First off, I just want to thank all you people for sednign in so many reviews, I'm new at this and so wasn't expecting such a great reaction.
I especially want to thank Genesis D. Rose for pointing out the errors in the first few chapters, and for sending me my first review.
Now, without further ado, let the match's continue!
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Chapter eleven.
'God damn…' Naruto wondered in awe, 'I almost felt my muscles snap along with Lee's…but there's no doubt that those moves will come in handy.'
He smirked, 'With my healing factor, a few torn muscles are the least of my worries.'
The sheer impact of Lee's final move had torn the stadium floor to ribbons, but Gaara had managed to cushion his fall with that damnable sand again.
Naruto winced as he heard Lee's screams of pain, leaping into the ring scant seconds after the youth was disqualified, his hands already begining the seasls for the Shinrei Shujutsu.
Gaara eyed the blonde cautiously, like a wild animal.
'Uzumaki...Naruto...' he growled, feeling Shukaku shiver at the closeness of the blonde leaf genin.
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'At least I was able to heal his muscles…but removing those splinters from his spinal column is a task for a specialist.'
Naruto sighed, if he hadn't seen it, he never would have believed that the human body could go so far.
'Too bad Aniki never saw that.' He growled, rubbing his stomach.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn, into a full body hug from Gai.
"Thank you for your assistance! Your youthful passion has no doubt saved Lee's life!" The Taijutsu specialist cried, fountain like tears streaming down his face.
'Okay, that just sounded wrong.' Naruto muttered, sweat-dropping.
"It was that or watch a comrade die…and I promised him we'd fight over who pummels Neji."
Naturally, this sent Gai into one of his teary eyed rambles about the flames of youth, which the blonde ignored as he walked back to his own sensei.
"Wake me when the last match is over." He said to Sasuke, "And tell Shikamaru to get an icepack ready for his friend…that sound guy looks smarter than his team-mates."
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The matches ended, and the old man finally called the assorted genin to the stands.
Staring at the paper in his hands Naruto frowned.
"Drawing lots?" he wondered, "What does this prove?"
Kuwabara silently agreed.
'This hasn't been infused with Chakra in any way…so it's not like Genkai-sensei's tests…'
"I will now announce the fighting line up for the finals." Sarutobi called out.
Everyone stared at him in various degrees of shock.
"What the?! The finals are simply fighting?!" Naruto yelled out.
"Alright!" Yusuke yelled, leaping in the air, Kuwabara beside him.
"One-on-one, that's a true man's way to fight!" Kuwabara shouted, clenching his fist.
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'That lanky kid's almost like Gai.' Kakashi thought; sweat dropping, whilst the taijutsu specialist's eyes were aflame, spouting more flames of youth comments.
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"The order of the fights will be as follows." Ibiki called out, holding out a piece of paper.
Chunin Exam Finals.
Round 1: Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuuga Neji.
Round 2: Gaara versus Urameshi Yusuke.
Round 3: Temari versus Jaganshi Hiei.
Round 4: Uchiha Sasuke versus Kuwabara Kazuma.
Round 5: Minamino Kurama versus Nara Shikamaru.
Round 6: Aburame Shino versus Dosu Kinuta.
Naruto eyed Sasuke and frowned, nodding at the layout.
"Doesn't seem fair on you and the big guy…even if you win, you enter the next round straight off the bat."
Sasuke snorted, "Life's never fair in any case."
"You now have a Month's period of rest and training," Sarutobi called out.
"Use this time to familiarise yourself with your opponents' strengths and weaknesses."
Shikamaru raised his hand, interested despite himself.
"You said this is a tournament, so there can only be one winner, right?" he frowned, "Does that mean only one of us can become a Chunin?"
The Hokage shook his head, smiling around his pipe.
"No, for the finals you'll be observed by many judges, including myself and the Kazekage, as well as the rulers and shinobi leaders of the various countries that may consider your village for jobs."
He exhaled pipe smoke, "Based on your performance, those judges will assign you an overall value, and the rank of Chunin is thus awarded."
Temari interrupted, "Are you saying it's possible that all of us could become Chunin?"
Kurama nodded, "By that logic, he's also saying that none of us will become Chunin."
