{Author's note}
Hello everyone. I would like to apologize for disappearing for a month. I Got extremely unlucky while trying to write these coming chapters.
I got a lot of messages concerning the story and when the next chapter was to be released, and some even worried about whether I died or got sick. I can assure you I am quite healthy, so no worries there.
It's hard to write when you have little cousins who want to be in your space constantly, and that lasted two weeks. On top of that, my PC overheated and died. So now I'm trying to get used to using a laptop. Not fun.
I also regret bringing up the pairing stuff. I didn't mean to cause discourse in the comment section. I was just curious as to what people wanted to see in this fic. Hopefully, I didn't piss anyone off with that. My bad.
As of writing this, I am extremely tired. I wanted to drop this yesterday, but stuff got in the way. Sun, I just coming up, and I don't care to leave you guys waiting another day for a chapter, so I'm posting anyway. Any mistakes in grammar will be fixed when I wake up. I intend to sleep the day away.
The next chapter is also kinda done, so expect it either Tuesday or Wednesday.
{Tenka Arena Lobby}
August 10th.
Line break.
{The commercial district}
Kizashi Haruno sighed as he adjusted his forehead protector for the fifth time today, wringing the sweat off his palms with his free hand as he chilled under the shade of a shop selling handcrafted goods. It was a scorching hot day, the kind of heat that made people sluggish and short-tempered. At least for him.
Even Kudo, his young apprentice who is known for his boundless energy, found himself slowing down and longing for an icy treat.
"Geeze, man! Can't we take a break already?! I feel like I'm gonna die! I can't with this damn heat!" The young officer complained.
Kizashi sighed and shook his head. "Cool it, kid. We have thirty more minutes before we can take another break," He said firmly. "We gotta finish up our rounds. I don't wanna deal with the captain chewing us out for slacking off... Again."
Kudo sighed and slouched in disappointment. "Can we at least buy an ice pop or something?"
"That's on the other side of our post," Kizashi said with a disappointed frown. In truth, he wanted to be at the exams to see his daughter perform, but he knew he was stuck out here for the remainder of the exam. What's worse? His wife is more concerned about wealth that has nothing to do with them and is helping his brother with... something.
He shook his head, trying not to let himself get distracted with those thoughts. The less he thought about what his wife and his brother tried to force on their daughter, the better.
Kizashi let out a frustrated sigh and wiped the sweat from his brow. 'Let this day go by without a hitch. That's all I ask, Kami.'
Line break.
{Tenka Stadium}
Kankuro's eyes were wide and wary, looking for the slightest twitch from Naruto, but he knew the blonde didn't have to move to attack—not when he had those accursed chains.
He couldn't take his eyes off the blonde for a second, not even to see if Gaara was stirring. But judging from the way Naruto was glancing toward him and the sound of sand slowly moving toward the redhead, he assumed his younger brother was coming to.
Naruto took a step forward, and Kankuro acted fast. Crow's mouth opened to fire a hail of senbon, and its arms opened out to reveal numerous blades.
In response, Naruto blurred in a zig-zag motion, weaving in and out of the onslaught of senbon faster than Kanouro could do anything, and the puppet master waved his hand, sending crow to slash at the blonde, hoping to stop him.
Naruto's hands blurred to his holster and pulled out two kunai, and just as the multiple blades came down on him, he sliced the hands carrying them from the wrist in a blur before twisting himself and slamming his foot into the puppet's chest, blowing out it's back from the impact. But it didn't go flying as he expected.
'Gotcha!' Thought Kankuro as Crow's shattered chest sprung wires around Naruto's leg.
The blonde Heard a click and knew instantly that the puppet had rooted itself into the ground. He didn't bother thinking anything of it. He lifted himself up by leveraging the puppet's hold on him and smashed his heel into the puppet's shoulder. The force of the blow startled Kankuro, and the puppet's hold was completely undone.
Seeing this, Kankuro pulled his puppet back and opened its chest as Naruto chased after it.
Just as the blonde was closing in, he braced himself to ensnare the blonde in his spring trap.
This failed when Naruto manifested a Rasengan and smashed through it, racing through the now-useless ninja tool and straight for Kankuro.
Kankuro raised his arms to defend, bracing for the end, but Naruto stopped his Rasengan right before it could hit Kankuro, leaving the older teen frozen in shock and fear.
The moment only lasted a second. Naruto dispelled the jutsu instantly and smashed his fist into Kankuro's stomach, making the boy double over and vomit his breakfast and just as he hit the ground, he ensnared Kankuro in his chains, disabling Kankuro's use of his chakra threads.
"S-shit!" The older teen groaned/Yelled.
Naruto turned toward the stirring Gaara and wrapped his chains around him as well, this time gently.
"That's that." The blonde said silently to himself, letting out a shaky breath.
Naruto drew his kunai, and Kankuro paled. "H-hey! Wait! L-listen... Let's talk about-"
"Shut it," Naruto said quietly, his expression not changing. "Cooperate at all times, or I won't hesitate to kill you."
Kankuro clenched his teeth and cursed the position he was put in. "S-Sure, whatever you say," Kankuro said in a shaky voice, afraid for his life.
Kankuro braced himself as Naruto's reflective chains got tighter, completely securing him to the spot he was in. He felt his connection to his own chakra network snuffed out, and he closed his eyes, feeling powerless against this jutsu.
It was only then that Naruto's expression relaxed, and a sigh left the boy. No matter the strength difference, confronting another shinobi was a scary thing when the situation was real, regardless of the amount of control you think you may have.
Kankuro watched as Naruto reached over for Gaara, manipulating his chains to pull Gaara closer. 'Everything is going to utter shit! Somebody do something! Why didn't we think of a backup plan for something like this!'
Kankuro let out a groan as he felt the chains idly tighten around him.
Naruto, however, paid the comfort of his enemy no mind as he inspected Gaara's seal, trying to find a way to plant Jiraiya's trigram seal on top of it, but to no avail.
'What... What am I looking at? Why is it designed like this?' Thought Naruto as he tried not to panic.
He inspected it further and realized the seal planted on Gaara was designed to be placed on objects, not humans. It's something you'd place on a vace or gourd. The boy is a placeholder.
Naruto shook his head and tried to plant Jiraiya's configurated trigram seal on Gaara anyway, hoping it was universal, and what he thought would happen happened. It rejected the formula. It won't stick.
'This is alphabetical on top of it being the wrong type. Fuck!' Thought Naruto as he cursed in his head, not wanting Kankuro to realize something was wrong.
He stood up and turned to the puppet master, an angry look on his features. "Can Gaara's seal be remotely controlled?"
Kankuro's eyes widened at the question. How could this kid know to even ask such a question?
