Outside The Stadium)
A frustrated Kabuto slipped into the village.
"Damn it!" Kabuto muttered lowly. "I'd hoped to ambush a lone ANBU agent, but all the patrols seem to be running in groups of five."
He also noticed that they were all carrying radio communicators, which was a bit unusual. He was sure he could deal with two or three ANBU, but he wasn't convinced he could handle four or five of them before a message got out. Even if he did, a five man patrol going missing would certainly be noticed a lot faster than a single agent would. His orders from Orochimaru were very clear: Do nothing to raise alarm until just before the scheduled time for the attack.
The whole purpose for Kabuto wanting to get his hands on an ANBU uniform in the first place was to avoid resorting to using henge. Skilled Jounin were known for being able to spot ninja using henge. This was something that all the Oto ninja who had infiltrated the stadium and the village avoided by wearing civilian clothing. Kabuto realized his mistake too late, and he realized he should have done the same as his comrades. However, possessing an ANBU outfit would have given Kabuto more freedom to move about unquestioned, but the team formations made that option impossible and it was far too late now to get a civilian disguise.
It was obvious he couldn't enter the stadium full of ANBU unnoticed were he to use henge.
"This is not good," Kabuto said to himself as he saw that he was now pressed for time. He knew that all those disguised Oto ninja would be in a world of hurt without his genjutsu, but there was nothing he could do. Outside the stadium Kabuto wouldn't be in position to use his genjutsu, so he decided to do the next best thing. He would stay in the village and join in the attack after it commences.
Looking at his watch he was he had about twenty minutes.
(Outside The Village)
The field was quiet as the wind blew pass the trees. However, the scenery showed blood splattered everywhere as the field was littered with the corpses of slain Suna ninja. The expressions on their faces showed that they didn't see their deaths coming, as it came quickly and efficiently, with no time to retaliate. A female ANBU with a cat's mask going by the codename Neko and her team, along with a Naruto kage bunshin stood over the fallen Suna ninja team.
"From the looks of things," the Naruto clone deduced, "They were preparing to summon something here to ambush Konoha with."
"Thankfully you found them before the deed was carried out," Neko said, "This will help decrease the damage and chaos they could have triggered."
"Agreed," the Naruto cloned said, "I'll report back to Boss."
Neko nodded her head before the clone dispelled itself, transmitting all of his experience and information back to Naruto.
(In Another Sector Outside The Village)
"You ready?" Tsume asked as she rubbed the top of her partner's furry head.
"Of course!" Kuromaru answered. Tsume looked over at her daughter Hana, and her fellow Inuzuka kinsmen who were making up their part of the search and attack teams, along with all their accompanying dogs.
"The Hokage is depending on us Inuzuka to find and deal with any trouble that might be out here. Are we going to let the Hokage down!?" Tsume demanded. She was answered immediately by a loud chorus of no's and barks.
"All right! Move out!" Tsume ordered. The Inuzuka teams all hurried along, looking for Suna and Oto ninja that were in hiding.
(Back Inside The Stadium)
"Neesan!" Hanabi cried tearfully after seeing her older sister crushed and literally liquefied. Hiashi closed his eyes in remorse after seeing the result of Gaara's ruthlessness against his eldest daughter. The audience looked on in stunned silence. They were too stunned and frightened to make a sound. Kurenai knew that was no genjutsu, it was real blood, and though she wanted to cry, she had to restrain herself from doing so.
Ino and Sakura looked horrified at what happened to Hinata, as they weren't expecting such a horrific outcome for her. Sure, Sakura had seen death before by Naruto's hands in Nami no Kuni, but it's an entirely different experience when someone you know is killed brutally right in front of you. Chouji looked horrified at Gaara's merciless act of killing Hinata without so much of a second thought. There was so much blood all around the floor.
"That bastard!" Kiba cursed in a low growl form, "We'll be sure to make him pay, right Akamaru?"
Akamaru growled venomously in agreement.
Temari, Kankurō, Shikamaru, Shino, and Sasuke turned to Naruto to see his reaction to Hinata's brutal demise. To their shock, he was completely calm and composed as if what happened was no big deal. If anything, they expected him to have the biggest reaction to Hinata's death. They couldn't understand how he was so calm about what they just saw happen to her. They couldn't read his expression, which didn't betray any emotion.
'How could he be so damn calm after what happened to Hinata!?' Sasuke wondered with a stupefied expression.
Gaara turned away from the blood and looked directly at Naruto who gave him an emotionless stare. The two Jinchuuriki looked at each other wordlessly with Gaara giving Naruto a hateful defiant gaze.
"I win, Uzumaki," Gaara remarked with a ghostly tone.
"It is not wise to presumptuously proclaim yourself the victor before an official announcement is made," a feminine voice said from behind Gaara. The Suna Jinchuuriki turned to see a shocking sight, which left everyone except Naruto speechless. All of the blood that burst through his imploded sand started joining together, forming one blood puddle before rising to gradually reform back into Hyuuga Hinata.
"It was a humiliating mistake my niisan made when he battled me a month ago," Hinata said as her bloody liquefied body took its original shape before she stood back on her feet, completely unharmed.
'Ikite'ru Bushin no Jutsu (Living Clone Technique),' Naruto deciphered, "That's my girl!" Naruto said proudly with a large grin on his face, "Never had a doubt even for a moment!"
"Nothing personal but in all respects," Kankurō remarked, "She should be dead."
"There's no mention of any ninja in Konoha with the ability to liquefy themselves," Temari commented while looking on in disbelief at how Hinata survived Gaara's deadly attack.
"What was it that Hinata just did?" Sasuke asked while trying to believe what he saw happen, "It's definitely not a mizu bunshin."
"Impossible!" a surprised Gaara replied, "No one has ever survived my Sabaku Kyū (Sand Binding Coffin). How is this possible?"
"Blood manipulation," Hinata answered simply.
"Blood manipulation?" the Gaara repeated, "I've never heard of such a jutsu."
"That's because it's a high A-class kinjutsu of the Uzumaki Clan, which Naruto-kun taught me," Hinata said, "You don't need to know how it works."
All of the Konoha ninja were happy that Hinata was all right, but they couldn't believe how she survived such a deadly ordeal. Hiruzen had a look of relief that Naruto took precautions in preparing Hinata for her match with Gaara, though he himself was interested in this blood manipulation.
"You have quite a promising pair of Konoha Genin this year," the 'Kazekage' remarked, "I'm sure you must be proud of your ninja's accomplishments."
"I'm very pleased with their performances so far and I'm proud to say that most have not disappointed me so far since the start of this event," Hiruzen said.
"Yes, Kankurō's forfeiting was rather disappointing and embarrassing for Suna to say the least," the Kazekage stated.
