NARUTO IS PROPERTY OF MASASHI KISHIMOTO
"Kyuubi talking"
'Kyuubi thinking'
"Normal speech"
'Characters thinking'
Author's note:
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Generation Lost
Chapter 18: Scream Aim Fire
"Fuck this battlefield.
The bullets shatter round me
Bodies falling
Voices calling for me
Limbs are flying
Men are crying
Such a hurtful sight
The call is made
It's one for all
Take no prisoners"
Juugo marched in front of a sea of armed men and women, every single one of them armed to the teeth. The sound of roughly 2,000 pairs of feet stepping in wet, cold mud filled the heavy air. A third of Sasuke's army was vibrating with energy, excitement, and a fair amount of fear.
Sound shinobis were the natural enemy of Konohagakure. Now more than ever. The ninja amongst their ranks were rallied up, unified, and trained by Orochimaru's web of influence. Their sole objective had always been to become strong enough to overthrow their eternal rival. And ever since the Land of Sound launched an invasion on the Land of Fire, Konoha spent great amounts of resources on fortifying the northwest frontier with their enemy.
There were a few skirmishes coming from Sound to gain access to the Tameki river, which Konoha claimed two years ago, since it was very close to the border between the two of them. It used to belong to Konoha before Orochimaru produced more powerful shinobi to keep them at bay.
Sound finally gained access to the river three weeks ago, after Pain's attack left the village in need of more ninjas to protect and reconstruct the Village.
"Let's wait here until the scouts come back." Sasuke extended his hand and signalized his troops to halt. The loud rumble of thousands of feet died down, only to give way to whispers as the soldiers wondered if it was time already. They had been marching for seven hours without a break.
Sasuke knew that procuring the help of the river as it snaked along the land and led directly to Konoha would be the starting point of his long-awaited revenge against his former home. But it wasn't the only river that led to the Leaf Village. The Kuni river was half as wide as the Tameki river, but it ultimately flows into Konoha's hydroelectric power plant. If it all came down to a siege, a city with no electricity wouldn't last long.
"Here they come." Announced Juugo with his deep, emotionless voice.
The trio of shinobi, each wearing the characteristic, grey-dotted uniforms, appeared in front of the Uchiha, distraught eyes turned upwards to meet cold, black ones. The Sharingan carrier already knew what the older scout was going to say.
"5 miles ahead, right by the mountain side." Explained a grey-haired bearded man with heterochromia.
"How many?" Asked Sasuke curtly.
"More than eight hundred, maybe a thousand. They were spreading in both directions." Said the scout, his blue eye contrasting heavily with this dark one.
"I went three miles to the west and saw five hundred shinobi building a human wall and marching towards Suigetsu-san's position. But there might've been more to the west. The more I ran, the more they appeared." A younger version of the original old guy piped up.
"They are thinning their numbers to get behind us." A red-haired 40-year-old man said. He was wearing two crossed wakizashi on his back. "We can't let that happen."
The Uchiha stood still as his General started speaking with three older men behind him, trying to decide what to do with that information. Suigetsu oversaw the securing of the Kuni river before Konoha's forces did.
"They have Hyuugas that know our exact formation from hours away. We need to act fast before they enclose us."
"Go to Suigetsu and take three hundred of Kabuto's men, Korume. Protect Suigetsu's flank. If we lose the river, we won't be able to operate the power hose." Sasuke spoke directly to the red-haired man.
"Yes, Sasuke-sama."
"Juugo, take your men and position yourself to the East. We can't be sure they're not trying the same thing from the other side. Take two scouts and see if we can circle them instead."
"Hai." Said the orange-haired ninja.
"As for the rest of you…" Sasuke turned around and regarded his own Company. "You'll charge straight ahead. Don't forget to activate your marks when it's time."
"Stay alive, all right buddy?"
"We are gonna kick their asses, you'll see." Two distant Konoha nin were exchanging bear hugs as the rest of the 13th Company prepared to clash against the west arm of Sasuke's army.
"Yeah, but don't get cocky."
Hinata tried very hard not to listen to their conversation. She was painfully aware that she didn't know anyone else in her Platoon, so she had done very little talking in the trudge towards the proximities of the Kuni river. Naruto had been occupied all along the way, always marching next to Ebisu and the other Squad Leaders. Sometimes he would whistle for Takao, a nineteen-year-old chuunin, that Hinata barely recognized from her chuunin-exam tests. She remembered he didn't make it to chuunin that year.
Takao would then inform the rest of the crew of Naruto's orders, being extremely careful not to sound bossy so as not to upset the older and bigger guys of the group.
Yesterday, during their last stretch of the route to the warzone, the Uzumaki had gathered all of them together to explain that their position would be near the west end of the army.
"We are to be the pincer along with other two Platoons. And our Squad is going to be the furthermost squad." He sat down heavily on the ground and took a kunai in his hand. Hinata looked carefully at Naruto's heavy bags under his eyes. She wondered if he was getting nightmares again.
"Sasuke's forces are not yet thin enough, so we expect them to break up their formation and try to meet us along the riverbank either on their side or on our side of the river. We are marching three hours more than the other platoons today to try and secure the river before they get there."
He heard a few groans coming from the blue-haired girl sitting on the back of his 32-ninja squad.
"Get it out of your system before we reach the river, Kasanawa." Naruto directed his piercing blue gaze at her. Kasanawa made a face. "We got a pretty big responsibility. They'll fight for the river, and we haveto take it away from them. If we don't, we suspect they'll release poison on the river canal and weaken the village's resources and all the towns that depend on the Kuni."
Everyone could hear Takao swallow nervously at Naruto's words.
'Take care Neji-ni, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, Otousan… everyone.' Hinata could hear her own beating heart even amongst the buzz of an army ready to head into battle.
"Hyuuga, Naruto's calling us." She felt the shake on her shoulder and recognized Kasanawa's lackluster voice.
Hinata finished pocketing the soldier pills on her pouch. Her hands were shaking shamelessly. 'I can do this.' She reminded herself that she was the lifeline of her Squad. Thinking on their mission, she could understand that Kakashi was trusting on hers and Naruto's abilities to break Suigetsu's formation. Naruto had a clear edge on utilizing brute force and overwhelming techniques to make the soundnins fall back away from the river's position. Hinata was to make sure they would never fall prey to a surprise attack. Apart from medic-nins, the Hyuuga were very sought for. Their Byakuugan had helped win many battles for Konoha.
She absentmindedly watched a woman from another squad crying her eyes out, with no one else seeming to care one bit.
Kasanawa's katanas were hanging confidently from her back. She could see Takao counting the endless senbon he stashed in his pouch.
