Opening - Scarlet Knight by Nana Mizuki

Above all, there are three jutsu in particular that are always taught to Genin in training. The first, and least impressive of all, is the Clone Jutsu, a basic genjutsu that creates illusory copies of the user. They can be remotely controlled or programmed in advance to perform a certain action, although it will never really have any physical effect. It does, however, have its uses.

For instance, a master of the jutsu can order such a clone to use the Transformation Jutsu, thereby allowing the user to create an illusion of any one being or object they choose.

The Transformation Jutsu itself, however, is much more interesting when used by a real person. Genin are initially taught to use it as a disguise, but since the changes are truly, physically there, the jutsu can also be used as an incredibly versatile weapon. The greater the chakra control of the user, the greater the size they can take. The more chakra they have, the longer they can maintain that transformation.

Third, and perhaps most infamous of all, is the Substitution Jutsu. Using it, a ninja can switch places via a targeted object nearby via teleportation. In effect, it's a space-time ninjutsu that has a negligible chakra cost. It's frequently used by shinobi of all skill levels as a means of escape, but with the proper application of doujutsu and chakra control, it can be taken further, for instance by using it on a thrown kunai.

Kouga Hyuuga, however, was the most skilled user of all three of these jutsu alive. With them, he could create illusions of his choice, only limited by his creativity. He could take the form of enormous, Bijuu-sized monsters to smite his enemies directly.

He could Substitute with air.

Kouga Hyuuga was one of the oldest living ninja in the world, at one hundred and eight years old. With age comes experience, and with experience comes power. Despite the frailty of his body and his fading chakra reserves, he was a force to be reckoned with. But more than that, he was a survivor. That was why he was able to appear beyond the walls of Konoha in a softly blowing gust of wind, out of breath but unharmed, with his niece Himiko in his arms.

He set down the younger but still quite old woman, and paused momentarily to catch his breath. Reactivating his Byakugan, he surveyed the ninja village he had fled from with a scowl. "The fighting has stopped," he noted. "Our allies are following us without resisting the Konoha-nin, and most of them have a solid head start; they won't be caught. Good."

"Should we wait for them?" Himiko asked calmly.

"No..." Kouga sighed in frustration. "We're almost certainly being followed, likely by a team of Jounin or ANBU. If I were to maintain use of my Substitution Jutsu, we could be in the Land of Grass of the Land of Hotsprings within the hour, and we'd lose them easily, but I can't keep it up. My reserves aren't what they used to be, and they were never impressive to begin with."

"Then I suppose we'll have to keep moving normally," Himiko replied, then activated her own Byakugan. "They've already caught Ginmaru and Mika... that's a shame..."

"We knew this plan wouldn't go perfectly, but it was our only option. Besides, of all of us, Ginmaru was the weakest fighter, and Mika wasn't that much better than him. The two of us will fare just as well without them."

"Hm..." the old woman shrugged halfheartedly. "I suppose, even if that weren't the case, there's nothing to be done. They've been captured, and we haven't." she began walking due northeast. "I propose that we make our way toward the Land of Hotsprings, since it's a nice warm climate and there's no one who would object to us staying there for the time being."

"There's no one left there at all, save for a few scavengers and bandits picking over what's left of Yuu," Kouga thought aloud, "So... I suppose I agree. Hotsprings it is."

"I wonder..." Himiko turned her pale gaze upward as she walked, "If we'd used a stronger poison against that brat, perhaps we could've completed the coup today."

"Unlikely," Kouga noted. "There would still have been the Hokage to deal with, and on top of that, I've only developed an immunity to that particular snake venom," he released a senbon from the seal on the inside of his right cheek and held it between his teeth. "Ultimately, the choice of poison was mine, and I do believe I made a reasonable one. We anticipated Tsunade's attempts to cure her, but if that boy with the Wood Release hadn't intervened, your Air Palm would've finished off both Tsunade and the girl."

"I suppose," Himiko sighed. "Still, it troubles me. Perhaps I went into this expecting too much. We've grown rather used to crushing all who resist us, haven't we, Kouga?"

