First of all, I have been very busy these months and I thank you guys all for your patience. Still busy, but I have some spare time to do this story. I skipped the details of many things, including: the Konoha Chunin Exam, and the fact that Naruto and Sasuke have learnt the truth of the Uchiha Massacre. These would take too much time to write about. I want to go straight to where the Neo-Combine attacks, which is long overdue.

Beta: bigdogneversleeps and Illuminated.

Proofread and consultation: Ookami88.

This Chapter 15 finishes Book One Namikaze of Cloud. The next chapter begins Book Two Shadows of Uzushio. The Neo-Combine will strike next chapter.

Hell, it's about time.

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December 28 Evening, Nearly Thirteen Years Ago, Hizashi's House

"Don't you think it's adorable? How Lady Hinata and Lord Naruto held that red wrist band!?" Hannah Hyuuga said excitedly. Yesterday, the clan princess Hinata had been born. Today morning Hannah and her husband Hizashi along with Hinata's parents were amazed at what they saw at the baby crib, baby Hinata and baby Naruto held together his red wristband left by his mother.

"It seems that they are destined to be together!" Hizashi's beautiful wife held up her baby son and kissed him on the forehead. "I'm sure our baby Neji will find a very nice girl too!"

The older baby seemingly understood what his mother said and let out a grin.

The Hyuuga Branch house leader agreed and revealed a smile to his family. Then he thought deeply about Kushina Uzumaki, his secret crush. Not even Hannah and his brother Hiashi knew of his secret love for the Whirlpool Princess, nor of his grief when she died in the Kyuubi's Attack.

He had liked her from the very day she came to his academy classroom and gave the loud self-introduction that she would be Hokage one day. However, boys were led to stay away from the Uzumaki when she famously displayed her spitfire personality by beating up her bullies to a pulp and gained the infamous moniker "the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero." But her attributes, the fiery red hair, a pair of beautiful violet eyes, and her tomboyish and tough attitude attracted his affections- and his personally bearing witness to her upbringing made him fall harder for her.

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Fifteen Years Prior the Kyuubi's Attack

Two top ANBU came to Hizashi and Kushina's classroom and interrupted the class session. "Kushina Uzumaki, you are required to come to the Hokage Tower immediately. We will escort you to there."

The whole class was shocked as the ANBU team escorted the bewildered Uzumaki out to go to the Hokage Tower. Later that afternoon, while the village atmosphere was getting very tense, the class saw the village sent off a battalion. Most of the relief forces had Senju clan symbols on their flak jackets. Hizashi overheard people gossiped about the event.

"Whirlpool Country is under attack!" Upon hearing this, the Hyuuga prayed that Kushina's village would come out victorious and safe, but two days later, a shocking news arrived at Konoha.

"The Senju reinforcement battalion was destroyed!" and there was more disturbing news.

"It was all done by a coalition of several ninja villages: Kiri, Kumo, Iwa, Sky, Grass and other hidden villages. They called themselves The Combine, they numbered over thirty thousand and they have brought three jinchuurikis! My Kami… It is the largest forces ever assembled in the shinobi world history!"

A week later Hizashi was shocked when he read the headlines on the newspaper:

Whirlpool has Fallen!

The Second Great War has started!

He was very sorry to learn that Kushina's home village, Uzushio, perished along with the Senju reinforcements. He sympathetically shed a few tears for her fallen birth village, as everyone she loved there was now gone.

Hizashi knew the girl he loved was heartbroken and devastated. He rushed out of his house to Kushina's residence. He wanted to embrace her, to comfort her and protect her in her time of need and let her know that he was there for her. But the Branch house member was stopped by a curse-seal-trigger-happy Main house member named Hajime with a warning.

"Never get close to the Uzumaki or you will suffer consequences."

Hizashi could only helplessly be returned to his quarters to worry about Kushina. Later, he learnt from his brother, much to his relief, that Hitomi, Mikoto, Tsume, and other females had been there for Kushina.

'I hope Kushina gets well soon,' Hizashi thought and noted to himself, 'Well, it seems I'm the only boy in her class care for her well-being.'

Little did he know that there was another boy who also cared for Kushina and had a crush on her as well.

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'This is the time, Hizashi. You can do it! Don't back down! You need to let her know how you feel! Kushina will surely reciprocate your feelings. JUST DO IT!' The Hyuuga urged himself as he walked towards the Uzumaki Manor with determination in his eyes, and a love letter and a poem in his hands.

Every year, he secretly put birthday presents on her doorsteps, and today the Hyuuga intended to confess his feelings to the Uzumaki.

