Cluckin Bell: I don't get something, why do you make Naruto stronger than in canon when you're also making everyone else in the whole damn show stronger than before? What purpose does this achieve, because if you're going to make everyone Naruto faces stronger than before for reasons like not living up to your apparent "hype" then we're right back where we started in canon. I mean you amped up Garaa, you amped up Kimimaro, you amped up Orochimaru, not to mention your cluster bunch of overpowered OCs that seem to rival powerful characters despite all the hard work the characters do to become so powerful in the first place, all that work they put in means shit when you have some random OC rivalling them out of nowhere, it damages the credibility of the Kishimoto created characters, imo atleast.
Response: Because Naruto needs to be challenged. Also, I'm confused exactly by what you mean. Sasuke is stronger, as is Sakura yes, but I don't think that's what you mean. Do you mean Orochimaru, Kakashi, Tobirama, Neji, Hinata? Who? I haven't made Neji any stronger really, or Lee, or Orochimaru (who I actually think I may need to show how strong he really is because I don't think I've done him justice), or Kakashi. I've made Hinata stronger, but I think it's pretty reasonable why. Gaara, eh, probably yeah. Kimimaro? Not particularly. I'm going based off what Kabuto said, and even with his fight against Naruto in the anime he was kicking Naruto's ass. He only lost his fight because he was sick. Here he lost for the same reason. Orochimaru? Not really. Overpowered OC's? All of them, bar Soka, have lost/tied in their fights. I mean Soka is overpowered, I will acknowledge, because I needed someone to fill the gap between Kazekage and didn't find any suitable candidates. Not invalid what you said though.
Slimstats: I thought you said this was a smarter Naruto but he can't even see that he's the one getting special treatment with both anko and kakashi teaching him. sasuke has been training by himself the entire time and still beat Naruto. Naruto is probably one of the most privileged ninjas of all time. He's got kuruma's chakra, Asura's chakra, 2 jounin, and the hokage helping him. Even then he's not the best because he's having a pity party the entire time but people have done better than him even in worst conditions. How can you say that Naruto is smart when he can't even see all the more help is getting compared to others.
Response: Remember Naruto has no idea it's special treatment. He just thinks they stumbled upon him. But also you're right. Naruto doesn't see that he's the one getting special treatment. With how he grew up compared to how Sasuke was, one being hated the other being loved, yeah, he's biased. Naruto won't be using Asura's chakra in this story btw. No intention of going into the Asura and Indra stuff other than maybe them being similar, but they won't be reincarnations. Smart does not mean unbiased.
Otogakure
Sasuke stared at Muta's unconscious form, frowning as the man was rushed to the hospital tent. The man was found bleeding out once they had conquered the fort, or so he had heard. The Uchiha could only stare out at the Aburame, frowning as he turned to see the multitude of dead bodies being stored in sealing scrolls to be returned home by those returning home.
One of which was him.
Why?
Why did he deserve to go home? That was the only thing that he could think about? He barely fought, and he certainly hadn't done anything productive. Even the frail girl had done more than he had! Why was he getting the privilege to return home when few other shinobi were? Ones that fought. Was it because of his eyes? His rank? That didn't matter! He initially hadn't wanted to come on this battalion but he could tell now that he needed to be here. And with his head commander out of it at the moment he marched up to the next person in line who could change his fate.
Ko Hyuga turned to see the young Uchiha marching up to him, his eyes narrowed. "What do you want Uchiha?" Sasuke frowned. "I would like to request that I be allowed to stay here with the remaining force and guard the force instead of heading back with the injured."
"No."
Sasuke's eyes widened at the flat out rejection, not expecting it. How could he refuse extra help?
"Sir, with all due respect, I'm not injured from the battle whatsoever. I can fight, I can guard. I don't see why I can't stay." Ko frowned at Sasuke, his eyes narrowing. "Do you remember who you are?"
Sasuke blinked. "Sasuke Uchiha?"
"Yes. Sasuke Uchiha. The last loyal Uchiha! We cannot afford to lose you in a battle. Your bloodline is to valuable to the village." Sasuke's eyes widened at Ko's reasoning, his blood boiling. "I'm more than just my bloodline! I am a Konoha shinobi, and I am capable of fighting! Besides, I have no desire to start a family yet so that doesn't even make sense! If people wanted to make sure that I passed down the genes of the Sharingan they wouldn't have let me become a shinobi!"
