So hello my faithful readers….wow, I can't believe that so many guys and gals are liking this. ^_^
But oh well, thanks for all the reviews, encouragements, PM's and support….I appreciate it. So yeah…here's the action packed chapter and with nothing else to say, let's sail the ship-
Chapter-23-Breaking the Chains of Destiny!
Konoha: Konoha's Main Event Stadium: 10 AM
"Now that I've explained the rules…..would Hyuuga Hinata, Sabaku No Kankurou and Hyuuga Neji step forward?", announced Genma in his chakra enhanced booming voice, reverberating through full packed arena. Up there in the top most balcony were the sitting forms of the Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage and the Kazekage, all of them wearing formal robes. Behind the shadow leaders of their respective villages, stood their escorts, or rather bodyguards of the sorts.
Behind Hiruzen stood two Anbu whereas Choujiro and Ao were standing behind Mei. The Raikage having a smirk on his face, excited to see some action had Kirabi's team along with Darui, his right hand man behind him. Although smiling, Mei had an irritated look on her face as she shuffled in her seat to get comfortable.
'I always hated this formal wear….makes me feel like an old hag', she thought with an annoyed expression but smiled upon seeing Naruto's battle ready form down there, standing among the 11 other genins to be competing today. The arena was filled with cheers and loud shouts of encouragement, several bets were being put on the competing contestants, overall it was quite a big event for Konoha which was now flooded with several merchants, mission seekers, buyers and shinobi from around the world.
Meanwhile we find the rookie nine except the ones competing sitting together, which were actually only three in number with Sakura, Ino and Shino cheering alongside the excited civilians, though the bug user had his own quiet way of showing support. Several rows behind them were the sitting forms of Kakashi, Kurenai, Gai, Anko, Hana, Yugao and Kushina.
"KUSHINA-SAMA! IT'S MOST YOUTHFUL OF YOU TO JOIN US", yelled Gai as he gave a thumbs while flashing his thousand times brushed teeth, making the jounins around him blink their eyes as if they were hit by a Solar Flare(DBZ). Kakashi and others though were surprised, mainly because people sitting in the stands were being loud and for once, Gai's voice sounded normal to them.
"Huh? You said something Gai?", said Kushina in confusion making the green clad shinobi fell face first on the concrete step while the ice queens minus Yugao began to laugh their asses off, their sounds mixing with the loud cheering in the arena.
"KUSHINA-SAMA! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?", yelled Gai as he cried anime tears while Kushina just looked at him in utmost confusion.
'Do I look that cool everytime I do that?', thought Kakashi with a thumb under his chin whereas Anko now was patting Gai in understanding, fits of laughter still escaping her hand covered mouth making Gai's eyebrows twitch while Kushina just looked at them like they were crazy.
"I don't understand... what's there to laugh?", she asked innocently while tilting her head, further making them burst in laugher much to Gai's ire as he just settled to keep quiet…just this once. Shrugging her shoulders, the fiery kage turned her head to see Naruto standing their proudly with a smile on his face.
'He looks so handsome today….makes me just want to…no NO! Bad Kushina! You're not a pervert! That Jiraiya…training with him has effected me too', she thought with a blush, wiping a bit of nosebleed making Yugao sweatdrop as she saw Kushina's dreamy expression.
'Must be thinking of Naruto-kun….who else can induce that from her', thought the kenjutsu mistresswith a sigh. The ice queens had come to know or rather, their suspicions were confirmed regarding their romantic relationship when Naruto had himself told them, a lot nervously though for he was scared of their reactions. Though much to our blond jinchuriki's surprise, they had just said that they knew with a smile and that they had no problem with it. The sweet result they got was a tight teary hug from their favourite knucklehead (especially when it came to women) and a kiss to their cheeks.
Meanwhile, down there we find the 12 contestants standing in front of the proctor who strangely was chewing on a senbon, well...that's what it looked like.
In front of him stood Temari, Kankurou, Gaara whose gourd looked to be smaller than before and of a darker shade, Kin, Kiba with his partner Akamaru, Shikamaru who was muttering curses about everything being a drag, Lee who was doing push-ups while flashing his teeth like an idiot, Neji who had a stoic expression on his face, his eyes full of hate & anger as he clenched his fists, Hinata who was standing besides our last contestant Naruto with both having smiles on their faces.
