An Hour Later)
Sasuke was by himself thinking deeply about all that had happened and all that he learned in a span of one day. So much had happened, from Naruto finding Karin to meeting the three ninja from Kirigakure, to the skirmish with Orochimaru to the events that took place during the preliminaries and finally to where he was now. He couldn't believe what he saw and learned not only about Naruto but also Hinata. All this time she was a strong and capable kunoichi who masked herself as a timid and stuttering heiress who had problems with self-confidence and learning her clan's prized Juuken. She thoroughly deceived everyone with her convincing performance just like Naruto. Sasuke himself was completely deceived by it as was her sensei.
I had no idea Hinata was this strong and to believe that she was holding back against her cousin the whole time during the match, Sasuke wondered as he replayed the match in his mind. He was remembering how she moved, the grace of her slender body and style, her strength and agility, her speed and fluidity, her cunning, that determination she displayed against her defiant cousin, her intelligence in dealing with her cousin and calculating him accurately; indeed she was a fierce beauty. The complete opposite of the timid and shy Hyuuga Hinata persona the Hyuuga heiress portrayed herself to be.
She would make the perfect matriarch of the revived Uchiha Clan. She's everything I want in a kunoichi and wife and the kind of woman I would want my children to be birth from, Sasuke thought before reality slapped him, But she became the way she is because of Naruto! He's the source of her training and abilities, not Kurenai or anyone else! I have awakened my Sharingan but even that wasn't enough against Orochimaru whom Naruto thoroughly thrashed and nearly killed, twice!
Anger was starting to flare within Sasuke as he was made to acknowledge just how huge a power gap exists between himself and Naruto. He felt so much rage when he saw and owned up to the fact that he was no closer to matching Naruto with his Sharingan and ninja skills.
"This is just sad: the Rookie of the Year following and taking orders from his class' Dead Last. Just how low have you fallen, Sasuke-kun?…The fact that you can't win the love of your life from the same Dead Last is even worse. Where's your Uchiha pride, Sasuke-kun? Itachi would laugh if he saw the kind of child you've become."
Remembering Orochimaru's taunts didn't help either.
This isn't fair! I'm an Uchiha; a descent of a proud and mighty clan with a powerful dōjutsu…that's been reduced to being beneath Naruto's level who's now said to be the son of the Yondaime and Yellow Flash and the descendant of the Uzumaki Clan that's feared and renowned for their seal masters and monstrous level chakra. So much so that everyone in Konoha by law is to wear the Uzumaki Clan's insignia!
And now I have to fight Naruto in the Finals! There's no way in my current level I can beat him, especially since I haven't found a way to awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan! I'm sure there's a way to do so that Itachi didn't tell me about! I'm sure there is, I just have to find out how Madara did it!
Sasuke gripped the left side of his neck as the Cursed Seal started acting up again. After a few moments, the seal stopped after he calmed himself down.
"Troubled by something?" a voice asked. Sasuke turned and found Kakashi standing behind him.
"Just a lot on my mind, that's all," Sasuke replied, "There was much I learned after today."
"That goes without say for everyone actually," Kakashi remarked, "So what do you intend to do with all that you've learned?"
Sasuke answered, "What else? Train and grow from it. I'll use what I gained from the preliminaries as a means to aid me in my preparations for the Chuunin Finals."
Sasuke was reluctant to consider the option of asking Kakashi for advice, especially after what happened a couple of days ago when Kakashi tied him to the wooden post in the training ground and left him there after scolding him for his latest attempts to get Hinata to become his girlfriend. Added to this was that Kakashi knew that Naruto was far stronger and smarter than he let on and that he was the true Rookie of the Year. But as much as Sasuke didn't want to admit it, Kakashi possessed more experience with the Sharingan than he did and there was no one else in Konoha to ask advice on about the Sharingan.
"My question to you Kakashi is this, which one of us will you train for the Finals, me or Naruto?"
"That's a difficult question to answer Sasuke," Kakashi replied, "I would like to see both you and Naruto succeed in the Chuunin Finals, but training one of my students to beat my other student in such a test to become Chuunin defeats my endeavors in wanting you both to succeed. Quite honestly, I was able to relate to Naruto in that I didn't like how the line-ups for the Chuunin Finals went either."
"Give me a break Kakashi! Naruto is the true Rookie of the Year and he's far stronger and faster than me and you didn't train him in anything! You said so yourself!" Sasuke retorted, "I saw both of his fights today and it's hard accepting the awful fact that I can't beat him at my current level! There must be something you can train me in that can give me some sort of edge against him in the Finals!"
"Something that could give you an edge against Naruto, is that right? Sasuke, let me lay it out for you," Kakashi pointed out, "Underneath everyone's nose and mine also, Naruto has been intensely studying and vigorously training himself for years in advanced combat fighting styles as both a close melee and long range fighter and his chakra control is truly outstanding considering the massive amount of chakra he has. His mastery over his wind element is second to none, and it's unlike any I've ever seen. Everything Naruto has done has never once been through Kyuubi's influence. And you think you can rival and have an edge against him in a month? You're not being realistic with yourself Sasuke."
"You have the Sharingan, Kakashi, something that belongs to my clan. I don't know the circumstances behind how you attained it, but you're the only person there is in Konoha who can train me properly with its use," Sasuke replied through his frustration.
"Perhaps," Kakashi said, "It's one of the reasons why I was assigned to you as your sensei I admit."
"I tried learning how to control and use my Sharingan on my own since it's awakening after our mission in Nami no Kuni but I didn't get as far as I had hoped," Sasuke said.
"You want to use your Sharingan against Naruto during the Finals," Kakashi deduced.
"I told you, I need something to present as a challenge against Naruto and from where I stand, I don't have a fighting chance against him! If my opponent was anyone else I would have stood a chance! I hate the fact that those words are coming out of my mouth but life's been a bitch lately!"
"I say it did wonders in humbling you since you used to believe that Naruto was especially beneath you," Kakashi remarked. Sasuke sneered at that comment but his held his tongue.
"I need more power and strength Kakashi," Sasuke said, "I'll take whatever I can get so long it helps me improve and become stronger than I am now, and I know Naruto will train for the Finals also. There's no telling what he'll be capable of in a month."
"There's no telling indeed," Kakashi replied.
"There's no telling what Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Both Kakashi and Sasuke turned to see Naruto looking at them with a huge grin on his face.
"Well now Naruto, your arrival here was unexpected," Kakashi greeted.
"Though it's uninvited," Sasuke mumbled under his breath.
"Was there a something you came to ask of me?" Kakashi inquired.
"Not really. I figured that you'd probably be busy preparing Sasuke for the Finals seeing that he's already here with you," Naruto said.
"I didn't plan any training for the Finals yet though I'm surprised you already assumed I'd be training Sasuke while not throwing a fit or a temper tantrum about it," Kakashi said.
"Don't mock me. Needless temper tantrums don't suit me and knowing you, you'd probably put me with Ebisu while stating how that closest pervert with his so-called short cuts to becoming Hokage could train me better than you," Naruto said.
Somewhere in Konoha, Ebisu felt indignant with a desire to tell Naruto off for some reason.
"Anyway Kakashi-sensei feel free to train Sasuke as much as you want. I won't hold it against you. Besides, there a couple of things I have to look into in the meantime. Later," Naruto concluded before he shunshin'd with a quick wind dash and teleported elsewhere.
"Clearly Naruto is fine with you training me after all," Sasuke said, "Now you can't use your previous words as an excuse now."
"I can't indeed," Kakashi said, "My question to you Sasuke is how far you think you'll get in a month."
"As far as my body and mind can take me and more," Sasuke answered, "Anything that will help me in my pursuit to catch up and surpass Naruto."
"If you say so," Kakashi shrugged as he walked off, "Meet me at the training ground tomorrow at 7 in the morning."
"Why can't we start training now?" Sasuke asked.
"Because you already went through enough battles in one day and you need to give yourself time to rest and recuperate," Kakashi said, "Plus I have to plan your training regimen for the month. I suggest you go home and reflect on what I said and everything that had happened today."
With that Kakashi went on his way leaving Sasuke behind.
"There's nothing more to reflect on. I already know what I have to do," Sasuke said to himself as he turned and walked off back home. Unbeknown to Sasuke was that he was being followed by someone in the shadows who made sure to keep a very low profile after entering Konoha.
