Hinata of the White Lotus

Inciting Incident

Hinata paused to catch her breath, turning to look down at the village she called home.

It was a magnificent sight, high up on the narrow ledge-like pathway that took you to the top of the Hokage Monument. The whole village and beyond stretched before her, things like the Hyuga compound looking so terribly small from so far above. For a moment, Hinata felt like she understood what it was that Naruto desired when he talked about his dream of becoming Hokage.

She was almost to her destination now. Sucking in her breath, she turned her attention back to the narrow path ahead and pushed on. It was a steep slope, making it a challenging hike even for a trained Kunoichi like herself. It was the height of summer too, the late morning sun beating down on her, making sweat run down her face and into her eyes.

She swiped the sweat away and when her vision returned, she realized she had reached the fork in the path Kali had told her about. One way continued up the mountain and would take you to the cliff that overlooked the village. The other way was blocked off by a warning sign, and led towards the faces of the Hokage etched into the mountain.

Hinata stepped cautiously over the warning sign and made her way on the thankfully more leveled path. As she neared the head of the First Hokage, she started the process to activate her Nichiren Byakugan. The tenketsu of the natural world around her became visible and she saw the flow of the world itself. None of this was of interest to her at the moment, however.

Instead, she looked along the wall, finding what she was scanning for right next to the face of the Shodai; A seal. To anyone not looking for it, the wall was impassable, simply the same as all the rock around it. As she reached forward and pulled back the seal, the truth was revealed. A small tunnel, leading into the monument itself.

It was no coincidence this hidden path was right where the First Hokage had his monument built. Like with Naruto, Senju Hashirama had been a reincarnation of Asura and an ally of Kali's reincarnation.

This hidden tunnel guarded one of the shrines Hinata was in charge of purifying. The only one in the Hidden Leaf Village and as such, the only one in the care of the Hyuga Clan directly. The other eighty-seven shrines were all left to their cousins in the Hinoshita clan.

Stepping gingerly into the cave, one hand on the wall as she went, Hinata made her way towards this shrine with no small amount of trepidation. The last time she attempted to purify one, she had accidentally set loose an impurity that merged with Orochimaru's curse seal. The result would have almost been catastrophic if not for the help of her team.

Her fears subsided slightly as the small statue of Ame no Hitotsu no Kami came into view. Unlike with the one on Toyama Island, this time she didn't see any signs of the impurities that had clung to it. Even though there was no present danger, she still approached the statue cautiously, hesitating slightly before placing her hand on the misshapen head.

Summoning her will, Hinata began to channel the natural energy into the statue to purify it. There was no reaction. The last time, the statue fought back and had nearly overwhelmed her. While she didn't expect it to get to that point this time, she had at least expected something.

Was she doing something wrong?

Hinata furrowed her brow and tried for a couple more seconds to no avail. Giving up on that approach, she decided instead to consult with Kali. Taking a couple steps back, she sat on the ground and crossed her legs in a meditative stance. The moment she closed her eyes and she felt the shift into the interdimensional plane.

"Kali, did you feel anything?" Hinata asked, by far used to the transition of opening her eyes and appearing in a completely different place.

"No, I didn't." Kali responded darkly from her usual floating position. "There should have been something there… even a little. But there was nothing at all." At least this meant Hinata hadn't been doing anything wrong. There was just nothing for her to do this time.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Hinata wondered aloud. If there were no impurities, didn't that actually mean the world around them was healthy? Or maybe there just hadn't been enough time since the last reincarnation had purified it? Being the only shrine in Konoha, it stood to reason this was the most properly maintained one.

"If only things were that simple." Kali muttered under her breath, talking more to herself now than to Hinata. "Like it or not, imbalance is also a part of the world. And these shrines are meant to act as magnets for those impurities. If there's nothing here though… something else must be drawing them?" She turned to Hinata now and addressed her. "You haven't noticed anything odd?"

