When Naruto finally came to, and after some brief bursts of excitement and confusion, the process of preparing for the trip to the Hi Inari Taisha began in earnest. Jiraiya and Kakashi, having both been to the complex before, lead the discussion on what would and would not be needed or done. Hinata was not all that surprised to learn that ninjas of Konoha were not well received at the temple since Kushina's sealing. Indeed, Asuma's leaving the 12 guardians had been something of a political distancing move on the part of the temple towards Konoha. Kakashi had given the genin a run-down of etiquette required of them, including, much to Sakura's chagrin, referring to Naruto as "Uzumaki-sama" due to his position as Kushina's son. By morning they had set off, after Hinata had left Kon-kon with a message for her cousin and Ten-ten.

The day was spent mostly with the genin asking questions about Kushina and Minato and the adults answering as best they could as they traveled along the trade road that lead to Uzu-no-kuni.

"Ne, Kakashi-Sensei, how come none of our history books talk about my parents being together." Naruto questioned as he pulled out a trail bar for a snack.

Kakashi glanced back from his book and sighed, "Danzo, one of the elders on the council, pushed through an addendum to the Sandaime's law that squashed a lot of the information concerning Kushina-san, under the guise of village security."

Jiraiya nodded and joined in on the topic, "The old war hawk has used the fear of your mom, and you by extension, to gain power within the village. The idea that the Kyuubi was as much a victim that night as the rest of us would damage his grip on power if it spread amongst the villagers. Rather than fight an uphill battle, He simple crushed all records of Kushina in Konoha prior to that night."

Hinata frowned, "Surely someone would try to reveal the information."

Kakashi nodded, "someone did. And it resulted in the Uchiha massacre."

Sakura and Naruto nearly fell over themselves as they heard that, "Nani?"

Kakashi nodded a sad look on his face, "Somehow, about a year before the massacre, rumors began to circulate that the Uchiha clan could control tailed beasts. This began to make many people think that the Uchiha clan had deliberately summoned the Kyuubi to attack Konoha."

Naruto frowned "But an Uchiha did summon her, Kakashi-sensei"

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, but that Uchiha possessed a Mangekyo Sharingan. Something that the Uchiha clan has only had occur in three members in its history. One of which was after the attack took place."

Hinata gave Kakashi an odd look, "If it was so rare how did the general population find out about it? I know the Hyuuga keep their clan secrets closely guarded, I can not imagine the Uchiha being any less cautious."

Kakashi nodded gravely, "That's just what the Sandaime thought, so he ordered his most loyal ANBU members to investigate the matter, I was ANBU commander at the time, and I asigned my best operative to the case."

Naruto's eyes sparkled "Really? Who was it? Someone we know?"

Kakashi turned a page in his book and waited a moment before answering, "Uchiha Itachi"

Naruto's eyes went wide and he choked on his trail bar, "I-itachi?"

Kakashi nodded, "Ah. He used to be on your guard detail you know naruto, back before the massacre. If I remember correctly he was your favorite bodyguard, He wore a Tora mask back then."

Naruto flailed his arms in shock "That was Itachi?"

Sakura looked equally confused as she asked her own question of her sensei. "How did he go from Naruto's bodyguard to clan-killer?"

Jiraiya was the one to answer, his voice grave as he spoke, "He didn't, Itachi was, and still is, a Loyal Ninja of Konoha." He held out a hand to silence the three gennin as he continued, "Not long into Itachi's investigation it was discovered that Uchiha Fugaku, Itachi and Sasuke's father and head of the clan, was the leak. Itachi further reported that Fugaku was planning on spreading rumors concerning Kushina and Minato's relationship to spread fear that Minato had been in on the attack. When Itachi reported this to Sarutobi-sensei, the elder council ordered Itachi to Infiltrate the Uchiha compound along with Uchiha Shisui and terminate any conspirators."

