Hinata manifested a spark between her pointer fingers soon after discovering her affinity. It made her jump back and shiver, but Anko was there to soothe her. Most of that time was spent making her comfortable with its feeling, sound, and sight. After, she was instructed to practice streaming and channeling it through things until it was second nature. Quite a few ideas of how to apply it with her Gentle Fist came to mind, but they required living targets to verify their worth. She met Anko at either her residence or the training spot at changing intervals for check-ups, learning how to conceal her presence more, talks, doing whatever she ordered, and affectionate cuddles. Who she sat before and where she was were all too different.
The elders of the Hyuga Clan sat before her with her father in the middle, sister to his left, and grandfather at his right. It was a long time coming. Hiashi had it delayed out of insistence that her mental state was anything but stable. Some argued against by virtue of how grand her transgressions were, but Hiashi was the head, and his father hadn't been in the mood for arguing since Hizashi was executed. A tribunal was called.
"Hinata Hyuga," Hiashi, back to his normal self, began, "you have been summoned here today to defend your status as a member of the main branch." His gaze and tone betrayed no emotion. "You have betrayed The Hidden Leaf Village and set in motion a chain of events that will condemn thousands–Leaf, Hyuga, and otherwise–to death. A member of your squad and one of your own kin have already died because of your actions. By what right should we permit you to retain your status as a member of the main branch?"
Her expression and tone matched. "By right of being the only one that can placate Naruto Uzumaki and convince him to assist the Leaf in destroying its enemies with The Nine-Tailed Fox's power."
"You believe your status as his lover gives you so much sway over him?" A female elder asked. "When you were not enough for him to forgo his lust for vengeance?"
"Even if that were the case, how are you still worthy of being a main branch member?" Another male elder asked.
Hinata held back her urge to smile. "Because I will be controlling The Nine-Tailed Fox, which by virtue means the Hyuga Clan will control it. Kushina Uzumaki was the previous jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, and Mito Uzumaki, as I recall, was the first: only Uzumaki have served as its jinchuriki." The looks on their faces made her want to laugh. "I know not of any other Uzumaki ninja in the Leaf save for Naruto, and I am the only woman he has given his seed." Hanabi's pink face nearly drove her to.
"You are not pregnant," Hiashi said, not needing to check, "and other Uzumaki can be found or created through harvesting him."
"If the former were easy, the other villages and interested parties would have taken them already, and do you think Naruto would willingly assist the Leaf in event of the latter?"
The female elder hummed. "She has a point."
"To willingly subject yourself to being his broodmare…" One of the other male's drifted off.
Hinata didn't know whether to be offended or amused. "I betrayed everything for him." She put a hand over her belly. "It may mean nothing to any of you, but he swore to give me as many children as I wished." Hanabi turning from pink to scarlet was driving her to the edge. "And I wish to bear as many as I can."
"It is an interesting proposal yet still a proposal," her grandfather said. "We require solid reasoning." It was more advice for her than a statement: he'd branded enough of his offspring.
"Neji, the pride of our clan, lost in battle against Naruto for all the nobility of the land to see." It took her all to keep from smiling. "When I confronted him, I did not suffer a single wound and practically took him as a spoil." She blinked when Hanabi's gaze changed from stoic to awe-inspired.
"His feelings did not make him hold back?" Another elder asked.
"It was only when I confessed and bedded him he shared the same sentiment I had towards him toward me."
"He is a man." The female elder murmured. "But jinchuriki are shunned and unloved."
Hiashi saw an opening. "Naruto Uzumaki grew up without parents and likely without proper guidance. I saw he had feelings for you yet I doubt he understood what they were." His eyes narrowed the fraction of an inch, telling her what she needed to do. "How did you vanquish him?"
Hinata inclined her head. "I used the Infinite Darkness Jutsu to take away his sight, launched him into the air, and performed a blend of the Rotation and the Sixty-Four Palms to incapacitate him."
"A blend?" Her grandfather genuinely questioned.
The female elder nearly scoffed. "If such a thing were possible, we would have records of it." Her stalwart gaze roused her curiosity.
One of the elders would've laughed if that was anything close to proper. "Demonstrate this combination."
