"Guess we'll just have to knock." Shikamaru smirked, throwing a kunai with a bomb tag attached. "Get ready!"
Sai and Shikamaru watched as it hit the barrier, the sound of wings flapping caused them both to look at each other. Soon an opening formed in the barrier and out came the main puppet. Both turned and began to head back, leading them away from the barrier, dodging as many energy balls as they could. Sai was thankful that they had opted to wear goggles, allowing him to see through the dust and smoke as the balls of chakra hit the walls of the canyon they had flown into. Sai quickly brought out a large scroll, brush swiping across it and emerged a crab made of ink over his head. The crab landed in the canyon, blocking the path and taking the hit from the enemy and allowing Shikamaru and Sai the opportunity to put more distance between them. However, one energy ball bypassed and hit Sai in the back, causing him to fall forward.
"Dammit. Sai, hang on a moment longer so we can get back to the others. Sakura should be able to heal you." Shikamar snapped. What a drag.
Back inside the castle, Hinata and Toneri sat on either side of a very long table, food placed before them. Toneri was digging in, Hinata simply sat with her hands in her lap. She felt utterly defeated, having had no real time to explore the castle from the moment he felt better. Hanabi was still in bed and Hinata truly felt as if the time she had been given was for nothing. Toneri caught her attention, but she refused to meet his gaze. She knew her feeling of defeat wouldn't last, something would have to work in her favor or else she'd have to make it work somehow.
"It's always better when you have company to spend time with." He said to her, but she continued to look down, fingers clenching in frustration. "Tell me all about yourself."
Hinata took a breath, choosing to ignore his request. "It's not too late to negotiate with the shinobi."
"What?" He snapped, eyes squinting in her direction.
"You're right. For so long, the shinobi of the earth continued to use chakra to battle each other. But, it's different now. They have joined forces to work together to bring peace and -."
"They will simply start another war." Toneri stated flatly. "I don't want to talk about this again. My decision is made and I'm not going back on that. Do not bring this up to me again."
Hinata closed her eyes, frustration evident on her face, but then she felt something. Opening her eyes, she looked to her left out the window and saw another rock fly by, but this one seemed different. Brows furrowed as she watched it continue on, but she sensed some sort of chakra from inside of it and it grasped her attention entirely.
"Well, looks like it's come back around again. That is the temple of Hamura. Once a year, during the Rebirth Festival, it comes near the castle." Toneri answered her unanswered question.
A few hours later, Toneri's eyes bothered him again and he went to lay down. Instantly Hinata stood outside, eyes trained on the temple with byakugan activated. The wind was blowing, her eyes however were not obscured by her hair even as the strands threatened to temporarily blind her from her goal. Looking at it, she knew right then that the tenseigan was inside. However, Toneri soon came to her side, saying that the pain had subsided rather quickly.
"Could we possibly go inside the temple? I'd like to pay my respects." Hinata asked, looking at him with the most innocent expression she could.
"Of course. You are to be my wife after all." So he led her inside, along with two of the smaller puppets leading the way and his main female one following behind. "I feel that he would appreciate you wanting to do so."
They went through a long hallway, a stone path definitely carved by man. She had no doubt the closer they got that the tenseigan was inside the temple. They came up to a carving that she immediately recognized from the vision, Hinata narrowing her eyes the moment she recognized it. It was large and stood above them, but the image she recalled from the vision matched it.
"Is that…?" She found herself asking, but stopping halfway through.
"Yes. That is the tenseigan." Toneri replied, glancing at her.
"Then this is the Otsutsuki's treasure that is causing the moon to move?" Hinata asked, but instead of Toneri responding, it was the marionette that resembled an older woman.
"Lady Hinata, only those who are in a much higher position are allowed to see the real tenseigan. This is a temple where those who are of lower rank come to pray and worship."
"Oh, I see." Hinata frowned, brows closing in together as she took in that information. So what was before her wasn't the tenseigan.
They left soon after and she found herself curious if she would be able to find the real thing. As if he could read her mind, Toneri turned to her, "I'll show you the real tenseigan once we are married."
A feeling of sadness enveloped her instantly, knowing that her intention wasn't to marry Toneri, no matter if he believed her choice was just that. Her goal was to destroy the tenseigan and stop it from destroying the earth and saving her little sister. No, I cannot think this way, not yet. I have to find the tenseigan and destroy it and save Hanabi. Everyone gave me this chance and I won't ruin it. Hinata stopped herself from nodding in determination, opting to keep a straight face. She kept her eyes forward and suddenly something caught her attention. A rock formation that looked just like the moon, except that it looked like a moon that had been mostly destroyed. Creating a rather jagged crescent shape. In the middle looked like a much smaller moon, small, jagged rocks surrounded it.
