Hey people! I'm sure you are all anxious to read this chapter to see just how it all plays out… but I'm going to talk for a bit so just relax. On second thought I'm just going to talk at the end! That is how it's going to be from now on, it prevents me from giving away anything in the chapter and lets you read the new chapters immediately then decide if you want to listen to me blab! Well here it is…

Chapter 9: Welcome

Neji: (He seemed to be shaking with anger) "You… what are you planning Itachi!? Is that your plan!? Have you sent someone to kill Hiashi-sama so Hinata can take over and fight for your return to the village!? I won't allow it!" (Neji fell back into a fighting position ready to kill Itachi once Hinata was out of the way)

Itachi: What is he talking about…? Hiashi is long dead. Unless… hmmm my guess is the current Hiashi is a fake sent by Subashi to keep watch over the village. But then why hasn't he exterminated them by now? "Neji… I am not here to fight you and I have no allies to send to kill Hiashi. But I will tell you this… the Hiashi that resides in the village now is a fake." (The entire group stared at Itachi in silence)

Neji: "That's preposterous. He has not changed at all and he can't be a clone or a shinobi in disguise because we already checked the village for spies. Everyone was checked… even lady Tsunade." (Tenten nodded in agreement while Guy and Lee stood off to the side watching Itachi carefully)

Itachi: "You don't trust me so it's pointless to argue with you… these fakes cannot be detected through normal means, I will not be the one to prove it to you…"

Guy: "What does that mean? Itachi… we are going to take you to the leaf village but first we need you to hand over Hinata. You have to be imprisoned until we can confirm your story."

Itachi: "Fine." (Itachi gently handed Hinata over to Neji then allowed Lee to bind his hands together) "I wonder… how long it will take before you leaf village fools figure everything out." (Lee nearly lost control but managed to stop himself from uppercutting Itachi in the face)

Lee: "The leaf village is my home, I will not allow you to insult it! We are doing our best to figure out the situation!" (Guy touched Lee on the shoulder and calmed him down)

Guy: "Don't let him get to you Lee, he just wants to get under your skin. Consider it another kind of training!" (Neji and Tenten sighed as Lee and Guy started ranting about training and the power of youth and ran off full speed becoming blurs in the distance)

Neji: "I swear those two are gay…" (Tenten laughed and agreed with him) "Well Itachi follow me, and don't try to escape. I will have my Byakugan on the whole time."

Itachi: (He sighed and spoke with surprising venom) "You couldn't stop me from leaving if I was in front of you the entire time, I doubt you would even notice I had left until I was already dead from old age…" (Neji's eyes blazed with anger and hatred, he was practically foaming out of the mouth)

Neji: "Listen here tough guy! You cannot escape my eyes and if you even speak in a manner I don't like I will make sure you don't live to see the leaf village! We are in control here!" (Tenten was shocked that Neji would speak so heatedly, he was normally calm and collected)

Tenten: "Hey Neji… Um you should calm down. He IS a dangerous criminal after all. I wouldn't underestimate him."

Neji: "Whatever… let's go before I do something I regret." (Itachi was grinning wickedly the entire time)

Itachi: I know I'm trying to get back into the leaf village but who says I need the support of Neji. He is not important at all and if I get him angry enough and I time it correctly I may be able make an advantageous position out of it. "I thought you wanted to thank the person who kept your precious Hinata alive." (Neji froze in place, Tenten slowly backed away from Neji as he set Hinata down)

Neji: "It would be a cold day in hell before I ever thank you. You are only using her anyway, that ends today." (Itachi looked at Neji with a mocking grin that only served to increase his anger) "What the hell are you smiling at!? I always hated you Uchiha! The only smile you are capable of is a smug grin!"

Itachi: "Calm down Hyuuga, you might actually be growing some balls now…" (Neji was barely able to stop himself from choking the life out of Itachi)

Neji: Who does he think he is!? I need to take Guy sensei's advice and ignore him or I may lose control and do something stupid.

