Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto

Co-Author and Beta: Etheral-23

Chapter 46: Breaking the Leash Act IV

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The great cavern rocked with precise controlled blasts, the explosions designed to pierce through the surface without bringing the whole place down. Rocks and earth fell, leaving five imperfect circles that lead to the surface, letting the sunlight pour through the dark section of the base.

Above, Jiraiya quickly ordered the ninja to move, "NOW, GO, GO, GO!"

They swarmed down the openings with battle cries, their voices echoing and making the mercenary forces, already shaken and taken aback by the sudden explosions, to look up in fear and scramble to form an efficient defense.

On the large training field the ninjas descended, with kunai and shuriken striking down any enemy soldier they came across as they continued descending like a tide. The brawl ensued at earnest, with the Blood Leash forces quickly trying to mount up a defense, even as the chaotic skirmish ensued.

A lieutenant standing back was quick to shout orders, "Form up! I want the third garrison here, put the first and fourth on the northern side, we need to keep them in this area!"

It was then that the sounds of fighting from the other side quickly reached his ears; he looked at the docks, and saw even more ninja descending into the grotto's entrance from the cliff, immediately attacking their soldiers there.

"S-Sir! Half the regiments are engaging shinobi on the other side!" A lower level grunt informed.

"I can see that!" He furiously snapped at the subordinate. "Contact Goro-sama, we need orders!"

A haughty female voice huffed in disappointment, "Hmph, are you letting this interlopers get the better of you, lieutenant?"

"Just when I was starting to think these humans weren't a disappointment" Another male voice spoke.

The lieutenant froze, and the soldiers at his side all stood at attention. There they saw the second in command, followed by the new demon Warlord. "S-Sarnai-sama!"

Sarnai glared at the man before peering up at the intruders flowing in. Anger shone in her eyes at the sight of metal plated headband's symbol; "So those holier than thou tree huggers are paying us a visit!" she sneered.

A glare grew from Gōyoku as he saw familiar figures beside the human enemies; "Come to settle the score Kuro?" The ancient Oni had begun walking away.

"Where the hell are you going?!" Sarnai snapped at the demon.

"Dealing with unfinished business." The woman growled as the Oni warlord left them.

One of soldiers pointed at the ninja leading the assault; "Sarnai-sama, it's Jiraiya of the Sannin!"

Sarnai scowled; "Well Konoha came prepared didn't they..." The woman popped her fingers; "Let's show these scum death awaits them!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Jiraiya dropped down with a crouch, immediately rising to deliver a strong right hook at an incoming mercenary, before grabbing his arm and flipping him over. At his side Naruto and his team descended, the four wasted no time in joining the action. Naruto spawned his clones to add in to their numbers and fight several mercenaries at once. Sakura brought her full strength to bear, her punches breaking bones and sending the armored soldiers flying away.

The young Uchiha darted between blades and spears, his Sharingan allowing him to anticipate the strikes and countering with pinpoint precision, grabbing a hold of a spear and using it to propel himself upward, striking a mercenary directly in the face with a fierce kick, pulling the spear away as he landed and using it to hit another one in the throat.

Karin, while competent in hand to hand, choose to remain at a distance, using her sensory abilities to better make sense of the ever growing brawl around them, pulling multiple shruiken and throwing them with great dexterity. She hit a mercenary coming for her cousin in the ankle, causing him to stumble. Naruto noticed him and shrouded his knee in crystal, grabbing his head and hitting him square in the forehead, splinters of crystal and blood falling.

Queen Kuroreimei with her children soon descended, Maikako's arms already blazing, eager to burn the slavers to a crisp. The armored form of his son Kyoka brandished his long blade, shrouding this one in an aura of chakra and began cutting down soldiers. The queen's eyes narrowed dangerously, she could feel him, that traitor, he was here, and near...

Kurenai and her team descended behind Jiraiya, awaiting his orders. "Kurenai, take your team to the slave pens, join up with the others!"

As she and her team left, the demon queen gave her blonde haired daughter a look. "You are to go with them, remember?"

Maikako rolled her yellow eyes, but ultimately obeyed.

As soon as her feet touched the ground Mitsuko moved like a phantom with her okatana in hand. Her moves almost like a dance that was both beautiful and savage as her black blade pierced and slashed through enemies. Her attacks were precise, fluid as she severed limbs and heads effortlessly.

Yet while she kept on the onslaught her eyes moved in every direction. These mercenaries were not her target…

She dodged impalement from spears before slicing said weapons in half, followed by their wielders. Her danger sense soon screamed before leaping out of the way of black flames. Landing gracefully beside her queen, both glared heatedly at the man who was once their friend and mentor.

"I must say you surprised me Kuro," Gōyoku remarked holding his sword at the ready. "To think you actually grew a spine."

"Coming from a traitor your words mean nothing," the queen hissed; "you spat on my father's name for what you had done."

The ancient Oni chuckled; "I had done exactly what true demons to do, girl."

Naruto muttered to himself, "This guy's the traitor?"

"Oh my" Kurama muttered with interest inside his mind, "Can you feel it boy? This is an old, very old demon. Powerful too. Were we in other circumstances I would have liked to test my mettle against him"

"Shit" Karin muttered with wide eyes, "He has a lot of chakra" It was heavy, oppressive, like a giant boulder crushing down on her.

Kyoka glared at him with loathing, "All these years you made your feelings about humans evident, and you betray us for them?" It made no sense to him.

Gōyoku chuckled cruelly, hefting his sword over his armored shoulder. "Oh my dear boy, I will admit some of your mother's words did stick with me. I realize that there is no difference between humans and demons, there's only the strong and the weak" He pointed his finger accusingly at the queen of Lanka, "And you, have proven that to me, Kuroreimei. Your father was mighty, he made his kingdom safe, while now you cower and fear the rest of the world. I cannot believe someone such as yourself carry Ravana's blood in her veins"

"You betray your oath to my father, your friend!" The queen shouted.

"And I'm glad he's dead! He didn't have to live with the shame of what Lanka became, of what the sheer disgrace his daughter is!"

The raven haired queen snarled with Mitsuko poised and ready to strike at her majesty's word. Landing beside the two Jiraiya stared hard at the traitor who did the same; "More shame in that you chose to seek aid from these ninja," Gōyoku sneered with disgust in his tone. "Then again you hairless primates do anything for coin."

"I've heard better insults from hookers worth more than you." The Gama Sannin quipped back crossing his arms.

That got a rile out of the Oni who growled in outrage, black flames glowed from his sword.

Jiraiya peered around the four before glaring back to the traitor; "So porcelain face, want to take this up top? Doubt you want the entire cavern to fall on you while we kick your ass."

"Gladly," Gōyoku snarled; "If only to rip out your jaw and remove her taint from the world." He pointed to the Lanka queen.

"No more lessons for me master?" Mitsuko spoke up in an even tone.

