Hinata Hyuga and Sakura Haruno both blinked from their spots.
Feathers?
So many feathers falling throughout the entire stadium.
They were just watching Sasuke fight Gaara. He had apparently trained himself to go nearly as fast as Lee did without his weights.
To say Gaara was getting shitstomped was kind of an understatement.
He was getting mollywhopped.
The ninja from Sunagakure (Sand Village) decided to encase himself in some sort of Sand Shield. Whatever it was, it seemed to have a mind of its own like Gaara's own stationary defense. It actually tried to attack Sasuke when he approach it.
Fortunately, Sasuke had the Chidori, which he had learned from his master Kakashi in order to counteract the shield and he seemed to actually stab Gaara's shoulder, evident by the boy's ear-screeching scream of 'MY BLOOOOOOD! IT'S MY BLOOOOOOD!'. However, as soon as Sasuke's lightning charged hand separated from Gaara, something weird happened.
Feathers started to appear out of the sky. Temari and Kankuro jumped onto the battlefield and took Gaara away, completely ignoring Sasuke in the process, much to the dismay of the Uchiha.
Then, the next Hinata knew, people began to collapse all around her. One by one. Thud by thud. They were sleeping peacefully, seemingly. Out of commission, but they weren't harmed in anyway of the sort.
Genjutsu.
It always had to be Genjutsu. Never Taijutsu.
Genjutsu was never Hinata's strong suit. Sure, she knew some of the basic fundamentals due to studying on her own with the limited resources that she had at her disposal—particularly due to her clan's strict teachings—but she was still a novice at best and no means a professional like a Genjutsu Mistress like Kurenai Yuhi.
Taijutsu was her best area, despite the fact she wasn't competent enough with it to even be called a specialist or an expert.
CLANG!
"KYAH!" Hinata squealed, immediately ducking to the ground to hide under the red chairs as cover, gripping tightly the hem of the blue shirt she decided to wear in place of her baggy jacket.
She was not prepared for battle whatsoever. She didn't even bring any kunai or shuriken or a pouch with supplies for that matter. It seems that all she had at her disposal at the moment was her Juuken (Gentle Fist) training.
She decided to stay hidden and listen. She could faintly hear the sounds of kunai clashing against each other. Bodies were being kicked and punched with eccentric shouts coming from a crazy man. Footsteps were littering and pattering all over the place just as much as the sounds of bodies hitting the floor.
What was going on here? An invasion?
If that was the case, was Suna attacking them? What for? There was an alliance between Konohagakure (Leaf Village) and Sunagakure. Attacking Konoha like this is going against said alliance.
Her hand quivered. Actual battle between possible Chunin and Jonin from another village? It was too much to consume all at once! There was no way in Hell she was taking down a Chunin much less a Jonin. Her team and sensei struggled against Zabuza, who was strong in his own right.
She didn't even belong here.
"Hinata!" A familiar voice spoke.
Her entire world lit up as her brain matched faces with the voice.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
The copy ninja leaped backwards, landing on the chairs right above her with a kunai in hand. "I'm glad you're awake. It seems that you have a decent knack for Genjutsu."
"T-Thank you." The kunoichi accepted the complimented, slightly taken aback due to the situation.
"Hinata. I have a mission of utmost importance that you have to accomplish." Hinata let out a surprised gasp as he continued, "Before I begin I would like you to wake up Naruto. He would be extremely helpful for this. Sneak over to him using your Byakugan, I'll keep-" He paused and flicked his hand, hitting away an incoming kunai. "I'll keep the enemies off your back, you just go! Can I count on you to do that?"
She nodded, though the Jonin didn't see it, her next word gave him the answer, "Yes! I'll do it, sensei!"
Though she couldn't see it due to his mask, Kakashi smiled. "Good. And while you're at it, wake up Naruto and Shikamaru." He brought his kunai to his thumb, pricking his skin and letting out blood. "As it is the most efficient of all platoons and the most used, you guys will be traveling as a 4-man cell."
