Author's Note: Damn, I wasn't expecting the last chapter to have such a good reception! 27 reviews the very same day I posted it, plus eleven more reviews during the next two weeks! Oh boy, this story is much closer than I thought to the 2000 review mark!
Also, a clarification regarding the last chapter I forgot to mention. You probably noticed that I didn't mention anything regarding reincarnation. That's because in this story, Naruto and Sasuke aren't Indra and Asura's reincarnations. I never liked that "plot twist", so away it goes. The Rinnegan in this story is awakened the way it was explained in the previous chapter.
Anyway, enjoy this chapter:
Chapter 57
The Byakugan Princess, Part II
or
The Princess' many suitors
...
"Hamura Otsutsuki..." Hinata dumbly repeated, as her brain was trying –and failing– to understand that she was talking not so much to a living legend as much as a living myth. If he was living to begin with.
"Yes. That, I am," Hamura replied. "And if you're able to talk to me is because you, my descendant managed to form Six Paths Chakra inside you. Must say, it feels nice being able to talk to somebody else again after so many centuries of quietude."
"Are you...are you alive?" Hinata fearfully asked.
"Hmmm...you could say that I am...but in the same way, I'm not," Hamura answered. Noticing Hinata's growing confusion, he added: "I know those two concepts are hard to reconcile. While my body stopped working a long time ago, my essence is permanently tied to the kind of chakra that now courses through your body."
"I...see," Hinata said, not fully understanding it, but deciding to let the issue go, since it wouldn't lead anywhere.
"Tell me, Hinata Hyuga, what do you know about the history of our common family?" Hamura asked.
Hinata nodded, and told Hamura an abridged version of what Nori and Takuya had told her and the others a few moments ago, culminating with the visit to the Moonwell.
"Good, that will save us an explaination," Hamura satisfyingly said. "Though you'd understand that, with this new power, you'll have to carry on several duties."
"I do, but I have a question," Hinata replied. "Why me? What did I do to deserve this power?"
Hamura smirked a little. "Why the self doubt? Do you find yourself unworthy of it?"
"I think there may be others more suited to wield this power than I am. While I came a long way, I'm...not strong," Hinata admitted. "Meaning...it is okay for me to just have this power handed to me? Aren't others who deserve it more than I do?"
"Hinata, tell me. If you had a great power, what would you do with it?" Hamura asked.
Hinata felt a bit slighted that Hamura had ignored her woe, but she decided it was for the best to answer his question.
"I...I'd do what I've always done. Use it to help others, to the best of my ability. I would also try to not get lost in that power either. After all, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," Hinata told him.
"Then there you have it. You're a good person, therefore this power will be good in your hands," Hamura casually said.
"You can't be serious," Hinata replied, a bit taken aback. "I'm sure a lot of people think the same way I do. And even then, I might be just saying this but deep down think otherwise. Power makes people change."
"Indeed. My brother and I were painfully aware of that," Hamura interjected. "We could have taken our mother's place, and rule over humanity forever. But her example was impossible to forget. That's why we tried to use our powers as little as possible, and try to live as any normal human would, even if we were far from normal. Our only regrets were not being able to do more with the time we had. Unfortunately, our descendants didn't live during her reign, and soon they forgot."
"Yes. Takuya-san and Nori-san told us how humanity used ninjutsu to wage wars," Hinata added. "And...still does."
Hamura nodded. "Yes, they did a good job preserving history and keeping secrets safe, didn't they? But even somebody as efficient as the Moon Acolytes make mistakes, and there were historic details that escaped them."
"Yes. They weren't aware of the current Rinnegan bearer," Hinata replied.
Hamura nodded. "Indeed. Feeling my brother's chakra among the living after such a long time was...surprising, to say the least. Sadly, I can't say I'm happy with the event, given the way its current bearer is using my brother's power. But that wasn't what I was referring to."
"Huh?"
"The part in which the last Main House heir arrived to Earth, formed the Order of the Moon Acolytes and changed the Otsutsuki into the Hyuga clan...you see, this man did manage to awaken the Tenseigan, and was planning to use it to continue the fight against the Branch Family," Hamura revealed.
"He did?" Hinata asked in shock. "And...what changed his mind?"
"I did," Hamura told her. "Just like you're talking with me right now, I met this young man the moment he awakened the Tenseigan. I had to told him that the bloodshed had to stop, that this wasn't the way. I don't like being authoritarian, but I was glad that my identity alone was all that I needed to convince him to drop the war."
"And what would have you do if he didn't obey you?" Hinata asked, a little curious.
"Nothing," Hamura flatly stated.
"Nothing?"
"What did you expect me to do? Like I told you before, I'm dead. My power no longer belongs to me," Hamura explained. "We old people may be able to guide and offer advice, but in the end, the younger generation must follow their own path and take their own decisions. All we can do is to have faith in that they will make the right choices."
"I see," Hinata said.
