The next match was displayed on the board.

Nara Shikamaru VS Kin Tsuchi.

"The sixth match begins now," said Sōjirō.

Once again, he won with strategy.

There were other ways for him to win, but this was the most simple. Shikamaru attached his shadow to hers while Tsuchi was distracted and tricked her into knocking herself out with a wall. It was a simple, no-frills fight. She also used a sound-based genjutsu she did not have a chance to bring out during the previous timeline, but it felt like an inferior version when there was Ino's world of flowers as a comparison.

The unconscious kunoichi was brought away by medic-nins on a stretcher, and the next match was displayed.

Uzumaki Naruto VS Inuzuka Kiba.

"Crap... Hey, Naruto, you don't happen to be as good at genjutsu as Ino, right?" Kiba asked warily.

The jōnins, sans Kakashi, gave Kiba a weird look.

Since when could jinchūriki be good at genjutsu?

The two other members of Team 7 sweat-dropped and averted their gaze.

"Don't worry. We'll have a fair fight. I'll match every one of your techniques with one of my own, okay?" Naruto assuaged Kiba's fears with a chuckle.

"Don't go back on your word, Naruto!" Kiba exclaimed, bounding down the stairs.

Naruto jumped off the railing and landed lightly on the stage.

"The seventh match starts now," spoke Sōjirō, retreating to the side closer to his Master.

Akamaru whined in Kiba's ear, causing the boy's eyes to widen.

"Hold on a sec -- your eyes are closed?" Kiba questioned, not moving from the spot.

Naruto touched his closed eyelids and smiled. "I don't need my eyes in a fight against you, Kiba. It doesn't count as a handicap."

Naruto said those lines in solemnity, but Kiba obviously felt insulted.

"Kakashi, why are your genins so special?" Gai asked, feeling dumbfounded.

And that was coming from him, the most "unique" among Konoha's jōnins.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head.

Not in the mood to play tricks on Gai, he replied, "I want to know too."

Firstly, there was Sasuke and his refusal to use chakra. Secondly, Sakura and her initial reluctance to fight. Thirdly, Naruto, whose countless restrictions on himself went above and beyond a mere handicap.

Kiba brought out Akamaru, so Naruto took a puppet of a similar size from a storage seal to play with them. Kiba transformed himself and his dog to look identical, so Naruto made a shadow clone and discarded his puppet to the side. When Kiba and Akamaru attacked with their bestial taijutsu, the blond went as far as to flawlessly mimic the Inuzuka clan's taijutsu -- the achievement so astounding that the spectators could only compare it to the ability of the Sharingan.

Kiba did not seem to think so, however.

"This isn't much! You just spied on me during taijutsu practice!" Kiba accused Naruto, dizzy after colliding with Naruto's Gatsūga.

"You do realise that even if he watched you practising, to be able to copy it to such a degree of perfection is still commendable, right?" Kurenai said with a sigh, wondering where she went wrong in training her genin team.

How was Kiba so naive?

It was not Naruto's main taijutsu style, yet he could execute it to such a degree of finesse that it surpassed the original user of the technique. It was an impressive feat, no doubt. Moreover, his eyes were closed the whole time. He has been relying on his other senses to track Kiba and Akamaru throughout, without making a single mistake. Even with the legendary perception of the Uzumaki clan, this was absurd. Such outlandish talent...

Kurenai bit her nail anxiously.

Kiba would take a big hit once he knew the gap between him and Naruto.

Purely relying on the Gijū Ninpō of the Inuzuka clan, Naruto knocked out Kiba and Akamaru.

"Inuzuka Kiba is knocked out. Uzumaki Naruto proceeds to the next stage," declared Sōjirō.

Naruto returned to the second floor without a backwards glance, so Sōjirō discreetly pocketed the unwanted puppet.

Kankuro, who was sneakily trying to snatch the adorable dog puppet, found the ground empty when he attempted to reel up the item using chakra strings.

Kakashi was smart enough to turn to the creator of the puppet.

"Could I have one too?" he asked hopefully.

Naruto, perplexed, took out a set of spare puppet parts and made a simple dog puppet for Kakashi.

"You don't even know puppetry, Kaka-nii," he remarked. "It's nothing more than a figurine in your hands."

Kakashi did not care that he was being looked down on by his genin team.

He hugged the puppet, seeming to cherish it dearly.

Kankurō watched the process attentively and quickly made a similar puppet that he began to play with.

Naruto turned to Sasuke helplessly.