Two days ago, they had graduated and became genins. The Hyuuga had hoped that he and Kushina could be assigned to the same team, but much to his disappointment, they didn't. So, it was now or never: time to confess his feelings to the redhead.

He nervously knocked on the door and strangely, it opened. She was supposed to have kept it locked. Entering the residence, he found signs of struggle in the house and weapons from a foreign village. The Hyuuga quickly realized something very wrong, and immediately stormed to the Hokage Tower.

All tracker ninjas at the Hokage's disposal were immediately sent out to search for the red-haired girl when she was confirmed kidnapped.

Hizashi volunteered for the search efforts, despite knowing the consequences for getting close to the Uzumaki, but he had to save her! He activated his Byakugan and began his search, yet he didn't notice his best friend, Minato Namikaze, was looking at the ground, searching for something.

Later, much to his relief, Kushina Uzumaki was saved, yet much to his disappointment and sorrow, his secret love was saved by his best friend.

"Minato also has feelings towards Kushina," Hizashi realized. 'But I will not give up! Minato Namikaze is considered a girly-boy by her... I still have a chance and DON'T GIVE UP!'

Later Hizashi secretly and tearfully admitted defeat when he accidentally saw how his best friend and his crush kissed on their third date. It broke his heart and he became envious of the Namikaze, however time healed this pain as Hannah became his love and then wife.

Years later, he overcame this jealousy and genuinely wished Minato and Kushina happiness in their secret wedding, like he wished Naruto and Hinata to be well and happy, as well as his son.

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Back to December 28, the Day After Hinata's Birth

"Ding Dong." The doorbell rang Hannah responded by leaving Neji to Hizashi and quickly answering the door.

"Lord Danzo!" Hannah exclaimed. She and her husband were surprised that the most esteemed Konoha elder was visiting her home.

After a few minutes of greeting, the elder and the Hyuuga Branch house leader made themselves comfortable in the latter's guest room. Hannah set tea down on the table and accepted the elder's polite thanks before leaving the room with Neji.

There was a silence between the two men before the elder sipped the tea and broke the ice.

"I have just congratulated Lord Hiashi and Lady Hitomi on their good fortune of having a healthy child. The Hyuuga clan now has an heiress and I'm sure Hinata Hyuuga will lead the clan to greatness."

Hizashi nodded. "Indeed… the Hyuuga clan will become more powerful as Lady Hitomi also has the privilege of raising the son of the Fourth Hokage, heir to Whirlpool and the Namikaze and the Uzumaki clans along with her daughter."

"Not to mention about raising and owning a jinchuuriki," Danzo added. "Owning a jinchuuriki is a symbol of power and might. Look at the jinchuurikis in Kumo and Iwa, they are intimately tied to their respective village Kages. I am quite certain that the current Suna jinchuuriki is related to the Yondaime Kazekage. Besides, Kushina was one of the main factors behind Minato's selection over Orochimaru for the Yondaime Hokage position."

"But I don't understand why Elder Hajime attempted to take Naruto's life two months ago," Hizashi wondered aloud. "Thankfully, my brother killed him before he could ever harm the child." It secretly pleased him that the rest of the arrogant elders and his Main house brother received a severe tongue-lashing from the Hokage afterwards.

"It never made sense. Naruto is the clan's ticket to becoming more powerful than the Uchiha clan… Yet why did Hajime want to kill him?" The Hyuuga Branch house leader pondered.

Danzo calmly took another sip of his tea. "Would it make sense to you if I say that the seal on your forehead actually originates with the Uzumaki clan?"

Hizashi's teacup dropped to the floor and a crashing sound was heard as his eyes widened like saucers. "W-What are you saying?"

"I am saying the Caged Bird Seal originated from the Uzumaki clan and was introduced by Lady Mito for the Senju POW system in the Warring Era. The Hyuuga received the technique when she joined Konoha. Based on Inoichi's findings, the elder feared Lady Hitomi might one day use her best friend's son to destroy the seal along with the Hyuuga traditions. It's impossible to remove the seal without causing death unless… an advanced Uzumaki seal master carries out the task. I've done some research and confirmed it: Uzushio's and the Senju's prisoners had been freed of the seal upon release."

Hizashi's mind began processing his memory, particularly his past with Kushina. Now it all made sense. The elders, even his father, forbade the clan from getting close to Kushina Uzumaki, despite her royal status. They were afraid of her undoing Hyuuga traditions, especially after she declared she would change the Hyuuga clan one day at their Chunin Exam Finals.

"Is it why the Main house family ordered me and Hannah to stay away from Kushina?" Hizashi put his hands on his head and mumbled quietly. "Were they secretly celebrating for Kushina's death until my brother brought Naruto home?"