Sarutobi smirked around his pipe, "Well then, good work all! You're dismissed until a month from now."
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Naruto frowned in thought, 'My second rounds either with the ghoul from sand or that reinin…I better do as much research on both as I can.'
He frowned at the red headed Sand-nin, shivering slightly.
'Especially on what the hell that sand is…it's no ordinary jutsu…'
He looked at Sasuke, smirking.
"You better find Kakashi sensei to get back into shape…I'm going to see if I can get my chakra control back to normal."
The Uchiha nodded, and then held out his fist, "See you in the finals?"
Naruto blinked, then grinned, knocking the Uchiha's fist with his own.
"See you at the winners stand!"
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Naruto quickly left the tower; heading to the onsen area to practice water walking. However, he ran into obstacles as he tried gathering Chakra into the soles of his feet.
'No good…no control…'the blonbde muttered, feeling the chakra surge erratically, he tried again, walking onto the scalding hot water, only to plunge into it.
"FUCK THAT'S HOT!!!!"
Naruto Scrambled out of the water almost as quickly as he fell in, skin the colour of a boiled lobster.
"Damn that snake perv!" the blonde hissed, teeth clenched, "If I ever get muy hands on him again I'll!"
Muffled giggling caught his attention, causing him to look in the direction of the women's onsen.
A large man with a veritable mane of white hair was peeping through the wooden wall, shamelessly giggling like the pervert he was.
'God-damn it…why does every adult I bump into turn out to be a weirdo or pervert…'
Naruto glared at the old man, '…though this guy seems to be both…'
Walking up behind the old letch, Naruto quietly drew in as much air as he could, before letting it all out, right in the man's ear.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING SPYING ON THE WOMEN'S BATH YOU PERVERT?!?!?!"
The man leaped ten feet itno the air and fell into the onsen, amidst shrieks from the tennants, before exiting again, rather violently, through the wall.
To this day, there is a large, Jiraiya shaped dent in the wall opposite the onsen.
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Feeling a little sorry for the letch, Naruto dragged him out of the wall and offered to buy him a drink. Of course, the man was sceptical, but after using a Henge to transform into the Hokage, and purchasing a bottle of primo sake, the old man was praising him as a genius.
"So, what brings you to Konoha?" Naruto asked, watching the old guy chug away, "Come to think of it…who the heck are you?"
"Good Question!" The man yelled, going into a lengthy dance routine atop a massive toad that hap apparently appeared out of nowhere.
"I am the most holy Sennin of the mount Myoboku toads, otherwise known as the Gama-Sennin, pleased to meat ya!"
Naruto sweatdropped, eyeing the ridiculous pose with a deadpan expression on his face.
'So this is one of the so called Sannin…Jiraiya the Toad summoner…are they all freaks like this?'
"Seriously though," he muttered, shaking himself, "what brings you to Konoha?"
Jiraiya snorted, dismissing his summoned companion and began searching through his robes.
"I'm a writer…I write Novels…"
He whipped something out, "Like this one!"
Naruto stared flabbergasted at the VERY familiar orange cover of Icha-Icha Paradise, Authors special edition.
'Ah, speak of the devil…I swore I'd kill this guy…'
He looked the Sennin up and down, analytically.
'From the looks of it…an Oroike no jutsu and a few well placed explosive tags would do it.'
"So what about you, what are you up to kid?" Jiraiya asked.
"Training for the Chunin exams, or I would if some freaky snake perv hadn't done something to my ability to mould chakra." Naruto muttered.
Jiraiya frowned, interested.
'Snake-perv? What's Orochimaru doing here?'
He smirked, 'And I wonder what he'd say if someone other than me called him that.'
Shaking himself, the toad summoner frowned, "What exactly did he do?"
Naruto shrugged, "Slammed his hand into my gut…I haven't been able to channel chakra normally since then…"
He sighed, eyes closed, "And my first opponent is a Hyuuga genius."
Jiraiya winced in sympathy, then his face set into a serious expression.
"Let me see where he hit you."
Naruto felt an eyebrow rise, before complying with the Sanin's request, lifting his shirt up to reveal the altered seal.
Jiraiya squated down to get a better look, before snorting in amusement.
'This is just what I'd expect from Orochimaru, the seal's strong, but coarse…a simple matter to fix.'
