Chapter 350:
The honest sentiment then made her heart ache because she knew
what was expected of her. She knew many Konoha Shinobi would die
today. Walking on the grass toward the viewing gallery, Temari gazes
up between her brothers and Naruto, and in addition to feeling
defeated, she felt nauseated. Every weak step up the stairs to the
holding area seemed to threaten her with a violent urge to vomit. Of
course, it didn't help the moment she cleared the staircase, Naruto is
right in front of her, happy as a clam. Closer to her than he's been in
over two days, he looks so powerful and feels so strong but he still has
his smile. Being forced to crush his cheerful heart nearly makes her
hyperventilate.
"Wow, Temari, your fan is soo awesome," Naruto beams. "I know you
showed it to me before but I've never seen it in action…"
Over his shoulder, Kankurō is standing next to Gaara who's sinister
grin is all the signal she needs. In that revolting moment, her heart
hates her brothers, her father, and her village for making her do this.
It's a spike of emotional distress that even makes her hate Naruto for
being so amazing, and herself for choosing this vile darkness over love
and hope.
Mechanically, Temari walks over to her brothers as Naruto follows to
ask, "since we're both wind-users, can I hold it?"
Gaara steps in front of Naruto, glaring with his cold dead eyes as he
proclaims, "she doesn't love you."
Naruto pulls up, humming, "Hmm?" He examines Gaara a moment
before looking between the Sand siblings. Temari's remains as silent
and still as an emotionless porcelain doll.
"She. Does. Not. Love. You," Gaara slowly repeats, trying to let each
word sink in as he steps closer to Naruto. Gaara whispers, "all this
time, she's been lying to you. She betrayed you; betrayed your trust."
Realizing this is the moment, Naruto hates that this is happening. He
always suspected but he hoped maybe he could've changed her mind;
even if he knows that would've made her a traitor to her village.
Though a small part of Naruto recalls her funny smile—like a girl who
never does it—he can't help but confidently tell Gaara, "no she didn't."
"Of course you'd believe otherwise," Gaara replied, taking a step back
and standing next to his older sister despite glaring at Naruto the entire
time. "Temari," he commands.
"…He's right Uzumaki," Temari hesitates to starts. Recalling the need
for eye contact, her teal eyes snap to his blue ones as she practically
growls, "d-didn't you ever ask yourself how someone like me possibly
fall in love with someone like you? I never l-loved you; no, not such a
weak, ugly, m-monster like you! I faked everything when we were
together—my attraction, my joy, my desire for you, all fake." Temari
takes a heavy breath as she fights to add, "a-and I laughed! Laughed
at you after you left! We all laughed at how pathetic you are!" Kankurō
chuckles from Gaara's other side as Temari finishes, "someone as
pathetic as you should honestly just d-die!"
Even though Naruto knows Temari is lying, watching the three stand
united as someone he cares about reviles him still hurts to see and
hear. Naruto couldn't even put on a brave smile even when he's had a
lot of practice throughout his life doing so. She said the words he fears
the most and regardless of how false they were, he's grown to cherish
Temari, her laugh, her cocky attitude, her intelligence, and her drive to
prove herself. To hear her mouth say those words simply hurt.
"Tell them all," Gaara commands, and Temari looks surprised to hear
the command.
She tightens her jaw before calling out for all of Naruto's friends to
hear, "t-this guy is so pathetic, so weak, he thought he deserves love."
Temari yells louder, "it was so easy to toy with him. Show him a little
affection, and he became my p-pet; did anything I wanted like a lost
little puppy. I turned him into my bitch. I'm- Uzumaki is a monster…
That n-no one could possibly lo-ve and deserves to d-die."
Sasuke, Shino, Kiba, Hinata, and Neji all stare at Naruto and the
sudden drama unfold. Though Sasuke and Neji didn't care much,
Shino remained quiet, and Kiba actually looked offended, Hinata felt
anger within her rise higher than even when she fought Sakura.
Hinata's anger triggered her Byakugan to focus on the sandy-blond
kunoichi and what she saw made her calm down some. Something
about her posture and erratic chakra flow told Hinata that Temari was in
turmoil and possibly being dishonest.
Publicly humiliated in front of his colleagues—in front of his rival—
Naruto attempted to laugh it off but it didn't even sound convincing to
himself. Despite knowing she likely doesn't mean it, it still hurts to hear
and Naruto takes an uncertain step away from Temari. Gaara steps
closely in front of Naruto to assure him, "this is why I will kill you today."
Maniacally gleeful by Naruto's pain, he continues happily, "because
you foolishly believed that someone you trusted would return your love.
When you love others and are betrayed, it's the worst pain this world
has to offer and you will beg me to relieve you of it moments before I
crush you in my sand."
Eying the redhead without much reaction, Naruto sadly turns and walks
over to the corner of the observation deck, away from everyone, and
leans heavily on the railing. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino join him to keep
him company, though Kiba is still pissed on his behalf, and yells, "you
fucking bitches better pray you don't meet me in the finals, cuz if I see
you in a round, I'm drilling ya six feet under!"
Chapter 351:
NEJI VS HINATA
"Hyūga Neji," Genma begins to call. "Hyūga Hinata. Please come
down."
Neji ignores everyone as he coldly walks down to the battle arena.
After Shino and Kiba give her their support, Hinata follows Neji's
direction. She's by the stairs leading down to the ground floor when
Naruto slowly calls her name, missing his usual liveliness. It made
Hinata angry to think people he's been trying to be friends with would
go so far to hurt him and nearly wish her match was with Temari rather
than Neji.
"Hey, Hinata," Naruto voices drawing her attention. Naruto knows this
match will be difficult for her but she doesn't seem overly nervous in his
estimation. It reminds him of Naru-nii assertion that she'll be a top-tier
kunoichi in the future and with a small but genuine smile, he shares, "I
wanted to say it properly… thanks for helping me earlier; in the training
grounds. I believe in you too, so, no matter what, give it your all, and I
know you'll be happy in the end."
Her eyes widened in disbelief. Her face blushes as she gasps, "thank
you, Naruto-kun." With stern resolve, she adds, "for everything."
With a tight fist-pump, he encourages her, "show him what you got."
He expected her to nod and leave, but she stays and asks, "when this
is over, can… w-would you still like my h-help… with ch-chakra control
exercises?"
At the thought of mastering the Hiraishin next, Naruto genially answers,
"definitely. I've been itching to get to that."
Though she couldn't profess to him, 'please, watch me,' she does nod
and bow before making her way down. Naruto returns to his fellow
Konoha shinobi and spies a glance toward Temari and Gaara. Gaara is
happy to see Naruto's hurt expression, but Naruto knows it isn't for the
same reason. Though facing away from him, Naruto can see Temari's
conflicted and low-spirited appearance in her rigid posture. It was as if
someone broke her instead of him. Sighing in sympathy, Naruto
relocates that energy and saves it for his fight with Gaara, eager to
unleash everything he has on him.
