Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 44 HYUGA

“You’re fighting Neji, eh?” Kurenai asked as we sat in the stands. 

“Looks like it,” I said. Relaxing in the seat. Kiba and Hinata were sitting with us. 

“I heard you’ve been training like crazy,” she said. “How come you didn’t ask me for help?”

“Cus I didn’t want help with my Genjutsu,” I said. The dark haired beauty appeared hurt. “Sorry I’ve missed our normal training sessions.”

She sniffed, pretending to be hurt. “And now I hear you’ve been asking Guy for help. What happened to me being your trainer?”

“I’m sorry, sensei. You’re super strong. But I want to learn more than Genjutsu. It’s easy to counteract. I promise once this things over I’ll ask for plenty of training.”

“You promise?” She asked cutely. Pretending to wipe a tear from her eye. 

“Yep. I just need to become a Chunin.”

“I wouldn’t underestimate that Neji guy,” Kiba said. They had fought in the preliminary matches. “That chakra blocking move was a bitch.”

“Yeah. Which is why I needed a ranged attack,” I said. “He’s from your house, Hinata. Know much about him?”

She shook her head. “He would watch me train. His family were servants to mine since we are in the main house. But after he became a Genin I haven’t seen him much.”

Geez, no wonder he hates the main family. Grew up with her and she barely knows you, I thought. 

“Well I’m excited. Let’s see where stuff goes,” I said. Kurenai soon had to excuse herself to help act as security. 

The arena stands quickly filled up. Fitting thousands of people there was a section for the Hokage and town nobility at the center. The stands went all the way around the arena. The arena itself was a tiny section of forest. Some trees near the perimeter, the center was an open ground area where people could watch the fights. 

Since most ninjas fought out in the wilderness it kind of made sense. But I thought it was overly dramatic for a fight. They wanted to show your resourcefulness when out in the wild. I was curious if there was a way to use the nature. That’s how Shikamaru stood out to become a Chunin. I had to try to do the same. I sure as hell didn’t want to do this exam again next year. 

I watched the Hokage and Kazekage sit together. The Kazekage hid his face in cloth. I guessed he was still Orochimaru. The Hokage gave a nice speech about unity and brotherhood. People clapped. I rolled my eyes. 

It was hard to believe no one knew that the sand ninjas were going to attack. There were masked ANBU everywhere. So many it was hard to guess why it wasn’t noticed that there were imposters mixed in. I knew 4 of them would be those weird cursed seal lackeys that would cast a barrier around Orochimaru and the Hokages fight. 

I busied myself trying to identify each of them as the arena battles began. First it was Naruto and Kankuro. And like in the manga, Kankuro forfeited. There were groans of dismay. Naruto was the loudest of them all. I guessed that meant Temari couldn’t convince any of them to hold off. 

The blonde sand ninja stood next to her brothers. Eyeing me now and then. She was nervous. But not one to back down, she jumped into the ring for her own fight against Shikamaru. 

As they fought I caught a glimpse of something I hadn’t expected. A group of 4 ANBU gathering together. On the far side of the arena they were discrete, but not discrete enough. I knew that of the 4 cursed seal lackeys there was a big and fat one. And a small girl. The girl was easy to notice. I got my target for later. With a smile on my face I kept an eye on the white masked ANBU impostor. 

Shikamaru lost of course. But it was a good fight. I caught myself cheering for both when the fight was over. I wasn’t sure what my relationship with Temari was. With Reina, Hina, and possibly Hinata, I wasn’t too desperate for girls. I would have to see where it went. 

“Good luck,” Hinata and Kiba said as I got up. 

“Thanks,” I said. Walking to the arena with my hands in my pocket I went over my plan. Wearing my black pants with the pink Watanabe hearts sewed in, my white shirt, and a utility belt at my waist I felt I was ready. My Konoha headband on my head I adjusted it as I jumped down the 20 feet to the arena floor. I discreetly made a shadow clone.

Neji had walked in from a lower section. He and I arrived at the center of the arena. Cheers sounded out. I noticed my parents, Mika, Hina, and Reina sitting in one of the more expensive areas. Waving at them my girls blew me kisses and my parents cheered. 

