Author's Section-
Hello everyone! Chapter Seven is finally here. I spent a lot of time on this chapter. Actually writing any of the chapters is really hard, because i don't have any beta readers. It makes it a little hard for me. Good news though! I believe we may be halfway through the story. Possibly even further than that. Well enough chit-chat. READ DAMN YOU!
Chapter 7-
Three weeks had passed since the secret incident which had taken place. A secret incident within a secret training field. Yet the results of this incident were far from secret. Hyuga Hinata, was publicly declared the heiress of the Main Branch. There were some objections, but they were immediately put down by Hiashi, and the majority of the Branch families.
Hinata however, was not yet ready to celebrate. He hadn't come back yet. Naruto was still off somewhere, training. He was risking his life all for the sake of his dream. But that was just another reason for why she loved him.
'Naruto-kun… hurry back. I can't wait to show you my summon."
"Hinata-sama?"
Hinata turned to see her cousin standing behind her.
"May I sit with you?"
"Mmm." She nodded, and he took his place to her right.
They sat together silently and looked up at the moon from the rooftops of the Hyuga Manor. Neji was home for the moment, due to an injury received from the last mission he had been assigned. Another week and he would be placed on active duty. In the meantime, he was happy to spend this time with his family. And, he too was waiting for the blonde's return from whatever mission he had been assigned.
"You miss him, don't you?"
"Yes. Very much. More than before, in fact."
"I'm sure he'll be proud of you. He might even be a bit jealous." Neji gave her an encouraging look.
Hinata blushed. She knew there was no chance of that. When Naruto returned he would be stronger than ever. She couldn't compare to the future Hokage. Still, if she could impress him it would be more than enough.
"Is there any word from the front?"
"None," said Neji. "Nothing has happened. Not one single thing. The disappearances from almost a month ago, were the only thing out of the ordinary. We still don't know what it is we could be facing."
"Even Jiraiya-sama does not know what to do." She replied. "It doesn't bode well."
"Even with the all the nations and their hidden villages working in concert, we cannot discern anything." Neji sighed.
"This wait is unbearable." She sighed.
"I'm certain we'll learn something very soon."
"That isn't what I was talking about…" she looked away and blushed again.
Neji didn't have time to register this. A loud explosion came from the center of town. Sirens began to sound. Both Hyugas activated their bloodline, and immediately saw the trouble.
Tsunade sat quietly in her office. Shizune, Sakura, and several other members of her personnel sat around her desk. Countless papers were littered over the furniture and surrounding floor. Maps, charts, graphs, memos, notes, field reports. It was exactly as Shikamaru would say- troublesome.
Speaking of whom, the very Shinobi's report had come in. Negotiations with Iwa had gone smoothly. Shizune cleared her throat and began to read his report aloud.
"...pleased to report smooth negotiations and the potential signing of a treaty within the week. I attribute this success to the new Tsuchikage. She is a veteran of many conflicts, who has grown tired of war. After the past dealings with Akatsuki, she rose from the ranks to attain the title of Kage and bring piece to her village. This treaty to ally themselves with us against our enemy will give her that opportunity. She is eager to meet with you Hokage-sama, as you and she are the only women Kages in the history of all the hidden villages."
"Whoo." Sakura let out a sigh of relief. "Glad to hear we have a new friend."
"Hmm." Tsunade nodded. "I wasn't sure about Iwa. Our past relationships with them weren't exactly on the best of terms. Hopefully this will bring a change to all of that. What of the other villages?"
Sakura looked over her folder. "I can't say for certain what the other great hidden villages have decided, but as for some of the lesser ones..."
Sakura ran her finger down a list and then closed her folder. "Essentially all nearby lesser villages of the land of fire and it's allies, such as Kemuri, have allied themselves with Konoha. It is expected that the lesser villages of other lands will follow the same pattern, allying themselves with their great villages."
Hagene Kotetsu rose from his seat. "Excuse me, Sakura-kun. I have some new on that front. Temari-kun has reported that Kiri will ally themselves with Konoha, almost unconditionally."
Everyone looked at each other, after hearing Kotetsu's remark. Tsunade sipped her sake before asking what everyone was wondering. "What are their conditions?"
Kotetsu smiled. "The Mizukage wants to meet Naruto, and buy him dinner."
