Ch. 18

The Branch Family

Hiruzen was puffing on his pipe as Hisashi Hyuga argued with him.

"We can't remain in quarantine! One of the main branch members has been showing signs of illness and it's going to spread to the rest of the clan! That and there have been disputes recently between the Branch and the main family. Locking us in together would just fan the flames of tension," he said sharply as the Hokage sighed, letting the smoke wharf from his lips.

"You can and you will," Hiruzen said firmly as Hiashi's face twisted into something ugly before the younger man got it back under control. He leaned forward, veins starting to bulge around his eyes in a betrayal of his temper.

"The Clan didn't call you out over the seal used on that girl, when it was not the seal agreed upon," He ground out as Hiruzen's eyes glittered with a mix of humor and malice. The contract had been ironclad, which was why the clan hadn't said anything about it. It had been the clan's hubris that had led to them not specifying which seal would be used, but Hiruzen knew when to give a little to get what he really wanted.

Hiruzen had been thinking quickly to see if the situation could be manipulated to his purpose. Inspiration struck him and he had to hide a smile at his own brilliance as Hiashi seemed to play right into his hands.

"Then I propose a solution." He waited to see if he had Hiashi's attention before he continued to speak.

"There is an old compound in the old clan district that has been vacant for years. For purposes of relieving tensions between your clansmen, you may move the branch family there," he said and Hiashi blinked rapidly as he digested the information.

"Can't you have our clan seen first at the hospital to ensure that there is no illness?" Hiashi demanded as Hiruzen sighed to disguise his smile. He had Hiashi right where he wanted him. There was no way he was going to concede when he was so close to separating the branches of the family before the seals were switched out.

"I'm afraid that we are already very busy containing those that went through the village, spreading this illness before they started showing signs. Your clan will be quarantined one way or another Hiashi. If there are people showing illness, though I cannot fathom how, then isolate anyone that had direct contact with them," he said as Hiashi frowned, clearly peeved.

"Very well, if that's the best that you can do. I will move the branch house," he said stiffly and Hiruzen nodded, silently pleased.

"I will unseal the old compound and send in teams to decontaminate the Hyuga compound if you so wish," he said, and the man nodded. A conflicted look crossed his face.

"Has my... has the girl shown illness?" he asked stiffly as he hesitated at the threshold. The curl of Hiruzen's smoke was almost predatory as his eyes glittered darkly under his hat.

"Hinata-chan has been to see the medic-nin and has been… healing well." The darkness in Hiruzen's tone had Hiashi flinching, a flash of guilt and fear in his eyes as he saw the burning anger in his leader's eyes. He beat a hasty retreat. Hiruzen continued smoking steadily, thoughts turning dark. He had no qualms about what he was about to do to the main branch.

A shadow began rising from the floor and Hiruzen swiftly raised the privacy seals on the office.

"I have spread a minor illness to the main branch," it whispered into Hiruzen's soul. The old Hokage nodded.

"Thank you. Were you able to find the body?" he asked. The being presented him with a scroll that the Hokage took with a sad sigh.

"Thank you again, Shadow. Konoha was rather fortunate when you decided to bring us your little tree," he said quietly as the being nodded.

"Indeed. But she has been very happy these past years," it murmured before departing. The old Hokage looked at the black-ended scroll, indicating that it was a body scroll before rising with a sigh. He had a lot more work to do it seemed.

...

With the branch family moved into the old compound and the main family quarantined in the hospital after showing signs of illness, they no longer had to bring all the branch members to the hospital and explain what they were trying to do one at a time. Their human trials had been fully successful and now it was time to explain to the branch family what the Hokage proposed to do.

That evening the branch family had been summoned by their leader to the main courtyard of their new home which had been sealed and guarded against spies. The last one that had been out on a mission last night had just returned so the entirety of the branch family was there. They stood in formation before their village leader as Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, Moriko and Jiraiya by his side.

"It has come to my attention that tensions between the main and branch families have reached a peak and the caged bird seal was used to kill Harumi Hyuga two weeks ago," he said to the startled looks of the branch family. They looked at one another in surprise. How had he known?

