Yes, I know it has been forever, but this chapter is potentially one of the most important chapters up to date. It constitutes several vital events that take place.

On a side note, the first nine chapters have been revised and our now hopefully better than what they used to be. Please check them out.

Apparently challenges are no longer in vogue. Anybody still interested can contact me, though.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. Standard disclaimer applies, and more in the bottom.

Chapter 19

The Alignment of the Pieces

To say that everything was perfectly all right would be the understatement of the millennium.

He was currently being overwhelmed by five enemy shinobi, underwhelmed by his colleagues' performance, and fighting desperately to save his life. Add to this the fact that his life was actually in danger never made for a very comfy situation.

He felt, or rather, the Sharingan felt someone throw a kick in his direction, and immediately blocked it, twisting the offending leg until he heard it snap. A man considered 'normal' might have winced at the terrible sound of tendons groaning and giving way, but a shinobi did not. And neither did a butcher.

Itachi's greatest strength was his ability to fight, and his greatest weakness was that small, suppressed-but-still-present part of him that rarely appeared but when it did, started a running commentary about the current events. This long absent part of his mind had currently decided to make an appearance, and, as a result, a part of Itachi's mind was commenting on the smell from the armpits of his assaulter right now.

Another man might have called him a schizophrenic. Itachi Uchiha merely thought of this as multi-tasking.

Then again, he was just about the farthest thing from what mere mortals like us would consider 'normal'.

He felt slightly frustrated at exactly how outmatched his team was. The possibility of defeat had very clearly begun to manifest itself in his mind, and he did not like it one bit. He was Uchiha Itachi, son and heir of Fugaku, and he seldom lost. However, his defeats, while few and far between, were certainly not deniable, and it seemed like today would put another black mark on his career.

Having pursued his occupation since he was a child of seven, Itachi had been a diligent worker for most of his life. This year would complete fourteen years in service, no small feat for a 21 year old. He had the unique distinction of not only being crowned Konoha's youngest ANBU member, but also having the lowest record of member deaths in his squad. Today, however, it seemed that the toll was due to rise – which was not a good factor considering the amount of experienced ninja Konoha had left to defend its walls. He was sure that Tsunade would have his head.

It was that last thought that proved to be the fatal flaw. An image of Tsunade, resplendent in her terrifying glory, like the hundred-armed goddess, rose in his mind, her fury at having more shinobi deaths echoing through those educated caverns. He was distracted – just for a moment – but it was that one moment that sealed his fate. A burly, strapped arm gashed through him, tearing apart skin and muscle and bone, going right through his torso to emerge at the other side like Hephaestus' iron fist. He gasped, feeling the limb rip apart his intestines, knowing at that moment that he was possibly fatally wounded. He felt the blood gush out of the open wound, feeling his vision blur due to extensive blood loss. He knew at that moment that they had lost, that defeat had pointed its ugly head towards their side. There was no way that Anko and the medic-whose-name-no-one-knew could win against these freakishly skilled shinobi. He had been their only hope, however conceited that might sound, and now that he was gone, they would all die, or worse, be taken prisoner.

He could feel his eyesight becoming dim, hear the blood pounding in his ears, and he feverishly hoped that he would make it alive through this. He was not a martyr – he never had been. He had no desire to have his name engraved on that black monument that was dedicated to Konoha's heroes. He was a survivor, and he usually ensured that he made it through whatever situation there was. Now that the odds were this bad, however, he had serious doubts about whether he was ever able to see his beloved hometown again.

That small rational part of him that was left should have been screaming at its owner and creator to rectify his fatal mistake. However, it was far more concerned with praying to whatever gods there were to somehow leave him and his teammates alive. They deserved to live. If the world had any ounce of fairness in it, then Uchiha Itachi, Mitarashi Anko and the unnamed medic would make it safe and sound back to their village. However, the world seemed to take a delightful pleasure in foregoing all noble values and systems, and the gods above played with mortals lives' as through they were puppets.

