When they arrived at the village, Naruto and Hinata were eager for Tsunade to get to the hospital. So much so that she decided to go there before the Hokage Tower to "shut them up" as she put it, as they were basically all but physically pulling her toward Konoha Hospital. She should've gone to Minato first but seeing as Sasuke was being continuously tortured, she decided his was more urgent and she would see the other two since she was already in the building.
After finding out from the front desk where his room was, all four of them headed that way—Jiraiya decided to split from the group to report to Minato. The door was open and Hinata and Naruto were surprised to see both Ino and Sakura standing by the window and replacing the flowers in the vase.
"Ino-chan, Sakura-chan, thank you so much for looking after Sasuke while we were gone," Hinata said sincerely as she bowed her head deeply.
"It was no problem at all!" Sakura said, then she looked over at Tsunade and Shizune curiously.
"This is Tsunade-sama and her apprentice Shizune-san," she introduced. "They're here to help those that they can."
Both girls bowed their heads. "Thank you," they said. Then Sakura was pushing Ino toward the door. "Let's give them some privacy."
"Aww, I wanted to see," Ino mumbled, but let herself easily be pushed out the door.
"Friends of yours?" Tsunade asked as she walked up to Sasuke and took in his features, noting that he resembled his mother, Mikoto, with his soft features and dark hair.
"Yes. They're very outgoing and lovely," Hinata replied.
"They're so loud though," Naruto sighed.
Tsunade raised a brow at him. "That's funny coming from you, kid. You're the loudest person I've ever met."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Nope. Ero-Sennin is louder than me," he said confidently.
The Sannin thought for a moment before acknowledging that. "Actually, you're right. I stand corrected." Then she put a glowing hand on Sasuke's forehead.
Hinata, though excited for him to be healed and awake, was terrified at how he was going to look at her. Could she handle it? Would it break her? Break them up? Turn his love into hate? She was scared to find out, but she knew this day was coming and she had to face the consequences of her actions and choices. Sasuke couldn't know why. She would have to live with it.
A few moments later, Sasuke was stirring, his eyes opening slowly and squinting at the bright sun peering into the room. Sluggishly, he sat up and looked at the woman next to him before his eyes moved to Shizune, then Hinata, and then Naruto before going back to Hinata.
She didn't know what to do. Should she hug him? Hold his hand? Could she do any of that and did she even have a right to? In the end, she went with her gut and moved closer to wrap her hand around his shoulders with a kind smile. His eyes then moved to the splint on her arm.
"Welcome back, Sasuke," she murmured into his shoulder.
Sasuke sat there, clearly out of it, but didn't push her away as she partially expected him to. It felt like a good sign.
"Glad to see you're up now," Naruto added after a moment. Then he turned to Tsunade. "There's still a couple more people, so let's leave them to it."
Tsunade raised a brow but followed him out a brow. She saw the pain in his eyes and tilted her head just a bit. "Why not stay and catch up?" She asked when they were far enough away not to be heard in Sasuke's room, curious about how this kid was going to handle the situation.
"I'm not some masochist," he replied and Tsunade understood just what he meant. "I'll take you to Kakashi-sensei now. Then Rock Lee. Thanks again."
Back in Sasuke's room, he seemed to be more himself and realized where he was and how he got there, causing him to push Hinata away. "Don't touch me," he snapped.
Hinata's heart jumped into her throat, causing it to tighten almost unbearably before swallowing it all down and taking a seat in the bedside chair that was provided for visitors. She remained silent as she felt she didn't have the right to say anything, especially in defense of her actions—there was nothing she could say or reveal. It was too soon.
"I can't even look at you right now, Hinata!" He yelled, his voice hoarse. "Just get out of my sight!" She just barely managed to hold back a flinch as she got to her feet. She poured him a glass of water before setting it beside him and moving toward the door.
"I'm so relieved you're awake, Sasuke," she said with a wan smile, but thankful all the same before leaving and closing the door behind her. As she walked along the hall, she heard the sound of him yelling and glass breaking, and she couldn't hold back her tears anymore.
She quickly looked around before letting just a few of them slip out. After a minute, she calmed herself, wiped her eyes, and went toward Kakashi's room with a soft smile despite feeling as though her heart had been ripped from her chest. Though, she thought to herself, it's probably nothing compared to the pain and betrayal Sasuke felt.
