Hinata stirred awake with a soft moan, enjoying the comfy bed she was in. She creaked an eye open, checking for the morning sunlight. Seeing the room brightened up with said sunlight, she sat up, did a small stretch and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw something weird on the floor. Turning to look at it more clearly, she gasped when she saw two unconscious figures near her bed.
"Shizune-san! Natsumi-chan!" she cried out with great worry, now fully awake and moving to them. Her memory quickly caught up with her, recalling that it was Tsunade that left them in that state. She tried to rouse them, and soon groans of pain were heard from both unconscious females. Shizune was the first to rise, clutching her abdomen with a grimace. It appeared she was still hurt. Natsumi woke up seconds later, getting up on her hand and knees, the other hand tenderly gripping the back of her neck where she was struck.
"Oh no!" Shizune exclaimed with fright. "Hinata, what time is it now? No, what day of the week is it?"
"It's Monday," she answered before helping Natsumi to her feet. "Natsumi-chan, are you feeling okay?"
"Damn that old hag...!" Natsumi cursed as she rubbed her sore neck. "It still hurts a little, but I'm okay."
"Your body's feeling better already?" Shizune asked, surprised at Natsumi's state of health. She looked like she was ready to crash just yesterday night. "You should still be in a fatigued state."
"I recover from most injuries, fatigue included, after a night's sleep. It's been like that most of the time ever since I was young," she replied, exchanging a short glance with Hinata. They both understood it was because of the Kyuubi that she even had such a high rate of recovery. They did not know Shizune also knew that secret. "More importantly, where is that old hag? Today's the deadline for the bet."
"Then you were successful with the jutsu?"
"Of course! I can definitely get it right in front of her!" she bragged. Hey, she was not asking if she mastered it. She only asked if she was successful with it, which she was. Shizune looked at her in awe before she shook it off.
"I don't have time to just sit here. Natsumi-kun, Hinata, the both of you stay here." Shizune opened the window, ready to leap out when a kunai flew past her face, far too close for her liking. She turned to the direction of the thrower with hostility in her eyes, ready to fight. The hostility immediately vanished when she recognized just who threw it. "You're..."
"What?" Her pause attracted Natsumi's attention, Hinata following behind her as they looked at where she was looking. "Ah!"
"Wait, Shizune." It was Jiraiya, and he did not look well at all. They helped him to the balcony while Hinata left to fetch him a flask of water at his request. "Damn that Tsunade... She put something in my sake. I can't mold chakra correctly. On top of that, my body is numb and I can't throw kunai correctly."
"Totally uncool! You're always bragging about how great a ninja you are. Did she deceive you with some sort of perverted trick, Ero-Sennin?" Natsumi poked fun at him.
"Shut up!" he snapped. He briefly explained how Tsunade was still a medical specialist no matter what the situation. His drink had been spiked with a tasteless, odourless drug made by her. He admitted he was slightly drunk when it happened, but he did not expect her to find an opportunity to slip him the drug.
"Jiraiya-sama, how are you feeling?" Shizune asked when Hinata returned with the flask of water which he drained quickly.
"Better than I was at dawn. But then again, I've only recovered about 30% so far," he replied. Despite being in a drugged state, his ninja senses remained unaffected. He narrowed his eyes when he sensed someone leaving stealthily, likely having spied on them. "Hinata, use your Byakugan now. Don't question me," he ordered. Hinata squeaked out an affirmative at the sudden hard tone and activated her doujutsu. "Is there anybody escaping fast from here?" It took her a few seconds, but she did find what he asked for.
"Kabuto-san?" she mentioned a name in surprise.
"What? The glasses guy from the Chuunin Exam is here?" Natsumi recognized that name.
"Keep your sights on him as we talk," Jiraiya told Hinata. "The both of you know him?"
"Yeah, he helped us out in the Chuunin Exam," Natsumi answered first.
"But Kabuto-san, he..." Hinata paused for a second to confirm what she saw. "He's wearing an Oto hitai-ate..."
"That can't be right! He's a Konoha ninja!" Natsumi exclaimed.
"But, that's what he's wearing."
"Hinata's right, Natsumi-kun. I've seen him with Orochimaru. He's working for him, most likely as an attendant like I am to Tsunade-sama," Shizune supported Hinata's statement.
"No way... So he's been spying on Konoha all this time...?" Natsumi was in disbelief at Kabuto's betrayal of Konoha.
"We're following after him," Jiraiya drained his last glass of water and stood up. "Shizune, you're going to tell me what you guys talked about with Orochimaru, now." Without waiting for her reply, he took off to chase after Kabuto who was certainly returning to his master's side.
"Orochimaru?" the two younger girls whispered to each other in confusion before looking at a distressed Shizune who soon took off as well. They quickly followed after her and soon joined up with Jiraiya. Shizune debriefed him on what exactly had occurred during their meeting with Orochimaru. What she told them worried all of them, fearing that Tsunade would make a horrible decision. If they did not stop Orochimaru now, things would take a turn for the worst for sure.
"Wait!" Jiraiya suddenly ordered for a stop, hiding behind a tree trunk large enough to hide all four of them who were lined up in a straight line.
"What is it, Ero-Sennin?" Natsumi asked a little too loudly behind him, only for his hand to slap over her mouth.
"Be quiet!" he hissed. He had spotted Kabuto observing something from a rooftop, likely Tsunade and Orochimaru. "We wait and watch. If he moves quickly or interrupts them, we will know that Tsunade refused Orochimaru's deal. If he moves calmly, then we can safely assume the worst." It was a tense wait, but they cheered inwardly when Kabuto threw a kunai. Tsunade came through! She did not accept the deal!
"We should go help her now!" Natsumi rushed out only to be pulled back by her collar by Jiraiya.