The sky above blurred, the edges going dark. He knew that his body was going into shock, that it would shut down in an attempt to prevent any more damage, and he fervently hoped that he would wake from this sleep – and preferably in this world.

Then the night sky closed over him, and he faded.

A cold breeze blew through the streets of the Uchiha compound, signifying the chill that was to come. Uchiha Fugaku's eyes sprang wide open from the meditative pose in which they had been, immediately swiveling around to gaze at the shrine of his late wife. He was seated in the enormous incense-filled room that was dedicated to all the late family members of the Uchiha heads, praying to his ancestors to guide him through whatever was going through the village. He had faith that his predecessors would bless him to ensure that he lead the Uchiha safely through whatever was to come.

Now, however, he could feel the fine hairs on the back of his elegant neck standing straight up. Looking at the oft-forgotten shrine dedicated to his late consort, a gradual dread began growing in his mind. The flowers arranged around the shrine had wilted, their browned petals floating away in the breeze, and the one of the incense sticks had been put out.

"Mikoto," he whispered fearfully, addressing his wife for the first time in many months. "What has happened?"

Being a first-generation shinobi was hard enough without the added pressures of an erratic love life to weigh you down.

Sakura, however, was no stranger to heavy loads, and she bore hers with determination seldom found anywhere else. Although she had no particular inherited physical characteristic that would help her in a fight, she had plenty of mental strength needed to slowly shoulder her burden and walk along. It might take her more time than others, but when she reached the end, then she would have more knowledge and experience than they did. She was the tortoise, not the hare.

Being born in a family of bakers had proved disadvantageous to the pink-haired shinobi during her experience as a ninja. Bakery, while an art that produced many tasty condiments, was not conducive towards learning how to defend your village, and thus she had lagged behind in practical sessions. Being intelligent otherwise, her theoretical knowledge had far surpassed those of her classmates, but her practical prowess had been severely lacking, simply because of her unfamiliarity with the many different techniques. Most of the members of the Rookie 9 had been fortunate enough to come from shinobi families. Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Sasuke – all of them had been educated beforehand by their family members. While the Academy decreed it to be perfectly all right for a child to learn how to fight when she was seven, the clans, in an attempt to ensure that their child was the best, insisted that they start the training of their members much earlier. Sakura knew that Ino's mind-control training had begun when she was only five years old. That gave her two years of more experience than Sakura. And some of the others, like Shikamaru and Hinata, had started theirs much before that.

It was inconvenient, not having a kekkai genkai. The result had clearly shown in the first stage of the chuunin exam that they had given five years ago. The modus operandi of the test was to cheat, and indeed, everyone else had cheated. All their kekkai genkai's had come to use. Hinata's Byakugan, Ino's mind control, Sasuke's Sharingan, Kiba's dog, Shino's insects, Shikamaru's shadows, and Chouji's body fat – they had all come in useful. It was only Sakura who had the knowledge to be able to answer all the questions without cheating.

Yes, there was another person in the Rookie 9 without a single bit of hereditary benefits whatsoever – her teammate and admirer, Naruto. But then again, Naruto had other… skills… that hadn't been seen before. Sakura was well-read, and she could recognize most kekkai genkai once she had seen their function and operation, but never had she heard about a kekkai genkai that allowed the members to heal supernaturally. Naruto's healing speed was legendary. Also his chakra reserves were exemplary. She was sure that he couldn't be from just another civilian family like she was – it just wasn't possible. He might have been from a Protected Clan – one of the clans that were in such danger from an outside force that the very trace of their identity had been completely deleted. Because he was an orphan, there was no conclusive way to prove her theory, but she was certain that it was the only option. After all, he was human.

Having struggled harder than most in the Rookie 9, Sakura had felt defeated and depressed at first. It was so much harder for her to compete with everyone else. No matter how hard she practiced, no matter how long she worked, she could never achieve the fluidity and grace that characterized her other colleagues. This inability had frustrated her, and led to her working her heart out. She would bruise her entire body in an attempt to equal the grace of her counterparts, and the moment she gained some confidence, she would see one of them practicing, and lose it all again. She simply could not match the standard that they had achieved.

