Title : Growth

Author : Flame Catalyst

Disclaimer : I don't own any of the Naruto characters, It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto-sama……..I love that guy!

Summary : In the lands of the shinobi events are coming to a head. In these turbulent times new enemies will be made, new alliances forged, and in the eye of the storm the outcasts will join together to change the course of history. NaruHina

First of all many thanks and respect to my new beta David for making this chapter more readable!

Yes I know I changed my name and the summary. Summary wise I hope it will interest more people, name wise I just though Wolfs Catalyst sounded a bit dumb. The name Catalyst was taken so I just wrote down the first thing that came into my head…..Wolfs! But I've finally got round to changing it. Anyway I think Flame Catalyst has a nice ring to it ne?

Sorry to anyone who was waiting for the next chapter, the last two weeks have been a bit nasty. The exams have finally started and I needed (still need) to do revision and all that to ensure I scrape a passing grade. But here it is the next installment to Growth, please enjoy!

Also I've answered some reviewer questions at the bottom.

Text : 'Blah blah' = Thoughts

'Blah blah' = Kyubi talking

Blah blah = Memory/Flashback

Chapter 7

Keeping her stance relaxed Hinata closely followed Naruto's movements. With a look of fierce concentration on her face she activated her Byakugan.

Her normally lavender eyes drained of color, turning completely white, irises becoming slightly raised and more visible. Across her face, arteries and the chakra pathways attached to them enlarged, increasing blood and chakra flow to her eyes.

As always the new perspective took a second to get used to, seeing in 359 degrees could be disconcerting at first. With her bloodline ability activated she saw the other Naruto that had tried sneaking behind her. Leaning to the right she felt Naruto's fist whistle by her face. Without even turning she thrust her left palm behind her, striking the chakra point above the boy's liver. With a grunt of pain the clone disappeared from existence with a loud POOF leaving only smoke.

Normally the smoke would have obscured the other Naruto rushing at her, but with her Byakugan activated she easily saw through it. Ducking a roundhouse kick she waited until the kick exposed the boy's back before tapping a Tenketsu point expelling chakra through her fingers. Another loud POOF was heard as a second clone died.

Doing a sweep of the training area with her advanced eye sight she saw a tougher challenge approaching. Four more shadow clones rushed at her, this time attacking in-sync.

Jumping away Hinata reached into her pouch, throwing a kunai as she flew away from her opponents, easily dodging the Narutos jumped after her. Reaching again she threw a volley of shuriken which were met by the clones answering kunai's. As the missiles fell from the sky Hinata landed her own jump resuming the gentle fist fighting stance.

Landing next to the fallen weapons the Narutos began wearily approaching her. Seeing her opponents fall into her trap Hinata performed a tiger seal activating the explosive tags on her shiruken. The resounding explosion destroyed two of the shocked clones, leaving the other two slightly singed.

"Heh, good one Hinata-chan, I didn't see the trap coming" Grinned one of the clones at her as he dusted himself off.

Even though it was a shadow, Hinata couldn't help but be pleased by the remark coming from his mouth. Then doing something neither of her opponents expected she attacked.

Even though the shadow clones she was fighting only held a small fraction of the real Naruto's power, they still kept most of his speed, avoiding all her attacks. Even though a touch could prove fatal, the Jyuken-fu (Gentle fist) was considered a slow taijutsu style when compared to other Tekken-fu (Iron fist) styles.

Getting over their shock the two Naruto's began to attack back, forcing the Hyuuga heiress on the defensive. Maneuvering so they attacked from front and back, they would have gained victory in an instant had they not been fighting a Byakugan user. Still, Hinata had to use all her skill to keep the punches and kicks from connecting. Constantly moving she kept her stance relaxed to allow for more flexibility. The Naruto in front of her attacked with a fast jab to the face. With an incredibly dexterous move she leaned back to allow the punch to pass above her (A/N Think of the limbo position), letting herself keep falling Hinata used her hands to turn her fall into a back flip. As she ended her flip she used her right foot to smash down on the second clones startled head. Using the smoke from the clones defeat to her advantage the girl rushed her last opponent who was still surprised by the acrobatics that had just taken place. Throwing a kunai she was startled to see the throwing knife strike and destroy the clone. Clearly it really hadn't expected flashy acrobatics from her.

