Author's Note: Okay, while the Root Arc DOES come next, this chapter doesn't delve into it already. It was the next chapter when such arc will begin. Sorry for playing with your expectations, and hope you enjoy the chapter nevertheless:
Chapter 76:
Recovery
or
Old and New Arrivals
Akatsuki Lair, Undisclosed Location
Roshi's still living body laid unconscious on the hard stone floor of an underground cave. Eight figures watched him, six of which were mere shadowy projections.
"The jinchuriki of the Four Tails has fallen to Akatsuki," Pain declared. "Good job on your first successful capture."
"You honor me with such kind words, Pain-sama," Toneri replied, bowing a little. "I already assured you that I would be an excellent asset for Akatsuki."
"Yes, you proved to be useful," Konan added, though her tone revealed some unplesantness. "Come on, we need to seal the beast immediately."
"If I may," Obito interjected. "Before we begin, however, there's something you need to know: Zetsu here has finally located the hideout of the jinchuriki of the Eight Tails."
"Yes. The jinchuriki has been moved to a place called Valley of Clouds and Lightning," the white half of Zetsu stated. "It's a place deep within the Land of Lightning, and its multiple mountains make it hard to traverse."
"Of course, no natural formation is obstacle for our abilities," the black half boasted.
"The jinchuriki has minimal escort, probably in an effort not to draw unwanted attention, so snatching him shouldn't be that hard," the white half helpfully added.
"Very well then. In that case, he needs to be captured immediately," Pain said with a nod. "Deidara, I believe that due your flight capabilities, you're the best suited to traverse such strenous terrain. Take Kisame with you."
"Understood, sir. That man won't stand a chance against my art, hn!" Deidara shouted.
"While I'm not one who turns down a chance for some action, shouldn't we help you to seal this one first?" Kisame questioned. "With just six doing the sealing it will take quite some time."
Pain shook his head. "Capturing the jinchuriki is the hardest part of our mission, that's why we need to collect them as soon as possible," Pain explained. "Once they're in our grasp, the sealing won't be a problem, since no Village has found out any of our hidden lairs."
"Besides, I'm sure we will be done with the sealing already once you two return with the Eight Tails," Konan added.
"Alright then," Kisame said with a nod, before he and Deidara's projections disappeared.
"Now that that's out of the way, let's begin," Pain declared. "Summoning Jutsu: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"
…
Konoha Hospital, a few days later after Roshi's abduction
"So, how is he?" a male voice asked. "Any progress?"
"He's still stable, Hokage-sama," the medic-nin told Jiraiya. "Though even if your son is out of danger for the time being, I can't tell when is he going to wake up."
"Thank you, doctor," Tsunade said.
"I'll leave you alone," the medic-nin said, leaving the unconscious white haired kid with his family.
"Our poor son," Jiraiya said, as he ran a finger through Hagane's bandaged face. "I swear that I will make whoever did this to you pay tenfold."
Hagane's survival was a miracle. From what Tenzo could tell, the boy had been gathering as much as nature energy as he could while he ran away from Toneri using his Bloodline Limit, and jumped away the moment he sensed Toneri was about to fire. However, even if he was able to avoid the initial blast, he was caught by the ensuing chain of explosions. If it wasn't for all that nature energy strengthening his body, Hagane would have died then and there.
Naruto managed to keep the boy alive with his rudimentary knowledge of medical ninjutsu, as well as giving him regular chakra transfusions. The only silver lining was that the Akatsuki ambush had happened in the Land of Fire, not far away from Konoha, and they were able to get back home in just a couple days.
Naturally, Naruto had taken this as good as anybody would expect. Losing yet another jinchuriki to Akatsuki had been a huge blow to his morale, and Hagane's status didn't make it any better. During the first two days, all the blond did was sit besides the kid's bed, completely silent, never answering all those who wanted to talk to him, either being his parents, Kaida, Shizune, or even Hinata. If he was deliberatdly ignoring them, or his depression sunk him into some sort of trance, nobody could tell.
It was during the third day that Naruto broke his silence.
"Hagane's like this because of me," Naruto whispered.
Which was a big mistake, given that among those present in the room was Tsunade. She immediately turned around, and shot Naruto a stare full of anger.
"Oh no, you won't!" Tsunade said as she stomped towards the blond. "You aren't going to take the blame for this, you hear me!? Whatever happened to your brother was tragic, but it's not your fault!"
"In fact, I'd say it was thanks to you that brother is still alive," the other person present in the room, Kaida, added.
Tsunade then groaned, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Naruto, we already went through this with the Utakata fiasco. Why do you always feel the need to think that anything that goes wrong during a mission is your fault? I'm not saying that you shouldn't feel bad for what happened, but don't think for a second that it's your fault! You weren't even the squad leader!"
"I'm his older brother. I had to protect him," Naruto said.
