Shikamaru's POV

Four days had passed since Hiashi had left for the border, and there was still no news. Shikamaru knew that just the journey there took more than a full day, but still, he couldn't help but feel anxious. If the Hyuuga clan was really behind the killing of hundreds of civilians, this could be a unique opportunity to make them pay, once and for all, for the atrocities they had committed throughout their sordid history.

Shikamaru had never wanted to be right so much in his life. Though catching the Hyuuga clan wasn't the only thing that made him want to be right. If the disease that was tormenting the Land of Tea was not caused by the seeds, then Neji might have been exposed, being in contact with so many patients. Just thinking about it made him feel dizzy, so every day he tried to focus on other things to keep his thoughts from dwelling on such a grim possibility.

Every afternoon he met Hanae and her little brother Hoshi at the same park. The three of them spent hours together. They seemed to trust him a bit more now, and Shikamaru knew he had to take advantage of that. He needed to get every morsel of information he could out of them in order to devise a good plan against the main branch.

His main objective was to find out everything he could about two specific things: the Cursed Seal, and the Byakugan. This last point required experimentation, because asking directly what the Byakugan's weaknesses were would sound too suspicious. He didn't want Hanae to discover that he planned to lash out at her clan, it might scare her. Knowing this, he had devised a discreet strategy to help little Hoshi, while also helping himself. On one of the afternoons they spent together, while sitting next to the girl watching the boy playing on the swings, Shikamaru decided it was time to implement his plan.

"Hoshi already knows how to use the Byakugan, right?" he asked absentmindedly.

"Not yet," Hanae replied. "Children learn to use it after they turn ten."

Shikamaru nodded, and pretended to be thinking. "Don't you think it would be better if he learned earlier?". The girl looked at him, confused. "I mean, it would be good for him to have the Byakugan, so he can know if there are Main House Members nearby when you're not around," he clarified.

The girl thought for a few moments, and apparently decided it didn't seem like a bad idea. "I never thought about it, but I think you're right."

She called her brother with a sweet voice, and the boy got off the swing and ran towards them. "Hey Hoshi," Shikamaru said. "We were thinking that maybe it would be fun for you to do some training. What do you say?"

"Train?" The boy repeated. His eyes widened and his eyes lit up. "Like ninjas do?"

Shikamaru smiled at the boy's enthusiasm. "Yeah. Would you like that?"

Hoshi responded by making little jumps and clapping his hands. Like all children, he admired ninjas, and dreamed of becoming one one day.

"Fine," Hanae announced as she stood up. "I guess it's time for you to learn to use the Byakugan."

Hoshi started jumping again, trying to prove that he was more than ready for his first lesson. For the rest of the day, Hanae explained how to activate the Byakugan, and Shikamaru simply watched. At first it was impossible for the boy to achieve it, but at the end of the day he had managed to activate it a few times, although for a very short time.

"I think we should stop for today", Shikamaru commented when the sun was starting to drop in the sky. "We don't want your eyes to get too tired. It'll be better to go slowly."

The siblings said goodbye and walked away, promising that they would return the next day to continue the training. Shikamaru knew he had less than 24 hours to prepare the items he needed, so he went back to the forest house.

Although it had been a long time since then, he had never forgotten the dream he had had about the great white tree and the strange smoke-eyed mask. He recalled that when he put on the mask, everything had acquired a strange white tint, so white that the huge tree in front of him seemed to disappear. He remembered that dream vividly since it had happened the same night he asked Neji how it was to see through the Byakugan. "It's as if everything has been dyed a bright white," the Hyuuga had said. Shikamaru knew his own mind very well, and he was sure that his brain had analyzed Neji's explanation and created an image for him to visualize it. If there was a chance that the Byakugan wasn't able to see certain colors clearly, that would be a huge advantage against the Hyuuga clan.

The next day, Shikamaru returned to the park to meet the brother and sister, but this time his backpack was full of objects that he had carefully selected. He arrived a little earlier than they agreed, to have time to hide the things around the park without being seen. When he finished, he sat patiently and waited.

Finally the two kids arrived, and for the first time Hoshi didn't run straight to the swings. He was eager to continue his training.

"I told him he had to rest his eyes, but he kept practicing while I slept," Hanae explained, looking at her brother with a slight shade of reproach. "But the good news is that he can hold the Byakugan for almost a full minute already."

