This story is still going! They all are! I haven't abandoned them or anything like that. The hiatus was caused by several major things happening in real life (see the AN at the end of the previous chapter).
That said, I'm happy to give you a new chapter of my bloodline Naruto challenge story!
Uzumaki Naruto...I was waiting for you.
It was a very weird experience for Naruto. When the blond boy recalled Hinata's advice about meditation, there wasn't much that he expected from his first try, maybe falling asleep after a few minutes of sitting without moving. However, this feeling of peace, the calmness that dominated his normally chaotic mind, it was nothing like Naruto had ever experienced. Slowly opening his blue eyes, the young Genin found himself surrounded by the deepest darkness and silence that any human could ever know. Despite these conditions, there was no fear or anxiety in the boy's heart, just serenity deep inside his soul.
Your will is your power.
Out of nowhere, silver and gold light surrounded Naruto, more of a flame than anything. It curled, danced, and swirled, creating a ring around him. Curiously, he stretched his right arm into this substance, without fear of being hurt. It actually felt very warm, in a pleasant way. Something was guiding him, telling what he had to do. After a few seconds, Naruto finally took his arm out of this mysterious fire, seeing how a silvery glove covered his hand, looking like it was made out of a polished metal. Moving it around a few times, the blond discovered that the ring around him stirred and shifted along with him.
Letting his instincts guide him, Naruto began a simple combination of taijutsu stances. With each strike, the flames would change their shape, growing or shrinking alternately, synchronizing themselves with the boy's movements. As Naruto's forms became more complex, more dynamic, so did the fire around him, in the end engulfing him in a tower of silver and gold, dispersing the surrounding darkness away.
Embrace your legacy.
The young Genin watched, mesmerized, the dancing fire that was all around him. It was so beautiful, so peaceful, and yet it held a frightening power behind it, one that could destroy anything in its path. Thankfully, it needed a trigger to release those destructive capabilities, which caused Naruto to breathe a sigh of relief. When the flaming inferno around him started to close on itself, he wasn't afraid. Something was telling him that this was the power that belonged to his ancestors.
Emotions are the key.
Finally, the flaming tower collapsed on Naruto, and he took it with open arms. Now his whole body was covered in this silver and gold metal, like his hand earlier, and on his face was a fox-shaped mask, the exact same one he had on when he fought Mizuki so long ago. The blond himself didn't feel any different, other than this strange sensation of finding a piece of himself that he didn't even know he was lacking. Along with that, a message was buried deep inside his heart, one that would wait for the right moment to reveal itself, be it in a few days, months, or long years. Then and only then the boy will be ready to face his trials. For now, it will lay dormant, unknown and undetectable to its host, observing his development, waiting for the time when he's ready.
Find your center, and remember...
Naruto opened his eyes in the real world, stiff from sitting in one position for practically the whole night, judging by the brightness of his room from the light of the morning sun. Despite the lack of regular sleep, the boy actually felt quite rested, though he had this strange sensation on his right palm. When Naruto looked at it, to his great surprise, the palm of his hand had a silver spot in the middle, and it slowly disappeared, vaporizing before he could get a better look. Recalling his dream from the previous night, the young Genin wasn't really sure what to think of it. He decided to leave it for later, as he looked at the clock which said that there were only a few minutes left before his team's meeting time. Naruto quickly dressed into his sleeveless black and orange shirt, put on simple black pants, sandals, and tied his forehead protector, then left his apartment.
The next two weeks were rather uneventful for the Uzumaki boy. During that time, his team was sent on a dozen so-called D-rank missions, which in reality were nothing more than the chores of people who were too lazy to do them themselves. On the bright side, however, it was still nice to receive the money you rightfully earned, no matter how insignificant the job was. Also, Kakashi, with his usual tendency to be at least two hours late, made his three Genin go through various team-bonding exercises, as well as giving individual pointers, like having Naruto do some simple chakra control exercises with a leaf, or making Sakura run a few laps around the training ground, and as for Sasuke, the last Uchiha could be seen practicing his family's taijutsu style.
