By the time morning came, the Hokage, The Uchiha Police Force and its Head, all available Jonin, and the proctors were gathered in the tower located in the center of the Forest of Death.
"We're all now aware that Orochimaru is back in the village and that he has cast his Curse Mark upon another person. Sasuke Uchiha. Which means he and his team—Team 7—fought against the Sannin. He also reported to Mitarashi-san that they were all left alive and put up a decent fight, so for now we will wait to see if they complete the second phase of this exam," Minato explained.
"But, Hokage-sama, shouldn't we call off the exam?!" Someone exclaimed.
"He has given a warning not to, and I would not have either way. We need to figure out what he wants and plan appropriately. For now, we know that he wants Sasuke because he marked him but we know there to be more than wanting a Sharingan," the Hokage replied. "We'll keep a close eye on all genin for the duration of the exam."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" They all answered in unison.
"You're dismissed. Fugaku, I'd like to speak with you separately, however." Everyone else dispersed but the Uchiha Head remained. "Are you okay?"
"My son has been tainted by that filth," Fugaku snapped. "There's no way I am okay."
"Sasuke is strong. He will survive the Curse Mark and return to you safely," he assured the man as he put a hand on his shoulder. "In the meantime, I will do my best to research a way to remove such marks. I don't know how far that will take me, though."
"Not even Lord Third could figure out how to remove the seal for Mitarashi-san," the Uchiha pointed out. "Not that I don't have faith in you, but it seems impossible."
"I know, but I will do my best and ask Kushina as well seeing as she hails from the great Uzumaki."
"Then, I will leave it to you, Hokage-sama."
Minato squeezed his shoulder and they parted ways. If Orochimaru had gotten to his old students, then there was no telling what happened during that fight. He had to assume that the Sannin knew that Naruto was now the Jinchuuriki, which complicated things. It meant Orochimaru had something he could hold over their heads or reveal to their enemies if given the right incentive. That troublesome snake would see his end soon enough if he had anything to do with it.
Hinata snapped her eyes open as she sensed nin nearby. She looked over at her teammates and saw they were in the same condition as before. Slowly, she moved them closer to the tree trunk so they would be more out of sight. But if her hunch was right, the Oto nin were here just as Orochimaru said they would be. And she was looking forward to making them pay for willingly following an abhorrent thing.
"I promise…to protect you both with my life," she mumbled down at her unconscious teammates. She put a hand on Sasuke's cheek before leaning over and doing the same to Naruto. "Just come back to me."
When the first tripwire was triggered, Hinata took a deep breath and slowly stood. She took the time to work out the stiffness in her body that came from sleeping uncomfortably. Then she took some moss near her foot and balled it up before sticking it in her ears. They weren't from Oto for nothing, and after seeing what they did to Kabuto… she couldn't be too careful.
"Are you going to come out?" After hearing that voice, she knew it was the Oto ninja without a doubt. Slowly, she walked out from the moss and bushes. "Where is Sasuke? Bring him out here, so we can kill him." It was who she had previously assumed was the leader of the group that was speaking.
Hinata narrowed her eyes, angry at the nerve of these so-called shinobi. "Yes, let me bring out my teammates since you asked so politely," she snapped. She normally wasn't one for snarky retorts, but she didn't care all that much about being polite at the moment. "Even if I wanted to, he's passed out due to a mark that Orochimaru put on him. He's the man you're serving, correct? To serve the likes of him, you three are truly nothing but scum."
She had never felt so angry in her life and she knew she needed to calm down or risk becoming reckless. Kushina would be disappointed in her if she let her anger control her rather than the other way around.
The one she dubbed the Reckless One clenched his jaw. "Now, hearing someone like you call us that, I definitely want to kill you now. We only had orders to incapacitate you but killing you would work just as fine," he said. "And then we'll take those eyes to Orochimaru-sama."
"Try what you want, but I will protect my teammates at all costs." Hinata put her palms up, standing in her variant of the Gentle Fist, and waited for them to approach her.
"Zaku," the leader said, turning to the Reckless One, "I'll allow you to battle her first."
"Hell no, Dosu," the woman argued. "This girl needs her ass handed to her by a real kunoichi. Let me."
"Fine, Kin. You go. I don't really care," Zaku said easily. "It'll be nice to watch a good 'ol cat fight." The girl, Kin, rolled her eyes and then turned her attention to Hinata with a smirk.