"No, Naruto, Hagane doesn't need you to watch over him," Tsunade had stated. "Young as he is, he's a Chunin, who got –earned– the rank when you earned yours.."
"But-"
"No buts!" Tsunade interrupted him. She then grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him towards the door.
"Hey, what the hell? Mom!" Naruto protested as he tried to push back.
"You've been here for too long! Do you think Hagane will wake up faster just because you're here? Get some fresh air already! Go visit your girlfriend!" Tsunade said, as she finally pushed him out of the room. "And we're in a goddamned hospital, so cut down the yelling!" Tsunade yelled, before slamming the door shut.
Naruto sighed, lacking the energy to fight her. Not eating anything in two days and not barely moving from a chair won't do anything good to your body. However, another part of him told him that his mother was right.
He remembered when Hinata visisted Hagane, and tried to talk to him. But Naruto was so depressed, he barely registered her presence there. Reflecting on that, that wasn't something a good boyfriend should do.
"I better apologize to her," Naruto said, as he started walking. "Maybe I should buy her some cinnamon rolls just in case..."
…
"How are you feeling today?" a male voice asked.
"Better," another male voice replied. "Today I could finally eat without wanting to throw up immediately afterward."
"Just try to take it easy, Itachi," a woman advised. "That poison was a really nasty thing. You're lucky to be alive."
Turns out, Hagane wasn't the only one who had to be hospitalized upon arriving to Konoha. The leader of the operation himself, Itachi Uchiha, also needed urgent medical intervention. While the antidote provided by Anko had proved to work at first, the poison's symptoms started to show the day after the battle's conclusion.
Apparently, the Marble Needle snakes had improved their poison since Anko got that antidote, which now only served to slow down the damage caused to the body. Once again, it was thanks to Naruto's knowledge on medical ninjutsu that managed to keep the Uchiha alive until an actual medic could heal him.
And even if the poison was now out of his body, the effects would take some time to disappear, meaning that, for the next couple weeks at the very least, Itachi would have to spend his time locked inside a hospital room.
"Don't worry, brother," Sasuke began. "I swear that Orochimaru will pay for doing this. All of the Akatsuki will pay. It's because of them that most of our clan is dead."
"Sasuke-kun..." Shizune softly chided.
"Sasuke, no," Itachi said, shaking his head. "While Akatsuki needs to go down, you can't let feelings of revenge to guide your actions."
"You almost died, Itachi," Sasuke pointed out, a scowl developing on his face. "Aren't you angry? No, wait, let me rephrase that. Had Akatsuki threatened to kill me, wouldn't that make you angry?"
"Indeed it would have," Itachi admitted. "But I would have at least tried to keep my anger in check. Remember, Sasuke, our clan met its downfall because they act upon their feelings and cast reason aside."
"Tch, wahetever," Sasuke scoffed, looking aside. "If you're in the mood for lecturing me, your health must be getting better. I'm going to train. Sooner or later, Akatsuki will come here to get their hands on Naruto and Fu."
And with that, Sasuke left.
"Little brother..." Itachi said after Sasuke had left.
"While not as bad as Naruto-kun, this Akatsuki debacle is taking a toll on Sasuke-kun as well," Shizune said, shaking her head. "Keeping that anger of his under control is such an exhausting task..."
"I understand you. And I deeply appreciate all what you've been doing for him," Itachi reassured the medic-nin. "Akatsuki is like a wound that never fully healed. Worse, every time Akatsuki wins, it's like rubbing salt into the wound. And I'm afraid of what Sasuke might end up doing if he ends up losing a loved one at their hands."
"Sasuke-kun knows the possibility. We're ninjas, after all. Death always follows us wherever we go," Shizune said in a mildly admonishing tone.
"Sasuke knows that way too well. He was surrounded by death long before he even became a ninja," Itachi reminded Shizune.
There was a moment of silence between the two of them. Shizune walked towards the window, and gazed at the village, or at least the past that could be seen from there.
"Sasuke did bring a good point," Itachi said, changing the topic. "Akatsuki now has, at the very least, six Tailed Beast in their possession. Only three remain. One of them is hidden in the Land of Ligtning, while the other two are here. While it's not their modus operandi, Akatsuki already invaded a village before in order to capture a jinchuriki, not to mention how many times Obito and Orochimaru had attacked Konoha. Whatever they plan to do to capture Naruto and Fu... we won't like it."
After a few seconds of staring through the window, Shizune turned around. A determined look appeared on her face.
"Well, they'll like our welcoming party even less!" the black haired woman said. "Akatsuki isn't invicible, we have defeated them in the past. They might have won the last few battles, but the war isn't over."
Itachi couldn't help but chuckle at Shizune's enhusiasm. "Glad to see that you're not intimidated by such prospect," the Uchiha said.
