Bedsheets fly off a bed as a small figure enthusiastically jumps out. Kotori hops out of the top bunk bed she'd just been sleeping in and lands with a light thud on her feet, putting up her arms like a gymnast who just struck a 10-point landing. Proud of herself she gives a firm nod to no one in particular and looks around the several bunk beds that fill the room, with figures as small as hers filling the sheets, heads of messy hair poking out under. Everyone else is still asleep. Not if she has anything to say about that.
She moves to the window and violently pulls the curtains open; the metal rings drag on the railing and fill the room with the unbreakable noise, made only louder by how quiet the room was just until now. She hisses when the sunlight hits her eyes- the sacrifices she makes by being first to wake up.
The sound of opened curtains and light of uninvited sun cause the beds to stir and mumble and grumble.
"Too bright!" One girl moves his pillow over his head.
"Just a bit more!" Another girl whines and turns her back to the sun.
"Rise and shine, everyone!" The overly-energetic-for-this-early-in-the-morning Kotori goes around the beds and one by one rips the sheets off of her roommates. "It's a brand new day and we gotta meet it with all we got!"
"That's nothing special!" A girl complains.
"Every day is a brand new day!" A younger girl joins in.
"Today's different, though, so we gotta be at our best!" Kotori says.
The girls do finally begin getting out of bed while Kotori begins her morning routine- brush teeth, wash face, make bed. She helps some of the younger girls fix their beds, as well, to not have to run around the bed to tuck in the sheets. Finally, she slips out of her sleeping clothes and puts on an ordinary white shirt and pair of blue pants. A simple attire worn by the others, too, some in different colours but still the same make.
As everyone gets ready, some more begrudgingly than others, the door opens. A middle-aged woman with her hair tied in a tight bun peeks her head in and looks around with a smile. "Perfect, you're already awake. Breakfast will be ready soon, so don't dally. The doctor will be here shortly after for your check-ups."
"Yes, Ms Shiina." The girls reply.
"Good girls." Shiina makes her way back outside.
Before she can fully close the door, Kotori runs out after her. "Ms Shiina, wait!" She manages to slip through the cracked door just in time.
Shiina yelps in surprise, partly also in fear that she could've closed the door on Kotori's foot or arm. "Kotori, you must stop doing that." She sighs. "What can I help you with?"
"Heh, sorry." Kotori laughs. "Do you need any help with your rounds?"
Shiina smiles. "That's nice of you to offer.
In the corridor there are already people walking or running about. Dozens of kids, from pre-teens to late teens, rush out of their own rooms that line the hallway; all in various states of preparedness to meet the day and are met by the caretakers of the Tsuji Town orphanage- all dressed in black and white robes, just as Shiina is.
Truthfully, there's no real reason for Kotori to help with anything, the caretakers are more than capable enough to handle the few things that need handling, which in this case are the toddlers. Shiina does however try to instill a sense of responsibility in her charges so they're better prepared to tackle the world once they grow old enough to leave the orphanage and become their own people.
The two reach the room at the end of the corridor, where one caretaker has already begun getting the youngest ready. This particular room is a nursery where the youngest orphans sleep.
Kotori immediately jumps in and coos at one of the toddlers. "Hey, cutie." She nuzzles him, eliciting a giggle from the young boy. "Let's get you all ready, okay?"
The boy lifts his arms in joy. "Wedy!"
The caretaker in the room smiles. "Good morning, Kotori, Shiina."
"Good morning." Shiina responds. "Kotori will be helping us today."
"So I see."
Kotori truly is one of the kids who are always eager to help and do so with great joy, no matter how rambunctious the toddlers get. It's truly one of Kotori's talents to always remain positive and willing to do anything and everything for the other kids.
It brings her great joy to help the men and women who take such good care of them, particularly Shiina who keeps his whole thing moving. As Matron, she's been in charge of the orphanage for decades, and even many of the current caretakers are children she raised who came back home to help. She's a beloved by not just the orphans but the town as a whole for all that she does. That's why, for her, Kotori needs to become as strong as she could possibly be. If she doesn't manage to become a ninja, she knows exactly what she'll do- stay at the orphanage as a caretaker.
