"It amazes me how you made it as a shinobi when you take such things at face value." ~ Orochimaru
A/N: Hey guys, I just wanted say really quick, happy 25th chapter anniversary. Hope you guys have enjoyed the story so far.
"Would the three Genin, Hyuuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto, please come to the field for the final match of this year's Chunin Exams?" Genma announced loudly, as people began streaming back into the arena, having taken the chance the break provided to get food and drinks, use the facilities, or collect on their bets.
Naruto dropped down from above, landing in an easy crouch, Sasuke appeared next in a Shushin with a superior smirk on his face, and Hinata came last, taking the stairs normally as she pushed her fingers together nervously, glancing between the Uzumaki and Uchiha who were sending glares at each other. When Naruto saw her looking he smiled softly and shot her a thumbs-up.
"If the three of you are ready," Genma paused while the three nodded in unison getting into there ready stances. "Then may the final match begin!" He yelled; leaping back as Sasuke leapt at Naruto, only to be blocked by Hinata as the blonde retreated towards the foliage.
"What, you going to make me fight your girlfriend instead of you, Naruto? Fine with me, this will be a good warm-up before I beat you back into your place in last place." Sasuke taunted, but Naruto ignored the dig as he began gathering small branches into a pile.
However, Sasuke wasn't Rookie of the Year for nothing as he crossed kunai with Hinata's whip, before landing a straight kick in her stomach, sending her sliding back as he jumped back, putting space between the Dojutsu heirs. Pulling several kunai out, he whipped them at Hinata, who dodged seamlessly before he sent a large fireball at her, forcing her to dive to the side as she lost sight of the Uchiha.
Naruto didn't though as he caught sight of Sasuke racing around the ring of the arena peppering Hinata with kunai and shurikan as the girl was forced to dodge most of the projectiles. Naruto interceded though when Sasuke aimed one at the base of Hinata's brain stem, right in her blind spot, appearing beside her and snapping his fingers as a small explosion knocked the metal tool away.
"Ahh, it seems chivalry isn't dead. But why would you help her when she could've easily dodged that kunai unless…" Sasuke trailed off before chuckling darkly, "It figures that an inferior Dojutsu would be weak. But really, the 'All-seeing' eyes have a blind spot?" Sasuke said, although neither of his teammates missed the malice in his words as he followed the Hyuuga carefully, although he paused to shoot a baleful glare at his blonde teammate.
"Naruto-kun, stick to the plan." Hinata admonished as Naruto frowned. Biting his lip, he shrugged off his coat as he tossed it to Hinata who looked at him confusedly.
"You'll need it more than me if you're going to fight him. It's fire-resistant so it should give you enough time in a pinch." Naruto explained before jumping away as Hinata resumed her fight against the arrogant Uchiha. Naruto didn't need to look to know that she was smiling as she pulled the cloak on over her top, the bottom brushing the ground due to Hinata's short stature. Sliding into her Jyuuken stance, Hinata glared at the Uchiha with her Byakyugan activate, enhancing the intimidation as Sasuke scoffed, flitting away as Hinata turned quickly, and deflecting the kunai with her palm.
"It'll take more than a blind-spot to beat me, Uchiha, especially when you're that predictable." Hinata exclaimed and Sasuke growled, charging the bluenette who engaged him in a Taijutsu battle. Had the situation been different, Naruto would've scoffed at the arrogant Uchiha for engaging a well-trained Hyuuga in Taijutsu.
But Sasuke had his own eyes which allowed him to track Hinata's hands, and dodge with his superior speed as the Hyuuga heiress struggled to land a blow on him, although one blow was all she needed, a fact that Sasuke was aware of, and none too willing to allow her as he knocked her hands away, hammering her chest with a snap-kick, which she took with a girlish grunt, rolling back as she landed on her feet, her hand already gripping her favored weapon to keep the raven-haired boy away.
Her hands he could track, considering that no matter her skill, she was slower than him and her body was still confined to the limits of the human body. Her whip had no such problems, coming at him from any direction, not to mention that she interspersed it with several shurikan thrown by her spare hand. A part of her Jyuuken training required her to train equally with both hands, leading to most, if not all, Hyuugas being ambidextrous, a talent Hinata demonstrated as she saw him follow her hands, and switched accordingly without missing a beat.
Eventually, Sasuke had enough as he allowed her to hit with the whip, biting back a cry when it dug into his forearm. Quickly, he wrapped the weapon around his arm, pushing the barbs in deeper though, and yanking hard, which pulled Hinata straight at him as he managed to hit her with several shurikan as she flew at him, before kneeing her in her bleeding chest, and chopping her in the throat, doubling the girl over as he vaulted over her, pulling out a tanto from his arm-warmer which was dotted with blood from the barbed whip as he aimed for the base of her neck.