"Why are these things so popular?"

Before Sasuke could answer, Hinata came to join them on their side of the viewing floor and stuttered out, "T-They are very cute, Naruto-kun."

Naruto, feeling a sense of defeat, fashioned another dog out of the puppet materials and gave it to her.

Kiba was carried away on a stretcher despite his protests.

"The eighth match."

The two names appeared on the screen.

Hyūga Hinata VS Hyūga Neji.

"You may begin," said Sōjirō.

"I never thought I'd be facing you, Hinata-sama," Neji addressed the heiress of his clan with detached formality.

"Neji-nii-san..." Hinata greeted, feeling obvious discomfort.

Neji continued to speak, "Hinata-sama, I have only one question for you before we begin. Are you here out of your own volition?"

Sakura looked down at them in shock.

Again, something was different.

Why did Neji not resent Hinata, who he always used to view as representative of the main branch of the Hyūga clan?

"Yes. I may not wish to fight my sister for the Hyūga clan, but I'm not weak! Just like Naruto-kun, if there's something that I don't like, I'll work hard to change it!" Hinata proclaimed, taking the first stance of the Jūken.

Sakura was gobsmacked.

"Naruto, did you brainwash her?!" she demanded, forgetting that they could communicate telepathically in her disbelief.

"No... I would not believe that is the original Hinata. You must have secretly replaced her with a genetic clone!"

Sasuke's indictment of their leader rang out through the minds of Naruto and Sakura.

Naruto snorted and rebutted, "I just gave her some self-confidence."

Sakura looked at him in horror.

"You didn't put her on drugs, right?"

Naruto choked on air.

"Of course not! Why is your opinion of me so low, 'Kura?"

Below, Neji did not share Sakura and Sasuke's concerns.

He smiled at his cousin for the first time in years.

"Show me your resolve then, Hinata-sama."

Both sides activated their Byakugan and immediately ran toward each other.

Soon, the heiress and prodigy of the Hyūga clan were trading blows.

Hinata and Neji seemed evenly matched in the basic katas of the Jūken, and the latter was still beaming despite this fact.

"Your skills have improved, Hinata-sama," Neji said with pride, feeling himself getting pushed back.

They appeared to be at a standstill, but Neji was the one taking damage. His tenketsu were being sealed off one-by-one by Hinata's precise attacks. Hinata parried his most dangerous attacks. Though he defended his left arm from being sealed, his right arm could no longer channel chakra.

"Hiashi-sama is truly blind to think Hanabi-sama has surpassed you," Neji continued to speak, still filled with joy.

"Neji-nii-san, you aren't taking me seriously," Hinata nitpicked. "I don't want to win because you underestimated me."

Neji stopped smiling, his brow creasing slightly.

"Oh? Your chakra is strange."

He tried and failed to unblock the tenketsu in his right arm.

He took a closer look at Hinata, backtracking to avoid her continued blows.

"Those gloves are a gift from Naruto-sama? I'm a little jealous," Neji finally noted.

Temari has noticed the oddity by now.

"Why is every genin of Konoha so attached to Uzumaki Naruto?" she asked Sakura.

The one who answered her question was not the pink-haired kunoichi but her raven-haired teammate.

"They consider him their saviour and have devoted themselves to him."

Temari was even more puzzled after hearing this.

Why did Naruto sound like a cult leader all of a sudden?

Tenten bounced over and chipped in cheerfully, "I would have been beaten up by you earlier if I never received help from Naruto-san. I'll forever be in his debt."

"With your chakra manipulation, it should be easy for you to advance to elemental ninjutsu, so why don't you do so?" Temari inquired curiously.

"I don't have an element!" Tenten replied with a carefree laugh. "My only affinities are Yin and Yang."

Sakura's jaw dropped.

"Wait, that's possible?!" she exclaimed.

"I taught her an application of the Banbutsu Sōzō. She has potential in this regard!"

Naruto's bragging only left Sakura feeling even more at a loss.

Sasuke meticulously looked over Tenten with the Sharingan.

"Her chakra capacity is actually on par with Sakura's."

All three of them, as time-travellers, had chakra reserves surpassing Kage-level. Tenten had never been so abnormal, or she would never have died before the final battle. What exactly did Naruto do to her?

"I made chakra supplements. They have to be used in preadolescence."

Sakura felt even more befuddled.

Chakra supplements?

"Now that you've mentioned it, I'll teach you two the meditation method later too."

On the stage, Hinata suddenly collapsed.