Ko stared down at Sasuke, annoyed that the conversation was still continuing after he had given Sasuke his answer. His opinion would not change. "No kid. Sure, you're capable enough to fight maybe a low-level Chunin, but that's not what we're going to be fighting here. We're going to be fighting high-level Chunin and Jonin. You're no match for them!"
"Not right now at least. But I can train."
Ko stared down at Sasuke, an annoyed look on his face. "You're going to train efficiently enough to reach their level? Really child?" Sasuke nodded, getting Ko's eyes to widen. The kid was serious. He wasn't playing around, he was determined to stay here even if it killed him. Ko could relate to that. The kid was loyal, and he couldn't spit on the face of loyalty.
"You train for the majority of the day, then you stay on guard for the rest, understood," Ko hissed, an irritated look on his face. Sasuke smirked.
"Understood."
Ko sighed, looking at the Uchiha as he rushed back to the fort, to help the forces continue to man it. The boy would be valuable for deactivating traps, but to let him stay was dangerous. While the child may not know it he had a target on his back, with more reasons than him being an Uchiha. His Chunin Exam showing was seen by the entire world. People knew his strengths and his weaknesses.
Assassins perfectly crafted to defeat his skillset would no doubt be on their way, and it would be much easier to deflect them while he remained in Konoha. But that fire he had in his eyes...Ko couldn't turn that down.
He just had to hope that decision wouldn't lead the boy to his death.
Tenten frowned as she looked up at the capital gates, the gates towering even higher than those of Konoha. Tenten could only stare at the walls, getting Stijin to laugh. "Come on Tenten, we don't have time for you to just stare at the capital gates. We actually have people here that we have to meet with."
Tenten frowned, before she rushed after her father, confusion written on her face. "The capital is so large! It makes no sense!"
Stijin laughed at Tenten's reaction. "Really? I mean this is where the Daimyo, and the bulk of the Land of Fire's population live, along with the Daimyo's military. The population here is two times larger than Konoha's."
Tenten's eyes widened as her father walked up to the gate, showing their passports. The guard nodded, letting them in, Tenten's eyes wide still. For this place to be two times larger than Konoha was to say a lot. Konoha was a massive place. This was almost to much for her. She had never experienced something like this before. It didn't help from what she was seeing. The buildings, the people, it was filled with the most technologically advanced ideas that she could see. Some of these things were only rumors in Konoha, being too expensive for anyone bar the clans to be able to buy.
It was amazing and terrifying at the same time.
Tenten stared up at the building that stood taller than any other in view, and there were some buildings she would legitimately call skyscrapers. However this one towered above even them.
"Is that?"
Stijin smirked, nodding. "Yes. That Tenten...is the Daimyo's Palace!"
Sakura stared at the results of the test, a smirk on her face. The first test had ended yesterday, and Shizune had told them to come back the day afterwards to see who was leading in the classes. Sakura couldn't help but be happy when she saw the leader boards. Despite her rudimentary knowledge of iryojutsu it seemed that everyone else was worse off for the most part, with her landing solidly in the tenth best position. That was quite an accomplishment, considering she was Genin, but it also demonstrated the severe lack of iryonin on field missions, since the majority stayed at the Konoha Hospital.
Sakura stared at those ahead of her, a frown on her face. The first couple names she didn't recognize, however when she reached the top five her eyes widened. Shikamaru was fifth, apparently demonstrating a lot of skill towards the art of healing. Sakura couldn't help but frown. Shikamaru, the slacker, was ahead of her. She didn't usually compare herself to him, she knew he was smart, extraordinarily so, but this was ridiculous! Shaking her head, Sakura moved her eyes upwards to look at the person in fourth place. Someone else she didn't know. A person by the name of Tsuyu Amegiri. Sakura frowned. Another person she didn't know ranked above her. Sure, she wasn't perfect, but she would have thought that at least she would be capable of handling all the people she didn't know, but alas, she was incapable. Again.
Sakura stared at the top three positions, a frown on her face. It was again no one that she knew, until she reached the kunoichi who resided at the top. The one who she had met during the beginning of the first trial.
Ameno.