Naruto was approaching purposefully towards them.
"Okay, gather 'round!" Apart from his sunken eyes, nothing else in Naruto indicated any sign of fear or helplessness. His mouth was pursed tightly as he waited for his squad to surround him.
"We are moving forward. Remember your positions, eat a nutritional bar if you feel like you need it. Rokudan, in case my clone with Hinata gets dispelled, stay close to her until I arrive."
It was already common knowledge that Hyuuga Hinata needed to be always protected, even when she was fighting. This brought some judgmental looks from half the group and Hinata could feel them all. She got to be with a Naruto clone and the biggest guy in their squad.
This was something that she did not agree with. Hyuuga or not, there wasn't any other single shinobi in the Konoha army that was being as supervised as she was. All her friends were going to be fighting on equal ground against Sound, counting only on their skills and teamwork to survive the day and maybe win the war. She decided not to say anything for now until she got a chance of talking privately with Naruto.
"Remember to always wait for my clones to crash on their frontlines before going in. Nobody needs to die today if I can help it." His eyes fell on Hinata's briefly. But then he stood up straight and announced they were moving out.
Flashback
Naruto dashed along the streets in the early morning, the sun still hours from going up. In a normal day, the streets next to the hospital would've been empty. But in the wake of the boiling war, there were ninjas jogging in every direction. Some were running around with piles of papers in their arms, others were clustered in a tight group, discussing some strategy with each other.
A few miles back, the blond could see the red-light district bumbling with life. Most of the customers were wearing their Konoha uniforms.
Why would they be here and not with their families?
The blond shook the thought away and placed his eyes on the window he was looking for, just in the northernmost corner of the Hospital. The blond had been told by Kakashi that the guard that usually hanged around the room would be conveniently absent for 15 minutes.
Once he landed on the open windowsill, he heard a startled gasp coming from inside.
"It's okay." The blond said, stepping inside the plain hospital room. "I didn't mean to startle you."
Karin inflated her chest in defiance and glanced worriedly at the crib placed next to her bed. Her nervous eyes went from the small bundle in it to Naruto's tired eyes.
"What do you want?!" Her voice was threatening, and her smart eyes followed his every move.
The Uzumaki strolled around her bed and went towards the crib. Just as he noticed that Karin's breath was fastening, he raised his hands. "I'm not gonna hurt him."
Karin pursed her lips. "Her."
At her correction, the blond lifted his eyebrows. "Oh." He stood close to the crib and peered inside. The only visible thing out of the blankets was a few patches of black hair coming out of the tiny, white hat.
"What do you want?" She repeated, clearly uncomfortable with his presence and proximity to her daughter.
The blond analyzed the little thing for a few more seconds, thinking about the complicated situation of that child. He then turned his eyes to Karin. They looked very troubled.
"Do you think that Sasuke would surrender if he saw himself cornered?"
Karin scoffed. "Sasuke surrendering? He'd rather die and take all the men he could with him."
She saw how his blue eyes fell to the floor.
"What about if I told him about his daughter?" The blond mused out loud. He gazed expectantly at the red-haired woman.
A tinge of doubt flashed through Karin's eyes.
"Do you think he'd stand down?"
Karin swallowed loudly. Her hands tugged at her blue sheets. "I don't know." The thought of raising her daughter with her father gone scared her. But something scared her even more. "But I have no idea what he would do to her if he managed to get here. His ambition is so twisted… and his experiments are horrific."
Even though she loved him, she knew he was a monster inside. She'd seen the madness flash in his red eyes, just as she felt her chest pierced by his jutsu. The memory brought tears to her eyes.
Naruto slumped his shoulders in defeat. Even the person who loved Sasuke the most feared him.
"You need to stop him at any cost." Karin raised her eyes to his. As her words left her lips, she could see how Naruto's face twisted in pain. "Don't him get to her."
The blond placed a hand on the crib's rail. He caressed the tiny frame of the infant with the back of his hand. A few tears were running down his cheeks.
"She'll hate me for it." He said under his breath, but Karin could hear him. The blond-haired man turned his suffering eyes to her.
Karin met his gaze.
"Better hated than dead."
Men and women from the 13th Company were sweating profusely in the heat of the day. Finally, the Platoon leaders held their hands up high, signalizing they were finally there.
A hundred ninja fell in silence. They could hear the gentle sway of the river just behind the line of trees. And they also could hear voices coming farther away. Buzzing with life.
"They also stopped marching." Hinata's voice pierced the silence, and every shinobi in a 30 feet radius turned to her.
"We'll have to fight in the middle of the river." The Uzumaki hurried to say to Ebisu. The man bit his lip, then turned to the Squad leaders.
"So it seems. Naruto, Genko, Doroka, go to your squads... Today we take the river."
Naruto took his men and women with him, towards the end of the formation. He ran his eyes through every one of them, noticing how half of his 32 shinobi cell was already wetting their pants at the sight of the river and the soundnin peering from the other end.
"Spread out. Water and wind users first, the rest of you behind them. Remember to set your headphones to channel 5. Wait for my signal."
A few nods and even fewer cries of 'Hai' greeted his sight.
Hinata and some other shinobi looked around nervously. The lack of energetic response from her squad made her stomach twist in dread. Did they not trust Naruto to be their leader?
Naruto caught Hinata's eyes and saw her agitation. He was thinking the same exact thing as she was. These soldiers didn't trust Naruto to lead them in battle. They just did it out of obligation, but they'd sooner serve under any other squad leader than stay with him. Not only was he young and inexperienced, but Naruto hadn't had time to talk to them one on one. He didn't know them, and they didn't know him.
'Stop.' He shook his head violently. He had to steady his breathing. Worrying about it wouldn't do him good. Not before the fight. He could think all he wanted after they'd taken the river. Konoha needed him at his finest. 'I need to win and earn their trust.'
A flicker of movement caught his eye. He found Hinata moving to the back, and before she was out of reach, he held onto her arm.
'I need to keep her alive.'
The young woman widened her eyes at the sensation. Once she knew who it was, her eyes softened.
"Naruto-kun…"
"Hinata…" The blond started, and she knew he was feeling agitated and anxious since he was calling her by her full name. "I am going to go all out on them. I have to." The Hyuuga was clearly confused by his words. The few ninja that were hanging around them strained their ears to hear their conversation without making it fully obvious.
"Okay…" She said hesitantly.
"Just remember I'm doing it for you and for the Village." His eyes were tense. And he didn't have more time to waste. With a swift movement he captured her lips on his, lingered for what he thought was enough in their current situation, spared one last glance at her, and turned around.
