Ch. 4: A Fight for Naruto
The two girls looked up to see Naruto on the roof on Hinata's house. Apparently he had heard the entire conversation but decided to wait to intervene. Naruto jumped down from the roof and went to comfort Sakura by placing his arm around her shoulder. However, Sakura suddenly shrugged off his arm and glared at Naruto. She said, "You are the last person that I want sympathy from, Naruto. You are the reason why I am upset!
Sakura then unexpectedly hit Naruto with a massive kick which threw him into the wall of the compound and rendered him unconscious. Hinata was enraged by Sakura's actions and demanded a fight between them for hurting Naruto. Due to the possibility of property damage, the fight would be held in an open area outside of Konoha. Both kunoichi stood facing each other and analyzing their opponent. Sakura thought, "If I can get one single hit on her, I'll win the match!" Hinata was thinking, "If I can evade or block her attacks while disrupting her chakra, I'll win this match for Naruto!"
Sakura tightened her gloves in preparation and Hinata activated her byakugan. They both rushed toward each other and clashed in an exchange of rapid blows. Knowing Sakura's monstrous strength, Hinata fought defensively by successfully parrying all of her attacks. Sakura knew that if she exposed her chakra system for an instant, then Hinata could disable it with one attack. Sakura was relying on her constant barrage of attacks to keep Hinata on the defensive.
Suddenly Hinata lands an attack using the palm bottom technique and temporarily paralyzes Sakura. Seeing this opportunity, Hinata attempts to disable Sakura's chakra system while the latter cannot evade. However, Sakura is able to break free of the paralysis by adjusting her level of chakra and evades Hinata's attack. Sakura uses a smokescreen bomb to hide her movements from Hinata, who falls back to a new location. The match has taken the combatants away from the open field and into a forest with a nearby river.
Using the terrain to her advantage, Hinata takes shelter in the canopy of a tall tree and activates byakugan to see through the foliage. A sudden crack is heard as the trunk of the tree shatters under the pummeling of Sakura's strength. Hinata falls downward and is hit by Sakura's cherry blossom jutsu. The crater left behind reveals… a block of wood! Sakura was furious that she had been tricked by the substitution jutsu.
The real Hinata appears stealthily behind Sakura and uses the air palm technique to launch her towards the river. Sakura is startled when she sees a shower of water needles coming from the river. She protects herself by covering her vital areas and lands a hit on Hinata who was standing near the river. Hinata collapses in pain from the blow and vanishes in a puff of smoke. Sakura shouted, "Hinata! Where did you learn—Naruto, of course." Hinata answered, "You are right, Sakura. Naruto taught me the shadow clone technique in order to enhance my combat skills." Sakura responded, "I don't care what Naruto has taught you. I am still going to win."
Both kunoichi clashed and exchanged blows to each other. Hinata was constantly shifting her position while defending herself from Sakura. She needed to be careful about not losing her balance on the terrain as she fought. Sakura was worried as she fought hand to hand with Hinata. She thought, "I need to conserve my chakra otherwise Hinata will win. Or I could finish this fight right now!"
Sakura was able to use her medical scalpel to wound Hinata's left leg while Hinata immobilized Sakura's right arm. Despite the pain, both ninja staggered to their feet and charged one last time. Hinata was closing in with her twin lion gentle fist technique and Sakura was using her monstrous strength in her left arm. Suddenly, as they were about to collide, a large cloud of smoke appeared between them- it was Naruto! Naruto was in kyubi mode and shouted, "Both of you stop fighting! I want to talk with you and sort of this whole mess."