((Alright, unfortunately, this is likely to be the last chapter for a while as next week I'll be starting college classes again, this time with a heavier load than ever. I do apologize for his, but there isn't a whole lot I can do about it. I hope this chapter is good enough to make up for the coming wait.))
The War Begins
Hotaru could tell that she was a little muddled. The only explanation she could think of was that someone had spiked the punch.
That would also explain why she found Hitayio with his arm slung around her shoulder singing terribly so amusing. Under his other arm was Hato, who looked more than a little uncomfortable.
Clearly, the others around her were similarly drunk because they were all laughing at what wouldn't be all that funny were they sober. Only Taru and Rokuden seemed to be mildly lucid after returning from a five minute adventure. She would've thought they would last longer than that, but apparently being drunk hampered them more than she thought. Or they were just naturally that fast.
Either way, now they were busy trying to keep all the others from doing anything too stupid, which at this point would have been too amusing for Hotaru to stop.
Rei had been coming and going regularly, seemingly hesitant about something, but slowly losing what restraint she had. Kizui had taken a liking to one of the younger Uchiha girl, a pink haired chuunin a year younger than them; the two stayed near the edge of the group, not straying far but not really joining in either. Taka had joined in the merry-making among the group, having put her arm around her cousin, trapping him between her and Hitayio. Hari, as well as the representative from Kiri, Magusa, were nearby, holding hands with blushes on their face; about time, too.
Of the older generation, most of them were in the group that had merged with theirs about an hour ago. Shan was swaying drunkenly next to Taka, with Nebin nearby, sober enough to offer her weak support when she needed it. Hinashin and Koukatsu were both pretty out of it, as well, leaning against each other in an effort to stay upright.
The only two in their generation that were truly sober were Katame and Tounyo. Katame was standing off to the side, simply observing the people as they partied, a small smile on her face. Tounyo, however, stood just outside the front door, still under the awning, and allowed the others to have their fun on their own. Hotaru was a little disappointed he didn't want to join them but wasn't all that surprised. He had always been strongly against alcohol.
It had been a fun night. Between all of the special events brought out by the older ninja and just hanging out with her friends, it had been great. In fact, it was probably around three in the morning and no one seemed tired. Hell, the party may last all night.
She grinned at the thought. What fun!
Tounyo glanced inside the building with a small smile on his face. Even if he wasn't fond of alcohol, the others could have fun without him. He would just stay out of the way.
He watched in bemusement as Kizui led a slightly younger female Uchiha by the hand down the hallway. He opened one of the side doors and, even before they were inside the girl had pushed her lips against his. Tounyo rolled his eyes. The boy must've had his kekkei-genkai activated cause he was already getting lucky with a woman he should've had no chance with…
He chuckled lightly, turning his back so he was facing the rain outside, leaning against the edge of the doorway. The dark rain that was just within arm's reach contrasted greatly with the happy atmosphere inside. At least there were a bunch of lights spread around to make the area somewhat bright.
He noticed someone approaching him from inside. He figured they were just going to head outside, possibly home, but was surprised when the person stopped just outside the doorway. He heard a giggle and realized it was Rei that had joined him. With a glance, he could also tell that she was quite drunk.
"Hey, Rei-chan." He gave her a raised eyebrow. "Tired of being surrounded by people?"
She gave another drunken giggle. "No, silly, I came out here to join you," she declared, swatting him playfully on the arm.
Considering the pair had started spending time together so that he could write and she read (she had actually started editing his work), he was touched, though not all that surprised. "You didn't have to do that. You looked like you were having fun in there."
She gave him a grin. "I was, but I want to have fun with you, Tounyo-kun." She grabbed his arm between her own and pulled it toward her torso.
The blonde teen blushed, instinctively pulling back a little. "Er…Thanks, Rei-chan, but you really don't have to-" He was cut off as the girl pushed her lips against his. His eyes shot wide open in shock. Before he could really respond in any reliable way, she fell limp against him, forcing him to catch her or have her fall flat on her face.
For nearly five minutes, he just stood there, mind blank, staring at nothing. When his mind finally returned to him, he started cursing. "Damn it, woman. How am I supposed to know whether you were serious or just drunk?" he asked her unconscious form.
