"Blah": Talking
'Blah': Demon speaking/Inner Sakura
'Blah': Naruto's thoughts/other people's thoughts
'Blah': Harry talking to Naruto
I'M BACK! Gomenasai! I took such a long time to finish, but this chapter really needed some much-needed changes, plus there were a few things that happened recently that I had to pay more attention towards, so I was distracted.
This recent school semester was pretty demanding with a lot of essays and articles, but I received some pretty awesome grades as a result that I'm pretty proud of. But now that the worst is behind me, I might be able to get ahead on the rest of Chunin Exams soon. The winter holidays are coming up, so I'll have more free time and Azeroth44 will join me in the next chapter. He couldn't make it this time because he's having a pretty demanding semester as well. But I guarantee he'll be here to mess around with me and Naruto the next time around.
Naruto: He better bring us some snacks next time.
K: It's Azeroth44. You know he won't bring us snacks. He never does.
Naruto: Damn! I feel a little malnourished here, dude! Do we have anything here?
K: It was Thanksgiving yesterday and you ate all the ramen at the table!
Naruto: Whatever, dude.
K: No, seriously! You ate more than Choji could have eaten in one sitting! I'm amazed you're even hungry at all! Or even able to stand!
Naruto: Whatever. Let's just sit back and enjoy this new chapter you wrote. Anyway, we hope all of you guys out there had a great Thanksgiving, and we hope you enjoy this new chapter until the next one!
That's right. I read over the reviews from last time and I hope what I added satisfies everybody with the whole Kiba and Naruto fight. No farting, some badass action scenes, and the start of a little shipping. But that last one a little bit subtle. Anyways, please enjoy this latest chapter and be sure to leave behind a review and tell me what you think! I can't wait to read them!
Reviews are welcome and wanted!
Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto
Harry Potter is property of JK Rowling
Chapter 10: Bitter Rivalries Part 2
Naruto and Kiba stared at the scoreboard while all the others shinobi stared at them. The blonde-haired shinobi felt a little nervous about the match but soon shook off his nerves, determined to take down the mean-spirited brat that had tormented his childhood. He could hear Kiba shout and thank the heavens, relieved that he didn't have to face Gaara and instead had what he believed was the best and weakest opponent he could ask for. Back in the mindscape, Harry sat down on his seat on the bed and waited for the battle to commence. He checked and maintained Naruto's internal systems to make sure his chakra flowed like it should. But it was a little bit difficult, since his chakra coils continued to restrict the flow of his chakra while the systems continued to create a lot of chakra, thanks to the medication he took.
'It would have been a lot easier if that Jiraiya bastard had been here on time to fix the seal. But it looks like we have to take care of this ourselves, then…'
While his maintenance over the chakra coils would make it difficult for Naruto to win this match in a heartbeat, the older wizard was confident that his little one would win the match. Naruto's hatred for Kiba was all he needed to fuel him and win, with or without his shadow clones. Not to mention, if he had a veil or some thick smoke to cover his tracks, Naruto could use a few of the curses he had wanted to save for Kiba ever since he found that book about curses from the simulation of Flourish and Blotts.
Once Naruto and Kiba were stationed at the center of the arena, Hayate kicked some dirt off his sandals and observed the two chosen rookies. He noticed Kiba was a member of the Inuzuka clan, based on the red marks on his cheeks, so that would mean the match would be a little bit more violent, since the Inuzuka clan was known for their inherit wrath. He looked over at Naruto but then he froze, as still as a statue as he stared at the distinct blonde-haired child. The instructor felt like he had been hit in the head with a brick, while a familiar warmth started to bubble inside him. He recognized the child's face and his distinct blonde hair, and soon he remembered he was Naruto Uzumaki, the child he used to take care of almost a decade ago. His memories centered around that child returned to him like a massive wave, a whole fraction of his life (that had been blank to him) was realized in a fraction of a second. He would have run over to Naruto and embraced the child in front of all the other shinobi and kunoichi, but he had to contain his shock and his excitement. Hayate was in the middle of an international examination and he had to focus on the match that was about to start. Still, he couldn't believe he couldn't remember Naruto until he saw him now, almost face-to-face. And from there on out, the instructor started to remember more and more of his lost memories, as he forced himself to focus his attention on the match.
While Naruto was still a little worried about his chakra control for the match, he remained confident and was determined to win, "The time has come… It's time to show the world what I'm all about!"
"OI! THAT'S WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO SAY!" shouted Kiba when he felt insulted when he saw his rival smile, "Now listen here! The fact that we were landed with each other is all I need to know that I'll be the one to win! I will be the one that advances to the finals! Right, Akamaru?!"
Naruto looked down at the little canine and insisted, "I don't want to have to hurt Akamaru. You should leave him out of the match, Kiba."
"Fat chance, bitch," smirked Kiba, "Akamaru fights with me!"
The blonde-haired shinobi frowned and said, "Fine… But don't blame me when he needs to be taken to a vet later."
"Who the hell does he think he is?!" the obnoxious wild rookie shouted and he decided, "Fine then! Akamaru! Sit this one out! I'll handle him alone!"
Akamaru whined and curled his tail between his legs as he walked backwards and sat down outside the line of fire. Meanwhile, Naruto smiled, relieved that he wouldn't be outnumbered and that he wouldn't have to harm the little animal in the match. But that didn't mean that Naruto wouldn't harm a creature like Akamaru if he were forced to. Back when the two rookies were still in school, Kiba had once ordered Akamaru to urinate all over Naruto's favorite comic books at recess. Kiba had tackled Naruto down to the floor and held him down while the little canine ruined his favorite comics. Afterwards, the little white monster barked at Naruto and chased him around the school. Naruto hated that animal, and if that little white fur ball tried to attack him now, he wouldn't hesitate to kick Akamaru across the room like a football.
On the terrace above the match, Sakura cheered on her teammate with enthusiasm and screamed, "Go, Naruto! Don't let that loudmouth mutt win this match! You hear me?!"
Kakashi stared down at Naruto and seemed to be relaxed. But his muscles were strained with excitement while he smiled underneath his mask. Kakashi watched and waited to see his student show all the other rookies what he was able to do. The masked ninja master was certain Naruto would astonish the crowds somehow, but he remained unaware that Naruto's seal had not been fixed. Kakashi assumed all was well with Naruto after the Orochimaru incident and watched the match without a care in the world.
