Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Faith of the Heart ❯ Chapter 2: The Bell Test ( Chapter 3 )

Faith of the Heart

 

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Author's Notes:

 

There may be a lemon or two in this story, but I'm only going to put one in if I feel it contributes to the storyline in someway.

 

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Chapter 2: The Bell Test

 

Kakashi lead Sakura, Naruto, and Hinata to Training Ground 3.

 

“I remember this place really well,” Naruto said.

 

“Yeah,” Sakura added.

 

“Ah, that's right. This was the place where you two and Sasuke first trained, isn't it.”

 

Naruto and Sakura looked lost in their memories and didn't respond. Even Kakashi looked somewhat saddened.

 

Hinata stood a short distance away debating what she should do. What she wanted to do was comfort Naruto, but at the same time she felt like she was intruding on an intensely private moment for the members of the old Team 7.

 

Naruto noticed Hinata leaning against one of the training posts watching them. The sight startled Naruto, and for a brief moment he could see in his mind's eye a twelve year-old, lavender-eyed girl wearing a light blue blouse standing in the same place.

 

`You make mistakes, and you get stronger from them. I believe that is true strength,' Naruto heard the soft, quiet voice of the girl in his memories say.

 

`Hinata was right back then. I can't let Sasuke's memory depress me. I made mistakes. Maybe I could have done more to stop Sasuke from leaving, but that's in the past now. All I can do is get up, move forward, and live my life to its fullest. I'll bring Sasuke back eventually, but until then I've still got the rest of my precious people,” Naruto thought.

 

Naruto's blue eyes met his girlfriend's lavender ones, and he started to smile. It was not one of the fake smiles he used to hide his sadness and frustration behind when he was younger but a warm, true smile. A light blush started to spread across Hinata's cheeks as she returned his smile.

 

`Thank you, Hinata-chan.'

 

Hinata stepped out from beside the training post and moved next to Naruto and Sakura.

 

Kakashi did not miss the silent exchange between the couple or the sudden change in Naruto's expression. More than that, Kakashi saw how the change in Naruto's mood affected Sakura. Naruto seemed to radiate strength and determination, after he looked away from Hinata. When Sakura saw the change in Naruto, it appeared to snap her out of her own dark thoughts. Kakashi smiled under his mask as both of his former students looked up at him with a renewed light in their eyes.

 

“Oi, Kakashi-sensei, can we get a move on it. You're keeping me from Ichiraku's. That ramen isn't going to eat itself, you know,” Naruto called out. Sakura just rolled her eyes while Hinata giggled.

 

“Sure thing, we all know how dangerous it is to get between you and your ramen,” Kakashi answered nonchalantly, earning a glare from Naruto. “Anyway, like last time, the goal is for you to grab a bell before time is up. If you don't come at me with the intent to kill you won't succeed. The time limit is dawn tomorrow.”

 

Sakura, Hinata, and Naruto traded looks with each other. Sakura turned toward her former-sensei with an almost evil smile as she slide on a pair of leather gloves, while Naruto wore his patented foxy-grin. Even Hinata had a mischievous look dancing in her eyes.

 

“Riiiight,” Kakashi said warily as he put his book away and uncovered his Sharingan eye, “For some reason, I think I should take this a bit more seriously than last time.”

 

The jonin took a deep breath and then looked up at the three teens before him, again. He could see the tension in all three's stances as they prepared to attack or defend when he gave the word.

 

“Begin,” Kakashi barked at the three teens.

 

Naruto started it off by throwing a single shuriken in Kakashi's direction.

 

“Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,” Naruto said as his hands formed the familiar hand seal for shadow clones. Suddenly the single shuriken headed toward Kakashi turned into dozens.

 

Kakashi was about to do a Kawarimi to get out of the way of the attack. He never got a chance. Naruto yelled out another jutsu, “Bunshin Daibakuha!” The barrage of shuriken exploded twenty feet away from Kakashi. The explosions stunned Kakashi for a moment but did not injury him. However, the brilliant flash of chakra released by the Bunshin Daibakuha so overloaded his Sharingan eye that he was seeing spots.

 

Naruto didn't give Kakashi a chance to recover as he came charging out of the cloud of dust kicked up by the explosions. Still unable to use the Sharingan, Kakashi fell back on his regular vision and prepared to block the punch Naruto had started to throw.

 

`That's not Naruto!' Kakashi realized as the wind changed directions blowing the scent of his attacker toward him.

