Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto Franchise that belongs solely to Masashi Kishimoto; I do not own Heaven's lost Property, High School DxD or any other Anime I borrow themes from. The only thing I claim is my OC's and original Story Plot.


Author's Note (A/N): Hey guys I'm back once more with the next chapter to this arc. Naruto and Hinata's adventures in Firebend Town aren't over yet as the next day brings about embarrassing and mortifying pranks and shenanigans at the hands of their family members. Two very special individuals show up to have a chat with Naruto. Who are these people and what do they want? Dramatic revelations are revealed this chapter about one of our star characters which will shape their future moving forward. What does all of this mean? Only one way to find out. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy.


Chapter 74

Fated Reunions and Revelations

Firebend Town had an air of tranquility about it now as over three dozen individuals in the town mysteriously disappeared during the middle of the night. There was a great disturbance in the form of a mysterious battle that ended just as quickly as it had begun with the courtyard and building itself of the local hotel being damaged beyond belief in a few short minutes. No one knew who or what caused it, but the owners and staff of the establishment were pointing their fingers to Naruto and his group when they discovered that his unit was the only one damaged from the inside.

Of course, with Naruto's extensive background in carpentry, repairs, and construction he offered to pay for and repair all of the damages done to not only the building itself but its courtyard as it was his fault. He even added in a large monetary incentive by flashing a large sum of cash at the staff members to prevent them from kicking him and his group out of the hotel. With the promise to fix what was broken Naruto and Hinata practically passed out the second they crossed the threshold of the room. The kids were beyond the point of exhaustion after subduing Chaos in her rampage who comically took out both Jiraiya and Iris while Eva teamed up with the duo and pacified the wild child.

Taking preemptive measures Naruto sent a messenger scroll back to the Hidden Leaf and Dino informing him of what has transpired in the town. A clean-up crew of mafia members would travel to the town and pick up the kidnapped members of the Black Sun and confiscate everything related to them. The Jasmine Dragon Mafia would have their hands full with extracting information out of these criminals. But Naruto took comfort in knowing Dino was going to be very pleased with his tremendous progress in just two days.

So, it was to be expected that Naruto and Hinata both slept in to about a little past noon the next day. Rising to the land of consciousness Naruto immediately sensed something was out of place in his immediate surroundings. He felt a comforting level of warmth that was unusual and foreign to him, yet at the same time it held a very familiar quality to it that couldn't be mistaken. Opening his eyes Naruto panned them over to the spot next to him and immediately his heart stopped beating because laying down snuggled up into his body was Hinata whose face was inches away from his own with his arms wrapped tightly around her.

Naruto's face turned fifty shades of red all in one go as he could feel every inch of his crush's body pressed against his. What horrified him even more was the fact he could feel that he was only in his underwear and Hinata was in the same boat as him. Naruto's heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest as his body was ever so quickly starting to have a very interesting and pointed reaction to the situation he was in right now and right before he could form a single conscious thought in his brain the sound of a high pitch snapping sound resounded throughout the room drawing Naruto's attention to something that made him want to blink himself out of existence.

A polaroid camera situated on a tripod was pointing directly at him and was being controlled by Jiraiya himself who had the biggest grin in all of human history plastered on his face that spoke of nothing but Naruto's future doom. "Oh… my dear boy. You're a dead man once Hiashi gets his hands on this photo." Jiraiya impishly grinned with mischievousness and sarcasm dripping from every word he spoke. Naruto was in a near catatonic state at this point as he started to lightly hyperventilate.

"Not… if you're… dead first… YOU DAMN PERVERT!" Naruto breathlessly worded before screaming from the top of his lungs as he lunged out of the bed knocking the blanket off of Hinata waking the heiress out of her sleep as the blond-haired boy flew across the room with his body instinctively performing his signature Accel Turn. Catching Naruto's retaliating Accel Punch in his open palm Jiraiya braced himself as the whole room shook from the raw power of Naruto's fist. "Hahahahaha! This might also make good research material for one of my future books. I just got to age the characters up a bit and presto. An instant classic." Jiraiya joked back with a barking laugh as Naruto roared in the Sannin's face with embarrassment and indignation written across his face.

"I'll make sure you'll be writing that book from your damn grave you sicko! I'll kill you!" Naruto wailed as he tried to reach for the freshly printed photo that the camera printed out but Jiraiya was far faster and taller as he secured the damning evidence before Naruto could even blink. "You've got to be faster than that sonny boy!" Jiraiya preened as Naruto touched down on the ground for a microsecond before he flared his chakra out to a higher degree. "You want fast old man? I'll give you fast! No-Interval Double Acceleration!" Naruto challenged as he phased out of existence from Jiraiya's line of sight who quickly tucked the picture in his pocket before jumping upside down onto the ceiling of the room to narrowly avoid Naruto's follow up swing that blew the Sannin's white hair into his face from the air pressure alone.

'My boy has gotten faster… but there's a small lag in-between each burst of acceleration in this technique. I'll dodge when he has to pause.' Jiraiya analyzed in comfort as he tensed his muscles to dodge when Naruto would have to recharge for the second burst in his Double Accel Turn technique but that pause never came as the blond haired Genin appeared in midair right in front of the Toad Sage whose breath got hitched in his throat. 'WHAT?!' A devastating punch drilled into Jiraiya's face sending the sage through the large hole that was created from last night during Chaos's rampage in the far wall of the room. The older shinobi crash landed in the already torn up courtyard with a ground shaking boom that was sure to disturb anyone still in the building.

Landing roughly on the bed he was just sleeping in Naruto quickly scrambled to his feet in a sloppy mess as he grinded his teeth together in aggravation. If Naruto wasn't hyped up on his righteous anger at his God-Father then he could celebrate at the fact he landed his first successful blow on the Legendary Sannin, but as things stood now he was comically seeing red as steam poured out his ears. He wanted the shameless pervert dead at his feet for the immoral prank he just pulled. "Naruto? What's going on?!" Hinata squeaked out in confusion and fright as she was violently awoken from her much needed sleep by the commotion of the two males in the room.

"Hinata! It was that stupid… stupid…. Aww… Aaahhhhh!" I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Naruto started to say but as he turned to address Hinata who he was practically standing over since he was standing up in the bed he saw a sight that would forever be etched into his photographic memory more than that camera ever could.

Hinata was in a training bra and panties with nothing over it and her entire form was examined in painful detail by Naruto's sharp eyes with better quality than a Sharingan could ever hope to match. An expression of mortification and embarrassment slowly etched itself onto Hinata's face as her sleep deprived mind slowly came to understand the ramifications of the situation she was currently in with her love interest. Hinata's eyes took in her friends muscular physique with her own higher standards of vision but her young prepubescent mind came to a grinding halt once her eyes stopped at a particular piece of her friends anatomy that was currently much more alert and readier for battle than the rest of Naruto was. And it was only a foot away from her face.

Catching his girl's line of sight Naruto saw his own entire life flash before his very eyes as he imagined a horrific death at the hands of Hiashi Hyūga who would wipe Naruto from existence if he ever caught them in the situation they were in now. In slow motion Naruto watched as Hinata's arm swung around with a long trail of Yōki infused cerulean covered water that was rippling with waves of Holy Grace heading straight for his face. 'I didn't deserve this! Damn you pervy sage.' Was Naruto's final thoughts before he received a thunderous smack to the face that sent him flying out of the exact same hole Jiraiya flew through moments earlier as Naruto's rag dolling body slammed into Jiraiya who was painfully and comically getting to his feet while rubbing his face in pain.

A secondary loud boom rocked the hotel building for the day as Hinata calmed her raging heart by taking deep and ragged breaths. Laughter filled the air as Hinata turned to see Iris, Chaos, and Eva who was standing on top of Chaos's head were laughing at her with faces red with glee. "That was priceless! Oh god! I've never seen something like this before." Eva cried in hysteria as Chaos had to brace herself against the second bed in the room to prevent herself to falling to her knees as infectious giggles escaped the unstable girls mouth.

"Did you have anything to do with this Eva?" Hinata whispered out in mortification that quickly turned to silent retribution once her long-time pseudo girlfriend responded back. "… And what if I did?" The proud Winter Fairy grinned back as she watched Hinata close her eyes in seething rage with her usually beautiful face contorting into a visage that the normally shy and introverted girl wouldn't be capable of making. Because her eyes were closed Hinata missed Chaos discreetly pocketing a second photo into her mythical and unknown pocket dimension for future reference but as the usually sweet and kind Hyūga Heiress opened her eyes to showcase her powerful and advanced golden Byakugan, the Uzumaki siblings knew it was their turn to face righteous retribution.

It took well over an hour and a few noise complaints later for things to return to normal in the group as Naruto and Hinata went to painful lengths to not bring up the fiasco that befell them earlier. After getting themselves situated and ready for the day the duo reported to Jiraiya who explained that he was going out to buy some training supplies for both of their training. He ordered them to stay put at the hotel until he returned. After that they were scheduled to head out and resume their search for Tsunade who Jiraiya stated he's receives some preliminary reports on.

"I'll be back soon brats… just don't let me catch you in that position again. You'll give my perverted old heart a heart attack if you do. Even I can only take so much." Jiraiya patronized as he was leaving the room which earned him dual glares from the young couple who weren't pleased with the man's immature stunt from earlier. They still hadn't retrieved the photo from him either, so they knew he was going to hold it over their heads for blackmail material in the future.

