Chapter 11 - Danzō
Hinata sat at a desk in her room, chin in her hand, looking out the window. The afternoon sun was shining down on her, bathing her in a golden glow as she thought about various things.
'I wish shishou was here. I haven't seen him since he gifted me with my new Mikazuki bokken, he was sent out on a mission right after that.' She stretched out and yawned. 'I really want to show him my improvement… also I wish he was here to help. Otousan and the others should be back sometime tonight according to Shikaku-san, so maybe everything will be over by the time shishou is back. I hope he understands… Coming back to a regime change would be shocking to say the least."
"Ahhh…" Hinata yawned again and stood up. "I really want to go out and do something. I haven't sat around this much since I was a baby."
"Shikaku-san!" She called out walking out of her bedroom. "I'm going for a run!"
Shikaku walked out of the main room and gave her a leveled look. "You're not supposed to leave the house."
"But it's so boring. I need to stretch my legs. Pleaseee Shikaku-san." Hinata gave him her best puppy dog eyes.
Shikaku pinched his brow. 'Sometimes I forget she's still a kid.'
"Hahh.. Fine. But don't leave the compound and take Kō with you." He shook his head in defeat.
"Yes! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Hinata bounced up and down happily. "Kō come on! We're going out!" She took off out the door. "Be back soon!" she called back, right before the door slammed shut behind her.
"Was that a good idea?" Haru bit her lip.
"No. But she's been through a lot, it's good to let her have something to distract her. If running will help clear her head, then it's worth it." Shikaku sighed and looked at Haru who was still looking a bit nervous.
"Alright… I'll watch out for her." Shikaku said, going to the door.
"Thank you Shikaku-san." Haru smiled, reassured.
"What a drag…" Shikaku muttered under his breath when he got outside. He then took off with a shunshin and disappeared from sight in order to monitor the girl.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Hinata was running with a big smile on her face since she was finally out of the house after two days of sitting around waiting. Dressed in a shirt and jogging pants, with her bokken on her back, still religiously never taking it off unless she was in the bath or sleeping.
'I'll just run a few miles to clear my head, then I'll be good as new.'
As she was running she started to notice something strange. She knew the compound well, she went on a morning run every day and has passed through the area hundreds, if not thousands of times, but as she was running she noticed a few houses she hadn't seen before.
Hinata slowed to a walk, looking around. She frowned to herself, getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Kai!" She shouted, forming a hand seal.
The scenery around her changed, she was in the middle of a road pretty far from her house, and it wasn't part of her route. She was passing by one of the orchards in the compound and was currently out of sight of any nearby buildings.
"Yo chibi-chan. You noticed that pretty quickly, I must say." An ANBU member walked out from behind an apple tree.
Hinata narrowed her eyes. "Kō!" She called. No one answered her.
"What did you do to Kō." She asked him, hand going to her bokken.
"Mahh.. Don't try anything stupid girl. Don't worry he's fine, just a little preoccupied at the moment." The man said. "I just want to talk a bit."
Hinata looked at the man's mask that was painted to look like a dog, and his silver hair that was sticking out behind the mask.
'Kakashi Hatake… He's dangerous. I know he's a good man, but he's loyal to the Hokage and wouldn't hesitate to kill me if he was ordered too. This isn't looking good. I just hope Kō is ok.'
"What do you want? Make it quick, I want to get back to my run." Hinata said, a little ticked off.
"Alright then, I'll get straight to the point. I'm looking for your father, and I think you know where he is." Kakashi said, bluntly.
"No idea. Now that that's over with, I'll be on my way." Hinata turned around to leave, only to see Kakashi standing right in front of her, looking down at her.
'I didn't even hear him move... ' Hinata's eyes widened.
"Hmmm. I'm not buying it." Kakashi said. "Your father's been gone since the night of the Uchiha massacre, you were locked up inside your house for two days with Nara Shikaku watching over you." He knelt down in front of her. "Getting Shikaku to watch over his daughter could only mean so many things."
Hinata took a step back.
"Either he's doing something he shouldn't be, and he's worried someone might target you in retaliation, or you know something and he's afraid of someone getting the information out of you when he can't watch over you himself." Kakashi said, watching her closely to gauge her reaction. "I'm willing to bet it's something of a mix."
