Also if you as a reader would like to review to send either critique or compliment you are more than welcome. Reviews are my only feedback on what my reader thinks, so please review to tell me what your thought on this chapter is. Once again thank you for deciding to read this story. Hope you enjoy! To all my readers who have reviewed this story, I would like to personally thank you, and I will try my hardest to develop this story to provide you enjoyment. Nevertheless enjoy this chapter. I mean it when I say these chapters could not be possible without your wonderful reviews.
Final Update for this Chapter: 7/27/2005 8:50 PM
Chapter Word Count: 14107
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything part of the manga. I am doing this fan fiction for fun and not for profit.
"Personal Thoughts" "
"" Dialogue spoken
(Notes)
BOLD – Kyuubi & Anaish speaking
Chapter 6 - Ryokugyoku Youshin (Emerald Leaf Blade)
The Third Hokage was relieved once he found no serious injury had been done on Naruto. The Hokage was surprised when Naruto had told him he had fought with his inner demon, and came to a resolution.
Jiraiya arrived outside the dome to find Naruto arise from the sleeping position. Jiraiya was further confused when he caught the scent that reminded him of someone, but could not grasp who it was. Nevertheless, he disposed one of his small toads to listen the conversation between his sensei and Naruto.
The Hokage believed that the dangerous seal that had been cast upon the boy may indeed helped in unlocking the door to Kyuubi's power, "My word, who knew that having Naruto resolve with his inner demon will give him access to his dormant powers", as the Hokage was amazed once he noticed Naruto's chakra level had increased to level beyond an ordinary genin. In fact the Hokage could actually see the physical manifestation of Naruto's own blue chakra encased around his body, a clear indication the boy will only be getting much stronger.
However the Hokage realized that Naruto would always be involved in dangerous situation throughout the village. No matter where he would go, he would be forced to face the anger and hatred of the villager. The Hokage pondered and saddened when realized Naruto processed maturity beyond his age. "Naruto may look like a child, but his mental apathy is beyond his age. Only if some villagers would look behind the surface, they would see Naruto's great soft heart."
However the Hokage knew that fear was still a more prominent feeling the villager, and only fear can lead to hatred, for they fear the unknown. Rather then take the time to discover what a person is truly like; they decided to let their fear to be covered by hatred in attempt to feel confident they have a control over some aspect of their feeling.
"The villagers will never bother to look underneath the surface. If only they could control their own fear, than maybe they might see the soft heart Naruto carries. Yet it his soft heart that is carrying the greatest burden, ready to sacrifice to aid and protect everyone", as the Hokage recalled all the constant hardship Naruto had been forced to face by the villagers and was surprised that Naruto had not lost his mind to search for a reign of apocalypse to fall. Hokage was amazed that Naruto had not shattered from all the insults and hatred in which he had every right to seek revenge. Instead Naruto struggled where he could prove others that he was not a demon but a growing human being and will aid those that in need.
"Naruto you are a very special child indeed, your great heart is what is needed in this gloomy world", for it toke a person with tremendous courage and undying desire to help those in need to be the savior needed to defeat the coming storm of darkness.
"Hokage-sama, what happened to Hinata?" Naruto asked as he watched the sleeping beauty next to him. He was confused as to why the girl was unconscious, and worried that something is wrong with her. "Is she alright? Did something bad happen to her? Did I do something to hurt her? Oh god I hope not, I will not be able to live with myself if something like that happened", as the Hokage quickly replied to assure Naruto he had not cause the young Hyuuga to be unconscious which relieved the distressed boy.
"No Naruto nothing bad happened to her. She was taking care of you while you were unconscious and fell asleep" as Naruto heard the explanation, the breath he had no idea he was holding was finding able to escape from as the Hokage noticed the relief washed over Naruto.
"Do you know what Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked as the Hokage saw a warm smile formed on Naruto. He noticed a bright sparkle within the eyes of the young boy before Naruto joyfully replied, "Hinata is my most precious friend!"
The Hokage continued to smile and agreed with Naruto heartily. "That is true Naruto for Hinata was an indeed the first one to actually look underneath the surface and saw the true you", as both Hokage and Hinata continued to looked at the young heir which slumbered peacefully.
"Naruto, should you find someone who sees you as a friend, you should always respect them. Although you may not find many individuals that process the qualities required for a friend, but the few you do find are the ones worth protecting and dieing for".
Naruto obediently listened because nobody had ever given him any advice through his lonely existence in the village. Naruto gave unlimited respect and elegantly admired those who showed any signs of kindness or loyalty towards him. Naruto became incredibly loyal to those people, and would put his own life in harm to save them, which will soon become a privilege to those precious few.
"I know Hokage-sama. I will never disrespect them. I will always show respect and kindness to those who show the same qualities towards me. That is my honor and my way of ninja!" exclaimed Naruto for he would never back down on his honor as a ninja, because his honor as a ninja was the only thing that gave evidence of his existence in life.
"That is very honorable Naruto, and I hope you practice those words that you preach. However Naruto, I am more interested at what happened to you when you were inside your mind facing Kyuubi", asked a more curious Hokage, who would like nothing but to spend time with what he considered to be his grandson.
Naruto recalled his experience with Kyuubi and remembered the amount of power generated by Kyuubi still sent shivers down Naruto's back. Yet he was surprised by Kyuubi's nature, since Naruto was expecting the demon to be ruthless and dangerous, as many have feared. However Naruto found nothing but compassion, care, sorrow and what he felt undying love within the demon. Naruto remembered the lecture he had received from Kyuubi, and realized that they have many things in common.
The lecture given by Kyuubi still was glued in the mind of Naruto, as he was still furious at himself. Naruto remembered how he had followed the same process of the village alienation towards Kyuubi. For Naruto had placed a biased impression of Kyuubi primarily due to his appearance, as anger had clouded Naruto's mind for he failed to look underneath Kyuubi's exterior.
The conversation Naruto had with Kyuubi had made Naruto indeed felt like he was a demon, as he showed hatred towards a creature in the same way the villagers had towards him. He realized that he was doing the same thing the villagers were doing against him. Naruto received a valuable lesson of always think carefully before he would do or say anything towards an individual. For if an individual were not to take a single moment of thought, and if they did not explored the character underneath the appearance, then a flawed judgment on the creature's personality would be cast.
The Hokage noticed the conversation with Kyuubi had a considerable influence with Naruto. He could see Naruto had begun thinking deeply before he carried out his form of action. The Hokage was amused that Kyuubi being sealed within Naruto was a blessing in disguise. For Naruto contained the might demon Kyuubi, he was given a dying gift form his father to have someone become his guardian spirit, one such that would helped Naruto lead a path of honesty, pride, power and duty.
"Well it is getting late Naruto, why don't you go home and rest. I will send Hinata home by myself. We will start our training again tomorrow", as the Hokage gently picked up Hinata and left towards the Hyuuga mansion in order to have Hinata rested in her room. Naruto was saddened for he felt useless for not being able to help the unconscious Hinata, however Naruto realized under the circumstances, it was a more logically choice to have the Hokage have Hinata returned to her home, "At least her parents won't blame me when they see Hokage-sama bringing her", the young child walked home a placed surrounded loneness which had began to choked Naruto of happiness.
Through the peaceful evening the moon cast its moonlight shadow upon the boy. Naruto could not comprehend on why that night he felt so refreshed and relieved. The young child could only ponder for a certain period of time before he headed towards his bathroom for a shower. After the cold shower, which released any tension within his sore muscle, he headed towards the kitchen where he would refill his huge appetite of ramen.