"I told him that the Otsutsuki Clan had to start anew. That's why he renamed it Hyuga. As for the Tenseigan, I told him that only somebody with a kind soul and an emphatic heart would be worthy of the Tenseigan. The Otsutsuki Clan was too blinded by their own power, and needed a better leader, somebody who would remind them of my brother's teachings. So I foretold a Byakugan Prince or Princess, that would lead the Otsutsuki Clan to a new golden age.
"And as I hoped, said princess was born fifteen years ago, Hinata. As the Moon Acolytes kept watch over your clan, they realized you were the person I was talking about, the one worthy enough to finally inherit my power after centuries of dormancy," Hamura explained. He stared at Hinata, and his rugged lips curved into a smile. "Was this explaination enough?"
"It was, Hamura-sama. Even if I can't help but feel overwhelmed at both this power and the responsibility it entails, I'll do my best to use it correctly," Hinata solemnly stated.
"That's what I was hoping to hear," Hamura replied. "Then I believe this conversation should reach its end. One last thing, though: some of my most misguided descendants also know about you. They will try to kill you or use you for their own purposes."
"Don't worry, Hamura-sama. I won't let such thing happen," Hinata assured the elderly man.
"One more thing," Hamura said, his expression growing worried. "There is another Tenseigan wielder. One who awakened it before you. I did try to convince him to follow the right psth, but I was unsuccesful. I sensed a great darkness clouding his judgement."
"In that case, I'll make sure that person sees the light," Hinata stated.
"Good. Then go, my child. We shall see each other again in the future," Hamura finally said, before everything turned black.
…
When Hinata opened her eyes, she found herself back at the underground temple of the Moon Acolytes. The rest of the Konoha ninjas were looking at her.
"Oh good, she's waking up!" a relieved Tenten said.
Then, all of them gasped.
"Whoa..."
"Just look at that..."
"Is that...?"
"Huh...?" Hinata groaned, as she slowly sit up. Her head was throbbing, and was having a hard time thinking. Her encounter with Hamura Otsutsuki –which she was still trying to determine if it was a dream or not– occupied her mind. "How...how long have I've been out?"
"Quite a few hours. You got us quite worried," Naruto said, chuckling a little. "It's almost sunrise."
"Are you okay, Hinata-san?" Haku asked.
"A bit tired, but fine otherwise," Hinata replied, before noticing the looks of both concern and curiosity that her friends were shooting at her. "Why...why are you looking at me like that?"
Wordlessly, Tenten pulled out a compact mirror from a bag and handed it to Hinata.
"See it for yourself," Tenten cryptically said.
Hinata did so, and soon her reaction echoed the one made by her comrades. Gone was her lavender colored Byakugan, now replaced by the same eyes Hamura Otsutsuki had.
"Is this...the Tenseigan?" Hinata unsurely asked.
"It is," Takuya confirmed. "I have seen it on ancient pictures, but to see a real one myself, with my own very eyes...it feels unreal."
"How do you feel, Hinata-sama? Do you feel the power of the Tenseigan?" Nori excidetly asked.
"My head feels a bit lighter. But other than that, I feel just like always," the Hyuga admitted.
"It's okay. Your new powers may take some time to manifest, and you will take some time as well to master them," Nori reassured. "That's why is imperative to return to Konoha as soon as possible and begin your training."
"I already ordered our brothers and sisters to pack all our valuable goods and move to Konoha," Takuya added.
"Wait a minute! Are you planning to move to Konoha? As in, permanently?" Gai asked.
"Yes, that's the intention," Takuya answered. "We remained hidden to keep the secret of the Tenseigan safe. But since a new Tenseigan has awakened, our secrecy is no longer necessary. All what remains is to move all our knowledge to Konoha. Konoha is Hinata-sama's home, and as her followers, we shall go wherever she shall."
"I'm not sure what the Hokage will say about this..." Gai replied.
"Don't worry. Hokage-sama will be more than happy to welcome us to your village, if only for the wealth of knowledge that we bring with us," Takuya said.
"It's a good thing Hokage-sama decided to send an additional team. I'm more than sure our enemies will try to attack us once we leave the safety of our shrine," Nori commented. "Especially with all the treasures we carry with us."
"Wait a minute! You guys expect us to escort all of you all the way to Konoha?" Naruto asked in disbelief. "But there must be more than one hundred people here!"
"Not to mention all the things they want to take with them. Even with sealing scrolls, it will be quite the luggage," Haku added.
"You don't have to worry. We won't leave at the same time, but in small groups. The first one will be the one to carry our most valuable possessions," Takuya explained. "Nori, you go with them. I'll remain here and supervise. Once the shrine has been completely evacuated, I'll leave with the last group."
"Again, if you're expecting more ninjas to come here and escort you, you're going to need more money to hire them," Gai reminded them.
"Don't worry, Gai-san. Is in Konoha's best interest for the treasures of this place to reach the village. They're worth more than any amount of money we could gather," Nori insisted. "Hokage-sama will agree with me."
"If that's the case, then we should move as soon as possible. When will be the first group ready to leave?" Gai asked.
"I'd say an hour. Two hours at the very latest. In one case or another, then it won't be too long," Takuya replied.
"ALRIGHT! Come on guys! Let's make sure all of them reach Konoha in one piece, and in ecord time!" Gai enthusiasthically yelled.
…
Many hours later, the Konoha ninja, accompanied by Nori and a few other Moon Scolytes, were heading back towards Konoha. Unfortunately, due the fact that this time around they were escorting more people, as well as a large cart loaded to the brim with scrolls of all sizes, meant that the journey back would go much, much slower. And that gave potential enemies better chances to attack.
Now out of their sanctuary, the acolytes looked clearly distressed, even more than Nori when they escorted her the first time around. It was the fear of somebody who knew they had a lot of enemies, and for the first time, they were in a vulnerable position. And the Konoha ninjas could sense that fear, which in turn made them become tense.
The Konoha ninjas positioned themselves in a surrounding formation towards the acolytes. Neji and Haku were leading the group –Neji had forbidden Haku and Tenten to stay close in a situation of potential danger– with Gai and Lee at each side of the cart, and Naruto, Hinata and Tenten in the back. Beside the acolytes, they also had the unsaid mission of protecting Hinata, given that awakening the Tenseigan left her both drained and a bit disoriented. At first she was able to hide this, but as the hours passed, her condition became more apparent.
"Hinata-hime?" Naruto asked.
Hinata turned his gaze at him, and smiled weakly. "Yes?"
"How do you feel?" Naruto asked, a little worried.
"I'm fine, Naruto-kun. Don't worry about me. Nori-san told me I'd take some time for my body to get used to this new power," Hinata reassured him.
"The sun will set soon. You'll be able to rest once we set up a camp for the night," Tenten reassured the Hyuga.
Hinata wasn't just talking about her eyes. Back when she was uncoscious, when checking her chakra network to see if she was okay, Neji realized that Hinata's chakra reserves had multiplied tenfold. Her chakra reserves were still a far cry from Naruto's, but even then her chakra pools were those of a strong jonin.
"Wonder if I'll have to go through all those chakra control exercises again," Hinata wondered. "Because having my reserves expanded so suddenly is going to have side effects."
"Hey, maybe you've now enough chakra to use Shadow Clones! Trust me, once you get a taste, you'll wonder how can you live without them," Naruto excidetly assured her. Hinata giggled in return.
"I have a question," Tenten interjected. "Can you still use the Byakugan? Given that your eyes look all different now."
"If the Uchihas can use both the normal Sharingan and the Mangekyo Sharingan at will, I don't see how this could be different," Naruto stated, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I would think the same, but the Tenseigan doesn't seem to be like the Sharingan or the Byakugan. It's permanently on," Tenten said, taking a closer look at Hinata's new eyes.
"That's a good question. Let me check," Hinata went through the same motions she did when she had her Byakugan. Her eyes briefly flashed blue. "Yes! The Byakugan's still there!"
"That's great!" Naruto cheered.
"Plus there's the bonus of those creepy veins not appearing at the sides of your eyes anymore," Tenten added. "And no offense to you, Neji or any of your clansmen, but whenever you guys use your Byakugan and those veins start to bulge...ewww!" the odango haired girl said, as she shivered.
"None taken," Hinata replied. "Though, I feel I can now expand my sight way beyond my previous limits. Let me try..."
And indeed, Hinata's Tenseigan now increased her range so much, it was almost unreal. Looking around, she could see the forests, small mountains, rivers, lakes, towns of the Land of Tea. Then, rather than area, she focused on range, and looked to the north, to see if she could see Konoha, despite being hundreds of kilometers away, though she was unable to reach that far. Even the Tenseigan had its limits.
As she expanded her sight, something caught her eye. Leaves and branches moving. Focusing on the disturbance, Hinata could see that there were people jumping from one tree to another. It was clear that they were ninjas, but their chakra was...off. Almost as if they weren't human, she couldn't tell from such a distance. But what was most worrying was that they were heading in their direction. They were walking into an ambush!
"Everybody, listen!" Hinata shouted, drawing everybody's attention. "There's a group of ninjas that are heading towards us from the north! While I'm not sure, I'd say they're enemies!"
"Really?" Neji asked, activating his Byakugan." I don't see anything."
"They're too far away yet, but they're heading in this direction. They'll be here in a few minutes," Hinata told them.
"What do we do? If we fight here, the acolytes might get hurt!" Tenten pointed out.
"Not to mention that their valuable scrolls might get damaged. You're right, Tenten, we need to get the fight far from them, but at the same time, make sure they're safe!" Gai stated.
Naruto bit his thumb, and started making hand seals. "Leave it to me, guys! Summoning Jutsu!"
Naruto slammed his hand into the ground, producing a large burst of smoke. Once the smoke dispelled, Naruto was standing on top of the same giant green toad he had summoned during the battle of the Crimson Citadel.
"Greeting, Naruto. What can I do for you?" Gamahiro asked.
"Gamahiro, I need you to take that cart, and all the guys dressed in white, and take them to Konoha as fast as you can. Can you do it?" Naruto asked, before realizing that he had to give him info about their situation. "We're in the Land of Tea, about two hundred kilometers to the south of Konoha."