Here Hinata was wearing a dark blue top which was hugging her hourglass figure, accentuating her early-blooming curves and C-cups followed by a tight black trouser giving defination to her shapely legs. She had long hair which were reaching past her shoulder blades, having grown several inches this past month while two bangs of her dark blue shiny hair were framing her heart shaped beautiful face. Coming down, she was wearing a locket which Hiashi had given her, saying that her mother wanted her to wear it. It was a royal shade of metallic blue colour which could be opened to see her mother's picture, something she cherished with all of her heart, well other than a certain blond one of course. Tied to her thighs were typical kunai & shuriken holsters with black elbow bands on her both arms, her pearl lavender eyes overflowing with determination. Overall, she was looking quite beautiful and physical appealing while emanating an aura of a kunoichi who could not be taken lightly.
Next to her was standing the smiling form of Naruto, who was looking around himself in what could be described as in a state of awe. Almost all of the young & mature females alike in the arena had blushed upon seeing him while some of the people were cheering for him too, something which he was not used to. He was wearing a black Konoha flak-jacket under which was a dark blue sweat shirt. Over the jacket, he had his typical white trenchcoat with black flames arising from it's hem while on the back, the trenchcoat had the same white coloured Uzumaki swirling sign whose background was a black flame, it's tendrils almost reaching the high collar of the trenchcoat. This time the hitai-ate was wrapped around his forehead while he was wearing dark blue shinobi pants with the same kunai & shuriken holsters. Around the waist, he was wearing a black utility belt containing several scrolls and coming down, he was wearing black shinobi sandals above which were white wrappings on his shin.
"Woah...you see this Hinata-chan? I never thought so many people would come to see the finals", said Naruto with amazement on his face as he looked around the stadium, it's rows looking colourful because of different clothes due to seeing this far away.
"Yeah...it really is amazing", said Hinata with a smile, who had strangely grown taller a few inches in just a month and almost equalling Neji's hieght.
"I repeat again...would Hyuuga Hinata and Sabaku No Kankurou step forward", again said Genma, his chakra enhanced voice booming through the arena as the rowdy crowd's cheers went down to concentrate on the coming matches.
"Um...y-yes", said Hinata with an embarrassed blush for not listening early while Neji had already stepped towards the senbon chewing proctor, scoffing at her. Hurriedly going to stand in front of Genma, everyone's eyes widened except a few at what they heard next.
"Proctor...I forfeit", said Kankurou with a serious expression while Genma just blinked at him.
"What?", he said again to make sure what he heard was right as the arena went deathly silent.
"I said I forfeit the match", said the puppet user while the other contestants except Gaara & Temari kept staring at him wide eyes whereas Naruto couldn't shake this feeling of dread that was tingling his mind since yesterday.
"Are you sure gaki? In front of all these people...are you absolutely sure?", said Genma after composing before Kankurou just nodded, a stoic expression on his face.
"I've already fought that Hyuuga heiress before and for a fact I'm a long range fighter, I know that I wouldn't be able to handle two Hyuugas", explained Kankurou making the proctor sigh.
'Nicely done Kankurou', thought Baki with a smirk who was standing in one of the balconies above with other jounins.
"It seems that Sabaku No Kankurou has decided to forfeit the match...so it lefts us with Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji", said Genma in his loud voice as the croud erupted in 'Booh's for the puppet user.
"COWARD!"
"YOU PANSY!"
"WHY EVEN BOTHER COMING HERE THEN?"
Shouts came from random people while Kankurou's eyes began to twitch as he along with other remaining contestants started to go back to the balcony.
'I'm gonna kill Baki-sensei!', thought the pupet user as he continued to walk while dodging several thrown footwear and cans.
"YEAH..GO AWAY! CLOWNS CAN'T BE NINJA ANYWAY"
A vein popped on Kankurou's forehead while he could hear the snickers of the other contestants alongside him, even Temari was quietly snickering to herself.
"HEY KANKUROU FELLA THERE...I HAVE VACANCY IN A LOCAL CIRCUS HERE...WANT A JOB?", another shout came as began people began to laugh...even the ice queens & Kushina began to laugh while Naruto too wasn't left behind.
'Yeah...I'll kill him very painfully...our mission be damned', thought Kankurou whose eyebrows were twitching dangerously as they neared the stands to climb to the balcony before everyone heard something from the female cheerleaders there that sent them rolling in laughter.
"KANKUROU. KANKUROU IS A SISSY...HE CAN'T EVEN BEAT A HYUUGA MISSY... WHOOO", chorused the colourful females together before the arena exploded into laughter as Mei too couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing while holding her hand up.
"Oh...AHAHAHA..s-sorry Kazekage-dono...AHAHAHAHA...b-but that's really funny..AHAHA", she continued to laugh while others too were barely in control of themselves.
"Ah...no worries Mizukage-dono...it's nice to have an entertaining crowd for once", said the Kazekage whose lower face was covered by a white cloth.
