Gohan's senses slowly returned to him and the first thing he noticed was that he was laying on the ground. He opened his eyes and waited a few moments for his blurry vision to return to focus. Once he'd regained his bearings and took a look around to verify his surroundings. A lake at one end, a forest at the other, and lots of grass. He was in the Konoha training ground where he'd just fought Sasuke. After a moment of concentration, he realized that all of his wounds had been healed. So Piccolo had taken him back after all. He was grateful, but had hoped that Piccolo would've stuck around for a while so that they could discuss what Gohan had found out so far about the shinobi world. Ah well, no doubt Piccolo would be meditating on how a mere human had forced him to transform and still had almost killed him. They'd talk about it eventually, perhaps even looking for some people to recruit to their team. It would be nice if the Earth no longer had to depend solely on the Saiya-jins to protect it from powerful enemies and could instead rely on its own native inhabitants to take care of it. Gohan hoped that such a thing could come to fruition. He really didn't have the boundless confidence of his father or most of the other fighters that protected the planet. Heck, even Krillin was more confident in his own abilities and everyone knew how little the man thought of himself. The only difference between the two was that Krillin either didn't bother to hide it or was really bad at doing so. Sure some of it slipped out of Gohan at times, but he was sure that everyone would look down on him as a failure if they realized how bad it really was, especially after the Cell games.
Sighing, Gohan got to his feet and dusted himself off, noting that Piccolo had not gotten him new garments. He sighed and removed his weighted cape along with his tattered gi top. He'd have to return to Iruka-sensei's house and retrieve one of his spare gis and then come back and get his cape. He turned around when a noise from behind alerted him to someone's presence, and he saw the girl he'd helped earlier. He'd been told her name was Hinata, and that she was part of the most prestigious clan in the village. The way she now carried herself however, spoke of the exact opposite. That and the way her father had treated her earlier made her seem more like a village outcast than anything else. She was now timidly making her way towards him from the direction of the woods, leaving Gohan to wonder what she'd been doing there. Gohan smiled at Hinata and walked over to meet her.
"Hello, Hinata-sama. How are you doing?" Hinata blushed at the honorific he'd attached to her name. Nobody called her Hinata-sama, except for a few outside the clan who knew how she was treated and felt bad for her and the Branch family who didn't have a choice. It seemed that everybody knew what a failure she was. She took a good look at him and noticed that he had a well toned body for someone of his age, and also that he had a lot of scars that were hidden by his clothes. She decided not to ask him about them, figuring that he'd be upset about her intruding into his personal affairs.
"H...hello, Gohan-san. I am d...doing well, thank you." Gohan gave her his biggest grin, hoping to lighten her spirits a bit.
"Would you like to walk with me Hinata-sama? I'm new to this village so I'd like to make as many friends as I can." Hinata stared at him in shock. He...wanted to be her friend? Of course he would, not knowing how much of an embarrassment she was. She'd take him up on his offer though, hoping to be his friend for at least a little while. He did after all help her and stick up for her, in front of her father no less.
"S...sure I'd like that." Gohan beamed at her.
"Great! I'm just going to Iruka-sensei's place for a minute so I can change into better clothes and then I'm coming back here for my cape." He turned around and headed back towards the main part of the village with Hinata falling into step beside him. "So, I hear you're part of the Hyuuga clan eh? I'm still learning a lot of stuff about the shinobi way of life, but from what I've heard and read you guys are pretty strong fighters." Hinata's gaze shifted downwards as she was reminded of how weak she was in comparison to the rest of her clan.
"A...ano, the rest of the clan is strong, but I'm not all that good at fighting."
"Really? Is that what everyone tells you?" Hinata considered his words for a moment before answering, trying to recall who all had told her about how disappointing she was.
"W...well, my Otou-san tells me a lot and Neji nii-san used to tell me as well, but everybody knows I'm weak. That's what my Tou-san told me." Gohan narrowed his eyes at the thought of Hiashi mentally abusing her like that, but didn't say anything. Gohan stopped and turned himself so that he was in front of Hinata and put his hands on her shoulders, hoping she wouldn't get mad at him for the unwarranted contact. He winced as she tensed, but was glad she didn't get mad.
"Listen to me Hinata-sama. Don't assume that what your father is telling you is true. He can't possibly read the minds of everybody in this village. There has to be at least one person that thinks you're worth something." Hinata blushed several shades of red as she thought of a certain blond haired blue eyed ninja that was said to be currently helping find the village a new Hokage.