When she entered the room, Tsunade was giving Kakashi a hard time about being taken down by a couple of rogue ninja, and Guy was standing there shaking his leg as he waited impatiently.
"Well, sorry…to trouble you," he said tiredly. Hinata walked to his bedside and sat down, shocking Naruto.
"I thought you'd be with Sasuke still," he said.
"He's taking a nap. I didn't want to disturb him," she lied easily with a smile. Then she turned back to her sensei. "How are you feeling?"
"Like a piece of chewed-up gum," he sighed. "But I'll be back on my feet soon."
"Okay, now it's time for Lee!" Naruto exclaimed.
Suddenly, Guy cheered. "Yes! Please, Tsunade-sama, come examine my student. He's right next door," he said. Hinata watched as they all walked out to see Lee.
"I'm so glad you're okay, sensei," Hinata expressed. "Was it a difficult battle?"
He nodded his head. "Itachi's only gotten stronger these past few years. He's mastered his Mangekyou Sharingan."
"He used it on Sasuke as well. We had a run-in with him and his partner in a nearby town."
"How is Sasuke?"
"Physically, he's fine. But…you know.."
Kakashi nodded, then regarded her for a moment. "How are you?" This seemed to catch her off guard as she stared at her sensei with widened eyes before the tears gathered. Kakashi wasn't sure what to make of the situation. "I see," was all he could say as he rubbed her arm. Seeing the older Uchiha must have uncovered old emotions.
"Sensei, I—I don't know if I can fix it," she whispered tearfully. "I don't know if I have the right to." She didn't know what possessed her to even say that much, but she had to let it out. She couldn't hold it in, and Jiraiya wasn't the best person to talk to while they were traveling back, nor were they ever alone to do so. The white-haired Sannin stuck to Tsunade's side so much, and she didn't have it in her to intrude.
The older man tilted his head. "What broke?" He asked, now alert. Hinata shook her head vigorously, covering her face. "Hinata?"
She sniffled, wiping her tears before they fell. "I'm sorry. I just…lost myself for a moment. Please, don't worry about it," she pleaded. At her tone, he decided not to pry, but he knew it had to have been serious if she was on the verge of crying.
"Aside from running into them, did anything else interesting happen?"
"Naruto and I both learned some new tricks and I picked up using a long-range weapon," she explained as she unsealed the bow from her wristband and showed it to him. "Isn't it pretty?"
"Wow, I wasn't expecting that."
"I even managed to hit Kabuto in the shoulder and pin him to a rock. I'm sure he's healed it up completely by now, but it was nice to let him know that I could also hit him from far away."
Kakashi laughed. "That's a bit odd to hear coming from you, but I'm glad you hit him."
"I tried to get Orochimaru, but," she shrugged, "it's okay. One day."
"His time will come," he agreed, then he yawned.
"I should let you sleep," she said, getting to her feet. "I'll come visit you tomorrow."
He laid back down and pulled the blankets up to his chin. "Thanks. I'll see you then."
When she left and went next door to see how Lee was doing, she was stopped cold by the words she heard Tsunade speak.
"There's no shame in walking a different path of a shinobi," Tsunade said. "I'm afraid the only option is a surgery that only has a fifty percent chance of working, and the other fifty is the chance of you dying on the table."
There was some back and forth with Guy and Shizune but nothing from Lee. After a few moments of silence, Hinata smiled expectedly at Lee's declaration.
"I will do the surgery! I am meant to be a shinobi," he said.
"You can't even do genjutsu or ninjutsu. No one would hold it against you," Tsunade countered.
"Being a shinobi is my dream, Tsunade-sama! Please, I will do whatever it takes. If I die on the table, then so be it. But let the record show that I was a shinobi until my last breath!"
After a minute of silence, Tsunade spoke. "Give me some time, okay, kid?" From the tone of her voice, Hinata could tell that the Sannin was smiling. When the door opened and Tsunade walked out of the room, she caught sight of Hinata leaning against the wall next to the door with a soft smile on her face.
"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," Hinata said.
"You newer Konoha nin are impressive. I will find better odds than 50/50, however," she noted with a wave as she began walking away with Shizune following after her. "Let's go to Lord Fourth's house together."
Hinata easily caught up to the two women and followed them out of the hospital. On their way back to the village, she had given Tsunade her notes on Minato's condition and didn't miss the look of concern on her face. She wanted to add whatever the talented medic said and did to the existing notes.
