A/N: A very happy birthday to the queen, the Goddess and my favourite anime character of all time, Mrs. Hinata Uzumaki. Her role in canon may have been sidelined in favor of others, but she shone brightly every moment she was there. To me, she will always be a main character of her own. Someone not perfect, someone who has made mistakes and has suffered their consequences, someone very human but at the same time inspiring enough to be nothing less than a Goddess. Her struggles have been very understandable and relatable and hence have always been inspiring.
Hinata is the one who has Naruto tamed, since she is the only person to whom Naruto doesn't talk back or argue, rather she is the one whom he obeys most. If anything, in my personal opinion, she is his second mother figure, even more so than any other important women in his life including Tsunade and others.
And with that, Mrs. Uzumaki, a very warm happy birthday to you from myself and GBAboy313. We'll always be your sincere fans. May you continue to inspire many like us. I know that the canon till now has not been very kind to you, so we will do our best to give your character the importance it rightfully deserves in our own little universe here.
And with that, welcome back to the latest chapter of One Year Early. It's been a while and I missed out on posting a chapter last month. I am extremely sorry for that, but I had been very busy with stuff after coming back to Russia last October.
So, let's not hold you for long and get on with the chapter. Happy reading.
CHAPTER 17: RETURN TO KONOHA AND ANOTHER PROBLEM
The trek to Konoha from the Land of Hot Springs was not easy for a certain lavender eyed girl. Though, she and her boyfriend had to admit, it turned out to be much easier than they had expected it to be, due to the surgery.
Sure, Hinata wasn't allowed to sprint and could only carefully walk. But with Naruto around and useful assistance from everyone around her during that trek, she had made it.
They had reported back on everything that took place during their mission, gotten the pay for two A-ranks instead of one C-rank.
And this mission had gotten her something she had always wanted, she had Naruto to herself now.
After taking leave from Naruto, near the Hokage tower with some kissing, the lavender eyed princess was now back at the Hyuuga compound.
She was expecting to report on the mission to her father. Maybe he would finally give some acknowledgement to her. She was nervous about how the leader of the Hyuugas would react to her relationship with Naruto. She had already mentally steeled herself to leave the clan if her father disagreed to this relationship. Sure, she would still care for Hanabi and Neji if they wanted her to, but she didn't really care much about staying in the clan anymore. The status didn't really mean anything to her anymore, never really had, so she didn't care if she was thrown out of the clan.
The caged bird seal on the other hand… yes, it terrified her. The pain it would cause and how any main branch Hyuuga could possibly send her into coma or kill her by with one single hand-sign. But if that was going to be the price she had to pay to be with Naruto, then she was gladly prepared to pay it.
With those thoughts, Hinata stepped into the compound. The guards at the gate acknowledged her. However, she felt as if something was off. Stepping in, she checked on her father's study, but found it locked. Guessing that perhaps the Hyuuga leader was out, she went to her bedroom, hoping to retire for the day.
Just as she had freshened up and had finished making her bed, Hinata heard a gentle knock on the door.
"Hinata-sama, it's Ko."
"Hai, Ko-san. How may I help you?" Hinata responded.
There was an awkward silence for a moment or two.
"You have been summoned by the elders, Hinata-sama, they have asked you to be at the dojo in ten minutes." The dutiful assistant stated.
Hinata's eyes widened.
If she were to allow herself to be honest, she despised those rigid old men and women. Their arrogance and holier than thou attitude creeped her out.
She personally held them responsible for making her fight with her little sister Hanabi, which led to a rift between the two siblings. Even worse, she was aware that it was the elders that had postulated the idea of sacrificing her uncle Hizashi instead of her father and this had caused a massive rift between the branch and main families ever since. In particular, her cousin Neji had become so hostile to her that she thought he would kill her outright if given the chance.
The system, the arrogance and the rigidity of the clan. She hated all of it. She didn't want to identify herself with a clan that promoted such ideas and practices. She would like to change it if she could. When Naruto-kun became Hokage, perhaps they would find some way to change the clan's ways. Her beloved had promised her that much.
