Naruto's POV (Team Nine's Training Ground - Hidden Leaf Village)
However, as soon as Naruto finished, Neji appeared before him, Byakugan blazing. Naruto couldn't react as Neji struck forth with much more power and weight into the blow. Naruto was forced to spit out blood as Neji struck his palm into his ribs, the pain stabbing deep within him. And sending Naruto sliding back. "This farce is over now… Palm Bottom!"
"That's the problem…" Naruto said as he suddenly stopped his slide as his hand grabbed onto Neji's wrist. He smiled as Neji attempted to reel his hand back and snapped out with the other. However, Naruto ate the punch, using the moment to form his signature hand sign. "People like you think you know everything, you have talent and intelligence, but all that does is blind you to possibilities… me, I've never had much luck in anything… made me resourceful… and aware of the power of not quitting! It'll take more than that to finish me off! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"How could you?!" Neji asked, alarmed, as two clouds of smoke burst into life at the sides of Naruto. The blonde smirked as both drew their own Riptides and struck out wildly for Neji's head. The bound Hyuga couldn't escape Naruto's grasp, forcing him to duck the blows. However, the clones didn't seem surprised at all, swinging two uppercuts in sync with their free hands and catching Neji flat in the stomach. The power of their blows sends him flying up into the air.
"Now that I know why we're fighting!" Naruto roared and leapt on top of the waiting arms of his clones. "Naruto Launcher!" He cried as they flung him into the air after Neji. "I won't be holding back!" He roared as he drew his own Riptide and slashed for Neji, who was oddly spinning through the air. Naruto slashed for Neji's back as he drew close; it would cut somewhat deeply, but be nowhere near lethal. However, just as he drew close, an annoyed Neji sounded out.
"Kaiten!"
A glowing blue blur suddenly shot out around Neji, the approaching Naruto having no recourse but to slam into it painfully. The force of the swelling object sent Naruto careening into the ground, denting the packed mud below with a crash as Naruto groaned in pain.
Naruto watched bleary-eyed as Neji landed in front of him smoothly. "You truly intend to win this? I truly do admire your tenacity, but you're out of your weight class here. I am more skilled and quicker than you, and now you've seen my ultimate defense. It feels absurd to resort to such a thing against you, Naruto Uzumaki. So, I consider myself impressed."
"Heh, don't really care about all that," Naruto said as he stood and cracked his neck with a pained grunt. He had known this was never going to be a smooth fight, but would readily admit to being shocked by just how strong Neji was. Naruto, thus far, had been beaten around and barely been able to hang on to it with his odd tactics. But that was about to change now; he just had to watch out for the damn Kaiten. "All I care about is kicking your ass at the moment. Besides, someone has already lost against me once. Thought you didn't need to even try against me?"
"I was wrong… you'll regret that being the case from here on, Naruto…"
X-X
Kakashi's POV
"I never met him, let alone seen Blondie fight," Yuno said, amused as she sat on a large log the group of spectators used as their viewing stand. "For someone who's considered near dead last, he's holding his own."
"One Blondie is my nickname for him, but ya. Naruto is surprisingly tough when the time calls for it… are we sure this is a good idea, Kakashi?" Ino asked nervously.
"I'm kinda with her on this one." Choji agreed. "That fight is getting nasty. Neji has beaten Naruto around a lot, and while I wouldn't count him out. Someone could get hurt."
"Come on Cho," Yuno said with an amused roll of her eyes. "We've seen nothing yet. Regardless of what they think of each other, they both seem to be taking this seriously. They claimed they were holding back, but only Neji really was. Naruto was testing him out. That being said, so far the edge is decidedly on Neji's side, though things are about to intensify. Shame Sasuke always wanted to test his mettle against Neji, at the very least, he would've loved to watch this."
"There's no need for any of you to worry," Kurenai assured the group with a nod. "While the two of them are fighting in earnest, either Kakashi or I will interfere if things get out of hand… that isn't likely, is it, Kakashi?"