"A 4-man cell? Are you the fourth person?" She asked her sensei, who shook his head.
"No. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to leave this place." He begun to form hand signs for a certain Jutsu. "I need to be here to decrease the amount of enemies in the area. This guy will join you instead…" Kakashi slammed his palm onto the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)!"
One poof of smoke later and on the back of the body Kakashi placed his hand…
Was a dog.
Hinata blanked out for a couple of seconds to comprehend this.
The fourth member of their platoon that is apparently more useful than Kakashi himself…
Is a dog.
"Yo!" The dog said, scratching his nose with a bored look in his eyes, looking like he was about to fall asleep.
"This is Pakkun. Your mission after waking up Naruto and Shikamaru is to track Sasuke. He left a couple seconds ago. Pakkun here will help chase Sasuke using his scent."
"Pleasure to work with you." Pakkun said with a nonchalant tone, jumping over the chairs to walk over to Hinata, who looked at with a confused face.
"Get going, Hinata! Now that I think about, Sakura Haruno and Shino Aburame are with Naruto and Shikamaru. They might already be awake. Head over to the fighters were!"
"Y-Yes sir!"
The lavender eyed kunoichi rose to her feet slowly, looking around to make sure no one was targeting her. She nodded to the dog, signaling it to follow her. She jumped onto the chair in front of her and pushed off with her foot, sending chakra so she could get a boost.
She leaped out of the opening and out into the arena, where she saw Genma and Baki fighting each other, kunai clashing with each other.
She stuck to the wall and ran as fast as she could, trying to make sure that she was not seen by any enemy including Baki. She didn't want to get mixed into the fight.
While she was gone, Kakashi glanced to his left to see Kurenai coming in, easily taking out some Sound ninja with well-placed punches and kunai swipes, killing some and merely knocking others out unconscious.
She looked over, seeing the unconscious Ino, Choji, and Kiba. She leaped over to them, forming a hand sign and pushing Chakra to her fingers. She lightly tapped each Genin on their forehead, effectively waking them up from the Genjutsu.
"What are you-?"
"These three have every right to fight as we do." Kurenai cut off Kakashi, not wanting any arguments in her decision. "These three are Genin. Therefore, they are Shinobi of Konoha. I'm sure that deep down they would die to protect this place. Plus, I'll be there to protect them."
Kakashi batted away under kunai, not keeping his revealed eye off Kurenai as the three Genin she tapped began to wake up. He sighed. There was no point in arguing now. She had already undone the Genjutsu. The three were going to wake up unless he knocked them out, and Kurenai would be pissed at that.
And that, was a situation he didn't want to get into when they're in the middle of an invasion.
"Very well. However, I do not support them going into battle, Kurenai."
The red-eyed kunoichi sent him a dirty look. "You're one to talk, Kakashi. You just made Hinata go out there to find Naruto and Shikamaru, then having them go track Sasuke! That is easily an A-ranked mission for a Genin."
Kakashi eye-smiled sheepishly, "You got me. Well, I've just chosen to believe in those guys. For all I know, they could die as well. The life of a ninja is unpredictable."
"Ugh!" The voice of an awoken Ino Yamanaka interrupted their short conversation. "What happened? I just saw so many feathers and then I just blacked out. Was that supposed to be part of the-EEP!" She shrieked after seeing Kakashi clash kunai with a Sound ninja, before taking control and stabbing him in the shoulder, kicking him away in the process.
Kiba Inuzuka followed Ino, letting out a long yawn. "Geez! What the hell happened? Huh? Kurenai-sensei?" He saw the serious expression on her face and knew something was up. He cut the casual talk and looked around, using his heightened smell. He widened his eyes when he picked up their scents. "Enemies. Lots of them. What's going on here?"
"There isn't much time to talk, Kiba." Kurenai told him as soon as Choji woke up, looking around the room and understanding the situation without question. No doubt thanks to training from Asuma. "We are currently being invaded."
