Author's note: I planned on writing a big, important scene this chapter… oh well, let's see how it goes.

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Chapter Fourteen: Split the Branch

"Are you ready, Naruto-kun?"

"Sure thing, Hinata-chan…"

Naruto and Hinata were standing in one of Konoha's training fields, preparing to spar. Years ago, around the time of the Jounin exam, Hinata had asked Naruto for some training. She'd said at that time, "The Hokage's love and heir of the Hyuuga clan should be strong, right? I don't think anyone could teach me better than you, Naruto-kun." At the time, Naruto had gladly accepted her offer and from that began teaching her. Every free day since then, Naruto had trained her; Not excessively, just enough to keep her skills sharp.

"Naruto-kun? Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, oh yeah, sorry. Let's do this."

The reason Hinata had needed to snap Naruto out of his thoughts was that he was deep in thought about his recent meeting with Hinata's father to gain his permission. Sure, he'd managed to accomplish this goal, but something weighed on his mind. It was true enough that his love's father had shown enough familial adoration for her, but his tone bothered Naruto. Instead of saying that he didn't want someone as strong and respected as Hinata seen with Naruto, Hiashi had made it seem as though she were some frail doll in danger of being broken. It was clear that he didn't think Hinata was strong enough to be head of the main branch.

"Well, if he thinks she isn't strong enough… I'll make her strong enough," he thought. "Hinata-chan, activate your Byakugan."

"What? Why?"

He paused for a moment. "Hinata… do you really want to become stronger?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then will you let me train you harder? Will you let me become a monster for this training?"

"Naruto-kun," she said softly a little put-off by his words, "Why… are you saying this?"

"'Cause I think you can be stronger than Neji."

Eyes widening, she whispered, "What did… you say?"

"You heard me. Hinata-chan, your strength has risen at the same rate his has, but here's the difference: He's had full and complete training from your father while you have pushed forward through sheer determination and the help of your friends, and yet your rate of growth has remained the same."

"But… Neji-niisan was stronger than I from the beginning, Naruto-kun."

"That's because he was driven by a great desire to hurt the main branch any way he could while you were inhibited by your self-consciouness, weren't you? But you do have the strength of your clan's main house, Hinata-chan. I believe in you, and that's why I want to train you so fiercely."

Heartened by Naruto's words, she uttered, "Byakugan," summoning her bloodline limit. "Please don't go easy on me, Naruto-kun."

"I won't," he said, forming the cross seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!" A few Naruto's poured out of the air, striking at Hinata, who swiftly dodged and destroyed each one. "She really has gotten better," he thought, sending a few more bunshin her way, "She's even managed to fire the Juuken (gentle palm) through her feet. Let's see how she handles this…"

Over twenty clones jumped out around Hinata, leaping at her all at once. "Kaiten (Rotation)!" she cried, sending each and every one of the attackers flying away to be turned into smoke.

"Nice!" he thought, a smile on his face, "But there's one more thing to try…" "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

This time, a legion of doppelgangers, almost one hundred, materialized in a close circle around Hinata, but far enough so that her Kaiten would not reach them. As Naruto waited for her reaction, she calmly abandoned her normal stance, opting for a long yet narrow stance with one arm extending in each direction. "Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou (Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms)," she said briefly before leaping at the clone. However, instead of each series of strikes hitting a clone, each individual strike eliminated one.

Naruto watched, very pleased with his girlfriend's capabilities. "Now that I know where she's currently at exactly, I can push her limits. Time to get serious." The bunshin began to get more skilled, moving faster and faster and he himself joined in the fray. Hinata began struggling to dodge, getting grazed by blow after blow and barely managing to eliminate any of the bunshin while doing so.

"Come on," he urged, "Fight harder! I know there's more that you have, Hinata-chan! I know that beneath that surface there's still something that can get angry and fight! Well use that anger, use it as your weapon and strike back!" "Please… forgive me for this," he said, forming his hands into the standard chakra molding seal. "Maybe then this'll work on you. Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique)!" A small puff of smoke appeared and after dissipating, revealed none other than the form of Hyuuga Hiashi.

"F… Father?" Hinata stared at the vision of her father, mouth agape. Logically, she knew it was Naruto, but… her mind could only see Hiashi's angry face, causing all sorts of painful memories to rise up. It was then that she realized that she was surrounded by several transformed versions of her father.

"Fight, Hinata!" he said, leaping at her, "Fight, and use the raw power you have!"

"Don't fear anything!" said one bunshin.

"Gather your resolve!"

"Use your anger as your weapon!"

