Ninja of the Void
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters associated with it.
"Talking"
Thoughts
Never give up! Never Back Down!
Now at the beginning of the next match, both Hinata and Chouji stared off at each other sitting back in their respective fighting stances as they gauged each other.
Chouji had mixed feelings about this fight. He was confident he had the advantage considering the Hyuga's Jyuken was not really intended to fight techniques of the Akimichi clan seeing as they had the ability to alter their size, offsetting their chakra points. Of course he was aware of some of the other Hyuga techniques. But he was confident that his attacks were capable of crushing right through them with brute force.
If she could hear Chouji's train of thought, Hinata would more or less be in agreement. "Chouji-kun is much stronger than me in terms of power and I'm certain his bullet tank technique would break my kaiten". So narrowing her eyes a bit, "I'll have to fight this smart and bide my time till I find an opening . . . ."
"Go Hinata-chan! You can do it!" cheered Naruto from the participant's area.
Shikamaru who had just recently arrived leaned over the edge as he watched his friend's match. "Come on Chouji, you got this one".
Sakura and Shino remained silent as they watched from their seats.
Hanabi watched with great interest to how her sister would do. "Hinata-neesan . . . ." During this time, Hiashi had just returned as he took his seat next to his youngest daughter.
"Hey Minato! Hinata-chan is up! I can't wait to see what she can do!" said Kushina barely able to stay in her seat at the excitement of seeing her son's girl friend up to fight. "Being 'their' kid, she ought to be something special".
Minato nodded his head at this. "This match should be rather interesting for several reasons, but primarily because it's peculiar. Unusually I don't think there has ever been any notable match between the Hyuga and Akimichi clan. Simply for this reason, no one entirely knows how this is going to turn out".
"I'd definitely believe Hinata-chan is going to win this!"
"But I wouldn't count out Chouza's kid either".
Now for the rest of the crowd another round of betting went about. But as for the odds, it was an even split between Hinata and Chouji as no one really had any solid idea who would win this.
"Please don't do that again" sighed Kiba. "You almost got us thrown out by security".
"But it wasn't fair!" screeched Ino. "It was obvious Shikamaru should have won!"
"Just let it go. You should have known better that he was going to give up anyways. But for now let's just see how the rest of this tournament turns out".
"Well I'm certain this time that Chouji would win. I just know it!"
"Then I'm going to bet everything I have on Hinata then".
Ino's eyebrow perched at this. "Is it because she's your teammate? Because I'm pretty sure you should know that Chouji is a lot stronger then her when it comes to taijutsu and ninjutsu. I know Hinata is strong, but still does she really stand a chance against Chouji?"
Kiba gave a smirk to this. "Don't let Hinata's appearance deceive you. She's a lot tougher then she looks. Besides" as he rubbed his left hand's thumb and index finger together in front of Ino, "you were wrong about Neji winning and you were wrong about Shikamaru winning. I'm going for a three for three against you" he then laughed which earned him a smack from the blond.
Now back on the arena grounds, Chouji began manipulating some seals as he figured he might as well start things big and hopefully ends things quickly. Upon finishing his seal, "bullet tank no jutsu!" as his body bulged up like a giant ball. Then ducking his head and limbs in, he began to roll out.
At seeing the incoming attack, Hinata had no choice but to run for it. In this particular case, sidestepping would have been the best response as it wasted the least amount of physical stamina which also allowed her to easily maintain focus on her opponent. However, "he's fast. Chouji-kun is much faster than he was a month ago!" The husky ninja was literally the rolling ball of death as he was bowling down anything that got in his way. Trees and rocks were easily crushed as Chouji turned back around for another swing. At seeing this, "I can't do this forever. I have to get him to stop somehow". But it was easier said than done. Even the obstacles on the field weren't slowing him down. Hell, even the wall he crashed into didn't stop him for long. But looking at her options, she needed to take a chance in slowing him down. So digging deep she called out her technique, "kaiten!" But for this particular case she was pouring out more power then she was used too while trying to keep the sphere as small and dense as possible to compensate for the raw physical kinetic force she was soon going to encounter.
Upon contact, Chouji felt considerable resistance as his technique collided against Hinata's. As the two techniques challenged each other, everyone in the stadium could feel the forces pulsating as the two rotational techniques grinded against each other. However it was obvious one of them had to give to which after a moment one of them did.
"Ahh!" as Hinata's kaiten was shattered sending her flying back as she collided into the ground. For a moment she laid there unresponsive but soon started to get up again slightly shaking at what had happened as her eyes narrowed a bit as she tried to keep her eyes opened.
"Please surrender" said Chouji as he let go of his technique returning back to his original state. "From this exchange you should know you can't win anymore. So please surrender now before things get worse". But truthfully he had to admit Hinata's earlier stunt was not without effect. It didn't do that much damage to which at worse he had a nasty skin burn. This being the case, he didn't want to hurt Hinata any further in reflection to his kind nature of not wanting to hurt a friend.
