Twelve years ago the Kyūbi unleashed its rage on Konoha. The Konoha shinobi gave their all to defeat the beast, but even the Yondaime Hokage was not strong enough. Knowing that defeating the Kyūbi would not be possible he sealed it into an infant, a boy that had just been born. Or, at least, that's what the villagers were told. But, that is ancient history. Currently, in Konohagakure, there is a great crowd gathered in a stadium to watch the final matches of an event that is held twice every year, but never in the same village for at least two, the Chūnin Exams.

The proctor for the final exam said to the competitors, "Due to various circumstances I shall be taking over from Hayate. The rules for these fights are the same as you had in the preliminaries. The fights have no restrictions and shall continue until one of the participants acknowledges defeat, or dies. That said, if I determine that a match is over I can step in and stop it at any time, and no arguments permitted. Understood?" The Genin nodded in agreement. "Alright then, will all competitors, other than Uzumaki Naruto and Hyūga Neji, please remove yourselves to the competitor's box." There were sounds of agreement as the Genin walked off the arena floor and headed to the room that they were to wait until their matches were called. Before he left though, Shikamaru said, "Hey, good luck out there Naruto. Neji's a tough one." Naruto said, "Yeah, I know," as he did Shikamaru left the field.

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In the stands Ino was sitting alongside Sakura, who was looking at her clenched fists in her lap, all of her attention on the missing Sasuke. Ino said, "hey Sakura, I know that you're worried about Sasuke, but don't be such a lump. Aren't you even going to cheer Naruto on?"

"Yeah, you're right!" Sakura said, smiling in apology for her sombre attitude.

Ino scoffed and said, "Well, not that he has any chance when he's going up against Neji."

"He's not that bad."

"Are you kidding," Ino laughingly said, "'not that bad', is that the best you can do?"

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Elsewhere in the stands Hagane Kotetsu said to Kamizuki Izumo, "Man, who would've believed that that little squirt could survive this long."

Izumo said, "Yeah, he's been lucky so far, but his luck's about to run out. He'll never survive this one."

"Yeah, it's going to be painful, going up against one of the Hyūga Clan...he doesn't have a chance."

Kiba, who was sitting two seats away, thought, 'yeah, I thought that too, at first. But look what happened. He's out there and I'm up here.' Akamaru whimpered in his ear, causing Kiba to quietly ask, "Yeah Akamaru, what is it?" Akamaru gave a series of whines, telling Kiba what he wanted to know. "What? Are you sure?...Where?" Kiba narrowed his eyes as he searched for what Akamaru had told him about. When he saw a masked man wearing a black, hooded, cloak, he thought, 'There! What the hell are the ANBU Black Ops doing here? Something's going on.'

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Back down on the arena floor Neji asked, "Have you got anything to say to me, loser?"

Naruto extended his hand in a fist and said, "Only what I said last time. I vow to win."

Neji activated his Byakugan. Reading Naruto's body language, Neji thought, 'he's calmer now, more sure of himself. Although there's still that weird feeling about his chakra,' Neji chuckled before saying, "So much the better for me. I can't wait to see the look of despair upon your face when you learn your foolish vow is impossible to keep."

Naruto demanded, "Are we gonna stand here talking all day? Let's get going. Show me what you got!"

Hayate said, "Alright, now let the first match, begin!" and jumped out of the way of the two combatants.

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In the box that is owned by the Hyūga Clan Hiashi said to his youngest daughter, "Watch closely Hanabi, there is no one alive in the Hyūga clan who has inherited such a strong Kekkei Genkai. His is stronger than your older sisters."

Hanabi gasped and, looking up at her father, asked, "Stronger than Onee-san's?"

Hiashi said, "Perhaps even stronger than yours," causing Hanabi to gasp in surprise, although she didn't know if it was because her father was telling her that Neji's skill with the Byakugan surpassed hers, or that he was telling her that she was stronger than her older sister.

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Elsewhere in the stands, Kiba thought, 'Watch yourself, that's no pushover you're up against. Not with that Byakugan of his. You don't want to get too close with this guy...but does Naruto know that?

