Chapter Thirty-seven
"Could you repeat that? Because I swear you just said something impossible just happened."
Hearing this, Shibi could see the esteemed leader of what remained of Konoha sigh and rub his temple. "I assure you Yondaime-sama, I have only stated the facts. This morning our patrols discovered the bodies of Hatake Kakashi and Yuuhi Kurenai, the former alive and the latter deceased, both outside the boundaries of the town. Hatake was bleeding and dangerously cold from spending hours on a beach during the night, but he was coherent enough to reveal that Uzumaki Naruto had been responsible for his condition. Speculation suggests he did the same to Yuuhi but that is merely speculation at this point, as no evidence can yet confirm or deny."
"So why did Naruto leave Kakashi alive but not Yuuhi?" Namikaze asked, not liking this one bit.
"I do not know, but the injury he left on Hatake might be a clue. Hatake is now devoid of his eyes, both sharingan and natural. Do you believe that means anything specific?" Shibi asked, since if Naruto just wanted Kakashi dead that would have been easier than removing an eye or two.
"He once removed Sasuke's eyes, this could be a repeat. Is he sending me or Sasuke a message" Namikaze speculated.
"But to what end? Removing Sasuke's eyes at the time was understandable as Uzumaki would be under the impression that the sharingan was impossible to replace. Hatake however was born with ordinary eyes and would better able to adjust to normal replacements than Sasuke would have. So to what end would this accomplish? If I were Uzumaki, I'd find it more practical to execute Hatake much like Yuuhi."
"That's because you're smart and Naruto's an idiot." Namikaze remarked, though he still shook his head wondering the same thing as Shibi.
Shibi shook his head in disapproval. "Do not be so myopic Yondaime-sama. Uzumaki has proven that he is no idiot. After all, he did all this without getting caught and could have done a lot more, such as bring Kushina here."
Namikaze repressed a cold icy shiver down his spine as he heard that. "True, which means that the Uzumaki and their allies know where we are. They could strike at any moment now. But that's not the worse thing. How did they know we were here? How do they keep getting in this town with everyone here?"
"Perhaps they were searching for us like how we've been searching for them and they found us first." Shibi suggested.
Namikaze frowned. "Are you saying they've got better scouts than I do? I have the Hyuuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans here and more. There is no way they could find us before we find them."
Shibi frowned slightly, a little annoyed at the fact his clan was mentioned last despite him standing right there. "With all due respect Yondaime-sama, we don't know who all is assisting the Uzumaki beyond the clans who betrayed Konoha. We have no leads regarding their own trackers and thus no way to obscure ourselves from them. At the same time it's logical for them to expect us to remain close to Land of Fire, whereas they would logically hide away from the country. Statisically the odds were in their favor."
"You expect me to believe me that?" Namikaze replied skeptically, folding his arms. "You expect me to believe the Uzumaki of all people could realistically find me before I could find them? No way. That's as believable as when Hiruzen tried to convince me that Naruto legitimately snuck out of the village without his help. So no, the Uzumaki did not find us first when I have the better trackers. This can only mean that we have another traitor, one still among us."
"I will admit that is possible." Shibi said, but in the back of his mind he disagreed. As plausible as the logic was, Namikaze was clearly letting his prejudice towards the Uzumaki and his personal pride get in the way of his thinking, thus he was refusing to consider the possibility that the people he hated and dehumanized could have legit better luck or methods than himself. "But how would such a traitor be able to contact the Uzumaki? And how do you propose to uncover them?"
With the best parts of Konoha's interrogation unit gone, being Ibiki, Anko, and the Yamanaka clan, as well as Namikaze's no prisoner policy, the ninja they did have who could perform proper interrogations had all been redirected towards other objectives in town. Sure a few could be called on, but it would potentially take a week at minimum for them to find anything of value.
"Unfortunately I don't have time for going over every single ninja I have to beat a confession out of any of them." Namikaze mused. "The Uzumaki know where we are, and this must have been a message to me that they can come and kill us off at any time. Kushina will sure enough bring her ragtag army and try to wipe us all out."
"Then we should prepare to-" Shibi started.
"No! We are not relocating!" Namikaze cut him off. "I will not run from the Uzumaki like a coward! They want a fight, they'll get one! Let them come and try to kill us, fate and destiny is on my side! I cannot lose in my objective!"
