Naruto sat on his bed naked, his long hair wet and out of it's binding, his body still moist from the shower he'd just gotten out of as he looked at a paper he'd been writing in all day. He had scoured the village for people he had known, his generation of genin, any of the Jonin senseis, Iruka, and even Teuchi and Ayame, but by the time the sun slipped behind the horizon, he didn't find a single one. Many of the ninja he tried to speak with wouldn't give him the time of day, some ignoring him outright when he asked about the day the Sandaime was killed. Of the few who would speak to him, it was the exact same thing that Danzo told him, but Naruto got the distinct impression that there was something off about the story from how they told it. Standing up, Naruto crossed his room to where Hinata had put up a peg board across the bed, with little notes all around it of miscellaneous notes, including a cute little sketch she drew of Naruto and herself having ramen. Naruto couldn't help but let out a small laugh as his eyes lingered on it, no matter how many times he saw it, it drew the same reaction from him. Finding a tack, he put the paper up on the peg board and stepped back with his arms crossed and began to think.
If he continued with the train of thought that Hinata was alive, then the next question is why would Danzo lie to him? There was nothing of him to gain out of it, except for causing him pain which even then, how would he know that it would? Naruto had never seen Danzo before and he sincerely doubted that his and Hinata's relationship would be talked about with the higher powers in Konoha. Naruto rubbed his chin, as he narrowed his eyes. But for Danzo to make that elaborate of a lie, he would have to have a reason for it beyond for getting his kicks, what though he didn't know. In addition, in order for him to even lie, Hinata would have to be outside the village or being held against her will. Naruto felt his anger spike as he started to think about her being imprisoned. You need to calm down, Naruto thought to himself, feeling his thoughts get off track. He had no evidence for it, best to consider other alternatives for now. So, why would she have left the village?
Naruto moved back a few paces and sat on the bed again, looking towards the photograph of Hinata having made Jonin that he had been staring into all last night. He smiled some, as his thoughts were momentarily moved to her. He knew she must have trained exceptionally hard to make Jonin just a few years after he had left, she was always strong but her determination is what made her that way. He noticed for the first time that the necklace he had given her was nestled just above where the vest had been left unzipped. He felt his heart warm at the sight, and after checking the rest of the pictures, he saw she wore it in every single one, she must have worn it every day. Turning his head back towards the peg board, he refocused his mind.
Only a few things could cause her to leave the village, or to why Danzo would lie about her. Either she went rogue, which was impossible if he asked his own opinion. She went missing and was presumed dead and he was given a false story to make it seem as if she died heroically. While it was possible, something told him that the absence of all the ninja he had known couldn't possibly be a coincidence and something told him it was related to Hinata. He was sure if he asked Danzo, he would be told they too all died. Another explanation was that she was forced to leave the village, in which the only reasoning he could drum up would be in case of an enemy force that occupied the village.
Naruto leaned forward, holding his chin with his thumb and forefinger. That option was non-existant due to the fact that Konoha was still held by it's own; Or was it? Naruto knitted his brow in concentration, feeling as if he was on the cusp of something. Within the best lies, some truth is always present. If he assumed that rule, then according to Danzo's tale, the village had been attacked by a rogue force of it's own, attempting to overthrow Sarutobi and killed him and Hinata in the process, along with many others. So what part of that was the lie and what was the truth?
Naruto's eyes narrowed as his gut projected it's suspicion: Danzo. He had absolutely no evidence for it, and it was a bit of a crazy idea. But then again it would make many things make sense, such as why the village had changed so drastically, and why it was that all the people he'd known had disappeared. Forming a hypothesis in his mind, Naruto found it to make a disturbing amount of sense. What if Danzo had led a coup against Sarutobi, in order to become the Hokage? Betrayals were commonplace in the shinobi world, though in truth he never expected it in Konoha. The only thing that didn't lend much creditability to that idea, was that he would have needed a rather large amount of people on his side, and there was no civil unrest that he could remember, and even if there was, he believed that many would go against such a thing as they knew what it could do to the village if word got out that Konoha was in the midst of a civil war.
