Chapter 9 -

Hyūga Hiashi burst into the house. "Where is she!" He shouted as he entered. He had a long day, and now Kō shows up and tells him the Uchiha clan was slaughtered and his daughter's friend was unconscious. If only he knew he also had a victim of abduction hidden away in his daughter's bedroom closet, currently tied up and unconscious.

"I'm here dad." Hinata poked her head out of the guest room Sasuke was currently asleep in. She gave her dad a tired smile as he walked over to her and checked to make sure she was unharmed.

"What happened?" Hiashi asked immediately after calming down when he saw his daughter was unhurt.

"I'll tell you, but first please listen to everything I have to say before doing anything." Hinata gave her dad a begging look.

Hiashi took a deep breath, steeled himself for the worst, and nodded. His daughter wasn't someone who got into trouble or did bad things. The worst thing she'd ever really done was steal a bottle of sake on her 7th birthday in order to mourn Neji. He could hear her out. He owed her that much.

"Ok.." Hinata took a deep breath trying to think of where to start. She had gone over this conversation in her head many times, but it always had much more yelling and begging. She wasn't sure what to do now that he promised to listen.

"Itachi Uchiha slaughtered his entire clan on the orders of the council. Sasuke found his dead parents and Itachi ambushed him. He forced him into a genjutsu to make him watch the entire scene of his clan being wiped out." She took a deep breath and looked at the horrified visage of her father.

"Itachi wasn't working alone, he had a partner. I didn't catch his name, but when I followed Itachi-" She saw her dad's eyes widen in horror as she told him she followed the man that slaughtered his entire clan. "I stayed out of sight, only in hearing range. I used the byakugan to keep eyes on him." She quickly interjected. He narrowed his eyes to show his displeasure, but he didn't say anything.

"They met on top of a roof near where I was hiding. They weren't speaking quietly because they thought everyone was dead. Itachi told him the job was done, and he had to go back and report to the higher ups about it. The other man literally teleported away, and Itachi put his ANBU mask back on and took off towards the Hokage's office."

She felt a little bad at this point, because she was about to manipulate him a bit.

"Dad, if the council is ordering the genocide of clans that have been an essential part of Konohagakure for ages, what are we supposed to do if they turn their sights on us next?" She whispered that last part, to increase the effect, as if she was afraid someone might hear her question. It worked though, a dawn of realization washed over Hiashi's face.

"We need to act as soon as possible. Before the council can hide what happened and come up with a cover story. We need to get the other clan heads and most importantly Yamanaka Inoichi. I'll let him look through my memories of the night. He can use his ability to see and hear what I heard right?"

Hinata knew she was playing a dangerous game here, getting Inoichi involved. She had a lot of memories that she didn't want him to see. But Danzō and the council were a huge threat and she wanted them off the board now before they grew in power. Danzō wouldn't have received the order to shut down root yet, and he hasn't gotten his hand on the sharingan yet either. So most of his root members just had their voices sealed and not yet under his control with the sharingan's genjutsu.

She had to put her trust in Inoichi that he wouldn't look too deeply into her memories. She planned everything for this reason. She gave Kō his orders over a week ago, and hadn't seen him since in order not to give him an opportunity to ask about.

She also forbade Kō from telling anyone about Izumi. She'd figure that out later, she just didn't want the kunoichi to get murdered by the boy she was infatuated with.

Everything else she saw and heard tonight was acceptable for others to see. She didn't know exactly how his ability worked, but she hoped to god that he wouldn't be interested in the thoughts and machinations of an 8 year old girl.

"I don't want him poking around in my daughter's head." Hiashi said bluntly.

"Dad, we don't have much choice. He needs to see what I saw and heard tonight. Just let him know not to stick his nose into anything else, not that there's much else of interest to him. It's important that someone can confirm what I say is true. There is a possibility they write it off as the paranoia of a traumatized 8 year old girl after all."

