By the time the night before the end of the bet came, Naruto had learned how to do the technique without the use of his other hand or a shadow clone and how to keep it in its original shape when it made contact with something. Hinata at the same time had been studying more poisons and practicing her archery and use of her gauntlets. She had all but gotten Tsunade's technique down. She didn't get it right every single time but at least seven times out of ten and it was better than nothing.
By the time she made it back to the room, she was drenched in sweat and dragging her feet. She wanted nothing more than to get some sleep. She looked back and saw Naruto stumbling on his feet, his arms shaking from exertion. She reached back and gently grabbed his hand, pulling him forward so he made it into the room. When they got in, they each fell on their respective beds and promptly passed out, with Naruto halfway off the bed.
They didn't hear or sense Tsunade coming into the room. The Sannin looked at the state of them and sighed, checking over their conditions. They weren't hurt only exhausted beyond belief and they wouldn't be any trouble to her tomorrow. She had already taken care of Jiraiya, all that left was—
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune yelled, coming into the room. "Please, tell me, are you going tomorrow?!"
Tsunade didn't answer her, only sparing her a glance before returning to look over at the passed-out genin. They trained so hard that it wasn't a deep sleep they were in, but actually unconscious. She was impressed.
"Tsunade-sama! If you're going to go…" she said, pulling out a weapon, "I will stop you even if it costs me my life! Your brother and my uncle wouldn't want to be brought back like this! It'll only be smearing their wishes!"
Tsunade turned toward her with a glare. "Do you forget who you're speaking to?!" She snapped. Within an instant, a fist made its way into Shizune's solar plexus, effectively knocking her out. The young woman hit the ground with a thud and the Sannin barely spared her a glance as she left the room.
She now wouldn't have any more troubles or risk of interruptions.
The sun was shining brightly by the time Hinata pried her eyes open. She had forgotten to shut the curtains before falling into bed and she was regretting it now that the sun was torturing her tired eyes. She rolled over, her eyes making contact with a hand on the floor at the foot of her bed, thinking it was Naruto before they slid up and saw Naruto on the floor next to her bed still snoring away. Realizing this, she quickly bolted up, ignoring the throbbing in her head, and looked down to see Shizune.
She was quickly by her side, shaking the woman. "Shizune-san? What's wrong?" She asked. The more important question she wanted to ask was what she was doing in their room, but she refrained. She felt prodding at her leg and looked down to see the small pig that she had first seen in the arms of Shizune when they first met at the tavern.
Shizune groaned softly as she woke, a dull pain still present in her abdomen before she also sat up quickly. "Wh—what day is it?!" She asked. "It's only been one day, right?"
Hinata looked up at the clock and nodded her head. Strangely, they had only slept for a few hours. "Yes. What's wrong? Why are you in our room?"
The woman clumsily got to her feet. "Tsunade-sama was here and I cornered her," she gasped, rushing to the window. When she opened it, she just barely dodged an incoming kunai that was aimed at her head. When she looked down, she saw Jiraiya. "Jiraiya-sama?!"
Hinata looked out the window and saw the Toad Sannin looking absolutely exhausted and full of sweat, panting. She turned around and grabbed Naruto, pulling the sleeping boy up to his feet with little trouble. The blonde snorted awake, wiping his chin from drool and slowly opening his eyes.
"Wha—Hinata?" He mumbled sleepily. "What's going on?" The serious look in her eyes caused him to straighten up and focus.
"It's Tsundae-sama. She appears to have attacked Shizune-san here in our room and I believe she may have poisoned Jiraiya-sama," she explained quickly, pulling him to the small balcony outside the window where Jiraiya was sitting as Shizune worked to heal him.
"I can't believe she actually poisoned me," he sighed, glaring harshly at the ground. "When I see her again…" He left the sentence unfinished, but they all knew he wasn't going to let it slide.
"I didn't think Tsunade-sama would go to such lengths," Shizune said. Hinata glanced curiously when she saw Jiraiya snap his gaze to his right, toward the building's wooden-covered water heater.
"Jiraiya-sama?" She quietly questioned. The Sannin looked to her. "We were being watched?" She asked.
"It appears so." Then he looked at the other woman. "Shizune. Enough secrets."
The medic-nin looked down guiltily and ashamed. "I—I didn't think she'd actually go. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to believe she'd accept such an offer." Then she got to her feet. "You all have to follow me, now! We don't have any time to waste."
Hinata and Naruto secured their weapons before all three followed after Shizune. "What offer?!" Hinata called out after her.
"Orochimaru and his sidekick came to us a week ago at Tanzaku Castle. He offered her a deal. She heals his arms and he will bring back her younger brother and the man she loved, my uncle," she explained quickly. "However, his jutsu would require two human sacrifices. A life for a life. He gave her a week to decide."
"What the hell?! There's no way in hell anyone would actually say yes to that!" Naruto exclaimed. Jiraiya gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain in his heart and the slight sting in his eyes as he resigned himself to having to kill the woman he loved.
"Tsunade-sama knows it's wrong," Hinata said. "That guilty look in her eyes and the sad air she carries around her… there's no way she's going to do it!"
All three looked back at her, surprised. "You don't even know her!" Naruto exclaimed.
"I don't," she agreed. "But there's a reason she didn't just kill Naruto when she poisoned him or even fought him, and she didn't injure me and Naruto when she was in our room last night. Our defenses were down, it would've been easy," she explained. "She still cares. So I'm going to…have faith in Tsunade-sama!"
"I wish…I could have the same belief in her as you do," Shizune admitted, and Jiraiya agreed with her.
Tanzaku Castle came into view, or rather what was left of it.
"I take it that was Tsunade's doing," The Sannin sighed. "Always quick-tempered. We need to hurry. It'll be bad news if Orochimaru's arms are healed."
"I hope that bastard is in a lot of pain," Naruto said seriously. Hinata silently agreed, though comforted by the fact that Tsunade herself had told her so.
In the distance, they heard a booming and crashing. Not long after, they could see multiple clouds of dust shooting into the sky and leading a trail to the west, away from less populated areas.
Hinata smiled, almost proudly, at the fact that a fight breaking out meant that she hadn't taken the deal.
"Thank goodness," Shizune said tearfully. "Let's hurry!"
All four of them pushed off the nearest surface as they flew through the trees and increased their speed.
"Get ready for a fight!"
"Right!" Naruto and Hinata exclaimed.
When they arrived at the end of the trail, they saw that Kabuto attempted to attack Tsunade with a kunai. Jiraiya threw a smoke bomb between them just before the blade made contact and all four of them were making a wall between them. Tsunade looked shocked to see them.
Orochimaru, standing a few feet behind Kabuto smirked. "Long time no see, Jiraiya," he said.