"By going against a direct directive of the village and killing one of this village's ninjas, threatening the peace between your clan and the peace of this village, I have mandated that everyone with the cage bird seal will have it removed and have a safer seal applied and that it is illegal to use the caged bird seal again on a member of this village. I have also mandated that the factions in the clan may not attack one another until I have lifted it. Even then I do not want there to be reprisal and both branches will be kept separate until both heads of the clan have reached an agreement or reconciliation is no longer possible. For the crime committed against the village for killing one of her ninjas and seeking to hide such actions, I will deal with the main branch myself," he stated to the shock of the formation, their eyes wide. Moriko stepped forward with precise military bearing.

"The Hokage has asked that I provide a demonstration before we continue," she said before giving the same demonstration of what the cursed seal did and what Jiraiya and her seal did. The wood block was passed around for the clan members to examine.

Finally, Hizashi stepped forward as head of the branch clan.

"I will take the seal first," he said eyes hard as he moved to stand before the Hokage. The old man nodded and gestured for Hiashi to go to the seal masters. Jiraiya gestured to Moriko when Hiashi stopped before him. He shot the sage a confused look and the other man just grinned.

"She's much better with touch seals and this is very delicate work Hizashi," he said and the other man nodded before moving where directed. Moriko had him lie down before she gently touched her fingers to his exposed forehead. The caged bird seal dissolved from his skin and she touched his forehead again, the new seal spreading across his body for an instant before condensing into a purple diamond.

"There, all done," she said in satisfaction. Hizashi was a blur as he moved to strike her. Her eyes went wide and she barely had time to get her hair between her and the chakra attacks as she leaped away, a few red strands falling as they were destroyed by the attack. There were cries of distress and some of the branch family had to hold back others from joining the attack, confused at why he was attacking her.

The Hokage grabbed Jiraiya's arm to keep him from intervening as Hiashi continued attacking viciously, only Moriko's speed saving her from being brutalized though a few strikes to her torso managed to get through.

Whenever she tried to release her gravitational seal to allow her to move much faster, the man rained down a hail of blows that she was forced to dodge or deflect, her hair taking a beating from the highly condensed chakra he used. She shunshined away and he appeared with her, not a millisecond after. She cursed as she tried to defend but his hits were starting to slip through. She grabbed his arms with her butchered mess of hair and flung him as far away as she could, hand going to her sternum.

She would have sighed in relief at finally released the seal but the man was already back on her, his eyes widening at the speeds she was now moving to dodge him. His eyes narrowed as he pushed himself even harder as she struggled to keep up, the wounds now being the thing slowing her down. He had already done so much damage and having to keep up while he was still fresh was taking a lot out of her. She winced as she dodged again. While unable to hit her, the fast movements were putting a huge strain on her wounds as they struggled to heal while being jostled.

They landed on the roof and she dodged his strikes in a blur of motion but was starting to wheeze even harder, feeling the blood crawling up her throat and feeling the wet gurgle of her breaths. Damn him!

Hizashi picked up speed, wanting to push the battered redhead further if only to make sure. He froze when she gave an involuntary cough, thick blood sliding down her chin, his eyes going wide. How badly had he struck her?! He focused his eyes on her internal organs to reassess the amount of damage he had done and balked at the damage that had been done. Dear god, how had she still been able to move, much less keep up with him?! He had kept fighting because most people would have dropped from lesser trauma and thought he hadn't pushed her hard enough yet.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" she wheezed as she gingerly cradled her abdomen, blood dribbling from her lips as she began to cough, the wet gurgle of her lungs causing his panic to rise. Oh god, he hadn't planned to wound her this badly! He had gravely missteped and it might lead to the doom of his clan!

"I'm sorry! I had to make sure that we were not trading one cage for another. We need to get you to the hospital, please accept my sincerest apologies," he said lunging to grab her as she began falling over. Her glare became confused as she struggled to understand what he had said before her face lit in understanding as she lay in his arms while he awkwardly tried to position them on the slippery roof tiles. It was a wonder she hadn't slipped and fallen off.

"Hey, that was actually pretty smart. To push the Seal creator into using a kill switch or control mechanism in the seal if there was one built-in. That way, you were the only fatality. Smart," she wheezed before coughing more blood up, Hizashi's anxiety starting to climb as he took in her paling skin, sweat building on her brow.