Hiashi frowned. He knew what she said was correct. If this was anyone else's daughter, he wouldn't give her much thought. The fact that she thought this far ahead after everything she went through though gave him a sense of pride and satisfaction. She handled this well. She even brought back the sole surviving Uchiha, without letting ANBU get their hands on him.

"Fine." He said eventually. "I'm going to round up the clan heads. Your mother is currently visiting with a friend and Hanabi is with her, she doesn't know about anything yet. We'll tell her later. Wait here for me." He put his hand on her head and rubbed her hair. "You did well tonight. I'm proud of you."

"Mm!" Hinata nodded, enjoying the reassuring head pats.

Hiashi disappeared from his spot using a shunshin.

"Kō!" Hinata called out.

"Here, Hinata-hime." Kō appeared behind her, kneeling on one knee.

"For now, take Izumi away from here. We can't risk the others knowing about her yet. It would be best if they never knew it was us who saved her. And… Thank you Kō. For your trust in me." Hinata said to him.

"It's my duty Hinata-hime. Whatever your reasons are, it's because of you that this girl lived through the night. I'll do as you ordered." Kō walked in Hinata's room, grabbed the unconscious girl and left through a window.

Hinata walked back into the guest room and sat on the bed next to Sasuke. His face was relaxed, but his eyes were darting around under his lids, as if he was having a nightmare.

'Poor kid…' She thought to herself. "I'm sorry I couldn't save them…" She whispered.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... …

It was rather late at night when Yamanaka Inoichi was woken up by pounding on his front door.

"Dad..?" Ino asked, walking out into the hall. "You expecting someone?"

"No." Inoichi frowned. When someone needed him this late at night, it was always because bad happened.

"Go back to your room. I'll handle this." he told Ino.

Inoichi put his clothes back on and walked over to the door to answer the loud knocking. He was surprised when he saw who it was.

"Hiashi-san?" Inoichi asked. "What are you doing here so late."

"It's an emergency. We need to rally the clan heads and meet back at my place. The Uchiha clan was massacred tonight and I have reason to believe it was on the council's orders. Perhaps even the Hokage's." He got straight to the point. This was an issue that couldn't wait.

"I understand." Inoichi responded. He prided himself on being an extremely intelligent man. That's why he worked in T&I. He had the ability to read between the lines and knew that if this could happen to the Uchiha clan, it could potentially happen to his own. "I'll get Nara, and Akimichi. You go to Inuzuka and Aburame."

Hiashi nodded and they both disappeared.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

It only took an hour for the clan heads to gather together for the second time in a little over a week. None of them complained or asked questions after hearing what had happened and everyone knew the stakes they were playing for.

Hiashi reappeared at his house with the others to find his daughter asleep, kneeling on the ground with her head on the edge of Sasuke's bed. His heart ached to see her like this, but he had to wake her up.

Hinata woke with a jump, drawing her bokken. When she realized it was her dad standing there and not her mom trying to smack her with a bokken, she calmed down a bit.

"Are they here?" She asked. He nodded and bent down to look her in the eyes.

"The feeling of having your mind read… it isn't pleasant. Are you sure you want to go through with this? If you don't, or are unsure, I'll find another way to convince them." He said with complete sincerity.

His entire life he put his clan first, even when his daughter was first born, he loved her, sure, but he only saw her as the Hyūga clan heiress. Time and time again he pushed her; tried to mold her in the perfect successor. It wasn't until her birthday night, when Neji was taken, that he realized if she hadn't asked to sleep in their room, it could have been her that was taken instead. His heart rate spiked up when he realized that he had been about to tell her to go sleep in her own room when Haru interrupted him and allowed her into bed. It was that night, he started to realize the precious thing he had. And the fragility of it.

He started pushing her harder from that point on. Always training her to be the best she possibly could, she never complained, so he pushed harder. He knew he needed to make it so she was strong enough that he didn't have to worry about waking up one night to find her gone as well.

