Chapter 19: Lull before the Storm

Hinata HyugaTime: Day Two of the Second Exam.Location: Central Tower, Forest of Death.

The water in the Central Tower’s communal showers ran cold after five minutes. Hinata leaned her forehead against the damp tile and let the stream wash the Forest of Death down the drain. Mud, dried sweat, and the grime washed off her slowly.

She turned off the tap. Her right arm ached with a dull, rhythmic throb. The skin from her shoulder down to her wrist remained a sensitive, shiny pink. Healing the Chidori’s backlash had drained her entirely, but the new tissue was holding together just fine.

I pushed too much, she thought, tracing the edge of the new skin. Next time, I need to have better body conditioning.

She dried off, dressed in a spare set of uniform clothes from her storage scroll, and sat cross-legged on the narrow wooden bench to examine her new perk. Soul Protection.

She closed her eyes and turned her Byakugan inward. Chakra was a synthesized product, the forced friction of bodily stamina grinding against spiritual energy. Usually, pushing the Endless Revolving Cycle past its natural limit tore both aspects apart. It ripped her physical chakra veins and frayed her spiritual/mental nature, leaving her exhausted and entirely hollowed out.

She engaged the cycle at a low hum. Physical strain bloomed in her shoulders immediately. But the spiritual side, i.e., the mind, the soul, the core of her identity, felt suddenly encased in solid iron. The grinding friction didn’t touch it. It was like striking a hammer against an anvil. The hammer took damage. The metal being forged took damage. The anvil remained completely impervious.

The implications were really good. If her soul couldn't be destabilized by the cycle, she only had to heal the physical tearing. Her capacity for growth had just effectively doubled because she no longer had to worry about cracking her own mind in half to achieve it.

She exhaled a slow, steady breath. She was going to need all the extra capacity she could get. She got out of the shower and dressed back up in her attire.

The air in their assigned barracks smelled faintly of floor wax and stale sweat. Hinata sat on the edge of the stiff, rubbery cot. She pulled a blank sheet of paper and a pencil from her tactical vest, flattening the page against her knee and carefully wrote down the details of the encounter in the forest using the standard cipher they had learned in the Academy. It didn’t take long. Once she finished, she folded the paper into a tight square and held it out.

Please take this to Kakashi-sensei, Hinata thought.

Kaguya stretched her front paws across the thin blanket, her claws catching the cheap fabric. Do you think me a simple messenger? I want something in return.

What is it then?

Hmm, I need a scratching post.

Hinata raised an eyebrow.

What? You have forbidden me from scratching your furniture and your tatami mats, how else am I supposed to sharpen my nails?

Fineeee I will get a custom one made for you just as you want it.

Perfect.

Kaguya took the folded square delicately between her teeth. She hopped off the bed, slipped through the slightly ajar door, and trotted down the dimly lit hallway.

Hinata leaned back against the concrete wall. It was fifteen minutes later when the heavy metal door clicked and swung inward.

Kakashi stepped into the room. His hands were empty, the orange book probably in his pockets. He held the small square of paper between two fingers. He looked at Sasuke, who was sharpening a kunai on his bed, then at Naruto, who was sprawled out on his stomach, drooling into his pillow. Finally, his visible eye locked onto Hinata.

He walked over and picked up her right arm by the wrist. He examined the burn extending past her elbow.

"Orochimaru," Kakashi said. His voice barely carried over Naruto's snoring.

"The guy ambushed us in the forest," Hinata said. "And applied a Five Elements Seal to Naruto. Then he came after Sasuke. We managed to fend him off though."

Kakashi dropped her wrist. "Your cipher says you destroyed the host body."

"Yeah um- we did."

Kakashi nodded slightly. Sensei didn't ask how she managed to execute a Chidori without tearing her own arm completely off.

He took a step forward and ruffled her hair slightly. “You really are full of surprises huh Hinata? We will talk about the Chidori later. First, I need to report this to Anko and the Hokage," Kakashi said. He stepped back toward the door. "Do not leave this tower. Do not speak to anyone from another village. Hinata, go to the medical wing on the second floor. Get that arm properly wrapped with sterile bandages just to be sure."

The door shut behind him with a solid, echoing thud.

The medical wing was a long, narrow room lined with empty cots. The harsh fluorescent lights hummed above, and the air carried the sharp, chemical sting of iodine and rubbing alcohol.

Hinata walked past a row of metal cabinets and found a silver-haired boy sorting rolls of gauze near the sink.

She really had to wonder how this man hadn’t been caught yet. The man had arrived before almost any other squad and was now working the medical room. If he so much competence then how could he keep failing the exam.

