Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter Seven

The Search For Hinata Begins!

Time: 7:48 PM

Location: Hidden Leaf Village

Shino Aburame, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee and Yamato stood at the entrance gate to the leaf village, waiting for the stragglers to show. Neji made a mental note to punch Naruto and Kiba for being late on the mission that would rescue his younger cousin. This was serious, couldn't they be early just this once?

Sure enough, just that second a massive white hound tore down the street, Kiba and Naruto on its back. Akamaru barked in excitement as his riders urged him on toward the group. Right before he would hit the others, Akamaru jammed his large white paws into the dirt, bringing himself to a steady halt.

Yamato sighed as Naruto and Kiba hopped off the dog and Kiba rubbed the beast's head, earning a happy bark from Akamaru. Those two were late, as usual.

"You're late Kiba. Naruto" Shino said in a dull monotone. Neji shook his head in annoyance.

"Sorry guys, we had to get something to eat before the mission!" Naruto said laughing and high-fiving Kiba.

"At least we're all here now, so lets get going" Yamato said, and everyone walked out the gate. After a few seconds, the six ninja leaped away, speeding through the trees away from the village. The electrical storm that had been outside the village for the last week had finally dissipated last night, allowing the leaf shinobi to leave the village.

As well, Kiba and Shino had left the hospital and to top it off, Sakura had developed an antidote to the poison Sasori used on his weapons. Shino was permanently immune, since after being poisoned his parasitic insects had isolated the poison and had learned how to stop it, but Shino carried five vials of antidote with him, one for every member of the team should they encounter the puppet master again.

Neji closed his eyes, forming a hand sign. "Byakugan!" he said, snapping his eyes open and activating his Kekkai Genkai. His sharp eyes scanned for kilometers in front of him, searching for any trace of his cousin. He scanned left and right, swinging his head from side to… there!

He saw a faint trace of Hinata's chakra. It was extremely weak and cold, but it was there nonetheless. "I see a trace of her chakra!" Neji said aloud, turning everyone's attention to him. Everyone stopped, and Neji fell to a kneel, tracing the chakra. His Byakugan could only see so far, and he reached his limit a few kilometers in front of him.

"It's headed west, toward the land of rivers" Neji said, and stood up. Kiba patted Akamaru on the head, whined and barked a few times and Akamaru nodded. The white hound leaped away, following the trace of Hinata's chakra scent. Meanwhile, Naruto made a hand sign and seven clones appeared behind him.

"Fan out and look for any trace of Hinata!" Naruto instructed, and the clones took off. Shino also helped, and he raised his arms, taking his hands from his pockets. From his sleeves came thousands of small flying insects. They buzzed and flew off, searching for their companions telltale chakra trail.

Although Akamaru and Naruto's clones wouldn't or couldn't go too far from Kiba or the original Naruto, Shino's bugs could and would find Hinata's chakra. The group took off again, following Neji who knew where he was going.

Thirty Minutes Later…

Neji and the others came out of the forest, landing on a cliff above a large, fast moving river. They had crossed the border of the fire nation not five minutes ago, and were now pretty far into the lands of rivers. Everyone leaped down, landing on the river and using their chakra to stand on the water.

In front of them stood a large red construct, in the shape of a square. Neji scanned the area, and saw that Hinata's trail led behind the massive wall of rock just behind the construct. Neji walked up and looked through the boulder, searching for any trace of traps.

"There's no way I can smash this thing" Neji said, tapping the boulder. "It's reinforced with a ton of chakra, I can think of only one of us who could do it"

"Lee, can you break this?" Neji asked, turning to his teammate.

"Of course" Lee confirmed, and walked back to the other side of the river. "Be warned, even my strength is not great enough to break such an obstacle, so I must resort to using my ultimate technique!"

Lee closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "The First Gate, Gate of Opening, open! The Second Gate, Gate of Rest, open!" Lee began to tense up, and veins appeared on his forehead and neck. "The Third Gate, Gate of Life, open!"

The air around Lee tensed up, static crackling and making his teammates step back. "THE FOURTH GATE, GATE OF PAIN, OPEN!" Lee roared, then kneeled and shot towards the boulder, his fist pulled back. He moved so fast even Neji with his Byakugan couldn't follow him, and the water split, making way for the boy.