The teen tried to think of what to say, but Naruto's patience was running thin, the chains around him tightening a bit and causing him to grit his teeth in pain. "H-hey! Stop that! Yes! It's controlled remotely by our Kage! I don't know much more than that!"
Naruto stared at Kankuro. "You lied just now. You know more. Tell me more."
Naruto squeezed the boy, and Kankuro wheezed in pain. "I... Urgh!... Gaara's seal is also set to self-destruct!"
Naruto's eyes widened at that. "The Kazekage changed it before we entered the stadium! It'll go off automatically to release the tailed beast if he's too occupied to do so; that's all I know!"
Naruto paled. Looking closer at the formula's shoddy quality, he understood why it was like that. It was breaking down at a fast rate.
He knelt down to see if he could repair it, but it was a lost cause. A chain reaction was already commencing.
"Fuck! Fuck you people!" Naruto finally cursed as he quickly undid his work in overriding Gaara's seal, repairing what he could. He decided he needed a safer place to contain Gaara for this to work. The formula on Gaara was meant to be broken apart and prematurely repaired when his usefulness as a bijuu ran its course. It is a crude way to weaponize a demon container since it threatens the life of the said container.
It was then that he felt Yugao's chakra nearby and saw her team, the Anbu commander and Anko with her. They appeared outside the barrier.
Naruto clasped his hands together, and a portion of the barrier opened up for them.
"How is he? Is he subdued?" Asked the Anbu commander as he knelt beside Naruto.
Naruto grit his teeth in frustration. "This seal was designed for objects only, for one. It's incompatible with Jiraiya's formula. Another issue is that this thing is on a timer. Even with me using my chains to hold him down, it'll go off and release Shukaku. I can only pause the process, but this ability of mine takes chakra to maintain."
The Konoha anbu, along with Anko, were silent at this bad news.
Yugao tapped Naruto's chains with the hilt of her Katana, prompting the boy to release Kankuro so he could be properly detained.
"We have a Heavenly Trigram seal at our headquarters, so don't worry. It's a ritual designed to... slow down the process of a failing seal. Anything else to report before we get a move on? Does anyone know Gaara is missing?" asked the commander as he stood.
Naruto nodded. "Their sensei knew, but he perished in the trap we set up in the eastern medical wing. Temari knows, too. Then there's Kabuto. He's a unique case because he's hiding among you disguised as an anbu."
The commander paused at that; eliminating one of Sunagakure's more capable Jonin isn't something to gloss over. His discovery of Kabuto is also a boon as well. "OK, everyone. Go radio silent while I call out this order."
While they did, Naruto briefly struggled with his earpiece, prompting Anko to bend over and assist him in changing the setting. The boy whispered thanks in a bashful tone before standing up and wrapping Gaara up into a cacoon.
"Team Alpha, team Hellfire. All of you go radio silent and start rotating immediately. Team Zenith, team Sigma. Rotate your posts immediately on the outer section of our borders. Team Bravo, stop what you're doing and stand by for further instructions. In ten minutes I will contact you. This is a code yellow situation, over."
"Understood commander. We'll-"
The anbu commander looked confused under his mask and called out again. "Hello? Zenith, Bravo, do you read?"
"Zenith reads."
"..." There was static from Bravo's comms, and he knew something had gone terribly wrong.
It was then that the commander received communications from one of his nearby squads.
"This is Hellfire. Do you read, Commander?"
"I read. Tell me what's going on."
"Bravo's communication range has been decreased. Inoichi is sending out a message to any he can reach and has asked me to relay this to anyone out of reach. All communication in Konoha is being tampered with by an unknown force."
The commander paced the room, shaking his head. "Ok. Pass on the message, and tell Bravo to meet us at the slums."
The commander then turned to his squadmates. "We're moving Gaara out of the stadium and somewhere he can be contained. I'm going to have team Bravo pick him up halfway. When they do, Naruto here is going to go with them to keep him subdued until we slow the degrading process of his seal."
Anko nodded, along with everyone present. This was their best bet.
"Ok. Get him up, and let's get moving." The commander said, and both Naruto and Yugao hoisted their prisoners up and made it down the stairs, Naruto undoing the barrier so they could get a move on. He also undid any of the traps set around the arena since he wouldn't be needing them anymore. This wasn't a mission accomplished like he'd hoped. Not until Gaara is truly contained. He doesn't know if he can subdue an entire Bijuu on his own if it escapes. It's not something he feels capable of right now.
'This is such a pain.' The blonde thought with annoyance.
Line break.
{Kabuto POV}
Meanwhile, Kabuto was silently panicking, having heard the vague orders given by the Anbu commander over the comms.
He stopped near a hall not occupied by any Anbu yet, halting a shaken-up Temari, the girl having caught up to him at his behest.
He'd already gotten in touch with Orochimaru and let him know what was going on, but of course, the Sannin was silent, so he was forced to think on his own.
'Ok. With our jammer set, we can move our units as we see fit. Konoha's barrier is weaker than ever, so relax, Kabuto. All is well. I already know where they are most likely to go if Naruto is as good with fuinjutsu as I think he is.'
He opened his comms to Kimimaro, Sukon/Ukon, and Kidomaru.
"Kimimaro. There has been a change of plans. I need you and your squad to get to Konoha now. Our asset has been detained. Sukon, Kidomaru. I need you two to get eyes over the slums of Konoha, the old Komachi district. Do so immediately." said Kabuto with haste as he looked around.
Line break.
Kimimaro stopped in his tracks and held his earpiece, his features slightly irritated. "What have you done? What is happening?"
Asked Kimimaro with annoyance and accusation. He was told to act as support under Orochimaru's command only, so this was disturbing.
"We underestimated our enemy. Now listen. Get moving. I need you in the village within ten minutes." Said Kabuto in an orderly fashion.
"Won't we be detected? That alone will cost us the invasion. We haven't been called to be within the vicinity of our lord yet.
"Trust me. By now, their barrier can't differentiate chakra signatures. A few shinobi entering the village won't set anything off unless peole are entering in droves. Now, please get going before it's too late!"
Kimimaro sighed and did as commanded, bringing his Oto shinobi with him.
Line break.
Sukon was shaking his head in disbelief at what he was hearing. "We were given strict orders to get to Orochimaru to enact the Konoha crush plan! We're late thanks to that Pakura bitch as it is!"
"I will take the fall for whatever happens, Sukon! I need Kidomaru on the rooftops above the Komachi district, now!"
Kidomaru groaned. "I don't even know where that is!"
"East! The slums to the east!"
Kidomaru looked at Sukon, and they both sighed before shrugging. "Fine!"
Line break.
Kabuto sighed and shook his head. "Temari. You need to get back to the competitor's box. They won't suspect Kankuro being gone because he wasn't supposed to be fighting anyway. You, however, still need to be present for your match."
Temari frowned and tried to calm down. "What about my brothers? You have a plan to secure them, right?"