That was impressive. In just one day the boy had learned to activate the Byakugan, and with just a few more hours he could already hold it for several seconds. To be persistent was undoubtedly part of being a Hyuuga, although Shikamaru had already learned this from Neij. "That's great, Hoshi " the Nara congratulated him. "How about we run some tests to see how it works?" The boy cocked his head to the side, silently asking what kind of tests he had in mind. "It will be easy, you'll see. Look at that tree." Shikamaru raised an arm to point to a thick tree that was about ten meters from them. "Can you see through it?"

Hoshi frowned, focusing on the trunk. Shikamaru watched him clench his fists tightly at the sides of his body as he activated his Byakugan. It took him several seconds to adjust his sight, but he finally smiled broadly, showing that he had succeeded. "I can!", he exclaimed.

"Well done!", Shikamaru encouraged him. "Can you tell me if there is something leaning against the trunk on the other side?"

The boy concentrated on his objective again, squinting. After a moment, he smiled again. "Yes, there is a rake on the other side of the tree!"

"A rake?" Hanae asked, and turned to regard Shikamaru suspiciously. "How did you know it was there?"

Remaining relaxed, the Nara shrugged. "I saw it when I was coming. I think the person who takes care of the park must have forgotten it there. Let's try to see more things, shall we?"

He had hidden various objects in the surroundings, and they were all in different shades of white. Some more opaque, others brighter. He hoped that with that simple experiment he would be able to determine which was the exact color that could be confused with the background color of the Byakugan.

He was relieved when he discovered that Hoshi was unable to see some of the objects he had hidden. Without saying a word, he made a mental note of all the things that the boy overlooked. A couple of hours later, Hoshi seemed to lose interest in training, probably because he felt he had mastered the basics of the Byakugan already. Hanae told him that was enough for the day, and the little boy walked away to get on the swings. Shikamaru remained next to her, silently organizing his thoughts. Now that he was alone with Hanae, it was time to move on to the second point of the investigation.

"This was a good idea, wasn't it?", he commented to the girl, who was watching her brother tenderly. "Now we can say he will be a little more secure and prepared."

Hanae exhaled with what Shikamaru knew was resignation. "I suppose. Although it doesn't mean he is safe. The Main House has Byakugans too, and they can use them to find him. And even if he can see them approaching, he can't run away from the Cursed Seal."

Shikamaru felt his heart skip a beat inside his chest, but he hid it. The girl had brought up the topic on her own, so it would sound less strange for him to ask about it. "What do you know about the Cursed Seal?", he questioned.

Hanae shrugged her shoulders. "Probably the same as you. It is a ruthless and cruel seal that fries the eyes and the brain." She shuddered at the thought, and Shikamaru didn't blame her. He had seen the body of a person murdered with the Cursed Seal the night he witnessed Hiro's death. He still remembered the huge hole in the center of the boy's head, and the deep pool of blood that he laid on. Shikamaru concentrated on keeping himself in the present. He couldn't afford to get distracted.

"That's not much," he replied. "Maybe you know something else but you don't realize it."

"Something else?", Hanae repeated. "Like what?"

Shikamaru pretended to think for a few seconds. "I don't know. Umm… Is it permanent?"

At hearing his question, the girl turned slowly to watch him. She seemed to suspect something strange again.

"You're asking me if it can be removed," she replied.

Damn, she's smart, Shikamaru thought. But if he had caught her attention with that question, maybe there was a way to remove the Cursed Seal. He shrugged, pretending he was only partially interested in the subject. "Well…. yeah. So, it's possible?"

Hanae frowned and turned her gaze back to her brother. "There is a jutsu to remove it, but it can only be done by the person who placed the Cursed Seal, and that person is always the clan's most prestigious elder."

Shikamaru knew that, thanks to a conversation he had had with Hiashi a while back. His father, Neji's grandfather, was still in charge of placing the Curse Seal on the Branch House Members, therefore it stands to reason he was the only one who could remove them. That was very valuable information. "Has it ever happened?", he asked, doing his best to not make it obvious how desperate he was to know more.

Hanae fidgeted a little on her seat. "Only once that I know of, and it was many years ago. Before the father of the current leader, Hiashi, was named Head of the Clan, the family that inherited that title was different." Shikamaru listened carefully. Until then he had believed that the Hyuuga clan leaders had always belonged to Neji's family. "Back then, the clan's head was a man named Hotaru. He removed the Cursed Seal from his youngest daughter, at the request of his wife."

"What was the girl's name?" Shikamaru asked. If he could find her, he would love to ask her some questions.

