Chapter 37 - Departures
Hinata stood in the training ground, looking at the target dummy that was slashed into ribbons. It had been three weeks since she returned to Konohagakure, and she had finally performed mikazuki no mai. She was still at a beginner level, unable to move at the same speed over long distances as Hayate could, but she was feeling immense satisfaction.
"Great job!" Hayate called out to her with a proud smile. He'd been overseeing Hinata's practice with the technique, and she had honestly surprised him. The way she used the technique differed from his usage immensely, due to limitations in her speed. While he focused on a charging speed to land a single slash, she had turned the technique into a dance of sorts.
She would use it after getting close to the target, maneuvering around them at high speeds, leaving a trail of afterimages, each slashing at a different part of the body. She moved fast enough that the target would be attacked from all sides almost simultaneously. Her method of using it, however, made it difficult for her to use it alongside her shadow clone. She had tried continuously, but they ended up running into each other, causing her to almost get cut by her own blade.
"Shishou, I have a question." Hinata walked back over to Hayate, looking at her own blade as if hesitating about something.
"What's the question?"
"It's good to be learning this technique, and I'm glad I've come this far with it, but.. During the exams, what if I'm fighting against a member from our own village? I can't exactly use it against them, right? What if I end up killing someone?" Hinata looked concerned.
"You can't be worried about that." Hayate said seriously. "I know you don't want to kill your friends, but the chūnin exams are a dangerous competition, where life and death are uncertain. Every attack should aim to kill, it's the other person's responsibility to avoid death, and fight back. The finals are almost always one on one battles, and jōnin proctors, as well as medic-nin, will be on-site. If the judge has determined a victory, they'll step in and stop the match. If they're unable to, the medic-nin will do their best to save the life of the injured party."
Hinata glanced back at the training dummy. "Mikazuki no mai is a killing technique though. Once I use it, there's no way for someone to reach who I'm attacking in time, and I'd like to see a medic-nin try to heal.. that." She waved her hand the various lethal slashes on the dummy. Any one of them could be fatal.
Hayate frowned. He knew that mikazuki no mai was a killing technique, but that's why he taught it to her. It was so she'd be able to eliminate an enemy as fast as possible. He sighed, looking Hinata in the eyes. "Remember this fact, Hinata-chan. Killing is not against the rules in the exam, but senseless killing is. If an opponent is clearly incapacitated and defeated, you're not to finish them off. Killing in the heat of battle, due to using a deadly technique is allowed. If your target dies, it's treated as if they didn't have the ability to survive as a shinobi. That being said, you're correct that it's looked down upon to kill shinobi from the same village. Not against the rules, but you can end up making enemies that way."
"So you're saying I should only use this ability against shinobi from other villages?" Hinata asked, looking for clarification.
"To strike a killing blow? That would be for the best. However, I want you to spend the rest of this week, before the exams, learning how to control your attacks when you use the technique. You can still use it to incapacitate, without slicing at lethal areas." Hayate explained.
Hinata furrowed her brows a bit at this. When using the technique, she was moving at such a high speed that it would be difficult to control the power of her strikes. If she wanted to make it non-lethal, changing the spots she attacked would be the best bet. But in order to incapacitate a target, she'd have to focus on slashing important muscles and ligaments. "I can do that." She said, coming to a decision and nodding slowly.
"Good. How are you feeling? Can you continue training a while longer?"
"Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem." She looked over at her shadow clone that was still practicing the technique. She felt drained and exhausted, but the thought of the rapid progress she was making using this method of practice was too enticing. She couldn't believe how tired she felt right now, using only one shadow clone for several hours. Knowing that Naruto could use dozens of them, really made her envious of him.
"Alright, get back to it then. I'm going to check on Kiba's progress." Hayate said, clapping her on the shoulder.
Hinata watched as Hayate disappeared into the distance, before walking over to different training dummy. 'One more week..' She narrowed her eyes. She wasn't sure how the exams were going to go, but she was going to make damn sure that she was as prepared as she could be.
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Fū was practically vibrating with excitement as Shibuki stood in front of their group outside of the village. He was going to be leading four different teams of genins to the exams, along with two jōnin guards. They were going to move at a quick pace and do their best to arrive at Konoha two days before the exams started.
"Alright everyone, I know you're all excited for the exams and for some of you, this is your first time leaving the village to travel so far away. That doesn't give you an excuse for any reckless behavior or to let down your guard while we travel. I want us all to arrive safely, and on time. Kegon, you're on point. Yōrō, I want you to bring up the rear." Shibuki ordered.
