"Change?" Neji let out a short, icy laugh. There was no warmth in it—only biting mockery. "Don't waste your effort."
He stepped forward. His pale Byakugan locked onto Hinata like the most precise instrument, and his words pierced like shards of ice.
"A person's fate is decided the moment they are born."
"I am Branch Family. I was born to die for the main Family." His gaze dropped briefly to Hinata's smooth forehead. "And you are the heiress of the main Family—born superior, enjoying the finest resources and protection, even though… you are so weak."
"The weak will always be weak. No matter how much they struggle, that destiny will never change."
"That's not true…" Hinata suddenly raised her head. Her eyes were red, her voice trembling with tears—but there was a trace of stubborn resolve within it. "I don't want… to stay weak forever…"
"Your eyes don't lie," Neji said coldly, pressing forward. His Byakugan stared straight into her tear-filled gaze. "They're full of fear. Deep down, you want to run. Just like when you lost to Hanabi. You don't even have the pride or resolve expected of the main Family's heir."
He paused, then delivered the final blow.
"No wonder… Lord Hiashi called you a 'failure.'"
"F-Father…"
Hinata's face went deathly pale. Her body swayed, nearly collapsing.
To hear such words from the father she admired most—
It hurt more than any physical strike.
And yet—
In the depths of humiliation and pain, something ignited within her.
Especially after hearing the hoarse, desperate cheering of a certain blond idiot from the stands.
As if clutching her last lifeline, she summoned every ounce of courage and rushed forward with the Gentle Fist.
For a fleeting moment—
To everyone's surprise—
She actually forced Neji back.
But the gap in ability was absolute.
And Neji's heart, wrapped in hatred and ice, would not be shaken by such fragile resistance.
Expressionless, he parried and evaded with ease. Then, in the instant her momentum faltered—
He struck.
Gentle Fist.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Chakra-infused fingertips sealed her tenketsu with pinpoint accuracy.
Hinata stiffened.
Her chakra flow halted instantly, blocked and frozen. She fell to her knees, clutching her chest, gasping in pain and frustration.
Neji looked down at her as if observing an insect tangled in a web.
"See?" he said calmly, though his tone carried cruel finality. "Even if you resist, the gap in strength… is destiny."
"You can't even use your chakra anymore. How do you intend to fight?"
"I… I can't lose…" Hinata gritted her teeth. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. Trembling, she tried to rise again.
Something flickered in Neji's eyes—coldness, yes—but also irritation.
He deliberately left an opening.
Hinata took the bait, charging forward with the last of her strength.
Neji vanished like a phantom and countered with a palm strike to her chest.
Bang.
She flew backward like a broken kite, crashing near the edge of the arena. Blood sprayed across the ground. Her vision blurred.
The proctor stepped forward, ready to declare Neji the victor.
But—
Just before he could speak—
The bloodied figure on the ground moved again.
Hinata's trembling arm pressed against the floor. Inch by inch—painfully, impossibly—she forced herself upright.
Her face was white as paper. Her body shook like a candle in the wind.
Yet her eyes—
Her Byakugan, once timid and evasive—
Now burned with brilliant clarity.
There was no fear left.
No hesitation.
Only unwavering resolve.
"I… can still fight."
Her voice was hoarse, but it echoed through the arena.
Neji froze.
He stared at the swaying yet unyielding figure before him—at that light in her eyes he had never seen before.
Something inside him snapped.
"Are you trying to die?!" His voice finally cracked, fury breaking through his composure. "You've already lost! You can't even stand! Why—why are you still standing?!"
Hinata met his burning gaze. Though her body trembled in agony, her voice was steady—steady enough to pierce through him.
"When I say I'll do something… I follow through."
"That's my ninja way."
"Are you sick?" Neji spat, his expression darkening. "This is just the Chūnin Exams—not a fight to the death. Listening to that blond idiot screaming at you to keep going… it's meaningless!"
Hinata faltered briefly—but Naruto's voice rang out again from the stands.
Gasping, she continued, each word drawn from the depths of her strength.
"Brother Neji… I know… you hate the main Family… you hate destiny… You work harder than anyone. You're stronger than anyone. But…"
For the first time, her eyes held not fear—but understanding.
And pity.
That pity ignited Neji's rage.
"You're trapped by hatred," she said softly. "How are you… any different… from the weak person I used to be?"
Boom.
The words struck like a blade, shattering the last layer of ice around Neji's heart.
His pupils shrank to pinpoints. His calm façade twisted into something feral.
"What would you know?!" he roared, his voice filled with over a decade of suppressed anguish and resentment. "You were born protected! You never had to fear anything! You call me a Caged Bird?! You don't understand the branch family's pain! You don't understand what it's like to watch your father die for the 'Main Family'—for the so-called 'greater good'!!!"
He jabbed a finger at the cursed seal on his forehead.
"Destiny is a chain around the neck! A noose you're born wearing! You can never—ever—break free!!!"
Before his final word even faded—
Consumed by fury, reason crumbling—
Neji lunged like a maddened beast toward the already gravely wounded Hinata.
And from the killing intent in his movement—
It was clear.
He wasn't holding back.
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