'Though...that was funny indeed...kukuku', thought our familiar Kazekage.
"Oh man...AHAHAHA...this is gold...C'MON EVERYONE! LET'S SAY IT ONE MORE TIME!", shouted Anko with laughing tears in her eyes while people around her nodded enthusiastically with Kushina giggling to herself.
"ONE...TWO...TOGETHER!"
"KANKUROU KANKUROU IS A SISSY...HE CAN'T EVEN BEAT A HYUUGA MISSY WHOOOOOOOOOO", yelled almost everyboy in the stadium as Naruto too had joined in while Mei's laughter got louder with Hiruzen chuckling to herself.
"Hey...that was a good rap yo...ENKA!", who said that?
Meanwhile Temari too burst out laughing while Kankurou was having an anger attack there...barely controlling himself...he wanted to crush someone...ANYONE would do while the popped vein on his forehead was about to burst as Temari's fits of laughter got louder.
"SHUT UP TEMARI!", he shouted comically, his face enlarging like the big head no jutsu as Temari just started to laugh harder while rolling on the ground.
'Baka Kankurou...mother too is laughing at you', thought Gaara in one his rare moments of extraordinary insanity.
"Alright now...enough with the jokes...are Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji ready?", said Genma as he jumped back a bit while Hinata and Neji turned towards each other, both having serious expressions on their faces. Breathing deeply, Hinata slowly shifted into her jyuuken stance while Neji just stood there, gritting his teeth as glared at Hinata with as much hate as he could muster.
"I'm gonna crush you today Hinata...just by activating something new doesn't mean you're anything better than before", he spat hatefully, angered that his only thing left was taken away from him...his pride, pride at being the hyuuga prodigy, pride at being a prodigy that not even the genins of the main branch family could hope to surpass.
"I don't know why are you acting like this Nii-san...but I'm not the same as before", said Hinata as she hardened her expression before activating her primitive Byakugan without doing any handseals, with Neji doing the same as he too slipped into the jyuuken stance.
"I'm gonna show you that a branch member can be stronger than the main branch family...you Hinata, always cheerful, always smiling like nothing is happening around you while we...we people are treated like trash, bound for the rest of our lives to serve you! It makes me sick! You were fated to be a failure and that's...your destiny", he said before spitting on the ground hatefully while Hinata just nodded towards the proctor, her eyes becoming cold before narrowing them.
'I'll show you Nii-san...I'm not weak as before', she thought as Genma brought down his hand while the crowd watched silently, the fight between the two Hyuuga prodigies beginning.
"HAJIME!"
Wasting no time, Neji immediately dashed towards Hinata as fast as he could, his eyes raging with anger while Hinata stood there motionlessly.
'His speed...it has increased tremendously...Gai', thought Kakashi with widened eyes as he turned towards Gai to see him staring down with a serious expression on his face.
Reaching her he unleashed a flurry of Jyuuken strikes while Hinata began to dodge them with speeds surpising even Neji, his eyes widening as she fluently dodged each of his palm thrusts, her cold eyes never leaving him while he noticed that she was not fighting him back..but rather was only interested in dogding his blows angering him further.
"Fight me you weakling!", yelled Neji as he went for a kick at her mid-section which she grabbed before going for a palm thrust at his thigh making his eyes widen. Grabbing her attacking wrist with amazing accuracy and speed, he lifted his other foot and placed it on Hinata's collarbone area and used it as a spring board to flip back in midair while Hinata stumbled back, a bit of surprise on her face as she again regained her position while Neji landed several feet away from her, still glaring at her.
"I see you've improved drastically Nii-san...", said Hinata seriously.
"Don't act like you were stronger than me before Hinata...but no matter...I'll show you your place today", he said as he again blurred out of the civilians sight with an impressive speed burst for a genin while Hinata just followed his invisible figure, her head moving as she could see his blurry form.
'He really has improved...his speed is really something...I bet it was Gai-sensei', thought Naruto with a calm expression as he watched closely.
Turning her head to follow his movements, she could see that he was trying to confuse her by producing after images as dirt started to pick up around her.
"There!", she exclaimed before throwing kunai behind her, able to see him because of her three-sixty degree vision before the kunai just bounced off. Blurring herself out of the civilian's sight, she catched the rebounded kunai before ducking down at amazing speeds for everyone to see Neji's fist where her head was just for a second before both of them vanished from the civilian's sights, dust blowing around because of their fast movements as they both continued to throw unrestrained strikes at each other, neither of them holding back. The only thing that the untrained eyes of the villagers could see was sparks of blue charka being expelled in mid-air in random directions because of the palm thrusts. Almost all of the people with shinobi alike were in states of awe and astonishment, never having seen two Hyuuga genins fight each other with such speeds...the level of the match was way above than they had expected.
