Hinata stood on the arena floor with both of her hands and arms enshrouded with chakra in the form a twin lion heads with glowing white eyes. The expression on her face was one, not of haughtiness or contempt, but one of strength, confidence and determination. Neji couldn't help but look shocked at what he was seeing.
"Jūho Sōshiken (Gentle Step Lion Fists)," Hinata said.
Jūho Sōshiken?! I wasn't aware that such a Juuken exist! Neji thought to himself while looking at the amount of chakra Hinata was putting out.
"Yeah baby! This fight just got real!" Naruto chorused.
"I've never seen that kind of Juuken jutsu before! Neji never used it whenever Lee or I sparred with him," Tenten said.
"That's because he can't use it!" Naruto said proudly, "It's an original Juuken that Hinata-chan herself invented!"
Hiruzen and everyone turned to Naruto on hearing what he said just a moment ago.
"She invented that!? But how?" Tenten asked in disbelief.
"My girlfriend is a genius, that's how. Jūho Sōshiken is a Juuken she was working on in secret for nearly a year. Only recently did she manage to master and complete it from what she told me a few days ago. And the proclaimed prodigy is going to be shown what their lion-hearted clan heiress can do," Naruto explained.
The group turned to look back at the arena floor.
"Neji doesn't look as cocky as before," Chouji noted.
"That's because he's being made to see how foolish he was to undermine Hinata the way he did earlier. So far Hinata made a total ass of him since she hasn't been hit once," Shikamaru replied.
How much more about Hinata was I not aware of? Kurenai wondered to herself.
"She's about to go on the offense now," Sakura added.
"All eyes are on you now Hinata-chan! Show them what a kickass Hyuuga you are!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Hinata couldn't help but smile and blush at Naruto's words of encouragement. Seeing her momentary distraction, Neji charged at her and aimed to hit one of her chakra points. Upon reaching her, Neji thrust his right palm forward to strike. However Hinata moved so fast it looked as though she completely vanished in front of him.
"What!?" Neji said as he had never seen Hinata move that fast. Before he could fully process what just happened, Hinata reappeared next to him at his right and delivered a brute punch straight into his gut and lower ribs, effectively knocking the breath out of him. Neji doubled over and cough up blood out of his mouth as the pain ripped through his body as he seemingly lost his voice to let out the yell that wanted to escape his throat that was now spewing some blood from his mouth.
Sandaime and all of the the Konoha ninja with him except Naruto had expressions of shock and disbelief when they saw what just happened.
"Looks like Neji is being made to pay for his outright disrespect," Sasuke remarked.
"No further mockery to say…?" Hinata asked while still holding up his doubled over form with her right fist that was still implanted into his gut, "Accepted niisan, your silent apology will suffice," Hinata remarked before she brought her left fist down just as hard on Neji, knocking him down harshly onto the solid ground.
Neji grunted lowly while on the ground with blood still in his mouth as Hinata stepped away from him with her fists still flaring with her lion head chakra. When she was twenty feet away from him, she turned to him and waited patiently for Neji to pick himself off the ground. After a period of three minutes, Neji gathered his strength together and gradually stood back up to see Hinata staring at him.
"You yield?" Hinata asked. Realizing that Hinata stood there and waited for him to stand and get back on his feet after knocking him down, Neji's angry grew hot. Hinata saw the look on his face but she wasn't deterred to say the least.
"I'm giving you the chance to surrender and to walk away from this peacefully with no further injuries being inflicted on you, Neji-niisan," Hinata warned.
"Don't speak to me as though I'm beneath you, Hinata-sama," Neji growled, "And don't think that just because you managed to catch me off guard makes you better than me!"
"I don't see you as beneath me niisan, and I acknowledge your developed skills and aptitude in our clan's Juunken. But I will fight you seriously this time if you choose to continue," Hinata stated.
"You didn't back down when I told you to Hinata-sama so don't expect me to back down just because you asked me to," Neji replied.
"Pitiful! This arrogant ass can't see that he already lost!" Sasuke remarked.
"Such hypocrisy; who are you to judge someone about arrogance Sasuke?" Naruto retorted. Before Sasuke could give a retort of his own…
"Until the proctor calls the fight, then the match is not over Sasuke," Kakashi replied.
"Neji still might have a shot at a comeback," Tenten said.
Naruto said nothing and kept his eye on the match. As he did, he focused on Hinata and thought back to an event that changed her life. It was a critical trial Naruto put Hinata through that would have either strengthened or broken her…
(Flashback: Two Years Ago)
Hinata (age 11) was in the woods alone. She was patiently waiting for Naruto's (age 11) arrival. After another minute…
"Hinata-chan!"
Hinata smiled and turned upon hearing her name being called out.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said happily as she hurried over to him. She notice though that he was carrying with him a small cage with what was clearly a full grown light brown rabbit. She approached Naruto and asked, "Where did you get that cute bunny?"
"I found and caught him yesterday before I went to a local pet store and bought a cage and some food to feed it," Naruto explained.
"He's so cute and adorable. What's his name?" Hinata asked as she smiled brightly while opening the caging and petting it.
"I didn't name him," Naruto revealed without any special interest.
"Why not?" Hinata asked as she picked up and held the rabbit in her arms.
"To do so would be pointless to tell you the truth; especially since this rabbit here is going to be used for your training and test," Naruto elaborated.
Hinata looked at Naruto questionably and asked, "My training and test? How can this be done? I know from Kiba-kun that his clan specializes in having dogs as partners, but from what I heard from him it takes years of training to develop the necessary bond. And neither of us have that specialty."
"True," Naruto spoke while looking at the rabbit in her hands, "But you won't need to worry about that Hinata-chan since you won't be doing that kind of training."
"What did you have in mind then?" Hinata asked with a confused expression.
"You'll understand tomorrow. Bring that rabbit with you back here after your Juuken lessons with your father and sister. And make sure no one knows about the rabbit as it's crucial for your test tomorrow," Naruto advised, "And make sure to take good care of this rabbit and be sure to be discreet in how you hide him from others."