"Let's see what you got, little girl," she taunted. Kin dashed for her with a kunai but was promptly taken down before she could even reach Hinata, who had stuck her palm out. Smirking, Hinata could see that she had correctly done the Vacuum Palm this time. Her anger was correctly aiding her. Kin lay unconscious.
"Don't underestimate me just because I'm a kunoichi," she warned.
Zaku cursed, looking at his fallen teammate with disappointment before stepping forward. "Hyuuga or not, I'll still take your ass down!" He yelled. He held out his palm and sent out waves of air filled with chakra that Hinata used her doujutsu to keep track of and dodge. Zaku appeared right in front of her and landed a punch to her face, causing her to fly back with a grunt.
She quickly got to her feet to see Zaku putting his arms up again. She quickly spun on the ball of her foot. "Rotation!" The gust of chakra wind hit her just before her move was completed and hit her left arm in such a way that she felt the bone crack. Because she failed to complete the jutsu in time, she came to a complete stop only to be hit with a powerful gust of wind that caused her to slam against the large tree her friends were recovering under. She felt her arm fully snap, and she let out a choked scream as she hit the roots of the tree and rolled to the ground.
Despite the overwhelming pain, she was promptly on her feet, her left arm hung uselessly at her side, and pulled out a kunai to hold in her mouth while she held her palm up. Zaku scoffed and ran for her, wanting to make contact with her body and fling her around until she begged him for mercy. She dodged his punches and jumped over his kicks as she retaliated with her own palm. Zaku went to punch her but she stopped it with her palm, sending a huge amount of chakra into it and paralyzing it.
"You bitch!" He cursed, trying to shake out his hand but unable to move it. He jumped up and kicked at her head only to be stabbed with the kunai she held in her mouth. He grabbed at her jacket and managed to tear off her left sleeve which caused her to flinch at the pain of her broken arm being jostled. Zaku used this to his advantage and punched her in the temple which sent her face first into the dirt. The kunai fell from her mouth as she gasped in pain and coughed when she inhaled dirt.
Zaku stomped on her back over and over with a chakra-charged foot until her jacket was destroyed there as well and began to get through her mesh armor. Her spine and ribs were starting to crack under the pressure and she knew she was running out of time. When she managed to catch her breath, she took a deep one and sent chakra out of her back and managed to numb his leg enough for him to back off. She grabbed her kunai and lodged it into the muscle of his left upper arm which rendered it useless as he couldn't move it. Zaku cursed again and attempted to punch at her again but she dodged and shoved two fingers into the chakra points on his side, causing him to grunt with the force.
"That's one of your arms," she panted. She was beaten, battered, with cuts, bruises, blood dripping from her mouth, and a broken arm but still standing. Before Zaku could say another word, Hinata sent chakra into her leg and kicked him with all her strength and back into a boulder behind his teammate, causing it to break from the force. She faced Dosu, standing on shaky legs and only one useful arm.
Dosu ran for her but both of them were caught off guard as Team 10 appeared in front of her, guarding her from her attacker.
"Sh—Shikamaru," she breathed out, shocked by their arrival. She had been so caught up in making sure her enemies didn't get to her teammates that she hadn't even heard them approaching.
Shikamaru turned to smile back at her nervously. "Rest, Hinata. We got this one," he said.
She looked at his teammates and wanted to cry at how grateful she was. They were clearly terrified but still came to her defense. "Thank you three, so much."
"Just take care of Sasuke and Naruto," Ino said, smiling at her.
Dosu took a step forward. "More Konoha ninja? How annoying."
Choji gulped at the look in his eye and tried to run. "We gotta get outta here! This guy's gonna kill us!" Shikamaru held him by his long scarf.
"Quit it, Choji!" The Nara huffed.
"You really should listen to your fat friend," Zaku grunted as he crawled out of the rubble.
Choji paused. "What did you just call me?" He asked, his voice tight with anger. "What did you just say?"
"I said 'You should really listen to your fat friend'. What, did I touch a nerve?" The Oto teased.
Choji turned to his teammates with hard eyes. "That's it. We're fighting these guys to the death!" He declared.
Shikamaru smiled. "That's the spirit."
Hinata looked back at her teammates and was shocked to see a purple flow of chakra coming from Sasuke. It seemed to be originating from the mark on his neck.