Naruto let out a frustrated grunt as he fell back against his bed, his arms spread to his sides. He needed some form of proof, some evidence that he could get to help substantiate his ideas. If he did, maybe he could find where Hinata was now. Gripping his fists into balls, Naruto decided he would figure out a way tomorrow to get the proof he needed. But first, he would need to get close to Danzo again. He knew he was supposed to report when he felt ready for active duty again, that would be his ticket. With a nod, Naruto formed a plan in his mind and sat back up, reaching over to turn off his side lamp to plunge the room into darkness. Crawling under the orange comforter, Naruto let out a tired sigh, the day having taken his toll on him. With a deep breath through his nose, Naruto smiled, he had used the shampoo that was left inside the shower, which had been the same brand Hinata used. Smelling the lavender scent brought his mind to happy memories, which he recalled until he fell asleep from the soothing smell. To his joy, his dreams would continue with them.
XXXX
Naruto stood in front of Danzo, his face reflecting the sorrow of having lost Hinata, though he was clearly pushing through it. Of course, this was only a ruse to make Danzo think Naruto was still in despair. It didn't need much work on Naruto's end, just not knowing where Hinata was, was enough to make him able to replicate this expression.
Danzo stared up at Naruto, his expression unreadable. "You believe yourself to be ready for active duty?" He examined the boy, he was still clearly in mourning from the news, but that could sometimes be a powerful tool.
"Yes. I would like to have something to do in order to take my mind off . . . " Naruto trailed off for a moment, his face looking pained. But he quickly shook his head. "Tell me, do those who plotted to take down Sarutobi still exist? The ones that killed her?!" Naruto asked, his voice raising towards the end as a small tear formed at his eye.
Danzo was silent, as he seemed to be thinking of something in his mind. Eventually he answered the flustered blonde. "Yes. Though there are not many left."
"Then please, let me go and help kill those bastards." Naruto replied, his voice seething with rage.
"No." Danzo replied quickly, already regretting his choice to divulge that information.
Naruto looked at the Gondaime with a bit of disbelief, before his face scrunched in rage, and he slammed his hands down on Danzo's desk, causing it to shake. "Why!?"
Annoyed by the outburst, Danzo scowled. "Because I told you not to. You are far too emotional to be going out on a mission against those terrorists. You will remain in the village for the time being, until I deem you ready for such a thing."
Naruto's jaw dropped as he stared at Danzo in disbelief. His jaw clenched, and he balled his hands into fists against the desk as he pulled them away to rest at his sides. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was quickly cut off by Danzo's glare, along with a wave of killing intent that aimed to frighten Naruto. "That is an order."
Naruto appeared shaken by the intimidation, and looked down, letting out a small seething breath. "Yes. Hokage-sama." Naruto spoke disrespectfully, as he turned on his heel and marched out of the office making sure to slam the door on his way out.
As Naruto stormed down the hallway, he slowed his pace and allowed a small smile to grace his face. That had been easier than he thought. Now to see if his seal was applied properly when he slammed his hands down on the table and slid them to the rim where he touched the underside for a brief moment. Reaching up behind his ear, he tapped just behind the earlobe on an area where his hair hid the skin, and a small seal appeared. At the same time inside Danzo's office, a small black seal appeared where Naruto placed it.
". . . Insolent child."
Naruto smile widened, as he heard Danzo's voice loud and clear. Uzumaki Fuinjutsu: Remote Hearing. By placing the Remote Hearing seal on any surface, it would pick up on the vibrations caused by sound and relay it back in a one way channel to it's sister seal, in this case the one tattooed on Naruto, where it would vibrate and allow his own ear canal to pick up on the vibrations and thus turn them into sound. After that small insult, the office was silent. Naruto left it on however, and started to make his way down the stairs, headed for home.
He had to keep up his scowl when he passed others however, though it was rather diminished. The first piece of evidence he wanted, he'd found. The supposed terrorist group that was responsible for the events two years ago was still around. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but that could very well be where Hinata was, and if not, he could at least get more information from them. The only problem is, that if Danzo spoke the truth, then the group wasn't destroyed yet because – if he had to guess – they couldn't find them. Which means he had no way to contact them. He only hoped that listening in on any of the conversations with Danzo would prove enlightening.
XXXX
With an earplug in his left ear, Naruto listened intently to his right ear as he cleaned around his dusty apartment, trying to get it all in shape. Just sitting around had been driving him insane, as he heard every tiny sound Danzo made, from shifting in his chair, to papers rustling, to even his deranged muttering that was too low to pick up on. It was getting to the point where he was about to storm his office and kill him for shifting around in his seat so damn much. Throwing the damp rag he'd just turned black towards the sink, landing it perfectly, Naruto headed for the closet where Hinata had organized all the linens. He had to admit she had a real knack for it, if he'd known that organizing his stuff was so useful he might have done it himself. Just as he reached for a towel, he heard a change in sound from his seal.