"I'm afraid so," Danzo answered with no emotion in his voice. "Although your brother has made an example out of Hajime, I fear this will happen again. With the boy's heritage revealed to the world, his life is still threatened. I have received reliable intelligence that Iwa and Kumo have begun rebuilding their forces."

Then, the elder pulled out a book from his right sleeve, and the Hyuuga saw it was a Bingo Book. "Have a look at the first page."

Hizashi opened the book and was shocked at the first page along with the information about a certain baby.

Name: Naruto Namikaze

Age: 2 months old.

Clans: Namikaze and Uzumaki.

Ninjutsu: 0

Genjutsu: 0

Taijutsu: 0

Intelligence: 0

Stamina: 0

Strength: 0

Speed: 0

Hand Seals: 0

Notes: Son of the Yellow Flash and the Red Death. Do not ignore the potential their son possesses.

The next part made Hizashi exclaim. "The bounty… 500 million ryos dead, and a billion ryos alive! Kami! I never saw such an amount in my life!" He flipped the next pages for some information and did a math in his head. "The next five entries don't have that amount combined to even match the dead reward. It must be a joke!"

"No, it isn't a joke," Danzo answered calmly before taking another sip from his tea. "Not if Shingen Hattori funds it with his clan resources."

Hizashi's eyes widened at the name of Iwa's Hattori clan head. Shingen Hattori was the father of Mahiru, who had been killed by Minato Namikaze during the Kannabi Bridge mission. The rest of the Hattori clan was wiped out by the Yellow Flash in subsequent battles, particularly in the one where Minato killed over 1,000 Iwa ninjas in mere seconds. The hidden Rock village had had a day of mourning as no single person there was unrelated to or unacquainted with a person who had died in the battle. Even the Sandaime Tsuchikage lost his only child and daughter in the battle.

It was after this battle outcome that the grieving Third Tsuchikage had decided to seek peace. The Hattori clan head stormed out of the Iwa Council in protest when most of the members wanted to end the war.

According to a reliable source, Shingen Hattori insisted the war should continue and that Iwa ninjas should fight to avenge their fallen comrades.

"That 1 billion ryo reward is for delivering Minato's boy to the Hattori, so he can personally end the Namikaze line, in revenge for Minato ending his Hattori line." The Konoha elder provided his insight. "There are credible rumours that some interested parties want to make this fortune by assassinating or capturing the son of the Yellow Flash and Red Death. My agents have stopped two attempts in the past 3 weeks. Konoha has to put more effort on protecting the boy from Iwa, because they only need to get lucky once. I'm pretty sure that the Hyuuga Main house will rejoice when the Last Hattori does them this favour."

Hizashi abruptly stood up. "I WILL NOT LET THAT HAPPEN!"

Danzo gave a small smile as he sat straighter. "Neither will I. The jinchuuriki is the utmost strategic and tactical asset possessed by Konoha. We cannot afford to lose the boy. Not to mention, he is likely the last Senju and Uzumaki save Tsunade. I am glad that we have a mutual goal: we have to ensure the boy's survival. This is why I have come to your place, with a proposition for you."

The Hyuuga jonin raised his eyebrows. "Proposition?"

"To join me and help me to weaponize the boy for the greater good, in exchange for finding an alternative for the Caged Bird Seal. I don't care about the so-called Hyuuga traditions as long as the Byakugan is safeguarded. For your benefit, first, the boy must become a seal master. In order to do that, I will allow him access to the Shimura clan library, and I will persuade my friends to give the boy access to the Utatane, Mitokado and Akimichi libraries."

Hizashi listened patiently as the village elder continued. "Then, we have to make sure that he will be on our side eventually. Someone other than Hiashi and Hitomi in this compound influences him, namely you. When the boy becomes a genin, I will arrange for you to be his jonin sensei. We must have Minato's boy ready and hardened as soon as possible, to fight his parents' enemies. Iwa is rebuilding its power; their ninja recruitment is soaring, and they have initiated the Juggernaut Program since they learned of the boy's existence. I estimate Iwa military power will recover in 10 years and they will strike Konoha then. We don't have much time left."

The ROOT leader stood up. "It's late now. I have to go back to my office. I will give you a few days to think about my proposition. I await your answer at my office."

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A few minutes later, Hizashi with his wife and their son on his arm watched as the Konoha elder left their house. If Danzo Shimura was right on the origin of the Caged Bird Seal, then his father and the rest of the elders had a lot to answer for. But he was a Branch house member with the curse seal on his forehead. What could he do if they were truly guilty?