Then again the village might believe that Kabuto just doesn’t want to become a chunin. There are a few people in the village who refuse the promotion even if they are offered it on a platter.

"Kabuto-senpai!" Hinata called out, keeping her voice bright and cheerful.

Kabuto turned around. He adjusted his round glasses and offered an accommodating smile. "Hinata. You made it to the tower very quickly. Did your team run into trouble?"

"Just a little scrape in the brush," she said, holding up her raw forearm. "Kakashi-sensei told me to get it wrapped. Are you volunteering here?"

"I always try to help out the medical staff when I finish early," Kabuto said. He gestured to a nearby stool. "Have a seat. Let me take a look at that."

Hinata sat down. She watched him gather a bottle of antiseptic and a roll of clean linen. She knew exactly what he was doing. Orochimaru had told Kabuto what happened in the forest. Kabuto wanted a closer look at the girl who had melted his master's host.

He sat across from her and took her arm. His fingers were cool and precise. He dabbed the antiseptic over the sensitive new skin.

"This is an unusual burn," Kabuto murmured. "The tissue regeneration is really fast. Most genin would be in a hospital bed for a week with muscle tearing like this."

"I heal pretty fast," Hinata smiled. He would think that wouldn’t he. Greedy bastard’s probably salivating at the thought of her abilities.

Kabuto began wrapping the linen around her forearm. As he pulled the bandage taut, Hinata felt a suble shift in the chakra around his fingers.

He pushed a tiny, concentrated sliver of Yin chakra directly from his fingertips into her wrist. Probably a healing technique for the chakra veins. A subtle probe designed to bypass physical defenses and gauge the target's spiritual resilience and chakra density.

The moment Kabuto's chakra brushed against her, her Soul Protection perk engaged.

Kabuto’s probe hit a wall of nothingness. There was no feedback. Nor any resitance. No spiritual signature at all. To his chakra senses, it must have been really weird.

Kabuto’s hands spasmed. His thumb jerked sideways, pulling the linen wrap far too tight against her skin.

"Ow," Hinata said, blinking at him in innocent surprise.

Kabuto froze while staring at her wrist. A single bead of sweat formed at his hairline and slid down the side of his neck. He swallowed.

"My apologies," Kabuto said.

His voice was steady, but his fingers were rigid. He loosened the bandage and tied it off.

"My hand slipped. But it seems ah my jutsus aren’t working properly right now. Maybe the tension is getting to me?” He muttered that last part quietly but not quite enough that Hinata wouldn’t be able to hear.

"That's okay!" Hinata stood up and admired the neat white wrapping. "Thank you so much for the help. I owe you lunch when we get back to the village, Senpai!"

"You're welcome," Kabuto replied with an uneasy laugh. “Tell you what, I will come back in an hour or so and let’s see if my techniques work then.”

Hinata turned and walked out of the infirmary. She kept her posture relaxed until she rounded the corner into the stairwell.

It’s a shame. She really thought she would get to see him using some unique jutsus but the time for his facade to end was coming really fast.

Behind her, Kabuto remained sitting on the small stool. He gripped the edge of the metal medical tray until his knuckles turned white, staring at the empty doorway.

Sasuke Uchiha

The barracks were quiet when Hinata returned. Naruto was still asleep, oblivious to the stone ceiling above him.

Sasuke sat on the edge of his cot. He held a sharpening stone in one hand and a kunai in the other, but he hadn't moved the blade in twenty minutes. He watched Hinata shut the door and sit down on the bed opposite him.

He had thought about the conversation in the root hollow constantly. They had to stop their conversation hen due to the bad situation they were in, but now he had 3 days of rest with low chances of a battle taking place and Hinata had healed sufficiently enough for him to not feel negatively about talking with her about her powers.

Sasuke set the kunai down on his blanket.

"You said you have access to memories of the future," Sasuke began. He kept his eyes on the concrete floor between their beds. "And the past."

Hinata stopped adjusting her new bandage. She looked up at him. "Yeah."

Sasuke leaned his forearms on his knees. He didn't look at her. He didn't want to see her expression. He just wanted the knowledge. He just needed to know.

"Do you know why did he do it?" Sasuke asked. His throat moved up and down as he swallowed his fear. "If you know what happened. Tell me why my brother slaughtered our family."

Hinata let out a slow breath.

"He didn't do it to test his capacity for violence or something, Sasuke," Hinata said quietly.

Sasuke’s hands clenched into fists. He forced himself to keep breathing. "Then why?"