"Even after all these years, you still refuse to address me with the proper honorific," her uncle shook his head in disappointment.

"I'm eighty-five years old," Himiko replied with a dry chuckle. "I'm not going to call anyone ojisan anytime soon." Again, she fell silent for several moments. "Kouga... those jutsu they used against us..."

"We knew they had power levels matching what we saw today. It's troubling that we have to face them both in open battle now, but it's still nothing we can't handle."

"You old fool, I think you can see by now that I'm justified in having doubts," Himiko shot back in an exasperated tone. "You're halfway out of chakra already, and we both nearly died at their hands today. I might've actually managed to match Hinata with my strength; it wouldn't take more than a few punches and she would've fallen, but you? That boy had you completely outmatched, in every way. I saw him catch your tiger's paw like it was nothing. His Rinnegan can see through your clone trick. That only leaves you with your Substitution and Gentle Fist, the latter of which would've again been useless against his chakra cloak. You can't beat him."

"That's not quite true, Himiko," Kouga replied evenly. "It's more fitting to say that I couldn't beat him. I was, and still am, horribly out of practice. I haven't actually carried out a mission in almost forty years. Once I've polished off the rust of all that time, that boy will be powerless against me..." the old man turned and glanced over his shoulder, noting that Himiko had stopped walking beside him and was now falling behind with a shocked expression on her face. "Himiko?"

"W-We're being chased! They're coming at us with incredible speed! It's-!" she was cut off when the earth suddenly shook under her feet, nearly throwing her and Kouga to the ground.

"Damn it!" Kouga snarled, and activated his Byakugan. "Is that you, Hokage-sama? Or have you sent someone else to face us?"

"When last I saw them," Gaara replied as he emerged through the trees with his wakizashi in hand, "Naruto and Hinata were crushing an army of Hyuugas being led by two of your fellow Elders. It was onesided enough without our intervention, so we pursued you instead."

"The Kazekage," Himiko breathed. "Gaara of the Black Death..."

"Aw, man..." Tenten sighed as she revealed herself to stand beside Gaara. "I'm starting to really get jealous of all these awesome nicknames you guys keep getting. Half-Demon, Water Goddess, Black Death. Maybe if I finally use Umiyou, I might be able to fix that. Hell, I could get a cooler nickname than even yours, Gaara."

"You're going to use it against these two?" Gaara sized up the old man and woman in perfect Gentle Fist stances, then stepped forward. "Then let's crush them together, Tenten. We'll hold nothing back, since there's no point in taking them alive."

"Hm..." a sly smirk broke out across Tenten's face as she took a step forward. "I don't know about going that far, but let's at least get started. Fuinjutsu: Kekkai Kokuei!"

A circular seal with six complex sealing points lit up between Tenten's shoulder blades, glowing brightly white against the pitch-black fabric of her suit. For a moment, that white light turned crimson with a slight orange tone before spreading across the entirety of her barrier armor and fading away again. Then, a sleek black liquid surged forth from the seal and wrapped itself around Tenten entirely, covering even her hands and head. It condensed and smoothed out into a layer of the chakra-synthesized material over her like a second skin, hardening while remaining flexible.

"...No," Tenten mumured reluctantly, with her voice and apparently her vision unobstructed by the metallic black barrier covering her face. She drew Soujihonou smoothly from its scabbard, and pointed the tip of the jian at Kouga. "I don't think the time is quite right to use Umiyou yet, but maybe if you can hold up against Soujihonou, I might just change my mind."

"Ah," Gaara intoned thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose Soujihonou should be enough for these two. In that case... Stain, Kuroshi." A sizable flood of black sand poured forth from Kuroshi's shortened blade, then flowed rapidly toward Himiko.

Himiko retreated backward away from the sand, while Kouga threw himself to the side of the glowing orange blade that immediately shot through the air where his heart had been.

"What sort of jutsu is that?" Kouga asked incredulously, then his eyes widened as he realized that she was already pointing Soujihonou at him again. The blade of light shot forward again, and Kouga brought his hands together in a seal before vanishing completely, leaving Soujihonou's glowing blade to again pierce only the open air.

