Downfall of the Light 3

by OpposingForce

After several days of enduring against the Sound from invading, Naruto and Hinata finally meet their elites. NaruHina, and many others. Spoilers... none, hopefully

6. Onslaught of Resolution

Downfall of the Light 3

Chapter 6: Onslaught of Resolution

Legend:

"…": Speech

'…': Thoughts, they can also be in italics

Scene changes are listed in bolded italic brackets.

AN: I am getting less and less things to say about my fiction, just please be a good audience and enjoy it like you always do. This is probably one of the last chapters that I am going to do before I stop for a while. The best that I could do is probably produce chapter 7 and 8 and then rest up until my mind has more ideas. It's a shame that none of you guys can truly help me on my problems in life, but it also sucks when people in real life are not that kind to support me either. Nevertheless, I will live through it and hopefully gather enough will and power to continue with this fiction. I certainly hope my chapter will answer some of your questions that you might have asked, but if it doesn't, future chapters would be able to elaborate. Thank you all so much for reviewing.

To those who reviewed, you have my eternal gratefulness for you are people who actually give a damn about the outcome of this fiction.

A reader asked me why Akira (The Paladin that works for the Sound) wanted Kagari dead as well when she is also a Paladin? Good question. Normally, I would simply say that he is doing it for the sake of entertainment but that response would be too lame.
So, my answer is that Akira knows the only other Uzumaki that is alive is Naruto –who is a Death Knight. Other younger Death Knights and Paladins must be related to Naruto for Akira himself never engaged sexual relations with anyone (He is NOT gay, just no one interests him for now). Anyone associated with a Death Knight by blood (even if the child is a Paladin) is practically a sin to Akira. So, he wants all of them dead.

Also, about the "vote"… To be completely honest, it didn't really influence me to write what you all wanted me to write. Personally, I think I shouldn't have asked that question to begin with for at least half a dozen of you believed in my judgment. Thank you for that, and I hope I have made it to at least reasonable. Now, do me a favour and enjoy this latest work of mine. Thank you all once again.

(At the Konoha's encampment)

"What do you want?" questioned Shani as his demon master forcefully came out from his left eye, which caused the young Death Knight to flinch noticeably. The Death Knight then sat on the bed with his right eye completely cold and unreadable, and merely stared at his sensei while waiting for him to say something. Forbidden sighed to himself before looking at his dark apprentice with a solemn face, the young demon master clearly knew what happened before. Hinata's despairing aura could still be felt in his veins, how could Forbidden just sit back at watch his mistress to be in such shape when her son was the cause of it. In spite of how the revenant demon hated to do lectures, he needed to.

"What do I want?" countered the winged demon looking down at his apprentice, "I want nothing from you."

"If you have nothing good to say, go away…"

"Shani," said Forbidden in a voice that even Shani had to obey, "What the hell happened back there with you and your mother?"

"She was being annoying again, trying to influence me with her ideals," reasoned Shani still in a passive voice that carried no feeling. Forbidden speculated what he had done to have his little apprentice have such an attitude for this boy was similar to a living zombie but with much common sense and logic.

"Influence? Why use such a word?" Sometimes he wondered why Shani could be so cold and bitter.

"She believed that defending Konoha was wrong, why should I respect someone who believes that?"

"Hinata-sama was only troubled about your safety, your mother would naturally be concerned if she knew her only son was going to be killed at anytime. Why can't you understand that? Why be so stubborn?"

"Stubborn?" Shani instantly countered with an "one eyed glare", "I have had it with her arrogance and her know it all beliefs. Every single year of my life she has to know everything. Academics, training, meditation, my interest for music, my decisions to have a few friends, she always has to bud in! I don't need her everywhere in my life, you understand that, Forbidden-sensei?"

"She is only being what a mother should be. She wouldn't give a damn about what is happening in your life if she didn't care. Your mother, Hinata-sama, wants you to know that she would always love you no matter what."

"Get real, Forbidden-sensei."

"What kind of normal parents disregard their children after taking care of them for so long and putting everything they can give you? Naruto-sama and Hinata-sama love you and they always will, they both care because you are their son. Can't you understand that at least? If my mother was still alive… I really wish I knew how to love them more and be stronger so they wouldn't have died."

"Touching…" was all Shani said. The demon master knew his apprentice was clearly being sarcastic.

"Shani," Forbidden stated with a sigh, "Please talk to your mother again, just make up and be a normal family once more. I know your mother is devastated by your words… I kind of wish you never got it from your father, you two are completely identical… a bit too similar."

"Is that so?" the Death Knight questioned again without care but slightly saying it for the sake of having a conversation.

"One last time, apologize to Hinata-sama, Shani." Forbidden said in a command, "I know she wants to love you for as long as she can."

"Guess what, sensei," Shani spat with mockery, "I don't need it."

"How could you turn out like this after all your parents did for you, Shani?" Forbidden asked him with pure concern, "You have completely become what Hinata-sama fears most."

"Is that so?" questioned Shani as he brushed his hair a little, "Maybe if I had some kind of better memory with people, I would never be this way to begin with. Humans brought on this thing on me, and they will be punished for doing so. I can live without love from anyone."

"Don't say something that you do not mean, Shani," said Forbidden sternly, "No one can live without love in this world. If Chaos isn't by my side, I might have gone insane and depressed because we all need it."

"The only catch is," the little Death Knight rebutted in a counter, "My relationship with Mother isn't the same with you and Chaos-chan. You can't compare these two things. Begone, sensei, I don't want to talk about it anymore. Your words are not helping."

"You are the one who is wrong, don't be such a jerk and believe that your actions back there are correct."

"No one said I was right," stated the Forbidden child, "At the same time, I don't want to hear anymore. If you aren't here to comfort me, you are better off elsewhere." Although Forbidden was quite ticked off at what Shani said to him, he managed to keep his cool. Shani may be incredibly mature for his age, however, sometimes his actions certainly reassembled a child. Who could blame him, he never had a decent childhood life, and obviously he had no experience whatsoever to know what being a kid was truly like. If he couldn't be immature at three, what else could he do?

"If you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you," said Forbidden suddenly, which made Shani take a small glimpse at him before staring at the ceiling again without any interest. "But I want you to know that your mother is more than likely to be crying somewhere nearby because after all these years of caring and loving you, you -being an uncaring bastard- shattered her heart without remorse or regret. I want you to think about it thoroughly on how much you actually hurt Hinata-sama, and if you have a conscience, you will talk to her and apologize. I have no intention to force you but I will allow your conscience to decide." With that said, Forbidden then vanished in a fog like fashion before going back inside Shani's left eye.

The Uzumaki kid smirked his usual smirk before placing his blindfold to cover his eyes and headphones in his ears and blocked the outside world from interfering. He wouldn't just give in now, he had his own anger to cool down before he advanced to the stages of conflict.

(Later on in Kagari's small room)

"Asuran… I am worried…" Kagari told her admirer, Uchiha Asuran as the two of them sat on the bed. The young Uchiha was blushing since Kagari was so close to him and her curves were practically brushing against his. During the conversation, she slowly and very skillfully made him had his had around her waist and holding her close to him. She even began to make herself comfortable in his arms and soon her head was already on his shoulders.

"I know you are, Kagari…" replied Asuran whispering to her ear, "We all should be…"

"Call me Kagari-chan," she murmured endearingly as she kissed him on the cheek. Asuran's shade of red gotten darker as of result and Kagari just giggled cutely. She loved it when he was under her charm.

"Sure, Kagari…chan…" said the Uchiha with stutter, "But… I am worried about your mother, Kagari-chan. She took quite a blow from what Shani said… imagine my father saying that to my mother, she would be devastated. I am sure your mother felt the same way…" Hearing that, Kagari's previous devilish smile turned back into a sad frown. She only nuzzled closer and while sending an unknown loving feeling to Asuran's skin.

"I know… I really do…" stated the Uzumaki girl truly in despair, "I can't believe it either…"

"Should you talk to Shani?"

"I should but I don't know what I can possibly say…"

"But you're his sister though," Asuran reminded her softly.

"It's because I am his sister, it makes it more difficult. I might accidentally sound like I am siding with mother and oni-chan would feel like he would have no allies."

"Was Shani right for saying 'I hate you' to Auntie Hinata?" asked Asuran now holding her closer so he could see her face. Kagari, surprisingly, wanted to hide herself from him. "Talk to me, Kagari."

"I don't know what I can possibly tell him, Asuran," Kagari told him wanting to cry. Asuran did not know if she was genuinely crying or that she only wanted some attention from him. Not that it really mattered, being a good friend, Asuran only hugged her warmly. Soon enough, her arms snaked around his torso before the girl truly gave him a very affectionate embrace. Her hand slowly roamed around, Asuran could faint from his heart beating way too quickly for its own good. Who would've known Kagari was an expert at manipulation.

"Do you really mean that, Kagari?"

"Mean what?" she asked innocently while looking at him before kissing him on the cheek as if it was alright. Of course Asuran thought it was alright, he liked this girl a lot and getting kisses from her without him requesting was like a dream come true.