As Naruto quenched his hunger, he went to his beaten down room where his body happily laid down upon his bed as he quickly collapsed asleep. Naruto was blessed with a peaceful dream, as he was surprised to find the morning had arrived when the sound of bird chirping had reached his air. Accompanied by the warm gentle rays beamed by the sun upon the sleeping boy, Naruto also heard the sound of the busy streets as many of the villagers had attempted to finish their duties. The warmth of the sun forced the boy to do something he was not ready for as he opened his eyes and decided he needed to get up so he could tackle the various duties of the day.
Naruto had never felt this refreshed before as he headed to the bathroom, while he whistled an unknown melody. Since the time Naruto could remember through his first ten years, he was not hunted by the same nightmare of running though the dark tunnel. Instead Naruto's dream consisted of an area, which included a warm sun, soft breeze that danced over his body, and comfortable lawn that provided a soft area for Naruto lie down in. Naruto however did notice red eyes had hovered around him but he felt those eyes existed for his safe being. Naruto finished his shower and headed to the kitchen for his desired breakfast of the famous ramen, before he had bolted out the door, ready to overcome any obstacles that headed his way.
When he arrived at the dome for his training, he found the Third Hokage and Hinata had already reached there. However Naruto was shocked once he noticed the change of clothing of Hinata, and had felt he had to check his sight to believe that it was Hinata that stood before him. Hinata realized that in order to effectively train and felt the change of clothing would help in her training as well as being bolder.
Hinata had replaced her large fuzzy jacket and instead had decided to go with a black tank top that was slimmer but did not revealed too much. The top of her shoulder all the way down to her elbow was covered by black top's sleeve as her hand was now concealed in tight black glove. She also wore a dark blue jeans pant while bleached to the color of white near the bottom.
The most stunning modification done by Hinata was her hair for she had brought all her hair back to be tied all together into a pony tail which bounced up into the air every time she would turn her hair. Having her hair brought back, she tied her Konoha forehead protector around her forehead; where around her neck was bound to a glittering black necklace, which holds the symbol of yin.
On one of her athletic thighs, she had placed a hoister, which carried several shuriken and kunai, for she felt it was easier to grab from there. As Hinata had spent considerable time with Naruto, she had been able to gain some confidence as she portrayed her opinion in a strong voice. Several individuals who had known the shy timid Hyuuga heir were surprised by her choice of clothing as well as her ability to be heard. No one was more affected then the stoic branch member Neji, as he could not believed this was the same Hinata he known to be weak.
Naruto found Hinata rather attractive, more so than any other ladies he had seen, and could not helped but admired the new more confident Hinata before him. However Naruto remembered the oath he had placed upon himself, as he would not based his first impression of person on their appearance. Naruto had decided he would always try to see what was underneath the appearance of a person and hoped he would get the chance to see the true personality of the quiet Hyuuga heir.
"Good morning Hokage-sama", as he calmly walked towards them where he had hoped Hinata had not seen him stare at her from a distance.
"Good Morning Hinata and wow!" as Naruto had difficulty saying what was on his mind, for he had seen Hinata and she was able to leave Naruto completely flustered. The remark made by Naruto forced Hinata do develop a new shade of red as she blushed furiously.
"Thank you N…Naruto-kun I hope you like it?" as Hinata shyly asked Naruto although Naruto had a tough time hearing the barely audible question.
"Of course Hinata, you always looked nice but I don't know why you did all this for me but I hope you always try to stay comfortable with yourself. Never let other people change you or your perceptive on life Hinata", as Hinata eyes glowed with a azure sparkle through her white pearl eyes once she heard Naruto's compliment.
The Hokage was amused at the young couple's chatter, but needed to remind the two children that a shinobi primary purpose is be highly trained fighters, "Okay I see you two are in a good mood so I will let you warm up so begin the same exercise as yesterday."
Both Naruto and Hinata headed toward the training dome area, and while they walked the young children would take quick glances at each although they tried very hard not to let the other know. Once they reached the training dome area, they concentrated on the task of completing the first training exercise bestowed upon them. A slight red glow had manifested around Naruto's hand, while a light crème glow was seen around Hinata's hands. The phenomenon went unnoticed by the two shinobi; however weird disturbance did not escaped the eyes of the Hokage who could sense that there was something very special in Naruto and Hinata.
Both Naruto and Hinata performed the training exercise for several weeks and slowly their body had begun to be toned by the exercise. Naruto had become efficient in handing his wooden sword, yet Hinata did not have the endurance required to keep at the same pace as Naruto. Therefore Hinata had practiced a smaller sword in each of her hand, where she was determined to overcome her physical weakness with her ability to respond with quick strikes. Nevertheless, Naruto's body grew with strength and endurance while Hinata had become more agile than an eagle that hunted for its prey.
Hokage was surprised that both Naruto and Hinata had adapted to the dummies. Naruto and Hinata were able to dodge the moving dummies but had not developed the skill needed to hit the remaining rigid dummies. Nevertheless the two young students were able to respond quickly to the randomness induced by the Hokage as he swarmed around the dummies to make sure his students would have trouble adapting to his randomness.
Naruto was forced to experience various nagging bruises from the training, as he was as nimble as Hinata. However the ointment given by Hinata helped quicken the healing process for Naruto, which surprised Hinata, because she never knew a person that healed so quickly.
The Hokage walked up to his two students and examined them at their discomfort of not being able to determine a method of counter attack to his randomness. Although he was amazed at the quick progress made by Naruto and Hinata, he felt that the hidden powers have helped them accelerate to grow.
The Hokage knew that these two were growing at a very high pace, such that if not given proper training, there inability to control their strengths could lead to dire consequences. "Okay you two, break time is over, time to continue your training", as the two groaning students regrettably headed toward their appropriate training circle.
Once the two students began, the Hokage found that even through both Naruto and Hinata were being trained together; they each have developed a different style for accomplishing a goal. Naruto being forced to go through life alone, various beating he was forced to endure had made the young boy start fitness training earlier than most children. Therefore over the various years, the young child had developed sufficient muscle mass accompanied by survival on the streets had given Naruto the ability base his fighting style primary on his raw strength and his endless stamina in conjunction. Hinata on the other hand who had been force to practice her family style since she was born accompanied by following strict royal protocol had developed a graceful slender body that allowed her to be very quick and flexible although she lacked power.
Naruto used enough strength that sent the hanging dummies into the air. The dummies moved upward into the air, as it reached the peak before it would come down. Naruto realized if he was able to send the dummies as high as possible, it gave him the time needed to complete his circular arc of his wooden sword.
Hinata on the other hand did not have a lot of strength in her attack due to her body structure and was only managed to send the dummies half as high as Naruto. This dilemma forced Hinata to react quickly to the movement of the dummies as the moved through he air. However Hinata was relieved that she did not have to exert a lot of effort needed for her to comfortably move to strike as her speed and agility was improved from the training. Hinata became keen to her surrounding which made her felt she had developed a sixth sense as was able react quickly to random movement of the dummies and anticipated how well she could have fought if she was also using her limit, Byakugan.
As the two children trained their body to become stronger, the Hokage analyzed the two students and found even though they carried a weakness, if put together onto a team, their individual strength would cover each other's weakness.
Hokage watched Naruto and Hinata carefully as his students progressed relatively well but also knew when how hard they should be training as he told his students to get rest, "Okay that is enough, Naruto and Hinata you should go home and rest. I will expect you two here by dawn tomorrow morning", as the Hokage waved goodbye and left the two students a moment alone.
Naruto thought his young age had seen several couple where boy would usually escort the girl home, and felt he should do the same. Therefore he would walk with Hinata all the way to her home but was unable to start a conversation that resulted in a quiet walk home. After Naruto had dropped off Hinata, he then headed toward his home and being exhausted by the training; both Naruto and Hinata fall asleep the moment their body landed upon the bed.