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Back down on the arena floor Naruto threw two kunai at Neji, who caught the first and blocked the second with the ring at the end of the handle of the first. As he did Naruto charged at Neji, attacking him after he threw the second kunai away. Neji redirected Naruto's punch and. As he fell Naruto extended his foot to the ground and used it as a springboard to launch himself away from Neji, spinning whilst he travelled through the air to come out of the jump on his feet facing his opponent. Not wasting any time Naruto was almost instantly back in Neji's face, throwing punch after punch, all of which were either redirected, blocked, or dodged. Seeing that his punched were ineffective Naruto spun, attempting a roundhouse kick against Neji. As he did Neji moved inside his guard and, gathering chakra into his hand, struck Naruto in his chest with his palm open. There was a mini explosion of chakra as Naruto was seemingly rendered immobile. As he wavered on his legs Naruto thought back to what Kakashi had told him about the Byakugan when he saw Hinata fighting against Neji in the preliminary matches. Remembering that the Hyūga had the ability to manipulate the chakra flow of their enemies, and seeing Neji extend his arm out as he had when fighting Hinata, Naruto ducked down and rolled backwards as Neji's hand descended upon his shoulder. Even as Naruto rubbed his shoulder where he touched it, Neji thought, 'I missed!'

Naruto thought, 'I almost blew it! If I get too close then he can turn off my chakra! And there goes my jutsu. I'll have to fight him from a distance.'

Neji asked, "Do you understand now? You have no way of beating me."

Naruto grinned, laughed, and said, "Get real, I was just checking you out, that's all!" Naruto then pushed himself up, off the ground. "Okay, now that we're warmed up, we can get started." Naruto made his signature handseal and said, "Kage Bunshin," causing four clones to appear around himself.

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In the stands Sakura thought, 'That's using your head Naruto. That'll confuse him.

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Elsewhere, Kotetsu said, "Well well, isn't he something."

Izumo said, "The Kage Bunshin is a Jounin level jutsu. Where'd that kid pick up something like that?"

"This match could be more interesting than we thought."

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Back on the arena floor all of the Naruto's drew a single kunai from their ninja tool pouches. Neji thought, 'Kage Bunshin, I see, quite clever. He has distributed his chakra evenly across all of them, so even my Byakugan can't pick out the real one.' He said, "No matter, you can't hide for long."

All of the Naruto said, "Hah, well we'll just see about that!"

"If you're coming, then come on!" prompting the Naruto's to frown at Neji's still underestimating him.

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In the stands Tenten said, "It's no use. No matter how many times Naruto attacks him Neji can win on his defence alone."

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Back down on the arena floor one of the Naruto's said, "Hey!"

Another said, "don't ever."

Another one said, "I mean never."

"Count me out!" a different one said, before four of them ran at Neji. As two of them went to tackle Neji he place his hands on their backs and used them to launch himself into the air, coming down behind them. The other two launched at Neji with kunai in their hands, but they were redirected away from Neji. One of them came in close to Neji and tried to kick at his chin to initiate his 'Uzu-Ma-Ki-Naruto Rendan'.

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in the stands Sakura practically leapt out of her seat, saying, "He got him!"

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Elsewhere in the stands, Tenten said, "Just wait."

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Down in the arena Neji jumped back, away from the kick, landing nearby one of the other Naruto's.

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in the stands Sakura looked on in shock as Hinata looked down, clenching her hands to her chest, wanting nothing more than for Naruto to survive Neji, so that all of her beliefs are real.

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Down in the arena, Naruto said, "Not bad, but let's see you do that again!" and two of the clones rushed at Neji, determined to inflict as much pain as possible. Neji took the signature stance of the Jyūken. Two of the Naruto's said, "Come on!" as they charged at the Hyūga prodigy, who jumped up, spinning horizontal to the ground. When the clones were close enough he exited his spin, bringing his feet around, kicking both clones in the head, dispelling them into dual clouds of smoke. As he did, the other two clones rushed at Neji from behind, but, utilising the Byakugan's powers, Neji saw them coming and, when they were close enough, reached behind him and pulled the two cloned in front of him, causing them to overbalance and stumble forward. When the two clones regained their balance and started to move to look at Neji, Neji sped at them and, to the consternation and disbelief of his friends in the stands, used two Jyūken strikes, dispelling them as well.

Naruto mentally growled out, 'This guy he must have eyes in the back of his head.'

Neji, not even looking at Naruto, said, "You thought that you could be Hokage? It's absurd. Never. These eyes of mine show me many things. One thing that they have shown me is that people's limitations are set, fixed and unchangeable. Only a fool wastes his time trying to become something that he can never be."