"I don't know," Hanae answered. "It doesn't matter though, because she's dead. When the Main House found out what Hotaru had done, they hunted her down and killed her. Her mother died soon after, I suppose from sadness. Then they removed the title of clan leader from Hotaru and transferred it to Hajime, who is the father of the current leader."

Shikamaru remained silent, processing what he had just heard. It was quite a depressing story, although it shouldn't surprise him that there were even darker and murkier things he didn't know about the Hyuuga clan. It wasn't enough, he needed more data. "Is Hotaru still alive?", he asked cautiously.

Hanae shook her head. "No, he was already old when all this happened. He died a few years later."

Shikamaru bit his tongue in frustration. If the parents and daughter were dead, then no one was left alive related to the event. It seemed that he had reached the end of that path when something occurred to him. If the murdered girl was a Branch House Member, that meant she must have an older brother or sister who was in the Main House. There was still a small ray of hope. "So there are no family members left?"

Hanae looked at him with a little boredom, as if she didn't understand why this topic seemed so interesting to him. "Well, the older brother still lives. He's a silent and strange Main House member, who doesn't relate too much to others like him. He still carries the shame of what his father did. I suppose he is also resentful, if his father had not violated the rules, he would be the leader of the clan now."

Shikamaru nodded, feeling that his plan might come to fruition, if he played his cards well. "What is his name?", he questioned.

Hanae looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Hideki," she replied. "But what does it matter? I mean, what are you going to do? Go and ask him about what happened? He'll never tell you anything."

Shikamaru shook his head. Of course he wasn't going to do that, that would alert the Main House that he was asking questions about them. But there was more than one way to find out what a person was thinking. "I was just curious," he replied, as he said to himself that he already knew exactly whose mind he wanted Rajah to read.

He decided to change the subject, so as not to raise suspicions. A few hours later he said goodbye to the siblings and started walking towards the forest house. He needed to contact his former sensei immediately. There was no time to lose.

He walked through the door with his mind racing. That wasn't good, because he needed to be calm to concentrate if he wanted Rajah to hear him. Before leaving, the man had explained to him how to access the space of his mind where they had spoken many times. He needed to do one of the things that Shikamaru hated more than just about anything: meditate. He hated it not only because it was boring, but because it required him to empty his mind completely. That was extremely difficult for him. His brain never wanted to slow down, and it had always taken him several hours to clear his thoughts. He sat on the floor in the center of the main room and closed his eyes, trying to focus.

The first hours were absolutely fruitless. He was too anxious, and his mind insisted on repeating over and over the conversation he had had with Hanae. Finally, more because of fatigue than anything else, his thoughts began to slow down, until eventually, they stopped. When he felt his body fade away Shikamaru remained calm. He knew that feeling, and it meant that his efforts had finally succeeded.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting in a huge warehouse with incredibly high ceilings filled with rows and rows of shelves crammed with all kinds of objects and papers. This was his mind, a giant place full of information. Rajah had suggested he organize it a bit, but Shikamaru simply didn't have time to worry about it. His mind seemed to work despite the disorder, so he didn't consider it a pressing need. He stood up, hoping his sensei could hear him, though he had no clue how far away the man was.

"Rajah-sensei!", he yelled. There was no response. He put his hands to his mouth in an attempt to amplify the sound. "Rajah-sensei!". Still, he got nothing. He continued to scream for several hours, louder and louder, determined to do his best to make his sensei listen to him.

When he finally decided to stop and returned to the real world, he realized that it was already morning. He had accomplished nothing, but he would keep trying. For the next four days he spent the mornings looking for traces of Hiashi, and the afternoons hanging out with the Hyuuga kids. At night, he entered his mind and called his sensei's name over and over, refusing to give up.

His throat felt dry from screaming even though he knew he wasn't actually using his voice. He was exhausted, but that didn't matter to him. He needed to get to the end of it all, and nothing would stop him from trying to contact his sensei.

"Rajah-sensei!", he repeated for the millionth time. "Come ON! RAJAH-SENSEI!"

"Would you stop that?", a voice came from behind him. Shikamaru was startled and jumped as he turned around. There was Rajah, with his colorful robes, his long dreadlocks, and his inevitable cigarette between his fingers. "I heard you the first time."

Shikamaru approached, congratulating himself for not having given up hope that his sensei would come to his call. "Then why didn't you get here earlier?"

