37. Chunin Exams Stage Three: Preliminaries Part 2

Tenten returns to the viewing platform. I throw my arms around her neck and kiss her hard. She puts her hands on my waist and kisses me back, eliciting many raised eyebrows.

While Gara berates Temari for her defeat, everyone is buzzing about Tenten’s performance. The ninjas from rival nations are especially frustrated.

“How did the Leaf Village get their hands on the remnants of the Yuki clan?”

“Another Kekkei Genkai for Konoha? Just when things were stabilizing after the Uchiha’s elimination.”

Guy approaches us to ask, “Tenten-chan, why didn’t you tell us about your bloodline?”

“It only just awakened, sensei.” She evades the question with a half-truth.

The gossiping goes silent when the screen shows the next matchup.

“Match Four: Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba.”

Right, no Kin Tsuchi, no fight with her and Shikamaru.

I guess I have to accept the matches aren’t ‘random’ but selected by the Hokage or a committee. There’s no way so many matchups from the Anime could survive the butterfly effect without a hand behind the scenes.

“Yes! We can take this guy, Akamaru!” The ninken barks his agreement. “Wish me luck, Shino-chan!”

I offer Kiba a fake smile and a tentative thumbs-up. There’s not much I can do for you today, buddy. “If you win, you can take me in whatever position you want next time.”

I’ll be giving him that reward anyway as a consolation prize for his loss.

Hinata adds a cheerful, “Do your best, Kiba-kun.”

“Thanks, guys. Good to know you’ve got our backs!”

Kiba hops down to face Naruto. “I’ve got a lot riding on this match, but I’ll be kind, Naruto-kun. I won’t drag this out.”

“Ha! Kiba-kun, I’m going to pound your ass into the ground!”

“…”

Oh, Deus. I’ve created a monster.

“I-I mean, right back atchya, Kiba-kun!”

“I’m not into that gay shit, Naruto-kun! Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: Down on All Fours Technique!”

“Eh! Kiba-kun, did you mix up your jutsu and favorite sex position? What’s with that seductive stance? You’re totally waving your ass in the air, dattebayo!”

“Shut the fuck up!”

Kiba feeds Akamaru a ration pill, turning the dog’s fur red with power, and the two of them become beast doppelgangers before charging Naruto with Fang Over Fang right from the start. With Kiba’s Beast Mimicry and Akamaru transformed into a feral Kiba clone, they’re indistinguishable.

In response, Naruto attempts his normal tactic of overwhelming his opponent with Shadow Clones. It doesn’t go well for him. Kiba and Akamaru rip and tear through all the clones before kicking the crap out of the orange ninja.

While it looks good for Kiba at first, with Naruto taking such a beating, soon the hyperactive knucklehead manages to outsmart Kiba by utilizing the Transformation Jutsu to become a third Kiba.

At first, Kiba smells the real Naruto in disguise and punches him. Then that fallen ‘Kiba#3’ is revealed to be Akamaru in a puff of smoke! Seeing this, the real Kiba punches Kiba#2… who also becomes Akamaru!

By transforming into a dog after being punched, Naruto fooled Kiba into doubting his nose. With the real Akamaru down for the count, Naruto reverts to human form and kicks the shit out of Kiba.

Then Naruto finishes the battle with his Uzumaki Barrage, where five Naruto’s gangbang one target… Great, now he’s got me doing it!

“The winner is Uzumaki Naruto.”

I wipe away a bead of sweat. No need to worry about Kiba overthrowing this result just because he lost his virginity! Canon is safe, for now.

“Match Five: Neji versus Hinata.”

I consider Tenten beating Temari as my crowning achievement so far, despite how much I loved turning Sasuke and Naruto gay for each other. However, there’s not much I can do to change the outcome of this match. I don’t currently have the resources to increase Hinata’s strength.

In a close-range fight like this, a few ice mirrors wouldn’t accomplish anything. Not even ice daggers could close the gap. The Sharingan, maybe, but I already told my girls about the dangers of invasive insect prosthetics.

I take Hinata’s hand and squeeze. She looks at me and smiles. Tranquil. “Thank you, Shino-chan. I’m ready.”

I let her go.

Neji spouts a bunch of bullshit verbal abuse as soon as they get in the ring together. “A leopard can’t change its spots. You know you can never change yourself!”

He’s got just as much personal baggage from the Hyuga clan as his cousin, if not more. Despite being disinherited by her father, the fact she was born to the main branch marks her as his eternal enemy in the young man’s twisted brain.

“You’re wrong, Neji-kun.” Hinata speaks up for herself. “I’ve already changed, even if you can’t see it with the Byakugan. I have people I rely on and who depend on me.” She glances at Tenten and I, and we nod back. Then she faces Neji again in a battle stance. “Let’s fight.”

‘Gentle Fist’ versus ‘Gentle Fist’ puts the difference between them on full display. The outcome is decided from the first exchange of blows. Like a rock rolling downhill, Neji is unstoppable once he lands a hit. He damages a few of Hinata’s tenketsu (chakra pathways) with each touch, blocking her chakra flow and reducing her ability to resist every subsequent attack.

The battle is brutal. Seeing it in person, after falling in love with Hinata, makes everything so much harder. My only consolation is I think Hinata doesn’t see the need to push herself as far as in the Anime, reducing the severity of her injuries.

That doesn’t change how I feel one iota.

My Sharingan evolves to gain its second and third tomoe all at once while I clench my fists hard enough to draw blood. It takes all my willpower to keep from jumping down there and kicking that bastard’s ass.

After she’s knocked down the first time, Hinata stands and calmly faces Neji.

“I surrender. I promise to get stronger for the next time we fight… And I hope you can put down that burden you’re carrying. Thank you for the match!”

Then she bows to her opponent like this is a normal sparring match.

Everyone is shocked, none more than Neji.

“H-hey, don’t act like we’re e-equals! You’ll never defeat me. A failure is always a failure!”

Hinata doesn’t react. She no longer feels the need to justify herself to this man. She turns to walk away, neither hurrying nor lingering.

“You’re just running away! You’re a coward who can’t fight her nature! You were burdened from birth with the destiny of the Hyuga clan’s main branch, and you hate yourself for being too weak to bear that weight!”

Hinata isn’t running away. I can tell from the look on her face she’s analyzing the match, reviewing her mistakes, and thinking of ways to improve.

“You’re trapped by a fate you can’t change! You’ll never regain your status as the Hyuga heiress! You’re trapped!”

Hinata doesn’t look back once. She’s not the one who’s trapped. She’s already waving to her lovers and apologizing for the defeat in a lighthearted tone. Tenten has tears in her eyes as we both embrace her.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you!!!” Neji screams and charges at Hinata in a blind rage.

Kakashi and Guy then Body Flicker to Neji, grabbing him before he can take another step towards his cousin.

“Why are the Jonin getting involved, huh? The main branch gets special protection???”

Despite winning, Neji is the one who looks like a sore loser.