"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"
"Throw the stun grenades!" A Sound captain screamed at the top of his lungs.
His fellow comrades, all wearing blue and grey, took out their weapons and directed them at the other side of the river, where Konoha's army was already marching forward.
Dozens of grenades traveled across the newly formed battlefield.
Suddenly, their enemies multiplied in a matter of seconds. All with a matching set of hair. At least fifty clones appeared to man the first line of defense.
"Clones?" One man exclaimed to his teammates, as all the clones spun at the same time and propelled a gust of air upwards. The grenades exploded in the blink of an eye.
"It's just a show of force. Don't let them come near while we set up the wind cannons."
A young Soundnin, no older than 20, squinted at the clones. "What if it's Uzumaki?" His voice was starting to get fearful.
His comrades didn't hear him or maybe they pretended not to hear. Little did it matter. They still charged forward.
The war machines were already being rolled out of the forest and into the shore. Ten small funnels combined to create a gigantic muzzle pointing directly at the Konoha army. There were at least seven of these machines coming to a stop.
Wind users got into position behind the small funnels.
"Activate your marks!" Sound's Captain yelled into his radio device. A few seconds after he gave the order, various screams were heard among the men operating the machines. The air grew thick with dark, intoxicating energy. The sand-haired Captain looked down from the hill he was standing on and could barely recognize the men charging chakra into their hands. They had activated the first stage of their cursed seal and were covered in painful dark markings. They were forbidden to activate the 2nd stage unless faced with a life-or-death situation, given that most users would die of a heart attack or chakra extenuation minutes after summoning their ultimate power.
A wall of hundreds of soundnins were protecting the air users and the machines.
"Fire!" Exclaimed the Captain.
The cursed seal users channeled their synchronized jutsus into the machine, and a low but powerful vibration hit everyone's ribcage, as the projectiles were visible enough to see how the chakra-infused attack covered the length of the river in less than a second.
Konoha's forces were knocked off their feet at the power and speed of the attack. Mud and water sprayed everywhere. Even the trees that adorned the other side of the river, were thrown askew. Kinroku could see how Konoha's army was thrown in disarray all along the three miles of river he was in charge of conquering.
His men knew to charge far away from the line of fire of the air cannons. They advanced, eager to finish off the remnants of Konoha's first line.
The corner of his eye picked up on a gigantic splash of water that was closer to his frontline than any other of Konoha's advances. He turned left, wondering why the air blasts of the machines on the furthermost arm of the river had exploded closer to his army.
"My binoculars, Kiriu." The man barked and walked closer to the edge of the rock he was standing on. A skinny man missing his left eye approached him with black binoculars in hand.
"Hn." Kinroku grunted in gratitude and focused his binoculars to the west.
Tiny, green-clad men were scurrying from the impact zone of two of his machines and towards his men that were coming at full speed.
"How did they stop the blast?!" He motioned for the device hanging into his ear. "Ichigo! Don't let them get to the cannons!"
The machines had a charging time of 2-3 minutes and a maximum of 10 shots without the usage of special charka pills. From what he could see, the Konohanins making their way to his soldiers were fast enough to arrive before the second wave of attacks.
"Sir! We're trying!" Ichigo's voice seemed out of breath and anxious. "There's so many of t-"
Kinroku had to flinch at the loud sounds of screams and explosions in his ear. "Fuck!"
The shinobi glanced again at his binoculars, and the frontline of the enemy was well beyond the middle of the river, slashing his soldiers away.
"Kiriu, go to Suigetsu and get me reinforcements for Ichigo's Platoon!"
A few water users were trying to seek and destroy the blond-haired clones that littered their sight before they got too close. They were using water bullets and water prisons to keep them at bay.
One of the soundnin that was maintaining a water prison on three of the fierce Konoha shinobi glanced backwards nervously, watching expectantly at the machine workers shining with a purple aura as they charged the second round of attacks.
"Machine charged at 85%." A woman in his earpiece was announcing. "Move away from the fire line."
It was his cue to retreat to the safe area with the rest of his comrades. He started moving when he saw how a pair of the attacking clones were doing a strange dance. They were swirling in place, hands linked together, until one of the clones was launched upwards into the sky. His comrades also noticed how many more clones started doing the same.
A cold sensation started spreading from the soundnin's stomach. He turned backwards to the charging machines and their users nervously. He could see at least 10 clones airborne, blocking the sun as they flew by.
"Don't let them get close to the machines!" One of his teammates screamed from his left.
Instinctively, the soundnins in the vicinity of the flying clones started running towards the approximate location where they would be landing. Fortunately, it wouldn't be close enough to the shore, so they had time to fight them off before they tried getting closer.
"Look!"
"He's summoning more clones!"
The soundnins located in the water were watching agape at how each clone created another one, locked arms with them and spun twice while they were falling to redirect their partners to the shore's direction.
"Oh no." The water user muttered under his breath as he saw how the newly created clones were going straight at the machines. The air then started to murmur with energy. But this time it was different from the machine's air strike. The energy he perceived felt more raw and violent. And as his dark eyes followed the falling clones, he saw how each one of them was holding a shinning, blue sphere of power in each hand.
"95% charged." Announced the woman. "Move away from the fire-"
The air lit up with fire and dust as the clones dived into the proximities of the metal structures. He saw how his comrades all looked backwards at the smoke curtains that rose from the points of impact.
One young ninja dropped his katana into the river, forgetting he would need it to survive.
"We're fucked." The tanned man said, his face paling.
"Don't give up, Kotami. We still haven't lost terrain." One of his black-haired partners said as he kneeled to comfort his colleague.
They didn't notice the spheres of water rising from beneath their feet. When they did feel something, it was already too late.
"Kotami!" The teenager screamed, but it was ultimately muffled by water filling his lungs.
The kneeling boy was now staring back at his friend behind his own curtain of water. While he tried to hold his breath for as long as he could without wasting too much energy from flailing helplessly inside the water jail, he saw how a dazzling woman emerged from beneath the water surface. Her eyes shining with purpose.
The woman had her palms locked one against the other.
"Don't get away from me like that." A Naruto clone landed right beside the long-haired kunoichi.
"I saw an opportunity when they hesitated." Hinata was soaked. The cool water felt good for her nerves and agitation.
The whiskered man shook his head and rewarded her with a reprimanding glare. He took out two kunai and directed them to the drowning soundnins. His chakra-imbued blades cut easily through water, then flesh and water again.
"Will you keep up, Rokudan?!" The Uzumaki clone shouted as the bigger, beefier Konoha chuunin came running towards them with shinning feet to keep above water.
