Hinata of the White Lotus
Hinata vs Kimimaro
Hinata stepped onto the battlefield, the cool night air swirling faintly around her. She should have been at the volcano's summit, collecting the Moonfire Blossom that would save Kurenai-sensei's life. That was her mission, her priority. But she couldn't ignore the impurity that had fled from the island.
It was her duty, as Kali's reincarnation, to hunt and purify such things. That alone might not have been enough for her to abandon the flower. But there were other reasons. The first was guilt—this impurity had escaped because of her own inexperience. Her failure to contain it had set it loose. The second was the stakes; the lives at risk from this rampaging impurity far outnumbered the single life she was trying to save.
And the third reason…
Her Nichiren Byakugan swept over the battlefield, settling on Naruto's unconscious form. He was sprawled in the dirt, his orange jacket scorched and shredded, revealing a burned black shirt beneath. His injuries were severe—his right arm, she realized with a pang of confusion, was intact but… wrong. It was wooden, unnaturally smooth and seamless, as though it had grown out of him. Whatever had happened to him, it was beyond her immediate understanding.
Hinata's gaze shifted. Kiba and Akamaru lay nearby, both trembling in pain but otherwise unharmed. Around them, the ground was riddled with massive ferns made of bone, their jagged spines jutting into the night like grotesque sculptures. Her eyes lingered on Shino, standing as though sheer willpower alone held him upright. His sunglasses were shattered, the jagged remnants perched askew on his bruised face. Despite his state, he radiated a calm that belied his exhaustion.
"The Moonfire Blossom?" he asked again, his voice steady but edged with tension. Hinata shook her head, sidestepping the question. There was no time to explain her choice, no time to dwell on what it meant for Kurenai-sensei. The mission had shifted; she could only hope Shino understood. Right now, she needed answers.
Her Nichiren Byakugan scanned the battlefield once more, landing on the hulking monstrosity towering at its center. It was a nightmare given form, its pitch-black scales gleaming like obsidian under the moonlight. Bone-white spines jutted from its back, and its elongated snout housed razor-sharp teeth that seemed designed to shred anything in its path. Its piercing red eyes glowed with a malevolent light, and Hinata could feel its chakra—a dark, sickening aura that churned the air around it.
The impurity. Or at least, it had been. It wasn't the same as the creature she had chased. Back on the island, it had resembled a slug with a single lidless eye. Now, it was a predator—a monster out of a nightmare. What had caused it to change?
Her voice was calm despite the turmoil within. "Who are you?" she asked, turning to the injured red-haired girl sitting next to Naruto. She bore no insignia of allegiance, but traces of the impurity clung to her faintly. And though Hinata couldn't quite place her, there was a strange familiarity in the girl's presence.
"It's Tayuya," the girl said, her voice raw and hoarse. She swallowed hard, then added, "I came here to meet you."
Hinata frowned. "Meet me?"
"I was there… when you brought down Orochimaru's barrier," Tayuya explained, her tone guarded.
The memory struck Hinata with startling clarity. When she had been dismantling the barrier, there had been others—four figures standing in the background, maintaining the barrier. Tayuya had been one of them. But if she had been an enemy then, why was she here now?
Tayuya continued, nodding toward the monstrous figure. "That's Kimimaro over there. Although… I don't know what the hell happened to him. It's like he unlocked a new stage of the curse seal transformation."
Hinata's breath caught. The curse seal. Of course. Pieces began to fall into place. The impurity had fused with Kimimaro's curse mark, feeding on it, twisting it into this new form.
"I see… So that's what happened," Hinata murmured, her gaze hardening. She turned to Shino. "Do we have a strategy?"
"Do you?" he countered. His calm voice betrayed his hope that she might.
Hinata considered her options, but none of them offered a clean solution. Finally, she shook her head, hating how unsure she sounded. "I might… but I don't think I can save him." Her voice softened. "The impurity has fused with him completely. Killing it means killing him."
Tayuya scoffed, her tone biting. "Tch, fine with me." There was no hesitation in her voice, no love lost for the man who had once been her ally. Hinata could see the raw truth in her eyes; Kimimaro had never been her comrade, not truly.
No more time for questions or second-guessing. The beast that was once Kimimaro rose to its full height, its red eyes locking onto them. The air grew heavy with malice, the ground trembling as it prepared to charge.
"Please leave everything to me." Hinata said as calmly as she could, her clothes fluttered faintly, the breeze from her chakra gates swirling around her. She clenched her fists, the glow of her Byakugan intensifying. This was what she had come here for. No more hesitating.
The battle had just begun.
In a blur, Hinata was off.
The ground where she had stood just moments before erupted in a burst of raw force, fragments of earth and stone scattering in her wake. She didn't so much sprint as glide, her body seemingly untethered from the constraints of friction and gravity. To any onlooker, she was a streak of pale light, glowing faintly with an ethereal shimmer as her chakra and the natural energy of the world mingled and exploded outward in a barely contained aura.
The gates she had opened—the first two of eight—pushed her body beyond its natural limits, flooding her with power. Yet this strength came at a cost. Every muscle in her frame tore with each movement, her tendons stretched to their breaking point under the force she unleashed. Her heart hammered violently, pumping blood with such intensity it felt like it might burst. But just as quickly as her body broke, the influx of natural energy mended it, filling the fissures with an unnatural heat and a bone-deep ache that never quite subsided. It was like she was being burned and stitched back together at the same time—a cycle of destruction and regeneration that only heightened her awareness, her senses sharpening to a razor's edge.
She couldn't stop. If she stopped, her body would falter, the balance of the gates collapsing under the strain. She had to keep moving, even as it felt like her very existence was being torn apart and rebuilt with every second.
