Bab 62: Hinata's Fear
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Chapter 63 (Blue Flames of Yugito), Chapter 64 (Kurotsuchi's Revenge), Chapter 65 (Preliminary Rounds Ends), Chapter 66 (Samui's Pleasure), Chapter 67 (Jiraiya's Consequences), Chapter 68 (A Night to Remember), Chapter 69 (Shukaku Vs Naruto), Chapter 70 (Gaara's Freedom), Chapter 71 (The Hero of Suna), Chapter 72 (A Date with Fuu), and Chapter 73 (Hang Out) are already available for Patrons.
Round 6
Zaku Abumi vs. Hinata Hyuga
"Will the two combatants please make their way to the arena," Hayate informed.
Hinata saw her opponent on the opposite balcony as Zaku gave her a devious grin, which made her skin crawl. And seeing the kanji for 'death' on the front of his shirt made her even more worried.
She knew the Oto ninjas were dangerous, as she recalled how Dosu attacked Kabuto before the First Test. And judging from Kin's technique when she fought against Temari, she had to assume that Zaku's attacks were also sound-based.
But she had a good feeling that Kin was the weakest of the three, and by the looks of his cocky grin, Zaku could be the strongest. She hopes his technique is not long-range; otherwise, this match is going to be much harder than it is.
Dosu was determined to show Orochimaru that he and Zaku were great assets to have. He knew Kin was the disposable one of the team, and since Temari had eliminated her for them, they now had no more 'weak links.'
And if they impress Orochimaru enough, he will award them with the 'gift' of the Curse Mark and become new additions to his elite squad, known as the Sound Five.
He knows Zaku lacks ambition, as his only interest is to get stronger, but Dosu only sees him as a means to an end. And if there was only one spot open for the Sound Five, he would not hesitate to kill him to get it.
But for now, he has to ensure their mission, from their Lord, is a success.
"Remember, we BOTH need to pass. It will double our chances of facing Sasuke Uchiha in the finals. And once we do, we will finally redeem ourselves before Orohimaru-sama and fulfill our mission by killing that brat who escaped us in the forest." Dosu informed his compatriot.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. This match is going to be a piece of cake. I mean, look at her..." Zaku points to a nervous-looking Hinata, "...It's a shame that I have to kill such a pretty little thing like that. Oh, the things that I would do to her if we had run into her team in the forest. Hehehe, imagine it; Her begging me to stop while you and Kin kill the idiot and the one with glasses. It would have been so.....delicious to hear her squirm." Zaku said with a devious and perverted grin, making Dosu roll his lone eye in annoyance.
"Just keep your eyes on the goal in mind. And who knows, maybe Orochimaru-sama will reward you with hundreds of girls like her IF you manage to impress him, of course." Dosu said with a smirk under his bandaged face, as he knows very well how to manipulate Zaku through his lust for both power and women.
"Now you're speaking my language, Dosu. If I wasn't motivated before, I totally am now." Zaku said with a grin as he made his way to the arena floor.
Hinata, on the other hand, was still nervous as she had no idea what her opponent was capable of.
She took three deep breaths to calm her nerves like she always does, but she was still anxious. She then let out a surprise 'Eeeppp' when she suddenly felt Shino touching her shoulder.
"...I know you won't quit, so I won't bother asking. You can do this, Hinata. You are strong, remember? You said so yourself. And no matter what happens, win or lose, you won't be seen as weak." Shino said with a soft smile.
It somehow gave her a newfound level of courage and strength. Hinata was now determined to win more than ever, so she could join alongside Shino in the finals. And she refuses to let some Oto creep stand in the way of that.
"You can do it, Hinata!" Kiba said to his nicest friend and teammate.
"Yeah, that guy's a creep, so make sure you Gentle Fist his balls!" Ino said enthusiastically while the males shuddered at the thought of getting palm-strike in their beanbags.
"Thank you, Ino-chan, that disturbing image is forever burned into my brain...." Naruto said sarcastically, making Ino giggle at his reaction.
Naruto then approached Hinata to whisper something important into her ear
".....When the battle starts, rush towards him. Trust me. I sense a lot of chakra building up in his arms and hands, so use your Byakugan to confirm it. And judging from his body language, he's a long-range specialist. So if you jump back to get some distance, you will only be doing him a favor. He will not expect a full frontal assault from you, so it's best you use it to your advantage. Good luck." Naruto whispered with a smile as he pulled his head away, leaving a blushing red Hinata as she could feel his surprisingly cool breath that gave her goosebumps.
Hinata then thought about what Naruto had said and nodded in understanding. She then turns to her Sensei.
