And so the epic showdown begins, but how will the confrontation go down? Who can say, Read and you will know. Chapter 9 was a bit of a hassle to write. I was really conflicted about how effective to make Naruto in this battle. Suffice to say this battle kinda defines the way he will fight for the rest of the story. Hope you enjoy!
(I don't own any part of Naruto)
Chapter 9
They faced each other across the clearing. Naruto's grin matching Jiraiya's. Hinata watched from the sidelines. The man said, "Before we start...I'd like you to know Naruto. The Third told me that you're at a high enough level that I can throw quite a bit at you, so don't think I'll hold back." Naruto growled, "I don't mind sensei."
They Jiraiya lunged forward, far too slow. Naruto dodged to the side, but still came close to being impaled. Jiraiya's hair had hardened and lash around like a giant spiky blade. "Where the hell did that come from?!" Naruto jumped out of range and started making handsigns. Jiraiya didn't recognize the jutsu, but he started to weave a defense just in case. Naruto smiled wider thinking, "Beat this old man!" Then Naruto shouted, "Wind style Super Exploding Wind Shockwave!"
Just before the wall of wind engulfed him he thought, "How the hell can he use that jutsu. It takes way too much chakra to use. Unless the Ninetailed fox's seal has eroded significantly there's no way he could use that technique." The wind rushed in from all directions like heavy weights on his limbs and back. Jiraiya knew that he needed to escape this jutsu soon, but it would take him too long to summon enough chakra to dispel it. Right now he could just barely make out Naruto through the cutting winds. He would need to either exit the air bubble it's self or do enough damage to Naruto that he stopped funneling chakra into the jutsu. Jiraiya took a step forward, preparing to make a dash for Naruto. If the boy knew anything about sharpening the wind around him then he was in trouble. Naruto might turn the entire area into a cutting blender.
Jiraiya gathered his chakra and then sprinted towards Naruto. At that moment the wind disappeared and He was forced to correct his trajectory. Ten feet from Naruto the blond seemed to palm the air between them. And a sonic boom crackled in his eardrums as he was flung backwards. Then Naruto was on top of him. A kunai flash in Jiraiya's vision and he rolled, flinging Naruto away from him. He turned already forming handsigns. He drew in a huge breath and then expelled a fireball that engulfed the entire area where Naruto had been standing
When the flames dissipated there was nothing there. Jiraiya figured he'd used a substitution. The he felt a wind at his back and a fist buried its self in his lower back. An audible crunch could be heard as the vertebra in his back ground together painfully. Jiraiya's kicked out, but caught air. His attacker shouted, "Multy Shadow Clone jutsu!" Jiraiya whipped around as the massive cloud of smoke engulfed everything.
When it dispersed he could see the entire training field, the trees bordering it and most of the visible land in sight was surrounded. Well over a thousand clones seemed to bristle with energy and anticipation. Jiraiya said, "Nice going Naruto, but you don't honestly think that a few hundred clones will take me down?" Most of the clones smiled at that. One of them said, "I wouldn't worry about us." Another one shouted, "Yeah! It's the boss you have to watch out for!" A third one said, "And you've got 1 in 1500 odds of hitting the right one."
Then they charged. Jiraiya was so busy dodging attacks and launching a few of his own that he couldn't even spare the focus to search for the real one. That was until the real Naruto slammed his open palm into his face, sending him spinning through the mass of clones. Jiraiya used his chakra to pull his hair around him in a tight ball as he spun through the clones. Then his hair hardened and tiny hairs shot out like shenbon to skewer dozens if not more of his enemies.
Once the spin had stopped Jiraiya admired his work. Despite taking a painful blow to the face he had wiped out a good eighth of the clones. Now he just need to take out the rest and he could focus on the original, who was probably running very low on chakra by now. Jiraiya let a lazy smile cross his face. He had spotted Naruto, sneaking through the underbrush to the left. He thought, "Found you Naruto, can't hide from a sanin for ever you know."
He exploded into motion, barreling toward Naruto. Caught by surprise, Naruto had no time to dodge the Sage's lightening fast attack. Jiraiya's hand, finger pointing outwards like claws, crashed into Naruto's chest. Jiraiya's thumbnail now firmly imbedded in his solar plexus. The attack was designed to send an opponent's chakra network of line in a single blow. It was very similar to the gentle fist technique, except that you had to be more accurate and...it wasn't so gentle.