Kiba gaped out of shock. He immediately got the memo and narrowed his eyes, putting on the most serious face he could muster. "Well, what can we do?"
"Help out in the fight. You three will be under my lead, and we will have to work together in order to take out as many Sound and Sand Shinobi as possible. Let me do most of the fighting. You are only to provide support if needed. Got it?"
Kiba, Ino, and the newly Choji nodded.
Kurenai smiled as a response. "Good. Well then. Let's get out of here." She turned to Kakashi and Guy, "I assume you guys can hold down the fort here?"
"Yeah."
"Just leave it to the power of YOUTH!"
With Hinata
Hinata and Pakkun jumped into where the contestants were waiting for their next match. Obviously, there wouldn't be any 'next matches' now but that was beside the point. Fortunately, once she made it in, her eyes immediately caught Shino, Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru.
"Hinata! You're alright!" Naruto exclaimed with a wide smile, grateful that his teammate wasn't hurt.
"T-There's no time to stay here." Hinata said, getting straight to the point. "Sasuke-kun went out on his own to chase Gaara. Sensei gave us the mission to pursue him!"
After hearing this info, Naruto immediately rose to his feet with an angry look on his mug. "Sasuke...that big idiot! Chasing that guy all by himself. Why would he do something so stupid?!"
"Naruto." Droned the voice of Shikamaru. "Can you just shut up. It's a drag, but we've been assigned a mission. So we might as well get it over with. And who's that?" He motioned over to the ninken next to Hinata.
"Oh. This is Pakkun, Kakashi's summoned ninken." She introduced the dog to the group.
"Yo!" Pakkun said, lifting up his paw.
It talks…Sakura thought to herself with a weirded out expression on her face.
"By the way," Hinata began, looking at Sakura and her male teammate. "Sakura-san, Shino-kun, I know Kakashi-sensei said only to travel as a platoon of four. But we could really use your help."
"We'd be happy to help." Sakura answered for both herself and Shino without any sort of hesitation in her voice.
Hinata sighed.
Thank goodness it was that easy.
"We should head out now." Shino spoke up, surprising the group. "Why? Because we could get a head start on any enemy that could be coming for us. Furthermore, I believe that it is imperative that two of the group branches off from the main platoon. I suggest Hinata-san and myself, due to our sensory capabilities. We'll go on ahead, and come back to report anything to you."
Sakura was stunned. Not at Shino's plan. No. She expected something like this out of the boy. His intelligence is something that is overlooked quite frequently by others due to his use of kikaichu.
What she was surprised about was that Shino actually got to finish his plan without Naruto or anyone else interrupting. They actually took the time to listen to his plan and here him out.
"Fine." Said a lazy Shikamaru. "I'll go."
Pakkun walked over to the now sitting Shikamaru. He looked up at his face, staring him directly in the eyes. The Nara locked eyes with him and stared back.
Utter silence filled the room…
Until Pakkun bit Shikamaru's leg.
"OWW! What the hell you stupid dog!" Shikamaru muttered some inaudible curse words as he shoved Pakkun's mouth off his leg and continued to rub furiously in order to ease the throbbing pain that was eating at him.
Naruto punched the ground, "We're wasting time here! What are we waiting for?! Let's go and get Sasuke!"
"You are such a drag, Naruto."
"Sakura." Shino called out his teammate, earning her attention. "Me and Hinata-san will go on ahead. You guys stay here for about a minute and follow us then. If there are enemies near us we can keep them occupied while you guys take a detour."
"Got it!"
Meanwhile
Zaku cackled as he awaited the two approaching Konoha Shinobi. He grinned, throwing his arms out forward. Such predictable movements.
"Zankuuha (Slicing Sound Wave)!" He shouted as powerful bursts of energy bursted out of his arms, knocking the two ninja away and off the building, presumably killing both of them from the fall.
On the other hand, Kin grabbed a kunai from the ground and merely stabbed a distracted ninja in the back of his shoulder, prompting a cry of pain as he was stabbed in the heart by his other enemy.
