Fall Of Konoha
One Hour Earlier…
Panting heavily as his torso hung limp, his arms were nearly useless to him as he used ever ounce of strength in his body to keep them up in a weak defense. Panting heavily as blood dripped slowly from his torn bottom lip. The pulsing veins in his eyes slowly shuddered and sunk away into his face as the bright white pupils began to fade.
Suddenly with a crack of shattering bone, and a whip of a hand, Neji fell to the ground. Chuckling quietly as he cracked his knuckles, Orochimaru looked over the scene of death and destruction. The once strong young Hyuuga prodigy lay on the ground, bleeding, beaten and dying. Turning his attention to the loud sobbing and crying in the back corner of the small dining hall, Orochimaru saw the two youngest of the Hyuuga clan.
Hanabi and Jubei hid away from Orochimaru's icy glare. Cradling the head of his dead mother in his lap, Jubei sobbed and shook as his tears fell atop the pale stone face of Hinata. Nursing her shattered forearm in her own lap, Hanabi's good arm was wrapped tightly around Jubei's shoulders. Whispering softly ever so often that everything would be fine, Granny Tsunade would help mommy, and Neji would protect them. Empty promises made to her small nephew, there was no hope.
"Tell me, Neji-kun… where? Where is the home of Naruto and his woman?" A saucer shattering beneath his foot as Orochimaru stepped over the body of Neji, his bandaged and leather bound arm fell to grip tightly around Neji's neck. Lifting the once powerful Hyuuga from the ground and heaving him into the air, Orochimaru's eyes shone like blood rubies. His fingers dug into the sides of Neji's throat slowly.
"I- I don't know, I haven't seen Naruto in months, I don't even know where in Konoha he lives," Neji's breathes were short and rapid as he wheezed and whispered out his words. His weak arms rising slowly to wrap around Orochimaru's in hopes of loosening the grip, hoping to gain a good breath of precious life.
"Then you are useless to me!" Roaring with anger, Orochimaru's grip tightened, crushing Neji's throat, blood was heaved from Neji's lips as his neck snapped. Dropping the Hyuuga to the ground, Orochimaru couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the sight of the dying prodigy. Drawing the Uchiha's short black hair away from his face, he peered over to the corner, spying the two cowering children of the clan. "You two, where is the home of Uzumaki Naruto? Where is the Kyubii?"
Turning slowly as he turned to face them, Hanabi quivered in fear. The legendary outlaw, the most feared of the exiled ninja, Uchiha Sasuke stood before her and her small nephew. The pure feel and scent of his raw power ran through Hanabi's quivering body. "I don't know where Naruto is…," Hanabi barely managed to squeak out those few words.
"Naruto-oji is out, he left early this morning," Jubei spoke up quickly, as his head lowered further, pressing his face into the cold forehead of his mother. Wrapping his arms tightly around her head, his pale Hyuuga eyes closed slowly as his tears soaked into her dead flesh. "Oka-san told me, Naruto-oji wouldn't be home at all today… not till late,"
Hanabi's eyes widened lightly at her nephews words, pulling him tighter to her body, she nudged him in hope of silencing him. At this rate, Naruto would be their only home… Jubei had given away any hopes of catching Orochimaru off guard if Naruto did show up. Naruto wouldn't be returning to Konoha for at least an hour, at this rate, they would be dead by then.
Shattered glass and ceramics splintered as Orochimaru walked to the two slowly. A grin on the Uchiha's face as he chuckled quickly. His fists fell free into open palms. As he looked down at the two, it was almost as if he were to show compassion as he knelt before Jubei and Hanabi. His hand moved slowly, wiping blood tipped hair from the pale death mask of Hinata's face before he rested his hand on Jubei's head. "Boy, tell me, where does Naruto-oji live?"
"He lives next to the Academy… in an apartment,"
"Heh, thank you, young one… but if you had told me this earlier, maybe your dear mother and uncle Neji would still be alive," Chuckling lightly, Orochimaru finally had the information he had been searching for. The home location of his greatest rival, his greatest threat. Uzumaki Naruto was his for the taking… As he slowly left the two Hyuuga youths, his hand rose, snapping his fingers. In a flash, Kabuto stood behind him atop a table, his head lowered to take his master's orders.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama?"
"Kill them, but please, make sure the small boy's death is quick and painless. He did help us after all,"
"And the girl?"
"Do as you wish,"
As Orochimaru stepped out of the dining hall, he grinned, closing his dark eyes slowly as he sighed deeply, filling his lungs with the cool night air of the Konoha forest. Slipping his hands into his pockets, he took a few shot steps from the hall. Stepping into the town square, he finally heard the blood chilling screams of Hanabi brake the silence of the dead town. There before him, the body of Inuzuka Kiba lay at his feet, the tall strong body of Akamaru lay beside his master's.
"My revenge on this place, is nearly complete," Stepping over Kiba's body wantonly, he heard the crinkle of paper beneath his feet. Leaving a bloody foot print and dirt over the paper banner, inviting one and all to celebrate the announcement of second child of Hyuuga Hinata and Aburame Shino. "All that remains is you, Uzumaki Naruto-kun,"
Sakura stood before the full length mirror hanging on the door of her walk in closet. Smiling lightly to herself as she went through her new supply of clothes. Placing a red and black fishnet shirt over her nightgown as she looked it over in the mirror. A sudden frown coming over her as she placed the fishnet shirt on the bed. Arching her back slightly, her ran her hands over the slight bulge in her once firm and taut belly. A diet was definitely needed… after all making the type of money the wife of a Jounin made, she had to stay fit for all the new clothes she could buy.
After examining her stomach for a long few minutes, she rose her hands and slipped them through her hair. Tossing it back over her shoulders, after so many years, those long pink locks were back to their fully lush glory. Playing with her bangs a bit, she smiled as she remembered the teasing of her childhood about her "giant forehead" as promised by so many, she finally grew into it. Sighing, Sakura took a half step back, flopping back down onto the bed as she yawned loudly. Tears of exhaustion filling her eyes… only eight or nine and already she was exhausted. As she fixed her hair once more and kicked the closet door shut with her foot, she heard the click of the front door. She hadn't locked it…
"Naruto-kun? Back already? Tsunade-sama said not to expect you back till much later…"