Naruto Fanfiction

chapter 10

chapter 10-preliminaries part 2

(3rd p.o.v)

After a couple minutes, they both darted forward and Hinata thrust her hand toward her, palm open and Neji blocked it, careful not to touch her hand. As she threw her hand forward, chakra shot out of it in a small burst. 

They spent several minutes dodging and blocking each other's attacks until Neji slipped off balance and Hinata threw an attack instantly. Neji stepped backward, barely avoiding a shot to his side. 

They both took a step back and after a moment, they returned to trading blows, careful to avoid taking damage from each other. After several more seconds, Hinata very nearly hit him again and Neji jumped back. 

After a few more seconds, they continued and after a few blows, Hinata stepped forward for a blow to the heart and both of them stopped. No one moved but everyone could see that Neji had dodged or blocked the attack.

"Did she get him?" Lee questioned.

"Yes," Sakura nodded and was about to start cheering but stopped when she realized that Naruto was holding the railing in a death grip.

"What?" Sakura muttered.

"It's over," Ryuu stated. "The strike was to the heart."

"So, she killed him?" Sakura questioned.

"Not by a long shot," Naruto stated voice clipped.

After a moment, Hinata leaned back, coughing up blood and everyone gasped seeing what had happened. Neji's left hand had two fingers against Hinata's attacking arm where he had used a blast of chakra to stop her attack while his right arm had delivered a direct hit to her heart.

"So that's it huh?" Neji questioned. "That's all there is to the Main Branch's power?"

I'm not done yet, Hinata thought using her left hand to knock Neji's right away and threw an attack at his head. However, before she could hit him, he caught her wrist and hit a spot beside her elbow. Then, he pulled her sleeve up and revealed several burnt spots along her arm. All perfectly round and bright red.

"But...you mean..." Hinata gasped. "All this time you-"

"That's right," Neji interrupted, voice cold. "I could see your chakra points the whole time."

"What's he talking about?" Naruto questioned.

"On the Chakra Network there are three hundred sixteen chakra centers, or chakra points, and each are only about the size of the head of a pin," Kakashi explained. "Hitting one directly can affect the flow of chakra either halting it or increasing it, depending on how the attacker strikes the chakra points. Theoretically, doing so allows one to gain complete control of their opponent's chakra flow. But these chakra points, they're undetectable, even to my Sharingan eye. And even beyond the ability to see the chakra points, he can target them accurately, even during intense battle."

Suddenly Neji hit Hinata again and launched her backward.

"Look Hinata, I'm completely out of your league and that won't change," Neji stated. "That is what separates the elites from the failures. You may not like it but it's a fact. From the instant you said you wouldn't run anymore, your fate was sealed. You were destined for failure. And now, you're consumed with hopelessness. Now this is your last warning Hinata. Forfeit this match."

"I...I..." Hinata, now on her hands and knees, struggled to say before pushing herself up, more blood running down her chin. "I never...go back...on...my word. Because that is my nindo, my ninja way."