The two shinobi preceded their training for several weeks and by that time the moon had gone through its cycle twice. After several weeks of training, the Hokage noticed tremendous increase in strength, endurance, and speed within his two students.
Naruto focused more on his strength then his speed, yet he was able to become more agile then before. Hinata also improved greatly, surpassing Naruto in speed; although she was lacking strength she was not as weak as she was before. It was a foolish idea to challenge both Naruto and Hinata at the same time for their teamwork and complementing fighting style make it them nearly impossible for them to be beaten.
The two children had improved but they felt they were just doing useless training, well not useless but just boring training. They are young students in training and are in need of some form of training that will entertain them as well as hold their short interest span.
Although Naruto had been blessed with a high amount of stamina, he had difficulty breathing as he asked the Hokage, "Hokage-sama how much…longer do we have to keep doing this?" as Naruto asked the Hokage where he tried to recover his breath. Hinata also stood next to Naruto, yet she struggled to remain focused, as she was ready to faint in any moment. "Naruto-kun how can you keep going for that long my body can not move at all", as Hinata looked at Naruto with amazement for his ability to keep on continuing and his determination to never giving up.
The Hokage looked at the tired face of Naruto and Hinata who was about to collapse and decided he had trained them to the level he hoped for.
"Well I got the result I wanted from that training. By now your body has become used to have sword like weapon in your hands. You body reflexes and strength also has been conditioned. Now we began the next exercise", as the Hokage walked towards an object that looked like a chest.
Naruto and Hinata saw the Hokage removed piece of clothing from he chest but noticed the clothing material gave off a metallic color. They were confused but felt they should al least trust the Hokage before they could ask him.
"These here are specially made weights. I picked them out on an adventure I had in the mountains. These are very unique weights, for you don't have to change them. Once you put them on, the weights can sense the chakra level in your body. You see these weights are also chakra enhanced to detect chakra inside of you. Having them on for a while, they sense the growing chakra level in you. Once the weight feels you have reached a plateau level, they will increase in weight. Thus you will always be getting stronger without even have to change the weight. However I specially found these since the will improve on your strengths."
"Hinata please come here", as the Hokage picked up clothing that resemble a belt and shin guards. "Okay Hokage-sama", as Hinata approached the Hokage. The Hokage then placed the belt around Hinata, and there was a sudden green flash. The same result happened when the Hokage placed the shin guards on her legs.
Immediately Hinata felt that she was being sucked into a black hole, but then the feeling of disappearing into the ground disappeared. However all her movements were sluggish and she realized that her response was laggard.
"Hinata your body is more developed for agility and quick strikes. Therefore this belt will help in building your body to develop appropriate torque when you twist and turn. With the appropriate force being released by your body, you can then use the centripetal force to help bring more power into your strikes. You will build a more slender and toned muscle, which should give you lighting quick reflex. The shin guards are made to help develop running power which should help increase your speed even more", replied a smiling Hokage once he noticed Hinata's white pearl eyes latterly lighted up.
As Hinata tried her new addition to her wardrobe as well as the new sensation from the weights, the Hokage felt it was time he explained other changes as well.
"Hinata, after I examined your fighting style, your body is more capable of fighting with two weapons. However you do not have the strength to maintain efficiently two swords. Therefore we are going train you in using twin daggers and make you comfortable in ambidextrous fighting."
Hinata could not understand if the news given was a good thing or bad thing. At first Hinata was relieved that she would be using smaller weapons since the regular size sword had become a burden to her. However she was sadden once she realized that maybe she was not strong enough to handle the same weapon as Naruto and felt she would forever be a weak person.
However all doubt was erased when Naruto responded, "Hey Hinata", which caused Hinata to glance towards Naruto.
With a gentle smile, Naruto continued, "I think that would be great. You are much quicker than I am, and it would so cool to have two weapons at the same time. You can do it Hinata, you are becoming strong very quickly", which removed all of her capabilities of speech.
The dazed Hyuuga heir had several thoughts, as she had never been encouraged to try something new. The shocked young woman could not believe that someone thought she was skilled in something nevertheless it came from someone who she worshipped as her source of inspiration. "Naruto-kun thinks I am better at some things than he is and he thinks I am doing something cool why does his smile make my heart beat crazy hey Hinata focus…focus take some deep breaths we are still at training", as Hinata gave Naruto a warm smile before she fought to say, "Thank…thank you N…Naruto-kun", for being acknowledged by someone the individual respected can cause a flood of pride swell within.
"Thank you Hokage-sama", as Hinata slowly walked towards her spot next to Naruto.
"Okay your turn Naruto, can you come here please?" as he pulled out a black cotton vest and silver armbands. As Naruto came near the Hokage, the Hokage had placed the black vest upon Naruto that caused the poor unsuspecting body to collapse unto the ground, and struggled to get back onto his feet.
"I know that might feel a little over bearing Naruto, but it will bring your endurance and strength level even higher. You do not have the high level of speed when measured to Hinata, but by building up your strength you will have the endurance needed take damage from the fast shinobi. You have become quite efficient when using a weapon similar to a sword, so you will have these armbands. Naruto these armbands carried future importance however they will help you build power into your strike", as the Hokage smiled at the awed Naruto who gazed wonderfully at his new addition. After taking practice swings, Naruto realized what the Hokage meant, for he had to use more force in order to move his hand, and could see how the weight should help build more strength into his attack.
"Okay now follow me, each of you stand next to one of these two dummies", as Naruto and Hinata approached the dummies and once they got near the dummies they noticed it looked different. The curious children came in close vicinity of the training dummies and were surprised to found the material was made out of metal. The two students looked at the Hokage, and asked why they are training with metal dummies. The Hokage could not prevent the amused chuckle that had escaped from his mouth before he replied, "They are made to last longer." Only to fine the two students fall unto the ground with sweat mark.
Nevertheless the two students once again retained their fighting stance as they awaited the command that will be issued by their respected grandfather figure for what they believe to be their new training.
They were not disappointed as the Hokage started his explanation on the training exercise as he appeared behind Naruto
"I am going to show you the basic in griping the sword correctly. You will have to have both you hand place around the handle. When you make your strike, make sure to turn your wrist as you bring you arms across the slash. This will make sure the all of your weight and strength is behind the blade as it strikes."
"You must remember Naruto that to make sure the cutting blade is hitting and sliding across the target. This will insure your strike is true and you will not miss. Naruto you have the potential to become a powerful sword master. However always remember that the having a good defense will allow you to fight the next battle. Your incredible endurance would wear out the opposition and then you can easily dispatch them", as Naruto eyes burned with a fire of determination to be able to accomplished his task perfectively.
In order to practice effectively, Naruto had decided to remove his beloved trench coat that allowed his faded orange shirt exposed to the world. The bright bandana accompanied by his biker gloves and black pant gave Hinata the feeling that Naruto meant business. His clothing and the way he held himself gave an immediate aura that even though this boy was a young child; he had witnessed the cruelty of life and found a way to survive his ordeals.
The Hokage had explained what he wanted out of Naruto and was satisfied when Naruto had began to train in the path of a weapon master. The Hokage then placed his attention upon the quiet Hinata as he approached towards her to give the lessons to her training.
"Hinata this is the same with you, but when you strike, you hands will follow a different movement", which caused Hinata to be confused at what the Hokage tried to tell her, but continued to listen to his explanation.
"Hinata you must remember that your strikes have to be quick and accurate. You do not have the strength to make a lethal blow. Therefore always try to make swift concessive attack all aiming for chakra point area in the body. It is similar to your Gentle Fist style. With your Byakugan, you should be able to see the chakra point, letting you to cause fatal injuries. What you must do is to always know what and where the next strike will be. You must fall into a rhythm where one strike is place, already thought out the next place, almost like a dance", as an uninvited gust of wind had appeared that caused her wave of blue hair that was tied up to dance into he air.
