Hi again! I'd just like to say a very, very BIG thank you to all the people who have read the story and even took their time to review it. I'm extremely happy cause I never expected this story to reach over 100 reviews!! I'll try my best to make the readers enjoy the story much more than they are enjoying now! However, there's a downfall… My BIG exam is in 29 days and counting, so hopefully the readers can forgive for slow updating as I have yet to continue my studies… After that, I WILL BE FREE TO DO HOWEVER MUCH WRITING I WANT!! SQUEE!! Seriously, I don't own Naruto, OK? Go sue someone else!

Oh by the way, give a big round of applause to lovingo0Kawaii0oGirl for being the 100th reviewer!! You deserve a cookie!! Or two? XP

" H-Hi-Hinata-sama! You're back! " one of the servants stammered at the Hyuuga.

Hinata, Haku and Neji were currently at the kitchen. They wanted a bit more information on Hiashi's behaviour before attacking.

" Yes, Yuki. Please, I'm rather in a hurry. Could you tell me anything that happened these past few months I was gone? What's wrong with Otou-sama? " Hinata asked gently.

" H-Hiashi-sama's gone mad! Mad! There's been shouts and screams all night...Ever since he found that-that charm. " Yuki's voice lowered to a whisper.

" Where did he find it? " Hinata asked, already knowing the answer.

" It was buried under the Hyuuga Main house, in Hiashi-sama's room. Rumour has it that no one was supposed to touch it except the ones who had the 'gift'. Whoever else finds it will have eternal hell and die a painful death. It is said to contain a soul... " Yuki whimpered.

Haku and Neji exchanged worried looks.

" Take me to my father. " Hinata said.

" I-I cannot Hinata-sama. You and I will be killed! " Yuki gasped, horrified. " He drinks human blood now, claiming that it is for sacrifice. "

" Tell me where he is then. "

" In his room, like always. " Yuki bowed, shaking. " Forgive me, Hinata-sama. I said too much already. I will retire to my quarters. My mind is unsettled. " she left quickly, yet silently, without another word.

" OK, Yuki seemed she was scared shitless. Do you know how Orochi fights? " Haku turned to Hinata.

" Language! " Hinata smacked him on the head. " I'm not sure, but we might as well find out. I think- "

" Hinata-chan!! " a booming voice was heard.

" Naruto-kun! " Hinata whirled around. " What are you doing here? "

" Naruto-baka wanted to visit you. I decided to tag along. " Sakura grinned. " Why is it so eerily quiet? " she frowned.

" Um... " Hinata bit her lip.

" Hinata-chan? What's wrong? " Naruto said, forehead creased with worry.

Just at that moment, a frightful roar burst through the halls. The Hyuuga compound shook and the pillars holding the ancient buildings up groaned. Bits of concrete and dust flew around everywhere making the ninja shield their eyes.

" No! " Hinata sprinted towards her father's room.

" What the- What was that? " Sakura asked, rather shaken.

" Let's go! " Haku shot off in Hinata's direction.

Neji, Naruto and Sakura did the same. They were greeted with the same horrible sight that Hinata and Haku saw. Hiashi's eyes were bloodshot, rather than the normal pale violet eyes a Hyuuga normally has, and the very pupils were red. He was hunched over really low on his chair and the scariest part of it all was the grotesque shadow of eight heads sticking out of his back.

" Hinata-hime, you have come. " an extremely deep and raspy voice came from Hiashi's mouth. " I see you brought along some worldlings too. "

" Otou-sama... " Hinata murmured. " What did you do to Otou-sama?! " she shouted angrily.

" Oh, him? We sent him on a little trip to hell... " One of the eight heads laughed. " The legend of the Hyuuga family stated that whoever had the gift would not be possesed by us. We were unleashed the same time as the Kyuubi. So we have a profound connection with it. However, we are still the most powerful and with a roar we can summon the Kyuubi's chakra straight out of the boy's body. " another head sneered. " We are almighty! "

" You... " Neji ground his teeth together.

" Worldlings have no use in this battle, so I'll keep them busy. " yet another head continued. " Arise, Kyuubi! " all eight heads roared.

" Raargh!! " Naruto shouted in agony and fell to his knees. When he got up again, his eyes were a demonic red and an orange cloak of chakra coated his body. He snarled.

" Naruto! " Sakura screamed. " No! "

" Naruto-kun! " Hinata ran to him but was only to be blocked by a translucent, purple colored force field.

Orochi laughed as Hinata pounded the shield with chakra infused strikes. Nothing happened. She tried her wind jutsu on it. Nothing...

" Let me go!! " Hinata screamed at the over towering shadow.

" The battle is between you and me, Hinata-hime. Since your mother died before she could teach you to use your inner sight, you stand no chance. The worldlings will be kept busy with the Jinchuuriki so you don't have to worry. " Orochi grinned revealing eight mouths full of gleaming teeth, ready to tear.

" There it is! Finally! " another voice boomed across the house.

It was one voice Hinata knew very well.

" Kisame-sama! " Hinata gasped.

" Well, hey there, squirt! Enjoying your play time with Orochi? " Kisame grinned.