Gōyoku glanced to his former student; "Training is over girl. Let us see who survives this day."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Goro's eyes shifted as he dodged sword and kunai from his uninvited guests. His ears heard the sound of battle outside his palace. The slave master gnarled his teeth in an angry sneer as he soon saw the leaf symbols on his opponent's headbands. "So you hippie rejects decided to pay my home a visit."

Kushina sneered back, "Well you know when trash builds up you have to clean it out." Close by Kakashi held his kunai at the ready.

"Couldn't agree more," Goro rebuked before taking a full stock of the redhead; "Hmm, Sarnai spoke about some ANBU bitch with long red hair, meddled in our business for years."

"Oh I will happily get reacquainted with her after sending you to hell."

"You lot seem to be under the impression that, well, you'll kill me" The tall imposing man let out a deep chuckle. "I mean, you must really live in some fantasy realm to even conceive that notion"

"Arrogance leads to downfall" Kakashi sagely said, his Sharingan opening.

"'Arrogance' is the mindset of people who don't know when they're over their heads" The slave master grunted, rolling his neck to pop his joints. "You know how I got to be the best slaver in the Land of Fire? By crushing everyone that ever stood in my way. You think you're the first people who try to assassinate me? Oh I'll grant you, you're the first to ever find my hideout, but that's just a minor setback"

Goro shoved a piece of furniture standing between him and the shinobi to the side with such force it crashed through the wall, barely looking like he put any effort into it.

"Everyone who's ever tried to kill me is dead. For the simple fact that I'm the biggest, baddest, and strongest boss in the underworld" He popped his knuckles loudly. Slowly, his skin seemed to be darkening, acquiring a certain metallic sheen to it. "Let me show you"

Their eyes narrowed, "Skin hardening technique, based on earth chakra" Kakashi informed Kushina, and already analyzing what he saw with his Sharingan. Kushina in return was already summoning the wind seals in her blade to maximum cutting power.

"You can kill my men, you can wreck my home, but I promise you once the dust settles, every single one of you will be dead under my heel" A savage grin formed on his lips, "And that's if I'm feeling generous"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Kiba's nose twitched as both he and Akamaru sniff the air; "Too many smells around." It was hard to properly guide himself in this chaos.

"Unsurprising. Why? Our forces and the slavers are fighting" Shino adjusted his shades.

Maikako rolled her eyes; "Kind of obvious on that one, brats." Both boys dryly gazed at her (Well hard to tell with Shino's shades) but neither said a word as they went through a corridor through what they assumed was one of the slave pens.

The Genjutsu mistress kept an eye on her team and Lady Kuroreimei's youngest as they made their way to the slave pens.

The sounds of fighting could be heard everywhere in the cave, echoing battle cries, clash of weapons and the occasional explosion. For the moment they crossed through one area where there was few fights taking place, other than the occasional mercenary and shinobi facing off.

Kiba's nose informed alerted him once more, "I smell... animals. Lots of them"

They passed through a couple of storehouses of utilitarian design, leading to a roofless section of the buildings where saw over a dozen enclosures housing many types of wild animals, from the regular sized to giant ones the size of three men in height.

Dogs and wolves of varying sizes, large wild felines, carrion birds and other savage types. Along with creatures that couldn't be classified as regular beasts, bulls with tentacles instead of hind legs, bats hanging from trees with multiple rows of sharp teeth far too large for their mouths.

"Yokai" Maikako muttered. Animals that were more in line with spirits and demons than with regular earth-born creature. And a fair number of them were of the dangerous variety.

"A collection that's taken me quite some time to amass" A slightly muffled voice spoke, and they noticed behind one of the cages the moving figure of a man wearing a large farmer's hat, half his face covered in a mask, he wore form fitting clothes that wouldn't be out of place for a ninja's attire, tucked into shin and arm guards. Brown eyes stared at them with irritation. "Your little surprise party has put them on edge"

As if on cue, all the creatures at once began to make noise, roaring, barking, a cacophony of loud shrieks that thundered on their eardrums.

Then, with a single raised fist from the man, they all stopped at his command.

"Shihai" Kurenai said, gazing firmly at the man before them. "The Beast Master"

"You're well informed girl," they could feel the man scowl behind his mask. "I had hoped to get a chance to face Konoha again. I simply must return the favor to that accursed Toad Sage for the scars he left me."

Fire danced around Maikako's hands; "You won't get the pleasure, human," rage fueled every word as she growled in sheer hatred. "My people will be saved and your entire group will burn in hellfire!"

However only amusement came from the man as he laughed; "You are welcome to try demon child. But in the end all you will just be food for my pets. Well, save the Hyuuga maybe. Many would pay handsomely for her eyes alone."

Rage glowed from Kiba's being as he snarled wildly with a growl coming Akamaru. Shino remained stoic but those close to him could tell he too felt immense anger. Though Kurenai looked calmed, his eyes spoke another story. Hinata herself felt a deep chill down her spine but remained calmed going into her clan's stance.

"Let's get on with it shall we?" The masked man raised a pair of fingers, and undid the seal on a few of the cages.

First had come the wolves, wild and raging as if struck by rabies, lacking only the foam around their snouts, charging towards the shinobi and the demon. Kiba met a few head on, with a leap he delivered a strong sweeping kick over one of the wolves head, Akamaru proved his mettle as a ninja dog and jumped over another wolf, avoiding its jaws and clamping down over its neck.

Shino calmly summoned his swarm, striking with multiple flies to first disorient the hounds with their endless buzzing, and the use insects with stingers to incapacitate them. Kurenai pulled out two kunai and struck, throwing the first to a wolf's jaw and then swiftly dodging to the side to avoid the trampling attack from another wolf before stabbing its back.

Hinata deftly dodged swipes and bites from one of the feral animals, countering with two fingers pressing swiftly at the side of its neck, quickly nocking the wolf unconscious. Another wolf leapt towards her, and the Hyuuga thrust both palms forward, impacting the animal's stomach, sending it flying back with a whimpering noise.

Maikako had much less restraint, merely opting to summon blazes around her, turning the animals to charred corpses and then directing the swaths of flames directly to their master.

Shihai merely remained unfazed at the sight of the flames coming towards him as an armored shell appeared in front of him, shielding him from the flames, these licking at the edges of the shield but leaving him unharmed. As the flames died down it were revealed that what were in front of him were actually a great turtle's shells, only without the animal.

"Not bad, not bad" The Beast Master conceded, "Let's take it up a notch"

Snapping his fingers, more cages opened as lions and tigers came out from their enclosures. The enormous felines growled and snarled in fury as they came beside their master. "Let us see how good Konoha trains their young."

At that all the beasts roared as they charged at their new prey.

"And to make it more entertaining for me." A bellowing roar ripped through the area as Kiba looked behind them to see what had to be the biggest bear he had ever seen. "Wonder how long you'll stay alive?"

Maikako peered between the massive felines and bear; "I'll handle it!" Without another word she roared charging. The bear took it as challenge as it done the same.

The creature was easily the size of an elephant; Maikako briefly noticed the markings over its body, a pale color contrasting to its brown fur, feeling the magic from them. The bear had to be of mystical descent from yokai. Her suspicions were proven true when she blasted its side with fire, and all the beast did was shrug it off, barely did the flames singe its fur.