Bound to his hospital bed as he was still too weak to stand on his feet—this angered him even more when he first tried to get up—Sasuke couldn't stop his hands from fisting in the blankets from the amount of anger he was holding in.
Itachi had absolutely obliterated him. It wasn't even a fight. It was just him being his brother's warm-up—it was embarrassing. It helped him see exactly just how worthless all that training had been. For years, he did nothing but train and train and train, and it got him nowhere. Maybe Kakashi was right in that Hinata was a distraction. All the time he spent with her (and Naruto occasionally) could've been spent training.
He sucked his teeth at the thought of his Hinata, the girl he grew up trusting with his heart. The same girl who had betrayed him deeper than he ever thought would be possible. He didn't know what she was doing helping Itachi, how it even came to be, or why she didn't tell him as soon as he approached her. He was afraid to know. Would she even tell him if he asked? She'd kept her contact with his rogue nin brother a secret for who knows how long; he just couldn't trust her anymore.
Suddenly, pain shot through his neck and he slapped his hand over the curse mark Orochimaru had put on him, hoping that would ease the pain. He took a few deep, controlled breaths until it eventually eased. It frightened him how appealing the power seemed to him now that he had faced his brother once again.
"And what the hell did he want with Naruto?" He asked himself, but it didn't take him long to figure out that he wanted the tailed beast inside of him. It seemed the Akatsuki had big plans that involved the beasts and he needed to drag his brother back home before there was no going back. Before he didn't want him back home. Before there was absolutely no redemption.
"But…why, Hinata? Why?"
He was positive now that he didn't want to know the answer.
Hinata stood off to the side with a pencil in hand and her scroll balanced on her arm, waiting for her mistress to finish her assessment of her previous sensei.
When they first arrived, Kushina had all but burst into tears at seeing her old sensei and threw herself in the older woman's arms. Her eyes were so hopeful now that the shinobi world's best medic was there.
However, Hinata noted, the look in Tsunade's eyes as they pointed in the other direction.
The Sannin lowered her glowing hand and set it on her lap as she looked up at Minato and Kushina, who was sitting on the bed right beside her husband. "I'm sorry," she said.
Kushina's eyes watered. "Wh—why? You can't…fix it?"
Tsunade shook her head. "This is a different kind of poison that works on a clock. If I had already been in the village when you were infected, I probably could've cured you. Unfortunately, it intertwined with your chakra network and it's something not even I can separate."
"I see," Minato replied calmly, level-headed. "What are my options? Will this eventually kill me?"
"From what I can see, it will attack you if you attempt to use any chakra. Meaning, that whatever chakra you use in the future will not recharge. And once you run out, you will die," she explained. "I'm…very sorry I wasn't here."
Minato reached over and patted her hand comfortingly. "There's no need for you to apologize, Tsunade-sama. The good thing is that the poison was collected and a cure is already in the works for any future attacks."
Though the older woman wanted to apologize again, she refrained and nodded her head. "I'll take a look at it while I'm researching Rock Lee's surgery. I'll make sure no one else in the village ever gets affected by this poison."
Minato smiled warmly and turned to his wife, who was shaking as she held her face in her hands. "Darling, I'm okay. I don't have to use any chakra for any of my everyday work. Should we get attacked once again, Tsunade-sama here will come to the rescue…as will every other able-bodied shinobi."
Kushina looked up at him with a tear-stained face. "We both know that's a lie, Minato! You're going to be the first one to rush out." And he couldn't deny that, because it was his instinct. However, dying for his village was the ultimate honor, even if his wife and child made it difficult to do so. He still wouldn't hesitate to die protecting those he could.
In the back of the room, Hinata put her pencil and scroll away before sealing them up once again and remaining quiet. She wanted to leave, but she knew doing so would draw attention to her. She snapped to when Tsunade turned her way and made eye contact with her. She nodded toward the door and Hinata was so relieved to be given an out.
She bowed her head and quietly slipped out the door and downstairs where she found Naruto pacing near his entryway. When he noticed her coming down, he was instantly crowding her and it suddenly made sense why Tsunade let her leave first.
"How is he now?" He asked with a huge smile. "Baa-chan fixed him right up, huh?"