"I-I don't think so?" Hinata didn't have the confidence to say for certain. "At the very least, nothing like what we saw in Toyama." Even before she reached the shrine, she had been able to feel the gathering impurities. There had been nothing like that in the village as far as she could tell.

"We're in agreement there." Kali rubbed her chin and made a hum of concentration. "Dammit. There's nothing to it then. All we can do is keep our eyes open for something that might happen and just be ready for it. It's a good thing we've established communications with Asura, because something tells me we're going to need his help." It was concerning to hear Kali of all people admit she might need help.

"In the meantime, what should I be doing?" Hinata asked. She had resolved herself to finally take her role as Kali's reincarnation seriously, but she had expected that would be more than just waiting for something to happen.

"For now, I would like you to go find Asura's reincarnate. I need you to keep him up to speed on everything that is going on." Kali answered, but it seemed more like her head was elsewhere. As if she knew things were already escalating out of their control.

"Okay." Hinata agreed readily. She would never turn down the chance to spend more time with Naruto. She just didn't like that all their time together seemed to become so mission dependent. All the same, she was grateful to not be alone in all of this.

She just really hoped things weren't as bad as they appeared.

The world itself seemed to contort in on itself.

One minute, Sasuke was standing in the Root headquarters, the next he was somewhere else entirely. It was instantaneous, but it was also nauseating. Sasuke's stomach churned and he thought for a moment that he might lose the contents of his stomach. Through sheer willpower alone, he managed to keep everything contained.

"W-What the hell was that?" Sasuke asked, glaring up at the orange mask of the man that had just teleported him. The man known as Tobi didn't answer, instead giggling maniacally to himself as if enjoying Sasuke's suffering.

Knowing he wasn't going to get any kind of response he desired, Sasuke glanced around to better understand where he was now. It was a strange place, somehow feeling like it was outside, yet deeper underground than before. Soft wet moss clung to the bottom of his sandals, roots grew into the wall and clung to the tall ceiling above him. There was a small Toori gate on the far side, indicating this place once had some kind of religious value. Now it was forgotten, buried in the deepest dungeon beneath their village.

And they weren't alone. Three other men, not much older than himself, were here. One of them was a man so fat, he might have been an Akimichi, another with six arms, and the last one had some kind of growth coming out of his back. Sasuke didn't recognize them, but their outfits immediately made their affiliation clear.

"You teamed up with Orochimaru?" Sasuke spat the name out as if it was a curse. The mark on the back of his neck began to ache and he subconsciously reached up to rub it.

"That curse mark is your tool to get revenge." The man with a growth on his back spoke. "The same power as the three of us." As if to articulate his point, all three of them transformed, taking on grotesque appearances. For all that their looks disgusted him, Sasuke could sense the power growing off of them- no, not sense it. But he could see it with his Sharingan. With this power… even Itachi-

"Fine." Sasuke agreed, not realizing that the power of Kotoamatsukami was manipulating him even now. Danzo had planted the curse to seek Itachi's head no matter what means he had to use. Even if it meant embracing Orochimaru's powers.

He walked forward. The Three Sound Ninja stepped aside, revealing a barrel just big enough for a single person to fit inside of. Something impure was being drawn to this barrel and swirling inside it. It was here that Sasuke would be able to achieve the power he was seeking. His revenge was finally within grasp.

Tobi almost couldn't help but feel bad for him as he watched him walk to what would almost certainly be his unraveling. Danzo, Orochimaru, Itachi and even himself; Sasuke was nothing more than a pawn in all of their schemes- Each one of them desiring to use him for something different. In the end, only one of them would come out on top, but Tobi was confident he was the one holding all the cards in this game they played.

"Is this really what we should be doing right now?" Black Zetsu asked, warping out from the shadows to stand next to Tobi. "We should be going after the Biju right now, not playing politics with those of Konoha." He sneered.

"I am going after the Biju." Tobi said with a shrug, his good-humored persona completely gone now. All that was left was the shadow of a person. A master manipulator that had to take the name of another. "If this goes well, Danzo will be Hokage. And it will be my help that assured his ascension. He will have no choice but to give me the Jinchuriki after that. Which means we won't have to deal with the fallout of Konoha coming after us once we have him." It was all within his calculations.