The bear roared and stood up, looking even bigger than before, bringing down its paws with a great stomp, cracking the ground. Maikako rolled to the side and struck once more, repeatedly throwing spheres of blazing flames in quick succession at the bear's head. It small blasts from the attacks made the bear stagger, head twisting with each blow. The creature soon grew enraged and snapped its head at her direction, letting out a strong roar that unleashed a gust of stormy wind. Her flames were pushed by the sudden gale, blowing backwards, elemental affinity might say fire triumphed over wind, but common sense dictated the flames would be blown to the wind's direction.

She shielded her face with a sleeve, grunting as the fierce gust forced her to one need, making her dig a red hand in the ground to keep herself from being flung away.

The wind suddenly stopped with the arrival of another fierce sound like storm, the bear roaring as it was struck to the side by a grey spiraling shape akin a small tornado, drilling into its side. With a fierce shock the beast was flung back by the sheer force, and the twirling phenomenon stopped, revealing the Inuzuka boy and his pup henged in his master's form.

"Hell yeah!" He cheered in triumph with his partner. "Figured you could use a hand"

Maikako grunted; her pride wounded. "I had it under control!"

That earned her a deadpan from the boy and henged dog; "Bad as Sasuke..." Kiba grumbled while Akamaru barked. Both looked back to the colossal bear that rose back up. Rage shone in its eyes; "Well he's pissed."

"Brilliant deduction, human," the Oni snorted; "what about your team?"

"Kurenai-Sensei and the others are handling the big cats."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Hinata ducked and dodged a tiger's claws that were just inches from her face. Her finger moved to strike hitting the large feline's leg. The leg gave in, and she seized the moment struck the neck, immobilizing it. Kurenai casted a quick genjutsu that stunned the tigers with a high pitched frequency assaulting their keen ears, leaving them open to strike and take them out of the battle.

Shino directed a swarm in the shape of a black swirling sphere, with a swipe of his hands he ordered the swarm to strike all at once. The combined mass of hundreds of insects impacted like a sledgehammer upon one of the tiger's back. Another tiger leapt at him, but he a curtain of bugs rose between them, shielding from those claws as the wall of insects stretched against the tiger like a sheet. Another simple command of his fingers and the animal was thrown flying back.

A half-sardonic clap came from the masked warlord, Shihai couldn't help but soundly amazed at the display of control the Aburame had over his swarm. "Impressive. You Aburame are no joke. It's a shame your clan doesn't get the recognition they deserve. Nowadays everyone all cares about is flashier and flashier jutsu"

"Fame is detrimental to a ninja" Shino professionally replied.

"Heh!" Shihai chuckled, amusement dancing on his eyes. "Seems at least one among you doesn't hold any delusions about this life"

Kurenai kept her sights on the masked man; "Coming from a slaver your opinion means little."

"Girl, I have been around as long as your precious Sannin. You'd do well to listen to your elders."

"Gladly, but not the advice from a man who steals people's lives for profit."

Shihai shook his head; "Children these days are quite naive." Soon his tigers came to his side; "There has only ever been one rule to this miserable world. Predator and prey, the law of survival..." A loud roared drew his attention behind the group as he saw his precious bear, half burned, flung through the air by two spiraling tornadoes.

The bear whined as it struck an enclosure, cracking the walls. A growl came from the beast master as Kiba, Akamaru (stilled henged as his master), and Maikako landed beside the others.

"You may have a lot of pets, but you don't have what we do" The Inuzuka smirked confidently; his henged partner barking in reply.

"Aww look at the two of you" The Warlord coed mockingly. "You are 'partners', the 'best of friends', always having each other's backs till the end of time" He rolled his eyes, "Kids these days romantize about being a ninja too much if you ask me" He signaled for another cage to be opened... this time the one inhabited by yokai. "Don't worry; you'll eventually grow out of it"

The blood curling roar of the bullheaded tentacle creature echoed in their area of the cave, and charged, scuttling in a very unnerving manner with its razor clawed limbs. The Ushi-Oni, an unholy combination bull, sea-creature, sometimes possessing regular bull limbs, or even human shaped arms, this one had six very long spider legs.

"Oh that is just wrong" Kiba said, paling considerably.

The ushi-oni was fast, very fast, quickly clearing the distance between them and raising four of its legs to strike down on them. The shinobi and demon jumped out of the way just in time, the sharp claws cracking the earth where they once stood. Kurenai was already going through handseals to try and cast a genjutsu that could hold the savage creature, only for one of the tentacles on the ushi-oni's lower body to strike her through the stomach, sending her flying against the bars of a cage filled with the bat monstrosities. They shrieked and clawed through the holes in the bars, partially tearing the white segments of her outfit and digging into her skin, the blood that fell sending them into a greater frenzy.

Kurenai swore under her breath and used substitution to get away, leaving her white tunic behind. The moment she used to regain her breath left her open, which was used by Shihai to strike with a swift punch to her cheek. The kunoichi rolled back until she was facing him.

"It's been a while since I fed that one" The beast master said in amusement as he spared a glance to the young warriors fighting the ushi-oni. "Your kids look a bit bony, but fortunately the bull headed freak isn't picky"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Maikako snarled as she dodged tentacles and claws beside Hinata and Kiba; "I just need one opening and I can set this guy ablaze!"

"Easier said than done, lady!" Kiba yelled back; "Who'd think this ugly bastard be so damn agile and fast!?" Akamaru barked back in human henged form. "You got that right bud!"

Shino grunted as his insects buzzed around him; "His chakra is immensely volatile."

"It's like it is made up of pure fire," Hinata spoke while dodging tentacles; "I don't see chakra points!" Her clan's pride doujutsu fully active.

"Because it's not human," Maikako snapped back letting loose a fireball; "Us demons are very different on the inside and out!"

That, Hinata could believe. Looking at the yokai with her Byakugan, and seeing Maikako as well for that matter, revealed something... she didn't know if unnerving was the right word, but what her Byakugan perceived certainly didn't belong in any human.

Their inner bodies lacked chakra points, there were no gates, and the energy flowed constantly in a perfectly synchronized rhythm without overflowing, even without limiters just as the chakra pools. It was like the collective parts of their bodies, from every muscle fiber down to the air in their lungs, acted in tandem as one giant chakra point that regulated the flow in a perfect stream beyond what any human could ever achieve.

Had Hinata had more time, she would have taken the moment to properly observe this amazing phenomenon that was a demon's body. For the mystic biology that guided their chakra flow was simply breathtaking.

Unfortunately, now was not such moment. A cloud of Shino's insects were swiftly killed when ushi-oni breathed out a stream of poison. The Aburame neither made any remark, nor uttered a sound, but Hinata knew him well enough to know he was frustrated, doing once more a superb job at keeping his emotions in check.

Maikako tried to set the beast ablaze with streams of fire, but this one swiped its long tentacles at the flames, drenched in water-based in they took on the impact with minimal burns that didn't seem to bother it.