"Hold still kid, I'm gonna remove it for ya."
'And get revenge for blowing my cover in the process.' the Sennin snickered mentally, ramming his fingers into the boy's gut.
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Naruto grumbled, rubbing his stomach in order to ease the pain.
'That hurt almost as much as when the seal was put on in the first place!' he growled, but he began to feel his old chakra abilities return steadily, and a familiar presence beginning to return to the back of his heead, so he decided to cut the lech a break...this time
"What can I do to repay you?" he asked the stuck up pervert.
Now Jiraiya wasn't the type to milk a situation, (Yeah right!), but he wasn't one to turn down an offer like that.
"Bring me some inspiration for my novels," he said smugly, " after all, you DID ruin my data gathering earlier."
Jiraiya mentally gave himself a pat on the back, knowing that the ladies were less inclined to attack his noble person if they thought he was merely trying to talk to them.
He failed to notice the growing look of sadistic glee that crossed the genin's face.
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One grand slam Harem no jutsu later, and the corrupt Sennin had to be carted off to the hospital due to suffering a haemorrhage inducing nose bleed that sent him crashing into a nearby wall.
"That boy..." the man muttered, as he was carted itno the emergency room, "That boy...is a FREAKING GENIUS!"
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"Now that that's over with, I better get into some proper training." Naruto muttered, having just left the old pervert in the care of the hospital staff.
Still…you could have asked him to train you…he isn't one of the Sannin for nothing. Kyuubi reasoned.
Naruto snorted, I spend enough time in the company of a pervert without training under a self-claimed super-pervert.
WELL! Don't I feel loved!
Naruto sighed, smiling softly.
God, I missed you Aniki.
Naruto felt the ancient Kitsune's warm smile.
And I you, kit, now on to more important matters; I see you unlocked the third stage and copied some impressive Taijutsu moves.
Naruto nodded, frowning slightly.
But it won't do me any good without the proper training.
Kyuubi nodded, tails wrapped around his forepaws.
You should find a Taijutsu specialist, preferably the one that trained that kid, and ask for his assistance.
The Youko smirked, causing the blonde to shiver, only a Youko could poor so much innuendo into a facial expression.
By the way…did you check on that girl?
Naruto frowned, not wanting to be baited. Why?
Kyuubi chuckled, amusement in his voice.
You risked everything by using that new technique on her…raising the dead is no small task.
Naruto swore he could see the kitsune's leering smile on the back of his eyes.
Seems my ototo has finally found a female he likes.
Naruto scowled and ignored the snickers of his aniki, muttering comments about being surrounded by perverts.
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Maito Gai, resident Taijutsu specialist and possessor of the bushiest eyebrows in existence, was currently at his beloved student's bedside.
The doctors said that the boy's muscles had recovered, but the broken bone fragments near his spine were impossible to remove with the staff at hand, if Kakashi's blonde student hadn't stepped in at that instant, the damage would have been much worse.
At that precise moment, said child walked through the doors, a fruits basket in hand.
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"How is he?" Naruto asked, setting the basket near the boy's bedside, Gai sighed.
"He'll live, but the doctors say he'll probably be out of it for a week…"
The beast looked at his hands, "If only Tsunade-sama were here, she'd have Lee on his feet in a second!"
Naruto nodded, having heard of the legendary healer of Konoha, letting Gai rant on for a matter of minutes, before politely coughing.
"I have a request to ask of you, Gai sensei."
Gai looked at the blonde, "What is it? Ask what you will of Konoha's Blue beast!"
Naruto looked at Lee, wondering hoiw to best phrase this in Gai-ese, and decided to say it as it was.
"Lee and I promised to fight over who fought Neji in the finals…but since he's in this condition…it's like I won by default."
He clenched his fist, "Lee wanted to prove himself to everyone by beating the so called genius he was teamed with…and I just wanted revenge for what Neji did to Hinata…"
Turning to Gai, the Taijutsu specialist was surprised when his eternal rival's pupil suddenly bowed low to him, head on the ground.
"For Lee...and for Hinata…please…I need you to help me train."
Gai stared, as the boy remained there, head on the floor, before bursting into one of his crying spiels about the flames of youth.
