A/N: After an introduction, two interludes, and twenty-two chapters, the Hyuuga Arc—the bulk of the Naruto and Co. vs. Mean Old Hyuugas—is over. Arc II will focus on the aftereffects of Arc I (I.E., where the hell is Hiroto, what will become of Naruto and his new seal, will the Clan pull itself back together, etc.) as well as on Sasuke and Orochimaru. For those of you wondering about Akatsuki: I may or may not do a third Arc revolving around them. It all depends on how much I can write before I ship out to Boot Camp this coming February. If I don't have time, I might have to shorten it and/or write it as a separate, sequel story.

Another round of thanks to my readers and reviewers. Continuing would have been impossible without you.

Now then, I'm sure you're all dying to get on with Arc II. For those who didn't have the patience to read through the whole Arc I though, here's a recap of where everybody is:

Hiashi sits in his home, alone in darkness both physical and spiritual. In the wake of the eventful and dramatic day, he struggles to settle the turbulence in his own mind.

Keisuke and Haruka sleep in the blind man's home, both drained from two great and terrible battles in the same day. Their recently fractured partnership is repaired and stronger now than before.

In the streets of Konoha, Hinata, Neji, and Sakura go to their respective homes. Each wonders in his or her mind what is to come out of the aftermath of the day's explosive and conclusive conflict.

Below, in the quiet, dark, hidden places of the village, a deadly threat that has long lain in wait begins to stir.

Beyond the village gates, Naruto races home with all the speed he can muster. Despite discomfort caused him by his new seal and being roughed up by a member of the dread organization, Akatsuki, Jiraiya has told him that the village—and therefore, everything that he holds dear—is probably in grave danger. He dares not hesitate.

Here begins the second part of Lacking Sight. I hope that you enjoy it as you did the first.

Chapter Twenty-Three: I Must Protect...!

The Village Hidden in the Leaves was as silent as a sealed tomb. The only sounds that could be heard were the rustling of tree leaves in the cool night breeze. Not even the wall patrols made any sort of noise—a testament to their fine skill.

It was dark. The clouds that hovered constantly over the village completely obscured the light of the moon and the stars. Street lamps had been turned off, the Hokage having called an immediate and mandatory blackout in light of the discovery that the criminals caught in the old royal dungeons had been fake. No civilians were to leave their homes until the blackout was lifted in the morning. While it was inconvenient to the populace, it suited the patrols fine; the darkness extended their domain, making it easy for them to remain unseen in the shadows, thus better arming them against the intruders that they had been told to expect. Also, with the civilians ordered indoors, it would be impossible for an enemy to blend in with the night crowds. Anyone sneaking up from the bowels of the earth to attack the village would find quiet and instant death in the blanketing shadows.

All was as tense as it was quiet. The civilian people could not sleep this night, having been told earlier that evening that such great danger might be right under their feet. Of course, they had also been told that it was just speculation, that there might not be as great an enemy as they had thought, that the shinobi were prepared in case there was... but still they lay awake, counting the hours until the destruction and the killing began, until the darkness grew and grew until it swallowed them all. Hours passed like this.

Then, contrary to what they had feared would happen, the darkness—instead of smothering them as they had feared—broke and lifted. The menacing black clouds, which had hovered over the village for weeks, finally parted. For the first time in what seemed like a bleak eternity, the moon shone brightly over Konoha, bathing the village in silver light. All of those awake felt relief at the sight of the radiant orb, and some of them were even compelled to come out of their homes and stare up at it, cheering the return of light, their fears eased.

But this cheerfulness was short-lived, ending in cataclysm as the shouts of joy—the ones that were not immediately choked off—became screams of agony or horror as the silver light of the moon was joined by the red and orange flashes of fire and the silence was broken by the cacophony of explosions and crumbling earth. People watching through their windows stood aghast as they witnessed sewer gratings blown into the sky, the stone around them cracking and caving in to form massive holes. The wall patrols were temporarily frozen in shock as sections of ground rumbled, jumped, and then collapsed down, taking entire buildings with them and leaving massive craters.

Some patrols recovered themselves quickly, and went to investigate them. Not all of these brave men and women were experienced or quick-thinking enough to escape the second wave of explosions that blasted in the craters, clearing rubble and further widening the holes. Those that did escape had no time to wonder how all of those explosives had been planted without their notice, for out of the craters came enemy ninja... by the dozens.

