Enjoy the chapter.
Story is based on 'A Sister's Love' by Mattwilson83.
Natsuko Uzumaki belongs to Mattwilson83.
With the challenge made the class headed from the classroom to a training arena that would act as a Battlefield. Little did they know something had been left behind that alerted their teacher to this.
A beetle could be seen flying from the classroom making its way back to the homeroom teacher Shino. The beetle landed on his finger.
"Something wrong?" asked Shino, as the beetle communicated to him. "I see. Good thing Hinata asked me to keep an eye on Natsuko after the last incident. Normally I'd simply stop this, but I'm sure the Hokage will want to hear about this. I also think Hanabi would like to know what her daughter is up to."
Shino left to make a few phone calls.
Back at the training arena, Natsuko and Iwabe stood on the battle ground, while everyone else stood in the stands.
"This is bad," stated Denki, fearful for Natsuko's safety.
"What're you taking about she'll be fine," stated Boruto confidently.
"How can you be so sure?" queried Denki. "I looked Iwabe up, not only is he the best in our class at Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, he was the best in last years class as well. If his grades weren't so abysmal in other areas, he'd already be a fine ninja."
"None of that matters. No matter how strong he is Natsuko is stronger," declared Boruto. "She may be young, but ever since we discovered Natsuko has the Byakugan, our grandfather has been training her in the ways of the Hyuuga clan. If anyone can beat him it's her."
"He's right," interjected Shikadai. "Her opponent may be tough, but she's not someone you'd want to pick a fight with either. I certainly wouldn't anyway."
"Well, if your sure," conceded Denki. "Still, this won't be an easy fight. If she wants to win she'll have to give it everything she has."
"Don't worry. She'll win," said Boruto confidently.
"You're not a very good big brother are you," interjected Inojin.
"Excuse me?" groaned Boruto. "She's the one who insisted on fighting. Trust me she can take care of herself."
"It doesn't matter. My father told me an older sibling always steps into defend their younger sibling. It doesn't matter if she can handle herself, if you were a good big brother you'd be fighting instead of her," stated Inojin
"No offense Inojin, but I'm not taking sibling advise from someone who's an only child," retorted Boruto.
Inojin smirked. "Fair point."
"But believe me, if things get out of hand you'll see just how good of a big brother I am," stated Boruto turning back to watch the fight.
On the training field, Iwabe and Natsuko were staring daggers at each other.
"So, is the little bastard ready to fight?" taunted Iwabe.
Natsuko took a breath before answering.
"Ready when you are."
"I'll admit I'm impressed. Most challengers would've forfeited by this point," stated Iwabe arrogantly. "Your existence might be a disgrace, but at least you're not a coward. Because of that I'll even give you a small advantage. Not that it'll do you much good."
Iwabe took his staff and plunged it into the ground.
"I'll agree to fight by academy sparring rules, and I won't use this. Mainly because if I did, you'd die," stated Iwabe.
"With the way you've been acting, I'm amazed that would be a problem for you," stated Natsuko.
Iwabe smirked at this. He couldn't deny Natsuko had more guts than he thought.
"You're existence may be a disgrace, but I've heard what's happened to people that mistreated you, so potentially killing you is not a chance I'm willing to take!" explained Iwabe. "You may be a bastard, but he clearly still cares about you."
"Why wouldn't he? He's my father," stated Natsuko. "And if you've heard the stories, why are you willing to treat me that way?"
"Because when I become a strong ninja, I'll make sure people like you are never allowed to attend the ninja academy," declared Iwabe.
With the way he was acting, Natsuko was even more surprised he wasn't fighting her with everything he had. She wouldn't be holding back. Especially when she remembered one of the first things her grandfather taught her after her Byakugan had been awakened.
After her grounding had ended, Natsuko was regularly sent to her grandfather's home to help hone her abilities and so she could learn additional Hyuuga techniques.
Her first day of training had ended and she hadn't performed well.
While her grandfather had been nothing but kind to her and her brother, she had heard stories about what he use to be like from both Hinata and Hanabi and so feared the repercussions that may come from not performing well in training.
"Grandpa, I'm sorry, I did my best, please don't be mad at me," begged Natsuko on her knees.
"Mad at you? Why would I ever be mad at you?" cried Hiashi tearing up a little. "Have your mother and aunt been telling mean stories about me again?"
Natsuko looked at Hiashi with confusion. It was moments like this that she questioned how true the stories of her grandfather were, because she could not imagine him as the stern, strict man that he had been during her mother's childhood. Her brother felt the same way.
The next thing Natsuko knew her grandfather had pulled her into a hug.
"Was I too hard on you? I'll do better next time," he proclaimed squeezing her.
"No Grandpa you were fine," comforted Natsuko. "I just thought you'd want me to be more of a prodigy."