"OH! Of Course I will aide you! Together, we shall reawaken the flames of Lee's Youth!"
Naruto nodded, rising to his feet, coughing again to gain the man's attention, lest he go on for the rest of the day.
"I also want Lee to be there, as I prove to Neji that hard work can defeat natural genius."
Gai was so moved by this that he wrapped Naruto in a bone-breaking hug, until several orderlies managed to free the blonde jinchuuriki using a combination of lube, a crowbar and anesthetics.
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When Rock Lee awoke, it was to find a fruits basket on his bedside chair, and a scroll.
'Who...is this from?' the teen wondered, sitting up slowly to avoid irritating his injuries, seeing that his name was on the scroll.
Opening the seal and spreading with his good hand, he read the contents of the scroll with widening eyes.
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Lee, I'm sorry that we couldn't fight over who fight's Neji in the finals…but I swear, once you've recovered, you and I will definitely fight, one on one, in a man's fight.
You and I are alike, and so, I swear on my Hitai-ate, that I shall fight to prove that anyone can defeat a genius, with hard work and perseverance.
I give you my word as a Konoha shinobi, as your comrade, and your friend.
Uzumaki Naruto.
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Underneath Naruto's name was a doodle of him doing the nice guy pose, grinning, right thumb raised. Lee's eyes watered as he finished the letter.
'Arigatou…Naruto-kun.'
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Before leaving to meet with Gai, Naruto decided to check in on Hinata as well.
When he arrived, he noticed that a tall, black haired man was with her, as well as a little girl.
'Probably her Father and sister.' Naruto reasoned, before politely knocking on the door.
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Hyuuga Hiashi was surprised as he saw the Kyuubi vessel walk through the door.
'So this is how he turned out…Arashi was definitely his parent.'
He nodded and gestured for the boy to come in.
Naruto bowed to the man, having been told countless times how prominent the Hyuuga clan was by Iruka, decidng to make a good first impression in case he had to work with members of the familly on missions.
"Hyuuga-san, how is Hinata-san doing?"
Hiashi nodded and looked at his eldest daughter, who had turned beet red at the boy's appearance, to his mild amusement.
"She's fine, though I hear you're partly responsible for that?" he asked, eyeing the teen carefully.
Naruto nodded, used to covering his tracks.
"I used a medical Jutsu I was developing for field uses, I never thought I'd have to use it until after the finals though."
Hiashi nodded, though internally the man was smirking.
'Just like his father, thinking up new jutsus on the fly.'
"Regardless," face and voice composed, "you have my thanks."
Naruto nodded again, before looking between the parent and child.
"Forgive me if I interrupted anything, I only came to see if Hinata was okay."
He turned to go, before an almost silent voice called out to him.
"Na-Naruto-kun…"
Naruto turned to the shy girl, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes?"
Hinata flushed scarlet, then looked at her fingers, mortified at having spoken out.
"Ano…nothing…"
Naruto sighed, moving up to her and patting her on the head, smiling.
"Rest up, you'll need to recover fast if you want to see me and Neji fight."
Hinata flushed again at the feeling of his hand on her head, before nodding.
Naruto ruffled her heair slightly, intrigued at the silkiness of it, before turning to Hiashi.
"Excuse me again, Hyuuga-san." He said, before excusing himself with a bow.
Hiashi looked from his flushed daughter to the departing vessel and smirked inwardly.
'Perhaps some good will come of this after all.'
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Iruka was very surprised when he came home and found a scroll on the table, saying that his ward would be training under Maito Gai, and that he shouldn't worry.
Unfortunately for the Chunin, having heard rumours about Maito Gai from a variety of sources, this did not put him at ease.
'He better not come back wearing spandex, or with that awful bowl-cut!'
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Kuwabara was craving Ramen, and was currently looking for some stand he'd heard of called Ichiraku. The place was the only stand in town with the Hokage's personal seal of approval, and the lanky Reinin wanted to test whether it lived up to its reputation.
'Man...this palce is a maze!' the teen muttered.
'Nowhere near as big as home...but there're so many freakin' alleys and turns it makes you feel like yer walkin in circles!'
At that minute there was a scream off to the right. A Girl's scream.