But while the teacher watched his student, he thought, 'At last… it's his turn to shine… Go out there and show us how much you've grown, Naruto…'
Down on the left side of the terrace, Kurenai Yuhi stared down at the two students down in the arena and then she looked at Kakashi with a little smirk, 'The Uzumaki kid, huh? Too bad, Kakashi… There's no chance that little kid could beat Kiba…'
Beside the older senior kunoichi, Hinata was nervous as she blushed and looked between her teammate and the blonde-haired shinobi she admired. Her face was red while sweat rolled down her forehead and she fiddled with her thumbs in a nervous fit.
'Oh, what do I do? I want to cheer for Naruto-kun, but Kiba-kun is a teammate and I don't want to make him mad at me if I favored Naruto-kun over him… Oh, what do I do?!' she asked in her head.
She stared at Naruto and wished with all her heart that she could be selfish for once and cheer him on. At the same time, Lee shook his closed fists while he waited for the match to start. He was excited to watch Naruto in battle and believed that the two of them were not all that different; he was certain the blonde-haired shinobi was a genius of hard work like he was. With that said, Lee wanted Naruto to win and face him in battle or even become rivals or friends. On the other end of the terrace, Choji and Shikamaru did not have a lot of confidence in their blonde-haired friend. Neither one of them had ever seen Naruto in action while on a mission and had no insight on his skills or abilities. Not to mention, both of the slothful clan heirs were aware that Kiba was the most violent and tenacious rookie from their class. Because neither one of them even watched Naruto fight someone, both of them assumed Kiba would use excessive force and beat Naruto down within the first five minutes or less.
Kiba smirked at Naruto as he clenched his fist and shouted, "I'll end this with one solid hit! I'll make it fast and save some time for the other contenders! Bitch!"
The blonde-haired shinobi did not look intimidated, as he watched Kiba continue to make an ass of himself in front of the other shinobi and kunoichi. Naruto felt a sudden desire to knock that smirk off of Kiba's face (thanks to the medication he took) and knock out several of his teeth. But the blonde-haired rookie remained still with his brother to hold him back while he clenched his fists and forced his knuckles to click and crack. Naruto still didn't want Kiba to have the last word, so he retorted in kind.
"Save it, Kiba," he said in a harsh tone of voice, "You sound like an arsehole."
The wild rookie hissed back, "Don't act so cool, Uzumaki! You are so screwed!"
Naruto and Kiba stared each other down while Kiba clenched his fists, determined to run after his rival and shove a fist through his face. Naruto felt his blood start to boil and his heart beat a little bit faster when he remembered all the times Kiba had ever harmed or humiliated him. He couldn't wait for the match to start and show the ill-mannered rookie who was boss.
Hayate decided the silence between them meant the rookies were set to start. So he raised his arm above his head and threw it back down to start.
He announced, "Let the match begin!"
As soon as the instructor was at a safe distance, Kiba crouched down low and slammed his hands together. He ran through over a dozen handsigns and concentrated a considerable amount of his chakra.
Kiba then shouted, "Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: Shikyaku no Jutsu!"
The wild rookie stretched out all four of his limbs while his feet and hands stuck down to the concrete. Almost at once, chakra started to leak out of his skin and started to ooze out from his hands and feet. Kiba's fingernails and toenails extended and turned into claws while chakra leaked out of them as well. At the same time, Kiba's canines were extended and added more to his wild and unwashed look. Naruto looked somewhat lost as he stared at Kiba and watched him seem to turn into an animal before his eyes.
"Here I come!" he barked and then the rookie vanished into thin air.
Naruto blinked and Kiba elbowed him in the stomach so hard that he hunched over. It felt like he had been hit with a car as the blonde-haired shinobi was knocked off his feet and thrown backwards. The audience above the arena was astounded at how fast Kiba moved, but a lot of the other rookies and teachers in the room were more underwhelmed at Naruto when he flew into the air after the first blow, most of them assumed the blow had knocked him out cold.
Kiba smirked as he watched Naruto land on the floor and slide across the concrete, "That comes from the best in the business, bitch! Called it!"
Shikamaru and his teammates shook their heads when Naruto hit the floor and started to slide.
"I didn't think he would make it to the finals…" said a flat-toned Shikamaru while his fat best friend frowned at their old favorite classmate.
Ino nodded and she said in a rather harsh tone, "There's no chance someone like Naruto could ever beat a wacko like Kiba. He's so weak."
Lee's excited smile had fallen into a frown when he watched Kiba hit Naruto in the stomach and said as he watched the rookie slide backwards on the floor, "C'mon, Naruto-kun… You're not that lame…"
Kakashi looked as relaxed as ever but Kurenai couldn't hide the smirk that rose in her face as she looked at Kakashi. The shorthaired kunoichi Hinata looked devastated and saddened when she watched her teammate hit Naruto in the stomach. But the blonde-haired shinobi's pink-haired teammate watched him and waited for the moment to come. Sakura knew for a fact that her teammate was not weak at all. He had earned his headband, tricked Zabuza Momochi with smoke an mirrors, survived inside Haku's ice dome with Sasuke, survived the events in the Forest of Death, and battled with snakes that were more than double the size of anacondas. With all of that behind him, Sakura was certain that Naruto would never lose now to a rude, immature loudmouth like Kiba Inuzuka.
"C'mon, Naruto…" she muttered.
Sakura smirked and then she watched as her teammate came to life in the middle of his backwards slide across the arena. He used his momentum from the blow he took to the stomach in order to roll and landed back on his feet. The blonde-haired shinobi slid one foot backwards while on his feet. Kiba's smirk fell and his face was soon filled with confusion and shock. The other students in the room and their mentors, such as Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Kurenai, and Asuma were all bedazzled when Naruto was back on his feet. While he stood there, Naruto rubbed his stomach and stared at Kiba.
And then he asked him, "Was that it?"
"WHAT THE HELL?!" the wild rookie shouted back.
Sakura smiled at her teammate and looked back at Kakashi, who winked at her and continued to watch the match. Naruto cleaned some of the dirt on his clothes and then he frowned at the Inuzuka clan member, to make it clear that he would not be shoved around with a fire in his voice.
"Kiba Inuzuka," he stated in a clear but darkened voice, "You have to learn to never underestimate me… I WILL DESTROY YOU!"
Lee felt a fierce fire burn in his chest as Naruto's words met his ears, he clenched his fists and then he shouted as loud as he could, "YOSH!"
Ino looked more amused as she watched Naruto come back into the battle and Asuma seemed to be a little more interested as well. Beside those two, Choji looked over the rail and watched his former classmate and friend look a lot cooler than he ever remembered. Meanwhile, Shikamaru smirked at his old friend's statement and thought as he smiled, 'Looks like he isn't that weak after all…'
Hinata started to smile and felt excited when she saw Naruto make his comeback and stand tall. She would have let out a voice of support for him, but Sakura had cheered him on with a voice so loud that it overshadowed all the other voices in the room.