"Of course not! As Jiraiya-sama said, a ninja is one who endures," Shizune stated. "And we Konoha ninjas have endured more than most. Whatever Akatsuki plans, we'll be ready for it, especially now that we know about all its members."
"If our ninjas had half the determination and resolution you have, I'm sure of it," Itachi said, smiling gently at Shizune. "Shizune, take care of Sasuke, since I won't be able to do it for the time being."
Shizune nodded. "You don't even need to ask.
…
Torture and Interrogation Department
Despite the failure to stop Akatsuki and the number of injured, Itachi's squad hadn't returned home empty handed. Anko was able to subdue and capture Hebimaru, and thanks to her snakes' paralytic poison, she was able to bring him to Konoha in order to be interrogated.
Right now, the purplette was watching through a one way mirror how a Yamanaka ninja scanned his mind. A broad shouldered man wearing a dark trenchcoat with his face marred by two huge scars walked towards her.
"Any progress?" the man asked.
Anko shook her head. "Very little for the time being, Ibiki," the Snake Mistress replied. "It seems that his skull was carved with seals that act as barriers against mind scanning or mind manipulation. If we get any cooperation at all, we will have to beat it out of him."
"Understandable," the scarred man said. "Orochimaru had no trouble leaving him behind. If he possessed information that we could use against that bastard, at the very least he would have tried to kill his underling."
"As much as pains me to talk positively about my former sensei, he's a very methodical man who rarely leaves loose ends," Anko hissed.
"Even then, Orochimaru is still a man, and every man makes mistakes," Ibiki stated. "This might have been one of them."
"Yes, there might be the case," Anko stated. "While this man doesn't appear to take Orochimaru's betrayal as such, I saw the way his twin sister reacted. Even if we can't get any useful information out of him, we might be able to use him to turn the girl against her master."
"That would be nice. We never had any kind of leverage against him. This might be the first truly important minion of Orochimaru we got our hands onto," Ibiki stated. "Speaking of which, how are your brats? I heard they returned from the mission in a pretty bad shape."
"You heard right," Anko said. "However, they weren't as bad as others. They didn't even need to be a whole day in the hospital before being discharged. While they got some pretty bad wounds, there was nothing that would leave any kind of permanent effect. "
Ibiki couldn't repress a smile. "Is that relief I hear in your voice, Anko? It almost look like you care about those brats."
Anko turned at Ibiki, and frowned. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Just because I'm kind of a sadist, doesn't mean I don't care about a lot of people, you know!"
"Kind of?" Ibiki laughed. "And I wasn't talking about that. Those brats used to work for Orochimaru. I thought you hated everybody related to that traitor."
"I thought that too," Anko admitted. "But the more I got to know those kids, the more I realized they really didn't know what they were getting themselves into. Thankfully, seeing Orochimaru abandon one of his minions made them realize that joining Konoha was the smart thing to do. They were almost like..." Anko left the sentence unfinished.
"Come on, say it," Ibiki prodded.
"They remind me of how I used to be, and how I used to see Orochimaru," Anko finally said. "And I swore I'd never let them end the same way I did."
"Give yourself some credit. I think you turned out pretty well," Ibiki complimented. "Though don't get yourself too attached to those brats. We don't want any softie working here."
"Who the hell are you calling a softie, Ibiki!?" an outraged Anko angrily asked, as she stomped towards the interrogation room Hebimaru was in. "Alright, get that Yamanaka out of there! Once I'm done with that fucker, he'll beg me to kill him!"
…
Hyuga Estate
After buying a bag of the best cinnamon rolls he could find in Konoha, Naruto headed towards his girlfriend's house. He was hoping that Hinata wouldn't be too mad at him, and that the sweet treats would do the trick. Then again, he never remmembered Hinata being truly mad at him, ever. Even if they sometimes had arguments just like any other couple, they usually solved them in a civilized manner.
"Even then, bringing this won't hurt," Naruto told to himself, as he finally reached the door.
There were a couple of guards guarding the entrance to the compound as usual. What wasn't usual, however, was that these men belonged to the Main House, given that their exposed foreheads lacked the much hated Caged Bird Seal.
"Guess this is the result of Hinata's equality policies," Naruto thought, as he mentally shrugged.
"Hello there, Naruto-san," one of the Hyuga guards brightly greeted him, confusing Naruto even more. Why a Main House member would be so happy if he was doing a job that used to be part of the Branch House's duties? "Are you here to see Hinata-sama?"
"Yeah," Naruto replied with a nod. "Uh... do you know if she's too angry with me? Last time she talked to me, I was kind of a jerk to her."
"Ah, yes, we heard about that," the other guard said, albeit he didn't sound dispproving. "However, Hinata-sama was aware of the circumstances surrounding your mood back then, and doesn't blame you for your reaction. She decided that giving you space was the best course of action, and that you'd come back to her once the moment was right. And given that you're here now, guess that she made the right choice."
