Quintessence

A Chouji X Hinata Fanfiction

Hey All! Tankou001 here with a new chapter of Quintessence! While I know I said last chapter that the few chapters before the Hyōga Sanmyaku chapters would be in Konoha I suppose I lied XD

I will be having this chapter on "the road" Chouji, and Hinata's teams heading out toward the frozen Mountain Country for the Chuunin Exam.

In this chapter more awesomeness will ensue, and some cool little moments will be made ^_^

Enjoy!

Chapter Three: Sharingan, Yuwakugan, Byakugan Bash!

Chouji walked through the steep cliffs that pervaded the Mountain Country. He, and his team had been venturing for a few days, and were heading toward a remote region of the Mountain Country in order to take part in the Chuunin Exam. He teams, instead of written tests as Chouji had thought, had tasks set out as physically enduring challenges. Chouji's team was assigned the task of walking to the specified location while never leaving the ground as a mean of transport. This, at times, proved to be difficult because often rivers got in the way, and his team was led down, or up river so that they could find an earthen crossing. Chouji, while able to watch after his team, and "rescue" them if they happened to get into any situation that they couldn't handle due to outer forces, was not allowed to aid his team in any way about their main task. Normally he would have used his earth jutsu to make land bridges, but such things were out of the question, and since his team used no earth jutsu, at least not yet, they wouldn't be able to get across places easily.

"Maya feet hurt. We stop, yes?" Maya complained as they walked along the side of a cliff face on a mall ledge that was hardly enough for even her petite figure. Chouji was getting away with it by half gliding through the earthen wall of the cliff, but his team had no such advantage.

"No, Maya-chan... We are not at a good place to stop at this moment..." Hizano spoke out as he activated his byakugan. "There is a cliff where we can stop ten miles from here. When we get there we will rest..." The Hyuuga had fallen back to his silent, and indifferent roots for the trip, taking the part of team leader, and becoming the stern leader that all Hyuuga were taught to be regardless of their preference.

"But Maya tired! She wants to rest now. We find good place to stop sooner, yes?" Maya continued, not wanting to travel any further without rest.

Anka stepped in, however, the white haired girl always able to relate better to Maya than Hizano. "Maya-chan, we'll get somewhere after ten miles. Have a soldier pill, you'll feel better. I promise those ten miles will pass by like footsteps."

Maya frowned,and reached into her bag for a soldier pill, swallowing it whole. "Should have waited till next Chuunin Exam... Maya does much better in jungle land..." he dark skinned girl stated.

Chouji, however, spoke out at this. "Maya-chan, I understand how you feel. I don't work well in ocean settings, or desert settings, but ninja have to deal with this kind of thing. You will have to learn to handle yourself to your greatest in any situation, and any area." Chouji drifted back into the earth, half of his body moving about the cliff face with a strange sort of picture. The appendages that stuff from the cliff wall were rocky, and the half of his face that Chouji let to the air was a bit soot covered, and craggy.

Maya sighed, and looked around. She spotted something, and raised her spear. "Maya see something!"

The whole team stopped, and Hizano turned his sharp eyes on the area that Maya pointed to. "I don't see anything." he said. Naturally this surprised Chouji. Maybe Maya was just seeing things. Hizano's eyes were seldom wrong, even if he didn't use them as much as Neji did or to the same effect.

Still Maya shook her head. "Maya saw something, she knows it!" Before even Hizano could speak Maya was scaling the rock wall, her hands finding minute hand holds, and allowing her to scale the wall easily Chouji rushed upward through the stone, and the rest of his team followed Maya, unable to use chakra suction because the rocks were so broken up, and torn. They had to climb using hand holds just like Maya. When finally Maya reached a top of the cliff the team found it to be a rather nice resting place. Hizano hadn't bothered to look up until Maya had made the whole team climb to a higher elevation. Still the dark skinned ninja, despite finally finding a good hiding place, was on edge. "Maya saw it over there!"

Hizano again looked at the way that Maya pointed, and sighed. "There is nothing that way, Maya-chan. My eyes are better than yours... It's simply your eyes playing tricks on you..." I suppose since we have found a good resting point we may do so. Everyone settle down. We may as well make this our camp for the night. We are almost a day ahead of schedule anyway. We could afford to wait out the time, and hit on time with the other teams."

Everyone set up tents, and such, Maya grumbling the whole time about not being wrong. A gentle snowfall soon started dropping, coating any place on the peak not covered by a tent or person in snow. Soon enough the whole area was coated in white, heavy snow that made anything in the area indiscernible from anything else. Chouji smiled at all of this. These settings truly fit him, albeit it was still a bit warm. Soon enough Chouji stripped to just his pants, and began doing his Practice Kata barefoot in the snow, letting his team do what they had to do. Soon enough Anka had her tent ready, always the first to get the necessary procedures done. "Chouji-sensei? What exactly is it that you are doing? I saw you doing that stuff back at Konoha, but I don't know what exactly it is... Hizano-kun does it as well now... and a lot..."