"Maybe I can help you with that sooner you old perv!" Naruto growled as Hinata in turn held up one of her fingers that glowed with her new golden glow. Sauntering out of the room with his boisterous laughter Jiraiya left the building with his smile slowly leaving his face. 'Now… let's see what you're capable of Naruto and Hinata. What will you do when faced with such a mountain of adversary in the form of the Akatsuki? Show me your resolve… a resolve even Balalaika would be proud of.' Jiraiya plotted within his mind in a serious light as he sensed two familiar and extraordinarily powerful chakra signatures entering Firebend Town.


With Naruto and Hinata

The young couple were currently distracting themselves with a training session involving Hinata's golden Byakugan as she was sitting still on the bed while Iris jumped all around the room with Hinata's task being not to physically track her with her eyes. This was the first step in getting Hinata to control her dependency on identifying sources of divine energy. The Byakugan allows the user to see in a perfect 360° sphere of vision that expands in a large radial dome around the user that could stretch out for miles in the strongest users. Not counting the very small blind spot at the back of the users neck which technically meant the Byakugan's radius is 359°, the user didn't actually need to physically turn their head to view a specific target.

All they have to do is mentally zoom in on a specified target and they would find that their vision would start to magnify and center in on what has caught their attention. All of this was instinctual and done with neurological mental commands on the Hyūga's end that allows them to stand completely still and view the whole world around them all at once. The problem Hinata was currently facing was the fact she was physically turning her head to view her intended targets when she didn't have to, and she's been doing it for the last two days since they started their journey. This was a subtle set of body language cues that was letting Naruto know that the heiress was completely distracted and giving her entire focus away to whatever her impending distraction is.

This was a detrimental habit that Naruto had to break Hinata out of and quick. It is a huge liability and a dangerous action for her to perform in the heat of battle. She doesn't need to actually turn her head to focus in on her target which gives her the distinct edge and advantage in fights as she can lash out with attacks against opponents who would be caught completely off guard who foolishly didn't think she was focused on them. It's one of the contributing factors that make the Hyūga Clan the most dangerous Taijutsu family of shinobi in the history of their world. If Hinata was telegraphing her every move because you could tell where she was looking and the fact she was being forced to physically give her full attention to a target before acknowledging them would be fatal if she were fighting an actual competent threat.

Keeping Hinata from turning her head was the first in a long series of steps to help the Hyūga Heiress master this new power of hers. After this Naruto planned to help her with her actual vision and sensitivity issues she is having when it comes to actually looking at things including the erratic source of bouncing divine energy that was currently jumping around the room like any hyperactive child would be.

"You're doing good Hinata. It's only been a few minutes now, but you've managed to keep your head steady for close to 20 seconds now. You're making progress." Naruto encouraged sweetly as he himself felt distracted by seeing his sweet and empathetic daughter bouncing off the walls of the trashed room. That was usually Chaos's forte, but the unstable girl was currently being restrained in Naruto's lap since the tiny terror was showing signs of getting rowdy again after this morning's shenanigans. She was still riding the high from earlier in the night and so she was especially susceptible to any amounts of negative energy, especially since Naruto was releasing it earlier in his frustration with Jiraiya.

"Thank you, Naruto… I think I'm starting to get the hang…" Hinata replied in a more cheerful tone as compared to earlier in the day but the young Genin trailed off in confusion and caution once her Byakugan picked up two powerful chakra signatures appearing in the hallway outside of their room door. Another thing Naruto had Hinata adding to her training was reducing the radius of her vision down as much as possible to help reduce the number of things she had to look at and also to make it harder for her to ignore Iris which was the crux of the training exercise. As of this moment Hinata's vision only extended to outside of their room and down to the end of the hallway. Not even the entirety of the hotel building was in Hinata's range which was why she was so distracted once two very powerful presences walked into her radius.

Naruto immediately felt a shiver go down his spine as the atmosphere changed within the group in the blink of an eye. Jumping to his feet Naruto turned to the front door of their hotel room that Hinata was zeroing in on with caution coiling around his muscles that were tensing up in tension.

Knock! Knock!

The sound was very prominent and distinct as Naruto received a signal from Hinata that was warning him of what was to come. A kunai made of ice was in his hand held behind his back with a paper bomb tag preemptively wrapped around it's handle as he opened the door to greet the person on the other side while Hinata grabbed Chaos and Iris and brought them close to her with Eva tensing up in Naruto's hair. Naruto blinked in surprise when he craned his neck up to see a taller young man on the tail end of his teenage years staring down at him with his void and dispassionate charcoal colored eyes.

The young man was dressed in a distinct pitch-black full body cloak with vibrant ruby red clouds as graphic designs printed onto the article of clothing. The man had long black hair pulled into a low neck resting ponytail with bangs of hair framing his face and forehead. He had very distinctive and pronounced tear troughs running down the side of his nose into his cheeks while his black eyes pierced Naruto's soul and rooted him to the spot. His partner was a hulking figure who stood at 6'3, the same height as Balalaika. Kisame was a very tall, muscular shinobi with a distinctive shark-like appearance, complete with pale, bluish-grey skin. He has small, round, white eyes, 3 sets of curved facial markings under his eyes, gills on his shoulders, and sharp triangular teeth. He also styled his blue hair in the form of a shark fin. He was wearing the exact same cloak as the first man with the only distinct difference being he had a thick beige colored strap worn across his body that was holding up a massive object on his back that Naruto instinctively knew to be a sword as he saw the skull capped handle and pommel sticking up into the air behind Kisame's head.

'This can't be… these features. It's Sasuke's older brother. Itachi Uchiha. The big one… that's Kisame Hoshigaki of the Hidden Mist Village. I read about him in one of Aspen's bingo books. What are two S – Rank Missing Ninja doing here?' Naruto shook in his mind as he tried to urge his brain to even understand the severity of the situation he was in right now. These two men were Kage Level Shinobi just like Balalaika and Karasuba… just like Shoko and Jiraiya. They were beyond his level by miles no matter how talented and powerful he was as a shinobi who remarkably held the rank of Genin despite his advanced skills.

'This is bad! We're in danger! I've got to get my girls out of here now!' Naruto thought as Hinata, Eva, Iris, and Chaos all came to his mind in that split second as he threw his kunai at Itachi's face while slamming the door closed in a fraction of a second. Naruto's other hand lashed out and slapped a reinforcement paper tag seal onto the door of their hotel as he spun around on his heels and rushed back into the room with a panicked expression on his face. "Run for the hole! NOW!" Naruto rushed as the group turned to the large hole in the wall of their room that led out to the courtyard of the hotel building.

There was a distinct lack of an explosion as the group of kids crossed the room but came to a grinding halt when a billowing flock of black crows swarmed the hole in the wall with a thick congregation of them morphing into a detached figure of Itachi that was missing his legs. "Now Naruto… we are here to speak with you on important business. Jinchūriki related business. We can all be civilized if you simply open the door as a sign of cooperation." Itachi's disembodied torso spoke as the birds formed a blanketing wall covering up their only escape route.

Naruto was panicking on the inside as he built up his chakra for an attack but Itachi's voice broke him of this endeavor. "I would advise against that Naruto… these crows are volatile and will violently explode if agitated. There's enough explosives within this flock of birds to flatten this entire block if you're reckless. Please stand down and be civilized. Casualties and destruction are not my intentions for this visit." Itachi calmly warned as Naruto subsided his humming chakra reserves once the threat hung in the air. He knew the powerful Uchiha wasn't lying. Someone of his power and skill would have no need to lie. This was not only a show of his power but a contingency plan to mentally break him and force him to surrender.

"Ok… just don't hurt anyone." Naruto conceded in a truce as Itachi's floating form nodded its head in agreement. "Naruto… what's going to happen?" Hinata whispered as she clung to Naruto's slightly shaking form as he walked over to the door while keep Iris and Chaos behind his body as a makeshift barrier. He didn't know what was going to happen next. "I don't know Hinata… but if I can buy you even a fraction of a second, take the girls and run to Jiraiya. We'll need his help if we're to walk away from this alive. Don't argue." Naruto insisted as he peeled off the reinforcement seal on the door and opened the wooden barrier separating him from his predators.

"Good choice kid. It would seem like you have a brain in there." Kisame joked as Naruto stood protectively in front of his family while Itachi and Kisame looked on in intent. "We are aware of your status of being the Jinchūriki to the Nine Tailed Fox Naruto. We would like for you to come with us. Our organization has use for you and your special status." Itachi politely explained as he watched Naruto tense and take a step back pushing the girls behind him further away. "What do you want with the Fox inside of me. No one who would want a being as powerful as it can be up to any good." Naruto defensively stated as Kisame chuckled in sport.

"Well of course not kid… my partner was always too polite for his own good. We want to extract the Tailed Beast from within your body. Our group needs its power." Kisame brashly stated in a more crass and unrefined manner which actually got an audible sigh to escape Itachi's mouth as the exasperation could be felt from the rouge Uchiha. "As ever… you lack refinement Kisame." Itachi mumbled in a spout of disappointment that got a good-natured chuckle out of the hulking man who had a nonchalant air of amusement in his body language. He didn't consider a single one of the children in front of him to be any kind of credible threat to him. He was at the bare minimum level of guard he was willing to put up in the face of the group. Of course, as a shinobi of his caliber he was always truly on guard as you don't get to live as long as you do or grow to be as powerful as you are by being negligent and careless.

