Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
A/N: The winner of the poll is Kakashi/Anko and Obito/Rin! Thanks to everyone who voted! :)
Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
To KiyumiArashi: It has something to do with that group of people, yes, more specifically, their tenants... As for the apartment: I didn't even consider doing that. Does it have an apartment number in canon? To answer your questions: Yes, was that rhetorical?, I don't know, yes.
To Mastur Cheef: The plot will progress, yes. It is still progressing in fact. Some plot-points will be more subtle than others however...
To Pinksakura200: I'm honored that you're reading my story despite the fact that he isn't in it. Thanks. :)
To Noxy the Proxy: My fic is good enough that you re-read the chapters?! Yay! :D
To Zombiefied Rider: Thanks! I'm really sorry but Kakashi isn't in this chapter. He just wouldn't fit in. :( Next chapter he's back though! :)
To AwesomPossums: Thank you! I try to update every two weeks if I can.
XXXXXXXXXX
Chapter Eleven: The Power of Human Sacrifice
Uzushiogakure, Uzukage's Office:
The Uzukage sat stiff-backed in his chair, pen tapping on his desk impatiently as he watched the clock ticking on his wall. The Uzukage's office was similar to it's counterpart, the Hokage's office, the only difference being that the carpet was lavender, the walls violet, and the symbol of the Land of Eddies and the Uzushio swirl were behind the Uzukage's desk instead of the symbols for the Land of Fire and Konoha. Other than that, things were pretty much the same. Pictures of the Sandaime Uzukage's predecessors lined the wall, a window overlooked the village, the desk was covered with paperwork... and photographs of the Uzukage's family lay on the desktop.
The Uzukage gazed down at one particular picture, like he always did whenever he wasn't busy, and sighed, a low sound of melancholy. He picked the picture up in his weathered, calloused hands, fingers stroking the ink that formed the cheek of the young red-haired girl in the photograph. The girl was slightly chubby and grinning widely, violet eyes bright and free of worry and cares. Her long, bushy red hair went down to her knees, held back by a violet clip, a clip that matched her eyes perfectly. In the corner of the photo, scrawled in a child's hand, were four words:
Love you Daddy!
~Kushina
The Uzukage sighed again, gaze lingering on the happy child in the picture. As the years had passed since he'd exiled his daughter to Konoha, and he himself had grown older, the Uzukage had missed his daughter more and more. He wanted to see her, talk to her, love her as a father... but he couldn't. He was a Kage first. And what Kushina had done— though unintentional— was unacceptable in a Kage's eyes. Even if she had been only a child. Even if it had been an accident. Besides, the Council's decision could not be overruled, not even by a Kage. And so every time the Uzukage saw his daughter, he didn't shower her with the fatherly love he wanted to, but the scorn and ridicule of a disappointed leader.
Scorn and ridicule that he was really directing at himself. For in the end, it was him who was to blame for her exile. It was his fault. But there was no point brooding. The past couldn't be changed.
That didn't stop the past from hurting though.
The clock struck nine, chiming softly, and the Uzukage straightened, sad posture vanishing beneath an emotionless exterior. He clasped his hands together on his desk, facing the door expectantly, and waited.
The knob turned and clicked, and the door swung inward silently. A cloaked, hooded figure swept through the doorway, as silent as the shadows he emerged from, and bowed partially to the Uzukage.
"Uzukage-dono."
The Uzukage nodded coolly. "I would return your greeting but cannot, for I do not know your name. Excuse my bluntness, but I will not call you "Leader"."
"I apologize for my secrecy," the Leader said silkily. "But my Order does not trust those outside the fold with our identities. That can be changed, however. Have you thought about my proposition, Uzukage-dono?"
The Uzukage's graying red eyebrows moved downward as he frowned. "Yes. And my answer is no. Uzushio will have nothing to do with your "Order"."
The Leader nodded slightly, as if he had expected the Uzukge's answer, head tipping to the side curiously. "It's hard to believe that you made me travel all this way just to turn down my offer." the cloaked figure said, almost sounding disappointed, "Are you sure about your decision, Uzukage-dono? You will not reconsider?"