Kotori brings her hands in the 'Bird' hand sign and concentrates for a few moments before a feather materializes from this air. She waves the feather around the toddler's head who tries to grab it as it moves along. After a few seconds of play, Kotori drops it and lets him play with it.
Shiina glances at the feather from the corner of her eye, the previous warmth and delight slightly dimming, replaced with worry.
"Kotori." Shiina says without taking her attention away from the toddler in her hands. "How is your… ability progressing?"
Kotori lowers her gaze and shakes her head. "Not at all. But I did find a book yesterday! I've saved enough ryō to buy it- it's like a ninja handbook. Maybe it'll help me figure it out."
"Just… be careful with that, okay? Don't use it outside of the orphanage and, most importantly, don't let… them see it."
"Don't worry, I won't." Kotori responds. "I promise I'll be careful."
The rest of the morning routine goes on in relative silence, aside from the toddlers being their usual, wiggly and uncooperative selves.
Once all of them are ready and dressed, Shiina pats Kotori on the shoulder. "Thank you, Kotori. Now go have breakfast."
"Okay!" Kotori wipes her brow and skips out of the room. When she reaches the frame, she stops and peaks back inside, only her hands and head visible. "Um, Ms Shiina?"
"Yes?" Shiina turns around.
"When the doctor comes, for the check-up, that is, are there… um… going to be needles?" She hides even further behind the door.
Shiina laughs. "Are you worried?"
"Wh- No!" Kotori blurts out, flustered. "I'm just… asking. For the kids."
"Go eat breakfast." Shiina says.
"You didn't answer the question!" Kotori protests.
"Go." Shiina repeats in a stricter tone which is softened by the smile on her face.
Kotori grumbles, but goes. Despite the threat of needles, she still looks forward to what the day will bring.
~X~
Once breakfast is finished, as with all meals, the kids each pick up their plates and utensils and take them to the kitchen. Some of the kids stay behind to help the caretakers clean the dishes, in accordance with the chores list posted in practically every major room- a detailed schedule that lists when each kid helps with certain chores. It keeps a steady rotation so that they have plenty of breaks, but having these tasks has helped teach many a certain level of responsibility.
Today, Kotori is one of the kids tasked on kitchen duty so the next hour is spent washing and drying the dishes, cleaning the tables, and setting the kitchen in order by storing the ingredients back in their proper storage. Due to the number of kids, the orphanage always keeps a healthy stock of items at their disposal so preserving them is key.
One of the boys on kitchen duty lets curiosity get the better of him and leans sideways to whisper to Kotori. "Hey, have you figured it out yet? Those feathers of yours?"
Kotori shakes her head. "No, still nothing. I'm getting there, though! I think…" She hangs her head and sighs.
"We're all rooting for you." He says with a grin. "You're gonna be, like, the first ninja to come out of the orphanage!"
"That's the plan!" Kotori smiles. "Soon I'll be the awesomest ninja you'll ever see."
"That's so cool! I can't wait to see it."
"Yeah, neither can I." Kotori says with a fading smile. 'If I can only get the stupid feathers to do anything…'
Once everyone is done with their chores, they prepare for the arrival of the doctor. Naturally, regular check-ups are required, keep everyone in healthy and tip-top shape. Because there's so many kids, it's much simpler for the doctor and nurses to come to the orphanage and set-up a temporary station.
Shiina and the rest of the caretakers greet the medical staff and lead them inside, to the room they've designated for use for today. There will naturally be two groups, boys and girls, not just privacy, although that's the main reason, but also to expedite the process.
The process involves the usual tests one would expect, like checking their reflex, their skin for any anomalies, as well as their eyesight, overall physical shape. It's all perfectly standard if slightly time-consuming. It takes a while for the doctors and nurses to go through all of them.
They all wait in the same room and talk to each other while one by one they go through the examination. The process itself is done behind a walled off part of the room, in the corner, so they can have their privacy.