He gave her a sharp glare before sighing. "First, I need to wake you up and sober you, huh?" He picked her up bridal style and reluctantly headed inside, looking for a bathroom. Somehow, he knew he wouldn't be able to figure it out for a while…
Naruto grinned heartily. The party had been a major success. He had even caught sight of someone else spiking the punch after he had already done so. Of course, when the women of his generation found out that his donation to the party had been alcohol in the punch, as many of them were quickly realizing, he would be in major trouble.
Especially with his wife.
Honestly, he was surprised they hadn't already pounced on him. Maybe they had decided that what he had done wasn't so bad and really was in the spirit of things.
But he doubted it.
Lucky for him, they wouldn't get the chance to attack him tonight.
Unfortunately, this wouldn't go so well for the village as a whole.
Three figures entered the door, quickly looking around. His generation was immediately on guard, though the younger nins weren't quite as aware.
The three were wearing Mist hitai-ates around their foreheads.
When one of them started a set of hand seals, Naruto was immediately there in a Shunshin, ramming a fist into his cheek. He felt the cracking of the man's skull as he was sent back out the way he had come, definitely not getting back up any time soon.
He glanced to both sides to find Sasuke having dispatched another of the shinobi with his Kusanagi, stolen from Orochimaru when he had killed the man. On his other side, Lee was just slamming the other Kiri nin to the ground, making sure to leave him conscious enough for a quick interrogation.
The rest of the Twelve, plus the Hokage, were there in less than a second, the adrenalin quickly wearing off whatever buzz they had achieved during the party. After receiving an acknowledging nod from Tsunade, Ino knelt down next to the man's struggling form, still held down by Lee, performing a quick jutsu. Both of their bodies fell limp, Shikamaru catching his wife before she hit the ground.
All twelve of them waited impatiently as Ino gathered intel from the enemy. The rest of the party started to take noticed of things and began to gather nearby, looking for instructions from their leader.
Five seconds later, the blonde gasped as she returned to consciousness. She said only two phrases, but they sent chills down everyone's spines. "They've allied with Sound. They're invading now."
Sasuke had grabbed the Kusanagi from the front wall, where it had been hung on display, as soon as he saw the Mist nin start seals. He was the fastest ninja there; he knew he had the time. He waited, still as a statue for word from Ino. Sakura appeared next to him, her breath held silently.
"They've allied with Sound. They're invading now."
Sound was back…
Without realizing it, Sasuke was reaching a hand up to touch the curse mark that still rested against his neck, a silent reminder of former mistakes. He could have sworn he felt it pulse before he was stopped from touching it by his wife, her hand grasping his wrist. The pair's eyes met for a moment, exchanging words without voice. Finally, Sasuke nodded, trying to reassure her.
The two returned to the conversation, as the Hokage demanded more information.
"They're using the rain as cover. Some of them used water jutsu to get inside the village through the rain. Their job is to strike a few key areas, including this compound, the Hyuuga, the Hokage Tower, and the village gate. When they finally let the rest of them in, they will then announce their presence and begin the real destruction."
Before she had even finished, Naruto and Hinata were gone, moving toward their compound. The others immediately looked toward their Hokage for orders. She didn't hesitate. "Tenten, Neji, take a few chuunin with you and investigate the Hokage Tower." The pair disappeared before she could even finish, taking Nebin, Shan, and Hato with them. "Rei, Taru, and Hari, you're the fastest chuunin here; I want you all the run through the village and spread the word to our ninja. The rest of you I want to spread out, with the majority heading toward the village gates. Eliminate any threats you come across. This is war!"
"Hai!" chorused the entirety of the gathering.
Not ten seconds later, Sasuke was jumping across rooftops through the city, Sakura and Koukatsu following after him, as well as his 13 year old genin son, whose pink hair had him being made fun of almost constantly. He was somewhat surprised his daughter hadn't come with them. His other children were all too young and knew better than to follow.
It quickly became clear that the enemy had already made it into the city. He dispatched two, while his wife took care of another. Then, both of them moved to assist their son, who had stalled the jounin long enough for the other two to take care of their enemies.