Jiraiya raised a brow, grinning. "Ah, it looks like time hasn't been kind to you, huh, Orochimaru?" He snarked. Hinata and Naruto kept their eyes trained hard on their enemies, both doing their best to hold back the anger they were feeling.
Hinata's mind briefly flashed back to their training with Naruto's parents and how they were made to run laps in order to control their anger. Hinata never had to, but she feared all that discipline and training was difficult to keep in the front of her mind. She took a deep breath in and out of her nose.
Orochimaru's gaze moved to the genin. "Babysitting now, are you?"
Naruto scoffed. "I'm not taking any smack talk from some dude who can't even wipe his own ass," he shot back immediately. Before she could stop herself, Hinata sputtered out a laugh briefly before covering it with a cough and getting her bearings once again.
Kabuto glared. "Watch your mouth when speaking to my master," he said.
Naruto's gaze slid over to him. "You have no room to speak. You wash your hands, right? Hinata was dead on when she said not to trust you from the very beginning."
The medic-nin glared at Naruto's crass words before looking at Hinata with a smirk. "I always knew you'd had me figured out," he said. "If you didn't trust me, then why did you heal my ear back then?"
"I'm a medic and you wore a Konoha forehead protector at the time," she answered simply, noting his Oto forehead protector.
"How naive."
"Perhaps, but not as naive as someone who follows the likes of Orochimaru," she said.
Before another word could be spoken, Tsunade pushed Jiraiya out of the way and went for Kabuto, exchanging blows, and only a few seconds later was she shaking with fear after Kabuto cut his own hand with a kunai. Shizune caught Tsunade when Kabuto's punch to the face caused her to fly back as Hinata helped Jiraiya to his feet, noting that his chakra was still significantly lower.
"You two stand out like sore thumbs, compared to The Legendary Sannin," Kabuto told them with a smirk. "You're nothing but children butting in on grown-up issues."
"Naruto, I…think he's trying to get us angry," she noted.
"Yeah, and he's doing a piss-poor job of it because he's also just a kid," he replied. "Say what you want, Kabuto. We're not stupid."
Jiraiya turned to look back at Tsunade who seemed to be dissociating due to the blood being splattered on her face. "You're such an idiot," he told her.
"Jiraiya-sama!" Shizune scolded.
"You don't have to bear the burdens all on your own. As much as you might like to think you're alone and everyone who's ever loved you is dead, you seem to be forgetting about me and your apprentice. Even Hinata, who somehow still found it in herself to have faith that you wouldn't be going through with that stupid deal," he said. "So, yeah, you're an idiot. For thinking that it's only up to you."
He didn't know if his words were being comprehended, but he still needed to say what was on his mind. More than anything, he was relieved that he wasn't going to have to kill her after all. He didn't think he would ever be able to bounce back from such a thing, but he didn't have to worry about that anymore.
"Hinata," Naruto said.
"Right." She had been watching their fight and knew that close-range fighting was Kabuto's specialty due to his knowledge of medical ninjutsu. She had seen that chakra covering his hand that had caused Tsunade's limbs to be useless for an amount of time. However, she was a Sannin, and Hinata knew it would be much more dangerous for them to get hit with such a jutsu.
Hinata jumped back, unsealing her bow and an arrow before pulling back on her string and aiming toward Kabuto. Her weapon of choice seemed to surprise him, but he stood his ground, holding up a kunai. She released the arrow before quickly unsealing another one and aiming for Orochimaru in quick succession. Kabuto dodged the arrow before running toward the one heading for his master.
He barely managed to block it with his kunai, the strength behind him causing him to stumble.
Chakra?! He thought to himself, catching a quick glance of the fuinjutsu etched into the wooden shaft of the arrow. When he steadied himself again, he was face to face with a few shadow clones of Naruto. He gritted his teeth, dodging attacks and defending himself, all while Hinata swiftly moved positions and sent a couple more arrows toward the snake user.
Naruto, though still exhausted from training with the rasengan, still managed to keep a slightly steady stream of clones to Kabuto to continue attacking, giving Hinata the openings she needed to attack the Sannin.
Orochimaru jumped back, avoiding the arrows easily. He watched the Hyuuga with calculating eyes and a smirk. "If only I hadn't been interrupted when we last met. Your eyes and skills could've been mine as well," he hummed.
Hinata glared but said nothing as she continued shooting off arrows. She didn't have a limitless supply of them, but, thanks to the storage seal, she managed to tuck away quite a few. She didn't have high hopes of hitting the Sannin—she just wanted to put distance between him and his subordinate, so she switched back to Kabuto.
She unsealed a specific arrow and shot it, placing a bit more chakra into it, and watched as it tore through one of Naruto's clones and hit Kabuto in the shoulder. He groaned out in pain, gasping as it tore completely through and lodged halfway into the rock he was being cornered against, pinning him. She didn't know if it would work but smirked when she felt chakra being added to her reserves.
Kabuto, realizing this, cursed. "You bitch," he hissed.
Naruto delivered a punch to his face. "Watch your mouth," he growled.
The gray-haired boy smirked and broke the arrow before pulling himself away from the rock. He delivered a skillful kick to the shadow clone in front of him and moved closer to Orochimaru. "I think it's time you unwrapped your left arm," he panted, pulling a food pill out of his pouch and tossing it into his mouth.
Orochimaru chuckled. "You're losing too much blood, Kabuto," he said, biting the bandages away from his left hand and letting them fall to the ground.
Jiraiya stepped forward. "Let me handle Orochimaru. Naruto and Hinata, you continue with Kabuto. Shizune, back them up."
"Yes," she said, standing next to the genin. She had seen them vigorously training throughout the week, though she knew Hinata had known she was there every time, seeing them in actual combat against enemies like this had her impressed.
She had never known a Hyuuga to use any long-range weapons as they relied heavily on their doujutsu, but Hinata had not once activated it since they arrived nor had she attempted to use her Gentle Fist style. And Naruto…he didn't go needlessly charging him as his cocky attitude would suggest he would, instead he sent a plethora of shadow clones—a forbidden jutsu as it took up too much chakra—and kept his distance while aiding Hinata.
Their teamwork was immaculate.
"I'm going to need Tsunade to fix me up first and foremost," Jiraiya said.
"I'm afraid it'll take a while for the effects of that drug to wear off," Shizune answered.
"Seriously?!" He exclaimed. He glanced back at the shaking Sannin. "You're such an ass, Tsunade!"
Hinata moved closer to the Sannin, speaking lowly. "I may be able to help, but it's going to have a time limit. Depending on your natural reserves," she explained.
"I'll accept whatever you got," he replied. Hinata stood facing him and got into the Gentle Fist style, confusing him. "What are you—?"
