Chapter 179: Talent, Status, Bloodline... These Are Decided from the Moment of Birth!
"Bastard! Stop running!"
Kiba was screaming in frustration, his attacks growing wilder, which only exposed more flaws.
It seemed this was the moment Naruto had been waiting for! His eyes flashed as he seized the instant when Kiba's momentum was spent but his next move hadn't yet begun!
A Shadow Clone appeared silently beside Kiba. Without hesitation, it let out a battle cry and charged straight into the impact of Kiba and Akamaru's Fang Over Fang!
"Take this!"
"Crash!"
The Shadow Clone was hit head-on and vanished in a puff of smoke with a yelp.
"Got him! Haha!" Kiba rejoiced, his attack naturally slowing down.
However, in that split second of relaxation, just as a triumphant grin was forming on his lips… a sense of fatal danger crawled up his spine!
The real Naruto, along with another Shadow Clone that had circled behind them unnoticed, activated Flying Raijin simultaneously!
"Hehe, fell for it!"
Two figures flashed past each other! Kiba's vision blurred, the world spinning.
The next moment, two cold, hard kunai were pressed precisely against the vital points of Kiba's and Akamaru's (still in Beast Human Clone form) necks!
Not a millimeter off.
This time, Kiba couldn't shout "doesn't count." He gasped for breath, sweat and dust running down his forehead. He knew he had lost. Completely and utterly, with no excuses.
"D-dammit… I lost…"
Kiba hung his head dejectedly, releasing the Four Legs Technique. Akamaru returned to his normal size, letting out a pitiful whimper and rubbing his head against Kiba's leg, as if to comfort him.
Hayate Gekko took a deep look at Naruto, then announced loudly:
"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!"
At first, there was an eerie silence in the arena, followed by an explosion of deafening cheers and gasps!
"He—he won! That Naruto actually won!"
"That was incredible! The dead-last actually beat Kiba Inuzuka! And twice! Am I dreaming?!"
"As expected of the Hokage's son!"
"That Flying Raijin… that speed… is that the Fourth Hokage's jutsu?"
All eyes focused on the blonde boy standing in the center of the arena, scratching the back of his head with a wide grin.
"The Yellow Flash…" someone whispered in a trembling voice.
This title once belonged to a Konoha legend. The hero whose speed was unmatched in the ninja world—the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Now, the Fourth Hokage had just miraculously returned, shocking all of Konoha. And at this very moment, his son, Naruto Uzumaki, had displayed talents and power identical to his father's in such an eye-popping manner. In fact, the talent and power Naruto displayed were even wilder and more unrestrained.
"He really is the Fourth Hokage's son! This kid is going to be something else!"
"Is Konoha… going to see the birth of a new Yellow Flash?!"
"I bet even the future Hokage position is his!"
After the battle, Hinata Hyuga, blushing furiously, nervously fiddled with the hem of her clothes. She took small steps toward Naruto and handed him a water bottle.
"N-Naruto-kun… are you… are you okay? That was… amazing…"
Naruto took the water and gulped down several large mouthfuls. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and grinned, flashing a big, sunny smile. "Thanks, Hinata! Of course I'm okay! I'm the man who's gonna be Hokage!"
His smile made Hinata's cheeks burn even hotter.
"Hey, hey! Hinata! We're on the same team!!!" Kiba, having come down from the arena, grimaced at the scene.
"S-sorry… are you okay, Kiba-kun…"
On the other side, Neji Hyuga's gaze was fixed on Naruto, as if trying to see through him. His brow was furrowed deeply. Inside, he wasn't just shocked; his world was being turned upside down!
Yellow Flash… Son of the Fourth… Becoming Hokage…
The image of Naruto as the "eternal dead-last" and "hopeless idiot" now seemed like a clumsy lie to Neji. A massive irony!
Was his talent deliberately suppressed because the Fourth had died?
Neji couldn't help but connect this to the seemingly glamorous but actually convoluted web of power in Konoha. He thought of the lineage of the Hokage.
The Second Hokage was the First's brother, connected by blood.
The Third Hokage was the Second's direct disciple, a deep master-student bond.
The Fourth Hokage was a standout among the Third's grand-students, inheriting the Will of Fire.
Now, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had returned miraculously from the dead. His son was Naruto Uzumaki. And on this stage of the Chunin Exams, Naruto had displayed talent and strength far beyond his peers in such a shocking manner. And he declared, without hesitation, that he would become Hokage.
To Neji, whose heart was deeply shackled by fatalism, all of this pointed to a script written long ago by an invisible hand. The position of Hokage, for some, seemed to be a "destiny" they were born with.
This cold, cruel realization tightened the noose called "fate" around Neji's heart. It was tight enough to suffocate him.
Talent, status, bloodline—these things determined at birth were indeed chasms that no amount of effort from an outsider could bridge.
Is the Branch Family… truly destined to be the Branch Family forever?
Caged birds. No matter how hard they flapped their wings, crying blood in their sorrow, they could not escape the invisible cage carved into their very bloodline. This cage was named "Destiny."
However, the more clearly he felt the weight of "destiny," the more he felt its despairing irresistibility… Although Neji outwardly accepted this damn destiny—his father, Hizashi Hyuga, whose talent surpassed the Main Family head, had only been allowed to die for the Main Family! Branch family members were born to be used as slaves, to "voluntarily" die for the continuation of the Main Family bloodline—deep down, Neji still harbored a desire to break through this accursed "Caged Bird" fate.
He had "sparred" with Hinata time and again, aiming to completely negate the Main Family's heiress through sheer talent. It was his inner rebellion against the Main Family.
Why?! Why can some bask in the sun? Why can they inherit glory and halos? Even someone like the Fourth can return from the dead and raise the once-destitute Naruto up with his own hands.
This further confirmation of fatalism only deepened his inner resistance and conflict.
And people like us… must we live forever in humiliation and shadow? Must we bear this ridiculous, heavy curse?!
Just then, Hayate Gekko's voice rang out again in the silent arena, interrupting Neji's thoughts.
"Cough cough— Quiet! Preliminary Match, next round—"
On the giant electronic screen, two new names slowly appeared.
Hinata Hyuga—
VS.
Neji Hyuga!