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Neji's POV (Audience Section of Iron Arena - Land of Iron)
Neji could admit to his heart racing as he watched his cousin battle. When he was first inspired to tutor her, it had been out of greed and pity. Neji had figured he would slowly whip the lackluster woman into shape. Subtly influencing her to be empathetic with the side branch. A time-consuming and uninteresting venture. He had been proven wrong shortly into the arrangement. Hinata had proven capable and adaptive, given her teacher was stern but patient. Worse yet, had proven wise and considerate. Truly recognizing the Side Branch as equals to the Main House. Hinata was truly the future of the Hyuga.
Yet now he watched as the woman he suspected would catch up to him one day raced around Gaara, unleashing a string of her best taijutsu from all angles. The speed and skilly of such would make Neji struggle. Trying to use speed and constant switching of angles to bypass his sand. Despite her efforts, Gaara quickly defended himself without even moving. Hinata's forms were flawless and unpredictable; she frequently changed levels and used gentle fists to ensure even a single blow landed would be devastating. 'Can Gaara be beaten… it's like he's on a completely different level…'
"Impressive; it may seem she is simply charging in, but she is testing just how good his defenses are. I wonder if she'll use that technique?" Sai commentated plainly.
"Sheesh, she hasn't started in earnest, and she's that good?" Tenten remarked. "No wonder you lost to her."
"Indeed." Sai agreed easily. Missing Tenten rolled her eyes at him, missing her attempted teasing. There conversation was amusing, but it did not settle Neji's nerves.
"Gaara is holding back, playing with her; she must try something soon. Before he can take her seriously." Neji added. The other two glanced at the other, then back at Neji.
"Isn't family supposed to support each other regardless of circumstance?" Sai asked.
"I merely wish for her to be efficient to ensure her safety." Neji countered.
"She's not some damsel in distress." Tenten snapped back. "Perhaps she'll surprise you." Sai was earnestly confused and Tenten the spirited woman she had always felt the need to contest his doubt.
"His concern seems warranted." Sai chimed in. "Jinchuriki are a threat regardless of their own skill level. Incredible chakra reserves, inhuman durability, an assortment of unique abilities depending on the beast, they shouldn't even be involved in these exams. I imagine Danzo would have a heart attack."
"That would also contain people like Naruto." Neji pointed out with a glare.
"I think he meant more psychotic ones like the redhead down there." Tenten mediated. Neji pulled back his anger a bit.
"Was what I said ill-put?" Sai asked genuinely.
"More like ill-considered," Tenten amended. "Besides, we all know you're worried Neji, but there's no way Hinata will get killed. Kakashi is down there after all."
"I hope so," Neji said grimly. "Otherwise, I'll kill Gaara myself…"
He may have doubted Hinata before, but she had proven herself to be an heir he should support. Now it seemed that same wonderful woman was now facing a monster. Neji was still determining if even he could best. But Neji was confident he would refrain from sitting idly by and allow the future of the Hyuga to be tainted. And if it did, well he would ensure the cost was great…
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Hinata's / Gaara's POV (Courtyard of Iron Arena - Land of Iron)
Gaara had lost her; the shadow clone had worked! Hinata had found her opening! She wasted no time, the monster before her would surely catch on quickly. She needed to hit him hard and fast! "Gentle Fist: Precise Beam!"
A thin beam of chakra sped through the air at speeds even Hinata struggled to keep up with. Gaara had scarcely turned his head when the beam was an instant away from hitting. Yet a stream of sand burst from the ground beneath him, quickly forming a wall to block the attack. The beam speared through the sand with ease, but the mass continued to grow as the stream continued to flow. The sand was being blasted away and melted as the sand and chakra clashed. Yet the sand seemed to hold solidly. Hinata quickly swung her hand away from the sand, tracking the beam to defend their master. But it mattered little to Hinata, she could change the angle of attack. Undoubtedly, the sand can't protect him from this!
"Gentle Fist: Chakra Pathway Total Shutdown!" Hinata called as she twirled on her feet. The beam followed her spin, slicing through stones and trees as she spun. The first rotation hit the same spot, slicing a line through the blob of sand and nearly hitting Gaara. The redhead glared as a wall of sand reformed and reinforced, constantly being carved into by the beam at various levels. 'He already has made an impressive level of sand! Surely, his gourd can't hold this much. Can he do it even faster than he did with Kiba? I have to throw everything I have at him!' "Don't look down at people! It gives us the chance to surprise you!" Hinata canceled her beam, and Gaara dropped his wall of sand to glare at her.