Once again checking with her Byakugan Hinata saw that no more opponents were approaching, with a happy sigh she deactivated her eyes. Breathing hard from the fight she took off her coat and leaned against a nearby tree taking advantage of the shade while wiping the sweat from her brow. It was a hot day in Konoha, with summer well on it's way, the country of fire was aptly named.

It took a few minutes for Hinata to recover fully, even fighting Naruto's clones she expended a large amount of chakra, and the last attack had been the third of the day. But at least she wasn't getting hit anymore. Two weeks ago she had barely managed to hold her own against two clones, but with Naruto's help she had progressed and now managed to take on waves of six.

After their return Naruto had asked her to join him in his training after every hospital visit, she had needed no further prompting anytime spent with her crush was precious. Naruto had decided to help increase her chakra growth.

They had begun by taking runs around various training areas to build up stamina, Hinata had never considered herself unfit but after one day training with Naruto she felt bone weary. Even after a solid two hours of jogging the hyper blond was still energetic as ever, urging her on when she felt ready to collapse. But that wasn't the end of it, after jogging followed fifty push ups and one hundred sit ups. Then the sparring would begin. At first Hinata had refused not wanting to use Jyuken-fu against Naruto. But Naruto had convinced her when he created his shadow clones for the spar. Each day the training had grown steadily harder, but with Naruto's encouragement and her own steadily building determination she had not only kept up but was now beginning to excel.

But Hinata wasn't the only one who was improving, even though he had learnt the tree and water walking skills Naruto's chakra control skills still left much to be desired. Luckily chakra control was one of the areas that Hinata naturally excelled at being a member of a clan that depended on such a skill to fight effectively. To remedy the situation Hinata had decided to teach him how to expel chakra from his Tenketsu's and in the process help him gain better control. The blond had leapt at the chance to learn something new, so after their jogging and exercises the pair would be seen training their new skills, Hinata battling a group of Kage Bunshin's and Naruto sitting in the lotus position a look of intense concentration painted on his face as he tried to make the leaf on his fore finger rise.

Hinata had decided to use the same teaching method that she had learnt from. Taking a leaf and placing it on any part of the body then trying to make it rise by expelling chakra from that point was the first part of the method. When the first was mastered it was then required to make the leaf float by continuously releasing a precise amount of chakra, which was easier said than done. Too much and the leaf blew away but too little and it simply didn't rise. Training as a child it had taken her two months to learn the first two steps and she had yet to fully master the third. The third step was yet harder, involving the release of chakra from multiple Tenketsu points, making several leaves float at once.

Learned at an early age these skills became second nature, but as the ninja got older their pressure points lost the ability to force out chakra. Knowing this Hinata had expected Naruto to maybe master the first step in two weeks, therefore she had been astonished when on the fourth day the hyperactive Genin managed to finally get the leaf on his finger to rise, spinning wildly before being blown away. After a crazy celebration the young nin returned to the task with more zeal than ever, mastering the second task five days later. For the last few days he had been tentatively attempting the third step making little headway.

But today was different. After losing to Lee in their Shogi match everyone had been surprised when the taijutsu specialist had offered to train Naruto anyway. However the speech that had followed had been all Gai; "While on the path of life it is best to pass on your knowledge to the younger generation, because in doing so you will learn as much as you teach" Lee had finished, looking solemnly at a confused Naruto.

So leaving some clones to keep Hinata company, he had gone to meet Lee.

Not wanting to remain idle Hinata began practicing her taijutsu on one of the wooden training posts. Left palm raised, facing away from her she entered the Hyuuga fighting stance. She looked at the training post in front of her using her enhanced eyes she looked beneath it's battered frame and almost at it's center she found a weak spot. It was likely that after years of shinobi's kicks and punches the log had developed a fracture leading right through it's center, top to bottom.

Bending her knees Hinata drew back her right arm and struck the pole with a open palm blow and then repeated the motion with her left arm. She continued slowly building up a rhythm, the steady thumps of her hands connecting filled the training area.

Now to the casual observer it would seem that Hinata's palm strikes were feeble things that would only succeed in giving her sore hands. The trained eye however would see thin concentrated spikes of chakra she released with each blow.

