Naruto stood pacing around the Uzukage's office.
"Where the hell are they! Haven't they found some trace of her! I can't believe that you are making me stay here Tsunade-baachan! I could have-"
"Naruto! Will you shut up already?" asked Tsunade.
"But Baachan..."
"Enough! You already sent out five of your best ninja on a search. There is no need to go pacing around your office and wearing a hole in the floor!"
Naruto stopped, and sat in his chair. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Naruto jumped up, and flung open the door. There stood Neji, Ten Ten, Shizune, Izumo, and Kotetsu.
"Well?" Naruto asked expectantly. They all looked at each other, in order to decide who would break the news to him.
"There is...no sign of her. It was like she completely disappeared off the face of the earth!" Izumo said.
"We...we did find this, though," Shizune said. She held up a jacket, Hinata's to be precise. Naruto stared off into nothing.
"You are all dismissed," He said mechanically. Naruto trudged home, and collapsed on his bed.
That night, Hinata was sitting in her cell again. She looked up as a plate of food was shoved inside.
"Eat up," said one guard. He smirked.
Let's see, no poison in the bread, even though it is stale. The water... ah, three herbs that, when mixed correctly, can force someone to tell the truth to any question asked. Guess there's no water for me tonight, Hinata thought. She dumped out the water.
Lying on the ground, Hinata drifted into her mindscape. She opened her eyes to a familiar field of sunflowers. She lay in the field for a bit before deciding her actions.
I wonder if...no, I probably don't have enough chakra for that jutsu...but, it's worth a shot... Hinata thought. She stood, and formed hand seals.
"Ninpou: Omoi Hokousha."
Hinata's mind warped into a different place. She was now in a sewer in front of a cage.
"Why hello there, little human," said a voice from inside. Two blood red eyes cracked open.
"Yoko-san," Hinata acknowledged.
"And I suppose you are that Hyuuga girl, my container's mate?"
"Yes."
"HINATA!" yelled a familiar voice.
"Naruto-kun..." Naruto ran over and embraced her.
"I've been so worried! How are you here?" Naruto asked.
"Well, a few months ago, and placed a bit of my chakra on you, essentially tying me to you. It was for this jutsu I developed, but the catch is that only my mind is here. I haven't had the need for it until now."
"That's great!" Naruto said, tails swishing.
"Naruto-kun...why do you have two tails?"
"That would be my doing. I've decided that because Naruto may need to seal Madara, that I will make him a hanyou. Normally, the reason some techniques are kinjutsu is because they are either too taxing on your chakra supply, or they require your life. Now, if Naruto were to seal Madara, Shinigami would want a soul in payment. But, I believe that Naruto should live. Hence the reason that I would give my soul for his."
"Why would you do that?" Hinata asked confusedly.
"Madara killed my family, so I want him dead."
"Ah."
"Now, Hinata-chan, how are we going to rescue you?"
"The Akatsuki hold me in a base, inside a cell. I have two guards that watch me around the clock, and occasionally the visit from a member. Oh, when I was being interrogated, there was something interesting that I uncovered..."
-Flashback-
Hinata sat tied to a chair. Pein stood in front of her, asking questions. Every time she refused to answer, he would activate a seal on her back. The seal caused Hinata pain, not physically, but mentally. After three hours of torture, Pein sighed, and turned Hinata over to Itachi. Itachi looked straight into Hinata's eyes.
"Tsukuyomi."
Hinata reappeared in a different world. Itachi stood in front of her, and there was a blood red moon in the sky. Hinata tensed, wondering why she wasn't tied up.
"Relax, Hinata-san, I'm not here to torture you. I thought you would have known that from our last encounter," Itachi said. He sat by Hinata, and motioned for her to sit as well.
"Why are you helping me?" asked Hinata.
"Things are not always as they seem. I am not loyal to Akatsuki, I am a spy for Jiraiya-sama."
"I see. What are we doing here, then?"
