Chapter 1

Konohagakure (The Village Hidden in the Leaves), a village standing in the land of fire, the village was home to many shinobi clans as well as regular villagers. At the head of the village was the Hokage (Fire Shadow) the leader of the village and it’s clans of Ninja. Their current Hokage was Lady Tsunade the granddaughter of the First Hokage and student of the Third. Tsunade was a fair skinned youthful looking woman with brown eyes and large breasts, her long blond hair tied into two low ponytails and she wore a grey kimono style blouse tied up with a dark bluish grey sash leaving the front open to show off her sizable large cleavage. She topped this outfit off with a grass-green Haori with the kanji for gamble written on the back in a red circle. Despite her youthful look, Tsunade was actually 51 years old since she uses her Ninjutsu techniques too look like she’s still in her 20s.


The Hidden Leaf village had had a troubled past. It was host to a fearsome demon, The Nine Tailed Fox. The Nine Tailed Fox that nearly destroyed their village many years ago haven been stopped by the Fourth Hokage who sadly lost his life that day. The village had a practice of sealing the demon away within a person, and currently The Nine Tailed Fox was sealed away within Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who had once had a reputation of being a prankster but was more known now for his big heart, his recklessness and being a big knucklehead but Tsunade said those could at times be seen as his strong points too. Tsunade looked at a picture on her wall; in it was Naruto grinning widely in his signature orange jacket with blue accents with his spikey blond hair.


Naruto had left with Jiraiya to go and train to become stronger, and that had been at least 5 years ago now, Naruto was 13 in the picture after all. Jiraiya was Tsunade’s former team mate and part of the Legendary Sannin (Three Ninja). Jiraiya was not only a member of the legendary Sannin; he was a well-known author too with his Make out tactics books, which Naruto’s sensei Kakashi loved. Jiraiya had long spikey white hair tied in a ponytail, he had red lines going from his eyes to his chin down his cheeks, he wore a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wore mesh armour that was visible at his wrists and ankles. He also wore hand guards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, and a red Haori with two yellow circles on each side. He often carried a large scroll on his back as well.


Tsunade could remember the day they had left clearly. Naruto and Jiraiya stood at the gates with Tsunade and Naruto’s other classmate Shikimaru Nara. Shikimaru was tall for his age and had black hair tied up in a spiked ponytail. His narrow dark eyes always giving the impression of boredom, he wore a green lined mesh armour shirt covered by a short sleeved grey jacket with the Nara clan symbol on it and he forehead protector attached to the left sleeve with brown pants and hooped silver earrings.
“So you all set?” Shikimaru asked.
“Yeah you better believe it” Naruto beamed with a thumbs up. At this Naruto turned to a tree not too far from them and saw a head peak out from behind. Hinata Hyuga, a rather kind and shy girl who had a crush on Naruto since their days at the academy had been watching, too shy to talk to him as always. Hinata was the same age as Naruto and had been in the same class as him.


Hinata was slender and below average height for her age with her dark blue hair in a short style with her fringe cut above her eyes and bangs reaching just below her chin, her most discerning feature was the Byakugan in her eyes which gave then a permeant blank white-lavender colour, this was the trait of the Hyuga clan who had the Byakugan, and was considered one of the three legendary visual prowess jutsu along with the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan and Rinnegan. Hinata wore her cream coloured hoodie and dark blue pants with her forehead protector with the village symbol on it loosely around her neck. Hinata watched and blushed before turning her back and smiling gently before she jumped,
”Hey Hinata, I knew I’d find you here” Naruto said out of nowhere and gave a massive goofy grin,
“Nar….NAR….NAru….” Hinata turned bright red and fainted, this was normal when she tried to talk to Naruto like this when he popped out of nowhere.


Hinata froze as always and went bright red before finally she fell against the tree and slumped down in a seated position out cold,
“Seriously why does she always do this anyway?” Naruto said confused.
“Maybe because you keep jumping out of nowhere like that all the time” Said Shikimaru, “Man this is such a drag” Shikimaru sighed as he sat Hinata up straight.
“Hey you coming or What Naruto” Jiraiya called, he sighed to as he then grinned. ”I haven’t got all day you know kid” Jiraiya crossed his arms
“Yeah Yeah I’m coming Pervy-Sage”
“What have I told you? stop calling me Pervy- sage” this argument was a usual one, Tsunade however agreed with Naruto’s nickname for her former team mate as he was often caught sneaking peaks in the woman baths for his `Research` and she had punished him time and time again for this but he never changed.


The two were soon off and on their way and soon the gates were closed, “hope this goes alright Lady Hokage” Shikimaru said looking back at the gates for a second,
“I trust Jiraiya, it should be fine” she said confidently as she turned and walked back to her office. Back in the present Tsunade looked up at the clouds in the bright blue sky outside and tried to imagine what Naruto would look like now as an 18 year old young man. She then looked back down at her desk and sighed before she picked up a scroll and re-read it carefully,
“And now I have this problem to deal with” she sighed. There was a knock on her door, “Come in!” she called. The door opened and in stepped two people. One of them was Hiashi Hyuga, Hinata’s father, a tall man with the same pale eyes as his daughter and long dark hair. Beside him was Kurenai, Hinata’s team leader and teacher.
“Sorry for the intrusion Lady Tsunade, but….” Hiashi began but Tsunade held up a hand,
“Start from the beginning and tell me everything” she said with a serious look as Hiashi nodded and cleared his throat.