She silently activated her byakugan and instantly noticed that the smaller moon within the crescent one was black, a much bigger contrast to the white that she saw with the other bits of rock. A distortion. When she honed in, she noticed what looked like a wave of smoke, confirming her suspicions that it was, in fact, distorted from her byakugan. Immediately it registered that this had to be the exact location of the real tenseigan. Why else would that be distorted? Biting her bottom lip, she knew needed to force a moment to get to it and destroy it before Toneri or the marionettes could catch her.
A while later, they sat at a smaller table, tea between them as he sat quietly, idly watching her crochet a new scarf. She focused on it, in her head her plan was to still give it to Naruto. Her fingers rhythmically moved, the material coming together just as the last one had, though she knew Toneri was viewing it as something for himself. Suddenly she heard grunting, pausing what she was doing to look up and see that his hand was right back over his own eyes. He instantly stood, not bothering to spare her a glance.
"I'm going to my room to rest. I'm looking forward to seeing the scarf once you have finished it." He said, only then looking her way with a small smile before he left the room.
Hinata set it down the moment the door closed, a determination now etched in them as she went outside, byakugan fully activated. She saw that they were high up and she jumped down from her position toward the first floor, using what she could on the way down. Once she hit the floor, she ran as fast as she could, eyes focused on the prize that sat before her.
"Well, we found a way in." Shikamaru said as he entered the cave they had made into their campout. "Managed to lure them out, and there were a lot of birds and of course the puppet you saw, Sasuke."
"How's Sai?" Neji asked, who was sitting several feet away from Sasuke.
"He's good now, but Sakura needs to rest to regain her chakra. We are going to need everything we got when we go get Hinata and Hanabi." Shikamaru responded.
"Please, let me say this, Sasuke-kun." Sakura began the moment Neji left the room they occupied. "I feel that it's time that I move on from you, even if it's painful."
He glanced at her, but said nothing, however she took his glance to mean he was listening and continued. "It's hard, you know. I've chased you for so long, but I know that because of the arranged marriage, we can't ever be. I'm just thankful that even if we can't be together, that I can have you as a friend." She took a breath. He nodded, but gave her nothing else and so she left, leaving him alone with his thoughts until Neji got back.
Sasuke thought back to the conversation Sakura had decided to have with him while Shikamaru and Sai were gone. He didn't quite understand why she needed to bring this conversation up, but assumed it was more for herself than his benefit. Sasuke learned that she also held a soft spot toward Hinata and perhaps that was part of her need to say what she did. He hadn't said much other than acknowledging he was listening. When she left, he sat there and thought about everything. His goal right now was to fix this mess that this Otsutsuki had created. From there he needed to find out about this rogue Hyuga and what they had planned to do. And after that he would need to figure out what the Hyuga clan was trying to get their hands on. Those were his main concerns at the moment. He did think about Hinata now that the genjutsu had worn off, he wondered how far she had gotten. So far nothing had changed, so it was obvious the tenseigan wasn't destroyed. Had she at least found it? Perhaps it would take more than her own strength to destroy it. It was something he had considered.
"Sasuke, you better hope for your sake that nothing happened to either of them." Neji said a moment later. "I trusted you both with this plan."
"Maybe you should have more faith in your cousin than that." Sasuke stated flatly, not even glancing in Neji's direction.
"I do, but obviously after Kaguya, maybe you should consider that it took more than just one person to bring her down."
Sasuke finally looked at Neji, meeting his eyes. "She may not be as strong as Naruto or even myself, but that doesn't mean she isn't strong, nor does she lack intelligence or ambition."
"Never thought I'd see the day you would compliment anyone." Neji snorted.
"Hn." Sasuke responded, feeling that he had nothing more to offer or say. He didn't care as this argument was truthfully a waste of his time. Right now they were waiting on Sakura to build up her chakra so they could go to the castle. That was truly it and she had a right to as Sai had needed quite a bit of healing. It meant that when they took the puppets on, they'd need to be fully prepared for what was to come. A moment later, Shikamaru and Sai came in, sitting near the fire, Sai looking much better than he had when he had come back.