—
As Hinata follows her cousin to the center of the arena below, Kurenai's
mind curses, 'fuck!' as her eyes widen in gut-sinking fear. Her knees
buckle, her skin heats, and her chest tightens in shame and agony.
With her full sight on Hinata, the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha has only
just realized that she's in love with the same boy her most cherished,
daughter-like student loves.
'Oh, fuck… fuck, fuck fuck,' her mind constantly repeats, panicking over
this scenario playing out in the most obvious way; her absolutely
decimating Hinata's heart. Kurenai wants to rip her hair out for finding
herself in such an absurd predicament. 'Being in love with Naruto
would obviously mean betraying Hinata,' her mind painfully addresses.
Watching her uncharacteristically focused and confident student stand
opposite her biggest challenge to date, the choice between her love as
a woman and her love as a mother-figure should be clear. Rationally,
there shouldn't be a debate about this, but her mind is silent. Her
options are simply what needs to happen and what she wants to
happen, and it makes the tortured Kurenai horribly sick to her stomach.
—
Observing Neji in the center of the battleground, Hinata understands
why Neji demands she forfeit, and even why he arrogantly breaks
down her insecurities one by one to the credit of his irrational gospel;
Destiny. The Hyūga heiress knows why Neji firmly believes people
can't change and that their future has been destined since birth. He
had proclaimed that, 'a failure will always be a failure,' but Hinata isn't
that same girl who graduated the Academy six months ago or even the
girl who suddenly learned she'll be facing her genius cousin a month
ago, or even the girl, who only a few minutes ago, offered to teach
Naruto some of her clan's extreme chakra control techniques.
Momentarily imagining him calling her, 'Hinata-sensei,' her cheeks
blush and her whole body breaks out in electric goosebumps.
Naruto's faith in her felt as if she were being blessed by the sun itself
and she couldn't even think of failing him. Feeling Naruto watching her,
Hinata knows Neji is wrong, because if her jaded cousin was right, then
the nine-year-old Naruto who rescued her from older bullies would've
never thought to protect her or proclaim to one day becoming Hokage;
let alone the greatest of them all. Quitting because of destiny has no
sway over a man with conviction, and if it's not Naruto's way, then it's
not hers either.
"You're wrong, Neji-niisan," Hinata asserts, setting her stance. "You
can choose your destiny. And it's because you don't know this that I will
stop you."
With a snide grin, Neji asks, "do you actually believe you stand any
chance of defeating me?"
"Not of defeating you," she answers, shaking her head. "Of stopping
you."
"Neji versus Hinata," Genma speaks, booming through the speakers.
The wind and birds around them fell as silent as the crowd before
Genma speaks, "begin."
'Byakugan,' both Hyūga members mentally chant, protruding veins
around their nearly white eyes as their all-sight shows their opponent's
chakra network and nothing else. The stands of spectators disappear
from their view and even the proctor becomes irrelevant to them as
they focus solely on proving to the other who is right.
In less than a second, they're crossing gentle fists with light physical
taps but bursting with perfectly timed chakra out of their tenketsus,
aiming to damage the other's chakra network and internal organs
rather than deal external muscular damage. For no matter how much
chakra an opponent has, if they can't use their immense power, they're
as vulnerable as an academy student. Using their wrist and forearms to
block or sway strike after strike away without losing their footing to the
other, they seem evenly matched from a layman's perspective, but
Hinata knows better.
Her cousin is hiding his true speed. He's toying with her, waiting until
she's confident in his timing, dropping her guard so he can surgically
cut off her chakra flow. It's a strategy she might have missed if not for
Kurenai's diligent strategy planning. Neji may have beaten her
completely if they faced each other in the preliminaries. 'He may even
now,' she thought, but with time and Kurenai-sensei's tutelage, she
won't be defeated.
Chapter 352:
Masters of their style, they each know how to attack and defend, yet
Hinata is being pushed back by his fast strikes. It was difficult to
maintain her footing and balance when Neji's skill and ability was better
than her in nearly every way. 'He's faster, stronger, and a genius in
taijutsu,' she mentally analyzed. 'But he doesn't have Kurenai-sensei.'
Kurenai knew that, in general, the Hyūga clan tends to have average
chakra reserves and after testing each of her students, Hinata had
above-average chakra capacity. That along with a strong
understanding of the Gentle Fist, Hinata could only see one way of
besting him; chakra endurance.
Neji is moving faster tapping her chakra points one at a time, but rather
than let the obvious continue, Hinata takes an explosive tagged kunai
from her pound and flicks it at the ground between them. The small
flash of light igniting has an alert Neji leap back but the tag didn't
explode.
The moment the crowd and Neji realize it's a feint, they all witness
Hinata, her eyes closed with her index and middle finger together,
parallel with the length of her dainty nose and concentrates on the
technique she's learned from her father. Like he taught her, she
envisions herself within the center of balance between the forces of
peace and chaos, love and hate, offense and defense, and she sees
the eight trigrams symbol, and Neji within range.
It also means Hinata is within his range and he recognizes her stance.
Smirking cockily, he raises his arms, inflating his lungs before thrusting
his palms in front of him, setting his resolve. He spreads his stand
along with eagle-spreading his arms and tilting his balance forward.
Neji's mind delighted in showing the main house how wrong they were
and still are as he mentally yells, 'Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!'
Hinata felt his sliding approach, mentally calling, 'Shugohakke,
Rokujyuu Yonshou!'
Unlike the offensive Hakke Rokujūyon Shō that attacks sixty-four
tenketsus within the body to incapacitate an opponent, Hinata's Eight
Trigram, Sixty-four Palms is a defensive technique. She can create,
strong, flexible, arcing chakra blades that project outwardly, defending
her from his incoming attack from a distance.
Hyūga techniques clashed and as strong as Neji is in his offense,
Hinata has just as much passion for her defense because it won't hurt
him but it will stop him. Though she still can't get more than four cross-
sectioning blades to protect her, it's just barely enough to stop Neji's
chakra covered fingers from shutting down two tenketsus on her torso.
A sizzling flash behind Neji alerts him that there was a second
explosive note wrapped underneath the dud, but whether it was also a
feint or not, it was enough of a distraction for another of Hinata's four-
section cross blades close three of Neji's tenketsus. Focused solely on
stopping Neji, helping him, proving to him he can break out of his cage,
Hinata manages to two consecutive cross-sections before Neji flips
back, snatching the kunai she stuck in the ground and flicking it at her
with enough strength to clang loudly when she deflects it.
Neji flexes his fingers and looks around his arms at the ten closed off
tenketsus. It's not enough to completely impede his attacks, but a few
of his fingers won't receive chakra… 'the embarrassment,' his mind
cruelly whispers. For someone like the meek, weak, and fragile Hinata
to hinder him even this much in front of the whole village, in front of the
main branch, is a disgrace he won't ever live down. The cage bars of
destiny have never felt so cold and Neji can't remember the last time
he was this angry.