"I will help you escape, but you must not tell anyone of me."
"What about Naruto-kun and Yoko-san?"
"Yoko?"
"Kyuubi's real name."
"You may tell them, and them only, alright?" Hinata nodded.
"Very well then, within the next two months, the Akatsuki will be preparing to capture Naruto-kun. He will need to be strong enough to take on Pein by then. If he succeeds in killing Pein, Uchiha Madara will go into hiding for another month. After that month is over, Madara will come for Naruto."
"Naruto-kun and Yoko-san are preparing for that."
"Good. Now, I need you to get out of here, or else they will use you as a bargaining chip. I will help you escape, but Naruto-kun will need to be close by the help you get home. You will need to be awake at midnight three days from now. At that time, I will help you escape protection via Genjutsu. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"I will have to knock you out, or else they will believe something is up."
-End Flashback-
"Sou ka. I will be there, Hinata-chan, don't worry."
"I'll make sure you guys get out of there safe."
"Arigato, Yoko-san.
Three days had passed since Hinata's encounter with Itachi. She waited expectantly in her cell at midnight. A soft creak indicated the door being opened.
"Hinata-san, come," Itachi said. He motioned for her to come over. Inserting the key into the chains, Itachi unlocked them, and Hinata placed them on the ground. She grabbed Itachi's shoulder, and he formed several hand signs.
"Genjutsu: Ka Yume." Itachi formed another set of seals and whispered,
"Doton: Sensuikan."
Hinata and Itachi sunk into the ground. They traveled through the ground to the agreed meeting spot. Once there, Hinata and Itachi rose from the ground. Looking around to make sure that no one was there, Naruto stepped out of the bushes.
"Arigato, Itachi," said Naruto. Itachi produced a scrool from his cloak.
"You are welcome. Please, give this to Jiraiya-sama as soon as possible. It contains more information on Akatsuki," Itachi requested.
"Will do."
A rustle in the bushes caught their attention. Itachi went back to the base the same way he came, and Hinata and Naruto shushined away. Once they were far enough, they began running. Unknown to them, a few Akatsuki members were sent out to look for them.
"Kuso!" Naruto said as he picked up the chakra of two members headed their way. "Yoko, now would be a good time for help..."
"Onijutsu: Heki Riariti."
A thin sheet of demonic chakra encased them, and changed their appearance. Naruto was now a black haired, black-eyed young man wearing a Kusa headband. Hinata morphed into a purple haired, brown-eyed young woman wearing a Kusa headband as well. Naruto and Hinata changed course to make it look like they were heading to Kusa.
"Ah, what do we have here?" said a male voice. It was Kisame. Hinata held their breath as the pair drew near.
"Kisame, these two are not the people we are looking for. Why should we waste time when we should be looking for the escaped girl?" asked Itachi.
"But look at that girl! She could be the Hyuuga in disguise!" Hinata tensed, he had hopefully not realized the Genjutsu.
Calm down, girl. Do not underestimate the power of a demon, spoke Yoko in her mind. Hinata calmed down.
Itachi's eyes spun, he was looking for Genjutsu.
"There is no Genjutsu on her." Itachi and Kisame left, and Hinata and Naruto sigh in relief.
"I think it is safe to Hirashin, Hina-chan." In a flash of light, Naruto and Hinata reappeared in Uzugakure. They had appeared in Naruto's office. Suddenly, SPIRAL members surrounded them.
"Kusa-nin, I would advise you to leave at once. If you do not, you will be forced," said a familiar captain.
"Ohayo, Ten Ten-chan!" said Hinata. She went to hug her, but was held back by other SPIRAL members.
"Why are you...oh, Naruto-kun, please release the Genjutsu," Hinata requested.
"But Hinata-chan, I wanted to scare them!"
"I think we already did."
Meanwhile, the spectators watched as the image around the two shattered like glass.
"Hinata..." Kurenai said. She ran as fast as she could eight months pregnant to Hinata and promptly crushed her to death in a hug. Tsunade did the same to Naruto.