"But how am I to hide him in the compound?" Hinata questioned.
"Same way you hide your training from your father and fellow Hyuuga. I'm certain you'll think of something," Naruto replied.
"Naruto-kun, what is it that you're planning for tomorrow's test?" Hinata asked.
Naruto answered, "I can't tell you until tomorrow. I'm sorry."
Hinata frowned, but she decided not to press the matter further.
"OK. I'll trust you, Naruto-kun," Hinata conceded before placing the rabbit back in its cage.
"How are you adjusting to the chakra and gravity seals?" Naruto asked.
"I'm fine. I managed to increase the levels of my seals at least two notches," Hinata said proudly.
"That's great! I'm glad that you're progressing well," Naruto smiled. Hinata lowered her head and commented, "At least you're aware of my progress. Father and others don't know that and still look at me as a failure. It's hard listening to them put me down and Neji-niisan's ridicules only add to my grief."
"I understand that hiding your true abilities and posing as a disgrace and failure is difficult, but that's what makes you dangerous since no one suspects you. They have Byakugan yet they can't see the truth you hide from them; just as you'll hide that rabbit from them as part of your training and growth."
"My growth?" Hinata asked.
"Yes, your growth to become the strong kunoichi and woman I already see you for, my little Moon's Eye Spring Rabbit," Naruto stated. Hinata blushed and squealed happily as she cupped her reddened face, "Naruto-kun!"
Naruto grinned, feeling satisfied with himself.
"Well, I'll let you return home now," Naruto said.
"You're leaving already?" Hinata asked.
"I still have more preparations to do for our new training after tomorrow's test. Until tomorrow then…" Naruto said before teleporting in gust of wind. Having no other choice, Hinata picked up the cage and started on her return home. While on the while, her mind kept trying to conjure up a plan of sneaking and hiding the rabbit within the compound without getting caught until tomorrow. With an estate filled with Byakugan wielding ninja, it was going to be a formidable task for her to pull off.
(The Following Morning)
Hinata arrived early in the afternoon just as Naruto asked her to. She had brought along the rabbit as instructed. At exactly 1 pm Naruto arrived in a wind gust shunshin.
"You made it Hinata-chan. Was there any trouble keeping the rabbit out of sight?" Naruto asked.
"It was very difficult. I couldn't just walk into the compound with it in my hands. I actually had to scale the walls unnoticed though I had a few close calls and then hide him in the bushes by the garden and pond. Twice he was almost caught by the night patrol as I had to move him around those two times without getting caught myself since it took place in the middle of the night," Hinata explained.
"Very good; I'm happy to see you carried out that part of your training and followed instructions successfully," Naruto said.
"But haven't I always carried out and followed instructions from you since the time you started training me?" Hinata asked.
"That's the purpose of this test, Hinata-chan," Naruto answered before he pulled out a kunai and tossed it to her. She caught the kunai and looked at him curiously.
"What am I to do with this?" Hinata inquired.
"Your test is to take that kunai and use it to kill that rabbit, right now," Naruto stated.
There was a momentary silence. Then a look of horror appeared on Hinata's face.
"Say what?!" Hinata cried, "You can't mean that!"
Naruto gave Hinata a single nod. "I do."
"W-Why!? H-Ho…How can you?" Hinata asked with built up hesitation.
"It's simple, because as your trainer and sensei, I gave you instructions to do so, which is the purpose of this test," Naruto stated, "Understand that when we become ninja officially, we will be expected to carry out orders instantly and without any hesitation. If our lead ninja in charge tells us to kill someone we will be expected to complete the job with no shed tears. If you can't even kill a rabbit Hinata-chan, even if it's to serve as food, am I to believe you can kill a human being who would kill you in an instant if he or she was given the order to do so?"
"But we're not up against an enemy ninja!" Hinata argued with tears building up in her eyes as she looked down at the defenseless rabbit that was still in its cage.
"Do you think that slaying an enemy ninja or bandit will be easier?" Naruto asked patiently, "It will not, I assure you. This is the grim reality of the shinobi world that Konoha's ninja academy fails to expose their developing would-be Genin to and I want you to see it now before your mind is filled with unrealistic expectations and dreams."
"But I know ninja kill Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed.
"Well then, what's the problem?" Naruto replied.
Looking at the rabbit, Hinata pleaded, "Why should I-I kill him though!? It's completely defenseless…and harmless! How…How could you ask this of me!?"
Naruto didn't get upset at all. He expected this reaction from Hinata. He knew it would be a hard and in some ways a cruel test, but it had a purpose he wanted his dear friend to understand and grow from.
"Let me share this unspoken truth with you, something Iruka-sensei and the other sensei at the academy are negligent in teaching us: Ninja don't just kill bad people; we kill whoever we're directed to regardless of age, social class, gender or rank. If the target to be killed happens to be an adult, we take him out. Sometimes the target will be an innocent woman or child."
"What do you mean!? That's not true!" Hinata bellowed through her tears. "The Hokage would never give us a mission to do something so vile!"
"You think Konoha, the other three Hokage or even your father didn't have their share in killing mass numbers of people of various ages and gender, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked as he looked into her widened eyes. He could see she really didn't believe what he was saying.
"When we work on throwing kunai and shuriken at the academy, Iruka-sensei and the other teachers have us use human shaped targets. Am I correct?" Naruto asked knowingly.
"Yes…" Hinata said lowly.
"And there are bull's-eyes for the head, throat, and heart," Naruto added.
"…There are," Hinata said lowly.
"That's right. It's to teach us to aim for vitals on a human body meant for an instant kill. Didn't it ever occur to you once that the target you'd be assigned to kill one day wouldn't be a ninja, but perhaps an official, a businessman, a merchant, somebody's wife or son, or a civilian? We're being taught to kill both ninja and people."
Hinata had a pained expression. Throwing shuriken and kunai at target dummies and poles was such a repetitive thing she had never considered. Still, Hinata argued, "We were never taught that we'd have to kill unarmed people Naruto-kun. It's just wrong!"
"So if you were fighting an enemy ninja, you would kill him?" Naruto asked.
"If…If I had to," Hinata managed to reply.
"But you won't kill a rabbit or the unarmed person who hired the enemy ninja to kill you, your friends, your sister or me perhaps?" Naruto asked. Hinata was shocked by his question, as it was clear that she didn't think of the possibility that the unarmed person would be the employer of the enemy ninja.
"That's the thing Hinata-chan. Our targets won't always be enemy ninja. They could be one of the people I pointed out earlier. As ninja, we're sometimes given missions with unfavorable objectives. Sometimes we have to complete missions involving assassinations; infiltration and spying which you're go at, and stealing. True, we occasionally will do other things such as provide protection services, security and interrogations, but basically spying, stealing and killing are dominant factors of the ninja life. And sometimes, a ninja is even given a secret mission that involves killing one of his or her own clansmen if not wiping out their entire clan."
"That's horrible!" Hinata retorted as she suddenly remembered how Sasuke's older brother turned traitor and genocide the entire Uchiha Clan in one night. But she was sure that it wasn't on the order of the Hokage. She was sure that the Sandaime wouldn't order such a mass assassination of men, women and children to be carried out through Itachi.
"What do you think it's going to be like when your team captain orders you to kill someone? That's right; it's not going to be a nice feeling at all; in fact it's going to feel 100 percent awful the first time you have to take a life. If you can't even stand killing a rabbit when necessary, do you think you can kill if ordered to or in the event you have to do so to protect someone precious to you? Do you remember the story you told me about that Kumo diplomat? Your father personally killed that Kumo diplomat who tried to kidnap you one night years ago. He did what he had to in order to protect you even in the face of consequences."
Hinata wanted to give a reply but nothing came out of her mouth.
"Two years ago, during our Academy Field Day event, I demonstrated in front of everyone my ability to not only kill Jiisan but everyone else there effortlessly if I wanted to, if I were serious. I wasn't playing around when I did that though I disguised it as if I was. But in end I made it audibly clear to all my targets that their lives would have been taken if I had chosen to go through with it," Naruto reminded, "It would have been a bloody deed but if that was a mission, it would have been successfully carried out."
"Would you have been proud of that?" Hinata asked.
"As a ninja," Naruto expounded, "there will be a lot of difficult and dirty deeds that we won't want people to ever know or hear about. What you must understand Hinata-chan is that many ninja before us have done things they didn't like or enjoyed but it had to be done if it meant that preservation of the entire village or to stop a war or a rebellion from breaking out. But in spite of how they felt about whatever deed was done, the fact of the matter is that they were deeds that were important. Konoha has many ninja that had become Chuunin and Jounin at ages younger than our own that were exposed to war torn horrors and realities that those of our generation have never seen or experienced.
"As ninja of Konoha we will be taking the oath to protect the village, provide financial revenue that makes the village run, fight for each other and protect each other no matter the danger. It's also true is that as ninja of Konoha, though we will do things worthwhile that we'll like to remember and talk about, we will also do a number of things we won't be proud of and yes we will make enemies as a result. But we carry out our missions to serve and protect our Hokage, our village, our teammates and families. Our ninja code of honor derives from our loyalty to our comrades and the ones we serve not our actions. So long as we are loyal and obedient then any act is acceptable; which is contingent on us never betraying those we are supposed to be loyal to.
"To be a ninja is to accept a hard life while making sacrifices, sometimes at personal cost. When the time comes for us to put on the head protector of Konoha, we will no longer be looked at as children or teenagers, but as adults, warriors to serve the village and the Hokage. Not everyone can do this and not everyone lives through it."
Hinata looked at the kunai in her hand and back at the rabbit that was staring up at her with his big blameless eyes. She thought about her life and about everything she had to endure through up till this point. Naruto was waiting to see what her decision would be. But he saw the inner struggle she was having as a few tears descended down her face. This was a harsh test he admitted to himself but he knew he had to have her go through it now instead of having her face a situation like this later and freezing up out of fear and doubt.
"Hinata-chan!" Naruto called out as he looked directly at her with an intense and honest gaze and said, "You told me that you want change yourself and prove that you can become stronger and ultimately become a true ninja. You told me that you don't want to be considered or looked at as a weak and useless heiress or a burden to anyone. You told me that you don't want Hanabi being viewed as your promising replacement. I sincerely believe that you can do everything you told me and what you do will matter. But this is the price. The question is, are you willing to pay it or not?"
Gulping audibly, Hinata looked up at Naruto and said with a sad but certain tone, "I do…w-want to be a strong ninja Naruto-kun. I-I…I want to be a confident and capable heiress and…I don't want to lose out in al-ways being and staying at your side."
Looking on, Naruto silently nodded his approval; it was acceptable if it was hard for her, so long as she actually went through with it. She reached down and retrieved the rabbit from its cage. She had started to care for the little rabbit, but she didn't care for him as much as she cared for Naruto. She couldn't let him down.
With the kunai in hand, Hinata tried to make it a quick and clean slash across the neck. However her shaking hand didn't allow the weapon to cut all the way through. Blood splattered onto her face, her black T-shirt and dark pants from the partially slashed neck. The rabbit let loose a series of high pitched terrified squeals and was wildly trying to escape. Hinata was forced to get a firmer grip to hold on to him before she could try and finish the job. In his moments of terror and pain, he bit at her hand.
Clenching her teeth Hinata brought the knife down a second time. This time she kept her hand secured and the kunai's blade went clean through. The rabbit's struggles ceased before his body and the blood stained kunai were dropped to the ground, his blood pouring out onto the soil. Hinata looked at what she had done and the blood in her hands. She began sobbing lowly, allowing her tears to pour freely down her face as she fell to her hands and knees. Naruto stepped over and stood over her.