Then, suddenly, Naruto replaced the injured Hyuuga as he turned on his heel, to face the Uchiha, only to see nothing before he felt a sharp pain erupt in his side as he looked own to find a kunai sticking from his left lung, blood painting the metal and his mesh shirt as he looked shocked into the smirking eyes of his rival. Behind him, he felt his vision shift, like a haze rising as he saw an untouched Hinata looking at him confusedly.
"You still suck at Genjutsu, Dobe! I knew you wouldn't be able to resist jumping in to save your girlfriend so I simply hit you with a Genjutsu earlier to make you think I was going to kill her. Looks like you'll be the one to bite it though!" Sasuke shouted as he twisted the kunai, pulling it out as he fell backwards, catching himself on his hands as he kicked Naruto square in the chin, knocking him up as blood erupted from his mouth.
Flipping over, Sasuke flew after the airborne blonde, shadowing him as he kicked at his right side as Naruto dodged, although he regretted it seconds later as Sasuke used it to attack from the other side even harder as he landed the kick right on Naruto's injured side as the jinchuuriki felt his ribs crack from the impact. Why couldn't Sasuke be arrogant enough not to train over the break? It felt like Hinata had tackled him, all focused right on his now fractured ribs as he yelped and was sent rocketing back towards the ground.
However, Sasuke wasn't done as he flipped to face the falling blonde, whose vision flickering as he saw Sasuke run through a quick set of hand-seals, recognizing them. "Hope you like my new jutsu, it just didn't feel complete before!" Sasuke yelled, taking deep breath as he called out, "Lion's Roaring Barrage!" exhaling as a giant fireball enveloped the blonde as he crashed into the ground, Hinata yelling his name as she ran towards him.
But she stopped short as she saw a blackened figure stand up, rolling his neck, "Tch, figures you'd pull something like this Sasuke, but I gotta say, thanks!" Naruto snarked as he simply walked out of the flames, the embers floating around his body as he sighed contently. Yet he was caught off guard as a speeding blue bullet ran him down and he was knocked to the ground.
He amended his earlier statement; Hinata's tackles still made his ribs want to give away. But he was forced to instinctively grab the happy Hyuuga in a bridal carry as he dodged the speeding fireballs that seemed to track him.
"No… effin'… WAY!" Sasuke roared; speeding through the fastest set of hand seals yet, Naruto noted with something akin to interest. "Fire Style: Grand Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" A number of fireballs around the size of Naruto's torso raced at the blonde, who jumped up leaping away as they crashed into the ground, a second set peppered the ground around him as he leapt through the flames harmlessly, sliding across the ground as he landed behind a large boulder, dropping his vulnerable girlfriend.
"How did you…? I didn't…?" Hinata stuttered and Naruto smiled, gesturing towards her eyes and running his hand down his body. Hinata got the clue as she activated her eyes, having to deactivate them when Sasuke started throwing massive fireballs of chakra around.
"Your chakra reserves, you didn't tell me you could absorb the chakra out of fire style attacks?" Hinata accused as Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Well-" He started, only to be stopped as Hinata captured his lips with her own, staring determinedly into his cerulean pools.
"Don't you ever do that again, Naru-kun, or you don't get anymore!" The heiress ordered and Naruto nodded, his face alight with a crimson blush as both Genins' attention was drawn to the large boulder cracking before shattering as Sasuke landed between the pair as they leapt apart.
Sasuke turned to pursue Naruto, but Hinata immediately reacted by wrapping her whip around his ankle, pulling him off his feet towards her as she aimed at him with a Jyuuken strike, only for him to quickly substitute with a log which was destroyed as Hinata's Byakyugan eyes ran over the field, looking for her target.
She found him running at Naruto's exposed back as she sprinted at the blonde, however, she didn't expect him to suddenly change direction towards her as he ran through a quick set of seals, as he leapt at her, grasping her wrist as he kicked her in the face, sending her tumbling back as he used the momentum to flip into the air, throwing several kunai at the bluenette who managed to avoid any critical hits although one kunai cut her arm as she applied pressure to the wound.
"Just a few more seconds!" Naruto thought as he pushed more chakra into his flames which turned yellow from their orange-red color, or rather, his clone did as the real Naruto was in a meditative stance as he felt his chakra begin to be called upon.
