Chapter 261: Hinata Vs Kakuzu

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 261: Hinata Vs Kakuzu

"You want me to fight this person?" Hinata pointed at Kakuzu.

"There's no better way to hone your skills than real combat with powerful foes. This one doesn't seem too bad. So give it a go."

"Give it a go?! Naruto, what are you saying?!" Asuma shouted at him. "That man is an S-rank missing ninja! This is too dangerous."

"Hinata can do it." Ino's words turned Asuma's attention to her.

"What do y—"

"She's incredibly strong… I know that for a fact. We've trained together a lot over these past three years," Ino added. There was no one in Konoha, except for Naruto, who knew Hinata's strength better than her.

Despite sharing a technique that was created for her, Ino realized that Hinata was growing stronger at a much faster rate than herself.

Ino didn't like to admit it, but when it came to combat, Hinata's talent far outshined hers and everyone else's. With Naruto's teachings and resources, there was no telling how far she would go.

"Do you not wish to? If you don't, then I—"

"No!" Hinata interrupted him. "I'll do it. Leave it to me." Her eyes were filled with determination. Naruto was putting a lot of trust in her to face an opponent such as this one, and she would not let him down.

"Hey! Do you think you can use me as a stepping stone?! You bastard… I've faced the likes of the Legendary Hashirama Senju in combat!" Kakuzu shouted with rage.

"If you don't like it… why not try to escape? You haven't moved from the spot even after I removed my clones," Naruto taunted him.

Kakuzu clenched his teeth. Of course, he had thought about escaping, but he then realized that Naruto still had many clones hidden around, buried underground… ready to jump at him if he tried anything.

"Tell you what. If you can beat this girl, I'll let you go." Naruto tapped on Hinata's back.

"Are you serious?..." Kakuzu glanced at Hinata.

"Naruto, what are you saying? You can't let that criminal escape," Asuma stood up, ready to intervene, but Shikamaru put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't…"

"Shikamaru." Asuma glanced at his student.

"Naruto knows what he's doing. Look at his eyes… he has no intention of letting that man go away."

"He's just confident that Hinata will win. That's all," Ino told them. "The way he sees it, Hinata is his Dao Companion, one that he has personally trained. And there's no way this missing nin will be able to win against her."

Shikamaru looked at Ino. "Aren't you the same?"

"Hmph! That's right!" Ino puffed her chest. "So don't mess with me."

"You expect me to believe your words?!" Kakuzu shouted.

Naruto shrugged in response. "Let's be honest for a moment here… what other choice do you have?"

He gave Hinata a signal to begin, and she didn't hesitate to attack.

"Byakugan!" Her eyes shone, brimming with energy as she charged at her opponent.

Kakuzu was not impressed. He was very familiar with the Hyuga clan's techniques and had already fought several members of that clan.

He still had four working hearts. Ino managed to damage the fire one, but he could still use Wind, Water, Earth, and Lightning Jutsus with no problem.

But even without all of that… close-range combat was his specialty.

"Earth Grudge Fear (Jiongu)!"

Countless threads emerged from within Kakuzu's body, opening him up as if he were composed of many pieces held together by these threads.

Just as Hinata was about to reach him, the dark threads grabbed hold of her, restricting her movements completely.

"This always seems to work against your clan," Kakuzu smiled. "I don't need it, but I guess I'll take your heart anyway." His hand was covered in threads, forming a sharp tool that he aimed directly at her chest.

"You Hyugas are too predictable!" He buried his hand into her chest, ready to rip her heart out.

But then… Hinata exploded into a puff of smoke.

"What?!... Substitution? But when?... No. It was a clone." Kakuzu felt something above him, and when he looked up, he saw Hinata descending on him, her two fists covered in a mass of chakra that resembled the heads of two lions.

He activated his signature jutsu to protect himself and moved his organs out of the way while blocking her path.

However, Hinata moved much faster than he anticipated, and her strikes were aimed with surgical precision.

"I see you," she said before piercing one of his hearts with her fingertips.

"Ahhh!" Kakuzu screamed with rage, his threads covering his body in a cocoon of spikes that forced Hinata to back off.

'She destroyed one of my hearts!' Kakuzu thought with dread. The water heart was no more. His green eyes were locked onto the girl. "Now I will definitely take your heart to replace the one you destroyed." He was more determined than ever to kill this girl now.

He hadn't expected to see a Hyuga clan member using a jutsu other than their signature clan one. But now that he knew this girl could use clones, he could adapt to it and create another strategy.

Two of the masks on his back became loose before falling to the ground.

From the white masks, a black goo began to emerge, forming the distinct figures of two black creatures.

One was brimming with wind chakra, while the other had sparks coming out of its body.

"That's the thing he used against me!" Ino pointed out. "But the one I fought used fire jutsu. A powerful one at that."

"So, each mask holds an element… I've never seen that technique before," Asuma said with concern. He had no idea if Hinata was going to be able to handle this.

Hinata's eyes gained a blue tint while dark marks appeared beneath them as she activated her Sage Mode. She had waited until this moment to use it because, in her incomplete state, she could only make use of it for a very short amount of time before being forced to cancel it.

'I have one minute to end this fight,' she reminded herself. If she couldn't do that, then she would be in real trouble.

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