Author's Notes: This chapter has been updated and polished to fit the impact of this scene in the canon.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Chapter 1
"Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu!" Uchiha Obito called out as the Ten Tails started raining down hell upon the Shinobi Alliance.
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"We have to protect Naruto no matter what!" said Kakashi Hatake as he deflected two wood projectiles with his Raikiri.
"Hinata and Neji are on their way to him." Shikamaru Nara informed the Copy Ninja. "He is the key to our strategy, with their Byakugan they can defend him no problem." he finished.
"Until the Nine Tails' power is restored my Sand no Jutsu can hold the Ten Tails, but I need to gather more chakra. Hold on everyone..." thought Akatchuchi to himself as multiple Shinobi all around him were being impaled by the Wood projectiles either unable to defend themselves or sacrificing their lives for their comrades.
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Naruto grunted in pain as he forced his shoulder back in it's place. The previous attack was perfect. There were no flaws up until the last minute. Again, he cursed himself.
It was too easy. He was getting sloppy right at the very end.
People were dying, one by one.
No more.
"I won't let my comrades die. I won't!" he reassured himself and got up on his feet.
He looked up to see the rain of wooden projectiles nearing him fast. He jumped back just in time to avoid them. He exhaled.
"That was close. Too close for my liking." he said as he wiped some sweat off his brow. Just then he noticed his hands were shaking.
He was on edge. He had pushed himself and he was almost out of chakra. Even he had his limits.
He had left Turtle Island with Old Man Bee hours ago. He had pushed his chakra to it's limits to speed himself up. He had Shadow Clones fighting Kages and other Reanimated Shinobi all over the world while he was fighting former Jinchuriki. Their strain had carried over to him, weakening his knees as well as his resolve. All of that and it was still not enough.
But he had pushed himself to keep going. For everyone's sake.
"I can't give up. Not now!"
With newfound strength he forced his racking nerves to calm as he prepared Nature Chakra. He felt the energy from everything around him diminish in intensity, before it was absorbed by his body and replaced with Sage Chakra.
But it would take time.
Just then, Neji landed in front of him.
"Neji!"
Neji Hyuga turned to look at Naruto with a confident smirk.
"How are you holding up?" the Hyuga asked.
Naruto shifted as he tried to hide his exhaustion behind a smirk. But Neji's eyes could see through it all.
Naruto observed Neji carefully. If he knew just how bad Naruto was fairing, he did a great job hiding it.
Truly Neji was unique. It seemed like Sasuke and Gaara weren't the only people Naruto could relate to.
Hinata and Hiashi Hyuga landed beside Neji and in front of Naruto protectively, ready to protect him from the newest assault of the enemy.
Naruto's mask of confidence fell the moment his eyes fell on Hinata. What was she doing here?!
An image flashed before Naruto's eyes. Pain standing over Hinata's broken body, looking at him with empty, apathetic eyes. He was holding a blade, it seemed like it had pierced through...
Naruto closed his eyes. It hurt to remember. Yet here she was again.
"Hinata!"
Hinata flinched at the underlying rage in Naruto's voice as she turned to look at him. Yet she knew he was not angry at her. She tilted her head to the side in confusion.
"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" she asked.
Naruto looked down, feeling slightly guilty for yelling at her, as he spoke in a low voice.
"Not again... Please, just leave."
Hinata's eyes widened in realization and her expression softened.
He was feeling guilty.
She turned her back on him and stared at the alliance.
"I can't do that."
Naruto looked up in surprise and stared at Hinata.
"Why?" he asked.
Hinata mentally pondered the best way to answer his question. How could she make him understand?
"Because... I've made a promise."
Naruto's eyes widened as another memory flashed before him.
"I don't run... and I... never go back on my word. Because... that is... my Ninja Way too."
He mentally slapped himself. If he wanted to stay true to his Ninja Way how could he expect Hinata to break hers?
He looked down again as he nodded slowly.
"Naruto..." Neji called out to him.
Naruto turned to look at his friend with a serious expression.
"What is it Neji?"
"For this strategy we need your power. Until you are ready..."