Other than when he was doing these activities, and sometimes even then, Naruto couldn't get his mind off the strange dream he had a few days ago. Several times now, he tried to meditate and recall it, but all he could accomplish was calming down a little and having an unusual feeling in his hands, like someone put them in a block of modeling clay or mud, but whenever the blond opened his eyes, everything looked normal and his hands were unchanged. It frustrated him greatly, especially after so many tries, but there was really nothing he could do about it.
Right now the blond boy was eating a large ramen lunch at Ichiraku, still wondering about the dream and its meaning.
"Something on your mind, Naruto?" A familiar voice brought the preteen blond out of his musings.
"Iruka-sensei! What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, a little surprised, but still happy to see his favorite teacher. "Aren't you supposed to be in the Academy, boring little kids with your lectures?"
"For your information, teachers have free time too. I currently have a two hour break between classes since it's lunch time," Iruka calmly answered, taking note of his favorite prankster's pout for not taking the bait. Years of teaching kids allowed him to develop the patience of a saint, even if the blond boy sitting beside him often managed to get under his skin before graduating. "So, what's on your mind?" The chuunin casually asked while making an order for miso pork ramen.
"What makes you think I'm thinking about anything?" Naruto asked, trying to fake innocence. It didn't work on the veteran teacher.
"I know you Naruto. I've seen the look you always get when you're thinking about something serious." The blond boy smiled dumbly while scratching the back of his head. "Also, your ramen is getting cold, and you never leave it alone that long." Iruka then looked at his former student with caring eyes. "We may not be teacher and student anymore, but now we're comrades, and I'd like to help my fellow Konoha Shinobi out if I can."
Reluctantly, the younger ninja sighed in defeat, as he knew that he couldn't just brush off his former teacher. "Well, do you remember the night when I...'stopped' Mizuki from taking the Scroll of Sealing?" Naruto still had issues talking about his very first kill, not to mention the ugly truth of being the container of the very demon that attacked Konoha the day the blond was born. Thankfully, Iruka sensed his nervousness, and nodded for the boy to continue. Naruto explained the two scrolls he got from the Hokage, one of which was about the hidden bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan, along with the advice concerning how to activate it. He explained how Hinata helped him with his very first attempt at meditating, and the strange dream he had that night. "After that vision, or whatever it was, I've been confused as to what to do next. Whenever I try to meditate the way Hinata told me, I only get blackness in my mind and something sticky in my hands, which disappears just as I open my eyes. How can I use my new abilities if I can't even activate them at will? Do you know other ways of meditating that could help me, Iruka-sensei?"
"Honestly, I'm not really sure what to tell you, Naruto. It appears to me that Hinata showed you the most basic form of meditation, and to tell you the truth, I don't know any other way. I know that the Hyuuga Clan has some advanced techniques for meditation, but what those are, I don't know."
"Hey, maybe I could ask Hinata to show this advanced stuff!" Naruto shouted excitedly, only to be silenced by the chuunin slapping the back of his head. "Itai! What was that for?"
"Don't even think about pressuring Hinata like that. You could cause her some serious trouble with her family, and we wouldn't want that, right?"
"Huh?" Naruto was utterly confused by that statement. "What do you mean, Iruka-sensei?"
"The Hyuuga Clan is very prestigious and powerful, and they take a great pride in their secrets. I've had a few encounters with some of the members of both branches in the past, during missions and such, and most of them think they're better than everybody else," Iruka said calmly. "Not all of them are like that, obviously, but the majority of them are just like I described."
"But Hinata isn't anything like those jerks! Sure, she stutters a lot and turns red all the time, and I guess she's a little weird, but I don't think I've ever seen her being mean or arrogant!" Naruto argued.
"I know that, Naruto! Don't interrupt me!" Iruka was a little annoyed at the blond beside him, but calmed down quickly and returned to his lecture. "Like I said earlier, the Hyuuga are very secretive about their techniques and traditions. And while a good ninja should always be secretive about their jutsu, they take this phrase seriously enough to teach their children about the importance of protecting the family's traditions." Finally, the scarred chuunin looked very sternly at his former student. "What I want you to understand is that should Hinata show the secret techniques of her family, be it their taijutsu or meditation exercises, to an outsider, she would face some very serious consequences from them, especially since she's the oldest daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi, the clan head. That makes her an heiress, and future leader of the clan."
