Opening - Scarlet Knight by Nana Mizuki
Beneath the ever-watchful gaze of the five stone Hokages, the light coating of powdery snow on the ground of Konoha was caught by a breeze. It swirled upward in the wind, brushing the ankles of many shinobi in the area. None of them noticed.
The sun was shining unobstructed above the village and the surrounding forest, casting warm light down on the shoulders of the gathered ninjas, as well as the faces of the past Hokages that also watched what was about to happen intently.
Perhaps it was just Tsunade's imagination, but when she glanced at Minato Namikaze's earthen likeness, he almost seemed to be smiling.
She took that as a sign that it was time to take off the traditional white and red hat that was very likely older than she was. She took two short steps forward, and silently handed it to her successor, who nodded and took it gently, resting it atop his head. It was almost scary how right it looked on him, as though he'd been wearing it his whole life.
"The village is counting on you, Sixth Hokage."
"And I'll dedicate my life to them," Naruto answered.
When the gathered shinobi surrounding the Hokage's office saw Naruto step toward the edge of the roof and pull off the ceremonial hat to reveal his face, almost everyone cheered. Those who remained silent didn't do so out of ill will; they simply didn't know what to think. They were, however, very much a minority among the crowd.
"Thank you," Naruto spoke up, and everyone went silent almost immediately. "Ya know, when I was a kid I dreamed of standing here like this, but when I thought of this moment, I never really knew what I was going to do once I got here. I thought that if I became Hokage, that would be the happy ending of my story."
"But that was a long time ago!" his voice rose slightly, and he smiled a bit as he continued, "Now I know how much I still have left to do. I've only just started! Now that I'm really here, now that I'm really your Hokage, I can promise that I will honor this village and protect it with every breath I take. I will never let the Will of Fire be put out; that's my promise to you all!"
The crowd began cheering wildly again, as Naruto disappeared behind the edge of the roof. Once he was out of view, he let out the broad, vulpine grin he'd been holding back due to how serious the occasion was. "I'm the Hokage," he breathed, still only half believing it. "I'm really here..." he took a deep breath, then vanished with his Empty Wind to reappear before Hinata, who was standing near the front of the crowd with a huge smile on her face.
The moment he appeared in front of her, he pulled her into a tight hug and stole a kiss. The crowd approved of this, and they were rather vocal about it.
As the two lovers reluctantly pulled away for a breath of air, they both caught a glimpse of something large and dark making its way through the empty streets. They turned to look at it properly, and realized that it was a cloud of black sand. It came to a stop not far from Naruto and Hinata, then collapsed inward according to Gaara's will.
This revealed him and Tenten, standing side-by-side. He sealed the last of the black sand away into Kuroshi, and Naruto noted that his weapon had been downsized from a katana to a wakizashi, likely for easier use in a reverse grip. Gaara had also changed his outfit into a loose tan robe of the same color as the sand that filled the Land of Wind. A pale blue scarf was wrapped around his neck and shoulders several times, and he was wearing the white and green hat of the Kazekage. He also wore a typical Suna flak jacket, but he wasn't carrying a forehead protector.
"Ah, damn. We missed it," Tenten sighed. Her outfit had also been changed, and the first thing Naruto and Hinata noticed was the presence of a black mask over the lower half of her face, quite reminiscent of Kakashi Hatake's. Might Guy was likely to protest this rather loudly. In addition, the armor plate on her Konoha headband had been painted black as well. However, the onlookers also noticed that she'd added a series of light brown panels of leather over various parts of her body, likely as another layer of armor.
The leather pieces were tough, but flexible and fitted as tightly over the fabric as the fabric was over her skin, sacrificing some of their potential protective value in exchange for not hindering her movement at all. She now wore bracers and shin guards made of the material, as well as rectangular panels of leather over the outsides of her upper arms and thighs. She had also added a section of leather over the front of her ribcage, leaving the black fabric over her belly and back exposed. She also now carried the Suna ANBU kunai Gaara had given her on a strange mechanism that attached the weapon to the underside of her right wrist.
Along with this addition to her barrier armor, she now carried an five-foot-long falchion on her back with a silver, two-handed hilt. The blade, which was nearly eight inches wide, was stained almost black with a slight red tinge to it, but it was stuck directly to her back with some kind of fuinjutsu rather than a scabbard. This allowed Naruto and Hinata to note the subtly visible black fuinjutsu pattern covering the entire blade, which meant that this weapon was likely a unique and destructive ninja tool comparable to Soujihonou, which still sat on Tenten's left hip untouched by the past two years' events.
"At least we're in time for the wedding," Gaara pointed out. "But for now... congratulations are in order, Hokage-dono."
"Hey guys!" Naruto greeted with a renewed grin. "Welcome back to Konoha!"
"It's good to be back," Gaara and Tenten both answered, although Tenten said so in a much louder and more excited tone than Gaara, who was as emotionally reserved as ever.