"Goddamn it! I can't believe I was dispatched for this crap ass of mission when I could be doing better things with my damn time," the unknown assailant complained quietly before continuing to follow after Sasuke from the shadows.
(Meanwhile)
Sakura found herself in a closed room with Inoichi, Ibiki, Anko and Hiruzen at the interrogation facility. It was rather clear that Sakura was nervous with her stomach ready to drop, believing she that was in some kind of trouble as she sat on the chair surrounded by the group of older ninja.
Clearing his throat, Hiruzen said, "Sakura, you're not in any form of trouble if that's what you're worried about. We just need to ask you a couple of questions regarding your time with Naruto and everything you've seen about him from the time you both became Genin up to this point."
Sakura relaxed and breathed easier after hearing the Sandaime himself assure her that she wasn't being brought in for any punishment for whatever reason.
"What do you need to know," Sakura asked.
"As much as you can give us so we can better assess Naruto's true caliber and intelligence," Hiruzen answered, "There are things about him that you know that we like to know in more details. For starters, you, Sasuke and the new Uzumaki, Karin, were eyewitnesses to Naruto's battle with Orochimaru earlier today. Naruto's explanation was very brief and it left out many details about what he did and what took place. The fact that he nearly killed a Sannin twice in one fight, especially considering that he fought Orochimaru for the first time is alarming."
"I mean no disrespect Sandaime-sama, but Naruto beat you, a group of ninja and the male study body simultaneously during the Academy Field Day years ago before we became Genin," Sakura reminded. Sandaime cleared his throat again trying to control his annoyance in being reminded of that day. Anko stifled a laugh threatening to come out. Ibiki's hardened glare helped to silence her.
"On that occasion Sakura, Naruto never actually fought us; he beat us by ambush and tricking us into dropping our guard against him. However, ever since that occasion, a number of ninja have been suspicious of Naruto while others…many kunoichi really, regard him with admiration. I myself have noticed a change in Naruto years ago since that incident and I've been trying to keep tabs on him but as you already know, Naruto has an excellent way of hiding facets about himself and reveals only so much about himself when he feels it's necessary," Hiruzen clarified.
"Orochimaru was in the Forest of Death earlier today after killing a Kusa Genin a few days ago before he went after your team disguised as the Kusa Genin he killed. His reasons are currently unclear but his defeat and near death at Naruto's hands won't be taken lightly by either him or others who'll hear of this," Ibiku spoke up after long period of silence.
"As if I could take it anymore serious," Anko remarked cynically under her breath.
"Inoichi, would you care to do the honors?" Hiruzen asked. Inoichi nodded and went over to Sakura and stood in front of her.
"Sakura, I'm sure you're familiar with my clan's specialty. I won't waste time asking too many questions so I'll just see what I can gather by viewing your memories," Inoichi said and performed a set of hand seals. The then placed his right hand over Sakura's head. Upon having Inoichi's handed touch her forehead, Sakura's eyes closed as her head lowered. Hiruzen and the others watched as Inoichi closed his eyes and focused on probing and reading Sakura's memories.
It took a him a brief while to surf through her memories while not prying into her private life but after a another moment he found what he was looking for regarding what Sakura eyewitnessed concerning Naruto's battle with Orochimaru. He went back to the point when Karin first appeared with Naruto after Naruto temporarily separated from them. From that point he watched Sakura's memories play out all the way to point where Karin was instructed to stay with Honoka who was with Anko and the group of ANBU. Inoichi though took note about how worn out Naruto was after his fierce and deadly battle with Orochimaru but Sakura herself didn't see at what point in time Naruto's chakra and vitality was fully restored thus there was no memories accounting for it.
Wanting to find out more about Naruto's exploits in Nami no Kuni, Inoichi went and scanned her memories regarding the battle with Zabaza and Haku. Inoichi saw from Sakura's recollections what Naruto did to Gatō and his army of 100 rogue samurai and mercenaries in the time span of a few seconds.
When Inoichi was done, he removed his hand from Sakura's head and turned to Hiruzen and the other people there.
"What did you see?" Hiruzen asked.
Inoichi went into extensive details explaining to Hiruzen exactly what he saw from Sakura's memories involving the incidents in Nami no Kuni and the Forest of Death. Hiruzen, Anko and Ibiki listened carefully to Inoichi's vivid explanations of how Naruto fought and the arsenal of jutsu he used, a few of which were originals wind-types. The Jounin explained Naruto's knowledge and use of Itachi's Bakuhatsuteki Bunshin no Jutsu and how Naruto used a spy-battle tactic to have his forty kage bunshin be the only things Orochimaru fought against so he could analyze the Snake Sannin's arsenal of jutsu and fighting style before launching a counterattack.
What surprised them also was when Inoichi told them about Naruto's use and knowledge of the Rasengan. Inoichi also explained how exhausted, drained of chakra and completely vulnerable Naruto was after his battle with Orochimaru but that Sakura's memories couldn't account for the point in time in which Naruto's vitality was completely restored back to full strength.
"For what it's worth, I never thought I would see a Genin no older than my own daughter that could take on a Sannin with such talent. But Orochimaru was clearly bothered by the fact that Naruto knew things about him that no one else knew. Interestingly enough I'm forced to wonder what were Naruto's sources," Inoichi commented.
"Clearly Naruto is a whole lot more than I'm giving him credit for," Anko admitted, "I couldn't do anywhere near a fraction of the things Naruto could do when I was Orochimaru's student and Naruto's age and yet Naruto fought him once and kicked his ass, Hard!"
"Kage Bunshin, Suijinheki (Water Wall), Kaze Sokudo Chikara (Winds Speed Force) and Bunshin Bakuhatsuteki were all written in the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing," Hiruzen stated, "However, the Rasengan, Fūjin Bakuhatsuteki, and Nine Spiraling Guillotines weren't."
"How do you suppose Naruto learned those attacks and how to perfectly execute them?" Ibiki asked.
"The only remaining people who know how to create and use the Rasengen are Jiraiya and Kakashi. But Kakashi didn't teach Naruto that attack and Jiraiya hasn't stepped foot in Konoha for years. As for the other two wind-type attacks, I'm left to conclude that they're original attacks Naruto himself created besides his other infamous jutsu I rather not mention. It's beyond my understanding how Naruto learned and mastered his father's attack on his own without having someone training him in the use of that jutsu. There's no logical explanation for it considering that no scrolls were made or left behind for Naruto concerning the use of the Rasengan. It doesn't add up," Hiruzen pointed out.
"This Naruto is a rare genius to learn and teach himself not only the Rasengan, but also kenjutsu on his own while mastering his wind affinity and combining it with his expert skills in kenjutsu while teaching himself how do battle with self-imposed blindness on top of that. Training like this takes years even with the guidance of an experienced ninja," Ibiki complimented.
"Yet Naruto pulled it off on his own from what his girlfriend said," Anko said.
Hiruzen commented, "The only time I've seen a child progress this fast was with Minato, Kakashi, Itachi and though I hate to acknowledge this, also Orochimaru. But there's a chance that Naruto might, if he didn't already, surpass all of them based on all of the testimonies I'm hearing and from what I myself have seen of the boy so far."
"I saw other factors about Naruto from Sakura's memories. There were also those mysterious seals I saw appear on Naruto's body. They were unlike any I've ever seen. On both occasions in Nami no Kuni and in the Forest of Death, those sophisticated seals appeared on Naruto's body. From what I saw, after they briefly appeared, his speed, chakra and strength multiplied tremendously allowing him to become far stronger and faster than before. And unlike Gai's gate releasing technique, those seals didn't do any form of bodily damage to Naruto at all. I'm forced to wonder at what point in time Naruto acquired such seals from the person that gave them to him," Inoichi added.
"Can you give us a visual of how those seals look like," Hiruzen inquired. Inoichi nodded and made a hand sign.
"Henge!" Inoichi said before a burst of smoke appeared out from where he stood. Seconds later, the smoke cleared and Inoichi was seen appearing as Naruto with the seals on, in the exact way he looked when he was fighting Orochimaru. Hiruzen wasn't able to identify the seals at all.