"I mean Nara Shikamaru's forfeiting to Temari was disappointing," Hiruzen clarified, "As impressed as I was about how he battled Temari, I'm afraid that I will deny his promotion."
"May I ask why?" the 'Kazekage' inquired, "This Shikamaru had demonstrated as much resilience and tactical prowess as Naruto. What reasons could you have to deny his promotion?"
Hiruzen elaborated, "Here are my assessments:
"While it is true that Shikamaru has the mind of a Chuunin, he lacks the rest of the qualities necessary for the rank. At the end of the Second Test of the Chuunin Exams, the riddle stated that Chuunin must have both power and mind. Shikamaru has mind but lacks power. His unwillingness to fight until he was literally pushed over the balcony by Naruto to do so testifies to this. If he lacks the will to be a Chuunin then he shouldn't receive the rank until he feels ready.
"There's also Shikamaru's decision to forfeit instead of winning his match he was about to win against Temari. He gave a ninja from Suna the chance to keep advertising her village. What he should have done was win his match against Temari and then forfeit at the beginning of his next match. Shikamaru basically let Konoha down because he was too lazy to keep fighting. That's not Chuunin material and it speaks badly of my ninja with important dignitaries and foreign diplomats watching the event. If he lived in another village he probably would have been brought to the Torture and Interrogation Department for treacherous actions against the village.
"Based on these assessments, I cannot grant Shikamaru's promotion to Chuunin. Aside that, there's also the fact that Gaara doesn't seem to be interested in becoming a Chuunin as he does in trying to prove a point to Naruto."
"Gaara has expressed his interest in the Uzumaki after hearing so much about him," the 'Kazekage' stated, "Since the start of the exams I've heard how Gaara so much wants to prove his caliber against Naruto. Perhaps we'll see a future match between the two."
"That will depend on the outcome of this match," Hiruzen replied. The 'Kazekage' simply nodded his head and looked back at the arena floor.
(Among The Audience)
"Neesan survived that deadly attack father," Hanabi said happily in relief, "But I never heard of blood manipulation before."
"Nor have I or anyone else I presume," Hiashi replied as he was as surprised as everyone at how Hinata liquefied herself to escape death.
Elsewhere in the audience…
"You got quite an amazing student under your wings Kurenai," Asuma praised, "I really thought she was a goner that time."
"I'm just as happy that Hinata wasn't killed by that psychopathic Genin down there," Kurenai remarked in absolute relief. Regardless that she was Hinata's sensei, Kurenai still treated and regarded the Hyuuga heiress as her own daughter.
(On The Arena Floor)
"I don't understand how you survived my attack which should have killed you," Gaara stated, "But I'll make sure to prove my existence to Naruto through your death before the end of this match."
"I have no intentions of allowing you to have your way. I warn you," Hinata cautioned, "I won't go easy on you as I did with Niisan."
"Hinata-sama calls hospitalizing and paralyzing me "going easy on me"?" Neji asked incredulously with Tenten chuckling at Neji's expense.
"All things considered Neji," Lee remarked, "You didn't land a single blow on her."
"You don't need to remind me of that!" Neji retorted.
"I've heard just about enough from you, Hyuuga," Gaara stated, "I have a brother in burden with whom I want to challenge."
"Why do you want to fight Naruto-kun so much?" Hinata asked, "What do you hope to gain from it?"
"You don't share our burden therefore you can't possibly understand my logic," Gaara answered.
"Yet I was willing to bear and carry that burden with Naruto-kun!" Hinata replied, "All of his hardships, all of the mistreatment and cruel discrimination he had to go through all his life, I faced all of it with him against everyone who dared look down on him! I didn't care what other thought me for wanting to bond with Naruto-kun and I still don't. My bond with Naruto-kun made me strong and because I became precious to Naruto-kun it made him stronger because now he has something precious he wants to protect. Naruto-kun taught me this and what it means to have true strength and courage. You can stand to learn a great deal from him just as I learned so much from him.
"You yourself call him your "brother in burden," therefore, like you said, he understands better than I or anyone else your life experiences. You don't have to be his enemy but one of his best friends."
(In The Audience)
"It's amazing that she's negotiating and pleading with him to become Naruto's friend instead of just fighting him in spite of the fact that Gaara was trying to kill her," Asuma marveled.
"It's something Naruto himself would have done," Kurenai acknowledged, "She's really becoming more and more like the boy. She's trying to make an ally instead of an enemy for Naruto."
(Back On The Arena Floor)
"Useless words," Gaara remarked with contempt, "The only strength I need is love for myself and nothing more; that's what my life in Suna has taught me. Whatever more my brother in burden has taught you will prove fruitless as I'll make him watch as I crush you beneath my heels. Now, let's stop delaying the inevitable."
Gaara got his sand ready to fight against Hinata.
"Very well Gaara," Hinata said, "If this is your choice, then there's nothing further I can do to change your mind."
Just as Hinata was about to assume her Juuken stance…
"HINATA!" Naruto called out to her. Hinata turned to Naruto as did Gaara to see what was going on. Naruto looked directly at Hinata and said with a nod of approval, "Your petition is granted. You have my permission."
Hinata smiled brightly at hearing Naruto's words while everyone else wondered what he was talking about. She turned back to Gaara who in turned looked back at her. Closing her eyes, Hinata said, "At last Naruto-kun, you granted my request."
At that moment, complex and intricate seals started appearing all around Hinata's body, head and face. Hiruzen, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sukura and Karin had a look of shock when they saw those very familiar seals. The 'Kazekage's' eyes narrowed when he saw those seals.
"Those seals!" Sakura said to Ino next to her, "I've seen them before, twice in fact, from Naruto who has those seals around his body!"
"What do they do?" Ino asked curiously.
"I'm not entirely sure," Sakura admitted, "But Naruto resorted to them twice, once in Nami no Kuni and the other itme in the Forest of Death when we were fighting against Orochimaru."
(Up In The Balcony)
"Your girlfriend has those seals also?!" Sasuke asked in disbelief.
"Of course," Naruto said, "Where else would she have gotten them from?"
(In The Audience)
"Father?" Hanabi inquired, "What are those seals? I've never seen them before!"
"Nor have I for that matter," Hiashi replied with curiosity and fascination, "They look ancient and have designs of a true seal grandmaster. I wonder how Hinata was able to acquire those seals with whatever ability they'll grant her."
"Do you suppose Naruto-kun gave neesan those seals?" Hanabi suggested. Hiashi thought for a moment and considered everything he knew and heard about Naruto so far.
"The only other person who would come to my mind would probably be Jiraiya-sama," Hiashi said, "But the likelihood that even he would know those seals is most likely improbable."
