Chapter 12 – the chase
Naruto was incredibly frustrated with himself and his supposed tracker friends. They had spent the better part of two weeks tracking the group of mysterious exiles, only to lose them in the end. The group had proven surprisingly difficult to track, and they seemed to be aware that they were being followed.
"Stupid rogues. Come out and let me beat you up already!" Naruto muttered to himself, as he once more crawled towards one of their encampments, trying to be aware of any traps or detection jutsu.
Each day that the rogue shinobi slipped through his grasp, he found himself getting more agitated. At first Naruto had merely been irritated by the need for him to track these exiles in the first place. The news of them had come at the worst possible time.
His plan to convince Kiba and Shino to intervene and make Hinata aware of Gohan's flaws had failed. But asking Hinata outright questions about her feelings for Gohan seemed to get better results. At least he now knew she wasn't planning on marrying the Saiyan. Shino's words had seemed to imply that Hiashi approved of Gohan for marriage and that Hinata had been considering it. Naruto's anger had made him ask Hinata outright, and his relief at her denial was immense.
He had been trying to use this tracking trip to get Kiba and Shino to see that Gohan was using Hinata, but the two of them would not budge. Kiba often laughed at him, while Shino tried to get him to admit why he was so upset.
"Because Gohan's a no-good pervert, and he just wants one thing from Hinata!" Naruto threw his hands up in frustration.
"And what is it that you want from Hinata, Naruto?" Kiba guffawed, while Akamaru gave a choking bark as he laughed alongside his stupid owner.
Naruto had blushed and narrowed his eyes at Kiba.
"Nothing! I just want her to be happy. She's an important friend to me!"
"Then you have succeeded," Shino added quietly. "Why is that? It is because Hinata is already happy. That is, unless you think you have something that will contribute to her even greater happiness. But that is unlikely. This is because, if you knew of a way to make Hinata happier, you would have already done so."
"Aarrgh! Never mind! Just drop it already!" Naruto shouted and stomped off.
That was another reason he hated these exiles. He was not enjoying being forced to spend time with Kiba's taunting smirk and Shino's smug silence. They both seemed to know how he was feeling and were trying to get him to admit it.
He would much rather spend his time with Hinata. Naruto could have sworn she was blushing more around him than she used to, especially after he had accidentally-on-purpose held her in his arms for much too long. He hoped that this meant that she was as affected by his presence as he was by hers. He had been hoping to steal some of her attention away from that no-good boyfriend of hers. Maybe if Hinata could see that he was there for her more than Gohan was, she would realise that he was the better match for her.
In all honesty, he had hoped Videl would do something similar with Gohan to get his attention off Hinata, but that scowling blue-eyed traitor suddenly seemed to have lost all interest in Gohan and Hinata's relationship. At first, after she had dragged him off to the waterfall to find out what he had noticed in his spying attempts, she had seemed so defeated.
"Well, what's going on with them?" Videl had asked him, tapping her foot impatiently. "Is Gohan into Hinata or not?"
"Of course he's into Hinata!" Naruto had scowled, folding his arms. "Who wouldn't be? But he's only interested in one thing! I overheard him trying to pressure her into doing it with him."
Videl had gaped and the light had gone from her eyes. At that point Naruto realised how Videl felt about Gohan. Seeing her defeated posture had only made him hate Gohan even more for playing with so many women's emotions.
"Gohan wouldn't do that," Videl shook her head stubbornly. "You must have misunderstood."
Naruto shrugged and shook his head sadly at how Videl was deluding herself. What was so great about Gohan that caused all these girls to overlook the fact that he was a gigantic pervert? Videl got some of her fire back as she saw the pity in his eyes.
"Well, whatever you overheard, it's clear we can't let them be left unsupervised!" Videl had growled.
And that was exactly what they had done. With Videl going so far as to coerce him into going to Master Roshi's island with them. Even though Naruto had had more trouble keeping Roshi away from Hinata than Gohan, who had seemed distracted for the entire visit.
So, with the way Videl had been forcefully volunteering Naruto to go wherever Hinata and Gohan went, he had thought she would be his ally in coming between them. But suddenly, a few weeks ago, Videl had snapped out of her dismal mood and was suddenly perky and happy and seemed completely disinterested in keeping Hinata and Gohan apart. What was up with that change of heart?! The only explanation Naruto could come up with was that maybe she got herself a boyfriend and forgot about Gohan. That fickle blue-eyed harpy!
