Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Lacking Sight ❯ Nostalgia ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Hyuuga Hinata was many things. First, she was a ninja from Konohagakure. Secondly and even more importantly, she was a member of the famed Hyuuga clan, and not only that, but she was slated to be the next head of that clan. She was also shy, quiet, and the admirer of her village's number one loudmouth and ramen consumer, Konoha's most surprising ninja, though her shyness and quietness had prevented the way-too-dense boy from knowing anything of it.
But perhaps most importantly of all, at the moment, she was a Chuunin examination student, and she was being rather brutally assaulted by a fellow examinee in the third and final test.
Her opponent was a cloud ninja, native to the village where this year's examination was being held. She had come here knowing next to nothing about the cloud except that they had in the past been some of the Hyuuga's greatest enemies. Now, after being pitted against one in this match, she was beginning to understand why. Hinata's opponent fought in the traditional lightning-nin style, attacking from a distance with a vast arsenal of ninjutsu and genjutsu techniques–many of them involving, predictably, various forms of lightning which Hinata's Byakugan had difficulty detecting in a timely manner–as well as a multitude of throwing weapons. He used taijutsu only when necessary to defend himself from Hinata's close-range counterattacks. Apparently, whoever had taught this boy was well acquainted with the Hyuuga's style.
As a result, Hinata was tired and winded from protecting herself and her charges from multiple ranged attacks, and burned in some places where she had failed to act in time. She was losing her match by four targets. To complete the seemingly hopeless scene, her teammates watching her from the combatants' waiting area were silent... Kiba, who was normally the loudest one on their team, grimaced whenever Hinata suffered another blow, but could offer no helpful cheers in this grim situation. Shino, being Shino, was as impassively quiet as ever, and equally useless. Though they knew that she had improved and strengthened, they didn't believe that she could win this. Not that she was weak–they knew more than anybody how far she had come–but they, like everyone else in this village, believed that this cloud nin was stronger than any other examinee this year.
Hinata didn't blame them, but she still wished that they could have shown a little more faith in her.
Like he had.
Reluctantly, she grit her teeth and pushed those thoughts aside; she could not afford them while her life was on the line. She knew that she still had a shot at this, but not if she didn't focus on the battle in front of her.
The lightning ninjas' variant of the final Chuunin test was different from the one in Konoha. In addition to fighting each other, each combatant also had to protect seven targets, which were lined up on their end of the field in a half-circle. The examinees were free to move them around, but it was generally easier to just protect them where they were; the things were so fragile that one might easily crush one in his or her hand by accident. The cloud nin had managed to protect six of his targets, having lost one to Hinata's kunai while temporarily blinded by his own technique, a particularly bright flash of ball lightning. Hinata, though, had lost all but two of her targets to her opponent's precise long-range strikes.
In spite of this, her nindo demanded that she hold herself ready, continue the fight. She refused to give up.
The cloud nin, however, only laughed at her continued determination. “You know that all your will is effectless here, Hyuuga,” he said, chuckling to himself as he ran through a set of seals. “I could have simply killed you and been done with it in less than a minute... but fortunately for you, I am not like my barbaric ancestors. Your utter defeat and humiliation will suffice.”
With that, the boy ran towards her with five tag-sporting kunai in hand. He's going to attack head-on! Thought Hinata in surprise. All his prior attacks had been executed almost from standoff range... now he was suddenly going to charge her? As Hinata hastily braced herself for a physical assault, the boy surprised her again, leaping over her head and tossing the knives down around her in a pentagon pattern that was several feet across. Hinata turned to face him too late; the boy was already finished with his second set of had seals. Before she could rush to intercept him, he let loose his jutsu.
“Ninpou: Five Treacherous Lightnings!” The five tags attached to the kunai lit up, each one a different color, and spouted multicolored lightning right at Hinata. Faced with no other choice, she countered with her ultimate defense.
“Shugo Hakke: Rokujuuyon Sho!” Hinata flailed her chakra in all directions, and the bolts were deflected, lanced, and dissipated before a single one of them touched her. Not wasting any time, she rushed to intercept her opponent as he made to attack one of her targets... But she was too late yet again. The blast of burning lightning incinerated the flimsy thing milliseconds before she got there. She now had only one target left.
The cloud gennin guffawed. “A worthy effort, and an impressive self-defense, certainly... but I'm afraid it's futile. You are not fast enough to best me. Really, it's better if you just give up now.”
Hinata just glared at him, Byakugan eyes in full vein-popping flower, and said, “No.”
He chortled again. “'No?' Surely you can't mean to continue... With odds this bad, it's better to just save face and get out before you're humiliated any more. I'm sure your Hyuuga masters wouldn't like you to bring any more shame upon them.”
