Once they had all they were going to need for the possibility of being gone for a long time, they all gathered at the gate and headed out as fast as they could go toward the Aizawa Shrine. Though for Shikamaru at least it wasn't really sitting well with him that he couldn't plan anything on the way, knowing nothing about the Aizawa themselves. Looking over at Ino he sighed. "Hey Ino. When Tsunade said Aizawa you seemed to know exactly who she was talking about. What do you know about them? Tell me everything."

Nodding as she looked at him, Ino sighed. "I do. I started researching mikos and stuff once we all got done helping Naruto with Shion. You remember her right?"

With a half glare, Shikamaru looked straight ahead again. "Yeah. Not sure how he got the miko to fall for him in the first place still."

Rolling her eyes, Ino also looked straight. "Well Shion had no chakra. She was just a miko. Her clan mixed the purest females with the purest males to get a miko and or monk for the next generation that was at least just as strong as the past or stronger. The Aizawa would intentionally mix ninja with lots of chakra into their bloodline. I never found out why, but each miko is not only born with purification that would rival Shion's, but incredible amounts of chakra as well."

"Mixing different Ninja blood in overtime, do they have anything special that they can do because of it?" Looking sideways again he narrowed his eyes. "We know from Lady Tsunade that she can use the Byakugan even though she has blue eyes. But can they do anything like my Shadow Possession or Choji's Expansion?"

"I don't know. In the stories that I have heard and the stuff I have read, they say that they mixed with some members of the Hidden Eddy Village and got a special trait from them but it has never been verified as true or not." When she felt his eyes on her again, Ino sighed. "Chakra Chains."

Blinking as he kept his eyes on her, Shikamaru had never heard of that before. "Chakra Chains? What in the world are those?"

Pulling eyes to him, it was Neji that spoke. "That I know about. The Hidden Eddy Village fell into ruin just before the first great Ninja War. When all of our grandparents would have only been little. Not one person from the village survived. The Eddy Village was known as the Village of Longevity because it seemed that everyone there lived a natural life longer than others. It is said that there is where the Chakra Chains was developed by a clan that lived in there."

Nodding Ino then drew Shikamaru's eyes to him. "And according to what I read about the Aizawa, back then, not just one miko, but about every other generation for a few different ones would marry into the Eddy Village, and that one of those times, they had a daughter that could use chakra chains."

Turning his brown eyes to Neji, Shikamaru blinked. "But what exactly are they? Neji?"

"According to records kept by the First Hokage, the chakra chains are chains that can be used to make barriers and weapons. They would use their chakra and manifest it that way." A glance back him, and Neji sighed. "Though those were reports that were written before he took Lady Mito as his wife as well."

With a groan, Shikamaru crossed his arms as he closed his eyes. "That's just great. Not only is she a miko that has full use of the Byakugan, but she could possibly be able to use something like that. No wonder the Akatsuki are involved. If they have done their homework they are hoping that she can I bet so they can take it from her."

His eyes narrowing as he lead the way, Neji was fully focused on what he had to do right now. "All the more reason to get her back to the village and safe. I refuse to let the Byakugan, or anything else that could give the Akatsuki more strength fall into their hands."

Finally speaking up since the first time that they left, Tenten kept her eyes on Neji with worry clearly in them. "Neji you aren't going to let it get to you right?"

Turning to Tenten with an odd look, Neji blinked. "Let what get to me Tenten?"

Her eyes never wavering, Tenten sighed. "The fact that she got out of having the curse mark and you had to get it."

With a smile as he turned away from her, Neji sighed. "I have no reason to resent her for anything Tenten. She is a fourth generation out from the one who did get out of the curse mark. She, I am sure, has no clue what the curse mark even is or why it is given."

Dropping her eyes, Tenten sighed. "I know that Neji but still…"

"Enough Tenten."

With a sigh, Tenten dropped it as she dropped her head and half closed her eyes. 'I know what you are saying Neji, and I know personally how much you detest the curse mark. And how it affected you when Hiashi put his foot down and refused to let them put the curse mark on Hanabi. I just really hope you don't end up going off the deep end with this.'

X

With her hands pushed together as tightly as they could go, Akako focused all she had on the barrier. It was her main concern right now. For three days now, she has been awake with the help of an injection of pure caffeine reciting the same prayer to keep the barrier up. And with every vicious attack on it, her determination to keep it up went higher. But she knew she couldn't do this forever. Eventually the caffeine would not work anymore. "Damnit! Where are they at?"