(Elsewhere In The Audience)
"I've never seen those seals before," Honoka said, "But judging from their designs they're from our clan."
"I'm not surprised," Karin replied, "Naruto-kun would definitely be the one behind this."
"Not only that," Honoka said, "But those seals evidently serve a special and very important purpose otherwise he wouldn't have given them to Hinata and have her keep them a secret until now."
"Well we're about to see what those seals will allow Hinata to do," Karin said as Honoka simply agreed.
(Back On The Arena Floor)
Hinata stretched out her arms to the side was more seals started appearing and said, "I waited a very long time for this moment."
The seals around her body started glowing. Hinata then concluded, "And now Naruto-kun has rewarded my patience."
The glowing seals around her body flashed and disappeared into her body. With her Byakugan reactivated, Hinata looked over at Gaara and said, "You wear a complete suit of armor composed entirely of sand around your body Gaara," then she warned, "I request that you yield peacefully and surrender or I'll be forced to hurt you as I tear off your armor."
"And you accuse me of being presumptuous Hyuuga?" Gaara asked humorlessly, "The outcome of this match will be no different from what I did to your comrade during The Preliminaries."
"Your first attempt at killing me failed so that ought to tell you something about me," Hinata politely reminded before everyone in the stadium felt a massive spike of chakra being generated from Hinata as the ground around her feet cracked and cratered with a thunderous thud in the form of a wide web underneath her. This was the result of Hinata completely dropping her seals to zero.
"Once again," Hinata politely asked, "do you yield?"
Gaara snarled at Hinata while Sakura, Ino and the rest of the Konoha Genin except Naruto paled at seeing Hinata's displayed of strength. Sasuke couldn't believe what he was seeing while coming to understand the real nature behind the seals. Temari and Kankurō looked at the Hyuuga heiress with mouths and eyes wide open while witnessing what she was doing while holding her grounds against the Suna Jinchuuriki and living to do so.
Hanabi, looked in both awe and fear at her older sister while most of the audience, including Genma, almost popped their eyes out of their skulls after seeing the energy force removed off Hinata's body. Hiashi was proudly looking at Hinata with a strong sense of fatherly and clan leader pride. If anyone years earlier were to have told him that Hinata today would manifest this level of strength and confidence, Hiashi would have accused that person of lying to his face. Neji looked at Hinata with a respectable look of admiration and fear as he saw the amount of chakra she was generating.
"Hinata-sama wasn't joking when she said she held back against me," Neji remarked, "'if this is her being serious, then I should have died horribly many times without her breaking a sweat."
"This reminds me of the time when I released my weights and opened my gates when I first battled Gaara," Lee stated.
"No!" Neji refuted, "This is completely different! This is entirely Hinata-sama's strength…in its true form!"
"It's true form?" Tenten asked quizzically, "What do you mean by that?"
"It's like a number of handicaps of some sort were completely removed off her," Neji explained, "I think that those seals we saw have something to do with them."
"You mean to say that Hinata has been training and fighting with self-imposed handicaps this entire time for an unspecified amount of time?" Gai asked, "Even when she was battling you during The Preliminaries?"
"If that's the case," Kakashi spoke up, "then that would explain Naruto's unexplainable increase in prowess, speed and strength whenever those seals appeared and vanished."
"But the question is: how did Hinata and Naruto acquire those handicap seals in the first place," Gai stated.
"Only they can answer that question," Kakashi replied, "If they're willing to do so, which I highly doubt."
A moment later, a mighty flame aura of chakra appeared around Hinata's whole form as her hair flowed with her flaming chakra. She formed her Juuho Sōshiken again around her fists.
"Long before our match Gaara," Hinata stated, "I knew that my clan's prized Juuken alone wouldn't be enough to stop you or do you any serious harm to you. And your outwardly impenetrable sand defenses and armor made taijutsu and Juuken very difficult to prove effective. For these reasons…," a holographic genjutsu of Naruto appeared and overshadowed Hinata's form as she continued, "I joined my clan's prized Juuken with the caliber and might of the Uzumaki Clan. This binding union of Uzumaki and Hyuuga will be the instrument I'll use against you."
"Nice show of bravado Hyuuga," Gaara remarked mockingly, "But it'll take more than bravado to take me on."
The genjutsu of Naruto vanished from sight.
"Get Ready!" Hinata warned before she vanished and reappeared behind Gaara. She punched Gaara, sending him flying. Before he hit the ground, Hinata appeared and hit him again with a fierce Juuken punch, this time sending him in the opposite direction. When Gaara landed with a crash, his skin had cracked.
"You'll pay for this Hyuuga," Gaara said venomously. Hinata wasn't going to allow Gaara time to gather his sand to together. Hinata made several hand signs and said, "Suiton: Kōzui no Jutsu (Flooding Water Technique)!"
Hinata blasted a powerful geyser of water from her mouth into Gaara's direction. Gaara took the hit directly as Hinata pooled a large section of the arena ground with water. The blasted also served to soak and dissolve sections of Gaara's sand armor as it was becoming increasingly difficult for Gaara to maintain his armor as the water added weight onto his body. But Gaara also felt himself being pulled in and held at bay in the water. That alone caused many to look at Hinata in amazement.
"How was she able to execute that jutsu in a place where there is no water!?" Kotetsu asked aloud.
"Only the Nidaime was able to pull off such a feat!" Izumo commented. What everyone didn't know was that Hinata asked Naruto to create a water containment seal to place on her body as a counter to Gaara's sand gourd. The seal Naruto designed for her was able to house massive quantities of water, enough to overfill several swimming pools. Through that seal, Hinata was able to summon the water store away on her body without the need to be by an available water source so long she didn't exhaust her supply of water.
The large pooling water didn't sink into the ground. Rather, it remained where it was on the surface of the ground around Gaara's feet with the Suna Jinchuuriki being in the center of the pool of water. The water was clearly up to the top of his kneecaps.
"Water and sand don't mix, Gaara," Hinata stated as she jumped and stood on top of the water, "You may have mastery over sand but that becomes problematic for you when you have water mixed and soaked with your sand and dirt."
"Clever," Gaara admitted before his tone darkened, "But this is only a minor setback for me before I find a way to end you."
Refusing to dignify his threat with a response, Hinata manipulated some water and combined it with her twin lion fists. She saw was doing this the strength of her Juuho Sōshiken started increasing.
"Water manipulation?" Kiba asked, "When did Hinata learn water manipulation?"
Akamaru barked while agreeing with his partner in wondering how much about Hinata they don't know.
"What form of Juuken is this?" Hiashi asked in fascination, "I've never seen such a feat as this before!"
