The long-awaited time had finally come. After a month of rigorous training, it was time for 12 genin to face against each other in the arena. With genin from Kumo, Suna, and Konoha it was certainly going to be a memorable event. The roster had some of the greatest prodigies of their generation, with participants such as the famed last Uchiha, and two of the Kazekage's children. There was no specific fight anyone was excited for more than the rest, every single one of them was one that would leave an impact on all those who viewed it.

Only 2 people were missing from that group of genin. Both Naruto and Sasuke were not in the arena just as it was about to start, and many were quick to notice it.

"Hey Bāsuto, where the hell did your teammates go?" Jade asked the henged genin, and the only member of team 7 actually at the arena.

"The rest of my team is notorious for being late, I wouldn't be surprised if they get disqualified for not showing up at all."

"Seriously?! I can understand why that Naruto-baka would be late, but Sasuke-kun too?" Sakura exclaimed from nearby.

Just as it seemed the exams would go on without them, Naruto came barreling into the arena, nearly crashing into some of the participants.

"You won't believe it, there's a huge hoard of bulls coming ri-" Naruto was cut off before he could finish his explanation, a quick elbow nudge from Basuto was all it took to quiet him down.

Finally taking the time to look around, Naruto noticed the rest of the participants lined up. In a much lower voice, Naruto glanced at Bāsuto.

"Hey, where's Sasuke?"

There was no chance for anyone to reply, as the Procter interrupted any further chatting.

"Quit fidgeting back there, stand up straight, and present yourself proudly to the spectators."

The reaction to those words was immediate. Naruto glanced up towards the stands in awe. Quickly that awe was replaced by a smirk, and he proudly stood for those spectators, who had come from all over the nation to watch this final round of the chunin exams.

"You guys are the heroes of this final exam."

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Unbeknownst to those below, the kage booth was thick with tension. Of the three kage supposed to attend, only 2 were currently seated within the booth.

"Any sign of Sasuke?" The Hokage whispered to the jonin next to him.

"We have sent an ANBU party to look for him, but there is still no sign. He may already be in Orochimaru's hands." The jonin replied nervously. He hoped it was not the case, the Uchiha clan was a founding member of Konoha, and to lose the last loyal member would be a major blow to Konoha.

"I understand."

"What are you whispering about over there, and why hasn't your shinobi arrived yet?!" A shouted, angry that the exams were being delayed due to a Konoha genin. Behind the imposing figure of the Raikage, two others stood silently behind him. One looked much like A, very tall and muscular, while the other held much less of a presence. Behind the Raikage were both Kumo's jinchuriki, the Raikage's personal escorts. They both remained completely silent, though that may have only been because of the smaller woman constantly elbowing the larger man.

Hiruzen glanced briefly at the red-skinned man, though before any response could be given the final kage attending arrived.

"Ah, glad to see you made it Kazekage-sama." The Sarutobi said, redirecting the conversation away from Sasuke's lack of appearance.

The 'Kazekage' said nothing, and simply took his seat next to the other two kage. Focused on the new arrival, neither of the other kage noticed the glare sent the 'Kazekage's way by one of the competitors below, Gaara.

"You must be weary, having traveled so far." Hiruzen continued, making light chatter with his fellow 'kage'.

"Not at all. I'm glad, if only for your sake that the exam is here in the leaf village. As strong as you are, I'm sure a long journey must have proven difficult for you. Isn't it time you chose the 5th Hokage soon?" The Kazekage replied, gaining boisterous laughter from both the other kage as a reply.

"That is something we can both agree on, those old bones definitely wouldn't make a trip there and back!" The Raikage replied with a chuckle, amused by the subtle insult the 'Kazekage' had sent The Sandaime's way.

"You both treat me as if I were an old man, I've still got quite a bit of life left in me! No, I plan to stay here for some time to come." The Hokage replied, standing up and moving closer to the rails in front of him. The irony of that statement was lost on all but one person in the kage booth.

He looked back at his fellow kage, Unbeknownst of the foreshadowing that had just occurred.

"Now then, I think It's time we began."

"Well said!"

With one final chuckle at the Raikage's reaction, Hiruzen turned his attention to the crowd once more.

"Welcome all, and our deepest thanks for coming to this village hidden in the leaves for this year's chunin selection."

"We have come to the final competition, between the 12 candidates who made it through the preliminaries. We ask that no one leaves until all the matches have been completed. Now, everyone enjoy!"

With his introduction to the final round complete, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat back down in his seat.

The 'Kazekage' glanced at him curiously. "I thought you said twelve candidates? I only see 11."