"Let's get you to the hospital," he said as he lifted her in his arms. A second later a livid toad sage landed on the roof, the tiles under his feet cracking with his fury. Hizashi had to force himself not to shirk into himself under the Toad Sage's murderous glare after he had taken in the battered state of his student.

"Give her to me," Jiraiya hissed dangerously as Hizashi made himself not flee and stay still so the toad sage could retrieve the woman from his arms. The woman's small hand pat the sage's chest to get his attention, her eyes half-lidded.

"Sensei... he thought it could be another caged bird seal... a seal with a hidden motive... and the Hokage didn't give the branch clan a chance to refuse it. He volunteered knowing that it could lead to his head being... blown off with the seal, ok? So don't... kill him or anything. You can beat him up later... if you want," she muttered slowly through her sudden fatigue, eyes struggling to stay awake as her body began to swiftly repair itself. The sage's rage turned into a low simmer as he glared across at Hizashi. The Sage stared at him, clearly contemplating his murder for a minute before the man eventually hopped off the roof, his white hair trailing behind him like a banner. He landed lightly and the clan parted for him swiftly as he hurried towards the exit of the clan.

"Jiraiya," Hiruzen called moving to block his student's path. He could see the anger coiling off his student in waves, and it was clear he was planning to just leave.

"No! You suspected this would happen, that's why you wanted her to do it! Just because she heals quickly does not make this right! I'm not going to let this become 'standard practice' when she's involved," He hissed with a sneer as his student lapsed into a coughing fit, blood going down her chin as her lungs worked to clear themselves, eyes slowly becoming more lucid as she was able to get more air in her lungs.

"Please Jiraiya, there is still work to be done before the main family finds out," said the Hokage quietly as his student scoffed. A bloodied hand pat the sage's arm.

"Sensei, as mad as you are right now, they are all going to die if we don't act now," said Moriko quietly causing the sage to hesitate midstep, long enough for her to keep speaking.

"But you are also right. Setting me up like this wasn't ok, Hokage-sama and Jiraiya is right; that just because I can survive it doesn't make this ok. We will talk about this later. For now, let me catch my breath. I look pretty fucked up right now and frankly, I'm not in the mood for people, but I need to get cleaned up before I do any sealing work. They can let me use their bath and lend me some clothes since mine are now ruined and covered in blood. Also, we discovered a major flaw in my gravitational seal that we now know to fix here and now, and not in a live combat situation. As far as I'm concerned that was worth its weight in gold. Let me get fixed up and heal. Go huff and puff on them to make sure that they understand they are on thin ice, but we need to do this sealing tonight. Then afterwards, you can beat up Hokage-jiji for a while. He needs the practice and you need an outlet for your anger that isn't going to roll over and die in the first five minutes, " Moriko said firmly as Jiraiya sighed deeply before nodding.

Hizashi swallowed dryly as he let his eyes return to normal after having read their lips. The sage had been this close to just walking out, knowing that the safety of ninety-plus people was riding on his assistance. It was especially chilling to realize that it hadn't been the Hokage to convince him. A situation that had started out neutral where no one owed anyone anything had just snowballed into a clusterfuck where his clan now owed that young woman. And the Hokage had anticipated this, planned for it to happen.

The implications made his throat go dry all over again. Hiruzen had seemed tired when he had first taken over the mantel of Hokage but a number of years ago, it was like he had gotten his second wind or a new lease on life. He had been more active and far more wiley than before and Hizashi didn't doubt that this was one of those moments that the brilliance of The Professor was shining through.

One, Hiruzen suspected that they might react this way.

Two, there was no way he wouldn't predict how his own student would respond.

And three, whoever this young woman was, he now owed an undying debt from his clan. And the Hokage was more than okay with this, Hizashi determined from the old man's body language. Hizashi caught a flash of satisfaction flint across the old man's face for a second before it disappeared, leaving Hizashi certain that things had worked out in the old man's favor. It begged the question just what was going on to where the Hokage felt the need to do this? What was the man planning? And how was the redhead factored in?

