So many excuses, and so many truths, but who cares. I'm a college student, I'm working on two fanfics and three original stories all while having writers block, and I'm looking for a damn job. (No friggin luck) Take that how you want to, but I'll still be trying to get these up faster.
Chapter 3: Sudden Changes
At the moment he wasn't very happy. Again, he found himself in a situation that he wasn't completely prepared for, nor had he taken into account when he decided to get stronger. Feeling really annoyed, he cursed himself for not doing a little digging into what the events of the exam would be. Nowhere in the last two days had he thought that he'd have to traverse the forest of death.
It wasn't that he was scared or felt that he wasn't ready. He was sure that using stealth, like any real ninja with common sense, would help greatly in surviving. No, he was pissed at the fact that he didn't pack anywhere near enough ramen for the journey.
"Is there anything that could happen today that's not complete bullshit?" Naruto groaned as he and his team awaited the proctor for the forest of death part of the exam.
"You should've studied instead doing whatever it was you were doing these past two days." Sakura shrugged, surprisingly not being as loud as usual. Naruto pegged it to him scaring the shit out of her earlier that day. It brought a smile to him, knowing that she was at least acknowledging the fact that he wasn't the same dead last he pretended to be several days ago.
"I was training. And that means you knew that we would have to do the forest of death didn't you." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the girl who looked away sweating.
"Yeah, but I learned after we met up yesterday. Sasuke-kun was the one who gave me the idea to look up the events!"
"Don't put me in it." Sasuke mumbled as he stood assessing the competition. Sakura paled and Naruto only shook his head in exasperation.
"I guess it doesn't matter now. As long as we stick together this shouldn't be too hard." Naruto said, still thinking of how much of a liability Sasuke's ego was going to be and Sakura…in general.
"Stick together? Stay out of my way and then this'll be easy. You might actually learn a thing or two about being a real ninja."Sasuke shot at Naruto. Sakura beamed, her inner self shouting agreements. Naruto held his head in frustration.
'You know what, if it weren't for the fact that this is a team exam, I would let them both get eaten by a snake that's sure to show up in there.' Naruto immediately frowned, looking around for several key people.
First, his gaze landed on Gaara. Gaara looked forward towards the gate, but his eyes were on Naruto as well. With a nod, Gaara faced away and walked towards his elder siblings.
Next, Naruto caught sight of the Sound ninja. Kin was sitting on the ground, seeming lost in the clouds as her two teammates were arguing about something vulgar that Naruto couldn't really pick up.
Third, Hinata stood with her arms folded under her breast, a stern, somewhat dark look on her face. Naruto could see a trace of the small smile that he had seen before, and a slight tint of pink on her cheeks. She hid it well, but he could tell that she was still a bit embarrassed for not wearing her jacket. She looked towards him and they both blushed, turning away just as fast.
Finally, Naruto's gaze landed on the grass nin team. None seemed to be paying anyone attention. Naruto narrowed his eyes but looked away before anyone could see him looking.
'A snake in the grass…' Naruto thought before sensing something off. A kunai was speeding straight for his face. On instinct, Naruto pulled his own out, deflecting the kunai in the air. With a quick hop and turn, he caught the kunai and held both up towards the throat of the assailant that was behind him. Of course, one Anko Mitarashi stood behind the teen shocked speechless. Several gazes about the crowd looked on in awe, none more so than his own teammates.
"Wow. And here I thought that you weren't paying attention." The special jonin said with a dark smile.
"Uh…heh, sorry." Naruto said putting his own kunai away and holding Anko's towards her. She took it with a smile and then slammed her fist into his gut. Naruto dropped to his knees coughing. 'Damn! She hits harder than Zabuza!'
"Never point a kunai at me unless you're prepared to use it." She whispered into his ear before licking the tip. She stood and returned to the front of the crowd.
"N-Naruto…are you okay?" Sakura asked, actually worried for her teammate. However, her gaze slowly shifted as a large amount of ki was radiating from somewhere off to their right. Looking over, they saw Hinata with her eyes closed and a tick mark on her forehead. Her brow twitched and she seemed to be tensed.
Naruto sweat dropped. 'Well, at least I know she's going to get what's coming to her.'