Though Kurenai's minor panic attack from observing Hinata execute
their strategy perfectly has subsided, she still feels unwell at the sight
of her beautiful student trying so hard. Then Neji resumed his attack
and he looked furious even from where she was standing, compelling
her worry for Hinata to triple.
Neji attacked ferociously with his superior speed and strength, but
Hinata continued defending herself with her Eight Trigram defense. He
attacked her constantly, and though she was getting tired from her
constant use of chakra, she manages to close a few more of his
tenketsus without even touching him. After several moments of visceral
attacks, Neji finally managed to break through her defense and attack
her organs with the few chakra covered ringers remaining.
Neji beat her internally, striking her liver, stomach, kidneys, and heart,
but it was with less than half his usual strength, and when she fell, it
wasn't enough to satisfy him. She struggled to her feet but she was
within his range and he reignited his Sixty-four Palms. Though he
started with two strikes, then four strikes, followed by eight strikes, and
on until he struck her chakra network with sixty-four strikes, less than
half his strikes actually closed her tenketsus.
After his onslaught, Hinata falls to her knees, coughing up blood, but
she doesn't stay there. She tries to get up again. She looks at him,
sweating dripping around lavender-white eyes brimming with a strength
and determination he's never seen before, making him believe that
destiny is once again showing him his place.
Neji can't help but yell, "you're beaten! Stay down!"
Hinata only shakes her head, causing drops of sweat and blood to drop
on the ground as she struggles to return to her stance. "You can't
know… what you can really do… until you've tried… and failed… and
tried again… a thousand times."
Neji practically teleports in front of her before landing every attack he
hits her with, despite strained inability to stop him. Hinata holds her
breath as she tries to push her body beyond her limits. Despite her
best efforts, Neji strikes her liver with minimal chakra, though it was
enough to shock her entire system, and even then, he heal-palms her
in the face, sending her flat on her back several feet away.
Disappointed with his performance, Neji curses as he begins walking
back to the observation deck when the silent crowd gasps in unison.
The young genius turns around and to his staggering disbelief, Hinata
is battling just to stand up. Like a new-born baby attempting her first
steps, Hinata's hands push off the ground onto weak and unbalanced
legs.
Chapter 353:
"You've lost already, thus have nothing to prove or gain," Neji calls to
her, feeling his anger swell in his chest. "If you don't stay down, I will
attempt to kill you."
"I'll kill you first," Naruto's lone voice yells from a large distance away,
making Hinata smile a bit.
"Your problem… isn't destiny… Neji-niisan," Hinata gasps through
wheezing breaths. Sweating profusely, freely bleeding from her nose
and mouth, fire in her lungs making her wince as she pants, "or that…
you're weak… Your problem… is that… you give up…"
Anger rolling off of him, Neji sprints after her. His tenketsus were
closed in the most inappropriate places, weakening his attacks, and
forcing him to use Lee's Iron Fist to combat Hinata's smaller weaker
body. With closed and angry fists, Neji punches Hinata down to her
knees, and with a clean punch across her temple, he's certain he's
knocked her out.
Hinata drops to the floor with her blurry vision of her cousin, the sky,
and the stadium as gone as her equilibrium. She sees only darkness
surround her with an unstable floor that feels like sleeping on a rocking
boat. Above her is a single ray of light, warm and inviting like a
celebration dinner with family. Hinata doesn't know how to reach the
light, but she knows she can. She knows she will and unbeknownst to
her, she's standing to reach the light. Hinata knows nothing else, not
the awe of the crowd, the medical observation of the proctor, or the
shock of her father. She stands in the Gentle Fist's ready stance
without being conscious.
Neji looks shocked as Genma mumbles with respect, "even
unconscious…"
Despite lacking consciousness, Hinata's pure will to never stay down
permeated the muscle-memory of her limbs to move regardless of
position or orientation to will herself upright. Even if she couldn't
consciously feel the pain standing up flared through her ravaged
muscles and chakra network, she wobbled and struggled to lift her
open palms to the ready position. It might have pained Hinata to lose in
front of the person she admires most in the world—she was simply too
far behind her dear cousin in nearly every way—but she wasn't going
to show Naruto the sight of her staying down. More than anything, she
will never stay down in front of him.
Around the silent or gasping crowd, both Kurenai and Naruto couldn't
be prouder of Hinata. This match was obviously a win for a genius of
Neji's caliber, but for her to push him so far… for her to stand even
beyond consciousness, impacted both Naruto and Kurenai—everyone
in fact—deeply. She may have lost but her character molded a special
place in the hearts of many that will not be forgotten anytime soon.
After Genma declared Neji the winner, Hinata receives a standing
ovation for the depths of her tenacity despite overwhelming odds and it
hurt Kurenai to think of Hinata's future pain when she learns of her
Sensei's betrayal.
—
"Go," Kurenai hears Asuma tell her. "I'll cover your section."
Kurenai was hesitant, to say the least. Conflicting feelings of disgrace,
shame, pride, and concern tore at her insides, but mechanically, she
takes Karin's hand and they walk to the infirmary. Opening the door to
Hinata's room, Hiashi walks away from his daughter's bedside and
stops before the ebony sensei. Eyes locked on one another, his hard
face says nothing and Kurenai isn't sure how he'll address their
individual pledge for Hinata; spoken in what feels like a lifetime ago.
The arrogant man does something unexpected to her and bows deeply.
After Hiashi leaves, Karin waits in the corner of the room while Kurenai
looks over her bruised and slumbering student. Lamenting discovering
both her great love and her great shame on the same day, Kurenai
doesn't stay long. She didn't need to be near Hinata longer than a few
seconds to feel the adult decision inside her clash fiercely with the
selfish woman inside. She places a gentle kiss on her daughter-like
student's forehead before exiting the room and running into Naruto.
Kurenai's heart beats incredibly fast at the sight of him and for the life
of her she can't understand why she's blushing; after everything
they've done together, she shouldn't feel so hot and happy to see him.
Curiously, Karin calls to her cousin with the implication of asking why
he's here, "Naruto?"
"Hey Karin, Kurenai," the blond returns with a happy salute.
"If you're worried about Hinata, she'll be fine. She's resting now,"
Kurenai relays, managing to keep her voice neutral but failing to keep a
small smile from her face. He was two feet away from her and the fact
that it felt too far, made her want to smile like a complete fool. Feeling a
more relaxed joy settle her anxiety, Kurenai asserts, "you should be
focused on your own match."
"It's all good," Naruto tells them as he moves to the door. "I'm just a
clone. Boss-man wanted me to stay with her, just in case."
As he walks into the room, Kurenai's conflicting emotions knots her
stomach once again. Looking at the blank door, her mind recites, 'we
all love each other, even if Naruto doesn't love her in the same way, but
only one of us can be with him… and it's obvious who it should be.' The
painful truth creeps into her heart like giving up the warmth of the sun.
'Unless I end my relationship with Naruto, none of this will end well,'
and she hates it; hates it so much she wants to cry.
Compartmentalizing her chaotic emotions, Kurenai and Karin return to
the stadium.