Nearly everyone in the room fell to the floor. Tsunade, Sakura, Kotetsu, and Shizune began to laugh.
"... I see." Sakura began to tear up.
"... makes perfect sense." Tsunade had a hard time regaining her composure.
"Ahem." Kotetsu returned to his report. "Temari-kun does mention the other villages. Those already allied or in a non-aggression pact with Suna will lend them aid. Since they're helping us, we get help from them. But only when Suna mobilizes."
"It's better than nothing." Shizune commented.
"Agreed." Tsunade moved her hand to take a sip of tea. "Is there any word about the missing nin?"
Shizune's face changed from jovial, to somewhat sad. "Not a single thing. Countless disappearances over the map. Whole villages vanishing over-night. Ninjas investigating the incident disappear even quicker." She looked to the floor not wanting to look at anyone for this last statement. "Sai is merely the latest of the Shinobi to be added to this list. He's presumed dead, though only his arm was found."
'Poor Ino...' Sakura didn't want to think about her friend. The flowers in her shop weren't doing very well when Sai disappeared. Ino's mother had to come out of retirement to help her. Those were Sakura's thoughts when they were all suddenly knocked to the floor.
Sasuke had been walking home on a quiet and peaceful night. Kakashi had been walking beside him, as well as Konohamaru who had taken to following the pair (and was convinced that the moment Naruto returned it would be they who knew before anyone else.) Eventually Kakashi told him to just come out of hiding. Konohamaru took his advice.
The young ninja, now a chunin, had not simply been wasting his time. He was now as tall as his grandfather and uncle had once been, and had learned quite a bit from the two. He had even taken to sparring with Kakashi. Sasuke refused to do so for the sake of Konohamaru's safety, but they younger boy was able to observe his training. Unfortunately skill and technique weren't the only things to rub off on him.
He had begun to read the Icha Icha series. At first Kakashi tried to stop him, and took back the copies stolen from him. Eventually however, Kakashi saw that the boy was as hooked as he, and gave it up. Konohamaru also began to peep on the women just as his father's student had. Jiraiya was grateful to have an accomplice, and allowed the boy to join him on his excursions (and it reminded him of when the Sandaime had .
It was after a night at the Ichiraku ramen stand (which was the only restaurant that would allow Sasuke to eat at its establishment) the three were making their way home. It was at this exact moment, that the two older ninja noticed that something was off. Immediately they reached for Konohamaru.
Boom
That's when it happened. Several buildings around them had gone off. The explosion was seen for miles in the village, and many had feared that the Uchiha had once again turned down the darker path of a Shinobi. But Sasuke was not the one to be feared this night. It was his new enemies.
Instantly the sharingan was activated. They scanned the area around them. They looked down and saw the remnants of explosive tags in the debris. Konohamaru inspected the fallen timbers and the streets. He came back very quickly.
"No innocent civilians. The buildings seem to be empty."
"Well there's some good news."
"Wrong. No one else is around either. We're in for a fight."
"Perceptive, young man."
Several ninja in plain, clothes and pure white masks appeared on the scene. They bore no identifying symbols of any kind, and the man who spoke used a jutsu to scramble the sound of his voice. Kakashi, Konohamaru, and Sasuke stood in formation. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
"The two of you may walk away. We seek only the Uchiha."
"Not gonna' happen." Konohamaru sneered.
The man looked at Kakashi.
"You heard him." Kakashi raised his kunai.
"I feared as much. Very well, then." Within an instant, the bodies of all who were assembled were blurred. The fight had begun.
The office of the Hokage had been turned upside down. Everything was a complete mess. Tables, chairs, bookshelves, papers, and people; all of these things were scattered across the floor. Tsunade rose from where she had landed, and immediately looked around. There were no injuries.
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune made voiced her worry.
"Send out ninja to the source of the explosion. I want all available personnel at the ready to deal with any possible threats!"
"Sensei!" Sakura burst into the room.
"Good timing! Are the medic-nin assembled and ready?"
"Hai! We are ready for all possible cases. I made sure to keep our supplies double-stocked given the anxious nature of these past few months."
"Excellent! I want you and and several ERC's to scan the village!"
"Hai."
Shizune had returned from her task passing Sakura as she left for her own. "Tsunade-sama! They're ready."