"Don't move," she warned. Suddenly, he felt jabs across his body before energy surged through him.
"What did you do?" He asked looking down at himself and getting a feel for the energy.
"I sent positive energy into your chakra points. Your chakra was still there, but it seemed the poison was tricking you and preventing you from tapping into it," she said. "I don't know how long these effects will last, so I would finish this fight as quickly as possible."
"I didn't know you could do that."
Hinata smiled tightly. "Actually, it was my first time. I'm glad I didn't mess it up and accidentally shut anything off," she admitted.
Jiraiya sighed. "I wish you hadn't told me that, but thanks anyway."
"What did she do to him?" Orochimaru wondered aloud.
"When I saw them earlier, Jiraiya looked absolutely exhausted. I suspect Tsunade had something to do with it and possibly drugged him at some point," Kabuto explained.
"Time to get started," Jiraiya called out. He bit his thumb and Kabuto swiped at the cut on his hand.
Jiraiya pressed his thumb to his opposite hand before slamming his hand on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"
Kabuto swiped his bloodied thumb across marking on Orochimaru's arm before slamming his hand on the ground. "Summon Jutsu!"
They were suddenly pushed to the side as a huge toad appeared in the field, one Hinata recognized as the same one Naruto summoned before when he fought against Gaara, and right across from them was a giant snake that had another head where its tail should be, making it a two-headed snake.
"Jiraiya-sama, I certainly hope you have a plan," she mumbled to herself when she noticed his sweating face. Despite giving him that boost, running through it too fast would cause them issues as he was their most capable fighter against Orochimaru. She glanced back at Tsunade, her heart clenching at the void look on her face as she shook.
"She has… hemophobia," Shizune muttered to her. It wasn't exactly a secret as Kabuto had already used this phobia against her, but she didn't want her mistress to feel she was okay with openly sharing her private information.
"I understand. We'll do our best to protect her. Right now, she's the one most open to attacks," she said. "It's unfortunate that we're down here." It didn't make sense to her but she had to make the most of it.
"Gamabunta jumps around a lot and it's hard to stay on," Naruto explained. "I think we're better off down here." He looked up at Kabuto who was staring down at them. "He's going to be coming after us and he can probably even keep up with Kakashi-sensei if he really had to."
"That's going to be an issue." Their eyes never left their enemy.
"Okay, so let's plan."
"We're not at our greatest, so it can't be too flashy," she said.
"I think it's time you traded out your weapons. Handle that side of the snake first and I'll keep him preoccupied."
"Right." She sealed her bow back into her wrist seal and reached into her pouch for her gauntlets before slipping them on. "I can't guarantee that I'll be able to do much damage."
"We just need to keep him from going to Ero-Sennin or Baa-chan back here," Naruto assured her.
After a tense pause, the battle began. Both heads of the snake surged forward, the one Orochimaru was on being caught by Gamabunta while the one holding Kabuto went for the other four.
Hinata took a deep breath and stood her ground. She pulled her fist back confidently and threw it forward, she released a surge of chakra as it made contact with the nose of the snake. She grunted, feeling her wrist wanting to crack but she pushed forward and managed to disorient the snake.
"How did you—?!" Shizune gasped, recognizing the technique.
Kabuto struggled to regain his balance as the snake shook from the blow and he glared down at the Hyuuga. "Has Tsunade taken another student?" He mumbled.
From beside her, Naruto summoned a few shadow clones. He grabbed one by the ankle and spun it around before throwing it up in the direction of Kabuto, who was now steady on his feet and managed to dodge the oncoming shadow clone. Naruto pulled on his wires and the shadow clone popped into an abundance of shuriken which were now heading back toward Kabuto.
The boy noticed Naruto's hand movements and turned around quick enough to see the weapons coming and dropped down into a deep split, just barely missing the shuriken.
"He's damn fast," Naruto muttered to himself, dropping the wires. "I hope that damn split hurt!" He shouted up at him venomously.
Hinata ran for the snake again and put chakra into her feet before throwing another punch. This punch had much less of an effect and she only managed to hurt her wrist. She jumped back as it dived for her, connecting with the ground and sending chunks of the ground flying around.
"The skin is much too hard for me," she panted, moving back to their sides.
Naruto exhaled heavily and focused on trying to harness the power of the tailed beast inside of him. "We need to get him off that snake." But he still had difficulty doing so.
He and Hinata made eye contact briefly before nodding. They put some distance between them before slamming their hands down on the ground. "Earth Style: Earthquake Slam!"
In the past, doing this jutsu together may not have been as effective, but Naruto's chakra control had gotten significantly better over the years. Now, they managed to crumble the ground beneath them enough to allow the snake to fall in some ways, causing Kabuto to jump down.
"I think you three had a better chance when I was up there," he smirked. Tsunade's technique was still slowing him down, but he wasn't worried. He'd seen them fight during the exams and knew what to expect, and especially how to use each other against them.
Without another word, Shizune spat out three needles in a quick sequence, catching Kabuto off guard. He managed to tilt his head enough at the last second to block them with his forehead protector. Shizune cursed and ran closer before taking a deep breath and blowing out a purple smoke.
"Ninja Art: Poison Fog!"
Kabuto paused for a minute before covering his mouth and nose as the fog enveloped him. Hinata activated her Byakugan and managed to tackle Shizune out of the way before Kabuto's hands shot up from the ground with his chakra scalpel to grab at her. As he was pulling himself out of the ground, Naruto slid over, landing a kick to his stomach before spinning around on his hands and flipping over him to grab Tsunade and get her out of the way.
Hinata pulled Shizune up and checked on Jiraiya, watching as the snake Sannin attempted to attack Jiraiya, but was stopped by the man using his hair as a defense. She didn't know it could spike out like a porcupine. She glared as Orochimaru's teeth latched onto the Toad Sannin's neck. Reluctantly, she focused back on their fight as there was nothing she could do to help. She couldn't interfere with their match without risking their own fight.
Before any of them could make a move, the snake slammed into Naruto, knocking him against a large rock, causing him to cough up blood from the impact and land on the ground unmoving. Hinata attempted to run for him but was stopped by Kabuto landing a punch to her face which sent her flying back into Shizune. She hissed as her head knocked back into Shizune's nose, sending the woman's blood flying everywhere.
Tsunade gasped as blood hit her cheek and she looked to find them all in pain and exhausted. Kabuto, too, was reaching his limit, but he had darker tools at his disposal. The man had already killed people, while these genin had only barely graduated a few months ago. She knew there was no way they had any kills under their belts.
But looking at Naruto, Hinata, and Shizune lying there unmoving and in pain, she couldn't help but imagine her Nawaki and Dan in their last moments. Slowly, Hinata got to her feet, panting and holding a glowing hand to the back of her head where it connected with Shizune to heal it.
