I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Not 100% satisfied with this chapter, but I probably never will be because I'm not great with improvising fight scenes.

Also I do realize that Naruko and Sasuke's romantic relationship is taking quite a while in developing, but that's because 1) they're thirteen-years-old and most thirteen-year-olds don't date for reals at that age and 2) I've never been in a relationship myself so I don't really know how this works out, but I'm trying my best to develop their friendship first. Obviously Sasuke is already feeling something for Naruko, but he refuses to acknowledge it as anything important yet.

Anyway, rant over; I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

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"Hey sleepyhead, time to wake up~"

Naruko cracked her eyes open to see her smiling pink-haired teammate at her bedside. 'What in the world...? Oh, right.' Her head fell back as she remembered the previous day's events; the heaviness in her limbs came from using too much Kurama's chakra all at once, which she had no doubt done when she summoned the Chief Toad, Gamabunta. "I'm too tired to be alive," the girl grumbled.

Sakura laughed, the lilting sound carrying through the air. "Well, tomorrow is the third phase of the Chuunin Exams, so you better be a little more awake if you want to have a chance of winning against your opponent. Also, do you have a bag I can borrow?"

"The only bags I have are the ones under my eyes, and they are specifically designed to carry the burden of my existence."

Sakura sweatdropped. "All you had to say was no..."

"I wish the earth was flat so I could yeet myself off the edge," Naruko mumbled. She blinked in a sort of sluggish surprise when something cracked and Sakura was suddenly right in front of her.

"Are you okay? Sick? Depressed? Or is it chakra exhaustion? But that doesn't cause suicidal or depressive tendencies... should I get Kaka-sensei? Or Jiraiya-sama? He was the one who brought you here, you know—"

Naruko couldn't help smiling as her teammate's mother-hen side took over. "No, no, nothing like that... stop worrying, Sakura. I told you, I'm just T.I.R.E.D," she sighed, holding up a hand to tick off the letters as she spoke, "'T' for 'ticked off', 'I' for 'irritated', 'R' for 'ready to punch something', 'E' for 'extremely upset' and 'D' for 'done'."

Sakura looked sympathetically at her teammate and held our her arms. "Do you need a hug?"

Naruko looked at her for a moment before mumbling, "Yes." Smothering a laugh, Sakura shifted over to wrap her arms around her smaller friend. The blonde suddenly jerked, "The third phase is tomorrow?"

Sakura bit her lip to refrain from laughing at the genuinely horrified look on Naruko's face. "Yep. You've been hibernating for three days."

The blonde stared at her for a moment before falling back into bed and turning over. "Nope. Not happening. Wake me up in a few decades' time and I'll see how I feel then."

This time, Sakura did laugh. "Where have you been training, anyway? I couldn't find you for the whole month you had to train. Not even Gaara and Fuu knew where you were. Did you train with Jiraiya-sama the whole time?"

Naruko nodded. "He's my godfather, so I guess it was kind of his responsibility to train me, since Kaka-nii was training Sasuke in both his Lightning Release and his Sharingan."

"Jiraiya-sama is your—" Sakura took a deep breath. "Naruko," she said sweetly, "why didn't you tell me about this discovery earlier?"

"Because Pervy Sage took me training right after," was the mumbled reply. Sakura sighed; looks like she wouldn't be getting a proper answer out of her exasperating — but still entirely lovable — teammate anytime soon. So she busied herself rummaging for the bento box she had brought with her when she decided that morning she would wake Naruko and have her eat something, or at least wake up for an hour or two.

"Alright you big baby, open up," the pinkette ordered with a playful lilt to her voice. Naruko's eye narrowed at her before brightening, and she obediently opened her mouth so Sakura could drop a tamagoyaki in. The blonde hummed appreciatively, rolling the egg around in her mouth.

"Are you serious?" a voice deadpanned from the doorway, and both girls turned to see Sasuke looking at them with no small amount of amusement.

"Why? Do you want me to feed you too?" Sakura teased, holding up a cherry tomato. "Say ah~"

Sasuke rolled his eyes but opened his mouth anyway, allowing the pinkette to throw the small red bleb into his mouth. The Uchiha sat down on the other side of Naruko's bed, "So. Knocked yourself out for three days with chakra exhaustion. Didn't think that was possible with you and the absurd amount of chakra you have, dobe."

Naruko pulled a face. "Even I admit I overdo it sometimes, teme." She attempted to sit up, but her body protested and so she settled for propping herself up on her elbows. "So how did your — mmmppphhh, Fakuwa! — twaining wif Kaka-nii gwo?"

Sasuke's mouth twisted in amusement. "Sakura, I thought you knew better than to feed this fox when she's speaking. She's too stubborn to stop mid-sentence just so she can chew and swallow like a normal person."

The pinkette shrugged unrepentantly. "She needs the nutrients, her mouth is open, I don't see what the problem is."

Naruko swallowed deliberately, glaring playfully at her teammates. "I would be insulted and kick you out of my room if I didn't know it was true."

"That, and you love us," Sakura laughed.

"Well," Naruko pondered it for a moment, "if you loved me the way I love you... why didn't you bring me ramen?" she pouted. The pinkette slapped the back of her head lightly and started to lecture her on food groups and "proper diets for growing girls, especially shinobi" while Sasuke smirked at his teammate's misfortune, taking the liberty to steal another cherry tomato. Or two.

And that was how Kakashi found them; Sasuke leaning against the footboard with his sandals on the floor and his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, close enough to Naruko's blanket-covered legs that his foot was nudging her knee. His dark eyes were uncharacteristically soft and shining with mirth and affection, his usual guarded expression nowhere in sight. There was even a slight slouch in his posture, and he appeared to be perfectly at ease. Sakura was sitting on the edge of Naruko's bed that was closest to the doorway, an empty bento box in her lap. Naruko sat propped up against the headboard, content as she listened to Sakura enthusiastically prattle on without even taking a breath about something that had a high likelihood of being medic-related — did that girl even talk about anything other than medical ninjutsu in the past month? — while her hands were in the air and gesturing animatedly.

"...and then she showed us how to extract poison, whether we knew the substance or not, with just— oh, Kaka-sensei!" Sakura smiled brightly at the grey-haired Jonin, who had, up until now, been content watching them interact. Kakashi was both surprised and pleased to note that Sasuke still retained his relaxed posture, even when his sensei's presence was announced. Huh, perhaps Lord Third had been onto something, that this team really would turn out to be the best thing that happened to each individual of Team 7. Including himself.

Kakashi pushed himself off the doorjamb and gave his Genin team a two-finger salute. "Yo," he greeted in his usual monotone. "Didn't expect to see you all here." The unspoken 'but I'm happy you are' was a given.

"Well, someone has to make sure Naruko eats properly," Sakura said pointedly.

Kakashi pretended to be offended. "And what do you call what I've been doing for the past three or so years?"

"Oh, I don't know... the word "lenient" comes to mind?"

The Jonin chuckled, reaching out to ruffle his indignant Genin's hair. "Alright, I admit I'm not the expert on taking care of others. But I try my best."

Sasuke "hn"ed, and when Naruko poked his foot, he rolled his eyes and spoke a proper sentence that consisted of; "I taught myself everything in the past month."

Kakashi gave a mock-gasp, his hand flying to his chest. "How dare you insinuate I failed to teach you anything, my dear Sasuke-kun! Do you regard the original jutsu I oh-so-lovingly imparted to you as nothing?"

The Uchiha pretended to think about it for a brief moment and then corrected himself, "I taught myself almost everything in the past month."

Kakashi sighed dramatically as his female Genin snickered with not even an ounce of sympathy. Sasuke smirked, looking rather smugly satisfied. Despite being the victim of relentless verbal abuse, the Jonin couldn't help smiling fondly at them as Sakura shifted to allow space for him to sit on Naruko's hospital bed.

Team 7's Genin continued their previous conversation, and Kakashi watched with a fondness he never thought he'd have the opportunity to nurture as he observed the thirteen-year-olds.

As the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi — not that Sakura and Sasuke knew that — Naruko had a nearly limitless supply of chakra, allowing her to be the 'powerhouse' of the team. She was also fast, to the point where she could potentially become the next Yellow Flash. She was unpredictable and a bit of a knucklehead, but she somehow managed to twist that into her favour when in field. It was remarkable to watch her fight, because she could switch from the basic taijutsu form to a specialized form with ninjutsu thrown in randomly, and then switch to one that had never been seen before. There was no way of knowing what she would throw at you, and that always kept you on your toes, no matter how long you had known her or how good you were at reading body language.