 

Suddenly `Naruto's' hand switched from a fist to a flat palm strike, a glowing palm strike.

 

`Oh, shit,' Kakashi thought as he finally figured out who was really attacking and jumped to the side in order to dodge the strike, rather than blocking it.

 

`Naruto' released the henge to reveal Hinata who instantly dropped into a Gentle Fist stance.

 

A puff of smoke obscured Kakashi as he finally preformed the Kawarimi he was originally going to use to get out of the way of the shadow shuriken, rather than risk fighting the Hyuuga girl hand-to-hand without the use of his Sharingan.

 

The three teens started scanning the area for the masked jonin.

 

“He's underground!” Sakura and Hinata shouted in unison, the pink-haired teen having figured it out just as her teammate spotted Kakashi.

 

“HIIIYAAHHH!” Sakura screamed as she slammed her glove-covered fist into the ground causing both Naruto and Hinata to fall flat on their butts as the ground cracked and heaved upward from the force of the blow.

 

A terrifying thought occurred to Naruto, as he felt the ground continue to reverberate from the force of Sakura's punch. `Was she actually going easy on me earlier?'

 

A gust of wind blew enough of the dust kicked up by Sakura's punch away to reveal a wide-eyed Kakashi among the rubble.

 

“I found you, Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura said sweetly.

 

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“She's already mastered your super-strength technique?” Jiraiya gawked a short distance away, where he and three others watched the test.

 

Tsunade smiled in amusement at her fellow sannin's reaction to her apprentice's accomplishment. “What can I say? I have a talented apprentice. Well, that and she had a great teacher,” Tsunade said somewhat smugly. “Of course, I could say the same about Naruto and Hinata. I've never seen the Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu combined with Bunshin Daibakuha before, and using it to temporarily blind Kakashi's Sharingan to the fact that Hinata was using a henge was brilliant.”

 

“Wish I could take credit for it, even if it didn't work, but the Brat and Squirt actually came up with that little trick on their own. Naruto figured out a way to mold the chakra for the Bunshin Daibakuha so there is more of a blinding flash of chakra than a concussive blast. Then Hinata suggested trying it with Shuriken Kage Bunshin rather than Kage Bunshin, and I think they developed the tactic of using the combination of the two jutsu as a diversion together. Of course, Naruto can still use the combo to create normal explosions if he simply wants to finish someone off or Hinata isn't available to help. Bunshin Daibakuha with even a single shadow clone requires a massive amount of chakra, but using it with Shuriken Kage Bunshin requires chakra on a magnitude several times greater. I doubt anyone but a jinchuriki would have enough chakra reserves to pull it off and still be able to continue fighting,” Jiraiya pointed out with a grin from his perch on a branch above Tsunade and Shizune.

 

“You know,” Tsunade added, “I think their attack would have worked on a full-blooded Uchiha or Hyuuga. The only reason Kakashi avoided Hinata's juken strike was because he is use to depending on his regular vision and other senses, since he can't use his implanted Sharingan as efficiently as an Uchiha, and managed to detect the incoming attack that way. An Uchiha or Hyuuga is more dependent on their bloodline and also would have been temporarily blinded in both eyes, not just one. What do you think Hiashi?”

 

“I believe you are correct, Hokage-sama. It will probably be several more minutes before I can use my Byakugan effectively again. I'm sure the effects would have been similar on an Uchiha,” Hiashi agreed. In all honesty, Hiashi was completely stunned by just how effective his daughter and her boyfriend's tactic proved to be. The Hyuuga head had been so dazzled by the chakra flare it produced that he'd been forced to deactivate his Byakugan. Even a minute and a half later, his vision with the Byakugan activated was still somewhat hazy. “If anything, a strong Sharingan or Byakugan user would be even more vulnerable than a weak one since their eyes are more sensitive to chakra.”

 

“Speaking of that, I'm sorry I didn't give you more warning about what they were going to do, Hiashi,” Jiraiya apologized.

 

“That's quite alright, Jiraiya-sama,” Hiashi replied.

 

A slightly confused expression crossed Shizune's face. “How does Hinata avoid having her Byakugan blinded?”

 

“Extremely good timing. She doesn't activate her Byakugan until the instant after the explosion. The down side of that is she has to do at nearly the same time she puts up the henge, and if they mess up the timing she could be affected by the chakra flash just as much as the target,” Jiraiya answered.

 

“I told you those two were good,” Jiraiya slyly added upon seeing the expressions on the others' faces as they thought about the level of skill and teamwork involved in what the Sannin described.