"Go kick his ass, Naruto!" she cheered on.
"Now hold on a minute here!" the restless and infuriated Kiba shouted and then he started to whine about the match, "You should be out cold and covered in blood! What the hell is the deal here?!"
"Please," the blonde-haired shinobi cracked his knuckles and told the wild rookie, "I've been hit harder than that. It'll take a lot more than an elbow-shot to the stomach to take me down. Besides, I took that last blow to see what I was in store for the rest of this match. And I have to be honest: I feel a little underwhelmed."
Kiba seethed at his rival and felt threatened, as Naruto talked him down and made him feel feeble. The Inuzuka clan member was not a mature shinobi and would often resort to either violence or smack-talk whenever he felt threatened. And this time around, he made a move that made him look flat-out dumb but also demonstrated how childish he was sometimes.
"You stubborn moron! You're no different from when we were back in the Ninja Academy," he shouted and then he boasted out to his former classmates, while Naruto's face looked flat and irritated, "Remember back when we were in school and-and he couldn't even transform into the Sandaime?! You remember what he looked like?! It was ridiculous! He made the old man look like a red and white Christmas elf dunked in acid!"
All of the other rookies in the room that were in their class stared at Kiba with a frozen blank look. All of them remembered that little test and all of them remembered the actual results. Which meant all of the other rookies were aware that Kiba had lied in front of a live audience, who felt more embarrassed for him at the moment than he did. Naruto had the blankest look on his face, but he was the first to break the silence as soon as Kiba's obnoxious laughter died down.
"No," the blonde-haired shinobi corrected, "You did that, Kiba."
The animalistic rookie blinked, "Huh?"
"Kiba, that wasn't me. You were the one that couldn't do the Henge no Jutsu when we were asked to demonstrate it in class. You volunteered after me and failed. I didn't do that well on it either, but at least the version of the Sandaime that I transformed into could be mistaken for a human. Your version looked like someone had taken the Sandaime's face and left a hot iron on it for hours," the blonde-haired rookie corrected, which caused all of their old classmates to snort or snicker in remembrance, while Kiba became red-faced and furious, "Now don't tell me I'm mistaken in mind about that, Kiba-chan."
At that last comment Naruto made, Kiba almost lost it while Akamaru bowed down low, also embarrassed for his master. The Inuzuka rookie shook his fists and sank his nails into the skin of his hands and shivered, meanwhile his face started to share the same color as the red marks drawn on his cheeks. At the same time, the Sandaime looked a little bit irked, while he wondered what he ever did to have his appearance be the source of amusement to these children.
Kiba shouted at his main rival as loud as he could to end the laughter, "YOU MAY HAVE BEEN GOOD AT THAT JUTSU IN CLASS, BUT THAT WON'T HELP YOU HERE! I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS, UZUMAKI!"
"You know I'm not the same timid little kid I was in school, Kiba…" said the blonde-haired shinobi in a more serious tone.
With that said, Kiba roared, "WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!"
{{Battle! (Wild Pokémon) [Pokémon Origins Version]}}
Kiba dashed after his rival, he roared and ran like a madman. The wild rookie moved as fast as he did earlier. Kiba closed his fist and was about to knock the smaller rookie in the mouth, but Naruto blocked his fist with his left hand. He then took hold of Kiba's entire arm, turned around with it in hand, and used Kiba's momentum to throw him over himself and slam him down into the concrete. Kiba landed on the floor and hit his back and the back of his head hard.
"OWW!" he moaned and shouted.
But Kiba soon recovered and was back on his feet. He ran after Naruto and tried to hit him in the head, but each time he missed as Naruto swerved or ducked down in time. Kiba became more and more furious each time he missed and started to roar and shout each time he attacked. He tried to use his nails and tried to slice and claw at Naruto, but the blonde-haired shinobi reacted in time and waited for Kiba to tire out. Naruto watched and waited as Kiba slowed down a little bit and then he moved in with no restraints.
He smirked and then he shouted, "MY TURN!"
Kiba looked dumbfounded for a moment when he saw Naruto reel his arm back and then his vision went white.
Naruto slammed Kiba in the face with a closed fist and almost knocked out one of his teeth. Kiba turned his head but then Naruto hit him a second time, this time he landed a harsh blow on the other side of his face. It didn't end there, as Naruto drove his fists into Kiba's face over and over. His smirk vanished and soon Naruto's face became intense as he unleashed his wrath. With a few more blows, Kiba tasted his own blood and several bruises formed all over his face. The Inuzuka clan member was unable to defend himself, as Naruto socked him in the face over nineteen times in a row, and each blow hurt more than the last. The audience in the balconies and the two contestant's former classmates were amazed as Naruto knocked Kiba around, as if it were a career. Sakura smiled and turned her hands into fists while Rock Lee cheered on his new friend and imitated his movements, like a boxer. Shikamaru and Choji were astonished, as neither one of them ever saw Naruto in a real fight until now. All the others were unable to comment when the battle took another sudden turn.
Naruto hit Kiba in the face four more times and with his arms knocked out at the sides, the blonde-haired shinobi kicked Kiba hard in the chest with a roundhouse kick.
"RAH!" the rookie shouted and then he watched as Kiba hit the concrete.
Kiba felt like a bull had rammed into the chest, as he rolled backwards until he reached Akamaru. The small animal whined at his master before he turned to Naruto and snarled at him. Naruto remained where he stood and breathed out his nose in order to force himself to calm down. Once he was calm, Naruto started to smile and then he smirked down at Kiba.
He asked and then mocked the wild rookie, "Not bad, huh, Kiba?"
"LET'S GO, AKAMARU!" he shouted as he ordered Akamaru to follow close behind.
Naruto started to run after his two opponents and mocked him with a smartass tone, "Need assistance so soon? What happened to sit this one out, Akamaru?!"