Hiashi let her go and looked at her.
"Everyone learns at their own pace. Had I accepted that earlier I could've been a better father. Especially to your Aunt."
Even though Hiashi was confirming what Hinata and Hanabi said, Natsuko still found it hard to believe that her grandfather had been a much stricter man in the past.
"It's only your first day. I don't expect you to become an expert overnight," stated Hiashi.
"Sorry Grandpa, I just thought you'd be happier if I was a natural," admitted Natsuko.
"Don't be silly, the fact that you're here learning the ways of the Hyuuga Clan is what truly makes me happy," stated Hiashi before pulling a photo of his grandkids from his jacket. "The only thing that would make me happier is if your brother was here learning as well. Sadly, as fate has not gifted your brother with the Byakugan, there is only so much I can teach him."
"Seems a bit unfair that Brother can't use the Byakugan just because he got dad's eyes. He may not look it but he's still technically a Hyuuga," stated Natsuko.
"Indeed he is, so you never know, he may be able to learn more under me eventually," stated Hiashi.
"But I thought Brother didn't have the Byakugan because he didn't inherit his mother's eyes like I did," stated Natsuko pointing at the white eyes she shared with her, mother, aunt and grandfather.
"I wouldn't be so sure," stated Hiashi. "While Hyuuga's generally tried to marry within the clan, there were a few who didn't and they would sometimes have children with eyes different to ours. This led to rare, but not unheard of cases of children unlocking the Byakugan that didn't possess the Hyuuga eyes. Furthermore, not every member of the Hyuuga clan is able to unlock the Byakugan, meaning that just because you have your mother's eyes it didn't guarantee you'd be able to unlock it."
"So in other words I was lucky?" asked Natsuko.
"In a way, but you were also lucky enough to be given a situation where you were able to unlock it," answered Hiashi. "Though I think we can all agree that we wish it were under better circumstances."
"Indeed," said Natsuko, still a little ashamed over what she had done.
"None of that matters now. What does matter is teaching you how to control this ability," stated Hiashi. "And I promise, I'll do everything I can to help you become an excellent user of both the Byakugan and the gentle fist."
"Thanks, Grandpa," smiled Natsuko.
"But please let me know if I'm pushing you too far. I'm not going to make the same mistakes I did with my own children. I still can't believe your aunt forgave me, but I guess that just shows how great a person she is," stated Hiashi.
"But won't pushing me help me get better?" queried Natsuko.
"For some it might, but not for all. It took me a long time to realise that, while pushing is good for some, encouragement is what others need. That being said, I will find it a little difficult to go easy on you while training," stated Hiashi.
"Why's that?" asked Natsuko.
"Its how I was taught. I was taught to never go easy on an opponent. That I always had to fight to my fullest. This is something I still struggle with, even when trying to pass on knowledge to others. I'll try to go easy on you, but I want you to remember something," stated Hiashi.
Natsuko gave Hiashi her full attention.
"Not everyone will go easy on you. Your father, mother, aunt and your brother might all take it easy on you while sparing, but that won't be the case for everyone. There will come a day where you'll face an opponent who will fight you with everything they have. When that day comes, I advise you fight them with everything you got. If you don't it could end badly for," advised Hiashi. "So I want you to promise me, when the time comes to face a tough opponent, you'll fight them with everything you got."
Natsuko took her grandfather's hand in hers.
"I promise grandpa," she declared.
"Good, now let's get you home. Your mum and aunt will kill me if I don't get you home in time for dinner," laughed Hiashi.
Natsuko felt that the day her grandfather had been referring to had come and Iwabe was an opponent she would need to fight with everything she had. While he had given her some leeway by dropping his main weapon, she still had a feeling that Iwabe would fight her with everything he had meaning she needed to do the same.
"Shall we begin?" queried Iwabe.
"Sure, but just because you decided not to use your greatest weapon doesn't mean I won't use mine," stated Natsuki raising her fingers to her face and having veins rise around her eyes.
"So, the rumors were true. You can use the Byakugan," smirked Iwabe. "I shouldn't be surprised though. You might be a bastard, but you're still a Hyuuga."
"Did we come here to talk or to fight?" asked Natsuko taking a kunai from her pouch.
"You're an eager little bastard, aren't you?" taunted Iwabe. "I'll admit you've got guts, but it won't save you here.
Iwabe reached for his own tools and managed to have a shuriken in each finger gap. He threw them and they flew towards Natsuko. The girl didn't even flinch. She pulled out another kunai and parried all the shuriken away as if they were nothing.
"She's got good reflexes," thought Iwabe impressed.