"All right! It's time for Formation Ino-Shika-Cho!" Ino announced. Choji expanded his body and used his human bolder jutsu to go for Zaku. The Oto nin pushed back on the jutsu with his own Slicing the Air jutsu, but with how fast Choji was spinning, it didn't seem to be working. Choji jumped high in the air and went to hit him from above but Zaku jumped out of the way.
As Dosu was going to aid him, Shikamaru used his Shadow Possession Jutsu to keep him in place. "You're not going anywhere. Let your teammate put on his big boy pants," he said, smirking. Dosu clenched his jaw, glaring at the Nara with his one visible eye. "Go for it, Ino!"
"Right!" Just as Ino was getting ready to do her family's signature style, Zaku blew a powerful gust of wind at her that sent her flying back into the forest and hitting a tree trunk. She instantly passed out, blood dripping from her mouth.
"Ino!" Shikamaru called out. Just then, Choji was coming out of his Human Boulder technique heavily dizzy and barely able to see straight. Zaku took this moment to appear before him and kick him in the face, sending him to the ground unmoving. Shikamaru gritted his teeth as sights were set on him. Before he could think of a way out, Hinata was at his back, a kunai in her hand with a hard look.
"I'm here," she said. "Take care of that one. I got this one."
"Right."
Hinata moved forward, flickering back and forth as she made her way to Zaku, ignoring the pain all over her body. She wasn't going to let him get away with hurting her friends.
Zaku chortled. "You think you can defeat me? Think again!" Hinata tossed her kunai to his left, causing him to jump to his right which is what she was counting on. She charged her chakra into her fingertips and pushed them into the center of his stomach, completely sealing all of his tenketsu. He instantly passed out and fell to the ground, but Hinata was left feeling faint.
She turned groggily to see Shikamaru being pushed into the forest by Dosu's arm weapon. The Nara flew away with a pained grunt. The Oto nin turned for her and she stood her ground no matter how exhausted she was.
"Your turn."
"You're not getting to my comrades," she panted.
"If you think you can beat me like this, I'm offended," Dosu said, tilting his head. "My teammates are sloppy and much weaker than I am, so I can guarantee that I am not at all that easy to take down."
Hinata swayed on her feet but took a deep breath and steadied herself.
"You're barely standing, Hyuuga. Just give up your teammate."
"You'll have to kill me first," she panted, pausing to spit out blood that had gathered in her mouth again.
There was a smirk in Dozu's voice as he spoke. "That certainly won't be too difficult." He rushed for her and she could do nothing but block the weapon with her broken arm, screaming out as it ruptured her eardrum despite the moss she had put in earlier and worsening her arm. She knew the moss wasn't going to be effective at such a close range, but she had hoped. Dosu pulled his arm back and laughed as she clutched her bleeding ear.
She glared up at him, clearly disoriented but still refusing to fall. This impressed and annoyed Dosu, who quickly went to move for her again. Just before he made contact, they both froze at the sudden killing intent filling up the clearing. Dosu's eyes looked past her and he looked terrified at what he saw. Slowly, Hinata turned around to see Sasuke emitting that same purple chakra from his body, only now half of his body vertically seemed to be covered in flame-shaped marks.
"Sasuke?" She hissed, wincing from the pain that talking gave her.
"Hinata," he said, voice strong and sure as he looked over all her injuries and torn clothes. "Who hurt you?"
"Sasuke, what's wrong? Those marks," she asked, turning toward him but squeezing her eyes shut as it made her even dizzier. His chakra was so palpable that chunks of the ground were being torn from the earth and tossed all around him.
"It's just the power flowing from me, from this gift Orochimaru gave me," Sasuke replied as he looked down at his marked hand. "In fact, I've never felt better."
"It's no gift," she pleaded. "He's not a good guy!"
"I need this, Hinata. I need this to bring my brother back."
"No, you don't! You have me and Naruto. You don't need this—this poison!" She said, trying to make him see reason.
Once he looked back at her face, he couldn't reply. The girl that he was going to spend the rest of his life with was barely recognizable with her beaten face and tattered clothes, and it made him absolutely livid. He looked around the area and saw the other Oto nin lying knocked out and he felt a sense of pride knowing how strong she was and how hard she was still fighting despite her condition.
His gaze settled on Dosu, who took a step back in fear. "You're the only one left of the team that did this," Sasuke said. "I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson." Sasuke was instantly in front of Dosu, the ground breaking apart underneath him at the speed he traveled. He grabbed Dosu by the neck and lifted him fully off of the ground.