Kabuto nodded and was about to speak when he heard Orochimaru speak through his earpiece in a whisper.
"Pakura informs me that the jammer has reached its zenith. Start ordering our men to change their position to... Blitzkrieg. Initiate plan C. Scorched earth."
Kabuto's eyes widened before they narrowed. "Understood."
He turned to Temari and pointed for her to leave. "I'll handle the Jinchuuriki situation; now go." He said before disappearing in a plume of smoke.
Temari clenched her fist and closed her eyes, angry at her inability to do anything. Pieces were being moved, and she was one of them. For the first time, she felt the scale of the situation bear down on her. It was a reminder that in the grand scheme of things, she'd be a dispensable and lowly genin if it weren't for her status. She can't even keep her younger siblings out of harm's way.
'Keep your head in the game. It won't matter in the end if we don't win. We have to win!'
Line break.
{Konoha intelligence division}
Inoichi Yamanaka and his assistant, Shimon Hijiri, stared at the flickering water sphere as it strained to get even the slightest details of Konoha's layout.
"We can no longer Identify individual chakra signatures within the village, Captain Yamanaka! It's going to fade out soon!" Shimon yelled, taking his headgear off.
Inoichi, who was marking all the positions the enemy was concentrated at, whirled at the news and quickly made his way down the steps of the elevated platform. "Great! First communications, and now this!"
He looked at the flickering sphere and saw that it was indeed losing cohesion, and it wasn't even two hours in.
Inoichi was getting frustrated at how quickly the enemy was making a mockery of their defenses, but he knew it wasn't entirely their fault. 'C'mon, Jiraiya, hurry before it's too late to plan a decisive counter-offensive!' the man thought to himself.
"Can we still detect what goes in and out of the village?" asked the blonde.
A fellow Yamanaka, who was sitting and reading the water sphere, shook his head. "We can. However, we can't detect the size or origin of the person's signature. Our registry is now useless. We don't know who's foreign and who's native anymore."
Inoichi nodded, glad they took the time to write down all the info they could before going blind.
"Should we lock down the village?" asked his female assistant.
"No. It'll come back up soon. We just need to be patient. If we lock everything down now, it'll be our downfall."
Everyone knew something else was at play, so they went back to work immediately, hoping their superior was correct.
In the background, Shikaku watched this all unfold, a pit in his stomach.
'First, they cut communications amongst our ranks, and now they've blinded us. They are changing the positioning of their hidden shinobi. But if that's the case, then instead of targeting our military infrastructure, they would be targeting...-'
Shikaku's eyes widened before he waved to Inoichi. "I'm going to check on somethng real fast! I'll be back!"
The blonde waved him off, and Ibik motioned for his accompanying anbu captain to follow.
"Where are we going?" Asked the anbu.
"The academy. I have reason to believe they are trying to hurt the village in the worst way possible."
Line break.
{Jiraiya POV}
"P-Please! Mercy! mercy!"
"Oh, will you hush up? I haven't done anything to you yet." Said an amused Jiraiya as he sat in front of the jammer.
"DON'T LET HIM EAT ME!' The Oto-nin screamed.
Behind Jiraiya, his toad companion, Gama, was dangling the poor grunt just over his mouth.
Of course, he wasn't going to eat him. But he didn't know that.
"Oh, I'm real sorry, but my friend here skipped lunch to be here. I said I would make it up to him, but thanks to you fools, I'm a little late on that promise. Better you than me, if you know what I mean.
"What do you want!" The man screamed as he was lowered slowly.
"Hmm," Jiraiya hummed as he inspected the jammer. He then bent down and picked up a rock before tossing it at the barrier, and seeing it turn to dust made him scowl. 'Of course Why can't things ever just be simple with you, Orochimaru?"
He sighed and got ready to really hunker down. "Well. Why don't you be a doll and share a little something with me."
"Like what?! I'll tell you anything! No! Please, no!"
Jiraiya chuckled. "Subdue him, Gama."
The medium-sized toad obeyed, dropping the Oto-nin to the floor before sitting on his legs, eliciting a painful wheeze from the man.
"Now. Tell everything there is to know about the barrier, and share the location of all your hidden summoning seals, and yes. I know where some of them are already, so don't lie to me."
The Oto-nin gulped, and before he knew it, he was sharing everything he knew about anything that could be useful to the sannin. Not that it spared him in the end.
Line break.
{Tenka stadium}
{The Daimyo box}
Hisaki leaned on his arm as he endured his son's cheering for his fiancee, Hinata.
It was endearing but also rather annoying. The amount of times he's had to tell the boy to sit down is graining on his nerves.
His wife, though wary of Hinata, sees it as adorable, a show of how much he'll come to care for his future wife.
The man gave up the third time his son shot from his seat and tried to enjoy the show. But of course, the Wind Lord had to start up another conversation about trade deals and whatnot.
'Can't I just have a peaceful day?' The man thought to himself in frustration.
"C'mon Hinata! I believe in you!" yelled Masuda.
Hisaki tried not to hide his face as the match went on.
Line break.
{Neji POV}
Neji and Hinata had only just started their assault against one another, and unlike in the past when he was the aggressor, it was the other way around. This is not how he wanted the first engagement to go since he knew she was a fiercer and faster combatant. The moment the engagement began, he was on his back foot.
Luckily, having seen her fight dozens of times, he knows exactly how to handle her onslaught. At least in the short run.
Her assault, however, was more belligerent and aggressive than before. Every jab was precise. From the amount of chakra she'd put into her jyuken strikes to the way she moved on her feet, it was a spectacle he'd never seen from her before, not even when she was fighting Tenten.
She is indeed the late-bloomer prodigy of the main family. However, he is a taijutsu genius, one who has more experience than her and wasn't handed every technique on a silver platter. He had to work for everything he had, including this power he so proudly flaunts.
Neji backpedaled as She sent a flurry of well-placed jabs his way, the boy opting to redirect whatever he could before things got dangerous.
For anyone else, the blows sounded painful, and were loud, almost like the sound a whip would make, but at an extremely low pitch. Each bow he was forced to block, even slightly, left a stinging sensation.
He narrowly weaved from a strike to the neck, gasping as he did so, and slid away while bending back to avoid a whirlwind kick from Hinata, dashing to the side when she canceled her momentum and drove her to heel down on him.
'All this aggression will result in her tiring out eventually,' Neji thought as he shook his wrists. 'She wants to out-skill me, to make me bend to her in the same fashion I'd done to her years ago. That's not going to happen. Not like this.'
It was when they disengaged that he felt the pain in his forearms. Neji glared down at his arms, shock written on his face as he realized how close he'd been coming to having his chakra network damaged.
Luckily, he wasn't the only one at an inconvenience. Hinata was cracking her knuckles, flinching in pain as she readjusted any fingers she accidentally misaligned, thanks to the force of her blows.