The Taijutsu shinobi's fist connected with the boulder, and the entire area shook. Rocks fell from both sides of the river, and the water from the river erupted, breaking the surface and flying everywhere. Lee was frozen mid-punch, his fist still in contact with the still-solid boulder.

At that moment, the massive rock cracked, and within seconds, shattered. The strength behind the blow was so powerful, the boulder didn't just crumble, and the entire Cliffside fell away, falling into the river below with massive splashes. Lee immediately straightened out after the rock broke, standing up and the reddish color fading from his skin.

But before everyone's eyes, Lee fell. He landed on the water with a splash; even though unconscious his body was able to keep the chakra active so he could still keep afloat on the river. Naruto was there in a second, catching Lee and putting his arm over his shoulder.

"I think you overdid it a bit Lee" Naruto said to the unconscious boy. Naruto and the others walked forward, into the uncovered cave. Even though Lee had removed one of the walls, it was still completely black in here. The darkness felt, nearly solid to the five shinobi.

The cave was mostly empty, with only three massive statues standing at the back of the cave. Two were massive stone hands, with the fingers all serving as platforms. But the third was a monsters head, with nine eyes the size of a person on its stone head. The statue radiated evil and malice, and everyone was nervous around it.

Neji looked around with his Byakugan, looking for something that would give them a clue. Hinata's chakra trail ended here, by seemingly vanishing into thin air. But, Neji picked something else up too, the feeling of someone else's unfamiliar chakra, and the Hyuga boy knew what that meant. Someone else was here.

"There's someone else here!" Neji said, settling into a defensive stance. Everyone else took up battle positions, ready for an attack. It came silently and suddenly. White birds flew in from everywhere, flying directly at the leaf ninja.

They all scattered, leaping off to the sides. The birds hit the ground where they had been a second later and detonated. The blasts missed the leaf ninja by the skin of their necks, and everyone looked up at the source of the attacks. The statue of the hands had someone on top of one of the fingers, who stood up now.

Laughter filled the cavern, and the figure that stood up on the stone statues was causing it. The man leaped down and walked out of the shadows, revealing his long blonde hair. Kiba's eyes widened in horror, then his face turned to an expression of rage, and Akamaru snarled, recognizing the man as well.

Deidara laughed, his Akatsuki cloak flapping. The scope over his left eye took in the chakra levels of the five conscious shinobi, determining how strong of opponents they were. "Well, it would appear that I came here at the right time" Deidara chuckled.

"What have you done with Hinata?" Naruto roared, sliding Lee off of his shoulders and readying for an attack.

"Who? Oh, your little girlfriend!" Deidara laughed, brushing the hair from his eyes. "Well, since we're both after the same thing, I'll tell you. She's been taken away by two of our members"

"Where, is she?" Naruto said, snarling. Yamato frowned, not content with the situation. Naruto's pupils suddenly became slits, and his eyes turned a blood red.

"To be honest, I don't know. I could guess if you like" Deidara said dismissively.

"Why are you telling us this?" Neji asked, trying to read the man's chakra levels for any sign of him lying.

"Because we both want the same thing. I don't care for your girlfriend, I think she'll just get in the way of our ultimate plot, so I don't care if you get her back or not" Deidara said, noticing with his scope that Naruto's chakra was dramatically increasing.

"Naruto! Calm yourself down!" Yamato yelled, getting the leaf ninja to shake his head.

Naruto knew he was going to unleash his inner beast if he didn't calm down, so he forced his anger down. "As I was saying, your friend was taken off by two of our members. They used a teleportation jutsu, I don't know where they are now" Deidara said.

Neji stood up straight. "He's not lying. I don't sense any flux in his chakra"

"But. I know of a secret spot where she might be. Deep in the northlands. The two who took her have been there before, its uncharted on most maps" Deidara said. "It's at least a months journey north of here, farther north then the land of earth or lightning"

Yamato looked at Neji, who shook his head, confirming that Deidara was not lying. "Why are you helping us get Hinata back?"