"Are you sure you want to go hand-to-hand combat with me, Hinata-chan?" Kabuto teased. "I'm sure you've seen just what my hands can do." He held them up as chakra covered them and morphed into the shape of blades. "I can cut you apart from the inside without even breaking the skin. I suppose it's much like your Gentle Fist style."
Hinata got into her family's signature style and stood in front of Tsunade to protect her, but she was running low. All the training she had so proudly done was now working against her. Her body was hurting, she was sweating, and those punches earlier had done nothing but used up her chakra—she wasn't ready, nowhere near ready to apply it to the battlefield and she cursed herself for being too cocky.
"I thought maybe Tsunade had taken up another student, but now I see that you're nothing but a cheap imitation. You're talented in your own right, but that means nothing for you right now!" Kabuto lunged at her, but she ducked to the side and connected the heel of her hand to his chin, causing him to slide back with a painful grunt. Working through the pain, he managed to grab onto her left arm tightly, rendering it useless by cutting her tendons.
She put her foot on his chest and kicked off of it as she shot chakra out into his chest to gain distance from him. She held onto her arm, wincing at the pain. She clenched her teeth and stayed on her feet. Her enemy was grabbing his chest and coughing.
"I had forgotten you were a Hyuuga who didn't only use your palms to damage your opponents. I won't be making that mistake again," he snarled. "However, it seems as though you're somehow weaker than I thought because I'm still standing."
Hinata glared and braced herself as he went for her again with his chakra scalpel. Then she thrust her palm out when he was close enough, using her Vacuum Palm to shut off his entire system before dropping to her knees, out of breath. Kabuto flew back with a grunt, shaking on the ground as he struggled to move.
That's it, she thought, that's all I have left!
She couldn't even use her bow and arrows anymore. She looked toward Naruto, relieved to see him beginning to move. He could take over for her. Then, she looked back to Shizune, shocked to see that the back of her head had connected with a rock when she fell back into her, which explained why she hadn't gotten up yet.
"Flashy," Kabuto panted as he struggled to his feet. "But it still won't be enough. And it looks like you're out of chakra now."
Deciding that she wouldn't be a problem anymore, he turned his attention to Tsunade, making his way closer until he was right in front of her. He reached out to her, shocked when she smacked his hand away.
"Get away from me!" She yelled, breathing heavily with fear.
Kabuto's gaze hardened. "I had so much respect for you, as a medic, but now you're just pathetic."
"Leave me alone! Stop it!" She all but screamed.
"Get it together, or the title of Sannin, which my master shares, will hold nothing but shame and embarrassment!" Seeing her act so weakly angered him. He lifted up his leg and landed kick after kick on her, smirking when she did nothing to defend herself except make herself smaller.
Naruto looked up at her cries, willing his heavy body to move, but finding it slow to respond. He shared a look with Hinata, who he noticed was holding her limp arm and her skin pale. She nodded at him and he realized that she was going to make a move to stop Kabuto, risking her life.
Before he could argue, Hinata was pushing her upper body against Kabuto, pushing him away from Tsunade. The teenager grunted, punching against her back harshly, over and over, but she had her arm wrapped around him tight and her feet digging into the ground below to give her leverage. The blonde Sannin watched in shock as the young girl took hits for her.
Kabuto, tired of her interference, activated his chakra scalpel and jammed his hand into her left side, causing her to gasp sharply and fall to the ground. She held onto his shirt and couldn't stop herself from vomiting on his front, causing him to exclaim in disgust. She assessed the organs in that area of her body, trying to figure out what he damaged, but she felt lightheaded and couldn't concentrate well enough.
He shoved her head down against the ground, her grip finally loosening, before kicking her to the side and returning his attention to Tsunade. He brought his fist up and sent it toward Tsunade only for Naruto to appear right in front of her with a body flicker, taking the hit to his forehead. Despite connecting to his forehead protector, it still caused him to bleed, the blood dripping from under it and down his face steadily.
"That's enough!" Naruto said. "Back off already!" At seeing Hinata attacked and in pain, he found another burst of energy and he was going to use it wisely. He gathered his chakra into his palm, shocking both Tsunade and Kabuto at the sphere forming. She didn't think he had enough energy to use such a high-level jutsu, and Kabuto had never seen it before. Naruto lunged for him, but it was easily dodged when his enemy moved to the side and used his chakra scalpel to hit him on his right leg.
Naruto dropped to the ground, his rasengan vanishing as he reached back to hold his thigh. He realized that he had never hit a moving target before and cursed himself as he tried to stand. It was impossible, however.
Hinata watched from the ground a few feet away, panting and trying to control the nausea she was feeling. She needed to help him the best she could, no matter what.
"Don't even try it, Naruto," Kabuto smirked. "Maybe if it had only been the fracture you received during your scuffle with the snake, you could've pushed through it. But I completely severed your lateral vastus muscle."
Naruto scowled at him.
"How can you expect to follow in your father's footsteps as weak as you are now? And judging from his battle during the invasion, I'd say it's almost time for a new Hokage to be elected," he provoked.
Tsunade gasped softly at his words. Similar to the ones she had spoken barely a week ago. Words that had hit him where it hurt, and caused him to challenge her to a fight. Words that triggered all these memories that hurt her so. She felt no different than the enemies they were facing, all because she had been hurt. There was no excuse. She felt…ashamed.
"A stupid dream is what kills kids like you. They think they're invincible so they charge ahead without a single thought, only for their moronic dreams to die right along with them." He kicked at Naruto, causing the boy to grunt in pain again and again.
Suddenly, Naruto grabbed his foot, blocking the next hit, and pushed him away. "Say what you'd like, but I'm not giving up. I never go back on my word. And one day, if you're not already dead or I haven't killed you myself, I'm gonna make you eat those words, right from the Hokage tower!"
He stood up on shaky legs and rushed for Kabuto, ignoring the pain in his legs. He was promptly tossed back in front of Tsunade by a chakra scalpel to the side of the neck. He coughed out blood as he slowly got to his feet once more, angering Kabuto and confusing the Sannin behind him.
"You're like a cockroach," Kabuto spat.
Naruto, noticing that Tsunade had finally snapped out of it, chuckled. "Baa-chan, be ready to come back with us and give me that cursed necklace of yours," he said.
"You don't have to protect me, Naruto!" Tsunade cried out. "He's going to kill you!"
"He can try whatever he wants, they all can! I will not die before becoming Hokage," he declared.
