Chapter 2- Caged Birds and Clouded Suns
Three years after its near-destruction at the paws of Minato Namikaze, Konoha's Will of Fire burned bright once again, its light rivaling that of the Sun.
But within the compound of the clan upon which that solar entity should have shone the brightest, the mood was anything but sunny for one who led that clan. Hiashi Hyūga briskly walked to the central meeting room within the Hyūga mansion, dressed in the traditional white of Main Hyūga attire, and with a stern look upon his face. His footfalls were audible on the floorboards.
Keeping pace with him was Kō, another Main Hyūga. At the age of seventeen, Kō had already been made a Special Jōnin and even more recently, the bodyguard of Hiashi's daughter Hinata and nephew Neji. It was for the latter of these two charges that the younger Hyūga flanked the leader of the clan, an equally stern look upon his own young features.
Hiashi stood in front of the Hyūga elders. His father Hiatari stood grimly at the center, with two others flanking him.
Hiashi never liked his father. His mother Hōyaku, on the other hand, was a kind and sweet woman who had taught many Hyūga healers over the years, Haruhi and Himawari being two of her more recent students. Hiashi still could not understand what made her stay at the side of a man like his father, but he was glad she did, for it was she who stayed his hand against branch members.
Hiatari finally spoke in a grave voice. "We're aware of your intentions, Hiashi. Why do you refuse to brand Neji Hyūga?"
Hiashi stayed firm and kept eye contact with the elders. "The cursed seal is…" He fought the urge to clench his hand. "Nasty work. And too painful." He took a breath. "Neji is the only remaining memento of my late twin and brother. And I've seen what the Cursed Seal did to Hizashi!" Hiashi lost his composure, pain apparent on his face. "When he was branded, he cried through the night, splitting headaches, weakness, vomiting…" He had to stop, for the memory was too much. "And activating it can be worse." He glared slightly at his father, all reluctance of doing so fading away. "You never saw any of it. You were never there to see the aftermath, I took care of it. Mother did, too. Didn't she tell you?"
Murmurs were heard and Hiashi felt his father's intense glare.
"Simply pruning some disobedient Branches." Hiatari's glare was so intense it seemed that his Byakugan would activate at any moment. "Not placing the seal would be defying clan tradition!"
Hiashi deeply sighed. Stubborn old goat.
Kō spoke up, unable to hold it back anymore. "I'll accept the seal." He took a deep breath. "Neji and Lady Hinata…they're like brother and sister." He looked at Hiashi for a moment. "And I'd hate for Lady Hinata to see the cursed seal's effects. It's traumatizing enough for an adult to witness, but for a child…!"
Hiashi was surprised at Kō's outburst. "Are you sure? You know what it entails, right?
Kō was nervous, but resolute. "Yes. But if it will save Neji from being branded, I am willing to make that sacrifice."
The elders talked amongst themselves.
Hiatari looked at his son Hiashi, and then at Kō. /IAt this rate, we'll be here all day, that stubborn…!/I He spoke up, getting Kō and Hiashi's attention. "Very well. We will allow Kō to be branded in place of Neji. Everyone in agreement?"
The other elders talked for a few minutes and came to agreement, the one to the farthest right giving his answer last after some debate and hesitation.
Hiatari sighed slightly. "It's decided then, Hiashi. You may do the sealing within the hour."
Hiashi bowed, and left without another word with Kō close behind.
Once far enough away, Kō whispered. "Damn fools. It's like they—"
Hiashi nodded before finishing, "—don't realize the cursed seal is tearing the clan apart." They came to a stop near the gardens. "Get ready, and meet me at the sealing room within the hour."
Kō nodded with a determined look on his face. "Understood." He walked down the left hallway to his quarters.
Hiashi looked out into the garden, feeling his admiration for the younger Hyūga rise. He's so brave. And full of surprises. He thought back to the Chūnin Exam in which Kō had participated. During the finals, he had taken a beating and had appeared to be knocked out, only to surprise everyone by clobbering his foe flat with a Strong Fist jutsu.