Yet as fast as she was—far beyond human limits—Kimimaro's crimson eyes tracked her every movement. Those monstrous orbs burned with an unnatural intensity, their focus unwavering. They lacked the tomoe of the Sharingan, but the predatory awareness within them was just as sharp. Hinata's previous surprise attack had worked because of his momentary distraction, but now, his instincts as a fighter and his monstrous enhancements made him an entirely different opponent.
Still, she had one key advantage: size.
Where Kimimaro's massive frame had granted him overwhelming power, it now worked against him. His size made his attacks predictable, his range of motion slower in comparison to her newfound speed. Hinata darted beneath him, her white aura illuminating the shadow of his massive body. His claws came down with devastating force, tearing the earth apart where she should have been—but she wasn't there.
Kimimaro's strike landed only on empty air, his crimson gaze narrowing as Hinata suddenly shifted her trajectory. With the grace of a bird in flight, she transitioned from horizontal to vertical, her movements so fluid it defied logic. She was upon him in an instant, twisting mid-air to drive her palm into his jaw with a resounding crack.
The force of her strike reverberated through his enormous form, his head snapping to the side. His blackened skin split under the impact, and fragments of his hardened bone cracked like shattered porcelain. He staggered backward, the ground trembling beneath his weight, as Hinata continued her ascent, launching herself high into the air.
The moonlight above caught her frame, and for a moment, she seemed to vanish. Her pale glow melded seamlessly with the silver light, leaving her camouflaged against the night sky. But she didn't slow. She twisted in midair, her Nichiren Byakugan guiding her movements. The world was a web of invisible currents to her now, streams of natural energy that she could see, follow, and manipulate. By aligning herself with these flows, she could defy gravity, kicking off the very air itself as if it were solid ground.
Kimimaro snarled, his red eyes darting upward to find her, but she was already upon him again.
"Hakke Kūshō!" she cried, her palm glowing as she channeled the full force of her Jyuken into the attack. She descended like a meteor, her strike slamming into the top of his skull. The sheer force of the blow cracked the bone beneath his skin, and the internal damage rippled through his brain, the shockwave disrupting his chakra network.
He fell to one knee, the earth groaning under his weight as his claws dug into the dirt for support. Most enemies would have been killed by the damage alone—internal injuries like these were lethal, even if the external signs seemed minimal. But Kimimaro wasn't human anymore. His corrupted body, infused with the impurity's power, refused to succumb. Where his brain should have shut down, the unholy energy filled in the gaps, mending the irreparable and dragging him further into monstrosity.
Hinata's breathing was labored now, her chest heaving as she landed a few feet away. The gates were taking their toll. Her muscles spasmed involuntarily, her body fighting the strain of constant destruction and repair. Every heartbeat sent a pulse of pain through her chest, her ribs feeling as though they might crack under the pressure. But she pushed the discomfort aside, her eyes locked on her opponent.
Then it came—the screech.
It was unlike anything she had ever heard, a sound so sharp and unnatural it pierced straight through her body. It wasn't just sound; it was a wave of pure malevolence, disrupting the very energy she had been navigating. The invisible lines of natural flow twisted and writhed like a storm-tossed sea, throwing her balance into chaos. Her Byakugan struggled to make sense of the disarray, the currents appearing as jagged, broken streaks instead of smooth pathways.
Her vision swam, vertigo taking hold as the world tilted on its axis. She stumbled, her knees buckling as her stomach churned violently. The air felt oppressive, heavy with an intangible weight that pressed down on her from all sides. The ground beneath her feet seemed to shift, and before she could recover, she felt the rush of air behind her.
The tail.
It slammed into her side with the force of a battering ram, the impact sending her flying. Hinata's body twisted in midair, tumbling uncontrollably as she was launched across the battlefield. She soared past her friends, her white aura flickering like a dying flame as the gates struggled to keep her conscious. She crashed into the ground just short of the city wall, skidding to a halt amidst the rubble.
The impact jarred her, knocking the wind from her lungs. Pain flared through her body, sharp and unrelenting, but she forced herself to move. Her fingers clawed at the dirt as she struggled to rise, her muscles screaming in protest. The natural energy flowing through her body was working overtime, repairing the fractures in her ribs and the internal bruising, but it wasn't fast enough. The gates gave her strength, but that strength was fleeting, borrowed, and burning her from the inside out.
So against the will of her body, Hinata forced herself to her feet. Her muscles screamed in protest, the strain of using the gates evident in every fiber of her being, but she ignored it. The weight of natural energy surged through her, tearing at her cells and knitting them back together in a vicious cycle of destruction and renewal. It was exhausting, and yet it was the only thing keeping her standing. She clenched her fists, forcing her knees to lock and her body to stay upright.
Kimimaro's massive form was nowhere to be seen. Hinata blinked, disoriented. Could he have fled? No, the oppressive, sinister energy of the impurity still clung to the battlefield like a thick, choking fog. It was here, lingering and watching. But where?
Her Nichiren Byakugan flared as her sight expanded outward in all directions. The faintly glowing pathways of natural energy around her became clear, each one a shimmering thread in the web of existence. Her team and the strange red-haired girl were still near the edge of the ruined artificial forest, unmoving and undisturbed. They were injured but alive, and she allowed herself a moment of relief.
She swept her vision across the broken landscape. The forest of bone and wood had been reduced to jagged stumps and splinters, and the damaged city wall loomed behind her.
A crowd was gathering, voices rising in a mixture of awe and fear. Their faces were pale, their breaths shallow, as they tried to make sense of the battle before them. Hinata wanted to call out, to urge them to flee, but her throat felt tight. She couldn't risk her focus—not now, not when the enemy was still out there.
She glanced upward, checking the sky. The moon's light bathed the battlefield in an ethereal glow, but there was no sign of movement. If Kimimaro had learned to use the moonlight as she had, his unbalanced energy would betray him. No, the answer wasn't above.
Her heart sank as she realized where he was. She barely had time to leap backward before the ground beneath her feet exploded.