Rajah exhaled a long cloud of smoke. "Because I was very far away. It took me several days to get back to Konoha. I can't fly you know?". He looked around, staring at the messy shelves. "I see that this place is still chaos. Do you mind if we go out? Being in your mind makes me dizzy, it is too disorganized."

A few seconds later, Shikamaru found himself sitting back on the floor of the forest house. Rajah was standing beside him, looking around the room. "Your last task went very well. This place looks great."

"Thanks." Shikamaru replied as he stood up. "And thanks for coming. I know you have other concerns, so I really appreciate you being here."

Rajah waved a hand in the air to downplay the fact. "No problem," he replied. "So, what do you want?"

Shikamaru took a step towards him. "We had a deal, remember? If I took your stupid IQ test, you would read someone's mind for me."

The man rolled his eyes. "Right. I was hoping you had forgotten about that, but you never forget anything, do you? You have a target chosen I assume?" Shikamaru nodded firmly. Rajah joined his hands and began to rub them, as if preparing for what came. "Well, tell it to your wish-granting sensei."

The moment of truth was getting closer. After years of waiting he might be about to find what he needed to defeat the Hyuuga clan. Shikamaru swallowed, and answered: "His name is Hideki Hyuuga. He is a Main House member."

Rajah nodded. The Nara had already told him that the person he would choose would probably be a Main House member, so he already expected it. "And why him?", he asked.

The man had just been inside his mind, so he already knew the answer to that question, but Shikamaru decided to respond anyway. "I think he may have been present the only time a Cursed Seal was removed."

Rajah nodded again. "And if he wasn't?"

Shikamaru clenched his teeth. That was a possibility, and he knew it. But he still had to try. "Let's hope he was."

They spent the next few days preparing to ambush Hideki. It was necessary to know who he was, and where to find him. Fortunately Rajah knew his face. "I fought alongside Konoha shinobis during the war," he explained to Shikamaru. "I know almost everyone who was there. I don't know him personally, but I've touched a few people who have. Let me tell you, he seems very sullen. It won't be easy to get close to him."

"Then we'll have to trick him", the Nara replied without hesitation.

Once they found him, they began to follow him discreetly. Hideki rarely came out of the Hyuuga domains, and he didn't speak a word to anyone. He was a serious, morose and grumpy old man. They had only seen him talk to a bar waitress, when he went there to drink some sake on two occasions. Apparently it was something he did regularly, which reminded Shikamaru of his father. Luckily, the old man did not end up in the same state as Shikaku. Hideki drank with moderation.

The third day they watched him enter the same bar and sit at the same table, they already had a plan for Rajah to touch him. It was simple and somewhat silly, but Shikamaru was sure it would work.

The Nara entered the bar a few minutes after Hideki received his sake. He approached the waitress concentrating on the part to be played. "Good morning miss," he greeted cordially, in a voice loud enough for the old man to hear him. "Would you be so kind as to pour me some sake?"

The woman regarded him with a frown. "How old are you? You look under age."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Well yes, I am." He lied. "But I just want to try it. See why everyone makes such a fuss about it, you know?"

"I cannot give alcohol to minors.", the woman replied coldly. "You need to go or I'll have to call the owner."

Shikamaru implored her a little more, and then he turned around grumbling. He started to walk towards the door, but stopped next to Hideki. The old man noticed, but ignored him.

"Hey, Sir," the Nara whispered. "Could you give me a sip of that?"

Hideki looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "No." he replied harshly. "Go away."

"Just a little bit." Shikamaru insisted. The waitress was busy serving other customers, so she didn't notice that the impertinent teen was bothering the old man. "Please?"

"I told you to go away." Hideki repeated angrily.

"Fine, fine." Shikamaru sighed, and pretended he was going to walk away. But when he saw the old man drop his guard, he rushed over to the table to try to grab the glass of sake. Hideki wasn't going to allow such insolence. His hand shot out and grabbed Shikamaru's forearm tightly to stop him. As they struggled, another person entered the bar. The Nara knew who it was.

"What's going on here?", his sensei shouted behind him. "What are you trying to do to that poor man, boy?"

"He wants to steal my sake." Hideki growled, as he continued to grip Shikamaru's arm.

"He won't let me try it!", the Nara whined.

Rajah approached them, feigning irritation. "He don't have to do that", he said to Shikamaru. "Also, you're a child." The man put a hand on his shoulder, and with the other one he grasped the old man's wrist to make him release him. "You better go play outside brat, and stop making a nuisance of yourself."