"You can count on me, Naruto," Gamahiro said, as he grabbed the cart with his giant, webby hands as if it were a mere toy.
"Nori, get your people on top of Gamahiro! You'll be safe with him!" Naruto told her, before making a hand seal. Four clones popped into existence. "I'll also send four clones as additional escort just in case."
The acolytes were natually unsure about the idea of riding on a giant toad towards Konoha, but at the ninjas' insistence, they climbed on his back.
"What do I do if I'm under attack?" Gamahiro asked.
"Ignore them. Just focus on reaching Konoha with the acolytes and the cart of scrolls in one piece. My dad will know what to do next," Naruto instructed.
Gamahiro nodded. "Very well. Everybody, hold tight, we're leaving!"
And thus, the giant green toad disappeared into the sky with a mighty leap, accompained by the screams of terror of the acolytes that were on his back, and weren't expecting such a sudden takeoff. After a few seconds, Gamahiro landed with a thud a couple kilometeres to the north, before leaping into the sky again. The second time he landed, he was so far nobody bar Hinata could see him anymore.
"Summons can be useful for more than just fighting, you know?" Naruto said, clearly proud of his idea.
"Hinata, are those ninja still heading our way?" Gai asked.
Hinata nodded. "Yes. Gamahiro passed them, but they didn't pay him any attention."
"Good! That means that we can go all out without having to worry about harming the acolytes!" an exicted Lee stated.
"What should we do? Should we wait for them here, or should we go and meet them?" Haku asked.
"For the small chance that they may not be enemies, let them attack first.," Gai replied. "Naruto, Lee, with me. Haku, Tenten, move to the sides of the road each, and try to ambush them after they attack. Neji, Hinata, you'll cover our flanks and our backs!"
"Yes sir!" all ninja chorused in unison, as they moved to their respective positions.
As expected, the ninjas turned hostile, as both Neji and Hinata could see their chakra spiking up. They were getting ready to attack.
"Here they come!" Neji shouted.
A barrage of golden energy projectiles rained upon the group, forcing them to scatter while barely avoiding the incoming explosions. The group dispersed, the attackers revelaing themselves. They were wearing dark brown cloaks under black pants and black long shirts. Beside the hoods they were wearing, they also had their faces completely covered in bandages, making it impossible –for the non-Hyugas– to tell what they looked like, or how they were able to see in the first place. Their forearms and forelegs were also bandaged. They were wearing a dark blue headband with a yellow symbol of a crescent moon and a sun.
One of the attackers, whoever, had his eyes exposed. He was also wearing entirely black clothes. He appeared to be the leader of this group.
Soon the mysterious attackers and the Konoha ninjas engaged in close combat. While the former were much greater in number, the latter had more skill and power on their side. And the number parts wasn't going to last long.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto created a score of clones that quickly engaged the incoming enemies. However, the clones soon started to fall before the attackers' merciless skill.
"Damn, these guys are tough! My clones aren't even making a difference!" Naruto complained, as he made another group of clones to replace the ones he lost.
"What's with these people?" Neji asked, as he traded blows with two enemies. "My Byakugan can't see past these guys!"
"Mine can't, either," Hinata replied, as she struck her lightning-enhanced palm on the chest of one of those masked ninjas, to little effect. "And the Gentle Fist doesn't seem to do much damage."
"Then we'll use the strong fist!" Lee hotly exclaimed, as he delivered a flurry of punches and kicks to another of the ambushers. However, half his hits were parried, dodged or blocked, and the other half didn't make much effect on them either, other than pushing back.
"What village do these guys come from?" Tenten asked, noticing their headbands, as she cast a rain of explosive kunai upon a group of enemies. "Do you recognize that symbol?"
"Not at all!" Naruto shouted, as he dodged several of those weird golden energy blasts. "But then again, I don't know that many village symbols myself!"
"Wherever they come, they've been well trained!" Gai said, sending one of the enigmatic ninjas flying against a tree with a well delivered kick. "This is the kind of enemies I love to fight against! Those who give you a proper challenge, and a way to fan your flames of youth!"
"Yosh! You're so right, Gai-sensei! There's no point in taking pride in one's strength if one doesn't test that strength against worthy opponents!" Lee cheerfully agreed as resumed the fight with an even more vigor.
"That's fine, but should focus on finishing this mission rather than enjoing it," Haku replied a bit annoyed, while making several hand seals. "Ice Release: Certain Kill Ice Spears!"
Haku slammed both hands into the ground, and multiple giant spikes of ice emerged from below, impaling some of the mysterious attackers. However, despite the direct hit, they were still moving, and struggled to get rid of the ice spears.
"That one got his heart pierced by my ice attack, yet he acts as if it is a minor inconvenience...just what's with these guys, are they even human?" Haku thought.
"Watch out! More enemies incoming!" Neji warned.
Like the first wave, the new batch of enemies joined the fight by showering the Konoha ninjas with a rain of golden chakra blasts, fired with acute accuracy as to only hit their enemies and not their allies.
"Where are these guys coming from?" Neji asked, as he was on the verge of being overwhelmed. "Heavenly Spin!"
