Family Reunion
-The Hyuuga family is made up of one nuclear family and usually anywhere from two to five branch families at any given time. It's small size relative to other clans such as the Aburame or Uchiha (despite it's unwillingness to undergo the barbaric, incestual practices sometimes seen in those clans) is due in the most part due to the Caged Bird Seal. (The Uchiha do not incest, whities.) (Then explain why I see you meeting up with Izumi~) (She is twice removed, asshole!)
-The Caged Bird Seal is applied to the foreheads of all branch family members at age three. In the main family, all but the eldest heir are also branded at that age, with that heir locked into position as the next head of the Hyuuga family. "Your family is barbaric." "I Know."
-The Seal's primary purpose is to immediately denature and eliminate the special properties of the Byakugan from it's owner upon death, or upon it's removal from the owner's body. This is a security measure to prevent it's capture by hostile Hidden Villages or Missing-nin who might want to steal it.
-Those branded with the Seal can have children with the Byakugan, but those children will not be able to produce children in turn with the Byakugan. In other words, after the Seal is applied, only that individual and their immediate children will have the eye. This is to preserve the sanctity of the main branch, but is also another security measure; should a Hyuuga defect, or be captured and not choose suicide, they will not be able to spread the Byakugan for more than one more generation.
-The Seal also facilitates several other specialty jutsu that target those branded specifically, designed as control measures for disobedient branch members. These include the:
-Caged Bird: Feeding, which allows the caster to give or drain chakra remotely,
-Caged Bird: Gouged Eyes, which preemptively activates the seal and blinds the branded, (fuck.)
-Caged Bird: Clipped Wings, which causes paralysis and debilitating pain, (Fuck.) and
-Caged Bird: Unlatched, which instantly kills the branded individual. This can be cast by the branded as a suicide jutsu. (FUCK, dude.)
-It should be noted that the Caged Bird Seal is a simple yet implacable seal that cannot be removed by any known technique. It only vanishes upon the branded individual's death, and any attempts to remove the seal will likely result in them dying anyway...
-Basic Summary of the Caged Bird Seal, Hyuuga's official bloodline-limit tome. Scribbles by assorted.
"Ninety seven...ninety eight...ninety nine...five hundred...five hundred one...two...three..."
"Is this...usual behaviour for you?"
Naruto prime was doing press ups in the centre of the room Jiraiya had rented. Naruto 2, 3, and 4 were sat on top of him.
"Yeah." He said, breathlessly, as 2 continued to count. "Most days I'm training with Gai, so whenever I fail to do that I have to put some work in separately. Am I bothering you?"
Haku, sat in the corner, watched Naruto's muscles flexing as he continued. "Nope. You...do you. Don't stop."
Narutos 5, 6, and 7 were also training, in their case with the chakra chains. The room was crisscrossed with the golden links, as the clones shot them out in all directions at every opportunity.
"Where is Jiraiya, anyway?" Haku asked. "I know Zabuzza would have been scouting the area. He had the acronym LEAF, funnily enough:
check for Law enforcement, Escape routes, Altitude variance, and Friendlies. He'd check for all four every time he stopped somewhere."
"Cool." Naruto 5 enthused. "Jiraiya's probably out looking for girls."
"...Oh."
"Yeah, he's a massive pervert."
There was a knock on the door, and Naruto 6 hopped up to answer it. "About time Ero-sensei! You'd better not have brought along company because we don't have enough rooms for a slumber par...ty."
The man at the door was not Jiraiya. He was a tall, lean man with a black cloak wrapped around him that sported red clouds. His hair was black with hints of dark blue, and two strands of it framed his face while the majority fell down behind his head. A leaf headband with a long, deliberate line cut into it was attached to his forehead, and below it were two eyes. Hyuuga eyes. Naruto 6 ran through the checklist of living Hyuuga in his head, and cross referenced it with his 'Akatsuki' database.
"This is one of the moments where I'm completely outmatched, isn't it?" He mentioned.
"Quite." Said Neji Hyuuga.
Naruto Prime reached for the chakra that powered his chains and then he was unconscious.
Earlier that morning
"Witty comebacks?"
"Check."
"Fear-mongering?"
"Check."
"Poorly veiled insults as to his political integrity?"
"Check."
"Then that should be everything."
Sasuke smiled and straightened his tie. Their current mission was just as vital as any other to the success of the Leaf village, but one that required a suit rather than a flak vest. His cursed seal chafed against the collar.
Hinata was dressed up too, in an incredibly impractical dress that was nonetheless absolutely stunning. They had together come up with a theory that the fashion was deliberately restrictive, specifically designed to limit ninja killing each other over the negotiating table.
"This is going to be an outright war." Sasuke sighed. "Trying to keep all of the clans united against father...it's a kind of war I've been training for since I was five, but still."
