Messing with the Middle

Happy accident

As Sasuke and Haku were delighted to hear from the Bijuu, it turned out that Han wasn't currently in the Land of earth but instead doing a mission in the land of Water.

Thankfully Matatabi had told them this before they even had the chance to get there so now the boys were on their way to the land of Water.

"Actually, I think Saiken and his Jinchuriki are there too" Gyuki said.

"So this will get us a two in one, again." Haku pointed out.

"Jashin save me. 7 voices in my head. I really need to work on that seal" Sasuke muttered.

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Shikamaru watched the clouds as they floated by. Naruto had long since left the village to train. It had only been a few months but he had a feeling things were only going to get worse.

Lifting his head slightly he could see Hinata at the bottom of the hill attacking yet another tree. Because of her Byakugan Hinata was excelling at Medical Ninjustu.

He watched as her eyes seemed to glow with determination. Shikamaru wasn't exactly sure what was said in her letter from Sasuke, but whatever it said gave her that push she needed.

Shikamaru could only sigh as yet another tree gets demolished into splinters. Hinata had began fusing techniques. She was working on her twin Lion fists, but Shikamaru watched as she added the incredible strength she learnt from Tsundade.

The poor tree not only got derooted, but blasted well over 30 feet away from her and left a massive hole in it. What a scary move... it seemed like a drag but Shikamaru was going to have to train aswell.

He had already given Asuma the Neckless Sasuke made as a 'gift'. He could only hope it would work. Asuma deserved to see his daughter.

"What a drag. Aren't you tired yet?" Shikamaru asked out loud.

Hinata had stood up straight, her face covered in sweat but her long hair tied back into a ponytail. She looked up at Shikamaru and gave him a calming smile.

"N-no not really. I w-want to master this b-before I'm too b-busy focusing on P-poisons," Hinata explained.

"How troublesome. Can't you work on something that won't demolish the forest" Shikamaru asked.

Hinata blinked before looking around her. She was so focused on training that she didn't realise just how many trees she had destroyed. The poor girl gave Shikamaru a sheepish smile before taking a classic Hyuga stance.

Shikamaru lied back down thinking she was going to work on her clans speciality which doesn't involve uprooting the local forest... or at least that's what he thought was going to happen.

Hinata began to use the Eight Triagrams Sixty-four palms before something happened that Shocked even Shikamaru. Fire began to revolve around her. As Hinata's jutsu spun, so did the fire surrounding her. Hinata jumped into the air and slammed her palm onto the ground.

The earth quakes and a massive crack spread around her. The section she had hit had become a burnt waste land. Hinata looked around her with an innocent smile before she finally put her jacket back on and walked off.

Shikamaru stared at the destruction in silence.

"What a drag"

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"So you mean to tell me. We're going to be hunted down by some bastards in black an red cloaks. And you wanna team up because you can't beat them on your own?" Han's deep voice echoed. Despite being covered by a mask the group could hear the man loud and clear.