"I've never seen such intricate and complex seals in all my life. Even Yondaime never seen or used such highly advanced ancient seals as the ones I'm seeing that Naruto has on his body. Those must be the seals that Kakashi was talking about when he briefed me about the mission in Nami no Kuni. And the only person who knows about those seals is Naruto and chances of him talking about what they are and from whom he received them, are zero. Jiraiya might know something about those seals, if anything. I'll have to inquire of him about them," Hiruzen said.
"Why don't you just make it a full blown direct order to the gaki to explain how or from whom he acquired those seals?" Anko suggested, "You are the Hokage after all."
"In theory that would work; but I know Naruto won't tell us anything we want to hear especially if he were to state that they're Uzumaki Clan secrets seeing that he and his cousins are now acknowledged as an official clan. He already lost a lot of trust and respect for me and this village and I'm sure he suspects why I had Sakura brought in with us," Hiruzen brought out, "Though I had Inoichi scan this young kunoichi's mind in order to learn in more details the battle between my former student and Team 7 and by extension the battle in Nami no Kuni, we still don't know the full extent of Naruto's abilities and we can't subject Naruto to having his mind read either as that would violate a number of shinobi laws and clan protection rights established by the Shodai. Added to this his performance during the preliminaries spoke volumes as well as it was painfully obvious that he was holding back throughout the match despite the perverted jokes and innuendos he added to it."
Ibiki interjected, "And earlier today Kakashi openly admitted that Naruto had it within his power to kill him during his bell test and on top of that, he even confessed in front of everyone that he hasn't taught Naruto a single thing, making it clear that everything that blonde haired Genin has done and can do up till now has been on his own.
"He's basically a self-made ninja and choosing to become the class clown and dead last of his class to hide his true skills and throw everyone and his enemies off was pure genius and absolutely cunning. From what I observed from both the first part of the Chuunin Exams and the preliminaries, not to mention what we found out from this girl's memories, it goes without say that Naruto is beyond Chuunin and standard Jounin material."
"Any Genin who could thrash the hell out of my bastard former sensei and come within an inch of killing him is worth promoting if you ask me," Anko added, "That Naruto is certainly impressing me with all of his achievements. It's too bad that he's too young cause I would've definitely dated him if he was just a few years older and not to mention single."
"Cougar," Inoichi muttered under his breath after hearing Anko's comment.
"And there's also the matter with Hyuuga Hinata who clearly followed Naruto's example in hiding her true abilities and it was brought to our attention that Naruto has been training her in secret for an unspecified amount of time," Hiruzen brought up, "Given her flawless victory over Neji, as in the case with Naruto we don't know the full extent of Hinata's abilities and like Naruto, she admitted that she was holding back in her battle with Neji throughout the entire match.
"What's perfectly clear is that Kyuubi isn't the source of Naruto's power, skills and whatever secret training Naruto went through. Both Naruto and Hinata did quite a terrific job deceiving the entire village, civilian and ninja alike, into believing the illusion of failures they masked themselves to be. And judging from everything that's been brought to my attention, we evidently have another shinobi in our ranks that can face Orochimari, especially after his recent activities in Konoha. But the only person we can ask about Hinata is Hiashi."
Hiruzen snapped his fingers and a cat-masked ANBU ninja with violet hair reaching down her back appeared in front of the Hokage on one knee.
"Find Hiashi and telling him to report here at once regarding Hinata," Hiruzen instructed.
"Hai, Hokage-sama," the ANBU ninja replied before disappearing to carry out her instructions.
(Elsewhere)
Hinata was on the bridge overlooking the running water under the bridge. Next to her was Kurenai who stood at her left side. There was an awkward silence between them, but they knew sooner or later the silence would have to be broken.
"Hinata," Kurenai started, "During your time with me and your teammates, did you not trust us enough to show your true strength and abilities?"
"Trust was never an issue Kurenai-sensei," Hinata replied, "At no time did I ever question whether or not I can trust you, Shino-kun or Kiba-kun."
"Yet you chose to act like you were having difficulties with everything I trained and taught you in and you often lost to your teammates when you three sparred and now I see that it was always on purpose. Both your teammates and I were completely deceived by your pretense," Kurenai stated.
"I will say that some people might find it surprising that as genjutsu mistress you fell for my illusion," Hinata remarked.
"That was a low blow Hinata," Kurenai retorted with her pride stung by that comment.
"I'm sorry you feel that way but the events that played out led to all this," Hinata replied.
"Something I'm trying to understand! I always treated and looked at you as though you were my own daughter; much more than just as my own student I admit. Was everything we did together, our time training and bonding, was that all an illusion?" Kurenai asked, with her voice partly betraying her. It was ironic that the very field Kurenai specialized in was the very art Hinata used to throw her and everyone else but Naruto off about her.
"No," Hinata answered, "I really did bond with you Kurenai-sensei.
"Before I met either you or Naruto-kun, I had problems with my self-confidence, with my shyness and stuttering, and my inability to learn my clan's Juuken. I was looked at as the bane and disgrace of my clan and spoken of harshly and abusively by my clan members as you already know. I almost give up in life and in myself. But when I first saw Naruto-kun, who was treated so badly by the villagers for reason I wasn't able to understand at the time, I saw how in spite of all his problems and loneliness that he kept trying to become more than just the village pariah as he refused to ever give up despite what everyone else said of him.
"He became my inspiration to keep reaching for improvements and to never give up no matter how hard things became. I always admired Naruto-kun from afar in the shadows as I was always too shy and afraid to approach and talk to him. But in the end, it was Naruto-kun who approached me first and offered me friendship after he saved and rescued me from a group of bullies who tried to do me harm years ago when I was heading home from the academy.
A few months later, Naruto-kun decided to train me in secret and he had me swear a promise to never reveal it until the time was right to show what I was capable of. I was against the idea of hiding my newly acquired skills from my family and others originally but his reasons for me doing so was hard to refute."
"What did he tell you?" Kurenai inquired.
"He explained that we're training to become ninja and that deception is one of the major arts ninja use. He helped me to see why he hid his true abilities from everyone else but me as he sought ways to draw attention away from both himself and me. He explained to me that to reveal our true powers and abilities too earlier on in our development and demonstrating in front of everyone what we can truly do is dangerous. He helped me to understand that not everyone in Konoha is our ally and that we can never know who's an friend or spy until it's too late, and by that time the enemy might have already acquired a lot of information on us and our skills and develop ways to counter us and relay that information to whatever enemies we have."
"Naruto-kun instructed me that the only time we would allow ourselves to show our true strengths is when the situation calls for it. But we would have to be careful when deciding how much we want to reveal about our true selves. He taught me to keep in mind that the less that's known about us, the better we can catch our enemies off guard if they try to attack or ambush us, something I demonstrated when I brought about Neji-niisan's defeat."
"I saw it firsthand. You played the role of the girl you used to be most convincingly to the point that neither your clan, friends nor myself suspected a thing," Kurenai commented.
"I'm still the same girl Kurenai-sensei, just without the stuttering, shyness and lack of self-confidence. Please believe me when I say that I really wanted to tell you, Kiba-kun and Shino-kun about my skills and what I was capable of doing. But at the same time, I couldn't betray my boyfriend's trust and confidence in me since he was the one teaching and training me. Throughout the years Naruto-kun both trained himself and did everything in his power to help me grow and become more than what many others believed I could become, into the strong woman he sees me for. He even helped me with my stuttering and speech issues. Naruto-kun and I went through a whole lot together and we pulled through together and we will continue to do so together regardless of the obstacles that come our way, be it personal or outside factors involving my clan, the villagers, our peers or older ninja. I believe in him and he believes in me. And he told more on more than one occasion how our hearts beat as one."
It was very clear to Kurenai where Hinata's loyalty stood and how deeply attached to Naruto the Hyuuga heiress was.
"You truly love Naruto I see and you speak of him as if he's your own husband," Kurenai acknowledged with a little humor. A dark blush appeared on Hinata's face after hearing her sensei's comment. Still Kurenai added, "But that doesn't change the fact that he's still a shameless pervert."
"Perhaps; but I'm the only girl he ever holds and kisses," Hinata countered, Even though Temari clearly has her sight set on Naruto-kun even more now than before. I saw the way she was looking at him during his match with Tenten. I'm surprised that his perverted demeanor didn't turn her away from him as I thought it would.