"Let's flank it Akamaru!" Kiba's partner barks in agreement as they got on all fours, chakra gathering in their limbs as they sprung forwards. Their bodies twirled at high velocity like drills, soaring through the air as they aimed to impact the demon from both sides. "Fang over Fang!"

But ushi-oni moved faster than they anticipated, spinning on its own in a whirlwind of claws and tentacles. The impact from one of the long coiling appendages swatted Akamaru away like a fly, eliciting a whimpering cry from the transformed pup.

Kiba was not so fortunate, and a series of claw strikes cut through his clothes and into his flesh, sending him flying back with a painful cry as blood poured from his wounds and into the air.

Hinata screamed out before she realized it as her teammate smacked onto the ground. The Inuzuka snarled and roared in pain as he held his chest and face. His feet pawed at the ground as Akamaru ran to his master. Maikako cursed before leaping over several tentacles and landing beside the boy.

The Oni woman was as gentle as she could be making Kiba sit up and still holding his chest and right side of his face. "Put your hands down so I can see!" Weakly the boy obeyed as a hiss came from the demon woman. Three claw marks were deep on Kiba's face, but thankfully avoided his eye. On his chest was another set of slashes from the boy's chest down to his waist. Maikako looked back to Hinata and Shino; "Keep your distance till I get back with you!"

Akamaru whimpered garnering a look from the Oni; "His life won't be in danger if we can seal these cuts."

"D-Don't suppose you know medicine do you?" Kiba hissed out from the pain.

"Very basic, and we need to seal these fast. I know one way kid," lifting her hand fire bloomed from her fingers.

Kiba offered a pained chuckle; "Had a feeling it was that. Do it!"

"You have heart brat. Let's see if you live through this."

Kiba's screams echoed the area.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"I'd focus on me, girl," Shihai quipped as he and Kurenai with kunai and knife in respected hands; "Those brats won't be your concern much longer. The masked man ducked from a kick.

"You're angry aren't you? I can see it in your eyes" Indeed, the glare coming from the kunoichi was positively murderous. "So much for shinobi never showing emotion. You know, I was a ninja once. Small time village, they weren't worth my time. Didn't appreciate my talents. Ditched them when I found this gig, suited me juuuust fine" He chuckled, eyes crinkling, showing he was smiling under his mask. "Oh we try to pretty up this life as much as we want, but at the end of the day we're not-"

"Oh just shut up" Kurenai said with genuine irritation. "You try to talk a big game, people like you always do. I get it, its psychological warfare, to undermine your opponent's spirit. But at least make an effort to actually get under my skin. Am concerned for my students? Yes. Am I furious at you for hurting them? Gods spare you from my fury" The genjutsu mistress swore passionately. "But don't think for a moment we actually care for anything you have to say"

Shihai remained silent.

"You're just a slaver. And perhaps in a way we're no better than you. But we don't relish what we do, clearly not like you do. You're just a sad little man who enjoys having power over others, and hurting them because that's how you feel strong. Everything about you screams insecurity" Kurenai was turning this mind game the other way around. "Frankly, I don't care. But clearly you do, you wouldn't be wasting so much time talking otherwise. All to mask how weak you feel, it's even reflected in your fighting style. Barely once you tried attacking me, only taking me by surprise and then keeping up your defense. Say whatever you want about us, at least we know had the guts to take the fight to you"

Shihai's silence continued, killing intent leaking from his frame in cold measured waves as he dropped his battle stance. Kurenai knew she had gotten under the man's skin, but felt like she had also made a mistake by goading him so much.

"You know what, girl?" His voice dropped an octave, his hat tilted in a way that it covered at least one eye. "You're absolutely right"

He slammed his hand on the ground, and a summoning matrix manifested.

From the smoke rose two massive shadowy figures.

"So I'll just stick to my guns, and show you where my real strength lies"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Maikako was a little impressed as Kiba had gotten back up and resumed fighting the ushi-oni despite his nasty looking new scars. Yet despite the growing exhaustion and sheer pain, the Inuzuka seem to catch a second wind as he had begun to fight more viciously beside the others. "Are you okay Kiba-kun?!" Hinata asked at his side while the ushi-oni thrashed at them.

"More fighting and less talking!" Maikako yelled out dodging several slashes from the feral demon's claws.

Shino's bugs buzzed around the young teen as his critical eyes took in everything; 'It is just as Maikako-san explained. No patterns or cunning, just raw animalistic rage. Since it acts like an animal, we take it down like one.'

The Aburame swiftly barked orders to his teammates, "I'll blind it!" His swarms left his body in long dark streams resembling shifting clouds. Moving in long arcs to avoid the cloud of venomous smoke emanating from the ushi-oni's mouth. With a single command, he ordered his insects to gather around the upper side of its head, closing in until they covered its eyes completely. The beast roared and snarled, erratically trashing around.

"Kiba, force it down!"

"On it!" Kiba ignored the fresh pain and burns on his body, moving at high velocity with his partner in two soaring drillings, impacting upon the ushi-oni's back with fierce strength, making the creature's razor sharp legs buckle.

"Hinata, the legs!"

"Yes!" The Hyuuga wasted no time, and dashed underneath the demon's body. Though her Byakugan found no precise point to strike and disrupt the flow of chakra, that didn't mean her family's fighting style was useless. The creature was still made of flesh, flesh could be wounded. She discarded the Gentle Fist scalpel-like precision and instead focused her chakra laced palms to strike any nerves and ligaments in the joints, her strikes causing severe muscle trauma. The creature stumbled, pressured by the Inuzuka's unrelenting attack, its limbs weakened, so Hinata quickly got out of there as it collapsed on the floor.

"Maikako-san!"

"I know, I know!" The blonde oni quickly run towards the fallen beast, hands alit with hellish flames. The swarms around the ushi-oni quickly escaped before they could be caught in the crossfire. Maikako snarled, grabbing the yokai's skull and let loose her flames with unraveled ferocity. The beast's cry were drowned amidst the roaring flames instantly, the flash of light created by the sudden burst was almost blinding.

The oni did not stop for at least five seconds, pouring all she had until she was certain the beast was done for. Only it stopped moving did she end her incineration. The flames died down, revealing a black scorched skull.

Team 8 and their ally let out a long breath that had been their hardest fight so far. Before Shino could direct them to assist their mentor, she soared through the air between them, hitting the ground and rolling a few times before finally stopping.

"Sensei!" Hinata cried out in worry, seeing her battered form. The white wrappings were gone, only shreds remained, and the mesh armor with the long red sleeve was wet with her own blood. Trickles of red running down her bare arm.

The kunoichi refused to lie down though, with shaky legs she stood up, her bare arm limping at her side. She panted, reaching into a pouch to consume a pair of small dark pills. The effect was swift, the plasma pill was quickly replenishing the lost blood, and the healing pill designed by Tsunade was increasing the regeneration of damage tissue. Combined with her wounds here, Kurenai knew she'd need a few days of rest to properly recover, but now was not the time to take half-measures.