'That can't be good.' Kuwabara muttered, leaping up the walls in the direction of the noise.
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"You guys sell that brat ramen here, don't'cha?!"
A group of Villagers had surrounded Ayame and old man Ichiraku, holding various implements, ranging from blunt to jagged.
"We told ya not ta serve him!" the riong leader spat, pointing a makeshift club at the chef and his daughter.
"Whoever I serve in my store is none of your business!" Ichiraku spat, holding Ayame. "And just what is wrong with serving someone who appreciates my cooking?!"
"The brat's a monster! Screw the Hokage's Law! If we don't serve him, then maybe he'll just die!"
Ichiraku spat at the man's feet, not threatened in the slightest.
"Just who's the monster here? That boy, who never laid a finger on you, or you wolves in human skin?!"
The man's reply was to lunge at the pair, club raised to strike.
A second later, he was flying backwards through the air, a fist shaped dent in his face, teeth flying in all directions.
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Kuwabara lowered his fist and turned to view the crowd, "Wanna try that again? Ya freaking cowards!"
Another dashed forwards, waving a steel pipe at the teen ony to have the weapon yanked out of his grip,and for his stomach to cave in under the impact of a punch that could fell a cart horse.
Teuchi and Ayame watched in bizzare fascination as the carnage ewent on right before their eyes.
If such things had existed in the shinobi nations, you could compare the scene to a car crash: you just COULDN'T look away.
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Five minutes and several rather painful beatings later, and Kuwabara was stuffing away his eleventh ramen bowl.
"Sorry to get you involved like that." Teuchi said, tossing another batch of noodles, whilst Ayame stirred the soup.
Kuwabara waved his free hand dismissively, slurping up the remains of the broth.
"Nah, back where I come from, we don't take lightly to cowards who gang up on others."
Ayame looked at the teens Hitai-ate, interested at the character for 'spirit.'
"Are you from a hidden village?" she asked, pokitely.
Kuwabara nodded, "Reigakure, hidden in spirit."
Teuchi's eyebrows rose, intriuged, I overheard some villagers talking about you guys...you're in the chunin exams...right?
Kuwabara chuckled, scratching the back of his head, before his face grew serious.
"By the way, what was that all about?"
He gestured with his chopsticks at the pile of pummeled deadbeats just outside the door.
"Something tells me they weren't complaining about the staff."
Ayame sighed, shaking her head.
"Naruto-kun, he's always being put down by everyone in the village, we're probably the only stores that actually serve him willingly."
Teuchi's face grew fgrim as he shook his head, "Bastards, calling a child as pleasant as Naruto a monster...why if it weren't for the Sandaime's law I'd!"
Kuwabara nodded, sensing that he may have inadvertantly found a lead.
Deciding to milk this source for as much as his wallet could afford, the lanky teen smiled at Ayame, ordering another bowl of Ramen.
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Genkai scowled as the door to their apartment closed behind Kuwabara.
"You're late." She muttered, putting her book away, frowning at the teen.
The lanky teen winced at the look and rubbed his head, he HAD spent a biut longer at the ramen stand than he'd intended, but the food had been that good.
"Sorry, sensei, but I may have found somethin'."
Genkai raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
Kuwabara wasn't the brightest bulb around, but even in their native village of Reigakure he was known to have the devil's own luck, if there was one thing Genkai had come to learn, it was that if Kuwabara thought he'd found something, it would most likely turn out to be the gold at the end of the rainbow.
"What did you learn?" the elderly jounin asked, sitting back in her chair. Kuwabara nodded.
"The kid's name's Uzumaki Naruto; everyone in town either fears him or hates him, 'cept for a select few."
He stretched, "Turns out he was born on the night of the Kyuubi attack, and there's a whole bunch of taboos concerning him."
Genkai raised an eyebrow, "Taboos?"
Kuwabara's face grew sour, as if he'd just swallowed an onion smoothie, topped with lemon.
"Things like, despite official laws against harming him, not allowing him into stores, selling him the worst food and equipment…"
The teen snorted, "I could go on, but then I'd really need to hit something, preferably some of the villagers around here."
Genkai sighed, understanding the teens sentiment.
'That rat Yondaime…why on earth did he seal Kyuubi into a child…'
Kuwabara snorted, "If you'll excuse me sensei, I'm hittin' th' sack."
