The Sandaime Hokage smiled at 'Kazekage' as the man took his seat beside him. They were the only Kages present for the finals of this Chunin exam. Well, the Professor wasn't making much complains about the absence. This way was just fine. The important people were not the Kages but rather the potential clients and the contestants.

"It would have been good for both of us if you'd come here earlier," Hiruzen said to the Kazekage. "There were certain things that I wanted to discuss with you."

Sunagakure was allied with Konohagakure and there were things that needed to be ironed out. He also had the intention of informing the man of Orochimaru's plans, but this wasn't a good place to do so. Still, for someone who went through many ways in order to form a strong relationship between the two villages, he would have thought that the man would be more than happy to discuss business.

"We will have all the time we need after the finals," the 'Kazekage' said calmly. "I must thank you though for taking care of my children. I thought cutting the distance they would have had to cover while travelling to and back from Suna would give them enough time to train."

The Sandaime smiled. "Although I was not able to see their training, I am sure that they had more than enough time. The Senju compound's training fields are protected by barriers, so they would have had the secrecy they needed."

"Ah, that would be the Uzumakis doing," 'Rasa' said with a smile. "Baki informs me that they were away from the village. They have yet to return..."

"It appears that way," Sarutobi said. "I'm not even sure myself where they went. You know Naruto; he doesn't like indulging everything and is quite capable."

The 'Kazekage' laughed for a second. "Yes, he is indeed quite capable for someone his age. I was honestly surprised when I learned of the things he could do. You have raised quite the shinobi with him... I am just glad that he is engaged to my daughter..."

"We can talk about that later," the Sandaime Hokage said as he stood up from his seat. He raised his right hand to silence the full packed stadium. "Thank you for coming everyone! I welcome you to the finals of the Chunin exam!"

The proctor stepped up before the Sandaime could say anything further. "My name is Gokke, and I will be the proctor of the finals. I will state some rules before we begin: There will be a count of five and if the contestant isn't in the stadium by the count of five, he/she will be disqualified; the match will be over when a contestant is unable to continue or when he/she waves the white flag. I reserve the right to call off a match and declare a winner if I believe the contestant can longer continue.

"I will not repeat the rules as I believe they are simple enough for everyone to understand them. There will be no special treatment for anyone late... First match: Hyuga Hinata vs Hyuga Neji!"

With Mikoto

"Miko-chan," Kushina said to the Uchiha as she made herself comfortable beside the woman. "Thanks for saving my seat," she said.

"I figured you'd want to watch with your friend by your side," Mikoto said responded with a smile.

It didn't feel as if it had been a month since she last saw the Uzumaki. Really time had moved so quickly. With her precious son away, she thought things would have been slow as the desire to see her loved ones return grew by the day, but it had just flown by. Perhaps it because she had been buried deep in her work as clan head and trying to tie some loose ends with other clans.

"Naturally," Kushina said taking her eyes into the centre of the stadium as she saw Neji take his turn. She glanced at her friend for a moment as she asked. "Things okay in my absence?"

Mikoto nodded, "Yes," she said. "Just missed you and Naruto. Speaking of which, where is he? The match is about to begin and if he is late, Hinata will be disqualified from her match. I doubt he trained her just so she could be disqualified."

Kushina wasn't worried about that. She had just been with Naruto and Hinata just a few minutes ago. They'd only returned to the village. She'd wanted to return earlier but Naruto had said he wanted to get some things done in preparation for his match against Lee.

"Might be planning for a dramatic entrance..." Kushina said with a smile.

Mikoto smiled at hearing that - she was slightly amused, but not surprised. Naruto wasn't the one for dramatics. He wouldn't put on a show, especially for people such as these. It was not secret to her that Naruto held no love for Konoha's people. Putting on a show for them wasn't something he'd do, unless there was a motive behind.

She really liked how the blond worked his mind. It was admirable. "I just want to see his match. He is going to go against a very tough opponent," Mikoto said. Honestly, she was a lot eager to see Naruto fight than seeing her own son do battle against a Jinchuriki. Was she bad mother for that?