The jōnin took a deep steady breath, and realigned her shoulder back in place with a pained grunt.

A slow mocking clap made the team and oni turn to see Shihai. The masked man chuckled; "Well aren't you tougher than you look girl." Behind him two massive figures made the kids and petite blond look up, and up. Two walls of towering muscles upon muscles, raw anger and hunger emanating from their being. Both adorned in primitive garbs, one with blue skin, the other red. They had menacing horns, sharp razor-like teeth with glowing crimson eyes.

Maikako hissed; "Ogres..."

"The heart of my collection," the man spoke with pride; "Once properly tamed, they quite nearly invincible. I like to feed them the more disobedient merchandise."

Horror etched on Hinata's face covering her mouth. Both Kiba and Akamaru snarled with fury, Maikako only sneered with Shino being the most calm. Save the narrowing of his eyes behind his shades. Kurenai only took out a kunai, ready to fight once more.

Shihai crossed his arms; "Superb job taking down my ushi-oni, children. But do you have enough left for them?" Snapping his fingers the ogres roared before charging.

Maikako snapped to action, summoning to large red flaming hands that resembled her own and brought them down upon the ogres. The towering demons grabbed the giant blazing figures and pushed back, the ground crackling under their heels.

Shihai merely laughed, clapping at the show before him.

The young oni grunted, sweat trailing down her forehead as she poured as much of her energy as she could. But she was tiring from the previous fights, and these two brutes were physical powerhouses.

"C-Can't hold them forever!" She shouted.

"You won't have to" Kiba said, a fierce look overtaking his features as he crawled on all fours, his partner perching over his back. "This asshole thinks his pets are nothing, just tools to be discarded. So let's show him what real teamwork looks like... Akamaru!"

The transformed pup barked in agreement.

Their chakras synchronized as once, filling them both with their shared power.

"Inuzuka Style; Combined Henge!"

A large burst of smoke covered the area, the sound of four giant paws striking the ground carrying a great tremble, following by the growling sound of a massive canine. The smoke cleared only to reveal a massive two headed hound around the size of an elephant. The creature looked more wolf-like than a dog, bearing an intense ferocity as it bared its fangs.

The oni couldn't help but gape at the sight, 'This... This is shapeshifting of the highest level, not just an illusion to change their looks. And to combine himself with another being and acquired one single form...'

To think such display of actual magic came from a human, a wild brat at that.

The Akamaru-Kiba amalgamation roared as it charged at the ogres just as they tore apart the flaming hands. Their giant heads slamming directly against their center of mass, one of them biting down on the shoulder and chest of the red one, rushing to let go even as the ogre's fists slammed against the head like a giant sledgehammer. The blue ogre had its hands on the other head's jaws, keeping the beast from biting down on its body.

Maikako clicked her tongue in growing irritation, she wasn't about to let a human prove he could handle those brutes better than her. She jumped over the wolf's back, right at the base there the heads grew, and declared; "You may have guts, I'll give you that... but don't think for a moment I'll cower behind you like a damsel in distress!"

Once more she summoned her giant floating hands and brought them down on the ogre's heads... and squeezed.

The ogres let out a deafening shriek as their face was set ablaze before being crushed like melons. Blood sprayed with the headless bodies slumping to the ground once the transformed Kiba-Akamaru wolf beast let them go. A pregnant silence claimed the area.

Kurenai, who kept her sight on the Beast Master, and watched the man visibly shook enraged; "You..." His voice seethed with fury; "You little pests! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find such magnificent beasts like them!? You'll scream as I chop you into pieces! Then I'll feed those pieces you to my pets! There won't even be marrow left in your bones when they're done!" He refused to let these intruders destroy all his work, his glorious collection of loyal beasts like this. He was a slave master; he would bind them in chains and keep them there till the rest of their lives, broken by Junan until they themselves thought they were his pets as well.

Kurenai and Shino quickly went on the offensive before the Beast Master could make good on his threat. Shino's hive floated around him in rolling dark clouds, cutting off any escape. He briefly had time to express his surprise before he was hit with a genjutsu from the jōnin. This wasn't a typical illusion that blurred his senses and warped his surrounding, instead he was hit with a full weight of nausea and dizziness, making him loses his footing and sending him stumbling.

"Hinata!" Kurenai quickly ordered.

The girl understood immediately, and went to strike before the Beast Master could recover from the mental assault. Her Byakugan at the ready, she spotted his points and attack with quick precision at several points around his chest. The slaver grunted before falling to the ground knocked out.

Finally, the team could breathe again.

"Is he dead?" Maikako coldly asked.

"N-No" Hinata replied, standing by the man's body.

"Let's fix that" She walked closer, flames dancing in her palm.

"Wait!" Kurenai called out. "At least we need one warlord alive, so we can get information on their other operations. Their business partners, their buyers, where they sent slaves" The jōnin stepped close to the oni, making the shorter young woman look up at her with annoyance. "Shihai is the least physically capable of them, we can cut off his summoning, and he's easier to hold"

"...Fine" The blonde oni grunted, "I see your point"

"Maaaaaan" Kiba stretched his neck before wincing as both he and his puppy were back to normal, "Ugh, this was a long day" Akamaru merely whined in agreement, falling flat on his stomach. "But hot damn look at these scars!" He pointed at the cauterized cuts he had on his cheek and parts of his chest. "Can't wait to show to the clan back home!"

Maikako rolled her eyes, "Men are all the same, they think scars can cover their dumb attitudes"

"Excuse you, babes dig scars"

"I see your theory is flawed, here I am still thinking you're a runt"

"Yeah because you're not a babe, you're a bitch"

A vein throbbed on her forehead, "You wanna say that to my face?!"

"I just did!"

Kurenai sighed, shaking her head. Regardless of their antagonizing words, she could spot the grudging respect in Maikako's words; she was used to dealing with people like her. The young oni may not change her opinion on them, but at least she was grateful for their help. Regardless of how much she tried to hide it.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

A hard fist slammed into the jaw of a Leash soldier, the force of the punch sent him flying as Gai roared. Around him, his students were taking down every unyouthful slaver that crossed their path. He flashes a proud grin observing Tenten raining down kunai upon an enemy; she had improved immensely as her speed and finesse were excellent!

Neji's hands moved faster than lightning, hitting chakra and pressure point of exposed areas of enemies' armor. Their deaths were swift and painless as they fell around the young Hyuuga. Beside him Lee's feet smashed into a Leash soldier's head with such force the jōnin heard the bones snap in a sicken fashion.

Team Gai pushed through the enemy at the port towards their main objective.

Tenten whipped off a bead of sweat; "Tough bastards."

"It goes without saying," Neji remarked striking down a charging enemy with a palm to the man's chest; "They are well trained."

"It matters not! Their evil ends today!" Lee shouted brightly sending a slaver spinning via a roundhouse. "No more innocent lives will be harmed by these scums!"

A deadpan came from his teammates; 'Ninja are not exactly honorable either you know,' both mentally chorused.