Kabuto pulled out a kunai and charged. "It's over, Naruto!" He yelled. Naruto caught the kunai in his left hand and grabbed tightly onto Kabuto's hand, trapping him. Quickly, Naruto formed another Rasengan in his hand. "It's not going to work." As Naruto thrust the sphere of chakra at him, he went to lift up his leg to kick his wrist and deflect the jutsu, when suddenly, two hands shot out from the ground beneath him and held onto his ankles tightly. Kabuto gasped in shock as Naruto smirked.
He had barely managed to recognize that Hinata was not where he had last seen her, holding her side, when the rasengan made contact with Kabuto's stomach. Because of the grip Hinata had him in, Naruto was able to push him onto his back and a few feet into the ground with his rasengan.
"No…no way," Tsunade said in awe. She hadn't realized that Hinata had gone underground or that Naruto would willingly take a stab to the hand to keep him rooted long enough for her to grab him. Hinata pulled herself out of the ground and fell forward with a gasp, coughing up more blood. She was extremely pale and barely conscious but had still managed to help her teammate.
Naruto jumped back to Hinata's side, panting, and at the end of his reserves. He pulled her into his arms. "Where…where did he hit you? How can I help?" He asked worriedly. His mind went back to when she had been sliced by Zabuza's blade and her eyes had rolled back as she passed out. He didn't want to see that again. He couldn't see that again.
"M—my liver," she whispered. "I can't…I can't heal that." She was terrified, he could tell, but she still had a smile on her face as though she was trying to convince him that she was okay, and maybe convince herself, too.
"Hinata…" he said quietly. Then he noticed her arm was bent in a way it shouldn't be. "I'm sorry." He thought back to when he pushed Kabuto into the ground with his new jutsu while she was holding onto him. She must've broken it then.
"There's so much more for me to do," she gasped, her eyes filling with tears. She couldn't even feel the pain anymore. Even though Sasuke would be angry with her, she still wanted to tell him how she felt about him. She still wanted to help bring Itachi back home. She still…wanted to live her life by his side. "I can't die yet. I refuse to die." Then, her eyes began to slip closed, even though she fought to keep them open.
Tsunade felt herself go numb at those words, the same ones Dan had mumbled as he died right in front of her. She stumbled to her feet, rushing to the pair before dropping back to her knees and working on her with medical ninjutsu.
"You're not dying here." She said it with conviction she didn't know she still had. She thought it had gone to the afterlife with her love, but she had never been so happy to be wrong as many times as she was today.
Naruto looked up at her with soft, grateful eyes. "Thank you, Baa-chan."
Tsunade didn't even have it in herself to get angry at him for that comment and only smiled as she continued healing the girl. "Looks like you won, Naruto."
He was surprised that she had called him by his name and took it as a sign of respect.
"She'll be fine now, with some rest." Though Hinata's eyes were now closed, he knew she was going to be okay. Naruto was about to thank her when he suddenly gasped and coughed blood before falling back and passing out. "Naruto!"
From behind her, she heard Kabuto slowly making his way out of the rubble. "I didn't think…I was going to hit him in time," he huffed. "But I managed to sever the tissue around his heart and severe the chakra network to prevent him from getting help from the Nine-Tails."
Tsunade put her head to his chest and listened as his heartbeat got fainter and fainter. She placed her hands on his chest to begin repairing the damage, but then he stopped breathing and she could barely stop herself from shaking.
"It's no use. He's as good as dead, not even a skilled medic like you can—"
"Just shut your mouth already!" Tsunade exclaimed. "I'm going to kill you soon enough anyway. You shouldn't even be standing after taking that jutsu."
"It's because I'm able to regenerate my cells using my chakra. Right before he hit me, I was able to focus my chakra to my abdomen, even though I was caught off guard by Hinata holding me in place." He was about to step closer when he suddenly dropped to the ground, landing on his face and coughing out blood. It was then that he realized the power of Naruto's new jutsu.
Tsunade focused solely on Naruto, trying to bring him back. As he lay there, she couldn't stop seeing Nawaki and Dan dead right beside him, causing her to cry. "Don't..die, don't die, don't die," she chanted in prayer.
Unexpectedly, Naruto's hand came up and closed around her necklace. "Don't go…planning my funeral just yet. And stop trying to get out of our bet," he chuckled weakly. Then his eyes slipped closed again and his hand lost its strength.
The Sannin let out a breath of relief as she caught his hand before it hit the ground and clutched onto it tightly. "You're still going to be Hokage, Naruto. You're okay."
"There's no way he's still alive! That's impossible," Kabuto said, shocked.
As she cried tears of relief, she healed the cut on his hand before taking off her necklace. "Just once more am I going to believe in those words. I will be placing their hopes and dreams with you." She picked up his head and pulled the necklace over it before gently laying him back down. "Thank you…for living."
She looked down when she saw movement from Hinata and watched as the young girl grabbed his hand before finally passing out even despite her broken arm. She couldn't stop the soft look from appearing in her eyes at the love they expressed for one another.
Tsunade snapped to attention when she saw Orochimaru making his way toward Naruto with a kind of chakra sword coming from his mouth. Before she could even think about it, she jumped in front of him, taking the entire sword into her chest. Blood spilled from her mouth and she shook with pain. She looked just behind him to see Jiraiya slammed into the ground and unconscious.
Roughly, he jumped back, pulling the sword from her body and swallowing it back into his mouth. "Tsunade, you're the only one I minded killing," the snake snarled. "If you knew what the Akatsuki were planning, you'd agree to the death of the boy as well. He must absolutely die, or it will be the end of all of us."
Though shocked to see Orochimaru as shaken as he was, she ignored his words. "No. even if I can do nothing else, I will protect this boy!"
"You? Someone who shakes at the sight of blood?" He chuckled. "I find that hard to believe. Why would someone as strong as you want to protect a mere genin?"
She coughed up blood, panting as she tried to still her body. "Saving him means saving my home, Konohagakure," she said with conviction.
"That so?" He hummed.
"Yes, because this genin is going to be Hokage someday, and I'm not the only one who believes so. Even his teammate, determined to help him win this battle and live, willingly pushed herself beyond her limits. Mere genin don't think about things like that, they'd rather run away to fight another day, but…not him, not them. And I will play my part to help him achieve his dream!"
"Such nonsense," The snake Sannin tittered. "To hell with the Hokage! Only a fool would want that job."
Once again, Tsunade was reminded of the words she'd carelessly thrown at Naruto upon meeting him and the shame ran deeper into her bones, causing her to shake more. "I see now… From now on, I'm going to bet my own life!"
He couldn't help but smirk. "Well, if you're going to risk it all for that useless child, then dying here would be fitting!" Quickly, he pushed the sword out of his mouth and went for her, swiping at her. She easily dodged the attacks, but the wound in her chest was beginning to cause more trouble, so much so that he managed to get her with a deep slice from her shoulder down to her stomach.