—
In the infirmary room next door, Neji is looking over the many tenketsus
Hinata managed to close with sheer frustration. Though two-thirds of
his tenketsus are functional, Hinata managed to close off many of the
most important openings utilized best for offense. So focused on his
injuries, he hardly noticed a person walk into the room, who he
assumes is a healer.
"Your tenketsus will remain closed for a minimum of an hour," Hiashi
points out. At the sight of his clan's Head, Neji quickly lowers his arms
and stares at the man indifferently; nearly glaring at him as Hiashi
adds, "you will have to forfeit your next match."
Long past honorifics and courtesy, Neji bitingly retorts, "what do you
want?"
Chapter 354:
Taking a breath, Hiashi walks around the room as he explains, "soon
after Hinata graduated the Academy, her Jōnin-sensei approached me
in a foolish attempt to goad me into allowing her free range to instruct
Hinata. She rightly believed I would seal my daughter for the good of
the clan. Hinata showed no promise and could never best her younger
sister—mentally, it would seem—which is of paramount importance
when you become the leader of a clan as great as the Hyūga, so I paid
no mind to Yūhi-sensei's scheme and permitted her folly." Ending his
pacing in front of Neji, his clear eyes strong and genuine as he admits,
"I had not expected to see such… tenacity from her."
"You must be so proud," Neji retorts hostilely. "Am I supposed to have
more sympathy for your daughter than my father?"
"There is nothing I would not do for our clan," Hiashi softly admits. "As
would my brother-"
"Don't," Neji growls before recalling the seal on his forehead. In a much
more calmer tone, he replies, "nothing you say will make up what I've
lost to the main branch."
"To think my eyes were blind to your pain as much as my own
daughter," Hiashi sadly states. "Anyone with a modicum of ability can
see she would not have been able to best you and yet her will… her
strength of heart stood her up against a superior opponent regardless
of consciousness." Turning to Neji, "will you, nephew, continue?"
"…I can do no less," the genius genin answers.
"Neither can I," the elder returns.
Neji is surprised when the leader of the Hyūga clan kneels and bows,
forehead to the floor before apologizing for his loss. Hearing the rest of
how his father died, Neji stands and walks to the window, looking up at
the birds flying in the sky.
SASUKE VS KIBA
Sasuke and Kiba meet in the battleground, and in full view of their
Kage and village, Sasuke proves yet again why he's considered a
genius shinobi. Kiba may have had Akamaru and his sharp sense of
smell, but Sasuke only needed his Sharingan and taijutsu to defeat the
Inuzuka heir in less than a minute. Though Kiba lost, everyone could
see he tried his best and that the Inuzuka clan are still strong.
However, throughout the match, the way Sakura paid extra attention to
Sasuke's match made Ino worry.
After getting over her initial shock about Naruto, Ino was imagining all
the ways she can tease her blond stud between observing the
matches. Hinata's match moved her the most and gave her such a
sense of resilience, she felt her own blood boil to prove her worth. It's
why she was so concerned after noting Sakura's reactions to Sasuke's
match. It was clear that her pink-haired sister wasn't completely over
the Uchiha. From an intellectual standpoint, Ino can understand Sakura
not being over Sasuke but with all the progress she's made in her
training and her relationship with herself and Naruto, she had hoped
Sasuke was firmly behind her.
'Matters of the heart aren't that simple,' Ino thought with rising concern,
only for a second voice to declare, 'but I also love Sakura.' Considering
Naruto's polyamorous admission, Ino couldn't be sure in what manner
she loved Sakura, be it the loving sisterhood or the sexual intimacy she
can't deny she enjoyed—even if it's not on par with Naruto. Glancing at
her sister beside her, Ino mentally admits, 'more than sister but not fully
into girls.'
Regardless, Ino loves Sakura, and as she watched Sakura cheer for
Sasuke, she knew what was best for her wasn't Uchiha Sasuke.
Observing the cold Sasuke returning to the viewing gallery as the next
match is announced, Ino wonders what she can do to convince Sakura
of that once an for all. Her mind immediately declares any manipulation
is off-limits. She's learned that lesson quite painfully.
'I'll do it… but it has to be honest, like Kurenai-sensei would,' is her
final thought before noticing the blond love of her life enter the dirt and
grass stage below. With his white coat flapping in the wind, making him
look too cool, Ino is smitten. Taking Sakura's hand, they both smile as
Ino excitedly focuses all her bubbling attention of her dear friend and
love.
—
Gaara body flickers to the center of the arena using his sand-jutsu,
kicking up the dirt around him. Naruto gives the stern and conflicted
Tenmari one last look before taking the stairs down. In passing Sasuke,
the raven-haired avenger demands, "you better not lose to him."
Naruto is a bit taken by the blunt encouragement, until Sasuke clarifies,
"it's going to be you and me in the end."
Smirking at Sasuke, Naruto assures him, "heh, no it won't." At Sasuke's
confused brow, Naruto answers, "be ready, Sasuke," and as he walks
down the stairs, Sasuke yells, "for what?"
"For whatever Orochimaru has planned," Naruto calls back as he walks
out into the sunny arena. All the while Sasuke stares at the blond,
wondering what he knows and how he can possibly come to know it.
HAKU
From atop of the nine-story, half-completed, construction site that used
to be Naruto's old apartment, Haku observes the stadium several miles
away longingly, wishing he was there to see Naruto dominate his
opponents and show the world the feats of his vast strength. Since his
time in Konoha, he's learned that much of the village has treated
Naruto unjustly, to say the least. Haku wanted to be there to witness for
the first time, on such a large stage, Naruto finally having the chance to
show them all how wrong they were about him.
Despite being alone, Haku still felt fortunate. Not only did he find it
amusing he was being paid to guard Tazuna and his family while they
rebuild Naruto's old apartment bigger and better than even the most
modern building in the village, but he's also able to listen to the Chūnin
exam's broadcast over the radio on the floor next to him. Additionally,
when he senses a familiar chakra land right behind him, he feels both
better and worse at the same time.
Chapter 355:
"They won't let you in the stadium because they feel you pose too high
of a security risk," Kabuto explains. He steps beside Haku and they
both watch the village landscape as he adds, "Konoha will never be
your home, Haku-kun. They won't accept you."
"Home is where the heart is," Haku tells Kabuto, looking directly at the
distant stadium and imagining Naruto's smile.
"Then come with me," Kabuto pleads, turning to him.
"Don't you mean, 'come with us,'" Haku asks, considering the bit
Naruto has told him. "Orochimaru is your master, isn't he?"
"He's a great man," Kabuto defends. "He only asks you to be strong
and loyal, and he'll ensure you won't be used and discarded. He would
never ask you to betray someone you love simply because you've
become a liability. He only wants the strongest soldiers because he will
always be stronger; as any true leader should be. Join us, Haku… and
we can be together."