"Wait, so you're saying that Hinata could get into big trouble with her clan if I asked her for help? Even though she's the heiress?"
"Especially because she's the heiress! There are a lot of expectations and pressures she has to face because of this position. How do you think her clan would react if they knew that their future head is giving away such closely guarded secrets to an outsider?" Seeing that Naruto got the point, Iruka's tone became more sincere. "Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you should avoid seeking help from others or push Hinata away because of what I've said, but you must understand that there are some things that she can't tell or show anyone outside of her family. Just don't pressure her about the advanced stuff, and everything should be fine."
"But how will I find a way to activate my Kekkei Genkai if I don't know any advanced meditation methods?" Naruto asked his old teacher, who in turn took a little while to think about it.
"I don't know Naruto," Iruka sighed, frustrated that he couldn't help the boy. However, a thought hit him. "Despite what I said earlier, Hinata could help you, or at least I think she can."
"Really? How?" the blond asked impatiently, making Iruka smile at his enthusiasm.
"Are you aware that the Hyuuga have their own Kekkei Genkai?" After getting a confused look from the boy, Iruka sighed loudly. "This is what you get for not paying any attention during my lectures in the Academy." Naruto only smiled goofily and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, while the chuunin returned to his 'teacher mode'. "All right, I'll tell you, but you better remember what I'll be saying, because if you don't pay any attention, I'll ask Ayame-chan here to not serve you ramen for at least six weeks."
"WHAT?!" Naruto was utterly shocked by this revelation. "You wouldn't do that, Iruka-sensei! And Ayame-neechan and Teuchi-jiisan wouldn't agree to that in a thousand years!"
"Actually Naruto-kun, my dad and I agree with Iruka-san on this," Ayame said in a serious tone, while her father only nodded to the notion. "You really should pay more attention in class, or people will think that you really are stupid."
"You wouldn't do that to your best customer, would you?" Naruto asked with a pleading voice and teary eyes, but the ramen chefs were adamant.
"Sorry Naruto. Best customer or not, you really did neglected your education," Teuchi said calmly. "Besides, wouldn't you like to learn about your new friend?"
Reluctantly, the blond agreed with their opinions. It was true that he didn't pay much attention to the theoretic part of Academy's curriculum, and that the rest of his peers were much smarter than him. The lack of family doesn't excuse one from knowing common knowledge or important facts that are part of the education of a future shinobi. Not to mention that there was ramen at stake! He couldn't let himself be away from the food of the gods for over a month! 'And it would be good to know some more about Hinata,' Naruto thought to himself. "All right. So, what was that stuff about Hinata's family, Iruka-sensei?"
"Like I was saying, the Hyuuga clan has their own Kekkei Genkai, called the Byakugan. You ever noticed how Hinata and any other Hyuuga have no pupils and the same eye color?" The boy nodded, and Iruka continued his lecture. "That is the physical proof of their bloodline limit. How they ended up all having such eyes is still unknown, but it's the subject of this discussion. What's important are the characteristics of the Byakugan."
"Characteristics?" Naruto asked, confused by the difficult word.
"The traits that makes their eyes special. A Hyuuga who activates their Byakugan can see almost three hundred sixty degrees around themselves, enhance their vision to great distances, and even see their enemy's chakra system."
"Whoa! That sounds pretty wicked!" Naruto commented excitedly. "Can Hinata do all that stuff?"
"Ask her the next time you two meet. Now don't interrupt!" Iruka was a little irritated, and the blond boy could only smile sheepishly. "Anyway, that last ability of the Byakugan that I spoke of is what makes the Hyuuga one of the most dangerous opponents when it comes to taijutsu. Their eyes can see the chakra system inside a person, which makes it easier for them to strike it with deadly precision, to either shut down someone's chakra or even destroy their internal organs. No matter how strong a person is, they can't train their internal organs. Despite its name, the Juuken is anything but gentle on the receiving end."
