Naruto: Reborn as Zoro

Meanwhile, Hinata's match against Neji was really surprising for many. Most spectators didn't have much hope for Hinata because of how timid she looked in front of her opponent while Neji looked very confident.

Furthermore, it was well known that Neji was a genius of the Hyuga clan. Compared to that, Hinata was known as a failed Heir that got replaced by her little sister because of her lack of talent.

Before the match started, Neji talked about the unfair fate that he, his father, and everyone in the branch families of the Hyuga clan must face. His father, Hizashi often burst out in anger when talking about how unfair it was for Neji who has such a talent.

It's normal for a father to think so considering how talented Neji was among the Hyuga Clan members. Yet, he was bound by the clan's rules and would be forced to serve the main family his whole life no matter how strong he became.

Hizashi often got punished by his older twin brother, Hiashi when he protested about that. Neji often saw it and it really traumatized him, making him believe that everything was fated and fate couldn't be changed, bounding everybody's life.

Such a belief in fate made him believe that Hinata was fated to be weak, weaker than him and would obviously lose to him. He believed no matter what Hinata did, she would never defeat him even if he was just someone from a branch family.

The thing about how branch families must serve the main family in the Hyuga Clan was something that Zoro also doesn't like. Branch families serving the main family was normal in big clans. But the way they did it was quite extreme in Zoro's opinion.

Though he never fully thought it was wrong to give the branch families those cursed seals that could control them in time of need. After all, that seal was surely useful to keep the clan united because it could prevent any betrayal.

It also helped them protect their byakugan that was always wanted by their enemies. The rules about seals and branch families actually have protected the Hyuga Clan for a very long time, so Zoro couldn't really say they were wrong.

He just doesn't like those rules because he values freedom very much. Zoro would die for freedom and would rather die than lose his freedom forever. That's why he doesn't join any force because he thinks that will restrict his freedom.

That's also why Zoro could understand Neji's father's thinking. But it didn't mean he should teach his son to blame fate for everything. He should teach his son to fight fate and find his own way despite all the restrictions.

Well, that was what Zoro thought, but he knew it wasn't that easy. Besides, he didn't care that much about how the Hyuga Clan did their things. After all, he was a selfish guy who didn't care about things that didn't affect him.

But Hinata's battle against Neji might affect him a bit because Neji somehow just needed to mention him before the fight. He just needed to say that Hinata won't overcome her fate of being weak even though she trained with a powerful person like Zoro.

Neji even told her to stop being a ninja because her personality wasn't befitting that of a ninja and she also lacked talent. After all, he believed that talent was also fate and she was destined to be weak, so she shouldn't even try.

Hinata was really hurt by his words and true to her meek personality, she teared up. But then just like in the story, Naruto shouted and encouraged her, telling her to believe in herself and to not listen to Neji's pessimistic words.

His encouragement makes Hinata smile because just like in the series, she also likes Naruto. Naruto might be the 4th Hokage's son, but he was also known as an idiot in the academy. He was very slow at learning and often got bad grades.

However, he always managed to pass in the end and eventually graduate together with his classmates. Many believed it was just because of his parents' help, especially the 4th Hokage who must have found ways to help his son.

But some people knew that while Minato and Kushina taught Naruto too, his success still depended on himself. Hinata was one of the few who witnessed Naruto's hard work.

He would train when everyone else rested and often hurt himself because of it. After all, with his quite bad brain, he wouldn't learn whatever his parents taught him that fast, so he needed to work very hard to succeed.

His dedication inspired Hinata to work even harder too. She always worked hard, but her timid personality often obstructed her from showing the results of her hard work.

That's why Zoro always told Kurenai during their training that Hinata just needed to show more courage. He knew she had a great talent, but she couldn't show it because her lack of courage was holding her back.

Now, Naruto's words have encouraged her to fight and it cleared her mind. She looked at Neji with a clear gaze after wiping her tears. Then her eyes suddenly widened because she saw Zoro's shadow behind Neji.

'That's right. Compared to that person, big brother Neji is not scary at all. If I cowered here, I would disappoint Mr. Zoro, Kurenai-sensei, my teammates, and everyone else who believes in me.'

Hinata was reminded of Zoro's words. 'If you are scared of your opponent, remember that they are nothing compared to me. Other people might just kill you, but I will cook you and feed you to beasts. HAHAHA!'

Zoro said that jokingly when he trained Hinata, but his sinister smile at that time really scared Hinata that she cried and pissed herself, making Kurenai scolded Zoro and the others even looked at him as if he was trash.

She eventually knew that he was joking, but that scene was really etched in her mind. Now, whenever she thought something was scary, she would remember that scene and her fear would disappear, just like how it was with Neji now.

Hinata suddenly looked very brave and she got into a battle stance without any fear. Neji scoffed before getting into a battle stance too. Then their match started and both of them immediately activated their byakugan.

Neji attacked Hinata with fast movements using Hyuga Clan's techniques. He tried to hit her Tenketsu points, or chakra points to seal them, so she wouldn't be able to use her chakra.

But to his surprise, Hinata actually dodged his attacks even though he was very fast. He moved faster, making it harder for Hinata to dodge. So she started deflecting his attacks by slapping his wrists, avoiding his pointed fingers.

Neji was surprised by how calm Hinata was and how she could defend against his attacks so easily. It wasn't just him who was surprised, but also his teammates and almost everyone else who knew them.

Hinata's teammates, Kurenai, and Tenten weren't so surprised though. Tenten felt bad for Neji as they were teammates, but he knew his attacks won't work against Hinata. After all, Hinata has fought someone much stronger and faster than Neji for the last week.

Even Tenten who couldn't match Neji before was confident she could face him without any problem now. All because of her daily battle with Zoro, a monster even stronger than their teacher.

The battle continued and suddenly, Neji's wrists got weak. He suddenly couldn't flow his chakra into his fingers to hit the Tenketsu points. Unknown to him, Hinata was actually closing his Tenketsu points around his wrists slowly while deflecting his attacks.

He was so focused on his attacks that kept failing that he didn't realize her hidden attacks. Then when he was distracted by his mistake, Hinata hit his stomach with her chakra-covered right palm.

It sent Neji fly a few meters back and rolled on the floor. Then before he could even stand again, Hinata hit him from above and slammed him onto the floor with her palm before she hit his Tenketsu points to seal his chakra.

Everything happened so fast and in a short amount of time, Neji was defeated. Everyone was stunned by how strong and fierce Hinata became after looking so meek and timid in the beginning. It even made Kurenai think that letting Zoro teach Hinata even for a while might actually be a mistake.

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Chapter: 159. War Insurance

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