Neji turned into a spinning dome of chakra, succesfully repelling the attackers, but failing to do any lasting damage.
"Should we start opening the gates?" Tenten asked.
"Let's keep fighting. These guys must have some sort of weak point," Neji suggested, as he continued fighting.
What the Konoha ninjas didn't realize is that a good chunk of the second wave of enemies moved to attack Hinata, and little by little, isolated her from the rest of the group. Both Hinata, and of course Naruto were the first ones to notice this.
"Go help Hinata!" Naruto yelled, as he rushed towards her. "She's their target!"
However, before Naruto could help his girlfriend, the leader of the attackers landed in front of him, brandishing a sword made of the same golden chakra the strange ninjas used to attack.
"That was a bad move," Naruto darkly said, as he extended his hand, creating a Rasengan. He then rushed towards the masked ninja, and slammed the destructive sphere forward. "Rasengan!"
The enemy ninja used his golden chakra sword to parry Naruto's attack, and much to the blond's shock, it managed to resist the impact. The Rasengan exploded, and all that energy was pushed back, which in turn violently pushed Naruto into the same direction.
"Okay..." Naruto breathed out, as as he pulled out his own Wind Blade, producing a blade of flame-like white energy the moment he channeled his chakra through it. "Let's do it your way," Naruto said as he engaged the silent ninja in a swordfighting duel.
That meant that Hinata had to continue to struggle alone against the growing horde of enemies. Not helped by the fact that she was still lightheaded, and was having a hard time modling chakra due her sudden expansion of her chakra pool, leaving her mostly with taijutsu.
"I can't hold them like this much longer..." Hinata breathed, taking a step back with each hit she dodged or parried, despite knowing that's what the enemies wanted. "I need to push them back, maybe with a Vacuum Palm Wall or a Heavenly Thunderstorm..."
Suddenly, as if to answer Hinata's distressed call, the Hyuga heiress felt an alien but pleasant energy forming inside her gut, a power unlike anything she had felt in her life. Ignoring reason and going with a gut feeling, Hinata spread her arms, and unleashed the power building inside of her.
The air shimmered for a bit, before Hinata's body cast a powerful shockwave in every direction. The shockwave violently pushed the attackers away, some of them being painfully slammed against the nearby trees, producing a sickening crunch upon impact. However, the damage wasn't as bad as what it seemed, since they got back on their feet to keep fighting, even if some of them hobbled and had difficulty moving.
"What is this...?" the confused bluenette thought. "Is this...the power of the Six Paths...?"
"What did Hinata do?" Haku asked, after witnessing her powerful replusion wave.
"No idea, but it's a good thing she learned to do that," Tenten said. "Maybe is the power of those new eyes she has now?"
"If that's the case, let's hope she finds more hidden powers that can help us turn this fight around," Haku replied.
Naruto continued his fight against the lead enemy, trading blows, pushing back and forth, until his enemy made a mistake, delivering a swipe slower than intended. It wasn't a mistake big enough to capitalize unless you were an elite ninja. And fortunately for Naruto, he quickly took advantage of that. Moving aside, he delivered a swift vertical wipe that chopped off the hand holding the golden balde, followed by another quick strike to the neck, which separated his head from the rest of his body.
The ninja fell to the ground, motionless, while Naruto smirked in victory. The blond jinchuriki then noticed something strange. Despite cutting first his hand and then his head, there was no blood pouring from the severed zones. Inspecting the body and the head a little further, Naruto realized what was wrong with them
"The hell? This guy isn't even human!" Naruto exclaimed, much to everybody else's surprise. "It's some sort of...puppet!"
"What?" Gai asked in shock.
"That can't be right! There are no guys pulling strings on them, and they can use chakra!" Tenten protested, as she tried to hold back several of those mysterious beings.
"Well, whatever they are, they're not alive, and they're definitely not human!" Naruto exclaimed, as he joined his girlfriend in fighting the group that was surrounding her. "Try to destroy their heads! I managed to kill one of them by beheading him...it!"
With this new piece of information, the Konoha ninjas proceeded to adjust their tactics in dealing with them.
"I see. If they're not alive, then no wonder the Gentle Fist doesn't work with them. Even if they can somehow use chakra, nothing says that they must have a human chakra network," Neji inwardly realized. "If that's the case, then we're going to need a little more brute force..."
Neji jumped back a few times, putting some distance between his enemies and himself, distance they quickly tried to bridge. But that moment was all the Hyuga needed. He crossed his arms in front of his face.
"Gate of Opening: Open!"
Neji spreaded his arms outwards, releasing a powerful burst of chakra, as a faint green glow surrounded his body.
"So, it's okay for us to use the Gates now?" Tenten asked.
"In light of the new information, yes," Neji told her. His hands started to shimmer as he gathered copious amounts of chakra on them. "Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Exploding Strikes! Two strikes! Four strikes!" Neji's palm strikes produced powerful chakra explosions that made them impossible to block. Each strike managed to seriously damage, mutilate, or downright completely disable the alleged puppets. "Eight strikes! Sixteen Strikes!"
"It seems that with just one Gate opened, Neji is doing rather well against these enemies," Lee observed.