Jiraiya paused to note the focused expressions on the three gennin and continued, silently asking his Sensei for forgiveness for breaking the silence on this in such a way. "Sensei didn't trust how quick Danzo and the others ordered a removal of a clan so highly prized for its doujutsu. He thought something about the whole scenario stank, so he sent me to shadow Itachi and report on what happened during the confrontation. He was right too, Shisui was a double agent and tried to kill Itachi as soon as they joined up, the poor boy was forced to kill his closest friend that night. Worse it seems Danzo most likely had some connection to Fugaku, because when Itachi arived at the Uchiha compound, after defeating Shisui, the entire clan was there to confront him. They had every intention of killing Itachi for putting loyalty to the village above loyalty to the clan. But, Fugaku soon found that Itachi had gained the Mangekyo from the torment of killing Shisui, and what would have been Itachi's execution became a bloodbath as he fought off the entire clan."

Jiraiya Sighed as he shook his head, "Sasuke was supposed to spend the night with friends that night to keep him safe, but the boy left to show Itachi that he had mastered the uchiha fire Justu. Had the boy stayed with them, the event would have been blamed on Shisui most likely. But, as you know, that didn't happen. Itachi made the split-second decision to take the blame to let his brother grow up believing that his clan was honorable. As Itachi fled, I caught up with him and told him about the rumors id been hearing concerning Akatsuki. He agreed to be my spy in the organization"

Naruto flailed comically as he blurted out his questions, "Wait, then that day in the border town when we were going to find Baa-chan, did you know Itachi was going to be there?"

Jiraiya looked at naruto for a moment before nodding, "Yes, I told them to meet us there. I wanted you to get a feel for how powerful the people after you were."

Naruto sputtered, "Them? Then Kisame is a Konoha spy too?"

Jiraiya nodded and then held up a hand to silence them "Hinata, would you mind taking a look around?"

Hinata complied and silently activated her Byakugan, "there are five of them Jiraiya-sama, they are wearing modified Konoha gear, but I don't see any headbands," She whispered to the sannin

Kakashi pocketed his book and raised his headband, "root operatives, looks as though Danzo found us out. Be ready to fight you three."

The group drew in close to each-other on the road, each genin preparing for the conflict ahead. Hinata drew her sakabatou and set it into a low ready stance, her expression hard as she watched the intruders at the edge of her vision. To her right she could see Sakura channeling chakra into her arms and legs to prepare for the fight ahead. and on her left next to Kakashi and Jiraiya, Naruto stood with a Rasengan ready in his hand, the pulsating ball of energy humming as it waited to be used.

The unknown ninjas soon appeared in the clearing, and the group got the first clear look at their opponents. They all wore identical black versions of the standard chunin garb, but with no markings either of the red spiral or the Konoha leaf. Their faces were covered by white featureless masks similar to an ANBU mask. The leader spoke, and his voice sounded hollow, as if his voice was made by grinding stones together.

"Turn over the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and no one needs to be harmed, Jiraiya-sama"

Hinata responded before the sennin could, "You will forgive us, if we find our trust in your honesty lacking"

The faceless ninja turned to look at the gennin, the dark slits of the mask aimed at Hinata.

"The weak forgotten heir of the Hyuuga desires to threaten? How amusing. Run and hide little girl, we have no time for people like you."

Hinata restrained a retort as she felt the change in Naruto's aura behind her, she could not help but smile however at his words.

"No one speaks to Hinata-chan that way you scum." The hanyou jinchuuriki ground out through clenched teeth as sparks of red chakra leaked out from the rasengan in his hand as it pulsed wildly with furry

"Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke calmly… "Have you ever seen the Jyuuken combined with kenjutsu?"

The boy paused and glanced at her, "uhm… no, but ive only been on missions with you or Neji."

Hinata looked the lead foe in the eye as a steely expression crossed her face, "the this one shall show you what that can do, that she shall" in the next moment she had taken a half step forward, and switched her stance slightly so that the sakabatou was set at her side and nearly parallel to the road. With a pulse of chakra the blade of the sakabatou began to glow the pale blue of an energized jyuuken strike. "Hiten Mitsuryugi ryu…"

The root operatives took a step back and dropped into defensive stances. The leader tried again to cow the young shinobi into retreat.

