Grumbling loudly on purpose, the girl stands up, scratching her eyes as she yawns. The window of her room was suddenly opened, which made her snort in derision.
- Good morning, Miss Hinata.
A woman, not too old, bowed slightly beside her bed, and the girl rolled her eyes.
- I already told that old man that you don't need to come back. Geez, a spy in my own house.
Hinata grumbled, pulling the blanket off her feet and getting up, running a hand through her hair as she walked toward the bathroom.
- I don't know what you are talking about, Miss. I'm only here to serve you on orders from my superiors.
The maid said.
- Ah, ah, whatever, just tell that old man that I told him to go to hell, please.
The girl said in a disdainful tone, closing the bathroom door.
Sighing, she walks over to the sink and turns the faucet, splashing some water on her face.
Raising her face, she stares at her reflection. Her hair has grown a little, her features have matured, although she still retains those childish features.
Removing the top of her pajamas, she runs her wet fingers across the scars on her body. There weren't many, and she liked to look at them occasionally. Not only to remember what she had been through, what she had done in that clan, but also to see the progress of her still developing body, but developed enough for her age.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a few knocks on the door.
- Miss, the test is in an hour, please hurry.
She rolled her eyes, grumbling once more. She even thought about answering, but decided to ignore it.
"Hah, the more time passes, the less patience you have."
"What can I do? Everyone in this damn clan is against me."
"Revenge is better served cold... isn't that what you humans say?"
"Hm, putting Neji in his place really gets me excited, but, I doubt it can be considered revenge... I don't even care enough to consider it to that extent."
"Whoa, cold."
Removing the rest of her clothes, Hinata takes her shower and gets ready, heading downstairs after a while and walking to the kitchen table for breakfast.
"I feel like you're confident."
"I didn't train for so long for nothing."
"I suppose so... get a grip, don't get too excited and end up using my chakra."
"Relax, all under control."
She finished her coffee and put the dishes in the sink.
During those years she didn't stop training for even a minute. Not the same Hyuga training that the other children did, as the elders decided to take her away from the obligations and take away her advantages for being part of the main family. Although, her father always trained with her when he had time, and she thanked him for it.
Since her return, he was acting almost totally different with her. Still keeping that firm pulse in front of the elders and people of higher rank, but changing completely when it was just them.
Also, the relationship she had with the two-tailed one had improved greatly, to the point that the Bijuu, while still kept chained, was much freer in her seal, and her power became easier for Hinata to control.
Although still in a limited way, she was able to use Nibi's power skillfully.
Walking through her clan, the girl ignores the whispers and stares that people of high rank and members of the main family were sending her. They were the only ones, along with the elders and a few members of the secondary family, who looked at her in this way.
In general, not all hyugas were all bad. Some could even be decent.
After some time walking calmly, the girl arrives at a mansion, a property of the main family, where only specific people, and in certain situations, can enter.
Waving to the two guards, who waved back, she enters the estate, and walks through the long corridors of the place until she reaches a small arena in the back.
This arena was filled with men and women, both from the main and secondary family, who were sitting on bleachers and watching a fight in the center of the arena.
Two genins, both fighting skillfully with the hyuga style.
- Hinata.
Her father's deep voice caught her attention, and she turned to him, bowing slightly in respect, ignoring the elders who were sitting further behind the man.
-You're a little late... the elders are angry... again.
- I know, that's exactly why I wanted to be late. Not only did they put a spy in my own house, but they also want me to arrive early so they can keep bothering me? I'm out.
Hiashi sighed, grateful that she had spoken softly.
He was used to his daughter's way, although he couldn't say that he didn't get tired sometimes. She and the elders seemed to have entered a war, and the only thing keeping this war from getting worse was him and his brother, Hizashi.
- Well... you're next... your clothes are already in your closet... good luck.
He said, and she nodded, turning and walking down the further corridor, down some stairs and heading for a door at the end of another corridor.
That little "tournament" was to decide who would go to the academy in Konoha. One didn't necessarily have to win the fight, just prove that he had a promising skill, worthy enough to be under the tutelage of the Hokage himself, who hired several skilled Hyugas to live in his village and be part of his "school".