" You lied to me! All of you did! " Hinata's eyes burned with anger.

Naruto gave a roar and charged towards Haku. Haku quickly dodged and threw senbon needles at the Kyuubi container. This was of no use because the needles simply evaporated within inches of the orange chakra. Haku cursed under his breath. They had to battle Orochi, Kyuubi and now the Akatsuki. How the fuck were they going to pull through? No idea.

" Get the charm Kisame. I'll go for the Kyuubi. " another very low and commanding voice came into the scene.

" Itachi-sama... " Hinata hissed.

Itachi merely glanced at her before looking back at Naruto, who had three tails formed already. This was so not going to be easy for the Konoha-nin. Kisame walked up to the force field and swung his entire sword, Samehada at it. With a thundering crack, the shield broke apart allowing Kisame to walk in before it regenerated. Itachi stepped in as well.

" Hm? You're quite good. I take it that your leader is summoning me? " Orochi growled out.

" Yeah, I need the charm. " Kisame held his sword rather wary of the shadow.

" I will not let you have it! " Hinata shouted. " Never! You can't just summon Orochi like that! Everyone will die once he wreaks havoc! "

" Look, squirt, whatever Pein-sama wants, he has to get it. Otherwise, we die, OK? End of story. " Kisame snapped.

" Human... You have to kill the one I am possessing first. Then, you need someone with willpower or no emotions at all to bring it back to wherever your abode is. If not... " Orochi gave a chuckle. " You could end up just like him. "

Kisame looked at Hiashi, who now had blood and gruel coming out of his mouth. Nope, he definitely did not want to become like that.

" The one with the sharingan is a good choice. Or you can choose the princess... " Orochi snarled. " Hurry, my patience is wearing thin. "

" Give me the charm. " Itachi commanded firmly, holding out his hand.

Meanwhile, outside the force field...

" Damn it! " Neji sweared. " Haku! Try to get Naruto to attack Orochi! "

" And how do you want me to do that?! " Haku retorted avoiding a chakra blast that incinerated half the Hyuuga compound.

" Just do it! " Neji shouted back.

Sakura just stood there horrified. She didn't know what to do. her super-strength and her healing abilities were off little use now. She watched Naruto as his skin started to peel off like the last time. She shook her head and sobbed. Sakura didn't want to see Naruto in pain again. She didn't want him to suffer. What's this strong feeling? Sakura thought. Naruto roared again and attacked with a chakra ball. More skin was peeling off. Now, blood was combining with his cloak. Sakura couldn't stand it anymore. She wasn't going to be useless!

" Naruto!! Stop it! Just stop it, OK?! Enough! " Sakura ran towards him.

" Haruno-san! " Haku gasped.

Naruto slowly turned to look at Sakura. With demonic eyes he watched her, the stubborn, strong-willed Sakura was sobbing, sobbing on his shoulder, holding his arms back with her insane strength by hugging him from behind. The smell of burning flesh was soon present in the air. He growled lowly.

" Enough... " Sakura sobbed as blood poured down her arms but she still held on. " Enough. Don't hurt yourself again. Stop. "

Naruto's Demon Fox cloak gradually disappeared as his eyes returned to their bright blue colour. His skin was half gone but he was still not so badly injured. As Sakura let go of Naruto, she fell onto his arms. The flesh on her arms were half-eaten away from the corrosive chakra.

" Sakura-chan... " Naruto held her. " I'm sorry... I'm sorry. " Tears fell down his cheeks. " You will pay for this Orochi! You hear?! " he growled at Orochi who merely ignored him.

" Right now, we need to get her healed. Hinata's still trapped inside the shield. " Haku spoke to Naruto.

" Where's Kakashi-sensei when you need him?! " Naruto roared.

" Right here. " the silver headed jounin appeared before his very eyes.

" Ah! " Naruto recoiled.

" No one could miss the destruction here, isn't that right, Asuma, Kurenai, Gai? " Kakashi frowned as his comrades appeared beside him. " What on earth happened? "

" Hinata! " Kurenai exclaimed in horror.

" In a nutshell, there are two Akatsukis here who want to do something with that thing. Sakura-chan is badly injured and Hinata-chan is trapped inside!! " Naruto shouted angrily.

" Naruto, go to the hospital and get the hokage to heal both you and Sakura. " Kakashi said. " We'll take care of this. "

" But I want to fight! " Naruto shot back.

" You are in no condition to fight. Furthermore, Sakura is bleeding profusely, are you going to let her die? " Kakashi spat.

Naruto looked at his feet, ashamed.

" Go. " Kakashi turned back to Orochi and the forcefield.

Naruto sprinted away as fast as he could. He had to save Sakura, no matter what he did.

Back inside the forcefield...

Hinata charged at Itachi who was still holding out his hand. A second later, she was blocked by Samehada.

" Sorry, squirt. Can't let you interfere. " Kisame grinned.

" Suiton : Water Explosion! " Hinata screamed.

A huge wave of water literally exploded around Hinata and she jumped, landing neatly on the wave. Kisame followed, holding his sword. Itachi merely stepped onto it, staring at Orochi.

