Note : I don't own Naruto, you should know that by now.
Note: Some new moves and jutsus in here.
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Everyone from above was astonished from what they were seeing. Naruto Uzumaki, with his hand up in surrender.
" Proctor, my arm hurts, so I forfeit." Naruto said.
" Are you serious?" The Proctor said.
" Yea, my arm hurts, I don't wanna fight." Naruto said.
Hinata just stood there, she was in utter disbelief. Neji looked on.
" What….how could you forfeit?" Neji said.
Hiashi looked on with his family in shock and anger. Naruto had denied them their satisfaction of his defeat at the hands of Neji. Toba had an indifferent look on his face. He was happy to see Hinata did not have to fight Naruto, but he was concerned that it now meant Hinata now had to fight Neji. Hinata's near fatal encounter with Neji in their last battle never left Toba's mind.
Naruto came up the wall. He looked around to see where the gang was sitting. He smiled to see a seat open. He casually walked over to seat and sat down, turning his attention to the arena. His friends saw him coming, hell most of the people in the crowd were watching him go up and take a seat. Naruto pretended he didn't notice the way everybody was staring at him like he had a foot growing out of his head.
" Due to the recent circumstances, there will be a 20 miute recess." Sarutobi announced.
" Naruto! Have you lost your mind!?" Sakura said.
" Chill Sakura-chan, I know what I'm doing." Naruto said.
" Naruto, I can understand you didn't want to fight Hinata-chan, but you saw she was about to surrender. Now she's going to have to fight Neji!" Ino said.
" I know all that." Naruto said.
" Naruto! My God, you know what he did to her last time. Are you not gonna be happy until she's dead !?" Sakura said.
" None of you guys know the score here. I want you to have faith in Hinata-chan." Naruto responded.
" Baka! You're gonna get Hinata-chan killed!" Sakura said.
Naruto didn't respond.
Just then Hinata appeared before the gang. She had her hands together in front of her. Naruto could see that she wanted to talk to him.
" Guys, we'll be right back." Naruto said.
Naruto and Hinata walked down one of the hallways of the stadium.
" Naruto-kun…..why?" Hinata said. " I was about to surrender, we wouldn't have had to fight."
Naruto turned to her making direct eye-contact.
" Hinata-chan, I had my moment to shine at the last tournament. I can't hog all the glory to myself." Naruto said.
"….but…." Hinata started.
Naruto looked down the hallway to the arena area smiling.
" Just about the whole town is here. Including the major clans, the Akimichis, the Yamanakas, the Aburames, everyone. Your sensei and teammates are watching to." Naruto said.
Naruto then turned his attention back to Hinata.
" I think it's time you showed everyone what you can do, show them what kind of ninja you've become, and most of all show that former clan of yours just what you're worth." Naruto said.
" But…..Naruto-kun…..I can't beat Neji, I….I don't stand a chance against him." Hinata said.
Naruto put his hands on her shoulders.
"Hinata-chan, you're stronger than you think. You need to believe in yourself. I think you can take Neji to the brink. You could even beat him." Naruto said.
Hinata had her head down in disbelief that she stood a chance against him. Naruto brought her head up.
"Hinata-chan, remember what you said at the last exam? You said you wanted to change into something better. This past year of training I saw it in your eyes when you kept pushing yourself, I believed you did want to change." Naruto continued.
Hinata was shocked.
" Well I think you have changed Hinata-chan. You're no longer the girl you were a year ago. You've changed into something tremendous. Don't even think about your last fight with Neji, you can do this, I know you can Hinata-chan." Naruto said.
Hinata looked into Naruto's eyes, she could see that he truly believed in her. Suddenly, Hinata started to feel that kind of courage she felt from the last encounter with Neji. Hinata looked down the hallway, her fists began to tighten. Her eyes had begun to show the same determination as last time.
" Naruto-kun….. I will do my best." Hinata said.
" Now you're talikn'!" Naruto said putting his hand on Hinata's shoulder.
The two started walking back towards the arena. Off to the side Jiraiya, was standing around the corner after listening to Naruto's little speech.
" Careful brat, you almost sound like you're maturing." Jiraiya thought.