Having only just recently discovered that their enemy had not been beaten as reported and left with very little time to organize a counter-effort, the Hokage had done what could be done on such short notice. She had set patrols and ordered the blackouts to ensure that no enemy could enter and attack by stealth. This enemy had opted to enter and attack not quietly, but with a flash and a bang. Konoha was under direct assault, and the shinobi units that Tsunade had been rallying were only half-ready.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Neji had thought that it would be all right to separate from Sakura and go home with Hinata alone. The Hokage had put emergency measures in place, and he believed that they were in modest safety. Now, as the explosive blast tore up the street behind them and the ground rumbled and collapsed under their feet, he knew that his judgment had probably halved their chances of survival.

As soon as they and the chunks of stone and earth around them stopped falling, Neji was on his feet. His Byakugan burned, reflecting the crimson of the dying embers around him.

"Hinata-sama!" he called.

"I'm here, Neji nii-san," said Hinata. Neji found her at the base of the pile of rubble on which he stood, dusting herself off. He leaped down to join her, and inspected her to make sure that she was all right. "Don't worry, I'm not hurt," she affirmed.

Trusting her to know the state of her own health, Neji turned his attention to their surroundings. Immediately, he saw the set of kunai flying towards them. Flinging himself before his cousin, he slapped four from the air with his hands, kicked another aside with his foot, and allowed the rest to sail harmlessly past them to their sides and above them.

Then his expansive vision caught sight of the second and third sets, coming at them from behind and to his left. From his current position, pinned between the projectiles, Hinata, and the pile of rubble to his right, he could not stop them all. "Hina..."

"Neji nii-san, get down!" Hinata yelled. Seeing her stance, Neji knew instantly what she intended to do, and obeyed. He was prostrate on the ground and flat as a pancake in an instant, giving his cousin the room that she needed to work her defensive jutsu.

"Shugo Hakke: Rokujuuyon Sho!"

Hakke Shou Kaiten was a poweful defensive tool; its explosive rotation could blow away some of the toughest of assaults from all sides simultaneously. It did have some weaknesses, however. It released a large amount of chakra, and it could not be used indefinitely. Also, it did not seriously damage enemies that were nimble enough to land with their feet under them, and had the danger of knocking away nearby allies as well as enemies.

Hinata's Shugo Hakke used much less chakra, extending a constant, reasonable amount from just the hands rather than a humongous, draining amount from the entire body, relying on the speed and flexibility of the arms rather than the quantity of the chakra. Therefore, it could be used more often and for longer periods of time. In addition, the cutting, slashing shape that Hinata applied to her chakra destroyed the kunai as it encountered them instead of merely flinging them away, ensuring that they would not be picked up and used again by their enemies, and she could swing those chakra blades in whatever direction she wanted, enabling her to purposefully miss her cousin.

The two techniques were stronger than one another depending on the situation. In this situation, Hinata's quick and masterful use of the Shugo Hakke bought them an easy escape from death by mass kunai assaults. The bombardment continued for a few more seconds, and then stopped when it became obvious that the tactic was useless.

"Well, well," came the voice of one of the attackers, "It seems that we are fortunate tonight, boys. One of our primary targets just happened to be passing overhead... what luck!" The man stepped out into the light of the moon and the fires, followed by several more. Their faces were masked, and their forehead protectors gleamed brightly. Neji, standing up and looking at the leader's Hitai-ate, was surprised by what he saw.

"You..." he said, "You're not of the Sound. That is the symbol of the Hidden Village of Rock. What are you doing here?"

"You mean you can't guess?" asked one from the second group, which had emerged behind them. This one wore the symbol he had expected to see on the first—the Sound Village's Hitai-ate. "The Rock Shinobi are the the reason we were able to get in this way. Tunneling under fortifications without making a sound, collapsing roads and buildings with explosives from beneath... These are the special war tactics of the Tsuchikage's men."

"And we were prepared for only the Sound," said Neji to himself. "So the 'attack' of the Naruto clones was a diversion, but not for what we thought it was a diversion for. You made it seem as though you had planted the bulk of your forces in hidden places that we didn't know about, while your real invasion troops came in from tunnels that these 'friends' of yours dug.

