Konnichiwa konnichiwa, Planeshunter desu!

Wow, this is embarrassing as hell. I left a note to myself inside last chapter and published it like that. It's fixed now, as I mentioned I wasn't exactly at the top of my game that day. Really sorry about it. For future reference, anything addressed to 'Baka-Tengu' is a note to myself and I REALLY should be making sure you guys can't read them, because there can be any kind of spoilery or completely embarrassing information on them '.

Now, without further ado, Mystic Eyes of Reincarnation 始まります!


Chapter 55: Upping the ante


Morning training has been and amusing business, with Naruto-kun there to spar with her and Hanabi acting all jealous and trying to get in the way. She can't help but feel a bit vindicated. Now her baby sister will know how she felt when her bodyguard got stolen.

A cloud of smoke interrupts their antics, and percussion sounds seems to surge from… somewhere. Haku and Hanabi get on guard, Naruto-kun sighs. Hinata simply waits with a polite smile in her lips. She's not about to kill the last loyal sannin simply because he's interrupting her time with Naruto-kun... Even if just barely.

-"Men fear me!" -A voice comes from inside the smoke- "Women love me!"

Oh dear.

-"The Toad Sage from Mount Myoboku" -The smoke clears enough to reveal the white-haired hermit riding his usual orange toad-"Jiraiya the Ga- Oho…"

-"What is it, Ero-sennin?"

-"When did you go and get a woman, boy? Good job!"

-"Wha-? I didn't…!"

-"And this seems like a pretty recent development too! I think some congratulations are in order!"

-"Will you listen to me, you super-pervert!?"

-"Now, now… Naruto! There's no reason to be shy!" -He pushes him downwards via a hand on the face, turning towards Hinata with a mischievous smile in his lips- "Hyuuga-san, is nice to meet again. My idiot student might not amount to much, but please take good care of him!"

The only reason her face doesn't erupt in a crimson blush is because she got in full heiress mode as soon as she saw where this was going. Unfortunately, Naruto-kun has no such training and goes as red as a ripe tomato, stuttering denials and dead threats while Hanabi looks far too pleased by his ordeal.

Having a fairly good idea where this is going, she signs Haku to take her sister away for breakfast. The sign doesn't escape Jiraiya, who spares a second to send a knowing grin her way in the middle of his quarreling with Naruto-kun.

-"So? What do you want, Ero-sennin?"

-"Oh, yeah, sorry for interrupting, but we kind of have an urgent mission outside the village."

-"A mission? Hell yeah! What are we doing? Are we gonna track that Orochimaru bastard and kick his ass?"

-"Idiot. Maybe half the Council thinks with their arse, but they wouldn't send a genin to fight that monster."

Gennin? Oh, yes, the promotions hasn't been announced yet, they'll probably wait until there's a Fifth so she can do it herself. And maybe they'll try to use the time to find a way to prevent Naruto-kun from getting his well-deserved rank.

-"Then what is it? Come on, Ero-sennin, don't leave me hanging!"

-"It's a secret! Now shut up. Hmmm.." -He makes a show of thinking deeply about something- "I guess I owe you something for intruding in your happy time and all that. Know what? If you promise to be at the gate in an hour I'll give you time to say goodbye to your woman and get ready. I'll even teach you a new jutsu while we travel!"

Saying whatever he wants, he disappears in another cloud of smoke before Naruto can retort.

-"Well, you heard my pervert sensei" -He says uncomfortably, turning back to her- "I guess I'll have to leave soon for this mysterious mission..."

Hinata nods, already knowing what this 'mysterious mission' is about. Things could go very well if Orochimaru decides not to try and recruit Tsunade this time around or very, very wrong if he chases after her but turns out the damage dealt by the Third isn't as extensive as it was last time.

Maybe she should send someone to tail him after all?

-"Brat, we've had this conversation before. Who would you send that the old toad wouldn't notice? Who could you send that would make a difference anyway? You'll have to let chips fall where they may this once."

Yes, of course she has to. She's just afraid Naruto-kun will again die in a place where she cannot reach. And maybe she's a little bit worried about what she's going to do in the meanwhile. She cannot begin to fathom how Naruto-kun would react if he returns to the Village only to find her dead or comatose.

A pair of warm hands wrap around hers, shaking her from her dark thoughts.

-"Hey, Hinata-chan, don't make that face, alright?" -Naruto-kun says with a confident smile- "You'll make me not want to go!"

-"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, it's just… please come back safe?"

That request seems to shock him, and Hinata could swear she sees him tear up, but before she can be sure she's wrapped in a tight embrace and Naruto-kun's voice sound really close to her ear, as if telling a secret.

-"Of course I will, Hinata-chan" -He whispers- "After all, now I wave a good reason not to die!"

Then he kisses her cheek and jumps away all the way to the walls that protect the garden. That does a bad job at covering his fluster, but Hinata herself is too busy feeling warm and fuzzy and trying not to pass out to really register.

Hinata takes a bit to recover her bearings and, when she finally does, she heads for breakfast with somehow heavy steps. On the bright side, Naruto-kun had left before Akatsuki infiltrated. On the other hand, that farewell carried some serious risk of being the last between the two of them.

Now then, she better gets ready for her own job. [Byakugan] or not, keeping an entire shinobi village in the lookout is no easy feat, no matter how nonchalant the people she's looking for will behave when they infiltrate.


It's only some hours later her left brow twitches and she stands from the seiza position she's hold since breakfast. She's relatively winded for the extensive use of her bloodline dojutsu, but what she's intending will require more control than reserves anyway. As long as she's capable of performing some basic jutsu, the rest of the plan relies in her persuasion skills.

Quite an unsettling perspective, now that she things about it.

As she gets ready to leave the compound, she turns her attention inside.

-"Kurama, Toneri-kun, I'm afraid I'll need you with me today."

-"Don't be silly brat, as if we'd leave you alone for something like this."

-"Now and always, hime."

Hinata quickly sets off towards the centre of the village. Unsurprisingly, her target and his partner approach a certain dango shop where a certain couple of jounin-sensei were having 'totally not a date'. This must be one of those things Fate is a jerk about, what were the chances of this scene repeating?

She spreads her attention, Kakashi has noticed too and is rushing towards them, but nothing else. Where are the ANBU? Or any other Jounin? Heck, where is ROOT? So thinly spread are the Konoha shinobi forces nobody else has noticed the intruders?

The confrontation, if it can really be called that, between Kurenai-sensei and Itachi gets timely interrupted by Kakashi's arrival. She knows what comes next. A quick bout of taunts, a glance with an absurdly powerful dojutsu and a week of vegetative state for one of the most elite jounin of the village. That if Tsunade comes back as planned. That's where she steps in.

With all the fine control she's restlessly trained for so long, she freezes her own chakra circulation. That's a trick akin to holding your breath or stopping one's own heart that can easily kill a shinobi using it recklessly. It's only thanks to her special eyes that she dares try at all. But her opponent this time deserves all her caution, and she'll do anything in her hand to not be spotted before time.

Making sure she's not letting out her presence, Hinata clenches her teeth, hand seal ready. Anytime now… With the tension of the moment, she feels the seconds stretch longer and longer, until the point where her crazy heartbeat seems to become a sporadic incident. So slow feels the time that she forgets to breathe until her diaphragm acts without asking.

Then, finally, Itachi's [Sharingan] transforms, the three tomoe becoming a three-pronged shuriken. After a short prayer that she hasn't changed the timeline so much he'd use [Amaterasu] here instead of [Tsukuyomi], she releases the hold in her own chakra flow and executes her plan.

Sealless and wordless jutsu are all fine and well in battle when you need to catch your opponent unaware, but there's a reason for such hindrances to be used before you achieve a certain mastery with each technique. Gestures and sounds are tools to focus more easily in the task at hand, allowing a better control of the jutsu. And the level of control she needs right now is nothing short of flawless.

-"[Kawarimi no Jutsu!]"

Instants later, she falls unconscious to the ground. What transpired inside the genjutsu will only ever be known to her and Itachi, but whatever it was makes Uchiha traitor signal his partner and leave. Of course, Kakashi quickly recovers for the disorientation of being switched and returns right in time to catch Hinata before she hits the floor.

-"Hinata-chan, what the hell were you thinking!"

-"Sensei.." -Hinata makes an effort to hold into consciousness, sending an imploring look his way- "Don't let Sasuke-kun… do anything stupid."

With those words, she leaves the world of the waking.


To say Neji was indignant was an gross understatement. He was seething with rightful wrath! Knowing Hinata-sama had been hospitalized due unknown genjutsu damage had been worrisome enough. Then he learnt she had been hit when trying to protect his supposedly not mentally challenged jounin-sensei from a member of an S-rank what-in-the-name-of-Heavens-were-they-doing-in-the-middle-of-Konoha organisation!

Wasn't a sensei supposed to look after his students? And how in the name of all the demons from hell did a couple of internationally wanted criminals manage to simply take an effing stroll into a Hidden Village wearing their thrice-times damned colours and symbols without a single useless good for nothing guard spotting them?

As he stomps into the hospital, he meets the Uchiha, who seems to be in a similarly stormy mood. Both of them barely acknowledge each other's presence with a grunt and a slight, very, very slight nod before heading for the board where the patients rooms where listed under codes facilitated to friends and family to keep their intimacy while maximising the efficacy of the information system.

Neji arches a brow when both his and the Uchiha's hand stop in the same plate. He shouldn't, of course, Hinata-sama was really good at reaching to people, as he was a living example of. Still, he had been paying attention to the Uchiha during their shared time in the Academy and this is a change in behaviour he never thought possible.

He seems to notice Neji's evaluating gaze, as he turns to look at him. Maybe he could make an effort to at least be civil with Hinata-sama's teammate, but after such a long time indulging in his own misery, his social skills might not be up to it. Pair it with the Uchiha's particular circumstances and...

-"Got a problem, Hyuuga?"

-"Nothing that concerns you, Uchiha."

Yes, that's a more realistic development. The Uchiha scoffs at his reply, but doesn't say anything when he walks right behind him towards Hinata-sama's room. Almost there, they stop at the voices coming from beyond the next turn.

-"Well doctor, what can you tell us?"

-"Not much, I'm afraid. She's in shock because of some unknown genjutsu, but her life is not in immediate danger and we're spread too thin here in the hospital. I'm afraid I'll have to send her home to rest. She should awaken by herself in due time. Even if she doesn't probably a Yamanaka would be a better choice than us."

-"That's preposterous! I won't allow for my daughter to be dismissed like some annoyance, do take your job seriously doctor, or I'll make sure you find yourself without any job to do at all!"

-"Hyuuga-sama, I am doing my job. There's little to nothing we can do for your daughter here and a whole lot we can do for other people. As much as it vexes my doctor's pride, we are not capacitated to treat this kind of affliction!"

Wow, Neji has to respect the aplomb of that doctor, standing up to an outraged Hiashi-sama like that takes a lot out of a man...

-"Maaa, maaa… Let's not be hasty here. I'm sure the good doctor is just doing his job. Hyuuga-sama can ask for a second opinion from his clan doctors once Hinata-chan is back home anyway" -There's only one person that lazily conciliatory voice could belong to. At least the good-for-nothing man has the decency of being here for his student- "Are we even sure it was genjutsu anyway? Their eye contact only lasted a couple of seconds at most, this kind of damage should be impossible."

-"Jounin-san, maybe we can't treat this, but we can at least diagnose it. Severe mental scarring due to traumatic hallucinations. I don't care what the jutsu was or how it worked, those are the facts, and it's not a doctor's job to determine how they came to be."

-"He can inflict that much damage in such a little time? It has to be related to how his [Sharingan] changed shapes… Damn, Itachi is becoming more and more like a monster."

Those words freeze the corridor. As one, the Uchiha and him turn around and start walking outside. Neji soon realizes the Uchiha is surreptitiously increasing his pace, as if to pass him without being too obvious. Nonsense, such boorish tactics cannot hope to escape his eyes. Naturally, he adjusts his own pace so he is the one walking slightly faster.

But then the Uchiha has the nerve to try it again, and of course he cannot let that slip. The situation extends until the point where their pace cannot be called 'walking' anymore. Being the eldest it's his natural role to do the mature thing and declare his intentions, putting an end to this nonsense.

-"Uchiha, I'm going to kill your brother."

-"No, Hyuuga. Not if get to him first!"


Don't let Sasuke-kun do anything stupid!

Kakashi curses himself as he scans the streets from the rooftops, moving as fast as he can without risking missing something. What a blunder! What kind of elite-jounin was him? What kind of joke was to call him a genius? No, scratch that, he didn't even deserve to be called sensei.