"That really sounds harsh. Isn't there a way to defeat them?"
"Well, there are a few ways to fight a Hyuuga and their bloodline, but the best advice I can give you is this: if you're fighting a Byakugan user, keep outside their range, don't try to parry or block their strikes, just dodge them, and try to attack from a distance whenever you have a chance. While not perfect, this kind of tactic is better than blindly charging in and getting yourself beaten." Iruka finally finished his single bowl of ramen and noticed that Naruto has almost finished his fifth. "So, what are you planning to do for the rest of the day, Naruto?"
Slurping down the last of his noodles, the blond turned to his former sensei with a wide grin on his face. "I'm going to train! And if I find Hinata, then maybe she'll help me in figuring out my dreams and what they have to do with my bloodline!" Naruto placed some money for his meal on the counter before turning to leave the small restaurant. "Thanks for the tips, Iruka-sensei! Later!" the blond shouted as he quickly bolted out of the restaurant.
"I must say, Iruka-san, I never thought you'd be playing matchmaker," Ayame suddenly commented once the blond was out their sight.
"I have no idea what you...All right, I'll admit that I was giving Naruto a little push," the scarred chuunin admitted. "I know how dense he is most of the time, and it'd take him years to finally see that Hinata has a crush on him, if he ever found out in the first place. I don't want to take the poor girl's chance of telling him her true feelings, but she's so shy that it's sometimes painful to watch. Even if nothing comes out of it, there's still a big chance of the two becoming very good friends, something they both truly need."
"Huh, so the village outcast is getting close to the Hyuuga princess?" A female voice suddenly sounded right behind Iruka, making chills run down his spine. "Well, if that isn't an interesting gossip, then I really don't know what is!" Before anyone could react, a woman walked inside the ramen shop. She had violet hair styled in a short, spiky, upward-fanned ponytail. Her clothes consisted of a tan overcoat with a purple inseam, which had a pocket on both sides, complete with a form-fitting mesh body suit that stretches from her neck down to her thighs, dark orange miniskirt, a forehead protector, and a small pendant that looks like a snake fang on a thick cord. Completing her overall appearance was a dango stick in her mouth, along with a predatory smirk on her lips that seemed to be directed towards Iruka for some reason.
"Mi-Mitarashi-san! Wha-What a coincidence!" To say that Umino Iruka was afraid of this woman was like saying that the Hokage Monument was only a mound in the earth...a huge understatement. "Wha-What are you doing here?"
"First of all, don't call me Mitarashi-san, you make me sound old! If anything, call me Anko-chan!" The now identified Mitarashi Anko sat herself in the seat right beside Iruka and wrapped her arm around his neck, bringing his head very close to her chest. "And second, I'm just on a quick break before joining some other Special Jounin in training ground fourteen. Before you ask, sometimes I like to have something other than dango. A rare occurrence, but it happens."
"Training ground fourteen?" Finally, the scarred chuunin freed himself from the constrictor-like hold, but couldn't help his curiosity about the current situation his fellow shinobi mentioned. "That's very close to the borders of the Forest of Death, am I right? Did something happen there?"
"Nothing major, just that a couple of those big tigers managed to find a weak spot in the fence and escaped. Thankfully we were able to find most of them and only two had to be put down. One's still on the loose, though, but we'll get it soon enough." The Special Jounin took the fresh bowl of red bean soup she ordered. "Sometimes those beasts get restless, especially if there is a long pause between the Chuunin Exams, and those won't be happening for a few more months. That one tiger is abnormally clever. It found the weakness in the fence and brought other tigers to break through, and now it's easily escaping our traps." Anko slurped down the rest of her soup, surprising the academy instructor with her ability to talk and eat at the same time. "Because we're forbidden to use lethal force against those monsters unless it's a special case, that cat is almost as bad as Tora the Terror. You might even think they were related."
"Please, don't even joke like that." Iruka grimaced. He was seriously frightened by the mental image of the accursed cat of the Fire Daimyo's wife being the same size as the previously-mentioned monstrous tiger. If anything, it would be a monster that could most likely beat the Kyuubi in terms of spreading fear and panic. His face must have showed these thoughts, because Anko was almost rolling in laughter by just looking at him.