Naruto stumbled back and Jiraiya heard the poof of clones vanishing behind him. Jiraiya said, "You did well Naruto but I just shut down your chakra network with that move. You're finished." Naruto looked up. His eyes had gone red and he grinned. Six blows connected with Jiraiya from behind at the same time, hurling him through the air and into Naruto who, obligingly, buried his fist in Jiraiya's gut. The Toad Sage landed on the ground gasping.
Naruto said, "Sorry sensei but I've been training with Neji Hyuuga for the past month and he has been disabling my chakra points every time we fight. These days...my chakra points can be shut off, but they come back on pretty fast." Jiraiya pushed himself to his feet and looked down at Naruto. His eyes had returned to their pristine blue. Jiraiya said, "That shouldn't happen Naruto. Your chakra points aren't like white blood cells and my attacks aren't like a virus. Your chakra points aren't supposed to become more resilient the more they get shut off."
The boy shrugged and asked, "Is this test done cause I'm hungry." Jiraiya went stiff, "Uh...well I don't know where you usually get your..." Naruto smirked and said, "Relax sensei, I already had enough blood for the day. I can eat normal food." Jiraiya sighed and asked, "So where do you go for regular food?" Naruto pumped his fist in the air, "Ichiraku ramen!" That caused a memory to flash across Jiraiya's mind. Of a red haired woman chowing down while her husband looked on in awe. It caused him to smile. He said, "Then lets go. We'll talk about how you did while we eat."
Naruto nodded and they went to Ichiraku, picking Hinata up along the way. Jiraiya rubbing his back inconspicuously.
Jiraiya sat with an audible groan in a chair in the Hokage's office. Kakashi and Akana were in attendance along with Sarutobi. The old man asked, "So Jiraiya. Tell me how it went with Naruto today." Jiraiya leaned back in the chair popping his neck and back. He grimaced. "To tell you the truth he beat the crap out of me in the first round. Then we went to lunch. Mostly because I needed some time to recover. Then we fought three more times. The second match was a draw and I pulled wins for the last two. I'll tell you though, he put up a monster fight even after he was exhausted." Sarutobi leaned forward, "He beat you in a honest fight. You weren't holding back?"
That made Jiraiya shrink a little. He said, "Actually yes. He caught me completely by surprise. I never anticipated he would have such massive reserves of chakra even without the demons help. He was using jutsu that were jonin rank or above as far as chakra requirements go." Kakashi said, "Naruto must have been learning from his various sparing partners in the Hyuuga clan. He never had too many jutsu, though the ones he had were versatile... What move in particular surprised you?" Jiraiya scratched his chin thinking about all the jutsu that Naruto used throughout the day's fighting. He said, "I think the two that surprised me most were both wind release. He's obviously been training hard with his wind element.
"Anyway the two jutsu that really shocked me were "Wind style Super Exploding Wind Shockwave"...and the "Air Palm"." Kakashi's eye was wide. He turned to the Third asking, "Where could Naruto have learned that first one. That's a Kage level technique...I know Naruto had colossal amounts of chakra but..." Sarutoi said, "I don't know where he learned that one. It's not a well known move for those who haven't been to the Sand Village. The second KazeKage invented the technique. It is extremely versatile and when used properly can exhibit the effects of three or four different elements. It can crush, slice, or suffocate an enemy. And masters of the technique can even drain chakra from opponents trapped within."
Kakashi turned back to Jiraiya, "Did Naruto tell you where he learned it?" Jiraiya shook his head then said, "But I figure he learned the second one from Neji Hyuuga. It seems that they spar nearly every day." Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Neji and Naruto sparring. I didn't think those two would ever get along enough to do that, but I suppose it probably started out as them just fighting over something."
Sarutobi asked, "Tell me Jiraiya what do you think of Naruto in other respects. Did he seem emotionally stable to you?" Before he could answer Akana asked, "Did anything strange happen that you saw. Anything at all. Naruto gets sever mood swings that sometimes are a trigger for his thirst." Jiraiya said, "Sure plenty of things seemed strange. There was this one time near the end of out last match. I'd just smacked Naruto's head in the ground and his head must have caught a rock because he came up bleeding like a fountain."
