Fanfiction Hinata (a Naruto fanfiction)

SUMMARY: What if, as the spar between Hinata and her little sister began, Hanabi encouraged her big sister to fight her? And then what if Hinata actually won? This story follows Hinata's perspective on the Narutoverse, but with this certain change in mind.

 

CHAPTER ONE: HINATA HYŪGA

Two children stood a couple of meters apart in the main training dojo of the Hyūga Compound, both dressed in the traditional training attire of their clan. They were both girls, the eldest one being about eleven-years-old and the youngest one being about five-years-old. The older girl seemed nervous, and was rightfully so, but it wasn't that she was afraid that she would lose.

The older girl was twice the size and twice the age of the younger girl, who had not yet begun attending the Konoha Ninja Academy. The older girl, meanwhile, was about a year or so away from graduating, and so this matchup was clearly unfair. The younger girl on the other hand smiled, excited about the prospect of sparring the older girl, who happened to be her sister.

To the side sat their cousin, their father, their grandfather and a few other members of the clan.

"You both know what is at stake here," the girls' father reminded them. "Now begin at once."

I can't...I can't hurt my little sister, the older girl thought, taking a step back.

"Come on, Elder Sister, let's fight," the younger girl exclaimed excitedly, taking a step forward.

"I...I don't...I don't want to hurt you, Hanabi," the older girl told her younger sister.

"I don't care," Hanabi assured her elder sister. "I wanna see how strong you are, Hinata!"

"Hmph, what a pathetic weakling," the girls' cousin scoffed from the side.

"Quiet, Neji," the boy's uncle told him.

"But you know it's true, Uncle," Neji protested, but the Hyūga Clan Head ignored the boy.

"Are...are you sure about that," Hinata asked worriedly. "I love you too much, Little Sister."

"This is not promising," the grandfather commented. "We can't have coward for an heiress."

"Their wrong about you," Hanabi assured her elder sister, smiling brightly. "Show them!"

"Hinata, never forget why you have your name," the Hinata remembered her mother once telling her. "You are the Shining Sun within the Sunshine clan. You hold the future of the Hyūga clan."

Hinata sighed, then took a deep breath before exhaling and bringing her hands together to form the snake handseal with the right index finger. As she did this, the chakra veins that led to her eyes bulged outward as chakra surged through them, turning her eyes from lavender to silver.

While Hinata did this, Hanabi weaved a certain series of handseals as quickly as she could.

Horse. Tiger, but just with the index fingers. Boar, but with nearly straightened fingers. Hare. Rat. Dog. Horse. Rat. The same modified-Boar handseal again. And finally, the same modified-Snake handseal that Hinata had formed. The chakra veins leading up to Hanabi's eyes bulged outward as chakra surged through them, turning her eyes from lavender to silver, just like with Hinata.

"Hmm, it would seem that Hinata has improved with activating he Byakugan," the father noted.

"It would seem that way, Hiashi," the Hyūga elder agreed. "And Hanabi is somehow struggling."

"She is young," Hiashi reminded his father. "And she has not yet begun formal ninja training."

"Okay, Hanabi, do you feel ready for this," Hinata asked her sister as she dropped into the stance that was traditionally used by the Hyūga clan. Hanabi nodded and went into the same stance.

Then, the two girls charged at each other. The smaller size of the younger Hyūga girl her a little bit of an advantage in that she could duck out of the way easier or even hit the older Hyūga girl in the stomach. However, because Hanabi's encouragement had drowned out the negativity that had been directed towards her elder sister, it was clear to the girl that this would be difficult.

After dodging each other's attacks for a little bit, Hinata finally stuck the first blow, a clean shot to Hanabi's left elbow, effectively shutting down that arm. Hanabi winced in pain, jumping back and clutching her left arm. Her forearm felt very numb while her elbow felt like it was broken.

"Hanabi..." Hinata said sadly, seeing the pain in her sister's expression.

"No...I'm fine," Hanabi said, forcing a smile. "Keep going...you're doing great, Elder Sister!"