"Not yet. Tsunade will be fine on her own for now," he told her. "Orochimaru will not stand a chance against Tsunade in his condition, so her opponent is Kabuto. We jump in only if it appears Orochimaru is providing assistance or Tsunade is in great danger. This is very personal for her. Let her try to fix it on her own for now." Just as he finished speaking, the walls around Tsunade and Orochimaru started being destroyed and amidst the dust of fallen debris, three figures fled the scene. "Let's go!" Jiraiya commanded to follow, Shizune stopping for a moment to pick up Tsunade's discarded haori which she removed when chasing after Orochimaru and Kabuto.
***Break Line***
Jiraiya ordered for another stop when they were able to see two figures fighting in an open field with rocks and craters scattered about from Tsunade's attacks. They knew Tsunade and Kabuto were fighting but were too far away from clearly identifying them from sight alone. Instead, he had Hinata use her Byakugan to observe for them and inform them of any swings during the fight.
"Tsunade-sama's been hit by her opponent's jutsu!" Hinata exclaimed when she saw Tsunade suddenly on her knees.
"What kind of jutsu?" Jiraiya asked.
"I don't know. Kabuto gathered chakra in his hands and when he touched her, she just fell," she replied, unhappy with herself at only being able to give such a vague description. Even her Byakugan was not strong enough to identify just how Tsunade had been affected.
"A chakra scalpel!" Shizune fortunately knew what Hinata was describing. "He must have managed to cut Tsunade-sama's muscles when he made contact!"
"That kid's no slouch, but Tsunade needs to shake the rust off her fighting skills faster," Jiraiya added. He could tell that much even when he could not see her figure clearly. Hinata soon reported that Kabuto had landed another scalpel hit but Tsunade managed to fight back and somehow disabled his movements. He was left twitching weirdly on the ground after he was punched back. Tsunade started healing herself, which Hinata recognized by the unique green hue of healing chakra. Kabuto was on his knees and probably trying to regain control of his body. "That's enough. We move in now. Tsunade's far too vulnerable," Jiraiya decided.
His timing and judgement were spot on, as Kabuto managed to overcome his disabled movements before Tsunade could complete her healing and would have done serious damage if not for the smoke bomb Shizune had thrown to intercept him. They paused for Orochimaru and Jiraiya to exchange greetings before Tsunade pushed Jiraiya out of the way to finish her fight. She appeared to have the upper hand until Kabuto slashed his own hand with his kunai to splash some blood directly on her. For some reason, she completely froze in her tracks, unable to even dodge a straightforward punch. Fortunately, Shizune was quick to use herself as a cushion for her master to land on.
"Why are you betraying Konoha?" Natsumi asked, unable to comprehend why Kabuto would work alongside Orochimaru.
"I am an Otogakure spy. I did not betray Konoha as you claim, since I was never on Konoha's side to begin with," Kabuto answered.
"Then why did you help my team out during the Chuunin Exam?"
"I wanted to gather information on you guys, too. Natsumi-kun, I found out something after I gathered some data on you." He paused to make sure she was paying full attention to him. "You have no talent as a ninja. You're different than Sasuke-kun. You are even worse than your friend beside you, and she is the worst-performing Hyuuga I know to date." He was met with a hostile glare from her. "Even if you put that scary face on, you're just a cute Genin who's out of place. It's true we expected something from the monster inside you, but with the legendary Sannin around me, you are insignificant. You're like a small bug right now, and if you interfere... I'll kill you."
"Why you...!" Natsumi's temper had reached its limit from Kabuto's taunting and charged towards him.
"Don't, Natsumi!" Jiraiya tried to stop her but his body was still too affected by Tsunade's drug to be in any suitable fighting condition.
Natsumi knew his right arm was disabled by his own self-inflicted injury, so she made three Kage Bunshin to aid her in charging in from his right side. Unfortunately for her, their skill levels were too different and she was repelled from him despite his handicap. Kabuto returned to Orochimaru's side to treat himself and requested Orochimaru remove the bandages on his left arm. In response, Jiraiya ordered Shizune to take Tsunade's place as Kabuto's opponent while he would take on Orochimaru. Hinata and Natsumi were to guard Tsunade and her pet pig. Natsumi argued that she could fight but was quickly shot down by him. Not minding Orochimaru, Kabuto was said to be as strong as Kakashi.
"In that case, I'll just make some Kage Bunshin to-" Natsumi placed her fingers into the seal but before she could perform her jutsu, Jiraiya stopped her again.
"Don't use it. It's meaningless. It won't even work as a nice decoy, either. You'll simply be wasting chakra against them," he told her. Both sides used the Kuchiyose, having the same idea. Kabuto summoned gigantic twin snakes while Jiraiya summoned Gamakichi, the same toad child Natsumi summoned before. Shizune immediately identified the problem behind his poor summoning as Tsunade's drug while Orochimaru identified Jiraiya as being compromised in some way. Natsumi was quick to lend her assistance. It did not matter who summoned Gamabunta as long as he appeared. Despite keeping a clear image of Gamabunta in her head, her chakra without Kyuubi's assistance was nowhere near enough to summon any kind of giant toad. She had the chakra needed, but she did not have the control needed for the summoning to work correctly unless the density of Kyuubi's chakra was there to simply brute force the summoning. All she got was Gamatatsu, Gamakichi's brother, who was equally useless for the fight.
The twin snakes launched the first attack, diving towards Jiraiya's group. Everyone managed to escape the initial strike but Natsumi was the only one who failed to evade the following attack, getting herself eaten whole by one of the snakes. Shizune was trying to create distance while lifting a paralysed Tsunade when Kabuto emerged from the dust with a punch cocked. He was blown back by Hinata's Hakke Kuushou, allowing the two women to get away safely before following them.
"Hinata, protect Tsunade-sama! I will handle that man! Get away from here!" Shizune entrusted her with Tsunade's protection. Hinata watched in slight terror as Kabuto easily took down Shizune and when she started bleeding from the hits she was taking, Tsunade became even more erratic at the sight of more blood.