But then taking a deep breath, the Hyuga heiress calmed herself as she looked to Chouji. "I'm sorry Chouji-kun, but I refuse to surrender. I've worked too hard and have come too far to let it end like this. So until the very end . . . . I won't give up no matter what!"
"Yeah Hinata-chan! You can do it!" cheered Naruto.
"Until the very end huh" said Sakura quietly to herself as she was somewhat awed by Hinata's determination of seeing things through to the last moment.
"Hinata-sama . . . . You're a lot stronger then what I gave you credit for" thought Neji from his seat.
"Come on Hinata-neesan" Hanabi whispered underneath her breath as Hiashi just narrowed his eyes to the match below.
"You have to admit, she is a very spirited girl" smiled Kushina. "Just like her mother".
"I have a feeling this is where things are about to change" then said Minato.
"I understand" said Chouji as his body re-inflated back into a ball like shape. "Bullet tank no jutsu!" as he began to roll out again.
At seeing the incoming attack, Hinata closed her eyes trying to quickly contemplate her next move to which she then thought to her friend. "What would Naruto-kun do in a situation like this . . . .?" Honestly she didn't have any elaborate plan up her sleeves as she knew kaiten couldn't stop him. But if Naruto was fighting this battle, even if he didn't have the right technique for the situation he was always good with improvising in order to overcome and prevail. But what could she possibly do in this situation? But that's when it hit her. "It's what I've been practicing this entire month. I shouldn't be trying to compete against Chouji-kun's power. But rather I should be taking advantage of it". As her eyes snapped back opened, she charged against the rolling ball of death to which at the last possible moment she jumped as high as she could which earned her a gasp from the audience above.
"Where did she go?" thought Chouji as he couldn't sense where Hinata went. As he rolled around the field, he couldn't understand where she had gone. "Left? Right? Front? Back? Where did she go?" But at the slightest tingling sensation he felt, he knew immediately where she was. "She's right on top of me!"
At this moment the Hyuga heiress was pulling off one hell of a balancing act getting cheers from the crowd as she was running on Chouji like a ball everywhere he rolled as he couldn't shake her off.
"I have to do something about this!" So picking up the pace, Chouji began to zig zag and bounce himself to shake Hinata off. But it was no good as the pale girl was very attuned to even the slightest movement that she would immediately compensate to keep herself balanced on top.
But with this being the case, "I've managed to get out of harm's way. But that isn't enough. I have to get him to stop". So deciding to borrow another page from her blond friend's book of tactics, "I need to improvise!" So as Chouji bounced up once again, she used this momentum to pop herself into position as she raised both her arms up with one of her knees pointed out. Using her waist to thrust her into a spin, she began her technique. "Kaiten!"
As everyone watched, this move was unprecedented. Instead of the usual chakra like sphere it made, it was in the form of a spinning top as it span on Chouji's technique. Even as the husky ninja tried to escape it, the top continued to follow on top of him as it grinded against him like a drill.
"Sharper! I must think sharper!" as Hinata continued to try and tighten her chakra making her altered version of kaiten grow pointier as it continued to drill what was underneath it.
"This is beginning to hurt a lot!" Chouji cringed. The rotation of his bullet tank technique was offsetting most of the damage he would have been taking. However he was still being hit by chakra and that was burning like crazy. Seeing it was unwise to continue his current technique any longer, he cancelled it dive rolling forward back onto his feet as Hinata cancelled hers getting back into her Jyuken stance once again. As the way things stood, he cringed at some of the chakra burns he had. However he pushed this thought aside as he was far from finished as he quickly began preparing his next technique.
"I think . . . . I feel a bit sick" gulped Hinata. At best she was putting on a front at the moment as she wasn't used to spinning like that for so long. As a result she felt like she wanted to throw up. "But I just need a moment to straighten myself out". But she wouldn't get that time as a giant fist came rushing right at her to which she promptly jumped away from. Upon resetting herself, "Byakugan!"
"Partial multi-size no jutsu" stated the husky ninja as he continued swinging his fists at the pale girl. But in the moment Hinata came in to counter attack, he expanded his forearm to block her to which her attack was nothing more than a pin prick. Although Jyuken was designed to plug chakra points, he knew just as well as Hinata why it wouldn't really work on him.
"His chakra point is too big to close up" as she narrowed her eyes at this. Normally a chakra point was only as big as a person's finger tip to which with a little of her own chakra, she can close it up. But against Chouji or rather the Akimichi's clan techniques, there chakra points expanded just as their bodies did. Of course it made it an easier target to get at. But considering her physique and how much power she had to use to close it up, it was extremely difficult to damn near impossible to be effective in sealing let alone damaging Chouji whatsoever. "But what do I do now?"
With the advantage in his favor, Chouji didn't let up as he took advantage of his partial multi-size technique as he continued to attack Hinata backing her up as she had no effective counter against him. So jumping up, he expanded his foot while launching down pounding a crater into the ground shaking the arena sending out a shockwave which hit the Hyuga heiress sending her back from the aftershock.