"Okay then, Lee, let's go!" Tenten said, as she and Lee proceeded to imitate their teammate. "Gate of Opening: Open!"
Tenten and Lee joined their teammate, and with the additional boost provided by the first Gate alone, they started to trash their enemies and turn the tide in their favor. The masked ninjas noticed this, however, and changed their strategy. Some of them jumped backwards, and formed a circle around the battle. In perfect synchronization, they formed a golden chakra sphere between their hands, but rather than toss it as soon as it appeared, the sphere kept expanding as they spread their hands. Once they reached the diameter of their arms completely spread, they tossed the energy balls forward at the same time.
"Impressive...NOT!" Gai laughed, as he grabbed two of the puppet ninjas by their necks, and tossed them against a giant energy ball each, forcing them to prematurely explode.
Naruto had the same idea, except he simply used several clones to absorb the impact. Neji, Lee and Tenten opted to dodge them, Haku retreated to one of his Demonic Ice Mirrors, while Hinata used her newly found kinetic powers to deflect a couple aside.
This time, the ninja puppets opted for a different tactic. Half of them generated more giant sized golden chakra spheres, while the other half bombared the group with rapid fire of smaller blasts. Naruto, however, rushed towards the puppet ninjas while quickly deflecting their incoming blasts with his Wind Blade. When he reached hand to hand combat, Naruto hacked the puppet to pieces, before moving to the next.
Their tactics overturned and their numbers decimated, the puppet ninjas opted to flee.
"Yeah, run away, you cowards! Next time, bring more of you, maybe that way you can be a little of a challenge!" Naruto shouted to the retreating foes.
"Naruto-kun, they're puppets. They aren't going to react to your taunts," Haku told the blond.
"I know. But it feels take that out of my chest, you know?" Naruto replied, with a foxy grin.
"Is everybody okay?" Gai asked. "If yes, then we should try and catch up with the giant toad, before more enemies show up."
"Alright!" everybody minus Hinata said in unison.
The Hyuga Heiress hadn't listened to Gai's command, and stared at the sky with an unreadable expression. The others took no time to notice this.
"Hinata-hime? Something's wrong?" Naruto asked.
"Somebody's coming," Hinata said. She raised her hand, pointing at an the night sky, illuminated by a half moon. "Somebody with a really powerful chakra."
"Yes...I'm seeing him too," Neji agreed. He tensed even more. "This chakra...Hinata-sama, his chakra is very similar to yours."
"What does that mean?" Naruto asked, not liking the sound of that.
Soon, even those without a Byakugan could see a figure standing on a golden floating platform with red railings was floating towards them. Once he was close enough, they could finally see who this mysterious individual was: an young man with soft facial features, shaggy white hair, and very pale skin. He was wearing a white, high-collared kimono with a black obi, with a pale green sash tied at the right shoulder. There were several black magatamas tattooed on his bare collarbone.
However, the man's most eye-catching features were his eyes. They were a pair of Tenseigan, just like Hinata's, except these ones glowed with a brighter gleam.
"Ah, the Byuakugan Princess. After so much time, it's great to finally see you in person. Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Toneri Otsutsuki," Toneri told Hinata, acting as if the rest of the group wasn't there.
"You have a Tenseigan too..." Hinata said in a whisper.
"Then that means that he must also have Six Paths Chakra, just like Hinata-sama," Neji observed. An enemy with such power was something not to be underestimated.
"Indeed. It's the power my family coveted. The power needed to destroy this corrupt world, and replace it with a better one," Toneri stated.
"Wait a minute, then you're the other Hamura-sama told me about! The one tainted by darkness!" Hinata said in realization, as she istinctively took a step back, closer to Naruto.
"Tainted by darkness?" he repeated. "Oh no, my dear Hinata. Is this world the one consumed by darkness. I am the light that shall purify it. And what did you say about Hamura-sama?"
"Hamura-sama talked to me when I awakened the Tenseigan. He warned me about another with the same eyes I possess," Hinata warily replied.
Toneri looked skeptical. "You said Hamura-sama appeared to you? Curious. I did not receive such a vision when I awakened my Tenseigan."
"It's the darkness of your heart that stopped him from reaching you," Hinata sharply replied.
"Hamura-sama is one of the most powerful beings who ever lived. Had such thing be true, he should have been able to reach me, darkness or not," Toneri insisted.
"Enough of that nonsense! What the hell do you want!?" Naruto shouted.
"A world of peace and justice, in which nobody has to suffer senselessly," was Toneri's reply, leaving Naruto a little flabbergasted. "But I presume you were expecting a more short term answer. That would be to take Hinata from this withering world, so she can take her rightful place in the next one."
"WHAT!?" Naruto asked, outraged, as he defensively stood between Hinata and Toneri.
"Hinata is the prophesied Byakugan Princess, a direct descendant of Hamura's eldest daughter, with a kind sould and an emphatic heart, that will lead the Otsutsuki clan to a new golden age," Toneri explained. Hinata felt a chill running down her spine. Those were the very same words Hamura had used. "That's why you must come with me. It's your destiny to join me in creating a new world devoid of wars, greed and misery, and a new lineage that will rule it once we're no longer here."