 

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Several Hours Later

 

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!”

 

Twenty of Naruto's shadow clones rushed Kakashi. Ten disappeared in puffs of smoke within the next two minutes.

 

Hinata moved in to close off Kakashi's chakra points only to be flung toward a tree when Kakashi parried her one of her blows. She managed to flip around in mid-air so she could land feet-first when she hit the tree, but before she could return to the fight, the jonin vanished using another Kawarimi.

 

Kakashi reappeared a short distance away with one of the large trees that populated Konoha's training grounds between him and Hinata and Naruto. Suddenly, a shadow, barely visible in the illumination provided by the full moon, appeared on the ground in front of Kakashi. The jonin looked up and was greeted with the sight of Sakura hurtling straight toward him from above with her leg extended to deliver a kick. Kakashi tucked into a forward roll taking himself out of the path of Sakura's attack. The tree wasn't as fortunate, as Sakura's kick shattered its trunk at about the height Kakashi's chest would have been at if he had not moved. The masked shinobi sprung back to his feet just in time to see the severed tree come crashing to the ground. Kakashi then let fly a handful of shuriken and a pair of kunai at the three teens that stepped into the open a short distance from where the tree came to rest. Hinata's arms blurred into motion as she shredded the projectiles with beams of tightly focused chakra from her palms. Kakashi countered by dropping a smoke bomb and using Shunshin no Jutsu to put some distance between him and the teens.

 

“This is so not working,” Sakura said in an annoyed voice.

 

After failing to take out the jonin in their initial attacks, Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura came up with the plan of taking advantage of one of Kakashi's few known weaknesses by continuously attacking the jonin to force him to use his Sharingan. As Naruto and Sakura had seen during their mission to the Land of Waves years earlier, Kakashi's transplanted eye significantly drained the jonin's chakra reserves the longer he used it. If all went according to plan, Kakashi would run out of chakra before they did, and then they could overwhelm him and take the bells. In theory, the plan should have worked. In practice, they were up against the legendary Copy-Ninja, Sharingan Kakashi, who had no intention of playing by their rules. The more experienced jonin had quickly caught on to what his opponents were trying to do within the first twenty minutes, and he would now only fight long enough to slow the teens down, wasting time his opponents did not have, before breaking contact to force them to waste even more time tracking him down again. At this rate, the three teens were going to run out of time well before Kakashi ran out of chakra.

 

“No kidding,” Naruto said as he sent out the surviving shadow clones to search for Kakashi…again. “I thought for sure he'd come after us like the first time he made us do this.”

 

Hinata activated her Byakugan and scanned the area, before deactivating it with a sigh. “He's using shadow clones again. I see one Kakashi over there,” she said while pointing to her right, “another behind us, and a third back in the clearing.”

 

“Which probably means none of them are him,” Naruto grumbled.

 

“More than likely, Naruto-kun. I think he's worked out the effective range of my Byakugan,” Hinata acknowledged. All three Kakashies were barely within the maximum radius of the area she could scan with her Byakugan, which was too big of a coincidence for any of them to be anything other than decoys. The genuine article was probably hiding in an entirely different direction from the clones somewhere outside of Hinata's field of view.

 

“You know, I don't think I ever realized just how good Kakashi-sensei really is until now,” Naruto said to no one in particular as he plopped down on the ground next to a tree. “He's smarter than Shikamaru, better at taijutsu than Fuzzy Brows, can use his Sharingan better than Sasuke, has better senses that Kiba, knows more about ninjutsu that just about anyone, and on top of all that he has more experience than the three of us put together.” While Naruto was speaking, Hinata sat down next to Naruto and rested her head on his shoulder. Sakura sat down next to Naruto on the other side with her back against the tree and took out a canteen.

 

“Yeah, no wonder we're having so much trouble catching him. We need to figure out a way to incapacitate him so we can grab the bells, rather than trying to take him on head on like we have been,” Sakura said thoughtfully between sips of water. “Hmmm, he'll see through a genjutsu with the Sharingan, so that's out. And I can't imagine Kakashi-sensei getting caught in a booby-trap.” Sakura's face scowled in concentration while she tried to come up with a workable strategy. Hinata frowned slightly and winkled her nose slightly, in an expression Naruto found adorable, as she joined Sakura in trying to think of a new plan.

 

Suddenly, Naruto broke out in laughter, startling the two kunochi out of their thoughts. “Oh, man! Why didn't I think of it before? It's so simple!”

 

“Okay, spill,” ordered Sakura.