Hinata took his hand and squeezed it between both of hers. "Unfortunately, the poison Minato-sensei was infected with has fused completely with his chakra network. Tsunade-sama is unable to remove it," she explained gently. She didn't want to be the person telling him this news, but Tsunade hadn't given her a choice.
Naruto's smile dimmed. "So… What—she can't heal him?" He asked nervously. Hinata shook her head. "What does that mean for Dad?"
"He can no longer use his chakra. His reserves will not recharge. The more he uses it, the closer he will be to death." It broke her heart to tell one of her best friends news like this, but it hurt even more to see the wide range of emotions that flickered through his eyes as she spoke.
"But…but he's the Hokage, Hinata!" Naruto argued, ripping his hand away from hers.
"He will still be the Hokage, that hasn't changed."
"There's no one more qualified to protect this village than him!" He yelled. "What was the point of bringing her back if she couldn't even help?!"
Gently, Hinata walked closer and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "We must become stronger and protect him," she mumbled into his shoulder. "Let's get so strong that Minato-sensei will never have to worry about going into the battlefield." She blinked back the tears she felt gathering. She couldn't afford to break with him. She needed to support him.
It took a few moments before Naruto finally hugged back and clung to her. "Yeah," he whispered. "I'll do anything." His voice was so heartbroken that Hinata could only hug him tighter.
"Hinata," Tsunade called out from the top of the stairs. Hinata was only slightly able to pull out of the hug as Naruto didn't let her go that far. It made her face nearly brush his as she turned back to look at her sensei. "Lord Fourth would like to speak with you privately."
"Okay. Thank you," she said. She squeezed Naruto's arm and gently eased away from his embrace. Naruto let his arms fall to his side before taking a step back.
"I can't see him just yet. I—I'm gonna go train," he blurted out before rushing out the door. Hinata wanted to go after him, but she knew he needed some time alone. Maybe she'll grab Ichiraku for him later and take it to him for a break.
She turned to face Tsunade who had been watching the interaction with intrigue. "That kid is head over heels for you," she stated bluntly.
The young girl's face went bright red as she stammered out that she was aware. "He—He told me his feelings before the final stage of the chuunin exam."
"Doing things like that isn't doing him any favors."
Hinata grew serious. "I don't want to change my friendship with him."
"But it's already changed. Once he told you his feelings, it changed everything. Not putting any distance or setting boundaries is only going to cause trouble in the future," Tsunade explained. "He needs to be able to move on."
She remained silent for a moment. "I—I just don't know what to do. I don't want to hurt him; it's the last thing I want. I don't know how to…handle something like this."
The Sannin made her way downstairs and put her hand on Hinata's shoulder. "It's not something you learn in any classes. It's only learned by experience. You'll find a solution. You're a smart girl."
Hinata smiled at her and bowed her head. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama."
The woman smiled back and headed for the door. "Don't tell Shizune I left, 'kay?"
Hinata giggled and headed upstairs to see Shizune and Minato still comforting Kushina, but it seemed like the jonin was calming down. She knocked on the door frame, catching their attention. "Tsunade-sama said sensei wanted to speak with me?"
Kushina wiped her tears away and stood up. "Yes, Hinata-chan. I'm…going to make Minato something good for chakra recovery," she suddenly declared as she left the room. They all knew, even Kushina, that something like that wasn't going to help.
"I guess it's time to get Tsunade-sama in the office to make sure you don't fall behind on any paperwork," Shizune said as she bowed to her Hokage. Then she turned to her student-sibling. "Where's Tsunade-sama?"
Hinata nodded back. "I think she was waiting in the family room, but I didn't see for sure," she lied easily. She felt bad for making Shizune's job any harder than it usually was, but she had a duty to her sensei.
Shizune gasped and then groaned before running out the door. "I'll see you later, Hinata-sama!"
She made eye contact with Minato and returned the smile he gave her. "Come sit, Hinata-chan. We have a few things to speak about." She took a seat in the chair by his bedside and suddenly felt as though she was waiting for Minato to yell at her for the mistake she made with Itachi and Sasuke.
"I'm sorry, sensei," she uttered suddenly with her head bowed deeply, nearly touching the bed in front of her.
Minato chuckled nervously. "What are you sorry for?"
"I made a huge mistake. I'm sure Jiraiya-sama told you about it when he was here reporting to you."