"That's why our search efforts were useless. Most likely, the diversion was meant not to keep us from noticing a small band of assassins that were sneaking in to hide and await orders, but to keep us from noticing your joint army as it burrowed through the one place where your special diggers would have made noticeable noise: the base of the village walls, which extend for a long way underground."

"Ah, this must be the famous Hyuuga Neji," said the Rock leader. "Personal guard, off and on, to Hyuuga Hinata and one of the most talented Hyuuga alive. Your ability to see through the nature of an enemy's offensive is legendary. But then, it's difficult to see through thirty meters of rock and soil, even for you. We'll be taking the girl, now. Let us have her, and we'll see to it that your death is quick and painless."

Neji backed towards his cousin, raising his arms in front of him. He would protect her, no matter what. "Hinata-sama," he whispered, keeping his head bowed low in case any of his opponents were lip-readers, "When they come, leap over my head. I will propel you to safety and then you must run home immediately. No, do not question!" he snapped. Hinata had been about to protest, unwilling to let him fight alone for her. "It is the duty of the Branch house to protect the Main house, and even if the Clan and its rules are in shambles now, I will still protect you."

"Hey," called the Sound leader, "Don't keep us waiting. Are you going to fight or not?"

Neji ignored him. "You are my cousin, Hinata-sama, and I have come to care for you appropriately. If for no other reason, I will protect you out of reverence for that bond."

Hinata swallowed. "Neji nii-san..."

"He's not going to give up, boys," said the Rock leader. "Let's take 'em. Careful now, the Hyuuga are famously powerful..." The enemy approached from front, left, and rear. There were dozens of them, and none of them were the inexperienced clones that the Advisory Council had created. To fight this many would be to forfeit one's life.

"Neji nii-san," Hinata said, "Thank you!" She jumped, flipping over Neji's head as he'd told her. Without hesitation, Neji gathered the chakra in his palm and sent it whirling out at her. The enemy tried to jump to intercept her, but they were too slow; Neji's Hakke Kusho flung Hinata up and out of the crater too quickly to be caught. She landed light-footed on the solid street above, and was running at a full sprint towards the Hyuuga house instantly.

The enemy, meanwhile, did not stop its charge towards Neji. The Hyuuga Jounin, however, was not at all sacrificing himself by taking the time to help Hinata escape. Against the hordes of shinobi, kunai, and shuriken that were coming at him, he flowed from the motion of the Hakke Kusho right into a fast spin.

"Kaiten!"

While the Shugo Hakke was excellent at deflecting and destroying infinite amounts of small projectiles and enemies who didn't appreciate having limbs sliced off, it didn't have the momentum to completely stop the forward motion of such a great mass of intelligent, quick, strong human bodies. For such a situation, there was no better defense than the classic Hakke Shou Kaiten. All of the attack was sent hurtling away into the wreckage, human and projectile alike. Neji could hear bones snap inside some of them as they smashed into the stone, and cries of pain from others as shuriken flew wildly and struck them in various parts of their likewise flailing bodies.

The enemies—those that could pick themselves up—withdrew and regrouped.

The Rock leader looked on gravely. "It seems that you are everything we have heard about and more, Hyuuga Neji... a genius."

"What are you doing, idiots?" Yelled the Sound leader at his men. "Go after her!" His men hastily scrambled to the top of the crater wall, some tripping over their comrades in their disoriented effort to obey.

Neji, standing relaxed in his Jyuuken stance, looked in the face of his enemy and smiled. "It is far too early to act surprised," he said. "I have only begun to teach you the meaning of the word, 'genius.'"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Haruno Sakura ran so hard that her feet were bruising. The enemy was everywhere, and she was only one shinobi against these masses; if any of them intercepted her, forcing her to stand and fight, more would come within moments, and that would be the end of her. She needed to find allies quickly if she wanted to survive long.

Though she did a good job of staying disengaged from combat and evading sneak attacks, there was one enemy that she could not shake off: anxiety. Sakura had seen the headbands of the enemy. She was surprised to see Rock shinobi among them, but the majority of the intruders that she had seen were of the Hidden Village of Sound. Orochimaru's men. Sasuke's new comrades—or tools, to be more accurate. The Uchiha Avenger had rejected comrades. Sakura and her comrades agreed that there was every possibility that he was among them, and the thought made her insides squirm.