Two days before the present in a low lit room at the Hyuga estate a large meeting between the elders and the clan head, Hiashi was being held. The members were there to discuss the future of the Hyuga clan,
“So I think we know why we are here” said the elder,
“Yes” Hiashi replied his stomach in knots, as the other high ranking members all nodded.
“We need to discuss Hinata’s suitability as the next head of our clan as your eldest daughter Hiashi” the elder said as Hiashi nodded.
“Yes well……..” Hiashi shifted on the spot.
“So far she is….disappointing” the elder spoke and most of the room murmured in agreement. Hiashi knew they would see it that way. Hiashi was caught in a bind; he loved his daughter to death and had even endangered the clan to rescue her once which ended up with his twin brother dying for them both. But he also had to what was best for his clan too as he was the head.


Hiashi didn’t want to admit it but Hinata was to kind and passive for her own good sometimes and would hesitate in training, but at the same time that was what made her herself.
“So what have you to say Hiashi, your youngest Hanabi shows far more promise than Hinata does at this stage, are you certain Hinata will be fit to be clan head?” the elder asked as Hiashi nodded,
“Given time and the right push” he said. The elder sighed as he then looked around and saw most of the others were not convinced.
“Very well, tomorrow we shall hold a match between Hinata and…….” The elder was cut off when another member called out.


“I suggest Neji as he has already proven his strength time and time again” the whole room went silent for a moment. Neji was Hinata’s cousin and was the son of Hiashi’s twin brother. Hiashi felt conflicted, he knew Hinata would have held back against Hanabi but he also knew she could not beat Neji as she was right now either.
“Hmmm yes Neji is suitable I think” said another member of the clan,
“Seconded” said another,
The elder then said “very well Hinata vs Neji for the right to become head of the Hyuga clan is now settled” the elder called. Hiashi couldn’t sleep soundly that night as he knew tomorrow would spell doom for Hinata, but at the same time he thought maybe if she was out of the running that maybe she could have room to flourish in her own time, little did he know though what was about to happen.


The next morning in the Hyuga courtyard the elder, Hiashi and other prominent members stood around the yard whilst Hanabi stood with the onlookers, in the middle were Hinata and Neji who had been summoned there. Hinata had become a young woman now as she was still slender with curves in the right places but was now no longer short for her age and still had her hair in the same style. She was dressed in a purple tank top and black leggings with her ninja sandals on. Neji was tall; he was dressed in a mesh shirt and dark brown trousers with long dark brown hair tied back.
“You wanted to see us both Father?” Hinata asked. Hiashi gulped before he spoke,
“The Elder and other members have requested a match of succession shall to be held in order to ascertain your suitability” Hinata and Neji were taken aback,
“Wait what is the meaning of this” asked Neji.


The Elder stepped forward and spoke clearly,
“The match will be Hinata vs Neji to determine who will be our next head of the Hyuga clan, the winner will win this right” the elder then looked directly at Neji “Neji should you win I’ll remove that curse mark” Neji looked stunned and conflicted. Neji was from the side branch of the Hyuga clan and was bound by a curse mark to obey the orders of the main branch. He did want that freedom but he also didn’t want to hurt or embarrass Hinata, but he hated the mark with a passion. Hiashi could see this turmoil as he walked over to Neji and spoke low so no one else would hear him,
“Hinata might be better off not becoming the next head, I don’t say this to be cruel, her kindness is both a strength and weakness but the elder sees it only as a weakness” Neji nodded and understood, if Hinata lost she would just be a regular clan member with no higher responsibilities, she’d be free of that burden.


The elder spoke again and this time addressed Hinata and Neji together,
“As I said before the winner shall become heir to become the next head of the Hyuga, as for the loser……. the loser will be exiled from this estate…and the Hyuga clan” there was an audible gasp as both Hiashi and Neji turned to the Elder in shock as neither had expected that.
“Wait what?” Hiashi said but he quickly saw he was outnumbered as he gritted his teeth. Hanabi looked shocked and began to cry at the thought of losing her sister; Neji was now unsure of what to do and looked at Hinata, who looked terrified and shaken. Hiashi stood there unable to speak as he clenched his fist in anger. There was a tension in the air now as the Elder cleared his throat and called,
“Now….Match……..BEGIN!”


