Chapter 37

Hinata stood alone in the courtyard, her eyes closed, and her breathing calm. She stood like that for a while before slipping into her stance. Her eyes opened, Byakugan activated and began to go through her exercises. Hinata moved like flowing water, countering and striking her imaginary opponents. Her moves were graceful and had no waste of motion. Anyone who watched, they would have assumed that she was dancing instead of fighting.

It would take the young heiress twenty minutes before she stopped. She clapped her hands together in a prayer and let out a breath. She turned off the Byakugan and made her way to get her water bottle. She was startled when she saw her father standing there. She was a little nervous and wondered how long he had been watching. Hiashi's eyes bore into his eldest.

He remembered the day he discovered Hinata's training. It was not the Gentle Fist of the clan, not the Gentle Fist she was taught. He brought her in front of the council to explain herself. He expected her to crumble but in a rare show of defiance, she refused to stop. This angered the council but he did nothing to stop her. This style of his daughter improved her skills in both the academy and on missions. Even when the elders set her younger sister, Hanabi, on her, Hinata easily defeated her. Since then, he had secretly keep his eye on Hinata.

The two continued to stare at each other before Hiashi spoke.

"Were you attempting the Rotation with that kata?" he asked.

"Uh, yes. It is a combo I a-am developing. However, I am having some trouble with it." Hinata answered.

"Do it again and I shall watch." Hiashi ordered. Hinata was shocked but she did not disobey. It took a few moments to find her calm state. She then began to go through the combo she was developing. Hiashi watched with a critical eye and secretly was happy that Hinata did not lose focus. After the twenty minutes, Hinata stopped and relaxed. She then turned to face her father. He unfolded his arms and looked at her.

"There is a technique that I will teach you. It is called the Gentle Fist Art: Body Blow. This technique will complete your combo. After learning this technique, we will move on to the Rotation. Your training begins now." Hiashi said. Hinata was shocked but she nodded her head and stood at attention. Hiashi began to show her the Gentle Fist Art: Body Blow. Unseen by either of them, a pair of Hyuga eyes watched with disgust. He dared not show his anger, lest he be caught and punished. He turned and walked away. He had his own training to get to. He was not worried about his opponent or this new Hinata.

'In the end, their fate is already set in stone.'

XXX

Dosu hung by his arms. Blood dripped from his wounds and his bandages were ripped. His lone eye glared at the two in front of him. This amused them greatly.

"Such a hateful look. How can you look at me like that after everything I gave you?" Orochimaru asked. Dosu wanted to say something or spit in his face but he couldn't due to his mouth being wired shut and his vocal cords cut.

"You and Kin thought you could be something more than you are. You were pawns, nothing more." Kabuto added.

"So true. Let's leave him alone for now. Perhaps some time to think will change his attitude." The two walked out of the chamber and left Dosu alone. They walked down a hallway, both in deep thought.

"What do you think Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto asked him.

"He knew very little. However, whatever he told Sarutobi-sensei has made him tighten security. The old man might be aware of the invasion and might even know about our alliance with the Sand Village. We don't even know where he placed Kin. Still, it will make little difference. In the end, the Leaf Village will burn." Orochimaru said.

XXX

Kin was beginning to lose her mind. It had been a week since being put in a cell. She was going crazy spending twenty-four hours in here. Granted, it was a fully furnished and stocked cell but she was bored out of her mind. She needing to get out and do something. That's when the door to her cell opened and in stepped an ANBU.

It was the one she usually had to deal with. Kin remembered her codename as Komachi. The blond haired ANBU looked at her before motioning her to follow. Kin did just that and figured that they had more questions for her. They walked down the hall into an open area. Kin saw that it was a training area with all the logs and training tools.

"Wha… what is going on here?" Kin asked.

"With permission from the Hokage, you have one hour out of your cell. You may train but be aware that we are watching you." With that Komachi left. Kin was still confused but she wouldn't waste the time she was given. Despite her chakra being sealed, she could still train. She began to stretch her muscles. In a room with a window, Komachi and two others were watching.

"So, the Hokage wants to see if she would be an asset to the village? Sure, she did not go with her teammate or Kabuto but should we even bother?" asked one of the ANBU.

"It is a gamble. She could still have some loyalty to Orochimaru. However, she could want a new start and we can coax her to our side. If we can, we have a valuable asset against Orochimaru." Komachi said.

"Komachi is right. Besides, Ibiki was the one who thought of this and he is the best at reading people. I trust his judgement." The other ANBU said. They continued to watch her as she went through exercises.

XXX

Shikaku stood perfectly still as Shikamaru ran around the yard. He was avoiding his father's shadows as they raced at him from all sides. Shikamaru was running out of steam and groaned as his father caught him yet again. Shikaku released him and allowed Shikamaru to gain some of his stamina back. He walked up to his son.

"Do you get what I mean Shikamaru?" Shikaku.

"This is such a drag but yes, I see your point. I guess learning a new clan jutsu wouldn't hurt my chances." Shikamaru muttered. Shikaku just smirked at his son.

"Good decision. The jutsu I am going to teach you is called the Shadow Net Jutsu. Watch me." Shikaku did some hand seals and cast the jutsu, cracking the ground. After a few moments, a black whirlwind surrounded him. When it was over, Shikaku turned to his son. "Explain what I did?"

"You pushed your shadow into the ground, hence the cracks. From the cracks, I can tell that you sent your shadow in a circular pattern. Anyone not paying attention is going to get caught. After enough time, your shadow shoots out the ground like a whirlwind, knocking your enemies back. It is both an offense and defense." Shikamaru explained without care.

"That's the gist of the jutsu. So, are you ready?" he asked.

"Would it matter if I said no?" All Shikamaru got was a grin.