"Let me ask you a question before I answer anything." Hinata said, smirking.
"Oh? What question would you have for me?" Kakashi asked, in a somewhat amused tone of voice.
"Have you really not noticed you're in a genjutsu yet?" Hinata's voice changed, becoming deeper and more masculine as she grew taller.
Kakashi jumped back to see the scene change around him. He was still in the orchard, but where Hinata was standing, was now Nara Shikaku, and Hinata was standing behind his back a few feet away next to Hyūga Kō.
Kakashi sighed, shoulders slumping somewhat. "My team?" He asked.
"Alive, but unconscious. You really need to train them better, Kakashi." Shikaku said with a small smile. "And I don't think Hiashi is going to be happy about this little ambush of yours when he gets back."
Kakashi stood up straighter. "It's Hound." he said.
"Kakashi Hatake suits you better." Hinata said from behind the back of Shikaku. "He's not a bad person, Shikaku-san, go easy on him ok?"
"You know nothing about me kid." Kakashi said. "Shikaku-san, I just need to ask her some questions. Do me a favor and don't make this hard on me…"
"I heard your questions Kakashi, and I believe Hinata-chan already answered you. She said she doesn't know anything." Shikaku shrugged.
Kakashi sighed and looked up at the sky. "I really hope you know what you're doing Shikaku-san. Guarding the life of a friend's daughter is one thing, but don't let whatever Hiashi is wrapped up in blow up in your face."
"I'll keep that in mind. Now please, leave." Shikaku said to him with finality in his tone of voice.
Kakashi gave Hinata one last look before disappearing.
Hinata sighed and sank to the ground, sitting with her legs splayed out and her hands propping her up behind her back. "I guess I messed up. Sorry about that Shikaku-san, thanks for helping Kō and I out."
"It's alright kid, let's go back to the house though. It won't be long until your father gets back."
Hinata stood up and left with them, heading back to her house.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Hiashi was running next to Chōza, trailing behind Tsume who was riding on the back of Kuromaru. They were racing through the woods on the outskirts of Konohagakure, heading to a safehouse underneath one of the restaurants owned by Chōza.
'We've almost arrived.' Hiashi thought.
'We'll start mobilizing then. I'm assuming everything went according to plan?' Yamanaka Inoichi's voice responded in Hiashi's head.
'The Daimyō gave his approval. He essentially told us to clean up this mess and make sure nothing like this happens again.'
'Then we'll get a move on. I'm heading to Chōza's now, we'll rendezvous there soon." Shikaku's voice added, joining the conversation.
'How's Hinata-chan?' Hiashi asked him.
'Bored as hell, but otherwise fine. She had a run in today with Kakashi Hatake, under the guise of Hound. He appeared with a full ANBU team to ask her about your whereabouts. She didn't tell him anything though, and I sent him and his team on their way with no casualties.' Shikaku explained.
'Kakashi… Thanks for letting me know. And thanks for keeping an eye on my family.'
'No problem. The ANBU are watching your estate like hawks though. Apparently if you don't appear before the Hokage tonight, you're going to be marked as a missing-nin.'
'Hah, good thing we're getting back when we are then.' Hiashi added sarcastically.
'I'm ending the transmission for now. I need to move, see you soon.' Inoichi said, ending the transmission.
"Alright, one final stretch!" Tsume called out, with Kuromaru picking up speed.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
The sun was beginning to set, casting a bloody red light over the Konohagakure. Danzō was standing on the balcony of his house, that was built on the side of Hokage mountain, overlooking the village.
"Foolishness." He said plainly. "Everything I've done for this village, this country, and Hiruzen orders me to disband my root? Foolishness."
"Even now, he acts soft. He knows that girl knows where Sasuke is, and he hasn't ordered her arrest yet." He turned his gaze towards the Hokage's office. "He's tired and weak. But he doesn't realize just how deep Konohagakure's roots grow."
"Kanoe, Kanoto." Danzō called out.
"Here, Danzō-sama." Kanoe, and Kanoto responded, kneeling on the ground behind him.