"He gave you…a Curse Mark," Dosu choked out, straining at the pressure on his neck. The marks enveloped the entirety of Sasuke's body as he let his anger flow out and gave himself slowly over to the Mark.
"That's right," Sasuke said, an evil smile on his face. "And you're going to pay for your part in hurting my betrothed."
Dosu's eyes went to the Hyuuga girl trying to make her way over to them. His master had never once mentioned his intention to mark the Uchiha. "I—I didn't know…he was going to do that!" Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he squeezed his neck harder, causing the Oto nin to cough up blood.
"Sasuke, stop!" Hinata called out, staggering her way over to them. With her busted ear drum and that soundwave that had emitted from Dosu's weapon, she could barely walk straight. "Stop it, this isn't you!"
Sasuke couldn't hear a word she was saying, too engrossed with ending Dosu's life. It wasn't until he felt an arm around his middle that he turned to look back at her.
"This isn't you," she said gently. "It's him. You don't do things this way, he does." He stared into her eyes for a moment longer before the marks began receding back up into the one on his neck. He let Dosu drop to the ground and fell back himself as the power of the mark disappeared and he was left exhausted.
Dozu scrambled back before calmly reaching into his pouch, pulling out an Earth scroll, and setting it down before them. "I'll make you a deal. You let us go, and we'll hand this over," he said, voice rough and raspy from the damage Sasuke's grip had done. "We're no match for you right now. However, should we meet again on the battlefield in the future, we will not run." Dosu picked up his teammates and disappeared into the forest before they could say another word.
Hinata pulled Sasuke against her and held him tightly as he continued shaking. "What…what the hell am I?" He all but whimpered.
Hinata shut her eyes tightly. "You're Sasuke," she replied. "Just Sasuke." Sasuke wrapped his shaking arms around her and hugged her close. Knowing he needed this comfort, she couldn't even flinch away at the pain in her back.
"You're severely injured," he told her.
"Not just me, but Team 10 as well," she said. Slowly, she pulled back. "Can you retrieve them for me so that I can heal them?" She pointed out the directions they were pushed back to and he slowly moved to recover them. Hinata's hand glowed a bright blue as she held it up to her ear and repaired her ear drum as much as she could. She couldn't properly heal anyone else with such an imbalance and she needed to keep herself able.
She sighed in relief as the pain went away and she no longer felt dizzy or nauseous. Next, she grabbed the Earth scroll and quickly sealed it into her jacket. Just then, Sasuke laid Ino down next to her, the blonde girl still unconscious. She thanked him as he went to retrieve the other two who had been tossed in the same direction. She set her palm on Ino and healed the concussion and eased the pain her bruised ribs were likely giving her.
"Hinata-sama!" Hinata turned to see Neji and his teammates enter the clearing. "What happened?!"
Hinata returned her focus to Ino. "We had a few battles, but we won," she said, her voice filled with fatigue. Neji kneeled down next to her and put a hand on her upper back after seeing her injury. "I'm okay," she assured him.
Neji wanted to protest but was on his feet when Sasuke emerged from the forest with Shikamaru over his shoulder and Choji's scarf in the other hand, dragging the boy. "Where the hell were you that this was able to happen to her?!"
Sasuke put the boys down beside Ino and glared at the older Hyuuga. "Some things happened that left both me and Naruto unconscious." As if he heard his name being called, Naruto shot up and looked around in clear confusion.
"Where the hell am I?" Naruto asked, and then his eyes went to everyone there but mostly on Hinata healing Team 10. "What happened?!"
"They helped us," Hinata explained. "That's all that matters." Her eyes were starting to burn from keeping her doujutsu activated for too long, but she was determined to see this through.
Ino slowly started waking up and looked surprised at the healing Hinata was doing to her teammates. "Hinata-chan, thank you." She had never known the Hyuuga to let their people be medics.
She smiled but said nothing more as Shikamaru's eyes opened and focused on her. "You're awake. Your eardrum is healed," she informed him.
He grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. "Thank you." She moved onto Choji after returning the gesture, swaying on her feet a little. Instantly, Sasuke and Neji were at her side and holding her up.
"Hinata, you need to rest," Sasuke said.
She shook her head. "I can only rest when everyone is healed enough," she stated, moving back onto her feet properly.
"Why didn't you protect her?!" Neji snapped.
Sasuke glared harshly. "You're the one who's labeled as her Protector, aren't you? I did my part, what about you?"