Chouji smiled. "This is the practice Kata of the Polar Katas passed down by the polar bear clan of Hyōga Sanmyaku. These katas can freeze you solid if you use them, but in order to learn them you must become a member of the polar bear clan. I think your father has already signed you with the hounds, hasn't he?"

Anka nodded. "And mother signed me with her snakes, but I like the dogs better. I think I will pass on polar bears. It is rare for any ninja, especially a genin like I am, to have any more than one animal clan for summoning. I don't even summon enough to make a difference. By the way, Chouji-sensei? Have you been able to fix my father's family tanto yet? I still have your practice tanto, but you haven't given me the real thing yet. Can you really make it what it once was before it broke with father?"

Chouji stopped his Kata, his whole body with icicles hanging about. He smiled, and nodded at Anka's question. "I suppose tonight is as good a night as any to finish it..." Chouji pressed his hands together, and formed some hand seals. "Earth Style: Earth Encampment Growth." Where Chouji stood now lay a perfect forge, the hearth complete, and the bowls all laid out made of solid ceramics. Chouji drew forth from his bag a scroll, and used it to summon a mighty anvil, and several large smithing hammers. He then drew the partly completed tanto that Kakashi had, at one point, broken in battle his first jounin mission. "Anka... I trust that if you really want this tanto complete you will gather the wood, and coal to fuel the fires."

Anka nodded, and leaped off. A small forest was nearby anyway, the mountains holding some tree covered land. Chouji already had enough coals to make the fire roar, but they would not keep him for the whole time that he would be needing. Soon enough the crashing of trees could be heard, and chouji smiled as he heated the tanto blade in the fire. Hizano stepped up to Chouji. "Chouji-sensei? What should I do now? I have finished the practice katas for the day, and I don't believe I can do much more."

Chouji smiled. "You can always watch Hizano-kun. Above many things the polar bears value the art of armor smithing, and any craft that requires raw muscle like this. The king has his mighty armor that was made for him, and half of the council members also have suits of black armor. The steel in Hyōga Sanmyaku is always made black for some reason. If you pa attention you could learn a lot." Chouji took the red hot blade from the fire which was slowly burning itself out. No sooner did Chouji think that perhaps the coals wouldn't last until Anka's return did the white haired girl arrive with a large bag of wood slung over her shoulder. It was no surprise that the bag seemed to weigh even more than Anka herself. Despite being the weakest member physically of the team Anka was still far stronger than many of her fellow genin, and even some chuunin. "Good timing, Anka-chan. Put the wood in the fire."

Anka did so, and Chouji caught the logs alight with some of his fire jutsu, wasting no time in speeding up the heating process. He lifted the red blade to the anvil, and hammered at it with a small blacksmithing hammer. The clinking went on for an hour or more, and Maya eventually joined the group to simply bear witness to what Chouji was doing. Two more hours went by, and Chouji turned slowly to his team, wiping the ash, and sweat from his brow. "You all should get to bed. I need far less sleep than most, and you need far more sleep than many." Maya reluctantly nodded, and headed off, Hizano heading to his tent as well. Still Anka stayed, her eyes trained on Chouji's hand which held the hammer. "Anka-chan.... You need rest..."

Anka shook her head. "You said it would be done tonight... I am going to watch until that tanto is finished."

Chouji sighed, but smiled at Anka's words. She was surely excited about her new tanto, and Chouji couldn't blame her at all. "Alright Anka-chan, but only until then... I am almost done anyway." Chouji hammered at the blade a good hour longer, and dipped it in the snow, now a foot deep, though it was only a light fall. The winds were completely absent. Though the snow fell slowly the hours helped to pack it atop itself, and make a light snow fall a heavy layer of thick white packed snow at the cliff top. Chouji drew the now cool blade from the snow, and fitted the hilt onto the tanto, doing all of the last minute touches. He turned to present his student with the tanto, but halted when he looked at her eyes. Anka was frozen in place, her eyes crimson as opposed to her usual brown. Three little fireball like symbols floated in a perfect circle in Anka's eyes, and Chouji spoke out hesitantly. "Anka-chan? Are you alright?"

Anka didn't speak for a moment, but just as Chouji reached out t touch her she spoke. "I can see everything... for the past half hour I have been watching you, and I have been able to see every move you made. Those quick hammer strokes from before were really slow, and I could make it all out... Chouji-sensei... I think something has happened with me that changed my vision, or something..."

Chouji paused, unable really to say it out loud for a bit. Still after he worked it all out in his head Chouji could finally say it to Anka. "Anka... you've manifested the Sharingan..."

Anka hesitated, and then spoke up. "I thought it couldn't be passed on... Father's Sharingan isn't his..."

"That's the same that I thought, but apparently it can be passed through your father because I can see you eyes of crimson plain as the moon in the sky..." Chouji said quickly.

