I do not own Naruto
THIRD PERSON POV
As the fight began, Naruto charged at Neji. Unfortunately, Neji quickly responded by striking Naruto's chakra points. Realizing that he couldn't attack Neji from the front, Naruto jumped back and used the shadow clone jutsu. Neji took down the shadow clones one by one, explaining that he could see right through Naruto's jutsu.
"These eyes of mine show me many things. One thing they've shown me, people's limitations are set, fixed, and unchangeable. Only a fool wastes his time trying to become something he can never be." Neji bragged, referring to Naruto's dream to be the Hokage.
Riko stared down at Neji as he continued to ramble on about destiny and fate. Her eyes softened at the obviously mentally hurt boy, wondering what could've made him think like that.
"How sad." Riko looked next to her to see Kushina looking down at the fight with interest in her eyes. "It's a shame that that boy really thinks like that."
Riko slowly nodded, moving her gaze back to the fight below. "I wonder who will win." The violet haired girl muttered to herself.
Once more, Naruto's shadow clones had charged at Neji, but the same thing happened. Neji had already found the real one, the one who was keeping his distance from Neji. Both Riko and Kushina leaned closer to the railing in anticipation, watching as blood dripped from Naruto's mouth.
"I told you, your weak tricks won't work on me." Neji smirked down at him.
Taking deep breaths, Naruto looked back up at him, a matching smirk on his face. "Oh yeah, and I told you it was a mistake to underestimate me." Naruto disappeared into smoke, making Neji realize that it had been a shadow clone the whole time.
"HELL YEAH!! KICK HIS ASS, NARUTO!" Kushina pumped her translucent fist into the air as she grinned.
As the real Naruto jumped to attack him, Neji spun around, creating a large sphere of rotating chakra that immediately knocked Naruto back. Riko's eyes widened as she stared at Neji in amazement. 'Whoa. . . that's so cool.'
"I've read about that before." Riko mumbled, seemingly to herself, but also to Kushina. "It's called the 8 trigrams palm rotation, but it's only ever been used by the main branch of the Hyuga clan."
As Naruto slowly stood up, Neji got into a low standing stance. Quickly moving forward, Neji struck all 64 of Naruto's chakra points. It was so harsh, everyone could practically see the chakra radiating from his fingertips. Naruto should've been dead. The only reason Naruto was still alive was because he was Naruto. There was no way he would lose anytime soon.
Naruto angrily pressed Neji about why he was the way he was. Why he hurt Hinata so badly and why he didn't care. It seemed like his questions made Neji snap. He went on to explain about how the Hyuga clan gives curse marks to the side branches. Because of these curse marks, they are bound to the main branch of the Hyuga clan and can never be truly free.
Neji clenched his fists and turned to glare at Hiashi, Hinata's father and leader of the Hyuga clan, in the stands. "But one night, they went too far. When they murdered my father." He gritted his teeth. Those words held so much venom and hatred in them, all directed towards the main branch. Neji told how Hiashi was supposed to die for the killing of the leader of the land of lightning. However, since Hiashi was part of the main branch, Hizashi, Neji's father and Hiashi's brother, were killed in his place.
"Their destinies were designed the moment they entered this world, and yours in the same. Your destiny was designed the moment I was chosen as your opponent." Neji growled, getting back into a stance. He charged at Naruto, striking him right in the heart.
Riko's eyes widened, now slightly worried for the yellow haired boy. She knew he would be okay, because he's Naruto. He'll be okay. He'll be okay, right?
Naruto grunted, slowly struggling to get up. As he did, Riko felt a slight shift in his chakra. 'He's using the nine tail's chakra.' She stared down at the arena, unable to take her eyes off of Naruto.
Kushina grinned and jumped up and down in excitement. Naruto felt the nine tailed fox's chakra surge through his body, breaking the blocks Neji had put on his chakra points. As Naruto began to attack Neji again, he was noticeably faster and stronger.
Soon, the chakra of the nine tails mixed with Neji's gentle fist, creating a large explosion. Riko squinted through the smoky debris, wondering who won. As the smoke cleared, there were two holes in the ground. In one hole, a shaken up Neji stood, doing his best to catch his breath. In the other hole laid Naruto. Neji smirked at his win. Unfortunately, he thought too quickly, not noticing the real Naruto bursting out from under him. Naruto's fist harshly collided with Neji's chin, knocking him down.
The whole arena was silent as they stared in awe at the scene below them. Riko's hands gripped the railing, her gaze settling on Naruto. His face was scratched up and his fingernails were bleeding. Naruto never ceased to amaze her. The longer she stared at him, the faster her heart beat, making it obvious to her that this was way more than just some stupid crush. It wasn't like Sasuke and his fangirls, liking him only because of his good looks and cool factor, Riko actually liked him. She felt her cheeks heat up as she quickly looked away from Naruto.
Kushina smiled at the girl, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "I think I'll take my leave now." Kushina told Riko. "I'll be back for your match and I'll bring Minato with me, ya know? And don't forget to congratulate Naruto for me!" Riko nodded with a light smile, her cheeks still tinted pink as she watched Kushina slowly fade away.
Riko's head turned back to Naruto, who was running around blowing kisses to the now cheering audience. Riko giggled at his sudden energy boost, only calming down when she noticed Neji being carried away in a stretcher. She really was happy that Naruto won, but she couldn't help but feel worried for Neji.
Naruto ran up the stairs to where the other candidates were waiting. "Hey, hey, did you guys see me?! Did you?!" He exclaimed with his signature grin on his face.
Riko beamed at the boy and swung her hands behind her back. "Yeah, you were amazing! That thing you did with the hole and the clone and the punching was so cool!" Riko made wild hand gestures as she spoke, making Shikamaru sigh and roll his eyes.
"I always thought you were like me. I can't believe you beat Neji, now there's no way I could beat you, what a drag."
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