"You... had one too..." she gasped out, clutching her abdomen.

If someone else had the Byakugan, they would see the fiery orange chakra pervading Hinata's core.

Hinata's chakra possessed the proliferative nature of Mokuton, whereas Neji's chakra possessed the consuming nature of Katon.

In reality, neither of them was able to use their chakra now.

However, Neji's usage of the quality of his chakra was superior to Hinata's. He had succeeded in affecting his opponent's chakra core, securing victory. If Hinata were more skilled in fighting a fellow Jūken user, she might have dragged Neji down with her in a tie.

"Hyūga Hinata is unable to continue fighting. Hyūga Neji wins and proceeds to the Final Exam."

The paramedics were about to rush to her, but Neji told them frigidly, "You won't be able to do anything to help her."

He, at last, succeeded in freeing his right arm, using it to neutralise the burning chakra in Hinata's system.

Suiton.

The left and right gloves had different elements, and they could even be combined with some trial-and-error to create the even more lethal Futton.

"Neji-nii-san, I won't lose to you next time," Hinata said determinedly.

Neji, looking down at Hinata, regained his smile.

"I've seen your resolve, Hinata-sama. I'll support you."

Lee sighed emotionally, "Neji is only soft for his little cousin."

To anyone other than Hinata and Naruto, Neji was an iceberg.

Neji picked up Hinata in a bridal carry and brought her back to the viewing platform.

"The ninth match," Sōjirō spoke, his words now more clipped than before.

Kakashi winced in sympathy.

His poor kōhai was losing his patience looking after the children.

Sōjirō must have been thinking of all of the work he could have done while these kids enacted a melodrama.

Gaara VS Rock Lee.

"He uses sand," Naruto told Lee before Gai could speak. "It's stored in his gourd."

He then led Lee to the stairs.

Gaara and Sōjirō were both getting impatient, after all.

"Begin," said Sōjirō.

Lee fought valiantly.

However, a jinchūriki was a bit too much for him. Even with the power of the Eight Gates improved by Naruto's fūinjutsu, Lee could not triumph over Gaara. Gaara was not as heavy-handed as during the previous timeline, and Lee got out after being knocked around a little. The most critical injuries he had received were a few broken ribs and a concussion.

"Rock Lee is out. Gaara proceeds."

The medic-nins rushed Lee off to the infirmary.

Sakura quickly got up to follow, telling Kakashi as an afterthought, "I'm going to check on Lee-san."

"Everyone, please get off the stage while I fix it," Sōjirō instructed, holding a talisman.

He sent chakra through the seal and threw the talisman on the ground.

"Restore," he muttered impatiently.

His hurried actions did not diminish the effect of his seal.

With a word from Sōjirō, the tiled floor was as good as new.

"Time ninjutsu!" gasped Haruto from within the ranks of the jōnin.

That set off a murmur throughout the crowd.

No one had known that their resident seal master's skills were on such a level.

"The tenth and last match," said Sōjirō, unflustered by the reactions of his colleagues. "Akimichi Chōji and Dosu Kinuta."

He did not wait for the result to show on the screen and uttered the last two names.

Gaara stood in front of Naruto, seafoam green eyes sparkling.

Naruto could not stop himself from reaching out to ruffle Gaara's hair.

"Well done, Gaara," said Naruto. "I am glad you didn't hurt him badly."

Gai, who had just returned from checking his student's condition from the medics, twitched.

"This is your idea of not being hurt badly? Lee trusted you!" spoke Gai agitatedly.

Naruto cocked his head to the side.

"I do not understand. Lee was a powerful opponent acknowledged by Gaara. He had to do at least this much to disable him. It is praiseworthy that he did not cripple Lee," Naruto reasonably explained.

Gai was left speechless, and Kakashi was again reminded of how similar Sōjirō and Naruto were.

Dosu won by transmitting sound waves through Chōji's body while it was expanded, vibrating his opponent's eardrums through that medium. With such scientific methods, Dosu managed to knock Chōji out. This process went in the same manner as during their previous lifetime.

Naruto did not think that Chōji losing was worth pitying.

Dosu's unique ability was hard to counter -- sound waves were invisible to the eye and not fully understood by laymen.

"Dosu Kinuta proceeds to the Final Exam. The preliminary round is over," Sōjirō announced. "The disqualified may now leave through the main entrance while I brief the winners."

The genins were escorted out by the jōnins, without even the choice to stay to listen.

"Congratulations on earning your spot in the Final Exam of this year's Chūnin Exams. Now, Hokage-sama, would you please do the honours."