Neji's wide angle of vision alerted him of a group of mercenaries coming their way, "Archers! Six o'clock!"

And indeed, from the corner from one of the barracks appeared a small squadron of five archers. His Byakugan spotted the burning tags on the arrow shaft, right behind the metallic heads, as they knocked the projectiles.

"Stay back!" He quickly jumped into action by leaping in front of his teammates. Chakra forming around him as he spun in high velocity. The arrows collided with the Kaiten, breaking off of swatting away, but the tags exploded all the same in a thunderous blast.

The archers were already knocking more arrows, they knew better than to expect a ninja would be dead in the first strike, when behind the curtain of black smoke emerged Tenten, propelling herself from the ground via a long metallic staff. She twirled in the air and threw a barrage of kunai at their enemies. The soldiers covered their faces; the more fortunate ones had their armor block the projectiles, but a couple among them was hit where their plates could not cover.

Tenten descended upon them, twirling the staff above her head and slamming it down upon the head of a soldier, this one cried in pain as his helmet broke, falling to the ground immobile. Two more were quickly taken with a spinning strike from the staff, before swatting away the bow from merc and deliver a fierce kick to his face. Her staff stopped before the frightened face of the last soldier standing, he gulped, seeing her smirk as though beating his companions to a pulp hadn't even taken effort on her part.

Tenten chuckled as he turned tail and run away, "Yeah! Go back to your friends, tell them to bring their A game!"

No sooner did she say that, something large and heavy landed atop the soldier she spared, creating cloud of dust with the impact. As it cleared, she saw a beast of a man, easily two meters tall, with arms the size of tree trunks, their sheer musculature contrasting the great belly on his stomach. He wore a furious demon mask with a veil shrouding the rest of his head. He carried a spiked club as big as Gai sensei over his shoulder like it weighted nothing.

"Oh... okay then" Tenten dismissed her Bo staff and instead summoned a large spear with a red plume behind the blade. With a dash of speed, she jumped at the giant of a man and aimed for his exposed chest. The great soldier merely turned to the side and let the blade pierce his shoulder instead.

Tenten remained hanging there from her spear, still embedded on the man's upper arm, looking as though this was merely an annoyance to him.

Dark eyes behind the mask narrowed, and Tenten weakly chuckled.

A backhanded strike sent her flying back to her teammates.

Like the wind both Neji and Lee leaped up and caught their teammate. But the force that the large man had struck her sent all three flying back and hitting the ground hard. The huge masked man chuckled; "Little bitch might be dead after that!" He laughed maliciously till seeing Gai in front of him; "Come for revenge little man?!"

Gai's face was cold as stone, his frosty glare bore into the taller man; "Your opponent shall be me." He took his signature Taijutsu stance. "Come!"

"With pleasure!" The masked man roared hefting his spike club upwards and brought it down with surprising speed. The ground shattered as the club struck the ground, cracking the cement. However Gai was nowhere to be seen as the smoke cleared. The masked man sharply gazed around him; "Running away already little man!?"

Gai reappeared behind the towering man with a blur of speed, a sweeping kick at the side of his body made his large belly ripple. The hulking mercenary grunted and stumbled, clearly shocked that the attack actually managed to inflict pain on him. He growled, bringing down his club over the jounin, over and over he impacted the ground where Gai once stood, dancing around the large weapon with no difficulty, the ground cracking underneath him.

The taijutsu master dove in the moment the large man raised his club once more, assaulting his upper body with a series of punches almost too fast to track. The club fell from his hands, and he staggered back slowly with each hit. Gai's fists moved like an engine's pistons, in perfect synchrony and without relenting. Until they were suddenly grabbed by the mercenary's huge fists.

He lifted Gai and proceeded to pull his arms as far as he could. "I'm gonna tear you apart!" The merc declared with sadistic glee. "And let Junan-sama pick up the pieces!"

Gai let out a long groan as his limbs were pulled further away by the second, only through his own efforts were they not ripped out of his sockets yet. The mercenary kept laughing boisterously, and was too late to see Gai's feet swiftly come for his masked chin. The underside of the mask was splintered, the blow shaking the behemoth of a man and loosening his grip on Gai. The jōnin seized the moment, ignoring the pain in his arms, to vault over the giant mercenary and locked his legs around his throat, all the while he held on tightly to his head.

Quickly losing breath due to the green garbed man's lock, the merc tried to swat at him, but his large bulging arms stopped him from reaching him. He stumbled, his own body growing weaker by the second, lungs burning as they struggled.

After a moment, the great man's movement ceased, falling to his knees, Gai jumped of him as his giant body fell to the ground with a cloud of dust.

Gai spared not a glance to his fallen opponent, running over to his students; "Are you three alright?"

The young teens had slowly gotten back to their feet to watch their sensei bring down the giant masked bastard. "We are fine Gai-sensei," Neji spoke as he glanced to Tenten who held her left side; "Nothing appears broken."

Tenten however was not at all relieved, but rather irritated; "Masked bastard knocked me like I wasn't even worth his time." She held up her now broken spear; "Made this thing useless."

"Don't be discouraged Tenten," Lee remarked in an optimistic tone.

However the bun haired brunette only gave her comrade a dry look before gazing to the ground; "Thought my training made me more useful than this."

A small frown graced Gai's lips, 'I should speak with her once this mission is completed.' "We are near Warlord Junan's labs, are you all ready?"

Neji curtly nodded with a thumbs up from Lee. Tenten remained quiet as she walked passed them to the labs.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The place looked very much like one would expect a typical mad scientist's labs, at least in Tenten's opinion. Very dark and sparse, on the rows of desks were plenty of tubes, burners, funnels that dropped strange glowing liquid into even more tubes with cylindrical extensions into filters, science that honestly went beyond her head, the most she knew of chemistry was for explosives and some poison. She didn't know what kind of drugs that Junan woman was cooking. Most likely the very twisted kind.

"Do not bother hiding" Neji strongly intoned, his Byakugan activated, "I can see you perfectly"

A dainty laugh came from the dark, and out of the shadows emerged a lovely looking woman wearing dark and silver robes. Her skin and hair were a pale white, and her eyes had a certain redness to it, a sign of albinism. Her hair was held in a high ponytail by elegant adornments, falling all the way to her knees. She looked like an elegant noblewoman, lithe, unimposing, like she didn't belong in a place like this. She was even smiling very kindly at them.

Tenten felt every instinct she had telling her to run.

"My apologies" She said; her voice soft and warm. "Had I known I would be having guests I would have received you properly. Might I make you some tea?"

"We decline, on grounds of common sense" Gai said, stepping forward with a serious and professional tone in his voice. "Junan the Suffering, by order of the Fire Daimyo you are under arrest on multiple criminal charges, chief among them the kidnapping and selling of the Land of Fire citizens. Surrender now and you will live; refuse and we'll use lethal force"

The woman giggled sweetly, "Criminal? My, you have it all wrong. I am... an artist"

A chill went down Tenten's spine; "Of the sick and twisted kind."

