CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
Decisions Part-3
Hanabi carefully made her way around Kaguya's mansion. Despite Sakura's advice, she decided to stay back and observe the battle between Sakura and Hinata. It was hard to root against her own sister but Hanabi knew that the fate of the world she grew up in was at stake. As the battle progressed and as the fighting became more destructive, Hanabi had to put distance between herself and the pair for her own safety. So she went further and further inside the unfamiliar mansion until she discovered that she was lost.
"I've been here before haven't I?" Hanabi asked herself, leaning against a wall for support. Sakura had healed her to an extent but she still hurt all over.
"Crap, where am I going to head to now?" She considered jumping outside a window but decided against it, in her condition she might not make the drop. So she decided to locate a staircase by any means. Trudging around aimlessly, she came upon a large gash in the floor a few metres ahead of her.
"What could've done this?" Hanabi murmured as she jumped down a floor through the damage. Atleast she was one step closer to ground level and then she could find her way outside. As Hanabi limped towards a bend she hoped would take her closer to her goal, the sound of a large crash drew her attention. Tracing the source of the noise to the best of her abilities, she found herself inside a room with a large hole in the wall.
Did they cause this? She thought as she picked up on what sounded like a conversation a few rooms forward. Excitedly, Hanabi hurried to the source of the voices.
"How are you feeling now?" Sakura asked Hinata as she carefully helped her enter a seated position, leaning against the large bookshelf.
"Better than before, Thank you Sakura" Hinata replied with a smile. Her expression gave way to one of concern as she spotted a bruise on her friend's arm.
"What about you?" she asked, gaze fixed on Sakura's injury. Hinata noticed that her friend looked roughed up all over and was overcome by a heavy feeling of guilt.
Sakura followed her gaze to her right shoulder, which was marked by a large bruise. "Don't worry about this, it's nothing" she replied, forcing a smile.
Hinata wasn't convinced but she was in no shape herself to argue with her. Dejectedly, she bowed her head to the floor.
"I'm sorry for hurting you Sakura"
"It's fine really. You're not looking too sharp yourself and it makes me feel bad knowing I did that" Sakura replied with a hand on Hinata's shoulder.
As Hinata opened her mouth to speak, she caught sight of a familiar face making her way into the room.
"Hanabi?!"
"Big sister!" Hanabi hurried over to Hinata's side as soon as she spotted her in her condition. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine" Hinata replied. "Hanabi, I'm so sorry for-"
She found herself wrapped in a hug before she could complete her sentence. Feeling her eyes begin to water, Hinata returned Hanabi's embrace.
"I'm okay too, thanks for asking…." Sakura rolled her eyes as Hanabi released Hinata from her embrace.
"It's a good thing Sakura's the best medic in Konoha" Hinata addressed Hanabi while she faced Sakura with a smile.
"I take it you no longer plan on draining all our chakra right?" Hanabi asked her sister who nervously avoided her gaze.
"Well, I already tried forcing you guys to accept my own point of view…but Sakura beat me fair and square" Hinata stated with a shrug.
"I'll consider it a lucky win" Sakura ran a hand through her hair with a blush. "You really gave me a run for my money Hinata" She admitted with a nervous laugh. "Took your old pal on a trip to the village hidden in those hands"
Hanabi rolled her eyes with a groan as Hinata laughed at Sakura's joke before she addressed her sister.
"Sister, you don't ever have to bear your burdens alone, that's why we're your family" She took Hinata's hand in hers. "You shouldn't feel like you need to sacrifice yourself to protect us"
Hinata bowed her head. "I just didn't want any of you getting hurt in my name"
"Your name is our name" Sakura spoke, drawing puzzled looks from the Hyuuga sisters.
"Maybe I didn't word it well but what I was saying is, we're one for all, all for one. So whatever challenge any of us has to face, we're going to face it together."
"And this woman holding one of ours hostage is holding all of us hostage by extension, so your problem is our problem too." Hanabi added with a frown.
Hinata wiped her eyes and addressed the duo. "I should have never isolated you guys from my pain…..I hope you can forgive me for what I did"
"You don't even need to ask sis" Hanabi responded, tapping Hinata's nose with her finger. "I forgive you"
"I could never stay mad at you" Sakura wrapped Hinata in an embrace.
Released from Sakura's hug, Hinata addressed the group. "We still need to deal with the threat of Kaguya…but I'm willing to do it your way"
"Good" Sakura rose to her feet. "We'll need all hands on deck if we're going to stop her."
Out in the courtyard, Naruto and Sasuke cautiously approached the being standing before them. Isshiki was more than a match for both shinobi, and they were aware that all was on the line with this final effort. Both of them were injured and with Moegi's fatigue, unable to receive medical attention. Naruto was still drained of chakra, having had very little time to recover the amount Hinata stole from him and Kurama. It was essentially life or death for the pair.
"Naruto, always have his dojutsu on the back of your mind, don't forget" Sasuke whispered to his old teammate.
"I understand Sasuke" Naruto replied, keeping an eye on their opponent.