Genkai nodded, and was about to go back to reading her book, but was surprised when the teen placed a delivery box in front of her.
"It's a peace offering to apologise for being late."
Genkai eyed the deliverly box with mild interest.
"Ichiraku ramen?" she muttered, looking up at the teen, Kuwabara nodded.
"The place is supposed to have the best Ramen in town," he smirked, "and they sure as hell live up to it!"
Genkai chuckled and waved the boy off to bed, snapping the chopsticks apart and digging in.
'That boy really does have a lot of surprises.'
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Naruto panted, straining against the sheer magnitude of the weight he was carrying, before he lost his footing and fell face first into the ground.
'And Lee carried this stuff around all day?!' he wondered, 'I have a better appreciation for the guy now.'
Pulling himself to his feet again, Naruto proceeded with Gai's special training regimen: 500 laps around Konoha, followed by 1000 sit-ups, 1500 squats, 2000 punches, and 2500 kicks, all before dawn.
'I'll do this…for Lee…and for Hinata.'
I thought you hated everyone in this village? Kyuubi said humorously.
Naruto snorted, Everyone but my special people…though I'll admit, I never expected them to go beyond four people.
So tell me, kit... The ancient fox said, oddly serious.
Who exactly is it you have deemed worthy of protection?
Naruto, not breaking his pace, thought back over everything that had happened, and everyone he knew.
The Hokage: his silent benefactor since birth.
Iruka: His surrogate brother.
Old man Ichiraku and Ayame: The only two people kind to him in the whole village.
Sasuke: His teammate and first friend.
Kakashi: His perverted Mentor.
Zabuza: A cool, aloof, yet loyal friend.
Haku: So much like him it almost hurt.
Konohamaru and his friends: His loyal 'subordinates', and self claimed fans.
Lee: Someone else who got where he is through sheer determination.
Hinata…
Naruto frowned, visualising the poor girl being thrashed by her so called 'protector', and her own cousin no less!
Neji will pay…I swore on it!
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Gai was shocked when Naruto not only finished the training course, a good hour before dawn, but asked the Taijutsu specialist if he could double the weights the blonde used.
Needless to say, the fact the teen repeated the request half a day later sent the poor jounin into raptures.
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Hyuuga Hiashi sat in his private study, staring at a picture of his wife as he finished some important documents.
He kept flashing back to what Hinata said as she lay in the hospital, before Naruto arrived.
Flash back
"Are you alright, daughter?" he asked, looking her over with his Byakugan, just to be sure. Hinata nodded, weakly, still tired.
"Hai…Otou-sama."
Hiashi nodded, "I heard you lost to Neji in the preliminaries, don't feel ashamed, he is called the greatest genius in our family for a reason, you know."
Hinata nodded, looking up at the ceiling, causing Hiashi to frown.
"Is something the matter, Hinata?"
The shy heiress shook her head against the pillow, a look of confused contentment on her face.
"When…I blacked out…There was this light…a woman's voice called out."
Closing her eyes and sighing, Hinata smiled softly.
"It was Kaa-sans voice…she kept calling my name…then there was a flash of red, and I was in Naruto-kun's arms…"
The girl flushed at this, looking away from her father and Sister.
Hanabi looked at her sister in confusion.
'Kaa-san?'
End Flash back
Hiashi couldn't help but ponder at this little dilemma, but one thing had become certain; ever since that fight at the tower, Hinata had begun to become a lot more self confident, rarely stuttering unless the blonde genin's name was mentioned.
'As a father, I feel I owe this boy my support in the upcoming exams…'
The man sighed, shaking his head at the irony.
'But as the head of the Hyuuga family, I cannot be seen supporting my nephew's opponent.'
Finishing the last of the documents, Hiashi sighed and stood, moving towards his room.
'I am sorry Arashi…but family must come first, no matter the issue.'
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Well now...isn't this an interesting new wrinkle?!
will Naruto master the Goken-ryu?!
Will Hinata actually find the nerve to exppress her feelings?!
Just what s happening to our beloived Hyuuga heiress?!
And why the heck are all my sentances ending in '?!' ?!
Send your reviews as per the norm to find out!