"It's known as Elemental Juuken, Father," Hanabi said, "It's a new type of hybrid Juuken that Naruto-kun has devised and started training me in. And evidently, he's been training Neesan in it for quite some time also."
"Elemental Juuken?" Hiashi repeated as he sampled the sound of that hybrid style, "I'm interested in seeing its capacity."
"I'm certain it'll surprise you, Father," Hanabi said with confidence, "after all, Naruto-kun training Neesan and I have done everything but disappoint you."
"Clearly," Hiashi remarked in fully agreement.
The result of Hinata's water manipulation combined with her Juuken was that water around her fists became like raging rapids in the shape of the twin lions heads that were now roaring loudly.
"Suiton; Sui Juuho Sōshiken Shōha (Water Release: Water Twin Lion Fists Shockwave)!" Hinata yelled out as she identified her new water-type Juuken. Not giving Gaara time to process the information, Hinata disappeared and the next thing Gaara felt was a sharp burst of pain as Hinata drove one of her water and chakra coated fist deep into his guts as it drilled through Gaara's sand armor. She followed by quickly bringing her right fist into his face, shattering sections of his facial armor. With parts of his true body exposed, she hurriedly started attacking and shutting off his chakra points before his remaining sand armor could cover his body again.
Gaara yelled out in pain, feeling a form of sheer discomfort he never in his life felt before. Hinata bit her right thumb and channeled blood into her lion fist, turning her right lion first completely red.
"She's adding blood manipulation into the mix of things," Naruto realized in surprise as he watched Hinata plunge the reddened lion fist into Gaara as it was absorbed into his sand armor before his sand covered and shielded him again. However Hinata realized that Gaara's sand didn't release her right arm as she tried to pull away. A moment later, a crushing sound was heard as Hinata's right arm was crushed and absorbed into Gaara's sand. Hinata pulled away while using her left arm to hold on to what remained of her bleeding right arm.
"Everything is in place," Hinata said before liquefying into a bloody pool and melting into the water. Seconds later the water started being absorbed into the ground until it was completely gone. Hinata then emerged out of the ground with her body completely intact with no sign of injury or a missing limb. She stood up and made a good distance far away from Gaara.
Hinata hid herself in the ground after she created the mist blanket around the arena ground. She made an Ikite'ru bunshin to substitute for her and through the eyes and body of her clone which she "possessed," she studied Gaara's tactics enough before setting her traps for him.
"I will admit that you're more resilient than I expected and killing you isn't as easy as I had originally thought it would be," Gaara said and then stated, "For what it's worth, you've caused me enough trouble which I've grown more than tired of. This time…"
Gaara focused more chakra into the ground to make more sand around him to use at his disposal. The radius was fifty yards with Hinata standing twelve yards from the sand field.
"I'll be sure to finish you," Gaara stated grimly as his sand moved towards Hinata.
"Don't speak too quickly," Hinata advised before she bit both of her thumbs and then clenched her fists to summon chakra around her first. Her chakra soon turned red through her use of blood manipulation.
"I know it's not but that looks like Kyuubi's chakra," Kakashi commented.
"It's Hinata's chakra for sure but it underwent a complete transformation," Neji said, "One I've never seen before. This must be the blood manipulation she was talking about."
"What is she going to do now?" Tenten asked.
As if to answer her question, Hinata suddenly vanished. Gaara looked around for where she was. Suddenly the Hyuuga heiress appeared in front of Gaara, punching clean through the sand Gaara used to protect himself. Gaara was shocked that his sand was didn't protect him but rather exposed his face to her attack.
Hinata disappeared again, and reappeared behind Gaara, throwing a kick towards his head. Gaara whirled around, shocked at the display of speed. Hinata kept disappearing and reappearing all around Gaara, Juuken punching and kicking. The sand was unable to protect Gaara as it left him vulnerable to her attacks. Hinata increased her speed even more. Juuken strikes and kicks kept coming against Gaara's body at blurring speed as his sands left him defenseless.
The Suna Jinchuuriki now looked very surprised, confused, and for the first time, scared as he was being battered and wounded with the inability to fight back. This was because of the specific chakra points Hinata shut off on his body earlier when his wet sand left him briefly exposed. The Suna Genin and Baki couldn't believe what was happening to Gaara right before their very eyes. Even Lee didn't do this much damage to Gaara when they first fought a month ago.
"She's so fast," Moegi said as she looked on with admiration.
"I've lost track of her. What's happening?" Udon asked. But before anyone could answer, Hinata appeared above Gaara and got a drop kick in. Gaara staggered backwards, a cut clear on his bottom lip.
"No…no way. Gaara was wounded," Temari stammered, fear very clear in her voice.
"I never thought that would be possible," Kankurō remarked. Hinata vanished again and the next thing Gaara knew was a fist in his left cheek. The force sent Gaara sprawling a good distance away from her. Hinata got into her fighting stance with a determined look on her face. Gaara got up, shaking heavily as sand fell from his body.
"You're a defensive ninja who attacks at long range but you're not skilled in close melee combat," Hinata stated, "Your sand armor protected you greatly in the past as it's very difficult to break through its defenses."
Gaara looked at Hinata in time to hear…
"Suiton: Suikiri Kaiten (Water Release: Water Blade Rotation)!" Hinata yelled out before she started spinning at a blurring speed while summoning and manipulating water from her seal into razor sharp spinning blades. The spinning spherical death ball enlarged quickly into Gaara's direction as it ripped and tore through the ground, shredding whatever came in its path. Seeing the danger he was in, Gaara quickly summoning his sands and formed a spherical shield around himself right before her attack hit. The sand shield took most of the brunt of the deadly attack however a couple of Hinata's water blades made it through the sand dome and made several lacerations on Gaara's body. Hinata soon dispelled her attack and gradually stopped spinning as she summoned the water back into her seal like before.
Gaara was soaked again but the look in his eyes and face showed that his sanity was beginning to break apart as he was seeing blood coming from out of his wounds.
"It's my blood!" Gaara said, "My blood!"
Gaara was in a world of pain, the like of which that tore through his entire body. He looked back at Hinata with a murderous look of hate.
"It's time I end this match with you, Gaara," Hinata stated with her Byakugan still activated with seemingly more veins around her eyes popping out, "You're now in my field of divination!"
Hinata focused her reddened chakra around her fists in the lion heads once more. She wasn't taking any chances with Suna's Jinchuuriki after seeing the murderous death glare he was giving her as it was clear that he was plotting something dangerous against her. Gaara started racing through hand seals in an effort to use a self-inducing slumber jutsu in his plot to put himself to sleep and summon the bijuu Shukaku in full form to kill Hinata and anyone else that came his way after that. Temari and Kankurō saw the danger and made a quick exit from the stands. The remaining Konoha Genin saw this but before they could investigate why those two left…
"Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!" Hinata shouted as she started striking Gaara's chakra points, from the distance and same spot she was standing at.