"Same here." Hinata agreed, flicking irritably at the fabric covering her cursemark. "But what I really wonder is-"
There was a boom. They both turned to see a massive tower of swirling fire blasting up into the sky. They shared a glance, and then both leapt towards the disturbance.
By the time they got there, it was already over. ANBU covered the scene, as well as a few other curious ninja drawn by the sight, and it was obvious from the terrain a battle had taken place.
Sasuke spotted a familiar face, and ran up. "Excuse me, Kurenai-sensei? What happened?"
"An attack." The jonin may normally have been hesitant to reveal the information; but right now she was clearly shaken up by something. "Neji Hyuuga, and another man, in black cloaks with red clouds. They were after something, but they left before they could find it, whatever it is." The woman shook her head and vanished.
Sasuke turned to Hinata with wide eyes.
"Akatsuki." He whispered.
"Neji." She whispered back.
Then, as one, "Naruto."
Kisame, mildly infuriated, swiped at another Naruto with Samehada. "Neji, can you help with this?"
"I am helping." Neji replied. "I'm carrying the prisoner."
Neji had successfully rendered Naruto insensate and pulled him over his shoulder. He had, however, 'forgotten' to deal with all the other shadow clones, which had then summoned even more. The result was he and Kisame wading their way through a sea of obnoxious genin desperately trying to recover their creator. He was more than capable of striking down any clone that got too close, and throwing a shuriken through any that tried to sneakily substitute with the unconscious Naruto, but it was really annoying.
Adding to the chaos was the strange ice boy who had immediately broken into a screaming fit along the lines of "YOU FUCKING BASTARDS HOW DARE YOU I WONT LET ANY MORE OF MY MASTERS BE TAKEN AWAY FROM ME YOU HEAR ME-" etcetera etcetera, with tears running down his cheeks as he bombarded the duo with senbon.
Getting fed up with this, Kisame shouldered Samehada and made a few hand seals. "Water bullet jutsu."
A massive bolt of liquid flew through the corridor to peg the black haired child-
Only to freeze solid, creating a wall of ice across the hallway.
"Huh." Mumbled Kisame.
Then that wall blasted forwards into dozens of shards of ice heading for the Akatsuki pair. Kisame redrew Samehada and span it, creating an impenetrable wall for the projectiles to shatter against, then he darted forwards and grabbed the child around the throat.
"Can I kill the ice girl?" He called over his shoulder.
"Boy." Neji replied, still fending off the Naruto clones. "And sure, if you have to."
"Wait, this is a boy-OW!"
While he was distracted, the boy had encased Kisame's arm in a layer of ice. When he flexed his arm to shatter the offending covering, he lost grip on his prisoner, who jumped free.
"Demonic ice mirrors jutsu!"
Neji watched the chakra weave itself around him, taking form as a series of, well, demonic looking mirrors made of ice. "Interesting bloodline limit." He complimented, as the boy vanished into the surface of the mirrors. "Interesting, but," the child leapt from a mirror behind his right shoulder, and he darted a hand out to catch him in the throat. Haku crumpled to the floor, stunned, as Neji walked up to the mirror directly in his way. "Insufficient."
"No..." Mumbled the boy, desperately trying to get up, even though the tenketsu in his neck was blocked meaning he'd lose consciousness any moment. "Don't...take him away from me..."
Oh I won't. Tilting his head slightly, Neji put on of his fingers against a certain spot and pushed. The mirror cracked, and fell apart.
The view beyond it, to an ordinary person, would have just been a hallway ending with a window.
"Here." Neji shrugged off Naruto for Kisame to catch, "these next are mine."
Kisame, well used to Neji's enhanced vision, just nodded and grabbed Naruto's limp form.
The Hyuuga, in one smooth movement, cleared out every other Naruto clone in the hallway, just in time to be stood silently watching the window crash in.
His heart nearly stopped when he saw Hinata. Oh look, she has grown. Though that may have been the effect of her wearing a dress that had been summarily torn apart for greater mobility.
"You!" She screamed, practically flying through the corridor with energy pulsing around her. And there are the gates Itachi mentioned. Impressive. He caught the flying kick she launched at his head. "Hello, cousin." He remarked.
She twisted out of his grip, and launched another round of strikes that he blocked with painful ease. "Still too slow." He remarked, sighing, before planting a foot in her chest and pushing. She went sprawling back into the corridor, a corridor that immediately filled with fireballs courtesy of the other child, Sasuke. Neji put some chakra in his hands and swept them out of the air, batting them back towards the Uchiha with much higher velocity. One caught him in the shoulder and he hissed, throwing off the now burning upper half of his garments.
"Not at your brother's level yet, it seems." Neji tutted.
