A/N: I'm sorry that it took me such a long time to get this chapter out. I've been dealing with the aftermath of a huge fire in my workplace and as such most of my time has been spent working extra hours. However, just as I said following the car wreck incident, I will not be stopped by mortal dangers. This story will be finished ere I die, and if my hands are hacked off and I cannot use the keyboard, I'll have someone else type it for me.
The old review record was completely demolished last chapter. I received tons of good reviews, a couple of reviews from unsatisfied readers, and even one review from a dead person. I hope that the rest of the story doesn't lose luster when compared to this one; I've still got lots of work to do, and I still need to keep you guys reading it.
Chapter Twenty-one: Divulge
The whole world was pain. It was thumbscrews and hot pokers, needles and nerve gas. It was burning cold and freezing hot. At one moment his blood was acid, melting and corroding his core, and the next moment it was lightning, jerking and shredding him from the inside out. The agony was everywhere and nowhere and in all wheres between, but most prominently in his head, where it disrupted his thoughts and frayed his focus.
I have to hold on, he thought. If I lose it here, it's all for nothing. Hold the illusion, don't let it even flicker...
He was incredibly lucky that the chamber's defensive measures prevented his captors from using their secret-compromising doujutsu; if the Byakugan could have been used in this situation, he most likely would already have been dead. There was no way he was going to make all this good luck useless. He would fight this torment, and he would win.
After a while, he began to feel the pain as though it were something far away, which he could observe from behind the safety of his iron will; he was becoming accustomed to the sensations that were coursing through him. He no longer had to throw all of his willpower into maintaining the illusion and the kage bunshin. Opening his disguised eyes, he found that the world was light and shadow and color again. He could see the eerie glow of the seals on the stone and the gazes of his Hyuuga captors, which ranged from sympathetic to smug.
Then a sneering, cocky face was lowered in front of his.
"Well, then, Hinata-sama," it said, "We are nearly done. This next bit of work will be the last. I want you to know, before it is done, that I have enjoyed our time together, and that I wish you good luck in your new station. Make yourself ready now... the finishing touches require a little extra pressure..."
The "little extra" force sent him reeling into a new world altogether. Hellfire, razor blades, frostbite, hurricane winds, ball lightning, plague, and shards of black obsidian whirled around and through him. He felt his mind begin to tear at the seams...
No! Stay focused! Stay awake! Hold...
The jaws of blissful unconsciousness opened wide...
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While an eternity of hurt transpired for the fake Hinata within the chamber, six minutes of shock passed within the mind of the true Hyuuga Hinata. Neither she nor the bunshin that served her for company said anything, one absorbed in strategies for his creator's escape, and the other not capable of thinking anything at all.
At length, however, the gears began turning again. They were oiled with a mixture of admiration and regret.
He walked into that chamber, willingly, knowing that he would find only torment. He knew that if he failed, he could be terribly hurt or killed. He knew, and yet he is in there now, enduring pain that was meant for me...
Her pearly eyes became teary. Such a sacrifice had never been made in the history of the Hyuuga Clan. Naruto had made it to protect her. The realization warmed her, sent her heart soaring, and if not for the fact that she was required to hide in the bushes or render the entire effort futile, would have sent her prancing out into the rain, kissing the ground, and singing praises to the Hyuuga patron gods.
At the same time, however, she could not help but feel sick with guilt for driving her precious person to do this and was overcome by dread. Naruto was not a Hyuuga—what if the Caged Bird Seal caused him unnatural harm, or worse... what if it weakened the seal of the Yondaime and allowed the Kyuubi to come forth? She passed the time below the wet leaves articulating wild and horrible possibilities.
Suddenly, the bunshin at her side gave a start. His face went deathly white.
"Oh no," he said.
Hinata was jarred out of her dark thoughts. Looking at him with concern, she asked, "Bunshin-kun? What is wrong?"
Bunshin-kun never got a chance to answer, for he puffed into nothingness at the very next second.
"What...?" Hinata said to the space where he'd been. "Where did he... Oh no!"
Horror filled her head. She could remember Naruto's previous battles; she had seen that although kage bunshins were able to act independently from the original even at a distance, they still remained tied to their creator in some sense. A powerful or disabling blow upon the genuine article could impact that connection and cause one or more clones to dissipate. The logic lead her to one conclusion: something had happened to the real Naruto. And this likely also meant...