"Tsunade-sama, please calm down!" Hinata tried to get her attention, shaking her shoulders. "Please, you have to-" She was abruptly silenced by a backhanded slap. Because of her incessant shaking, Tsunade's frayed mind registered it as Hinata about to attack her. She stumbled backwards directly into an approaching Kabuto. Before she could get into a fighting stance, she was already hit in the chest by a scalpel attack. Unlike Tsunade who was able to fight past the struggle of being unable to breathe properly, Hinata immediately collapsed to her knees and coughed in pain as her hands clutched the affected area.
"This is thanks for your previous attack against me," Kabuto mentioned easily, walking past her with no further regard. He remembered healing her when she had a slight relapse of her heart injury during the Chuunin Exam finals. Even if she seemed fine, he knew better. Another hit to the area near her heart would keep her down for good, and he delivered it. Returning his attention to Tsunade, he became severely displeased watching her scream pathetically at him to stay away from her. He began taunting her about how her current behaviour reflected poorly on the reputation of the Sannin which Orochimaru was a member of and stomping his foot on her.
Natsumi, who had managed to escape being eaten alive for a second time, had her thigh bone cracked when she failed to notice the snake slamming its head into her back and sent her crashing into a small hillside. She bore witness to Kabuto stomping on Tsunade and Hinata who appeared to be choking on thin air.
"I've got to help them!" she told herself, forcing herself up and rushing towards them while almost hobbling on her one good leg. She managed to get there in time to prevent Kabuto from further abusing Tsunade. She blocked his punch with her forehead which bled as a result of the reckless defence. "Bastard, cut it out already!" She quickly wrapped her arms around his outstretched arm to immobilize him in such a way that she could still form the seal for the Kage Bunshin. Before her plan could be carried out, she felt agonizing pain sear through the leg with the cracked thigh bone. She lost all hold on Kabuto and collapsed to the ground, screaming in pain.
"Natsumi...-chan..." Hinata could barely even whisper.
"It seems your thigh bone is cracked from when the snake slammed into you. Don't think I didn't notice you favouring your other leg," he told her, though he was a little wary about what she had tried to do earlier. She had planned to hold him still in a compromised position before attacking with her Kage Bunshin. She managed to stifle her screams, though she was still immobile and glaring at him fiercely. "You can still move with a bone injury, but you won't any longer now that I've cut your leg muscles." Unfazed at being glared at, he started to taunt her too. "Are you afraid of me? Do you want to run away from here?"
"Like hell I will...! Until we beat you and Orochimaru, I'll never give up...!" she snarled through her pain. The pain was slowly becoming more bearable thanks to her accelerated healing, but it still hurt too much for her to start moving.
"You're not a kid anymore, so you shouldn't act like one. Give up if the situation calls for it, and run away when you need to." To reinforce his point, he repeated in verbatim her speech during the written portion of the Chuunin Exam about how it did not matter if she remained a Genin forever because she would still become Hokage. When her glare only persisted at his mockery of her words, he sighed to himself. "Hey, now... What's with those eyes? You're going to die. If you die, your dream won't come true. Kids think everything is easy. That's why they feel no shame in having stupid dreams. That's why they don't give up. You're going to chase after a stupid dream and die." He raised his foot to stomp on her like he did to Tsunade, but was stopped and shoved back with a surprising burst of strength.
"Damn it... I'm not going to take back my words. That's my ninja way!" she declared loud and clear as she stood up despite the sheer pain in her leg. "Isn't that right, Hinata-chan? Stand up! Don't let that kind of injury keep you down! Ero-Sennin told us to protect Tsunade-baa-chan, and that's what we're going to do! Don't give up!" Kabuto was clearly unimpressed by her bravado and her encouragement towards the weakest Hyuuga he had ever known, and made it known by grabbing her collar. What could that Hyuuga do? She was by all means disabled, unable to breathe alongside her heart injury.
"You should have just stayed out of this," he told her, slamming her hard into the ground with a shoulder toss. It was hard enough that she bounced off the ground and ended up in front of Tsunade who was slowly regaining her composure with every word Kabuto was saying. Once again, Natsumi forced herself to her feet in an effort to protect Tsunade.
"Tsunade-baa-chan... I'll going to take that unlucky necklace that you promised in the bet," Natsumi said before producing a single Kage Bunshin.
"Stop it, already! Don't protect me, Natsumi. Stop!" Tsunade pleaded.
"I said that when you become stubborn like that, you'll die!" Kabuto charged forward with a kunai in his hand, ready to finish Natsumi off. "When you die, you lose everything, including your dream!"
"Just get out of the way! Run!" Tsunade yelled at her to move.
"I'm fine," she replied before recklessly meeting Kabuto's kunai with her open hand. She did not scream from the pain of having her hand impaled from front to back, and gripped down on his hand as hard as she could. "Until I become Hokage, I won't die!" she said with a confident smile. "Now you can't run. Eat this!" Bracing her right hand, she gathered the necessary chakra in her hand as her clone started rotating the chakra. But with the state her entire body was in, the pain she was enduring was present in her clone as well. That disturbed her clone's concentration and thus was taking more time to form the Rasengan.
Kabuto recognized the danger he was in, realizing why she was trying to immobilize him earlier. Whatever this jutsu was, it was a close-range jutsu and had a big motion to it, so she would not have been able to hit him with it as easily as she would with a normal punch. And with how the chakra moved and the fact that she made raw chakra visible to the naked eye, it was sure to be powerful. He had to stop her before she could complete the jutsu. Fortunately, either she was out of chakra to produce more Kage Bunshin to immobilize him further, or she misjudged how much effort she actually needed to stop him from retaliating. His right hand may have been stopped, but that did not mean his other limbs were stopped as well. With a snap kick, he promptly destroyed the Kage Bunshin who was busy stabilizing the jutsu. And by the look of shock on Natsumi's face, she had not accounted for him being able to counter-attack from his stuck position.