"I don't need a bodyguard. He'd be at risk putting my safety over his." Hinata snapped her eyes sternly at her boyfriend's double.
"Are you serious? The squad needs you alive."
Before answering, Hinata turned on her feet and deflected four flying shurikens with her kunai. Naruto pinpointed the origin of the aggressors and sent some of his special kunai their way. A loud scream was heard behind the curtain of water vapor that was littering the battlefield as explosives went off all over the length of the river.
"We both know it's not about the squad, Naruto-kun." She turned around with her Byakuugan eyes penetrating his suddenly startled ones. "I know you're worried about me, but I am not accepting any kind of privileges."
"I guess you're going to have to talk about this directly with Him after we finish up here." The clone said nonchalantly, he was not about to start fighting with their girlfriend in the middle of the battlefield. Good thing he was a clone. He went a few steps in front of her and continued their march forward. Rokudan had just broken an enemy's neck and was flanking Hinata from the other side.
Hinata's cheeks became red, welcoming a very unfamiliar emotion. Her blood boiled as she watched Naruto show her his back. She didn't want to cower in battle or get behind a strong man's back. God knew she'd spent doing that all her childhood with Neji in front of her. She wanted to be seen too and recognized for what she had trained ever since her father disowned her years back.
Why wasn't Naruto supporting her?
She spotted twenty men charging right at them. They were still a few hundred meters away from where they were standing. Hinata summoned another of her gentle waves, cancelled the chakra being funneled to her feet, and disappeared under water.
Rokudan looked back first to find her missing. Thing he commented hastily to Naruto's clone.
"Where the hell is she now?" Naruto and Rokudan started looking around for any sign of her, until they located her chakra emerging from the center of the squad of enemies. The Uzumaki cursed colorfully at her behavior.
Sounds of pain started going around the soundnins. Hinata was issuing generous quantities of gentle fists all around, even under and sideways. Her adrenaline was making her feel sharp and secure of her movements. The ninjas trying to block her attacks were easily defeated. Her hands coiled around their arms and shoulders to land painful and precise hits that left them paralyzed and helpless. Some of them sunk into the river and died. Others were already dead when they submerge into the water.
Some shinobis launched fire at her, others launched senbon trying to kill her before she mowed through all their squad, but Hinata activated her divine defense before any weapon could hit. Once she stopped spinning, she motioned the water around her feet to rush her closer to her attackers. Each one died at her hands, as she lightly touched them in the neck or heart.
"That was smooth as fuck." Rokudan exclaimed, looking in amazement at the Hyuuga killing another shinobi by only pressing her fingers on his back. He counted 15 soundnins hitting the water.
Naruto didn't much care for the enthusiasm in the older man's voice. He frowned. "C'mon." The blond jumped forward to the scene, taking one sound shinobi by surprise and inserting the whole length of his kunai in his throat. Another one came at him with a shinning Katana ready to strike, the clone had just enough time to get out of his way before kicking him in the shins, breaking his legs in the process. He didn't bother to finish them as Hinata had started running again, looking for unsuspecting victims.
'I don't know how to feel about this.' He mused as he saw her face was flushed and her eyes dead set on defeating anyone that crossed her way. 'She's such an elegant murderer.' It was true. While the clone's face and clothes were already stained with someone else's blood, the Hyuuga heiress had a head count of 19 and not a drop of blood around her.
"Hyuugas are something else, man."
Naruto's clone had to nod.
A distant explosion made Kakashi turn his eyes towards the direction of the noise, but immediately had a small paper shoved in his face.
"Another message from Nara." Announced a bearded chuunin stoutly. "The Battalion is losing ground as an army of snakes was released under the river and are carrying soldiers under the water."
Kakashi ran his eyes swiftly through the transcript. "No signs of Sasuke?"
It had been 25 minutes since the last time he asked. "No, sir. Although everyone is keeping an eye out for him."
The Hokage nodded, his reinforced jounin vest heavy on his chest. "Tell Hiashi to gather a force of 15 Hyuugas to reinforce the center and help them against the beasts."
"What about Gai? Any news?"
"Nothing new-" The assistant's voice trailed off as a different shinobi handed him another piece of paper.
"Who?" Asked Kakashi pointedly. His stomach clenched every time status reports entered his command tent.
"Yamanaka-san. They are gaining in on the enemy and Yamato's company is already fighting on the other side of the river."
A small smile housed itself on the Hokage's hidden lips. 'Already Naruto? Not even an hour since the campaign began.'
"Good, that means that the west part of the river will likely end up under our control by the end of the day."
"We can only hope, sir." Answered the chuunin stiffly.
Kakashi had no doubt about Naruto's abilities to wreak havoc if he was feeling up to it. What he worried about was Sasuke's retaliation once he found out the Uzumaki's position.
A powerful blast flew right past their heads.
Thankfully, Naruto's squad and every other ninja that could hear Hinata's scream of caution managed to duck under the water to narrowly dodge the canons.
"All the canons in a mile radius are pointing right at us." Commented a heavy tattooed chuunin that had lost his squad and had joined their group with other 3 of his comrades.
"Not at us." Hinata smiled thankfully at Kasanawa for bandaging her left arm. It turns out that she had gotten too close to a sound-nin that could transform his hair into deadly spikes that extended far beyond his own reach. The Hyuuga managed to clip him in the back, but one of his spikes cut at her upper left arm.
Naruto's clone had been busy breaking necks a few feet away from her for him to notice in time.
The squad took a moment to reconvene and tend to each other's wounds before confronting the next wave of enemies emerging from behind the remaining canons.
Half the newly arrived enemies charged straight to the Konoha nins that were finishing the remains of the first wave, while the other half went running along the shore, where explosions where sending sand and smoke up in the air.
'He shouldn't be using so many rasengans.' Hinata thought with a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. 'What if Sasuke shows up? He should save his energy.'
He said he would be going all out. But he shouldn't be calling all the attention to himself.
Her eyes followed the mob of enemies getting closer to his position. She started to raise a hand to activate her radio and tell him what she was thinking, but a sizzling sound filled all their ears as kunai laced with explosive bombs flew towards them.
Takao took a sharp breath as his face paled at the sight of so many death devices. Some of her comrades started to scatter but there were so many that the shock wave would surely reach them.
Hinata started to amass chakra and stand in preparation.
"Stand back." Naruto's clone started to say, but Hinata was faster.
"Suiton: water barrier." Her voice rang loud and clear for everyone else to hear.
The water under their feet started to tilt aggressively, as a big shadow emerged a few feet in front of them.
