V2: Arise
Only two contestants remained, and one of them came from a powerful clan.
The final round was about to begin, pitting Hyuga Neji against Nishikawa Megumi.
"This fate is already decided," Neji proclaimed, taking his Gentle Fist stance.
"You're nothing but a nobody. No clan, no family ties - you're insignificant in the shinobi world," he sneered.
The observing genin fell silent, shocked by Neji's harsh words. Naruto's face twisted in anger, his fists clenched at his sides.
Kiba's brow furrowed, muttering under his breath,
"He's gonna regret running his mouth..."
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Across from Neji, Megumi stood calm, his hands tucked into his pockets as he met the Hyuga's glare.
Neji's eyes narrowed, and in an instant, he was upon Megumi.
He attacked with lightning speed, unleashing a flurry of precise strikes that showcased his mastery of the Gentle Fist.
Megumi dodged the attacks, never once striking back or using his ninja skills.
"What's wrong, is this all you've got?" Neji taunted between blows.
"Pathetic," he added with disdain.
Megumi didn't flinch, his eyes fixed on Neji as he sidestepped and dodged each blow aimed at his pressure points.
The crowd's unease was visible as the one-sided fight dragged on.
Finally, Neji landed a glancing blow, his palm cracking against Megumi's ribs with a loud crack. Megumi grimaced, struggling to catch his breath as Neji's heel struck him with a powerful kick that sent him stumbling back.
Fighting through the waves of nausea and tunnel vision, he steadied himself. The only sign of his pain was a trickle of blood from his split lip, which he ignored.
Neji's sneer grew wider as he took a step forward.
"You were destined to lose from the start," he taunted.
Tenten's eyes narrowed, her gaze fixed on Neji's cruel expression.
Megumi coughed, stumbling backward. Ryota tensed in the crowd, his eyes fixed on his friend's struggling form.
"Hey, don't let him get to you..." he muttered.
Regaining his breath, Megumi met Neji's furious glare with an impassive gaze.
"Big talk from a kid still trapped in his own cage," he shot back, his words unleashing a flood of memories in Neji's mind...
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He was a child again, shivering in the darkness as tears streamed down his face. The fresh, burning pain of the Hyuga seal still lingered on his brow.
He felt like a prisoner, trapped in a life he didn't choose.
"Why was I born to suffer like this?" he sobbed, his small body curled up in a ball as if trying to hold himself together.
"What's the point of this life?"
As the broken child wept alone in the darkness, his own cruel voice echoed back to him from the past, its words cutting deep:
"That pathetic child is gone," it sneered.
"If you're still so weak, then just go ahead and kill yourself!"
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"If you're still so weak, then just go ahead and kill yourself!" Neji didn't realize he'd spoken aloud.
Ino's hands flew to her mouth in horror, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"How could he say something so cruel?" she hissed to Shikamaru.
"What a jerk..." Naruto struggled to hold himself back from jumping into the arena and giving Neji a piece of his mind.
Neji, however, was already shaking off the memories that had threatened to consume him. No longer would he be held back by the ghosts of his past.
"You're just wasting your time," he spat.
"You're useless."
Megumi's gaze was emotionless as he met Neji's Byakugan.
"What did you say?" he asked, his tone devoid of emotion.
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"Something isn't right," Sakura murmured worriedly.
"His chakra is... different" she shivered, her eyes darting around the edges of her vision as if she sensed something lurking just out of sight.
The Third Hokage's eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on Megumi. He puffed on his pipe, his eyes never leaving the scene unfolding before him.
"An interesting one, Megumi," he murmured to himself.
"I wonder what kind of technique you're using..."
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Megumi hurried home from the shinobi academy, excited to show his parents the new jutsu he'd mastered. But as he approached his house, everything was quiet. Too quiet.
"Mom? Dad? I'm home!" he called out, but the only response was silence.
Megumi's heart began to race as he stepped inside. Something felt off, and he hesitated as he climbed the creaky stairs.
The fading light cast strange shadows on the walls, making his skin crawl.
As he reached the top, he slowly made his way to his parents' room.
He openend the door, and what he saw made his blood run cold. His parents' lifeless bodies hung from the ceiling, their faces pale and lifeless. Megumi let out a loud scream.
His eyes froze, unable to process the horror before him. His gaze dropped to the floor, and that's when he saw it - a crumpled letter lying beneath his parents' bodies.
He stumbled forward, his legs trembling, and picked it up.
The words on the paper made his heart sink: "Sorry, Megumi, for being useless."
Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as he read the message.
As Megumi stood there, paralyzed by grief and confusion, the shadows twisted around him. They seemed like dark tentacles, reaching out to claim him.
He let out a cry as the letter slipped from his fingers, fluttering to the floor.
