Black had become in vogue in Konoha.
It wasn't the first time, either. These things were becoming a regular occurrence, now that she thought of it. Once a generation, a village wallows in its stupidity, and pays a dreadful price. Then they spend a decade or two forgetting it ever happened, denying why it ever happened – only for death to come again.
She sighed. Time to carve more names into the obsidian. More lives gone. More useless deaths.
Even worse, though, were the eulogies. One by one they came up, somehow trying to sound more important than they were. First the Rokudaime Hokage, his one-armed, frail form somehow imperious as he stood over the crowd. He spoke of the monster that trashed their fair town, of the heroic sacrifices their ninja made, and how Konoha would grow stronger as a result.
She had to restrain herself at that point; she wanted to act immediately at that slander, but knew she had to wait. Besides, she knew she wasn't the only one; she wasn't sure, but she suspected she could hear an Inuzuka dog growling behind her.
Others came, fat merchants and priests and 'noble people' of the village, talking about how Konoha would rise from their ashes, so that the sacrifices made by the town would not be in vain. She could sense it in the crowd; the hope was coming back. They'd risen from this before; they would rise again.
Sensing it was her time, she gave a discreet signal to her sister, and rose from her chair.
The walk to the podium was depressingly long. To be honest, she probably shouldn't even be up; her wounds from the battle were severe. But some words had to be said.
Some words, however, didn't even need to be said. Other members of the Hyuuga clan, both main and branch, stood in a guard formation around her, and moved into strategic positions once she reached the podium. The move alone was a startling one, and it required little interpretation.
A moment later, two more joined her protectors. Hana and Kiba Inuzuka, now the only survivors of their clan, stood by the Hyuuga. Their clan was bred to loyalty; they understood it, and despised its antithesis – betrayal. The Aburame were the next to join; always the calm masters of the battle, they could read the writing on the wall. Other old friends came to join – Anko, Kakashi, Lee – to stand as she made her stand.
A few other Konoha ninja stood to guard the Hokage and the council. In the end, the two sides stared at each other warily, all sensing the conflict, but none understanding it.
She gave a grim smile; it was time for her to begin. She bore her white-eyed gaze into the audience. "Before I begin, I feel I should let you know that Hikari Haruno has left the village with the widow Nara. They are safe; Sunagakure will not harm them, and Gaara has pledged to raise Hikari as his own daughter, if he has to. It was a returning of a kindness, one given from a Konoha nin to a mortal enemy, that his daughter survive and thrive."
She almost growled. "For the last hour, all I've heard about Konoha is its greatness. How we 'vanquished the monster'. How many people, ninja and civilian alike, gave their lives in this tragedy. That we will rise from this abomination, from this damnation, and be stronger than before."
She pursed her lips. "What no one wants to hear is that this was a test – and that the deaths we mourn today are the sign of our failure of that test." She snarled. "The last wishes of the Yondaime Hokage were simple. Treat Naruto Uzumaki – the Jinchuuriki - as a hero."
"How dare you mention that monster here!" a civilian called out, interrupting her speech.
She snarled. "I DARE, madam, because Naruto Uzumaki wasn't the monster. The true monsters… are the people who hated him, who tortured him, who tried everything they could to make his life miserable…" Her eyes turned toward the Hokage. "… who killed him." She swiveled back to the crowd. "In other words, the true monsters… are the people in front of me."
She sighed. "Naruto and I were the same age – and I got a chance to watch him, to know him growing up. People got on him for his pranks. I ask you this: What else was he supposed to do? All of us, as children, had mothers and fathers – had families – to go to. Even the orphanage had caring people for all of its other residents. But they felt Naruto was undeserving of love."
Her eyes began to fill with tears. "Every other child, as they walked through Konoha's streets, received smiles and greetings. Not him. My eyes saw shopkeepers kick him out, adults beat him and throw rocks at him, teachers and healers purposely sabotage their own crafts to spite him. His only curse was something that was not his fault, and did not make him a monster – but everyone in the village acted as if it had."
The ghost of a smile found her lips. "Despite this, Naruto turned out surprisingly well. He had a strong sense of honor, and would go to the wall for you if the cause was right. Ironically enough, his treatment had given him a sort of impartiality; it didn't matter if he'd known you for fifteen minutes or fifteen years, he would treat you as a friend if you deserved it."