On this day, Kō had pulled a surprise move of a different sort. It had always been clan tradition to brand a Side Branch member with the cursed seal when the heir of the Main Family turned three. Kō knew this as well as anyone else, knew about the excruciating agony branded ones suffered both from the sealing and at the hands of irritated Mains. And yet, even after living life as a Main himself, Kō was willing to carry that burden for the sake of a Side member.
Hiashi just hoped Kō wouldn't regret it.
Kō laid still on the stone floor, dressed in the Hyūga robes. The Cursed Seal lines were drawn on his forehead and throughout his body and the floor as well, a Jutsu formula that would mold the seal as the Hyūga had seen fit for generations.
Hiashi knelt on one knee. "Are you really sure?" Hiashi felt himself hesitating. He had seen his own father brand Side Branch members, and years later, his ears still rung with their agonized screams and pleas for the pain to stop.
"Yes." Kō had the slightest twinge of nervousness in his voice. "If it will spare your nephew, I will do it."
Truly, he will be a good bodyguard. Hiashi sighed and steeled himself for the process. "Brace yourself." Hiashi placed two chakra-infused fingers on the seal markings at the center of Kō's forehead, causing blue light to emit from the floor and bodily markings and to converge within the markings on the youth's forehead.
Hiashi would always respect and marvel at how Kō merely grunted through his teeth before finally passing out.
It's done. Hiashi picked up the unconscious Kō. Now, to let Mother do her work...
In Hōyaku's quarters, the Hyūga matriarch placed a warm cloth on Kō's forehead, for the fever was setting in. "You had to place the seal, did you?"
Hiashi nodded sadly, his expression visible in the lamplight. "It was either him, or my nephew." He looked outside the window. The Moon would be full the next night.
Hōyaku looked at her son. "My husband was always a strict one." Sadness clouded her face as she thought back to their younger, more carefree days. "But he wasn't always like that."
Hiashi looked on while his mother placed a drink of cold water on the bedside table. "Main Family training, I assume?"
Hōyaku paused. "Yes. In some ways, his own father was crueler than him."
Hiashi didn't remember his grandfather, only knew that the man, Hiyake Hyūga, had died around the time Hiashi was two. There were whispers among the Hyūga that it was murder rather than natural causes. "I should be off, need rest before tomorrow." Hiashi stood up and walked to the door. "Thanks for everything."
Hōyaku smiled. "Anything for you, my son. Just don't let your father get to you."
Hiashi opened the door and left, closing it behind him. Easier said than done…
Quite the turnout. Hiashi stood with other members of the Hyūga clan on the main street in and out of the village. Every Leaf ninja, from Genin to Jōnin, was gathered along the street.
The Head Ninja of Hidden Cloud, a man named Raiden, walked down the street followed by several Cloud ninja acting as his bodyguards. He was waving and smiling at those gathered along the sides of the street. He wore his protector on his forehead, but it was slightly crooked and he wore the older Cloud flak jacket style. Another notable trait was the lack of hair on his head.
Cloud and Leaf were not fighting as fiercely as during the Third Ninja World War, but this treaty ceremony was to make the peace official, to put an end to skirmishes that would happen in the Lands of Hot Water and Frost from time to time.
Hiashi caught sight of something out the corner of his eye, and saw within the crowd three more Cloud ninja, all wearing the new white flak jacket that had come into use not too many weeks ago, and noted that they were focused on something ahead.
One of them Hiashi recognized as Dodai, having been forced to work together with him when they both were separated from their respective units and had to deal with a Stone ninja squad. It was thanks to this teeth-clenched teamwork that they survived and returned to their respective villages.
Upon noticing Hiashi's stare, the eye-patched ninja simply nodded slightly, and returned to his focused state.
Hiashi returned his attention to the head ninja. Something wasn't right…
Kō slowly opened his eyes, easing himself into a sitting position. Fighting off the sudden headache, he stood up and walked to the door carefully and opened it. He took the shortest path to the Main House playroom, noticing that the mansion was quieter than usual; Hyūga children would run up and down the halls at this time of the day, with hapless adults trying to tell them to stop running down the halls.
He walked to the playroom door and opened it. Normally, he wouldn't mind the sounds of children playing, but today, it caused his headache to flare up again, causing him to wince.