"... we will protect you Naruto-kun." Hinata finished for him.
Naruto turned to look at Hinata with a smile plastered on his face.
"Hinata... thank you."
Hinata in turn also smiled softly before her face settled for a determined glare towards the Ten Tails.
THE HYUGA ARE THE STORNGEST IN THE LEAF! shouted Hiashi before the 3 Hyuga's got to work on defending Naruto.
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"The Alliance is still high on numbers, Obito." Uchiha Madara stated.
"I KNOW" shouted Obito, clearly annoyed at the resistance their enemies showed.
"What will you do?" inquired Madara.
"Continue teaching them despair!" answered Obito as the barrage of Wood intensified.
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"Hakke Kuhekisho" Hiashi called out as he shot an Air Palm at the attacking tail, knocking it off course.
"Hakkesho Kaiten!" yelled Neji as he activated his ultimate defence, blocking a few projectiles before he lost his balance.
"It's no good. My Rotation isn't enough." he thought to himself before a spike of wood barely missed his head but knocked off his forehead protector, revealing his Caged Bird Seal. Before the barrage of projectiles reached Neji, two spiralling, star-shaped shurikens exploded in the air, the attack blocking or destroying a good amount of wood.
Surprised, Neji looked back at Naruto. He seemed... diffirent.
The pupils of his eyes had turned yellow with horizontial black slits and around his eyes the orange color signified he was using Sage Mode.
"Thanks Neji. I can use Sage Mode now. Can't keep relying on geniuses forever!" Naruto told him as he rushed forward.
Neji smirked at being called a genius.
"He'll never change..." he thought to himself.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto called out and nine clones poofed into existance. He split them up into teams of three and they instantly worked on their next technique.
"Rasenshuriken!" Naruto called out as he threw the attack in the air. The Rasenshuriken exploded, blocking or destroying most of the projectiles.
"There's more!"
Two Shadow Clones charged forward, Rasenshurikens in each of their hands. They threw the attack high as well, blocking the attacks from different tails.
As the clones poofed away, their strain from forcing chakra to use the Rasenshuriken carried over to the original Naruto as he fell to his knees.
Sage Mode now gone, Naruto panted for breath as the exhaustion he felt earlier caught up with him.
"Hakke Kusho." Hinata called using an Air Palm to protect the worn out Naruto from a wood spike.
She glanced at Naruto's direction and grimaced. You could basically see it in his eyes. He was exhausted and could barely stand. The weight he carried on his shoulders was getting bigger and bigger. She felt bad for giving him more things to worry about but... she had a promise to keep.
"When I reach you... I'll walk by your side and protect you always!"
The last hand of the Ten Tails that hadn't attacked yet prepared for a pinpointed barrage heading straight for Naruto...
Hiashi who was observing the Ten Tails with his Byakugan noticed it first.
"Damn it, a pinpoint attack! Hinata's Air Palm won't be fast enough..."
Or so he thought...
"BYAKUGAN!"
Hinata stood in front of Naruto as a human shield, fully aware of the consequences. She knew she would die. She was prepared for death, but if it meant she could protect him... then she would die with no regrets.
"I will..."
But the hit never came...
Hinata looked behind her after a couple slow seconds only to see her beloved cousin, falling to the ground, motionless.
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"DOTON: SAND NO JUTSU!" shouted Akatshuchi activating his mountain prison jutsu, constricting the Ten Tails' movements. The remaining Shinobi charged forward throwing attacks and projectiles at the Ten Tails. They had to stall until they could go through with their strategy.
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"MEDICAL UNIT! WHERE ARE YOU? SERIOUS INJURY OVER HERE. HURRY!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs, but no one seemed to be coming. He shifted Neji so he could unzip his vest as he tried to hold back the tears. There was blood everywhere...
"Hizashi, forgive me. I let Neji..." Hiashi thought to himself as he wept, silently asking his brother for forgiveness.
"No, it's okay." said Neji weakly, at the brink of death. "I won't last long anyway."