"What overwhelming power!"
"I guess the Akimichi clan gets this one".
"Well I suppose finesse of the Hyuga clan can only go so far".
"Incredible" as Naruto's eyes were wide like saucers. "I didn't think he would have this much destructive force in his moves".
"I didn't even think he was that good" then said Sakura.
"That's what a lot of people tend to overlook" smirked Shikamaru as he leaned against the rail next to Naruto. "Chouji has always been a power house of a ninja. But he's always had a self-esteem problem which limited his growth. Truthfully he has a lot of potential to become something great. All he needed was a good kick in the right direction to get him going. With him making it to the chunin finals, it was just the thing he needed".
Naruto blinked at this. "I didn't know that about him". In a strange way, Chouji was a lot like Hinata when she was younger. But after he spent some time with the Hyuga heiress, Hinata had definitely become a more outgoing person as she didn't stutter as much anymore and was willing to speak her mind most of the time. "To think . . . . What kind of person Hinata-chan would have become if I didn't meet her . . . ."
Now elsewhere amongst the audience, "Hinata-neesan!" said Hanabi at seeing her sister get knocked down from her opponent's attack.
Hiashi kept a neutral expression as he watched. But he wasn't disappointed at the way things were turning out. No, his feelings were rather far from it. "Hinata . . . . My daughter . . . . You have fought greatly with both honor and pride. If you were to meet defeat on this day I would not think any less of you at how far you have come . . . ."
"Come on Hinata-chan, get up!" cheered Kushina as she punched her fist into the air before sitting back down. "I do hope she's OK down there".
Minato had nothing to say to this as he continued to watch. But at seeing Hinata stand once more, he had a feeling that something interesting was going to happen.
"Ahh . . . . It hurts . . . ." as Hinata held her arm still feeling light headed from the earlier attack. "This doesn't look too good . . . ." Analyzing her options, they were not promising. Her defenses were all but crushed, she was somewhat injured, and she had no technique that could possibly make a difference now. However, "there might be something I can do . . . . But I don't know if it will work . . . ." Seeing as her options were either a crushing defeat or surrendering, she had to take a gamble and make a stand here and unveil her new technique. So altering her hand and leg formation while keeping her Byakugan active, she took her new stance.
"What is that?"
"That's not Jyuken".
"What is she up too?"
"What is this technique? What are you doing Hinata?" as Hiashi to say the least was completely dumfounded at what his daughter was doing. To say the least none of the Hyugas understood what their heiress was doing as it was completely foreign to them.
"Minato, do you know what this taijutsu is? It's nothing like what I've ever seen before" said Kushina.
"No" answered Minato. "Whatever Hinata-san is doing, it's a complete original work of hers".
"That's interesting" said Shino as his team mate's new stance caught his intrigue.
"What is Hinata doing?" questioned Sakura. "With that kind of stance she's leaving herself open to attack!"
Shikamaru just stared as this was something his brilliant mind didn't understand.
However amongst everyone in the stadium Naruto knew exactly what his pale friend was about to do. But like Hinata, he wasn't certain if it was going to work either. But he had to have faith to which all he could do was believe that his friend could pull it off. "Come on Hinata-chan . . . ."
Chouji confused at this change of tactics had no idea of what to think of it. "Could this be some sort of retaliation against me?" to which he shook his head. "No, I'm so close to victory. Just one more hit and it'll be over". So going in with his giant fist, he swung quickly at her hoping to end this soon. But then suddenly in the next moment his fist came right back at him in full swing punching himself instead which knocked him back quite a few as he lay on the ground dazed. Then looking up to Hinata from his position, "what just happened?" to which was the same question everyone was asking.
To everyone that was watching, it only looked like Hinata just parried the punch only for it to coincidentally bounce back to its attacker. But for those who were really watching, what they saw was right next to amazing if there guess was right. But not wanting to jump to conclusions yet, they continued to watch.
"I'm not sure what just happened. But I can't get discouraged now. I'm too close to call it quits" to which Chouji charged in once more opting for a different attack by slamming his fists down on her. At seeing the incoming attack, the Hyuga heiress circled forward using a strange movement as she connected her wrist to Chouji's wrist as it seemed like she pushed it aside. At seeing this happen, "how did she out power me?"
With this sudden change in advantage, everyone was talking.
"Did you see that? I thought Hyuga's were all about finesse".
"Did she suddenly get super strong or something?"
"What an upset!"
With the way the battle began to turn, Chouji wouldn't allow it as his attacks began to become more aggressive increasing in volleys. However as much as he attacked, Hinata was not budging an inch as he would attack and somehow she would overpower him or throw his fist right back at him injuring himself. Then breathing heavily from some of the injuries he has taken, he could only ponder one single thing. "What is her secret? How is she stronger than me now? There's no way I should be losing in terms of strength".
