DISCLAIMER: I do not own "Naruto" and am in no way associated with it's writers or producers.
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Upon seeing the giant rocks and boulders falling towards her, Hinata froze in fear and shock, and screamed. She was about to be crushed to her own death inside the hole. By these rocks that had come from nowhere. There was no time. Knowing she had to act fast, Hinata acted quickly and in a split second. She shot her had up in the air.
"Protective 8 Trigrams……" Hinata yelled.
At that moment, the rocks finally reach the top of the hole, and started crashing inside all at once, Hinata still down there. It all happened in a matter of seconds. The crashes sent dust flying everywhere and shockwaves thru the ground.
Finally the rumbling stopped. The rain still coming down hard. The dust floating around. It was silent for a moment.
Then finally, Hinata's hand shot up.
Out of the hole now filled with little crushed rocks, Hinata emerged…… unharmed. At the last second, she used her Protective 8 Trigrams to save herself by smashing and crushing all the rocks the moment they got to her, reducing all the boulders to little chunks and pebbles. They had still filled the hole and buried Hinata, but it didn't matter. Hinata crawled out of the hole, covered in dirt but with no bruises or scratches.
She crawled out, slumped to her hands and knees, breathing hard. Her mind racing in shock and confusion.
"I don't understand." Hinata whispered to herself. "Was that some kind of……….Naruto wasn't…….."
Just then, a kunai was shot at the ground in front of Hinata. A paper bomb was on it.
Hinata shrieked.
In a flash, Hinata jumped back as far as she could and the paper bomb exploded. Landing and sliding back on her feet, Hinata yelled and covered her eyes. The explosion lit up the place for a moment and the smoke filled the forest all around her. Hinata took her fighter stance.
It didn't take Hinata long at all to realize something was very wrong; something was happening to her. Sakura was the only other person out in the forest with her.
"I gotta hand it to you Hinata" Sakura's cold voice came from the smoke. "You're a lot quicker on your toes than I realized."
Hinata's body was shaking. Her eyes twitching. Frowning in confusion and anger. She finally came to the stunning truth.
"No way…" Hinata whispered to herself.
Sakura's dark shadow appeared and began walking thru the smoke. Finally emerging in front of Hinata, Sakura stood glaring at her, a cold and dark smile coming from her face, her head hunched down.
"Oh well" Sakura replied.
"No way." Hinata whispered to her, still shaking "No way! It's not happening! What's going on Sakura?" Hinata cried out.
The rain was still pouring hard. More thunder rumbled thru the forest.
"Isn't it obvious?" Sakura growled.
Hinata was already willing to take one guess as to why. But she couldn't believe it. She had thought for sure her and Sakura were on good terms about Naruto.
"You're insecurity has always been your greatest weakness, Hinata" Sakura creepingly whispered smiling. "You always believed everything was gonna be perfect when it's far from it. I actually believed for a moment my falling rocks trap would kill you for sure. But it doesn't matter now. You're still gonna die Hinata! Right here, right now!"
Lightning flashed again. Hinata frowned twitching.
"Have you gone mad Sakura?" Hinata yelled. "I thought this was all behind us?!"
"You're as clueless as ever" Sakura's cold smile quickly became a frown. "I already told you. We're not friends! You have something very precious that belongs to me, and I want it back!"
"You're gonna try and kill me, all because you're jealous?!" Hinata shouted. "Just because of me and Naruto?"
"He doesn't belong to you Hinata. You know that." Sakura growled. "Naruto belongs with me. He always has. He knows it. I know. I love him more than you; so once you're out of the way, Naruto will be mine forever! He'll realize his true love for me, and we'll live happily ever after. That's why you're gonna DIE, Hinata Hyuga!"
It was all too clear; what Hinata didn't want to believe was true.
Hinata didn't want it to come to this, but now it was too late. Sakura had just tried to kill her, twice. Hinata frowned to her in anger and disappointment.
"You're crazy, Sakura." Hinata yelled.
"I'm crazy enough to kill YOU!" Sakura screamed.
With that, Sakura immediately jumped towards Hinata. With her super-strength, Sakura punched the ground as hard as she could, sending several giant rocks and huge chunks of earth shooting from the ground and flying at Hinata. Reacting as fast as she could, Hinata jumped back off the flying earth and leaped up into one of the nearby tree branches for cover.
Sakura glared up at Hinata in the tree with her evil smile. Sakura pulled out a shuriken, but rather than throw it at Hinata, Sakura flung up towards Hinata's right at another tree. Shocked and confused, she heard another trip wire cut.
"What? Another trap?" Hinata yelled.
