A Brother's Return

Ch.11

Speaking: normal.

Thoughts, flashbacks, and notes: italicized

Jutsus, summons, witch language, demons, etc…: bold

Summons's and demon's thoughts: bold italicized

Disclaimer: I do not Naruto. If I did, Guren would've never worked for Orochimaru.

As Cairo and Sarutobi made their plans to take down Orochimaru, the Elders had summoned the civilian council. Danzo took the initiative and said, "I have gathered you here to discuss a certain matchup for the Chūnin Exams. I refuse to let the last loyal Uchiha go against that monster of a child."

A pink haired woman nodded and said, "I have a suggestion, Danzo-sama. Why don't we switch Sasuke-sama and the demon child's matches around? That way, there'll be a chance of us getting rid of the Kyūbi once and for all."

Homura nodded at this and said, "That is an excellent idea, Sayuri-san. If Sarutobi won't let us have it as a weapon, we might as well dispose of it."

Koharu stood up and said, "All in favor of changing the matches?"

Everyone except for one man raised their hands. Sayuri looked at the man and said, "Why would you be against this, Higurashi-san?"

Dustin Higurashi, a man of 37 years old, rose from his seat and said, "I object because you're all a bunch of idiots. I was one of the Yondaime's best friends before he died and I know that he was on par with Master Jiraiya in sealing jutsu. You people have no faith in the Yondaime, and I refuse to feel sorry for you once the shit hits the fan. Also, my daughter Tenten has been friends with Naruto-san for years. She would've noticed if he was a demon."

Danzo calmly looked at Dustin and said, "While I respect your opinion, Higurashi-san, I must ask you to hold your tongue. That boy is a menace to this village. If he can't be controlled, he'll have to be put down."

Homura then stood up and said, "With a majority vote, the matches will be changed. This meeting is adjourned."

As the elders smugly walked out of the room, none of them noticed the smirk on Dustin's face. He looked under his chair and said, "I assume you heard all of that."

The only response was a small snake slithering away.

One month later…

As the stadium filled in with spectators from all over, Hiruzen silently chuckled to himself. He had been told of Danzo's twisted plan, but laughed at his idiocy. As he sat alone in the Kage's box, he thought to himself, "Those idiots only gave Naruto-kun even more of a chance to show off today. Thatwouldbe the case if I hadn't switched the matches back. Danzo, you're even dumber than I remembered."

Suddenly, the Kazekage and Yamikage filed into the Kage's box with their guards following. Sarutobi smiled and said, "Greetings, Kazekage-dono and Yamikage-dono."

The Kazekage nodded and Cairo, wearing his mask, warmly shook Sarutobi's hand. He then turned to the Kazekage and said, "How was your trip, Kazekage-dono? I know that the deserts can be quite harsh."

The Kazekage shook his head and said, "After so many years, I've grown used to it."

Cairo nodded but was thinking, "That's a lie if I ever heard one, Orochimaru-teme."

Sarutobi turned to Cairo and said, "How do you think your gennin will do, Yamikage-dono?"

Cairo let out a chuckle and said, "I'm not worried about my students. After all, I handpicked them for this exam."

The Kazekage turned to Sarutobi and said, "I for one want to see the Uchiha perform. I look forward to seeing him fight my son."

The three Kages suddenly turned their attention to the arena where the fighters were filing in.

Arena floor…

Genma Shiranui looked at his watch and noticed that it was almost time to start. As his attention turned to the gennin, he only saw four. He was about to call for a time pause, but stopped when he saw a shadow rise from the ground.

When the shadow vanished, Shikamaru was standing in its place. The only thing different about his outfit was a grey cloak and pair of trench knives.

Next to him, a spout of water shot up until it formed a solid shape. The water then fell away, revealing Hinata.

Genma was about to speak up but two bolts of green and purple lightning struck the ground. The lightning then faded away to reveal Starfire and Blackfire.

Karina pulled out a scroll and opened it, showing the kanji for 'summon'. She then tossed the scroll on the ground, causing it to explode. When the smoke cleared, Beast Boy stood up from his crouching position.