"Uh, Tenten..." Naruto pointed to the hilt of the sword resting over her right shoulder. "What's with the shounen manga sword?"
"It's my new weapon, Umiyou," Tenten smirked proudly, and tugged lightly on the hilt of the falchion. "Awesome, huh?"
"Come on; there's no way you can even swing that thing," Naruto challenged. "Look, I maintain a healthy respect and admiration for awesome manga weapons, but in real life there's a limit, ya know."
Tenten shrugged, and lifted the enormous sword free of her shoulder with just her right hand, holding it out to her side with an outstretched arm. Naruto's mouth fell open slightly. "Gravity seals. You're right, this sword would be way too heavy for me to lift unless I reduced the weight somehow. Just wait 'til you see what Umiyou can actually do. I think it goes really nicely with Soujihonou's abilities."
"It is rather impressive," Gaara admitted. "To think she created it with little more than a storage seal and her..." he cut himself off, noting the glare Tenten was aiming at him. "...What's wrong?"
"No spoilers," she hissed. "I wanna show 'em myself when the time comes." she returned the enormous weapon to its place on her back and let it go, allowing it to stick to the back of her armor again. "Now then," she shrugged, "Gaara hasn't been to Ichiraku Ramen in two years now, and he's as addicted to the stuff as you are, Naruto." The new Hokage visibly winced in sympathy. "So let's have dinner there tonight, all four of us."
"I'm up for it!" Naruto enthusiastically agreed, then turned to Hinata. "How about you, Hina-chan?"
She nodded with a smile. "It'll be nice for us to catch up with each other."
X
"The first thing I tried was just wrapping up a normal Rasengan in wind chakra, like Hina-chan did with water," Naruto admitted as he finished his fifth bowl of ramen. "But it blew up in my face! I barely had enough chakra control to shape the basic Rasengan with one hand, but to add nature transformation..."
"So how did you get around that?" Tenten asked curiously.
"I had to use the Rinnegan," Naruto declared. "I used the Deva Path to create a field of gravity that keeps the jutsu from expanding until it's destabilized by hitting something. That's how I throw it; I use the Deva Path to push it away like with a Banshou Karu. I also added a frame of Asura Path metal inside the wind chakra blades, to help hold it together. To be honest, it would've been stronger if I'd managed to do it with just shape and nature transformation, but I couldn't pull it off. It was like trying to look left and right at the same time, ya know?"
"So where did the idea for this jutsu come from, anyway?" Tenten prodded. "They both sound awesome, but where'd you get the idea?"
Hinata answered, "The Rasengan wasn't originally meant to be placed within an elemental jutsu; it was supposed to become one directly. The truth is, it's always been an incomplete jutsu. Even my Water Release: Dragon Rasengan was only a stepping stone to something much greater, but it was incredibly difficult to apply nature transformation directly to the Rasengan. In the beginning, I could barely manage it, and it took me several seconds. That's not even mentioning the fact that it used to eat through my entire supply of chakra... but over time, it got easier."
"So..." Naruto glanced at the absurdly massive falchion that Tenten was still carrying on her back. "We told you about our new powers... does that mean you can show us what Umiyou does?" he asked hopefully.
Tenten snorted. "In here? Are you nuts!? I'd burn your favorite ramen shop down!" she lowered her voice then. "Look, Umiyou is my trump card, but that's not the real reason I don't want to show anyone what it does. The thing is, it's not just a fire-based weapon, so when I use it, it's going to make a very big and very permanent mess."
"A... permanent mess?" Naruto repeated, puzzled. "What the heck does that mean?" he sighed. "Tenten, you could at least tell us what it does..."
"No way," Tenten shook her head. "I haven't even used it in a fight yet, not even against Gaara. When I unseal its power for the first time, I want to see the looks of shock and awe on the faces of everyone watching. I want it to be a surprise."
"Fine..." Naruto grumbled, and went back to his meal before another thought occured to him. "Okay, if you can't show us what Umiyou does, at least tell us what's with the kunai attached to your arm."
"Oh, this?" Tenten held up her right wrist and flicked her hand outward, triggering the mechanism that held the kunai in place. The weapon shot out so that the blade reached just past her fingertips, and it locked into place there. "I finally managed to replicate the mechanism you used to make Hinata's staff, and I miniaturized it to fit on my forearm. I've been wanting to make a weapon like this for a while now." She then unsealed a ball of explosive tags from a fuinjutsu on the blade beneath her palm. Naruto and Hinata both noted that the ball was now the size of a Rasengan, and they instinctively moved away from the bomb before Tenten sealed it back into the kunai, which she then retracted with another simple flick of her wrist. "So anyway, how does it feel to finally wear that hat, Naruto?"
Naruto glanced toward the ancient white and red hat that had once been worn by his heroes, from Hashirama Senju to his own father. Now it was resting on the counter of Ichiraku's, next to Naruto's bowl of delicious beef ramen. "It doesn't feel weird, or scary," he admitted. "It feels... I dunno, like I've always been ready for this. Something tells me I won't have any trouble adjusting to the job."