I have to find Kakashi-sensei, she thought, and Naruto, if I can. Then we can go looking for him. If he is out there, we need to convince him—or, if we have to, subdue him—before he does something horrible. We need to get to him first so that he isn't killed...

Sakura found herself imagining stumbling upon the corpse of her former teammate. She'd seen an illusion of him half-dead before, and she had once believed him to be dead by the hands of a true enemy. She had no desire to repeat either experience, and the longer she took, the more likely a repetition became. Sakura increased her speed, growing closer to the Hokage tower my the second...

She nearly fell into a crater, so concentrated she was on her running. Sakura managed to skid to a stop just at its edge. However, her sudden appearance there was not unnoticed by the group of enemy shinobi below, who were busy setting up a field command center. They looked up at her with contempt in their evil eyes.

"Just a small one," said their leader, a tall Sound Jounin. "You four, go and deal with her. The rest of you, turn to. Get those fortifications up on the double."

The four that he indicated obeyed readily, leaping high to reach her. Sakura took a step back, cocked back her right arm, and drove it hard into the ground as the enemies landed. The impact splintered the already-cracked ground under her and caused a small quake. One of the enemies, who had landed close to the edge, lost his balance and fell back into the crater. The rest fought to keep their feet as she rushed them, kunai in hand.

Her target evaded the blade, but he was not quick enough to stop her other hand from darting inside and severing a tendon in his left arm. Yowling in hurt anger, he tried to counterattack, but his one-armed retaliation was easily evaded.

"Amusing," chuckled the largest man. He moved quickly for his size, anticipating Sakura's movements and seizing her from behind. A kunai was at her throat in seconds.

"Little medic girl playing tough," he chided, "We'll beat that out of..."

The big man didn't finish his sentence. His neck was broken before he even knew that he had been attacked. His comrades could not move to help; they suddenly found themselves bound held in place by an unexpectedly strong-jawed pack of dogs.

Sakura stepped out of her captor's grip. "Kakashi-sensei!" she exclaimed.

"I'm glad I found you, Sakura," said the masked Jounin. "It's going to make my work much faster."

The Sharingan eye whirled round and round. Fixated by it, the two remaining enemies fell easy prey to its hypnotic offensive. They slumped to the ground, and the dogs released them.

"Tsunade-sama's ordered me to find and eliminate as many enemy field leaders as I can find," said Kakashi. "Having a medic along will definitely be handy. Especially considering the type of leader I might eventually find..."

Sakura's face took on a look that Kakashi knew well.

"Now's not the time to be thinking about that," he warned. "I don't think Orochimaru would risk his prized container on the front lines. If we do find him, that's one less thing to worry about. But I doubt that we will."

"Hey, you guys!" called an annoyed voice from the crater, "Haven't you finished up there yet? Come down here and finish this work!"

Kakashi and his old subordinate exchanged glances. "I know it's tough," he said, "But other jobs have to take priority over finding Sasuke. The civilians have to be evacuated. Field commanders have to be taken out as early as possible, to disorient the enemy and slow the destruction. If we let our personal desires get in the way of saving the village, we might as well be killing our comrades ourselves..."

Sakura was pained, but she already knew that he was right. "And shinobi who abandon their comrades are lower than garbage... right?"

Beneath his mask, Kakashi's pride for his old student was evident. "Exactly. Now, shall we go take out the garbage down there?"

"Hai!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The house shook violently with the nearby explosion. Haruka was awake instantly, and on her feet in less than a second. Then she was on her backside as the blind man below her tried to roll out of his bedding and crashed into her legs.

"Blind idiot!" she cursed, giving him a groggy kick.

"Ite! That's a rude awakening if I ever had one... hey!" He jumped aside as she tried to kick him again.

"Be quiet," Haruka said. "I'm trying to hear..."

"You can hear them over me all too easily, so stop kicking me. Those are explosions."

"And yelling," Haruka added. She stood up, flipping her dark braid over her shoulder and cocking her ear to the world beyond the walls. "Not good. Konoha's under attack!"

"You're sure it's not one of Naruto's pranks? I remember the time that firecracker singed your hair off when you were sleeping..."

"No, it's definitely an attack. Listen, you can hear orders being shouted outside. Orders from both our people and another side." She walked to the end of the room, opened the doors that opened to the night. "And I can see flames!" she exclaimed. "This is a large-scale raid."