"I want all Jounin on standby. Chuunin are to guard the walls and sensitive areas of the village. Gennin have crowd control!"
Despite the ferocity of the fight, it had yet to spread beyond the confines of the original area. Everyone was tightly packed, and interweaving. Despite earlier warnings, it seemed as though the only person the attacking group had any murderous intent towards was Sasuke. This meant that for the moment, the three defending ninja had the advantage.
Konohamaru was the first to go on the offensive. Taking his cue from Sasuke's signal, he ran his hands through a series of seals. Ox, bird, snake, rat, tiger, and rat. He released the technique in minimal time and gave their little group a slight bit more of their precious advantage.
"Doton! Konohagakure no Tsuchi no Bakudan!"
Instantly a great cloud of dirt and dust rose from the ground surrounding Konohamaru, and swept outward blanketing the area. Everyone caught within was blinded by the centralized duststorm the young gennin had created. Some were even beginning to choke and cough. With this little tactic in play, Kakashi and Sasuke wasted no time. Their mouths instantly covered to prevent choking, they leapt into the clouds and began their counterattack. Konohamaru's scarf seemed to pick itself up and wrap around his nose and throat. He then took out his old goggles and followed suite.
Several ninja fell immediately to the three of them. The weak ones were taken from the fight with little effort. It was best to follow this course of action. Taking out the small fish now would mean more energy and time to spend on the big fish to come, which was rather preferable to exerting all their energy on that same big fish and not having enough to deal with small fry after the fight. Interestingly enough, they were all easy pickings.
By the time the dust had settled, all their assailants were out cold. Sasuke, Konohamaru, and Kakashi all looked at each other. Something wasn't quite right.
"I don't get it!" Konohamaru blurted. "You'd think they'd have more to throw at us than chumps."
"Mmm." Sasuke nodded. "They were weak, even for a first wave."
Kakashi looked around. "Whatever's going on here, it isn't over… check them—"
He never got to finish his sentence. At that moment there was a loud sizzle, before another loud bang. All the bodies of their fallen foes had burst from the numerous exploding tags placed on them beneath their clothes. Blood and body parts flew all over the place propelled by a swell of fire and debris. The three of them were caught in the blast and sent flying in their own directions.
Konohamaru was sent careening through the air and straight through a fence. He landed hard on the ground and rolled straight into pile of garbage. One of the trashcans knocked over covering him in gunk and broken glass. He was not pleased. Filthy and cut in several places, he rose from his landing spot.
Kakashi was able to use substitution jutsu. But not before having his own hair catch fire. He immediately put out the sparks while he fell from his new position 25 ft in the air. On his way down he recreated Konohamru's dust bomb, and added his own twist of finesse. He used the cloud of dirt to choke the fires and deprive them of their oxygen. With that little hazard out of the way, he landed right at ground zero, kunai at the ready.
Sasuke had taken the worst of it. As these attacks were centered around him, he was forced to take the most damage. Burned slightly in several places, and gashed across the chest by flying debris. Sasuke hadn't had any time to counter this surprise. He simply did the only thing he could. His skin hardened. More debris flew in his direction from the explosion, and landed in various parts of his body. His shoulder, his gut, his legs, and even his neck. But when he landed he remained standing, and in control. A clear look would have revealed this strange technique.
Sasuke's skin had hardened and changed color. They became a dark (almost black) purple. A thick hide of patterned scales covered his body, and hissed as they sizzled from the burning. Despite all the rock, bone, and metal sticking in his body, Sasuke didn't appear to be in any form of distress. And it was obvious why. Suddenly Sasuke moved his arms and legs, and the scales fell free, with all their stuck projectiles falling with them. Sasuke had created a cast-off skin of armor.
Not far away many ninja of Konoha were facing difficulties of their own. The Gennin had no problems with crowd control. They were able to escort everyone to the safe areas. The surrounding enemies did not even pay them heed. The chunin's and anyone higher up, had more difficulty.
The chunin were more or less left alone, save for the few who made their way to the area of the fight. It was there that the assailants held them back, refusing to let them pass. Sakura's team wasn't doing much better. Nor were the ANBU Shizune had sent to asses the situation. There were forcefields of chakra, and various shinobi and kunoichi to face down the reinforcements, scouts, and medics. They weren't allowed through.
