NARUTO
GHOSTLY EYES
By
Sgamer82

"If Hinata has ever had a real weakness, it's that she lacks the confidence essential to being able to fight with all her strength. From what I've observed, that will not be an issue so long as she is Kashghyu N'ga."

His sensei's words rang in his mind as he watched Naruto jump down to engage Hinata. Kiba knew the truth to Kurenai's words. He wasn't sure if Naruto would be able to win if he tried to fight. He had defeated Hyuga Neji, sure. But he was fighting with everything he had, then. Here, he'd almost surely be holding back against an enemy who was out to kill him.

Kiba looked to Akamaru. As was often the case, they had the same thoughts in their mind. Should they remain where they were, or should they aid Naruto. Reluctantly, Kiba gave Akamaru a hand sign telling him to stay where he was. They didn't know just what Hinata had told her comrades, who now sat a safe distance, eagerly anticipating the show. Rather than risk getting cornered, Kiba wanted to be able to jump into action in the event they decided to get involved. He also wanted to be ready in case Naruto needed to be pulled out. Not entirely out of the question, given the circumstances.

So, resisting the temptation to go in, Kiba sat and waited. Chakra in his hands and feet holding him to the tree trunk he crouched sideways on.

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Naruto jumped down onto the bridge where Hinata waited. He landed with none of Hinata's grace, causing the bridge to sway and shake. Though neither ninja had any difficulty maintaining their balance.

Naruto couldn't help but spare a glance below. The trees in the Nimmori valley were unusually large. They had to be, to support the huts and bridge and ladder system the Nimmori used for their shelters. They were currently an easy fifteen feet above ground level on a bridge connecting two huts. There were no ropes or rails on the bridge to hang on to. Staying on was strictly a matter of balance. Along with this, trees surrounded them in every direction, easy leaping distance for either person. Both combatants-to-be knew this could likely become an aerial battle if it dragged on.

Naruto considered his options. Naruto himself was well-armed, he always carried plenty of shuriken and had some kunai as well. But he was at a serious disadvantage because he couldn't use his weapons for serious attacks. This would likely become a fist fight. Hinata was unarmed, coming out in too much of a rush to grab even one of the spears the Nimmori favored. However, she still had the Byakugan, as well as the knowledge of her clan's fighting style and techniques. A style that, Naruto knew firsthand, highly favored close combat.

And I'm not about to use the Fox against Hinata… Naruto thought to himself. He began to sweat a bit. This was not going to be easy…

Hinata's forehead veins bulged with her Byakugan's activation. With a cocky smirk, she launched the first attack. She ran full speed at Naruto. Naruto immediately brought up his hands to defend. Moments before coming within reach of Naruto, Hinata did a small hop and slammed her feet against an edge of the bridge. The sudden rock of the bridge threw off Naruto's balance. He immediately focuses his chakra to maintain his footing. Hinata had already been doing so when she jumped, allowing her to continue her run without breaking stride. Naruto, so focused on not falling, almost didn't see her coming.

As soon as he saw her, he gave up staying on the bridge and leapt with everything he had to the first tree he saw. Unfortunately, this was precisely what Hinata was counting on. Less than a second after Naruto jumped, so did Hinata. Naruto was barely airborne when Hinata appeared before him. With an open palm, she hit him hard in the chest, sending him to the ground below. Hinata wasn't finished yet though. She brought her hands together and began weaving signs.

"Nemakabishi no Jutsu!" she cried out.

Directly below Naruto, in the area Hinata expected him to land, odd points began digging themselves from the earth. The Nemakabishi no Jutsu was calling upon the great trees' roots and making them caltrops that would almost certainly impale any part of Naruto that hit them.

Or they would have, had Kiba, unable to stay on the sidelines any longer, had not jumped down and caught Naruto. Kiba landed just outside the radius of the tree root caltrops, Naruto in his arms. The blond boy got to his feet as quickly as he could.

"Thanks…" Naruto said.

"Anytime." Kiba replied, "What were you thinking! Taking her head on. You, of all people, should know better than that. Did you completely forget your fight with Neji?"

"Fight with Neji…?" Naruto said quietly. A smirk began to grow on his face. The root caltrops receded back into the forest soil as Hinata leapt down to her opponents' level. She watched them, poised for combat, waiting for a move to be made.

"Kiba, you just gave me a great idea." Naruto told his companion, "Stay back for a little longer. If this works, Hinata'll leave herself wide open. You may have a shot to knock her out or something."

"This idea must be something, then. She seems pretty focused."

"Yeah…" Naruto agreed. "Well, here goes."