"What?" Keisuke asked in alarm. "What's burning?"

"Right now? Not much," Haruka said. "But judging from all the noise and shouting..."

"There might be a whole lot more burning fairly soon," Keisuke finished. "We're needed..."

"Correction," Haruka interjected. "I'm needed. What good are you in your current state? Your feelers aren't even near done regrowing. Sorry, partner, but I'm not letting you come with me."

"I'll be good enough," Keisuke said. He fumbled for his vest and sunglasses.

"If you had thought ahead and realized this might happen, you would have avoided using the Sanjuuni Reiude, idiot." The Hyuuga woman's tone was teasing in its normal rivalry fashion, but Keisuke heard strain in it. "You'd just be dragging me down like this."

Keisuke wasn't playing or teasing at all. "No, I'm going," he said. "I didn't spend weeks trying to help change the Hyuuga only to have these enemies—the enemies that it was originally my mission to find—come and destroy them. I saw the map they had, Haruka. The Hyuuga complex was circled in red. I must protect..."

The blind man was stopped by a hand that his stubby feelers didn't see coming, the finger of which came to rest upon his lips.

"Not another word," said Haruka. Her voice was low and gentle as it had never been before in his presence. Keisuke found that he could not oppose it. "I know you want to keep your lost children safe, now that they've been pacified. But you're weak right now, and I can help them better than you can. Please, Keisuke, hide here and let me go instead. I promise I won't let them be exterminated."

Her hand removed itself from his face. He stood silent, unable to comment. Haruka took his silence as permission to go, and moved for the door, grabbing her equipment on the way. Just before she left, she turned to look upon him a final time.

"You'd better hide yourself well, you big blind dolt," she said. Her tone was back to the jubilant and playful one that he was used to. "If I come back here and you're dead, I'll be really mad at you for taking away my favorite door mat. Now, I've got things to kill."

Keisuke came out of the spell. "Undoubtedly," he said. "Don't have too much fun, though, Sadist. Leave one for me to talk to later."

"I won't promise anything, but I'll try," she said. Keisuke felt, more than saw, her demonic smile. "Later."

She was gone.

Keisuke stood a moment in the center of the room. He listened to the noise of battle outside, and wondered which ringing clash was the kunai of someone he knew. Clenching his fists, he raged within himself for being unable to join them.

Yet, when he remembered the feel of that hand on his face, the melodious sound of the gentle, pleading voice, his anger diminished quickly and then went out. It was replaced first by bitter resignation to hide himself as he'd been told, and then, as he moved about to find a suitable place, by confusion.

"Why do I not fight her?" he asked himself. "My will is at least as strong as hers. I know that she is likely to meet her death before she gets to the Hyuuga. Having me along, even in my weakened stated, would increase her chances. So why do I do as she asks?"

The questions grew and multiplied, swimming in his brain, spreading in his blood like a cancer. Yet for all of these plaguing questions, he could produce only one answer, and it was the last answer in all the world that he would be willing to accept. The word was there constantly in the back of his head and on the tip of his tongue, but he would neither think nor speak it. The stress of it piled up on him until he felt he would be forced to club himself over the head.

"You'd better come back alive, Sadist," he said to the air. "I can't die without getting you back for calling me 'door mat.'"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Ayame hid behind her father, terrified out of her wits. Teuchi was nearly scared stupid himself, but the presence of his daughter behind him forced him to competence. He stood erect between her and their assailants, waving a kitchen knife defensively in front of him.

A lot of good it will do me, he thought. An old man like me against three ninja? I haven't got a chance.

Yet, he found the resolve to defy them still. "Stay back!" he cried weakly. "Don't come a step nearer!"

The enemy chuckled, pausing at the top of the stairs which he and his comrades had just finished climbing. "And what if we don't? Gonna make us into tomorrow's special? I don't think you have it in you, old man."

"Then why? If we're no threat to you..."

"Normally, I wouldn't," said the Rock Chuunin, "A nice old guy like you is a shameful kill, and a waste of a good cook. But orders are orders, so..." he drew a long katana and held it before him.

Teuchi's eyes went wide. "But," he protested, "Why would your master order you to kill us? Normally, food workers like us can be captured and put to good use..."

