Chapter 26: Making the Cut IV

Naruto narrated to her. He could feel a little wetness in his eyes, as he re-lived that bittersweet moment.

...

Hinata felt her own tears fall at his story. On one hand she was a bit angry and jealous that someone else held Naruto's heart, but she was also heartbroken at the thought of Naruto going through what he did.

"I'm aware that you have a crush on me Hinata." He pointed out, causing her to blush furiously. "If you had approached me before that mission, I would have been yours completely. I was desperate for affection, and would have clung to anyone that gave it to me." He said, causing her to look down sadly in realisation.

If she wasn't such a coward, she could have saved him from the heartbreak he experienced. "I'm not telling you this to discourage you. It's the opposite. Haku-chan, before she died, made me promise her to move on. She made me promise to find love again.

It's harder than it sounds but I hope that sometime in the future, I can find a way to keep that promise. I'm saying you still have a chance Hinata. But you have to show me. Show me that this isn't some puppy crush. I won't be your crutch, Hinata. I need a woman who can stand by me, and support me through the difficult times.

Before you can stand by me though, you have to stand by yourself. Be strong, not for me, but for yourself. Learn to fight for your beliefs and your convictions. Don't do it for your clan or anybody else in some misguided notion, like I used to. If they don't care about you and don't appreciate you, then that's their loss.

Don't take their abuse. Find people who you can be happy with. Don't let them lead you around like a dog by a leash. I see a lot of myself in you Hinata, that's why I'm telling you this. I wish someone took the time to give me this talk, maybe things might have been different. But now that I have the chance, I want to help you reach your potential.

I acknowledge your strength, and your beliefs. I know you can be someone great. Break free, Hinata. Be the person I know you can be. You can't change your clan by being shy and meek. But I know you will do it." He told her, causing her to look at him with a tear-filled smile of happiness.

"Haku-chan, before she died, told me something that I carved into my soul. I carry these words wherever I go." He said, causing her to focus her attention on him. "A person is able to become truly strong when they wish to protect someone they cherish." She looked at him in wonder as those words resonated with her.

"Protect those you cherish. Unleash the strength hidden within you and use it to protect those precious to you Hinata. If you don't have any, then I will be one for you. Just as you can be one for me. If you feel it difficult, find someone to show you the way. If your sensei is coddling you, find someone else.

Don't be afraid to be who you want to be, Hinata. I'm not making any promises, but maybe in the future, I might just give you the chance you want. But first, you have to show me your resolve. Good luck, Hinata." He finished with an encouraging smile before silently leaving the room, leaving its occupant in deep thought.

His words struck her weakest points, and she knew that she couldn't go on as she is. She was scared though. But now, as she looked up, there was a silent determination in her eyes. There was a new fire burning within her. It may take time, but she would do it.

He said he believed in her. He acknowledged her strength. That meant more to Hinata than anything her father or her clan could say. She would show them. She would be the woman who would stand by Naruto in the future.

'Thank you Naruto-kun, no Naruto-sama. Your words and convictions have pulled me out of the hole I dug myself into. This is my promise, a promise of a lifetime, to not just you, but to myself, I will be the person you have put your faith in. Anything less is unacceptable' she thought with a gritty resolve.

Her eyes burned with determination as the veins bulged around her eyes, signifying the activation of her bloodline. It was time for the butterfly to emerge from the cocoon.

...

'That was exhausting.' Naruto thought as he made his way towards the hot springs where he could sense Jiraiya's chakra.

[ And mushy. Fuck, it almost made me puke. It would make you look really stupid if that girl turns out to be a failure. ] The Kyuubi pointed out sardonically.

'True, but like I said before, I have the devils luck. I know she will change herself. If anything, I feel a little sorry for the Hyuuga clan. They were so used to pushing her around, that when she starts pushing back, it won't be pretty, at least for them. Fufu…this is almost like payback for all the trouble those assholes gave me when I was younger.' He said, chuckling evilly in his mind.

As he approached the outside of the hot spring, there was a tall, white haired man leaning against the fence. He looked like he was peeping through a hole in the fence.

'This is Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sanin?' Naruto deadpanned.

[Well, you know what they say. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover and all that crap.] The Kyuubi replied, although her tone sounded as though she was trying to convince herself.

Naruto just stood by, silently pondering how to go about getting his attention, and showing enough for the Sannin to take an interest in him. Since, Jiraiya is a seal master, the best way to catch his attention would be Fūinjutsu.

He knew just the seal to use. It was an extremely difficult one to draw. It didn't have many applications outside of stealth and infiltration, but it was perfect for this situation. Thanks to the years spent sealed into two Uzumaki seal masters, Kyu-chan's knowledge of obscure seals are invaluable.

He pulled out the tag, as it was far too difficult to draw on the fly, he drew them up at home and stocked up on them, for situations like this. As sneakily as he could, he silently walked to the fence and discreetly attached the seal to it. He could hear Jiraiya's perverse giggling. He walked away, and when he got far enough, he held up a hand seal and activated it.

It wouldn't change much from Jiraiya's perspective, but if you stand further away from the fence, you would see that it isn't there anymore. What Naruto attached was an invisibility seal which functioned similar to the Kakuremino no Jutsu, in that it made the target transparent.