"And you're fine with his perverted nature?" Kurenai asked skeptically.
That's what leads you and everyone else to miscalculate him, Hinata thought, All of you assume that because he behaves and acts like a flirtatious pervert so openly and read smut in public shamelessly that you all know him thus leading all of you to fail to take him as a ninja serious, which he uses against you all before luring all of you into an ambush.
"Kurenai-sensei, Asuma-sensei has a bad smoking habit which doesn't bother you at the very least when he holds your hands and kisses you," Hinata chose to say instead of saying what her actual thoughts were. Kurenai blushed and gave a small spout before she turned away a little.
"At least I made the effort to get him to stop. I swear he's just as touchy about the subject as his father," Kurenai said under her breath in an undertone before she came to realize something as she turned back to Hinata, "Wait a minute! How did you know that Asuma and I started dating? I never told you and we didn't even make our relationship public yet."
"I'm in a relationship myself Kurenai-sensei, and I could read between the lines from the way you both act around each other. And Asuma-sensei gets surprisingly nervous whenever you're upset at him about something. I saw it earlier during the preliminaries when Naruto-kun was facing off against Tenten. I didn't need my Byakugan to see through you both," Hinata joked.
Kurenai blushed again, but this time she let a soft giggle escape her throat.
"I guess you know me better than I gave you credit for Hinata," Kurenai said heartedly.
"Was there ever a doubt about your daughterly student? Naruto-kun taught me many things, but where Naruto-kun couldn't help me, you helped me. After the death of my mother, you became the next closest person I have to a mother. My father took her death really hard and once years ago one night without him knowing it, I saw him crying for her in area in the garden she had always enjoying staying in. And me having her kind and gentle spirit reminded him so much of her to the point that his frustrations and anger about my then inability to learn our clan's Juuken boiled down to the point that he and the rest of the clan looked at me as the clan's disgrace. Despite that, I forgave my father since he would never allow the clan elders to have their way with me and Hanabi in trying to force me to step down as clan heiress.
"Like a mother Kurenai-sensei, you sought ways to help me grow and develop as woman and as my sensei you taught me how to work together with Shino-kun and Kiba-kun and use how respective skills together in overall team dynamics. And you taught me how to utilize genjutsu and when combined with what Naruto-kun taught me, I was able to deceive and manipulate the Byakugan, a feat that no one thought was possible but it was done with the aid of your training, as Kakashi-sensei pointed out. I still have much to learn about genjutsu and I'm confident that you can teach and help me excel in that field."
Kurenai stayed quiet for a short moment and said, "Well clearly, Naruto gave you a head start in the field of illusions without the use of genjutsu and got both you and himself to deceive everyone's perceptions of you guys. Even the famed Byakugan and Sharingan were deceived by the illusions you both played out for the entire village to believe and you both made such illusions last for a good amount of years. When I see it from that standpoint as a genjutsu mistress, I can't help but be impressed by it.
"But you'll still have to explain this to Kiba and Shino also since they'll want an explanation seeing how you deceived them. Kiba was especially convinced that you'd have lost to Neji and considering all of those horrible things he was saying about you, I say you did a fitting job humbling him. Next time he'll hopefully learn to think twice before he presumes to know someone while thinking that person is beneath him."
"…It was his set belief in fate that was the problem and he had always blamed me and the Main House for his problems even when I tried to make peace with him," Hinata sighed, "Not to mention he thought he was fated to win our match today and I'm hoping his defeat will serve to open his eyes and rid himself of that self-defeating belief."
"I must say Hinata that you've truly matured and became more assertive than before and with everything that I've seen and heard up to this point, I'm proud of your accomplishments, though it's mostly Naruto who should be thanked for this. I forgive you Hinata."
"Thank you Kurenai-sensei," Hinata said and smiled happily before she embraced and hugged Kurenai. The genjutsu mistress was surprised by the hug since Hinata never did that before.
"Up till now Hinata," a surprised Kurenai commented, "you never hugged me before."
Realizing this, Hinata asked, "Is it alright with you?"
The older woman smiled and responded, "Of course it's alright. In fact, I welcome it."
"You may be my Jounin sensei, but I love you as a mother figure," Hinata said. Kurenai smiled appreciatively and returned the hug. It felt nice knowing her student love her as a mother figure. Soon though, Kurenai's thinking about the battle between Hinata and Gaara that lay ahead caused her to become concerned for Hinata's well-being after recalling how Gaara nearly killed Lee. A few moments later, both student and teacher pulled away from each other.
Just as Kurenai was about to relate what was on her mind…
"Still, I'm worried about my future match against Gaara, especially after watching his match against Lee," Hinata admitted.
Evidently Hinata and I are on the same page about what our concerns are, Kurenai thought and then said, "I can't say I fought against someone like Gaara before. And seeing what he did to Lee after his fierce attack was surprising to say the least. I don't know yet what kind of genjutsu training I can give you against him but give me a few days to think up of something," Kurenai said.
Hinata nodded.
(Back At The Interrogation Facility)
"Thank you for coming here on such short notice Hiashi," Hiruzen said. Hiashi was presently in another room with Hiruzen away from Inoichi, Anko and Ibiki.
"I was informed by your messenger that my presence here was of utmost importance concerning my eldest daughter. I came as soon as I could after being given the message," Hiashi asked.
"I'd like to get an assessment of Hinata's skills from your perspective Hiashi," Hiruzen requested, "What's Hinata's status in your clan's Juuken style?"
"In the past, my eldest daughter was the most horrid in our clan's Juuken style. She barely lasted a whole three minutes or less before being taken down, even by my youngest daughter. Thankfully things have changed recently and she's shown signs of improvements," Hiashi explained.
"In what way?" Hiruzen inquired.
"Hinata doesn't lose as quickly as before and her ability to anticipate her opponent's moves also gotten better. Though she's not on Neji's level, her signs of progress from being the way she used to be have given me hope that she still has a chance to learn in more depths our clan's style," Hiashi said.
"I'm happy to hear your positive outlooks on your daughter's progress, considering how she thoroughly thrashed Neji in the preliminaries earlier today," Hiruzen remarked. Hiashi looked back at the Hokage like a man who joking.
"Sandaime-sama, what trickery are you speaking?" Hiashi asked with an annoyed and unconvinced tone.
"There was no trickery to my words Hiashi. Your nephew, the proclaimed Hyuuga prodigy, lost horribly against Hinata in front me, their respective sensei and teammates and others who were watching their match. On top of this, Hinata held back against Neji throughout their match despite the fact that she left him hospitalized with serious injuries, a concussion and leaving him temporarily paralyzed. And what's more is that Hinata was never hit once during the whole match as Neji couldn't land a single blow on her. If you ask me Hiashi, what Hinata did was an act of mercy because I strongly believe that she could have done far worse if it wasn't for the fact that they're cousins," Hiruzen said calmly with seriousness.
This news shocked Hiashi tremendously. Part of him almost led him ask if Neji lost on purpose but he dismissed that notion since he knew Neji's character and his hatred and disdain for the Main House.
"How is something like this even possible?" Hiashi asked, "She always showed that she was struggling and failing to fully grasp the concepts of our clan's style of fighting. Members of the Main House found it insulting that a Cadet Branch member one year her senior was far more adept in the art of Juuken whereas my eldest daughter struggled in a sparring match against my youngest daughter. It's impossible for Hinata to have suddenly changed and win against Neji."
"I understand your thoughts about the matter. But understand that Hinata purposefully and cunningly hid and masked her skills and intelligence like Naruto, who clearly trained her in secret for number of years now under our nose. Both Naruto and Hinata are the top ninja of their class who surpassed both the present and previous Rookies of the Year and top kunoichi and others by miles. Her style and performance in her clan's Juuken far surpassed Neji's and I'm not exaggerating when I say it can possibly rival perhaps some of the more experienced veteran members of your clan. She even created an effective new Juuken technique which she used against your nephew," Hiruzen added.
Hiashi was silent as he was processing everything Hiruzen was informing him of. He knew that the aged Hokage wasn't one for jokes with regards to serious matters.