Naruto, shaking in anger, said, "A fool, huh? Not this crap again! Who are you to judge what a person can and cannot be?"

"Do you think that just anyone can be Hokage? That all it takes is a little hard work? Open your eyes. Of all the shinobi in all the world, think how many ever become Hokage. They were born, destined, to be Hokage. It's not something that you become by simply trying to become it. They were chosen, by destiny. Each person is given his own path to follow, and he must follow it, obediently, to the end. There is only one destiny that we all share equally. Death."

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in the stands Hinata clutched he hands to her chest, feeling fear for Naruto, and Neji's sentiments about fate.

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Elsewhere in the stands, Hiashi thought, 'There's hatred in his eyes. Hatred directed at the Main Branch of the family.'

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down on the arena floor, Naruto said, "Oh yeah? So what? You can think that way if you want, just don't try to push your pathetic beliefs on me. People always tell me that I don't know when to give up," Naruto formed a handseal before saying, "Kage Bunshin," causing many, many, clones to appear around him.

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Outside the arena Kabuto crept up behind one a member of the ANBU Black Ops that were scattered throughout the town, just in case something happened. He silently slit the ANBU members neck and took his mask and cloak, donning them himself to use to infiltrate the Chūnin Exam Finals without being discovered. He said, "Put on a good show, will you, Naruto. You know, I've got a tough job to do and I'd like to be entertained while I'm doing it."

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In the arena the clones that Naruto had made charged at Neji all at once. Throwing punches and kicks seemingly at random, but all of which were dodged by Neji, who then dispelled the clones with one strike each. The Naruto clones, panting from both the strain on their chakra from all the clones and from the drawn out taijutsu battle, said, "This is ridiculous. We're not even getting close to this guy."

Neji mocked Naruto, saying, "You think that I'd be fooled by a trick like that?" before charging straight through all the Naruto clones. He thought, 'Make all the clones you want, you can't hide from me!' The Naruto that Neji had identified as the real one gasped before being attacked in the heart by a Jyūken strike. The Naruto that was attacked grunted in agony as his face twisted due to the pain. In the stands Hinata gasped at her cousins actions. Neji said, "You're the one keeping out of range for fear of my striking your chakra points, like this. The more the others attack, the more you stand out for holding back." The Naruto coughed up blood as Neji closed his eyes in satisfaction. "You're the real one, aren't you?"

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In the stands Hinata said, "Naruto," expressing her anguish in one word.

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Kotetsu said, "The match is over."

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On the battlefield Neji said, "I told you it was pointless."

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In the stands Hinata said, "No, don't give up Naruto."

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On the battlefield the Naruto that was attacked fell to the ground, only staying up due to his falling on one knee. To Neji's amazement, the Naruto that he had attacked actually started laughing. The Naruto said, "Oh yeah? Didn't I tell you it was a mistake to count me out?" before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Neji took a step back in confusion. He asked, "But how..." as he did two Naruto's jumped at him.

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in the stands Kiba yelled, "Alright! Way to go, Naruto!"

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Hinata said, "Naruto," this time expressing happiness at her love's surviving Neji's attack.

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On the battlefield Neji thought, 'He held one of his clones back, to deceive me, to lure me into a trap!'

Naruto, fist drawn back, yelled, "You thought I'd be too chicken to attack you myself? Well think again!" as he finished his taunt Naruto punched at Neji as hard as he could, but didn't achieve a thing as Neji focused his chakra at one point, expelling it through individual Tenketsu, hardening it at the same time, to block Naruto's punch.

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As chakra exuded from Neji, in the stands Hiashi's eyes narrowed.

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The chakra that Neji was expelling formed into a sphere, circling around him. Neji then spun rapidly on the spot, increasing the rotational force of his chakra, and sending both the real Naruto, and the last remaining clone away from him.

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In the stands Hiashi said, "But that's..."

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On the battlefield the dirt in the spin radius was blasted away from Neji. Naruto looked up from his position on the ground and demanded, "What the heck was that?"

Neji said, "Did you really think that you'd won?" Naruto propped himself up on one arm.

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in the stands Ino asked, "What in the world just happened?"

Sakura commented, "Naruto's punch should have flattened him."

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Elsewhere Hinata said, "But that was..."

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elsewhere Hiashi grabbed his knee, both in shock and fear, at seeing Neji's accomplishment. He said, "Hakkeshō Kaiten!"