"Understood." The two jōnin took their positions as the group headed out into the jungle.
Fū was traveling alongside her team and Shibuki during the journey. She was taking in the sights as they ran, not wanting to miss anything. Their training had been grueling, and her team still didn't like each other much, but they worked together well enough. Surprisingly, Shibuki had done a decent job of choosing the three of them based on their respective skill sets.
Moriko was a sensor-type kunoichi and focused on stealth tactics, while Hōki was adept at taijutsu. Fū was primarily a ninjutsu user focused on support type ninjutsu. She was also adept at taijutsu, but that was mainly because of the strength and durability of her body due to her status as a jinchūriki.
"Shibuki-oniisan, are we going to be stopping at any other villages on the way!?" Fū asked in excitement as they ran.
"No, we're going to be moving at a constant pace the entire time except for nights. We aren't going to be taking any detours, and there aren't any villages with inns in our direct path of travel." Shibuki explained to her.
Fū looked a bit disappointed, but quickly bounced back. "Well how long will it take before we cross over into Hi no Kuni!?"
"About two days, maybe less if we make good time. I said we should get there two days before, but depending on our pace, we might be able to get there a bit sooner." Shibuki answered.
"Is Hi no Kuni a lot different from our own country!?"
"Hi no Kuni is a country almost entirely made up of a giant forest. Rather than our jungle, their forest has smaller trees and isn't as lush with vegetation. Didn't you talk to Hinata-chan about this? I would have expected you to ask her all sorts of questions." Shibuki looked over at the girl.
"Hmmm, we talked about so many things that I only really remember the important stuff!" Fū answered with a grin. "Like her birthday, her favorite food, what type of clothes she likes to wear on her days off, who her friends are, what her family is like, her favorite col-" She was cut off by Moriko mis sentence.
"Oh my god, shut up! You've been going on and on about this girl for the past month. Just stop it already. I already want to punch this Hinata girl in the mouth and i haven't even met her yet. If I have to hear about how her favorite food is curry one more time, I'm gonna lose my shit!" Moriko complained.
"Her favorite food is spicy curry act-" Fū started before she was interrupted again.
"Shut up! No one cares! Literally no one!" Moriko shouted at her.
Fū swallowed her angry retort. 'I care..' She thought to herself. She stopped talking, however, and focused on their trip. 'Only a few more days! I'll see you soon Hinata!"
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The wind blew across the dunes outside of Sunagakure, causing the cloaks of the shinobi gathered on the outskirts of the village to dance about. Over forty shinobi, with thirty of them being genin, were lined up in columns in front of the Kazekage.
"You all have prepared for this upcoming exam for many months." Rasa, the Kazekage spoke, narrowing his eyes and looking around at the genin in front of him. "You have honed your skills, and pushed yourselves to the limits."
'Look at him! See how those eyes of his gaze at you with hatred!?' A high pitched laughter rang out in the head of a boy with red hair, and a gourd on his back. The boy grit his teeth and ignored the voice, focusing on the words of his father, the Kazekage.
"Everyone here is expected to show the best of their abilities in the upcoming trials!" Rasa declared, staring at his son. "I expect nothing but the best. You will not embarrass our Sunagakure."
The echoes of acknowledgement and cheers erupted from the genin, except for the red haired boy. He held his head with one hand, grimacing, as the voice in his head shouted louder. 'You see how he stares at you!' The voices laughter rang out. 'He expects you to embarrass him! You're a failure and he knows it! He'd rather you'd be dead! Kill him first! Kill him!'
"Oi, Gaara, are you alright?" A boy with purple face paint that was standing next to him leaned over and whispered in concern.
'Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill them all!'
"Gaara! Snap out of it!" The boy whispered a bit louder.
'Kill them! Kill them! Kill everyone! Do it! I'll help you!'
"Gaara what's go- '' The boy with face paint stopped mid-sentence as Gaara shouted.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Gaara was bent over, grasping his head in pain. The other shinobi all looked over at the disturbance, a look of fear on their faces. The boy with face paint took two steps back, almost about to panic.
'Look how they all fear you! LOOK HOW THEY ALL HATE YOU! KILL THEM!' The voice shouted even louder in his head.
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Gaara shouted at the top of his lungs, sand beginning to rage around him.
"Gaara! Enough!" Rasa's voice commanded. He appeared right in front of Gaara, ignoring the forming wall of sand, and gripping Gaara's wrist. He didn't flinch at the sand that was beginning to wrap around his body.
