Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but if I did I would fix the gaping plot holes and stop toying with the Uchiha like Kishimoto does!

Author's Note: This is an idea I've had for a while and decided to give it a test drive. I am almost done with my update for Uzumaki Sunrise but I was listening to music and got inspired and wrote this out. I wanted to give my readers a sneak peak at what is in store in the future with me. I don't intend to start putting it into full production until Uzumaki Sunrise is a bit closer to being complete. I want some time to get the entire story outlined before I start it but as I said I also wanted to give my readers a sneak peak at what is coming down the pipeline! Parings, none so far, so if you have any preferences feel free to say so however I know there will be no Naru/Sakura.

Bloodline Flash

Chapter 1: Awakening

Life is strange, sometimes when we least expect it things change. They change so completely, so irreversibly, that we can never go back even if we want too. Sometimes that change is something we seek. Sometimes it is something that we choose. But many times it is simply something we have thrust upon us.

This is what happened in a single day, a single moment, for every living person of two great villages.

Uzumaki Naruto, blonde haired and cerulean eyed, had just been sent flying backward by multiple juken strikes by his opponent. He picked himself up off the ground and knew he was hurt. He was simply too slow to get inside the older boys defense.

He had been so proud, making it into the finals of the Chunnin exams. He was so filled with purpose when Hyuga Neji had been declared his opponent, he would avenge Hinata's loss in the preliminaries! He was so excited at the thought of the training he'd receive from his sensei only for those thoughts to be dashed when his sensei had run off on him with his teammate. He had really hoped the man would help him, been so happy to finally get some individual training and advance himself. It had been hard for him not to cry at the disappointment he felt that day but he had persevered.

Naruto coughed as he felt a trickle of blood run down his chin and spit out a mouthful of his own life fluids to the ground. It was times like this Naruto wished more than anything he had a family, a true friend, someone who cared about him and understood him. A person who accepted him unconditionally for who he was and would supported him through every difficult moment without question, someone who he could call family. But it was also times like this he was reminded of what he lacked.

He could hear them, their voices were all around him, 'Kill the Demon Hyuga!' they screamed, 'kick his ass Hyuga!' they would cheer, 'Not laughing now brat!' they would taunt him. He knew Iruka was looking down on him with a concerned expression, he was just too kind for his own good. The Ramen chef Teuchi and his daughter Ayami were likely in the stands too and the old man Hokage was watching him. But deep down, as kind as they were, none of them were a replacement for a family and people who had loved him his entire life. And it was times like this when he wanted that support more than anything.

Naruto was no stranger to self doubt or life's hard lessons but in that moment that moment he raised himself back up again. His sensei was nowhere to be seen, his teammate was not here, and his other teammate didn't really care about him. Naruto knew she didn't care but kept hoping she would accept him, he just couldn't stop hoping to gain a little acceptance. He also knew deep down what he wanted from her was attention and validation, but hidden under every smile was the knowledge she would never give him that. And at times like this, when he was at his lowest those thoughts rose to the surface to taunt him.

"Are you ready to continue Uzumaki?" the dark haired boy asked him with a look of superiority on his face, "Fate has already determined this match Uzumaki, you cannot defeat me. Submit and surrender, there is no reason for you to continue to greater injury."

Naruto looked into the pale eyes of his opponent and nodded with a grim look of determination. He raised himself into a shaky taijustsu stance and breathed a moment. The boy in front of him, Neji, stood silently watching his opponent.

Neji may have assumed his victory but he was no fool, he would not underestimate his opponent, even if it was the knucklehead. He had seen what that had cost Kiba a mere month before and while he was prideful he was not a fool.

Suddenly Naruto broke into a burst of speed as Neji stood still and entered his Juken stance.

Faster, move faster damn it! Naruto thought to himself as he struck a cross with his left flowing into a round house kick.

Neji blocked the punch and spun to easily avoid the kick before bringing his hand up and slapping Naruto across the face with a smirk on his features.

Damn it! Why can't I move faster! I can't keep up with him! Naruto thought to himself as he continued to press his assault. Left, right, sweeping cross with his leg, followed by an uppercut, but nothing worked. Neji simply avoided it all.