Now Naruto was downright terrified as he's never met anyone specifically interested in the Nine Tailed Fox sealed inside of him. His heritage and lifelong burden has been a topic that hasn't received that much special attention in a very long time. To know that two powerful ninja were interested in his resident and that they belonged to an organization which implied more of these ninja scared Naruto as it meant he was quite the commodity to very powerful individuals.

Backing up further Naruto shielded his family to the best of his abilities as it looked like he was caught between his fight or flight response. They were in serious danger right now and he would rather die than allow for his girls to be hurt on his account. "Oh… standing tall for those girls kid… Hehehehe! You're young and you even have your priorities straight. Trying to act tough for your girlfriend or something?" Kisame teased with a humorous laugh at Naruto's defensive posture which he tightened up even further in response to this. "You could say that… it wouldn't do for me to appear weak in front of my recent girlfriend or my children now would it?" Naruto replied as he circulated his chakra within his body. He had no choice but to fight. He needed to by Hinata valuable seconds to escape with the girls. Jiraiya needed to come back and quickly.

Kisame let out a barking laugh at Naruto's comeback as he placed a hand against the wall to support himself. "Oh, you're a riot kid. I'm really starting to like you." Kisame chuckled in amusement which didn't sit well with Naruto. Itachi raised an eyebrow at this in visible mild curiosity but the high collar of his cloak hid the small amused smile that was on his face. 'So… he's allowed loved to enter his heart. The secret to one day becoming a perfect Jinchūriki. That was a lesson Lady Kushina always preached to her comrades. She even taught it to me one day. I'm proud of you Naruto.' Itachi silently congratulated in relief as he moved to add more to the conversation but a chakra signature he wasn't expecting to sense entered his range causing him to turn behind him to face the end of the hallway.

"Itachi…" Sasuke seethed as the young Uchiha adolescent could be seen with a dark glare at the end of the hallway. Hatred was clouding Sasuke's eyes as Naruto and Hinata looked on in shock and surprise to see their classmate and friend here of all places. "Sasuke! What are you doing here?" Naruto stuttered out in surprise as this was something he wasn't expecting at all. "They were in the village… they attacked and Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma sensei all ended up in the hospital with severe injuries." Sasuke explained as Naruto and Hinata both felt their hearts stop. 'They took out Kakashi, let alone Kurenai and Asuma together and hospitalized them?!' Naruto thought in his mind as he tried to comprehend the level of danger they were in. 'Kurenai sensei! I hope she's ok.' Hinata thought in fear as she wanted to make sure her sensei was alright.

"Today is the day I've waited so long for Itachi! Today is the day you pay for all of your sins! Today is the day you die!" Sasuke preached as his Sharingan flared to life with anger and hatred clouding his heart poisoning it with it's tempting words. 'His heart is full of hatred… I'm so sorry Sasuke. But this if for the good of the Uchiha Clan. You must be the hero of our families story. Our taint must be washed away and never be seen in the light of day.' Itachi lamented in remorse as he hated to see his little brother in such turmoil and anguish. It tore at his heart.

'Sasuke's not thinking clearly. He's going to recklessly charge in. I have to stop him.' Naruto thought in panic as he opened his mouth to gain the attention of his teammate and in recent days even closer friend. "Sasuke! Listen to me… keep your calm. You're right, today is the day! The day we both take him down together. Remember the promise that I made to you. I'll stand by your side when this day comes. Don't do this alone." Naruto pleaded in a heartfelt tone that caused Itachi to silently gasp in surprise if the ever so slightly widening of his emotionless eyes were any indication.

Sasuke's inner angst was pushed to the side as a certain clarity came to his eyes as he stared into his teammates eyes with shock and hidden depths of gratitude as Sasuke remembered the conversation he had just shared with his teammate a few days prior when he visited him at his apartment after the rescue team brought Naruto home. It was a heartfelt and touching conversation that he's never had with another person before, especially a person he could also call friend. It also reminded him of their very first heart to heart conversation ironically in this very town many months ago when Naruto finally came clean with Sasuke and opened himself up completely to his teammate and told him his innermost secrets. That was the day the two truly became friends.

"Naruto…" Sasuke whispered in gratitude that distracted him from seeing let alone even sensing the hidden amounts of pride and joy overflowing from Itachi who was masking this with his patented stoic facial expression. "I'm with you brother." Naruto hit the final nail in the coffin that actually got a visible reaction out of Itachi who quickly masked his true feelings with a rebuttal. Sasuke looked as if all of his hatred was washed away with the single word of brother coming out of Naruto's mouth while Itachi turned to face Naruto once more.

"Brother is it… I see. It would seem I wasn't thorough enough last time. It appears that more of my family lives if you claim Sasuke as your brother… that is a mistake I'll have to rectify." Itachi threatened as the hallway was filled with his oppressive chakra that was leagues stronger than Naruto's, Hinata's, and Sasuke's combined. Naruto felt his heart stop at such a bone chilling statement but seeing the fire burning in Sasuke's eyes brought Naruto's head back into the game as the younger Uchiha gripped his bandaged and rubber belt covered hand in a steel like grip as lightning started to spark off of the young Genin's hand.

"You won't be killing off any more of my family today Itachi! I'll protect them all from you by ending it all today! CHIDORI!" Sasuke defended as a massive surge of lightning exploded from his hand into a concentrated ball of lightning that was giving off a high-pitched wailing sound that was reminiscent of chirping birds. Slamming his lightning covered fist into the wall next to him Sasuke charged down the hallway dragging his fist through the wall to keep his speed to a minimum. When using the Chidori you have to be traveling at blinding speeds. In a small narrow hallway like this one it wasn't ideal.

Naruto acted just as Sasuke did as the entire hallway froze over with a layer of frost building up on the floors, walls, and ceiling trapping Itachi's and Kisame's feet in the frozen patches. "Acceleration!" Rocketing off from his position in a blinding burst of speed Naruto blitzed past Kisame who was tracking him with his eyes. This level of speed wasn't something the powerful man wasn't capable of perceiving but even still, the legendary Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist was highly impressed with the unique and stylized technique his prey was using. 'He's remarkably fast. Impressive.' Kisame briefly thought to himself as he watched Naruto in slow motion fly past him.

Kisame contemplated it and decided to reach out and grab the racing Jinchūriki but out of the corner of his eyes he saw a fast approaching presence coming at him and it turned out to be Hinata who slammed a full force Yōki infused Gentle Fist strike right into Kisame's arm that actually managed to make the tall man flinch back. Naruto couldn't turn around now as he was committed to his charge, but he did gasp in shock at the sheer audacity and boldness in Hinata's determined eyes as she blocked the Hidden Mist Rouge from stopping him. The last thing Naruto took notice of was the fact Iris was nowhere to be seen and Chaos was standing back in a position to encroach upon Kisame in a moment's notice. It would seem like Iris had run to go find Jiraiya. It was the smartest move they could make since Iris's Fire Magic would be ineffective and impractical within this small space as her power is so powerful that it would set the whole building on fire with only a small use. 'Hinata… you're truly committed to this aren't you… you are determined to fight at my side.' Naruto felt his heart skip a beat at knowing this as he focused in on his own target.

"Accelerated Punch!" Naruto's fist slammed into Itachi's outstretched hand at the same time as Sasuke's lightning covered fist got caught in the older man's other hand which stopped both of their attacks cold. 'How!?' Naruto was speechless as Itachi's impassive face remained as stoic as ever. "You should both be careful. Water conducts electricity." The experienced missing ninja warned as the palm holding Sasuke's Chidori started to gush with water that reacted to Sasuke's Chidori spraying water on all three touching combatants that conducted the electricity into their bodies. Naruto and Sasuke both screamed in blistering pain as they were blasted by the full charge of Sasuke's attack while Itachi's body popped in a cloud of smoke. 'A Shadow Clone!' Sasuke noted as he collapsed to his knees with Naruto doing the same.

Behind them coming out of Naruto's hotel room was another Itachi who had black crows merging into his reforming body that solidified after a few more moments. 'That was the real Itachi the whole time outside of the window. He had a Shadow Clone with Kisame to trick us. How far ahead is he thinking?' Naruto gasped as he was seeing the tactical genius of the prodigal Uchiha at work.

"A good effort… but not enough." Itachi commended as he approached the two boys who weren't finished yet. "I'll show you good effort. Kenjutsu: Accelerated Decapitation!" Naruto roared as he spontaneously jumped into the air while performing a spin with his prized icicle wakizashi dual swords in his hands as they attempted to take the rogue ninja's head clean off. Itachi's Sharingan was active now and with his sublime vision he could see that Sasuke had a Chokutō made out of ice in his hand and he was rushing him from low to the ground. It was the same spirited teamwork that the teammates used in the Forest of Death when they bravely took on Orochimaru.

Itachi smiled beneath the tall collar of his cloak as his hands lashed out at blistering speeds and knocked Naruto's swing off course. Sasuke came in low with a reverse grip as he tried to take the rogue ninja's legs out but Itachi saw this coming from a mile away. Summoning a kunai to his hand that was hidden within the long sleeves of his cloak Itachi streamed Fire Nature Chakra into the small blade that caused a thin white-hot flame to shimmer across the surface of the small knife.