Anka shook her head, and looked up. "The clouds are covering the moon... How can you say that?"

Chouji smiled at this. "It doesn't mean the moon isn't there. Your eyes are crimson, and have little patterns in them. You have the sharingan, Anka-chan."

Anka froze in place for a moment. "That's impossible... I may be able to see better, but maybe it is just a talent that just showed up..." Chouji pressed his hands together, and instinctively Anka did the same, mirroring out the jutsu that Chouji made, and crying out the words just before Chouji could. "Endan!"

In an instant Chouji was caught in a burst of flame from Anka's mouth beneath her mask. Of course Chouji was alright. It hadn't actually been him. A stone lie in the place that Chouji had been standing. He had prepared for such a thing. "You didn't know endan before now, Anka... You may have seen your father do it, and me do it, but I never taught it to you, and neither did Kakashi-senpai... You have the Sharingan... Here... Take your father's tanto."

Chouji held out the white steel tanto, and Anka took it from his hand, the blade radiating white chakra as she held it. "I can't believe it... I was just staring at you, and then everything became so clear..."

Chouji smiled, and sat in the snow, his shirt, and shoes never actually having been put back on. "Maybe it is a gift of some sort... nobody can say.." Chouji rose his head to the far peak, and squinted a bit. He noticed something, and stood up, shielding Anka with his body as a fireball flew from the far peak. The fireball hit Chouji dead on, but did little damage, Chouji's body freezing the air around him to reduce the effects. Maya, and Hizano leaped from their tents immediately. "This was never a schedules attack! These are rogue ninja!"

Four ninja jumped from cliff top to cliff top at the group, and Chouji stepped up. "Who are you four?" The hitai ite on the ninja's head showed that they were from the village that had been haunting Chouji's conscience for a while. The symbol of the shadow village lay on the hitai ite of the ninja, and Chouji scowled. "Somehow I was worrying that I would see your kind again... Stay back, team... Anka, Maya, Hizano, keep you distance... I'll take care of these four..."

Maya stepped forward, however. "This Maya mission, and Mission for Maya team. We fight!" The dark skinned girl stepped up to one of the shadow ninja, and the man chuckled as he took a great swing with a massive fist. Chouji tried to step up, but a different Kage nin got in his way, and he watched as the fist came down at Maya. Still no horrible bone crunching noise came to Chouji's eras, and no mutilated girl was seen. Instead Maya simply looked at the man who had frozen in place. "You stop attack now. You not hurt Maya or her team. You take long walk off tall cliff."

The man could only nod like a stupid ape, and step off the cliff as though it were as simply as walking through a field. Thudding could be heard below as the man presumably hit the rocks, and died. Chouji was dumbstruck, and so were the rest of his team, ad the rest of the team of Kage ninja. In fact so dumbstruck were the Kage ninja that they noticed all too late another of their group falling to his death as Hizano rode up to one on a polar bear which simply swept the large man away from Chouji, and clean off of the cliff. The remaining two ninja regained their senses, and made ready for battle, but Anka was already jumping in to fight them, dodging heavy swings with her dexterous body. She drew her tanto, and white chakra cascaded from the blade, chopping clean through the hand of an enemy ninja. The man cried out in agony, and swung again, this shot nearly striking Anka. Still the newly awakened sharingan user was too quick, and saw the blow coming, moving aside with ease, and slicing the man's throat.

The final ninja looked at the team, and backed up to the edge of the cliff rethinking his attacks now. Chouji stepped through the lines. "I think you had better stay with us for the night... It is cold, and things tend to happen to those who travel alone..." The kage nin roared angrily, and Chouji chuckled, stepping up to the man. He roared back, and the man's face froze solid as ice crystals covered his mask. "Don't say I didn't invite you..." Chouji grabbed the man by the arms, and lifted him into the air, swinging him about, and tossing him skyward. The man didn't fall back at the team's location, but he could be heard yelling for a while before an abrupt stop in noise. Chouji turned to Maya, and looked at her. The irises of Maya's eyes had turned a deep purple, glittering in the moonlight. Her pupils had become a strange sky blue, and the whites of Maya's eyes had become a deep gray. Chouji's gaze was fixed on Maya's eyes, and the Akimichi felt at that moment only like he wanted to help Maya. Suddenly Anka's hands slapped over Maya's eyes, and Chouji was let go from Maya's spell. "What the hell happened!" Chouji cried out.

Anka spoke up immediately. "Maya-chan's eyes went all weird. You wouldn't answer us, and Hizano-kun froze up to." Maya struggled in Anka's grip, but seemed mildly to understand that her eyes were being covered for a good reason. "I thought it would be best to cover Maya-chan's eyes."

Chouji nodded, and sat down, Maya being fitted with a blindfold. "We can't keep her eyes covered forever, Anka-chan. We'll have to think of something... She will be no use at the Chuunin Exam if she can't see."

