In the stands, all the Hyuuga that had come to watch were sitting frozen with awe and astonishment at the battle they had just witnessed from their heiress. The Elders had also all but dropped their jaws. Hiashi, despite being just as shocked, had a smirk on his face from the apprehension radiating from the Elders.
His daughter, the Heiress, had just proved herself to them and they could not deny it. He had trained Neji himself and only offered her encouraging words when she looked as though she needed them, but he had not trained her. She did it on her own, with her own willpower. She had done it to prove herself to her team, her Elders, her teachers, but mostly herself. He was very proud, despite Neji's loss because the boy had still learned a valuable lesson.
"Father," Hanabi whispered, tugging on his sleeve. "Sister fought so well!" She said with a bright smile. While the youngest of the Hyuuga sisters had mastered the stoic expression, she promptly lost it when talking of her elder sister whom she so greatly adored.
Hiashi nodded. "That's right. Learn well from your sister, as she is your guide," he said.
"I want to be just like Sister when I graduate from the academy!" She said excitedly.
In the arena, Genma raised his hand. "Will the next contestants please make your way down? Temari and Shikamaru Nara," he said. Temari wasted no time in whipping out her large fan and unleashing a gust of wind to gently carry her down while riding on her fan.
Shikamaru sighed as he stood straight up. "Troublesome, but it can't be helped," he said.
"You got this, Shikamaru!" Naruto cheered.
The Nara jumped up on the railing before leaping down and landing quietly on his feet. "Let's just hurry this along so I can relax again."
Temari smirked. "Sorry to make you work so hard, kid," she said. "But I'm sure this will be over in no time."
Genma took a step back. "Next match, begin!"
Kabuto Yakushi stood in the stands, disguised as an Anbu operative, and watched over the crowd as the match went on. From this angle, he could keep an eye on his master's whereabouts and focus on any problems that may occur down here.
Soon, Gaara's match with Sasuke would begin and they would be another step closer to launching the attack on this village. Somehow, however, he needed to find a way to get the Hokage away from the Kazekage and the Third Hokage. Orochimaru would have a difficult time facing off against them both, and that was something they were both aware of.
He thought to create a diversion, but that would draw too much attention and the Hokage would use nearby ninja to check in on the problem quietly so as to not worry the spectators. He thought to report directly to him and lie about his presence being needed elsewhere, but he was sure Minato would recognize his voice and chakra signature right away. If it came down to it, he would definitely use that ruse.
He watched as the Suna nin and that spiky-haired kid, Shikamaru, fight. She was a talented wind user, but his intelligence was hindering her victory, frustrating her from the look in her eyes. He smirked to himself, wondering briefly if he could get that Konoha nin to their side. His gaze moved to the waiting room to catch a glimpse of Team 7, the most important team in the village it seemed as it consisted of the Hokage's son, the Heiress of the Hyuuga Clan, and Heir of the Uchiha.
During the second part of the exam, he spied on their dynamic and concluded that they were each other's weaknesses which would come in handy later on or should they give them too much trouble when it came time for Sasuke to come to them for power. Their sensei had expressed that Sasuke would not betray his team so easily and Kabuto also believed that, looking at them now especially.
Hinata sat between the boys, her eyes closed and resting comfortably as they guarded her. Occasionally, they shared a look before looking back to the match. The Hyuuga had certainly drawn the short stick by having to fight an extra person with only one match between them. It worked in their favor, however, as she would be less trouble when the invasion began and he was certain her teammates would not leave her vulnerable to attacks, especially as an unbranded Hyuuga with a byakugan.
Turning back to the match going on, he was surprised to see Shikamaru concede. He seemed to have been on the brink of winning but explained that he didn't have enough chakra left after having used his Shadow Possession Jutsu so frequently. At this, he decided maybe someone with such low chakra reserves wouldn't be useful to his Master, though his brain certainly was by the way he had caught his opponent in his shadow.
He huffed a laugh.
"Winner, Temari!" Genma announced with a raised hand.
Hinata's eyes snapped open at the sound of Shikamaru forfeiting and immediately made her way to the railing to see for herself just what had happened. He caught Temari but his jutsu used up a good amount of chakra and she felt frustrated for him, even though he seemed absolutely fine with his decision.