Sōjirō took a step back, took out the high tech disk that displayed Kabuto's information before and began busily recording his data on the contestants.

Hiruzen did not mind Sōjirō's disrespect, condoning the actions of this workaholic with a look of fondness.

"As I informed you earlier, your matches will be spectated by the public. Each of you represents your village in battle, and I would like you to be able to show off your skills without reservation. That is why the Finals will only be held a month from now. During this break, it is up to you to make necessary preparations for your upcoming battles," Hiruzen explained.

He was faced with seven baffled genins and three genins zoning out.

Hiruzen sighed. His old bag of bones could not touch the hearts of these youths. If he wanted them to pay attention, another young soul would be more suited to communicating the details to these children.

"Sōjirō-kun, I think they listen to you better," said the Hokage mournfully.

Sōjirō reluctantly put away the gadget.

"Take this month to learn about the abilities of your foes. Improve your chances of winning against your opponent by whatever means necessary. We will follow a bracket system, and you will be informed of who you will be fighting. Some have shown all the cards in their hands, while others have gotten injured. The remaining month is here to level your playing ground, prospective chūnins. You may choose to rest if you are sure of your abilities," Sōjirō explained.

Ibiki came forward with a box of paper strips.

"Pick a piece. It will designate your opponent," Sōjirō stated, indifferent. "Start with Hyūga Neji."

Neji, who had activated his Byakugan, saw the numbers on the strips and found himself unable to cheat.

He picked the one labelled "2".

The others each had their turn to collect a strip of paper.

"From left to right, your numbers are 9, 1, 4, 10, 7, 5, 3, 8, 2 and 6. If I've gotten one wrong, please say it now," Sōjirō articulated, fiddling with his disk.

The ten genins were silent.

Shikamaru raised his hand before Sōjirō could proceed.

"Is something the matter?" asked Sōjirō, lowering the disk.

"How do we know this isn't rigged?" Shikamaru challenged the redhead, as sharp as always.

"You do not. However, would we go through the trouble of having you draw lots if that were the case? We would just let you know how you've been allocated," Sōjirō replied.

"Those of the Uzumaki clan do not require their vision to 'see'," said a familiar voice as a purple-haired woman descended the stairs.

It was Anko, a permanent resident of the tower in the Forest of Death.

"You've seen one in combat, haven't cha?" Anko asked rhetorically, winking at Naruto.

"Mitarashi, please settle down and don't make a fuss," said Sōjirō blandly.

"Geez, taichō, why're you such a spoilsport?" Anko grumbled.

Sōjirō showed them the tournament pairings on a holograph.

"Well then. You're free to start strategising or resting as you'd like. With this, I'll dismiss you. Are there any final questions?" Hiruzen told the genins.

Shikamaru raised his hand again. "I would like to ask something."

"Of course," Hiruzen consented, pleased.

"Since it's a tournament, there will only be one winner. Does this mean that only one person will be promoted?" Shikamaru queried.

Naruto was already walking away with Sasuke and Sakura in tow.

There was no reason to listen to that lecture for longer than necessary.

"I'm going to learn Chidori from Kakashi."

"Then I'll learn the Rasengan from Kaka-nii, dattebayo!"

"What about Jiraiya-san?"

"If I go to him, I'll only get a toad contract. I will find him after I convince Kaka-nii to teach me."

"How about you, 'Kura?"

"I'm going to the Phoenix Realm."

"Let's meet again in a month, dattebayo!"

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

"Oh, you're actually here early!"

Sasuke glared at Sakura. "Is that supposed to be a jab at me for being late before?"

"Of course!" said Sakura cheerfully.

"Where's Naruto?" he inquired, glancing past the six other genins.

Besides Gaara and Naruto, all contestants were present at the venue.

The referee and Hatake Kakashi flanked the Hokage on either side as he entered the VIP box.

Three ANBU operatives followed them, completing the entourage. They were Kitsune, Neko and Tora. They were members of the best ANBU team under Hiruzen's beck and call. More black ops agents were hiding throughout the event venue -- among the audience, in the rafters above and under the seats, awaiting their leader's command.

Conspicuous black-hooded figures donning animal masks resembling those worn by Konoha's elite forces formed a loose ring around the seats, unaware that they were standing out despite their disguise.

Sakura noticed the anomaly -- Kitsune's hair was dyed black.

"Naruto, are you currently Kitsune?"

Her answer came immediately.