A colossal fern of pure bone erupted from the earth, piercing the air with a sound like breaking glass. The sharpened edges gleamed under the moonlight, a horrifying monument to Kimimaro's corrupted power. If she had been even a second slower, it would have skewered her where she stood.
Hinata landed lightly on a pile of broken rubble near the city wall. She took a single breath to steady herself before darting forward. Her right hand extended, single finger stiffened into a blade. The fern had barely finished its ascent before she struck its base, precisely targeting the natural tenketsu points she could see within it. The bone shuddered and cracked, splintering into pieces as the towering structure fell with a deafening crash.
The moment her hand struck, a wave of rage radiated up her arm. It wasn't her own—it was Kimimaro's. She could feel his wrath, like the furious snarl of a cornered beast, and it surged toward her through the ground like a predator chasing its prey. She shifted her weight, her feet moving in fluid steps as another fern shot up where she had just been.
She danced around it, her hand snapping out to strike the tenketsu and shatter it before another grew in its place. The cycle repeated: a fern rose, Hinata struck, and it fell. Each time, the bones grew faster and more erratic, forcing her to adjust her movements on the fly. Her feet barely touched the ground as she led the ferns away from the city walls, guiding the destruction back toward the open field.
To the gathered crowd, it looked like a deadly ballet. Hinata moved with a grace and speed that defied comprehension, her pale figure glowing as she darted between the towering ferns. Each strike was a calculated blur, her fingers piercing the dense bone with impossible precision. The sound of shattering ferns echoed like thunder, the trail of broken stalks marking her path.
Finally, she reached the center of the open field, a safe distance from her teammates and the civilians. She slid to a stop, her body trembling with exhaustion, but her mind sharper than ever. She took a deep breath, the natural energy flooding her lungs like ice water, and prepared her counterattack.
Instead of striking with a single finger, she extended a second. The motion was subtle, almost imperceptible, but it was enough. The tenketsu points visible to her Nichiren Byakugan weren't just fixed spots—they were cracks in the natural flow of the world itself. By applying pressure with two fingers, she didn't just disrupt the fracture—she tore it open.
Her hand slashed downward, cutting through the tenketsu and into the earth itself. The effect was immediate and cataclysmic. The ground beneath her feet quaked violently as the fracture spread, splitting open the field with a deafening roar. Bone ferns shattered like glass, their remains raining down in jagged shards. Dust and debris exploded into the air, creating a choking cloud that obscured the battlefield. The once-green hillside was reduced to a barren wasteland, the land torn apart by the force of her attack.
Hinata staggered back, her breathing ragged. The cloud of dust settled slowly, the silence that followed thick and oppressive. She straightened, her Nichiren Byakugan still active as she scanned the desolation for any sign of movement.
The crowd of onlookers grew eerily quiet, their awe and fear mingling as they watched. To them, it seemed the battle might finally be over. Hinata knew better. The earth trembled once more.
From within the rubble, a mass of pure black pushed its way to the surface. Kimimaro—or what was left of him—emerged as a grotesque, deformed entity. His blackened flesh, torn wide open in multiple places, oozed an unnatural energy that defied description. Jagged scales of white bone jutted from his body in a desperate attempt to cover the damage, but the growths were uneven and chaotic. They spiraled and twisted over him like a disease, forming a patchwork shell that only emphasized how far this being had strayed from its origins.
The creature no longer resembled anything that should exist in nature. Neither beast nor man, it had become an aberration, a contradiction to existence itself. The longer Hinata looked at it, the stronger the sensation of wrongness became. It wasn't just the monstrosity's appearance that unsettled her; it was the oppressive aura it exuded. The closer it drifted to total disconnection from nature, the stronger its presence grew. The very fabric of the world seemed to reject it, yet in doing so, it made the creature's influence all the more corrosive, as if it were feeding on the rejection.
The air around them grew heavier, thick with tension and imbalance. Hinata's Nichiren Byakugan struggled to make sense of the currents of natural energy. The once-flowing rivers of life she had relied on were now clouded, disrupted by the impurity's presence. The balance of the battlefield was utterly skewed, and her greatest advantage—the ability to read and flow with nature itself—was slipping away.
The creature staggered forward, its lumbering steps shaking the ground. It let out a sound, an unholy mix of gurgling and wheezing. Perhaps it was trying to roar. Perhaps it was a mockery of laughter. Whatever it was, the sound was warped and broken, its windpipe crushed by the very bones it had formed to sustain its monstrous life.
Hinata's heart sank. This abomination wasn't just a threat—it was a harbinger of catastrophe. If she allowed this battle to drag on any longer, the damage to the natural balance might become irreversible. Kali's warnings echoed in her mind, clear and urgent: the anomalies born from such impurities could spiral beyond control, becoming black holes of chaos that would consume everything around them.
Her victory should have been assured. The creature's body was clearly failing, falling apart under the weight of its own corruption. And yet, Hinata felt a growing dread, a deep and gnawing hopelessness. Somehow, despite its deteriorating form, the monstrosity radiated an even greater strength, its very nature twisting reality to its will.
This battle had to end. Now.
Hinata exhaled slowly, calming her mind as she prepared to push her body beyond its limits. "Third Gate: Gate of Life—Open!" Her voice rang out, steady and resolute. She pressed her fingers to the tenketsu just below her collarbone, releasing a surge of energy that exploded through her body. The third gate unleashed a flood of raw power, her veins and muscles burning as the natural energy within her reached a crescendo. Her white aura intensified, crackling and swirling like a storm. The pain was immediate and excruciating, her cells shredding and regenerating in rapid succession. But Hinata welcomed it. This pain was her bridge to the divine, the price she paid to channel Kali's gift.
Lowering her stance, she clenched her fists, the ground beneath her cracking from the sheer force of her resolve. The white aura that surrounded her wasn't just energy—it was a manifestation of the balance she fought to protect, the antithesis of the impurity that loomed before her. She had become a blade of light, honed to pierce through the darkness threatening to engulf the world.