Hinata fell to her knees as she felt despair gripping her throat and choking her sobs in a vice grip. She shook her head, mentally kicking herself and thinking that it was all a dream or somekind of horrible genjutsu.
But this was no illusion.
It was reality. And the pool of blood that fell in front of her knees was really her cousin's.
"Why Neji-nii-san? Why did you stop me?"
"Naruto..." Neji weakly called. Naruto turned his head to look at Neji as he leaned closer.
"... Hinata-sama is willing... to die for you..." Naruto flinched at this, the very thought of Hinata's sacrifice during the Invasion of Pain leaving him speechless.
"That's why..." Neji continued. "...you have more... than one life... in your hands. It looks like... mine was one of them... too." he finished as darkness consumed the edges of his vision.
"Why would you go so far for me? You were going to change the Hyuuga." Naruto asked the dying comrade in his arms. Neji remained silent.
"Why sacrifice all that now for me?" He asked again, his voice echoing the despair he was feeling. He had broken his Ninja Way...
"I WON'T LET MY COMRADES DIE!" That's the promise he had made just moments ago...
"Why would you go so far, to the point.. you lost your life?" He thought to himself.
"Because.. you called me.. a genius." answered Neji, embracing death with a smile.
As the seal on his forehead started to fade away at the time of death, one last thought went through Neji Hyuga's mind...
"Father... I finally understand that feeling of relief that you felt, dying to protect your family and friends... It's time for me.. to join you on the other side."
A feeling of despair fell upon Naruto and Hinata as they stared at the motionless body of Hyuuga Neji, and he knew that. The moment he'd been waiting for. Now he just needed one last push...
"Didn't you say you wouldn't let your comrades die Naruto?" yelled Obito from upon the Ten Tails' head. Both Naruto and Hinata looked up to stare at the direction of Obito and Madara.
"Those words..." said Obito "... look around you and say them again."
All around the battlefield, the bodies of hundreds of Shinobi stained the ground with their blood from the onslaught that occurred earlier. Five minutes. The Ten Tails' barrage didn't last five minutes and already that many had lost their lives.
"I SAID SAY THEM AGAIN !" shouted Obito after a few seconds.
"As the bodies of your friends grow colder by the minute you realize they are DEAD! This will keep on going.. and your words and ideals will always be proved false. This is the result of your hopes, dreams and ideas, THIS IS REALITY! What is there anymore for you in this world? Your Mother and Father are dead, so is your Master Jiraiya. If you continue to resist, you will lose all you friends one by one. There will be no one left to acknowledge your existance anymore!"
"Obito, how far have you fallen?" Thought Kakashi, hearing his old friend's words.
"The only thing that awaits you in the end... is your worst nightmare and you know this well...
LONELINESS!"
"You've become just like my old self, Obito. Naruto will soon give up and the spirit of the Alliance will shatter." thought Madara as a small smirk appeared on his features.
"Why stay tied down to reality? Join us Naruto!"
Naruto lowered his head. It was true. Everything he had heard was true. He had come so far. Everyone he knew... Sasuke, Neji... his Mom and Dad... Pervy Sage... The most important people in his life, one by one... they were... he could just give up and no one would care...
SLAP!
Hinata's hand was on Naruto's cheek and he soon found himself to be staring into her lavender eyes, dry tears on her cheeks visible.
But what if... they did care?
"That's right. Up until now... their deaths... they were not in vain. They died to protect what was precious to them. Each and every one of them..."
"I'm sorry." Naruto spoke softly, his voice lower than a whisper.
"What...?" Obito asked no one in particular.
"You should be." Hinata told him as she planted her head at Naruto's chest and began to sob.
"I'm never, ever betraying my comrades." Naruto said just a bit louder than before.
"I know. That's one thing I love you for." Hinata stated as her voice became more clear and her sobs stopped.
"Thank you."
Hinata looked up into Naruto's eyes in confusion.
"For what?"
"For always being by my side." he answered.
Naruto observed Hinata carefully. This person in his arms... he knew she was special.
She could bring him back from the depths of despair and give him strength to carry on just by looking at him.
She had always watched him, wanting to catch up to him, to walk with him side by side...