"It may seem hard, but with enough practice and with your innate speed, you should be able to realize your capabilities and limits are", as worry and doubts entered into Hinata's mind. Naruto could see the angelic face of his friend was plagued with a sadden frown where normally a beautiful smile resided.
In his attempt to cheer up the Hyuuga heir, Naruto had shouted to Hinata, "Hey Hinata don't you worry I know you will figure it out beside I am here to help you all right!" as Naruto tried to tell Hinata so he could erased the fear being shown on Hinata's face.
"Also, Naruto and Hinata, you will also need to control your chakra since these weights will take awhile to get use to it. You will have to develop a sense of how much chakra to use, using too much and you will be too exhausted to continue. Finally these weights help you in chakra control and increasing your chakra levels", as the Hokage pondered on what type of chakra training his students would need, he decided he make them comfortable with weight and continue their previous training.
"Okay first I want you two to begin training again with the fours dummies like before", was the stern command issued by the Hokage which resulted in his student confused as they struggled to complete the exercise.
Naruto and Hinata were frustrated as they were not able to get use to the weight and were impatient at the time required to develop the strength needed to train. As they tried to balance their chakra efficiently between the chakra needed to help them lessen the load of the new weight and the chakra required to help their movement in their training exercise.
During the first month, the two students barely could complete the four dummies training exercise. The Hokage was forced to bring both students home, because Naruto and Hinata were too exhausted from having the weight on. The Hokage tried to get the weights off of Naruto, yet Naruto due to his stubborn nature stopped the Hokage from removing his weight and was determined to get stronger. The Hokage however was extremely worried about Hinata, since she was on the border line of fainting, however as she saw Naruto not giving up that had affected her as well and she too was determined not to give up.
Naruto and Hinata struggled for another several months as they trained with the dummies while their body always had the company of their newly gifted weights. Eventually as the two shinobi had trained, the weights became second nature to the two shinobi. All day the two would be busy in their training while nobody noticed their absence.
Since the beginning of his childhood, Naruto had never been liked upon due to the demon that resided within therefore when he was found absent it was much of a relief for the villagers. Hinata's absence was noticed by the Hyuuga family, yet they saw her being incompetent and believed to not cause much trouble on her, and many of the villagers would not touch for they would have to face the wraith of the Hyuuga family.
However the Third Hokage was training both Naruto and Hinata and the two children were delighted to see each other, which quickly became the highlight of their day. Every morning they would get up early, and headed quickly to the training ground, eager to see each other, and be somewhere where they feel they can be acknowledged. As the training began to become harder, the two would come home exhausted, and fall right to bed asleep once their body landed to the comfort of their bed. They would wake early and see each other again, yet both Naruto and Hinata were happy with their current schedule for their current arrangement was a source of freedom from their cruelty from life.
The Hokage sensed both Naruto and Hinata had increased their chakra levels, control and endurance and saw they had become proficient with their weapons. It has been almost four months after Naruto and Hinata were given their weights, yet the Hokage felt it was time for the two to learn the first advance technique of Emerald Sword Style. The Hokage wanted to teach the two shinobi how to produce the Ryokugyoku Youshin or otherwise known as Emerald Leaf Blade. A technique that allows a user to concentrate a high amount of chakra to be utilized as both offensive and defensive as a blade of high energy would be launched in a singular wave towards their target.
The unique technique required the user to be agile, proficient in weapon usage and have great chakra control. For the user will use a form of a weapon to channel great amounts of chakra that would be swung at a very hard speed that will send a single wave of infused charka. The user has to be highly trained with the weapon for they must be able to unconsciously move the weapon to strike or defend. Basically the weapon had to become an extension of the arm to the user, which forced the user to be trained highly in one source of a weapon.
However in order to successively use the attack, the user must conjure enough chakra around their choice of weapon and attract enough leafs to surround the blade, which will from a razor sharp sheath. The blade must be infused with enough chakra, and then compacted so when the chakra is use as a projectile, it will appear to be a blade moving forward.
The weapon uses the momentum of the swing to send leafs flying with chakra, making it appear a slice of wave coming. In fact the chakra has compressed the leaves together, producing a razor sharp edge, a very lethal attack that kills in an instant.
So when the two came back again in the morning to continue the training, the Hokage told them to stop, as he wanted to begin the next exercise. "Okay good Morning you two, but for now, come follow me, I will show you what you need to know in order to perform the first advanced technique of Emerald Sword Style", as he toke Naruto and Hinata to a secluded area in the forest early in the morning.
The Hokage brought them to a forest, where plenty of leaves were scattered and the two children noticed that various amount of leaves were falling to the ground at a steady rate.
"Okay this technique will require a lot of practice, but you will be amazed at what you are capable of doing at the end", as the two shinobi were still awe-stuck with the scenery. Never before have they seen this part of the forest, and once they took in the scenery of leaves scattered around them, they felt a warm gentle peace soothe through their body from the peaceful looking surrounding.
However it was Naruto who was most affected by the secluded area, for he could not understand why such a quiet place was a great getaway from his constant torment of the villagers, "Wow this place is even better than my usual relief place. There is more shade here then the tree can give me, and the ground with leaves on it seemed softer than the flat stone maybe I should come here often for it makes me feel I want to live", as Naruto immediately liked the secluded area and wished he could lived here instead so he would have a peaceful living hood.
"It is a pity that only isolation can bring happiness to this kid. Yondaime I hope you knew what you were doing when you sealed me inside your only child. I guess destiny has unique ways of bringing people together but I will not let my mistake harm this boy any longer", as Kyuubi's murmur went unnoticed by Naruto and failed to noticed that his seal had once again glowed bright red.
However the strange occurrence was noticed by Hinata, who had her Byakugan engaged to do a scan of the environment and noticed the seal glowing on Naruto when she turned her head towards the area of Naruto. Hinata was surprised that she could not keep her mind of the seal and became worried about Naruto. The seal seemed compel to torment Hinata that only tempted the young Hyuuga to come near Naruto and examine the seal. "Naruto-kun what are you hiding? What am I thinking it must be something terrible he is hiding since his eyes show so much sadness but will he trust me enough to tell me what it is I…I already trust him with my life", as the blue hair of Hinata had began to turn to a misty white color before it quickly vanished and returned to her natural color.
The Hokage realized that Naruto and Hinata were growing quickly in mind, sprit, and body more so than their peers. Over the several months Naruto and Hinata had been training, their friendship had developed a strong bond that made their teamwork phenomenal. The Hokage saw that his students could sense each other's movements, and completed a perfect fight dance in battle, ready to cover each other's weaknesses. Having spent more than half a year with each other, they have grown extremely close to each other.
Even thought Naruto and Hinata were growing they would be forced to face many dangers soon and the Hokage wished to teach them quickly of things that will help them survive, "The weapons which you are now carry, should already feel like second nature to you by now. The reason for this is that for this technique you need to make sure all your movements are balanced and synchronized with the weapon. You should not be thinking about how to move to strike or defend, but thinking about where to strike. You must be proficient enough as to feel the weapon is part of you", explained the Hokage to his obedient students that acted beyond their age, which made the Hokage forget he was training two young children.
"This technique calls forth for the user to use the weapon to create a projectile consisting of chakra energy. When this projectile is launched from the weapon, it will form a slice of energy wave, which will move, across the ground towards your targets. If you are in an area consisting of leaves, that can make the attack even more dangerous. The leaves have two benefits and that is why we are going to train in this clearing in the forest. The first benefits are that leaves will help you train in concentration of chakra into the weapons, as well showing where you are throwing the wave of energy. The second benefits are that when you use enough chakra to draw leaves around your choice of weapon; you have begun to create a razor sharp sheath that is able to cut through some of the toughest metal."