"No..." she whispered, not wanting to believe it. "Is the henge broken?"
But looking through the stone into the chamber, she could see no abnormal fluctuations of chakra; no flare of surprise or outrage was apparent, and the Hyuuga guarding Naruto were calm. Naruto himself also showed a stable aura, if a little bit weaker than normal. It seemed that he had been strained at the last moment, and had lost the focus necessary to maintain the bunshin and the illusion simultaneously. Knowing what would happen if happen if he lost the latter, he disposed of the former, and was able to keep on top of the situation. Hinata let out the breath she'd been holding in a relieved sigh.
She watched attentively while Naruto's chakra signature rose shakily from its seat and found its balance. The signatures of the Hyuuga came out of their relaxed postures and moved toward the door. Hinata was about to thank the heavens that Naruto's agony was ended, but then another thought occurred to her that drowned all sense of relief.
The bunshin was gone; there would be no distraction to cover Naruto's escape, no maelstrom in which to lose herself as she took his place. Fear crept over her. Once again, it looked as though the plan was only moments away from failing; as soon as they were out the door, that Lieutenant or one of his men would think to check for a follow-up attack, activate his Byakugan, and...
No! Hinata thought forcefully. Naruto-kun sacrificed too much for that to happen! I can't let it!
An idea came to her. Though she knew it was a long shot—the timing would have to be impeccable—Hinata found herself preparing to give her all for this hastily-drawn plan. Breathing deeply to calm herself, she pulled her hitai-ate around her forehead and focused her chakra, weaving the signs of Henge no Jutsu. As she became the perfect double of the young man she loved, the door of the chamber opened to let her own double free.
A pair of Hyuuga came out, and then another. The Lieutenant followed these four, leading Naruto/Hinata out by the hand. Hinata/Naruto winced in sympathy for her/his love as he/she stumbled out; he/she was awake and aware, but the pain and the sudden transition from the dark environs of the chamber to the brighter ones of the outdoors had disoriented him/her, and Hinata's double had to work hard not to trip over air. Hinata/Naruto could see that he/she was improving, however, and knew that he/she would be strong enough to fight again after a few moments.
"You will have those few moments, Naruto-kun," she/he said. Then she/he paused, considering. That is not what it should sound like, she/he thought. Drawing on the spirit of the true Naruto, letting that bright, shining personality suffuse hers/his, Hinata/Naruto tried again.
"You'll definitely get that time, Hinata!" she/he said. With a satisfied smile, she/he leaped from her/his hiding place. She/he did not create any kage bunshins, but that was fine; for just the split second that she planned to be in their line of sight, the appearance of Naruto would be convincing enough. Once the switch was done, he'd make his own shadow clones.
She/he saw the Lieutenant close his eyes in focus. Oh, no, you are not going to see through this illusion. In a desperate bid to break his concentration and prevent the Byakugan's awakening, she/he gathered a great cry in her/his throat and loosed it at him with all the strength that her/his vocal chords had.
"Oy, you snobbish, arrogant bastards! Up yours!" Wow, she/he thought as the Lieutenant opened his (thankfully normal) eyes to look up, that actually felt pretty good... Then she/he brought her/his foot down upon the Lieutenant's face. That felt even better...
Then she/he plucked a smoke bomb from her/his pouch. Though she/he knew that she/he was breaking character—the true Naruto was smart enough by now to know not to fight in conditions under which he had lost before—it was manifest that there was no safer way to carry out the switch under the Byakugan radar. The bomb hit the ground and engulfed the region once again in thick black smoke.
Hinata/Naruto released the jutsu and became merely Hinata again. She activated her Byakugan, trying to make out Naruto/Hinata and not having much success. When the smoke cleared, he/she was nowhere to be found. At first she was confused, but after a moment she had to work to suppress a smile.
The weakness and disorientation in Naruto/Hinata had been real, certainly, but it had also been grossly exaggerated. Naruto had now recovered from it and stood above them on the limb of a young tree, his arms crossed. Though he appeared very angry—more from the desire to hurt his recent tormentors than from trying to act angry because "Hinata" had been hurt—he was, to the naked eye, the same Uzumaki Naruto that had attacked the group earlier. Hinata felt relief wash over her again; other than momentary disorientation, it seemed that the Caged Bird Seal did not have any immediate harmful side effects.
The Lieutenant, meanwhile, though blood streamed from his smashed nose, had picked himself up and was now glaring at Naruto with a powerful rage of his own.