Hinata was running out of tricks to use against the adaptive Uchiha, who came at her again as they resumed their Taijutsu fight as she wielded her whip with precision worthy of the Hyuuga heiress. But he was ready this time as he pulled out his tanto, holding it in a reverse grip as he zipped under her whip, getting in close, eliminating her reach as he swiped across her exposed stomach, the bluenette barely leaping back in time, only for him to bringing his hand up, breathing out a fireball at her as she crossed her arms.
However, she suddenly vanished in a plume of smoke as Naruto substituted with her once more, but Sasuke had anticipated this as he cut the chakra to his attack, and dashed through the flames attacking Naruto with his tanto, now in a forward grip, as Naruto blocked with his kunai, barely holding back the Uchiha.
Finally, Naruto managed to push him back as Sasuke held his tanto forward in a challenge as both boys crouched down, racing at each other as they appeared in the center, sparks appearing as they clashed in a fast series of strikes before crossing as neither one could back down without taking a serious wound.
"Don't you know Dobe, if two blades of equal strength fight, the one with the longer reach will always win!" He said as he deflected the blade down, taking a long cut down his forearm as he cut Naruto across his cheek, stabbing his tanto into Naruto's shoulder before kicking him away as the raven-haired boy heard the blonde's ribs crack.
"Guess it a good thing I'm not using a blade." Naruto said, smirking through the pain as he vanished in a plume of smoke to reveal an injured Hinata, who swung her whip in a wide arc, wrapping it around Sasuke neck as she pulled it tightly, choking him as he dropped his sword. "To think the Great Sasuke Uchiha would fall for a simple Henge, how shameful." Hinata said as Sasuke only saw red, grabbing the leather part of the whip as he tried to spit fire at her, only for her to smirk wider, despite the wound bleeding heavily down her side.
"My whip has a conductive metal thread throughout it, which allows it to take on the qualities of my chakra. That means that I can cut off your chakra simply by wrapping my whip around you." Hinata said, before Sasuke snarled, tightening his grip as he made a Ram hand seal, "As if I would lose to a weakling like you. KAI"
Hinata frowned as she watched his body begin to be covered by his curse seal as he began pulling her closer as he swung his sword at the Hyuuga wildly. As his strength increased, she was forced to release him or risk being pulled into range of the Uchiha's wild attacks. However, he didn't let up as he raced at her as the Hyuuga saw her life flash before eyes as he swung down faster than she could react, only to hear the tell-tale clang of metal on metal as she saw Naruto in front of her.
"I'm ready now, Hinata-chan." The blonde said as he held Sasuke back as his arm shook as the Uchiha's power was barely being held back as Hinata nodded hesitantly, leaping away as Naruto met his male teammate's glowing red eyes.
"Oh no, I'm not letting her get away that easily. I'm going to beat you Dobe, then hold her down and slit her throat while you watch, powerless to stop me!" Sasuke snarled as the curse seal fully covered him as his strength skyrocketed, the Dojutsu heir grabbing Naruto's wrist as he flipped him over in judo flip only to hammer his chest with a snap kick that sent Naruto skidding across the ground.
But Naruto refused to fall down as Sasuke flew through hand seals, breathing deeply as he forced his curse seal to recede. "No, I'm going to beat you with my own power. I don't need this much power to squash a pest." The Uchiha said overconfidently as Naruto breathed heavily, rubbing his fractured ribs as the two glared across the arena. "But maybe I'll let you off with a light beating if you give me that move you used to defeat the kid from Suna." Sasuke offered with a tone that made Naruto want to smack him.
"You couldn't do it even if I did deem you worthy enough for me to use." Naruto taunted as Sasuke growled.
"Just do it and we'll see." Sasuke said; the pair circling as Naruto smirked as he had his back to the still smoldering foliage.
"I don't use Fire Release when I get serious. What I use is called Scorch Release, which a kenkai genkai that combines Fire and Wind Releases. But my powers are much more than that. Scorch Release uses equal amounts of Fire and Wind chakra. But if I overload it with Fire chakra…" Naruto trailed off as he brought his fingers up, snapping them once as the entire treescape behind him was encased in a massive explosion.
"Snap Dragon Display." He said simply as Sasuke smirked, snapping his own fingers only for nothing to happen. He looked confused as Naruto laughed.
"See, you couldn't copy my moves if I wanted you too. It makes me wonder, are any of you Uchiha's actually strong, or is that just false bravado from stealing everyone's best moves?" Naruto taunted as Sasuke growled, racing at the blonde as he snapped his fingers rapidly, the arena being covered in explosions as Sasuke dodged like a fly, getting to Naruto uninjured as he smirked violently, slashing down as Naruto managed to stop his tanto downward cut, the kunai beginning to crack under the pressure being generated.