And where Naruko lacked intellect and a clear mind, Sasuke and Sakura combined more than made up for it. It wasn't to say Naruko was dumb; she was actually rather smart, but she allowed her battle instincts to take over more often than not. 

Sasuke, quite predictably, was the 'prodigy'; a fast learner with the beginnings of a unique skill set that Kakashi was sure would develop well. He was incredibly intuitive, most likely due to his high observation skills. The Uchiha was also able to apply knowledge to the field in most circumstances; in other words, he was less rash than Naruko and had a good sense of when to restrain his teammate and when not to.

Meanwhile, Sakura was the medic of the team, and had the best chakra control of the three. Her intellect and quick-thinking far outshone Sasuke's, and her teammates knew it. This allowed for them to put aside their own opinions — or pride in some cases — and act out her strategies. Most of the time, though, Sakura didn't even need to say a word; they practically spent day and night with each other for the past year, and so it was understandable that they were close enough that they could read each other's body language in field.

They had come a long way from when they first graduated, both as individuals and as a three-man-team. They were young, and had many flaws, but they had something not even the most seasoned ANBU would understand — while they were acutely aware of their weaknesses and worked hard to minimize them, they allowed themselves to draw strength from each other and allowed their teammates to compensate for their minor shortcomings.

Sasuke was proud and single-track-minded.

But Naruko wasn't afraid to pound some sense into him and Sakura never backed down when it came to her teammates' health and safety. Being too proud to take orders fell into that category.

Naruko was rash and too independent.

But Sasuke was good at reading her and knew when to appropriately restrain her, either with a mere look, a murmured word, or a simple touch. And Sakura would never let either of her close friends and teammates go into battle alone, regardless of their reasoning.

Sakura had low chakra reserves and wasn't physically strong.

But her on-the-spot strategies had gotten her team out of a sticky situation more than once, and Naruko and Sasuke were more than willing to protect her. In turn, Sakura would always be there to heal them. She had developed a sharp eye for when her teammates were hiding injuries; both sensei and Genin had quickly learnt to never attempt such a thing.

"Kaka-sensei?"

Kakashi blinked and realized his three gremlins were looking at him with varying levels of concern. Not sure if they had asked him a question and he failed to answer, or they had noticed him spacing out, Kakashi simply opted to give them his typical eye-smile as he reached out to ruffle Sasuke's hair with his left hand hand and pat Sakura's hand with his right. Naruko's eyes told him that she understood more than enough.

"I'm proud of you. All of you."

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"Where's Sasuke?" Naruko frowned, scanning the group of preliminary victors — Neji Hyuuga, Shino Aburame, the Sand Siblings and Fuu's teammate Yōrō.

"The Dosu-guy I'm supposed to fight isn't here, either," Shikamaru noted from his place beside the blonde.

"Hey, you kids. Throw out your chests and show your faces to the spectators— oh, man, it's you. Uh, I mean..."

Naruko smirked at the brunette man with a senbon between his teeth. "Hiya, Genma-nii." She heard Shikamaru mutter something suspiciously like, "Another one?" and snickered under her breath.

Naruko obediently looked up, and found there were at least three stands full of loudly-cheering spectators. She set her jaw; that only made her more determined to win. But then she realized something; if Genma was the proctor, what happened to Hayate? Said Jonin didn't seem tense at the latter's absence... the blonde decided to shrug it off as Hayate having a mission out of the village. It was a little odd to suddenly switch the proctors, but she needed all of her focus to be on her upcoming match. Besides, Hayate was a Tokubetsu Jonin, and Yugao was always there to back him up.

"You guys are the "stars" of the final round," Genma murmured through the senbon.

From one of the uppermost levels, the Third Hokage questioned the Jonin beside him, "Sasuke hasn't been found yet?"

"A team of several ANBU members are searching all over," the shinobi reported, "but they have found nothing." He leaned down to whisper into the Hokage's ear, "He might already be in the hands of Orochimaru. If that's the case, we may never find him."

Hiruzen closed his eyes. "I understand."

Just then, the four invited Kage and their bodyguards arrived — the Raikage, the Mizukage, the Kazekage and the Takikage.

From below, the Sand Siblings noticeably tensed at the arrival of their father. Naruko shivered at the sheer distaste and hatred rolling off them, but smiled reassuringly when Gaara shot a look of apology her way. Gaara looked mildly concerned, but said nothing else.

"Everyone, thank you very much for coming, to Konohagakure's Chuunin Exams," the Hokage's voice boomed over the stadium and successfully quieting all conversations and cheers. "We will now begin the final round matches for the eight who made it through the preliminaries. Please watch until the end!"

"If there are supposed to be eight, it looks like one is missing," the Kazekage commented.

"I have something to tell you before the match," Genma said, reaching into his flak jacket and withdrawing a piece of paper. "Look at this. There was a slight change to the tournament. Check who you'll be facing one more time."

Shikamaru's eye visibly twitched. 'Here, I had more preliminary matches than the others... so the Dosu-guy dropped out?'

Gaara's eye narrowed at the lack of the name; "I thought I'd pound you here... if I did that, there'd be the possibility for me, as the one remaining after the first battle, to fight Sasuke." He clenched his jaw at the memory of the Sound nin's words. He quickly forced himself into a less-murderous state of mind when he felt Isobu, Saiken, Gyuki and Kurama brush lightly against his conscience, either as a gentle pull back to reality, a warning or reassurance, he couldn't tell. He was grateful for them either way.

"Hey, Genma," Naruko said quietly, dropping the suffix so as to not arouse accusations of bias, "Sasuke's still not here. Do you know what might happen?" Her voice was soft, but her eyes were hard. 'He was fine yesterday... and knowing his character, that teme come here even if he had to drag himself.' She paused. 'I swear, if Kaka-nii's habit of being inconveniently late to everything has been rubbing off on him, I'm going to have a talk with them.'

"In case a competitor does not arrive by the start time of his match..." Genma bit down hard on his senbon, sending it flying up. "He or she will lose by default." The proctor then cleared his throat, settling his hands on his hips. "Listen up, you guys. The terrain is different, but the rule is there are no rules — the same as the preliminaries. The matches will continue until one or the other dies or acknowledges defeat. However, if I judge that it has been settled, I'll stop the match there. Arguments will not be allowed. Understood?"

Apparently, they had learned from Hinata and Neji's match.

"So, the first match is... Naruko Uzumaki and Neji Hyuuga." Genma glanced between the Genin. "Those two will remain while the rest of you go to the waiting room."

The five Genin obeyed, and Naruko felt a small tendril of sand brush the back of her neck, as if wishing her luck. Naruko smiled; 'Thank you, Gaara.' She glanced up to see Yagura leaning on the railing, smiling down at her. She smiled back. She could make out Bee and Utakata's figures, but they were too far away for her to see their faces. One more glance at the stands showed Kiba helping Hinata over to where Sakura was waving at them from beside Ino and Fuu. Naruko was glad Hinata had friends to help her out. Thanks to increased hearing, she heard Kiba's remark of, "This match should be interesting." And privately, she agreed.

'You ready, furball?'

Kurama rumbled in anticipation, for once fully-awake. "Don't you dare draw on my chakra to the point where it's visible as a chakra cloak," he warned. "But I will consent to lending you some just in case you need to perform a massive jutsu, or you plan on using your nodachi. But no more — got it?"

'Got it,' Naruko chirped. Throughout the past month, Naruko had alternated between training with Jiraiya and training with Kurama. While Jiraiya taught her the Summoning Jutsu and gave her the pointers on forming a Rasengan to the point where she could do it by herself, Kurama had instructed her on how to use the Nietono no Shana properly. First, she had gone through all that Zabuza had taught her, and then the Bijuu began to teach her the fundamental basics of the possible moves she could do with them before allowing her to experiment.

"Wait... Kit, look behind the row to the right of Kotestu and Izumo."

Naruko obeyed, and her eyes narrowed instantly. 'What are ANBU Black Ops doing here?' A dark feeling of foreboding curled in her stomach. 'Is something going on?'

"I don't know," Kurama muttered, "but I don't like it one bit. We'll talk later, once you beat the whole superiority complex out of this punk."

Naruko blinked, refocusing her attention. 'Right.' She started to walk forward into the middle of the arena, meeting Neji there halfway.

"You seem like you want to say something," Neji observed, amusement that seemed mocking was heard clearly in his voice.

Naruko simply held out her fist the same way she had back in the preliminaries. "I said it before, didn't I?" she said with a calm that could only foreshadow a storm. "I'll win, no matter what."