"As if I'd let you hit me with that jutsu!" he yelled as he used his chakra scalpel with his free hand to grab her chest where the heart was located, intending to finish her off. Natsumi coughed out blood as his attack cut more and more into her heart. "It's over for you!" he announced his victory until he took a hard hit in the left shoulder. He stumbled back a step and when he looked for his attacker, he was shocked to see Hinata in front of him, panting heavily with her Byakugan active but unsteady. He thought he had kept her completely out of the fight! This girl was definitely nowhere near Tsunade's level of endurance or power. How was she able to move already? When he could not move his left arm to strike back and the sheer numbness that he just noticed, he realized she had disabled his entire left arm by the Juuken hit to his shoulder via dislocating it. And with his right hand still trapped in Natsumi's vice-like grip, all he had left was his legs.
"Hinata-chan, finish it!" Natsumi told her, struggling to maintain whatever control she had left over the Rasengan. The necessary chakra needed to form the Rasengan was quickly being lost from instability. Hinata quickly took over control of the Rasengan, completing the rotations and the shell in a fraction of the time Natsumi had. However, it was a little smaller due to the loss of chakra so Hinata fed her own chakra into the Rasengan, making it grow into the appropriate size. "Go, Hinata-chan!"
"I won't let you!" Kabuto lashed off with a kick but Hinata weaved out of the way and slammed the Rasengan into his stomach, sending him flying and crashing into the large rock behind him.
"You did it, Hinata...-chan..." Natsumi praised her before falling on her back, unconscious. Tsunade, having regained enough composure, was quick to go to her side.
"Natsumi-chan!" Hinata cried out, going to her knees and checking on her, her own pain forgotten. She did not know what happened for Natsumi to suddenly collapse like this. Footsteps attracted her attention and she saw Kabuto still standing even after taking a direct hit from the Rasengan.
"You took that attack, yet..." Tsunade was just as surprised as Hinata that he took that attack so well. Kabuto explained how he focused as much chakra as he could to his stomach so he could reduce the damage dealt to him and was already healing himself before he even got hit. The reason Orochimaru liked him was because he had a unique ability to induce his cells to generate new ones, which resulted in an overwhelming healing power.
"It looks like this jutsu was Natsumi-kun's last gamble, but..." Kabuto was interrupted by a sudden bout of pain and he fell flat on his face. He could not believe he had still taken that much damage even after healing himself. He was out of chakra to heal himself any further. If he forced himself, he would only collapse from chakra exhaustion, making it a moot point to completely heal himself or carry out any backup plans should Orochimaru need him. He had been defeated. However, he was determined to still have the last laugh as a small groan made its way out of Natsumi's lips, returning Tsunade and Hinata's attention to her.
"Hyuuga, use your Byakugan to look at her heart!" Tsunade instructed as she laid her head on Natsumi's chest. The gap between two heartbeats was way too long. "She's showing signs of arrhythmia!" She unzipped Natsumi's tracksuit to get a better feel of her condition.
"No...! No! Natsumi-chan!" Hinata broke down at what she saw with her Byakugan.
"Damn it! Her cardiac muscles are a total mess! That last attack she took had to have done it! He cut up her heart muscles during that time!" Tsunade formed her own chakra scalpel on two fingers rather than the entire hand like Kabuto did. She cut Natsumi's clothes straight down the middle and pulled them apart to begin administering treatment, leaving just enough to not completely expose her breasts while her stomach was fully exposed along with her seal.
"It's too late for Natsumi-kun," Kabuto said from his downed position. "I cut the chakra coils in her heart that convert the Kyuubi's chakra into her strength... with my full power... to ensure that there is no chance of her healing herself. There's no way she'll recover... even by your hand..."
"Shut up!" Tsunade snapped, never stopping her treatment of Natsumi. "I'll kill you later." When she heard Hinata suddenly wail and cry inconsolably in despair, she realized Natsumi's breathing had stopped. Hinata had spotted it first. "Hey, Hyuuga! Tell me where to direct my chakra! If I can focus my chakra on the cuts directly rather than heal her entire heart which will take a longer time, I can still save her!"
"But... But..." Hinata's Byakugan-active eyes were pouring out tears. She saw Natsumi's heart stop! She saw Natsumi completely cease breathing! How was she supposed to recover from that? Natsumi was dead!
"If you don't stop crying and help me, then she really will die! A stopped heart can still beat again!" Tsunade yelled at the distraught girl. "Now tell me where to direct my chakra so we have a higher chance of resuscitating her!"
"Y-Yes...!" Hinata did not bother trying to dry her eyes or stop her tears from falling. She focused as hard as she could on her Byakugan. But, all she could see with her Byakugan was just the outside view of the heart, and not the inside of it where the damage really was. 'Please, please, Byakugan! Please don't fail me! Natsumi-chan's depending on me! Please let me look clearer! Let me look deeper! Let me see the tenketsu!' Hinata screamed mentally as she focused as much chakra as she could into her eyes. Her eyes never felt more strained and the veins around her temples felt like they would burst at any time. When she was at her breaking point of stressing her Byakugan, she was able to see them but just barely. She was able to see the chakra coils that were in the heart and the tenketsu they were connected to. "I... I see them...!"
"Then hurry and direct me!" Despite Hinata's very poorly detailed description of the heart chambers, Tsunade knew the anatomy of the human heart well enough to know where to focus on. With mental prayers for Natsumi not to die, their efforts finally came through. Natsumi regained consciousness for a short moment to grasp the necklace Tsunade wore.
