People talking, "Hello everyone."
People thinking, 'LET'S GO!'
Demon/beast/other talking, "The author isn't dead... woooow."
Demon/beast/other thinking, 'I know guys, I'm alive, its craaaazzzzy.'
Jutsu/Unknown names, "Suiton: Mizudeppō no Jutsu."
'Document'
Italics can be used for certain kinds of emphasis or snide comments.
Bold can be used for forceful yelling/shouting/screaming.
Chapter Twenty-One: Family Matters
Hanabi put up little resistance against her biological sister, letting herself be dragged through the bustling streets of Konoha. Breaking free of Hinata's grasp on her arm would be easy, but she was curious as to where she was being taken.
However, after a few moments, Hanabi realized they were moving toward the Hyūga Clan compound, and she was not going back there.
"Enough." With little effort, Hanabi broke her Hinata's hold on her, and backed up a step in the middle of the street. The strange sight had already drawn the attention of nearby villagers and even a few shinobi. They whispered amongst themselves, with a few hurrying their pace to escape being caught in any potential crossfire.
"No!" Hinata shouted, rounding on the shorter Spirit Nin. "You are coming home with me! I'm your sister, and we're going to figure out a way to remove whatever that monster has done to you!"
The Hyūga heiress's shouting caused many gasps of shock and fear among impromptu audience for their family drama. Hinata couldn't understand what was happening. Why was her precious sister resisting? She was trying to save her!
Hanabi shook her head calmly, her hands disappearing underneath the folds of her white and gold cloak. "I will not go to the Hyūga. They are not my family.
"I am Hanabi Otsutsuki. Spirit Nin of the Village Hidden in Spirits, and the proud daughter of the Seikage." Hanabi said quietly, her pale pupil-less eyes meeting Hinata's identical gaze.
"I… I–" Hinata stammered, visibly struggling to comprehend Hanabi's words. However, her confusion didn't last. Abruptly giving way to anger once more. "Fine! Then I'll make you!"
Hanabi shifted slightly on her feet, tilting her body with apparent ease to avoid Hinata's Jūken strike toward her left shoulder. She flowed into a sequence of moves, gracefully avoiding each subsequent strike. The onlookers watched in are, horror, and even amusement at the sight of the proud Hyūga heiress being utterly outclassed.
Hanabi paid them no mind, however. She wasn't even dedicating her full attention to her sister's emotional flailing. As she had expected, a pair of Konoha ANBU were fast approaching, likely having been alerted by the shinobi nearby.
Visibly growing more frustrated, Hinata began to perform handseals, but she was interrupted by a kick from Hanabi at her hands. "Continue to attack me and I will retaliate," Hanabi warned, the veins around her eyes growing more prominent as she poured more Chakra into them.
Her attempt at intimidation seemed to have the opposite effect on biological sister, as Hinata growled and activated her Byakugan. The speed and ferocity of her assault grew as well, although every hit was aimed to incapacitate, and not injure Hanabi.
Hanabi leaned back sharply, avoiding a strike to her solar plexus. Her hand shot out from beneath her cloak and tapping a specific point on Hinata's forearm. Hanabi injected her intent-laced Chakra, which quickly moved to deaden Hinata's entire arm.
Continuing with her momentum, Hanabi flipped backward and landed gracefully on both feet, her cloak settling around her.
Before Hinata could make another move, she was stopped by two ANBU that appeared to her left and right, each grasping hold of one of her arms.
"Hyūga Hinata, you are under arrest for assault of a visiting Shinobi. You will come with us," One of the two ANBU ordered, but before they could activate a group shunshin, Hinata shouted something at stony faced Hanabi.
"Why!? Why won't you come home?!" Hinata tried to sink to her knees, but was kept mostly upright by the tight grip of the ANBU.
Hanabi said nothing for a single, terse moment, her pale eyes regarding the distraught Hyūga heiress carefully.
"You wish to take me from my life, from my family, from those who are precious to me." Hanabi said at last, "I will fight for the life that I have chosen, as is my right as a Spirit Nin of Shinreigakure. I am indeed a Hyūga by blood, but not by choice."
Hanabi fell silent, sensing and seeing her father appear behind her, his aura spreading out across the street and enveloping all present. It was not a malicious feeling, but something more comparable to the feeling of a mountain over ones head, poised to crush you at any moment.
"Little Hyūga, you have nearly cost this village and its civilians their lives," Her father remarked casually, his voiced tinged with slight amusement.
The ANBU tightened their grip on Hinata, preventing her from trying to attack the Seikage. "Our apologies, Lord Seikage. This will not happen again." Once again about to perform a shunshin, they were interrupted by the Seikage as he raised his hand.
"Wait a moment. She seems to have something to say."
Hanabi turned her attention back to Hinata, who was glaring at her father with absolute loathing and hatred.
"You have brainwashed her! You have done something to my sister! She doesn't belong with you! She belongs with my and my family," Hinata shouted as tears began to fall down her face. "She is my sister!"
"So you keep saying," Hanabi replied sharply. "I cannot deny that you look like family. However, you certainly do not act like family. I know where I belong, and it isn't here with you or the Hyūga Clan."
Hinata snarled, her activated Byakugan doing its best to burn holes in Naruto. The Seikage was content to watch, only having stepped in to support his daughter.
"You have brainwashed my sister, and I'll see you dead if it's the last thing I do!"
The Hyūga Heiress' outburst was interrupted by a group shunshin, as the two ANBU decided that enough was enough. It would be best to risk being rude to the Spirit Nin, than have Hinata end up saying something that would result int he village's destruction.
Now alone in the middle of the street, aside from the brace onlookers that had remained after the Seikage's appearance, Naruto turned and began walking back to the ramen stand.
Hanabi followed obediently at his side.
'Why did you let her attack you for so long?'
Hanabi frowned, glancing back with her Dojutsu toward where she had fought, albeit briefly, with her sister. 'I saw the ANBU approaching, and felt that waiting for them to arrive was the best. I didn't want to risk anything that could get us into trouble. She undeniably attacked me first, in front of multiple witnesses.' Hanabi replied, her voice cold and professional. She felt her father's understanding through the mental link that all Spirit Nin shared. Although none were as masterful of its use as her father.
Neither spoke for several minutes as they continued to walk, drawing the attention of all they passed. No one was brave enough to approach them, however.
'How do you feel about her?' Naruto asked at length, making Hanabi jump slightly as she was pulled from her thoughts.
'I'm… I am not certain, Father.' Hanabi replied. 'She is my sister, and while I cannot remember the details of my life within the clan, it is evident that she cares for me beyond a sense of duty or pride.'
Naruto choose to let the topic lapse as they reached the ramen stand and entered inside, retaking their seats with the Spirit Nin still present. As they ordered some fresh food, Hanabi once again spoke through their connection.
'We're going to rescue the branch family. Right?'
'That is the plan.' Naruto replied as he gratefully accepted a bowl of miso ramen from a nervous waitress. The poor girl nearly spilled it all, but Naruto prevented such an accident with a small use of Chakra. 'I will make my move during the Chūnin Exams, and the chaos that will ensue. It will be up to you and your companions to look out for other branch Hyūga within the exam. It is likely they have been forced to enter against their will.'