Hinata sighed and stepped closer, striking downwards, to hit Hanabi's right leg. However, she wasn't going to let Hinata have a free hit on her, and so she let go of her left am and stuck at Hinata's abdomen with her right hand. Hinata twisted to the side and struck Hanabi's right shoulder with an open-palm strike, dislocating Hanabi's shoulder and effectively disabling her.

"Ow ow ow," Hanabi cried, gritting her teeth as she tried to withstand the pain. "Okay...I give."

"Are you sure you want to give in, Little Sister," Hinata asked, taking a step back from Hanabi.

"Yeah...my arms are useless now," Hanabi said. "You did really amazing, Elder Sister."

"Thank you, Hanabi," Hinata said, going over to Hanabi and crouching down to give her a hug, but she was careful to not let her guard down or injure her sister further when she hugged her.

"Well, it is decided then," Hiashi noted. "Hinata is the winner of this spar."

"Lady Hanabi, I will take you to the infirmary," one of the Hyūga attendants, who was dressed in a maid's uniform said, walking over to the girl. Hinata stood up and stepped back from her sister so that the Hyūga woman could lead Hanabi to the infirmary. Then, she turned to face Hiashi.

"Father, how...how did I do," Hinata asked with a small hopeful smile. For the last few years, her father had slowly begun questioning her skills, her worth and her potential. However, the Head of the Hyūga Clan had a look of pride on his face, pleased with his daughter's showing of talent.

"You did very well, Hinata," Hiashi told his daughter. "Even though Hanabi did have to convince you to fight her, you still showed great strength, disabling your opponent rather quickly. I must add that I appreciate the restraint you showed with your sister in not severely injuring Hanabi."

"I was afraid that I might severely injure her," Hinata said. "I know how deadly the Gentle Fist is."

"Though it is good I suppose that you wish not to severely injure a fellow clan member," the girl's grandfather said. "Had the circumstance or who you were fighting been different, causing severe injuries to an enemy is safer and smarter than showing restraint despite being a pacifist, Hinata."

"I...I understand," Hinata replied, her gaze briefly shifting to Neji. A couple of years ago, Hinata had sparred Neji, but during that spar her cousin had tried to kill her after knocking her to the ground. Fortunately, Hiashi had intervened, and punished Neji for trying to murder his cousin.

"Anyways, due to your victory, you will retain your status as clan heiress," Hiashi informed her.

"But as for Hanabi...she will be sealed and placed in the Branch House," the elder declared.

"No...please don't," Hinata begged her grandfather. "Hanabi doesn't deserve that."

"And why not," the elder asked her. "You do understand that was a fight for the title of heiress?"

"Yes, yes I do, Grandfather," Hinata replied. "But...that doesn't mean she should be sealed."

"You are both children of the Clan Head," the elder reminded her. "One of you has to be sealed, and it cannot be you since you defeated your sister and are still the heiress of the clan, Hinata."

"I know...but...it's not right," Hinata protested, before taking a deep breath exhaling. "I...I don't want Hanabi to feel like she is being punished for encouraging me to stand and fight. Not only that...but...she is still young. She...she hasn't even entered the Academy yet...that wasn't fair."

"Hinata, you do understand that the Ninja World is not fair, correct," Hiashi asked his daughter.

"Yes, Father," Hinata said sadly. "And if it was...Mother and Uncle Hizashi would still be alive."

Neji was taken aback by this, and he stared down at the floor. He had lost his father when he was only four-years-old because of another ninja village who tried to steal the clan's secrets. And as for Hinata's mother, she had died only a few years ago because of an illness that claimed her life.

"Besides...given how far apart Hanabi and I are in age...fighting over the title of clan heiress...it doesn't make sense for the loser to be placed in the Branch House," Hinata said, trying her best to maintain the confidence that she felt during the spar. "Any unsealed Branch House members are supposed to be sealed when the heir turns three, correct? I was five when Hanabi was born."

"I hate to admit," Neji spoke up. "But Lady Hinata does have a good point."

"Thank you, Neji," Hinata said to her cousin, smiling kindly at him, but he ignored her.

"But this is not how the way things are done," Hinata's grandfather reminded Hinata. "There cannot be more than one child of the clan head in the Main House. You know this, Hinata."

"I understand, Grandfather," Hinata sighed. "Um...may I be excused?"