The moment of silence between them allows the radio to statically
inform them that Uzumaki Naruto is raising quite the uproar over his
attire for its similarity to that of the Yondaime's, making Haku smile. "I
can see you wander the world like a monk on a mission of self-
discovery, Kabuto-san," the beautiful boy remarks. "But I know who I
am and I'm incapable of abandoning Zabuza-sama and Naruto-sama."
Recalling Naruto asserting, 'I can't see you,' with irritation makes
Kabuto coldly react with, "and if they died?" Though he instantly
regretted it.
"Then the best part of me dies along with them," Haku returned, turning
to the silver-haired boy. "And sadly, I'd be forced to kill anyone
complicit in their deaths, whether that be someone I love or Kami-sama
himself."
"It doesn't have to be that way," Kabuto reinforces, trying to settle his
turbulent emotions. "I can convince Zabuza-san to join us easily
enough. Naruto-kun… will take some time, but if you come with me
now, I promise I will bring him over to our side. You have my word."
"Thank you," Haku says with a bright smile. "That makes me happy to
hear but I cannot embrace a love that would betray them. I hope you
rediscover your center, and more than anything, I hope you don't regret
the lengths you sacrifice in the process to get there."
Clenching his fist, Kabuto tells him, "don't do this, Haku. You don't
know what tomorrow will bring or how you will need to adapt, and I'm
telling you now, after today, you will need me to survive."
As they gaze at one another—one in affection and the other in ache—
the long silence is only interrupted with the radio's continued
announcement, "this rookie genin is certainly raising questions, ladies
and gentlemen. Just who is the boy we thought we knew? An orphan,
certainly—one who's gone ignored or unnoticed for so long—but as if
reinvented, it's shocking to see the Uzumaki Naruto before us today. As
of yet, none of our sources can confirm his genealogy, but this could
very well be a battle between heirs of the Sand and Leaf, and I feel
confident we'll learn much more in this fight!"
GAARA VS NARUTO
The flat battleground feels wider to Naruto as he walks to the center
underneath the big blue sky. The grass crunches under his foot as the
crowd murmurs all around him. Wind wipes up his coat as he eyes the
glaring redhead, feeling the same weight he felt when he faced Haku.
This mattered a great deal to him and it may have only been like this
because of Naru-nii, but that didn't take away how important this was.
Naruto knows Gaara's pain, and more than anything, he wants to
relieve him of that burden.
Reaching the center of the field with Genma between them, the proctor
looks between the pair as silence descends the spectators. Genma
can feel the anticipation in the air; a buzzing charge like static
electricity, makes him pay more attention than with any other fight.
From the stands, everyone is staring intently, unable to gauge an
outcome of the match because even if Gaara is the son of the
Kazekage, it appears that Naruto may be the son of the Yondaime. It
was an impossible and unprecedented situation to consider for rational
and bias observers alike and everyone was fully invested in the event.
"Keh keh keh keh," Gaara insanely laughs to himself which irks Naruto.
After being inspired by Hinata's match and hating what Temari was
forced to do, Naruto pronounces to Gaara, "you didn't have to do that
to Temari-chan." Though Naruto was a mixture of feelings, he felt
certain, "she loves you and her village very much and you used that for
nothing. Can't you see you hurt her?"
The top from Gaara's sand gourd pops off as he glares at Naruto,
professing in the meantime, "fighting only for oneself, living while only
loving oneself, thinking that others exist only to allow you to experience
that feeling of superiority, nothing else matters but that world."
"Enough," Genma calls to the boys. "Gaara versus Naruto: Begin." The
majority of the crowd cheers for the official start of the match for
everyone was eager to see physical proof that Naruto is the Fourth
Hokage's son. But Gaara and Naruto don't start. Staring each other
down, they reject this show for the crowd because this meant more to
them.
Thinking of Temari's anguish, Naruto demands to know, "why'd you
make her do that?"
"One must have a reason to exist," Gaara growls. His face morphs into
something demented as he maniacally declares, "mine is to kill
everyone besides me. Hers is to be of use to me. But you… I could
not simply kill you without destroying your belief that love means
anything more than weakness."
"You're wrong," Naruto retorts, clenching his fist. "Temari loves you.
Both your brother and sister love you-"
Growing irritated with that word, Gaara's sand explodes out of his
gourd. High and wide-reach sand tendrils shoot out to stab Naruto from
multiple directions. The blond was quick on the uptake, gathering
chakra under his feet and avoiding every strike while retreating far
enough away to eye his feral opponent from a distance.
"Come," Gaara yells. "Or are you too much of a coward to face your
death!"
Chapter 356:
Naruto creates two clones of himself, both of whom rush and hide
behind the few trees at the forested edge of the arena. Only a few in
the booing arena can see them sitting and meditating as Naruto draws
out his chakra knuckle blade from his lower back. Naruto easily adds
his Fūton chakra to the blade, creating a longer sharper blade of
chakra as he calls out, "the only coward here is you! Someone who
can't even hear how much other people love him cuz they're too scared
to feel anything!" Naruto begins walking toward him, growing more and
more confident with every step. "Talking about blood and existence is
absolute crap but I'll show you you're not as alone as you think!"
Gaara's missiles of sand attack fast and precise from above, straight
on, and the sides, but Naruto is much faster and his blade cuts through
each tendril of sand he doesn't dodge as he rushes the redhead. With
his arms crossed, Gaara remains rooted in place as his sand
effortlessly conforms to his great need to kill, attacking Naruto from any
angle he can draw blood but the blond only gets closer. Like sand
spears coming from eight different sides, Naruto easily extends his
chakra blade longer, sharper, to cut the sand spears to finally enter
within range of Gaara for a strong punch to the head.
Unconcerned, Gaara's sand automatically absorbs Naruto's fist and
tries to crush it when the blond's chakra blade cuts through the sand
and he leaps out of the way. Naruto leaps back, dodging and cutting
sand bullets until he's far enough. They stare at each other for a
moment before Naruto rotates his shoulders and stretches, twisting his
midsection as he tells Gaara, "not bad. You're sand's faster the closer
to you it is." Snickering, Naruto notes, "if anything, at least your sand
loves you."
Glaring at Naruto, Gaara voices, "is that all I can expect from you?
What happened to all that power I saw? Show me what your words of
love mean so I can crush them! Show me!"
Naruto extends his right hand ahead of him, palm facing toward the
blue sky. For a moment, what Naruto is doing is almost imperceptible
to the naked eye, but very soon, blue chakra begins to spin in multiple
directions at once. Naruto knows it took his father three years to
master Rasengan, and from Jiraiya, he knows that's roughly seven
thousand hours of pure training time. In the five months since Naruto's
learned the Rasengan, he estimates he and his hundreds of clones
have logged-in just over seven thousand hours, since in his palm, in
front of hundreds of witnesses, blue spinning chakra brightens and
broadens as it forms into a perfect sphere.