"Why do you act against your fate? You fight hard against it, but ultimately, it is futile," Neji said coldly.

"Why?" Naruko smiled sardonically. "It's because I was called a failure."

Neji closed his lavender eyes and the cool amusement left his face. When he opened them again, the veins around his eyes were bulging — he had activated the Byakugan. 'She has the look of being sure of herself... it's as if she's not at all worked up.' Neji let out a quiet, bitter chuckle as he shifted into his clan's famed Jyuuken stance. "That makes it all the more worthwhile for me. I look forward to your look of disappointment when you know the true reality..."

"Stop whining," Naruko spoke through gritted teeth as her chakra flared, stirring up the dust into a ring that surrounded herself, Neji and Genma. "Let's get started."

'Well, if your goal was to get her angry at you, you've done it, Hyuuga,' Fuu grimaced, 'and a very thorough job at that.'

Killer Bee narrowed his eyes slightly. This had an uncanny resemblance to when he sparred with Yugito on one of her bad days. 'That was the calm that hid the storm, and now it's brewing. You better watch yourself, Neji Hyuuga.' The shinobi barely suppressed a grin. 'Despite the fact they share no blood, there's no doubt about it — they're definitely mother and daughter.'

Genma grinned; some things never changed — and that included Naruko's unwavering loyalty and determination. He then declared, "Alright, now let the first match... begin!"

There was a tense silence that followed; Genma bit down repeatedly on his senbon, while Neji and Naruko remained in a stare-off of sorts.

"Watch carefully, Hanabi," Hiashi Hyuuga commanded his youngest daughter from their place in the stands. "Nobody has inherited such a strong Hyuuga kekkei genkai. To say nothing of your older sister."

Seven-year-old Hanabi made a noise of surprise. "More than nee-san?"

"Perhaps more than you, too," was the only reply she received. Hanabi's eyes widened, and she returned her attention to the match with a newfound determination.

Naruko inhaled deeply through her nose; it was clear Neji wasn't going to start. Biting the inner flesh of her cheek, she paused. 'I wonder...'

"Kit... do I want to know what you're thinking?"

Naruko smirked. 'Probably not.' With that said, she suddenly whipped out three kunai and shot it at the Hyuuga prodigy. Naruko was somewhat impressed when Neji caught one and used it to halt the second kunai while knocking the third into a nearby tree trunk. She ran straight at her opponent, attempting a punch. 

Predictably, Neji knocked it aside without even flinching. Using the momentum, Naruko flipped and then launched herself off the ground, sending a flurry of attacks at him. Neji either dodged or countered them all with the same cocky smirk on his face.

'Looks like it'll take a lot more than just taijutsu to beat him,' Naruko mused. She smirked right back at Neji, causing his eyes to narrow before he was forced to dodge a kick at his jaw. Before he could spring back up again, Naruko quickly shot a blistering spew of fire from her mouth; 'Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!'

"I would yell at her for attacking upfront... but then I remember just exactly who's fighting," a pinkette kunoichi in the spectator stands sighed in resignation.

Fuu grinned; looks like her teammates were learning to accept her sister's impulsive tendencies. "She has a plan," the kunoichi reassured her new friend. "Naruko doesn't attack without having planned ahead at least a step or two. Even if she has to change the plan in the middle of combat, she'll make it work. To her, tactics and strategy is just one big puzzle with pieces that can change at any given moment. They're not always the best, but she somehow makes it work."

Sakura huffed a laugh. "It's because she can adapt frighteningly fast, and that's what makes her unpredictable. I've only just started getting past the stage where I go into cardiac arrest every time she does something incredibly stupid yet ingenious... oh good lanta, she's an oxymoron in physical form, isn't she?" Sakura sighed in despair while Fuu laughed, agreeing wholeheartedly.

Since Kurama was immune to fire, Naruko drew upon his chakra to coat her skin similarly to how Gaara used his Sand Armour. Under the cover of the Flame Bullet, she propelled herself forward and slammed her head into Neji's chest. Neji struck out blindly and managed to pinch one of the tenketsu points in her shoulders.

'She's fast,' Neji conceded, 'maybe just a little slower than Lee. Impressive... but nothing I can't handle.' After all, he had trained under a possibly-mental Taijutsu Specialist.

Naruko grimaced as she experimentally prodded her shoulder. 'He's probably memorized the entire body... maybe I should listen to Sakura's impromptu medical lectures more often.'

"Be careful," Kurama cautioned. "I'd hate for you to lose in front of your family and the big-ass crowd watching."

'Thanks for the vote of confidence.'

"Anytime."

As the flames died, Neji managed another punch at Naruko's chest which she spun into her favor by flipping midair and slamming her foot into his torso. The closed tenketsu point didn't affect her as much because she could always fall back on Kurama's chakra to force it back open, but it wasn't ideal in the least, making it a loss she had to take into consideration.

"You understand, right?" Neji called over to her. "You have no way of winning."

Naruko smirked. "Oh believe me... I only did that to verify your power." She formed the oh-so-familiar sign of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, producing four more copies of herself.

Yagura looked on in amused curiosity; the Shadow Clone Jutsu was a Jonin-level technique due to the high risks it posed to shinobi with normal-sized chakra reserves — because let's face it; jinchuuriki were monsters when it came to chakra reserves — so either Kurama had taught her an alternative for the Academy-required Clone Jutsu, or Naruko somehow managed to sneak into forbidden archives and learnt it because of sheer curiosity. Knowing his troublesome sister, the latter was more than plausible.

'Shadow Clone Jutsu?' Neji hid his bafflement as he scrutinized the clones. 'Oh, I see. If chakra is evenly distributed among the clones... indeed, I can't detect the real one, even with my Byakugan.' Keeping the smirk on his face, Neji told her, "But there's only one real one, after all."

"Heh, don't be acting tough," all five Narukos teased.

"Ohmylanta," Gaara muttered, horrified, "now I understand why Yagura always makes such a big deal out of it. That is so creepy."

"If you're going to come, then come," Neji demanded.

"Come?" Kurama perked up. "Why, if I had known you were so eager, I would've—"

'Cut it out, you big perv!' Naruko almost screamed, mortified. 'You big lump of fur, you and I are going to have words after this.'

Kurama wisely stayed silent.

The four clones rushed at Neji, who narrowed his eyes at them. He slammed his hands onto two of the heads, flipping over them. The instant his feet touched the ground, two more clones ran at him, but he instantly slammed their elbows off-course. The real Naruko brought up her knee to aim an upwards strike at his chin, only to miss as Neji jumped in a way that made it seem like the kick had connected. The previous two Narukos rushed at Neji, but he wasn't called a prodigy for nothing — Neji launched into the air and slammed the heel of his foot into one head and kicked the other one away. They both disappeared in a plume of grey smoke. He quickly dealt with the remaining two clones as well, striking them in the chest with such force that the observing Genin grimaced; the preliminary match between the two Hyuugas was anything but forgotten.

Naruko calmly stood there as the clones popped around him. 'Does he have eyes behind him?' she wondered. Whatever she knew about the Hyuuga dojutsu were things she had gleaned from the few spars she and Hinata had entertained themselves with back in the Academy.

"No. Individuals with a Byakugan have a near-360⁰ field of vision around themselves, save for the small blindspot above the thoracic vertebra."

'The... what?'

"Back of the neck. The Byakugan's vision can penetrate almost any object, allowing users to see through walls, peer underground or even examine the contents of a person's body. Only certain barriers can block a Byakugan's sight. Users can focus their vision on anything and everything within the Byakugan's range — with this particular punk I'd say his range is around fifty meters, give or take a few."

'I knew there was a reason why I don't memorize textbooks,' Naruko said a little too happily. 'I have my own library right here.'

"You're going to become the Hokage?" Neji turned to Naruko with a cruel smirk. "At this level—"

He was cut off when suddenly Naruko disappeared, leaving him momentarily nonplussed before there was a shout of, "Fire Style: Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" (1) and the girl came crashing down on him, a large stream of fire trailing behind both arms. Reflexively, Neji emitted chakra from his tenketsu points, blocking the attack that would've otherwise simultaneously sent him flying and given him minor burns.

"That's..." Hiashi's grip on his kimono-clothed knees tightened as he recognized the use of the Hyuuga main house's secret taijutsu. "Rotation."

Naruko was thrown back as Neji started spinning, a dome of protective chakra forming around him. "Ah, that's just annoying," she muttered as she landed neatly in a crouch, though she was forced to skid back a few feet.