"W...well, there is N...Naruto-kun. H...he said th...that he could like someone like m...me."
"Now see there? If at least one person thinks you're worthwhile then it must be true. Besides, I know somebody that's just like your father. He and my father were part of the same clan that was completely wiped out except for the two of them several years ago. My father was considered part of the lowest class of the clan and the other guy was the heir. He was always looking down on my dad and saying that he could never amount to anything because of his class and yet my dad fought and defeated him. Do you see what I mean? Just because somebody tells you that you'll never go anywhere in life doesn't mean you have to listen to them and allow it to happen." Hinata's eyes widened in shock at his words and could barely manage a nod.
"Th...thank you Gohan-san. I will keep your words in mind." Gohan smiled sadly at her, having some understanding of the situation she was stuck in. It sounded so easy, what he'd told her, yet in reality it would be one of the hardest things she could possibly do. He was certain however, that if she had enough people standing by her she could overcome it and become strong willed. He returned to his place at her side and they continued their walk to Iruka's, which took them about fifteen minutes.
"Just give me a minute to change and I'll be right back." A few minutes later he came back out dressed in an exact replica of the clothes he'd been wearing before, leaving Hinata to let out a breath of relief and hoping he wouldn't note her lack of a blush and think she'd gone pale. She had after all, been blushing ever since he'd turned around and seen her back in the training area. "Alright, let's go." He walked back to her side and they began to walk away but were stopped as Iruka came running up to them from the direction of the Hokage's tower.
"Hey Gohan, I've got some good news for you!" He called out as he caught up to them.
"What's up Iruka-sensei?" Iruka gave a brief nod to Hinata before turning his attention back to Gohan.
"I've gone before the village council for permission to make you a leaf shinobi once I've decided you're ready and they agreed as long as you'll give them an interview."
"That's great Iruka-sensei. When do they want to interview me?"
"Well, right now if you're available."
"Alright, just give me a couple of minutes to go get my cape and I'll be back." Gohan took off running at top speed, astounding both Hinata and Iruka. Iruka just blinked a moment before speaking.
"Wow, he's fast." Hinata just nodded in agreement. She wondered how he could be new to the ways of shinobi yet still be so fast. Such speed after all, only came with a lot of intense training. "So, what were you guys up to? Just out for a walk?"
"H..hai. Gohan-san came back here for a new set of clothes. He and Sasuke-san had a s...sparring match and his gi was d...damaged." Iruka furrowed his brows in confusion.
"But...that can't be right. From what I heard Sasuke was supposed to be in the hospital for at least a couple of weeks. How could he have gotten out already?" Hinata lowered her gaze to the ground.
"I'm n..not sure Iruka-sensei, but Sasuke-san didn't seem to be acting like it was a spar." Iruka wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to what he was about to ask, but he had to ask.
"Why is that Hinata-sama?" Hinata paled as she remembered watching the fight from the safety of the forest, though she'd almost been caught up in it when Gohan had caught on to Sasuke's bunshin strategy and had to move further in until they'd taken the fight back out in the open.
"Ano, Sasuke-san was using h..high level ninjutsu like katon: goukakyuu no jutsu and katon: housenka no jutsu. Th..then at the end he had strange m..markings all over his body and he started beating on Gohan-san really badly. I..I left then to find Kakashi-sensei and get him to make Sasuke-san stop." Iruka's eyes became as wide as dinner plates and he visibly paled at her description of Sasuke's body towards the end. He...he'd used the cursed seal? Was he trying to kill Gohan? He'd have to discuss this with Kakashi. One other thing was bothering him though. If all of this had happened, how had Gohan already recovered from all of his injuries? It had only two hours since Gohan had left his house and he was sure that such an intense battle would have left more than just a few minor cuts and bruises. Gohan chose that moment to return from the training area, cutting off Iruka's train of thought save for that last question. Gohan gave him a questioning look when he saw the serious expression on Iruka's face.
"Is something wrong Iruka-sensei?" Iruka shook his head to clear his thoughts and smiled at Gohan.
"Not really, but there is something I wanted to ask you though." Gohan cocked his head and waited for him to continue. "Hinata here says you were just in a very intense fight with Sasuke. How is it that you've already recovered from your injuries?" Gohan suddenly looked as pale as a ghost and he gave Hinata a terrified look.