Kotori does her best to patiently wait for her turn but it's proving quite the task. She keeps getting distracted by things around the room, or more accurate- finds things to distract herself with. The number of wooden boards on the ground, the number of dots on the ceiling, trying to figure out who's murmuring behind the door…
Wait a minute…
Kotori focuses all of her senses on the door, to make sure she's not just hearing things. But in-between the girls talking, she can definitely hear the creaking of wood and hushed whispers of someone clearly not meant to be there.
Kotori puffs out her cheeks in frustration and stomps toward the door.
"Kotori?" The other girls question her sudden actions.
She swings the door open, to find some of the older boys crouched down in their attempt to peek through the cracks.
She scowls and after a second of the boys awkwardly frozen in place after being caught, she shouts, "PERVERTS! Get outta here!"
"Go, go, go!" They immediately make a run for it.
The girls make their way to the door to see what happened, and manage to see the end of the boy scattering across the hallways.
"Honestly, those idiots." One of the older girls facepalms.
"They just don't learn." Another girl says.
"Good job spotting those creeps, Kotori."
"They're not as quiet as they think they are." Kotori says.
"I've heard that sensing others is a skill all ninja have. It's like the most important thing."
"That means you're already on your way, Kotori!" A girl pats her on the back.
Kotori grins. "Heh, you think so?"
"Definitely!"
At this point, a nurse peaks out from the closed off area to investigate what all the commotion is about. "Did something happen?"
"No, just some pests." A girl says. "Kotori scared them off." She chuckles.
"Well, speaking of- Kotori, you're up next." The nurse says.
Kotori takes a breath and walks over to the nurse, passing the girl just before her. Kotori immediately notices that she's holding a piece of cotton to her arm which could only be for one reason. Her breath becomes heavy and her step slower as she enters the exam area.
The doctor smiles and motions to the bench in front of her. "Please have a seat."
"Um," Kotori's voice comes out as more of a squeak. "Are there going to be needles?"
"Why, yes." The doctor absent-mindedly answers while preparing her tools. "Blood samples are how we get our best results."
Kotori gulps and steels her nerves. 'It'll be over quick, Kotori, you got this.'
~X~
"You lied." Kotori grumbles as she holds a piece of cotton to where the doctor drew blood.
Shiina smiles. "I never said there wouldn't be needles."
With the doctor's visitation over, everyone's free to do as they please with their day. For Shiina, that's going shopping for supplies and making orders. For Kotori, that's going to buy that book she saw on shinobi. Maybe with that, she'll finally be able to do more than just conjure a single feather that falls to the ground.
Despite the pain in her arm and the sense of betrayal, she still anticipates their arrival to the market. Once they get in view of it, Kotori begins walking with more of a spring to her step, to the shop that has what she's looking for.
Shiinna chuckles. "I won't be far, come join me when you're done."
"Will do!" Kotori makes a bee line for the shop.
It's a small general store that sells various oddities and trinkets, many of which came from passing travellers who sought to sell or trade their own wares.
She lifts herself on her toes to look over the counter with a grin.
"Hey there, kid." The shop clerk chuckles. "Here to look at that book again?"
"No, sir." Kotori places the satchel of ryō on the counter. "I'm here to buy it!" She grins.
"Well, well, finally saved up enough, eh?" The man reaches to a shelf behind him and takes the item that he's been pestered about for weeks on end. A book on chakra and jutsu, about the basics that any would-be shinobi would need to learn. "Here ya go."
Kotori doesn't even attempt to hide her joy. "Finally." She grabs the book and looks it over with excitement. "Thank you so much, mister!"
"Don't mention it, kid. Make good use of it, okay?"
"I will."
Now, she might finally start getting somewhere and grow strong, like she's heard from the stories. A part of her wants to dash right back to the orphanage and start reading it but she promised Shiina to help with the groceries today so that'll have to take priority right now.
She flips through the pages to get an early start to her reading and doesn't fully register her surroundings. As she walks through the street with her nose in the book, she bumps into someone and falls on the ground.