Natsu Hyūga, the children's nanny, took notice. "Kō! I see you're up."
"Surprise, surprise, huh?" He sat down next to Natsu and observed his charges. Neji, dressed in a white shirt and black pants with his long dark hair tied into a low ponytail, was reading a book. Hinata, wearing a blue shirt and pants and with her midnight blue hair cut to chin-length, was playing with dolls. "Guess everyone else is at the ceremony."
"Yes." Natsu looked at Kō. "It's just us and the children for a few hours more."
"The noise would likely flare up my migraine." Kō winced at the thought. "Better I just stay here."
A few hours later, the door opened and Hiashi entered. "Everything went well." He noticed Kō. "Feeling better?"
"Somewhat." Kō sighed. "Once the migraines pass, I'll be even better."
Hiashi nodded. "I'd like a word with you about today."
Within a guest room most often used by Uchiha who stayed the night, Hiashi sat on a chair and Kō sat on the bed, legs folded and back against the wall.
Kō looked up. "So you want me to sleep in Hinata and Neji's room tonight?"
Hiashi nodded. "Yes, something just didn't feel right. I told the others to be alert." He glanced out the window. "It's no secret that some desire the Byakugan greatly."
Kō understood why. With its nigh-three hundred sixty degree vision and ability to see and shut down the chakra network, the Byakugan was on par with the Uchiha's Sharingan as one of the Great Dōjutsu.
Who wouldn't want that?
Kō laid on the floor of Neji's and Hinata's room, resting in a sleeping bag while Neji and Hinata were in their own beds, sleeping soundly.
Kō's headache was better, but he still wasn't at full strength. He had tried to train and found that his techniques were weak and erratic and that his defensive jutsu wasn't as hard as it should be. Were something to happen, he'd have to dodge attacks and buy time for someone else.
Kō looked again at his charges. If that was the case, so be it.
Dodai Yogan stood on the rooftop with his two teammates, looking over the area with his one good eye.
Shunran Suiden, a kunoichi and one of Dodai's closest friends, stood to his right. Her white hear blew in the wind, and her dark skin would have made her harder to see were it not for her white flak jacket.
To the left of Dodai stood Makuden Takashio. He had black hair and fair skin, and wore the same outfit as his teammates.
The kunoichi looked at the moon. "Something's up, I can sense it."
Dodai tensed. "Be on guard, we don't know what'll happen next."
Several kunai flew through the air, before being knocked away by Takashio's electrified blade. "They're here!"
A Cloud ninja wearing an old flak jacket similar to Raiden's jumped at Dodai, who intercepted with his own blade.
"Treacherous roaches!" Shunran saw five more ahead, and jumped backwards going through the hand seals for her bloodline trait. "Storm Release: Laser Cir-"
"Hya!" A sword swung down, aimed for the Suiden's hands.
Shunran jumped back, drawing her blade. "You!" She quickly intercepted the traitor kunoichi's blade with her own. "What's the meaning of this!?" She got no answer, for her foe kept attacking relentlessly, not allowing for hand seals.
Hiashi awoke to a pained scream coming from Hinata and Neji's room. He quickly got out of bed, slid on his ninja sandals, and dashed out into the hall.
He swung the sliding door open and saw an injured Kō slumped against the wall on the floor, blood pooling on the floor. He ran to the injured Hyūga. "What happened?!"
Kō's voice was strained. "Th…there was five of them. Too strong. Too many. The Head Ninja…he ran me through." He slightly coughed. "Neji and Lady Hinata…they're…" He coughed harder, this time with blood.
Hiashi looked at the empty beds. No! He activated his Kyōmaku Byakugan and saw the hole in the wall cut by a Lightning Release sword and the other Hyūga running to the scene. "Hang in there! The others will be here soon!" Hiashi jumped through the hole with haste and quickly found the kidnappers with his dojutsu.
The Head Ninja was currently carrying Neji and Hinata, either asleep or unconscious due to genjutsu. Hiashi quickly jumped across the rooftops. Hang in there! I won't let them take you!