"That's...really impressive", said Mei with surprise, never having seen two Hyuugas go at it while to say the truth, Hiruzen was himself surprised, not interested in lighting his pipe anymore. The Raikage had this excited gleam in his eyes, for he was getting what he enjoyed the most...hardcore taijutsu!
"Gai...did you actually put that Neji kid through all those crazy training sessions of yours?", asked Hana incredibly while the taijutsu master just nodded seriously.
"Neji is my student...he wanted to get stronger..his personal reasons aside, it was my duty as a sensei to help him...though it was difficult for him to endure all that, but he had that drive...that motivation this time that I always saw in Lee...the desire of wanting to prove yourself", said Gai, for once serious about something while Kushina looked at the match with interest.
'That Neji kid...he's good...I know Hinata-chan is strong...but he's matching her toe to toe...that kid really is a prodigy', thought Kushina as she followed their movements easily.
Meanwhile Neji was getting angrier, she was matching him blow to blow...matching his speed which he had trained so hard to achieve over the past month.
'How can she follow my speed...she was nowhere as fast as this a month ago', he thought with gritted teeth before both of them flipped back to land graciously on their feet, looking at each other dead seriously.
Meanwhile the crowd was stunned into silence as they watched the glaring contest between these two...not even looking even a slight bit winded, though Naruto had a proud smile on his face.
'Finally those hours of sparring with Hinata and giving her gravity seals are producing results', he thought as he gazed upon the match, where dust had surrounded the two contestants making them somewhat invisible to the people there.
'Hm...very clever...Hinata-chan', thought Kushina after deactivating her Sharingan.
'I didn't want to use those techniques so soon...but I guess now is the time...and she has yet to use the second level', thought Neji before a smirk formed on his face while dust blew away with the wind to reveal both of them.
Putting her hand in her holster, Hinata threw several shuriken one after another in quick succession at Neji who just smirked at the pitiful direct attack.
Fluently and easily dogding the kunai one after another, he drew out his own kunai as he began to deflect them with impressive speed and accuracy.
Though his eyes widened in immense surprise when one of the incoming shuriken trajectories puffed into smoke to reveal Hinata in mid air who was coming at him at high speeds, her eyes cold as she stared deep into his widened pupils.
'What...but the real one is...two chakra systems...kage bunshin!', he finally came to a stunned realisation as she rocketed towards him. Though what made everyone's jaws drop was when she started spinning in midair, expelling blue chakra from her body as it started to rotate around her rocketing form.
'That...impossible!', thought a random Hyuuga elder who was sitting with Hiashi, the latter having a proud smirk on his face. Meanwhile Neji's eyes widened considerably as he grit his teeth in concentration.
'Have to use it now...if I'm hit with that...', he let his thoughts linger as he too started to rotate extremely fast, expelling chakra from his body parts just like Hinata forming a sphere around himself. From a random villager's sight, a giant blue sphere flew at blinding speeds towards another sphere before they both crashed, each of them yelling the name of the technique.
"HAKKESHOU KAITEN! (Eight Divination Palms of the Hand, Heavenly Spin)",they yelled in unison as a loud explosion shook the arena, forming a large crator in the middle as cracks appeared on the ground with dust & wind flowing like a tornado around the two spheres which were now fighting for dominance. Though, it was becoming clear that Hinata was having the upper hand.
'That bitch...she's using the gravity to her advantage', thought Neji with gritted teeth as he pumped more chakra into the technique while the chakra spheres looked as if they were mixing with each other, their shape mingling before they started to vibrate around their centres, becoming unstable.
BOOM!
Another explosion, this time more devastating than the last one came rocketing outwards in the form of an invisible shockwave which reverberated through the arena, people struggling to remain in their seats. Past the explosion, Genma jumped towards the area which was now covered in dust revolving around the point of impact, hindering everyone's vision. No one dared to speak as they watched with bated breath, waiting for this frustrating smokescreen to vanish.
'Hinata-chan...', thought Naruto with a hint of worry in his eyes. Slowly the dust screen cleared, unvieling two standing forms much to the shock of everybody.
'They're still standing?', thought a random civilian matching the thoughts of hundreds of others there.
"Wow Nibi...I have to say I'm impressed...their level of skill is easily chunin", said Yugito inwardly with an awed expression on her face, who was sitting with Bee, who himself was watching the match seriously, a rare feat.