Genma recounted the gennin and said, "There are still only ten of you here. Does anyone know where Naruto Uzumaki, Dosu Kinuta, and Sasuke Uchiha are?"

Karina looked to the sky and said, "I don't know about the Uchiha and Dosu, but Naruto-sama will be here soon."

Genma shook his head and said, "I like the kid, but I can't play favorites."

He would've continued, but the sound of thunder suddenly filled the air. Karina smirked and said, "That would be Naruto-sama's doing."

Everyone watched as storm clouds rolled in, turning the sky dark. The clouds then circled in on themselves, and a single lightning bolt shot out of the center. When the bolt touched down to earth, it left a large crater.

As the smoke from the blast cleared, Naruto levitated himself out of the crater. Genma waved the dust from his face and said, "Nice intro, kid. That was the most impressive thing I've seen so far."

Naruto chuckled and said, "You'd be surprised at what a month of training can do for a person like me. I'm here to win this thing."

At that moment, a random jonin walked up to Genma and whispered something in his ear. Genma turned to the crowd and said, "There will be a change in the venue. Due to the untimely death of Dosu Kinuta, Naruto Uzumaki automatically advances to the next round. As of now, the first match will be between Temari and Shikamaru. I must ask all others to vacate the arena."

As the other gennin left the area, Shikamaru and Temari pulled out their respective weapons. Genma wasted no time in starting the first match, causing the two fighters to jump away from each other.

Temari took the initiative and shouted, "Futon: Daitoppa!"

She then swung her giant fan, causing a windstorm that tore some of the trees out of the ground. Shikamaru jumped back and said, "Ninjutsu: Shield of shadows!"

He was quickly enshrouded in a bubble comprised of his shadow. When the wind died down, he dropped the shield and said, "Futon: Kaze no Yaiba."

He made a slashing motion with his trench knife, causing a blade of wind to fly at Temari. Temari closed her fan and used the metal side to block the attack. She then jumped up and used her fan as a glider when she saw Shikamaru's shadow extending towards her.

As she looked down, she saw that his shadow stopped before it could reach her. Temari floated back to the ground and said, "You almost had me with that last jutsu. It's just a shame that I like to think three moves ahead of my opponents."

Shikamaru just smirked and said, "If you were as smart as you say, you would've stayed on your fan. It would've been harder to catch you in the air, seeing as how I can't connect my shadow to an object in the air. The moment you landed back on the ground, your growing shadow connected with mine."

He then moved his head down, forcing Temari to look at their connected shadows. Shikamaru looked back up and said, "I feel like I should mention that my shadows reach farther than you think they do. I basically had you beat from the moment that the match started."

He then retracted his shadow and said, "I give up. I don't have the chakra to continue this fight."

Genma finally came out of his shock and said, "Winner: Temari."

As Shikamaru walked by Temari, he placed a small note into her hand. When she opened it, she was shocked to see that the note said 'checkmate'. Temari just smirked as she left the arena.

Genma waited until the ring was clear and called out, "Will Sasuke Uchiha and Sabaku no Gaara please enter the arena?"

Gaara used his shunshin to appear in the ring, but Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

Kage booth…

Orochimaru, still in disguise, turned to Sarutobi and said, "Would it be possible to allow him an extra five minutes? After all, I'm sure that people would be sad that he won't be able to compete."

Cairo turned to the fake Suna-nin and said, "I call bull crap on that, Kazekage-dono. It doesn't matter who the pretentious little prick is. If this were an actual battlefield, such blatant disregard of punctuality could cost someone their life. He deserves to be disqualified."

Sarutobi whispered to his guard and said, "I have to agree with the Yamikage on this. Such favoritism cannot be shown just because of his clan. He will be disqualified."

Orochimaru kept his calm façade, but seethed on the inside. He made a small signal to cancel the invasion, but Kabuto only stared and gave a false nod. He had no intention of derailing Cairo's plan.

Arena…

Genma nodded at the messenger and said, "Because he is late for the exam, Sasuke Uchiha is hereby disqualified. Gaara wins by forfeit. Will Karina Anders and Hinata Hyuga step into the arena?"