The Uzukage's emotionless mask broke and he scowled at the man before him, anger entering his grey eyes like violent flames. "I will not reconsider. There was nothing to consider in the first place! My answer is final. That being said, there is nothing left to discuss, for there is nothing we wish to gain that would come from an alliance with you," the Uzukage snarled, voice scathing and cold. "Uzushio may not have any Bloodline Users, but that does not mean we want to exterminate them! Now get out, before I make you."
The Leader smiled a cold, sneering grin. "Very well. I'm gone."
And in a blink, he was.
The Leader reappeared in the Tsuchikage's office, Onoki instantly moving from his chair to fall to his knees at the sight of his master.
"My Lord."
"The Uzukage has rejected my offers of friendship and refuses to assist in our mission," the Leader said softly. "I'm afraid that Uzushiogakure is beyond salvation. Kill them all."
"It will be done, My Lord," Onoki stated.
XXXXXXXXXX
Three weeks later:
Minato stood among the large group of Chünin and Jönin that were gathered in front of the Hokage Tower, waiting for the Sandaime to speak. As he was when giving news of the Third War, the Sandaime stood before the crowd, just in front of the Tower doors, face set into a grave expression.
"Shinobi of Konohagakure," Sarutobi said loudly, everyone hearing his voice easily "Time is of the essence so I will be brief. Uzushiogakure is currently under siege from forces from Iwagakure. You are being sent to assist our allies. Go with haste."
"Yes Hokage-sama!" the battalion shouted.
Minato could see Kushina shivering with tension, her fists clenching so tightly that her nails bit into her palms. He put a hand on his friend's arm, and she relaxed, smiling tightly at him, trying to say she was okay despite the fact that she wasn't. Minato knew that she was worried— beyond worried. She and her father might not be on friendly terms, but he was still her family. Uzushio was still her native home.
The battalion— which was being led by Orochimaru— raced out of Konoha with ordered haste, running in eight long lines. Minato was in between Hizashi and Kushina, Mikoto on Hizashi's other side. Like everyone around them, they were silent, intent only on making it to Uzushio to assist their long-time allies. The Uzushio ninja were known for being prodigies in Fuuinjutsu, and would have plenty of offensive and defensive seals around their city to protect them, but seals were only powerful if the enemy didn't know how to neutralize them. That was the main reason Minato refused to just focus on sealing, despite his knack for the techniques. The Uzushio ninja used seals for nearly everything, focusing on Fuuinjutsu— and only Fuuinjutsu— to the point of near-obsession. Maybe that was why Kushina refused to learn any sealing other than the General Sealing Method and Explosive Tags. Kushina had very little love for the village that sent her away.
The Land of Eddies could easily be reached in a day, Uzushio itself not much later. The Konoha battalion reached the border quickly, and waited a half hour to see if there were any Uzushio patrols. No one came, proving just how bad it was at Uzushio that they couldn't even patrol their own borders. If Orochimaru was feeling worried about this fact, none of his trepidation showed in his golden eyes as he turned to the ninja he was leading.
"Move out and keep alert. Sensors, if you sense anyone inform me immediately."
"Yes sir!" the Leaf ninja responded.
They moved out, racing along the roads and paths that wound through the thick forests of the Land of Eddies. Rain began to fall from the cloudy grey sky, turning the partly dirt roads into annoying brown mud. Said mud splashed up the Konoha Shinobi's legs as they ran, a rhythmic splash-splash-splash sound rising over the pattering rain as they ran towards their destination. Despite the weather hindering them, the Leaf ninja ran on, some using tiny bits of chakra to warm or dry themselves. There was no point in stopping due to the weather and waiting it out— there was nowhere to shelter from the rain— and they couldn't be delayed.
They stopped to rest for another half hour an hour's run from Uzushio, recuperating and preparing for the upcoming fight. In the absence of the sound of feet splashing through mud, Minato noticed how quiet the forest was. There were no animals moving, no birds singing, nothing. It could have been because of the rain, or because of the many humans running through the forest... but Minato's instincts told him that they weren't the reason the animals had run off.
