For a week or so following Naruto's awakening, he rested in the hospital regaining his strength. Kyuubi helped to replenish Naruto's chakra, and heal any damage already done by the poison. Hinata was forced to take over Naruto's position for now, until he could resume work.
On the eighth day, Tsunade allowed Naruto to be released.
"Finally! I hate hospitals!" Naruto said. He walked down the hall with Hinata. Once they got outside, many people expressed their concern for his well-being.
"I'm fine, thank you," Naruto replied to an old woman. He continued on his way to his house.
"Gosh, Hinata, you'd think I was some sort of celebrity," Naruto said to Hinata.
"That's because you are, silly."
"I know."
"Well, what should we do? I think I'm free for the rest of the day, correct?" Naruto smirked.
"Of course, Uzukage-san."
Naruto and Hinata arrived at their house and went inside. Once there, Naruto went to his and Hinata's room. He sat at his desk to write a few letters to his allies. He told them what he had found out about the Akatsuki and Sound. As he was writing, Hinata suddenly remembered something.
"Naruto-kun! Near the end of the battle, Uchiha Itachi came to me," Hinata told Naruto.
"What! What did he tell you? Did he hurt you?" Naruto asked. His letters lay forgotten on his desk.
"He said...he said that an old demon, one who is not yet dead, who hides in plain sight, and who desires the power of a ten-tailed myth."
"Hm, old demon...ten-tailed myth..." Naruto muttered to himself.
Hey Yoko, know anything about this? Naruto asked.
Well, kit, for what I can remember, the part about the ten-tailed myth started with the Sage of Six Paths. He was the person to seal away the Juubi, a powerful ten-tailed demon. He split it into the nine parts that have become the Bijuu. The old demon, I'm not sure about. Unless... Kyuubi trailed off.
Of course! Listen kit, I am going to tell why I really attacked the Hidden Leaf, well, besides the fact that they deserved it, but anyways...Before that day, I was living peacefully in the Land of Fire. I caused no destruction, because I am not that kind of person. One day, I returned from hunting for food to the smell of blood. It was the blood of my family's. I was extremely angry when I found their bodies, and Uchiha Madara, the Uchiha founder, put me into a Sharingan-induced rage.
So when he was talking about the ten-tailed demon, and the old demon, he meant the Juubi and Uchiha Madara?
Yes. I am not sure about hiding in plain sight, though. But, I must admit, Uchiha's are masters of trickery, so I wouldn't be surprised if he were here now.
Well, if he's here now, why can't I just train my shinobi more and go out to attack him? Naruto thought idiotically.
You idiot! I haven't finished yet! If Madara wanted to release the Juubi, he needs all of the Bijuu. Now, which one does he NOT have?
You.
Bingo. That is why you can't outright attack him. He will just capture you, and take me. Idiot.
Then what do I do? Sit back and wait for him to waltz in?
Simple. I will teach you, and you will get strong enough to at least be on even ground with Madara. If worst comes to worst, you must seal him.
But, won't that...kill me?
A normal human, yes. But, I plan to make you into a hanyou. However, that will shatter the seal that your grandfather placed. I assume that is all right?
Yes, but Yoko, why are you helping me?
Remember, kit, he killed my family. I want him dead as much as you do.
Finally, Naruto got back to the real world. Hinata sat on the bed facing him.
"Are you finally back?" she asked. Naruto chuckled.
"Yes."
"Did you find out who Itachi was talking about?"
"The ten-tailed demon is a being called the Juubi. It ran rampant before the time of the Sage of Six Paths. The old demon is a man named Uchiha Madara. He was the Uchiha founder, and the one who set Kyuubi on Konoha." Hinata gasped.
"If Madara gets his hands on the Juubi...he will be unstoppable!" Hinata realized. Naruto nodded.
"Call together all jonin and above level ninja. Meet in the conference room ASAP," Naruto told one of the guards around him. The SPIRAL member nodded, and went off to make the announcement. Half an hour later, all ninja jonin and above were sitting in the conference room.
"I am sure you are wondering why you have been called here. Well, I have discovered a new and very dangerous threat to the village, one that will have to be handled carefully. During the raid, Hinata here was relayed a message by Uchiha Itachi..." Naruto was cut off by whispers.