"Yeah, one of the Konoha brats still hasn't arrived yet. He'll be eliminated if he doesn't show up soon." The Raikage replied, leaving the Sandaime Hokage to contemplate in silence.

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Bāsuto's P.O.V

I stared stoically in front of me, idly listening to what was going on around me. Most of it seemed perfectly to canon, besides a few inputs from Sachi and Jade. It made me wonder what was happening up in the kage booth, with A, B, and Yugito all being up there as well. I doubt it would have much impact, they were all smart enough not to cause much of a ruckus.

"Oh right. Before we begin, there's something you need to know." The Procter said to us, refocusing my attention back to the present.

He quickly pulled out a chart of the brackets, and I was able to see what he's referring to.

"As you can see from this chart, 12 people will eventually end up with 3 in the semi-finals. Of course, there are many ways this could have been handled, but the choice has been made that one of the competitors will face off against a previously eliminated participant of the Kage's choosing. This will give one lucky person a chance to come back and show off a bit more of their skills before the exams end."

We all nodded in confirmation. It was our one saving grace, but it would still be difficult to obtain. The Kage's would obviously choose someone who had piqued their interest in the previous rounds, simply so that they could observe their skills more.

Not that it will mean anything. This whole this is going to go completely off the rails before we even finish everyone's first matches.

"Question!" Naruto shouted from next to me.

The Procter stared at him bemused but answered regardless.

"Yes?"

"What will happen if Sasuke doesn't show up in time for his match?"

The Procter stared at naruto silently for a few short seconds. Flicking the senbon up in his mouth for emphasis, he explained, "If a competitor does not arrive by the time their name is called, they will be eliminated."

With that solemn declaration, he continued.

"Now, the terrain may be different, but the rules are the same. That is, there are no rules. The match continues until one candidate admits defeat, or dies. That said, if I determine a match to be over I can step in and stop it at any time. And no arguments permitted!"

Seeing us all still focused on him, he continued.

"The names of the competitors in the first match are... Bāsuto Hanadji and Neji Hyūga." We both flashed a glance at each other as he said this, a silent challenge to the other. "Those two stay. The rest of you, head to the waiting area."

With those final words said, the other nine genin walked towards the stairs. It was soon just the proctor, Neji, and I left in the arena. Moving so that we were facing each other at a fair distance, we began the usual 10-minute long talk that happened before every fight in Naruto.

"So, do you have anything to say to me? Maybe about how you'll get revenge on behalf of your teammate or something?"

"No, nothing of the sort."

"Hmph, not surprising. You look like the weakest member on your team, maybe even more so then that blond kid. You know it's pointless, don't you? It's fate that I will win this fight."

"Maybe it is so, that will only be decided by the match."

You would do well not to underestimate me Neji, for as powerful as you may be, knowing is half the battle. While I know everything about you, you know nothing about me. You're under the impression my fighting style is reliant on evasion and explosive tags, just as I planned when I had done so during the preliminaries. I even saw that flinch when you first activated your Byakugan and realized I was actually '16'. You will soon learn your mistake, and you will pay dearly for it.

"Let the first match of the final exams... begin!"

There was no sudden attack as the match began. Both of us were in defensive positions, both waiting for the other to make the first move.

The stillness drew on for close to 30 seconds.

"Well, come on then? Are you just going to stand there?" Neji tried taunting. It may have worked on anyone lesser, but I was smarter than that.

"The longer we wait, the more time goes by with your Byakugan activated, thusly the less chakra you have. It is more beneficial for me to wait for you to make the first move."

With my reply, Neji glared before charging towards me, palms open. He will underestimate me and attempt to finish me off in seconds, no doubt with a few well-placed strikes to close my chakra points.

With that in mind, I quickly unsealed my ninjato just as he was reaching me, deflecting and blocking every strike he sent my way. It was almost too easy, considering he had gone for all the obvious chakra points in my joints.

He leapt back in surprise, well out of range of my new weapon.

"Maybe you're not so useless after all. That was smart, hiding your actual abilities until the finals, but it will still do you no good. You might be skilled in the art of the blade, but it will not save you against my gentle fist."

Taking the initiative, I dashed towards him, ninjato in hand. It wasn't the smartest decision, but it would give Neji the false idea my sword was my only skill.

We met head-on, sword against the palm. He could easily deflect any attacks I sent his way, but I was being aggressive enough that he was allowed few chances to counterattack. Those that did manage to strike at me were mostly blocked with my ninjato, though a few of those got through as well. It may have seemed like a substantial edge towards Neji, but he and I both knew that was not the case. Of the attacks that actually connected, only 2 of them had hit any of my chakra points.