Isshiki moved with an eerie, inhuman speed, his dojutsu shrinking and enlarging objects with a flick of his wrist, turning the environment itself into a weapon. He launched a barrage of black rods at Naruto and Sasuke, each one capable of piercing through even their formidable defenses.
Naruto, dodged and deflected as best he could, but Isshiki's attacks were relentless. Sasuke, eyes blazing with the power of the Rinnegan and Sharingan, used his space-time ninjutsu to teleport and evade, striking back with lightning-quick Chidori strikes and fire jutsus that seemed to barely slow Isshiki down.
Sasuke ducked under a blow from Isshiki and leaped up in time to evade several rods that materialized underneath him. As he landed on the ground, he caught a glimpse of Isshiki raising his arm towards Naruto who was charging towards him.
[Universal pull]
The moment Isshiki let forth his weapons, Sasuke's jutsu trapped them in mid air before they could hit Naruto, drawing them towards himself.
"Hmm?" Isshiki watched in confusion as his rods never seemed to hit their target and instead were pulled away to the side mid flight.
Seizing the chance, Naruto struck the distracted Otsusuki with a powerful blow. He braced himself and parried Isshiki's rebuttal, landing another hit across his jaw.
Enraged, Isshiki sent Naruto back with a powerful kick.
"What the-" Naruto sensed impending danger from above and made to leap to the side. However, Isshiki's attack was faster.
A large red and black cube suddenly manifested above Naruto, crashing onto and immobilizing him.
Sasuke cursed under his breath and challenged Isshiki, sword clashing with his metallic rod.
As Isshiki was engaged with Sasuke, Naruto lifted up the massive cube with a roar and tossed it aside, freeing himself. Drawing on the power of the four tails, he let loose a large ball of lava towards Isshiki while he was doing battle with Sasuke.
The Otsusuki detected the incoming attack from behind and suddenly shrunk out of Sasuke's view.
The Uchiha leaped up in the air to avoid the lava which splattered on the ground underneath him
"Naruto! Be more careful!" Sasuke barked at him
"Sorry"
Suddenly, Isshiki appeared behind Naruto, raising his hand to impale him. But the Uzumaki reacted in time to dodge the flying rods, spinning around with his fist raised towards Isshiki.
But then his opponent disappeared.
Naruto shouted over to Sasuke, his voice strained. "We need to find a weakness!"
Sasuke's face was set in grim determination. "We'll create one," he replied, his voice low but resolute.
Overhead, a thundercloud had begun to form following the effect of Sasuke's fireball justu. Searching for the faint chakra signature of Isshiki, Sasuke suddenly called out to his friend.
"Behind you!"
[Massive rasengan]
Naruto slammed his jutsu to the ground at where Sasuke indicated. He sighed in relief once he saw several dark rods shatter inside the swirling ball of chakra.
That was close, he said in his mind as he formed a hand seal.
[Multi shadow clone justu]
In puffs of smoke, twenty Naruto clones appeared on the battlefield, each one wary of the shrunken Otsusuki.
Sasuke studied the battlefield carefully, trying to locate Isshiki's presence. Suddenly, the Otsusuki appeared behind him with a rod in his arm.
"Again?" Isshiki watched his weapon impale a Naruto shadow clone, dissipating it. With a burst of chakra, Sasuke teleported behind Isshiki, his sword slashing in a deadly arc. Isshiki blocked with his forearm, the force of the blow sending a shockwave through the air. Before Isshiki could counter, Naruto was there, his Magnet release Rasengan slamming into Isshiki's side causing the Otsusuki to be held in place by the curse marks spreading across his skin.
"Now!" Sasuke ordered as five more Narutos appeared on scene.
[Sage Art: Water style Rasenshuriken]
Each clone produced a water style Rasenshuriken and launched it at the immobilized Otsusuki, causing a large explosion of water and chakra.
"You bastards…" Isshiki cursed as he rose up from the pool of water that had formed around him. He caught Sasuke in the corner of his eye, arm raised and fixing him with a glare. Above him a massive dragon made of lightning emerged from the sky….
"Begone"
As Sasuke brought his arm down, the lightning dragon followed suit. Slamming it's teeth into Isshiki, Sasuke's Kirin sent several thousand volts of electricity through his body with Naruto's previous attack amplifying the effect and area of the attack.
"ARGGHHHH!" Isshiki grunted in pain as electricity flowed through him. A few seconds later, the lightning disappeared.
"Alright!" Naruto cheered as he watched the carnage unfold before him. "Well done Sasuke!"
The Uchiha remained focused on the body of water before him, emotionless. "It's too early to cheer Naruto, I've lost sight of his body."
As Sasuke guessed, Isshiki was far from defeated. He emerged from the rubble, his eyes blazing with anger and power. With a swift movement, he shrank the rubble around him, using the debris as a rain of deadly projectiles. Naruto and Sasuke barely had time to react, their defenses strained to the breaking point as they were bombarded from all sides.
Isshiki appeared amidst the chaos, his speed blinding. He struck Naruto with a devastating kick, sending him crashing into the ground. Before Sasuke could react, Isshiki grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground effortlessly. Sasuke struggled, but Isshiki's grip was like iron.