And then that night last year, her birthday again, when he saw his daughter sitting in a tree looking at him with sad, tired eyes. So tired. He knew it was his fault for pushing her so hard, but he had to do it, and she never complained. He sat with her that night and hugged her as she cried herself to sleep in his arms. It was then that he realized how much he loved his daughter. His little girl. She was no longer just the Hyūga heiress, she was his baby girl.

"Alright…" He said as he stood up. "Let's go then."

Hiashi and Hinata walked into the main room where the other clan heads were waiting. Their hardened gazes all shifted to rest on Hinata.

"Why's she here Hiashi-san? This isn't a conversation for children." Akimichi Chōza said.

The others were obviously wondering the same thing, but Hinata met their gazes straight on. Even if in her head she wanted nothing more than to escape.

"She's linked to this whole mess." Hiashi said, putting a reassuring hand on his daughter's shoulder. "She's a witness, and wants to testify to what she saw. She's the one that saved that Uchiha boy and carried him back to my house. She urged me to gather you all, and she was the first one to realize what the massacre tonight implicates."

The other clan heads looked at her with rather impressed expressions.

"She also urged me to get Inoichi-san first, to make sure he at least could be here. She brought up the idea of letting you search her memories of tonight, so that you may see and hear what she did. To prove what she has to say isn't a lie, or pure paranoia."

At this, the shock on their faces was apparent. Tsume spoke up first. "Hah! What a ballsy brat. Smart too! I wish Kiba had half the brains and grit you do girl."

Inoichi looked Hinata in the eyes. "Are you sure that's what you want? My technique isn't a… pleasant one. For either of the parties involved. It won't hurt, per say, as long as you're willing to allow the search, but you will feel… violated." He told her truthfully.

Hinata gulped, but nodded, determination in her eyes. "I accept that. I'm ready."

Inoichi closed his eyes for a second. "Very well. Then let us begin."

Inoichi stepped over to her and put his hand on her head. "Take us back to earlier tonight. To the beginning. Think about where you were, what you saw. It will be easier for me to find the memory."

Hinata did as she was told, focusing on the memories, starting from when she and Sasuke arrived at the compound and first smelled the stench of death.

As soon as he entered the girls mind, he found the memory he was looking for. She was focusing on it, so it was showing up like a beacon calling to him. He entered the memory and found himself in the body of the young girl. He tried not to pay attention to that fact, it had been a long time since he last had to search the mind of a child, but experiencing what it was like to be a young girl was… awkward for him. He sucked it up though, and continued with the memory.

Inoichi watched as he ran behind Sasuke. He could smell the stench of bodies filling the air and feel the dread creeping into his heart. When Inoich used this technique, he didn't only see the person's memories, he lived them. Experiencing feelings, sight, sound, taste, touch, etc.

"Sasuke, wait!" He called out. He felt fear, fear for the friend that was running into a potential danger.

"Sasuke!" He whispered. "I'm pulling back some, I have eyes on you with the byakugan, if something happens I will help, but running together into an unknown situation isn't the right course of action."

'Smart choice', he thought to himself as he prepared himself for the byakugan to activate. He always hated reading the memories of the Hyūga clan. The byakugan was disorienting if you weren't used to it. 'Hiashi's daughter has a good head on her shoulders. She'll make a fine kunoichi.'

He pulled back and tailed Sasuke from the shadows, staying far enough away that she was out of sight, but close enough to act if he needed help.

He felt the fear and disgust from being able to see the dead bodies of children and elderly in range of his byakugan. 'A child shouldn't have to see this…' He pitied the girl.

He watched Sasuke enter into the house, he heard Sasuke yell in grief and pain. He felt fear and… guilt? 'Why was she feeling guilty? That she didn't stop him? That she wasn't there with him?'