XXX

The sounds of wood cracking against each other was heard through her window. The matriarch of the Akimichi clan head woke up to that sound for a week now. It did not bother her a she was an early riser. She got up and placed on her robe. Sandals on, she made her way to the kitchen to fix breakfast. Her boys would work up an appetite after their training.

She entered the kitchen just to see her husband and son trade strikes with their staffs. She could see that Chōza was actually trying to fend off Choji. It made her proud to see that her son was taking his training seriously because it made her worry less. She knew that Choji was destined to be a shinobi no matter how much she didn't want it to be. He was to be the next head of the clan. Before, he did not train as much and would hang out with Shikamaru. Ever since that faithful day he started to hang out with Naruto and Kiba, he began to really grow at a shinobi. She couldn't thank those two enough.

Chiharu was very proud of her son and his friends. She could only see good things in the future ahead.

XXX

Ino was walking around in a huff. She bolted from her families' flower shop after an argument with her father. She couldn't deal with her father's attitude because it was starting to sound a lot like Asuma-sensei's attitude. For a week, the two had kept pushing her to learn more and train more for the exams. Ino couldn't understand why they were on her case so much.

Sure she could have learned a new jutsu but why should she? Her skills were already enough for the exams. In her opinion, her taijutsu was only second to Hinata's and she had the most useful technique in her arsenal, the Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu. Ino felt that as long as she could hit that jutsu, she could make any one surrender, giving her easy wins through the tournament. There was no one strong enough to overpower her will.

However, he father and Asuma did not agree. They urged her to learn something for the finals or else she would get creamed. She disagreed and felt that she would win the whole thing. She could believe the lack of faith that they had in her. When she became a chunin, she was going to lord it over them.

"You've come a long way Sakura." Ino heard someone say. She looked around and found the voice belonged to that guy that team Kakashi brought back with them. She remembered that his name was Haku or something. Seeing the two together, a devious grin appeared on her face. It was time to do some spying and get some juicy gossip. She moved quietly over to the two to listen in.

"Well, I have you to thank for that. You training me with senbon might help me in the match against Hinata. Granted that it would be suicide to fight a Hyuga in taijutsu but I am up to the task." Sakura said.

"We both got lucky when we found a teacher in Io-sensei." Haku said.

"That is true. In fact, the style that medical ninja use works much better for me. At first, I thought that Io-sensei couldn't dodge due to his size. Boy was I wrong." Sakura said with a nervous giggle.

"You just have to do your best Sakura. You have improved from where you first was. With your genjutsu, ninjutsu and taijutsu, you will give Hinata a real run for her money." Haku said.

"Thanks a lot Haku." Sakura said. Ino decided to leave at that point. She was expecting some type of gossip but all it was training talk. It was so boring. No matter who Sakura got to help her, Hinata was going to win. However, a small voice in her head told her that her rival was now miles ahead of her.

XXX

Kakashi was called to a meeting with the Hokage. It turned out he would be facing him, the elders and the shinobi council. He already guessed what this was about. It seems that his time was up as sensei. However, he was not going down without a fight.

"Kakashi Hatake, this review has been called due to your actions as sensei of team seven. It is the will of this council that you be stripped of your team." Hiruzen said.

"Something that I do not agree with." Kakashi said. "I may not have been the best sensei but I am not so bad to have my team taken away."

"The evidence says otherwise." Koharu said.

"The evidence is biased. You are taking the words of two genin who do not respect my authority. The same can be said about Iruka Umino, Ibiki Morino and Haku. They have undermined my position and stole my charges." Kakashi stated with some seriousness.

"You sound like a baby that had its' favorite toy taken away. Both Naruto and Sakura saw that they weren't getting any stronger under you and sort strength somewhere else. That is not about disrespecting your authority. It is more like you disrespected their abilities as shinobi." Tsume said.

"This coming from the person who did not want me as Naruto's sensei in the first place." Kakashi replied.

"While you can say that about Tsume, you can't say that about the rest of us." Shikaku said. "I agree with Tsume's statement due in point to the vast improvement of both of your students that does not include any help from you. You disrespected them, not the other way around."

"The fact that you have done nothing to even stop Sasuke's harassment of Naruto is a red flag. The boy has threatened to steal Naruto's jutsu and attempted to several time. Murakumo's reports clearly state that." Tsume added.

"Okay, I did not curb Sasuke's jealousy and I did not focus on my other two charges as much as I did him. However, we all know about Sasuke's quest. I was just trying to show him that there is a different path. With Orochimaru's involvement, I have to keep my attention on Sasuke more than ever. I am sorry that I favored Sasuke and I am sorry that I disrespected Sakura and Naruto but I do not deserve to have them taken from me. Give me another chance and I will show you that I can be the sensei that you expect of me." Kakashi pleaded.

"You have had your chances Kakashi. You will not get another one. We shall put this to a vote with myself, the elders and councilwoman Inuzuka exempted from the vote." Hiruzen said. Kakashi realized that Hiruzen was covering his bases. He knew that he would have had a chance to appeal. He watched as the council made their vote and he could only watch as his hope was crushed.

"The vote has been made. The decision is unanimous. As of this moment, you are relieved of your duties as sensei to team seven. In fact, team seven is now disbanded. With the team disbanded, I have come up with new orders for you. Jonin Hatake will now be the sole teacher of genin Uchiha. Genin Uzumaki and genin Haruno will be placed on team five after the exams." Hiruzen said. He then looked at Kakashi with a serious expression. "Sasuke is now your responsibility. Anything he does is also on you. This meeting is dismissed."

Everyone stood and walked out of the room, leaving Kakashi to stand there. As the last person left the room, Kakashi's intent spiked. He was not happy.

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Author's Notes: Happy New Year, here's a new chapter. I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter.