A/N: Back again, sorry it's been awhile. Making a habit out of it I know. Just been busy getting moved into the new apartment and getting settled in for school. Anyways, what a response! You guys really loved this bad ass version of Naruto and the gang huh? Good, because it's only gonna get better! This chapter gets away from Naruto and the group only so I can touch on everyone else before I get back to them. Sucks I know, but it's necessary. So thanks for the response guys, the review were great and I look forward to seeing what you guys think of this chapter!
Last Time: Naruto was given a message to deliver to Tsunade, in the process he was stopped by a Branch member and was forced to use a Space/Time jutsu. It worked but nearly killed him in the process. So close to death, Naruto had a chance to speak to Kuruma in which another argument erupted. After Naruto left, another voice called out to Kuruma telling him that it knew his secret and in due time it would reveal itself. When Naruto awoke he found himself in the Hokage's office with Tsunade waiting on him. When he did, he delivered the message to Tsunade detailing the attempted coup by the Hyuugas. At the same time, an Anbu operative revealed himself and tried to escape but was stopped. Afterwards, Naruto realized that Tsunade was overburdened with things going on the village and decided to step in. He took charge of the operation to route the Hyuugas and was given full command of Anbu and his choice to pull from the regular ranks. His choices were Shikamaru, Sai, and Shino. After meeting in a safe house, Naruto explained the situation to everyone.
Chapter 24: The Hollow Fist
Sai rubbed his eyes and looked at the alarm clock next to him. He had spent what felt like hours in their cave safe house and as it turned out, he had. The clock read 4 a.m. and he groaned quietly to himself and rubbed his eyes again. It was impossible to tell what time it was by looking outside because, well, it was a cave after all.
Standing up, he walked across the dimly lit cave to an area that had a full kitchen and dining room along the back wall. He found a tea pot and set it on the stove burner after filling it and searched the cupboards for tea. Finding a white unmarked box, he pulled it out and opened it.
"Jackpot." He thought with a smirk.
The box had turned out to have a black and green tea leaf mix with ginseng extract. How did he know? Because he made the mistake of drinking two cups of the stuff before a mission once and had spent the next day and a half wired, jittery, and energetic. To put it simply, the shit worked and his teammates got to sleep all night.
Starting the burner, Sai walked back to his desk and looked at the papers one last time. It was chaos. There was a layer of profiles over the top of the desk itself and mountains rose up on the sides. Small stacks were dispersed around the rest of the space but in the center there was a clear space with three profiles neatly lined up. 'The Chosen Three' he liked to call them. They were the best of the best, the elite among the elites, and the ones he decided would help lead the route against the Hyuuga's.
He slid the three profiles together and walked over to the table in the center of the room that now had a massive map of Konoha laid. After a brief moment of thought, Sai placed the profiles around the map in seemingly random places. Taking a step back he gave the setup a critical eye before sighing in relief. When he turned back to the desk a groan escaped his lips as he was met with a clusterfuck of profiles.
"Three down, one hundred and ninety-seven to go."
Sai glanced tiredly at the beds along the wall and could practically hear them calling to him, beckoning him to seek relief and rest among the warm sheets. For a long moment Sai stared at them longingly, but then he shook his tired head of the idea. Turning his back to the comfort of sleep, his exhausted mind wandered to the conversation he had earlier with Naruto.
(Flashback)
Sai and Naruto were the only ones left in the cave now. Shikamaru and Shino had left, both going about their respective missions. Shikamarau went home to think more on strategies for the upcoming silent war, and Shino to his clan compound so he could properly prepare his hive for their upcoming mission.
Shino had the most important job out of all of them. He was to tag each Branch Member who was participating in the revolt with one of his Kikiachu. For such a task, Shino stated that he would need time to gather the correct beetles that had particularly long stamina. This way the beetles could go for long durations before needing to feed. It meant that during the day the bugs could watch, listen, and gather intel and at night feed on the Branch Members chakra while they slept.
"So, what were you wanting to tell me that you couldn't in front of the others, Naruto-taichou?" Sai asked.
"Seriously, Sai. Quit that." Naruto said with a pointed look.
"Fine." Sai said with a relenting shrug. "What did you need to tell me privately, Naruto?"
Naruto looked around for a moment and then looked at his pale teammate seriously. "I want you to head the Hunter Nins for this operation."