She is using the most brutish form of the gentle fist to whittle down his superior defense, and where in the past she wouldn't have been capable of such a thing, her offensive capabilities have become her strongest point.
There was only one thing he figured he could take advantage of. He'd known Hinata to be terrible at the defensive form of the Hyuga clan's gentle fist style, hence her reasoning for opting for evasive techniques rather than trying to defend. He hasn't seen her fight on her backfoot in a while, but he's sure Hinata is still vulnerable when on the defense.
'If I can lure her into a corner and force her into a position where evasion isn't an option, I could end this!' Thought Neji as he tried to catch his breath.
Hinata seemed to recover first and once again raced towards her cousin, hellbent on ending this match as soon as possible.
Neji reacted the same, this time going in to meet her attack with his own. Their palms clashed, and a discharge of chakra made both flinch in pain, but they kept at it.
Blow after blow, they met each other's clash, chakra flaring into the air in the form of blue mist, Neji being pushed back a step every now and then from a well-placed palm strike, and Hinata suffering the same fate from Neji.
Line break.
In the crowd, both the branch members and main family members were flinching at this aggressive form of combat these youths were using. It was primitive, yet they were glad it wasn't being used for no reason.
"These brats are taking their clan to the Warring States period with this method." Said Higashi Hyuga in slight shock.
'I am going to need to whip her back into shape after this match. This girl knows better than to use this form of combat!' thought Hiroshi.
Line break.
Soon, they began to bruise, and Hinata was the first to relent. The girl had enough of trying to overpower her male counterpart. He simply had too much control over his chakra, as well as the advantage of physical strength on his side.
Between them, she was doing more internal damage compared to his physical damage.
Neji smirked at this and immediately went in to strike at her heart, but Hinata, to his shock, caught his wrist and spun into an elbow, hitting him in the nose and forcing him back.
He wasn't fazed by this for long, however. Not with the amount of adrenaline pumping through him like this.
With a roar of effort, he rushed back into Hinata with all he had, their arms blurring in the wind, but after a short time, their stalemate broke when he landed a palm strike on Hinata's shoulder, upper chest and ended it with a spin kick to the stomach before she could retaliate, sending her on her back.
Line break.
{The stands}
Hiroshi stood from his chair along with the elders, and he grit his teeth.
'Dammit, Hinata! Stand up this instant!' the old man thought in his rage. 'I swear if you lose here... If you sully the second chance given to you, I will ruin Hanabi in your stead!'
Hanabi, on the other hand, was yelling for her sister to get up and continue fighting. "C'mon, sis! You can do it! Get up and fight, please! You can beat him; I know you can! Show them how strong you are!"
Hiashi had just returned to see his youngest daughter cheering and stood beside Hiroshi, crossing his arms and eyeing the battlefield.
Line break.
Kiba jumped out of his chair at the same time Tenten did, both of them having a sort of cheer-off.
"That's it, Neji! Take it to her, just like that!" Yelled Tenten.
"Get up, Hinata! I know you're stronger than this! Beat this punk and be done with it!" Yelled Kiba.
Behind them, Kurenai smiled at Kiba's enthusiasm, considering he spoke of holding a grudge against the girl for withholding the betrothal from him.
Ino, who had the misfortune of sitting between them, was covering her ears, their cheering making her wince.
She checked to see if her teammate was bothered as well and saw Choji's pissed-off expression. Of course, this wasn't due to the fight or the cheering. He was waiting for the foodcart to come around since his previous meal was ruined by Kiba.
It was only when she turned back to Sakura that she saw someone who was at least a little agitated by the piercing voices of the two cheering forces she found herself wedged between, so she opted to get up and stand beside her rival instead.
Line break.
{Daimyo's box}
Masuda jumped from his chair when she was hit. His glass of water fell from his grip, spilled onto Hisaki, and smashed on the floor, startling Hisaki, who had been enjoying a bite to eat while he watched.
"God dammit, Masuda!" Hisaki hissed as he flicked his hands of water, and servants rushed to assist.
"That may have been a fatal blow! She needs to get up, or else she's done for! C'mon, Hinata! You can do it!" the boy yelled.
Hisaki deadpanned as servants cleaned the water and glass before his son hurt himself in his cheering.
His wife burst out laughing at the scene, and the Wind lord couldn't help but be a bit envious of the family dynamic being shown.
"Our boy is as excitable as always," Asami joked, and The Fire Lord shook his head at that.
'Oh, I can't wait to go home. I've had enough of this event.' The man thought to himself tiredly as he dried the water from his lap.
Line break.
{The arena}
Neji's smirk vanished when his efforts to cripple the girl for good were barely thwarted, and he watched Hinata get up, the girl holding her shoulder in pain.
"Is this all you've got, cousin? Is this the true power of the heir of the Hyuuga clan? Where is the bravado from before?" Neji taunted.
Hinata didn't pay his words any heed. She did a self-check to make sure she was okay and was thankful his strike was missed.
"You missed both of your intended target, cousin. Vital ones, at that. Are you trying to kill me? Because if so, I may be forced to return the favor," said Hinata with an angry scowl.
Neji shook his head at that. "Your arrogance is astonishing. You threatened to kill me when you spoke to Higashi-"
"If he continued to feed my sister lies and attempt to manipulate her as he did me! Yes! So far, though, he's been rather silent. I figured he'd learned his lesson, but I suppose you were instructed to do as much damage to me as possible. Am I right?" Said an irritated Hinata.
Neji growled and dashed at Hinata to send another flurry of jyuken strikes her way, all of which she either redirected or avoided altogether, Her footwork elegant as she kept pace with him.
Neji didn't care for this, however. He went for a leg sweep to try and trip her up, but she saw right through it. The foot he would've tripped up spun into a kick, which resulted in her back heel hitting him in the jaw, sending him stumbling away.
Neji rolled to his side and spat out blood, but Hinata gave him no quarter, running towards him and striking at him with another series of well-placed attacks.
He growled and flipped onto his toes to avoid her onslaught, looking for the right moment to attack.
Neji's evasion wasn't as graceful. The boy stumbled as his face was palm-struck twice before getting his bearings. He found his moment and quickly struck at her while catching her other wrist, but his own wrist was caught as well, Hinata playing the same trick on him.
They were at a stalemate now.
Neji glared as he started to grapple with her, looking into her eyes in search of any kind of emotion besides apathy or determination, but he was greeted with her usual blank expression and nothing more.
That was when he decided any form of mercy he may have had for her needed to go. He squeezed her wrist and went to throw her over his shoulder, but he noticed fire building in her throat and knew what was going to happen.
He released her just as she spat fire at him, using the fire release: flame bullet technique, and he went skidding back, his shoulder burning a bit.