"Because the Uchiha clan was preparing to launch a coup against the village," Hinata explained, her voice steady and deliberate. "The village leadership found out. They cornered Itachi. They gave him an impossible choice. He could side with his clan, and the village would wipe all of you out in a civil war. Or, he could execute the clan himself, take the blame as a rogue ninja, and in exchange, they would allow you to live."

Sasuke stared at the gray floor.

The air in the room felt thin. All his life he had spent it building this man up as the villain of his story. The one he needed to defeat to earn back his honour. Earn back the honour of his clan. Of his people.

"Who gave the order?" Sasuke asked. His voice didn't shake. It was terrifyingly flat.

"The village elders," Hinata said. "Specifically, a man named Danzo Shimura. He runs a black-ops faction outside the Hokage's direct control. He wanted the Sharingan for himself. He used your brother to get them."

Sasuke closed his eyes.

The roaring, uncontrolled fire of his hatred felt worse than it ever had. His brother was a murderer and a scapegoat. And his brother did terrible things. Things that Sasuke couldn’t understand why. Why would someone like him, someone so powerful bend to the decisions of some useless bastards in their old age?

Sasuke opened his eyes. He picked up his kunai and slid it back into his holster.

He didn't need to chase a ghost into the darkness anymore. He needed to get strong enough to walk into the Hokage Tower and demand answers from the people who had built his cage.

He didn’t know what he would ask them, but he needed to be strong enough first to even have a chance at it.

"Thank you for telling me," Sasuke said.

For a second, he almost wished to ask for her help. He would, but now didn’t seem like a good moment for it.

Far behind in the shadows of the room he could see the spiral of his clan’s eyes rotate slowly.

Hinata nodded. She lay back on her cot and stared at the ceiling. They didn't speak again for the rest of the afternoon.

Karin UzumakiTime: Day Two of the Second Phase.Location: Central Tower Lobby.

It had taken her a while to figure out whether that Hyuga girls’ team had arrived or not but when she didn she immediately started asking questions about their whereabouts.

And now she had finally managed to track the girl down. She was in the balcony, sitting crosslegged on the floor doing some kind of meditation? At least that’s what it seemed like. For all she knew the girl could be just sleeping in a really weird posture.

Her lungs were breathing heavily and sweat gathered at her temples, dripping slowly down her body. She spent a long time waiting, wondering whether she should interrupt but eventually during her ministrations the girl opened her eyes and looked at her straight.

“Ah you are that girl from the forest.” The Hyuga girl said.

Karin immediately bowed her head as low as she could. “Thank you for saving my life from that bear earlier! Without your help I might have died Miss Hyuga!”

“It was no problem for me. I was just flashing my Byakugan once in a while and saw that you were in a bad situation and decided to help.”

“No- I don’t know how I can repay your kind gesture; without it I don’t think I would be standing here today.”

“Mmm- there is one way you could repay that debt if you wish.”

Here came the catch. She knew it couldn’t have been for free. “Whatever you wish for and is in my power to give I promise to fulfil it.” She muttered the best she could.

“No- no! I just wished to know why you have so many scars on your body, all around your hands and shoulders.”

Shit, she isn’t allowed to reveal that to foreign-nin.

“That- That is a secret of my village I cannot reveal! My apologies, Miss Hyuga.”

The girl scratched her head. “You can just call me Hinata you know? All my friends call me that. Hmm, if you cannot tell me about the scars then how about I heal the scars for you.”

Is this how Konoha-nin act? Why she is being so generous to me, an enemy of her village? I can’t understand her motives. And did she decided that we were friends after a single conversation? Her actions are so… disorienting.

She was sceptical of it. Most of the times when shinobi offered help it always came with a price. And right now, she couldn’t even fathom what this girl wanted. But her eyes looked really sincere. And it wasn’t like she had anything of much value to lose if she agreed to it. At most she would die. Not that anyone would care if she did. Her mother was dead and her village were filled with abusive assholes.

She had also saved her life earlier and that made her trust the girl vastly more than she would normally ever trust any other shinobi. Eventually she decided to agree to it.

Karin nodded her head slightly. “If it wouldn’t inconvenience you Hinata then I would like for you do it. The healers at my village, told me there is no way to fix these scars but if my saviour says that she can then I have little reason to doubt it.”

Hinata smiled brightly. “Okay! C’mon sit closer to me and open up your jacket and clothes!”

Karin blushed heavily. Did this girl really want her to undress here out in the open?! “Uh- Hianta I would prefer if we did it in a secluded room with privacy.”

“Oh.” Hinata looked around and then looked her in the eye really apologetically. “Oh sorry! I kind of forgot we were in the open. Ha-ha.”