There were even rumors that these Hyugas had improved their techniques to the point of improving the Byakugan even more, and the elders, intrigued, clearly wouldn't let this chance pass them by.
Especially since they already wanted a breach to kill Minato, why not send spies in child forms directly to his house?
The girl entered the locker room and walked to her locker, ignoring some girls who were in there and changing her clothes.
Hinata clicked her tongue when she saw that they were traditional clan clothes, she should have thought of that.
Ignoring some of the clothing, she put on a black training blouse, along with training pants of the same color. Those clothes were a little tight but she didn't mind.
Anything to see the angry faces of those men.
Taking a seat, she sighs. She was almost desperate to go to Konoha. Not to learn new things, or anything like that, but of why she couldn't stand to stay in that place anymore. It was suffocating.
"Anxious?"
"Sort of... I can't wait to get out of here."
"It will do you good to yourself. Meet new people... experience new things."
"..."
"You're worried about something else, right?"
"Minato... he surely must have received my warning... maybe he is there."
"Hm... maybe yes... maybe no... but wherever he is, I know he is twice as strong as before, my sister would never accept someone weak. All the more reason to focus on the fight, your training will be even heavier in Konoha."
"... Yes, yes... you are right."
The girl stood up when she heard her name called, and walked with calm steps towards the door and down the hallway.
She passed one of the boys who had been fighting earlier, the latter being wounded and with a rather downcast expression.
"I think I know who lost."
Keeping her face unchanged, she enters the arena, feeling all the stares following her for being the first to enter that place.
And of course, for her clothes. A large number of the ordinary people in that clan didn't care much, personally, but to the elders, that was an outrage.
And she couldn't help the small smile that broke out on her lips as she imagined the look on those old men's faces at that moment, rooting for her to lose.
Soon, clapping was heard as Neji entered the arena, and calmly approached Hinata with an indifferent look on his face.
- Are both participants in agreement with the rules, and that failure to follow them will lead to punishments chosen by the elders based on the severity of the offense?
- Yes.
They said together, and the "judge" walked away. The whole arena fell silent.
- You should quit while you still can, you've never beaten me before, what makes you think that-
- Shut up, Neji.
He widened his eyes in surprise, and the referee signaled the start of the match.
Hinata attacked first, using the traditional Hyuga fighting style and trying to hit Neji's arm, however, Neji was faster and blocked the attack, countering with a blow to Hinata's shoulder.
But the girl dodged, spinning part of her body backwards and counterattacking with her hand once again. Neji prepared to block the attack, but was surprised when Hinata canceled the blow and, concentrating chakra in her other hand, hit Neji's shoulder, making him jump backwards.
Hinata stared at him seriously, and his attacking stance, while similar, was different from that of the original Hyugas.
He clicked his tongue and attacked, a quick sequence of blows aimed precisely at his chakra points, but Hinata seemed to control the air around her, because every time he tried to attack her, a strong gust of wind would blow his hand away, with Hinata's quick and simple movements.
It was as if there was a barrier in front of him.
Irritated, he began to expel chakra in his attacks, hitting Hinata superficially, who was not even bothered by those light wounds.
The girl dodged again and kicked him, throwing him backwards. However, he quickly recovered and released a burst of vacuum from his hand.
Hinata jumped to the side and quickly moved towards Neji, trying to attack him.
He deflected and counterattacked, but she also deflected.
Both attacked each other in a rapid frequency of blows. At one point, Neji emits his chakra from his tenketsus and causes Hinata to be stunned.
Kicking her upwards, he leaps towards her with chakra concentrating in his hands and begins to viciously attack her.
- Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō
However, Hinata attacked the air, quickly connecting chakra points and creating a defensive barrier of medium blades. A jutsu she created herself and used to fight her father in her training.
No matter how much Neji attacked the barrier, he could not penetrate it.
Neji increased the speed of his strikes, and at one point he attacked a point on Hinata's arm with both fingers.
However, at that moment, the girl activated her Byakugan and kicked him, sending him violently to the ground. Moving with speed to the side, she concentrates chakra in her hands, viciously attacking the points on Neji's arm, and finally hits him with two reinforced palm strikes to his stomach, making him spit out a certain amount of saliva and gasp heavily as he feels the air being expelled from his lungs when he was thrown backwards.