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Tenten thought, 'That's one of Neji's special defences,...'

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Naruto, forming the seal for Kage Bunshin, said, "We'll see about that!" creating six clones.

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Tenten continued her thought, '...he can see almost three hundred and sixty degrees with his Byakugan. It's pointless, he can detect any attack as soon as it's launched. That's when his real defence comes into play, the Hakkeshō Kaiten...'

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on the battlefield the Naruto's charged at Neji, who once again performed the Hakkeshō Kaiten, blowing them away in an explosion of chakra.

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'The moment that he senses an attack Neji discharges an intense, focused, burst of chakra from his Tenketsu. Then, by rotating his body quickly, he builds up enough energy to not only block, but repel his attacker. Normally, chakra emitted from chakra points is difficult to control. Even Jounin can usually only control chakra from a single body part at a time, like the hands, or feet. But Neji's mastery of the Jyūken style of taijutsu is so great that he can emit chakra from several places, warding off simultaneous attacks from multiple directions. It's an ultimate defence, even more impenetrable than Gaara's shell of sand. Nothing can get through it.'

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In the competitor's box Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously.

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In the stands Hanabi, looking up at her father, said, "But...I thought only father could..."

Hiashi said, "It's a secret ninja art, for generations it's been reserved for the main household of the Hyūga Clan, but Neji has somehow discovered it on his own. Incredible as it may seem, he's come far."

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Tenten thought, 'no-one should be surprised, you haven't even begun to see his full powers.'

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On the battle field, as Naruto sat up, Neji said, "This is the end for you. You're in range, and you can't escape my Eight Trigrams." As he did an intricate, green, seal array appeared around Neji and Naruto. Naruto stood up as Neji took a stance and said, "Hakke Rokujūyon Shō."

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In the stands Hiashi leaned forward as he said, "That stance...it can't be."

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On the battleground Neji grinned before rushing at Naruto. When he was in range, Neji spun and announced the number of Tenketsu that he had closed as he closed them.

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In the stands Hiashi thought, 'have we been surpassed by the Branch Family?'

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As Naruto's final Tenketsu was shut down he flew off the ground from where he was standing. But, before he hit the ground, a series of black lines extended from above his chakra well. After the seals disappeared he was engulfed by a black sphere of chakra that exuded from him.

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Naruto was, once again, dragged inside his mindscape, but he was still engulfed in a black sphere of chakra. He screamed in agony as something tore at his bones and muscles, along with every cell in his body.

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Outside of Naruto's mind the crowd was awed into silence, both by the sphere that had seemingly consumed one of the fighters, and by the screams originating from it.

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In the mindscape, to Naruto, it seemed as though hours had passed, where in actual fact it was merely seconds. This did actually happen as time moved faster in Naruto's mind then it did in the real world. After almost a day in the mindscape had passed, which was equivalent to one minute in the real world, Naruto emerged from the sphere, but Naruto was nothing like what he was when he entered it. The most glaring difference was that he was now very much a she, with long, blonde hair, with four golden locks falling above her eye and extending to the left down, in front of her ear. One lock extending to the bridge of her nose. Another two locks extended over her right ear while the rest was flowing in waves three quarters of the way down her back. Getting the feeling that her tenant was behind the change Naruto proceeded to head to where she knew that the Kyūbi was, falling over as she walked, eventually leaning against the wall to keep her balance. When she reached the caged Kyūbi, she demanded, "what the hell did you do, you damn fox?"

The Kyūbi, who knew exactly what was happening, said, "I had absolutely nothing to do with this, human. It was your precious Sandaime Hokage did this."

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Oh yes, the day you were born, when I was sealed into you, the Sandaime decided that, should the villagers have any misconceptions, it would be easier on you if you were in actual fact, male instead of female."

"Why would he do that?" Naruto asked, a tear trickling down her left cheek.

"Because, for captured Kunoichi there is the added possibility of their being raped. It would not be out of the scope of possibility that the villagers, should they be labouring under any dumbass beliefs, may attempt a similar act upon you. And, should that occur, I would, without fail, murder each and every one of them. So the Sandaime contacted a medic-nin that had a lot of experience in Fūinjutsu. 'Luckily' for the Sandaime, the medic was from the Hyūga clan and devised a way to manipulate all of your 'Yin' chakra to forcibly change your genetic structure. The problem with that is that it would need to be maintained. That's why when Neji blocked off your chakra, he also blocked off the Yin chakra that was being used to maintain the seal. When the seal was released I flooded your system with my chakra, eliminating any possibility that that blasted seal could be placed upon you again."