After Anko explained the rules for the next part of the exam and handed the students death waivers to sign, (bringing lots of smiles to the more sadistic genin) the students were positioned in front of several of the gates to the forest. A buzzer began to count down, dropping the surroundings into silence, and bringing anxiety to almost all present. Hearts began to race and sweat began to form. Once the last buzzer sounded, all of the participants dashed into the forest…except for Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura slowed to a stop several meters in.
"Dobe what the hell are you doing? You've been acting strange, and my tolerance is running thin!" Sasuke growled, eyes flashing sharingan. Naruto rolled his eyes at the Uchiha.
"You know, I'd be impressed that you just said more words than you ever have in your whole life if it weren't for the fact that your ego is making you think you have a tolerance level."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sasuke shot back. Naruto sighed.
"Look, just shut up and wait a minute."
"Stop it Naruto! We're just wondering what the hell's your problem!" Sakura bellowed out. Naruto didn't entertain the two with a response again. Instead, he created a clone.
"Get Anko-chan and go to the Hokage asap." He said. The clone responded with a hai. Naruto jumped into the trees with his teammates and went right pass them. Sasuke and Sakura looked on in confusion and annoyance.
"What's he hiding from us?" Sakura wondered aloud. Sasuke just grit his teeth and growled, following after Naruto swiftly.
Outside Forest…
Anko had watched the whole little scene with mild interest. The blonde kid was proving to be good entertainment. Her curiosity was peaked when he dismissed his teammates and sent a clone for her. She grew a small smirk at hearing him call her Anko-chan.
'That kid is dead next time I see him.' She thought halfheartedly as she chewed on a dango stick.
"Well, let's go." The clone spoke to her and with a nod, she began to follow it. The kid new she was listening so it didn't even need to explain the situation yet. She was finding herself impressed more and more by the genin. If she didn't know any better, she'd think the boy was being influenced by his tenant, but the air of the demon wasn't about him at all.
"What's the deal brat?" She asked as they began to traverse the Konoha rooftops.
"There are ears everywhere. Wait until we get to the Hokage please." The clone responded dead seriously. This put Anko on edge and her mood instantly became serious as well. She looked ahead, a slight frown on her face.
'Yeah, this kid is definitely entertaining…'
She didn't ask anymore questions and the silence began to unease her. They reached the Hokage office quickly and used the shinobi entrance, a.k.a., the window.
"Anko-san, Naruto-kun, what is going on? Shouldn't you be at the Chunin exams?" The third immediately asked.
"Don't know. This is a clone of the brat, and he dragged me here saying it was important."
Naruto bowed. "Forgive me Hokage-sama, but this is an emergency. The boss-"
"Who?"
"The real Naruto. He met with the one-tailed jinchuriki this morning-"
"THE WHAT?" Both the Hokage and Anko shouted together. The clone sighed.
"Please let me finish. I'll answer any and all questions at the end." The two older shinobi frowned but complied. Anko was sweating, not knowing that there was another jinchuriki in the village while Sarutobi was on edge at the fact that Naruto knew about it.
"As I was saying, he met with Gaara this morning and learned of a certain person who's planning an invasion during the exams."
Sarutobi's eyes shot open but he remained silent. Anko sat down, taking in more information than she had been expecting that day. In all honesty, she thought the day would consist of eating dango and watching kids beat the living shit out of each other.
"The Ichibi has been preventing Gaara from sleeping, threatening to take over him at the soonest possible chance, but the Kyubi put an end to that."
Tension instantly filled the room to the brim.
"Before you start wondering, no, the Kyubi can't take control of me. We've come to terms with our fates and decided to make our existence together as least displeasing as possible. Oh, and did I mention he told me who my father was?" Anko rose an eyebrow as Sarutobi's pipe fell from his now gaping mouth. Anko narrowed her eyes at the old man.
"Wait, who's his father? By the look on your face, you knew and didn't tell him." She held a hint of venom, but it wasn't enough to get herself in trouble.
The Hokage swallowed and cleared his throat. "I believe Naruto has asked us to hold off questions until the end."
"Don't worry, Anko-chan. My father is the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze." The clone spoke nonchalantly, making Sarutobi's head bang into the desk. Anko froze on spot.