He saw Uchiha Itachi enter the building and felt a sense of… something... 'What is this feeling exactly? There's fear here, yes, sadness, still some guilt, but… is this… expectancy? Did she put together what was happening as soon as she arrived on scene? If so, this girl is scarily intelligent."

He watched as Itachi approached Sasuke and used his genjutsu. 'She felt… pity… '

He watched Sasuke collapse from the mental images, and heard Itachi tell him that he was weak. He saw Itachi's eyes. They were like nothing Inoichi had ever seen. 'A new transformation of the sharingan? What is its power?'

He saw Sasuke chase after Itachi, throwing kunai. He saw the headband get knocked off and Sasuke collapse on the ground. He watched as Itachi gave his brother one last look with… 'Are those tears in his eyes? Was he doing all of this against his will? Is that regret, or something else? Hinata is feeling… relief. She's thankful Sasuke wasn't killed. But she feels disgusted by Itachi's actions. I can tell she loathes him. There's also a feeling of… remorse. Why is she feeling remorse and guilt, she couldn't have known about this. This wasn't her doing.'

When he thought the memory would be over, he realized he wasn't running towards Sasuke. 'She didn't even check on her friend. Why? He collapsed after Itachi used an unknown technique on him. But she felt relief… She knew he was ok.'

He trailed after Itachi, once more moving from house to house silently. 'This feeling… She has the feeling of a hunter stalking her prey. She's looking at Itachi and feeling like he's the one being hunted. By her. Does she not realize the danger she's putting herself in right now? Tsume was right, this girl has balls.'

He watched as Itachi landed on a roof next to another man in a mask. He snuck into a position underneath a window, just in listening range. 'She recognizes the man he's talking too. I'm not sure how, but I feel it. And she fears him.'

He heard Itachi tell him the job was done. 'Job then. This was on someone's orders.'

And then Inoichi froze up. Itachi was looking at him. He could feel it. His eyes met Itachi's through the wall. He was terrified, he felt like he was going to die at any second. But he ignored the temptation to run. He didn't move, he chose instead to face this predator and remain. 'How did she remain so composed? She felt pure dread, but she fought through it. I know Itachi didn't know she was here, she was hidden far enough away and looking through the byakugan. But she didn't know that, she thought he saw her. So why didn't she run?'

He heard Itachi tell the man to go ahead, and that he had to report to the higher ups. He watched the other man vanish in a swirling pattern. 'It's weird, she wasn't surprised. It's as if she knew the technique he used. It was within her expectations. She realizes that Itachi either doesn't know she's here, or that he doesn't want her dead but… Wait, is Hinata… smirking? She feels accomplished, like she has what she needs. She's excited now. She feels like she won. What's up with this girl... '

He ran back towards where Sasuke was lying on the ground and struggled to pick him up and place him on his back. 'She feels threatened… no that's wrong. She feels worried and… rushed. She's rushing straight home. She's constantly looking around as if she's afraid of someone seeing her.'

He took paths through the village, cutting through alleyways and backstreets. 'She knows the most direct root back home. Everything was as efficient as possible. It's like she had a route mapped out in her head. The closer she gets, the more she feels… like her goals were accomplished.'

The memory suddenly cut off as she arrived at the Hyūga compound gates. Inoichi could have watched the rest of the memory. He could have forced it. He chose however to respect the boundary and back out as the memory faded. Before it faded completely though, he saw a man drop down in front of him, and a sense of relief wash over him.

Inoichi came back to his sense and took his hand off Hinata's head. Her face was white as snow and she looked woozy. He saw her look up at him with fear and awe. He always hated that look on the faces of those he searched.

"You did good." He told Hinata. "You acted intelligently and made sure both you and Sasuke got home safely."

Inoichi looked up at Hiashi and the other clan heads. "What I saw wasn't the work of an academy student. It was the work of a kunoichi. What she had to navigate was more difficult. I would have ranked that as at least a B-class mission. Once misstep and she would have died, but she played it perfectly." he looked at Hiashi again. "You have a good daughter. You should be proud."