The instant the explosion had gone off, the Hyuga compound had been flooded with ninja. None of them were the assailants of Konoha, however. They were all of the clan. They had physically restrained Neji and Hinata within minutes. Hiashi had them sit quietly without saying a word. They waited together, listening to all the commotion outside as it shook the ground on which they sat. It was unbearable to them, and Hiashi could see it.
Why? Why was he waiting? As a Jounin of Konoha, and a Hyuga- let alone the head of the entire clan- he would normally be the first to assemble and confront the opposing force. Instead he was sitting here quietly, drinking tea with his daughters and his nephew. It scared them.
Just when Hinata was about to ask something, Hiashi opened his eyes and threw a look. She immediately closed her mouth. That look made it known to all, "No questions! No arguments!" They held their mugs in their hands, but did not drink.
The first ninja to break through the attack and arrive at ground zero, was none other than Yamato. He observed the scene with some interest. Analyzing the enemy, and their movements. Many years of ANBU service and keen observation had made him especially skilled in the art of deduction. Nowhere near as skilled as the young Shikamaru, but still quite keen.
Especially now, in this situation. All the movements, all the techniques. The voices behind the masks, the body types. The occasional torn cloth to reveal a feature. It added up.
It was something he never would have believed, and yet it was happening right in front of him. Now came the real question. Should he report back to Tsunade, or stay and help in the fight? The answer came quickly enough. The defending ninja were Sasuke, Konohamaru, and his friend Kakashi. They would be fine, and he had vital information. He left his hiding place and covertly made his way back to Tsunade and the rest of the Jounin who were just now arriving.
"Hmmm. Interesting." Sasuke muttered to himself.
He had been surrounded by much larger attack force than he had dealt with previously. Men and women of varying shapes and sizes were there and ready to bring him down. Murderous intent radiated from them. Judging by their chakra, Sasuke had to guess that no one in the crowd was below chunin level.
The enemy uttered no words. They simply moved forward and pressed their numbers against him. Sasuke weaved in and out of the crowd. Moving around and around again. Catching, blocking, dodging, striking. He attacked and counterattacked over and over.
Eventually, this pattern was forced to change. The masked ninja ceased their tactic strict taijutsu and began to throw other techniques at the young Uchiha. It turned out that the fight was barely beginning.
Not far away, still in the center of the explosion where the fight had begun stood Kakashi. His singed hair swayed in the wind that had begun to blow. He stood face to face with a ninja. A single man still concealed behind his mask. There was no other enemy in sight.
"You're not going to try and take me on by yourself?" Kakashi cocked his head to one side.
The ninja didn't speak. He simply dropped into a fighting stance. Kakashi mirrored his stance. Thus was the game played. The enemy stepped right, and Kakashi mirrored the movement.
Fist met fist. Foot met foot. Blade met blade. Skull met skull. Round and round they went in the circle of ash.
Dust and dirt was kicked up as they moved in their invisible fighting circle. Eventually Kakashi ceased his mimicry, and began to fight more with his own style. As the masked shinobi threw a punch at his face, Kakashi side stepped and brought up his elbow. This in turn was blocked by the other hand of the masked man. They pushed off of each other and began to circle once more.
'My, my. Aren't we cautious? Or is it overconfident?' Kakashi thought to himself as he examined his opponent.
So far they had only resorted to taijutsu. This man was taking on Kakashi all by himself. He was either very good or very stupid. Kakashi would need to know the answer. Sooner or later the man was going to get serious, and Kakashi would be ready.
Fighting styles were like fingerprints. They not only told you about the person you were fighting, but just who that person could be. Each individual had his own unique way of fighting. It would only become more and more unique once genjutsu and ninjutsu were thrown into the mix. If Kakashi could find this information, he would be able to report back to the Hokage and increase the chances of identifying this man in the future... but first he had to face these techniques.
Taking a left turn down a nearby alley, a slightly scratched up Konohamaru stood face to face with countless ninja. All of them were roughly his size and shape- except for the obvious women of the group. He considered asking those girls out on a date, but gave up that thought the moment they began to throw punches.