"Of course," Hiashi agreed, and Hinata headed off to leave the dojo to go see her little sister.

"Hiashi, what do you think of this," the elder asked his son. "Do you agree with Hinata?"

"I of course understand why Hinata does not want her sister to be sealed, if that is what you are asking, Father," Hiashi replied. "And I have kept Hanabi from the Caged-Bird Seal for this long."

"That you have," the elder agreed. "However, if unsealed, Hanabi could challenge Hinata again."

"Oh, now that Hinata shows strength and the willingness to fight you care about her status."

"Do you really have no faith in me, son," the elder sighed.

"That is not what I said," Hiashi corrected his father.

"Good, because it is not like you did either," the elder pointed out.

"I have had doubts about my eldest daughter's potential, yes," Hiashi agreed, looking away from the Hyūga elder. "But I shall gladly admit that I was wrong in doubting her skills and strength."

"Was that really strength or even skill," Neji spoke up. "It was just Lady Hanabi encouraging her."

"Hanabi did encourage Hinata," Hiashi agreed. "However she also assured her elder sister that she was not afraid of being injured. And subsequently, both of Hinabi's arms became disabled."

"That shows weakness," Neji spoke up again. "Not wanting to go for a vital organ."

"Neji, you may be excused," Hiashi told his nephew, glaring at the boy.

"Yes, Uncle," Neji said, getting up and promptly leaving the dojo.

"That boy needs to be reigned in, before something terrible something happens," the elder said.

"Indeed," Hiashi agreed. A few moments later, they heard a shout and the sound of someone being thrown against the wall not too far from the dojo itself. "Or maybe Hinata will do that."

"Are you sue that was Lady Hinata," a short-haired member of the Main House asked.

"It's a strong possibility, I feel."





On her way to the infirmary to see her little sister, Hinata had indeed been attacked by Neji. It was not unusual, as the Branch House member very much wanted to kill his cousin. He had come running up the hallway towards her and she turned just in time to catch Neji with a strike right to the chest. Neji cried out in pain as the strike sent him crashing right into the wall.

"Ow...do you really have to hit that hard, Lady Hinata," Neji groaned as he slumped to the floor.

"Neji, why do you insist on trying to kill me," Hinata asked her cousin. "I don't understand."

"No...you do...you just want to play dumb," Neji said as he pushed himself back up to his feet. He was incredibly fortunate that Hinata had purposefully missed any vital points, otherwise Neji would be joining Hanabi in the infirmary. "You know very well why...why I want you dead."

"I do," Hinata agreed. "I do know why, I just...I don't understand why you let that rule your life."

"Because...because it's your fault that Father is dead," Neji said, glaring at his cousin.

"That's not my fault," Hinata protested. "Please...you need to see past that."

"As if."

"You'll change some day, Neji," Hinata informed her cousin. "I promise. I'll make sure of it."

 

CHAPTER TWO: NARUTO UZUMAKI

As the days passed, Hinata slowly worked on building her confidence, aided by the fact that her clan was starting to not treat her as terribly anymore. There were still many doubters, but Hiashi no longer treated her like she was a burden or embarrassment to the clan, and neither did her grandfather. And this was all just for beating her little sister in a spar, and injuring the little girl.

Fortunately, Hanabi did not seem to hold a grudge against her elder sister for defeating her and even injuring her, but that did not mean that Hinata didn't feel bad at it. Why did retaining her status as clan heiress and thus gaining respect from her clan have to involve hurting her sister?

Anyways, eventually came the time for Winter Break to end in early January and Hinata was able to return to the Ninja Academy. She was excited about this, because she could take her mind off of the fight with her sister, and also she would be able to see her friends at the Academy again.

Hanabi wouldn't be entering the Academy until April, but she was still excited since now it was only a few months away. She wished her sister a great day at school as Hinata left, who gave a big hug to the girl. Because the Hyūga Compound was in downtown Konoha, Hinata's walk to the Academy was only ten minutes at most. Because of how much influence the Hyūga clan had in Konoha, it only made sense for their residence to be in the center of the action in Konoha.