Would it have been so difficult for her to distract Gohan for a few more days?! The ship that was coming to fetch them to return to Konoha would arrive the next week. Naruto only needed to keep Hinata from getting too attached to Gohan for a few more days. Then he would have the entire boat trip home to convince her that she should forget about that playboy. But apparently he would have to do everything himself!
However, due to the need for his original to track the exiles, he had left clones to spy on Hinata and Gohan. The frustrating thing was that they were rarely together at all since Gohan had finished his exams! So this last week would have been the perfect opportunity for Naruto to swoop in and console the neglected Hinata, if only he hadn't been kept away by these stupid rogue ninjas.
If that wasn't enough of a reason for Naruto to be irritated with them, he was also irritated by how they seemed to be able to block their energy from being tracked. Naruto could not find them with Sage Mode, Tailed Beast Mode, or with the new energy sensing abilities he had learned from Goku. To make matters worse the group had the latest technology, which meant that as soon as the three of them crept close enough, the group would take off in jetcopters. Shino's bugs were not fast enough to follow them, while Kiba and Akamaru could only track them by scent once they landed again. It all contributed to his general sense of unease and annoyance.
That morning, they finally had the exiles cornered and Shino managed to plant a bug inside their jetcopter. But just when they were planning on ambushing them, the group uncapsulated two more jetcopters and split off in three separate directions!
By agreement they had split up as well. Shino followed the jetcopter which carried his tracker bug, and which looked to be heading towards the ocean. Kiba and Akamaru were following their jetcopter by sight while waiting for it to land, and that one seemed to be heading towards the mountains. While Naruto was left to follow the one heading to the city. But he was not fast enough to keep track of it on foot, and he was steadily losing sight of it.
Naruto let his mind wander as he headed towards the last direction he had noticed the jetcopter. It seemed to be heading towards Central City. Naruto frowned. Was it only because they knew they were being followed that they had split off into three such different directions? And why were they so keen to avoid detection? He hadn't been worried by this group at first. But the longer they slipped through his grasp the more he worried about a group of shinobi with access to this continent's technology.
It was not until half an hour later that Naruto was forced to stop in his tracks as he sensed large spikes in power. The largest, most recognisable chakra was Gohan's. He could sense it like a slight pressure on his shoulders and immediately knew that Gohan was fighting someone off towards the ocean. He frowned. That was where Shino had been heading. Naruto had not sent a clone with Hiashi and Hideki that morning because last night his clone had brought information that Gohan would be accompanying them to visit that old pervert on his island.
Before Naruto could ponder this further, three smaller chakra signatures reached him. Videl, Neji, and…Hinata. The three of them were fighting too. It seemed to be coming from Fire Mountain. No doubt that was the group that Kiba had been following. He gulped when he felt Hinata's energy spike and had to resist the urge to immediately jump to her side.
He frowned. Were the exiles finally making their move? And undoubtedly, they were targeting the Hyuuga clan, just as Gohan had predicted. The only thing stopping him from moving immediately to Hinata's side was the thought of the third group he was supposed to be following.
If the one group was targeting Hiashi and Hideki and the other was targeting Hinata and Neji, then the third group should be after Hanabi. Was she not with the others? Had she gone to Central City with his clone? Naruto paused for a split-second trying to decide what to do. Hinata and Neji should be safe enough. They were strong, and so was Videl. Besides he had a clone watching over them. Without their knowledge he always sent two clones to Fire Mountain every morning. One to accompany Hanabi anywhere she wanted to go, and one to continue spying on Hinata and Gohan if needed. Even if one of his clones had gone with Hanabi, the other should be there to help.
He should focus his attention towards Hanabi. She was the more vulnerable one. She might be alone, with only one of his clones. And yet, he could not feel her energy and it did not seem as though she was fighting. Was she safe? Should he head back to Fire Mountain instead? As he was thinking this, he received a memory from his Hinata-clone.
Hinata-clone POV
When the rogue shinobi started their attack on Fire Mountain, Naruto had been just as caught by surprise as Neji was. At first, Naruto had simply watched what was happening, not wanting to reveal himself yet unless he was needed to provide a surprise attack. Any attack strong enough could disperse him, so he waited for an opening. But he quickly realised that he could not remain in the shadows.
After Neji's Kaiten had stopped the projectile weapons, the battle commenced properly.
Two exiled shinobi were dispatched to subdue Videl and they attacked her mercilessly. In her exhausted state, she only just managed to get her guard up in time, but she was too slow to protect herself completely. She managed to block a blow to her chest but could not guard against a kick to the side of her face that sent her flying.
At the same time, four of the exiles rushed to separate Neji from Hinata and engage him in battle. They seemed to know exactly where his blind spots were and they fought well as a team, quickly overwhelming Neji.