The abomination that had once been Kimimaro turned its head toward her, its broken body struggling to move. Its lopsided frame twitched and jerked, taking uneven, lumbering steps in her direction. Its glowing red eyes, devoid of humanity, locked onto her with an almost primal fury. Even in its madness, it recognized her as its enemy, its destroyer.
Hinata waited for the perfect moment, her body coiled like a spring. When it came within range, she kicked off the ground with explosive force, the impact of her departure shattering the rubble beneath her. In an instant, she closed the distance, becoming a streak of white light against the moonlit battlefield.
The collision was cataclysmic. A force of pure white met an entity of pure black, the impact radiating a shockwave that rippled through the land. To the onlookers, it was like witnessing the clash of two primal forces—creation and destruction, harmony and chaos—locked in an eternal struggle.
Hinata's strikes came faster than the eye could follow. Each blow targeted the tenketsu fractures visible only to her Nichiren Byakugan, her movements fluid and precise. Her hands blurred as she unleashed a flurry of Jyūken strikes, each one imbued with the full force of natural energy.
The monstrosity retaliated, its claws slashing through the air with a speed and ferocity that belied its broken form. The earth trembled beneath their battle, the ground crumbling under their feet as they exchanged blow after blow.
Hinata felt the strain in her muscles, the fire in her veins growing hotter with each passing second. The third gate had pushed her body to its limits, and the cost was mounting. Her vision flickered, the white glow around her dimming ever so slightly. But she couldn't stop. Not now. Not when so much was at stake.
The creature lashed out with its massive tail, aiming to crush her in one devastating blow. Hinata spun on her heel, narrowly dodging the attack, and countered with a palm strike to its exposed flank. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through its body, cracks forming along the bone scales as her energy tore through its defenses.
The monstrosity staggered but did not fall. Its gurgling noise grew louder, more chaotic, as if mocking her efforts. It lunged again, its claws slicing toward her with terrifying precision. Hinata met the attack head-on, her palm striking the center of its chest. The force of the blow sent both of them skidding backward, a trail of destruction left in their wake.
Hinata landed on her feet, her chest heaving as she prepared for the next exchange. The abomination roared, its deformed body quaking as it prepared to attack again. They were locked in a battle of wills now, light against darkness, balance against chaos.
The climax of their struggle had begun.
Asura
The voice was like a thunderclap on a clear day.
"Uzumaki Naruto, I command you to wake!"
The words cut through the void of unconsciousness, reaching into the deepest recesses of Naruto's mind. They pulled him violently to the surface, and his eyes snapped open.
"Huh!? Whazzup?" Naruto jolted upright, wildly looking around in confusion. His senses were disoriented, his mind groggy from the abrupt awakening. He blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of where he was. The last thing he remembered was the chaotic battle with Kimimaro, under the silver light of the moon just outside Kōtō City. But this—this was somewhere else entirely.
He was deep in a forest, though it was unlike any forest he'd ever been in. Towering trees stretched impossibly high, their trunks shimmering faintly as though the bark was carved from crystal. Their branches were laden with leaves that glowed softly, casting a warm, otherworldly light. The sky above was an unbroken expanse of brilliant azure, so pure it almost hurt to look at. The air was rich, dense with energy that made his skin tingle. It was familiar and yet utterly foreign, a place that felt like it existed outside of time and space.
"Finally," a voice interrupted his dazed thoughts, calm yet edged with impatience. "I thought you would never arise."
Naruto spun around, fists raised, prepared to fight. The sight that greeted him made him hesitate.
Standing there was a man dressed in a simple white kimono. His short brown hair framed a strong, dignified face, his sharp features carrying a mix of youthfulness and wisdom. There was an undeniable radiance to him, as if the very air around him bent in acknowledgment of his presence. Yet, despite the stranger's serene demeanor, there was something hauntingly familiar about him—something Naruto couldn't place but couldn't ignore.
"I know you?" Naruto demanded, his voice sharp with suspicion, though his instincts told him the man wasn't a threat.
The man smiled faintly. "Not yet," he replied. "But we are connected, you and I. My name is Asura."
Naruto frowned, the name meaning little to him. "Okay, Asura… Where the heck am I? What's going on? Last thing I remember, I was fighting that weird bone guy and—"
"Kimimaro of the Kaguya clan," Asura interrupted. "Yes, I know. You lost consciousness during the battle. You're here because of me. Or rather, because of this." He raised his right arm—or rather, the glowing yellow chakra that had replaced his right arm. Naruto's eyes widened in alarm.
"You're missing an arm!" he blurted out before glancing down at his own right arm. "Wait… What the—?"
The truth hit him like a punch to the gut. His own right arm was no longer the wooden clone he had grafted onto himself during the fight. Instead, it was… Asura's, the flesh matching his missing limb perfectly. Naruto flexed his fingers experimentally, the motion eerily seamless. The arm was his now, no doubt about it. Yet, the connection was deeply unsettling.
"What the heck did you do to me!?" Naruto shouted, waving the glowing arm accusingly.
Asura folded his arms, entirely unimpressed by the outburst. "You grafted a part of my chakra onto your body when you improvised with that wood clone. I didn't do anything—you did. That's why we're able to meet now."
"I don't even know what that means!" Naruto growled. "Why do I have your arm? And what the heck are you?"
Asura tilted his head, studying Naruto with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "I suppose that's to be expected. You've only just scratched the surface of what you are, Uzumaki Naruto. To answer your question, I am one of your past lives. Or rather, you are my reincarnation. We share a bond that transcends time and space, one forged by the will to protect and the power to create."
Naruto stared, his brain struggling to process the words. "Reincarnation…? What, like I'm you? That's crazy! And what's with this forest? Where even are we?"
"This place," Asura said, gesturing to the radiant forest around them, "exists within your soul. It is a reflection of who you are—a reservoir of your essence, shaped by your will, your bonds, and your dreams. This forest is both new and ancient, just as you are. It is both yours and mine."
