Author's Note: First of all, I'd like to thank deviantart user davidshadow275 for working on a better version of this story's cover art. So far, it's only the lineart, but he told me he's working on a colored, digitalized version.
Second, with this chapter, this story is now more than a million words long! Man, I never imagined I'd write such a behemoth of a story. I remember when I finished writing "The Spellbook", my previously longest fic, and I ended up so exhausted I never thought I'd write anything of epic length ever again, yet here we are.
Now, enjoy the chapter:
Chapter 112:
Rise of the Byakugan Princess, Part I
or
Sharingan vs Tenseigan
Moon
Today was the day. After much scouting, investigating and preparing, it was time for the Moon Assault Squad to, well, launch an assault on the Moon.
Toneri's base was somewhere inside the artificial sun. The Moon Puppets entered and exited through a hole that would appear on the surface when they made a certain hand seal. Shisui was able to copy said hand seal with his Sharingan, but when he tried to open a hole in the sun's surface, it had no effect. The Hyugas watching the hole being and closed realized that only the puppets could open it, given that their chakra was somehow connected to that of the artificial sun.
They also realized that, besides the patrols coming and going, if somebody got close to the sun, several Moon Puppets would fly out of the sun in order to meet the invaders. Fortunately, the Moon Squad knew how to use this to their advantage.
"Everybody, go!" Hinata said.
The Hyuga Clan Head was leading the aerial team, flying on her own. Behind them were the rest of the ninjas –the Moon Acolytes were left on one of the abandoned towns for their safety– were riding on Sai's ink birds, including the former root agent. While success of this part of the mission relied on Hinata, the rest of her team would have a role to play as well.
"Here they come!" Tokuma Hyuga warned, his Byakugan active.
And indeed, that moment, a hole opened into the surface of the artifical sun, and Moon Puppets riding bird-like flying machines poured from it, ready to meet them in combat.
"Shisui-san, you ready?"
"Indeed I am," Shisui replied. He was sharing an ink bird with a Hyuga, sitting cross legged with his eyes closed. When he opened his eyes, his normally black irises were yellow, and there were black marks shaped like wings around them. His yellow eyes then turned red of the Sharingan, before it morphed into its advanced form. "Sage Art: Susanoo!"
Shisui leaped into the air as the green chakra construct quickly formed around him, reaching its Perfect form, with black marks around its eyes to echo Shisui's. The Uchiha patriarch made two Shadow Clones, who quickly sat cross legged and closed their eyes, gathering nature energy and funneling towards the chakra construct in a constant manner.
"This should make sure I don't run out of Senjutsu juice," Shisui said, nodding to himself, before cracking his knuckles, as he moved in front of Hinata. "Alright, I'll try to draw their attention to me! Hinata, move towards the gate! The rest of you, provide us with cover!"
"Yes, sir!" the rest of the ninjas chorused in unison.
The Moon Puppets gave them no pause, and rained over them a storm of golden chakra blasts. Sai's ink birds dodged and maneuvered around the deadly shots with the same grace and agility as actual birds, while its raiders fired jutsu of their own towards the defenders. However, the initial counter-barrage was only a bit of the things that were to come.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Blast!"
"Sage Art: Fire Release Blazing Murder!"
Hinata extended her hands forward, releasing a myriad of blue-purple lightning bolts at the incoming enemies. Meanwhile, the wings of Shisui's Susanoo covered its body, before quickly spreading them outwards, releasing a mass of ravens made of pure fire. The blazing birds flew towards the enemies, and burst into a fiery explosion upon making contact with them. All in all, those two attacks had cut the number of present enemies in half.
"Hinata, now!" Shisui said, as he flew towards the remaining foes, while Hinata turned towards the artifical sun.
The hole the Moon Puppets had opened was starting to close. As Hinata flew to it, she made several hand seals.
"Oh, no, you won't!" she said, before making several hand seals. "Tenseigan Chakra Cloak! Truth Seeking Balls!"
The Hyuga Clan Head created four Truth Seeking balls, and send them towards the closing hole. The four black spheres merged into a shapeless mass, which Hinata shaped into a large ring, large enough for somebody riding on a giant bird to pass. She placed that ring in the middle of the gaping hole, preventing it from closing.
"There!" She said, nodding to herself. "Everybody, quickly, get inside the sun! It's safe now!"
With Shisui providing cover, the rest of the Moon Team quickly passed through the gate, followed by the Uchiha, and finally Hinata, who undid the black ring, taking back the form of four spheres.
They were greeted by an image that it was just as unreal as it was breathtaking: several small islands floating completely still, around a gigantic stone structure shaped like a crescent moon with a planetoid inside its curve, perfectly mimicking the symbol of the Otsutsuki Branch House. On top of the stone moon was a massive citadel, so large it almost looked like a city.
"I'm seeing an immense source of chakra coming from underneath that building," Hinata told them. "That must be where the weapon is being stored."
"I see it too," an Hyuga kunoichi said, her Byakugan active. "Said chakra seems to be the same the one powering the puppets and their machines. Do you think there's a link between them?"
"More likely," it was Shisui who answered. "Toneri's puppets have been inspected by both Konoha's best sealmasters and Suna's ninja puppeteers, and neither of them were able to figure out how they worked, only that they received their energy from an external source, unlike the Chakra Golems."
"So if we destroy the Otsutsuki weapon, Toneri's puppet army will be shut down," Sai deduced.
"Good. That will make our friends' work on Earth all the easier," Hinata said, as she and her group got closer to their target.