"Do you really think that you can't talk to Shani?" he asked again before wanting to kiss her on the forehead. Her beautiful pale skin was tempting him to the top of his bent; her pink lips moved as if it was seducing him; the tilting of her head gently moved her indigo hair back lightly to reveal more of her beautiful visage; and lastly those indigo eyes that contain a small glint of teal… Asuran believed they were alluring. Indeed, Asuran truly and undoubtedly thought Kagari was gorgeous but he had no courage to tell her that. He had told her that she was pretty from time to time but he somehow got the feeling that Kagari wanted to hear more from him.

As soon as the Uzumaki girl saw that his face was a tad bit closer than usual, she gave him her trademark smile thus Asuran suddenly backed away blushing. Kagari giggled to herself inwardly but also regretting that she indirectly pushed him away. She was actually anxious to get a kiss from him.

"Yeah…" she replied no louder than a whisper, "I will talk to him when he cools off, it's better that way."

"I guess so…" In a wild turn, Asuran found himself attached to the mattress with his hands pinned down on it by someone. His face showed nothing but panic when Kagari was the one who was in control. She seemed very unsatisfied about something, but in this position that they were in Asuran only thought she wanted intimacy. She was so beautiful and seductive, how could anyone resist her? Once she smiled charmingly at him, the young Uchiha knew it contained anything but innocence.

"Asuran," she said in absolute command.

"What?" he asked back while still tied down.

"Can we not talk about anything depressing?" Kagari suddenly suggested as her hand fitted in his.

"But…"

"Please?" she pleaded battling her eyes endearingly. "Please, pretty please?"

"Sure…" Asuran responded not knowing what else to say. Moreover, he regretted his words.

"Do you remember what we did last time we were alone and where we were?" Kagari asked him while smiling delightedly. The Uchiha pondered for a bit before his golden onyx eyes widened immediately with his face red as a strawberry. He knew what she was referring to already in an instant.

"No?" he squealed in a frightened way. She only grinned irresistibly.

"Really? I am sure you do, Asuran-chan," Kagari told him touching his cheek affectionately with her hand, "You and I both know where we left off… We were at the ramen shop just having my usual dish…"

"We were also chatting," added the Uchiha boy also recalling his thoughts. Kagari smiled when he really remembered.

"We were also alone…" she went on dreamily.

"Then we began to talk like usual…"

"Then I accidentally spilled out my feelings for you."

"And soon I told you mine…" Asuran was smiling happily now.

"We leaned closer to another…"

"You moved your angelic face in front of mine…"

"Your handsome one was all that was in my sight…"

"We kissed…"

"For the first time…"

"It was amazing…"

"Nothing but bliss…" finished Kagari sweetly as she fell on him while watching him squirm under her touch. Asuran could not believe how good she was at charming men, she was indeed a natural. "Asuran… it was too bad that I found your mother was coming back last time…"

"Such a shame, wasn't it?" asked Asuran playfully as he brushed a bang out of her face. Kagari nodded in agreement along with a giggle. It was then she gave him her lustful smile.

"It was… I was hoping to continue it right here… and now." Judging by her voice, the Uchiha knew she craved for attention but more importantly affection. Asuran immediately scanned the room quickly for any catches. Although this was a small personal room, louder noises could be heard from the other rooms if they emitted them. Asuran gazed back at the girl with a doubtful expression.

"Can we? This is not like my house or your house… we got no privacy…"

"Kissing doesn't need to be loud," justified Kagari calmly with her smile, "Kiss me, Asuran-chan. You know you want to… and I want you…"

"But…"

"Do you care though?" she asked him as she gently kissed his lips this time along with a small lick. She was teasing him, obviously. Asuran nearly wanted to kiss her back but she pulled two inches away to tempt him. By licking her lips and tasting her own mouth, she gave off a very satisfied expression that was practically telling Asuran that he should've been there himself. The boy looked at her body for a while, for a twelve year old, she had a body of someone fifteen. Chaos must be blessing her beauty onto this girl, any pervert would believe that she was luscious. It was no wonder why both Hinata and Naruto refused to let Jiraiya get close to Kagari, Kakashi also as a matter of fact. At this moment, Asuran couldn't take it anymore and flipped her down with him above her.

Kagari immediately obeyed his command with her lustful look; even her head tilting is seducing him to fall deeper into her beauty. She moved her lips just a little to hint her wants.

"You got to stop doing that," commented Asuran still above her.

"Kiss me, and I will stop." Kagari playfully ordered with her hands in his. Without further adieu, the Uchiha -in complete wild emotions- took the beauty's lips and gave her a passionate kiss with tongues and touches. Kagari moaned instantly as his tongue brushed against her lips demanding entrance into her mouth. Kagari refused to allow him to dominate so quickly so she nudge so lightly at him to signal that he must do more than that. Asuran finally showed a bit more aggression by giving in more feeling, and when Kagari felt that his tongue and lips have done enough work, she finally made room for her tongue to grasp his.

Surprisingly, Asuran quickly seized control by literally sucking onto hers with his own thus sending much satisfaction and pleasure throughout her entire body. Kagari loved this fierce side of him, she would be more than willing to permit Asuran to do anything loving to her. Although Kagari may be young, she knew who she could truly trust for a lifetime. The duo kept making out with more affection than the last, their unknown emotions continued to build as each second passed by, both turned down the offer to stop, and eventually they found themselves at the wall with Kagari's body making total contact with it.

Asuran was in front imprisoning her so she wouldn't be escaping, yet the expression she displayed for him showed no intimidation. Rather, she seemed amused.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked a little out of breath but kept her grin, "You trying to dissuade me?" The young Uchiha gave back a very knowing smirk in return, he was just so charming to her.

"I am not going to do anything," he said back with a powerful voice that made Kagari adore further, "You're not going anywhere, that's for sure."

"I don't want to go anywhere," she replied with her hands snaking around his neck into a loving intimate hug, "All I want to be is with you."

"You tired yet?" Asuran inquired while raising his brow but now his arms were around her slender waist.

"Never…" she whispered back seductively as she gently pushed -or guided as Kagari would put it- Asuran back to the bed before conducting another make out session. This would be a long night, both knew it in the bottom of their hearts as clear as day.

(An hour after sunrise)

Shani did not even show up at breakfast this morning, his seat that was left specifically for him was empty for thirty minutes already. Hinata revealed no aura but quietness; Naruto certainly worried about her so deeply. Although he wanted to look for his son also, he could not bare to leave his wife's side at a time like this. Getting Hinata back up on her spirits was first priority -according to him that was. Kagari -who was sitting beside Asuran- looked very down as well. Who knew where that mysterious warrior was, this boy would've been a champion at hide and seek -that was if anyone wanted to play with him.

At that moment, Umi excused herself after her indulgence of food and took off elsewhere. Even though her reason was going to the bathroom and then rest, Yamase knew that the Uchiha girl took something with her and her ambition was not to simply go to the restroom. The little Hyuga knew Umi was looking for Shani ahead of her. She wouldn't allow that to happen before her eyes. After drinking down her cup of sweet soymilk, Yamase also quickly excused herself before jogging off. Tenten and Neji blinked at another with confusion; they wondered what their daughter would be so anxious about. Whatever it was, they knew it was nothing too drastic -hopefully.

The little Hyuga girl leaped to a higher area to remain her stealth. She looked around this place with a grunt containing irritation. For a shelter, this place was much more complex and unexpected than it seemed to be. She couldn't believe technology would have such an influence or ability to create such difficult facilities. This vicinity was obviously huge. Yamase just thought about something just now, she couldn't interpret why this world lacked technological weapons when society itself was developing under these circumstances. If she put everything together, Konoha should be a city and would long evolved from a dinky village.

Shani could be anywhere, knowing her favorite cousin he would be in the least expected places here. However, she wanted to curse herself when she heard Umi call out Shani's name from a short distance, Yamase knew she was too late. Yet, her curiosity took the better of her as she landed back down on the ground area and hid behind barricade like inanimate objects as cover. She made sure she was close enough to listen at least.

"Shani-kun," Umi called him before approaching him while he was on the couch in an opened resting room. He seemed completely annoyed even though she couldn't see his eye since he had a blindfold on. In his ears, he had his headphones again to intentionally isolate himself from reality. Umi frowned at his sleeping form; one leg was dragging on the floor; his arms seemed disorganized; and his right leg was resting on the armrest. To put it in simpler terms, he seemed to be in a mess. "You okay?"

"What?" Shani spoke in a voice that showed he was clearly awake before taking out his headphones.

"Nothing much…" the Uchiha girl sheepishly replied while putting her hands in front of her lap shyly. As Shani removed the blindfold and sat properly, he quickly noticed the plastic wrapped cheese sandwich in her hand. "You hungry, Shani-kun?" Umi asked him as she offered the food.

"I already ate," said the Death Knight flatly making the Uchiha girl frown and retract her previous statement sadly. Shani sighed to himself in his mind before approaching her again, "But thank you anyway, Umi-chan," he told her and she brightened immediately, "I had a lousy breakfast…"

"What did you have?" questioned the cherry raven hair girl looking into his clear lavender eye trying to not be addicted by it, "Fresh air?"

"Pretty much," he replied stoically, "Except I had water midway…"

"You call that a breakfast?" she asked him as her hands held his shoulders with care, "How could you not eat at all? You need to take care of yourself better."