After their break Orochimaru once again called for them to move out, and the Leaf ninja continued towards their goal. The absence of sounds other than the rain and their feet remained, and Minato's feeling of unease grew. There should have been some type of noise. The sounds of battle: war-cries, Jutsu, fire, screams, something. Some sound that Uzushiogakure was still standing, still resisting the ones who were trying to breach their walls. The Konoha forces were close enough now that Minato could use his sensing abilities to sense the people in Uzushio. Before he could touch his yellow chakra however, Kushina gripped his arm.
"Don't." she croaked, sounding scared and strained. "Please don't."
So she too suspected that they were too late.
The Leaf ninja emerged from the forest, the people in the front of the battalion stiffening and gasping, their small, shocked outbursts making Minato's heart clench. Slowly, dreading what he was going to see, the blonde-haired Jönin leaned to the side, around the people that were blocking his view of Uzushiogakure, and looked at the city.
The city's violet front gates were broken and almost off of their hinges, the Uzushio swirl completely obliterated, leaving a gaping hole in the tall wall that surrounded Uzushiogakure. Scorch marks matted the wall in haphazard patterns, black marks surrounding giant holes in the once smooth rock surface. Ladders leaned against the wall, abandoned and sometimes broken, the shadows of dead enemies lying randomly at the wall's base. That wasn't what made Minato's grip on denial fail, however. Barely visible above the broken wall, still standing in the center of the village, was the destroyed Uzukage Tower, the top four floors of the once beautiful structure shattered and destroyed.
If the Uzukage Tower had been destroyed, it meant that the enemy had reached the center, the very core, of the village. It also meant...
Sensing movement beside him, Minato gripped Kushina's arm before she could break free of their uniform lines and dash into the village. Kushina pulled weakly against his hold, wide eyes locked on the destroyed Tower, mouth moving repeatedly in a silent chant of "No no no no no."
Orochimaru gave himself a visible shake— breaking his shocked stillness— before turning back to his men. His voice was quiet but was easily heard in the silence. "Rows One through Five, search the outer ring for survivors. Rows Six through Ten, search the middle ring. Rows Eleven through Fifteen, search the village's core. Stay in at least groups of two and be wary of ambushes and traps. Go."
Kushina ran into the village like she were running from a demon, Minato on her tail to make sure his friend didn't rush into a trap. They were the first to breach the broken doors, and, for a moment, Minato thought they were at the wrong place. The buildings— if they could even be called that— around them looked like ancient ruins, not a recently conquered city. Rubble lay haphazardly in the road, chunks of rock taller than Minato partly buried in the streets. The still-continuing rain had put out most of the fires, leaving the charred remains of buildings to stand or crumble from stress. The rain had also washed away most of the blood, including it's scent, leaving Uzushio's people— the ones that weren't burnt beyond recognition— with only wounds to show that they were no longer alive.
Minato raced after Kushina through the destroyed streets, senses spread far for any sign of danger. He didn't sense anyone other than the Leaf's forces. No Uzushio ninja, no civilians, no enemies. Minato felt a sinking feeling in his gut. How long ago had Uzushio fallen? The Hokage had sent the battalion out as soon as he received word of the siege. Had Uzushio fallen that quickly... or had someone else sent the distress message to the Hokage?
Banishing his troubling thoughts with a shake of his head, Minato focused of following Kushina, who was running determinedly towards the center of the village. Minato knew where she was headed. Where her father probably was. Where her mother most likely would have been. The village's core.
The Uzukage Tower looked even worse close up. Char marks and signs of abuse covered the once beautiful structure like scars, the rubble from the destroyed top floors lying in the road like a broken jigsaw puzzle. Studying the top of the Tower, distracting himself from his turbulent emotions by finding answers, Minato realized that the top four floors had been blown up from the inside. Burned bodies lay around the tower just as randomly, as if all of the people had been thrown from the tower when it had exploded. Many of the bodies had metal plates with the Uzushio symbol lying near them, the metal surviving the blast while much else did not. Kushina wandered around the Tower in a daze, stumbling like a drunk, still mouthing "No no no no."