"I was completely unaware that my eldest daughter possessed such talents. I knew that her association and later relationship with Naruto have helped her develop her self-confidence and I knew that they would practice and spar together. But I never suspected that her time with Naruto would have resulted in what you're telling now Sandaime-sama. I don't understand why she would deceive me and her clansmen to believe that she was still weak and incapable of fully grasping our clan's Juuken style," Hiashi revealed.
"I know that the level of skill and power of a ninja must be kept secret especially if it's the heir or heiress of a clan, but with the danger of Orochimaru's presence in Konoha I need to know what I have to stop my criminal student," Hiruzen stated.
"What are you talking about? When was Orochimaru spotted?" Hiashi asked.
"He infiltrated the Forest of Death and engaged Naruto and his team. But according to eyewitness testimonies, Orochimaru was forced to retreat after nearly being killed twice by Naruto who battled my former student on equal grounds and without the use of Kyuubi's chakra at all mind you," Hiruzen enlightened.
"Naruto fought a Sannin on equal grounds and forced him to retreat after nearly finishing him off?" Hiashi asked. He knew about Naruto's sword skills rivaling that of the Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure, but he never thought of the possibility of Naruto's skills being on par with a Sannin.
"I couldn't believe the news myself and frankly I'm troubled about how this news will be taken by others and the fact that he's been secretly training Hinata with the true level of her strength and abilities still left unknown," Hiruzen said.
"News of Neji's crushing defeat by Hinata will reach the ears of the elders of my clan and both houses. I'll handle matters accordingly before wrong speculations or any other misinformation is presented," Hiashi said.
Hiruzen nodded in agreement.
(Two And A Hour Hours Later; At Team 7's Training Ground)
Naruto had taken a needed nap after what his spy clones transmitted to him which led to him undergo temporary experience exhaustion. After his mind had time to fully process the information his clones gave him, his mannerism was calm but serious as what he found out was less than pleasing, but it was information he was happy his clones recently uncovered. Putting what his spy clones found off to the side for a brief moment, Naruto took out and held two pieces of paper in his hands, one in his right and the other in his left. He focused chakra into the two pieces of paper to see what would happen. The paper on his right hand split into two pieces and the one in his left hand crumbled a moment later.
"I can't believe this!" Naruto said to himself in disbelief before he had performed the test three times to ascertain whether or not his theory was true. The same results came back all three times.
"Two affinities! One wind and the other lightning! Sweet! I have two affinities! I wonder if it was Orochimaru's Five Prong Seal attack that awakened that dormant affinity after it knocked my chakra control off balance before he got blasted with the lightning discharge that came out of my body. But the issue here is that wind cuts through lightning. I'm going to have to find a way to get my two opposing affinities to work together," Naruto contemplated verbally to himself, "I'm going to have to investigate and study up as much as I can on my second affinity before the Chuunin Finals."
Naruto summoned sixty kage bunshin and instructed, "Head to the shinobi library and get every single book and scroll you guys can attain on lightning manipulation and control. And make sure you guys aren't noticed doing so."
"Taking all of the books and scrolls on lightning manipulation and control without being noticed? That's quite a challenging undertaking you're giving us boss," the eleventh clone remarked.
"Consider it as part of my training you guys will be helping me with," Naruto stated.
"Why not ask Kakashi-sensei about lightning manipulation? He's knowledgeable about it," eighth clone suggested.
"I thought about it, but a conflict of interest would arise since I already told him he could go and train Sasuke for his match with me. Troublesome really, in view that Sasuke has proven to be more of a thorn to side than I gave him credit for. And presently from what my spy clones recently discovered, Sasuke is desperately looking for some kind of leverage against me through his Sharingan," Naruto stated.
"You mean he's looking for a way to achieve possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan," the twelfth clone clarified.
"He'll try to screw us over big time if he ever learns how to attain the Mangakyō Sharingan," the fifty-second clone pointed out, "From the spy clones' research and investigation very few from the Uchiha Clan ever achieved it."
"Clearly it's not that easy to attain, otherwise every member of that clan would have achieved it. One of the known people to have attained the Mangekyou Sharingan was a man named Uchiha Madara, the only man who once rivaled the Shodai and lost to him at the place now known as the Valley Of The End," Naruto replied.
"If my memories serve me correctly, during that same time period our ancestress Mito sealed Kurama into herself after Madara's defeat to her husband. But before that time Kurama roamed free and wasn't known for rampaging Konoha at all and there was no need for our Uzumaki ancestress to seal Kurama away before that time," the first clone stated.
"No there wasn't. But according to what was found out, Kurama ended up being controlled and manipulated by Madara who used him as weapon against Hashirama before the Hokage brought about that man's death and defeat, which was why Mito made herself Kurama's first Jinchuuriki to prevent him from being used against Konoha again," Forty-third clone stated.
"Madara was using his Mangakyō Sharingan to control Kyuubi and have him attack Hashirama. Why else would Hashirama approve of his wife sealing Kurama away into herself? Though your spy clones are still in the process of investigating the power behind the Mangakyō Sharingan but from what they gathered thus far it was a very powerful dōjutsu that was at Madara's disposal which was capable of binding nearly anyone to its influence, even Kurama," the first clone asked.
As Naruto thought about everything being discussed, he then recalled a conversation he had with Hiruzen at the Hokage Tower three months ago:
"…something went terribly wrong during your birth and Kyuubi was released. I'm sorry to say Naruto but I don't know exactly what happened that led to Kyuubi's sudden escape from Kushina's seal and both my wife and her medic assistant were killed in the process. Deep down though, I knew foul play was involved even though we made sure no one within Konoha's walls knew of Kushina giving birth," Hiruzen explained.
"Were the villagers aware that my mother was a Jinchuuriki," Naruto asked.
Hiruzen shook his head, "Her status was never disclosed to the public so we were confident that no one knew; but we never thought about anyone outside Konoha knowing of it and knowing when she was due to give birth to you."
"How do you know foul play might have been involved," Naruto asked.
"All of the ANBU ninja selected for the security details were found dead but not by Kyuubi's hands," Hiruzen explained, "But through strangulation. My wife and her assistant's bodies were also found and upon medical examination, nothing showed that their deaths were the result of Kyuubi's attack but by the same unknown enemy who stabbed them. What happened between that enemy and Minato is unknown but I believe Yondaime fought the attacker before turning his attention back to Kyuubi who was wreaking havoc on the village while my ninja and I were doing all we could to hold that bijuu off."
"This brings back to mind what happened moments after my birth. My weakened mother was attacked and somehow the attacker had the Kyuubi released from out of her before it was used against Konoha by the same assailant responsible for killing Jiisan's wife and her assistant along with the selected ANBU there at the time of my birth," Naruto deduced, "I was forced to become the next Jinchuuriki of Kurama as a result."
"You believe that the attacker was able to use and control Kurama after its release from your mothers' seal," the twenty-first cloned realized.
"Combined that with everything else we discovered thus far…then that would mean that the assailant responsible for what happened thirteen years ago was in fact an Uchiha who possessed the Mangakyō Sharingan," Naruto gravely stated.
"We can eliminate Madara as the first suspect of that attack thirteen years ago since Hashirama killed the man," the eighteenth clone said.
"Jiisan said that a battle most likely took place between the assailant and my father. Whoever this Uchiha was must have been a strong and deadly ninja if he was able to battle my father though he still lost," Naruto spoke, "But regardless of our findings, we can't present any of this before Jiisan or anyone else at this time without sufficient tangible proof to show for."
"Well then how are we to dig up this required proof?" the fifty-fourth clone inquired.
"My father was known for the use of his tri-prong kunai which he had in stock pile. My question is which one was use in his fight with the attacker and if by any lucky, is there any dry traces of blood on it," Naruto stated.
"Was our father even buried with that kunai or was all of his tri-prong kunai cleaned by someone and put away somewhere?" the thirty-seventh clone asked.
"I'll have my spy clones look into that," Naruto assured but then a thought came to mind, "It's just a thought…but I was thinking about perhaps seeing if I could find a way to ask Kurama who it was that attacked my parents during my birth since at this point he's the only living witness to that event and if anyone knows what happened then it would be him."
Naruto's clones contemplated on it. But then the twenty-sixth clone said, "I don't know if that's a good idea. And even if you do manage to find a way to communicate with that fox, I doubt Kurama will cooperate willingly or answer any of your questions."