Civilian children did not often attempt to become shinobi. The ones without a kekkai genkai had come from a long line of shinobi, and their parents had the foresight to train them beforehand. It had been a relief to find first-generation shinobi like herself in two members of Team Gai – Tenten and Lee. However, Tenten's father was a blacksmith who worked almost exclusively with weapons, and in her early years had taught her to use many shinobi weapons. A first generation shinobi she might be, but Tenten had progressed far ahead of where Sakura could go.

It was Lee who she could most identify with.

Lee was an orphan like Naruto. He, too, was a presumed first-generation shinobi. He had no kekkai genkai, and was cursed with another major problem – his inability to perform ninjutsu or genjutsu.

And yet, he had succeeded. He had persevered, and now as a taijutsu master and an extremely capable shinobi. He had trained and trained, broken his body time and again, and never given up. Sure, he might have lost all fashion sense on the path, and developed a rather unhealthy obsession with youth, but he was a respected shinobi. Nobody could say that Rock Lee was weak.

And he inspired her. She would never admit it to anybody else, but she felt slightly awestruck when he matched members of other shinobi houses easily. He had been the person who had indirectly motivated her to continue her training with Tsunade, brutal though it may be. And because of this slightly strange and hidden connection, Sakura harbored a certain amount of affection for the Green Beast- in training. Not romantic affection, nor friendly affection – if anything, it resembled idolatry.

Which was why she was extremely concerned as she looked at her most vociferous admirer and the person who had secretly inspired her lying motionless on a hospital bed. He had been discovered by some patrol-nin in the forest today morning, unconscious and covered in leaves and dew. Obviously, he had been there for quite a while. The finding of one of Konoha's most capable shinobi lying defeated had raised quite a hue and cry in the hospital. People had been insisting that some sort of attack may have occurred, that some other village may have attacked Konoha. To confirm a medical diagnosis that would prove if Lee had been attacked by a member of a clan belonging to an enemy village, he had been reassigned to Sakura.

Now, after checking up on him, Sakura was mostly confused. He was simply unconscious due to a chakra block to his brain. Now that she had untangles the pathways he would be up and running within a half-hour. However, the method of the block was slightly more doubtful. It was, without a doubt, a Hyuuga Jyuuken move.

Maybe he was practicing with Neji-san, Sakura mused. But why would Neji leave his teammate lying on a forest floor? And why would they be practicing in a forest in the first place?

She shrugged. Lee would be up soon enough, and he would tell them the entire story.

To say that Hyuuga Hiashi was pleased would be like saying that a cat loved cream – it was that obvious.

The fact that he was currently striding down the hallway of the Hyuuga compound with a smile on his lips and a song in his heart – or rather, a whistle that penetrated the cold of the morning air with the sharpness of a kitchen knife – was miraculous enough in itself. Hyuuga Hiashi never, ever whistled. He shouted, screamed, and intimidated. Whistling was the job of those who actually possessed a heart.

Many of his relatives were wondering if some enemy clan had managed to infiltrate them in the guise of their Leader.

Hiashi considered that nonsense. He was perfectly sure that if the rest of the Hyuuga knew the reasons for his rather shocking display of positive emotions, they would be just as jubilant as he was. After all, today was the day that his name was inscribed in the list of the "Great Leaders of the Hyuuga."

He would have thought that it would have gone down in history with the arrangement of the union between the Hyuuga and the Uchiha, but no. Apparently that only required the name of Hinata – and that too after she was married and had delivered a miracle baby.

But today was his day, the day that generations of Hyuuga to come would remember him for. He would be the one to uplift the clan out of its current state and take it to a whole new level. The prosperity would be such that even the lowliest branch-house member would feast on honey and wine.