"Ow." She rubs her butt that took most of the fall. "I'm really sorry, I wasn't… look… ing." Her eyes widen in fear as she now sees who bumped into.
Two figures dressed in black with tattered cloaks draped over their shoulders. Their hair is wild and messy, and their eyes appear disturbingly hollow. It's as if they're looking through you and not at you, because that would be more attention than you deserve.
They are people who the kids are warned to never go near, a group of thugs who took over the town and everyone stays as far away from them as possible, because they're terrified of what they'd do.
The man she bumped tilts his head at her, a popping noise from his neck coming out much louder than it reasonably should. "Little kids should watch their steps."
"I'm… I'm sorry." Kotori stammers an apology.
The other man notices the book she'd dropped and bends over to pick it up. He doesn't even bend his knees to do so, instead just bending his body at a 90 degree angle; as if his body just snapped in half. "What do we have here?" He looks over the title. "A book on shinobi? We seem to have a little shinobi on our hands."
"Oh?" The first man's lips curl up. "Are you a shinobi, little girl?"
"N-no, sir. I'm not." Kotori shakes her head.
"Well, that's good, because you know shinobi are scum whose only use is death." The second man taps the book against his bony arm. It rings hollow. "You should pick better literature. We'll take this off your hands."
"B-but I bought it. It's mine."
"And now it's ours."
Kotori desperately looks around the streets to the other people walking but everyone else is just as frozen from fear as she is. No one would help her against these people, no one would dare oppose them.
No one, except for Shiina.
She'd heard some kind of commotion coming from the streets and when she exited the store and saw what's happening, her feet moved entirely on their own. Shiina runs toward Kotori and falls down to the ground to hold her and put herself between her and the thugs.
"Please, sirs, whatever she's done, I'll apologise on her behalf. Please let her be."
The one who took the book looks over Shiina's rather distinct attire. "A caretaker, huh? You don't seem to be teaching these kids manners. She wouldn't let us take this book; now how rude is that?"
"I deeply apologise. You may take the book if that's what you desire?"
"I may?" He twists his tilts sideways like a mad dog. His eyes widen in rage. "I MAY?! Like you're giving me permission?!"
He extends his foot back and kicks Shiina right on the head. She cries out in pain and is sent flying to the side where she lands on the ground with a thud; her head impacts the ground hard.
"Ms Shiina!" Kotori stands up to go check on her but she's stopped when the other man grabs her by the wrists and keeps her in place.
"Don't worry, kid. This is just a free lesson in manners." He cackles.
The one who kicked Shiina leans down beside her and taps her head with the book. "Have you learned your lesson, caretaker?"
"Y-yes." Shiina manages to get out an answer despite the throbbing pain.
"See, I don't think you have." He raises his hand high in the air and prepares to bring the book down right on her head where he just kicked her.
A hand, however, grabs him by the wrist and forces him to drop the book.
They all turn around to see a third man, dressed in the exact same attire as them with the exception that this one covers his face with a blank mask.
"What do you think you're doing, Kawako?" The man breaks his arm free of the grip.
"Not wasting time, unlike you. Beating orphans and caretakers." Kawako shakes his head. "You bring shame to our Lord; he'd never accept such meagre sacrifice."
The man stands up and gets right in Kawako's face, or rather mask. "And what do you know of our Lord, new guy? We've been in his service for decades while you just appeared. Know your place."
Kawako doesn't pay much heed to the aggressive demeanour and looks to the one holding Kotori by the wrist. Deciding that this is no longer worth it, he lets go of the girl so she can run to Shiina's side.
"Ms Shiina, are you alright?" Kotori holds Shiina's head where she was kicked, to feel for any damage.
"I'm fine, Kotori. I'm fine." Shiina tries to prop herself up.
"Where are Kinaga and Kogeru?" Kawako asks the two men. "They haven't reported back."
"Huh? Why would I know or care? Is this what you interrupted us for?" The man clicks his tongue and shoulder checks Kawako as he leaves. "Fucking bastard."