In due time, Hinata reached the dojo. Sure enough, all the old men were sitting there, her grandfather, an elder named Eiji, another named Kotaru, another named Enjou, and the old woman Azami. She remembered that these were the exact same elders that were present when she was made to fight Hanabi to decide upon who would be the heiress of the clan. A fight she willingly lost.
Worse still, she saw that Hanabi and Neji were in attendance. The little Hyuuga didn't even spare a look at her. Neji did, with vitriol and scorn. He had a smirk on his face though, which set off multiple alarms and red flags in Hinata's mind. The elders also had borderline smirks on their faces.
Hinata knew that whatever these arrogant old fossils were planning was anything but good.
Well, she had to greet them.
"Greetings, honoured elders." Hinata bowed down.
The elders all raised their eye brows at the lack of stuttering as well as a new look of confidence on the face of one they perceived as a cowardly, lowly, failure.
"Greetings." Kotaru began speaking. "We have been made aware about your recent mission and the injuries you sustained while carrying it out. It pains us to see that a next generation of the main family sustained injuries of such intensity as fracturing her leg on a mission that was merely assigned C-rank. It is a shame that a Hyuuga on her first mission outside the village has to break a leg and become a burden on the rest of her team."
Hinata listened to this insult thrown at her, wide eyed. A rage was bubbling up inside her at these scornful words.
"But the mission was later upgraded to-" She protested.
"Silence." Azami spoke up. "We have reasons to believe that the jonin commander and your jonin sensei requested the Hokage to upgrade the mission to A-rank in order to justify the injuries suffered by your team due the incompetence of its members!"
Neji smirked at the comment. While he despised the elders, the humiliation of Hinata was something he was never opposed to.
"Anyways, leaving that aside. With the injuries you have sustained, it is of the essence for us to verify how combat ready you are and whether you should be allowed to continue serving as an active-duty shinobi. Therefore, we have decided that you are going to have repeated training spars against the heiress as well as the branch family's representative Hyuuga Neji." The elder, Eiji declared with a monotone voice.
Neji's excitement knew no bounds. He could maim Hinata as well as the main family right before the elders and prove his and the branch side's superiority in a match sanctioned by the elders themselves. And since he was sanctioned to go all out against Hinata and he could understand that even the elders wanted her to be beaten up, so apparently, they wouldn't be activating the caged bird seal on him if he decided to go rough on the meek failure.
Hanabi on the other hand, didn't know what to do. She knew that she could best her elder sister. Hinata didn't have much talent. But she was gravely injured in her mission, maybe the elders were right that she was unfit to be an active-duty ninja. Even then, to have a fight though she was not rested well enough? She didn't feel right about it. Perhaps she could just end it quickly. Neji of course would end it quickly and then perhaps the elders would allow her to have some rest, regardless of whether she was allowed to continue serving in the shinobi forces. That was something her sister had brought upon herself. If she was not good enough, she simply had to be removed from active duty before she further humiliated herself and the clan by messing up on missions like that.
"I refuse. I have been ordered by my attending doctor, Senju Tsunade to not involve myself in anything beyond walking, let alone train, spar or use chakra." Hinata protested firmly.
"That might be a valid opinion for some common person. We are the Hyuuga, strongest of the leaf, a Hyuuga has to be stronger than that. A Hyuuga must prove that he can stand up and fight regardless of what injury he receives. If you can't prove that, you are unworthy of being called one of us."
While Hinata wondered what she could reply to that, Neji spoke up.
"Are you afraid of facing me, Hinata-sama?" With scorn and hatred radiating off him at its top. "I am a mere branch member; you are from the main family. It will be a great dishonour on your family and your father if you walk away from a fight citing health." Neji stated with a smirk.
Earlier, Hinata would be intimidated with those scornful words. But now, she was just frustrated and irritated at all these constant verbal slurs and talk downs.
"Also, we have been aware of the recent developments between you and your teammate. That embarrassment of a ninja called Naruto Uzumaki." Azami stated with hatred towards Naruto evident on her face.
Hinata's eyes widened and her hands began trembling in anger. Because this was a red line they were crossing.
"It has caused us grief and outrage that a main branch Hyuuga would actually consider being involved in any way with a clan less, useless loser of the likes of him." Eiji said in an intimidating tone.