"Now, now;" Junan wagged a chiding finger; "A young lady must be proper and polite to the their elders. Otherwise one must be punished for being crass and belligerent." Her voice remained disturbingly formal and sweet. But what drew their attention were her eyes, her gazed held a calm maliciousness that looked far from sane.

"I'm afraid we are short on time for manners of etiquette," Neji quipped in his clan's Taijutsu stance; "Come quietly."

Junan cocked her head never losing her smile; "Oh, but you would just adore my tea, I even have snacks."

Gai shook his head; "Enough! You are coming with us."

At that the albino woman made a dour face; "Ahh, but I'd rather we stay. We can get to know one another. There is no need for any violence." As she kept speaking a sent soon came to their noses; "So let's all calm down and be reasonable."

Their bodies grew stiff and still as statues before they realized something were amiss. Neji's eyes soon saw all the vents were slowly expelling out a white smoke.

"See," Junan brightly quipped; "No need for violence."

Then, the world blurred in colors, and reality shifted.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Tenten cleaned the blade in her hand with pure water before running a tissue over the edge to clean it. Her old wrinkled hands shook slightly in her advanced age. Where once she could perform weapon-care in her sleep, now she struggled to do the simplest of tasks. A lifetime of struggle, of fighting, of trying to earn recognition... and what had that gotten her? Old wounds that still ached, a rundown shop nobody visited anymore.

'There are always those that are forgotten to time, it isn't a big deal, to be a stepping stone for the true legends is the way of things'

Every day on the street she could hear children recalling tales of the greatest ninja from her generation, adult looking up to those heroes with outmost respect and adoration... her name was never on her lips.

'You always knew nobody would remember you, not when you live in a time of such great names. Heirs of great legacies, born for greatness... you knew this was always your lot in life'

Tears glistened Tenten's aged eyes, staring at the kunai in her shaking hand; "Everything I've done meant nothing... I am... nothing."

'Realization can hurt at times. Believe me I know, but now you're free from it all. Don't you feel better now? Finally understanding that you are worthless, you lose nothing because there was never anything to gain.'

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Lee's breathing was erratic, sweat poured of his face profusely. His legs burned, his body ached, but he kept running. Everything around him was blurring save the figures dashing ahead of him. Neji, Naruto, Sasuke, and many of his friends. All of them dash ahead, and Lee was just out of reach of all of them.

'So hard you had pushed yourself. Wanting to prove to everyone you could be just like those who are your betters.'

Lee did not relent, he put his back straight, forgetting the typical ninja running style that was meant for stealth, to make one self-small and reduce the amount of noise your body in movement could make. His arms swung at his sides as the taijutsu specialist poured all his energy into speeding up.

He needed to catch up.

His friends, his comrades, they grew ever distant, even though they no longer seemed to be putting as much effort into their own run.

'Stop torturing yourself so much'

Lee grit his teeth, and opened the First Gate, oxygen flowing stronger through his muscles, chakra swirling around him, the dust picking up before his footsteps.

His friends, his very talented and gifted friends, seemed to only be walking... and yet he remained a mile behind.

'It's not your fault'

He had to keep up... he had to keep up.

He need to stand side by side them.

No matter how harsh the training, no matter how difficult the road ahead was.

...And yet...

They always managed to be miles ahead of him.

'You just weren't born special'

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

A hollow wind blew in the cemetery of Konohagakure. Here there was only a pronounced silence that was both haunting and solemn. A stark reminder how finite life truly was for humanity. No matter how great one's life was, or how small, we all shared the same fate in the end.

In front of a headstone standing still as a statue was Gai. His face, which usually held brightness and determination, was replaced with immense shame and pure grief. A dull ached gripped his heart, as if it felt like a kunai had pierced it.

'You weren't ready to be a sensei... Talented as you are, being responsible for the lives of three children is a daunting task. And one you just were never ready for.'

The Jounin's fists clinched hard, so hard his palms bleed.

'You could not reach the young Hyuuga's heart; you just let it harden with bitterness and anger at this unfair world'

"Shut up" Gai muttered, barely above a whisper.

'And you would know of unfairness, don't you, Might Gai? Your student's life, your favorite pupil's condition and your father's death are biggest examples.'

His father didn't die for nothing.

'You saw yourself and your father so much into that young man... that you willingly ignored those who need you so badly'

He... He never wanted to play favorites. Lee just needed more tutelage...

'They needed you, they've always needed you. But as always while you are given the support you need, you never give it back'

"That's not true" It couldn't be; it just couldn't.

'You filled young Lee's head with dreams because they were easier to believe than the truth. You left Tenten on her own because she simply didn't warrant your attention. And above all, you barely even tried to ease Neji's burden'

Gai's fists shook, tears formed from his eyes. "I... I..." Why didn't he... he could have tried...

'You were never meant to be a sensei. And now this grave stands as testament to your failures...'

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Sweat beaded off Neji's forehead; 'I must say. You're proving quite the challenge Neji-kun.'

The Hyuuga spoke not a word as he only watched the harrowing scene before him. He stood at cliff side with every member of Hyuuga branch family stood in a row of lines. All were dressed in kimonos of black and white, the clothes for a funeral procession. All of them slowly marched towards the edge. That alone was disconcerting enough, but what unnerved Neji greatly was seeing each member with their eyes sown shut.

"You... will not," The Hyuuga gashed his teeth; "I will... not fall for your illusions, witch!"

'Are they truly illusions, or a simple hard fact? A fact that the Hyuuga branch family will always be subservient to the main house of your betters. It is fate after all; the brand on your forehead is proof of that.'

Neji choose to bear the assault on his mind with focus and will, kneeling down with his hands on his lap, trying to ease his breathing. He knew this wasn't real... but he knew what it represented.

Around him the branch members, with literal blind obedience, kept their course as the fell over to the abyss.

A powerful genjutsu was more than sounds and images; it struck the person's own inner world and brought forth emotions. Anger, pain, sadness, and pulled them like a fish on a hook. That's why a true genjutsu master was so dangerous, they had more than illusions as their arsenal, and they had the capacity to bring forth the target's own feelings.

And right now, Neji was battling that sense of rage he had chosen to discard. That he forgave his uncle, and saw the error of his ways in how he treated Hinata, did not mean he had forgotten the hardships the branch family went through, or that he forgave the elders who wanted to keep things like this.

"You show what pains people the most" Neji spoke, deducing her methods. "It's how you break them"

"Ohhhh its part of the process" Junan suddenly appeared, "A strong mind such as yours would honestly be hard to keep trapped like this"

"...That's where your drugs come in" The young man said in realization.

She chuckled daintily, and sat next to him, as though she was keeping him company. "Indeed. Sometimes people need that extra 'push' to make them feel like I want them to"

A steely mind could resist the emotional manipulation of a powerful genjutsu, but if the body was weakened by a chemical agent, anything that could cause an imbalance of hormones, were ideal to make the target more susceptible to emotional instability.