As this was going on, Hinata leveled her breathing as she maintained her stance. "I'm not sure how long I can keep this up . . . ." For it still stood the fact that what she was doing was still new and in its infancy stage. But to sum it up, she spent her entire month creating a completely different kind of taijutsu to which in her opinion was better tuned to how she preferred to fight. For her taijutsu shared many qualities with Jyuken but at the same time was quite different. Not to be arrogant about this, what she created was the true gentle fist. Her style completely removed the need for punches and strikes as it favored parrying and redirection. Of course her new style was defensive in nature, but it was capable of counter offensive force through perfect timing, concentration, and focus. To make this possible, she needed her Byakugan to watch the flow of her opponent's internal chakra circulation as she either parried or redirected it. However her eyes began to twitch more often as time went. "I can't keep my Byakugan active or I'm going to risk injuring myself. I need to end this soon". But looking to Chouji and his current state, "this is the only chance I have at victory. I just need to be patient".
As the battle went Chouji continued to attack but to no effect. Seeing his options, he had two techniques he could use. But either way this would be his last move in order to claim victory. So betting it all on this technique he began sewing his seals to which in the next moment he instantly grew to twice the size of the stadium which shocked everyone watching.
But at seeing this Hinata breathed out softly as she deactivated her Byakugan while relaxing her stance. "It's over . . . ."
"What?" But that's when he felt it as if his body was becoming electrified. In the next moment he began to shrink back to his original size. Before long he was on his hands and knees breathing heavily as he looked to his hand. "I couldn't have used up all my energy yet!" But at trying to get up again, it was impossible as all his chakra was used up.
Seeing as one of the participants was unable to continue, Genma called the match. "Chouji is no longer able to continue! I declare Hinata the winner!" to which the audience roared in cheer.
But back to the arena, Hinata was amazed at what was in front of her. "Chouji-kun looks so . . . . Thin". As far back as the Hyuga heiress could remember, Chouji was always a rather husky person. But knowing the mechanics behind the Akimichi's clan technique this was to be expected. However she was still surprised at how different Chouji looked now.
"I . . . . Lost" cringed Chouji as he gripped the ground in frustration. "I worked so hard only for things to end like this . . . ." But as he was going to sink deeper into his loathing, he felt a hand on his shoulder to which he looked up to see Hinata looking to him calmly.
"There's nothing to be ashamed about Chouji-kun. You did your best and no one can say anything less of you because of that".
As tears were quite apparent in his eyes, Chouji then looked around to see that even some of the audience members were cheering for him regardless of his loss. So sucking it up, he dried his eyes as he stood up to face the pale girl. Then putting on a smile of his own, "you're right. Thank you for the good match" and with that medic nins came out to help Chouji out as Hinata soon exited right after. Since Sasuke had not returned yet Hinata would have to go a second round next match. So in courtesy to her, an intermission time was allowed.
"Way to go Hinata-chan! She did it!" exclaimed Naruto as he was jumping for joy.
Shikamaru could only give a soft sigh. "He did his best. So I guess it was alright".
"Looks like I'm going to fight Hinata huh . . . ." said Sakura as she looked to her pouch.
"At least now I know how I should bet for now on" laughed Kiba as seeing Ino laying her head down in defeat to how things turned out.
"Incredible, Hinata-neesan actually won!" said Hanabi. But then she quickly corrected herself as she gave a slight cough. "I did not expect anything less".
Hiashi simply gave a nod of approval. "You did well my daughter. I had my doubts of your ability to overcome your current situation. But you truly have become strong". At recalling the taijutsu Hinata used, "perhaps I should consider looking into this new jutsu of hers".
"That was a great match. Don't you think Neji?" as Tenten looked to her teammate.
Neji nodded at this. "Yes, Hinata-sama did well in this match".
"Amazing" said Minato. "I would have never even thought of a taijutsu style like that. I guess this just goes to show you how creative and imaginative the younger generations are getting".
"Yeah!" then said Kushina. "I've got to go ask how she did it" to which the red head was gone faster than Minato's hiraishin.
Before her husband could protest, that's when he looked around to see something odd. "What with all the anbu around here?" as he looked to see several of them sitting in the audience as well as standing around the arena.
~ Konoha (arena) ~
Kushina was half way through the hall leading to the participant's area to which that's when she spotted the young Hyuga. "There you are Hinata-chan. You did great out there!"
Hinata looked back to see an older looking woman to which she recognized who the henge was. "Kushina-san! What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to congratulate you on an amazing match you had. But also I wanted to question what that awesome taijutsu was. Can you tell me about it?"
The pale girl gave a smile and a nod to this as the pair continued down the hall. Thus finding a bench they both took a seat as they talked. "It wasn't really much when I first started. But as I continued to practice my chakra control with water it started to take shape into something I didn't expect. The idea was to be like water. Adapting and flowing, a force that doesn't try to go against aggression but move with it. But truthfully most of the ground work was already done with Jyuken" as Hinata scratched her cheek at this.
"Incredible! To think someone your age would come out with something as revolutionary as this".