Today was the day that Suna granted the Hyuuga an exclusive contract for sole export of all silk cloth inside its boundaries.

The Hyuuga were a warrior clan, but they were smart. They knew that simply training their shinobi and loaning them out to villages would never gain them the level of aristocracy that they desired. And so a century ago, Yugiko Hyuuga had come up with a fail-proof plan – he had affiliated them to one of the then-new villages, Konoha.

This plan had been met with huge opposition from the members of the clan. The Hyuuga were traditionally a traveling family, and an affiliation meant that they were now confined to one village. Moreover, Konoha was a new village, not having obtained the resources that would signify it as one of the strongest players in the game of the world. But Yugiko had the foresight to recognize that Konoha's leader, the First Hokage, was a far-seeing man. He would take Konoha far, and along with it, the Hyuuga. The Hyuuga would never gain the level of prestige they craved if they had been wanderers. Now a powerful clan in a blossoming village, their importance grew a hundred-fold.

Moreover, Yugiko introduced one other change. He expanded the Hyuuga business from simply loaning shinobi out to trade. Now all Hyuuga shinobi were Konoha shinobi, and at Konoha's disposal, but the Hyuuga controlled many of Konoha's trade facilities. Moreover, they could trade with any or all of Konoha's allies as long as they obtained permission from the Hokage and did not engage in weapon trading. The Hyuuga had studiously followed these ground rules, and currently had a monopoly over most of the cloth manufacture in both Konoha and the Mist.

Cloth manufacture was undertaken by the civilian members of the clan. The Hyuuga prided themselves on their aesthetic sense and style, and this showed in the wonderful patterns they created. Hyuuga cloth was in high demand in the Village, and the Hyuuga earned most of their substantial income through it.

Now, Hiashi planned to expand his business to the Sand. While currently economically unstable due to the attack, the Sand had excellent business opportunities. If he was able to open up an enterprise there as well, the flow of cash into the Hyuuga coffers would increase by quite an amount.

Never before had a Hyuuga head had this opportunity. Before, the Hyuuga had engaged in light trade with the Cloud, but their offensive actions had led to their exclusion from the Hyuuga group. The Sand had only become allied with Konoha five years ago, and since then Hiashi had been looking for an opportunity to spread his tentacles into the desert country.

Now finally his opportunity had appeared. The Hokage was indebted to him, which meant that she could not refuse his offer of a trade alliance with the Sand. The Sand was economically unstable and would welcome a new entrepreneur into their ranks. Finishing up the delightful list was the fact that the Kazekage would be residing at the Hyuuga compound, thus providing Hiashi with ample time to persuade him to accept his offer. Moreover, the Kazekage would feel indebted to his host and feel obliged to accept.

It seemed like all the pieces were falling perfectly into place. The Kazekage was due to arrive at noon. The house had been scrubbed clean and redesigned so as to compliment the traditions of the Sand. Nothing was out of place. Everything was going to be perfect.

He had no idea how wrong he was.

Hinata woke up with a scream.

She had just had the worst nightmare possible. Somehow Lee had discovered her and Sasuke training, and had demanded that she tell all. Due to extenuating circumstances, she had eventually been forced to knock out Lee in the middle of the forest and flee with Sasuke.

Oh wait. That had really happened.

She buried her head between her knees, pressing her hands over her face in an attempt to silence her scream of horror. What had she been thinking? Why had she let herself be caught by Lee of all people? Why hadn't she simply told him the whole story and begged him to keep it quiet? Why had she knocked him out, and left him drooling in the middle of a forest floor? Now he would come and tell all to Neji-nii-san for sure, and then Neji would kill her slowly and painfully…

Needless to say, she was rather fraught.