From merchants to villagers to shinobi and everyone in between, none
dare blink for fear of missing a single moment of such an unexpectedly
extraordinary event. For many years, the history that's always
associated with Uzumaki Naruto is that of the rampaging Kyūbi killing
and butchering many loved ones, shinobi and civilian alike. At the
moment, no one rational can deny seeing Naruto as the son of their
beloved Fourth Hokage who died protecting their village. Many had to
accept that the boy they've hated with all their being for years was in
fact the son of the Fourth, while many others were proud.
Iruka, Hiruzen, Kurenai, Ino, Sakura, Kakashi, Genma, Guy, and many
other shinobi who knew the truth looked on with pride, amazed by the
boy's death-grip on perseverance despite years of systemic negligence
and abuse. Observing Naruto in this moment, who looks so much like
his father, wearing a similar cloak, using his signature technique, was
mind-boggling. Without even being from Konoha, Temari, Mabui, and
Samui were entranced by the display while Mei grows much more
intrigued with the blond.
"That's some defense, I'll give you that," Naruto champions with his
chakra blade in his left hand and Rasengan in his right. "How about I
just break those walls down!"
Naruto sprints faster than before, narrowly avoiding heat-seeking
spears of sharp sand from piercing his flesh. Juking from side-to-side,
cutting away, and dodging sand spears the closer he gets, Naruto
manages to spin from the side into position for his Fūton covered blade
to cut right through his last defense. It was a small break in his sand
Naruto used to bury the miniature tornado into Gaara's armor-covered
gut. His blue Rasengan expands spherically, carving ceaselessly into a
surprised Gaara's sand until it cracks and breaks before the redhaired
shinobi is launched perfectly vertically through the air. The gourd on his
back reforms into softening sand to alleviate the tremendous force of
the impact as Gaara smashes against the arena's wall.
The sand was sufficient protection and Gaara remained conscious
even if all of the sand layered over his skin is cracked and crumbling.
The sand and clothes over his midsection were completely gone and
his stomach was bleeding from many little scrapes. Gaara coughs a bit
of blood and struggles a moment to glare at Naruto with absolute
hatred. The crowd remains stone silent even as a wounded Gaara
lazily pushes away from the arena wall and claps his hands together.
The sand hisses as it makes its way to it's weakened master and forms
into a sphere made of sand around him. Naruto knows what that
sphere of sand means and looks high to his right, above the crowd to
the Kage's viewing balcony, directly at Rasa. They hold stern gazes
and Naruto can tell they're only moments away. Naruto creates a clone
that immediately annuls itself and one of the two clones in the arena
disperses, immediately sending all of the sage chakra it was gathering
directly to the original. As he feels the tremendous force of power flow
through him, an orange-red pigmentation around his yellow, toad-like
eyes, leaving no doubt to those viewing that Uzumaki Naruto was the
son of the Fourth Hokage.
Naruto rushes to the sphere of sand against the wall and with a clear
mastery of sage chakra, creates a large claw-like hand that bull-dozes
and digs through the ground and concrete wall to lift the sand sphere.
Though sand spikes pop out to try to pierce his chakra grip, Naruto
feels no pain, and with his enhanced strength, launches the sand-
covered boy miles into the air. A stadium full of stunned spectators
gawk at the sand sphere rocketing far into the forest beyond the
village's wall with wide eyes and hung mouths. Naruto hops onto the
arena's wall, turns around to the nearly silent crowd, unironically
displaying his white Fourth Sun cloak. He smiles at his village before
leaping high into the sky to follow his fellow Jinchūriki.
Chapter 357:
THE INVASION
Since this turn of events isn't against any rules, Genma makes to follow
the genin when unbeknownst to Konoha, the village is struck with
perfectly synchronized attacks. In the span of one second, many of the
villagers, whether civilian or weaker shinobi, begin losing
consciousness to the power of a sleep-inducing genjutsu. The Sound
Four and Orochimaru move into place and Kabuto detonates an
explosion at the protective barrier of the village powerful enough to
cause minor tremors. Even worse is the perfectly timed giant three-
headed snake that's summoned just outside of the destroyed section of
the wall.
Shrugging off the sleep genjutsu, Ino, Sakura, Choji, and Shikamaru
stand gaping at the incredibly large snakes beyond the destroyed wall.
They're never seen a summon the size of a small mountain and look
over to Asuma and Kurenai for directions or clarity of the situation
when more deafening explosions splinter the air with concussive shock
waves. "What's going on," Ino asks Sakura when smoke bombs
screens are popped off throughout the stadium to limit visibility. In sage
mode, Naruto and Jiraiya can sense an additional three hundred
combined Sand and Sound nins invade the village on top of the
hundred or so elite enemy forces already inside the village.
In the seconds after the explosion, many many Sound and Sand
shinobi begin closing in on those still awake and confused, not giving
them a chance to catch up to the situation. Throughout the main
sectors of the village—the wall, the Tower, the Stadium, and main
street—villagers young and old who are asleep are momentarily
ignored so the Sound and Sand nins can focus on killing all the
confused, directionless, or situation-assessing Konoha shinobi they
see.
From rumbling explosions to genjutsu'd civilians and gigantic
summons, it's enough of a stupor for two teams to ambush Kurenai,
Karin, and Asuma, for Genma in the arena below to be rushed by a
coordinated team of his own, and for the first Chūnin sentry to fall to
the blood-splattering kunai of an enemy. Within the brief moments of
surprise and directionless engagement, Sound and Sand sprint
through the streets and attack without reservation, and above all, it
allows Rasa to slip behind the Leaf's Kage and spirit Hiruzen to the
wide-open roof above them with a kunai to his throat.
Leaping through the trees rushing directly for Gaara, Naruto can feel
the fighting begin and creates a clone to give everyone in place the
signal. The final clone with sage chakra disperses, infusing Naruto and
his clones with the last amount of nature chakra he'll have until the end
of the invasion. Split between his three clones, Naruto worries how he'll
fight Gaara or Shukaku when his sage chakra runs out. Promising to
fight without Kurama's power makes the outcome feel uncertain to him.
All he knows is that he won't stop until he wins or he's dead, which
feels gravely like the latter without additional power.
'Bah,' his mind hurls. 'Guts is more than enough!' Speeding from
treetop to treetop, Naruto has faith in his clones and prays they finish
as fast as they can.
With the infusion of empowering natural energy, the three Naruto
clones that are already with Jiraiya on the wall, in the stadium covering
Hinata, and at the tower with Iruka smile before they each concentrate
on calling forth over two hundred clones each with all the sage chakra
they have.
Hardly any enemy shinobi hears Naruto yell, "Tajū Kage Bunshin no
Jutsu," but they all stop fighting when hundreds of puffs of white smoke
pop into existence all around them. Out of the dissipating clouds, only
spiky-blond clones in a white cloak remain. They puffed into existence
on the barrier all-around Jiraya—stuck on railings, the wall, filling up
the space between shinobi teams—extending out dozens of yards.
They popped all around the stadium—on columns, railings, walls,
around other Konoha shinobi—to protect those asleep as well as
Sakura, Ino, Chōji, Shikamaru, and Hinata. They appeared all around
the exterior of the Hokage Tower where Iruka's talent as a leader was
assigned, ready to take orders and assist civilians. Each clone had its
mission and none planned on failing to the likes of Orochimaru and the
Kazekage.