"You pass Hinata-chan, congratulations," Naruto said plainly, but he offered no word of sympathy or comfort to her as he continued, "If you grow to hate me for what I made you go through today I won't hold it against you. I know this was cruel, perhaps traumatic even, but understand that the shinobi world is also cruel and sheltering you from that reality would be dangerous. I promised to train and make you into a strong kunoichi, that's what I'm going to do, even if you grow to hate me for this."
There was a brief silence between the two as no words were exchanged between them. After a lapse of twelve minutes, Hinata calmed herself down and wiped her tears away. A moment later, she stood back up, looked at Naruto with a saddened but understanding look and said, "I…I don't hate you, Naruto-kun. I know you would never have me do anything without a reason like you emphasized to me earlier. It hurts that you had me go through this…and I do feel guilty about it. But at the same time, you gave me a choice of accepting this or not. I could have refused if I wanted to. You didn't force this on me; I chose this path with its consequences."
Naruto nodded, "This is just one of many difficult roads of ninja to come; some of them being filled with adventures, others with trials and tribulations, and some worthwhile. Feelings of guilt after killing someone is a natural response that shows that we still have our humanity intact though it can be controlled with practice. But if we ever start taking pleasuring in the art of killing and develop a taste for it, that's when we'd start losing our conscience and humanity, which would make us ruthless psychopaths. That's a line we never want to cross."
Hinata took note that throughout Naruto's speech and explanations he included himself alongside her. She acknowledged that he placed himself in the same boat as her in spite of the fact that he was the one teaching and training her. This helped to strength her trust and confidence in Naruto, accepting that all of his efforts and work has been aimed to help both her and himself.
"What happens now?" Hinata asked meekly.
"Well, I'll take care of this dead rabbit and find some animal to feed with it. But I can't have you go home covered in animal blood so you'll have to clean and bathe yourself here in that lake over there. Don't worry, I was smart enough to bring you a towel, soap and some change of clothes knowing how messy this test was going to be," Naruto said before his clone that was hiding up in the trees the entire time descended down and gave Hinata the duffel bag filled with the items Naruto described. Naruto then pointed to the large body of running water nearby.
"But Naruto-kun…" Hinata blushed darkly.
"Hinata-chan it's not like I haven't seen you shirtless before," Naruto remarked.
"Tha-That's not the point! I mean-"
"Relax, I'll stand guard and make sure no one is around but make it fast. Please keep in mind though that something like this you'll also have to anticipate in some of your future missions as a ninja," Naruto instructed. Hesitantly, Hinata went and hurriedly did as she was told. Naruto was tempted to peek at her while she was bathing but after the ordeal he put her through he decided against it. After another eleven minutes, Hinata was done and returned back to Naruto in her change of clothes which matched what she was wearing earlier. Her blood stained clothes were inside the duffel bag her change of clothes were in previously.
"There! No one will suspect a thing now," Naruto commented, "Are you feeling better now?"
Hinata nodded, "A little."
Naruto replied, "It's a start. You can take the rest of the day to mentally recuperate and fully contemplate on everything I said and all that happened today. I know it was a lot for you to take in in such a short time but in the ninja world no one will wait till we're ready.
"Tomorrow after our class with Iruka-sensei, I'll bring some ninja gear and camping equipment for us. We'll meet at Training Ground 30 straight after class. For the next three weeks, we'll be doing survival training. By the time we're done with all of our training after graduating from the academy, we'll be ready to go and take on real missions, face enemies and take on any challenger. Dattebayo!"
(End Flashback: Present Time)
Naruto closed his eyes and exhaled as he recalled that day and everything that followed afterwards. He admitted to himself that he put Hinata through the grind in some of his training. But the end results of her endurance and determination to prove herself far more than justified the means. He looked back down to see that the match was about to continue.
"You wish to continue niisan…very well then," Hinata said as she clenched her fists and assumed a Juuken stance, her fists still maintaining her Jūho Sōshiken. Neji wiped the blood away from his mouth and assumed his own stance. A few seconds later, Hinata charged at Neji and likewise Neji charged at her.
Before they reached each other, Hinata disappeared and reappeared suddenly in front of her older cousin and punched him square in the face, effectively busting his nose as blood now came from out of it. He was left in a daze again, this time with his head throbbing and vision temporarily blurred. This was followed up with fast left kicks to his lower legs, stomach, the midsection of his chest, his lower abdominal and then a high ax kick up to his bottom jaw and fast ax kick down to the top of his head. She kicked him several more times with her right foot before delivering four swing kicks with her right and left legs to both of his arms which was followed with up a swift roundhouse kick that flipped Neji backwards off his feet and down onto his chest. Hinata backed away and stood her grounds after knocking Neji down for the third time.
By this time the battered Neji was covered in noticeable bruises around his body with several sections of his clothes and bandages stained with his blood.
"She's kicking his ass, literally!" Naruto said loudly as he pointed at the scene.
"Kurenai-sensei must have been training Hinata hard to get her to improve like this," Tenten commented while not believing what she was seeing.
I don't know what Kurenai did to get Hinata to come this far that managed to result in Neji being unable to even get one attack thru. Whatever it was, I have to congratulate her accomplishment, Gai thought in admiration as he watched along with the others.
"Hinata-san is flaring with youth like no Hyuuga I've ever seen!" Lee shouted as he turned to Naruto, "Hinata-san is very much like you Naruto-san! There's no doubt about that!"
"There shouldn't be at this point," Naruto replied. Hiruzen was looking at Hinata carefully. From what he remembered about her files stating about her skills and abilities, like with Naruto's, he was seeing that they don't add up as her match was proving.
I had no idea that Naruto had this big of an influence on the Hyuuga heiress. She really came a long way from how she used to be. I wonder what role Kurenai played in this, Hiruzen contemplated.
With the Suna ninja…
"Damn! Did you see that? That Hyuuga heiress isn't some pushover as she portrayed herself as!" Kankurō acknowledged.
"This Hyuuga Neji clearly had poor insight of his clan's heiress, and for his blatant insolence, he's paying for it with this humiliation," Baki noted.