A glimpse of dirty white and violet caught Minato's eye and he felt the blood drain from his face.
"K-Kushina." he croaked.
She whipped around to stare at him, and, unable to speak, he pointed. Laying beside a man-sized corpse, almost completely charred, was the still-recognizable Uzukage's hat.
Kushina fell to her knees, staring at the body, her eyes drawn to the hat next to the unidentifiable corpse's head. A small, choking sound escaped her lips, accompanied by the harsh wheeze of her too-fast breaths.
"Daddy?" she whimpered, suddenly a small, scared child.
Minato forced his feet to move, kneeling at her side. "Kushina..."
Her body began to shake, her breaths coming in terrible gasps. Minato put his hand on her shoulder, wondering if she were going to cry.
"Kushina?" he asked softly.
The blonde haired Jönin felt searing, sudden heat rake his palm, like he'd placed his hand on a hot stove top, and yelped, jerking away from Kushina. He stared at his burned palm for a moment, then looked back up at his friend, stunned. What had—?
Before Minato's wide eyes, red chakra bubbled out from the girl, forming a... tail? Kushina didn't move, the evil chakra flaring, and two more tails appeared in rapid succession, whipping angrily from side to side. Despite the unexplainable fear that enveloped him, Minato found his voice.
"Kushina—"
BOOM!
Minato flew backwards as an inferno appeared around Kushina, exploding outwards and hitting him with the force of one of Tsunade's punches. The Jönin slammed into the side of the destroyed building, the remaining stone cracking behind him. Winded, he looked up... and saw a monster.
W-What—?
A four tailed blood red fox made of chakra stood before him, roaring it's rage to the sky. Waves of heat seemed to come of the beast, making the air around it waver. Minato flinched as Killer Intent swamped him, but he ignored his instinct's screams to run away! Minato rose to his feet, hands raised in a placating gesture, as he approached the transformed Kushina.
"Kushina!"
Blood red eyes settled on him, pupils becoming dangerous pinpricks. With a reflexive jerk, Minato dodged as a clawed hand made of chakra shot towards him, slamming into the wall. The blonde-haired teen watched, horrified and fascinated, as the stone burned and melted, bubbling like molten metal. He Flashed, evading another deadly swipe, and fox-Kushina shrieked in rage. Chakra exploded out from her again, Minato barely able to Flash in time to dodge the blast. He reappeared away from the Tower, heart pounding loudly in his chest. This had to be Kushina's Bloodline, the one she told him about. But what kind of Bloodline felt so evil?!
Kushina's in there somewhere, he told himself, She's just having a berserker rage of some sort. Okay. I need to keep her away from our forces and figure out how to calm her—
BOOM!
A building near Minato crumbled as the fox-Kushina— now with five tails!— burst through it, bellowing angrily at the sky. Minato hit the ground, one of the tails carving a deep cut into the wall above him. He Flashed, appearing a small distance away. Fox-Kushina roared at him, enraged that her prey had escaped her again. With a burst of speed normal-Kushina wasn't capable of, she shot forward, Minato feeling his shirt singe as he barely dodged her attack.
The angry red chakra flared again, twisting around Kushina like a tornado and another tail appeared, making six. Bones began to form around the red chakra, settling grotesquely around fox-Kushina like a second skeleton. Minato knew then that something was very wrong, that Kushina wasn't in control of... whatever this was.
I need to suppress her chakra! He deducted quickly, Flashing out of fox-Kushina's sight.
He heard another BOOM as fox-Kushina tore through another crumbling building, searching for him. Minato grabbed his pre-made seals from his jacket pocket, fumbling with them as the ground shook and fox-Kushina destroyed another building, searching desperately for the one he needed.
Chakra-suppression-chakra-suppression-chakra-suppression— There!