"Curse you, demon brat!" he said. "You will be made to pay for that insult." Drawing a handkerchief, he wiped the blood meticulously from his face and tore small strips with which to plug the nostrils. Being mopped up seemed to calm him down some, and though his eyes remained fiery, his lips found the strength to curl into a sneer.
"Why do you continue to fight? You know that you have already lost, boy."
Naruto glared right back. "Haven't you paid attention to anything? Idiot. If you had, you'd know I'm bad—really bad—at giving up. Tajyuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
The yard and the garden were suddenly swamped with more than rainwater. The thousand clones fell on the startled Hyuuga with a ferocity that rivaled even that of the mighty demons themselves. From each one, nine tails of bright, burning blue emerged, lighting the dark day with their brilliance. In moments, the Hyuuga escort team was beaten.
How easy it would have been, Hinata thought, to simply walk out of here with him, leave all of this hatred and conflict behind... Seeing Naruto smiling grimly at her, she knew that he was thinking the same thing, and just like her, he knew that she could not simply leave. To run away and leave the Hyuuga Clan to degenerate from within would be to abandon them. Hinata would someday become the Clan's ruler, thanks to Naruto's sacrifice. If she abandoned her future subjects to their hatred and divisiveness now, then her honor would be tarnished; she would not be able to rule them with a clean conscience later, and thus that sacrifice would be rendered pointless. On top of that, she would miss her father and her sister, for they would alienate her.
Naruto dispelled his bunshins and prepared to leave. The noise and light that he had just made had surely alerted the entire clan to his presence. She smiled ruefully at his back, and it seemed that he felt it, for he turned and smiled back. He raised his arm to wave farewell...
And was sent rocketing into a stone wall thirty feet away. The impact, which would have shattered a weaker man's spine, did not severely harm him, though he would feel the pain of many bruises later on. However, as he picked himself up, it was apparent that there was more afflicting him than just external damage. Hinata tore her eyes from the injured Naruto and brought them around to stare fixedly upon her father.
"You," said Hiashi bitterly. "I should have known. Have you not ruined Hinata's life enough? Do you not believe that the most merciful thing you can do for her now is to be gone from her now and forever?" He moved forward, building power for another Jyuuken. Naruto stood wobbly on his feet, barely able to hold down bloody vomit. He would be able to do little to resist.
Hiashi was not the ruler of the Hyuuga Clan in spite of any weakness. His power was immense, and a second shot, no matter how tough the target was, would be instantly fatal, as many an opponent had discovered.
"Father!" cried Hinata, "Stop!"
Her pleas fell upon deaf ears. Hiashi's silver eyes were riveted to his victim.
"Answer me, boy," he said. "Answer me, or find your redemption in death."
Naruto lost his hold on his sickness and keeled over, blood spewing from his mouth. Hiashi waited for the hacking spasms to pass, intent on hearing the boy speak at least once in his own defense. When it was finished, Naruto hauled himself back to his feet and—much to Hiashi's surprise—smiled.
"You're welcome, old man."
Though Naruto meant it in reference to Hiashi's prayer for Hinata's safety, the Hyuuga ruler was not aware that the blond had been listening at that time. He chose to believe that he meant, "You're welcome, old man, for ruining your daughter's life."
Rage enveloped him. This was an insult much too grievous to let slide. "So, this is what Haka no Keisuke planned all along. He thinks to demoralize me, weaken me by harming my family. I tell you, I will not fall prey to this manipulation! I will not be manipulated again, by you, by the council, or by anyone! Let there be war, if there must be—if I must have corpses instead of an heir and a daughter, I will at least have myself again!"
Hiashi became a blur of lethal movement, a living missile aimed at Naruto's heart. Shock and horror claimed the face of the wounded Jinchuuriki, and Hinata's desperate pleading filled the air.
Then, at last, the plea was answered. Hiashi's straight aim was thrown awry as his Byakugan sensed incoming danger, and he was barely able to leap out of the way as a booted foot moving at a speed no human besides Rock Lee or Maito Gai could hope to surpass nearly snapped his neck. Startled and engraged, Hiashi whirled to face the newcomer, only to see an open palm, charged with Jyuuken, hurtling toward him like a meteor. He managed to evade, though the chakra bolt grazed his shoulder.