'Lady Hitomi is a well-known critic against the Caged Bird Seal, and I hope Lady Hinata will be like her. Should I let her know this?' Hizashi pondered. 'No! The Main house will do something drastic again. In this endeavour, I must be extremely careful and keep a low-profile. Lady Hitomi must not know this secret until the time is right.'

In three more years, his son would be branded just like him and Hannah. The Konoha elder's offer was very promising. Later at night, he made a decision; for his family and fellow Branch house members, he was willing to make a deal with a devil. In bed, Hizashi kissed his wife and then their son on the foreheads while they were asleep.

"Neji, Naruto might be your ticket to freedom… and I will do anything for you."

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Fate was so unfair and cruel to Hizashi Hyuuga. Born only seconds after his twin brother, he was branded and shoved into the Branch house.

'I HATE this fate and I HATE those Main house bastards. There is nothing I can do and I have to put up with the Caged Bird Seal, but Lord Danzo has told me the truth…'

It didn't matter to Hizashi that he had another seal on his tongue and did dirty works for the Konoha's Darkness, as it was all for the sake of his family and fellow Branch house members. It would be worth it if all went according to his and Danzo's plans.

Three years later, he secretly appreciated that Naruto had ruined the ceremony with his pranks, but later on the very same night, the Namikaze-Hyuuga Incident happened!

"To the Earth Country border!" He and several ROOT agents stormed out of a Konoha gate- but they couldn't find anything in the end.

Hizashi never felt so much despair in his life: the Hyuuga Main house was victorious, with the loss of the last Uzumaki in Konoha; also lost was his hope for freedom.

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Two Years After the Namikaze-Hyuuga Incident

His daughter Aoi and Lady Hanabi were born. The Branch house girl was born nine hours earlier than the Main house girl. Both houses were ecstatic for the two baby girls coming to the world. It was just like when Hiashi and Hizashi were born, and everyone was rejoiced.

"Kawaii! Lady Hanabi and Aoi look very cute and very identical!" a Branch house woman exclaimed excitedly.

"Their fathers are identical twins after all," another Branch house woman explained, and then added her own thoughts. "I wonder how Lady Hanabi will take it when she learns her sister disappeared along with the son of the Yellow Flash?"

While everyone was busy celebrating the births, the Branch house father held his baby girl in his arm, muttering ruefully.

"The girls won't look identical after the seal ceremony…" Hizashi started to look pained and tears seeped from his white eyes. "I shouldn't have brought you into this world… I am just condemning you to a life of servitude. If I was born earlier than Hiashi, Neji and Aoi would have always been free. I'm so sorry…"

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27 March, Five Years After the Namikaze-Hyuuga Incident

The day that Hizashi dreaded the most had arrived. The Hyuuga clan was celebrating Aoi's and Hanabi's third birthday, particularly the latter's. All the unmarked Branch house children including Neji and Aoi had the vile seals inflicted on their little foreheads.

They would have to bear them forever until their last breaths. Hizashi observed the seals on his children's innocent foreheads with great pain, pondering an old saying.

'They say people never really know themselves until their freedom's been taken away… Does my brother know himself as much as I do myself? Will Lady Hanabi know herself as much as Aoi will know herself?'

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With the threats posed by the other superpower villages and the loss of the Konoha Kyuubi jinchuuriki, more soldiers were needed for the good of the village. Danzo, Hizashi and other senior ROOT watched as the current batch of over 200 trainees underwent their gruesome training regime.

"We will number over five hundred when this batch completes their 'ritual,' but this base cannot accommodate anymore. Hizashi, you are in charge of establishing two additional bases: Beta and Charlie."

The Hyuuga dropped to one knee. "Hai!"

After leaving the ROOT headquarters, Hizashi began making his way home. He couldn't wait to teach Neji and Aoi more clan taijutsu. They both had shown great promise on juken, but the father acknowledged that the children would never be allowed to reach their full potential.

"AAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

Hizashi heard a scream of agony, and the feminine sound was very similar to him. His head snapped up as he quickly raced towards the source. Upon arrival, he saw two elders and many clansmen and clanswomen bearing witness to a little girl on the ground clutching her head and crying loudly. Other Branch house children looked at the scene terrified and they were crying.

"PLEASE STOP, I BEG YOU! PLEASE!" an older boy was on his knees, doing his best to comfort the little girl. The boy was crying too.

They were Aoi and Neji. His little girl had accidentally bumped into two elders during a hide and seek game. Without a thought, the elders punished Aoi by activating her seal. Seeing the smug looks from the elders, he turned around and witnessed his children's and the other Branch house children's crying faces. Hizashi wept secretly and helplessly.

