Uzumaki Naruto's POV — Morning of July 6th, Tower in the Center of the Forest of Death
Today, the second stage of the Chunin Exams was supposed to end. Even back in canon, because way too many people made it through, the examiners had to run an extra stage—the preliminaries. Same thing now.
We were in a pretty big room, mostly stone. The floor was laid with massive dirty-green slabs, and in the distance there was a ledge with a statue on it—two hands folded into the Concentration Seal. Behind them, a wall divided by brown beams stood out with purple paint, and a huge monitor was built into one of the sections. Along both side walls, running the full length of the hall, were balconies—which were empty right now.
The genin—us—were lined up in three rows. What's funny is the roster barely differed from the anime; almost every face was familiar. Only Kabuto's team wasn't here, but there was an extra team of Konoha genin who looked weirdly old for their rank.
Soon Hiruzen showed up and stood on a semicircular dais in front of us. The examiners lined up at his sides, while behind him stood the jonin-sensei of the genin teams that had cleared this stage.
Notably, the Sound team's commander wasn't there. Which was why they were looking pretty damn nervous, even if they tried not to show it.
"So. Everyone gathered here came with the goal of passing the exam and earning the rank of chunin?" the Hokage began in a calm, old-man voice after studying us for a few seconds. "This is an important event for each of you. An important event for every village participating. But before we continue, I must ask: do you know the true purpose of the Chunin Exams?.."
Then he launched into his whole speech about how the exam isn't really about "testing genin," but about war and competition between villages using genin as the pieces. Whoever shows better gets more missions from the clients who come to watch the exam, so it matters, blah-blah-blah. The speech was fired up and long, but I wasn't that interested.
After that, a guy stepped forward—Hayate Gekko, as he introduced himself. A jonin who coughed all the damn time and was in charge of organizing the preliminaries. The only things that really set him apart from your average jonin were the bandana covering his head with the protector attached to it, and the obvious bags under his eyes. In general, he looked sickly as hell.
First thing he did was tell anyone who, in their own opinion, couldn't fight right now to withdraw—because from here on out it was an individual exam, and your whole team wasn't required anymore. The preliminary stage itself would be identical to the third stage: one-on-one fights. Opponents would be chosen randomly, and only eleven people would advance. Ten matches total, and one lucky bastard would move on without fighting.
After that last part, one of the unknown Konoha genin got pissed, and Hayate explained that "unfairness" with the fact that luck matters in a shinobi's life too. If somebody gets carried through, then so be it. Finally, he added that these were just duels, and killing your opponent on purpose was forbidden.
And then the preliminaries began.
We scattered onto the balconies, and the screen hanging over the future arena lit up, starting to cycle through the genin present. I was standing with Sakura—who was treating all of this with impressive indifference—and Team Aoba, meaning Hinata was right next to me too, and she was nervous as hell.
Even though Sunshine—because that's basically how Hinata's name can be translated—had gotten way more confident and stronger under my influence, the core of her personality was still there. She was still a modest girl who worried about all kinds of stuff.
Pulling both girls into a bear-hug, I enjoyed that warmth. And judging by her relaxed face, Sakura seemed to like it too. I was also trying to calm Hinata down, and it worked… kind of. She was blushing from it, but that only dragged her thoughts away from the stress of the exam, and that was even better.
At the same time, I kept one eye on the screen, where names immediately started flashing fast.
"Wonder if the matchups are gonna be the same as canon?" I couldn't help thinking as the first pair of names popped up for everyone to see.
"First match. Hyuga Hinata versus Hyuga Neji!" Hayate announced loudly.
At that, the dark-haired girl flinched, and I reflexively squeezed her a little tighter.
"Hinata, don't stress," I said. "I know things are tense with your cousin. But it's just an exam. I believe in you and your strength. And no matter how it goes, nothing major changes. Lose or become a chunin in this exam—it's not that important. So relax your shoulders and go all out as much as you feel like."