"With all due respect Yondaime-sama, you cannot base your long term plans on the assumption that a prophecy is-" The experienced bug user began, only to be silenced by Namikaze grabbing his throat with one hand and applying significant pressure.
"Listen to me Ants-for-brains, I am the greatest ninja this world has ever seen or ever will see! I have fought the Kyuubi and lived, I have won a war all by myself to where Iwa is still afraid of me, I have practically destroyed the Uzumaki and taken their art for my own, and more! I am the superior human in every way, and I will remake this world in my image! Kami-sama is on my side, and I have not spent the better part of two decades preparing for victory only to hear my own subordinates tell me that failure is an option! It is not! Is that clear?"
Shibi could not answer, but the blonde hokage did not particularly care what his answer would be. He released him and Shibi quickly gasped for breath, rubbing his aching throat.
"Prepare your clan in its entirety for defenses. The enemy is coming and we must be ready. Every man, woman, and child must be ready for war. No exceptions." Namikaze coldly ordered, not even pretending to apologize for his behavior. "And if I find out the traitor is in your clan, I will crush each and every Aburame like a bug." He added before leaving to give less menacing orders to the others.
'I'm starting to suspect Yondaime-sama isn't as noble as he used to be.' Shibi thought to himself in the manner closest to sarcasm he could.
"So the Yondaime's forces are holding up in Wave?" Inoichi asked. Kushina had gathered together Inoichi, Shikaku, Chouza, Unkai, Ibiki, Asuma, and of course Kyuubi for a meeting after Kuramamaru, Hinata, and Yakumo had returned from the human realm.
"They saw it themselves. No signs of the Akatsuki though, but to be frank it would make sense to keep them away from his main forces." Kushina replied.
"Okay so now we know where to strike. Question is, how?" Unkai asked.
"I think for the time being we should not." Ibiki claimed, drawing everyone's attention. He paused to take a deep breath. "Apparently these kids decided to make themselves known and leave evidence of their actions behind. Had they not done that we could have had a perfect opportunity for an ambush on our enemy as a whole. Instead, our enemy is aware we know where they are."
"True, guess they didn't think that one through." Shikaku mused.
"They're still kids, such mistakes are understandable. But I can't bring myself to be mad at them for what they did. After all, their victims were two adults who had every intention of screwing them over had they stayed and would have had a clear chance to do it thanks to the Sandaime." Kyuubi assured and pointed out. "Besides, like I told them we need to destroy Namikaze's legacy, not just his army. We need the world to see Namikaze as a flawed man rather than a flawless god, and if you think about it, what these kids did was add stress to an already pressured man. The breaking point is that much closer."
Ibiki nodded. "I had not considered that, though I doubt these kids were thinking just that when they did what they did."
"Well it's not like it was planned out in advance." Kushina cut in. "What, do you think Kuramamaru and Hinata maim people on every date?
"When was the last time they had a date in the human realm where they didn't have to?" Kyuubi joked.
Kushina rubbing the back of her head smiling knowing how true that is. "All I know is if I had been in their shoes, trying to have a simple relaxing date yet finding myself surrounded by the people who made my life hell, I would have done the same thing they did."
"Now hold on, I'm starting to think this can still be an advantage to us." Shikaku started, putting his hand on his hand while looking down. "Yes... I think I know what we need to do now to accomplish all our goals."
"Well don't leave us in suspense Shikaku, tell us." Chouza urged.
"Okay, thanks to the bodies left behind, Namikaze is aware we know where he is. In his eyes, this was a warning shot, a sort of taunt if you will. That we got him before he got us, not once but twice. And we take out two of his best shinobi without him even knowing until it's too late. Now, he will be expecting us to come back and do more, maybe even a full scale invasion. He probably has everyone even the children ready for something like that."
"Honestly an invasion sounds like a damn good idea." Kushina commented.
"Yes, but not yet." The Nara head insisted. "The last time there was an invasion, Namikaze was prepared. Sure he lost, but he had a good idea of what to expect. This time, he has a better idea. Invading Wave with just our forces along with Kumo and the jinchuuriki will only create the same results of him retreating and us having to find him all over again."
"He's right. We got lucky that Kuramamaru and Hinata found them but how much more lucky can we get if he escapes and we have to find them all over again? It took us a few years just to get to this point." Kyuubi added.
Ibiki nodded then looked to Shikaku. "Yes, if we're going to hit him with everything we've got, we have to make sure retreat is not an option. So what do we do?"
"The same thing we've been doing, guerilla warfare."