The Third Hokage saw that both Naruto and Hinata had not understand what he had just lectured, therefore he drew some of his chakra, which attracted the various leaves that were scattered around him. The hokage was able to form the shape that resembled a short sword from the various leaves, and once he had accomplished a blade of leaves, the Hokage then launched the leaf blade towards a small tree stump. The result of seeing a from of chakra being launched as an long range projectile with enough force to cut through a tree stumps just from something natural as leaves left the two children in alarmed shock.
Naruto was more amazed by the demonstration and realized that the preaching of a ninja always utilizing it's surrounding was fully showcased by the lethal projectile. Naruto looked around his surrounding and as he glanced at the harmless leaves, it proved to him that nothing is too small or too big to get a job down. That thought alone made naruto even more determined to prove that he himself is not too small or too big to be not acknowledged as a human being.
Hinata was shocked at the amount of concentration that was required to hold both chakra and harmless leaves together to be compacted into a lethal blade. However what shook her was the fact that something small as leaves can be utilized in such a way to get fatal results. A small amount of confidence burned within Hinata, as even with her so called useless talent from her family, she can become a person trained to cause fatal endings.
The Hokage was extremely pleased to see a flare of determination explode within the two young children. Once again assured he was not making a mistake of taking the two into this highly difficult and elite style, the hokage continued to explain the capabilities of the attack he just unleashed.
"However in order to successfully create a projectile that you will than be able to launch, you have twist and twirl in a perfect motion. The weapons have to be moving very quickly as you twist and twirl to gain momentum. While your movements have to be smooth, balanced and synchronized with the air around you, because you will be moving a lot of air as you twist and twirl. The air will be then forming currents which all are moving in the same direction of the swings of your weapon. You will then drag all the currents and leaves while compacted together by your chakra to infuse a weapon at a very high speed. The reason for this is because you need all that current of air to launch your projectile and it is very difficult to keep all that current together or a long period of time."
"As you move the currents of air around with your weapon, you will notice a dull gleam of green which will allow you to see the direction the currents are moving. Why green you might want to ask, well it takes color of the surrounding, and since we are deep within the forest, it's only normal to take the green. If you were to do in a the desert or over water, then it will take on a different color as well as different properties, buts that's a more advanced technique so you have no need to worry about that."
The hokage allowed his student to grasp the message he had tried to project to his students. Once the hokage had felt sufficient time had expired, he continued his explanation of the technique, while he had not noticed the dazed expression on the young children.
"As I was saying before about the importance of the current movements because if your swings are not balanced with the currents, then you will break the rhythm in the currents of the air swirling around you, which will result in the air currents to break its direction and move randomly in the air. This randomized of the air current can cause serious damage to the user as it creates small lethal vacuums. The vacuum can keep you paralyzed as you will not be able to move at all, while all the air you have gathered would actually explode before you as your inability to synchronize with the air currents had developed a dangerous sonic boom that is lethal enough to take away limbs of your body."
At first the young children were alarmed that if they do not perform this technique correctly, they would experience fatal consequences. However they realized they were still confused without a doubt what their sensei had tried to tell them. The amused Hokage felt it was better to show his students how to perform the technique hence another demonstration.
"Here let me show you, Naruto may I borrow your wooden sword for a minute" as Naruto gave the Hokage his wooden sword and watched the Hokage eagerly to learn how to do the new technique.
The Hokage with the wooden sword in his hand walked towards the opening that was middle of the forest and stood there while he glanced around in which he was selecting a tree to be his target, as the two students watched from afar. Both Naruto and Hinata saw the Hokage began to focus chakra into the wooden stick. While he had focused an ample amount of chakra, both Naruto and Hinata noticed leaves had begun to levitate around the wooden sword. When the Hokage felt he had enough chakra and leaves infused upon the wooden sword, he began to swing the sword around him in an attempt to fuse the currents of air into the charka infused sword as well.
First the Hokage brought the sword up into the air to his right over his head and then down diagonally across to his left next to his thighs while he turned his body so his back is facing the tree. From there he lifted the sword from his bottom left side toward diagonally up to his right left over his head once again. The Hokage continued to move the sword in a sideways figure eight motion. (A/N: The movement is similar if you follow the lines on the number 8 when put sideways, having the two circles intervenes.) He continued to do this figure eight circular motion, until it was a blur for the two students.
The only thing Naruto and Hinata could see at that moment was the glow of green that shimmered upon the wooden sword, as leaves on the sword was revolved around the sword. However what really happened was the fact the sword gained momentum and as the Hokage used the gaining momentum, the Hokage was able to drag the air currents with the wooden sword.
In order for a developed vacuum to occur, the sword must be moved at balanced and quick movements. If for any moment the user disrupted the airflow, the vacuum could collapse before the user, which can result in the user being harmed.
While the Hokage continued his movements of the sword around his body, one could see a trail of leaves and chakra following the movement of the sword. As the Hokage gain a tremendous amount of speed, the momentum of the sword forced the chakra and leaves detached from weapon anymore, for now a single wave of energy of chakra and leaves emerged.
The Hokage then twisted his body around as he once again faced the tree before. During the movement of the hokage turned around, the hokage had brought the tip of the sword upon the harden ground, which caused a woodened slash to follow behind the sword.
The Hokage utilized the momentum he had created from the effort he exerted to move the air currents with the sword, the size of the energy wave grew. On the final rotation, the hokage used more forced to incorporate the momentum needed to launch his projectile, as he flicked the sword upward to finally destroy any link between the wave of energy and sword. Once the wave of energy had gained freedom, it raced across the ground, cutting apart anything that may lie in front of the projectile. The students were amazed at the project raced across the ground and sliced through the tree stumps and then shattered couple of trees behind it as well.
A satisfied hokage glanced at the carnage that been bestowed upon the tree stumps and became even more amused once he saw his students had their mouth hanging open apparently they were induced in shock at what had transpired.
"Ah I see you like it? Well it will take a lot of practice and perfect timing of air manipulation to perform this technique; however I know you are more than capable of mastering this one technique."
"The way to master this technique is gather enough chakra to control and hold the leaves, while moving the weapon fairly quickly, so that you will find the energy trailing after the weapon. However if you move too quickly and have not enough chakra to hold it, you will let all leaves to fall down, and release excess chakra leaving you at a disadvantage in battle. The only other severe disadvantage it the time it requires to develop the wave of energy. Nevertheless this is basic and first technique will learn in the Emerald leaf Style, it is called the Ryokugyoku Youshin or otherwise known as the Emerald Leaf Blade"
In truth, the leaves are not always needed, for the only purpose of having the leaves was to train the students to produce the required amount of chakra and then have the students compacted into a small force of energy. When in training, the leaves being attached upon the weapon will give the user a guideline as to how much chakra should be used and emitted.
The Hokage felt that for the two students to develop the chakra control needed to efficiently perform the technique, he had his student practiced a simple exercise the utilized the leaves which fall down upon the ground of the forest. The simple exercise forced his student on charka manipulation as well as concentration to get the desired effect. The Hokage challenged his students to draw the leaves that had begun to fall from the tree towards their area. As the leaves came near them, they were forced to maintain extreme control, as they would have to levitate before them. As they maintained the leaves levitated before them, and while the leaves stayed in the air before them, they would have to slice right through middle to emphasize the importance of precise strike of their weapon. A simple exercise, they was not easily completed but the hokage hoped that after the excise his student would have greater chakra endurance, strength, focus, and accuracy.
After told of the task they were given to accomplish, Naruto walked to a corner of a clearing in the forest, while Hinata had walked to another clearing that was near the location of Naruto.
"Hinata Good luck!" yelled Naruto as Hinata cheek glowed red, however she had slowly became use to the blond ninja; otherwise, she would have normally fainted having any encouragements from a male member.