Rising to her feet, Hinata gave a bow. She stepped back, put one foot a little around her other, held out her arms loosely, and began spinning. Chakra shot from her tenketsu at the same level she deployed against Naruto, creating the signature sphere of the Rotation. Her waving arms, lacking a target's tenketsu to accurately target, danced along an imagined enemy's. The primary differences between it and the two others was the methodology of her attack as well as the form of her chakra. Rotation was meant to repel through brute force while hers was concentrated enough to cut, allowing her to keep a target in place to seal their tenketsu.
They observed with their Byakugan activated. None could deny its effectiveness nor its ingenuity. A target stuck in mid-air would be unable to resist, especially if she targeted the tenketsu in their hands first. Even if they knew Naruto was split in half at the time, they couldn't argue that he let her win. It required a level of chakra control beyond even what the Hyuga considered good. All could only approve as she stopped.
Hiashi saw the slightest of twitches by those around him and so did they. "...You really have become strong." He only wished she showed promise before.
An elder inclined his head. "As grand as your transgressions may be, I cannot condemn a main branch member of your caliber with the cursed seal."
"I suggest we abstain judgment until she is in any position to show viability in her proposal, at the very least," another said.
"That would be the wisest course of action." The female elder could not help but look at her with some envy. "Prowess alone does not make your behavior acceptable."
"It seems you will remain a member of the main branch," her grandfather said.
One of the remaining elders nodded. "For now."
"This meeting is concluded." Hiashi rose first, signaling the rest to. "Follow me, Hinata." He walked past her towards the clan headquarters' exit.
She obeyed. "Yes, father." Far enough away from listening ears and out the building, she looked up to him. "I wish to learn the ultimate jutsu of our clan." His steel gaze did not deter her. "So long as I remain a member of the main branch, it is my right."
"You will cease your movements outside of the compound and mind yourself." He stopped as she did.
"...Make me."
His hand moved like a bolt of lightning and was repulsed by chakra emissions from her cheek. "You...have become an impertinent woman." He kept walking toward the main house. "I must show you the scroll as I cannot perform it myself." Beating his own daughter, having it ordered regularly, or subjecting her to a medically induced coma, besides the potential for permanent damage, would weigh on him too much, and he couldn't have her running off incapable of defending herself to the fullest. Her emotional blackmailing was all too effective thanks to his love and guilt.
Hanabi, wide-eyed, could only watch her sister's back going after him before she followed. She didn't know what to make of any of it. In spite of Hinata's disinheritance, she was acting more like the heir than her. Neji's death was still fresh, but she didn't fault her for it as they would: he used to say those who fell in battle met their destiny and it would be Hinata's if she died from the wounds he gave her, not that she didn't admire him. Their father couldn't control her, and the elders couldn't deny her ability. Everything she was taught had been spun on its head by her elder sister.
The southern-most of Orochimaru's hideouts was all too simple compared to the rest they were aware of. Simple brick walls, wood doors, and iron bars besides the staff were all to be seen. Inmates and staff alike stared at the two newcomers they'd never seen before walking through. Sensor type ninja among them ran to corners and transformed themselves into small creatures to hide. Orochimaru said two more would be coming with him, but they couldn't help being unnerved.
"It's like a click in your head, right?" Naruto glanced at Jugo. "You can't tell between left or right and up or down until…" He snapped his fingers.
He hummed. "Yeah, it's like that."
Approaching a door in the deepest part of the hideout the staff was leading them to, he raised an eyebrow at weeping. "Uh?" He opened it and flinched at a terrified wail.
"Seriously, what the fuck?" Suigetsu, crouching down to observe a collapsed and shivering red-head, asked.
"Karin, unlike most sensor ninja, does not need to mold her chakra to perceive signatures." Orochimaru picked her up into his arms before turning to Naruto. "She likely sensed what's inside you."
She buried herself into his chest. "Make him go away!"
"What's inside…" Suigetsu drifted off, realizing what that meant.
Grinning, Naruto leaned towards Karin. "Boo!" Her cry made him burst into laughter.
Orochimaru smiled as he stroked her head. "No need to be cruel." He looked down at her. "What do you sense?"
"Death, passion, and…" She looked up, tears emerging from her eyes. "Despair?"
Jugo grabbed Naruto's right hand before he could lift a finger. "No."