"Nah," Kakashi said while literally waving off their concerns. "The two of them will beat each other senselessly, but I'm confident neither will take it much further. They wouldn't admit it to one another plainly, but they have a slowly growing, begrudging respect for one another."
"Hmm, is this truly a good idea though? From my own estimations, the best outcome for the team here would be an upset from Naruto." Shino chimed in. "And while I consider the man a friend, I am confident he is outmatched here. Neji has outpaced him thus far and is still holding back."
"Naruto is holding back, too." Yuno chimed in. Her Sharingan was active as she watched the two prepare for another clash. "The real fight hasn't seemed to begin."
"Naruto showed more during our training," Ino confirmed, feeling oddly proud of her doubted teammate.
"I mean, I doubt it." Choji agreed. "But I talked to someone who fought Neji a lot, and they were pretty strong themselves…"
"Who?" Yuno and Ino asked curiously.
"A friend of Naruto and mine named Rock Lee, quite possibly the only match to Neji, hand-to-hand wise. But the guy claimed despite fighting Neji nearly ten times during the Academy he never came close to beating him." Choji offered worriedly. "I'm not sure Naruto can win… I want to stop this."
"I hate it too," Ino admitted. "But it seems to be for the best for now. The two have spent the entire time we have been a team, raring to go. Naruto even snuck Neji, and Neji nearly attacked me before, too. Whatever this is needs to be settled…"
"Agreed," Kakashi said. "However, I suspect this fight will be anything but predictable."
X-X
Kushina's POV
Kushina was a mother, which meant she was naturally noisy. She had noticed this past week that Naruto had been incredibly busy. On top of the team training and his regular exercises, Naruto had been doing even more training late into the night. It was clear her son was practicing his use of Riptide, Kushina having gifted him a Kenjutsu Practice Scroll to use it effectively.
It was odd; Naruto had always been a workaholic, regardless of what his son gave it his all. But this level of training reminded her of the Academy; Naruto felt inadequate to someone…
A little investigation and theorizing had allowed her to figure out the rest. It was common for newly formed Genin teams to have "teething issues". The hope had been that their raised age would allow them to avoid such, but it clearly had no luck. From there, she had to narrow it down to the teammate, and while Kakashi was a legend, she doubted he lit the fire within Naruto. No, she had expected the genius of the team, Neji Hyuga, to be the perpetrator.
So Kushina, after Naruto had left this morning, tailed her son. While it was undoubtedly a little overbearing, and would almost certainly piss him off if he learned. She was simply too curious and worried to let the matter be, wanting to ensure her son wasn't in trouble. She had been surprised they hadn't gone to their regular training ground, but when they arrived at another team's, she had felt better, only for things to take an ugly twist.
The Hyuga and her son seemed to be not allies but a mere step behind enemies. At first Kushina had been relaxed and the two seemed prime to fight, but to her dismay it seemed the Sensei were allowing it. The worried mother had nearly stormed the field, but the look on her son's face when she saw it stopped her. For whatever reason Naruto needed this fight, to beat his own teammate, there was some point to prove. And just like his father, the man would not back down till then…
X-X
Neji's POV
Neji felt a steady growing pool of frustration building within him. This fight so far had been absurd, he had outpaced and out maneuvered the idiot. Yet the bastard just kept eating his blows and continuing forth. Combine that with his monstrous strength and odd style, and Neji was struggling to finish him off.
Palm Bottom was a basic but effective Gentle Fist strike. While not the most powerful or lethal it was a strong strike, combined with a spike of chakra striking from within. The Kaiten, while a defensive technique, was one capable of tanking powerful attacks and crushing concrete. Yet the fool had tanked both of them, both techniques usually considered somewhat dangerous to land on someone, certainly a finishing blow within a spar.
Yet Naruto smiled back at him happily, crouched low to prepare for their next bout of combat. "Are you ready for me to show you what I really got?" Naruto snarked at Neji.