"I believe that I am allowed to make my own decisions regarding my personal life and that nowhere in the clan rules has it been stated that the elders can make decisions regarding who a member chooses to involve themselves with." Hinata retorted with a firm expression.
This firm reply took the elders back. They were expecting some meek protests or an outright surrender. None of that seemed to be coming.
"That might be. But we can decide if such relationships are detrimental to the image and honour of the clan. We are within our rights to deem any relations like that to be against the interests of our clan and if the concerned clan member continues to act against the clan's image and interests, we have the right to expel said member." Kotaru stated with a smirk.
"I believe that right rests with the clan head, the elders can only advise him in this regard. The final decision rests on him." Hinata shot back.
Hanabi was watching the exchange wide eyed. This was not how her sister used to be, brimming with confidence and retorting every single argument the elders threw at her.
Neji was intrigued but more than that, he was irritated. He was there to put down the useless main branch Hyuuga. He didn't want to have anything with those verbal arguments between the main family members.
"It seems that you are well aware of the clan's regulations. However, what makes you believe that the clan head will not have the same opinion about this matter as us?" Kotaru asked again.
"If the clan head chooses to have the same opinion as presented here at this meeting, then I will accept my banishment. I have no regrets." Hinata stated firmly.
"Looks like we can't make any progress in this. Anyways, Hyuuga Hinata. If you choose to walk away from the fights we require you to take part in today, with the power of the acting clan head, I will have you placed under house arrest and you will not be the only one who will suffer the consequences of your decision. People who you care about might face situations they wouldn't want to be in." Hinata's grandfather spoke up.
The lavender eyes widened in shock. What did those words mean? Who were they going to harm? Her sensei? Naruto-kun? It had to be Naruto-kun. He was turning out to be a thorn in their side. Only if these old fools knew whose child he was. She knew that her Naruto was well protected within the village. The Hokage cared for him and would not let any harm come to him within the confines of the village. It was also simply impossible that their sensei had not foreseen such an eventuality from the Hyuuga. But still, could she ever let a threat to her Naruto exist if she could do something about it? No fucking way in hell!
"I never said I was walking away. I accept the challenge." Hinata stated getting up.
The elders all smirked.
"In that case," Azami turned to Hanabi. "Hanabi-sama, would you mind going up first?"
"As you wish, honoured elder." The little brown-haired girl responded in a monotone voice.
Hinata had to clench her fists. They were making her fight her sister again. In the past she couldn't bring herself to hit Hanabi and now as well, her hands hesitated to strike that little girl.
Hanabi had no such hesitation. She had taken her position before Hinata and had already settled in a fighting stance. The elders were all looking at their heiress with satisfied expressions.
Hinata sighed and steeled herself. She didn't take a fighting stance. Only moved her right leg backwards a bit and stood in attention. She was yet to activate her Byakugan. Hanabi though had already activated hers.
The elders looked at the two. They didn't bother to tell Hinata to take a fighting stance.
"Hajime!" The elder, Eiji declared.
Hanabi was immediately on the offensive, intent on finishing it up quickly.
She launched a series of fierce jyuuken strikes at Hinata. Her Byakugan hadn't yet matured enough to see the tenketsu but she was well trained to aim at the approximate locations.
Surprisingly, in spite of her leg injury hindering her mobility, Hinata began avoiding her attacks as if she was dancing around the strikes. This was not how it was before.
'Why are my attacks not hitting her!?' Hanabi thought in frustration. She couldn't understand.
Hinata dodged, bent down, swung sideways, jumped up, backflipped, and even jumped up over Hanabi's head and landed on the other side. Not a single attack of the little heiress was finding its target.
Hinata was doing a good job of keeping the grimace off her face from the pain of exerting herself beyond what was allowable at this point.
The elders were definitely intrigued by this. It was not something they were expecting.
The fight kept going on like that and Hanabi got frustrated more and more with every passing minute.
"What's so special about him!?" The brown-haired girl screamed.
Hinata stopped for a moment at the questioned but recovered herself to dodge the incoming attack.
"Why did you keep watching that boy from afar!? Why is he so special to you!?" Hanabi questioned again.