"Okay, I suppose that I can understand that. But that doesn't help me any in this situation."

"No, you're completely right. It doesn't."

"Hell, I had to practically drag myself here. There's no way that I could fight an academy student, let alone Neji like this."

The Kyūbi sighed and said, "You're absolutely correct. Now what you're about to see is something that, over the centuries, very few people have even heard of, let alone seen."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, unsure of what her tenant was talking about.

"Just watch," the Kyūbi said as it was engulfed in a black sphere of chakra, as Naruto was previously. The sphere that the Kyūbi was in disappeared almost instantly, leaving behind a beautiful, red haired woman in her twenties, with her hair in two braids tied in two white tassels, wearing a bright red kimono with billowing grey clouds on the end of its sleeves. She was also wearing a black obi.

Naruto pointed at the Kyūbi, saying, "You're...you're..."

"Yes yes, that's the usual reaction. Anyway, the reason that I've transformed like this is that this form grants me access to some pretty unique powers. These powers require a more delicate touch than my other 'inflict as much destruction as possible' powers."

"Okay..." Naruto said, unsure of what these 'powers' might be. "...so what are they?"

"Yes well, they're not really related to actual combat. Now, let me ask you some questions."

"Okay, sure."

"Your pants, shirt and jacket feel tighter now that you've returned to your true gender, right?"

"Well, now that you mention it..."

"I thought as much, it's because of your widened hips and growing breasts that your clothes no longer fit you. One of the powers that I referred to will take care of that, come closer to my cage." Seeing that Naruto looked uncertain the Kyūbi said, "don't worry, this time I'm not going to try and hurt you, after all, I can't really let my container be weak now, can I?" Naruto, shrugging, took a few, stumbling, steps forward. The Kyūbi extended her right arm past the cage's bars, placing it on Naruto's head, and said, "Meshikae(1)," causing Naruto's clothes to take on an orange glow as they morphed into new, more suitable ones. The Kyūbi said, "Okay, now that that's done, what say you about taking care of those movements of yours?"

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Naruto sarcastically remarked.

"Well, if you don't want me to then..."

"No no, please do," Naruto eagerly said, belying her previous statement.

"Alright then," the Kyūbi said, shuffling a bit in her cage before extending her left hand out of the bars. She said, "Nijikioku(2)." Naruto fell to her knees, clutching her head in pain as the memories of a fighting style unfamiliar, but somehow familiar, to her flooded her mind. When the memories stopped flowing, the Kyūbi said, "Now, move around Akiko, I think that you'll find it a lot easier now."

Naruto asked, "Why did you just refer to me as Akiko?"

"Don't ask me the details of how I know, as the Sandaime will likely have kept you in the dark for a reason, but I knew your parents and, when they were deciding what to call you, they came to an agreement. Your father could name you if you were a girl, and your mother if you were a boy. The Sandaime knew of this, and of the names that they chose. Akiko was your father's choice."

"I see...very well then, it'll take a bit of getting used to, but Akiko it is."

"Okay, there's something else that I need to tell you about that seal."

"Yeah?"

"All Shinobi have two basic types of chakra, Yin chakra and Yang chakra, I'll say again, don't ask me to go into any great detail, we don't have the time. But know this, if the shinobi has an overabundance of one of the types, then their chakra becomes unbalanced, and a lot harder to control in any productive way. The seal that they used, utilised all of your Yin chakra to maintain it, thereby practically eliminating any type of ninjutsu and genjutsu."

"What?" Naruto asked, her eyes widening.

"Yes, a terrible side-effect but they deemed it worth it to protect the village, after all, a shinobi still has taijutsu, right?"

"Okay, so now that I have my Yin chakra back I can actually use my chakra more effectively?"

"Yes."

"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping in glee, but then she thought of something. "Wait, even if I can use it better, I don't know anything to use it in."

"Ah, but I can help you there too."

"Alright," Naruto said, taking a step closer to the Kyūbi's outstretched hand.

The Kyūbi said, "Nijikioku," as she placed her hand on Naruto's head, causing a rush of handseals, chakra control methodologies, and jutsu, being embedded into Naruto's mind.