Hizashi motioned for some of his female clan members to come over and explained the situation they were in and ordered them to help the young woman with her bath. They grew pale with nerves but hurriedly carried out his bidding, a couple of old Oba going with them. Hizashi shook his head but didn't try to stop them. There were a few things he had learned as a child.

One, all old Oba knew each other.

Two, old Oba knew what they were doing so it was best to let them be.

And three, while the Hokage trusted that mysterious woman enough to accept the allegiance of his clan for her actions, Hizashi trusted the old Oba to know what they were doing.

Hizashi watched as the toad sage carried the young woman inside to be cleaned up as a large hand clapped down on each of his shoulders. Hizashi stiffened as the black eyes of Jiraiya's two shadow clones glittered dangerously. When the two toad sage clones smiled, it was anything but friendly.

"After this, you and I are going to have a spar Hizashi," the clones said in stereo, their voices eerily in tandem, not even bothering with honorifics like san or sama in a blatant show of disrespect. Hizashi stiffened but nodded resolutely.

"If that is the cost of your forgiveness and the price of my family's ensured safety, I am more than happy to pay your price," he said as he slipped into formal dogeza, a sign of the most formal respect. The clones seemed to growl in irritation at his manner before dissipating.

It seemed like an eternity as they waited quietly outside as Hizashi mulled over the situation in his mind. One of the younger Hyuga pushed their way to his side to whisper in his ear as the clan gossiped quietly.

"That was Moriko Uzumaki. She is said to be a friend of the Uchiha clan, an apprentice to Jiraiya for eight or so years. Some of the Uchiha kids say that Itachi Uchiha has been smitten for years," whispered a preteen girl who had friends in the Uchiha Clan. Hizashi winced.

"They say she's going to be reviving the Uzumaki Clan as clan head as soon as her younger brother Naisho is a chunin. He just graduated from the academy, bottom of the class to get the team placement he wanted with two other geniuses, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno," whispered an academy student, her thick lashes giving her doe-like eyes only more power as she shot her clan head a reproachful look as Hizashi flinched. Distantly he realized that the ones that had had to be restrained by the rest of the clan were the ones that had known of her. Still, he couldn't say he regretted his actions just yet, though he was more than a little anxious.

"It's said that she was the one who discovered what was happening with Hizashi's daughter and put a stop to it immediately. Now poor Hinata-chan is better protected than most Daimyo. And the lady is very good with kids."

"It's said she rescued to Uchiha Heirs years ago but didn't try to leverage the Clan anything for it. Instead, she has over the years become a steadfast friend and ally to the Clan. Fugaku-sama is her favorite partner for group spars against the Maito Guy and Hatake Kakashi,"

"Hokage-sama goes to those spars."

"So do most of the Uchiha when they can."

"And a good portion of T and I. They said it's because they always get inspiration watching the mayhem but we all know that they love betting on the fights."

"Yeah because they never know when she's going to let the other person win or when she's going to wipe the floor with them."

"So she throws the matches?"

"I've heard it's more like putting limitations on herself to see if she can still succeed or if she needs more training."

"Wait, is that the random firecracker I've been hearing off and on for years?"

"Yeah. I've also heard that she's been pushing her friends to catch up with her for years. Now Hatake-san and Gai-san are S rank if not Kage level or higher."

"No way! There's no way! Our clan head whipped the floor with her. She was bleeding all over the place!"

"You'd be bleeding all over yourself if you had to fight Hizashi sama at five times gravity!"

"There's no way a girl could be under five times gravity. Why are you laughing at me?"

"I dare you to challenge her to an arm wrestling contest!"

"No way! She a full ninja, I'm not even a genin yet."

"Fine, then find a guy you respect to challenge her to an arm wrestling competition then!"

"No way! She's a seal mater and you said she rigs stuff."

"No! She just puts limitations on herself!"

"Sounds like rigging to me."

"You take that back!"

Hizashi discovered as he gently separated the fighting preteens that Moriko was well known as an inspiration to the young ninja of his clan.

She was a mix of strong and kind, shrewd and merciful, funny and ferocious. That she spent a lot of time with her brother Naisho and his friends as well as her own friends. That if you were a child and needed help, she was on the unspoken list of approved adults that you could go to talk to outside the clan.