Minato pulled out the seal, and felt extreme heat wash over him from behind. He rolled to the side, barely evading fox-Kushina's chakra claws as she landed on the spot where he'd been, stabbing deep holes into the road. Minato regained his footing, balancing lightly on the balls of his feet, ready to dodge, and waited for fox-Kushina to charge him again. Predictably, she did, lunging for him like a predator pouncing prey— with the intent to kill. Minato Flashed, reappearing directly in front of fox-Kushina, pressing the chakra-suppressing tag to her forehead. Instantly, the red chakra vanished, sinking back into Kushina's skin like a sponge soaking up water, making a soft hissing sound like a hot poker dunked in water. The bones faded like they'd never existed, melting away like an icicle before a roaring flame. Skin red and burned, eyes closed, Kushina collapsed, Minato catching his friend as she fell.
"Kushina!"
Red, slit-pupil eyes opened, the pupil wavering once before turning circular, the cruel crimson irises fading to soft violet. Kushina moaned softly, a wounded, pained sound, tears streaming down her burned cheeks.
"Mi-Minato—"
"Shh. Shh. You're okay." Minato soothed, gathering his chakra, carefully trying to heal her wounds. "I'm trying to heal you, all right?"
Kushina didn't relax, a terrible, alien fear in her normally cheerful eyes. "Wha-what happ-ened?" she croaked, wincing as she moved her raw, burned mouth.
Minato felt an icy chill. "You don't remember? You... turned into a six-tailed fox."
Kushina began to shake, eyes growing impossibly wide, face transforming into a look of horror. "I— Did I— Did I kill—?"
"No!" Minato hurried to assure her. "You didn't hurt anyone."
Kushina instantly relaxed. "Good..."
She grunted, face screwing up in pain, and to Minato's shock, her wounds began to heal. Slowly but obviously, the red, burned skin was replaced by healthy, pink skin, the wounds disappearing in seconds. Kushina's breathing eased and she gave a sigh of relief.
"At least the Furball healed the damage he caused this time..." she muttered under her breath.
Minato frowned, unsure as to whether he was supposed to hear that comment. "Furball?"
Kushina stiffened, a wild look entering her eyes. She struggled to rise, looking away from Minato, slowly gaining her footing.
"We need to get back to the others," she mumbled, still not looking at her friend, muscles tense like she was preparing to flee.
Minato grabbed her wrist, gently but firmly, preventing her escape. "Kushina, don't do that. Please tell me what happened. I know that you know."
The red head worried her lip with her teeth, still avoiding his concerned, curious gaze. "I don't..."
"Kushina." Minato said in a whisper. "Whatever it is that you're afraid of, don't be. I'm your friend. You can tell me what's going on."
Kushina sat heavily on a large piece of rubble, burying her face in her hands. Minato settled beside her, silent and patient, waiting for his friend to speak.
"I am the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. I'm a demon's host." Kushina finally confessed in a flat, toneless voice. She glanced sidelong at Minato, as if waiting for a reaction, echoes of fear still lingering in her gaze.
Minato stared back at her for a moment before blinking. "And?"
Kushina stared at him. "Didn't you hear what I just said?"
Minato nodded.
"And all you say is "And?"?"
Minato nodded again.
Kushina stared bewilderingly at him. "So you don't care?"
"Nope. Why should I?"
Kushina was practically gaping now. "...You didn't even think about it. I'm a Jinchuuriki."
"So?" Minato asked, confused. "It doesn't affect my view of you."
Kushina gaped comically for a moment longer before giving him a tiny smile. "And here I was stressing out about the day when you'd discover my secret..."
The two sat in silence, surveying the destruction around them.
"...Don't you have questions?" Kushina asked eventually, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Why were you chosen to become the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki?" Minato asked. "And...does your... tenant have anything to do with why you came to Konoha?"