"You say who did the what in the where?" Anko stuttered.
"Isn't it kind of obvious? I mean, we have the same eye color, hair style and color. I was born on the day he sealed the Kyubi into a baby and it was against the law to reveal who my parents were. It all sort of just falls into place don't you think?"
The Hokage began banging his head even harder while Anko just face palmed, mumbling something about stupid obvious clues.
"Naruto, please start over from the beginning. This is all so much to take in at once." Sarutobi said, folding his hands beneath his chin.
The clone frowned but began to explain everything that happened starting two days prior. Throughout the whole ordeal, Anko actually sat patiently listening to everything, and then the mood grew darker as Naruto neared his conversation with Gaara.
"For the first five minutes, Gaara freaked out about how I was able to enter his mind. The place was a mess, covered in sand and shit. That's when he showed me where the Ichibi was held. The Kyubi's cage is sealed tight, in a sewer like place, but I guess that's just my fucked up mind. But Gaara's…the Ichibi's seal was a rusted cell in an old decaying prison. Every time the thing lashed out at the cage, the bars rattled and Gaara held his head in pain. The seal was very, very weak. That's when our minds converged and we were standing between both the Kyubi's cage and the Ichibi's…"
Flashback...
"What is the meaning of this? What is happening?" Gaara looked between both cages, eyes wandering swiftly. He turned to Naruto and held his hand up towards him. The seal on the Ichibi's cage began to glow slightly as sand began to rise towards the blonde haired genin.
"Stop Gaara." Naruto said, eyes narrowed. The seal on the Kyubi's cage began to glow faintly as well, and flames began to swirl around the joined area. The sand began to burn into glass instantly and shatter.
"You fool, you cannot face the Kyubi container inside of his own domain!" The Ichibi bellowed in its annoying scratchy voice.
"The…Kyubi?" Gaara asked, eyes growing wide. "The Nine-tailed demon? You are a jinchuriki as well?"
"It seems you have lost your touch Shukaku. You couldn't even sense me when we first met! Pathetic!" The Kyubi laughed.
"No fair! Why do you have to always be so mean?" She yelled, thrashing against the cage and making Gaara drop to his knees. Naruto frowned.
"What's your problem?" He yelled at the monster.
"Save it kit. She's losing her mind. Look at that seal."
Naruto gazed at the sloppy kanji and saw that with each strike, it damn near became perfect. He frowned and wondered what was with it.
"Can you guess the problem here?" The fox said, hoping Naruto could evaluate the situation on his own. Naruto began to think, looking at the seal, and then the state of the Ichibi's prison.
"The seal…is poorly done. It's like the person knew how it worked but didn't care for the actual process of applying it. The Ichibi probably saw how weak it was and has been trying to escape ever since."
"Yes. You saw how the seal on my cage prevents me from moving the bars even an inch. With the taste of freedom so close, she probably figured she could bust out if she tried long enough. Doing so each and every day, just to have that half assed seal come into effect must have torn at her sanity."
"So it's not her fault?" Naruto asked, starting to feel a little remorse for the beast.
"No, she's been an annoying bitch since day one." The Kyubi laughed as Naruto face planted. But he was also impressed. Naruto was using his perceptive nature extremely well, and it was showing the true prowess that made his father famous.
Naruto still wasn't the brightest and was still a bit headstrong. His overall progression from two days prior was top notch, but he was still far from achieving his goal. Besides, it wasn't an overnight thing.
"Oi, fox, how do we help Gaara?" Naruto asked.
"H-help…me?" Gaara was still holding his head since the monster still thrashed about wildly. "Wha…why?"
"Come on, I can see what you're going through. No one should have to suffer like this. If your life was anything like mine, you've been beaten without knowing why, segregated, hated, and scorned by the people you cared about. Worst case scenario, people have tried to assassinate you right?" Naruto spoke calmly but his gaze held sorrow.
"You…as well?" The Ichibi had stopped thrashing, staring at the scene.
"It's our fates. And there are seven more people out there who are going through the exact same thing as we speak." Naruto knelt in front of Gaara and held out a hand. "Life is fucked up and sucks ass. As jinchuriki we have the right to want to crush anyone who comes in our way."