"oh? So your sword is made of that metal… still what can you hope to accomplish against the five of…" the rest of his sentence was ended before it left his mouth as Hinata closed the distance in a blur of movement, striking several of his tenketsu with her blade with incredible precision.

Hinata landed back next to Naruto and eyed the remaining four ninja with only slight interest as she breathed out the name of her attack out of habit ingrained into her from the three years with Seijuro. "Hakke Ryu Sen"

The Root leader collapsed to one knee as his leg gave out, he growled from behind his mask and barked orders to his fellows. "Kill the others, leave the boy alive, but don't be afraid to take out his limbs if needed, im sure the Kyuubi will regenerate them for him. Leave the Hyuuga to me."

Four pairs of streaks left the clearing, as battles began in earnest between the operatives and the travelers. The lead Root ninja stood shakily as Hinata watched. "You brat… I wont be fooled again by your techniques." He drew a standard Anbu style Kodachi from its saya across his back and assumed a ready stance.

Hinata frowned, a kodachi, if he knew the things a true sword-master knew about matching blades to fighting styles things might become difficult, her sensei's words echoing in her head.

It was a warm autumn day, and a young blue haired girl stood on a stone in a stream performing katas with a katana as her teacher watched from the shore. Her teacher seemed to be in deep thought for some time before he spoke to his young disciple.

"Hinata, let us consider a duel between two men of equal skill, one wielding a Katana, the other a Kodachi. Who would have the advantage if they were to fight?" the man, who was of course Himura Seijuro, queried his student.

Hyuuga Hinata paused in her practice of the Ryu Kan sen, and looked at her sensei. What had brought this up, she wondered. "ano… uhm… the katana has the longer reach so…

Seijuro nodded and drew a kodachi from his traveling pack, tossing it to Hinata. "yes, it is shorter in length than a katana. But what else is different between it and a katana?"

Hinata held the smaller weapon in her hand for a few moments. She examined it for several seconds before looking over at Seijuro. "ano … "

Seijuro shook his head and gently lifted the blades of both weapons so that his shy apprentice was holding both parallel to the ground. "weight Hinata, they differ in weight. The Kodachi is lighter, much lighter, and thus can be used for a more rapid fighting style than its larger, and thus heavier counterpart. In an even battle, position becomes key. Yes the katana has reach over the kodachi, but if the kodachi wielder can force his way inside the opponents guard, his weapon's faster speed becomes the deciding factor. There are many styles of Kenjutsu that favor speed over strength of the individual blow. In the hands of a master of such a style the Kodachi becomes as powerful a weapon as any katana. But… speed has its disadvantages."

Hinata blinked, "It does?" she looked at the Kodachi in her hand, noting that it was also reversed edged like its larger cousin.

Seijuro nodded "a style that focuses on speed by its nature becomes either reaction or pattern driven. The Taijutsu of the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans are good examples of both. The Uchiha's intercepting fist is completely dependent on the opponents moves to function, being the ultimate example of 'reactionary' fighting due to the Uchiha's attachment to the power of their sharingan. The Gentle Fist of the Hyuuga, as you know, is pattern and drill driven. Focusing on exact rhythms of movement and position. Now, how do you counter such styles? Disregarding Doujutsu in the discussion for now."

Hinata thought for a moment, setting the blades gently on the ground as she considered her sensei's words. "ano… a reaction driven style would be broken by something that causes them to over-extend their stance and leave themselves open to a counterattack. And …" Hinata thought back to what Neji had told her about his bout in the finals against Naruto, "and a pattern driven style is broken by techniques that interrupt the rhythm of the attacks."

"Exactly right, now what makes Hiten Mitsuryugi Ryu different form most styles of speed based combat techniques?"

Hinata thought over what she had learned so far of the style, both of the individual attacks and how they interacted with each other. Her pales eyes suddenly widening in surprise as she hit upon a realization. "Its that Hiten Mitsuryugi Ryu is not a reaction or pattern focused style. Its both at once!"