"Hinata-sama is in the outdoor training ground, sparring with Hanabi-sama," the first guard told Naruto.
"Alright, thanks a lot!" Naruto said.
The blond was a bit relieved to hear that. There was the chance that those guards would be playing a prank of him and Hinata was actually beyond furious, but he pushed the idea aside. Naruto has always been welcome among the Hyuga, and they treated him with nothing but politeness and respect.
"Oh look, Naruto-san is here!"
"Welcome, Naruto-san!"
"Came to see Hinata-sama? She will be happy to see you!"
As he walked across the compound, he was warmly greeted by more Hyugas, all of them Main House, if their naked foreheads were of any indication, and all of them in an exceptionally good mood.
"Weird. Just what happened to make these guys so happy?" Naruto inwardly wondered. "And now that I think about it... I only saw Main House members. What happened to the Branch House?"
"Hello, Naruto, are you here to see Hinata-sama?" a familiar voice said, one that sounded far more stoic than the average Hyuga. "She will be happy to see you. She has been quite worried about you these past days."
"Oh, hey, Neji!" Naruto happily greeted Hinata's cousin. "Say, can you tell me what's going on? Why is everybody so happy?"
In an incredibly rare display, Neji smiled at Naruto. While the smile was genuine and warm, it was also a bit mischevious.
"Are you saying you can't tell?" the Hyuga prodigy stated, almost chuckling. "Come on, look a bit closer."
It didn't take too long for Naruto to notice what Neji was talking about. He realized that, unlike the other times he saw Neji, the Hyuga wasn't wearing his forehead protector, leaving his forehead bare. However, the Caged Bird Seal was nowhere to be seen.
"Whoa! The seal! It's gone!" Naruto shouted, pointing at Neji's forehead with a shaky finger.
"Indeed it is," Neji confirmed with a nod. "And good riddance. This marks a new era for the Hyuga Clan."
"Wait, all those happy Hyugas I saw on my way here... they were Branch House members?" Naruto asked.
Neji nodded once again. "Former Branch House members," Neji punctualized. "The clan division is no more. All of us are equals nows, thanks to Hinata-sama."
"Hinata... did this?" Naruto asked, his shock only growing. "How?"
"Why don't you ask her?" Neji replied. "She's sparring with her sister in the backyard training ground."
And indeed, true to Neji's words, Hinata was saprring with Hanabi in the outdoor dojo, under the watch of some Hyuga and a couple of Moon Acolytes. Naturally, Hinata's Tenseigan registered Naruto's presence the moment the blond entered her field of vision.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata happily chirped, before a Gentle Fist to the abdomen nearly made her fall. "OUCH! Hanabi-chan, what are you doing?"
"Hey, just because your boyfriend is here doesn't mean that the spar is over," Hanabi said, showing a cheeky smile. "You can't afford those kind of distractions in a real battle!"
Hinata merely rolled her eyes.
"Okay, okay, I get it," Hanabi replied, before she turned around. "Everybody, move! I bet Hinata-neechan wants some alone time with her boyfriend!"
A pink blush developed on Hinata's cheeks. "Do you have to word it that way? You make it sound as if Naruto-kun and I are going to do it here."
"You aren't?" Hanabi asked, feigning innocence. "Kidding, kidding! We're leaving."
After a couple minutes, the outdoor dojo was completely vacant save for the two members of Kurenai's Assault Squad. They decided to sit in one of the benches surrounding the training area.
"I'm glad to see you, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, as she moved her face closer to Naruto's in order to kiss him, a kiss Naruto happily welcomed. "And... are those cinnamon rolls I see?"
"Heh, there's no way to keep a surprise for you with those eyes," Naruto chuckled, as he handed the bag with the baked goods to Hinata, who was practically drooling. "Consider them my apology gift."
"Apology?" Hinata asked, before shaking her head. "There's nothing to apologize for, Naruto-kun. Hanabi-chan told me how the mission turned out, and your resulting mood was understandable. Though I admit, I'm glad you feel better now."
"It took mom to literally kick me out of the hospital, but yeah, I'm a bit better now. It helps that Hagane is going to be okay, even if we don't know when is he going to wake up," Naruto told her. "So, how about you? Are you any better? I see you're no longer using a crutch."
Hinata smiled brightly. "Both Haku-kun and I recovered fully shortly before your return to Konoha. The next mission, we will be there for you."
"That's great to hear. Let's hope Kurenai-sensei gives birth soon so the whole squad can be reunited again," Naruto said, smiling back. "By the way, I wanted to ask, what happened to the cursed seals of the Branch House members? Neji told me you found a way to undo them."
