Disclaimer:
Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 262: Awakening
The two black beasts at Kakuzu's sides moved forward to protect him.
One of them sent a series of wind blades toward Hinata, while the other attacked with a bolt of lightning capable of piercing a mountain.
Hinata made a hand sign while running at full speed. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Four clones appeared next to her, two on each side, and charged directly at the two beasts.
Kakuzu then focused on the Hinata at the center for his next attack. Black strings emerged from several gaps in his body and tried to trap her.
"Ripple Step!" Hinata activated her movement technique when she was only a short distance away.
The black strings were about to touch her skin when, all of a sudden, she disappeared from the spot, leaving only water ripples behind.
Kakuzu saw her clones attacking his black beasts, but he could not afford to get distracted now… he had to find the real one and eliminate her immediately. He felt something moving behind him and reacted by instinct.
Countless black strings shot out, covering all his blind spots, so no matter what she did, he would be able to trap her.
"There!" He finally got a glimpse of her figure. "Earth Release… Rock Spears!"
From the ground, dozens of sharp needles made of stone shot upward, threatening to impale anything that approached.
Kakuzu could clearly see as one of the spears went through Hinata's body, only for her to disappear an instant later.
"A clone?… No, that's not it. An illusion?"
Ripples appeared all around him. "Where is she?!" Kakuzu shouted while unleashing his strings in all directions.
"Kaiten!" A torrent of chakra protected Hinata from all damage.
"I've got you now." Kakuzu grinned. He was familiar with that jutsu and its weak point. He wouldn't be able to get through its defenses, but he knew exactly where she would be once it was over.
He retracted his strings and waited… just a few seconds later, Hinata ended her jutsu, and Kakuzu jumped at the chance to finish her off. "Die!"
He had her surrounded on all sides. His strings shot out at an incredible speed, and she couldn't avoid them in time.
Kakuzu then sent an attack directly at her heart, ready to rip it out of her chest.
"Poof…" Hinata exploded into a cloud of smoke.
"A clone?! No… this can't be." He was sure he had been fighting the real one. Unless…
"Gentle Steps… Lion Emperor Fist!"
He heard her voice from a short distance away. This was shortly followed by a painful sensation. "No!"
Kakuzu screamed when he saw the real Hinata, who had used a jutsu to substitute herself with one of her clones, drive her glowing fists through the white mask of the lightning beast, destroying another one of his hearts in the process.
"She can see them." Kakuzu realized that this had been her target from the beginning. She went for the other hearts first. And now he only had three left… with one of them being barely functional.
"Come back!" He tried to recall his wind heart before Hinata could also destroy it, but her clones weren't going to let that happen.
The two clones left were launching a barrage of attacks, keeping the beast occupied and preventing it from moving away.
The real Hinata then moved towards the beast like a lightning bolt and drove her hand right through the white mask. Kakuzu's third heart was destroyed just like that.
The old ninja was now able to understand the real danger that Hinata posed to him.
Unlike Hidan, Kakuzu's immortality relied on his extra hearts and his many ways to protect them, such as moving them to any part of his body or pulling them away and into these black beasts made of his black strings.
But this wasn't going to work against someone capable of seeing right through him with no trouble. She knew exactly where all his weak points were and had the skill and power to destroy them before he could do anything about it.
At this moment, he only had the damaged fire heart, which wouldn't be of much use, and his original one, which he had to protect at all costs.
The only element he could use right now was earth, and there was only one jutsu that he thought could save him. He brought his hands to the ground and circulated a massive amount of chakra.
"Earth Release… Gravity Binding!"
"Urgh!" Hinata felt the effect immediately. Her body became dozens of times heavier, making it almost impossible to move from her spot.
Her clones were destroyed immediately, unable to withstand the pressure.
But her biggest issue right now was time… she was running out of it already. Only having a few more seconds before her Sage Mode ended.
Once that happened, she would be unable to continue facing an opponent as strong as this one.
Kakuzu smiled after noticing that his jutsu had the intended effect on his enemy. Now he could go on the offensive.
"Say your goodbyes, girl… you're going to die by my hands, and I'll take your heart as a prize!" Countless strings emerged from his body and went directly for the defenseless Hinata.
"We have to do something!" Shikamaru prepared himself to intervene. He activated his shadow jutsu to stop Kakuzu.
Asuma and Ino were also about to jump in and help her out.
Naruto appeared between them and crushed Shikamaru's shadow with his feet before turning to the others. "You will not intervene. This is Hinata's fight."
"Are you blind?! She's going to die!" Asuma shouted at him.
"Naruto…" Ino stared at him in shock.
He glanced back at her. "Have faith in your partner… Hinata has yet to showcase her full potential." Naruto said before turning back to the fight.
He had noticed it recently, during her Sage training and during their moments of intimacy, but there was something special about Hinata. He could feel some dormant power within her… reacting every time he interacted with her.
And right as the black strings of death were encroaching on her, and her time was about to run out… Hinata could also feel it… awakening.
Her Byakugan changed shape… her eyes turned light blue, while the iris began to emit a radiant light, giving it an otherworldly and ethereal appearance.
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