Naruto glared at him until Jugo began shaking. "Fine." It was a spur of the moment anyway, and he would've used his left or been too fast with his right if he really wanted to kill her.
"Got it out, I see." Suigetsu nearly froze when their eyes met. "H-H-Hey!" His gaze lingering made him liquefy. "C-Come on, man!"
Orochimaru refrained from licking his lips. "I don't need anything or anyone else here."
Naruto tilted his head, hummed, and shook his head at another look from Jugo. "It would be too boring." He looked to Suigetsu. "You do it."
"I do need to get used to this sword, but I'm not in a killing mood either, which is a first for me."
"Don't make m–"
"Karin?" Orochimaru, cutting him off, asked before setting her down.
"I… I get to kill all of them?" She stopped shaking and began laughing. "Oh hell yeah!" Chains emerged from her body as she ran out of the room. "This is for putting up with all your bullshit!"
Suigetsu flinched at the sound of jangling being accompanied by screams. "Uh?" He turned to Naruto, who shrugged.
"I'm just as lost as you are right now." He turned to their official leader.
"She has the Uzumaki temper and blood lust," Orochimaru said, smiling at her joyous laughter.
"Come on, you know how I…" Drifting off, he recalled the color of her hair. "Oh." He squinted. "We're born with that?"
He tilted his head from side to side. "They were a savage people with an interest in seals, the ultimate jutsu of which involve human sacrifice and deals with beings beyond our comprehension."
"Your father did tell you he traded his soul for the power of the Shinigami's seal, right? I did tell you he was in its stomach."
'And you did say mom loved to brag about how many people he killed.' He hummed. "You think they would've taken more of an interest in Ninjutsu."
"You're a clan Uzumaki?" Suigetsu raised an eyebrow at his hair, ignoring the cries for help in the background.
Orochimaru nodded. "Through his mother."
"Daddy's genes won out then." He liquefied under his gaze. "S-S-Seriously?!"
Naruto closed his eyes before they flashed red. "Just shut up, Suigetsu." He turned to the door as his kinswoman walked through it.
"All done!" Karin adjusted her glasses before turning to lead them out.
"That was quick." He followed her out the door with the others in tow and examined the broken Sound ninja's bodies. "The fuck were you scared of me for?"
She kicked one that was still twitching. "Every one of these assholes has either groped me, gotten hurt just so they can bite me, spoken about me like I wasn't there, or made fun of my hair." She scoffed. "They're all rogues or low lives anyway so who cares?" Focusing on his chakra, she held herself and shivered. "You're…" Murder for gratification and ceaseless yearning spiraling around an abyss of despair within the shape of a human hiding a Tailed Beast of pure hatred.
"A monster." Jugo's concerned look didn't stir him at all.
Suigetsu's brow furrowed. "What was that about biting?"
"Broken," she whispered to herself, ignoring him. "Just need to get used to you."
Naruto focused his signature into something less overt. "What about now?" His voice was gentler.
"...Why are you going out of your way for me?"
It sprung back to its new stable state as he shook his head. "Just testing." He glanced at the Sannin. "Do you really keep Kage-level ninja stowed away for emergencies?"
"I'm on the level of a Kage?" Karin turned to him and squinted.
Suigetsu tilted his head at her massacre. "You're beyond a chunin at least." He perked up and smirked. "And of course I'm at that level."
"You're a candidate at best," Naruto half-lied. "An actual Kage would have some difficulty until they found out how to counter your water body." He turned to Jugo. "If you didn't go berserk when all out, I'm not sure even I could beat you unless I killed you right off." Focusing on the bodies, he hummed. "A run of the mill jonin would at least be scratched, so you're either there or the same as Suigetsu."
"Accurate assessment." Orochimaru patted his head, triggering a blush and warm shift in his chakra, before looking to the odd three. "Your natural abilities are extremely potent, but you lack finesse and have glaring weaknesses."
He slipped out of his grasp. "I'll iron that out." His eyes glanced at all three of them. "As much as I want to, I can't accomplish what I want with just myself without it taking years."
"Aren't you carefree with my test subjects?"
"If you could keep them away from me, you would, so I advise you shut the fuck up." His eyes narrowed at his slit green. "You need me more than I need you."
