When Sai and Shino find Lord Naruto again, he has the Four-Tails by the neck, his other arm deep into the old man's stomach, forcing a seal.
Naruto spares them a glance, his features still sharp and angry. He lays eyes on Ino's body, cradled into Sai's arms.
"We are leaving as soon as we're done with this."
His retinue nods in affirmation and the Four-Tails groans as Naruto forces his way inside the man. His chakra flows freely and whenever there is a stop he injects more chakra, without a care for the consequences the man will suffer as a result.
The Two-Tails is giving orders to her people beside him and the moment Naruto takes his arm out, his fingers still infused with energy, the woman comes closer.
"Everything all right?"
Naruto lets the man fall to its knees and then to the ground. Unresponsive. "He's a dead man already, but his body will last until you can find a new vessel at least."
The Two-Tails gives him a look. "Until we-?"
"I'm going back," he glances around, eyeing the destruction they brought to the place, "right now, I have a bad feeling."
"Sure, we can lend you our fastest-"
"Thanks, but we'll be faster on our own."
The Two-Tails expect Naruto to continue talking, but he turns to his people in an attempt to prepare his leave.
"Are you letting us have the Four-Tails?"
Naruto half-turns, "A token of friendship, Lady Yugito!" He resumes his walk to his team, and now Lady Yugito can't hear him. "I have a feeling we'll be needing each other soon."
Sai and Shino are ready to depart and aside from sending a message with Sai's technique to Gaara about their decision, they leave immediately.
The only thing Naruto brings with him is the Uchiha boy that was guarding the Four-Tails. He is unconscious and Naruto feels disgusted the moment he lays eyes on the boy. But he needs him.
Whatever information he can give. Naruto needs it.
His chest feels heavy with worry and without Ino's upbeat chatter, the trek back home is mostly silent and serious.
Shino's bugs buzz around and nearing night, ways away from the Two-Tails' village, Shino raises a hand in signal.
Nothing can come near them without them knowing. Shino makes sure of that, and now, an unknown presence comes closer and closer to them.
"They want us to know they're coming," he adds, and the deliberate way in which the presence moves reaffirms his statement.
Naruto throws the boy to Shino, who grabs him with the same rude attitude as his lord, and then squares himself.
He lays out his own chakra as his godfather had taught him. Can pinpoint the general direction of the enemy. They approach slowly, as if giving them a chance to react.
Naruto waits, and then, from in between the woods appears a young man, a low ponytail, two distinct markings going down between his cheeks and nose.
His face makes Naruto squint his eyes. He has seen that face before. He then remembers the existence of the Uchiha and locks eyes with the newcomers' chest.
"Greetings, my lord." The man says, and Naruto has to bite down the dry laugh that threatens to spill.
"What do you want?"
"To help."
Naruto makes a face, stresses his words. "What do you want?"
"To remain at your good side, my lord." The man repeats, infuriatingly calm.
"Yeah? At the moment I'm dandy, thank you, now get lost."
"My lord…"
"We are in a hurry, buddy," Naruto lets his chakra loose. A wave of energy shooting from his body. "Get lost or I will make you."
"That boy," the man continues, his hand motioning to the unconscious guard in Shino's arms. "Please don't hurt him."
Naruto crouches, getting ready to pounce, and then remembers the boy's features. Now he gets it, they are related. Close family probably.
"He's my brother, my lord. My little brother. I humbly ask for your-"
Naruto scoffs as their relationship gets cleared, then snarls as he answers, "Well, your little brother tried to kill me and my people, so excuse me if I rough him up a little-"
"Your clan is under attack."
"Excuse me?"
"Under attack right now," he waits a second, "maybe the invasion is already over."
"You-"
"They plan to use the Seven-Tails to wreak havoc. Doing damage is all they want, but they also have instructions to try and kill your wife."
Naruto feels his blood run cold. He feels a pool of rage forming, but his fear is greater. "What?" He manages to stay, his voice weak and small.
"There is a rumor she's pregnant, so…"
His emotions flare up. There is a heat that eats at him growing bigger by the second that doesn't seem capable of stopping. Images of Hinata in danger flashing through his mind.