"Ha, you little trick could never hope to beat an Uchiha. Your best can't even scratch me, and you need two hands for that massive fire attack. Face it; you can't beat me so long as I stay near to you!" Sasuke said knowingly as the crowd began to murmur, seeing Naruto barely holding back the stronger blade.
"Premature attacking is a real problem, Sasuke; you should get that checked out. If you'd bothered to let me finish, I was going to say that I naturally have a better affinity for Wind than Fire, so you haven't even seen me in my element." Naruto said as he held the kunai up with one hand, reinforcing the limb with chakra, as well as the kunai as it began to crack more.
Holding his hand out, the fires behind him responded, the ash floating in the air coming at his command to stick together as a blade began to be formed, an ashen white, considering its makeup, as he held a sword longer than Sasuke's tanto, but not as long as a katana.
"Ash Release." Naruto whispered as he swung at Sasuke, who dodged back superfluously as Naruto swung, smirking as his sword broke apart, forming multiple little blades as they shredded the arrogant Uchiha's shirt before he substituted with a log which was reduced to kindling within seconds as Naruto walked forwards, a small flame burning the splinters as more ash responded to his call as his Ash blade reformed.
"To the left Naruto-kun." Hinata called out, using her eyes to track Sasuke, who grit his teeth as Naruto smirked, sprinting at Sasuke, who crossed blades with Naruto. The Uchiha may have his eyes that allowed him to track Naruto's attacks, but they didn't help him actually hit the blonde who had several lessons over the break with Hayate, considered the best swordsman in Konoha, which allowed him to keep pace with Sasuke.
Leaping apart, Naruto went for Sasuke's thigh, only to be forced to block his side as Sasuke didn't pull any punches, actually kicking at Naruto who leaped over the kick, swinging down as Sasuke thrust straight at Naruto sword, knocking it away. Both paused momentarily before charging each other again, Naruto coming in with an overhead swing which Sasuke blocked as Naruto used the momentum as his sword bounced off to spin, coming in with a powerful slash across Sasuke's side which he was forced to block or take the debilitating cut. However, Naruto pinned his blade against his body as he used his opposing leg to hammer the raven-haired Genin's ribs with a strong kick that made him cough up blood.
But Sasuke pushed through the pain, grabbing Naruto raised leg, head butting the blonde as both boys reeled from the blow. Sasuke recovered first, doubling Naruto over with a strong knee to the chin as he raised his sword to finish the job, only for a barbed whip to sweep over Naruto back, catching Sasuke off-guard as his chest was ripped into by the barbs blood coating them as they were pulled away as Hinata, entered the fight.
Using her boyfriend's back as a springboard, she struck at Sasuke with a Jyuuken palm which he blocked with the flat of his blade as Hinata backed off, Sasuke watching her closely as Naruto recovered, slashing at his feet as Sasuke stomped the blade down, only to yelp as he jumped up, Hinata's whip encircling his waist as she pulled him in, Naruto aiming for his shoulder as he was replaced by a log which disintegrated upon touching Naruto's blade.
Sasuke didn't let up though as he came from behind Hinata, sweeping her feet out from under her as he kicked her into the air. However, rather than shadow her, he blocked Naruto's swing, pulling a kunai out with his other hand as he stabbed the blonde's hand, forcing him to drop his sword as Sasuke smirked, scooping it up only to yelp as he dropped the blade, nursing his blistered hand, allowing Naruto to catch his blade as he spun on the ball of his foot, slicing the Uchiha across his back, right shoulder to left hip as the Genin let out a soundless scream, but it wasn't over as Hinata barrel-rolled in mid-air, pulling her whip after her as it caught Sasuke under the chin, pulling him up slightly as Naruto finished it off with an axe kick to Sasuke's bruised ribs.
"My blade is made of still burning ashes, what made you think that it was a smart idea to grab it. That's what makes it truly powerful; it will burn anything to touches. Even me, but I'm immune to fire-based heat and burns." Naruto said as he called more ash up to form a ring around his wrist that attached to the blade, making it look like it sprouted straight from his arm.
"It looks like we have our first casul-" Genma's words were cut off by Sasuke barely standing up, as he dripped blood from his mouth. His shirt was gone, burning off to form more ash for Naruto's sword.
"I can't lose here. I WON'T lose here. I REFUSE TO LOSE TO THE DEAD-LAST!" Sasuke howled as he clenched his fists, the curse-seal taking over his entire body as he vanished in a burst of speed, hammering Hinata with a powerful kick that sent her tumbling across the ground.