"Y...you saw? How much did you see?" He couldn't afford to have everybody know of his abilities yet. Hinata and Iruka were confused by his reaction. Was he worried about Sasuke?
"I...I didn't see anything after Sasuke-san was beating you up because I went to get Kakashi-sensei." Gohan let out a breath he hadn't even known he was holding and relaxed. Iruka gave him a concerned look and Gohan figured he'd better address that now before it turned into questions he wasn't ready to answer yet.
"There are some things about me that I'm not ready for anybody else to know yet, and I had to reveal some of those things during that fight in order to keep Sasuke from killing me." Iruka narrowed his eyes as Gohan affirmed his suspicions. So, Sasuke had been trying to kill him after all. He cleared his throat and decided he'd deal with that matter at a more convenient time.
"Anyways, are you ready to go meet the council Gohan?" Gohan nodded his head, but seemed to think of something and asked Iruka if Hinata could go as well, if she didn't mind. Iruka said she could, but that she couldn't go into the interview with him. Iruka asked Hinata if she wanted to go and she said that she wouldn't mind, having nothing better to do and not really wanting to go home and deal with her family, so the trio left for the Hokage's tower with Iruka in the lead. Iruka led them inside the tower and asked Hinata to wait at the front entrance while he led Gohan to the second highest floor and into a room with a long table that was clearly designed for meetings. There were around twenty people seated at the table, among them were several village elders as well as heads of many of Konoha's most influential families. Iruka gestured Gohan into a seat at the head of the table and moved to a position where the council could see and hear him. He noted that at least one member of the council, namely Hyuuga Hiashi, was making sure to give Gohan a pointed glare. Iruka cleared his throat, bringing all eyes to him and began speaking.
"Greetings, wise council. I am here to speak on behalf of young Gohan-kun here who has expressed a desire to become a part of our village. I'm sure you all have a few questions for the boy, but first let me make an argument in his favor that will hopefully show you that he is not an enemy." Iruka clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing the room.
"As the reports have it, two days ago Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigake Kisame made an attempt to capture Uzumaki Naruto while his current teacher and guardian, Jiraiya-sama of the sannin was away from him on some business or other. It seems that somehow Uchiha Sasuke got wind of his brother's proximity to Naruto and this village and made an attempt to intercept and defeat him. This attempt would most likely have ended very badly for Sasuke had Gohan not fought off his brother, an S-class missing nin, until Jiraiya-sama was able to intervene and drive both him and Kisame off. Now, keep in mind that not only did he save the life of one of our shinobi, but also ensured that the planned capture of Naruto did not succeed. Now, this encounter did not go easily for Gohan, as he suffered a severe psychological attack from Itachi's sharingan and was taken to the hospital by Maito Gai." Iruka took a respectful bow and looked each council member in the eye. "I thank you for taking the time to listen to what I had to say. Now, does the council have any questions?" Most of the council members had heard enough, but there was one who would not be bought so easily. This man of course, being Hyuuga Hiashi, the only member who did not hold the Uchiha in such high regard as to blindly trust someone just because they had saved Sasuke's life. Hiashi leveled a glare at Iruka and then Gohan before he spoke.
"Actually, I was wondering why it is this boy wishes to stay here in Konoha. Surely he already has a home to go back to. In fact, it makes me more suspicious when I hear that he saved that Uzumaki Naruto, the demon brat." Iruka shot Hiashi the most hateful glare he could muster upon hearing those last two venomous words and the smirk that had crossed the man's face when the rest of the council broke out in heated arguments about whether or not Gohan could be trusted. He cleared his throat loudly, silencing the council and struggled to control his voice as he addressed Hiashi.
"With all due respect councilor, I wonder if perhaps you should get to know Naruto before making such accusations toward his character. I have had the honor of teaching the boy, and have seen for myself that he is no demon." Hiashi laughed Harshly.
"And what makes you think that we, the council, will listen to a mere chunin?" This threw Iruka into a rage at the utter disrespect he was being shown just because of his rank and he struggled to remain quiet so as not to say anything to get himself kicked out of the meeting or worse. All eyes were drawn to the opposite side of the room as a calm voice addressed everyone in the room.
"Well then, maybe the council will be willing to listen to me, or is a mere jounin also not worth listening to?" Hiashi growled at the interruption but frowned when he saw who it was.
"Hatake Kakashi? What do you want? Nobody summoned you here." This was beginning to look bad for Hiashi. He could argue against a relatively unknown chunin ike Iruka, but the council would be far more willing to listen to a prodigy like Kakashi. Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow at Hiashi before addressing him.