Kin grinned at the brutal way he was killed in. Stabbed right through the heart. There was just no better substitute.
Dosu continuously whaled on one Konoha non with his gauntlets, causing severe head damage and probably giving the man a concussion. He kicked his now unconscious enemy away, not bothering to waste his time killing an enemy who couldn't land a shot on him.
He lowered his arms, knowing that there was no nearby enemies at the moment. "Is that all there is to these Konoha Shinobi? If so, then this is going to be an easy invasion." He stole a glance towards his teammates. He took a good look in their eyes, and he knew what was going.
He couldn't help but chuckle at their antics.
Zaku stopped what he was doing and looked at his male counterpart. "Oi, Dosu! What are you chuckling about over there?"
"Nothing important, Zaku. It seems you two are just having a warm-up. The warm-up until the real challenge...where you get your vengeance."
"Damn straight." Zaku scoffed with a neutral expression, face devoid of emotion but eyes burning with hatred towards two people. "Sasuke Uchiha and Shino Aburame. Those stuck up bastards! When I get my hands on them with this new power, I am going to tear them limb from limb!"
Kin didn't voice her opinion. But Dosu already knew of who she was thinking of.
Although she had the upper hand in their fight, the female Hyuga had humiliated her. The Hyuga alone had put up a fight with all three Oto non attacking her together. And Kin herself didn't even land a blow after she learned how to press tenketsu. And the pink-haired bitch...that fight didn't even last thirty seconds!
And now after looking back at the fight, she realized that the threat Sakura gave her when she pinned her down was all a bluff!
It angered her so much that she got made a fool out of by two female kunoichi who probably only cared about some romantic life and looking good instead of their own training.
Dosu chuckled once more, turning away from his teammates and slowly moving away.
"I suggest you two go get your revenge then, before some other person kills them. I saw that Sasuke brat chase after the Suna Trio into the forest from the arena. I suggest you check it out."
"We will." Kin said.
And with that, Zaku and Kin leaped off of the building, heading off to go get revenge.
Meanwhile
Something didn't feel right to Neji Hyuga. He didn't know what it was, he just had this weird feeling something bad was happening. That was why he snuck out of the stadium.
He sighed, wiping the sweat forming on his brow. His match with Naruto Uzumaki had drained quite a bit of his chakra. More than he had expected actually. He was so worked up in the match that he used more chakra than he needed to.
"Neji!" The Genin tensed as he heard his name, defensively turning in the direction of the voice. He was ready for a fight, but all he was his teammate running towards him.
Guy was occupied, and Lee wouldn't be able to run anyway. That, and with the high female tone of the voice. It was pretty obvious that the teammate coming towards him was…
"Tenten." He acknowledged the girl, not particularly feeling anything about her presence.
To him, Tenten was an alright person. She could be annoying at times—especially with her banter about becoming a kunoichi as great as the legendary Tsunade Senju—but considering the fact that he was a member of Team Guy, which housed Might Guy and Rock Lee, he had to admit that sometimes it was good to have another sane person on the team.
And he was sure that Tenten felt the same way.
"Neji!" She huffed and puffed from exhaustion after seemingly running for quite some time. "Do you have any idea of what's happening?! First thing I know I'm watching the match between Sasuke and Gaara and then WHOOSH! There are just these feathers falling from the sky!"
Neji raised an eyebrow.
Ok. Maybe Tenten wasn't completely sane. But she was certainly more sane than Guy and Lee combined.
"Then, these ninja with musical notes on their forehead protectors just pop out of nowhere and start attacking everyone! I barely managed to make it out alive!" She turned her body slightly, showing Neji her left arm.
There were two small tears on the left sleeve with blood oozing out of small cuts on her arm.
Neji narrowed his eyes.
Feathers in the sky…
Ninja with musical notes on their foreheads…
That reminds me...those three ninja fighting Hinata-sama back in the forest had the same symbol Tenten described to me. Neji noted. What could this mean…
Finally, tears on her sleeve supposedly created by thrown kunai.