"Who cares about that? I am a demon, I don't desire to eat."

"No," she corrected swiftly, "You are also human, and you, Uzumaki Shani, cannot survive without eating. Now eat!" The girl then unwrapped the sandwich and ripped it into quarters so it would be small enough to put into his mouth. In a mere instant, she jammed a quarter into his lips thus making him cough as of result. As he chewed on the intruder of his mouth, he swallowed it not too gracefully. Yamase's face displayed nothing but worry. Despite that, she couldn't reveal herself just yet.

"What was that for?" he demanded a reason as he gagged again airily. She only replied with a smirk.

"It was for your own good," Umi justified happily as she placed another one into his mouth but his hand stopped her. The Uchiha girl frowned along with a pout trying to get her way but his dull expression was too difficult for her to continue. Shani could be that cold regardless of whoever it may be.

"I don't think things that have the potential to block off my air circulation and then kill me is that helpful for me, Umi-chan. If all you're here for is to give me breakfast," he then kissed her on the cheek like he always did, "I thank you. If you don't mind me leaving -"

"I do mind actually," she suddenly told him straightly but then blushed afterwards.

"You do?" he inquired with a short stare before relaxing his eye again.

"Yes… I want to talk about yesterday…"

"Oh, don't get me started…" groaned Shani obviously not wanting to get on this subject again.

"You're going to no matter what, Shani-kun," the emerald eye girl ordered as she made him sit back on the couch with her next to him. Umi soon kissed him on the cheek for comfort, "I know you're confused."

"Confused about what?" he questioned her as she shifted a bit closer.

"You don't know what you should say to Auntie Hinata, I assume?" she told him in a question.

"What is there to be said?" Shani countered again.

"Don't be such a jerk, Shani-kun," said Umi as she presented him with another piece of the sandwich like she was feeding him. Shani normally would just take the food from her but he was too focussed on why she called him a jerk. In other words, he just allowed it to happen but Yamase was extremely jealous that Umi was feeding her Shani-chan. That was one of her dreams and Umi stole it right there!

"What are you saying?" questioned the Uzumaki warrior not grasping the meaning of this. Without warning, the Uchiha girl began to lean on him and soon her head was found resting on his chest. To make Shani truly blush, Umi began to moan and purr when she found herself comfortable.

"Think about it," she whispered softly, "I know you're hurt… but your words can make anyone hurt. It hurt me to know that you can say such things, Shani-kun. Not only that, those things that you said to Auntie Hinata… what can ensure me that you won't say such things to me or anyone else? The Shani-kun I know for so long may be collected… but not filled with hatred."

"My mother is different," defended Shani in a calm voice, "You had faith in me all the time, Umi-chan. After living with Mother for so many years, I thought that I would've earned at least a small bit of trust from her so I could gain one step further to independence."

"I am not saying that you don't deserve to be free," said Umi nearly kissing him since she was so close. Her cheeks began to flush up as soon as she felt his warmth deeper, she loved Shani so much and yet she couldn't find it in herself to tell him, "But if you are not her son, why would she care? I am your good friend, and you worried me, too. I really thought that you would die from exhaustion…"

"It's just energy drainage, Umi-chan," Shani spoke rolling his eyes a bit.

"I didn't know that!" scolded Umi in disbelief as she held his hands in hers lovingly. Unfortunately, Shani did not notice her touches completely. The "one-eyed" demon was indeed oblivious to more hidden affections. "And I know your mother did not know either. All she knows was that Shani and Kagari were fighting elites from the Sound and their powers are not only unpredictable but dangerous. I thought Yamase and I would have to rip out our hearts because our closest friends were going to die." Shani seemed quite speechless, "Do you understand-" It was then when the PA system emitted a loud voice all around the encampment. Yamase, Umi, and Shani went on alert immediately when Tsunade's voice was heard.

"The West Gate is under heavy siege," said Tsunade in the most natural voice possible, "Would all available shinobis please head out immediately and while the designated medics remain here to look after the wounded. Those who do not fit in those categories please also remain here for safety. I will repeat, medics and civilians please stay here. Please, I wish all the best of luck…" The last bit of her statement sounded very hopeless and depressing, Shani was very impressed that his grandmother kept her voice straight for that long. However, confidence alone would not work in the long run in these kinds of circumstances.

"Shani-kun," Umi murmured nervously as he got up from the couch, "Are you going out… too?" The young Death Knight did not even face her for he would not be able to resist her endearing face.

"Yeah… I would have to… none of you would be able to take on those Three…"

"Don't go… I don't want you to-"

"Die?" Shani questioned turning his head to the right so his eye could look at her slightly, "Can we avoid it though? I really wish none of this has happened but those three are on their way here to kill all of us. If I don't go, we would all be dead. Umi-chan, stay here and wait for me… and… don't do anything stupid like how I did." With that said, Shani gathered a tiny part of his chakra and immediately disappeared with a Blink. Yamase wanted to get out of her hiding spot and stop her lover but she found herself too late.

"Yamase," called a voice suddenly from behind the Hyuga girl. When she moved her head back, she found out if was Asuran and Kagari was also with him. She wondered what they were here for.

"Asuran-kun…" whimpered Yamase shyly as the Uchiha and the Uzumaki girl approached her. Since she said his name out loud, Umi, who was near by, became alerted that her friends were here. "Umi-chan…"

"Have you seen Shani?" asked Kagari hurriedly to both girls.

"He just left…" replied the Uchiha girl sadly. "Shani said that we…"

"We shouldn't follow him?" finished Asuran for his cousin and Umi only nodded with genuine guilt, "Damn that bastard… always doing things alone…"

"What can we do?" asked Yamase very worriedly, "I don't know what we should do…"

"Shani-kun will not make it out there alone," Umi told the group with her voice filled with anxiousness. All of them knew she wasn't excited but troubled -deeply.

"I can't let him die out there," Kagari stated very distinctly, "I just can't!"

"Well, that is the wisest thing that I have heard all day," voiced Asuran with his hand patting on her shoulders. The three girls watched him confusedly while he merely responded by a grin. Whenever they saw that specific grin of his, they knew he was up to something –more or less risky.

(Meanwhile at the West Gate)

"Take this, eliminate!" cried Kidoumaru as he descended from above while whipping his web spherical breaker at a chunnin who whipped a several kunais at him. His aim was so poor that Kidoumaru did not even bother dodging and he made it out okay. As the extreme dense web smasher crashed into the ninja's face, Kidoumaru easily killed him when his head was knocked off during the process. Once he found out more reinforcements were coming from the rear, he quickly extended the wire and launched the cannon ball at them while smashing their crotch area to end their lives.

As several Leaf shinobis entered the combat scene, they were instantly destroyed as a legion of boulders, rocks or falling logs struck their faces or chest. As they crashed landed on their backs, the South Sound nin quickly took out his own ninja weapons before making a small counter attack. The instant that the weapons punctured through their flesh, Jiroubo knew he had ended them right there.

He knew more were on their way, and at the moment that he found them Jiroubo did not hesitate to fire energy beams chaotically while killing off the Leaf's advancing fleets.

"Where are those two demons from yesterday?" shouted the chubby elite as he performed an earthshaking move so Mother Nature would devour other worthless victims.

At another sector of the West Gate held many men who were coming to aid. Unknown to them, a girl was already there waiting for them to fall into her trap from below them. With one vertical glide upwards with her trident doing all the work, nothing seemed to have happened for the first three seconds. Next, as she looked down at the hopeless squadron, she laughed out loud as they all separated into two parts with no sense of retaliation. She had cut them cleanly as if it was nothing; Tayuya couldn't control herself and continued her laughter of enjoyment.

Elsewhere at the exact moment, Shani -with his devil wings engaged- flew by an infiltrated area where many Sound invaders were present. Once they saw a devil was gaining on them, they immediately commenced attack by any means possible. However, as the Death Knight got close and having his scythe above his head, Shani dived down vertically therefore guillotining a man's head. Several others took on the Death Knight without thinking but they seriously wished that they did when Shani effortlessly killed them all with one single lightning flare.

This massive chakra discharge alerted those Three who were searching for him. They knew at that point that their target was close. In a natural reaction, they headed for that designated area.

Shani was still killing off each men by destroying crucial body parts, and there was one where he jammed his spearhead into someone's heart thus making it explode due to improper chakra mixture. Although he wanted to kill more, his Byakugan eye suddenly read three dangerously high energy signatures coming in from the right.

In addition to his difficulty, he detected two concentrated energy beams were fired his way. As the young Death Knight leaped high to evade them, the two rays pierced through the surviving Sound chunnins as if they were in the way. No doubt they were now dead –although they may have had the chance of surviving if someone rescued them. Jiroubo did not care at all; all he cared about was seeing the Death Knight's downfall.

"Alright. Looks like I found that strong one," Jiroubo said to himself with a smirk. The Forbidden child only grimaced as he prepared for their onslaught.

From the right again, Tayuya –although she isolated herself from the two- already generated a highly charged plasma beam and blasted it directly at the Death Knight. Practically gathering all the agility he could muster, Shani flew high and barely escaped the beam as it curved unexpectedly upward making it even harder to dodge. Talk about a sick sense of humour. Frowning at this disadvantage, he knew he needed to find himself one but not when Kidoumaru came in swinging with a web and kicking him hard in the ribs thus making the boy lose his balance when he seriously needed it. If Shani was just some nobody, his ribs would've shattered.