“It’s no matter, lets move to my room in the tower I suppose.”

“Yeah, lead the way!” Hinata nodded while standing up.

They eventually ended up making their way to her room, where she after a lot of internal nickering managed to unclothe her upper body enough for Hianta to take a closer look.

“Yeah, these scars, they are sort of made by a weird form of chakra passing through that area. Hmm your body doesn’t consider them faulty, rather I think it’s sort of considered normal by it and so it doesn’t heal it. Normal techniques won’t work well on it because you would need like a team of elite medical ninjas controlling all the variables that are affected by it all at once before applying the technique specifically to that region. It would be possible but practically speaking it would be quite hard to arrange and it would take many days’ worth of work that these ninjas could put somewhere else instead.”

Karin felt despondent. “So, they can’t be fixed?”

“I didn’t say that. M special techniques might work on it because it sort of automates that process, and my intent is all it needs to act on the tissue.”

Her hands began to glow a deep gold colour, after which Hinata slowly started hovering them above each scar for a few minutes. She had forgotten how many she had. It hadn’t been exactly fun for her to count them and the less she looked at her body the less she needed to deal with the nightmares.

But seeing them slowly fade away felt really warm. Like she was leaving behind her past terrors where they belonged. But she wasn’t, was she? She would eventually have to go back to Kusagakure. And they would bite her again. And the nightmares would begin anew.

She didn’t know when but she started crying. It was a few drops at first but as the scars disappeared completely all she could do was bawl her eyes out in front of this stranger.

Eventually once Hinata was done, she did something incredibly kind that Karin hadn’t expected. She hugged her tightly holding her head in her chest like her mother used to. How long had it been since she had experienced the physical comfort of a hug? Not since- not since her mother had lost all her vitality…

“I can’t- I can’t go back there… I can’t go back there. I just- I can’t” Karin didn’t know why but she started muttering that the longer she stayed in the comfort of the hug.

“Shh- You don’t have to go back if you don’t want to Karin. We will- We will figure something out.” Hinata whispered to her in a soothing voice.

In that moment she felt a flicker of hope rise in her chest, but hse stamped it down as ahrd as she could. Hinata was a just a girl trying to console her. What could she do against the might of an entire village?

Sakura HarunoTime: Day Four of the Second Phase.Location: Central Tower Cafeteria.

The cafeteria smelled of boiled cabbage, sweat, and wet dirt. The room was packed with exhausted, battered genin sitting at long metal tables.

Sakura pushed through the double doors. Her pink hair was plastered to her forehead with dried sweat. A long, shallow scratch ran down her left cheek. Her jacket was torn at the shoulder, and her boots were caked in thick, grey mud.

She walked directly toward the center of the room. She didn't scan the crowd nervously. She didn't check her reflection in the window glass.

She spotted Team 7 sitting at a corner table. Naruto was inhaling a bowl of plain rice. Sasuke was drinking from a canteen. Hinata was feeding small pieces of dried meat to the white cat sitting on the table.

Sakura walked up to their bench. She reached over Naruto’s shoulder, grabbed a green apple off his tray, and took a large bite.

"Hey!" Naruto complained, grabbing his tray defensively. "Get your own food, Sakura!"

"Line was too long," Sakura said, chewing the apple. She looked at Sasuke. "I caught a Rain genin today. Totally ambushed him.”

Sasuke paused with his canteen halfway to his mouth. He looked at the dirt on her face and the tear in her jacket.

"Did it work?" Sasuke asked.

"He lost his balance and fell out of the canopy," Sakura stated simply. "Broke his arm on a root."

Sasuke held her gaze. He gave a single, firm nod. "Good."

Sakura didn't blush and nodded back, took another bite of the apple, and turned to walk toward the table where Ino and Shikamaru were slumped over their trays like discarded laundry.

Hinata watched her go with a quiet, satisfied smile.

The overhead loudspeaker crackled with a sharp burst of static. The low hum of conversation in the cafeteria died instantly.

"Attention all remaining candidates," a tired, coughing voice echoed through the room. "The second phase of the Chunin Selection Exams has officially concluded. Please report to the main combat arena on the ground floor immediately."

Naruto slammed his empty bowl onto the table. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and jumped up.

"Finally!" Naruto yelled. "Let's go show these guys what we can do!"

Sasuke stood up and secured his weapons pouch. Hinata picked up Kaguya and placed the cat on her shoulder. They joined the stream of genin filtering out of the cafeteria and heading toward the stairwells.

The waiting was over.