Focusing on the fracture Hinata saw the fault begin to thicken with each new wave of chakra she pushed from her palms. Encouraged by her progressed she doubled her effort, increasing the tempo of her attacks. The fault within the log thickened even more and as she continued an ominous creaking sound joined the steady thump of her hands. But even as she continued Hinata began to feel the burn of her shoulders as they protested at such strenuous use. Sweat trickled down her cheek as the exercise and hot weather took their toll. But she refused to stop. 'I can do this!!!', she willed her tired body onward.

After fifteen minutes at this increased tempo her body screamed at her to stop. Every punch increasing the acid burn in her muscles, her lungs begged for more oxygen but Hinata continued determined to finish what she had started. Still small distractions began to show themselves, the sweat moving down her brow produced a tingling sensation that begged her to stop and wipe her face. An itch at the base of her throat also competed for her attention, as did a small cramp which was beginning to build up in her left calf. With a very un-Hinata like growl she banished the distractions focusing all her will on the lump of wood in front of her.

Then with her next strike a large crack grew on the surface of the wood.

'This is it, now, go all out'

With that thought she gathered all of her remaining strength and attacked with wild abandon. The pain suddenly disappeared as a fresh wave of adrenalin hit her. Using her shoulders to full effect Hinata added her full physical strength to each blow as she increased the previously controlled chakra spikes to huge lances of spiritual energy. The pole creaked and groaned louder, splinters torn away as the deadly Jyuken-fu did it's work. Her palms began to bleed, the pain, rather than hindering fuelled her onwards, a catalyst giving her power. Not once did she think of stopping short of the end, a picture of Naruto and the example he set, burnt into her mind, feeding her effort.

In this new state, world, there was only her and the stump. And the stump was going down. Another hit bit deeply into the dead wood and Hinata saw it begin to fall apart

'Just one more'

Her body on the point of exhaustion, her spirit brimming with determination she made her last attack. Hands positioned at her waist, fingers pointing to the ground Hinata inhaled deeply. Gathering all the chakra she had left she executed a double palm strike putting all her body weight behind it. In a quiet lucid corner of her mind Hinata realized she was screaming. As the chakra left her hands and entered the wood, a noise akin to the sound barrier being broken exploded through the training ground.

Chakra gone and Byakugan deactivated Hinata dropped to her knees, breathing deeply she watched the training post slowly fall apart, split down the middle. With a final groan the timber fell onto the ground issuing a loud THUMP.

Wiping the perspiration from her brow with a shaky hand she sat there for a few moments, numb.

'I did it' She thought disbelievingly.

The pain she had been blocking came rushing back with a vengeance. Her hands felt the worst, looking at them she saw large splinters stuck deeply in the skin making the wounds bleed sluggishly. Gingerly she reached to pull a particularly large splinter out when a hand settled on her shoulder startling her.

Looking behind her she saw Naruto's deep blue eyes looking back.

"That," He stated simply "was amazing!" the gentle smile he gave so rarely showing on his face.

"N-Naruto-kun, how long have you been here" Hinata squeaked, surprise and embarrassment battling for dominance.

"We've been here for the last five minutes, but we didn't want to disturb you"

At the mention of 'we' Hinata hastily looked behind Naruto to be confronted with both Lee and the still heavily bandaged Neji.

After hearing about her performance against Sasuke and seeing her verbal battle against Gen, Lee seemed to have accepted the fact that Hinata was far more than she appeared, so only a little surprise was visible on his face, mixed with a good deal of respect. Neji did look shocked, but still managed to mutter a grudging "Impressive"

She stared at a loss for words, Hyuuga Neji had just complimented her. She was saved a reply when her cousin whispered to Naruto, sounding impressed "What the hell do you do with her Naruto? You've only been training for the last two weeks and she's nearly doubled her chakra stamina"

"What? All I did was the same exercises that Kakashi-sensei put my team through, beating the crap out of that log was all Hinata-chan" he replied, grinning at the Hyuuga heiress.

"I really didn't mean for you to see me" Hinata murmured shyly

"What, why not!? It's not as if you were showing off, you didn't even know we were here. But wow! The way you smashed that tree up" Naruto exclaimed happily, miming the palm strikes Hinata had been performing earlier. "But didn't your hands hurt when you were hitting th-" he stopped suddenly as he saw Hinata's bleeding palms. "Ouch! Hinata-chan that's got to hurt, you brought your pack here didn't you?" He barley waited for her nod before running to the tree she had left her things earlier, grabbing her backpack he ran back and sat down in front of her, his legs crossed.