"Need...air...for continued...existence," Naruto croaked out.
"Damn you brat! How dare you run off like that! You had us all worried! Plus what would have happened if you were caught?"
"What, it's not like Hinata and I couldn't take them," Naruto retorted. "Anyways, Hinata has come across some interesting information. Would you like to share, Hinata?"
"Sure. But first, Jiraiya, you can come out of hiding..." Hinata said to the wall. The form of the toad sannin materialized out of the wall.
"Ah, I guess my skills are getting worse. So, any news?" Naruto handed Itachi's scroll to Jiraiya. Tucking it into his clothing, Jiraiya paid attention to Hinata.
"Well, Pein is planning on attacking within two months. If Naruto succeeds in killing him, the next opponent we will have is Uchiha Madara. Madara will come to get him about a month after Pein is defeated," Hinata said.
"There you have it. You are all dismissed; we will see you tomorrow for training. Jiraiya, I would like you to come to our house with us," Naruto requested. Hinata and Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's shoulders, and they Hirashined to their house. Once inside Naruto's office, he placed a silencing seal in the walls.
"Now, from what I understand, when you were younger, you taught three orphans. Would you like to tell us about them?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya sighed.
"Many years back, I taught three orphans, Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko. They needed skills to survive in Ame's deadly civil war. Konan showed promise of using paper jutsu and origami for battle. Yahiko used water jutsu, and asked me to teach him some kenjutsu. Nagato awakened a dojutsu while protecting his comrades in an attack. He activated the Rinnegan, a dojutsu unseen since the Sage of Six Paths. I assumed that they had died when Hanzo, Ame's leader, chose to kill them. But, it appears that only Yahiko died."
"What did they look like?" asked Hinata.
"Well, Konan had blue hair and amber eyes, Nagato had red hair and grayish-purple eyes with rings in them, and Yahiko had orange hair and brown eyes. Why do you ask?"
"Well, when Pein interrogated me, he had orange hair and grayish-purple eyes that had rings in them." Jiraiya gasped.
"Nagato...you used his body, didn't you?" Jiraiya thought aloud.
"What do you mean 'you used his body?'" asked Naruto.
"Well, the possessor of the Rinnegan has the ability to use the corpses of people. Each body has the ability to use a different power."
"I see. How do you know all of this?"
"When Nagato awakened his Rinnegan, I sought out some old scrolls detailing the Sage of Six Paths' power. If you want, I still have them."
"That would be much appreciated." Jiraiya performed several hand seals, and a strange toad was summoned. It had the body of a toad, but a scroll was where the belly should be.
"Please unseal the scrolls on the Rinnegan, Hokan." Two scrolls popped out. "Arigato."
Naruto picked up the scrolls.
"This first one is the history of the Sage of Six Paths. The second details some of the abilities of the Rinnegan. If that is all, I will be going."
Naruto studied the scrolls for a few hours, and then went to bed. Once he fell asleep, Naruto met with Yoko.
"Yoko, I have a question to ask you..."
"What is it?"
"Well, If Pein is going after anyone with ties to me or who knows anything about me, I need your help in finding everyone and hiding them."
"Well, there is one demonic jutsu that you could use to see inside their heart to see exactly what they think. Would you like to teach it to you?"
"Hai."
Kyuubi taught Naruto the jutsu, and he practiced it everyday. A month passed, and Naruto continued to change. Kyuubi sped up the transformation so that he could be a full hanyou by the time Madara came. As of now, Naruto had three tails.
Then devastating news reached Naruto in the form of a toad. Jiraiya had gone to battle with Pein by himself, in an attempt to protect Naruto. Before he died, Jiraiya sent a coded message to Naruto on Fukasaku's back.
"Jiraiya, you idiot!" Naruto cried as he stood on the balcony of his house. Hinata comforted him. "Pein, when I see you, you will pay for Jiraiya's death! I swear it!"