Chapter 3
One year later...
A diplomat from Kumo came today to try to make peace with Konoha, who they were fervid enemies with. The civilians crowded the streets, eager to regain trade with another of the five great villages and to stop the pointless skirmishes that had erupted between the two countries.
However, to Neji, this meant nothing. It was close to eight at night, and he had just returned home from another day of fun and sparring with Naruto. It hadn't been more than ten minutes before he heard a shout.
Poking his head out of his room, he saw a branch member running down the hall.
"Get up! There's an emergency! All capable shinobi are to report to Hiashi-sama's office! Now!"
Immediately, two dozen men and women, all with the caged seal on their foreheads, emerged from their rooms and followed the messenger towards the main branch compound, where Hiashi's office was.
With haste, they made it there in only a few minutes.
Hiashi stood in front of his desk, hands clasped behind his back, pacing the room, while his twin brother Hizashi stood as unmoving as a rock to his right.
When everyone had assembled, Hiashi stopped his pacing and turned to those present.
"We have a situation. Someone has kidnapped my daughter, Hinata. It is crucial that you go out and find the kidnapper, for the sake of the clan," Hiashi declared tersely. "I want you to go and comb the village to find my daughter! Whoever kills the kidnapper and brings back my daughter will be excused from their duties for a year. Do you understand?"
With such a reward dangling in front of them, every single branch member vowed on their lives to do as commanded, as the reward was a chance of a lifetime.
As they left, Hiashi signaled to his brother. "Brother, I want you to alert all non-shinobi Hyuuga to use their eyes to try and find the kidnapper. He needs to be caught. At any cost!"
Hizashi nodded and bowed, before taking his leave.
The Hyuuga clan head sat down in his leather chair, placing his head in his hands. Suddenly, his head snapped up.
"What the fuck am I doing?" he scolded himself harshly. "I should be out there searching too!"
-
"Hokage-sama!" a man shouted as he burst through the doors of the Sandaime's office.
"What? If this has anything to do with the Hyuuga heir's disappearance, I already know about it!" the Sandaime barked.
"No, that's not it! The Kumo delegation is gone!"
"Gone?!" the elderly Hokage asked as he bolted out of his chair, his pipe falling out of his mouth. "What do you mean 'gone'?!"
"Exactly that, sir! One of the hotel employees was bringing up the dinner up to their room, but they weren't there!"
"Shit! What bad timing! First the Hyuuga heir disappears, and then the Kumo delegates...disappear..." the Hokage trailed off. "No...it can't be..."
"Sir?"
"Could it be possible that the two are related? Could the Kumo delegates perhaps have been the kidnappers...? Damn it!" Sarutobi left his office, the messenger following. "Alert the Hyuuga and all ANBU and jounin in the village to search for the Kumo delegates. I think they are the ones who have kidnapped Hiashi's daughter."
"Of course, Hokage-sama," the man said as he bowed and left.
Leaving the tower, the Hokage took to the roofs, joining the shinobi of the village in searching.
-
Dozens of Hyuuga leapt above rooftops and ran through streets, all in search of the kidnappers.
Hiashi himself joined those on the rooftops, straining his Byakugan to look for any signs of a potential kidnapper.
They were interrupted by an ANBU.
"Hiashi-sama. The Hokage suspects that the Kumo delegation is behind the kidnapping, and he wishes for you to know to be on the lookout for them."
"Very well," Hiashi nodded.
-
Neji technically was not a serving shinobi, and thus, was never offered the reward of finding Hyuuga Hinata.
He tried anyway. The two of them weren't on good terms, being from two radically different branches, but they were still family.
Dashing through the streets, he headed towards the training grounds, which would be the easiest place for an intruder to sneak out of the village from, given that it was the least guarded place.
The boy searched through four or five training grounds before he spotted a man dressed in black carrying a struggling sack over his shoulder.
He unleashed three shuriken at the man's back, hoping to incapacitate him.
Unluckily for Neji, the man was an experienced shinobi, and thus his instincts warned him to dodge. The shuriken went flying past, and the man turned around to see his assailant. When he saw it was just a little boy, he relaxed. However, by turning around, he unintentionally revealed his hitae-ate to the Hyuuga boy.
'That symbol...is that Kumo?' Neji asked himself.
"Let Hinata-sama go!" he yelled bravely.
The Kumo nin looked at Neji strangely and turned back around, ready to start on his way back towards Kumo, when he felt the presence of another man. His instincts warned him to jump, and he did so, but in the process, lost his bundle.
Hiashi caught the bundle and placed it on the ground gently before dashing at the Kumo nin with hatred in his eyes.