The wave summoned arched back on itself to engulf the whole of the troops near her. It was almost 10 feet tall
Just one explosive needed to hit against the wave to generate a chain reaction on the other flying kunai. At the first explosion, Hinata felt herself being pushed several feet backwards. She felt her arms reverberating against the loud bangs that followed. To her surprise, many other water users followed her example, and helped her maintain the water barrier that was threatening to break.
Naruto watched her and her other 6 water users with honest surprise in his face. After a second of thinking, the clone called the others to him and led them at the coming mob.
Hinata and her team managed to hold the wave long enough for most of the explosive to go off.
She lost control of her jutsu shortly after. And felt hot, fresh blood pouring through her bandage.
Naruto felt the set of explosions to his left, but he couldn't see clearly behind the dust. He was fighting for what felt like twenty different ninjas, and the presences coming fast towards him indicated that he wouldn't be stopping soon.
'I need to keep going.' So far, he hadn't encountered anyone that lasted more than 4 minutes alive against him, but they had started to create group combos to destabilize him.
He decided that he needed to get rid of the current sound nins to make space for the new ones.
Another set of senbons came gushing towards his face, but he turned away just in time to dodge them, flexed his legs, and shot himself upwards.
Just as he was high enough, he pivoted on the air and called his hand signs, not even blinking at the knifes following him and cutting him in the face and legs.
His lips released a great gust of wind that impacted solidly against the ground and everyone else in it. It also helped him stay on the air longer. He saw the coming mass of shinobi, and the canons blasting endlessly towards him and the other side of the river, where more Konoha nins were waiting their turn.
'I can't leave my team alone that long.'
He decided that it was no use to hide his most flashy jutsus any longer. By now Sasuke must know where he was.
Good.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu." He said as he used blood from one of his wounds on his cheek to summon Gamabunta.
Gamabunta was by no means the only summon in the field. But he was the biggest by far, towering over the shore.
With him by his side, a good stomp was enough to win them the river.
Gamabunta's appearance and the wreckage of most of the canons and pumps made it easy for the sound nin forces to recoil just enough so that Konoha could advance past the river and hold the western side of the shore without suffering too many casualties.
But even low casualties were still tricky to handle. One of Yamato's squad leaders was drowned by an enemy attack, and Naruto's squad found itself with half the platoon following their lead as they advanced through the shore and then the forest behind it.
Just after Gamabunta destroyed the weapons, Naruto went back to the front of his squad, only to find fifty or so soldiers walking behind him. He was relieved when he saw Hinata shouting updates to his original squad.
"Look!" A girly voice rose from the mass of Konoha shinobi. "They're falling back."
Once the sound nins saw themselves outnumbered defending the shore, a call to retreat rung at roughly one hour after the sun had set, and the thousands of Konoha-nins that had come to shore erupted in cheers as their first objective was conquered.
The enemy casualty rate was high. When the Sound nins turned tail and ran, the Konoha nins didn't lose their chances and took chase, killing the slowest and gaining perimeter deep inside the forest.
Naruto led almost a hundred men in the chase, but once they had advanced a good kilometer, he gave the signal to stop and hold a line so they could scout the territory and set camp for tonight.
A few of Naruto's squad members started calling his name in a cheer and were quickly followed by the rest of his original squad and the ones that merged with his.
Naruto thought it was too soon to be cheering but let out a thankful sigh at the outcome of the first day of battle.
Defensive positions were drawn, and soldiers were taking turns to man the line. Hinata was only able to leave her position three hours after the initial push. And by that time the last skirmish tried by the Soundnins had been two hours ago. Hinata saw they had started to build their headquarters a mile away from them and passed the information to Ebisu once he had joined his squad.
Naruto was hastily called by Ebisu to the main tent, along with the remaining squad leaders. Most of the faces Hinata did not recognize. He barked a few orders to Takao, Rokudan and her. Hinata and Rokudan were to help raise the medic tents and then get checked. Naruto sent Takao to count how many were lost for his and Ruroi's former squad. Once he had the number, he was to report back to the Uzumaki.
Naruto could almost taste bile in anticipation of knowing how many men and women he had lost. And he had to keep his mind from wondering about the other Battalions.
He decided to dispel the clone that had been with Hinata as he entered the tent.
A frown housed itself in his face as the clone's memories came flooding back to him.
Sometimes Hinata could be really stubborn.
Kakashi was holding the earpiece tight, as he tried to understand Inoichi through the noisy static.
"I just sent 100 recruits to offer support to Gai's team."
The Hatake frowned. "Sent 100 more. Juugo's squad is taking advantage of the mountain side and pinned them against the canyon cliff." Juugo was fiercely defending the main road towards the Village of Sound.
"I can only spare 50 more." Replied Yamanaka with a grunt and a hint of annoyance on his voice.
Just when Kakashi was about to resort to his authority, Inoichi hurried to speak.
"With Naruto to lead them." Inoichi breathed into the receiver. "He practically broke the enemy defense line by himself."
The Hokage was aware of the news of Naruto's latest feat. His squad gained the river and neutralized heavy machinery in less than two hours.
Kakashi shook his head. "I need him to stay put to lure Sasuke out. By now he must already be planning how to hit back. 100 soldiers, Inoichi."
There was a static silence between them.
"Hai." Inoichi finally spoke.
"And be prepared for whatever Sasuke's got coming at you."
"… Hai."
Naruto was worse for wear.
He could barely feel the jovial taps on the back or hear the chants of his name as he passed through camp.
Ebisu's platoon had lost 42 shinobi repelling the Soundnins. 22 of the second Squad and 14 from the Third. 6 from his Squad.
The news was enough to numb him for the rest of the night.
He barely remembered creating 50 clones that Inoichi had requested to reinforce the sentries of the 15th Company.
"Congratulations, sir." Said one sand-haired man as he was digging the stakes of his tent in the hard soil.
His companions also sent a nod his way.
He stepped into the makeshift showers in the middle of the forest and stripped, to finally get off the blood and grime off his hair and fingernails.
The cold water helped him get in touch with himself again. He could feel bruises on his ribs and thighs from when he crashed an enemy squad with his Rasengan. His hands were cut from the debris that his own jutsu created.
Another soldier was getting into the shower next to him. Since the dividers only reached their shoulders, they could see each other faces.
"You're Uzumaki, right?" Asked the burly ninja as he rubbed some soap on his shoulders.
Naruto made a slight nod, rubbing his face hard with soap.
"My mates and I made a bet on the number of soundnins you killed today."
"That so?"
"I killed 3 myself. Also helped your girlfriend hold up that water wall. How many did you kill, then?"
The blond wasn't enjoying the topic of conversation.