"Anyway, I'll be going now. Duty calls! Bye, Iruka-kun!" Not even a second later, the extravagant woman disappeared in a cloud of smoke and leafs via the Shunshin no Jutsu. Her sudden departure surprised the teacher a little, but before Iruka could even think about doing the same, Ayame presented him a check that included not only his own meal, but Anko's as well.
"This really isn't my day..." The poor and soon-to-be-poorer chuunin wept as he took out his wallet with a very heavy heart, not even finding it in himself to get mad at the ninja that tricked him so cruelly.
"Orya!"
Naruto's scream sounded through the forest as he ran towards the tree before him, all the while Hinata observed her crush's chakra flow through her activated Byakugan. It's already been a few hours since lunch time, when the two Genin started their training session together. Initially, the blond asked the shy clan heiress to use her eyes while he was meditating, per Iruka's advice, but that didn't bring any results. All Hinata could see then was a bright aura surrounding the boy's body, one so thick and intense that it prevented her from finding his chakra system, not to mention any of his tenketsu. While not very proficient with her clan's prized bloodline, Hinata was fairly adept in it, enough to find at least the majority of the chakra points, and was utterly surprised that Naruto had such a defense against the main ability of the Byakugan.
Despite her disappointment at that revelation, Naruto was more than eager to discover his own bloodline limit through other means, and after a few minutes of brain-storming, Hinata shyly suggested some chakra control exercises, one of which the boy was currently learning, climbing trees using chakra to stick your feet to the bark. The Hyuuga already knew that exercise, having been taught during her clan's training, and mastering it by the time she was ten. It was a very basic technique known by practically every ninja alive, so there wasn't any concern about breaking some clan rules.
Naruto managed to climb over eleven feet off the ground before his control slipped and the boy had to descend to the ground. Sweat rolled down his forehead and neck, giving a clear sign that he was getting quite tired.
"N-Naruto-kun, m-maybe we should take a short b-break..." Hinata was probably as exhausted as the blond. It wasn't often that she had her Byakugan active for so long without any rest, and it showed by how heavy her breathing was at the moment. To cool herself off, she even took off her oversized jacket, something that was a rarity because of the blunette's shyness.
"Damn it! I thought I had it that time-ttebayo!" Frustrated by the lack of progress, Naruto walked to where Hinata sat herself on the grass. "Hey, how was my chakra that last time?"
"U-um, it-it was good, but with th-those last t-two steps, you started to p-pour more than ne-necessary." Hinata hated her stuttering and nervousness around the blond boy. Despite them training like this and having spent time together a couple of times, the girl still couldn't find a way to calm her heart around him. Every time they were together, the Hyuuga heiress felt faint most of the time, and she even passed out on a few occasions, something that was a real embarrassment for the young Kunoichi.
"Kuso!" Naruto cursed out loud. "This exercise is really hard for me! I just keep messing up!"
"I-It's alright, Naruto-kun. No-no one expects you to m-master it in a day. W-with time a-and practice, I-I'm sure you'll have it down." Hinata tried to calm the boy down a little, and thought of something that could help her in that task. She took out two bentos and a thermos with tea. "H-here, Naruto-kun, let's e-eat something for now."
Naruto wanted to protest, but just then his stomach growled loudly, making him cringe a little at the sound. "Yeah, we can always train afterwards." He took one bento and started with one of the onigiri (rice balls) that were inside, and before anyone noticed, Naruto was chewing his fourth already. "These are great! Where did you get them, Hinata? Whoever sells them must be really popular, they're fantastic!" At the blond's exclamation and praise, Hinata found herself very flustered, so much that she began choking on her own rice ball. Naruto quickly reacted and gave the poor girl some tea to help her swallow the bite. "You alright Hinata?"
"A-ano *cough* h-hai..." Talking was a little difficult for the Kunoichi, because her throat was hurting and she was still somewhat embarrassed by the things her crush said. Not wanting the little opportunity to pass by, she decided to tell the truth. "I-I didn't buy those onigiri. I m-made them."