Immediately, he knew exactly what he was up against- genin. He was practically taking on an entire academy of Genin. Each one of them was a strong, competent, and practiced fighter. But, their techniques were rudimentary. They had no real style or flare. It was textbook stuff. The only reason Konohamaru was even sweating was because of the sheer number of them; a rough fifty.
"You are really pissing me off!" He shouted. "Genin! I have to face a bunch of snot-nosed brats! You guys haven't even gotten past the basics yet!"
Konohamaru threw one of the attackers into a small grouping of his comrades. He then stomped his foot on the ground, forcing the street to rise up in a wave and fall back down. This threw them off their balance, and forced them to take a step back. Konohamaru looked up at them with a scowl on his face.
"I don't like being underestimated." He rushed forward into the crowd, ready to pummel them into submission.
The ringleaders of this ambush stood atop the tallest building in the perimeter. They observed the action below, ready to change their tactics should the need arise. So far however, everything was going accordingly. They had separated the three shinobi from each other, and left the two innocents busy, while the true strength of the force was bent entirely upon Sasuke.
Of course the young Uchiha was taking it quite well. He absorbed every attack thrown at him, and sent it right back, with a power of his own. The Sharingan even when hampered by CFI's was an effective edge to have in a fight. Sasuke was using it quite well.
It was also an excellent defense in a fight. Keepers of the sharingan were normally immune to most styles of genjutsu. Illusions would not work on him. Ninjutsu would only be countered and copied, as was happening now. These tactics, while effective for time being, would not be sufficient to subdue the snake-tainted shinobi.
Even though they were well hidden, and high above them Sasuke was aware of their presence if not their exact location and identities. Such abilities were the gifts of the sharingan eye. Yet every gift has it's price. No one- not even Naruto- had an endless supply of chakra. Sooner or later if pressed enough, a ninja would run out. There were many other drawbacks to having a kekkai genkai, unfortunately unless one were in possession of it, they were not well known. So what to do?
Kanaye had a plan. He had spent months with Sasuke under his watch, and spent much of his time studying both the shinobi, and all the scrolls of his clan for some form of precious information. Some kind of weakness that could be used. Working from dawn almost to dusk, he had stubbornly made his way through his notes and texts. Finally he had an answer. The Uchiha's strengths WERE his weaknesses.
Slowly, they were making progress. But they were slightly behind schedule. The Konoha shinobi had mobilized faster than expected. He should have anticipated it. After several attacks from Orochimaru, Akatsuki, and various other enemies, Konoha had finally relearned the meaning of vigilance.
Yet while they were focused on the outside threats, they had never given enough thought to inside threats. Kanaye was sure of it. Sasuke, and Naruto were most definitely under this category. He had finally found his purpose. He would be Konoha's unknown gaurdian. The man to look inward, to check under every rock, to scan behind every shrub. He would keep Konoha safe, even from itself. If that meant breaking the law... then so be it.
'I really must thank you, Ibiki-sensei. The forced vacation you gave me, really did allow me to put my life into perspective. I found my calling. You were right after all. Thank you.'
One of Kanaye's conspirators made their way to the rooftop. Kanaye didn't turn to look at him, but he did acknowledge his presence. The younger man gave his report.
"Kanaye-san, the Konoha shinobi have begun to push forward. The Hokage herself has begun to fight against the forcefields and agents we've set up to guard our field. Her strength is as monstrous as they say. She has placed a crack in the chakra walls merely by beating her fist against it. They will begin to arrive soon."
"I see. Very well. We must step up our little show of force. Tell them to hold of as long as they can. We are nearly done."
"Sir." and the man was gone.
Kanaye gave the signal to his other conspirators. It was time to strike the final blow.
A great deal of time had been spent trying to breakdown the blockade. Many were ready to give up and leave it to the stronger ninja. Then the word had been passed down. When Yamato returned from his perch and gave his report they were all infuriated. Everyone who had been within hearing distance of Yamato and Tsunade immediately became enraged. The words were spread the village like a brush fire.
This was an attack by ninja within Konoha. A group of ninja who felt they knew more than the Hokage, had struck against one of their own. They were willing to fight against anyone who would defend him. This was in short, a betrayal. Oh yes, they were very very angry.