"You cannot win," Isshiki said, his voice cold and confident. "Your efforts are futile."
Naruto, struggling to his feet, saw Sasuke in peril and felt a surge of desperation. "Sasuke!" he shouted, summoning every ounce of his strength. He launched himself at Isshiki, but the Otsutsuki merely flicked him away with a wave of his hand, sending Naruto tumbling across the courtyard.
It seemed all hope was lost, but Sasuke, despite the crushing grip around his neck, managed to activate his Rinnegan. In an instant, he swapped places with a rock several meters away, escaping Isshiki's grasp. Landing hard, he gasped for breath, his eyes narrowing in determination.
"Sasuke" Naruto called out, struggling to rise. He wiped the blood from his lip, his gaze steely. "We've got one last trick up our sleeves, Sasuke."
Sasuke nodded at Naruto, a silent understanding passing between them.
"Let's make it count"
They had one last chance. Drawing on the last reserves of their chakra, they formed their most powerful attacks.
Sasuke's form was engulfed in the Susanoo, his hands forming a seal.
"Are you two going all out?" Isshiki teased, watching the pair in front of him.
Suddenly, the heavens were ripped apart. Directing his gaze to the sky, Isshiki spotted a small meteor hurtling towards him. He watched the incoming projectile make it's way downwards, unfazed.
"Have you learned nothing?" Isshiki remarked as he rose up in the air to meet the meteor.
With a final, shared look with Naruto, Sasuke concentrated on Isshiki.
Isshiki shrunk the incoming meteor and grabbed it in his hand. With a triumphant look, he sent the small rock crashing down towards Naruto and Sasuke below with tremendous force.
"What?" Isshiki felt a rock slam into his back, sending him to the ground.
Down below, Sasuke gripped his Rinnegan in pain. Opening a portal ahead of the shrunken meteor took a lot from him in his situation, but he had no time to rest. There was still something else for him to do.
The meteor expanded to its original size, hurtling towards the earth at great speed. With the presence of team 4 and the people in the mansion at the back of his mind, Naruto summoned his Kurama avatar to his side with a mighty effort.
"Now Kurama!" Naruto called out to the avatar of the nine tails which had formed a dark ball of chakra in its mouth.
[Tailed beast bomb]
Kurama launched the dense ball of chakra at the incoming meteor and dissolved back into his host's body. Naruto fell to his knee as he tried to catch his breath. He was almost out of chakra and this was very much his final gamble.
The tailed beast bomb met Isshiki in a mighty explosion that shredded the meteor to pieces. Upon seeing the incoming flaming debris, Sasuke manifested the form of the perfect Susanoo rising to shield Naruto and the immobilized team 4 with it's massive wings from the hail of debris that came crashing down on them.
"Hyuuga child, what news do you bring"
Hinata knelt before Otsusuki Kaguya as she made her way inside her favourite room. She caught movement in the corner of her eye, taking note of the presence of Mikasa pacing near a window.
"I have succeeded with my task" Hinata declared, bowing her head. She stretched her forth hand, manifesting a dense orange ball of chakra.
Kaguya rose from her chair, flying towards Hinata. Carefully, she observed the orb of chakra in front of her.
"The nine tails chakra…..is this everything"
Hinata replied without raising her head. "The jinchuriki exhausted most of his reserves doing battle with your forces"
Kaguya watched Hinata intensely without saying a word. Carefully, she raised an arm, drawing the orb closer to her.
"You appear fatigued Hyuuga"
"The jinchuriki was accompanied by two of his comrades, I did battle with them"
Kaguya moved towards the fire place. "The jinchuriki is engaged with my son as we speak. How is he still able to do battle with Isshiki when you extracted his chakra?"
Hinata could do little to stop the gasp that escaped her on hearing Naruto was still active.
"I…I must have-"
"You disappoint me, Hinata" Kaguya interrupted her without facing her.
"Forgive me, Kaguya. Permit me to finish my mission and retrieve the nine tails" Hinata lowered her head, waiting for Kaguya's response. But the Otsusuki remained silent.
"Where does your loyalty fall, Hinata Hyuuga"
Taken aback by Kaguya's question, Hinata scrambled for an answer.
"I…will do anything to ensure my people survive. Even if it means following your instructions"
Slowly, Kaguya spun around, her eyes now pitch black with white irises. "The Jougan reveals every secret Hinata. Did you think I will be unable to figure out your decision to go against me?"
Hinata was speechless. What is that dojutsu of hers? How did she know?
Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth to speak. "No, I did not." Her heart rate accelerated rapidly as she continued.
" I underwent a change of heart during my mission, yes. Because I was reminded of the person I was before."
She performed a set of hand signs as fast as she could. As she raised her hand, her mind went back several years ago to her first chunin exams. To her refusal to submit to her cousin Neji even as she was certain she was going to pay dearly for it…..
The person that would rather die on her feet, than live on her knees
[Summoning jutsu]
A puff of smoke engulfed Hinata's form on the ground. As it slowly dissipated, Kaguya allowed a frown to cross her face.
"Very well then" she addressed the trio of Sakura, Hinata and Hanabi.
"You've made your decision."