"Bring me the girl, Hyūga Hinata. Kill any that try to stop you." Danzō gave the order in a relaxed voice. "This is for the good of our village, after all. If Hiruzen wants to play pretend Hokage, he can do so. But I'll be damned if I let him run this village into the ground because he's too soft to do what must be done."
"On your orders, Danzō-sama. It shall be done." Kanoe said right before he and Kanoto vanished.
"Time is ticking Hiashi…" Danzō said, watching the sunset. "I wonder who will checkmate who in the end."
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
"Report." Hiruzen said. He was currently standing at his window, watching the sunset, one hand behind his back and the other holding his pipe.
"Shikaku left the Hyūga estate. We lost sight of him as he entered the village proper however, he knew he was being followed and gave his tail the slip." Kakashi said plainly. "My team is currently searching for his whereabouts."
"They won't find him in a short amount of time. Call them off for now, I want eyes back on Hyūga estate. If Hiashi appears, arrest him and bring him to me. We need him alive, he's our best chance at finding Sasuke." Hiruzen sighed.
"The girl most likely knows as well." Kakashi added. "I was going to question her earlier, but Shikaku interrupted me. Now that he's gone, it would be easy to get the answers we need."
Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, smoke billowing around him as he breathed out.
"Question her then. If she doesn't want to answer, bring her here to me and I'll speak with her myself. I'd rather not involve the girl, but it can't be helped at this point." Hiruzen said, turning to look at Kakashi.
"Yeas, Hokage-sama." Kakashi turned to leave.
"And Hound." Hiruzen said to him right before he jumped out the window. "Don't be too forceful with her, I'd rather settle this peacefully."
Kakashi left without a word, but Hiruzen knew he heard him. Hound was always loyal, after all.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Hinata had just finished tucking Hanabi into bed and was walking towards the main room, where her mother was waiting to continue teaching her how to play shogi. Shikaku had been explaining the rules to her a few minutes ago before he suddenly stood up, excused himself, and rushed out the door. Apparently her father was nearing the village.
Hinata walked into the room and was about to sit down when her mom called out.
"Hinata!" Haru jumped over and grabbed Hinata, putting her daughter behind her back.
Two men appeared in their main room. One was standing by the open window, Hinata never even noticed when the window opened, nor how he got there. The other man was standing in the entrance to the room. Both exits blocked by the men wearing ANBU masks.
"Danzō-sama requires your presence." The man in the mask shaped like a bird said, facing Hinata. "It's best if you come peacefully."
"She's not going anywhere with you." Haru spat out.
"It's unfortunate you feel that way." The man by the window, wearing a mask with dark blue markings said right before he leapt at Haru.
Haru activated her byakugan, taking a defensive stance. As the man approached, he struck out at her with a punch that she quickly blocked.
Hinata heard a sound coming from behind her. The man that was in the entrance way had turned around and was now fighting against Kō, with a drawn sword. Hinata activated her byakugan as well, taking out her bokken.
'Damnit, even if I can see them with the byakugan, I wouldn't be able to match the speed of their attacks.' She felt useless, standing there watching her mother and Kō fight to protect her.
Haru sent out a palm at the man's throat, which he blocked and sent a kick at her head. Haru ducked the kick and rotated her body, striking a tenketsu point on the man's torso, pushing him back.
"Gehh.." The man grunted, grabbing at his chest. He could feel the chakra in his body go haywire for a moment as the chakra path was forcefully closed.
"I underestimated you. I wanted to avoid bloodshed, but it seems that won't be possible." He said spitefully.
His hands suddenly became coated in chakra, dyeing the room's interior blue. He redoubled his efforts in attacking Haru.
Kō meanwhile, was trying his best to keep up with the ANBU jōnin attacking him. He was falling behind, however, barely able to dodge the swings of the man's sword.
"Hinata-hime! Run!" Kō shouted as he formed hand seals. "Fūton: Daitoppa!" Kō shouted, dodging underneath a sword swing and coming up underneath the bird-masked man. Kō opened his mouth and breathed out a massive gust of wind that sent the man flying in the sky, along with most of the roof of the house on the side of the building.
Hinata heard Kō's shout and the now crying Hanabi in the other room.