"You are in my field of divination! Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!" the clan head used the notorious Hyuuga technique and sealed off the Kumo nin's tenketsu points, ending with a thrust to the man's chest.
The Kumo nin fell to his knees, and blood erupted from his mouth. With a gurgle, the man fell to the ground, dead.
At that moment, Sarutobi and an entire ANBU squad appeared.
"What happened here?" the Sandaime asked tersely.
"I took care of the intruder, Hokage-sama," Hiashi replied with a bow of his head, motioning towards the corpse of the Kumo nin.
"Is he still alive?"
Hiashi shook his head.
"Ah Hiashi...you should have left him alive. We could've interrogated him that way. I fear that Kumo will demand compensation for the death of their ambassador."
"But he tried to kidnap my daughter!" Hiashi replied, the calm demeanor of the normally stoic Hyuuga almost to its breaking point.
"Yes I know, but they will try to demand it anyway, and if we were to refuse, we would set off the third Great Shinobi War..."
"...I understand. I will gladly pay the price, no matter how steep." The Hyuuga bowed before the Hokage, picked up his unconscious daughter, and beckoned towards his nephew before leaving the area.
-
Hyuuga Main Family Compound
Hiashi, Hizashi, and Neji were gathered in the clan head's office.
"Neji..." Hiashi started off. "Thank you. Thank you for saving my daughter."
"But I didn't do anything," Neji protested.
"You delayed the kidnapper long enough for me to arrive. And for that, I thank you."
Neji's father, standing behind Hiashi glowed with pride for his son. Neji saw the happy look on his father's face and felt a sense of satisfaction that his father was proud of him.
"For your help, I will excuse you from guard duties and your chores for a year," Hiashi stated gratefully. He then turned to his brother. "Hizashi...you have a wonderful son."
"Thank you, Hiashi-sama," the other Hyuuga said as he bowed. When he straightened, he
"You may leave now, Neji."
Hiashi waited until the young boy left before plopping down on his seat.
"My brother...do you think it was a good idea to kill that Kumo delegate?"
-
"...and then he said that I didn't have to do anymore chores for the next year! He even told my father that I was wonderful!"
The next day, Neji had immediately sought out Naruto to tell him the wonderful news.
"Nice job!" the blond congratulated his friend.
"Thanks! Now let's keep on sparring! I'm gonna spend all of my free time training, so I can make my father and Hiashi-sama proud!"
-
"Kumo demands restitution."
Those three words alone shocked Hyuuga Hiashi and the council of elders.
"What?!" came the various shouts of the elderly Hyuuga men.
"To be more specific, they demand the head of Hiashi."
The Hyuuga council burst into an uproar.
"That'll never happen!"
"We refuse to give in to Kumo's demands!"
"Quiet!" Hiashi snapped at the angry elders. "I said it before, and I'll say it again. I will gladly pay the price."
"Please, Hiashi-sama! Reconsider your words! We cannot so casually give up the secrets of the Byakugan," one of the Hyuuga men begged.
"Yes, please, Hiashi-sama!" another man piped in.
A third elder spoke. "...You have a twin, do you not? And with the caged bird seal, we could give the body of Hizashi to Kumo, ensure that the secrets of the Byakugan never be revealed, and satisfy their demands peacefully!"
"I won't allow it!" Hiashi stated firmly, eyes narrowing at the man who suggested it.
"Why not allow Hizashi to decide for himself?" the first Hyuuga elder asked slyly.
Growling, Hiashi conceded the right. The Hokage called a hidden ANBU to retrieve Hizashi, and the masked man nodded and disappeared at once.
The tense minute of silence was broken when the doors swung open, and a black-clad ANBU stepped in, followed by the Hyuuga council's expected guest.
"I was summoned, Hokage-sama?" the lesser twin asked.
"There's a problem." the old Hokage started. "And it is only with your...help can we solve it."
"Of course, anything."
"Kumo demands the body of Hiashi, but he is too important to just casually give away, not to mention that they could steal the secrets of his Byakugan," the elder who came up with the idea to bring in Hizashi stated.
Hizashi quickly pieced it together. "...And since I am Hiashi's twin and I have the caged bird seal, Kumo will be tricked into thinking that I am Hiashi (or at very least, accept that I am a suitable replacement for Hiashi), and the secrets will not be revealed. Am I correct?"
"Yes, quite."
"I will accept my duty."
"What?!" Hiashi burst out.
Turning to his elder twin, Hizashi told him, "I will do what I must, for both the clan and for the village." His voice was final, as if nothing would change his mind.
"But what about Neji?!"
"And what about Hinata? And Hanabi? You have kids too, so please, do not use that against me. My son will understand. It is our duty to protect the main branch," Hizashi retorted calmly.
"B-b-but..."
