Naruto: The Dragonoid's Legacy*
Neji's Byakugan blazed as he analyzed his opponent. Every vein around his eyes bulged with concentration as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Naruto's chakra network appeared normal—even stronger than before, likely due to Jiraiya's training. But that *other* energy, that fog-like presence surrounding his entire system, defied explanation.
"You've improved," Neji admitted, settling into the Gentle Fist stance. "But improvement means nothing against absolute technique. I'll end this quickly."
"Man, you really like to talk, don't you?" Naruto bounced on his feet, and several spectators noticed the movement was far too light, too graceful for the usually clumsy Genin. "Less talking, more fighting!"
Neji blurred forward, his speed impressive even by Jonin standards. His fingers struck toward Naruto's chakra points in a precise sequence—shoulder, elbow, wrist, chest.
But Naruto *moved*.
His body twisted in a way that seemed almost inhuman, each of Neji's strikes missing by mere centimeters. The crowd gasped as the "dead-last" of the Academy dodged the Hyuga prodigy's assault with an almost bored expression.
"Too slow!" Naruto's voice had that edge of playfulness that made Jiraiya, watching from the sidelines, grimace.
*He's enjoying this too much. Come on, kid, keep it together...*
Neji's jaw clenched as he increased his speed, his Gentle Fist strikes becoming a blur. "**Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!**"
"Two palms! Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen palms!"
Finally, one of the strikes connected with Naruto's shoulder. Then another. And another. By the time Neji finished his technique, he'd landed twenty of the thirty-two strikes.
"**Thirty-two palms!**" Neji leaped back, breathing slightly harder. "Your chakra points have been sealed. You can no longer—"
"Huh." Naruto looked down at his shoulder where he'd been hit, tilting his head curiously. "That tingles."
"...What?"
"Your attacks. They kinda tingle." Naruto flexed his arm experimentally. "Like when your leg falls asleep, you know? Weird feeling."
Neji's Byakugan focused intensely on Naruto's chakra network. The points he'd struck were indeed sealed—he could see that clearly. Naruto shouldn't be able to mold chakra properly anymore. And yet...
"Impossible," Neji breathed. "I sealed those points. You shouldn't be able to move like that!"
What Neji couldn't see was that while Naruto's *chakra* points were sealed, his *magicules*—the energy from his dragonoid transformation—flowed through entirely different pathways. The Gentle Fist, designed to disrupt chakra, was essentially useless against his true power source.
In the Hokage's booth, Sarutobi leaned forward with intense interest. "Jiraiya's training must have included some form of chakra reinforcement. Remarkable."
The "Kazekage" beside him remained silent, though beneath the disguise, Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with hunger. *What are you, Naruto-kun? You're different from before...*
"Come on, Neji!" Naruto called out, cracking his knuckles. "That can't be all you've got! Show me that rotation thing I heard about!"
Neji's hands clenched into fists. The failure—the *dead-last*—was toying with him. Him! A prodigy of the Hyuga clan!
"You want to see it?" Neji's voice was cold with fury. "Fine. I'll show you the absolute difference between us!"
He charged forward again, but this time Naruto didn't just dodge. He *attacked*.
A fist shot toward Neji's face—faster than the Hyuga expected. Neji barely managed to deflect it with his Gentle Fist, but the force behind the blow made his arm go numb.
*What kind of strength...?!*
"Wahaha! Now we're talking!" Naruto's laugh echoed through the arena, and Sakura's eyes widened.
"Did... did Naruto just laugh like that?" she asked Kakashi, confused.
"Maa, everyone develops quirks during training," Kakashi replied, though his visible eye never left the battle. Internally, he was cataloging every abnormality. The speed, the strength, the strange laugh, the way Naruto moved—it all pointed to something far beyond normal Genin training.
Naruto pressed his advantage, throwing a combination of punches and kicks that had Neji on the defensive. Each blow was precisely controlled—Naruto was consciously holding back to maybe 5% of his actual dragonoid strength—but even that was enough to match a skilled Chunin.
*Gotta be careful,* Naruto thought even as he fought. *Can't hit too hard or I'll break his bones. Can't move too fast or they'll know something's up. This is harder than I thought!*
"**Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!**" Neji shouted.