Very clever Hinata; posing as a weakling kunoichi while hiding your true skills from everyone. Honestly, you would have been an even bigger problem were I to fight you…not that my wind jutsu couldn't handle you, Temari thought smugly, and stole a glance at Naruto who was watching the fight with enthusiasm and zest. She recalled his words about the kind the girls he takes interest in, and seeing Hinata's performance made it clear to her that Naruto was true to his word. Then again, Temari recalled how Naruto acknowledged her and praised her performance against his Konoha comrade as well.
I'm going to have to make a real effort to get his attention and learn more about him. I wonder what more I should do in order to appeal his taste and get him to open up to me. From what I also learned about him, he's also a shameless pervert who enjoys peeping in women's bathhouses and reading smut. I wonder if I can use that to draw him out; after all he did praise me for my legs, appearance and character, Temari contemplated as a sly grin appeared on her face.
"What are you thinking about?" Kankurō asked with a knowing smile. Temari blushed and snapped back to reality, realizing that she spaced out for a moment.
"Nothing really; I was just doing some re-evaluations on my methods and tactics in spying and information gathering," Temari said calmly in spite of the blush still present on her face.
"Sure you were," Kankurō said mischievously and then lowly, "While staring at Naruto too for a whole two minutes."
"Shut up!" Temari retorted while giving her brother death glare. Kankurō chuckled nervously and took a stepped back. Gaara ignored them while continuously watching the battle between the two Hyuuga in silence.
"Stop bickering you two! The matching is still in progress," Baki said, getting the two siblings to refocus their attention back to the arena floor.
Everyone looked to see Neji struggled to get back on his feet. After a few coughs, he stood back up with a mixed expression of confusion and anger.
This is impossible! There's no logical explanation for Hinata-sama's sudden power and strength! Fate had her future as a failure set from long ago, Neji thought.
"Once again Neji-niisan, you yield?" Hinata asked coolly.
"Never!" Neji sneered as he summoned his strength and rushed straight at Hinata again. Despite how fast he was moving while ignoring the pain from his injuries, she sidestepped and jumped away with her hands moving together and getting ready for Neji. He turned and came at her. She evaded all of his attacks without bothering to block any of them. Soon though, he found an opening, and a delivered a Juuken punch there. Seeing that she was knocked off balance, he started attacking her chakra points directly around her arms, canceling out her Jūho Sōshiken. He then delivered a brute Juuken palm strike to the center of her breasts, leading her to cough up blood as she was thrown backwards to the floor with a thud.
"What just happened!?" Ino asked aloud.
"Hinata was doing great! How did she slip up like this!?" Shikamaru wondered also.
Naruto frowned while trying to calculate at what point did Hinata mess up that allowed Neji to take advantage of the situation.
Something about what I just saw doesn't add up; something is off here, Naruto contemplated as he realized that he missed something that the others too didn't seem to pick up on.
"Didn't I say that Neji still had a chance at a comeback?" Tenten remarked.
"Neji may have a chance to come out as the winner," Lee said. However Asuma, Gai and Kakashi sensed that something was off. Hiruzen simply watched to see how things would play out.
Back on the arena floor…
"You can try to defy fate all you like Hinata-sama, but nothing will change the outcome of this match," Neji said, feeling confident that things returned back in his favor. Until he saw Hinata slowing getting back up off the ground. But then her body completely broke down and scattered into many spiraling floating rose pedals. The pedals floated and hovered around Neji who looked on in confusion.
"What is this? What's happening?" Neji asked himself. A moment later, he realized what happened.
"Kai!" Neji yelled as he formed a seal and dispelled the genjutsu. He snapped out of the deception he was put under in time to see the unharmed Hinata elbow him hard to the face after she had already delivered several Juuken punches to his body while he was under her genjutsu.
"What the?! Did I miss something!?" Tenten shouted in perplexity.
"What just happened?" Lee asked.
"She put us and Neji under a genjutsu," Shikamaru answered.
"When did Hinata learn genjutsu!?" Sakura exclaimed. Shino too wasn't aware that Hinata developed an aptitude in the use of genjutsu, And Kiba was trying to coach Hinata into forfeiting. I wonder what else Hinata can do that she hid from us.
Looks like Hinata-chan has been keeping secrets of her own from me; secret training in genjutsu, no doubt with Kurenai, Naruto realized,…But at what point did she use it against Neji?
Naruto thought hard for a moment to rewind the chain of events. He mentally replayed the events a couple of times, trying to see at which point the genjutsu was executed:
"Once again Neji-niisan, you yield?" Hinata asked coolly.
"Never!" Neji sneered as he summoned his strength and rushed straight at Hinata again. Despite how fast he was moving while ignoring the pain from his injuries, she sidestepped and jumped away with her hands moving together and getting ready for Neji. He turned and came at her. She evaded all of his attacks without bothering to block any of them.
That was when Naruto realized it, It was when she sidestepped and jumped away from Neji. She moved her hands so fast forming the seals that none of us or even Neji caught it! The 'Hinata' we were all seeing was a genjutsu while the real one was pummeling Neji's motionless form until he dispelled the genjutsu! She learned to hide things from the Byakugan in more ways than one.
(A mischievous smile formed on his face) This just makes things about my Hinata-chan even more interesting, considering that I keep secrets of my own from her also. I'll have to watch myself carefully when Hinata-chan and I spar again. Otherwise she might catch me off guard with one of her genjutsu.
"Wait a minute? Isn't the Byakugan suppose to have the capacity to see through genjutsu?" Tenten asked, "How was it that Neji wasn't able to see through a genjutsu when he has his Byakugan activated?"
Gai answered, "That's because of Neji's state of anger. His mind and judgement was so clouded that he wasn't aware of his surroundings or himself which was why he didn't notice the genjutsu until it was too late to dodge her attack. This just comes to show you that even with a strong doujutsu, a mind clouded with rage will leave you venerable and susceptible to your opponent's attacks and manipulations."