"Ehhh? You made them?" Getting a confirming nod from the shy girl, Naruto was truly surprised. Until now, he was convinced that it was impossible to make anything really good in a normal kitchen, unless you're a chef like Teuchi Ichiraku. Hearing that one of his former classmates could prepare something so simple and make it so tasty was quite a surprise. He played a little with an idea... "Ne, Hinata? Can I ask you something?"
"Hai?"
"If I master this tree walking technique by the end of the next week...Will you make ramen for me?" There, he said it. Now the hyperactive Genin was waiting for Hinata's answer, though judging by the way her face grew redder and redder, there was a chance he wouldn't get any answer for a while. "Do we have a deal?" Naruto extended his hand to Hinata, hoping she'd agree to this little bet.
To tell the truth, at that exact moment, Hinata was completely speechless. While she was happy inside that Naruto acknowledged her a little and praised her cooking skills, the shy girl didn't really know what to think of this proposition. Of course she would agree to do it, but to make a bet like that? This kind of thing needed two sides. "A-and w-what i-if you c-can't do it?"
"Hmmm..." Naruto paused to think a little about an equal reward, seeing as that was the only way to keep things fair. "You certainly don't want to try my cooking, unless you like instant ramen. How about I get you your favorite food, Hinata? Is that all right? What is it, by the way?"
"A-ano..." Hinata's face grew hotter again, her normally pale cheeks reddening considerably. To calm her nerves a little she started playing with her fingers a little. "I r-really enjoy c-cinnamon buns..."
"Someone has a little sweet tooth, eh?" The mild teasing only made the young kunoichi's blush intensify. Not wanting his friend to faint yet again because of him, Naruto hurried up. "All right, if I don't get this exercise down perfectly by the end of next week, I'll buy you a dozen cinnamon buns from the best bakery in the village!"
"N-Naruto-kun! You-you don't have to go that far-!"
"HEEELP!"
Hinata's sentence was cut short by a desperate shout, one which source was very close to the place where the two Genin were training. To Naruto, this voice sounded very familiar, and he had very bad feelings about the situation, therefore he quickly got up and ran in the direction he was sure the shout came. Hinata, of course, was right behind him, not wanting to leave the blond's side in case something dangerous was going on, and she was spot on. The two Genin arrived in a small meadow in the middle of the forest. There, backed up to a tree was a small boy, no older than nine, maybe ten, wearing a very long scarf around his neck and a pair of goggles on his forehead. A monstrous tiger, much bigger than a normal tiger should be, looked like it was about to pounce on the boy, until a kunai struck the ground beside its paw.
"Hey furball! Pick on someone your own size!" Naruto shouted, making the tiger focus on him while Hinata stealthily got to Konohamaru. They would've gotten away if the beast didn't renew its interest in the first prey and the new morsel beside the small boy. "Oh, no you don't! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Eight identical blonds rushed towards the massive tiger, trying to bring it down, but the ferocious beast was too strong. With one swing of its oversized paw, all clones, along with the original Naruto, were thrown away, and while the copies just exploded in clouds of smoke, the boy hit a tree with his back so hard it knocked most of the wind out of him, making him almost lose conscious. The tiger leaned over the fallen preteen, ready for the strike that would have guaranteed it a meal of fresh meat if it wasn't for the boy's female companion, who struck the beast's side with her last three kunai. Roaring in pain and rage, the tiger turned towards the small girl, who defiantly stood between it and the younger boy.
"I won't let you hurt them!" Hinata exclaimed with a sudden surge of courage. Despite her meek nature and overwhelming shyness, the sight of Naruto being thrown around like a ragdoll, the quiet sobs of the Sandaime Hokage's grandson behind her, the intensity of the situation, all those factors caused something to snap inside the Hyuuga. She found the strength to overcome her own fear, the adrenaline rush and harsh training from her family also helped, though now Hinata wasn't sure what to do next. The tiger was now focused on her, ready to attack in the blink of an eye. All she could do now was protect the younger boy the best she could, even if it would cost her life.