Neji, who had stopped rotating, and was regarding his opponent carefully after the unexpected Fire-based jutsu. Naruko merely smirked at him before racing at her opponent, drawing on a bit of her chakra to increase her speed even further. Assuming she was making a foolish attempt in taijutsu again, Neji slid into his Jyuuken stance. However, he was unprepared for the flash bomb thrown right into his face.

Neji let out a cry of pain; due to the enhanced eyesight his Byakugan granted him, it only made him more sensitive to the blinding light. A clone burst from the ground and grabbed his ankles, hurtling him straight up into the air. Naruko launched off the ground to meet him halfway, and they engaged in a brief airborne taijutsu battle — Naruko lashed out with her left leg which Neji evaded only by hearing the shift in the air, but was forced to dodge the right hook that followed up immediately. Vision barely clearing enough to see the blurry outline of the other Genin, Neji attempted a punch at Naruko's exposed back, but thanks to Kurama's "sixth sense" and honed reflexes, she was able to raise her left arm to block just in time. Using her own momentum, she swung her right leg in a sweeping wide-arc kick, forcing Neji to lean backwards in order to avoid it.

All too soon, gravity called and they were forced to land, a few feet of empty space being all that stood between the two Genin. Neji was given no time to regain his bearings as the blonde began to attack him with a flurry of punches and kicks from behind. However, he was quickly able to deduce the laughably-transparent pattern of her attacks, and with the small gap, he slid into the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms stance.

Wasting no time, Neji started to jab at all the tenketsu points on Naruko's body with such speed that she was rendered unable to move out of the path of the relentless attack. "Four Palms... Eight Palms... Sixteen Palms... Thirty-Two Palms... Sixty-Four Palms!" When Naruko went flying back, Neji slowly eased back into his normal stance. "I pressed all sixty-four chakra points all over your body. You can't even stand. "Your dreams will come true if you just work hard"? It's an illusion."

Yagura's grip on the railing tightened. 'C'mon Naru, use what we taught you.'

Naruko glanced up at her opponent with a smirk. "Don't assume things." She arched her back, and golden chains started to sweep out, snapping towards the Hyuuga and binding him tightly and lift him into the air.

"What—" Neji struggled against the chains, but they only tightened with every move he made.

"Adamantine Sealing Chains," Naruko said softly, a profound sadness shining in her blue eyes. "You aren't the only one with a kekkei genkai. I just choose not to flaunt it."

Neji's eyes widened as inked characters started to run across the chains until they covered the golden surface under a matter of seconds. Once that was done, Naruko raised her right hand in the Ram sign. "Kai." The chains that were still wrapped around the Hyuuga prodigy suddenly exploded, and half a second later, so did the blonde girl.

The Mizukage's grip relaxed. 'Atta girl.'

Genma's senbon fell from his mouth. 'What in Kami's name has Kakashi been teaching her? And the Adamantine Sealing Chains? Kushina Uzumaki's kekkei genkai... I thought only full-blooded Uzumaki's had that, even then, only the clan head's family or the most elite of the clan.' (2)

"I forgot," Fuu sighed as she watched Naruko emerge from behind a boulder. "She's a blockhead, but when she's fighting, her mind is a steel trap."

"Wait, what just happened?" Ino demanded, her pale blue eyes going back and forth between the unscathed blonde and her opponent, who was down on one knee and breathing hard. The explosive tags hadn't been anything too bad, but they did pack quite a punch.

"Well," Fuu said thoughtfully, "it seems the Naruko that attacked him from behind was just a Shadow Clone. Sometime between catching the Hyuuga and exploding, the chains went black, right? I'm pretty sure that was some sort of fūinjutsu that I don't know the name of and frankly don't want to know, because Naruko is scary when she gets on one of those rants. Anyway, she seems to have been able to animate the explosive seal designs in a way similar to Pineapple-Head's shadow-stringy-something-jutsu." (3)

"So animating the explosive seal designs causes the chains to explode?" Sakura's eyebrows flew sky-high.

"Well, the chains are essentially Naruko's chakra. How the Adamantine Sealing Chains work is by molding the user's chakra into extremely durable chains which can be used for various purposes such as directly combating, physically restraining targets or creating barriers. It's a fūinjutsu type specific to the Uzumaki Clan... so I guess you can call it a kekkei genkai."

"Chakra explodes? Can you even do that?"

"Not in the sense you're thinking — chakra bursts and flares, you're familiar with, right? It's kind of like a variation of this, except because the chakra has been molded into chains, it can have a more... volatile tendency. I have no idea how Naruko managed it, but I do know it had fūinjutsu in there somewhere, and she linked the chains' explosion to the clone's chakra system. I assume there was a massive backlash to that particular move, which is why she used a clone instead of doing it herself."

"You know her well," Hinata commented quietly.

Fuu shrugged with a smile. "Live a few years with her and you get to be pretty good at figuring her out. Of course, she's still wildly unpredictable, but you can detect her train of thought after she's carried her attacks out. It's very interesting, watching her fight."

Neji and Naruko appeared to have come to a standstill, as Naruko waited patiently for Neji to catch his breath.

"Neji, I have a question," Naruko said quietly, though in the arena it sounded like a shout. "Why did you, with a look like you've seen through it all, go after Hinata, who was trying so hard?"

Neji's eyes narrowed. "It has nothing to do with you."

Naruko met Neji's glare evenly. "Mocking Hinata... selfishly labeling her as a failure as you please... head family, branch family... I don't know what happened to you, but I won't forgive a jerk who would call another person a failure."

Yagura couldn't help the soft, affectionate smirk that curled his lips. 'There's that self-righteous imp I know. Always sticking her nose into something and making it better.'

"Fine — if you insist, I will tell you about the Hyuuga destiny of hatred."

"Sounds ominous," Kurama commented sarcastically. "I'm shaking in my boots. Oh no, it's a horror story. Papa, Mama, save me!" he wailed in a high-pitched voice. Naruko internally rolled her eyes and pulled up a mental block; this was not the time for his jokes.

"In the Hyuuga head family, there is a secret ninjutsu that's been passed on from generation to generation." Neji's face was contorted with hate. "That is Juinjutsu."

'Juinjutsu... the Cursed Mark Arts...' Naruko's eyes widened slightly. 'Don't tell me—'

Neji closed his eyes. "The Cursed Mark represents a bird in a cage... and it's a mark of those who are bound to a destiny they cannot escape." He reached up and untied his hitai-ate, bearing his forehead. It held a green X with two hooked lines on either side that vaguely reminded her of the Mizukage's staff. (4)

"That mark," Naruko murmured. 'Fascinating. Do you think he'll let me study it, Kurama?'

"What in the world for, Kit? He's bitter enough about it as it is, and this seal is obviously a cause of grief for him. Why would he want an underclassman studying his forehead on top of all of that?"

'Well... I want to know what it can do, and I also want to see if I can undo it. If I can undo this juinjutsu, then wouldn't that help a little in getting rid of Sasuke's mark?'

"Hmm... you make a valid point."

"One day, when I was four-years-old," Neji explained, "this accursed mark was inscribed on my forehead with juinjutsu. A large ceremony was held in Konoha that day. It was also the day when the Head Ninja of Kumogakure, the land that Konoha had fought with for many years, came to the conclusion of the allied treaty. However, there was one clan that didn't attend the ceremony that was attended to by everyone else, from Jonin to Genin. It was the Hyuuga clan, and it was because that day was the day of hope when the head family heir turned three — Hinata-sama's third birthday."

Neji shifted to look up at where he knew his uncle and youngest cousin were sitting.

"My father, Hizashi Hyuuga, and Hinata-sama's father who's over there, Hiashi Hyuuga, were twin brothers. However, Hinata-sama's father, Hiashi-sama, is the eldest son of the head family, born into this world first. And my father, the second son, was a member of the branch family. When the head heir grew and became three-years-old, I had the curse mark imprinted on me, and I became a bird in the cage. And became the Hyuuga branch family."

"Why is it necessary to do something like that?" Naruko asked. She already had a pretty good idea of the reason behind the curse mark, so she further clarified, "Why separate a head family and a branch family?"

"The mark on my forehead isn't just decoration," Neji told her bitterly. "This curse mark is the absolute fear called "death", so to speak, that was given to the branch family by the head family. The Secret Sign that the head family members form easily destroys the cerebral nerves of those in the branch family. Of course, killing is easy. And this mark only goes away at time of death — sealing away the power of the Byakugan."