Sai's face contorted slightly in confusion. "Why? Wouldn't the Anbu-"
"-The Anbu will still be watched." Naruto said shaking his head. "Even if it's not from inside, they'll still be under surveillance."
"If not them then who?" Sai asked.
Naruto paused. "Do you trust me?"
"With my life." Sai said immediately which surprised him at how quickly he responded. It must have shown on his face because Naruto chuckled.
"Same here." The blonde said with a smile. "Which is why I think we should use Root."
Sai's eyebrows climbed all the way up his forehead in disbelief. "You want to use Root?" Naruto nodded his head but said nothing. "You realize that we could get in major trouble for doing this?"
"I know the risks." Naruto said reluctantly. "But we need something that can't be tracked. Something that doesn't exist. A ghost." Squaring his shoulders he looked at Sai with conviction. "Root is just what we need because they were literally designed for this kind of situation."
"And you're trusting me to lead this operation?"
Naruto stepped forward and placed a hand on Sai's shoulder. He stared intensely into the coal black eyes of his friend with a mixture of apprehension, fear, and worry. "Sai…" he started but had to stop and look away for a moment. "The person I care about more than anything in this world is in danger. She is living in a household that is ready to explode into a civil war at any moment."
Releasing Sai from his grip Naruto met his friend's eyes again. "I can't lose her Sai. She is everything to me. If something happened to her…" he looked away unable to finish the sentence. But his thoughts finished it for him and he felt his heart beat quicken. He felt his chest tighten and his throat started to constrict making it hard to breathe. He couldn't lose her. Not now. Not after finally realizing what she truly meant to him.
"You love her don't you." Sai said breaking the silence. Naruto looked at Sai with a vulnerability the pale boy hadn't seen since Jiraiya's death.
"I…" Naruto started but stopped as he had to take a shaky breath. "I do love her." He whispered. Leaning against the table for support, his knuckles turned white as he balled them into fists. "I just finally realized what I've had all along….and I've been too blind to see it. I can't lose her Sai…I just…I just can't…"
Sai stood there listening to his teammate's confession in silence. He didn't understand emotions very well; he was still trying to relearn them. But he could tell that this mission was more than just important to Naruto. His entire mental well being was riding on Hinata coming out safe. Sai understood that much, and he'd be damned if he let his friend and teammate down.
"Don't worry Naruto," Sai said with determination, "I'll get it done. I won't let you down."
Naruto let out a relieved breath he didn't realize he was holding and smiled. "Thanks, I know you won't."
(End Flashback)
Sai stared at the stacks before him that sat patiently on his desk. His eyes slowly rolled over the profiles and he was suddenly hit with a wave of crushing pressure. It bore down on him and he felt his knees begin to weaken. So much was riding on this mission and even more was riding on him to get it done.
The whistling of the teapot tore his attention away from the desk and with it the sudden weight he had felt. Walking over to pour himself a glass of tea, Sai realized something. His village was in danger and thousands of lives were depending on him to protect them. But none of that mattered to him. No, the only thing that mattered to Sai was that he didn't let his friend down.
Taking a giant swig of his tea, Sai sat down and stared hard at the papers before him.
"I won't let you down," he muttered. "I promise."
"Will you please let me down?"
Naruto's breathing was ragged and strained. Sweat poured from him and ran down his body in small rivers. His muscles ached but his chakra coils were burning as if he had lava pumping through them. His skull was pounding with a massive headache that he was sure was due to chakra exhaustion.
"Five more minutes." Renge responded unsympathetically.
Naruto let out a string of curses and gritted his teeth with his eyes screwed closed. Why was he doing this again? Why did he ever agree to take up the Uzumaki mantel from his great grandparents? Why the fuck did he ever think that learning how to used chakra chains sounded cool?
Naruto was suspended high in the air in a large room that was part of their temporary base. Arms and legs stretched out wide, faint, blue, ethereous chains extended from his hands, feet, chest, and back. The chains stretched out and anchored him to the walls surrounding him, almost causing him to look like he was an insect trapped in a spider's web.
Renge had tried to teach him how to refine his chakra control, but she realized quickly that she would have to explain to Naruto why first. She had told him that the chakra control he had, while impressive, was not real control. When Naruto had given her a confused look she explained it by comparing his chakra control to muscle memory. She explained that while Naruto could perform many outstanding jutsus, he could perform only those jutsus perfectly. Anything else would be a mess and a waste of chakra. It was only because Naruto had spent thousands of hours perfecting the jutsus he had that he could perform them without wasting chakra. If, she explained, he had to attempt something else on the fly he had never tried before then he would most likely exert far too much chakra. However, if he were to have perfect control over his chakra then he would be able to perform near perfect jutsus the first time he tried all because he would be in tune with it.