"That's Sō-sensei. The referee is a Kage Bunshin."

"Where have you gone, 'Ruto?"

Naruto did not answer -- he did not have to.

A shadow blotted the sun overhead as a bizarre winged construct swooped down.

The wings closed, and a blond landed on the ground in a roll as he kicked up a plume of dust.

A redhead, not nearly as light-footed as the yellow-haired jinchūriki, dropped like a rock. Despite his inability to reposition himself in midair, he did not crash either. Sand flowed from the large gourd on his back, cradling him in its embrace as it lowered him gently.

"We're not late, right?" said Naruto, his bright azure eyes trained on the VIP seats above.

His orange getup was absent -- he was wearing his silver parka with crimson accents instead of the orange padded jacket. He wore a black tee and shinobi pants alongside lightweight silver boots with blood-red runes. The fox mask was matched with this outfit, hanging next to a navy pouch containing fūinjutsu tools on his cloth belt -- a strip of white fabric covered with numerous shimmering seals. A weapons pouch was strapped to his thigh, within easy reach should it ever be needed. His navy blue hitai-ate was the only thing that remained unchanged in his outfit.

If one looked closely, one would have seen a violet tinge encircling his pupils.

"You're just on time," chuckled the Kazekage as he stepped into the VIP viewing box.

Hiruzen nodded respectfully to the fellow Kage. "Welcome, Kazekage-dono."

"Thank you, Hokage-dono, for your kind invitation." Rasa inclined his head in a return greeting.

"Sōjirō-kun, now if you may," said Hiruzen, gesturing towards the awaiting genins in the ring.

"Of course, Hokage-sama," answered Sōjirō, bowing deeply before his figure blurred and reappeared on the field.

It was not a Shunshin -- this movement was pure speed.

"And Kakashi-kun..." Hiruzen tilted his head to better look at the silver-haired jōnin.

"I will take my seat," Kakashi spoke, aiming a longing glance towards the ANBU team behind the Hokage.

Despite his reluctance, he docilely joined the audience.

Sōjirō discreetly flared his chakra in ANBU code, "Orochimaru. Left. Guard. Kazekage."

Hiruzen's grandfatherly gaze sharpened as he received the ANBU commander's message.

Kakashi almost turned back to look at the supposed third guard of the Kazekage but stopped himself through sheer willpower.

Hiruzen cleared his throat and addressed the spectators, "Ladies, gentlemen and our esteemed guests, welcome to Konohagakure no Sato! We express our heartfelt thanks to all of you for gathering here today for the Chūnin Selection Examinations. We'll now begin the final round between the ten candidates who advanced from the preliminaries!"

"You ten, this is your Final Exam. The setting may differ, but the rules follow the rules of the preliminaries. You fight until one of you dies or admits defeat, and I reserve the right to intervene when the winner has been determined," said Naruto's reinforced shadow clone.

Naruto noticed Neji's stare, so he smiled back at him.

"Don't hold back on me, Naruto-sama," said Neji, white eyes affixed to the blond.

Naruto jabbed a thumb up at the Hokage's box and replied apologetically, "Apologies, but I was banned from using fūinjutsu during the Exams. I would be unable to fight at my best."

Neji's brow creased.

He understood what Naruto meant.

If he used fūinjutsu, there would not be much of a fight.

"How about this? Since you're a taijutsu practitioner, let's meet on the same level -- we'll have a pure taijutsu battle."

Neji was stunned.

He did not dare to believe what he was hearing.

He recalled the sight of Naruto beating Kiba using his own Gijū Ninpō and could infer that Naruto meant to do the same here.

When Neji next spoke, his voice was filled with conviction.

"You will fight using the Jūken."

Naruto smirked and did not speak.

In the stands, the head of the Hyūga clan did not hear their exchange.

"The first match between Uzumaki Naruto and Hyūga Neji will commence shortly. May the remaining contestants make their way to the waiting area until it's your turn," said the Sōjirō-clone.

Naruto experimented with his dōjutsu but found that, unlike the Sharingan, he could not regress the Tenseigan into the Byakugan. Then, for fairness in this spar, he would only activate the Tenseigan. It would be possible if he just excluded the Rinnegan.

Some more alert individuals in the audience have noticed the strange "ANBU" visibly stationed around the stadium -- numbering eight (or two four-man squads).

The last member of the team personally led by ANBU commander Kitsune was in stealth within the Hokage's VIP box. She was Hebi, otherwise known as Mitarashi Anko, the former student of Orochimaru. Besides her teammates, not a soul knew her exact location. Not even Hiruzen, their Kage, was privy to the specifics regarding the formations his ANBU commander set up.