Don't I know it... Hinata thought. Her father had indeed faced her before she had left for the cloud village, explaining point-blank that if she did not come back as a Chuunin, she would no longer be considered for the position of head of the clan.
“Nevertheless,” she said, “I swore before the exam... that I would see this through to the end. I don't go back on my word. That is my... my nindo.” She cursed herself for faltering at those words. Those words were sacred to her; she shared her nindo with the boy she so admired and loved. Now that she had spoken them, she would do everything in her power to vindicate them.
“I admire your persistence,” replied the cloud nin, “But it is past time that I put an end to this... I do have other matches to fight, after all.” And he rushed her again, performing the same maneuver that he had employed last time. Hinata was not fast enough to escape, and was caught. She now faced two choices: defend herself and sacrifice the target and the match, or attempt to save the target and potentially kill herself. To any sane person it would have been a no-brainer...
Or so the cloud nin thought. To say that he was surprised to see the white-eyed, blue-haired, and now severely burned Hyuuga right in front of him would have been the worst kind of understatement. Hinata's tired and singed face showed only raw determination as she spoke, and in spite of her injuries, she moved flawlessly as she settled into the stance that few enemies of the Hyuuga lived to tell about.
“Charging in head-on was a mistake. You are in range of my divination.”
In the waiting area, Kiba and Shino's eyes widened. They knew what was coming next, and after the way this match had been going, they couldn't quite believe it.
“Jyuuken Move: Hakke Rokujuuyon Sho!”
The lightning nin's face grew white. He had only heard this stance and this technique spoken of by the most seasoned of veterans. Was this what he thought...?
He had no time to think anything more. “Two strikes!” The first two strikes hit him, and he was having trouble recovering for a counter...
“Four Strikes!” The next set hit him, and now he was struggling just to stand.
“Eight Strikes!” The lightning ninja who were watching from the stadium were wondering why their greatest prodigy hadn't halted the Hyuuga's advance yet.
“Sixteen Strikes!” Kiba was now on his feet and yelling himself hoarse.
“Thirty-two Strikes!” By this point, the Hyuuga's repeated attacks were the only things keeping the cloud gennin upright.
“Sixty-four Strikes!” When the assault ceased, his face was in the grass, and all the people of the Village Hidden in the Clouds fell back into their seats with mouths agape. Neither he nor they would rise again for some time.
After about two minutes, the examiner who had presided over the match was the first to find his voice. “The winner by knockout... Hyuuga Hinata!”
Kiba rushed out on to the battleground to congratulate Hinata, Shino not far behind... and immediately jumped back off when six shuriken flew right by his head. He watched with astonishment as they passed and shredded the lightning nin's remaining target dummies. Now it was his turn to gape in awe as the paper-and-straw dummies fell in pieces to the ground. When he recovered, he approached Hinata again–more cautiously this time–and proceeded to complain.
“Geez, Hinata... you didn't need to do that, you already won the match! And you could have taken my head off!”
Hinata, though, was not quite all there. “Naruto-kun,” she mumbled, “I did it...”
Hyuuga Hinata was many things. First, she was the victor of this match. Secondly, and even more importantly, she would leave the cloud village as a Chuunin. She was also strong, determined, and in love with the world's number-one loudest and most surprising ninja, Uzumaki Naruto, though he had been gone a year and would be gone perhaps two more.
And now, she was passed out from her injuries and her exertions, face down on the same grass as her defeated opponent.
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Kabuto's smile was plastered to his face like white on fresh snow. His men held the struggling Kyuubi container securely, and already they were miles away from the village where his guardian, Jiraiya, was no doubt still conducting his “research.” Orochimaru had planned this months in advance; he knew that his old friend the Toad Sennin, being the pervert he was, wouldn't be able to resist stopping in the hot spring capital of the water country at least once. He had stationed advance sentries nearby to warn Kabuto of their approach, and to be ready to capture or kill Naruto at the first opportunity. Capture was preferable, of course; Orochimaru would love to be able to play with the boy before he killed him, and was sure that young Sasuke wouldn't mind some fun either.
It had gone perfectly. With Jiraiya occupied, there had been nothing to stop them. They were a mere week away from the Snake Sennin's current hideout, and once the Kyuubi brat was safely there, the last of Sasuke's old friends would be gone, and with it all of Sasuke's inhibitions. For while Naruto still lived, Orochimaru knew that his student would never reach the full potential that he wanted for his next vessel. As it was, the boy spent too much time staring off into the horizon... always in the direction of his old home. Orochimaru couldn't have that. Once Naruto was dead, that focus-sapping habit would stop.
And who knew? Maybe young Sasuke would work up the nerve to do it himself... perhaps unlocking the fabled Mangekyou Sharingan that Itachi possessed and Orochimaru craved. Even Kabuto shivered a little, thinking of the power of those eyes.