He began to spin, chakra erupting from every tenketsu point in his body, creating a perfect hemisphere of rotating chakra that deflected everything in its path.
Naruto's fist connected with the barrier and he was thrown backward, tumbling across the arena floor before catching himself in a crouch. His hand stung from the impact.
"Whoa! Now THAT'S cool!" Naruto grinned, genuine excitement in his eyes. "Can you teach me that?"
"Teach you?" Neji stopped spinning, slightly dizzy but maintaining his composure. "You still don't understand. That technique is a birthright of the Main House of the Hyuga clan. Someone like you—a failure, an orphan with no clan—could never learn it. Just like you can never change your destiny!"
The smile faded from Naruto's face. His blue eyes hardened, and for just a moment, golden light flickered in their depths.
"Destiny, huh?" Naruto's voice was quiet now, dangerous. "You keep using that word. But you know what? I don't believe in destiny."
He stood up straight, and the atmosphere in the arena shifted. Those sensitive to chakra—Kakashi, Hiashi, the Hokage, and Gaara—all felt it. A pressure that wasn't quite killing intent, but something far more primal. Ancient. Powerful.
"I believe in making my own path," Naruto continued. "I believe in protecting my precious people. And I believe in never giving up. Those aren't destiny, Neji. Those are *choices*."
In Naruto's mindscape, the Kyuubi stirred.
*"Careful, boy. Your emotions are affecting your control. The energy is leaking out."*
Naruto took a deep breath, forcing the dragonoid presence back down. The pressure in the arena eased, though everyone who'd felt it remained on edge.
"Sorry about that," Naruto said, his usual grin returning. "Got a bit serious there. But I mean it, Neji. I'm gonna prove you wrong about destiny. Starting now!"
He formed a cross-shaped hand seal.
"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**"
The arena erupted with smoke, and when it cleared, a hundred Narutos surrounded Neji from all angles.
Neji's Byakugan could see them all—solid clones, not illusions. "Quantity over quality. How predictable."
"Is it though?" all the Narutos said in unison.
Then they attacked as one coordinated unit.
But these weren't the wild, uncoordinated clones from the Academy days. These clones moved with purpose, with strategy. They attacked in waves, each wave forcing Neji to use his rotation technique, draining his chakra bit by bit.
"**Revolving Heaven!**" Neji spun again, destroying a dozen clones.
But more rushed in immediately after, not giving him time to rest.
*This is different from before,* Neji thought as he destroyed clone after clone. *These clones are working together. And each one is as fast and strong as he is. When did the dead-last learn tactics?*
What Neji didn't know was that each clone carried a fraction of Naruto's dragonoid power, making them far more durable and dangerous than normal shadow clones. Naruto was using the technique as both offense and a way to burn off excess energy—to keep himself from accidentally using too much power.
After destroying the fiftieth clone, Neji was breathing hard. The continuous use of Revolving Heaven was draining his chakra reserves rapidly.
"Had enough yet?" a voice called from above.
Neji looked up to see Naruto perched on top of the arena wall, hand outstretched. A spiraling sphere of blue chakra was forming in his palm—compressed, rotating, powerful.
"**RASENGAN!**"
The crowd went wild. That was the Fourth Hokage's technique!
Sarutobi stood up in his booth, eyes wide. "Jiraiya taught him *that*?!"
Naruto launched himself from the wall, the Rasengan spinning in his hand as he descended toward Neji like a meteor. The remaining shadow clones all dispersed at once, their memories flooding back to the original and giving him perfect knowledge of Neji's current state.
*He's low on chakra. Almost spent from all those rotations. This is my chance!*
Neji saw the attack coming and knew he had only one option. He gathered the last of his chakra and began to spin once more.
"**Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!**"
The Rasengan met the rotating chakra barrier.
**BOOM!**
The collision created a massive explosion of chakra that cracked the arena floor and sent dust and debris flying in all directions. The crowd shielded their eyes as the shockwave reached even the upper stands.
When the dust settled, both fighters were on opposite sides of a massive crater. Neji was on one knee, chakra exhausted, his Byakugan deactivated. Naruto stood across from him, the Rasengan dispersed, breathing hard but still standing strong.
"Do you give up?" Genma asked, ready to call the match.
"Never," Neji gasped, trying to stand. His legs shook. "I won't... lose to... a failure..."