Sarutoi, Akana, and Kakashi listened raptly as Jiraiya spoke. "We were about to go back at it when the Hyuuga girl, Hinata comes running up...She was with us the whole time by the way. And she bends down to clean the blood of Naruto's face. I'm not completely sure but its seemed to me that they're a couple. I mention it as strange because everyone tells me that Naruto is a loner with only a very few friends. but also...Naruto had this look on his face. I can't really describe it."
Kakashi nodded saying, "Hinata has been infatuated with Naruto for as long as anyone can really remember. She probably had a crush on him when they were little kids at academy. Anyway, They started to get closer about the time that Naruto became a genin under me. And about a month after he was bitten they were indisputably together. About the only person close to them who doesn't know is Hinata's father. However no one will ever mention it to him because they like Naruto and Hinata as a couple." Akana nodded, "They are so very cute together... but more to the point did you see anything else worth mentioning?" Jiraiya nodded and began again...
Sakura, Hinata, and Tenten, along with Ino relaxed in the village hot springs after their respective days. Hinata dozed in the corner of the hot spring. Her hair was parted down her from in the water. Usually she tied it up but it was too much of a hassle for her today. She smiled to herself, dreaming of Naruto...or cinnamon buns... no defiantly Naruto.
Ino spoke from her left, "So...Hinata how is Naruto doing. We don't see him too often these days. Hinata nodded slowly, still lost in thought. Her lack of response alerted Ino to possible gossip. She inquired further, "Come on Hinata, Tell me...I mean it's not like you have anything that you would want to hide right?" Hinata opened her eyes and looked across at Ino. And with a straight face said, "No...of course not." Ino nodded, still suspicious of Hinata's lethargy, "So Naruto hasn't been uh...wearing you out?"
Hinata closed her eyes tiredly, "Yes...a little. Naruto tires me out...sometimes." She yawned, "Just watching him makes me want to go back to bed and sleep." Sakura raised her eyebrows and asked, "And what was Naruto doing today that was so exhausting to watch?" Hinata mumbled, "Oh...he was training all day with Jiraiya the Toad sage...one of the three sanin or something...like..that."
That peaked her friends interest. Tenten asked, "Wait! Naruto is training with one of the legendary sanin?!" Hinata nodded. Sakura said, "That's pretty amazing considering it's Naruto." Ino agreed, "Yeah never expected him to get some one on one with a Hokage level shinobi. By the way Hinata...what was this Jiraiya guy like?"
The dark haired Hyuuga said, "Jiraiya sensei? He seemed ok...but Naruto made him look stupid when they first met...you know...pulling a prank on him." Sakura and Ino both face-palmed. Ino said, "Aw come on Naruto...When will he learn. You don't prank people like that!" Hinata rubbed between her shoulder blades. Her skin itched at the base of her neck. Her mind switched to daydream mode. She imagined that Naruto was calling her...like his voice was inside her head.
Sakura's voice cut into her thoughts like a dull knife, "Hinata...hello...Earth to Hinata!" She looked up and the itch between her shoulders intensified. She asked, "What is it Sakura?" The pinket sighed in exasperation. "I asked how Naruto did against Jiraiya." Her lips formed an O and she blushed in slight embarrassment. "Oh that...He did very good, especially with the first fight...I'm not sure if Naruto would have been able to beat him in a real fight though..." Tenten and Ino both gasped in surprise, "What! Naruto managed to beat him in an actual fight!?" Tenten's jaw worked and Ino eyes were bugged out. Hinata nodded slowly, "But he lost the last two matches. Jiraiya was really good at spotting him even with all his clones."
Sakura said, "I figured that he could probably give anyone a run for their money at first, but an experienced fighter like one of the sanin isn't going to be fooled by Naruto for long." The other girls nodded their own agreement.