It was nice to feel like a kid again. My own parents had died in a car accident a few years back. I had all the memories of this Weston so I remembered little things about these parents. Their excitement about me getting into ninja school. Family holidays. Them taking care of me when I was sick. It was nice. I was glad they were there, but I’d have to ensure they didn’t get mixed in with the drama that was about to unfold. 

“Our first Konoha versus Konoha fight. Please welcome Neji Hyuga and Weston Watanabe. You both know the rules. Submission or continue until you are unable to fight. Begin!” Anko yelled from beside us so the crowd could hear. 

Neji stared at me. About my height he wore black pants, the classic ninja sandals, bandages on his arm, and a jacket with straps on the front. His face was a lot like Hinata’s. They were cousins so it wasn’t a big surprise. He had long black hair slicked back and the normal Hyuga gray eyes. 

“You and I haven’t talked much,” I said. “No hard feelings when I kick your ass, alright?” 

Neji’s mouth quirked up in a smirk. “Same to you. I hear I should offer you congratulations.” I gave him a confused look. “For becoming engaged to Hinata.” 

I blushed. Rubbing the back of my neck I couldn’t help but be embarrassed. “I don’t think that’s super official. Not something I’d be broadcasting around.” 

“You should know what kind of family you are joining,” he said with a cocky grin. 

“...shouldn’t we like fight?” I asked. “I mean there are a bunch of people here.” 

“I believe you’d like to hear this story. Back in-” 

“Fuck it. Sasuke’s not here. Should probably go through your backstory again. Guess I could use a refresher. Sorry, continue,” I said. Neji gave me an angry look. “Ignore me. Continue.” 

He let out a breath. “I am from the branch family of the Hyuga. My father was the twin brother of the main family head. Because my father was born second, we were pushed into the branch family. But there is a dark part of the Hyuga clan. Those who are in the branch family become slaves to those in the main family.” 

Neji unwrapped his leaf headband. Underneath it tattooed on his forehead was a swastika with hooks on the ends. “This is a servant seal. A specialty of the Hyuga,” he said with a sardonic smile. “This seal was put on me when I was 4 years old. Marking me as a servant of your future fiance back when she was planned to be the next head of the household. This seal is called ‘Bird in a Cage’. Any idea what that means?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “It means I am trapped and at the whim of the main family. They can control and torture me with this seal.”

The stands were quiet around us. I wasn’t sure how they were hearing us but they were. I looked around awkwardly. I didn’t know why the Hyuga clan was letting this go on. But it really wasn’t my problem. 

“I did not know how bad this seal could be until your future fiance was 3 years old. A representative of the Cloud country came to Konoha to sign a peace agreement. A few days later Hinata was kidnapped. The masked kidnapper was killed in the process. But it was revealed to be that representative from the Cloud country,” he said with a sneer. 

Rage in his voice, he continued. “The Cloud was angry about their rep being killed. Konoha didn’t want to risk the war continuing so an agreement was made. The man who killed their rep would be given to the Cloud. That man was Hinata’s father. The current head of the Hyuga clan,” he spat. 

“But since my father was his twin, they gave him my father’s body instead,” Neji said. I nodded, remembering the full story then. “The branch family proven useful once again as they didn’t just want our freedom, they wanted our lives.”

There was a long silence as we stared at one another. “Are you done?” I asked. “Oh finally, jeez that story took forever.” 

Neji’s face became more enraged…as much as he could with the emotionless gray eyes anyway. “Dude, shut the fuck up. First of all, we are in the middle of a tournament with representatives from all over the world. And you’re airing our dirty laundry for all to hear? Come on, you’re a ninja, learn to keep a secret. Talk about this shit before the fight. Not at the start.” 

Neji became angrier, but I kept going. “Second of all, you should be pissed at the Hokage and the higher ups of the village,” I said pointing at their stands. “If they can’t stand up to some other village when the other village is in the wrong, then that’s just bad leadership. The Cloud would have risked just as much as us if a war continued. Why did they try to take Hinata? Some Hyuga body secrets? Let me guess, they didn’t send your dad’s eyes with the body. Of course not. The Hyuga agreed but they weren’t about to let some other village have the secrets of your eyes. That’s why they kidnapped Hinata in the first place. To study your eyes.” 