Naruto brought his fingers together in a plus pattern.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Several Narutos appeared behind the real deal. They charged Hinata en masse. With a chuckle, Hinata charged into battle. Her Byakugan made it easy for her to see each and every one of her opponents. She kept them at bay easily enough. Kiba watched as the fight stayed fairly even for a while. Soon, though, Hinata stopped, turned towards one of the Narutos she fought, and charged at it. Upon reaching it, she planted her index and middle fingers into a point on Naruto's right shoulder.

"Fool…" Hinata said, as the other bunshin began to poof out of existence, "You really think I wouldn't notice one keeping away from the fighting?" She then got a very alarmed look on her face.

It was in that moment that Kiba understood Naruto's plan.

I gotta admit, it's a good one… Though he'll never hear me say it.

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MOVE!

Every nerve in Kashghyu N'ga's screamed at her to get away as soon as she could. She quickly extracted her fingers from her foe and leapt backwards away from him. As she watched, the double she had just attacked disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She understood immediately. The double before her had been a decoy. Through her Ghostly Eyes, she saw the real Naruto and another double land from above where she had been standing moments ago. If she hadn't moved, they would have had a clear attack on her. The boy, though, didn't seem bothered by his failed strike. In fact, he was smiling.

"Not bad, Hinata. You got a pretty good memory there!" he told her.

No… it couldn't be a memory! It was instinct! Instinct! Her battle readiness faltered for a moment.

"You saw me use that exact same trick once!" the boy told her, "Against your cousin, Neji! That's how you knew to dodge, wasn't it!"

"NO!" she cried. Her anger overwhelmed her for an instant. In that moment, she jumped at Naruto and kicked him in the chest. As he went down, Kashghyu crouched on his body to keep him pinned down. She reached into the pouch where he kept his weapons and pulled out a metal blade and held it over him.

"I saw no such thing!" she yelled out, "I am Kashghyu N'ga! Of the Blessed Line of the Nimmori! In a day's time I will become the goddess-made-flesh! My people will be a great power once more!"

The kunai in her hands was unsteady with her shaking hands.

"They already are!" Naruto told her, his breath coming hard with her kneeling on his chest, "You are Hyuga Hinata! Of the Hyuga clan of Konohagakure!"

The kunai in Kashghyu N'ga's hands stopped shaking. She brought it up over her head.

"I. Am. NOT!"

Before she could bring the blade down she was suddenly blindsided by an attack from Kiba. She flew off of Naruto's chest and into a tree. She lay there, unmoving. Unconscious.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't ya, butt-sniffer?" Naruto asked in irritation.

"Hmph, moron. Her Byakugan would've caught me if I didn't do it just right. I needed her attention focused on one thing and one thing only. Oh, thanks for doing that."

He held out a hand and helped Naruto to his feet. However, they had only moments to catch their breath. Before they could move to claim Hinata and get the hell out of there, Akamaru, still in the trees in Kiba's form, jumped down to the ground and began barking wildly. Looking up, the two Genin understood why. Their fight with Hinata had attracted a lot of attention. Several Nimmori, both warrior and civilian, stood looking down at them from the various platforms and huts.

And none of them were very happy at seeing their champion lose.

"Not good…" Kiba muttered.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: You know, I'm a bit disappointed in myself. I wanted to get more use out of Kiba in all this but I haven't been able to fit anything in with him. If nothing else, I thought some humor in the story would revolve around banter between him and Naruto. Like in this chapter, Naruto'd call him a 'butt-sniffer' or something. Kiba would call him a moron. They'd have a thing. Also, I made up a few techniques for these two chapters. I wanted to create some wood element ninjutsu. Since that is what the Nimmori, being Forest Ninja, specialize in. I also have one non-wood jutsu that suited my purposes.

MADE-UP JUTSU
Kazetama no Jutsu - Kaze is wind, Tama means ball. As described in-text, it's merely a ball fo chakra fused wind, often used to create a distraction, such as the rustling of leaves.
Konoha no Shuriken no Jutsu - Shuriken of Fallen Leaves Technique - Using minimal amounts of chakra but requires great control. It turns the smallest leaf into a projectile weapon. The cuts it creates aren't very deep, but enough of them can still be debilitating.
Habunshin no Jutsu - Leaf Doubles - Dobules made out of leaves. As shown in teh story, it's a pefect technique to combo with the Konoha no Shuriken.
Nemakabishi no Jutsu - Root Caltrop Technique - Calls up the roots of nearby trees to act as spikes to imaple the feet of enemies, or their bodies, as Hinata tried to do to Naruto.

Basically, the idea behind the Nimmori ninjutsu used here is that, as they don't have the resources to make and maintain metal weapons, like shuriken and kunai, they've developed/mastered techniques that use the nature around them as substitutes.

By the way, did I get the name of Kiba's Jujuin Bunshin technique correct.