Hinata didn't answer. To be precise, she was confused as to why Hanabi was suddenly questioning about Naruto.
"W-What do you mean, Hanabi-chan?" Hinata questioned bewildered as she had to keep dodging and avoiding the incoming attacks. The longer she did that the more painful it got for her newly recovered leg due to the tremendous pressure it found itself in all of a sudden.
"Why do you keep pursuing that lowlife!? Why can't you be like what an ideal Hyuuga is supposed to be!?" Hanabi screamed.
'Lowlife!?'
This phrasing had sparked something. Not so much pressing a berserk button as it had mashed the rage button inside Hinata down until something happened.
And something did happen. Hinata had never blamed Hanabi for doing as she was told or speaking like those who stuck close to her, directing the fault at the ones who put such toxic waste in her head, but for the first time Hinata's anger WAS directed at her sister.
The lavender eyed girl stopped defending. It appeared as though she had given up and left herself wide open for an attack. Hanabi didn't waste that obvious opening and lunged forward, aiming straight towards her sister's chest, intending to knock her out with that single hit.
Just as she had closed the gap;
*SLAP!*
Hinata's palm connected with Hanabi's cheek with such sheer force that it echoed as it threw the brown-haired heiress back by at least two feet.
No jyuuken, no taijutsu. Just a single slap, a tight and hard slap at that.
Total silence.
The elders could not believe it. Was it really the meek and shy girl who had been discarded in favour of the much more confident and outspoken Hanabi for the role of the heiress, the girl who was always seen as a failure and a lowlife by much of the clan? She had been defeated by Hanabi when the sisters had been made to spar for the position of the heiress a couple of years ago, hadn't she? But the results were clear as a sunny day. Had Hinata improved so much after passing from the academy? No, it seemed that she always had the potential, she had always had Hanabi surpassed in skill. And that loss of hers against Hanabi, she had let herself get defeated to help her sister gain a position, she herself had no desire for.
Hanabi fell flat on the polished wooden floor. Her sister stood there with a dark look on her face, looking downwards, the hand that had slapped her was still raised.
She blinked, blinked in confusion as she looked at her sister. For the first time, she felt afraid of Hinata. This was not the meek, cowardly, and shy girl she had known her sister to be. Neither was this that awe inspiring shiny young girl she had seen when she had seen Hinata practice jyuuken for the first time. Well, now she was that and more. Her presence had become more commanding, to say the least.
After a full minute of silence, Hinata spoke up. In a soft but firm tone;
"Insult me all you want, Hanabi-chan. I will not tolerate a single word of insult towards Naruto-kun, whom I love with all my heart. And to answer your question as to why he is so special and inspiring to me. You will realize that yourself when you really open your eyes and see him. Until then, it will be better for you to keep yourself from making any hurtful remarks towards my Naruto. Have I made myself clear?" She asked in a commanding tone.
Scared, the younger girl could only nod.
Hinata didn't say anything in response. Her leg was aching seriously and she was struggling hard not to show that pain on her face.
The elders could only look at each other in confusion, but they decided that Neji could still discipline this little rebel.
"Hyuuga Neji, you are up next." Azami commanded.
'What? Not even a second to rest?' Hinata thought to herself. Was her father really in approval of all this?
The prodigy of the side branch smirked. He was finally free to maim and torture this hopeless failure as he wished.
"As you wish, honoured elder." The boy said with a bow and quickly took his position before Hinata.
"I should remind you that despite what you could do against Hanabi-sama, our skills are far apart. If you wish to surrender, I suggest that you do it right now." Neji said with a small smirk, his hatred oozing off.
Hanabi had crawled sideways to remove herself from the denoted sparring ring.
"I have no intention of doing that, Neji nii-san." Hinata responded.
"In that case, I must remind you of your right place! Byakugan!" Neji said as he activated his byakugan with a hand sign.
Hinata took a deep breath. "Byakugan!" She activated her own with the required hand sign as well.
"Hajime!" This time it was their grandfather that had commenced the match.
Neji didn't waste a second in going on the offensive. Hinata knew that her cousin was on a whole different level as compared to Hanabi. He was a lot faster; he already knew the 64 palms and she couldn't weave around his attacks; they were going to connect. And she had to make sure that her attacks in return connected as well.