"I'm sure of it, Naruto-kun," Hinata laid a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be a great Hokage, just like you've always said."
Naruto would've moved to kiss her, but he could hear the footsteps of someone quickly approaching Ichiraku's. He glanced over his shoulder, and noted that it was a Hyuuga holding a scroll in his right hand. He was wearing a Konoha headband, so Naruto couldn't tell if he bore the Caged Bird Seal or not.
"Hinata-sama," The Hyuuga bowed deeply, "Hiashi-sama tasked me with delivering this to you, and I wasted no time."
He held out the scroll, and Hinata took it gently with a smile. "Thank you, Tokuma-kun." he bowed again, more lightly this time, and stepped back. Hinata snapped open the wax seal bearing the Hyuuga Clan's symbol, then unfurled the scroll. "Ah... this is..." her eyes narrowed slightly. "I had no idea there were so many."
"What is it, Hina-chan?"
Hinata sighed. "This is a list of everyone in the Hyuuga Clan that my father is suspicious of. He thinks all of these people will revolt once I become the Clan Head and make a move to abolish the Caged Bird Seal. These names at the top are the Main House Elders that conspired against him and were present when he was branded with the Caged Bird Seal. There are only four of them, but he's listed their abilities as well... Kami, they're almost Kage-level."
Naruto sighed. "Great..."
"There's more," Hinata added sadly. "They've influenced almost half of the Main House, and they even have several allies in the Branch House. All of these people are loyal to them," she unfurled the scroll further, "And if we go against them, there'll almost certainly be a civil war between these two halves of the Hyuuga Clan."
"So what can we do about this?"
Hinata rolled up the scroll again. "We can't prevent it, and we definitely can't call off our plans to abolish the seal, so our only option is to let this war begin, then finish it by defeating all four of the Elders. If we do that, at least the Branch House rebels will surrender and have their seals removed. The Main House Hyuugas will probably keep resisting for a while, but hopefully they'll accept the changes to our tradition and rejoin the clan. Without a powerful leader, they won't hold on to their hatred for long."
"What if..." Naruto frowned worriedly, "What if they don't wait until you're named the Clan Head?"
Hinata shook her head. "I know what you mean, but they won't. As far as any of them know, Hanabi is still my father's chosen successor. When I'm named the new Clan Head, it should catch the Elders completely off-guard... although..." she paused thoughtfully, and set the scroll down. "They definitely don't know what we're planning, but they might distrust Hiashi-sama enough to expect a move like what he has planned. In that case..."
"In that case, what?" Tenten cut in when Hinata trailed off again.
"Hiashi-sama intends to name me the Clan Head at the wedding. At a ceremony like this, weapons would be forbidden entirely. Without our chosen weapons, Naruto-kun and I would be somewhat more vulnerable than usual, but it would also be harder for them to assassinate me. They'd need to smuggle some kind of small weapon in, and it would be poisoned as well. If I had to guess, I'd say one of the Elders would conceal a poisoned senbon somewhere in their robes."
"But I don't understand; why would they want to kill you even if you are named the Clan Head?" Tenten asked.
"It's because I've said many times that I want to abolish the Caged Bird Seal. I stopped saying that sort of thing after my father set up this plan two years ago, but for years before that I was open about my opposition to the seal. I should have kept quiet about it, but in those days I never really believed that Hiashi-sama would choose me over Hanabi as his successor."
"On top of that, the Elders have every reason to expect some kind of plot from my father, since they've already betrayed him and marked him with the seal. They would certainly be ready to make a move against me if I'm ever named the Clan Head, and they'd expect it to happen at the wedding if anywhere, because no weapons would be allowed into the area. It's the ideal moment for us, and that's exactly why the Elders would be ready to strike there. They'll have to make a move against me before we can actually start unsealing Branch House members, because if we get that far, we'll have most of the clan on our side."
"Yeah, so about the wedding... When is it, exactly?"
"You guys didn't get your invitations?" Naruto asked, confused. "We sent 'em to Suna the day before yesterday. I guess we'll have to give you new ones... anyway, the wedding's next week."
"Really? So soon?" Tenten's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"We've waited two years," Hinata replied, "and we've only waited this long because Naruto has to be Hokage for our plan to work. Why should we wait any longer?"
X
If asked, most shinobi from outside Konoha would voice their belief that Tsunade Senju is the most fearsome kunoichi in the world, with the Fifth Mizukage being a close second.
Recently, however, most ninja from Konoha itself have changed their own opinions, and cite the Water Goddess, Hinata Hyuuga, as the most powerful and terrifying kunoichi alive.
Surely, then, Tsunade is the second most fearsome? It's all simply a matter of personal opinion and perspective, but surely she takes second place...
"CHA!"
Nope.