Hinata blushed at this as she began poking her fingers against each other. "I wasn't all my doing. Naruto-kun helped me develop this by suggesting ideas and encouraging me to see this through to the end".
Kushina gave a chuckle at this. "So my son actually helped huh". But then giving a Cheshire like smile, "but since we're on the topic of my son how did you two meet?"
Hinata blinked at this before giving a soft smile. "We met seven years ago when Naruto-kun found me in the woods and saved me from a bunch of bullies. It was then that we became friends ever since".
The red head gave a chuckle to this. "You must really like my son then".
At that statement Hinata turned beet red almost to the point where steam was about to come out of her ears to which the only response she could give was a nod out of fear of stuttering. But to a certain level of response, "but . . . . But . . . . as friends".
"Ahh how cute. But I better stop teasing her now" as she chuckled internally. "Well I better let you get back to resting. You have another match to get too right?"
Hinata nodded to this.
"Well I'll be seeing you later then" and with that they both parted ways. Of course Kushina had a ton of other questions she wanted to ask the Hyuga heiress, but she figured they could wait for another time.
~ Konoha (arena) ~ (sometime later)
Upon Hinata's entrance, everyone gave their praise to her win. Amongst the group, it was quite apparent Shikamaru was no longer present as it was obvious he was in the medic wing probably cheering Chouji up with a bunch of food.
But after some time had passed and Hinata was well rested, it was time for the next match.
"The next match! Hinata vs. Sakura!" announced Genma.
Upon their call both girls wished each other luck as they jumped to the arena below. Now on the arena grounds they both faced each other readying themselves for the referees go.
Concerning this match, no one really had anything to say about this. For the simple fact was that Sakura Haruno was from a non-prestigious background without any great feats to her name. So no one really expected much out of this match which easily reflected in the betting pool that was going on.
"Are you sure you want to bet like that?" asked Kiba. "I mean not to sound rude, but Sakura hasn't got a chance in winning this. I mean come on what can she possibly do?"
"I wouldn't count her out" then said Ino. "If you knew what I knew then probably you'd be thinking otherwise.
Kiba's eyebrow arched at this.
Now on the arena grounds, Hinata took her Jyuken stance as she stared at her pink opponent. Not to sound arrogant, she was confident her ninjutsu and taijutsu was far superior to Sakura in every way. However she knew better not to underestimate her opponents as such conceited thinking tended to lead to loss. So in that respect, Hinata fully intended to take this match quite seriously.
"All my tests show this should work" thought Sakura as she reached back into her ninja bag. "I just need to get a sample then this match should be mine" as she then took out her secret weapon.
"What is that?" Hinata questioned as she looked to the strange weapon Sakura pulled out. On first glance it looked like some sort of strange bladed tuner fork. But looking closely, it seemed to have several sutras inscribed on them to which she couldn't translate. "What a strange formula. I don't recognize them. What could it be for?"
But at Genma's start signal with him clearing the field, Sakura quickly charged in taking a few swings attempting to cut her.
"She's definitely gotten faster" as Hinata dodged left and right avoiding the blade. But she wasn't fast enough as she then countered with a palm strike only for Sakura to parry as she continued her assault. "I better not push too hard. I'm still not sure what that weapon is".
As the match continued as such, Naruto was watching the match with much interest. "Hinata-chan is definitely better. But Sakura shouldn't be underestimated" at recalling how intelligent his pink teammate was. "She definitely must have something up her sleeve after that month of work".
"What's been happening here?"
At hearing this voice, Naruto was surprised at who had suddenly decided to show up. "It took you long enough jerk!" as he looked to Sasuke. "What were you doing? Messing around or something?"
"Shut it moron, Kakashi-sensei made me late with his constant detours. I just got back to the village now" as the young Uchiha gave off a somewhat annoyed expression.
"Really? I thought you were chickening out seeing as Kakashi-sensei was sitting over there" as the blond pointed in the direction where Gai and Lee were sitting.
Sasuke could only sigh at this in annoyance. "Can't you tell a bunshin from the original body moron?" to which right on cue Kakashi walked right behind his bunshin flicking him over the head dispelling the clone before taking his place next to Gai in the seating. "Our stupid teacher probably knew we were going to be late. So he sent a bunshin ahead so he could watch the match when he got back". So looking back at the arena grounds, "so what have I missed?"
Naruto could only smirk at this. "I kicked ass like always, your sorry jerk ass was late so they decided to skip you for now, Shino won by default, Temari won only because Shikamaru gave up, Hinata-chan won against Chouji, and now we are here".
"Hmph, looks like you didn't get creamed in your first match" smirked Sasuke. "But don't worry I'll take care of that".
"We'll see" as Naruto was getting excited about his rematch with his friend/rival. But for now they both returned their concentration back to the fight below.