'Had the Namikaze-Hyuuga Incident not happened, Lady Hitomi would have had the elders reprimanded for this child abuse, and Naruto would have secretly pranked them in retribution… But she became disheartened after the disappearance of Lady Hinata and Naruto…'

He gazed upon the superior looks on the faces of the elders who activated Aoi's seal, the rage and hopelessness mutually boiled in his mind, and the father made another decision.

'I have to DO something for my children, for their future…'

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"Here they are!" A big smile appeared on Hizashi's face as he found dozens of Namikaze and Uzumaki scrolls well-hidden underneath Naruto's unused baby crib.

"The crib is the same model Neji used. It seems Kushina had taken my advice," he noted the baby furniture before he took his storage scroll out, a birthday gift from Minato. "I need two minutes. Torune, Fuu, sit-rep?"

A voice kicked into his radio earplug. "My bugs have started to short-circuit all the electricals in the house."

"I have all places covered with gasoline. The lookout team confirms another ANBU team will patrol here in fifteen minutes," Fuu answered.

"Good. We can start the fires in three minutes!"

The village desperately needed to have the scrolls of the Yellow Flash and the Red Death. While ROOT and the Toad Sannin's intelligence networks had failed to find the children, they had discovered two Iwa jinchuurikis had been mobilized.

For war? ROOT had lost their best spies, the Wandering Nun and her son. The Third Hokage had begun Crimson Contingency including the Firewall and AK-16 in response. And ROOT would protect Leaf in the shadow.

"To support the tree, a stronger root is needed," Hizashi told Danzo. The ROOT leader was very pleased to hear this and immediately sanctioned his plan. This mission was also personal to Hizashi; his elders had taken to giving personal training to Lady Hanabi. The desperate Branch house leader hoped one of the scrolls contained information about the Caged Bird Seal.

The Fourth Hokage had set up protection seals in his estate, making it accessible to only his and Kushina's friends. The Hyuuga felt honoured when Minato told him he trusted him, but now he felt low about misusing his dead best friend's trust.

"All done! Set the fires now!" Hizashi was disgusted with himself when he gave this order and stole his friends' scrolls.

Thirty minutes later, the ROOT agents gathered at a safe distance. Hizashi's Byakugan watched the raging fire quickly consume the house and eliminate evidence of the scroll theft. Many ninjas, including Kakashi Hatake, tried desperately to put out the fire but failed. His Byakugan saw that a beautiful portrait of Minato and Kushina smiling together was burning as well.

"Forgive me, Minato, Kushina…"

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The scrolls of the Namikaze and Uzumaki clans were protected by blood seals. Fortunately, every ninja was required to provide a small blood sample of their own for identification. The blood vials were stored in the secure hospital storage rooms, but it wasn't a difficult task for ROOT to retrieve a few vials, as ROOT had people there.

A week later, a smile crept up the ROOT leader's wrinkled lips when dozens of unlocked scrolls were placed on the table. All Minato's and Kushina's ninjutsu and other secrets were completely unlocked. Danzo picked up and read a Namikaze scroll with tri-pronged kunai symbol on it. He gave another small smile.

"Hizashi, Fuu, Torune."

The three ninjas immediately dropped to their knees. The elder handed the scroll to Hizashi. "Make three copies of this, and each of you get one. But you can only study and do the training in this facility. Understood?"

"Hai!" The three men lowered their heads to acknowledge the order.

"You three are my most elite ninjas and shall form my Hiraishin Squad."

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Nine Years After the Kyuubi Attack (Six Years After the Namikaze-Hyuuga Incident)

"Lord Danzo, you might want to have a look at these," Hizashi passed several photos to the elder, who was having a rare leisurely teatime. The pictures were of a nine-year-old tan-skinned girl with teal hair and orange eyes.

"What is this girl about?" the ROOT leader asked. He re-examined the photos while taking a good sip of his tea. The elder only recalled that this civilian girl had joined the Academy a few months ago, and was in the class full of the scions of the Uchiha, Aburame, Inuzuka, Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Nara clans, as well as the niece of the Haruno councillor. It was nothing important.

"She piqued my interest when she wanted to befriend my son, and I've found something interesting with my Byakugan. She has two sources of chakra, just like Kushina and Naruto. In other words: I believe that we have a new jinchuuriki in the village."

Danzo nearly choked on his tea.

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It cost Hizashi lots of effort and time to make his Hyuuga home study room secure with privacy seals, but he gained the elder's permission to bring the Uzumaki scrolls back to his house as a reward for his contribution to the village and ROOT.