Hanabi nodded, knowing her father could see the gesture despite not looking at her. Everyone had been briefed of the plot to overthrow Konoha during the Chūnin Exams.
The Spirit Village's spy network, made up mostly of Naruto's Rinnegan Summons, and the Tenseigan Puppets, was quite extensive by now.
Despite this, they had decided to participate anyway, intending to take advantage of the chaos to reclaim several artifacts, and rescue family members of many of the Spirit Nin, along with anyone else who as interested in joining them.
The attack would kill much of the village's population as well, however none of them cared about that.
—
Elsewhere in the village, Kagerō and Kankuro were walking at a sedate pace throughout the village, taking the opportunity to sight see and get a feel for the layout.
Both kept their hoods up, their faces obscured beneath artificial shadow, which caused them to look far more intimidating to the villagers than they would have already been. Kagerō kept herself hidden to avoid being an object of lust for the boys of Konoha, and Kankuro did as well because his appearance was off-putting to most.
Over the years, he had suffered numerous injuries, and since merging with the Jiongu, his body no longer healed the same way. This resulted in a patchwork of scars covered over by black threads, one of which was quite prominently displayed on his cheek.
'This place is disgustingly cheerful for a place built on lies…' Kagerō spat in the mental connection between them, her aqua-blue eyes drifting across the idyllic scenes that surrounded them on all sides.
Smiling faces, running and shouting children, and laughter was everywhere. At least until the villagers noticed their presence, and then they tended to quiet down and begin moving away, hurrying to get out of their way.
Kankuro watched a young girl notice them, her eyes widening in fear before she ran away and disappeared around a corner without making a sound. 'Hai. They maintain their sense of prosperity and joy through using and throwing away the malcontents, or those they sacrifice to maintain the norm. Takai's clan is a perfect example of that. The Uzumaki gave Konoha innumerable gifts, only to be betrayed…'
Noticing that her companion had trailed off as he abruptly came to a stop in the middle of the road, Kagerō stopped and turned to look at Kankuro. Before she could inquire, he spoke.
'Kagerō-san, can you feel it?' Kankuro asked, his tone reserved. His eyes were closed, his attention fully on the ground beneath his feet. It was perhaps only due to his extensive use with chakra, and the Jiongu, that he even noticed it.
'No… what is it?' She replied, her senses unfolding out across the village around them, searching for anything of note, or potential danger.
Kankuro pressed his hand to the seal on his palm, opening up a new connection. 'Lord Seikage, can you please look underground? About a foot beneath my feet I can sense chakra, specifically a very thin strand.'
Naruto's non-verbal agreement came through the link, and after a few moments as the two Spirit Nin waited patiently, he spoke in wry amusement.
'How interesting. You've stumbled upon an entire network of chakra strings. They cover the entire village, in fact, and all of them are connected to paper bombs in almost every building.' Naruto explained, his powerful Byakugan at full power, even slightly straining to spot every single strand of the intricately laid web. He had to force himself to break past the Genjutsu laid over each bomb, hiding it from notice.
'What is the trigger?' Kankuro inquired, his guard raised. However, since Naruto didn't seem concerned, he didn't do anything else.
Of course, their abrupt stop in the middle of the street, and subsequent immobility for several minutes had begun to freak out the nearby villagers and shinobi.
'There isn't one, currently. Nothing connects into the network. I believe this was set up a long time ago, to be used at an opportune moment.' Naruto mused, curious as to wether Konoha was unaware that their village was rigged to blow.
Hanabi had also been listening to the conversation, as her father had pulled her into the connection. She tried to spot the strands her father spoke of, but even straining her Dojutsu to the max produced no results. 'I can't see any chakra strings underground?'
'Not surprising.' Naruto replied distractedly, 'The strings are so incredibly fine that they are invisible to a normal Byakugan. Truly a work of art. I'm impressed that you noticed it, Kankuro.'
Naruto expanded his senses, following the web-like layout of strands. If these bombs were to off, Konoha would undoubtedly collapse in short order. He couldn't be sure, but this had all likely been set up by Orochimaru at some point in the past.
That, or Konoha really had a lot of enemies that were willing to go to great extents to ensure their demise.
'What should we do?' Kagerō interjected, her concern obvious. Although she wasn't worried about Konoha, but rather her fellow Spirit Nin, and those they had come to rescue.
'For now, continue on as planned. If Konoha hasn't noticed these bombs, then I see no point in informing them.' Naruto replied, and despite their concerns, Kagerō and Kankuro acquiesced and resumed their walk. Completely ignoring the confused stares from the nearby villagers.
The Next Day
Briskly leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Temari made her way toward the Uchiha compound for her spar with Sasuke. After receiving permission, of course, though as she had suspected, Naruto had no issue with her training with the lone Uchiha.
She had to admit that she was rather curious about the boy, even though they were of similar ages. Itachi didn't speak often of his life in Konoha in any personal capacity, so she had only heard about his younger brother a few times. It was well known that Itachi hoped his brother would be willing to join them and become a Spirit Nin.
Temari believed it was all but guaranteed now, although Naruto hadn't shared what he spoke with Sasuke about privately on the way to Konoha.
A strong gust of wind kicked up around her legs as she leaped, carrying her the extra distance to reach the next building with minimal effort. Using her chakra to manipulate the wind had become effortless, to the point that Temari had retired her beloved war fan. It was simply unnecessary now.
Reaching the outskirts of the Uchiha compound, a large sprawling collection of streets and buildings, Temari was struck by how lonely everything looked. Nothing looked abandoned, or decrepit, per se. But it didn't look lived in.
Sliding off her hood, Temari knocked loudly on the outer gate, and waited patiently. She felt the Uchiha's chakra signature swiftly approaching through the walls a few moments later, and shortly after the large wooden doors were pulled inward.
"Welcome, thank you for coming," Sasuke greeted, giving a slight bow and a gesture for her to enter. After pushing the doors closed, he led her through the clean but lonely streets of the compound a training arena. They took up positions on either side.
Neither said anything as they studied the other. Sasuke's eyes eventually turned red, the three black tomoe spinning hypnotically as he searched for any advantage.
"Let us begin," Temari said, and with a sharp gesture to the side, she summoned a violent gale of tightly controlled wind. It shrunk rapidly, forming into a hollow circle that seemed to grind the very air.
Sasuke flew through a multitude of handseals, leaping back to gain distance as he unleashed a fireball toward Temari. The blonde Spirit Nin hurled her wind chakram at the incoming fire, sheering it in two and forcing Sasuke to dodge. He quickly took the initiative, launching forward to bring the fight into Taijutsu range.
However, his hope that he would have an advantage here, even if ever so minor, soon faded. Temari had absolute control over their bout, matching every blow for blow, and not allowing him to get the upper hand at any point.
Deflecting a number of his strikes in quick succession, Temari threw him off balance and finally retaliated with a strike eerily reminiscent of the Hyūga style Jūken strike.