Maya stood up as Anka finished tying off her blindfold. She stepped up to Chouji and smiled as though she knew exactly where he was. "Maya is alright, Chouji-sensei. She knows location!" Chouji looked confused, and Maya giggled at his silence. "Maya mother teach Maya to see without eyes. She can fight the same." Anka walked up behind Maya, and tried to put her hand on Maya's arm, but the dark skinned girl lifted her hand, and caught Anka's, pulling Anka forward, and leading her about. Anka tried to strike back with her free hand, but Maya dodged it, and caught it at her shoulder. Having nothing else to strike with Anka tried kicking, but Maya continued to block Anka's leg with increasing foresight. Finally when Anka stopped Maya let go, and giggled. "See. Maya see blind."

"What is this doujutsu you have, Maya-chan?" Chouji asked, not caring anymore about Maya's issue with sight, or even the fact that she apparently didn't need it. "I have never seen something like it."

Maya shrugged and did a hand stand. She walked upside-down to her bag, and pulled out a small scroll, tumbling back to Chouji through the snow and handing her teacher the scroll. "Maya mother give her scroll. Maya never figured how to read it."

Chouji unrolled the scroll, and looked at the writing. It was all foreign to him, but he guessed same elders would be able to read it. Chouji had explored the very farthest reaches of the Shinobi continent, but he knew that people lived across oceans on other continents, and they had different forms of language. Maya was such a person that wasn't born on the Shinobi continent. She was born on a tropical island far to the south beyond anywhere that Chouji had been. Still Tsunade was the one that found Maya's family so many years ago before Maya was even born. She knew the language, and Chouji would return the scroll to her. "I'll have to give this to the Hokage when we arrive at the Chuunin Exam. Do you know what those eyes are called?"

Maya nodded. "Maya Mother had them. She called the eyes Yuwakugan."

Chouji sighed. "Yuwakugan..." He turned to Anka. "Sharingan..." Finally he turned to Hizano who sat atop his bear. "And Byakugan... It seems I have a team that is far more gifted than I was ever led to believe... Regardless of what may come I want you three to work as a team... Maya, since you don't even know what those eyes do yet I want you to keep that blindfold on. When we get to the Chuunin Exam I will speak to Tsunade about them. Anka I want you to use that Sharingan... those eyes are a gift from a man that never was in your family to begin with. You will embrace that gift as your father has. Hizano... Use the byakugan with your katas. I have a feeling that with your eyes you can become far better at the katas than I am." Chouji looked at his team, and smiled. "All of you get some rest. It's midnight, and none of you are at all rested enough. Get to bed I'll keep the watches tonight." Chouji's team nodded, and all went to bed. Kami, he couldn't wait until he would be at the mountains again.

Meanwhile Hinata was with her team, all three genin undergoing their mission to get to the Chuunin Exam. Their task was to get to the Chuunin Exam over only water or wood. That being said Team 13 could only get to the Chuunin Exam by traveling on branches, or up rivers. He fact that Temano could use his wood jutsu to get the team around made this easier by quite a bit since the mountains did not have many trees, and the rivers only led so far uphill canoing a very difficult endeavor. Apparently there was no exception to this rule, and Hinata found that her team got their first demerit upon stepping on land to camp. Since not all of the rules were given, and the written tests that the first task consisted of a while back had a three strikes rule the team could touch solid earth three times before they were disqualified. Team 13 had done their best not to reach two strikes yet. Temano worked at dusk every day to make sure that the shelter on the water was not one to float away, and when they took off Temano used his wood jutsu to propel the boat to some degree, or create bridges around the land so that further demerits were kept from happening.

Hinata wondered what Chouji's team had gotten as their task. Team 4 had left from an entirely different area and Hinata knew that their task to get to the Chuunin Exam would have been significantly different. She hadn't spotted Chouji in a hot air balloon around the place where any team left so air travel seemed out of the question. Since Hinata's team had been given trees, and water they had been given a canoe. The air traveling teams had gotten balloons. Hinata watched Sai's team leave, and found that they were given subterranean rules which meant that they had to go underground the whole way save for three hours a day to get their bearings. Team 4 could have gotten such a thing. By now it was night, but Hinata's team was late on the schedule, having made significantly less progress to the Chuunin Exam than they would have liked. Ty Dao's speed meant absolutely nothing because it came with extreme heat, and such heat would burn the team, and the canoe. Kyogi had tried at some point to propel the boat with his vision, but it only proved to agitate the water behind to canoe, and cause a severely uncomfortable atmosphere. Temano could only use his wood jutsu to make long branches from the bottom of the boat that could push the boat along, and even then it was not very fast.

"Why are we going so slow?" Ty Dao spoke up after a few hours of complete silence. "I swear I can see the place we were at two hours ago. Can't you make us go any faster, Temano-kun?"

Temano grimaced. "If you have anything that could help us move more quickly I suggest you bring it up, Ty Dao-chan... Despite the fact that I am good at it I can't grow trees fast enough for us to travel on at full speed, and if any of us touch solid ground we get yet another demerit. Believe me, if I could make us go faster I would, but the river heading against us isn't helping us move."