"A-Anything you want to say to me, Kurenai Sensei?" Hinata asked her Sensei.
"I'm sure Naruto has told you everything I would say. All I can do now is tell you to do your best. Your friends believe in you, Hinata, and so do I." Kurenai said, giving her an encouraging smile.
Hinata smiled at her Sensei, and with one final deep breath, she made her way toward the arena floor to meet her creep of an opponent.
Hinata and Zaku now stood face-to-face while waiting for Hayate to start the match.
"Now, if you're ready, let the Seventh Match of the preliminary.....begin!"
"Alright, cutie, I'm gonna give you-HEY" Zaku tried to bait Hinata into surrendering, but what he didn't expect was for Hinata to immediately activate her Byakugan and charge towards him with a medium level of speed.
When he sees Hinata is actually aiming at her, Gentle Fist strikes at his arms. His eyes immediately widened in panic as he wondered how she could know that his key weapons were his arms.
He tried to jump back to gain some distance, but Hinata had already expected that, so she dashed forward and landed a swift palm strike on the chakra point on his right arm, causing him to yell out in pain.
"AHHH! YOU LITTLE BITCH! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Zaku yelled out as he aimed both his arms at Hinata.
"Slicing Sound Wave!"
Hinata's eyes widened when she saw Zaku suddenly shooting pressurize air from the palm of his hands towards her, which caught her off-guard at first, but thanks to her Byakugan, she noticed her earlier attack had done its work, so she immediately jumped on her left side, only to get hit by the medium level breeze, which only knocks her a few steps back, but she was still standing.
Zaku was shocked when he saw Hinata barely flinch from his attack. Why didn't the air blast on his right-hand cannon blow her away like everyone else? Why was it so weak compared to his left-hand cannon, as it made a crack in the wall behind her?
Then he felt it.
Zaku's right arm was suddenly shaking uncontrollably, leaving him and everyone else completely shocked, as chakra was suddenly bursting through his flesh.
Afterward, just like an exploding clogged pipe, his right arm completely burst, as several holes were made, allowing the clogged chakra and blood to be released, making him yell out in agonizing pain.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Zaku yelled out as he clutched his right arm.
Hinata immediately places her hand on her mouth, horrified at what she just did. Thanks to her Byakugan, she saw the surgically implanted pipe in his right arm was broken to pieces, along with his bones.
"I-I'M SO SORRY! A-Are you alright?" Hinata immediately apologized like it was a reflex since she never liked causing harm to others.
But from the horrid rage-filled look on Zaku's face, she could tell he was FAR from alright.
"YOU!" Zaku yelled out with a violent glare toward the Hyuga girl.
Hinata still felt guilty for what she had done to Zaku's arm, but she managed to regain her resolve and pull herself back into the fight.
"S-Surender! Y-Your arm is useless now, and it needs medical attention! I-If you don't surrender now, I-I will do it again on your other arm!" Hinata threatened with her best serious look.
"YOU THINK THIS WILL STOP ME! I STILL HAVE ONE GOOD ARM TO KILL YOU!" Zaku declared as he immediately aimed his left hand toward her, channeling most of his remaining chakra into it.
"Supersonic Slicing Wave!"
A much stronger version of the Slicing Soundwave was fired from his left palm, as it shows that it had greater power, range, and coverage angle, which made it impossible for Hinata to dodge the massive air attack.
Hinata did the only thing she could think of as she began to channel her chakra all over her body and started spinning.
"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!"
A large imperfect dome of chakra suddenly appeared around Hinata, shielding her from Zaku's ultimate attack.
It finally came down to the battle of endurance to see which Jutsu would last longer than the other. Zaku's Jutsu was so powerful that it momentarily blocked Hinata's visibility from everyone, causing the Rookie 9 to yell out her name in worry as the air and sound quickly destroyed everything in its path and reduced any rubble to dust.
But despite having an imperfect Rotation, Hinata's chakra dome was still doing its best work to protect her. However, due to the imperfection, she could still feel a certain amount of the pressurized air hitting her, and she knew if she stopped spinning during their clash, she would surely be killed.
They both could feel their chakra weakening as the clash continued until, eventually, Zaku was the one who finally ran out of steam and stopped his attack.
The moment he stopped, Hinata stopped as well, but like Zaku, she was panting like crazy. The blue dome around her disappeared, revealing a tired, sweaty, and slightly bloodied Hinata, as her clothes had several cuts on them, and her jacket was unzipped.
Zaku knew that his last attack was his final trump card, and it would take a while for him to use another Jutsu. He considered surrendering at first, but he then smirked with confidence when he saw how exhausted Hinata was. Maybe he will have time to recover for his next attack after all.