He looked up with a surprised expression before a look of amusement came over his features. "How redundant. Ninjutsu? Really, Hinata?"
She sighed. "Don't start."
He chuckled and fell into a stance that silenced the main family. "You know full well our clan has no need for such a thing, yet you would stoop so low as to use fire-style ninjutsu against me. Let me remind you of why our clan is the strongest of the Leaf, as your side of the family would put it. You are well within range, cousin."
Line break.
{The stands}
Hiroshi shook his head in disbelief. "How did he get his hands on that form?!' He thought with anger.
Hanabi leaned forward with surprise and looked at her father.
"Pay attention, Hanabi. You would do well to learn from them both." He said quietly, secretly impressed that Neji got his hands on such a thing through visual study alone.
Line break.
Higashi nodded at the sight, his fellow branch members cheering the youth on; This is it. Cripple her, and you will have eliminated the main family's key to the Daimyo as well as removing their greatest asset. Do it now!' He thought with anticipation.
Line break.
{The arena}
"Who taught you?" Whispered a confused and surprised Hinata.
Neji's smirk grew. "It doesn't matter, does it? This is to show that between us, I am the superior student of our clan's arts. I have the righteous goal between us, and I have the motivation to end this facade of yours, to tear that stupid mask off your face, to make you pay for being the cause of my father's demise."
"You still blame me for your father," She said with a hint of annoyance.
"Of course I do! If it weren't for you, my father would still be here! He wouldn't have been traded out for your father to be butchered like a lamb!" The boy yelled.
'Watch it, Neji.' Thought Higashi from the stands, getting tense at the words thrown the girl's way. 'The main family is watching.'
"I was Five, Neji!" Hinata yelled back in anger. "You've tormented me over something I had no-"
"Don't go there, Hinata! Had you been in the main family's quarters, you'd have been well off and guarded! But because you were such a failure, you weren't permitted to even be in the same wing of the estate!"
Hinata shook her head in disbelief. "How is it my fault I got abandoned, Neji! My father and those old prunes had expectations that were unrealistic!"
Line break.
Hiroshi's brow twitched. 'So she blames us for her weakness? It's pathetic. To speak so brazenly about this, too. I'll need to remind her of her place.'
"Is that true?" Asked a shocked Hanabi.
Before Hiashi could speak, Hiroshi cut in. "That isn't true, Hanabi. It was her who wouldn't make it up to the standard of the clan. If she'd have just been the proper Hyuga prodigy we expected of her, me, Hiashi, and our wise elders would've protected her and spared her the trouble of having to deal with the bias of the branch family."
Hanabi shivered with discomfort. This made her understand why Hinata could be strict with her around their father and the elders. She did a good job sheltering her from their way of thinking, but with this, Hanabi can see what kind of influence these old men seek to place her and her sister under. It was a chilling wake-up call.
Hiashi didn't have a choice in the matter when Hinata's training regimen was laid out by Hiroshi himself. Yet he is the clan head. There isn't an excuse.
Hanabi crossed her arms, her posture guarded.
This didn't go unnoticed by Hiashi.
Line break.
{The arena}
The two had a square off, both of them getting ready to launch into the 64-palms technique.
It was Neji who dashed first, the boy blurring in a burst of speed that could've surprised anyone, but Hinata seemed to have a good grasp on things even now. She charged back with just as much speed as her cousin.
In the stands, both sides of the family stood up, the tension too much for them to sit still anymore.
Neji and Hinata's palms and jabs were a blur as they danced around each other in an attempt to one-up the other.
"Two palms," they said in unison, their blows reverberating enough for Genma to feel it from where he stood. "Four palms, Eight palms, sixteen palms!"
At this point, Neji felt something off. Their jabs were a blur, but he felt a terrible sensation in his arms. "Thirty-two palms! Sixty-four palms!" they yelled, their last strike finally hitting true.
Both Hyuga were sent flying back, Hinata landing on her back, sliding away, and Neji skidding back, still on his feet.
The branch family cheered loudly at Neji's victory over their clash; Kiba shot up from his seat with worry as Tenten cheered; Masuda, for the sixth time this match, did the same and yelled encouragement for his fiancee, and the elders of the main family all gasped in shock, worry, and anger.
Hiroshi cursed out loud, startling Hanabi, and Higashi laughed with glee at Hinata receiving such a blow.
On the ground, Neji was not celebrating. He was staring at his burnt forearms with confusion and felt that his chakra was drained more than it should have been.
'So I wasn't seeing things. Her arms were coated with some form of flame.' He thought with shock.
He looked to see Hinata get up, coughing as she did so, and he glared with frustration. He missed her tenketsu by a hair on top of that.
'Why is it that this entire time, I haven't managed to hit you even once?! And what has she done to me?!' He thought with confusion.
Hinata saw this confusion, and for the first time since the match started, she showed emotion. Glee.
Her hands were suddenly covered in blue flames, the silhouette of some kind of distorted monster in each hand flickering into existence before fading with every subtle move she made. "Surprised? This is a new jutsu I've been working on for some time now. I designed this jutsu specifically to combat the Hyuga style."
"What?!" Neji said with horror. Such a thing would be impossible for him to combat directly if that were true.
"Don't be surprised. You speak as though you are the only one working diligently. News flash, you aren't. Nothing was handed to me from the beginning because I was deemed a failure. I had to climb back to the heiress position. Or did you forget?" Hinata said with a mocking tone.
Neji narrowed his eyes, wary of the technique he was looking at. "Don't speak as though you don't benefit from your current position. This is impressive, but it isn't something that will make me acknowledge you."
Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and she got into position. "Come, cousin. Let's go another round."
Line break.
{The academy}
Iruka was watching the younger generation of kids play ninja outside in the courtyard, the instructor enjoying the peace of the village.
He wasn't enjoying the heat, though.
He let out a sigh and wiped his brow, and before he could get up to do something, Moegi came rushing to him, a popsicle in hand.
"Here you go, sensei!" She said with a smile.
Iruka grinned and took the popsicle, opening it and starting to eat.
He let out a satisfied sound at the sweet and creamy texture before he leaned back and continued to watch the kids play. "Thanks, Moegi. Much appreciated. Why aren't you playing with them?"
The girl shrugged. "They are getting too competitive., and Konohamaru is being too controlling again."
Iruka snorted in amusement at that. "Ah. Do you want me to do something about it?"
She shook her head and sat down. "No. I'm just ready to go inside. It's too hot for me out here."
He nodded. "We'll give them another five minutes and-..."
He stopped himself when he noticed his colleague waving him over. "Stay here."
He got up and jogged over to his partner. "What is it?"
"Shikaku is here; He wants to have a word."
He tilted his head in confusion. "About what?"
The fellow teacher gave a worried look, and Iruka knew something was terribly wrong. "Take me to him.