"It is true, taking the Jinchuriki without arousing suspicion is the wisest course of action." Black Zetsu agreed, although he didn't like that they had given White Zetsu to Orochimaru in order to accomplish this. On top of that, he also couldn't help but feel there was something which Tobi wasn't telling him. It almost felt like he had learned something even Madara hadn't known.

"Rest assured." Tobi seemed to sense this doubt. "My only goal is the Moon Eye's Plan: A world free from war." He said and Black Zetsu could only nod. He knew if nothing else, he could trust that much was true.

Tobi wouldn't dare betray him now.

Naruto had messed up.

At least, he was pretty sure he had. Thing was, as hard as he looked, he couldn't find Sasuke anywhere. He had tried everywhere he knew to look. Checked his house, his favorite brooding place by the river, the academy. Hell, he had even gone as far as to ask Sakura and even she had no idea.

This was bad.

If Sakura didn't know where Sasuke was, then no one did. Of course, Kakashi-sensei was nowhere to be found at a time like this either. Whenever Naruto needed him most, he was nowhere to be found. Typical.

Naruto knew he had no one to blame but himself too. He shouldn't have pushed Sasuke's buttons the other day. Not when he was already so upset about the death of his brother. What made it worse, Naruto had already realized he was Indra's reincarnation without having been told by anyone. So he knew how important it was to keep an eye on him.

Too bad that ship had already sailed. Now the only thing he could do was swallow his pride and report the truth to Hinata. Of course, he also had no idea where she was either. At least with Hinata, he knew where she would be. Tayuya wasn't allowed to leave the Interrogation squad's compound without her, so all he had to do was head there and wait for Hinata to show up in order to do that.

It also gave him the chance to speak with Tayuya a bit too, something he was looking forward to. He had gotten information about his mother from Kurama, but hearing about someone that wasn't here anymore couldn't compare with talking directly to your own flesh and blood.

So here he was, sitting in the reception room, waiting for them to release Tayuya out to him. He couldn't leave the compound with her, not without Hinata. But at least this way ensured they could leave at a moment's notice.

"Hey there, Whiskers." Tayuya greeted as she was escorted into the waiting room by the Second Exam's proctor, Anko. "Thanks for getting me outta there. Those mind trips are getting more irritating by the day." She ignored Anko completely who had taken post on the other side of the wall, watching her intently. Not like she was dumb enough to make a break for it.

"Hey," Naruto greeted, but it lacked the usual warmth he exuded. Try as he might, he just couldn't keep Sasuke's unknown whereabouts out of his mind. He really hoped he was just overthinking it.

"Something up?" Tayuya asked, not missing the fact his usual luster was somewhat lacking. Despite only having known him for the better part of a couple weeks now, she also felt that familial bond Naruto was trying so desperately to grab onto. After all, he was the only known family she had too.

"Nah, it's nothing." Naruto tried to shrug it away, but even he knew how unconvincing it was. "Just uh, I'm actually hoping to talk to Hinata about something. She should be able to help me." He didn't want to say anything more than that. He knew Tayuya wasn't completely unconnected to what was going on with Kali and Asura, but he didn't actually know how much she really knew. Besides, Anko was still watching them.

"You don't say?" Tayuya made a small grunt of interest, and Naruto could practically see the gears turning beneath her redhead. "This is just me speaking out loud here, so don't really pay any attention to it if I'm way off, but don't you kind of have a thing for Hinata?" She asked.

In truth, Tayuya hated this kind of talk. She had already made as much clear to Hinata. However, she also owed both of these knuckleheads more than they could ever know. So just this once, she would try to play Cupid. Never mind she was the last person on the planet qualified for such a role.

