Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, The Prodigy

Chapter 9 - The Chuunin Exams part 4, "Round One and Two"

*Hi everyone, I apologize for the delay, I had a lot going on when I was writing this chapter, when I was almost done with it, the app deleted the whole chapter when it updated, then my wife and daughter were in the hospital for a couple days after that and then i was involved in a car accident and then I started finals for college, so again I apologize but let's get this chapter done, i hope you guys enjoy it.
Hayate and Genma were in the arena with everyone when Hayate began to speak, "alright everyone you all have one month to prepare yourselves for your fights, if you don't show up on time, you will forfeit your match. You're dismissed, we will see you all in a month." Naruto was walking with Sasuke and Shikamaru out of the stadium, Naruto still had Hinata on his mind, her wounds would heal easily enough but he was more worried about her mental state, she had trained so hard and lost to her cousin, he was worried if she could bounce back from something like this or not, suddenly Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his shoulder, Naruto looked over and saw Shikamaru, he then said, "what's up Shika?" Shikamaru chuckled and then answered, "I'm sure Hinata is okay but since you subconsciously brought us all here, how about we go up and check on her." Sasuke had also chuckled and Naruto laughed nervously because they were in front of the hospital, Naruto had sensed her position so he concluded that they must have moved her from the arena to here afterwards, Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru entered the hospital, and upon entering Naruto was given looks up disgust and malice but he ignored them, Shikamaru and Sasuke on the other hand  were visibly pissed but chose to let it go for now. They found out from one of the nurses what room Hinata and Lee were in because he was here as well and after she told them, they headed on up the stairs to them. Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru got up to the third floor when they saw, Tenten, Shino, Kiba, Shisui, Kurenai, Asuma, Guy, Kakashi, Hiashi, Hiruzen, Ino, Sakura, Itachi, Konohamaru, Hanabi, and Jiraiya were all in the hallway, Naruto asked how Lee was doing, Kakashi was the one to respond, "his leg was completely crushed and shattered, also his wrist was destroyed and may never function correctly, his internal organs might be okay but they are still assessing that right now, they are also saying that unless an expert healer like Tsunade comes, Lee will have to retire from being a ninja because they arent trained well enough to rebuild his body." Naruto was extremely sad for Lee because Tsunade hasn't been in the village for over fifteen years and he knew that seals can heal but repairing damage was totally different, Naruto was regretting his decision to hold off on learning medical ninjutsu and trauma training because if he hadn't neglected it, he could've aided Lee right now. Naruto sighed, he saw Hiashi waiting by another door, he sensed Hinata inside so he walked over to Hiashi to see about Hinata, "how is Hinata doing Hiashi-san," Hiashi was a little surprised to see Naruto but then he responded, "she's awake and seems well, they are changing her bandages now so you may come in with us when they are done if you would like to." Naruto nodded in affirmation, he then walked over to Konohamaru and Hanabi, and as soon as he got near, Hanabi jumped up into Naruto's arms and hugged him, she thanked him for protecting her sister, Naruto smiled and returned the hug. The nurses came out and glared at Naruto but then kept moving, Konohamaru and Hanabi saw this and were confused why the nurses looked at Naruto like that, they pushed the thought to the back of their minds and would investigate it later, the four of them entered Hinata's room, she was sitting up in bed when she saw Konohamaru and Hanabi enter first, Hanabi practically jumped into Hinata's lap crying and thanking the heavens for her sister being okay, Konohamaru was sitting near the bed in a chair smiling at the exchange because, Hinata was comforting her sister, their father Hiashi entered next, she expected him to be furious that she lost, but he instead reached down and pulled her into a hug, this shocked Hinata greatly but instead of lingering on the thought of being surprised, she hugged him back and Hiashi began speaking, "Hinata, I am so proud of you, you have found a way to aquire strength and it may be different from the original Hyuga way, but I don't care and I am so happy and proud of you, you will accomplish many things when you become the clan head, many things that I failed to accomplish, don't let this loss get you down, you will become strong, I know it, I am sorry for being an awful father, I fell into a depressive state after your mother passed and when your uncle passed as well, I thought that strength was the only thing that mattered but I was wrong, happiness, trust and love are just as important as strength and I promise to do better for yours and Hannabi's sakes." Hiashi smiled, causing Hinata to cry but smile back at him widely, she thanked her father and hugged him again, that's when she saw Naruto, he was about to walk back out when she called out to him. Naruto stopped in the doorway, and that was when Hinata asked if she could have a few minutes alone with Naruto, Hiashi smiled and nodded, he then grabbed the two children and walked next to Naruto and whispered, "please help her Naruto, I have done what I can but your the only one that I truly believe can completely help set her mind at ease..." Naruto nodded and continued to walk towards Hinata, Hiashi closed the door with everyone outside, they were all curious what was going on so they planted their ears at the door and walls to listen in to their conversation. Naruto walked over and sat on the bed next to Hinata, he wasn't sure what to say so he decided to just spark a normal conversation for now, "Hey Hina...." his voice was interrupted by a hug from Hinata, she thanked