He reappeared in front of Tenten and switched to a new hand seal, exploding into a fresh cloud of smoke and emerging with a plain-looking katana clenched in both of his hands. He slammed his weapon against hers fiercely, but again his eyes widened slightly as she failed to even budge from the impact. It was like his weapon had struck a stone wall.

"Surprised?" Tenten couldn't help but grin behind her Kekkai Kokuei. "Honestly, so am I. You didn't pull that sword out of a seal, and the jutsu you used didn't seem to be a summon either... so how'd you do it?" She pushed her sword forward easily, flinging Kouga back a solid distance, but the old man landed on his feet. "Tell me, and I'll explain a bit about my own weapon."

Kouga again gave off a cloud of white smoke, and he stepped forward without the katana in his hands. "Simply put, I transformed into a version of myself wielding a sword. I haven't used kenjutsu in ages, so I'm not very good at it these days, but I wanted to test your strength and reflexes to see if close-range combat was a reasonable option against you, with or without the rust in these old arms of mine." He coughed lightly. "Apparently not."

"You're getting weaker already," Tenten observed. "It's understandable that you wouldn't have much stamina at your age, but I'm curious. If that's the case; if you can't keep up in a fight these days, then why'd you do something as stupid as attacking Hinata?"

"Don't jump to any conclusions, little girl." Kouga cracked his lower back and sighed briefly at the relief it gave him. "I may have poor chakra reserves and physical stamina in my old age, but that doesn't mean I can't match you. It simply means I have to kill you quickly, rather than letting the fight draw out."

Meanwhile, Himiko found herself retreating further away from Gaara's sand, while the Kazekage regularly continued to unseal more of the black powder and guide it toward her. With her Byakugan, she caught sight of a massive wave of sand already approaching her from behind, curving forward to surround her from all sides. Well, I suppose it can't be helped... "Eight Trigrams Revolving Heaven!" she called, and spun up a whirling shell of chakra around herself, catching and scattering Gaara's sand. It still surrounded her, but within the sphere of brilliant bluish-white chakra she was safe.

"Hm?" Kouga activated his Byakugan for a moment, rather than wasting chakra by keeping it active. "It seems Himiko is having a bit of trouble over there..." The sand was suddenly thrown back in all directions by an Air Palm Himiko fired while still spinning inside her Revolving Heaven. "But only a bit. Himiko," he raised his voice to grab her attention, "What say we switch opponents? My talents are better suited to fighting the Kazekage, and you seem to be having trouble with him. Perhaps you'd fare better against this girl."

"I suppose you're right," Himiko agreed, allowing her Revolving Heaven to fade as she panted. "I'd be spending too much chakra if I kept pushing back his sand..."

"Then what makes you think I'll let you fight Tenten instead?" Gaara asked sternly, and swept a great wave of sand toward her.

"You don't really have a say in the matter," Kouga replied, and Substituted with Himiko to place himself in front of the black sand. "Transformation."

"Ah, much better," Himiko sighed, sizing up Tenten with her Byakugan. "That barrier of yours has an additional current of chakra running through it, parallel to the natural chakra flow in your body. What's the significance of that, I wonder?"

Tenten vanished, and blinked back into existence behind Himiko with her jian raised. She brought Soujihonou down toward the old woman's shoulder, but she blinked in surprise when Himiko caught the weapon, pinching the flat of the blade tightly between her fingers. "Ah. Chakra enhanced strength and speed, then. Interesting... It's not like the usual movement techniques I've seen. Rather than accelerating your movements with chakra in your legs, or perhaps teleporting through various means, what you're doing is moving the barrier itself in tandem with your own body at incredible speeds, and with great force."

Tenten tugged lightly on Soujihonou's hilt, but when the old woman's grip failed to give, she flared her chakra through the seal and ignited the orange chakra blade instead, to burn Himiko's hand. Himiko's grip faltered as she instinctively let go for a moment, but then she caught it and tightened her grip even more fiercely.