"We're surely going to kill you today!" announced Kidoumaru in a cocky laugh as he passed by leaving a pained Uzumaki warrior.

In the left direction, Jiroubo began to shower Shani with everything he got. Tayuya finally began to move in while unleashing her own plasma and lightning attacks in waves, and Kidoumaru came down from above firing his webs and other projectile assaults. With this kind of formation established this effectively, Shani was unquestionably cornered and would be soon crushed. After nearly being hit by Tayuya's beam, the Death Knight desperately tried to find an opening by twists and turns. In one second of dodging, the situation became a dead lock with no way out.

"Shit!" he cursed dreadfully as his palm made a small shield to deflect Jiroubo's energy flares, Shani helplessly glided back hoping to seize the advantage after he got out of the line of fire. Yet, Tayuya refused to simply give the advantage to Shani. Gaining more speed in her flight, the Sound girl flew to Shani's side before firing her previous plasma beam. He gasped when he noticed it, and the immediate action was to attempt to evade. Unluckily for the Death Knight, this one struck him cleanly in the chest.

"I got him…" hissed the strawberry blond hair girl victoriously as she held her trident back in striking stance. Her cold dark eyes remained unchanged, "Perish…"

"Hey," Kidoumaru called down to her while achieving higher ground in the sky, "Don't hog him all to yourself, Tayuya! This is our kill, leave some to us!"

"I will kill the first half," justified the Sound girl without much feeling as she began her 'compromise', "Then it's all yours…"

"That's not fun!" argued the arachnid male, "He wouldn't be retaliating then! That's not fair!"

"No one said life was fair," finished Tayuya considering her words legitimate before doing her own thing. After rushing at Shani with high speed, Tayuya prepared herself to do whatever she was planning to do last time before that angel girl interfered. She would preserve Shani's head for the sake of remembering that someone stood a chance against her and how pitiful it was when he fell by failure.

Just as Tayuya was so close in achieving her goal, a chakra dagger came at her out of nowhere in a boomerang like fashion. Knowing that if she didn't do something about it, it could easily hack off a limb or two. Doing what was best, Tayuya made the choice to whack it away but her target soon escaped of her reach.

Moreover, a green flare was fired at Jiroubo to stop him from advancing. It certainly did the job well for if he did not stop his actions, the beam would've broken off a kneecap or something within that department. Finally, Kidoumaru whizzed by an attack that was intended for him. However, the arachnid ninja knew it was too close for comfort, it nearly burned off his skin.

It was no surprise that those Three became enraged.

In the skies, the dagger soon returned to its owner, and it was no other than Kagari. What Shani didn't expect was that Asuran was with her, why were they here? Once again, the young Death Knight did not understand why they followed him out to this region, but Umi's words somehow repeated in his head and Forbidden's as well. They came out because they care about you or they simply wouldn't care, Shani kept that in mind very securely.

"Shani!" yelled Kagari to call him.

"Kagari, Asuran…" whispered the young Forbidden child, "Why are you…"

Kidoumaru soon descended in a dive before charging at them with his right hands blasting the newcomers with chakra flares and poison webs. Kagari and Asuran quickly flew at different directions hoping to evade, "Why you, bastards!" Kidoumaru screamed fiercely with frustration as he continued to fire without mercy.

Tayuya was at the right while gathering chakra for the blast. The magnetic charges and her creepy amused cry were heard just before she unleashed it at full force at all three of her enemies.

"Great, the angel is here too!" Jiroubo said it out loud with utmost satisfaction that knowing he could get both targets at once. At this moment, he was showering Kagari and Asuran like he was doing with Shani moments before. However, he did not know who the Uchiha was but the beam cleaver he held certainly was intriguing.

"Jiroubo, what about that other guy?" Kidoumaru spoke very irritatingly since he was being rude, "The fight is now three on three."

"I know that, idiot!" the leader of the squad replied rashly causing Kidoumaru to glare.

"What did you call me?"

"Who cares, just get rid of him as well. Do you really need me to tell you that?" Next, Jiroubo directed this message to the girl on his team, "You understand, Tayuya?"

"Whatever," she retorted with no interest but still understood anyway, "That devil is mine… I don't care what you do with the other two." Whenever she said something, Tayuya did not expect herself to have the need to repeat what she stated before. In simpler terms, she assumed they heard her right. After keeping that in mind, Tayuya gracefully rushed at Shani and left the other two to her comrades. She would deal with Shani for good today.

"Kagari," Asuran said as he glared at the other two remaining two elites who were firing at them already.

"Let's get them!" announced the Uzumaki girl before taking out her dual daggers as she generated both blades with demonic chakra. Hearing her being so eager to get things started, Asuran nodded in agreement before charging his cleaver as well. Kidoumaru raised a brow slightly with an amused expression, he clearly did not care who this new Uchiha bastard was, he would die for interfering with their tasks.

"Sharingan!" declared the Uchiha male as his eyes engaged the colour red and with two rotating dots appearing around each pupil. Although Jiroubo and Kidoumaru did not notice the sudden change in Asuran's eyes, they would wish that they did when it came to the actual battle. Hastily, Kidoumaru quickly made way to the skies before he launched his spherical smasher at Asuran. With one violent swing, the Uchiha used the beam part of cleaver to deflect but suddenly Kidoumaru retracted it back slightly to make Asuran strike nothing but air. At the same time, it was perfect to strike again so for real this time, Kidoumaru swung the breaker –the spiked cannon ball- accurately at Asuran at full speed.

Knowing that he did not have the time to completely counter, Asuran did whatever he could and used the back of his cleaver and whacked the condensed web ball away at Jiroubo who was busy dealing with Kagari. Having his focus completely on the girl, he did not even see the weapon coming. As of result, the weapon smashed effectively at Jiroubo's chest giving way for Kagari to prepare herself.

"Oops," Kidoumaru lamely said with a sneer as he heard his friend grunt in pain. His brows went up a notch again as he found Asuran making a tremendously quick glide at him, undoubtedly he was trying to slash him. Giving off a snicker, the spider ninja only ascended higher to evade thus angering the young Uchiha further. It appeared that this guy was a rookie, Kidoumaru only wished that he got Shani instead of this mysterious nobody. However, he would still make good use of him.

"Shadow Strike!" yelled Kagari as she directed her palm right at the distracted Jiroubo before unleashing a swarm of slow poison and real poison chakra daggers. Having no sense of retaliation, Jiroubo took every single dagger completely and in that second the immense amount of pain he received was only a mere fraction of the agony that he would receive in the next eight minutes. He grimaced at the sudden disadvantage and angrily whipped two kunais at the angel before she took flight to the left dodging it. Kagari smirked knowing the first ten seconds were up, and suddenly an enormous jolt of pain consumed his body. Since he was hit but at least twenty daggers, the poison damage amplified by that amount.

Needless to say, it was shockingly distressful.

"What are you doing to me, bitch?" Jiroubo demanded a reason as another wave of pain arrived again. "What did you do? Damn it! Tell me, demon!"

"I don't think I need to tell you," Kagari told him as she spun her weapons casually before making eye contact with him, "You will figure it out yourself."

"Why you!" he grunted with fury before taking charge at her. At the moment he moved, he quickly figured out the second symptom of the Shadow Strike. This was worse than it appeared to be.

I can barely move…

"With you slower than a pig right now," Kagari spoke with much meanness before aiming her palm at him. Jiroubo knew that he could not even budge well and the glowing green chakra in her hand did not appear like anything close to non-hostile, "There is no way I could miss."

In a split second, Kagari unleashed her wrath of Mana Burn, Forked Lightning, Chain Lightning, and Mana Flare on the Sound nin, she was going to toast him into roast pork alive. Normally she would feel guilty for this type of overboard brutality but her mind only wanted to kill and destroy, they would pay dearly for this. The usual loving girl soon smirked again as she fired, she knew Chaos was enjoying each second of it deep inside.

(Elsewhere at the same time)

Somewhere else nearby, another battle was commencing and each sided seemed to be quite even. Although that may be true for now, Kidoumaru clearly held the advantage over the Uchiha. This time when he heard Jiroubo scream with torment, he had no choice but to worry about his safety. "Jiroubo! Damn…" What he didn't realize was that Asuran managed to gain the level (height) advantage before forming a series of hand seals.

"Fire Element," Asuran began before holding his hand in front of his mouth, "Phoenix Fire no jutsu!" Raining fireballs came down like a shower but it was nothing that Kidoumaru could not deal with. Extending the wire on his spherical breaker, he started to rotate it quickly in a circular motion before the wire itself went around so quickly to form a thin shield. As the fireballs made contact with the shield, all of them were either deflected, destroyed, and nullified. How could a piece of wire be this effective, Asuran did not know this at all.

"Surprised?" questioned Kidoumaru pointing to his weapon, "This thing has an anti-chakra coating on it, you do know what that means, right?" That cockiness only made Asuran grimace. As long as Kidoumaru had time to counter, all of his projectile attacks would render useless. The one solution to gain the upper hand he had was to achieve greater agility than the spider freak. Speaking of spiders, the Uchiha was seriously impressed with his opponent's speed. For a spider, he traveled like a bird.