"Oh, hello there Hiashi-sama. I didn't see you there." The sarcasm in Kakashi's voice did not escape anyone in the room and most of the council chuckled at his taunting of the Hyuuga. Hiashi looked like he was about ready to burst a blood vessel, but cleared his throat and composed himself before speaking.
"Well, now that you know who all is here, do you have something to say or are you just going to waste our time?" Kakashi's visible eye curved in a way that clearly showed he was smiling, though more than a few of the council got the feeling that pleasant was the last word that could be used to describe it. He seemed a little too...cheery considering the topic at hand.
"Actually, if the council will allow it I do have a few words I'd like to share on this subject matter. Although, as it would seem Hiashi-sama has managed to drag the topic away from its original intent, I shall be speaking mostly on Gohan's behalf." Hiashi took on an impassive look, not letting any emotion show, though inwardly he was fuming. How dare he interfere!
"Very well, Hatake Kakashi, you may speak." Kakashi nodded in respect and moved to the front of the room with Iruka. He really didn't like what he was about to say, as it disgusted him that it was even necessary, but it was the only way to get the council to see things his way. Manipulation, after all, was something a true shinobi should excel at.
"Thank you. Now, I would like you all to consider something before you jump to conclusions about Gohan just because he aided Naruto. Gohan knows little about Naruto, including certain facts that seem to have made him an enemy of his own village. When Gohan stopped Akatsuki from abducting Naruto and killing Sasuke, he only saw two people that he felt needed protection, and so that's exactly what he did. Now, I also want you to consider the possibilities of what could have happened had Naruto fallen into Akatsuki's hands. We know next to nothing of this organization save that it is made up of S-class missing nin and that Uchiha Itachi is a member. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want any of our shinobi falling into those kinds of hands, especially someone like Naruto. The council must not let their emotions cloud their judgment in this issue, and instead must approach it from a logical standpoint. Oh yes, and there was an incident in the village since Gohan has arrived here that was not mentioned in the reports." Several eyebrows were raised at this, and Hiashi had a sinking feeling that he knew where Kakashi was headed with this. Damn that man!
"While I was escorting him to Umino Iruka's place of residence, we heard a cry of distress and Gohan immediately raced to the person's side to help them up, much to the disdain of Hiashi-sama here, as said person happened to be Hyuuga Hinata. Once Hiashi-sama began harshly berating his daughter for her clumsiness, Gohan jumped to her defense and stood up to Hiashi-sama without backing down. Now, from what I have heard and seen of Gohan I see no reason not to allow him to become a shinobi. Furthermore, I would be willing to take responsibility for him by adding him to my team in order to take missions. That is all I wish to say, thank you for listening." Kakashi walked over to a wall and leaned against it, waiting to see what would happen next and wanting to witness their decision first hand.
Hiashi stood up from his chair and motioned for Gohan to do the same. He leveled an angry glare at Gohan as he proceeded to question him.
"Now, Gohan-san, I would like to ask you a few questions before the council makes its decision. Is that okay with you?" Gohan simply nodded and waited. Hiashi formed his hands into a seal and the veins in and around his eyes bulged, nearly forcing Gohan to take a step back out of shock. Hiashi smirked as he could read Gohan's every emotion thanks to his byakugan. "Good. Now, for my first question I would like to go back to an earlier part of this meeting. Why are you here? What do you hope to gain by staying in this village?" Gohan didn't even need to think, as he'd already answered this question in a couple different forms.
"Because I want to become stronger. I want to learn as much about fighting as I can so that I can protect the people that are important to me. Also, now that I've become aware of the shinobi lifestyle, I want to learn as much about it as I can, because I find it interesting." This answer seemed to satisfy the council, so Hiashi continued.
"To protect the people important to you hm? That sounds like quite a noble goal for somebody as young as yourself. From where did you pick up this goal?" This brought a small smile to Gohan's lips as he thought back to right after the fight with Vegeta and Nappa when Goku began instilling in him the will to fight for others and not for himself.
"I got it from my dad. He always told me to use my strength to defend people and never to go out of my way to hurt anybody that I didn't have to." Hiashi nodded and moved on to the next question.
"Your father sounds like a good man. Why are you here now instead of with him?" Gohan clenched his eyes shut and fought to keep his thoughts from going back to that day.
