Posting a relatively short chapter, Next one is longer, already written and waiting for editing. I have a wee busy period coming up so i'll post the next chapter mid next week so you wouldn't have to wait for a century for more content (unless (and probably will) I procrastinate revision with writing).
Thanks to NarHina for pointing out that i'm an idiot and i forgot to add character tags, they should be added by now with the four main characters including the pairing (Yes i like the Naruto/Hinata combo and yes it will happen eventually (spoilers)) but you'll have to read on to find out how :)
Still over 200 views despite not filling in the correct information. So thank you for being interested in my story.
Please comment if you enjoy :D feedback is appreciated
Second edition: again more fine tuning the story
Present day
Naruto had woken up to Shikamaru prodding him. At first gently but with a sigh he ended up punching his shoulder to wake up the blond mess that spread himself over the bed. Naruto stirred.
"What was that for?"
"Get up Naruto we are leaving soon." Naruto rolled out of bed, literally, he fell to the floor with a thud and sleepily began hopping around getting dressed while groaning and cursing all the way. While Shikamaru calmly set about getting cleaned and dressed, Sighing, and thinking how lazy Naruto still is after everything they have been through. 'This will be a drag'. He thought to himself.
Outside their room on the small corridor that housed the boys' room in between the two flights of stairs. On flight going up to where the girls' slept and the other flight lowered to the lobby room of the hotel. Sakura was walking down the stairs when she caught Hinata staring at the wall with her Byakugan in use and visible on her face. The bluenette did not realise that she was caught but instead continued to stare at the wall. When Sakura made her presence noticed she was smiling until she realised exactly what Hinata was trying to do.
"Hinata what are you doing." Sakura blushed, Hinata spun around also blushing and spoke in a high-pitched, squeaky voice.
"I err was, seeing if the boys urm w-were awake?"
Sakura sighed and walked passed Hinata to get downstairs. As she passed she spoke.
"I don't know who's worse, you or Naruto." She gave Hinata a smirk then left her. Hinata quickly decided being caught once was enough and followed Sakura to wait for the boys.
After a few minutes, everyone in the squad was downstairs and eating a small breakfast of toast while Shikamaru was looking up a map of the area he was given. The café area was quiet as would be expected this early in the morning with wooden stools still on top of most of the tables. The only other person awake was a young man, only somewhat older than the ninja present was cleaning up the kitchen which was separated by a wall and a open door to the dining hall.
"One hour run I think, and we will be there."
"Why in such a rush Shikamaru?" Naruto replied sleepily as he was still waking up.
"I don't like this, I've been trying to figure out why these attacks are occurring. What's new and what's old. Maybe I might know more if I could find out what was this paper that Fritushi mentioned. But to do that we need to hurry, if this guy can kill ANBU. Then he is clearly knows what he is doing and is a threat, I have a feeling unless the pages were on the noble when he was attacked, his home would be hit next, although why it hasn't already I don't know... urg such a drag."
With the dark undertone added to breakfast the four shinobi finished up in silence and headed to the main gate and headed back down to the valley below, most of the valley was coated in pine trees but it was obvious where the main road lay, a barren streak of path cut the valley in two and lead off further and further into the mountains. Once, perhaps, the hidden villages were true to their name but now it was common knowledge where they all are. Unless they were new hidden villages but with the many spy networks each village had, their secret couldn't be kept for long. With a Nod from Shikamaru the four ninja sped off to the west using the pine trees to the best of their ability. Once they had climbed a pass between two mountains and looked down the next valley over they paused.
"Is that smoke?" Sakura asked
"Byakugan!" Hinata called as she concentrated ahead. "I can see a few survivors we should hurry."
"Naruto send a clone back to warn the Tsuchikage that the Fritushi estate was attacked." Shikamaru commanded. He was confused over the delay. It has almost been a week since the ANBU and Chuno Fritushi were killed. So why attack now? He was banking that the attacker had already got what he wanted, blind rage? revenge? Too many unanswered questions.
The shinobi quickened their approach. So fast that to a normal civilian their motion would have gone unnoticed. In no time, they stood in front of the destruction. Both the gateway and the front door were blasted wide open. Guards were scattered around the garden. The four walked in with wide eyes. Bodies were burnt and cut up, sometimes both. The scene was one of total annihilation.
"What the hell happened here?" Naruto called out.
"B-byakugan" Hinata quietly spoke out. She had to force herself to look with her eyes and tried her hardest to keep her stomach down as she scanned around seeing all the empty husks and parts of bodies scattered around, void of chakra. Her initiative prompted Sakura ad Naruto to help find any guards who were still alive although they were already reluctant to search.
"Hey, Kurama, can you help me here? is anyone alive." Naruto whispered to himself, almost as if he was worried his voice would shatter the silence that cloaked the area.
"Hmph it's difficult to tell one from another, the whole estate stinks of death and hate and fear." Kurama replied in a low growl. "Try over there." Naruto instinctively turned to face the palisade walls that supposedly protected the compound from attack. There was a pile of wood which presumably used to be some sort of tower or lookout. It was difficult for Naruto to really know because the pile of wood was damaged beyond recognition.
"Hey guys this one is still conscious." Naruto called out after a few minutes of searching the charred wood. Sakura rushed to him. Shikamaru also approached, slowly, as if the death around him weighed him down. As Shikamaru approached the impaled man looked up at him. He didn't speak because his lungs were punctured by the wooden shrapnel embedded in his chest but he did the best he could to give Shikamaru and unspoken message with his eyes.
"We need a full hospital I-I don't know what I can do? It's too much." Sakura spoke with tears rolling down her eyes as her medical jutsu was proving ineffective to the wound.
"Reinforcements should be coming soon." Naruto confirmed as his clone must have delivered the message, the major benefit to using clones as the ability to retain memories.
"N-Naruto I found someone else, he's hiding around the building." Hinata called out and Naruto along with Shikamaru ran to where Hinata was pointing. The two shinobi moved aside some fallen timber to find a man in a fetal position with his eyes closed and hands covering his ears. The two boys looked at each other as the man rambled on about laughter. Naruto touched the man who immediately screamed causing Naruto to fall back. He looked around terrified that he was found.
"I need you to calm down." Shikamaru said as he squatted down next to the man, but he ignored him.
"T-they're gone, it's day, I lived, why?" He started sobbing into his hands.
"What happened?" Shikamaru repeated.
"The lightning demon attacked. We were no match, why didn't we have any jutsu." The man cried out then suddenly he stopped as if he remembered something. "The laughter. Can't get it out of my head." He drew out a knife and pointed at his stomach. Naruto was forced to jump in and knocked the man out with a swift kick. Normally Shikamaru would have disapproved but judging by what the man was about to do; Naruto probably had the right idea.
"I'm going to find this asshole. He's killed too many people. I need to stop him, we have to stop him."
Shikamaru punched him. "Idiot look around, we still don't know what he can do. Some of these people have not even drawn their weapons before they died. What do you think would happen to us if we were as unprepared as these guards?" Shikamaru stared Naruto down with his frustration reaching its peak. He was about to explode in anger at Naruto when medics from Iwagakure appeared around the corner.
"Did you find any more survivors?" A young woman asked, sounding doubtful that anyone was alive at this point.
"Yeah but we had to knock him out." Naruto replied trying to keep his anger down aswell.
The two Ninja walked back to the entrance with Shikamaru talking. "Look I understand your anger but if we do this wrong we will end up dead. ANBU, shinobi, even unarmed guards are targeted by him so he could attack us at any time just as easily. So please try not to rush into this one. Not until we know what he is capable of."
Sakura was slumped against the remains of the gateway. She had exhausted herself trying to save as many as she could but many of her attempts had failed. Hinata was still directing the new arrivals to any guards still alive. They were few and far between but the kunoichi had to push themselves to the limit, any hesitation and someone else was going to die.
"Shall we search inside to find out who he was targeting." Shikamaru suggested but Naruto was too lost in thought to talk back. They both entered the building. Scorched walls, bloody floors and discarded kunai, shuriken's, and guards. Judging by the weaponry the guards in here at least should have had better training. However, being in an enclosed space did not help these people in the slightest.