Almost hyperventilating, tears spilling from her eyes, Hinata cried, "Stop!" Thrusting her palm out at the line of bunshin in front of her, she yelled, "Hakke Kuushou (Eight Trigrams Empty Palm)!" violently pushing away all the bunshin, bursting them, and forcing the real Naruto several yards away through many bushes and into a large tree, causing an enormous dent to appear in its trunk. Hinata calmed down, panting at exerting such a forceful attack. When she calmed down, she gasped, said, "Oh my God! Naruto-kun!" and rushed away to see whether her love was okay.

Meanwhile, Naruto was recovering from the effects of that attack. "Ow… Hakke Kuushou, eh? Must be the one Neji told me about. But it's different from Neji's version. His uses blunt force, but Hinata-chan sharpens her chakra, making it into thin blades. When she uses this attack, it's more than a thin blade pushing forward… it's as though she has a whole chakra katana! If I hadn't used my special defense… things could have been difficult." He pondered this phenomenon for a moment. Instead of it being a "Juuken (Gentle Fist)," it had been transformed into a "Juu-ken (Gentle Sword)." Naruto smiled at this play on words as he saw his beloved racing toward him.

"Naruto-kun!" she called, landing in front of him. "Oh God, are you okay? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I just-"

"Shh," he said, cutting her off. "I'm alright, Hinata-chan, see? No wounds or anything, so don't worry, okay?"

She nodded, then faced the ground. "I'm… I'm so relieved," she said with a sniffle.

"Hinata-chan?" He lowered himself to see her tearstained cheeks. "Are… are you crying?"

Through sobs, she said, "I'm sorry, it's just… when I saw you using Henge as my father, just… things from my past came up, and I… I was really weakened until I just couldn't take it anymore and lashed out."

Naruto drew her close, embracing her in a tight hug. "No… I should be sorry," he said. "I just… I knew that would force out your anger, your inner fire… but it was a mistake, and I'm so sorry for putting you through it."

"No!" she said, piping up all of a sudden. "Naruto-kun, before today I'd never been able to sharpen the chakra of my Hakke Kuushou, but thanks to your urging… I was able to do it. This training can help me, Naruto-kun… I'm willing, if you are."

Never before had Naruto been so utterly dumbstruck by Hinata. He could see in her pale eyes the desire to get better, to become stronger… he saw the passion he felt in himself. "Are… are you sure?"

"Definitely."

Smiling, he said, "Alright then… let's call it quits for now. I have somewhere I need to be." With a kiss, he bounded off to be where he needed. "Practice sharpening your chakra while I'm gone!" he called back.

"Alright!" she answered, and reactivated her Byakugan and began firing small yet incredibly refined bits of sharpened chakra from her palms. "I can do it," she thought, "I actually can."

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"You want me to do what? You're insane!" roared an angry Neji.

"Chill out, Neji," said Naruto. "It's a small favor for… say, not knocking Hiashi's lights out the other day?"

"Thank you for that, but that does not warrant this… this mad request!"

"Why?" he asked smugly. "Are you afraid you'll lose?"

"No! In fact… I won't do it because I am relatively certain I'll win! I will not fight Hinata-sama!"

"She can win. I've got faith in her."

"That's all well and good, but faith won't be enough. I still haven't gotten over the guilt from what I did to her at the chuunin exam all those years ago."

"Well, why not use this as a chance to let her pay you back? Listen, you're the strongest member of the Hyuuga for this generation. Hiashi adores training you because you're so strong. So if Hinata can show him that she's strong enough to defeat you and not just some defenseless princess, she will gain tremendous respect from him and the rest of the clan."

"I'd have to pull my punches, and people would know if I did that. Naruto… You've done a lot of good; not just for me, but also for the whole village. I understand you want to do right by the woman you love. But come on. You actually expect Hinata-sama to defeat me?"

Pointing his index finger with a cocky grin, Naruto replied, "One month. Give me one month to train her and I'll make her stronger than you. I promise you I'll do it, and you know me… I don't break promises."

Neji sighed. "Fine. I'll do it if you explain to people that it's not my fault she gets beaten up."

"Deal."

"But how can you of all people train her in one month to be so strong?"

Naruto's grin widened. "Well, I was trained by the technique master of Konoha and one of the Sannin, so I figure I've picked up a good bit of experience."

"I don't want to see her hurt, Naruto."

"You should say that about yourself." Leaving Neji with that, Naruto returned to be with Hinata.

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The weeks passed as Naruto trained Hinata more and more rigorously, pushing her limits just enough so that her growth rate would be optimal. However, it wasn't until three weeks into the training that Naruto told her about his plan. "You're going to fight Neji this week," he said during a break for food.

Hinata choked on the vegetable in her mouth for a moment. When she stopped gagging and swallowed, she said, "… What? Why?"