"I don't know." He answered curtly. He stopped the water flow and started drying himself off.
"Yes, you do. Just give me an estimate. There's 500 yen on the line." The man was straining his voice since the blond had hastily donned a white shirt and dark pants and was already walking away.
Naruto hurried towards his Squad's camping site, eager to see a familiar face after such a day.
'How many did I kill?' He never had the intention to count. The first and only thing in his mind since the start of the fight was to eliminate as many soundnin as he could. He must have killed at least twenty in hand-to-hand battle as he penetrated the enemy line, or at least that's how many he calculated. But the Rasengan's waves expanded as he hit the ground, so he could never be sure how many dead did his jutsu leave behind. 'It could've been 50.' The number created a dreadful knot in his throat.
"Naruto-san!" Takao greeted merrily as Naruto approached but was quickly awarded a slap behind his head by Genko.
"Shush! People are trying to sleep."
Truly enough, most of his original squad was already face first into their tents, just about ten people remained either dozing off staring at the fire, too afraid to sleep, or eating roasted sausages and other goodies they brought with them.
"Who's on watch right now?" he asked, looking around for a specific tent.
"Tochiro, sir." Answered Takao, holding his glasses in his hand.
Naruto was tired of correcting him. But he still awarded him a glare which made Tochiro cower into his covers.
"And Hinata?" He finally asked, but as soon as Tochiro was going to answer, the memories of a now murdered clone reached his brain.
Hinata had gone inside to get herself looked up by the medics, but apart from a change of bandages and a new set of uniform, there was nothing else they could do for her. They weren't as good as Sakura, and real medic-nins were difficult to get. Only the most severe cases of injury were being looked up by the trained medics in a furthermost tent.
Hinata decided to stay for a bit and help three cases of maimed limbs by pressing the right combination of chakra points to make them feel less pain.
She knew for a fact that at least two of the chuunin she helped were not going to make it past tonight. But still she did it, and there wasn't a single tear in her eye as she was talking and calming them.
That came later.
"Did you see how I impaled those two bastards with my scythes? They didn't have a chance."
One burly man was bragging as he walked in front of her with two of his friends, it seemed.
It had been four hours since they had set camp, hundreds of shinobi were delimitating their sleeping grounds according to their squad number and position. Her team's camping site was slowly building more and more tents, as more soldiers finished their duties and were sent to rest before tomorrow's next fight.
Hinata was torn between getting some rest or taking a bath. Both were very needed. She took her supplies with her, along with a towel, and started walking off towards the forest.
She had seen the lake with her Byakuugan while they were doing some reconnaissance of the terrain hours before. It was a twenty-minute walk off the grid, and far enough from Sound's perimeter so it was safe to go alone. She decided against using more of her Byakuugan until it was time to set out again tomorrow. She almost reached her limit while pursuing the Soundnins.
Through the crowded trees she could see the moon reflecting over the lake. She turned her head to make sure no one had followed her and decided it was safe to strip down into the freezing water and quickly scrub the dirt out of her hair, face, and hands.
She had never shied away from cold water. And she liked to dwell on it for hours at a time. The young woman had a distant but nostalgic memory of her toddler self bathing with her mom in the Konoha waterfalls. The water was freezing but her mother's smile warmed her just enough to enjoy it. It was said that she was the most beautiful woman to ever grace the family. At least that's what mourners told her father as they paid their respects on her funeral. Hinata might've been very young by the time she died, but she hung up on any word said about her mother, trying to commit everything to her young memory so she would never forget who she had been.
Even so, the memories faded, and very little remained. Her hair was long and kept in a low ponytail almost at the end, the way Neji liked to style his own. And she had dimples near her eyes when she smiled that special smile to her.
Secretly she felt sorry for her little sister, never able to meet her mother and gaze upon her smiling face.
As hard as she tried, she couldn't enjoy the water tonight. Or for many other nights to come.
She had killed twenty-two people today. That was a new record high for her, and not one that she could be proud of, even though everyone else was hyping over their headcount. After she stepped back out of the lake, slightly shivering and squeaky clean, she still didn't think she was clean enough.
Her night of passion with her boyfriend seemed so long ago now. At times she felt like reminiscing on the loving looks and caresses she had been awarded by Naruto. But the looks of terror of her enemies and the smell of burnt flesh, piss and blood interfered with her happy place.
Once she had wondered, day in and day out, if she had changed at all from the little, pathetic girl she was years before. A girl who wanted to face everything but was too afraid to do a bold move.
And now she knew she had definitively changed. She had evolved to a kunoichi that could have gone killing twice as many enemies if Naruto hadn't scared them away. But the emotional toll was getting to her. She had caught herself twice with tears rolling down her eyes in a moment where she just let her mind wonder. The Hyuuga couldn't let her squad leader perceive her weakness, or else he would double her guard.
The Uzumaki had always believed in her potential. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't be the Hyuuga heiress once again. She loved him, but this time it was Naruto that she needed to prove wrong. She was strong enough. And even though he says that he knows that he wasn't showing it right now.
She didn't want him to waste chakra protecting her. He needed to be fully focused on what's ahead.
'I will not weight you down, Naruto-kun.' Maybe it would've been easier for him to leave her be if they weren't dating. But it can't be helped. He said he loved her to her face. He said it again and again while he explored her body. And she believed him, although most of the times it seemed too good to be true.
It was getting late, she reckoned. The moment she pulled her pants back on, an alarmed voice rung across the nearby forest. She snapped her head towards the sound. There was movement from the bushes a few yards away from her, but once she took a better look, it was only a passing snake. The initial scare made her dress hastily, her wet hair soaking the back of her shirt.
Then Naruto came out of the shadows.
"Hinata!" The blond slowed down on his trot once he approached her. "Why are you so far away from camp?!"
"I…" His stern eyes caught her by surprise. "I wanted to soak in the lake." She saw Naruto's cheeks were flushing in anger, then added: "I made sure no one was around." She assured.
The blond stepped right in front of her, clearly in a bad mood. "You should've at least told someone where you were going."
The woman pursed her lips. "Naruto, I can take care of myself. I was only away for 30 minutes-"
"There are showers, Hinata! Why-" He bristled at her. This must be how she felt when he didn't want to follow the safety measures the Hokage ordered him while training. But this was different. They were at war and orders must be followed, girlfriend or not. Naruto pinched his nose and took a calming breath. "There's been a breach on the perimeter a mile East."
This easily made Hinata forget about her frustration at him... for now. "A breach?"
"An attack." Said Naruto seriously. "I already sent the Squad with Ebisu, but we need to catch up with them."
After a long pause, Hinata understood they were heading back again to hell. "I'm ready."