"Plus, Kurama did try to kill you and us by extension on the night of your birth in the attempt to prevent himself from being sealed away again. Asking Kurama about what happened before he was sealed away again is like asking him what our mother was like since he was sealed inside her for a long time and probably knows things about her that no one else does; he won't give us the answers we're looking for I'm sure."
"Be that as it may, but I still have to find some way to try, if possible. In any case, we discussed and learned a whole lot today. But you guys will still have to go to the ninja library to take out every scroll and book possessing detailed information about lightning manipulation and control. Now go!" Naruto instructed. The clones nodded and shunshin'd away to the ninja library, leaving Naruto alone again.
"That takes care of that matter. Now for something that really needs my attention," Naruto said as he started on his way to his next destination, the bathhouse. While on his way there, he started thinking about Hinata's match with Gaara in the Chuunin Finals.
From what I observed from Gaara's match with Lee, Naruto contemplated, Gaara's body is completely surrounded by sand, therefore standard Juuken isn't going to be enough to penetrate through his defenses. I also noticed how Gaara don't have anything on close melee combat like Hinata but rather long range attacks with his sand. In fact, the other two Suna Genin specialize in long range attacks also: Temari with her fan and Kankurō with his puppets. Though Hinata recently started her new training in genjutsu that alone won't be enough to break through Gaara's sand defenses.
Lee's ferocious taijutsu attack in releasing his gates wasn't enough to take Gaara down and that kinjutsu only served to do Lee severe harm than good. He didn't hesitate in his attempt to kill Lee and I'm certain he'll try to kill Hinata in the Finals if given the chance; a chance I won't give him at all, particularly if that bijuu Shukaku decides to intervene. I'm going have to devise a new plan that will step up and upgrade Hinata's training in order to break through Gaara's sand defenses and get around his offenses. Hinata will be in for the long haul because she'll only have less than a month to accomplish this.
(In The Late Afternoon; At The Hyuuga Compound)
In the main meeting hall of the large compound, the elders and leaders of both the Main and Cadet Branch families meet to discuss any issue about the Hyuuga Clan. Right now, it was filled with many members of both houses, sitting on the well-polished floor with sitting futons underneath them. Hiashi had called this unscheduled meeting with the members of both houses. Hanabi was present also, sitting among the Main Houses members. She took note of Neji's absence and wondered what happened to him.
Hinata took note of how she was being looked at by the elders of the Main House who glanced at her a few times. Those people, those that hated her for being weak, shy, and timid, and unable to grasp the art of Juuken, traits unfitting of a Hyuuga heiress. Ever since she was born, all she knew was contempt from most of the clan for her kind and shy nature. All Hyuuga Clan members were supposed to be proud, strong, and take pride in their clan being the powerful and noble clan in the village. The fact that she hadn't shown such pride in being a Hyuuga, rather choosing to see herself as equals with others, including the Cadet Branch members, was a sore issue for the older Hyuuga members around her. A few of the elders even thought that Neji, the branded prodigy, would have been a fitting heir were his late father Hizashi born first instead of Hiashi. And speaking of Neji, some wondered why he wasn't yet present.
Finally, after what seemed like eternity, the main doors to the meeting hall slid open to reveal Hyuuga Hiashi. The entire hall fell into eerie silence at his presence, since being the powerful head of the clan demanded that respect. Hiashi slid the door close and took his spot at the head of the meeting hall.
"Members of the Main and Cadet Branch House, thank you for arriving for this meeting though unexpected. I'm sure you all are wondering why this meeting was called. Just a few hours ago, a most important yet troubling matter was brought my attention by the Hokage. At first I myself found the news hard to believe but his testimony coupled with trusted eyewitnesses and proof left me with no grounds for arguments," Hiashi started.
"And what does this have to do with us might I ask?" one of the Main House elders asked.
"By now I'm sure you all here are wondering about Neji's unexplained absence from this meeting," Hiashi stated. Hinata knew where this was leading but she maintained her calmness regardless. She knew this day would come and she prepared herself for it long in advance.
"Did something befall the boy," Kō asked.
"Currently Neji has been hospitalized for severe external and internal injuries and damages to his chakra coils. He also has a concussion and temporary paralysis. These injuries were inflicted on him by a member of this house," Hiashi stated. Everyone but Hinata were whispering and looking at each other while wondering who attacked Neji. Hiashi calmed the murmuring and continued, "Currently Neji is in stable condition but he'll remain at the hospital for a couple of days as his wounds will be treated by our doctors."
"Hiashi, none of us has seen Neji in days and we all know that he and Hinata were taking part of the Chuunin Exams earlier today. So, how was it that someone here attacked the boy?" another Main House elder asked.
"I never said Neji was attacked in a manner of assault or aggression," Hiashi clarified, "I merely stated that Neji's condition was the result of the actions of a member of this house, the Main House, whose true skills and abilities were thoroughly hidden from us for a number of years now."
Everyone in the meeting hall looked Hiashi questionably but Hinata knew he was talking about her. Hanabi suspected that it was Hinata but she herself found it hard to believe that her sister brutalized Neji that bad, considering that she knew how praised Neji was a the clan's prodigy.
"Hinata," Hiashi said calmly before sternly looking directly at her, "You care to explain to me and everyone here your reasons for masking your true strengths?"
The bombshell was dropped as everyone's eyes in the meeting hall widened on what was now understood. Before she could utter a word…
"Hiashi!" a Main House elder retorted, "You expect us to believe that Hinata was able to beat Neji to the point of having him hospitalized with the very injuries you described!?"
"Hinata has never shown any signs of truly grasping our clan's prized Juuken and barely won any matches against Hanabi who's even more adept in our style."
"We all don't know Hinata as well as we think," Hiashi said, "We know only what she wanted us to as she's been playing false as the weakest Hyuuga for all these years. Even I as the girl's father and clan leader was convinced by her deceiving illusion as were the Hokage and everyone else in this village both shinobi and civilian like. Even her records at the academy are far less than accurate as it turned out that my eldest daughter was in fact the top kunoichi of her class with Naruto as the true Rookie of the Year."
The meeting hall erupted into an uproar upon hearing this revelation.
"Quiet!" Hiashi ordered, "Let me explained what Sandaime-sama explained to me."
Hiashi went and explained all that he was informed of by Hiruzen. Both houses couldn't believe what Hiashi was relating to them. It was completely unreal and those from the Main House found the news hard and rather painful to swallow. For many of the Hyuuga members, mainly the elders of the Main House and several others, they couldn't believe how Hinata effectively played them for fools and hid her truth talent for all these years. But what added insult to injury was when they learn that it was a non-Hyuuga, Uzumaki Naruto, who was responsible for Hinata's astonishing advancements and power. So much so that Neji the proclaimed prodigy was nowhere near her level. The story behind what happened between Orochimaru and Naruto in the Forest of Death was also explained, and needless to say everyone was speechless by it. Hanabi for her part was amazed at what she was hearing about her older sister and Naruto. This in effect motivated her to take her training with Naruto even more serious.
"The son of our late Yondaime was able to accomplish such a feat!?" a Cadet Branch House woman asked.
"Truly, the boy is more than he had everyone believed him to be," a Cadet Branch House elder commented, "Orochimaru himself is a very strong and dangerous S-class missing nin. Every ninja who went after him have either died or never returned. Yet Naruto fought that Sannin in mortal combat and came out the victor forcing Orochimaru's retreat."
"How could that boy be stronger than a Sannin?! There's no plausible explanation for it, even with Kyuubi's chakra!" a Main House male argued.
"Sandaime-sama made it clear that Kyuubi's chakra was at no time used by Naruto. Everything the boy has done up till now has been on his own strength," Hiashi those words from Hiashi made it clear beyond a doubt that Naruto was indeed a very formidable fighter, for a Genin that was.
"And to think that so many believe Naruto-kun was a nobody who would amount to nothing," Hanabi commented with a small grin, "He truly made fools out of those who underestimated and thought so little of him, that also includes Neji who repeatedly belittled and ridiculed Naruto-kun to my face much to my great displeasure. Both Naruto-kun's actions and those through neesan have exposed Neji and others as the bias narrow-minded fools they were," a small blush appeared on Hanabi's cheeks as she said in admiration, "What a truly amazing guy Naruto-kun has proven to be."