Hinata and Naruto came out in the seating area of the stadium. As Hinata walked over to edge of the balcony she surveyed the battlefield. This would be her chance, today all eyes were on her. She finally has a chance to truly make a name for herself as a kunoichi. She felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned to see her sensei smiling at her, to the side she saw all her friends ready to cheer her on. She looked back out to the battlefield, she put her hand over her chest, Naruto did it again, he gave her the courage to push forward. Hinata only wished her mother were here to watch her. As Hinata looked to the side to see from a distance Hiashi Hyuuga looking at her. He was giving her the same cold stern look he had given her for years. It was funny, the very look that so many times filled her with shame, self-loathing and fear she simply brushed off as if it meant absolutely nothing. Toba looked on to see the unusual look in his granddaughter's eyes. A smile came onto his face.
" What on Earth did you tell my granddaughter, boy?" Toba thought.
Toba then remembered whom Hinata was fighting. It was not just a matter of Neji's strength that concerned Toba, but the fact that two of his grandchildren were about to fight which is something not many grandfathers want to see. He just prayed no one will get hurt too badly. As Hinata looked on at the battlefield, Naruto watched her from behind.
" This is your chance Hinata-chan, this is your time to shine." Naruto thought smiling.
The Proctor came up to Hinata from the side.
" Hinata, are you ready?" He asked.
Hinata nodded " Hai."
She looked over at Naruto, Naruto smiled at her as he gave a nod. Hinata turned back around, took a deep breath and jumped down to the battlefield floor. The roar of the crowd was muffled in her head only by the beating of her heart.
" Hinata…." Said a voice.
Hinata looked up to see Neji had already joined center stage.
"…be reasonable, you know what happened last time. I have no interest in killing you, it's Naruto that I'm after. If you fight again you may actually die this time.Just surrender and spare yourself any further disgrace. " Neji said.
Hinata was beginning to feel discouraged by Neji's taunts like last time. She was wondering if she had become strong enough to take on Neji.
" Hinata-chan!"
Hinata looked up to see Naruto in the balcony.
" Don't listen to him! He's just a paper tiger!" Naruto shouted.
Hinata looked back at Neji and smiled.
" Neji….I am not running away." Hinata said.
Neji just shook his head. " Where have I heard that before?"
Hiashi looked on from above with his family.
" Hinata is going to die if she does not surrender." Hiashi thought.
" Very well, have it your way, but I warn you Hinata, Naruto's forfeit from the tournament has put me in quite a foul mood. It looks like I am going to have to humiliate you in front of the whole town by showing everyone just how weak you are." Neji said.
Hinata took a deep breath. She then put her two hands flat against each other, it is not known if it is for concentration or praying etc.
" Neji, Hinata, this is the final match of the tournament. As before obey my commands at all times. If I make a call, don't argue it." The Proctor said.
" Neji, do you understand? "
Neji nodded.
" Hinata, do you understand?"
" Hai." Hinata said as she nodded.
The two then got into their respective stances. Neji was taking up the traditional Hyuuga stance while Hinata took up her new stance. The tension in the air was so thick it could almost be seen.
" Byakugan!" they said in unison.
" Begin!" The Proctor said.
At first neither one made a move. They just stood there observing each other.
" Why is neither one moving Otousan?" Hanabi asked.
" They're scanning eachother for weaknesses they can exploit, the first one to make a move will actually be at a disadvantage." Hiashi said.
Just then, Neji attacked, believing he could knock Hinata off her guard. As Neji leapt forward to strike Hinata's chakra pool she suddenly vanished. It was then at the corner of his eye, Neji caught Hinata near the side of him still maintaining her stance.. What happened was she spun so fast, Neji could barely follow it, even with his Byakugan.
" That was fast." Neji thought.
Both still had their Byakugan activated. Sakura looked to Naruto.
" Naruto, I still can't believe you let Hinata do this, I wouldn't have thought you were capable of doing this to her. What the hell were you thinking?" Sakura said.
Naruto turned to her.
" Sakura-chan…..did you know Hinata-chan was disowned by her own family?" Naruto asked.
Sakura got caught off guard by the question. However she nodded yes.
" Well I'm sure so does the whole town. You don't have a clue how worthless that can make someone feel. (camera spans across Hinata.). I can go on forever telling Hinata-chan how strong and great she is. But I think the only way she can really see it for herself is if she does this. Neji's one of the biggest badasses in the village, if Hinata can beat him, or even go the distance with him, she'll see just how strong she's gotten."
Naruto and Sakura then turned their attention back to the match.
Hinata and Neji were staring each other down.
" Tell me Hinata, what on Earth kind of style is that?" Neji asked.
" This is a style I developed some time back during my training." Hinata said.
" I see, well I have to admit it's interesting, regardless of how bizarre it is. But it wont do you any good. I am still going to win this." Neji said.