"A thing?" Naruto asked, crinkling his nose. "You mean like a present or something? What's up, is it almost her birthday?" It was such a stupid question, Tayuya almost thought he was messing with her for a second. Nope, his eyes were dead serious. Unsure of herself, Tayuya found she could only glance at the only other occupant in the room. Even Anko could only shrug helplessly, actually managing to look like she somewhat pitied what Tayuya was dealing with.

"No, not like a present." Tayuya said, deciding to be a little more direct. "I'm asking if you like her." There was no way he could misinterpret that.

"Of course I like her." Naruto said plainly, proving her wrong. He then began counting off everything he thought about her on his fingers, "I mean, she's crazy strong. Really kind. She made me that awesome medical cream-"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it." Tayuya snapped, cutting him off. She really couldn't stand this sappy shit after all. Just listening to someone talk about what they found pleasant about another person made her skin crawl. Why was she doing this again?

"You're thinking about this all wrong." Anko decided to try her hand, apparently feeling bad for her. "Let's try it this way. Look, everyone likes Dango, isn't that right?" She held up a stick of her favorite snack and Tayuya had to keep herself from slapping her own face. "But liking Dango and liking someone as a person aren't the same thing." She said as if it wasn't already obvious.

"Huh, it's not?" Naruto asked, the message somehow getting through to him. Tayuya felt her jaw unhinge, refusing to believe such an explanation was what managed to convince him. Just how sheltered had he grown up? "I see, like… huh?" Naruto leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, as if in deep thought. "I wonder… What was it that my dad liked about my mom?"

With just that question, Tayuya felt bad about being so hard on him. Of course he didn't know what it meant to properly 'like' someone. It wasn't that he was stupid, he just didn't have anyone to show him what it was supposed to mean before now.

Naruto had only just heard from Kurama about his own mom. She sounded so much like him in many ways. So what was it about her that managed to draw someone to her? And what made her finally fall for his father? He wished he could ask them.

Their conversation could continue no further from there, the very one that had been the trigger for the whole thing happening to come walking in at that very moment.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, clearly surprised to see he was already here. It would seem she hadn't overheard any of their previous conversation, otherwise she would have been a red, stuttering mess.

"Oh, hey Hinata!" Naruto, for his part, also appeared to forget what had started this whole conversation and instead smiled brightly at her, not the least bit conscious of her as a woman. Well, that was probably for the best. Tayuya didn't want to end up pissing Hinata off by having done something unnecessary. With that, she also made up her mind to stay out of it from here on out.

"Is everything okay?" Hinata, like Naruto, seemed a little on edge. Something Tayuya couldn't help but notice. Was there something going on that had to do with her powers?

"Ah… actually," Naruto glanced around, seeming suddenly skittish. He debated about whether or not to divulge his worries so openly in front of Anko and Tayuya. Deciding this couldn't wait any longer than it had, he said it, "I uhh… I was wondering if you could help me find Sasuke?"

"What!?" Anko jumped up from her position against the wall. "You can't mean-" Her eyes immediately went to Tayuya, and it was easy for them all to understand why. The one who had tried to kidnap Sasuke already was working for Orochimaru. So it stood to reason if he was missing, then that snake was involved. Which made Tayuya a prime suspect in his disappearance.

"Hold up," Naruto quickly shook his hands in an effort to remove any kind of rash decisions. "I'm not even sure he's actually missing. I'm just asking, is all…" He trailed off, unsure of how to say anything more without giving away the true nature of his concern.

"One moment, I'll check." Hinata said to his relief, understanding his dilemma. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and when she opened them back up, there was an almost imperceptible white lotus that had bloomed in her pupils.

She stood still, eyes looking forward and yet seeing nothing. No, it was somewhere far away she was looking. Somewhere beyond what they could see. The three of them waited for several whole minutes in tense silence. Finally, Hinata found him.

"He's here in the village." She said to all their relief, only to immediately set them once again on edge a sentence later. "But… I can't tell exactly where." She was only following the connection between Asura and Indra, the line of energy that drew the two of them to one another. That was the only way she knew how to trace him. This was strange, however, the line was going- "It's almost like he's deep underground." She summarized.