Sakura huffed, whirling around to look for the girl. If she was in first place she likely could teach her something. Besides, despite Sakura's competitive streak Ameno was kind, and was likely going to help her get better if her experience from the first test was anything to measure by.
Sakura searched through the gathered shinobi, all of them looking for their spots on the list, but she couldn't find Ameno. A frown on her face she stomped to the back of the crowd, only to hear muttering. She turned, her eyes widening when she saw Shikamaru frowning, looking at the sky.
"Shikamaru? What are you doing back here?" Shikamaru sighed. "I don't care about my place on the rankings. I don't even want to do this stupid exam, but my mom is forcing me too. It's a drag."
Sakura blinked, confusion written over her face. She had lost...to a slacker? A complete, utter slacker? She knew Shikamaru was lazy, but this was ridiculous. He had gotten perhaps one of the most prestigious positions and he didn't even bother to check!
"You got fifth," Sakura muttered, annoyance in her voice. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I didn't think I did that well. That damn fish was annoying for the first bit." Sakura frowned, but nodded nonetheless. "I assume you got first then," Shikamaru muttered, yawning. Sakura frowned, clenching her fists. "I'm afraid not. I got tenth."
Shikamaru's eyes widened before they narrowed, his eyes locking onto hers. "I did better than you? What a drag."
Sakura blinked. "Excuse me?"
Shikamaru sighed. "I didn't want to do better than anyone, but especially not you. You're supposed to be the overachiever not me. If I tell my mom this she'll make me work even harder to learn her jutsu."
Sakura's eyes widened before a devious idea popped into her head. "Your mom knows iryojutsu?" Shikamaru glanced at Sakura before sighing, already knowing where this conversation was going to go. "I'll ask her if she'll train you." Sakura nodded, a smile on her face, grabbing onto Shikamaru's arm with a fierce grip. "Lead the way!"
Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Troublesome."
Hinata breathed deeply, imaging a raging thunderbolt striking the ground as she stared at the light bulb, her finger pointed directly at it. Kurenai stood behind her, looking for any signs of progress since Hinata had asked for this training. The young girl had come to her Jonin sensei requesting to learn about her elemental affinity, regardless off the dislike of elemental ninjutsu that the Hyuga Clan had. Kurenai had agreed, and upon testing it they discovered that Hinata had a lightning affinity, a rarity in Konoha and especially so in the Hyuga Clan. Kurenai didn't even have it, as she had a fire affinity. Still, that didn't stop the Jonin from teaching her, as she quickly learned the basics of what basic lightning elemental exercises were to get Hinata stared, along with a few jutsu for her to practice. The girl had made rather rapid progress in her basic training, but she was currently stuck on one jutsu.
The Raiton: Sandaboruto (Lighting Release: Thunderbolt)!
That was why Hinata was repeating the first step of her elemental training, creating an electrical current between herself and a light bulb to turn it on, in order to be able to generate the lightning from her body. Hinata breathed in deeply again, creating the link between the light bulb and herself, the bulb flickering to life as a steady stream of electricity filled it. Hinata nodded, the smell of ozone filling her body before she channeled more chakra into her fingertips.
"Raiton: Sandaboruto (Lighting Release: Thunderbolt)!"
An orb of blue electricity formed at Hinata's finger tip, small streams of electricity shooting from around the girl, scorching the ground upon impact. The streams crisscrossed, forming a massive X shape on the ground with their power before the attack died out. Hinata released the breath she didn't even know she had been holding as the jutsu died out, her forehead sweating lightly.
"Good job Hinata!" Kurenai called, a smile on her face. "You finally completed the jutsu! I told you you could do it." Hinata smiled, nodding at Kurenai. "Yes. I guess I was just nervous and didn't expect myself to do so well."
Kurenai rolled her eyes. "You're fine. You don't need to worry so much. Just go with the flow and you'll be fine."
Hinata nodded, standing and stretching. "Kurenai-sensei, can we please spar? I want to see how well I can use my abilities in battle against an opponent of a higher level." Kurenai blinked at the question but nodded nonetheless. Hinata wasn't one to typically ask for spars, that was Kiba, but if she wanted to it was her duty as a sensei to oblige her students. "Of course Hinata. Besides, I need to get some training in on handling opponents who can see through my genjutsu. Never know who you might end up fighting in the forest sometimes huh?"
