The Chase


There was a heaviness in the air. A fluffiness of a feather-filled pillow that smothered the conscious of the spectators. Unknown to them, snoozing softly as they were lulled into the genjutsu, of the turmoil and terror that exploded around.

Kakashi effortlessly evaded a sloppy attempt from the Cloud-nin, slashing the enemy's throat. He had predicted something like this, but to think the Cloud teamed up against the Leaf along with the Sound was frustratingly unexpected. It puzzled him to wonder how Orochimaru had convinced both villages to destroy the Hidden Leaf. Ally was simply a word employed for fragile diplomacy. A short-lived ceasefire. The prolonging of an marching war that would never be truly stopped. That was the world they lived in, survived in.

A full-fledged invasion? Not in the least bit terrifying for the former ANBU captain.

The Copy Ninja stole a quick glance at his pupil, somewhat glad as he saw her sleeping form. He could make sure she was safe from the Cloud-nin who had a history of attempting to steal the Byakugan. He could keep her safe from the pathetic cronies that obeyed Orochimaru. He was all to aware of Anko's theory of Orochimaru prying children under his wing, only to sink his fangs into them. He be damned if Orochimaru stole two of his students. Kakashi could tell Sasuke was teetering on the edge and the lone Uchiha was hard work.

"That's forty for me," Guy announced proudly as the punched shinobi stumbled over the barrier from his sheer strength, falling hundreds of feet to the ground with a dull noise. The sunlight somehow caught his pearly whites at the perfect angle, giving a bright twinkle to his youthful grin.

A Sound-nin choked on the blood that gushed out of his mouth, writhing in pain until it suddenly stopped.

"Forty-one," Kakashi shot back at his rival, smirking under him ask as he heard his eternal rival grumble, throwing punch a little harder than before.

Guy physically deflated in defeat. It was a crude game, but one that often kept the morale high.

Amongst the sleepers, was Kakashi's student. Like the others, silent, unconscious and blissfully unaware.

Until an electrifying sensation shot through Hinata's temples.

The pain, a searing streak of intense chakra, jolted the genin wide awake. Her grey eyes flared an icy shade of blue for a moment before she squeezed her eyelids tight, hands grasping her temples. A habit it now seemed. The pain receded and she opened her pearlescent eyes. As her vision cleared, she frowned, stilling trying to differentiate dream and reality. Reality became crystal clear when Hinata yelped at the whizz of a stray kunai missed her face by inches, embedding itself at the back of her seat.

Instinct kicked in and she activated the Byakugan for the first time in weeks. Chakra coursed through her enlarged veins and her confidence too flowed with it. She missed the feeling of security that her 360 vision gave. She could see the cloud of black chakra that swirled over the stadium, lulling the victims into a false dream. A powerful genjutsu she quickly deduced, one that she was caught in too. ANBU and jonins fought ninjas that bore the musical note symbol and the village emblem that belonged to the Sand.

"Kakashi-sensei, where are the others?" Hinata called out, unable to locate them even though her sight ranged an impressive kilometre. "Where are Naruto and Sasuke?"

"Hinata, you're awake?"

His voice was deceptively calm, masking his shock with his usual blase tone. Hinata noticed the he was impressed but truth be told she didn't know how exactly she freed herself from the genjutsu. She chalked it down to the ocular pain. That had to be it. Her chakra had been haywire for a while. Clearly they were some kind of erratic chakra that hadn't settled yet despite following the doctor's instructions. For once, she was grateful for the searing pain.

"Sensei, where is everyone? What's happening?!"

"I've assigned Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru a mission to track down Sasuke- he's gone after Gaara. Pakkun is leading the way-"

"I'll go too, sensei!"

Orochimaru was in Konoha. So were the enemies. Enemeies who would gladly gauge Hinata's eyes out with their bare hands. The gruesome image made Kakashi recoil internally. But he was also confident in Hinata's abilities. She was an expert tracker, and the steely gaze she sent him cleared any doubts he had. She could handle herself. She was a kunoichi after all, one that anyone who stumbled across the famed former heiress's path would sure come to regret.

"I'll join Shino, it looks like he's going after them too."

'Shino?' Kakashi mused with surprise. So it seemed the Aburame genin evaded the genjutsu too. He was Kurenhai's best student after all.

"Be safe and-" Kakashi's kunai sliced through the air, finding a destination on the head of a Sand-nin- "do not hesitate to kill."

Hinata, though mildly horrified at the deathly accurate of his swift kill, nodded before dashing away. No matter how the screech of a pain, the bright red gush of blood made her whole body cringe, she couldn't let it affect her today.


The chase through the forest was an endless trek. Hopping from branch to branch, the Byakugan showed her she was approaching her destination. No one was tracking her from behind, and she spotting Sasuke's chakra signature first. Alone, she forced worried thoughts away; the reminder that she abandoned Shino behind her on her quest to find Naruto and Sasuke.

Sasuke, who had been watching the fight, tore his attention away as he felt a sudden presence beside him. Panting loudly, Hinata finally stopped, veins still protruding from her eyes as she met the bright scarlet Sharingan.

"How did you find us? Did Kakashi send you alone?"

Hinata shook her head, her breathing growing less frantic as Sasuke offered her his arm for support.

"I was with Shino. Kankuro tried to stop us, b-but Shino said he'd fight him alone so I-I could go on," a sudden expression of guilt flashed across Hinata's face as her voice turned quiet, "I h-hope he's okay."

"You should have stayed there," Sasuke reprimanded through gritted teeth, "it's much safer than being here. Naruto's there fighting that thing to save Sakura!"

"I want to help too, and we can't do that by just stand here and watching Naruto risk his life, Sasuke!"