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While all that was going on, outside the black chakra sphere the Sandaime, in the Kage box, was sweating profusely. The Kazekage didn't miss this, and asked, "Hokage-dono, what seems to be the problem?"

The Sandaime sighed and said, "I'm sure that you'll find out soon enough." 'I just hope that Kushina's temper hasn't been passed along to Akiko...well...too much anyway.'

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In the stands Hinata looked on in fear at what was happening to Naruto and pain at the screams that everyone was hearing. Not to mention confusion as about a minute ago, the sound of the screams changed, now they were of a higher pitch than they had been. Kiba looked to Hinata and said, "I'm sure that he's alright in there Hinata," trying to reassure the Hyūga heiress.

"No, there's no possible way that that's the case."

"Huh?"

"Did you see those lines that appeared on Naruto before he was engulfed in that sphere?"

"Huh? Lines? What're you talking about?"

"They signify that a Fūinjutsu was placed on Naruto-kun. I'm guessing that it was very early on in his life." She then thought, 'But I could swear that that seal I saw was similar to the Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu. Why would one of the Hyūga...'

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Elsewhere in the stands Hiashi thought, 'So, it's finally time for the Yondaime's true legacy to reveal herself?'

Hanabi looked to her father and asked, "O-tosan, what was that that just appeared on Naruto-san before that black sphere appeared?"

Hiashi sighed and said, "That is a piece of history that I, personally, would rather forget."

"Forget? Why?"

"Because, that night we stripped away a young girl's true abilities, now they may be awakening and I'm not sure that any of us here are ready for it, least of all your cousin."

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Elsewhere Ino was screaming, "What the hell is going on in there!"

Sakura yelled, "What is this? Some kind of special effect?"

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In the competitors box Shikamaru, who had been asked what he thought was going on, remarked, "I've got no idea what just happened, but whatever it is, it's going to be troublesome."

Temari thought, 'I'm not surprised that he doesn't know. I wouldn't even have a clue as to what it was if I didn't know Gaara. I don't know what it did, but someone put a seal on him, I don't know what it does specifically, but it's probably affected his chakra somehow. That's why his control over it was so shoddy in the first rounds of this exam. Whatever it did, the fight from here on is going to be a different story.'

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On the battlefield Genma thought, 'So, it's finally time for Akiko's awakening? This should be interesting.'

Neji asked, "Proctor-san, would you please call the match. I'm getting tired of waiting around for this."

Genma said, "No, just wait a minute, it'll all be over soon."

"How can you possibly know that?" Genma smiled in silent response. "Tseh, fine then," Neji said, deactivating his Byakugan to conserve his chakra. As he did he say the chakra sphere change colour to a regular blue. A minute later the sphere died down completely, letting Akiko slowly descend to the ground.

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When Akiko emerged from the sphere the crowd was surprised to see a girl with long, blonde hair, wearing Hakama-style pants that ended below her knees. An orange Gi-style shirt that showed her shoulders and that had the sleeves splaying out about halfway down her forarm. There was a triangular extension of the shirt that reached past her thin black, obi-style, belt that had the symbol of Konohagakure printed in black on it. The back of the shirt extended down to her knees, ending in a triangle. The hems of the shirt were all trimmed in black. At her hips were buckles, on either side, that allowed her to adjust the waist of her pants so that she didn't need to constantly buy, or have the Kyūbi generate, new ones every three months or so, the cord that wasn't being used dangled down to just above her knees at the end of which were a pair of orange tassels. She was also wearing a pair of open-toed nin-sandals. She was also wearing an orange and black, wireless, sports bra to take care of her now 32B sized breasts, and panties to match. While Neji took a few steps back in shock at the sight, Akiko turned to the proctor and asked, "Uh, proctor-san, if I could, would I be able to change the name on my registration form?"

"Well, I have no problems," Genma said before turning to look at the Hokage and shouting, "Sandaime-sama, is it alright for Naruto to change the name on his...uh...her registration form?"

The Sandaime called, "Yes, it's fine."

"There you go," Genma said, facing Naruto, "What name would you like to use?"

"Uzumaki Akiko," Akiko replied.

Genma nodded, thinking, 'how could she...ah well...' before silencing the crowd by saying, "Alright then, the match between Hyūga Neji and Uzumaki Akiko shall now recommence."

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In the stands Sakura half-asked half-stated, "Uzumaki...Akiko?"