Tenten had to agree with her sensei since she and the others saw the truth to his words with their own eyes. Kurenai saw the genjutsu Hinata used. As proud as she was that her student's training in genjutsu proved effective in temporarily disabling Neji, Kurenai still wondered about everything else revolving around Hinata's sudden upgrade in her prowess.
Before Neji could retaliate, Hinata grabbed him and quickly leaped and sat herself on top of his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his back tightly.
"What the!?" Neji said as he found Hinata piggyback riding on him. He tried pulling her legs off him but found that her hold on him was like a vice grip.
"What the hell is she doing?" Tenten asked in confusion.
As if to answer her question, Hinata, while holding Neji securely with her legs, back flipped with Neji being lifted completely off the ground with her. Everyone watched as Hinata's hands landed perfectly on the ground, and with the same momentum and strength, she swung Neji over her and down towards the ground. Neji's eyes widened as he saw that he was about to be slammed to the ground on his face and chest. A second later, an audible thud was heard as Hinata flipped slammed her cousin into the ground. Hinata removed her legs from around his back and took a few steps away from her put down cousin.
"No way!" Chouji marveled, "Did you see that?!"
"I never thought of such an innovative move like that before!" Gai praised, "That move she did just now requires a great deal of balance, muscle strength and momentum."
"Your student is evidently eating his deplorable words about Hinata. I'm sure that this is more than embarrassing for him," Kakashi stated.
"Hmm…with legs that strong I know Hinata-chan won't have trouble keeping them firmly wrapped around me," Naruto remarked lecherously. Kurenai shot Naruto a death glare after understanding the sexual implications of his statement.
While Neji was disoriented, he gradually pulled himself together picked himself off the floor. He charged at her and aimed to strike her near the lungs. However Hinata charged forward and smacked his left hand away. She followed up with several fierce Juuken strikes to his chakra points around his body which in effect did some damage to his internal organs and muscles. Hinata then clenched her fists, and in blurred motion, she rained down an 18-hit combo of Juuken punches to his chest, abdominal, back and face with the last punch being a swift right fist uppercut that sent Neji soaring straight into the air towards the ceiling.
Before he could reach the ceiling, Neji opened his eyes to see Hinata suddenly appear in front of him. The next thing he saw was her lion-enshrouded right fist colliding into his chest, sending him plunging right into the ground on his back. The ground underneath him cratered on impact with a small dust cloud as Hinata landed gracefully on her feet to see Neji where he was. She thrust both of her fists into the air and intensified her chakra output, with the loud roaring of her chakra making it look as through the twin lion heads around her arms were roaring loudly with pride.
"Yeah baby! That's my kickass girlfriend!" Naruto shouted and applauded as he sported a smile of approval. Hinata lowered her arms down to her sides and dispelled her Jūho Sōshiken.
Neji coughed up more blood as pain completely ripped through his entire body as he lied on his back in the crater with four cracked ribs and a concussion on top of the other external and internal injuries he already had. He found it difficult to breathe but he willed himself not to stop. After a few minutes, Neji, with his Byakugan still activated, grunted as he turned and crawled out from the crater and faced Hinata who stood calm and upright on the arena floor with her Byakugan still activated as she looked right back at him. Hayate had yet to call the match even though he already knew who the victor was.
"I can't believe this," Tenten said in absolute disbelief, "I've never seen Neji beaten before and made to look so broken."
"Pride is before a crash," Naruto said, "A lesson that Neji is being made to learn here."
Neji managed to summon up some strength to get on his hand and knee, though he was sweating hard, bleeding and coughing blood from his mouth, and struggling to catch his breath.
"I will not ask you a third time niisan. This time, I'm telling you, yield!" Hinata stated with a determined tone.
All of the Konoha Genin with their Jounin sensei inside the building were standing on the balcony and looking on at the arena floor in stunned silence. The Hokage himself was surprised at the unexpected turn of events. The Suna Genin with their Jounin sensei Baki looked at what just happened with calculative eyes. Dosu and his Jounin sensei saw that Konoha still had promising ninja hidden under their shadow. Kurenai looked on in utter disbelief at what she thought was going to be a predictable one-sided match.
Where did all of this power and strength come from, Neji wondered as he looked back at Hinata with anger, disdain and confusion, Hinata-sama has always been the weakest and the most disappointing heiress of the Main House. She couldn't even win a fight against Hanabi-sama and her Juuken was always the poorest. How could she have changed so suddenly and hurt me, the prodigy of our clan, this bad? It doesn't make any sense! Fate had her future as a failure decided from long ago!
Neji grew only angrier the more he thought about it.
"I've never seen Hinata like this before," Shino remarked, "Her unexplainable change is indeed remarkable."
"She's really pushing Neji to his limits," Gai said, "I honestly didn't expect this outcome considering how the match started with all the things Neji was saying to her."
"All of you underestimated Hinata-chan," Naruto said with a grin, "I knew she had it in her to show that bastard a thing or two about who's truly weak."
"But Neji was said to be a genius and Hyuuga prodigy," Ino said, "When compared to each other, Hinata was said not to measure up to him."
"The same was said of Sasuke-teme," Naruto remarked, "And yet Lee beat him in one fight."
Sakura and Ino both snarled at Naruto but they knew that he was telling the truth, as much as they didn't want to hear it. Sasuke looked at Naruto with disdain but decided not to say anything to him as he just looked back at the arena floor.
Kurenai was looking on at Hinata as thought she was trying read her.
What happened to you Hinata, Kurenai wondered. Kakashi saw the look on Kurenai's face and saw that she had a look that showed that she was trying to make sense of things.
"I don't want to hurt you any more than I already have niisan," Hinata said composedly, "You're clearly in no condition to continue."
"I don't need your pity Hinata-sama," Neji spat disrespectfully as he finally got up and stood back up looking Hinata straight in the eyes, "You may have improved but I can still fight and come out the victor as fate decreed since this match's beginning!"
This fool is delusional. He actually thinks he could still fight and win after being beaten this bad, Shikamaru thought.