Hinata's smile grew even wider. "Yes. It took some time, effort and a lot of trial and error, but I found a way around it."
Before Naruto could ask how, Hinata waved her hand, creating a single Truth Seeking Ball.
"Truth Seeking Balls contain Yin-Yang release, which nullify ninjutsu. That got me thinking if it could nullify fuinjutsu as well. After some testing, I managed to successfully turn an explosive tag into a mere piece of paper without destroying it. Then, I made my first test on Neji-niisan, who volunteered to be the first human test, when he heard what I was trying to do. It worked perfectly, and after a few days, I managed to remove every single Caged Bird Seal. There's nothing now that makes any Hyuga better or superior to another. The clan is finally unified."
"That's awesome. I knew that one day you'll change your clan for the better," Naruto replied, smiling earnestly.
Hinata smiled and giggled in return, before her expression turned a little more serious.
"Well... I can't help but feel that all of this is possible because of the Tenseigan," Hinata reflected. "I mean, I was able to enforce this new policies thanks to my new power, and removed the Caged Bird Seal with the Truth Seeking Balls that came with it. What if I didn't have any of those?"
Naruto chuckled. "You know, mom always gets mad when I bring up possible fatalist scenarios. Now I understand why," the blond said with a chuckle. "Obvously, you wouldn't have been able to do all of these. But think about this: you were given a great power, and rather than using it to your own benefit, you used it to make the lives of your clansmen better. Not to mention that you also shared part of that power with your little sister."
Hinata rubbed her arm, her cheeks turned a shade of pink at the receiving praise. "Well... that's what I always wanted to do..."
"That's what I mean," Naruto replied. "You should focus on how much you're helping with your power, not how you'd be able to help if you didn't have it."
Hinata nodded. "I guess you are right."
"Heh, talking with you made me understand a little how the others feel when I get all mopey," Naruto replied.
"Nobody said that you have no right to feel sad when bad things happen, Naruto-kun," Hinata gently reminded.
"But excessively pondering over potential scenarios isn't healthy either," Naruto replied. "Anyway, how have you been doing since I was out?"
Hinata stood up, and did a little spin around her feet.
"As you can see, I'm completely recovered," Hinata said. "And now I'm resuming my training. Hanabi and I are trying to reach the second level of the Tenseigan Chakra Cloak."
Naruto nodded. While he didn't see it personally, Kaida and Hanabi told the others how Toneri had gotten back from the brink with a stronger Tenseigan Cloak, which not only made his jutsu more powerful, but allowed him to summon up to four Truth Seeking Balls. It was natural that Hinata and Hanabi wanted to catch up, not just for their sakes, but for everybody else's.
"I just remembered something," Naruto said. "When Hagane apparently defeated Toneri, he had managed to somehow bypass the Truth Seeking Balls' ability to nullify ninjutsu with his Rasengan."
"Yes, Hanabi told me that already," Hinata replied. "Turns out the Truth Seeking Ball isn't all that infallible as we thought."
"Hagane thought that every jutsu had a weakness, and it seems that he was right," Naruto continued. "And given that both you and your sister can produce Truth Seeking Balls, maybe we could try to figure out what he did? Since we can't ask Hagane, and I don't want a Yamanaka to scan his mind just for that."
"Of course," Hinata said with a nod. "We can start now if you-"
"HELLOOOOOOOOOOO!" a cheerful but extremely loud voice boomed from above. A white, tan and green blur crashed into the dojo like a meteor, producing a loud thud, and leaving some cracks in the landing zone. "Fu is here! Ready for your flight lessons?"
"Oh..." Hinata said, a little dejcted. "I forgot that I already had appointments."
"Hey, don't worry, we can do that any other time," Naruto said. "Hey, Fu."
"Naruto! Good to see you back on your feet!" the bubbly girl said as he rushed to the blond and gave him a bone crushing bear hug. "Are you feeling any better?"
"Ack..." the blond croacked in pain, before Fu released his loving embrace of pain. "Y-Yeah, I was in a kind of a funk, but I'm better now."
"Good to hear it! Though, I'm very sorry for what happened to your brother," Fu said, gently patting Naruto in the shoulder. "But from what I heard, he's going to be okay, right?"
"He's out of danger, yes," Naruto replied. "We're hoping he can fully recover soon."
"Great," Fu said, before turning at Hinata. "Your sister isn't coming?"
"Oh, yes! She must not have seen you," Hinata deduced, before leaving the two jinchuriki alone in the dojo. "I'll go fetch her."
While Hinata went to look for her sister, Naruto continued to engage Fu in a small talk. It's been quite some time since he and the fellow jinchuriki spend some time together.
"So, are you getting used to Konoha?" Naruto asked. "I know it'd took me a while to adapt living in another village."