And her worries proved correct. Neji's attacks began connecting. The Hyuuga prodigy was merciless and relentless. Without a single care that his opponent had just recovered from a serious fracture and was still in a very early period of recuperating.
"Aarrgh!" Hinata winced in pain as Neji kept delivering blow after blow.
"I should tell you that, unlike Hanabi-sama, I can see tenketsu!" Neji declared in a monotone voice.
"Tsk!" Hinata winced in pain and irritation. But she was not going to go down without a fight. If Neji were to win, he will not be having it without feeling any pain.
Neji's arrogant face turned to anger when a palm brushed his shoulder, triggering a stinging sensation followed by a numbness.
He tried to retaliate, using that arm, only to find that his chakra wasn't responding properly in the slightest.
Anger turned to confusion and then slight horror.
"So can I, nii-san!" Hinata responded before going on offensive. Horror became disbelief as what should have been a fluke was repeated with success.
But he knew that he had closed more of Hinata's tenketsu. Then he remembered that Hinata had a weak leg.
"Hyaah!" He delivered some jyuuken strikes to that injured leg.
"AAAAHHH!" Hinata screamed in pain as she was pushed back by quite a few feet.
'Why is he being so merciless with Nee-sama? Why is he just not finishing it off? And the elders pushed her to fight him without even giving her a second to rest after fighting me, do they want to get her killed or have her crippled for life?' The little heiress thought to herself. One glance at the elders gave her the answer. They were all smirking as they saw Hinata being beaten and screaming in pain with that underhanded blow Neji had delivered.
'I can't best him in pure jyuuken, at least not yet. I have to do something different and get him by surprise.' Hinata thought to herself while racking her brain for an answer to the dilemma.
'The best way to create an opening in a fight is to hit the enemy where he never expects to be hit. If the enemy is underestimating you, that's not a bad thing at all. Let him continue doing that. Let him get over confident, let him think that he had this in his bag and then when he is relishing in his victory, hit him with a move he doesn't expect you to pull. That maximizes your chances for victory.' Hinata remembered Shikaku's words, something the jonin commander had told her and Naruto a few days after the formation of Team-6.
This was a situation exactly like that. Neji was underestimating her. He was assured of his superiority and of his victory. Hinata also knew well that Neji was trying to drag this fight to torture her.
It was a hatred for which she herself felt guilty of to some degree. But a lot of things had changed ever since Naruto had confessed to her and she had gotten him for herself forever. She was no more just some mere side character that could only watch from afar.
Neji's hits were connecting, sure. But so were hers. He could dodge some of her attacks, certainly, but so could she.
'The Hyuuga despise using ninjutsu and focus solely on jyuuken during fights.'
She saw that overconfident smirk on Neji's face. He was trying behave like an ideal Hyuuga but the enjoyment he was having out of tormenting her, it was slipping out every now and then.
'I don't know much beyond the lightning balls jutsu right now. I have to make it count and hit him with it at a moment when it will have maximum effect.' The lavender eyed girl thought to herself. She then saw Neji attacking her.
'How about using my Byakugan and aim the lightning balls at his tenketsu?' She questioned as she began to stand back up, while going through hand-signs.
Over confident, Neji paid no mind to the hand-signs and took the stance of 64 palms.
Just before he could launch though,
"Lightning Style: Lightning balls!" Hinata called out, just as Neji had launched. He had even completed the first 8 strikes when the lightning balls hit him, aimed at the tenketsu. The effect was that the affected tenketsu got momentarily paralyzed.
Hinata was pushed back. Even the first 8 strikes were too much for with her current conditions. But she had to exploit the opening. Her leg was not allowing her to move, but she was resolved to do it. She had to conquer her fear of Neji, she wanted to tell Naruto how she conquered her fear.
Hinata focused some amount of lightning chakra on her finger tips and launched her attack, hoping to push lightning chakra into the network of her currently stunned opponent.
Neji had recovered quickly though from the numbing sensation, but not quick enough to dodge from Hinata's next attack, Hinata aimed for any tenketsu she could hit and pushed lighting chakra into them, stunning the muscles alongside closing the tenketsu.