"Finally!" he privately emoted. Like Kakashi who would bring newly published Icha-Icha volumes home to binge read at night, Hizashi started to read Kushina's scrolls non-stop during his rest periods.

"The Caged Bird Seal is actually composed of two seals: Leash and Leech. The first one, as its name suggests, is the curse seal that keeps prisoners in line with threats of pain and death." Reading it to himself figuratively left a bad taste in the Hyuuga Branch house leader's mouth before he looked into the details of the next seal.

"The next one, Leech, is used to seal off a foe's bloodline limit. It has another use as a fail-safe: to seal your own bloodline limit and DNA to safeguard secrets… That must be it!" Hizashi incautiously exclaimed. "If the Uzumaki clan can apply these types of fuinjutsu, then they must know how to remove them!"

A year later, after the son of the Yellow Flash and the Hyuuga princess were back from Kumo, Hizashi and his fellow Hyuuga clan members watched as Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze applied Caged Bird Seals, the aforementioned Leech fuinjutsu, on two despicable elders who bullied Aoi.

'You are the one who can save my children, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze!'

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Present Day (56 Hours Before the Konoha Chunin Exam Finals), Fire News Network Studio, Fire Capital

The News chief-editor dropped to the floor dead as his throat was slit open. Fuu Yamanaka quickly sheathed his tipless tanto without emotion. Danzo Shimura softly tapped his cane, then Hizashi Hyuuga and Torune Aburame shunshined in front of them.

"The guards are all neutralized," Torune Aburame reported without emotion. Danzo looked to Hizashi for his report.

"Hellfire seals are all placed on this floor," the Hyuuga said quietly.

The ROOT leader tapped his cane again, signalling to the Hiraishin Squad to move to the basement. It was 0100 now and there was no living soul present except the four ROOT ninjas.

It took them less than two minutes to reach the Evidence Storage Room in the basement. Hizashi's Byakugan was not needed to locate it, as ROOT agents stationed in Fire Capital had provided the team with the blueprint of this building. Nevertheless, the elder still needed to bring the Hyuuga along with the rest of the Hiraishin Squad, to provide an alibi in case suspicions were raised.

Yesterday, a Leaf delivery team had brought Kumo evidence files to this news studio. Naruto Namikaze had told the Konoha leadership that he wished to use media and public condemnation to defeat Kumo without bloodshed and make them release the slaves still trapped there. The news series would be broadcast across the world tomorrow.

The Konoha's Darkness would not allow this scandal to surface, however.

Not when this opportunity could be exploited for the good of the hidden Leaf village.

Not when the Kyuubi jinchuuriki and his Uzumaki clanswomen would immediately leave Konoha for Neo-Uzushio if the Cloud village surrendered too early.

Not when Konoha could take the Kyuubi and the Uzumaki clan to become more powerful. The Kyuubi and the Uzumaki clan and the Uzushio's secrets belonged to Konoha, after all.

The media blitz must be stopped, or delayed at least, to give time for Kumo to fire the first shot, then Konoha would be provoked enough to go to war.

After breaking the room locks, Fuu and Torune quickly proceeded to take all the files including those pertaining to Kumo, and Hizashi started to place Neji's and Sai's K-15 Uzumaki Hellfire seals, which were issued by their commander. The room was cold and dimly lit, similar to Danzo's locked archive room where he kept dirt on many people, including several prominent Fire Court members.

"Lord Danzo," Fuu reported and passed him a scroll. "All Kumo files are in this storage scroll."

The warhawk nodded as he took it. Kumo's dirty secrets would be used to his advantage much later. The files had all been seized, it was almost time to leave here.

"Torune, proceed to the next part."

"Hai!" The Aburame dropped to the floor and opened his scroll. Three dead and fully equipped young Kumo genins appeared. The bodies would be used to cover for the true culprits and make it appear that the hidden Cloud village murdered the news staff and taken the files back while suffering causalities.

Hizashi couldn't suppress his shock and sadness while he was taking a body to a building corner. The dead ninjas were as young as Neji- they were captured, tortured, and ultimately executed. Sensing hesitation in the Hyuuga, the elder quickly and quietly approached him.

"They remind you of your son, Mr. Hizashi?"

"Yes," The Hyuuga nodded and he knew his master wasn't happy about this. ROOT was a place where emotion and compunction never existed. He was certain he would be punished for it, but the elder's next words surprised him, as the Darkness looked upon the dead bodies nonchalantly.

"It is tragedy, but we will do whatever it takes to give Konoha and our children a better tomorrow. Make no mistake: war is coming, with all its glory and all its horror. Our responsibilities are too great to do any less. The war with Kumo will profit Konoha, even you as well."