The blond turned around, but he still felt the need to say, "Hinata, you are our only Hyuuga. I need you to stay close to the squad at all times." He sent a reproaching look her way. Hinata wanted to ignore him, but her pride wouldn't let her.
"Why don't you say what you really mean?" She demanded, lilac eyes narrowing at him. If they were back at the village, she would've ignored his behavior. But the events of the day made it easier for her feelings to surface. "You are too afraid to let me out of your sight and you feel the need to control my every move."
The blond turned back at her, for one moment forgetting he was supposed to replace the clone he left to lead a force of now 60 shinobi, given that he had absorbed what was left of the other squads. "Maybe I wouldn't feel the need to do that if you weren't so reckless! Is it that bad that I want to protect you?"
He spilled the frustration that was bubbling inside of him, aggravating his angry flush. It was the first time he raised his tone at her. It didn't make him proud, but she was more pigheaded than he expected.
"I thought you were always rooting for me." She saw her words hitting home. The accusation made him step back in shock. The blond stood silent for a moment, battling internally between ignoring her words and leading a death squad, or acknowledging her feelings.
Since he couldn't ignore the betrayal in her tone, he raised his eyes to meet hers.
"You know too well that I am always on your side." He answered, deciding to step towards her and take her by her arms. "And yes. I am desperate to make sure you get out alive. Can you really blame me, Hinata? I almost lost you twice!"
She didn't expect to hear pain in his voice. But Naruto had more to say.
"And I am astonished that even after what you went through, you still charge fearlessly into the fight." He confessed, looking intently at her.
"I'm not without fear." Hinata felt the need to confess that at least. Her defiance was slowly melting away.
"Nobody is. But we need to stop being brave and start being smart, Hinata." He curled his index finger under her chin and raised her head to assure eye contact. "I want us to emerge victorious and alive from this fucking war. I want to take you on vacation so we can forget this all happened."
Her frown was loosening slowly at his words. Naruto knew she was more receptive to his feelings now. Taking her in his arms, he proceeded to embrace her gently. "And I want to make love to you again, without anything else to plague our minds."
The young Hyuuga gave a solemn sigh as she felt her walls come down. She leaned more into his hug and started closing her eyes.
But just before she closed them completely, Hinata noticed a shadow coming from the darkened sky.
Yelling a warning, Hinata lunged at Naruto hard enough to get him out of the way of their standing position. A second later came a crushing force that sent water and leaves scattering around and broke the ground where they had been standing.
Hinata had seen it sooner, but Naruto was already on the same page as her. Taking advantage of their falling momentum, he turned midair so they could roll across the ground as far away as they could from the new threat. Hinata landed on top of Naruto, who had his arms protectively around her frame. They both heard the newcomer speak:
"Forgive me for intruding in such a private moment, Hina-chan."
The voice was soft and soothing. Naruto looked confusedly at Hinata while they got back to their feet. For a moment he swore she was the one speaking, but the direction the voice was coming from was closer to the water. It belonged to the attacker.
"Hinata, get up." The blond called, seeing as she wasn't making a move. She was still on the ground, eyes wide and shining as she stared at the newcomer.
Naruto turned his neck to face whomever he had to kill next. But once he took in the woman in front of them, his breath caught on his throat.
On his arms, Hinata started hyperventilating and muttering unintelligible words under her breath. Naruto looked from one woman to another, his heartbeat starting to pound in his chest mercilessly.
'Just what the fuck is happening?' He wanted to lunge at the threat and eliminate it as he had done multiple times today with any other Sound nin that crossed his path. But the twisted energy coming off the white-clad woman made him think twice about who he was facing.
"Oh dear, you mustn't falter at a time like this." Her voice was so calming that Naruto almost didn't register she was throwing another air pressure attack at them. Acting quickly, he took Hinata in his arms and jumped out of harms way, but the attacks kept coming.
"Hinata!" He yelled at her once they landed on a tree branch. "Snap out of it! This can't be real."
The figure gracefully sending pressurized chakra attacks at them held herself in such an elegant posture it was hard to take his eyes away from her. Naruto just couldn't stop thinking how alike they were.
He had seen a few pictures of Hinata's mom in the Hyuuga house. Mostly on Hinata's study.
It was clear as day that Hyuuga Hana was going after them with murderous intent, but her words conveyed the exact opposite intention. She started another juuken spree directed at them. Her eyes were the same tinge of lilac as Hinata, different from Hiashi's or Neji's beige. But the whites around her iris were deep black, and frankly frightening to look at.
Naruto formed a few clones to keep Hiashi's long dead wife at bay. He retreated behind a tree.
"Hin, you need to keep it together." His voice wanted to shake, but Hinata needed him to be on point at a time like this.
"N-No…" The Hyuuga muttered, occasionally shivering, and grabbing her hands to try to stop them from shaking. Her eyes were welling up with tears that had started to fall freely. "Kami, why is this happening?"
Hiccups were starting to come out of her throat as she thought of her once dead mother, striking left and right Naruto clones and driving them out of this world.
Looking at the broken-down figure of the most precious person in his world, Naruto stilled his breathing and let his mind start racing.
He had heard from Jirariya of Orochimaru's ultimate jutsu. The one he had used against the Sandaime that ultimately led to Orochimaru's victory. But not without making him loose the use of his arms in his actual body. Only Orochimaru knew how to bring forth a reanimated human.
But the snake sannin had been taken care of by Sasuke.
So that only left Kabuto…
"It's a reanimation Hinata, you must be strong." The blond explained, wiping nervous sweat from his brow. He stole a glance backwards to see how his clones were faring. Only two remained out of the 10 he sent the reanimation's way. Despite the desperate and horrific situation, he took her face between his hands and made him focus solely on him. "I'm sorry Hin, but Kabuto somehow got hold of your mom's remains."
So that was their plan all along. The stolen remains of Konoha shinobi all made sense now.
He hated Kabuto before for being a traitor, not to mention because he was the catalyst for his Kyuubi outbreak that almost killed his team. But this was a new kind of low. And to Hinata's mother, no less.
He could feel his blood boiling at the new offense Kabuto sent their way.
What reason could Kabuto have for messing with Hinata's family? It was him he wanted. He should have the decency to not hurt people around him just to get even.
A sudden thought struck him. 'If he got hold of Hyuuga Hana's remains, it means that there are more. And he knew exactly when to strike…'
Enraging as it was, he needed to step up. Naruto kneeled in front of his girlfriend and took her trembling hands in his. "I will deal with this. Its not fair for you… Or for her." He kissed her trembling hands and motioned her closer to him.