Could it be…
Neji's blood ran cold, his body tensing outwardly. Tenten noticed the sudden change in body posture as well as the worried look reflecting off of Neji's eyes. Picking up the sudden movements in his body, the girl could easily tell that something was bothering him, and that he figured out what she was thinking.
"We're being attacked."
Neji's words reflected her own thoughts perfectly. They were on the same exact page.
She looked to Neji's eyes as he heard him uttering the word, 'Byakugan'. The next thing she knew, veins sprouted near her friend's eyes, giving him nearly 360 degrees of vision for who knows how far.
After a few moments, the Hyuga prodigy's eyes widened with shock, his facial expression contorting into one of discomfort and uneasiness.
"It is as I feared. We are being attacked by numerous Shinobi from Otogakure (Sound Village). Wait!" He suddenly blurted out, causing Tenten to anxiously listen in for more. She noticed Neji's skin actually beginning to pale from fear as he began to chatter his teeth from frustration. "It's not just Oto. It's Suna as well!"
Tenten's head jerked up out of shock. "What?! B-But we have an alliance! By taking part in an attack against Konoha they are…" She trailed off as she couldn't bare to finish the next couple of words. They already knew what attacking a village you had an alliance with meant.
Certainly not good things. That's for sure.
"Here's my question." Neji spoke, curiosity ruling his eyes, "Why? Why are they doing this? What is their motive? What do they gain by breaking already forged ties and attacking with members of another foreign village? This all just doesn't make any sense whatsoever!"
Tenten could say nothing in response to that. She had the answers to none of those questions. She wished to God she did, because frankly, she wanted the answers just as much as Neji did.
"In any case…" Tenten murmured, "I guess we are expected to fight for the village. Expected to fight and die no matter what the scenario."
Neji looked down at Tenten's lower body, using his x-ray vision to pierce through the pockets. He could only see a single scroll in each of her front two pockets.
"Is that all of the weaponry you have on you?"
Tenten placed her hands in her pockets, making sure the scrolls were still there.
"Yeah. Since I didn't have to fight, I didn't come equipped for battle. I mean, I never expected an invasion from Suna and Oto out of nowhere. I only brought these in case I wanted to spar someone or if I was bored…"
Silence filled the air between the two Genin. Fortunately, it was Neji who broke it. But the words that came out of his mouth were not very enlightening or reassuring.
"Enemy incoming! About 50 meters away! Twelve O'Clock!" He brought an open palm forward, preparing himself for the approaching ninja. With his other hand, he fished out a kunai which he threw into the air. Getting the signal from his words, Tenten grabbed the kunai and stood in anticipation for the enemy as well.
"It is our first time against a foreign ninja. Do you...Do you think we'll have to k-kill him?" The brunette asked with a few stammers, her inexperience clearly getting to her and ruining her composure as a result.
Neji, while harboring doubts of his own, didn't let them ruin how he looked on the outside. His face remained a steel wall of indifference.
Soon, after many moments of waiting, their enemy finally arrived. They dropped to the ground with ease, arms slumped without a care in the world. It was a Sound Shinobi who's entire face with the exception of a single eye was covered with bandages.
Dosu Kinuta. Tenten recognized him as the man who beat Sakura Haruno in the Chunin Exams without so much as a sweat. Compared to his female teammate Kin Tsuchi, whom the Genin of Team Guy had witnessed get pinned to the ground by the pinkette.
"Oh? What luck. It's the Hyuga from the Chunin Exams who beat that other girl within an inch of her life without mercy." Dosu began by speaking of Neji's actions from a month ago.
Neji flinched, as he held a high amount of regret for what he did to Hinata the month before in their match. He had heard that she was put into cardiac arrest and that she barely survived. Thinking back on his actions after his loss to Naruto made him realize how bad he had treated his younger cousin. The one he was destined to protect.