The stabs of guilt hit deepest, and it was this very emotional weapon that was hurting Hinata's conscience now. Neji's hatred for the Uchiha was legendary, bred by a repeated brainwashing against them and a rivalry against Sasuke. He was frustrated because he knew that he was just as much of a genius as Itachi, and yet he would never be able to achieve the heights that Itachi had scaled simply because he had the misfortune of being born in the Branch House. This knowledge bred hatred and contempt in his mind, and that had soon reached out the envelope the entire Uchiha clan. He had been against her union with their heir from the very start, but being an insignificant Protector, his protests were ignored and brushed aside.

Hinata was no fan of the Uchiha as it was – the cultural rivalry was far too great to ever really overcome. Her impending wedding, however, had broadened up her mind a little bit, and caused her to accept them as a clan, if not as great as the Hyuuga (because clan pride overcame all), then still as one which was noble. She had to spend the rest of her life with them, so why not pass it in harmony?

Neji, however, had no such inhibitions. He always had, and always would, hate the Uchiha. That is why the very idea of him finding about her secret liaisons with Sasuke, no matter however innocent and platonic, was terrifying.

And now that Lee knew, and she had abandoned him, he would surely tell Neji. And Neji would murder her using all the forms of torture that he had ever been taught, which numbered well over a hundred.

The broken and mangled body of the Hyuuga ex-heiress would be found in a gutter, tossed after being brutally tortured. Reason? Unknown. Neji was a scarily concise shinobi.

A sudden knock on the door lifted her out of her reverie. She slipped out of bed, drawing her dressing gown closer to herself, and opened it, wondering as to who would come calling so early. The first rays of dawn were barely touching the sky, and the west was as of yet untouched. The cold chill of the morning air added a bite to the atmosphere, signifying that winter was on its way even in the warm, tropical echoes of Konoha. The leaves had fallen from the trees, creating a cold, stark beauty in the Hyuuga garden, and a light mist hung over the koi pond at the center of the pavilion and haunted around the walls facing the lake. One could see their own breath in front of them, puffing out in small white clouds reminiscent of a child's cotton candy, and the dewdrops were cold as they dripped from the rafters. The made small 'plink' sounds as they fell on the immaculately waxed traditional wooden floor, leaving behind nothing but residue as they evaporated into white mist.

The floor was cold, and Hinata shivered as she pattered across it, beginning to feel the chill seep up her legs. Opening the door, she was slightly startled to see her tutor, Shizune, standing outside with a rather harried expression, along with a younger woman, whom Hinata recognized immediately as one of her elder cousins, Hyuuga Kanahiko, one of the nicer members of the Branch House.

"Hinata," Shizune's voice was abrupt, hurried. "I am glad to see that you are awake. We have a long day in front of us, and not enough time to complete everything."

She stepped inside, striding immediately to the coal brazier to light it once more. As the flames from the black pot lit up the room, Hinata relaxed just a little bit, feeling just the tiniest bit of warmth beginning to infuse itself in the atmosphere.

"This is Kanahiko-san," Shizune said, gesturing towards the other woman. Hinata turned towards her relative, who immediately bowed deeply, as was custom for a Branch House member to behave towards a Main House member. "She will be assisting you during your examination today."

It felt as though a small ball of lead had suddenly dropped in her stomach. Examination? She had not been informed of any sort of examination to take place today –

"As you well know, the Kazekage is due to arrive today."

Hinata felt a shock run through her body. In all her mooning over the consequences of Neji finding out about her secret meetings with his arch-enemy, she had entirely forgotten that the Leader of Sunagakure was due to arrive at the Hyuuga Compound today. She had been warned weeks beforehand, in order to prepare herself adequately for the arrival of a potential ally, but because of her hectic schedule and the conflicts that had risen in her mind, had completely forgotten that he was even to come at all. The implications were so great that she felt herself shudder in apprehension.

Thankfully Shizune didn't notice her internal conflict and continued as before. "Jiraiya-sama and I have found it appropriate to test your knowledge of what we have taught you so far. You will dress and present yourself today. Kanahiko-san is here to assist you in bringing anything you need, but will not offer any guidance whatsoever. Keep in mind that this is a formal occasion, and that it may have great implications on your clan's relations with a powerful village. You are necessary to this union as you play a supportive role. However, you are not the lady of the house here, as you will be in the Uchiha house, and thus you should forego all that we have taught you in that context. Simply dress well and behave accordingly."