Natsuko ran at Iwabe. In response he threw another shuriken, which she again parried away like it was nothing. It was clear ranged attacks would be useless against Natsuko. The only way to beat her would be to fight head on. When she was close enough Iwabe threw a punch, which Natsuko easily dodged. She put one of her Kunai's away and countered with a gentle fist strike, Iwabe was able to jump out of the way just before the attack hit.
Natsuko followed suit by jumping after him and struck again. This time Iwabe managed to deflect the strike before it hit.
"She's unusually quick and agile for her age," thought Iwabe. "And as a Hyuuga she specialises in close combat. Attacking her from a distance is pointless, but I'll still need to put some distance between us so I can figure out how to beat her."
After Iwabe landed he started fleeing, Natsuko however wasn't going to let him get away. She threw the Kunai she still held, which made contact with Iwabe.
At first everyone thought Natsuko had gained a quick victory, but the moment the kunai made contact with Iwabe he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and was replaced by a wooden log.
"Substitution?" thought Natsuko. "If he think's that will help him, he's in for a big surprise."
Using her Byakugan Natsuko quickly found where Iwabe was hiding. She could see he was hiding behind camouflage on one of the pillars. She threw a second kunai forcing Iwabe to jump out of the way.
"Did you really think you could hide from me?" asked Natsuko.
"I did that more out of instinct," admitted Iwabe. "Been a while since I fought a Hyuuga."
"Even so, if you've fought a Hyuuga you should know hiding from me is pointless. I have eyes over the entire arena. No matter how hard you try I'll find you," stated Natsuko.
Iwabe knew this was true. No matter how well he hid, Natsuko would be able to find him in only a matter of seconds with her Byakugan.
"Your better than I thought you'd be, your mother and aunt have taught you well," observed Iwabe.
"It was my grandfather that taught me the ways of the Hyuuga clan," Natsuko corrected.
"Do you honestly expect me to believe that?" spat Iwabe. "Your grandfather disowned both his children after their relationship with your father was revealed."
"You should really check your facts before you make accusations," stated Natsuko. "If you did, you'd know that he never actually disowned them. He was angry at first, but he accepted that my dad made his children happy, and he's continued to see my father as a member of the family."
"Then why did he try to brand your mother with the cadged bird seal," questioned Iwabe.
"He had no choice. The elders told him it was the only way for the Hyuuga clan to accept it, but after my mother changed her name there was nothing they could do. Which is why she walks around proudly as Hanabi Uzumaki," stated Natsuko.
"Yeah, well that still doesn't make her your father's wife," spat Iwabe.
"My mum is my father's wife, he loves her just as much as he loves my aunty. So, it doesn't matter what you or anyone else says, my parents are married, and I am their child," declared Natsuko.
"Talk about delusional," thought Iwabe.
"As for my grandfather, according to all three of my parents, his love for his grandchildren helped him overcome any issues he had with their relationship," stated Natsuko. "My brother sometimes feels he loves us too much."
Natsuko could see Boruto groan a little in the stands from her statement.
"Yeah, well it doesn't matter who taught you how to fight. I've defeated Hyuuga's before, so I'm confident I can defeat you," stated Iwabe.
"Theres one little thing you forgot," stated Natsuko.
"What's that?" asked Iwabe.
"I haven't just been trained by my mother's side," said Natsuko crossing her fingers. "Shadow Clone Jutsu."
There were three puffs of smoke, which created three additional Natsuko's.
"Have you ever faced four Hyuuga's at once," they all asked in unison.
"So you know the Hokage's signature Jutsu. Big Deal, I'll just take you all on," declared Iwabe.
Despite his confidence, he knew this would be difficult has he'd be dealing with four Byakugan users.
"Alright everyone let's go," said the main Natsuko.
The remaining Natsuko's nodded and they all charged at Iwabe from different directions. If was here Iwabe decided he was done toying with Natsuko. Despite being outnumbered Iwabe managed to hold of all his opponents. Iwabe knew that while the gentle fist was powerful as long as Natsuko's attacks didn't make contact he'd be fine. Because of this he focused all his concentration on either dodging her attacks or parrying her by the writs. Unfortunately, taking on four opponents was starting to take its tole and Iwabe knew that if he didn't do something soon he'd lose the match.
Thankfully, Iwabe knew that Shadow Clones had one big weakness. It only took one hit to destroy them, and if he hit the real Natsuko they'd all disappear. He'd lost track of which was the real Natsuko, but he was willing to take a chance.
When the Natsuko closest two him was open, Iwabe punched her in the face and she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Damn, it was a clone," thought Iwabe. "Oh well, one down three to go."
Now only having to deal with three Natsuko's Iwabe was finding it easier to hold them off. When the opportunity rose to struck another, he took it. This one also disappeared in a puff of smoke. With only two left Iwabe knew he had a fifty-fifty chance of striking the real Natsuko. Now that the number of opponents had halfed Iwabe's next opportunity to strike came much sooner. He struck yet another Natsuko, which disappeared.