"But, doesn't that mean he is on our side?" asked a kunochi.
"We are unsure what that means at the moment, but that is nothing compared to what we have before us. This danger takes the form of Uchiha Madara." More whispers followed.
"Yes, the Uchiha Madara, founder of the Uchiha clan, has survived all of these years, and now wants to take over the world. He was also the man that set Kyuubi on Konoha. Now, we need to prepare all of our ninja for the onslaught that is sure to come. I am unable to discover what army he has behind him, but I doubt that it will be weak. Hinata here will announce the training schedule." Naruto stepped back.
"Very well. The training schedule will cover five weeks. The first week, we will be training in chakra control exercises, along with increasing chakra capacity. The second week, we will focus on Ninjutsu. The third week, we will teach solely Genjutsu. Taijutsu is the fourth week, and last but not least, weaponry is the fifth and final week," Hinata explained.
"Hinata-sama, why do we have to train like this?" asked a special jonin named Kasuka Otome asked.
"Very good question. The reason is that both Naruto-kun and I love this village too much to send you all blindly into a war against much stronger opponents," Hinata replied.
"What will the genin and chunin be doing during this time?" asked Anko.
"They will train, but only basically. They need speed and agility to protect the villagers. That is their job if we were ever to be attacked suddenly," Hinata answered. Seeing that no one had any more questions, they were dismissed. Naruto and Hinata trekked back to their house, and relaxed on the bed.
"Hinata-chan...there's...something I didn't tell you. To summon the Juubi, Madara needs all of the Bijuu. And...he has all...but one..." Naruto began.
"Kyuubi...no, no, I will NEVER allow him to get you. Damn, I almost lost you once, there is no way in hell I will lose you again!" Hinata proclaimed.
"Arigato, Hinata-chan."
Several days passed, and everything went smoothly. Naruto and Hinata trained the shinobi, and they began to make good progress. But, in the beginning of the first week, something tragic happened. One day, when Hinata was exhausted from training, she was finishing up training alone. A few of the ninja had wanted more training, and Hinata complied.
As she was about to leave, a hand clamped over her mouth, preventing her from screaming. As Hinata began to fight, she grew weaker and weaker.
"Now, now, don't fight. The seals on you will only drain more chakra. Don't worry; we only want your husband dead. That isn't so bad, is it?" asked a masculine voice. The last coherent thought before she passed out was,
Naruto-kun, be safe.
The following morning, Naruto received the news. Hinata had been kidnapped, and Akatsuki were demanding him to hand himself over if she was going to live.
When Hinata awoke, the first thing she noticed was that she was chained up in a cell of some sort. She also had chakra-suppressing seals on her body.
"Ah, so our hime has finally awoken, has she?" taunted a guard.
"Ha ha, looks more like a poor slave to me," replied another.
Should I try to shut them up? Nah, it would ruin my element of surprise for escape, thought Hinata. She heard the door open, and shifted positions to see who was coming in. A tall, blue, fish-like guy was coming to get her.
"Leader-sama has asked me to get our prisoner for interrogation. Nothing wrong with getting information out of her while she's here," the man said to the guards. They unlocked Hinata's cell and chains, and then practically threw her towards the man.
"Oof," Hinata said as she landed on the ground. Her head spun for a moment before she felt a pair of handcuffs being fastened to her hands, and the man lifted her up. The man pushed her out the door, and Hinata glared at him.
"Now, now, none of that, or you might find yourself missing a few limbs tomorrow morning," he said. He grinned, showing his pointy teeth.
"Kisame! Where is the Hyuuga?" barked a voice. Just from the tone, Hinata could tell he was the leader.
"Right here, leader-sama." He pushed Hinata towards the man. He had orange hair with several piercings all over his face. Hinata refused to look at his face. She felt a hand lift up her chin. Wrenching her head away from the man, she looked down again.
"Hm, feisty one we have here. Deidara, take her to the interrogation room, and summon Itachi. If I can't get anything out of her, he'll have to step in."
Hinata was dragged to a room, and tied up in her chair. The orange-haired man stepped forward, and looked in her eyes.
"Now tell me, what is the Kyuubi's weakness?"
"Damn you to hell!" Hinata said, resisting.
"Very well, if you want to be difficult…"