Despite the fact that having good agility was essential for a shinobi, dealing with one who had such skill was a nuisance. At that moment, Kidoumaru took out his bow with an arrow in it as well. Asuran jerked back immediately with caution.

"Stand still, little boy," ordered the arachnid shinobi while licking his lips, "This wouldn't hurt at all if you stand perfectly still. You don't want to feel pain would you?"

Yeah right, as if he would simply stay put at where he was and get killed without giving a fight. Once Kidoumaru fired, Asuran had no other option but to dodge –that was unless he didn't value his life but he did since he wanted to marry Kagari one day. His eyes widened with absolute shock at the speed that was traveling at, it was like as if he fired it off of a crossbow! Tilting his entire body in the quickest manner possible, the Uchiha was relieved when he successfully escaped it but he was not too delighted when his left sleeve was practically sheared off. That only meant one thing, he was not fast enough, and it plainly meant that he would be hit eventually as he tires out. His chances of dying escalated at that spot.

"Shit…" cursed the Uchiha but he was surprised to see Kidoumaru was no longer there. As he watched over to the right, he saw his enemy heading towards Kagari -who was seriously tormenting her opponent by firing everything possible. What made Asuran worry even more was that Kagari was so attached to her entertainment that she did not detect another presence behind her.

"Let's go! Hate!" Kidoumaru roared hoarsely as he pulled back his bow as he fired at Kagari skillfully. Hearing upon that maniac like voice that could be recognized anywhere, Kagari quickly snapped out of her obsession before shifting to the left so the arrow would not penetrate through her flesh. That bastard would have it coming for sneaking behind a lady like that, Kagari thought to herself. After narrowing her eyes with one thought in mind, she kicked Jiroubo away before advancing on Kidoumaru -who she now deeply hated. However, Asuran intervened right between those two.

"Asuran…" whispered Kagari wanting him to move away, "I got him! Move it!"

"No," he replied coldly with solemnity at the same time, "I'll deal with him. I do not end fights until it is really done… I'll show this bastard that he should never take me lightly." Noticing how badly Asuran wanted this chance, Kagari did not have the heart to take it away from him. Although she disagreed since Asuran may get killed, it did help even out the chances, henceforth, Kagari agreed somewhat reluctantly. At the same time, the girl and the Uchiha boy glanced at Jiroubo -who was consuming a soldier pill of some sort- tiredly. Kagari winced when she detected his wounds have mostly healed and his chakra went back to at least half or three quarters. Kidoumaru smirked with his eyes closed.

"You already need to take that pill, Jiroubo?" the spider nin asked with a cocky sneer.

"Shut up," retorted his comrade in a displeased tone, "You aren't doing any better…"

"Whatever, let's kill these two already." Giving in a nod, the four shinobis resumed their ferocious combat.

(Meanwhile at the encampment where most of the Hyuga household members were in the conference room)

"Do you really need to go, Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto as he held his wife's hand securely as she nodded, "Why am I not needed here?"

"This is a Hyuga house meeting," explained the Hyuga girl as she planted a kiss on his cheek, "If something requires you to be present, Father would've called you to be involved."

"Are you sure that you're okay?" Naruto inquired again but his voice carried more concern knowing how sensitive she was when it came to Shani.

"Where is Shani-chan?" Hinata suddenly was the one who did the asking, "Don't tell me that he is out there right now…"

"I have been in the medical wards trying to resurrect as many soldiers as possible and aiding Tsunade with the healing. I was with you the entire time and moreover… I haven't seen him…" This did not make Hinata any happier but she didn't go angry. Instead, a tear wanted to shed from her eye but Naruto quickly wiped it away.

"I hope he is fine…" Hinata murmured sadly with her head down.

"I am sure he is just resting," assured Naruto hoping that this would help her, "Tsunade did say that he needed rest after all."

"I guess you're right…"

"Whatever happens in there, tell me afterwards, okay?"

"Okay…" replied Hinata trying to smile. When the Death Knight gave her a genuine smile -as if it was an influence- Hinata managed to smile back before she took his lips into a deep kiss. She always did that when she needed encouragement, and Naruto was someone who would give it to her until the very end. "I'll be going in now."

"Sure thing, Hinata," he said one last time before she opened the door and revealed Hanabi and Neji who were already inside for two seconds. Naruto gave both of them a nod before Hinata closed the door fully. Seeing that there was no point in staying any longer, the Death Knight gave out a small sigh before returning to his sector. He just hoped that there weren't any more casualties. Yeah, he would believe that when pigs fly. In a war, there would never be zero deaths.

Hinata took a seat next to her Father like in any major Hyuga household meeting when they needed her present. It had been a while since she had sat through a meeting. The very last one was Shani and Kagari were one month old, and they discussed about what kind of future they would have. Of course, the end of it all was Shani and Kagari live under the rules of freedom instead of needing to serve their loyalty to the Hyuga clan. Yamase was also lucky since Neji belonged to the Branch family and they would never need to be fully committed like the main house. To wrap it all up, Hinata's children and those in their generation were not shackled.

However, some of the elders were not satisfied about these new procedures. They believed that this noble clan should always have an heir who could take on the responsibilities in procreation, influence others to be strong, and other tasks in what a clan leader should be doing. Hiashi did a great job so far and it was supposed to be passed down to Hinata when she was eighteen. Of course, ever since she was married to Naruto, her fate was in Naruto's hands and there was an impossibility for Naruto to forfeit his wife to such rules and regulations. The elders soon wanted Shani to take on this role but Hinata battled her way to achieve her son's freedom. She was so grateful that day.

Today, she wondered what kind of subject they would be discussing. Surprisingly enough, there were only 8 people present; 4 elders, Hinata, Hiashi, Neji and Hanabi. Each meeting contained fewer people than the last, things must be getting more and more specific these days. Hinata had a bad feeling about this.

"Father…" Hinata whispered silently to Hiashi -who turned slightly to face her, "What is the meeting about? Why are there only eight of us?"

"I think you need to understand the situation here, my daughter," began Hiashi giving a small cough before continuing, "Neji, Hanabi, this news applies just as much to any one of us here." The other two Hyuga young adults paid attention immediately; curiosity was something that was a driving force in their lives. "Ever since yesterday, every clan, and every citizen in Konoha are decreasing in numbers. Many of the people in our clan have also suffered through death and the elders and I have proposed a plan to maintain the Hyuga bloodline running for the next generations.

"Personally, if we have our clan members marrying another to expand our clan numbers it would be fine. However, things are not showing as much promise anymore since our sudden decrease of members. And in order to maintain the Hyuga blood going, the elders have decided Shani and Yamase to marry someone within the clan. Shani is the oldest son of the heiress, and Yamase is the older daughter in the leader of the branch family. You two do not have to agree with it but you have think about the future of the Hyuga."

"Hiashi-sama," objected Neji -who really should be out there battling but this meeting got in the way. "How can the clan plan who my daughter should marry when she may have hearts for someone else? I can't do something as heartless as abolish her freedom."

"I agree with Neji-ni-san," added Hanabi defending Neji's point, "It's not right at all."

"We've discussed this before," said Hinata trying to recall their final decision twelve years ago, "My son and daughter would not be involved with such commitments. Are you trying to break it now? Forcing Shani-chan or Kagari-chan to an arranged marriage is the exact same thing as telling him that he does not have a right to guide his own life and love life. Father, you can't do this to him." Surprisingly enough, Hiashi only smiled understandingly and it confused the three to no end.

"I know, Hinata," said Hiashi with his hand on her shoulder. He was so stunned how young Hinata still looked when she was already 29. She looked no older than twenty after all these years, "I have no intention to break this promise. Shani and Yamase don't have to follow it if they don't want to, the clan is powerless in terms of trying to force them to decide. Yet, it wouldn't be forcing if they agree willingly now, would they?"

"I suppose not…" muttered the Anbu Captain under his breath while still trying to grasp what Hiashi was trying to say.

"I am sure Shani and Yamase would not mind at all," continued the current Hyuga heir confidently, "They have been knowing another for a long time now, they are perfect for another." Hinata and Neji's face seemed drained where as Hanabi had her hands covering her mouth trying to hide her shock, "Shani and Yamase would be the future for this clan-"

"I don't know…"

"Yamase would be delighted to hear it, Neji," said Hiashi, "Trust me." At normal circumstances, Hinata would consider incest to be wrong. It was wrong morally, yes, but to the Hyuga family or even the former Uchiha clan or Uzumaki clan, incest was not as improper as people imagined to be. To remain the noble bloodline pure and "other clan blood" free, Hyugas did "mate" with their own relatives as if it was normal. The only catch was that they can never procreate with siblings, but as long as they were as far as being cousins it was fine.

Research had proved that a child born by incest may have biological problems, this also applied for two people too close by blood. However, when it came to the Hyuga blood, that issue was not a concern. Neji and Hinata, despite their relationship, were supposed to marry another for the sake of the clan. Hinata was the heiress who obtained much of Naruto's skills, and Neji obviously was one who held the strongest Hyuga blood amongst anyone. They were perfect but since Hinata fell in love with Naruto, and Neji loved Tenten, their emotions became their dominant force in their decision making. In simpler terms, they could not follow such rules.

