Hinata examined Haku with cautious eyes.
There was sothing about the beauty standing in front of her that set her nerves on edge, though not for any reason one might expect. It wasn't fear of a potentially deadly confrontation; rather, it was the prickling certainty, born of a woman's intuition, that this person could pose a serious threat to her future with Naruto.
Even though she had no reason to believe Naruto had ever t this Haku person, as she had never heard about Team 7's mission in the Land of Waves, she still felt imnse pressure from 'her!'
Apart from Sakura, this was the first ti she was feeling such danger from a potential love rival!
"Oh!" Hinata exclaid softly, as her opponent vanished from her line of sight. Distracted by her thoughts of Naruto, she had briefly allowed her concentration to slip.
Trained in Silent Killing by the Fifth Mizukage himself, Haku had already slipped behind her and attempted to prick one of her neck acupoints with a senbon— but almost as if she had eyes in the back of her head, Hinata covered her palm in chakra and swatted the needle aside before swivelling to face him.
"That's the Taijutsu we learned at the academy," Sakura remarked to Ino, as they watched the two fighters below exchange a few blows, before separating. "I'm surprised she bothered to learn it."
Neither the original Sakura nor Ino had ever paid much attention to Hinata, the quiet girl who always sat at the back of the classroom. All they rembered of her from those days was that she used the Gentle Fist during spars… though never particularly well.
"Will ya stop yapping?" Chōji suddenly spoke up, shovelling more snacks down his gullet. "Sothing's— crunch— happening."
Ino and Sakura turned their attention back to the ongoing duel. Haku had drawn his Nuibari, a long and thin sword shaped like a sewing needle, and he was rapidly forming hand seals with his free hand.
"Hijutsu: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"
A do of ice panels rose from the ground, trapping Haku and Hinata inside. From outside the igloo, a projected image of Haku could be seen in every one of the transparent ice mirrors, but Hinata's figure could barely be seen through the narrow gaps between the icy panels.
"Not bad," said Sakura, sounding genuinely impressed. "Can't be too easy, conjuring that much ice in the desert in the middle of the day."
And that's when Sakura finally realised that everything Haku had done so far had been to lure Hinata to the very spot where Suigetsu had fallen during the previous match. After Sakura had reduced him to a puddle during their match, a good portion of his liquefied body had soaked into the earth, leaving a damp patch in the otherwise dry, dusty soil.
"Tag out, Hinata!" Kiba shouted from the sidelines. "You can rely on us, you know!"
"Woof!"
Indeed, the smartest course of action Team Kurenai could take was for Hinata to tag out. Her opponent had already poured a considerable amount of chakra into constructing this kill zone, so the most strategic move would be to render all that effort aningless by switching in a teammate from outside. The rules permitted it, so there was no reason not to.
Except…
"I'm fine!" Hinata's muffled voice rang out from inside her icy gaol. "I can still fight!"
Concealed within one of the ice panels, Haku drew a length of wire from the poml of the Nuibari and fused one end to an ice mirror, anchoring it firmly. His every movent was exposed, but without her Byakugan, there was little Hinata could do to locate the real one…
Suddenly, the image reflected in the ice mirrors vanished.
Blood spurted from Hinata's cheek, and she stumbled backwards, arms flailing wildly. But just as soon as it had disappeared, Haku's projection had returned to the mirrors, leaving Hinata at a loss as to which one hid his real body…
"What just happened?" Ino asked anxiously, shaking Sakura's arm, causing her breasts to knock into each other like a Newton's Cradle. "I didn't see!"
"He's jumping from mirror to mirror," said Sakura. "You didn't see because he's insanely fast."
Again and again, Haku launched his attacks, but to her credit, Hinata managed to avoid being skewered each ti. Even so, she was steadily becoming scratched and bloodied…
"That do is full of razor wire!" said Sakura, squinting her eyes. "That's why she's getting hurt!"
Indeed, each ti Haku leapt out of his hiding place, steel wire would trail behind him from his Nuibari. Little by little, Hinata was further entangling herself in the nearly invisible, razor-sharp spider web— which ant that very soon, she would have nowhere left to escape!
Seemingly realising this, Hinata closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Sensing the mont had co to go in for the kill, Haku poked his head out from the ice, Nuibari in hand and poised to strike.
The entire battle would be decided with the next blow!
"HAKU!" i suddenly shouted.
"Tag out!"
"Eight Trigrams: Mountain Crusher!"
Sakura wasn't sure what had happened inside the ice prison, but in the next instant, every single mirror turned white and opaque— then shattered, exploding outwards in a glittering storm of ice that snowed crystals across the arena. And at the centre of the explosion stood Hinata, Haku's unconscious form at her feet, staining the pristine snow a deep crimson.
"Participant Haku tags out!" Baki announced. "Terumī i is next in Team i's lineup. You have one tag-out opportunity remaining, but as you are the last mber of your team still standing, using it will result in automatic disqualification."
Haku's bloodied body was swiftly retrieved by a small army of dic-nin and carried away, leaving Hinata alone to face i. And as soon as the okay to continue was given, the Kage-level kunoichi attacked…
"Boil Style: Skilled Mist Jutsu!"
i exhaled a thick cloud of acidic mist that swiftly began to spread outwards. Noticing how the vapour was rapidly eating through the arena's concrete walls, the exam proctor Baki, along with Akamaru, Kiba, and Shino, scrambled out of the arena to seek higher ground.
"Now, what will you do, Leaf girl?" i said victoriously, as the deadly mist closed in around her opponent. "You'd better surrender while you still… eh!?"
Sakura's jaw dropped open.
It's a bird!
It's a kite!
No, it's… Hinata!?
"T-t-…tobu ninja!?" Sakura exclaid in stupefaction, stating the obvious.
Indeed, Hinata had taken to the skies, floating a safe distance above the arena, which was now filled with deadly mist. i stared up at her opponent with a glum look on her face. There was no way for her attacks to reach her at her current altitude!
"Hinata's flying!" Chōji said dumbly, once again stating the obvious.
"How's she doing that!?" asked Ino, turning to Sakura as if she held all of life's answers.
No matter how fast the twin tomoe orbited around her pupils within her crimson irises , Sakura could not figure out for the life of her how Hinata was doing it. How could the Sharingan fail her now? She wanted to learn how to fly, too!
Craning her neck and squinting against the sun's glare, Sakura stared up at Hinata's tiny figure drifting in the blue sky, conflicting feelings rising within her. Airborne shinobi were exceedingly rare— the number of techniques that allowed flight could be counted on one hand.
After a while, Sakura lowered her eyes.
"I don't know," said Sakura reluctantly, loath to admit her ignorance.
Just off the top of her head, Sakura could think of five flying techniques: the innate flight granted at the Six-Paths level, Deidara's Explosion Style clay birds, Gaara's sand manipulation, the Hidden Stone's Light-Weight Rock Jutsu, and Konan's paper angel wings.
But Hinata was flying under her own power, and neither had Sakura seen her weaving any hand signs before liftoff.
Just how was she doing it?
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