But then the blonde-haired shinobi flinched when he noticed Kiba reach into his coat and withdrew two smoke bombs. The wild rookie threw them down and released a thick cloud of dense smoke. Naruto shielded his face from the blast but then he felt Kiba throw another bomb and this time it hit him in the stomach. The blonde-haired shinobi let out a small noise and hunched over at the force the bomb was thrown. Naruto recovered fast and looked around, unable to see more than a few inches all around him. He tried to run out of the cloud, but he was struck in the face with Kiba's closed fist. Naruto's vision flashed white and then he felt Kiba hit him in the stomach. After this followed a series of harsh blows taken to Naruto's back, stomach, neck, and face. Kiba was able to locate Naruto fast, thanks to his enhanced animalistic senses, and returned the blows he received in kind. Bruises formed on his face and didn't heal as fast as most of his bruises would have had it not been for Orochimaru's involvement in the forest. Naruto had to break free of the smoke cloud, so he ran as fast as he could in one direction. But when he exited the cloud, Akamaru attacked him. The little white mutt bit down on Naruto's arm and forced him to fall back into the smoke cloud to receive another blind beatdown. The crowd in the balconies waited and listened as Naruto let out a furious roar and then there was silence as Kiba dove out from the cloud and smirked while he waited for the smoke to clear.
Sakura and Hinata shared the same look on their faces; worried over the outcome when Naruto was forced back into the smoke. Once the cloud had vanished, the audience watched and lowered their raised shoulders as Akamaru sat on the floor with an unconscious Naruto at his side. The little white mutt barked at his master and almost seemed to smile as his tail moved side to side. Kiba smiled and almost started to dance around as he let out a victorious series of barks and howls.
"YES! I did it!" he barked, "Nice!"
Akamaru ran around Naruto's unconscious form and started to run after his master. Kiba reached his arms out to let Akamaru pounce into his arms and lick him, like he did whenever the little canine was rewarded during training, "Well done, Aka-"
But then, when Akamaru was about to run into Kiba's chest, the little canine burst into a cloud of white smoke and turned into Naruto Uzumaki. Kiba blinked, held his breath, and soon felt Naruto kick him hard in the chest with both feet. The force of the double-kick knocked the wind out of Kiba and the teen was hurtled backwards until he landed hard on the concrete floor. Naruto landed back on his feet and smirked at the wild rookie as he watched him hunch over and tried to find his breath. Kiba recovered as fast as he could and let out a small whine. He looked across the stone field and saw Naruto stand next to a shadow clone and Akamaru was there in the hands of the clone. Akamaru snarled and tried to break free, but soon the clone held the small white canine at its small front feet. The little canine started to whine while his master looked on, worried sick for his companion.
"AKAMARU!" he shouted.
Naruto tilted his head and said, "Well look at that, Kiba! Who said transformation wouldn't help me in this match?"
With the creation of the latest shadow clone, Naruto's old classmates were stunned. None of them had ever seen him create shadow clones, and to see him create them now and with such ease was almost too much for them to soak in.
"Unbelievable…" breathed Shikamaru, "I had no idea Naruto could create shadow clones… Dad once told me shadow clones are one of the most difficult ninjutsu to use… But Naruto created a solid clone and used the Henge no Jutsu almost as soon as it was formed! How can he still stand?! No rookie in this room should have enough chakra in them to do that!"
Ino almost couldn't believe what she saw; "It can't be Naruto down there… I don't remember him like this when we were in school… H-He's not clever o-or cool or slick!"
"He's a lot smarter than he leads us on to believe, Ino-chan," commented Choji, "He once made a stink bomb that was smaller than a tennis ball out of a bunch of useless stuff. You should have seen the damage it caused though…"
Across the other side of the chamber, Temari looked a little concerned while she stared at Naruto. She crossed her arms and frowned at him when she noticed how calculated and focused he was, as if he had wanted Akamaru to attack him from the start. While she stared at the blonde-haired rookie, her brother Kankuro had returned from the bathroom. The middle child of the trio had hidden his bruises with more warriors' paint. Temari frowned at him, disappointed that her brother did not harm Naruto Uzumaki, but she didn't seem to care about that at the moment. Kankuro then watched as Kiba and Naruto stared each other down and listened to his sister's next comment.
"He timed his jutsu without flaw… I hate to admit it, but I think he could be a difficult opponent to anticipate if he succeeds here," said Temari.
Kankuro shivered as he flashed-back to the incident in the bathroom and admitted, "I wouldn't have believed he was like this when we first saw him in that lame tracksuit…"
Temari breathed in but then she covered her mouth and nose. She turned to Kankuro and tried to move further from him.
"Kankuro, what the hell is that smell?!" she asked in a sickened tone.
The hooded rookie stated as he flushed with humiliation, "Don't. Ask."
While Temari and Kankuro bickered at each other over the horrid stink from Kankuro, their little brother remained silent as he stared at Naruto. The red-haired rookie from Suna watched the match with interest and seemed almost fascinated with the rookie, as if he could sense the hidden forces within Naruto. But back on the other side of the chamber, Lee's more stoic teammate Neji looked down at the blonde-haired shinobi in amusement and he smirked.
'He's a strange one. Uzumaki lashed out and took Kiba down with so much aggression…' he thought, 'It's like he's wanted to do this for ages… He reminds me of that idiot Lee…'
Further down on the balconies, Hinata had raised her voice and was about to let out her admiration for Naruto's success, "Naruto-kun! That was incredi-"
But then Sakura shouted over Hinata before he ever had a chance to hear her.
"That was awesome, Naruto!" the kunoichi cheered.
Kiba snarled at Naruto with his teeth bared like a beast, "Ok… I'll admit it… that was clever… but…" the rookie cracked his knuckles and started to march towards Naruto when he heard Akamaru start to whine in pain, "You better find one hell of a doctor when I'm done with-"
"Make one more move and I'll break Akamaru's legs, Kiba, I swear to God I'll do it," the blonde-haired shinobi stated in a cold, heartless voice as his clone held the canine harder and caused the little animal to whine louder, "You want him to come out of this unharmed? Surrender the match now and I'll return him unscathed."
The wild rookie froze where he stood. Worried for his favorite canine, his face turned white. But soon, Kiba's face became flushed with red as he balled his hands into fists, bared his teeth, and shook like a truck motor. Naruto looked cold and focused, but had never felt more victorious. Kiba and Akamaru had kicked him around for what felt like eons, but at last he had turned the tables on them and forced Kiba into total submission. Naruto wanted to take it farther and force Kiba down to his knees. But even while fueled with the adrenaline from the medication, Naruto wouldn't take it that far and settled for what was in front of him.
"You miserable…" muttered Kiba.
Above, in the balconies, Kakashi felt wonderful shivers as he watched his student and smiled underneath his mask, 'He's matured so much in such a short amount of time… He's started to think and act like a true shinobi, that Naruto…'
"Oh… that child never ceases to amaze me…" the old Sandaime chuckled as he watched the match and smoked a little bit, amazed at how much his little Naruto matured.