But while he was resting and smirking, he didn't realize Hinata was walking closer towards him.
And when she was close enough, she finally stopped, snapping Zaku out of his train of thought, but he wasn't worried about the sudden close distance between him and her.
"Tsk, I like you, cutie. But it's over. All I need is another minute, and I'll finally blow you away." Zaku said with a confident grin.
But Hinata ignored his taunts as she took three deep breaths to regain her composure before her Byakugan eyes were firmly focused on the Oto Ninja before her.
She then points her right hand at him, and with a cold tone, she says...
".....You're locked on."
Zaku was confused at first when he heard what Hinata suddenly said to him until his eyes widened when he saw her taking a unique Gentle Fist stance.
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"
Hinata immediately closed the distance between Zaku and her as she landed the first two strikes on his body, and she then follows-up with another two more strikes, and afterward four strikes, then sixteen strikes, and finally another sixteen strikes, making the total of Thirty-Two Gentle Fist Strikes in less than twenty seconds.
Zaku was sent flying a few away from her after the last strike and immediately fell to the ground, unconscious.
Hinata was still in her taijutsu stance as she took a deep breath to calm her racing pulse until she realized that the match was over and.....she had won?
Hayate then approached the fallen Oto Genin, and after confirming that Zaku could no longer continue to fight on, the clear winner of the match has been decided.
"By knock out, the winner of the Seventh Match and advancing to the finals is Hinata Hyuga," Hayate announced, earning the Hyuga girl a roar of cheers and applause from the Rookie 9 and Lee as another Konoha Genin managed to win a match.
Hinata still couldn't believe it. She had won against a fairly strong opponent, and she had done it all by herself. She then saw the proud looks of their friends and Sensei, and she couldn't help but blush in embarrassment.
But when she was about to head back to the balcony, she immediately collapsed to her knees. She was completely exhausted, and Zaku's attack still affected her, as she felt pain all over her body.
Kurenai, Shino, and Kiba went to congratulate her on her win, while a medical team went to retrieve the unconscious Zaku.
"Hinata-san, would you like to come with us as well?" The Medical Shinobi politely asked the exhausted Hyuga girl.
"That's actually a good idea, wouldn't you say, Hinata?" Kurenai said suggestively to the Hyuga girl.
"B-But, I want to see who else will make it to the finals," Hinata said disappointedly.
"Yeah, Kurenai Sensei, can't she stay like Sasuke, Shino, and Shikamaru?" Kiba asked hopefully.
"I'm afraid that's not advisable. Those three weren't that injured during their matches. Hinata is not only exhausted, but her body is in pain as well. She needs medical attention." Kurenai informed coolly, but her tone was serious.
"I-I see," Hinata said sadly, as she had no choice but to agree.
".....I'll go with you." Shino offered sincerely, despite him wanting to see the rest of the match as well.
Hinata was surprised but was also very touched by Shino's offer. She knew he wanted to see the best matches like Naruto's, Lee's, or the rest of the strong Genins so that he could learn about their skills and power.
But she never thought that he would give all of that away for her.
"T-That's very sweet of you, Shino-Kun. B-But you should stay. I know you want to see the matches, and I don't want to be the reason you can't." Hinata said kindly.
"Is not really important to me. Besides, Kiba and Kurenai Sensei can tell me what I need to know about those who passed." Shino gently said as look straight into her pale eyes, making the Hyuga girl turn vermillion red.
Hinata was then put on a stretcher, and the medical team carried her away to the infirmary, with Shino trailing behind them.
Kiba and Kurenai then returned to the balcony while waiting for the next match to start.
Naruto and Ino were very happy for Hinata. The once extremely shy girl they knew came a very long way.
But Ino felt slightly disheartened that Hinata was still stronger than her. She hoped that after everything they had been through, she could at least be a decent challenge to the Hyuga girl.
Her dilemma, however, did not go unnoticed by Naruto. He knew what she was thinking, as he could always read her like a book. She always has a bad habit of underestimating herself.
Wanting to comfort his girlfriend, Naruto then leaned closer to Ino and wrapped his arm around her waist. Pulling her closer as he gently kissed her blonde head, causing her cheeks to blush.
"Come on. You know you are as strong as Hinata, right? Maybe even stronger." Naruto whispered sweetly into her ear.
"...Unlikely, whiskers. Even I can't beat Hinata if I get too close. She will shut down my chakra points before I can even make a Jutsu." Ino said sadly.