"Indeed kitten...the Hyuuga clan though was always full of geniuses and prodigies as far as I remember", replied Nibi while Yugito was staring at the two prodigy Hyuugas, one having several bruises with clothes tattered at several places while the other was completely unharmed...much to the shock of everyone.
'That insolent...it was the kage bunshin who attacked me while the real was standing behind...enjoying the show!', thought Neji with gritted teeth as he remembered Hinata puffing into smoke just a second before the explosion had taken place. He was panting a bit, blood seeping down his lips while his jacket was torn in several places as he glared hatefully at Hinata who was looking back at him, completely unharmed, her eyes cold.
'That explosion...the mixture of Kaiten and Kage Bunshin, it could be used as an exploding shadow clone, much deadlier than the one Itachi-sensei created', thought Naruto with a serious expression on his face when he noticed that Ayume was asleep right now while the other contestants were watching the match in trance-like states.
"Oh man...this is such a drag...why does everyone I know has to be a prodigy", muttered Shikamaru with a sigh while Naruto smirked at the lazy nara...shaking his head at his antics.
"Now you see Nii-san...earlier I couldn't even lift a finger against you...earlier I was a quivering piece of shit just being in your presence. Look at me now...today going toe to toe with you, was this written in your book of destiny...a prodigy like you to be beaten by a failure like me? Is it just destiny or an error of coincidence in your perfect book?", said Hinata as she stood still, her eyes cold as ice.
"Shut up...just SHUT UP!", yelled Neji as he clenched his fists, his rage rising through the roofs while Hinata gained a soft expression on her face as she stared at him.
"You don't know what it feels like to be branded with a mark that sets you apart for the rest of your life...you, a Hyuuga hieress who took everything for granted, who was given everything on a silver platter just because my father was born a few minutes late! He was forced to serve the main branch...forced to give away his life just because of the actions of YOUR father!", he spat with hatred, his voice trembling with rage, hatred and frustration as he wiped the blood off his chin while Hinata narrowed her eyes at him.
"Then what do you want Nii-san? Do you wish that uncle Hizashi was born first...so that my father's life would've been taken instead...so that I was the one standing in place of you, speaking those words to you? Are you that selfish Nii-san? You yourself said that destiny can't be changed...but then why are you yourself fighting it back...isn't it the destiny of a branch family member to forever serve the main household...if destiny can't be changed, then why do you even try, why don't you just accept it...are you a hypocrite?", she said making his eyes widen as he listened to her in stunned silence.
"I may not know your pain...but I do know the pain of losing my mother...I do know the pain of being blamed & scorned for something which I just couldn't do no matter how hard I tried...everybody has his own problems Nii-san wether they be emotional, physical, social or financial...you can't just blame on the others and just sit back and accept your destiny, that's the work of a coward. Just take example of Naruto-kun, he-"
"Don't talk about him. That guy knows nothing about pain...always wearing that disgraceful smile of his, not having a care in the world...he too was offered everything on a silver platter just like the Uchiha...trained by Jiraiya the sanin, Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Kushina herself...even the deadlast could become a prodigy. He knows nothing about what it feels like to be glared down...to be treated differently just because of something which was done without your consent at birth, he's just a royal idiot following his delusional dream of becoming Hokage", said Neji as he scoffed at the mention of Uzumaki while the temperature dropped several degrees in the area as he finished his sentence.
"You'...Nii-san", said Hinata as her eyes became shadowed, her chakra rising while Neji quickly dashed towards her at blurry speeds, channeling more than usual chakra through his palm, making it concentrated which started to glow blue faintly.
"Why isn't she moving?", said Kurenai alrmingly, worried for her student while Kushina was staring intently at the match, a smirk etched on her face.
"Hakke Hasangeki! (Eight Divination Signs: Destructive Mountain Fist)", yelled Neji just as he was about to reach Hinata who was strangely standing, as if waiting for him.
Finally reaching her, he thrusted his chakra concentrated palm in her gut, sending waves of invisible chakra behind her due to the impact while she had grabbed his hand which was embedded in her gut, blood seeping down her lips as she coughed, still not lifting her head.
'By kami...that technique...who could have taught him...Neji', thought Hiashi with his mouth wide open in surprise while Hanabi too, who was sitting besides her father, was watching the match in fascination.
"Match's over Hinata...you can't recover from this attack...cause this one directly attacks the core of your chakra system", said Neji with a smirk as they remained in the position while Hinata lifted her face, a cold smirk on her face sending chills down his spine.
"Surprise Nii-san", she said with a way too sweet smile making Neji's eyebrows lift in surprise and confusion as he further embedded his palm in her gut, twisting his hand as he grit his teeth in anger.