"2 palms!"
"4 palms!"
"8 palms!"
All of Hinata's hits were making contact without her actually having to be near him. Regardless of the expanse between them, she saw with accuracy all of his chakra points attacked them directly through blood manipulation. This was possible because of the remaining blood chakra and manipulated water Hinata infused into Gaara's sand armor.
"16 palms!"
More of the Hyuuga heiress' attacks were hitting their targets as the audience just looked on in absolute shock at the event playing before them.
"No Way!" Hanabi said in complete awe while watching Hinata performing their clan's most feared attack from such a distance.
"She's executing Hakke Rokujūyon Shō at long range without physically having to touch Gaara directly!" Hiashi marveled.
"32 palms!"
Gaara felt every last blow he was receiving at the hands of the Hyuuga Clan heiress as more and more strikes were being made with cutting edge precision.
"How is this possible!?" Neji muttered as he tried to process the new innovative Long Range Hakke Rokujūyon Shō that Hinata invented.
"64 Palms!"
And to finish it off…
"Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm)" Hinata yelled out as she precisely pinpointed Gaara's vital points with her Byakugan and released a high-speed Juuho Sōshiken induced palm thrust "vacuum shell" compressed using the Juuken to attack Gaara's vitals. This devastating combo attack collided with the Suna Jinchuuriki and exploded on him which launched him with tremendous force as it sent him flying completely off the ground and straight into the stadium wall.
The impact cratered the walls severely as the shock wave was felt around the stadium. His sand gourd shattered from the crushing collision and did nothing to cushion his impact into the wall. Gaara, embedded into the crater, hanged there half conscious and heavily battered with sections of his blood stained clothes and robe torn and ragged out with blood coming out of his mouth. Moments later, Gaara look from the distance and saw a blurry vision of Naruto overcasting Hinata.
"Naruto…what unbelievable power…" Gaara tried to finish his statement but the pain proved too much for his body to take as he fall into unconsciousness. He collapsed from the crater and crashed down in an undignified matter onto the surface floor motionlessly facedown. He suffered from a series of injuries from a concussion, internal injuries which included broken ribs, wounded organs, three broken bones, several lacerations and many bruises. All in all, Gaara was in very bad shape. Baki was in absolute shock after eyewitnessing Gaara's defeat by Hinata's hands. Suna's ultimate weapon, their Jinchuuriki and proclaimed trump card against Konoha, was taken down by the Hyuuga heiress in one fight without receiving so much as a scratch.
Hiashi couldn't believe Hinata's display of power and strength. It forced him to wonder how much Hinata held back against him during their match against each other a month ago with the whole clan watching. To say Hinata far surpassed him would have been more than an understatement. Hinata was in a class of her own and her new and powerful Juukenn styles were unlike anything he or any other Hyuuga before and after him had ever seen. And he knew Naruto was the primary reason behind all of this.
'If Hinata was made to become this strong because of Naruto,' Hiashi contemplated as he then looked down at Hanabi, 'Then I can only imagine how far Hanabi will get after her time with Naruto also. After all, both of my daughters saw things about the boy that I and so many others failed to see and Hinata's performance today made it clear that Naruto knows better in how to bring out the best in my daughters than even I do.'
Hanabi looked and found her father staring down at her.
"Father?" Hanabi asked. Hiashi cleared his throat and said, "Hanabi, Hinata's performance today surpasses anything I've ever seen from any Hyuuga before and after my time. This gives me reasons to have the utmost confidence that in time you'll bear amazing fruitage in your training with Naruto. Besides me training you in our clan arts, I'll leave you in Naruto's hands."
"I will do my best to be strong like neesan and make everyone and Naruto-kun proud of me father," Hanabi sand with confidence. When Hanabi thought about those seals that appeared on her older sister's body, she wondered more about them and wondered if Naruto had something to do with them. She made a mental note to ask Naruto about those seals.
Genma hurried to the center of the arena floor. After a span of ten seconds, Genma announced, "This match is over; Winner by knock out, Hyuuga Hinata!"
The audience burst in a loud applause at Hinata's victory over Gaara. Baki rushed to the arena floor with three medic nin following close by with a stretcher and a medic kit as they made their way to Gaara. Reaching the Jinchuuriki, the medics hurriedly checked his vitals and found that he was still alive and seriously wounded both internally and externally.
"Let's get him to the infirmary fast!" one of the medics said before placing Gaara on the stretcher and carrying him out of the arena and to the infirmary with Baki followed close by.
(Meanwhile)
Temari and Kankurō were moving quickly through the hallway when they heard Hinata announced as the victor against Gaara by knock out. Both siblings stopped dead in their tracks when they heard that Hinata beat and knocked Gaara out, something that never happened before.
"Did that guy just say that Hinata BEAT Gaara by knock out?" Kankurō asked with a shocked tone.
"Unless we heard wrong that's exactly what was announced," Temari confirmed.
"You both sound surprised that Hinata-chan won against my brother in burden," a Naruto clone said as he and several other clones armed with their katana appeared and surrounded the Suna siblings.
"I'm sorry Temari but I'm afraid I can't allow you and Kankurō to leave so soon, especially with a war between our villages on the rise," the clone said, "I'm going ask you both to come with me, peacefully."
Kankurō took out his new puppet and got ready to fight. However a Hinata kage bunshin suddenly appeared from hiding and quickly struck several chakra points on both Temari and Kankurō's bodies. Kankurō's puppet fell to the floor since the female Hyuuga clone effectively disabled him from being able to mold chakra strings. Several more Naruto clones appeared and surrounded the two Suna Genin. The clones readied themselves to attack should the two Suna Genin prove hostile.
"Please, this doesn't have to get ugly," the lead Naruto clone warned, "either surrender peacefully or refusal will be met with unpleasant retaliation."
Temari and Kankurō saw that they were not only outnumbered and out powered but that their village's planned invasion was somehow discovered. Having no other choice, both Temari and Kankurō's disarmed and surrendered.
"Naruto-kun," Temari sincerely apologized, "I'm so sorry."
The lead Naruto clone nodded his head somberly.
(Elsewhere)
Reaching the infirmary, Baki stepped inside and watched the medics preparing to tend to Gaara's injuries.
"You don't need to be here Baki-san," the lead medic said, "We'll take care of Gaara."
"I'm responsible for Gaara as he is my student," Baki retorted, "How much time will it take to heal his injuries?"