Shikamaru looked up and they made eye contact. He tilted his head and slightly shrugged one of his shoulders and she accepted his move with an exhausted smile. Maybe she'd help him with his chakra reserves. If he was up for it, that is.
Sasuke and Naruto shared her disbelief. "Did he seriously just forfeit?" Naruto asked incredulously.
The Uchiha shrugged. "It works out for us as he's no longer an opponent of ours," he explained. "But I definitely wasn't expecting that."
Hinata sighed softly, her shoulder slumping just a bit. "Well, even though he lost, there's still a chance he could get a promotion."
"How do you figure that?" Naruto huffed, angry that his friend had chosen defeat.
"Well, these matches aren't all about fighting and showing off your moves, it's also about strategy. Kakashi-sensei specialized in this, remember? What's the point of the fight if you don't have many different strategies to account for each move your opponent makes? Shikamaru's very intelligent and I'm sure the judges have seen that," she clarified.
Naruto crossed his arms. "Yeah, I get it…but I still don't like that lazy bastard just accepting a loss like that when he could've had it in the bag."
Hinata put her hand on his back and patted it to comfort her friend. "Maybe we can all train together sometimes," she suggested. The Uzumaki only shrugged in reply.
"Your second match is next," Sasuke said, nudging her side to get her attention. "Have you rested enough?" He asked when she looked over at him.
She looked down at her hands. "It'll have to be enough," she said quietly so as to not alert her next opponent of her current condition. "I'm feeling a lot more energized!" She said cheerfully before looking back over to watch a few chunin fix the arena to prepare for the next battle.
Sasuke leaned against the railing next to her, moving closer to her. "Look, take a page from Shikamaru's book if it becomes too much. Going any further than you should would just be reckless. You've already had a great match, so you don't have to worry about impressing the judges," he warned.
Hinata nodded. "I know," she replied. She wasn't going to hurt herself beyond repair, like Rock Lee. She didn't think the taijutsu master regretted his choice to continue, but he was extremely frustrated with the outcome and being faced with the possibility of never being a ninja again. However, the idea of giving up in general was something she didn't like.
She pushed herself off the railing. "I should probably use the restroom before the next match," she said. "I'll be right back."
Sasuke nodded and watched her walk away for a moment before looking over and catching Gaara looking at him with nothing but a dead look in his eyes. He met the gaze straight on and didn't back down. He has worked until he has dropped every single day for a month in order to prepare for this match. He has gained a speed rival to Lee's and even learned a new jutsu in order to beat this person.
"Hope that wasn't too disappointing," Shikamaru said when he caught Hinata walking in the opposite direction. He smiled when she turned to him.
"Well, I was surprised but I think you made the right call," she assured him. "Maybe now it's just time to work on your chakra reserves."
Her giggle made his smile widen. "Are you going somewhere?" He asked, realizing he was standing in front of the waiting room door.
"I'm going to use the restroom before my next match."
"Would you like me to walk you?"
She laughed. "To the restroom?"
His smile turned sheepish. "I guess that is a bit much. Well, good luck on your next match if I don't get to talk to you before then."
"Thank you."
"Oh, before you go," he pulled out the handkerchief he had quickly stuffed into his pocket during his match before it got too dirty, "would you mind tying this back on for me?"
She shook her head and took it from his hand. "It makes me very happy to see you cherish this so much," she said as she slipped it around his upper arm and tied it neatly before tucking the ends underneath.
Shikamaru turned his face away as he felt it heating up and cleared his throat. "You put a lot of thought into this gift. There's no way I wouldn't cherish it."
Hinata felt so grateful to have a friend like Shikamaru. They parted ways, but Shikamaru stared at her walking away for a moment longer before going in.
When Shikamaru walked into the waiting room, he was immediately met with an angry Naruto.
"Troublesome…" He sighed to himself.
"Dude, you just gave up!" Naruto yelled.
Shikamaru took a seat. "Look, not everyone has awesome Uzumaki chakra reserves, okay? I ran out of chakra and forfeiting was the only option," he explained.
Naruto deflated at this and took the seat next to the Nara with a long sigh of his own. "I know. It's not like I don't get why you did it, but you're my friend…and I don't want you to get left behind, you know?"