"Please, forgive me, my brother...I must say my goodbyes." And with that, the unlucky twin bowed his head and walked out, followed by the elder Hyuuga council.
"H-Hizashi!" Hiashi cried out, falling to his knees, after all of the Hyuuga men departed. This left him alone with Sarutobi.
The aged leader gently placed a hand on the crying clan head's shoulder. "Let us not cry for his sacrifice. Let us cheer for him. To remember him always. Do not let your tears ruin your memories," he soothed.
-
Young Neji was awoken from his peaceful slumber by an insistent hand.
"Mmm...wha?" Neji mumbled sleepily as his eyes slowly blinked open.
"Neji, my son...oh Neji..."
"Father?"
"I love you, Neji. Know that I love you."
"Love you too..." Neji replied, letting loose a giant yawn.
"I have to go now. I'm sorry I won't be there to see you graduate, to be there with you when you make your first kill, to see you when you get married, to see you when your wife has your first child..."
"Mm? Father, are you going somewhere?"
"...Yes you could say that. I am, in fact, not going to be seeing you for quite a long time."
By now, Neji was awake. "What?! Why father?"
Hizashi paused to contemplate whether he should tell his son the truth or not. He soon made his decision. "It's my duty, Neji," he finally elaborated softly, stroking the young boy's long black hair.
"Duty? What do you mean? Are you going on an escort mission with Hiashi-sama?"
Neji's father shook his head. "No, Neji...you understand that we, as members of the branch family, must sometimes sacrifice everything we have to protect members of the main family, right?" he asked tentatively.
"I understand father, but what does this have to do-"
Hizashi cut off his son by throwing his arms around the small boy, hugging him close to his body. "Sometimes, that sacrifice means giving our life for the clan," he ended softly.
"W-what?! Your life?"
"Yes. You remember how bravely you helped Hiashi-sama rescue your cousin Hinata, and how Hiashi-sama killed the kidnapper?"
Neji nodded slowly.
"Kumo, the man's village, wants revenge for his death, and demand the head of your uncle."
"That doesn't explain why you have to die!" Neji cried, tears trickling down his face.
"The elders can not risk sending Hiashi, as they must protect the secrets of the Byakugan. There's also the fact that Hiashi doesn't have the seal on his forehead."
"So it all comes down to the see, father?" the boy asked bitterly.
"I'm afraid so. It is fate that has dealt us such a cruel hand. But you must remember, your fate can be changed. Your fate is in your hands, not anyone else's. Remember that, my son, and you will succeed. Go forth, and make me proud!"
"Hai, father!"
Hizashi gave one last hug to his son before knocking the boy out with a light chop to the neck. He just couldn't bear to watch his son cry anymore.
And with that, Hyuuga Hizashi, noble father and brave sacrifice, left his son's room, ready to face his destiny.
-
Two years later...
With his father's death, Neji's feelings for Konoha declined. Where once he viewed the village as a place he called home, he now thought of it as a gathering place for the corrupt and weak, all seeking to blame their problems on someone else. While his relationships with other people deteriorated, his friendship with Naruto stood strong. It was only with Naruto's help that he didn't lose his sanity to his anger and hatred. It was only with Naruto's help that he grew strong. With such a show of loyalty from Naruto, Neji could not help but reciprocate those feelings. He knew that if he had to pick between Naruto or Konoha, Naruto would win out without a thought.
"Neji."
"Hello, Naruto."
The blond, finally seeing his "work" come to fruition, had started to lessen his mask of childishness, so as to show Neji that he was "growing up" alongside the Hyuuga.
"So, how was your first day at the academy?" Neji asked.
"Boring. Obviously," Naruto responded with a yawn.
"Spar?" Neji offered.
"Sure," the blond answered, immediately rolling to the side to avoid Neji's sudden palm strike. The Hyuuga spun to follow Naruto, unleashing a combination of palm strikes, finger jabs, and snap kicks, all of which Naruto deflected or dodged.
Even after all this time, Neji could still never win in a spar against Naruto. Determined to at least win once, Neji had studied extremely hard to gain the title of genius, developing his own variation of the Jyuuken. And while developing a new style was not too impressive of a feat, the fact that the style incorporated strikes with the feet, mixed with the Jyuuken (which was supposed to be "impossible", seeing as how releasing chakra through the knee or feet into an opponent's tenketsu points were considered to be unable to be done) and Goken, made this style extremely dangerous to all of its opponents.
Since Naruto had helped Neji to develop it (help, as in being Neji's training dummy), he also knew its strengths and weaknesses, and could tell when Neji's strike was meant to hurt his internal organs or his outer body.