Naruto's first attempt to draw the various leaves resulted in a scary surprise, as Naruto was blessed with a large amount of stamina and chakra. Naruto had been used to draw a large amounts of chakra so when he release his chakra to draw the leaves towards him, he had did not noticed the leaves speeding towards him. The startled yelp of cry was not of pain, but a mere shock to the blond of ninja, as he didn't expect the leaves to come racing towards him. The leaves normally harmless, but when moved with chakra, the result are cuts cause by mere paper. Naruto was more annoyed at the simple fact that he had drawn the leaves towards him, but did not maintain the control needed to levitate them before him. Hinata quickly came over to observer the various scratches and cuts in Naruto, which had already began to disappear before the young Hyuuga's trained eyes.
A concerned Hinata eyed Naruto for any pain for she was worried for her friend, before she asked the blond ninja, "Are…are you all right N…Naruto-kun?" as Hinata still stammered when she was near a boy and especially her friend Naruto.
Surprised that someone actually asked if he was all right, he gave Hinata a warm smile, before he replied, "Yeah I am fine, just surprised by the stupid leaves. Hey Hinata why don't you try, maybe you might get better results"
At first the request surprised Hinata, but determined not to be seen weak in front of her only friend, she closed her eyes in stern concentration. Primarily Hinata's body structure was not built for strength; therefore it was not possible for Hinata to even maintain a suspended amount of time. In order to overcome or adapt to her body's weakness, she had developed above average chakra control, a benefit she gained from being trained in Gentle Fist Style.
Therefore it was no surprise when Hinata was able to draw the various leaves around, as her chakra control allowed her to levitate the leaves. However it was apparent that after several short minutes, Hinata lacked the endurance required as she struggled to maintain her concentration. Her breath became laborious, with sweat appeared throughout her forehead, and eventually she could maintain her concentration, which resulted in the leaves fall to the ground.
"Wow…Hinata that was great!" exclaimed Naruto, which caused Hinata give a weak smile.
It was a testament of Naruto in his quest to be strong and acknowledged that he knew he must swallow his pride and ask help from Hinata.
"Hinata could you help me to…to control my chakra better?" as Naruto struggled to broadcast his request to Hinata while he hoped he did not looked weak as he asked a girl for aid.
"Damn how embarrassing now Hinata probably is going to think I am some kind of loser and laugh in my face", so Naruto was truly surprised when he saw Hinata smiling.
Hinata was more than happy to help Naruto in anyway possible and quickly answered, "I would love to"
"Okay Naruto-kun, the first thing I do is I imagine chakra being like water, as they can supply life to creatures and such as chakra are important to us ninjas. However I always thought that no matter how much you may have, without efficiently using that entire source, you might lose your life in battle due to poor chakra management." Surprising Naruto as he noticed Hinata had not stammered while her normally soft quiet tone had taken more confident and stern tone.
"Most importantly I find the easiest way to control chakra is to imagine chakra to be a glass of water."
"Water in glass?" asked a confused Naruto.
"Yeah for example let say you were in the desert, each drop of water is extremely important, because water is scarce in the desert. Well in that sense chakra is the same thing, the smallest amount in a battle can be the difference between life and death" as Hinata calmly told Naruto as her trademark stammering was nonexistence, during her lecture.
As Naruto listened to Hinata's lecture, the calm tone surprised him and he could not stop himself from being mesmerized by Hinata's voice. "Hinata's voice is pretty when she doesn't stammer wait where did that come from, come on Naruto focus here, you are here to train", as Naruto redirected his focus upon Hinata's lecture.
Hinata continued her lecture, as she warned Naruto that he would need to develop a sense of control of his chakra, through trial and error. "Naruto-kun it takes work, practice and a little bit of trial and error in order to develop a sense of how much chakra to release. Throughout my training, I realized that chakra is like water in a glass, and if you were to flip the glass upside down, the water will try to flow out of the bottom of the glass and escape.
"Usually most people would place a hand to try to prevent all the water falling to the ground. Some people are better than others, however with practice people can get better to hold all the water. That is how I see chakra to be, charka is the water, and the glass is our body. By concentrating on how much chakra I need, I adapt myself to let the appropriate amount to be released. The same way I make sure not to let many droplets of waterfall from the glass, I try to not let precious chakra be released from my body. It took me a lot of practice to develop a sense on how much chakra to let go and reserve, but I think you can do it Naruto-kun".
"Thank you Hinata", as Naruto gave Hinata his trademark foxy-grin smile for he was pleased that someone actually took the time to teach him something out of class.
"You…your welcome N…Naruto-kun", as Hinata trademark stammering returned with vengeance. "Aaarrgggh!...Why am I stammering again when I try to talk with you why does his smile always do this to me Shit I wanted to talk with him normally like before…Shit Shit Shit!" as Hinata walked away from Naruto consumed in anger at not being able to talk with Naruto normally. (A/N: Wow Hinata swore, does she swear? Oh well she was just frustrated at herself)
'Why is Hinata so mad? I think she did a good job explaining and her voice sounded beautiful Ah Shit! Stop thinking about her, Naruto focus focus!" as Hinata looked over her shoulder and saw Naruto took deep breaths with his eyes closed.
After several calming breaths, Naruto diverted his focus upon his task, as he imagined his chakra being water, while his own body was the glass. Naruto thought that leaves are not dense material as well as small object, therefore he felt he should release as minimal chakra as he could. Once Naruto released what he felt was a small amount of his chakra, he opened his eyes to find leaves levitated around him. However Naruto was discouraged that he could not control his chakra to maintain the leaves in one particular area, as the leaves were instead revolved around Naruto. Apparently the tremendous amounts of chakra induced a state of magnetism, and pushed the leaves around the confused boy.
The Hokage looked at Naruto amused as Naruto struggled with his chakra control to keep the various leaves levitated in one position. "I guess he can't help it, with that much chakra inside him already, he will struggle to maintain all that chakra into a small confined point. What is scaring is that there is still Kyuubi's chakra which hasn't merged with Naruto yet." as the Hokage realized Naruto should not be trained to maintain chakra in a confined point, but more towards widespread chakra distribution.
Finally Naruto realized at the current moment, he would not be able accomplished this little exercise, and felt he should stop to rethink a different strategy. "Arg…I give up, it just too much work to confine this much chakra in such a small place", as Naruto release the little amount of control he had on his chakra, it only release the chains he had on his chakra which resulted in the leaves being pumped even more. As more chakra was being released into the leaves, Naruto induced a stronger pull, which resulted in more leaves being drawn towards the young boy.
The leaves whirled around Naruto at alarming speed as it produced a green blur of leaves and eventually Naruto dispersed behind wall of leaves infused with his chakra. The speed of the leaves produced gust of wind more harsh then a gentle breeze, however our hero was unknown to what had occurred for he was more furious that he could not accomplished the exercise.
"Heh Naruto looked down upon throughout his childhood, that he process a creative intellect capable of defeated the most prominent genius. IT seems Naruto had not even realized that he was developing new technique. What is amazing is that the chakra he is using right now is not even taxing Naruto. If I am correct it was harder for Naruto to contain all his chakra then let it roam free." and the Hokage realized that only Naruto had the correct body structure to effectively handle the strain of a demon. "Yondaime I guess you knew what you were doing, Naruto is the only one strong and capable enough to carry this burden".
Hinata was amazed at the shield that is forming around Naruto, "Naruto-kun you…you are amazing", as the dazed Hyuuga continued to looked at the phenomenon before her.