She swallowed. Not for the first time, grief began to cloud her features. "You all saw the monster, saw a weapon." She pointed a shaking finger at the Hokage. "That's all he saw, too – that, and a threat to his power. That's why he had Naruto killed. And THAT is why all of us are here – because that monster over there decided to kill a decent human being, and let loose a real monster - the Kyuubi - on the world."
After a deep breath, she calmed herself. "The sad thing is that you don't even realize your mistake yet. Every Hokage before this one, when asked to either sacrifice their lives for the good of the village or run for their lives, made the right choice. This bastard ran – and left Jiraiya, a man worthy of being Hokage but never wanted the power, to sacrifice himself in his place. Sarutobi died to make sure Orochimaru's power was sealed; Tsunade sacrificed life for power, disguising her weakness and illness until all we could do was mourn her. And Namikaze…" her voice broke, "… Namikaze not only gave his life and soul for this village, but he gave his son, too." Gasps echoed through the crowd. "Yes. Now you know. Now you know why I followed him around so much; do you honestly think you could possibly hide a person's heritage from a Hyuuga?"
She swallowed. "So we mourn. We mourn fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, daughters and sons. I lost my father, the man who bounced me on his knee when I was young, and gave me the wisdom to eventually lead the clan. I lost my mentor, Kurenai, the one who taught me what it means to be a ninja, and what it means to be a woman. But I must say something else. I must say, 'Never again'. Never, ever again. I owe it to my clan, I owe it to my family and friends, to act in their best interests and to protect them."
She took a deep breath. "There is a clause that was written into the agreement that brought the Hyuuga here. It's called the Right of Secession. My great-grandfather understood that leaders can be great or horrible, that the most peaceful and idealistic of nations can turn hard and militaristic in a short time due to a change in leadership. Thus, as it has been less than a year since Danzou has been named the Rokudaime Hokade, I, Hinata Hyuuga, as head of the clan Hyuuga, hereby claim our Right of Secession… and remove ourselves from Konoha's ranks."
The Hokage's good eye widened. "Traitors! Kill them all!"
The ninja in the crowd looked at each other uneasily. A few more ninja stood up – and turned their back to her, to face the Hokage.
He snarled, and turned to his subordinates. "What are you waiting for? By their own admission, they're not Konoha ninja anymore!"
"They understand what it means, Hokage," she replied softly. "More killing of friends; more death when there's already been far too much." She growled. "All of us were loyal to Konoha. We gave our lives for it; we gave our arms and legs and eyes and souls for it. But this was with an understanding that Konoha would be loyal to us in return. When you had Naruto killed for your own power… you betrayed that loyalty. You destroyed the one thing we gave our lives for. Sarutobi… Namikaze… Tsunade… they gave us a Konoha worth fighting for – worth dying for. You… you gave us a Konoha worth leaving."
Danzou weighed his options for a moment, took a deep breath, then shrugged nonchalantly. "Perhaps it is for the best. We rid ourselves of ninja who are disloyal to Konoha, leaving us stronger than before. No more doubt as to who our friends are and who our enemies are… those who stand with us will stand with us to the end." He looked to those who stood by her. "If you wish to go, then go. But you leave immediately. No time to pack, no time to 'get your things'. By tomorrow, all of it will be burned to the ground." He pointed with one good hand toward the nearest exit. "Leave."
She nodded slowly. "I wish I could damn you – all of you – for this. For your cruelty to a child. For your disloyalty to someone who gave his life – and his son – for you. But… I don't need to damn you." She sighed. "You have damned yourselves." With that, she stepped away from the podium, and began to walk to the exit.
She sighed, and stared up at the sun. It had hurt – truly hurt – to say what she had. To leave everything she'd ever known. But she understood. Naruto was the village's last hope. He was like one of the old legends, those who simply were leaders, were ninja through to the core. Almost everyone who worked with him knew it, from his fellow ninja to rival kage to the Fire Daimyo's own son; in their own ways, Sarutobi and Tsunade were simply holding on to the pointy hat for its true owner.
She glanced over at Danzou as he spun his damage control, and the Hokage's hat that adorned his head. A treasure cruelly stolen, she thought.
For a moment, she thought Konoha didn't deserve the fate that was sure to come. Then again, she thought, maybe they did.