Deidara laughed, throwing back his head. "Because I don't care. The girl would just get in the way of our plans, and I don't think its necessary to keep such a worthless person" There was another reason as well. Deidara loathed Itachi, and wanted to make him fail his mission. That Sharingan of his was an insult and a mockery to his art. But he didn't say that.

Kiba growled and Shino narrowed his eyes in anger. Naruto roared, forming a hand sign, but was stopped by Neji. "Then I guess, we'll be on our way now Deidara" Yamato said, turning out of the cavern.

Deidara's eye narrowed. In front of Yamato a small bird flew in front of him and detonated, preventing him from leaving. Everyone turned back to the Akatsuki member, who had backed up to the statue's base.

"I'm sorry. Despite me helping you with that advice, I can't let you leave. You've seen our base, and you cannot leave now. You'll expose our operation" Deidara said, smiling sadistically.

"I'm sorry to have gotten your hopes up only to crash them now, but your lives end here!" Deidara lifted his arms and thousands of clay spiders fell out, scurrying at the five ninja.

Shino acted immediately, reacting to the presence of the insectoid clay. Shino raised his arms and thousands of kikachu beetles flew out, zooming at the Akatsuki member. But Deidara easily countered, sending several birds at the flying bugs, detonating them and killing them all. The spiders all exploded, forcing the leaf ninja to leap back and gain range.

Yamato struck next, forming a hand sign. "Wood style jutsu!" he said, and tendrils of wood broke out of the ground, trying to catch Deidara. He leaped away into the air, and turned his head to see two Naruto's, one moving his hands around the others. A spinning blue orb of chakra formed with a loud noise.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled, thrusting the orb at Deidara's chest. The ex-stone shinobi twisted and grabbed Naruto's hand, using his own momentum to push Naruto away and Deidara forward. Now, from underneath Deidara, two spinning figures shot at him, twirling around each other in a grey cylinder.

"Fang over Fang!" Kiba roared, nearly hitting the Akatsuki member. But Deidara dodged at the last second, slipping in between the spinning figures. When he landed, Neji attacked, trying to smash Deidara's chakra points with his gentle fist. The bomber leaped and twisted backward, trying to get out of range.

Deidara formed a clay bird in his hand, forming a hand sign. The bird expanded, and he leaped on top of it, flying to the top of the cave. Deidara grinned sadistically, and he threw thousands of clay spiders at the roof. The spiders detonated when they hit the top, bringing thousands of tons of rock down on top of the five.

The five shinobi looked at the roof, and bunched together to all defend at the same time. Yamato formed a hand sign and a massive dome of wood surrounded the group, protecting them from the falling rock. Deidara looked down at the ground, seeing the tree bark colored dome and frowned.

Deidara prepared for his ultimate attack, one that even that wood wall wouldn't hold against. He saw the wall drop and the five look up at him, hate in their eyes. Deidara flew lower, so they could hear his words.

"Very well done my friends, that was quite the barrage of rock that fell on you, and yet you survived without a scratch" Deidara smiled, laughing hysterically. The mouths in his hands spat out wads of clay, and Deidara closed his hands. His eyes shut for a moment, and when he opened his hands, a fairly large, human-like clay sculpture was there.

"But, I'm afraid this is the end my friends, here! Catch!" Deidara tossed the clay man over the side, and it fell, spreading its arms out and growing dramatically very very fast. Everyone's eyes narrowed and then widened at the falling clay thing. "Behold my masterpiece, C3, it's the most powerful weapon in my arsenal!"

Deidara stood up, raising his arms in a spectacle. "Now, gape in fear! Cower in awe, because my art…" he yelled, his hands coming down into a single hand sign as the massive clay man nearly hit the shinobi. Right before the sculpture hit, everything was suddenly very quiet, and then…

"IS AN EXPLOSION!"

The man exploded, and the world shook. The blast was incredible, shaking the ground and Deidara felt the shockwave from the explosion even though he was so high up. The entire cavern was engulfed in flame, and even then the blast scorched the surrounding area.

Deidara laughed, his red and black cloak flapping in the wind. That bomb was full of C3, some of the most dense and concentrated clay he possesed. There was very, very little that could avoid a blast from a bomb that powerful and that concentrated.