Hinata smirked, her Byakugan activating as she dropped into her fighting stance. "Indeed."
She rushed her Jonin sensei.
Naruto groaned as he woke up, his chest stinging with pain. "What happened," he groaned, before a yellow sight filled his vision. As his eyes opened up a bit more he realized that Tsunade was above him, her blonde hair covering his eyesight. "Oh, so you're finally up. Took you long enough."
Naruto blinked, slowly rising. "You really should not be sitting up right now," Tsunade muttered as Naruto realized that the two were currently travelling in the back of a wagon on a dirt road. They were likely on their way back to Konohagakure. "After what happened to you you should be dead, you realize that right?"
Naruto frowned, touching his chest lightly. "I'm afraid I have no idea. Why does my chest hurt so much though?" Tsunade sighed, rubbing her forehead. "In simple terms someone stabbed you through the heart. It was only through a combination of my efforts and the Kyuubi's that you're even alive right now." Naruto blinked, his eyes wide. "The Kyuubi helped you save me?"
Tsunade nodded. "I guess it didn't want to die. Not that I can blame it. Even for a creature that never truly dies the experience of dying must not be a pleasant one." Naruto nodded, making a mental note to thank the Kyuubi for its help when he wasn't busy before he looked around.
"Where are we? On the road back to Konoha?"
Tsunade nodded. "After I healed you I realized we couldn't stay on the island so I quickly got out of there. I don't know what happened to Akiyoshi or Orochimaru's group. I know that Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki got away."
Naruto frowned, thinking back to his encounter with Sasuke's older brother. The man was...weird. He didn't give Naruto a sinister feeling like he should, considering he killed his entire family, despite the small time Naruto spent in the same room with him. He was expecting the man to be deranged or a sociopath, but he didn't give Naruto that feeling. Not that he was an expert on the deranged or sociopaths anyway, but he liked to believe he could tell one from the other if it came down to it.
"I see," Naruto muttered, rubbing his chest as he still felt phantom pain shudder through his body. He was happy he wasn't conscious for being stabbed through the heart. That undoubtedly would have sucked. The blonde frowned though as he felt a small bump on his chest. The blonde quickly reached in his shirt, to pull out a necklace. He blinked, confused before Tsunade started talking again.
"You won the bet," Tsunade muttered, getting Naruto's eyes to widen. "I did didn't I."
Tsunade smirked. "Yeah. Don't get cocky though brat! Just because you beat me in a bet once does not mean that I respect you or anything. You've got a long way to go before you gain my respect!" Naruto grinned, already eager to get back to training. "Yeah! I can't wait! You'll see, I'll wipe that smug look off your face real soon!"
Tsunade smirked, patting her younger relative on the head. "But this mission was a good start on that I suppose."
Naruto smiled.
Gaara frowned as he saw the defeated Suna ninja returning to the village, dead bodies that could be recovered carried along with them, and the injured being quickly handled by the medics that were there for emergency. Gaara could only stare, his eyes wide as he saw the death.
"So this is war..." he whispered, shock on his face. "I would have thought that you would be familiar to this much death." Gaara turned, his eyes wide, not expecting to see the older teenager who he remembered as the one who chased after his sisters affections.
"I...have killed many people, I can never deny that...but this is new, even to me." The older teen, Daimaru could only stare at Gaara, a light smile forming on his face. "Don't worry kid, despite your past I'm sure you'll be able to turn the tide of this war."
Gaara looked at Daimaru, a frown on his face. "By killing this amount of Konoha shinobi?"
Daimaru opened his mouth, a grimace flowing over his face briefly before he answered. "'fraid so. We don't have that much of a choice here kid. The higher ups are the ones who end up making the war decisions. We're just the pawns who carry them out."
Gaara frowned, clenching his sandy hand, unable to resist comparing the corpses he saw to the words Naruto had said. Was this the true reality of the world? Was Naruto wrong, because certainly right now it felt like he was. Fighting to protect...how could he fight to protect when he saw all this death? He couldn't say he was fond of Sunagakure...but he at least recognized a few faces in the crowd, not that he particularly cared for them. If anything, shouldn't this make him fight with vengeance?
Gaara did not understand. But he knew how he could find out.