Orochimaru cackled. "That spirit of yours is finally back!"
The rest, either unwilling or unable to involve themselves, stayed quiet. It lasted long until they reached The Land of Waves proper. Karin had much difficulty recognizing the place, but the landscape was more or less the same. Instead of heading straight for the bridge, Naruto took the lead down the path they last went on. One last thing needed to be settled.
He stopped them by the boy from earlier. "Inari." A smile formed from his lips when he jumped. "If you see Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, and any other shinobi or civilian from the Leaf." It morphed into a grin. "Tell them Naruto Uzumaki is going to kill every last one of them."
"About damn time!"
They left him in stunned shock. A growing town was replaced by the finished bridge. No phantasms, words, or unpleasant feelings crossed Naruto's mind as they walked through. His decision was made that day, really years ago, but the affection of his companions sent him into denial and made him hate himself for not being the person he thought they wanted him to be. Same could be said of his breakdown after Hiruzen died: it didn't end there, as his recent behavior attested to. Love nearly stopped him before their loss drove the pain beyond his limits. He could not be savior and destroyer. It forced him to finally accept that.
"You're a jinchuriki...from the Leaf Village." The gears in Suigetsu's head finished turning. "Ah fuck."
"The Nine-Tails, right?" Jugo said.
Naruto laughed. "You know any other Tailed Beast the Leaf has?" He blinked, recalling something. "Did Kakashi not know the Sand only have The One-Tail?"
"The jinchuriki of The Three-Tails before Yagura was briefly his teammate, Rin Nohara," Orochimaru elaborated. "Since Yagura died, it's reforming and is effectively loose. It doesn't happen often, but Tailed Beasts have exchanged villages: The Village Hidden in the Waterfall acquired The Seven-Tails from the Sand after Sakumo Hatake killed its jinchuriki by the border of The Land of Hills and The Land of Fire."
"Sakumo Hatake?"
"The White Fang of the Leaf. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of him, seeing as how he killed himself in disgrace. He was a powerful ninja thought above even us Sannin before he abandoned an important mission to save his comrades. His shame grew too much, and he committed suicide, leaving Kakashi all alone in the world."
"I'll reunite them soon enough." He smiled. "Asshole father with asshole son." He tilted his head. "Who's Rin?"
As Orochimaru regaled them with the tales of the Third Great Ninja War, they continued onward to help along the Fourth, whether knowingly or not. Naruto knew it'd be folly to try infiltrating his village as he was, and a part of him was unsure if he wanted to know the truth anymore. The Hyuga Clan were composed almost entirely of sensor ninja that could see a person's internal organs, so he had to snoop around without losing his cool long enough to hear the news. He wasn't powerful enough on his own to fight off the entire village in case he was discovered too. Patience was key.
Something felt off to Kakashi the moment he entered his place. He lived alone, so he was more than familiar with the soul-crushing emptiness that came out when he opened the door. Instead, it felt somewhat warmer than usual, which was anything but soul-crushing. His hand lifted up his forehead-protect while his other drew a kunai from his pouch. A jonin like him did the home-invading and did not get home-invaded.
The lights were off, but that wasn't a problem for his Sharingan. Not a single chakra signature was in sight, trap was hidden, nor thing misplaced. Someone either did a poor job of robbing him or he was dealing with the Second Tsuchikage, who was back to life for some reason. He crept towards his bedroom, back against the wall, and put his hand on the doorknob. Easing it open, he peeked inside to see a gift box on his bed.
'How thoughtful.' He flung the door open and flickered inside with his back against the wall in front of him. Seeing no one, he walked to his bed's side. 'My birthday was last month, and I spent it in a coma.' The photo of him comatose with a birthday hat on alongside a cry-smiling Guy was something he burned the second he discovered its existence. 'This is probably a trap' His Sharingan swirled into a pinwheel before he opened the box. It narrowed at the note inside. 'For my favorite stalker…' He hummed. "Anko."
After he was done training his two students and beating the third-wheel, he followed Jiraiya's wishes. Hinata, to his knowledge, remained in the Hyuga Compound so he started following Anko and stopping by her place when he had time. She spent most of hers either at home or training at The Forest of Death. There were a few moments he saw her with split chakra and a few times he lost her down to her scent, which meant she knew someone was watching. It was surprising that she knew it was him though.