In the other room, Sakura was dreaming, but her dream was more of a memory. She was eating lunch with Naruto, ramen as usual. The conversation had been interesting and something that she realized she was seeing so very differently than she had perhaps convinced herself of.
"Truthfully, Naruto, I think that you only loved me because I loved Sasuke. And you said it to me because you didn't want to lose to him." She finally said, leaning her cheek on her fist, watching him curiously.
"Sakura-chan, I don't think that at all. When I loved you, and while you loved Sasuke, so many others did too. Ino-chan included. It was why the two of you had a rivalry. To say that my love for you was because of him would mean I would have had to love so many others. I loved you before our teams formed. What if Sasuke had been on a different team? What if he developed feelings for that person instead?" Naruto watched her eyes widen. "You may have found me annoying and back then, I can say I wasn't exactly someone that many liked. I grew up like everyone else and learned to be more confident in myself. When I saw you, I saw pink hair and green eyes. Someone who was self conscious of her forehead, but I found that to be a part of you that was just as beautiful as the rest.
"When I pretended to be Sasuke, I meant what I said to you. You may have heard it from him, saw him say it to you, but those words were mine, Sakura-chan. What I felt for you had nothing to do with Sasuke." Naruto looked at his ramen, a sad smile on his face. "My feelings were as real as the ones you hold for him. Perhaps, though, moving on from him is the best decision. He's married to Hinata-chan now and she's a great person, I'd even say too good for him. Though, for Sasuke to have someone like her is good for him. He can't treat her like he does everyone else and he has to learn to accommodate her as much as she does for him. He has to learn patience and to be soft. Hinata has to learn to be assertive and to stand up for herself more. When you think about it, they make as much sense as you do with him. They will bring out the best in each other because they have no choice."
"Naruto…" Sakura breathed out, his words hitting in a way she didn't expect. "I took in everything you said, but your feelings for me… are they past tense?"
"I don't know, Sakura-chan. I suppose that's up to you."
He left at that point, putting money down that paid for both meals and left her alone. His words sunk in and she didn't realize that realizing his feelings may be over hurt her in some way. Was she developing feelings for Naruto? Biting her bottom lip, she left, not bothering to follow him, but taking the time to register what he said. I guess you really have grown up, she thought to herself. With a small smile, she knew what she needed to do and the messenger hawk delivering her a letter to meet the Hokage in the morning shortly after gave her the time she needed to put into motion her next move. Because, as she thought back to everything he said, he was absolutely right.
Hinata jumped from rock to rock, eyes focused on the area that was distorted, making sure to not miss her step. She finally made it inside, running through the corridor and minding to not hit the orbs that seemed to glow red around her. The rock making up the tunnel seemed to glow red between each one, as if lava would come pouring out at any moment. An opening was finally visible and when she reached it, she took a look inside.
Gold pillars sat in place at various angles, some up and down and others on their side. However, the thing that caught her attention was what sat in the middle. So she used the pillars on their side to make her way toward it, shortly reaching it to see that the large, bright orb that sat in the middle had to be the tenseigan. The outside was a very pale yellow, almost white and on the inside, she felt it resembled Toneri's eyes, but rather than blue, it was yellow. The shape reminded her of a star and suddenly she thought back to Sasuke's mangekyou sharingan. For some reason, the image of his eye caused her to smile slightly, but she shook her head. Focus was what was needed to destroy this thing.
Hinata got into her Huyga clan position, right arm straight out and left bent, the hand near her side. Right leg straight out and left leg bent slightly. She held her right palm out to face the tenseigan. Just as she prepared to build up chakra, a noise caught her attention and she turned to see multiple marionettes behind her, each of them eyeing her with scrutiny. The one she remembered that had kidnapped her stood near the back, his arm reaching out and soon the others began to charge at her. The first one she managed to use her hand to toss him toward the tenseigan, but a few more came at her. She hit one, pushing him away and as the other seemed to come at her feet, she pushed chakra into her feet and flipped backwards, grabbing it in the process to fling away from her. It hit the ground below her and when she landed, she sensed one behind her, so she used her left leg to twist her around, right leg at an angle to catch it in the side.
Two more then came at her and attempted to use their fist, but she twisted away from their attack, Elbowing one in the side before using her left leg to kick the other away as well. Another came at her and she was about to use her palm to hit him when something stopped her entirely. It was as if she didn't have control over her own body. Panic set in and she felt her body being pulled backwards toward the entrance. A hand grasped her wrist a moment before her feet hit the ground. She turned to see Toneri standing there, his eyes filled with utter fury. His lips were set in a thin line.