Team Ro, the only seven-man squad in ANBU, had been disbanded when three of its members left its service, leaving a team of four under Kitsune's leadership.

Blond and brunet took identical but mirrored stances opposite each other.

Within each of Naruto's blue irises, a beautiful white flower bloomed with the now-blue pupil as its pistil.

The area around Neji's white eyes became raised by vein-like ridges -- a sign of the activation of the Byakugan.

Naruto did not conceal this change from his opponent.

Neji's breath hitched as he looked into that pair of bluish Tenseigan, awe rising from the depths of his heart.

The Hyūga clan head and his daughter, Hanabi, saw this from within the stands.

"Tou-sama. You said Neji-nii-san has the blood of our Hyūga clan flowing thicker through his veins than anyone else's, so who is that person? Why is his Jūken as perfectly polished as Neji-nii-san's?" the child asked her father, large white eyes blinking up at Hiashi.

Hiashi's jaw clenched as he looked below at the branch family prodigy of his Hyūga clan and the Uzumaki heir on opposite sides in the ring.

"Impossible," he whispered.

His Byakugan was trained on the eyes of the blond -- the legendary dōjutsu of myth.

Uzumaki and Hyūga engaged, their hands moving swiftly as a flurry of palm strikes were exchanged between them. One, two, four, eight, sixteen blows met -- usually palm to palm, sometimes glancing past each other to reach for an opening. Both users of the Jūken moved at speeds almost undetectable to the naked eye, their hands only briefly visible as their attacks made contact.

Up, right, up, down, left, left, down, up, right, left, up, up, left, up, left, right and then... centre.

Equally matched vacuum palms collided, and their users were flung away from each other.

The agile Neji repositioned himself in the air, launching himself off the side of the stadium as he landed. Naruto did not fly as far, redirecting his movement toward the ground and sprinting to the far end of the ring. His feet tapped lightly on the earth as he closed the distance, barely leaving tracks on the packed soil.

They fell into a steady rhythm of parrying and diverting each other's attacks, neither grasping the upper hand. What was supposed to be a brief standard Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms was forcibly extended to thirty-two palms, then sixty-four, and finally one hundred and twenty-eight. Then they tacitly broke apart, circling each other with their chests heaving from exertion.

Not a single attack from either side has landed on the tenketsu they aimed for.

They were equally matched in their mastery over the basic katas of the Hyūga's pride -- the Jūken.

That was to be expected.

After all, Naruto's teacher in this style was none other than the young taijutsu genius before him.

Hyūga Neji's deadly variation of the Jūken from wartime had yet to be invented, so this well-honed art was his current speciality.

As he thought of the past, Naruto took the initiative to attack once more.

One palm, two, four palms, eight...

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

At the time, he had yet to be named Rengōkage -- it was a mere two days since Naruto had taken his post as the Hokage and an hour since news of Neji's death had reached his ears.

A young woman, fair-skinned with dark hair that was a shade somewhere between purple and blue, entered his personal space and stood behind him. He was high-strung, likely to attack as soon as he detected something amiss, but he did not flinch when she placed a soft hand on his shoulder. Her skin was unmarred, a testament to her skills in close-range combat, but her pretty features were emaciated.

She crouched down and hugged him, and they felt each other's grief through the contact.

"Neji-nii-san... Before he left a week ago, he taught you his techniques."

Naruto responded neither to her touch nor her voice.

Hinata. She was the one hit hardest by Neji's passing. When Neji left on a mission tantamount to suicide, she began to fast. Or, perhaps, it might have been more appropriate to call it starving herself. She denied herself sustenance, stubbornly waiting for her cousin's return. It was said that the young head of the Hyūga clan had made an agreement with her protector. Before Neji's return, she would not eat a single crumb.

That was the only assurance she had before letting go of her last living relative -- for she could not consider the clan she ruled over to be her kin.

Neji might not treasure his life, but he valued her enough to place her well-being first.

Unfortunately, that had not been enough to hold him back from the merciless jaws of death.

"It is... all I have left of him," Naruto finally croaked out, feeling his chest hollow out with those words.

When he became the Hokage, he had been full of hope despite the bleak war raging outside.

He had thought that... he was finally in the position to change things. While it was tragic that his predecessor died after exhausting her life on the battlefront to heal her allies, she had taken down a sizable chunk of enemy troops with her. Tsunade might have been a healer, but she was a warrior first and foremost. She would have scoffed at his pity.