Naruto froze, as he intently listened in: a small knock at the door was heard, followed by Danzo calling out, "Enter."
"Danzo-sama, everything is prepared for the weapons shipment to Kusagakure." Naruto didn't recognize the voice, but it sounded like an older male. A weapons shipment? Last he knew Kusa was on friendly terms with Konoha, but even then giving away supplies to another hidden village was risky at best. At most a daring merchant might try to sell weapons on his own with the village, as there wasn't any specfic rules against it. But for Konoha to be sending the goods could only mean one thing to Naruto, that being it was at war and needed help.
"Good. What security detail have you assigned it?" Danzo asked, sounds of papers being tapped against his desk to form an even stack sounding out.
"One team of Root and another two of the Oni." Oni? Naruto's mind briefly floated to the black clad ninja he saw, perhaps that was what they were?
"That many? Is it because of them?" Danzo replied, his voice sounding on the border of annoyance.
The other voice was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Yes, I believe it to be necessary. The rogue ninja have been quiet for a few weeks, I believe it's only a matter of time before they attack another route. It's also around where they've been spotted most frequently." The corner of Naruto's mouth turned up for a brief moment, he hadn't expected to get his answer so fast.
Danzo made a small sound, akin to an agreeing 'hm'. "Very well. I find your reasoning to be sound. Take an additional squad of Oni, this shipment is important."
"Yes, Dan-"
Naruto cut off the jutsu with a quick tap behind his ear again and tore out the earplug. He ran to the wall where he had his weapons leaning up against them, and began strapping them on and finding his supplies. He needed to get on that mission, or find someway to trail them. If what that person said was true, he had a high chance of running into the terrorists along the way. There was no way he'd get official permission to go onto the mission, he would have to try and find a way to sneak onto it. Naruto grinned for a moment despite himself. Had this been under normal circumstances, what he was about to do would label him as a missing ninja. But this wasn't his Konoha, so it's rules didn't really concern him at the moment.
Forming a handseal, a single shadow clone appeared, it's chakra allowance higher than normal. Naruto looked to his doppelganger. "I need you to stay in the village and keep the ANBU that's been watching my apartment for the last few days convinced I'm still in the village." He'd been keeping his window curtains drawn since his arrival, beyond the fact that there wasn't much of a point due to the encompassing darkness outside, he'd been getting the distinct feeling of being watched. He hadn't seen him, but Naruto knew Danzo would have attached someone to keep an eye on his apartment. Too bad for him he had some practice evading ninja. And who said his pranking didn't give him any skills?
XXXX
Naruto stalked the shadows in a pitch black alleyway, only a block from the western gate. Normally, this might be a lot harder, but with the streets of Konoha being so dead, the only horse drawn wagon in the entire road had to be the one he needed. That, and there were two ANBU, although Naruto supposed they were actually ROOT agents, Danzo's personal men. It bugged him that there didn't seem to be any distinguishing features between the ROOT and ANBU, that was if the ANBU even were still in Konoha. They both looked lax, but Naruto knew better than to assume that. So, he had to think of someway to sneak onto the wagon. It was covered with a leather tarp across the back, and it looked only partially packed, hopefully enough room for him to get into. Of course he still had to tackle the issue of getting in. As he ran numerous scenarios through his head on how to sneak in, he realized almost all had too high of a chance of being seen through, and he had no idea just how on alert these guys were to anything suspicious. Choosing a course of action and taking a deep breath, Naruto formed a seal.
The village was quiet, as it usually was. The two ROOT, waiting for their commander to return from getting the final mission briefing done, were staying alert. They knew better than to be lax even in their home village, years of being part of an organization that shouldn't exist would do that. So when his hearing picked up on a rustling sound, he immediately pinpointed it and had a kunai ready to throw. His target, if he could call it that, was no more than a fox crossing the road. He let out an agitated sigh, and put the kunai back. The little animals were known to sneak into the village from time to time and look for free scraps. Even more so, now that the village had far less people in it.
"Nerves getting to you already?" The other ROOT asked, his voice dry and unemotional. He would have laughed, had his emotions not been killed long ago.
The other ROOT looked back, ignoring the fox. The same barrier stopped him from becoming embarrassed. "And you're too relaxed. Keep that up and you'll end up with a kunai in your throat."