Some in the meeting hall saw that underneath Hanabi's words that she was also indirectly calling them bias fools for misjudging Naruto. Hinata though saw the look in Hanabi's eyes and face and sighed lowly to herself, That's the same look I had whenever I thought of Naruto-kun like that.
Hinata's train of thoughts concerning Hanabi's affections and admiration for Naruto was interrupted when…
"And speaking of Naruto's actions through Hinata," spoke one of the Main House elders as he turned to look at the clan heiress, "Your actions in playing false about your abilities are completely unacceptable! As the heiress, you have dishonored and shamed us through your lies and deceit!"
"I dishonored and shamed no one here!" Hinata made clear with strength to her tone, "My actions in no way smeared the reputation of our clan. And besides, deception is one of the many arsenals of the ninja, is it not?" Hinata asked politely. The elder shot Hinata with a hot glare which didn't faze the heiress at the very least.
"Don't mock us young lady!" the elder retorted.
"I mock no one here; I'm simply stating the facts. My deceiving all of you all these years was in fact part of my training I underwent through Naruto-kun's guidance and teachings," Hinata countered.
"Part of your training; and what purpose did that serve?" the same elder asked.
"If I was able to convincingly and effectively deceive not only this entirely clan but everyone else in Konoha including our respected Hokage with my pretense of weakness, how much hidden potential do you believe I possess as both a ninja of Konoha and clan heiress?" Hinata replied, "Plus my pretense helped me to sift out who would be my allies and potential threats and enemies.
"Naruto-kun helped me to understand that as a ninja, it's best of have enemies believe you're weak and talentless and what better way to have that done than by having others close to you believe this illusion. Over the years I trained and learned under Naruto-kun's tutelage and became smarter, faster and stronger under everyone's nose like him. Such actions have led enemies like Orochimaru to miscalculate Naruto-kun which nearly led to his death twice today and it led to Neji-niisan's defeat at my hands.
"Naruto-kun had everyone believe Sasuke was the prodigy that was far above him and I followed his example in having everyone believe that Neji-niisan was the clan prodigy whom I was beneath. Naruto-kun played the role as the worst dead last in our class while I played the role as the worst of my clan. It made catching our enemies off guard easier as we studied them, though recent events surrounding Naruto-kun's exploits in his first mission outside of Konoha and his battle against Orochimaru in the Forest of Death has raised red flags to those who were unsuspecting of my boyfriend.
"Had it not been for Naruto-kun, I wouldn't be where I'm at now, thus I have no regrets to my actions. And unlike most of the people here, Naruto-kun saw true potential in me and was determined to help me bring it out. He sacrificed so much of his time, resources and energy to help me develop into the heiress I am today. I owe it all to Naruto-kun who saved me from my past darkness I almost doomed myself to."
There was a brief silence in the meeting hall as everyone processed what Hinata explained. The members of both houses had to admit that it was a cunning and ingenious act. Soon the realization that their clan heiress wasn't weak, talentless and useless at all as they once believed her to be started to saturate into their minds. The fact that Neji the said clan prodigy of the Cadet Branch House was easily and badly beaten by her with Hinata not being hit once appealed and immensely pleased the members of the Main House, especially her father. Soon though, the silence was broken.
"Truly, I'm indebted to Uzumaki Naruto who has proven to be a most exceptional ninja and teacher," Hiashi said before looking back at his older daughter again, "And seeing how your current prowess is the result of his training and teachings, would mind sharing with us in details what kind of training he had you undergo?"
"I'm sorry father, but that won't be possible," Hinata replied meekly.
"What!?" an elder close to Hiashi's age retorted. Hiashi gestured to him that he would handle this.
"May I ask why," Hiashi replied calmly.
"I made and swore a blood oath to Naruto-kun that under no circumstances will I explain or reveal the secrets behind his training programs. I'm sorry father but it's a vow I made to him that I will take to my grave if I must," Hinata explained respectfully but with conviction.
Hiashi wasn't happy with this but he chose not to press the matter further.
"Hinata," a Main House elder spoke, "Your years of secrecy and masking your skills have left us not knowing your true aptitude. Therefore I want you to demonstrate to us if you're really as good as the Hokage and others proclaim you to be. And seeing that Neji was clearly no match for you at the least, challenging Hanabi clearly wouldn't give us a proper assessment of your skills at all."
Hanabi snorted lowly but gave no verbal retort.
"It won't indeed," Hiashi agreed, "And for that reason…," Hiashi stood up before facing Hinata and declared, "Hyuuga Hinata, I, Hyuuga Hiashi, challenge you to a fight!"
Everyone, including Hinata, was shocked by Hiashi's challenge. It was no secret how strong a fighter Hiashi was and he was known to have killed enemy Jounin ninja with a single strike, and one of those times was to protect Hinata.
"Hiashi-sama," Kō beseeched, "Surely you can permit me or someone else of the Cadet Branch House to test Hinata-sama's prowess and Juuken strengthen."
"If you would allow it Hiashi," the fifth Main House elder requested, "I would substitute in your place in battling Hinata."
"No!" Hiashi said calmly thought with stern tone, "As her father and clan leader, it's my responsibility. For a long time, Hinata has hidden the truth about her levels of strength and intelligence, and even now, her vow to Naruto denies me of knowing through what means the Uzumaki got her to come as far in her Juuken as I've been informed of by the Hokage. Which also begs the question regarding how much of our clan's Juuken does Naruto understand which he used to train my daughter."
Many in the meeting hall had widened eyes when this realization struck them. The very thought that a non-Hyuuga trained a full blooded Hyuuga in their own arts, who at one time was the worst in their own arts; it sounded preposterous but Hinata's training through Naruto was living proof of it. Hanabi realized this also. She wanted to speak out and proclaim that Naruto was training her also, but the promise she made to him to never reveal her new training kept her at bay.
Continuing to look directly at Hinata, Hiashi continued, "Hinata, I will challenge you, not on your level, but as my equal."
He can't be serious! Hanabi thought with worry as she and everyone else in both houses saw the gravity behind Hiashi's actions. The only Hyuuga who was equal to Hiashi was his late twin brother Hizashi. Surprisingly, even the clan elders were wondering if Hiashi was taking things too far.
"Hiashi-sama," Kō pleaded, "While we're pleased with Hinata-sama's advancements though upset and disappointed that she hid it from us, certainly you don't think she can actually fight you on equal grounds!"
"That's for me to find out for myself," Hiashi replied before turning back to Hinata again, "Tomorrow morning, you will meet me at the open training field at the east end of our compound. Everyone from both houses except Neji due to his injuries will be present for our match. This challenge is not a request requiring your acceptance. You will face me in combat whether you want to or not."
"I understand father," Hinata replied meekly. Hiashi turned to the rest of the clan and said, "Until tomorrow this meeting is adjourned."
Hiashi left the meeting hall before anyone could question him further. Hanabi hurried to Hinata and pulled her to the side.
"Neesan, what are you going to do? Father is serious about this! Even Neji never dared challenged him to such a fight!" Hanabi said worriedly.
"I know, but father never challenged him to such a fight either and he's not given me a choice," Hinata answered back.
"I've never seen father fight at full strength even when he would train and spar with me," Hanabi commented, "I can't say for sure what father will do."
"I truly appreciate your concern, Hanabi," Hinata thanked, but then stated coolly, "But to be honest, I've been meaning to challenge our father for a while now and honestly, fighting him on his level will help me better assess where I stand and how far my training with Naruto-kun has taken me."
Hanabi saw the logic behind Hinata's words, and if she was honest with herself, Hanabi too, like her father, wanted to see with her own eyes just how strong Hinata became through Naruto's training.
(Meanwhile In Another Part Of Konoha)
Naruto walked through the village with much on his mind as he contemplated on matters that were discussed with his clones, discovering his new second affinity and Hinata's match with Gaara. He figured that some time alone in the bathhouse would help soothe and calm his mind and clear away his troubles before he could settle down and form his plan of actions.
"Naruto!" a feminine voice called out to him. Naruto boke out of his thoughts and turned to see Temari making her way over to him with a bright smile pasted on her face.
"Hey Temari! I didn't expect to see you out here during this hour!" Naruto greeted.