Shikamaru lowered his head, and withdrew from the bar with a defeated expression. The contact had occurred. Rajah had touched the old man, and that was all he needed to be able to see inside his mind. Now his sensei had to stay to drink something, so it appeared he had had a reason to enter the bar. Shikamaru returned to the forest house to wait for him.

It took almost three hours for the man to return. "What the hell were you doing?", the Nara asked when Rajah finally walked through the door of the forest house.

"What was I doing? I was playing my role very well", he replied nonchalantly. His breath reeked of alcohol. "I had a couple of drinks, to make it look credible."

Shikamaru was going to protest, but there were more important things at stake. "Doesn't matter. Could you read his mind?"

Rajah didn't speak for a few moments. At first Shikamaru thought it was due to his drunken state, but then he realized he was thinking. "Yes. And I'm not happy that I did. This man has witnessed many atrocities that I'd have preferred not to see."

Shikamaru took a step towards him. "Tell me.", he demanded.

Rajah sat down on the tatami, crossed his legs and ran a hand over his face, exhaling sadly. Finally, he began to speak. "Well, he's the son of the former clan chief, Hotaru, but you already knew that. He was his father's favorite, being the oldest son, but he always felt that his mother loved his sister more. And he couldn't understand that, of course, because she was a Branch House member. When his mother asked his father to remove the girl's Cursed Seal, he did everything to get in the way and convince him not to do it, but the man ended up agreeing."

Shikamaru felt his body trembling. He clenched his fists to control himself. "Was he there when they removed the Cursed Seal?". Rajah closed his eyes slowly, and nodded. "Can you show me?"

For a few moments, his sensei did not move. He really seemed to be affected by the things he had just discovered, and Shikamaru felt sorry for putting him through that. Finally, Rajah extended a hand towards him. "Come."

He felt a tingling traveling through every nerve in his body. After so much time spent researching, he had finally found it. Trying to contain his nerves, he sat across from Rajah and took his hand.

The air shook, and the forest house disappeared. After a turbulent journey, they were standing somewhere else. It looked like a family home, but it was almost completely dark. The only light came from a small candle sitting on a shelf. Rajah was standing next to him. Without saying a word, he pointed to the darkest corner of the room. Shikamaru followed his finger, and saw four people.

"This is a mistake father," a voice said. Shikamaru could barely see his face in that dim light, but he could discern that it was a very young Hideki. "The clan will never forgive you."

"Please, Hotaru." It was a woman's voice. "I just want to protect our daughter."

Of the four figures, Hotaru's was the tallest. The man was standing in front of the last person, the smallest of all the silhouettes. The candlelight sizzled, and lit part of their face for a few seconds. The Nara saw the glitter of an emerald inscription on a child's forehead. It was the girl, Hideki's sister. Shikamaru felt chills when he realized that she couldn't have been more than eight or nine years old, ten at the most. That was the girl the Hyuuga clan had murdered, as punishment for removing the Cursed Seal. Shikamaru almost appreciated not being able to see her full face, because he knew that if he did, it would be burned into his memory for the rest of his life.

Hotaru didn't speak. He just shook his head in resignation, and took a few hesitant steps toward the girl, shuffling his feet. Even in the dark, Shikamaru could tell that the man was waging a great battle between his heart and mind. Behind him his wife was crying, her fingers clasped, pleading. Hotaru raised both hands. He put one on his daughter's forehead, and raised the other one in front of his own eyes. His fingers formed a seal, and then another, and then another. Shikamaru watched closely. He had to record all of it in his memory. He couldn't miss a single detail. If he did, his plan wouldn't work.

Hotaru said the last words of the spell, and suddenly a blinding light flooded the room. Shikamaru had to close his eyes, but he knew where the flash was coming from: the girl's forehead. He heard her scream with a piercing howl. He wanted to cover his ears, but he didn't. He waited for the light to fade and opened his eyes. The girl's mother lay on her knees on the ground, holding her daughter in her arms. Over and over, she stroked her forehead with her hand. The forehead where there was no longer any mark. The Cursed Seal was gone.

Shikamaru felt his heart stop beating for a few seconds. He had it. He had the damn spell. Quick as light, he ran his mind over the seals and the words. He remembered them perfectly. That was what he wanted. Now all he had to do was put the pieces in the correct positions, and start the game.

"That is enough." Rajah said next to him. "You have what you need."