"…Root?" Anko whispered to herself, not entirely sounding like she believed it herself.

"You mean that cult led by Shimura Danzo?" Tayuya asked, having had some dealings with them in the past. It had been thanks to Root that their forces had managed to invade as deeply into the village as they had. Until Hinata threw the entire plan into disarray with her actions, anyways.

"This might be just as bad." Anko indirectly confirmed. "We have to let the Hokage know right away."

"No, we have to go get Sasuke right now." Naruto argued.

"There's no reason we can't do both." Hinata's mind was whirling. Was it a coincidence? No, almost certainly not. She had to let Itachi know, if he was even still alive. At the same time, she couldn't risk leaving Indra to chance. "Naruto-kun, can you create a Wood Clone to go inform Hokage-sama?" Even now, she couldn't order him, despite being a Chunin.

"You got it!" Naruto didn't even wait, creating a single clone that popped into existence right next to him.

"Wait a second, you kids can't just go barging into Root's territory." Anko ran to stand in front of the door. "You're going to get yourselves captured."

"It sounds like you know quite a bit about Root," Tayuya noticed, stepping forward before either Naruto could decide to try and fight their way through. "Think about it, Hinata is the only one that can track Sasuke. Either way, you need her to go down there. And if Orochimaru is involved, you're going to need me too."

"I'm also a student of Orochimaru." Anko sneered, reaching up to the curse mark still on her shoulder.

"But you don't have all the most recent information." Tayuya argued. "Besides, if Hinata goes, it's only natural that I have to accompany her." That had been the condition behind Tayuya's limited freedom in the first place.

"…Fine." Anko relented. She wasn't happy about this, but she understood their logic all the same. It was entirely likely that they were preparing to transport Sasuke out of the village. Time could be of the essence. "I'll lead you down into Root, following the trail Hinata is using. Naruto can inform the Hokage about what's going on in the meantime."

"I need Naruto-kun with us." Hinata said before he could retort. "His connection to Sasuke is what I'm using to trace the trail." More specifically, Asura's connection to his brother, Indra.

"What connection?" Anko asked, but no answer came. Hinata didn't know what kind of lie she could possibly give that would be believable in this situation. Even if she told her it was the connection between Indra and Asura, she doubted she would believe her. As if sensing that it wasn't such an easy explanation, Anko let out a sigh of frustrated reluctance. "Fine, he can come too. But if things go even the slightest bit sideways, I'm pulling us out of there. No objections. I'm the captain for this mission, you kids got that?"

"Yes!" All three of them called, standing at attention. Anko looked at them all one by one, already second guessing the sanity of such a hastily thrown together plan. She felt the curse mark on the back of her neck itch again, as if sensing the danger they were walking into.

It was incredibly likely this was a trap. One in which Tayuya would use to betray them. If that was the case, there would be no getting out of there even if she did make the call.

That meant potentially delivering the Kyubi Jinchuriki right into Danzo's hands. Even if he was supposedly on their side, his connection to Orochimaru was also undeniable. Yet that was also why she felt the need to do this. If Orochimaru was involved, then this would be her chance at finally bringing him to justice. An opportunity she couldn't possibly pass up on.

Besides, Hinata was with them. She may have only just been promoted to Chunin, but the incredible things she had already accomplished in a short amount of time gave Anko confidence.

They could do this.

They were going to go save Uchiha Sasuke.

"That should be the last one, Hokage-sama." Nara Shikaku mercifully said, signaling the end of clients for the day.

There were so many more important things Itachi desired to be handling right now. Such as Root's movements and figuring out what was happening with the Akatsuki. This wasn't even mentioning Orochimaru, who knew what that snake was up to.

There was a mountain's worth of actual threats to the village and here he was, assigning missions to find missing cats and deal with a bear that escaped the zoo. Of course, it wasn't like Itachi underestimated the value of such missions. It was things such as this which signified how well they had been doing at keeping the darkness of the ninja world just that: Hidden from the eyes of the public. He could only hope things continued to be so peaceful.