The other six ganged up on Hinata and circled her with menacing grins.
Naruto felt himself fill with pride as he recognised the determined look in Hinata's eyes. She was unafraid and she calmly waited for them to attack. Her Byakugan was activated, but her posture was less sure than usual. Her calm soon faded once she realised that Neji was being overwhelmed.
"Neji nii-san!" Hinata cried out in surprise, as she saw Neji being pushed back.
"Surprised?" Murasaki taunted Hinata, as he circled her. "Did you know the Hidden Leaf have been developing an underground chamber that the Byakugan cannot see into? We stole their designs and used them for our own headquarters. And you also have your home village to thank for the prototype mineral dust we used on our skin. It blocks all ocular jutsu. I don't doubt it was developed to counter the Otsutsuki Byakugan, but how fortunate for us that we can use it on you. Combine that with the energy cancelling technology Dr Gero used on his androids and we've made ourselves the ultimate nightmare for sensory type ninjas like you!"
Hinata cried out as two of the thugs attacked her from behind. Despite not being able to see them, she was still an impressive Kunoichi and retaliated instinctively with a kick that knocked both of them onto their backs. Despite all their technology, they seemed to be weak in Taijustsu. Hinata tried running through the gap they made, but two others aimed kicks at her legs and stopped her before she could do so. That gave the two she had downed time to recover, and the six of them circled her once more.
"Hakke Kusho!" Hinata cried out, and managed to attack from both her palms simultaneously, creating a gap that allowed her to escape momentarily. But the two who had attacked Videl arrived to join the group attacking Hinata and they kicked Hinata back into the circle she had just escaped. They threw a shaky Videl into the circle after her. But they were not expecting that she still had so much fight left in her. Within a split-second of being thrown into the circle, Videl used the momentum to roll towards one of the thugs, trip him up, and plant her gentle fist into the sensitive spot on his throat, knocking him out.
Naruto was torn. He wanted to help the girls as they looked in more trouble. But they wanted Hinata's eyes, and they wanted Videl for a ransom. They would not be harmed more than Neji, who was being attacked with intent to kill.
Neji's gentle fist was obviously not as effective without the Byakugan. While he had managed to incapacitate one of his attackers, the other three were cornering him with well-placed earth and fire-style techniques. When Neji's feet became trapped in stone and a fireball was aimed at him for the finishing blow, the Naruto-clone reluctantly went to help Neji and easily knocked aside the three remaining attackers before struggling to free Neji.
But the three he had knocked down barely seemed to feel his blows and after getting to their feet went to join the circle surrounding Hinata and Videl. Huh? Naruto thought. They seemed to be wearing gear that provided them extra protection. Damn, this technology was more of a disadvantage to him than he first thought. He hoped they wouldn't start a trend of ninjas using scientific weaponry. They would be a force to be reckoned with, no matter how weak they were physically.
"What are you doing?" Neji demanded. "Forget about me. Go help Hinata-sama!"
"Videl can hold them off," Naruto disagreed. "We have to work together. If I take a solid hit, you'll end up alone against them, and you can't handle them by yourself. They prepared to counter the Hyuuga attacks. They know too much about your weaknesses."
Neji and Naruto didn't waste time. They rushed to extricate Neji from the stone while watching in amazement as Videl took out another one with her gentle fist. Naruto was amazed at her skill. How ironic that she would have the advantage in this fight precisely because she could use the gentle fist without the Byakugan.
"How are you doing this?!" Murasaki yelled towards Videl. "You're not even a Hyuuga!"
"I…told you…I'm…not a…fraud," Videl panted out in her exhausted state, smirking as Hinata delivered a stunning blow to Murasaki's ribs.
"Videl-san, let's work together to take out their leader," Hinata said, calmly, for someone who had callously almost crushed a man's side.
The purple-attired ninja yelled as he dropped to his knees in pain. He glared at Hinata before turning his gaze on his men.
"Stop wasting time! We need to get them out of here before that monkey or his sons get here. Go! Take them!" He yelled.
At his orders Hinata and Videl were shot at with a rope-gun. The rope spun too quickly for them to anticipate and bound them together violently. Hinata and Videl spun together with such speed that their skulls knocked against each other and Hinata's head lolled as she was knocked unconscious.
"Hinata!" Naruto shouted in panic as he finally freed Neji and the two of them tried to fight their way to the girls.
Videl struggled against the bindings, and she was able to free her arms, even though Naruto was not sure what she meant to do. Videl tried raising her arms above her head and she started to shout something, but before she could finish, three men bundled her and Hinata up and rushed them towards the forest where Naruto could only assume transportation was waiting for them.