He got several confused looks, making him sigh.
"We now know where to strike, so focus all our efforts on small sneak attacks at Namikaze's defenses and troops. Kuramamaru and Hinata managed to sneak in, so Namikaze is going to want to make sure they can't do that again. He's going to set up defenses around his bases, keeping everyone on alert for invasion or sneak attacks. We send in frequent assaults on these defenses, wear them down, kill off his limited ninja one by one, and provoke Namikaze."
"You want to make the man angrier?" Inoichi asked.
"Namikaze is already under a lot of pressure and stress keeping his plans on track and his people loyal. This along with his inevitable paranoia about a full scale invasion will add more pressure and stress until he ends up showing everyone just what kind of a man he really is. With all this happening sooner or later he is going to explode like a bomb."
Kushina grew a smile. "Ah, sweet. We taunt him, make it clear that we could invade at any moment but haven't yet, driving him mad because he can't get to us nor figure out why we're not just getting it over with. This will destroy any patience he has in fighting back and make him run his own ninja ragged, until by the time we do invade they're in no shape or quantity to fight back."
"Couldn't he still just leave?" Chouza asked. "If we take too much time he could just round up everyone and leave Wave. Then what do we do?"
Kushina shook her head. "No, there's one thing Namikaze actually agrees with us on. This war isn't about him versus the world, it's him versus the Uzumaki. I was the one he needed in order to get all of this started and my son is the one that threw everything off for him. Out of all the enemies he has, we're the ones who make him doubt his invincibility. We are the ones that made him retreat but also second-guess himself. He's not going to run from us, that would be admitting he's not the most powerful man in the world. That he's not fit to rule the world like a god."
"What kind of kami runs away from a yoko?" Inoichi summarized.
Kushina grinned. "Ooh I love the way you phrased that."
"Well Miss Yoko, your enemy could very well still retreat if his army is losing. And if he exhausts them all or turns them against him, running is the only thing he could do." Ibiki pointed out.
"Not quite, don't forget he has one more weapon up his sleeve." Shikaku continued.
Kyuubi nodded. "The Akatsuki."
"You think he'd bring the Akatsuki to Wave to protect his army?" Kushina asked.
"He knows we'd bring the jinchuuriki to fight him, it would be easy to persuade the Akatsuki to come to Wave if all the jinchuuriki will convene there. If they get the jinchuuriki what use will they have with Namikaze. Sooner or later they will all be at each other throats"
"Still, that's several S-class missing nin all in one place, with each having studied how to fight a bijuu or jinchuuriki." Inoichi reminded them.
"We might need more than Kumo to help us out in this one." Chouza added.
"But if the Akatsuki ever do show up to defend Wave, then guerilla warfare is out the window." Shikaku declared. "At that point, going big is our only gambit left."
"So, did it work?"
Sakura smiled proudly. "It sure did. I have to admit part of me worried he wouldn't go with it. Did you do anything to encourage him Mikoto-sensei?"
While Namikaze was busy trying to get his subordinates prepared, Mikoto was at her house having some tea with her protege Sakura. When they got to Wave Namikaze had strongly suggested that Mikoto take over Sakura's training since it was clear Kakashi wasn't going to. Mikoto had agreed, but over the years the pinkette had barely endeared herself to the Uchiha matriarch.
Sakura was a good student when it came to theory, trivia, and the basics. Her chakra control was practically on par with a Hyuugas and that was damn impressive for someone with a civilian background. And she was pretty good when it came to brawler style taijutsu. There was indeed some potential in the girl. However, Mikoto was more and more convinced that she was not the right person to help Sakura reach said potential.
For some reason, Sakura's performance with anything more advanced or strenuous than the basics was less than stellar and not really improving. Her attempts to use jutsu were still rookie at best, and while brawling was good anyone could be an effective brawler and most ninja knew how to counter such a fighter. It was like Sakura was better at being a student than she was at being a graduate. Or, if Mikoto let herself be a little more negative, it was like Sakura could improve but for some reason didn't want to.
To test that out, Mikoto had kept her tutelage of the fangirl a complete secret from everyone save Namikaze. This was solely to make sure Sasuke wouldn't find out. Partly because Sasuke would not approve of having Mikoto teach Sakura for a number of reasons, mostly due to a refusal to share his mother, and partly because this would help keep Sakura and Sasuke apart while learning, thus limiting her distractions. Unfortunately that was easier said than done, because Namikaze for some reason wanted these two to interact with each other more so than ever.