As the ground exploded apart before him, Kiba Inuzuka yelped like a purse dog and ran away from the expanding rupture in the earth. In his Baskerville form, he made it to a safe distance away from the earthquake and then turned on his heel, crouching on all fours and staring into the cloud of upward-cast dirt and dust without blinking.
Sakura Haruno emerged and immediately aimed her black-gloved right fist at Kiba again. When the Hellhound dodged again, she whipped her left hand behind her back and pulled one of her preferred weapons from her pouch.
It didn't look like much, after all it was simply a hollowed-out egg shell painted black, at least until Sakura crushed the shell between her palms to expose the powder that filled the shell. She threw it at Kiba's face without hesitation, and the Hellhound cried out while frantically rubbing his eyes. The powder wasn't actually causing him pain, but this wasn't the first time he'd been exposed to Sakura's black eggs, and he knew what they could do.
The eggs Sakura used came in two varieties. The first was a poisonous powder that paralyzed the target within seconds of entering their system, but Kiba had just been hit with the second type, which wasn't poisonous at all. Instead, the second kind of powder was synthesized from Sakura's chakra, and upon contact with an enemy it would dissolve and 'tag' their body with the proper concentration of chakra for Sakura to apply a genjutsu with it.
This genjutsu was different from most, which must be aimed and fired at an enemy with a predetermined effect written into the jutsu. The chakra in the egg's powder was meant to respond to Sakura's own chakra flaring in any kind of pattern, which made it a 'signal-based' genjutsu, the first of its kind. Now that Sakura's chakra was already in Kiba's system, she could trap him in a genjutsu, stop broadcasting that illusion with her chakra, and begin broadcasting a second genjutsu completely at will.
"Demonic Illusion: Tranquil Hell."
Kiba managed to wipe away the last of the powder on his face, but by that point his vision was already being obscured by fallen cherry blossoms in the tens of thousands, surrounding him from all sides in an endless haze of pink. "...Shit," he grumbled halfheartedly, knowing it was already over. He tried to raise his hands into a seal, hoping to break the genjutsu, but already his limbs felt too weak. He struggled to hold them up in a Ram seal, but his tired hands fumbled uselessly against each other before falling limply back to his sides. He was tired.
"Damn it," Chouji sighed, "She got Kiba. Again."
"She's getting used to our tactics," Shikamaru noted calmly. "Next time, we'll have to try some new moves against her."
"Next time?" she questioned with a smirk. "So that means you guys are giving up?"
"...I guess we're considering it," Shikamaru replied.
At the same time, Chouji answered, "Ha! Like hell."
The Nara and Akimichi exchanged less than impressed looks, prompting Sakura to giggle lightly.
"...Fine," Shikamaru grumbled. "I have a new plan."
Sakura readied another black egg, this time of the poisonous variety, and held it lightly with both hands, prepared to crush and throw it at a moment's notice. She watched the two of them murmuring in voices too low for her to hear, then tensed as Chouji turned to her and sprinted forward, expanding to a height of twenty feet as he did. Her grip on the black egg lightened, and she threw it upward at Chouji's face without crushing it.
Chouji's titanic frame exploded into white smoke, and the black egg flew harmlessly through that smoke.
"The hell!?" Sakura's eyes widened, then narrowed again as she peered into the mist. As it cleared, she realized that Chouji was back at Shikamaru's side, along with an unconscious Kiba. Ah... it was just a feint, and their real plan was to get Kiba back. They're going to pulse my chakra out of his system to cancel the genjutsu...
As if on cue, Kiba flailed upward into a sitting position, snarling angrily. "Kami, I hate that genjutsu!" he stood up, and shifted into his enormous Cerberus Mode as his fire aura flared up again, having been extinguished while he was unconscious.
The snow on the ground all around them suddenly exploded upward, instantly grabbing the attention of all four Konoha-nin. The floating snow then gathered around a point between Sakura and her opponents, swirling upward into a miniature tornado of white. Then, the tornado dispersed to reveal Haku Yuki.
In place of the loose blue kimono he once wore, he had long since been wearing a pair of loose, dark blue hakama with lighter blue pinstripes and a white obi belt. Over his upper body he wore a formfitting black shirt with long sleeves that covered his arms, and a thick, heavy white cloak worn open over it all that reached down to his ankles. He also kept most of his hair tied back at the base of his neck, into a loose ponytail that reached down to his waist. He left a few shoulder-length locks out to frame his face.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Haku stated solemnly, "but I was sent here to deliver something from Hokage-sama."
Sakura was the first to relax out of her battle stance. "It's no problem, Haku. But if you're here to deliver something, who's the one supposed to receive it?"
"All four of you," the Ice Release master replied, and pulled four identical envelopes from the pouch behind his back. With the same skill he had honed with his mastery of senbon, he threw the envelopes to each of their recipients before pulling his cloak forward over his body. "I'll just get out of your way, since there's still more for me to do." With that, he vanished in a blur of movement.
"Huh..." Sakura drew a kunai from the holster on her leg and sliced open the envelope. "He seemed to be in a hurry; this must be important."
Sakura's eyes widened, and she read through the entirety of the wedding invitation.
X
A thousand years ago, when the Sage of Six Paths defeated the Ten-Tails and sealed it away inside his own body, everything humans believed in simply changed. If a god like the Ten-Tails could be rivalled and defeated by a mortal man, then what should the human race worship? Who should their gods be? Who could the Sage of Six Paths pray to?
In time, as the way of ninjutsu grew more widespread, and humans found themselves wielding power comparable to the mythical Kami, much of mankind's tradition and faith was changed. This is particularly evident among shinobi, whose modern religious practices bear little resemblance to those in the Sage's era.
This is rarely more apparent than when a shinobi and kunoichi are married.
The guests of the wedding were gathered in a wide open clearing in the forest surrounding Konoha, which was currently dusted with a light layer of fresh snow. The trees were bare of leaves, and the sun was shining directly down into the clearing.
A setting such as this is typically chosen as a way to invite the Kami to the wedding alongside the mortal guests, which in this case included most of the Hyuuga Clan and countless other prominent figures in Konoha.
The guests at the wedding were wearing kimonos in varying styles and colors, and underneath these, most guests were also wearing their chosen shinobi clothing, since this too was traditional. Weapons at a wedding are absolutely taboo, but protective clothing and armor has been permitted since long before the founding of Konoha.
This is because weddings in the era before hidden villages would entail a gathering of both the ninja clans involved, as well as the clans allied with each of them. There were always feuds and grudges, and sometimes an angry guest would attempt to settle an old score even without their weapons. Allowing shinobi to wear their battle gear under their kimonos would help prevent loss of life on what should properly be a joyous occasion.
The exact moment of noon struck, and in the heart of the clearing a vast fuinjutsu took the sunlight pouring down directly from above and reflected it upward into a faint pillar of gold. This was the sign for Naruto and Hinata to each take their first step forward.
In a shinobi wedding, symbolism consistently emphasizes a theme of harmony and equality between the husband and wife. The ceremony is arranged to be symmetrical, yet opposite.
Hinata smiled despite her nervousness, and stepped forward from one end of the clearing, along a path of untouched white snow. To the sides of that path, the snow had been cleared away to reveal yellow and green grass. Over her barrier armor, she wore a heavy kimono that was mostly a deep forest green, but over her shoulders and around her collar there were thin embroidered swirls of ultramarine. Over her face, there were similarly thin lines of black facepaint.
At the other end of the clearing, Naruto caught her eye and smiled as he stepped forward. Black sand provided by Gaara shifted smoothly under his feet as he walked forward, wearing a kimono of the same green as Hinata's but with dark orange accents instead of blue. The same pattern of facepaint was drawn over his features, but in white instead of black.
The themes of opposite colors such as black and white, and in this case also blue and orange, is a further motif of symmetry in the ceremony. The white and black paths leading toward the center of the clearing are always present in a shinobi wedding, although in most cases the pigments required for it aren't so readily available as snow and Gaara's sand. They represent the concept of Yin and Yang, and their meeting in the middle of the clearing is a symbol for how the shinobi and kunoichi being married are completed by each other.
As Naruto and Hinata stepped past the ends of the black and white paths, respectively, they also stepped onto the fuinjutsu in the middle of the clearing, which stopped absorbing the sunlight and instead began to very slightly pull on their chakra. The complex lines of the seal began to glow faintly white, then faded away to leave the grass bare under their feet.
Fully dressed in the ceremonial garb of the Kazekage, Gaara smiled softly along with the two lovers standing before him. "Before we begin... I'm obliged to ask if any guest here can present a valid reason why Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga cannot be wed."
Silence. It was exactly what the two of them had hoped for. Not even a single Hyuuga Elder voiced any argument.
"Very well," Gaara continued after several seconds. "Have you decided which of you will speak first?"
Naruto and Hinata seated themselves on the cold, bare grass, which was also a sign for the guests to sit down. This was another tradition continued from the time before Konoha's founding. If everyone was seated, anyone who got the stupid idea of starting a fight with an old enemy would have to take a moment to stand up before attacking their target, thereby drawing all attention to themselves.
"'Sunny place,'" Naruto began with eminent nervousness, but he smiled as he traced the kanji of Hinata's name with his finger. Although he left no mark on the grass or the ground beneath, Hinata recognized the lines his finger was tracing. "Your name couldn't possibly suit you more, because wherever you go is always a 'sunny place.' To me, that's another thing this facepaint represents," he pointed to the white lines on his face. "It's your light, shining onto me... You make my life brighter. I love you, Hinata."