In his studies, he had read over various papers detailing how some types of chemicals could drive a person to rage, or keep them down in a deep depression. Accelerate the heart-rate and create bursts of anxiety, inducing panic attacks. Poison or sleep inducing drugs were not the only chemicals ninjas partook in, sometimes it was more useful to mess with the enemy's own biology in manner that would affect the mind.

The drugs invading his systems were forcing him to get angry, lead him to lose control.

"Ohhh don't fight so hard, it's pointless" The albino woman said as though she was doing him a favor. "One of my darlings was a ninja from Iwa, such resilience, such fire in her... I will admit it took weeks of carefully controlled doses to make her quiver and cry. But when she finally broke" She sighed in delight, "It was beautiful. Her eyes were so hollow, and though she did not utter a peep, you could tell how much she wanted to die"

Neji felt pure disgust; "You're a monster"

Junan smiled at him pityingly. "In a world of monsters, it's the only way to truly live. You learn to... embrace the pain"

"Says the woman who clearly lost her sanity," Neji grunted reigning in his emotions.

"Oh we're more alike than you know my dear. Want to know about my life?" It was disturbing how brightly she spoke; "I was born in a small village controlled by very rich greedy lord. His son was quite taken with me, especially given how exotic I look with my albinism. But I felt nothing for him." The white haired beauty shook her head as she swayed side to side.

Neji kept his gaze on the woman; "But my opinion hardly mattered. Once I came of age he wanted me as his bride, and gave my parents more money than they ever had. Even the status of nobility. My parents didn't refuse; in fact they forced me into a wedding kimono that very night despite my protests!" She chirped happily. "Oh the wedding was such a sight, and my husband made certain I would never run away."

The Hyuuga's stomach churned as the woman sighed blissfully; "Then our first night... I think I lost consciousness once or twice when he kept hitting me. But I was crying so loudly he had to shut me up somehow." Junan waved it off with a cheerful smile. "All the while my family laughed merrily with the local lord enjoying their new lives."

Neji's eyes grew wider as horror etched his eyes. What in the name of Amaterasu was done to this woman?!

"Every single day was pain" She said, though her smile never left, the soft spoken tone in her voice did not waver. "His abuse, the neglect and greed my family basked in, the fear that every day might be my last, that he'd finally have enough of me... Once I learnt to embrace it all, I stopped behind afraid. It was... liberating, wonderful" She softly laughed, "Pain became my friend, by holding unto that pain, I could finally live"

The Hyuuga said nothing.

"But I could not let my family walk away from their responsibility, I still had my pride after all" Junan continued in fond remembrance, "Once I became docile, my husband had no reason to get angry. This gave me time to study. I read up a lot on flowers, their significance... their chemical composition" Her eyes shifted to his. "They couldn't tell anything was wrong with their tea"

"You're insane..." Neji shook his head horrified.

"Oh no, no, no, no" She quickly shook his head. "I just... understand things better now. Don't you get it? This ceaseless agony, this knowledge that the next day will only bring clouds and rain, this pain" She clutched a hand to her chest. "It's life; it's what keeps us alive. We live to feel pain. Pain lets us see the truth; we see the world for what it truly is"

"Spare me your delusions" The prodigy staunchly replied.

"Delusions?" She tilted her head curiously, "My boy, I peeked into your mind, I saw your past, so I know you agree with me. We are all doomed by fate, you know this, and you know we were sentenced to live by pain from birth"

"I abandoned that fatalistic mindset"

"But you can't deny the fact that half your clan is still slaves" She countered, "They were slaves yesterday, they are slaves today, and they will still be slaves tomorrow. Shackled by those painful chains, right here" Junan pointed a delicate finger at his forehead, at the mark hidden behind his hitai-ate.

Neji closed his eyes as he tried to even his breathing. He would not submit to this mad woman's tricks. "You poor sweet thing," Junan spoke with eerie sympathy; "You're so much like I was. But it's okay now." His eyes shot open as he felt her hand on cheek, rubbing her thumb gently; "I will happily help you understand just like I do." Her face was too close to his as she smiled.

Her words… rung true. He couldn't deny she had a point.

All that struggle, all that pain, and for what? The Hyuuga would never change, the branch family would always be slaves. Because there was no one who wanted things to change, no one who could-

He suddenly thought of Hinata-sama's kind smiles, of Tenten's sheer confidence, of Lee's unending determination, Gai-sensei's unlimited support.

Pathetic, to feel so much pity for himself after everything he had learnt.

No... No he would not fall back into that darkness that gripped his heart and filled it with hate. Nor would he allow himself to be driven insane like this woman had been by the people who were the monsters in her life. He had made an oath to protect his cousins and comrades with his life, he had the will follow a path of honor and dignity.

He would live free, that was his fate.

The albino woman gasped as Neji gripped her wrist; "Your illusions end now, Junan."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Neji's eyes shot open as he saw himself having been standing where he was when entering in the lab. However his teammates and sensei remained unmoving; still trapped in their minds by Junan's genjutsu.

Said woman in question now opened her eyes in pure shock, no one had ever broken her genjutsu! However her mind barely had time to process that as the young Hyuuga was now an inch away from her and his palm struck her chest.

The albino woman's eyes were wide as she stared at the young teenager who glared back with resolution. "It's over..."

It was then that Tenten, Lee, and Gai all gasped, now free from their respected illusions. "I hit a pressure point that will stop your heart in moments." Neji kept his gaze on the woman who slowly swayed before falling to her knees. "No more pain, Warlord Junan"

Blood dripped from the woman's lips before they turned into a warm smile. True joy shone on her face; "...Thank you..." She spoke her last before falling back and hitting the ground.

Team Gai watched as the last embers of life left her eyes though her smile remained.

"What the fuck was wrong with her..." Tenten muttered. How could someone carry so much... gods she didn't even know what the deal was with that woman. The things she subjugated them to, all the while treating it like she was doing them a favor.

"She was broken" Neji muttered, "She broke because she saw no way out"

Gai shook his head, taking a deep breath before pulling out a sealing scroll and moving over the corpse. "You dispelled the illusion, Neji?"

"She tried to break us, make us like her" The Hyuuga replied, pausing for a moment. "I suppose she failed because I had been broken before, I knew not to fall back to that abyss now that I got out"

That despair, the sense that every day would be exactly the same as yesterday, with no hope of nothing ever changing... Neji had been shown multiple times that was not though, and required very strong and wonderful people to beat it into that thick skull of his. It would be a disservice to not just himself, but to them, and all the help they gave him, to cast away the gifts given to him.

"Neji" Lee softly muttered.

Gai wanted to smile proudly at his student's growth, but he had been forced to face issues he had been ignoring for some time now. It didn't feel right to him. "You guys, I-"

"This is neither the place or time for introspection, sensei" Neji gently cut in. "Our work is far from done"

The jounin sighed to himself, "You're right" He sealed Junan's corpse into the scroll and pocked it away. "Come on, we still have a lot of work to do"

Junan wasn't the first slaver to fall, and she wouldn't be the last.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

More to come! Hope you enjoy!