"It's hard to say before we can fully assess the injuries done to him," the medic replied, "Tell me please, would you prefer we do things the short way or the long way?"
"Don't ask me such ridiculous questions!" Baki replied indignantly, wanting Gaara back in shape and conscious as soon as possible, "We don't have time for the long way!"
"Very well then," the medic said before the third medic nin suddenly appeared behind Baki and swiftly knocked him unconscious. Baki didn't see it coming as he fell straight to the ground. The three medics threw off their medic clothes and dispelled their henge to reveal Naruto's three clones. A moment later, Ikibi appeared through the door with Inoichi and two other Jounin walking behind him.
"He's all yours," one of the clones said. Ikibi nodded as he signaled the two other Jounin to take Baki away to be questioned.
"Leave Gaara to us," the lead clone said, "We'll watch him."
"Very well then," Ikibi consented before leaving the room with Inoichi and the others.
(Outside The Village)
"Wait!" Kuromaru warned as he came to a sudden halt and smelled his surroundings, "Do you smell that?"
Tsume sniffed the air herself and replied, "I do; multiple scents I've never picked up in the village before. Whoever they are they're not Konoha ninja."
"You're right mother," Hana said as she and her fellow Inzuka kinsmen also detected the foreign scents. A moment later the Inuzuka were met up with a group of Hyuuga ninja.
"Kō!" Tsume greeted.
"Tsume-san," Kō said, "We detected a strong chakra presence and came to investigate it!"
Tsume stated, "We know! But we don't know exactly how many we're picking up. Wanna give us a helping hand?"
Kō nodded his head and said, "Byakugan!"
Kō scanned the terrain and surveyed the region carefully. Tsume and the mixed company of Inuzuka and Hyuuga ninja saw Kō's expression turn grim.
"I see a large platoon of Suna ninja! There are hundreds of them! All within nearly two miles of us and they're heading towards the village."
"Suna is really serious about warring with us!" Tsume stated, knowing that bringing that many ninja this close to Konoha without permission was a clear declaration of war, "What direction are they moving in?"
Kō did a quick count and answered, "The three hundred I counted within my sight are approximately two miles due north of us and they're moving northwest, almost straight for the gates. No doubt these three hundred are only part of a much larger force."
"You're right," Tsume confirmed, "I'm picking up on more foreign scents coming from the east of us."
Kō turned to that direction and scanned the area and said, "It's a large army of Oto ninja! As with the Suna ninja, I see hundreds of them and they're moving fast for Konoha and coming straight into our direction!"
"We'll be outnumbered and killed if we stayed here too long!" Hana said with urgency. Tsume quickly got on the general frequency and alerted, "This is Patrol Pack One to all units! I'm declaring code Full Eclipse! I repeat I am declaring code Full Eclipse! Three hundred confirmed moving in from sector G-316 moving north and hundreds of Oto ninja coming from Sector H-627!"
Tsume turned to the group and said, "Haul ass back to the village and get ready to fight like hell!"
And that was exactly what they did. Three Naruto spy clones that were in hiding heard and saw everything. One of them dispelled himself to relay the information to Naruto and the rest of their other clones. They were going to plan a deadly ambush for the large army of Suna and Oto invaders to help minimize Konoha casualties that would most likely happen.
(Back At The Stadium)
Almost immediately loud sirens began to sound throughout the entire village. They went off with four short blasts, paused for five seconds, and repeated the pattern.
Shikamaru, Shino and Sasuke were now totally alert and ready to act.
"That's the signal," Naruto said, "Konoha will soon be under a "Full Eclipse"!"
(At The Kage Booth)
Hiruzen was feeling strangely calm now that the moment had come. "Full Eclipse" was the code phrase meaning Konoha was under attack by enemy shinobi nations.
"So you have chosen to betray and war with Konoha, Kazekage?" Hiruzen asked as he looked at the man sitting to his left.
"War was the only plausible solution for us," the 'Kazekage' replied before quickly standing off his seat and rushing to the Hokage, seizing the man by the throat as he held a kunai to his jugular as he forced Hiruzen to stand up on his feet.
"It's not too late to stop this needless war," Hiruzen negotiated, "We can still find a way to negotiate and heal the damaged ties between our nation, Kazekage."
The 'Kazekage' chuckled and then replied, "These many years of peace have softened you very much…Sarutobi-sensei."
Hiruzen's eyes widened when he now realized who the man posing at the Kazekage really was.
"You!" Hiruzen retorted venomously. The man, while holding onto Hiruzen, leaped high into the air away from the Kage Booth and onto one of the roofs of the stadium. Once they were there, the man tore off his mask, revealing himself to be Orochimaru.
"Sarutobi-sensei," Orochimaru greeted sinisterly, "It's been such a long time. As you can see, I'm here with Suna and Oto to have Konoha destroyed and to end your decrepit life."
"I'm old but for me today isn't a beautiful day to die!" Hiruzen burst into a cloud of smoke, revealing itself to be a kage bunshin Hiruzen had in his place the entire time. Orochimaru snarled furiously seeing that his sensei managed to outwit him.
"Damn that old man!" Orochimaru growled, "I was sure I had him that time! No matter; I'll still go through with the plan of destroying this village!"
(In The Stands)
Confusion was reigning; Konoha ninja began leaving the stands to help keep up the defenses. Seeing this some of the hidden Oto ninja decided to attack them even without Kabuto's genjutsu to help. The sight of enemy ninja in their midst sent people screaming and stampeding in all directions. In the sudden confusion people all around were trying desperately to get to the exits.
All of the Konoha ninja in the meanwhile quickly attacked the Oto ninja who did not have the advantage of surprise or of numbers. Seeing their comrades fighting for their lives the remaining Oto ninja shed their disguises and joined in. Naruto's seventy disguised kage bunshin, that were previously in hiding among the audience, emerged and began attacking and fighting against the invaders.
Hanabi stayed close by her father when armed a small group of Oto ninja appeared and tried to attack them. Hiashi counterattacked and killed them without hesitation. This was the first time Hanabi was seeing killing and death before her by both her father's hand and enemy hands.
"Hanabi!" Hiashi warned seriously, snapping Hanabi out of her shock, "Konoha is under attack and our enemies will not hesitate to kill us if given the chance! It would be wrong to put you in the front line to fight alongside your sister or myself as you're not an official ninja of Konoha yet."
"Then leave her safety to me!" a Naruto kage bunshin volunteered before Hiashi and Hanabi turned to the Naruto clone that just appeared next to them, "I'll get Hanabi-chan to safety along with the academy youths while you and the others help with the main defense forces."
Hiashi nodded his head and agreed, "I'll trust that you'll keep both of my daughters safe Naruto."