After a couple hours spent searching the mansion the shinobi decided to give up on finding anything useful. It was clear the place was turned upside down and even secret compartments was found and ripped out of the walls. The pair sat on the porch to the house to think over the carnage. Dead bodies were being laid out in front of them by the contingent of medics from Iwa, Kurotsuchi was standing in the middle of the medics organising logistics, she was putting on a brave face but to a trained shinobi, it was easy to tell she was worried and shocked over the sheer brutality. After a small chat with Hinata about the guards she turned and approached Naruto and Shikamaru, she was tired and rubbing her eyes to massage the strain from them.
"Six guards survived in the end, out of-f-f one hundred and thirty." She looked down as she gave the news to Naruto and Shikamaru.
"Thank you Hinata you did well, hope your eyes are alright." Naruto spoke and gave a short smile which cheered Hinata up as she returned a smile and gazed up at the blond for a brief moment.
"Did you find anything?" Hinata replied to which both ninja shook their heads.
Shikamaru looked up as something clicked into place. "Hey Sakura?"
"Yeah?" She called over and got up to get closer.
"There were kunai wounds in the victims yeah?"
Sakura looked down at her feet. "In around half of them yes."
"Where are they all? If the killer cleaned up after himself he hadn't done a very good job of it. But for this many bodies he must have brought a whole cart of them" The team looked out on the destruction before them.
"Some sort of jutsu?" Hinata thought out loud while looking at her hands. "My gentile fist may not penetrate the skin but maybe he uses something similar that does leave a physical wound, like a chidori."
"Good point Hmm." Shikamaru replied. "We may not be facing anyone visibly armed which is why he is difficult to find. Become fast enough and leave nothing behind means you don't have to be stealthy, just quick. Now why take such a long wait between attacking..."
"Intel?" Sakura added.
"Maybe but it doesn't feel right, if he was targeting Fritushi then I'd imagine knowing about this place would be pretty basic." Shikamaru responded to Sakura.
"Training?" Naruto suggested. "Although, didn't that guy say something about the lightning demon?"
Shikamaru smiled. "Storms, that's how he manages not to attract immediate attention. No one afar would notice lightning in a storm."
"Do you think we can get any more information out of this place?" Sakura spoke while looking around "I don't want to be here any longer than necessary."
Naruto and Hinata both nodded in agreement. The air was stale with death, although no longer silent thanks to the Iwa medics being present, still it was stale and the team wanted to leave as if to catch some fresh air.
"We should be on the look out for someone using chakra based weapons and only during a storm." Shikamaru added and began to walk out of the estate. The rest of his team followed glad to leave such devastation.
As the team walked away from the estate with the evening sky fast approaching; ending up in the shadow of the nearby mountains. When a large crack was heard followed by several other cracks, and echoed throughout the forest. The four ninja jumped in fright and immediately drew their weapons.
"Came from this way." Naruto shouted as he saw the flash of lightning, it was distant and lasted only for a split second but nevertheless unusual. Lightning doesn't usually strike once while there were no other clouds or explanations to cover for the strike. Given what Shikamaru just had discussed there could only be one reason for such an oddity. The team nodded to each other, they channelled chakra into their legs and started to run as fast as possible to where the lightning struck. Naruto, as well as the others, were all thinking that they were close to the killer; because so far only one person they know could use lightning in such a way.
Within ten minutes of fast tracking through the forest they reached a road and stopped before revealing themselves. From the protection of the trees they saw Yonoaka laying on his back. His great sword, equally as impressive as the man himself, had been planted deep into the earth. The team's eyes widened as the realised Yonoaka was lying in a pool of his blood with numerous cuts and burns adorning his body. The four ninja descended to get a better look. Naruto and Hinata on the lookout for anyone nearby. Sakura checked the body while Shikamaru noticed that this was more of a struggle than all the guards at the estate put together. Trees had been felled and creators damaged the road.
"See anything? Anyone?" Shikamaru commanded.
"No one standing out." Hinata confirmed with her Byakugan.
"Damn it we were too late. Shit, we are still too many steps behind." Naruto shouted in Anger, clenching his hands into a tight fist out of frustration. He had seen enough dead in one day.
"I found a note, Shikamaru, I think he found out something before he died." Sakura handed Shikimaru the blood-stained note.