Oh wait. Not destined. Something else…
He didn't know what it was. If it was not Destiny, then what was it that kept him being forced to protect Hinata in the past despite his previous disdain for the girl. Of course, he still disliked the former heiress to a degree but he didn't completely hate her.
Oh well, that was an answer for another time. Right now, there was an enemy in front of him. All that mattered for now was staying alive and beating the enemy...along with making sure Tenten made it out alive as well.
The battle with Naruto Uzumaki changed him. Though to a blind man it would seem like he had never changed at all. To one with eyes greater than his own…
The change was immense.
"Tenten, in order to defeat him, we must work together!"
The girl's jaw dropped slightly after hearing those words. She glanced at Neji with a confused look on her face. This was certainly not the same Neji she grew up with in the Academy and in a team.
The old Neji would have said nothing and just went straight to battling. He would even acknowledge his teammates existence whatsoever and only did so to look down on them or to save them out of necessity, not because they were precious to him or anything.
Though...she would be lying if she said she didn't like this new Neji more, compared to the more condescending asshole from before.
Regardless of what caused this sudden change, Tenten was glad to be fighting alongside her teammate.
"Yeah! Let's beat this asshole, Neji!"
With Hinata and Shino
Both Hinata and Shino agreed to go ahead of the group on their pursuit of Sasuke. Since Hinata had her Byakugan for long-distance tracking, she could alert Shino for any enemies. The Aburame could then just head back and let the group know of any impending threat.
And even if the shaded Genin was either occupied or incapacitated, then Naruto and the others still had Pakkun with them for support.
As they jumped along through a forest, Shino detected a gasp escaping Hinata lips. He turned his head slightly to see her narrowing her eyes.
"Is something wrong?"
"Its Sasuke-kun. He and the Shinobi from Sunagakure just stopped. It looks like one of them is going to hold them off while the other two escape!" She informed the bug user.
Shino adjusted his shades, "Then we must make haste. If it's who I'm thinking of, then I would like to face him." Obviously, the Aburame was referring to Kankuro, who had surrendered before their match. Not only making Shino be forgotten but thanks to the invasion, it also stripped him of his chance to get promoted. Now was a better time than any to fight him.
It could have been him just being a little bit selfish. But for some reason Shino wanted to fight Kankuro and beat him at all costs since he didn't get the chance to in the Chunin Exams.
Without warning, he picked up the pace. Going so fast that Hinata almost didn't even notice he was gone.
"Shino-kun! Wait!" She grunted out of frustration as she sped up also in order to catch up to him. They were not that far from Sasuke and the three Suna Shinobi. Now that they stopped, the distance she was from them was about 100 meters give or take.
And with the speed they were going, they could easily make that distance in a very small window of time. Probably about a couple of seconds.
Moments later, Hinata found herself jumping out of a taller tree and onto a shorter one that both Sasuke and Shino themselves were standing on.
Sasuke raised his eyebrows, a startled expression on his face. "Hinata! You're here too?"
She nodded her head, "Yes. Naruto-kun and some others are also on their way as we speak. We came here to make sure you were safe."
"Naruto? Came to make sure that I was safe?" The Uchiha repeated, having the information process through his brain. He decided to ponder on this later and returned his attention to the Suna Trio in front of them, with Kankuro standing in front, ready to fight.
"Sasuke Uchiha." Shino stated, "Allow me to take the puppet user off your hands. We were supposed to have a fight. However, he backed out at the last minute." Though his voice held an even tone with no sense of emotion whatsoever, once could tell by what he said that Shino was slightly irked.
It was...kind of uncharacteristic of the boy. Or maybe it was completely like him to hold a grudge like this. No one knew because...well, no one really knew that much about Shino Aburame. He was one of the Academy's dark horses. The one that people didn't notice all that much along with Hinata.
Hinata, at least had her shyness and low self-esteem to make her somewhat noticeable. Shino had no qualities to make him stand out other than his 'creepy' kikaichu. So, to see him taking a stand into the spotlight right now was kind of weird.