"Lady Akako!"

"Oh don't give me that. I don't really care at this point. I have been up for three days now! The Leaf Ninja should have been here by now and I want to know where they are!" For just a brief second she let her eyes flick to her grandmother who still lay unconscious next to her. Then another hard slam into her barrier pulled her glaring blue eyes back up to the blond in the red and black cloak. "What is it that you want!?"

With smile, Deidara laughed as he shoved his hand in his bag. "That is simple. I want you and your grandmother to come with me. We would very much like to take that Byakugan and purification you have, and your grandmother's Byakugan." The rage that flew into her eyes made him laugh as he once again jumped from his bird with a bomb in his hand and landed on her barrier.

With all her energy flaring into her barrier, Akako was shaking. "You can go to hell."

Laughing as he stooped down, Deidara looked right at her. "Such a pure soul should not be talking like that. Though I do gotta say, you got some stamina to keep this up. But I have so much more than you do and….." But then he glared as he jumped away and landed on his bird just as shuriken slammed into the barrier. Watching as five Leaf ninja flooded out of the woods he sighed. "What a shame. They didn't send Naruto."

Landing in a tree, just behind the barrier, Neji let his Byakugan flare to life as he went over all those in the large barrier. More than a dozen were injured, and half were bad. "Ino. Tenten. Your task is to use your medical ninjutsu. There are some severly injured in there. Lee, Shikamaru we fight."

Letting his bird fly higher, Deidara laughed. Three days of trying to get the miko's barrier to fall, he was nearly out of detonating clay. If he had a full pouch, he would be able to handle them easy. But not with the little amount that he has right now. "I don't think so. We know she is going to the Leaf now, so it will just be a matter of time before we come for her and Naruto."

His eyes narrowing, Neji took a deep breath. "It won't happen. You will not get either of them."

"We shall see." Deidara then laughed as he flew off.

Watching and waiting for him to leave, Akako then sighed as she let her focus fall and the barrier vanished. Falling forward her hands hit the ground as her vision blurred, on the verge of passing out. "It sure took you long enough to get here."

Jumping from the tree to land right next to her, Neji bent over toward her. "We came as soon as we could. Are you injured?"

Shaking her head as her eyes half closed, Akako took a deep breath. "Just tired. My grandmother though…." Then she fell to the side as she passed out.

Reaching out and grabbing her before she hit the ground Neji sighed as he gently laid her down. Looking over at the old woman as her head rolled he sighed. When she opened her eyes he forced himself not to react. They were the same silvery pale as his, but had a black pupil. "Where were you injured?"

With a slight gasp as her eyes fixed on the face that spoke to her, Aoi let her eyes go wide. She was looking into the same eyes that her mother had. She never thought she would ever see eyes just like that again. "You are of the Hyuuga…"

Nodding as he helped her to sit up, Neji sighed. "So you know of your mother's bloodline then?"

"I do." Wincing as she reached to her stomach she sighed to feel the blood seeping out. "That hurt."

"Tenten. Come here." When she got there, Neji sighed. "She has a wound on her side."

Looking up as he started to walk away Aoi sighed. "I was ten when someone from the Hyuuga Clan came. They tried to force my mother and I to go back, or seal our Byakugan's. It was someone who called himself the Third Hokage that stopped them. That was when I found out."

With a nod as he turned back to look at her with a soft smile, Neji sighed. "I see. Rest now while she heals your wound." Once she was relaxed again as Tenten worked on healing her wound, Neji turned his eyes back to Akako. Her hair was flame red and longer than anyone he knew. And her eyes were still the same dazzling, sparkling blue color that they were in the photo. Traits he knew that she got from the other blood mixed in with the Hyuuga.

Looking up and around as the villagers all seemed to be wondering around but not going to far he flared his Byakugan to life. It would seem that there were a few dozen deaths before she was able to get the barrier up. And the village and shrine were completely destroyed. "Lee."

Going to him, Lee blinked. "Yes Neji?"

Still looking around, more for survivors or traps, Neji glared. "You are the fastest one of all of us here. Get back to the leaf and tell Lady Tsunade that we need Sakura for some of the wounded, and more man power. The village is gone and there are many dead that need buried before we head out."

With a sharp nod as he saluted him, Lee stood at attention. "Right away Neji!" Then he was just gone.