"Shit," thought Naruto, "I forgot to cook up a story. Uh… think fast…"

Of course, outside of combat, this had never really been his thing, prompting him to stare blankly at Hinata for a moment before she asked, "Naruto-kun?"

"Oh!" he said, snapping his fingers rather conspicuously, "He, uh, he said he wants to train and… the only partner he wants is another Hyuuga." His eyes shifted a bit as he hoped his lie wasn't that transparent. Then again, he was talking to someone who could see through walls, so his chances weren't that great.

Relief poured through him when instead of asking questions of suspicion, she merely said, "But there are plenty of other relatives we have that could train with him."

"Nuh-uh." Waving one finger, he said, "He specifically requested a match against you."

"Neji-niisan requested… me?"

"Yeah! And trust me, Hinata-chan, you'll be great."

"But…" she pushed her fingers together nervously. "But Neji-niisan is much stronger than I. He'll win without much effort."

"No," Naruto said simply, grasping her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I fought Neji recently and I've trained with you this last month and I honestly believe you can beat him."

Quietly, she asked, "… Really?"

He smiled. "Really."

"Okay then… I guess I'll do it."

"That's the spirit! Now come on, we still have a week of training to get through!"

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The day of the exhibition arrived. While Neji and Hinata stood in the center of one of the training arenas on the Hyuuga estate, Naruto watched from one of the balconies above, arms folded and his usual cocky grin on his face. "Come on, Hinata. Show your true strength."

"Hinata-sama… you don't need to do this if you don't want to," said Neji, a concerned expression on his face.

Before, Hinata would have gladly taken an offer like that. Before, if Neji had wanted to fight her for a training match, she would have found someone to take her place. But now, a voice that sounded very close to Naruto's allowed these words to come out of her mouth: "No. I… I want to." Neji nodded and she added, "And please, Neji-niisan, don't go easy on me."

He gave a light smile. "I would never dream of it, Hinata-sama." As he stepped back, the two cousins entered their Juuken stance.

Manwhile, on the balcony above, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi had arrived. "Oh, good, you guys made it."

"Yeah," said Sasuke. "What do you want us here for, anyway? Moral support?"

"Kinda," replied Naruto. "Just wait, something pretty amazing's about to happen. Also, there's something I need you and Kakashi-sensei to do…"

At the arena, the Hyuuga in the center of the arena raised his hand. "Hyuuga Neji, Hyuuga Hinata-sama. Combatants ready? Then… begin!" His hand flew down, prompting the beginning of the fight. "Oh boy," he thought, stepping out of the arena. "I… should tell people what's going on around here. I don't want Neji to get the axe when he beats up Hinata-sama."

Hinata and Neji leapt at each other, trading Juuken after Juuken, Byakugan active. Neji carefully avoided his opponent's strikes, taking time to think, "I must hand it to Naruto. She has gotten better. Won't be enough, though." He started aiming for her Tenketsu, but to his surprise, she evaded and countered each blow.

In Hinata's mind, two thoughts were colliding. One said, "I'm doing it! I'm actually doing it!" but the other one replied, "This is just like the chuunin exam all those years ago… I think I'm doing well, but soon enough, the rug will be pulled out from under me."

Various family members began crowding into the arena balcony. Whispers filled the room; "What's going on?" "Neji's fighting Hinata-sama?" "The poor girl doesn't have a chance…"

"She's doing well!" said Sakura excitedly. "They seem to be almost equal."

"You're right, Sakura-chan," commented Naruto, watching the fight intently. "They are 'almost' equal."

"She's been fighting much better than I've known her to, but this will end it," said Neji. "Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!" The onslaught of palms struck Hinata fully, or so Neji thought. When he finished his attack, Hinata was still standing in battle stance. "What? Did she use Naruto's special anti-Juuken defense? No, that's not quite right."

"Impressive," said Kakashi, Sharingan active. "The instant Neji-kun began his attack, she countered with the exact same move, causing all sixty-four strikes to hit each other, making his attack neutral. But that's not all."

Suddenly, Neji's palms began hurting. "How did she… did she get in extra strikes? That's not possible, I would have seen them." He was snapped out of his thoughts by the form of Hinata flying at him, palms raised. "No time to think," "Kaiten!"

Again Hinata countered with an identical move, and the opposite forces of the spinning threw both combatants backward. As they got up and leapt at each other once more, it became increasingly evident that they were becoming tired from this fight. Blow after blow, they each managed to hit and evade each other evenly. After one palm against palm, Hinata and Neji were on opposite sides of the arena.

It was then that Hyuuga Hiashi entered the balcony, standing next to Naruto. "What the hell?" he said, eyes wide. "What are they- Why are they fighting? Neji will trounce Hinata, what's going on?"