Thus ended the lecture and the real fun had begun.
They had tried sand first. Renge explained that if Naruto could perfectly control the sand in his hands to stack on top of each other in his palms and down each finger then he would slowly begin to gain better chakra control. At first the training had gone great. Naruto was able to do as she instructed and he was able to keep the sand in his hand perfectly. However, that all changed when she instructed him to make each finger hold a different level of sand. The training blew up in his face. Literally.
After the tenth time of sand being blown into his eyes, and the fifth tantrum, Renge had a sneaking suspicion that something was wrong with Naruto's chakra. She decided to take a different approach. Telling Naruto to level the sand in his hands again, she then told him to cut the chakra flow to his ring fingers and allow the sand to slip off. What followed left Naruto confused and Renge frowning even deeper.
All of the sand in his hands slipped away leaving bare dusty palms.
"W-What's wrong with me?" Naruto had asked, scared that his chakra was screwed up.
Renge had ignored the question and instructed him to do the same thing except this time cut off the chakra flow to his thumbs and pointer fingers. The end result was the same.
"You have Palmar Tenketsu Fusion." Renge said after a moment as she folded her arms. "Which means that you also have Corpus Tenketsu Fusion."
"I have what?!" Naruto shouted. "Oh god, what does that mean?!" he asked as he started to panic.
"Calm down, idiot! It just means that the tenketsu points that run through your fingers are fused together. You don't have independent control over each of them. Instead, they work in unison together." Renge had explained.
"So what does that mean?"
"It means that this type of chakra training won't work." Renge said as she walked away and began to observe the room. Then a grin broke out across her face and she said, "It also appears that you inherited more from your mother than just her attitude."
"Huh?" Naruto had asked intelligently.
Renge hadn't replied. Instead, she held out her palm and a bright white chain erupted from her hand and blasted Naruto in the chest. Before he could even move to get up, she had it wrapped around him, binding him tightly on the floor. "It means that you have the ability to use the Uzumaki's rare and famous chakra chains."
And so began the second lecture of the evening. Renge explained that only Uzumakis who had developed a defective chakra network could utilize the chakra chains. She then explained how instead of having 361 individual tenketsus, he had 21 different tenketsu groups. Each of these groups had the ability to produce one chakra chain therefore giving him a total of 21 chains to develop and work with. Surprisingly though, Naruto had soaked it all up. Renge only had to explain it once except for at the end when she had to describe how the final chain was produced.
On his first attempt, Naruto managed to create a nearly invisible chain a couple of links long before it shattered. However, he was so excited about nearly getting the jutsu right the first time that he attacked the training with vigor. An hour later he managed to create one blue chain however long he wanted.
His ego quickly became just as long, boasting about how he must be some kind of Uzumaki prodigy. Renge quickly righted the blonde by informing him that an Uzumaki prodigy in the use of chakra chains would be able to use six chains at once.
Ego deflated, and pride eroded, Naruto moped around until he managed four chains. When he finally had, Renge had directed him to lift himself up into the air. And so that was how Naruto found himself; sweating, exhausted, and hating his life.
"Time." Renge said.
Naruto didn't even try to gentle let himself down. Instead, he opted for the release and hit the ground like a dead fish approach.
"Still wish you were training with me?" Renge asked with a smirk as she walked up to Naruto. Said person didn't even bother to respond. Instead, he simply groaned into the ground earning him a kick in the side from the elder Uzumaki. "Quit being baby. Go to bed and rest up, we'll be back at it in five hours. You're sleeping time starts now."
"Can't I get a shower first?" Naruto asked as he forced himself to stand up.
"4:59:59. 4:59:58. 4:59:57…"
Naruto glared at the aged woman before wheeling around and exiting the large room. His body screamed at him with ever movement he made. Every breath was labored and taxing. Despite all this though, Naruto couldn't help the grin that broke out across his face.
He was getting stronger. He could feel it.
"You're strength is growing by leaps and bounds, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke turned his crimson eyes towards the pink medic that had just spoken to him. As he did, a victorious grin started to spread across his face.