The Nara smiled and rolled his eyes fondly. "There's always the next exam. Don't worry about me." A punch on the shoulder caused him to grunt in pain. "Ow! What the hell?"
Naruto laughed. "That was for making me worried!" The door opened and Hinata walked in with a determined look, ready for the match to begin.
"That was fast," Shikamaru said, causing Hinata's cheeks to pinken.
"I was rushing, because I was afraid to be late," she admitted, playing with the hem of her jacket. He could see her hands were still damp from hastily drying them.
Sasuke came up to her and fixed her hood which had gotten messed up at some point. "I think they're about to start, so you have good timing."
"Thank you," she replied.
Genma took a step forward and raised his hand. "It's time for the next match. Will Hinata Hyuuga and Kankuro please come down?" The crowd cheered, ready for the next match.
Hinata was about to leap over the railing when the Suna nin raised his hand. "Actually, I'd like to concede," he said, shocking everyone but his own teammates. The crowd's cheering turned into yells of protest and 'boos'.
Genma raised a brow but nodded and turned back to the crowd. "Due to Kankuro forfeiting, Hinata Hyuuga is the winner. We'll be moving forward to the next match. Gaara and Sasuke Uchiha, come down!"
Gaara was already covering himself in sand. Just as Sasuke was about to head out himself, Hinata caught him by the arm.
"What is it?" He asked.
Hinata moved in closer. "Please, be careful. I don't believe Kankuro-san would just concede for nothing," she said honestly. "Something feels off about the whole thing. And Gaara-san, everything I'm sensing from him is absolutely awful."
He nodded. "I know, but I'm still kicking his ass," he replied with a smirk. Hinata couldn't help but laugh softly at that, at something that was so like the Uchiha standing before her. She let him go and he wasted no time in jumping over the railing and doing a couple of flips before his feet hit the ground.
Naruto scoffed from beside her. "Show off." But Hinata didn't point out the smile on his face, only able to mirror it.
The Hokage turned to the Suna leader. "I have to admit, I'm quite surprised your son decided to forfeit," he stated with an apologetic smile.
"He must've gotten shaken up seeing the Hyuuga girl fight earlier. My son is a bit unreliable in that sense," the Kazekage explained. "I apologize for him even taking up a space in your exams in the first place."
Minato waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about that, Lord Kazekage! Maybe one day I will see him fight with his full abilities." They all turned back to the arena.
Genma stepped back and raised his hand. "Next match, begin!"
Sasuke and Gaara stared at each other for a moment before the Suna nin began chuckling insanely, causing Sasuke to raise a brow but never let his guard down. Suddenly, sand came from the gourd on Gaara's back and Sasuke immediately jumped back, heeding Kakashi's warnings about it.
Just as Gaara was about to attack, the Suna nin clenched his head and gasped in pain. "Please don't get so mad, Mother," he begged.
Sasuke's eyes widened. "What the hell?" He whispered to himself. Mother?
Hinata and Naruto looked at each other with concern and confusion. "Who the heck is he calling mother?" Naruto asked.
"I—I don't know," she replied, turning back to the match.
Gaara continued, "I know you've been waiting so long for adequate blood, and I'm so sorry to keep you waiting but the person standing before me will feed you in just a moment."
Sasuke glared. "I don't know who you're talking to over there, but I'm afraid you won't be getting any of my blood," he said. Gaara gasped again and the sand he was going to attack Sasuke with fell to the ground.
"Come on, then," the redhead said, an evil smirk on his face. His sand shook around his legs, curling toward him as he waited for the Uchiha to attack.
"I really don't like this," Hinata said. "This guy is extremely dangerous. All of my senses right now are telling me to attack but also… run."
Naruto put his arm over his shoulder. "He'll be okay, Hinata," he assured her. "Sasuke's strong."
Sasuke finally moved and threw a few shuriken toward his opponent but they were easily blocked by a wall of sand that took the shape of Gaara catching the weapons between his fingers. Sasuke wasted no time in running toward him, but the sand clone of Gaara shot a bast of sand at him at full speed, causing the Uchiha to jump high in the air.