All at once, every loyal ninja in the village set forth and struck against the wall of chakra. When the civilians were escorted safely out of danger, the genin returned and began to throw their own attacks at the wall as well. Some had tried to slip underground as Yamato had done, but he was caught on his way back. The traitors extended the forcefields below ground. So they simply threw all their strength at the wall, even the Hokage.
With Tsunade on one side of the wall, Sakura on the opposite, and Guy at a point in between, the wall began to show its first sign of breaking. Small cracks began to form. It was like watching ice slowly fracture. It was still there, and still strong; but it was going to break. It was just a matter of time.
At long last, after all preparations were made, the Hyuga were on the move. Hiashi led the way with Hinata, Neji, and Hanabi all close behind him, and kept under an even closer watch. It was clear that independent movement would not be allowed here. The three of them all felt completely insulted. Insulted and uneasy.
None of the three youths had any idea about what was going on. The Hyugas were never this slow to react to a situation. They were always the first and last lines of defense against Konoha. They were always the first to be attacked because they were so dangerous. Yet, when Konoha was attacked, they were ignored and ignored the matter in turn.
Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi each had a very bad feeling. Each for a different reason. The one who felt the worst of it was Hinata. Whatever was happening, it was big. Very big. and when big things happened, Uzumaki Naruto- the number one, unpredictable, maverick ninja, and the love of her life- was bound to be right in the middle of it and taking the most hits.
In the pit of her gut Hinata knew that was exactly what was going to happen tonight, and she couldn't do anything about it. Not one single thing. If she even prepared to make a move, the other Hyuga ninja escorting them would put her down. Then Neji, and then Hanabi. The only thing she, or any of them could do was wait.
'Naruto-kun... be careful' she sent her thoughts to him in the form of a prayer.
"Incredible."
Kanaye surveyed the scene with awe. He had expected a fight, but nothing like this. Kakashi had managed to defeat the single ninja he was facing. It was far quicker than expected. Konohamaru was a chunin, but Kanaye hadn't expected him to be able to take on THAT many ninja... even if they were only genin. Sasuke was quite literally taking every hit thrown at him, and still remained standing.
Little by little Kanaye was forced to pull more and more resources to tire out his targets. Sasuke had to remain separated from his two companions, or the plan would not succeed Just a little longer. A little further. Just a little more time.
Time however was something Kanaye didn't have. The forcefields were coming closer and closer to crumbling. Very soon, solid pieces of chakra would fall from the sky like glass from a broken sky-light. It didn't help matters that their numbers were dwindling. Kanaye cursed the idiocy of the village. If more of the ninjas in Konoha were more perceptive, he would have been able to trust and recruit more ninja. as it stood he had lost a substantial amount of force when he discerned that Hiashi could not be counted on. Had he the Hyuga at his disposal, this would have been over a long time ago.
'Now is not the time to dwell on misfortunes. It will be close, but the Hunters can still achieve victory.' Kanaye refocused his thoughts.
Far below, Sasuke was finally beginning to feel fatigue His Sharingan was for lack of a better word, "blinking." Because of the CFI's, Sasuke couldn't maintain the sharingan and continue to fight at the same time. If he wanted to continue, he would have to abandon his Kekkai Genkai. This was it. This is what Kanaye was waiting for.
The blowgun in Kanaye's hand was raised to his lips. He could see the others in their hiding places raise their weapons as well. Now was the time. They would strike. Sasuke's time had finally come.
With a single prick of the dart, a psychotropic drug would enter Sasuke's circulatory system. He would loose strength, grow a shortness of breath, and finally begin to hallucinate. What he would see, no one could say for certain... but usually one tended to see one's worst fears. He would be immobilized by a single dart. Kanaye had 15 aimed directly at him, no one knew what kind of effects an overdose would have; but they weren't going to have a problem with finding out.
Sasuke cleared his opponents with tactical maneuver with his sword. His infamous electric field was in flux, but his eyes were back to their natural brown color. All around them was the sound of shattered glass. The barrier was broken. Countless Konoha ninja were about to be upon them. Kanaye and his conspirators didn't move.
'Too late.' he gloated. He took a deep breath and blew into the blowgun. The darts were released.
"It's finished!" Kanaye screamed in triumph.
Author's Section-
Thanks everyone! I worked really hard on this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. Please read and review. Don't forget to tell your friends
-bakagaijin