A while ago Mikoto had asked why Namikaze was interested in this one girl so much. His answer was unexpected to say the least.
"Back when Sasuke was swarmed with fangirls, I had a medic nin gather some blood samples secretly from the girls and had their genes tested in comparison to Sasuke's. According to the tests, Sakura has the most compatible genes with our son, meaning she is the best mother for his children, in a strictly genetic sense of course. I had Tsunade confirm the results, so despite Sakura's personal shortcomings she is the best possible mother for our grandchildren."
Mikoto had been surprised by this, but accepted it. She did want grandchildren, and with Sasuke's reckless outlook regarding Itachi it was becoming more clear that if she didn't get grandchildren soon she never would. So recently, Mikoto had started directing Sakura towards seducing Sasuke. And that was a subject the pinkette was more than willing to learn. She had told Sakura what to say, what to do, and she even slipped some aphrodisiacs into Sasuke's lunch when she had the chance.
For now, all they could do was hope it all worked.
"I gave him a little nudge, but nothing that would make it look like he didn't still want it to some degree." Mikoto claimed, feeling slightly dirty at the thought of drugging her own son to make him want sex. "Did you use the fertility methods?"
Sakura nodded. "I'm sure I got them all right. If I'm not pregnant right now I'll just try again."
"Careful Sakura, you mustn't make it look like you got pregnant on purpose. Boys at Sasuke's age would take that as a trap and he'd likely disown the baby or take it away from you if he thought it had the sharingan. You have to portray it as a happy accident, then Sasuke's sense of honor will prompt him to take responsibility for the both of you."
Sakura smiled and nodded, remembering that silly curse Kushina had placed on her. 'Bah, as if getting everything I want could possibly be a bad thing. My future is going to be absolutely wonderful.'
"Hello Hanabi."
The young girl looked up and saw on the other side of the bars of her cell was her former sister. "So, you finally showed up. What's so special about now?"
"You want to go back to your father?" Hinata asked, folding her arms. "Just say the word and I'll bring you right to him. I will personally drop you off."
Hanabi naturally looked confused and skeptical. "Nice try Hinata, but I'm not falling for it."
"I know where he is now. Do you want to see him?" Hinata repeated. "Do you want to see what would happen if you returned?"
The younger white-eyed girl looked away. "What's your game? I know you're just going to kill him when you get the chance. Are you trying to get me killed too?"
"I've had two opportunities to kill you already Hanabi, two and not once did I take them. If I wanted to kill you I'd have already done it. So what do you think I want?"
"You want me to betray the clan and join up with you and be the big happy family you always wanted us to be."
Hinata surprisingly shook her head and stared down at her sister. "No Hanabi, I don't want that. I'm past us ever being a family, it will never happen. You and I may be sisters, but we don't know the first thing about each other. If that never changes, I'm more than willing to live with it."
"So what the hell do you want then?" Hanabi insisted. "Neji said the whole reason you saved him was because you wanted to give family a chance. Why not me then? Am I not family anymore?"
Hinata frowned. "Don't play that with me Hanabi. The only family you ever cared about were the ones in charge of the clan, and even then you only cared about them because you wanted to become one of them someday. Just like a child in school who wanted to join the popular crowd, you don't really care about the people you just want the perks of being included among them. Neji was manipulated into hating me, all I did was open his eyes to it and let him make his own choice about it. You were manipulated too, but you were so much under their spell you needed more than just your eyes opened. So I'll ask you once more, do you want to see your father again?"
"What happens if I say yes?" Hanabi tested.
Hinata shook her head. "Not telling, you're just going to have to take a chance like Neji and I did and ask yourself which choice you're willing to live with."
Hanabi silently thought over a careful response, made all the more uncomfortable by her sister's firm gaze upon her.
'How could this happen to me?' Kakashi asked himself as he laid in a small clinic bed. He was warmed now and had his missing blood replaced, but his eyes weren't going to be replaced anytime soon.
'I lost to that boy, again. With my own father's weapon used against me. I'm useless to Sensei until I get my eyes replaced, but will he arrange that? I've lost to an Uzumaki and I'm of no use in training Sasuke anymore. Sensei could kill me for this if he's mad enough.'
He shook his head. 'No, I'm important to Sensei. He'd never kill me. He needs me too much. He will replace my eyes and realize it's more important for me to fight the Uzumaki than to pamper his spoiled brat. I'm his best ninja, he can't afford to lose me to a bunch of fox-brained spiral-loving Leaf-hating dead lasts!'