Murasaki rushed after them. He yelled over his shoulder at the remaining men: "Kill the other two! We don't need a sealed Byakugan!"
Three men converged on Neji and the other two separated to attack Naruto. Naruto managed to incapacitate the one immediately. But his strength was lessened as a clone, and he took a sword to the gut from the other one. Naruto panicked as he realised he was soon going to flicker out of existence.
Neji! The stoic Hyuuga had finally managed to get his Gentle Fist to work – perhaps using the same training he had given Videl. But Naruto was about to disappear and Neji had just been knocked to the ground with four thugs still alive to kill him.
Just as the Naruto-clone disappeared he heard Videl cry out something that sounded like "Masenko!" And the next thing he knew a blinding yellow light knocked into all the shinobi who remained standing, including himself, taking all five of them out with brute force.
Original POV
Naruto's head jerked in shock by the memories he received. Never had he ever expected to see the Hyuugas so overwhelmed! With the enemies' specific knowledge of their clan's weaknesses, and Videl being in such an exhausted state, the three of them had never stood a chance.
Naruto was worried and angry with himself because he had not managed to catch the exiles before now. Yet, if he hurried he could still help Neji and get Hinata and Videl back. Naruto was frantic with the need to get to Hinata. He couldn't get the image of her head drooping onto her chest out of his mind. That blow to her skull had been so intense that he could still hear the crack.
Yet, just as he raised two fingers to his forehead, he finally felt what he had been dreading. Hanabi's energy spiked.
"Shit!" he yelled to the forest.
He made his decision. He couldn't wait for his Hanabi-clone to return with memories of failure. With their sensory blocking technology Naruto could not give the exiles an opportunity to disappear with Hanabi. He couldn't leave her unprotected for another minute. He made another shadow clone and sent it to Fire Mountain. The clone would make sure Neji was safe, and then proceed to stay out of sight and track the jetcopter. It was better not to attempt a rescue as a clone. Then he raised two fingers to his forehead and followed Hanabi's energy.
Naruto arrived in the Central City Park just as his Hanabi-clone was dispersed, bringing its memories of taking a walk in the park with Hanabi after watching a boring romantic movie and then being attacked by the rogue shinobi.
Luckily there were only four, and between his clone and Hanabi's skill they had managed to kill two out of the four shinobi before Naruto's clone had been taken out by a surprisingly strong purple lightning attack. The real Naruto arrived in time to see the remaining two shinobi dragging a kicking and tied up Hanabi towards the jetcopter. She was obviously putting chakra into her feet, as the bald-headed shinobi was taunting her.
"Your gentle fist has no effect on me," he smirked, even though his lightning style ally was struggling against Hanabi's unpredictable movements.
They hadn't noticed him yet, so Naruto was able to sneak up on them.
"How about a normal fist?" Naruto asked as he drew back his fist and punched the bald one in the face, so hard that his head made a dent in the door of the jetcopter.
"Nii-sama!" Hanabi called out with some relief.
The remaining lightning-style shinobi dropped the tied up Hanabi in the dirt as he prepared to fight. Naruto blocked two of his blows before countering with a backspin kick to his head.
However, the man was skilled. He backflipped and dodged the blow at the last second. He formed seals even as he was flipping, and streaks of purple lightning covered his body like a shield. Naruto made a few shadow clones as a distraction, and one remained behind to form his rasengan. He made it a bit bigger than usual in case the shinobi was also wearing protective gear.
The lightning user swiftly dispersed all Naruto's clones, and Naruto was surprised by his strength. The man smirked as he rushed him. Naruto was well-prepared, but was rendered nearly unnecessary. Hanabi, who had rolled around on her back so she could see the fight, wore an irritable expression as she stretched out her legs in a scissor kick and tripped the lightning-user up as he rushed Naruto.
The strong and skilled Shinobi fell flat on his face, and Naruto, feeling slightly cheated out of his victory, finished him off.
"Rasengan!" he yelled, as his attack broke through the lightning shield and crushed the man into the ground so hard that the earth around him splintered.
The man's eyes rolled back into his head, and as Naruto took in the situation he realised that all four attackers were dead. As he untied Hanabi, he hoped some of the exiles who attacked Neji were still alive for questioning. It would be vital to get information from them if they were unable to track Videl and Hinata.
"I see you finally managed to find the rogue ninja, Naruto nii-sama," Hanabi chided irritably, sitting up and rubbing at her wrist.