Naruto glanced around again, this time with a new sense of awe. The glowing leaves, the towering crystalline trees, the impossibly pure sky—it was him? His soul? He'd never thought about himself in such abstract terms before.
"Look," Asura continued, cutting through Naruto's daze, "I know you have questions. But we don't have time for them right now. The battle outside rages on, and you are needed. Kali's reincarnation is fighting as we speak, and she cannot hold the line alone. You must return."
"Kali? Who the heck is that?" Naruto asked, growing more frustrated by the second. "And how am I supposed to fight? I've got nothing left! I'm already—"
"Enough!" Asura's voice boomed, silencing Naruto. The forest itself seemed to respond, the glowing leaves trembling slightly. "You are not powerless. You've only just begun to tap into your strength. Call on Kurama."
Naruto frowned, the name stirring something deep and primal. "Kurama?" he repeated, the syllables foreign and familiar all at once. "Who's Kurama?"
Asura's gaze shifted, his expression softening slightly. "Turn around," he said quietly.
Naruto hesitated but obeyed, pivoting to face the towering trees behind him. The forest seemed darker now, shadows stretching unnaturally long as if something immense stirred within them. Then, from the deepest shadows, two massive crimson eyes opened, glowing like twin suns.
Naruto's breath caught in his throat as the hulking form of the Nine-Tailed Fox emerged, its fur bristling with barely restrained power. It was larger than life, an embodiment of fury and majesty, its sheer presence pressing down on Naruto like a physical weight.
"You've known him by another name," Asura said from behind Naruto. "But this is who he truly is. Kurama, the Nine-Tails."
Naruto's heart pounded as he locked eyes with the fox, the enormity of its power and significance dawning on him. For a moment, neither of them moved, the silence charged with an intensity that sent chills down his spine.
"Naruto," Asura's voice cut through the tension. "It's time to awaken. To fight, not just for yourself, but for everything you stand for. Kurama is your ally—if you choose to make him so."
Naruto's fists clenched. He didn't fully understand. He didn't have all the answers. But as he stood in the presence of the Nine-Tails, the glowing forest of his soul surrounding him, one thing was clear: he wasn't done fighting yet.
Red chakra, exactly like the energy that had surged earlier, rolled off Naruto's battered body, enveloping him in a cloak of liquid fire. It shimmered unnaturally, flickering with sinister life as it lifted him effortlessly to his feet. His whisker marks deepened, cutting harsh lines into his face, while his teeth grew into sharp fangs that pressed against his lips. His eyes, glowing a deep, feral red, locked onto the battle raging in the distance—a clash of pale moonlight and utter blackness as Hinata danced against the corrupted Kimimaro.
"Naruto?" Tayuya's voice cut through the air, harsh and raw with emotion. She wasn't sure what she was feeling: relief that he was somehow still standing, or fury that he would dare put himself back into this suicidal battle. "What the hell are you doing? You need to—"
Her words died as he turned to her, his crimson eyes piercing her soul. He didn't speak, but instead extended his hand, his expression unreadable.
Tayuya stared at his hand in confusion. "What…?" she began, but something about his unwavering gaze made her stop. She felt an inexplicable pull, her instincts screaming at her to trust him. Against all reason, she reached out and clasped his hand.
The moment her fingers touched his palm, the red chakra surged into her, wrapping her body in the same fiery aura. It burned, not like a comforting heat but like acid coursing through her veins, devouring her from the inside out. A gasp tore from her throat as strength unlike anything she'd ever known flooded her limbs, making her feel invincible and vulnerable all at once.
"What the hell is this?" she demanded, staring down at the cloak that clung to her body. Her voice wavered as the power filled her, intoxicating and terrifying in equal measure.
"Our only chance to fight," Naruto answered, his tone heavy with determination. "It's unstable. It'll eat away at you the longer you use it, and you'll feel like hell after it's gone." His lips quirked into a faint, grim smile. "But I figured you wouldn't care about that."
Tayuya barked out a laugh, even as the chakra clawed at her insides. "Damn right," she growled, flexing her fingers and feeling the raw, dangerous energy ripple through her. "What's a little pain at this point, huh?"
Naruto nodded and turned to Shino, who stood nearby, battered but unbowed. "What about you?" Naruto asked, his voice steady. "You don't have to do this."
Shino adjusted his cracked glasses, the faint buzz of his kikaichu rising in agitation. "You do not need to ask," he said, his calm voice betraying no hesitation. "Why is that? Because Hinata fights. She has always fought for us. And as her teammate, it is my duty to stand beside her now."
Without another word, Shino stepped forward and grasped Naruto's hand. The chakra enveloped him in an instant, the red cloak slithering over his body like a living entity. His kikaichu surged outward, feasting greedily on the energy even as it seared his body. Shino staggered under the intensity of the power, his breath catching as the chakra pulsed like a heartbeat, but he didn't falter. "This… is potent," he admitted, his voice strained yet resolute. "And dangerous. But necessary."
"Oi!" Kiba's voice rang out as he stumbled forward, his arm wrapped protectively around Akamaru. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was pale from exhaustion, but his resolve burned bright. He reached out, gripping Naruto's shoulder tightly. The instant contact was made, the chakra spread to him and his partner, engulfing them in matching cloaks of red.
Kiba grinned, his sharp teeth glinting in the eerie glow. "Man, this feels wild," he said, his voice a mix of awe and grim determination. "But I've got no complaints. I've been useless this whole fight. Not anymore. Akamaru and I are gonna end this."
Akamaru barked softly, his own aura blazing, and Kiba's expression hardened. "Thanks for the boost," he said, his voice quieter now, almost reverent. "Let's finish this."
