Naruto: The new beginning

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Hinata was ready, while Naruto's shadow clones were still looking at each other.

"How should we fight her?" Clone No. 001 asked.

"The main body forbids the use of ninjutsu, so I also want to know how to fight," Naruko, who is reluctant to be Naruko today, replied.

"Let's kill her," said an unnamed clone with a sadist smile.

"Are you crazy? " Clone No 001 said.

The unnamed shadow clone, who was the coolest, said, "Grab her shoulders & wrists, trip her—whatever you need to do, as long as you can control her."

"That's it, let's go, everyone!" Clone No. 001 commanded.

Ten shadow clones who didn't deserve names rushed forward. Not because others didn't want to join, but because too many would get in the way.

Hinata looked at the ten menacing (?) little blondes but remained calm.

She moved her feet and struck two clones with her hands. Since they often sparred together, Naruto is very familiar with the Gentle Fist, and Hinata was equally familiar with Naruto's moves.

With the aid of her Byakugan, Hinata struck a shadow clone on the chest, making it dissipate immediately. The other palm strike was blocked by a clone's hands, but it, too, vanished.

If it were ordinary taijutsu, blocking with hands might prolong the fight, but Gentle Fist directly infuses chakra into the body to attack. 

A real person could withstand it, but shadow clones can't.

Gentle Fist is simply the nemesis of shadow clones.

With her 360-degree vision, Hinata wasn't afraid of the shadow clone assault. Her quick palm strikes made dealing with them seem like child's play.

The group tactics that had been so effective against Kiba and Akamaru were useless against Hinata.

A wave of ten shadow clones lasted less than ten seconds against her.

Naruto hadn't said anything yet, but Clone No. 001 was already frustrated, cursing, "You idiots, hold on for at least three seconds!"

"Next wave, go!"

Another ten shadow clones rushed in, but the result was the same as before. Hinata's palms fluttered, each strike or tap dissolving a clone, and she seemed to be getting more fluid in her movements.

After defeating this wave, Hinata didn't stay put. She charged into the crowd of clones, almost like she had activated "True Hinata mode"

Naruto watched from a distance, captivated by Hinata's agile steps, her flexible form, her dexterous hands, and her serious, determined expression. 

Hinata's skilful charge against the Naruto clones caught them off guard.

Fortunately, they quickly adapted to Hinata's offensive, and under the wise leadership of Clone No. 001... wait, when did No. 001 die?

Then, under the wise leadership of Naruko Uzumaki, the second-in-command of the clones... wait, Naruko died too?

By the third time... well, the unnamed shadow clone was gone too.

After four minutes, all 80 remaining shadow clones were defeated.

But they didn't disappoint No. 001's expectations. They fought with style and momentum. 

Most importantly, each one lasted an average of three seconds.

The audience in the stands was amazed by Hinata's performance. Even though they were just clones, not every Genin could handle them so easily.

Tenten and Lee, who knew Neji well, exclaimed, "Is this the same Gentle Fist technique as Neji's?"

Neji's eyes were full of pride, and he didn't hesitate to praise Hinata: "Not only is she on the same level as me, but her timing and adaptation are almost better than mine."

Neji continued speaking "I didn't expect her to improve so quickly after just a month of not sparring with her. It seems Hiashi-sama's judgment about Hinata being inferior to Hanabi is completely wrong."

Neji recalled his uncle, the clan head, saying that Hinata was weaker than Hanabi, and he found it amusing. With this level of offence, she could easily knock Hanabi to the ground, right?

But... Neji rolled his eyes toward Naruto, What's with this guy? Can a person have this much chakra? Then, thinking of Kushina, Neji realized some people really can...

Hinata was slightly out of breath. She was tired from the intense physical duel and the chakra output needed for Gentle Fist.

"N-Naruto-Kun please continue to attack!"

Naruto looked at Hinata's serious expression and decided to respect her wishes, so he summoned another 100 clones. "This time, no holding back. Don't mess around like you're in some gourd baby rescue mission!"

The shadow clones surrounded Hinata and swarmed her.

Hinata didn't panic. She unfolded her Gentle Fist technique, taking down clone after clone. 

But eventually, Naruko managed to land a palm strike on Hinata's shoulder, leaving a spiral mark.

Hinata staggered from the hit but quickly turned to disperse Naruko with another palm strike.

Hinata realized that if this continued, the attacks would become too overwhelming to block. 

She could only use that technique, even though she hadn't mastered it yet... She wanted Naruto to see it!

Hinata took a deep breath and declared, 

"Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

Hinata's small hands flew up and down, the afterimages dancing. Chakra burst from her palms like steel needles, destroying all the shadow clones attacking from all directions, even from above.

Naruto watched in surprise as Hinata's arms moved like a thousand-handed Kannon. 

Did she recreate this technique? I've never seen her practice it before. Did she practice after going home?

Seeing Hinata going all out, Naruto began to reflect on himself. Had he been too casual about this? 

Hinata had taken this sparring so seriously, but he had treated it like a game.

Hinata, having destroyed all the shadow clones in one go, was gasping for air. She hadn't fully mastered the Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms yet.

Her chakra control wasn't precise enough, so to ensure power, she had to increase her chakra output, leaving her exhausted and barely able to keep her eyes open.

Hinata struggled to maintain her Gentle Fist stance, her tone firm: "Naruto-kun, please... Please take me seriously."

"Alright." As Naruto spoke, he instantly appeared behind Hinata, using the mark Naruko had desperately placed earlier. 

He put his hand on her shoulder, just about to stop her, but then felt a force hit his chest, pushing him back a few steps.

"Gentle Fist, one strike!"

Hinata turned around and gave Naruto a small smile despite his shocked expression before collapsing.

Hinata didn't fall to the ground, though, as Naruto caught her in a princess carry. Naruto felt this was the best and smoothest use of his Flying Thunder God technique yet.

"Hinata-chan, why are you pushing yourself so hard today?"

"Naruto-kun, I wanted you to see... I wanted to tell you..." For some reason, Hinata, now out of battle mode, returned to her usual soft and shy demeanour.

As Naruto wondered what Hinata wanted to say—

"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!" The referee, Genma Shiranui, announced out of nowhere.

"Eek!" Hinata suddenly remembered they weren't alone and immediately buried her head in Naruto's chest, refusing to speak.

Naruto: …

Genma, you bastard!

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