Hinata was silent. As Hinata charged Neji, Neji swooped down and swept Hinata's feet out from under her. Neji then attacked Hinata with a series of palm strikes which most of them hit. Hinata jumped back clutching her stomach. However the intense pain from taking a hit to her chakra pool forced Hinata to take a knee.
" Just what I thought, did you really think you had a chance of beating me Hinata? No matter how hard you train you can never get to my level." Neji said
Hinata looked up at him.
" You couldn't just leave it alone, you couldn't just take your dismissal from the clan in stride could you? Why can't you just accept the fact that you're weak?"
Hinata got back up to her feet.
" I guess I'm more stubborn than I thought." Hinata said.
Neji charged Hinata in an attempt to close off her tenketsu. However, this time Hinata was able to parry all the thrusts. The two then began thrusting palm strikes at each other, the scene looked similar to their last battle except the chakra blasts were more intense. Also just like last time the two pulled back to unleash a devastating strike.
"Now!" They both thought in unison as they came in for the strike. Much similar to last time the camera spans both of them seeing who landed their shot. It appeared Neji again had pushed Hinata's arm to the side. However as the camera spanned to Hinata, it showed her other palm fully stretched out blocking Neji's strike.
" Nice." Matobe said.
Neji seemed surprised Hinata had blocked his attack. Hiashi seemed surprised as well. They both jumped back. However as soon as Neji did he lunged in for another attack. Hinata managed to grab both his hands in motion. Hinata whipped his hands away and attacked several tenketsu on Neji's body. Neji was writhing in pain as he dropped to his knees. Hinata maintained her stance, waiting for Neji to get back up. Toba was stunned.
" Is this really Hinata? But…when?" Toba thought.
A sweat drop ran down the side of Motoko's cheek.
Neji managed to get back to his feet. He looked over to Hinata and smiled.
" I see, not bad Hinata. I was hoping to save this technique to use on Naruto but it seems I can't hold back any longer." Neji said.
Neji then got into the stance of the " Heavenly Whirl technique." But this one was a little different. As the deadly vortex formed, Hinata rather than being repelled by the attack, found herself being sucked in. Hinata brought her arms up as some futile effort to protect herself.
" Whoa what the hell is this? How is it Hinata is actually coming towards it?" Naruto asked.
" The Reverse Kaiten, this technique allows the user to not only protect himself, but force his opponent to come against it causing them great damage. This is how Neji turned the "Kaiten" from a defensive to an offensive technique." Hiashi thought.
Hinata's feet were digging into the dirt. She could not stop herself from coming towards Neji.
" Hinata, you need to do something" Kurenai said.
But it was too late, Hinata hit the "Kaiten" and was hurled few yards slamming into the ground hard causing a crater to form around her body.
" Hinata!" Kurenai shouted.
The entire crowd stood silent as they saw Hinata's seemingly lifeless body lay on the ground.
" Oh God, I wasn't expecting this! Hinata-chan!" Naruto said.
Neji was breathing deeply as he was walking over to Hinata's body. He stood over her triumphantly.
" You see Hinata, you just do not have what it takes to def-"
Suddenly Neji found a sandled foot buried in his faced as Hinata did a jump kick from the ground.
" Oh geeze, she was playing possum, just hoping Neji would come to her." Kurenai said.
Naruto looked on " There was nothing fake about that impact to the ground. Man, I had no idea Hinata-chan was so tough." He thought.
The Hyuuga clan was shocked, they couldn't believe Hinata was still fighting after an attack that would kill most opponents.
" Oh man, what a comeback! Hinata-chan's not giving up! That's for sure!" Ino said.
Neji stood there holding his mouth which was injured. Hinata took heavy breaths getting over the attack Neji hit her with.
" I am still hurt from that attack. I may have to use the "Gekido Suru Hasu". But I'm going to need a few more seconds." Hinata thought.
Hinata just stood there waiting for Neji to move.
" Just 5 more seconds." Hinata thought.
Neji then charged her.
" 4..3..2..1"
Neji lunged in to strike her heart, Hinata however pushed it aside. What happened next shocked everyone. In a flash a barrage of seemingly countless palm strikes and kicks hit Neji all over his face and body. Neji almost could not see it happening, all he knew was even though he couldn't see the movements, that didn't make them any less painful. Neji was knocked back several feet. He dropped to both knees gasping for air while clasping his left eye.
"What the hell was that?! I didn't even see the movements!" Neji thought.
The crowd was quiet wondering what Hinata had done.