The hundreds of enemies in the stadium and on the perimeter couldn't
believe the sheer number of clones suddenly appearing to challenge
them and matching their numbers, spreading a wave of unease
through their forces like a virus. But the seasoned and desperate
invaders hardened to Naruto's show of force, because even if the
hundreds of shadow clones looked as strong as the fourth Hokage,
logic dictates that this many would be slow and pop with even the
weakest of punches.
Sound and Sand forces continue their attack, and without delay, each
clone begins charging up Kurama's chakra from the pit of their seal,
exponentially amping up each one's strength, speed, durability, and
jutsu. Suddenly sensing the spike in rising power, the enemy shinobi
focus on attacking any clone they see with ranged weapons and
puppets but it's too little, too late. They may have popped a few clones
with kunai, shuriken, swords, arrows, or puppets, but with practiced
ease, the rest of the army of Narutos gathered enough of Kurama's
bubbling chakra to form a visible red shroud around their bodies. It's
not one-tail's worth of power but they certainly equalize the battlefield.
At the destroyed section of the wall, one clone notices a Sand shinobi
swallow hard in nervousness, making him smile before yelling out
fiercely to his brethren, "Yosha! Let's beat these bastards back!
Charge!" Like a tidal wave of white and blond encased in bubbling red,
the heavily empowered clones attack the enemy forces straight on. In
the stadium, the battle storms with Naruto swarming the enemy, though
they seem trained enough to stick together and fight as a unit.
On the large roof above the stadium, Rasa holds the Hokage hostage
while the Sound Four land at the four widest corners of the large roof
and quickly begin erecting their demon energy barrier. Hiruzen's
bodyguards fight off Rasa's guards but are unsure of how to proceed
with their leader being held hostage by a powerful Kage and a
notorious missing-nin, Orochimaru, between them. As the barrier finally
rises, a four-man team of Narutos yell as they leap within the
inescapable perimeter, locking them in.
"Stop, you fool," the masked leader of the bodyguards yells. "You'll get
Hokage-sama killed!"
Chapter 358:
The four clones try to rescue Hiruzen when they're obstructed by a
grinning and battle-ready Orochimaru. "You impress me, Naruto-kun,"
the snake-nin quips. "Perhaps I should take you after all. You can
never have too many test subjects after all." Opening his mouth wide
as he turns his head toward the sky, a snake rises out of his throat for a
sword to then ascend out of the snake's maw. Though grossed out,
each clone takes out their knuckle blade and the team attack as one,
much to Orochimaru's delight.
One takes him from the front, one from each side, and the fourth trails
the first. Though the fourth clone seems to be focused lining up a
following kick, he, in fact, hurls a kunai at Rasa, hoping to distract the
Kazekage long enough for Hiruzen to free himself, but the Sand Kage
simply tilts his head to the side, easily evading the deadly snipe that
embeds itself in the rising shingle of the curved roof.
As they watch Naruto's clones attempt a multitude of attacks, Hiruzen
has to know, "why?"
Through his hard countenance, Rasa asked with genuine curiosity, "did
you not know, Hokage-sama?" Hiruzen tilts his head a bit, then Rasa
clarifies, "did that boy truly not tell you?"
Looking over to the remaining three clones try to tag the slippery ninja,
Hiruzen asks, "Naruto?"
Rasa can't help but smile at his fortune before asking, "he kept such a
thing from you, didn't he?"
The Kages continue to observe the fast clones of Naruto being
systematically dismantled one at a time with patient efficiency by
Orochimaru and his enduring sword. Through the red shroud of chakra,
Hiruzen notes Naruto's fiercely determined face as he fights in defense
of his Kage and village. The trust in the boy he's personally witnessed
grow into a young man flows through him easily as he explains, "even
if he had told me, I would never believe a shinobi of your integrity
capable of betraying his allies."
"I respect your faith in a piece of paper, Hokage-sama," Rasa replies,
"But my village cannot fill their bellies with platitudes or quench their
thirst on empty promises. As their leader, they look to me for growth
and prosperity, yet your country denies them a life of fair work for fair
wages… I cannot allow this to continue any longer. You will die today
Hokage-sama, and in deference to your title, I, the Kazekage, will kill
you."
"Rasengan!" Naruto cries, finally hitting Orochimaru in the stomach
with an orange-tinted white ball of densely spinning chakra. However,
out of his mouth, another Orochimaru slithers out to stab the last clone
through the back and chest, defeating the last of Naruto's clones.
Orochimaru's slimy husk spins like a propeller to the demon barrier
before disintegrating into nothingness. Orochimaru sucks his teeth at
the loss of another skin before promptly turning to Rasa. With a
broadening grin, he levels his nearly indestructible sword point directly
at Rasa. Even Hiruzen's guards outside the barrier were surprised.
"Sarutobi-sensei is mine to kill, Rasa-dono," Orochimaru's scratchy
voice happily states.
Glaring at the Oto leader, Rasa calmly but dangerously states, "first
you attempt to assassinate me and now you betray the terms of our
deal."
With a smile, Orochimaru playfully wonders out loud, "should I dare
pretend you didn't implement plans of your own to assassinate me?"
Unperturbed by Rasa's murderous glare, Orochimaru appears as if
he's enjoying himself before pointing out, "with its resources split
among our villages, what's left of Konoha and most of Fire country can
still be yours… or, you can challenge me on this one insignificant little
matter and risk spoiling your people's reward. So long as I kill Sarutobi-
sensei, I will be satisfied with nothing else. Can you say killing him will
satisfy the dire needs of your village?"
Rasa considers his countrymen, the lives he's responsible for, and their
growing demand for more work above anything else. With a sigh, Rasa
concedes, "as you wish," clearly choosing his village's needs over his
duty to his title. Rasa removes the kunai from the elder's throat and
moves to the side between them, like the third point of a triangle as he
expresses, "my deepest apologies, Sarutobi."
Orochimaru smiles wider and Hiruzen enters his combat stance, ready
to fight.
—
Laughing from high above the battlefield by the wall, Jiraiya, in his
sage form, on the head of the dual sword-wielding toad, Gamahiro, halt
the three-headed snake's movement by landing on top of it. Using
earth style, Jiraiya creates a swamp to sink it in the earth as Gamahiro
draws steel to cut off two heads at the same time. Leaping off the large
toad, Jiraiya drills through the last head with a large Rasengan, killing
the snake summon.
In the forest below, the invading forces outnumber Naruto's clones two
to one, but only because a third of Naruto's clones are actually fighting
along with Konoha's first wave of defense. Some teams of clones are
made of all offense, other four-man teams are made of all Fūinjutsu
healers, and the majority of clone teams have two offense and two
healing cells.