Hinata's own smile broadened, even as she looked down with a faint blush. "I... I feel the same way, Naruto. I think I always have. In the beginning, it wasn't in this way, but I've loved you since I first saw you. At that time, you were everything I wanted to become, and with your help, I really have. Every day since then, my life has only become happier. You make my life brighter too, and there's nothing I want more than to spend the rest of it with you, Naruto. I love you."
After a few moments of silence, Gaara spoke up again. "This world is full of equal parts beauty and danger. As shinobi, you are destined to face endless peril, but as people, you are also entitled to enjoy the all of the happiness this world has to offer. As husband and wife, you will do both, side by side in marriage."
"Naruto Uzumaki, do you accept this future?"
"I do."
"And Hinata Hyuuga, do you accept it as well?"
"I do."
Gaara took a step back, still smiling faintly. "Very well... the Hokage was unavailable to conduct this ceremony," he nodded to Naruto, who continued to smile. "In his place... I hereby declare under my authority as the Fifth Kazekage, you are now husband and wife. You may kiss."
Naruto and Hinata didn't hesitate for even a brief moment before moving together in time with each other, meeting in the exact center of the clearing with a passionate kiss to begin the rest of their lives.
Every single one of the guests promptly broke into a round of applause. After several seconds of this, Naruto and Hinata pulled apart to breathe. "Congratulations, you two," Gaara said sincerely.
"Thanks, Gaara," the two newlyweds replied promptly, still gasping lightly. Naruto clasped his hands together in the Ram seal, and turned away from Hinata reluctantly. He then swiped his hands through the Snake, Dog, Dragon, and Boar seals before slamming his right palm down on the cold grass. "Seal Summoning Jutsu!" The crowd blinked in surprise as a building of grey stone with only one room inside appeared in front of Naruto. He jumped up onto the bare, flat stone roof of the chamber and called, "I know some of you might be feeling pretty cold out here... this chamber has room for all of us, and it'll take us back to Konoha in an instant!"
He promptly hopped down from the roof and swept Hinata into his arms, kissing her again.
X
The summoned chamber then reappeared in front of the Hokage's mansion moments later. It took much of the crowd some time to settle down, but in a matter of minutes everyone was seated in the Hokage's grand dining hall, which had room for an army of guests.
Gaara surprised everyone by being the first to speak up. "I'd like to be the first to say a few words, if that's alright." He promptly recieved an assortment of nods, grins, and words of encouragement. "Thank you." He strode to one end of the hall, where the floor was raised as a low stage with a podium, and raised his voice to address the entire hall. "I owe my life to Naruto and Hinata. In fact, I owe them even more than that."
Everyone fell silent and listened. "It was Naruto who saved me from my ongoing downward spiral into insanity, and according to him it was Hinata who prevented him from even starting down that same path. The fact that I was able to come here today and bring them even closer together... the fact that I was the one who conducted this ceremony... it only makes me feel even more honored. Naruto, Hinata... thanks to you, I'm truly alive. It's because of you that I've found love in all its forms, and I don't think I'll ever be able to pay back the debt I owe you for that... but I'll certainly try."
"I've seen how strong their love is, and what they can accomplish together... no, actually that isn't true. I don't have the faintest idea of what they can accomplish together... regardless, I wish you two the best," he finished with a smile toward the newlyweds. "Naruto, Hinata, thank you for everything, and I hope you continue to live such a joyous life for many decades to come."
Amidst the impromptu applause, Tsunade stood up with a grin. "I guess I'll go next, then." Gaara returned to his seat as she took the podium. "I met Naruto and Hinata just over two years ago, and I'll admit that my first impression of them wasn't quite so grand as Gaara makes them sound. Granted I was so drunk I could barely stand, but still, these two little brats come out of nowhere when I'd already been having a bad day, and they picked a fight with me. I think Naruto said something about 'kicking my ass and dragging me back to Konoha.'" There were a few quiet snickers scattered throughout the room.
"Yeah, that seems like somthing he'd say, right? But the thing is... that was two years ago. They were thirteen, so I decided to go easy on 'em. Now like I said, I was wasted, so it's all a bit of a blur. After the fight started the next thing I remember is all three of us up to our necks in an Earth Release swamp, while Jiraiya was telling me that not only was I supposed to be the Fifth Hokage, but the kid who put us all in that mess was eventually going to be the Sixth. That really wasn't a good first impression."
"But they grew on me a little," she continued, smirking. "As I got to know the little brats, I started to really see how powerful they were. And I don't just mean how destructive their ninjutsu is, I mean that these two," she pointed to the newlyweds, "are strong, in every sense of the word. It didn't take me long before I started to see that, and then I started rooting for them. I wanted them to come out on top, to win, and earn their happy ending. True, we can never just say the story's over in real life, but this is about as close to a happy ending as these two are gonna get, at least for a few decades." again she turned her gaze to Naruto and Hinata. "So enjoy it, you two. You've come this far and you deserve to be happy."
Tsunade stepped down from the podium, and moments later Hiashi Hyuuga stood up. He made his way to the stage as the eyes of the Hyuuga Clan followed him intently. Taking his place behind the podium, he cleared his throat and began to speak.