"That's enough!" Hinata said curtly. "That isn't important right now." She moved out of their grips and went to Choji's side, healing the concussion he had. Thankfully, he didn't have any more damage and easily woke up once it was all healed up. Hinata fell back on her bottom, panting heavily from chakra exhaustion and fatigue, her byakugan deactivating.
Sasuke went behind her and let her lean back on his knee, holding her up. "How are your injuries?" He noticed that she was holding one of her arms against herself and he could see that it was broken. He wondered if it was that Dosu guy who had done it, or if it was one of the other two she had taken care of before he woke up. He doubted that she would answer if she asked.
"I'll be fine," she panted. Sasuke wiped the sweat from her brow with his arm warmer and put an arm around her shoulders to protect her. He looked at her back and glared at the ripped patch and black and blue mark developing there.
Shikamaru and his team surrounded her and put their hands on her shoulders.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked.
"We weren't able to put up much of a fight, so we have plenty of chakra left. We're going to give you some from each of us," Ino explained. "As a thank you."
Hinata closed her eyes as she felt their chakra pouring into her reserves and relaxed back against Sasuke's leg. "Thank you," she replied, smiling up at them. They pulled back after another few moments. "We're going to have to make it to the tower quickly to break my arm back into place. I won't be able to do it myself."
Sasuke leaned his head against hers in a rare public display of affection. "I can do it for you," he offered.
She smiled apologetically at him. "I'm afraid only a medic qualifies."
"Good, because it would've hurt me to bring you any more pain," he admitted quietly.
"Aww, Sasuke's a softie," Choji cooed. Sasuke glared at the Akimichi, causing him to turn away and act as though he never saw anything. "I like this cool tree over here. Shikamaru, come check out this tree with me."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes but followed his friend regardless. Ino gave them a long look before she turned away and began conversing with Tenten and Lee. Neji stayed right by Hinata's side, although he was clearly still angry with the Uchiha on Hinata's other side. Naruto came up to them, kneeling in front of Hinata so that she was now surrounded.
"I'm glad y'all are both okay," he said to his teammates, though his eyes lingered on Hinata as he took in her unrecognizable form. Some of her face was swollen from hits she had taken and her clothes were torn, her arm was broken and her back was nearly on full display. He cursed himself for not being there for her when she needed it.
"Not only that, but we secured an Earth scroll," Sasuke announced.
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Yes! Now we just have to get to the tower!" He cheered.
Ino huffed. "It sucks they only had an Earth scroll," she whined. "We need a Heaven one."
"We already have both, too," Tenten said. Team 7 shared a look before Hinata unzipped her jacket and unsealed the scrolls.
"Here. We have an extra Heaven scroll," she said, holding it up to Ino. The Yamanaka all but snatched it from her and cheered. Hinata giggled and sealed the scrolls back into her jacket once again.
"But, hey, that's a pretty clever trick," Ino observed.
Tenten smiled. "You're good at fuinjutsu," she said, complimenting Hinata.
"I'm not as good as Naruto or Sasuke, but I get by," Hinata replied.
"I drew that seal," Sasuke mentioned. "Don't take credit for it."
Hinata actually almost rolled her eyes. "My apologies, Sasuke-sama," she teased.
Sasuke smirked. "I could get used to that." Neji smacked him on the back of the head. "Ow!"
"Like she would ever," Neji argued.
"Please, I'm exhausted. No more fighting for now," she pleaded, her eyes drooping. Sasuke tightened his grip on her.
"As much as I'd love to stay here and let you get some rest, we need to keep moving," he said. He picked her up and held her tightly. "I'll carry you for now." Hinata didn't even have the strength to protest, and that's how her teammates knew she was really exhausted. Not only had she defeated two Oto nin and healed everyone that she could, but she had stayed up most of the night to protect them.
"We got you, Hinata," Naruto said. He looked around at Team 10 and Team 3. "Maybe we should all travel in a pack."
Neji instantly agreed. "With Hinata-sama out, it would be best for me to stick around and use my byakugan to protect her." Tenten rolled her eyes but agreed with her teammate.
"Yeah, that sounds better than being around here alone," Shikamaru said. Then his stomach grumbled. "Maybe we should go search for some food though."
At this, even Sasuke's mouth watered as he remembered they hadn't even gotten a chance to eat yesterday. "Yeah, I'm on board with that."