Neither noticed the small fox quickly look their way before silently leaping into the wagon, right where the leather tarp was loose enough to allow a small animal to crawl into it. In the dark of the wagon, the fox carefully checked the area inside, and finding a large enough area, it was encompassed in smoke for a brief second.
Naruto appeared in the smoke, his guess on point, and was now laying down right in a spot big enough to allow him to do so. He resisted the urge to grunt and sigh, he was rather cramped, and having to lay down on his swords wasn't exactly comfortable. He could already tell this was going to suck really bad. Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself why he was doing this and that it was going to be worth it. He just prayed his leg didn't decide to cramp up. Well, I guess I can officially say I've smuggled myself on my resume.
Minutes passed, and finally he heard the ROOT members begin speaking to a third person, and Naruto recognized the voice as the same he'd heard talking to Danzo. From where Naruto was, he couldn't see anything, and he knew the tarp fully covered the back, so as long as they didn't check the back he'd be fine. Holding his breath, he hoped he didn't just jinx himself. Agonizing minutes passed, as he heard people walking around the cart. Whoever it was, seemed to be double checking to see if the tarp was secured tight enough by rope. With every tug of the rigging, his hands clenched harder on his kunai, ready to kill and flee. But thankfully, the last rope was checked with no surprise inspection. Shortly after, the cart began to move, the sudden start shaking Naruto and making him hit his head on the corner of a crate, and he muffled a groan. Rubbing his head, Naruto let out a barely audible sigh, Yeah, it's gonna be one of those days I look back on with regret.
XXXX
Trying to keep track of how long he had been in the hot cart was somewhat of a challenge. Between the bumpy ride that made him constantly have to block his head from ramming into anything and the heat that spawned from the summer sun cooking the inside of the cart, he didn't really have time to check outside, not that he dared in case of any rear guard. Taking a drink of water from his canteen, Naruto knew he'd have to sneak out for a time whenever they finally stopped to rest the horses, if he was going to languish in this hot cart he'd need all the water he could get.
Hours passed, and Naruto felt as if he wasn't going to be able to take anymore when the cart finally stopped. He knew it would still be sometime before he could risk transforming into a fox again to get out of the cart. Deciding to chance a peek out of the tarp, Naruto unbuckled his zanbatou, knowing he couldn't move in such cramped conditions with it, and slowly sat up, feeling his back pop and ache in protest from having been in one position for too long. Having to carefully reposition himself, making sure not to touch the tarp or make any sound, Naruto just managed to turn around in the cart. Finding the spot he'd originally jumped into, Naruto very slowly, very carefully, lifted it enough to just get a crack of light in. He almost let out a sigh of relief, having felt a warm breeze of air filter in through the tarp, but to him it might as well been an arctic gale. Scanning outside through the small slit, Naruto narrowed his eyes, as he saw the black clothed ninja from the tower standing in an almost creepy perfect formation, standing rigid by the cart with their backs to him, seeming to scan the area. So these things are the Oni, eh? Wonder why they have that kind of moniker. Looks weren't everything, but he didn't notice anything too spectacular about these guys. Dropping the flap back down, Naruto gently laid back down and re-strapped his sword on. He decided he'd try and work some sleep in, hoping he'd be able to do so in the heat. It was going to be a while before he could risk a run out.
XXXX
Much to his displeasure, nothing of the sort happened. When he woke up from his uncomfortable sleep, his whole body covered in a layer of sweat, his brain feeling muggy, he looked outside only to find that the Oni were still standing guard in a circle formation around the entire cart. And they stayed there, all night.
Naruto needed to punch something. He was out of water now and the cart was back on the move again, with its same increased pace which made him bump into crates. He would have been a mess of bruises it wasn't for the fact his body healed fast enough to prevent that. He tried his best to keep his mind on more positive things, so he didn't tear through the cart and vent his frustration. Reminding himself why he was making himself suffer in this oven, he was able to calm himself down somewhat.
More time passed, and Naruto knew they had to be getting closer to the Land of Grass, it was a shorter distance from Konoha to the border than it was to the coast. That is if he remembered the map well enough. As Naruto began contemplating what to do to occupy his time, his whole world was turned upside down as he heard a massive explosion and let out a yell as the wagon was suddenly pushed into the air and began falling backwards, something in front of the wagon must have gone off. Naruto's mind was in chaos, having no time to think, as the vertical position caused him to slam into the back of the cart, and if he hadn't of pushed his arms and legs out, he would have been hit by the combined weight of the crates full of weapons. The cart continued on it's mad ascent and turned mid-air, causing the tarp to come loose, and the crates began spilling out as it fell back towards the ground. Naruto was flung with them, and before he could understand why, he hit the hard ground and covered himself with his arms as deadly pieces of broken wood and smashed crates slammed into the ground all around him, the cart having landed just a few inches to his back.