Gaara looked at Daimaru, the older teen looking at the quizzical Jinchuriki with interest. Gaara briefly looked at his sandy hand, created using his control over sand ever since his last fight with Naruto, before he nodded to Daimaru. "It is time for me to join the fight."
Daimaru nodded. "Indeed it is."
The two walked away from the procession of death and defeat.
Tenten stared at the grandeur of the Daimyo's Palace, completely baffled by the sheer grandeur of it. Words could not describe just how magnificent it was. Stijin chuckled at his daughters behavior as he walked ahead of her, being led by one of the Daimyo's attendants. "Close your mouth, a bug could fly in it."
Somehow Tenten doubted bugs even dared enter this majestic place. It was far to great for them.
Eventually though she managed to contain herself, right before the attendant opened the massive double doors to the throne room, where the Daimyo stood with three of his Guardian Shinobi, clearly going over military strategy. The attendant and Stijin immediately dropped to a knee, and Tenten, slightly put off at the sudden shift in attitude in her father, dropped to a knee slightly later.
Hoheto Fubuki turned to face the entering trio as the attendant spoke, "Daimyo-sama, Hokage-sama has sent you these two shinobi as an offering. They requested to serve under you specifically for the duration of the war." Hoheto stared at the two, slightly put off. He had worked with Stijin before, and while he was good he would not be enough to turn the tide of battle, and one...was a mere child. Sure, she was shinobi, so undoubtedly she deserved respect considering he himself was incapable of using his meager amounts of chakra, but he had expected more.
"Surely this is not Hiruzen's idea of a war party?"
"I doubt it, Daimyo-dono," Stijin stated. "However, it was me who specifically requested that my daughter and I join you for the upcoming war. We have worked together before, so I thought it was only fitting." Hoheto nodded.
"Yes, yes I remember you Stijin, stop kneeling by the way." The two shinobi rose, although they did not look the Daimyo in the eye. Hoheto frowned, rubbing his head. "When Jiraiya-dono said that he would be sending over shinobi I was expecting a war party. With the incoming attack it looks like we may be short staffed."
"Incoming attack," Stijin asked, shock in his voice. Hoheto nodded, waving him over. Stijin and Tenten ran over to look at the field of battle that the Daimyo and his shinobi had as they looked down at the mock battle. "Here," Sorano stated, pointing at the town that represented Yamiji Village. "We have seen an incoming force of enemies coming from the north. They have already crossed the Valley of The End from The Land of Sound, Orochimaru's presumed base of operations."
Tenten frowned. "And you're sure they're headed towards Yamiji Village?" The Jonin looked reluctant to answer the question, frowning at Tenten's presence. The girl was young, and looked fairly inexperienced, however someone else did not hesitate. "It's the most likely target," Hoheto muttered, ignoring his distaste at the youth jumping in. Clearly she was growing more confident. That was fine, he needed confidence, but she hadn't earned his respect like Gaku had. She would be tested on the battlefield.
"It's the only area they really have to attack," Hayama muttered, frowning as he looked at the other locations. "It rests on top of a hill so its an easy place to defend from assaults if they gain the territory. More so, despite it being on the outskirts of our territory it has fairly strong defenses and a fort there. It's the best staging ground, it contrast to the other admittedly small villages surrounding it. It was meant to operate as the military hub of the area as we wouldn't have enough law enforcement throughout the country without."
Stijin frowned. "If that's true then why attack it? Surely even Orochimaru can't be overconfident enough to attack head on into such a well fortified position."
Hayama shook his head, pointing at Konoha. Stijin's frown deepened. "No, even then he had the element of surprise on his side. And backup in the form of Suna. Sunagakure is no longer on his side from what we can tell, their Kazekage having likely been murdered by him. Even so, Suna is too preoccupied with our other offensive on that side that they couldn't support him even if they wanted to. Attacking this place first off without seemingly any plan is strange, even for Orochimaru. Even he doesn't have infinite manpower."
Hoheto frowned. "I see your point, but what are you suggesting?" Stijin frowned. "That whatever he's sending in to attack us is expendable in his eyes, yet also competent enough to get the job done. This attack is sent in almost perfectly timed. Orochimaru's fought in world wars before, he knows how strategy works. Even if we rush there with an army they will be tired and exhausted by the time his force reaches the village. His force will come out on top. We'll just be to tired. When we eventually retake it we'll be injured by fighting this expendable force, allowing his real strike force to come in and crush us."