Kiba's sensei Kurenai blinked as the events unfolded in front of her, she looked confused and a little bit worried that her student was about to lose, 'How? I thought Naruto Uzumaki was supposed to be an idiot…'
Shikamaru looked down at the blonde-haired shinobi with his teammates and he confessed, "This Naruto sure isn't the same one we knew when we were little kids…"
Shikamaru's teammates nodded but continued to watch the two rookies. At the same time, their sensei Asuma Sarutobi stared down at Naruto with interest and then looked over at his silver-haired masked friend and he wondered, 'What did Kakashi teach this kid?'
Kiba continued to stare down at Naruto with utter hatred while his beloved Akamaru whined more and more as he tried to break free but failed. Naruto squeezed the canine's legs harder and Kiba seethed, but then he calmed down a little and nodded to his little white comrade. Kiba then reached into the sleeve of his coat and withdrew two small black capsules. Without a word, Kiba threw one of them and Akamaru ate it after he observed his master's familiar movements. Naruto noticed this and his clone almost let the animal loose when Akamaru's fur started to turn reddish brown.
"Uzumaki! You're gonna give me back Akamaru!" the wild rookie said in an authoritative voice.
No less than a second later, Akamaru kicked the Naruto clone in the chest so hard that it caused the clone to burst into a white smoke. Shocked and confused, the blonde-haired shinobi looked at Kiba and then the little red furball that started to shiver and snarl as if Akamaru had rabies.
"Don't tell me that was a soldier pill!" said Naruto.
Kurenai smirked and looked more confident and thought, 'Kiba wants to end this match fast. If he wins this, I'll have to teach him another ace in the hole to save for the final rounds…'
Akamaru returned to Kiba and bounced on his master's back after he squat down low and focused his chakra.
"Let's do it, Akamaru!" he shouted.
Kiba then started to turn more feral and insane after he swallowed the second pill. Akamaru barked as Kiba shouted, "Shikyaku no Jutsu! Jūjin Bunshin!"
Akamaru burst into a cloud of white smoke, but once it cleared, the animal had been transformed into an exact duplicate of his feral master. Seconds later, the rookie succumb to the effects of the soldier pill he consumed as his facial features turned more beast-like. Kiba sounded and looked more and more like an animal as he started to foam at the mouth and snarled at Naruto.
"Just so we're clear, this doesn't count as two on one, does it?!" asked a somewhat humorous but nervous Naruto.
Before Hayate could even state the rules on the use of ninken, Akamaru bounced off of his master's back and Kiba dashed after Naruto and tried to claw at his face. Naruto was able to avoid the attack but the soreness and the restricted movement in his muscles kicked in. The lack of his normal chakra flow started to take its toll on his muscles. Naruto's movements became more strained and limited, so he wasn't able to outmaneuver Kiba's attacks as fast as he would have had it not been for Orochimaru intervention. While the medicine he took still fueled him with chakra, the medication didn't distribute the chakra Naruto needed in his muscles to react in time.
Kiba and Akamaru slammed their hands into the floor and caused a cloud of dust to arise. Naruto was unable to see them and waited for someone to come out from the dust. When the dust cloud cleared, the two Kiba's were both crouched down low, about to attack. One of the two versions of Kiba slid towards Naruto and tried to slice him across the face. Naruto was almost unable to move in time and received a small scratch that stretched from his cheek to his nose but he continued to move backwards. The same version of Kiba continued to run after the blonde-haired shinobi. He bounced off on the closest wall with the aid of his chakra and ran on all fours like an animal. Kiba soon bounced off from the wall and tried to attack Naruto once more.
Back in the balconies, Hinata held her hands in nervousness and shouted inside her head, 'Naruto-kun!'
Kiba and Akamaru were relentless and continued to claw and attack Naruto in a rather violent manner. The twins tried to aim at Naruto's face and neck, to draw blood and cause him to slow down so the two of them to beat him into submission. Kiba and Akamaru let out a series of feral, wild noises each time the two tried to harm the blonde-haired shinobi. With each failed attempt to take him down, Kiba and Akamaru became more and more violent and sounded more and more like rage-fueled maniacs. Naruto could have sworn he saw Kiba's irises turn blood-red after another failed attack, but he blinked and realized he was mistaken. The blonde-haired shinobi let out a shout when Kiba nicked his arm and noticed Kiba or Akamaru's clawed hand had drawn some of his blood. One of the other two was about to move in to attack, and Naruto had no choice but to shoot into the air and avoid a double-sided attack. But while he was in the air, Kiba and Akamaru smirked, and the two of them twisted into the air and swirled so fast that the two of them turned into what resembled two drills.
"Dual Piercing Fang! Gatsuga!"
Kiba and Akamaru rammed themselves into Naruto, consumed him in a storm of slices and blows, and sent him further into the air. Naruto let out a short but terrible scream as his blood was shed and showered the floor as well as the audience. The teachers and the students were a little shocked when the blood hit their faces and decorated the floor and walls crimson. Ino let out a little scream and covered her mouth while others like Shikamaru and Lee stared at the little red smears on their hands and shivered while Naruto hit the floor and trembled. Even Kiba's allies looked a little disturbed at what he did to Naruto, while Kiba's teammate Hinata looked horrified at what he had done.
"Kiba…" the wild rookie's sensei muttered when she saw the blood.
Hinata was unable to contain her shock and cried out, "Oh-no! Naruto-kun!"
When Naruto landed on the floor, he tasted blood in his mouth and felt the scratches embedded in his torso. He was almost unable to move while he felt more blood start to leak and run onto the floor and stain his new favorite clothes red. Naruto listened as Akamaru and Kiba landed on their feet. Kiba then sauntered over to Naruto alone and stood over his weakened form. He could smell the blood from where he stood and looked down and tilted his head like a curious child.
Kiba smirked and then he stated out loud, "You deserved that, douche. No one touches Akamaru but me."
Hinata shivered but soon she closed her hands and stared down at her teammate with an almost hostile look. Kiba's cruel actions and intent even earned a worried look from Kurenai, while Shino crossed his arms and didn't look like he liked what he saw of his teammate. Naruto twitched as he tried to focus his magic to heal the serious wounds on his chest and stomach. He then tried to lift himself off the floor, but then Kiba noticed he tried to return to the fight and kicked him in the side.
"ARGH!" he shouted.
Hinata covered her mouth with her hands and flinched, as if she could feel that exact same kick Naruto received. The blonde-haired shinobi almost rolled onto his back from the force of the attack, but soon retreated back onto his stomach, as he tried once more to recover and his older brother healed his wounds. Kiba smirked and was about to move in and kick Naruto a second time. But then he froze when he heard Naruto start to chuckle.