Then Hinata was making hand seals again, with an accuracy that spoke of hours upon hours of practice. It hurt, the sequence he knew she was attempting, but he supposed he couldn't blame her for learning it. He waited, as she finished the seals and thrust her hands out towards him. "Caged bird, clipped wings jutsu!"
There was a pause.
Kisame chuckled from behind Neji.
"I trust you didn't think it would be that simple to change your fate." He remarked, offhandedly.
"What, but, how..." Hinata was shaking.
Deciding to dispense with the suspense, Neji reached up to his headband, and lifted it up.
"No." It was impossible. She lived in a world where people could breathe fire and walk on water, weave illusions and summon great monsters. But this...this couldn't be done. She knew it couldn't be done. When Neji lifted up his forehead protector, cut into to show his betrayal of the village, it revealed his forehead. A blank forehead. The same pale pink as the rest of his skin.
So where the fuck was the caged bird seal.
Sasuke glanced across at her and she realised she had said it aloud.
"Why would I wear a mark demonstrating my subservience to the Hyuuga?" Asked Neji, rhetorically. "I threw off those shackles years ago."
"Not all shackles can simply be thrown off!" She shouted, traumatised. "The caged bird seal only breaks upon death! How...how did you..."
"Still so set in your ways." Neji tutted. "You; the one I've chosen to challenge me? I too once believed that some things could never be done, but I soon learned that was folly. There is only one fate, one future, one true worldline. But we hardly know that now. We can only believe. And the universe does not care what you believe to be impossible." He flexed his fingers. "Allow me to demonstrate."
The alarm bells rang in her head, but she did not have time to react before Neji appeared in front of her. She didn't see his hands move, but she felt her body stiffen, as Neji turned around to grasp Sasuke round the back of the neck. His hand covered the Uchiha's cursemark. "Hiragekoma." He muttered, calmly. And Sasuke screamed.
"NO!" Hinata cried, straining to move as Sasuke writhed against Neji's grip, but she could see which tenketsu her cousin had hit, he had completely immobilised her from the neck down. "You Bastard, you can't take him too-"
"Kisame." Neji warned, not letting go. "On your left."
The shark-man turned, and Hinata, remembering to pay attention to her Byakugan, let out a surprised gasp.
Neji's warning came too late, as Naruto (still resting on Kisame's shoulder) poofed out of existence, to be replaced by a small green toad. Said toad then slapped Kisame around the face, and dispelled itself. That was when Jiraiya appeared from around the corner, with Naruto over one shoulder and some random woman over the other. "Appealing to my Perversion Ultima, are we?" He gave a hearty belly laugh. "While your offering is appreciated, Jiraiya the Gallant would never take liberties with a girl under genjutsu! It's like you weren't even trying!"
"Almost." Neji agreed. He released Sasuke's neck, and the boy crumpled to the ground.
"Oh damn, that's one of the Sannin." Kisame growled, turning to face the new threat. "I'm not sure if we're a match for him."
"Don't be ridiculous, we could tot-." Neji paused. "I mean, yes, I'm not sure we're a match for him either."
For a moment, Hinata was hopeful.
Jiraiya slapped his palms to the ground. "Toad Mouth Bind Jutsu!"
Hinata, for the life of her, couldn't tell if it was a genjutsu or not; the wooden walls of the corridor were replaced with some sticky pink substance that looked not unlike the gullet of some great monster.
Neji and Kisame tensed.
"Flee?" Offered the latter.
"For now." The former agreed. "Keep trying, Hinata. You're making progress."
With that, the pair vanished down a side corridor.
Jiraiya didn't follow them to check his jutsu's success, he ran straight across the trio of teens immobilised on the floor. "You three alright? What did he do?"
"I'm paralysed." Hinata admitted, in a daze. "A gentle fist technique. It should wear off on its own in a few minutes."
There was a boom from down the corridor, and Hinata winced, preparing to tell Jiraiya what she'd just seen. She didn't need to. He grimaced, and put his hands together, dispelling whatever technique he'd put on their surroundings. "They've escaped. Continue."
"Naruto and Haku are both victims of tenketsu strikes, both should wake up soon." She explained, vocal chords taut. "Sasuke is...I don't know what that was."
The Uchiha had reached a kneel and put his hand to the back of his neck, but his expression was one of wonder rather than pain. "The curse mark." He whispered, removing his hand to show them. "It's...it's gone!"
*Gasp* He whaaaaaaat?
Guys you know I had to get rid of it somehow.
Another of Neji's crazy new abilities revealed, and now he's flying in the face of everything Hinata thought she knew. Sorry honey, I'm not letting you one-jutsu your main enemy, that wouldn't be much fun, would it?
Next chapter, aftermaths of this little debacle, and Jiraiya finally meets back up with Sannin #3.