Line break.
{Outer Konoha ruined Komachi district: East}
{Naruto POV}
Naruto followed behind the team of anbu as they cut through the residential district and into the slums, taking a shortcut to the Interrogation department.
They were now heading into the once abundant and rich Komachi district, which had been devastated by the Ninetails long ago.
They weren't that far in when Naruto's hair stood on end. He turned to see something headed their way, a projectile that flashed an amber light off of the sun.
He couldn't move in time to avoid what he saw to be a giant arrow, not with Gaara on his shoulder, so it was Yugao who acted on time, dropping Kankuro and speeding in front of him to try to block the arrow with her sword, but it was too strong.
In a crash that resounded throughout the area, both Naruto and Yugao were hit by a javelin arrow of some kind and punted into a crumbling hotel building.
Kankuro yelled as he fell from the roof and onto a partially destroyed balcony, groaning in pain at the rough landing.
Anko, the anbu commander, and the four fellow agents skidded to a halt on one of the buildings, all startled at what they'd just witnessed.
"Get out of sight!" Yelled the commander, and they did just that, Anko rushing into the building to check on both Naruto and Yugao.
Her eyes widened when she saw the damage.
Yugao had a hole through her upper chest, one that was gaping, bone exposed, and bleeding profusely. Thankfully, Naruto was ok. Well, aside from his shoulder getting nicked pretty bad. He only had a gash on his shoulder in comparison to what Yugao received.
Gaara was sprawled not far from them, stirring from the impact. Kabuto's sleep jutsu was wearing off, and fast. Unfortunately, Naruto was too focused on the person who saved his life to care in that moment.
"Anbu-san!" The boy yelled, stumbling to his feet to see if she was alright, but Anko gripped his shoulder.
"Naruto! The Jinchuurik!"
He gasped and threw his hand out, chains slamming into Gaara before the boy could think to escape.
While he subdued him, Anko brushed past him and to Yugao to see if she could stabilize her in time for her to be brought to the hospital.
'If she's left for even a second, she's going to die. That arrow went through her like she was paper.' Thought Anko in a panic, her eyes watering a bit. She's a close friend. Losing her isn't an option.
Not a moment later, a large anbu landed nearby, a boar mask anbu. He rushed to Anko's side and handed her a pill of some kind. "Quick, give her this! See if it can seal her wound! I'll call for backup to get her out of here!"
Anko nodded and shoved the pill down Yugao's throat, hoping it would do something to help her.
Just outside, the sound of a heavy impact was heard, Likely the sound of another arrow being fired off. They knew they had a huge issue on their hands.
Boar was touching Yugao's many potential pulses on her body. He pulled back when he couldn't find one, but for the hell of it, he tried again anyway. 'C'mon! Come back with us!' He thought to himself. Losing her would be like losing an annoying little sister who scolds you all the time. He couldn't lose that in his life, not when he had so little left.
It took him a full minute of searching her entire body, but he found nothing and made an attempt to school his emotions. He isn't a doctor, so the best thing he can do is get her one. They can help her far more than him.
Naruto stood up and inspected his own wound, deeming it a surface cut that'd be fine if taken care of. "Will... she be ok?" He said with hesitation.
The anbu turned to Naruto, then back at Yugao. "She's..."
Naruto clenched his fists in anger. 'How did I not see that coming? And what even was that?!' He thought in anger. 'Even with this damn luggage, I should've been fast enough to-'
Before he could get close to Yyugao, he winced at the screech that came from behind him.
"NOOO! LET GO OF ME! UZUMA-Urgh!" The boy's voice was choked out by the vice grip of Naruto's chains, sand falling uselessly around Gaara once they had a tight hold on him.
"I have him."
Anko and boar nodded, the large anbu carrying Yugao to be treated as soon as possible. "If what you said about that kid's seal is true, we need to get a move on and fast."
Line break.
"Team Bravo. We're going to need you to meet us farther out from the pick-up zone. We've run into trouble. There is an enemy ranged unit somewhere far out." The anbu commander spoke calmly and quietly while up against a partially smashed house.
"How far out?" his comms buzzed back.
"We are south-east, not even a full block away from the entrance. This is where the slums begin, so be careful where you run. Judging from where the latest arrow came from, he's on the other side of the damn village. Likely the Market district or a bit further off. Comms are weak, so pass this along to the team closest in range of the enemy."
"Got it."
The static comms clicked off, the commander barely being in range to communicate.
The commander then changed his frequency to contact a different kind of support. "Medic unit 13. We need attention on the south side of the Komachi district. We've got trouble down here. Get moving and get a beacon in the sky now. We need nearby units aware of our intruders. Our comms are weak, and there is reason to believe that our sensory department is blind. Come in through the west if possible. There is a ranged unit with incredible reach, so be careful."
"Copy."
The commander once again changed his comms and got in touch with one of the units he was sure would be in a strategic position to help. "Team Bravo. Status. Where are you located."
"..." There was nothing but static buzzing, indicating they were too far out on their patrol to contact.
"Dammit! The commander cursed before taking a breath.
He switched to Anko's frequency, and the Anbu commander took in another deep breath. This is stressful, trying to keep up with the mess they were in.
"Anko, status."
"Uzumaki is hurt, and Yugao is critical. We're making our way out soon."
"Ok. Hurry. We don't have much time left."
The commander then roughly grabbed Kankuro and threw him over his shoulder, the boy wheezing in discomfort from the sudden and rough movement.
"Ok, team. Let's go."
Line break
Anko sighed as she dressed Naruto's wound, thankful for the kid's pain tolerance. He doesn't seem to complain about much, which is good. He's taking it like a champ.
"This is only temporary, but it should allow you to move around. How long can you hold on to Gaara?" She asked after finishing up.
"Long enough."
"Ok. Good. Uh, Boar. Do you have any pills on you?" Anko asked, standing up to address the concerned Anbu.
"Yeah... Here. I have one for pain relief and one to boost the healing process... But don't take them at once. Wait thirty minutes between doses." He said.
Naruto nodded and took one for pain relief. "Why is that?"
"You'll become... under the influence."
Naruto tilted his head, and Anko sighed. "He means you'll get high off of taking both."
Naruto nodded. 'He must be an Akamichi. They know their stuff.' Thought Naruto, and once they gathered themselves, they dashed out of the building, Naruto carrying a struggling Gaara and Boar holding Yugao.
Line break.
{Kidomaru POV}
Kidomaru growled as he tried to make out the enemy with his third eye, hoping he got a fatal blow on the one holding Gaara, but it was straining. It acted as a scope and nothing more.
'This is ridiculous! I can't hope to work in these conditions! They are too far and inside the building now! I was lucky to hit anything in the first place, dammit!' he thought with frustration before covering his third eye and groaning. He loved pushing himself for a gnarly and difficult shot, but not like this.