A very worried Hizashi turned to face the village elder. "You told me that Naruto has made a deal with my elders: Lady Hinata will not be marked by the Caged Bird Seal, as long as he doesn't interfere with Hyuuga internal affairs. He will leave with Lady Hinata and his clanswomen for Uzushio when Kumo is neutralized. Is Naruto really going to forsake the Branch house families?"

Danzo's expression remained stoic. "I'm afraid so. And if the boy somehow knows you are responsible for the arson on his parents' house, the scroll theft, and exposing the Nanabi girl's identity as well as her subsequent predicament, he will refuse to help you. He might even personally maim you."

Hizashi paled. "Impossible! I am his future uncle-in-law and his father's best friend; he won't do that to me!"

"He doesn't care, and he isn't the innocent boy we knew anymore. Look at the boy's long list of brutal and unmerciful acts: Kumo, Wave, those civilian councillors and your elders. He knows where to hurt most."

The Hyuuga gulped when recalling what happened to those ex-councillors and the Hyuuga elders who had wronged the Namikaze and ended up maimed brutally. Even Ibiki Morino was greatly disturbed by the acts and became a little fearful what would happen to his brother upon arrest by Naruto.

"Your family will be condemned forever if your transgressions are discovered; your children and their children will never be free." The Konoha's Darkness seemed to know the Hyuuga Branch house leader's thoughts and asked a question that touched deep in his soul. "Say, Mr. Hizashi, what price would you pay for to get your children free from their seals?"

"Everything," the Hyuuga father answered without any hesitation. "Everything. I know freedom has a price and I'm willing to pay for my children's, no matter the cost."

"Good," Danzo nodded in satisfaction. "You help me to get what I want, I will use my Hokage power to help you to achieve your goal in return, I assure you. We have to act quickly."

Then the Konoha's Darkness said something so magical that it widened the Hyuuga jonin's eyes before the latter left to continue his task with steely determination.

The Leaf elder let out a smile. Kotoamatsukami seemed to be working as Hizashi believed only his benefactor could get Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze to help him achieve his goal.

The ROOT team proceeded to trigger the security alarms. The city lawmen would arrive very soon and discover the Kumo bodies, leading everyone to believe the ninja had murdered everyone inside the studio and recovered their files.

Danzo tapped his cane firmly. "We are done here, let's go."

His three agents obeyed without a word and formed a circle around their master. All three extended their thumbs, index and middle fingers to touch one another. Then all four of them were gone without a trace, and the Fire News Network building started to burn.

XXXXXXXXX

Eight Hours Later, 0900 (48 hours before the Konoha Chunin Exam Finals)

Only a handful of Leaf ninjas knew the existence of this special arena and its purpose: that it was used for jonin exams. It was behind the Hokage Monument and a perfect place to examine and promote a Konoha ninja to full jonin rank.

The arena was even larger than three soccer fields combined, considering how a jonin-prospect fought with their proctor and the ensuing damage they would cause. Compared to the arena for the Chunin Exam Finals that were two days off, where there would be tens of thousands of seats for an audience, instead there were only a few hundred seats, reserved only for ninjas with special jonin rank or higher.

Unlike the chunin exams which were just shows and PR for hidden villages, the jonin exams were held secretly. Only fellow special jonins, full jonins, and the Konoha leadership could watch and know prospect's skills and abilities. Jonins were the backbone of a hidden village military, and their knowledge, experiences and abilities had to be kept classified.

Hinata, Fu, Sasuke and the rest of the K-15 platoon and their parents had arrived the arena and taken their seats. An exception was made for the Leaf Raiders, considering it was their commander taking this very exam, and they had taken an oath not to reveal this secret ground and Naruto's combat information.

Speaking of the K-15, everyone wanted to know about the Namikaze's magical effect on the platoon. Each of them had become obviously stronger in seven weeks, and they had all passed the Chunin Exam Second Stage. Half of them had entered the Finals along with a team from Suna. Many ninjas were so impressed that they wanted to become Leaf Raiders.

Naruto Namikaze entered the field and saw his proctor hadn't arrived yet. He dropped down and started to do some relaxing push-ups using his right middle finger. Coincidentally or not, He was doing it while facing in Danzo's direction. Everyone present was dumbstruck at the scene.

"Seven! Eight! Nine!"

"Is Naruto alright?" Fu asked in a concerned tone. The K-15 looked at their commander who was still doing push-ups.