Itachi: "Hmph! Looks like I was mistaken, you are just a bitchy prepubescent girl…" (Neji's self control snapped he let out a barbaric battle cry and smashed his pal against Itachi's chest sending him flying back and skidding across the ground. Neji ran to where Itachi landed fully prepared to beat him to death and back to life again. Neji's left leg collapsed as a rope lined with spikes dug into his knee and was suddenly pulled back; Neji fell flat on his face and quickly got up in time to block a palm from Hinata. Hinata kicked Neji in his now injured knee and followed up with a roundhouse kick that he could barely block; in fact in doing so he couldn't keep his balance on his bad leg and fell down. Hinata jumped on top of Neji and held her glowing hand at his throat Neji could feel the danger it held, one touch could rip his throat open.

Hinata: (Hinata sounded hostile and confident in her speech, she was completely different from the Hinata Neji knew) "What do you think you're doing Neji!? Itachi is not an enemy! He only wants to return to the leaf village, he has helped me a lot Neji! Don't attack him unless you want me as an enemy too…"

Neji: (Neji couldn't believe his ears he just couldn't believe what she said) "What are you talking about Hinata!? You don't know what you're saying… Itachi works for the Akatsuki and only wants to get the Kyuubi out of Naruto!"

Hinata: "You are wrong! They betrayed him, he has no reason to go after Naruto now. He is not as bad as the leaf village makes him out to be! He taught me how to be confident and he helped me become this strong! He is my partner Neji!"

Neji: "P-partner! You sound like some kind of criminal Hinata! He has taught you to fight like him! You have almost completely abandoned the Gentle Fist haven't you!? He has brainwashed you he is an evil man who has done despicable things!"

Hinata: "HOW WOULD YOU KNOW!? You have never so much as spoke to him before now! I have been with him for two weeks now and look how much stronger I have become! I know him better then any of you so don't lecture me using your stupid dogmatic view of him! Look how much he has helped me! Much more than father ever did, I'm glad he's dead!!!" (Tenten gasped and Neji stared into her eyes with a mixture of confusion and anger)

Neji: (Neji calmed himself quickly) "Hinata… has he told you that he's dead? It was a lie! He is still alive and well in the new location of the leaf village." (Hinata looked at Neji in shock then looked at Itachi who was now standing)

Hinata: "Is it true…?" (Itachi looked at her with a serious and critical expression)

Itachi: "So you doubt me now…? I thought I told you that you could trust me… The Hiashi in the village is a fake." (Hinata seemed torn between believing Itachi or believing her father was still alive, Hinata realized what kind of an impact it would have on Hanabi if he was truly dead) "Hinata, figure out the truth on your own. You already know how accurate these clones are… I cannot prove he is a fake, and you know the only way to prove it would incriminate me further. If you truely want to know you know what you must do..."

Hinata: (She got off of Neji and stood shaking for a moment) what do I do!? The only way to prove he is a fake is if I kill him and he turns into goop…But what if he's not a fake and I kill him! I would be killing my own father! What has happened to me… I'm talking about killing someone important to me! I would never have thought like this a few weeks ago… Itachi how did you change me so much? "Neji… I-I'm sorry for attacking you please forgive me!" (Itachi was shocked and Neji smiled comfortingly)

Neji: "It's not your fault Hinata. I am impressed with your skills, you caught me off guard!" So she is not gone completely. Good I can bring her back but I might need some help from a certain knucklehead. You haven't won yet Itachi… Not even you can change Hinata into a murderer

Itachi: Dammit what the hell are you doing Hinata!? I spent so much time teaching you to be strong and confident and you are throwing it all away! Don't go back to being that timid little girl who was too shy to even talk to anyone…how did this backfire!? Where did i miscalculate!? Maybe i was too direct about trying to get her to kill the fake Hiashi... no she truely hates him it must be something else. Who else is important to her? Naruto is still with the Akatsuki no doubt, her teammate would not take it so well if she murdered her father they would blame me for it anyway. Her sister? Hmmmm maybe she doesn't want to believe Hiashi is dead or a fake because of how her sister who suffer from it... i can still pulls the strings from this position though...