Naruto started, only for Sasuke to look at him as he sprinted across the ground, sliding under Naruto as he erupted upwards, sending Naruto skyward as he raced up the arena wall before leaping off at the blonde, who had enough sense to send fire out of his feet as he hovered in the air, managing to cross blades in Sasuke in mid-air. However, Sasuke abandoned his sword as he grabbed Naruto's throat, trying to choke him out as Naruto flipped them over, slamming his sword down as Sasuke was sent rocketing into the ground. Just for good measure, Naruto sent his ash blade after him like an arrow as it almost reached Sasuke before it turned back into ash as it flew back to Naruto who caught it as it reformed into a blade mid-swing as he barrel-rolled to block a descending Sasuke's sword. But the boy's strength was much higher now as Naruto was sent flying into the ground beside Hinata, both Genin breathing heavily as they leaned on each other as they met the four eyes staring them down evilly.
"Which one is the real one? They both have identical chakra pathways." Hinata asked concerned as Naruto frowned.
"Now I know that's not a Genjutsu if Hinata-chan can see them." Naruto mumbled before Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder, sending a pulse of chakra through him as the Genjutsu shattered in time for Naruto to catch the last hand seal Sasuke made, one he knew intimately.
"Really, Sasuke with the Shadow Clones Jutsu, the world can barely handle the ego of one Sasuke, how will it deal with this many?" Naruto said sarcastically as all the Sasukes growled, surrounding the Genin couple who were back-to-back.
"I didn't think we'd have to use it yet, but it looks like we have no choice." Naruto said, falling into his Flame Dance stance, his ash sword dispelling, behind him, Hinata got into her Jyuuken stance.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked from outside the circle as Naruto and Hinata smiled faintly, sending an unperceivable glance at each other.
"Welcome to our battle field, where we opened our eyes and perfected our sight." They said in stereo as Naruto knocked his headband down and Hinata activated her Byakyugan seamlessly.
"Eight Trigrams" Hinata said as the Sasuke group crouched down.
"Flame Dance" Naruto said as the Sasuke group charged.
"Dance of the Gentle Twin Flames." They said, once more in stereo as they began to attack.
Hinata started with a straight palm to a clone's chest, Naruto mirroring her attack as two clones vanished, both Genin leaning to the side to dodge a kunai and shurikan respectively. Next both Genin spun around, swinging their weapons as a wave of ash took down several clones, and Hinata's whip claiming several more as the couple fell back into their starting stance. Then it really kicked up a gear as Hinata launched into the 64 Palms attack as Naruto mirrored her strikes with small bursts of flame taking down the army of Sasuke's.
However, the remaining clones got wise to their attacks as they backed off, keeping their distance as the couple smirked, both feeling the attacks coming. Of the remaining ten clones, six ran through a quick series of hand seals as they sent a massive fireball into the center of the circle, intending the incinerate Hinata, since Naruto couldn't block every direction at once.
But no one expected Hinata to bend down as Naruto rolled on to her back before spinning like a top upside down, fire leaking form his feet as a tornado formed over the Hyuuga who didn't react before arcing her back as Naruto went skyward as the Hyuuga smiled faintly, although no one could see her inside the firenado.
"You've helped me again Kaa-chan." Hinata thought as she stuck her hands into the descending firenado, spinning similar to the Kaiten with her hands covered in chakra as she pushed outwards with her chakra as the fire began to form a shell around her before she pulsed her chakra in a perfect ring around her as a white ring of fire pulsed out as she began repeating it rapidly as the Sasuke clones were caught off guard as most of them were destroyed by the surprise attack. Finally, Hinata stopped spinning as she stopped with her palms out as if stopping walls.
"Eight Trigrams: Heavenly Ring." She said as Naruto landed on her back, his spinning slowing to a stop.
"Scorch Style: Dragon Twister." Naruto exclaimed as he flipped over his girlfriend's back to block a Sasuke clone's sword strike. Within seconds, his sword was back on hand as he blocked, as he parried the clone's blade up as he swung low, bisecting the clone across his gut as he vanished in a puff of smoke.
"It would appear your little power boost didn't hold up too long." Naruto taunted as Sasuke growled, knowing he was right; making that many Shadow Clones had drained his seal for the moment. Beside him, his remaining two clones dashed at Naruto, who snorted, vanishing for a moment as he crossed blades with the real Sasuke who hung back.
"Oh dear, can you handle the riff-raff?" Naruto said in a fake-noble voice as Hinata smiled, bowing as she cracked her whip as the twin Sasuke clones advanced on her. Swing her whip out, one leapt over it while the other one tried to stop it with his blade only for her whip to wrap around it as she yanked it back towards her as the clone was left weaponless.