"I suffered in many ways niisan and I know you're aware of that," Hinata said sympathetically, "But I have friends and a very special person in my life who acknowledged and helped me overcome my problems. And I can see that you're suffering too and have been for all these years by allowing yourself to be enslaved to your scapegoat, the illusion of fate."
"How dare you!," Neji yelled before he charged at Hinata with all of his remaining strength with the aim to kill her while again trying to ignore the pain his whole body and head was in. Hinata stood there and waited for Neji to reach her with his right arm extended out aiming to strike her heart directly.
He won't yield. I suppose it can't be helped, Hinata thought as she saw an opening and at the last second, she rapidly side stepped Neji and thrust her fingers into his back, hitting several spots on his back. This resulted in Neji falling forward passed her with the same speed before crashing down on his face and chest, sliding across the floor for a few seconds before coming to a stop with his bloodline limit deactivating. Neji found that he was unable to move any part of his body; he was completely paralyzed.
Defeated in front of his peers, sensei, the Hokage and the rest of the other onlookers, Neji, the proclaimed genius and prodigy of the Hyuuga Clan, dropped his head to the ground, unable to bear his shame and disgrace.
"No way," Tenten uttered lowly, trying to believe what just happened, "Neji lost, he lost bad."
Lee, while shocked and astonished, noted, "Hinata-san has beaten my rival easily. I wonder if Hinata-san is a natural genius or a genius of hard work."
"She might be a fusion of both! What also impresses me is that unlike Neji she didn't belittle him once about how he couldn't match her burning youth! Kurenai-san has trained her youthful student with magnificent fruitage of hard work and zealous determination!" Gai remarked.
Sasuke was speechless after seeing how strong Hinata was.
She's truly the only girl worth my time trying to get together with, Sasuke thought, Naruto doesn't deserve her.
He also thought about how Temari was flirting with Naruto which was no doubt because he flirted with her first. But what was also true was that Hinata became so strong and formidable because of her boyfriend Naruto and she said so herself. Sasuke's jealousy grew as he was forced to accept that he wasn't the one that helped and trained Hinata to become the amazing fighter he saw just moments ago.
Gekko Hayate went over and examined Neji. Afterwards, he stood back up and announced, "Neji can no longer continue. Winner, Hyuuga Hinata!"
"Yeah!" Naruto cheered and shouted, "Way to go Hinata-chan! You kicked ass! You're the best!"
Hinata smiled and blushed from Naruto's praise and acknowledgment.
"She's strong," Gaara said after a long silence with a deadpan facial expression with his arms crossed over his chest, "I wouldn't have expected such a feat from one who looked so fragile."
Hearing Gaara compliment and acknowledge someone without contempt surprised his siblings and even Baki.
"I have to agree," Baki said, "She was well trained and disciplined in her arts. Her battle was flawless."
"Looks like Konoha has at least one capable Genin kunoichi in their ranks," Temari said smugly, "Her skills were that of a true ninja."
"I have to say she gave a good fight," Kankuro added.
With the Konoha nins…
Chouji was totally speechless at after seeing how Hinata thrashed and beat Neji so brutally. Shino was silent as he thought about how her family would be proud to hear of his teammate's accomplishments.
"This can't be the same Hinata we went to the academy with!" Sakura said in disbelief, "I mean…That speed…her strength…her agility…"
"It was uncanny!" Ino added.
"Yes!" Lee cheered enthusiastically, "Hinata's flames have reached peaks I myself will train hard to reach. She's radiating with the brightness of her youthfulness!"
"Troublesome," Shikamaru said, "She's really becoming more and more like Naruto."
"Well I told Naruto earlier that Hinata is very much like him," Lee added, "And her youthful display against Neji only served to prove my point."
"I wonder what kind of training regimen Kurenai-sensei put her though," Ino said, "It must have been harsh if it got Hinata to come this far."
"Hinata's moves, timing and judgment in tactics against Neji were incredible," Asuma commented, "She's truly improved a great deal from how she used to be from what I've heard."
"Hinata surprised us indeed," Shino said, "I had no idea she was capable of such feats at her current level."
"Nor did I," Kurenai admitted catching everyone's attention, even Kakashi's and the Hokage's.
"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked, "Wasn't Hinata's display against Neji the results of the training you gave her?"
"I trained her," Kurenai said, "That I did. But during those times she looked like she was having much difficulty reaching her goals of improvement despite her best effort. But what I saw just moments ago went beyond any kind of training I put her through and everything I thought I knew about her. I always thought I knew everything there was to Hinata. How could I have missed this?"
It was no secret that Kurenai was always like a mother figure to Hinata. The thing that bothered Kurenai was that the match clearly showed her that she didn't know Hinata as well as she thought. And that could be said of many others who were inside the building.
Things just keep getting interesting, Hiruzen thought to himself, Hinata is more deceptive and cunning than she lets on; a true ninja indeed.
Asuma went over to Kurenai and commented, "Regardless of that, you still got one tough kunoichi on your team. It was entertaining watching your student humble her presumptuous cousin."
Hinata, with her Byakugan deactivated, went over to Neji who was being placed on a carrying cot. As he was being raised up to be taken away, Hinata stood next to him and said, "Your paralysis isn't permanent. It'll wear off after you've been given healing and medical attention."
Neji felt totally numb as he couldn't use a muscle in his body to raise even a finger.
"This can't be," Neji said with denial, "Fate had this fight decided. It had your future as an unchanging failure decided."
"We're responsible for our own futures and the decisions we make in life niisan," Hinata said, "It's time you start understanding that and start taking charge of your own future and free yourself of the hold the idea of fate has on you."
Saying nothing more, Hinata stood there as Neji was taken away. Hinata, however, was caught by surprise when a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind in a tight hug.
"You did it Hinata-chan," Naruto cheered, "I knew you could win! No doubt about that! Dattebayo!"
"Thank you Naruto-kun," Hinata said with her blush growing darker from the close contact with Naruto.
Shikamaru looked and saw the narrowed glare Temari was giving Hinata.
