Ninjutsu. You can learn many techniques after seeing them just once, and you've even developed some Water Release techniques of your own... That's why you did so well at the Ninja Academy, tied with Sasuke Uchiha. Many people called you the twin stars of the new class. But in truth, most people aren't optimistic about your future as a ninja!"

I raised an eyebrow. That was the first time I'd heard that!

"Many people think... you were merely an excellent student at the Ninja Academy and don't have the potential to become truly strong!"

"Truly strong? What do you mean?" I asked.

"In other words, although your Chakra control is outstanding and your talent for Ninjutsu is extraordinary, most people think that your potential for growth as a ninja falls short of Sasuke's! At most, you can reach the level of a Jonin!"

"That's because your Chakra reserves aren't exceptional, and neither is your talent for Taijutsu! The first requirement for becoming an excellent Water Release ninja is a large amount of Chakra! And you don't even meet that requirement! In other words, you can never become an excellent Water Release ninja!"

"In the future, you'll reach the level of Special Jōnin at best, and then you'll have to stand by and watch Sasuke, your fellow twin star, surpass you! There's nothing you can do to change that. This is your fate!"

Neji Hyuga looked at me with his Byakugan, which could see through everything, as if he had seen through my fate!

"I've already seen through it all with my Byakugan... You really do have very little Chakra!"

"Although you've taken a stance for a Taijutsu attack, you're secretly gathering Chakra. In other words, you want to mislead me into thinking you'll attack with Taijutsu, when you're actually going to use Ninjutsu!"

"With the amount of Chakra you have, that attack has to decide the match, because you won't have any Chakra left to attack again! In other words, now that I've seen through it all, you've lost your only chance of winning!"

"You don't have the slightest chance of victory! This is your fate. You're certain to lose!"

"Give up, Sakura Haruno!"

Sure enough, Neji Hyuga... before Naruto knocked some sense into him, was just that kind of awkward kid.

He kept saying other people's fates couldn't be changed, when he was actually running away from his own!

Still, there was some sense to his analysis. If I hadn't transmigrated, how strong would Sakura from the original story have eventually become? I hadn't seen the later parts of the story, but I'd heard Sakura could still take part in battles at the end, which meant she had at least Jonin-level fighting strength by then. In other words, she really had grown much stronger after becoming Tsunade's student...

There was just one problem: even the original me didn't have a small amount of Chakra, let alone me after transmigrating. It was only because my injury still hadn't healed that I couldn't refine much Chakra...

And speaking of fate, if the plot of the original story counted as fate, then I'd already changed so much of it!

"Neji Hyuga..." I couldn't help clenching my fists. "I wondered what you were going to say! Just how long are you going to keep spouting that nonsense?! Don't look down on me!"

"So what if you say a small amount of Chakra means I'm destined never to become an excellent Water Release ninja? So what if I don't have a Kekkei Genkai or guidance from a predecessor?!"

"If that's fate, then I'll break it! If Water Release Ninjutsu all require enormous amounts of Chakra, then I'll create powerful Water Release techniques that don't! If I have no talent for Taijutsu, then I'll create Ninjutsu that strengthens it!"

"Once I've set a goal and made up my mind, I have to keep moving forward without fear or hesitation! I'm Sakura Haruno, a Ninjutsu genius! I'll definitely reach the top!"

"I won't spend every day wallowing in self-pity and telling myself it's fate! Fate can be changed!"

"I changed my fate a long time ago! Those weak fates, that fate you talked about where I could only become a Special Jōnin-I broke them long ago! If you don't believe me, then watch closely! Watch how I beat you!"

"You want to break fate? Then show me!" Neji shouted!

Without another word, we both charged at once!

As we rushed toward each other at high speed, Neji landed the first blow-

"It's over!"

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

Neji unleashed an onslaught like a raging storm!

"Two palms!" "Four palms!" "Eight palms!"... "Sixty-four palms!"

Every punch and palm strike was sharp and vicious, delivered at an incredible speed! If I'd been fighting Neji with Taijutsu alone, I really couldn't have blocked those sixty-four palms... but now that I'd reached the second stage of Azure Water Release, I was no longer afraid of a purely Taijutsu attack like this!

"It's over!" As Neji delivered his final palm strike, everyone present had the same thought!

"It's over!" Neji's hand struck me, and before he could pull it back, I grabbed it hard!

"Neji Hyuga..." I looked at him coldly. "Are your palm strikes really this weak? No wonder you can't break your fate!"

Azure Water Release really was an excellent counter to the Gentle Fist. The Gentle Fist's strikes were too weak to break through the thin layer of water covering me! There was no question of him sending Chakra through the air and the water shield into my body! If I'd been fighting Lee, I wouldn't have had it so easy. I'd have had to concentrate the ultrapure water, since it might have broken if it was too thin, and once he opened the Five Gates, I wouldn't have been able to keep up with his speed...

In short, I could even beat Gaara, yet I might lose to someone like Lee, who had been defeated by Gaara!

"...How can this be?! You're completely unharmed!"

I struck him hard with a punch! Ultrapure water covered my fist, and with the boost from Nintaijutsu, the punch was fast and vicious, while my hand took almost no damage from the recoil!

Neji went flying!

"Your body is covered with a layer of water. Is that what blocked my attacks? That's impossible! Why did Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms have no effect on you at all?!"

"Because... that's the Ninjutsu I use to break fate!" I moved behind Neji at high speed, turned sideways, and whipped a vicious kick at his waist!

Neji didn't even have time to use Rotation before I sent him flying! He couldn't accept, for the moment, that Taijutsu was ineffective against me. He was so shaken that even his reactions slowed considerably!

Neji's next few counterattacks didn't make the slightest splash. After I landed one final punch in his stomach, he sank limply to his knees.

"I lost..." Neji collapsed on the ground, his expression a little lost, a little disbelieving, and a little... happy?

"Can I ask you a question...?"

"Go ahead..." I stood beside him and looked at him calmly.

"Have you broken my fate yet...?"

"Of course I have... Aside from the Water Release that blocked your attacks just now, I also developed a Water Release technique that uses very little Chakra but is extremely powerful. I call it the Water Blade Technique series. The amount of Chakra I have is no longer my biggest problem..."

"Is that so..." Neji looked up at the sky. Though he'd lost, there was little sadness on his face, only simple bewilderment...

"What about you, then? You have... a fate you want to break too, don't you?" I crouched down and looked into his eyes as I asked.

"I... am a member of the Hyuga Branch Family..." Neji removed his Forehead Protector, revealing the Caged Bird Seal.

"...This is the fate of the Hyuga Branch Family!"

"A captured bird in a cage, if it's clever enough, can use its beak to peck open the door. Because they... still have hope, hope that they can soar freely through the sky once more." I spoke that classic line to Neji.

"If it's you, Neji, then as long as you still have that hope, you can surely break out of the cage of fate, can't you?"

I gave Neji a faint smile.

"And so, the winner of the fifth round is Sakura Haruno!"

"Sakura! That was amazing! You were way cooler than Sasuke!" Naruto shouted excitedly!

"Don't just stand there celebrating, Naruto! Look at the screen!"

For the sixth round, the screen updated to show the next contestants.

"Naruto Uzumaki vs. Kiba Inuzuka!"

"Will the two contestants please come down to the arena! Everyone else, please leave!"

"Kakashi-sensei! I can't move! Carry me to the hospital~"

"..." A drop of cold sweat ran down Kakashi's face.