Hinata and Neji stood still before Hinata in a fit of panic made the first move; she used her gentle fist style to aim for Neji chakra points but failed as his instincts kicked in landing his own gentle fist. Hinata fell to the ground before getting back up before she tried again and again, this time Neji just dodged each one keeping his composure, still unsure of what to do as he knew deliberately losing would only cause more trouble for himself and her. He could see she was getting desperate too and that was only making her make mistakes and leave herself open. An hour passed and no victor was decided as Hinata was running on fumes and Neji still didn’t know what he wanted to do here.
“NEJI STOP HOLDING BACK!” the elder called and Neji felt the curse mark on his forehead burn as he now had no choice but to end it.
“I’m sorry Lady Hinata” he said Neji sprung to action and landed the final blow on Hinata who fell to the ground unable to get up.


Hiashi closed his eyes and hung his head, it was done. Hanabi wailed as Neji knelt beside Hinata who was unconscious,
“I’m so sorry Lady Hinata” Neji said again with a pained look on his face.
“The victor is Neji Hyuga; by defeating Hinata he has earned the right to be the next Hyuga clan head. His curse mark shall be removed. As for you Hinata, you are a Hyuga no longer and are hereby exiled from this day forth” the elder spoke as the other members began to clap quietly and then leave one by one. Hiashi and Hanabi ran to Hinata and Neji, who looked up with an expression of anguish on his face,
“I’m so sorry Uncle I…”
“I know Neji I’m not blaming you” he said as he checked Hinata over, “She’ll need to go to the hospital” Hiashi said before he picked her up and told Neji to go on and get his curse mark removed as he had earned it.


When Hiashi walked into the hospital he felt sadness wash over him. He admitted her and then left as he could do no more for her now. As Hiashi was coming out of the Hospital he was so distracted he nearly walked into someone else. He looked up to see a big man with a strong yet rounded build, his long red hair swaying as he walked, his beady small eyes rounded on Hiashi and a frown came to his rounded face.
“Well if it isn’t Hiashi, you look like you’ve had a rough day?” the man asked.
“You can say that again Choza” Hiashi sighed. Choza was the head of another clan in the Hidden leaf called the Akimichi clan. They were a clan well known for being on the large side with Jutsu revolving around strength, expansion and sumo like techniques. Choza looked at Hiashi and put a hand on his shoulder,
“What’s up? Maybe taking to someone will help?” Choza smiled as Hiashi then told him everything.


“Really disowning a clan member for such petty reasons, we’d never do that” Choza sighed as he opened a bag of snacks.
“So what brought you here?” Hiashi asked,
“Oh checking on Choji” Choza said as they sat there in silence for a bit before Choza stood up, “You should go and see Lady fifth about this” he advised as Hiashi nodded and stood up.
“Yeah she needs to know after all” Hiashi sighed and then began to head to the Hokage’s office. The streets were busy as he walked through the centre main street and could see the Hokage’s office in the distance when he heard his voice called and turned to see Kurenai come running up to him.
“I just stopped by to go and see Hinata and they told me what happened” Kurenai said as Hiashi nodded.
“Yes, I’m on my way to inform Lady Tsunade” Hiashi said as Kurenai nodded,
“I’ll come too” she said.


“And that’s the full story” Hiashi said as Tsunade was tapping her fingers on the desk.
“If it isn’t one thing it’s another. What the hell were they thinking?” Tsunade was fuming.
“The Elder sprung it on us last minute, I am sorry” Hiashi bowed as Tsunade sighed.
“Well what’s done is done, now I have to figure out what to do with her, and then there’s this that the elder just sent me too, it’s how I knew something had happened” Tsunade sighed as she handed Kurenai and Hiashi a scroll with a request to have Hinata’s Byakugan removed.
“But this can’t be done” Hiashi said, “She’d be blinded”
“There is a way but it’s tricky and could go wrong, but we can’t risk letting her eyes fall into the wrong hands now she’s no longer protected by the Hyuga clan” Tsunade stood and then sighed heavily.


At this there was another knock.
“What the hell is it now?” Tsunade called as Shizune, her assistant stepped in.
“Lady Tsunade Choza Akimichi is here about Hinata” Shizune said. Hiashi and Kurenai looked at one another and shrugged.
“Let him in” Tsunade said as Choza then stepped in,
“Sorry for the intrusion….”
“Choza just get to the point” Tsunade said as Choza then coughed.
“Well after Hiashi told me everything this morning I thought I might be able to help. I asked around and my younger brother Hibiki has offered to adopt Hinata” Choza said shocking everyone. Hiashi knew about Choza’s younger brother but had never met him before. Hibiki was the head of the side branch of the Akimichi clan and the branch was known to be larger and heavier than the normal Akimichi’s and shared a few of the same Ninjutsu too but also leaned more towards sumo style kick boxing and were surprisingly fast and strong despite their heavier weight.


“I second the request” Hiashi said suddenly, he knew the Akimichi’s were a kind loving clan and would love and take good care of Hinata.
“All right, get Hibiki to stop by the hospital to see me later; I’ve got to prepare for eye surgery” Tsunade said as she walked passed them all. She was the most skilled medical ninja known to the shinobi world after all. When it was quiet again Hiashi turned to Choza,
“Thank you” he said as Choza grinned and patted the back of his head.
“Don’t mention it, and you should thank Hibiki too” Choza said as Hiashi nodded.