Naruto cringed at the scolding. Of course, he would get all her censure. Never mind that he was bad at tracking, and that Team 8 had failed to find them too. Hanabi was always so hard on him. But at the disgruntled expression on his face Hanabi gave him a bright smile and he realised she was only teasing him.
"Hanabi! Stop picking on me," Naruto pouted, but then noticed her sore wrist. "Are you hurt?" he asked, checking her over.
"I just fell on my wrist when that buffoon dropped me. I'm fine," Hanabi said seriously, and all teasing was at an end. "Did they target me specifically? Should I not have been wandering off by myself?"
"It's not just you. They went after the entire Head family. I think they attacked your father and Hideki-sama, but they were with Gohan, so they're probably fine. Hinata was attacked on Fire Mountain, and they managed to get her," Naruto gritted his teeth, all his previous worry rising once more. "We should get back there and find out what's happening."
Hanabi's eyes widened at the news that her sister had been taken. She nodded towards the four dead shinobi.
"Let's take them with us. We can't leave them here for the police to find. It's shinobi business," Hanabi said.
Naruto agreed and reached out to make sure all four were touching each other before placing his hand on the shoulder of the nearest one.
"Grab onto my arm," he told Hanabi.
She did so, and Naruto waited only long enough to latch onto Neji's faint chakra signature before he raised two fingers to his forehead. He frowned as he realised he could not sense Videl or Hinata anywhere.
When he and Hanabi arrived at Fire Mountain, Neji was just rousing himself from unconsciousness. The training ground looked like a battlefield, with weapons lying everywhere.
There were two craters that had uprooted the once smooth earth. One was from Neji's Kaiten and the other from that final attack Videl had launched as she was being dragged away. Unluckily, the three surviving thugs who were left behind were regaining consciousness too.
Before Naruto could even move, Hanabi went to each one and emotionlessly knocked them out again. Naruto still had the rope the other thugs had used against Hanabi, and he used that to tie them up as Hanabi helped a groaning Neji to sit up.
"Nii-san, what happened?" Hanabi asked, sounding more disconcerted than Naruto had ever heard her. "Where's ne-sama?"
Neji tried to sit up, but his head seemed to spin.
"She was taken by the rogue shinobi," Neji groaned, grabbing at his head. "Along with Videl-san. I don't know how much time has passed since then."
Naruto knelt by his side, trying his hardest to keep calm. Every instinct in his body was telling him to move, to find Hinata. But without knowing which direction to head, it would be useless to run around aimlessly. He had to physically calm himself to allow his brain to work.
"It can't have been more than half an hour since my clone was dispersed. I sent another to track their movements, but I can't sense anyone's energy," Naruto reported.
He was trying to think of their next steps, but an image of Hinata with her eyes being ripped out kept intruding on his thoughts, making it impossible for him to clear his mind and make decisions. He was more unsettled than he had ever been on a mission before, and he realised it was because he knew now that he loved Hinata. He was so terrified to lose her that it was muddling his thinking and debilitating him. He tried over and over again to sense Hinata's energy, even while knowing that it was futile.
But then he did sense someone's energy. Gohan's. And it was powerful and moving faster than he had ever expected Gohan to move. He could feel the anger and purpose rolling off the Saiyan. Never before had he realised how much Gohan had been holding back until this moment. Naruto looked up to the sky, knowing that at the speed Gohan was moving he would join them shortly.
Within a minute he spotted the young Saiyan tearing through the sky. Before Naruto could even inform the others of his approach, Gohan had landed beside him looking more serious than Naruto had ever seen him before. Gohan's eyes were hard, and his jaw was taut. He took in the situation quickly, making the leap almost immediately to understand what had happened.
"Videl and Hinata?" he asked gruffly, his eyebrows downturned.
Neji seemed to sense Gohan's rage as well, but seemed less surprised by it. He looked oddly ashamed of himself, and Naruto assumed that he felt guilty for not being able to protect the girls.
"They were taken by the rogue shinobi," Naruto answered, glad that his brain was working enough to speak. "They came for Hanabi too, but we managed to stop them. What about Hiashi and Hideki-sama?"
Gohan's frown deepened as his suspicions were confirmed and he cast a cursory glance over Hanabi to check her wounds. He seemed satisfied by her appearance.
"A large group of twenty attacked us on Roshi's island," Gohan waved him off and Naruto wondered how easily Gohan had dispatched of them. "They were able to counter everything Hiashi and Hideki threw at them, but I took care of them. Murasaki wasn't among them."
"He was here," Neji tried to stand, but fell back slightly. "He wanted vengeance against your father and Hiashi-sama. He took Hinata-sama for her eyes and Videl-san for the ransom her father would pay. I was expendable. The men who were left behind were meant to kill me but Videl-san set off an energy blast and protected me. She saved my life."