That didn't stop Hinata from trying to offer her assistance.
She subconsciously shifted into a Juuken stance, ready to fight alongside the Aburame. Only for the boy to reject her help, much to the kunoichi's dismay.
At this moment, Temari and Gaara took their leave, with Sasuke quickly following suit. Kankuro flashed his hand towards the rookie, trying to send his puppet after him.
However, a wall of insects intercepted his puppet, courtesy of Shino. This interception allowed Sasuke to take chase on the two remaining Sand Shinobi without worry of being attacked.
"Go, Hinata-san. This is my fight to handle…alone. Why? Because I feel the need to do this myself. As this was supposed to be my fight in the Chunin Exams."
"But this isn't the Chunin Exams!" Hinata argued with an insistent tone, not wanting a fellow Genin to potentially die just because he didn't accept help. "This is the real thing! A real confrontation! If you mess up once you could…"
"Hinata-san." Shino interjected with a polite and calm tone. "I appreciate the concern. However, do not fret about my life. I am fully aware that this isn't a game. It's the real thing. A real battle on the battlefield. It is what we call...war."
That response didn't make Hinata feel better in the slightest. Questions were still riddling around in her brain. Could he handle it? Was it okay to waste time here while Sasuke could eventually die?! If she left for Sasuke, would Shino die?! The possible consequences of every choice she could make were too much to bare!
"Hinata-san." Shino stated again with the same tone of voice. "I may be a Genin, a low-ranking ninja with little to no power in the overall ninja system, however…"
Bugs began to crawl out of Shino's sleeves and openings that formed on his skin, allowing them to come out for assistance. It was as if they telepathically heard their master's orders and knew when and when not to battle. And now was the time for battle, the kikaichu had decided.
"No matter the rank, and no matter the conditions. I am still a Shinobi. A Shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Leaves), to be precise. I will gladly lay down my life as a bridge for the survival of this village to walk over. Again, I may be a Genin, but I still have the responsibilities of a ninja! If I live. I live. And if I die…"
A long pause followed that as a chilling wind blew into the area.
"I will die happy knowing that I defended the homes of my friends, family, and people."
He had made up his mind. As of right now, nothing was going to change his decision. Nothing Hinata could say would persuade him, and there was no outranking official to force him away.
"Shino-kun…" Hinata whispered. She never was good at persuading people, and now her failure might just cost Shino his life! But, if he said he could handle it, then maybe…
This choice would most likely weigh on the female Hyuga's conscious for quite a while.
"A-Alright, Shino-kun. I see that there is nothing I can say to change your mind. But, no matter what happens...just make sure you win!" And with those final words, Hinata leaped off the branch, making sure to go under Kankuro so he would have a difficult time attacking her. And even if he tried, Shino would be right there to intercept him with his trusty and loyal insects.
Kankuro lifted a finger.
"Don't even think about it. If you forgot, I am still here. And as long as I stand, you will not be attacking one of my comrades on my watch!" Shino informed, hands stuck in his pockets with a focused and calculating expression on his face.
Kankuro put his finger back down, wheeling around to lock eyes with Shino.
"Annoying kids! So many of you are around nowadays. It seems I'll have to take care of you before I can even think about getting back to killing that stupid girl!"
"Try as many times as you wish to kill my comrade. It will prove fruitless. Now, let's get started, shall we?"
Meanwhile
"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu)!" Sasuke shouted, moving his fingers to his mouth and blowing hard, releasing multiple small volleys of fireballs towards the two Suna Shinobi in pursuit.
Temari, who had been carrying Gaara, dodged and each every single one of the fireballs. If she or Gaara were hit, then they were as good as screwed.
"T-Temari…" Her ears perked up as she heard a whisper to her left, coming from the boy was she carrying.
"G-Gaara?!" She spoke with a startled expression. Not once had she heard Gaara say her name like that. She stopped jumping from tree to tree and landed on the next one in front of her, turning around while still holding on to Gaara.