"Even I could have told you that." He stated arrogantly.
Sakura rolled her eyes and gave him a look. "Oh really?" she asked with her hands on her hips. "How much?"
Sasuke wasn't prepared for the quick remark, so he responded with the most intelligent thing he could come up with in the short amount of time. "A lot."
The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Sakura frowned and started scribbling on her clipboard.
"Hm, how interesting." The pinkette muttered.
Sasuke tried to ignore the comment but finally his curiosity got the best of him. "What is?"
"There seems to be a direct correlation between your power and intelligence." Sakura explained as she stopped and looked at him. "As your power goes up, you're intelligence goes down."
A pin drop could have been heard in the room as the two stared at each other. Well, more like Sakura stared impassively and Sasuke glared at her. Finally, Sakura broke the stare and turned around to write some more notes but only because she didn't want Sasuke to see her laughing at him. She failed to stifle her giggles.
Sasuke gave her another glare. "Damn banshee."
Sakura whirled around and gave him a melting stare. "Arrogant prick."
The two glared intensely at each other and began to step towards each other.
"Bitch."
"Asshole."
"Slut."
"Bastard."
The two's faces were now inches away from each other as electricity practically jumped from their eyes. The pressure in the room had increased and the temperature had dropped.
Unstoppable force, meet unmovable object.
"Civilian no name." Sasuke whispered.
"Clan orphan." Sakura fired right back.
Sasuke's face contorted into rage for a brief moment before he managed to cover it back up with his scowl.
"Fuck you." He growled out.
"You wish." Sakura said with smirk.
Sasuke visibly recoiled and stared incredulously at the woman across from him. He opened his mouth to say something but then shut it.
"Well, well," Sakura practically purred as she stepped up and pressed against his body. "The great Uchiha Sasuke is at a loss for words." Her voice came out in a husky whisper and Sasuke had to suppress the shiver that ran down his spine. There was a mischievous yet playful look in her eyes and a grin was steadily spreading across her soft pink lips.
Sasuke stood there frozen for a brief moment before his eyes narrowed and he took a step back. "I'll see you for dinner." He growled out and spun around to leave.
"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.
"To take a long, long cold shower." Sasuke snapped as he closed the door behind him. Sakura stood in the room alone before a giggle escaped her lips and she started cleaning up the medical supplies.
Haruno Sakura: 1, Uchiha Sasuke: 0.
Hinata stood with her sister and cousin in an open field that was located in a remote section of the Hyuuga compound. The open field was surrounded by tall evergreens, towering multiple stories tall and spreading out meters wide to form a nearly perfect wall of green. It was the private practicing field for the clan head, reserved and seen only by the current leader and the heir.
Hinata looked over at her siblings. Her sister was fidgeting nervously in her spot, excited and nervous at the same time. Neji was a different story though. He stood there impassively, patiently waiting for Hiashi to arrive but Hinata knew better. He was uncomfortable. She could see it in his eyes. The slightest squint in the corners signifying that he was just as nervous as her sister. It caused Hinata to giggle and both turned to look at her.
"What's so funny, nee-chan?" Hanabi demanded.
Hinata gave a warm smile. "The both of you are so nervous." She explained with another giggle. "You need to relax, there's no reason to act the way you are. Everything is fine."
"Who says I'm nervous?" Hanabi huffed crossing her arms.
"The nonexistent grass beneath your feet from your constant shuffling." Neji observed dryly.
Hanabi looked down at the dirt scuff marks where grass used to grow and blushed. "Well what about you?" Hanabi asked. "You're so tense that your back could be used as an ironing board."
"It's called posture." Neji countered.
"It's called having a bamboo stalk shoved up your-"
"-Hanabi!" Hinata interrupted.
"I'm just saying that if he stands up any straighter his spine is going to fuse together like that." Hanabi defended.
"I think you're forgetting your place you little brat." Neji said rounding on Hanabi. "Perhaps you'd like a reminder, shrimp?"
Hinata sighed as she mentally counted down. "Three, two, one…"
"I'M NOT SHORT I JUST HAVEN'T HIT PUBERTY YET!" Hanabi shouted indignantly. It was a sore subject for her. All the other girls in her class had already begun to grow and develop into young woman and yet she stayed short and flat as a board. Hinata had even caught Hanabi in her room once, wearing one of her bras and staring longingly into the mirror.