Lashing out with his kunai the older Uchiha managed to cut straight through Sasuke's sword with zero difficulty which caused the boy to pause in shock as he knows how sturdy Naruto's ice swords can be. The blade was cut in half in one swift movement but Sasuke's Sharingan was on as well as he reached out with his hand and grabbed the broken off piece of his sword and threw it straight at Itachi's face who didn't even flinch. With two fingers Itachi plucked the broken off blade out of the air right before it stabbed him in the forehead and with a simple flick of his wrist he tossed it directly at Naruto's leg who was coming in for a counter attack. The icicle blade pierced straight through Naruto's upper thigh causing the blond Jinchūriki to cry out in pain that continued on as Itachi lashed out with a gut-wrenching kick that sent Naruto flying down the hallway into the far wall caving it in.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke cried out as his moment of distraction cost him when Itachi pointed at him and singled him out. "You're next." Itachi with a quickness lashed out and grabbed Sasuke's wrist in a vice grip. With a single twitch Itachi snapped his younger brothers wrist like a twig causing Sasuke to scream out in blistering pain. Despite the pain he was in Sasuke wasn't willing to give up when the object of his revenge was holding onto him right now. Copious amounts of ninja wire flew out of Sasuke's unused hand that tangled around the older man restraining his body in thin cords of chakra conducting steel.

"No! You're next!" Sasuke retorted as he surged out a massive amount of chakra that caused Kisame who was using one arm to hold off Hinata's impressive Taijutsu assault to raise an eyebrow in mild interest. "Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!" Sasuke roared as a massive white-hot colored flamethrower spewed forth from Sasuke's mouth and traveled down the length of the ninja wire to Itachi's body where it lit his body on fire in a massive firestorm.

"DIE!" Sasuke roared as he pumped out a copious amount of Chakra to supercharge his attack as the entire hallway became engulfed in a massive white-hot firestorm that started to melt the walls around them. "SASUKE STOP!" Hinata's voice screamed out causing the seething young boy to cut the connection of his chakra to the technique. Sasuke's vision blurred for half a second before everything became clear to him. "What?" Sasuke whispered out in disbelief when he came to his senses and realized that it wasn't Itachi that he caught in his wires but Naruto. A translucent hexagonal dome was shielding Naruto's prone body from the hellfire the young Uchiha unleashed as the rest of the corridor's walls and ceiling was charred black by the intensity of his technique. "That was close." Chaos giggled with an outstretched hand as her Aegis shield saved her father's life who was nearly incinerated by his own teammates technique. "Interesting technique you've got their short stuff." Kisame mused in praise as he messaged his badly burned hand which was caused by Hinata who had just unleashed a technique that had actually managed to hurt the powerful shinobi. "Thank you, mister." Chaos giggled out in gratitude as if the current situation her family was in didn't concern her.

"Sasuke… I taught you better than that when you were younger. If it weren't for that young girl over there your teammate would be dead." Itachi patronized as he seemingly fazed into existence next to Sasuke without warning while comfortably wrapping his arm around his younger brother's shoulder as if they held nothing but love between them like normal brothers would. Itachi's posture was relaxed and content as he watched Sasuke's mind catch up with the events that just transpired. It took his brain a few seconds to register the fact Itachi was now next to him but when he did Sasuke flinched and tried to react. "Itachi you…" Sasuke began to say but the older brother viciously cut Sasuke off by karate chopping the young Uchiha in the throat causing Sasuke to gag and cough up spit.

Grabbing Sasuke by his throat Itachi disappeared out of sight with a burst of speed and choke slammed Sasuke into the far wall of the hallway right next to Naruto's prone form with a thunderous smack. "I would say you've progressed quite well little brother. But this sentiment of comradery that you share with your friend will only hold you back. He will make you weak." Itachi viciously snarked out as he squeezed Sasuke's neck tighter causing the younger boy to gasp for air.

Groaning in pain Naruto lashed out to stop Itachi but the older boy reached out with his unused hand and grabbed Naruto around his neck as well in a vice grip like neck choke. Choke slamming Naruto into the wall right next to Sasuke, the elder Uchiha had both boys suspended in the air by nearly three feet. "Don't listen to him Sasuke! You're strong! I'll lend you my strength. I always will. Together we can beat this bastard!" Naruto wheezed out in pain as he was finding it hard to breath with the vice like grip Itachi had on his neck.

"Naruto… I… I'm sorry…" Sasuke gagged out as he was already nearing half consciousness due to the lack of air he was receiving to his brain. "NO… It's not over!" Naruto choked out as he grabbed the arm choking him. Surging out his chakra a blistering trail of ice started to come out of Naruto's hand but before it could even get five inches away from the source of origin the frost immediately began to sizzle and melt on the spot. 'What?!' Naruto cried out in his mind as all of his ice was melting the second he created it. 'He's streaming Fire Nature Chakra throughout his body heating it up like a furnace. I can't freeze him at all and I'm losing consciousness. I can't call on my chakra. I can't power up to my Winter Fairy King Mode or call on the Nine Tails Chakra. Everything's fading and going dark.' Naruto noted in his mind as his vision started to fade as he was being choked out. He was out of options now as he couldn't call upon one of his stronger transformations as he lacked the concentration and necessary air flow to concentrate and summon them. He was fading fast.

"This is the end. Tsukuyomi." Itachi whispered out as his Sharingan morphed and changed into a new design. The moment both teammates looked into his eyes their bodies went limp as their eyes became vacant. It only lasted for two seconds but inside their minds it was far longer. Sasuke abruptly screamed to the top of his lungs with a gut-wrenching wail of anguish as tears came cascading out of his eyes while Naruto started to tremble as his eyes snapped opening in terror. "Make it stop! NO! I DON'T WANT TO SEE THAT AGAIN!" Sasuke cried out in despair as his body once more went limp, but this time he was unconscious as his mind shut down to avoid having to relive the trauma he was reliving inside of his own mind.

"That's enough Itachi. Step away from them!" A deep and familiar voice spoke up drawing everyone's attention to the opposite end of the hallway.


Hinata's POV

With Hinata things weren't looking good for the young heiress as she couldn't move passed Kisame who was simply toying with her. "You're a little spit-fire, aren't you?" The shark man grinned as Hinata kicked off of the wall and attempted to thrust a heavy palm strike into the rogue ninja's face but once again she was stopped cold by the man who was silently impressed by the young girls tenacity. Knocking Hinata back Kisame stepped forward to tower over Hinata who slid into her family's Taijutsu stance. "You know you can't possibly win right?" Kisame snickered as Hinata tightened up her stance in response. "It's not a matter of me winning here or not. It's about standing up to fight. I will do everything in my power to protect my friends." Hinata retaliated as she pushed forward and lashed out with lightning fast Gentle Fist strikes that Kisame took his one free hand to block and deflect with.

"Interesting philosophy for one so young. Your eyes show a maturity not found in most Genin and children. The same could be said for your blond-haired boyfriend over there getting owned by my partner." Kisame patronized as he watched the anger briefly shimmer in Hinata's eyes before she swallowed it to stay focused. "We're strong like this because we have to be!" Hinata replied as Kisame shrugged his shoulders casually in compliance to this. "Perhaps… humm. It would seem like you young brats really know what it means to be a shinobi. You've found your own ninja way. I actually now feel kind of bad about taking the boy away from you little girl. It's hard to come by talent like you now a days." Kisame apologized with a thin veil of actual sincerity in his voice as he stood up straighter and tensed up his posture.

"Ok tell you what. You can't beat me as we've already both acknowledged… so what do you say kid. Let's spar for a bit while my partner's busy. Let's pass the time." Kisame offered with an inviting grin on his face as he watched the emotions play out across Hinata's confused face as this demeanor wasn't what she was expecting from such a powerful man. Making up her own mind silently Hinata chose not to respond with words as she blurred out of sight with a burst of speed. "Now we're talking." Kisame grinned as he blocked a powerful palm thrust from Hinata that was overflowing with copious amounts of Yōki filled water.

"You're something special kid. To be able to use Yōki is highly impressive even though you're just a regular human." Kisame praised as the power behind the blow barely registered in his mind. It was powerful for a girl her age and he knew it would inflict substantial amounts of damage on someone closer to her range of power but for someone like him it was like receiving a papercut. "That's nice of you to say mister… I don't want to disappoint you then." Hinata replied as she pushed forward surging out more cerulean colored water in response.

"Gentle Step First Dance: Eight Trigrams Sea Lance!" Hinata called out as she performed her signature technique on Kisame who raised his eyebrows as Hinata's strikes picked up in speed as she unleashed hundreds of strikes against him that he was actually using more effort to block with his forearms and hands as highly pressurized blasts of Yōki infused water battered his body. Kisame allowed himself to give ground as he wanted to feel the full power of Hinata's technique as she pushed him a staggering 10 feet back before the Ex Hidden Mist Shinobi felt satisfied with the display the young girl was giving off. "Impressive… that's definitely not a normal Hyūga technique. This innovation has sparked my memory a bit." Kisame admitted as he backhanded Hinata away from him who skidded back across the hallway with a bruise forming on her face.

"And I assume you're just going to stand over there and watch with that creepy smile on your face huh little tyke?" Kisame inquired as he spied Chaos just watching the fight progressing with her signature dopey and eerie smile plastered across her face as she silently shivered in place with excitement bubbling up within her soul. A giggle escaped the lovable but unstable purple eyed girls mouth as she placed her tiny hands against her chubby cheeks. "No… I'll just watch mister." Chaos replied in a sweet tone only a child could possibly pull off as Kisame chuckled in response to this as he instinctively knew deep down that something wasn't right with Chaos. He could feel that she was extremely dangerous. Maybe not more powerful than him but definitely a much more credible danger than Hinata in her own right. His experience and intuition was telling him that Chaos wasn't human.