However, the moment they got closer to the citadel, they were once welcomed by a barrage of golden chakra blasts. All around the citadel were turrets armed with double cannons manned by more Moon puppets, focusing fire on them. On top of that, more puppets riding mechanical birds joined the fright, forcing the assaulters to turn back.
"We won't be able to get close to the citadel with so much fire upon us," Sai warned them. "My ink birds can't resist such firepower, and we'll be vulnerable on the ground."
"Hinata-sama, all of our clan have witnesses the great power you possess now. Do you think you could destroy the whole citadel yourself?" Tokuma asked.
"I'll try. Even if I'm not able to destroy the whole citadel, I'm sure I'll at least destroy the defenses," Hinata said, as she extended her hand forward, and her Truth Seeking Balls started to spin in front of her hand, merging into a purple sphere. "Amethyst Wheel Rein-"
Before Hinata could complete her attack, a black sphere, like a Truth Seeking Ball, but much bigger, appeared in the middle of the group, followed by a powerful telekinetic shockwave that blasted Sai's ink birds into black puddles, while hurling its riders away, all of them pummeling to the ground below around the citadel. Hinata's attack was interrupted, as the Hyuga Clan Head was violently hurled forward. Even Shisui's Susanoo send tumbling back.
"What the...? what was that?" Hinata asked, as she regained her balance still mid air. "How did that thing got so close while evading my sight?"
The answer came in the form of the black sphere broke down into a black blob, revealing a hollow interior that held Toneri inside, his Tenseigan Chakra Cloak blazing around him. Said blob them turned into four Truth Seeking Balls.
"He encased himself in a shell made of his Truth Seeking Balls. That's how he was able to evade my Tenseigan," Hinata thought in realization. "Toneri!? How are you here?"
"Hello, my princess. I was expecting you," Toneri said, her mouth curving into a inviting smile.
"You... knew that I was coming?" Hinata asked. "But how? We've been evading all the patrols until now!"
"Indeed, you and your little friends proved to be quite sneaky. And I couldn't afford to go and look for you myself, since I run into the risk of revealing my presence, since I could scare you into running away. But fortunately, everything has transpired according to my plan," Toneri explained, his smile was now of smug pride. "As for how I knew of your presence... you should remember that you and your sister aren't the only ones linked by Hamura's chakra."
It took a second to Hinata to realize what Toneri meant, when the memory of Hanabi telepathically contacting her dawned her. "That conversation I had with my sister! You... you listened to us!?"
"Not the whole conversation. I wasn't the intended target of the message, so I only got a few parts here and there. But I could discern that you were here, to put an end to the weapon my ancestors built in order to free themselves from the tyranny of the Main House's oppression, while I was busy helping Obito with his little silly war," Toneri continued, shaking his head. "I have to admit, that was careless of my part."
Hinata's eyebrow arched at Toneri's last choice of words, striking her as odd. "Little silly war? Don't you... don't you agree with him and his plans?"
"Ah, yes, I know what you're implying, so I'm going to cut the chase and skip directly to the dramatic reveal," Toneri replied. "Turns out you were right. My mind was being manipulated by Obito. I was his slave, and none the wiser about it."
"You... you broke the mind control?" Hinata asked in shock. "But I heard that Kotoamatsukami is nearly impossible to break! Naruto-kun had to be put on the verge of death to do that!"
"I find insulting that you dare to compare me to that blond oaf that you call your lover, but this should be even more proof over my superiority over him. Yes, I was nothing but Obito's thrall, but when Hamura's power developed and reached maturity, seeing the illusion and breaking through it was child's play!" Toneri boasted.
"But then... if you aren't mind controlled anymore... then we don't have to fight anymore!" Hinata said, beaming with joy.
Toneri smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. I do not wish to fight you either."
"Then will you help us stopping Akatsuki?" Hinata asked, sounding hopeful.
Toneri's smile turned into a condescending smirk. "And why would I do such a thing?"
The Hyuga Clan Head was taken aback. "What? But... I don't understand..."
"I might not be mind controlled anymore, but I could see one truth of Obito's plan: the world the Sage of the Six Paths created is a failure. It is beyond saving. It must be destroyed, so something new, and better, can be built in its place, and the Ten Tails is the perfect tool for the job. Obito thinks that by stealing a Rinnegan, he will be able not just to control it, but becoming its jinchuriki," Toneri shook his head, looking amused. "Shortsighted fool. His body lacks the power to contain such power. It will consume him from the inside out the moment he tries to make that power his own.
"However, somebody who has the true power of the Six Paths, like me, can become its jinchuriki without any risks. Once the Ten Tails is done reducing the world down to a more primordial state, I will absorb the beast into my body, and lead what's left of humanity to a new golden age. The power of the Ten Tails will make my rule unmatched, but such thing won't be necessary, since people will see me as the one who saved them from an unspeakable horror, and will follow my lead unquestioningly.
"And you, Hinata..." he extended his hand, reaching her. "You shall be my queen. You're compassionate, strong, and wise beyond your years. You're the perfect queen to rule the new world alongisde me."
As Toneri spoke, Hinata's expression went from shock, to horror, and finally setting in disappointment. This time, it was her who shook her head.
"I see. So even without the mind control... nothing changed," she said, before staring at Toneri with eyes full of resolve. "I'm no queen. The world needs no queens or kings, just people to fight for it. Like Naruto-kun, and the rest of my friends and family. Like me. And I will protect the world by defeating you once and for all!"
"I see. So I have to tame you first before you accept your fate. It's okay, I have already foresaw this," Toneri said. "Unlike our previous confrontations, I'm the one with the homefield advantage, and you have no place to run away, nor allies to call for help, except those few that came with you."
"You're always so sure of yourself. Well, you'll see that the people I brought with me are more than enough to deal with you!" Hinata said, as her four Truth Seeking Balls moved in front of her, and merged into a protective shield.
"Susanoo: Fire Release Meltdown!"
Toneri turned around, and saw Shisui's Susanoo floating above him, exhaling a massive, constantly expanding fireball that threatened to engulf Toneri. However, the last Otsutsuki wasn't surprised, and raised his hand at the incoming attack. His Fourth Truth Seeking Balls merged into a golden orb, before exploding, releasing its energy in the shape of a golden beam aimed at the incoming attack. The chakra beam and growing inferno clashed against each other, resulting in an explosion that pushed both Uchiha and Otsutsuki backwards.
"Hinata, I'll deal with this asshole! You go find and destroy the weapon!" Shisui yelled.
"Understood!" Hinata said, as she quickly flew towards the Citadel's main entrance.
"I won't let you!" Toneri said, as he flew to intercept her, but was forced to fall back when a gigantic drill-shaped spear almost smashed into him.
"And I won't let you," Shisui said, looking at the white haired man from above. He then turned towards Sai, Tokuma and the rest of their team, fighting Moon Puppets while avoiding the fire coming from the Citadel's turrets. "Everybody, follow Hinata and make sure she reaches the weapon unimpeded!"
Shisui was answered by chorus of "yes sir!" and similar responses, before his Sharingan focused on Toneri.
"You seem to be very eager to fight against teens and little kids. Let's see how well you do against an actual adult," Shisui said, as his eyes narrowed in anger. "I still owe you a big one for nearly killing my wife's little brother!"
Shisui's Susanoo dived down, ready to skewer Toneri with his drill lance again. Toneri waved a hand, and send a Truth Seeking Ball to intercept the coming spear, taking the shape of a small shield. However, Shisui's spear cracked it, shattering it into hundreds of small black shards, before coming down, barely missing Toneri, who flew backwards.
"So, you're able to overwhelm my Truth Seeking Balls. First that annoying kid, then that boorish blond, and now you." Toneri said, unamused, as he resummoned the orb that had been destroyed. His Tenseigan flashed for a second, as he fixed Shisui a hard stare. "Your chakra is definitely different than that of a normal human. And similar to that kid and Naruto. I can see that your clones are absorbing pieces of ambient chakra and channeling it towards the armored construct. I was unaware such thing could be done. Perhaps that's what allows you to bypass my defense?"
"Very clever. But that knowledge will do you no good!" Shisui said, as he charged once again. "Without your precious Truth Seeking Balls, you're helpless against a Sage!"
Toneri smirked, as he raised his hand at Shisui. "Oh, I beg to differ. Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
Toneri's four black orbs merged into a silvery sphere, exploding into a typhoon that swallowed Shisui's Susanoo and violently hurled him upwards, until it crashed against the bottom of a floating island, producing several cracks on its rocky surface.
"Did you like that? Because I'm not done yet," Toneri said, smirking triumphantly, his hand still aiming at Shisui, as he summoned four more Truth Seeking Balls to replace the ones that had been consumed. The new ones also merged into a golden orb in front of his hand. "Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
The golden orb once again exploded into an energy beam that flew towards Shisui. The Uchiha, however, managed to move the Susanoo out of the jutsu's trajectory and dodge it the last second. Shisui saw how the golden beam blasted the floating island into millions of tiny pieces or rock and peebles.
"I can't believe Hagane survived that attack. Either that kid is much tougher than he looks, or Toneri grew more powerful since then," Shisui thought, worried. "Even with Sage Mode, this guy beats me when it comes to raw power. I need to be smart, or I'll end up dead."
Toneri quickly summoned more Truth Seeking Balls, and aimed his hand at Shisui. The balls started to spin around it once again.
"Oh shit, gotta get out of the way!" Shisui thought, as he moved his Susanoo away before Toneri could fire another devastating attack.
"Emerald Reincarnation Explosion!"
This time, the black orbs didn't merge, but merely fired at Shisui, glowing bright green.
"The Truth Seeking Balls can't nullify my ninjutsu anymore, but the way they're glowing is giving me very bad vibes," Shisui noted, as he made a hand seal. "Susanoo: Tsukumo!"
The green Susanoo flaped its wings once, releasing a barrage of large chakra needles of the same color. Then, much to the Uchiha's surprise, as if they had mind of their own, the Truth Seeking Balls started to move in order to avoid the storm of razor-sharp projectiles. Two of the glowing emerald orbs were pierced by the needles, losing their momentum, but the other two reached Shisui, and embedded them into his Susanoo with great force, one of them close to the head, as they started to glow with a brighter light.
"I don't like that..."
Predictably, the orbs detonated, producing two large, green colored explosions, taking a good chunk of the Susanoo's right side, including bits of its head. Still, it was good enough to remain floating mid air.
"Impressive," Toneri said, as he flew towards him, summoning four more Truth Seeking Balls. "That Susanoo is truly impressive. Then again, it's not invincible. In its current state, it won't survive more blasts. Emerald Reincarnation Explosion!"
The black orbs burned with an emerald light as they were charged with chakra, and flew towards Shisui. The Uchiha, however, wasn't going to lie down and take the attack like that. He started to make hand seals as the Susanoo thurst its drill spear forward, which started to spin producing a vortex of wind.
"Susanoo: Fire Release Blazing Vortex!"
Shisui breathed a stream of fire into the drill spear, and when it combined with the wind vortex produced by the drill, it resulted in a roaring inferno that spread forward in a cone. The flames engulfed the coming Truth Seeking Balls, reducing them to ashes. The cone of fire continued forward, forcing Toneri to fall back.
"Now, before he creates more of those annoying orbs!" Shisui said to himself, as he pulled out a Fuuma Shuriken, and tossed it towards the last Otsutsuki. "Shadow Shuriken Clone Jutsu!"
A couple dozen Fuma Shuriken formed around the original, carrying the same momentum, all of them flying towards the white haired man. Shisui, however, wasn't done, and continued making hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire!"
Shisui breathed a second stream of fire at the flying steel stars, coating them in a cloak of flames.
Even if Toneri didn't have time to summon more Truth Seeking Balls and use them as shields, they were far from the only weapon the last Otsutsuki possessed. He made a hand seal, and air shimmered for a second, before he cast a shockwave from his body that spread in every possible direction, repelling the burning disks before they could touch him.
The attack evaded, Toneri resummoned his four Truth Seeking Balls again.
"A combination of skill and power. It seems that my beoved Hinata isn't the only prodigy hailing from that ninja village," Toneri complimented Shisui, smiling mockingly. "Then again, you're a Son of Indra, so your talent goes without saying. Violence and hatred flow through your veins."
"Just because I'm an Uchiha you think you already know me!?" Shisui growled, gritting his teeth. His Susanoo started to slowly regenerate as his anger empowered his chakra. "You know nothing about me, my clan, or Earth as a whole! You spent most of your life here, watching us from afar!"
"I did watch you, yes, but way closer than you think," Toneri said. "I'm very much aware of your clan's history, up to the conflict that saw its numbers diminished to single digits. You and the other survivors might think you're better than your deceased clanmates, but in reality, you're only pretending to be different from them. Indra's hatred taints your very soul. It's your fate to create and perpetuate conflict."
"Do you know what is my fate as well? To wipe that odious grin from your face!" Shisui said, as his Susanoo lunged at Toneri.
"You will try," Toneri said, making the same hand seal he did to create the shockwave. Then, the large rocks floating around them started to move towards Shisui as if they were meteors. Shisui's drill grinded them into gravel in a few seconds the moment they got close, but this also forced the Uchiha to slow down. Then, Toneri made three hand seals, and more meteors started to gather around him
"I'm sure you'll find this familiar," Toneri said, as rocks started to gather above him, forming a large meteor. "Pain was a man with a vision of a better world and the power to make that vision a reality. Somebody I respected. Hell, I might had agree to continue being part of Akatsuki if he was still alive. But well, I'm digressing. Even if I only saw it from afar, I found his Chibaku Tensei magnificent. So consider this facsimile an homage to him."
The white haired man moved his hand downwards, sending the gigantic conglomeration of rocks towards Shisui. The Uchiha, however, was far from intimidated.
"You're going to find a much larger rock to crush me with!" Shisui said, as he moved his Susanoo upwards, raising its drill lance. "Susanoo: Worldbreaking Drill!"
The drill spear started to spin again, this time with increased speed, as a vortex of chakra formed around it, making it appear much larger than it was. The moment the giant meteor was upon him, Shisui thrust the drill upwards, grinding the rock into peebles as soon as it touched it. Cracks started to spread around the meteor, breaking apart into multiple smaller stones by the ever increasing rotation, until it was reduced to a few admittedly large but no longer threatening rocks.
"HA! What about that?" Shisui boasted. "I told you-"
"Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
Shisui saw too late that, while he was busy drilling the meteor, Toneri took advantage of that in order to prepare his most powerful move. Unable to dodge in time, the Uchiha had to watch how the golden beam of energy blasted his Susanoo, violently pushing it back to the vast courtyard surrounding the citadel, opening a crater upon crashing.
Toneri smirked upon seeing Shisui's Susanoo slowly break apart into nothingness. The clones he was using to gather and funnel nature energy were of course gone as well. Still, it seemed that the green chakra construct absorbed most of the blast, sparing Shisui any damage, as the Uchiha got back on his feet with relative ease. However, Toneri wasn't worried. He knew that Susanoo was the most powerful jutsu an Uchiha could use, and he defeated one that was powered by Senjutsu to boot. Deprived of his best weapon, the Uchiha was easy pickings.
"So, I take you aren't going to surrender, are you?" Toneri asked, as he descended, stopping a few meters from the ground level.
"You can bet your pale ass that I'm not," Shisui defiantly said as he unsheathed his tanto from his back.
Toneri chuckled. "So stubborn. Don't you see that you can't beat me? Or do you plan to keep me busy as much as you can in order to buy Hinata the time she needs, even if you have to pay with your life?"
"I can assure you I have no plans of leaving this place as anything other than alive. I have a lovely wife and kids I plan to return to," Shisui said. "I'm willing to die for my family, friends and village, but on this case, it won't be necessary."
"Very well then. At the very least, you'll die with some dignity, Uchiha," Toneri said, smirking condescendingly at Shisui. "But you will die."
Shisui braced as four more Truth Seeking Balls appeared around him.
…
Inside the Citadel
"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"
Hinata extended her hands forward, purple electric sparks jumping between her fingers, before a lightning storm erupted from them, zapping the Moon Puppets that were mid air leaping at them. The lightning bolts pushed them backwards while breaking them down to burn and broken pieces of plastic and metal.
"A few down..." Hinata said, before spreading her arms outwards. "Hundreds of them left!"
She released a telekinetic shockwave from each of her hands, hurling away more puppets that were going to jump at her. Before more enemies could jump at her, she dashed towards the door she thought it would lead her to the weapon... before more puppets poured from said door, as well as from three other doors, much to the Hyuga's frustration.
The Hyuga Clan Head let out a weary sigh as she slipped into a battle stance once again. She was past the point of this kind of enemies being a threat to her, but taking care of them was going to be a bother. Not to mention all the time she was going to waste. Shisui and the others were fightning Toneri, and she needed to destroy the weapon as soon as possible. Fortunately, some help was on her way.
"Super Beast Imitation Drawing!"
"Vacuum Palm!"
Several tigers made of ink entered Hinata's expanded field of vision, and pounced at the puppets incoming from the left, and multiple vacuum shells blasted the horde of puppets coming from the right.
"Hinata-sama, we'll take care of this rabble!" a Hyuga kunoichi said, as she engaged a Moon Puppet in direct combat. "You go and find that weapon!"
Hinata nodded. "Understood. Stay safe!" She then turned towards the puppets coming from the gate she was about to cross, and thrust her hand forward. "Lightning Release: Electric Vacuum Palm!"
From her open hand, Hinata cast a huge vacuum shell surrounded by lightning at the incoming group of enemies, which were helplessly blasted away the moment Hinata's attacj made contact, hurling them to the sides, leaving an open way for the Hyuga to take.
As Hinata continued flying around the citadel, more and more puppets came to stop her. This ones not dressed as ninjas or warriors, but as bulters, servants, maids and other kind of domestic service. Some of them even had the appearance of children. Still, they weren't enough to stop her. Hinata only needed a wave of her hand to blast them with a barrage of lightning bolts, reducing them to burned piles of scrap, not slowing them down a little.
"Isn't there an end to these things?" Hinata complained as she zapped yet another group of puppets.
Thankfully, the answer seemed to be yes, as the moment she reached the lower levels of the citadel, no more puppets appeared to stop her, much to her relief. It didn't take long to reach her destination: a gigantic chamber holding an equally large golden sphere that somewhat resembled her Tenseigan eyes. It irradiated pure power.
"So, this is the Tenseigan Chakra Vessel..." Hinata said in awe, as she slowly walked towards it. "I can see its power flowing through the whole Moon... powering Toneri's puppets, the artificial sun, all the Otsutsuki technology... what a breathtaking work..."
"Breathtaking indeed," another voice said besides her, making the Hyuga startle a little. "Too bad it has to be destroyed."
"Ha-Hamura-sama?" Hinata asked, surprised. "What are you doing here? I thought you could only appear in my dreams."
"Normally, it would be the case," the old man nodded. "But with you being so close to my creation, I can manifest as an image while you're awake."
"Your...creation?" Hinata asked.
Hamura nodded once again, smiling sadly. "Yes. It was me who created this device in order to help my followers survive in the hostile environment of the Moon, so we could build our civilization. Everything in the Moon is connected to this sphere."
"I see..."
There was some pride, and alittle melancholy, in Hamura's voice. The Vessel was a magnificent work of art, and its technology could be used for so much good. This thoughts made Hinata hesitate in her actions. Hamura, however, seemed to notice Hinata's demeanor change, and continued speaking.
"Unfortunately, the tool I created to help my people here was corrupted into a weapon of war, first by the Otsutsuki Branch House to wipe out the Main House, and later by Toneri, to wage war on the people of Earth. Because of that, and the fact that no more people lives on the Moon, it's time for this artifact to be destroyed. And only somebody with Six Paths Chakra can do it safely."
"I... I understand," Hinata replied. "I'll carry out my duty."
No more words were needed. Hinata nodded, and took a few steps forward. She clenched her fists, and two pruple lions made of chakra formed around them, crackling with electricity. Lastly, she leaped at the Vessel.
"Lightning Release: Twin Lion Fists!"
Hinata slammed her fists into the Vessel, producing a burst of lightning that coursed through the entire sphere. The giant golden orb started to blink, before it finally burst into thousands of small glowing white spheres, almost like marbles. Though, upon closer inspection, Hinata realized they weren't marbles at all.
"Wait a minute... these things... they're Byakugan!" Hinata said in realization.
"Indeed. The Vessel started as my own Tenseigan and several volunteers' Byakugan, and over the generations, more and more Byakugan were added to it, increasing its power little by little, until it reached enough destructive potential to wipe out an entire country. Even Toneri himself got his eyes removed when he was a child so they could be added to the weapon, " Hamura's image started to waver. "Thankfully, that weapon won't be used to cause more destruction anymore... Hinata, my child... only one thing remains... defeat Toneri... and bring peace... to my brother's world..."
With that, Hamura's image vanished completely leaving the Hyuga alone.
"Understood, Hamura-sama. It's time for Toneri to pay for his crimes," Hinata said, as she turned around, ready to rejoin her squadmates and put an end to everything. "Huh?"
However, much to her surprise, the mass of floating Byakugan quickly poured out of the room as if they had life of their own, like a large swarm of fireflies, much to the Hyuga's confusion.
…
Meanwhile, inside the Citadel, Sai, Tokuma and the rest of the Moon Squad were fighting tirelessly against the puppet army guarding the place, when all of sudden, they stopped fighting and fell to the ground lifelessly. At the same time, the lights that illuminated the place went out, leaving all of them in the dark
"Uh, what happened?" an Hyuga asked. "The puppet's chakra just disappeared all of sudden!"
"Wait, could it be..." Tokuma whispered, before he focused his enhanced sight below, where Hinata should be, until he found her. "Yes, I can no longer see the source of chakra below the Citadel! Hinata-sama destroyed it!"
"Our mission has been a success then," Sai said, his lips curving into a small smile.
"Indeed," another Hyuga before her eyes drifted where Shisui and Toneri were fighting. "However, Toneri is far from defeated. We must rejoin Hinata-sama and help her bring down-"
She was interrupted when the mass of floating glowing byakugan appeared from behind the gate Hinata had crossed to reach the chamber of the Energy Vessel, and continued their way until they reached outside.
…
Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Toneri and Shisui were about to resume their fight, when the light coming from the artifical sun began to dim. Little by little at first, and faster later, the aritifical sun started to break apart, until it vanished completely, leaving the place completely dark. The only source of light was Toneri's Tenseigan Chakra Cloak, though Shisui created a little flame on the palm of his hand in order to see better.
"What's going on?" Toneri asked, before he directed his expanded sight towards the chamber under the Citadel. "No! Hinata reached the Energy Vessel and destroyed it!"
"Haha, yes, well done Hinata!" Shisui cheered. "You lost, dumbass! Without your precious weapon, your puppet army is nothing but a bunch of oversized toys! Now come with us quietly if you want to live."
"The Tenseigan Energy Vessel... created by Hamura-sama himself..." Toneri began, seemingly ignoring Shisui. His lip started to quiver. "The treasure my clan sacrificed our eyes to... destroyed..."
Shisui tesned up. He didn't like where this was going. While the idea of Toneri surrendering wasn't something he considered a big possibility, now it was pretty much zero. If what Toneri said was true, the destruction of the Energy Vessel was a huge cultural and personal affront to him. His building rage would make him go on a rampage.
Toneri then turned at Shisui, and much to the Uchiha's surprise, smirked, and shrugged. "Oh well. Things happen."
Now Shisui was taken aback.
"That weapon was most of your power base. Not to mention all that stuff you said about sacrificing your eyes," Shisui noted. "Aren't you angry at us? Not even a little?"
"Angry' Hmmm..." Toneri placed a hand under his chin, and pretended to be in deep thought. "I guess I should, right? But I just don't feel like it."
Okay, now Shisui was really worried. This was even worse than the previous scenario. The destruction of ther Tenseigan Chakra Vessel didn't affect him as much as Shisui and everybody else had anticipated. That meant Toneri knew something everybody else was unaware of. Something that right now, made him extremely dangerous.
And Shisui was now going to learn to which extent.
Toneri extended his hand towards the Citadel, and that moment, a swarm of glowing white lights –thanks to his Sharingan, Shisui could tell they were Byakugan– came from the main door, flying towards the last Otsutsuki. The lights started to latch onto Toneri, until they covered it completely. The mass of Byakugan turned into pure white chakra, forming a sphere of pure white light, forcing the Uchiha to shield his eyes with his hand. Then, after a couple seconds of silence, the sphere of light burst like a balloon, revealing Toneri.
At first sight, Toneri didn't look any different than he did a few seconda go. But thanks to his enhanced vision, Shisui could see that the strength of his chakra had been multiplied. Startled, and admittedly, afraid, Shisui stumbled backwards. Toneri was now on a completely different level. Not even with his Senjutsu Susanoo could beat him now.
"Ah, that reaction. I guess that thanks to your eyes you realize the situation you're in," Toneri said, pridefully smirking. "With my Tenseigan, I can absorb the power of the Energy Vessel into my body, and with it, I can finally do this!" Toneri started to make hand seals, and teal flames burst around him. "Tenseigan Chakra Cloak: Perfect Form!"
All of Toneri's latent power was brought to the surface with a burst of chakra that, for a Sharingan wielder like Shisui, was like looking directly into a lightning bolt. But that was nothing to what followed later. If the Tenseigan Chakra Cloak gave its user the appearance of being surrounded by fire, the Perfect Form made Toneri look as if he was made of fire, with a kimono made of that chakra flames adorned with magatamas covering his body, and s single horn extending fromn his forehead.
"With these eyes..." Toneri began, his smirk turning into a vicious smile. "I shall destroy the Sage of the Six Paths' world, and create a new one in its place!"
"Toneri!"
Both Toneri and Shisui turned around, and saw Hinata, accompained by two Shadow Clones, flying out of the Citadel.
"Ah, my princess, your timing couldn't have been better," Toneri said. "As you can see, destroying the Energy Vessel did nothing but make me even stronger. Please, submit yourself to me peacefully. I don't want to fight you again."
"Shisui-san, go with the others. Thanks for your effort, but this enemy is far too much for you," Hinata told him, as she and her clones placed themselves between the Otsutsuki and the Uchiha. "I shall deal with him."
"You won't be able to beat him by yourself!" Shisui said. "His power is much greater than before!"
"I know. But fear not, I have a plan," Hinata said, as she fixed Toneri a stare full of determination.
"Very well then. If you have to fight me again, so be it," Toneri said, shaking his head. "But I won't hold back. I love you, my princess, but if you keep opposing me, you leave me no choice but to use my full power to make you accept your place."
"I would never expect you to be merciful," Hinata replied, as she and her clones charged forward.
Hinata opened the fight with a powerful palm strike that Toneri blocked, but carried so much power it pushed him backwards, producing a booming thunderclap. Then the clones followed suit, repeating the move through from different angles. The trio surrounded Toneri and attacked him from afar before he had any chance to defend himself.
"Vacuum Palm Wall!"
"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"
"Lightning Release: Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms!"
The three Hinatas cast multiple purple lightning bolts, a wave of compressed air and a barrage of lightning needles at Toneri. The Otstsuki merely smirked, and raised his hand forward. A green glowing sphere appeared, which quickly split into eight spheres, revealing to be Truth Seeking Balls once they lost their glow. They then merged and took the shape of a large shield, protecting Toneri. The shield then quickly reverted back to the eight black orbs.
"Eight...?" Hinata asked in shock.
"Yes, the number of Truth Seeking Balls I can summon has doubled. And this is only but an iota of the power I now possess thanks to my Perfect Tenseigan Chakra Cloak," Toneri boasted. He made a hand wave, and six of his eight the Truth Seeking Balls grew and enlogated, taking the shape of gigantic nail-like spears. With another hand wave, he launched them at Hinata, while the remaining two kept floating behind him.
The Hyuga and her clones flew away from the attack in different directions, causing the black speard to split from them as well.
"Toneri has become much more powerful than before, and so quickly..." the Hyuga thought, as she feld from two black spears. She felt how a clone died, and its memories returned to her. "But I can't waver now! I need to hold him back a little longer!"
Meanwhile, in the couryard in front of the Citadel, Sai had just summoned enough ink birds for everybody to ride.
"We can't just stay here," Sai said. "We either have to help Hinata-san deal with the enemy, or we should find a safer place to stay. What are we going to do?"
"As much as it pains me, we can't help Hinata-sama," Tokuma said, shaking his head. "If we tried to help her we'd only get in the way. Even if it sounds cowardly, I think the best we can do is to leave this place so she can fight without having to worry about us."
Tokuma's suggestion was met with murmurs of agreement, as he and the others went to climb the ink birds. Shisui, however, remained in place, intently watching the clash taking place above him.
"Shisui-san," an Hyuga kunoichi said. "We need to leave, now. I know you must feel angry right now, but-"
"It's not that," the Uchiha replied. "There's something wrong. The way Hinata's fighting... it's nothing like other times. She's holding back."
"What do you mean? Are yo suggesting that Hinata-sama is holding back?" another Hyuga asked. "Why she'd do such a thing?"
"No, I think Shisui-san's right," the Hyuga woman replied, as she looked at the fight more intently. "For starters, she isn't using her Truth Seeking Balls, despite being her best asset so far."
"She isn't using Sage Mode either, despite mastering it just like me, and it being the only way to counter Toneri's own Truth Seeking Balls," Shisui added.
"I figured that maybe Hinata-sama would keep a clone or two hidden inside the Citadel to draw nature energy," the Hyuga Kunoichi said, as her gaze drifted towards the large, ornate building. "But there isn't any. One of those two is the actual Hinata-sama."
"She must have a plan then," Tokuma observed. "But what?"
"We'll have to trust her. Now come on, let's get out of here," the Hyuga woman urged the others.
As they got onto their ink birds and fled, Hinata and her remaining clone continued her near hopeless struggle against Toneri. This time, the Otsutsuki wasn't satisfied with letting his Truth Seeking Balls do the job, and went directly after one of the two Hinatas. He grabbed her by the neck, the chakra surrounding his hand glowing brighter than the rest of his cloak, and began siphoning her chakra. "Hinata" exploded into a poof of smoke, meaning it was the other clone.
"Chakra absorbption too?" the Hyuga asked in shock.
"Of course I can absorb chakra. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to seal the Ten Tails into my body. The Perfect Mode Cloak is magnificent, isn't it?" Toneri asked, smiling arrogantly. "Now, my dear princess, will you stop this charade already?" Toneri asked in a mocking manner. "Or do I need to use brute force? You saw already you don't stand a chance against me."
Hinata, however, wasn't deterred. "You aren't the first enemy I fought with the power of the Six Paths! Multiple Vacuum Palm!"
Hinata thrust her arms back and forth, sending a barrage of vacuum shells at Toneri, who effortlessly blocked them with his many truth seeking balls. He then waved a hand, and send a single black orb into Hinata, slamming it into her gut, making her double over. The orb then started to glow with an emerald glow.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you'll sustain minimal damage," Toneri said in a reassuring but still condescending manner, before he made the orb explode.
The rest of the Moon Squad, watching from afar, saw in horror as the explosion send Hinata tumbling towards the main courtyard, loanding with a loud thud.
"Hinata-sama!" many Hyuga screamed.
"Sai, turn the birds around! We need to get to her before that monster does!" Tokuma urged.
Sai was about to do so, when suddenly, something happened that caught everybody else by surprise: "Hinata" disappeared in a poof of smoke.
There was a moment of silence as everybody processed what had happened, including Toneri. His expression went from dumbfounded, to desperate, to anger in mere seconds, as he franctically began to scan his urroundings.
"What? A clone? How...?" he asked, looking around. Despite his vision encompassing the whole area, there was no trace of Hinata. "Where is she? Where is she!? Why I can't find her!? There's no way she could have evaded my sight and escape this place!"
…
Meanwhile, inside the Citadel, surrounded but nothing but darkness, Hinata was floating mid air, in a sitting position with her legs crossed, her hands softly closed and touching each other by the knuckles, as she gathered nature energy.
Besides buying her time for preparing Sage Mode, her clones also served as scouts to gauge Toneri's new power. The fact that he could create eight Truth Seeking Balls as opposed to four was troubling enough, but that chakra absorbing ability was a completely new headache. At the very least, he wouldn't catch her flat footed with those abilities, though Hinata had the feeling that Toneri had more nasty surprises prepared for her.
Since her clones had been destroyed, she could no longer remain hidden. She wished she had more time, but resigned to use the nature energy she had time to collect, hoping it would be enough. She opened her eyes, purple marks appearing around them, stood up, and with a wave of her hand, the sphere she created as a shield broke apart, reverting back to the four Truth Seeking Balls, before flying up to the Citadel's entrance.
"There she is!" an Hyuga said, sounding relieved.
"Her chakra network is saturated with nature energy," another Hyuga said, scanning her with his Byakugan. "Guess she was using the clones as a distraction while she prepared Sage Mode."
Toneri also seemed to be relieved as well.
"So, you were still here after all. Though, I can't still help but wonder how did you evade my sight," the white haired man said.
This time, it was Hinata's turn to smirk. "By copying the same little trick you used to ambush us before: I used my Truth Seeking Balls to hide. Neither the Byakugan nor Tenseigan can see past them."
"So, you hid while you prepared Sage Mode, and send three Shadow Clones to both keep my attention away from the real you and learn about my new abilities. A cunning plan, indeed," Toneri praised.
"Thank you. But flattery will get you nowhere, you should know that by now," Hinata replied, her stare hardening.
"Perhaps. But if my flattery fail to accomplish something, I have power to make up for it," Toneri said, smiling menacingly at her. "Plus your Sage Mode won't do you any good. The Uchiha over there is also a Sage, yet I defeated him even if I didn't have the power I have now."
"You're awfully prone to underestimating your opponents. I thought that your many past defeats would have corrected such habit. I'll make sure this is the last time you make that mistake" Hinata said. "However, before we fight, I'd like to ask you something."
This seemed to amuse Toneri, who smiled in return, mildly curious. "Sure, ask away. I'll answer anything you might want to know, if it's of my knowledge."
"Whose are those eyes you're wearing?" Hinata said, taking Toneri a little aback. "I know they aren't yours, because the Byakugan of a Branch House Otsutsuki can't evolve into a Tenseigan. Not to mention that I know that your original eyes were part of the Energy Vessel."
"Why does it matter whose eyes were this? The man they used to belong to is dead. Now they're my eyes. The eyes that will reshape the world," Toneri boasted.
"During the Uchiha insurrection, several Hyugas witnessed a masked man with a Sharingan and Wood Release, a man we'd later find was Obito Uchiha, taking part in the attack of the Hyuga Compound. Not only did that man kill my father, but then he desecrated his body by stealing his eyes. His, and the eyes of the other Hyugas that died defending their home from the Uchihas.
"Then, years later, you show up all of sudden, as a member of Akatsuki, with those Tenseigan, under Obito's mind control," Hinata said, fixing Toneri a hard glare. "Those eyes are my father's, aren't they?"
"Like I said before, what if they were? He doesn't need them. These eyes are mine because I made them mine. Just like how I will make you mine, my princess," Toneri replied.
"I don't belong to you, and neither do those eyes. I plan to take those eyes back, and return them to their legitimate owner, even if he's no longer alive!" Hinata shouted, as she started to make hand seals. "Tenseigan Chakra Cloak: Perfect Mode!"
Hinata burst into mass of lavender flames, before said flames surrounded Hinata completely. The amethyst flames surrounding her body took the shape of an elegant kimono adorned with black magatamas, similar to Toneri's. Her four Truth Seeking Balls split into two, allowing her to have eight orbs at once, just like Toneri.
This time, it was Toneri's turn to be surprised. "Perfect Cloak? But how...?"
"Again, I did it by copying you. You absorbed those Byakugan to give yourself a power boost and bring the Cloak to its full power. I did the same using Senjutsu. Now we're evenly matched."
Toneri's shock was short lived, and his stunned expression quickly morphed into a smile of satisfaction. "When I think I have you figured out, you find a way to surprise me. No wonder I love you so much. Now, I can fight without holding back and not be afraid of harming you too much."
Hinata scowled. "I will never give you the chance of harming me, or anybody else for that matter. This ends now!"
And thus, Hinata Hyuga, the last heiress of the Otsutsuki Main House, and Toneri Otsutsuki, last member of the Otsutsuki Branch House, engaged in battle for the last time.
Author's Note: It's been a while since we saw Hinata kicking some ass, isn't it? It felt good writing for her again (as for Naruto, you'll have to wait a little longer until he gets back into the spotlight). Well, I know that most of this chapter was Shisui doing the fighting, but that was the appetizer. The main course comes next chapter, and I can assure you guys you're going to love it.
And thus, both Hinata and Toneri have reached the last form of the Tenseigan Chakra Cloak. According to my interpretation of such power, in order to reach the perfect version you need an external power-up to jumpstart the final stage of the Cloak. Hinata used Sage Mode, and Toneri absorbed the thousands of Byakugan that composed the Tenseigan Chakra Vessel. In "The Last", Toneri used the eyes as some form of final desperate attack, but he botched it and Naruto had to save his sorry ass. Still, I liked the idea of using the thousands of eyes as a power-up.
Thanks to Ookami88 for betareading this chapter.
Next chapter, Hinata and Toneri's final showdown! While you wait, tell me what you think about this chapter in a review. Reviews make me really, really, really happy!