Ty Dao grumbled, and nodded. "If only I could use water ninjutsu like my dad did... We would be at the Chuunin Exam already instead of being late so far I swear yesterday I saw a hot air balloon travel over us..."

"Why don't you just learn to use water ninjutsu right now then, Ty Dao-chan?" Kyogi said smiling. "You are fast at everything so I would assume that you could learn water jutsu in an instant, right?"

Ty Dao looked at Kyogi with a scowl. "You want yet another fight? I can run on top of water, Kyogi-kun, you can barely make headway in this current. Regardless if I could I would learn water ninjutsu, and fire ninjutsu as every member of my family before me has. For a hundred years and more the Hazumi family has mixed the two to make steam jutsu, and I will kill myself if I can't use both when the time comes that I can do elemental jutsu. Still I can't do it now, and without proper formal training I won't be able to. I know Hinata-sensei can use Water jutsu, but she isn't allowed to help nor teach right now or else we are all disqualified... The only thing she is allowed to do to help us is give us items, or encouragement..."

Hinata giggled a bit. "More or less, that is true..." Hinata said.

Kyogi grumbled a bit. He turned his glowing orange eyes at the mountains that the team canoed through. "You know ever since I used my eyes to blast that tunnel system in the cliff at Konoha I don't seem to se any chakra with my them. I always have had a lot of chakra, but I could always feel my eyes using it up when I used them. I don't anymore."

Hinata smiled a bit. "Maybe you have just mastered them to a point that you don't need your chakra as much... An old ninja of Konoha had an ability called Chidori. His name was Uchiha Sasuke, and he learned Chidori from Kakashi-senpai. When he left he mastered the Chidori to a point where instead of only being able to use it twice a day he could use it fifty times with a lot of other jutsu mixed in and still be able to move about well enough without strain. He had simply mastered the Chidori to where he didn't need nearly as much chakra. My own lightning travel jutsu is the same. I started using it when I found that the body flicker just wasn't fast enough. After I perfected it I used it so much that now I can travel for hours with it without using up too much chakra at all even though it makes me into a lightning bolt, and moves me at the speed of light."

Ty Dao giggled at this. "If only you could move at the speed of heat, Hinata-sensei. That would be the very best way of moving."

Kyogi scoffed at Ty Dao's words. "You can't go nearly that fast, Ty Dao-chan! I bet Hinata-sensei could beat you hands down at a foot race. It's not like anyone really can achieve the speed of heat, however fast that really is. If it is really as fast as you say then nobody could reach it."

Ty Dao looked at Kyogi as though she was contemplating homicide. "You wanna die Nagamori? The speed of heat has been reached, and I will be the second to reach it. Twenty generations back my ancestor achieved the speed of heat and I will as well."

"And what proof do you have of this, Ty Dao-chan? How do we all know that your ancestor ever did that? How do you know he didn't just explode from giving himself a super fever?" Kyogi chuckled at this.

Hinata frowned, and decided to speak up. "The proof is in the very country that allies our own. The Wind Country didn't used to be a desert, Kyogi-kun. Ty Dao's ancestor supposedly achieved the speed of heat in the center of the Wind Country, and the hot snap that turned the whole area into a blazing desert, parching the land of moisture, and burning the vegetation to nothing for miles around. He was said to Achieve that speed as he jumped, and a blazing tower of fire shot into the sky, melting the land around him, and crushing the rock as it solidified. In the Wind Country the ninja have set up a shrine where the sand is a deep red because that is supposedly where Ty Dao's ancestor did this act."

Kyogi stayed silent for a bit. He had no idea that the history was so extreme, and Ty Dao as opposed to smiling in a smug manner, sat awestruck that Hinata knew so much about her history. Finally Temano was the first to speak. "I think we may have something worry about, guys..." The team looked at Temano as he pointed forward, and they all looked to where he pointed and saw what he had.

Up ahead stood four ninja, their hitai ite all showing them to be of Kagegakure No Sato, an enemy to all villages so far as everyone guessed. In the hands of one of these ninja was a young woman, having to be no older than Ty Dao. Her hitai ite indicated that she was from Konoha. Hinata knew right away that this party was not a welcoming party. It was very much there to attack, not welcome. Hinata stood up, and pressed her hands together. "You three get down. Temano, make a shelter; a structure to keep you three safe." In a flash of lightning Hinata was at the four ninja, and spoke out. "You four give the girl to me! What did you do with the rest of her team, and her teacher?"

The ninja holding the girl smiled and spoke up, her voice indicating she was a woman. Hinata couldn't have told before as her clothing covered her figure if she had one. "I don't think I will. I have been told to bring with me one team member from any team that we took out that would be attending the Chuunin Exam. The other team members, and the teacher are dead. Maybe you knew the guy, he's about two miles east of here, and had used some crazy trees to fight us. Made giant wooden statues pop right out of the ground to attack us, he did."