'Hanabi!' Hinata took the opportunity to run through the destroyed hall, past Kō who was jumping out of the roof to go fight the man outside. Hinata arrived at her little sister's room, where thankfully, she found her uninjured.
"Come on Hanabi, we have to go now ok?" Hinata said, picking up her baby sister into her arms.
"Okaasannn!" Hanabi cried.
"Shhh. It's ok. Okaasan is ok, she's strong like otousan right?" Hinata tried to comfort her, even though she was worried as well.
Hinata turned and jumped out the window with Hanabi as she heard Haru yell from inside. "Eight Trigrams: Sixty-four Palms!"
Hinata ran as fast as she could. 'You have to be ok. Okaasan! Kō!'
She ran for a few minutes before the man in the bird mask appeared in front of her, his sword dyed red in blood.
"It's time you came with me, girl." The man said.
"What did you do to them!?" Hinata screamed.
"At least one is dead. Who knows about the other. But if it makes you feel any better, your mother killed my partner." The man said casually, before moving to knock the girl unconscious.
"No! Okaasan!" Hinata yelled, trying to dodge to no avail. The last thing she saw before her vision turned dark was her little sister being ripped from her arms and tossed to the side.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Kakashi whistled as he looked at the destroyed house. He and his team had arrived at the Hyūga compound to find the guards in a dazed state, trapped in a strong genjutsu. Now he was standing outside Hyūga Hiashi's house while his men searched the area.
"Find anything?" Kakashi asked them.
"Two dead, one severely injured. No sign of the girl." A young woman with long purple hair and a porcelain mask painted with dark purple markings that resembled the wings of an insect, reported to him. Her fists were clenched tight and her body was stiff.
"Put your personal feelings away Moth, we have our orders." Kakashi said.
"Yes, captain..." The girl was biting her lip beneath her mask. 'This is Hayate's kid… If anything happens to her…'
Kakashi, noticing she was still upset, put a hand on her shoulder. "I guess we just have to find her then, right?"
"Captain!" Another ANBU member appeared holding a struggling Hanabi in his arms. "We found her in an area not far from here. It's Hiashi's second daughter."
Kakashi sighed. "Get the survivor to the hospital and take the girl to the Hokage. He can deal with her."
"Yes, captain!" the man disappeared.
Kakashi sliced open the tip of his thumb, pressing his hand down on the ground. Black marks spread from his hand and a small pug appeared in a puff of smoke.
"Yo, boss. Whatcha need me for?" The pug spoke in a gruff voice.
"A hunt. Looking for the girl this belongs to." He held out a piece of clothing they gathered from inside the house.
"Easy enough. Follow me." The pug sniffed the clothes and paused for a moment processing the scent. "Found the trail. They left about… 5 minutes ago. This way." He took off at a run, Kakashi and Moth following behind him.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Hiashi was standing in a room beneath Chōza's restaurant with the other clan heads. They had just arrived a few minutes ago and were currently discussing their plan.
"Tsume, you and Shibi will each take a contingent and take the council into custody. Try not to use lethal force on ANBU members, they're just doing their jobs, but only if it doesn't risk the mission. You'll take them to safehouse B and let Inoichi know when they are successfully in your custody. He'll relay further orders to you then." Shikaku said. He had been working on a plan for the past two days, so far everything was going as he expected.
Tsume and Shibi both nodded.
"Chōza, Inoichi and I will go to Danzō's with our men, and take him into custody. If he resists we'll kill instead of capture. We have to be careful though, I recently found out he has a Reverse Four Symbols Seal on his body. Anything near him when he dies will be sealed along with his body, essentially killing you outright."
"Right." Chōza and Inoichi grimaced and acknowledged him.
"Hiashi, You'll wait as reinforcements for either group if something goes wrong. Stay out of sight and remain within response range of both teams. You'll be holding the missive from the Daimyō, so if nothing goes wrong, you ca-" Shikaku was interrupted by Shibi all of a sudden.
"Hinata was just abducted by ANBU." He said, holding a bug on the tip of his finger up to his ear, as if it was talking to him.
"What!?" Hiashi and Shikaku said at the same time.