Hizashi was surprised to find out that she had helped a number of his young female cousins while she had been in the village before, and most likely her drive to help the clan stemmed from her connection to them. It was more than a little humbling to realize.

Eithout thinking he activated his eyes only to swiftly unactivate them, ears turning a bit pink from what he had seen in the house. The old Oba were disrobing the Uzumaki and helping her into a bath as she continued to cough up more blood and damaged tissues. It was a bit hard to oogle someone who was hurt, so pushing the embarrassment away he activated his eyes again and watched as she havked up more of her damaged lung while the oba worked to clean her then trim her badly damaged hair. She seemed to be breathing easy once more by the end of the bath, and the old Oba bundled her into an expensive and beautiful kimono. The skin around Hizashi's eyes tightened but he didnt protest, despite recognizing the fine fabric as having once belonged to his late wife. He also understood the unspoken message from the Oba, that they wanted him to remarry to this particular woman. He wasnt sure how he felt about having freedom for it to be already dictated to by the expectations of his clan. He decided that instead he would consider the idea, and that if he didn't want to he would get remarried when it suited him, not when he was told.

soon the group of women exited the bathroom and the toad sage seemed to hover about his student as the group moved to exit the building. The Uzumaki woman was led to a spot to sit on the verranda.

The old Oba began hand-signing to the clan and several members broke away, running into the house. They returned a few minutes later with a small short table, tea, and food that were placed beside the bemused young woman. The Hokage and Jiraiya were offered seats but the Hokage remained as Jiraiya joined his student. Jiraiya's eyebrows quirked in interest seeing the fine teas and confections that had been laid out for them.

"I think most of the blood has been cleared out and most of the pain is gone," she said with a sigh as she took a sip of tea to wash the taste of blood from her mouth. Despite the distance Hizashi read her lips well. She made an appreciative hum when she could taste the next sip and Hizashi could feel his lips twitch upwards.

"You like the tea then?" her teacher asked her. She nodded with a grin.

"A blend that the Hyuga have perfected over the centuries," said her teacher causing her smile to grow.

"Well, they did a fantastic job." They lapsed into further silence as ths rest of the clan subtly eyed them. Before long however some of the younger clan members gravitated over to speak with her and she had them join her on the verranda.

Wanting to check how she was doing, he let his eyes activate and was pleased if a bit surprised to see that she had almost finished healing. It was strange. There was something odd to her lungs and he didn't what it was but they didn't look normal. If anything they were a bit larger then they should be. Her bones were far denser than should be possible. Her muscles didn't look quite right, the way they moved and lay and were so condensed. There was also something odd going on with her eyes and the chakra pathways around them. There were extra pathways around them he hadn't seen on someone except if they had an eye doujutsu.

Her reproductive tract was odd as well but he didn't look too deep into it, feeling it was a bit invasive and none of his business.

He watched for a minute and her body finished its repairs and she stood, back at full health.

"I'm ready when you are," she said easily to her teacher and Hizashi nodded to himself before making hand signs to his clan. They went over and lined up, Hizashi slowly drifting over as he watched the proceadings with activated eyes. He watched the bend and swirl of chakra as she shaped it with each seal. One by one the accursed seal was removed and the new seal was applied in its place. Some of the clan seemed to be in a daze and others wept tears of relieved joy. Hizashi watched with quiet but growing joy as his clan was set free. At the end of it, he looked to see that the young woman's enormous chakra reserves had dwindled to half and was once more grateful to her for helping his people, even if had been mandated by his leader and the seal had been designed by both her and Jiraiya.

He could see the old Oba-chan coming over. They began clucking how much length her hair had lost. He sighed with a rueful smile as they began clucking over something else. Hizashi straighten before turning to Jiraiya who was still giving him the stink eye.

"What gifts are appropriate?" he asked as the other man crossed his arms.

"Anything but marriage contracts. Proposals on the other hand are up to her, but I should warn you that she's not the type to accept without being in a relationship beforehand," he said and Hizashi nodded. He could almost already hear the future chucking from the old Oba-chan over getting her married into the clan.

AN: if someone released your people voluntarily from slavery without asking you for anything after you beat them up for trying to help you, feeling obligated to send them stuff is kind of a given if you have a conscience.