Hinata: "T-thank you Neji… I-I'm glad! I can't wait to see everyone back in the village…" (Neji smiled pleasantly and patted Hinata's head then began to walk in the direction of the sand village.)

Tenten: "Well the village isn't the same anymore since we're staying with the sand, underground. But I'm sure everyone will be so happy to see you!" (Hinata seemed a little irritated at this)

Hinata: "I'm sure… but you guys were staying with the sand the entire time!? We already checked there and Gaara said that they had no idea where you went!" (Tenten shrugged and looked over at Itachi)

Tenten: "It's probably because you were with him, we told him to be wary of imposters and the Akatsuki. He must of thought you were a fake especially if you acted as you did a few moments ago hehe!" (Tenten and Hinata were engaged in conversation when Neji walked over to Itachi)

Neji: (He sounded triumphant and cocky) "Well Itachi it seems like I won… you couldn't get rid of the old Hinata in such a short time. This is who she is, not a coldhearted murderer like you." (Itachi scoffed and stared straight ahead)

Itachi: "What do you know… about me or what emotions drives her to fight? You are her family yes, however you have not spoken to her as I have. You have not gotten into her mind and you cannot read her emotions as I do. Every time we trained and that spark of determination grew in her eyes I was able to feel what inspired that. It was her hatred for her father! And her desire to prove to him that he was wrong and that she was not weak… When you have shared any significant time with her and actually speak to her, then you can tell me what kind of person she is." (Neji glared at Itachi before turning his back)

Neji: "I already know you're wrong… her inspiration is not her hatred and desire to impress her father. It is her desire to be noticed by and impress Naruto… love is a much stronger emotion then hatred." He has a point... i have not spent much time with Hinata i don't know what really is in her heart but i can see from the surface that nothing so evil could possibly survive in such a gentle person. She is far too kind to hold a grudge or hate anybody... if she can do so now it is because of you Itachi. (Itachi made a barely visible smile as he observed Neji lost in thought)

Itachi: Sasuke… "You are right… love is a stronger emotion. A much stronger emotion." (Neji glanced back at Itachi with a puzzled look on his face)

Neji: He agreed with me? What lurks in your heart Itachi? What makes you agree with me? "Well we've wasted enough time… Hinata! Tenten! We're leaving… If we keep Guy sensei waiting any longer we'll have to listen to some kind of annoying rant about wasting our youth." (Tenten and Hinata giggled and nodded. Neji, Itachi, Hinata and Tenten all began to run behind Neji who lead the way to the village. Itachi kept watching Hinata for a sign that she was still on his side but couldn't determine anything.)

Itachi: this could be troubling if she no longer has my back. I will have no leverage to get back in the village and without their help I won't be able to take out the Akatsuki. It is impossible without their help… (Itachi began thinking of backup plans out of any possible situation that could occur)

(Surprisingly only a few hours later they arrived at the hidden sand village exhausted from such a hectic pace. Tsunade, several Anbu, Guy, Lee, and team Kurenai were waiting at the entrance)

Tsunade: "Good job Neji on securing such a high priority target… Guy and Lee I'll finish with you later." (Guy and Lee walked slowly away looking like they had been given the death penalty. Tsunade started to talk when she was interrupted by Kiba)

Kiba: (He was overcome with joy and excitement so much that he couldn't control himself) "Hinata! It's great to see you again! She knew you wouldn't get taken down by a few rogues! We were still a bit worried, but man…its great to have you back!" (Tsunade was actually not annoyed and seemed to enjoy watching the rest of Team Kurenai great their teammate)