At first she was just... a dark, plain, weirdo to him. But she grew on him. She always seemed to make everything better and brighter.
She had protected him, looked out for him, cheered for him when everyone else simply watched from the distance. She had been the first to accept him for who he was even when he thought he was alone all those years ago. Not Iruka-sensei, not Kakashi-sensei, her.
She was ready to give her life for him. She was and always would be a shining ray of hope in his eyes.
But for him to miss such a shining ray of light when it's been right in front of him...
What did he do to deserve her? Ever since he could remember, he had to work for the things that life gave him and yet... she's always been right beside him.
He had his answer now...
He took her hand and sat up on his feet as she did the same, his gaze never leaving her eyes.
"Hinata, I-..." Naruto stopped for a moment before raising his head again, determination showing in his face...
"I love you too."
Hinata's eyes widened in disbelief. Did he just...
"N-Naruto-kun..." new tears began to leave her eyes before he gently wiped them away with his thumb.
"W-What did you just s-say?"
Naruto turned to look at her with a bright smile on his face.
"Hinata... I told you that I love you." he beamed at her. "Unless you don't feel the same way anymore and I just..."
His words died in his throat when Hinata put her arms around his body and hugged him tightly. He looked down to see the top of her head and all he could hear were her sobs. But this time time, sadness was not the cause of her tears.
Naruto's heart was swelling with hapiness. Right now, he just wanted time to stop. With this girl in his arms, his head on top of Hinata's, with her head burried in his neck and her calm, hot breath on his skin. Everything else just vanished from the world to him. But... Dreams can't last forever.
"ENOUGH!" Obito finally snapped after all that happened before him. Just there, he had seen a shadow of himself holding the corpse of his love, Rin Nohara, the same way Naruto and Hinata stood right now. Why was it that every descision in his life had given him even more misery than before when Naruto... a shinobi that never met his parents and wants to become Hokage just like him, instead of following the same fate as he did, had found love and acceptance. He wasn't angry at Naruto, or himself for that matter. He was FURIOUS at the world.
The world that had taken away everything from him. The world that he had given up on. All of his mistakes kept raining down on him as if it was his fault! He wanted all of it to stop. To create a new world that gave him everything this one had taken from him...
The Ten Tails began to charge a Tailed Beast Bomb, the size and power of it would be able to take out all of the battlefield at once...
"Stop it Obito, don't be hasty. You'll hurt yourself and the Ten Tails..."
"I DON'T CARE. THE TEN TAILS' SKIN IS STRONG!"
Suddenly, Sai and Killer Bee appeared up in the sky, flying on one of Sai's Super Beast Scroll birds.
"Recharge complete, aww yeahhh !" said Killer Bee before he switched to Tailed Beast State right after he jumped off the bird, forming a Tailed Beast Bomb of his own in the process.
"Take this!" Killer Bee shouted as he put his head in the Ten Tails' mouth still forming the Huge Tailed Beast Bomb sending it back down it's throat using his own. The Ten Tails ended up swallowing the Bomb causing it to explode still inside it with the body acting as a deflated balloon, slowly losing air before it turned flat.
Obito and Madara were forced to seperate themselves from the Beast to avoid being blown back by the explosion inside of it, while the Fully Transformed Killer Bee fell down at full speed, making the landing even more painful. Eight Tails ended up missing a horn, a tooth and suffered multiple other injuries.
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Naruto took Hinata's hand and gave it a slight but comforting squeeze.
Even if they were in the middle of war, she felt like all her dreams had come true. If she died right know, she would have died happy. That said, she couldn't bring herself to end this moment, so it was a good thing Naruto's chakra was at last ready. It was time to get their strategy underway.
"Naruto-kun's hand is big and strong but most of all..."
"LET'S GO HINATA!"
"RIGHT!"
"It's comforting."
With that, Naruto was in his Kurama Mode and a determined Hinata was holding his hand, engulfed in a One Tailed form of his Red chakra cloak.
After all this time, she had reached him.
And she was never letting go...
I hope you liked this chapter :)
As always...
Andrew... out!