"He did mention it, yes. How upset is Sasuke?" She visibly shrunk. "I see. I think it would be best for you to try and fix your relationship before things get out of hand, okay?"
"Yes, sensei."
"Now, let's talk about what my condition means for our plans," he said seriously. Hinata strained her ears and felt relieved when she heard Kushina moving about the kitchen. "On the bright side, I will have some free time to further investigate. But Danzo is part of the council that will hear about my condition and could easily take me down if I was caught snooping. He'll make it look like an accident."
"He could, but I don't think he'd do that right away. He'd first try getting you on his side since your influence within the village and clans is very high. I…talked with Jiraiya-sama about possibly infiltrating his ROOT organization, but there are too many risks."
Minato sat up quickly. "No!" He said sternly. "Hinata, don't do anything like that. It's way too risky."
"I know, sensei. This is why I'm going to talk to someone who has firsthand experience with that organization. Kakashi-sensei."
"You're going to tell him everything?"
"If I can't fix things with Sasuke, I might have to. I'd hate to drag him into anything dangerous," she expressed worriedly. "Even asking him about ROOT will probably make him suspicious, but I do trust him. He perfectly understood me from day one."
He smiled warmly at that. "If there's anyone you can trust, it's going to be Kakashi. Believe it or not, he used to be much rougher around the edges," he said with a chuckle. Then he sighed softly. "Don't do anything big without telling me about it first, that way we can talk it through and decide if it's actually the best course of action. You're not alone in this, Hinata."
At hearing him use her name without the honorific twice, she noted how serious he was and felt grateful to the Gods above that they gave her wonderful, caring teachers.
"Thank you, sensei."
"No problem. Now, train hard under Tsunade-sama, okay? There's a lot to learn from her." She nodded eagerly, very excited to start. "And Naruto? How did he take the news of my condition?"
She smiled sadly. "He'll come see you when he's ready. It's just…not right now. Don't worry. We promise to get stronger. Just wait for us, okay?"
"I'll be waiting then."
Hinata stood up and bowed. "Get some rest, sensei. I'll visit you again soon."
He grinned up at her. "I look forward to hearing all about your training and what you've learned between now and then."
The next morning, Hinata was going into Sasuke's hospital room with fresh flowers to replace the wilting ones from Sakura and Ino. Sasuke was already awake and pointedly ignored her by putting his back to her. She pushed through the feeling of rejection just as she had done the previous day. After switching the flowers and making them look nice in the vase, she sat back down in the seat next to his bed.
She wanted to ask him how he was feeling but was afraid he'd yell at her. She didn't know if she could take that just yet.
"...What happened to your arm?" He asked reluctantly after a few minutes of silence.
She looked down at her arm as though she had forgotten it was currently healing from being broken. "We ran into Kabuto and Orochimaru," she explained. "I don't remember exactly when I broke it, but I think it was when Naruto was using his new jutsu."
At this, Sasuke sat up quickly and faced her with a hard look. "New jutsu?" He asked.
She nodded. "Yes. Jiraiya-sama taught him a jutsu Minato-sensei invented years ago."
Sasuke nodded as he remembered that being something the older man had used to coax Naruto into going on the mission. "And you?"
"I picked up archery and gauntlets."
He raised a brow and everything felt normal for a brief second when he wanted to ask her to show him what she learned, but then reality hit and he stopped himself. "Please tell me that Itachi is holding something over your head, Hinata," he said, his voice practically begging as he gripped his hospital sheets tightly in anticipation. When she stayed silent, he let out a groan of frustration. "Hinata!" Still, she said nothing.
He was shaking with his anger and part of him wanted to use his doujutsu on her to make her tell him, but even if she had betrayed his trust he still wanted to say that he was able to take the high ground and not betray hers.
"Was it worth it?" He asked instead.
"...What do you mean?"
"Whatever you're doing with him, is it worth our contract? Our relationship? Our friendship?" He snapped.
Hinata looked down at her hands briefly before looking up into his eyes. "Yes," she said. His eyes widened and before he could say another word, Naruto slammed the door open with a big smile on his face and humming a tune. He paused when he noticed the tension and Hinata in the room.
"Uh, hey. Sorry if I'm interrupting. I just wanted to show Sasuke the new jutsu I learned!" He exclaimed, much too excited for a normal person, but Naruto was almost always in a perpetual state of optimism—something his friends complained about but also loved about him. Right now, Sasuke couldn't stand it.