Deidara took one, final look at the destruction that he had created, and smiled. They were undoubtedly dead. Though he was not one to underestimate his opponents, Deidara knew when a fight was over, and now, his job was finished. Granted, he had told the whereabouts of the girl's location for nothing, but no matter.

The bomber turned the clay bird he was riding on and flew away, heading toward the north, where he was supposed to rendezvous with Sasori. Deidara winced at the consequences; he had kept his partner waiting too long. But if he was on his guard he may make it with all four of his limbs intact.

As Deidara flew away, he didn't notice movement in the rocks below. From out of the boulders, Rock Lee smashed his way into the open, inhaling the fresh air. He spotted the white bird and its rider flying away and turned around. Picking up one of the larger rocks, he threw it aside to reveal the rest of his team.

"It is safe now, our opponent has retreated" Lee said, and everyone jumped out of the hole. The second before the bomb detonated, Lee's eyes had snapped open and he had dug a massive hole in the ground. With lightning speed he had pulled a boulder over the hole, protecting them from the blast.

"Thank you Lee, you just saved all of our lives" Yamato thanked, and bowed quickly.

"So, what now?" Kiba asked, stroking Akamaru's head.

"What do you mean what now? We go after Hinata!" Naruto said, whirling on Kiba giving him an 'Are you kidding me' look.

"What if he was lying about where she was?" Yamato asked

"I sensed no flux in his chakra. He was telling the full truth," Neji said

"I have to send a missive to the hokage informing us of the mission" Yamato said, and formed a hand sign "Wood Clone jutsu!"

Suddenly, wood twisted out of the left side of Yamato, melding together. Seconds later, the wood formed a second Yamato, wearing a radio headset. Knowing his mission, the wood clone leaped away, back toward the land of fire.

"He'll make it back to the village in a few hours, but for now, we'll continue our mission and find Hinata" Yamato said. The six leaped away, headed for the north, to find their friend.

Meanwhile…

Hinata was standing in the middle of the clearing, eyes closed. The wind whistled over the grass and swept her hair around, fanning around her head. Her concentration was totally focused on her chakra and stockpiling it inside her lungs, preparing for the imminent attack.

Behind her, Itachi Uchiha stood as still as a statue, his eyes taking in every aspect of her. "Now" Itachi said, and Hinata formed some hand signs, opening her eyes. Opposite her standing fifty feet away was Kisame, and he formed hand signs too.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

"Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!"

Hinata inhaled and then breathed out, a massive fireball exploding from her maw and shooting at Kisame. But in front of the sword master, a massive stream of water in the form of a shark sped at the fireball, its mouth open, displaying savage blue teeth. The two forces collided and unleashed a massive cloud of steam, canceling each other out.

Normally, a water jutsu would be far stronger then a fire jutsu. But Hinata's fireball was exceptionally strong for her, even stronger then Itachi's. It was so strong Kisame had to make his water jutsu three times more powerful then usual to cancel each other out.

"Well done Hinata. It's quite an impressive feat to learn such a jutsu in a week, and you aren't even of my clan, which magnifies that achievement since you do not have an affinity for fire like we do" Itachi said, patting her on the shoulder.

Hinata's face was split by her grin, and she turned around and hugged Itachi, like he was her father. Itachi shifted a little, making it clear he was uncomfortable, on which Hinata released him. "Thank you so much Itachi, I can't thank you enough"

"Hinata if you were anyone else, you would be dead for hugging him like that" Kisame laughed, displaying his teeth and walking over with Shark Skin in his hand.

"Oh, um, sorry Itachi" Hinata said, retreating and touching her fingers together. The eyes of the Uchiha pierced her, the orbs that held the Sharingan almost seeing right through her.

"Alright Hinata, night is falling, I think we had best get some rest" Itachi said, turning around and walking towards the wooden structure. Kisame and Hinata followed him.

Hinata reflected on the last several days, thinking about the two men who had been training her. Despite them being S-rank criminals, she had learned they were simply people whose talents had been unrecognized by this villages, and they had wanted to be seen, just like her.