Back at centre stage

Neji confidently strolled on the ground, his eyes darting around for a sign of Hinata. He could not see her anywhere, and he had been tempted to use his Byakugan to find her. He wasn't nervous about fighting her, not by any chance. The thought of using the Byakugan was because he thought that she might be hiding from him.

She was a spineless and sheltered little girl after all. She was a failure and everyone in the Hyuga clan knew that. It wouldn't surprise him even if she doesn't show up. He would still be disappointed though. He wanted to show everyone that just because he was in the branch family, didn't mean that he was a loser.

The proctor looked up for a moment. "We will beg-"

The man was cut off when a powerful tornado blitzed into the stadium. The tornado crashed at the centre in a loud boom that caused debris to pick up, but it did not fold. It continued spinning powerfully for a few moments.

It had happened so quickly that the crowd had been put on alert by the arrival. The shinobi who had been ready for war, had nearly jumped out of their hiding place with their weapons raised. But the swirling winds suddenly burst, dispersing, revealing a very Hyuga Hinata with her right knee on her ground, and Naruto standing just beside her with his right hand on her right shoulder.

The blond disappeared a second later.

Neji narrowed his eyes at his cousin. He had to quite honestly admit that he was very shocked by her appearance. He hadn't thought that his timid cousin would actually have the spine to actually be okay with an entrance like this.

As Hinata stood up, the proctor spoke. "Are both contestants ready?" There were stiff nods from both Hyugas. "Begin!"

Neji didn't get into a stance; he took the chance to speak. He didn't care that people could hear him. Nothing would really change. He was fated for misery. "I thought you were simply hiding unable to face me..." Neji said a bit arrogantly.

Hinata tilted her head to the side. She wasn't smiling, but her expression wasn't completely blank. "Why would I hide, Neji-niisan?" The former Hyuga heiress asked in a quiet tone.

Neji couldn't really spot the difference between the Hinata he knew and the Hinata he was seeing in front of him. "Why? You're a failure, and you cannot defeat me, Hinata-sama. You cannot defeat me. A failure like you should have just stayed in bed. You're not even fit to be a shinobi."

"A failure, huh?" Hinata put on a really said smile. "I am a failure. My own father considered me a failure and told me that he expected nothing of me even though I made it to the finals. I am a weak coward who lost the status of clan heiress to my younger sister simply because I could not strike her down... but what of it?"

Neji was slightly surprised by Hinata's calm response. "What of it?" He scoffed. "What? Because you father discarded you, you want to prove yourself against me? Don't be a fool, Hinata-sama..." he paused. "Oh, wait, you are a fool. You cannot defeat me. That is your fate. You're nothing but a spoiled little princess and I will show you just how much of a failure you are..."

"I have nothing to prove to my father," Hinata said in a firm tone that surprised many in the stadium. "I am indeed a failure, a coward yes. But you're mistaken, Neji: I am not a spoiled child. There is no difference between you and me."

"There is a difference!" Neji shouted, momentarily losing his calm. "You don't have to walk around cursed by seal. You're born into the main family, you have everything given to you and don't have this fate hanging over your forehead."

Hinata's said smile deepened as she shook her head. "Do you know something, Neji? My own father has threatened to put the caged bird seal on me, regardless of my birth... You're not the only one with burdens, I know someone with a heavy burden, far greater than yours. At least you didn't have to walk around this village with people cursing your very existence because you carry something..." Hinata took a stance, but did not activate her Byakugan.

A second later, she darted towards Neji. She didn't attack him head on, instead, she jumped up into the air, flipping and faced downwards. "Byakugan..." the doujutsu activated as her body began to twist around in mid-air. She charged down towards Neji like a bullet, rushing through in tremendous speed.

There was a loud boom when she crashed into the ground. Neji did just enough to jump away from the human bullet. The moment he landed on the ground, Hinata was already on the attack once again. Her right hand was glowing with chakra and she aimed a strike towards his forehead.

Neji leaned back slightly to avoid the blow. As he did, Hinata raised her right foot and attempted a high kick aimed towards Neji's left shoulder. The Hyuga blocked her kick with the palm of his right hand - which was glowing with chakra. He then grabbed her leg around the ankle. Hinata sent her free foot towards Neji's head, but the kick was caught once again.