Shikamaru pointed to the West. "There's a river that way. I'm sure we can catch some fish."
Everyone agreed and they set off.
The next time Hinata woke up, it was to the lovely smell of cooked fish being shoved into her face. Sasuke held the stick while she slowly ate. Her stomach had been begging for food and was now happily getting what it wanted. Every few bites, he would hold a canteen up to her lips to give her some water.
"Thank you," she said after she finished.
"Are you feeling better?" She nodded. "Good. We're going to stick around here for a little while longer before leaving. Try to get some more sleep in since it's only been an hour and a half." The sun was high in the air.
Hinata had just barely closed her eyes again when Kabuto came out of the bushes. "Are you actually traveling in a pack of nine?" He asked incredulously. "Talk about a big target."
Sasuke blocked his view of Hinata. "What are you doing all by yourself?"
Kabuto smiled sheepishly. "I got separated from my team," he explained. "I'm not after anyone's scrolls as I have both already, so don't worry about that." He showed them before pocketing them once again. Sasuke relaxed and nodded, moving back to Hinata's side instead. She looked up at him tiredly.
"It's okay. Just get some more sleep," he said. She was instantly out.
Kabuto looked her over. "What happened to her?"
"We all got into a massive fight and she pretty much healed everyone," Naruto said. "She's exhausted, so we're letting her rest since we have her cousin here to help keep an eye out."
Kabuto looked over at who Naruto pointed out and nodded. "Makes sense. Well, I have to meet back up with my teammates now; I was just coming over here to warn you that you should move from the area soon since the smell of food will be attracting both people and animals." Then he was off.
Neji finished his fish with a sigh. "He's right," he said. "I'll carry Hinata-sama on my back and keep watch."
Sasuke scoffed. "As if. I'll be the one to carry her," he argued.
Neji crossed his arms over his chest. "You were recently injured, too, weren't you? Are you sure someone doesn't need to carry you?"
"Do you want to carry me then?" Sasuke challenged. "I'll happily let Naruto carry her if that's the case."
While they were arguing and being watched with amusement by the other teams, Naruto tossed his empty stick and lifted Hinata up into his arms. "Let's get going, or did you two want to waste any more time?" He asked with a raised brow.
Sasuke took a step forward, a warning in his eye. Naruto grinned, sticking his tongue out briefly before turning away to the others. Not wanting to make such a big deal in front of others—at least, more than he already had, he accepted defeat but shot Neji a glare for distracting him. He looked back up at his blonde friend and narrowed his eyes just a bit when he thought about how off he seemed when being near their teammate. Soon, he was going to ask him about it and he hoped Naruto told him the truth…whatever it was.
The pack took off once again, Naruto in the middle with Hinata as she was the most vulnerable, with Ino-Shika-Cho in a triangle formation with Shikamaru as the point and Ino and Choji as the bottom corners. In front of him were Sasuke and Tenten, and in the very back were Neji and Rock Lee. Sasuke alerted them to genjutsu and Neji would alert them to any enemies trying to flank them.
By the time the sun set and the moon took its place, they were all standing in front of the tower and congratulating each other on making it through. Naruto gently woke Hinata up and set her down once she was more alert. She thanked him with a warm smile and he felt himself melting at the feeling it gave him. The teams dispersed and went to different entrances.
Sasuke slid his hand into Hinata's. "Are you feeling okay?"
With a blush on her face from his affection, she turned to him and nodded. "I'll be okay. Thankfully, we have tonight to rest before continuing on." She held her broken arm close to herself and prayed the medics had time to fix it enough in order for her to continue.
Naruto regarded her arm for a moment. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay with that arm?" He inquired.
She turned to Naruto with a smile. "Yes, I'll be fine."
"Let's go in, then," Sasuke said. He let go of her hand and they walked in through one of the doors. They came to an open hall and walked to the very front where there was a hanging inscription on the wall. There was no one else around, so they figured other teams were having a similar experience right now.
Hinata looked up and read it aloud. "If "Heaven" does not exist, enrich your knowledge and prepare for the chance. If "Earth" does not exist, run the field in search of an advantage. Open the series of Heaven and Earth, and the perilous way shall be redressed... This is namely the secret of "the one that guides..."
Naruto scratched his head. "What the heck does that mean?" Then he pointed to the missing character. "And what is that supposed to be?"
Hinata tilted her head a bit, thinking about it for a moment. "I think the missing character is for 'person'," she said.