Gohan looked slightly proud, even through his worry. He exchanged a mild smile with Neji, who seemed relieved that Gohan's anger was not directed at him. But then Gohan's fists clenched and the tension coming from him was palpable.
"I could feel her all the way from Kame Island. I'm pretty attuned to her energy. So I could also feel how drained she was," his body unclenched as he tried to calm himself. "These exiles are not that tough. If Videl was at full capacity she could probably take most of them. I'm more worried about not being able to find them."
Gohan turned around and reached for his cell phone, standing a bit away to make a phone call. Naruto had no idea who he was calling, but he looked and sounded serious. Naruto was slightly irritated that they were talking about Videl. It was odd, since Gohan was his competition, but Naruto would have liked to have a comrade who shared his worry about Hinata. He shook his thoughts off and tried to clear his mind.
"We have to find them fast," Naruto grunted out between his teeth, feeling frustrated at how blind he was. "We can't give them time to extract Hinata's eyes and disappear."
Hanabi looked up at him worriedly, and he put his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry. It won't go that far," Naruto reassured her. "I won't let it."
Like hell would he allow these pathetic shinobi to hurt his Hinata. And once he got her back, he would do anything in his power to keep her safe. Even if that meant following her and Gohan around on their dates for the rest of his life. This was something he would have to think about later, once he had Hinata safe within his reach.
Naruto was ready to move. He was a coiled up weapon that needed to be pointed at the enemy. Action was his strong suit. Not knowing where to go was throwing him off balance. He was trembling with the need to do something, to stop wasting time and find her! He was a bundle of nerves ready to jump at any sign of Hinata's presence.
Gohan hung up his phone and came to help Neji up. For some reason, Naruto was clinging to Gohan's energy like a lifeline. Regardless of how thunderous his expression was, Gohan was calm, confident and in control. That made one of them. Gohan seemed to know what he was doing, and until Naruto got his equilibrium back, he would follow Gohan's lead. A minute later Goku showed up using instant transmission, dragging Goten and Trunks with him.
"Hey son," he looked serious too. "I only have three left. What did you need them for?"
Goku held out a small brown bag with a drawstring towards Gohan. Naruto frowned. Did Gohan call his father just to bring him a brown bag? What could this mean?
"What's going on?" Goten asked, but Gohan ignored him and Trunks.
"Three's plenty," Gohan said, aiming a small smile at Goku. "One for Neji, and one each for Videl and Hinata when we find them."
Gohan reached into the bag and took out a small bean, which he gave to Neji to eat.
Neji looked at the bean with a frown, but he did not question Gohan's expression. He popped the bean into his mouth and ate it.
Naruto was amazed to see his posture straighten, his eyes widen, and his wounds disappear. Hanabi stared with wide eyes.
Naruto wanted to question Gohan about these strange beans, but Gohan was not in any mood to be questioned. His anger silenced Naruto, who had no idea how to deal with this version of Gohan and was slightly re-evaluating his opinion of the young man.
"I don't know what's going on, but just tell me what you need from me, son?" Goku frowned, which was another thing Naruto was unaccustomed to.
He had thought that the Son family only knew how to smile. Now he had to deal with a serious Goku and an angry Gohan all in one day. He felt he had judged them inaccurately. Or that some piece of information was missing - the piece being how they dealt with being under attack.
"Your old enemy Ninja Murasaki has a son who wants vengeance on you and the Hyuugas. He took Hinata and Videl and we're having trouble finding them," Gohan said concisely. "I need you to get to Piccolo and Dende and check if they can sense anything that can help us find them."
Goku put his hand on his son's shoulder and smiled.
"Gotcha. Don't worry, son. Videl's tough. She'll be alright," Goku reassured him.
Naruto gritted his teeth at how they once again seemed to have forgotten about Hinata, but then Goku added as an afterthought.
"I don't really know how strong Hinata is, but I'm sure she'll be fine too. We'll find them. Okay? See ya."
Naruto shook his head at how carefree Goku was, even in this scenario. But strangely enough, it left him with a sense of optimism that they really would find the girls. He felt the optimistic and confident side of himself start to awaken through his worry. Hinata was strong. And with this many competent people looking they would find her in no time.
"What can we do to help?" Trunks asked, serious for once.
"Yeah. I wanna help find big sis," Goten added.
"Leave that to us for now," Gohan nodded at them. "Trunks, you stay here and guard Hanabi and keep an eye on the tied-up ninjas. Goten, you escort Hideki and Hiashi back here. Grandpa's bringing them back with his jetcopter. Follow his energy and make sure they get here safely. They'll know what to do to get answers out of our captives."
Naruto thought the boys would start arguing about who would get to stay with Hanabi, but to his surprise they nodded with determined eyes and followed Gohan's instructions without question. Naruto didn't even doubt that the two little Saiyans would be able to protect the other Hyuugas while he went to find Hinata. As soon as Goten flew off and Trunks had escorted Hanabi inside, Gohan turned to Naruto.
"From the way your energy has been hopping everywhere I take it my Dad taught you the instant transmission?"
Naruto was too impatient to worry about his promise to Goku not to tell the boys. It didn't matter anyway. Gohan didn't speak about his observations often, but he paid attention and he was smarter than he looked. Naruto nodded.
"Good. I assume you have a clone following them?" Gohan asked.
Naruto was surprised that Gohan had managed to predict his actions.
"Of course," Naruto nodded again.
"Take us to him."
It was not a question. Naruto had never seen Gohan so bossy before, and it was slightly intimidating. What had happened to the awkward, bumbling, silly, too-friendly Gohan he had come to know? Naruto looked to see if Neji was recovered enough to accompany them, but there was no longer anything wrong with him. They both put their hands on each of Naruto's shoulders and he followed his clone's energy before putting two fingers to his forehead and teleporting.
They arrived in a dense forest. His clone was running through the trees and they immediately fell into step beside him. The clone did not hesitate before providing an update.
"I lost sight of them through the trees. They're moving too fast. They were heading North last time I checked. But their jetcopters seem to have stealth settings. They're difficult to spot," the clone reported.
Without waiting, Gohan abandoned them and flew ahead trying to catch any signs.
It made sense for Gohan to fly ahead since he was faster, but Naruto found himself swallowing his frustration at how slow he was compared to Gohan. He allowed his clone to disperse. None of the memories were new. But Naruto was surprised to feel a familiar energy nearby.
"Kiba's up ahead," Neji told him at the same time Naruto became aware of whose energy it was. By unspoken agreement they both pushed themselves until they caught up with Kiba. He was riding on Akamaru and heading in the same direction they were.
"Naruto, what's going on? I was heading this way when I smelled you running back towards me. Then I saw Gohan flying overhead and decided to follow him."
They continued to follow Gohan while Naruto clued Kiba in on what had happened since they had separated. Then Neji told him everything that had happened during the attack, including the abilities and available technology used by the rogue shinobi.
"No wonder they've been so difficult to track," Kiba frowned, and Naruto could sense his worry for Hinata. "Let's follow after Gohan. I can track them by scent once they land."
Naruto thought this was a good idea. If anyone could catch up to them it was Gohan, and as long as Naruto could keep track of the Saiyan's energy, they could teleport to his side instantly.
They ran for several more minutes in silence, each trying to maintain their focus and not think about how worried they were. Naruto was holding out hope that they wouldn't hurt Videl and Hinata while they were unconscious, and that they wouldn't attempt to take Hinata's eyes until they landed. He would not allow himself to think that maybe the technology on this continent was so advanced that the rogue shinobi could perform a delicate eye operation in transit.
Naruto suddenly sensed Gohan's energy stopping, quite far away. Damn, that boy was fast.
"I think Gohan's stopped," Naruto told the other two, who did not even ask any questions before reaching out to touch a part of Naruto, Kiba clenching Akamaru tightly with his legs.
An instant later they had teleported nearly fifty miles ahead of where they had been, but Gohan was nowhere to be seen.
"Damn, that teleportation is useful!" Kiba exclaimed.
They were surrounded by trees and woodland creatures who instantly scurried away from them. Only when Neji looked up did they realise Gohan had been floating above them. Gohan descended now to greet them. He nodded in acknowledgement of Kiba, still as serious as he had been on Fire Mountain.
"I caught sight of them a few miles back, but they disappeared before I could catch up. They must have landed, but I can't sense them anywhere." Gohan informed Neji, with whom he seemed to be the most comfortable in his aggravated state.
Naruto once again marvelled at the tension and raw power emanating from Gohan. For a few seconds he was distracted with thoughts of how grateful he was that the Saiyans seemed to be generally decent and goofy people. He had no idea what he would do if they were his enemies. He did not think he would ever again be irritated by how calm Gohan always was and how difficult he was to rile up.
"Leave that to us," Kiba said, as Akamaru started sniffing the ground. "If they landed, we'll find them."
Kiba and Akamaru spread out, trying to catch a scent of those they had been tracking.