It was just as they were turning to move on that he felt a spike of pain run through him, emanating from the curse mark on his neck. He fell to the ground, hand going to his neck. The pain was more intense than he had felt in a long time, not since at least 17 years ago.
Not since he had killed Orochimaru.
"No…" he muttered as the other two Uchiha came up next to him, one putting a hand on his shoulder, already glowing with a diagnostic jutsu.
"What happened, Sasuke-kun?" asked his wife as he slowly regained control of his body after thhhe pain. He looked up into the rain that still hadn't let up darkly.
"Orochimaru is back."
Naruto landed in front of the Hyuuga compound, soaked to the bone due to the rain, now known to have been caused by a jutsu. His wife landed next to him a second later. So far, it looked like nothing had happened. Knowing that looks could be deceiving, the pair entered quickly.
They both scowled upon finding the corpses of two of the Hyuuga guard just inside the entrance.
They were already here.
Hinata immediately activated her Byakugan. The private rooms were shielded with chakra blocking minerals, but the rest of the compound was like an open book to her.
She quickly realized something was very wrong.
"About half of the compound has been evacuated, but the rest of it still has people in it."
Hinata started moving toward the populated portion of the compound, Naruto following after her. "At least that means that half of the clan is safe."
She shook her head, taking a quick turn. "The areas evacuated all house members of the Hyuuga Council." She paused, her eyes widening as she caught sight of three building chakra sources. "Crap! Get behind me!" Without hesitation, her husband did as ordered.
Not two seconds later, a series of roars echoed through the building. The wall beside them collapsed, just as Hinata initiated her Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō (Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms). A rush of water in the form of a dragon followed the crashing wall, crashing into her defensive technique, her hands moving with such speed that the lasers coming out of her palms formed a barrier. The dragon crashed around her technique, splitting apart, only to reform on the other side and continue on, destroying the wall on the other side of her.
She watched it turn upward with her Byakugan, two other water dragons doing the same from other parts of the compound. She saw them merge above the center of the compound. "We have to get out, now."
Being the faster of the two, Naruto grabbed her around the waist and Shunshined them out of the hole in the wall next to them. He appeared on the walls surrounding the compound just as the mass of water crashed into the ground. They caught a glimpse of the liquid spreading out after the crash with such force that it was flattening everything it came in contact with before they hopped behind the wall, Naruto performing a quick earth jutsu to reinforce them. On either side of the reinforced parts of the wall, the stone cracked before collapsing, allowing the water to run free into the streets. Luckily, the force behind the jutsu was dispersed, so they were only flooded with the remains of the water.
With the rain still falling on their heads, the pair hopped back on the little bit of wall that was left, only to gape at what was left of the Hyuuga compound.
Nothing.
"No…" muttered Hinata.
Naruto grit his teeth and jumped down, heading toward the remains. Hinata jumped down after him and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. He turned toward her in surprise.
"I know you want to help my clan," she said, barely loud enough to be heard over the rain, "but the rest of the village needs you." She could tell he was reluctant to leave her alone. "I can take care of this little problem on my own. Please, go help our village."
He gave her a sad smile. "You'd better not die on me, beautiful." He gave her a quick peck on the lips before vanishing in a Shunshin.
With hard eyes, she turned toward what little was left of her compound. She stepped purposefully in the direction of the three enemy ninja.
Those three would pay.
Hato jumped across the rooftops, ignoring the rain as it pounded against his head and shoulders. He had his Usagi Isshiki no Jutsu (Rabbit of the Zodiac Jutsu) activated so that he could keep up with the others; his speed never had been the best, and when compared to Neji, Tenten-sensei, Nebin, or Shan, he would have struggled without the jutsu.
The group landed in front of the Hokage Tower and both male Hyuuga activated their Byakugan. Hato saw Nebin grimace, no doubt having just seen the guards, dead just inside the door. Neji spoke to the group with the voice of authority.
"They're heading up, probably to the roof so they can escape after destroying the Tower. We can cut them off if we jump window to window." He paused as everyone prepared to make the first jump. "Just make sure you don't fall."