Ino remarked, "Well, at least it's a better name than Naruto."

Sakura, getting over her shock screamed out, "Naruto! That pervert! I'm going to get him for this when the match is over."

Ino thought, "Naru...uh...Akiko, how could you put up with forehead if she's like this?"

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"Akiko?" Kiba asked, feeling kind of guilty as he felt his manhood rise at the sight of the blonde.

Hinata fainted, a trickle of blood running down from her nose, at the realisation that the one that she had loved for so long was, in actual fact, the same gender as her as she thought, 'I'm a lesbian!'

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Hanabi looked at her father in surprise that he had actually known what was about to happen. She asked, "O-tosan, what just..."

Hiashi sighed and said, "On the night of her birth Akiko had something done to her that put her life at risk. The Sandaime, to reduce that risk, had a Hyūga seal away her true gender. This was done by forcing her Yin chakra to act as a kind of suppressant."

"But that would..."

"Yes, it sealed away any possibility of her reaching her full potential. Now I'm afraid that she will lose in the most undignified way."

"Why is that?"

"Because of the sudden physiological changes Akiko shouldn't be able to move correctly. In a fight against a Hyūga clan member that disadvantage is too great to overcome." As Hiashi finished saying this he saw a sight that he hadn't seen for many, many, years.

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On the battlefield, as Akiko stared at Neji, her hair started to rise up above her head, forming into nine, flowing, tresses, as her eyes started to glow an eerie yellow. Genma thought, 'the Aka Habanero! Neji's in for it now.'

Neji took a step back at the weird actions of his opponent. Seeing this Akiko disappeared before reappearing in front of Neji, spinning as she unleashed a powerful blow to Neji's face, sending him skidding over the ground. Akiko took this opportunity to go through some handseals and quickly whisper, only heard by Genma, who raised his eyebrows at hearing the name, "Genjutsu: Okurasu."

When Neji pushed himself up he shook his head and said, "You got lucky that time, that won't happen again," prompting Akiko to, once again, reappear in front of Neji, landing another haymaker, sending him flying once again.

Akiko asked, "What was that you were saying?"

Neji looked up from his position on the ground, growled, pushed himself up and started running at the blonde menace. He said, "I don't know how you managed to throw it off last time, but this time there's no coming back, Hakke Rokujūyon Shō." As Neji attacked, to his surprise and anger, he saw Akiko dodge every one of his strikes, easily. When Neji was done with his final strike Akiko landed an uppercut on Neji before she quickly drew a kunai from her kunai pouch, said, "Fūton: Shinkūjin(3)," as she breathed wind chakra onto it, lengthening the blade to resemble a Kunai Blade(4). She chased after Neji and used it to cut the tendons to his hands, eliminating any further chance of a taijutsu match.

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In the competitors box Shikamaru said, "It's over."

Shino looked at Shikamaru and asked, "Why is that?"

"Because, Akiko's attack just now severed the tendons to Neji's hands, effectively eliminating anything that Neji could have done." Shikamaru thought, 'While that's true, that Naruto...uh...Akiko could think of something like that on the fly, I wonder what else this transformation of hers has done.'

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When Neji landed he tried to push himself up off the ground, but felt intense pain rushing through his arms and hands, so stopped trying to do so. Neji, seeing that taijutsu was no longer available to him, and lacking any ninjutsu or genjutsu, not that they would have done him any good with his hands unable to form seals, looked at the proctor and said, "I am no longer able to continue."

The Genma announced, "Hyūga Neji has conceded defeat, making Uzumaki Akiko the victor," as he thought, 'I wonder where a plan like that came from...well, Kushina-sama was always an unpredictable one, I suppose it only makes sense that at least some of her was passed on to her daughter. Akiko might be Chūnin level after all.' The crowd, who had previously been stunned silent at Akiko's transformation, and then the, admittedly short, fight that came after it, broke out into thunderous cheers that shook the very stadium. Genma said, "Neji, I want you to go to the medical clinic in the stadium to have your hands healed. Akiko, you go on up to the competitors box to await your next match." With their individual instructions Akiko and Neji left through the arena door, heading to their separate destinations.

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(1) Meshikae = Change Of Clothes
(2) Nijikioku = Secondary Memory
(3) Fūton: Shinkūjin = Wind Release: Vacuum Blade
(4) Kunai Blade = ninja tool - see Naruto wikia for further information.