If they touched her-
"My lord," Shino warns.
And years of practice bring Naruto out of his trance.
Words are words. Emotions are a weapon and Naruto can't let himself get swayed by an enemy. No matter what they say. No matter how painful it is.
Lies. As long as the information comes from an enemy. Everything is a lie.
"Get the fuck away from here or I will end you."
"My lord-"
"I won't repeat myself."
Naruto gets into stance, but Ino's coughing fit fills the air immediately after.
"My lord!" she starts, urgency in her voice. In between coughs, the message is clear, "My lord the clan- an attack."
Naruto can feel the hairs in his body stand. The man in front of him remains still, and Naruto is sure his murderous aura is strong enough to be sensed. Yet the man's voice has a hint of arrogance as he talks.
"See? Now you know I'm telling the truth."
He has to go back. He has to go back now and not a second later.
"I'm going,"
"My lord-" starts Shino, his own nervousness showing at the growing buzz of his bugs.
"You take the kid," Naruto turns to his team. His back to the Uchiha, but with every sense ready to pummel him if he tries anything weird.
Ino is slowly gaining strength. Able to stand on her own feet, but needing Sai's arm for support. Her technique makes it difficult for her to regain control of her own body afterwards, but her face is hard and Naruto knows she's ready for whatever order he may give.
"I'll be faster on my own," he starts, and his team makes no effort to try and convince him otherwise.
"You," Naruto turns to the Uchiha, sizing him up. Naruto steals a glance at Shino, who nods his head almost imperceptibly. Although he's accepting the task of taking care of the man, Naruto can tell the Uchiha could mean trouble to his retinue. He frowns. At any other time he would never put his team under danger, but no human alive can keep up with his speed using the Beast's chakra.
His father, maybe, but he's not called the yellow flash for nothing.
"Follow my team, follow their instructions. Do anything funny and they'll kill your brother in a second," he snarls, "do anything funny and I'll find you myself to tear you apart limb by limb."
The Uchiha makes no change in his demeanor and only glances at the team behind Naruto.
"As you wish," he says. And Naruto can't spare the time to be annoyed by his attitude before turning to Shino and checking with him once again.
The man is next to him, whispering for him to rest assured and leave as soon as possible. If they are under attack then the lord ought to go back, enemies like hitting twice after weakening defenses.
If things get worse with them, although not without wounds, they can take on the Uchiha.
If things go even worse, they have Ino. She's not a fan of the plan -taking her life is still difficult even if she knows it's not her body-, but they have to only restrain the Uchiha's movements for her to use her technique.
Naruto doesn't ask what it will entail for them to ensure the Uchiha won't move. He already knows the answer.
Whatever it is necessary.
•····························•····························•
His body is hot. The Beast's chakra envelops his whole body, a thin layer he keeps checking in on in order not to lose control.
Emotions are to be controlled. Especially if you're a Beast Tamer.
But his team is behind with an Uchiha that seems capable enough. His clan is far away and under attack and his wife...
His wife and his child are being targeted and Naruto feels the need to tear and destroy rise inside his body. If Hinata is injured-
If Hinata-
Hinata…
His chakra flow spikes slightly and the air around him trembles as his feet dig too hard into the ground.
In and out. He breathes in and out and then in and out again.
His father and his godfather and Kiba and Shikamaru and Kakashi and Hana and Tsume are at the clan and they can and will defend it and Hinata and his baby-
Naruto stops thinking.
He forces himself to think of nothing. To concentrate on the way his chakra can be laid out around him and the ground and the trees and the stones around him. To concentrate not on himself but on the nature around, to keep his breathing in check and his chakra at a steady output.
And think of nothing.
And he manages to do that. But the feeling of dread never leaves him.
•····························•····························•
The smoke and fire rising are visible from a way back. His breathing is controlled but the closer he gets the harder it gets to-
No. He is controlled, but he knows deep inside that if given the choice this time, he wouldn't mind letting go of himself to see his enemies destroyed.