"Yeah… show him, Hinata," Sakura encouraged her a little awkwardly, like she wasn't sure how to do it, taking Hinata's hand too.
Being stuck in that tower, and then those nights at my place, had brought them a bit closer. And it also made them look at each other kinda weird sometimes. But if that was a problem, it sure as hell wasn't a problem for the next few years.
"I'll do my best!" Hinata promised, and after slipping out of my hold, she headed for the stairs.
Watching her go, Aoba, standing nearby, gave an approving hum. Then we all focused on the arena below.
"Ready, khh, khh?" Hayate asked the two who'd come down, and immediately started coughing.
"Never thought I'd have to fight you," Neji started, ignoring the proctor. He looked his opponent over thoughtfully. The guy practically radiated calm confidence. "A child of the main branch, getting every technique served up on a platter. Let's see what that gets you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hinata decided to talk too before the fight started.
"Hinata, I remember who you were as a kid. You're hardworking, but you're not talented. I'm no less hardworking. My talent is greater, and I developed it without your advantages. That's fate. We're born different. From birth, our status was different. But I'll prove that what matters is who you're born as, not where you're born."
The young kunoichi looked confused—like she genuinely didn't understand what her cousin was trying to prove and to whom. After that incident with Hizashi, they never managed to rebuild any kind of bond. Their relationship stayed cold, like they were strangers, and that left Hinata with a nasty feeling. And besides, they'd never argued over who was more talented, and they sure as hell didn't have some rivalry on that front.
Up on the balcony, I noted another difference from canon. In my world, Hinata was objectively more determined and trained a lot more. Because of that, Neji couldn't pull his whole "you're not destined to be a ninja" speech and all that—because it would be obviously not true, and he'd look even dumber than he already did.
"And why do you need to prove that?" Hinata asked carefully. "I already believed in your strength. Even if… Father doesn't want to notice it."
Neji's face twitched. Basically, Hinata had just answered exactly who he was trying to prove himself to. Still wasn't clear what she had to do with it, though.
"But Konoha recognizes you. You were the strongest genin," Hinata added, trying to encourage him, like, hey, things are still kind of okay.
"I am the strongest genin in Konoha!" Neji snapped.
The hall went quiet. He looked like he wanted to continue, but—
"Hahahahahahaha!" I burst out laughing. "No, seriously—did you guys hear him?!"
Letting go of Sakura, I stepped forward, pointed at Neji, and started banging on the railing with my other hand.
A lot of shinobi stared, looking between me and Neji. Most of the other villages' genin—and their sensei (one Suna guy)—looked disapproving. But some people who knew me well aimed their skepticism straight at Neji. The Hokage, meanwhile, rolled his eyes.
"And quit dragging the damn mystery," I called out. "Spit it out already. What exactly are you trying to 'prove,' huh? Or are you just gonna keep talking out your ass?!"
"I…" Neji, thrown off by the attention, even hesitated. "It's… a secret!"
My face twitched.
"God, you're such a dickhead. You drag it out forever and then hit us with that? Fine, I'll say it for you: you wanna prove that since you're 'so strong,' the Hyuga main branch must be weak. And for that you want to beat Hinata—so you can run your mouth about how if they can't do shit even with all their 'secret techniques,' what's the point of them? And it's all because you want to bring down the main branch, because, in your eyes, their 'weakness' got your dad killed."
The two Hyuga glanced at each other. Then Neji looked at me with huge, raw resentment, like I'd just spilled his biggest secret to the whole world.
I turned to Hinata.
"Hinata, he wants to boot your dad off the damn throne! So smash this full-of-himself genin's face in! And tonight I'm taking you out to a restaurant. I'm on your side!"
Her eyes went wide. She nodded and turned back to Neji.
"Start…" Hiruzen waved a hand, clearly not wanting to listen to this circus anymore.