Thru the rain and the dark forest, Hinata saw several kunai blades and shurikens flying to her, slung by Sakura's trap.
Quickly Hinata began spinning around. "Rotation!" she yelled. Spinning, the blue wall of chakra spun out, blocking and deflecting all the blades away, and they fell back to the ground.
After stopping Hinata noticed Sakura had disappeared. But that's when she started feeling the tree shake.
"Rrrgghhaaaaaaahhhh!" Sakura screamed down below.
Using her super-strength again, Sakura was pulling the tree out from its roots out of the earth. Hinata was still in it and lost her balance, grabbing the branch before she could fall. In an instance, Sakura lowered the tree sideways and began hurling it like a baseball bat around the forest. She let go, tossing it and crashing it into the other trees. Hinata shrieked again, and starting leaping around the crashing trees to avoid being crushed in them. Three other trees were destroyed, but Hinata made it out with some scratches, but safely.
Breathing heavily, Hinata was hiding in the trees from Sakura in the dark forest. Lightning and thunder crashed once more.
"I don't believe it! Sakura really is serious and hell-bent on killing me!" Hinata thought. "And all because of Naruto."
Hinata finally regained her composure and stood up. She calmed down and stopped shaking, remembering she was stronger. "Fine then Sakura. But you asked for it!" she thought.
"Byakugan!" Hinata yelled.
Hinata looked around for Sakura in the dark wet forest, but something else caught her attention first. "What?" Hinata gasped.
Everywhere she looked in the forest, Hinata could see dozens of shurikens, kunai blades, and other weapons, all tied and attached to ninja strings and ropes up in different trees, as well as more rocks an boulders in nets, and even paper bombs with trip wires on them.
"I don't believe it." Hinata thought. "This entire part of the forest is full of booby traps! Sakura must've spent all this time today putting them together….. all for this little showdown!"
Finally with her Byakugan, Hinata spotted Sakura in the tree right behind her. She jumped into the tree Hinata was in, with her on the otherside.
"Well, we shall see about that, Sakura!" Hinata said.
Sakura finally appeared, standing on the branch right beside Hinata.
"You're dead!" Sakura growled.
She leaped towards the branch and threw a kunai at Hinata. Hinata effortlessly caught the blade in her hands, but didn't notice Sakura's real intention. With her fist, she broke the branch Hinata was standing on and Hinata fell. Trying to avoid falling to the ground, Hinata frantically looked for another branch to grab, and finally caught one hanging like a monkey from it. But Sakura up above jumped down to her to stomp her hands. Hinata leaped up out of the way and back on the branch.
Realizing Hinata was back on her feet, Sakura retreated to the tree across.
Hinata angrily threw the kunai at Sakura. But Sakura starred back with an evil smile. Lightning flashed, and Sakura vanished. The blade hit nothing.
"Hehehehehehehe Hahaha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Sakura's cold laugh echoed thru the forest at Hinata
"Wow." Hinata said. "She's really on top of her game this time!"
Still storming and raining, Hinata jumped around the branches, realizing Sakura was trying to lure her back into the booby traps. Hinata noticed with her Byakugan the tree next to her had paper bomb traps. Throwing a stick, Hinata set off the traps from a safe distance………the bombs exploding and shaking the forest.
Sakura came out of her hiding place to the tree to see what'd happened. To her surprise, Hinata was standing across from her unharmed, glaring Sakura in the eyes.
"What?" the demented Sakura yelled.
Hinata threw two shurikens up at Sakura, forcing Sakura to dodge by jumping in the tree on her left.
"Gotcha!" Hinata smiled.
Hinata threw two more shurikens, this time away from Sakura in opposite directions. Sakura gasped after hearing the wires cut. Seeing the traps with her Byakugan, Hinata had just turned two of Sakura's own traps against her
"What?!" Sakura yelled.
Now several shurikens and kunais came flying at Sakura from both directions in the branch. Lightning flashed with more thunder, as it looked like Sakura was done for! The weapons all stabbed and struck Sakura everywhere on her body. Hinata watched a gasping Sakura fall from the branch down to earth………. only, to her surprise, to see Sakura's body vanish in a cloud of smoke, revealing a log!
A shocked Hinata looked down at it. "No way! She actually avoided it with a substitution jutsu."
And suddenly, Sakura came sliding down the treeside right behind Hinata. Sakura threw a fierce punch at her. Hinata saw it with the Byakugan again and turned to block it, but Sakura's strength again sent Hinata sliding back….. off the branch into the next tree.
Again Sakura with her demented smile tripped another trap that flung more weapons at Hinata.
"Again?" Hinata shouted with a confused but confident smile.