He is calm, surprisingly so. He enters the outer compound and he knows the danger has passed. Not only is he able to assess this just by looking around, but the chakra he has laid out is enough to confirm the fact that the invasion has already ended.
He ran here. Sprinted. And he's late.
Grandma Mito has always asked for forgiveness for being always late. Naruto has always smiled and reassured her that there was nothing she could have done. Bad luck, he would say, knew in his heart he didn't resent her. And she would always give him that look. That look he didn't know what to make of.
He thinks he can understand her better now.
If anybody were to tell him that he's not to blame- that there was nothing he could have done-
An Aburame finds him. Her face is hidden like almost every other member of her clan, but Naruto has grown up surrounded by them, and he can see her haggard appearance, the tension resting in her shoulders.
And in a second, Naruto's own tension comes back with a vengeance.
"Is Hinata-?"
"The lady is safe," the woman keeps on talking, but Naruto can feel his own knees buckling under him. The woman shortens the distance between them in a second and supports her lord. Naruto breathes in a shaky breath and can feel himself let go of some of the anger inside of him.
The woman gives him a second. A second he appreciates. And then he listens to the full report regarding the invasion.
•····························•····························•
Her clothes are clean and washed and without a trace of blood or dirt on them.
Her hands are no longer pressing on the bleeding wound on Neji's chest.
She is safe and so is everyone else she cares about in here.
The thought makes her shudder.
As if the losses they suffered mattered any less.
Kiba keeps her company. His good humor is ever present and he makes sure to keep her fed and taken care of. She feels useless.
Neji's wound wasn't her fault, they say. Neji's condition is not her responsibility and every member of the clan would have done the same thing he did. He fulfilled his role and if anything he deserves respect.
But his respect comes at the risk of his life and Hinata has never understood that way of thinking.
Maybe if she had stayed somewhere else. Maybe if she had stayed closer to someone else… then Neji wouldn't have felt the need to protect her.
Maybe if she hadn't asked for his help. And then maybe if she had just hated him enough to send him back to the Hyuga clan.
Maybe, just maybe, if she hadn't entertained the thought of being with Naruto… if she had just stayed back at her clan, alone and lonely but with Neji safe and healthy…
She realizes the stupid way in which her thoughts have spiraled and the shame that fills her is disgusting.
She doesn't even deserve to feel bad. Useless people ought to-
Kiba barges in on her room, he is disheveled and out of breath but he is smiling. Smiling at a time like this-
Naruto enters just behind him and Hinata's heart stops.
She breaks. Her chin trembles, her tears pool at her eyes and she feels herself gasping for air.
She can barely mumble out the start of his name before Naruto throws herself at her. His arms surround her and he hides his face at her neck.
He's trembling.
"Thank the gods," he shudders, "thank the gods." His hands roam her body and he kisses her everywhere he can. Pecks over pecks and his tears mix with hers.
He brings her to him, crushes her body against his own, and for a second, she forgets everything aside from the arms of her husband around her body.
HIIIII!
The babies are back together at long last! Hurray! (●'◡'●)
(The clan is worse for wear and Neji is in bad shape and Naruto will have to make some tough decisions soon, but you know, at least they are back together (◔◡◔))
To our guest Hi, hopefully your heart can have some rest now! I know I may sound mean but knowing you're worried about the next update is just ehailscjasnxlkjaw I'm glad
Ramona! Thank you so much for the praise! I hadn't even thought nor realized that, so I'm glad the fight scenes are good! (❤´艸｀❤) As for our man Neji... next chapter we'll know his fate, so just hang in there (づ￣ 3￣)づ
Shoutout to our new guests!
IReadForThePlot, who praised my smut writing abilities (❤´艸｀❤) I am glad! If I can get you all somewhat horny my job here is done LOL (Also, great username (◔◡◔))
Jiji Moe, who liked Naruto being badass. Me and you both, buddy, me and you both (づ￣ 3￣)づ
Also, PS.
I WANT TO SCREAM INTO THE VOID THAT I PLAYED FIRE EMBLEM THREE HOUSES AND I LOVE DIMITRI BLAYDDID ALL RIGHT
Have a great one! See you next week!