"Father…" Hinata choked out while still couldn't believe that this proposal was brought up, "Would Shani-chan… you know, willing to be engaged with Yamase?"

"Let's ask him that later, I am sure he wouldn't refuse."

Hinata, Neji, and Hanabi only sighed to themselves as the elders began to discuss about other topics. However, the only subject was on Hinata's mind –and even Neji's- was that engagement. What would happen if Shani refused? Or rather, how would he take it? Only time would tell, Hinata kept telling herself, only time would tell.

(Half an hour later, at the West Gate)

From what Kagari could gather at this moment, each Leaf Shinobi who arrived at the West Gate serving as reinforcements were all killed sooner or later the instant they engaged combat. Was the Sound that strong, or were they just plain weak? Although the Paladin lady wanted to do anything to curse out how badly those Leaf bastards sucked shit, she had no time to deal with it right now as Jiroubo continuously fired beams at her wings to make her crash land. Taking out her primary weapon –the beam daggers- she quickly dived down and slashed each beam into halves so she could create an opening. As Jiroubo figured out she had gotten too close, he quickly glided back and gave off a suppressing fire to make it unquestionably irritating for her to keep on.

Kagari gritted her teeth noticeably as the wave of firepower drastically increased. The girl even screamed out loud as two of his energy blasts struck her chest –hard.

Tayuya ascended to the skies before coming down with twice the speed she used to gain flight. With that charged up trident to become a blade that could nearly cut anything, the Sound girl clearly know what kind of devastating weapon she was holding. Emitting the same creepy battle scream like the one she did when she charged for her plasma lightning, she immediately slashed Shani vertically with immense strength.

Detecting her chakra signature long before she even noticed, Shani instantly moved back as the bladed part of the trident smashed the ground and leaving an undeniable dent. If Shani didn't move in time, his body would've easily been cut into two or even thirds. Aiming his spearheaded scythe at Tayuya dangerously, he immediately unleashed his Death Coil with intense speed. Much to his dismay, the Sound girl absorbed the attack by creating some kind of magnetic shield with electricity –the same method she used for her plasma to curve.

Shani didn't know how it she made it to work, but the fact was that it definitely saved her from his attack. Not thinking of wasting his precious chakra any longer, he immediately flew to her while slashing wildly.

Tayuya began to hesitate when her opponent's movements became closely unpredictable. She moved and blocked with her melee weapon with difficulty and she wanted to wail as Shani suddenly blasted beams like a wildfire shower. How did he get his strength from, Tayuya would really want to know that. In spite of that, after she swiped one assault and twisted a 360-degree turn, she smirked cockily when she managed to take out a kunai at that time. Skillfully, the girl violently whipped the steeled weapon at him and unfortunately for the Death Knight, it struck him badly at the left thigh.

Meanwhile, Kidoumaru took out his bow once again before unleashing multiples of chakra arrows –like Searing Arrows that Rin and Naruto both know- down at Asuran who was defending with his cleaver in a cornered scenario. Once the Uchiha destroyed all of them in two attacks, he pulled his beam weapon back before hurling it at Kidoumaru like a boomerang. To respond to such a bold attack, Kidoumaru hurriedly launched his spherical breaker to counter. To his surprise, his eyes widened with shock as the cleaver miraculously –as he would put it- came up higher than expected. To make it simpler to understand, Kidoumaru's counter was a dead miss.

On the ground, Asuran leaped back in a glide to evade before his feet were pierced off. In a coordinated fashion, he formed his Uncle's devastating fire technique: Dragon Fire no Jutsu. As Kidoumaru shifted to the left so the cleaver would whiz by him without dealing any unnecessary damage, he quickly retracted the spherical breaker to come back to his hand. Little did he know, a massive blaze of fire was shot directly at him. Taking more stamina to gain agility, he hurried flew back as the flames were a foot away from literally cooking him. As the second and third blast came at him, Kidoumaru couldn't help but curse as the heat nearly crisped up his skin –if that wasn't his our layer of skin, he would gladly indulge himself with it.

Everything tasted like chicken nowadays, right?

"Shit! This bastard is getting annoying!" the East nin yelled regardless of the circumstance as he fell back.

At the same time, Jiroubo was still persistently trying to shoot down Kagari who was coming down rather too quickly for his taste –obviously he had trouble catching her. Jiroubo simply flinched as each of his attacks were deflected, reflected, destroyed, or evaded. Once the angelic Paladin past by through him without attacking since she wasn't organized enough, Jiroubo grunted with annoyance knowing that she was as quick as ever. If that was the case, he knew that not one single attack hit her. He would go all out physical but he was too sluggish.

"She went behind me?" he inquired silently but suddenly felt this strange feeling in his body. He winced as he felt his chest and heartbeat; they were beating a tad bit too quick. This only meant one thing; he was lacking chakra. "Kuso kono baka medicine pill," Jiroubo shouted angrily with the will to blame, "The recovered chakra is nearly all used up already!" Kidoumaru heard his complains and merely smiled teasingly as he prepared to attack Asuran.

"You are too wasteful, baka!" commented the arachnid male playfully but not necessarily encouraging.

"How dare you!" Jiroubo retorted back flaring up.

Kidoumaru ignored him for now as he chased and shot out three webs at the retreating Asuran –who was in flight. Although he missed, he knew he would get him eventually, "You can go back alone if you want to," said Kidoumaru still smirking, "I don't even care." It was then when he looked up front again and the Uchiha was not even here any more. Instead, Asuran just seized the opportunity to jump high with his cleaver above his head ready to strike.

"Die!" roared the Uchiha with his words dripping venom as he came down already using the beamed part of the weapon to attack. He wanted to end it now. Knowing that he had no time to evade, all Kidoumaru could do was halt hastily and use the closest thing he owned as a shield. The first object that came to that category was his spherical breaker. Although Asuran was disappointed that he missed his perfect chance to kill Kidoumaru, it was fortunate that he cleanly sliced that annoying spiked cannon ball in half and it blew up after that. That disadvantage just make Kidoumaru retreat back and of course leaving him cursing as each passing second went by.

"You're the idiot, dumbass!" Jiroubo declared in an insulting manner.

"What did you say?" questioned Kidoumaru angrily but suddenly Jiroubo grabbed his left wrist when he didn't know that his leader flew by him. By the looks of it, Jiroubo seemed to be running away from the battlefield while almost crushing his arm with unbelievable strength, "Don't grab on and drag me anywhere as you please, bastard!" the East Sound ninja remarked roughly.

"Shut up!" scolded the leader trying to talk some sense into Kidoumaru, "We got to get out of here so we can recover! Do you want to continue fighting looking like that with no weapons or chakra?"

"Damn…" Despite how much that would scar his pride, Kidoumaru couldn't deny that fact for they were opening too many gates of weakness for the opponent to pass through. At the same moment, Kagari heard everything from the above, and she would never allow them to escape when they were in such a weak state. Letting them go now would be a disgrace that she would need to carry for the rest of her life until her career ended. Or maybe, she would mess up her entire future career as a shinobi before it began. Nonetheless, she wouldn't let this break to be ignored.

"I won't let you!" shouted Kagari as she engaged them directly in front –still flying- and shot out a wave of Mana Flare at the duo who were coming her way. As the beams struck Kidoumaru and Jiroubo painfully, the arachnid male scowled fiercely before shooting out a web string and attaching it to her arm. With one violent pull, Kagari's onslaught was ceased instantly and in addition to that, Kidoumaru forcefully yanked her and whirled her to the rear where Asuran was coming from. Asuran gasped as his angel collided into him very ungracefully. Also, this sudden halt gave the Sound nins the time they needed to escape. Normally they would kill of Kagari and Asuran right now but they simply had no strength to pull anything off.

Elsewhere, Tayuya took out her flute from her back pocket and attempted to play one of her serenades. Turning himself at the right and upside down, in a wild combination Shani reached out his palm before casting a Mana Burn aiming at her face knowing what happened last time when she played that 'innocent' instrument. The Death Knight had a very vivid memory of the outcome on their previous clash.

As of result, Tayuya's flute was the thing that was hit and due to the force of the Mana Burn, the instrument turned into pieces. Crap was all she could say. Just as she wanted to kill him for doing such a thing to her precious flute, she suddenly noticed something was happening to her body.

Her eyes wanted to shriek –of course her eyes can't scream- when she found out what it was: chakra drainage. This was indeed a significant blow for her.

"It's over?" she asked herself knowing that she could not even form basic jutsus any longer. It was then when she looked over to her left slightly and found out Kidoumaru and Jiroubo were already leaving the battleground. With her against all three of them, she wouldn't stand a chance. Regardless of the lacking the knowledge of how powerful Asuran was Tayuya safely assumed that he was also something to be feared of or her comrades wouldn't be falling back. What made her worry even more was that Kagari and that Uchiha were drawing near.

Shani, while noticing his opponent was distracted, he instantaneously pulled his scythe with fury in a striking position before rushing at Tayuya wanting to kill. Snapping out of her thoughts a second before she was swiped, Tayuya glided back slightly before attacking with her trident from the right using all her might. Much to her disbelief, Shani's left devil wing took all the impact -and skillfully too. Also, to worsen the situation for her, he locked it so she couldn't pull it back.