Despite his righteous fury however, one thing still bothered the now blind jounin. 'But what did the boy mean by that thing he said? 'The man who gave Namikaze the idea that orphans are more obedient than other children'? What, does he think it was my idea that he had to live alone and unloved? Wish I could take credit, but that was all Sensei. Why blame me?'
The sound of footsteps drew his attention, along with the creak of a door opening. "It's a shame to see you like this Kakashi."
"Sensei!" Kakashi said happily, leaning forward in the direction of the sound of the opening door.
"Right now, you remind me of Obito when I found him."
Kakashi would have blinked if that wasn't a physical impossibility. "Obito? You found his dead body?"
"Oh he wasn't dead. It was shortly after he saved you and you thanked him by taking his eye. Unlike you I wasn't quite so quick to throw him away. I helped him recover and tried to 'encourage' him to follow me like you've been. However, he disappeared, and to this day I can't find him."
'Obito lived?' Kakashi thought, surprised. It wasn't that he really cared, just that he never would have suspected such a thing.
"Fortunately losing Obito was no big loss. Same with losing Rin. A hindrance, but not a deal breaker. All this time, you were the successful investment Kakashi, but it looks like you're out of value now."
"What?" Kakashi asked, tensing up.
"You had such promise too." Namikaze continued, talking to himself more by this point. "So loyal, so eager to have me replace your shamed father. So desperate to earn my approval, and so afraid to share it that you did everything you could to become my favorite. You were like a Root soldier that made themselves mindlessly obedient."
'Obedient?' He thought, that word bringing back the chilling words of Naruto earlier. "Sensei what are you saying? All I've ever wanted was for you to love me, to be your one and only son. That's a role that only I deserve. Not Naruto or Sasuke or anyone else. Are you saying that you never intended to make me your heir? Was I just a naive pawn for you to take advantage of? Was I just another Naruto to you?"
"Do you really believe I can't win this war without you Kakashi?" Namikaze asked back. "At what point did I say that you, that anyone, was essential for my victory? My soldiers just make it easier, but I could win this whole war on my own if I wanted to. I don't need you to win. I need you to keep people in line."
Kakashi glared despite his lack of eyes. "Then why haven't you won on your own if you really could?"
Namikaze grinned. "If mere conquest was all I was after, then I would have. Kakashi, did you really think destroying all other ninja villages and making Konoha the only one left was my true goal? No, I have a much grander plan. And right now in that plan, you're worth more dead than alive."
"What-?" Kakashi started, only for his sensei to come up and stab him with a knife several times. He tried calling out for help, but no one heard him. Namikaze never stopped, he just kept stabbing until the eyeless jounin stopped moving.
In Kakashi's last moments of life, despite the pain, he wondered just how Naruto could have been right about everything. As the lights dimmed and the pain could no longer be felt, he felt overwhelming hopelessness. After all, no matter how much Naruto had known, there was still no way he could stop the Yondaime. No one could.
For the first time in years, Hanabi was free of her cell. She could feel the sun on her skin, the wind in her hair, the grass under her feet, oh it was amazing how much she missed it and didn't even know it. She wished she could have at least be given a bath before coming here, but Hinata declined, saying that Hiashi would have been highly suspicious if his missing daughter came back to him after three years without a smudge on her. And Hanabi had to admit she had a point.
When Hanabi ultimately decided she did want to go back to the Hyuuga, she expected Hinata to look disappointed or give her some kind of warning about how she'd die later. But no. To her surprise Hinata behaved as if her younger sister was merely asking to be escorted to school and through some kind of teleportation that the young girl didn't understand, brought her to a forest and left.
Using her byakugan, Hanabi was relieved to see others with the doujutsu far but not too far from where she was. She didn't mind the walk, it would be nice to stretch her legs after such long confinement. She wasn't yet sure which one was her father, but finding one would inevitably lead her to him. But as she got closer, it got easier to make out the individual identities of the Hyuuga, until she finally saw him and rushed towards him.
However, she had forgotten that Hiashi was rarely ever alone when out in public, even if said public was on the fringe edges of the town, so before she could get to him a couple of Hyuuga intercepted her and knocked her to the ground, her personal skills diminished enough that she had no hope of avoiding or fighting back. It was only the fact she was a child that prevented them from outright killing her.