The lithe body attached to the flying palm somersaulted neatly in the air, landed on the grass, and swiftly pivoted to face Hiashi. The person wore no hitai-ate, and the forehead was visible, bearing a mark burning with bright blue chakra that was contaminated with yellow. The Byakugan eyes blazed silver-white with a feverish love for battle.
Meanwhile, the one who had thrown that person at Hiashi—the owner of the foot that had almost decapitated him—was standing opposite his partner in a ready stance so that there was one of them on either side of him. Looking behind him with the Byakugan, Hiashi saw that a shining white seal was unraveling across this man's skin. It was shortly replaced by a different one, which blazed with the intensity of lightning.
Their appearance had startled Hiashi, but the head of Hyuuga was not one to remain startled long. After assessing the power that he felt from these two, Hiashi would have been fairly confident that they posed only a moderate threat to him. It would not be an easy win, but it would not be too difficult, either. In fact, Hiashi was more than prepared to take the time to swat these two before dealing with Naruto; the boy was wounded, he wasn't going anywhere.
But one observation gave pause: his Byakugan saw the ghostly lines of chakra flowing between his two assailants, connecting them at the tenketsus. They fought with one chakra, and together that chakra was large.
"We're terribly sorry to interrupt, Hiashi," said the other Byakugan user.
"But, you know, we figured our little brother's already done more than his share today," said the seal-writer.
Hiashi frowned in dismay. "Haka no Keisuke. So it seems that you have decided to stop using your pawns and fight me yourself."
"Oh, I'm not done using my pawns quite yet," came the reply between smiling lips.
"So I see," said Hiashi. "This time, you've even dragged poor Haruka into this. I had hoped that she would see reason, but it seems that I must fight her, after all. Do not think that I will hold back because she was my friend once."
"We don't expect it," said Haruka. "After all, I won't be holding back anything, either." Hiashi saw the all-too-happy-to-be-fighting-a-strong-opponent smile and saw that her statement was not false in the slightest. In that moment, he knew that this battle, if he was not careful, might very well be his last.
Keisuke called across the yard to his partner. "Are you prepared, my Good Sadist?"
"I believe I am, my Sightless One."
The blind man launched into the fray, and Haruka was not far behind.
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Sakura had long ago stopped trying to keep up with Keisuke and Haruka. Even with all of her chakra in her feet, she could not match the speed set by Keisuke with his Chisoku Kokuin seal. Yet she was not worried; the way things were going, she'd figure out where they were by the sounds of intense violence. Sure enough, after a few more minutes of hard running, she heard combat in the Hyuuga compound, and it did not take long at all to find the source.
She was glad to see that Naruto was still alive and that Hinata was apparently safe. Dropping down beside Naruto, she hailed them both.
"Naruto, Hinata-chan! Are you both capable of moving? Because if you are, we really should get out of the way." Sakura indicated the battle raging in the yard. It was perilously close to their position.
Hinata, who had been watching the battle intently with her Byakugan—particularly admiring the Synchronization technique, which she had never before seen in action—turned her head at hearing her name called.
"Sakura-chan!" she said, recognizing her friend. "I'm in perfect health, but poor Naruto-kun..."
"I can stand now, I think," grunted the blond. He'd sat himself down to recover from the extensive damage, but after spending a few minutes on the ground, his muscles were no longer used to movement. He exhibited difficulty standing on his own.
"Hinata, grab him," said Sakura. "We're going to have to haul him off somewhere safer. We'd better hurry, too... if the rest of the Hyuuga were hesitant to investigate before, they certainly won't be with this racket."
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Two blocks down from the Hyuuga compound, the three of them sat huddled under Sakura's umbrella while Naruto's wounds were healed.
"There... that's about all I can do now," said the pink-haired medic.
Naruto got to his feet and tested his body, bending and flexing to make sure everything was in good working order. It hurt some, but all his various parts were attached and fully functional; he was ready to fight again.
"All right," he said, "Thanks, Sakura. Now, I'm going to go back and help Keisuke nii-chan and Haruka nee-chan."
Hinata, who had been admiring the play of Naruto's shirtless (if bandaged) musculature during his stretch session, snapped out of her dazed state of mind.
"Na-Naruto-kun," she said, "I really don't think you should. Father is incredibly powerful..."
"Your Dad's Jyuuken was no big thing compared to what that bastard Hiroto gave me a while ago," Naruto responded. "That one almost killed me. After this one, I was at least able to stand up."