Kushina leaned back, staring upward at the broken cylinder that used to be the Uzukage Tower, eyes haunted and sad. "Ever since the day I was born, I was chosen to be it's jailor. I had the necessary requirements: I was an Uzumaki, I was young, and I was related to the Uzukage. When I was three, the Kyuubi was extracted from my Great-great aunt, Mito Uzumaki, and sealed into me. Aunt Mito was old, very very old... so no one saw it as a loss when she died." Kushina's voice trembled and Minato put his arm around her, squeezing her reassuringly. "For about a year, everything was fine. Everything was normal. I was treated all right, and everyone respected me... the same as before. But, when I was four... I snuck into my father's office and played with his seals. The resulting explosion killed twenty people. I only survived because of Kyuubi. Because of my stupidity, my father declared me a disgrace and failure, and sent me to Konoha."
Minato was stunned and disgusted. "But you were only four!"
"The moment I became a Jinchuuriki, I was considered a "shinobi" of Uzushio." Kushina whispered bitterly. "I was supposed to be mature and smart enough to keep a powerful Bijuu at bay, a duty my Kage trusted me with. How could he trust me now, now that I'd disobeyed his commands to not touch his seals, and caused the deaths of twenty people?"
"You were four," Minato repeated. "And unless becoming a Jinchuuriki instantly gives you the common sense of an adult, how were you supposed to know what would happen?"
Kushina shrugged despairingly.
"I think it's ridiculous as well," a new voice said.
Minato and Kushina jumped and spun, to find Hizashi leaning against one of the partly-standing buildings, pale eyes calm but sad. The Hyuuga walked forward and sat down on Kushina's other side, gazing at the destroyed Uzukage Tower.
"I heard everything you said," he murmured, blinking the rain out of his eyes. "And I don't care that you're a Jinchuuriki either." A single black eyebrow rose. "Does my brother know?"
"Yes." Kushina mumbled. "And Fugaku. My Sensei made me tell my team when I became a Chünin. He said they had a right to know." Her gaze drifted upward over the Uzukage Tower, an expression of grief that Minato suspected had nothing to do with the current destruction flashing across her features before vanishing.
"How did they react?" Minato asked suspiciously.
Kushina squirmed uncomfortably. "Hiashi was a little jittery for a few days but he got over it. Fugaku avoided me as much as he could for two weeks, but eventually came up to me and told me that even though I had the most powerful demon in my gut, I was still a Dobe. He's fine with it now."
"Then why were you worried that we— your friends— would reject you?" Minato asked incredulously.
"I wasn't worried that you'd reject me forever," Kushina whispered. "Just that you would reject me for a moment. I-I couldn't handle it i-if you were afraid of me for even a second!" Tears began to stream down Kushina's cheeks mingling with the rain. "Before you two, I had nobody who cared about me. Sure, I was invited to important parties and stuff and mingled with the others but I never had any actual friends before. I was so lonely before you two came along. I was beginning to become bitter and hateful. I've heard how many Jinchuuriki are treated in other villages, and how many of them become like the demons they host. If you hadn't come along..." Kushina trailed off, still gazing up at the Uzukage Tower.
Minato put his arm around her, squeezing her gently, and Hizashi put a hand on her shoulder.
"That doesn't matter." Minato murmured. "We are here. We are your friends. We will always be there for you."
Kushina nodded once, violet eyes watery with tears. "I know that now. I just— I wish that he'd been there." They all knew who she was talking about. "They were my parents. How could they just send me away?" She began to sob, shoulders shaking as small gasps escaped her lips. "I just wanted them to be proud of me! And now they're gone."
Hizashi and Minato both hugged their friend as she bawled, her cries echoing in the silence of the dead city. If any other ninja witnessed the girl's breakdown, they did not reveal themselves, leaving the girl with her friends to grieve.
XXXXXXXXXX
The battalion from Konoha found no survivors. Not a single one. They spent the day and most of the night searching, but uncovered nothing but ashes and blood. A series of seals, discovered by a team searching outside of the village walls, were shown to power a new type of barrier, one that prevented humans from leaving a certain area. Closer inspection of the seals had revealed that they had been placed before the siege had even begun. Not a single person in Uzushiogakure had escaped. It was rather ironic that Uzushiogakure, well known for it's prowess in Fuuinjutsu, had been killed by seals so similar to the ones they specialized in and coveted.