"Yeah, I don't see that happening anytime soon," Naruto coldly deadpanned. "Nor at all."
"Watch your mouth, jinchuriki. You have no idea who you're talking to," Toneri warned, his tone just as cold. "I wasn't talking to you, but to Hinata. What do you say?"
"Do you really need to ask?" Hinata incredulously replied. "I'm not going to leave my family and friends to join some stranger, much less one who wants to destroy this world!"
Toneri let out a sigh, and looked downwards. "I knew this would happen. You remained in this world too long, and thus you fell victim to its inherent corruption. That's why I arranged you to be brought to me when you were three years old."
"When I was three years old...?" Hinata repeated.
"The kidnapping by those Kumo ninjas! You were behind them!" Neji exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at him.
"Yes, it was me. But that's irrelevant now. Oh well, I believe it's not too late yet. You will see the light, even if I have to open your eyes by force," Toneri darkly said, as he made a hand motion.
His floating paltform elevated into the air, as another horde of puppet ninjas appeared out of nowhere, leaping into mid air, as they summoned golden chakra orbs between their cupped hands. Another rain of fire awaited the Konoha ninjas, who took no time to scatter. Naruto, however, made the hand seal of his favored technique.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Another multitude of Naruto clones appeared from thin air. A good chunk of them were instantly destroyed by the initial barrage, but those who survived quickly went to engage the puppet ninjas. All but one of them.
"I bet he's the one controlling these puppets, somehow," Naruto guessed, as the clone grabbed him by an arm and started to spin. "So if I take him out, his puppets will go down with him!"
After building enough momentum, the clone launched Naruto towards the white haired man in the sky. As Naruto flew like a missile towards him, he extended both hands, a Rasengan forming in each one of them. In a few seconds, he would be in range to attack.
"You're dead! Double Ra-!"
Toneri merely raised an open hand against him, and Naruto was hit by an extremely powerful kinetic blast, that not only negated all his momentum, but sent him flying backwards, falling several hundred meters behind them, among a bunch of trees.
"NARUTO-KUN!" Hinata shouted in horror, before she turned her eyes at Toneri, casting him a bone chilling glare. "You will pay for hurting him."
"Somehow, I find that unlikely," Toneri replied, as he jumped off his floating paltform, and slowly descended, as if he could somehow control the speed of his fall. "Now, you have to come with me, Hinata."
"Never!" Hinata replied, mimicking Toneri's earlier movement, and blasting him with a telekinetic push.
Like with Naruto, Toneri was hurled backwards, but Toneri was able to resist the hit, and remained still in mid-air.
"You may have the same eyes as I do, but not only mine are more developed, but my skill with them is far superior to yours," Toneri boasted, though his voice remained calm. "If you come with me, I can teach you how to use the power you now possess. Just imagine what we could do if we joined our forces."
"Sorry, but Hinata-sama said NO!" Neji's voice was heard, as Toneri was slammed by a white and brown blur, hurling him crashing against the ground. The Branch House Hyuga landed beside Hinata, and quickly went to check her. "Hinata-sama, are you okay?"
"Y-Yes. Thank you, nii-san," Hinata replied. "That was a good hit, but I doubt it was enough to put him out of commission."
"Yes, I thought as much," Neji said, as he turned around.
Like Hinata said, Toneri got back on his feet, and floated a few meters above the ground.
"You're fast, Hyuga. Even with my Tenseigan, I was unable to see you coming in time for me to react," Neji said, as he shook the dust from his robe. "However, you won't be able to land a hit like that a second time."
Neji smirked in return. "Is that a challenge? Gate of Life, open!"
As the third Gate opened, Neji's green aura glowed even brighter, and a powerful wind started to blow from his body in all directions. The Hyuga prodigy then vanished. However, the moment he did that, Toneri raised another palm, and blasted Neji backwards with another telekinetic shockwave, when the Hyuga was centimeters away from hitting him.
"That was close, I have to admit," Toneri smugly replied. "But my words were true. Now, Hinata, take a good look at the power of the Tenseigan."
Toneri clapped his hands together. The ground below their feet started to rumble, of huge chunks of earth were pulled upwards, floating around the last Otsutsuki in a surreal manner, Once he decided he had anough ammunition, his hands formed a hand seal, and the chunks of earth and rock fell towards the two Hyugas, though mostly towards Neji. Rather than dodge them, the two Hyugas met the incoming rain of giant rocks.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Palm!"
With a strike of her lightning enhanced palms, Hinata shattered a large rock into a multitude of tiny pebbles.
"Eight Trigrams: Mountain Crusher!"
Neji thrust both palms forwards, releasing a destructive vacuum wave that also shattered a couple rocks headed towards him into small shards, but the force of the attack also pushed those shards back to Toneri. With a dimissive hand wave, Toneri deflected the incoming shards sideways.
"Not bad. Let's see how do you do against this," Toneri stated, making another hand seal. A few rocks floating around him instantly shattered into tiny, sharp pebbles. The pebbles started to spin in a circle around the area Neji and Hinata were in. "Let's see how well you do against an attack that comes from every direction."
