The Chunin Exam - 4

Hinata stood a short distance away from him and observed as he formed a spiraling sphere of chakra in his right hand. Intrigued by such a strange technique, she decided to view it with her Byakugan as well and noticed something curious.

'Naruto-kun is right. He is using a large amount of chakra...' She frowned to herself, concerned, 'Where is all that chakra...coming from?'

She noticed the small specks of red chakra filtering through his circulatory system, where they channeled together through his arm and down into his hand, chakra spinning wildly in many directions, 'He can spin his chakra so quickly!'

Naruto smirked to himself, glad he had caught her attention, 'Good...now, what's around here that no one is going to miss? She won't see how strong this is just by looking at it...'

Thinking quickly once he had it fully formed, he stole a peek around the yard and spotted a beaten-looking log on its side a few paces behind him, "Okay Hinata-chan! Check this out!"

He turned around and ran at his defenseless target, grinning maniacally. Hinata watched in silent astonishment as he barreled into the log, thrusting his hand into it, and the blue sphere of chakra easily blew the dead tree into thousands of pathetic splinters, '...oh my...'

Dust rose up into the air in a thin cloud as he returned to his sparring partner, smirking broadly, "Pretty neat, huh?" Even he was impressed with himself, 'That was the first time I had it right actually...'

"I've...never seen anything like it before..." She said quietly, wondering when he had become so strong.

"Ero-sensei told me that the Fourth Hokage used that move a lot," Naruto brushed his hands off casually, "Just another reason I know I'll be Hokage someday!"

Her awe was tangible as she stood gawking, "I...I know you will. But you don't need some p-powerful jutsu to prove that to me, Naruto-kun."

Naruto gave her an appreciative look and took a moment to take in her encouraging words. Hinata was quiet after that, and the blonde haired boy pondered that maybe he had intimidated her just a bit too much.

"Yeah well...I've got other great jutsu too." His eyes lit up with an idea, "I know this one I can definitely teach you! If you like..."

"Really?" Her face brightened hopefully.

"Of course! I think I know one you'd like..." Naruto smirked to himself and quickly formed seals, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Beside him stood an exact replica of himself. She herself could tell it was no ordinary clone. Naruto watched warily as she activated the Byakugan again, to observe his creation.

The clone gave her a goofy grin and her cheeks tinted a pale pink. The blonde boy glared at the clone, hissing threateningly under his breath, "No fooling around, got it?"

Naruto's replication only chuckled.

"You think that I...might be able to do this?" She inquired softly, less confident after witnessing the Rasengan.

He gave her a disapproving look, "What? Of course! It's pretty simple actually, and making one or two clones doesn't take a lot of chakra..." As an afterthought, 'Though I can make hundreds of em!'

"So long as you're careful and stay within your limits you can definitely use this technique!" Naruto informed her.

Hinata brightened again, "You really think so?"

"Yeah! Believe it!" Naruto nodded fiercely, "Your chakra control is fine so it should be a piece of cake for you." He showed her the seal required for the jutsu, "Give it a try."

She nodded slowly and formed the seal he had showed her. Her voice was faint, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Naruto knew his faith would be well invested in her. On her first try, Hinata had formed a shadow clone of herself. It stood nearby quietly, blushing. His grin was wide, "See? What did I tell you?"

She grinned back, her cheeks tinted, "Thank you, Naruto-kun. I promise I'll work very hard to make this jutsu worthwhile."

"I know you will, but for now," He smirked, "Let's keep this a secret between you and me. Gaara-kun and Haku-kun don't know that jutsu either."

She nodded and then let her clone dissolve. Hinata sighed, tired out from their training, "Maybe we should take a short break?"

Naruto, still enormously proud of her, stretched his arms over his head, "That sounds like a good idea..."

The two of them went off to the side of the courtyard and seated themselves on the back porch of the Main house. Naruto leaned against a support beam and relaxed, his head making a soft thud with the impact. Hinata timidly removed her jacket, finding herself a bit overheated.

Naruto's thoughts began to wander again, 'Maybe Hinata-chan can explain what was going on when I first got here...'

"Hinata-chan" She looked up when he spoke, "When I came here this morning I saw your cousin."

"Neji-niisan?"

"Yeah," He nodded, "Something happened though. Some guy just jumped him, maybe even wanted to kill him, it felt like. They were fighting like crazy and then...your dad showed up and stopped it."

Her eyes lowered, clearly saddened, "I hoped you would never have to see something like that..."

"What was it about anyway?"

"Do you remember the day you and Gaara-kun and Haku-kun helped me prevent Neji-niisan from getting the Caged Bird seal?" She asked, not delighting in the memory.

He frowned, "Sure I do."

"Neji-niisan is still considered by most of my clan to be part of the Branch family, as his father was," Hinata explained, voice shaking, "My father made a plea to the elders so that he would not be given the seal, well..." She sighed, "It was m-my plea really. My father he...he wanted so badly for me to be strong, stronger than Neji-niisan..."

"But you are strong Hinata-chan!" Naruto was indignant, "How can you say you're not?"

"My father wanted me to succeed him as the Clan Head, but I was never talented enough...not like Neji-niisan is," She said quietly, almost ashamed, "Without the Caged Bird seal, Neji-niisan is a rival candidate for being clan heir...my rival."

Naruto folded his arms, growling, "So your dad says he's stronger than you..."

"But he is!" Hinata admitted, dropping her gaze, "Neji-niisan is very skilled and unlike the other members of the Branch family, he is free. Because of that many of them are bitter..."

"I get it..." He nodded, "So that guy who attacked him...he was angry?"

"Yes." She replied solemnly, "Some are happy for him though. They feel that he may be able to break the cycle of the Caged Bird seal and heal our clan..." She paused in thought, "That is what I want. That is my goal as well. I feel that it is a tradition that should be thrown away..."

"Me too!" Naruto agreed, "It's just so stupid, how they keep a clan separated like that."

"But my father, he..." Her voice trembled, "He is ashamed of me. I am not strong like Neji-niisan is. I am...weak and afraid and an embarrassment to my clan..." Her white eyes grew teary, "And he knew that once Neji-niisan d-did not receive the Caged Bird seal, that I w-would lose any chance of becoming the leader of my clan..."

Naruto looked horrified as tears slipped silently down her cheeks, and her head was bowed in total disgrace after she finished speaking. His expression quickly turned to one of anger.

"No!" He stood, shaking his head aggressively, "You can't believe that load of crap! It's all a lie and you know it!"

Hinata looked up at him questioningly, wiping the drops from her face.

"It's not true. You aren't weak and afraid," Naruto protested, "You're strong, I mean, you can beat the shit out of me if you wanted to!" She giggled, still wiping her cheeks, "And you're brave! Believe it! When we helped Neji, it was all your idea to do it! You're the reason your cousin is free and that makes all the difference! You're not an embarrassment at all; you're someone that your clan to be proud of!"

He nodded in finality and added, "Yeah! So...I think that you should be the leader of your clan, not Neji! Because you...you don't think with your fists, you use your heart and that's why you're a shinobi! A strong one!"

Her eyes were teary again, "Oh N-Naruto..." A small smile appeared on her face, "Thank you, but...I'm afraid that my father just doesn't see that yet."

Naruto grinned, "So what? You can make him see it if you just do your best! Then he'll see picking Neji over you is a big mistake!"

"You...think I can do it?"

"Of course! Just don't worry!" The blonde boy's eyes were intense, "I'll help you! I promise."