Chapter 41: Chapter title at the end...
It was early afternoon, and the Chunin Exam finals were well underway. The sun was scorching that particular day, the air was dryer than usual, and there was hardly any wind in the air. Most of the population were suffering from the excess amounts of alcohol they had consumed the day prior and were trying to make their way out of bed. At the epicenter of the village, was the main stadium, where the final rounds of the battling Genin were talking place.
Most of the village's Ninjas were somewhere in the stadium enjoying the fights of their future successors, which included many Jonin and most of the Chunin. The other seats in the house were mainly filled with the many nobles and feudal lords of foreign lands, they call came to the tournament to see the results of the fights, be it because they had a serious gamble of the winners, or they want to decide which village to hire the next time they needed the help of Shinobi.
It the battlefield of the stadium were two young Shinobi, one of the had midnight black hair that was shaped like a behind of a duck. His eyes were red and had three black tomoes surrounding his irises, he was panted slightly as he dashed around the field, trying to find an opening in his opponent's defense.
A few meters away from the young man was a beautiful young woman that had vibrant red hair that reached the small of her back, her eyes were a brilliant light blue that reflected the cloudless sky, and the black eyeliner made her look even sexier. The thin clothing and gourd on her back did not hide her curvaceous figure from many males in the crowd.
"Is that the best you can do Uchiha-san...?" asked the girl as she fired a legion of sand shurikens at the man.
Sasuke grunted as he dodged the projectiles by jumping into the air. "This is just the tip of the iceberg Manami-san."
Both of the young Shinobi were trying their best to fight each other without hurting each other seriously, as they had to save their strength for the cataclysmic battle later on. Sasuke had deliberately held back some of his strength while he was training with Kakashi so the man wouldn't be noticed him holding back some of his best attacks, even though Naruto told him that he wouldn't be able to hurt Manami that easily, he would want to save most of his power for the main battle...that and he really didn't want to accidentally injure the love-interest of his leader, and perhaps his future sister-in-law.
"Katon: Gyokayu no Jutsu!" cried the Uchiha as a fireball the size of a small house blasted from him and sped towards the young Kunoichi.
Manami sent a blast of sand to block to fireball as she ran to the side of the impact area until she caught sight of the Uchiha, she raised both her arms and pushed them forward in Sasuke's direction, and instantly after that, a legion sand rose from beneath the man. Manami smirked as she had caught the Uchiha, and she proceeded to push the man upwards until he was at least fifty feet in the air.
Sasuke's eyes widened as he was carried in midair by some sand, but with his eyes, he could see which area of the sand had less chakra, so he targetted that area. "Raiton: Byukarai!" cried the young man as he shot through part of the sand and loosened its grip around his legs, and with his newfound freedom, Sasuke jumped down to the ground and landed on his heels.
As his friend was fighting, Neji was standing next to the illusionary Lee and his girlfriend at the highest point of the stadium. There was a smirk on his face as he watched his friend holding back a little when fighting the Suna Kunoichi, he knew that even if Sasuke used his full power, he might not be able to defeat Manami, but he was amused at the fact that Sasuke was afraid of accidentally hurting the girl because Uzumaki-taicho would punish him if he did.
Tenten sighed and walked over to her boyfriend. "How long do we still have to wait?" asked the girl as she felt her hands shake a little, the anxiety was getting to her.
Neji smiled over at his lover. "Just a little longer Tenten, we should receive the signal before the end of this fight." said the Hyuga as he looked behind him at a forest. "Do you remember what you have to do?"
Tenten sighed again and nodded. "Yes...I need to accompany you to training ground seven and meet up with Uzumaki-taicho." replied the girl with stress.
Neji smirked, "Yes..." mumbled the man as he rubbed his headband a little. 'Just a little bit longer father...and the main Hyuga family will be destroyed!'
As the majority of the village were enjoying the battles of the last Uchiha, a lone Kunoichi traveled through the many rooftops of Konoha. It was Hyuga Hinata, she was speeding through the village as fast as she could. Hinata had to remain in her room the whole morning, despite her father wanting her to go to the Chunin Exams final. The girl feigned sickness, and out of spite, her father just left her in the room. After two hours of anxiety, Hinata grabbed the safe and sped out of her room towards her training ground.
Hinata honestly did not know what was going to be at the training grounds, but there was this glimmer of hope in her heart that Naruto might somehow be there and reunite with her. The letter in her pouch seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, but since it was from Naruto, Hinata would treasure it like gold.
The Hyuga girl had her Byakugan activated throughout the entire ten-minute journey, she could tell that she was the only active person in a five-mile radius, and the only people near to her were all civilians, so there was no need to worry...