Tenten gasped in shock as the blade bent and snapped in two. Tapping into her Kekkai Kokukei's speed, she snatched the broken half of the sword from midair and retreated to a proper range for ninjutsu. "...Damn you, my sword is..."

"Little girl..." Himiko turned and faced Tenten with a wicked smirk, "It won't be the last thing of yours that I break."

Tenten slipped both halves of Soujihonou back into its sheath, then drew Umiyou from her back instead, swinging it lightly through the air with only her right hand. "Hey now, don't get ahead of yourself," she replied lightly with a smirk of her own. "It won't be too much trouble for me to reforge Soujihonou once I'm done with you, but it means I have to step it up a notch. This sword, Umiyou, is made of a much stronger, denser metal. I lightened it with a seal though, so it's just as easy to swing around."

"Why lighten it with a seal, if you already have amplified strength?" Himiko asked fairly.

"Why weigh myself down with a heavier, clumsier sword, even if I can handle it?" the inventress countered. "With both of my blades, I can use my enhanced strength and speed to swing them far faster than a normal swordsman could swing a normal blade, even though Umiyou is much larger than a sword of its style should ever be. But to be honest, that's the least of your worries." she stabbed Umiyou's tip into the ground before her, and clasped her hands together in the Ram seal. "Kekkai Kokukei: Seigen."

"Restriction?" Himiko repeated curiously, then glanced around with her active white eyes, noting the black barrier pieces that had shot from Tenten's body in all directions, expanding around the battlefield to form an irregularly shaped barrier that surrounded the four combatants. "What's the point of this? I could easily break free of this prison."

"It's not supposed to contain you," Tenten replied, pulling Umiyou free of the earth and pointing it at Himiko. "It's just meant to keep me from burning this forest down."

Meanwhile, Gaara withdrew his black sand away from Kouga's tiger form, gathering it tightly into a surging fountain of sand around his feet. "So she's using it after all... I'd better switch tactics against you, then... let me show you one of the Four Incarnations of Kuroshi. It's been a long time since anyone other than Tenten pushed me to use one, but in a way, I suppose it's still her after all. Fourth Incarnation: Kurojin."

The golden eyes of the colossal tiger narrowed, and it leaned down to closely watch as Gaara's sand was all pulled back toward the blade, seemingly sealing itself away again. Kouga froze momentarily, however, when he realized that Kuroshi was now much longer than the wakizashi had once been. "You've made a longer blade of sand for your sword... I don't see what makes that so impressive, but-"

Gaara swung his weapon, and all four of the tiger's limbs were cleanly severed. Kouga screamed and exploded into smoke, which faded after a moment to reveal his unharmed human form. "This blade is made up of the entirety of Kuroshi's sand, compressed and sharpened into an absolutely perfect cutting edge. It weighs several thousand pounds, and no human could possibly wield it with only their physical strength. Using my mastery over sand, I'm not only holding it together, but I'm also holding it up."

"It seems so simple," Kouga admitted, "And yet it was able to cut through one of my favorite transformations so easily..."

"That's not all." Kouga's eyes widened as he felt the cold grip of Gaara's black sand tightening around his ankles. "I was able to cut your tiger form because whenever I swing Kurojin, a small fraction of the sand is flung away with incredible force, yet it remains condensed into something much like a blade. It tore through the limbs of your tiger form and kept going. Sand Coffin."

Just before Kouga would've Substituted to safety, his feet were crushed into paste by Gaara's sand. He screamed and fell forward, landing on his hands and knees as he continued to howl. "Damn you! Transformation!" This time, he simply took the form of an uninjured version of himself, and flared his chakra again to Substitute with the air next to Himiko. He scooped her into his arms just before Tenten could unleash Umiyou, and vanished with her.

"Damn it..." Tenten sighed loudly. "Ugh, I was just about to use it too... do you think we should follow them?"

"...No," Gaara decided. "Kouga's legs are destroyed from the mid-calf down. He'll die of blood loss from that injury, which leaves only Himiko as a valid threat. The Hyuuga traitors still active within Konoha are the more pressing matter. We should head back to the village."

