CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Retrieval part-5
Before daylight, the group reached the location Naruto had detected Hinata's chakra from. The last time the traveled there, they found nothing but the emptiness of the desert. But now, the group found themselves looking at a magnificent structure that simply didn't exist there before.
Standing before them in the distance was a grand mansion, built with the architectural style of a time long past. It stretched for several hundred meters for both directions, and towered over the terrain of the barren desert. A wide courtyard surrounded the mansion on all sides, beautiful murals carved into it.
"What is that place?" Hanabi stepped forward, regarding the building with awe.
"We don't know, but Hinata can be detected inside that mansion." Sasuke stated coolly.
"Some of the design choices tell me this place had some religious value in the past"
The group faced Tenten at the rear as she stepped forward and continued. "Look at the mural built into the courtyard, it looks like a depiction of a…goddess shining her light on the world I think?"
Naruto tried to get a better look at the courtyard. "You might be right Tenten, this building may have served as a place of worship sometime ago, maybe it was once a temple to the Otsusuki"
"And now it's being used to hold Hinata" Konohamaru said, glaring at the massive structure in the distance.
"Hanabi, scan the building and courtyard with your Byakugan and tell us what you see." Sakura ordered.
"Yes ma'am."
Hanabi went to work, focusing on the building in the distance. Her dojutsu had been trained very well throughout the years, and even though she was just 15 years old, Hanabi's Byakugan's range stretched to over 15km. But as she focused on the very hard to miss mansion in the distance, she found herself unable to detect anything at all.
"I can't…..I can't see anything"
"Huh?" Konohamaru raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean you can't see anything"
"Something is distorting my Byakugan, I don't know if it's the building's structure itself or a veil jutsu"
Sakura frowned and looked around her team. "Then we'll just have to go in blind"
Mikasa watched the proceedings in the courtyard with her full attention. Everyday had been more of the same ever since she woke up to find herself in Kaguya's palace. Hinata trained her Tenseigan under Kaguya's supervision everyday, learning how to extract chakra from inanimate objects first, and eventually progressing to living beings. At first, all her test subjects simply died upon having their chakra extracted, much to Kaguya's disappointment. But Hinata persisted, training by herself even when she was dismissed by her Otsusuki supervisors. Mikasa watched her outside alone, practicing through the night. She has to admit, she admired the Hyuuga's determination. Overtime, Hinata finally successfully extracted the chakra from a rabbit without it dying. Then she was able to replicate the same to a sheep and finally, a cow. Impressive as it was, extracting the chakra of a whole bijuu was an entirely different ballgame. But at this rate, Hinata would be able to pull it off in no time.
As Mikasa leaned on the railings, watching Hinata practice with a flock of sheep below, her mind went to the events of a few nights prior.
Kaguya had rejected her.
And in an instant, all her life's efforts went to waste. Everyone she grew up with died for that moment, most by her own hands. She remembered the day she was chosen to be the vessel, the day she killed her only brother. Wiping a tear that formed in her eye, Mikasa went over his words from the night she found out about his rebellious tendencies.
It's okay to question things Mikasa. Never take it for weakness.
Questions were all that went through her mind those days. About how different her life could've been if she followed Takeshiro that fateful night she caught him sneaking out of the house. Then she would've been killed along with him, but seeing how the future turned out Mikasa wondered if that would've been a bad outcome.
"Has everything been in vain, brother?" she said to herself as another tear found it's way to her eye. "I should've listened to you, even though I betrayed you Takeshiro, you never stopped believing in me." Mikasa set off in the direction of her room.
"I should've died that day, alongside you. Then we would've both been free"
"Squad two, come in"
Sasuke reached for his radio and replied the voice of Sakura speaking through it. "I hear you loud and clear Sakura. We're close to the main entrance. There seems to be a number of guards stationed outside, but they appear to be puppets."
"Puppets? Who's controlling them?"
"I don't know but we'll find out when we get inside"
Over at the right side of the mansion, the team of Naruto, Sakura and Hanabi remained concealed in the branches of a large tree. Sakura was still speaking into her radio, giving out instructions to the team.
"Squad two, you are cleared to engage, the rest of us are in position near the western wall"
"Understood" Came Sasuke's reply. Sakura was about to turn off her radio but she hesitated, speaking into it one more time.
"Please, be careful"
A short while passed before Sasuke's reply crackled from the device.
"We will"
Sakura switched off her device and turned to Hanabi by her side. "Can you see inside the building now?"
The Hyuuga shook her head. "Negative"
"Well that sucks" Naruto said with a sigh. "One thing Sakura-chan, how do we get inside the building once the others draw attention to themselves at the main entrance?"
Sakura reached inside her bag and produced a pile of explosive tags. "With these"
Hanabi looked at the bundle of explosives, puzzled. "And who's gonna plant them on the wall undetected?"
"I was thinking-"
"You know what? Leave the blowing stuff up to me" Naruto interrupted. "We can use the explosive tags later, for now let's just wait for the others to do their job
Watching the guardian puppets patrolling the courtyard, Sasuke finally gave the signal to his group.