I was growing angry as I paced and talked. “Seriously? The Cloud raised a stink about a Hyuga body for the eyes, you didn’t give the eyes. So there was literally no reason for them to take it in the first place. If the higher ups had stood their ground and said we will just rip out the eyes then the Cloud would probably have dropped it.” 

“Lastly, that’s not what happened at all,” I said. “You think they knocked out your dad and killed him? You think the head of the Hyuga clan could have saved any face if he decided on someone else sacrificing themselves? You should ask him. There’s a lot more going on here than you know. It’s not like they were going to tell you when you were 4 years old. Grow up, man. Sorry, I got a little off topic there. I don’t think Hinata is deserving of the anger you hold for her. Even though she is the older of the main house’s kids, she was passed over. Dumped like your father was. So let’s get this clear. I am kicking your ass. Not because of any other reason than the village is telling me to. That is our job as ninjas. Now, I’m not saying I won’t enjoy this beat down a little, but you are getting your ass kicked.”

Neji appeared a little lost at first. So I pushed the issue and ran at him. He caught himself and raised his hands. Palms out he knocked my hands out of the way too easily. I gritted my teeth, jumping up I kicked at him but again he did his weird palm move to knock my kick off course. 

I didn’t stop though. I wanted to test my martial arts, but no matter what I did he blocked me. After a few more hits I jumped backward out of his range. 

“Damn Hyuga eyes,” I grumbled. Neji had the Byakugan which could see 360 degrees around him. I suspected it worked by expelling chakra around the body and any change around him was sensed with the eyes. It was practically impossible to get the jump on the guy…if you didn’t know the secret of it. 

“You understand now? There is a reason that other clans want our powers,” Neji said. I was surprised he had recovered from our talk so quickly. He was most likely ignoring it for the time being.  

“What are you talking about?” I asked walking toward him. “I already won.” Neji moved into his fighting stance as I got closer. The Hyuga was knocked forward hard by a water bolt I sent at him from his back. As he was thrown forward I jumped to hit him in the face as hard as possible. I didn’t wait to see if he could recover. My shadow clone came out from behind Neji and we began to pummel him. 

Kicking him hard in the stomach and face I pulled out a kunai and held it to his neck as my clone held hip up by his ponytail. “Give up,” I ordered. 

His veiny eyes were filled with shock as he stared at me. “How? How did you do that?” He coughed out. 

“Give up first, and I’ll tell you,” I said, pushing the kunai up to his neck.  

Neji frowned, looked around but eventually spoke. “Fine, I give up.” My clone disappeared, dropping him to the ground. Neji caught himself. His eyes still unbelieving as I stepped away. 

“Since you like secrets being announced, you can have a few more said aloud,” I said. “Your Byakugan is nice, but not perfect. There is still that blind spot.” I tapped the back of my own spine, letting him know I knew where the blind spot was. His eyes widened. “I made a shadow clone when I jumped down to the arena. He hasn’t moved. I maneuvered you to face away from him so he could hit your blind spot. You know the rest.”

“How? No one should know about that?” He asked. “We haven’t fought before.” 

“While you don’t know everything, I actually kind of do. You were too confident, Neji. You assumed I wouldn’t know your skills. I’ve had a month to prepare for this, and I’m glad it paid off.”.

“Heck I could have beat you before we exchanged blows. But we did, and you could have blocked my chakra paths making it so I couldn’t fight. You were too confident. You thought you could beat me without resorting to that. Hell you didn’t have a chance to show off your spin move. I had you beat before the fight started. And I still have a few tricks up my sleeves.” 

I looked to Anko. “You gonna call it?” I asked. 

She frowned but announced, “Winner Weston Watanabe.” Cheers sounded out in the arena. 

I walked close to Neji. “I don’t agree with what has been done to you. You deserve your own life. You’ve already surpassed the main house. I’m sorry you didn’t get a chance to show it off.” I nodded to him and walked out of the arena. I waved to Hina and Reina as I did. I wanted to talk to them, but it was time to help a little. 

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