Naruko's eyes dimmed a little; now she understood what Gai had been implying when he said Neji had a burden similar to her own. A caged bird, forced to do the bidding of the main house... was that almost just as bad as being the jailer of the creature that had nearly destroyed an entire Hidden Village?

"The Hyuuga family is the clan that possesses the most distinctive kekkei genkai. There's no end to those who target the secret of that distinctive power. In other words, the curse mark keeps the branch family alive only to protect the head family, and does not allow disobedience. It's an effective system created to defend the Byakugan for eternity. And then, that incident occurred." Neji closed his eyes at the mere mention.

"My father was killed by the head family."

Naruko's eyes widened.

"One night, Hinata-sama was snatched up by someone. At that time Hiashi-sama immediately rushed off and killed the abductor. Who do you think that person was... who was in the shadows and also wearing a mask? It was the Head Ninja of Kumogakure who had just signed the peace treaty. It was clear that he came targeting the secrets of the Byakugan from the start."

Bee instantly grabbed at his brother's arm, slamming him back down onto the chair. A glared at him, but Bee returned it with just as much force. "Let the kid speak. He was just four — he don't know the full story, and clearly no one has told him," he muttered into the Raikage's ear. A was startled that Bee wasn't rapping, which only indicated his seriousness. And so, begrudgingly, A settled down into his seat again.

"However, the Land of Lightning exploited the killing of their own ninja due to a botched plan, and set an outrageous condition in violation of the treaty with Konoha. Naturally, things got worse and worse, and there was almost a war between Konoha and Kumo. However Konoha, who wanted to end the war, made a deal with Kumo."

Then Naruko was struck by a memory — once, when she had been very young, her mother and Blue B had come home, the former seething with a palpable fury while the latter tried to calm her down, even if he was obviously livid himself. Naruko didn't remember everything clearly, but apparently Kurama did...

《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》

The door banged open and loud, angry voices filled the previously-silent air. Naruko, who was in her room, jumped at the sudden intrusion. She recognized her mother and her big brother, Blue B, but something stopped her from running out to greet them. Her senses were screaming about danger. Naruko was only three-years-old, but she could tell something was terribly wrong.

"Where's Naruko?" her mother's harried voice shouted from the other side of the hallway.

"Yugito, what—"

"Where is Naruko?" the kunoichi only repeated, louder and more forceful this time.

"She's colouring in her room. But Yugito—"

Footsteps cut her off, and there was a startled yelp; "Good lanta, woman! Watch where you're going!"

"Not now, Yagura!" Yugito snapped with more harshness than necessary.

"Remind me to never get in the way of Mama-Cat," was all Yagura muttered. There was a light slap, and then someone — Utakata, probably — dragged the sandy-haired boy away.

Naruko stayed perfectly still until her bedroom door was flung open and her mother rushed in. The three-year-old squeaked in surprise when arms suddenly wound around her and held her close, but didn't protest at being taken away from her colouring book as she would've normally done. Naruko, unsure of what was going on, clung to the warmth and familiarity that she associated with home. Something bad happened; her mother was scared and angry. She could feel it.

Yugito's hands kept running through her hair and down her back in an almost frantic pattern, and she was holding Naruko so tightly she had to strain to breathe.

Mio suddenly appeared in the doorway, her eyes full of concern. "Yugito-nee, what in the world happened?" she asked in bewilderment, though her voice didn't rise above its usual gentle tone. Yugito turned to face her, and the two females exchanged soft murmurs before Yugito reluctantly stepped out of Naruko's bedroom, though she refused to put the three-year-old down. Naruko whimpered as the dark feeling of danger seemed to increase as they neared the living room, and Yugito quickly soothed her.

Once in the living room, Naruko lifted her head to see Yagura and Utakata sitting patiently on the couch, with Blue B pacing agitatedly on the floor. The man's head jerked around as they entered, and he instantly held his arms out, silently requesting to hold the girl. 

Yugito's grip tightened, but she relinquished her daughter to Blue B. Slowly, the dark feeling of danger started to dissipate. Naruko would later learn that the "danger" had been Killing Intent, and despite everyone's attempts, nothing would calm him. Handing her over to him had been a gamble of the shinobi's brotherly instincts overriding his anger.

"What happened?" Mio's soft voice repeated as she gently guided Yugito to sit beside Utakata on the couch. A tray of green tea was already on the coffee table, ready to be claimed.

Yugito gave an aggravated sigh, roughly yanking her hair free from its braid. "The Head Ninja of Kumo — I can't be bothered remembering his name — tried to kidnap the three-year-old Hyuuga heiress."

Naruko winced, but refused to utter a single sound as her brother's hug tightened to the point of being painful.

"Her father, Hiashi Hyuuga, killed him just to get his daughter back." Yugito scoffed, running her hand through her hair. "I would've done exactly the same thing. But Kumo's set on denying all affiliations with the botched kidnapping, and the damned council is demanding Hyuuga's head as compensation. They claim it's "their right as part of the peace treaty", those old war hawks." She scowled deeply. "They don't want to end the Kami-forsaken war; all they want is knowledge on the Byakugan."

Yagura piped up, "So is that why you tore down the halls in a frenzy to find Naru-chan?"

Yugito glared half-heartedly at him. "I was not in a frenzy."

"Yes, you were," the teenager deadpanned. He kicked back onto the sofa, resting his cheek on his fist. "Although, I would've done the same," he admitted. "It's like when you have a pet, and you see an abused animal of the same species... you just want to go home and hug that pet, you know?"

"Not quite the same, but we understand the comparison," Utakata rolled his eyes, and looked over at Blue B. "You and Yugito-nee feel this strongly about it because Naru-chan is the same age as the Hyuuga heiress, right?"

A muscle feathered in Blue B's jaw, and grunted in affirmation. From beside him, Utakata heard Yugito sigh, but didn't deny it. And for this particular kunoichi, that was as good as a yes.

Naruko, feeling a little nervous, reached out to her mother. Blue B obliged her by walking closer, and Naruko patted her mother's cheek in what she hoped was a comforting way. "Kaa-chan?" she asked uncertainly. "Okay?"

Yugito took another deep breath, and smiled tightly at her daughter, reaching out to take her back into her arms. "I will be," she murmured, smoothing back the bright blonde hair. "It's just... some people have been very bad, and because they were stupid, others have been hurt," she said almost absent-mindedly.

"Bad?" Naruko tilted her head. "Give them time-out?"

Yugito almost smiled in amusement at the toddler's simplistic train of thought. "If only the world was that easy, Naru-chan," she murmured. There was a heavy silence for a few minutes, until the door swung open and Roshi's boisterous voice filled the cave-house.

"The Great Roshi has returned from Iwa!" He practically bounced into the room with a bright grin. "Long time no see, it's been like a hundred years, I got you souvenirs!" His face dropped as he deadpanned flatly, "Wow, do you all look gloomy."

Naruko couldn't help but giggle at the way her grandfather went from his speaking-without-even-taking-a-breath greeting to a blunt statement while losing his exuberance like a deflating balloon.

"Ugh... this is so like us to walk in on awkwardness," Han sighed in resignation as he came up behind his fellow Iwa shinobi.

Yugito shook herself slightly and gave a strained smile at the red-clad shinobi. "It's nothing too important — I'll fill you in later."

Roshi nodded; that was Yugito-speak for "I'm too upset to talk, let alone think, about it so I'll tell you later when I don't have to be strong for others". Yugito rarely let others see her vulnerable side, because as one of the older members of the Jinchuuriki Alliance — cemented even further by the impromptu motherhood — she had to remain strong for the other, younger jinchuuriki. As Roshi was currently the eldest jinchuuriki and had known her since she was a young child, in the rare instances that she needed to, Yugito would allow herself to confide in him, and him alone. It was something Roshi treasured and took very seriously, because the level of explicit trust Yugito Nii had placed in him was one of the hardest things to gain.

"In the meantime..." Naruko giggled as her mother tapped her nose, making her go cross-eyed. "I believe it's time for lunch." The woman swiftly stood up, maneuvering the toddler to her hip as she made her way into the kitchen.

Neither Yugito nor Blue B allowed Naruko out of their sight for more than a minute for the rest of the week, and they almost always found an excuse to either touch or hold her. Naruko didn't voice a word of complaint; the atmosphere was still a little tense, and she could feel the negative emotions rolling off them both.

So she stayed quiet, and waited for the storm to pass. All storms did, eventually. Some could last much longer than others, but they still went away in the end, leaving the sky clearer than before.

《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》

"...Konoha accepted the condition, and war was safely avoided. Thanks to my father, who was killed as a body double of Hiashi Hyuuga... to protect the head family!"