"I'm not done yet!" Hinata challenged as she charged Kisame again who calmly walked forward to meet her charge. Using a fake out Hinata coiled her body as if she were going to lunge forward with another palm strike, but instead Hinata suddenly snapped her fingers before disappearing in a burst of speed from out of Kisame's physical line of sight. "Just kidding. Night Shade." Chaos giggled as she held her hand out and a black lightning bolt with a red outline shot out of her fingertips and slammed into Kisame's form who made no effort to dodge.

"RRHHHHHH! Now we're talking. Now that stings quite a bit." Kisame grunted out with a throating laugh accompanying his discomfort as he felt his chakra network being directly targeted by this attack as a burning sensation tore through Kisame's body that caused his muscles to tense up quite a bit. "Genjutsu: False Burn!" Hinata called out as she placed her hand against Kisame's back and activated her Jutsu. She was still learning from Kurenai Sensei so this new Genjutsu to her arsenal was one she was hoping to try out. Kisame grunted in pain as he felt double the amount of pain from a moment ago which caused the man to smile through the pain.

"This is it! You've got promise kid." Kisame praised as he flared his chakra out and immediately he was broken away from both Hinata's Genjutsu and Chaos's unique and dangerous technique. Given a moment to breath Kisame rolled his shoulders and stretched out his limbs to allow feeling to return to them. Chaos's technique ignored durability and defenses on a target as it doesn't do physical damage to them rather it attacks their energy reserves within their body. The more energy you have the stronger the pain response from her technique. Kisame's never seen anything quite like it before and he was highly impressed.

"Water Style: Water Needle Jutsu!" Hinata called out as she placed her hand on the frozen over floor and transformed Naruto's ice into water that she shaped into needles that flew at Kisame who scoffed at the attack as he stood still and let the needles stab into his body. He barely felt a thing as he lunged forward and got within Hinata's personal space before the girl could even blink. "Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu." Kisame intoned as a large dome of water appeared around Hinata and swallowed her up in its confines causing the Hyūga heiress to cry out in distress. "Now this is a real Water Style technique. You were doing fine earlier but don't downgrade in techniques." Kisame admonished as Hinata tried her best to hold onto her breath.

Looking over her shoulder Hinata could see that Naruto and Sasuke were engaging Itachi in Kenjutsu and as things were progressing it wasn't looking good. The superior shinobi wasn't fazed by any of their attacks as he parried each boy and anticipated their attacks with finesse and precision that left Hinata in awe of Itachi's sheer caliber. Hinata was starting to panic as she felt the crushing weight of the chakra enhanced water constricting around her. 'It hurts… it hurts so much, and my lungs are burning me.' Hinata cried out in her mind as she was starting to see black spots in her vision as the lack of oxygen was quickly becoming an issue. Seeing the current state of Naruto and Sasuke's fight against Itachi, Hinata couldn't help but scream once Naruto was impaled through his leg with his own sword. "Naruto no!" Hinata screamed out which was a mistake as she unintentionally used up the last of her stored-up oxygen causing her to gasp out water bubbles from her mouth.

*Pulse*

A heartbeat once more resounded within the soul of Hinata as she felt the recent coffers of Holy Grace stored within her body react to something buried deep within her soul. Up until this point she's just been instinctively and unintentionally generating bursts of light magic whenever she channels her chakra through her body but now she felt the urge from deep down to actually try with intent. Looking over at the other fight escalating Hinata was horrified to see that Sasuke had Naruto wrapped up in his ninja wire and he was charging up his strongest Fire Style Technique.

'I have to stop him! I have to save Naruto!' Hinata raged in her mind as her new golden Byakugan came to life as she held out her outstretched hand to face Kisame's hand that was generating the aquatic prison she was trapped in. "Let me go!" Hinata screamed as she generated an intense burst of pure light magic that exploded from her palm in a radiating burst of light that seared the skin on Kisame's palm forcing the S – Rank Missing Ninja to stumble back in blistering pain while his technique was dispelled as a side effect caused from the pulse of light.

Flopping to the floor in a heap Hinata gasped for air as she coughed up the water from her lungs. "Chaos stop him now!" Hinata coughed out as the younger girl giggled into her hand with amusement clear in her eyes. "Aegis!" The unpredictable daughter of Naruto called out as her signature hexagonal transparent shield appeared right around Naruto at the last split second before Sasuke's fire washed over him. While Hinata was relieved to know that her crush was unharmed it didn't quell her heart as Sasuke only added more fuel to the fire which started to melt the walls around them. "SASUKE STOP!" Hinata cried out which managed to snap Sasuke out of his blind rage.

Kisame whistled and marveled in awe at Chaos's strange and unknown to him technique while gripping his burned hand in pain. "Interesting technique you've got their short stuff." Kisame complimented to Chaos who beamed a blinding smile at the praise. "Thank you, mister." Chaos giggled out in gratitude as if the current situation her family was in didn't concern her.

"As for you… I've never seen a group of Genin as promising as you all before. You've managed to exceed my expectations young one. What is your name?" Kisame complimented with a nod of respect to Hinata who struggled to her feet with her lungs burning her. "Hinata… Hinata Hyūga." Hinata replied back with a wheezing cough as Kisame scratched his chin in contemplation. "Humm… you wouldn't happen to be the heiress of the clan, would you? Is your father Hiashi Hyūga by any chance?" Kisame probed as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion at Hinata as a nagging feeling was buzzing at him at the back of his mind. A theory was forming in the missing ninja's mind and he wanted his opponent to confirm it for him.

Hinata felt a pit forming in her stomach as she felt suspicious of Kisame's curiosity. "Yes, he is." Deep down a burning curiosity was in Hinata's soul as well as she wanted to know what angle Kisame was working. "Well then… I never thought I'd meet the daughter of such a famous shinobi. Your father had a very powerful wife young one. Your interesting light-based powers that are unheard of in normal Hyūga's is a dead giveaway. There was only one shinobi out there that fought while combining Taijutsu and Light Magic together and that was a powerful kunoichi named Yume Hyūga." Kisame revealed as Hinata felt her heart stop in its chest.

Yume.

Yume was the name of Hinata's late mother. She only had faint memories of her mother as she was only five years old when she died giving birth to Hanabi. The last memory Hinata had of her mother was of the older woman placing the newly born infant Hanabi in Hinata's hands while rubbing the side of Hinata's cheeks. Lord Hiashi never speaks of Yume anymore and every year on Hanabi's birthday the middle age Hyūga would always have a solemn disposition which has prevented Hanabi from truly ever having a happy birthday as Hinata would usually have to pick up the slack and be there for her little sister as their father was emotionally unavailable.

"You knew my mother?" Hinata whispered out in disbelief as she's never had someone mention her mother before. Hiashi was so emotionally devastated at the loss of his wife that he never spoke of her again. Hinata knew very little about her mother other than the fact she remembered her to a very kind and compassionate soul. She was very staunch and steadfast in her convictions and beliefs and often talked about fate. It was actually one of the reasons why Neji became so asphyxiated on the concept of fate. An unusual aspect of Yume's personality that Hinata could faintly remember was the fact the woman was very religious and prayed several times a day. She meditated and prayed at the very least twice a day from what Hinata could distinctly remember.

But despite all of that, the kind mother never once revealed her abilities or talents to anyone around her. So, it came as a great shock to Hinata to know that her mother was a well-known ninja in her time. Kisame grinned in excitement to this as he shook his head in the affirmative. "Yes. Yume was a powerful kunoichi with strength on par with the Legendary Titans of the Third Shinobi World War. Her name was Yume the Priestess of Fate. She had extraordinary Taijutsu skills and powerful light magic that allowed her to fight even the strongest of shinobi. She even defeated my master and the previous owner of my sword Samehada." Kisame revealed as he placed his hand on the handle to his prized sword.

'My mother was a powerful kunoichi? She was as strong as Ms. Shoko!?' Hinata's mind could barely contemplate the sheer magnitude of such a revelation as she couldn't help but stare down at her hand in wonder with her mind taking several seconds to contemplate this new dynamic in her life. "… And with that unique golden Byakugan of yours it's a dead giveaway that you'd be related to such a powerful woman." Kisame noted as he pressed on.

"I can't bear the thought of ending your life so early girl, so you'll live past this day. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to leave a lasting impression on you." Kisame declared as he showed the first real signs of speed by unhooking Samehada from his back and swinging it at Hinata who was mentally distracted.

Hinata barely had any time to breathe before her chest exploded in pain when the thick mass of Samehada slammed into her ribs smashing her into the wall of the hallway pinning her against its surface with her clothes torn to shreds and her skin around her abdomen shaved and peeled off. Blood was pouring out of Hinata's stomach as her skin in several areas were viciously shaven off by the rough scales of Samehada's body. "My sword is special you see. Samehada isn't a sword that cuts people. Because of its shark scales it's a sword that shaves of the skin and bludgeons a victim to death." Kisame explained as he pressed Samehada forward and pushed Hinata further into the wall until the point where the surface began to crack and deform around Hinata's body causing the young girl to cry out in excruciating pain.