"Hinata, step back and be alert. There must be more reanimations coming our way." He placed a kiss on her forehead, trying to shake her out of her reverie. "Go. I know you are strong enough to not let this break you."
As hard as it was, Hinata watched Naruto step away from her pitiful self to face the mother whose death she thought she'd come to terms with.
'Why is this happening to me?' She found herself choking for a moment, unable to breath. Was she strong enough?
Just when she thought she could face anything, destiny sent her the one thing she couldn't have dprepaed for.
How could life be so utterly cruel?
Konoha had seriously underestimated Kabuto, it would seem. At the same time, nobody supposed there would be another shinobi twisted enough to replicate Orochimaru's experiments. And it turned out it was another former Konohanin that was making Leaf villagers hurt.
"Hyuuga-san?" Naruto could see the Hyuuga robes that were still sticking to her frame, almost intact. They had once been pure white but now were a light shade of gray. "I will take care of you so you can go back to rest."
Hyuuga Hana turned her freakish eyes back to him, acknowledging him to be the clone master. "That would be most welcome." She replied, stepping slowly but menacingly towards him. "But at the same time, I'm ecstatic to see my daughter all grown up and beautiful."
The blond thought that fighting and killing Soundnin's was going to be his hardest challenge today. But fighting Hinata's reanimated mom was something he wasn't prepared to do. It was hauntingly intimate.
This was clearly a planned attack. And he started to see how it was related to the impromptu breach on the perimeter. Naruto swallowed nervously. Slowly, he reached for the mic hanging from his ear. He pressed the tiny button and said curtly. "I need urgent contact with Inoichi. Over."
She decided to step closer to him instead of continuing launching ranged attacks. Naruto also preferred she approached, so he could slow her down with a couple of Rasengans long enough so he could figure out how he could seal her soul out of the reanimation.
A static sound invaded his head, as the operator confirmed they were trying to contact Inoichi.
"How can you feel at all?" The blond asked, getting into position, and preparing mentally for his first fight to the death against a Hyuuga.
Kabuto's puppet launched two gentle fists, which Naruto deviated with his own palms. Hana then delivered a backwards kick that forced him to step outside her range.
"A mother will always think of her daughter, even after death."
Naruto tried hard to anticipate her lunges, kicks and palm strikes to safely guide them away from him.
"Your daughter is doing fine. But you need to get back to where you belong." Naruto swiped a bead of sweat coming down his brow. So far, his taijutsu hadn't failed him.
"This is not your first fight against a Hyuuga." The reanimated Hyuuga spoke gracefully, awarding him a reserved smile.
It was so like Hinata's own smile that he briefly stared at her face in shock, but quickly resumed his guarding position.
"I assume you are her boyfriend." She said with a knowing smile, as she took a step back to regard her enemy.
Naruto didn't feel it was necessary to lie to her. "I am."
A look of delighted surprise flashed through her pale features. "You must be an impressive young man, to win the heart of my daughter."
The Uzumaki was not up for a night of pleasantries. He needed to tell of the new enemy strategy and go back to lead his squad.
"You must know where you were created." Naruto said, taking out a few kunai. "Tell me where you came from."
"I was launched by a giant snake 10 miles Northeast, close to a cave." The woman started launching flying juuken attacks again, this time closer to him than ever before. Naruto had to jump back but he didn't want to lose their closeness. "I shouldn't have survived the crash…"
Naruto knew that reanimation dummies were indestructible to any kind of physical injury. They just regenerated in time. Another reason to regard Kabuto's strategy one of the most dangerous so far for Konoha's cause.
"Naruto. Report." The male voice in his ear surprised him for a millisecond, but he was agile enough to jump back as Hana's palm lunged at his chest.
"Inoichi, I am facing a reanimated Hyuuga that knew exactly where and when to find me most vulnerable." The blond reported to his mic, a drop of sweat getting into his eye.
"So have several others. We are already reading into Jiraiya's notes on how to battle them, so keep them at bay."
"The Naras should have the advantage against them. They only need to force the reanimation to do the necessary hand sings to end the technique. I request a Nara sent my way."
"Granted. Hold your ground while help arrives."
'So have several others…' Kabuto was well prepared, Naruto thought with concern. Sasuke knew they didn't have the numbers to beat Konoha, so they relied on forbidden jutsus to fuck with their minds and cause mayhem among the troops. If they could procure Hyuuga Hiashi's wife, they could have taken more Hyuuga bodies for the battle.
'If Hana-san had encountered Hinata alone, she would've died in an instant.' No matter how strong a shinobi, any waver on their resolve proved fatal in a fight.
He took advantage of a hard shove he managed to place on Hyuuga Hana's back to looked back at where he left Hinata.
She seemed to have recovered enough to gather strength to pick herself up from the ground and look at her fighting mother and boyfriend with forlorn stare.
'With Hinata's help we could immobilize her long enough so I could try the sealing technique on her.'
Hinata's face changed suddenly, as she screamed her lungs out for Naruto to cover.
The blond had just enough time to look back at the reanimated Hyuuga, but he discovered it wasn't her who Hinata was referring. His instincts were tingling at something new coming his way, and he caught a red projectile come from the same direction Hana had come.
He was too slow this time, and the blast threw him off his feet and into his back painfully.
'What now?' He asked himself as he tried to keep his eyes on whatever had arrived and Hana's position both.
"Naruto-kun." At first, he thought it was Hinata speaking, but she was in the opposite direction from where the sound came from.
Dust was starting to settle from the newcomer's position, but before it was fully see-through, a red, elongated object darted from behind the dust screen and came full speed at him. Naruto saw the silhouette of the person standing right on top of the newly created crater, just as the red extremity pierced his left shoulder.
The piercing pain started flowing through his body faster than his dripping blood. He screamed as he started to try to reincorporate to his feet. He could see that what had pierced him looked an awful lot like hair.
Red hair.
He followed the trail back to its owner and could only gape at the figure stalking closer with every step.
A few more of her pointy, dangerous hair strands were twitching and ready to strike.
She was wearing almost the exact uniform as he was, but hers looked different, with the vest hanging lower than his, and with fewer pockets.
Naruto forgot how to breathe, much like Hinata did not fifteen minutes ago.
As menacing as her flowing hair was, he couldn't stop staring up at her weird dark eyes.
"You've grown so much, son." Kushina said with a beaming smile.
Naruto felt his lips tremble, but his other muscles refused to obey him.
Three other elongated strands darted straight at him.
Author's section
(Scream Aim Fire – Bullet for My Valentine)
Thanks for reading!
Happy new year!
Leave a review if you liked it.
- Paty