Neji seemed flabbergasted that so many of his attacks had missed, but I knew the truth. I had meticulously studied where all the chakra points were, not enough to really do anything for myself, but it was just enough that I could redirect any attacks heading for them into another area.

I wasn't the only one who had taken hits in that fight. Neji's hands were littered with small cuts from when he had blocked and deflected my sword, and he even had one or two deeper gashes along his forearms.

Finally, after our flurry of attacks, Neji had gotten the upper hand, as we both knew he would. Creating a larger burst of chakra than normal, he forced my ninjato flying out of my hands. Knowing I had no chance without my blade in direct combat, I made a quick retreat into the forest nearby. Neji took this opportunity to grab my blade off the ground and study it for a moment.

"It seems you have no chance here Bāsuto, I now have your weapon. You have no other way to defend yourself against me. Fate has already declared me the Winner."

I need to stall for time while I prepare this next part

"The idea that everything is predetermined, that everyone is stuck in their fate. That is what you believe, right Neji?"

"Yes, what do you have to say about it? Here to tell me I'm wrong, say something pitiful like 'everyone has the power to chose their own destiny?"

"No, in fact, I used to adamantly believe in your philosophy. It made sense that all our actions were a set path, unable to escape from."

"Then why can't you see that there is no point in this battle? Fate determined me the winner long before it began."

"That is where your logic fails you. You claim we are all set on a one-track road, but you believe you can see those roads, and tell where they lead. That's why I disagree, nobody has the power to see what each person's fate is no matter how set in stone it may be. That is why I do not preach your philosophy because even if it were true, we would still not be able to see our fate, and everything would still run exactly the same."

I had put all my effort into what I was doing, hoping Neji would be too distracted by our conversation to truly grasp what I had been doing while we talked.

"No, people's fates are always set in stone, and they are easy to comprehend once you look close enough. Your teammate was born a loser, and will always be a loser. I was born a branch member, and I will forever be that way. I am a branch member, fated to serve the main branch, but I am also a prodigy. That is the true fate, That is the fate of our reality. Even now you attempt to preform some pitiful jutsu to try and save yourself, why don't you give up and accept that fate!"

Glad that he thinks it will do me no good. He is still underestimating me, still assumes my only trump card had been kenjutsu. Just a little more and he will realize his logical fallacy.

"So you want me to accept my 'fate' instead of continuing to try? But isn't that in and of itself a direct compromise to your entire philosophy? The fact I have the choice to continue on or choose to give up directly counters your idea that our fates are set in stone. You yourself are a direct example of this. You could have simply become the Main Branch's lapdog, forever cursed to be nothing but a slave. Instead, you chose to become that prodigal genius. And despite you trying to make that out as 'fate', isn't that instead direct proof that you can choose your own destiny? Doesn't it show that we can forge our own path, that those roads don't exist to see because we haven't made them ourselves yet?"

Just a little bit more

"That's not- it doesn't... Quit playing your mind games on me! You know nothing about what I've been through or the true meaning of fate! I can see right through it all!" Neji shouted out, finally snapping now that his philosophy had been threatened in such a way.

I'm no master at the art of talk-no-jutsu. I knew I wouldn't be able to convince him nearly to the extent naruto did. Perhaps I couldn't convince him because I didn't believe what I was saying either? After all, I'm stuck on a single road, my fate already set out to me by god herself. Whatever that doesn't matter right now. The jutsu is finally complete, which I spent so much time on. I still didn't quite finish perfecting it, but I have to pray it works.

"You're correct Neji, you will see right through me. In fact, I will go completely Unnoticed, just like my plan has this entire time." Despite the obvious connotations in that sentence, there was far more hidden underneath that no one else could see. Of course, to all else, it would appear I was only referring to this fight in particular, but I knew better. A bit of poetics for my own amusement I suppose.

I finished the jutsu just as Neji was encroaching on me. There was no huge puff of smoke, no fancy theatrics or shouting or anything else of the sort. In fact, to those who could not see what was going on inside the forest, they would assume nothing happened at all.

Third-person P.O.V

Those who could sense chakra had their eyebrows raised, he had completely made his chakra signature disappear. Sure, it was impressive for a genin, but would do little good against a Hyuuga.

The Hyūga in the audience though, they knew much better. There was a collective gasp from many of the Hyūga, as they looked with their Byakugan and saw... nothing.

Not as though nothing had happened, they saw no trace of Bāsuto where he had been standing mere moments before. Checking everywhere else in the arena, they could find no trace of him.

"I can't see him with my Byakugan. Did he just teleport?" Neji asked with wide eyes, stopping and looking at the area where Bāsuto had once been.

Neji turned to the Procter.