Naruto glanced over the group. Tayuya, defiant and furious. Shino, calm and focused. Kiba, fiery and eager. Each of them radiated the same unstable, malevolent power. The chakra wasn't just burning them physically—it was clawing at their very minds, whispering promises of rage and destruction. But none of them cared. None of them flinched.
Naruto nodded. "Save the gratitude for after we help Hinata." His voice was calm, but his eyes burned with the same intensity as the crimson energy. He took a step forward, standing at the forefront of the group. In the background, the battle raged on—Hinata's lithe form illuminated by the moonlight, darting between the black monstrosity's strikes. Every clash of her palms against Kimimaro's grotesque form sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield, but the imbalance of power was growing.
"She can't hold it off much longer," Naruto said, his voice low. "We've got one shot to pin that thing down. If we can do that…" He turned to the others. "Hinata can finish it."
"That's all we need," Tayuya growled, her fists crackling with raw energy. "Just tell me where to hit."
Kiba smirked, his hand resting on Akamaru's back. "Simple. Just the way I like it."
Shino adjusted his glasses again, his kikaichu buzzing in anticipation. "The plan is straightforward," he said. "But execution will require precision."
Naruto turned back to face the battlefield, the red cloak rippling around him like liquid fire. "Then let's make it happen," he said, his voice firm. He didn't shout. He didn't give a rousing speech. He simply nodded, a silent signal to charge.
"Let's go," he said, and with that, the four of them surged forward, red cloaks blazing as they entered the fray. Behind them, the city's walls trembled, and the watching crowd held its collective breath.
Squad Eight vs Kimimaro
Hinata hit the ground with a heavy thud, her body skidding across the uneven terrain before coming to a stop against a jagged outcrop of rock. She winced as the sharp edges dug into her back, but the pain barely registered over the sheer exhaustion weighing her down. Her breath came in shallow gasps, each inhale feeling like it might be her last. She pushed herself to her knees, her arms trembling, and raised her eyes to the monstrosity before her.
Kimimaro's grotesque form loomed over the shattered landscape. His body was a chaotic patchwork of pitch-black flesh and jagged white bone, the latter erupting in grotesque patterns that made him appear more like a nightmarish sculpture than a living being. His limbs moved with unnatural precision despite the uneven terrain, his massive tail carving through the rubble with every step.
Hinata's Nichiren Byakugan tracked his movements, though it took all her focus to maintain the clarity of her vision. The natural currents of energy she had relied on were almost completely obscured now, thrown into disarray by the malevolent force emanating from Kimimaro. Each step he took seemed to deepen the imbalance, spreading the impurity further into the land.
Kimimaro lunged, his elongated claws slicing through the air. Hinata barely dodged, her feet slipping against the unstable ground as she spun away from his attack. Her fingers grazed his arm as she countered, a burst of chakra piercing his tenketsu. The strike was precise, but it barely slowed him. If anything, it seemed to fuel his rage. His gurgling growl rattled her bones, a horrifying noise that was neither human nor beastly.
She leapt back, summoning what strength she had left to avoid another swipe of his claws. Her feet hit the ground and immediately slid against the loose rubble, nearly toppling her again. She tried to regain her footing, but Kimimaro was already closing the distance, his shadow falling over her like an impending storm.
Suddenly, a blur of motion interrupted his advance.
"Mokuton: Transformation Jutsu!" Naruto's voice rang out, filled with a determination that seemed to shake the air itself. His right arm elongated, twisting and splitting into dozens of thick wooden branches that shot forward like snakes. They coiled around Kimimaro's massive right arm, pulling it back and binding it in place. The branches glowed faintly, strengthened by the malevolent red chakra flowing through them.
Kimimaro roared and flexed his muscles, the bones beneath his skin grinding audibly as he fought against the bindings. The wooden branches creaked under the strain but held firm, their glow intensifying as Naruto poured more of the Nine-Tails' chakra into them.
Hinata's eyes widened as she recognized the chakra. She had known Naruto to be resourceful and determined, but this display of raw power was something else entirely. The fiery energy emanating from his body was both terrifying and awe-inspiring.
Kimimaro shifted his weight and swung his free left arm, claws gleaming in the moonlight as they aimed for the wooden bindings. Just as he was about to sever them, another voice cut through the chaos.
"You think I'll let you, you bastard!?" Tayuya's furious cry echoed as she darted into the fray, red chakra blazing around her too. Her body moved with unnatural speed, her movements driven by the volatile energy she had willingly embraced. She spread her arms wide as she leapt into the air, and from her torso erupted a half dozen golden chains.
The chains lashed out with precision, wrapping tightly around Kimimaro's left arm and pulling it away. Her feet hit the ground, heels digging into the dirt as she braced herself. The strain was visible on her face, but she didn't waver. "C'mon, try to move now, you freak!" she spat, her voice trembling with equal parts defiance and rage.
Kimimaro's tail swung wildly, a massive whip of bone and muscle that tore through the air with lethal force. Before it could connect with either of his captors, a feral snarl erupted from the side.
"Human Beast Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf!" Kiba and Akamaru, enveloped in the red chakra, launched themselves into the air, transforming mid-leap into their enormous two-headed wolf form. They collided with the tail, both heads biting down on it with unrelenting force. Kimimaro thrashed, attempting to free his tail, but the wolf's teeth sank deeper, holding him in place.
Kimimaro let out a guttural roar, his entire body twisting as he attempted to break free. His grotesque muscles bulged, the blackened flesh splitting in places as bone erupted to reinforce his struggling limbs. The ground beneath him cracked and buckled under the force of his resistance. The wooden branches groaned, Tayuya's chains trembled, and Kiba and Akamaru growled as the tail lashed violently.
Still, they held on.
Hinata staggered to her feet, her eyes darting between her teammates. Each of them was pushing beyond their limits, their bodies visibly straining under the effects of the unstable red chakra. The flickering cloaks around them seemed to scorch their skin even as they empowered their movements. It was clear they wouldn't be able to maintain this for long.