Iwabe grinned at the final Natsuko.
"So, you managed to avoid detection till the end?" questioned Iwabe. "I heard the Hokage had a knack for gambling, guess its something you inherited. Sadly your luck's just ran out."
Iwabe charged at the final Natsuko. She tried to defend herself, but Iwabe was too quick. He avoided her gentle fist attack and struck her right in the face. For a brief moment Iwabe believed the fight was his, when suddenly Natsuko disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"She was a clone too?" queried a surprised Iwabe. "Where's the real one?"
"RIGHT HERE," yelled a voice.
Iwabe turned and saw Natsuko flying towards him. She'd launched herself of one of the pillars and was flying towards Iwabe with intense speed. Iwabe didn't have time to react as Natsuko punched him in the face and sent him flying across the arena.
Natsuko landed on her feet while, Iwabe landed on his stomach on the other side of the arena.
"But how?" asked Iwabe.
"While you were distracted by my clones, I snuck away and created another for you to fight," answered Natsuko walking up to him.
As Iwabe stood he couldn't believe the pain he felt in his cheek.
"What kind of Hyuuga are you?" demanded Iwabe. "No one from your clan attacks like a brute."
This question made Natsuko angrier. While she was proud to be a descendent of the Hyuuga Clan, there was something everyone seemed to forget about who. She bolted to Iwabe before he had a chance to respond.
"I'M AN UZUMAKI," declared Natsuko, striking Iwabe in the stomach with the gentle fist, once again forcing him to fly across the stadium.
"Isn't using the gentle fist going against the point she's trying to make?" asked Shikadai from the stands.
"Maybe, but I can use the gentle fist as well and considering how much power she has behind her attacks, would you really want to argue with her?" queried Boruto.
"Nah, that's way to bothersome," sighed Shikadai.
Iwabe tried to stand, but he now felt enormous pain in his stomach. He ceased standing when he felt something sharp poke his cheek. Iwabe looked up and saw Natsuko holding a kunai to his face. Even he had to admit he had lost this fight.
"Go on then," dared Iwabe. "Aren't you gonna hurt me like you hurt that other boy? I'd expect nothing less from someone like you."
Natsuko shook her head as she deactivated her Byakugan.
"You're not worth it," she spat.
She lowered her guard and turned away satisfied with what she had accomplished.
Iwabe unfortunately hadn't learnt his lesson. Now that Natsuko's guard was lowered he felt this was the best time to strike back. Furthermore, with Natsuko's Byakugan deactivated she wouldn't be able to see him coming.
Iwabe charged forward and attacked with a jumping kick. Natsuko turned after his attack had began and knew she wouldn't have enough time to react. Thankfully she wouldn't have to. Just as Iwabe's attack was about to make contact with Natsuko he found himself being attacked by someone else. He turned and saw Boruto had kicked with both feet causing Iwabe to go flying against a wall.
"You know I get an important part to being a ninja is stealth and sneak attacks, but that doesn't mean you have the right to attack someone who showed you mercy," lectured Bortuo.
"And you have no right to interrupt our fight," Iwabe spat back.
"This fight's already over. Natsuko is clearly the victor. I wasn't interrupting the fight, I was just being a good big brother and protecting my sister from a bully," Boruto declared. "If you decide to keep fighting, you're going to have to deal with me as well."
"Fine, gives me an excuse to take you both down," stated Iwabe eyeing his weapon.
Iwabe charged at his weapon and pulled it out of the floor, which now caused it to have a large rock on both ends.
"Come on Natsuko, let's take him together," stated Bortuo taking a stance.
Natsuko nodded and also took a stance. "Thank you Brother, for everything."
"Don't worry about it," said Boruto.
Iwabe was about to charge at them when a strange creature swooped down and took the weapon from his hands. The creature in question appeared to be a drawing of an orange eagle. The eagle landed next to Inojin who held a drawing pad before it disappeared and dropped the weapon at Inojin's feet.
"Hey what's the big idea?" demanded Iwabe. "You have no business interrupting this fight."
"Actually I do. For one you said you weren't going to use weapons. How can we expect you to fight fair if you break your own rules? Secondly, its as Boruto said earlier, the fight is over as Natsuko had you beat. She showed you mercy and you refused to do the same," stated Inojin. "Do you still think you have a right to call yourself a Shinobi?"
This surprised Iwabe who lowered his head in defeat.
"No, I don't," admitted Iwabe.
The rest of the class was quiet, when out of no where they could hear clapping coming from behind them.
Everyone turned to see the Seventh Hokage had entered the room.
"Excellent match, you both fought spectacularly," applauded Naruto.
Thanks for reading. Please leave a review, all feedback is greatly appreciated, especially if it can help me improve the story as a whole.