If she didn't let go her of trident, Shani would slice her and more than likely to kill her. The Sound lady had to decide right then and there or she would regret it. Therefore, just seconds before the scythe struck her head, she released the grip of her trident slightly so she could evade. Shani may have flinched at her swiftness but furthermore he was enraged when she even managed to pull out her weapon before taking off towards the outskirts in an escape.

The last look on her face that she gave him was surprisingly frightening, Shani never seen such hatred being displayed by anyone, it was even worse than the time he battled Chaos. Shaking that memory out of his head, he turned his head and found Kagari and Asuran landed next to him in a tired fashion. They watched the horizon as they took in deep breaths to cool off, and even Shani panted a bit himself. He was quite wearied as well but his pride refused to show any weakness.

"Shani," said Asuran as he put a hand on his shoulder, "You alright?" The Death Knight only grunted silently as he looked at his left leg. Kagari gasped loudly when she saw the kunai was still stuck in his flesh. The little sister soon kneeled down but her brother stopped her. Shani then forcefully pulled it out without thinking, he also winced a little as of result. Kagari pitied his pain no matter if it was great or small. As a matter of fact, it was great.

"You're bleeding badly!" complained Kagari as she examined her brother's leg immediately and she wouldn't take no for an answer, "I got to heal it!" To her surprise, Shani nodded in approval and allowed her to start her treatment. Giving a delighted expression, the Uzumaki girl quickly formed a set of unique hand seals but just as when Shani noticed what she was doing and wanted to stop her… however, it was already too late.

"Holy Light!" she announced as the bright, divine light shined on Shani. The initial plan was to use it to heal Shani but since she forgot he was a Death Knight, it only did harm –or rather unbelievable harm. The Forbidden child screamed as his eyes were blind and his body suffered from immense pain. In a very un-Shani like manner, he twitched, stumbled, and yelled before falling down unconscious. Asuran shook his head with a sigh as Kagari laughed nervously at what she had done; Mother and Father would not be pleased to hear this.

Nonetheless, the remaining duo took the young Death Knight by the arms before taking him back to base.

(Currently at the outskirts of Konoha)

"Tayuya, Jiroubo, and Kidoumaru are coming back," announced a Sound medic to Akira. The Paladin's eyes opened up just slightly to show that he had some recognition to this news. As the trio entered back into the infirmary, they didn't dare look at Akira, and the Paladin knew why they would believe so. Unknown to the trio, Akira was not one bit angry at them, although he may be disappointed that the Uzumaki twins were not killed as ordered, the Paladin knew what kind of damages the West Gate suffered just now. What he witnessed pleased him greatly for the West end was completely destroyed with corpses beyond imaginable.

"Akira-sama…" said Kidoumaru very humbly and with evident fear, "We are deeply sorry for not able to kill them…"

"We are willing to accept any punishment," said Jiroubo kneeling but he certainly found it surprising when Tayuya was already on her knees begging for forgiveness. Even if she may not be grabbing Akira's feet like a vassal, her expression of guilt was greater than anyone of them combined.

"Akira-sama…" the strawberry blond hair girl on the team spoke with pure humility and humiliation for her defeat, "You can do whatever with us for punishment… even if you don't want to give us the antidote… We would understand…"

"Tayuya!" hissed the male with six arms not believing that his teammate was suggesting the ultimate punishment as their very first choice of torment. If they didn't have their antidote, they were better off dead than alive!

"What?" she questioned him softly, "We failed, we messed up, that's all we deserve…"

"What are you three saying?" questioned Akira eyeing the three elites not understanding the reason of their behaviour. He couldn't help but smiled amusedly at them. Tayuya's face was priceless, she merely blinked twice at what Akira could be smiling about, "You three did great out there."

"But, we…"

"You didn't get those demons?" questioned Akira cutting her off, "Yes, it's a bit disappointing to know that they are still alive." The trio looked very disgusted when Akira reminded them of that fact. Kidoumaru formed his hand into a fist remembering what Asuran did at the last second before he left, how dare he destroy his spherical breaker and make him look like a newbie in combat? The next time they meet, Kidoumaru sworn to kill him for good, "However, you three practically annihilated the West Gate."

"We did?" asked Jiroubo amazed at what he was hearing. How did that happen, he wondered.

"Maybe you three didn't notice it, but Konoha had lost at least double of what we lost today. You three successfully thinned out their forces dramatically, Orochimaru would be delighted to hear this."

"But, the demons-" argued Tayuya but she was silenced when Akira a finger at her lips. She blushed noticeably when she felt his touch.

"That would be between the four of us," justified the Paladin giving them a strong sense of security, "All that sannin needs to know is that your initial attack was successful. I am going to give you guys your antidote now. Go have some rest in your resting room until further orders, okay? I got things to report." With that said, the young Paladin handed them three small bottles that contained the sweet syrup which could cure their drug.

After consuming it in less than two seconds, the elites did as they were told and entered their designated resting room. All was inside were three beds; three sinks at the walls; several barriers for limited privacy for privacy wasn't an issue Orochimaru cared about despite Tayuya being a girl amongst them.

"I can't believe it…" Kidoumaru said as he plopped onto the bed lazily, "I can't believe that we actually have to retreat… again…"

"It can't be helped now, can it?" questioned Jiroubo rhetorically as he sat on the mattress, "We would've been killed back there if we weren't careful enough."

"What would've happened if we didn't even meet the basic requirement that Akira-sama asked from us?" asked the arachnid male as he looked up to the ceiling while lying on his back, "Do you think…"

"He does have a right to not give us the antidote…"

"I am tired from these battles," stated Kidoumaru suddenly catching Tayuya's attention as well for a second before she turned away elsewhere to do her own thing on the bed –which was just staring at nothing and daydream. She even then took off her shirt to free herself from any body odours although her teammates were around. She didn't really care as long as her undergarments covered her for Kidoumaru and Jiroubo treated many of her injuries before, it wasn't like they haven't seen anything before. Even now, Kidoumaru and Jiroubo couldn't believe how Tayuya truly looked under all those clothing. Despite how beautiful she may be, they didn't dare look at her for Tayuya was still a girl and the last thing they wanted was for her to kill them both for being idiots.

"Who isn't?" answered the leader still not looking at Tayuya's form.

"Do we still need to continue fighting against that village Konoha?"

"Judging from Akira-sama and Orochimaru-sama, both of them seem to quite anxious for that place to burn down. Besides, it's not important for us to worry about the outcome of this operation; all we need to worry is ourselves. It's either to kill or be killed. It's been two days, Kidoumaru, and that place still isn't in a blaze…"

"We still haven't lost yet, you know!" the arachnid male argued as he sat up straight. He soon blushed when he saw Tayuya in very short shorts with a tanktop that only reached her torso. The way she was lying down was a sign of temptation. She looked sexy, that was the only word Kidoumaru could use for this situation. Jiroubo knew what his friend was looking at but he was too deep in thought to care.

"You are too naïve…" continued the leader of the squad, "We lost when we haven't won, and the only way to consider ourselves victorious is to kill off everyone that Akira-sama or Orochimaru-sama tells us. That applies to Orochimaru especially for he is someone who would never accept failure, you know that just as much as anyone of us, right?"

"Yeah…" finished Kidoumaru before he looked away to think about what his leader said in a serious manner. Tayuya wasn't listening to begin with, and it was soon when her surprisingly peaceful mood made her start to hum a song eloquently before she started singing it herself. Her voice was beautiful indeed, and it was always her singing and sudden calmness that made them relax. In spite her bossy self, Jiroubo and Kidoumaru sometimes did find their anti-social comrade to be quite enjoyable at times. They just hoped she was always like that.

(At the encampment back at Konoha)

Naruto –after escorting Hinata to her meeting- knew that Shani and Kagari were not here at the base. The only assumption the assassin could think of was that they must've headed out to the West Gate to intercept whoever was there. He clearly knew those Three elites showed up at that end and over half of the shinobis that Tsunade sent out there were killed for only a small portion of them came back alive. It didn't take a genius to figure out the piles of carcasses that would be there at this time. Naruto just hoped that Shani and Kagari would return soon. If they were dead, he wouldn't know how to break that news to his lovely wife.

As if it was on cue, Naruto heard someone called him from afar. He turned around slightly and smiled when he saw Hinata run to him. Naruto was always happy to see her wherever and whenever it was. Once the Hyuga girl tackled him into an embrace, Naruto cuddled her head and ran his fingers through her unbelievably silky hair, she only giggled lightly to respond.

"You okay?" asked Naruto curiously as he broke the hug with her.

"Somewhat…" she replied gently.

"What did you discuss about?" Naruto inquired wanting to know.

"It's about Shani actually…" Hinata told him in a vague way. The Death Knight raised a brow with a bit of surprise, what would the clan be discussing about? When Naruto gave her that look, Hinata knew he didn't understand fully, she might as well explain it to him with more detail. "It's like this, Naruto… my Father just proposed this idea… I don't know if you like it or not though…"

"You are better off telling me, we would never know."