"Heheheheheh…" he chuckled in a low voice and then he said, "You bastard… I remember… You used to be so nice to me when we were little… I wonder whatever became of that kid I first met at school…"
Kiba flinched when he heard Naruto's sentimental statement. He had a short flashback and remembered when he first met Naruto when the two of them were at their first recess. It was, in fact, true that Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka were once kind to each other and that Kiba was once nice before his life took a sudden turn for the worse and Kiba let his aggression out on an oblivious Naruto. The wild rookie was soon brought back down to Earth when he heard Naruto let out a painful cough and struggled to keep himself up off the floor. He then listened as Naruto tried to motivate himself and not collapse from the pain or the loss of blood.
"I won't lose here… I have to become Hokage… But first I have to make chunin… I won't lose here… I can't…" he said out loud.
When he heard that last sentence, Kiba returned to his brutal demeanor and taunted his weakened opponent, "Pathetic! You want to become Hokage so bad, huh?! Well, I hate to break some real bad freakin' news, but that isn't gonna happen! Instead, I'll gonna become the Hokage! You were born a loser, and you will die as one too!"
"N-NO! CUT IT OUT, KIBA-KUN!" cried out Hinata, "THAT'S NOT TRUE!"
Naruto, Kiba, and all the other shinobi, kunoichi, and instructors in the room flinched or turned their heads to look at the timid Hinata Hyuga. She had covered her mouth with both her hands and turned a shade red when she felt all the others around her stare at her. Kurenai looked bemused at her student and Kiba looked more offended or shocked when he heard her shout for the first time. The other rookies in the room that Hinata went to school with looked shocked as well, for none of them had a lot of memorable memories of her from school, let alone recall a moment she ever raised her voice like she did.
Naruto had heard Hinata's voice and almost couldn't believe his ears. When he absorbed what she said, Naruto looked up and stared at Kiba. He frowned at the wild rookie and found the will to stand. He dismissed the sharp pain of his wounds and stared down at Kiba, tired of all the abuse and humiliation he was forced to endure from him, even now when Kiba taunted him about his dream. Hinata's words had inspired him to make a stand and address the abuse he had suffered before he finished the fight and beat Kiba down into beans and mash.
The blonde-haired shinobi stated, "You will not win…"
Kiba twitched and turned around to see Naruto stand back on his own. He looked down at his chest and observed the harm he and Akamaru had inflicted. Blood stained all over Naruto's shirt and his coat had obvious claw cuts that stretched across Naruto's entire torso. What shocked Kiba was not the amount of blood or the fact that he could have killed Naruto, but the fact that Naruto's wounds had started to heal a little bit. The wounds were not closed, but the marks he left behind should have continued to bleed but didn't.
"What was that, you little bitch?" the immature Inuzuka warrior asked.
Naruto frowned at Kiba and closed his hands into fists, "You don't even know what it's like for me, huh, Kiba?"
"What? When we were in school?" he asked and then he taunted, "We sure had a blast, didn't we?!"
"NO!" the blonde-haired shinobi shout and had had it with Kiba's blatant insolence and ranted, "You think I like this? To be ridiculed and branded as some… as some talentless loser? What kind of a sick bastard would ever think that I liked to be treated like I was when we were in school?! I wasn't the best classmate in the world, but I wasn't that bad either! I… Sure I did a few tricks and caused a little bit of trouble here and there, but it's not like I killed someone and desecrated the corpse! I never deserved to be treated like I was! You always treated me like garbage and I never deserved it! NEVER!"
Kiba flinched and even frowned a little bit while Naruto lectured him. But little known to their attention, was that all the other students in the room that were once their classmates started to realize what it must have been like for Naruto, when Sasuke outshined him or when Kiba kicked him around and bullied him.
"You never understood what it was like for me to have to take all that crap! You kicked me around all the time and made me feel like an arsehole! I almost didn't want to go to school because I didn't want to be bullied or have all the kunoichi students in our class remind me how unpopular I was! At least Iruka-aniki, Shikamaru, Choji, and even Hinata from our class made it worth the trouble! I went through hell and back to be where I am now and I will not be defeated at the hand or claw of some spoiled brat with serious mental issues!"
Hinata blushed and continued to cover her mouth when Naruto mentioned her. Kiba flinched at Naruto, as did most of their fellow ex-classmates in the room. As Naruto became more and more furious and emotional the lights in the chamber started to flicker and a subtle breeze moved in and chilled the air. Kiba shivered while Naruto stared him down with a look that was cold but still burned.
Naruto's voice then echoed across the chamber when he stated, "I will not be defeated here and there is no future in sight where Kiba Inuzuka is the next Hokage," and then he shouted, "THAT FUTURE BELONGS TO ME!"
The wild rookie was almost taken aback from the sheer volume and power of Naruto's voice. Kiba almost didn't want to take on Naruto after he made that little speech and even felt a little bit of remorse for his actions. But soon Kiba returned to his old habits and decided to act out in order to restore whatever honor he felt he lost.
He retaliated with a small chuckle and said, "Heh! I'm sure there's a height requirement when a shinobi takes office, shortie."
And so it was the second time Naruto almost went insane that afternoon, enhanced with the side effects of his medication.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A RUNT SO TINY HE CAN ONLY BE SEEN WITH A MAGNIFYING GLASS, YOU JERK?!"
{{Battle! (Trainer Battle) [Pokémon Origins Version]}}
Naruto's face turned as red as a tomato and his voice was so loud that almost all those in attendance were forced to cover their ears. Kankuro turned white and hid behind the bars of the terrace while the other rookies and teachers in the room watched as Naruto dashed after Kiba. The blonde-haired shinobi focused so much chakra into his feet that the concrete cracked beneath him and Naruto turned into a dark blonde-haired blur. Kiba had blinked and before he had a chance to defend himself from an attack, Naruto had punched in the head. The blonde-haired shinobi drove so much force into the blow that Kiba flew across the chamber and the wild-natured rookie bonked the back of his head on the base of the massive statue. The other rookies and their teachers were somewhat intimidated at the sight of Naruto's wrath and took note to never make fun of his height.
Kiba moaned and his faithful Akamaru ran over to him and whined, even while in his human form. Akamaru used his human nose to incite his master to move and even started to lick his face in affection. Soon after, Kiba was able to stand and forced Akamaru to act more human and cease his affections. The Inuzuka warrior rubbed the back of his head to feel the blood that leaked into his hair and seethed at Naruto. Kiba and his twin moved in after Naruto, determined to slice him and dice him.
