In terms of Hinata's future love life, Kō had no say in the matter. However he doubted that Hiashi would approve of having Sasuke wedded to either of his daughters and blending their bloodline limit with a once rival clan.
(Elsewhere)
Hinata and Naruto were still walking hand in hand through the streets of Konoha. By this time, it was common knowledge how close the Hyuuga heiress and Naruto were. Most decided not to pay them any mind while a few still whispered whenever they passed by. As for Naruto and Hinata themselves, they didn't care either way.
"Hinata-chan," Naruto said, "I've been meaning to ask you how did your spar with Hanabi went."
Hinata sighed, "…It's difficult holding back in my sparring sessions against Hanabi when I've improved so much from how I used to be."
"Is it because you fear that you might seriously hurt her more than you want to," Naruto asked.
"That," Hinata admitted, "But while trying to follow your example, it's hard listening to my father's harsh words of disappointment while I "lose" to Hanabi. Along with that, my sister really believes that she's actually stronger, faster and more skilled in Jyuuken than I am. Neji is no help either as he looks for every opportunity to belittle or mock me with false comfort while making remarks about fate and predestination. Even the clan elders look at me as a failure as an heiress. I even heard a rumor that a few of them were saying how if this keeps up, I'll be forced to step down as clan heiress and be replaced with Hanabi.
"Holding up this misleading pretense as a failure is harder than I honest thought it was going to be."
Naruto understand where Hinata was coming from, especially since he was the very person who taught and explained to her the art of trickery.
"Welcome to the life of the ninja," Naruto remarked with no trace of sarcasm, "Like I told you before, deception is one of our main weapons and sometimes we can't even show our relatives what we're truly capable of. If they were to truly know everything about you, considering everything you told me about them, they would undoubtedly look for ways to keep you under their thumb.
"But hey, what do I know? I'm an orphan with no family or clan of my own to speak of, so-"
"You have me Naruto-kun," Hinata said, "And aren't I your best and closest friend?"
"You are," Naruto smiled, "And speaking of being my best friend, how about a friendly sparring session?"
"I'm up to it," Hinata accepted. With that, Naruto led her to one of the secluded training grounds away from civilian territory. Naruto was happy to see that no one else was there using the area and after a careful search, it was clear that they were truly alone and not being spied on.
"Well we're here Naruto-kun," Hinata said, "Are you still up to that sparring session you offered me earlier?"
"Ready and waiting," Naruto grinned as he took a few steps away from Hinata and got into a fighting position. Hinata assumed her Jyuuken stance, which looked more polished and professional than she let on when around others.
"Are you ready," Naruto challenged, "My Moon's Eye Spring Rabbit?"
Despite her blush from the nickname he'd occasionally call her by, Hinata replied, "More than ever."
Both opponents looked at each other with calculative eyes, as if they were waiting for the other to attack first. Acting fast, Hinata back flipped from an assault that came from behind at her feet from one of Naruto's kage bushins. She flipped away few times before she stood back up.
"That was a dirty trick," Hinata chided.
"Really," Naruto said, "And since when do our enemies fight fair?"
This time Hinata took the offense and went to Naruto. The kage bushin trying to intersect her, but she effective dispelled it with a quick Jyuuken strike. Reaching Naruto, Hinata engaged him in one on one combat. Unlike her spar session with Hanabi, Hinata made no attempt to hold back against Naruto, although her Inryoku Fūjin served to slow her down some. Regardless, she pushed forward in the effort to keep up with Naruto's speed.
Naruto saw that Hinata had indeed gotten much better in terms of her endurance and stamina. In the past, she couldn't even last a full seven minutes because of the strain that the Inryoku Fūjin placed on her body, mind and chakra coils. Now she was able to hold out longer than before and her Jyuuken improved even more so as a result. Backing away, Naruto formed a hand sign.
"Tajuu Kage Kage Bushin No Jutsu," Naruto said as she summoned twenty-five clones to his side and had them surround Hinata.
"25 to 1 Hinata-chan," Naruto grinned, "I got you surrounded."
Not allowing herself to be deterred by the overwhelming number, Hinata stood her ground.
"Quality not quantity," Hinata said, "That's what wins a fight. Isn't that what you taught me Naruto-kun?"
"Well then, let's see what you've learned," Naruto proposed before his clones rushed at Hinata. Bracing herself…
"Byakugan!," Hinata said as she activated her bloodline limit and engaged the clones one by one, a few times two at a time. A couple of strikes managed to land their way on her but she managed to hold her ground and fight back against them with more vigor and determination.
As the number of clones decreased, Hinata saw that their speed and strength increased each time, thus adding to the difficulty of winning the battle and wearing her down faster. But there was no sign of Naruto ever releasing his seals at all. Therefore Hinata didn't release hers either but rather endured the increasing difficulty and fought on.
By the time the clones were all gone, Hinata was sweating, breathing hard and her clothes were a bit rugged and dirty. She had a couple of bruises and sores but nothing serious.
"Very good," Naruto complimented, "You lasted longer and this time you managed to beat all 25 of my clones. You certainly improved from before my Moon's Eye Spring Rabbit."
Hinata wiped away the dirt on her face and looked back at Naruto with a confident smile, "I didn't come all this way to stay stagnant in my advancements."
"I see," Naruto said before bursting into a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Hinata found that Naruto was no longer in sight. In fact, he was no longer anyway on the training ground.
"Where did he go," Hinata wondered as she went to look for him with her bloodline limit still activated. After a couple of minutes, she still couldn't determine where he went.
"Naruto-kun," Hinata asked while hoping to find him soon. Despite his strength, she still worried about his well-being and safety. A moment later, Hinata find a strong wind gust blow into her and knock her off her feet and on her rear end.
"Where did that wind come from," Hinata asked with a confused look while getting back up, "That wind force was just spontaneous."
"It's more like from whom it came from," Naruto said as he appeared in front of her from behind one of the trees.
"What do you mean," Hinata asked as she deactivated her bloodline limit. Naruto took out a small piece of paper and showed it to Hinata, "This special piece of paper is designed to help identify what our elemental affinities are."
"Elemental affinities," Hinata asked. Naruto continued, "All of us have an affinity of some sort, whether it's earth, fire, wind, water or lightning. If you take this piece of paper and focus chakra into it, it'll identify what your affinity is."
"What's yours," Hinata questioned.
"Wind," Naruto replied, "Which is a strong and rare attack element. Very few have this element. If the paper breaks down into dust, then you're an earth type. If it burns, then it's fire, if it tears in two, than it's wind. If it gets wet, then you're a water type. If it crumples, you're a lightning type. Now take this paper and focus your chakra into it to see what element you have."
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