"Now I don't know if you've heard" he muttered as he rummaged through her pack "but I'm the best medic nin in this village" he finished with a huge wink. Even in her exhausted state Hinata couldn't help but giggle softly at Naruto's antics.

'He can always make me smile' she though fondly as she watched the blond Genin remove a small pot of medicine and some tweezers from her pack.

"Right, this is going to hurt a bit" he warned holding out his hand.

Giving a nod Hinata lightly placed her hand on his, nearly gasping at the small shock she felt as their hands touched. Everywhere their skin met sensation seemed intensified, she couldn't withhold a shiver as he brushed his thumb along her palm. At this close contact her heart started beating wildly, and all of a sudden she found it hard to breath. Fixing her eye's on their hands Hinata refused to raise her head as she felt the dreaded blush finally making a appearance. Quickly looking at Naruto beneath her lashes she saw him concentrating on removing the bits of wood from her hands, his face set in a serious expression only marred by his tongue sticking from his mouth as he focused on the task at hand. But every now and then he would nervously lick his lips, his cheeks slightly red and glance her way. For an instant both eyes met, then, just as quickly looked away.

"Hope it doesn't hurt much" Naruto grinned nervously as he gently applied the medicine onto her wounds.

"No, it doesn't hurt anymore, it feels….nice" Hinata admitted shyly, finally looking up to see Naruto's nervous grin be replaced with a genuine one.

"Really!?" he asked sounding happy and surprised.

"Hey Naruto! I thought you were here to train" Neji called irritably from the other side of the training area as he gingerly joined in the stretches Lee was performing, careful not to injure is still sore arm.

"Yeah, yeah, as soon as I finish this" he called back not really paying attention to the other boy.

"Humph" was the Hyuuga's only reply.

"Leave them alone Neji" Lee said as he did some stretches "Naruto-kun will join us as soon as he's done" he finished with a knowing grin.

"I don't see why you're so happy, you came here to train him" his team mate retorted.

"If I remember correctly, you also came to train, well let's train. Two hundred one handed push ups with your good arm. Go!" the green clad Genin enthused, as he started the push ups.

'Same old Lee' smiled Neji as he joined him.

He sat there alone, as he had for the last year or was it more? He couldn't remember anymore. Sometimes he felt he was slowly going crazy, but then with nothing but four walls for company he wasn't surprised.

Nothing but an empty room for company. Five paces in width and five paces in length, he had counted. 'Nothing to do but pace and go crazy' he giggled hysterically at the thought.

He surveyed his cell; one cot in the corner with a few blankets, enough to keep him warm but not snug, and one bucket for all his toiletry needs. All softly illuminated by the light coming through his barred door. That was it, that was his world.

For the millionth time, or was it the billionth? He cursed himself. It was his own fault he was here, it was due to his arrogance and pride that his plan had failed.

"I could have been powerful, but now I'm rotting in here, all because I underestimated one brat" he spoke out bitterly.

Even though scratchy and hoarse due to disuse, it was good to hear his own voice, it was good to hear any voice really. Sometimes he thought he heard other voices, but wasn't sure if they were coming from outside his cell or from within his mind.

He giggled again as he ran his hand through the dirty white hair on his head "It doesn't matter, any voice will do, any voice is good"

They had devised the perfect torture for him, they knew he would never kill himself, that he would always cling to some sort of hope of rescue or salvation. But deep down he knew it wouldn't happen, who would rescue him? A traitor to his own village.

If only he hadn't left Naruto with the Scroll of Seals for so long, how could he have known that the dead last academy student would learn a Jounin level ninjutsu in just four hours!?. A high level jutsu based on Bunshin's, his worst skill no less!

He had underestimated the brat, no doubt that sudden jump in skill had been the Kyuubi poking it's ugly head into his affairs! And Iruka, the fool had almost sacrificed his life to save the boy who had all but killed his parents. The whole night had been a fiasco, one that no sane ninja could have anticipated.

