Before long, the final tournament began.
Jimo arrived at the viewing stands early and sat with several team instructors.
"Kakashi, honestly... How can he be late even for something like this?"
Gai grumbled beside him.
Perhaps because Jimo had been there, Naruto hadn't been beaten quite so badly. But the Hyuga Clan's Taijutsu was no empty boast.
Naruto could trade a few blows with Neji, but he was still no match for him. In an instant, Neji saw through Naruto's numbers game.
"I remember... your dream is to become Hokage?"
Neji taunted him. "Don't make such ridiculous claims... If someone can become Hokage, it's because they were destined to! Everyone... has their path in life decided from the moment they're born..."
"Quit acting so high and mighty! Jumping to conclusions like you know everything is just self-pity!"
Naruto gripped the incredibly sharp Kunai in his hand, his eyes warily fixed on Neji a short distance away.
Naruto knew all too well that the threat posed by this guy in front of him was not to be underestimated. He was every bit as dangerous as Sasuke, if not more so.
Neji stood quietly, his back straight, like an unshakable mountain.
His deep eyes gleamed with a cold light, as if he could see through Naruto's every move and thought. An invisible pressure radiated from him, making the air around them feel heavy.
Naruto took a deep breath, struggling to calm his nerves. He knew that against such a powerful opponent, the slightest mistake could spell disaster.
"No one can defy fate... There's one fate... no one can escape! Death!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto created dozens of clones and sent them charging at Neji again.
"Didn't I tell you not to treat me like an idiot?"
Neji easily blocked Naruto's attacks... his eyes fixed on the Naruto at the very edge.
"You're attacking less often because you're afraid I'll block your tenketsu? Too bad... you're far too easy to read!"
Neji lunged at Naruto, driving a knife-hand straight toward his chest.
"Pfft."
Naruto spat out a mouthful of blood.
The clones on the field also turned into wisps of smoke and vanished one by one.
"That Clone Technique of yours is useless against me!" Neji said coldly, without a hint of emotion.
"Didn't I tell you not to jump to conclusions? You arrogant jerk!"
Naruto had Neji's arm in a tight grip, a smile on his face.
From a corner behind Neji, a yellow-haired Naruto suddenly burst out, swinging a punch at his cheek.
Just as everyone thought Naruto's attack would land, Neji suddenly released a huge amount of Chakra and spun rapidly. His palm strikes swept the Chakra into a spherical shield, knocking both Narutos away.
"Rotation..."
Hiashi watched Neji in astonishment from the stands. The Main Family hadn't shared its secret techniques with the branch family, so Neji must have figured out Rotation on his own... He was a true genius.
"Eight Trigrams... Sixty-Four Palms!"
A flurry of blows rained down on Naruto, leaving his whole body weak.
"I've blocked all sixty-four of your tenketsu... Which means... you can no longer draw on the Chakra inside your body..."
Neji sneered. "Doesn't it feel completely hopeless, with no way to deal with what's happening? Hokage? That's nothing but a pipe dream..."
To everyone's surprise, Naruto struggled to his feet.
"Is that Fox Brat still going to fight?"
"That's the Hyuga Clan he's up against!"
Seeing Naruto stand, the spectators in the stands couldn't help but admire the determination of someone they had always regarded as a bad omen.
"There's no need to keep pushing yourself... You and I have no grudge against each other."
"There is..." Naruto's presence suddenly surged.
"You hurt Hinata!"
"That has nothing to do with you..."
"Before I met Jimo, I was always the dead-last at the Academy... Nobody wanted to play with me, either... So after I met him, I worked twice as hard... and finally caught up with my friends..."
"So... I know how much it hurts to be called a dead-last! I won't let someone like you, who casually dismisses other people's efforts as a hindrance, get away with it!"
Neji casually struck Naruto with a palm, sending him flying.
"You think you understand?"
Neji removed his Forehead Protector, revealing the Caged Bird mark he regarded as his inner demon. He told Naruto how his father had died in place of the Main Family, and how the mark controlled the branch family.
"You keep going on about fate... Someone like you, who does nothing but run away, can't beat me!"
Red Chakra suddenly rose from Naruto. It was a power he had accidentally awakened while training with Jimo.
Naruto's speed and strength increased several times over.
A ball of light formed in Naruto's hand.
"Jimo told me: Defy Heaven and Earth, fear no fate! I'll show you my jutsu!"
Naruto detonated the red Chakra Jade at close range, and a small cloud of dust swallowed them both.
A breeze swept through. Naruto lay on the ground, while Neji stood trembling, exhausted from using Rotation.
"Reality is reality..."
Before Neji could finish, a fist burst out of the ground.
No one knew how Naruto had managed to get underground. He had done it just to wait for this moment.
"The power of confidence can change fate... This boy understood that from birth... Fourth Hokage, you have a fine son..."
For some reason, Genma Shiranui's gaze softened as he watched Naruto. The Fourth Hokage's smile overlapped with Naruto's resolute eyes.
"Clone Technique... It's the jutsu you're best at..."
Neji gazed up at the sky and spoke quietly. At that moment, it was as if he had finally let something go.
"You're wrong... I failed to graduate from the Ninja Academy three times... Unfortunately, the Clone Technique is the jutsu I'm worst at..."
Naruto suddenly broke into a smile.
"You're different from me. Everyone calls you a genius... A genius shouldn't be bound by fate!"
Genma Shiranui ordered someone to carry Neji away.
"The winner is... Uzumaki Naruto!"
A thunderous wave of applause suddenly erupted from the stands.
Even the Third Hokage hadn't expected Naruto to actually beat the youngest genius of the Hyuga Clan.
"That Fox Brat didn't do too badly!"
"Way to go!" Sakura and Ino cheered and applauded Naruto, delighted.
"You little runt! You were amazing!"
Though there were still people in the crowd who disliked Naruto, at that moment everyone applauded him from the bottom of their hearts.
Even Ebisu, who had always looked down on Naruto, had come to see him in a very different light.
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