Smoke filled the area, and Naruto looked around in confusion, thick white clouds already coating the entire road. Coughing and feeling his eye tear up, Naruto recognized the taste of it, it was a smoke bomb, it had a distinct gunpowder taste to it. Even though he still couldn't catch up his thoughts, he understood that they were under attack, and started to rise to his knee, already reaching for his sword when he heard footsteps charging up towards him. With a flick of his wrist, a kunai appeared in his right hand, and his left shot up to stop a hand he saw coming through the smoke. He began to move his kunai to hold it against the throat of whoever was attacking him, not wanting to kill one of the 'terrorrists'.
When the person fully emerged from the smoke, Naruto's hand froze. His eye widened, and his mouth fell agape. His attacker froze in spot too, her face reflecting his. Naruto couldn't believe his eyes, and his dry mouth cracked open, ignoring the smoke. As his mind tried to make sense of the person in front of him, he spoke out the first thing he could, "Hinata-chan?" The back of her hair was gently pulled back into a long braid, with enough left in the front to frame her face. Her milky white eyes currently had evidence of the Byakugan activated, though they quickly faded, the veins receding. She had a large scar running from under eye to eye and just over her nose, though Naruto had little time to wonder where it came from. She was far more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen, none of the pictures in his apartment did her justice.
Hinata's whole body was rigid, as she looked down at the blonde man in front of her. She didn't think it was possible when she caught a glimpse of the sword through the smokescreen, but being this close, seeing the eye patch and familiar whisker marks and seeing the same blue eyes with their endless depth that haunted her dreams, she knew. Her eyes welled up with small tears, as she fell to her knees, "Naruto-kun?" He looked so much older, his features no longer holding their cute charms, but now replaced with the hard cut looks of a man. She gently reached out with a trembling hand and touched the side of his face, feeling his flushed skin and somewhat rough bristle of his unshaven face. "This isn't a dream, is it?" she asked with a whisper. Her mind was failing to grasp the fact that the person she loved most was finally before her, not just in a dream.
Naruto let out a small breath, his grip on Hinata's hand moving to interlace his fingers with hers. He dropped the kunai and mimicked her touch on his own face, not caring about where they were at the exact moment, gently running his thumb across her cheek, feeling her smooth alabaster white skin. "If it is, I don't want to wake up either." He pulled her in gently, and let out a single shaky breath, as he embraced her and pressed his lips against her soft, tender lips. The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, but it was filled with all the desperate prayers and hopes the two had since they were first separated, for five long years. The feeling of her hot breath in his mouth sent shivers down his spine, and from the way she clutched at his back with her free hand, she must be feeling much the same. Naruto didn't want to break apart, he wanted to ignore the sounds of battle around them and never let her go, but that could wait. As he pulled away from her, the look in her eyes told him she was thinking the same thing. Holding her hand tightly, they stood with a smile.
Naruto turned his head, looking out through the fading smoke and saw ninja dressed in Konoha vests were fighting the ROOT and Oni. Turning back towards Hinata, he gave her a wink, "Well, at least the good guys still look like the good guys."
Hinata nodded, walking to his side her Byakugan already activated. "Ready?" She felt her heart beating a mile a minute, still not able to grasp that Naruto was right next to her, it was far too sudden to do anything other than to go with the flow if it.
Naruto looked back towards the fight, and reminded himself that now his theory about Danzo being the one to attack Konoha was right. That he and his ninja had been the ones to hurt and kill people he may have known. That his home was now changed due to them. That Hinata was forced from her their home because of it. The hand that wasn't holding Hinata's clenched and he asked in a quiet voice. "Hinata, did that scar come from these guys?"
Hinata looked towards Naruto for a moment, feeling a wave of gratitude for him having concern over her even in a time like this. "Yes, when I fought Danzo." She was surprised when she felt a blast of pure chakra emanate from the blond and let out a small gasp when she saw his chakra pathways had turned such a pure red it was almost white. His chakra, it's immense! Giving Hinata's hand one more squeeze, he gently let it go as he stepped forward, reaching up to take off his eyepatch. Setting his eyes on a ROOT who just back flipped away from a strike from his opponent, he reached back for his zanbatou.