"I had bugs near your house to monitor the area. This one just got back to me. Hyūga Kō is severely injured, Haru… Haru is dead, from a sword slash to her back. She killed one of the ANBU attackers, but the second got her from behind after taking out Kō. More ANBU members arrived soon after Hinata was stolen. Kō is being escorted to the hospital now and Hanabi is being taken to the Hokage. Hinata is being taken to… Danzō." Shibi said, looking over at Hiashi.
"Damnit!" Hiashi yelled, punching the table and destroying it. "Damnit! DAMNIT!"
"That bastard killed my wife and took my daughter! He dared take my daughter!" Hiashi yelled. "I'll kill him!"
"I'm sorry about Haru-san, but we need to focus if we want to save Hinata-chan. We'll get her back Hiashi-san." Chōza said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"If he has a hostage, this changes things." Shikaku said slowly. "Give me a minute to think." He closed his eyes as he tried to think of a new plan.
Hiashi was pacing back and forth, only his years of training were keeping him from panicking and rushing out to save his daughter himself. Tears were in his eyes. He couldn't stop them. He didn't want to stop them.
"Ok…" Shikaku said finally. "Hiashi, you'll come with us three to confront Danzō. Tsume and Shibi will just have to manage without reinforcements. When we arrive, Inoichi and I will stop anyone from hurting Hinata with our techniques, Chōza will hold off any ANBU members with our men. Hiashi, you're responsible for grabbing Hinata and getting the hell out of there. Bring her back here, then wait for orders from Inoichi."
Hiashi nodded, already moving towards the door. "Let's go then. Inoichi, tell the clan members to get into position."
"Already did." Inoichi said, following after him.
"Let's do this!" Tsume growled out. "Teach that bastard a lesson for taking my precious daughter-in-law!"
Shibi just shook his head and followed after Tsume and Kuromaru.
Shikaku frowned to himself before leaving. 'Hang on Hinata-chan, we're on our way.'
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Danzō was standing in front of his fireplace in his living room, dyed red due to the flames. His back was to the door when he heard his subordinate return.
"Danzō-sama. The mission was a success, but Kanoto is dead." Kanoe reported to him, holding an unconscious Hinata.
"Kanoto died a hero then. He is a credit to Konoha. You did well." Danzō said to him, turning around to face him.
"Thank you for your praise, Danzō-sama!" Kanoe said, bowing.
"Leave the girl, return to your station." Danzō said, dismissing him.
"Yes, Danzō-sama." Kanoe bowed once more, and placed Hinata on the couch before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.
"Now then girl, it's time you woke up and told me what you know." Danzō approached Hinata, putting his hand on her forehead. His hand glowed green and she woke up with a start.
"Okaasan!" Hinata yelled, standing up and drawing her bokken.
"Calm down, girl." Danzō said, quickly disarming her and pushing her back down onto the couch.
"You!" Hinata growled. "Let me go, I don't know anything, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!"
"You know who I am?" Danzō asked her.
"Shimura Danzō." Hinata spat. "Head elder of the council and a traitor to Konoha."
Danzō viciously backhanded Hinata, sending her flying off the couch and to the floor.
"Watch your mouth girl, that's no way to speak to your betters." Danzō said, calmly. "I've never had anything but Konoha's best interests in mind. Every action I've taken was for the good of our village and country."
"The sad thing is…" Hinata said slowly, spitting blood out of her mouth, "You actually believe that."
"Enough!" Danzō yelled. "You will tell me where that Sasuke child is, or I will make you. I'm not above hurting a child if it's for the good of Konoha." Hissed Danzō.
"Go to hell, creep." Hinata said while forcing herself to stand up. She was bruised, had a massive headache, and had a split lip from Danzō's slap. She was terrified, but she wasn't going to show it. It took every ounce of courage she had, but she knew her dad would come for her. She just had to hold out until then.
"Very well then. We'll do this the hard way." Danzō put a hand up to his face and pulled back the bandage covering his right eye. He had a sharingan that quickly changed to take the shape of a three-point pinwheel.
'He has the mangekyō sharingan already? Fuck! That's right, he got it from Uchiha Shisui, not from the Uchiha massacre! I got it mixed up. Fuck!"