"I'll show it to you later... so keep this clean for me. And..." Natsumi's weak grin turned into a frown of strong regret as she turned her head to face a greatly relieved and very tearful Hinata. "Hinata-chan... Sorry... I made you cry again..." She fell unconscious again, this time with peaceful breathing. Tsunade then took her time healing the less serious injuries, muttering to herself that she would place her hopes on an individual who dreamed of being Hokage one last time.
"Look out, Tsunade-sama!" Hinata's sudden warning snapped Tsunade out of her heartfelt whispering, allowing her to see Orochimaru extending his neck towards their group with an entire sword jutting out from the snake hidden in his mouth. Hinata was already covering Natsumi using her body as a shield but she would not allow any harm to come to the girl that restored her hope in Konoha and the position of Hokage as well as her friend. Grabbing each girl in one arm, she jumped away to safety without any injuries befalling any of them. Now that the surprise of the assault was gone, he could not pursue his target with a relatively uninjured Tsunade guarding her.
"If that girl lives, it'll be troublesome in many ways. Do not get in my way," he told Tsunade.
"This girl..." Tsunade said, glancing at Natsumi for a brief second. "I will definitely protect this girl at all costs!"
"Why would you, one of the Sannin, want to risk your life to protect a mere Genin?"
"To protect Konohagakure!"
"To protect Konoha?" he repeated with slight disbelief. This woman, who hated Konoha because her lover and brother died for it, was suddenly switching her tune?
"That's because this little girl is someone who will eventually become Hokage," she replied, fondness filling her every word.
"Talking about such nonsense... Besides, the title of Hokage is nothing but a load of crap! Only an idiot would take on the job." It was sheer coincidence that his words were almost exactly the same as hers a week ago, but it triggered her memories of the conversations she had had with her companions in the past week and further increased her resolve to protect Natsumi.
"From here on, I too, will risk my life!" Her resolve stunned him momentarily with its intensity but he quickly got over it with a cruel smirk.
"If your life is so worthless that you can throw it away for a stupid kid like her," he paused to draw out the sword from the snake in his mouth again. "Then hurry up and die as you should!"
"Get away from here and protect her!" Tsunade ordered Hinata as she tossed both girls behind her, ready to meet Orochimaru's attack. "I told you... From now on, I too will risk my life! That's because I am Konohagakure's Fifth Hokage!" she declared as black lines started emerging from the diamond mark on her forehead.
"What are you planning to do at a time like this?" he asked, suspicious of the weird markings.
"P-Please wait! Don't undo that seal!" Shizune exclaimed, having regained consciousness a minute ago.
'True, I'm not in any situation that actually requires me to use this jutsu but... Just to be safe...' Tsunade considered Shizune's words but ultimately went with her own judgement. "Infuuin: Kai! Ninpou: Souzou Saisei!" she called out her jutsu. Activating it cost her some chakra but as long as she did not take any damage from that point on, the maintenance cost would be kept at a minimum. Since nothing visibly changed, Orochimaru asked what kind of jutsu she used. She humoured him and answered that by using the enormous amounts of chakra she had stored in her forehead for a very long period of time, she was able to stimulate proteins in her body to hasten cell division. By creating new cells, she was able to instantly heal any wound she had suffered or would suffer while it was active. In short, it was more of a regeneration ability rather than a healing ability. To put it even simpler, she could not die during battle.
When she bit her thumb to draw blood, Orochimaru was on high alert. There was only one jutsu that required a blood donation and the only time Tsunade remained unaffected by blood ever since the death of her lover. He moved to the fallen Kabuto who had recovered just enough to sit up and reset his shoulder forcefully, allowing him to perform the summoning for him. Jiraiya quickly followed suit, and all three finished performing the jutsu at the same time. Gamabunta was properly summoned this time, Orochimaru summoned a giant purple snake, and Tsunade summoned a blue and white giant slug.
"Katsuyu," Tsunade identified her summon's name. "Make a clone and have it protect the two girls. Get them away from here, back to the city."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Katsuyu formed a smaller clone from her own body and sent it crashing down in front of the two girls, badly startling Hinata. "Please don't be afraid. I am here to aid you as per Tsunade-sama's orders. Also, starting now, this is going to become a violent battle, so please return to the city with me. That is what Tsunade-sama wishes."
"Yes, I understand, um..." Hinata responded, but was unable to finish her sentence because she did not know Katsuyu's name.
"Please call me Katsuyu," the clone supplied her name.
"Yes, I understand, Katsuyu-sama," she finished her initial response with a bow of her head, only to see the clone, which was still bigger than both girls combined, suddenly looming over her and somehow blocking the sunlight, casting an ominous shadow over them when she raised her head. "Eh?"
"Please don't be afraid," the clone repeated herself in a consoling manner before raising her body on its hind part and falling over both girls, engulfing them completely. The last thing that was heard was a scream of fear that was abruptly cut off before the clone left for the city.
"Couldn't you just tell Katsuyu to carry them on her back instead of inside her?" Jiraiya questioned with a sweat-drop despite the severity of the situation at hand.
"...Safety precautions," Tsunade muttered out an answer after a short pause. There was a reason she only allowed unconscious passengers to travel inside of Katsuyu when she was an active ninja years ago. Katsuyu was not a particularly slimy slug from the outside, but the inside was another story. Hinata was just unlucky Katsuyu decided it was safer to transport them both inside. Then again, that was Katsuyu's best method for protection. Best not to even think about how the poor girl was probably feeling at this very moment.
***Break Line***
Despite emerging victorious, Orochimaru still managed to escape with his life intact. Jiraiya suffered from broken ribs and a leg while Tsunade, even though she was in a completely healed state, had to undergo the side effects of her jutsu, which included reverting back to the appearance of her real body, hidden underneath her special Henge for a short while. After setting up her Henge again, they caught up with Katsuyu's clone who was waiting patiently outside the city walls and away from civilian eyes. The clone dispersed herself into even smaller clones, revealing two unconscious girls instead of just one.