"I won't deny I do miss Taki," the tall girl said, her mouth curved into a melancholic smile. "But Konoha is pretty cool. Though I'm still getting used how big Konoha is. I could fly from one end of Taki to another in less than five minutes, while it takes me almost four times as much to do the same with Konoha."
"Hey, we're a great village for a reason, hehe," Naruto said, grinning as he placed his hands behind his head. "Where are you living, by the way?"
"Shino was kind enough to offer me stay in his Clan's compound," Fu said. "It's prety big and have plenty of room to spare. His clansmen are rather quiet and stoic, but very kind people when you get to know them."
"You and Shino are already living together?" Naruto asked. "Wow, you're surely taking things fast!"
Fu put her hands on her hips as she narrowed her eyes at Naruto. "Hey! It's not that we're sleeping together or anything!" the green haired girl protested. "We simply want to enjoy an opportunity to spend quality time before I return home. Long distance relationships are kind of hard. Not all of us are lucky enough to find love in the same village."
"Hey, don't worry, I was just making an observation," Naruto said, rasing his hands in a defensive manner. "Even if you were sleeping together, I wouldn't judge you."
"Though now that you mention it... I wonder if Shino will be ready to take our relationship to the next level," Fu started to wonder, as she rested her chin on her hand.
"We're back!" Hinata announced, as she and Hanabi returned to the dojo.
"Come on, let's begin!" Hanabi impatiently said.
"Sure thing," Fu said. "Anyway, we'll have to catch up later, Naruto. Being a sensei keeps me quite occupied, hehe."
"Again, sorry that I wasn't able to spend more time with you, Naruto-kun," Hinata apologized, bowing slightly.
"Hey, it's okay. There will be more time to hang out, especially now that you're back in shape," Naruto reassured.
The three girls took off into the sky, while Naruto left the dojo by feet.
"By the way, what were you and Naruto-kun talking about?" Hinata asked. "I feel that I interrupted something."
"Oh, there's nothing you should worry about," Fu replied in a nonchalant tone. "Say, Hinata, did you and Naruto have sex already?"
…
Akatsuki Lair, Undisclosed Location, a Week Later
Inside yet another underground cave, the Akatsuki were gathered to seal the Four Tails into the Demonic Statue. Without Kisame and Deidara the process had took them the best part of a week, but much to the relief of the two present members and four astral projections, the sealing was reaching its end.
The last few bits of Tailed Beast chakra left Roshi's mouth as they were absorbed into the statue. The chakra field that kept the former jinchuriki suspended in mid air disappeared, and Roshi's body fell to the ground below with a thud. His long life had finally come to a tragic end. Right after that, one of the statue's closed eyes opened, while its mouth snapped shut.
"It is done," Pain declared. "The sealing of the Four Tails is complete."
"Heh, six beasts out of nine. We're doing pretty good if I may give my opinion," the white half of Zetsu said, smiling happily.
"It may be the case, but we shouldn't let our streak of victories drop our guard," Konan said in an almost chiding tone. "Konoha is growing desperate, and it shows. Rather than their usual four man squads, they sent a team of ten people to stop Orochimaru and Toneri. Not to mention that among that group was Itachi Uchiha, two Wood Release users and a Tenseigan wielder. Next time, they might send an even more powerful force."
"Your concern is understandable, Konan, but there won't be a 'next time'," Obito interceded. "Zetsu here told me that Konoha is unaware of the Eight Tails' location, nor that we dispateched a team to retrieve it. Once the Eight Tails is in our possession, all what's left will be the capture of the Seven and Nine Tails, both of them in Konoha."
"Speaking of which," Pain spoke up. "Do we have any news on Kisame and Deidara's progress? I was expecting that they should be here with the Eight Tails by the time we were done sealing the Four Tails."
"Apparently, there has been some logistic problems that delayed their progress," White Zetsu said.
"The two of them were too far apart from each other, and thus they took a few days just to gather," Black Zetsu continued. "The last time we heard of them, they had successfully infiltrated the Land of Lightning. I believe they will capture the Eight Tails' jinchuriki within the next three days at the latest."
"If I may speak," Toneri interceded. "It's to my knowledge that we have half the Nine Tails. Shouldn't we seal it as well?"
"For the time being, let's not," Pain replied with a head shake. "Not only is the Nine Tails an useful asset that helped us catch a jinchuriki, but we should seal it once we have both halves under our control."
"Besides, the Nine Tails should be sealed last," Obito continued. "It's the most powerful of the nine, and it could destabilize the other beasts within the statue without the other eight first."
"I see," Toneri replied. "In that case, I have nothing else to say."
"Very well then. We can use this time to rest and prepare for what comes next," Pain declared. He made a hand seal, and the statue slowly sank into thr ground, until it disappeared completely. "Meeting dismissed."
And with that, the four astral images of the Akatsuki not present vanished, leaving Orochimaru and Toneri alone with the other. Orochimaru cracked his neck, and stretched his limbs.