Back on the arena grounds, nothing new was happening as the two girls continued their hand to hand battle. It still stood that neither of them could hit the other as they either parried or dodged being careful of each other. But at seeing the progression of things, "at this rate I'm not going to be making any progress. I might need to take a hit just to make this work" thought Sakura. So making a rather over-exaggerated move by lunging forward with her weapon, Hinata then half-stepped in palm striking her in the chest. But in that moment of chance, Sakura pulled back her weapon scratching Hinata over the hand just at the moment she was forced back. At managing to cut her, she then placed two of her fingers to the tuner fork blade as it seemed to have been resonating as several sutras on the weapon lit up. Before long, she placed the weapon back in her pouch.
"What did she just do?" Hinata wondered with a quizzical look. Then feeling her vision suddenly go blurry, she held her head trying to stabilize herself. "Why . . . . Do I suddenly feel so sick?" Then looking to the cut on her hand, "was I poisoned?" But quickly analyzing herself, it didn't appear to be the case. If so, "what is happening to me?"
"Now it's my turn!" as Sakura formed a few seals as bushins began running around to which she then began her aggressive counter attack.
Now in the audience area, "that's odd" said Tenten. "With this level of technique, Hinata shouldn't be having any trouble with this especially with her Byakugan".
"Indeed" agreed Neji. "This should not be a problem for her. What is going on?" which any other Hyuga that was watching also wondered.
"What is going on?" wondered Naruto at seeing his friend just barely keeping on her feet. "Why isn't she fighting back?"
"It probably has something to do with that weapon of hers" said Sasuke.
"It must have done something to Hinata when she was cut by it" added in Shino.
The blond thought about this carefully as he continued to watch the match. "I know all ninja arsenals and tactics are allowed in this fight. But what could Sakura have done . . . ." at seeing how the pink kunoichi was dominating over the Hyuga heiress. "Come on think Hinata-chan, there has to be something you're missing . . . ."
Back on the arena grounds, Hinata found it harder and harder to maintain her focus as Sakura was fighting her at every angle. Although they were just simple bushins, she was having a hard time focusing her Byakugan on who was real and who was fake. Thinking it over, "Sakura-san couldn't have used kage bunshin, the seals she used were wrong. But why do they all look real?" As she continued to fight back harder, it almost seemed like Sakura was getting faster. It was getting to the point she couldn't keep up anymore. "How is she doing this?" Continuing to analyze she wasn't getting any weaker as her state was still holding steady meaning that it wasn't fatigue that made Sakura seem so strong. But then what was it? "I just need to focus on one of the clones and find out" to which she began focusing her efforts. But at doing this something struck out to her as odd. "Why aren't the clones spread out trying to flank me? And why are they keeping within exact distance to me?" at seeing how some of the clones didn't leave a certain distance from her. But now deciding to go on a hunch, she decided to break off engagement and get as much distance from the Sakuras as much as possible. Then after reaching a certain distance, she saw something but only for a moment. "What was that?"
"Did she notice my trick?" wondered Sakura. "I need to be more careful and stay within effective distance for my jutsu to continue working". So giving her bunshins a nod they nodded back as they continued with the plan. "If I just keep this up I know I can win this".
But as the battle continued, a slow theory began to form as Hinata continued to fight. Taking into account everything that has happened; she had a vague idea of what was going on. So deciding to test her idea, she needed to get more distance. "So the timing has to be just right". So luring all the Sakura's to one corner of the arena, one of the pink kunoichi's came in for an attack only for Hinata to explode in a puff of smoke only to be exchanged for a log as she was now on the other side of the arena.
"I guess my trick is over now" as Sakura looked back to see Hinata looking to her with her Byakugan.
"I thought so. It was genjutsu after all" as she could easily see the difference between the clones and the original as clear as day. At this confirmation, everything else Sakura was doing quickly fell into place. But the only thing she didn't quite understand was how she was doing it. But then remembering the cut on her hand "was it from that time before?" Looking to Sakura's ninja pouch she tested her next guess as she sent a clone within six yards of her only for the clone to act strangely before dispelling.
Seeing that the cat was out of the bag, "it looks like there is no point in putting on these charades much longer" said Sakura as Hinata now stood exactly seven yards away from her. "With only one month to train, there was no way I could compete with everyone in terms of strength, speed, or power. So if I couldn't compete with anyone in taijutsu or ninjutsu then my only route was genjutsu".
"Then may I ask you kindly Sakura-san to how you are doing this?"
Sakura gave a slight smirk to this. "Then wouldn't I be ruining the surprise? But telling you won't change your circumstance, so I don't see why not". At recalling the sweat, blood, tears, and sleep deprived nights that went into her work, "I had to choose carefully at what kind of technique this had to be. Usually genjutsu faces two problems which are method of delivery and duration of effect. But after my first week of research I wondered 'why did it have to work like this? Why can't it work some other way?' So with this idea in mind I created a different delivery method of a low chakra emission field to produce the genjutsu effect. But for the field to work, I needed something more".
At looking to her hand, Hinata understood what it had to be. "It's my chakra isn't it?"
