"Flames of the Faltine!"
A circle of blue flames surrounded Naruto's hand as he directed a concentrated blast at Kiba. The attack struck true, knocking Kiba and Akamaru apart and sending them crashing to the ground. Kiba groaned, struggling to rise, but the damage was done. Akamaru had lost consciousness, and some of his fur was singed due to the heat.
"Naruto wins and advances," Unohana declared, which got a round of applause.
"You fought well, Kiba," Naruto said as he came forward and shook his hand. Kiba had finally gotten up, though his feet were very wobbly. Akamaru needed medical attention, which Unohana was providing.
Kiba accepted the hand, a grudging respect in his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You got me this time, Naruto."
"Kakashi, what are you even teaching him?" Guy was surprised at how Naruto was able to take down Kiba in such a cool manner.
"I didn't teach him that. He learned it himself," Kakashi said, side-eyeing Aoto. Aoto had always known Naruto would win; there was no question about it. But he was looking forward to the next fight more: Neji vs. Hinata.
Before the fight started, Aoto declared, "I will be the proctor for the next fights." With those words, he flew down and stood beside the duo. One was shy and unsure of herself, while the other had nothing but rage and hatred. The fight started just like it happened in the original story. Neji spoke about how he had been ostracized and how he needed to bring down Hinata. He also held huge resentment towards her.
Hinata didn't know what to say and just defended herself the best she could. She could understand his resentment, but she also wanted to win, to show Naruto that she had grown up and could defend herself and stand by him.
The two fought against each other in normal ninjutsu, using the gentle fist technique. Both of them were almost on par, but Neji was better in this department. In one specific move, Hinata was hurt and had to step back a few steps, with blood flowing from the corners of her mouth.
"Hinata... This bastard." Naruto was incensed seeing Hinata like that and almost made a run for it but was stopped by Kakashi.
"You can't meddle in another battle, or else she will be disqualified," Kakashi said.
"Naruto, have faith in Hinata. Isn't she your friend?" Sasuke also didn't like what was going on and assured Naruto. But Naruto was seething in anger.
"Give up. You can never be better than me. You are just a weakling and not fit to even be a ninja," Neji wasn't mincing his words at all. Hinata didn't know what to say until Aoto opened his mouth.
"Hinata, show him what you have learned all these years."
This made Hinata, ready to go against Neji, stop and look at Aoto in shock. She understood what Aoto meant.
"But..." Hinata replied, confused.
"It's time for him to know. You can show him," Aoto said. This made Hinata silent for a second, and then she straightened her back. Suddenly, her whole demeanor changed. She moved her hands, and in response, a white glow seemed to coat them.
This surprised Neji, as he was sure that no move of the Hyuga family had such a kind of glow, and though he didn't understand what Aoto meant by his words, he wasn't going to let anything or anyone stop him in his path.
He made a run to attack Hinata, but as he took some steps, white tentacles tore through the ground and attacked him. Neji, who had his Byakugan on, saw the attack from the sides and behind, promptly sidestepping and dodging. The tentacles were white in color, the same as the glow on her hands.
At first, the tentacles assaulted him from the sides and behind, and later they grew from the front itself. This was horrifying for Neji, as he had never expected a long-range attack like that. The tentacles hit him once or twice and left quite a bruise. But Neji was tough, and these attacks wouldn't demotivate him. He was able to use gentle fist techniques to break down the white tentacles, but not all of them.
He didn't know that Hinata could have moves like this, as he was sure there was nothing like that in the clan books. So it only meant that it came from Aoto.
"You think borrowing and learning some new tricks would help you defeat me? You are delusional," Neji shouted while taking down the tentacles.
"Yes, you are right. I am delusional. Delusional enough to prove my worth to the world and stand by the person who helped me grow. I can't fail them. I have failed a lot over the years. But not today," Hinata replied as she moved her hands. Two magical circles appeared on the ground beside her, and out came two beasts.
Never seen before, two of the beasts were tiger-like in nature. They are termed tiger-like because one tiger had an entire body lit with fire. One could feel the searing heat emanating from the body of the red-hot, burning tiger. One couldn't even see the outline of the tiger, only the heat and fire. The other one looked like it was made of water, with a transparent body that one could see through, but it was majestic nonetheless.
The aggression and growls they emitted were a testament that what the audience was witnessing was real and not some fantasy story. Two beasts made of two different elements.
"She just used Celestial magic with summoning magic. Damn, even I hadn't thought of that," Shikuro said as he watched from afar.
"Our creativity will end here since it's celestial magic," Corazon said.
"You don't say," Shikuro replied.
"This is amazing."
"What the hell are these?"
"She can already control two opposing elements and that too in such a high degree? She will be a great shinobi in the future. She will be a chunin just for this move of hers. There are no such moves as far as I remember in the books of Hyuga clan."
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