The tanuki sensed her husband inside the boy and frowned. "That man claimed he had the Jūbi inside him..." It seemed that the humans had decided to emulate that claim with the Bijū. She tailed the child after putting up an illusion so nobody saw her. Every villager feared the boy, to the point they would give a wide berth. Even the other children did the same, imitating the terror the adults felt. "If it's like this with him..." The host of a Bijū held a heavy stigma. Then she saw the child retreat into an alley, soft cries came from it moments later. "It will be better for both to just take them away." She found him hiding behind a trash can.
The Ichibi jinchūriki heard someone walk to him and looked up to brown eyes. "Hello, why are you alone?" Gaara looked away. "Nobody wants to play with me." She crouched before him, holding a leaf. "Want to see something interesting?" She covered the leaf with both hands, making the boy curious. Her hands parted to reveal a butterfly, that fluttered away. "Oh, cool!" She smiled at the innocent awe of the child. He wanted to see more but was afraid to ask. "I am Mamizou. What's your name?" He lowered his guard slightly, this woman was nicer than many adults. "Gaara."
Woman and child established a friendly rapport, and when she found a place to set up her stall, the boy would visit her every day. People looked at her as if she was mad, but she just smiled at the frowns. And her products, that ranged from exotic fruits to aphrodisiacs and jewelry, were too tempting to pass up. Gaara could eat the fruits for free, and when he asked the reason Mamizou justified it by claiming he was similar to a nephew. She would also tell him of legends involving mythical creatures, painting wild scenarios for him. But she could feel the glare of hidden ninja, watching every move. "When will they act?"
When Gaara finally felt enough trust on the woman, the boy had confessed to Mamizou that she was the first one to approach him with kindness besides Yashamaru. It made her feel anger at the village for mistreating him. "Should I cash in that favor?" He also told her that for some reason he had sand always around him, protecting him from harm and that killed other people from time to time. "But it stopped killing when I met you." She silently scolded Shukaku, knowing that he must have hijacked the sand control. "What he controls is metal, not dirt nor sand." Then he stepped closer than before, hugging her legs. "Gaara-kun?" He was trembling and sobbing softly. "It's warm... different from sand..." She broke her composure and picked him up, hugging him back.
One night Mamizou felt an ill omen, leading her to go after Gaara. "You better be safe, brat!" She saw when this man attempted to murder Gaara, arriving in time to grab his arm. "Who are you‽" The male struggled to loosen her grip, she held a steely gaze. "To try to hurt a child..." She twisted every joint in the arm she had grabbed, making the man cry out in pain. Her claws came out and shredded the skin, eliciting more screams. Her human illusion fell off, revealing bristled animal ears and a long bushy tail, as she proceeded to beat him up. "Daring to do such disgraced acts!" Gaara felt that he should be afraid of her, but he wasn't. Mamizou pulled off the mask and the boy reacted. "Ji-san!"
Yashamaru claimed that he had always hated Gaara, telling him that his mother loathed him. Mamizou could smell the bullshit, but the boy was cracking apart inside. "Hey, I'm here, aren't I?" She held Gaara tightly and knew that if he lost control things would end in shit. She stomped on Yashamaru's neck, killing him with a crushed windpipe. Turning towards where the gate back to her land was located, she made a decision. If the village wanted to be rid of the boy, she would gladly help them. "Come with me, I will take you to a place where nobody hates you." Gaara just clutched her kimono and hid his face on her chest.
Some time in their journey, Mamizou felt wetness on her clothes and the smell of iron. Looking down at Gaara, her eyes widened. "Why did you do this‽" The boy had used sand to carve 愛 on his own forehead. She found a cave and put on a coat from her bag, wrapping the sleeves around the boy and letting him sleep on her. She ran her fingers through his hair, not minding the blood. "Don't fear, even if the world ends up hating you, I will never leave your side." She only hoped that Shukaku would cooperate with her. "He can be a stubborn little shit sometimes."
Hinata had been sleeping peacefully until she felt rough hands grab at her arms, making her feel distressed. A cloth soaked with sleeping agents was pressed to her face and kept there until she stilled. "Heh, this will be easy." He was a fake member of the ambassador party tasked with obtaining a Hyūga sample that could be manipulated. He silently left the compound while adjusting the bag on his back, searching for possible guard patrols. When he was sure the coast was clear, he dashed directly to the walls.