Three clones of Hinata ran out from various hiding points throughout the field surrounding Gaara who was unaware and utterly focused on his death glare at her. They each formed the familiar handhold as they all aimed at Gaara. The man did not realize the danger as he faced Hinata fearlessly.
"That pathetic attack didn't work the first time, human. Do you believe it will work the second? I believe I'll crush you now." Gaara said with a bored tone. He raised his hand as sand surged around him.
"How about multiple attempts at once?" Hinata asked innocently. "Forgive me for this." Gaara's eyes whipped around as he discovered he was surrounded. "Gentle Fist: Cardinal Convergence!"
Each clone shot off their own Precise Beam. Hinata immediately felt some level of exhaustion, spamming Precise Beam with Shadow Clones, which was draining. But Hinata did not hesitate as she and her clones fired.
The Sand around Gaara formed a thick encirclement around him. The four beams hit, slowly drilling into the sand structure protecting Gaara. But the structure grew and repaired itself, managing to outpace the four chakra beams. Hinata grits her teeth; even now she is too weak?! No… she didn't want to use this in a mere competition, but she recognized Gaara intended to kill her. She wouldn't hold back!
The clones had come to the same conclusion as all four Hinata screamed again in unison. "Gentle Fist: Indiscriminate Beam!" The chakra beams widened, each much thicker before the slow drilling became a loud, quicker motion. Sand melting and flying away at much greater speeds. 'Surely he cannot hold out against this!'
Gaara's POV
Gaara growled angrily as the walls around him groaned as what sounded like a much stronger attack slowly eroded away his defenses. 'It seems these humans are particularly pesty.' His annoyance grew even further as the walls started to glow blue with chakra and buckle. 'She actually can breach my defenses. It may be time to take things more seriously.
Gaara raised his hand into the sky. The ground beneath him rumbled as it slowly rose, propelled by a platform of sand beneath it. Suddenly, Gaara shot up on his ride, escaping as the four beams breached the sand and collided, resulting in an explosion. Hinata Byakugan was not distracted by such and dispelled her clones as she locked eyes with the air-borne Gaara.
This woman was weaker than the Uchiha yet had managed to put him on the back foot somewhat. A feat, even if he was significantly holding back. She was a hopeful fool who had worked hard to get where she was. If only she was a jinchuriki she would be worth something. No matter.
"Your attack was rather quick, I assume costly, but it's good you realize it will take all your strength to beat me. But I must tell you it is a feat you cannot accomplish. No young human could hope to; jinchuriki like I am above humanity. For daring to assume you could ever is arrogant, a common theme for you humans. I will educate you painfully before your death." Gaara promised as he made a hand sign.
"Gold Dust Manipulation: Seeking Orb" A melon-sized golden orb formed next to Gaara. He saw Hinata seem to prepare to dodge, but it mattered little. When Gaara bothered to use his father's technique, it was because he was done. He could not control massive amounts of it like his father. But controlling a small amount of it was within his power. Besides… with a flick of his wrist, the orb shot off with a loud boom. Hinata could barely even begin a rotation to user Kaiten, forming a thin shield, but the orb smashed through the chakra and into Hinata's back. She coughed out blood as she went flying. Smacking into the concrete hard enough to crack it. She bounced and landed heavily on her back. Gaara watched her patiently as he slowly lowered himself to the ground. Once he saw what looked like a painful gasp of air from her, he smiled. It was always preferable to kill humans with his sand. Felt more personal. But he made an exception this time.
To his surprise, though, the human slowly crawled to her feet. Her clothes and skin were scraped and covered in blood. She had spit out so much that some dripped from her still. Her stance was weak and futile, yet she faced him again as if still ready to fight.
"You truly intend to struggle so futilely? Your strongest attack did little to me, yet you pretend to be a true threat? You realize if I had known the power of that cute little jutsu, I would've blocked it with ease, right? You can not even harm me! Admirable, to be certain, but oh so fitting. That's the problem with you humans… the good ones are weak." Gaara ranted manically. "If you must insist, come try to hit me! Prove you aren't pathetic! But now my counter will kill you." He warned. As he did so, the orb dissipated and formed into a golden sash around Gaara. He wouldn't need it to finish her.
To his shock, the woman didn't hesitate to charge.
Hinata's POV
Her body was wracked with pain. Hinata was sure it was only her will that kept her standing. No, she was running, preparing for a palm strike on Gaara. Was there any point in her struggle? Why did she even try?