The girl finally made it to the training grounds, she quickly landed on the ground and ran towards the main meeting area where she and her team would meet almost every day. Three logs were lodged into the ground like three strong pillars, and that was the place where Naruto told her to be in the letter.
Hinata stopped when she arrived and looked around. "Naruto-kun...", she said quietly to herself as she clutched the safe within her arms.
The only thing that answered her was the blowing sounds of the wind, she scanned the area with her eyes and saw that the area was completely barren.
"What am I suppose to do with this...?" asked the girl quietly to herself as she leaned against a log for support.
Suddenly, Hinata felt someone's presence from behind her, so she instinctively jumped away and pulled out a Kunai to protect herself. Her eyes glared at the form of her potential attacker, but once her eyes made contact with the man in front of her, Hinata lost the strength to hold the Kunai...
"N-N-Naruto-kun..." muttered the girl as she saw the blond man that she had dreamed about for the last few years.
It was Uzumaki Naruto who was standing in front of Hinata, he had his usual kind smile on his face, his eyes looked as bright and blue as ever, and his body was completely healthy. Hinata's eyes drifted towards the area where Naruto was supposedly stabbed with his own blade, and she noticed that there was not a sign of injury at all. Tears formed in the girl's eyes, but she quickly wiped them away so that she could see the man more clearly...
"Naruto-kun...is that really you...?"
Naruto smiled and walked up to the timid girl. "Of course it is me Hinata-chan." said the man calmly as he looked into the girl's eyes.
Hinata could feel the warmth from Naruto's body, she could see his shadow on the ground, she could see his chakra with her Byakugan...Hinata's eyes teared more as she jumped into Naruto's chest. "NARUTO-KUN!" cried the girl as she buried her face against the man's chest.
Naruto chuckled a little as she rubbed the back of her head soothingly. "It's okay Hinata-chan..."
Hinata felt safer than she had been for the last few weeks, ever since the death of Naruto she found that she couldn't feel any sort of security. She was paranoid and suspicious, most of her confidence and security stems from her admiration of Naruto. Hinata made herself believe that the Uzumaki would always be there for her, that he would always be there to save her from everything...just smelling his scent again made the girl feel better.
"This is a very important time Hinata-chan...did you bring the formula with you?" asked Naruto as he pulled back a little from their hug.
Hinata sniffed and brushed her tears away before looking up at him with a smile. "Yes Naruto-Kun..." said the girl as she presented him with the safe that was placed on the ground after she jumped into his arms. "This is my father's safe, and I know that the formula would be in there..."
Naruto smiled and nodded. "You are so brave for doing this Hinata-chan...you are such a great girl." said the man as he took the safe from Hinata.
The Hyuga heiress felt more tears in her eyes as she felt her happiness coming back again, Naruto was really the only person that could make her feel so happy...Hinata didn't say anything back and just leaned into Naruto's frame.
"Thank you...Hinata." said Naruto with a slightly different tone.
Hinata could feel all her despair vanish into thin air as she emersed herself in the arms of the man she loves. Just inhaling his scent, feeling his warmth, hearing his heartbeat, had made Hinata feel more alive than she had been for the last few weeks. Ever since the supposed death of Naruto, Hinata had been living in complete and utter anguish. The Hyuga heiress had even though about committing suicide to end the pain in her heart, she knew that she would have to finish the task Naruto had left for her first...
' What is this...?', thought the girl to herself as she felt a weird sensation in her chest. 'What is the wet feeling?'
Hinata began to feel some sort of pain in her heart, but it was not emotional pain that she used to...
She noticed that Naruto's heartbeat seem to become fainter and fainter...
Her body was becoming colder and colder...
Hinata pulled back a little from Naruto and saw that he was holding something in his hand...the object reflected some sunlight into her eyes...
"What is this?" said the girl out loud...her voice was very weak and light.
Hinata looked up at Naruto and stared into his eyes...but felt afraid, the eyes were different than normal. They were not warm of even kind...they were cold, dark, emotionless...
Hinata felt Naruto's face coming closer to her own. "Goodbye...Hyuga Hinata", said Naruto as he pulled his blade out of the girl's chest.
' What happened...Naruto-Kun?'
The last thing Hinata saw, were the dark eyes of Naruto looking down at her...the man she was looking at was not the man she loved, he was a completely different person. Hinata didn't feel sadness, or despair...all her mind could comprehend at the moment, was...complete...utter...fear...
Chapter name: Beginning of the End Part 1
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Babylon3159
Babylon3159 I can see some people dropping after this. Anyway have a good day!
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