After that the subject shifted to how everyone else's days went. Hinata's hand constantly returned to scratching at the bothersome spot at the base of her neck. It was driving her crazy. Eventually she said, "Um...sorry to interrupt, but could one of you scratch my back...it's itching like mad..." Ino nodded and waded through the water till she came to Hinata, who turned around. Ino gasped, "Hinata!? When did you get a tattoo?" She thought, "Tattoo...? Wait...! That must be what Naruto was telling me about...what do I tell them?"
Sakura and Tenten moved through the water to examine her back. She tried to cover it up. "I completely forgot about it...oh no...I can't tell them how I got it but they'll want to know..." Tenten said, "That's really cool Hinata, who did that?!" Hinata said it before she could stop herself , "Um...Naruto kun..." "Damn...why did I just say that...oh Naruto kun...please forgive me..."
Ino's jaw dropped, "Wow! Naruto did that?! I never knew he was an artist." Sakura shook her head in wonder, "He never ceases to amaze me." Tenten asked, "So does it symbolize anything? I mean is it like a..."
Hinata said, "It's nothing really! Naruto just did it ok...it doesn't mean anything to you." Ino smiled, "Oh...so it is something special between you and Naruto huh? Well...that's interesting." In response to that Hinata turned around to hide her mark. Her cheeks were bright red now. She thought, "Naruto...I wish you were here so we could leave...you could think of something to tell them...I'm no good at lying."
Ino asked, "So what does it...commemorate? First kiss or something better?" Hinata's eyes bugged out and her neck started to turn red as well. Sakura hissed at Ino, "Stop it already Ino, She doesn't need you badgering her about it!" Tenten giggled but stopped as a loud voice called out, "HEY HINATA...!"
Everyone froze. It was obviously Naruto's voice. Ino and the others watched as Hinata bolted out of the hot spring. There was a flurry of movement in the dressing room and then hushed voices. Ino and Sakura nodded to each other and the three girls crept to the wall to listen in.
Hinata hugged him tightly. She said, "Naruto kun...How did you know I was here?" He nuzzled her saying, "Don't you remember Hinata chan, I can smell you across the village. Anyway that's not the reason I came. I had this nagging feeling like you needed help." Hinata nodded quickly, "I did...Naruto kun...Ino and Sakura and Tenten saw the mark...they wanted to know about it." Naruto shrugged, "Just tell them that it's a tattoo. Nothing that isn't sort of true." She said, "I did tell them that, but I accidently said that...you were the one who did it." She looked down resting her head on his chest.
"I don't see what the problem is, but...anyway if you're done in the hot spring why don't we go back to the house?" She smiled, "Ok Naruto kun... but could you scratch my back..It's driving me crazy." He grinned, "Sure."
She turned around and he pushed a hand under her jacket. Her skin was still moist and hot. He pulled her in close to him and he rubbed over where he knew the mark to be. Hinata let out a near silent moan and her body relaxed. Naruto smelled her hair, then moved to nibbled at her ear. He asked, "That better Hinata?" She sighed out, "Yes... thanks Naruto kun..." He nodded and took her by the hand, leading her back towards the Hyuuga compound.
Back inside the hot spring Sakura whistled, "Wow...Did you two hear the same thing?" Ino nodded silent. Tenten said, "I would swear I heard her moan. . . ." Sakura asked, "You heard it too? Jeeze..when did Naruto become such a..." She trailed off without finishing. Tenten thought out loud, "Should we tell anyone?"
Now I'm just going to be cautious here and give an explanation to the "mark" on Hinata. For those of you who are twilight fans... and I'm not saying it's a bad thing...(even though it is)...anyway. Vampires are renowned for their seduction skills. It's natural. Vampires have an "aura" of power about them. And to a certain extent their mood and desires can affect people around them like super powered perfume. As for the mark, Vampires are also known for their thralls, AKA servants, slaves, mistresses, ect... Most normal people are going to react to a vampire exactly how the vamp wants them to. The "brand" is Naruto's mark, basically making Hinata his servant/mistress.
I know that I'll get grief if I don't explain that Naruto is still Naruto. Being a vampire won't change his world view overnight and besides he as stubborn as a mule...or a pack of mules...(do mules come in packs? are they predatory? who knows?) He does not see Hinata as a servant and he likely never will. He's too kind hearted to treat anyone like that and his sense of injustice is too strong to see anyone as his slave.
remember to review and questions are always welcome!