Inoichi continued to speak to the room. "Everything is as she said. The massacre was planned. Itachi was in his ANBU gear, he spoke of it being a job, and he mentioned having to report to the "higher ups". He then put his ANBU mask back on and headed in the direction of the Hokage's office. This premeditated genocide." he spat out the last words.

The other clan heads were enraged.

"How could the Hokage do this!? The Uchiha served Konoha for generations!" Akimichi bellowed.

"He won't get away with this." Tsume spoke through gritted teeth. "He must not put us into his eyes if he thinks the clans are such easy targets."

"We need to think our next actions through." Said Shikaku slowly. "We hold the cards currently. And we hold Itachi's brother." He quickly clarified when he saw Hinata's face: "We won't hurt him. He's an innocent child. But he was spared because of a lingering attachment Itachi has for him. He's involved in this whether we like that idea or not, and we can't let him fall into the Hokage's or council's hands."

"We do need to act fast though." Hiashi added. "We can't let them prepare a cover story, or hide evidence. The longer we wait, the bigger the chance of them finding the boy, and learning that we know of their actions. We need to make the first move."

"They likely already know Sasuke is missing." Hinata said bluntly. "I saw Itachi cry as he walked away from Sasuke. It's more than likely he agreed to massacre his clan as long as they promised no harm would come to Sasuke. They held him hostage." She said bitterly.

"That's very likely." Shikaku looked at Hinata with a hint of approval. 'This girl is smart, Inoichi was right.' He sighed. "We should confront them tonight. If they are looking for the boy, ANBU will be spread out across the village, and they'll search the clan compounds last to avoid us finding out for as long as possible."

"We should move him then." Hinata said. "They likely know we train together, and will check our clan first. We should move him to…" Hinata thought for a moment. "The Aburame clan. Sasuke hasn't interacted much with Shino, as they both generally keep to themselves. You can also keep your insects spread out to set up a security net. You'll know if they show up in time to move him."

Hinata kept talking, ignoring the ever growing impressed look on Shikaku's face. "We can select a few trusted Hyūga clan shinobi to keep watch with the byakugan. Two in each clan. Yamanaka-sama can use his ability to keep everyone in contact with each other. If ANBU goes to the Aburame clan to search for Sasuke, smuggle him out and take him to a clan that was already searched. They likely won't search twice. At least not very soon."

"Hah!" Shikaku laughed. "Girl, you want to drop out of the academy and come work for me?"

"Enough of that Shikaku." Hiashi frowned.

"What are we going to do about the council." Aburame Shibi asked.

"The Hokage likely knows what happened." Hinata said calmly. "But my bet is that it was the council that forced Itachi's hand. Likely led by Danzō."

"Oh?" Tsume said. "Why do you think that, chibi-chan?" She looked eager to hear Hinata's reasoning. 'This girl is just full of surprises. I'll have her join my clan yet! Hiashi watch out, I'll steal your girl as my daughter-in-law if it's the last thing I do.'

"I've heard how Uzumaki Naruto talks about the Hokage. He has a soft spot for kids. He might be decisive, and might even order the genocide, but I don't think he's one that would use a child as a hostage." She said simply. "Danzō would however."

"You seem certain of that." Inoichi said, frowning. 'What does this girl know that she's not telling us.'

"He's been in his position as the head of the council a long time, and you don't rise to power like that, or keep it, without being ruthless. He also was the one that ordered the Uchiha clan not to be able to stop the Nine-tailed fox from attacking Konoha that night. He's had some sort of grudge with the Uchiha for a long time. If he was willing to sacrifice the lives of our citizens and the life of our Yondaime Hokage, ordering a genocide using a child as hostage isn't a far leap."

The clan heads looked shocked at this news.

"How on earth did you know that?" Hiashi asked, incredulously. "I didn't even know that." he looked around at the other clan heads who equaled his look of interest.