"Wait! It's me! Hyuuga Hanabi!"
"Impossible! She died three years ago!" One of the Hyuuga protested, ready to immobilize her.
"Stop!" Hiashi ordered, coming closer without any real hurry. The Hyuuga moved, allowing him to see his daughter for the first time in years. A quick look with the byakugan showed she was under no disguises. "How is it you are alive? The Dead Man's Seal should have killed you long ago. It's impossible for you to be alive."
Hanabi moved her hair to show the scar of a burn she got during Kumo's invasion of Konoha. "Hinata burned it off, saying a seal wasn't the only way to kill a Hyuuga. You mean you weren't trying to keep me alive all this time?"
"You were abducted by Kumo, it was better for the seal to kill you then let them get to your eyes. Have you forgotten the purpose of the seal and why the Branch House has it?"
Hanabi grimaced, while she couldn't feel the effects of the seal anymore she had been under the assumption that her father was still triggering it just to keep her alive and make it possible he could find her. But apparently he gave up on looking for her before he even started.
"This whole time you thought I was dead? You weren't even trying to save me? I've been in a cell waiting every day to get back home to the clan." She asked, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice but not doing a good job at it.
Hiashi looked at her firmly. "Have you forgotten? You are a mere Branch member, why would I waste my time trying to recover you?"
"I'm your daughter! Your own flesh and blood"
"So what? That meant nothing when Hinata failed to meet my standards. Why should you be the exception? Just because you were better than Hinata doesn't mean I can't replace you."
Hanabi looked surprised, disgusted, and horrified all at the same time to hear this. Ever since Konoha fell, she had kept herself up with the hopes that the Hyuuga would come and free her. All of Konoha led by Namikaze would get their revenge on Kumo and destroy the cloud village, freeing her and the other captives still alive. Every day, every night, she looked out her cell hoping to see a Konoha nin there to free her. But three years of waiting had been hard to put up with, and hard to rationalize as to why Konoha was not there yet. Why her father would not come for her by now. To hear he had no desire to save her, let alone a motive as far as he was concerned, Hanabi almost wished Hinata had killed her rather than burn away the seal.
"All my life, I thought you loved me more than Hinata. I thought you saw the potential I had that she didn't. I thought it was my right to be the clan head when you stepped down, and become an elder someday. To keep the clan pure, powerful, and continue our traditions." She started, her expression morphing to one of disgust and offense. "But I was wrong. And Hinata and Neji were right. You never loved me or us. You don't know how to love anyone. You just hated me less than you hated her, because I was stupid enough to believe everything you said."
Hiashi almost snorted like a steamed bull. "What I say is the way of the Hyuuga! What I decide is the best for all! How dare you side with those traitors?!"
"Why should I side with you? What do I get out of it? Another seal put on my forehead? Or are you just going to kill me yourself if my life is worth nothing to you?"
Hiashi scoffed. "Oh don't act like such a martyr Hanabi. If I was saying this to any Hyuuga other than yourself you'd be agreeing with me. What makes you anymore loving than me if it's okay for me to be cruel to anyone but you?"
Hanabi had nothing to say, and her righteous anger dampened a bit. His words struck a chord and no matter what she could not refute them. "You're right, I'm as horrible and selfish as you are. And now I know why Hinata brought me back here in the first place." She looked back to her father with a harsh glare. "She's going to kill us all. She's going to kill you, kill me, kill us all."
Hiashi scoffed while the other Hyuuga laughed. "I'd like to see her try."
All of a sudden, the other Hyuuga were struck by a dark blur, and the next thing Hiashi saw were two members of his clan were now decapitated, with a smiling Hinata standing beside her sister.
Hiashi glared at his former daughter, and while Kyuubi had previously taught Kuramamaru and Hinata how to sense negative emotions with kitsune senjutus, she didn't need it here to know what he was feeling.
"What's the matter Father?" Hinata asked with a sarcastic taunt, kicking away one of the severed heads like it was a piece of litter on the ground. "You said you wanted to see me try. Normally getting exactly what you asked for makes you happy."
Hiashi said nothing, he merely threw all caution to the wind and lunged at his first born, hoping to get in just one good hit. Just one was all he needed.
Hinata moved to the side and with a smile on her face slapped him. The pain was nonexistent but the insult was massive. Hiashi let out an undignified war cry and pivoted to strike her. He succeeded, hitting her collarbone and cracking it. Hinata let out a cry of pain and backed away.