Recovering, he stares at his arm. Damaged... immobilized.
- What is it, Neji? Didn't you tell me to give up? Come and do it.
She teased, giving a dismissive smile, which caused Neji to activate his Byakugan and move furiously toward Hinata, even though he was unable to use one of his arms.
He viciously attacked her, and despite not using one of his limbs, he was still quite fast.
The attacks, while not hitting, still had some impact on Hinata.
Getting out of that situation, the girl jumped exactly on the side of Neji's immobilized arm and hit him in the stomach, followed by more constant attacks on his chest and abdomen, ending with a kick to his face that sent him backwards.
Neji fell to the ground, and began to get up with difficulty.
That's when he realized that blood was dripping from his mouth, dripping onto the floor.
The audience was silent, and even the elders were open-mouthed, with Hiashi being the only one who had a smile on his face.
He wouldn't admit it, but he really wanted to throw it in his brother's face.
It was a shame that he was in Konoha at the moment.
Gritting his teeth, Neji turned and moved towards Hinata again. Quickly, before she could move, he began releasing chakra from his tenketsus as he spun around extremely quickly.
- Hakkeshō Kaiten
A sphere of chakra formed, large and completely encasing Hinata's body.
Still inside the sphere, he began to viciously target the girl, precisely attacking her Tenketsus, in which he tried as hard as he could to penetrate that barrier Hinata had created especially for techniques like those.
A Byakugan technique made to block Hyugas techniques... ironic.
Wanting to get it over with, Hinata started to block Neji's attacks, which were also blocked with only one arm, while with the other, the girl shot vacuum bursts through her fingers, hitting precisely the tenketsus of Neji's arm.
Little by little, his speed was reduced, the chakra barrier undone.
Kicking Neji in the face, she throws her body forward, standing behind the boy and attacking him in the back, throwing her body to the side, she hits him in the shoulder, and so on, attacking precisely all points of Neji's body while moving at incredible speed, finishing by kicking his abdomen strongly and throwing him backwards, until he crashed into the wall.
Neji fell, and did not get up.
The silence lasted for some time, all eyes focused on Neji's body, until, little by little, they focused on Hinata, who was facing the judge.
- A-ah... t-t w-winner... Hyuga Hinata!
With that, she turned and walked with calm steps out of there.
Cutting the fire dragon in half with his sword, Naruto faces the people ahead.
He had expected this moment to come, he was not surprised, much less frightened to find himself surrounded.
In front of him was Juugo along with some of the ninjas who had tortured him earlier.
Powerful ninjas. But one in particular caught his attention.
He wasn't the strongest... in comparison, he was the weakest among them. What intrigued him were his eyes.
The bottom of his eyes were black... and his iris was white... extremely similar to the Byakugan, but not being the same.
There was some difference... it was not the same as Hinata's.
- I thought... that if I blocked the whole country, I would find you - Juugo began.
- But you are slender, you escaped without attracting attention... do you have any idea, any idea at all, of the trouble you gave me?
he asked angrily, and Naruto snorted.
- Since when that's my problem?
He crossed his arms, and Juugo clucked his tongue.
- Don't give me that drama, you're after us by choice, you could have sent others. You were rejected and can't handle it well, that's your problem.
Tayuya teased, deftly spinning a kunai on her finger.
- Tayuya... I hope you are prepared for-
He was interrupted by a strong punch from Naruto, which hit him right in the face and threw him violently backwards, creating a cloud of dust as it crashed to the ground.
- Oh man, shut up - Naruto shouted - After all this, you came here to talk? Don't you realize that threats are useless?
He said, blasting his chakra out of his body and pushing the surrounding ninja away.
From the cloud of dust, Juugo stood up with an expression of few friends, and soon, his body began to change and his presence became more intense.
He stared at Naruto for a while, until he advanced against him.
His intense blue eye focused on Juugo, feeling that powerful energy emanating from his body.
So focused, Naruto didn't even realize that a certain swordsman wasn't around.