"Huh…what is going on?" asked Naruto after he turned his attention to what had happened and noticed various leaves whirled around him. "But I am not even doing anything. All I did was let the chakra I was holding flow free. This amount of chakra is same amount I used to help me move the weights" which left the young ninja to ponder on what he had may done wrong, for he began to recollect the past events that had occurred and came to a vague conclusion.
"Hrm what would happened if I were to add a little more chakra into it" as Naruto concentrated once again where he attempted to add more chakra to the leaves. With the added chakra, Naruto was able to increase his area of magnetism, where various leaves from the forest instantly were drawn towards Naruto. With more chakra, the leaves increased its speed as it whirled around Naruto led to another new development. The high rate of revolution of the leaves, accompanied by an increase area of magnetism, Naruto created a tunnel of vacuum, powerful enough to draw more than just leaves. For example, the Hokage, Hinata, and even Jiraiya were being pulled towards the human size magnet.
"Aaaahhhhhhhh what…what is happening?" as Hinata felt herself being pulled towards Naruto although she didn't mind that but still it was a scary feeling of being pulled somewhere without your consent.
"Wow that is amazing, hey Naruto! I think you should stop that!" yelled the Hokage towards Naruto and maybe he could prevent the food in his stomach from appearing.
As Naruto heard the stern command from the Hokage, Naruto instantly stopped what he was doing which resulted in all the leaves to effortlessly fall to the ground as the tunnel of vacuum vanished.
"Okay I think that will be enough for today go home and rest we start again tomorrow", a soft command issued by the Third Hokage, "Both Naruto and Hinata are coming along nicely, and they are growing at rapid pace, the Hidden Leaf Village will have two powerful guardians soon", which brought some peace of mind to the old guardian of the peaceful village.
The Hokage left the two shinobi alone, as they walked home together while they watched the sunset in the horizon surprised that time had gone by so fast.
The feminine characteristic overridden all logic in Hinata's mind and as the saying goes curiosity had killed the cat; she wanted to know about the seal that glowed red before. She could not take that image out of her head and droved her nuts. Several times during the past months Hinata wanted to ask Naruto about the glowing red seal she had saw. Yet every time she could not muster the courage required to ask a personal question to Naruto, but on this day Hinata felt there would not be any better chance then right now. Before she could build up her courage, her mouth opened and she automatically stated her question.
"Um N…Naruto-kun may I…I ask you a q…question", as Hinata quietly asked and hoped Naruto did not heard her. However much to her surprise Naruto had answered in a soft tone, "Sure Hinata"
"Um I was wandering about that seal is on your stomach", which cause not only Naruto eyes to widen but Hinata's as well, for the way her question was blunt and seemed a little harsh to her.
At that moment Naruto stopped working and looked at Hinata with dreaded fear. Hinata had never seen so much fear crept up into Naruto's cerulean eyes.
"Um Hinata I…I am afraid that once you know what is inside me you will leave me…so please trust me I…I can't really tell you right now", as Naruto hoped that Hinata will not be mad at him.
Hinata wished not to put anymore distress on Naruto where she gave him a gentle warm smile and answered, "Of course not N…Naruto-kun I am always here if you ever want to tell me anything." As Naruto heard the caring words from Hinata, Naruto became extremely happy that he went and hugged Hinata, which made the usually timid heir to shriek, where Naruto could only shyly replied, "Gomen Hinata".
However after Naruto felt he had managed to tame Hinata's curiosity, he felt as a friend, he should be open for conversation if Hinata needed any aid. "But Hinata you can always tell me anything if there is something that is bothering I will do anything to help you" as the statement made Hinata nervous where she began to twiddle around with her thumbs, unsure if she wanted to listen to her heart right now.
Hinata placed a lot of trust into Naruto; because of his friendship she was able to withstand the troubles at home. Hinata felt that only Naruto would understand her worries and problems. The two shinobi had grown to over the past year, as their friendship blossomed. Hinata days with Naruto training had always made her forget about her troubles back home. All the times she would be insulted, or treated harshly by her family, could be easily taken away by Naruto's smile. "My day would be dark without seeing his smile. My day would never be complete without meeting him I…I wonder if he feel anything like that"
Although she constantly worried if Naruto acknowledged her as a true friend, but currently her biggest worries have been with the nightmares that occurred for the previous couple of days. Hinata found herself running in a tunnel, as she is terrified when the realization came to her of finding now end of the tunnel. Every time, Hinata fallen asleep, she found herself to be in this nightmare, only to have the floor vanished below her as she fall towards the endless dark ground, as she approached the ground to her death, she would waken up terrified and horribly shaking.
The nightmares had shaken Hinata tremendously where she would get these haunted look in the morning; of course none of her family members had even noticed her. Her family only saw her as a weakling someone who should not have been born. Nor matter what she tried to do to please everyone; anger and hatred are the only response the family gave Hinata.
Hinata always felt that she could finally live and accomplish something whenever she is with Naruto.
Hinata had always dreaded doing something wrong that might cause Naruto to walk away from her. However knowing how kindhearted Naruto is and with deep trust that had developed with Naruto, Hinata decided to tell what was bothering her.
With downcast eyes, and as Hinata twiddled her thumbs, she started to speak in a nervous tone, "Um actually there is something I…I want to tell you N…Naruto-kun", as Naruto became serious and listened to the quiet Hinata.
"At times when I go to sleep I have this…this horrible nightmare. It always seems to have no end. And every time before I wake, I…I find myself falling to the ground", which at first caused Naruto's eye to widen for it was the same nightmare he had been forced to go through.
"Oh N...Naruto-kun I don't know what to do", as Hinata dropped to ground, and brought her hands to her face, while tears streamed down to the ground. At this point Naruto is unsure and stunned at what he should do, as he had always felt the same exact way while he hoped he was the only one suffering like this. Nevertheless as he saw Hinata dropped to the ground hurt and crying, the scene broke his heart. What happened next was purely instinctive as Naruto placed Hinata into his embrace, and tried anyways he could make her feel better.
Hinata was surprised she was being pulled towards something. What even shocked her even more was the warm feeling she was getting and noticed that Naruto had her in his embrace. All the scary images of her nightmares and her worries of being weak in front of her family floated away. As Hinata stayed within Naruto's arms, everything seemed right to her and had the burning desire to keep Naruto close to her.
"Hinata don't worry things will be fine things happen for a reason I use to get those same nightmares but when I had your friendship, the nightmares slowly disappeared. I will stay with you and hope I can get rid of those nightmares for you too. So please stop crying." Doing what mothers do to children when they are hurting inside Naruto gave one last hug and patted her on the head.
When Hinata felt Naruto hands patted her head, she instantly looked up towards Naruto. Naruto sensed that he may had embarrassed Hinata, quickly stopped before replying, "Gomen I saw mothers doing that so I thought it might help you", as both Naruto and Hinata got up from the ground and continued to looked at each other.
"Thank…thank you Naruto-kun", as Hinata face turned an interesting shade of crimson red. Naruto began to wander does Hinata had fevers often and placed a reminder on his do to list to ask the Hokage do all girl's face turn red for no reason.
"Um Hinata can I tell you something I always felt there is another presence inside me, like another source of power but I still can not access it yet", and before Naruto could continued, "Yes N…Naruto-kun I feel the same…same thing inside me too but when I am near you and training with you I feel like I am stronger like I can accomplish something with you near by me."
The statement warmed Naruto's heart since nobody told him that they wanted to spend time with him. All though his life, he had found people ran away from him and never once did he heard anybody gave him a compliment. Tears formed in his eyes because Hinata words had a considerable effect on his heart. "I promise you Hinata I will always protect you no matter what", and with his heart filled promise, Naruto brought Hinata as close he could to her home before he headed for his so called home with a more peaceful mind.