In this case it was the fence. He could see a few of the kunoichi in there were starting to take notice of the invisible fence. They also spotted Jiraiya. Their faces contorted into one of fury at the biggest pervert in the Elemental Nations. They reached for their towels to cover themselves as well as their weapons.

Naruto nonchalantly walked away as the sound of a brutal beating being administered reached his ears.

As he got a little further, he heard a voice. He had already sensed the person, but pretended that he didn't.

"That wasn't a nice thing you did kid. They could have killed me." A grouchy voice said.

"You should have been peeking on the beautiful women in my village. Who are you anyway?" Naruto asked politely.

"I'm glad you asked!" He exclaimed, before a large toad appeared beneath him and kabuki music started playing in the background. "I am the Sage of the toads, hailing from Mount Myoboku.

Women swoon when they hear my name. Infants' cries are silenced by my presence. I am the great and gallant…Jiraiya!" He punctuated with a pose. He silently congratulated himself for his awesome introduction, before looking towards his spectator, only to find him walking away, completely ignoring him.

"Oi gaki!" Jiraiya called out to him as he caught up. "What's your name?"

"I'm not sure if I should be giving my details to a perverse weirdo like you, but etiquette dictates that I should since you introduced yourself. My name is Uzumaki Naruto." He replied, sending a polite barb at Jiraiya.

'Minato and Kushina's kid.' Jiraiya thought forlornly.

"How did you make that fence invisible back there?" He inquired.

"Fūinjutsu." He replied, causing Jiraiya's eyes to widen.

"I'm a seal master you know, I could show you a few things." Jiraiya bragged.

"No thank you. You are highly suspicious, not to mention, I need to find a teacher to train me for the Chuunin Exam finals." Naruto said. Jiraiya's eyes lit up at the carrot dangled.

'Hook.' Naruto thought.

"I can train you, you know." He stated confidently, drawing a suspicious glance from Naruto that clearly said that he didn't believe him. "Hey! I'll have you know that I trained the Yondaime Hokage!"

"Really? I'm up against an apparent Hyuuga prodigy, what exactly can you teach me?" Naruto asked.

"I can allow you to sign the toad contract and teach you the Kuchiyose no Jutsu." Jiraiya offered.

"No thanks." He flatly declined, causing Jiraiya to face fault. "I already have my own summons. I need something with fire power to break through his defences. I'm off to the library. It was nice to meet you Jiraiya-san."

'Line.' Naruto parroted in his mind.

Jiraiya appeared before him once more.

"Wait! I can teach you just the technique you need for something like that. I won't be easy though, and I can't guarantee that you will learn it in time. It took the Yondaime 3 years to create, and took me about a year to learn." He said catching Naruto's attention. Seeing that he piqued the boy's interest, he held out his arm, creating a swirling blue ball of chakra. It looked deadly and beautiful.

"The Rasengan. Not only will I teach you this, but will also help you polish those impressive Fūinjutsu skills of yours."

'And sinker." Naruto thought gleefully.

"I think you just found yourself a student for the next month, Jiraiya-sensei." Naruto said respectfully. Causing Jiraiya to break out into a grin.

"We've got a lot a work ahead of us gaki. I hope you're ready to work." He advised.

"Hai, Jiraiya-sensei!"

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[ A/N :

One thing that became apparent to me, is that I absolutely suck at long fight scenes. In my mind, I've got the good parts done, but the middle portions are always difficult. I need to start watching more action anime for inspiration.

Anyway, I hope the fight with Kiba appeased you for now. I didn't want him to show too many of his moves early. As a shinobi, you have to keep your tricks in the bag, and only show then when it's on the line. Kiba wasn't a big enough threat for him to go all out on.

He basically tried to emulate his old style and purposely made himself look kind of weak. So don't worry about him not unleashing his abilities. That will come soon. I got the inspiration for the standing on the ceiling from the Kage Summit arc, when Sasuke does it while looking down at the Kage's.

It kind of looked like a more extreme version of Boa Hancock's 'looking down on someone' move. He will definitely show his moves against Neji. I'm sure you guys will enjoy that one. I already have it planned out.

Naruto will have 2 fights next chapter. I always hated the fact that Sasuke got an extension on his time to arrive for the match. And when he still didn't show, they pushed his match to the end. Fuck that! The Hokage here won't settle for that bullshit, especially in front of potential clients.

I'm not sure what route to go with Neji. Whether to have Naruto to give him an inspirational speech that changes his views, or to have Naruto mind fuck him. It basically the 'beat some sense into you, fair fight' or the 'pain and humiliation, that will leave you scarred for life route'.

I'm unsure. Let me know your thoughts. Pick a route, like an eroge, to decide Neji's fate….you see what I did there?

I started Hinata on her Road to Ninja…get it? Get it? Ahh never mind.

As you can see, I decided to have Jiraiya train Naruto. They won't have as close of a relationship as they did in canon at the beginning, due to Naruto knowing his origins and not trusting Jiraiya due to him never checking up on him.

Jiraiya will work hard though, to earn his trust and forgiveness. Because, honestly, the guy is just too cool to stay mad at for long. Just ask Tsunade. ]