He grabbed her arm tightly. "Look," he stressed, gesturing wildly at the scene unfolding before them. "Can't you see we're outclassed?"

"He can't save Sakura alone. I can try to slow down Gaara by blocking his chakra points. He'll be too distracted to notice me. You rescue Sakura, and then Naruto will have one less thing to w-worry about!"

Though Sasuke didn't enjoy the prospect of Hinata being a distraction to save the damsel in distress that was Sakura Haruno, Sasuke conceded. It was the only plan they had. Especially considering Naruto's struggle against the sand monster.

"Fine. But if something happens to you, I'm leaving Sakura to die in the sand."

"Sasuke, the whole point is to save Sakura," Hinata chided, shaking her head as her team-mate gave a non-committal shrug.

She could tell, though, that behind his mask of nonchalance, Sasuke was just as frightened as she was. They were after all genins tasked with stopping a monster capable of levelling their whole village and so the hope of ending the invasion rested on the shoulders of three ninjas with the extensive experience of one year.

There was hope, right? And with that shred of optimism, Hinata pin-pointed the half-human, half-monster's chakra points, analysing the brown chakra oozing through his body; no, invading and overpowering his host. And Gaara? He had given up fighting it.

This was not going to be easy, but if Naruto was giving his all to save the people he cared about, so would she. As she mirrored Sasuke's nod, both shot towards the battle. One to save the pinkette from a cocoon-like grave, and the other to prod the monster with little hope that it will slow it down.

As she approached the one-tailed half-monster, half-human, Hinata's mind flicked back to the moment she had seen a similar monstrous chakra ebb from Naruto. The power of the Nine-Tailed Beast shared a similar chakra signature to Gaara: the sudden surge of chakra was radiating from an internal source, different to Gaara's own chakra. To the host. With a quiet gasp, Hinata wondered if there were more beasts trapped inside humans.

Though the realisation was comforting. If anyone could fight Gaara and his demonic half, it would be Naruto and his own beast.

Hinata felt Naruto's sharp gaze track her movements, an expression of shock slowly cascading over his determination and rage. She ignored his shout to stay away, jabbing the tenketsu Gaara's human arm. His transformed arm might easily overpower her, but his other arm was still flesh and vulnerable. His unearthly roar made her cringe, and before she could jab him again, she leaped off the branch. A close miss as the monster's large tail tore down the nearby tree. If it wasn't for the Byakugan, Hinata was certain that she wouldn't have been hit.

"Hinata, you need to go!" Naruto yelled, grabbing her petite body and bringing her to the grass below. She blinked in confusion, glancing back at a horde of Naruto clones punching Gaara in unison. So, this was the real Naruto.

"Gaara could've have killed you!"

"I w-was trying to distract him," she said earnestly, "so Sasuke could save Sakura."

A sense of calm washed over the blond boy for a moment as she saw Sasuke holding a limp Sakura in his arm (somewhat begrudgingly).

"Y-You don't have to do it alone."

Naruto shook his head. "This I have to, Hinata. I don't know if your style will work. I mean Neji blocked every point in my body, but I still managed to use chakra... and Gaara, he's..."

A monster too.

"Like you," Hinata finished with a small smile. "I-I think y-you understand him better than anyone else. People might treat him like a monster, but that doesn't mean he i-is one."

Watching his clones puff from existence one by one, a paradoxical grin stretched on Naruto's face.

"Thanks, Hinata!"

The battle raged on as Sasuke, Hinata, and a now conscious Sakura looked ahead. Hinata frowned, scrunching her fist tightly as Gaara fully transformed into the creature he called Shukaku. And still, she had full faith in Naruto. The summoning technique combined with the transformation jutsu he had long despised back in the academy days made he cheer triumphantly. She instinctively turned to Sakura, who stared in pure wonder and surprise before shooting her a grin too. She turned to her other side, expecting Sasuke to mirror her joy, but instead she saw him tense jaw, eyes darkening and fists shaking in fury.

"That Gaara is a monster, and Naruto... where the hell did he learn a jutsu like that?!"

Hinata heard the envy in his voice, for the first time, uninhibited and raw. The burning embers in his dark orbs worried her. This wasn't pride for a friend and rival, but violent jealousy she'd think Sasuke would feel for a powerful foe.

"Jiraiya-sensei taught him."

The simple answer made him blink, slow wonderment curbing his envy.

"The legendary sannin?"

Sasuke could hardly believe his eyes. If training with a sannin for a few weeks would make Naruto this strong- strong enough to face a beast like Gaara, then Sasuke wondered how strong he could become if he trained with a sannin. Would he become strong enough to kill Itachi and avenge his clan? For the fleetest, briefest moment, Orochimaru crossed his mind. He was a Sannin too, one interested in him. One who promised him power. He savoured the potential, the delectable taste of success and power, but he pushed the thought out of his mind.

Sasuke wanted revenge, but he wasn't stupid enough to take Orochimaru's help. He wouldn't betray The Leaf like Itachi did.


Chapters will be much shorter, more like snippets from character POVs until we get to the interlude. Mainly because the story is following canon until then so i don't think long chapters are necessary.

And guys, I officially a stalker who claims that he hates my story and yet goes on the site, stalks my profile and impatiently waits for me to update. Their life must seriously be that shitty that you have nothing better to do than stalk a story they don't like. It amazes me how people can waste their time doing something they hate out of no genuine obligation. Don't like this story? Don't read. Mate, it's really that simple. I've never gotten hate before and honestly it's hilarious how petty and stupid this person is. There way bigger things to worry about that a freaking fanfiction. Sometimes I feel like I'm too old for this site, or maybe there's just really immature people who feel an artificial sense of power by shitting on other people like they're some famous critic.

Any ideas or general thoughts, please let me know in your review!