Neji scoffed. "Mememememememe." He said in a high pitched voice as he opened and closed his hand like a mouth. He held it down low and the insinuation was conveyed. It was childish and completely out of character for him compared to what everyone else knew but it did the job. Hanabi turned red with anger.
"I don't sound like that!"
Neji bent down and held his hand to his ear. "What's that? I can't hear you down there."
That was the last straw and before either Hinata or Neji could act, Hanabi had reach out and grabbed a handful of Neji's soft flowing hair.
"Allow me to bring you down to my level then!" she shouted. She gave a yank and Neji tumbled forward with a yelp.
"You little brat! How dare you touch my hair!" Neji shouted as he grabbed a handful of Hanabi's hair and began to tug on it.
"Ouch! Stop pulling my hair you bully!"
"Ah! You started it you little brat!"
"No you did! Owowowowo!"
Neji finally managed to get his hair free and put Hanabi in a head lock. He then proceeded to rub his knuckles on her head. Hanabi responded in kind by stomping down on his foot and then reaching up and ungraciously twisting the hell out of his nipple. He gave a yelp of pain and they both fell. Rolling over each other, they grappled around on the ground to inflict whatever childish pain they could on one another.
It was uncivilized. It was unsightly. It was hilarious.
After about a minute of their behavior Hinata finally decided to intervene. "Neji-niisan, Hanabi-chan, that's enough. Father will be here soon." The two continued to ignore her as the shouted ridiculous things at each other. "Will you two please stop!" Hinata asked.
Now there was a secret about Hinata only the immediate three knew about. Hinata absolutely hated being ignored. Among adults and higher ranks it was understandable. Among her peers it was acceptable. With her family, it was forgivable. But between the three of them, it was suicidal to ignore the Hyuuga heiress.
"ENOUGH!" Hinata roared with a red face.
Hanabi and Neji both froze and looked up at the heiress terrified. Hanabi's little hands wrapped around Neji's throat, while the latter's fingers were hooked in her lips and pulling them apart.
"Get off of each other, stand up, and make yourselves presentable for our father!" Hinata ordered sternly with her hands on her hips.
"Yes, Hinata." The two of them of them said in defeated tones as the slowly stood up.
"Honestly, you two can be so embarrassing sometimes." Hinata chided as she shook her head. "Father would never believe his eyes if he saw you acting the way you were."
"No, I wouldn't."
All three of them froze at the sound of the cool commanding voice. Hinata slowly turned around to see her father standing before her with an amused smirk on his face.
"F-Father." Hinata stuttered out as she bowed her head. "I'm so sorry you had t-to see that."
"It's quite alright Hinata." Hiashi said with a smile. That comment came as a surprise for all of them. "It's nice to see that the clan heir can be dominative when she needs to be." Hinata blushed and nodded slightly with a smile. "Although I do feel sorry for him." Hiashi added thoughtfully as his smile vanished.
"E-Excuse me?" Hinata asked confused.
Hiashi seemed to suddenly take notice of his daughter standing in front of him. "Oh, I mean Naruto. The poor boy has no idea what he's getting into."
Hinata's face went red as a tomato in an instant and she began to sputter. "F-F-Fa-th-th-ther!"
Behind her both Hanabi and Neji were doing a poor job of hiding their snickers. Hinata turned around and gave them a look and they both straightened up and fell silent.
"Well, let's start this before Hinata dies of embarrassment." Hiashi said with another smirk. This got the attention of the three. "Now pay attention because I'm only going to explain this once."
Hiashi took a seat in the grass and motioned for the others to do as well. Once they were seated and ready Hiashi began.
"The Hollow Fist is the precursor to what is now known as the Gentle Fist." He explained. "Before the clan joined the village, and before there were two separate branches, our ancestors used this fighting style. It is more brutal, it is more devastating, and it is much more lethal." He paused for a moment to let what he said sink in.
"Now, let's start with how the Hollow Fist actually works. Byakugans on." Hiashi ordered as he held up his hand. The children followed the instructions and watched intently as Hiashi focused. "Now, what can you tell me about this technique?"
"There's an excess of chakra that is around the hand." Hanabi supplied.
"There seems to be a higher concentration down towards your wrist." Neji added.
"Correct, but there's one key aspect that you seem to be missing." Hiashi said. He turned to Hinata who seemed to hesitate for a moment.
"Th-The center of your palm is e-empty." Hinata said softly.
Hiashi nodded. "Go on."