Toneri closed his hand into a fist, and the spinning pebbles rained upon the two Hyugas. They nodded to each other.
"Heavenly Spin!"
The Hyuga cousins turned into a spinning blue chakra dome each, easily deflecting the rain of the stone bullets.
"Impressive," Toneri conceded, sounding strangly pleased. "Besides your beauty, you're also really strong, Hinata. You'll make a great wife."
"I know. I won't be your wife, though," Hinata said, panting. Then, she suddenly fell on her knees, clutched her head, and started screamed. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
"Hinata-sama!" Neji panicked, and grabbed her by her shoulder. She shot Toneri a murderous glare. "What did you do to her?"
"Nothing," the Otsutsuki nonchalantly replied. "Those migraines are a side effect of the Tenseigan developing. They will stop once it reaches full maturity. Anyway, I think I wasted enough time as it is."
Toneri raised her hand, and Hinata was telekinetically pulled towards him.
"I won't let you!" Neji shouted, as he blitzed towards the white haired man.
But Toneri already predicted this, and had already raised his other hand to blast Neji backwards with a telekinetic pulse.
"You think you can keep me away from my bride?" Toneri asked. His politeness was replaced by condescension. "For somebody with these eyes, you're nothing but ants. Let Hinata be where she clearly belong."
"Manipulated Tools: Rain of Fire!"
Multiple kunai rained upon Toneri, who forced him to release Hinata in order to evade them. But much to his shock, he realized that the kunai had explosive notes attached to them.
"Disappear!" Tenten said, as she triggered all the explosives at once.
Using a kinetic blast, Toneri launched himself into the air, barely avoiding the chain of explosions that, even if they wouldn't have killed him, would have left serious injuries.
Toneri panted, seeing how close he was of getting caught in that ambush. "That was close...huh?"
"KONOHA WHIRLWIND!"
Two green blurs appeared besides Toneri, both delivering a powerful kick to his face. Toneri's reflexes, however, were fast enough to let him see Gai and Lee's double teaming him, and raised his arms to block the attacks. Even then, the kicks packed so much power, he felt they left his arms on the verge of breaking.
"Don't dare to touch me!" Toneri yelled, as he blasted Gai and Lee away with a repulsive shockwave.
"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"
A loud, high pitched whirring noise alerted the Otsutsuki of a chakra shuriken flying towards him. He didn't need the Tenseigan to know that if he let that jutsu hit him, he would be as good as gone. Raising his hands, he projected the most powerful telekinetic wave he could muster, but much to his shock, while he was able to stop the shuriken's from going forward, he was unable to push it backwards, until it finally burst into a massive wind explosion, which hurled the Otsutsuki backwards, tumbling towards the ground.
"What!? What kind of power is that? With these eyes, there's nothing that could be able to challenge me!" Toneri angrily thought, as he hit the ground.
"You won't be able to stop the next one," a voice Toneri recongized said, as the same infernal high pitched whir drilled his ears.
As he got back on his feet, Toneri saw that Naruto was back. For a reason he failed to grasp, his chakra had become incredibly more potent. He also noticed that his previously blue eyes were now yellow, and had some orange pigmentation around them. Naruto and a clone were now forming another of those destructive chakra shuriken.
"It seems these people are far stronger than they let on. With my undeveloped Tenseigan, my chances are low," Toneri regretfully thought. "You're really strong, Naruto. No wonder Obito-sama failed to capture you so far."
"Obito-sama...? Are you with Akatsuki?" Naruto asked, as he prepared his Rasenshuriken. Suddenly, a realization dawned upon him. "Wait a minute...!"
That moment of distraction was all what Toneri needed. Quickly raising his hands, he send another kinetic pulse that knocked the Konoha ninja on their backs. Wasting no second, he turned around, and flew towards his platform, still floating high in the air. Once he reached it, he flew away, disappearing into the night of the sky.
As everybody got on their back, they looked around to see if the enemies have truly fled, and were they now safe. Relatively speaking.
"Just...what was all that about?" a slightly confused Tenten asked.
"Guys...I think I have an idea of what's going on..." Naruto replied.
Author's Note: So yeah, Hinata finally awakened the Tenseigan, but you probably deduced that already from the way the previous chapter ended. If you're disappointed in that Hinata only got some telekinesis out of the whole ordeal, don't fret. Hinata's Tenseigan powers will start out small, but will gradually develop as the story progresses. After all, it's not that Sasuke was able to create Perfect Susanoo right after awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, right?
The same thing goes for Toneri. You'll probably noticed that he's weaker than he was in The Last. But just like Hinata, he will reach the level of power he had in The Last in due time. Otherwise, well, he would be able to wipe out Konoha all by himself with little effort.
Thanks a lot to my new beta, Grimlock987, for betareading this chapter.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, with more action and less plot development. The next chapter will be the end of this arc. Let's say that there's going to be quite the big changes within the Hyuga Clan, hehe. And while you wait, give your thoughts on this chapter in a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!