Audience…

Sakura growled and said, "Why did they eliminate Sasuke-kun? He deserves to fight. It's Naruto-baka who should be disqualified."

Next to her, Ino sighed and said, "Shut up, Sakura. He was disqualified because he's not here. Imagine if this was a battle. His lateness could get someone killed."

Besides Ino, Kiba nodded his head and said, "The only thing that prick deserves is a good kick in the ass. I'm tired of him holding the fact that he's an Uchiha over us. If the Hokage wants to fail him, I support that decision."

Sakura looked at the dog-nin and said, "You're just mad that you lost to the weakest member of our team."

Kiba chuckled and said, "I'd agree with that if it was you who beat me, but Naruto's attack was in no way weak."

Chouji looked down from his seat and said, "By the way, how did he beat you?"

Kiba laughed and said, "After using that darkness jutsu, Naruto punched me three times and hit me on the spine with enough lightning to knock out a large animal. I'm still twitching from that last hit."

Neji looked up from his seat in front of Kiba and said, "Hinata-sama's match is starting. I hope she'll be alright."

Tenten looked at her teammate and said, "She'll be just fine, Neji."

Kiba turned to Tenten and said, "I don't know about that. I heard from Kurenai-sensei that the Yamikage personally picked and trained their team."

Neji suddenly went into a violent coughing fit. Kabuto, in his Anbu disguise, quickly used a medical jutsu to calm Neji down.

As the Hyuga passed out, Kabuto stopped his jutsu and said, "I'm a medical Anbu, so you don't have to worry about him. He should be just fine after a little rest. Now, let's watch the fight."

Arena…

Karina remembered the words of her sensei as she stared down Hinata. He had told her to use her bloodline and to not hold back.

As Genma started the match, they were interrupted by a flurry of leaves. When the leaves settled, Sasuke and Kakashi were standing in the center. Kakashi turned to Genma and asked, "Are we late?"

He was silently thinking, "Please say yes. For the love of Kami-sama, tell me that we're late."

Genma glared at Kakashi and said, "Due to your lateness, the Uchiha has been disqualified."

Sasuke scoffed and said, "You can't make me forfeit. I'm an Uchiha, and I should be able to fight regardless of how late I am."

Genma laughed and said, "Your match has already passed. The three Kages put it to a vote, and you were disqualified by a majority ruling. Funny enough, only the Kazekage voted in your favor. The Yamikage, however, was adamant on failing you."

Sasuke looked to the Kage booth and glared at the Yamikage. He then shouted, "What's the matter, Yamikage-san? Are you afraid that I'll hurt your weak little ninja?"

Cairo smirked at the Uchiha and said, "Why should my shinobi be afraid of one pathetic little gennin who can't even show up for an exam on time? The lazy Nara showed up on time and did it with respect. Also, to address a Kage with such disrespect is a sign of insubordination. I could have you dropped from the shinobi ranks if I wanted."

Sasuke would've said more, but Kakashi quickly intervened. He looked to Cairo and said, "I apologize for my student, sir. Regretfully, he takes after his father."

Cairo waved him off and said, "I'll accept your apology for now, Kakashi-san. Now, would you be so kind as to remove your idiot from the field? Everyone's waiting for the match to start, and my student is getting impatient."

Kakashi just nodded and dragged Sasuke to the stands. Genma, who was stifling a laugh, cleared his throat and said, "Let the match between Hinata and Blackfire begin!"

Blackfire jumped back and shouted, "Lightning style: Monarch migration!"

A swarm of lightning butterflies started to encircle Hinata. The Hyuga smirked and said, "Hakkeshō: Kaiten!"

Hinata quickly spun around, encasing herself in a spinning dome of chakra. The dome swiftly destroyed the butterflies on contact. As soon as Hinata stopped spinning though, she was blasted into the wall by a purple beam.
She then stood up and saw that Blackfire's hands were glowing.

Karina smirked and said, "How do you like my Starbolt kekkei genkai, Hinata? My clan can harness the power of the stars and turn it into energy attacks. I should also mention that it uses absolutely no chakra, therefore I can attack you for as long as it takes for me to win."