Kiba then shouted while he ran, "Let's take him down, Akamaru!"
'I'M GETTING RID OF THAT EFFING MUTT ONCE AND FOR ALL!' the blonde-haired shinobi shouted in his mind.
Kiba and Akamaru both ran after Naruto head on and turned themselves into those twin drills like the two of them did earlier. Naruto tried to use his chakra to avoid the twin drills but Kiba was able to scratch his side and draw a little more blood. Naruto landed on floor after the attack, but lost his balance and landed his front. He soon moved fast in order to avoid the next attack, but his lack of chakra control was noticed. Kakashi looked a little concerned ever since Naruto turned into a blur and slammed Kiba in the face. He noticed Naruto focused too much chakra into his feet and now he noticed Naruto was not able to move with as much finesse as he expected him to have attained in his training.
Kakashi thought while he watched the match, 'Naruto's chakra control is dreadful…'
Kiba and Akamaru slid in different directions and turned to see if their opponent could still stand. Naruto recovered fast and looked between the twins and tried to think of what to do next.
'Think! What can I do to separate these two from each other?! I have to take down at least one of them to even the odds!'
Kiba and Akamaru didn't waste time and both of the attacked Naruto at once, about to turn back into human drills. But before Kiba and his twin transformed, the Inuzuka rookie threw another smoke bomb, like he did before and the area was soon filled with dense smoke. The identical rookies then twisted in mid-air and turned back into drills, determined to annihilate Naruto. After the smoke filled the area and blinded him, Naruto found an idea. He used the smoke as a cover, reached into his coat, and took out his wand. He then waited and listened for either Kiba or Akamaru to come in close. One of them missed when he ducked down, and almost as soon as he heard one of them zoom above his head, the wizard slid backwards and aimed his wand into the smoke.
He then muttered under his breath, "Carpe Retractum!"
Naruto used the Seize And Pull Charm, ecstatic that none of his magical abilities were hindered as a result of Orochimaru's seal. The orange elastic lasso shot into the dense smoke and attached to not one, but two marks. Kiba and Akamaru were both seized at the ankle and after Naruto made a certain movement, the two of them slammed into each other and cancelled out their dual human drill attack, all under a cover of smoke. But it didn't end there, as Naruto swirled his wand around him. He moved in a circular motion and took Kiba and Akamaru with him at their ankles. Kiba and Akamaru almost knocked each other out when their thick skulls clashed into one another and both of them screamed while the two of them were whirled around the chamber like two dolls on a thread. Naruto then cancelled the charm and slid his wand back into his coat. Kiba and Akamaru were then sent in opposite directions of the chamber, out of the smoke cloud. Kiba and Akamaru rolled across the floor but then drove their claws into the concrete. The two of them then dashed back towards the smoke cloud, both of them on all fours as the two of them roared and acted like wild animals. Naruto smirked and was soon surrounded with a burst of white smoke that went unnoticed, as the dark smoke started to clear. But some of the older shinobi in the audience noticed what he had done. Back on the terrace, Kakashi raised his brow and smiled underneath his mask.
"Ah… Smart move, kiddo!" the masked instructor commend his student.
Sakura seemed confused as she looked back and stared at Kakashi. The masked teacher then insisted that she look back at her teammate. When she turned around, Sakura and all the other rookies and even some of the teachers were astounded to see that Naruto had vanished. Instead of two versions of Kiba Inuzuka and one Naruto Uzumaki, there were now three versions of Kiba, indistinguishable from the other. Sakura and Lee both realized what their friend had done and were amazed to see how smart he was; it didn't matter who Naruto attacked or knocked out first, no matter who he chose he would attack one of his two opponents and even out the odds. Kiba on the other hand, stood with the most to risk in his next actions. He could attack Naruto or his closest friend in the world. The real Kiba and Akamaru look between each other and tried to figure out which one of them was Naruto, while the real Naruto mimicked their actions. Kiba was frustrated and wanted to lash out, but then he took a whiff in the air and seemed to simmer down a little bit.
"Good trick, Naruto… But see… You should have taken into account," the Inuzuka rookie lashed out at the version of him on the right.
Kiba smirked as he watched the fake hit the floor and he scratched his bloodied nose and said, "I can smell a fake from a mile away!"
The fake Kiba moaned and then burst into white smoke to reveal that he had attacked Akamaru.
Kiba and audience that surrounded him held their collected breath in shock at the mistake warrior from the Inuzuka clan made. Driven mad with confusion and paranoia, Kiba turned around and lashed out at the version of him behind him, convinced that it was real Naruto. He slammed his fist into the face of the one he believed was the fake, but after another burst of white smoke the other fake Kiba revealed to be Akamaru once more. Kurenai held her hand to her mouth in shock as the other genin shared the same shock and utter confusion.
Kakashi on the other hand, continued to smirked and even crossed his arms as he said, "You clever little trickster…"
The Akamaru that Kiba attacked first recovered in an instant and revealed to be the real Naruto Uzumaki. But once Kiba realized who was the fake and who was the real Akamaru, it was too late. Naruto ran after Kiba when he turned around and the blonde-haired rookie kicked Kiba in the face and broke his nose with a sick crack. Sakura screamed in satisfaction and Rock Lee roared in admiration, as the two of them watched Kiba fall back and cover his blood-soaked nose, while he moaned in his hands and rolled from side to side on the floor. Meanwhile, Hinata was relieved to see Naruto had not been defeat but felt bad for her teammate at the same time. Asuma's three students stared at Naruto with wonderment when he landed on his feet and acted like a true shinobi in their eyes. Ino couldn't hold back the small blush in her cheeks as she watched Naruto stand tall and stare down at Kiba.
She then commented, "When did Naruto become so smart?"
Kiba continued to leak blood out of his nostrils like a small stream and covered his nose and mouth in order to cease the constant flow of blood from his nose. He tried to blink and looked over at his unconscious canine friend and then looked back at Naruto with a wrathful look on his face.
"AKAMARU! Y-You bastard, Uzumaki! OW! MY NOSE! I'LL HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL NOW, YOU DICK!"
Naruto stared down the Inuzuka rookie while he tried to stand and continued to cover his nose, "Looks like we'll be even then… But first…"
Kiba flinched and soon he realized that this was the end of their match. Naruto moved in after Kiba and while he ran he used his favorite handsign and focused as much chakra as he could.