He threw more shuriken toward Gaara and wasn't surprised when they were blocked, but he dove in and kicked at the sand clone, causing its arms to burst into the small grains. Catching himself on his hands and spinning upright, Sasuke sent his fist into the sand clone's throat but it barely budged and the sand began wrapping around his wrist. With a loud grunt, he punched the clone head on and it burst.
He took the opportunity to get closer to his opponent, raising his fist to punch him. When a wall of sand appeared before him, Sasuke could only smirk and suddenly, he was gone from everyone's vision, surprising a multitude of people. When he appeared behind Gaara, the redhead was reminded of Rock Lee's speed. Using the same form as the taijutsu master, Sasuke landed a hard punch on Gaara's face, causing him to fly back and hit the ground harshly, his sand barely able to cushion the fall.
Gaara sat up and looked at Sasuke, his cheek crumbling into pieces on his lap.
"And there's your sand armor," Sasuke commented. He stood in a stance similar to Lee's and waited for his opponent. "Let's go." When Gaara failed to make a movement, Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Then I guess I'll be making the move."
Sasuke ran toward his opponent so fast that he was kicking up the dirt behind him before disappearing from view once again. Gaara quickly put up a sand wall, but Sasuke appeared behind him, causing Gaara to move his sand to his rear. The Uchiha dodged the sand, slid on his feet, and got low in order to land a kick on his opponent, which sent him flying back once again.
"Is that really it, Gaara? Are you really the person everyone was warning me about? I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed," he taunted, smirking at his downed opponent. "I'm going to make sure none of that armor is left!"
He rushed forward and ran in circles around Gaara, just as Rock Lee had done. In the stands, Rock Lee and Guy stood beside Kakashi and watched in awe that Sasuke had gained so much speed—a speed that was equivalent to Lee without his weights—within a month. Sakura and Ino were absolutely speechless and amazed, sitting on a bench right next to where Kakashi and Guy were standing.
In the waiting room, Naruto hung off of Hinata's shoulders. "Did you just see that?!" Naruto exclaimed. "He's gotten damn fast! We definitely need to catch up," he said, laughing excitedly.
Hinata kept her eyes on the match, afraid to look away even for a second. She knew Sasuke was incredibly strong, but she still had a very bad feeling in her gut that she couldn't shake.
Sasuke finally broke from his circle and moved in, sending a kick to Gaara's stomach before grabbing him by the straps of his clothing before he could fly back again and then kneeing him in the stomach at full strength, causing Gaara to grunt in pain. Sasuke flipped back to get some distance and stood across from the Suna nin, panting but still ready to go. Gaara was also panting, but he was on the ground and his armor was cracking more and more.
Suddenly, he was putting up the Tiger sign, causing Sasuke to brace himself. Slowly, the sand surrounding the Suna nin began to circle around him, creating a sphere of sand around himself until only space was left for him to be able to see his opponent, but that was also slowly closing. Sasuke ran for him at full speed once again, hoping to make it before it closed completely. When his fist made contact, it was sealed completely and spikes of sand shot out toward Sasuke, just barely missing him. However, he'd punched it so hard that his fist was now bleeding and cursed himself for letting his blood get drawn.
The spikes of sand retreated until it was a smooth sphere once again. Further away from the ball, Sasuke now activated his sharingan and waited for what came next. Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt a trickle of blood roll down his thigh and to his knee. It had gotten him elsewhere as well.
Naruto clutched Hinata's shoulder tightly. "I don't like this one bit," he growled. He thought back to the run-in with Gaara in the hospital and turned to Hinata. "I…I never told either of you this, but Shikamaru and I had a run-in with this guy in the hospital. I went to visit Lee with him, and we found him trying to finish the job."
Hinata looked at him in shock. "What?" She asked though she'd heard him clearly.
"Y-Yeah. He told us about his life and about how his purpose in life was to kill because it made him feel alive. Sasuke is strong, but Gaara has already killed multiple people without breaking a sweat."
Hinata stood up straighter. "Maybe we should go talk to Kakashi-sensei," she suggested. "I don't want to interfere, but if the match needs to be stopped, it'd be better for more than one jonin to do it."
"I think that would probably be best," he agreed.
"You stay here. I'll go explain it all to sensei," she said. Naruto's arm slipped off of her shoulders as she made her way to the door. Minato, having been watching both the match and the rest of Team 7, got to his feet to meet Hinata while she was on her way to her destination.