It was weird. Usually, when he used her name, it was in a sentence like 'Temari, go away or else I will kill you' or something along those lines.
The words he said next were different than usual.
"Stop worrying about me…" He mumbled as he rose to his feet, struggling to stand up against Temari's tight hold. He fought against it though, and soon, the arm was off his body. "Stop worrying about me...AND GO! You're in the way…" As he spoke, he formed a fist and gave Temari a hard punch to the stomach, blowing her away and sending her slamming into the side of a tree, landing on a branch where she spat out some blood and spittle.
Yep...completely different. Still harsh…and boy did it literally hurt like a bitch. But it was still different.
"Sasuke...Uchiha." Gaara said, a more monstrous tone taking root in his voice. "I will have your blood soon...without fail." As he spoke, Gaara leaped off the Branch with great speed, darting away from Sasuke and moving further into Konoha's forest.
His retreat prompted Sasuke to take chase as well, leaping off his tree, ignoring Temari, who had just got back onto her feet.
"Gaara...he wants to fight and kill Sasuke Uchiha." Temari muttered to herself as she walked forward a couple of steps on the branch, looking in the direction of where Sasuke and Gaara went. "If this continues, Gaara will…" Her inner musing were interrupted by the arrival of Hinata Hyuga, who stopped on a branch behind her, Byakugan activated.
She stood still for a moment, trying to remember who the girl was. She immediately brought out her fan when she realized that she was a Konoha Shinobi. And a teammate of Sasuke Uchiha at that. No doubt she was here to help out her teammate.
"I am not letting you through!" She declared with confidence.
"I was hoping I could make it to Sasuke-kun without encounter anyone else. But it seems like I can't do that now." Hinata said with defeat in her voice, bending her knees and moving her palm forward, straightening it while she chambered her right palm, showing that she was ready for a fight.
As they stared each other down, Temari couldn't help but release a smirk.
Hinata's stance loosened for a second, her morale being lowered slightly by her opponent's confidence. However, she returned to a stagnant footing, not letting Temari's stature put her down.
If I don't believe I can do it, then I've already lost. I am going to fight my hardest. To make the Hyuga Clan proud. And to protect my friends! Hinata thought to herself, igniting the fire in her eyes more and more.
"I already know that no matter what I say, you won't move out of my way...so, as much as I hate to, it seems like I'll have to fight through you!" Hinata declared with narrowed determined eyes.
"Fight through me? Haha!" Temari's face contorted into a chuckle, "That's got to be the best joke I've ever heard! I saw your match against your cousin or whatever, so I know your fighting style. You specialize in CQC. Otherwise known as close quarters combat. If you got close, I admit, you'd probably annihilate me. If you got close. However..."
She stuck her fan to the ground, the object slamming on the Branch with a resounding BANG! She immediately picked it up again and opened to show three purple moons, showing that she was going to be serious from the start.
"You are not going to land even a single blow on me!"
And here we are, in the Konoha Crush arc.
For obvious reasons, I won't be showing Sarutobi and Orochimaru fight because it will be exactly the same. However, thanks to his knowledge of a potential invasion, Hiruzen did prepare something before the Chunin Exams in the event that he did die.
Shino vs Kankuro was a good fight, I'm not changing it.
As for Kurenai, Kiba, Ino, and Choji. Don't worry, they'll come into contact with their opponent next chapter. The whole Konoha Crush might be over in 3 chapters at most. Hell, if I wanted to, I think I could finish it next chapter.
Now, as for the reason for why more characters are involved is because...Kishimoto shafted them all. Out of the 12 Genin (Konoha 12, whatever), Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Shikamaru were the only ones up and running. Sure, a filler episode showed Tenten, Neji, Hinata, and Kiba doing their own thing, but that's filler. Going by canon, they did nothing.
The only person who a good excuse to be out of commission was Rock Lee.
Who knows, maybe I could put rants about things I don't like about anything on my profile. That'd be fun.
Anyways hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Take care, goodbye!