Koryoku
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Summary: Hinata unintentionally learns a horrifyingly forbidden Hyuuga Clan technique. Few of those who dared to learn it centuries ago survived the consequences. And neither would she… at least that's what Hinata thought, until she met Itachi. ItaHina.
Prologue
Sunrise109
"Do it." Danzo ordered sternly.
There was a man tied securely to the tree in front of them. Hinata had no idea what he'd done to deserve this kind of punishment, or whether he had done anything wrong at all.
Danzo chose their volunteers indiscriminately. Sometimes they were ninjas who'd committed unspeakable acts of violence against humanity. Those that deserved it for their crimes by virtue of justice, Hinata felt nothing towards. But those who had done nothing wrong at all made her hesitate...
Danzo, noticing that the trembling shinobi in front of them remained unharmed and breathing, scowled at her, a threat about to leave his mouth when Hinata interrupted him.
"What did he... do?"
Danzo huffed. The harsh lines of his ancient forehead shifted as he now laid his attention on their captive. A smirk graced his mouth.
"This time, I won't tell you. You need to learn the hard way to do away with your emotions. Now do the deed, my Hyuuga."
Already she was shifting into the signature Hyuuga Clan stance, except there were a few alterations. Her head bowed down slightly more, body poised forward and eyes raised under her bangs as if the Hyuuga heiress was a viper waiting to strike.
But Hinata couldn't move. Her body was uselessly frozen in place.
The ninja bound to the tree in front of her had tears leaking from his eyes. He looked back at Hinata pleadingly, as if praying silently for mercy. As if he knew what was coming.
Hinata shut her eyes tightly, as Danzo's voice fluttered over the terse silence.
"Remember the reason why you came to me all those nights ago… my Hyuuga. Seeking my help. My protection. My power."
Hinata shot open her translucent eyes, the Byakugan already activated.
"Good." Danzo cooed.
Then, she began to move.
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It was over in moments.
"This jutsu… is magnificent." Danzo breathed in wonder. Astounded every single time. It was like he was seeing it for the very first time over and over again… he could never get used to seeing something as perfectly devastating as her.
The way her whole body was instantly surrounded by a cloak of pulsing blue chakra…
The flash of determination that faded into her translucent eyes…
The speed at which she was suddenly upon her opponent…
And the beautiful blow of doom, which she delivered directly to the shinobi's quivering heart.
The precise blow hadn't killed him, however.
In fact, Hinata had done something far worse to him.
Then, the blood-curdling screams began.
"My chakra!"
"Please finish me! Just finish me now!"
Hinata stared back at the shinobi in horror, who was thrashing uselessly with all his might against the tight bonds which fastened him to the tree, the whites of his eyes showing as he slowly but surely began to lose his grasp on reality…
Danzo abruptly forced Hinata to turn away from the sickening display. "In a few hours, he will accept his new reality. In a few days, he will be inconsolable… In a few years, he may be akin to a zombie, completely unaware of who he is. Even suffering the worst humiliation in the world is better than a life without the means to be a shinobi."
A life without one's chakra… is like a butterfly without wings.
Hinata barely noticed when Danzo suddenly turned back to the unnamed shinobi, and before another whimper could leave his mouth, with the pommel of his katana Danzo knocked him unconscious with a swift blow.
Chakra. Something each shinobi possessed at birth. When Hinata had struck him, it was like she had severed a hen from its chicks. Robbed them of something innately theirs. Stolen a piece of their being permanently.
And each time she performed the technique, she felt a piece of her own self also being taken away. How long would it take for her to forget who she was?
Hinata was distantly aware of Danzo re-joining her side.
Apparently, the scheming elder had a good idea of how much longer Hinata had—until she was completely under his absolute control and not her own self-determination. Someone who didn't know who they were was as easy to manipulate as a puppet under the strings of its master.
She would become his weapon. His alone.
Training under Danzo had allowed the Hyuuga heiress to learn how to simply shut down her emotions, like putting a lid over a pot which had been boiling over frantically. She was a katana.
Emotionless.
Lethal.
Heartless.
Stone.
And yet… each time she followed Danzo's orders, and plunged another innocent person to their demise, she felt herself becoming a monster. Worse than any monster she had ever known.
And no matter how many times she did it, Hinata couldn't seem to get their screams out of her head. Each time, she was frozen in horror at the sight of the damage she had inflicted. But she could understand if she continued to do it in the future…
Finally, she wasn't a weakling who brought shame to the name of her Clan and title as heiress.
Instead, she would be feared.
But what would all that matter, if she wasn't living in the truth?
It was like Hinata's actions weren't really her own. She was a parasite which had lost its host, a robot going through the motions without really feeling anything.
And he would use her. Use her repeatedly. Again and again.
She was his tool. His weapon alone.
She would destroy his enemies for him.
And she had no choice.
Because she knew that wielding such a technique left her defenceless…
They both slowly made their journey back to Danzo's dark, unforgiving underground haven.
"That man you just helped me discipline had been attempting to escape Konoha. He'd murdered his family, including his own children. And he would've destroyed so many more. You did a good service to the Ninja World, my Hinata."
And yet, she couldn't understand how attacking a defenceless man did a good service to anyone.
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