Only then did the pair activate their dojutsu; veins bulged around their eyes, and they shifted into the Hyuga clan stance—left hand forward, right hand slightly drawn back.
Seeing they were ready, the proctor signaled the start and hopped away.
Full of resolve, Hinata opened with lightning-fast strikes. Neji, pissed off, didn't even manage to evade the first few and reflexively went into full defense.
Each clash sent a loud wave of chakra through the room, but that wasn't the scariest part of the Hyuga Gentle Fist. Every attack was aimed at the tenketsu—chakra points the Byakugan could see. Striking them didn't just mess up chakra flow and wreck control, it also damaged the organs near them. But if you actually watched, Hinata wasn't aiming for anything vital—she didn't want to hurt Neji too badly.
The fight went on. Hinata's aggressive style started to soften, until the two of them stopped completely.
"Pull yourself together, cousin."
Neji's hands were blazing with chakra, while Hinata hadn't taken a single hit.
Thinking back, it was like he and his cousin had swapped places. But her words forced him to focus again. Yeah, it hit his pride, but it also made him respect her. Because she could've ended the fight in one strike while he was slipping—instead of giving him the chance to show himself.
"Yeah," Neji finally pulled himself together and shoved his emotions down. From here on out, he'd be serious. He'd show her. He'd seen how Hinata trained now, and he had to admit she deserved his full strength.
The chakra flow in his body spiked, accelerating over and over. Flooding his system with energy, pain from chakra forcing itself through the damaged tenketsu made him grit his teeth. But for a short time, he got what he wanted. The world seemed to slow, and the genin shot forward in a sudden burst, closing in on an opponent who clearly didn't expect that kind of speed.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!" Neji roared, going feral.
Stepping into an invisible yin-yang circle, he began striking without mercy. Two, two more—four total. His movements were several times faster than Hinata's opening rush. But after a few hits, he felt, in total shock, like he'd been straight-up blasted away.
"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!"
Chakra burst out of Hinata in surging streams, instantly forming a sphere. Its rotation flung Neji several meters to the side. For a few seconds, the hall rang with the hum of torn air, until the technique stopped in blue flashes.
"That technique…" Neji got up and stared at his cousin in disbelief. "You've never shown it."
"Learned it recently," Hinata exhaled loudly. "And if you think I like how our clan brands its own relatives—I don't! You spent our whole childhood blaming someone. The elders for their traditions. My father for his cruelty. I understand what you want. But if you want to change it—get in line! Because even if you blamed me too, I'm not like them!"
Up on the balcony, I raised an eyebrow, surprised. That talk really got to Hinata. And she'd never shown her character this hard before. But maybe it was just that she and I didn't really have conflicts, so there was never a reason.
Neji, shutting up, glared at her. But besides anger, a whole bunch of other emotions flashed in his eyes.
No more arguing—they moved toward each other.
When Neji got close, he began releasing chakra from his entire body and spun hard, just like Hinata did a moment ago. Now it was her turn to be surprised—though she didn't freeze; she spun too.
Two spheres whipped into existence on the arena and collided in an instant. The whole room trembled as the air filled with the deafening roar of clashing techniques.
For over twenty seconds, the spheres kept shifting, pulling apart only to crash into each other again and again. It was an endurance battle. And it was won by the more experienced genin—who really was a bit more talented and better trained.
Unfortunately for her, Hinata soon didn't have enough chakra to keep the sphere going. It shattered into blue flares on the next collision, and she got thrown away.
Neji dispelled his technique and immediately braced his hands on his knees, breathing hard.
I jumped, caught Hinata mid-flight, and landed with her softly.
"Several blocked tenketsu, just surface wear and exhaustion. Well, that's way better than canon."
"I think that's enough for today. You did great, and you worked your ass off," I said, smiling at Hinata as she panted in my arms. Chakra exhaustion didn't go easy on her; that technique clearly wasn't meant to be held for that long.