He managed to get to his feet, settling into the Gentle Fist stance despite having almost no chakra left.
Naruto watched him with those unnaturally blue eyes, and something like respect crossed his features.
"You know what, Neji? You're strong. Really strong. And you never give up either." Naruto smiled, and this time it was genuine—no trace of Milim's influence, just pure Naruto. "We're not so different, you and me."
"Don't... compare us..." Neji started to charge forward.
But his body gave out. He collapsed to one knee, then forward onto his hands. Completely chakra-exhausted.
"I... won't... lose..."
"You already did," a voice said from behind him.
Neji's eyes widened as he felt a presence at his back. He tried to turn, but his body wouldn't respond. When had—?
Naruto stood behind him, one hand raised in a knife-hand strike aimed at Neji's neck. A non-lethal takedown position.
"It's over, Neji," Naruto said quietly. "You fought well. But destiny didn't decide this fight. We did. Our choices, our training, our determination."
For a long moment, silence filled the arena.
Then Neji's arms gave out completely, and he collapsed to the ground, conscious but unable to fight.
"Winner: Naruto Uzumaki!" Genma announced.
The crowd **erupted**.
"NARUTO! NARUTO! NARUTO!"
In the stands, Sakura was screaming herself hoarse. "HE DID IT! NARUTO WON!"
Sasuke stared down at the arena, his Sharingan still active, his fists clenched. *He's gotten this strong? In just one month?*
Kakashi smiled beneath his mask, proud despite his confusion about Naruto's new abilities.
Hiashi Hyuga stood slowly, staring at his nephew's defeated form with an unreadable expression.
And in the Hokage's booth, Sarutobi smiled warmly while "Kazekage" Orochimaru plotted.
Down in the arena, Naruto walked over to Neji and extended his hand.
"You okay?"
Neji stared at the offered hand, at the boy who'd just defeated him, at the "failure" who'd proven him wrong about destiny. Slowly, reluctantly, he reached up and took it.
Naruto pulled him to his feet, grinning widely. "That was a great fight! You almost had me with that rotation thing! So cool!"
"Why?" Neji asked quietly. "Why do you try so hard? Why fight against destiny when it would be easier to accept it?"
Naruto's grin softened into something more genuine. "Because I made a promise. To myself and to others. I'm gonna be Hokage someday. And you can't become Hokage by giving up, can you?"
For the first time in years, something in Neji's expression cracked. "You really believe you can change fate?"
"I don't believe. I *know*." Naruto's eyes—still blue, but with that hint of gold deep within—blazed with determination. "And someday, you'll know it too."
As medical ninja rushed onto the field to check on both fighters, Jiraiya watched from the sidelines with mixed feelings. Naruto had won, had kept his dragonoid nature mostly hidden, but there had been close calls. That moment when his pressure had leaked out. The unnatural speed and strength. The way he'd shrugged off the Gentle Fist.
How long before someone figured out the truth?
In Naruto's mindscape, the Kyuubi chuckled.
*"Well done, boy. You won without revealing your true nature. But this was just the beginning. The real challenges are yet to come."*
Naruto mentally nodded as he waved to the cheering crowd, his grin wide and genuine.
*I know. But I'm ready. Whatever comes next, I'll face it head-on! That's my ninja way!*
In the crowd, a girl with pale lavender eyes watched with tears streaming down her face, her heart swelling with pride and something else she couldn't quite name.
And high above the arena, perched on a rooftop where no one could see, a pink-haired Demon Lord giggled with delight.
"Wahaha! That's my successor! But sweetie, you're holding back WAY too much! Next time, let loose a little more! Show them what a dragonoid can really do!"
She vanished in a shimmer of pink light, leaving only the echo of her laughter on the wind.
The Chunin Exams were far from over.
And Naruto Uzumaki's greatest challenges were just beginning.
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**To Be Continued...**
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*Author's Note: Naruto wins his first match as a dragonoid! But can he keep his secret safe? And what happens when he faces even stronger opponents? Next chapter: Reactions and revelations!*
*Thank you all so much for the support! Don't forget to comment, review, and add to your library! Your feedback keeps me motivated to write more!*
What did you think of the fight? Too much? Not enough? Let me know in the comments!