"Hinata, prepare your attack," Shino said, his calm voice cutting through the chaos. He stepped forward, his kikaichu swarming around him in agitated clouds. The red chakra surrounding him gave his usually serene presence an eerie edge, but his focus was unwavering. "We will hold him. You end this."
Hinata nodded, determination flaring in her heart as she turned her full attention to Kimimaro. She felt the strain of her teammates' efforts, the weight of their trust resting on her shoulders. There was no time to hesitate.
Just as Kimimaro bent his legs, preparing to leap despite his bindings, the ground beneath him erupted. Massive worms of dirt and stone, summoned by Shino's kikaichu burrowing deep into the earth, wrapped around his legs and anchored him in place. The worms coiled tighter, squeezing with tremendous force. Kimimaro thrashed, his inhuman roar echoing across the battlefield, but he was completely immobilized.
The combined efforts of her team had created an opening. It was up to her to end it. Hinata took a deep breath, centering herself as she dropped into her stance. The world seemed to slow, her Byakugan focusing sharply on Kimimaro's distorted body. Every tenketsu, every flaw in his grotesque form, was illuminated before her eyes.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice steady despite the chaos. The words were meant for her team, though only Shino could hear them. She would say them again later—after they all survived this.
Hinata closed her eyes, her breath steadying as she centered herself. The chaos of the battlefield—the shattered terrain, the groans of her allies, the oppressive energy radiating from the impurity—faded into the background. When she opened her eyes again, her Nichiren Byakuren vision illuminated the path forward, clear as moonlight on a still night. The impurity had tried to blind her, to twist and obscure the currents of nature, but now she saw through it. Every step she needed to take, every strike she needed to land, was laid out before her like a dance only she could see.
Her voice rang out, calm yet commanding, like the first note of a symphony.
"Byakuren: Some no Mai!"
Hinata moved, her form blurring as she crossed the distance in an instant. Her body began to spin, a fluid, deliberate motion that built momentum with each turn. Her arms extended, fingers poised like the petals of a lotus, and her white chakra flared around her, creating an aura that shimmered like the surface of a still pond under the moonlight. Her rotations were graceful yet devastating, the sheer speed and precision of her movements causing the air to hum with energy. She was a storm of beauty and power, each turn more elegant than the last.
The first strike landed cleanly, her chakra-laden fingertips piercing through his chest with pinpoint precision. Her Jyūken infused the blow with destructive energy that shattered the impurity's inner tenketsu, sending a shockwave rippling through his massive body. Before Kimimaro could react, she twisted midair, her feet barely brushing the ground as she moved to his flank. Her second strike hit with equal force, white chakra exploding outward and leaving an imprint of her touch that glowed like the first bloom of a lotus.
Hinata became a blur, her movements too fast for the untrained eye to follow. In just eight seconds, she completed the First Dance of the White Lotus, each of her eight strikes precise, deliberate, and devastating. Yet as she landed on the uneven ground, her breath coming in sharp bursts, she could see that it wasn't enough. The impurity had grown too strong. Kimimaro remained standing, his monstrous form now trembling but far from defeated.
Hinata straightened, her the white lotus in her eyes glowing brighter than ever as her resolve hardened. She wouldn't stop. She couldn't. Her voice rang out again, louder this time, carrying a force that seemed to echo across the battlefield.
"Yaezaki!"
If eight strikes weren't enough, she would multiply them. The First Dance of the White Lotus, a technique of eight blows, would be repeated—eight times over. Sixty-four strikes to break the unbreakable.
She moved again, her body blurring into motion as her rotations became faster, her strikes sharper. Each blow left behind a streak of white light, the ephemeral image of a blooming lotus imprinting itself on Kimimaro's body. Her movements were a paradox—delicate yet destructive, graceful yet unyielding. Every strike carried with it the weight of natural energy, the culmination of her training, and the burning determination in her heart.
To the onlookers, it was as though a field of lotuses was blooming in the air. Each strike left its mark, a radiant white flower blooming on Kimimaro's darkened flesh. As she repeated the dance, the flowers overlapped, creating a brilliant three-dimensional seal that shimmered and pulsed with light. The battlefield itself seemed to change under the intensity of her attack, the air crackling with energy as the impure essence of her opponent struggled against the purity of her strikes.
Kimimaro roared, his inhuman voice distorted and filled with rage. His body thrashed, the scales of bone on his skin cracking and splintering under the relentless assault. He tried to fight back, but Hinata was untouchable, his movements still bound by her team. She moved through the gaps with a dancer's grace, her body an extension of the natural currents that flowed through the world. Her strikes came faster now, each one a part of the symphony she was composing, a crescendo building toward its inevitable climax.
As she completed the final rotation of her sixty-fourth strike, the world seemed to pause. Hinata landed lightly on the broken ground, her feet making barely a sound as they touched down. She stood with her back to Kimimaro, her arms at her sides, and exhaled slowly, the white aura around her dimming like the last glow of twilight.
Behind her, the impurity let out a final, strangled gurgle. The overlapping lotus seals glowed brightly for a moment, then began to shimmer and break apart. Kimimaro's monstrous form stilled, his body dissolving into dust. The blackened flesh, the jagged bone, the red eyes—all of it crumbled into ash that was carried away by the wind. The worms binding his legs slunk back into the earth. Kiba and Akamaru, still in their transformed state, growled low as they released their grip on the tail, which disintegrated in their jaws. Tayuya's golden chains fell slack and retracted into her body, and Naruto's wooden branches unwound and returned to their normal form.
The red chakra cloaks surrounding her allies flickered and vanished, leaving behind only exhaustion in their wake. Tayuya, Shino, Kiba, and Naruto staggered forward, their bodies battered and barely able to stand. Yet somehow, they found the strength to regroup around Hinata, standing together in the aftermath of their victory.