However, instead of going straight to the Academy, Hinata first went across the street to where a certain apartment complex was located. She walked up the exterior stairway to the top floor and then over to the only apartment that was at the top. She knocked on the door and stepped back.

After a couple of minutes, the door opened and Hinata saw her friend classmate Naruto Uzumaki standing there. The boy seemed pretty surprised to see her there, but he smiled at her anyways.

"Good morning, Hinata, how's it going," Naruto asked.

"I'm fine, Naruto," Hinata replied. "And what about you?"

"I'm doin' alright," Naruto said. "So, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was wondering if we could walk to the Academy together today," Hinata suggested.

"That sounds fine to me," Naruto said, giving a shrug. "Let me get my schoolbag, first."

"Okay," Hinata said as Naruto ran back inside quickly to get his schoolbag, before joining Hinata outside. He locked the door to his apartment, then they headed off together to the Academy.

"So, how was your winter break, Hinata," Naruto asked as they walked.

"It was alright, I guess," Hinata said. "My clan had me train pretty hard most the time, though."

"Oh," Naruto replied. "Hey...isn't your clan, like, really good at taijutsu, or something?"

"Mm-hmm," Hinata confirmed with a nod. "Specifically, the Gentle Fist technique."

"Why is it called the Gentle Fist," Naruto wondered, confused. "That doesn't sound that strong."

"Yeah, I guess," Hinata giggled. "But, it's called the Gentle Fist because it's more about attacking the chakra network and vital organs, rather than breaking bones like most taijutsu is, Naruto."

"Wow, that's pretty crazy," Naruto remarked.

"Anyways, how was your break, Naruto," Hinata decided to ask.

"It was great," Naruto replied. "Not really a big fan of school, so it's always nice to have time off."

"Mmm...well, maybe this semester will be different," Hinata suggested.

"Maybe," Naruto agreed. "I'm thinking of taking the Graduation Exam at the semester, though."

"Oh, how come," Hinata asked, trying her best to not sound hurt or offended. She hadn't been planning on taking the Graduation Exam until she was twelve, which was the minimum age requirement unless a student had a teacher recommendation. She wanted to become a ninja alongside Naruto, and him deciding to take the Graduation Exam early started to worry Hinata.

"Well, ya'know, I'm really excited to become Hokaga and all," Naruto explained.

"Of course," Hinata said, knowing that it was Naruto's dream to become Hokage so that he could gain the respect and acknowledgment of the villagers, most of whom hated the poor boy. Then, Hinata got an idea. "Why don't we start training together, Naruto, and take the exam together?"

"That'd be great, Hinata, thanks," Naruto said. "But...why do you want to graduate early, too?"

"Well...I...um..." Hinata blushed, but she took a deep breath to calm down her fiery nerves. "Well, you see, the thing is...I....I'd like to help you, not just train for the exam...but for your goals, too."

"Wow...I...I don't know what to say," Naruto said, blushing a little. "That's really kind of you."

"Well...the thing is...I care about you, Naruto," Hinata replied, smiling at him. This seemed to surprise Naruto, as he had probably never heard something like that in his life, especially from someone his own age. Then, Hinata looked down. "I'm sorry I haven't been good at showing it."

"No, no, that's fine, Hinata," Naruto assured her. "We all make mistakes, believe! Besides, I...I guess I should be the one apologizing, ya'know. I mean...I never really noticed in the first place."

Of course he noticed Hinata in that he was aware that she existed. Naruto and Hinata had been in the same class together at the Ninja Academy since they were five-going-on-six. However, he had had the misfortune to not notice that Hinata actually cared for him, which was uncommon.

"It's fine, I forgive you," Hinata assured Naruto, "Like you said, we all make mistakes."










Over the course of the next few weeks, Naruto and Hinata started training together, primarily after school but sometimes on the weekends. Even though it was a little boring for Naruto, they started with the basics, chakra control and taijutsu. Hinata explained that it was really important to have a good foundation as a ninja. And good chakra control was the key for powerful ninjutsu.

It was powerful ninjutsu, after all, that Naruto was the most excited about learning. The E-Rank jutsu taught at the Academy were fine and all, but he wanted to learn some "badass ninja skills."