Sasuke raised a brow. "Okay, but then what does everything else mean?" He asked, thinking aloud to himself.
Hinata hummed, a finger tapping on her chin in thought. "If "Heaven" does not exist, enrich your knowledge… So, that must mean that Heaven represents the mind, the brain, right?" She said.
Sasuke's eyes widened. "If "Earth" does not exist, run the field in search of an advantage… so, that must mean the body. Physical strength."
Hinata nodded excitedly. "That's it! If your mind is lacking, then enrich your knowledge. If your physical strength is lacking, endure until that is no longer a weakness."
At this, Naruto nodded along. "Oh," he said, drawing out the sound. "I get it now. I'm sure glad you guys are here or I never would've figured that out!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes, but there was a grin on her face. "Open the series of Heaven and Earth…"
"I guess we have to open the scrolls now," Hinata said, unsealing them from her jacket. She handed on to Naruto and they both opened it at the same time. The character for 'person' was written in a large and bold brushstroke. Immediately, they recognized it as a summoning seal and tossed them aside just before something started coming out of the paper.
It was revealed to be Iruka, who smiled proudly at them.
"I'm not surprised to see you three here, but I am a bit surprised that it took you until the night before," he admitted. "I was quite sure you three were going to be one of the first groups here."
Hinata bowed her head politely. "We…ran into some difficulties," she explained.
Iruka looked over at the numerous injuries before nodding. "It appears so. Either way, you're here, and I'm proud of you three for having passed the second phase of the chunin exam." Team 7 all had similar grins on their faces, proud and tired but still rearing to go. "There's still sometime before the next phase, so try to rest up."
"Hinata's arm is broken. Is there a medic around here who can fix it?" Sasuke asked, nodding to the arm she was holding against herself that was an irritated shade of purple.
Iruka's eyes widened. "How long have you had that?" He asked.
"It's been a day," she replied. "It should be fine."
"Yes, I'll take you to a medic." Iruka pointed to the inscription behind him. "I don't need to explain what this means to you three, correct?"
"No, we figured it out," Sasuke answered. "It wasn't very difficult, and something we follow diligently already."
Iruka nodded, a proud smile on his face. "That's what I figured. You two head into the main tower that way and I'll take Hinata to the medical wing."
Sasuke stepped closer to Hinata. "I'm going with her. I'm not leaving her alone after what we encountered. Also… is Kakashi here?"
"Yes, he's in the tower waiting for you three."
Sasuke turned to Naruto. "Get him and bring him to the medical wing," he said. "We have to talk to him." Though he wanted to argue, Naruto nodded and quickly rushed off further into the building, ignoring Iruka's protests.
"Is something the matter?" Their old teacher asked. Sasuke didn't know how to answer and shook his head instead. "I see. I hope Kakashi can be of more use to you, then." He led them down the left side of the building. "The medical wing is this way. Follow me."
Outside of Hinata's hospital room, it took every ounce of his strength not to move at the sound of her muffled scream as her arm was put back into its correct place. Another few moments and the doctor was coming out. He was allowed in and rushed inside without so much as a word of gratitude. Hinata was visibly shaking and although there were tears in her eyes, not a single one fell.
She smiled up at him tiredly with a hint of pain still evident by the slight grimace. Her arm was in a splint that looked completely out of place. She had more bandages on her face and her middle was also wrapped up due to the injury on her back.
"What about you?" She asked him. "That thing Orochimaru did to you."
He shook his head. "It's not bothering me right now. I'm fine."
"Are we going to tell Kakashi-sensei?" He nodded. "Yes, that's the smarter thing to do. I wish we could have an audience with Minato-sensei, but I'm sure he's already aware of who's in his village."
"Yes, you're probably right about that." Sasuke slid his hand into hers and waited patiently for Kakashi and Naruto to arrive.
"Naruto's coming," Hinata suddenly said. "I'm sure sensei is with him though."
Sure enough, Kakashi and Naruto stepped into the room, the elder being the first to speak. "The medic briefed me on your injuries. Don't worry, you're still clear to continue with the exams." Hinata smiled in relief and thanked her sensei. "Tell me what happened?" He said. "I was sure you three would breeze through this phase, especially with all your survival training with Hokage-sama."
Hinata slid her eyes to Sasuke's face, giving him control over what they revealed. Sasuke nodded and turned to Kakashi. "Orochimaru attacked us," he said.