That never happened. To Hinata's and Konohamaru's utter surprise, the vicious animal was suddenly blasted of the ground and sent flying several yards away by a strong explosion. From the cloud of smoke and dust emerged Naruto, breathing heavily and holding his side. He looked over to Hinata and the Konohamaru, shooting them a big grin despite the pain he felt in his chest and side.
"You guys alright?" Just as the question left the boy's mouth, another roar made them aware that the tiger was still alive, burned, hurt, and mad from the pain that Naruto dared to inflict upon it. 'Damn, that was a direct hit with an explosive tag! How the hell is that oversized cat still standing?!' The blond's thoughts came to halt when the furious beast blindly rushed towards where Hinata and Konohamaru stood, most likely because the shock from the explosion and pain messed with the tiger's senses and it couldn't think straight at the moment. 'I don't have any more tags on me, and my chakra is low from training earlier!'
What do you desire?
'Strength. I want to, no! I need to be stronger!' Naruto didn't have time to wonder what this voice inside his head was, or why was he answering its question. What he did know was that the tiger was getting closer and closer to two of his friends. With all the energy left inside his body, the blond ignored the pain as he stood before Hinata and Konohamaru, his back turned to them, facing the dangerous beast.
Why do you desire it?
Looking back for a brief moment, Naruto saw how scared the small boy was, judging by how tightly he held Hinata, while the shy girl looked both afraid of the threat and worried. Once more, Naruto smiled a bright grin, and then focused his whole attention on the rampaging tiger. His answer to the last question was clear as a day.
"To protect them."
After uttering those words, something inside the blond exploded, and his body was flooded with an unknown power that soothed his pains, repaired the majority of his wounds and replenished some of his strength. No longer did he feel the strong, stabbing pain in his chest, nor did his limbs feel like they were made of lead anymore. Instead, he felt strong and instinctively knew what to do next. As the beast approached them, Naruto thrust both of his arms forward.
Let your emotions guide you, and fight!
"YAAAAAAAAHHHH!" When the monstrous animal leaped at the blond, Naruto's yell released a massive wave of chakra from his palms, making the tiger slam onto a barrier merely two feet from the boy. Before it could shake it off, Naruto took advantage of the temporary confusion and jumped towards the beast. His arms shined for a moment and once the light faded, the blond had two metal gauntlets on his forearms that ended on his fists with something that resembled metal fingerless gloves. More amazing than that, though, was the speed with which Naruto finally got above the massive tiger and struck it.
"GOODNIGHT, YOU BASTARD!" Naruto's metal-clad fist fell upon the animal's oversized head with the force of thunder. In an instant, the beast fell unconscious, while Naruto stood over the fallen body, breathing heavily. He heard Hinata calling him, along with Konohamaru, but for the moment Naruto didn't want to move an inch from that spot.
Naruto thought about the things he'd done today, like learning a new ninja skill from Hinata, eating delicious food made by her, and finally, fighting a monstrous tiger, and awakening his bloodline ability, apparently. What a day...
AN: The ending seems a little rushed, especially the battle scene, but I couldn't find a better way to express some of the key parts of this chapter.
Also, as you may have noticed, I had several ideas for new stories, and two of them were started not so long ago: "Chronicles of the Western Empire" and "Angel's Love & Demon's Heart". Those two will now be on temporary hiatus, as I want to update my older fics, though I may put one chapter for either of them in between the older updates. Don't worry, I have some good ideas that should make it easy enough, though I'm in the middle of some exams, so please understand that I may not have too much time for writing.
There was also the thing about Naruto's bloodline - I had so many ideas that I didn't know which one to choose. I finally made my decision, but the details will be revealed in the next chapter. All I can say now is that Naruto's new abilities will be similar to those of Green Lantern, though not so overwhelming, more about creating weapons and armors from chakra, with addition of a few more perks. Hope you like my idea!
Lastly, to explain my very late updates, the main reasons were exams that I had until half of June, and currently there are some repairs going in my home and I have to help out, not to mention that I'm currently also looking for work. All those elemnets together are making it difficult to focus on writing stories, which is only a hobby to me. I hope you understand.
Stay tuned! Please R&R!