Hinata would later learn that this action had the added bonus of locking Neji's nerve receptors into an active state of receiving input. In short: pain.
But Neji was not a prodigy for nothing, he could see that his opponent was on her last legs and he started attacking as well, hitting any tenketsu he could.
And as this was going on, Hinata's tired leg gave away. She couldn't hold the pain any longer.
THUDD!
And she was writhing on the ground, wincing in pain. The leg was feeling like it was being torn apart. Luckily for her, she could tell that the pain was not as extreme as the one she had felt at the moment Gaara's sand had crushed all her bones and ligaments in that leg. It was not fractured again. But she couldn't move it. She couldn't get up.
"Well…I believe we have a winner." Kotaru announced. They wanted to torment the girl that was turning too rebellious in their view. They had gotten just that. But then again, they couldn't bring themselves to congratulate some from the side branch for doing their job for them so well.
"Ahem…Thank you Neji, you may leave now." The elder Kotaru stated.
Neji was still feeling the pain from his stunned tenketsu. He might have won but this was not an easy victory. He couldn't even bow without feeling the pain. He left without saying much. 'Next time, I will utterly destroy her!' was the thought on his mind as he left the dojo.
Or it would have been had what came next not been.
Two blondes standing at the entrance, both glaring murder and extruding a nauseating killing intent.
The blonde who was around the defeated former heiress's age rushed between her and Neji, cradling Hinata with a distraught expression before glaring at Neji again.
Neji would admit that for once, he felt genuinely afraid.
Likely that, for once, he finally realized why he shouldn't have messed with Hinata.
-earlier, Hokage's office-
Hiruzen laughed: "All things considered, even if we had to endure a C-rank curse tragedy, to have you back and the damage it caused on the mend might just make it all worth it, Tsunade."
The Slug Sannin shrugged. "I could have done with less blood or body horror bomb insects."
Hiruzen laughed again: "The fact that the sentence you just said doesn't bother either of us means we've been at this job for quite a while."
Tsunade remained nonchalant: "So, I'm back to being the head medic and you already know that the first thing I'm gonna do is overhaul the entire medical program. Tear it all down and start over if need be."
Hiruzen nodded: "I expected nothing less."
Tsunade smirked: "Good. Shizune, get to the hospital and start taking stock of the situation."
"Yes Ma'am."
Tsunade scowled as Hiruzen desperately tried not to take too much amusement, "Going elsewhere? Didn't know a bar here had caught your heart where Jiraiya failed to."
"I'd sooner kiss an actual toad. No, I have patient to check on."
Hiruzen hummed: "Ah, yes. I hope Hinata-chan is doing fine. The elders for the Hyuga have been known to overstep bounds when able to."
That set off warning bells: "Surely that shouldn't be a problem immediately."
Hiruzen sighed: "It wouldn't be, but Hiashi is out of Konoha in the capital. Clan business."
Tsunade smiled and nodded: "Well I suppose I need to make that visit to be sure."
Tsunade left the office and immediately found Naruto wandering around as if he was internally debating to visit her
"Hey brat, if you want an excuse to visit the girl just come with me." Tsunade called out.
An unlimited supply of clones could overwhelm any opponent with the right amount of swarming and timing.
Naruto smiled: "Thanks Baa-chan, I was having a lot of doubts."
Tsunade didn't even hear it. The disrespectful nickname barely even registered.
Every member of the Hyuga got out of her way and answered her questions.
They were scared of a woman with an objective and the strength betrayed by the quiet confidence she held.
Tsunade and Naruto arrived to see the farce of a match.
The display against Hanabi and the systematic torture unleashed by Neji.
Naruto wanted to interfere but Tsunade held him back with a firm grip. "Keep calm and quiet. The more we see, the more we can use against these bastards. The elders are digging their own graves right here. But to make sure they can't weasel out of it; we need to make a small sacrifice. They can't afford her dying right here and now. We have the advantage, don't let a momentary impulse cost it. The result of letting that worry guide you can hurt more than what may have happened if you had stuck to your guns. I know. I lost some people I cared about that way."