Before Hinata could strike Neji with the palm of her right hand, her cousin acted faster and brutally slammed her into the ground. The Hyuga prodigy then jumped slightly before aiming a strike straight towards Hinata's chest.

While still lying on the ground, Hinata held out the palm of her right hand, glowing with chakra. Neji's strike was blocked by the palm of her hand, but there was an explosion of chakra when the two hands collided. Hinata was slightly buried into the ground, as Neji flashed away from her.

The crowd roared as Hinata stood up and took a stance.

Neji merely glared at her heatedly. She was putting on a fight, far better than he had expected her. He could not allow her to perform like this. And so, Neji dashed towards Hinata.

Upon reaching her the Hyuga prodigy aimed a high left footed kick towards Hinata. His foot was glowing with chakra as he sought to strengthen the kick. Hinata leaned back as he had predicted and Neji reacted in faster speed as he brought his right foot into the ground, and aimed a powerful strike into Hinata's chest.

Hinata managed to put her left hand as a last ditch cover, but the attack was still able to send her crashing into the walls of the arena. She crashed into the wall with her back, but was quick to peel herself off it as Neji was upon her again.

The prodigy reached her quickly, and began his attacks. "You're within my field! Eight Trigrams Sixty-four Palms!" As the Hyuga released his strikes, he was baffled as Hinata blocked each strike. None of his sixty four strikes hit her. Neji's shock had been clearly visible as well as his frustrations at being unable to hit his cousin. He just could not understand how she could have blocked all strikes without allowing one to slip. No one had had fought against had actually done that.

More to that, Hinata was a complete failure.

While Neji was in his shock, Hinata reacted quickly and waved a high kick that slammed into the Hyuga's forehead, sending him flying backwards. Neji flipped several times in mid-air before landing on both his feet.

"Does it surprise you that much?" Hinata asked quietly. "You say that I'm a failure, and I agreed with you. But do you know something? I have a sensei; who has been telling me that I am not a failure and has brought me to this level."

"Don't get full of yourself!" Neji shouted.

"I really do care about you, Neji. This resentment that you carry towards us... it pains me. I have always wanted to be your friend and family, not just Hinata-sama, the spoiled child you see as having everything because of her birth..." Hinata said as she took out a scroll and opened it. "I don't want to fight in a way that will hurt you."

Naruto would probably not approve, but there was a way in which the blond had taught her that would guarantee her victory. Above everything else, she just wanted to save her cousin. Besides, it wouldn't be a good surprise if she does manage to keep some cards hidden to herself.

Naruto hadn't taught her just one way of fighting.

"What nonsense are you talking about?!"

"Kai!" Hinata said after throwing the scroll into the air. The scroll releasing a wave of water that sped towards Neji, but they did no harm, but rather just filled the entire ground.

Neji narrowed his eyes suspiciously - his Byakugan could see traces of Hinata's chakra within the water. It was strange. Hyuga's always fought with their taijutsu style and nothing else. What was Hinata planning?

"I didn't lose my status as clan heir because I was really weak. I could fight my sister, but I just could not strike her because she was my younger sister. I wanted to protect her, not hit her. But due to my own weakness, she ended up carrying the weight that I was supposed to carry. Instead of protecting her, I burdened her," Hinata said with a sad smile. "I am gentle. My sensei isn't the gentlest person, actually, he can be cold-hearted at times, but do you know what? He told me that my kindness is what makes me who I am and that I should never lose it."

"Kakashi?"

Hinata shook her head. "Uzumaki Naruto... he is my sensei. I can fight because of the inspiration he has given me. He gave me courage and the will to stand up. Perhaps if you speak to him one day, you will learn to understand that what you carry on your forehead isn't something you can curse your own existence about, but what he actually carries is something much more..."

Hinata took a stance and held out both her hands.

Neji didn't say anything, but he charged towards Hinata, rushing through the water in the ring. He twisted around along with the water and then sent a strike towards Hinata's left shoulder. Hinata moved a motion with her left hand, a wall of water pulled up, creating a shield. Neji's strike the wall, splashing the water, but didn't reach Hinata.