Gaara looked up at his father, gritting his teeth and staring at him in hatred. He pushed the urges back down however, silencing the voice in his head. The voice quieted down into a whisper as it spoke to him constantly. A whisper was fine though. A whisper was normal; constantly telling him to kill; constantly telling him he was hated. Gaara was used to it; he knew how to live with that whisper, never able to sleep, lest it take over his body.
"I'm.. fine.." Gaara said through gritted teeth. "Let go of me." He pulled his wrist free from his father's grasp.
Rasa snorted. "Control yourself when we're in Konohagakure. I don't want you to embarrass me any more than you already have." He said in a quiet voice to his son.
"Alright! That's enough excitement!" Rasa, stepped back and addressed the group again. "We're moving out!"
"Yes, Kazekage-sama!" The shinobi answered, following his lead as they headed in the direction of Hi no Kuni.
Rasa ran ahead of the group with a frown on his face that no one could see. He had debated with himself for a while about whether or not to bring Gaara, but he had decided he just couldn't trust Gaara alone in the village without him being there. If he lost control over the Bijū the village would be in grave danger.
Rasa sighed. He'd just have to hope that they made it through the exams without anything happening. Gaara was the strongest genin in the village, thanks to the power of the bijū. He could control sand freely just as Rasa could, but he didn't have to. The sand would respond on its own, protecting Gaara from any harm of its own accord, due to the power of the bijū sealed inside of him.
They kept a steady, fast pace, as they ran across the dunes of the desert that made up the lands of Kaze no Kuni. It would take them about four days to arrive at Konohagakure, and Rasa was determined to make it there without any incidents.
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"Are you prepared? Today is the start of everything we've worked towards." Neji said, approaching Karui and hugging her. He looked down at her face and saw the determination in her eyes.
"Mn." She nodded. She knew what was at stake, and if either of them failed, it would mean sure death for her, and an even worse sentence for Neji. She'd be branded as a traitor, and he'd be deemed too dangerous of a threat to be kept on such a long leash. Whatever freedom he had now would be stripped away. They had to perform flawlessly.
"The seals?" Karui asked, looking at the tags that Neji had been researching and crafting over the past few years. She still hadn't believed that he was able to design a working seal based off his favorite children's book his aunt used to read him as a child. 'Just like learning a new language, my ass.' She snorted in her mind. Even if he wasn't willing to admit it, Karui couldn't help but recognize the boy's genius.
If that wasn't enough, he had designed a second seal based on the principles of the Tekkō Fūin that Kumogakure used to seal the bijū inside of their jinchūriki. She glanced over at the large coffin with intricate seals carved throughout the interior and exterior. Heavy black chains laid on the ground around it, each link of the chains were carved with seals. Gathering the materials needed without being noticed had been a job and half for Karui, but she had done it. Luckily, she was able to move somewhat freely throughout the village, even if she was confined to live on the cliff with Neji. This had been the work Neji had worked on for almost ten years, and they were both determined to see that everything went perfectly.
"Everything is complete." Neji said, letting her go and walking over to the desk. "Help me clean up before the departure. They should be here to collect you shortly."
They planned to send one of Karui's shadow clones along with the group departing to go to Konohagakure, and Neji reveled in the irony. A wasn't going to be just defeated by a boy he stole from Konoha nine and half years ago, but also by a technique Kumogakure had stolen from Konoha. He smiled sardonically as he worked with Karui to hide the various tags and seals he had created.
As they dragged the coffin in the side room, Neji looked at Karui with a bit of worry. "Are you sure you'll be ok? In order to not be found out by A, you'll have to stay awake for several days so that your clone doesn't dissipate."
"I'll be fine, don't worry!" Karui gave him a reassuring grin. "It's the other part I'm not looking forward to." She stuck her tongue out at him and he grimaced.
Unfortunately in order for their plan to work, Karui would have to sacrifice a bit of blood. Neji knew it was nothing lethal, but he still didn't like her idea. He had to admit though, it would make their job easier if it worked.
"Karui! Get out here, we're heading out!" Neji and Karui heard the voice of a kunoichi calling from outside their house.
"I'll be right out, Samui!" Karui shouted back, activated her kage bunshin no jutsu immediately. Neji and the clone walked out of the house hand-in-hand.
"Be careful. Don't worry about winning, just do your best and come home safely." Neji spoke to the clone in a soft voice, holding her hands and pressing his forehead against hers.