The two of them walk away now that the momentum has all but been killed. Even if they decide to kick someone else, it's no longer fun. They just feel frustration from Kawako interrupting them.
Kawako notes the book on the ground and hands it back to Kotori. "I believe this is yours. Take good care of it."
"Um… thank you?" Kotori slowly reaches over, slightly uncertain about this new arrival. After what she just went through, a part of her thinks he's playing some kind of cruel game, but once she grabs the book, he lets go of it and simply walks away.
It's only once the three men fully leave that people flock to Shiina's side and help her stand up and offer her water. The clerk Kotori bought the book from drenches a towel in cold water for Shiina to apply to her head.
This only shows the dark hold this group has over the town. Everyone is terrified of them and won't move a muscle, even though every single one of them wants to. They want to stand together against them but are well aware they can't.
Despite that reputation, the masked one for some reason showed them kindness in getting the others to stop their assault.
Kotori clutches her book close to her chest. 'Shinobi… are supposed to handle this kind of stuff. They're supposed to defend their village and defeat their enemies. But I can't yet! I can't do anything; just hope that someone will come who can…'
Taking a break from their long trip, Naruto and Hinata are sitting beside the road. It's about half a day's travel before they reach Tsuji Town and they're ahead of schedule so they'd taken the time to scout the area for any potential dangers. Allied shinobi have been disappearing and the cause is unknown so they had to cover a lot of ground. Thankfully, they're more than equipped for the job- with Naruto's [Sage Mode] and Hinata's [Byakugan], there's little that could escape them.
During this break, Naruto has a book open on the ground in front of him and a small green toad perched on his shoulder.
A slimy hand pats Naruto on the head. "C'mon, ya got this. If yer fallin' down a cliff upside down, what trajectory d'ya gotta throw a kunai to hit a target jumpin' over the cliff?"
"AHHHH, why would I know any of this!" Naruto flips the book over in frustration. The jolt in the arms causes the toad to lose his balance a bit but he manages to stick on. "And why do I even gotta study on breaks?"
Hinata gives a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, but I did promise Lady Tsunade to help you further your Jōnin studies."
The toad sighs and hops off Naruto's shoulder. "Maybe a break would do ya good, eh?"
"Thank you for your help." Hinata bows.
"Ya got yer hands full with this one, kiddo." The toad laughs and dispels the summoning jutsu to return back home.
Naruto falls on his back and grumbles. "I feel like I won't be a Jōnin any time soon."
"Don't say that." Hinata sits by his side. "Your strength is well above that of any Jōnin."
"Yeah, but it's not just about strength, is it? I gotta grow in every aspect if I'm gonna become Hokage."
"And you will, with time. You've already come a great deal in such a short time. I believe in you."
Naruto looks up to her and smiles. "Thanks, Hinata."
The two stay as they are for a while longer to finish their break in relative peace and quiet. They're actually ahead of schedule to reach Tsuji Town; the shinobi from the Hidden Cloud and Land of Hot Waters aren't scheduled to arrive for another two days. That gives them ample time to investigate the region around before making their way fully in town.
It would seem their instinct was correct.
At the corner of her sensory range, Hinata notices two presences approaching from the direction of Tsuji Town. Clearly shinobi and not even bother to hide their chakra or their presence. She plays it cool and does not make any rushed movements. She leans down close to Naruto's face, which at one point in the past would make her a jittery mess but this time it's business.
"There're two people approaching." She whispers.
"Yeah." Naruto responds. "I can sense their killing intent even without Kurama's help. They're definitely not allies. What should we do?"
Rather than respond, the veins around her eyes pop one by one and the iris in her eye becomes more defined. The entire time she makes certain to have her back turned to the two approaching figures as to hide her eyes.
[Byakugan]
"Keep an eye on them for now." Hinata says.
It seems their break will have to wait, as they may have found the culprits much sooner than they could've hoped. It's not every day your target comes to you in the very beginning. They seem to be freely following the main path, making their way closer to them.