"Because my father died fighting a powerful enemy a year and a half ago. That's why I want to become stronger, because it's up to me to protect my mom and little brother now." Hiashi continued his questioning, watching him the entire time to catch any signs of deception, no matter how small.
"Why did you need to leave home? Could you not become stronger there, with people you know?" Gohan shook his head.
"My mom doesn't like it when I train so she tries to make me study all the time and she doesn't like it when any of my dad's friends or my sensei come around."
"I see. So why don't you stay with your sensei? Have you only had one teacher? What kind of training have you received?" Gohan had to think about this one for a moment, trying to decide how much and what he should divulge.
"I don't stay with my sensei because he said that he no longer has anything to teach me. All that we can do now is spar, and I can't even go all out against him because I have surpassed him in strength. As far as senseis go, I've only had two, my father and Piccolo-sensei. As far as kinds of training, I've been trained in two different fighting styles, I had survival training for several months, and I've had extensive training in the use of energy." Everybody present was mentally reeling from what they'd just been told. This boy couldn't be any older than one of their genin and yet from what he'd just said he's already had several years of training, something the shinobi didn't get until they'd been put on their teams once they'd left the academy. Sure there was some training from family members, especially in the more renowned families, but this boy had more fighting history than most chunin. Hiashi was curious about Gohan's energy training, so he decided to base his next question off of that.
"You say you've had energy training. Do you mean to say that you can use chakra?" Even with his byakugan active, Hiashi was having trouble discerning if this boy could use chakra or not. His chakra coils seemed huge for someone of his age, yet there didn't actually seem to be much of it in him. Either he'd learned to suppress it or he used some other form of energy that somehow inadvertently affected his chakra system. Also, his tenketsu were completely off from what they should be. He actually seemed to have more of them than other people and they also seemed to be located differently. Also, Hiashi noted that towards his tail bone there seemed to be some type of cut off point in his circulatory system, almost as if he'd had an appendage there of some kind...
"No, not chakra. It's something similar if what Jiraiya showed me is normal. I use an energy called ki. This time Hiashi couldn't keep the shock off of his face. He'd never met any ki users in his life, but from what he knew, the physical half of chakra could be extremely destructive if used on its own and supposedly it was much more difficult to master and took much longer than chakra to be able to use. There should be no way for this boy to do what he claimed and yet...Hiashi could sense no deception.
"Could you perhaps demonstrate a few techniques for us?" Gohan grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.
"Well, I could show you a little bit, but not much because I might break something in here." He was suddenly levitating in the air and raised himself up so that his head was almost touching the ceiling. He then formed a small orb of energy in his hand and threw it towards the opposite wall, and proceeded to guide it around the room, much to the amazement of everyone present. He brought it back into his waiting hand and let it dissipate before slowly lowering himself back to the ground. "Are there any more questions Hiashi-sama?" Hiashi had to shake his head to clear his thoughts and decided that Gohan had no intention of lying to them, and held no malice that he could detect, so he shook his head again. He still didn't like the boy though.
"That will be all. Now the council must come to a decision." He cleared his throat and turned his attention to the other members of the council. "Now then, we have two issues on which to vote. Number one is whether or not we will allow Gohan to become a leaf shinobi under the tutelage of Umino Iruka and number two is if we will allow Hatake Kakashi to take him on as a fourth member of his team. I will only vote if there is a tie." He took a quick look around the room before continuing.
"Now then, will anybody make a motion?" A man with blond hair tied down in a ponytail raised his right hand. Hiashi nodded towards him. "Yamanaka Inoichi, what is your motion?"
"I make a motion to allow the young man into our village as a shinobi."
"Very well. Will anybody second that motion?" There were several seconds of silence before a rather lazy looking man with a few ragged scars on his face raised his right hand. Hiashi raised an eyebrow at this.
"Nara Shikaku? Are you seconding the motion?" Shikaku just sighed and nodded.
"Yeah, it's troublesome but it didn't look like anybody else was going to do it."
"Very well, we have our motion and a second. Now, all who favor this decision signify by raising their right hand." All of the council, save for two of the elders raised their hands.
"All opposed?" The remaining two sheepishly raised their hands. "The motion has passed. All opposition has been duly noted. Now then, on to issue number two. Would anybody like to make a motion?" An odd looking man wearing a trench coat with a high collar and sunglasses raised his hand.
"Aburame Shibi, what is your motion?"
"I motion to place Gohan under Hatake Kakashi's leadership."