The blond kunoichi that was waiting for them snorted in amusement. "If you two lovebirds are finished, Raikage-sama is waiting for us."
"I'll be back soon Neji!" Karui's clone said back, kissing him on the cheek, before taking off after Samui.
Neji just smiled wryly, touching his cheek. 'That wasn't part of the script..'
He walked back into the house. "It's done." He said simply, not mentioning what had happened. "Get comfortable, you won't be able to leave that seal for the next two days." He looked at a seal carved into the wood below. It was a simple seal he learned from one of the books that had been given to him by Yugito. It's only purpose was to cloak the chakra signature of whatever was inside of it, blocking them from sensor type shinobi.
"I know." Karui responded, sitting cross legged on the floor. She clutched her hands into fists. "I only wish I'd be able to see A's face personally when he realizes what's happened."
Neji chuckled, returning to his desk to start drawing more tags. He was planning on leaving a nasty surprise behind, for after they had left. This was to be not only a punishment for Kumogakure, but also a testament of their determination for freedom.
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Hinata sat on the ground as she cancelled her shadow clone, allowing the remaining chakra and experience of its training rush into her. The feeling of knowledge filling her was like a sudden burst of inspiration. She suddenly felt many roadblocks in her mastery of mikazuki no mai collapse, and she had a new understanding of how to control the jutsu.
"No matter how many times this happens, it still manages to amaze me." Hinata said to Kiba and Hayate who were standing off to the side, waiting for her. "It feels like cheating if I'm being honest."
"I felt the same way when I first learned the technique." Hayate responded. "You'll get used to it in time, but the usefulness of the jutsu can't be underestimated."
"Come on, hurry up already!" Kiba said impatiently. "We were supposed to meet up with Shino for dinner fifteen minutes ago already!"
"Sorry, sorry." Hinata said, rubbing the back of her head and standing up. "Let's head out then, I am getting pretty hungry.."
The group left the training ground, heading towards the market district of the village. They were planning on eating at Akimichi's restaurant, and Hinata was looking forward to it as well. It would be the first time they'd seen Shino in about three weeks. He'd be joining them for training again starting tomorrow.
The group entered into the small building a few minutes later, the tinkling of a bell announcing their arrival. They saw Shino sitting in one of the seats at a table in the corner of the restaurant, drinking from a glass of water.
"You're late." He greeted them, standing up to receive the hug from Hinata.
"That's all you have to say!? It's been weeks!" Hinata complained into the side of his neck as she hugged him.
"It's good to see you too." He said simply, pushing her away. He nodded over at Kiba and Hayate, sitting back down at the table.
"Did your training pay off then?" Kiba asked, grinning at him as he sat down.
"Of course." Shino responded, not going into any details.
Hinata looked him over. He was still wearing the same clothes as usual, but something was different about it. 'He seems to be slightly different.. Is it his confidence? I wonder what it was exactly he was working on..'
She couldn't figure out, so she just sat down in a huff across from him. "Well even if you're intent on keeping secrets, I don't see the need to!" She grinned at him. "Shishou taught me the kage bunshin no jutsu! I also partially mastered mikazuki no mai, the past few weeks have been really fruitful!" Hinata boasted to her friend, sticking her chest out in pride.
Kiba just sighed. "And she won't shut up about it either."
"Shush you! I remember someone shouting excitedly when he finally finished mastering the tōton jutsu!" Hinata said, smiling cheekily at Kiba.
"That was less because I finally mastered it, and more because I was finally free to start real training!" Kiba refuted loudly.
"Oh? You finally mastered it?" Shino asked, slightly surprised.
"What do you mean finally!?" Kiba turned to him annoyed.
"I mean you were the last to learn it." Shino said, chuckling as Kiba made a choking noise.
"Alright, that's enough." Hayate chided them. "Let's not cause too much of a disturbance for the other patrons."
"That's right! We're here to celebrate our reunion after all!" Hinata cheered. "We only have a week left, so we have to make the most of this time!"
"That's right!" Kiba said excitedly, as Akamaru barked happily. "It doesn't matter who comes, we'll defeat anyone in our way!"
Shino nodded in agreement as Hayate smiled slightly at their exuberance. They had worked hard, and he was proud of them. He had recently spoken to Kakashi and Kurenai though, and knew their teams weren't slouching off either.
"Don't get too overconfident or you might regret it." Hayate told them, waving over for a waiter to take their orders.
