There is an old saying, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Well hopefully all you devoted fans are still as fond of me after my absence, but just in case, here's the latest installment of Naruto's misadventures in playboy-ism!
Chapter eleven
Several months passed, during which the chunin hopefulls ran themselves into the ground prepoaring to meet their destiny's in the arena. Shikamaru trained extensively with his father. Shino reappeared the day before and assited Hinata wiuth her own training. The sand-siblings readied their equipment for the event, Gaara sating his thirst for blood by torturing defenceless animals.
And as for Naruto? It was quite common to see the teen balancing on one finger over an extremely sharp spike, a blue light sparking slightly under his as he performed push-ups.
Finally, after much suffering, training and a decrease in the local cat population, the match finals for the chunin exams began.
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"Where the hell is Sasuke?" Naruto muttered, eyeing the stands in annoyance, "Don't tell me he picked up Kaka-teme's habits…he'll die a virgin otherwise."
Hinata giggled at this, having heard similar mutterings from Kurenai about the cycloptic jounin; if there was one thing the genjutsu specialist valued, it was punctuality. Looking over at her elder cousin Hinata flinched, his byakugan were glaring holes through her, like a white-eyed hawk.
Reflexively, she stepped closer to Naruto who frowned and looked up at the elder Hyuuga, reaching down to take her hand as he did. "Something wrong Hinata?" he asked, knowing full well what the problem was.
Before the girl could reply, Genma cut in with the announcements.
"The matches will begin in a matter of moments," the senbon chewer announced, "could Hyuuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto please enter the ring."
Naruto grinned at Hinata and moved for the exit, "Tell me later," he stated, placing a finger to the worried girl's lips, "I'll try not to hurt your cousin…too badly." he walked past the flushing heiress, trailing his fingers against her own before bowing to Neji and gesturing for him to go first, "After you, Hyuuga-san."
Neji sniffed and moved through the door, sending a last glare at his cousin.
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"Watch closely Hanabi," Hiashi instructed, having brought his youngest daughter to learn from the matches, "the Hyuuga blood has never flown so strongly in anyone like it does Neji, not even your sister."
"Yes father." Hanabi stated calmly, watching impassively as her cousin walked out onto the field, her eyes widening as a blonde haired youth followed. 'Who's that?' she wondered, 'Is that the person Onee-cahn was talking about?'
A light flush covered the girl's cheeks, before she shook herself, wondering where on earth it came from.
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"Before we begin," Neji announced, pointing at Naruto smugly, "let me tell you right now, you have no chance of defeating me."
Naruto snorted, rubbing a finger in his ear as he pretended to ignore the teen. "Genkai-shihan once told me: whatever happens, happens." He smirked at the older Hyuuga, "Either I beat you…or you beat me."
"It is destined that I defeat you," Neji replied with a smirk, " The Hyuuga clan is the strongest of the leaf, a weakling like yourself wouldn't stand a chance against the dregs, let alone a prodigy."
"That may be true," Naruto noted with a shrug, "if your power is greater than mine, fighting you would be suicide on my part." He lowered his gaze for a moment. "However…if your power is LESS than mine…" Naruto raised his head, and Neji could see the feral grin in the teen's eyes, "Then I just have to beat you…that's how I see it."
"I see," Neji commented, frowning at the blonde's open bravado, as he got into a standard Jyuuken stance, "then you're a fool."
Genma grunted, taking a step back as he sensed the stupidity in getting caught up in the clash of these two hotheads.
"The match will begin…now!"
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As soon as the man's hand dropped, Neji moved into a Jyuken stance and prepared to attack. Naruto, contrary to expected belief, leaped back at least five feet and moved into a stance as well.
'Jyuken is a close combat fighting style,' Genma commented with a nod, 'and the internal damage to the chakra coils would seriously hinder anyone's progress.' He looked at Naruto, noting the distance carefully, 'he'll need to stick to long range attacks, but the byakugan has those covered.' He blinked as the blonde flipped through a set of familiar seals, eyes widening in shock.
"What the-?"
Naruto slammed through a series of seals, pausing on the tiger sear before inhaling as deeply as possible, actually causing his ribcage to expand outwards; he pulled his mask down and opened his mouth wide.
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Up in the stands, the hokage's eyes widened as he stared down atthe youth in utter disbelief.
'Where did he learn a technique of that caliber?!' he wondered, 'Genkai certainly couldn't have taught that to him!'
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"KATON: KARYUUENDAN!"