"Just accept your defeat you pathetic failure. Your destiny-".
PUFF!
His eyes widened when something puffed just beneath him...
WHAM!
The next thing he knew...he was lifted into air, courtesy of a chakra enhanced right hook by an enraged Hinata to his jaw, blood spitting out of his mouth as he went flying back.
THUD!
He fell on the dirt ground as he skidded a bit due to the force of the impact & his momentum.
'A Hyuuga...punched ?', thought Mei with a stunned expression on her face, matching the thoughts of EVERY person in the stadium except Hinata herself. Meanwhile Raikage had a large grin on his face while his hands were trembling with excitement.
'I'm starting to like this girl more and more...', thought Kushina with a smile while the ice queens, Kakashi and Gai were having trouble picking up their jaws. It wasn't just any soft hook by a soft-looking girl...it had some serious power behind it, enhanced by chakra.
'But still...Neji's endurance has greatly increased as compared to a month ago', thought Gai with a serious expression on his face while you could hear several shouts from all over the stands.
"OW! THAT'S GOTTA HURT"
"THAT BOY JUST GOT NAILED, AND THROUGH THE AIR HE SAILED...WHOOO!"
"IS SHE AN APPRENTICE OF ROCKY BALBOA (lol)?"
'Neji...', thought Tenten in worry as she gazed upon her injured teammate who was slowly getting up while struggling.
Neji, getting up noticed that the two Hinata's were still standing...one injured and the other completely unharmed.
'Hn...idiot! Just for that punch, she took my attack head on so that her shadow clone could have a go at me', he thought as he now stood, his knees trembling a bit, blood seeping down his jaw which he knew was cracked or most probably broken, his clothes now completely ragged as he panted a bit.
"Your endurance...it has improved tremendously Nii-san", said the injured Hinata, who was panting a bit while holding her stomach whereas Neji just ignored her.
'Alright...she too is injured and most probably can't use her chakra due to hakke hasangeki...and I have to finish it now and conserve chakra for later matches', he thought, not too far away from her before slipping into a strange stance which Hiashi & Hinata recognised immediately.
'No way...it can't be...he's learned that technique too...incredible!', thought Hiashi in amazement while Neji smirked at the startled expression on her face.
'That boy...he's still not getting it...but to know that technique at this age is truly an amazing accomplishment', thought Kushina with an amused smirk.
"I know that you learned this technique too...but unfornately for you Hinata, you can't use chakra right now", he said with a cocky smirk as he bent his head down forward, his one arm in front of him pointing towards the ground while his other arm behind him, just above his shoulder, his legs wide apart.
'Well….I did seehim perform that technique in the preliminaries…', thought Hinata with a calm expression on her face as still, both of them were standing…wind blowing across the battle arena, their hair flowing with the breeze.
"You're in the field of my divination", said Neji as he started to concentrate his chakra, one thing still nagging his mind since the match had started.
'Why didn't she use the second level when she had the chance?'
"Hakke Rokujuuyonshou! (Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand)", he yelled before dashing towards her at blinding speeds, chakra souring at the base of his feet, his eyes widening in his mad dash when she, the one who was standing unharmed, adopted the same stance he did a few seconds ago while the one holding her stomach stood behind, coughing some more blood.
'Foolish….her injuries are too great to even perform that technique….and her shadown clone can't perform that technique effectively as the original one can…..oh well, let the failure try…..like always, her efforts would be fruitless', he thought with a sneer as she too dashed at him with equal speed, if not more than him.
'By Kami…..these children are truly something….having such skills at such young age…now I see why Konoha is the strongest of the elemental nations', thought Yugito as she watched the two Hyuugas blur towards each other, unseen to the civilian crowd, the only thing they could see was dust being elevated due to their movements. Both of them reared their right arms, their palms flaring with chakra as they began their strikes.
"TWO PALMS!", Both yelled in unison.
His eyes widening to massive proportions when both of their palms collided with each other, their hands moving with astounding speed and stunning accuracy.
'IMPOSSIBLE! HER STRIKES ARE AS STRONG AS MINE!...HOW CAN A CLONE BE THAT STRONG?', he thought, gritting his teeth as they watched each other with the world slowing down around them…their bodies moving in slow motion as their eyes came in contact with each other.
'Those eyes….I hate those determined eyes..…why?…...How can she be so strong? It was in her destiny to be a failure, and then suddenly…this second level unlocks, which she hasn't even used once….Hinata….how are you defying all these odds….could it really be the work of that Uzumaki?', he thought as they gazed into each other's eyes, as if piercing each other's soul…doubts now filling his mind.
