Hey guys! I made sure to post a little earlier than usual this time. There were several long detailed reviews so Im staying true to my word. This story is becoming more popular then I could have ever hoped and its only just started. Already I have over 600 reviews and 200,000 hits. I am truly honored by your continued support. I realize that my focus on this story has made me forget about Sunflowers, but I do intend to work on it as well. Please continue to leave detailed reviews and I will try to post even earlier. Most of you will be glad to know that the Hidiki arc will end with this chapter.
The crisp morning air bite across Naruto's cheeks as he stood in a large grass field in front of a large mansion-like estate. If Hiashi's directions were accurate then this was undoubtedly the Kenji clan compound.
The compound was made up of several tall buildings all surrounded by a large stone wall. The wall must have been at least twenty feet high and six inches thick. In front, there was a single door made of similar stone. The door was clearly designed to only be opened from inside the compound. It was much too heavy to be moved by a single person from the outside.
Naruto gazed up into the emerging lavender-colored clouds. His thoughts drifted to Hinata and the first time he ever really noticed her. You can do it, Hinata! His words echoed through his head as he recalled her fight with Neji in the Chuunin exams. Naruto bent to one knee and rubbed his knuckle through the dirt.
The sun broke over the distant mountains causing the first golden beam of sunlight to fall across Naruto's hand. Naruto clutched a pinch of dirt in his fist as he stood up. He raised his arm straight out in front of him and reflected on the blood promise he had made with Hinata's blood.
I swear to you, Hinata, I will bring you back. I will not lose another person precious to me!
The blazing sun finally cleared the mountain top and unleashed a wave of light onto the field behind Naruto. Naruto held up his favorite hand sign and summoned a single clone. He threw his left hand back and gathered an immense amount of chakra into his hand. His clone began to swirl his chakra into a ball with his hands.
Naruto stood there for several moments allowing the ball of chakra to grow even larger and more violent. A strong wind erupted from the ball and stormed around the two Narutos. The fierce wind grew to be too strong for the clone and it promptly vanished in a puff of smoke. Naruto stepped forward and thrust the ball into the stone entrance of the giant estate.
"Rasengan!"
The blue ball of chakra hit the heavy stone with a piercing screech. The sphere slowed to a standstill as the door began to shake and crumble. Suddenly, the Rasengan launched from Naruto's hand carrying the giant stone door with it. The six inch thick stone door went flying forward in a spiraling motion that rivaled a small tornado. The violent spinning of the door only increased its momentum as it crashed into one of the tall buildings in the compound. The door tore a hole right through the building and came crashing out the other side.
The building became too heavy for the remaining walls and it loudly collapsed upon its own weight filling the compound with thunderous noise.
Naruto stepped on top of the rubble and took a deep breath before screaming, "HINATA!". His voice was filled with pain and rage and it echoed throughout the compound. Naruto's eyes had become thin slits surrounded by blood red irises. The rest of his body, however, remained untransformed.
The scream echoed throughout the estate alerting everyone to Naruto's presence. Hidiki had dismissed the entire clan the night before so the only people left in the compound were Hinata, Hidiki, and Asuka. Hidiki smiled slightly at Naruto's scream. It was finally time to settle this.
Meanwhile, Hinata was fast asleep when the noise from Naruto's Rasengan had shaken her cell. The explosion had knocked her from her blissful dream of Naruto and brought her back to the cold dirt floor of her prison cell. She had just begun to sit up from her slumber when Naruto's voice rang through her head. Hinata blinked and quickly shook her head. She peered around her cell, but there was nothing but a dismal silence surrounding her.
She could have sworn she had heard Naruto calling out her name. But was that just a dream? The images of Naruto's death passed in front of her eyes again and her heart was once again consumed by pain.
Hinata felt her chest heave with a powerful sob, but her body didn't have any more tears to cry. She curled herself tightly up into a ball and tried to remember the dream she had been having before the noise had woken her up…
Asuka smiled to himself as he watched Hinata fall back asleep. He had been waiting outside the prison door for quite some time now. The sedative Hidiki had infused into Hinata's food should have kept her unconscious for a while, but it looked like her body was somehow resisting the drug. It made no matter, though. Hidiki's plan was already in motion…
Naruto stepped off the rubble and began his search for Hinata. But just as he was about to leave the courtyard a soft chuckle stopped him cold in his tracks.
"Well, look at you, Naruto!" Hidiki said as he stepped out from a shaded corridor. "You look….angry."