And with that Shizune swept out of the room, her yukata sweeping along the floor as she left.

Hinata felt faint, a development which sickened her, both mentally and physically. To dress herself for such an important occasion as this was like committing suicide. There was no way she could get it right. Father would chew her out for sure.

And on top of that, it would take up the entire morning. She wouldn't be able to meet Sasuke for training as she had planned.

She hoped he wouldn't be too annoyed.

Uchiha Sasuke was annoyed.

This rather negative emotion stemmed from the fact that he had risen at 3 'o' clock that morning in order to pace around his room and think of appropriate things to say to a girl that he was training, with whom he had successfully knocked out a man and abandoned him in the middle of the woods, who was engaged to his brother, and who he was potentially in love with.

Needless to say, this amalgam did not create a large pool of conversation topics.

After pacing up and down for two hours (in the bitter cold, he might add, although that was mostly due to his own forgetfulness in relighting the coal brazier), he had finally mustered enough courage to get dressed and go to the training grounds at five 'o' clock sharp. He knew that he still had another half hour before he was due to rendezvous with his student, but he wanted to compose himself beforehand.

And he had waited.

Half an hour had passed.

An hour had passed.

Two hours had passed.

And now it was 11:30.

Hinata was 6 hours late.

He had waited in vain for her to come all day. Many times he had contemplated leaving, but then hope would wrap its everlasting tendrils around his heart, and he would wait – just for another 5 minutes, he promised himself.

And of course, those 5 minutes went on forever.

She wasn't coming. He tried to wrap his head around that fact. She had never missed a class before. Not even when it was pouring and he himself had suggested that they skip.

Was it because of what had happened yesterday? Had her cousin somehow found out and forbidden her from coming?

A cold fist wrapped itself around his heart and squeezed. If Neji had found out… that bastard hated him, he wouldn't let Hinata come and see him anymore…

He sat down gloomily on the grass to wait longer, the stubborn, unbelieving part of him refusing to leave.

The dew on the grass wet his pants and socks.

Today really couldn't get any worse.

A cuckoo promptly squawked, and, as if to defy him, pooped on his hair.

He took that statement back. It just got worse.

The dark-haired man narrowed his eyes at the informant, sizing the shinobi up. The object of his gaze shivered internally, but kept a cool demeanor outside, knowing that any sign of discomfort would be taken as treachery and that he would immediately be executed.

Sure enough, eventually the Snake's feature's transformed into a smile that was so evil, it would have won the award for "Most Evil Grin By A Villain" hands down. His tongue darted out to lick his lower lip – just like a snake, the informant noted – and then spoke, in a voice that rattled like a cobra's hiss.

"Is it really true, Baku? Has the Sand Prince finally left his abode?"

Baku nodded, trying to avoid opening his mouth. He was not sure whether he could form coherent sentences in front of this monster.

The long-haired atrocity's lips stretched farther into a grin, pulling his skin over his bones. "Kabuto!" he called out imperiously to the silver-haired, bespectacled ninja standing guard near the door. "The time has come for the operation to start. Soon, all our goals will be achieved!"

And with that, his mad laughter rang across the cold stone dungeon, and his golden eyes gleamed with insolent mirth, gazing out from within a skeletal face with bone-white skin.

The pieces started arranging themselves across the continent, sliding into place with startling precision, as the gods watched from above, playing their foolish game with mortals' lives' to spare. Their entertainment, brewing for decades now, was coming to a climax, and soon it would fulfill their bloody dreams. The chessboard was almost in place – all that was left was to make the first move.

The first three people who can guess the identity of the unnamed villain in the second-last section will get cameos in the story.
Also, please don't kill me. You have to understand - I had to do that to Itachi.

conorlover out. I'll try to update soon. Please review!