She fell back, a puddle of blood pooling around her. Shizune had finally come to just in time to see her hit the ground. The young woman stumbled to her feet, calling out for her mistress. Jiraiya himself had felt a powerful shift when his love was cut deeply and tried to rush to her aid. Orochimaru swung his sword down toward Naruto, only to be unexpectedly blocked by Tsunade using her body as a shield for the young boy. The snake Sannin was shocked at her willpower.
"You really are willing to throw your life away, aren't you?"
Tsunade glared back at him. "I'd rather die than let you touch him!"
This angered him, causing him to kick her to the side. "You're practically on your deathbed already!" He smirked at her shaking on the ground. "All that big talk and yet you're still shaking like a leaf from the sight of all the blood."
Tsunade just wished he would stop talking.
"All of it to protect some kid you just met, and to protect a village you abandoned? Don't make me laugh! You're more like me than you think, Tsunade!"
At those words, Tsunade finally managed to stop her trembling, shocking the sickly man, before appearing in front of him on her feet and sending him flying back with a kick to the chin. He exclaimed in pain and shock from seeing her as she once used to be before she lost her beloved.
"How?!" He grunted.
Tsunade smirked up at him as the purple diamond in the center of her forehead began to glow and a streak of black lines began to over her forehead in an intricate design. "Because I'd sooner eat my own foot than be anything like you!"
Shizune gasped at the mark on her forehead. "Wait! Tsunade-sama, let me heal you instead! Please!" Tsunade ignored her.
"I don't care what you tell yourself, because you know it's true! And that little mark isn't going to help you now."
Tsunade put her hands up in a hand seal and activated the release of the seal on her forehead. All the chakra she had stored up for years in the center of her forehead was suddenly released throughout her body. "Ninja Art: Mitotic Regeneration!" The marks on her forehead disappeared into her body and her wounds began to heal, leaving nothing but the blood that had stained her skin.
Though shocked, Orochimaru was also excited to see a jutsu he'd never even heard of. "See? I wasn't the only one discovering new jutsu. How's it done?"
Tsunade tilted her head with a smirk. "My chakra, which I've been building up in a certain spot. Now that it's been released, it's allowing my cells to multiply at a dizzying rate—allowing me to regenerate any damage that was done to me. Know what that means? You can slice away at me all you want, but you will not kill me."
She decided not to let him in on the major downside: it shortens one's lifespan.
The man glared, realizing just how powerful the jutsu was, and quickly jumped toward Kabuto when he noticed she was going to use her summoning jutsu. Kabuto swiped his blood down Orochimaru's arm as Jiraiya attempted to call back Chief Toad, praying he wouldn't be too pissed.
The field began shaking and debris was kicked up at the sudden arrival of three large summons. Tsunade was standing atop a blue and white slug creature with Naruto and Hinata lying behind her; Jiraiya was standing above Chief's head; and Orochimaru and Kabuto were on a giant purple snake.
The two loyal shinobi stared down their enemies.
"Orochimaru with Manda, and Tsunade with Katsuyu. Sure brings back all the memories we made fighting alongside one another," Chief Toad stated with a sigh.
Manda looked up to where he felt Orochimaru standing atop him. "Why have you brought me here, Orochimaru? You know my dislike for being summoned," the snake complained. "Perhaps I should just take care of you and be done with it!"
As Kabuto did his best to placate the summon with the promise of a big reward, Tsunade spoke to her own summon. "Katsuyu, please take them to Shizune," she said. Her summon, kind and a healer, split off into two smaller slugs just big enough to carry them and obeyed her contractee's wishes.
Jiraiya watched Manda interact with Orochimaru and quickly concluded that they never warmed up to each other. The giant snake was more than willing to double-cross his idiot snake teammate if he wasn't given what he wanted.
Just as Shizune was done healing her concussion and getting ready to join Tsunade in fighting, two slugs of Katsuyu dropped to the ground with a loud, wet thud just in front of her. "Shizune-san, please take care of them. This battle is about to be most dangerous and they must be kept safe at all times. This is what your mistress wants, so please do not fight it. We clones will follow you to a safe distance."
Shizune looked up at Tsunade, her figure just barely noticeable from such a way down, and nodded her head seriously. She did want to fight, but with how serious Tsunade was about risking her life to keep them alive, she just couldn't. With one last look, she ran off with the two slugs quickly following after her.
"What is their condition?" Shizune asked as they moved.
"The boy's chakra network was cut off, the tendon in his left leg was severed as well as fractured, and the muscle surrounding his heart was torn up but it seems Tsunade-sama was able to heal him enough to stabilize him. There also appear to be tendons severed around his neck." Behind them, they could hear the battle starting but never once looked back or Shizune would have possibly had an even more difficult time in leaving her mistress behind.
"And Hinata-chan?"
"Chakra exhaustion along with a stabilized punctured liver and a broken right arm. Once we get somewhere safe, I will begin to heal them properly," Katsuyu assured her. "I was not here for their fight, but they were up against Orochimaru and his henchman. They fought a good battle."
"I should've been able to help them more. Maybe they wouldn't have gotten into such a critical condition," Shizune grimaced.
"Shizune-san, there is no use in dwelling on what could have or should have happened. You are now here at nearly full strength to help care for them. I'd say that's a much more important job, yes?"
"...Yes, that's right," she replied softly, ignoring the stinging behind her eyes.
When Tsunade and Jiraiya returned to the inn the trio had been rooming in, Tsunade's youthful features had faded to show her true age and she immediately sat on the bed holding Naruto. The fight with Orochimaru had taken it all out of her, but she felt satisfied at the fact that she had beaten him until his shell started coming off. She only wished she had the sharingan to record it and see it for future entertainment or to cheer her up when she was having a bad day.
"It looks like he's nearly completely healed," she noted tiredly.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama. After the link between Naruto-san and his tailed beast had been reconnected, there was nothing more we needed to do. He just started healing himself. Hinata-san, however, was another matter. It took quite a while to get her where she once was, especially with chakra exhaustion and a broken arm taken into account," Shizune explained.
The blonde Sannin nodded. "She doesn't have special healing abilities as Naruto does. It was…out of pure will that she managed to survive long enough for me to work on her." She turned to Jiraiya tiredly. "Where did you find these kids?"
Jiraiya chuckled fondly. "You'll never believe the talent coming out of this generation."
"This proxy Hokage job I was elected to, what does it entail?" She asked after a moment of silence.
"You'll be taking over things Minato is no longer able to do behind the scenes. He, specifically, cannot be replaced yet. It would cause plenty of uproar. Not to mention unrest involving the Uchiha Clan. No one can know that you are lending a hand," he explained. "But none of that will matter when he's fully healed."