This was part of the Spirt Style: Striking Spectre Taijutsu Style. The style had come into being through the efforts of Itachi, Kazumi, and Toneri, using the Otsutsuki style of Taijutsu as the base, and updating it to include the knowledge from Konoha, and ANBU training.
This meant that it was similar to the Hyūga's style, as they were both based on the Otsutsuki styles of old, developed by Hamura Otsutsuki.
The biggest difference, which Sasuke soon discovered, was that unlike the Hyūga, Spirit Nin did not confirm to some sort of honor-based rigidity. Temari was wirily, slipping through his attacks with dancer-like grace. Her grace was so impressive that it almost distracted him.
Sasuke managed to break free from Temari's assault, knowing that if her two-finger strikes reached him, the results wouldn't be good. His Sharingan was more than enough to forewarn him of the blonde's oft unpredictable shifting trajectories.
Temari flipped horizontally, her foot coming around before kicking out toward Sasuke. When he lifted both arms the block, Temari used the impromptu platform to launch herself higher into the air.
Sasuke fell back immediately as a strong gale began to pick up around Temari, providing enough lift to keep her in the air as she spun faster and faster, her long blonde hair spreading out around her like a halo.
A miniature tornado formed in mere seconds, sucking up the dust covering the training grounds and obscuring the Spirit Nin from sight.
Sasuke's eyes widened, and he hurled himself to the side as the tornado suddenly lurched toward him, only narrowly avoiding the attack thanks to his Sharingan.
'I need to gain control of the tempo, or she will keep playing with me like a cat with a mouse,' Sasuke analysed as he rolled to his feet and drew several kunai.
Temari alighted onto the dusty ground a second later, a kunai in her hand, prepared to meet Sasuke's assault as she calmly stood.
'Let's see what you've got, Uchiha.'
—
Given Konoha's historic and varied history as a Shinobi village, it was unsurprising that it had a multitude of training grounds spanning its borders. These grounds were distributed at seemingly random, with a multitude of terrains, obstacles, and challenges.
Within one of the more generic grounds three cloaked figures were training, although all of them were forced to restrain themselves as they were in public.
Sitting atop a newly carved stump was Yugito, her palm held out in front of her as she practiced manipulating her hellfire. Matatabi had been guiding her in its use for years now, but she knew there was still quite a ways to go before she could hope to produce flames as powerful as the Bijū's.
'According to Matatabi-chan, her flames are second only to the flames of the Sun Goddess that Naruto-kun and Itachi-sensei can use,' Yugito thought, her gaze focused on one finger as she strained herself to create the smallest amount of hellfire she could, while at the highest temperature possible.
With effort, she could hopefully master the flames in a few more years. Most techniques would become ineffective in the face of her flames, and she could hardly way.
That was not to say that she wasn't already quite skilled. The tree stump beneath her proof of that. She had sliced through it earlier with an arm coated in black and blue flames, incinerating the wood the instant she touched it.
Nearby was Fū, the insect-jinchuriki currently floating in mid-air as her six-beetle wings moved incessantly, bluring through the air. Her control over the gifts from her Bijū had improved drastically, and she now often had races with Kagerō around the inner surface of the moon. Currently she was focused on communicating with the unique bug life within Konoha, a swarm of them hovering around her.
The last member of the trio was Gaara, who was standing off a bit to the side. He similarly had his hood down, revealing his Kanji tattoo on his forehead. Ahead of him, the trees were in tatters, unable to withstand the repeated barrage of wind arrows released from his Wind Bow.
In his efforts to become less reliant on his sand, and thus horribly vulnerable to water, he had focused heavily on his affinity to wind. Similarly, he focused on ranged combat, practicing relentlessly with a bow, before eventually developing a jutsu to create one himself. It was pure elemental chakra manipulation on a scale that most shinobi couldn't dream of, which made the technique rather unique to him.
The techniques couldn't compare his to sand, of course, but combine with Yugito's hellfire, Gaara could rain destruction down upon enemies from beyond the horizon. Although that required an accuracy he didn't possess, but with Hanabi's aid that wasn't usually a concern.
Fū was the first to break the peaceful silence, dismissing her bugs as she slowly alighted on the ground. "This is boring." Her wings were reabsorbed into her back. "I know we came here early so that we could readjust to a twenty-four-hour cycle, but there is nothing to do here. Besides, we can only practice low-level techniques, because otherwise we risk damaging the village…" Fū bemoaned, and in any other circumstances she might have flopped onto the grass dramatically. However, she wasn't at home, and therefore her training wouldn't allow her to drop her guard to such a degree.
"I understand, Fū-chan," Yugito replied as she snuffed out the flame dancing through her fingertips. "I have some techniques I want to practice, but we would certainly give away too much if we did."
She wanted to practice her Blaze Release, which when combined with her hellfire, allowed her to do almost anything with fire. She had obtained a Kekkei Genkai after progressing far enough as an Adept, having gained the bloodline through the Spirit Seals. Because she had Fire and Lightning affinity chakra, she had formed the Blaze Release.
This benefit of the Spirit Seals were yet another reason that Spirit Nin were rarely challenged throughout the Elemental Nations. The only exception was abnormal or exceedingly strong opponents. However, Spirit Nin were not prideful or conceited because of this. Largely due to Itachi and Naruto's influence, and training.
'Incoming,' Fū reported over the link, having moved her hand to the seal on her wrist. Yugito raised an eyebrow, her senses expanding as she searched for whoever Fū had detected.
A moment later, she groaned through the mental link. 'Its that dog Shinobi! I hate dogs!' She could smell the boy and his small white dog approaching now, and the scent rankled her.
"You cannot blame me for your dislike of dogs, Yugi-chan. I'm not really a cat, I just look like one." Matatabi interjected with a chuckle, which only earned her a mental pout in return.
'You might not be an actual cat, but you're certainly the next closest thing you lazy fiery fur ball,' Yugito snarked back, only to receive raucous laughter in return.
True to their training, none of the Spirit Nin reacted when Kiba barreled into the training ground in full pursuit of his disobedient puppy. "-Kamaru what are you…" Kiba's words trailed off as he straightened up, his eyes widening. "…doing."
Kiba watched in mild horror as his small puppy tore across the training ground to skid to a halt before Yugito, barking up at her in adorable puppy-like fashion. However, the heart-breaking sight was not enough to deter Yugito, who had to resist the urge to hiss.
"Oh… It's uhh, you guys." Kiba said uncertainly. Akamaru barked loudly, drawing his attention. "Akamaru says you reek of cats…"
Yugito nearly unleashed her claws with Kiba sniffed at her, her slitted pupils narrowing dangerously. "Actually, why do you smell so much like a cat?" Kiba asked, bemused.
Kiba suddenly felt a hair-raising chill run down his spine as all three Spirit Nin stared at him, with only Yugito's gaze holding any emotion, and none of it positive. However, it was mostly Gaara's lifeless gaze that creeped him out the most, and he suddenly realized he preferred it when they all wore their hoods.
Finally seeming to realize that he wasn't welcome, Kiba called his puppy back and beat a fast retreat. He had briefly considered challenging one or all of them, or at least tried to get them to talk, but his better senses prevailed.
After the dog Shinobi was gone, Yugito's mask broke and she hissed. Loudly. Fū began laughing uncontrollably, while Yugito became red-faced with embarrassment as even Gaara chuckled.
—
Despite the complaints of boredom, the week passed quickly for the Spirit Nin, and finally other contestants for the Chūnin Exams had begun to arrive.
Yugito, Kimimaro, and Hanabi were all currently standing in trees, obscuring themselves with shadows and liberal amounts of concealing arts as they observed a team from Otogakure. All of the Adept Spirit Nins were running reconnaissance on the new arrivals, analyzing and taking notes on who they would soon be fighting.
'That makes thirteen Amegakure teams,' Yugito commented absently as she kicked her legs back and forth, her heterochromatic slitted eyes following one of the groups that had just come through the front gates of Konoha.
'One of the new arrivals has significant chakra reserves,' Hanabi reported, her pale Byakugan honing in on a specific member of the newly arrived Otogakure team.
It was a teen. She estimated him to be around fourteen years old. He was flanked by two very similar looking genin, and Hanabi ignored them for the time being. The one with significant amounts of chakra had dark purple spiky hair, which was tied back in a ponytail, a lone bang covering his left eye. His skin was a pale-peach color, and his one visible eye a golden-orange, surrounded by black markings. He was lean, with pronounced cheek bones, and he wore a grey dress-like battle rove with long sleeves, white pants, dark grey fingerless gloves, and black boots with silver lining. Snake fang earrings hung from his ears, and his fingernails were painted purple. Around his waist hung an Otogakure protector as a belt.
Yugito perked up, sniffing the air as she detected the faint scent of snakes. 'Did Orochimaru have a son? His chakra isn't high enough to be Orochimaru himself,' Yugito commented, and Kimimaro agreed. Hanabi remained silent, straining her Byakugan to break through any potential concealment arts the snake teen might have.
'Lord Seikage, we have found a genin who looks similar to Orochimaru. We suspect he may be the Snake Sannin's son.' Yugito reported. There was no reply for a moment, and she imagined that Naruto was turning his attention to them from wherever he was. No one knew how far Naruto could see now, but it was rumored his Byakugan could encompass the entire moon.
'I see him.' Naruto replied, 'Keep him under observation, but do not let yourself be seen. He is likely a key part of Orochimaru's plan for Konoha, and it would be best to not get involved.'
After giving her affirmation, Yugito gestured to her companions and they all leaped out of the trees, still obscured through Genjutsu as they trailed their target.
As they moved, Hanabi turned her attention to the two genin trailing the snake teen. Each wore a mask that hung past their neck, their headbands tilted to the side like bandanas. And they each wore high collared, sleeveless purple shirts with a short-sleeve white one underneath. A simple obi was tied around their waists, along with purple pants, blue sandals, and purple fingerless gloves.
Aside from that, Hanabi couldn't detect anything of note. Their chakra was average, and what weapons they might use were evidently sealed away in the scrolls they carried on their waists.
Expanding her vision to perform a routine check of the surrounding area, Hanabi moved her hand to the seal on her wrist. 'We have a young boy incoming, civilian, brown hair with a funny hat and a long scarf. He is on a direct course with the target.' She relayed the information out of habit, even though this wasn't an official mission.
'Confirmed,' Kimimaro replied, his eyes trained on a young boy who had just torn around the corner fence. A second later, he barreled headfirst into the snake teen.
Unsurprisingly, the snake teen was unmoved, and it was the young boy who tumbled to the ground.
"You will regret that…"
Kimimaro watched as the teen's hand blurred, grabbing the boy around the throat and lifting him into the air.
"I'm sorry! It was an accident!" The brown-haired boy cried, trying desperately to pry himself free.
The three Spirit Nin watched in silence as Sakura and Kiba rounded the corner, having already know of their approach thanks to Hanabi and their own powerful senses.
"Put him down!" Sakura cried. Golden-orange eyes darted toward her, appraising and apathetic. Kiba crouched slightly, on guard as he felt the danger in that gaze, but he spoke up regardless. "That is the Hokage's grandson, let him go. He didn't mean to run into you."
There was no reply to Kiba's demand. Instead, several things happened in quick succession. The snake teen pulled back his fist, clearly intending to hit the young boy, uncaring who he was. However, a rock shot out of a nearby tree, colliding with the teen's hand before he landed the blow, instead shifting to catch the stone out of mid-air.
The Spirit Nin turned to watch as Sasuke dropped out of the tree, landing near to the snake teen.
"Let him go. Harming him could start a war between our villages," Sasuke said calmly. He was ready to move should the snake teen attempt to attack him or Konohamaru. Sasuke didn't react with the Hokage's grandson very often, but he had met him as the boy seemed to always be following Kiba around for some reason.
Coal black eyes stared into golden orange for a few moments, neither betraying any emotion. The tension of the moment was broken by Konohamaru's cry as he dropped to the ground, and immediately turned to run away.
"What isss your name?"
Sasuke spotted the forked tongue that darted out of the genin's mouth for just an instant, but he didn't react to it, or how the teen spoke with a strange lisp.
"Uchiha Sasuke," he replied stoically, their staring battle yet to come to a close. Everyone watching wondered if the two would soon come to blows.
"I am Sssatossshimaru," He said, finally introducing himself. His forked tongue was once more visible for a split second. However, the intensity of the situation didn't ebb, instead steadily rising. Sakura and Kiba shifted into combat-ready stances, preparing to support Sasuke should a fight break out.
The only ones not affected by the tension were the Spirit Nin, who watched from the trees above, curious but otherwise unbothered. They would only interfere if Sasuke's life was somehow in danger.
Finally, the tension became too much, and Sakura broke. "What are you here?!" She shouted, simply needing to say something under the pressure, and intense intent to kill that radiated from Sasuke and Satoshimaru.
She wilted under Satoshimaru's gaze as his golden eyes shifted to her. "My team and I are here to particcipate in the Chūnin Examsss." Satoshimaru replied, this time his tongue staying out long enough to be seen by all before vanishing again.
"Then I look forward to battling you in the exams," Sasuke said curtly before turning and walking away. Kiba and Sakura hurried after him, both eager to get as far away as possible. Satoshimaru watched them go for a while before continuing on with his two teammates.
The Spirit Nin continued to trail him, not only for viable information, but out of genuine interest.
At the same time, elsewhere in Konoha Village, Yukimi was leisurely drifting through the streets in a cloud of pink smoke, barely visible beneath the bright rays of the sun. If she'd had the ability to speak, she would have been humming a joyful tune.
Every so often, she would form from the smoke, appearing for brief moments to splash someone with water, or tickling a small child and making them giggle before once again disappearing.
However, her antics eventually came to an end as she reached her destination. The Jounin lounge, which Hanabi had located with her Byakugan over a week ago. Yukimi had taken up the duty of spying on it every few days, but nothing of interest had been discussed as of yet. She hoped now that contestants were arriving, the Jounin would spill something.
Once more dispelling into a pink mist, Yukimi spiraled through the air, her gaze trained on the building in front of her, searching for any point of interest. The security, while poor in comparison to her home, was not to be scoffed at. Without her unique talents, Yukimi wasn't sure she could break in without being spotted.
But, the security wasn't enough for it. After all, it only took the smallest gap for Yukimi to slip through. Her pink mist compressed, and she funneled through a slightly open, but still locked window.
She found a large number of Jounin lounging around, reading, talking, with some even drinking. By this point, she had learned the names of most of them, and knew which ones would be likely to have useful information about the Chūnin exams. She kept close the ceiling, doing her utmost to keep her chakra concealed.
"I can't believe this," The Jounin called Asuma said, a cigarette held between his lips, but seemingly forgotten as he stared in disbelief at a black-haired Jounin woman with red eyes. "The first test is getting to the second test in a certain amount of time, right?"
"Hai," Kurenai nodded, taking another heavy gulp of her glass. Yukimi noticed that she wobbled slightly afterwards, probably already quite drunk. "They will have to get to Tonika Village in two days."
Yukimi once again wished she could communicate with the spirit seal while within her smoke, but there was nothing for it. She would have to report this as soon as possible.
"That's all the way on the edge of the Land of Fire. Its too great a distance to expect of Genin." Asuma declared, only to receive an indifferent morose shrug.
"Not even the worst part…"
Asuma winced. Reaching up he removed his unlit cig and dropped it on the table. He sighed. "Yeah… I can't believe they're doing that…" He grabbed his glass, and mimicking his companion, drank deeply.
Yukimi watched closely, noticing that the third member of the little group had yet to speak, and didn't even seem to be aware of his surroundings. His strange behavior didn't surprise her, though. She'd come to get an understanding of Kakashi.
"This is why I kept my Genin out of the exams last year, I knew they weren't ready for it," came from a new Jounin who promptly sat down on the couch besides Kakashi. His sudden arrival didn't even make the masked Jounin blink.
The new arrival had a melancholy look on his face, and wore a green jumpsuit with a green flak jacket over that. His shiny black hair was cut in a bowl-style, and Yukimi's most prominent thought was that he needed to get his eyebrows trimmed.
However, the interruption seemed to finally have roused Kakashi after a bit. "I am confident that Sasuke, Sai, and to an extension Sakura will be able to handle themselves," he said at last, picking disinterestedly at the bowl of ramen on the table in front of him.
A retired Jounin approached the table, dressed as a waiter. "The rumor is that they made this test a lot harder because of the Hidden Spirit Village. The Big Five are wary of them, and want to produce the strongest ninja possible incase there is an attack." Evidently, the jounin had overheard the conversation between the four Sensei.
Asuma cursed under his breath, and finally lit his cig as he fell back on the couch. "Should have expected that, honestly."
"But those things?" Kurenai interjected, clearly not over her disbelief. "This has to be too much. Why would they think to put those things in there with them?"
"I don't know… I really don't know…" The green-clothed Jounin said, accepting a drink from the waiter that he quickly downed in one go. Yukimi remained for a while more, listening for any valuable information before she once again filtered out through a crack and made her way back toward her fellow Spirit Nin.
Hinata
The pale-eyed Hyūga heiress had been fit to be tied ever since the Spirit Nin had first arrived in Konoha, and by now everyone was aware as to why. The encounter between her and her sister, Hanabi, along with the fight and subsequent embarrassing defeat for Hinata had spread across the entire village like wild fire.
Since then, she had rarely left the clan compound, focusing exclusively on her training, which resulted in innumerable destroyed training dummies scattered across the training ground.
She had gotten off with a warning from the ANBU after her stunt, as the rule to not attack Spirit Nin had only just been instated, and she was the Heiress to the Hyūga Clan, after all.
"This is ridiculous!" Hinata roared, unleashing a ferocious kick that shattered an entire log into pieces. "She is my sister!"
Another log shattered.
"She belongs with me!"
The ground rumbled as Hinata punched the earth with everything she had, chakra exploding out from her in waves.
Anyone, from the head or branch family, had long since abandoned the vicinity. The only one who had dared to approach her was her father, and he'd soon withdrawn.
"I will kill him!" Hinata screamed, leaping to her feet and launching herself at a tree. Her arms began to blur, chakra thrumming though her body. "Two palms, four palms, eight palms, sixteen palms, thirty-two palms, sixty-four palms!"
boom
The tree exploded all at once, as if the force of every hit had been frozen in time until the technique had been completed.
Hinata collapsed to her knees, exhaustion washing over her. Her head dropped, her long hair falling about her face. "I just want my little sister back…"
A heart-wrenching sob escaped from beneath her hair, all but inaudible. After being escorted home by the ANBU, she had stormed into her father's office. He had been as outraged as she had been about what had happened.
Having said that, he hadn't rallied the clan like she'd demanded so that they could save her sister. Instead, he had ordered her to avoid the Spirit Nin and Hanabi. Pointlessly reminding her how powerful the Shiroi Oni was, and informing her of his threat to destroy the village should his ninja be harmed.
Hinata didn't care about that. She didn't care about the clan, and she certainly didn't care about Konoha. She cared about her precious little sister, who had been stolen from her, because Hinata had been weak.
So she had returned to training with a vigor that she had never had before, determined to rescue her sister no matter what, so that they could be together, again.
However, she had left the compound once, when her emotions had gotten the best of her. She'd been unable to locate her sister, but she had found one of the Spirit Nin… one of the sensei.
Flashback
Hinata burst through the front doors of the restrauant, nearly bowling over a number of the civilian customers. The staff took one look at her activated Byakugan, full of rage, and backed away.
She had stormed across the dining area, her gaze locked onto the lone Spirit Nin sitting calmly at a booth. Their hood was raised, which meant she couldn't identify them beyond the symbol over their heart, which only four of them had. The fact that the Spirit Village had something that could block her superior sight so easily irritated her immensely.
Upon reaching the table, she slammed her fist on it, rattling the Spirit Nin's plate. "Where is Hanabi!?" Hinata demanded, her loud voice drawing the attention of the few patrons that hadn't yet noticed her dramatic entrance.
Seemingly unbothered by her presence, the Spirit Nin calmly set the cup he had been holding down on the table. Then he turned to look at her, peering through the darkness of his hood.
"Tell me!" Hinata shouted after a moment, the Spirit Nin having remained silent. "Stop hiding beneath your hood and talk to me!" She was tempted to rip it off their head, but the warning of her father and the ANBU resonated in her mind.
As irrational as she was, Hinata's instincts were not entirely suppressed. They could feel the danger emanating from the ninja in front of her, and it kept her from doing something she might never have a chance to regret.
Slowly, deliberately, the Spirit Nin reached up and pulled down their hood, revealing their handsome face. He had long smooth purple hair, that reached down to his shoulders. His grey eyes met Hinata's, only slightly obscured by the bangs hanging just over his eyebrows.
"I don't believe where the Seikage's daughter is… is any of your concern." Arashi said calmly, his face tranquil. Internally, he was quite amused by the entire situation. He could relate to Hinata's struggle and pain, but he believed she was approaching the matter from entirely the wrong direction.
If Hinata truly cared about her sister, she would want what was best for her. That would entail speaking with her sister as an equal, and being willing to listen to what Hanabi wanted. Furthermore, Arashi knew that Naruto had already given his blessing for Hinata to join the Spirit Village, should she so desire it.
'Sadly, it seems that Hinata is much like the rest of the head branch of the Hyūga. Believing herself to be better than everyone else, and seeing the world through only their own eyes, them above everyone else.' Arashi mused as he lifted his cup, intending to take another sip.
That action seemed to be the final straw for the Hyūga Heiress, who lashed out violently toward the cup, intent on shattering it. Such a thing did not occur, however, as Arashi casually lifted his drink out of the way and took a sip as if nothing had happened.
"If Hanabi wishes to speak with you, then rest assured that she will find you." Arashi said before finishing his drink and moving on to the rest of his meal.
Hinata just stood there, mortified and outraged. The Spirit Nin had treated her like a petulant child at every turn, but yet he had also treated her with respect, and she was at a loss for what to do, what to say.
"Family would want what is best for their family, even if that is not what is best for them."
With that tidbit of wisdom, Arashi took his leave. He left his plate and money behind, before vanishing in a swirl of bright white lights.
End Flashback
"Hakke Kūshō!" Hinata obliterated yet another training dummy. She would get her sister back. She would become strong enough do so if it was the last thing she did.
"I dedicated my life to getting her back, I will not fail!" Hinata roared, lashing forward and unleashing another fury of attacks. She couldn't fail. She couldn't. To fail would mean the the clan would bypass Hinata, and use the caged bird seal on Hanabi.
And she couldn't allow that! The Hyūga elders had ordered for her to learn the technique to apply the Hyūga Clan's caged bird seal that bound the branch family to the head family. Should all else fail, she had been order to use the technique on her sister before the end of the exam… so that the secrets of the Byakugan remained thus.
'I have to save Hanabi, break whatever the Seikage is using to control her… sealing her won't accomplish anything. All my years of training will be for nothing!"
—
"Reports?" Kagerō requested. She was leaning on the wall in her and Fū's room in the hotel they had been staying in for the last week. All of the Adept Spirit Nin were present, scattered around the room in a myriad array of locations and poses. Yukimi was hanging of the ceiling upside, for instance.
Kankuro was the first to speak.
"Only two teams from Sunagakure are participating as far as we can gather, and both have arrived. It seems the Land of Wind has only weakened further. The first team is made up of genin that won't be a threat, and none of them possess any dangerous ability to skill that we could find." At this, Kankuro paused, his green and red eyes shifting to his taller sister.
"The second team may be of some concern, although nothing any of us couldn't handle in a group." Temari said, continuing the report. "The leader is Shakuton no Pakura (Pakura of the Scorch Release)."
Many of those present nodded in acknowledgment. The Spirit Nin had kept tabs on the powerful Shinobi within other villages, just as a precaution, and because it was a core part of their training to know their enemies.
Naruto only occasionally shared information from his own wide-spread network of Rinnegan Beetles, and had encouraged the Adepts to form a spy network of their own. Over the last few years, all the Spirit Nin in training had worked together to hire, bribe, and blackmail shinobi and civilians across the Elemental Nations. This alone wouldn't have been enough, but making deals with the Ningyō no otokonoko (Puppet Boys.) The extremely short and agile Tenseigan Puppets were willing to use their talents to spy, in return for gifts, and couple with Naruto's Rinnegan Beetles, there wasn't much in the Elemental Nations that wasn't known to the Spirit Nin.
All of this was to say that Pakura was a known element. She was a promising Genin who possessed the Scorch Release, which gave her a host of fire related abilities. She was extremely talented and graduated at the top of her class by a large margin. Because of this, they hadn't been sure whether or not she would participate in this years Chūnin Exams. As no matter how talented a Genin might be, the exams came with a high chance of death.
"We have fifteen team from Iwa, mostly irrelevant in terms of strength." Gaara said after Temari finished her report. He was sat crosslegged on the floor, his sand flowing around him in mesmerizing patterns. "The only one of interest is Deidara, the Iwa prodigy."
"Deidara? He's the one with that weird Explosion Release, right?" Rei inquired from her spot on Fū's bed. Gaara nodded.
"Last reports said it was expected in Iwa that Deidara would become the leader of the Explosion Corps once he was of age. It was confirmed that he was granted a unique Kinjutsu, it seems the rumors they are grooming him for an eventual position as Tsuchikage may be true." Kankuro added.
There was a brief lull in conversation until Isaribi spoke up. "Nine teams from Kiri. As we expected, many of them have bloodlines. I'm not sure what all of them are, exactly, but there is at least one with Hyōton (Ice Release), and one with Typhoon Release." She reported, getting nods from several of her fellow Adepts.
"Kumo has sent nineteen teams participating this year. Seven of the Genin have Ranton (Storm Release)." Guren reported, her pink eyes reflecting the light. On her shoulder was a creature she referred to as her familiar. It was small crystal dragon that she had given "life." It wasn't really alive, though, as she had to direct its movements. It was more akin to a puppet than anything else.
She'd named it Kyōkan.
Hanabi and Yukimi then gave their own reports, with Rei adding information she had gathered with her team about the teams participating from Konoha.
"It seems we have gathered everything we can," Kankuro said with satisfaction. "I'm looking forward to this."
Isaribi whooped, amusing everyone.
Forest of Death
The Forest of Death is a dense, dark and ominous place. The trees tower high overhead, their branches creating a canopy that blocks out much of the sunlight. The only illumination comes from shafts of light that manage to filter through the thick foliage, casting dappled shadows on the forest floor. The air is thick with the sounds of rustling leaves and chirping insects, and the occasional roar of a distant creature.
In the midst of this dense and foreboding wilderness is a small clearing, a pocket of light and open space in an otherwise suffocating landscape. In the center of this clearing stands a figure in white robes, their flowing garments appearing almost ethereal against the backdrop of the forest. The person stands tall and still, a beacon of calm in a sea of chaos and uncertainty.
Naruto had been forced to kill a few massive creature's who's intellect and instincts seemed at odds with one another, a vivid example being the gigantic ant smashed into a pulp against a nearby tree. Furthermore, the gigantic forest was rife with poisonous plants, vines, and hanging creepers. Of course, none of this bothered Naruto despite the fact that he hadn't traveled here via his mist, as he'd simply wished for the foliage to move aside, and it had obeyed.
'Ah, he's here,' Naruto mused, his Byakugan locked on seven people fast approaching through the treacherous forest. Six of them surrounded the clear leader, an older man with black shaggy hair. His right eye was bandaged, although Naruto could easily peer through the illusion beneath it. Danzo had an implanted Sharingan. Several, actually, though the rest were weirdly part of his heavily bandaged arm. He wore a white shirt, with a black robe over it that covered him from his right shoulder down to his feet.
His six Root ANBU moved about him protectively, dealing with any obstacle or threat that dared to rear its head.
Danzo grimaced as he leaped through the forest. He had secretly requested this meeting with the Seikage, a member of his ROOT subtly dropping off the message at the hotel the Spirit Nin were staying at. He had made sure that it was clearly a message, and not a sneak attack of some kind.
He knew perhaps better than anyone, how much the Shiroi Oni knew. Especially how much the Seikage knew about him, and his secret dealings. The fact that Danzo wasn't dead already meant that the Seikage didn't care, or if he did, it wasn't worth his time to deal with.
Regardless of the reason, Danzo hoped he could cement some sort of treaty with the Seikage. He'd briefly considered attempting to use the Kotoamatsukami on the Shiroi Oni, but given that he was certain that his illusions couldn't keep out Naruto's Byakugan, his secret was no secret. He'd gone for subtly, after all, not power in his illusions.
If the little known ability of the Sharingan failed to work for whatever reason, Danzo had little doubt he would die immediately. His spies had confirmed the rumors that the Shiroi Oni had at least two ways to kill someone instantaneously.
After a few more minutes of travel, Danzo and his retinue broke through into a small clearing. The Seikage was standing in the center, patiently waiting for them to arrive. They touched down on the lush grass, and Danzo tried to peer through the darkness of the Seikage's hat yet again.
"Thank you for accepting my request for a meeting," Danzo began, his voice uncharacteristically respectful, which rankled him. Internally he despised this whole situation, but he had to know where he stood with the kage of the most powerful village.
Perhaps the Hidden Spirit village did not have as much man power as one of the Great Five, but simply the fact that know one knew where the hidden spirit village was gave it a tremendous advantage.
"You wish for my to promise not to kill you, or your pet organization." Naruto replied bluntly. Danzo didn't let himself react, his years of experience easily masking his annoyance. Furthermore, the way the Shiroi's voice sounded disembodied, despite being right in front of him was disconcerting.
"I wish to know where we stand," Danzo hedged.
"Very well," Naruto replied as he folded his arms in front of him, hidden underneath his sleeves. "I know what you have done, what ROOT has done under your orders. However, none of it is my concern, and I have no responsibility to enact retribution on the behalf of those you have harmed.
"But…"
Danzo tensed, his chakra habitually flowing into the Sharingan hidden underneath his bandages.
"Should you move against me, I will crush you all." Naruto said, his voice as certain and cold as a mountain. "I can see your base hidden deep beneath Konoha, and while it might take a meteor… or two, I can reach it."
Danzo understood perfectly. He would not be the sore recipient of any retribution from the Seikage. Konoha would suffer as well.
"I understand," Danzo said, extinguishing the dozens of plans and possibilities for how this conversation might go. Despite his best efforts, he knew very little about what the Seikage wanted, or his personality. He'd hoped, however slightly, that he might be able to grasp something beneficial, but it was clear there was no such possibilities.
Perhaps the sensory ninja he had brought with him had detected something useful, but he knew he was grasping at straws. This whole debacle frustrated him greatly. He had no control, nothing to leverage, and while the possibility of kidnapping Hanabi Otsutsuki, or one of the other Spirit Nin was possible. Naruto had clearly stated the consequences, and they were too steep for Danzo to bear.
Furthermore, killing Hanabi wouldn't achieve anything either, except unleashing a fully enraged Shiroi Oni upon the Land of Fire. Something that Danzo wished to avoid at all costs.
Years ago, his spies had tracked down a civilian man from the Land of Water, specifically an island called Mother. He had spoken of a story where two titans had fought, wrecking vast swaths of the landscape with a single blow. Danzo had interrogated him further and confirmed that one of the "titans" was the One-tail. The other was a beast he had never heard of, but who the man had claimed was something the "leader" of the group had summoned.
Whatever it was, it had beaten the One-tail nigh effortlessly.
"Then this meeting is over," Naruto said after a moment of silence. The next moment, he had faded away, leaving no trace that he had ever been there at all. Danzo and his men turned around and began making their way back to the base, where he would have to continue to try to find a way to come out on top in this terrible situation.
Deva
Deva alighted on the path in front of Tsukino's mansion in Tsukigakure and released his hold over gravity. The bold and assertive woman had requested his presence through the use of the Spirit seals, and this body was the closest.
She had been rather brief as to why, but it seemed that Hoshigakure, the closest village to theirs, had finally caught on that something had changed with their neighbors.
Of course, this was only to be expected, and Naruto had already taken precautions, including studying Hoshi to better understand them. However, that had been several years ago. The main point of interest had been that they had a meteorite that possessed Star Chakra, which was the basis for many of their jutsu.
At the time, he hadn't felt it was worth risking revealing his presence in the Land of Bears to steal the meteorite, and he'd already spent a significant amount of time absorbing Star Chakra from the sun. Which wasn't compatible.
His Tenseigan was developing slowly, but that wasn't an issue. In fact, the only one bothered by that was his mother, who seemed to be convinced there as some method her family used to speed up the development. For the time being, it would be a few more years before he gained the Tenseigan for himself.
Entering the mansion, Deva walked through the elegantly decorated halls until he reached Tsukino's office.
"Thank you for coming, Lord Seikage," Tsukino said as she got to her feet and bowed before presenting her spirit seal as a sign of respect. Naruto nodded in return, and then sat down on nothing. A chair formed under him just before he would have fallen to the ground.
The many Naruto's had a habit of just creating what they needed out of chakra at any given point, at the exact moment that they needed it. Tsukino was convinced that Naruto didn't even realize he was doing it anymore.
Once situated, Deva gestured for Tsukino to begin, and she cleared her throat. "As I said earlier, Hoshigakure has finally started to pay attention to us, and have been scouting the edges of our territory for the last month. It was only yesterday that we caught two of their spies just outside the village, and are now under the watch of the Warrior Puppets.
"My Lord, if we do not deal with this quickly, we risk Hochi going to the Great Five and revealing our presence. Kumo is desperate for even a hint of our location. Furthermore, Hochi has the incentive to declare war on us themselves, as it would be the recognition they need to be recognized as a real village by the higher powers, something they desperately want."
Naruto mulled over Tsukino's words, but she hadn't yet finished her explanation. "The Hidden Star Village and the Land of Bears in general are known for their meteor showers every few decades or so, hence their name. During one of these events, they came into possession of a meteorite that emitted a unique Chakra, what we now know to be Star Chakra. Using it, Shinobi in the Hidden Star can obtain supernatural levels of chakra, and can manipulate their chakra's shape and form. However, they eventually became aware that anyone that absorbed this chakra would eventually die as it killed them from the inside. The practice was banned nearly two decades ago, but the new leader has brought it back, and training has begun once again." Tsukino finished, and set the report she had been reading from down on her desk.
"Star Chakra isn't something humans are able to handle, at least as far as I am aware. If its possible, it would require special training, similar to Nature Chakra…" Naruto mused aloud before trailing off and receiving a raised eyebrow from Tsukino. "What I don't understand is how shinobi there can use Star Chakra at all, it should kill them immediately. Perhaps the chakra comes from a star that is different from our own?"
Narutos' purple ringed eyes widened, "Chakra from a star that human's can survive, at least temporarily. If I could figure out how ti…" Naruto trailed off once more, his expression contemplative. Tsukino waited respectfully until her Seikage had worked through his thoughts.
Something that was a common occurrence. With his multiple bodies and split mind, it was not uncommon for the Seikage's attention to be abruptly pulled away, and everyone knew to wait respectfully for his focus to return.
"Another matter for another time," Naruto said quietly, dismissing whatever he had been thinking about. His piercing purple eyes met Tsukino's once more. "What are our options for dealing with this issue? I cannot allow knowledge of our location to spread to the rest of the Elemental Locations. It would put our civilians at risk."
Tsukino nodded, "I agree, my Lord. I believe our options are to either declare war on Hoshigakure and eliminate them, which would potentially allow us to claim their place as the Sixth Hidden Village nation." Besides Tsukigakure and Hoshigakure, there were no other shinobi villages within the Land of Bears, although there were a multitude of civilian villages and cities, as well as a weak Daimyo. They could easily take complete control of the country, and the Land of Spirits and a nice ring to it.
"I cannot endorse that option, at least not at this time," Naruto replied. "While it is a quick solution, we will still be risking drawing the Elemental Nation's attention to the Land of Bears. Shinobi will eventually come looking to see why the village was destroyed, and will discover our existence here. The longer we can stay out of sight, the better. Indefinitely would be ideal." Deva shifted his long white-hair out of his face, the slight breeze coming in through an open window having pushed it over one of his horns.
"My second proposal would be to enter into negotiations with the Hidden Star in an attempt to forge an alliance; this way we can keep our presence secret, and they can gain a powerful ally." Tsukino continued, and Deva nodded.
"For the time being we will go with the second option. If attempts at negotiations fail, I might be forced to resort to your first proposal, depending on the circumstances." Deva decided.
"Do you wish to talk with the two Hoshi Shinobi we captured?" Giving his assent, Deva rose to his feet and followed Tsukino through the village toward a containment facility that Spirit Nin had built for this exact purpose years ago.
Upon arriving, Deva peered through the one-way glass at the two Star ninja sitting in comfortable chairs in a simple, unadorned room. Two Tenseigan Warrior Puppets stood guard inside, watching the prisoners with blank, seemingly lifeless eyes.
Tsukino watched as Deva disappeared from besides her from the corner of her eye, merging with the gloom of the room. Shortly after, the handsome and intimidating figure of the Seikage emerged from the shadows in the other room. The two Shinobi jumped in fright at the rather demonic appearance of the man who had appeared in front of them.
Deva ignored their reactions as he moved over to the simple table, a chair once again forming out of nothingness to catch him as he sat down.
A minute passed in silence.
One of the two Shinobi tried to hold his gaze, staring back into his Rinnegan, while the other was squirming uncomfortably in his seat. Finally, one of them could no longer withstand the tension.
"W-what do you want with us?" The one on the left stuttered, a hint of panic in his eyes. Naruto was rather amused by the look of fear, having not done anything more than simply sat down and stared at them.
"I would like to know why you were spying on my village."
The nervous one gulped, but the other seemed to be undaunted. "We don't have to tell you anything!"
Naruto smiled, though it wasn't kind. "No, you don't.
"But you will."
END CHAPTER - 10.5k words
Hello again everyone! I won't make promises of schedule, and I won't elaborate too much as to why I am back here, writing this story, but I am back here, writing this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the next ones. (You can keep up with me at my discord which is definitely alive... haha.. yeah uhh. anyway. The Discord Server code is: yewTGGX)
My life has dramatically changed from how it used to be even a year ago, and I'm hoping to take the free time that I have and put it into this story, and use it to help get back into writing more comfortably. I have always enjoyed this story, I just had a level of… dislike for what I will totally admit is terrible writing and plot.
However, that is part of what I enjoy about this story. I'm not trying to make it perfect, but enjoyable for you and me, to the best of my abilities.
Next chapter, according to my notes from… 2021.. damn that was a long time ago.
I will briefly mention that I will be slimming down my other posts. I really did have a dream for Blindsight, but I realized in the end that it was... too much for fanfiction, and the incredible amount of effort I was putting into planning it out would be better spent, and better appreciated in an original ficiton. However, this realization came too late, and horribly, horribly demotivated me. I didn't recover from it for a long, long time, which was only exacerbated by things in real life.
I'll answer reviews like the good old days next chapter, so leave me something interesting peeps?
Oh, and to all those people who have made youtube videos about this story, could you at least credit me? And also... slow down the text to speech man, it's hard to understand. Thx. Ciao o/
P.S. Oh, and to you Guest who proclaimed that you felt so cheated. Thank you for your review, your words, in part, are what encouraged me to come back. Because I want to see the end of this story as well, and I relate to how painful it is when the story is left unfinished. I just hope I'm not too late for you :)
Also, as a coming back present for all of you, here is a removed scene that I kept from a long time ago. Enjoy ^-^
"Hanabi-chan, you still want to get ramen… right?" Yugito asked the excitable young girl. Hanabi leaped up from the bench as she screamed in excitement before running to Yugito.
"Yayayay! Let's go!" Hanabi grabbed Yugito's hand before pulling her toward the village. They quickly left their beautiful home in the woods behind, Kai watching them go from a balcony. They entered onto the beaten trail and hurried through the lush woods.
"Slow down Hanabi, the food will still be there when we get there." Yugito said, digging her heels into the ground to get the pale-eyed girl to slow down.
"But… but… ramen?"
"Yes, we are gonna get ramen."
"Yay!" Yugito managed to stop Hanabi from dragging her again and they peacefully continued on through the woods.
A few minutes later they were walking down the crowded and busy street, though many of the villagers backed out of the way with bows of their head. They were respected… but almost feared in the village.
"There it is!" Hanabi shouted, pulling her hand out of Yugito's grasp before shooting toward the building and disappearing behind the large flaps. Yugito sighed before walking inside and sitting down, Hanabi animatedly telling the young man behind the counter her order.
"And and…. One more than six bowls of Miso Ramen!" Yugito just shook her head.
"You're lucky that your Dad is funding your gluttony. I know I couldn't." Yugito commented, though Hanabi wasn't paying the least bit of attention.
"Hanabi, what do you think of your dad?" That did get Hanabi's attention. Very little meant more to Hanabi than her adoptive father, and she loved talking to him, about him… for him.
"Dad is awesome! He made a cool fireplace in my room. It's got green fire that will never stop burning!" Yugito smiled at that, remembering Naruto telling her about the idea, wondering if Hanabi would like it.
"He does love doing cool things for you."
"I love Dad!" Hanabi's attention was quickly drawn away as a bowl of ramen was placed in front of her. Yugito just smiled as the fresh food disappeared near instantly.
"You think you will ever get sick of Ramen?"
"NO!"