Tsunade: "Well if you are all done I'll continue, after all you guys can catch up later… Now Neji we will deal with Itachi you are dismissed." (Tsunade signaled for the Anbu to take Itachi who did not hesitate for a second before slamming him on the ground and tying him up even more. Itachi looked like a mummy in rope and chain before the Anbu finally began to carry him away)

Hinata: (She seemed troubled by the way the Anbu had handled Itachi) "W-was all that really necessary?" (Kiba smiled and laughed)

Kiba: "Yup she hasn't changed a bit hahaha! She's still as kindhearted as ever, even to an enemy!" (Hinata was extremely angry at Kiba's comment)

Hinata: "Shut up! I HAVE changed… I'm stronger than before and smarter too! Don't talk about things you don't know!" (Kiba actually flinched at Hinata's biting tone, he was shocked and speechless)

Shino: "Hinata…calm down, Kiba was just being Kiba…" (Hinata was already calm before he finished his sentence but Kiba was still a little disturbed at what had happened. However he quickly shook it off and went back to normal)

Kurenai: "Ok we can continue this over some dinner my treat… how's that sound?" (Everyone nodded in agreement and began to follow Kurenai when a familiar voice rang out)

Naruto: "Hinata!!! Over here!!!" (Everyone looked up at Naruto standing on top of a building looking all dramatic in the falling sun. Hinata felt her face heat up she began to feel dizzy until her brain kicked in)

Kiba: "Hey Naruto! Did you come to welcome Hinata!? Well get down here idiot!" (The two shinobi began a shouting contest throwing insults at each other. Hinata was oblivious to the scene)

Hinata: That's impossible! He can't be here… He was captured by the Akatsuki and handed over to that Subashi guy. Could he have escaped? Or is he another fake? Maybe…Itachi was right after all! If that's true then that would mean my father is a fake too and that he is really dead! That means anyone here could be a fake…possibly everyone! How can I tell!? (Hinata flew back into her mind trying to remember how Itachi said to tell the difference)

Itachi: "Since they seem to be completely identical in both body and mind… and not even your Byakugan can see a difference in chakra. It seems the only way to tell is if you kill them… if they are fake they will liquefy into a black goop. If they are real they will continue to bleed and the body will remain. That is the only way I have found so far…"

Hinata: I-I will have to kill Naruto!? And my father!? Why do you keep reminding me that the only way to tell is to kill!? I don't know if i even have the strength to do such a thing... Itachi (Hinata recalled the last two weeks and the training that Itachi had put her through. He would take the form of someone he knew she cared about and force her to fight, and he acted so similar to the person he was disguised as she almost believed it was the real person. He taught her to push her emotions to the side and focus on surviving and defeating the opponent no matter who it may be. And above all he constantly reminded Hinata of her strength, he always praised her when she did something right and criticised her on how to improve. He had not trained her jutsu and body... he had trained her mind and confidence. She had mental strength and she knew that was what drove her to continue) Thank you itachi...

Chapter End

Dun dun dun! What will Hinata do? Who am I fooling anyone who know Hinata knows what she will and won't do! But who knows has 2 weeks with Itachi changed her enough to kill friends and family? Hahahaha! I will leave you all to wonder! Well things are not going so well over here in the real world… it is very tough to get a job and until I do I only have limited time on this computer, I'm worried that if I don't get a job I will not have internet anymore and I won't be able to update at all! This time the only reason for the delaying of my update was how many changes I made to this chapter… I have rewritten this chapter 4 times trying to get it just right. I'm not going to explain why the other versions were not good enough cause that would take all day/night… Here is one reason though this is only supposed to be a small filler chapter to ease things into the next chapter rather then throwing you into the fire immediately. Well I'm hoping this next chapter goes smoother, it is going a lot better than this one so keep your fingers crossed! The next chapter is full of both heart stopping suspense and mind blowing action! Until next update, wish me luck.