Hinata looked at Karina and said, "There aren't any stars out at the moment, Karina-san. How will you continue to attack me without your energy source?"

Blackfire laughed and said, "I never said that the stars had to be visible. Also, isn't the sun itself a giant star?"

Karina then unleashed a flurry of starbolts at Hinata, who had to push her limits to dodge all of the attacks. Hinata scowled and said, "It seems that I'm in for a harder fight than I thought. Sadly for you, I've been holding back my own secret technique."

Stands…

Everyone looked at Neji, who had finally woken up, hoping that he would have an answer. Neji looked down and said, "She was trained by Naruto-san's mother for the finals. I'm just as far in the dark as you are."

Kiba looked at his teammate and said, "I don't know what she's got planned, but I believe in her."

Shino nodded and said, "Hinata-san has truly come far."

Unknown to everyone, Shino was smiling under his collar.

Arena…

Hinata closed her eyes and started doing handsigns. Karina decided that she would give Hinata a moment to prepare herself. The Hyūga suddenly stopped and opened her eyes to the world.

Instead of their usual lavender, her eyes were now a stunning pink. Karina also noticed that her eyes resembled crystals. Hinata placed her hands at her sides and said, "Suishōgan."

Stands…

Neji was truly surprised at this revelation. He could only think, "How did she manage to awaken those eyes? I thought they were only a Hyuga myth."

Arena…

Hinata eyed Karina and thought, "I can only use these for fifteen minutes so I have to end this now."

She looked at Blackfire and said, "You should be honored, Karina-san. You're the first opponent that I've used this attack on, even if I haven't mastered it."

She then started to pump chakra into her fists to the point where it became visible. The chakra covered her entire fists before taking the appearance of two growling lions. Karina used her bloodline to cover her fists with Starbolt energy. Hinata then charged forward while shouting, "Gentle step: Twin Lion Fists!"

Stands…

Neji looked at Hinata in surprise. Tenten looked at her teammate and said, "Why do you look so surprised, Neji-kun?"

Neji shook off his shock and said, "That is the most dangerous technique that Hinata-sama has in her arsenal, but I thought that it was incomplete. Blackfire-san will have her hands full if that technique is completed."

Kiba then asked, "What's so dangerous about it?"

Neji turned around and said, "The Gentle Fist is designed to target and close the tenketsu of the human body with the help of the Byakugan. Hinata-sama created the Gentle Step…to destroy them. Karina-san had best hope that the technique is not completed."

Kiba cringed at the thought of Hinata using a technique like that. He could only hope that she never used it on him.

Arena…

Hinata tried to hit Karina with a punch to the chest, but the Kage-nin stepped to the side and kicked at Hinata's legs. Hinata flipped over her and punched her in the back, but Karina quickly recovered and slammed her fist into Hinata's stomach.

The Hyūga quickly got back on her feet and hit Blackfire in her ribs. Blackfire caught the hand and pulled Hinata close enough to kick her back. The lavender haired girl back flipped and vanished. She then appeared on Karina's left and slammed her fist into Blackfire's face.

Right then, Hinata suddenly noticed that her eyes were slowly changing back. She looked at Karina and said, "Let's end this with one final blow."

Blackfire nodded and said, "I agree. It's time to finish this fight."

Blackfire then pushed as much starbolt energy as she could into her fists until it resembled black flames. Hinata also pushed as much chakra into her attack as she could. Blackfire glanced at Hinata and said, "This is why I carry the title 'Blackfire'. My ultimate attack looks exactly like the flames of Amaterasu."

The two girls stared at each other as a silent wind blew a leaf off of a tree. Neither kunoichi was about to surrender the fight. As the leaf landed, Hinata and Karina rushed in for their final attack. The moment that their fists collided, an explosion erupted in the center of the arena.

When the dust cleared, both girls were laid out on the ground. Genma was about to call the match as a draw, but a small grunt made him turn to see Hinata struggling to get to her feet.

Genma nodded and said, "Winner of the match: Hinata Hyūga."

As the medics came to escort Hinata off of the field, she saw Naruto wave to her from the crowd. The lavender eyed girl finally gave in to the call of sleep with a smile on her face.