Anyways, with chakra control, they worked on the Leaf Concentration Practice, which had two functions: teaching one how to control their chakra more effectively and teaching one how to hone their concentration and to keep their mind from becoming distracted. Iruka Umino, their Academy instructor would sometimes make Naruto and a few of his other friends do this when they were acting out or something of the sort. To him it was more of a punishment than a skill.

However, Hinata would do the Leaf Concentration Practice with him so that he wouldn't dislike it as much. This is how they would begin their training sessions, before working on taijutsu, and to Naruto's surprise it was starting to work. He wasn't sure if it was the Leaf Concentration Practice or just Hinata's kindness and patience towards him, but slowly the boy's skills began to improve.

That being said, Naruto was still hyperactive and unpredictable. Hinata did not want to change his personality at all. Hinata really liked Naruto, and she loved how goofy and funny and outside the box the Uzumaki-boy could be. She just wanted to help him improve all the skills he could.

Besides, Naruto would need to be pretty good to get a recommendation from their sensei to take the Ninja Academy's Graduation Exam early. All that Naruto had were the General Skills taught at the Academy, and so he had to make up for it. Hinata, meanwhile, was perfectly fine as she was in the present. However, that did not at all mean that there wasn't room for the girl to improve.

Anyways, after a while they would go to Ichiraku Ramen, where they had to deal with the shop owner's daughter Ayame teasing the pair about being on a date. Hinata would blush a deep red while Naruto would be all like "W-what are you talking about? We're just friends, ya'know!" But that did not at all seem to convince Ayame, because eventually Naruto started to blush a little when she would tease them. However, the sixteen-year-old decided to not point that out to him.

After about a month of just training in chakra control and taijutsu, Hinata decided that she and Naruto should work on the E-Rank jutsu that they had been taught at the Academy. These of course were the Substitution jutsu, Disguise jutsu, Clone jutsu, Escape jutsu and Transformation jutsu. The Disguise jutsu and Escape jutsu were not necessarily jutsu that used chakra, but they were techniques that were very important to ninja and were the first two taught at the Academy.

The Escape jutsu involved using any means necessary to get oneself out of bindings, even if that meant dislocating joints. It could be a pretty painful jutsu to use, however it was also very useful.

Then there was the Disguise jutsu, which involved hiding oneself using a cloak or sheet that was perfect camouflaged to one's surroundings. This and the Escape jutsu were relatively easy to do, as they required no chakra to use, so Naruto and Hinata did not spend too much time on them.

But then there were the "Academy Three" jutsu: the Substitution jutsu, the Transformation jutsu and then the Clone jutsu. The next most easiest jutsu to learn was the Substitution jutsu, but as Naruto and Hinata found out during training, it could also be the most overpowered jutsu in the history of the shinobi. If one had enough chakra, and the person they were fighting kept using jutsu against them that used up a lot of chakra, one could essentially substitute away the entire time before finally landing a finishing blow once the opponent was exhausted and out of chakra.

Next there was the Transformation jutsu, which Naruto could do pretty well. However, there was one jutsu that he had created with this that made Hinata feel uncomfortable, the Sexy jutsu. The reason that it made her feel uncomfortable was because not only was it pretty perverted, but it was also a very sexist jutsu, using the female body as a sex object and as a weapon against men.

Sure, "kunoichi tactics" were a thing and all, but Konoha-kunoichi rarely, if ever, used them.

It took him a little while, but eventually Naruto came to understand Hinata's dislike for the Sexy jutsu and why it was harmful towards women and girls, so he stopped using it. He was starting to really like Hinata, and she was the best friend he had ever had, so he didn't want to upset her or make her mad at him or even hate him and want to stop being friends with him. That was the last thing that the young Uzumaki ever wanted to do, and so he appeased the young Hyūga girl.

However, as time passed and Naruto got closer and closer to hitting puberty, another idea came to him, related to the Sexy jutsu. He just hoped that this other idea wouldn't be one he regretted.

Anyways, the final and hardest of the E-Rank jutsu was the Clone jutsu. This one required a lot of chakra control, which Naruto was better at now, but he was nowhere close to perfect. That was fine to him, but at least he wasn't terrible at it anymore like he used to be. However, the Clone jutsu was the one that Naruto never really had any success in, and it always frustrated the boy.