"You took Hinata away from me!" Naruto roared turning towards Hidiki. As Hidiki merely laughed again Naruto felt the boiling red chakra build up inside of him.
"Took her? I saved her! A girl as delicate as Hinata isn't safe with a demon like you!" Hidiki shouted as his mocking expression twisted into defensive anger.
Hidiki's words hit home and Naruto flashed back to his nightmare of killing Hinata. Hidiki was right. Naruto had no way of controlling the demon inside of him. It could break free at anytime and Hinata would be in danger.
Naruto smiled solemnly. "You may be right, Hidiki. But even if I am just a demon… you are more of a monster than I ever will be! Hinata is one of my precious people and I will always protect her!"
Hidiki was caught off guard for a mere second, but he quickly regained his composure. "How can you protect her from yourself?"
Naruto's spirits once again sunk. "I don't know….but the first thing I have to do is protect her from you!" Naruto lunged forward towards Hidiki, but he was stopped by a yellow flash and suddenly Hidiki's eyes were glowing yellow again.
"Did you forget about my power, Naruto? Tch, tch." Hidiki sighed and shook his head. "I guess I will just have to remind you!"
Naruto tried to close his eyes, but it was too late. There was another flash and suddenly Naruto was kneeling in front of a collapsed Hinata. Blood matted her hair and tears were falling down her cheeks. She whispered something, but Naruto couldn't hear what. He leaned closer and placed his ear near her face.
"I-I….love…you… N-Naru…"
Naruto felt Hinata go limp in his arms and tears gathered in his eyes. Despair struck at his heart, but there was a small voice in the back of his mind. Naruto furrowed his brow and stilled his breath.
Hinata needs my help! Naruto blinked. Hinata? But isn't she… An image of Hinata being grabbed by Hidiki flashed across Naruto's mind and suddenly the dead Hinata disappeared.
Naruto closed his eyes and focused his chakra. He felt the despair lift and when he opened his eyes he was back in the Kenji courtyard with Hidiki standing in front of him.
Naruto smirked as he wiggled his arms and legs. He was free from Hidiki's grasp. He looked up at Hidiki, but Hidiki was still smiling.
"So you broke the first layer. Congratulations."
Naruto frowned. "The first layer?"
Hidiki sighed. "Yeah, it hardly ever works the second time. Once a person realizes a dream wasn't real they aren't likely to believe it the next time they see it. The second layer, however, is real." Hidiki closed his eyes and raised a single hand to his temple.
Naruto leaped forward with his fist cocked back. Hidiki opened his eyes just in time to see Naruto's fist connect with his stomach. Hidiki doubled over in pain as he gasped for breath. Naruto brought a second fist directly into Hidiki's cheek knocking him to the ground.
Naruto stepped back from the moaning Hidiki. He had been expecting more a fight, but Hidiki didn't show any signs of getting up.
Naruto shrugged and was about to run from the courtyard when a sudden, crippling pain washed over his entire body. Naruto sank to the floor in writhing, burning agony. Every inch of his body felt like it was being burnt and torn apart.
Hidiki sat up and Naruto turned his gaze towards him. He quickly realized that Hidiki hadn't been moaning. He had been laughing. The pain subsided for a moment and Naruto brought himself to his knees.
"Do you know how the brain works, Naruto? I suppose not. You don't strike me as the book reading type. The brain is basically a electric router for the body. But not only does it send and receive signals, it interprets them."
Hidiki stood up and calmly walked over to where Naruto was kneeling. He delivered a swift kick to Naruto's stomach and Naruto sank back to the ground in pain.
"That was for hitting me. You see, the first layer only requires eye contact since I am merely sending my chakra into your brain to manipulate your senses. I make your brain believe you are having a nightmare and it fills in the rest. The second phase, however, is much more difficult, yet, so simple. It is merely pain. "Do you know what pain is, Naruto?"
Naruto brought himself to his knees once again and looked up at Hidiki with burning red eyes.
Hidiki smirked and continued his explanation. "Pain is simply an electric signal that your body carries to the brain. The brain then interprets this signal and relays it back to the body as that unpleasant feeling you call 'pain'. What I do is convince your brain that every nerve in your body is sending it electric pain signals. But I can only do that by sending an electrical impulse through your skin. And I have to have physical contact to do that."
Hidiki crouched down to Naruto's body. "The Kenji's aren't known for their physical strength but our wit is legendary. I knew there was no way I could strike you and that's why I allowed you to punch me. You gave me exactly what I needed." Hidiki reached over and touched Naruto's cheek.