"Anybody want to second that?" One of the elders who had opposed the first motion silently raised their hand and then lowered it.
"All who favor the motion signify by raising their right hand." This time, all hands went up into the air. It seemed that the council was placing quite a bit of trust in Kakashi's abilities.
"All opposed?" Nobody raised their hands. "I see none, so this motion has passed as well. Now then, does anybody have anything to say before we dismiss?" Kakashi stepped forward.
"Actually Hiashi-sama, I have something I wish to say to you." Before anybody could react, Kakashi was on the table kneeling in front of Hiashi with his sharingan exposed. The three tomoe circled around his pupil as he spoke in an almost pleasant voice were it not for the killer intent he laced it with. It took all of Hiashi's willpower not to fall over backwards out of shock and even a bit of fright. Even being a Hyuuga, one had to be ready for an attack in order to defend against it after all.
"Under no circumstances are you to ever use one of my students to sway the council in your favor again. If you do, even your precious byakugan will not save you. Am I clear on that?" Hiashi kept his face impassive, but nodded nervously nonetheless. Kakashi could be very intimidating when he wanted to be. Of course, that was to be expected from one of Konoha's elite jounin and ex anbu member. Hiashi blinked and suddenly realized that Kakashi was no longer in front of him, but was instead back in his former position with his sharingan once again covered, waiting for the official dismissal of the meeting. Hiashi stood up and cleared his throat.
"The council has made its decision. Gohan is to be allowed to become a Konoha shinobi as soon as Umino Iruka deems him ready. Furthermore, upon becoming a genin, he shall be placed into team seven under Hatake Kakashi's leadership. This meeting is now adjourned." Everyone rose from their seats and slowly made their way out of the room, Gohan and Iruka leaving last with Kakashi disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Gohan and Iruka made their way out of the tower, meeting up with Hinata at the entrance before Iruka took them to a place called Ichiraku's. He explained to Gohan that this was Naruto's favorite place to eat in the village and that it was also the best ramen shop in town. As they sat down Gohan decided he'd only eat one bowl, still being mostly full from the senzu he'd taken while in the hospital.
As soon as Gohan had taken a good look at old man Ichiraku, he knew why Naruto liked this place so much. Even if the food were only mediocre, he emitted a grandfatherly aura that seemed as though it could put any troubled soul at ease. If what Iruka had told him was true, and Naruto was treated badly by most of the villagers, then this was probably one of the few people that actually treated him like a human being. They each made their orders and Iruka turned his attention to Gohan.
"So, what do you plan to do now Gohan? Other than become a genin, of course." Gohan looked thoughtful for a moment before giving his answer.
"Well, actually I'm hoping to learn how to use chakra as quickly as possible because I want to catch up with Naruto and Jiraiya if I can. Jiraiya said he'd teach me the same technique he's gonna teach Naruto." Iruka looked at him seriously.
"There's one thing you need to know before becoming a genin. Once you become a shinobi you can't just leave the village at any time you please. If you do leave and your absence is noticed, you will become a missing nin, which means you are a criminal. You'll need the permission of the council to leave the village, and they won't be likely to give it while we're in such a weakened state. You could get permission from the next Hokage once a new one steps up, but that might be a long time from now."
"Well, if that's the case then just wait to give me the headband, that way I won't officially be a ninja yet. Then if someone misses me you can tell them that I wasn't ready yet and I'm out looking for some extra lessons or something." Iruka gave the idea some thought as old man Ichiraku brought their ramen. After taking a few bites he nodded.
"That would probably work, but you'd need to be careful not to be caught leaving or entering the village in that case because the council might have someone or multiple someones keeping an eye on you." Gohan just shrugged.
"That shouldn't be too hard. One thing I learned during my wilderness training was how to be stealthy when the situation arose. I did have to hunt for my own food and avoid predators after all."
"So, you were just out in the wilderness on your own then? You didn't have anybody with you at all?" Gohan shook his head.
"I know my sensei was watching over me, but he never helped me."
"So...was your training recent then?" Gohan looked down as he thought back to that year and shook his head.
"I was only four when I had to do that. I was out in the wilderness for several months and then my sensei taught me how to fight and use ki for the rest of that year." Hinata let out a horrified eep and Iruka nearly choked on his ramen when Gohan mentioned how old he'd been. Not even the toughest shinobi villages started their academy students out in survival training that young, and even when they did there was always a group of them with a teacher by their side at all times. At seeing and hearing their expressions Gohan figured he'd better elaborate lest somebody have a heart attack. "Well, we didn't really have a choice at that time. We had a really powerful enemy coming in one year and we needed all the fighters we could get. Besides that, my sensei saw some kind of hidden potential in me that he wanted to bring out." Iruka thought he was going to faint.