Hanabi moved forward, but Hinata looked towards her. "Stay right there Hanabi!"
"But you can't beat him on your own!" She protested.
"Smartest thing you've said in years girl!" Hiashi remarked, striking again. Hinata countered each hit, preventing him from hitting her but unable to return any of her own. The activity was stressing her injury, but fortunately her hanyou body could withstand it better than a human.
Hiashi was like a frantic madman, trying to get in as many hits in as fast as humanly possible. Her defense was just as good, and that both baffled and infuriated him. How could she be this good? It wasn't supposed to be possible for a Hyuuga to flourish away from the Hyuuga. The Hyuuga regiment was perfection, the Hyuuga were perfection, anything and everything else was just a waste of time and lots of luck. Namikaze was the one exception and that was only because he had destiny and the gods on his side. And even ignoring that, Hiashi had over twenty years training and experience on the girl. So how was Hinata keeping even with him?
After a bit, Hiashi stopped and pulled away, trying to catch his breath. However Hinata continued moving, and his byakugan was telling him that her chakra was now... different in a way. A way his eyes couldn't clearly figure out. Either way it forced him to be more evasive.
'Dammit, I've got no choice left. Thank Kami-sama Minato thought ahead.' Hiashi thought before running outside her range and reaching for a small storage seal affixed to his belt. Smearing his blood on it, he pulled out a single dark grey glove with a yellow eye on it and slipped it on his right hand. With it in place, he smiled evilly.
"Now you're done for Hinata!" He came back at her, but with just the gloved hand out looking like he was going to try and grab her. Hinata immediately got a bad vibe from the glove and ducked and rolled under her father before jumping back up. Hiashi tried to grab her in the process but he only managed to grab a bit of her hair.
Hinata broke free, but she couldn't help but notice that her hair felt heavier. Feeling it, she was surprised to find a large clump of stone dangling just behind her shoulder.
"Like it? A little gift from Moon Island. Minato knew such a simple weapon was perfect for the Hyuuga." Hiashi bragged.
During the three years they had been hiding in Wave, Namikaze had been checking out some places in secrecy. One of them was Moon Island, which had quite possibly the absolute smallest amount of native ninja in any country. Namikaze had heard that the Moon ninja had one special skill unique to them, the ability to petrify the human body. It turns out it was actually a weapon instead of a kekkei genkai, but that only made Namikaze happier. Weapons were much easier to steal. He himself went there and slaughtered the entire Moon Island fleet, using a few shadow clones and toad senjutsu tricks to compensate for his inability to use the Hiraishin.
It had been an effective slaughter of the other shinobi, who were caught unaware and barely were able to form any defense or retaliation regardless of their limited numbers. Namikaze had stolen all available working models of the petrification glove, which surprisingly was very few. He gave all but one to the Hyuuga clan, claiming they'd get the most use out of it while keeping one for himself. Outside of that, he also slaughtered the entire royal family on Moon Island, including the child prince, and stole their money. But he only brought a third of it back to Wave to give to his ninja, claiming the island had been in a recession so he didn't have any more to give them. Another third went to Akatsuki, under an assumed name of course lest they wonder how Tobi managed to get so much, and the last third was being kept hidden by Namikaze himself, with not even Mikoto aware of it. A little personal reward for himself, as well as a small nest egg for rebuilding once the war was over.
Using her claws Hinata cut the petrified part of her hair off, letting it fall to the ground. "And here I thought the 'noble' and 'prestine' Hyuuga were above the need for weapons. That their bodies were all the weapon they needed."
Hiashi flexed his gloved fingers. "Some exceptions are pardonable in the name of victory."
"In that case, by your own logic I'm a more worthy Hyuuga than you are."
Hiashi looked both surprised and offended to hear that. "How! Dare! You!"
"You're the one using a weapon while I'm just using my natural skills. According to your own traditions, the very same ones you used to judge me, you're the weaker Hyuuga here."
Infuriated, Hiashi rushed back at her again. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO JUDGE ME!"
Smiling, Hinata dodged him repeatedly while he continued trying to make contact with her. "You know I'm right. If any other Hyuuga were using a weapon-"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! IF BREAKING OR IGNORING TRADITION AND HONOR WILL ALLOW ME TO FINALLY KILL YOU THEN I'LL BREAK EVERY SINGLE ONE WE HAVE! TO KILL YOU THERE IS NO LOW I WON'T SINK TO AND NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO VILLIFY ME FOR IT!"