Both demons chuckled at the statement but Gaara looked up at the blonde confused.
"I'm not saying that's the right thing to do though. Don't you think it'll be a lot easier if you got people to accept you by being you instead of the demon, no offense." Naruto looked up at the Ichibi who only shrugged.
"But…after so many years…all I've done is kill! I'm but a weapon for Suna…they will never see me as more." Gaara hung his head but Naruto forced him to look up, releasing a bit of ki.
"Don't start this self-pity shit. I get enough of it when Sasuke gets those moods."
"Heh, Uchiha pms…priceless…"
"Shut up fox! Like I was saying, you won't ever know what people will think until you try. Most people in my village hate me because of the fox, but I've already made friends that accept me for me. Hell, even Sasuke considers me a friend sometimes. I bet your brother and sister worry for you all the time, even if you can't tell. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but if you don't try it will never happen."
The blonde paused and looked up. The ceiling of the prison gave way, turning into the open sky. The Ichibi's bars extended into the bright sky and began to mirror the Kyubi's.
"…This is nice…" The demon spoke as she looked around.
"You don't deserve this." Kyubi spoke and laid down, seeming to take a nap.
"Naruto…how have you been able to smile after going through so much? You know what it's like, so how?" Gaara folded his arms but tears were in his eyes. He couldn't believe this was happening. He wanted to defend himself, but there was nothing to defend against. Even the Ichibi had calmed down.
"I smile because I think about how much worse life could be. No, I don't just grit my teeth and whither the pain like many people think I do. But I'm not going to make my situation worse than what it already is. I smile because I know that each and every day is a chance for me to prove them all wrong. To show them who I truly am. Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, son of the Fourth Hokage and future Godaime Hokage." Naruto smirked at the title and suddenly a Hokage hat fell from the sky, landing on his head. Seconds later a Kazekage hat fell on Gaara's head.
"What…what is this?" Gaara asked, moving the sun cover to the side.
"You might want to have a goal or a dream too. It helps to keep you sane…well, she kind of went the opposite way on that one though."
"I'm a wild animal kid, we don't like cramped spaces." Shukaku grew defensive.
"Aww, you sure it's not just because me and Hachibi used to stuff you in the Sanbi's shell all the time?" Kyubi joked. (Sanbi= Three Tailed Turtle.)
"Wow Kyubi, you were always a dick weren't you?" Naruto deadpanned.
"Dick's my middle name."
"I don't know how that should be taken." Gaara said evenly. Naruto spun on heel eyes widening.
'Did he…did he just make a joke?'
Gaara scratched his cheek and looked away.
"Kit, I would love to sit here and socialize since I truly am enjoying the company, but you have a bit more training to do before the exams. Let's get this over with now."
Naruto groaned but nodded. He was honestly having fun with the two demons himself. (Weird right?)
"Shukaku, you may not like it, but you will have to accept your fate. Escape is no longer an option from this child."
"Truly, I may have known it all along. But the sight of this damn worthless seal infuriates me! The accommodation of this place is terrible and the only entertainment I get is by having Gaara slay people. Can you blame me for being a little loopy?" She sighed in defeat.
"If you're honestly not as bad as you've been these past few years, then you're not a little loopy, you've plunged off the deep end." Gaara spat glaring. Naruto chuckled.
"The fox was the same way, threatening to devour my flesh and such."
Both demons blushed slightly and groaned.
"Give it a rest kit. Now down to business." A calligraphy brush and ink appeared, falling into Naruto's hands. "All you have to do is smooth the lines of that seal and add several that I tell you to."
"What? What are you doing?" Shukaku asked.
"Even though I think you're an ugly, fat, disgusting rodent, I'm going to make your imprisonment a bit more bearable. The rest is up to you and your container." The Ichibi scoffed at the insult but didn't argue.
Naruto set to work, concentrating hard as it was the first time he was doing seals. Of course he wouldn't be able to duplicate them any time soon, nor would he have been able to do a seal from scratch. With the Kyubi coaching him it was made simple but it wasn't an art Naruto would be able to learn quickly, even if his father was a seal master.
"Is this it?" Naruto asked and got a nod from the fox.
"Now I'm going to give you a bit of my chakra so you can power it up. Place your hand on the seal and begin channeling chakra into it."