With the wall being made out of chakra neutralizing minerals, they had to avoid trying to stick to it with chakra, so instead they bolstered their legs with chakra and leapt from windowsill to windowsill. It was risky because they didn't have any way of catching themselves should they fall, but they didn't have time to go up the stairway.
Hato, with his jutsu that strengthened his legs exponentially, knew he would have no trouble with this task, so he silently allowed the others to go in front of him. He saw Shan struggle a little the first few jumps with the thin footholds, but once she adjusted she was fine. He kept an eye on them as he hopped up after them.
He was lucky he did because he saw Nebin slip and start to fall, only to catch himself by his fingertips. Hato jumped up to the windowsill he hung on and reached down carefully to pull the teen up beside him. Nebin gave him a grateful nod before taking off again, both understanding that time was vitally important under these circumstances.
The pair reached the top shortly after the rest of their group did. A group of two Mist nin and an Oto nin stood in front of the stairwell with the door open behind them. The two groups stared at each other for only a moment before the two Kiri shinobi stepped forward
"Start the jutsu," commanded one of them. "We'll defend you until you finish it." The Oto nin immediately did as told.
Tenten instantly started a barrage of kunai and shuriken on one of the front enemies, while her husband charged the other, initiating a taijutsu battle. The three chuunin turned their attention to the Oto nin that was running through hand seals at a rapid pace.
Before any of them could move, however, they felt ice start to creep up their legs, locking them in place. Hato turned in time to see Tenten's enemy release the last seal of his jutsu. The redhead scowled, pulled out a kunai to start clearing away the ice. To his right, he saw a blur.
Glancing up, he saw Shan kick the Sound nin in the stomach, sending him flying toward the edge of the roof. Her knuckles were bleeding slightly, no doubt from having punched her way free of the ice. He grinned lightly, going back to work on clearing the ice from his feet as Nebin did the same. He wasn't sure when the girl had taken off her weights, but thank Kami she had. The jutsu had been interrupted, so they could now take the opponent down together.
As soon as the rest of the team was free of the ice.
He heard Nebin break free with two quick Jyuuken strikes and dart forward to help Shan with her opponent.
With a few quick jabs of his kunai, Hato pulled his legs free with a grunt. He glanced at the two older shinobi to make sure they were doing fine with their opponents. Tenten had engaged her foe in a melee battle with a bo staff and was keeping him quite firmly on the defensive. Neji had already disabled both of his enemy's arms, meaning he had practically won.
His two teammates were having a bit more trouble. Even with her weights removed, Shan was only just as fast as her opponent now that he was ready for her, and Nebin, even though he was trying to jump in when the Oto nin was off balance, still couldn't catch him off balance; in fact, he looked as if he had been the one taking a beating.
Hato brought his hands up into a single seal. "Hebi Isshiki no Jutsu (Snake of the Zodiac Jutsu)." He ran forward, his hands held back with the fingers meeting in a point. He got close to where Shan was engaged with the Oto nin, Nebin jumping in when he saw a chance, and slowed down, stepping to the opposite side as the Hyuuga.
They waited until Shan managed to make him lift a leg to block and then both of her teammates struck. Clearly, he didn't realize how dangerous Hato's strikes were because the man put extra effort into dodging Nebin's strike, dodging into Hato's. He jabbed him in the leg before backing off, followed shortly by his teammates.
The Sound nin didn't seem to realize he had been injected with a chakra bomb, as he laughed at them. "See? Even three on one, you stand no chance!"
The team glanced at each other in amusement. As they looked back, the Oto shinobi's leg gave out beneath him, causing him to fall to the ground in a heap. A kunai flew out from the side, lodging directly in the center of the enemy's chest. The man gasped in pain before hyperventilating for a few seconds and falling silent.
Tenten and Neji landed in front of the trio. "Nice work, guys," said Tenten with a proud grin. She had been the one to finish off their foe, having realized that this was a full-scale battle. "We've succeeded in our assigned mission. Now, we need to help defend this village." She turned toward her husband. "How's it looking, honey?"
They all paused when they noticed how pale the elder Hyuuga was, his Byakugan activated. "Not good. All three gates, the main and the East and West gates, are all open and enemies are pouring in."
They all just stood there, the words sinking in.
They were truly under attack.
And quite clearly on the defensive.