Kō tried to stand up but fell to the floor. Lord Hiashi…damn it! There's too many!
Several Hyūga ran into the room, Hōyaku running immediately by his side. "Let me check." She saw the wound, and knew how bad it was.
"Lady Hōyaku. Lord Hiashi doesn't know what he's running into!" Kō coughed violently, more blood leaking from his mouth. "And there's—" His voice failed him.
Hōyaku realized what he was trying to say and saw three Cloud ninja fighting their own with her Byakugan and took control of the situation. She started to heal Kō while issuing commands.
"Boruto, Iroha, go investigate those Cloud ninja, figure out who's on our side! Natsu, wake everyone up. Tokuma, Hoheto, go help Hiashi and bring any Jōnin you find with you on the way! Mukai, go tell the Uchiha and lead them to the field! Hikari, Haruhi, I need your help!"
As she told her orders, those told what to do quickly ran off to perform their duties.
Haruhi and Hikari helped Hōyaku in healing Kō. Though Hikari was focused, she couldn't help but worry for her husband, daughter, and nephew. "You think they'll be alright?
Hōyaku was concentrated but determined. "They will be. My husband would make sure of it." She smiled. "He gives new meaning to 'never underestimate old ninja'.
Hikari was now more focused. "You're right. And Hiashi is still his father's son."
Hōyaku looked throughout Kō's body with her Byakugan. "Whatever technique it was, it spread through like poison. If we hadn't started treating his injuries, he'd be dead by now." What kind of terrible technique is this? Broken bones, bleeding all over from puncture wounds with no external ones far from the stab…
Boruto and Iroha Hyūga rushed towards the fight between Cloud ninja.
The dark-skinned kunoichi wearing a white flak jacket tried to push the other kunoichi back. "Traitorous bitch! If war breaks out…!"
Dodai gained the upper hand against the foe that was keeping him on his toes and ran him through the heart with his sword. He then noticed the blond and brunet Hyūga incoming. "Glad you can help, these guys are traitors!"
Boruto glared, his Byakugan stare causing some of the enemy to freeze while the overpowering Killing Intent caused them to visualize their own horrifically gruesome and painful ends. "So those bastards in the blue flak jackets were…"
Dodai formed hand seals. "After the Byakugan the whole time. Lord Raikage sent us here to make sure they didn't try anything, and they did!" He finished his seals. "Lightning Release: Electrifying Field!" He moved his hands outward, palms facing the enemy.
"Run!" one of the enemy shouted in panic. The others took heed.
Lightning arced all over, leaving little escape except for down to the streets. A few made it down but others were caught mid-jump and seriously wounded, one ending up dead.
Boruto shifted his attention to and struck the kunoichi from behind without hesitation, causing immense pain.
Iroha followed up with an Air Palm technique to knock the kunoichi off her feet.
Shunran Suiden took her chance, ran forward, jumped into the air, and came down on the enemy kunoichi writhing in pain, landing a fatal stab into the heart. "Thanks!" She sheathed her sword, formed hand signs and jumped into the air, spotting the enemy survivors. "Payback time! Storm Release: Laser Circus!" A ring of lightning surrounded her hand and many bolts shot forward and flowed like water, homing in on her targets and finding their marks on all of them. "Felt good!"
The enemy were dead, some fried, others simply impaled by the Storm Release.
Dodai looked to where he had seen the enemy earlier. "Lead us to the field!"
Boruto jumped off the rooftop to the next. "Follow us!"
Boruto and Iroha lead the Cloud ninja to the field of battle, outside of the village. The blond Hyūga could see that Hiashi was still catching up to the kidnappers. Tokuma and Hoheto were also catching up.
Mukai Hyūga ran onto the Uchiha property and found old Kagami Uchiha on a late night stroll. "Kagami! We need to wake up the most capable! No time to explain!"
Kagami wondered what had happened and quickly composed himself. "I'll wake Itachi, Shisui, and Fugaku. Follow me and take the other path, the others are there." He ran to down the path to the Head's quarters, while Mukai went from room to room, finding the right Uchiha with his Byakugan.