Temano could be heard gasping from behind, knowing very well that they were talking about his father. Only Tenzou was able to use wood jutsu aside from Temano, and wooden statues were a new jutsu Tenzou had been developing. Hinata grimaced at the thought that Tenzou had been killed, but shook her head. "If this is true I will have to take revenge for him."

The female Kage ninja smiled, and giggled a bit. "Alright, I suppose I could trouble my team to kill you in battle, though I would have hoped you would just lie down to die. Never happens that way does it?" The woman placed her hands together, and smiled as she formed some hand seals. Hinata readied herself for what was to come. "Daylight Explosion! Art of the shadows reversed!" In an instant Hinata was blinded, the light of a thousand suns burning int Hinata's eyes, and making her unable to see a thing.

Hinata struggled, and swung about, but a hand caught her arm, and pulled her back. She flailed against the grip, but Temano's voice hit her ears. "Hinata-sensei don't worry, it's me! Wood Style: Wooden Restoration." Suddenly the world became clear again, and Hinata saw Temano looking down at her. Hinata's whole body was wrapped in wood, but the branches that surrounded Hinata went back into the canoe, and Hinata was lying down on the wooden canoe. The Hyuuga looked back at the Kage ninja, and saw Ty Dao racing around them on the water. Kyogi stood above the boat on a branch, blasting at the Kage nin with his eyes. Hinata went to get up, but Temano's hand held Hinata down. "This is a fight that I have to be in, but I won't let you in on it. If what they say is true I have to get revenge for my father."

Hinata hesitated, but Temano was already off on a branch grown from under the water. The female Kage ninja looked up, and smiled. "You're like that other ninja. I didn't know that anyone in the world could use wood jutsu, but I was wrong, wasn't I? I think I'll keep you alive out of this group. Shadow Style: Merciful Bindings!"

Darkness shot from the water at Temano, but the boy placed his hands together as he had so often done with other wood jutsu. "Wood Style: Great Hands Of Nature!" From Temano's sleeves exploded a mass of wood, Temano's arms now visible with that ivy pattern that appeared only days before. The branches that extended from Temano's arms broke through the darkness, and wrapped around the tangible shadows, crushing the sheets of solid twilight.

Kyogi jumped down onto the wooden platform that the Kage nin apparently were using to stay afloat. Hinata personally had no doubt that they could walk on water like she could, but such things used chakra, however little, and that would be highly tedious. If the teams were taking on all of the groups they could find all the chakra that they had would be saved if they could help it. Kyogi raised his eyes to the first ninja in front of him, and smiled, vaporizing the Kage nin with his eyes. The crimson markings around his eyes appearing only days before seemed only to make his doujutsu more deadly. "I don't know who you guys are, but I think it is only reasonable that you all die right now. Ty Dao-chan, get these guys with me. Temano-kun, crush that woman!"

One of the male ninja stepped out onto the water, the water solid under his feet just as Hinata guessed. Still Ty Dao was on the man more quickly than even Hinata's eyes could follow. She raced around him in circles, the man quickly getting heatstroke inside Ty Dao's area of heat. Ty Dao seemed to be burning so very hot that the water around her was catching on fire, flames popping up every now, and then on the surface of the river inside of where the young woman circled. The ninja, unable to strike Ty Dao as she ran so fast, and at the same time unable to leave Ty Dao's circle of heat, quickly burned to nothing, his clothes burning off first followed by his skin, and then muscles, and finally the heat burned his bones to ash which floated off in the water.

Temano's wood wrestled with the solid shadow, but a stray branch grew out from the collective, and shot at the female ninja who appeared to be the team leader due to the fact that she now was ordering around the last living male ninja who Kyogi was fighting. The woman saw the branch flying at her, however, and dodged aside, firing three more shadow pillars at Temano. Temano, not to be outdone, but ever the cautious one, dodged aside, and let his wooden appendages fly back to him. He pressed his hands together, and smiled as he spoke out. "Watch out guys! Wood Style: Great Forest Birth and Life!"

Hinata gasped, and held onto the canoe, knowing that what was to come was going to be a bumpy ride. The whole area immediately sprouted a forest, thick with undergrowth, and overgrowth. It blasted clean through the river, and turned the area into a swamp of sorts, the roots soaking up the water, and forcing it around. The two remaining Kage nin were caught by surprise, and the leader fell as a tree caught her, and lifted her skyward. The male Kage ninja was caught in the middle of a ring of trees that grew together into one massive tree that Hinata assumed was hollow, but couldn't be sure. Ty Dao, who had been caught entirely unaware, and had already deactivated her fever jutsu, was caught in between two growing branches which grew together around her, and began to crush her between them, leaving the girl helpless, and in extreme danger. Still Kyogi jumped up, and blasted her free, carrying Ty Dao to another branch.