Naruto thought that he was strong enough to make a difference then.

Oh, how wrong he had been.

Hinata released him and moved to sit beside him on the cliff overlooking the crater that once was Konohagakure.

"Kiba. He taught you his clan's secret techniques, taijutsu and ninjutsu. They died first, a strategic move on the Akatsuki's part to rid our forces of our most effective tracker-nin. He lived on as the last Izuzuka and a leader without his clan. He gave everything to you, hoping that you'd revitalise the Inuzuka clan someday. The future generation need not be of his blood -- Kiba wished that the unbreakable bond between man and dog would not be lost together with him," Hinata murmured, reaching out a hand to grasp onto emptiness. "Tenten. She taught you all her tricks to handle weapons, and she imparted Konoha's best forging techniques to you. She could never practice it, but she shared her family's science of making weapons because she knew it would help us. Gai-sensei. He taught you how he unleashed the power of the Eight Gates, and..."

"And they're all dead," Naruto interrupted her, smiling wryly.

His eyes were dry, but they held endless anguish.

Hinata mirrored his smile but shook her head gently.

"They left their legacies to you, Naruto-kun... Hokage-sama. Some wanted their skills to be passed on to the next generation; others wanted to be remembered by you after they were no longer around. Neji-nii-san... wanted to continue to protect you through his Jūken. And I... I want to teach you my Jūken, Hokage-sama, but I'm greedy. First, promise that you'll remember. I wish you would never forget, but I guess I would make do. Whenever you use my Jūken, I would like it if you thought of me. Perhaps you might forget me, but I would like it if you recall that you learned it from someone long ago. I'm just selfish that way," Hinata told him fiercely.

Naruto's eyes widened, and a startled chuckle escaped him.

"I can do that," he answered agreeably, not telling her that he did not need to learn her version of the Jūken at all.

Besides, it was hardly an unreasonable request.

"I won't forget you easily, Hina-chan."

Hinata's face flushed, and a laugh rose unbidden from her lips, "Such a cute nickname doesn't suit me. My hands are stained with the blood of humans. I killed the Elders of my clan, you know?"

The endless ranks of the Zetsu army did not shed blood, so it did not feel like one was killing a fellow human being when slaying White Zetsu clones. Thus, survivors used a term to distinguish between those who have slain only the enemies of mankind and murderers -- blood. Before one took the life of a fellow human being, one was considered to be clean. After killing someone -- it did not matter if it was a criminal or a traitor to humanity -- one would be dirty due to the blood on one's hands.

It was a cruel distinction, and Naruto did not care much for it.

"Hina-chan, those Elders enforced the unreasonable practice of enslaving children of your clan. You killed them well," he praised, overturning her self-mockery.

Hinata was a kind person -- so much so that Neji did not think she was suitable for the path of a shinobi at first. She caved whenever pressured and tended to give in to expectations. She never told others what she wanted, trying to accommodate the wishes of others instead of pursuing her own. She was a pushover that Neji pitied but despised all the same.

It was an arduous journey -- this war.

An altruistically forbearing child like that has grown into a tenacious young woman who would stand up to protect that which she held dear.

Hinata's smile fell, and she looked down mutely at the ashes of the dead in the mass grave -- they frolicked and danced in the wind without heed for the feelings of the living. They should have been buried after their corpses were burned, but too many fell in this manner. Day after day, humans continued to die in droves. The enemy was still preparing for their final clash, yet they were already in such despair.

"Hokage-sama... Please teach my taijutsu to future generations. Rather than Neji-nii-san's, I wish that my teachings will spread in a time of peace. I won't ask you to make a vow... I'll trust you, Naruto-kun. I hope you will never need to use Neji-nii-san's Jūken in a fight. Unless faced with an enemy that must not be allowed to persist, please subdue and not kill," whispered Hinata.

Naruto did not mention that the Jūken was a style made by humans to kill other humans.

He also did not tell her that such a hope was too naive, an innocent wish made in vain in this cruel world.

It was nice. Hinata, in essence, has not changed from who she was as a child. Conversely, who was he? He has never been so honest and forthright with his companions. He had sincerity, but he never dared remove his mask in front of his closest friends.

Naruto, too, has not grown at all on the inside.

"Yes, I will share your Jūken with the world. I will avoid using lethal force unless necessary too."