" You forgot so fast? My element is water. " Kisame threw his sword.

" No, I need this element. " Hinata said.

The heiress dashed forward on the water, faster than she ever could on land. Kisame formed sharks with the water around him and made them pounce Hinata. Hinata jumoed away and still ran for Itachi. The sharks followed her as she got ever closer to the Sharingan user. Suddenly, she turned around and threw clay at the sharks, exploding them away. Twisting again, she tried to aim her jyuuken at Itachi but Kisame threw Samehada at her, forcing her to avoid it. She took out her puppet and unleashed a pillar of flame towards Kisame. Kisame called his sword back to him and stomp on the water, making it surge. The flame was put out just as fast. Hinata ran towards him and tried to use her jyuuken but every time she got near, he quickly got out of the way.

" Suiton : Deadly Waters. " Hinata whispered.

The water around them grew dark. Like a mini raging sea, it splashed forward and backwards. The water crackled with electricity enough to kill a person. Itachi remained as calm as ever, still holding out his hand to receive the amulet.

" Open the hand of the Hyuuga and take it from him. " Orochi spoke in his deep, raspy voice. " Your Sharingan is futile, use your own hands Uchiha. "

Kisame looked around him, the waters were deadly alright. He quickly figured the technique out. It was in some places that the elctricity was carefully placed. As long as he didn't step on those places, which were a lot mind you, he'd be safe. He jumped from spot to spot trying to reach the dashing Hinata again. Kisame then had an idea. He slammed his sword into the water. Samehada worked it's magic alright, it absorbed the chakra created lightning leaving the water safe once more. After that, he threw his sword at Hinata, who avoided it again but got slightly burned by the lightning discharge coming from the sword itself. She stopped and healed her wound. Kisame ran towards her and planted himself directly in between Itachi and Hinata.

" You have grown much more stronger and are much more fun to fight than the wimp I first knew, squirt. " he grinned maliciously.

To every other person, that grin seemed malicious. However, Hinata had trained under him for a long time. Her Byakugan had observed every single one of his emotions running through his face. Hinata saw a geniune smile coming from Kisame. His tone was slightly softer, as if he was really fond of her. What she heard and saw literally meant that Kisame was proud of who he had trained though he couldn't hold back on her, as his leader had ordered. This was further confirmed when Hinata caught a hint of regret in those beady eyes. She hesitated for a fraction of a second.

" Lie. " Her eyes hardened and she somersaulted back a few feet. " Suiton : Siren's Curse(1)!! " Hinata shouted.

The water around them swirled once more. This time, it took the form of a beautiful woman. The woman smiled and started to sing in a soft but low tune. Her voice was husky and alluring, the melody was beautiful. Kisame stared in a daze as his ears captured the very essence of the melody. Hinata worked her way around him to try and stop Itachi who seemingly wasn't effected by the jutsu. As Itachi reached for the hand of Hyuuga Hiashi, he drew it back suddenly. This was intended because had he not made that movement, his hand would've been severed by a very angry Hinata using her puppet. However, Kisame wasn't in the Akatsuki for nothing. he snapped out of the daze and swung his sword at the Siren, destroying it. Then, as he turned around, Hinata unleashed thousands of tiny needles from her puppet, each dripping with a different poison in their direction. Kisame used his sword to block for both his partner and himself.

" Hurry up already! " Kisame snapped at Itachi.

Itachi ignored his partner and Hinata as he strained to open the clenched hand (though it did not show on his face), revealing the charm in all it's evil glory. It dripped with blood and stank of rotten flesh. He saw that the hand holding it was no more than a skeleton inside, flesh corroded away by the charm's power only.

" NO! " Hinata screamed.

" What kind of shield is this? " Kakashi panted after using his second Chidori on it.

" Damn it, Hinata! " Kurenai hissed, greatly concerned for her student.

" Giving up so fast, my youthful rival? " Gai said with a spark in his eye, flashing his teeth.

The shield from the outside view gave nothing away. It was a huge black wall. No one could fanthom what was happening inside. Asuma held his chin thoughtfully. There must be a small, very small, weak point to it. I can't know where it is but it must surely be there.

" You thought of the same thing already? " Kakashi asked.

" So have I. " Kurenai's eyes narrowed as she felt the shield.

" Be quick, soulful comrade. We shall unleash our flames of youth! " Gai announced.

None of them knew how much Gai's words meant at the moment.

Itachi stared nonchalantly at the young woman holding his wrist. Her face was flushed with anger as she held it tight, keeping him from reaching the charm. Her face was hidden by her hair : she knew not to look at his face, knowing the consequences all too well.

" I will not let you, Itachi-sama. " Hinata whispered.

There, don't you all just love cliffhangers? I'm done for the meanwhile. Sorry it took so long, what with the studies and the homework. The site went crazy too. It didn't let me save because I hadn't logged in but I did, so I found out that my whole freakin' battle scene was gone for this chapter. Not only that, I didn't have a spare in the computer as I was working on my dad's computer. Life's unfair. Fear not, I rewrote the whole thing and if I remember tha last one correctly, this one's a bit better. Hope you guys liked it! Ciao.