Naruto did as told. Blue chakra began to feed into the seal and the bars of the prison began to creak and groan. Soon, red chakra began to blaze around the seal and the bars shined like new. The bars extended and grew, making the cell itself bigger. Once it was done, it was just a bit smaller than the Kyubi's.
"Naruto…I can't thank you enough for this…" Gaara said as tears actually left his eyes. He wiped them away quickly, trying his hardest to hold his stoic demeanor. It failed as Naruto put a hand on his shoulder. "I…I haven't slept in years…"
"Then let's get out of here so you can get a quick nap in before the exams." Naruto stated with a smile. He was happy for Gaara. But more so, he felt like he had truly taken a step to becoming a great shinobi. Being able to help another person who was just like him…it brought the greatest sense of pride and joy to him that he'd ever felt in his life. To him, he had just become Hokage. Comparing the looks of Gaara from the day before and then, he knew that he had truly done something worthy of his father. Maybe even greater.
'This…this is what I want. This is how I'm going to live my life.' He thought proudly.
"Wait, Naruto. There's something that I must tell you though." Gaara said, finally falling back into his monotone, though he held a small smirk now. "My father, the Kazekage…he has allied with Otogakure in an attempt to stage an invasion against Konoha during the exams. They planned on using me to distract you all while he and a monster known as Orochimaru slayed the Hokage."
"Orochimaru? The Orochimaru of the Sannin that went rogue a few days before I was born Orochimaru?"
"Yes. He is in disguise as a Grass ninja but his ultimate motive remains unclear to us all."
'This is bad.' Naruto thought. 'There's no way in hell Konoha is ready for an invasion from both Suna and Oto…'
"What are you going to do Naruto?" Gaara asked, not knowing how things would play out. He knew even if Naruto went to the Hokage, it wouldn't change a thing. The pieces were almost completely set.
"I'm going to tell the Hokage, but not until after the exams have started. We don't want to draw attention from the wrong people. Plus, we should let the exams continue as normal to let your father and Orochimaru think that things are going exactly as they planned."
"That's brilliant kit! You're thinking is becoming quicker."
"I'm a fox, I'm supposed to be cunning." Naruto said with a grin. It was true. Though he didn't call himself a nine-tailed demon, he had to admit that foxes and strangely enough toads were his favorite animals.
"If that is all, then I would like to get some rest Naruto." Gaara called, drooping slightly. Naruto agreed and the two jinchuriki decided to part ways.
End Flashback...
Both the Hokage and Anko sat in both shock and horror. The story itself seemed so unbelievable but at the same time they could tell that Naruto wasn't lying. Feeling his chakra, they knew that he wasn't being influenced by the demon either. But both older nin also had their own lines of thought about the information that was just revealed.
The Hokage held a pensive look, staring sternly ahead. 'So Orochimaru and the Kazekage are staging a coup. I doubt that Suna would truly betray us like this so Orochimaru must be threatening them…This is most disturbing but Naruto's plan does seem the most viable. I can silently prepare my own forces, but research must be done first.' He sighed, knowing that he couldn't rely on the Kazekage's children without getting them killed. In the words of Shikamaru, this was very troublesome.
Anko sat silently, her eyes on the ground. Naruto looked over to her and frowned. From the research that he had been doing, he knew that Anko was the last apprentice of Orochimaru. 'I was only eight…' She thought gritting her teeth. 'Eight years old and in love with that son of a bitch…' Tears entered her eyes and her nails dug into the armrests of the chair.
"Anko-chan, I know how you must feel. The pain…" Naruto began but Anko turned a hard glare on him.
"How the fuck do you know how I feel? I was betrayed by that snake bastard! What the hell would you know? I was an orphan! I was alone and he was the only one that acted like he cared for me! What the fuck would you know about pain?" Anko stopped short as she saw the look on the genin's face. The clone stood and dispelled itself. Anko's eyes widened as she realized what she had just said. Her heart actually hurt. The look on the face of the clone before it vanished was just like hers once she found out that Orochimaru had betrayed the village.
"Anko…" Sarutobi spoke low. "Be calm. Naruto is not one to-"
"Stop. I don't need any holier-than-thou shit, no offense. I'm a jonin and should have handled that better." She stood and bowed to the Hokage. "I'll go talk to him once he reaches the tower."