Naruko tuned back into the present at Neji's shout — the first time he'd lost his composure since the beginning of the match — taken aback by the amount of sheer hatred in his voice.

"So that's what happened," Kurama murmured. "Both Yugito and Blue refused to speak of it after that one day they stormed into the Base..." He thought back to when the two Kumo nin had returned to the Base, with Yugito particularly distraught and Blue B had been scarily silent. Yugito had locked herself in her room while Blue set out to destroy their training grounds. Even after much coaxing, the cause of their behaviour was only revealed during Naruko's brush with death — a child had been robbed of their father just to satisfy the demands of the Kumo council, but they refused to divulge the specifics. Suffice to say, neither shinobi had returned to Kumo for a long time.

The only reason Kurama remembered that particular incident was because the strong negativity continuously hounded Naruko, who was too young to have a proper handle on the side effects of being the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki. She ended up falling ill from her uncontrolled hypersensitivity, and Yagura ended up screaming through Yugito's door that if she didn't come out right this darn f---ing second, Naruko would die from her fever. Yugito did come out at that, though she looked more than a little worse for wear. Upon seeing her daughter, the kunoichi was at such a loss that she finally resorted to entering Naruko's mindscape to attempt conversing with the Kyuubi. 

He still remembered how she had stood quietly in front of his cage; he hadn't wanted to answer her at first, but then Matatabi had pleaded with him. Kami knows he had never been able to say no to her. So he told them the cause of his host's illness was due to her hypersensitivity to the sudden influx of strong negativity — in other words, Yugito and Blue B. The fever reducers and whatever human methods they were doing was helping marginally, but ultimately it was up to the two Kumo shinobi to deal with and get a grip on their emotions before they overwhelmed the smaller-than-average toddler. Kurama did begrudgingly reassure them that, as Naruko grew older, she would be able to deal with strong waves of emotion better.

Kurama clearly recalled the moment when Naruko's fever had finally broken and she awoke to find herself in her mother's lap, arms carefully cradling her. The woman had looked positively haggard, but still somewhat functioning. It was the first time the Kyuubi had seen Yugito Nii cry so hard and so openly. Naruko was too feverish to understand why her mother kept apologizing; she instead focused on using her tiny hands to wipe away the tears that cascaded down Yugito's cheeks in rivers.

"Don' worry... be 'appy," Naruko had mumbled with a sweet, albeit weak, smile as she reached up to pat her caretaker's wet cheek. Kurama snorted; three-years-old, had a brush with death, and the first thing she said was telling Yugito to be happy. Selfless to a damned fault, that one.

Up where the Kage were seated, Killer Bee leaned down to his brother. "Say... did we know it was a body double?"

A shrugged. "The Hyuuga Affair was during the reign of the Third Raikage. Even if he didn't know, there is no use in bringing it up. The truth is muddled — the council went behind his back with the whole scheme, however, otou-sama did agree to the condition to keep the peace. It does not matter now. I, personally, have no interest in any further attempts to bring the Byakugan back to Kumo. It's the Council of Old Farts — that I miraculously have yet to kick into the direct path of a lightning bolt — who insist on taking advantage of Konoha. Y'know, "for the good of Kumo" and that other bullsh-t." (5)

Bee smirked. "Then kick them into the direct path of a Lariat."

A snorted, amused. "I wish." And then he returned his attention to the match; it had a little more talking than he preferred, but it was interesting nevertheless.

"Other than dying, there's no other way to escape this accursed curse mark," Neji revealed in a dark, bitter tone." He looked down at the hitai-ate in his hand. "Even though they were twins with nearly equal power, their destinies were determined long ago, when one was born a few seconds after the other." Neji's hand closed around his hitai-ate tightly, and grief momentarily overcame his features before he looked up. "And this match is the same... your destiny was decided at the moment I became your opponent."

"When it feels scary to jump, that's exactly when you jump," Naruko quipped with a half-smile. "Otherwise you end up staying in the same place your whole life. And that's exactly what it would be like if you gave in to destiny. I don't know about you, Neji, but that's something I simply can't do."

Neji scowled at her, but quickly soothed his features back to neutrality as he tied his hitai-ate back onto his forehead, covering up the juinjutsu seal.

"Hatred has caused a lot of problems in this world, but it has yet to solve one," Naruko opined. "People change for two main reasons: their minds have been opened, or their hearts have been broken. Your father was killed a long time ago, and I don't know the extent of the pain you felt, but it's a mistake for you to think that has determined your entire destiny." Her voice was quiet, but steel-hard with conviction. "Speaking metaphorically, you can't touch yesterday, Neji." Her tone softened. "So why are you letting it touch you?"

"You're hopeless," Neji muttered, reactivating his Byakugan and rushing at the Genin.

'Kurama...'

"Lean not on me, but on those who have built you up to be the "you", you are today," the Bijuu advised, uncharacteristically solemn. "You draw your strength from protecting your precious people. Remember who you are, and use it to fuel yourself."

Naruko watched as, in her mind's eye, the memories Kurama brought forth continuously flashed like a slideshow.

"We are jinchuuriki, the power of human sacrifice."

"You'll be better... better than us all."

"We're breaking up the Jinchuuriki Alliance."

"You will always be my daughter."

"To be able to protect them?"

"You are unique. You are special. And that's what makes you strong."

"We'll always belong to each other."

"I need to talk to someone, and you're the only one who understands me... and the only person I can tolerate."

"I don't see just your father in you, but your mother as well."

"Kakashi has really changed for the better, thanks to you. As his friends, we owe you a lot."

"To call upstarts like you "ninja"... is a joke."

"You got guts, I'll admit that, kid. Maybe there's more to you than meets the eye, after all."

"Meet my unofficial sister — the Number One Knucklehead Ninja, unpredictable and tamed by no one." A side glance at a particular dark-haired Genin. "Well... almost no one."

"I'm proud of you. All of you."

Naruko closed her eyes and thanked her tenant, feeling a strange sense of serenity fill her. Neji believed in destiny, but she believed in a strength only found when you had precious people to protect. And a majority of her precious people were here, watching her.

As Neji neared, his Byakugan widened when he saw orange rush through his opponent's chakra system, but not overriding, no... it was mingling with the usual cool blue, and concentrating at her fists. Naruko opened her eyes and a small smirk curved her lip, before ribbons of fire burst at her feet, propelling her forwards to meet Neji halfway.

Hiruzen's eyes widened at the flare of demonic chakra. 'This chakra... it's the Nine-Tailed Fox's, no doubt. When did she master the Kyuubi's chakra?'

Yagura discreetly exchanged a worried look with his Utakata and Bee. While Naruko didn't look like she was on the verge of going out of control like Gaara had in the preliminaries, this was an unusually large amount of Kurama's chakra leaking out.

"Don't worry," Isobu reassured his host, a grin in his voice. "The hatchling is using Kurama's chakra well. It's unorthodox, I'll admit, but she has it under control. Give your sister some credit, Yagura."

The Mizukage relaxed slightly, and inclined his head at his secret brothers to let them know it was alright. Bee nodded and returned his attention to the match. Utakata looked dubious, but a bit of relief flickered in his eyes.

'W-What is this chakra?' Neji thought with a growing sense of unease, watching the new chakra twist around the blonde, as if it had a will of its own. 'It's almost wild. Volatile... dangerous. Is it even chakra?'

Flames blazing around her fists, Naruko threw them forward in a barrage of punches, the force and speed behind the attacks amplified by the fire. Neji attempted to counter, but was forced to dodge most of the time. In the instances he was able to push her elbows away, Naruko merely swerved and ducked in a fluid movements, never tripping or even faltering as she continued her assault. She was well aware that she was showing an unorthodox way of fighting with Kurama's chakra, but if Neji would use his Jyuuken, then she would use the Kyuubi-fire taijutsu style she'd been working on... and she'd have to get one of her friends to name it for her later.

"Is she... fighting with fire?" Hinata asked blankly. Fuu scrutinized it for a moment before a soft sigh slipped past her lips; it was probably another Kyuubi thing, because as far as she knew, fire wasn't supposed to be manipulated to that extent. But then again, Naruko Uzumaki always did have a knack for achieving the impossible. Her amber eyes danced with merry amusement as Fuu saw her other triplet slam his forehead into the railing.

"I am absolutely one hundred percent done with that little fox," Gaara muttered. "Imp thinks she can pull this sort of sh-t and get away with it?" He raised his head just enough to prop his chin on the railing to continue watching regardless, sibling-obligation and curiosity having momentarily invalidated his exasperation.