X

There are several iconic buildings in Konoha that have stood since the village itself was founded. Among them was the Hokage estate, which had served as the home of each Hokage through the decades, from Hashirama Senju to, albeit briefly, Naruto Uzumaki.

Much of it was now destroyed, but there were a few rooms that were fully or partially left standing. Still, with all the damage done to even those, the mansion wasn't worth the effort of saving, instead it would likely be fully torn down and rebuilt anew.

This was the first sight Tsunade Senju took in as the dark cocoon around her opened up, letting in the warm afternoon sunlight. Instead of fleeing the mansion when the Hyuuga Elders made their move, Nawaki had decided that the two of them would be safer if he immediately erected a dense shelter around them with his Wood Release.

From the outside, the shelter looked to be a giant egg of wood covered in thick brown bark, which was in turn wreathed in a layer of dark green moss. It cracked at the top, then split completely in two to reveal Nawaki and Tsunade to the open air.

Tsunade simply stared in horror at what she was seeing. "...This is... it's all completely gone..." she stepped forward shakily. "The whole mansion is just gone."

"Eh... it's not actually gone," Nawaki corrected, lightly kicking a fallen piece of one of the walls. "It's just down here."

"But where is everyone?" the former Hokage cast her gaze around quickly, searching for both allies and enemies. "Where are Naruto and Hinata?" her eyes widened as she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her from behind, and she whirled while raising her fists in a taijutsu stance.

"Hey, take it easy," Naruto held up his hands disarmingly. "It's just me."

"How can we be sure?" Nawaki asked. "You could be in a disguise."

"Yeah, I guess I could," the Hokage admitted, "but a Transformation Jutsu can't do this." He drew his sword, having retrieved it after the battle, and slashed open his left palm. Nawaki visibly winced, but watched as the wound healed.

"That really wasn't necessary, Naruto." Tsunade crossed her arms. "I would've known if you were a Hyuuga in disguise."

"Maybe so, but Nawaki wouldn't. It's good that he wanted me to prove my identity; it shows that he's being cautious." Naruto flicked some of his blood from the sword, and sheathed it again. "Follow me; most of Ninken's waiting for us in my office." as he began walking away, he paused in his speech. "I can still barely believe it's actually my office now, ya know?"

"Just be careful not to wreck it. After all, it happens to be a hundred-year-old piece of history," Tsunade snarked, just as she and Nawaki proceeded to follow him.

"Jeez, what the hell was I supposed to do?" Naruto groaned. "If Hina-chan and I hadn't been the ones to wreck this place, Kouga and Himiko would've done it for us. So what was the point in holding back?"

"Relax, kid, I'm just messing around with you. What's done is done, and it's not like we can't rebuild. Besides, you do still have the Uzumaki Clan's mansion."

"At least until a Kage-level ninja tries to kill me and Hina-chan there too," the Hokage deadpanned. "Anyway, Nawaki, you're getting the hang of the Wood Release pretty quickly. Just how good are you with it now?"

"I've been reading about what grandpa could do, and he's way ahead of me with this stuff, but I guess that's to be expected," Nawaki admitted. "He was the First Hokage, and I'm only a fourteen-year-old Chuunin. But yeah, I'm getting the hang of it. You saw that huge wall of wood I made during the battle right?"

"Yeah. You saved Hina-chan and baa-chan... now that I think about it, you saved their lives! I don't even know how I could thank you for something like that..."

Nawaki shrugged. "I didn't do it 'cause I wanted someone to thank me. Anyway... that jutsu I used is called 'Rashoumon,' and the wall I made is only a replica of a set of gates that were made by a Senju almost a thousand years ago, apparently. The real ones are near indestructible, and they repair themselves even if they're damaged. They're actually tied to a summoning contract, but once I get good enough with my Wood Release I should be able to summon 'em without that contract."

"That sounds pretty useful," Naruto mused. "So what else can you do?"