He waved his hand briefly, and the room around them slowly vanished into a cloud of smoke. Shikamaru had one last look at the girl's silhouette on the floor before he landed back on the tatami in the forest house.

His skin burned as if it was boiling. Or rather, it pierced. He felt thousands of small, sharp needles digging into every cell in his body. His brain was out of control. Shikamaru felt as though all his neurons were exploding. The details of the final plan were beginning to fit together in his mind. He hardly heard Rajah when he spoke to him. His hard tone and serious expression eventually forced the Nara to focus on listening to what he was saying.

"Look kid, I know what you're thinking. And it is incredibly dangerous. You haven't really considered the problems you might encounter doing what you are planning. And I don't mean breaking the village's law. The Main House will go after you, and especially after him."

Shikamaru took a deep breath, and held his sensei's gaze. "I'll be ready," he said. "I'll be ready for everything."

Rajah stared at him intently for a few long drawn out seconds, expecting him to hesitate. But Shikamaru didn't budge. Finally, the man relaxed his face and closed his eyes in resignation. It seemed he had already accepted that the Nara was not going to reconsider no matter what warnings he was given.

"You are absolutely determined to do it, and nothing I say will change your mind." Rajah continued. "My other option is to reveal your plans to the Hokage or Hiashi, but the truth is, I think you have a pretty solid plan here. You have a good chance of making it work. Besides, I also can't stand those arrogant Hyuuga assholes. I know you've planned everything out, and I know you've thought of a phase two. I think I can help out with that. If you're really going to do this, it's in your best interest to have this information. It's something you already suspect anyway, but you aren't sure. Let me tell you: you were right."

Rajah began to tell him about a mission that had happened years ago when Shikamaru was still a child. A mission to assassinate the entire Uchiha clan, or almost all of them. Everyone in Konoha knew the story of the Uchiha massacre, and of the ruthless murderer who had perpetrated it: Uchiha Itachi. The traitor that had murdered almost his entire family and then escaped to join a gang of assassins. Rajah told him that Hideki had participated in that mission, as had Neji's grandfather, who had led twenty other Hyuugas to determine the exact position of each Uchiha. No one had been able to hide. Itachi had found them all, and slaughtered them. Everything had happened thanks to the help of the Hyuuga clan, and by order of the Council.

"With this information you might be able to win." Rajah said in a calm voice.

Shikamaru looked at him with wide eyes. He couldn't believe the help his sensei was giving him. With that information, he no longer had anything to worry about. That was probably Konoha's best-kept secret, and Shikamaru suspected that not even the Hokage knew about it. Now he had a very powerful weapon. Extortion.

He tilted his head towards Rajah, who was watching him calmly. "I... Thank you," he whispered. "For helping me."

The man shrugged and leaned back. "I hope you can save that kid." he said, referring to Neji. "And the other Branch House members as well."

Shikamaru smiled. If Rajah believed he could do it, then he had to do it. "I will."

He was walking towards the park to meet with Hanae and Hoshi again. He no longer needed anything from the siblings, but he couldn't simply cut off his relationship with them. Furthermore, he considered it very helpful to have friends within the clan who could tell him if anything suspicious happened behind the walls of the Hyuuga domains. Not to mention, they were good kids and he enjoyed spending time with them. He was only two blocks from reaching the park, when a voice spoke from behind him.

"Kid."

Shikamaru spun around. He was starting to get annoyed with people approaching him like that without warning. He was about to release a curse, when he met Hiashi's serious gaze.

"Sir," the Nara replied breathlessly. "Wow, you scared me. When did you get back?"

"This morning," the man replied. His face weary but reflected something else. Disappointment? Perhaps he had failed to verify Shikamaru's theory about the seeds. The Nara was somewhat nervous at the possibility the disease that ravaged the Land of Tea perhaps had nothing to do with the Hyuuga clan. "Come with me."

Hiashi started walking in the opposite direction of the park. Shikamaru followed. For just a few brief seconds, he saw the man activate his Byakugan. He was undoubtedly making sure that there was no one nearby who could hear their conversation. Once he had checked the perimeter, he deactivated his Byakugan and stopped.

"I could not get a water sample." he said gravely. "They did not allow me to cross the border. Doctors fear a massive infection, and want to prevent it from spreading to Konoha. I waited several days for the opportunity to cross, but the borders are very well guarded."

Fuck, Shikamaru thought. So finding evidence to support his theory was going to be more difficult than he expected. "Neji couldn't help you?" he asked.