"I suppose this is the reason why Naruko has been monikered the "Number One Unpredictable Ninja"," Shino commented, observing as Naruko suddenly disappeared again, only to reappear in the air behind Neji.

'She's even faster than before,' Neji noted in surprise as he quickly spun into another Rotation to deflect the shuriken the kunoichi hurled at him. He stopped spinning when he felt a chakra flare behind him, and he quickly took out a kunai when he saw one in Naruko's hand. 'This is bad... I have to use Rotation.'

The Kyuubi-fire had amplified Naruko's already-impressive strength and agility. Since she was up against the Hyuuga prodigy who had been at the shinobi life a year longer than she had, and subsequently had more experience under his belt, her training was more or less evenly matched against his in the beginning. Now she had the upper hand, if only marginally.

The two blades clashed, and neither shinobi seemed to be giving into the pressure. The pale blue sphere or rotating chakra covered Neji, while a rustic-orange chakra faintly coated Naruko's skin as fire danced and weaved around her feet.

Seeing as they were at a brief standstill and were at close quarters, Naruko took the opportunity to make him a promise; "When I become Hokage, I'll change the Hyuuga."

Neji's face remained impassive, even as the two opposing chakra forces collided and created a large explosion that shook the stadium. Genma had to lift his arms and physically brace himself from the impact, while numerous gasps of shock and alarm came from the spectators. Even the Kage looked noticeably affected.

When at last the large dust cloud cleared, there were two craters. Neither Genin were visible.

'What immense chakra...' Genma's eyes were fixed on the crater to his right, where Naruko had been. 'She showed some enormous strength. If I hadn't known her since way back, I would've been scared outta my wits. Guess that's just another reminder to never get on her bad side.' His eyes narrowed slightly. 'That Hyuuga kid is probably—'

And from the crater to his left, a hand sprung up from the overturned earth, and Neji Hyuuga clambered out, though not without much difficulty. Step by step, Neji shakily walked over to the other crater, breaths coming harsh and laboured. Naruko was lying knocked out unconscious in her own miniature crater.

"Failure..." Neji murmured. "Sorry, but this is reality. Now this really is the en—" He stopped and his eyes widened as he hastily spun into another Rotation, just as Naruko shot out from beneath the soil, neatly flipping out of the Rotation's path.

Cries of disbelief and delight echoed from the spectators, but Naruko ignored them all as she charged straight at the spinning sphere of chakra to punch her bare arm through the thin barrier. 'Ha, I broke through!' she crowed victoriously, though it was short-lived as a flash of searing pain flared through her arm.

Hiashi's jaw fell slightly ajar as Hinata gasped in horror, eyes wide. No one had ever attempted to penetrate the Rotation through brute force, and for good reason.

"You idiot!" Kurama roared, jumping to his paws. "Plunging your bare arm into a vortex of pure chakra is the worst thing you could possibly do! It'll get blown off!"

Naruko ignored him, and took a deep breath before plunging her upper body in, startling the Hyuuga prodigy.

"Is she actually sticking her whole body inside?" Sakura gaped at the scene before letting out an indignant huff. "Well, I know I'm not going to be healing any of that. It's her fault for being stupid and reckless in the first place."

"You say that, but you're going to be the first one down there," Hinata smiled teasingly, though her pale eyes still held some worry for her first friend.

Fuu groaned, massaging the bridge of her nose. "She's as impulsive as they come, alright... and to think I thought she actually matured."

"What you planning to do now, you fool?" Kurama growled. "You can't use chakra inside the Rotation unless you plan on killing him and yourself."

'But I can use it outside. Thanks for the advice!' Naruko's elbow suddenly became alight and a vortex of fire blew out furiously behind him.

"You're using your magic as a booster to increase your fist's strength?" the Bijuu exclaimed in both disbelief and bewilderment. His host was flat-out crazy, period. If she pulled this off and won the match... well, he would stop questioning everything.

"Are you crazy?" Neji shouted the moment he realized what his opponent had done, voicing the thoughts of nearly everyone in the spectator stands and the waiting area.

Not deigning to reply him, Naruko's fist lurched forward and connected with Neji's face, sending him flying while also proving her theory. Neji spat out some blood while airborne before landing flat on his back.

"M-My body..." Neji muttered at the same time the Naruko lying in the crater disappeared with a poof — Shadow Clone, revealing a hole underneath it.

'So she left a Shadow Clone in the hole and spotted a chance to win, huh... believing in victory, thinking about what comes next, and acting even when getting knocked around,' Genma smiled proudly at the beaten-down Genin. 'The power of believing in oneself. That becomes the power to change destiny. She knows this... and she's a natural to boot.'

Naruko slowly made her way over to Neji, who was staring at her in a mixture of pain from his injuries, disbelief at his loss, and his default bitter anger. "Even in those conditions, you used the Shadow Clone Jutsu just like that... I was careless..."

Naruko crouched down by his side. "Don't keep thinking your destiny is set in stone. It's not."

Neji scoffed. "You think you can overcome fate?"

"Cogito, ergo sum," Naruko said simply. At the Hyuuga's suddenly blank stare, she sighed lightly and translated, "I think, therefore I am."

A light frown marred Sakura's face as she thought about the saying. "Did she use that in the right context?" she whispered conspiratorially to Fuu, who shrugged, equally clueless.

"I think she's saying she is, or will, overcome fate because she thinks she can," Hinata supplied in a soft voice, amusement lining every word.

"Ohhhh," both girls chorused quietly.

Naruko's eye twitched; why is that her teammate — who she'd spent every waking moment with — and her sister — whom she'd known since she was eight — were both bested by the friend she had only known for a year? 'Well, at least now I know who my true best friend is,' she grumbled. Kurama chuckled deeply at his host's irritation.

"Stop complaining about your destiny and how it can't be changed, and start doing something about it." Naruko's lip quirked up in a sardonic smile. "After all, unlike me, you're not a failure. You're a genius."

Genma sighed through his nose and bit down on his senbon, smiling at the girl he and his group of friends considered their unofficial imouto. He raised his hand, "Winner of this match is Naruko Uzumaki."

The stadium erupted into deafening cheers, thunderous claps and continuous rounds of praise. Naruko looked around for the first time, seemingly surprised at the spectators' presence. She turned to Genma with uncertain eyes, who nodded at her with a proud smile that conveyed all she needed to know: They're cheering for you, kid.

Naruko's face broke into a smile. For someone who had never been accepted by her village, this was as close to a dream come true as it would get. Because, after all, her true dream never had anything to do with Konoha. But it was nice to finally be recognized for something positive; she wasn't just the "Fox Brat" anymore. She was Naruko Uzumaki — and they knew it.

So she tucked her left arm behind her back and grabbed her right forearm, rocking back on her heels and smiling brightly up at them all. She could even pick out some familiar faces; Kurenai, Asu, Sakura, Fuu, Ino, Hinata, Kiba, Izumo, Kotetsu. She glanced sideways to where all the Kage were, and her heart nearly burst when she saw the wide, excited grin that threatened to break the skin on Yagura's face. Killer Bee was grinning just as widely, and Utakata had even come to the railing beside his Mizukage so she could clearly see his pleased smile. They were proud of her, and for a moment, that was all that mattered.

Neji had spoken of fate. Naruko had never believed in such a thing. And she'd be damned if she let someone like Neji Hyuuga persuade her to believe it in now.

"She won... is it for real?" Shikamaru muttered in disbelief. "I thought she was the same as me, in the not-going-anywhere class."

Shino looked over at his former classmate. "Not going anywhere?" he echoed in slight confusion at the Nara's terminology.

"I can't believe she used the Kyuubi's chakra with such perfect control," Kurenai mused from her seat beside Asuma. "She drew out the chakra and manipulated it in an unusual method, but..."

"Yeah, most people from Konoha are surprised," Asuma agreed. He shot a glance up at his father, 'How about that, old man? She's better than you thought, huh?'

Hiruzen was staring intensely at the blonde girl, who was smiling brightly at the crowd while still staying in place beside the proctor. 'That Naruko... when did she learn to control the strength of the Kyuubi to that extent?'

Naruko glanced back as Neji was loaded onto a stretcher. "Even a bird who gets caught, once it learns how, will open the lid of the basket with its own beak. He won't give up, for he wants to fly freely in the sky again," she said almost cryptically in a soft tone.

Neji's face softened ever-so-slightly, however his gaze remained fixed on a bird that was circling the arena.

