Chapter 4: Proving Ground
"A-Ah! I'm sorry, Naruto-kun! I'm so sorry!" The sound of his voice finally broke through the dizzying haze of her thoughts. Hinata jolted, her blush deepening to a shade of crimson that rivaled the setting sun. She bowed her head repeatedly, wringing her hands. "I… I didn't hear what you said! I'm truly sorry!"
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle softly; it was a warm, forgiving sound. "It's okay, Hinata. Just take a breath. We're only here to practice."
It took a few more minutes of deep, deliberate breathing for Hinata to settle her frantic nerves. The initial, overwhelming panic receded, replaced by a steeling resolve. This was a rare and precious opportunity. The boy she admired from afar was not just speaking to her; he was asking to see her strength.
Over the past year, she had watched him. While others saw a lazy student napping at his desk, she saw the subtle signs of relentless effort—the focused calm in his eyes when he was awake, the disciplined way he carried himself, the quiet confidence that had slowly replaced desperate clowning. He faced the village's scorn and the children's taunts with a smile that seemed genuinely unbroken. That smile… it was everything her introverted, self-doubting heart yearned for. To stand tall like that, to face the world with such unwavering light—it was her secret aspiration.
Naruto-kun works so hard. I can't disappoint him. I mustn't waste this chance! The thought crystallized in her mind, hardening her will. I… I want to show him I can be strong, too.
"Naruto-kun… I'm ready!" Hinata announced, her voice gaining a fragile but noticeable firmness. She fell into the opening stance of the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist, her feet sliding apart, knees bent, her open palms held before her. Though she was only a beginner, the years of foundational training under her father's strict tutelage were evident in her perfect posture and balance.
Naruto mirrored her readiness, adopting a balanced, fluid stance of his own. His mind was clear, analytical. The Gentle Fist was legendary in Konoha for its precision and lethality, targeting the very chakra system. His training had been solitary, theoretical, and against stationary targets. This was his first real test against another style, a chance to measure his progress in fire.
Both were still for a heartbeat, the air between them crackling with silent anticipation.
Hinata moved first. She stepped in, her movement a controlled glide rather than a dash, and thrust a palm straight for his chest. It wasn't blindingly fast, but it was precise, stable, and carried the sharp, focused intent of her clan's art.
Naruto's arm came up, forearm blocking her wrist, deflecting the strike to the side. He felt the solidity behind her small hand, a contained power. Instantly, her other hand darted forward, aiming for his abdomen. He twisted his torso, the fabric of his shirt whispering as her palm brushed past it. Using the momentum of his dodge, he planted a foot and pivoted, his body blurring as he circled to her blind side.
A quick, testing punch shot toward her back. But with the Byakugan's near-360-degree vision, she had no blind side. She spun gracefully, meeting his fist not with a block, but with her own open palm.
Seeing her small, unguarded hand meet his punch, Naruto instinctively pulled his strength at the last millisecond. Fist meets palm.
Thwack!
The sound was crisp, a solid impact of force meeting countered force. A shockwave of energy traveled up both their arms. They disengaged simultaneously, each skidding back a step on the grass, their eyes wide with mutual surprise.
"You're amazing, Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed, genuinely impressed. The controlled power in her palm-strike had been far greater than her gentle demeanor suggested.
Hearing his direct praise was like a sunburst within her. "N-Naruto-kun, your taijutsu is incredible!" she managed, joy making her voice light. He was supposed to be the class dunce at physical skills, yet his movements were agile, economical, and sharp. His progress, hidden in plain sight, was astonishing.
They continued their spar, a dance of measured advances and defensive flows. Naruto focused on evasion and disruption, testing her rhythm and trying to find openings outside the perfect sphere of her Byakugan's awareness. Hinata, growing in confidence with every exchanged blow, pressed her attacks, her palms cutting the air with soft whooshes. For her, this was more than practice; it was a silent conversation, a way to connect with him through the language of movement.
After fifteen minutes, Hinata was breathing heavily, fine pearls of sweat glistening on her temples and throat. Naruto, whose stamina had always been monstrous and was now finely honed, showed barely a sign of exertion.
He stepped back, dropping his stance and raising a hand in a peaceful gesture. "Let's call it there. Well fought, Hinata."