"I believe Hinata-san passed out from fright when I took her in me, Tsunade-sama," one of the tiny clones explained when she saw Tsunade's raised eyebrow that was silently demanding an explanation.
"I'll take it from here," Tsunade replied, and all the Katsuyu clones took that as permission to dismiss, disappearing with puffs of white smoke. They returned to the inn for Tsunade and Shizune to finish treatment for both girls. They were done by sunset, and decided to recuperate for the rest of the day themselves before heading back to Konoha. The next day, they returned to the bar they first met in for breakfast.
"So Tsunade-baa-chan's going to be the Fifth Hokage when we get back..." Natsumi mumbled under her breath as they sat at the same table they ate on last week. Her arms were crossed under her chest in dissatisfaction.
"Congratulations, Tsunade-sama!" Hinata bowed her head in deference for her new village leader.
"What's this? You seem discontent, Natsumi," Jiraiya noted.
"Because compared to jii-chan, she has a violent nature, irresponsible with money and ill-tempered," Natsumi complained, completely unaware of Hinata's horrified look and panicked hand-waving for her to stop talking. "It makes me wonder if she can do the job right." According to herself, she was just telling the truth as it was.
"Um, Tsunade-sama, shall we order something?" Shizune tried to distract her master who was rapidly losing her cool at Natsumi's blatant accusations, even if they were true.
Hinata saw Shizune's attempt to placate Tsunade's rising temper having no effect, so she decided to try stopping Natsumi's ranting before she went too far. She was not even sure if she was riling up their new Hokage on purpose or not.
"B-B-But, Natsumi-chan," Hinata spoke up, and let out a mental sigh of relief when Natsumi stopped her tirade to listen to her. "You're not saying no to Tsunade-sama becoming Hokage, right?"
"I guess not," Natsumi replied. "If the village elders think she's capable of being the new Hokage, then I should give her a chance too." That seemed to calm the irate Sannin down.
'Thank goodness that worked,' both Hinata and Shizune had the exact same thought. "It's not like you dislike or are unhappy with Tsunade-sama, right?" Hinata continued.
"Yeah."
"Iruka-sensei, our Jounin instructors, and shop vendors aside, you never refer to anyone with honorifics unless you liked them a lot. But you still gave them to Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san. I think 'Ero-Sennin' for Jiraiya-sama counts as well."
"..." Natsumi only hung her head slightly with uncharacteristic silence.
"Natsumi-chan?"
"Why did you tell them that...?" Hinata almost missed her whispered response. Natsumi's face was beet red with embarrassment, already knowing both the Sannin were smirking in enjoyment at her expense.
"And here I thought you were nothing but a loud-mouthed, rude brat. Who knew you could be a cute kid?" Tsunade teased Natsumi, successfully adding to her embarrassment.
"I'm not cute!" Natsumi exclaimed in denial, her face completely red with a huge blush. Her facial expressions were stuck between trying to show anger and embarrassment. Jiraiya only laughed heartily at her. "Stop laughing at me, Ero-Sennin!" Of course, that did not stop him at all. It did not help that Shizune was trying to stifle her giggles and holding Tonton up right in front of her face to hide them.
"But... You are cute..." she heard Hinata's mumbling. She was poking her fingertips together and had her head turned away, but there was a blush on her face as well.
"Not you too, Hinata-chan!" Natsumi whined dramatically.
"Just admit it," Tsunade said with a huge smirk, completely amused by the normally brash girl.
"That's it! Let's go outside, you old hag!" she got in her face and challenged her to a fight. The brashness was back already. Instead of gracing her with a verbal response, Tsunade simply positioned her hand for a finger flick to her forehead. Natsumi flinched and squeezed her eyes shut. Instead, she felt something soft press itself onto her forehead. Her eyes snapped open and saw Tsunade planting a kiss on her forehead.
"I'm in my fifties and although I may look like this, I am going to be the Fifth Hokage," she told her. "And you are a kid right now, but someday you'll become Hokage. Become a fine woman when you grow up, alright?" She watched as Natsumi's red face lowered in intensity until it was just a healthy blush.
"Yeah!" Natsumi cheered, very happy that other than Hinata and Iruka, to her own knowledge, she finally had someone new on her side and believing in her dream as well. She supposed she should add Jiraiya and Shizune on that list as well.
"Alright, we'll head back to Konoha after a celebratory breakfast! Cheers!" Jiraiya held out his glass of water over the middle of the table. The two women clanged their glasses against his, while the two girls clanged their glasses with each other because they could not reach his glass. Tsunade silently cheered to her deceased brother and lover as well, telling them that their dreams had been inherited by Natsumi.
***Break Line***
On the road back to Konoha, Jiraiya brought up an inquiry about Natsumi's progress with the Rasengan. Tsunade was reminded that she was due a demonstration by her as well.
"Watch and be amazed!" Natsumi declared confidently and made a clone. Just as she had claimed, she produced a complete Rasengan in her hand.
"Fair enough. You win the bet," Tsunade acknowledged her loss, but Jiraiya looked somewhat unimpressed.
"I'll admit that's a proper Rasengan, but you are nowhere near mastering it," he told her.
"Oh, come on. Don't be such a spoilsport, Ero-Sennin. I still did it!" Natsumi replied as she allowed the Rasengan to disappear.
"Hmph! As far as I'm concerned, you still haven't completed the third step of training!" he stuck up his nose childishly. "You're supposed to do it one-handed!"
"Fine! All you need is for me to do it with one hand, right?" She dispelled her clone and gestured for Hinata to help her. She went to her side and as she called upon the chakra necessary for the jutsu, Hinata spun the chakra and formed the shell, completing the Rasengan. "There! One hand!"
"How the heck does that count as one-handed, you idiot!" he screamed at her. "All you showed me is that you can't do it without a short-cut and that Hinata is closer to perfectly performing the Rasengan than you!"