Hinata HyugaTime: The DeadlineLocation: Central Tower Hallways & Arena

The stream of genin filtered down the wide stone staircases. Hinata moved with her team, feeling the residual soreness in her legs mask the humming tension of the approaching matches.

As they crossed the second-floor mezzanine, the heavy iron hinges of the eastern doors groaned outward. Three figures stepped into the entryway.

Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro.

Temari looked scraped up and exhausted. Kankuro's face paint was smeared across his cheek. Gaara stood perfectly pristine. Not a single grain of dirt marred his clothes.

Hinata didn't activate her Byakugan. Her Talk With the Animals perk caught the frequency immediately.

BLOOD. CRUSH THEM. TEAR THE WALLS DOWN. SO MUCH BLOOD IN THIS BOX.

The demon's voice scraped against the inside of her skull like rusted metal. Before, outside the Academy, the sound had made her physically nauseous. This time, the new Soul Protection perk flared to life. The psychic static hit an invisible wall directly behind her eyes and flattened out into ordinary background noise. She could hear Shukaku screaming, but the madness couldn't bleed into her own emotions. It was just a very loud, very angry voice trapped in a jar.

Gaara stopped walking. He tilted his head back and looked directly up at the mezzanine. His pale sea-green eyes locked onto her.

The sand shifting inside his gourd made a dry, hissing sound. He remembered the shrine. He remembered her asking the voice to shut up.

Hinata didn't look away. She offered a small, polite nod.

Gaara's eyes narrowed. The sand stopped hissing. He turned his head and continued walking down the hall, his siblings hurrying to keep pace behind him.

Guest Rites, Hinata thought. He had agreed to save his killing intent for a fair fight. She just had to hope she wasn't the one matched against him.

The surviving genin gathered in the central arena. The room was massive, lined with stone bleachers and dominated by a pair of giant stone hands forming a seal on the far wall.

Hinata stood between Naruto and Sasuke. She scanned the crowd. Team 10 was intact. Team 8 looked battered but present. Team Guy stood near the front row.

She met Neji's eyes across the room. He didn't sneer, and he didn't look away. He watched her while analyzing her stance, the missing sleeve of her jacket, and the white bandages on her arm. He was looking for the fraud she had challenged him to find. She held her chin up and let him look.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped up to the front podium. The Hokage wore his full robes, a smoking pipe clamped firmly between his teeth. Anko stood to his right, looking homicidal, while a sickly-looking Jonin with dark bags under his eyes stood to his left.

"Congratulations on passing the second exam," Hiruzen's voice carried clearly across the stone room. He launched into the history of the Chunin Exams, detailing the function of the tests as a replacement for outright war between the hidden villages.

Hinata tuned out the political posturing. She scanned the Jonin lining the walls. Kakashi caught her eye and gave a lazy, two-finger salute. Might Guy flashed a brilliant, blinding smile.

Standing near the back, wearing a Grass Village headband and a perfectly unremarkable face, was a Jonin whose chakra pathways pulsed with thick, sickly grey energy.

Orochimaru.

He hadn't left. He had just changed his face. His yellow eyes slid past Sasuke and fixed directly on Hinata. A chilling smile touched the corners of the stolen mouth. He was waiting to see her fight. He wanted to see exactly how far her Light Release and her healing could be pushed before she broke.

Hayate Gekko stepped forward, coughing weakly into his hand. "There are... cough... too many of you left. We cannot proceed to the final rounds with these numbers. We will now hold... cough... preliminary matches. One-on-one combat. If you wish to quit, raise your hand now."

Kabuto Yakushi raised his hand.

Hinata watched him step out of line and offer a perfectly rehearsed apology to his teammates. He played the part of the exhausted, depleted veteran beautifully.

He is going back to the labs, Hinata realized. He has my cell samples. He has the data from the forest. He doesn't need to stay in the exams anymore. They are preparing whatever comes next.

A large electronic board on the wall flickered to life. Names began rapidly cycling across the screen in bright green text. The rhythmic clicking echoed in the quiet room.

Sasuke shifted his weight. Naruto clenched his fists, grinning in anticipation.

The names stopped.

Hinata Hyuga vs. Rock Lee.

Hinata stepped back toward the stairs away from Sasuke and Naruto. The real exams were starting, and the snake in the grass was watching every move they made

Author’s Note:-

Sorry for the slow upload guys but this month has been pretty hectic due to the exams. I managed to squeeze enough time out to write out a chapter!

Anyways good news is that exam is ending next week on the Thursday. So, I will have more time to write after it, I hope!

Anyways thanks for reading, and I always appreciate your support!