"What is going on here?" He demanded of her, pulling her closer to him.
"You're wrong about this!" Hinata snapped, attempting to free her arm to no avail.
"What did you say?" He leaned toward her, eyes holding a menacing look in them.
She glared up at him, "Hamura's soul has entrusted me with the true Celestial Decree. You have entirely distorted his teachings! He never wished for the destruction of the world that the Sage of Six Paths built on the Earth!"
With each word, his eyes narrowed further and further, his grip on her wrist tightened painfully, but Hinata refused to show that. She stood in place, feet planted firmly as she continued to meet his glare with one of her own. They seemed to stare at each other, which she took as him taking in her words and she wondered if maybe he would stop and fully listen to her. Yet, the grip on her wrist didn't lessen and he merely tilted his head at her.
"I see. You have betrayed me."
He sent out green chakra orbs that clasped onto her hands, holding her up a few feet off the ground and holding her in place. She realized that the orbs were in fact taking her chakra and rendering her byakugan and anything else useless. He led her and those that had attacked her out, not bothering to look back at her as she moved behind him thanks to the orbs.
"Please hear me out! Hamura didn't -!" Hinata started, hoping that she could make him understand.
"Silence! I will not believe your lies!" Toneri snapped, not looking back as he continued walking. "Hamura made but one Celestial Decree: to end the world of the Sage of Six Paths!"
Soon they made it to the castle and right to the room she was last in with him and she watched him pick up the scarf, anger flooding his entire face. "You made this for him didn't you?! You knitted this for your husband and not for me, haven't you?"
And with his fist, the entire thing exploded, remnants of the material going in every direction before slowly falling to the floor. Hinata watched in horror, feeling uncertain by the entire ordeal and unsure of what would come next. She knew that Toneri would now make sure she wasn't free and the fear of what he would do to Hanabi was also evident. Toneri then stepped forward, another orb that she remembered him using on her before in his hand. He was filled with rage as the jutsu in his hand glowed before her.
"I'll make sure that you never betray me again!"
His arm went back behind him, the glowing orb in his hand before he slammed it into her chest. A cry tore through her throat, but seemed to stop before it reached her lips, her entire body went limp and she couldn't move anything, but her mind was sharply intact. Panic was setting in, but she had no way to do anything about it and soon after, as if her mind was trying to ease away the fear, the world around her went black for a moment. When she woke up, she was placed in what felt like a painting, watching Toneri sip on tea and gaze up at her. She couldn't move her body, her brain unable to make the muscles follow its very command. Realizing that her fate was sealed, a tear leaked down her face and what internally surprised her was her hope that Sasuke would come save her and from Toneri's jutsu.
A/N: I want to thank everyone for the support I have received for this story and for those who have given me ideas and suggestions to improve it. I will acknowledge specific people in the next chapter but wanted to say that at the very least. I have appreciated each of you that took the time to thank me for making changes and listening. As long as each of you continues to come to me in a respectable manner, I will for sure listen. Criticism is something that I take into very strong consideration and it's something that helps me to grow as I get into writing. The fact that many of you took the time to say something about that made the changes I made and will possibly make in the future a much easier experience. Never worry about upsetting me or anything of the sort. No review, as much as someone hopes to, has bothered me.
So, like everyone else, I get the "gfkysasap Ashley" comment, I've noticed they have more personalities than the amount of characters in this story. I've seen them use multiple names, so I can only assume that they have one for each day of the week, maybe? I got that comment on my author note chapter (and have off and on for a while on the others). I want to say that I am now a zombie because, obviously, SasuHina will continue to live on and apparently, I have more to write. So much for taking really shitty ass advice only to now be a zombie with an interesting craving for brains. Please note that my family is safe with me and that I try to minimize my need for brains and resort to raw meat. It was gross before but apparently as a zombie, that stuff is amazing. 10/10 would recommend to all you zombies reading this. If you are not a zombie, please cook your meat. I don't recommend it unless bacteria just isn't a fear of yours, but even then, I encourage it. It isn't one of mine now thanks to my zombie-ness. But it should be a concern to all of my living readers. (Only time I'm every acknowledging this but felt that with the April Fools stories coming out, I'd at least offer up a little something to get into the spirit of things.)
Jokes aside, happy reading and I'll write to each of you personally in the next chapter. BYE!