She nodded. "I'll do my part," she stated, knowing exactly how much Minato meant to the village and the possible consequences that could happen if the Uchiha Clan felt that their role in the village was going to be snuffed out. Her grand uncle had caused quite an uproar with his prejudice against the sharingan users.
"There are also quite a few people who need healing. Minato with the poison he was given, a young boy by the name of Rock Lee, and Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha who were put into the Tsukuyomi by Itachi Uchiha himself to name a few," he explained.
"I had heard he'd gone rogue a few years ago. I honestly…couldn't believe it with how dedicated he was to our village."
"The need for power was too great for him," he replied simply. "I guess given the opportunity, anyone could do horrid things for power."
"I suppose you're right," she admitted, both thinking back to the teammate they had just fought. He, too, had lost himself to power and the need to be immortal. "Well, it's time for me to get some sleep now. Once we're all healed up, we'll start heading back to Konoha."
She stood up and the three made their way toward the door.
"Will you take Hinata-chan under your wing?" Jiraiya asked. Shizune had also been curious.
The blonde nodded. "A deal's a deal. That girl. She never once had any doubt he was going to win," she chuckled. "To have such faith in someone like that, so confident and steadfast… She helped me to find that feeling again."
Jiraiya clapped her on the shoulder softly, making sure to not accidentally hurt her in her fragile state. "Good. She needs guidance. You're going to have a great time training her. And, as you also know, she is polite and respectful but will also be very stern if pushed to that point."
Tsunade thought back to when she called her the Legendary Sucker to her face while Shizune thought back to when she stood her ground and called her an enabler for her mistress' reckless behavior.
They both smiled and agreed.
When Naruto's eyes opened, the room was dark with nothing but light from the moon and the streetlamps outside pouring into the room. When he remembered what happened, he quickly sat up.
"Hinata!" He called out. He looked around and saw her tucked into her bed with her forehead protector on the bedside table right next to his. He reached up and touched his bare forehead before rushing to her side and putting his ear close to her mouth. When he heard her breathing and felt the puffs of air hitting him, he sagged to the floor with relief, just barely holding back tears.
"You idiot," he sniffed. "Nearly sacrificing yourself. You promised to never scare me like that again. God, Sasuke's gonna be so pissed when he finds out you nearly died while you were with me."
He paused as though he was giving her time to answer.
"And I know you're more than capable of protecting yourself, but…when it comes to love, it's just different," he added, hoping he didn't offend her in case she could hear anything he was saying. "I'm just so thankful you're alright." He reached up and brushed her bangs gently, smiling softly to himself. He got comfortable in his position, took her hand, and laid his head down to get some more sleep.
Hinata opened her eyes to the sun shining on her face, causing her to squint as she turned her head to the side. She managed to cover her eyes and looked down to see Naruto asleep holding her hand. Smiling warmly, she gently shook him awake and he bolted upright, causing her to flinch.
"Wha—? I'm up!" He said, wiping the drool from his face. When he realized it was Hinata who woke him up, he surged forward and hugged her so tight that she winced in pain. "You're finally up! You were out for nearly two days!"
Her eyes widened and she sat up quickly before wincing at the pain in her arm which had been put into a splint. "What?!" Then she covered her face. "Why am I always getting so hurt?"
Naruto rubbed her unhurt arm. "Hey, I think that would've gone a lot better for the both of us if we hadn't already been exhausted and worn out from all the training we did. Besides, I have the Nine-Tails to help me heal," he assured her. He didn't want her to think she was anything even close to being weak, because that wasn't the case at all.
"I…I couldn't hit Orochimaru with a single arrow," she mumbled. She knew it had been a long shot, but she had hoped to injure him at least a little.
"Well, you got Kabuto! I'm sure he's pissed about that," he laughed.
"Yes, you're right. How did—…We won, right?" She asked.
Naruto nodded eagerly. "From what Ero-Sennin told me, Baa-chan absolutely handed Orochimaru's ass to him!"
Hinata let out a smirk. "I'm only sorry we missed it." Naruto really enjoyed it when Hinata let loose like she currently was. It was rare, but definitely a glimpse into her true thoughts and feelings. He had first seen it back at the academy when she had pummeled her abusers into the ground. The look on her face wasn't something he was going to forget seeing. He had been proud and excited to see that new side of her.
Though, if he was being honest with himself, he liked the fact that he didn't think Sasuke had ever seen it before. He wanted to keep it between them for as long as possible; a side she showed him only.
"How do you feel?"
Hinata quickly assessed herself. "It's…almost as if I was never even injured. Tsunade-sama truly is a gifted medical ninja and I can't wait to learn from her." At that, she glanced down at Naruto's neck to look for the necklace.
He unzipped his jacket when he registered what she was looking for, showing her the necklace he now owned. "Looks good on me, right?" He asked proudly. "I had mentioned that I was gonna give it to you, but… I really like it, y'know?"
Hinata giggled, shaking her head. "I wouldn't have accepted it. You won it and it's so pretty. It matches your eyes!"
He blushed and couldn't stop the huge grin from climbing onto his face. "Heh, thanks," he simpered.
"So Tsunade-sama is returning to the village?" Hinata eventually asked. Naruto nodded. "How do you…feel about her temporarily taking over for your father?"
He shrugged half-heartedly. "I think she's all right. She's real strong and I know she'd make a great step-in for Dad," he admitted quietly. "I was being such a baby about it."
She shook her head, disagreeing with his last statement. "I don't think you were at all," she assured him. "The title means a lot to you, as does Minato-sensei. And the things she said, they were very hurtful."
He smiled again, feeling less embarrassed about the whole thing. "I think I really needed to hear that from someone as level-headed as you."
Hinata moved the blankets off of her and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I think I desperately need a shower and to stretch my legs. When are we leaving for Konoha?" She asked.
"Ero-Sennin said once you were up and ready to go. I'll let him know that you're getting ready," he said as he got to his feet. Hinata called out to him just as he opened the door. "Yeah?"
"Thank you…for being here when I woke up," she said gratefully.
"Like I was gonna leave you alone," he laughed. "You don't have to thank me for that, Hinata. I want to do it." Then he left and shut the door behind him.
When she was standing nude in the restroom as the steam from the hot shower was beginning to fog up the glass, she checked her body for any more marks, pointedly ignoring the huge scar going across her chest that Zabuza had gifted her and her broken right arm. When she looked on her left side, she saw nothing. Not a scar or bruising or even a mark of irritation. She had seen Kabuto use a weird chakra blade and she wanted to ask Tsunade about it when she got the chance.
There were more important things to ask her. Such as the surgery she found to help Lee.
Pushing open the shower curtain, she was looking forward to thoroughly enjoying letting her body relax and decompress as she stepped in, taking care not to let her arm get too wet.