'Her power is maturing… but it isn't quite time yet.' Chaos thought to herself with a more serious tone as her scanners panned over Hinata's body and she could see a small sphere of light hidden deep within Hinata's very soul. "I'm not done yet…" Hinata wheezed as she raised her trembling blood covered arm up with a look of defiance burning in her eyes. With her Byakugan active she could see that Itachi had both Naruto and Sasuke pinned to the wall in a similar situation and moments later a brief surge of his chakra to his eyes caused both boys to go completely limp. The chakra flow to his eyes was extremely peculiar in Hinata's opinion as she's never seen anything quite like it, but the effects were immediate as Sasuke let out a blood chilling scream of anguish that immediately clued Hinata into the fact that both boys were under what could only be an extremely powerful Genjutsu that only someone of Itachi's caliber would be capable of.

"Let me go." Hinata cried as she surged the last of her chakra to her fingertips before slamming it into Samehada which unleashed a golden wave like ripple effect that caused the sentient shark sword to tremble in pleasure as while it took some damage from the attack it also absorbed the divine energy that Hinata blasted it with. With the last of her strength used up Hinata passed out just as her Byakugan picked up on Jiraiya's and Iris's energy signatures entering the hallway. 'We're saved… please be alright Naruto… Sasuke.' Hinata's world went dark as her body slumped over braced up against Samehada's body that was still abrasively scraping against Hinata's exposed skin.

"That's enough Itachi. Step away from them!" A deep and familiar voice spoke up drawing everyone's attention to the opposite end of the hallway. Jiraiya was back and Iris was with him who surveyed the entire scene with her eyes glowing an ethereal emerald green.

"Oh… well now what do you want to do Itachi. Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin is back. I thought we might have had more time with the hooker you used to distract him." Kisame mused as Itachi dropped both Naruto and Sasuke's limp bodies to the ground with seemingly not a care in the world. 'Master Jiraiya… they have done extraordinarily well.' Itachi thought in his mind as he shared a brief moment of eye contact with the Toad Sage as he nodded a subtle and unnoticeable shake of his head to the old spymaster who received the message loud and clear.

"Today isn't the day we'll capture the Jinchūriki. Let us depart Kisame… fighting a member of the Legendary Sannin will do us far more harm than good." Itachi determined as he stepped away from the young boys which gave Jiraiya the opening he was looking for. "Summoning Jutsu: Toad Mouth Trap!" Placing his hands on the floor in front of him Jiraiya channeled his chakra out into the world around him and immediately without warning the entire hallways appearance transformed into the esophagus of a Toad.

Hinata's body was encroached upon by the muscle fibers of the walls around her which sunk her body in further releasing the pressure Samehada was placing on her diaphragm. Stepping back Kisame quickly pulled his treasured sword back when more organic muscle fibers shot out of the wall and attempted to restrain it. "It's a shame you're telling us to leave Itachi. Things were getting extremely fun here today. These kids are truly full of surprises. I can't believe it's nothing more than a simple coincidence that Jiraiya of all people… one of the strongest shinobi alive is in the company of such children. A little suspicious if you ask me." Kisame probed as Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at the shark man whose intuition was spot on. His background history working with the special forces of his village and often accompanying and escorting spies for his village has sharpen Kisame's intuition and intelligence to great lengths.

Itachi felt the same in this regard as he began to move. "Come Kisame… we have overstayed our welcome. It's counter-productive to fight this man." The Uchiha was adamant in this regard as Kisame sucked his teeth in disappointment. "Alright partner… you win." The tall blue skinned man conceded as he sheathed his sword back while returning to Itachi's side. "I don't think so! I won't let you escape." Jiraiya challenged as the organic flesh of the walls sprung to life attempting to capture the Akatsuki pair who ran down the adjacent hallway with the walls closing in on them. "You got a way out of this partner!?" Kisame questioned in a hurry as the tendrils of organic flesh lashed out at them. "Always." Was Itachi's simple reply as his right eye started to bleed with the veins around it in his sclera becoming engorged.

"Amaterasu."

What was once the wall at the end of the hallway was now a gaping hole to the outside world with jet black flames burning away the flesh of the Toad they were inside of. With freedom at hand the Akatsuki duo jumped out of what was actually a window to make their escape as the mass of organic muscle fibers abruptly stopped once it reached to wall of black fire. 'Black fire?' Was Naruto's barely conscious thought as his half open eyes caught sight of Itachi and Kisame's escape. He's seen those flames once before… very recent in fact. But he couldn't place where with his exhausted and oxygen deprived mind.

"They got away…" Jiraiya noted as he and Iris stood at the edge of the wall where the black flames resided. Iris hummed in thought as a small chuckle escaped her lips. "No… you just let them get away… or more specifically Itachi in particular. Isn't that right young one." Sōkyoku's mature voice sounded out from Iris's lips as Jiraiya twitched in aggravation while staring down at the supreme deity next to him. "You know too much you know that?" Jiraiya snapped in irritation as Sōkyoku let out a melodic ringing of laughter that vibrated off the walls of the now normal hallway as Jiraiya cancelled his technique. "… And you know so little…" Sōkyoku retorted as Jiraiya turned away in aggravation.

Walking up to the burning fire Sōkyoku's eyes took on a more melancholic shine to them. 'Black Flames huh? You have a very interesting sense of humor Miya.' Sōkyoku mused to herself as she reached out with her bare hands and touched the legendary flames of Amaterasu causing the black flames to race towards her open hand. The fire gathered into a tightly compacted sphere of flames in the palm of Sōkyoku's hand which mystified Jiraiya who once again was entranced by the deity in human form. In one bite Sōkyoku ate the ball of flames in a surprising twist as she dusted her hands extinguishing the remainder of the volatile and destructive fire. 'Sister… I miss you so much.' Sōkyoku thought to herself with sadness settling down into a heavy weight on her heart as she was shown a strong reminder of her twin sister and fellow Phoenix Goddess.

Putting aside the fact he just watched a little girl eat a ball of legendary inextinguishable flames Jiraiya kept his composure and wits about him as he turned back to face the higher being in humanoid form. "I see you're manifesting yourself for the first time in quite a while. I can only wonder why? I heard about the incident that happened from Shoko the other day. When are you planning to sort this tension out with Naruto? You hurt my godson really badly. He trusts you." Jiraiya questioned with a deep and scathing edge to his voice as he towered over the tiny child who peered up at him with her intimidating and mystifying emerald green eyes that held nothing but untold eons of life and experience in them.

While usually Sōkyoku's eyes would be intimidating and enchanting to look into, right now they were filled with an unending void of sadness and an untold weight of a thousand worlds placed on her heart. "Now isn't the time for me to reconcile with Naruto… he doesn't need me and my problems on his mind right now. When things are calm again is when I'll seize my opportunity to speak with him." Sōkyoku responded before abruptly cutting the connection with her avatar leaving Iris's persona in control once more. 'The more I learn about her the more questions I end up having. Just what are you?' Jiraiya sighed in his mind as he grabbed Iris by her hand and led her back over to the limp bodies of the three Genin. 'Things can never be simple in life.' Jiraiya complained in his mind as he looked down at the battered forms of the three adolescent children.

It didn't take long for help to come in the most unlikely fashion. Might Guy who was sent out to retrieve Sasuke once it was reported that he left the village without authorization met up with Jiraiya where he was handed the younger Uchiha back into his custody. Sasuke was now in a coma as his mind completely shut down once he was put under the effects of Itachi's vaunted Tsukuyomi technique. Jiraiya was worried for his mental wellbeing and so he ordered Guy to personally watch over Sasuke's condition once he returned to the village. He also gave the green clad Jōnin several instructions. The first was to see to Sasuke's condition and watch over him while informing Shikaku, Puma, and Shoko of the events that occurred in Firebend Town. The second was to ascertain from Shikaku whether or not the Hokage's advisors were acting strange as he was anticipating Itachi paying them a visit following Hiruzen's death. The third was to have the leaf send a small battalion of shinobi to be stationed in the town as he was expecting a lot of unwanted attention to be focused on the small town.

With his orders in hand Guy left carrying Sasuke back to the village leaving Jiraiya with Naruto and Hinata who were both unconscious from their injuries. In total it took two days for Naruto and Hinata to recover from their severe injuries as Iris spent the entire time healing them slowly especially in the case of Hinata as her sensitivity to her divine grace was actively causing her problems and she knew that the small amount of progress that Hinata had previously made in her training was going to go straight out of the window with her flooding the heiress's body with holy aura for two days straight.

Hinata's skin was healed over but was left in a very raw and sensitive state that would last for the next day as Iris held back on the amount of energy she was willing to pump into the lavender eyed girl's body. As for her own father, it was a simpler issue of healing the puncture wound to his upper thigh that was going to be healed over anyway by the natural healing properties of being the Nine Tailed Fox's Jinchūriki. The main service she performed for her guardian was healing his strained mind from being under the effects of the Tsukuyomi. With her tasks done Iris and Chaos actually took it upon themselves to fix the damages done to the entire hotel building and its courtyard as an act of repentance as they unintentionally brought a lot of trouble to the small settlement of Firebend Town.

The handyman skills of carpentry, plumbing, construction, and repairs were things that Naruto passed down to his two beloved daughters who each took to it like fishes out of water as they enjoyed the quality time they would get to spend with him. Between the two supernatural children they were able to complete the repairs to the entire area with the liberal use of their more abstract powers. When not watching over his students Jiraiya was out actually gathering information on Tsunade's whereabouts which he soon found out on the second day when both Genin were finally cleared to resume their journey.