Hinata easily spun around, blocking the weapons with her palm rotation jutsu again. Sakura just looked on smiling.
"That's it Hinata, you blind FOOL!" Sakura thought to herself smiling cold. "Keep using your jutsu to defend yourself from my traps" "It won't be long now!"
Sakura jumped out toward Hinata with lightning flashing in her eyes. Having stopped spinning, Hinata tossed two of the shurikens at Sakura. In mid-air, Sakura tried to dodge them, but they still put cuts on her thru her dress on her arm and her hip.
Hinata leaped back in the branch. Sakura landed in front of her, and began throwing more fierce punches and kicks at Hinata, all which she effortlessly blocked. Finally Hinata slid beside Sakura on the same branch, and spun around.
"Rotation!" Hinata yelled. Hinata finally got the blow she was looking for. She blasted and sent Sakura crashing back-first, hard into the side of the tree! "Arrrrgh!" Sakura yelled and slumped down moaning in pain.
"That's it Sakura!" Hinata shouted on the same branch.
It was still raining heavily. Hinata glared in anger and heartbreak at the beaten Sakura. Hinata charged after Sakura to finish it.
"It's time to end this madness right NOW!" Hinata shouted. "Protective eight Trigrams sixty-……"
But then Hinata suddenly gasped.
Hinata had suddenly frozen, gasping for air. She collapsed down to her hands and knees and began coughing really hard holding her stomach.
Sakura began glaring at Hinata with that cold evil smile. She began laughing a very evil low laugh.
"What's wrong Hinata?" Sakura whispered. "Feeling sick?"
Still coughing, Hinata lifted her head with a shocked scared expression.
"What……….. what's……….going….?" Hinata whispered.
"I had to make sure my plan to kill you was foolproof!" Sakura told her. "All this time we've been fighting, you've been poisoned."
Lightning and thunder crashed as Hinata's eyes shot open in shock.
"I've just been slowly letting it sink in and eat you away!" Sakura smiled.
'What?!' Hinata thought. But that's when it dawned on her.
***FLASHBACK***
Earlier in the forest, Hinata and Sakura stopped to catch their breath. Sakura offered Hinata a drink of water from a water bottle which Hinata drank. Sakura took it, but poured the water behind her side, making it look like Sakura took a drink!
***END FLASHBACK***
'The bottled water!' Hinata realized. 'Oh no!'
"Now do you understand my plan?" Sakura laughed and began standing up. "I realized you were too strong and to fast for me to fight. But once I had you poisoned, the deal was sealed; and soon you'll DIE! All I had to do was get you to use up all your chakra just to defend yourself from my traps, all the while keeping my distance and letting the clock run out!"
Still on her hands and knees panting, a shocked Hinata realized her situation.
With a dark evil vengeful frown, Sakura charged after the weak Hinata. "Now that I've weakened you, we'll make this a FAIR FIGHT!"
Thru all her pain and sickness, Hinata rose up to her feet, not about to give up.
Sakura went for a devastating punch to the head. Hinata was still able to block it.
"Not…….. yet……. Sakura!" Hinata gasped and shouted.
Still raining and thundering in the forest, Hinata pushed Sakura away. But Sakura just came right back. Throwing more punches and attacks at Hinata, Sakura came with the intent to destroy her. Hinata tried to fight thru all her pain and block Sakura's attacks, but now her movements were much slower now. Inevitablely, Sakura got behind her, and when Hinata turned, Sakura landed a devastating punch to Hinata's chest.
The super-strength of the punch sent Hinata flying and crashing hard back-first into the tree. The crash shook the entire tree. Now with blood coming from her mouth, Hinata slumped to her knees, gasping outloud.
Sakura charged after her again. Unable to get up and defend herself, Hinata slipped down off the branch, falling down to land on another one. Although Hinata escaped, she collapsed upon landing, and Sakura came right back down after her. Hinata still got back up to fight her. After another round of punches from Sakura, Hinata still blocked them, but was forced to back up towards the end of the branch.
Sakura however nailed a powerful kick to Hinata's stomach that sent Hinata flying out of the tree, and crashing into the side of another one. Now in even greater pain, Hinata's body slid down the tree and fell, collapsing onto another branch.
"It's over now Hinata!" Sakura shouted. "You're a dead woman!"
Hinata was breathing and coughing very hard, feeling the pain from the poison and Sakura's powerful blows.
However she gasped again, seeing with her Byakugan that she was in the bullseye of Sakura's booby traps again. Above her: a net with giant rocks; plus the target of two more shuriken and kunai firing traps.
"No" Hinata whispered.
Up in the other tree, Sakura began pulling out three more shurikens to toss at the trap wires.