"She is?/I am?" Both girls spoke at the same time, surprised at his evaluation.
"All Hinata lacks is the necessary chakra needed to perform it. As long as she continues to train herself, that chakra will eventually become available for her to use without putting herself in danger. You, on the other hand..." he pointed his finger at Natsumi right in her face, making her lean back to stop it from touching her. "You aren't even trying to improve your chakra control by using that short-cut! It's ingenious, but at the same time that means you aren't training yourself! You're just wasting chakra because you can afford the extra cost of a Kage Bunshin!"
"I don't care! I can do it and that's good enough for me!" Natsumi huffed angrily, fuming from his critique of her method of performing the jutsu.
"But Jiraiya-sama's right, Natsumi-chan. Think about it for a moment. You provide the chakra by yourself, and your clone only has to focus on spinning it and after that is done, form the shell for you to hold and use. You can already do all of these one at a time, but not all at once. That's the lesson he wants you to learn," Hinata explained to her. "I'm sure he's actually proud of you for successfully performing the Rasengan, even if it isn't in the way he expected it to happen."
"...Is that true, Ero-Sennin?" she asked, eyeing him with doubt.
"Hinata gives great advice to you. She's right. I am proud of you for being able to perform it. Good job, Natsumi," he said.
"Thanks," she replied, her eyes softening to a tender look.
"Hinata, I look forward to the day you'll be able to perform the Rasengan as well. Even if you never use it in battle, the lessons you went through learning how to do it will help you immensely in the long run."
"Thank you very much for your guidance, Jiraiya-sama," Hinata bowed deeply to him in gratitude.
"Let's continue, shall we?" he resumed the journey back to Konoha.
"Before that, what is it you want to ask me, Hinata? You've been stealing glances at me ever since we left Tanzaku City," Tsunade said, stalling the journey for a while longer.
"Oh, um... No, it's nothing, Tsunade-sama..." Hinata replied timidly, pushing her fingertips together and unable to look her in the eyes.
"As your Hokage, I am responsible for looking after the ninjas under my command. Tell me what's on your mind, or do I have to make that an order instead?"
"It's okay, Hinata-chan. Tell her. Don't be scared. I'm here with you," Natsumi encouraged her.
"C-Can you please teach me medical ninjutsu, Tsunade-sama...?" Hinata managed to squeak out her request. She had been too hesitant and scared of the possible refusal, and believed that could have potentially ruined a professional working relationship before it could even begin.
"What? That's it? Who do you think you're talking to, girl?" Tsunade replied.
"I-I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama! I d-didn't mean to offend you!" she bowed repeatedly in desperate apology, fearing the worst had happened.
"Stop that. I wasn't reprimanding you. I'm just wondering what makes you think I'll refuse you."
"I j-j-just..." she stammered, her anxiety running high at the moment.
"Never mind, calm down. Don't answer that. What I do want to know is why. As your Hokage, there is nothing wrong with you seeking help from me. I won't refuse you my help for no reason. However, if I feel you are giving me any half-baked answers, I will refuse. So tell me. Why do you want to learn medical ninjutsu?" Tsunade watched as Hinata's nervous shivering instantly disappeared.
"I don't want to see Natsumi-chan in that state again. I don't want to see her get hurt like that ever again. Never again... Natsumi-chan is always looking out for me, but I can do nothing in return for her. I want to do something, anything, to help Natsumi-chan. I don't want to feel that helpless again. I don't want to be so weak and unable to do anything again."
"Hinata-chan..." Natsumi whispered. She never thought Hinata felt that guilty over her near-death yesterday.
"Your lessons begin when we return to Konoha. I expect you not to slack off. Take your time learning it, although your Byakugan will help greatly in your studies since you can see chakra," Tsunade replied and walked away, resuming the journey back to Konoha.
"You'll really help her? Thanks, baa-chan!" Natsumi thanked her with heartfelt gratitude.
"Thank you very much, Tsunade-sama!" Hinata thanked her as well with the same amount of gratitude.
***End of Chapter***
Differences
Jiraiya noticing Kabuto spying on them.
Canon: He is still too affected by Tsunade's drug to do anything or identify who it was.
My version: He has Hinata look for him, who identifies Kabuto to everyone.
Naruto first meeting with Kabuto since the Chuunin Exam.
Canon: He is completely unaware that Kabuto is a spy for Orochimaru and doesn't even grasp the idea of him being a spy until Jiraiya spells it out for him.
My version: Because of Hinata's prior identification, Natsumi instead questions Kabuto why he would betray Konoha, not believing that he is a spy until she was told directly by Kabuto himself.
Naruto's first attempted Rasengan against Kabuto after the snake broke his thigh bone.
Canon: He makes an incomplete Rasengan but Kabuto dodges it cleanly and counters by cutting the leg muscles of the injured leg. He recognizes the danger of the jutsu but pays it no further heed because of Naruto's abysmal lack of skill, according to himself.
My version: Natsumi attempts to restrain him in a manner that allows her to still perform the Kage Bunshin but gets taken out the same way. Kabuto instead suspects her of attempting to restrain him to compensate for the great difference between their fighting skills.
After Naruto takes the kunai directly in the hand to stop Kabuto's movement.
Canon: With the Kage Bunshin's help, he successfully creates a proper Rasengan which he uses to defeat Kabuto but suffers a fatal injury from a last-minute retaliation.
My version: Kabuto manages to take out the clone before the Rasengan could be completed and delivers the fatal attack without any consequence until Hinata perseveres through her injury and disables him. She completes the Rasengan for Natsumi and uses it to defeat him in her stead.
Tsunade using her body as a shield to prevent Orochimaru from killing Naruto.
Canon: She suffers additional fatal injuries before she overcomes her haemophobia with the strength of her own will and fights back with her Souzou Saisei.