"I'm not really good at attacking with my Wood Release, but I know a few other defensive jutsu. I already showed you the Thorn Armor Jutsu, and the one I used to protect neechan and I was the Wooden Cocoon Cradle. Right now, I'm trying to learn the Houbi Jutsu and the Nativity of a Sea of Trees. It's slow work, but I'll get there."

"I'm sure you will," Naruto agreed, then jumped slightly as Gaara and Tenten appeared before him in a blur of movement. Hesitantly, he released his grip on the hilt of his sheathed blade, and allowed a grin to cross his face. "Hey guys. I can see it went well."

"It went well?" Tenten sighed loudly, and drew half of Soujihonou from the scabbard on her hip. "That old lady busted my sword, and both of them got away."

"So it didn't go perfectly." Naruto shrugged. "You're both alive; that means it went well."

"And only Himiko got away," Gaara added. "I destroyed both of Kouga's legs from the mid-calf downward. Once he runs out of chakra, his Transformation will dispel and he'll die of blood loss."

Naruto nodded. "So there is some good news." He resumed walking toward the Academy where his office was located, and Gaara and Tenten followed along with Tsunade and Nawaki. "On the other hand, close to a hundred Main and Branch House Hyuugas successfully fled the village today. They'll attempt to take over Konoha when they come back, so we need to get ready."

X

Less than an hour now.

Kouga took another deep breath, and shifted slightly where he sat cross-legged, meditating to conserve as little energy as possible while maintaining consciousness. It was just past midnight, and most of his allies were asleep in what meager shelters they could produce out here. The loyalists to the true Hyuuga Clan numbered less than a hundred, but not much so.

"How long do we have now?" Himiko asked quietly, where she sat next to him.

He'd almost forgotten she was there along with a medic-nin, a young man from the Branch House who was tightly clutching a large roll of sterilized fabric.

"If I had to guess, I have about fifty minutes until I run out of chakra," Kouga replied calmly.

"Kouga-sama," the Branch Hyuuga spoke up, "Please drop the Transformation. Sooner or later, your wounds will return, and it's better that you don't face them while completely exhausted. The sooner you drop the transformation, the more likely you are to survive."

The Elder chuckled dryly. "Boy, we both know I'm going to die tonight. Both of my feet were crushed off at mid-calf; the blood loss from that injury will kill me in a matter of minutes once I return to my real form. But if I can sustain my life for even an hour longer, I might be able to contribute in some way to our plan of counterattack. I'm older than the Hidden Leaf Village, you know."

"Fascinating."

Kouga didn't bother activating his Byakugan or turning around; both options would take even more of his fading energy and would also bring him further out of his trance. Himiko and the medic-nin, however, both whirled and shot to their feet, since the voice wasn't that of a Hyuuga.

In the near pitch-darkness of the night, the newcomer stepped forward and continued with an almost audible grin, "Such resolve... I wonder, was it Naruto Uzumaki who injured you, then?"

"...No," Kouga spoke up. "It was the Kazekage."

"Ah..." the intruder stepped forward again, and his silhouette became very faintly visible to Himiko and the Branch Hyuuga. He was a young man wearing a loose, ankle-length robe of a dark color. His hair was either short or tied back. "Gaara. He's always been a serious threat, even when he was a boy, what with the One-Tail sealed inside him and that black sand of his. At your age, you're lucky you survived such a battle."

"I didn't. I'll be dead within the hour, boy."

"Oh, but is that really inevitable?"

Kouga's eyes snapped wide open, but he still didn't move or activate his Byakugan. "...Who are you?"

"I'm a collector of powerful things, that's all. Jutsu, bloodlines, weapons. I take whatever I can find to make myself stronger... no, to complete myself."

"And you're here for a Byakugan."

"Oh, obviously I wouldn't just take one. No... that would be much too rude. I'm here to buy your eyes."

"And what could you possibly have to offer me, in exchange for the power of the Hyuuga Clan?" Kouga growled, less than amused.

"Renewed youth, and fresh pair of Byakugan eyes."

In the gloom, Kouga closed his eyes again and breathed softly. "...Go on."

