A/N Okay, next chapter. The battle between Hinata and Naruto!
Chapter Nine: An Inch from Death
Naruto stood back, awaiting Hinata's attack, the features acquired by Kyuubi still visible. He stood, waiting.
Hinata charged towards him. "Byakugan!" Naruto merely held his palm out, like a signal to stop. Is he surrendering? Hinata thought.
"Rasengan!" A spiraling blue orb appeared in Naruto's hands. He thrust it forward, hitting Hinata's stomach with extreme force. It threw her back, and sent her flying into a tree. "Come on, Hinata, surely you can you better than that?" he teased. Playfully. It was as if they were merely training together, rather than fighting to the death. Hinata got to her feet, not expecting Naruto's next move. "Taju, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
"Byakugan!" Hinata looked around at the array of clones, but soon found why Neji had had such a difficult time fighting him in the Chuunin exams. By spreading his chakra evenly into each clone, and by somehow making them all flesh and blood, even Byakugan could not tell which was the original.
Hinata ran up, using a kunai to slash through one after the other. Suddenly, Naruto came upon her from behind and was about to kill her when Hinata used a replacement jutsu, causing Naruto's kunai to hit a log. He turned around and used his now claw-like nails to scratch the real Hinata's arm, leaving a deep wound. He was about to deal a final blow when…
Lee kicked him off to the side. Not losing his balance for an instant, Naruto charged and knocked Lee out, too fast, even for someone like Lee. He resumed battle with Hinata, only to find Ino bandaging her wounds. Naruto leapt at Ino and bit her neck. As his grip tightened, he felt blood trickle into his mouth, followed by a scream. He released his grip, and Ino fell to the ground, dead.
Hinata stabbed the back of Naruto's head with a kunai, but it was futile. Steam rose from the cut, and it healed. Naruto turned and was about to kill her, but Hinata jumped into a nearby tree. Suddenly, his whole body froze. He felt himself forced to tun around, facing Shikamaru. "That's enough, Naruto."
"Ooh, a shadow possession. I'm so scared," Naruto said sarcastically.
"You should be." Shikamaru reached into his own bag, causing Naruto to reach into his. While Shikamaru's hand came back into the air holding no kunai, yet still in that position, Naruto's hand held one. Shikamaru aimed his imaginary kunai at his own heart, attempting to get Naruto to kill himself in that manner.
"Wow, so your plan was to do that?" Naruto murmured. "Go ahead and try."
The kunai pierced right through Naruto's heart, and the shadow possession was released, but Naruto pulled it out, the wound already healing. "This is getting annoying," he murmured, the chakra corrupting his mind with the thoughts of the Kyuubi. Suddenly, he felt a surge of energy, and found himself being possessed by the demon. His ability to control any of his limbs soon disappeared, and so did his ability to tell what was going on. Everything went dark. When he regained his ability to see, hear, and move, he found that he held Hinata against a tree by her neck, while everyone-even Tristeza and Nana-were on the ground, covered in blood. Naruto yanked his hand back, away from Hinata. The demon chakra was gone, as were Kyuubi's thoughts.
"What did I do?" Naruto murmured, tasting the blood in his mouth, and looking at his skin, now with red splotches everywhere. The field was a pool of carcasses-everyone was dead, except him and Hinata.
"No…" he whispered. Hinata was on her hands and knees.
"Naruto-kun…" she cried softly. "Help me…" Hinata passed out.
"What happened?" he asked himself, horrified. "My friends, all dead! Am I cursed to live like this? To live without having anywhere I can be trusted?"
He lifted up Hinata, who was still alive. "I'll just let Konoha killed me," he told himself. "I'll save Hinata and let them kill me. Nothing is as bad as this, not even death…"
Fool. You can kill the girl right now, and…
I'm through listening to you! If I hadn't listened to you in the first place, I would still be at Konoha training with Sakura, and Sakura might have forgiven me by now!
Naruto picked up Hinata and carried her to Konoha, not slowing down for even an instant. She could die if he took even a moment's break. Finally, they reached the gates of Konoha, and Naruto wearily handed Hinata to the man guarding the gate. A group of ANBU surrounded him, but were surprised to see that he didn't object to being taken to prison.
He sat in the icy cell, thinking over the events that had happened. "How much time has passed since I failed to bring Sasuke back?" he asked himself. "Only a week?"
Tears fell to the floor.
"Naruto has been sentenced to death for escaping his sentence one week ago, murdering two innocent people from a village outside Konoha, murdering nine Konoha ninja, and coming close to killing one," the council member announced. The onlookers were cheering once more-all but Tsunade, the ramen store owner, Iruka, Kakashi, Jiraiya, a few ninja who knew Naruto well, and Hinata (who was bandaged and in a wheelchair for the time being).
They didn't need to hold his head down, but they did anyway. Naruto wanted nothing more than to die and get it over with. But just as the sword was an inch away from Naruto's neck, it stopped. Gasps came from the crowd. Standing there, holding the blade so tightly that his fingers bled, was a boy around Naruto's age.
Naruto turned and stood up, the person holding his head against the rock having let go in shock. He gasped, and took a step back. "S-s-s-sasuke…"
"This whole thing is my fault in the first place, for going off with Orochimaru," Sasuke announced. "Naruto is innocent. Besides," he added. "He didn't murder all those ninja alone. Not even the Kyuubi could do that, due to the fact that he's sealed up so well. I helped him kill them; I would have done it alone, but if I killed him, it would arouse suspicion. Kill me instead, Leave Naruto alone."
"No!" Naruto gasped. "Stop trying to take the blame, Sasuke! They won't listen to you, anyway!"
"But it's the truth," Sasuke replied. "I mean it. Anyway, I've already successfully killed Itachi. I don't mind dying in your place, even if it was a lie."
"S-sasuke…" Naruto murmured. "Stop lying…"
"Everyone cheer for Sasuke, for his courage to lie about something as serious as this!" the council member shouted.
Before anyone could cheer, Sasuke slapped the council member. "It isn't a lie! You can have an ANBU search my memory. It's true."
They did so.
And Sasuke was telling the truth.
"But… He's the last Uchiha! We can't…" the council member argued, but Sasuke interrupted.
"Naruto is the last Uzamaki, in case you haven't noticed."
"Stop this, Sasuke! It's as if you're trying to get them to kill you!" Naruto barked.
Sasuke ignored. "Naruto was corrupted by the seal. If Jiraiya is able to close the connection between Naruto and the Kyuubi, everything can go back to normal."
Jiraiya stepped up, his fingers glowing as he jabbed the unexpecting Naruto's seal. "There. Connection should be closed, if I do that at least once a month or so."
"But now what? We have to have some sort of sentence!" the council member argued.
"No sentences!" Tsunade cut in. "I agree with Sasuke's judgment. Everything is to go back to as normal as possible!"
"Really?" Hinata cried, running up and giving Naruto a hug.
"But… All our friends… Dead…" Tears still fell to the ground. Naruto couldn't help it. "Will things really be normal?"
A/N Next chapter is the last-the epilogue! Then comes the start of a much longer story… And hopefully still just as good.