Naruto's body once again crumpled in excruciating pain. It was the most intense pain Naruto had ever felt. It was even worse than the time the villagers had beaten him to a pulp and broken nearly every bone in his body.
"It's quite amazing, isn't it?" Hidiki laughed hysterically. "Every nerve fiber in your body is screaming out in pain! I wonder how that must feel?"
Naruto screamed out in agony and his world began to fade. But suddenly, the pain was gone. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared leaving only a creeping anticipation in its place.
Hidiki frowned and stood up. "That's the only problem. The brain has a failsafe. If the pain becomes too intense for your body to bear it will force you to pass out. But pain is special. The more you are exposed to high levels of pain the more your brain is able to interpret and withstand pain."
Naruto frowned for a second as he tried to follow what Hidiki was saying.
Hidiki sighed. "Here is an example even you would understand. When you get punched for the first time you mind will blank and your instincts will kick in. That's why time seems to speed up. But if you get punched again the next day your mind is less likely to blank because you have already felt that pain. The pain you were unaware of before has suddenly become familiar to you and you are able to think clearly during that pain."
"But let's say the next day you are struck with a bat. Your experience of pain would suddenly increase to an unfamiliar level and your instincts would once again take over. But the next time you were hit with a bat you would be able to process and think clearly because you are experiencing something familiar. Do you understand?"
Naruto glared up at Hidiki and tried to stand up. He could feel the Nine-Tails stirring inside him. He tried to suppress his anger, but it was taking all of his focus just to withstand the pain.
"The reason my technique is special is because you can't get used to it. How can your body become familiar with a pain that doesn't really exist? Your mind, however, can still become resistant to it and can learn to withstand it. But that just means you can endure the pain for longer without passing out." Hidiki kicked Naruto in the chin and knocked him onto his back. Naruto's body was once again filled with tormenting pain.
Naruto writhed on the ground for several moments before the pain subsided again.
"How can you fight me when you can't even stand!" Hidiki laughed and kicked Naruto again. Blood dripped from Naruto's chin as he struggled to stand up. The pain was becoming too much… He could feel himself slipping. Just as his conscious was about to fade a boiling liquid chakra poured out of him.
The red chakra enveloped his body completely and formed a single tail behind him. Hidiki quickly punched him again sending the pain impulse into his body. However, when his fist made contact with Naruto's body, the red chakra wormed around his hand. Hidiki screamed as the flesh on his hand burned. He quickly drew back and retreated to a safe distance. What the hell is that red chakra! It felt… alive.
Hidiki stuck his unburned fingers into his mouth and whistled loudly. The whistle reverberated throughout the empty compound all the way to the prison where Asuka was standing watch. Asuka smiled when he heard the whistle. He threw open the prison door and strode into Hinata's cell. The girl was still asleep on the ground. Asuka unlocked the cage and grabbed her, slinging her onto his shoulder.
Asuka carried her to the courtyard and not-so-gently tossed her onto the stone floor. The jostling woke Hinata up and she opened her eyes to the sight of the destroyed courtyard. She glanced around and her gaze fell upon the back of a glowing Naruto.
Naruto? Hinata shook her head and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. It can't be…
"N-Naruto….?"
Naruto froze at the sound. He slowly turned around and his gaze met with Hinata's. Hinata broke into a huge smile and tears burned at her eyes. "You're alive…"
Hidiki blinked in surprise. She is still happy to see him? How can that be!
Naruto took a step towards Hinata, but Asuka stopped him by pressing a blade to Hinata's neck causing a single drop of blood to slide down her neck.
Something snapped inside of Naruto and his rage broke free. A second tail formed and the red chakra enveloping Naruto began to bubble violently.
Asuka felt a wave of fear crawl up his spine and he pressed the blade tighter against Hinata's neck, hoping to stop Naruto's advancement.
Hidiki unsheathed his own blade and twirled it in his hand. This is getting out of hand. The third layer requires me to apply my chakra directly into his blood. I need to find an opening to cut him…
Naruto slunk to all fours in an imitation of a fox. Naruto could feel his sanity began to slip and he focused all of his remaining thoughts on Hinata.
I have to save her….
Naruto let out a loud scream as a third tail formed behind him. His skin began to sizzle as the red chakra simultaneously burned and healed him.