him over and over for saving her, Naruto was unsure of what to do so he hugged her back and then continued speaking, "before you say anything more Hinata, I know that your feeling low and probably believe you are not good enough but I assure you that you did and are doing amazing, your cousin is hailed as a genius and you Hinata, you almost defeated him, you will get stronger and even better, you are already strong, so hold your head up high because you have proven that you are not only a powerful shinobi but will one day be the best leader the Hyuga have ever seen." This made Hinata's eyes open wide, Naruto was making her fall into an even deeper love with him, he not only encourages her and helped her get stronger, he is kind and now she just wants to hold his embrace again so she reached out her arms hoping that he would hold her one more time. Naruto saw this and hesitated at first but then he saw the look in Hinata's eyes, she needed this so he opened his arms and pulled her into his chest and gave her the embrace that she desired, this was the warmest and best hug of Hinata's and Naruto's lives, everyone outside were smiling and happy because Naruto was becoming an amazing man, he would be the very best of them all, and they knew that he would help Lee one way or another as well because when Naruto wants to help someone, he tries his hardest to help them overcome any obstacle. Naruto let go of Hinata after a minute but was hesitant to do so, he felt a different feeling holding her than when he hugged anyone else, he felt whole with Hinata in his arms, this excited him but also terrified him at the same time. Hinata could feel his hesitant hands letting go but she also could see the look of sadness and terror on Naruto's face, she wanted to help him but it wasnt the time yet, Naruto had built so many walls and they are what held him together for now but she would continue breaking as many walls as she needed to, to help Naruto recover from his trauma and show him that he will one day be okay. Her medication was now starting to make her feel drowsy, Naruto saw this so he layed Hinata's head back on the pillow, and she quickly began to fall asleep but she wanted to say one more thing before she went to sleep, "Naruto, thank you for saving me from Neji-nii sama, I also want to ask if you would be willing to help me get better with fuinjutsu and..." she got nervous but then steeled her resolve, "and will you come see me again to talk..." Hinata was blushing, Naruto had a small blush as well but he shook it off and smiled, "I would love to come back and talk with you Hinata and I'll also help you in fuuinjutsu when your feeling better..." Naruto was embarrassed to say this next part but decided to say it anyway, "and... if I can, I'll always come to your aid Hinata, you are important to me." Hinata blushed and smiled brightly, she then thanked Naruto and slowly fell asleep, Naruto smiled and caressed Hinata's cheek, he then spoke to himself, "thank you Hinata, for always being good to me, one day ill repay you for everything," Naruto then walked away and opened the door, he saw everyone pretending to mind their own business, Naruto sighed because they always forget that he is a sensor and knew that they were all listening in on his and Hinata's conversation, but he moved that thought to the back of his mind for now and was heading to see Lee. Guy and Tenten were inside with Lee when Naruto entered the room, Lee was still unconscious but was looking a little better than before, his body was wrapped in bandages and he seemed to be sleeping peacefully, Guy and Tenten nodded to Naruto and walked out. Everyone except Naruto and Shikamaru left the hospital, Shikamaru entered the room with Naruto and they sat in silence for a while, a few more minutes went by and then Naruto spoke, "After the chuunin exams, I'm going to find Tsunade and bring her back to heal Lee, his fight isn't finished in this world yet." Shikamaru smiled and nodded. Naruto then sensed a person enter the hospital and it put him on guard because Gaara was inside the building, he then told Shikamaru what was happening and told him that Gaara was heading in this direction. The door opened and Gaara walked inside, Naruto and Shikamaru both thought that he was up to no good when he entered Lee's room but they wanted to see if it was truly the case, Gaara saw Lee and smirked, this let Naruto and Shikamaru know that they were both correct in their assumptions because Gaara was preparing his sand to kill Lee but then he saw Shikamaru and Naruto staring at him, Shukaku, the voice of the tailed beast inside of Gaara was practically boiling with rage at the thought of his brother Kurama being near him, but Shukaku knew that the Jinchurriki of the nine-tails was also a very strong person and that boy beside him was extremely smart and could bind them easily, he would have to take over Gaara's body in order to fight them both and it wasn't time for that quite yet, he needed Gaara to be completely asleep when he tries to take over, this would ensure Shukaku with the means to take complete control of Gaara's body. Shukaku then whispered to Gaara pretending to be Gaara's mother, "Gaara, you cannot face them both, leave for now, you may have a chance in the future." Gaara glared at them but then Naruto took a step forward and spoke, "Gaara, if you kill or hurt my friends, ill destroy you and put you on the right path if I can but if I can't then..." Naruto's face turned iced cold with two blue calculated eyes staring directly into Gaara's soul, "then, I will kill you and Shukaku, I will seal you so tight into an object that you'll never see the light of day for an eternity." This sent chills up Gaara's and Shukaku's spines, they both felt terror but covered it up with a glare, Gaara then turned his back and left. Shikamaru put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and said let's go but before that, Naruto put a Hiraishin seal on Lee's and Hinata's doors and then activated another seal for hostile presence in both of their rooms, then they both left for their respective homes.