"It's time. Be as loud as you can, try to draw as much attention to yourselves as possible"
"Right!" Konohamaru said as he drew out a large scroll and spread it on the ground.
[Summoning jutsu]
In a puff of smoke, the monkey king Enma appeared in front of him, arms folded and face formed in his ever present scowl.
"What could be the matter?"
"I need your help furball! Turn into that cool staff again!"
Enma frowned at him and gave a simple reply.
"No"
"Come on! It's an emergency!"
Enma maintained his frown. "You should learn to show respect to those whose help you require"
Konohamaru took a deep breath and said in his polite voice. "Please, lend me your power for this great battle I am about to partake in, oh great king Enma"
Konohamaru watched in surprise as the ape was replaced by an elegant staff that stood upright in front of him. "Yes!"
Tenten spread her scrolls, summoning several thrown weapons that she sent flying at the guards in her field of view. Her attack drew the attention of several other puppets, and they soon began to flood their position, firing balls of energy at the team that left explosions on contact with the surface.
[Amaterasu]
One of the puppet guardians was suddenly engulfed in the black flames of Amaterasu. Using his other eye, the flames increased in size and intensity, spreading in a spiral of heat and destruction that took out several enemies attacking their position. Unsheathing his sword, Sasuke charged into the fray, dodging five blasts from two enemies targeting him. He singled out a guard and sprinted towards it, dodging a sword slash by sliding under it and popping up behind it.
[Chidori lance]
A narrow bolt of lightning stretching from Sasuke's hand impaled the puppet from behind, extending to another one in front of him too. The Uchiha detected another enemy attacking from behind and reacted quickly, dodging a spear and responding with a slash from his sword, cutting the puppet in half.
[Almighty push]
The remaining enemies were sent flying through the air, crashing into nearby hedges. Sasuke looked around to spot several more guards arriving on scene, some of them perched on the backs of what looked like flying puppets.
"Sasuke! Duck!"
Sasuke reacted in time as a long staff swung overhead, taking out multiple enemies in one swoop. The staff retracted to it's original length, firmly gripped in the hands of Konohamaru.
"Well done" Sasuke commended him and signaled the main entrance, which kept on producing more enemies. "But we still have work to do" he added as the form of the susano covered him, crossbow drawn with three arrows loaded.
"Sasuke, don't wreck the house!" Tenten screamed, still occupied with her own battle. "Hinata is inside there!"
"I know" the Uchiha replied as he let his projectiles fly at the growing numbers of guards streaming into the courtyard.
"Understood" Sakura turned off her radio and addressed her squad. "Naruto, Hanabi, we're up"
"Right" Naruto responded as he transformed into his bijuu mode. "Let's do this Kurama, I hope you haven't gone soft from all the romantic comedies you've been binging"
As if, Kurama responded to Naruto's teasing. I'm always ready for action!
Naruto created a mini tailed beast bomb in his hand and tossed it at the nearest wall, blowing a large hole through it. The group rushed into the entrance, finishing off a few incapacitated guards they found in the passage way as they rushed into the main building.
"They have arrived, Mother" Isshiki informed Kaguya, who was still eating her breakfast in the large dining room. "We're under attack by shinobi, the Jinchuriki is among the forces assaulting the palace."
Kaguya rose from her meal and waved for the table to be cleared by the servants nearby. Her eyes turned black for a moment as she finished wiping her mouth with a napkin.
"The one with the Rinnegan is interesting, but I have no use for the rest. Get rid of them"
Isshiki smiled to himself and exited the room.
Kaguya's eyes returned to normal as she flew to a nearby window, observing the courtyard below.
"And so it begins"
"How many of these things are there?" Sakura frowned as she dispatched seven guards that attacked her with a flurry of punches. To her right, Hanabi sent three more crashing into the walls with the palm rotation technique.
"Come on, I can sense Hinata just up ahead!" Naruto ran past them with in his sage mode, rushing past several doors in the long corridor. Hanabi and Sakura followed him behind, trusting him to lead them to their target
[Rasenshuriken]
Naruto destroyer a group of guards that blocked the exit to the corridor and sped through it with his friends hot on his heels.
Just hang on Hinata, we're almost there
He created two clones to handle a pair of guards in his way and rushed towards a chakra signature he had spent the last five days searching the world for. It seemed like an eternity since he last saw her, unsure of her condition. But now he was certain she was alive and waiting for him. Destroying even more guards in his way, nothing was going to stop Naruto from rescuing his love from her prison. Kicking down a set of double doors leading into a large bedroom, Naruto stopped dead in his tracks to take in what he was seeing.
Standing in front of a window overlooking the courtyard, a dark haired woman spun around to face Naruto, tears forming in her blue eyes. Her lips curled in a smile as she focused on him and Naruto felt his heart melt as he heard her call his name in a manner only she knew how to.
"Naruto-kun"