A massive stream of fire blasted from the blonde's mouth, aimed right at the Hyuuga prodigy. Neji's eyes widened in horro at the sight of the flames, spinning on his heel sharply, cauing a blue dome of chakra to form around him.
"KAITEN!"
To the amazement of the crowd, and especially the Hyuugas, Neji performed the main house's technique flawlessly. As the stream of fire continued though, it was apparent that the prodigy wouldn't be able to keep it up for long.
Fortunately, Naruto dropped the jutsu, since he ran out of breath, being only a teenager, his lung capacity paled in comparison to that of an adult. Neji, a little unsteady after performing the technique for so long, glared at the blonde as he chuckled.
"So that's the Kaiten, I've heard so much about," Naruto commented offhandedly, pulling up his mask "I'm impressed, I didn't think you'd have THAT up your sleeve." He cracked his neck joints, "Took Hinata half a month to learn how to do it…though she gets dizzy afterwards."
Neji stared at him in shock, "Hinata-sama cannot perform the Kaiten," he stated, unwilling to accept it, "she is too weak."
"And branch house members aren't even ALLOWED to be taught it…yet you know it." Naruto countered, "Besides, after training with her for a while, I KNOW she isn't weak…just a little lacking in confidence."
"Ravings," Neji countered with a smirk "she is weak, and nothing will prove it otherwise."
Naruto scowled, looking the older teen in the eyes for several moments, before sighing and shaking his head, scratching the back. "Hinata told me," he explained, "all about the mark on your head."
Neji's eyes opened wide in shock as he saw the lack of emotion in Naruto's eyes, the blonde brushing his hair out of his face.
"She could never forgive herself when she found out, that you'd received the 'caged-bird' seal when she turned three," Naruto continued, "she feels as if she put it there herself." He looked up at Hinata in the fighters' booth, where the worried heiress was looking down at them in concern.
"Hinata isn't like the rest of the main house," Naruto stated, glaring at Neji for emphasis, "you know that more than anyone." he held up a finger, "And it's not because she's weak, its because, unlike them, she openly cares for the members of the branch family."
Naruto smirked, thumbing in the direction of the heiress as Neji looked between them in shock, "You know what her greatest dream was, before she found out about you? To become a respectable member of the family." he shrugged, shaking his head in dismissal, "After you were branded though, she changed it."
Naruto's gaze locked onto Neji's, and the older Hyuuga, despite the shaking in his spine, swallowed, "What do I care in the dreams of a weakling?" he all ut yelled, only to flinch as Naruto's eyes locked onto his own
"That 'weakling' as you call her," the blonde growled, "dreams of banning the use of the seal, permanently."
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Neji's eyes widened so far the veins could be seen, he looked up at the booth where his cousin was looking down. They looked at each other, Byakugan gazing into Byakugan, as shock gave way to confusion, and then to awe, as Hinata stared at her cousin with nothing but concern and caring.
'Hinata-sama…' Neji wondered, 'You...from the very begining...' he continued to stare at his gentle cousin in disbelief, 'After all I've done...why?'
"I personally don't think the elders will take that with a pinch of salt," Naruto commented, snapping the Hyuuga out of his daze as he stood with heis arms behind his head, "so I'll make a deal with you; If you beat me, you can ask whatever you want."
Neji frowned, using his byakugan to check Naruto's eyes, 'he's telling the truth', he deduced, before glaring at the blonde interestedly, "And…if YOU win?"
Neji swore he could FEEL the grin under the mask, the distinct feeling that he'd been tricked into entering a fox's den.
"Then you have to help Hinata change the Hyuuga," Naruto called out, pointing at the teen, "and I'll remove the seal on your head."
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The whole arena fell silent, watching as the two combatants watced each other carefully. Hiashi was gripping the rails of his seat in concernl, wondering just how far Neji was willing to go for his revenge. Then Neji snorted, shaking his head in disbelief.
"You're bluffing," the prodigy accused, tapping his headband for emphasis, "this seal cannot be removed." He frowned as Naruto chuckled, then flinched as his headband was cut in half, the pieces falling off his head.
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'That was my Kaze no yaiba!' Baki noted in alarm, 'but he didn't move his arm!'
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"Put a little faith in people," Naruto said with a smile "fate has a nasty habit of being overrated."
He then disappeared in a flash of yellow, re-appearing right in front of the Hyuuga, his hand surrounded by red chakra. Before Neji could react, Naruto slammed two fingers into the Hyuuga's forehead, actually going up to the second knuckle, yet the skin didn't break.