"Where are you going, Lord Hokage?" Hiruzen asked. "The match is getting quite interesting."
Minato laughed sheepishly. "Ah, well, this is embarrassing, but it seems I drank too much water earlier," he explained. "I'll be back shortly." He dismissed the shinobi who had come to his side to escort him. He needed to meet with her as secluded as he could in order to keep her safe.
"Try not to take too long," the Kazekage chuckled. "My son seems to be doing one of his most advanced moves. I believe you won't want to miss it."
Minato took off toward the waiting room, hoping to run into his old pupil.
In the arena, Sasuke waited to see if any attack was going to come from the sphere, and inside of it, Gaara was chanting. Outside of the sphere, in the air, an eye appeared in order to keep track of Sasuke's movements, causing Gaara to smirk.
Sasuke moved in, throwing shuriken and dodging spikes of sand as he moved in closer to land hits on the sphere, hoping to break it. He wanted to test its durability, to see if he could crumble away at it as he did with Gaara's sand armor, but it was proving to be too difficult. It worked out in his favor as it was time to pull out his trump card. While he'd been attacking the sphere, he'd been looking for any weaknesses. Turns out, one had been in there right in front of him where the sand had naturally met. It made for a good target.
He unsnapped the black wrapping around his arms before flipping back and then channeling chakra to his feet as he ran up the wall, nearly to the top. There, he ran through a few hand signs—monkey, dog, rat, bird, ox, snake, dog, tiger, and monkey—before holding his dominant hand down and waiting.
Outside of the arena, a plethora of foreign shinobi stood around as a select few worked on a giant seal, sitting at specific points in preparation with scrolls in their mouths. One of the men had a scroll in his hands, drawing the seal on the paper to be used for a summoning.
Otogakure shinobi soon fell out, leaving the summoning to the Sunagakure shinobi in order to prepare for battle, leaving only a warning to get the summoning done on time for the signal. After the Oto nin left, they each put their hands up in the tiger seal and began channeling that chakra into the seal on the ground. It lit up a bright blue.
Sasuke, still on the wall, let out a long grunt as he channeled so much of his lightning chakra into his hand that it was becoming visible to the eye. The strength of the chakra was digging into the wall of the arena and leaving a trail behind him as he ran at full speed down the wall and toward Gaara.
Hinata ran through the halls of the stadium, hoping to make it in time but paused briefly when she heard what sounded like a flock of birds chirping. It was faint, but she could clearly hear that it was coming from the arena. She ran faster until she was near the stands where she'd seen Kakashi standing with Guy and Lee.
As he moved in closer, Gaara sent out spikes of sand to prevent Sasuke from getting closer but they were narrowly dodged. The Uchiha let out a loud yell as he thrust his hand into the sphere, the lightning chakra causing the sand around his hand to loosen up enough for him to get through. He pushed his arm in further and further until he felt it make contact with the body inside, and he couldn't help but smirk.
Sasuke eyes widened as he tilted his head to get a better listen at the words he could hear being spoken by his opponent.
"What is…feeling?" The sound of Gaara's voice was fluctuating, and Sasuke could only catch so many words. "Mother…what is…?" The Uchiha's eyes narrowed when Gaara's body began shaking and he could hear the boy hyperventilating.
Hinata was about to make it to the stands when she was caught by the back of her hood. "What?" She gasped, turning her head and relieved to see Minato. "Hokage-sama…"
"I noticed your hair clip. What's going on?" He asked seriously.
"I'm on my way to Kakashi-sensei. The Suna nin Sasuke is facing against is deranged and we're afraid he's going to get himself killed!"
"Hinata," he said sternly. "What is the information you have?" She was worried for her friend, he knew this, but protecting this village and everyone in it came first.
She quickly understood what he was saying and calmed herself down. "Right. I don't know if it really means anything, but my source came to me last night and they said—"
She was quickly cut off with a blood-curdling scream. "Blood! My blood is…!"
Both she and Minato turned toward the direction of the arena. "That sounded like Gaara-san," she said quickly. "Sasuke must have landed a major hit on him."