With a small nod, she closed her eyes. There was no point in getting too depressed over the loss.
"Winner: Hyuga Neji!" Hayate announced after Hiruzen waved his hand. And of course, right after that, he coughed again. "Khh-khm, khh."
Then I hopped back up to Sakura with my "cargo," while the exam kept rolling.
"How is she?" my teammate asked.
"Nothing serious. In a few seconds she'll be completely fine."
And sure enough, my hands flared with green light that wrapped around Hinata, and all her damage was healed before they even announced the next match.
Unknown shinobi—and Leaf shinobi too—straight-up side-eyed me. Everyone was shocked by a healing technique that strong, and by the fact that I was supposedly a jinchuriki, meaning I shouldn't even have the predisposition for this, yet here I was just casually healing people.
But the next announcement distracted everyone.
"Rock Lee versus Uchiha Sasuke!"
"Oh, that's something new," I noted, and I wasn't the only one—some other genin reacted too. Angry chakra was crawling through the tower, and a lot of people were expecting something unusual. But I switched my attention back to Hinata. I needed to talk something important through with her, and those guys weren't exactly important to me.
"…I lost?" she asked, coming to quickly.
"Yeah. But don't get hung up on small stuff," I said. "Again, it's just an exam. And you did really well—you almost won."
Hinata dipped her head a little sadly, but then got distracted, feeling a hand on her shoulder.
"Naruto's right. You did great," Sakura smiled encouragingly.
Hinata just stared blankly at Sakura's hand, like she only now realized what position she was in—being held in my arms—so her face started filling with color.
"L-let go," Hinata squeaked.
With a chuckle, I set her on her feet.
Other shinobi looked over at us, which made her blush even harder.
"So, we'll celebrate your effort, obviously," I continued. "But, Hinata… I think you were right, but you said a bit too much out there, and your dad's gonna be pissed. That whole 'changing the clan's ways' thing, you know? Ha-ha. Even if you only said it in passing."
My tone was cheerful, but the topic wasn't.
Hinata froze, and you could see her thinking. Then the blood drained from her face, and her expression shifted into anxiety.
"Hey, hey, don't freak out," I said, putting my hands on her shoulders and starting to massage them. "Rumors will probably spread, yeah, but I can go to the clan compound with you and 'negotiate' so everything's fine."
At that moment, Hiruzen—who'd long since stopped smoking his pipe—choked on air. He looked our way, and his eyes were practically screaming:
"DON'T NEGOTIATE! I'LL HANDLE IT MYSELF!!!"
He'd once asked an Uzumaki how exactly he "negotiated" in the Land of Grass. And even though it ended fine back then, the old man only got more convinced it was safer if he did everything himself.
"Also, if you don't like it at home," I added, "you can always move in with me."
Hinata's face started turning red again. I found those color changes pretty damn funny.
"I… I'll think about it."
"Sure. But just in case—do you mind if my clone keeps an eye on you? You never know what might happen."
Red Hinata somehow turned even redder, clearly imagining something extra. Still, she nodded.
"Sakura, if you want, you can move in with me too," I said. "Training-wise it'll be more effective. And if you get distracted at home—or people distract you—you'll have way less of that at my place."
My teammate sank into deep thought, weighed it from different angles, and nodded. Not a definite yes, but it meant she'd think about it and was leaning toward "yeah."
At that same moment, something else passed between the two girls—something definitely important, involving a certain modest blond. But yeah, not a topic for right now.
Aoba, close enough to hear us, gave me a respectful nod and a thumbs-up.
I answered with a smug grin, accepting the praise, while the girls ignored the jonin's gesture and focused on what was happening below. Hiruzen, who'd been watching us nervously, shook his head and did the same.
Down there, Sasuke and Lee were already feeling each other out in taijutsu, and their tempo was only climbing.
_____
You can support me and read up to 20 upcoming chapters ahead of release at –> patreon.com/Welydora