"Ino-chan, you know everyone is strong in their own way, right? Hinata has always been the Taijutsu specialist. We both knew that back in the academy. That's nothing to be ashamed of. Because you are a Ninjutsu specialist. And like I told Sasuke before, you don't match your opponent's strength if you know they are stronger or faster. You have to be smarter. And if I recall correctly, you're quite a genius yourself." Naruto whispered with a cheeky grin, causing the Yamanaka to giggle at his sweetness toward her.
"Thank you, Naruto-Kun. I'm sorry I keep doubting myself." Ino apologized as she stared dreamily into his blue eyes.
"It's okay. It means that you're not arrogant. Because if so, I would have to 'punish' you." Naruto whispered seductively, making the Yamanaka blush vermillion red.
"B-Baka, stop it!" Ino whispered loudly, trying her best to control herself, so she won't jump on Naruto and kiss him madly in public.....again.
"You're such a dork, Naruto-Kun," Ino said with a smile as she gave him a kiss on the cheek, knowing that if she kissed his lips, she probably wouldn't stop.
"We will now move on to the next match," Hayate announced as the screen above began to shuffle through random names until it finally landed on two.
Round 8
Kiba Inuzuka vs. Yugito Nii
'Oh crap! We're fighting the super-hot vixen!' Kiba thought as he let out a disappointed sigh.
As he was about to make his way down, he was stopped by Ino.
"Kiba, remember what Kabuto told us. She is the best Genin in Kumo. So for the love of god, don't drool all over her when you're supposed to beat her." Ino is reminded sternly, as Kiba does not take his battle against beautiful women/kunoichi seriously.
"If I didn't know any better, you sound a little jealous, Ino. Afraid that I'll flirt with the super-hot vixen." Kiba teased with a smug grin, only to earn a punch on the head from the angry blonde.
"In your dreams, Dog-boy!" Ino said, still slightly fuming while pouting.
"She is right, Kiba. An opponent like Yugito is not to be underestimated. It is because she has two effective advantages against you." Naruto pointed out.
"Care to enlighten us, Naruto?" Kiba asked, slightly annoyed.
"She is an attractive kunoichi with well-developed breasts," Naruto concluded bluntly.
"NARUTO!" Sakura and Kurenai yelled out, shocked by Uzumaki's blunt answer, while Kiba's nose was bleeding.
"Kiba, if you don't fight Yugito seriously and lose because of it, I WILL tell your mum and sister about your match," Kurenai informed sternly, hoping a harmless blackmail would motivate her student.
"W-What! No! Fine, just take it easy, Kurenai Sensei! You don't have to do that. Maybe I'll just pretend that she's a man." Kiba said, hoping that was good enough.
"I guess...that's okay?" Kurenai said, unsure what to say, even though it sounded odd.
Kiba then made his way to the arena floor while yugito was already there, doing some pre-battle stretchers, showing off her very limber and curvy body, which managed to entice several male Genins in the arena, especially Kiba, who was now standing in front of her, trying to contain his nose bleed.
He managed to snap himself out of it as he remembered Kurenai's threat.
"I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're a woman. I'm gonna pretend that you're man....." Kiba said sternly, but then he looked at Yugito up and down, "...A very beautiful man, with a rocking body, who I would like to take to dinner sometime." Kiba couldn't help but say with a goofy grin, making everyone sweat drop.
"FOCUS, YOU BAKA!" Sakura yelled out in anger.
"YEAH, KIBA! SMASH THAT PUSSY!" Ino yelled out, trying to support her friend, but everyone was now looking at her weirdly, with their nose bleeding.
"W-What?" Kiba asked Ino, with his nose slightly gushing with blood.
"What? She's a cat, right?" Ino tried to defend herself, not knowing why people were looking at her weirdly.
"Umm, Ino-chan, not everyone knows she's the Nibi Jinchuriki," Naruto whispered to her with a red face, which made Ino finally understand why everyone was so confused until her eyes widened when she realized what they all thought she said.
"Oh, you guys are gross! That's not what I meant!" Ino yelled out as she hid her red face behind Naruto to cover her embarrassment.
"What's a pussy?" Fu curiously asked Shikamaru, who was standing next to her.
"...It's too troublesome to explain," Shikamaru said with a tired sigh, not at all fazed by Fu's question.
Yugito, on the other, was not even embarrassed. In fact, she was just amused. Even though Matatabi was laughing her ass off in her mind, all she could do was smirk.
"Well, okay then, let the Eight Match of the preliminary...begin!" Hayate announced as he jumped back to get some distance.
Kiba and Akamaru jumped back to get some distance as well, waiting for Yugito to make the first move, but what she said next was the final nail in the coffin.
".....Well, what are you waiting for, Little Doggie? Smash this pussy." Yugito said with a seductive smirk.
And just like that, Kiba fainted.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone