Opening - Scarlet Knight by Nana Mizuki
"The time has come for us to discard the outdated labels of 'Main' and 'Branch' Hyuuga," Hinata called loudly, drawing the attention of the entire Hyuuga Clan who were gathered before her in a large, open room of the clan's compound. "As of now, we are simply the Hyuuga Clan!"
With Naruto, Neji, Hanabi, and Hiashi at her side, she held up an engraved golden disc about the size of the average ryou coin, and the Branch House cheered deafeningly.
"...What is that thing?" Naruto asked Hanabi quietly.
"That's the Caged Bird's Key," his sister-in-law replied. "When the seal was designed about a hundred and fifty years ago, the Hyuuga Clan decided it was too dangerous to just let any Clan Head or Elder learn how to apply and remove it, so instead they created a Stele and Key which simply need a burst of chakra to brand someone with the seal or erase it."
Hinata turned to Neji first, laying the coin over the center of her cousin's seal. Meanwhile, Naruto murmured, "Hanabi-chan, can I ask you something else?"
"Hm?"
"Are you... okay with this? With Hina-chan being the Clan Head instead of you?"
Hanabi remained quiet for a moment, before letting out a giggle. "Naruto, you know I'm nine years old, right? To be honest, I hadn't ever really considered what it would be like to be the Clan Head. On the other hand," she glanced around the room at the gathered Hyuugas, "I don't think this would've been my first move as Clan Head, but it seems to be making everyone happy, so there can't be anything wrong with it. If there was, at least one person would be saying so, right?"
"...What makes you say you wouldn't do this?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Tradition is what the Hyuuga Clan does best, and we've had the Caged Bird Seal for so long... to me, it almost feels wrong to let go of it. Almost, but not quite." she smiled softly. "I suppose I always thought the seal wasn't such a bad thing, that it didn't hurt the Branch House unless the Main House actually used its curse, but when I look now, I can see how happy everyone is to be rid of it. Even a few kids I know who've never actually had their seals activated, and some Main House Hyuugas who've never even worn the seal. Now I can see that we're better off without it."
Neji stepped backward, then turned to the gathered clan to display his now-bare forehead. Hinata called, "Please line up one by one, and don't worry if you're far back in the line. I can understand your eagerness, but there's no rush."
This went significantly better than Hinata had expected; the remaining Branch Hyuugas lined up calmly in front of her rather than giving in to their excitement and rushing toward her in hopes of having their seals removed even sooner. Hinata beamed, and laid the golden disc over the center of the first Branch Hyuuga's forehead. With a simple, light pulse of her chakra, the lines on that man's forehead dissolved away, and he quickly stepped aside to allow her to do the same with the next Hyuuga, a fourteen-year-old girl. After that, there was a middle-aged man and two elderly women in a row, followed by another young man.
One by one, their seals were removed, and the entire Hyuuga Clan was smiling.
Among them, one smile was forced and fake.
Mariko Hyuuga gently rubbed her forehead, where the Caged Bird Seal had been erased by Hinata. Near the center of where the mark had been, there was still an incomplete black line running diagonally across her forehead, normal ink which she simply rubbed away. That part of the seal had been erased carefully by Kouga Hyuuga, freeing her forever from the haunting fear of the Caged Bird Seal's torture function. The telltale gap in the seal was then covered up with ink, even though she preferred to keep a forehead protector over it as well.
But that wasn't all. In exchange for that freedom and a great many other rewards, Mariko had developed herself into a tool for the Elders' use. With her cage opened, the bird found herself hunting from the arm of her master. Mariko was a well-trained young eagle.
One thing led to another. When the Coup had tried and failed to kill this new Clan Head, she'd been left behind in the chaos. Or rather, she'd intentionally stayed behind, knowing that she could earn Kouga-sama's favor more by remaining in the village and putting her skills to use for him yet again.
The task she had set for herself was simple. Steal the Caged Bird's Stele before Hinata could have it destroyed, then leave the village with it under cover of darkness.
With the entire Hyuuga Clan gathered in one place, leaving the rest of the compound unattended, this was simple enough. Her white eyes and black hair were ordinary Hyuuga features that framed an ordinary Hyuuga face. She could blend with the crowd here, better than anywhere else.
She made use of this skill once Hinata was done unsealing the Branch House, and the clan once again filled the room uniformly. She stood a few inches shorter than most, another trait which made her useful as an assassin or a spy. From a distance, she was invisible through the crowd, while simply turning on her Byakugan allowed her to see through the ocean of people around her easily.
She made her way to the nearest exit from the room, silently opening the door and slipping outside. That was easy, she remarked, then searched throughout the compound with her Byakugan. Thanks to Kouga-sama, I know where the Stele and Key are kept, and... she cast her gaze there, smirking. They haven't moved the Stele at all. They've kept it hidden until they're ready to destroy it... Glancing over her shoulder, she let her smirk fade away. Still, I don't think I can afford to take my time. I'll do this quickly.
She broke into a run, keeping her Byakugan active and on the lookout for anyone who might be watching. A lone Hyuuga with her doujutsu active, sprinting through an otherwise empty compound, would certainly draw attention if she was seen.
Still, she had learned from one of the best assassins the clan had ever produced, Kouga Hyuuga himself. There was a reason he carried poisoned senbon in a seal inside his mouth. He had told her of three short rules he always followed on a mission, and she had since devoted her career to them.
Strike only once. A second strike or a miss is a failure.
Never let them see you. To be seen is a failure.
Waste not even a single second. The more quickly and cleanly the mission is carried out, the less likely it is to meet failure.
Mariko wasted no time, sprinting at full speed while once again reminding herself to learn a movement jutsu at her nearest convenience. She wasn't seen, and if anyone had been there to see her she would've killed each with a single, silent strike.
She would not fail.
Mariko kept her eyes active even as she stepped into the now-empty room where the Elders once gathered for meetings. She had been witness to many such meetings, along with several other Branch Hyuugas that had been chosen when they were mere Genin by the Elders for their potential. Mariko had always excelled at stealth, and she was willing to kill even as a child. Further examination from the Elders revealed that she had another trait that made her an ideal choice for a modified seal.
She was selfish. To her, it didn't matter if countless other Branch Hyuugas lived their whole lives under the Caged Bird Seal. The Elders gave her whatever she wanted, and she did the same for them.
Mariko walked through the room with absolute, deathly silence. She stopped just past the middle of the room, lifting up one of the tatami mats covering the floor of the room, to bare a blank stone surface which would've fooled anyone who saw the bare floor if the mats were ever removed, and would similarly deter anyone who went looking for something hidden under the mats.
She, however, knew better. She laid her index finger on the cold stone and gently traced out two simple kanji on the stone.
Place in the sun.
Hyuuga.
The stone melted away, becoming a spray of fine grey sand that fell down into the cavity below before dissolving completely into smoke. She dipped her hand into the small chamber, lined with brilliant red silk, and she plucked out the Caged Bird's Stele. It was a short, wide cylinder of glistening golden metal. Turning over the Stele in her hands lightly, she confirmed that the design of the Caged Bird Seal was embossed out of the metal before pocketing it and replacing the tatami mat. The layer of stone underneath would reform underneath in a matter of minutes.
"You should really put that back while you have the chance."
Mariko whirled with wide eyes, staring into the gloom near the door. A girl about her age, with her hair in twin brown buns and her body covered by a suit of black spandex and brown leather armor, emerged from the shadows. "...You're that girl who showed up with the Kazekage."
"Yep. Really though, I wish people had something more impressive to call me."
"How did you avoid my sight?" Mariko demanded.
"The hard part was suppressing my chakra. I had to do it really thoroughly, otherwise your Byakugan would've still seen a bit of a glow from my chakra network. I'm wearing a fuinjutsu under this armor that's completely cutting off my chakra flow. As for the rest, I just had to stay in the dark. Your eyes still need light to see something, but normally my chakra would've given off that light."
"...Is that so?" Mariko smirked. "That simplifies things. If you can't use your chakra, then that giant sword on your back won't do you much good."
"Heh. Do you really think I would go up against a Hyuuga assassin without access to chakra-based weaponry?" Tenten gently pulled on the falchion's hilt, but left it on her back. "Umiyou here has been passively absorbing my chakra for five months now."
"Hm..." Mariko scowled. "One more question. How did you know I'd be here?"
"We didn't know," Tenten admitted, "But we figured that if Kouga and Himiko still had loyal Hyuugas in the village, they'd either try to kill Hinata and her family, which would never work..." she pointed to where the Stele had been hidden, "Or they'd try to make off with that thing. Since the entire Hyuuga Clan is gathered in one spot tonight, this was the ideal time for you to show up, and that's exactly why I came here. Now give me the Stele, or I'll just have to take it."
"I dare you to try."
Tenten chuckled. "Suit yourself."
Her dimly lit form blurred momentarily, before reappearing in front of Mariko with her sword drawn and her entire body obscured by a metallic black barrier. Mariko cried out in shock, even as she spun up a Revolving Heaven that pushed Tenten around and past her. The tatami mats on the floor were thrown up and scattered around the room by her jutsu, while Tenten herself rolled to her feet at the other end of the room.
Mariko bolted through door of the room, then smashed the nearest window with her hand and threw herself out of it. She grimaced at the pain of her fresh wound, but she had no choice but to simply let her hand bleed for the moment. She continued to run as fast as her legs would carry her, without looking back.
After what felt like hours but was certainly much less, she made it past the walls of the village and wreathed herself in the darkness under the trees. Now standing in a small clearing, she pulled out a kunai with her uninjured hand and cut a wide strip of cloth from the bottom of her shirt, wrapping her still-bleeding hand in it.
After catching her breath, she stood tiredly and prepared to start running again.
Tenten was standing in exactly the direction she was looking.
Mariko screamed.
"Oh come on, is it really that surprising?" the girl in black asked lightly. "I have a movement jutsu, so of course I can outpace you."
"You shouldn't be able to even use chakra!" Mariko half-shrieked, half-snarled.
"My sword and armor both have a built-in seal that passively absorbs my chakra over time, saving it up for later. It's sort of like charging a battery. That way, I don't have to drain my own chakra in battle, so I tire out slower. So, are you ready to give up yet?"
Mariko clutched her wounded hand, still panting somewhat. "And what if I do? What'll you do to me?"
"I have no idea, and it's not my choice to make anyway."
"Do you two mind if we interrupt?"
Under her black barrier armor, Tenten's eyes widened and she spun. A fist promptly slammed into her jaw, sending her flying across the clearing and through several trees.
"Apparently not."
"W-Who..." Mariko watched as two Hyuugas she barely knew stepped forward. "Who are you?"
"Don't you recognize me, Mariko-chan?" the man smiled, and stepped closer again. "Don't you at least recognize my voice?"
Her eyes went hugely wide. "...Kouga-sama!?" he nodded. "What... happened to you?"
"That's a story for another time, my little eaglet."
As she crawled out of a pile of broken tree limbs, Tenten chuckled dryly. "That's... creepy as all hell," she panted. "Your little eaglet? Aren't you like a hundred and something?"
"Not anymore," Kouga replied coolly. "I seem to remember this fight going rather differently before. If I remember correctly, Himiko-chan here didn't even get in a single solid hit on you."
"Yeah, well, it's getting pretty late," Tenten shot back, dusting herself off. "I'm kinda sleepy, but I'm sure I can still take you two old farts."
"I suppose we can find that out later. You see, we need you alive to deliver a message to the Hokage."
"Why shouldn't I just take you both out right now?"
"Because you can't," he answered simply. "You're outmatched, and I'd be happy to prove that if you have doubts."
Tenten scowled as she glanced around. Damn it... In a forest like this, I wouldn't be able to safely use Umiyou's full power, and if I hold back, I'd have a hard time against these two by myself. If I had Gaara or Soujihonou, it might be different, but... "Fine. I'll kick your wrinkly old asses later; what's the message?"
"Simply this: the Hyuuga Clan would like to meet with the Hokage south of the village in two days' time, and offer terms of surrender."
Tenten blinked behind her Kekkai Kokuei. "You're... surrendering?"
"Oh, of course not," Kouga waved his hand lightly. "We're offering Konoha a chance to surrender."
"I'd laugh, but I can see you're actually serious about this... that's kind of pathetic," Tenten remarked. "Fine, I'll tell him, but I think we both know how that'll end."
"Oh? I think I'd like to hear this."
"Naruto will offer you one chance to come quietly, you'll refuse, and Konoha will obliterate you."
"...Himiko-chan."
"Hm?" the young woman standing next to him blinked.
"If you please, show Tenten just how wrong she is. Just for a few seconds, though; we mustn't hurt her too badly."
Himiko grinned darkly, cracking her knuckles. Tenten took up a kenjutsu stance, clasping both hands tightly around Umiyou's hilt, but she was caught completely off-guard when Himiko vanished and reappeared to her left. The older woman loosely backhanded Tenten, striking her on the back of the head and sending her skidding forward along the snowy ground. Despite the barrier keeping her body intact, Tenten wheezed as the air was knocked out of her lungs.
Himiko blurred again, this time moving to stand over Tenten. She reached for where the back of the younger girl's collar would be, but the barrier kept her from grasping the fabric underneath. Instead she changed tactics, hefting Tenten by her waist and tossing her lightly into the air. Gravity hesitated to pull her down again, just long enough for Himiko to deliver a second punch to Tenten's face, this time throwing her into the distance obscured by both the forest and the darkness. In her wake, a shallow trench was carved into the earth.
"How was that?" she asked Kouga with a smirk.
"Just as I had envisioned it; well done." He turned to walk away. "Come along, Mariko-chan."
"Y-Yes, Kouga-sama."
X
The following morning, Tenten stepped into the Hokage's office with a faint purplish bruise on her cheek. Naruto looked up from the paperwork on his desk with surprise, immediately noting the bruise and scowl on Tenten's face. "T-Tenten! What happened last night!? The Stele's gone, and we hadn't heard from you..." alarm crossed his face then. "I've still got Kiba's team out there looking for you!"
"Sorry," Tenten grumbled, "I ran into Kiba's team on my way back to the village last night, so you should hear from 'em soon. I delivered my report to Gaara and after that I just went home." She grasped the hilt of her repaired jian in its sheath.
Naruto sighed. "Gaara didn't deliver that report, probably because he was seen flying out of Konoha with Kuroshi fully unsealed, late last night." Tenten's eyes briefly widened, and she looked less than pleased. "If I had to guess, I'd say it's because he wanted to pay someone back for doing that to you," he pointed to the bruise.
"This?" she brushed her cheek lightly. "This is nothing. I only have a problem with that old bitch because of how she works. So she punched me in the face, big deal. I'm more upset about the fact that she jacked someone's body!"
Naruto blinked. "Wait... you mean...?"
"Living Corpse Reincarnation," Tenten confirmed with a nod. "Someone used it on her and Kouga. They're stronger now, and without Soujihonou I didn't stand much of a chance. I've fixed that now," she gestured to the repaired sword on her hip.
Naruto scowled angrily. "Orochimaru must've done it. And I'd bet he didn't do it willingly, either. Kabuto's involved in this, and I don't know what his plan is, but it can't be good."
"There's more. Kouga and Himiko wanted me to pass on a message: He wants to offer terms of surrender tomorrow night, and he wants you to meet him south of the village."
"He's surrendering!?"
Tenten shook her head. "The arrogant bastard is expecting us to surrender. As for the Stele, Mariko Hyuuga made off with it. I should've incapacitated her rather than just letting her tire herself out by running," she admitted, "but I've gotten full of myself these days. It's my fault she got away."
"It's fine," Naruto replied calmly. "We intend to capture the entire Hyuuga Coup soon, so we can take it back and destroy it then. Having it doesn't do Kouga any good right now, and we only meant to use it as bait anyway. Don't-"
Gaara stepped into the room, and Tenten immediately began to tune out Naruto. She strode toward the Kazekage, and Naruto swore he saw his fellow Jinchuuriki actually wincing before she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him forward. "Gaara, we've had this talk how many times now!? You can't go nuts every time some lowlife scores a hit on me!" she shook him as she spoke. "You've got a reputation to keep up as the Kazekage, I'm not even hurt," here she used her free hand to point to the faint bruise, "and most importantly, I intend to take down that old bag myself."
"I understand."
"But you're still going to do it again next time, aren't you?"
Gaara nodded. "Of course."
Tenten released her grip on his shirt as she sighed, despite the reluctant smile that lit up her face. "I... why do you do it? You know I can handle myself out there, right?"
Again he nodded. "I trust in your strength. Still, anyone who lays a hand on you must be made to suffer, no matter how little damage they do to you. Last night, I saw that your injuries were minimal, and so I decided to hold back my full power against Kouga and Himiko. I still destroyed them without much difficulty-" Tenten's and Naruto's eyes went wide, "-but imagine my surprise when they turned out to be water clones. The real ones were nowhere in sight."
"Water clones," Naruto echoed. "That complicates things... but I guess we should've seen it coming. They're very experienced Kage-level ninja; it's unthinkable that they wouldn't have any elemental jutsu. But it's surprising that they were able to actually send water clones to deliver a message in their place, since elemental clones usually fall apart once they're a certain distance from the original. Either they were much closer to you than you realized, Gaara, or they can maintain water clones over a damned impressive range."
"If they have the Water Release affinity," the Kazekage noted, "then they have an advantage against my sand. I was lucky I didn't have a much harder time..." he trailed off, wide-eyed. "Wait. Why were their water clones actually still walking through the forest? They could have simply dispelled once the message was delivered..."
"Actually, I have an explanation for that," Tenten cut in. "Mariko was with them. They must've been escorting her back to wherever their hideout is."
"No," Gaara shook his head, "It was just the two of them when I saw them. Also, water clones have only ten percent of the original's combat prowess, their reflexes, strength, speed, everything. I think you were fighting the real Kouga and Himiko, Tenten."
"Which means they have water clones out there for a different reason," Naruto realized. "They must be hiding outside the barriers and detection seals around Konoha." he pushed his seat back and stood, flaring his Rinnegan. "This is bad, incredibly bad."
"What is it?" Tenten asked. "I don't understand."
"Gaara ran into a couple of water clones out there because the damn things are patrolling the whole forest around Konoha," Naruto growled, "or at least that's my hunch. I think they have us surrounded. Hina-chan's not gonna be happy about this, but..." he stepped into the center of the room, and laid his hand on the floor. "Summoning Jutsu!" Hinata appeared in a set of pale mauve pajamas, stretched out on the floor and snoring softly. Naruto nudged her shoulder gently. "Hina-chan."
"Mmwha?" She murmured as she woke.
"I'm sorry I have to wake you up like this, but I think we have a problem. Can you use your Byakugan to take a look past the detection barriers around the village? Specifically, to the south?"
Hinata sat up and rubbed her eyes, noting dimly that she was still in her pajamas, but Naruto's tone made that seem rather insignificant. "What's going on?"
"I think the Hyuuga Coup is using water clones to surround Konoha."
"That's... impossible," she replied hesitantly, then shook her head. "What am I saying? Byakugan." after several seconds, she spoke up again. "I can see chakra signatures out there, but they don't circle all the way around the village. There are hundreds of clones and living Hyuugas to the south, but there are only a few clones scattered around to the east and west, with none to the north."
Naruto sighed in relief. "Then it's bad, but not that bad. Hinata, can you see who made those water clones, and how many there are?"
She concentrated. "I... can't really tell how many there are, but there's at least a couple hundred of them. As for who made them, the majority of them seem to be from a man with spiky black hair, and a woman with long, straight brown hair. But I barely recognize them..."
"That's Kouga and Himiko," Tenten replied. "They used the Living Corpse Reincarnation."
Hinata paled, and Naruto spoke up again. "So we know that Kouga and Himiko have enough chakra control and reserves to create a sizable army of water clones. It could be a lot worse. If they were shadow clones, they'd have less stamina but equal power to the originals. As it stands, we have plenty of powerful ninja who can take on opponents like this."
X
The following day, when Naruto and Hinata headed out to meet the Hyuuga Coup, it was snowing heavily. Hinata was wearing a heavy white cloak over her barrier armor, although she would have to discard it and expose herself to the cold in order to fight. Similarly, Naruto was wearing a black hoodie under his long coat, with the hood up to shield his head from the cold.
Kouga and Himiko, on the other hand, seemed thoroughly unfazed by the weather. Kouga was wearing a simple white t-shirt with a pair of black hakama pants, with silvery metal bracers over his forearms and a curved dao sword on his back. Even worse, Himiko was wearing a sleeveless dark grey shirt that actually bared a few inches of her midriff, along with a skirt of the same color with a slit up the left side, and a slightly larger than normal pouch on her left hip. She also wielded steel knuckledusters on each hand.
A flickering lantern next to Kouga's right foot lit up the forest in spite of the darkness. He squinted, noting that Naruto was carrying something heavy on his back. A rounded edge glinted in the dim firelight over his right shoulder. "Is that... a shield?" he asked, activating his Byakugan to look at it from another angle. It was indeed a giant, oval-shaped shield. "It is... I've never heard anything about the Half-Demon using a shield."
Naruto ignored this. "Everyone here knows you've got clones hiding in the trees above us. Most of 'em are yours, Kouga. Did you forget that Hina-chan and I have doujutsu as well?"
"Of course we didn't forget," Kouga replied. "It just doesn't matter whether you can see them or not."
"Why are you even doing this?" Hinata demanded. "What do you have to gain? Look around! You're out here in the woods with no roof over your head, alone in a blizzard! For what? The Caged Bird Seal? Does it really matter that much to you that the Branch House continues to suffer? Do you really think you're better than them somehow; that they deserve to be cursed with that seal?"
Kouga simply laughed. "You think I'm doing this because I consider the Branch House subhuman, or some nonsense like that?" Hinata glared at him silently. "Of course not. I want to see the Branch House remain sealed because I have the power to make it so, and in turn the Caged Bird Seal gives me even more power over them."
"For someone so strong, you have such a feeble understanding of power. You keep expressing your belief that I'm in the wrong, and you're in the right. But what makes a person's actions right or wrong? What makes me evil or good? Let me tell you what I've always believed, Hinata. A person's beliefs are only 'good' or 'lawful' if they have the power to overrule anyone who opposes their actions. In essence, might makes right. Power is equivalent to morality in this world, and that's why I seek power."
"Every action I take is 'lawful' and 'good' because I say so, and I will destroy anyone who says otherwise while I gather even more power. The Caged Bird Seal, my position as an Elder, and now this coup... all of my actions have been in the pursuit of greater power, and by this time tomorrow, I will be the Seventh Hokage."
He turned to look at Naruto. "Hokage... The name itself is power. That's why I want it, you see. By overthrowing you, I'll place myself in control of the largest ninja village in the world, and I'll claim a title that can only be carried by the world's strongest five ninja at any given time... well, six now, if you count the Otokage."
"So if you want to stop me, you'll have to wield more power than I do. If you do that, if you defeat me and kill me, then it means your cause was just. If your power surpasses mine, then you make and enforce the laws of the world around you. Your cause is morally sound because you say it is, and no one is powerful enough to say otherwise."
"You're insane," Naruto noted quietly.
"What makes you so sure? Can you honestly claim that anything I've said is untrue? Each person who controls the system of law and justice in this world is powerful. The Five Kage are exactly that, the strongest ninja in the world. The Daimyou have control over the ninja villages through the flow of money, which they have the power to cut off. The lesser ninja villages all choose their most powerful ninja as their authority figures. Jinchuuriki and shinobi with bloodlines are considered valuable because they are powerful. Akatsuki wants the Nine-Tails, and Kumo wanted the Byakugan because their goal is or was to take power."
Kouga would have said more, but Naruto snapped, "Enough." he stepped forward. "We came here to offer you one chance to surrender, Kouga. If you do, the lives of your subordinates and possibly your own life will be spared, but we won't make this offer again until you've been killed, and your coup is left without a leader."
The Elder sighed. "You really weren't listening at all... I'm disappointed, Naruto. I already told you... I'm going to be the Seventh Hokage by this time tomorrow."
Naruto pulled the shield off his back, and Hinata tossed aside her cloak. Their eyes began to glow orange and bluish-white respectively, showing that they were both using their special chakra. As Hinata began forming her Aspect of the Water Deity, Naruto mounted the shield on his left arm and slammed it into the snow and frozen dirt.
His Version Three cloak formed over his body, and transparent black chakra like smoke began to swirl around him, taking the form of a giant black fox.
"Eight Trigrams Seal: Release."
An explosion of white smoke comparable in size to the Hokage monument bloomed into existence around Naruto and Hinata, with such force that Kouga and Himiko actually felt their feet slipping backward over the snowy ground. "Eight... Trigrams?" Kouga shook his head. Whatever that shield just did, I won't be overpowered by it! He slapped his hands together in the Snake seal, and roared, "Transformation Jutsu!"
Himiko stepped back as Kouga took on the form of a Bijuu-sized tiger, this time with a layer of chainmail hanging loosely over its fur like some kind of robe, leaving only its head exposed.
The storm of white smoke around Naruto and Hinata vanished, revealing the Nine-Tailed Fox between the two of them. To Kurama's right, a bone-armored Naruto floated within a similarly shaped aura of black chakra, with only one bushy tail. His cloak was also smaller than the original fox, but not by much. Hinata, meanwhile, was floating motionlessly inside the chest of a comparably sized aura of water in her own likeness. The Water Deity raised its hands in a taijutsu stance, while the real Hinata kept her hands clasped together loosely in the Snake seal.
Kouga's eyes widened, and he bared his fangs in a snarl. "...Kyuubi."
"That's right!" Kurama half-roared, half-laughed. "These two decided to bring out the big guns, and then you went and picked an ideal location for us to destroy you!" As he spoke, a ball of black chakra glowing orange at its core began to form in front of his mouth.
Naruto held his customized sword out to his right at arm's length, and a small circular fuinjutsu lit up halfway along the blade. A Rasengan formed there, and began to whistle and screech with wind chakra. Rather than falling behind, Hinata rapidly began forming a Rasenyari in her Water Deity's hand, which was large enough to wield her strongest attack like an ordinarily sized kunai.
"Rasenshuriken!"
"Rasenyari!"
"Bijuu Dama!"
Kouga and Himiko put on a pair of devious smirks, just before their shadow clones were obliterated. The three remaining pairs of eyes in the forest went wide when countless tiny puffs of smoke wafted up through the treetops below them.
"Something's wrong," Naruto stated. "Water clones don't give off smoke like that when they dispel. Only genjutsu and shadow clones do that."
"Judging from how dense the chakra plumes are," Hinata's eyes narrowed slightly, "I'd say all of them came from genjutsu clones. But were we talking to genjutsu clones as well?"
"If that's the case, the conversation we had with them couldn't have been programmed in advance. Those were either genjutsu clones being remote-controlled, or they were shadow clones that just delivered that information now. Either way, Kouga and Himiko know what happened here."
"Couldn't they have been the real Elders?" Kurama suggested.
"They definitely weren't," Hinata spoke up. "Kouga and Himiko wouldn't have spent so much chakra to make an army of solid clones, then send them off while the originals met us alone... This was all just a diversion!" she exclaimed. "The real clones must be heading toward Konoha right now! They might already be attacking!"
"Damn it!" Naruto snarled, and turned north toward the village, forming another Rasenshuriken on the side of his sword. The seal he used for this was based on the fuinjutsu he had been using on his old black cutlass and bronze ring, which was in turn based on a simpler Flying Raijin Seal. In a way, he had his father to thank for even this. "Hinata, Kurama, if we can eliminate some of the clones before they get inside Konoha..."
"Right!" Hinata called back, and began forming a second Rasenyari.
"Got it," Kurama added, and began ripping through the trees below with his claws and tails. After throwing their signature jutsu into the forests below, Naruto and Hinata did the same with their chakra auras, spotting and snatching up the nearby water clones of Kouga and Himiko. Then the Grinning Fox and Water Goddess began striding back toward Konoha, shortly followed by the Nine-Tails.
"Kurama!" Naruto called out, with a group of water clones in sight. "Contact Gaara through Shukaku; we need to know what's happening in the village!"
"Hm," Kurama nodded. "Go on and take out some clones, then come back here in a minute or so."
"Right!" Naruto vanished from within the fox aura, allowing the black chakra to dissolve. Kurama closed his crimson eyes and fell silent, while Hinata threw Rasengan with both hands at each water clone she saw with her Byakugan, one by one. Kurama's tails lashed harmlessly through the air until Naruto returned with his sword dripping chakra-infused water, standing on only the open air. "What's the news!?"
"Ninken is engaging the water clones, and overpowering them... or they were until a few seconds ago."
"What?" Naruto leaned forward with interest. "What changed?"
"The clones are gone. All dispelled. My guess is, Kouga and Himiko intend to use fewer clones now with more chakra. Then the Main and Branch Hyuugas that follow Kouga's orders will engage the other ninja throughout the village, and the clones of the Elders will fight Ninken. Everyone else in the village will be held off while the Elders fight you two."
"Holding off the entire village with just the Coup and their clones... It seems farfetched, but it makes sense for them to at least try," Naruto admitted grudgingly. "So what will you do?"
"Both of you can take on a smaller form by shedding your chakra cloaks, but I can't follow you into Konoha without destroying the place, even if I weren't actually fighting. I can stay outside the village and pick off clones with my chakra beams, but the rest is up to you. Kick their asses!"
"You've got it!" Naruto nodded with a smirk.
"They don't stand a chance," Hinata agreed. "Come on, Naruto-kun." Her Water Deity evaporated, and she moved through the air to take his hand. "Whenever you're ready." He looked her way and nodded back. "Sage Art..."
"Empty Wind Jutsu!" they called together, and vanished.
"Heh..." Kurama chuckled as he peered into the open space where they'd stood. Humans... The more I learn about them, the more they interest me. I don't think I'll ever get bored with humanity.
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