"But...that would've only left you at five years old! Nobody should have to fight at that young of an age!" Gohan just gave an indifferent shrug.
"Well, in the end I only managed to get a few good hits in anyways, but I managed to help stall the enemy until my dad was able to get to the fight and take over." Hinata took this moment to gather her courage and ask Gohan something she'd been wondering about.
"G...Gohan-san?" He turned and gave her a quizzical look.
"What is it Hinata-sama?" She put her index fingers together and began pushing them against each other, a nervous habit she'd had for a long time.
"Is that w...where you got all those scars?" Gohan quirked an eyebrow, momentarily wondering what she was talking about. Then it struck him. He'd forgotten that she'd seen him earlier without his gi top since he'd gotten rid of it since it was shredded beyond usefulness. This caught Iruka's attention.
"Scars? Under your gi?" Gohan let out a nervous laugh and lifted up his shirt, turning around so that Iruka could get a good look. His eyes became as wide as dinner plates as he saw the many large and jagged looking scars that covered his abdomen. What...what had this boy been through? Most jounin he knew didn't have that many scars, let alone genin. He struggled to keep his voice straight as he spoke.
"You...you must've been through some rough battles." Gohan nodded sheepishly.
"I've pretty much been constantly fighting or training for upcoming fights since I was four." Iruka nearly fell out of his seat. That mean he had about as much battle experience as a lot of higher level chunin. Iruka quickly returned his attention to his ramen and went back to eating it, signaling the end of the discussion. He wasn't sure how much more he could stand hearing. Not even the hidden mist village was that rough on their young, and they were known to be the toughest village to become a genin in. He wondered how it could be that Gohan hadn't lost his sanity from being exposed to so much violence at such a young age. They finished the rest of their meals in silence, each lost in his or her own thoughts until they finished at about the same time and Iruka paid the bill. Hinata was surprisingly the first one to speak.
"Ano...I have to go now, it's almost time for my training." Gohan pouted a little, as he'd been hoping to have a little more time to get to know her. He offered to walk her home, and she agreed with an embarrassed blush as they bid their goodbyes to Iruka and left the ramen stand together.
They walked through Konoha in silence, enjoying the sights and sounds of the bustling village as they made their way to the Hyuuga compound. Along the way, they passed a bar that had what looked like a group of about six drunken civilian men and a leaf nin arguing loudly out in front. Out of the corner of his eye, Gohan saw the ninja point to him which drew the attention of the villagers. After they'd gone a ways away, Gohan could sense that they'd begun following him and Hinata. They left the crowded market area of the village and found themselves in a more open residential area with little to no crowd to hide in, so Gohan pulled Hinata into a wide alley between two buildings and hid around the back corner of one of the buildings, putting their backs against a tall wooden privacy fence. When he sensed the villagers stop at the end of the alley, Gohan motioned for Hinata to stay put and walked out into plain view. The villagers were currently looking away from Gohan, so he called out to them.
"Is there something I can help you guys with? I noticed you following me earlier." The men turned around and sneered at him. A tall and muscular man, no doubt the leader, stepped forward and cracked his knuckles.
"As a matter of fact, there is something you can help us with kid. You see, we heard that you saved that Uzumaki brat." The man slurred out. It wasn't a question.
"And? What if I did?" The man twitched in annoyance.
"Well you see, that thing is a menace to this village, so if you saved its life then that means it brainwashed you, which makes you dangerous as well. He stumbled forward a few steps and nearly fell over in his drunken stupor. Gohan snarled angrily at the man.
"What right do you have to say those things about Naruto? I haven't known him for very long but from what I have seen he's not a threat to anybody that hasn't already threatened him." The man snorted.
"And now you're comparing it to a human. That thing isn't worth being compared to a dog, let alone a human being!" Gohan didn't notice Hinata step out of her hiding spot to stand next to and slightly behind him, her eyes lit up with fury.
"Don't you dare say that about Naruto-kun! He's kind and brave and ten times the person you are!" The men all looked shocked to see Hinata, as though they hadn't noticed her with Gohan when he'd been pointed out. Gohan however just stared at her in shock from her outburst. Such an angry outburst would be the last thing he'd expect out of such a shy and timid girl. The leader of their opponents merely chuckled.