All of the frustration and pain welled up inside Naruto. He could hear the taunts and insults even more clearly now that Neji had backed up near the wall of the arena. He felt the remorse, the sense of longing, his hopes and dreams and the crushing reality grinding them to dust. His entire body straining to push itself to be faster than before to catch the Hyuga prodigy but failing to match the older boys speed.

Then it happened. Something that would change the world. Neji decided he was tired of waiting, tired of letting Uzumaki Naruto attack and decided it was time to end this match decisively.

But as Neji moved to strike Naruto the blonde's perception changed and suddenly Neji seemed to slow down. It was as if he was moving in slow motion. Naruto's cerulean eyes seemed to almost glow and he stepped to the side and struck Neji in his unprotected left flank.

Then reality seemed to snap back and Neji felt the strike and the speed that the blonde moved. He was shocked and jumped away from the panting blonde.

What the hell? Where did that burst of speed come from? Neji thought to himself, certain he had a bruised rib if not broken, No matter, it only shows I need to stop playing and finish this.

Naruto felt different, his entire body felt odd. It was as if every nerve was tightened, every muscle renewed and coursing with energy. He felt lighter than ever before but his mind, it felt open. It was such an odd experience. He was able to perceive so much more around him, and he felt something different, some kind of strange pull or trigger in his mind. He reached for it with his chakra but before he could experiment he immediately saw Neji closing the distance between them.

But again Neji seemed to be moving in slow motion. Naruto stepped to the side and brought his knee into Neji's gut. The pure speed and strength of the blow caught Neji by surprise, he had never seen anyone move so fast before. It was like fighting the legendary Sharingan but Naruto's eyes remained a piercing blue.

Neji couldn't understand what was happening, fate had decreed he be victorious! What was going on? How was he suddenly losing his match when his opponent had all but been beaten mere moments before?

Naruto pressed his advantage this time. He blocked the slow counter and proceeded to slam his fist into Neji's face. The boy had tried to stop the attack but had simply been too slow to do anything!

Neji quickly broke away and jumped to gain some distance but now Naruto wanted to try something new out. With every passing second he could feel a building pressure in his mind, the only thing it would be compared to would be a chambered round in a gun with a hammer being cocked back. And Naruto, being the unpredictable young man he was, couldn't help but pull that trigger.

In a single moment everything changed. All anyone saw was a bright flash of yellow light and Neji was nothing more than an indention in the side of the wall of the arena and silence rained throughout the stadium.

But if we were to look through the eyes of Uzumaki Naruto we would see so much more. Naruto pictured himself right next to Naruto as he pulled the trigger. Suddenly he felt his entire body squeezed as if through a tight space and then, as if by some magic, he was there, right next to Neji, right where he had envisioned himself. He punched Neji with a right cross. He pulled the trigger again and was suddenly in front of Neji where he delivered a vicious knee to his chin before delivering a vicious kick to the stomach sending Neji into the wall where Naruto was already waiting to delivered several more punches and kicks, each proceeded with a pull of the trigger in his mind.

Naruto had no clue what he was doing. It just clicked, it felt so natural to him. It was as if everything he knew suddenly made sense. He could sense everything around him, he knew where everyone was, their individual chakra signatures were like beacons to him. It was like a radar system in his mind, he didn't just feel them, he could almost see them! They were like giant glowing flames with slight distinctions. He knew with a single thought he could appear at any of them the way he had Neji.

And as quickly as it happened it ended. Naruto was standing in front of Neji, panting heavily. He was so tired, his entire body felt like it was burning from effort. His muscles were on fire from being squeezed over and over and the amount of force that had been running through them. As he tried to catch his breath his body was hit with the realization: it was exhausted and he nearly collapsed. He couldn't even begin to understand what had happened or what it meant. Naruto merely tried to catch his breath and remain standing.

Neji was much worse for wear though. His body was literally indented into the solid rock wall of the arena. He obviously had several broken bones and was mercifully unconscious if his hanging head was any indication. There were bruises already forming on the visible portions of his skin and his breathing was dangerously shallow. Naruto stared at what he had done, trying to process that it had been him who had put the older boy in that condition.

The crowd had been shocked into silence.

The Hokage's eyes widened at what had happened and realization began to dawn on him at the same time as the man sitting next to him began to grin behind his face mask, a horrible, nasty grin of pure, un-relenting joy.

The first to recover enough to speak was the protector who merely whispered in a shocked voice, "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."

And with that, in a single instant, a single moment, everything in the world changed.