Hidiki was amazed at the sight before him. The Nine-Tails fox was truly incredible. Hidiki was about to charge forward, but something caught his gaze. Naruto's hand was stuck in the dirt and the red chakra seemed to be flowing into the hole. What is he doing? Hidiki thought as he raised his guard.
Suddenly, a chakra claw exploded out from behind Asuka. Asuka tried to look behind him, but the claw pierced through his torso before he could turn around. Asuka dropped the knife and clutched at his gaping wound. He turned towards his son before falling to the ground, his blood seeping out onto the stone.
Hidiki took a step towards his father, but Naruto immediately brought his arms high above his head. There was a moment of silence before Naruto instantaneously brought his fists down into the ground. There was a huge explosion of energy as the ground rippled around Naruto. The mere force of the blast blew Hidiki and Hinata to the ground.
The blast knocked the wind out of Hinata, but she forced herself to stand up. Gasping for air, she slowly walked towards the burning Naruto. Tears slide down her face as she forced her legs to keep moving towards Naruto. Naruto turned towards Hinata as she grew closer. He snarled and raised one of his claws into the air. Hinata took another step closer and Naruto brought his claw down beside her.
Hinata ignored it and continued her advance. Naruto roared as she got within arm's reach. One of his chakra tails whipped around him and smacked Hinata across the face. Hinata stood there for a second before turning her head back towards Naruto. She slowly knelt in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck, cradling his head on her chest.
The red chakra burned Hinata's skin, but she hardly even noticed it. "It's okay, Naruto…. I'm here. You don't have to suffer by yourself anymore. I don't care if you are a demon! You are still Naruto!" Tears flowed down Hinata's burned cheek. She tightened her grip and pulled Naruto closer to herself. "I'll….suffer with you… so please stay with me!"
Suddenly, the boiling chakra stopped bubbling. The tails slowly vanished and the red chakra began to retreat back within Naruto's body. His claws disappeared and his body returned to normal. Naruto lifted his head and looked into Hinata's eyes as his own turned from red back to cerulean.
Hinata smiled weakly and softly pressed her lips against Naruto's. The kiss was brief, but it expressed everything Hinata wanted to say. Naruto reached up to caress Hinata's check, but his hand froze when he touched the burn mark on her cheek. Naruto pulled back to examine Hinata. Her cheek was bleeding and there were blisters and scratches scattered across her body. Her clothes were tattered and torn and there were burn marks all along her arms.
Naruto stepped back in horror. "I d-did this…?"
"N-No! It wasn't you…" Hinata's voice trembled. She knew this was only half true, but the look on Naruto's face hurt her more than all of her injuries combined.
"It was the demon. I couldn't control it…. And now I… h-hurt you…." Naruto stared down at his hands. He then noticed the blood running across the stone floor. He followed the trail to Asuka's lifeless body. Naruto suddenly couldn't breathe. "I k-killed some-"
Naruto was cut off as several inches of steel erupted from his chest. Hidiki was standing behind him with his blade piercing Naruto's chest.
Hinata felt her stomach plummet and her gasp got caught in her throat. This was the second time she had seen Naruto get stabbed and her body couldn't take it. Her legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees. I can't do it….. I can't watch him die again….
But Naruto wasn't going to go down so easily. He grabbed the part of the blade sticking out of his chest with his hand and pulled the rest of the blade through him, drawing Hidiki closer to him. Hidiki quickly let go of the knife and backed out of Naruto's reach.
Naruto then grabbed the handle of the blade and pulled it out of him. He tossed the blade to the ground and turned towards Hidiki. "You've lost, Hidiki. Give it up."
Hidiki grinned. "Actually, it's you who has lost, Naruto."
Suddenly, Hidiki faded from Naruto's vision. Naruto blinked. Hidiki had been standing there a second ago…. He turned towards Hinata and gasped. There were flames covering her entire body. She screamed in pain as the smell of burning flesh filled the air.
Naruto shook his head. Was this just another illusion made by Hidiki?
"Welcome to the third layer, Naruto."
Naruto spun around. Where was that voice coming from? He turned back towards Hinata. She was looking at him like he was crazy even though she was the one that was on fire.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked the empty space where Hidiki used to be.
"When I stabbed you I inserted a stream of my chakra into your blood. That chakra was pumped straight to your brain and your own chakra system. I now control all five of your senses. What you see, hear, smell, taste and feel is all up to me."
Naruto was suddenly enveloped by darkness. The courtyard and Hinata were gone and in their place there was only empty black. Naruto felt a sharp pain as he was once again stabbed.