"Ah, so it seems the brat has managed to brainwash a Hyuuga as well. Too bad, we were only hoping to kill the outsider." With that one of the men behind him took out and threw a large and jagged looking rock at Hinata. Gohan acted out of instinct and stepped in the path of the projectile, taking a hit in the forehead and receiving a gash for his troubles. Something red tainted his eyesight so he reached up and wiped at it to see that he had blood running down his forehead and into his eye. He stared wide eyed at the blood on his hand. If such a hit had managed to do that much damage to him, then it most certainly would've done much worse to Hinata, maybe even killed her. He narrowed his eyes dangerously at their attackers as he wondered how a drunken man could have such good aim. The leader looked at him with an appraising eye.
"Well now, that blow should've at least knocked you out. I think you're losing your touch Baki." The man behind him, apparently Baki, snorted. (A.N: To avoid confusion, this is not the Baki from Suna.)
"He just got lucky, that's all." There was no hint of drunkenness in either of their voices and Gohan suddenly grew suspicious.
"Who are you really? You don't seem like normal drunken villagers to me." The leader smirked.
"Well, I guess you've got us figured out." In a large puff of smoke, the drunken villagers took on the looks of ninja, and Gohan noticed that their headbands had what appeared to be a musical note on them. Immediately there was a barrage of shuriken headed his way and Gohan almost dodged, but then remembered that Hinata was right behind him so he allowed the shuriken to stick in him, two on his left arm, three on his right arm and about eight sticking in his chest area. He groaned in pain and nearly laughed when a kunai was thrown at him and embedded itself in the ground in front of him. He was about to berate the thrower's accuracy but he saw what appeared to be a burning tag attached to the kunai and instinctively rammed his shoulder roughly into Hinata, knocking her back several feet only seconds before the kunai exploded. Hinata watched with wide eyed horror as Gohan was engulfed in a cloud of smoke and dirt.
"Gohan-kun!" She made a move to rush into the dust cloud to make sure Gohan was okay, but stopped when moments later said cloud was forcefully blown away revealing a smirking Gohan. The only injuries he'd sustained were a few cuts and burns, but other than that was completely unharmed.
"I'm glad you're starting to feel a little closer to me Hinata-chan." He looked over to her and could see that she didn't care that he'd called her Hinata-chan so he smiled at her for a fleeting moment before hardening his features once again and turned his attention back to their attackers. "I guess it's too much to ask that you guys just give up and leave us alone?" The men just looked at each other and burst out laughing at his request.
"Kid, I don't think you understand the situation you're in. You're outnumbered and outclassed so why would we give up?" Gohan slumped his shoulders and sighed. He really didn't want Hinata to have to see him fight but there seemed to be no other option. He didn't turn his head when he apologized to her.
"Sorry Hinata-chan. I was hoping I wouldn't have to get violent in front of you but it looks like these guys won't go down without a fight. I'll make it quick." Their leader was about to make a sarcastic remark, but before any of them could even blink Gohan was running towards them at a frightening speed. He reached the leader first and delivered a quick punch to his gut and without stopping zigzagged between the remaining five. He ducked a punch from the second sound nin and as he whirled into his attack caught the third squarely in the jaw with such force that it sent him spinning into the fourth, effectively incapacitating both. He ended his whirl with a chop to the back of the second ninja's neck, pinching a pressure point and sending him to dream land as well. He now stood facing the last two shinobi and before the look of fear could even begin to cross their faces he'd already knocked them out. They hadn't even seen him move. Gohan walked back over to Hinata and blushed as she stared at him in wide eyed awe.
"G...Gohan-kun, th..that was...you're very strong." He grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head in a way reminiscent of his father.
"Thanks Hinata-chan." There was a sudden noise above them and then the sound of someone clapping filled the silent area. They both looked up towards the source of the commotion and upon seeing what was on the roof they took on mixed feelings, but it was Gohan that summed it up the best.
"Oh great, what now?" There, sitting on the roof of the very building they'd initially hid behind, was yet another ninja.
Wow, what a doozy of a chapter this turned out to be. Only a few more hundred words and it would've ended up just as big as the first two combined! Needless to say I hope that quantity did not cause a loss of quality in this case. There's really only one way for me to find out though, and that's if you review!
P.S: Don't expect too many chapters of such...lengthy proportions. This one just got out of control so to speak.