Inheritance

Crucible

"I know I don't need to give you any advice, you know what you're doing. Just..." She trailed off, looking stricken for just a moment and Naruto was struck by the fact that the next time they spoke, they would be doing so in a world completely changed. If they spoke again at all. "Just be careful, Naruto."

He smiled as reassuringly as he could manage and placed his hand gently upon hers. "You too, Hana."

"Aww lovebirds, how adorable. Do be careful blondie, be a shame if anything happened." Temari's mocking sing-song voice made Naruto turn on his heel towards the girl, his face tempered steel. He said nothing, he didn't need to. The girl's smirk twitched then fell away, exposing the fear underneath. Naruto shifted his eyes to Gaara, unmoved, before turning his attention to the battlefield.

Anticipatory silence turned to hushed whispers as he landed smoothly in the arena. He tried to tune them out but he couldn't help but notice the thousands of hushed conversations that were happening all the way around the arena. Jiraiya had warned him that this would happen, that it could never be so straightforward as the villagers all immediately treating him decently now that they knew he was the son of the Fourth. Some would still hate him for what he was, some would seek to exploit the knowledge regardless of what they thought of him. Others would bounce straight from believing he was the Kyuubi reborn all the way to the idea that he was the Yondaime reborn, never once in that process seeing the real Naruto past what it was they envisaged he should be.

Only a very small number would truly open their minds to the real Naruto at first, and he would have to earn their respect just the same as he would if nobody knew.

He focused on Neji in front of him, arms crossed and impatience written across his face. Naruto smiled easily. The whispers made him uncomfortable, but he'd take pleasure in making sure Neji was too.

"How's it going Neji?" He asked casually, arms stretched out behind his head as if he were the most relaxed person in the village. "Viciously attacked any relatives recently?"

He could see the snarl before it erupted from Neji's mouth as the boy's Byakugan activated subconsciously. "How dare you, an outsider, pass judgement on that which you cannot understand." He sucked a breath in through clenched teeth and Naruto almost smirked - he had clearly been holding onto this since their words after his fight with Hinata. "How dare you, a privileged son of this village, the son of the Hokage himself, speak as if you understand what it is like to be in my position. To be trapped under the inescapable burden of the Branch family."

Naruto couldn't help himself. It was as if Neji's words struck right at the tight knot of tension caught in his stomach; all his fear, anger and anxiety that he was keeping back until the fighting was done - he could hold it back no more.

He laughed. It was a deep, guttural laugh straight from the deepest part of his chest. He laughed so hard that tears came to his eyes and he very nearly buckled over. He laughed so hard in fact, that he almost didn't notice the referee, a special Jonin using a senbon like a toothpick roll his eyes and begin the match. Neji lunged forward and despite nearly frothing with raged, the one handed jyuuken strike to Naruto's chest was textbook-perfectly executed.

His eyes widened in shock as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth - Neji was fast - and then he burst into a cloud of smoke.

Naruto blinked from his position, still leaning casually against the balcony railing in the spectators box. The Byakugan was an incredible doujutsu but it had it's limitations, and most of those were down to the user themselves. They could still be tricked, could still be misdirected; and Naruto's provocation had meant Neji hadn't noticed that the real Naruto hadn't come down from the balcony at all. Still, the Hyuuga had been much faster than Naruto had expected, and he knew that as much as he wanted to get a little payback against Neji, winning would have to be enough.