"Okay… Father suggested that Shani –since he has the Byakugan stronger than Kagari- to marry someone within the clan as an arranged marriage. He said that it was for the sake of the clan since many of our clan members have been killed during these past several days. In order for the Byakugan bloodline to be past on, it is best for Shani to be married with someone that holds his primary bloodline limit…" Hinata paused for a second and checked the reaction Naruto gave her, the girl gave a sigh when he didn't show any disapproval or agreement, he merely took everything in as if it was normal.

"How do you feel about it, Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto a second later without much anger.

"Of course I don't want to shackle Shani-chan's future!" she protested immediately but there was a sense of control present, "But at the same time who Father suggested Shani to marry isn't a bad choice. I think Shani would even want to consider it…"

"The only rational person for Shani would naturally be Yamase," stated Naruto as Hinata's eyes went wide. Curse him for being so sharp all the time, she didn't even say who it was and Naruto already figured everything out, "She has the Byakugan, she is the same age as Shani, I am sure she even likes Shani…"

"I know that," said Hinata shortening his sentence for now, "But do you want Shani to marry her?"

"I wouldn't mind that much if Shani wants to marry her, they have been knowing each other ever since they were born… I am sure Shani would learn to love her. However, if Shani doesn't want to take on this role but your clan members do force him to, then I will clearly object. Do you mind that Yamase is the… you know."

"A little bit…" Hinata retorted biting her lip lightly, "I really don't want Shani-chan to believe that I am forcing him or rather people forcing him to do anything even though he may have the heart to do it himself. You know him, Naruto, he likes doing things alone."

"We just have to ask him when he comes back, right?" Hinata instantly caught his words, her facial expression did not looked content about it. Naruto gulped knowing he said something wrong, "I know what you're thinking," pleaded the Death Knight making an emotional safety barrier. "I am sure Shani and Kagari believe that what they need to accomplish what is needed to be done… they are doing it for the sake of the village. Like what Shani said last night, you should trust him more." Hinata shook her head slightly before giving off another moan of slight exasperation.

"I know Shani-chan and Kagari-chan are fine," said Hinata with a weak grin, "I do detect their presence after all. If I know them, they should coming right around now…" As if on cue, Hinata and Naruto suddenly heard someone from a distance shouting out their names but recognizing them as kaa-chan and otousan, they knew that it must be Kagari for it was a girl.

"Kagari… and Asuran?" Naruto mumbled confusedly when he found out Asuran was with them, the only assumption Naruto had in mind was that the young Uchiha went out as well. He observed Asuran's body in three seconds, and looked worriedly at him when he found out Asuran's left arm was half dangling as if he was injured. Although it was clearly nothing too serious, Itachi would be worried when he found out.

"Kagari-chan, Asuran-chan!" greeted Hinata as she approached them in a relieved voice, "I am so glad that you two are alright." Just as she wanted to hug them both like any loving mother would, Hinata stopped when she figured out who was in between them unconscious. It was her son, Shani. How he became unconscious was unknown to her but she wanted a reason.

"How did your brother…" Hinata began calmly but deeply concerned for her little boy, "Did he get hurt badly, Kagari-chan?" She began to kneel down at her level as the kids released the Death Knight into her arms before the Hyuga girl carefully embraced her son's sleeping form. She hadn't done this for ages, how she nearly forgot the memories of being a young mother.

"He was just tired before…" replied Kagari with her finger to her lips trying to cover her embarrassment, "Then I tried to heal him… using Holy Light…" Hearing upon that response, Naruto's eyes opened with interest, Asuran sighed while shaking his head, and Hinata laughed with amusement. The Hyuga heiress' previous worried instantly vanished.

"Was that all?" asked Hinata still trying to control her chuckling. She remembered how dramatic her son reacted to the divine light when he was a child, he was afraid of it and he would practically yell and scream when he experienced it. It would be considered entertainment if he was only faking the pain but Hinata knew it actually did hurt him quite a bit, "You tried to wake him up, Kagari-chan?"

"Yes," the angel girl said back promptly, "I tried hitting him on the cheek, shaking him, blowing in his ear, licking his face, kissing his cheek, hugging him tightly, kissing his forehead… I have done everything!"

"Obviously you didn't do everything," corrected Hinata with a smile, "If you did, he would be awake by now." She then skillfully brought Shani's sleeping head in front of hers. At that moment, Hinata kissed him directly on the lips in a very motherly fashion. Immediately, the young Death Knight'e eye widened with stun and instantly pulled away with a very heavy blush on his cheeks. It wasn't everyday that he got kissed by one of the most gorgeous woman he knew kissed him with such affection. What was a boy starting his adolescence supposed to feel.

"Mother…" groaned Shani in a very timid manner. Despite that he liked to be kissed, his pride forbade him to say it out loud.

"There, you're awake now." Hinata stated cheerfully as she hugged her son again, "Glad that you made it back here." Shani was surprised at his mother, after all the things he had said last night, she was still willing to kiss him, to hug him. He would've never did that if he was the Father, what ailed her to display her love so constantly without hoping to gain anything back? What Forbidden said was right, if she never had any care for him, she wouldn't love him and forgive anything that he had done. Shani just felt so stupid and just turned his head away in shame and moral disgust. Hinata tilted her head innocently wondering what could be bothering him.

"I'm sorry…" Shani mumbled while seething his words thus making it barely audible to the ear.

"What?" asked Hinata holding him closer trying to cheer him up a bit. Her smile made the young Forbidden child regret even more than before.

"I said I am sorry… I am sorry for what I said to you yesterday…" repeated Shani not wanting to restate his statement more than once or even elaborate on how he was feeling, "I was just angry that you yelled at me after I tried my best out there…" Hinata only smiled at him with understanding before pulling her son into a deep embrace once more. The boy was speechless yet he allowed it anyway.

"It's okay, Shani-chan," cooed Hinata to his ear as she stroked his hair with care, "It's kaa-chan's fault too for not believing and lacking so much faith in you… I really thought I was a bad mother and I was just too harsh on you. I am so sorry, Shani-chan, I really am…"

"Thank you for forgiving me, Mother…" he told her in a whisper, "I thank-"

"Yay!" cheered Kagari suddenly as she took both her brother and mother in a very passionate hug, "We are a family again! I am so happy!" Naruto gave out a small grin and Asuran as well. It looked like things were heading towards the right direction again, solving one problem was definitely better than dealing with none he supposed. Even though Naruto would want every possible dispute and crisis to end, he just remembered the news Hinata told him earlier. How was his son going to take it? In addition, how could Hinata tell him? The emotion called concerned quickly roamed around a second time, why couldn't this world just get a bit easier so their lives would be happier?

Asuran was no ignorant boy, he soon grasped something was wrong when Naruto decided to remain silent when his family was clearly rejoicing over their previous family conflict. He knew he was in no position to question what the Death Knight's trouble may be but Asuran was undoubtedly curious to know. He shouldn't pry into other people's business, he knew that much, yet when it came to his admirer (Kagari), and his best friend (Shani), it was human emotion to have basic concerns. Moreover, he wondered if the news would crush the family once more, the young Uchiha just prayed to himself nothing would go wrong. One of the last things he wanted to witness with his own very eyes was a frowning Kagari.

His hopes of not truly want to know the facts were destroyed –much to his dismay- when Shani's sharpness conquered any other emotion in his mind. Sometimes, the Uchiha sure wanted to kill Shani for being so vigilant.

"What's with otousan?" questioned the one eyed Byakugan kid with neutrality all smeared in his voice, "He seems concerned…" That moment of time, Hinata suddenly recalled the news that she needed to tell him. Despite her lack of preparation to use the most accurate words, Hinata knew she had no time to simply stall and wait. Shani would know eventually and his reaction would be worse if they intended to hide something vital from him. Hinata and Naruto do not fear Shani of course, nevertheless they simply –as parents- hide things from their children. Kagari soon paid close attention too, even she had her own thoughts flowing in her head.

"What's wrong, kaa-chan?" asked Kagari sweetly with a smile not believing anything was troubled.

"Shani," Hinata said around three seconds later. The two Uzumaki kids and Asuran raised a brow knowing Hinata never needed to procrastinate with her responses. She only did that when the importance of her words or the issue was much greater than she predicted, "Do you mind if we talk for a second?" That had the Death Knight fairly confused.

"Mother?" Shani asked not understanding this at all despite his sharpness.

"I have something very important that you need to know…" Hinata told them seriously as Shani continued to look at his mother with the most confused face he had ever made during the twelve years of his life...

(To increase the dramatic effect, if you have Life Goes On or Reason –both Seed Destiny Ending Themes, please play it.)

AN: It's just really me to leave you all at another cliffhanger. I suppose this helps me to remind myself that I have a fiction to complete. When I read my work over again at times, I even start hating myself for making such a blasted cliff. It can't be helped now, can it? It's better to leave you all at suspense than leave it peaceful and satisfying. I can be just that evil at times… Thank you all so much for lasting this long with my OCs, normally I would really hate to read them but I suppose I made it easier for myself for making such contrast with the existing Seed characters. Regardless, thank you all for spending your time to read my "creation" although I really don't believe it to be that great. Anyway, please take care yourselves out there, I hope to read your comments one day.