Naruto's POV (Medical Wing of Iron Arena - Land of Iron)
Naruto was never a man who had suffered much from stage fright. He craved attention in his younger days. And now, knew such would be expected of a future Hokage. Yet he was sure this fight was different. It felt more like when he had fought Juzo; he was uncertain he could defeat them but determined to die trying. Determined to show them he was not to be trifled with.
But Naruto had learned from Jiraiya that sometimes mere guts alone wouldn't be enough. A wise man leveraged guts with information to fearlessly succeed in any goal. As such, Naruto was determined to question his query. Learn anything he could to gain an advantage over Gaara.
Hinata Hyuga was someone Naruto was vaguely aware of. In the academy days, the two of them had never crossed paths. Then Neji mentioned her positively, and to cap it off, he witnessed her fearlessly fighting Gaara, someone he had even hesitated to face. She was one of the most impressive people he had ever met. Then, she had proved her worth even further. She had shown a chink in Gaara's armor.
As impressed as Naruto was with her, he had never expected her to defeat Gaara. He doubted even Neji would've been able to do such a thing. So he had prepared for a great but doomed effort. Yet Hinata had done something Naruto had only hoped he would see. Land a decent blow. Manage to hurt him, even if momentarily. Though learning was disappointing, Gaara seemed as tanky as Naruto, even without his sand.
Somehow, despite being exhausted and outmatched, Hinata had managed to land something. Gaara had even reacted in pain; he had clearly been fine. But it was the first evidence of humanity from Gaara—proof that he could be defeated, harmed, perhaps even shaken. If Naruto could replicate either the same technique or something similar, he could gain a decisive edge. Then, his plan would allow him to defeat him.
Hinata was propped up with various pads and pillows to be laid out straight and somewhat seated. She was covered in bandages with some sort of salve and ninjutsu. Her skin was bruised all over or covered in minor cuts. Though Naruto noted she was smiling, he could feel her pride from entering her room. It was good to see Hinata was in high spirits despite her defeat. He was glad Sasuke wasn't present; the Uchiha likely would watch his fight with Gaara like a hawk. And Naruto just never really liked the vibe of him, if he was to be frank. So, his being here would've merely made it awkward.
"Naruto?" Hinata asked politely, surprised to see the friend of a friend here. It hadn't surprised her that Sasuke or Neji interfered; they had promised such. But his arrival had been surprising, perhaps not in hindsight. It fits the description provided by Neji. "How can I help you?"
Naruto chuckled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I wanted to make sure you were doing alright. Though eh, well, it wasn't my only goal, you can say, ya know?"
Hinata openly chuckled at such. "I figured as much as Uzumaki-san, I am not offended. Regarding the first question, I am in fine health. Though I may look rough in hours, I will be fresh and healthy soon."
Naruto sighed in relief before his face regained a serious note. "Good, I'm glad you're physically alright, but it's getting you down, right? Neji mentioned that you can be really hard on yourself. And well, I can relate to that, I guess. So I just wanted to let you know you did incredible. That guy was no joke, and you managed to hit him!"
Hinata smiled sadly. "It would be dishonest to say I am not disappointed in myself. While I recognized I was unlikely to defeat Gaara, I had hoped it would at least be a close match. Instead, I merely landed one measly blow."
"Hey, sometimes we-"
"But Uzumaki-san, I have learned that failure is merely a part of a journey." Hinata interrupted with a sweet smile. "I managed to harm him; that alone was an accomplishment. I showed him he is not immortal. That I was some sort of threat. If we face each other again, I may have a way to beat him. I must accept my limits today, but tomorrow, I will surpass them."
Naruto was stunned before he smiled and nodded respectfully at Hinata. "I see how you won over Neji; you're just my kind of kunoichi," Naruto said with earnest comradery.
"You had another question?" Hinata asked.
"Oh, shit, yeah, thanks for that." Naruto chuckled as he settled down in the chair next to her bed. "I wanted to ask if you would mind explaining how you managed to hurt Gaara. Every attack you threw at him was repelled; even your lasers took a while to do anything. Yet somehow, in the end, you managed some damage with that palm strike. Impressive as hell. How did you do it?"
"Ah, I see. Well, I am more than happy to explain such, but I am afraid it is unlikely to help you." Hinata apologized. "See, in my desperation, I used my ability to see through objects and chakras using my Byakugan, which I used to weave my chakra through impossibly small gaps in his sand. It may have seemed like he blocked my strike, but my chakra slowly flowed through until I watched it enter him. Then, I allowed the chakra to pulsate, causing damage from within. If I had more chakra, I could've potentially ended the fight. But such a strategy would be impossible for you to replicate Uzumaki-san. Without mastery of Gentle Fist and the Byakugan, I doubt you could pull such off. Even if you did, you'd struggle to do so effectively. I'm sorry to be unable to be of use."
"Nah, you're fine. It's a shame, too, that was damned clever of you, ya know?" Naruto said happily. "I think I have a couple techniques that may do it, but I am just leaving no stone unturned. Gotta win this fight, ya know?"
"I'm glad you mentioned such Uzumaki…" Hinata said hesitantly. "To be frank, as much as I know you won't like hearing such, I need to say it."
Naruto shrugged. "Ok?"
Hinata sighed as she seemed to accept the situation. "Neji told me a lot about you. Enough, so I know you seem to be the type of ninja I wish to one day become. Confident, decisive, passionate, considerate, and unrelenting. You are the type to fight for your beliefs, even if it seems hopeless. But this is different…"
"Different?" Naruto asked with a quirked brow. "Different, how?"
"I can't see why you would fight him; he intends to kill you and clearly has shown nothing yet. You are strong, but can you hope to stand up to such a monster? Why risk your career or even your life just for a promotion? You are likely to be promoted regardless… maybe you should surrender… Neji seems confident you have a great future. So why risk it just to fight this monster? I believe in never giving up, but isn't it better to live another day?"
"Maybe," Naruto admittedly. "This fight is likely to be incredibly difficult and painful; hell, I might even die. Doubtless, I could get promoted without it, so I guess I could say I achieved my goal."
"Then why Naruto?" Hinata asked, confounded.
"Because Gaara seems like he needs help. Because Gaara, as much as he has become monstrous, isn't just some monster. He had to be a normal guy like me at one point, but he gave up eventually. Gaara has rejected his very humanity. Grown to resent it for the trouble it caused him. I'd be the same if I had spent my life like that. Because on that day when we first met, I almost caught him off guard, I didn't see fear or resentment. But I hope that maybe he was wrong. Hope that I would be the one to prove that to him."
"But you don't even know him." Hinata reminded the blonde with a small smile. She was starting to understand just how Naruto had inspired Neji.
"It doesn't matter, I don't agree with everything he does and says, but he was right about one thing. We are sorta like brothers, two guys forced to carry a burden. Two guys who others will likely always find a reason to hate. We face the same problem but have two different solutions." Naruto explained.
"So this is merely to prove a point?" Hinata asked, utterly perplexed now. "Surely you see this is… ill-considered?"
"It doesn't matter; I want to become Hokage one day. Become a Hokage who can improve this world. The more I see, the more tragedy I run into. If I want to become one of the greatest Kage to ever live, I can't look away when I see injustice or those in need. How could I ever say I achieved my dream then."
"Are you willing to die for this?" Hinata asked with a sad smile, realizing the blonde would not be convinced.
"I wouldn't be living my life as intended if I wasn't. Just watch Hinata; I've learned that we're all honest in combat. We will clash and let our conviction and strength be the decider." Naruto explained further. "Whoever loses obviously would be wrong; maybe it's not the best way. But it's the only way I know…"