"I have an assistant here with me who knows a kinjutsu called the Living Corpse Reincarnation. He can perform it, and transfer your soul into the body of a younger Hyuuga, whose consciousness would be sealed away by your own, leaving you in total control of the body. Once that's done, I'll take the Byakugan from your abandoned original body, and use it as I see fit."

After several seconds of thought, Kouga allowed himself to smirk. "And how many times can your assistant perform this jutsu?"

"As many times as you wish, although of course I'll expect an impressive payment for each use. Immortality is quite a valuable prize, don't you agree?"

"You'll transfer my soul into a young Hyuuga's body, and you'll do the same for my niece here." Himiko blinked. "In exchange, you'll have my Byakugan in addition to a kekkei genkai of your choice from Konoha, once we take it over."

"Tempting... but why should I wait until you take control of Konoha? Just bring me a sample of the subject's blood. And try not to kill him, of course. One of the most powerful kunoichi in the world cares very deeply for his safety."

"Naruto Uzumaki, then. You want a sample of his blood."

"Actually, no," the young man replied. "having his blood wouldn't give me a Rinnegan. I want a blood sample from Nawaki Senju."

"Hm... that shouldn't be too hard to acquire. Certainly much easier to do than wounding the Hokage and escaping with our own lives," Himiko mused. "Very well. In exchange for the Byakugan and that boy's blood, you'll give us both new bodies. Of course, before that can happen we'll need to know who we're striking a deal with."

"My name is Kabuto Yakushi, and I'm the Second Otokage... my assistant here was unofficially the First Otokage, Orochimaru. Speaking of which..." Kabuto turned and looked over his shoulder. "Give us some light, Orochimaru. We can't perform such a delicate operation in pitch-darkness, can we?"

"Very true," Orochimaru purred, as wooden clacking sounds echoed softly in the dark. "Fire Release: Candlelight." a ball of warmly glowing orange light appeared, floating innocently in front of Orochimaru's hands, which were clasped in the Tiger seal and very obviously made of terracotta rather than flesh. The light also revealed that Kabuto and Orochimaru were both wearing black robes with a red cloud pattern. "Now then... for optimal results, it's best that you choose exactly the body you want to take, rather than simply using the nearest candidate. If we have an hour until Kouga-san here runs out of chakra, then we need to use that hour efficiently."

"Understood," Himiko replied with a somewhat excited smirk. "I already have a pair of... donors in mind."

Kouga resumed meditating, tuning out the rest of the conversation and falling back into a trance. Eventually, that trance began to deepen into actual sleep, despite Kouga's alarmed protests against it. If he fell asleep, his Tranformation would end, and his wounds would reappear. He would die of blood loss within minutes.

But I can't help it... I'm so tired...

No, I have to stay awake!

Tired...

Stay awake...

Too tired.

A sudden flash of golden light woke Kouga, and he sat up with a gasp. He rubbed his eyes, having been momentarily blinded by the sun. Everything's so bright now... "So I'm dead. Lovely," Kouga grumbled sarcastically.

"You're not dead, ojisan."

Kouga turned and looked over his shoulder, surprised. "That voice... Himiko?" his eyes widened as he spotted her. The body she had taken was of a young woman who didn't look to be much older than twenty, with a petite, slender figure. Her hair was of a light brown tone, and hung down to the middle of her back. The woman had been a Main House Hyuuga, judging by her lack of a Caged Bird Seal, and she was still wearing an off-white kimono which indicated that she had been present at the wedding.

"It worked. Don't you feel so much more powerful?" she grinned. "I've got at least a dozen times as much chakra as I had before, and I feel so alive!"

Kouga stood shakily, and activated his Byakugan to look at himself. His new body was that of a Main House Hyuuga in his late twenties, with spiky black hair a few inches long that was swept backward. He was of an average height and build, and he was also wearing a white kimono from the wedding. "...You're right," he breathed. "I've never felt so powerful before! Kami, all this chakra... this man was a Jounin, and a powerful one. With this, I'm invincible!"He slapped his hands together in the Snake seal, and roared, "Transformation Jutsu!"

The grove around him was filled with a rapidly expanding cloud of white smoke.

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