Hinata shook her head sadly and thought about how many of her father's house windows were shattered by a roar. "No, he isn't. The arson in Fire Capital really infuriates him; all the evidence files are confirmed lost and the news crew were murdered. I have never seen Naruto that angry and despairing…"

"I am so sorry," the Nanabi jinchuuriki said before she asked another question. "Is it why he wants to take the exam immediately?"

"There is nothing we can do except resort to military action," a familiar feminine voice joined the conversation. Everyone turned around and saw Tayuya come in along with Neji.

"Good morning, Tayuya, Brother Neji," Hinata smiled looking at her cousin and Naruto's cousin coming together and noted 'They look like a couple.'

Neji replied "Hello, Lady Hinata," and Tayuya greeted back "Hi, Hinata." The two of them took their seats next to each other. Yesterday, with his father's encouragement, the Gentle Fist genius had finally asked the fiery Uzumaki girl out for a not-a-date lunch date.

Tayuya waved at Honoka and Aoba to join them. "It isn't only to get a higher rank for the war, and he's also trying to let off some steam."

Sensing Neji's and Aoba's presence, Naruto immediately stood up from his warm-up. He saw the two sitting next to his Uzumaki clanswomen, then he unsheathed his Arashi katana from his back before pointing it at them respectively. The Gentle Fist genius and the intelligence officer paled, gulped and sweated heavily.

"What did Naruto do to you two?" Sasuke asked baffled, reflecting what was on everyone's mind. Based on what his mom told him, the Uzumaki clan were not like the Uchiha and the Hyuuga clans, where you had to ask clan heads for permission to date their clansmen/clanswomen.

Neji's face was as white as his eyes. "Y-Y-You d-don't w-want t-t-to know, U-uuchiha."

"T-Trust me, you guys don't wanna know, y-y-you will l-lose sleep." Aoba stuttered.

"What the hell happened exactly?" Honoka and Tayuya both demanded. What the hell Naruto did to them?

"OH please stop!" The terrified two begged in unison to drop this topic. Everyone saw the two young men put their trembling hands slightly over their crotches. No one knew that the blond had secretly visited the two young men in their homes prior to the dates.

"Remember: no disrespect to Honoka/Tayuya. If you make her cry, I will personally teach you the meaning of 'what is chopped off may never rise.' Suna manufactures those Icha-Icha puppets and prosthetics… I wonder, does Suna make wooden cocks too?"

There was an explosion of smoke fifty meters in front of Naruto. The blond special jonin narrowed his eyes waiting for the smoke to clear. Finally, he saw the silhouette of a tall man with long white hair.

"Kakashi got lost on the road of life, so I will be the proctor of your exam." It took five seconds for the smoke dissipated. The tall man was none other than Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin.

'It must be the Toad Portal,' Tsunade and Hiruzen both mused at how Jiraiya returned to the village so fast. The Toad Sannin then dropped his serious demeanour.

"But first of all it's good to see you, Naruto!" He held out his arms waiting to hug his godson, finally seeing him alive and safe, and that he had become a man. The village had been talking about Hiashi chasing Naruto with a sword, and the Toad Sage correctly guessed the reason. The super pervert was proud, and he wanted to congratulate his godson for this.

Much to everyone's shock, without a word Naruto activated his Wind Armour Duel mode and charged at him. The blond's speed was so fast that the Sannin barely dodged the blond's katana slash attack, and a few strands of his hair floated in the air.

"Hey! What the hell? No reunion hugging!?" Jiraiya asked bewildered.

Naruto made no response; his eyes were cold and serious and was releasing killing intent and bloodlust that slightly affected the Toad Sannin.

Many jonins and special jonins cheered "The son of the Yellow Flash versus the sensei of the Yellow Flash!" Soon a betting pool was quickly set up, and Tsunade was very itching to pour her monthly pay into it.

Danzo was very pleased. 'This fight is better than one with Kakashi.' He touched the scroll hidden in his pocket and could feel the prototype Uzumaki pre-stored chakra seal Battery had been depleted. 'Well, I will recharge the seal once the fight is finished.'

The Konoha's Darkness allowed a smile formed on his lips as his Mangekyo Sharingan was now spinning wildly behind his bandage again. 'It can work on the jinchuuriki. Now show me the full power of a perfect jinchuuriki! The power you defeated Itachi Uchiha!'

Sitting in a corner, Hizashi was very worried. He had looked the underneath the underneath and known the reason why Naruto gave Danzo the finger.

'And he has narrowed down the list of suspects to a single digit, and my name is still on the list. It's a matter of time before Naruto knows I'm the culprit. But it will be too late for him and I can still get what I want…' The Konoha's Darkness' magical words in the news studio rang in his mind to assure him that it was all worthwhile.

"Mr. Hizashi, your children's freedom awaits."