"I can't see him anywhere in the arena with my Byakugan, he must have ran away. This fight is ov-" Neji could not continue his sentence, as he was quickly surrounded by a dome of some kind. Looking around, he saw a weird cube on the ground, segregated into nine identical squares on each side.

"What is this?!" Neji demanded, looking around with his Byakugan. He could not see anyone who could have caused it to appear.

After a few seconds, another collective gasp filled the stadium. Bāsuto had suddenly appeared just outside the border of the dome. What had just happened?

Neji stared wide-eyed at his opponent.

"Were you here this whole time?" He asked, still flabbergasted at what he saw.

His only response was a single nod.

"How... HOW?! MY BYAKKUGAN COULDN'T SEE YOU! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?" Neji shouted enraged as he charged towards Bāsuto, striking the barrier between them several times with his gentle fist. The dome gave no leeway to the Hyuuga inside, seeming almost indestructible.

"What you are in right now is a barrier dome. On the floor behind you, you can see what is causing the dome to appear. The dome is almost completely indestructible, and will not even be scratched by anything you can do."

"You did all this but missed the most important part. I'm inside here with the object creating the dome! I can just destroy it and finish you off!"

Now with a plan, Neji turned towards the cube and began to mercilessly pummel it with gentle fist, also creating a dust cloud from the sand on the ground. For a moment, all were silent trying to see what damage had been done. When the smoke finally thinned, however... the cube remained in perfect condition.

"That cube is made of the strongest material known to man. Your gentle fist has no chance to destroy it, and my sword that's next to you is made of a significantly weaker metal, and would break in two before it made a single scratch on that cube."

Once again, Neji stared at Bāsuto. He seemed confused, angry, shocked, and surprised all at the same time. Finally, he spoke once more.

"This barrier must take quite a bit of chakra to maintain, surely it will run out soon!" Neji said although it sounded more pleading, as the situation slowly began to dawn on the Hyuuga.

"That may be so, but have you noticed something? You have been using chakra with your Byakugan and gently fist this entire time, while I only cast a single jutsu. My chakra reserves are still almost completely full, and I've specialized this barrier to taking as little chakra as possible. Along with the chakra pills I have in my pocket, I could keep this barrier up for over 5 hours. Even if you did wait it out that long if you deactivate your Byakugan for even a second, I will use the opportunity to finish you off while you're unable to use your Kekkai Genkai." Bāsuto explained the entire thing to Neji emotionlessly, as though he wasn't explaining to someone how they had absolutely no chance to win no matter what they did and would either be forced to forfeit or wait until they completely run out of chakra.

"No. NO! THIS NOT THIS FIGHT GOES. I WAS DESTINED TO WIN! I WILL WIN, AND YOU WILL LOSE! IT IS DESTINY! DESTINY..." Neji shouted, attacking the dome with all his might, not caring the slightest for any form of composure anymore.

Bāsuto was undeterred and instead turned to the proctor.

"He clearly won't forfeit, and it is obvious he has no chance to win. Unfortunately, however, I'm unable to kill him until his Byakugan runs out. I assume we don't want this match lasting five hours correct?"

The Procter stared at the genin for a moment, almost disbelieving what he was hearing. The crowd was silent as well. No one had expected anything like this to happen. Bāsuto had been so unassuming, so Unnoticeable that everyone had just assumed this was a warm-up round where the Hyuuga prodigy would wipe the floor.

Finally, the proctor looked at both competitors.

"As Neji Hyuuga is no longer in a position to continue fighting, the winner of the first match is Bāsuto Hanadji!"

At first, the crowd was silent, but they quickly erupted in great applause at how spectacular the first match had been.

Neji looked around, his face sorrowful, almost empty. He stared at Bāsuto for several seconds before quietly moving towards the stairs.

"Neji, wait."

"What is it." He sounded broken.

"I want to prove to you that fate is not set in stone. If it was I would have surely been the loser of that fight. In truth I didn't actually have five hours left on the barrier, I only had 5 minutes. If fate were static as you say it is, then my barrier would have run out before the match had ended."

Neji stared for a long moment, processing this information, before finally shaking his head and walking away.

I may not be as great at convincing people as Naruto, but I feel I did as good a job as I could. Of course, he doesn't need to know I actually had close to 13 hours left. Along with a visit from Hiashi, Neji will without a doubt be on the right path.

Now if only I could convince myself of those very things I have just convinced somebody else of.

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Oh cool, 4k words. Close to my biggest one yet. Lots of philosophy in this one, was quite hard to do because I had to pretend for a second that I actually cared about anything in life.

Not really much to say, we're done with all those filler chapters, things are finally picking up.

-JustSk8n

- Edited September 8, 2020 by