"I'm so proud of you, Hinata." The Clan Head smiled at his daughter warmly. "You've become so strong, and so happy. I was a failure as your father for so long, and still you've grown up so well... I just can't tell you how happy that makes me. I'm just as happy that you've found someone to love, who loves you right back. I've seen what you two are like together, and it truly warms my heart to see how far you've come. Hinata, you've grown into someone who I can fully support as my successor. In fact, I didn't want to wait even this long, and I certainly can't wait any longer... effective immediately, I'm stepping down as the Hyuuga Clan Head, and naming you my replacement. I trust you'll do a better job than I have."
As most, though not all of the room broke into a deafening round of applause and cheers, Hinata stood. Meanwhile Hiashi very much failed to drop dead from the activation of the Caged Bird Seal on his shoulder, instead smiling warmly to welcome Hinata to the stage, embracing her as she arrived. Quite a few Hyuuga Elders were puzzled and worried by this.
"Thank you, father," she murmured, "Thank you so much." Hiashi simply nodded, still smiling as she took the podium and smiled. "I have something very important to say... I would've wanted to say it with better timing," she admitted, "but I really believe it can't wait. As of right now, the Caged Bird Seal is a kinjutsu and will not be used any longer by the Hyuuga Clan! Tonight, I will personally unseal the entire Branch House..."
An old man with white eyes at the back of the room stood up and spat across the table he was seated at, glaring at Hinata. Naruto felt a sense of dread wash over him as she fell silent and looked down. "...Hina-chan?"
She pulled something thin and silver out of her right hip, and held it up for Naruto to see. It was a senbon, about half the size of the usual variety. "It's poisoned," she noted.
Naruto's eyes went wide, and his Rinnegan activated with a furious red glow rather than their usual purple tone. He turned his gaze to the old man, who pushed his seat back and took up a Gentle Fist stance.
Naruto lunged, and he was in front of Kouga Hyuuga in the blink of an eye, aiming his right hand at the old man's throat. As expected, Kouga slapped away the Hokage's hand easily, but then pulled his hand away with a hiss. Kouga noted the orange liquid chakra boiling over Naruto's body, and the single tail of the same liquid that extended from the base of the Hokage's spine.
"Tsunade!" The Hokage roared as he picked up the Elder with the Deva Path and whipped him across the room.
"I'm on it!" the Sannin called back, and moved to Hinata's side without hesitation, laying a glowing green hand where the senbon had struck her. "Just hold still," she prompted.
"I intend to," Hinata answered in a steely voice, closing her eyes.
Another Elder, this time an old woman by the name of Himiko Hyuuga, calmly stood up and entered a Gentle Fist pose. "Eight Trigrams: Air Palm." she thrust her right hand forward, and Tsunade's eyes widened. She moved to scoop Hinata into her arms and dodge away, but she knew she wouldn't have time.
"Rashoumon!"
The blast of wind struck a growing wall of wood in front of Tsunade with tremendous force, cracking it but otherwise scattering away harmlessly. Nawaki glanced over his shoulder without taking his hands off the back of the wooden wall, grinning at his sister. "Don't worry, Tsunade-neesan, I've got this!"
"N-Nawaki..." Tsunade breathed, the turned her attention back to Hinata. "It... it's organic... reptilian... snake venom," she decided. "I'm pulling the venom back through your bloodstream to the wound, now. How do you feel?"
"There's no pain, and I don't feel ill," Hinata answered as the skin around her eyes took on a faint electric blue tone, and lines of the same color extended out from the sides of her eyes, disappearing into her hair. The pigmentation was very subtle, but it was there.
"Good," Tsunade nodded as she drew a tiny trace of clear liquid out of the miniscule wound from the senbon. "I've pulled it all out of your system," she noted.
"Thank you. Please stand back, both of you," Hinata opened her eyes to reveal that they were glowing brightly bluish-white. Tsunade and Nawaki obliged, and Hinata jumped upward over the Rashoumon, cracking the floor as she did.
Meanwhile, Naruto pursuing Kouga while the older man kept his distance, throwing Air Palms at Naruto which had little or no effect. The Hokage snarled before reluctantly turning his attention from Kouga to Gaara, who was unable to help since there was no sand in the mansion and he wasn't carrying Kuroshi. "Gaara, get everyone out of here. If Hinata and I are going to go all-out against these guys, we can't have innocent people standing in our way."
"Understood, Hokage-dono," The Kazekage quickly nodded, and headed off to spread the word to evacuate the building.
Kouga's active Byakugan eyes narrowed with interest. If we're going to increase the scale of this battle, it's best I start using my full power to keep up... he clasped his hands together in the Ram seal, drawing Naruto's attention once more. Pulsing his chakra with absolutely perfect control, he took a deep breath and shifted his hands into the Dragon seal.
"Transformation Jutsu."