"Either you're up to something or I'm just being a dick at this point." He picked up the note and saw various illicit photos of Anko posing in the nude underneath. "Huh." Setting it aside, he began rummaging through them to verify their authenticity. "Nice." Two separated halves of a summoning formula were all that were left inside when he finished sorting the photos. "That is definitely a trap." He froze, glanced at the arms-behind-back stack, and rested his eyes on the full-body-stretching one. "...Who's the photographer?" Making a face, he nearly slapped himself. "A clone, obviously."
It was an actual concern. He was a bit rusty as far as proper skulduggery was concerned, but he was easily above most. Anko, the shock and awe artist of their generation, figured out it was him. Either she learned more during her time with Orochimaru than she let on or something was happening. While he could take it to the Hokage, he did look like a stalker, even if the photos looked like they were taken with consent. She'd probably beat him bloody to relieve her unending stress if he tried to use them as proof of her odd behavior. Best for him to talk it out with Anko in person or up his game.
Three days passed since Hinata was spared the cursed seal and Anko left Kakashi his present. The latter was slurping down a cup of coffee in her living room once more. She helped prepare the former for the tribunal in advance with the detail about Mito Uzumaki and even gave her an order to do her best. As a reward, she fed her zenzai complete with loving snuggles. Her demonstration of the Hyuga's ultimate jutsu nearly made her wish she was born one, but they were still far too uptight for it to be worth it, and she had her for that. Only real downer was she made her stop taking Oro to their alone time after her lightning training because he, still being an inferior creature, couldn't change his chakra signature. He really completed her loving servant attitude.
'Anko Mitarashi.'
She set the mug down, flipped out of her seat on to her feet, and began forming hand seals. "The hell?!"
'Lord Danzo is waiting.'
She relaxed, realizing what clan the user was from. "Oh." A grin spread across her face. "Finally!" She sat back down and enjoyed the rest of her coffee.
As she always did, Hinata knocked on her glass yard door at the designated time. "Anko-sensei, can I c–" She blinked when she flickered over and slid it open for her in a single second.
"It's time." She giggled at the girl's beaming smile. "Let's get dressed."
Anko took a vial of snake blood she had hidden away in her room, pricked a finger on her sharpened incisor, and unsealed her designated black-ops drawer. She had their outfits from the first time sealed into separate scrolls from the rest for convenience's sake. They unsealed them, changed, put their normal clothes inside, seal-locked the drawer, checked their surroundings with the Byakugan, transformed, altered their chakra signatures, and left. When they reached the Root headquarters, they dispelled their transformations and followed the posted agent inside. Their leader himself stood in the main room with three kneeling agents in hooded coats.
"First," Danzo said, "what is your plan?"
"We occasionally had little play dates with the Rice Daimyo back when I was with Orochimaru." Anko patted Hinata's shoulder. "Even if he and Naruto sink underground, we can track them back to the new headquarters. All else fails, we can deny Orochimaru an asset in the Rice Daimyo himself."
"The highest nobility is off limits, especially one that will garner the attention of all other great villages."
She grinned beneath her mask. "Didn't say we should kill him." Moving behind Hinata, she wrapped her arms around her. "Just 'neutralize' him."
"I see. Do you know when the next meeting will take place?"
"Nope. We need to start scouting out his palace, if you haven't already. Chances are we'll only get one shot at this: Orochimaru will never directly meet with him again if his main base is raided after a public appearance. We track him to his hideout, make sure he can never use the Rice Daimyo again, and then get our precious fox boy back."
Danzo paused. "I cannot spare enough agents for a full-on assault, involving the Hokage in one would risking her ire or her making a poor decision, and doing such a thing will attract attention." He snapped his fingers and the three agents rose. "My best agent will accompany you and one of my most skilled will assist." His eye focused on the Hyuga while one of them stepped forward. "You are familiar with the Aburame." Another did the same.
"May I speak?" Hinata asked, somewhat nervous. Their nods set her mind at ease. "This endeavor sounds time-extensive, and I am under house arrest. Anko-sensei is already under suspicion. If we do not succeed, both of us will have our movements restricted when we return."