"If I knew it would take this long, I would have voted against sending Kisame and Deidara to catch another jinchuriki before sealing the one we captured first, "Orochimaru complained.
"It's a mostly unpleasant experience, yes," Toneri agreed. He then noticed Orochimaru walking towards Roshi's corpse. "Wait, what are you doing?"
"I'm taking it with me," Orochimaru said, as he sealed the body inside a storage scroll. "Why? Did you want it yourself?"
"Why would I want the corpse of an old man?" Toneri asked in disgust. "Why would YOU want the corpse of an old man?"
"A ninja's corpse contains plenty of secrets, and this one is no exception," Orochimaru said. "This old man was able to use the Lava Release Bloodline Limit. If I study his body, I might be able to replicate it in somebody else."
"Did anybody tell you that you're a grim, creepy man, Orochimaru?" Toneri asked the Sannin.
Orochimaru nonchalantly shrugged, and grinned. "I've been called worse. If there's nothing left to discuss, I'll be taking my leave. See you during our next meeting, Toneri-kun."
Both the Sannin and the Otsutsuki left the underground cave, going their separate ways until Pain would recall them again for new missions.
…
It didn't take long for Naruto to return to the hospital. Unfortunately, it wasn't because his little brother had finally woke up from his coma. While stable, Hagane was still unconscious, and the medics still weren't able to tell when he would wake up. However, the reason for his visit to the hospital was one of joy: Kurenai had finally given birth.
She was watching her husband train his students –and Sai, who tagged along more and more often, usually at Ino's request–, when her water broke. It was a good thing Asuma and his team were there, since they were able to bring her to the hospital with utmost celerity, and Ino's medic-nin training came in handy to help Kurenai until the red eyed woman was in the hands of better doctors.
After nearly a whole day of labor, Kurenai had given birth to a healthy baby girl. And after Shikamaru, Ino and Choji had spent quite some time watching over the newest member of the Sarutobi Clan, the Genjutsu Mistress had requested for her students to be present as well.
"Prior marrying you, they're the closest thing I have to a family," the raven haired woman had said.
And now, it was the Assault Squad's turn to see and admire their sensei's daughter.
"Aw, she's really cute," Hinata cooed. "She looks like Kurenai-sensei."
"Eh, all newborns look the same to me," Haku admitted. "Seiichi-kun looked the same when he was born as well."
"What's her name?" Naruto asked.
Both Asuma and Kurenai looked at each other and smiled, remembering how much importance Naruto had placed on a meaningful name.
"We decided to name her Mirai," Kurenai revealed.
"Mirai..." Naruto repeated, as if tasting the name, before grinning and giving his sensei a thumbs up. "Sounds cool! I like it!
"Good to see that our chosen name passed your test, Naruto," Asuma admitted with a chuckle.
"I know it may be a bit early to ask..." Haku began, sounding somewhat bashful. "But you think you'll be able to return to duty soon? Yugao-san returned to active duty only a couple days after giving birth."
"Of course," Kurenai told Haku. She could see how both Naruto and Hinata beamed as well. "Trust me, apart from finally being able to hold my daughter in my arms, I also couldn't wait to give birth already so I could get back to action. I know you guys have been going through a rough time."
"Heh, that's putting it lightly," Naruto said, sounding a little sour.
"So, does that mean that you won't continue training under me then?" Asuma asked.
"Of course not!" Naruto replied. "We've been doing quite a lof of breakthroughs when it comes to Wind Jutsu. It would be stupid to stop now."
"I also want to do missions with you again, sensei," Hinata told her. "Without you it hasn't been the same."
"Well, we're going to need babysitters to take care of her when both of us are busy so... how about a D-Rank?" Asuma asked. Upon seeing three forwns headed towards his direction, he raised his arms in defense. "Kidding, kidding! Nobody in their right mind would make you do a D-Rank!"
Kurenai laughed at her husband's attempt at a joke, and the rest of them spent the next hour both talking to each other and watching little Mirai.
…
Orochimaru's Hideout, Undisclosed Location
A few days after he and Toneri went their separate ways, Orochimaru had finally arrived at his main hideout. He was really hoping that Kisame and Deidara would take their sweet time with the Eight Tails, since between the battle against Konoha, the sealing of the Four Tails and the subsequent trip, the Snake Sannin felt truly tired.
"Huh. It seems that even with all the improvements I made to this body, I'm still close to my limit," the pale man reflected. "It will be something that I'll need to tackle soon. I can't afford to have a body so unreliable."
Once within the safety of his lair, Orochimaru was greeted by his number one lackey, the bespectacled medic-nin known as Kabuto.
"Welcome back, Orochimaru-sama," the silver haired man said. "I presume your mission was a success?"