"Your daughter winning," replied Naruto.

"One last thing to try… she can't possibly counter this," thought Neji. He drew his palm backward and watched Hinata do the same.

Together, they cried, "Hakke Kuushou!" Instantly, two large masses of chakra clashed and when it was over, Neji was on the ground, leaning against the wall, unconscious.

"Woah," said Sasuke. "Kakashi, did you see that?"

"See what?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah. Their attacks were of a near equal level, but Hinata's was made of a sort of… chakra sword, so to speak. Thus, it tore through Neji's attack like a sword against a palm. The same thing happened with the sixty-four palms earlier."

"Wow…" was all Sakura could say.

"I-Impossible…" Hiashi said breathlessly. "Neji… defeated by Hinata?"

"There's no such thing as 'impossible,'" said Naruto and leapt from the balcony. "Hinata-chan, you did it! See? I was right, you are strong!" But Hinata still had a crestfallen look on her face. "Huh? What's wrong? You won!"

"Neji-niisan… he was pulling his punches. I could tell."

"I guessed you might think that. That's why I brought along Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke. In fact, I bet they're telling your father right now…"

"Hiashi-san, our eyes can track the flow and movement of chakra," said Kakashi, "We can safely assure you that Hinata has defeated Neji while he was at maximum strength."

"This is… this is quite something," said Hiashi and was so astonished by this statement that he had to slump down against the wall to avoid falling. Hinata, on the other hand, had a much larger reaction to this news.

She fainted.

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A few hours later, Hinata awoke to Naruto's smiling face and recognized the room as Naruto's bedroom in his mansion. Returning that smile, she said, "Mm… what a dream. I dreamt that I fought Neji-niisan and won, Naruto-kun."

"Not a dream," said Naruto. "You passed out after the fight and I carried you here."

"Wow…" she said, taking in the events of the day. "Thank you so much, Naruto-kun."

Naruto puzzled. "Huh? For what?"

"You trained me. You pushed my limits to their maximum, but most of all, it's once again thanks to you that my life has gotten better."

He didn't say anything, but kissed her instead. Such had become the custom that whenever either one would deliver such a beautiful remark like that that the receiver of said remark would respond with but a kiss.

And how they just loved tradition.

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It had only been a week since Hinata's victory over Neji, but word had spread quickly throughout the Hyuuga house. Instead of people condescending to her, they were greeting her with the proud respect that only one fit for leading the main house deserves.

Within that same week, Sakura had been promoted to assistant Chief of Medicine in the hospital. Sasuke's position of captain had been replaced with head of interrogations once Ibiki stepped down. Naruto, meanwhile, remained at entry-level rank in ANBU. Eventually, he got extremely fed up with it.

"Tsunade-baachan!" he called, stomping through the halls of the Hokage building. "I need to have a word with you!"

"This can't be good," Tsunade thought. Naruto's stomping was so forceful that several papers from the gigantic stacks in her office were falling, causing Shizune and Tonton to scramble to pick them up. "What is it, Naruto?"

He waved a clenched fist at her. "I want you to tell me why Sasuke and Sakura-chan have been promoted so quickly!"

"Simple," said Tsunade. "They do exceptional work. Their performance in each of their fields outclasses several more-experienced workers."

"That's not what I meant!" he shouted. "Why haven't I been promoted? I'm stuck in the same job that I had when I joined up with ANBU!"

"Naruto, don't be so loud, plea-"

"And damn it all, I do much better work than Sasuke, if I do say so myself! I get missions done in half the time with a third of the complications! Well? What reason can there possibly be for keeping me at such a terrible status?"

Tsunade sighed. "Naruto… there's a very good reason for your lack of promotions."

"Yeah? What is it, eh?"

"I was planning on telling you as a surprise later, but- what the hell?"

What had cut Tsunade off was a large explosion outside the Hokage building. In a flash, Naruto had opened the window and leapt out of it into the streets. When he landed, all he could see was smoke at first, but after he closed his eyes and initiated his second sight, he caught the faint outline of a black cloak with red clouds on it.

"Akatsuki!" he snarled.

The smoke cleared, revealing a man with spiky brown hair, pink eyes, and six dots on his nose. "I figured this would be the easiest way of getting you here." He stepped forward and bowed. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the founder and leader of Akatsuki, Naruto-kun, and today is the day you die."

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Ominous ending, eh? Ah well, review and you'll get the chapter quickly!

I hope this chapter wasn't too bad. I really like Hinata's character… she and Naruto would be such a great match, but Kishimoto would never write it like that… But what can you do? I'll tell you. You can write fanfiction!

Anyway, review and review, and inspiration will strike me sooner!