He shouted out, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
And like that, he created four shadow clones. Three of the four clones ran after Kiba at full force while the fourth one remained close to the real one. The three that went after Kiba slid low on the concrete and kicked Kiba in the stomach with the strength of four kickboxers. The force of those four kicks to his stomach knocked the wind out of Kiba and sent him seventeen feet in the air. The three shadow clones vanished and the fourth one ran ahead and allowed the real Naruto to use him as a raised area. The real Naruto used whatever chakra he could use and soar above Kiba.
The crowd watched and held their breath as Naruto soared like Superman before he raised his knee and slammed his foot and he let out one last furious roar, "DON'T EVER MESS WITH ME AGAIN!"
Naruto then slammed his foot down on the back of Kiba's defenseless head. The sheer force of the blow caused Kiba to hurtle towards the floor and whirl like a human wheel while he zoomed towards the floor. Less than a second later, Kiba's back was embedded in solid concrete. Kiba stared at Naruto with a frozen expression of shock and unbelievable pain. But that wasn't the end of it as Naruto zoomed down after Kiba and landed on his chest with the same force that drove Kiba into the air in the first place. The concrete around Kiba cracked and he sank down even farther into the floor. Naruto bounced off Kiba's chest and then he landed on his feet with refinement. He stumbled, out of breath, but still remained firm on his feet, while Kiba sank into unconsciousness.
All of the rookies and all the teachers in the room were dumbstruck at the amount of emotion and blood seen in this match. No one that ever took a class with Naruto would have ever expected to see him come out on top in a fight, let alone see him show such raw strength.
Hinata, Sakura, Lee, Shikamaru, Shino, Ino, Neji, and Choji were all amazed.
Hayate Gekko marched over to Kiba and felt his neck to check if he was still alive. Kiba was alive, but sure was wouldn't feel well for a while. With a beatdown like the one he took, it would take him at least two months before he would be able to train outdoors or even take Akamaru out on a walk.
Hayate cleared his throat and soon declared, "The winner of the seventh match is Naruto Uzumaki!"
Sakura and Lee burst into cheers and ovation. Hinata smiled and screamed into her hands while she covered her mouth with the sleeves of her coat. The Sandaime smiled down at Naruto in satisfaction and Shikamaru and his teammates marveled at Naruto, still unable to believe their old classmate and friend had advanced to the next level to become the first of their class to become chunin.
Shikamaru acclaimed out of character, "Unbelievable! Naruto beat the snot out of Kiba!"
The teachers all had mixed reactions to the end result of the match. Kakashi smiled underneath his mask, amazed and proud of his student and nodded down to him. But while Kakashi waited for Naruto to return to his side on the terrace, he thought back to Naruto's wrath from certain moments in the match and shivered a little bit in remembrance.
'Well done, Naruto… But man, sometimes he reminds me of that redheaded woman sensei used to date…'
Kakashi's associate, Asuma, breathed in some more smoke from his cigarette and stared at Naruto with an amused look on his bearded face. He was certain his other associate Kurenai would be more amazed with the end result of the recent match than he was. Kurenai looked down at her defeated student and sighed as Kiba was rolled into a stretcher and sent to the medical center. She sure did feel bad for her student that he wouldn't become a chunin this time. But she felt a little bit worse when Kiba's mother asked her to send a report on her son's exam results, which included the activities she discovered about the school-related incident with Naruto.
Naruto watched with disbelief as Kiba was escorted out of the arena with the medics. He then looked down at his hand and clenched his fist, victorious, as he started to absorb the fact that he had defeated Kiba and returned the abuse he had received from him and then some. The blonde-haired shinobi smiled and listened to his teammate and new friend Rock Lee ovate him while his older brother shook and embraced him.
'You were brilliant, mate!'
Naruto soon marched back to the terrace and missed the rest of Kiba's team as he smiled and tried to relax. But while he walked, he heard a small, nervous, but kind voice call out to him from behind.
Hinata had found her voice and called out, "N-Naruto-kun!"
The blonde-haired shinobi turned around to face the kunoichi and cracked a small smile, unaware of her intention.
"Yes?" he asked.
Hinata tried to form a sentence, overwhelmed with her timid nature before she threw in the towel to talk and offered the blonde-haired shinobi a small container of ointment to him and blushed.
Naruto seemed lost, "Huh?"
But then Kurenai stared at her one female student and seemed to be amazed or shocked. The older woman noticed the blush in Hinata's cheeks and how she trembled more than she ever has in all the time she had known her. Kurenai soon realized what was behind Hinata's nervousness around Naruto more so than all the other people she had met while on missions.
Kurenai cracked a lavish smile and said, "It's a medical ointment, Naruto. It heals bruises and cuts."
Naruto looked back at Hinata who started to blush even more now. The older wizard that watched over him smiled as well while he watched the scene from his office.
Naruto asked, "Why give it to me, Hinata?"
Hinata couldn't answer for she was too timid and nervous to even make a sound front of him. But then Kurenai saved her student from further humiliation when she intervened.
She said, "Go ahead and take it, Naruto. Consider it a reward. Go on."
Naruto nodded and then he smiled at Hinata when she handed him the ointment and then nodded to her once more.
He said, "Thanks, Hinata! And thanks so much for that little support earlier, even though it should have been for Kiba the whole time. That was still so nice…"
Hinata blushed even more and then she nodded as she tried to stare down at the floor. She still smiled and then she watched as Naruto turned back to his team with Rock Lee and Gai. Kurenai landed her hand down on Hinata's shoulder and muttered to her with a small smirk on her face.
She told her, "You sure have the most curious taste in men, Hinata…"
Hinata flushed with even more color and she tried to hide her face out of embarrassment. It was more than clear to her now that her timid little Hinata had a monster crush on Naruto Uzumaki.
To Be Continued…
This was a fun chapter for me to re-write.
It turns out that I changed a lot from the original version. Where Naruto makes a three-page long-winded and overly dramatic speech about how mean and spoiled a lot of Naruto's classmates were and I included a rip off of Harry's speech from the Order of the Phoenix film when Kiba tries to tell Naruto he's a loser after the first Gatsuga attack. This time I went for something a lot more original and to the point. Naruto still got his frustration out and I ended it to be a little more humorous when Kiba makes fun of his height afterwards. I also got rid of the Scott Pilgrim KO sound-effect scene when Naruto punches Kiba into a wall and made it more reminiscent to the original scene in the manga with the Uzumaki Barrage.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and look forward to seeing what you guys thought of it! Next time, it will be Hinata vs. Neji and I have some pretty good scene in mind for that fight!
Later!