"Even so, Naruto," Sakura argued, "Hiashi-san is the leader of the clan. He knows all of the clan's secret arts, including many tricks that Branch Housers like Hiroto-san wouldn't know. Plus, we know next to nothing about him; for all you know, Naruto, what he lacks in power compared to Hiroto, he could more than make up for in some other trait."
"All of this is true," agreed Hinata. "Keisuke-san and Haruka have both been fighting Hyuuga for much longer than you have—they will survive. But you, Naruto-kun... I worry." Her eyes bored into his, and suddenly Naruto found himself their captive again. As much as he wanted to rush to his friends' aid, he could not do so while those eyes held him.
Exasperated, Naruto sat down with a huff. "Well, I can't just sit here and do nothing! What do you want me do, if not go to help them?"
"Keisuke-san wanted me to give you this message, Naruto," said Sakura. "He says that the best thing you can do is to follow orders—namely the ones that Tsunade-sama gave you. The Hyuuga will probably be really mad at you for causing trouble on their own grounds. If you're away from the village on your mission, then they won't be able to touch you, and by the time you come back Tsunade-sama will have gotten wind of this and sorted things out."
Naruto was deep in thought for a moment, and then he spoke in response. "I feel for Keisuke nii-chan. With the way that Tsunade Baa-chan 'sorts things out,' he's not liable to come out in one piece over this much trouble."
"Neither are you or Hinata-chan's father," added Sakura. Hinata lowered her head in silent agreement.
"Nah," said Naruto, "I'll be okay. I might come out with a few extra bruises and deaf in one ear, but I'll be fine. Keisuke will be the worst off, since he's new around here."
He pulled on his shirt and jacket. "Since you and Keisuke nii-chan insist, I'll go on the mission," he said. "Hopefully, you guys are right about this. It all seems way too unstable to me, like ramen that's been boiled too long. Then again, once Baa-chan puts her foot down..." He shivered. "It may not be pretty, but it sure does get things done."
"All right, Naruto," said Sakura. "Hinata and I are going to go see Tsunade-sama now. If we're lucky, she'll stop the fight before it gets out of hand."
"Yeah, you do that," Naruto said. Putting on the last of his gear, he turned to go. Before he left, however, he turned to Hinata.
"Remember," he said, "Keep that forehead covered."
"I will, Naruto-kun," she said. "A-and... you be careful with... you know..." her words trailed off as her eyes fixated on his own hitai-ate.
Naruto grimaced. He knew what she meant all too well. "I will, don't worry. Ja ne."
He disappeared into the wind.
Sakura looked at Hinata with confusion in her eyes. "Hinata?" she asked, "What did he mean when he said, 'keep that forehead covered?' And what were you..."
"I'll tell you later, Sakura-chan," Hinata interrupted. Her eyes lingered a moment on the spot where Naruto had vanished, then looked up to her friend. "Right now, what is important is making certain that Tsunade-sama is alerted to the conflict in the Hyuuga house, before any permanent damage is done."
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Neji's heart beat faster than it had in months. His lungs sucked in an released more air than he knew they were capable of holding. The exertion of chakra that he had demonstrated was comparable to the amount he would put out in three of Rock Lee's conditioning sessions, and possibly more.
Yet he was victorious. What must have been nearly half of the Hyuuga clan's entire fighting force lay incapacitated around him. Of course, this meant that he would probably face harsh punishment and could no longer defy his superiors in secret, but he had done his part and given Naruto more time to escape, just as Keisuke had asked him to. No one could ask any more of him.
Only one thing bothered Neji: Captain Hiroto, who should have come running to join the fray as soon as the noise of the thousand bunshins was heard, was nowhere in sight. Neji had heard reports that the Captain was ill, of course, but Hiroto had been known to rise in spite of illness to lesser threats than this. As he leaned against a stone wall and caught his breath, Neji turned his mind upside down in an effort to guess his superior's motive for sitting out this time.
I highly doubt that the Captain is simply too ill to move, he thought. He has always had good health and a superb ability to fight off infection... Perhaps he is taking this opportunity to observe Keisuke-san's abilities for himself rather than hear the story through Shinosuke? That would be plausible, if he weren't ill; if he was too sick to attend the last council congregation, then he is definitely too sick to be sneaking around effectively. Unless he was lying about being ill...
Neji then had a thought that caused him unease.