The prodigy once again, sent another strike towards Hinata, but the girl once again raised a shield of water. Neji attempted more strikes, but she continued to block them with the damn water.

The Hyuga jumped away from the girl and glared at her. She was looking winded, but so was he.

"It's fitting, isn't it?" Hinata suddenly spoke. "The water is gentle, so is the name of our taijutsu style..."

The moment those words left Hinata's mouth, Neji was jumping into the air as the water was moving up to grab both his feet. He frowned when he realized that there was no escaping the water. It was all over the arena. The moment he landed down, the water quickly grabbed both his feet like some gentle chains.

Hinata moved her hands as the water began to rise up around Neji. The water created a dome around the Hyuga prodigy before Hinata spoke once again. "If I close this up, you will be trapped in a water bubble, and won't be able to breathe... do wish to give up?"

Neji's face looked as if he had just been insulted massively. He glared hatefully at his cousin for a full minute before scoffing. "I will never surrender to you. Don't think that you have won!"

Hinata allowed the water to move towards Neji.

"Kaiten!" Neji suddenly shouted. The Hyuga created a large dome of chakra. The rotating chakra hit the water, sending it splashing towards the walls of the arena. When Neji stopped spinning, he was breathing a bit heavily.

"This has been achieved through hard work, the ultimate defence. You cannot defeat me, Hinata-sama..."

Hinata smiled. "You're a genius alright," the Hyuga said smiling. "That is something that only main family members ought to know, and yet you have mastered it on your own. If I was the clan head, I would not keep you from learning such things."

Hinata looked into the sky for a moment before looking back at Neji. She raised her right hand. "I wasn't expecting that and I have run out of chakra. Pro-"

Neji seemed to have sensed that she was going to give up and sped towards her, but Hinata didn't do anything, she merely stared at her cousin. Upon reaching her, Neji released his Kaiten, once again, but here he used it for offense. The rotation, slammed into Hinata, and sent her brutally crashing into the wall.

Still, Hinata got into her feet, her sad smile painted with blood. "Proctor, I am unable to continue..."

Neji cursed his cousin. She could still fight. She still had chakra to continue. The fact that she was still able to get up after receiving that blow was lost to his mind. He was raging over the fact that she was faking being worn out. "Is that it? You coward, you're just going to run away?!"

"My intention was not to win, but to put up a good fight. I pushed you to your limits. You can't use Kaiten anymore; you have just enough chakra for one last move... I prefer to take things step by step. I put up a good fight, perhaps next time; I will fight to win..." Hinata turned away from her cousin.

Neji gritted his teeth in anger. She was showing him her back even though the proctor had yet to announce a winner. Neji lunged towards Hinata, but he didn't reach her because he was stopped by the proctor - who sent him a warning look.

"Winner: Hyuga Neji!"

There was a round of applause.

With Naruto

Naruto had been watching the match from above where he was with other genins and their senseis. "What were you feeding her?" was the question Ino demanded after the proctor announced the winner.

"Nothing," Naruto said. "She was just taking things seriously, as a kunoichi should. I am honestly disappointed that she did not break him."

Ino narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Are you suggesting that I don't?"

Naruto turned to face the Yamanaka girl to see if she really wanted him to respond to her question. After watching her put on a pathetic show during the prelims, Naruto hadn't been more disappointed. Why couldn't she take things seriously? She was a kunoichi and perhaps if she had been willing, she could have turned out to be of use.

Ino stared back, daring the blond to respond.

"That is what I am suggesting, Ino," Naruto said. He sighed. "Perhaps that was my fault. I always fought your battles when you got into trouble. I should have taught you to defend yourself instead of just defending you."

"Protecting me was your job," Ino said with her hands folded across her chest.

"One that you forced me to do," Naruto grunted.

Shikamaru cut in. "Hinata said she didn't want to fight in a way that would hurt Neji, and you suggesting that she could have broken him means that there is more to her than she showed. Well, I think anyone would be able to tell. The kind of blow she received from taking on Neji's Kaiten isn't something one would just shrug off. Aside from that, she was