However, the fight wasn't over as the still-equipped clone charged her, trying to get inside her guard as she jumped back, not letting him in as her whip snaked out to wrap around the clone's neck only for him to vanish in a burst of speed as Hinata looked around for him as the second clone provided cover by throwing shurikan at the distracted bluenette. But Hinata simply smacked the projectiles away with her whip while still using her eyes to watch for the more dangerous of the two clones.
The weaponless clone got angry, reaching into the pack on his back as he pulled out a Fuuma shurikan, taking careful aim as he charged Hinata, who ignored him jumping over the clone, using his back as a springboard as she leapt higher into the air, with the added bonus of utilizing her Jyuuken training as she hit the base of his brain stem, her chakra shutting off the nervous system as he dispelled second later.
She started to smirk, only for the second clone to reappear in the moment she wasn't paying attention, aiming to decapitate her as her eyes widened as she was stuck in mid-air, unable to dodge. The clone descended after her as she desperately tried to think of a quick plan, before using her whip to snag the fallen Fuuma shurikan as she pulled it towards her.
"A Byakyugan would be good right now, huh?" She asked rhetorically as she twisted her body, the Fuuma shurikan still slicing across her side before continuing past her and sticking into the clone's chest as it vanished with surprised expression.
She landed with a confident smile on her face, which quickly changed to wince as she held her bleeding side, sitting down while watching Naruto finish up with Sasuke.
Sasuke was barely keeping pace with Naruto's relentless sword style when he felt his last two clones dispelling, filling him with their excess chakra as he breathed heavily, and pushing away from Naruto who, while bleeding, looked to be recovering faster than Sasuke.
Naruto noticed that Sasuke was starting to slow down, and felt the primal thrill of superiority as he jumped back, holding his sword out as he made a Ram seal with his one hand. Turning tail, he began running towards the edge of the arena, Sasuke calling taunts after him as he gave chase, foolishly. Naruto hit the wall running straight up it as he leapt as high into the air as possible, Sasuke's eyes tracking until he floated in front of the midday sun as he was forced to look away.
"Solar…" Naruto started as he flew down, landing on the ground as he released a burst of fire from his feet as he flew at Sasuke, didn't have time to react as Naruto appeared behind him with a trailed of scorched earth as Sasuke fell to his knees in defeat. "Eclipse!"
Holding himself up with a hand on his knees, he shut his eyes before feeling Sasuke rise behind him as he tried to attack Naruto's back only for the blonde to whirl around and stop his blade with his still intact sword.
Naruto was caught on the back foot by the sudden attack as Sasuke looked at him with pure determination as Naruto fell to the ground, his blade pressed against his neck as he gulped once at Sasuke's manic glare.
"Don't forget…" He strained, Sasuke's curse seal slowly growing again, having recharged finally as Naruto grit his teeth, using all his strength to hold Sasuke back. Suddenly, the Uchiha heir went limp as he crumpled to the ground with a clone of Naruto standing behind him, holding a simple bar of ash. "who used the Shadow Clones first." Naruto said, breathing heavily as he stood to his feet.
Genma jumped down hesitantly, watching the downed Uchiha as he took his pulse before standing with his arm raised as he channeled chakra to his vocal cords, projecting his voice upwards into the stands as he loudly declared, "Sasuke Uchiha is unconscious, he has been disqualified! The two finalists are Hinata Hyuuga and Naruto Uzumaki!" The crowd was stunned silent for a moment as the realization that the vaunted Uchiha had been defeated.
Naruto and Hinata were given the chance to catch their breath as medic-nin rushed on the field, loading Sasuke on to a stretcher and vanishing quickly, taking no longer than 5 minutes in all as Genma leaped away, the blonde and bluenette facing each other, each holding their wounds gingerly.
"Looks like it's just you and me, Hina-chan." Naruto said; laughing through his heavy breathing as Hinata nodded forlornly before slowly raising her hand.
"Yeah, I guess so. Proctor-" Her next words were cut off as Naruto leapt at her, forcing the Hyuuga heiress to dodge as she looked at Naruto in surprise.
"If you think I'm just going to let you forfeit, then you don't know me as well as I thought." Naruto taunted as Hinata gasped, tightly gripping her whip as Naruto got in a Taijutsu stance.
"But I don't want to fight you, Naru-kun." Hinata explained softly as Naruto looked at her kindly, relaxing his stance as he walked towards her.
"I don't either, but we've both come too far to simply forfeit." Naruto whispered caringly before he smirked, leaning in close as he mumbled into her ear, his breath tickling her as she sighed. "Besides, if you win, then…" His voice got quieter as Hinata listened intently, blushing profusely as he pulled away, jumping back to his starting position.