Using her Byakugan, a dojutsu that Naruto thought was the absolute coolest, Hinata was able to help Naruto figure out what why he was having problems with the Clone jutsu. For starters, he was using the wrong handseal. Well, to be more accurate, he wasn't completing the series. For the Clone jutsu, a ninja was supposed to use a series of three handseals: ram, snake and tiger.

Naruto, however, had only been using the the ram handseal. Once that was fixed, there was the way he would stand when using the jutsu. Crouching slightly and tensing up. The Clone jutsu used less Physical chakra and more Spiritual chakra, so tensing up as if bracing for an impact was not going to work. That was also causing him to push too much chakra for a basic jutsu.

That had been tough to fix, but when Naruto finally accomplished it, he felt great. And, he gave Hinata a big hug, which surprised the girl and nearly made her faint. However, she held on. She was happy, happy that Naruto was hanging out with her, and that she had helped him improve.

 

CHAPTER THREE: SASUKE UCHIHA

"Clone jutsu," Naruto Uzumaki declared on a certain day in March while training with his friend and classmate Hinata Hyūga. It was one week exactly before the Graduation Exam and the day students could request and/or receive a recommendation from their sensei to take it early.

It was just about an hour before school would start and Naruto wanted to make sure that he had this jutsu down. Hinata watched him, silently hoping that the Clone jutsu would work perfectly.

Poof! Poof! Poof! Three columns of smoke exploded around Naruto, two on either side of him and one behind him. Naruto looked around and was shocked to see that they were all perfect.

"That's wonderful, Naruto," Hinata exclaimed, smiling proudly at her crush. "Good job!"

"Thanks, Hinata," Naruto said, laughing happily. "Couldn't have done it without you, believe it!"

And then, before Hinata could react, Naruto ran forward and pulled her into an embrace. Hinata blushed, surprised by the show of affection towards her, especially since it was from her crush.

Naruto's...hugging me, Hinata thought euphorically, her face turning deep red.

"Hey, Hinata, are you okay," Naruto asked as he pulled back and noticed that his new friend's face had become very red, and it was strange. "Your face is burning up, do you have a fever?"

"I...I'm fine," Hinata assured Naruto, taking a step back as he let her go from the hug.

"Oh, okay, that's a relief," Naruto said, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"Anyways, why don't we go ahead and head to class," Hinata suggested.

"Alright, let's go," Naruto agreed as they both went to retrieve their schoolbags from where they lay at the base of a certain tree in the Academy schoolyard. Tied to a branch of this tree was a swing that Naruto would sit on dejectedly when he was feeling down. But for the most part, it had been a while since he had felt the way, and it was all thanks to the wonderful Hinata Hyūga.

"Naruto, are you alright," Hinata asked, noticing that her friend was staring at the swing.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine, Hinata," Naruto assured her, standing. "Just thinking about things..."

"About how far you've come," Hinata asked, and Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, it's been a crazy three months, ya'know," Naruto agreed. "You've really changed, too."

"Mm-hmm," Hinata agreed with a nod. Over three-months-ago, Hinata would usually dissolve into a blushing, sometimes stuttering mess around Naruto. She would feel shy and lightheaded around him, looking away or running off if he looked at her, however now things were different.

She still liked Naruto quite a lot, but she was more comfortable around him now, and to Hinata that was an absolutely wonderful improvement. Now they were closer, now they were friends.

And of course, Hinata hoped that someday soon they would become more than just friends.

Anyways, once the pair of eleven-year-olds had collected their schoolbags, they headed inside the Ninja Academy. They ascended the stairs up to the second floor, where their classroom was located, being the first on the right. Classroom 201, which had been their classroom since the very first day they had begun attending the Ninja Academy way back when they were only five.

They sat down together like they had started to do in the middle row at the desk that was on the right side of the classroom, from the teacher's perspective at least. Not too long afterwards, their teacher finally arrived. The Chūnin-instructor of Class 201 was a kind young man who was only about ten-years-older than his students. He wore the standard Konoha Chūnin uniform and his black hair pulled back in a small ponytail. His distinguishing feature was a scar across his nose.