Naruto begrudgingly kept quiet.
Tsunade could feel the killing intent boiling beneath the surface.
The systematic torture ended with Hinata's leg giving out and Tsunade counting the moments till she could turn Naruto loose.
"Looks like we have a winner. Neji, you may go."
Tsunade sighed "Alright Kid, make sure he doesn't try to kill her while she's down."
Naruto was between Neji and Hinata in mere moments.
The elders started fuming: "How did he get in?! Guards, remove him!"
Tsunade finally let her rage be known with a small flick to the doorway.
A flick which collapsed the entire side of the dojo. And a good chunk of the Hyuuga compound along with it thanks to vital support beams being demolished.
The Hyuuga would learn that if you build your home based on being impressive to look at, you will die from impracticality of it. Like too few support beams.
All attention was on her.
"The guards will do no such thing. Nor will they stop Naruto from taking Hinata to the hospital for examination." Tsunade all but ordered.
Naruto scooped Hinata into a bridal carry and did just that.
The elder sneered: "We have healers who can attend to the child. No need to inconvenience actually useful personnel."
Tsunade retorted: "I don't trust anyone on your payroll. They'd probably lie about the nature of the injuries I just saw be inflicted. If they even submitted a report. And I advise you rethink how you speak on medical matters to the village's head medic. I know it's been a while and I'm aging like fine wine, but you have to recognize me."
The elders blinked and then looked at the woman, really looked, and looked at the collapsed wall.
The elders hadn't truly believed the rumour of the woman's return but now they were faced with the proof staring them in the face.
"Tsunade Senju?" Kotaru questioned and then murmurs started "Is that really the Slug Sannin?" "What is she doing here?" "She looks so young…Is that Tsunade or her daughter?"
Tsunade smirked: "Yes. That's my name. and I personally treated Hinata's injuries following her being partially entombed in a version of Magnet Release: Coffin Burial. One utilized using sand, I know some of you have met Rasa and possibly his youngest son or have at least heard of Gaara. The man made his son the newest Jinchuriki of the Ichibi and did it with a crap seal to my understanding, leaving the boy a puppet dancing on strings that the Biju held until the racoon got his ass kicked hard enough to shut him up for a while, which Hinata proved invaluable to, potentially sacrificing herself to ensure Gaara could be calmed down after the Ichibi managed to assume control. Her sacrifice allowed an opening to be created where Gaara's automatic defence, a quantity of sand that acts independent of him to protect him from all threats even if he isn't aware of them with split second reaction and speed, was unable to respond and her team was able to capitalize and end the encounter. Now I heard that this was over a failure of Hinata's or incompetence of her teammates…but everything points towards old men and women being stubborn jackasses."
No one dared to undermine the coldly enraged Sannin.
Tsunade continued: "I will be taking this up with both the Hokage and Hiashi when he returns, this will not be swept away or made to vanish. And my position has been used to make unpleasant people disappear before without turning up bodies, or at least ones that were identifiable. The actions I just witness has me question the mental health of such esteemed elders. Perhaps we may need to remove you from any means of doing harm and into a place where you can live without causing harm to yourself and others."
The assembled elder blanched at the implied threat and paled further when they realized that their actions could be used as justification for just that.
She could remove them without having to make criminal charges stick to them.
Tsunade nodded, satisfied that her message was received: "Now that that is settled. Neji, was it?"
Neji jumped slightly in fear.
Tsunade drilled into him with her hazel eyes: "I saw that expression on your face. You would have just loved the chance to kill."
Neji didn't even bother answering.
Tsunade shook her head: "I pity you more than the wrinkled bastards. You're another kid so lost in grief that you think you're doing the right thing. Ask yourself this, if Hinata really had no spine or was as worthless as you claim her to be, then why does she never use the ace in the hole branded into your forehead?"
Tsunade left the compound with that.
Now it was time to see how bad Hinata's leg got put back.
A/N: And done! Alright. A little bit of action, a little bit of Neji and the Hyuuga being assholes, but o well what can we do? I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you again for your continued love and support and I count on the same going forward. See you all in the next chapter, next year.
RaNK001 signing off. Cheers and peace.