'Nice knowing you, bitch! Naruto's all mine now.' Sakura though with her cold wet smile.
Another thunder crash echoed thru the forest. Hinata slumped down on the branch began seeing flashbacks. All the times she had with Naruto; all Naruto has done for me, she thought; that romantic night under the moon; all the romantic days we've spent together. And now…….
Hinata realized she couldn't go down like this.
'No.'
Hinata slowly began to rise up again to her feet. 'What?' Sakura thought.
'No!' Hinata thought. 'I can't lose! Not to her! Not like this!'
Finally frustrated with Hinata, Sakura tossed the shurikens. All at once, a herd of giant rocks began falling; shurikens came flying; kunai blades came shooting; all aimed at Hinata! With the rain still pouring on her Hinata dug deep, with all her heart and little strength.
"Protective 8 Trigrams 64 Palms!"
Lightning flashed. In a shocking outburst, Hinata stood tall, shooting her 8 Trigrams and chakra strings out everywhere. The rocks were smashed. The shurikens were shattered. The kunais were blasted away. All in a matter of seconds, Hinata blocked and destroyed them all.
After it seemed like they were done, two more kunai blades flew past Hinata. She failed to see it. The blades had a string attached to them that caught and wrapped up Hinata around the tree. Catching the kunais with the string back, Sakura pulled it back like a bungee chord.
Sakura launched herself at Hinata for the final attack. Hinata saw her stared her back with vengeance. Lightning flashed in both their eyes.
When Sakura reached her, Hinata immediately caught and, using Sakura's own momentum, Hinata smashed Sakura thru the treeside. The smash put a hole in the old tree and Sakura crashed thru on a branch on the other side.
In all her pain, Sakura rose to her feet. Hinata with what little strength and charka she had left, charged to her, attacking Sakura with her gentle fists. Sakura shouted in pain with every deadly poke. Slowly, one-by-one, Hinata struck Sakura all across her body, knocking out all her chakra points, making Sakura cough blood with every hit.
Finally Hinata was done. Sakura seemed out of commission.
Standing only feet away from each other on the branch, Hinata and Sakura both starred to each other.
Both of them were breathing hard. In great agonizing pain. Blood coming from both mouths. The rain still pouring.
At once, Hinata and Sakura collapsed together. Both fell forward, crashing on their chest and stomach. Their heads laying down right next to each other.
Hinata was done for! She had reached her limit. She was out of chakra, and the poison in her body was taking its toll.
Sakura began laughing real low.
"You're too late Hinata." Sakura whispered.
Hinata was looking at her. Sakura lifted her head up at Hinata. She was still smiling. In all her horrific pain and suffering, Sakura was smiling, like she had won.
Sakura's evil laughter grew louder. And louder. "You're too late!"
And right then, right before Hinata's eyes, Sakura vanished. Her body poofing into a cloud of smoke.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared. Hinata's eyes shot wide open. Now with tears in it.
"No." Hinata gasped. "It can't be……… she was just a clone!"
Up above, the real Sakura stood tall. Unharmed. Looking down upon the weakened defeated Hinata from another tree. Hinata failed to notice during the 3 booby traps that Sakura made a clone to attack Hinata. Hinata had used all her last bit of strength to kill it.
"She's done for!" Sakura thought glaring down Hinata with her cold sadistic evil frown. "She's reached the end of her rope, finally. One more blow is all I need to finish this. That's what you get for stealing my man."
Down below, Hinata laid down in defeat; crying; churning in all her pain.
"I failed." Hinata cried to herself. "How could I have let this happen………. I can't go on anymore……… it's over."
Sakura had had enough. The anger, the jealously, the hatred finally taking over her from seeing Hinata.
Focusing the chakra to her fist, Sakura immediately jumped, charging to Hinata in mid-air for the final deadly punch. One super-strength powered punch to finish the job!
"DIE HINATA HYGUA!" Sakura screamed in mid-air.
Hinata braced herself. Sakura came with massive killing intent.
Just seconds away from Hinata.
Out of nowhere, a fierce kick blasted Sakura.
Spit came flying out of her mouth.
A dark shadow kicked and blasted Sakura away in mid-air. Lightning flashed, revealing his yellow hair and bright orange coat.
Sakura crashed and burned into the side of another tree.
The rain kept coming down hard. Naruto landed on the branch across from Hinata, soaking wet, breathing heavy. His eyes wide open, glaring at Sakura. His body shaking. His eyebrows down. His face full of shock….. confusion….. disbelief. The thunder from the lightning made a load long roar, echoing thru the entire forest.
TO BE CONTINUED