Hinata hones in on them using her [Byakugan] and gets an actual look at them. A man in his mid-to-late twenties with short spiky hair and a woman in her early twenties with hair that goes to her shoulder blades. Plain gear with tattered cloaks over their shoulders. Nothing to denote them belonging to a hidden village, like forehead protector or flak jacket. Wielding katanas and carrying the usual assortment of kunai and shuriken.
The most shocking item on them which does indeed identify their allegiance hangs on their necks as a necklace- a circle and within it, a triangle pointed down.
"Jashinists." Hinata gasps.
"Who's that?" Naruto furrows a brow.
"It's… not truly known." Hinata explains. "They're a secretive cult that we've not managed to gain any information on. The only thing we know about them is what we've learned from observing Akatsuki's Hidan."
"Hidan? That's… the guy who killed Asuma-sensei, right?"
Hinata nods. "Yes."
She keeps her eyes trained on them, adjusting her sight to focus on their lips. An invaluable skill taught to the Hyūga who awaken the [Byakugan] is the ability to read lips- something they can utilize better than most since they don't even need to be within line of sight with the target. It's something she struggled with a bit in her youth but in recent years, she's been much more motivated to learn and grow.
"Why are we still here? It's so boring." She repeats out loud the man's complaining. "Oi. Oi! Don't ignore me, Kinaga!"
"Huh?" Naruto looks at her confused. "Whatcha mean?"
"If you're just going to complain again, then leave, Kogeru. I'm more than capable of handling any shinobi we meet." Hinata repeats the woman's response.
"And let you have all the fun? I would be a disappointment to Lord Jashin if I don't spill even more Leaf blood." Hinata's heart twists as she looks at the man cackle in delight.
"You'll be a disappointment to Lord Reisaku if you bring in another body in poor condition."
She deactivates her [Byakugan] and closes her eyes to regain her composure.
"What was all that about?" Naruto asks.
"I'm sorry. I was reading their lips."
"You can do that?"
She nods. "It's a useful skill to have."
"So the things you just said… that's what they were saying?"
"Yes."
She only now turns to look at him, and is not met by the usual blue eyes she's become accustomed to; they're instead yellow with rectangular irises, orange markings around the corner of his eyes.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Naruto says in a harsh tone.
"We've the element of surprise. We could remain hidden and observe them from the shadows, learn what they-"
"I'm going." Naruto stands up. "Why they're doing this, who that Reisaku guy or whatever is, I'll beat it all out of them." He Flickers away.
"Naruto, wait!" Hinata calls out after him but it falls on deaf ears. She looks on with concern, uncertain whether this is the right action to take. Still, it's too late for any alternate course to take. She has no real choice but to go with him and back him up, so she also Flickers to their targets.
~X~
Kinaga and Kogeru don't have any time to react or to even realize what's happening. They're not given a moment to truly process it. They only see a flash of yellow hair jump between them from seemingly nowhere and shove them in opposite directions. They can swear they weren't even hit and somehow it still felt like they were hit with a giant tree.
They can also swear there was no one in the vicinity until a moment ago. Just as they sensed someone, they found themselves hitting opposing trees with great force.
They both yell out in pain and slump to the ground, their backs hurting from the impact and their ribs hurting from being shoved.
They fight through the pain and draw their swords at their attacker and take a good look at him- blond hair, yellow eyes which they mark as weird and unusual, and a Hidden Leaf uniform.
"Shit." Kogeru wipes the blood from his lips. "Who the hell are you?!" He yells.
Naruto looks him dead in the eyes. "Are you responsible?" He growls. "Did you kill Hidden Leaf shinobi?"
"Yeah, and what if I am?" Kogeru smirks. "Eager to join them, are you, kid?"
Kinaga clicks her tongue. 'You idiot, don't antagonize him. This guy's on a whole other level.'
"Then you'll answer for it." Naruto states.
"Make me!" Kogeru cackles and draws his sword.
Kogeru leaps right toward Naruto and swings his sword at blinding speed, the blade barely visible. Or so would be the case for most others. Naruto can see precisely what his opponent is doing.