"Of course," said the enemy, "Usually. But the Sound believe that you're more useful dead for some reason. Though you're a good guy, and I wish I could tell you why you have to lose your life, I can't. Hold still now. This won't hurt if you don't struggle."

The enemy ninja's sympathy did little to ease Teuchi and Ayame's terror. The old man lowered his knife and stood resolute, waiting for the end to come with as much dignity as he could muster. The Rock Chuunin and his teammates came forward together, weapons raised, and Teuchi closed his eyes.

Then, without warning, a flash of flame streaked from the stairs and hit the ninja on the leader's left. The target's shoulder was shredded by the impact, and in seconds the flames had engulfed his entire arm and were spreading to other, more vital areas. The Rock Chuunins turned to face the threat, and the one to the leader's right turned just in time to catch a fist with his lower jaw. He fell hard and skidded across the wooden floor to stop at Teuchi's feet.

"I'm sorry for being late, old man," said the voice of their savior. "If I'd known my mission was trash, I'd have been here sooner."

"Naruto!" breathed Teuchi, opening his eyes.

The blond Leaf shinobi had the Rock Chuunin leader pinned to the wall with one hand. The enemy fought him hard, trying to gut the boy with his katana. Naruto was in control, however, and disarmed him in a moment. Once he had nothing to worry about from his opponent, he used his free hand to smash the enemy's head against the wall, rendering him unconscious.

Once the threat was completely gone, Naruto tied up the enemies and checked over the old man and his daughter, making certain that they were both alive and in good health. Having been assured several times that they were fine, he smiled widely in relief.

"That's good," he said. "If you guys got taken out, I don't know if I'd get over it. I've been eating here for so long..."

"Thank you, Naruto," Teuchi said. "You always were my best customer. Devoted enough that you saved us before anyone else."

"Heh," Naruto shrugged. "More devotion than you know, old man. Your ramen was my first true love. But I have to get going now. You guys sit tight and wait for the evac squad, okay?"

"S-sure thing!" said the old man.

"Good," said Naruto. "I'm going to see what I can do about these bastards. Ja ne."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

For the first time in her life, Hanabi was afraid. She'd never before seen real combat, having been sheltered and pampered all her years, fighting only in controlled situations. Now, she'd suddenly been thrust into a melee of thousands while her bodyguard struggled to escort her to the safe house. The compound had been taken off guard, and all of the Hyuuga present there, Branch House and Main, trained and untrained, were fighting for their lives.

It was a battle that they were losing. The Branch Captain, Hiroto, was nowhere to be found. The elite guard was lost and leaderless, trying to reach Hiashi, who was pinned down in the practice hall against scores of opponents. Though all Hyuuga who were trained in combat fought desperately to protect the civilians, they were largely ineffectual against so many skilled enemies. Hanabi stayed close to her bodyguard, constantly looking over her shoulder nervously, heart pounding in her ears, trying not to let the cries of the dying drive her mad.

Suddenly, her bodyguard keeled over dead, a kunai having been driven into his heart. His killer stood over Hanabi, the Sound Hitai-ate band glimmering crimson in the light of nearby flames. All of Hanabi's training was forgotten, and she cringed in his shadow like a frightened rabbit.

"Well, aren't you pretty, little one?" said the Sound shinobi. "I'll kill you with something equally pretty." He ran his hands through a set of seals, his eyes piercing into her with malice.

"Katon..."

Nobody got to learn what his 'pretty' jutsu was, because his life was taken from him before he could finish speaking its name. A Jyuuken bolt went into his back and stopped his heart.

"Hanabi!" called a gentle, yet insistent voice. A pair of hands grasped Hanabi's shoulders. The girl tore her eyes from the body of her would-be murderer and looked up into her savior's face.

"Hinata-oneesan!" she exclaimed.

"Hanabi," said the older sister, "Are you all right? Any injuries?"

"No..." Hanabi flushed crimson. After years of being treated as the superior, it was a kind of ironic embarrassment to walk into a battle and be paralyzed with fear. And to be rescued by Hinata...

"That's good," said Hinata. "I'm so glad. Where is our Father?"

"They... they told me he was still in the practice hall when they attacked. The elite guard haven't reported since—they've been trying to get to him."