She bent over, hands on her knees, gulping air. "Naruto-kun… is incredible," she panted, a happy, exhausted smile on her face. "I didn't see you… sweat at all."
"You pushed me harder than you think," he replied with an encouraging grin. "Come on, let's take a break under that tree."
"Y-Yes!" The mere idea of sitting beside him sent a fresh, pleasant flutter through her exhaustion. She followed him to the shade of a large oak at the field's edge, the cool grass a relief. Sitting there, sharing the quiet shade with him, felt like a fragment of a perfect, stolen dream.
Naruto's gaze wandered back to the main training field, observing the other matches. His observation was cut short by a sudden cry of pain and the sight of a body hurtling through the air to land in a crumpled heap not ten feet away, raising a small cloud of dust.
The entire field fell silent. All movement ceased. Every eye turned toward the source.
There, standing amidst a suddenly cleared circle, was Uchiha Sasuke. She stood perfectly straight, one foot slightly extended from the kick she had just delivered. Her expression was one of utter, frozen disdain.
"Uchiha Sasuke!" someone whispered, and the name rippled through the gathered students.
"The Uchiha genius…"
"She took down Saito in, like, two moves! He's one of the top five!"
"Of course she's the number one rookie! It's not even a contest!"
A low buzz of awe and fear filled the air. Naruto watched intently. The boy on the ground groaned, pushing himself up onto his elbows, his face a mask of shame and defeat.
"Is this all you have?" Sasuke's voice was cold, clear, and utterly devoid of warmth. It wasn't a taunt; it was a simple, devastating assessment.
"I… yield," the boy muttered, unable to meet her eyes.
A murmur of disappointment passed Sasuke's lips, almost inaudible. "Hn. Pathetic." She turned her head, her dark eyes scanning the crowd as if searching for something—or someone—worth her attention. Her gaze swept past clusters of students, over Iruka's watchful figure, and finally landed unerringly on the tree at the field's edge.
On Naruto.
Without a word, she began walking toward him. The crowd parted before her like grass before a scythe, a wave of whispers following in her wake.
Hinata tensed beside him. Naruto felt a flicker of surprise but remained seated, his expression neutral as the coldly beautiful girl stopped before him.
"Uzumaki Naruto." Her voice was flat, a statement, not a greeting. Those intense black eyes locked onto his. "Fight me."
The silence that followed was absolute for one second before the field erupted in hushed, disbelieving chatter.
"Did she just… challenge Naruto?"
"The genius wants to fight the dead-last? This is a joke, right?"
"Maybe she's just bored and wants an easy win…"
"But Naruto's been different this year… maybe she sees something?"
Even Iruka, watching from the sidelines, felt a jolt of anticipation. This was an unforeseen test. He knew the depth of Naruto's hidden progress, and Sasuke was the undisputed surface-level prodigy. The clash, if it happened, would be revealing.
Naruto remained still for a long moment, meeting her unwavering stare. He saw no malice there, only a profound, restless boredom and a sharp, probing curiosity. She wasn't looking for a bully's satisfaction; she was looking for a spark, something to cut through the monotonous superiority she lived in.
Slowly, he rose to his feet, the movement smooth and controlled. A small, calm smile touched his lips. "Alright," he said, his voice carrying clearly in the quiet. "I accept."
A soft tug on his sleeve made him glance down. Hinata was looking up at him, her Byakugan now deactivated, her lavender eyes filled with deep concern. He gave her a small, reassuring nod and a smile that said, Don't worry. It's okay.
The message was clear. The students formed a wide, eager circle around a newly cleared space at the center of the field. The atmosphere was electric with morbid curiosity and whispered bets.
"Sasuke has to win, right?" Sakura murmured to Ino, her voice a mix of awe for her idol and pity for the boy she still somewhat dismissed.
Nearby, Choji paused his snacking. "Naruto's been training hard. I wanna see how this goes."
"Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed, but his dark eyes were sharp and focused, missing nothing. "But yeah… he's changed. This won't be as simple as they think."
In the center of the ring, Naruto and Sasuke faced each other, three meters of tense air between them. The golden-haired boy with his calm, sunny demeanor, and the raven-haired girl with her glacial, proud intensity. Two hidden prodigies, on the verge of uncovering the first truth about each other.