"Indeed." He was more than experienced enough to know all manner of complications could arise on a mission no matter how well-planned. "Then Tsunade must approve of this officially without ever knowing of our association."
Anko almost scoffed. "And how the hell are you going to make that happen?" She held up her hands. "Never mind, I don't want to know."
"You will go to her and propose what you told me. Say it is what you two discussed in your time away, but you did not tell her because you were afraid of her answer. She will deny it, begin looking into appropriate candidates for such a mission anyway, and I will approach her having caught wind. Homura and Koharu will support me as we have no better options left. While she'll object due to your behavior and relationship, she will relent because of the slight chance Naruto Uzumaki would come willingly. Two agents I of all people approve of will be impossible for her to deny, especially with the backing of the two elders. She will be suspicious, but she will have no evidence."
Her hands fell limp to her sides. "...You are one conniving old fuck."
As familiar as she was with him, she had no idea.
Their journey through The Land of Fire to The Land of Rice was pretty uneventful. Naruto, instead of practicing his chakra signature masking, focused on molding his chakra into earth. It wasn't as if they could evade detection anyway: Karin and Jugo had chakra either on or bordering the level of a Tailed Beast's while Suigetsu's was on the level of an experienced jonin. Jugo couldn't even control his intake of natural energy, Karin was too unnerved by Naruto's chakra to focus, and Suigetsu's chakra control wasn't anything to brag about. What few ninja could sense them ran off. None of them were on Karin's level, so they always noticed and slipped away.
Some ways from the hideout, Naruto sunk into the earth. "That's a relief." He pushed himself up. "Fire took me a full week."
"You molded your chakra for that long?" Suigetsu rolled his eyes, remembering his ridiculous reserves. "Oh, right."
Orochimaru almost licked his lips. "Three out of the five elements already."
"Is water actually a piece of shit element like Anko said or is it worth learning?" Naruto kept walking and glanced at the water man.
He tilted his head. "It has its uses." However limited they were.
Suigetsu made a face. "Haha."
"Naruto beat you with fire," Jugo deadpanned.
"He has practically infinite chakra!"
Karin adjusted her glasses. "It's still indicative of the water element's limitations."
"Fuck are you sounding so smart for, bondage queen!?" A fist splattered through his watery head. "Come on." He took a bottle from his waistband, opened it, and began chugging.
Naruto leaned towards a shaking Karin. "He sucks on that like he knows what he's doing." He snickered alongside her, making Jugo smile.
Suigetsu twitched as he finished the bottle yet did nothing, knowing he wasn't going to win. "I swear, we're the weirdest ragtag group of shinobi ever."
"There is one that has us beat, and they're likely to come looking for us soon enough." Orochimaru blinked as he recalled something. "I forgot." A playful smile spread across his face. "Happy Birthday, Naruto."
"My birthday's…" Drifting off, he realized how much time passed since his graduation from the academy. "Oh, I missed it."
"Congratulations," Suigetsu said somewhat earnestly.
Jugo kept up his smile. "How old are you?"
"Fourteen," Naruto answered, not knowing what to think.
"You still look young," Karin, pursing her lips, said. "It's just...you feel ancient."
"Even for me, time seems to have slipped by."
He murmured. For the first time, he wasn't alone with Kurama for it. A good deal of him was looking forward to spending it with his teammates not long ago. Every one of them was an enemy to him now. Not a single person he thought left in the Leaf loyal to the village was someone he wanted to be with during that day. The one thing he wanted more than anything else after wandering for so long was ramen. His deepest desire was out of reach and would be for a long while.
AN: As far as timeskips go, the most I'm willing to do is a few months. You'll probably see one next chapter. Just one or two scenes I need to do before then. You ought to know by now I like to ease into things.
It's crazy how Karin goes from practically useless as anything but support to doing far beyond most people in the War arc the moment she got her chains. A lot of potential with her but potential is worthless if it's not realized.
As for the Uzumaki, they made masks that can summon gods of death. Karin, Kushina, and canon Naruto are all hyper-active passionate people who go from one extreme mood to another. Danzo's Reverse Tetragram Seal, in canon, is the same as the one that sealed Kurama except to take everything around its user with it. One can rightfully assume they were figurative savages.
Feel free to leave your thoughts in the form of a review or PM.