After that, they immediately engaged in a taijutsu spar. Two practitioners of the Jūken, one with and one without the Byakugan, wove around each other with delicate yet sharp attacks traded between them. Hinata looked at him in wonder, still unable to imagine how someone could still aim so precisely despite lacking an ocular ability enabling him to see tenketsu. His sixth sense, a curious thing allowing him to feel the flow of chakra through means unimaginable to most, was just as keen in its perception as the visual acuity of the all-seeing Byakugan.

Gently diverting dozens of palms with a flowing motion, she explained, "I don't like the stiff and forceful style of the Jūken. They call it the Gentle Fist, but it's so harsh and aggressive. To me, the Jūken should be fluid... Yes, like this."

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

In the present, Naruto subtly altered his taijutsu style into a more flexible variant of the Jūken.

He surrendered the initiative to the other party, allowing Neji to quicken his offensive as he took the defensive.

Naruto lightly diverted the attacks, causing them to appear to land on their target to an onlooker with insufficient experience. A more sensitive viewer would have noticed that their balance was broken -- the fight had fallen under the control of one of the two. Naruto's technique was similar to yet distinct from the traditional Jūken -- as if it was an evolution of it. It followed the principle of the Eight Trigrams, but its flowing movements made it differ from the rigid style relied upon by the Hyūga clan.

Hinata, in the stands, felt her heartbeat quicken as she watched the match.

This. This was the style Hinata envisioned. This was the Jūken she wanted to create.

Naruto weaved seamlessly through Neji's unrelenting rain of palms, his mind wandering back to the scene of how he accepted Hinata's legacy.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

She moved gracefully, bypassing Naruto's guard gradually and sealing up the tenketsu points on his arm.

She soon blocked all of Naruto's vital tenketsu, completely shutting down the flow of chakra in his system.

"Did you catch it?"

Her Jūken was more aesthetically pleasing than the traditional Hyūga style.

Multiple stances were condensed into a single movement, the rapid strikes combined into a flow that was simultaneously more compact and more complex.

Naruto did not reply. He showed his understanding through his actions, thus reopening his tenketsu. He allowed Hinata to lull him into her tempo. She guided Naruto, steering his taijutsu onto the path of restriction and clemency. These attacks were made not to harm but to repress the opponent.

He joined Hinata in an elaborate dance, their hands in sync as they were mutually restrained in their attempts to bind the other.

After what felt like an eternity, both sides halted their movements -- tacitly acknowledging that a victor had been established.

Hinata smiled at him, the image of a radiant Patricia's Pride in bloom.

"Just like that."

Her lips were deathly pale, sweat beading her forehead.

In the present, Naruto unflappably continued on.

However, at that time...

"Poison... Why didn't you tell me?"

He caught her by the shoulders, quickly unblocking her tenketsu points.

However, she had merely been suppressing the symptoms with her chakra -- it was too late.

"Naruto-kun, it doesn't matter. The children deserve to be happy. I wish... fate didn't have to be so cruel."

He could not be sure if she was talking about herself, the Hyūga clan or her cousin who left the world before her.

"Hold on for a little longer. 'Kura will definitely be able to save you."

She couldn't be saved.

Hinata stopped breathing that day, and Naruto wondered why his teachers were dying off one by one.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

Only Kakashi, who never taught him anything as a shinobi, lived until the end.

Naruto's lips curved into a smile.

He once wondered if there was some sort of curse on him, causing him to absorb the fates of the many people who taught him shinobi skills throughout his life.

He was beyond those futile worries now.

Whether or not he was plagued with disaster, he just had to become strong enough to weather any storm -- to protect everyone he held dear.

With renewed vigour, Naruto began to pressure Neji. Slowly but steadily, he encroached on the space of his opponent. Passingly, he would reach out to tap a few tenketsu after avoiding Neji's offence.

Soon, Neji was unable to muster a single drop of chakra.

The two Jūken practitioners abruptly came to a stop.

Neji raised his hand.

"I concede," he said simply.

This time, Naruto had joined Neji on his own stage and defeated him soundly even so.

Neji's trump card, the Hakkeshō: Kaiten (Eight Trigrams: Revolving Heaven), was not displayed in this timeline -- it was not meant for countering a fellow user of the Jūken and could not be used to its full potential even if he brought it out. Even so, the Hyūga clan head was not any less shocked by this battle than he had been in the previous timeline. It could even be said that he was more astonished after he witnessed Naruto's skills and eyes.

"Hyūga Neji has forfeited the match and is incapacitated. Uzumaki Naruto wins!"