"You may have a chance to do so sooner. Because of the fact that Orochimaru is indeed in the village, we can't just allow him to have free roam in the Forest of Death. We'll need a covert surveillance group in there asap." He sat up in his chair, a dark look upon his face. "Orochimaru will not have his way."
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had been traversing in complete silence. The last two were thinking of their usually exuberant comrade and his newly found don't-give-a-shit attitude.
Sasuke was actually worried about the blonde, thinking that it was something they had done to make him act that way. He didn't respond the same to his taunts of dobe and even refused to make eye contact anymore. It was true that he and Naruto were bitter rivals, going as far as to promise each other they wouldn't die just so they could fight against each other one day. His Uchiha pride had always made him feel like he was better than him, but now he was wondering what could have made the blonde so distant.
Sakura on the other hand was thinking of how hard she was going to hit the blonde for being socially distant. Though she wouldn't admit it, she liked the way he doted over her. With all the times Sasuke had rejected her, she needed someone there to act like they cared for her. She was still too naïve to think of what her rejections would do to the jinchuriki.
Suddenly, Naruto dropped down into a clearing. His two teammates followed swiftly, anxious to see what the problem was.
"What is it now dobe?" Sasuke asked, though with less criticism.
"Go on ahead." Naruto stated darkly.
"What do-" Sakura began but saw his fist clenched tightly. She saw his shoulders trembling, as if he were about to cry. "Naruto…what's wrong?"
"Just…go." He called, his voice quivering and laced with malice. Sasuke felt his building ki and swallowed. Sasuke walked over to Sakura and grabbed her arm.
"Let's go." He said.
"But…what about-" Sasuke shook his head. He jumped into the trees and Sakura followed. She looked back only to see Naruto's hair blocking his face.
Tears fell slowly.
As his two comrades left his view, he turned towards a tree to his right.
"I know you're there. Just come out and do what you need to do." Naruto spoke bitterly.
"Amazing that you were able to sense us! I wonder if your flames of youth burn as bright as Sasuke's!" Rock Lee shouted as he landed in the clearing.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked as he never let his guard down. TenTen and Neji followed behind Rock Lee.
"We're Team Gai. I'm TenTen, that's Rock Lee and this is Neji." The girl spoke, giving Naruto a warm smile. Neji turned away coldly.
"That Sasuke person has gone ahead Lee. We have no reason to be here with fodder."
Naruto's brow twitched. "Fodder?"
"That is most unyouthful Neji-kun! My deepest apologies…"
"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said before flashing through hand signs and creating a dozen clones. Team Gai jumped back, getting into their battle positions.
"Hey, what are you doing? We didn't come here to fight!" TenTen called.
"…" Naruto was silent. Neji noticed that he wasn't looking at them and activated his byakugan.
"Neji!" TenTen gasped. He held a finger to his mouth. Naruto nodded.
"We're surrounded."
Hinata, Shino, and Kiba had made it a good distance into the forest, deciding to make it close to the tower before they began to acquire the opposite scroll. They landed in a small clearing, Hinata scanning the area with her byakugan before giving the sign for clear. Kiba instantly fell to his back, Akamaru laying on his chest.
"Man, I'm beat! We haven't traveled that fast since that day Kurenai-sensei caught us peeking in on the hot springs." He called with a chuckle.
"Correction. She caught you peeking in on the hot springs." Shino said as he settled down for a quick rest as well. His gaze left his uninhibited comrade to settle on their female partner. She was standing still in a pose that he hadn't seen before. (Sixty Four Palms Defense) Her eyes were closed and she held one hand in front of her face in a single hand sign. Shino's bugs began to stir unpleasantly. "Hinata, what is it you are about to do?"
Kiba looked over as well as he saw Hinata stock still, deep in concentration. "You okay?" He asked.
The wind began to blow and leaves began to drift all over the clearing. As many of them surrounded Hinata she slowly put both hands out to the side. Shino stood up as Kiba just looked on confused.
"Shino, what's going on?" Kiba asked, moving to a sitting position. Shino's bugs grew irate.