Troublesome. I really don't want to be around for whatever catfight happens between those two, Shikamaru thought.
Sakura looked at Hinata and Naruto as she recalled what Naruto told her in the Forest of Death after their ordeal with Orochimaru:
"Who's the real Uzumaki Naruto…I will honestly admit that there was a time I wanted to share that and everything else about myself with you Sakura, but that changed…I had a huge crush on you, and I used to refer to you as "Sakura-chan," which you thought was both disgusting and annoying. You ignored me, slapped me or punched me whenever I came near you or asked if you'd like to hang out or have lunch with me; hell, even the thought of being my friend sickened you because you looked at me as an obstacle between you and Sasuke…I never knew or understood what it meant to be appreciated, cherished, or loved, until Hinata-chan showed up and expressed it to me. She was the only person at the ninja academy who truly wanted to know me. She saved me, and filled the hole in my heart that I, at one time, thought you would do, Sakura."
Sakura saw first had what Hinata's time with Naruto have done for her in spite of everything said of Naruto. It was very clear that Naruto not only helped Hinata with her self-confidence, shyness and stuttering but he trained her vigorously to the point that she completely obliterated her prodigy cousin who was the previous Rookie of the Year. No one saw any of that coming as Hinata hid her vast improvements and achievements so well from everyone like how Naruto does. And the way they trusted each other testified to how strong their bond was.
I'm nowhere as strong or capable as Hinata. For all these years Naruto was developing Hinata into the fearsome kunoichi she is now and I'm sure that there's more to her than she let's on. If things had happened differently back then, if I hadn't mistreated Naruto like I did while at the academy like the follower that I was, then that would have been me in Hinata's place. Who knows how strong and capable Naruto could have made me. But I can't change the past and now I have to live with it as Naruto will never look at me the way he used to again, Sakura thought.
Naruto moved his lips closer to Hinata's left ear and whispered, "Secret training in genjutsu; that was an interesting surprise. I wonder what more surprises you have in store, hmm…Just so you know, I've been doing some…secret training of my own too my Little Moon's Eye Spring Rabbit. But I think I'll let my hands do more of the talking."
"Naruto-kun everyone's watching," Hinata reminded.
"Let them watch; we're already giving them something to talk about," Naruto remarked mischievously.
"If you two are quite done (cough) we'd like for you both to step off the arena floor so we can continue with the preliminaries," Hayate said.
"Whatever," Naruto replied, as he released his hold on Hinata and allowed her to retrieve her jacket that was still on the floor. She placed her jacket back on and tied her head protector back around her neck. After that, she took a deep breath and exhaled. When that was done, she turned back and went over to Naruto.
"Let's see who's up next, Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a meek tone after returning to her previous persona.
"Did she just switch personalities just now?" Ino asked.
"It's just like with Naruto! She's imitating him in almost every way," Sakura remarked.
"Troublesome. I believe Lee and I already stated how much Hinata and Naruto act and think very much alike," Shikamaru stated with boredom as he looked to see the couple making their way to the spectators floors where the other Konoha ninja were. When they got there, Ino was the first to speak.
"You were incredible Hinata! You totally wiped the floor with Neji that time! Talk about girl power!" Ino cheered.
"You defeated my rival with ease and like Temari-san, you never was hit even once! The springtime of your burning youth is awe-inspiring!" Lee praised with zeal.
"Thank you, but I really didn't do much against Neji at all," Hinata replied modestly.
"I fail to see how that's plausible," Shino remarked as stoic as ever as he and Kurenai approached her, "As your teammates, Kiba and I were led to believe that though you were making some progress that you were still dealing with personal difficulties and setbacks despite your best efforts. But what I saw moments ago went against everything I thought I knew about you and the same can be said of what Kiba thought he knew about you. And seeing how you offered Neji the chance to yield more than once before paralyzing him, I'm led to believe that you were holding back against him the entire time when you could have done far worse. Neji was not at your level whatsoever."
Hinata didn't show it but within herself she was surprised at how Shino deduced that correctly. Hinata closed her eyes and confirmed "I'm left with no room to dispute your words, Shino-kun."
"You mean that after everything we saw you were actually holding back?!" Chouji asked with a stunned tone.
Hinata opened her eyes and explained, "I was trained to be a shrewd and discreet ninja, and after having some time to measure and gauge where Neji-niisan and I stood, I knew how much of my abilities I needed to use without the need to go all out. One of the skills Naruto-kun taught and ingrained into me."
"You came a very long way from how you used to be, Hinata," Kurenai spoke, "As your friend, I'm happy to see the excellent progress and growth you made after all this time. But as your sensei…I'm upset that you hid this from me while faking your difficulties during your time with me."
Hinata saw the hurt in Kurenai's tone though the Jounin kept her emotions in check. She felt bad that Kurenai was unhappy with her actions but it couldn't be helped. Naruto said nothing as he saw that this was a matter Hinata had to settle herself. He knew about the mother-daughter type bond Hinata and Kurenai had with each other, and how protective and caring Kurenai had always been towards her.
Perhaps to Kurenai-sensei, Naruto thought, a trust between sensei and disciple was breached.
"I'm sorry that my hiding my improvements and skills has displeased you greatly Kurenai-sensei. But I have my reasons as to why I hid them from you and everyone. I'll explain myself in private after the Preliminaries over, if that's alright with you," Hinata said respectfully. Kurenai nodded and decided not to press the matter further for now. Everyone turned to face the screen and a moment later, names started flashing on it again. Before long, two names appeared on it.
"Eighth match: Tenten vs. Uzumaki Naruto!" Hayate announced.
Hinata's match with Neji is over but issues will rise from this. How will the Hyuuga Clan and Hiashi react when they learn of Neji's crushing and brutal defeat at Hinata's hands? How will the clan react when they learn that Hinata was hiding her potent skills the entire time for years and is still hiding more secrets about herself? What will become of Neji now after being made to see that he's nowhere near Hinata's level? And will Hinata be able to mend matters between herself, her teammates and sensei? Find out next time.