"Girl, where did you get this information?" Shikaku asked.

"I overheard Uchiha Fugaku talking to Itachi about it one night after I walked Sasuke to his house." She said a bold faced lie without batting an eye. "Sasuke had stopped to talk to a neighbor who was teasing him about only being 8 years old and already bringing girls back home to meet his parents. I didn't feel like joining in on that conversation, so I kept walking. Fugaku-sama was pretty upset and it seemed like he was arguing about something with Itachi. They stopped talking as I walked up to the house though. Itachi left soon after that."

Inoichi looked thoughtful, but kept anything he had to say to himself.

"If this is the case…" Shikaku said.

"Then Danzō holds too much sway over both the council and the Hokage. They're all corrupt." Tsume interrupted him with a growl in her voice.

"It's simple. We'll just give them one chance to step down, or we tear out their throats." Tsume's ninken Kuromaru spoke up for the first time.

"Bluntly stated. But I agree." Shibi said simply.

"Who will we instate as Hokage?" Hiashi asked, looking around at the clan heads.

"Jiraiya is god's only know where, and Tsunade is essentially a missing-nin." Inoichi frowned. "One of them would be the obvious choice, but honestly I don't trust Jiraiya. He's too close to the Hokage, and might be aware of what happened."

"Tsunade would be a great choice if we could get her back." Hinata said. "She had a falling out with the Hokage right? She likely wasn't any part of the atrocities he's done. If she's not willing, or we're unable to find her, then I think Shikaku-sama would be a good fit."

The others all looked at Shikaku who frowned.

"I don't know Hinata-chan…" Shikaku sighed.

"You're smart, and reasonable. Everyone in the village trusts your wisdom and judgment. I don't know your strength in battle enough to say whether you're as strong as other Kage, but I'm willing to bet you could run circles around them in a game of shogi, or on the battlefield when it comes to military tactics."

"Hahaha! She's got you there Shikaku." Chōza said while laughing.

"In order to ensure the peace and prosperity between the clans, to avoid mistrust or unrest, we install a new council. The heads of the clans will be on the council, and will be in a position to advise the Hokage. If the council agrees on a matter unanimously, they will then hold the authority to overrule the Hokage on any matter. It's a system of checks and balances." Hinata stated.

"Hiashi, what the hell have you been teaching this girl." Inoichi said, looking at Hiashi.

"I didn't teach her this…" Hiashi mumbled.

"When we move, we should inform the Daimyō first. Send three clan heads to him and state our case, tell him of the Hokage and the council's wrong doings, and get him on our side. We'll blindside the Hokage and Council both. The Daiymō's backing will give us legitimacy." Hinata told them, getting excited that they were actually listening to her input.

"If he has to choose between a civil war and getting rid of a few old bats that should have retired long ago, he'll almost assuredly choose the former." She said matter-of-factly.

Shikaku whistled. "That's thinking ahead. We should play shogi sometime." He smirked. "She's right about needing legitimacy. If we don't tell the Daimyō about what's happening, he won't be happy when he finds out. We have to hurry though. Looks like we have a long trip ahead of us."

"When we get permission from the Daimyō to act, securing Danzō and the council members should be our first move. We can't trust ANBU on this matter; neither can we afford to give them time to act against us. We hit hard and fast. Daimyō, Danzō, council, then Hokage. After seeing all our cards, I trust he'll make the right decision and retire peacefully." Tsume said to the others.

"Ino-Shika-Chō should move to the Daimyō then. They work best together and can get there fast." Hiashi said.

"No." Tsume said. "I'll go with two others that think they can keep up with Kuromaru. I can get there and back the fastest. We need to write a document with all of our signatures and seals, so the Daimyō knows we're standing together on this."

"Very well. Then Chōza and I will join you." Hiashi said. "We have the best chance of keeping up."

"Then it's decided. We move tonight." Inoichi said.