The teams entirely made of offense deal with the enemy advance
along with the many Chūnin and few Jōnin, confronting the most
dangerous poison and puppet attacks. The platoons of puppeteers and
their multitudes of puppets were the worst for Naruto to fight, as he has
no experience with their capabilities and is tricked and surrounded
easily. Though he's durable enough to survive most attacks, as well as
fast and strong enough to fight back, the longer the battle rages the
longer it'll be before the primary Naruto can use Sage chakra against
Gaara.
The clone teams made of all Fūinjutsu healers are only focused on
slapping his pre-made Fūinjutsu tag over the wounded area and
pumping a lot of chakra to stabilize them before taking them to the
hospital. Several clones reply to various shinobi how the tags act like a
cauterizing agent, only it uses chakra to hyper-activate the injured
body's natural healing process and create more collagen enzymes to
heal the afflicted wound as best he can. It takes a lot of chakra, so
much so a single clone is out of chakra by the third injured person
healed. Additionally, it requires focus for Naruto to do this, and in the
midst of battle, he's vulnerable attack.
The clone teams made of both offense and healers, try to assist where
ever they can, however, all the clones find it hard to ignore certain
aspects of battle. If he's healing, he can't fight. If he's carrying
someone to safety, he can't heal or fight. If he's ambushed and
dispelled, that's one less defender for Konoha and her people. People
are suffering and this is the first time it feels as if he can't help
everyone. It makes all the clones maintain desperate effort.
—
Chapter 359:
In the close proximity of the stadium, short to midrange attacks are to
be expected and to Kurenai's delight, that was Naruto's bread and
butter. With his knuckle-blade, Rasengan, and enhanced speed, he
can get by all the Chūnin-level invaders and even some of the Jōnin-
level enemy to one-shot them to the wall with his devastating attack, or
at the very least, destroy their weapons. Konoha's counter-attack didn't
last long, however.
Many of the Oto-nin took notice of Naruto helping the wounded.
Kurenai herself thought it strange he even helped wounded Suna
shinobi. That is until the Sound-nin began stabbing the villagers under
the slumber genjutsu and when Naruto would rush to help before they
bled out, he'd immediately be ambushed. The elite enemy forces would
do this over and over and would even do so to other Konoha Jōnin as
well; using the villagers as wounded bait to prey on their compassion.
Kurenai wasn't just disgusted by the tactic, she was outraged, and that
dark side all seasoned ninjas have is easily tapped. It was as if she
shut off her humanity and became an instrument of death. It wasn't
necessary at the start of the surprise attack, but that was before they
started harming innocent and defenseless civilians. With her elite
Jōnin-level skill and mastery of genjutsu, Kurenai disappeared from the
enemy's senses—just as she had done with Karin in the beginning—
and stealthily stained her kunai wielding hands red with the blood. She
runs on all instinct and pure chakra flow to weaponize her senses,
chakra, and body and she isn't the only one. Kakashi, Guy, Asuma
among other elite Jōnin in the stadium were fighting to kill.
Kurenai only paused her blade when she heard from behind her,
"yeesh! Nai-chan, ease up on the Suna guys." Turning to the body she
had just dropped, she was stunned to see Naruto healing his neck
wound with one of his healing tags while another clone watches his
back.
"I don't care about the Sound guys," he tells her. "To tell you the truth,
they're really pissing me off. But for Suna, try to keep it non-lethal if
you can. I'll take care of the rest."
Despite being in the midst of battle, she's confused and asks, "why?"
Smirking, he explains as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, "it's
about teaching them, not killing them." She raises her eyebrows in
stunning disbelief as he further adds, "don't worry about the wounded.
You just be my sexy badass and wreck."
Kurenai watches the clone pick up the wounded Suna-nin—alive,
despite stabbing him in his neck—and leaps away. That moment of
distraction allowed a Sound-nin to appear within lethal striking range,
but before she could guard or he can slit her throat, a fiery clone slams
his Rasengan into the shinobi's guts, shredding through his abdominal
skin, muscles, and organs underneath, spraying blood radially before
Naruto lets the Rasengan go, propelling the enemy to the wall with a
hard thud and wet splat.
Naruto practically growls, "I'm not losing you, Nai-chan." Turning to her,
he adds, "so don't go leaving me so easily."
Despite the heat of battle, that sentiment struck her throughout her
entire being—heart, mind, body, and soul—more completely than
anything she's ever felt… because Kurenai didn't want to leave him
either, making her want to cry for the lengths she's willing to sacrifice
for Hinata.
—
Mabui, Samui, and Atsui are fighting as a unit on the streets outside
the stadium. Samui didn't want to fight near so many Konoha jōnin as it
would only draw unnecessary attention and questions to them, so she
commanded her team to flee at the start of the invasion. They fought
off both Sound and Suna shinobi on their escape of the stadium and
into the streets outside.
Without their weapons, they each had to steal a kunai, which still kept
them at a disadvantage. Fortunately, they work well as a team and
Samui is as elite as they come. It almost unnerved Mabui how
effortlessly she can kill without a hint of remorse on her blood-stained
and neutral face. Mabui didn't know why she forgot that Samui could
pass the salt or kiss her as easily as she can stab a person through the
heart.
The Kumo-nin rush through the streets to find a safe place to hide
when they're ambushed by a team of Sound shinobi. Atsui and Mabui
are dropped to the ground by a tripwire and snare snagging their ankle
before being ganged upon. "Quick," one of them yells as Samui, who
managed to avoid the trap, is surrounded by six armed attackers.
"Before that red bastard shows up-"
The leader barely finishes his sentence when he's suddenly stabbed
from behind, pushing the reddish-orange bladed chakra bursting out of
his chest. There's only one clone but Samui immediately observes how
different this one is from the others she's seen. The others were
covered in a shroud of red chakra. This one looked far angrier and
though also covered in red chakra, he had a single tail swirling behind
him. The squad of Sound-nin noticed the difference as well.
"If you Oto-nin want to live," Naruto growled. "Let. Them. Go."
Nearly all of the Sound-nin focus their killing intent on Naruto, targeting
him with raised swords, tantos, and kunais. Two of the enemy ninja
brought kunais against the necks of the downed Mabui and Atsui but
this only angered both Kurama and Naruto more; making Kurama
scream from within his seal. The Sound nin are stunned when their
body's instincts scream at them to flee as Naruto's power soars,
forming an additional bubbling red tail behind him.
His angry irises were red split by black slits, his hair along with his
whisker-birthmarks was longer and more feral, and he didn't hesitate to
launch a giant red hand made of pure chakra, of which a dozen more
hands sprang out like missiles to grab all of the frozen Sound-nin by
their entire torso. With all of them in his chakra hands, Naruto yanks
his arm back hard, pulling the hostiles toward him with the spine-
bending snap of a powerful rubber band, while his other hand prepares
his chakra knuckle blade. Naruto wanted to dice them up like a chuck
of meat dropped in a blender, however, his sixteen binding-fast slashes
only cut them deeply as their bodies flew past him. They tumble and
slide on the hard ground, groaning pain and bleeding out, but alive.