"Well, I was hoping to find and congratulate you in your match against that Tenten girl. Your expertise with wind manipulation was very impressive to say the least," Temari praised.
"It was nothing much really," Naruto replied with modesty.
"I wouldn't call creating and controlling two cyclones at the same time 'nothing much'," Temari said, "Back home, Suna would hail you as a most exceptional rare genius and prodigy."
"I hope your brothers aren't here listening to you praising me like this since they might get mad and scare me off like all the other guys I'm sure," Naruto joked.
"Don't worry about them. It's just me here," Temari smiled and assured. But then she recalled the line ups for the Chuunin Finals and asked, "Naruto, about the Finals, how do you feel about Hinata facing Gaara?"
Naruto's expression turned neutral as he answered, "It was most unexpected, and considering how Gaara tried to kill my friend Lee during their match earlier today, I'm forced to wonder what he'll do against Hinata in the Finals. But in any case, Hinata decided to face your brother head on."
"I see," Temari replied.
"Were you concerned for my girlfriend's well-being?" Naruto asked.
"I acknowledged and respect Hinata's strength and capacity to handle and take care of herself," Temari answered, "She doesn't need me to worry about her."
"No, you're worried about what I might think of you because of Gaara's actions," Naruto remarked. Temari blushed and flinched ever so slightly after seeing how Naruto figured her out.
"You have no reasons to worry or believe that Gaara's actions will make me think lesser of you Temari," Naruto assured, "I'm not a person who judge people based on the actions of another individual. I went through that crap before and I never once enjoyed how it felt. I didn't hold it against you for what Gaara did to my friend, I won't hold it against you for what might happen between Gaara and Hinata in the Finals.
"But in any case, I don't want hold you up by talking too much so I'm going to head on my way to the bathhouse for some downtime. Ciao!"
Naruto then turned and continued on his way. Temari didn't want to let him off that easily. She had to find out and learn more about Naruto and she wasn't going miss the chance.
"Wait!" Temari called out. Naruto stopped and turned to the wind mistress and asked, "Yes?"
To this Temari answered, "I never been to a bathhouse here in Konoha. If it's alright with you, would you like to escort me there?"
"Sure. I'll show you one of the more popular ones here," Naruto offered before Temari hurried over and tagged along with him to the intended destination. While they were on their way, Naruto cracked a few jokes and told stories of his pranks which got a good amount of laughs out of the wind mistress. Before long, the duo arrived at the intended bathhouse. Temari took a good look at the building and admitted that it was nicely designed and built.
"I can see why this is one of the more popular bathhouses," Temari said, "This is the one you're going to use, right?"
"It is," Naruto confirmed. Temari was aware of Naruto's infamous reputation for peeping from what she heard about him. She was planning on going into the bathhouse to use and exploit Naruto's hormonal desires by allowing him see to her nude body to arouse him. She was aiming to have him want to see and be around her more often, especially if that would get him to reveal more aspects and secrets about himself to her. Temari smiled inwardly and with Hinata out of the way, Temari didn't have to worry about being unable to entice and seduce Naruto.
Just as Temari was about to request to Naruto if she could head inside with him and put her plan into action…
"Temari!" a voice called out. Temari and Naruto turned the left to see Kankurō making his way over to them.
"Kankurō? What are you doing here?" Temari asked, doing her best to hide her annoyance.
"I've been sent by Baki-sensei to find you. He wishes to see you, now," Kankurō explained. Temari inwardly growled, seeing that her sensei had bad timing.
Damn it! I was so close! Temari thought angrily but outwardly sighed lowly, "…Fine. Let's not keep Baki-sensei waiting," Temari turned to Naruto and said, "Thanks for showing me around and for the funny stories. I'll see you later."
The two Suna siblings turned and proceeded on their way back to the hotel where they were temporarily staying at. Naruto simply shrugged went into the bathhouse as originally intended. Going into the men's section of the facility, he removed all of his clothes and placed a towel around his waist as he got himself ready to use one of the baths. Naruto went over to one of the baths and just before he entered into it, he then noticed an old, white long-haired man dressed in light green with a long red vest and wooden sandals peeking into the woman's section of the baths.
"It's him," Naruto said coldly under his breath, "And he's using my favorite peeping spot on top of that," Naruto said with annoyance as he walked over to the man and then asked from behind, "Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Keep quiet gaki. I'm conducting my research," the man replied and went back to his peeping as a perverted giggle came out of his mouth.
He has time to peep at women but no time to come search me out, Naruto thought as he backed away, Well then, I'll give him some inspirational help for his research, up close.
A few minutes later, the man heard the soft sounds of footsteps and turned to investigate it. He was wide eyed when he saw the presence of a very beautiful young blond girl in her late teens with a nice size bust and gorgeous body. She was holding a small towel to her soaked petite body but it gave the old pervert a lot to think about, especially with her wet hair draping over her back and shoulders.
"And whom might you be my dear?" he asked with a bit of drool coming out of his mouth. Sensually, the girl went over to the man and held his cheeks with her delicate hands. With a very womanly and delicate tone, she greeted, "I'm Naruko, my lord. Allow me please to demonstrate a trick I'd like to show you, Jiraiya-sama. Though I'm soaked and wet with anticipation you'll experience excitement out of my trick."
The fact that the nude and wet 'Naruko' referred to Jiraiya as 'her' lord made the blushing Toad Sannin even more excited as perverted giggles escaped his mouth. Added to this was that 'Naruko' covered 'herself' with women's scented body lotion and perfumed oil that gave off a very feminine smell to further deceive the perverted man's senses. Jiraiya was so occupied thinking about the possibilities of what 'Naruko' was going to do that he failed to see what was about to happen.
While holding Jiraiya's cheeks, 'Naruko' shunshin'd with Jiraiya out of the man's section of the bathhouse and teleported to the women's side of the bath, high above the center of the bath towards the ceiling. 'Naruko' dispelled into a cloud of smoke, dropping Jiraiya down into the large bath that a group of the nude ANBU kunoichi were using. The unsuspecting women screamed briefly from the surprise crashing of the Sannin. Jiraiya popped out of the water completely soaked and a bit sore from the impact.
"What happened?" a confused Jiraiya asked aloud, "I know I saw a vision beauty and pleasure in my future!"
"Funny, because I see only pain and despair in yours," an ANBU kunoichi said darkly. Jiraiya looked around only to find that he was surrounded by a group of enraged naked Chuunin, Jounin and ANBU kunoichi.
"Wait! It's not what you think! I was tricked and thrown in here by some young blonde girl!" Jiraiya pleaded desperately but he saw no avenue of escape as the women closed in on him.
"Knowing your history with peeping on girls and writing your smut, Jiraiya-sama, your credibility is far less than impeccable," a Jounin kunoichi said as she cracked her knuckles on both of her fists as others went and retrieved their weapons.
"Ladies Please! I-"
Jiraiya didn't get to finish because the next thing that followed was him futilely screaming for help and for someone to come and save him as all of the kunoichi there started beating the crap out of him. Naruto, while using his transparency jutsu, watched with a smile as the nude women there pummeled the helpless Toad Sage.
(Meanwhile)
Honoka and Karin were talking and getting to know each other as they were passing by the bathhouse when they heard Jiraiya's loud screams and cries for help.
"Evidently some poor soul is being ambushed and beaten by the women in there," Karin commented as she adjusted her glasses.
"Whoever the pervert is probably deserves it," Honoka remarked, "I wonder if Naruto-kun returned home yet."
"How should I know? You never showed me where Naruto-kun and you are staying at," Karin replied.
"You know, you're absolutely right. Come with me," Honoka said.
"Was there a choice," Karin said cynically as she followed her fellow Uzumaki to Naruto's apartment while ignoring Jiraiya's screams.
Naruto and Jiraiya finally meet, but Naruto clearly isn't happy to see him. What will become of this event? Will Naruto find some means of controlling his new second affinity? With Naruto also learning what Sasuke is up to in trying to attain the Mangekyō Sharingan, what will he do about it and is he on to discovering who the culprit was behind Konoha's attack thirteen years ago? And what will happen in the match between Hinata and Hiashi as Hiashi fully intends to fight his daughter as his equal? And who what that ninja following Sasuke from the shadows? Find out next time.