The young man's name, of course, was Iruka Umino. He had started teaching the class just a few years ago when their previous teacher had become a Jōnin. Anyways, when Iruka arrived, the twenty-seven students of Class 201 all went quiet and settled down, giving him their attention.

For History, the Third Shinobi World War was the topic of the day. That had been the war that the Fourth Hokage had become famous across the Shinobi Nations and then afterwards became the Hokage upon the Third Hokage's retirement. Naruto really looked up to the Fourth Hokage, who was his hero because the Yellow Flash had pretty much come from nothing, just like Naruto.

And of course, Naruto blurted out "I'm gonna become Hokage, just like the Fourth," at one point.

"Oh, shut up, Naruto," a pink-haired girl sitting the front row scoffed. "You'll never be Hokage!"

"If anyone's gonna be Hokage, it'll be Sasuke," a blonde-girl also sitting in the front row added.

"You shouldn't count Naruto out," Hinata protested. "He's got the same chance as anyone."

"Thanks, Hinata," Naruto said, smiling at the Hyūga girl. "You're the best, ya'know, believe it!"

"Alright, alright, let's continue the lesson, okay," Iruka said, and everyone settled down again so that class could progress. Later on, during the ninjutsu lesson, Iruka decided to have everyone review the Clone jutsu. Naruto felt pretty excited about this, however he also felt a little nervous.

"You'll do great, Naruto," Hinata assured Naruto when it was his turn to go, and Naruto smiled gratefully. He went up, and surprised the class, even Iruka, by creating three perfect Clones.

"Well, that...that's impressive, Naruto," Iruka noted. "You've really been working hard, it seems."

"Yeah, you bet, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said, then turned to Hinata. "And it's all thanks to Hinata!"

"Really? Well, that's very kind of you, Hinata," Iruka told the Hyūga heiress.

"Heheh, she's amazing, isn't she," Naruto asked, grinning while Hinata blushed.

"What are you playing at, Loser," a black-haired boy named Sasuke Uchiha demanded, glaring at the yellow-haired Uzumaki. Hands stuffed in his pockets, the Uchiha-boy walked over to Naruto.

"Beat him up, Sasuke," one of the girls cheered.

"Yeah, show him he's the boss," another one of the girls added.

"Naruto, why did you make Sasuke mad, you idiot," the pink-haired girl demanded bitterly.

"What? I didn't do anything," Naruto protested as he dispelled his clones. "I was just training..."

"Hn, you're trying to upstage me, aren't you," Sasuke demanded, narrowing his eyes at Naruto.

"Sasuke, leave Naruto alone," Hinata told the Uchiha, stepping forward. "He did nothing wrong."

"You're different, too," Sasuke noticed, glaring at Hinata next. "You both have changed."

"Yeah, do you have a problem with that," Naruto asked, glaring in return at Sasuke.

"I do not understand your negativity about a fellow classmate improving," a usually quiet boy dressed in a trenchcoat and sunglasses named Shino Aburame spoke up, surprising the class.

"Shino's right," agreed a boy named Kiba Inuzuka who was accompanied by a ninken.

"Whatever," Sasuke said, turning away. "Just don't you dare think you're better than me."

"Why you..." Naruto grumbled, clenching his fists.

"Ignore him, Naruto," Hinata advised her friend, placing a hand on his arm.










After lunch, Iruka had the class undergo a taijutsu tournament. Some tensions had started to rise, and he knew that his students needed a way to let it all out. However, like usually, most of the girls except for Hinata decided to sit out and just watch Sasuke. Hinata, meanwhile, like her crush was interested in embarrassing Sasuke in front of all of his fangirls by defeating him.

The first fight was between Shikamaru Nara and another one of the students. Even though the Nara boy was usually pretty lazy, he actually managed to win by tripping his opponent and then making him fall flat on his face with a simply kick to the posterior. Then, it was Naruto against another random classmate of his. Unlike Shikamaru, he didn't win this fight in a lazy manner.

Instead, Naruto showed off the taijutsu skills he had picked up from training with Hinata. Sure, he couldn't use the Gentle Fist technique like she did, but that didn't mean that he couldn't fight like her. Iruka was quite impressed with the improvements that Naruto had made. Usually, the boy would just rush into a fight, throwing random kicks and punches. But now he had changed.