The ROOT cursed as he reached back for a kunai to throw at the enemy, his mind racing through the possible points he could attack, when his whole chest exploded in pain. He let out a terrifying yell, which caused all the combatants to stop for a moment. He stared down at the massive sword that had been plunged through his back and out his chest, and let out another yell as he was lifted from the ground. He stared down at the sword that was covered in his own blood and tried to hold onto it, but the strength in his arms quickly faded, and he slumped against the metal, dead.
Naruto stepped forward, flinging his sword right to throw the corpse off his sword. Any who saw him took a small step back, even the Oni. His whole body was covered in red chakra, and his face was different too. His whisker marks were more feral, twice as large now. His teeth had elongated into fangs and his pupils were now both red, though the one he covered still had the black sclera. "You bastards. . ." Naruto growled out, as he felt every single last emotion he had been experiencing for the past few days surge up within him, and transform into sheer vengeful anger. "For what you did to Konoha, to Hinata-chan, I'm going to make you all pay!!" he yelled out the last part, his killing intent so massive it made even those it wasn't directed to shiver.
The Oni who had been fighting all turned towards Naruto and charged at once, seeing him as the bigger threat. As they all threw a barrage of kunai, Naruto heard Hinata yell out from behind him, "Be careful! They posses the Sharingan, don't look them in the eyes!" Naruto nodded once, ignoring the obvious question in his mind and then hit the ground hard as he burst forth with a yell towards the nine. Sharingan or not, it wasn't going to help them! He was going to make these bastards understand his rage.
All nine Oni quickly formed hand seals and at the end shot forward a barrage of massive fireballs straight for Naruto. They soared straight for their intended target who did nothing to avoid it. They slammed into him, causing a massive explosion to the despair of all who witnessed it. But within moments the blond emerged from the hellfire, his red eyes outshining the fire as he had his sword pulled up and already descending towards an Oni. It tried to jump back, but was too slow as the sword found it's mark split the thing from skull to groin, it's off-color internal organs spilling out to coat the ground red. The force of the blow was so great, it planted the sword half it's length into the earth. As the rest jumped back, Naruto saw Hinata leap over him with a yell and catch one of the Oni with some type of chakra attack that came from her fist, watching as it's head spun fully around from the blow and dropping it hard onto the ground. He grinned, she learned new tricks while he was away. Time to show off some of his own then. Leaving his sword where it was planted firmly into the ground, Naruto drew his katanas, the blades singing against their sheath's as they were drawn and at the same time manifested two golden chakra chains that he shot out towards the retreating Oni, managing to impale both on the pointed ends. Reeling them both back in a flash, he lashed out with his swords and decapitated both, causing blood to spray across the area as their bodies, and dissipated the chains. He glanced over towards the remaining Root, and saw that the other ninja were keeping the two busy.
He managed to avoid the thrown kunai that the Oni launched towards them, and saw Hinata had too, as she was already ahead of him and engaging them. He watched the way she attacked, it wasn't the Jyuken, or at least not the full form of it, just what had she been up to while he was away? Moving up behind her, he ducked under her punch she threw that the Oni had dodged, and caught it with his sword, impaling it. The things didn't make any sort of death yells, which made him wonder if they were even human. He glanced to his left and saw another was moving to slash at him with a kodachi it had pulled out, but before he could react, he felt Hinata vault over him and watched her thrust her chakra enhanced foot straight into it's face, dropping it instantly with a shattered skull and broken neck. Five down. Naruto counted in his mind, four to go.
Hinata wasted no time after landing, she charged the two to her left, parrying their attacks with her fists and returning with a fierce barrage of her own, blending a mix of punches and kicks. Each strike was accompanied by a wave of pure chakra, slamming into the Oni with great effect. Naruto couldn't help but take a moment to admire how utterly beautiful she was fighting, how each movement was perfectly executed, her hair swaying with her body. Switching his view towards his enemies who were moving through a familiar set of seals, Naruto threw his katanas at them, causing them to have to dodge out of the way as the two swords planted into trees behind them. Naruto cursed as he saw it didn't slow them up in the least, as they finished the seals in mid air, and once more launched a barrage of small fireballs straight for him. Naruto dodged away from the assault, rolling backwards towards his zanbatou.