As the student returned to their home, they were oblivious to the mysterious person that trailed them by using the various roofs of the homes. "Naruto you will pay dearly for your interruption, don't worry Kyuubi you are next!" as a snake-like hiss of rage emitted from the person only to have the wind erased the threat before the stocker vanished into the night.
The Third Hokage returned to his office, as worry plagued his every thought upon the unique individual called Naruto. The Hokage had various thoughts that raced through his aged mind, ranging from surprise to amazement at the strength of character of Naruto he had grown accustomed to.
'Naruto, such a strong heart and innocent boy, and he is already force to face dangers already. Maybe it was a mistake of mine to keep him here, he will only be hindered and any chance of achieving his destiny will slowly be killed. No matter I must get a way out of this town into proficient trainers where he can grow and learn to once again live.'
While in deep thought, the Hokage had happened to glance over magnificent ruby glittering in his showcase, reminded him of a unique individual in a sacred clan that will be able to help Naruto. With his troubled mind at ease, he failed to notice that his so-called protector of Naruto was closer than he realized.
The following morning, the Hokage was pleased to see both Naruto and Hinata diverge all energy into their training. The Hokage also saw the growing friendship between the young shinobi, where they were willing to place all their trust, care and protection into each other. It seemed that the two students benefited from the strong bond of friendship as they made strong improvement in their abilities.
In fact several tasking and struggling weeks, Naruto improved his chakra control to the ability of being able to contain the leaves within close proximity. When the hokage attempted to praise the accomplishment made by Naruto, the young boy did not accepted any praise but instead diverted to those he thought were more deserving, hence Hinata.
With an embarrassed Hinata who could only grin sheepishly, Naruto addressed the Hokage that that stood before them dressed in all the formal attire of an Hokage, "Nah Hokage-sama, I had a lot of help from Hinata, she was a great help in learning how to control my chakra" where he gave Hinata a warm smile to show how much he appreciated that someone took the time to help him.
As the Hokage saw the red faced Hyuuga heir and smiling Naruto, the smiling student left the Hokage in high spirit. While in such good spirits, the Hokage could not prevent his mouth from opening as he teasingly responded, "Oh is that true Hinata? Well then I must congratulate you, for your must be the first person I know that had words of wisdom that had a huge affect on Naruto's dense head", as Naruto tried to retaliate at the barb against him, he was shocked when Hinata replied, "True Hokage it is a difficult job, but someone must do it, beside he looked so lost and I couldn't just leave him like that"
The statement made by Hinata was so out of character forced Naruto to open his mouth and close it like a blubbering goldfish. However as the Hokage saw the complete shocked and dismayed look upon Naruto, he could not help but let out a warm chuckle.
After several minutes where Naruto gawked at Hinata, which cause the former to become uncomfortable as we as her faced was covered in a rich shade of red. "First the Hokage makes fun of my head and now Hinata says I am lost, hrmp…lets see how they do when I turn their hair pink" as the Naruto returned to his training while letting a flow of curses that caused Hinata and the Hokage to break down in laughter.
However the Hokage realized that Hinata had made great improvement, not just to her personality as evident at the teasing she conducted on Naruto, but he found that Hinata had a gained a sense of confidence that allowed her to act out of her shell as a shy and timid girl. Nevertheless, Hinata was able to increase her body stamina and endurance to the point that although she had a petite body, Hinata was physically toned to handle various obstacles. Even with her accurate chakra channeling, she physically weak to handle the demands of being a shinobi. However these several months of training had done more then enough to help her build her endurance. Of course Naruto's constant encouragement seemed to push Hinata further, and the Hokage sensed her inner charka levels and Naruto inner charka rhythm moved in synchronization.
The following day the Third Hokage told Naruto he had called in a sensei to further the teachings of the Emerald Sword Style, but in hence he would be forced to live the village for several months for the training. The Hokage knew that Naruto had not perfected the first technique however the Hokage was confident that Naruto would strive under the training of the new sensei. However he told Naruto the sad news, as Hinata was not joining Naruto on his journey.
"Wh…what! Hinata won't be coming, but she is the only friend I have, the only one who understand me…how am I going to train all alone, with nobody to talk or understand how I might feel!" screamed Naruto at the solemn Hokage who shivered as he felt a spike of fear ran through his spine upon the furious ruby glare. "Why do sadness always follow me", as rage and anger began to exploded into Naruto's heart.
When Hinata heard the new, she was heart broken as well as Naruto. The time they spend training together was more than just two friends talking, for once these two felt they mean something in world by a person they believed could understand their pain. Hinata felt that with their friendship, she had one person who cared and that made her feel secured and confident. Hinata believed having a friend like Naruto by her side she was able to accomplish her goals.Hinata found her body feel numb at the through of Naruto not being by her side in training or a friend to talk about her trouble had made her world turned dull and dark. 'I…I don't care what the Hokage-sama thinks…I will stay with Naruto-kun I will not let anymore sadness come to him I will protect him such as a true friend would do!'
It was no surprise when the Third Hokage found the door to his office to be exploded open where he mentally sigh and hoped to get a door that can resist female anger, but nevertheless he glanced back onto the determined Hinata where she stood before his desk. Hinata then used a loud voiced that would have put many of the Hyuuga clan in hospital for heart attack as she barked at the Hokage stupidity and demanded why she can not go. The outburst by Hinata at first alarmed, sacred and terrified Naruto who was yanked along by Hinata but now Naruto could only stare at his friend with admiration.
The Hokage realized that the two shinobi had become close however he wasn't sure if they were ready to face further dangers. The Hokage thought that when he attempted to keep them separate he hoped to find out how much they care about each other and he was pleased to find his.
After Hinata had ranted a good deal amount of time that would have left anyone surprisingly deaf, the Hokage stood, which immediately made Hinata quiet once she realized who she was yelling at. However before Hinata could muster an apology, the Hokage replied, "Hinata you may go however I leave the task to you to tell your family you are going to leave the village to train under a Weapon Master with Naruto."
Upon the proclamation given by the Hokage, all previous thoughts of happiness of being with Naruto oozed out of Hinata. Facing her family was like going against the vilest demons and once again Hinata reverted back to her shy timid self.
The statement left a wide-eye paled Hyuuga, who felt she was dying, and a young boy once again wandering why his entire life for a chance of happiness have some form of obstacles. Upon seeing the panicked face of his friend, the sadden turned around Hinata to let her know even if she can't come she should be force to face her family, for Naruto knew how her family was like upon the discussion he would have with her.
With a heavy heart, Naruto told Hinata, "Hinata I will understand if you do not want to come with me. I do not want to get you in anymore trouble and you should not be forced to make a choice over your family for me."
The statement brought Hinata out her dazed state, and knew that sometimes in life, there will be the need to fight for ones' happiness. After Hinata took several breaths to calm herself down before she replied in a strong determined voice, "Oh no-no Naruto-kun that is not the case I am just afraid of facing them as my feeling mean nothing to them. Am I strong enough to voice my opinion and desire?"
Surprised by the question that someone would fight their family to be with him almost made tears flow from his eyes. However Naruto was kept in check but was forever touched because when you find nothing but hatred in a village, the smallest gesture that he meant something was a like a ray of warmth emitted from the heavens.
"Of course Hinata you are a very strong shinobi inside and I know you will find a way to get this thing done but I am here beside you to help you anyway possible", as the two friends headed towards the Hyuuga manor plagued with anxiety as they awaited the fated reaction of the family with no second glanced at the amused Hokage as they left his office.
A/N: Like or Dislike? Please Review!
I would like to thank all my readers who had reviewed my work. If you have felt it was worse then before please tell me what you have found lacking. I will try to make this better for your reading enjoyment. Of course if I am doing thing right, please drop a review saying so, pretty please. I am sorry this took a long time, but I wanted to make it good. Please read and review
The Infernal light in Darkness Crimson-Strike