As smoke exploded outward and filled much of the hall, Naruto's eyes narrowed. "...What the hell?" He got his answer when a striped orange and black paw, almost comparable in size to Kurama's, reached out of the smoke and swatted at him. Naruto dodged, wide-eyed, and dissolved his chakra cloak. Looks like I'll have to go all-out after all...
The colossal tiger was fully revealed when the smoke faded away, and it clawed at Naruto again. This time, however, the Hokage caught one of its razor-sharp black claws and pulled it out. Before the tiger's paw could even bleed, its form dissipated into smoke and Kouga reassumed his true human form. His white eyes widened, and he growled wordlessly for a moment. "What sort of power is that?" he snarled. "Surely it isn't human... you're the Nine-Tails, aren't you? He gave you control of his body!"
"Sorry to burst your bubble," Naruto answered with an echoing, deepened voice within the skull-shaped helmet of bone covering his entire head, "But it's still me. I opened my seal to free the Nine-Tails two years ago, anyway."
The rest of Naruto's body was similarly covered in a layer of armor made entirely of bone, only vaguely resembling some kind of skeleton. His Version Two cloak generated a layer of chakra-synthesized bone whenever he manifested more than six tails, and this was the result of intentionally using this ability.
The skull covering his head bore an extended grin of sharpened teeth that wrapped around the sides of his jaw nightmarishly. Through the holes for his eyes, the legendary Rinnegan shone with a faint glow, although now it was orange rather than purple or red. Over the armor plates covering the rest of his body, there were a variety of designs shaped outward from the bones that represented his real skeleton, most prominently a ribcage and spine. In addition, the chakra cloak still bore a tail, though it was now only a whip-like thin length of vertebrae that swished lazily behind him.
"Now I see why they call you 'Half-Demon' in the Bingo Book," Kouga noted.
"Don't bother trying to start a conversation with me," Naruto answered, forming a transparent black chakra arm that condensed inward to create a thin saber of chakra bone for him to wield. "I don't know why you're trying to stall me, but it won't work. You attacked my wife, and now I'm going to crush you."
Again, Naruto flashed forward with an Empty Wind, but this time he was much faster. Kouga barely had time to react, but he did manage to dodge Naruto's sword in time to save his own life.
Hinata emerged over the top of the Rashoumon just as Naruto began this attack, and she moved toward him with an Empty Wind of her own, albeit a slower one than what Naruto could manage in his Version Three cloak. However, Himiko Hyuuga stepped into her path, catching her senjutsu-infused Gentle Fist strike. Hinata's glowing eyes widened with surprise. "That's..."
"Chakra-enhanced strength, yes," Himiko replied. "Honestly, little girl, did you think you were the only Hyuuga ever to use her chakra control for something more than mere Gentle Fist taijutsu?" the old woman shoved Hinata backward, sending her crashing through a table on the far side of the room. "I'll freely admit, however, that you've matured nicely for one so young. The power in your Water Release jutsu has earned you a great deal of infamy... which in turn means that your enemies will know all about it. That's the consequence of great power... your enemies learn what to expect from you."
Hinata climbed out of the remains of the table, untying her kimono and shedding it to prepare her barrier armor for use. "I understand that," she replied in a low voice, raising her right hand while forming a Rasengan in it. "But you need to realize that not all of my abilities are listed in the Bingo Book." The Rasengan took on a deep blue hue, evolving into its Water Release variant.
Naruto glanced over his shoulder and stopped his onslaught of kenjutsu moves, then blurred backward with an Empty Wind to arrive at Hinata's side. He briefly glanced around the hall, noting that the four of them were now alone. His bone saber crumbled away in his hand, and he formed a Rasengan of his own that began humming and screeching as it turned white, and four small curved blades grew out of the sides.
"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken," he called as it expanded out into a full-sized Fuuma shuriken of wind chakra.
At the same time, Hinata's grasp on the Water Release: Rasengan shifted, and two tapering beams of blue energy shot out from the top and bottom of the sphere, which she held at her side as though it were a staff or a spear. "Water Release: Rasenyari."
Kouga and Himiko deactivated their Byakugan, since at this point the two completed Rasengan were glowing too brightly with chakra for them to look directly at Naruto and Hinata. They were just in time, as moments later both jutsu were flying through the air toward them.
The Rasenshuriken exploded outward and shredded absolutely everything within range of its near-infinite cutting power, while the Rasenyari simply expanded outward in a wave of such tremendous force that the earth immediately began to shake around it. Both S-rank jutsu tore much of the Hokage's mansion apart as they did their work, and the newlyweds dodged falling pieces of the roof together.
When the two jutsu died out, Naruto and Hinata were left standing alone in the ruins of the mansion, with no sign of Kouga or Himiko. "Hinata-chan, do you see them?" Naruto asked.
Hinata nodded. "They got away. They're outside Konoha now, and they're still teleporting further away, heading west."
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