"I-It's like the ch-chakra in your palm is forming a deformed sh-shell." Hinata further explained. "The chakra at the t-tip of your palm is th-thin but at the back end i-its thicker."
"Exactly, well said Hinata." Haishi said with a smile causing his daughter to blush. He stood up and walked over to a training log. "Observe."
In one quick movement Hiashi brought his palm forward and struck the log. Even from where the children sat they could feel the shutter and sheer power exerted by the clan head.
"Wow, dad that was really strong!" Hanabi said excitedly as she stood up.
Hiashi nodded his head. "Yes, but can you see what the Hollow Fist did?"
Hinata focused on the log more and then gasped. Quickly she stood up and made her way over to the log. Deactivating her eyes, Hinata examined the outside of the log carefully. It was perfect, as if no one had even struck it. There were no dents, no cracks, not even a scuff mark. But the inside was a different story.
Hinata struck the log and it gave way instantly, as if it had only been a sheet of paper. As soon as her hand broke through saw dust began to poor out of the log. The entire thing was nearly hollow! Hanabi and Neji joined her and peered inside the log as well. While they did, Hinata looked at her father in confusion.
He returned the look with a grim face. "This technique is the worst of the worst when it comes to taijutsu." Motioning for them to return and take a seat he continued. "When there were no villages and clans still ruled the lands, the Hyuugas were at a certain disadvantage. The Byakugan was not nearly as superior as what it is today."
That caught them all by surprise. How could such a thing exist? This was the Byakugan. The All Seeing Eye. How could an inferior form ever be?
"Surprising I know, but it's the truth." Hiashi said. "The Byakugan then was in no way comparable to what it is now. There were only certain materials that it could see through such as bamboo and mud bricks and the degree of vision could only ever reach a maximum range of 180 degrees. Because of these limitations, the Hollow Fist was created."
Holding up his palm again, Hiashi continued. "The Hollow Fist was created to inflict maximum damage to a large area with only one strike." He explained. "It works exactly how Hinata described it. There is a shell of chakra that is formed in the palm. The side the palm faces has a thinner wall of chakra while the backside that forms in the wrist has a thicker wall. The center remains hollow which is how the style received its name. However, the components of the chakra itself are different. Look at the chakra again, how is the composition made up?"
"It would appear the chakra that forms the front side is less concentrated, or rather, softer compared to the back wall which is denser and therefore harder." Neji observed.
"Correct." Hiashi said with a nod.
"So how does it work?" Hanabi asked.
Hiashi reached into his robes and pulled out an empty juice can. Resting it in his hand, he suddenly applied chakra to it, causing the can to fill rapidly and the sides expanded. When he was done, the can was in an almost oval shape. Setting it on the ground he then put his hand on top of it.
"Think of this can as the chakra in my palm. As I exert force onto the can, it collapses." As he said this he slowly crushed the can. "But notice how as the sides collapse, they push out. This is what causes the technique to be so deadly."
Hiashi lifted the can and held it up for the students to see. "See how this can almost resembles a mushroom?" They nodded intently. "This is the cause for the destructive power."
The clan head pulled out another can and crushed it on the ground. "The destructive force of the chakra is very linear and contained if compressed like this." He held up the can and allowed them to see how it was perfectly crushed in a straight line. "If this entered a body, while damaging and lethal it lacks the destructive radius to completely destroy everything. Now compare it to the can that looks like a mushroom. While linear, it also spreads out to the sides, thus increasing the radius of damage."
Hiashi paused and looked at all three of the children before him. "Do you understand how it works?" They all nodded. "Can anyone tell me the drawbacks to using this technique?"
"It requires a s-substantial amount of chakra to use each t-time." Hinata answered.
"Exactly." Hiashi said with a nod. "When our ancestors first started using this technique they could only fight full go for roughly ten minutes before they neared chakra exhaustion."
"Then how could that be effective in a full scale battle?" Hanabi asked.
"That was then, this is now." Neji answered. "Our Byakugans have become far more advanced and have a higher degree of vision. I would say it's safe to assume that our chakra reserves have increased naturally over time with the use of this technique."
"Correct." Hiashi said. "Just like our eyes, over time and continuous use our chakra reserves adapted. Further down the line our ancestors were capable of going for upwards of an hour in battle while using this technique."
"What about now?" Hinata asked softly.