Reaching behind him as he got to his sword, he saw the Oni already on top of him. He barely had time to raise his hand to block as one thrust out it's leg and caught him, knocking him away from his sword. Shit! These things are strong – Naruto had to quickly regain his footing and dodge another kick. Growling, he waited for the next attack, a straight punch from the one one his left. Catching the punch, he pulled the Oni off balance, twisted it's arm and slammed his palm down onto it's elbow, hearing the satisfying crack of it's bone, causing the arm to bend unnaturally. Using it's momentum, he threw it to the side, and managed to turn around in time to block a high kick aimed for his head from the Oni to his right, and with a vicious stomp, he slammed his foot into it's other knee, shattering it. Grabbing onto it's leg, Naruto was starting to get annoyed that these things clearly didn't register any form of pain. With a small amount of exertion, he threw it away from him, just as the Oni with the shattered arm was resuming it's attack.
Dodging another attack, Naruto was glad that bodily injuries at least slowed them down somewhat, as it was only attacking with it's left arm. Ducking under a left hook, Naruto roared out as he charged into the Oni, and ran with full speed as he slammed them both into a nearby tree, causing the trunk to shake as leaves fell from it. Pinning it's arm, Naruto focused chakra into his fist and unleashed a hard right straight into it's sternum, feeling the bones shatter and fragment into it's heart and lungs. The force of the punch continued through the Oni and cracked the mighty tree. Naruto dropped his opponent, watching it crumple to the ground. Turning, he saw the last one was struggling to stand, trying to get closer to Naruto.
The blonde cracked his knuckles as he took his time walking towards his sword, keeping his eye on the Oni. Just as he was about to his sword, he saw the Oni reach into it's back pocket, and saw a flash of steel and a red tag. With great force, the Oni launched itself straight for Naruto, managing to almost leap from it's kneeling position, the explosive kunai held in a reverse grip. It was attempting a suicide attack. Just as it was ontop of Naruto, the tag already ignited, Naruto almost calmly reached out and grabbed the Oni's arm and the tag with his other. The tag was immediately silenced, and Naruto grinned at the covered face of the hanging Oni. "Sorry, but that trick won't work on someone who knows how to disarm these things." With a quick motion, he tore off the tag from the kunai and slammed it onto the Oni's forehead. "Or to re-arm them." With another smirk, he spun the monster around once before throwing it into the woods, where the tag exploded a second later, sending white fleshy chunks scattering across the field. Turning towards Hinata, he saw she definitely didn't need his help. Only one Oni was left alive, the other crumpled on the ground.
Hinata shifted away from the punch the Oni threw at her, and smashed her fist into it's extended shoulder, a wave of chakra shooting out the back of it and tearing the bone and muscle underneath to shreds, watching the arm drop lifelessly. In the same motion of dodging a round house kick aimed for her head, Hinata dropped to the ground and swept her leg out to strike it's planted foot and trip it. But as it was falling, she sprang up from her crouch and crashed her knee into it's lower spine, another wave of chakra causing massive damage to it, as it's lower spine was completely broken. The paralyzed Oni fell down onto it's stomach, where Hinata wasted no time in falling to her knee and with a surgical precision, hit the back of it's skull, right where the brain stem met the cerebellum. With a sharp pulse, the medulla was destroyed and the Oni was dead.
Naruto watched with amazement, feeling his battle rage already starting to fade. He always knew she was strong, but she really perfected her taijutsu. Even with his limited knowledge of actual taijutsu, he saw that no movement was wasted in her attacks, that her form was flawless. With a quick glance around, he saw that the ROOT we're all dead, and he didn't see any fallen Konoha ninja, and he the intensity of his chakra faded causing his features to return to normal. As he turned back towards Hinata, he saw her looking towards him with the same, almost uncertain look. Naruto smiled, and held his hands out, it was all Hinata needed. The girl closed the gap between them in three large steps, and clutched onto him, her arms squeezing around his midsection as if she held him any less tighter he'd float away.
Naruto looked down at the girl, noticing that he was quite a bit taller than her now, almost six inches more, allowing him to rest his chin on her head as he wrapped his own arms around her. He was aware that the other ninja were watching them, though he could see the small smiles on their faces. He felt his own arms grasping onto her almost as hard as she was, he finally found her. Naruto stifled a small sob, feeling his emotions getting the better of him. "Hinata-chan," he whispered out, kissing the top of her head. His mind racked itself for something to say, some way he could express himself or even to explain himself. But in the end, all he could come up with was, "I'm so sorry."