Within minutes, Itachi, Shisui, Fugaku, Izumi, Naori, and Taiko Uchiha were gathered in front of Mukai and Kagami.
Mukai turned towards where his Byakugan saw that Hiashi was still pursuing the enemy Cloud ninja. "Follow me, I'll explain on the way!"
"Kagami, stay here." Fugaku prepared to follow the team. "Wake up the others who can fight, send some to the Hyūga, have the rest come with you as backup to assist."
"Understood." Kagami watched everyone rush off. Won't be hard to find the battlefield. Our flames will be roaring soon enough. As he was still recovering from an injury he had received from an earlier mission, he knew he shouldn't push himself too hard.
Raiden came to a stop on a tree branch, sensing Hiashi's approach. "Bad move."
Hiashi barely restrained his fury. "Not only do you injure Kō, but you have the nerve to kidnap my daughter and nephew?!" He put up the barrier granted by the Kyōmaku Byakugan.
The Head Ninja laughed evilly. "And you just rushed into an ambush! How foolish! I thought Hyūga were smarter than this!"
To Hiashi's horror, he saw many dozens, if not hundreds, of Cloud ninja, some with truly great amounts of chakra, and others being bloodline users.
Mukai gasped. "Lord Hiashi…he's outnumbered!"
Shisui activated his Mangekyō Sharingan. "I'll go ahead, get the others on the way!" He then showed why he was called Shisui of the Body Flicker. One moment, he was following alongside the team, and the next he was gone, only a blue blur of chakra.
Hiashi jumped forward, using his barrier to block several Lightning Release techniques.
Raiden grinned and jumped backwards over tree branches. "And watch as I take my leave, and you can't—"
Hiashi saw it with his Kyōmaku Byakugan, the blue chakra of Shisui's weaponized Body Flicker. It all happened very fast, but he saw every bit of it.
The chakra landed in front of the Cloud ninja, materializing into the form of the young Uchiha. The Head Ninja cried out in pain, Hiashi knew it was a gut kick, which forced Raiden's eyes open. Then the traitor Cloud ninja wound up freezing, no doubt due to the Tsukuyomi. The enemy's grip on Hinata and Neji slackened, and they began to fall. Shisui quickly grabbed Hinata and Neji using his signature Body Flicker and was near instantly on the ground below Hiashi.
Hiashi jumped down to Shisui and looked at their currently crippled foe gasping for air. "What should we do? Retreat?"
Shisui gently laid the two young Hyūga on the ground. "Keep your barrier up. They should be here in under a minute."
"You!" The Cloud Ninja was red with fury. "Fucking Uchiha! You'll pay!" He formed hand seals.
"Brace yourself!" Shisui's Mangekyō spun. "I can use that genjutsu only once more."
Hiashi's eyes widened. "You'll damage your eyes if you do that." He saw the first of the backup, consisting of Boruto, Iroha, and the three Cloud ninja on their side.
"Finally tracked you bastards down." Dodai looked at his Suiden teammate. "Do your work."
"Right." She formed hand seals. "Storm Release: Laser Circus!" She mustered as much chakra as possible. Hundreds of beams of lightning headed straight for her targets.
An enemy Suiden clan member's Storm Release intercepted her beams. "Nice try."
The kunoichi gave a grunt of frustration. "We don't have time for this! There's nothing I hate more than—"
Dodai smiled. "Everyone else is here, I can sense them."
Mukai and the Uchiha with him stood in various places on the forest floor or the tree branches.
Shisui smirked wickedly. "You wanted their eyes so much, eh? Well, feast your eyes on this!"
One of Raiden's men fled in terror before being immolated by a Fireball jutsu. Another looked up and was frozen in fear.
What had followed behind Mukai's gathering of Uchiha wasn't just a small backup team, but what seemed to be at least half the Hyūga clan, and a sizable amount of Leaf Jōnin along with a few more Uchiha who had gone to gather this sizable force.
Another Cloud ninja fleeing in terror was struck by a single tightly focused beam of chakra. The ninja cried out and fell to the forest floor, dead.