"Hinata, what do you know about the teams the other villages are sending?" Kiba asked her. He didn't know how, but she seemed to always have information on things. He assumed it was either through her father, or she was the ringleader of some underground information organization. He wasn't sure which, he just went with the flow.
Shino looked up in interest and even Hayate arched an eyebrow, waiting for her answer. They too had noticed the same thing as Kiba. Hayate had tried asking her about it before, but she'd never given him a straight answer, choosing to only grin mysteriously.
"Hmm, I only know some things." Hinata said, thinking for a moment. She honestly enjoyed the role of information broker. She was interested in potentially taking up Shikaku's offer to work under him when she became a chūnin. Working in the intelligence branch of Shikaku's shinobi forces seemed like it could be a lot of fun.
"I'll just stick to the most dangerous rivals that will be coming. Sunagakure will be sending a genin team consisting of the Kazekage's children. Gaara, Temari, and Kankurō. Gaara is the most dangerous of the three, and can control sand freely. He can use it as both a defense and offense, and he's rather mentally unstable at the moment causing him to be extremely volatile. His siblings use fūiton ninjutsu and puppetry, respectively." Hinata informed them, taking her plate of food from the waiter.
"Puppetry, hm?" Shino nodded. "Not a problem."
"Well we know that Fū will be coming with Takigakure, but I'm not sure who her teammates are going to be, so I'll skip over them. Otogakure will be sending three genin as well. I don't know much about them, but they use a mixture of sound based attacks to disorient their opponents and catch them off guard." Hinata had chosen not to say too much on that matter. She didn't want to expose what she knew so carelessly, so she kept the information she gave to what was plausible for her to have gotten from her father.
"Ugh, that sounds annoying as hell." Kiba grumbled. His and Akamaru's ears were pretty sensitive, and he wasn't looking forward to fighting against them.
"Honestly, besides those two teams, I don't think we'll have too many threats from other villages. Most won't be on the level we faced at Takigakure, and I only really have information on those two teams anyways." Hinata shrugged, digging into her food.
"Well, whatever." Kiba clutched his hand into a fist. "Like I said, we'll crush them all the same!"
Hayate sat there in thought for a moment as his team talked amongst themselves. 'I hope they don't underestimate the enemies too much.. Every village is going to be sending the best of the best from their genin forces. Not to mention the genin from our own village that will be participating. Gai's team in particular I heard has a few prodigies… Well, whatever happens, I feel this exam is going to be very interesting..'
Hayate smiled, starting to eat his food. The four of them chatting away happily as they spent the evening together as a team.
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"Orochimaru-sama, everything has been prepared. We're ready for departure at any time." A man with chin length white hair and two red dots on his brow kneeled down behind Orochimaru.
"Kimimaro.." Orochimaru's voice hissed out. "What is your opinion on the current Hokage, Jiraiya?"
"He's nothing compared to you Orochimaru-sama. Your strength knows no eq-" His voice was cut off by a kunai flying past his cheek, leaving a thin red line on his face, and sinking into the ground behind him.
"I did not ask for your needless flattery, Kimimaro." Orochimaru hissed in displeasure. "Tell me what you truly think of the man..."
"My apologies, Orochimaru-sama." Kimimaro said, bowing his head to the ground. "Jiraiya is a strong shinobi and he's extremely resourceful. He'll be a strong obstacle in our way."
"Hmmm.." Orochimaru rubbed his chin for a minute, turning back around to stare through the glass of the window overlooking a chasm that was full of bridges that led to various laboratories built within the walls of the cliffs.
"He is indeed a gifted shinobi.. But he has a weakness. Do you know what that is, Kimimaro..?" Orochimaru asked, turning to look at the man.
"No, Orochimaru-sama. Please educate me." Kimimaro replied, still keeping his head bowed to the floor.
"He's sentimental…" Orochimaru said, rasping out a laugh. "He always tries to see the best in people. Especially if he once considered them a comrade…"
"Then you plan to make use of that weakness, Orochimaru-sama?" Kimimaro asked.
Orochimaru just continued chuckling. "That's the best part, Kimimaro.. I won't even have to do anything. My presence alone will be enough to make him hesitate.."
Orochimaru put a conical hat on his head that had the symbol of Otogakure painted onto the front of it. He swept past Kimimaro as he walked towards the door, holding a snake up to his mouth as he whispered to it. The snake quickly vanished into a puff of smoke as Orochimaru smiled.
"Now then.." Orochimaru said, walking towards the group of shinobi waiting for him on one knee. "Let the games begin.."