The failed assistance team were back in the Land of Fire, making their slow way back to Konoha. Minato, Kushina, Hizashi, Hiashi, Mikoto, and Fugaku all lingered in the back, mostly for Kushina's sake. Everyone in the battalion knew that Kushina had been from Uzushiogakure. If anyone turned around to stare at her with pitying eyes, they'd find five people— two Uchiha, two Hyuuga, and the Yellow Flash— glaring at them. People quickly learned not to stare.
Finally, after hours of silent travel, Konoha's walls came into view, the Leaf Ninja instinctively speeding up as they neared home. The six teens in the back kept up their slower pace, feeling little joy at returning after the failed mission.
As they neared the gates, Hiashi halted abruptly, Minato accidentally walking into him. The elder Hyuuga twin gave the blonde-haired teen a glare before his gaze returned to what had caused his sudden halt. Next to Minato, Hizashi sucked in a small, worried breath. Standing just within the village gates, their faces grave and serious, stood the Hyuuga Elder Council. Minato knew a little about the Elder Council, but one thing he did know was that if they were waiting at the gates for their group— more specifically, Hiashi and Hizashi— to return, something terrible had happened.
Hiashi stepped forward, Hizashi at his right shoulder with his head bowed slightly, hands clasped tightly in front of him— a posture of submission that Minato hated to see his friend wear.
"Hiashi-sama," the oldest-looking Elder said, ignoring Hizashi. "I have grave news. Your father, the Hyuuga Clan Head, has passed away."
A tiny spasm passed over Hiashi's usually emotionless face, and Hizashi's head dropped more, his hair falling forward to hide his face, his shoulders trembling slightly.
"How— when— did he die?" Hiashi asked in a calm, controlled voice that did not shake.
"He suffered a heart attack last night," the Elder murmured, a hint of sympathy entering his ancient white eyes. "It was very sudden."
"I see." Hiashi stated simply, still in control of his emotions, refusing to show the raw grief he must have been feeling. He turned to the non-Hyuuga ninja, face paler than normal. "We have to go. Please report to the Hokage in our stead."
"Of course," Fugaku murmured, sincere and subdued for once. The death of a Clan Head was nothing to sneer at.
Hiashi nodded jerkily and departed, the Elders following him like a flock of birds, Hizashi stumbling after them all— a forgotten, outcast member of their flock— in a daze. Minato made a mental note to check up on the twins later. Especially Hizashi, who would only open up and accept his emotions if Minato or Kushina were there.
The remaining four ninja stood by the gate in stunned silence, slowly comprehending what they'd just been told. Mikoto broke the silence, her voice soft.
"I can't believe this. With everything else that's going on... the Hyuuga Head dies of a heart attack."
"And right after Uzushio was— what happened in Uzushio," Fugaku added, switching what he was going to say when he saw the pained expression on Kushina's face.
The four looked at each other, grief stalled by sudden suspicion.
"It does seem rather coincidental..." Mikoto murmured.
"Now isn't the time," Minato interrupted, noting both Kushina's paling face and the two guards listening attentively to their conversation. "We have to report to the Hokage."
The others murmured in agreement, making their way to the Hokage Tower.
None of them spoke of their suspicions again, for the Hokage must have thought that the Hyuuga Clan Head's death coinciding with the destruction of Uzushiogakure was suspicious. Surely he must have done a thorough check of said Clan Head's accidental death. He must have thought that it was worrisome that the Hyuuga Clan was now being led by a seventeen year-old, a seventeen year-old who would have to bow to the will of the Hyuuga Council until he turned eighteen and his leadership was safe. A seventeen year-old who, to many, would be seen as a weakening of the Hyuuga Clan.
He must have thought about all of these things, and checked for any foul play.
He must have.
...Right?
XXXXXXXXXX
A/N: For those of you who have seen the TV show Charmed, the Leader's form of teleportation is like Blinking (minus the sound effects). He just vanishes.
If I remember correctly, the Land of Eddies was next to the Land of Fire. I can't remember exactly where. I don't have the manga so I can't check...
Next chapter will be called "The Beginning of the End"
Please review!