The words "Sorry, Megumi, for being useless" glared back at him like an accusation. He took a step back, then another, his eyes fixed on the ceiling as if searching for some kind of answer.
But there was none.
His parents were gone, and he was alone.
The room, once a warm and comforting space, now felt like a cold, dark prison.
His voice cracked as he whispered the only word that came to mind:
"Why?"
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Megumi's eyes snapped open, and the shadows around him seemed to come alive.
Shikamaru's voice drifted from the stands.
"What technique is this?"
"It can't be the Shadow Imitation..." he trailed off, sounding puzzled.
Megumi's growl was low and menacing.
"I'll show you...worthless..."
He slammed his palm down, and the shadows swirled around him like a living entity.
Megumi swept his arm out, launching kunai and shuriken from his sleeves.
The projectiles clanged off Neji's hasty guard, clattering to the ground.
"A kunai barrage? Is this the extent of your--"
"ARISE!" Megumi roar echoed through the arena.
Two creatures emerged from the shadows of the kunai - a massive bear and a wolf with a scorpion tail.
In the same instant, they pounced on Neji from behind.
"What is this?!" Lee gaped in shock.
Neji's nearly 360-degree vision allowed him to react just in time, deflecting the wolf's snapping jaws with his palms and dodging the bear's powerful swipes.
As the bear's swipe barely missed his ear, Neji saw his chance to strike back. He sprinted towards Megumi.
But just as he approached, a chameleon's tongue shot out from the wall. Neji jumped over the tongue, using its momentum to propel himself towards Megumi.
Midair, he stabilized his body and landed on the tongue, using it as a makeshift bridge to close the gap between them.
But just as he was about to reach Megumi, he vanished before his eyes, swallowed by the shadows.
Neji's Byakugan scanned the area, searching for any trace of Megumi's chakra. However, the chakra signature seemed to come from every angle, echoing off the shadows and distorting his vision.
As he tried to track down Megumi, dark tendrils burst from his own shadow, binding his limbs.
Just as Neji was caught off guard, Megumi emerged from the shadows behind him with a kunai in his hand.
"You're strong," he stated, his voice mere inches from Neji's ear.
Neji's Byakugan allowed him to sense the attack, and he reacted swiftly. But his bound limbs left him helpless to dodge.
Instead, he focused his chakra and unleashed a powerful air palm, using the blast of air to launch himself backward.
Neji narrowly avoided the attack, but the force of the air palm left him stumbling, his vision blurring momentarily.
"But arrogance blinds you," Megumi continued.
He raised his left hand, and launched all shadows straight upward.
They then merged into a colossal maw, its fangs wide open as it plummeted back down towards Neji.
He gritted his teeth as he summoned every last bit of chakra to unleash a massive rotation.
"You can't defy fate!" Neji shouted.
The two attacks collided in a massive explosion of chakra, sending shockwaves through the arena.
When the chaos finally died down, Neji lay collapsed among the rubble, while Megumi panted hard on one knee.
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Hayate stepped forward, coughing.
"The winner...is Megumi."
As medics rushed to assist the battered genin, the observers stared in disbelief at the level of destruction. The arena looked like a war zone, with rubble and debris scattered everywhere.
Ryota congratulated his teammate, grinning from ear to ear.
"You won, Megumi! Nice job!"
"You could have told us about your power, man." Kiba shook his head, chuckling.
Megumi swayed, struggling to stay upright, before his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.
As Hayashi watched Megumi being carried away by the medics, he couldn't help but wonder: "What is going on?"
Hinata, standing beside him, tilted her head, her eyes narrowing as she studied him. It was unusual to see Hayashi, always so calm and in control, looking lost and bewildered.
"Hayashi?" Hinata asked softly.
"What do you mean? What's happening?"
Hayashi's eyes snapped back into focus, and he turned to Hinata, his expression still troubled.
"I don't know, Hinata."
And he truly meant it.
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As the last battle concluded, the candidates for the third exam have been determined. The 11 candidates who will move on to the next exam are:
1. Yusuke Hayashi
2. Uchiha Sasuke
3. Aburame Shino
4. Hyuga Hinata
5. Temari
6. Nara Shikamaru
7. Uzumaki Naruto
8. Nishikawa Megumi
9. Gaara
10. Kinuta Dosu
11. Kankuro
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This is the first V2 chapter. I hope you find it okay. I don't know if I'll have time for another new chapter.
I mostly use DeepL for translating and then give the chapter a read. However, what I find natural might sound off to some people.
That's why I will go through the chapters and edit them for better understanding. I have already edited the first chapter. This will take time, and I can't write new chapters until I have gone through all the existing ones. Hopefully, you'll enjoy the chapters more after the revisions.