Surrounding him were numerous bodies of unsuspecting chunin, mostly precinct class, AkA, Police force class shinobi. Small fry.
Ukon did a good job keeping things quiet, but the sound of his arrows whizzing through the air was enough to make him nervous. He was hanging out on an intricately designed web pattern meant to assist in long-range accuracy, but it wasn't in its optimal formation since it was designed to be laced around trees and other flexible things, not sturdy walls and other such things.
Ukon was down below, keeping watch for any enemies that may approach from the south, which is the way their enemies were bound to approach.
He watched as his partner, in the second stage of the curse mark, crafted another golden sap great arrow and pulled back with the assistance of his elastic webs.
Kidomaru's third eye narrowed and strained for a target, and he took a breath. 'C'mon already. Show yourselves!'
He was about to lose his patience when he saw what looked like a medical unit on its way.
'Oh no you don't. Not on my watch.'
He bit the weak point of his arrow, cracking it apart just enough to ensure shrapnel, and he fired on them. 'Ok. Let's see the effects of a shrapnel bomb!' He thought with a wicked grin.
"Kidomaru! Incoming! We need to move!"
Kidomaru saw in the distance what looked like a team of Anbu and Shinobi coming after them. And it was a lot.
This was followed by an alarm going off in the local area, and he knew they were fucked.
"To the stadium! We've done what we can!" said Kidomaru as he jumped off the tower and sprinted straight for the stadium, quickly tailed by Ukon. "I think we woke the hornet's nest too early! Shit, shit, shit!" Ukon hissed with fear.
Line break.
Naruto winced as Gaara started squirming, having a meltdown.
"LET GO OF ME, UZUMAKI! FIGHT ME FAIRLY!" The boy screeched in panic, writhing in his hold.
"Will you shut-
"There they are! Yelled Anko, seeing the medics on the way.
The commander, who just met up with her team, felt relief hit him. He didn't want to lose anyone here.
Of course, things never go to plan. The medical team didn't see it coming. Amber shrapnel slammed into the team, eradicating them before their eyes.
They were rag-dolled from out of the sky and into the building beside them. It was a sudden and bloody sight for Naruto.
The boy gasped at the suddenness of their deaths and gritted his teeth.
The anbu commander stared, shaking his head. 'I told them to stay low, didn't I?'
Gaara laughed at the sight of so much blood. It excited him so much that it brought him to hysteria. A 180 from the attitude he had before.
Anko slammed her fist into the back of the Gaara's head and growled, startling Naruto who was the one holding him. "Forget it. We should just get to the base and get this guy sealed up. The seal is getting-"
He was cut off when the commander put his hand up. "The enemy shooter is being chased off. We can move," He grounded out, obviously pissed off.
"30 signatures are on the way here," Naruto suddenly informed.
"Friend or foe?"
"I don't know, But they are coming in the wrong direction to stop us."
The commander drew his tanto. "Very well. We will expect the worst then. Naruo, take Gaara and go. Take those pills and get yourself sorted," the commander said bitterly. 'It seems our spy knew I'd try to cut through the slums to get to the base faster. This Kabuto character... He needs to be eliminated.'
Kankuro closed his eyes and hoped they were from Suna-nin. 'Here comes the cavalry.'
Naruto nodded and hoisted a chained-up Gaara on his shoulder, and Anko carefully picked up a grievously injured Yugao.
Neither said a word. They were on the same page. They raced away in the direction of their back-up, Anko following behind Naruto. His ability to sense their allies and enemies was coming in handy.
'No, no, dammit!' thought Kankuro, hoping they'd get intercepted. 'whoever is coming needs to hurry! Gaara is in trouble!'
The commander's anbu squad took to the streets and the rooftops to engage whoever was coming. They are the elite, so thirty fodder shinobi to 13 of Konoha's finest is nothing.
It only took a few minutes for Kimimaro and numerous enemy Oto shinobi dressed as civilians to land all around them, their concealed weapons drawn.
Kankuro frowned. 'And they aren't even Suna-nin. Great! I can't catch a break!'
The commander's eyes narrowed when she saw his curse mark. He is definitely one of Orochimaru's goons.
"Hand over the Tailed beast," Kimimaro demanded, a bone blade sliding out his arm and into his hand.
"You should know better than to make demands of the anbu, brat," Bit out the anbu commander.
Kimimaro cracked his neck, and his eyes focused. "Bring them down." He said calmly, and the thirty Oto men came down on the thirteen Konoha units.
Line break.
{The arena]
Neji was dodging for dear life, rolling out of the way of an air palm here, narrowly avoiding the fiery claws of Hinata's technique there, and being forced into a defensive position from her overwhelming speed and force.
It was in this moment that he understood why Hinata trained in her movement speed, even though everyone thought it was useless. It was to catch her prey. He just couldn't seem to get away.
The Hyuuga prodigy was completely on his back foot now. Hinata has gone from defensive to offensive with such a drastic change. Neji was left in the dust at this rate.
The boy grunted in pain when Hinata sent a chop toward his chest, the heat doing damage in place of her lack of direct physical contact.
He flipped away and landed in a slide before assessing his situation.
His arms are covered in burns, his cheeks red with first-degree burns from getting slapped around, and numerous areas of his body have various burns here and there. Hinata had left no part of him unscathed.
But most importantly, he discovered a deadly fact about these artificial flames. They didn't burn like regular fire. If they did, he'd be covered in second and third-degree burns by now. No, they did do something worse. They destroyed chakra. It was at a slow rate, but with enough contact, she didn't need to hit his tenketsu; she just needed to stay in contact with him.
He could feel it. He was slowly being drained with every graze of her palms against his skin, his own chakra burning away from him.
Line break.
{The stands}
Hyuga Hiroshi and the elders stared warily at Hinata's technique. This kind of technique was more than a little impressive, but some were afraid. How does one deal with such an attack?
Only Hyuga Hiroshi and Hiashi knew how to counter this, but most in the clan weren't as proficient as them.
'This jutsu... It seems we had nothing to worry about. However, her conduct and her comments will be corrected in private nonetheless. There seems to be misplaced resentment in her that needs to be... beaten out of her, it seems. And I know just how,' Thought Hiroshi, glancing at Hanabi.
Hiashi, on the other hand, was as surprised as the other main family elders. While his youngest daughter was in awe and basically gushing at her sister's sudden development, he was trying to figure out when she had the time to develop this technique on her own.
He was also worried about her conduct. Hiroshi isn't at all pleased with her earlier banter at the beginning of their match, and her claim of designing a technique specifically to counter the Hyuga's style of combat, though not alarming on the surface, could be seen as rebellious.
Line break.
Higashi gripped his old knees from the sheer stress of watching Neji get knocked around. This is too much for his old heart.