Don't let Sasuke-kun do anything stupid!

The streets race below him, the crowds stretching his perception skills to the max. Hinata had saved him for kami knows what kind of horrible genjutsu, leaving a simple request behind before collapsing and what does he do? Does he go check on his student, possibly mentally unstable because the works of a psycho and a sicko?

No, of course not! That would've been the sensible thing to do! When does Kakashi do the sensible thing? He's a genius that thinks outside the box and always looks underneath the underneath, so the simple truth Sasuke would chase after Itachi as soon as word reached him about his brother infiltrating the Village didn't even cross his mind. He was too friggin' busy suspecting the motivations of a sweet girl that had just saved his life!

Don't let Sasuke-kun do anything stupid!

He stops to recover his breath. He's not that winded physically, but checking every person he has passed on his way here has been mentally exhausting. To think he once was an elite ANBU capable of picking his target out of a thousand people in the blink of an eye… he truly has gone soft.

It's no use, he's not going to catch Sasuke like this. He should return to the hospital, call for Pakkun and have him track the boy from there. Why the heck didn't he stop him right then and there? It's not like two genin (no matter how good they were) would be able to lose him in the closed confines of the hospital corridors.

No, he knows exactly why he didn't.

Don't let Sasuke-kun do anything stupid!

He didn't chase because that was what Hinata wanted, and his first instinct had been distrust. He mentally kicks himself again. Oh, he knows the girl is hiding something, he's known from day one. Heck, his father had pressed for her to be on his team without a clear motivation and against his own protests, that was a by the book ulterior motive.

But he also knows she's a dear who wouldn't hurt a fly if she had a say in the matter (as long as the fly didn't threaten or insult Naruto, that's it) and puts her teammates above herself. Distrusting her in this particular matter is the dumbest thing he's done since he ignored Obito's call all those years ago.

He lands at the hospital gate already biting his thumb.

-"[Kuchiyose no Jutsu!] No time to explain, I need you to track Sasuke for me!"

He takes to the roofs again, following a very confused pug. That's it. As soon as Hinata recovers he's apologizing and will stop putting his nose where it doesn't belong. Who is him to question other person secrets anyway? Talk about hypocrisy…

But first things first, he needs to make sure Sasuke-kun doesn't do anything stup-

-"There, here he is" -Pakkun says, stopping to point at a cafeteria's terrace- "what was all this fuss about anyway, Kakashi?"

The jounin feels such relief he can only sit down to avoid falling over. Indeed, there he is, heatedly discussing with his new adoptive brother and that Hyuuga boy Hinata beat up during the preliminaries, keeping the hugest puppy he's ever seen away from the table with a foot. Behind them, the Aburame and that Haruno girl listen intently.

-"Yo" -He interrupts once he regains his bearings- "What are you doing here, guys?"

-"Isn't it obvious?" -Sasuke says grumpily- "Trying to figure out how to take down an S-rank criminal."

-"Is that why you called us here?" -A voice practically oozing laziness comes from around the corner- "Troublesome."

-"Well" -Kakashi reflects while only paying half an ear to the youngsters bickering- "This wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but who am I to complain?"


And CUT! Here we have it! For a long time we've had clues that Sasuke was turning out differently in this timeline. For one, his superiority complex was crushed early on, and not by a self-styled rival he cannot bear to lost to, but by a harmless girl that came out from under the radar and rose before he could properly register. That made his competitiveness with Naruto a healthier one, since he didn't have the pressure to deliver as 'the strongest' anymore.

Of course, Hinata stomping him in the Forest of Death was vital to keep that status quo in spite of the [Cursed Seal of Heaven], as well as diminishing its value on his eyes. This, together with Anko's passionate tirade about Orochimaru, served to dissuade him from using the seal and messing up his own mind.

With this two conditions in place, I deem him not obfuscated enough to try and chase down an S-class criminal who just stomped a jounin-sensei in a matter of seconds. Oh, he has a new reason to be angry at his brother (attacking Hinata), but is level-headed enough to not attempt suicide via Itachi.

On another note, I suppose most people has theories and educated guesses about what happened inside [Tsukuyomi], but for the sake of narrative I won't confirm or deny anything until the story reveals it naturally.