Well, first things first. And the first thing that had to happen was for them to take Naruto to the lair. It shouldn't have been that hard... In fact, victory seemed almost assured at this point, thus explaining why the grin was stuck on Kabuto's face like white on fresh snow.
Little did Kabuto know, they had neglected the one factor that might have turned that snow from white to a very unpleasant yellow.
A strangled shout from the back of the group caught Kabuto's attention. Halting and turning around, he watched as the sound nin who was carrying the Kyuubi kid struggled to get his legs free of the large sheet of ice that encased not only him, but much of the surrounding soil and vegetation. The man had barely enough time to gasp out “What the...” before a large, blunt object collided with his head and a detonation of bright chakra ripped him free of the ice and smashed him into a nearby tree.
When Kabuto recovered his vision after the burst of light, he realized that the blond kid the man had been holding had gone missing while he was blinded. After a moment of bewildered silence, he turned to his remaining henchman.
“Find the Kyuubi kid, quickly! Orochimaru-sama won't be pleased if we miss this chance.
“No,” said a voice from the trees, “I expect he won't be.”
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Keisuke's tone was a low, quiet, matter-of-fact drone, in stark contrast to his usual lively timbre. It was a tone that he preferred to use often in serious conflicts with dangerous opponents. Having never known intimidation by sight, he had learned very early the ways in one might be intimidated by sound, and particularly by voice. For good measure, he removed his sunglasses; he knew that his lack of eyes made some people uncomfortable.
He went on, “I'm sorry for not clarifying my intentions in our previous encounter. However, I think it's fair, since you didn't exactly announce yours before you assaulted the boy.” Keisuke indicated Naruto, with his bonds cut, who was now working to re-coordinate his mind and muscles with all his will. Keisuke had pulled him from the ice trap after his throw had detonated, and had freed him from the ropes. He had no knowledge to undo Kabuto's medical technique, but it looked as though it was wearing off; Naruto's movements were becoming less awkward. It would be a while, though. Keisuke would have to fight off the boy's attackers until then.
He removed his vest and overshirt, leaving him in a white undershirt which covered much less skin, freeing the arms of chakra underneath to do their work along with the others. He extended them to their full range, and felt his range of sensitivity increase tenfold. He couldn't help but smirk... since he had acquired this ability, he had become the most perceptive blind man to walk this world. Might as well take the offensive while they're still confused, he thought. Better be careful, though... I used up four threads already with that ice trap. Leaping towards the pack of stunned sound nins, Keisuke wrapped some chakra arms into himself.
“Insotsu Kokuin: Kasai!” (Commanding Carved Seal: Conflagration)
Violent flames erupted from the shining red seal that had formed on Keisuke's skin which, combined with his empty eye sockets, gave him the appearance of some kind of hell-spawn as he came. Apparently his intimidation tactics were working; one sound ninja tripped over himself as he tried to move out of the way. Another one forgot all reason and just charged him with a long katana, which Keisuke sidestepped before burying his burning fist in the man's stomach, causing him to hit the ground with a satisfying thud.
Keisuke didn't stay put to watch him roll around on the ground while his clothing burned away–he had the remaining two henchmen to worry about. These two were smarter; one of them attempted to keep him busily in short-range combat, while the other tried to strike him with ninjutsu from afar. Undoubtedly better than those other two, he observed, but if they believe I'm too blind to recognize this kind of maneuver, then they're still pretty stupid. Keisuke grappled with the first one long enough to let the second one aim his shot, then dropped to the ground, swept his opponent's legs out from beneath him, and dispatched him with a well-placed backhanded blow to the face, which sent him careening into the same tree as his first fallen comrade with his head aflame.
Then he waited for the second enemy's attack to come. He didn't wait long. One well-timed Kawarimi no jutsu later, he was back in the trees, and an unfortunate chunk of wood was blasted to splinters. Releasing his Kokuin, he reached his chakra arms out to feel for his enemies. Yep, he thought, he's still there, watching for me. This one's probably a decent Chuunin... nowhere near strong enough for me, though. Now, that other one, the med-nin... he might be a problem. But I'd best finish the small fry first... maybe once the medic sees his flunkies on the ground he'll puss out.
Concentrating, he used his chakra arms to make the seals for one of his favorite jutsus.
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Kabuto watched intently as the blind man made complete fools out of the sound Chuunin team. It was rare for him to witness such unique power. He'd seen Orochimaru give cursed seals to numerous victims in the past, but never before had he seen seals carve themselves into someone's skin before. Most likely it was some form of Bloodline Limit technique that Orochimaru had yet to discover. If it was, then the Snake Sennin would be very interested to know about it. An even better outcome would be the capture of this eyeless wonder, but if that were not feasible, then his death would be enough.
