Naruto, the 4th member of Team 7

Back in the Hidden Leaf

I bit my lip as I listened to him explain as to why he hasn't been able to do anything and asked me to trust in him and the ANBU and that they would let me know if they found anything.

"Okay..." I muttered, I don't understand what's so difficult about finding a group of ninjas. But I'm just a genin, what can I say about adult matters?

"I've heard good things about you from Kakashi and what that you managed to learn a new jutsu and were able to defend yourself quite well for a genin. Good job Akiko, I look forward to seeing your skills in the future." Hearing praise from him made me smile a bit, "Thanks Hokage-sama. I'll take my leave now." I bowed slightly before leaving the room.

I sighed as I closed the door behind me, not quite satisfied with how that conversation went, but I decided to put it behind me. There was still quite some time before I had to meet up with Sasuke in the evening for his birthday, and I didn't want to disturb his alone time.

I was strolling through the streets while thinking about who should I spend the afternoon with when I saw Hinata and her team. She immediately reminded me of a friend who I have not seen or practiced with in a long time.

Hyuuga Neji. Hinata's cousin.

The Hyuuga clan is another noble clan in Konohagakure and one of the strongest clans, their members possess a kekkei genkai known as the Byakugan. It allows them to see the chakra system within us, see things in the distance as well as through solid objects and an increased visual field.

The Hyuuga clan is divided into the main house and the branch house, Hinata is in the main house while her cousin, Neji is in the branch house. How did Neji and I know each other you wonder? Well it's simply because our clans are close with one another, and being the daughter to the head of the clan, I visit the Hyuuga clan often.

Sure, I'm friends with Hinata as well but if I'm looking for a buddy to spar with, other than Sasuke, it would be Neji, sorry Hinata but Neji's taijutsu skills are better.

Soon enough, I reached Neji's house and knocked on his door lightly. "Neji? It's me, Akiko. Come on out!" I shouted so that he could hear me if he was somewhere deeper inside his house.

I heard the sound of footsteps followed by the door opening, revealing Neji with his signature serious face. "I'm guessing if you're here, you're looking for a sparring partner?"

"Ouch Neji, don't call me out that quickly. I am your friend right? I could visit you for other reasons, you know."

"That's debatable, you haven't really visited me for any other reason other than to train after what happened to your clan 5 years ago."

I sighed dramatically, "Fine, fine, but could you blame me? You are one of the strongest people that I know of." Neji didn't even give me a smirk to that but stepped aside to let me in. "Tea and a hot towel for you for your injuries once we're done?"

"Hey, I've improved okay!" I retorted as I removed my shoes, muttering the next part loud enough for him to hear "But yeah, that would be good."

Neji closed the door behind me and went to the kitchen while I walked to his training room where we usually practiced and waited for him. He showed up a short while later and placed the tea and towels by the door before stepping into the center of the room.

"As usual, I'll allow you to make the first move. And I won't hold back." He got into his Gentle Fist stance, the style that is taught to the members of the Hyuuga clan. "Don't worry, I wasn't expecting you to...." I got into my normal stance as well before we clashed.

It was a frenzy of taijutsu as that was the aim of our sparring sessions, no genjutsu or ninjutsu used. The Gentle Fist is commonly used with the Byakugan which allows them to visualize our chakra pathways as mentioned before, they can cause direct damage to our internal organs as well as affect our chakra flow by injecting their own chakra into our body when they hit us.