"How have you surpassed me, sister! You've become so strong… I hate to admit it… but I acknowledge you as the true heir…" Hanabi had admitted such before the finals. She finally stopped challenging her older sister for the rights of the clan. Hinata knew Hanabi was likely plotting, but for her to even say such…
"Hinata, I hated you for so long… perhaps that is why when my ideology was proven wrong I decided to train you… I never expected you would grow as much as you have now… I am now certain you will be the greatest Clan Head the Hyuga will ever see." Neji had admitted during one of their friendly spars. Acknowledgement from someone she admired…
"Hinata. I acknowledged you. So stop worrying if you're good enough; just prove it yourself." Sasuke had chided her before the exams. Even Sasuke held his belief in her openly…
She fought because she wanted to make her supporters proud. To let them know Hinata Hyuga had grown and would continue to do so regardless of the potential harm. She wanted to prove to herself she had changed. Now she was facing potentially the strongest Genin here…
One blow. Hinata could be proud if she could just show him he wasn't untouchable. A single blow would prove her stronger than most. Prove she tried everything. Make Gaara see her! But how could Hinata bypass his sand… it was sand, not a solid substance, but pieces of various ones loosely controlled by chakra… Could she make her chakra travel through it? She had to try…
"Gentle Fist: Gentle Pulse!" Hinata made up as she unleashed a palm strike for Gaara's chest. As expected, the sand blocked it deftly. Hinata did not flinch even as the sand covered her hand and traveled up her arm. Instead, she focused on flowing her chakra through it. It was a slow and difficult process. The sand somewhat constricting before she achieved it. Her chakra used microscopic spaces between the grains to flow through. She could see it as it did and flowed into Gaara. Take that… she thought as she fell face first. The pain faded as her mind dimmed. Hinata did not even feel or realize she hit the ground.
Gaara's POV
Gaara watched as his faithful sand blocked her desperate strike and wrapped around her arm. Perhaps he would remo-. Gaara stumbled as pain flared throughout his chest. 'What is happening!' He thought as he fell to one knee and spat out blood. 'She managed to develop a technique to bypass my sand… fortunately, she has fallen.' He glared at the unconscious woman as he rose to his feet and spat out blood. "Perhaps that would've meant something against one of you fragile humans. Fortunately, we jinchuriki aren't so feeble."
Kakashi poofed in, observed the two, and turned to address the crowd. Gaara smirked at such, it was all the time Gaara needed; his sand surged, grabbed the defeated human, and raised her into the air. Kakashi whipped around and leaked out killing intent, but Gaara merely spoke to dismiss such.
"You can attempt to stop me if you wish; I will survive your attack long enough to kill her. Even if you manage to kill me, the fall will kill her." Gaara said simply. Kakashi froze, now realizing the situation. Gaara was about to mock the Jounin before Neji and Naruto appeared before him, attempting a joint flying kick barely blocked by the sand. The impact of the duel blows nearly broke through the sand and cracked the ground beneath them.
Sasuke appeared from above using his Besmirched Flambe to free Hinata from the sand. Using Gaara's confusion from the other two to do so with ease. Naruto and Neji slid back as they faced Gaara, while Sasuke dropped her off with Kakashi before facing down Gaara with the other two. Kakashi called for emergency care as the wall of Genin stared at him… he did not acknowledge them for now…
Gaara watched as medical staff carted his victim away as Kakashi appeared in between Gaara and his newest victims. Cutting off the stand off and killing the excitement that flowed through Gaara.
"We're done here." Kakashi stated that his Sharingan was fully exposed and glaring at each of them. "You three, well two anyway, are lucky Hinata was defeated, or the lot of you would be disqualified. He turned to Gaara with a glare. "You almost breached the rules of needless killing, so be thankful. All of you return to your proper positions. Any more unsanctioned fighting will result in removal from the exams and a forfeit of promotion." He lectured to the group, trying to get some peace established.
"No one will stop me from getting my prey next time." Gaara warned.
Neji was already being escorted by security due to being a noncompetitor.
Thus it was only Sasuke and Naruto left, and both furious men promised the same thing.
"If I get the chance, Gaara of the Desert, I will avenge my teammate." Sasuke promised darkly. Gaara may be a monster, but Sasuke was willing to surpass his limits to protect his clan and his friends.
"I'm gonna pay you back for that you bastard!" Naruto said threateningly. The blonde felt anger mixed with determination as he faced Gaara. His confidence was reinforced after the bout with Hinata. He saw the path to victory...
"We'll see." Gaara countered as his body flickered away. Gaara had to; the urge to further encourage violence and his fill there now had almost overwhelmed him. Indeed, it would've been a dream to crush the Uchiha as he shattered Uzumaki's worldview. But it was unlikely to be; he had to wait for now. Gaara knew the chance for a proper fight, the opportunity to shed blood and bleed would come. The monster would have its day…