Naruto follows the sword's path easily enough; something of this level won't be enough to get him. As Kogeru draws closer, Naruto takes a stance and prepares. With a single swipe of his hands, Naruto catches the katana between his palms and stops its assault.
Kogeru looks on in shock that someone managed to grab the sword mid-swing.
Naruto twists the katana out of Kogeru's grip and grabs onto its handle and throws it back at him like one would a javelin.
Kogeru ducks to avoid the unpredictable movements of his flying katana.
"You bastard." Kogeru growls.
Kinaga quickly reaches into her pouch in an attempt to take advantage of Naruto's distraction. She takes out a handful of kunai to throw in his back but she finds herself occupied.
In a blur, Hinata jumps right in front of Kinaga and strikes at her hands.
Kinaga drops the kunai as the feeling in her hands goes away from numbness. She manages to jump backward in time to prevent a further assault but the majority of the damage is already done.
'Another one?' Kinaga looks over Hinata from head to toe, the thing that grabs her attention of course being the eyes. "What a surprise to see a Hyūga all the way out here." She says out loud.
"A Hyūga?" Kogeru shouts. "What a perfect gift. Her chakra is exactly what we need for Lord Rei-"
"You fool!" Kinaga cuts him off. "Don't blurt out whatever you feel like."
"No, keep talking." Naruto says. "What're you trying to do? Why are you doing all of this?"
"We already know about Reisaku. And about you, Kinaga and Kogeru." Hinata tries to throw them completely off balance with information she shouldn't possess. "It's best if you cooperate."
Kinaga's eyes widen in surprise. "Wh- How could you-" She bites her lip. 'Did we let someone escape? No, that's impossible. I'm positive we've killed everyone who came through this path. So how?'
"Then that's all the more reason to just kill you right here and now!" Kogeru lunges at Naruto once again.
Naruto deflects the attacks with no effort, parrying the man's strike and pushing him away by simply swiping through the air; he doesn't even need to strike directly in order to inflict damage. Naruto keeps shoving Kogeru away but the man doesn't seem like he plans on halting his attacks any time soon, despite the clear disadvantage.
'So that's how he sent us flying earlier?' Kinaga observes. With her hands numb, she can't exactly even try and fight but she's gotten most of her feeling back and is able to better move her fingers.
"You appear to be more reasonable than your partner, Kinaga." Hinata says. "Surely you're aware that you're outmatched. We don't need to prolong this any further. If you cooperate, I'm sure we can arrange for a reduced sentence."
'We've no way out. It's clear we can't win and we definitely can't run. This might just be it.' Kinaga chuckles despite herself. "It's clear you don't know what it means to be devoted to something." She reaches into her pouch and throws a couple paper tags high into the air.
The tags explode and send a rain of needles down so many in number and so clumped together that they block the sky entirely. There'd normally be little space to run to avoid such an attack but avoiding isn't the only way.
Hinata extends her arms and bends her knees, drawing a line in the ground as she spins her whole body. She releases chakra from every single chakra point in her body to create a protective shield, one that's only empowered by her spinning.
[Eight Trigrams: Revolving Heaven]
Naruto sees the incoming needles from the corner of his eyes and turns around with his palm facing to the skies. He gathers a swirling mass of pure chakra at his palm that rotates with greater intensity until it forms into a large sphere to act as a shield.
[Massive Rasengan]
The attack lasts a good few seconds, but both their swirling chakra deflect the needles with ease as the ground becomes a make-shift pin cushion. The entire area almost looks as if it has grey, metal grass.
When the attack dies down, they release their jutsu and focus their eyes on Kinaga.
A violent cough, however, draws their attention back to the man on the opposite end.
Their expressions turn from ones of anger to surprise and confusion.
Kogeru's body, full of needles from Kinaga's attack, shakes uncontrollably. He desperately tries to regain his composure but his condition rapidly becomes worse. Blood drips from his mouth, then from his bloodshot eyes. He wheezes and crumples to the ground.