'C'mon, Neji! This is it! Do it! Do it now while she is in her own little world! Tear her down and show the main family the power of the branch!'
Line break.
{The arena}
Neji dashed and weaved away from Hinata's air palm techniques, the boy gritting his teeth as he ran out of options.
Getting too close was a problem, but keeping his distance was also difficult when her air palm is too fast to use rotation against.
His arms were in bad shape, being covered in second-degree burns from being forced to defend against her attacks one too many times, and His face had a few first-degree burns thanks to her slapping him around, an insult, to be sure.
This was a really bad situation to be in, but Neji wasn't going to sit on his ass the whole fight. Hinata had some new injuries of her own. Though the crowd couldn't see it, her left hand's flames were extremely dim thanks to a vital chakra point in her wrist being hit repeatedly, her movements being a tad sloppy on that side.
Her speed and technique made up for it, though, so it's not as if this would stop her. Neji needed to enact his next phase, and fast.
He took another stance the main family knew, and this once again sparked outrage among the clan's elders.
Line break.
{The stands}
"What is the meaning of this?! How did this branch filth get his hands on yet another of our techniques?! That move is reserved for the main family alone!" Hiroshi yelled in outrage.
"That brat should be punished!" Yelled another elder in outrage.
Hanabi looked around, once again feeling immensely uncomfortable.
The girl sat back down with a frown, her excitement suffocated under the tension surrounding her, and Hiashi, seeing this, had enough.
"Silence!" Yelled Hiashi, surprising the elders.
Hiroshi glared at his son. "You dare?! Look at this travesty, Hiashi! That boy-"
"Enough of this! It will be handled when it's all over! I will not have you ruining my daughter's experience of the exams over your inability to control your emotions!" Hiashi hissed.
This struck a nerve with some of the elders, many schooling themselves once again. It wasn't a good feeling to have such words uttered by them thrown back in their face.
Hiroshi clenched his fist at being corrected in such a manner, no matter how right Hiashi may be.
"Answers, Hiashi. Answers need to be had. This boy-"
"Has been a prodigy in our clan for years. His acquisition of this technique isn't a surprise when our younger generation flaunts their skills needlessly every chance they get, whether it be child, teen, or adult. He may very well have learned it from the boasting of the main family." Said Hiashi in a dismissive tone, his patience wearing thin.
"What are you implying." A main family member growled in the background.
"I'm saying the arrogance of the main family is the reason he has acquired this technique. Now watch the fight." Hiashi growled.
To them, he seemed mad at their hubris in allowing Neji to gain a forbidden technique, and many felt rather stupid for their arrogance. However, Hiashi was only worried about his daughter's well-being. Their toxicity was being displayed in its most ugly form.
As much as Hiashi hated it, this is their true colors. This was always them, but he was in denial for years. Abandoning Hinata was a major mistake he would forever be unable to fix. These old prunes are the reason she hates both sides of the family with a passion. Hinata is controlled by Hiroshi, and Neji is controlled by Higashi. These kids are puppets for a battle not their own, and he's seeing it before his eyes.
Line break.
Higashi leaned forward, clutching his hands together, hoping Neji would do something to trip the girl up. Hinata must fall to Nej in the worst way imaginable. It sends a message to the main family, and hopefully it robs them of the Daimyo's favor.
'C'mon, Neji. Destroy this bitch. This is your one chance to put her down and defile their progeny! Take it! Now is the time! It's your one and only chance!' thought the man.
His clansmen and branch children beside and behind him were too caught up in the fight to notice him muttering to himself, so they continued to enjoy the battle.
Line break.
Neji let out a breath and smirked. "You recognize this form, don't you?'
Hinata's eyes showed little surprise at the revelation, something that annoyed him. "You've mastered this technique too? Congratulations."
Neji scowled. "Not impressed? I suppose you think you're so far above me now. Do you honestly believe yourself to be the pinnacle of the Hyuga clan's abilities? That your side is untouchable?"
Hinata turned and looked up to the stands to see that the elders were pissed off. It made her smile.
Seeing this caught Neji off guard. The boy was jarred by the amusement in her eyes at their discomfort.
Hinata looked at her cousin with mirth and giggled a little more. "It seems the secret of the main family has spread to the branch. Shame. But it can't be helped. A fitting punishment for our arrogance. I guess that's what happens when we flaunt our abilities and expect nothing to happen."
"You admit to the folly of your family then? Good. Embrace that terrible side. It'll make it easier to crush you." Neji growled.
Hinata's eyes narrowed in anger. "There is no side for me, Neji. I was pushed away on both ends, remember?" the girl uttered so only he could hear.
"Stop playing the victim, Hinata! Look at my forehead and tell me what you see! Is this my fault? Was my existence my fault?! It is not. I have done nothing to warrant this ugly thing on my forehead!" He yelled.
Hinata frowned. "I'm not. You were immature and evil for taking your anger out on me, and this shows you haven't changed one bit. Instead of accepting my offer for help when we were young, you sought to destroy me and nearly did. Maybe if you weren't so evil to me growing up, I'd care. I tried to be nice, and I was beaten for it. Belittled and spat on for being weak."
Neji grit his teeth and spat. "You deserved every moment of pain you got."
That seemed to strike a nerve in the girl, and a look of rage came across her features. "And I hate you with a passion."
Her flames became brighter, the lion heads coming into being before she dashed at him, aiming to end the fight here and now. But Neji had another thing coming.
In the crowd, Hiashi stood up and clenched his fists. 'No, Hinata, Don't!' he thought in horror. He knew the look, the same glance his own father would wear before doing something vicious.
Kurenai looked worried, knowing this match had gotten far too personal. Kiba and Ino don't understand much, but Tenten does, and she looks just as worried.
Neji pretended to go into the 64-palms, but when she got in range and thrust her own flaming palms out, he unexpectedly spun, coating his arms and torso with chakra that attempted to redirect and deflect her flames back at her, the boy able to activate the effects of rotation on a dime.
Hinata knew this would happen, and even as she felt his chakra overpower her, she kept pushing her flames through his barrier of chakra until suddenly, both her flames and his chakra slammed back into her, sending her rolling away.
She came to a stop and hissed in pain, her clothes slightly torn, and her flesh slightly burned from her own technique being rebounded at her.
Neji let out a breath and chuckled at first, taking a step forward, but then he felt a strange sensation in his hands.
Looking down, and what he saw made him go pale.
His hands. They were destroyed.
Line break.
End chapter.
{Author's note}
This was a tame chapter compared to the one coming after this, and I mean that.
I split this one up because it was initially 20k words. That is a bit much for a single chapter unless you guys don't mind colossal chapters like that.
Anyway, again, sorry for disappearing. I'll be posting more often now that I'm free to do as I please for a while.
Thanks for reading.