" My God, what on Earth was that?" Hiashi said. " I cannot believe Hinata is doing this, just a year ago she couldn't even beat Hanabi, what happened to her this past year?" He thought.
" "Gekido Suru Hasu" or "Exploding Lotus". With this the user charges up a certain amount of chakra, then instead of releasing it, contains it within their muscles. By doing this she can move her body at an extremely accelerated rate….." Matobe started
Back by the gang Naruto was explaining the same thing "…. Accelerated rate, allowing Hinata-chan to average at least 20 hits per second." Naruto said.
Hinata had her hand over her chest breathing rapidly while Neji was reeling from the attack.
" Why is she stopping? Couldn't she keep going?" Ino asked.
" Well yea she could keep going……then her heart would explode." Naruto said.
Everyone was shocked.
" The Exploding Lotus technique doesn't come without a drawback. The user puts their body under a lot of stress while using this technique." Naruto said.
Back at the fight Neji managed to get back up to his feet.
" You think you have me beat Hinata? You're so wrong." Neji said.
With that Neji charged Hinata and disappeared in front of her. With her Byakugan activated Hinata saw Neji right behind her as she turned around to thrust her palm Neji caught it and similar to last time he poked her arm which in turn affected her tenketsu. Neji then struck Hinata's heart. Hinata coughed up blood as she fell to the ground.
" That one hurt…" She thought. She hit the ground with a thud. The area was spinning. " I just need to rest for a minute." Hinata slowly closed her eyes. " Just for a minute."
As Hinata stewed in unconsciousness, she opened her eyes to see she was in a place that wasn't the arena. It however, was a familiar place to her. She was surrounded by plants and flowers. She knew this place somehow, she brought herself up to her knees. She knew it was impossible, but there she was, the garden of the Hyuuga mansion. She heard the sound of water running of a nearby pond.
" Am I dead?" Hinata thought.
It was then Hinata saw a figure off in a distance. The figure had shiny indigo hair just like hers, and was dressed in a beautiful kimono. When the figure turned around Hinata was flushed with disbelief and confusion.
" It couldn't be." Hinata said to herself.
The woman in the kimono gently got up and walked over to Hinata with a rag she had soaked in the pond. She knelt in front of Hinata. She squeezed out the cloth and began wiping Hinata's mouth of the blood.
" Just look at you, you made a complete mess of yourself." The figure said.
Hinata let the woman to wipe her face as she was still in shock.
" Okaasan?…" Hinata said in disbelief considering her mother had been dead for nearly a decade.
The woman finished wiping the blood off of Hinata's mouth.
" There. Much better." The woman said smiling " Wow, look at how pretty you've become, I'm sure by now you have a boyfriend." She said.
Hinata didn't respond to the comment.
The woman smiled as she put her hand to Hinata's cheek. Hinata grabbed her hand feeling it against her cheek. Whether it was an illusion or not, her soft , gentle touch felt real enough.
" Hinata, listen to me." Emi said.
Hinata looked up at her.
" I am sorry I wasn't there to protect you from your father and the clan. I have never been able to forgive myself for that. " Emi said.
Hinata still refused to let go of her hand.
" But you have become so strong through these years. You have reached a kind of strength I was hoping to achieve one day."
Tears were drifting down Hinata's eyes.
" Hinata, you have a kindness and gentleness that many will never know. Let that be your strength and never let anybody convince it is weakness. You do not need the clan to go on, you have so many friends who care about you and will help you, and whom like you for the person you are. " Emi said.
Without another word Hinata latched onto her mother hugging her tight.
" I miss you." Hinata said.
Emi returned her hug.
" Remember……I am always with you." Emi said.
Suddenly Hinata's eyes snapped open looking at the green grass as she was lying face down.
"Proctor call it." Neji said as he was walking away.
The Proctor was just about to call the match. Suddenly everybody was surprised that Hinata was back on her feet. As Neji turned around, he saw a different Hinata before him, her eyes were focused and full of strength. Hinata slowly unzipped her jacket then whipped it aside with one hand. Neji got back into his stance.
" Why are you doing this Hianta? What do you plan to achieve through this action? You can never be accepted back into the clan, it's pointless." Neji said.
" I know that…." Hinata said. " …but I don't need the clan to survive. I understand that now. "
Neji seemed confused by her words. " Very well then, if you wish to continue I am not responsible for what may happen." He said.
Hinata narrowed her eyes at Neji as she got into her stance. "I'll kick your ass….." she said in a quiet voice.