As a nice gesture Hitomi had allowed the group to stay at her own home for the two and a half days Naruto and Hinata were out of commission while Iris and Chaos worked hard on repairing the damages done to the town. After Eva had revealed to the waitress/teacher what Naruto and Hinata had done to Oshimo Ringo and the entire faction of Black Sun members in the town the young woman couldn't help the fountain of gratitude from overflowing within her heart. Yet again Naruto had impacted her life for the better and she couldn't be any happier.

After the repairs were made and a contingent of Hidden Leaf Shinobi arrived in Firebend Town, Jiraiya announced that it was time for the group to move on to their next destination as he's found a solid lead on Tsunade. Feeling restless and wanting to hit the road again Naruto agreed wholeheartedly with Jiraiya's intent as he spent the rest of the day catching up with Hitomi while he could after she had returned home from teaching at the school. While he was very happy to spend time with his dear friend Naruto couldn't help but notice something was on the back of Hinata's mind. It was weighing down on her subconscious and it had the blond haired Genin worried for his crush.

He tried approaching Hinata about the subject, but the dark blue haired girl politely turned him down explaining to him she needed time to process what was bothering her. This left the conversation up to future discussion as far as Naruto was concerned as the two best friends have never kept secrets from each other for very long. If there was something bothering them that they didn't know how to open up to anyone else with then they would usually with Naruto in particular with his old personality take a few days off to process and deal with the problem in their own way. Knowing that Hinata was soon going to come to him with her issue was all the reassurance Naruto needed who dropped the subject entirely and simply chose to just be there for his partner who appreciated the sentiment greatly.

With members of the Jasmine Dragon Mafia sweeping through the town and the Hidden Leaf Shinobi actively securing the entire area the group felt satisfied with their business in the quaint settlement of Firebend Town and so they set out early on the next morning with their future destination in mind being Tanzaku Town otherwise known as Tanzaku Quarters which was the gambling city owned by Dino and the Jasmine Dragon Mafia.


Tanzaku Town / Two Days Later

It took the group two days of slow travel to reach Tanzaku Town as Jiraiya started Naruto and Hinata on a more serious regiment of training. For the Hyūga heiress the Toad Sage became involved with her training regarding her sensitivity disorder which actually got worse with the healing session Iris was forced to give her. The process of trying to siphon out and suppress the holy grace that travels through her chakra network using her chakra was proving to be a very difficult task for Hinata to accomplish on top of her tracking training of not moving her head or eyes to locate the pure energy type. Adding in the fact she had to reduce and work with a very limited range of sight of her Byakugan was showing itself to be some of the toughest training Hinata's ever had to do in her life.

For Naruto's training his perverted god-father started him on the first steps to learning the Rasengan. Jiraiya had bought Naruto a large collection of water balloons that he was tasked with popping using nothing more than the rotation of pure chakra and nothing more than his chakra. This meant that he had to once again revisit his previous training of separating his chakra from the different energy types in his body. He had mastered this training by learning the Summoning Jutsu but with Naruto's massive increase in power thanks to merging with the Cauldron of Resonance and absorbing Miya's spirit it has once again affected his chakra control and his ability to distinguish between his various power sources. His showcasing of activating Winter Fairy King Mode a few days prior against Hiroshi Kanzaki was a demonstration that his previous training wasn't for nothing as that was a successful attempt at this concept. Now, Naruto had to become consistent with his ability to selectively use his full power.

Of course, since this is Jiraiya in question the carefree and unpredictable Sannin never divulged the true nature and purpose of these training drills to Naruto who grew frustrated with his flippant master which led to several arguments between the two male travelers over the course of the last two days. He was making some headway on solving the first step to the mysterious technique he was being taught but his progress wasn't up to his standards. Using Shadow Clones to help him speed up the process and accelerate his training Naruto took this golden opportunity to train in using both his Yōjutsu and Magical Glyph skills. He formed a contract with Gōra the Island Turtle and now he wanted to know the full extent of his capabilities in that field as he practiced on several small animals in the forest during their journey. After he would make a contract with them he would test out giving them commands and syncing with the animal before releasing them from his custody to return to the wild. It was slow progress, but a very interesting subject for the young Shī-ō.

With the gambling town in sight the group felt relief hit them as this was a sign that their mission could potentially be completed if they could find Tsunade and successfully convince her to take up the mantle of Fifth Hokage. Using her powerful Byakugan Hinata was able to detect the presence of Tsunade in the colorful town that had a beautiful old styled castle in the back of the city that was actually built inside of a compound with high rise walls. It was late in the afternoon by the time they arrived in the town and nightfall was soon going to fall so Jiraiya decided it best to order a hotel room for the group to rest in for the night. Weary of this Naruto threatened Jiraiya to within an inch of his life to prevent him from pulling another stunt like the one he pulled in Firebend Town. He didn't want to go through such an embarrassing ordeal again on behalf of him and Hinata.

Nervously agreeing to the terms as he didn't want to get on his godson's bad side Jiraiya and the group tracked Tsunade across town to one of its many famous and addictive gambling halls where the group could see hundreds of people traversing the cramped and bustling streets with the atmosphere of fun and greed in the air.

"Look alive kids… this is it… we've found her." Jiraiya announced as he spied his old teammate and childhood crush Tsunade Senju the Slug Queen sitting at a booth drinking a glass of wine with another young woman accompanying her as her golden amber eyes watched the gambling floor with amusement as the dozens of guest circulating the area foolishly emptied their pockets of their hard-earned money.

Tsunade had actually won a bet early that very morning which to the superstitious woman was a sign that a bad omen was on the horizon. Tsunade never won a single bet in her lifetime without a disaster befalling her shortly afterwards so listening to her gut the Legendary Sannin planned to skip town for a few days and return in time for the local festival in which prices for almost everything on sale would be reduced by a ridiculous 75%. Discounts and special gambling events that are exclusive to this festival would become available and the greedy woman didn't want to miss out on such a golden opportunity. It was one of the main reasons why she chose to come to the town a week in advanced. Skipping town for a few days to let whatever bad omen that she sensed pass wasn't an issue for the old ex-kunoichi who would simply return in time for the festival but once a large towering figure stood over her table she instinctively knew she was going to regret looking up.

She didn't sense that the person was a threat and her senses as a Sannin were still very impeccable, but unless she sensed imminent danger to herself or her charge then she rarely bothered with actively searching out chakra signatures in her immediate vicinity. If she still kept to that practice like she did back when she was still an active duty shinobi, then she would have sensed the one person she didn't expect to see for a long time to come. Her teammate and childhood best friend. Jiraiya the Toad Sage… and he wasn't alone.

"Hello Tsunade… it's been a long time hasn't it?"


To be continued...

[The Search for Tsunade Arc]


Jutsu Library

1.) No-Interval Double Acceleration - The Special variant of Double Acceleration. It works much like its base technique. However, the difference comes in the fact that there is no lag in-between each jump. This is achieved by connecting both spheres of kinetic energy together before releasing them. Once released the user has to control the opening in the chakra cloak and syphon out the kinetic energy in one continuous burst of propulsion. Also, an alternative would be to release the second bubble of kinetic energy before the first one depletes but you run the risk of damaging your legs and feet by releasing so much kinetic energy upon them.

2.) Lightning Style: Chidori - The Chidori is a high concentration of lightning chakra around the user's hand. To perform, the user first gathers lightning to their hand; the high concentration of electricity produces a sound reminiscent of many birds chirping, hence the name. Once the chakra is gathered, users charge at their target and thrust the Chidori into them, piercing them and typically causing fatal damage. Despite the sound it makes, the rapid speed at which it's used makes it useful for assassinations.

3.) Acceleration - Accelerating Turn works by storing Kinetic energy in one's own body, reinforced by their own internal energy (Chakra, Yōki, etc.), and then releasing that kinetic energy through an opening in the shielding their internal energy is creating at the bottom of their feet allowing the user to reach and utilize explosive high-speed movements.

4.) Accelerated Punch - The only known technique of Acceleration. By molding all of the chakra in the cloak to his fist Naruto can discharge a massive burst of both chakra and kinetic energy that can demolish at this point in time almost anything. However, this attack can be canceled out by an attack of equal force of makeup.

5.) Shadow Clone Jutsu - A Jutsu invented by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. The technique was created to be used to spy on an enemy without fear of going in person. The Jutsu works by splitting the chakra of the user evenly in two which makes the clone have half of the user's chakra. By creating multiple clones, the fraction in which you have to split your chakra becomes larger. The clones can think independently of one another and can use any technique that the original can use as long as they have enough chakra to use it. A clone can feel pain and can even bleed, but it will be dispelled if it is hit hard enough. The unique ability of the Jutsu is that during the clones' entire life span it is recording everything that its five senses experiences and upon dispelling all of that information is transferred back to the caster of the Jutsu. Because of this training or learning something new that would take an extended amount of time can be cut down to a fraction of the time depending on the number of clones you use. Because you have multiple people learning the same thing at the same time and having all of that knowledge compiled into one person it can speed up the time it takes to learn something.

6.) Kenjutsu: Accelerated Decapitation - A move that Naruto came up with in the heat of battle mixed in with his determination to escape a dire situation he found himself in. Coating himself in his Accel Cloak Naruto who has a sword or bladed weapon in his hands {It can be a real weapon, or one created from his Ice Style} disappears in a burst of speed granted to him by his Accel Turn and swiftly decapitates his target in one fluid and quick motion. The victim will have no time to react since this technique is used at point black range and it is used during the element of surprise which will catch the opponent off guard.