Hinata shook her head, her forehead moving across his muscled chest, not caring both of them were dripping with sweat from the fight. She let out a small cry, a tear running down his chest. "No," she managed to breath out, "You're alive." she fought just as hard as he did to find the right words, but couldn't. They remained that way for a minute, not wanting to acknowledge the rest of the world for it didn't matter to them. The only thing that mattered at that time was the warmth they felt, the warmth that acknowledged to the other their existence.
When they did part, Hinata quickly dried her eyes and gave him a small whisper, promising they could talk more when they were safe, with which Naruto agreed with. She turned towards the other ninja who were already in the process of gathering up the weapons from the fallen cart. With an authoritative voice she called out, "Everyone! Gather what you can carry, but not enough to burden you! We need all the weapons we can gather."
Naruto walked up, placing a hand onto her shoulder. "Leave this to me Hinata-chan, we can take all the weapons no problem." Hinata looked up at him with a bit of a confused tilt to her head, but then it quickly dawned on her, "Oh, you mean shadow clones? Naruto-kun, that would be nice but we can't travel with that many people." she replied, not offering an explanation right off the bat. Naruto winked at her, "Nah, I got something better, can you ask them to pile up all the weapons by the cart?" Hinata raised her eyebrows, a look of surprise on her face. She wanted to ask what he was thinking, but she trusted him. With a quick change of orders, the rest obeyed, quickly collecting all the weapons into a large pile. As they did that, Naruto retrieved his gear, returning with his eyepatch back in place. Placing his knapsack onto the ground, Naruto started digging through it, with Hinata leaning over his shoulder with a curious look on her face.
Naruto withdrew a medium sized scroll, one of many he took from the temple before he left. He unfurled it, and finding the line he needed, sent chakra into the seal, and in a poof of smoke, another much larger scroll appeared, much like one that Tenten carried into fights with her. Hinata started forming an idea in her head as to why he was bringing out the scroll. "Naruto-kun . . .?"
Naruto turned towards her and gave her a wink, before walking over to the pile. Looking over at the curious ninja, he gave them an honest word of thanks before with a flick of his wrist he sent the scroll unrolling through the air, landing over the weapons. With a quick series of hand seals, Naruto pressed his hand against the scroll, and with a quick succession of smoke puffs, the weapons all disappeared.
"Naruto-kun, you know how to do that?" Hinata asked, amazed as she walked up to him. She knew he went to Uzushio to seal the Kyuubi, but what else had he been up to in the past five years?
Naruto started rerolling the scroll, speaking as he did so. "Yep. Among other things. I can explain later, and so can you -." He finished rolling the scroll back up, holding it under his arm. Running over to her, he had a look of honest respect on his face, "You got a lot of new moves too, Hinata-chan! You were freaking awesome, I've never seen such cool taijutsu!"
Hinata blushed, feeling her heart beat faster as emotions she hadn't felt in years came back with a pleasant vengeance. "I-It's nothing that great." she replied with modesty, blushing. She was about to reply with more, before she saw the looks the other ninja had. Clearing her throat, she switched her mind back to commander mode. "Sorry Naruto-kun, we really need to go." It hurt her to say that, she wanted to talk just as much as he did, but they needed to get out of sight if anyone happened across here.
Naruto nodded, understanding, "Right, lead the way!" Seeing Hinata nod, he started to follow her, feeling far more excited and happy than he had in a very, very long time. And judging by the look on Hinata's face, she felt the exact same.
XXXX
Man, I probably disappointed a lot of people. I know you were all really looking forward to her being in ROOT or dead, or as some of you with more vivid imaginations . . . well I'll not bring it up in polite company. So I hope you can accept that Hinata is a total badass and managed to survive (flashback as to how will be coming next chapter.) As always my lovely readers, don't forget to review and let me know how you felt about the chapter, I love seeing them so much. Next chapter is already underway and we aren't even close to finished yet! What's coming up in the rest of the story? Why -
LOVE
REVENGE
VENGEANCE (Possible REVENGANCE.)
ACTION
MORE ACTION
OKAY ALOT OF ACTION
AND
R +18 ONLY STUFF (probably just hints of it)
Look forward to it my readers, for soon the war for Konoha is going to begin! Who will fortune favor?
Until next time,
Shinobi no Ryu