Seijuro nodded, "yes, the founder of our style designed the strikes as a pattern system that ends each move in a position to reactionary make a second attack, thus, each batoujutsu of the Hiten Mitsuryugi Ryu has two steps, you are never off guard." He paused and nodded approval of her mental skill in his quiz. "lets take a break for the rest of the day, I feel we should move on from Taka-no-kuni tomorrow, so get some rest Hinata."

"Hai Shishou"

Hinata focused once more on the present as she stared down her foe, who seemed to be performing a medical jutsu to heal his damaged leg, judging from the wisps of green chakra Hinata could see rising from the pathways of his leg. She took careful note of his stance, comparing it to the many fighting styles Seijuro had trained her to recognize.

'He isn't holding the kodachi in a stance that takes advantage of its speed.' She noted in surprise, 'I don't think he's used to wielding a weapon of that length.'

She wasted no time in closing the distance between them and soon the sounds of steel on steel echoed through the clearing. Sure enough, just as Hinata had guessed, the Root ninja was struggling with fight, his leg still was not completely healed from her earlier strikes, and his skill with his sword was lacking. Still he had the advantage of size over her, and he seemed abnormally resilient to damage. Hinata activated her byakugan again and frowned as she observed something she had missed before, the tell-tale signs of all five elements of charkra flowing erratically through his body. She didn't know for certain what that meant, but she had a hunch based off of a conversation she had had with Seijuro's friend Houshi-dono.

"Hinata-san, have you ever heard of a Gokuo Bunshin?" the elderly mayor asked her as she tended to her training wounds.

"Ah… no, not that I recall." Hinata replied absentmindedly as she pulled a bandage tight around her upper arm.

"Not surprising, it was a skill abandoned long ago when Konoha developed the Kage Bunshin." Houshi took an apple and bit into it, chewing for a while before continuing. "The Gokuo Bunshin, or five element bunshin, was the first attempt at a bunshin that could perfectly mimic its creator. It was developed out of the daoist ideas of balance. The thought was that a clone formed equally from all five elements would be capable of more than the normal elemental bunshin at the time."

Hinata started to pick up her supplies even as she requested that he continue, "Ah. What was wrong with the technique?"

Houshi smiled, "Perceptive, aren't you? The problem was that the bunshin was so hard to control that it precluded the original user from fighting with it. The concentration required is so great it earned itself the name "soul puppet." A person who uses the Gokuo Bunshin in essence has their spirit transferred from their own body, into the body of the bunshin. In the records this was sometimes even forced on people. Due to the Gokuo Bunshin's resistance to damage. So great was the resistance that only leathal force would dispell the bunshin and return the user's spirit to its body."

Hinata spun under a swing aimed at her head and kicked out, attempting to sweep her opponents leg out from under him. Her opponent twisted away to avoid the kick, jumping back to gain distance from the indigo haired girl giving him such trouble. The root operative frowned, she was much more skilled than Danzo's reports had placed her. She was supposed to be timid and shy, further, she had not been seen for three years so it was assumed that the girl had been branded with the branch seal. Clearly however, the old warhawk's intelligence was wrong, for one, the girl's head was clearly unmarked, with no sign of the subduing seal at all, rendering the fact that Danzo had discovered the secret to triggering it and passed that on to his operatives in case she put up a fight a mute point. The other discrepancy was her steely confidence, she should have been a weak willed wall flower, but she had taken the opening shot and was still controlling the combat as if it were a game. He grimaced as he stood and prepared his next attack

"bitch, you will submit to Danzo-sama's will"

Hinata flipped the sword in her palm and calmly responded "Gomen, but I don't have time to play with you any more, the others need my help."

There was a tremor that pulsed through the region – obviously a side effect of sakura's battle further away. The root agent stumbled, and Hinata took the chance.

"Hiten Mitsuryugi Ryu – Kuzu Ryu Sen!"

Hinata watched as the results of her strike crumbled away into elemental debris, it had indeed been a Gokuo Bunshin, she spent little time considering that however, as she sped off to aid the nearest other fighter, Sakura.