"Okay, Naru-kun, I will do it." Hinata said confidently as she got into her own fighting stance, her boyfriend smiling as he crouched down, both watching the other closely.
"Good, because I'm not going to let you win that easily, Hina-hime." Naruto whispered with a soft blush as he reacted instantly to Hinata's attack, leaping in a flip over the whip which was a feint as Hinata threw several kunai at the airborne blonde, who substituted with a log which exploded moments later, obscuring Hinata vision as she activated her Byakyugan seallessly, and catching multiple chakra signals racing through the smoke.
Breathing calmly, she ducked under the first one who tried to hit with a sweeping kick, dispelling him with a single palm to the chest. But she was immediately forced back by the next two, who attacked with a feint before rolling through a quick set of seals and spitting small speeding fireballs at the bluenette, who smirked as she spun around, swatting the flames away with his offered cloak. This had the side-effect of obscuring the clone's vision as she jumped over them, landing on their backs as she pushed off, simultaneously dispelling the twin clones before landing in a roll as the last Naruto attacked with a snap-kick before she swept his feet out from under him.
But Naruto was prepared as he landing on his hands, hitting her in the side with a solid windmill kick which she barely avoided the flames that licked at her clothes thanks once again to his cloak which fluttered in the wind as she slid to a stop.
Naruto, however, was caught off guard as his hand was yanked out from under as Hinata used her whip like a tether as he flew at her, aiming for his midsection with a chakra-infused palm. Grunting in pain, he adjusted himself mid-flight as her attack hit his thigh before he could substitute with a log which Hinata sent flying with her whip as it exploded, Naruto leaping from the smoke as his paramour slid easily into her Jyuuken stance, catching his sweeping kick with her palm, pushing it away before hammering his leg with several more jabs as he collapsed, his leg limp.
But he was determined to keeping going as he threw a kunai at her head as she leaned to the side to dodge, only to realize too late that it was a feint as he grabbed his oversized cloak, pulling her down to the ground as he rolled over, pinning her to the ground with a kunai to her neck.
"Good fight, but I know how you fight, remember? You lose." He said sweetly as Hinata blushed, noticing their positions as she got an idea, her blush growing.
"Sorry, Naru-kun." She said; the blonde confused until she used her legs to push him down as she captured his lips in a heated kiss as he moved the kunai to avoid hurting himself or her. However, she took advantage of him dropping his guard as she hammered her knee into his fractured ribs, using his hiss of pain to pull a kunai from his pouch as she stabbed it into his pelvic bone, sending Naruto leaping back as he covered his crotch as Hinata climbed to her feet, her whip snapping in the air.
"You-you could've castrated me like that!" He said forlornly as Hinata felt guilty, forcing the feeling down, instead getting into a ready stance as Naruto's feigned surprise changed to a genuine smile as he crouched down, tossing the bloody kunai at her as she swatted it out of the air with her whip, only for Naruto to smirk as Hinata heard the sound of an explosion tag as she spotted the attached tag burning away as she did the first thing could think of: curling into the fetal position and covering herself with the cloak as she was rocked by the close explosion.
She was even forced to disable her Byakyugan eyes due to the nature of the explosion only to be caught off-guard by a snap kick, courtesy of Naruto, which sent her tumbling away as she looked at the blonde, her ears ringing as she stood, only to notice that her proffered whip was missing, blown away by the explosion.
Reactivating her eyes, Naruto crossed his arms, multiple fireballs around the size of baseballs appearing around him as he raised a single eyebrow in challenge as she was set upon by the fireballs. "Scorch Style: Crimson Swarm." He said simply as Hinata covered herself with the cloak as they peppered her back, only for Naruto to remove one hand swirling his hand as the fireballs began to swirl around her as Naruto lazily rolled through seals, breathing out a stream of air that joined with the small fireballs to create a whirlpool of fire around Hinata as the heat began to affect her, her breath coming short as she made a last-ditch attack, bursting from the fire as it licked at her exposed skin, Naruto caught off guard as she landed in front of his defenseless form, striking him quickly and precisely.
"Eight Trigrams: Four Palm Binding." She breathed heavily as Naruto flew back, hitting the ground in a heap as he laughed before trying to stand, only to feel nothing in his limbs as they refused to respond.
"Haha, it seems you got a vixen with spunk." Kyuubi taunted Naruto as he gritted his teeth, trying to force the Bijou's youki to heal his sealed nerves. "Now how about you put her in her place, and show her who the Alpha is in your relationship." Kyuubi ordered as Naruto growled lowly.
"Shut up, I don't need your help now!" Naruto responded mentally as Kyuubi was silent for a few moments.