Hiashi realized who it came from, for it was an S-rank technique utilized via the Kyōmaku Byakugan. "Father…"
Hiatari's glare froze the Cloud ninja who had met it. "Whatever my feelings for them…" His glare intensified. "…trying to kidnap any of my clan is unacceptable!" He went into the Gentle Fist stance. "You will pay."
"Don't forget us." Kagami stood with more Uchiha, his own Mangekyō Sharingan active. "And don't underestimate me. I may be old, but I still have fight left in me."
Raiden snarled. "Charge! Kill them!" He glared at the Hyūga and Uchiha gathered. "No way we'll lose!"
Hyūga and Uchiha clashed against the Cloud ninja. Enemy bloodline trait techniques were being used, countered by Uchiha and Hyūga secret techniques and elemental ninjutsu.
Fugaku landed next to Hiashi. "Leave this to us. Take Neji and Hinata and go with Mikoto!" Fugaku ran into battle, already forming hand signs. "Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!" His technique was not the size usually seen by younger Uchiha, but a raging fireball surrounded by an immense stream of flames, mainly seen by older Uchiha like himself and Kagami.
Mikoto looked at the recent carnage of her own Fireball Jutsu, Sharingan blazing. She jumped down to Hiashi. "I'll get Hinata. You take Neji, we're heading back to the village."
"Understood." Hiashi picked up Neji. "The barrier will provide protection."
The two headed off towards the Leaf as fast as possible.
"No!" Raiden tried to chase along with several Cloud ninja.
"Amaterasu!" Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan was blazing. A huge wall of black flames cut off the Cloud ninjas' pursuit. "Your enemies are here, not over there."
Dodai glared, standing next to Fugaku. "Don't forget I still have something to settle with you, traitor!" Dodai jumped down on Raiden with his sword, only for it to be intercepted by the enemy's blade.
Mikoto and Hiashi raced back into the village, and to the Uchiha mansion. "Here!" Mikoto opened the door to the quarters shared by herself and Fugaku. She laid Hinata on the bed.
Hiashi laid Neji next to Hinata. "They're under genjutsu."
"I'll undo it." Mikoto placed her hands on the children's foreheads and focused chakra. "Release!"
Hinata and Neji slowly opened their eyes.
Hiashi embraced the two of them. "Thank goodness. You're both safe."
Mikoto kept her Sharingan active. "We should go to Hikari, she would want to know. We'll stick to the shadows. We can see them with our dōjutsu, but they can't as well as we can."
"Three hundred and sixty one palms!" Hiatari finished off a bloodline trait-using Cloud ninja, having pressed all of his chakra points with one of the Hyūga clan's deadliest techniques.
The enemy could only gasp out in pain before collapsing, dead.
Hiatari fell back to where Kagami was and they stood back to back. "Reminds me of the old days, the Second Ninja World War."
"Yes it does, though we don't have the stamina we used to." Kagami smiled. "But the younger generations have been doing great picking up the slack." He blocked some enemy shuriken with his kunai, deflecting every one of them with his Sharingan perception.
Raiden and Dodai fought fiercely.
The Head Ninja jumped back from Dodai's Lava Release Rubber Field technique. "You want to know why I did this?"
Dodai glared. "Tell me! What's worth destroying the fragile relationship between Cloud and Leaf?!" Dodai was hurting inside. This ninja was his own comrade, one he had trained with under the same sensei, and here he was fighting with the intent to kill!
"Simple. The village needs power!" Raiden charged forwards.
Dodai realized his own reflexes were slowing, his emotions were getting the better of him and Raiden's sword would strike home.
A blue blur of chakra intercepted.
"And now—!"
Dodai recognized the Uchiha as Shisui.
Raiden glared into Shisui's Sharingan eyes, which suddenly became Mangekyō Sharingan. "Shi-!"
Shisui glared. "And now, you'll talk."
Raiden was ensnared in Shisui's third most powerful genjutsu, after Tsukuyomi and Kotoamatsukami. He felt his surroundings fall away and felt as if he was in a cold, empty void, deprived of all sensations.
"I have the same question as Dodai. Why?" Multiple versions of Shisui floated all around, glaring at Raiden. His voice echoed everywhere.