7.) Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu - The user breathes fire along a cord or any other type of long object, which rushes forward in straight line catching the enemy on fire. A line of enemies can be used as the conductor as well. The flames are meant to target and assault the enemy's upper body just like a projectile weapon.

8.) Tsukuyomi - Tsukuyomi is a Mangekyō Sharingan Dōjutsu technique and one of the most powerful Genjutsu in existence. It is said to represent the "Spiritual World and Darkness", the antipode to Amaterasu — a ninjutsu of similar power. Tsukuyomi requires eye contact to be performed, trapping the target within an illusion completely under the user's control. Itachi's prowess with the technique has allowed him to alter the perception of time with ease within the Genjutsu to make a few seconds seem like many days as a means to torture the target. This results in the victim suffering psychological trauma that incapacitates them for a considerable period of time. Such a powerful technique is not without its disadvantages however. Due to the complexity of the illusion and the quickness with which it is executed, an enormous amount of chakra is necessary, and an added amount of stress is placed on the left eye, leaving Itachi's vision more blurred. In addition, it is impossible to rely on a comrade to break the victim out of Tsukuyomi because it only happens in a fraction of a second. This makes it difficult to fight a Sharingan user even if the numbers are against them. If a victim is forced to experience a drastic passage of time in the fraction of a second Tsukuyomi is actually active, the stress on their mind would kill them, even if the Genjutsu was a happy and peaceful one.

9.) Gentle Step First Dance: Eight Trigrams Sea Lance - The first of Hinata's Gentle Step techniques designed in the format of dances; it takes advantage of Hinata's unique dance like hybrid Taijutsu style. Hinata attacks her opponent with this style closing off multiple Tenketsu across the opponent's body with Yōki enhanced chakra strikes that if Hinata wills it will seal off the chakra nodes permanently. Hinata primarily focuses on attacking the midsection and torso of the opponent while simultaneously driving the person back. Hinata finishes off the combo attack by placing both her palms together into a spear formation that she slams into the gut of her target sending them flying with a pressurized geyser of water formed from the pressure built up in between her two palms.

10.) Black Magic: Night Shade - This technique is a very peculiar attack that Chaos can use that directly affects a person's body by damaging a victim's body based on the amount of energy they contain. Chaos fires a black or dark crimson beam which travels similar to lightning; outlined in red, blue, or purple from either her hands or wings at the intended target. Chaos can also use this ability in an omni-directional wave. Chaos's body is surrounded by a purplish aura that dyes her actual body a pale purple color. She then releases multiple crimson rings from her body at the target. When the rings hit the opponent, their body becomes surrounded in a pale purple like aura. The technique works by poisoning a person's energy reserves and causing it to shock the person's body from the inside out like a taser. If the victim has a small pool of energy within their body, then they will barely be affected by this attack. On the other hand, if the victim is a powerful being with large reserves of energy then their very own power will inflict pain on them. It will have the same sensation of being burned or electrocuted from the inside out.

11.) Genjutsu: False Burn - A Genjutsu that gives off the false perception of being burned. It is a fast acting Jutsu and can easily be used in the heat of battle.

12.) Water Style: Water Needle Jutsu - Using the chakra control granted by the Gentle Fist, Hinata concentrates her chakra until water vortexes are created around her. Those vortexes shoot water blasts which turn to needle-like water. By using the Byakugan, this technique can be used with great precision to hit very small targets such as bees which Hinata developed and practiced the technique on with Naruto's help or in this instance of the chapter to match objects of similar size such as Evangeline's ice Senbon needles.

13.) Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu - This technique is used to trap a victim inside a virtually inescapable sphere of water. The only downside to this technique is that the user must keep at least one arm inside the sphere at all times in order for the victim to remain imprisoned. This technique requires a sufficient amount of water, which can be provided by expelling it from one's mouth. Once trapped the target is unable to move or breathe while within it due to the heaviness of the water. Because of the density of the water it can be used, to a limited extent, for defensive purposes if performed on oneself. It can also be stored in scrolls as traps. Water clones can be used in preparation for the technique, which block an opponent's attack and trap the attacker in the prison using the clone's own water.

14.) Aegis - A unique ability that Chaos demonstrates. She creates a light blue shield that has hexagonal shapes as its pattern. The shield is in the shape of a large sphere that increases its diameter and can encompass anything Chaos wishes it to. Chaos can also summon her Aegis shield at long ranges to encompass objects that are not connected to her; effectively allowing her to trap people, objects, and targets within an inescapable prison.

15.) Summoning Jutsu: Toad Mouth Trap - Unlike the usual practice of summoning an entire creature, the user instead summons only the esophagus of a giant toad from Mount Myōboku. The esophagus is summoned around a target; if this is done inside a cave or some other enclosed structure, it's possible the target will not even notice. The walls of the esophagus are sticky and pliable, making it difficult for opponents to keep their footing and, therefore, fight as normal. The esophagus is ordinarily inescapable, and over time it will contract around and digest its victims. Jiraiya can control the esophagus, causing it to expand, contract, or grow in whatever direction he wishes.

16.) Amaterasu - Amaterasu is a Mangekyō Sharingan Dōjutsu technique, and the highest level of Fire Release. Amaterasu produces black flames at the focal point of the user's vision. In most situations, this makes Amaterasu impossible to avoid. However, if the target can move fast enough to prevent being focused on, Amaterasu will miss them when it's cast. Once created, it can continue burning for seven days and seven nights. The flames cannot be extinguished with water or any other normal methods; only the user can put the flames out. Said to be "the fires from hell" and to burn as hot as the sun itself, Amaterasu burns any material - other flames included - until nothing but ash remains. Use of this technique puts a great deal of strain on the user, usually causing their eyes to bleed. For all its lethal potential, Amaterasu burns fairly slowly, allowing targets to remove burning clothes before their body is caught ablaze or, if it's too late for that, remove the burning body part(s) before it spreads.


Author's Note (A/N): Well that's the end of this dramatic chapter, how was that everyone? The chapter starts off extremely light hearted and perverted with Jiraiya, Eva, Iris, and Chaos pulling a cruel prank on Naruto and Hinata that leaves the young couple beyond the point of embarrassment. After regaining their composure, the duo begin training on Hinata's use of her Byakugan. Jiraiya leaves under the pretense of getting training supplies for Naruto which in truth he actually does but his real motives were to test Naruto and Hinata's resolve and resourcefulness in the face of the true threat Naruto as the Jinchūriki of Kurama the Nine Tailed Fox will have to face in the future.

Itachi and Kisame confront Naruto in their hotel room where he initially tries to escape rather than fight who he recognizes as a serious threat. His escape is blocked by Itachi who is already multiple steps ahead of Naruto. Drawing them out Itachi and Kisame speak to Naruto about his status and their organization's intentions regarding him but their conversation is cut short with Sasuke's arrival. Sasuke is seeing red and knowing that he might recklessly charge in and get hurt Naruto snaps his teammate out of his frenzied state with a heartfelt speech that references both times they had a one on one conversation.

Itachi makes his intention known that he will kill Naruto which prompts both boys to attack him simultaneously with Kisame's efforts to disrupt Naruto's interference blocked by Hinata of all people which once again surprises Naruto. Hinata engages Kisame while Naruto and Sasuke fight Itachi who overpowers and outmaneuvers them to a crushing degree while defeating both boys in only a few moves. Hinata herself goes all out against Kisame while barely putting a scratch on the man who was intentionally lowering his guard just enough to give her a fighting chance. Hinata is pushed passed her limit by Kisame and in her desperation to save Naruto she unleashes a potent dosage of Light Magic that actually manages to hurt Kisame which jogs his memory to recalling another shinobi who fought the same way as Hinata.

Kisame reveals that Hinata's late mother, Yume Hyūga was a powerful Kunoichi in her time with power comparable and on par with the Legendary Titans. A little of her character and background is revealed which uncovers some interesting things about Yume who had the moniker Priestess of Fate during her career. Kisame then proceeds to overpower and critically injure Hinata who in a last-ditch effort lands one final attack against Samehada before passing out.

Jiraiya arrives and quickly forces the Akatsuki to retreat with Itachi silently passing on his message to the master spy while keeping up the charade. Itachi facilitates their escape from Jiraiya by using Amaterasu once again which is caught by Naruto who is barely conscious. Lady Sōkyoku manifests herself for the first time since the Fire on the Mystic Island Arc. She playfully calls Jiraiya out on his real motives to which he retorts by confronting her on the broken bond between her and Naruto. Sōkyoku shows remorse at this before giving a short response to Jiraiya to which she then cuts the connection. Jiraiya takes care of Naruto and Hinata for the next two and a half days while Might Guy comes and retrieves Sasuke to return him to the village. In this time Iris and Chaos repair the damages done to the hotel and surrounding area while Iris heals Hinata's wounds in particular which has the side effect of worsening her condition.

The chapter comes to a close with Jiraiya starting Naruto and Hinata on a more serious training regimen that Naruto supplements with his own side training in Yōjutsu and Magical Glyph creation. They reach Tanzaku Town which is owned by Dino and the Jasmine Dragon Mafia. There they finally encounter Tsunade Senju the Slug Queen and final member of the Legendary Sannin.


Next Chapter: Chapter 75 (The Rasengan)


That's the end of Chapter 74 I sincerely hoped you enjoyed it.

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Published: 10/22/2018