Next, Shikamaru had to fight Shino. Neither were that skilled in taijutsu, but because Shino was less lazy than Shikamaru, the Aburame heir ended up winning. Three fights later, Hinata was up against a rather larger boy named Chōji Akimichi who had a serious binge-eating problem. She was able to defeat him by using the boy's size against him, sending him to falling to the ground.

After a couple more matches between random students, Kiba was up against Sasuke. Kiba was pretty fired up and excited about fighting Sasuke. Like Naruto and Hinata, he wanted to prove that Sasuke was just all talk. Unfortunately, the Uchiha had come out the victor, but not without getting pretty beat up and tired out by Kiba. That was at least a small victory for the Inuzuka.

The Sasuke-fangirls, of course, cheered for Sasuke. Kiba laughed, though, knowing that Sasuke would not win the next fight. And he told Naruto so when he returned to the side afterwards.

"Make sure you when your next fight pretty quickly," Kiba told Naruto.

"Of course I'm gonna win, but why quickly," Naruto asked, a little confused.

"Sasuke's exhausted," Hinata pointed out. "He'll be able to rest a little, but it won't be enough."

"Ah, heheh, awesome," Naruto exclaimed, grinning. He was up next, fighting another one of the random students from their class, a boy named Masaru Yoake who was a pretty good fighter.

"I know you want a chance to beat up Sasuke," Masaru told Naruto. "But I do, too."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Naruto agreed, then shrugged. "But that's not going to happen today."

"Alright, begin," Iruka said, and the two boys ran at each other. Masaru threw a right-handed punch at Naruto's head, but he ducked and gutter-punched him and then kicked his knee.

"Ah," Masaru cried out as he crumpled to the ground.

"Do you forfeit," Naruto asked, backing away from Masaru, staying on his guard.

"Ow...yeah...damn, that really hurt," Masaru groaned. "Why'd you have to kick my knee?"

Because Hinata took me down like that a dozen or more times with a Gentle Fist, Naruto thought, but he didn't say it. Iruka declared Naruto the winner, and the two boy's formed the unity handseal to signal that the fight was over. Then, Masaru was taken to the infirmary to get his knee looked at since it was a little difficult for him to get back up. Naruto, meanwhile, went back over to the side to stand with Hinata and Kiba. "Well, I beat him quickly, like you said."

"That was great, Naruto," Hinata said, smiling proudly at him.

The next fight was between Shino and another random student, one in which the Aburame-boy won of course. He was doing pretty good, especially for an Aburame, as his clan was not really none for their hand-to-hand combat skills. Afterwards, Hinata had to fight a random students as well. And just like the previous two fights, the Hyūga heiress had been able to win pretty easily.

The confidence and strength that had been building within he ever since she had defeated her little sister back in December and retained her title as clan heiress was really benefiting her. Not only that, but coming closer to Naruto and getting to train with him every day was helping, too.

Then, there was one last fight between two random students from Class 201 before it was time for the fight of the afternoon. Iruka called to Naruto and Sasuke to the training ground's center.

"Don't think that this will go easy like those last two matches, Loser," Sasuke told Naruto.

"Yeah, you tell him, Sasuke," the pink-haired girl, whose name was Sakura Haruno, cheered.

"Beat some sense into him," the blonde-haired girl, whose names was Ino Yamanaka, added.

"You've got this, Naruto," Hinata cheered.

"Yeah, you show him," Kiba added, his ninken named Akamaru barking in agreement.

"Go, Naruto," Chōji added.

Naruto smiled, feeling happy that his classmates...no, his friends...were supporting him. The girls were all trying to drown them out with their shrieking for Sasuke to win and to beat Naruto into the ground. However, Naruto didn't focus on them. Besides, who the heck would want to?

"Alright, don't forget, this is a taijutsu match only," Iruka told his to students. "Now, begin!"

"Get ready to lose, Dead Last," Sasuke said as he ran at Naruto.

"Not in your life, Jerk," Naruto said as he ran at Sasuke...and the fight began.