Raiden felt his lips move, his mind was scrambled. "I-" He tried to stop himself but the area got colder, he saw faint shadows moving that he couldn't quite make out, and some odd lights. This brought out a primal fear from within Raiden, forcing him to reveal everything. "I am the leader of the Lightning Thunder group." Raiden struggled with all of his might but his body and mouth moved against his will. "We want more power for Hidden Cloud. The Raikage is not doing enough. We want power, to get rid of the current elders and Raikage, and make our village stronger than Hidden Stone. One of our steps was to steal the Byakugan, two sets even better. Maybe even come back for the Sharingan." Raiden realized what he did and screamed out loud.
Shisui released the jujutsu's hold, and felt himself back in reality, looking at the knocked out form of the Head Ninja. Only seconds had passed. "The Raikage will have your head for that." He turned his attention to Dodai. "He's yours."
Dodai walked over and kicked Raiden's unconscious form. "When Lord Raikage's through with him, he'll be begging for death to save him."
Fifteen minutes later, the fighting had stopped. Most of the group laid dead, others were merely knocked out or wounded, and tied up for later questioning.
Fugaku walked to Shisui who was standing next to a tied up Raiden, who was now under the effects of a different genjutsu. "Good work, Shisui. Death would be too quick for one who just tried to undo everything."
"Just another day in the field."
The morning sun came a few hours later.
Hiashi watched the sunrise alongside Hikari.
When he and Mikoto returned under cover of the shadows, thankfully without encountering anymore enemies, they had found Hōyaku, Hikari, and Haruhi healing Kō. They had stabilized his condition, and Haruhi took him to the Hidden Leaf hospital soon afterward.
Hikari was shedding tears of joy, and hugged Hiashi, Hinata, and Neji. Hōyaku was relived.
Hinata and Neji were asleep in Hiashi and Hikari's room, under guard by Boruto and Himawari.
Hiashi was the first to speak. "You did well. I heard Kō's condition wasn't good."
"Thanks." Hikari smiled. "I was worried, but you and the others pulled it off."
"With the Uchiha's help." Hiashi thought especially of what young Shisui did, retrieving Hinata and Neji with such swiftness and grace, leaving the Head Ninja seething in anger and pain. "We should see Dodai and his team off."
Dodai and his team stood by the Leaf gates with Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hiashi and Hikari Hyūga, and Fugaku Uchiha standing nearby.
Dodai looked at the prisoners his team was to escort back to Hidden Cloud. Raiden and his surviving followers were tied with both normal ropes and Dodai's Lava Release rubber, and their chakra was sealed with assistance from Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had used an Uzumaki technique designed to seal the prisoners' chakra. "Thanks for the help. They won't want to put up a fight if they're smart. We sent a messenger bird to the Raikage. We'll send a message to inform you of what we'll do." He glared at Raiden. "The Raikage sent us to keep watch on them. He had a gut feeling, and most times, it's right."
Hiruzen nodded. "Take care. And thanks for the assistance."
The others said their goodbyes, and Dodai and his team escorted their prisoners, keeping them in line with the threat of retaliation if they try anything. The prisoners were verbally abusive but Team Dodai ignored it.
Hiashi walked into the hospital room Kō was in. He decided to come by himself, for he needed to talk to Kō.
Kō was awake and speaking with Tsunade Senju, one of the Legendary Sannin and the kunoichi regarded as the shinobi world's greatest medic.
The Senju woman smiled. "He'll be alright." She looked at her notepad. "Most of the injuries were already healed. I handled the rest."
Hiashi nodded. "Good."
Kō looked at Hiashi. "Lord Hiashi, I'm sorry. I couldn't stop them. What they did—"
"No need to apologize." Hiashi sat down in the chair. "You were still recovering from the branding, and you didn't have any strong techniques you could have used at the time.
"Which is why, when you are released, we'll start training in more powerful techniques." Kō knew the basic techniques. The Eight Trigrams 64 Palms, Air Palm, and Rotation. But they weren't all the Hyūga could do.
Hiashi knew his father would be cross with him for teaching a branded Hyūga yet more Main Family jutsu, but after last night…
Kō smiled. "I'll do it."