 

“Well, normally, you'd be right. We'd never be able to catch him off guard, but Kakashi-sensei has another weakness. All we need to take advantage of it is the right kind of distraction.” Naruto said as he fought to quit snickering long enough to share his idea with his teammates.

 

Sakura and Hinata both looked confused, so Naruto pulled the girls into a huddle and whispered to them what he had in mind.

 

“I-it, it's perfect,” Sakura stammered out before collapsing in a giggling fit on the forest floor.

 

“Naruto-kun! That's too mean!” Hinata exclaimed. However, after a minute or two, Hinata appeared to reconsider and joined her teammates in laughing. “Of course, that doesn't mean we shouldn't try it.”

 

`Yup, Ero-sennin and I definitely corrupted Hinata-chan more than we thought.'

 

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“What do you think they are planning, and where did Naruto take off too?” Shizune asked her mentor. They had spotted Naruto splitting off from the two girls a couple of minutes earlier.

 

“With Naruto involved there's no telling. As far as where he went too…” Tsunade said before her voice trailed off as she turned to look at the branch Jiraiya was sitting on. A second later the blonde in question landed on the branch next to the Toad Sannin.

 

“Hey…what do you think you're doing, Brat?” Jiraiya growled at his apprentice.

 

“Sorry, Ero-sennin, but I need to borrow this,” Naruto replied before taking off with an object he had pilfered from one of his sensei's pockets.

 

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On the other side of Training Ground 3, a certain masked shinobi sat against the trunk of a tree trying to catch his breath.

 

`I really did have it easier back then,' Kakashi thought with a chuckle as he remembered when he had given Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura the bell test nearly three years before. Although, they'd been more talented back then than he'd initially expected, he had easily toyed with the original Team 7 during their test, much to the three twelve year olds' annoyance and embarrassment. Sakura had been too focused on catching Sasuke's attention to do much of anything, Sasuke had been too obsessed with avenging his clan to be a team player, and Naruto, well, Naruto acted too much like Naruto to provide a decent challenge. The only good thing they had going for them was that they seemed to actually learn from their mistakes and came together as a team in time to pass the test.

 

This new Team Kakashi was quickly proving to be an entirely different animal all together. Where Naruto and Sasuke spent most of the time trying to out do each other, Naruto and Hinata's teamwork was, for lack of a better work, flawless. Of course, given their relationship and the fact they had spent the last two years and a half years training together, it wasn't much of a surprise. Naruto's rashness had been tempered, either naturally as he grew older and matured or by Hinata's influence. Kakashi had halfway expected Naurto to jump the gun like last time and attack before he gave the signal to start the test. Instead Naruto had worked with Hinata and almost succeeded in taking out his former sensei and gaining the bells with a brilliant ploy.

 

Sakura also showed signs of great improvement. After her first Chunin Exam and Sasuke's departure, Sakura had dedicated herself to growing stronger so she'd never be a burden to her teammates and so she could help Naruto bring Sasuke back. By all accounts, Sakura succeeded wildly in meeting her goal, and Kakashi was sure that one day she would surpass her mentor, Tsunade, in skill. Sakura also appeared to be a nearly perfect complement to Naruto and Hinata. Where Naruto was a brilliant tactician, a trait that had apparently rubbed off on Hinata if their opening move of the test was any indication, Sakura's raw intelligence made her an excellent strategist and planner. Simply put, Sakura excelled at figuring out what they needed to do to accomplish their goals, while Naruto and Hinata were masters at figuring out how to achieve the what.

 

Kakashi was pleasantly surprised to find that the three teens were actually proving to be a challenge. What's more, he got the distinct impression Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura were holding back somewhat. Not that he wasn't, as well. Still...

 

“Yo, Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto called out, startling Kakashi out of his thoughts.

 

`Damn, I let him sneak up on me,' Kakashi cursed to himself as he hopped to his feet and prepared to defend himself.

 

“Lookie what I found!” Naruto shouted with a grin as he held up a familiar green book. “You know, you could really use a bookmark, Sensei. There ya go,” Naruto added as he stuck an explosive note in between the book's pages.”

 

Kakashi stared at the book in Naruto's hand with his Sharingan activated hoping to see a genjutsu, but he began to panic when he realized it wasn't. “Y-y-you wouldn't!”

 

The explosive note began to sizzle as it ignited, and Naruto quickly tossed the book into the air where it exploded. The remains rained down like confetti over the masked jonin's head.