'Nii-san….I'm gonna show you the power of a failure….I will change you….I will prove to you that destiny can be changed', she thought with determination overflowing her as they continued their strikes.
"FOUR PALMS!", came their combined shout, their movements extremely fast to the untrained eyes of the crowd as they watched in fascination at how fast they were executing the famous technique of the Hyuuga clan, their hands which were flaring blue were a blur to them as dust started to pick up around their blurry forms.
"EIGHT PALMS …..SIXTEEN PALMS…THIRTY TWO PALMS", their palms and two index fingers colliding accurately, cancelling each other's chakra enhanced strikes as they began the final set….both of their speeds increasing, giving it all in the final strikes.
'How is this possible! Her strikes….they are so accurate and are matching me in strength and speed…what the fuck is happening here?', thought Hyuuga Neji, probably cursing for the first time in his life.
"SIXTY FOUR PALMS!", this time only he yelled as he went for the final strike before Hinata caught with her right hand, his eyebrows lifting in immense astonishment over such feat.
'She caught it!', he thought as he tried to shake his hand out of her grip but found that he couldn't….her grip was as strong as iron while her eyes were shadowed.
"W-What the….", he stuttered as he continued to try forcing his hand out while the people watched in silence…not blinking their eyes for they would miss the blazing action that was going on down there.
"It's not over yet Nii-san…..it's not over", said Hinata as she lifted her head, his breathing hitching in his throat as he gazed into her second level activated Byakugan, which was now somewhat glowing….reflecting the sunlight, looking like a lavender-blue jewel.
'Her eyes….two petals! What does it mean?', he thought before he saw the injured Hinata smiling at him while waving as she wiped off her blood.
"Bye Bye….you fell for it!", she chirped while smiling before puffing into smoke making his eyes further bug out anime style.
'IT CAN'T BE!', he thought with an expression of impossibility as he gazed back at the smirking Hinata in front of him.
"Y-You were the real one all along!", he exclaimed while she smiled sweetly at him, sending chills down his spine as he again tried to get out of her grip by using his other hand to strike, which she caught too…much easily this time than before, that damned smirk all the while remaining on her face. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as invisible shockwaves excluded from her, resultant of her increasing chakra picking up dust on it's way as he continuously tried to get out her grip.
"Toyotama Byakugan (Luminous Jewel All-Seeing Eye)", she whispered looking him dead in the eye, her eyes cold with her smirk deadly.
'She's building massive amounts of chakra…she never had that much chakra…..is it because of her second level?', he thought as anxiety rose in him, fear arising within him for something that she was preparing to do.
"Your technique is finished….but mine still hasn't", she whispered channeling chakra through both of her palms in which Neji's wrists were caught. Pushing his hands aside with unnatural force, she moved her chakra coated palms at mind blundering speeds and began to strike him fiercely, chakra expelling through her strikes as Neji couldn't do anything under the barrage of unnaturally fast strikes which were much faster and lethal than before.
"Whoa...look at her go! Her speed….it's mind buggling", said one civilian to which Kushina heard, making her smirk.
'I accept that Hinata-chan's speed is impressive for her age….but if you're impressed by that, then just wait for Naru-koi', she thought as she gazed at him, standing there all calm & collected as he smiled upon seeing Hinata literally beat Neji into the ground.
'No way….she learned that technique too….but I only taught her sixty four palms', thought Hiashi with a stunned expression…matching the expressions of thousands of people there.
'Kami…', thought Hiruzen with widened eyes while the Kazekage too was watching the match with bugged eyes.
'That girl….such mastery of those techniques at such young age….we'll see how she matches up against Sasuke-kun….kukukuku', he thought with an evil grin behind the white cloth.
'200 strikes…..218….strikes…..227 strikes….245 strikes….254 STRIKES!', she mentally counted.
"HAKKE HYAKUNIJUUHACHISHOU! (Eight Divination Signs: One Hundred and Twenty Eight Palms of the Hand)", she yelled after delivering the final devastating blow to his gut making him fly back at blundering speeds before he skidded to a halt, coughing up blood due to most of his chakra points being blocked and as he just laid there, gritting his teeth while staring up in the sky.
'No….this can't be', he thought with anger in his eyes as he again coughed up blood. Meanwhile the crowd, even the proctor had his mouth wide open, his dear senbon licking the dirt.
'Holy shit!', thought everyone watching the match there except one.
'What a drag…'
'Hinata-chan…..I…that was just amazing..', thought Naruto with a surprised expression on his face, he too like Hiashi had no idea that she was this skilled, not only physically but also strategically for the way she skillfully used the shadow clones. Yeah….he was the one who taught her the shadow clone technique considering that after the upgradation of her Toyotama Byakugan to two petals, her chakra reserves had increased combined with the training Hiashi and he had put her through, it was easy for her.