Hearing this, Hanabi gritted her teeth and sprang to her feet. Staying behind him, she readied her juuken as best she could and silently charged at him, taking advantage of his deadset focus on Hinata. She got in quick and jabbed him in the lower spine as hard as she could, dislocating one of his vertebrae. The pain and the shock of it made Hiashi collapse to his knees.
"You... traitor!" He hissed, looking back towards his youngest born.
"You're the traitor. As a father and as a clan head." Hanabi replied breathing hard and looking at Hinata.
Acting quick, Hiashi reached out and managed to grab Hanabi's left arm, which started to turn to stone. Hanabi screamed in pain and horror, giving Hinata a brief pleading look. Hinata nodded and reached down, raking her claws across Hiashi's neck, ripping it open. The Hyuuga head sputtered and futilely tried to stem the bleeding, releasing Hanabi in the process. Hinata moved away and took Hanabi back to, both of them watching their father slowly die. He glared at them as if trying to make them die in his place, but he fell to the ground, never to move again.
"You okay?" Hinata asked her sister, checking the damage. The lower arm between her wrist and elbow looked and felt like solid rock.
"It hurts like hell." She answered, gritting her teeth in pain. "Do I need it amputated?"
"I'll get you to a healer, they'll know what to do."
Pausing only to ignite a foxfire, Hinata teleported herself and her sister away.
That evening, Namikaze called all remaining clan heads and top jounin to a meeting. The list consisted of Inuzuka Tsume, Aburame Shibi, Might Guy, Uchiha Mikoto, Genma, Yugao, and others.
"Everyone, I regret to inform you that Hyuuga Hiashi is dead." He started, pausing to allow Tsume to gasp. "He was found burned very badly beside two decapitated members of the clan. Strangely, the medics say that fire wasn't what killed him. His throat had been cut, as if by claws or repeated kunai cuts."
"Claws?" Tsume asked. "No one in my clan could have done it, except for maybe Hana."
"But why would your daughter go for him instead of you if she wanted to kill someone?" Shibi asked.
"I don't think it's her or an Inuzuka. This is the work of someone allied with the Uzumaki, or the Uzumaki themselves." Namikaze assured.
"With all due respect Hokage-sama, is Inuzuka Hana not allied with the Uzumaki?" Guy asked.
Naikaze withheld an annoyed sigh. "Yes she is, but like Shibi said if it was her she'd go for her own clan. No, I think this was more likely the work of Hiashi's traitor daughter or nephew."
"That is plausible." Genma agreed. "But to what end?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Namikaze asked.
"Not as much as it would appear." Genma countered. "Yes, I know that his daughter and nephew would want to attack Hiashi, and it's clear this is not their first strike. But why would they attack us like this in the first place? If they have several clans, jinchuuriki, and allies while knowing where we are, then why pick us off one by one? Why not just attack en masse and get it over with?"
"They must know about your mass retreat method Yondaime-sama." Yugao theorized. "Someone must have seen it or told them. As long as you have that, an invasion is pointless."
Namikaze smiled. "Yes, that must be it."
"If I may play devil's advocate here..." Shibi started, looking towards the blonde man as if daring him to overreact in front of so many witnesses. "If there is indeed a traitor among us as you suspect Yondaime-sama who is telling the Uzumaki things and allowing them to come and go, then wouldn't it be logical for the Uzumaki to be aware of where the mass retreat takes our forces to upon activation?"
Namikaze lost his smile. "Crap, you're right. There already were chakra-draining seals at Whirlpool left by Kushina so they must know by now. If I use the retreat they'll be prepared and ambush us there too."
"Can't you change the destination?" Tsume asked. "Surely there must be other locations we can use?"
"Not without moving the anchor. The method is like a Hiraishin meant to move an army rather than just me. It needs an anchor to give us a destination. And moving it takes careful work and time. I could go there and get it done, but in that time the Uzumaki could invade here. In fact, now that I think about it I bet that's what they're waiting for. For me to leave here."
"So you're saying we're trapped here on this island?" Guy asked.
Namikaze nodded unhappily. "The Uzumaki have us trapped. All we can do is wait for them to make their move."
"But surely you can do something about it Minato-kun." Tsume insisted.
He closed his eyes and thought it over for a moment, then reopened it. "I will protect you all from the Uzumaki, I will not run from them. There's only one thing I can do about it. I've got to bring the Akatsuki here."