My version: She avoids any injury because of Hinata's early detection of Orochimaru's attack and does not go through any additional trauma. She still activates her jutsu as a precaution anyway prior to the Sannin showdown.
After Tsunade summons Katsuyu.
Canon: She instructs Katsuyu to take Naruto to Shizune for safety by a smaller clone.
My version: She instructs Katsuyu to take Hinata and Natsumi away from the battlefield.
Naruto's reluctance to accept her as Hokage.
Canon: He tosses out insult after insult until Tsunade's had enough and tells him to settle it outside the bar where they settle their differences with words of support from her.
My version: Hinata stops Natsumi from saying too much and explains in a manner that gets her to admit that she actually didn't mind Tsunade as Hokage. She also accidentally embarrasses her best friend greatly by mentioning how Natsumi only adds honorifics and nicknames for people she likes and/or respects a lot. There is no argument that forces the group outside but the words of support is still given.
Extra Scene 1: Because of Hinata's presence, Shizune has more time to take the traumatized Tsunade further away to safety. Hinata is tasked to watch over her while Shizune tries and fails to stop Kabuto. In the middle of trying to help Tsunade, she gets accidentally hit and stumbles right into Kabuto who takes her down without a fight.
Extra Scene 2: Tsunade gets Hinata to use her Byakugan for more efficient healing of Natsumi's fatal injury to her heart. In her desperate and frantic state, Hinata manages to overcome the limit of her current ability with her Byakugan.
Extra Scene 3: Jiraiya asks Natsumi to display the Rasengan for him, and is displeased that she did not properly complete the third step, instead finding a short-cut for it. However, he is still proud that she can create a proper Rasengan. After that, Tsunade extends her hand to Hinata, offering to teach her medical ninjutsu after hearing how Hinata felt when Natsumi fell into a near-death state.
***Break Line***
The Sannin Arc is done! It took me way too long to get this chapter out. In the end, I could find no feasible way to actually change the fight in any drastic manner, the main reason being that it's a fight that does not involve Naruto in any direct manner other than him taking out Kabuto.
I also felt that Kabuto was fighting very poorly the moment Naruto came onto the scene. For someone hailed as 'equal to Kakashi', the way he got taken out was just too sad. I know the scene is to represent Naruto's success with the Rasengan, but still! At the same time, I can also see that because Naruto was so unskilled at that point in time, Kabuto could have underestimated him so badly he got taken out so lamely.
Which also means Natsumi's better taijutsu alerted Kabuto more than Naruto did with his initial attempt to hit him with an imperfect Rasengan. Kabuto even noted that the Rasengan was dangerous even when it was imperfect! What this means is that Natsumi's initial advantage over Naruto, which is basically higher intelligence and better taijutsu, actually became a disadvantage for her.
Anyway, back to Kabuto. For someone 'equal to Kakashi', just the scene where he became so helplessly stuck in place when Naruto gripped his hand was completely unacceptable. So in my story, he did not allow Natsumi the time to complete the Rasengan and actually countered her even though he was stuck. He tried to kill her immediately after that to prevent any further attempts until Hinata steps in and dislocates the shoulder of his free arm. Natsumi hands control of the Rasengan over to her and she finishes the job.
I know, it looks like a cop out on my part, simply giving what was originally Naruto's/Natsumi's only shining moment in the entire fight to Hinata. But believe me, this only happened because I was trying to give what I felt was a better portrayal of Kabuto's fighting skills as a ninja, at least I hope so. He was able to almost overcome Tsunade's scrambling of his nervous system and all of a sudden he can't do anything when his fist gets grabbed. The second part of that sentence would never happen to Kakashi, let alone someone 'equal to Kakashi'. See the complete wrongness there?
Hinata was able to see the tenketsu for a brief moment in sheer desperation when Tsunade was trying to heal Natsumi. Does it mean she has unlocked the 'next' level of the Byakugan, which is being able to see the tenketsu clearly like Neji can? No, but her skill with her Byakugan did definitely improve. On the way back to Konoha, she also requests medical ninjutsu training from Tsunade. In the anime, filler I think, post-time skip Hinata is shown being able to use medical ninjutsu. So why not implement it here?
It does NOT mean she replaces Sakura as Tsunade's apprentice even though in my version she asks for medical training first rather than Sakura in canon. So no, no super strength for her, no high-level medical ninjutsu, and no diamond mark on her forehead. She will be just a regular medic, similar to Ino. The only advantage Hinata will have over Sakura is that she grasps how healing chakra works faster than Sakura because of her Byakugan being able to see chakra. Sakura will still be a vastly superior medic and have perfect chakra control while Hinata only has very high chakra control.
If you didn't get it in the previous chapter or this chapter, Hinata will eventually be able to use the Rasengan on her own. For now, she can act as the clone supporting Natsumi or as a controller like in this chapter. Hinata can stabilize the Rasengan on her own. She just doesn't have the chakra to do it. If she wants to use the Rasengan, she needs Natsumi to supply the chakra first before she takes control of it.
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to notice another separation from canon. Who, at this point in time other than Team 7, is Naruto closest to? If you guessed Jiraiya, you're correct! But if you picked up the hints in this chapter, other than Hinata and Team 7, Jiraiya is NOT the closest person to Natsumi's heart. He's really high on the list of treasured people, but he's not at the top. Hinata is, but you already know that, so she doesn't count. It's actually Tsunade, and not because of gender. Gender is not even a thing for this decision, even though it may look like it to some of you.
The next chapter is a filler episode that I really liked because it gave huge points to Neji's character development and showed how he has changed after being defeated in the Chuunin Exam. But since this my version of that episode, there will be differences. Look forward to it!
I look forward to getting more readers who like this story. Do Follow/Favourite/Review this story, and big thanks to those who are kind enough to do so!