'Hinata….your mother would be proud of you today...my daughter', thought Hiashi with a smile before he looked at Neji with sadness in his eyes.
'Guess it's time for him to know what really happened with his father all those years ago'.
"Hm….that girl's strong, but not strong enough…..just like the past few centuries, I don't think I'm gonna find anyone worthy here", said a cloaked stranger and judging from her feminine voice, she was young, probably of the age of Kushina while strands of white hair could be seen from the overhead cloak of her as she could be seen standing on one of the stand roofs of the stadium, her face hidden by the cloak.
"Phewww…..that girl's got some serious talent", whistled A in appreciation, Mei nodding with him before he felt someone glare at him.
"You wouldn't happen to plot a kidnapping scheme….now would you Raikage-dono?", said Hiruzen in his threatening voice with Shinigami hovering over his head making A gulp nervously.
"O-Ofcourse not Hokage-dono….the thought never even crossed my mind!", he said before Sarutobi nodded with the usual kind smile on his face as he turned back to see the match.
'Geez…..you'd think that the old geezer would trust me a little more', thought the yondaime Raikage with a sweatdrop before his eyes widened when he saw the Hyuuga kid getting up…a lot slowly with trembling knees as he repeatedly coughed blood, holding his gut while desperately trying to stand up.
"I….I…will n-not…l-lose to you", he said as he slowly stood up, now on his feet, his one arm hanging by his side while the other was holding his stomach. His breathing was ragged and came in pants, bruises all over his body as now his upper torso was completely torn off showing off the purple spots of the jyuuken strikes all over his body.
Meanwhile Hinata's eyes softened as she stared at his condition, it hurt….like a ton of bricks to ruthlessly beat him like that, but she already had that talk with Naruto. It tore her inside to hurt Neji like that….but he needed it to see the truth, to change his views and life for the better.
"Nii-san….you can't even stand properly now….please give up and rest….your injuries are too serious to be left alone", said Hinata with a calm expression as few tears involuntarily escaped her eyes while Neji just glared at her.
'Neji….those eyes...it's just the same as me…wanting to prove yourself….but that's enough my friend', though Lee, sadness in his eyes as clenched his fists.
"I….I don't….n-need your p-pity!", he spat while dragging his feet towards her, his Byakugan now deactivated while his vision was blurry as he still continued to trudge forwards…occasionally coughing blood.
"I…w-will prove….t-that the b-branch….", he trailed as he began to fall forward, his hitai-ate falling off his head to reveal the caged bird seal on his forehead which was soon going to touch the dirt.
"Please….let it go Nii-san…", said Hinata after appearing out of a blur and catching his falling form, hugging him to her tightly as tears streamed down her face. She couldn't control it….to see her precious ones in such condition always hurt her, she could train her body & mind to be strong but one couldn't train his/her own heart.
"H-How can I let it go…I ha-have no one….who d-do I b-blame it on….destiny….", he muttered as he again coughed up some blood while Hinata hugged him tighter to her whereas Genma just watched the scene…not daring to interrupt it.
"Nii-san…please listen to me, destiny can be carved just like a kunai, it wouldn't matter how hard the kunai is…..and you have me, Hanabi, otou-san…we would never leave you", she said while rubbing his back whereas few tears streamed down Neji's face as he heard her.
"I..I d-don't know what...to do H-Hinata….I'm confused…..I…don't know….w-what i-is my….p-purpose here. H-How can you forgive me…so easily…..for how I trea..ted you all t-the times…", he said, droplets of warm liquid falling on the dry dirt before his eyes rolled back in his head due to extreme exhaustion and his injuries, his body falling limp against her while she supported his weight. Wiping her tears, she spoke softly to herself…
"Because….to forgive someone…t-that's something Naruto-kun taught me"
DONE! Phew….first fight's done and if some of you are going to complain about the VERY slow pace and only one fight in this chapter….well the next fight's gonna be a jaw breaker and from where the invasion would start…so yeah, next chapter marks the start of invasion arc!
So please tell me if you liked the chapter and your views upon it. The action had finally started and I'm gonna be expecting some serious reviews here….the last chapter I knew was just a filler and hence I didn't demanded for much reviews but for this one…..have some pity on the poor author ^_^
Also, the cloaked stranger….hmm, I'm sure that you're gonna like that part. So with enough said and enough sacrifice of sleep….let's go to bed ne? Take care and review!Ja ne!
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