Sakura nodded to this. "I discovered when tuned to a specific signal, the field will concentrate itself on that target amplifying the genjutsu on them allowing the illusion to work. But once my weapon is tuned to your chakra there is no way to rid yourself of it". "However" she then thought darkly, "for my technique to work she needs to be within a certain range not to mention I have to keep powering my weapon to keep the effect going" as she continued to feel the slow energy drain. "I better end this soon" as she charged against her opponent.
With Sakura charging at her, Hinata had no choice but to run. "I can't win against her in close range. But then what can I do?" All her techniques were based on close range combat. That being the case her victory pretty much flew out the door already. "Wait! There might be something I can still do! But . . . ." as she thought about it. "I'm not sure I can do father's technique". But seeing it was an all or nothing bet, she had to take her chance and try to which she stood her ground as she began charging chakra into her hand. "If I'm caught again in Sakura-san genjutsu field it's over . . . ."
"Why is she standing there? What could she be planning? I'll have to figure it out once I get there" as Sakura got Hinata within her six yard radius again. "It's time I end this!" as she came in with a punch. But upon impact Hinata exploded in a puff of smoke. "Crap! A clone!" to which she turned to see Hinata reappear right behind her.
"All or nothing!", "eight trigrams vacuum palm!" to which a vacuum bullet was created as it shot through the air hitting Sakura causing impact damage upon collision which at the same time dispelled all her clones. However it was not without cost. ". . . . !" as Hinata held her arm. Due to her inexperience with this technique it caused a backlash within her arms chakra channels making her arm sting really badly. "Please let it be over". However it was too much to hope for as Sakura soon stood up.
"That was one nasty attack Hinata" Sakura choked out still feeling the damage. "I didn't think you had a long distance attack like that or I would have planned for it. But I'm pretty sure at this point it's an even playing field now".
"She's right . . . . I must have exhausted Sakura-san stamina with my last attack. But my arm . . . . I shouldn't try to use chakra right now" as she looked at it. "The battle will be finished with taijutsu".
With that in mind, the two met in the center as they battled it out hand to hand to which the audience was in an uproar to how the battle was turning out.
"Go Hinata-chan! Go Sakura! Do your best!" cheered Naruto.
Sasuke and Shino just remained silent as they watched. But internally they were cheering for their respective teammates.
"Come on Hinata-neesan you can do it" thought Hanabi as Hiashi watched on silently.
"Go! You two are doing great out there!" as Tenten cheered for both girls as Neji just watched on stoically.
"That Haruno girl is pretty good" said Kushina. "This really can be anyone's game".
"Indeed" agreed Minato. "This is going to be really close".
As the girls continued to trade shoots with each other, the battle was soon decided.
"You were really strong Sakura-san" Hinata heavily breathed out as her legs felt like rubber as she could barely keep her hands up.
"Thanks Hinata. You were definitely great too" smirked Sakura. Then after a bit of a stare off the match was decided as Sakura fell to her knees shortly followed by Hinata.
At seeing this, Genma called the match. "The winner is Hinata!"
With that an all about roar of cheers was heard at the conclusion of the match.
"Well . . . . I did my best" muttered Sakura disappointed at the way things turned out. "I guess I was still not strong enough . . . ."
"Truthfully . . . . Sakura-san . . . . If you lasted a bit longer I would have been the one to lose".
Sakura gave a soft chuckle at this. "Rematch then?"
Hinata gave a soft smile to this. "Rematch".
With that over Naruto and Sasuke retrieved Hinata and Sakura in respect to themselves as they were taken to the participant's area to rest.
"You were great out there Hinata-chan" smiled Naruto to which his pale friend smiled deeply too.
"Thank you Naruto-kun".
Sakura gave a sigh to this, "that's typical of them".
"You also did good . . . ."
At hearing this the pink kunoichi was in a way happy that Sasuke was acknowledging her strength. "Sasuke-kun . . . ."
After a bit more waiting, it was finally time for the main event as it was Sasuke vs. Gaara which really got the audience revved up.
"This is going to be great!"
"Let's see what this Uchiha is made of".
"Come on! Let's see some more action!"
"It's finally Sasuke's turn" said Kushina. "I hope he will be OK, right Minato?" to which she saw him looking away. "Minato?"
However the elder blond seemed to have his attention directed somewhere else at the moment.
"Now for the next match, Sasuke vs. Gaara!" announced Genma cuing the boys to enter to which without a moment's notice the sand jinchuriki was already in the arena.
"You better get out there jerk and not get yourself killed" said Naruto as he looked to his rival.
"Don't worry moron, I still need to kick your ass in the next round" to which with that Sasuke jumped to the arena below.
Hinata soon stood up as she stood next to her blond friend. "Naruto-kun, I know you have a rivalry relationship with Sasuke-kun. But it's not nice for either of you to call each other names like that. So why do you keep calling Sasuke-kun a jerk?"