Kakashi didn't show any sign of surprise as they'd been briefed earlier. "We've been made aware of his presence and his fight with you three, but I didn't know he'd risk doing so much damage to a group of genin."
Hinata tightened her grip on Sasuke's hand. "He seemed to pay special attention to Sasuke," he revealed. "He seemed…obsessed with finding out how much strength and skill he possessed, especially with his doujutsu."
Sasuke put a hand up to his neck. "He…bit me," he admitted. "And it left some weird mark on me that did something to me. It seemed to almost give me more power, but it felt dark and tainted."
Kakashi walked over and pulled the collar of his shirt down, looking at the Curse Mark. "I see. Mitarashi-san had a run-in with him on his way out as well. He alluded to the fact that he had marked you, but it's good that we have this confirmation." He turned to Hinata. "Did he say anything about your doujutsu?"
Hinata nodded. "He said that he had never been able to experiment with one before. And…he wanted to give me the same mark as Sasuke, but he didn't have time and fled instead."
Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder. "I see. You got very lucky. Was he the one who did all this to you?"
Sasuke scoffed. "It was those Oto ninja," he hissed. "They were trying to attack me on Orochimaru's orders, and she protected us. Took two of them down before I eventually woke up and was able to help with the last one."
Kakashi listened quietly, although he felt proud that Hinata had stood her ground and protected her comrades even though it had led to her breaking an arm and nearly breaking her back. The medic had even explained to him that she healed her own eardrum and spent quite a bit of chakra healing plenty of others as well. He was aware that both Kushina and Minato—Itachi as well—had worried about her ability to be a ninja, concerned that she was too soft and sensitive to be one, but he knew now that they had nothing to worry about. She was a healer and a very skilled fighter. Not to mention, she could keep her teammates in check, and that was quite a skill on its own.
Kakashi squeezed her shoulder. "You did great, Hinata," he said. "You protected your teammates and fought tough adversaries on your own."
She shook her head. "Team 10 came in to help me," she said, feeling weird for getting all the praise. "We should all go to dinner sometime as a thank you."
"I'll let Asuma know." Then he turned back to Sasuke. "Now that we know the Otogakure ninja are working under Orochimaru, we'll be able to keep a better eye on them. Let's hope they don't go any further than this phase."
His team accepted this easily.
"Sasuke, we should put a seal on that Curse Mark," he said. "You'll be incapacitated for a full day though."
"Can it wait until after this next phase?" Sasuke asked. "I'm not dropping out of this exam."
After thinking for a moment, their sensei nodded. "Yes, I think it'll be fine. But as soon as I see it bothering you, we're going. Understood?"
Sasuke nodded. "Yes, sensei."
"Good. I'll lead you three to the room you'll be staying in for tonight, and we can get you a bite to eat on the way, too." Kakashi led them out of the room and into the main building. They passed by a cafeteria area and grabbed a bag of food, waving to a few of their old classmates they saw hanging around, before heading to their room.
They each took one of the three beds and sighed happily at the feel of a nice cushion underneath them.
"You'll be woken up at nine," Kakashi said. "The next part of the test will be a preliminary round as 21 people made it through and that is still too large of a number to advance to the third stage with. Be prepared to fight anyone, even each other, as it is all one-on-one."
At this news, they looked worriedly at one another before steeling their faces and nodding seriously. "Yes, sensei!" They said in unison.
"Get some rest for now. There's a shower through that door back there, but there are no extra changes of clothes and probably no soap as well, so do with that what you will." And then he shut the door and left.
Hinata sighed. "I was already feeling gross by the end of the first day," she admitted.
Looking around at all of them, she noticed her and Sasuke's hair looked way more oily than Naruto's but she knew it was just because of the light color of his hair. They were all covered in sweat, grime, blood, dirt, and the guts of insects they had smacked to kill. They had only managed to quickly wash up in a stream before moving on.
Slowly, they ate their dinner before laying on their beds and turning in.
Tomorrow was going to be a difficult day and they all hoped that they would not have to fight one another. Though they knew if it should come to that, they would not hold back or hesitate.
hey! we hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! the fight scene was something red and i went back and forth on in order to visualize it correctly before i even started writing it out. we had a lot of fun though! what did y'all think? also i have started writing the search for tsunade arc! like i previously mentioned though, we might take an even longer break after this arc because i want to stay a good way ahead. please tell us your thoughts/predictions!
-hina
NEXT UPDATE: 11/18/23