Meanwhile, Hinata was watching Hidiki as he explained the third layer. She slowly climbed to her feet and stumbled towards Naruto. He was always saving her. It was time for her to do the saving.
Hidiki didn't even seem to notice her. He just kept dancing around Naruto, cutting him with his knife. She was only a few feet away when Hidiki noticed her presence and spun around. She activated her Byakugan and slid into her Jyuuken stance.
Hidiki's eyes widened and he jumped back to a safe distance.
Hinata smirked. "Don't worry. I would never willingly touch you." She then hit Naruto with both of her palms sending her own chakra into Naruto's body effectively shutting down his entire chakra system. This also meant that Hidiki's chakra was negated as well.
Suddenly, Naruto's world returned to normal. Hidiki was visible again and Hinata was standing in front of him with a big smile on her face.
"Did you…"
Hinata nodded. "I sealed your chakra which halted your mind's perception of Hidiki's chakra as your own."
Naruto nodded back with a grin. "Yeah…. I didn't get any of that."
Hinata laughed, but she was quickly interrupted by Hidiki.
"I still have the upper hand here!" Hidiki said hysterically as he shook his knife at Naruto.
Naruto grinned and stepped past Hinata. "Wrong again, Hidiki. Your chakra won't work on me anymore. And you said it yourself, the Kenji aren't known for their physical strength."
Hidiki made a stab for Naruto's heart, but he easily dodged it and delivered a swift fist to Hidiki's throat. Hidiki dropped the knife and stepped back, gasping for breath. Naruto quickly stepped forward and punched him square in the nose. Hidiki reeled back, but Naruto didn't stop there. He sweep kicked Hidiki's legs out from under him and while Hidiki was hanging in the air, Naruto deftly brought his elbow down into Hidiki's chest slamming him into the ground. Hidiki was unconscious before his knife hit the floor.
Naruto turned back to face Hinata. He gave her a huge grin and a cheesy thumbs up. But then the adrenaline wore off and Naruto began to feel the effects of blood loss. He took one woozy step before falling into Hinata's open arms and passing out.
Hinata panicked and ripped Naruto's shirt open. She pulled the blood soaked clothing aside to examine his wounds. There were several shallow cuts on his chest and arms, but there were only two concerning wounds where Hidiki had stabbed his knife straight through Naruto. But to Hinata's amazement, the wounds weren't even bleeding anymore. In fact, it appeared as though they were already healing. Hinata sighed heavily. It was finally over. She smiled to herself as she brushed a strand of hair out of Naruto's face.
Suddenly, there were footsteps and a loud barking sound behind her. Hinata turned around and found herself face to face with a small pack of dogs.
"Waz up?" The smallest dog asked her as he made a peace sign with his paw.
Hinata blinked. "Eh?" she screamed as she fell backwards onto her hands. Naruto rolled off of her and onto the stone floor. The little dog walked up to Naruto's body and sniffed him.
"Yeah, Kakashi, we found him. He is pretty beat up." The little dog said turning to look at the silver haired Jounin behind him.
Kakashi grinned and waved to Hinata. "Yo."
"Um… H-How…?" Hinata tried to form a complete sentence, but her mind was still pretty frazzled.
"I got back to the village earlier than expected. Tsunade explained everything to me and sent me to come find you. On the way Pakkun here came across Naruto's scent and we just followed that."
Pakkun barked in appreciation. "That kid sure makes it easy to track his scent. He must bathe in ramen."
"Thank you…" Hinata mumbled to Kakashi and the dogs. Pakkun nodded and the dogs disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Kakashi bent over to pick up Naruto's body. "I don't expect you to explain this to me right now. I'm sure you can do that properly after the two of you rest up and get checked out. Can you walk?"
Hinata stood up slowly. "I think so…"
Kakashi peered around at all the rubble around him. "Naruto really does go all out when he has something important to protect…"
Hinata nodded as a blush creep across her face. She followed Kakashi out of the compound without looking back. It was finally over….
Im sorry if that ending seemed a tad too abrupt. I figured it would be better to resolve the after effects in the next chapter since there is a lot I want to cover. I really hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! Fight scenes are always a tough scene to write. It's so hard to avoid using the word suddenly. Im still not sure if I did a good job so please send me your input in a review. And a slight hint for the next chapter: my time skip chapter is a lot closer than you might expect… Please look forward to it and don't forget to review!