"I can use this technique for roughly two hours before I have to deactivate my eyes. I can then go for another thirty minutes before I must stop." Hiashi answered. "That is the best thing about this technique though, it is unnecessary to have your eyes activated while you use the Hollow Fist. No matter where you strike, the damage will be irreparable. You can deactivate your Byakugan to conserve chakra and always be dealing lethal blows."
"Now then," Hiashi said as he stood up and dusted himself off, "let us begin the training. I have a limited amount of time to prepare you for what's to come and we need to make the most of it."
Hinata, Neji, and Hanabi looked at each other and then nodded. As they stood, they each had a look of hard determination fixed on their faces.
They would learn to honor their ancestors. They would learn to defend the village. But most importantly, they would learn to protect each other.
Tsunade sat in her chair and stared out over village. The afternoon sun shone brightly and warmed the cool autumn air that threatened to chill if allowed to. Her window was opened and a breeze blew through causing the Hokage to close her eyes and take a deep instinctive breath. She reveled in the short break she had from meetings and paper work and tried to relax before it all started again.
"Always did love autumn here in Fire Country."
Tsunade started and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest as she looked to her side to see Jihibiki staring out over the village next to her.
He looked up at her with a toothy cracked grin. "Whirlpool was great, but something about the leaves changing and the smells just get to me."
"You old coot!" Tsunade shouted after her initial shock. She bashed him over the head. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"
Jihibiki slowly picked himself up off the ground and rubbed his head. "Tsunade-chan, why?"
"Because you're a decrepit pervert." Tsunade answered.
"Touché." Jihibiki relented as he righted himself.
"What are you doing here? I know you wouldn't come visit me without a reason." Tsunade asked.
"The pain! You really don't think I'd come see you just because I could?" Jihibiki asked in mock hurt. Tsunade gave him a dry look and the old Uzumaki dropped the act. "I actually came with a request." He reached into his pocket and produced a slip of paper which he handed to Tsunade.
Tsunade read the paper and her eyebrows climbed. "You knew these were here?"
"I'm an Uzumaki." Jihibiki pointed out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
It technically was.
"I didn't think they existed anymore." Tsunade said honestly. "I thought we lost them."
"Nope, just hidden away in one of your scrolls. It wasn't easy but I managed to…procure the information necessary to find them."
Tsunade gave Jihibiki a suspicious look and Jihibiki just returned her gaze impassively. Eventually she broke eye contact and sighed. "I'll dig them up myself and get them to you."
"Good girl." Jihibiki said with a toothy smile as he rustled her hair earning him a scowl and a smack on the head.
He evaded and hopped across the room quickly with surprising agility for his age. He opened the door and said, "I'll be back in an hour. I want them by then or I'll go get them myself." He gave her a wink and then quickly closed the door as a stamp smashed into the wall where his head had just been.
Tsunade relaxed and looked at the slip one more time. She memorized the numbers and then burned the paper in her hand. Letting out a sigh, she left the office and made her way down the stairs. She seemingly wandered the halls, maneuvering around the assistants and workers until she finally found herself at the bottom level of the building. Opening the last door, she entered the tall room and stopped short. Tilting her head up, she met the towering ominous gaze of the giant steel reinforced door of Konohagakure's Vault.
Konoha's darkest secrets, most important intel, and most valuable tools resided behind the three ton vault door.
Tools like the ones Jihibiki was asking for.
Tools that were ancient relics of an old world.
Tools of an old and long forgotten tradition.
"Damn brat's gonna be the death of me."
And that's a wrap. Feels a little short I know but hey, it's not about Naruto so it didn't really need to be. I hope the explanation for how the Hollow Fist works was clear. If not then let me put it like this: the Hollow Fist works just like a hollow point bullet. When it hits it's target, the bullet collapses and expands giving it a larger area of damage. Also, I'll say it right now. It is in my opinion (and I'm sticking to this because I have looked into it) that Naruto does not have perfect chakra control. It is my belief that he simply has a muscle memory of how much chakra to use for each jutsu. A perfect example was when he learned how to use Senjutsu. Fukasaku had to repeatedly smack Naruto with a staff until he figured out the correct amount of Senjutsu to gather. Therefore, Naruto had to learn through muscle memory how to gather natural chakra. This is why I believe that Naruto can still use some chakra training. He's not exactly in tune with it. And if that argument isn't enough, how about this. I need it for the story so deal with it :p
'til next time. Read and Review!