Neji was surprised by such words from Hinata. The two locked eyes ready to go all out.
" It's on..." Naruto thought.
The two charged each other. Sparks lit up the arena as the two attacked with numerous palm strikes.
" I've had enough of this! Time to end it!" Neji thought.
Neji then attacked Hinata with the "Hakke Rokujūyon Shō" (Eight trigram 64 palms). However, Hinata was fully prepared for it. She countered his attack with a move she had developed known as "Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō" (Protection of the eight trigram 64 palm). Hinata's hands were moving at such speed they suddenly became a blur. None of Neji's strikes landed. The crowd was going crazy at this incredible match. Many who thought the match was going to be disappointing due to Naruto's withdrawal were soon proven wrong. Neji was now becoming frustrated by Hinata's new defense. Neji then jumped back and replicated 15 clones of himself. Each of them then pulled out multiple kunai. The multiple Nejis then surrounded Hinata and launched seemingly limitless kunai. However she was again pepeared for this as she again was performing the "Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō" This time however it was more than just the simple fast motion of her hands. Suddenly, the same "chakr lasers" which some had now referred to it had emmitted from Hinata's hands. Hiashi was absolutley baffled. This technique seemed incredible. The crowd was in awe at the laser show they were being treated to. Before long, Neji's clones disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving only the original himself.
All th gang except for Naruto had their jaws dropped.
" When did Hinata-chan get like this?" Kiba asked.
" In our year she trained with water, that's pretty much how she attained her new fighting style." Naruto explained.
" Unreal." Sakura said.
The battle below continued. Before long Neji and Hinata were exsaperating their chakra.
" I can't believe I'm in this state because of her, no matter, I still got a trump card." Neji thought.
Neji then pulled out another kunai. He then began to use his "Reverse Kaiten" again. This time Hinata would be finished. Hinata knew she couldn't avoid this attack, so she knew her best option was to use an attack that might overpower his. As Hinata was being dragged forward, she then pulled out a kunai herself, then before anybody knew it she began to spin, a blue chakra was beginning to emit from her body. She was performing the " Kaiten."
Hiashi gasped." Rotation?How did she learn that?" He thought.
Hinata and Neji were about to collide.
" I don't like how this is gonna end." Gai said.
As the two finally collided it ignited a giant explosion of debris even bigger than the fight with Neji and Naruto. When the debris cleared Hinata was shown in yet another body formed crater. She blinked a few times before blacking out.
Hours laterHinata woke up seeing the wall of a hospital room. She started to sit up from her bed when a hand touched her shoulder. Hinata looked to see Naruto by her side.
" Easy, you better lay back down." Naruto said.
Hinata looked around to take in her surroundings. She then layed back down in almost a defeated manner.
" I lost." She said half- heartedly.
" Actually…." Naruto started.
Hinata looked at him puzzled.
((((((Flashback))))))))
Across the arena where Hinata layed unconcious, Neji was laying in a similar way also knocked out.
( End Flashback.)
" You tied." Naruto said smiling.
Hinata looked at Naruto puzzled. She actually tied with Neji?
Naruto then leaned in to whisper to her.
"…..but to tell the truth, Neji looked like he passed out just a split-second before you. So in my opinion, you really won."
"Hinata-chan, don't you know what this means?" Naruto said.
Hinata looked up at him.
" This means you're just as strong a shinobi as Neji." Naruto said with a victorious smile on his face.
Hinata looked at Naruto as if he was speaking to her in a different language.
She just sat there, trying to understand what Naruto just said.
" Hinata-chan didn't you hear me? I sai-" But Naruto was interrupted.
Tears were beginning to form in Hinata's eyes. Not tears of sadness or devastation, like she usually does. But tears of happiness. Hinata then plunged her face into Naruto's chest wrapping her arms around him as she let out her happy sobs.
Naruto gently held her as he looked down smiling.
" It's ok to cry Hinata-chan, you're happy. You should be happy,after all the pain you've been through of people making you feel inferior, you proved to the town, your clan, and most importantly to yourself…..you are not worthless." Naruto thought.
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Next Time.
Naruto: This is a time to celebrate, I'm gonna eat ramen til I pop!
Hinata: Naruto-kun, you wanted to tell me something?
Naruto: Next Time! The Chunin festival! A fairytail ending!
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This has about one more chap to go before completion. Again this chap was a bit rushed.
Anybody who gives me a review, I can make you an honorary ANBU even though I have no authority to do it whatsoever.
More coming…………………