If he was lying—and it may or may not be the case—then there are a great many things that he might be doing right under our noses...
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They took the steps up the Hokage tower four at a time, running at breakneck pace to reach Tsunade's office. Perspiration glistened on their skin, and their breath was heavy; they had not had to run very far, but the speed at which they had traveled that short distance would have earned the praise of Maito Gai.
They ascended from the bottom of the tower to the head office in the space of fifteen seconds, halting outside the large door. Hinata and Sakura strained to get their wind back, for they still had a warning to deliver, and they needed breath to do it. After twelve seconds of rest, Sakura turned to grasp the handle of the door.
"Well," she said, "Let's get..."
A heavy thud rocked the building. Hinata wondered what on earth someone had made such a loud noise for, and remained perilously in front of the door. But instinct drove Sakura, who had worked in the building for a long time now, to grab her and hit the deck just in time.
The door splintered and the pieces flew off the hinges, sailing across the waiting area and back down into the stairwell. A great cry of rage came from the doorway, followed closely by a wrathful storm in the shape of a woman, which hurdled over the prone girls and jumped rapidly down the steps, each footfall shaking the whole building.
Sakura climbed to her feet, dusting herself off and staring back in the storm's wake. Hinata rose onto her knees, a bewildered look on her face.
"What...? Was that Tsunade-sama, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura nodded. "Yeah. And she's much, much more pissed off than I can ever remember her being. You don't need a Byakugan to recognize that level of danger."
Hinata recalled the wave of power that had passed over her head, and couldn't very well disagree. She got hastily to her feet.
"Should we go after her?" she asked. "We still have a message to deliver, after all... the Hyuuga..."
"If there is another problem with our clan, Hinata-sama," interrupted someone from the office, "Then it will be resolved shortly. Tsunade-sama is, as you see, quite unhappy with the Hyuuga at the moment." The young man stepped out of the doorway, stared a moment in awe at the wreckage, and came to rest before Hinata.
"Shinosuke-san," Hinata acknowledged. "So you have already thought to come to Hokage-sama over the violence in our house. You may have just saved lives with your quick thinking. We are indebted to you."
Shinosuke raised an eyebrow. "Violence, Hinata-sama? I reported conflict to our Lady Hokage, but I'd had no word of any violence. Is it true then? Has the council brought us into civil war?"
Hinata and Sakura stood flabbergasted.
"Wait a minute," said Sakura, "You mean you weren't here to report the battle?"
"No, I was not," Shinosuke replied. "But I expect Hokage-sama will deal with that, as well. What I came here to report was a secret known only to a select few until I divulged it; if word had gotten out, the Hyuuga clan would have fallen into great public disgrace. Though I could not abide in my heart the things that were happening, I feared to tell anyone; I feared both for our reputation, Hinata-sama, and for my life, for undoubtedly the council will not take kindly to this if they survive. Yet at last I could stand it no longer, and now the wheels of change are in motion for the Hyuuga, though I cannot say whether the change is good or bad."
"Oh, just spit it out already!" said Sakura. She was both tired from her exertions and had enough confusion to sort out already; she did not need this dramatic lead-up.
Hinata frowned in dismay at the outburst, but Shinosuke seemed not to mind. He even bowed apologetically to Sakura before he obliged her. Reaching into his pocket, he brought out a tape recorder and began to re-wind the tape within.
"This is a recording of the last meeting of the Hyuuga Advisory Council," he said. "I took the liberty of recording it myself. It includes my report to First Elder Takashi on the incident in the ancient castle dungeon and his remarks thereafter—hard proof that the whole Sound force there was fake, set up by the council—and vague details on a plot to 'dispose of' Uzumaki Naruto. I hope that you will find it as outrageous and vile as Tsunade-sama and I did."
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A/N:
I will attempt to give you more chapters this coming week. Like I said, mortal dangers won't stop me, but they can slow me down, and all I can do is make it up to you in the future.
Next chapter—The repaired Haruka/Keisuke team takes on Hiashi, a direct confrontation at last. Tsunade, immensely angered at the high treason committed by the Hyuuga Advisors under First Elder Takashi, is on her way, bringing with her a reckoning that will be long remembered. Meanwhile, Hiroto's disappearance sets more people on edge, and Naruto, by heading off on his mission, might just be escaping one danger only to smash headlong into another.
Stay with me, readers. The Hyuuga conflict is climaxing, but this story is far from over.