"A defense and offense that can even stop my kikaichu." He said almost as a question.
Hinata's eyes flared open, byakugan instantly activating. Suddenly her arms became blurs and the leaves around her began to be shredded to bits faster than the normal eyes could see. Hinata's face contorted into rage as she tried her hardest to keep the jutsu going. Her arms were beginning to slow as sweat dripped from her face.
Her two teammates watched in stunned silence as she finally stopped, dropping to her knees.
'It's still not good enough…' She thought, tears entering her eyes. 'I won't be ready to face Neji without it…'
"Hinata…what was that?" Kiba called out in amazement.
"That is unlike any technique I have seen before. Did you create that?" Shino asked.
"Yes. It's supposed to be a counterattack to swarm techniques…and to the sixty-four palm jutsu of my clan." She breathed out. "I've been working on it for several months now, but I haven't had the time or the skill to finish it."
"But you just diced those leaves to bits! That's amazing!" Kiba shouted.
"Keep your voice down, Kiba." Hinata said as she moved to a sitting position. Her chest bounced slightly, making Kiba hold his nose in fear of blood. "I neglected my training. That technique should have been done by now."
Shino frowned and faced away from his teammates. His analysis of the attack showed that she had used very little chakra when she started. From what his bugs told him, she used two extremely thin chakra blades and used her flexibility to move them at extreme speeds in a three hundred and sixty degree rotation. His bugs were dead scared of the technique, and she did say it was a counterattack to swarming jutsus. The only drawback that he saw was that Hinata hadn't kept it going for very long.
"Hinata, that was acceptable. The skill level and nature of that attack greatly increase the effectiveness regardless of the time that you can sustain it for."
Hinata nodded. "That's nice, Shino-kun, but my goal is to be able to move while performing the technique. In that sense, I'm sorely behind."
Shino nodded, seeing as how that was a problem. He had no advice to give her, seeing as she was probably the best close ranged fighter out of all three. Kiba was a mid-ranged fighter and of course he was the long ranged. Hinata was technically their first line of defense.
Even with Hinata's training, Shino was worried for the girl. She hadn't completely changed, but she was much different than she was a few days prior. He didn't want her to do anything that she couldn't handle, and her new attitude, though more worthy of being a shinobi, was not going to be able to cater to her emotions as well. She seemed more distant than before, and from the start of the exams, she seemed to rarely smile. Hinata was like a little sister to him so this truly upset him.
"Hinata…what is the reason for your sudden change in attitude?" Shino asked bluntly. Kiba frowned as they gazed upon Hinata. The Hyuga heiress herself looked down and crossed her legs.
"It's nothing. Just a few misunderstandings is all." She replied.
"Misunderstandings with whom?" Shino asked. Kiba sighed and laid back down.
"Naruto."
Hinata blushed and rose an eyebrow. "How would you know that?" She asked.
"Honestly, I don't think there's anybody in the village who doesn't know you have a crush on him. If you're acting differently so suddenly, it has to have something to do with him. Besides, you and him were the only two left in the academy after the written exam." Kiba called.
"What happened between you two?" Shino asked.
"Since when were you one to bother about my personal life Shino?" Hinata snapped, getting surprised gazes from both of her teammates. She looked away, slightly angry. "I'm sorry…but it is truly none of your business. I understand that you're worried for me but there is nothing to concern yourself over. Me and Naruto-kun have settled things already."
"Whatever you say, Hinata." Shino said and ended the conversation. Kiba looked sadly at their partner. Hinata frowned too but stood to walk the opposite direction. She hadn't meant to snap at him like that but she didn't want them messing with what she was trying to do. If they knew about her and Naruto trying to get stronger for each other, they'd try to help her. She was sick of people thinking that she couldn't do anything on her own.
With both teammates on opposite sides of the clearing, Kiba looked back and forth between the two. With a sigh, he hung his head. "This is going to be a long day."
A/N Honestly, I want to apologize for putting this up so late. I had actually typed this last month, but hoped that my writers block would go away so I could do a better job. In truth, I like this chapter less than the last one. But since it's getting warmer, I should be getting that creative spark back. I planned too far ahead for the story and didn't take the time establish a transition from the written portion to the tournament part of the exam. (Fail, I know.)