"Kinaga, you bi-" He falls to the ground.
"No…" Hinata gasps.
Naruto whips his body around. "What did you do?! He was your ally, wasn't he?!"
Kinaga only gives a defiant smirk in response. "Hail Jashin." She bites down on something as her mouth begins to foam. Her eyes roll around to the back of her head, her body convulses, and she drops unresponsive to the ground.
Hinata immediately rushes over to her and quickly realizes it's far too late already. "A suicide pill in her tooth." She says. "She… was willing to go this far…"
"Damn it!" Naruto curses in frustration. "These Jashin guys are willing to die? And for what?!"
"I'm sorry." Hinata lowers her head. "I didn't see the suicide pill in her tooth, I didn't even think to look that closely. I should have-"
Naruto places a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's fine. You couldn't have known they'd do this. If I didn't rush in blind…" He groans in frustration. "You were right, I should've waited. This is exactly why I'm not ready to be Jōnin."
Hinata shakes her head and stands. "We can't keep blaming ourselves. We must move on with what little information we have and make the best of it."
"Yeah, you're right. What about these two?" Naruto motions to the bodies of the two Jashinists.
"We could place them inside storage scrolls for the time being. The Analysis Team would be able to read their memories and uncover information, but we're too far for that and we've no way of transporting them; we don't have the time."
"Hm." Naruto rubs his chin. "Actually, we might."
Naruto bites down on his thumb and smears the blood on his palm, which he then slams into the ground.
[Ninja Art Summoning]
In a puff of smoke and dust a house-sized toad emerges from the ether. The colossal toad croaks, a booming sound that scares off whatever critters weren't scared off by the brief skirmish earlier.
"Yo." Naruto waves to the toad.
"Hello, Naruto." The toad responds in a booming voice.
"Do you think you could take these two back to the Hidden Leaf? We need Granny to look at 'em."
The toad looks at the two bodies on the ground and the clearly unwell state they're in. "Only if you clean them up first. That one's covered in blood and needles and this one's clearly been poisoned. I'm not putting them in my mouth."
"Yeah, yeah, fine." Naruto sighs.
"Um, can you truly transport them back?" Hinata asks.
"Sure can! I can take them with me back home to Mt. Myoboku and then the Hidden Leaf's a splash in a pond away from there. Easy peasy."
"Thank you for your assistance." Hinata bows.
"Well, it's good to finally see someone with some manners." He laughs.
Naruto and Hinata take the time to clean the bodies of any residual harmful substances. Hinata cleans the foam from Kinaga's foam, leftover from the pill she took, while Naruto carefully removes the poison-covered needles from Kogeru and cleans his blood which would be infected with the poison. When finished after a few minutes of thorough scrubbing, they wrap the two bodies in protective cloth for the toad to safely swallow and take away.
"Hopefully Ino can find something useful." Hinata says. 'Hopefully my mistake won't cost us the mission's success.'
"She will. It's in good hands now." Naruto says. 'Damnit, I need to shape up. I can't keep making amateur mistakes like this.'
They also take the time to clean the road of the hundreds of small needles that were embedded into the ground from the paper tag. It takes a while to gather all of them up but the task is made much easier when Naruto can simply summon as many [Shadow Clones] as he pleases.
With the matter settled, the two make a dash for Tsuji Town.
MAJOR NAME MEANINGS
Kotori (コトリ , Kotori) = 'little bird'
Shiina (シイナ , Shiina) = 'virtue'
Kawako (カワコ , Kawako) = 'kawa' - 'river' , 'ko' - 'child'
Reisaku (レイサク , Reisaku) = 'rei' - 'miracle' ; 'saku' - 'crop'
MINOR NAME MEANINGS
Kinaga (キナガ , Kinaga) = 'patient'
Kogeru (コゲル , Kogeru) = 'impatient'
TRIVIA
Kotori's working name was Tomoe (トモエ), which are what the swirls of the Sharingan are called. The intent was for this to be an homage to Sasuke who was dead in the original draft. That has since changed.