Hinata paused. "If the elite guard are trying, then he should be all right. If the elite guard aren't enough, then there is little we can do to make a difference," she reasoned. "I think we need to get out of here, and call for emergency aid."

Hanabi had little to say. She was amazed at Hinata's ability to make decisions and act as a leader; these were qualities that she had never witnessed before in her older sister. This amazement, combined with the lack of a plan in her own mind, led Hanabi to follow her without question.

Where did she find this strength?

"Let's go," said Hinata. She began to fight her way through the deadly battlefield, her little sister in tow.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Naruto quickly became furious as he moved through the village. Everywhere he went, there were enemies. Yet, everywhere he went, he could not pick a good fight. Oh, every now and then a Rock shinobi would turn and attack him, but these were usually grunts, not capable of anything amazing, and Naruto dispatched them fairly quickly. But the Sound shinobi would not fight him at all. Everywhere he went, they faded away from him, vanishing into the darkness.

"Damn it!" He yelled, stopping on an intact rooftop. "What the hell is going on?"

Looking out over the village, he could see that more and more areas were starting to show signs of violence and destruction. Fires sprung up everywhere, and corpses began to litter the streets in ever-increasing numbers. Leaf Chuunins scrambled to evacuate Konoha's residents. The enemy had finished setting up their command centers in the craters of the original explosions. Some of these were without commanders, but the majority of them were still operational, and replacement officers were beginning to take over for their assassinated leaders. The momentum of the assault was not yet broken.

"I've got to find someone on our side and find out what we're doing," Naruto said. "I have to find out if everyone's okay. Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, Hinata, Keisuke, everyone..."

Leaping from his perch, he started towards the Hokage tower. It was currently surrounded and under siege by a massive concentration of enemies, but if anyone could tell him what was going on, Tsunade could. He forgot about trying to smash faces in and focused instead upon reaching his destination. This shift in focus turned out to be a mistake, and he narrowly avoided the blast of sonic waves that came at him from below.

"Whoa!" he cried. Getting his bearings, he managed a clean landing on an unbroken section of street. His enemy landed opposite him no more than thirty feet away. He was small, dark, and heavily cloaked and masked, but Naruto knew from his forehead plate that he was from the Sound.

"It's about time," Naruto grumped. "I've been trying forever to fight one of you guys..."

"Although your lack of attentiveness suggests that you would be an easy target," said the enemy, "I was not sent here to kill you; that blast was meant to get your attention."

"Well, it worked at that," said Naruto. "What do you want, if you don't want to fight?"

"I have been ordered to guide you, Uzumaki Naruto. There is one among our number here who greatly wishes to see you, and I am to take you to him."

Naruto went stony-faced. For some reason, he wasn't having much trouble guessing at who the small, masked ninja was referring to. A rivulet of sweat ran down his face.

"Will I have time to find Sakura and Kakashi?" he asked.

"I was instructed to bring you immediately to him after I found you," said the enemy ninja. "I was also instructed to caution you that if you declined this invitation, there are a number of people right now who would die at a single word from my master—people important to you. Beginning ten minutes from now, one of them will be killed every five minutes until you arrive."

"Is that a bluff?" Naruto asked.

"Are you willing to take the chance that it is not?" asked the enemy.

A long pause occurred. All around them were the sounds of battle, but neither one of them said or did anything.

At last, Naruto found his voice.

"Lead on."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO End Chapter Twenty-Three OoOoOoOoOoOoO

A/N: After three long, arduous years, it is finally time. In the midst of havoc and chaos, two souls long parted will finally meet again. One of them is blinded to the better things in life by a lust for revenge. The other's eyes have only just been opened to a whole new plane of conflict and passion: love. With the weight of their past heavy on their shoulders, who's will is more powerful? Who is most lacking in sight?

Okay, people... You. Me. Ideas. NOW.

The upcoming battle between old rivals will be a long one, and I want it to be one of my best yet. I am open to any and all suggestions that you may have... in fact, I demand them. As soon as you read this, you are to promptly tell me what you think ought to happen. I do not care if it is a suggestion for a random tidbit of the fight, or a long and detailed, blow-by-blow outline. Just give it to me. This fight could conceivably span a couple of chapters, and there is a high probability of a lot of your ideas getting used.

Thanks a lot for your help, guys. It really does make the difference between a good story and a masterpiece.