Hiashi shook his head. "I was not permitted to see him. All the shinobi are very busy containing the population."

"Shit," Shikamaru whispered, forgetting for a moment to maintain manners in the presence of a clan head. "We need those samples."

The man nodded slowly. "I know." He looked extremely concerned. "Listen, boy. The situation is serious. The number of patients is staggering, and the doctors are nowhere near finding a cure. If this epidemic is due to the poison of the Hyuuga clan, it is very important to act quickly. We need a direct order from the Hokage to cross the border. It's the only way they will allow us to enter."

Shikamaru frowned. "You think we should tell Tsunade-sama everything we know." It wasn't a question.

Hiashi nodded again. The Nara would have preferred to wait until he had concrete evidence to inform Tsunade, but apparently that wasn't an option. They looked at each other and nodded in silent agreement, and began the walk towards the Hokage mansion.

They had to wait several minutes outside the office, as the Godaime was busy. Finally, the door opened and Shizune appeared behind it. "Sorry for the delay," she apologized. "You can come in now."

Shikamaru waited for Hiashi to enter the office, and then entered behind him. Tsunade was sitting behind her desk, her face hidden behind the large stacks of papers she was going through. She looked up at the newcomers and frowned. Surely she never expected to see Hiashi and Shikamaru together, and she figured her day was about to get a whole lot worse than piles of paperwork.

"What did you do now?", she asked, looking at the Nara reproachfully.

The boy was about to defend himself, but Hiashi stepped forward. "We have a few things to report, Tsunade-sama. And I assure you, it is of the utmost importance that we have your full attention."

The woman eyed them suspiciously, but finally leaned back in her chair and gestured for them to start. Hiashi and Shikamaru exchanged a brief glance, and then began to speak.

Telling the Hokage everything they knew took a long time. In order for her to understand the situation Hiashi had to explain what Shikamaru had learned about the Hyuuga poison, and how they had used it to eliminate outsiders of the clan married to Branch House members. Then he reminded her of the deal that had been made between Hisao and that mysterious ambassador long ago to redistribute land, and how they had confirmed that the land was being used to increase seed production. He told her about the symptoms of poisoned people. Upon hearing them Tsunade sat up a little in her chair. Could she have recognized those same symptoms among those infected in the land of Tea?

Shikamaru was silent, as was the Godaime. Hiashi explained that they believed that could be the explanation for the pandemic, and that they required special permission from her to obtain the samples. Once he finished speaking, he simply waited for the Hokage to respond.

Tsunade didn't speak for a long time. Her face showed surprise and dismay. No doubt she understood the seriousness of the situation. If a Konoha clan was involved in the deaths of so many people from a neighboring country it could trigger an international incident. She lifted her hand to her face and pressed her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose. After a few seconds, she lowered her hand and looked up at Hiashi.

"How did you find all of this information?", she asked the man.

Hiashi tilted his head down. "It was actually the boy. He discovered everything."

Tsunade turned her gaze to Shikamaru, who shrugged, feeling exposed. "This is why you haven't made progress with the Akatsuki investigation, isn't it?"

Shikamaru hesitated. "It is hard to create a strategy against them. We know so little about their abilities." he apologized.

Tsunade shook her head, indicating that was not important now. "And how long have you known all of this? You should have informed me a long time ago."

"We wanted to have proof before bringing this theory to you," Hiashi replied. "But now that things on the border are spiraling out of control, we no longer have the luxury of waiting until we have definitive proof."

The Hokage stood up and began to pace. "This is a grave situation. You're telling me that the Hyuuga clan has been using that poison to kill innocent people for years, and that they are now also using it to decimate the population of the Land of Tea?"

"We're actually not sure about that," Shikamaru commented. "If the theory is correct, the clan has provided the seeds to those who are poisoning the population, but perhaps they are not part of the operation. Or maybe they are. We still can't say one way or the other."

Tsunade stopped. "That's true. Maybe the Hyuuga clan is part of this, but we don't know who is really behind it all. Maybe it's the monks, or the ambassador."

Shikamaru watched the two adults lower their heads to think, and decided to ask a question. "Excuse me, Godaime-sama. What country is that man an ambassador from?"

The Hokage didn't even look up to answer him. "He is not an ambassador for a country, but for a faith that has followers throughout the world. I was quite surprised to learn that he was involved in corruption for money. I had heard that he was not a greedy man, and that he held his moral values in high regard, and was extremely religious."