In all her life, she had never had training like this. Or, for that matter, even being recognized like this. Itachi and Kisame had taught her at least five new jutsu in the past couple of days, the fireball had been very hard at first, but eventually she had gotten the hang of it to the point where even Kisame couldn't defend himself with a water jutsu unless it was several times more powerful then usual.

She had come to realize these two were just like her, misunderstood, unappreciated and shunned by their fellow ninja. They were different in one way though, Hinata had friends, and she had comrades who would back her up no matter what. And when she finally returned to the leaf village, she would show all of them how wrong they were about her.

The four retired to their respective rooms, and Hinata climbed into her sleeping bag. But as she closed her eyes, she was awoken by a hand on her shoulder. She turned over and saw Itachi sitting beside her, his eyes looking at her and strangely, did not have the telltale red of the Sharingan in them.

Usually the Uchiha had always had his Sharingan activated, as a force of habit. It was strange seeing him without that Kekkai Genkai activated. "Itachi, what is it?" Hinata asked, sitting up.

He stood up, motioning for her to follow. He led the two of them outside, to the tree next to the house. They both sat against the trunk, next to each other, Itachi let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad you chose to stay with Kisame and me Hinata" Itachi said, unbuttoning his Akatsuki close and letting Hinata get a good look at his face for the first time. He was not unhandsome, but Hinata didn't think he was her type anyway.

"Thank you Itachi, it's a real honor to train under you and Kisame" Hinata said, bowing her head in respect.

"Hinata, do you know who I actually am?" Itachi asked, his expression blank.

"Well, all you really told me is that you used to be a leaf shinobi" Hinata said, now turning in interest.

"My name is Itachi Uchiha, I am the one who singlehandedly wiped out the entire Uchiha clan" Itachi said, his expression completely blank once again, showing no emotion.

Hinata gasped and her eyes widened in terror. This was the man who had destroyed the Uchiha? The man who she trusted and who was helping her to become stronger?

"Hinata. I'm telling you this not to scare you, I want to tell you why I did it" Itachi said, turning to her, his eyes actually filled with hurt.

"Why? W-why would you kill your entire clan? Your family, your friends, you killed them all! Why?" Hinata asked, moving a little farther away from Itachi.

"Because they were scared of me. They feared the power I wielded and the treated me like dirt. They made me feel like an outcast, made me feel all alone. And that Hinata, is something you can relate to" Itachi lied slyly, staring into her white eyes with his onyx ones.

He was right. Nobody ever had cared for Hinata, they always thought she was weak, or needed help. "You're right. Nobody ever cares about me; even my own father thinks I am worthless. The person I care for won't notice me, and my friends always think I'm weaker then they are" Hinata said, the sadness fading and being replaced with pure hatred.

"Exactly Hinata. That is why I brought you here, to realize your full potential. And then, you will be able to take revenge on everyone who ever made you feel weak." Itachi said, fueling the flames of rage inside the girl.

"I will. I'll show them all, just how strong I am." Hinata said, standing up. She threw back her head and roared in anger. "I'LL MAKE THEM PAY!" She whirled around and kneeled to Itachi. "Will you help me, please?"

"Of course I will Hinata, but when we do finish and you become as strong as you want, who will you take your revenge on first? Your family?" Itachi asked, helping her stand up and standing behind her. Inside, Itachi laughed at how easy it was to turn her to his side. Hinata's anger was a flickering flame and Itachi had just fanned it into an inferno.

"No. There's one I want to pay more then anyone. He never cared, never noticed me. I loved him, and he turned away from me." Hinata said, her usually gentle hands clenched into fists that were shaking with rage.

"Who?" Itachi said, already knowing the answer. He leaned in to her ear, whispering softly. "Tell me" When the answer came, it was quiet, yet laced with venom and hatred.

"Naruto Uzumaki"

A/N: And that's chapter seven, damn it was long. Now that Hinata's turned to Itachi's side, what will happen next? Read on to find out. Please note, there is another time skip in the next chapter, this one is a month and a half. Naruto and his team are searching for Hinata, and Hinata is searching for Naruto, the suspense is murder! By the way, a very important someone shows up in the next chapter, who is he? Read on to find out! Enjoy the next chapter!