Hinata turned to face them, her expression calm despite the weariness that threatened to overwhelm her. She looked at each of them in turn, her gratitude plain in her soft gaze. When her eyes fell on Tayuya, the red-haired girl met her gaze for only a moment before looking away, her lips twitching into a faint, reluctant smile.
"Thank you, everyone," Hinata said, her voice quiet but filled with sincerity. She bowed her head as she expressed her gratitude. "I couldn't have done this without you."
For a moment, no one spoke. Then, one by one, they nodded. Tayuya inclined her head, Kiba gave a lopsided grin, Shino adjusted his broken glasses with a small, satisfied hum, and Naruto crossed his arms with a proud smirk.
They had done it—together.
Before they could celebrate their hard-won victory, a pressing question loomed over them.
"Hinata," Shino said, his voice cutting through the tense quiet that followed their triumph. He repeated the question he had asked before, this time with more urgency. "The flower?" His usually calm tone carried an undercurrent of dread, and his voice was weighted with the kind of heaviness that came with already knowing the answer.
Naruto and Kiba froze, their bodies stiffening as the weight of Shino's words sank in.
"Oh yeah!" they shouted simultaneously, their voices filled with the sudden realization of what Hinata's presence here meant. But their faces quickly fell, their initial hope crumbling into despair as they connected the dots. If Hinata had been here, fighting alongside them, then surely the Moonfire Blossom—their mission's critical objective—had been abandoned.
"Hinata…" Kiba's voice cracked, his expression twisting as tears began to pool in the corners of his eyes. "You… you left the flower? Kurenai-sensei is—"
"It's okay," Hinata interrupted softly, a serene smile spreading across her face. Her tone was calm, almost soothing, as if she carried no regret, only certainty.
"Okay? How can you say that!?" Kiba shouted, his voice breaking. "If you didn't get the flower, then Sensei—she's…" He clenched his fists, his body trembling as his grief and frustration boiled over.
"She's going to be fine," Hinata said firmly, her voice resolute.
The conviction in her words was enough to halt Kiba's rising panic, but only momentarily. His eyes searched hers desperately, looking for an answer to the impossible. Shino remained silent, his gaze steady, though his body betrayed his tension—his fingers twitched as if itching for a solution, his broken glasses catching what little light the moon offered. Even Naruto, who had been grinning with relief moments earlier, now stared at her with wide, disbelieving eyes.
Hinata turned her attention to the crowd of onlookers gathered at the broken wall. Their murmurs filled the air like static, the tension in the crowd palpable. Then, from the throng, a commotion began to ripple outward. Gasps and hurried whispers spread like wildfire as the people parted to reveal something—or rather, someone.
It was Hyūga Hinata.
"What the—!?" Naruto's jaw dropped, his exclamation perfectly echoing Kiba's shout of, "What is this!?" Even Shino, ever composed, couldn't mask the way his body stiffened and his head tilted slightly, as if questioning the reality in front of him.
Standing amidst the crowd, unharmed and very much alive, was a second Hinata, gently cradling the Moonfire Blossom in her hands. The glowing petals shimmered softly, as if reflecting the light of the first Hinata's radiant aura.
"It's thanks to you, Naruto-kun," the first Hinata said, her soft voice breaking through their collective disbelief. She turned to face her team, her cheeks tinged with pink, but her expression was one of gentle pride. "I didn't know what to do. Should I chase after the flower or come to help here? But then I asked myself… what would you do? And the answer became clear."
"When… when did you even learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu!?" Naruto stammered, his head spinning. He scratched at his scalp, utterly baffled by the sight of two Hinatas. "You never said anything about learning it!"
Shino, who had been silent, finally spoke. His voice was even, though his words carried a pointed truth. "Her learning it isn't the surprising part," he said, adjusting his cracked glasses. "She's always watching you. It only makes sense she would learn from you."
"For real," Tayuya chimed in with an incredulous laugh, though her eyes were wide with astonishment. "Are you telling me that you fought that freak—like that—while your strength was split in two? What the hell, Princess?"
Hinata's cheeks flushed an even deeper red, and she immediately began pressing her index fingers together, her gaze darting downward. "I-it's not like that," she mumbled. "I just… I only thought it might help. That's all."
The rest of her team stared at her, dumbfounded, until Kiba let out a loud, barking laugh. "Whatever! Who cares how you did it, you did it!" His laughter softened into a wide grin, and he threw his arm around Hinata's shoulder, pulling her in close and patting her roughly on the back. "This means what I think it does, right?"
"Y-yeah," Hinata said, her smile shy but radiant. Relief washed over her like a tidal wave, her body trembling slightly now that the weight of the battle and its stakes had lifted. She turned to her other self—the clone—and nodded. "We saved Kurenai-sensei."
Naruto let out a whoop of celebration, punching the air with his wooden arm. "I knew it!" he shouted, grinning so broadly it looked like his face might split in two. "You're the best, Hinata! Seriously!"
Shino exhaled quietly, his shoulders finally relaxing as he crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't speak, but a faint nod was enough to show his approval. Even Tayuya, who didn't even know their teacher, cracked a small smirk, muttering under her breath about "these damn Konoha idiots."
The clone of Hinata stepped forward, clutching the Moonfire Blossom carefully in her hands. She held it out for the real one to take. For a moment, she simply stared at the flower, its luminescent petals glowing softly in the moonlight. Then she turned back to her team, her smile warm and full of quiet gratitude.
"We did it," she said softly, her voice steady despite the tears glistening in her eyes. "Thank you, everyone. We saved her… together."
Chapter End
AN: Yaezaki（八重咲) is translated as double blossom. However, the Kanji it's written with can more literally be read as Eight Stacking Blossoms. So here it is the first dance performed eight times in succession, bringing the total number of strikes up to sixty-four, like some of the other iconic Hyūga techniques.
Asura finally made his debut as well. There will be more from him coming up, but don't expect him to pop up as much as Kali does. I've got things planned to be slightly different there.