In Shikamaru's brain, the electrical impulse that traveled through his neurons was so intense that he could almost hear it hum. Religious? Representative of a faith? He remembered what he had read in the library about the arrival of the son of the gods.

"That's it!", he yelled, unable to contain himself. "The ambassador is with the monks! They practice the same religion!". Tsunade and Hiashi looked at him strangely, but Shikamaru couldn't stop talking. His mind was going too fast. "He thinks that the treasure inside the temple is not an object, but an illumination! He wants to decimate the population to purify it!"

"What are you saying?", the Hokage asked as she stared at him in bewilderment.

"It makes sense.", Shikamaru continued. "They believe that a chosen one will come to save the worthy and eliminate the impure. Perhaps the ambassador thinks he is the chosen one, or works for someone who thinks that they are. Hell, he's sucking up the Branch House members' chakra, and maybe even the chakra of those that are sick to open that damn temple because he thinks he'll find god or something like that."

Hiashi and Tsunade looked at each other in alarm. "This is insane.", the Godaime exclaimed. "At any moment they could start infecting the north, trying to make more people sick and accumulate more chakra."

"Tsunade," Hiashi said. "We need to do our own tests, analyze the water in the Land of Tea. That way we will know if this is just a theory or if it is reality."

The Hokage nodded vehemently and started walking toward the door. "Absolutely," she said. "But I have to report this to the Council first."

A warning siren sounded in Shikamaru's ears. "Wait, no!", he yelled.

Tsunade turned to him and frowned. "This is a matter of international scope. I am required to tell the Council."

Shikamaru felt his heart pounding. The only way to stop the Hokage was to give her the most precious information he had. He trusted her, and he trusted Hiashi, so he decided to do it. "To a greater or lesser degree, the Hyuuga clan is involved in all of this. And I think the Council will try to protect them."

The expression of the two adults at his words was completely puzzled. "Why do you think they would do that?", Tsunade asked.

Shikamaru swallowed hard. "There is something you don't know, Godaime-sama."

For the next few minutes, the Nara related the story Rajah had told him about the Uchiha clan massacre. He put special emphasis on clarifying that everything had been at the behest of the Council. Judging by the looks on their faces, Shikamaru was sure that neither of them had been aware of these events. "This is why the Hyuuga clan has so much impunity to do as they please, and that is why there was no further investigation into any of the shady issues in which they were involved. Because the Council owes them a favor. They will do everything they can to defend them in exchange for their silence about what really happened to the Uchiha clan."

Both adults were pale. They had just realized that the corruption went far beyond a single clan, as the village Council itself was involved in one of the bloodiest events in Konoha's history. Tsunade was stunned. She was silent for a few minutes. When she finally recovered, she looked at Shikamaru with a pained expression.

"How do you know about this?", she asked.

The Nara knew that this question would come at some point, but Rajah had specifically told him that if anyone asked how he had obtained that information, he should not say his name. "Sorry, but I can't tell you that. I don't want to compromise the person who helped me."

The Hokage narrowed her eyes for a moment, studying his expression. Then she relaxed her face. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that Rajah has helped you. He is the least orthodox person I know."

Shikamaru lowered his head. The Godaime didn't seem angry with him or his sensei, but just in case, the boy decided not to say anything else.

"Tsunade, we need those samples", Hiashi reminded the Hokage.

The Godaime nodded. "Yes. I don't like acting behind the Council's back, but apparently they haven't been completely honest with me either." She circled her desk and searched among the countless papers. "I will write an authorization to cross the border. Shikamaru, form a team, now. Trusted shinobi, that won't reveal any details. You will lead the mission. As soon as you have the samples, bring them in for testing. And if you discover anything else, I want you to report it to me ASAP. Understood?"

Shikamaru looked at Hiashi, who nodded encouragingly. The boy turned to the Hokage and bowed respectfully. "Yes, maam."

Hi! Long time without update. I'm very sorry!

Again I hope this chapter wasn't too boring. I know I've said this before, but from next chapter things will get more exciting. The real adventure is about to start! I know you guys probably wanted to see Neji in this chapter. Sorry for not including him, but he'll be back for the next one!

I'm sorry if the plot is a bit creepy because it has some similarities with the current situation the world is going through right now. I don't expect to make you feel sad or something like that, it's just how I planned this story from the start.

Thanks to my awesome editor Miranda Z who made a great job like always! She had been very busy but found time to work on this so thank you VERY MUCH!

Hope you're all doing great!

Till next chapter!