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"I honestly don't know whether to hit you, or laugh at you," Naruko shook her head with an exasperated smile as Shikamaru came up the stairs to join the rest of the Genin. The Nara opted to only grumble something unintelligible in reply as he came beside her, sagging against her and forcing the blonde to hold up his body weight.

"I can't believe you shoved me over the railing like that," Shikamaru complained. "And they even threw trash at me. You're a cruel friend, you know that?"

Naruko laughed. "You had zero fighting spirit from the beginning — it was either do that or let you abstain. And I don't think Asu would've been very happy with me if I let you give up right before your match. As it was, you spent the first twenty minutes envying clouds. Gosh, Shika..." she shook her head with a grin. "Please, never change."

"I still can't get used to the fact he lets you call him "Asu"," Shikamaru heaved a tired sigh. "Ino tried it once and sensei literally froze up."

Naruko chuckled a little sheepishly and then turned her attention to the Kage stand, amusement falling from her face. 'If Sasuke doesn't show up, he'll be disqualified for real this time.'

The Fourth Kazekage had convinced Hiruzen to postpone Sasuke's match rather than disqualify him, and so Kankuro no Sabaku and Shino Aburame's match had been pushed up. However, Kankuro had forfeited, making Shino the default winner. The match after that had been between Temari and Shikamaru, in which Temari had emerged the victor after Shikamaru forfeited at the last second, even though he had clearly won. His reasoning? Had he won, it would've just meant more work.

Naruko bit her lip in amusement at the memory, but then glanced at the sky. Sasuke's time was running out. Her eyes narrowed. 'Come on, teme. Don't leave us hanging.'

And of course, the minute Genma started to announce time was up, there was a flare of chakra and a whirlwind of leaves — Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha had finally arrived.

"Well, I'm sorry we're late..." Kakashi said in his usual drawl to the proctor.

Genma shook his head with a sigh. "You never change, eh Kakashi?" He tilted his head up. "That imouto of yours is gonna be out of your blood, I hope you realize." He leaned his head around to look at the dark-haired boy behind him. "Both of yours."

The males visibly grimaced, and Sasuke shot an accusing glare at his sensei. Kakashi shrugged at him helplessly.

Genma grinned. "Alright... what's your name?" he asked, though it was entirely unnecessary. All the spectators had come just for this very match.

"Sasuke Uchiha," the boy answered without hesitation. Of course, his "cool" image was instantly dashed when a fist came crashing down onto his head at the same time his redheaded opponent landed quietly opposite him.

Sasuke gritted his teeth to avoid letting out an unmanly yelp, and turned to glare at his attacker only to instantly recoil at the furious eyes of one Naruko Uzumaki. "S-Sorry?" was all he could squeak out. He prayed his teammate didn't do more damage before his match even begun. That would not be a great start.

Naruko glared at him for a moment more, and then turned to Kakashi. "It's rude to show up all flashy like this, you know. And at the last second, too," she scolded. Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly while Sasuke stood there silently, letting his sensei take the lashing. "You're just lucky Sasuke hasn't been disqualified," she hissed in a quieter tone, though no less angry. "Sasuke."

The Uchiha turned to look at her inquiringly.

"After this, regardless of whether or not you win, I will be having words with you. Then, I will hand you over to Sakura so she can give you a lecture on the importance of punctuality." Naruko watched in slight satisfaction as her teammate blanched, but nodded. Sasuke was smart enough to know that he better agree to whatever she said, lest he accidentally add more fuel to the fire.

Naruko looked over at Gaara and nodded at him with a slight smile. Good luck. I believe in you.

He nodded back. Thank you.

She titled her head. What for?

Gaara's eyes softened minutely. For always believing in me.

Naruko smiled. I will always believe in you, Gaa-chan. Her eyes twinkled. Don't rough him up too much for me, ne?

Gaara smirked lightly. Can't make any promises, but I'll try my best.

Genma cleared his throat, and Kakashi and Naruko took it as their cue to leave the arena. "The rules are the same as the preliminaries," he repeated for Sasuke's benefit. "The match goes on until one of you dies or admits defeat. When it's determined there is a winner, the match can be stopped. But that's my decision."

The two opponents walked towards each other until there was only a few feet — and Genma — left between them. The proctor looked first at the Uchiha, and then at the Suna shinobi. His arm came down. "Begin!"

It was Sasuke who moved first, hurling a two shuriken at Gaara. As expected, a wall of sand rose up to protect the redhead, but then it morphed into a Sand Clone. Sasuke started to run at him, but a torrent of sand suddenly burst from the clone's torso, rushing straight at him in retaliation. He was able to avoid it by jumping into the air, and instantly lashed out with a kick and a punch — that proved to be a grievous mistake when his left forearm became caught in the Sand Clone's throat, and sand started to trap his arm in place. Thinking fast, Sasuke reared back his hand and punched right through the clone's head, dispersing it back into sand.

Sasuke went for another punch, this time at the direct opponent, but a sand of wall came up. He merely smirked, and disappeared. Gaara blinked, and instinctively ducked when Shukaku yelled at him to. But during his training, Sasuke had gained a speed and force that would rival Rock Lee on an ordinary day, and it managed to clip his temple, sending him skidding back.

'He's able to bypass Gaara's sand-based defenses with ease,' Killer Bee thought in mild surprise. 'I wonder... could he be faster than even Yugito?'

Sasuke nimbly dodged the tendrils of sand that lashed out at him, and brought his foot up to land a solid kick at Gaara's chest. The redhead brought his arms up in an X to block it, but was sent skidding back a few feet regardless.

'Okay, so sand doesn't work against him,' Gaara reasoned. 'Never thought I'd say this, but thank Kami okaa-san had the good sense to force me into learning taijutsu. Even if I did have to spar with the devil called Naruko...'

When Sasuke ran at him again, this time Gaara met him halfway. Sasuke clearly hadn't been expecting him to take such a direct approach and was momentarily thrown off-guard. Gaara had an opportunity and seized it — he swung his right leg around to hit Sasuke's exposed side at the same time he grabbed Sasuke's shoulder. Having knocked his combatant off balance, however momentary, Gaara didn't waste a second as he slid between his feet and judo-flipped him to the ground.

As he fell, Sasuke grabbed Gaara's gourd sash — 'I need something less flappy and easy to grab,' Gaara thought in annoyance — and brought him down with him, bringing up his right knee and smash it into Gaara's solar plexus.

Naruko winced. 'Ouchie... nothing worse than what I've dealt him before. But still... did Sasuke really use his Sharingan to copy Lee's taijutsu? It's the only explanation on how he mastered this speed in a mere month, compared to Lee's hard work over the years.' She closed her eyes briefly as she felt slight frustration; she understood Lee's plight almost just as well as Gai did. She didn't have natural talent, only products of hard work and early training. 'I can't imagine Gai or Lee are very happy about that.'

"Kit...!"

Naruko's eyes snapped open at Kurama's alarm, and she saw her jinchuuriki siblings stiffen from her peripheral vision. 'What? What's wrong?'

Kurama merely growled. "It's beginning..."

'What—'

And then, feathers began to fall from the sky.

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(1) Fire Dragon Wing Attack is a spell used in the anime Fairy Tail, by Natsu Dragneel

(2) Totally making this up here; the Adamantine Sealing Chains were used by the Uzumaki Clan, however Karin Uzumaki appeared to have difficulty using them and Nagato Uzumaki didn't use them at all, so I thought I might as well add in the full-blooded/clan head/elitist part. Of course, in Naruko's case, it was thanks to Kurama that she unlocked them

(3) I have no idea how fūinjutsu works or if this is even possible, because there really isn't enough information and this ninja art hasn't been explored to its capacity, which I'm both disappointed and grateful for. On one hand, I have little to no guidelines, however on the other hand I can do whatever I want and no one can say "that's impossible". So just accept it as part of my Naruto fanfiction world :)

(4) Fun fact: In the anime, the Hyuuga Juinjutsu is shaped like an "X" rather than a "卐" to avoid confusion, as this is commonly associated with Nazism.

(5) I completely forgot Neji told Naruto about the Hyuuga Affair, and had the Raikage come. I'm as forgetful as Dory... anyway, I decided to alter A's personality a little. Not too much, because he's funny when he's hot-headed and breaks stuff, but I figure that nine years later Kumo should be past the whole "to be strong = acquire Byakugan" phase, especially if they have a new Raikage. And everyone knows that the only people who hold onto ridiculous notions like that are the old coots on the council :P

A/N: So lads, any ideas for Naruko's Kyuubi-fire taijutsu style? Or at least a better name than "Kyuubi-fire"?