There was one other thing he was worried about. Glancing at Sarutobi Hiruzen from behind his mask, he used Shisui's Sharingan to transfer the request.

"What about the matter of Hatake Kakashi?" The Third Hokage asked Shikaku, speaking exactly as Itachi desired him to. They had put in an order to have him returned to the village as soon as possible, as Kakashi was the only one that could be relied on to look after Sasuke.

"We sent Gai and his team to go retrieve him. They should already be on the way back from the Hidden Sand. They may even be here before nightfall." Shikaku answered to his Hokage, not even aware Itachi was there. This was the power of the Uzumaki mask he wore, making him imperceptible to almost everyone, despite the fact he stood in plain sight, just behind the Hokage and to his left. Of course, if Itachi let out any form of anger or killing intent, the mask wouldn't be able to hide him any longer. Which was why he had to remain calm at all times.

"Good work Shikaku, you may go." The Third Hokage dismissed the head of the Nara clan, who inclined his head before turning to leave. As he opened the door to step out, Uzumaki Naruto came barging in.

"Old man, we've got a problem!" He shouted without the least regard for who he was addressing. It worked to his favor, Shikaku deciding not to stick around to witness the fallout. With a click, the door closed and they were all alone now. "Sasuke has gone missing! Hinata traced him somewhere underground and that snake lady thinks some group named Root might have taken him."

"What!?" Hiruzen's smoking pipe tumbled from his hand, having come out to finally be inhaled after a long day's work. Naruto didn't appear to notice, glancing behind him and at where Itachi was standing. Itachi had to remind himself to calm down. His emotions were seeping through, canceling the effect of the mask.

It would seem he had been too late in recalling Kakashi. Itachi cursed his own foolishness. Danzo must have realized he was here and that was why he went after Sasuke. That was the only reason that made sense, whereas Itachi had been too slow, believing that his supposed 'death' would buy him some time before he was exposed. Now he was paying the price for that.

"You're sure about this?" Hiruzen asked. "How did Hinata trace him down into the Roots of the village?" That was true, the Byakugan was powerful and Hinata's even more so, but it couldn't see that far. Naruto hesitated, forcing Itachi to use Kotoamatsukami to wring the truth from his mouth.

"Hinata is following Asura's connection to Indra." The truth, unfortunately, made no sense to either of them. However, Itachi understood one thing. Whatever was happening, Kali was also somehow involved. If he thought about it that way, it made sense as to why Hinata would be able to track them.

"Where is Hinata now?" Hiruzen asked at Itachi's prompting.

"She, Tayuya, my original, and the snake lady are heading down to where Sasuke is now to bust him out." Naruto's clone answered. It was a reckless plan. Even if Anko knew her way around Root and Hinata could follow the path to Sasuke, they would inevitably be caught. Unless…

"We need to prepare a distraction for them." The Third Hokage proclaimed, already pulling out a scroll and beginning to scribble down several names. "Can you split yourself into further clones?" He asked, to which Naruto's clone readily nodded. "Good, I need you to gather as many people on this list as you can." He rolled the scroll up and tossed it to Naruto.

"What kind of distraction did you have in mind?" Naruto asked, grinning from ear to ear at the sounds of the idea.

"We're going to attack Root and draw as many of them out as we can." Hiruzen proclaimed, his voice cracking under the effects of Kotoamatsukami. Despite everything, he and Danzo shared a long history of friendship together. He would never make this call if not for the manipulation of Itachi's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

Itachi wanted to respect that friendship and had done as much as he could not to make the Third Hokage, a man he still deeply respected, do anything out of his character. However, if Sasuke was in danger, then all bets were off.

"We will help you get Sasuke out of there." Hiruzen said, mimicking the words Itachi spoke. What followed next was something left unsaid, only uttered in the young Uchiha's mind.

"…And then I'll put an end to Danzo, myself."