"So we let it be taken then," Sorano questioned. Gaku butted in now, a frown on his face. "Or we could just go."
The group turned to look at him, making the man smirk. He rubbed his knuckles as though they were sore before he continued. "I mean think about it. That's what we should do. Shinobi can get there faster than a non-chakra enhanced army, fast enough where we can rest before the assault. With us leading the force we should be capable of handling an army designed to be expendable."
"That wouldn't handle the real army though," Stijin muttered. Sorano frowned. "We don't even know if there is another army preparing to attack us."
"We can't afford to take a gamble on ifs against Orochimaru," Stijin stated, yet Sorano countered, "Yet you are willing to take one right now?"
Hoheto sighed. "Enough. Here's what we will do. Gaku, tell a runner to go look for any other incoming foreign forces in our land. In the meantime everyone else get prepared to head to Yamiji Village. I want you out of here by the end of the night. I will prepare a force to go reinforce you should another real army be on its way. Sorano you stay with me to prepare. Stijin, your daughter goes with you, Gaku, and Hayama understood?"
"Yes Daimyo-sama!" was the universal call across the room, the shinobi dispersing to prepare themselves for their goals. Hoheto sighed as continued to look down at the board before him, unable to understand something.
"We're missing something. When I worked with Orochimaru he was famous for using three-step plans that would lead to a victory. This visible army is obviously his first step, if he has a hidden one that's his second...but what is his third?"
Hoheto pondered that question for a long while.
Kiba dropped to a knee as sweat poured down his brow, Akamaru equally exhausted at his side as the duo continued their training. The duo had been working on one of the jutsu's Kiba had managed to copy from the clans scroll of secret jutsu that resided in the library. It involved incorporating their elemental nature into their attacks. First Kiba had to find what his elemental nature was, learning quickly that he had a dual-element type of wind and lightning, a strange combination considering that wind was strong against lightning. So far he was trying to use his lightning element in his fighting style with rather moderate success. He could generate electrical surges on his body, but each time he did it it hurt him. He had tried using chakra to coat his hand as he attacked to protect him from his lightning, and it worked, but it was also extremely draining. He wouldn't be able to use it effectively in battle.
Eventually the Inuzuka member had taken to watching Akamaru train in his earth element. The ninja dog was clearly exhausted, however he had made much more progress than Kiba, likely due to his element being much easier to work with. The dog could create constructs to make his hits more devastating, but the only problem was that the attacks were extremely draining, to the point where Akamaru couldn't even perform the duo's signature attack while wearing the armor. Akamaru had to improve his chakra reserves for the ninken to effectively fight using the style.
However, Akamaru had given Kiba an idea.
Kiba stood before breathing deeply, his chakra roaring as he drew upon it once again, immediately feeling reinvigorated, as though his body was filled to the brim with energy and electricity. Lightning bubbled to the surface as lightning covered his hands and feet, getting him to smirk. Slowly he regulated the charge, lowering it. He nodded as it reached an acceptable level before he leapt forwards at the training stump that he had been using as a testing dummy. With a clean cleave the dummy was gone, replaced by half a stump. Kiba smirked as he looked at the electricity surrounding his hands.
He had only increased the surge of electricity when he attacked, and he didn't feel any backlash. The surge of electricity had channeled directly into stump, causing it to be cleaved in two, and with no excess remaining as it discharged into his target no backlash hit him.
Kiba's smirk grew into a full blown smile.
He had done it. All on his own...he had replicated one his of his clans techniques. Admittedly it was one of the easier ones, but it was a good launching point. Kiba smirked.
"It's time to keep moving upwards Akamaru! You keep expanding your reserves!"
Akamaru barked in response.
Unknown to the two, a woman by the name of Tsume Inuzuku watched the two from afar, a small smile on his face. "He's finally leaving the nest."
"Did you expect anything less mom?"
Tsume looked at her eldest child, a frown on her face. "I suppose it was inevitable. I just didn't think it would be so soon. He didn't even really come to me for help."
"Did you expect him to?"
A sigh.
"I guess not. He's always been headstrong. More so than you."
"Yes he has," Hana stated. "I suppose he always has."