 

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Kakashi screamed before collapsing to his knees in tears. “Why? What on Earth have I ever done to you to deserve something like this, Naruto? Okay, sure I may have played favorites every now and then, and, yeah, maybe I shouldn't have used Sennen Goroshi on you that one time. But that still isn't justification for blowing up a man's most prized procession! I mean, come on! I've always tried to look out for you, too!”

 

Kakashi's rant was interrupted by a cough behind him. He looked back over his shoulder and saw a snickering Sakura and a guilty-looking Hinata holding the three bells, one of which they tossed to Naruto.

 

“Oh, quit being such a drama queen, Kakashi-sensei. Your precious book is fine,” The blonde laughed as he snatched the bell out of the air.

 

Sheepishly, only then did Kakashi think to check whether or not he still had his book. He reached back to his equipment pouch and found the tome was indeed still in one piece, right where he left it.

 

“Hey, that hurt, Ero-sennin!” Naruto angrily yelled a minute later as he nursed a large bump on his head.

 

“Good! You said you were going to `borrow' that book, not incinerate it,” Jiraiya said coldly. Behind him, Tsunade, Shizune, and Hiashi walked out of the forest with amused looks on their faces.

 

“Let him be, Pervert. You wrote the damn thing; it's not like you can't get another,” Tsunade said.

 

“H-hello, Father,” Hinata said nervously as she bowed to Hiashi.

 

“It is good to see you again, Hinata. I was most impressed with you and your teammates' performance, even if the end of the fight was somewhat...unorthodox.”

 

“Thank you, Father,” Hinata said as she practically glowed after receiving the praise.

 

“Hyuuga-sama,” Naruto greeted Hiashi with a polite bow, which Hiashi returned.

 

“It is good to see you, too, Uzumaki-san. I trust you have been taking care of my daughter,” Hiashi asked cordially.

 

“Of course,” Naruto replied with a smile.

 

Sakura was caught off guard by how polite and respectful Naruto and Hiashi were being toward one another. She didn't even know Naruto was capable of acting like that. However, she dismissed it as Naruto being on his best behavior for his girlfriend's father.

 

Tsunade motioned for everyone to come with her so the father and daughter could have some privacy. Naruto smiled at Hinata and gave her hand a squeeze before following the others.

 

Before they got out of sight of the two Hyuuga, Sakura took one last look over her shoulder and noticed that Hiashi was hugging a crying Hinata.

 

“What's going on, Naruto?” Sakura whispered as they headed for the clearing where the training posts were located.

 

“It's family stuff,” Naruto said in a worried voice that clearly told Sakura that there was more to it than simply “family stuff.” However, Sakura got the distinct impression that Naruto was either unwilling to or uncomfortable with elaborating, so she decided to drop the matter for the moment.

 

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Sunagakure, Thirty Minutes Later

 

“Kankurou! This guy beat Gaara! What do you think you can do by yourself?” Baki yelled at his former student.

 

“You're just going to let them take him?!” the younger sand jonin growled angrily.

 

“That's not what I meant! Listen, just follow them, and don't fight, no matter what!”

 

“Find their hideout, we'll send a platoon to meet up with you, and then attack!” Baki shouted.

 

`Right, send them as fast as possible!” the black clothed puppet user called back over his shoulder as he took off after the two Akatsuki members.

 

`Damnit, Kankuruo! Matsuri!”

 

“Yes, Baki-sama,” the young genin answered.

 

“Take this to the signals division, have them code it and send it out to Konoha on our fastest courier. Now!” Baki ordered as he handed the girl a handwritten message.

 

Matsuri took off as fast as her legs could carry her toward the Kazekage's tower, desperate to do anything she could to help get Gaara back.

 

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Jutsu:

 

Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique): A-Ranked. A modification of the Shadow Clone Technique, the user throws one shuriken at the victim and then uses this jutsu to create multiple copies of the shuriken to make the attack more powerful.

 

Bunshin Daibakuha (Clone Great Explosion): A-Ranked. This jutsu works in combination with the Shadow Clone Technique to create a shadow clone that will explode on command. The blast created is considerable, and could potentially kill an attacker engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

 

Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique): E-Ranked. This jutsu lets the user quickly switch places with another nearby object, such as a plant (normally a section of a log), an animal, or even another person within reach, leaving the opponent open to a counter-attack. Explosive tags can be attached to the replacement for an added surprise. Fundamentally, all ninja know this technique.

 

(Note: All jutsu definitions are directly from the Wikipedia entry on Naruto.)