Now the field was entirely different, a tree trunk below exploding as the ninja that had been caught before got loose. Temano as well as Hinata in the canoe was up at the very tops of the canopy, the leaves forming an almost solid floor beneath Temano, Hinata, and the Kage ninja leader who struggled now to get her foot free from a troublesome pair of branches that had grown in such a way as to catch it but not be any serious danger. "You attacked my father's team, and hurt him.. killed my family! I will kill you now!" Temano cried, anger all too clear through his words. From the leader's foot that was caught the trees grew around her, grabbing her arm, and bending it in such a way as to break it.

There was a snap, and the leader screamed in pain, but Hinata stepped off of the canoe, grabbing Temano, and pulling him back. "Temano-kun, stop this! You have made you point, but we need this woman! She has information that will be useful!"

Temano hesitated, but nodded, surrounding the leader in wood that bound her up. He looked back down at the other Kage ninja that was scaling the branches to get up top, and extended his hand, the trees wrapping around the ma, and crushing him mercilessly. Hinata gasped, and Kyogi below was showered with the man's blood as well as Ty Dao who was now unconscious. Temano looked at the leader, and grimaced before sitting down on the leaf floor. Kyogi popped up with Ty Dao in his arms only a moment later. "What the hell happened?" Behind Kyogi the girl that had been captured rose by a branch. Kyogi looked back at her and sighed. "Well at least we won. Why isn't the leader dead yet?"

Hinata shook her head, and spoke up. "We re keeping her alive. She may have information that we need." Hinata looked back to the woman who had long since passed out from the pain of her arm. It also seemed that Temano had broken her leg in the same instant. "Temano, please don't worry. I have to leave now, but you three should get some res tonight... Make sure the other girl is alright, and wait here until I return later on. I should be back before you three are awake, but if I am not I want you all to wait for me. I think this is a bit bigger than the Chuunin Exam."

Temano, and Kyogi nodded, and Hinata was off in a flash of lightning. She raced to the Chuunin Exam outpost, and in under a second arrived. There stood Tsunade with several ninja. "Hinata-chan... I didn't expect you here without your team..."

Hinata shook her head. "We were attacked by agents of Kagegakure No Sato... Apparently everyone is being attacked... The leader said that the Kage nin are attacking all of the teams, and taking one ninja from each back to Kagegakure. The squad that my team took out had already struck Utagau Tenzou's team. They said... They said that aside from the girl they took all of them are dead."

Tsunade looked at Hinata with utmost seriousness. Hinata looked into Tsunade's eyes, and didn't see a bit of sadness. No, as the hokage Tsunade couldn't yet show sadness, or even be sad. It was her job to take charge of these things, and leave sadness for later. "I understand. Return to your team, and get them here as fast as possible. At this rate the Chuunin Exam may still be completed, but the fact that Kagegakure No Sato I attacking means that the official tasks that have been placed down are null. You shall use any way that you can to assure your team's safety, and their arrival at this outpost, and I expect you will get them here immediately. I have some ninja who will assist you." Tsunade grabbed a long whistle from her side, and blew into it. In moments great thumping could be heard, and Kiba was on the scene riding atop Akamaru. "Inuzuka Kiba! You are to follow Hyuuga Hinata to her team, and assist in retrieving them. The tasks placed down for means of travel are now officially null. All teams are to arrive here by whatever means as soon as possible, no exceptions."

Kiba nodded, and placed his hands together. "Beast Style: animal Growth!" Akamaru barked, and grew to the size of a tall tree. Hinata nodded, and streaked off, arriving at her team's location. She stepped up to Kyogi who was looking over Ty Dao. "Kyogi-kun. There has been a change of plans. Inuzuka Kiba is coming to help us. The first task is now null. You three, along with the unconscious girl we saved, are to get to the outpost through whatever means necessary. I am going to go to the other attack site and see if there are survivors." Kyogi nodded, and looked to Temano who was already coming up. Hinata was gone again, and searched around for about five minutes before finding Tenzou, and the two other members of his team. Hinata stepped up to one of the genin, and found that he had indeed been killed. The other genin was quite literally in pieces, and Hinata knew better than to check for life when the poor child's arm a was nowhere to be seen, and half of his torso hanging from a nearby tree. Looking over to Tenzou she noted that although he wasn't moving he was not dead.

Hinata stepped to Tenzou, noting that his breathing was shallow, but he seemed stale enough. He looked to have dragged himself to the tree he leaned against, and was now waiting for death, but Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder. "Tenzou-senpai, stay awake. Help is on the way."

Tenzou slowly, and laboriously opened his eyes. "Hinata-chan? Is that really you? Are we both dead then?" Tenzou tried to move a bit, but groaned, and laid back against the tree.