"It's kind of complicated" then said Naruto. "A little before I met you I got a note on my door telling me to call Sasuke a jerk in exchange for a promise of seven years worth of Ichiraku ramen".
"That's still not very nice Naruto-kun".
"But it was five years worth of free ramen. How could I pass that up?"
"Do you know who sent the note?"
Naruto shrugged at this. "I never found out. When I asked old man Teuchi, he said some weird guy wearing a fez just paid him seven years worth of ramen for me and anyone else with me. Pretty nice guy if you ask me in my opinion. Besides calling Sasuke a jerk has kind of become my thing as he in turn calls me a moron. So it's all good".
Hinata could only give a soft sigh at this. "Boys . . . ."
Now on the arena below, the young Uchiha and the sand ninja stared at each other as if they were trying to intimidate one another.
"I'm going to kill you" said Gaara as his eyes reflected an unnatural amount of bloodlust.
Sasuke simply grunted at this.
"If both fighters are ready" said Genma, "let the match begin!"
Now back up in the audience, several individuals were giving each other signal like nods to which in the next moment a large explosion was felt.
~ Konoha (residential area) ~
"What's going on?"
"Are we under attack?"
"Run for your lives!"
At this time explosions were going about all over the village as buildings and towers were crumbling to the ground as both citizens and ninjas alike were running to take cover from the chaos that had just occurred.
Amongst this chaos, many ninjas revealing themselves to be associated with sand and sound were all over the place as there grand invasion was now in commencement.
~ Konoha (arena) ~
"The signal!" said Temari.
"It's time for the plan to enact" said Kankuro to which the sand siblings along with the sand and sound ninjas in the audience began their attack. However as things went, the plan was to capture as many of them alive as possible. The captured could prove useful later on once Konoha was taken over.
"What is the meaning of this!" said Hiruzen at seeing the outbreak before him. Looking about, his current security forces were not enough to hold out against this kind of attack. Most of his main military ninjas were either out on missions, captured, or still needing to react to what had happened. Before he could contemplate his next move, the kazekage had pulled a kunai out of his sleeve as he lunged for him. Trying to dodge, he soon found snakes entangled around him pulling him in as the kazekage held his kunai against his throat.
"Hello sensei".
"You!" to which both individuals were soon on the roof of another building nearby.
At seeing all the chaos that had suddenly occurred around them, many were struck frozen to this.
"What just happened?" exclaimed Naruto at seeing the entire village erupt into war.
Hinata was completely speechless at the sheer carnage that had suddenly occurred.
"Oh no" said Sakura. "Sasuke-kun!"
Down in the arena below, the young Uchiha couldn't understand what he was seeing. "What the hell is going on?" Of course he was aware of the disaster going about. But right in front of him, his sand opponent was doing something he couldn't comprehend as apparently he was quickly growing in size to the point he was getting as big as Chouji with his multi-size technique. Then in the next moment it took the form of a giant sand monster. As Sasuke looked to the behemoth in shock, "what the hell is that?"
Just as the monster was about to bring more chaos to the battlefield, up in the sky if anyone could see or was paying attention was a giant toad as it lashed it's tongue out wrapping around the ichibi's neck dragging it into the air pulling it out of the village destroying a few buildings along the way before entering the forest whiplashing the sand jinchuriki as far as he could.
"What a disgusting taste" said Gamabunta reeling his tongue in feeling the crunchy sand on it, "you'll have some explaining to do when this is over" as he peered up to the old man standing on his head. Of course the henge didn't fool him as he recognized the chakra that summoned him which left the question to how in the world he was here now.
"I'm sorry Gamabunta-san" said Minato. "But I'll have to explain everything another time" as he held his watch up readying himself to teleport back into the battlefield. "So please deal with the Ichibi for now as I'll rally Konoha's forces to push the invaders out".
"Minato . . . . It's good to see you again".
The yondaime smiled warmly at this before becoming dead serious as Minato put on his war face. "Thanks but now if you'll excuse me Gamabunta-san, I've got a war to win" to which in a flash he was gone as the sand and sound forces had no idea what was coming right at them.
To be continued . . . .
Author's notes: This concludes another chapter to which I hope everyone enjoyed. I'm sorry if the chapter was a bit long as I wanted to get into the invasion portion where things will completely change dramatically from the canon universe. But hopefully this is where things will get really exciting.
But here is some trivia if some of you didn't know. The Hyuga's Jyuken style is based on real life martial arts known as Ba Gua Zhang which is based on a circular form of combat which requires you to constantly stay in close contact with your enemy. But what Hinata showed in this story is based on a close relative to Ba Gua Zhang known as Tai Chi Chuan which is an internal martial arts also dependant on circular motion. But as things go she'll eventually develop this art into something else. But here's the thing, I don't have a name for her style yet. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Also thank you to one of the reviewers for pointing out my mistake with Kakashi. If you hadn't mentioned it I would have completely missed it.
Also I hope I'm developing Sakura better as I'm not pissing people off with how she is growing up in this story.
So I thank everyone for taking the time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.