In the arena, Sasuke gasped in shock as he felt something grabbing onto his arm and had to use another Chidori in order to rip his arm out of the sphere and the grip he was in. When he managed to get it out and jumped back to put distance between them, a long tan arm with blue lines running through it and claws followed him and reached out.
"What the hell is that?" He asked himself.
The arm retreated slowly back into the hole he'd created with his newly learned jutsu. Sasuke did his best to look into the hole but could see nothing but waves of sand until an eye not at all resembling Gaara's looked back at him. This chakra, this killing intent that he felt was similar to Naruto's tailed beast, but it seemed more erratic and chaotic. Where Naruto felt more dignified, this one was like a child throwing a fit when they didn't get their way.
The sphere around Gaara broke and the sand poured down to reveal the injured Suna nin, who was clutching his bleeding shoulder. Gaara was panting and he sounded terrified and angry as well. His eyes were bloodshot and wide and Sasuke could do nothing but wait for his next move.
In the stands, everyone began falling asleep with only skilled shinobi releasing themselves from the genjutsu that had been cast by Kabuto just a few moments before. Kakashi and Guy stood back to back and watched as everyone began dropping to the floor with some managing to stay on the benches. Sakura was able to release herself after recognizing the feeling of genjutsu, something her sensei was a prodigy at.
In the waiting room, Naruto felt a hand land on his shoulder and was surprised to see Shikamaru next to him. The Nara leaned in closer to his ear.
"I've been listening to their conversation, and it seems they're waiting for some type of signal to begin "the plan", whatever that is," he whispered. "We need to keep our guard up because something isn't right."
Naruto looked over the Nara's shoulder to see the Suna nin standing on the other side of the room with absolute terror on their faces and nodded, keeping his guard up.
Just as Hinata was about to convey the apology Itachi had given her to her sensei, an explosion was heard.
"Did it have anything to do with that?" Minato asked.
"I'm afraid it probably did," she replied.
"It came from my direction, and I'm sensing a lot of shinobi closing in on the arena," he explained. "Find Kakashi, and get your team together. Get ready to fight!" And then he disappeared in a flash.
She took a moment to collect herself and then ran up the stairs and into the stands. "Kakashi-sensei!" She called out, though she stopped when she saw a majority of the spectators knocked out. She looked around and it seemed Minato was right. The explosion had come from the Kages' seating area.
"Hinata," Kakashi said, "where's Naruto?"
"He's still back in the waiting room. I was coming to you myself to warn you about Gaara," she explained, activating her byakugan. Her eyes went hard as she expanded her vision. "It seems like another group of nin is summoning something just outside of the village walls. The summoning seal is huge. I believe they might use it to knock down a portion of the wall."
"Can you tell what villages they're from?" He asked, pulling out a kunai.
She focused and concentrated. "Oto and Suna. It's been planned from the very beginning," she said. Then she gasped. "Lord Third is with the Kazekage right now!"
"What about Hokage-sama?"
"He's on his way back there." Just as Kakashi was about to head for the Kage, the Uchiha Police stepped in and ordered them to hold their positions and get ready to fight.
"Hinata, make contact with Sasuke and Naruto!" He commanded.
"Right! I'll head down into the arena," she said. "Be careful, sensei."
"Watch each other's backs!" Kakashi reminded her as she went over the railing and ran toward her teammate, who was currently being guarded by Genma. Naruto and Shikamaru watched as the Kazekage held Lord Third hostage, and both shared a look before heading down into the arena after Temari and Kankuro.
Team 7 had managed to make eye contact with one another and knew immediately what needed to be done.
We have to protect!
And this concludes the Chuunin Exam arc! We hope y'all enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed writing it. As usual, we'll be skipping next week's update and beginning the Konoha Crush arc the following week—I could possibly postpone it for an additional week, it really just depends on how much writing I can get done! I'll be posting updates on twitter/tumblr/wattpad profile, so be on the lookout :)) Please, let us know what you thought about this arc and any predictions you have for future arcs! Thank y'all so much for the favorites, follows, and reviews. It means the world to us!
-hina
NEXT UPDATE: 01/13/24 (for now)
also we will be posting another poll on our ffnet profile and tumblr to see which pairing you'd like us to write for next! we'd like to get a headstart on it :)