Despite all Gohan's patience and bossiness before, it seemed to Naruto that he gained more of Goku's impatience in his agitation. His jaw was clenched and he was unconsciously tapping his foot on the ground as they waited for Kiba to find something.
Naruto observed the young man and was both glad and sad to find that he was so worried. Sure, his best friend had been taken too. But Gohan must truly care about Hinata to get so agitated and scary. Unfortunately, this meant that Naruto would be unlikely to pry the Saiyan away from Hinata even after they returned to Konoha. Naruto tried not to think too much about it. He would worry about that after they got Hinata back safely.
It was taking all of Naruto's patience not to yell at Kiba to hurry it up. And despite his efforts he nearly shouted anyway, when a stern look from Neji shut him up. Naruto had rarely seen Neji this tense, and Naruto felt that if Neji (whose cousin and student had both been taken) could stay calm, then he could try as well.
His patience was rewarded ten minutes later.
"I got it!" Kiba shouted excitedly and hopped onto Akamaru. "Follow me!"
Kiba started leading the way without even looking back to see if they were following. He led them through the woods and across a wide, open field. After half an hour they reached a series of hills, which grew into a mountain, where they found what seemed to be an abandoned mine.
Naruto tried hard not to think about how nearly an hour had passed since they had lost track of the rogue shinobi. Anything could have been done to the girls in that time. Naruto took a deep breath and pushed those thoughts to the side. Now was not the time to dwell on what might be. Now was the time for action. Naruto immediately felt calmer and more in control now that he knew where the girls were. He was no longer at a loss and he could move his worry to the back of his mind now that there were actionable steps he could take.
They were hidden behind a small hill as the observed several shinobi rushing around the abandoned mine. Several of them seemed to be preparing the jetcopters to take off again. Naruto was relieved. They must have arrived just in time before the shinobi made the journey to another one of their bases. If they had been any later they would have missed them and it might have been impossible to find them again.
Naruto looked at Neji, who shook his head and fixed Naruto with a loaded look. Usually Neji, the more experienced Jounin, would take charge in this situation, but the Hyuuga was decidedly looking to Naruto. He could see that Neji was uncomfortable with being at a distinct disadvantage in this fight. Naruto was surprised that Gohan hadn't already flown off and blown the mine to bits, but the Saiyan also seemed calmer now that they knew where the girls were. Although surprised by Neji taking a step back, Naruto nodded and quickly decided on the next steps.
"You have a plan?" Neji asked when Naruto seemed to stop thinking.
Naruto nodded.
"Yeah. Gohan, you start attacking the base and draw their attention," Naruto started, ignoring Gohan's surprised look. "Disable their jetcopters so they can't escape again. Once they're distracted, the three of us will sneak inside. Kiba and Neji, you guys work on finding the girls. I'll get rid of anyone in your way."
Everyone nodded. Only Kiba muttered 'who put you in charge?' under his breath. But regardless of this, the ninja hound-user did as he suggested.
They split up and waited for the sound of Gohan's attack. However, the plan was nearly stalled as the three Konoha ninja hesitated to move once Gohan started blowing things up. In all honesty they were too astounded by how much damage the Saiyan could do all by himself and wearing such a grim expression too.
The three of them watched for longer than they needed to as the rogue shinobi started swarming out of the building to try to deal with Gohan. The Saiyan pointed one hand at each of the three jetcopters in turn and let out a shout as he blew them apart. Naruto suppressed a shudder at the anger he could still feel rolling off Gohan and turned to the other two once he saw their way was clear.
"Let's go," Naruto said, and they made their way into the building.
Once inside, Naruto realised he didn't need Kiba or Neji. He could easily sense Videl and Hinata and he was momentarily relieved that they were both alive. Indeed, based on the way their energy was spiking he assumed them both to be fighting. Or at least Videl was. Hinata seemed to be mostly stationary, even as her energy spiked.
Her energy pulled him forward unconsciously. He barely noticed the few shinobi in front of him who tried to hinder him. He felt he flowed through them like butter. The only thing stopping him from sprinting headlong towards Hinata was the fact that Neji was still at a disadvantage, and he preferred to move forward as a unit.
After what felt like hours to Naruto they finally reached the double doors beyond which he could sense Videl and Hinata. He looked to Kiba and Neji, who both nodded at him before all three of them burst through the double doors. Almost immediately all three of their eyes widened once they took in the scene in front of them.
A/N: This time the delay was not my fault. My country's been having rolling blackouts all month and I often spent most of the day without electricity. Thanks to everyone for your patience and for sticking with the story.