Hinata's hands glowed green with chakra as they closed cuts all along his face. His brass goggles had been removed and he stared around with his blank pupil-less eyes. Hinata stared at them looking at the thin purple scars that framed his eyes; they doubtlessly had been intentional cuts made around his eyes with surgical care. She ran one of her fingers over the scars feeling the rough surface. "How did you get these?" she asked tracing the line down to his temple. "Did you get these in prison?'

Kumo nodded, "they tried whatever they could to replicate my Byakugan" he explained grabbing his goggles and sliding them on again.

The sound of metal scraping against stone turned everyone's heads; Tenten limped into view Nenshō hanging off her shoulder knees weak, Zabuza's sword dragged behind them on the ground.

"Tenten" said Naruto moving to help her, she handed Nenshō off to him and limped over to Hinata while Naruto took the sword and moved Nenshō to the wall next to Kumo leaning him and the sword against it.

"Noburu?" Kumo asked turning to his comrade.

"Dead" he answered too exhausted to even open his eyes, "Died of anemia," he explained.

Kumo looked at Zabuza's sword leaning against the stone wall and smiled, Nenshō chuckled despite the pain.

Hinata healed Tenten's leg beads of sweat running down her forehead; she had been using the Byakugan for the whole fight and was feeling the strain on her chakra with medical Jutsu. "You fractured your ankle but you should be fine if you stay off it for a while."

"I'm fine look at Nenshō, he's hurt pretty bad." She said sitting down.

Hinata nodded and moved to him taking his hands in hers, she surveyed the damage with her Byakugan, his fingers were horribly broken in several places slivers of bone cut into the muscles this was one wound that wouldn't heal quickly. She poured her chakra into his hands trying to move and knit the bones back together. If he had allowed his hand to heal naturally she wasn't sure he'd be able to use it properly, she suspected it'd take a few days for her to completely knit the tiny bones back together properly.

Hinata took the bandages from her pack and wrapped his hands tight so they couldn't move and cause further damage. "If you want to use these hands again I suggest you refrain from moving your fingers, you're going to be unable to use them for a while."

Nenshō cursed holding up his bandaged hands, "I suppose I should be lucky to use them at all, I couldn't even move my fingers without the chakra strings to help."

"How did you do that? It looked painful." asked Tenten leaning on the wall next to him wrapping gauze aground her ankle.

"It was painful" he answered with gritted teeth, "Immensely so…. Why'd you grab the sword?" he asked looking over at the blade shining anew in the moonlight.

"I thought you could use it… poetic justice and all that." She said smiling, "Turned out to be a good idea in the end."

They all sat there in in silence watching the artificial fog lift with no master to create more, aside from the sounds of their collective breathing and the chirping of crickets in the distance no one made a sound.

The silence was broken as Kumo stood up bracing against the wall ignoring Hinata's protests; he lifted the goggles from his eyes the veins of his Byakugan popping from his skin. "We're not done yet" he said pointing into the mist.

Everyone followed his finger to three forms emerging from the fog; white faceless masks concealed their faces the four waves cut into the surfaces marking them as hidden mist ninja.

Hinata stepped forward activating her own Byakugan, "Stay behind me" she whispered, Naruto moved to her side taking a shuriken from his weapon pouch.

"Don't bother" said Nenshō standing up and shuffling past them both with Kumo, "this isn't your fight… we knew they'd find us eventually so we've prepared for this."

"If you're worried about the Byakugan I assure you it won't fall into their hands, they can't take me alive to copy it."

Naruto gritted his teeth and grabbed Kumo's shoulder, "Who said I needed your permission to protect you? We promised to see you both through this and that's exactly what we're going to do."

"That's right" said Hinata stepping in front of Nenshō blocking his path.

Nenshō smiled, "Not that we don't appreciate the sentiment… the agreement you made was to help us kill Noburu and finish Zabuza's orders, you've already fulfilled your agreement so don't act like you owe us anything."

Kumo shrugged off Naruto's shoulder, "we knew they'd find us eventually" he explained, "we knew from the beginning it was going to inevitably end like this. Nenshō and I knew the consequences when we began this mission."

"Consequences?" asked Tenten pulling a ball and chain from her scroll, "consequences for what? Killing that treacherous trash Noburu? Or are you talking about your Kekkei Genkais? Either one I'm not buying it so stay behind us and shut up."

"We're not your comrades' damnit," growled Nenshō.

"I don't know about that," Kakashi stepped in front of Hinata taking the front of the formation, "you've already fought alongside us, and certainly gained my respect, what say the rest of you?"

Naruto smirked and looked at Hinata who nodded, "Were not about to set aside for these bastards" He said.

Tenten smirked, "I'm willing to fight these creeps so long as the redhead doesn't call me bun-head again."

Kakashi smirked, "that's very good… but I don't think this will have to come to fighting meaning you can spit out that poison capsule."

Kumo sighed and spit out a small rubber pill that had been clenched in his teeth, "You better be right Kakashi, we're putting everything on the line here."

Kakashi nodded and stepped forward to meet the tracker ninja.

"We're here to retrieve those two fugitives" one of the trackers explained stepping out of the mist, "we have orders from our village to use violence if necessary."

"One of these so called fugitives" said Kakashi "is a member of our villages Hyūga clan, unless you are willing to start a war with the hidden leaf I suggest you allow us to be on our way."

"The leaf can't start a war if they don't know what has happened here… and who's to tell anyone if you're all dead?"

Kakashi crossed his arms, "I thought that option would cross your minds, but if you're going to think like that let me warn you that you're hardly prepared to handle the consequences."

"Consequences?" one of them asked, "You six are in no position to make threats, you may outnumber us but you've hardly any chakra left among you for a fight, and we're more than ready for a fight, half of you can hardly stand let along preform a Jutsu."

Kakashi held his hands up in mock surrender, "oh no, I hardly mean us" he said smiling, "You are certainly right that you possess the capability to defeat all of us… I mean if you're ready to start a possible war with the Leaf, you see after I handled those bounty hunters I wrote a scroll detailing everything to the Hokage… including Kumo's Byakugan and the mist villages interest in it. I gave the scroll to one my ninja dogs and sent it to Konoha… you'll never be able to catch up to him now he's already crossed into the Land of Fire."

"You what!" cried Kumo clenching his fists.

"He's lying" said one of the trackers behind the leader.

"Am I?" asked Kakashi, "Seems to be a pretty large gamble just for one fugitive… even if you do kill us all the Hokage will know what the Hidden Mist has done here tonight."

The tracker that had spoken out drew a Kama from a sheath but the leader held his hand up, "the risks here aren't worth the potential prize… we'll leave Kakashi tell your Hokage the hidden mist sends its regards." The faceless figures disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kumo glared at Kakashi, "You weren't bluffing were you? You told the Hokage?"

Kakashi nodded, "I did and I also told her to keep news of this away from the Hyūga clan, I'm sorry to say this but I can't let the two of you just walk away from all of this, I'm afraid I have to take you two in for questioning, I'm sorry but I have a duty to perform."

Nenshō stepped forward holding his wrapped hands up ready to fight, "You don't think I'll just let you hand Kumo over to the Hyūga clan? You know what they'll do to him!"

"That's right" said Hinata, "My farther won't hesitate to seal his Byakugan… and that's if he doesn't decide to kill him."

Kakashi turned to him, "Now hold on everyone, didn't I say I told the Hokage to keep this news away from the rest of the Hyūga clan… I'm not planning on leading you two to your death."

"Then what are you planning?" asked Kumo eyeing him with curiosity.

"I won't impression you two… and I can't let you two wander free least you both get captured. I therefore see no choice but to see that the both of you become leaf shinobi."