The Naruto clone smiled confidently and said, "Count on it; though after seeing what she did to Gaara, I'm more than sure Hinata-chan can take care of herself."
Hanabi didn't argue with either her father or the clone. She saw that sharp difference between training and actually fighting and killing of one's enemies. Before she could delve further into her thoughts about the matter, the clone picked Hanabi up and took off with her to the sanctuary where the other youths were being kept.
(In Another Part Of The Stadium)
A young woman with long black hair and light blue eyes dressed in a royal silk kimono, very expensive jewelry and ornaments screamed and staggered to the floor when two Oto ninja appeared right in front of her. Behind her was a young priestess who was the same age as Naruto. She had pale lavender eyes and light blond hair that fell past her waist, which she kept tied at the end with a bow. As a formal priestess, she wore a lavender kimono with her hair kept tied back with a golden crown. The teen priestess fell backwards to the floor after the older woman in front of her crashed into her. Sadly for the priestess, she had low stamina and was incapable of moving long distances on her own.
The two Oto Jounin standing there over them now were holding bloody swords in their grip. Their eyes saw through the two females, they weren't enemy ninja, just targets. The two ninja were living scythes slicing through wheat and all the two young females were to them were the next stalks. Time seemed to slow down as the young maidens saw them pull their hands back and then swung forward to remove their heads.
The maidens froze. In that instant before death two maidens were powerless to do anything at all. Then there was a blur of yellow, orange and black appeared right in front of their faces. In the next second it penetrated the two Oto ninja that were being cast away from them with their throats sliced almost clean through. The two maidens stood there shocked and numb, realizing they had gone from being nearly killed to being saved in the space of a single heartbeat.
It took a moment for them to recognize the blood splattered face in front of them, their savior's clothing also had blood on them and in his right hand he held a bloody katana.
"You're…Uzumaki Naruto," the blond haired priestess realized, recalling the name of the Genin who competed and won against Sasuke by forfeit. The clone quickly nodded his head and replied, "Yes. Are you both all right?"
The two maidens nodded their heads.
"We are," the older of the two answered, "Thank you for saving us."
"All in a line of duty," the clone said and then asked, "Who are you both?"
"I'm Kazahana Koyuki-hime, Daiymō of Haru no Kuni (Spring Country)," Koyuki introduced.
"I'm Shion," the priestess introduced, "Priestess of Oni no Kuni (Land of Ogres)."
"Where are your entourages?" the Naruto clone asked, "Aren't they here with you both?"
"We were ambushed by those invaders and my remaining bodyguards held them back long enough for me to try to escape before they were outnumbered and killed," Koyuki explained.
"My bodyguard and I got separated from the rest of my soldiers who got caught up fighting those group of ninja but my bodyguard was killed moments before you arrived," Shion revealed.
'A beautiful female daiymō and a priestess who looks a lot like Hinata-chan only with light blond hair; what are the odds of this happening at the same time?' the clone thought then said said, "In that case, I'll have to protect and escort you both to a safe haven away from here."
"Naruto," Shion informed, "I'm not able to travel long distances on my own because of my condition. My bodyguard had to carry me wherever I needed to go."
The clone looked at the priestess carefully and found no deception in her words.
"Then there's no other choice," the Naruto clone said before he lifted and carried Shion bridal style before making his way out with Koyuki following close by.
"Thank you Naruto," Koyuki thanked appreciatively. The Naruto clone nodded as he guided the two maidens away from the stadium and to another location. Along the way, the clone had to kill eight more Oto ninja who tried to ambush the three of them at the same time.
"Damn it!" the clone cursed as he saw many more armed Oto ninja coming his way with the intent to kill the female daimyō and priestess. Not wanting to jeopardize the safety of either of the maidens by getting them caught in the crossfire, the clone came to a quick decision. He moved Shion to be carried on his back and then grabbed onto Koyuki.
"Both of you hold on!" the Naruto clone instructed as he shunshin'd away from the stadium and to an entirely different location outside the village walls.
(Outside The Stadium)
Kabuto was able to see everything that was going on and that the war started even without his genjutsu. From where he stood, it was clear and utter chaos as citizens and foreigners were running out of the stadium while Konoha ninja were battling the Suna and Oto invaders.
'Perhaps this will be a good time to find an ANBU to ambush for his clothes,' Kabuto contemplated in hopes to find a lone ANBU to kill amidst the fighting, if any.
(Meanwhile)
Naruto, his team, Kakashi and the rest of Konoha's twelves and their respective sensei assembled on the arena floor as Hiruzen appeared with them fully geared in his battle garbs. Karin and Honoka also joined in with the group followed by Jiraiya and Genma. Meanwhile, Iruka, and his fellow academy Chuunin and the Headmaster were protecting Konohamaru, his friends and the rest of the academy students while hurrying them out of the stadium with Anko helping with the evacuation.
"Konoha is under attack and there's only one way to deal with enemy ninja threatening the safety and existence of our village," Hiruzen stated authoritatively, "Kill them! No mercy, no regrets, no holding back! Do you understand!?"
Everyone nodded their heads, though unlike Naruto and the rest of the older ninja with them, the other Genin weren't experienced killers as they never killed before.
By this time, Orochimaru stood in his ninja gear, his Kazekage disguise at last discarded. As he stood there, he could hear the pleasing sound of battle wafting in on the breeze. He had not received any reports and assumed all was going according to plan.
"Sarutobi-sensei!" Orochimaru called out loudly from the rooftop. All eyes turned to the traitorous Sannin.
"Today you'll bear witness as I raze all of Konoha to the ground!" Orochimaru declared, "Watch as my forces and I plunge everything you worked for and sacrificed for your foolish people into the grave!"
Orochimaru looked calm and certain. In his mind there was only one way this day could end, and that was with the death of his sensei and the destruction of the village. He bit his thumb and performed a set of hand seals and slammed it down on the ground and shouted, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
There was a massive burst of smoke as what was summoned brought down the roof and that section of the stadium with his enormous size and weight. When it cleared, Orochimaru found himself riding on top of a gigantic, colossal purple snake, that snake was known as Manda the Snake Boss. The giant reptile glared at the human standing on his head and said, "Orochimaru! I've warned you that unless you have a sacrifice of at least a hundred humans prepared to never summon me!"
Orochimaru grinned and replied, "Oh but I have! I have prepared a magnificent sacrifice of thousands of Konoha citizens and ninja for you."
The giant snake looked about and to see what was going on. The giant snake hissed angrily, "This is no proper sacrifice! You brought me here to do your fighting for you."
"Well that's true," Orochimaru confessed, "But the fact is that there are thousands of delicious little Konoha treats for you just waiting there, even children. And I know you do enjoy hunting and this battle will probably prove entertaining."