"Oh, how I wish that were true, then I may actually consider killing you now, but no, you're too weak to beat your pretty little vixen." Kyuubi said in a tone that made Naruto's blood begin to boil.
"Or is it that you don't want to use my power on your vixen because she'll actually notice the difference between that false imitation you flesh bags call chakra and my pure youki? You're afraid she'll think you're a big, bad demon and then she'll hate you, just like the rest of this Kamiforesaken village. It's okay; just let me take the reins for a little bit, I bet she tastes heavenly, her nubile-." Kyuubi said as Naruto's blood jumped straight to an overflowing pot of rage.
"SHUT UP! YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER, OR I SWEAR TO WHATEVER DEITY OR AKUMA THAT'S LISTENING, I WILL RIP MY OWN HEART OUT AND DRAG YOU TO THE LOWEST PIT OF HELL WITH ME!" Naruto snarled as Kyuubi smirked; using the pure hatred the blonde was feeling to send a pulse through his body, unsealing his limbs and giving him a slight bump in chakra.
Kyuubi felt the mental connection shut off as quickly as it opened, and he curled up, his orange fur practically aglow at his glee.
"As if your paltry threats scare me. Even so, I wasn't expecting such an abundance of untapped hatred and rage. Oh yes, our fight will be glorious, and when I consume your soul, I will be unchallenged on this plane." Kyuubi said to himself as he closed his eyes, relishing in the sensations of the outer world.
Forcing himself up, Naruto breathed heavily, Hinata mirroring him as they looked at each other with a look that conveyed their shared thought: this is the last attack; I'll need to put everything into it if I want to win.
The crowd had fallen silent, even the medical ward and the Kage box as they watch as Naruto put his one hand back, holding his wrist steady as it shook from his exhaustion. Across from him, Hinata activated her eyes one last time, calming her nerves as she felt her chakra cover her palm as it glowed slightly from the gathered chakra. Simultaneously, they sprinted towards the other, their eyes filled with determination.
"Eight Trigrams: Grand Force Palm!" Hinata shouted. She would never consider using this technique on anyone except someone she truly hated or her Naruto-kun because he was actually capable enough to avoid its effects.
"Blistering Bomb!" Naruto yelled as it glowed with an ethereal white light. If Hinata was willing to use her most powerful attack, he could at last give her the same courtesy.
Time seemed to slow down as the two neared each other, before she thrust her palm forwards, and Naruto met it with his ball of explosive gas as time froze for a moment, and then a massive explosion rent the air, and shattering the silence of the crowds as both Genin went rocketing back, bouncing across the ground before smashing into the walls with enough force to leave dent in the stone as they crumpled to the ground.
Genma dropped to the ground, glancing between the pair before channeling chakra to his vocal chords as he projected his voice.
"Since both competitors are unconscious, this match is-" He was cut off by a loud outcry.
"Look! He's moving!" Lee shouted at the top of his lungs, only to be countered by an even louder cry of, "So is Onee-chan!" This voice was Hanabi Hyuuga's, who was glared at by her father as she sat down, blushing at all the eyes on her. But both were correct as both Naruto and Hinata slowly stood, managing to stand weakly as they look across the immense arena floor at the other. They smiled.
Naruto's vision swam as he looked at his girlfriend, smiling as he could see that she too was still standing. Both seemed to be standing by pure force of will, before Naruto heard Genma say, "And it would appear the winner is-" was all he got as he fell to his knees, his momentum carrying him to the ground as he landed on his face, a small trickle of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth as he looked to the side, his vision flickering. He could see Genma's mouth moving, and feel the vibration as people cheered, but he couldn't tell what was being said as he shut his eyes tiredly.
He forced them open once more, and saw a kunai flying towards his face, and then his vision went black.
A/N: Wow, I didn't expect it to take over like this. Honestly, I never expected to make it 25 chapters, especially since I'm not the best writer on this site, by a long-shot, but I suppose I do enjoy writing and giving you guys the same thrill that I get when I get a new chapter on one of my stories I read. That said, when I started writing I meant to tell you guys something, but I can't remember what it was now.
Next thing, I'm going to take a few weeks off from writing. I know what your thinking, Aero, you just got back from a vacation from writing, but I'm doing it to keep up the quality of my writing since I've just finished an action-heavy arc and I want time to plan out the next one which will be the introduction of our favorite fishy swordsman and busty blonde.
Finally, this fanfics is about half-over, and I'm running out of quotes so would you guys be okay with me using quotes from the planned sequel(s)?
Edit: Post in the reviews what you think I should use as certain characters theme songs?
Love you guys.