"KAI!"
There was the sound of shattering crystal, and Neji felt something odd happen to his forehead. The next second, he was sprawled out on his back, gasping for breath.
"What-?" he asked, gasping, looking at the blonde kneeling next to him. In response, the teen pulled a mirror out of his pocket and showed it to the Hyuuga, causing his eyes to widen in disbelief.
Neji's forehead was bare; the infernal mark of the curse was gone, leaving only pale, unblemished skin.
"Like I told Hinata," Naruto stated, putting the mirror back in his pocket, "I always keep my word." he grinned as he pointed down at the shocked Hyuuga "This is the only freebie I'm giving you though, so don't bother trying for another."
Neji was about to try to sit up when he realized his body felt like lead, unable to even raise himself up. "Sorry," Naruto offered with a grin, "the technique drains almost all the chakra from the target." he held up a ahdn as Neji's eyes widened, "Relax, you're not gonna die, but you'll have a hard time moving for about…fifteen minutes."
He waved to Genma, "Get a stretcher in here would ya?" he called out, "This guy needs medical attention!"
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As Neji was carted away he looked up at the sky, a single bird flying towards the sun.
'Uzumaki…Naruto.' he thought, recalling the blonde's grinning face under the mask. 'Thank you.' He twitched slightly, feeling something heavy in his hair; frowning at an oddly shaped kunai he found there.
"What's this?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sarutobi was stumped, unable to comprehend what he had just seen a moment ago.
'That was Arashi's Hiraishin technique,' he noted, 'the advanced form of shunshin that only the yondaime ever performed…it earned him the title of 'yellow flash'.' Looking at Genkai, sitting in the crowds and smirking, he chuckled.
'And that last jutsu…I see Genkai's way with seals is as gifted as ever.'
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The fight between Sasuke and Gaara of the sand was postponed at the kazekage's request, and Kankurou opted to forfeit, rather than risk the plan by revealing karasu's abilities. Before the crowd began to cry out for blood, Temari stepped in, using her fan to get to the arena floor, earning an appreciative 'OOOH' from the slack-jawed crowd.
"Hey you, the sloth," she called out, pointing at Shikamaru, "get your ass down here so I can kick it."
Shikamaru winced, since 'sloth' had been a certain blonde's nickname for him at the academy. "Mendokuse," he whined, "I don't feel like doing this…" he turned to see who tapped him on the shoulder, to see a VERY scary looking Naruto looming over him.
"GET GOING."
Shikamaru practically threw himself into the arena to escape the owner of the face; it was that terrifying. Gaara actually raised both eyebrows out of shock. Shino's glasses cracked.
"Decided to show yourself?" Temari asked, raising an eyebrow at the aura of evil eminating from the fighter's booth.
Shikamaru snorted shakily, "I'd rather face you than THAT." He said, refusing to look up at the booth.
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An ANBU in the stands raised an eyebrow behind his mask. 'That was my 'demonic face' jutsu,' he noted visibly surprised, 'I wonder how he learned that?'
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Regardless, Temari and Shikamaru's fight lasted quite a while, the crafty Konoha genin using the terrain to his advantage. However, Shikamaru's pitiful chakra supply eventually led to his loss via forfeit, however the Suna kunoichi was also low on chakra, as a result of several kamaitachi blasts that she'd let off. So when she was asked to remain in the ring and fight the Hyuuga, she was naturally pissed off as shebwatched the heiress enter the ring.
Hinata, still shaken up from the fight between Naruto and Neji, took a breath to steady herself. 'Naruto-kun…Neji-nisan…watch me!'
"Hyuuga Hinata versus Temari," Genma called out, "Fight!"
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Well now, how far has little hinata progressed? The Hyuuga are famous for three things, their strength, their grace and their natural beauty. Hinata has been blessed with the lions share of the latter, but has training with Naruto brought the other two up to par?
And don't worry, there'll be more action soon!
Author's note:
I've seemed to missplaced my notes for who's in the harem, so I regret that I must once again hold a survey to see who gets in.
Hinata, Ino, Anko and Sasame are definately in, I recall that much at least, but please list any of the others you like.
Note: Kurenai is NOT to be included, for reasons read the recent Shippuden chapters. Try to not include any Anime OC's, the only reason I'm doing Sasame is out of popular demand.
And for the last bloody time NO! Yukina is NOT part of the harem! She's with Kuwabara, DEAL WITH IT!