Hinata sighed. "No, Tenzou-senpai. We are both alive. Your son is fine, but he is worried about you. We heard you, and your team died... I check the other two over, and they are gone... Still you are going to live. Kiba is coming for us soon enough. Let me check your wounds." Hinata looked Tenzou u, and down, leaning him forward, and finding a large gash on his back. It didn't hit his spine, but, under slightly worse circumstance, could have been deemed mortal. Tenzou's legs were clearly broken, one of them even pointing a way that no leg should ever point. "Your back is wounded, and your legs are broken Tenzou-senpai..."

Tenzou smiled. "Tell me something don't know... Really... It is rather hard to breath... I think my lung may have collapsed... They hit me in the chest pretty hard when they first jumped out at us. I tried to move, but the leader cut me up with this darkness and the big guy hit my legs when I jumped at him... Did you see them after they got done here?"

Hinata nodded. "My team took them out. Temano-kun heard you were killed, and fought to avenge you. We are currently holding the leader, but the other three were killed."

Tenzou nodded. "Temano is a good kid... I am glad he was trained by you... Before he left with you he really was wearing his sleeves low... Almost seemed like he was avoiding me... You know anything about that, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata hesitated. Had Temano not told Tenzou? She opted not to tell Tenzou. This wasn't the time nor place. "No idea, Tenzou-senpai. Still Temano-kun really has improved. He wants to make you proud, and I don't blame him."

Tenzou smiled at this, and sighed. "I don't think I'll be able to see him fight at the finals if he gets that far... I am in a bad way, and I don't think I can stay to long alive... Hinata-chan... If I die I want you to tell Oashisu... I want you to tell her that I am sorry I couldn't be more strict with Temano... I know that always bugged her... And tell her that I love her... so very much..."

Tenzou began to struggle on his breath just as a medical ninja approached. Hinata shook her head, and held onto Tenzou's hand. "Tenzou-senpai, you'll live to say all of that many more times... Just hold on, alright. There is a medic here for you."

Hinata gave Tenzou a look of encouragement, but the jounin shook his head smiling. "We'll see.. but... I doubt it... Hinata-chan..." Tenzou coughed up some blood, and two more medics arrived, pushing Hinata away.

Hinata sighed, and stepped back. She raced back through the woods resuming normal speed just ahead of Akamaru who now carried the Kage ninja squad leader, Temano, Ty Dao, Kyogi, ad the unconscious Konoha girl that had been in Tenzou's team. Kiba let Hinata on, and they were bounding off toward the outpost soon enough. After giving the news that Tenzou was in the hands of medics Temano relaxed slightly, falling into tears instead of his former sternness. Hinata sighed and Kiba tried to look like the adult that he was, but even for the two jounin it was difficult.

Upon arrival at the outpost again Oashisu, Tenzou's wife from Sunagakure, was already present, awaiting information. She had a serious expression about her face. Apparently she had not been told yet of Tenzou's whereabouts. Oashisu was known to many as the angry black haired woman who would snap your head off before even saying hello. Why Tenzou had so completely fallen in love with Oashisu was beyond anyone especially Hinata. "Hinata-chan, why have I been brought here? Why is everyone scrambling around?" She demanded

Hinata hesitated, but finally spoke up. "Oashisu-chan... Tenzou-senpai... His team was attacked by Kage ninja. Two of his students were killed, the other is here... Tenzou is in critical condition... His legs are broken, and his lung has collapsed... I don't.. I don't think he is going to make it... He said that he loves you very much."

A look of sternness remained on Oashisu's face for nearly a minute, finally the situation dawning on her suddenly, Oashisu's face went to horror, and then tears began to cascade freely, and as she grabbed onto Hinata in disbelief her knees gave out on her, the Suna ninja falling to her knees, a look of shock still laid out on her face. "I can't believe it... The last thing I had told him before he left was that I was sure he would mess up and die... I was joking just like I always do... How could this happen?" Hinata knelt down beside Oashisu, and opened her mouth, but Oashisu cut her off with a howl of sorrow, and buried her head into Hinata's chest, crying. "I can't believe he could die... I never thought it as possible! Why did this have to happen to him? He was such a good man and he didn't deserve this!"

Oashisu's crying went on for an hour or more until her voice went raw, and her nose was entirely stuffed up. Hinata ha since led her to a small room where Oashisu eventually cried herself to sleep on Hinata's leg. This led Hinata to wonder how Chouji was. Had he been targeted? There was no way Chouji, and his team would have been defeated. Still in her mind Hinata feared fr the worst. In moments if the news was given Hinata was sure that she could be in the exact same position as Oashisu. The only difference was that Hinata wasn't sure if she had a knee to cry on if that happened to be the case. "Don't die..." Hinata mumbled

There ya go! Now I know all of you are all "Oh noes! Tenzou!" Still dun worry. I am totally NOT gonna let Tenzou die. He is too cool to die... Besides Jiraiya and Asuma are already dead, and so is Hiashi... That's enough canon characters dead in my fic thank you very much DX

Anyway I spent quite a bit of time on this fic. It is over 8400 words long! That's a new chapter record ^_^

Looking forward to getting the next chapter out!

Yours,

Tankou001