Mizuki spat on the floor with disgust "Damn them all"

And as punishment for trying to steal the Scroll of Seals he had been sent to secure underground cell to rot for the rest of his life. He was helpless, the entire cell had wards and seals that prevented the use of chakra in any way. So they left him providing food once a day, and emptying his bucket of any waste he produced. All done with jutsu's so there wouldn't be any contact with the outside world. Mizuki knew the only reason he wasn't dead was because this was worse punishment, one didn't betray their own village and get away with it lightly.

He was startled from his bitter thoughts as the door to his cell opened, Mizuki gaped as a middle aged man with short black hair and Hyuuga eyes calmly walked into his cell. Before he could form a question the man spoke.

"You are wondering what I am doing here are you not Mizuki? Well stay quiet and I will answer. Simply put I need you to kill someone for me and I need you to do it soon"

Again before Mizuki could speak the man cut him off.

"You are now wondering why you? I need you first of all, because quite bluntly you are expendable and second of all, I am the few in this village that know of your specialization in the field of poisons and silent killing"

Still gaping, the imprisoned Chunnin wondered how this stranger knew the secret that only the Hokage and a select few others were privy to. Finally he got his tongue working "Why should I do this for you?"

The Hyuuga barked a laugh "Well apart from the chance to shower for the first time this year, I will not only allow you to go free but I will also give you a very generous amount of money. Is that enough reason for you?"

At the mention of money Mizuki was thrilled, he would have settled on simply being released. Giving a nod of agreement he waited for the Hyuuga to continue.

"I am Hyuuga Kan and I need you to kill a very dangerous person by the name of Hyuuga Kuugen. Now this is what you must do"

As his 'employer' spoke Mizuki suppressed a laugh of pure joy. Soon he would be free. Soon…

Author Note:

Well I wrote an action scene, it was so much harder than I though it would be. You keep imagining the way these things are going to happen in your head but to put it down on paper……well it's a bit harder. Hope I pulled it off all right and you guys are pleased.

The whole training log scene wasn't even going to happen until it just popped into my head. I was going to have Hinata bash it for a bit until Naruto and the gang showed up but one thing led to another and what should have been an introduction to the chapter turned into an entire chapter it's self! But then again it did give me another excuse for a NaruHina moment! -

Lastly Mizuki, well I bet you didn't see that coming! It never really said what had happened to the guy after Naruto beat his ass so I thought I'd use an existing character to play the part of assassin. For those who think that he's just going to get slaughtered easily since he is a pathetic Chunnin well, he isn't going to be fighting merely chucking some powder into the food or some such. More on him and his predicament next chapter!

Reviewers:

Right I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed so far, so thanks to:

Wormkaizer, Anon, Xoni Newcomer, kadashi the wandering reviewer, Gopu, Drekko, EmeraldBlossom, Cookie6, EfrainMan, oOoshortayoOo, Devinj2000, Copy-Nin-Kakashi, The Dark Necromancer, Judiann, Emotwo, Licht Sieger, Gemin16, Crutches, The Prime Minister, Daniel of Lorien, trutenor, Edha Ohn, Mikeh, Ahyana, Rune-Rune, SacredGoggles, Falcon-Rider, Kuwabaras pupil, Xero, David, Valkun, hikariko and DarkFusion.

Thanks Guys it's your reviews that inspire me and keep this fic going!

EfrainMan: I might have wrote Itachi a bit wrong, what I was trying to convey was that he was pissed off about being threatened but not scared. Itachi's got his own reasons for taking this crap, but I wont be writing why for a little while longer. As for the identity of the man who orders him…….YOU'LL SEE!

Valakun: Lol this fic is progressing slower than I'd originally intended. I do find my self writing a lot about the characters personal thoughts but I just want to get across what I think they're thinking (if that makes sense) Once I establish the different characters feelings about each other I'm hoping to pick up the pace.

Falcon-Rider: As to Naruto's style it will change quite a bit by the end of this fic, but I'm not sure if I'm going to go for the whole Yondaime thing but we'll see!

Hikariko: As for the whole Iatchi taking orders I answered above. As for the second question Hinata will receive the news next chapter and I think you'll like the way she deals with the situation :D.

Rune-Rune: Lol it is going to get a bit confusing isn't it? Well Hinata's was original taught by the real Kuugen. In the story time line Gansaku only killed him a few weeks before Sasuke ran off with the sound.

Once again thanks to all those who read and review, enjoy this chapter and tell me what you think!

And again many thanks to David my new beta!

Flame Catalyst