"You presume well, Kabuto," Orochimaru confirmed with a nod. "How have been things here while I've been absent? I trust nothing happened."
At this, the medic-nin grew a little uneasy. "For the most part, yes. Though there has been a certain individual who has been a major source of troubles lately."
It didn't take a genius to know who was the bespectacled man talking about.
"Let me guess, Hebiko?" Orochimaru asked.
"Yes. The rather... unfortunate loss of her brother has been a major source of distress to her," Kabuto began. "She has tried many times to gather several of our ninjas and head to Konoha to rescue her brother. In the end, I had to lock her up in a cell."
"I should have foreseen this would happen," the Sannin said, shaking his head. "I knew their attachement to each other would become troublesome for this very reason.."
"I believe the wisest course of action is to talk to her," Kabuto suggested.
Orochimaru nodded. "Indeed. I'll visit her immediately. Hopefully my words will be able to soothe her concerns."
"What if you fail?" Kabuto asked.
"If she becomes a nuisance rather than an asset, I guess we'd have no other option but to terminate her," Orochimaru replied, thought sounding a little saddened at the possibility. "Even if neither she nor her brother are indispensable to me anymore, they were strong minions, and it would be a pity if I had to get rid of them."
Hebiko and Hebimaru helped the Snake Sannin to make plenty of breakthroughs in his investigation on the Wood Release and Senjutsu. However, he had managed to cultivate enough of their cells as not to need them anymore. That's why he had no qualms abandoning Hebimaru the moment the white haired ninja had become a liability. Still, Hebiko could have some uses yet.
It didn't take long for the Sannin to reach the cells. One of them was actively guarded by two of his balaclava-wearing Oto ninjas, Chunin, if their uniform was any indication. The fools wouldn't stand a chance against Hebiko if the girl decided to break free. Upon seeing their master, the two of them stood to attention.
"Open the cell, then leave," Orochimaru commanded.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama!" the two of them obediently chorused before carrying out their orders.
Inside the cell, Hebiko was sitting on a bench, both arms and legs crossed, an expression of unamusement plastered on her face. Orochimaru had the impression she knew that he would come to talk to her.
"Ah, my dear," Orochimaru began, trying to sound friendly. " I was told-"
"You abandoned him," Hebiko spat, interrupting the Sannin.
Orochimaru was taken aback. While he could sense the unbridled anger boiling beneath her, her calmness was off putting. He was expecting her to yell, to shout, to trhow a tantrum. But this... it showed how much Hebimaru's loss had affected her.
"Yes, I did," Orochimaru admitted, his tone turning colder.
"Why?" was all she asked. "Was the mission more important than his life?"
"Yes, the mission was important," Orochimaru said. Hebiko was going to say something, by Orochimaru silenced her by raising his hand. "But I didn't abandon your brother to die."
"Somehow, I find that hard to believe," Hebiko scoffed.
"It's true. Had it been another enemy, I would have tried to rescue Hebimaru, even if that meant putting the mission at risk," Orochimaru said in a reassuring tone.
"But not with Konoha," the white haired woman concluded.
"With Konoha, abandoning him is something I could have afforded," Orochimaru began. "Your brother will be fine. I know their ninjas, and I know their Kage. Due the fact that the genetic template I used to create you being those of his own children, Jiraiya fooloshly thinks of you as his children as well. And that sentimental idiot would never try something that would end in Hebimaru permanently damamged.
"But if you need additional consolation, Akatsuki will attack Konoha soon in order to capture the last two jinchuriki. We can take advantage of that and free your brother when we're at it."
There was a very tense moment of silence while Hebiko abosrbed Orochimaru's words and pondered on them. After what appeared to be an eternity, she gave him his answer.
"You promise?" Hebiko asked.
"You know how important you two are to me. I'd never abandon you for real," Orochimaru told the young woman. "Now come on. There's still much work to do."
Author's Note: After the admittedly bleak ending of the previou arcs, it was nice to read something far more lighthearterd. Sure, there were still scenes with Orochimaru and the Akatsuki, but this chapter mostly focused on the stuff with Konoha, Naruto and his teammates.
Yeah, after their absence, the entire Assault Squad is back in business! With Hinata and Haku recovering already, and Kurenai finally giving birth. Guess this fic has been missing some Naruhina goodness for quite some time. And as you can see, Hinata hasn't been wasting her time while she was off duty. While I teased it a few chapters back, thanks to her new powers, Hinata was finally able to completely remove the Caged Bird Seal, unifying the Hyuga Clan once for all.
And Fu. Man, I missed writing for her so badly. Even if her scene wasn't that long, I always like when she's present.
Thanks a lot to Ookami88 for betareading this chapter.
Now, for real, the Root Arc does begin next chapter. I promise you guys will like it much better than the past jinchuriki arcs. In the meantime, leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!