The snake considered his options and decided, "Very well. Seeing that I'm already here, I'll consider this a sacrifice, this time. But I warn you Orochimaru, have a proper sacrifice prepared the next time you summon me."
"As you wish," Orochimaru agreed.
"He's going to use Manda not only to attack and kill us but also innocent Konoha civilians!" Hiruzen said with urgency before biting his thumb and perform a set of hand signs. Slamming his thumb to the ground, he yelled, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Come forth, Enma!"
In a burst of white smoke, the armored ninja monkey boss appeared before Hiruzen. Enma looked around to see the situation and then looked up to see Orochimaru standing on top of Manda.
"Orochimaru," Enma snarled, "I should have known you'd be behind this."
"Hey Manda!" Naruto challenged, "I'm going to force you to swallow me first."
Everyone looked at Naruto as if he lost his mind. The colossal purple viper looked at Naruto and remarked hungrily, "I didn't know you were in such a hurry to die first!"
"I said nothing about me dying," Naruto clarified, "I just need you to swallow me first so I can turn you into a living Uzumaki death bomb from the inside and detonate you!"
Manda hissed venomously at Naruto, knowing full well that Naruto's statement was no empty threat as Orochimaru and others had seen Naruto execute that deadly white fire Uzumaki Explosion on one of Orochimaru's snake summons before.
"Naruto!" Hiruzen warned, "You will not execute that catastrophic explosion within Konoha's walls!"
"Then allow me to resort to one of the abilities my Uzumaki bloodline limit allows me and my brethren to do," Karin offered while everyone else except Honoka and Naruto looked at Karin questionably. Without saying another word, Karin clenched her fists before a number of glowing kunai emerged from around her body.
"What the!?" Ino remarked before Karin shot out her kunai which had very long glowing chains attached to them. The chains rushed forth into the ground and the sudden emerged all around Manda's body, chaining and restraining him effectively to the ground.
"What is this!?" the shocked summoned Snake Boss said before chains wrapped around his mouth, shutting it tight and then pulling his head hard to the ground. The chains raced for Orochimaru who quickly jumped off Manda's head and over to another location before he could be captured. Naruto and Honoka smiled with pride at their clan's prized chakra chains while the others looked on it disbelief.
"No way!" Tenten marveled, "She completely solo'd and owned Manda the Snake Boss with her clan's bloodline limit!"
Manda tried to move but found that he was completely immobilized and at Karin's mercy.
"Give it up Manda," Naruto mocked, "Even at full power Kyuubi couldn't break free from my mother's Uzumaki chakra chains."
Kurama growled angrily from inside Naruto's seal.
"That counterattack was most unforeseen," Orochimaru remarked with a sense of embarrassment after seeing Manda's complete humiliation at the hands of a female Genin who failed the Chuunin Exams, "I had no idea that girl with Naruto was another Uzumaki with those abilities."
Honoka hurried and made whips of chakra chains of her own and readied them to use as weapons. A moment later, the Sound Four appeared next to Orochimaru.
"The Chuunin Exam Finals is now an official Death Bowl and there are many hundreds of our Oto and Suna ninja approaching the village walls!" Sakon said.
"Your orders Orochimaru-sama?" Jirōbō asked.
"Naruto's Uzumaki clanswomen are proving to be a hindrance to me," Orochimaru said, "Kill them both and free Manda! And kill the others should they get in your way but leave Sasuke-kun alive!"
"As you wish Orochimaru-sama," Kimimaro said as he, Jirōbō, Kidōmaru, Sakon and his brother rushed to make their way over to Karin and Honoka. Kimimaro, possessing the rare bloodline limit Shikotsumyaku of the Kaguya Clan, grew spikes made out of bones from out of his body. They made their way to their two targets as many more Suna and Oto ninja started appearing around the stadium as more of their forces were hurrying to the village to ambush it. The Hokage and rest of the ninja with him got ready to fight as the Sound Four and their army of Oto and Suna ninja started approaching them.
"They're coming our way!" Karin said.
"There's too many of them!" Ino said.
"Anybody got a plan?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah!" Chouji said, "Try to stay alive!"
"Anybody got a good plan?" Sasuke asked cynically.
"I do!" Naruto stated, "Though I was originally planning to use it as a later trump card against the much huger armies coming from outside the village walls, I have no choice but to use that plan now!"
"What plan against a whole combined army did you come up with?" Jiriaiya asked. As if to answer his question, Naruto quickly raced through a set of complex hand signs. Despite the speed used, Hiruzen's eyes caught on to the hand seals as he realized which jutsu Naruto was about to execute.
'He knows how to use that jutsu?!' Hiruzen thought. Naruto clapped his hands together in prayer form and said, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Edo Tensei!"
A purple portal opened three yards in front of Naruto and the rest of the group. From the portal came a tanned colored casket. The back of the casket was facing the group which didn't allow the group to see the kanji engraved on the cover of the casket. After the casket fully emerged from the portal, the portal disappeared moments before the cover of the casket fell forward to the ground with an audible thud. A few short moments later, a figure stepped forward and emerged from the casket. Seconds later, the casket fell backwards, allowing everyone to see the dead ninja Naruto summoned.
Standing before everyone in the stadium was a most familiar person who had long died saving Konoha and Naruto years ago. Hiruzen and all of the older ninja had looks of shock and disbelief while Orochimaru snarled darkly at the figure standing before Hiruzen and everyone else. The Sound Four, the Suna and Oto ninja there knew that the person who just suddenly appeared on the arena floor was no genjutsu or a random ninja using a henge though he was in a state of minor decay. A look of fear was in their expressions when realized who that man was.
"I can't believe it!" Hiruzen said with a serious but shocked tone and facial expression, "Of all people, Naruto somehow managed to summon him!"
"Naruto," Jiraiya said in a somber tone, "You…"
The resurrected summoned ninja now turned to face Naruto and the others. He took a few steps over to them and stopped to face his summoner. All of the Genin except Naruto were speechless while beholding the resurrected man before them.
"Naruto?" the revived ninja asked, "Is that you? It's been such a long time. You've grown a lot since the last time Kushina and I saw and held you in our arms."
Namikaze Minato, the late Yondaime Hokage, has returned…
The war has finally begun and Konoha is battling against their traitorous former Suna comrades and Oto ninja! Naruto found a way to free his father from the Shinigami and revived him to fight to protect him, his Uzumaki cousins and the rest of Konoha. But how did he pull this off and how will everyone else react to this? Where did Naruto's clone take Koyuki and Shion to protect them from the attacking invaders? And what will happen to Temari, Kankurō, Gaara and Baki now that they've been captured and detained? Find out next time.