Neji ducked underneath Hiashi's strike, biting his lip as the man continued to pressure him, forcing him on the defensive. The man was just so fast! he knew the skill gap between the two of them was massive, but this was unimaginable. He hadn't been able to even launch a single attack, and he could tell that Hiashi wasn't even going all out.
After all, his Byakugan wasn't even active.
Neji barely managed to deflect a palm strike, however before he knew it Hiashi's foot was there, smashing into his ribs and sending him flying across the room. Neji coughed midair before he managed to flip and land on his feet, however he was unable to counterattack as Hiashi was already there, launching a palm strike. Neji raised a feeble defense that Hiashi smashed through, although its mere existence made the strike land slightly off-target, smashing into Neji's stomach instead of his chest. Neji skidded backwards, the chakra he pushed to his feet the only reason he wasn't sent flying. Hiashi appeared beside him, causing Neji's eyes to widen as the man continued his assault, leaving him beaten and bruised on the ground. Hiashi stared down at his nephew, a frown on his face.
"I think I've gotten a rough estimation of your skill now Neji. We can stop sparring."
Neji wanted to yell with happiness, but it hurt to breathe at this point. "We first must start with your taijutsu," Hiashi began as Neji slowly managed to sit. "Your taijutsu, for your age is superb, as I can tell from both the Chunin Exams and this brief spar. You have the ability to take a hit, and I know you can attack from your match with Hinata."
Neji stared at the man's eyes as he said that, unable to tell how the man felt about the fight. Neji had not been kind during that fight, and while Hiashi had apologized to him about the incident with Hizashi, Neji had yet to apologize for his treatment to Hinata. Hinata had forgiven him, but Hiashi was not like his daughter. Yet as much as he tried he could not see any resentment in those eyes. However, that did not mean that there was none, just that it could be well concealed.
"You have even managed to replicate many styles of the Juken secret arts known only to Main Family members, which is a good start as well. Your basics will improve throughout our spars, so the specifics of our taijutsu style you will be improving is this."
Hiashi grunted, chakra swirling around him briefly before it coalesced into earthen lion heads. "This is the third and final step of the jutsu you saw Hinata use in the Chunin Exams. She has mastered it up to step two, and is currently working on mastering her element to a level where she can learn this. It is time for you to start learning this jutsu as well."
Neji's eyes widened. "How do I begin?" Hiashi smirked. "You already have the chakra reserves. The first step is simple." Hiashi took a step forward, making Neji pale as a dark smile covered the mans face.
"Apply the HakkeshÅ Kaiten (Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation)."
Gozu frowned as he marched across the land, barely able to keep these...things in line. The creatures were undoubtedly abominations, and they were completely rabid. He could barely keep them marching in the correct way. It took a combined effort of him and his allies efforts to keep them marching on the path to the target. He had to defend himself from quite a few assaults on his person by the creatures as well.
"How did he even get around to making these monstrosities," Gozu muttered, clearly perturbed. "I believe he used their leaders DNA," came the call. Gozu turned to his ally, frowning as he saw Zaku frowning, shoving a beast back in line. Zaku pointed to the monster in the center of the pack, getting Gozu to shiver. Whatever the hell that thing was it wasn't human, that he was sure of.
"I think that was Jugo once," Kin muttered, the girl rubbing the back of her head as the monsters continued to walk forwards. Gozu turned to look at the girl, his eyes wide. "Impossible! That couldn't be Jugo! Jugo was never...he never went that far in his rampages!"
"Orochimaru-sama experimented on him," Zaku stated, a sigh escaping his lips. Gozu turned to stare back at the monstrosity that was leading the pack. This was what Orochimaru did to his subordinates?
"Would he ever be human again?"
"Who knows and who cares," came the call. The trio turned to see Guren walking next to them, Dosu at her side. "All we need to do is lead this upcoming assault. Nothing else matters. You all should be focused on the mission at hand."
The Otogakure shinobi fell silent as Guren said that, refocusing on corralling the beasts for the time being. The creatures roared as they continued their march, the desire for blood filling the air. And with it, the war songs of Otogakure rang.
If you want to know what Orochimaru's monsters look like go look at Chaos Spawn from Total War Warhammer, and imagine something like that. If you want to know what Jugo looks like, look up Chaos Daemons Total War Warhammer and look for the one that's like facing off with the human on a cliff.