"How are you feeling?" Tsunade asked her when they all met up with their packed bags. "You put up a great fight."
Hinata blushed and bowed her head deeply at the praise. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama. I'm doing very well. How are you?"
"I'm good. Are you ready to start learning under me?" Hinata nodded eagerly, her eyes big and excited, causing both Sannin present to chuckle. "That's good. But I'm not going to go easy on you."
"I would take it as a sign of disrespect if you did," Hinata assured her. "I'm prepared!"
Naruto waved them along. "Let's go! I wanna see my Dad," he said, beginning to walk away.
"Oh, Naruto," Tsunade called out, walking toward him determined, which made Naruto a bit nervous. "I forgot to give you something with that necklace."
Naruto tilted his head, looking up at her when she got closer. Easily, she slipped his forehead protector off and bent down before kissing his forehead, completing the ritual. "I was wrong. You're gonna do just fine." Naruto's eyes went wide and his face went bright red before he let out a loud laugh.
Hinata smiled at the scene before her, recognizing that Tsunade seemed to respect and believe Naruto on a much higher level than before. It made her feel warm to see other people treat Naruto as "Naruto, The Future Hokage" rather than just the son of one.
Jiraiya, standing next to her, let out a quiet laugh. "Will you look at that?" He mumbled. "It's almost like I'm looking at the woman I fell for all those years ago." Hinata looked up at him with a quizzical expression. "What? I get that she's out of my league, but a man can dream."
She giggled. "I'm more surprised that you had seen her any differently to begin with."
"Being a shinobi causes one to eventually become pessimistic and even cynical, Hinata-chan," he sighed with a whimsical smile. "Hopefully you won't turn into anything like that."
"I'll do my best," she said softly. Truth be told, she felt that she had already begun her descent into cynicism and she was trying her best to hold on and climb back out of that hole. Upon returning to Konoha and Sasuke, she felt as though she was about to lose her grip.
As the quintet began making their way back home to Konohagakure, Hinata took the chance to ask Tsunade about the surgery she found for Lee. She unsealed her notes about it and handed the scroll to the blonde Sannin. It took the woman just a few minutes of reading before tossing it back to her, though not unkindly.
"That would probably kill the kid," she said. "Where did you find that method?"
Hinata looked down at the notes she'd taken, focusing her eyes there. "The medical section of the library," she replied. "You're the most talented medic that I've heard of. I figured if anyone could find a way, it would be you, Tsunade-sama."
"Medical ninjutsu isn't a heal-all, Hinata. You know this, so why are you willing to propose something that has a fifty percent fatality rate?" Tsunade was genuinely curious about the young girl's train of thought.
She thought for a moment before looking up to her sensei. "I think you'll understand when you meet Rock Lee. I'm going to go as far as medical ninjutsu will allow me. I strive to surpass you," she stated intrepidly.
Tsunade smirked. "I don't know, kid. I'm pretty much the best in all the shinobi nations."
"Then I will be the best in shinobi and civilian nations," she countered.
Tsunade laughed. "That's quite the goal to have. It's good to want to surpass your teachers," she spoke. "I'm going to train you both in medical ninjutsu and physical training. I saw your attacks against Kabuto and your training. You nearly have the way I release my chakra down. In a battle, however, you still struggle. I want to work on that with you."
"I look forward to training with you in any way I can."
Tsunade blinked. "Well, Jiraiya did mention you were starved for guidance." Hinata's face went a bold red and she moved her eyes to the white-haired Sannin, who conveniently walked a little faster ahead of them. "I noticed you were using fuinjutsu with your arrows. What made a Hyuuga take up a weapon like that?" The Hyuuga Clan prided themselves on using their hands to destroy an opponent from the inside using their chakra and doujutsu and to see a Hyuuga take up something such as archery was practically unheard of.
"Jiraiya-sama suggested I use a long-range weapon in order to utilize the far sight of my byakugan. It was a bit disconcerting that I hadn't thought of anything like that before. I met the most wonderful bowyer. She was also a very talented archer and taught me how to use it properly. I thought about trying to use my chakra to make it more forceful. I also have a few arrows that have a chakra-draining seal on it. I modified it to take more than the common one takes," she explained excitedly. She loved sharing her thought process and the hard work she did in order to accomplish things. Sasuke and Naruto hardly ever asked.
Tsunade could instantly see this and thought that she perhaps wasn't getting enough praise at home which caused her to look elsewhere for it. She's going to have to work it out of her somehow. It wasn't the best trait to have.
"That's very impressive but can be reckless if you miss your target. You'll be wasting chakra, you know."
Hinata nodded. "Yes. Which is why I waited until Naruto cornered him against a large rock. I don't think I'd do it on my own just yet."
"You can't always rely on your teammates either."
"I can," she stressed. "But I won't. Just as they can always rely on me, but won't."
Tsunade raised a brow at this. "You've been a genin with this team for how long?"
"We've been genin for nearly six months, but we've been training together since we were five. We trained under Itachi Uchiha briefly before Minato-sensei and Kushina-sensei took over for him. Now, we're under the guidance of Kakashi Hatake."
"Jiraiya neglected to share that bit of information with me." Naruto's sensei could feel the daggers piercing his back but chose to continue listening to Naruto go on and on about how he ended up figuring out the rasengan. "You've been lucky with the teachers you've had."
"Yes," she agreed. "I'm going to make the most of it."
Tsunade reached over and put her hand on Hinata's head. "You'll make a fine student." She returned the smile Hinata gave her. "I'll go see Rock Lee when we get there after I heal Kakashi and your friend."
Hinata blushed suddenly and looked down shyly. "Sasuke's my best friend, and my fiancé."
The medic's eyes widened. "Contract between the Hyuuga and the Uchiha?" Hinata nodded. "Smart play for the Uchiha Clan. I'm assuming they were the ones who brought it up."
"Yes, that's right. My father always wanted to end the animosity that had been built up since the founding of Konoha."
"I'm surprised your Elders went for it. They're pretty traditional and crabby," the woman huffed.
Hinata giggled. "Yes, but my father left no room for arguments and is a very charming leader. I hope to lead as well as he does." There was a lot of pressure on her shoulders, but she was mostly excited to continue the changes her father made and to hopefully take away all the power the Elders held.
The five continued on their journey.
Hi! Once again, I'm sorry for such a late update :)) I completely lost track of my days and didn't even realize yesterday was my typical posting day until someone posted a message on my Wattpad profile asking. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. There was a lot of fighting and smack-talking, but I hope it was a good chapter for y'all! It's nearly time for me and R3dx to get back into planning out everything for part two before I get into writing it. The planning will take a few months, but it'll be fun! I love the back-and-forth he and I do when pitching ideas to each other.
-hina
NEXT UPDATE: 04/06/24