Letting Neji's fist pass by his head, Naruto headbutted the black-haired boy in the stomach, and followed it up by catching Neji's oncoming kick with his left hand before using his right palm to push the Hyuuga into the thick trunk of a tree.
Immediately, Neji burst into a cloud of smoke.
"Using my own technique against me? Shame on you, Neji," Naruto chuckled. He suddenly burst into smoke too.
From behind the spot where Naruto had been standing moments earlier, Neji commented, "You taught me the Kage Bunshin. As a shinobi, it would be foolish of me to not use everything I can to win. And you seem to forget. I have the Byakugan!"
Spinning around, he quickly threw two kunai at the bush that his friend was hiding in. Before the kunai could even reach the bush, Naruto had leapt out, grabbed them, and flung them back.
At that moment, Neji smirked.
He spun quickly, releasing a short burst of chakra, which deflected the kunai. Immediately after, he dropped to the ground.
"You finally managed to do the Kaiten!" Naruto complimented, impressed.
"Yes, but I can only hold it for a second, and even then, it's only strong enough to deflect flying projectiles. If you had charged at me while I was spinning, you would've broken right through."
"It's still amazing progress though," Naruto remarked. "Now, let's stop here."
"Alright," Neji agreed, grabbing Naruto's outstretched hand and pulling himself up.
"I'll see you later," Naruto waved goodbye.
It wasn't much longer until the blond academy student was sitting in a booth in a dango restaurant. He didn't even have a chance to order when a purple blob leapt on him.
"Anko," Naruto greeted calmly.
"Yo! Buying me dango? I feel so special!" she pretended to woo.
The other patrons of the restaurant glared at the demon kid and the snake whore, but a glance from the Anko sent them looking away.
"I hate them. I can't wait until we kill them. Slaughter them! Maim them!"
"Yes, but you must have patience, Anko, patience."
Naruto had first met Anko a year ago, when he was waiting outside the Hokage's office. He heard a woman's furious scream, and started to listen in, seeing as how the voice was high enough to reach through the door.
The woman had been shouting about how it was unfair that she was being refused a promotion from tokubetsu jounin to a regular jounin. She was loyal. She was competent. Why was she not deserving? Her answer was simple. She was tainted by Orochimaru. Being granted the status of jounin would give her access to village secrets that, if in the wrong hands, could destroy Konoha. And of course, since she was once an apprentice of Orochimaru, she could not be trusted enough to allowed such access.
When not even the Hokage could overturn their decision, Anko had stomped outside, only to be stopped by the six year old blond.
"Do you want to kill them? Get revenge?"
"Yes!" she screamed.
Had she not been swimming in anger, she would've questioned why such a small boy was asking her a question like that.
With a simple wave of the hand, Naruto beckoned her out to an obscure and out-of-the-way training ground, where he quickly taunted her into attacking him. It wasn't too long before she was incapacitated. With her bloodlust gone, she soon realized the extent of Naruto's powers. He had so easily beaten her!
On Naruto's part, it seemed that his training had been beneficial. While he wasn't strong enough to fight a jounin in terms of power or speed, he was definitely able to outsmart just about any opponent. And that's exactly what he did. He manipulated an anger-filled woman into attacking him, so that he could show her just how he could grant her wish.
"If you have faith and patience in me, you will get what you desire. Faith. And patience," he had whispered in her ear.
Looking up at the blond (she was on the ground at that moment), she received an image of a god. This boy had talents beyond that which a normal person could comprehend! Being loyal to him would have its rewards!
And now, in the present, she was glad that she had sworn loyalty to him all those months ago. She had received all kinds of knowledge from him. Knowledge on terrible and destructive techniques, knowledge on forbidden and dark rituals (none of which she was willing to attempt), and other such things. She had not once questioned where he had received such knowledge, and didn't really care where he got it from either. As long as she was by his side, she would prosper!
"Ugh...patience. I hate waiting! You know that!" Anko declared.
"Yes, I do know that," Naruto responded, sipping his hot cup of tea. "I still have things to learn here and people to recruit."
"Speaking of which, you never did tell me who else you want to join you."
"It's a secret, Anko. Every good shinobi must have their secrets."
"Fine," she pouted. Grabbing the last stick of dango, she quickly ate it and threw the stick at one of the glaring civilians, before skipping out of the establishment.
When Naruto was given the bill, he took one look at it before crumpling it up. His killer intent was just potent enough to scare the hell out of the civilian. "Give me such unreasonable prices again, and you won't live to regret it," he whispered harshly.
The waiter whimpered before hurrying back to get a proper bill. Handing this new one to Naruto, the blond casually paid for the meal.
"There. Now, that wasn't so hard was it?"
-
A/N: Wow, the scene with Hizashi and Neji took me forever to write...