A/N: OMG, finally! Well, here's the official eighth chappie! Enjoy!

P.S. Sorry if it's confusing. In theory, the story's supposed to clear up as the plot evolves. It's to keep all you lovely readers reading :)

Chapter 8: Rescue

The Jounins were gathered in Tsunade's office awaiting orders. The room was tense and the air was thick while Tsunade tried to decide what to do. Kiba, Hinata and Sakura were also with them, sitting quietly beside each other on small wooden chairs.

Finally, Tsunade lifted her head from her hands.

"This is serious," she said to all of them.

She had not yet explained the situation to any of the jounins yet they could feel the desperateness of the situation.

"We found a dead body with Bizunen in its blood," she continued, earning a wave of gasps from the only three available jounin: Asuma, Kakashi, and Kurenai.

She told the elite ninja the whole story about Neji and the mysterious melting replacement while the 3 silent chunnin wondered what on earth Bizunen was.

Finally, Tsunade had finished the recap and Kakashi noted that, though it was treacherous, the kidnapping as well as the kidnapper was ingenious.

"The culprit must be talented," he had said, "to be able to keep up that strong of a genjutsu for so long."

"Which one of them is dead," Asuma asked quite bluntly.

"That, we are not sure of." Tsunade replied.

"One of the two last remaining Bizunen holders…" Kurenai said, shaking her head in disappointment.

Finally, Sakura couldn't take it anymore. Her curiosity was welling up inside like air in a balloon. But the balloon had just popped.

"What is Bizunen!" Sakura exclaimed, forgetting the dire situation they were in and solely focusing on the explanation of 'Bizunen.'

"I suppose we do owe you an explanation," Tsunade said calmly, "Since it can't be helped."

And so, she began to tell the tale of Bizunen. But she sounded reluctant.

Long ago, the Uchiha and Hyuga clans were non-existent and there stood only one clan of Konoha that possessed kekkei genkai: Otana. The skilled Otana clan members were respected and praised throughout all the lands with their exceptional abilities and blood. The known abilities of this special bloodline, known as Bizunen, combined those of the Byakugan and Sharingan while adding some of its own, original and more powerful attributes.

Most of the clan had been killed in action after Konoha had been target by six nations that had allied against them. Refusing the responsibility they held and the deaths it brought with it, the clan split into the two elite clans we know of today: Hyuga and Uchiha. Therefore splitting the responsibility.

With their abilities, the Otana surpressed the chakra that mixed the sharingan with the byakugan leaving the Uchiha with sharingan and the Hyuga with the byakugan.

Today, there are only two Otana clan members with the legendary abilities of the bizunen who live on the border of the country of fire.

"I see…" Sakura said quietly as Tsunade concluded the tale, "And the blood you found on the walls was not that of Neji, but of one of the remaining bizunen holders."

Hinata looked at her feet silently. She was happy that her cousin had survived but she suffered the pain of knowing that somebody else had died.

"We have to retrieve Neji immediately," said the Hokage urgently, "because whoever has done this must have been powerful enough to overcome Bizunen. All three of your teams will go. Team Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai, gather and dispatch A.S.AP. Use Pakun to find any scent of and detect Hyuga Neji."

"Shino is on a special mission with his father," Kurenai stated.

The Godaime replied with, "Fine. Kiba, Hinata, you two will go. Kakashi, retrieve Naruto and Sasuke immediately."

And a spark that blew out in Sakura's head was resurrected.

"Godaime!" she exclaimed as she stood up suddenly, "Naruto's missing! He was kidnapped!"

"What!" Godaime exclaimed in fury, "The situation is growing desperate. Kakashi, you, Sasuke and Sakura will search for Naruto. Asuma, Kurenai, your teams will find the Hyuga."

"B-but," Hinata began as she too stood up from her sitting position, "I know where both of them are."

It took a few moments for Tsunade to register this, "Explain," she demanded.

When Hinata had finished her second explanation of the story, Tsunade, knowing the many secrets of Konoha, began to realize what was going on.

Under her breath, she whispered, "Rikoushu."

A silence fell in the room as Hinata shyly sat back down.

"By now," Tsunade said as she shook her head, "Sasuke is probably gone as well."

They had been traveling for quite some time. By now, the sun was beginning to set. Yososhi, with her great speed, led the way as Sasuke silently followed. Unsure of what to expect, he just kept on moving. It seemed so unorthodox that such a talented shinobi as Rikodamau would ever be able to get killed, especially with his superior bloodline trait.

It was lucky for him that Yososhi, being the student of Rikodamau and acquiring many exceptional jutsus, knew an advanced cloaking technique that allowed them to escape Konoha without being labeled as missing nin.

Finally, they had reached their destination. Both stopped in their tracks in front of a small and shabby shack. The land around them was deserted and bare. A field of long grass, empty and isolated.

"This doesn't seem a fit place to burry Rikodamau-sensei," said Sasuke nervously. He sensed a terrible presence close by.

He snuck a glance at Yososhi and saw that she had her head down and her face in a strange expression. Was it guilt?

"Ah," said a raspy voice, causing Sasuke to turn instantly.

In front of the shack now stood a cloaked figure wearing a hideous dragon mask.

"Sasuke," he said, in that same raspy voice, "So glad you could make it."

Sasuke felt a painful pang on the back of his head and found himself falling to the floor. Soon, he felt dizzy and the whole world seemed to fade away.

The masked figure stepped over the unconscious body and stood in front of Yososhi.

"Good job, child," he said.

She turned away. "Give him back!" she exclaimed in a demanding tone.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said in return. Though she could not see his face, she knew that he was smirking.

What she had feared was now becoming a reality. This was her only chance to save her abducted sensei, but now all hope was lost, just like she knew it would be. She turned back to the masked figure, tears welling up inside her eyes.

"You promised," she said, now in a pleading tone, "How could you do this, uncle? How could you do these terrible things? You killed his daughter! She was just a child!"

But he was laughing now, and soon she found herself growing unconscious as well. She stumbled about for a minute before collapsing onto her knees and falling to the floor.

And all the while, he continued to laugh.

They had collected the teams as soon as possible but night had already fallen by the time they were ready to go. Now, they all stood at the gates of Konoha. Tsunade had been right. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. Hinata, having already been to the criminal's hideout, was prepared to lead the way.

"Be careful," Tsunade said sternly, not wanting to lose anymore of her talented shinobi.

"Don't worry," Kakashi said, "We can handle it."

"I will send Jiraiya as soon as he gets back from his mission," she said, "Now go."

And they did. They went and ran swiftly through the night, unsure and worried about what would happen, desperate and determined to save their friends.

A/N: WoOt! It's finally done! Omg, this took forever with all the schoolwork I had! Well, did you like? Did you hate?