The shinobi noticed an eerie glow coming from his back and got worried. "Is the girl using some weird jutsu?" He stopped briefly to check in the bag and she was still asleep, seeing the mark of a magatama that formed on the junction of her collarbones. "Hm... this thing is strange, but I don't sense danger." He closed the bag, slung it over his shoulder and resumed running away from the village. When he had just gone past the walls he felt a strange pressure on his body. It sent him in a state of alert as if he had a dangerous foe before him.
He stopped again at a clearing, looking around until he spotted something. "What's that thing‽" An ryū made of red chakra had walked to him, holding an aura of rage. Those piercing amethyst eyes promised pain. The man left the bag on the ground, the goods couldn't get damaged, and took out a tantō. "I don't know who summoned you, but I'll finish my mission!" He dashed at the monster, intent on cutting off its head, only for the blade to rebound from the scales. The animal just looked at him, as if daring him to attack again. He covered the metal with Raiton and aimed for the throat, where the scales seemed to be thinner. "Die!"
The creature swiped at his right before he could connect, sending him headfirst into a tree, toppling it. "Argh-!" It bit his leg and threw him up a few times, injuring his body further. Then it bit his shirt and went to the thickest tree, sprouting a spine from its tail and using it to impale his forearms to the bark. After the ethereal dragon was done with the man, it picked the girl and walked away. It left a trail of glowing footprints that would baffle the incoming Konoha shinobi.
Hitomi was beside herself with worry, wondering how her daughter was. Then the clan members who stayed to support her saw a light in the distance, activating their byakugan to see better. Most entered in panic, as it was caused by red chakra, and fled. But Hitomi stood her ground, feeling that it was familiar. An ryū walked in her direction, holding her daughter on its back. "Hinata!" She rushed to get the child while the dragon just waited. "T-thank you..." She couldn't stop the tears of relief and received a snout bump to the shoulder. "It's the second time you helped us, right?" This presence was the same she felt when she almost died after birthing Hanabi. Those eyes were a vibrant purple that held warmth. "I'm really grateful to you."
The Konoha ninja who had been chasing the kidnapper found him. "Um... how did he end up there?" He was pinned to a tree with red bone-like stakes and had his body covered with strange burns and there were bite marks all over him. "Urgh..." The ninjas who were examining the area turned to the ex-kidnapper. "He's still alive!" They made an effort to remove the stakes, but they were longer than expected and too much like porcupine quills. They had to cut the tree down and cart him to the hospital to see if they could be removed safely.
Minato was rubbing his forehead. "If that creature hadn't neutralized that man..." Hiashi had been in a murderous mood until Hinata got found safe at home and the man was at the hospital. If the Hyūga had found the kidnapper before everyone, he would have killed him and Kumo would have demanded retribution. Then he thought about the description of the beast. "Body made of red chakra..." It usually meant a Bijū, but each and every one of them was sealed. "What could be the source? And why did it help us?" And the analysis of the stakes revealed that they were bones. "If I recall correctly, there was a Kiri clan with bone jutsu..." He groaned in defeat, this matter gave him headaches.
A small toad appeared before the Hokage in a plume of smoke. "Tell Jiraya he can enter." The amphibian disappeared and a man with long white hair entered from the window moments later. "Minato." The blond nodded. "Sensei." The Gama Sennin had a grave face. "There are new variables now." Jiraiya put a few photos on the desk. "Are these..." They looked like they belonged in a book about myths. "People with snake bodies... Is that one a werewolf?" Minato recalled the earlier incident. "Oh, gods..."
The older male patted the back of his ex-pupil. "We have to think of ways to deal with them. Maybe some are willing to make a pact." Jiraiya informed Minato that he had seen some of the creatures with his own eyes. "If we manage to get some on our side, it would be a boost we need." The Kyūbi incident had led to the loss of many strong ninjas and an alliance with these monsters with great potential could help with their defenses. The Hokage was torn, the interest of the village and the will of the villagers could clash badly. "I'll think about that."
I moved forward the Kumo incident three years ahead. Next are the twins, Naruto and Menma. Any questions you have, put it in a review or PM.
Brief edit: Hinata's magatama mark is from birth like the twins' face marks.