He observed as the blind man jumped out at his last remaining underling, who, being the most capable of the lot, managed to turn quickly enough to land a hit. But, as soon as he did, the blind man's clone detonated, and the last remaining sound Chuunin became a burned, bloody heap. Interesting technique. A bomb-clone, Kabuto thought. As clever and devastating as it was for that poor idiot, it had to use up quite a bit of chakra... our blind friend should be pretty winded.
Hell, he didn't even need to waste time looking for him... the fool had already stepped out into the open.
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Keisuke didn't want to waste time playing hide-and-seek. His bomb clone had burned a nice hole in the forest floor... he hoped that this was enough to scare the creep away, but it helped to be physically present rather than to hide while playing the intimidation game.
"If you're anywhere near the level of your flunkies there, you're not going to last very long," he said. "Do you still mean to fight me?"
In answer, Kabuto smirked, drew kunai, and flung them with surgical precision at Keisuke's heart, forehead, lungs, and stomach. Keisuke felt them coming, siezed the one coming for his head, and used it to deflect the ones aimed at his heart and lungs. But as he sidestepped the knife that was bound for his gut, he felt the med-nin rush forward... just a little too quickly for his liking. No doubt about it, this one was definitely better than his underlings.
"Shit..." he re-formed his conflagration seal, sent the flames out along all of his remaining extended arms, and spun himself like a top. "Kasai Kaiten!" (Conflagration Whirl) The spinning blaze that resulted made Kabuto balk just as he came within range and then leap away.
"Very interesting. If I hadn't been on my toes I might have been cooked. But you're out of luck. You won't be able to walk straight for a while."
Eh? Keisuke thought, but he didn't hit me... He turned out to be wrong. Kabuto's scalpel technique had hit just before his flames had. He sank to his knees, unable to balance correctly.
Kabuto smirked again. "I have cut one of the tendons in your right leg," he said. "You'll find movement to be complicated." With that, the med-nin began slowly advancing. He would be able to catch this one after all. Orochimaru would be very happy.
Yet his smirk was short-lived. Keisuke's own smirk was plastered on his face as he mouthed, "Release!" and swept a chakra-pumped arm over the seal that was hidden in the leaves below Kabuto's feet. Instantly, the ground below the med-nin's feet imploded, dragging him waist-deep into the earth.
“RASENGAN!”
Keisuke watched as the boy, Naruto, whom both combatants had forgotten, leap from a tree and slam his orb of swirling chakra into Kabuto's side. Not even four feet of solid earth could prevent Kabuto from being flung several yards backwards.
“How's that, you pansy!” Yelled Naruto from his perch on the branch. Keisuke couldn't help but smile–the kid was definitely unique. He'd been planning on finishing the "pansy" himself, but he supposed it was better this way... the kid deserved some payback after that humiliation. And that was also one seriously cool jutsu he had used.
Climbing up onto one knee, Keisuke took on his low droning voice once more. “The odds are two to one in our favor now,” he said. To add effect, he re-formed his conflagration Kokuin, causing the flames to once again burn from his skin. He looked positively satanic as he asked the medical ninja, “Will you yield?”
Kabuto's face betrayed his dismay. In response, he ran through the seals for his escape jutsu, and disappeared.
Keisuke dropped his seal and sighed. This whole mess was obviously far more complicated than he had thought. Even so, it didn't stop him from smiling as he turned to the kid and said, “Glad to see you're back in shape, kid. I've changed my opinion of you.”
The blond boy flashed a foxy grin back at him. “You've changed my opinion, too, sunglasses-freak. That was some pretty cool stuff out there.”
“I have a name, you know,” Keisuke said, slight annoyance not breaking his smile, “It's Keisuke, not sunglasses-freak.”
“Hey, I'm the great Uzumaki Naruto-sama, the future Hokage! I'll call you whatever I want!”
Both of them just stared at each other for a time, staring each other down. Then it seemed that a mutual revelation occurred between the two, and both of their jaws dropped in surprise. Naruto's eyes grew wider than they had in months, and Keisuke's brows arched higher than they had in years.
“Uzumaki Naruto...”
“Keisuke...”
“NARUTO!” A bruised, battered, and winded Jiraiya, sporting numerous palm-prints, made his way into the decimated copse of trees, carrying two packs, one of which he dropped by Naruto's side.
“Naruto! I thought you got away from me for a minute there. I suppose I should have told you that I'd be out researching a bit late, should have given you something to do... hey, Naruto, are you listening? I'm trying to apologize here!”
Jiraiya stared at the pair of them, waiting for them to speak as they sat with those astonished looks plastered on their faces like yellow on snow that a dog has just visited. “Hey, you guys... you look like you've just been visited by ghosts.”
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