"Actually, I'd love a demonstration. Let's go fight," he said, glaring at the Uzumaki.
Naruto raised a brow. "I don't want to use it on you, you know. Just showing it while you're in bed will be good enough," he replied.
Sasuke let out a growl of frustration. "Don't patronize me! I said, let's fight! Don't act like you're all high and mighty just because you learned a new jutsu. You're still just a loser."
Naruto was starting to get mad but tried to hold it down. "I'm not fighting a hospital patient."
"Scared?" When he next looked at him, his doujutsu was activated, shocking both his teammates.
Naruto then sighed and looked at Hinata for permission, it seemed. "I'll—I'll check him over, so—" As she raised her glowing hand to Sasuke, he immediately smacked it away with such force that her arm swung back and she hissed as it was her injured arm.
Naruto rushed to her side. "Sasuke, what the hell is wrong with you?! Her arm is broken!"
Though part of him felt guilty for hurting the girl he—now, reluctantly—loved, he easily squashed that feeling and got out of bed. "You and I are fighting right now, Naruto. Unless you're too afraid I'm going to win, like usual."
The blonde finally had enough and smirked at the Uchiha. "Fine. Rooftop." They were flickering out of the room in seconds, causing Hinata to stumble to her feet. She instantly followed after them. The look in Sasuke's eyes was different. So full of hatred. And it was all her fault. If she could've kept the secret better, then she could've brought him back from the darkness consuming him. But he wouldn't even let her touch him.
When Hinata got to the roof, they were already standing across from each other.
"What's funny?" She heard Sasuke ask curtly in reply to the sound of Naruto's laughter.
"I think, right now, even without the help of the tailed beast, I'm stronger than you," Naruto stated with a smile. Hinata gasped, knowing that was such a sore spot for Sasuke.
"What did you just say?"
"And I have an even bigger chance since you recently got your ass whooped by Itachi, which I bet is messing with your head real bad."
"Naruto!" Hinata called out.
"No, Hinata! He hit your injured arm when you were just trying to help him. I don't give a damn about his feelings!" He snapped back, angry at the situation.
"It's not like that. I—I deserved that!" She tried to argue. "Please, just try to talk it out."
Sasuke smirked, paying her no attention. "If you're that concerned about her, then why don't you just take my place in our contract? She can be all yours then."
Hinata felt her heart drop to the ground at his words, making her sound like she was just a piece of furniture. Finally, she felt angry. She understood Sasuke was hurting from her betrayal, but she couldn't hold that emotion back.
"I am not some object for you to barter!" She exclaimed angrily, finally showing a more disgraceful emotion. She had always been exceptionally talented at hiding negative emotions and hearing her yell at the boy she loved shocked Naruto. He refrained from showing it, however.
"Shut your mouth, Sasuke," Naruto warned.
"Not a chance. You're just waiting for the right moment to swoop in, aren't you? To be the hero and worthy enough to ask for her hand in marriage?" Sasuke taunted. He didn't care what he was saying, he just needed to keep getting Naruto angry.
"Is that how you see one of your best friends?!" Naruto yelled.
"As far as I'm concerned, you and Hinata are nothing but dead weight holding me back from my goal! As pissed as I am with him, I still want to bring Itachi home!"
"We know, and that's why we're trying to help you!" Naruto countered. "You're not as alone as you think you are."
"Don't spout that flowery crap at me. The power of friendship isn't going to help me as much as you think it is. I'm done talking, let's just get this fight over with."
Naruto smirked. "Fine by me."
Instantly, they were throwing punches and dodging kicks. Hinata was glad it seemed as though they were still on equal terms as maybe now they would calm down, but she knew it was just wishful thinking. She became even more concerned when Naruto used his multi-shadow clone jutsu and Sasuke, after defeating numerous clones, was kicked into the air.
Hinata gasped, recognizing that move.
Sasuke easily saw it coming and dodged the kick in mid-air only to turn around and use his fireball jutsu on the remaining shadow clones on the rooftop. The force of it slightly pushed Hinata back, the heat instantly making her sweat. When the fire cleared, she could see Naruto holding a rasengan in his hand and he waited for Sasuke to come back down.
Sasuke, not one to waste time, gathered his chakra into his dominant hand until he was holding his chidori. She had seen the damage both of those could do, and they weren't jutsu to use against comrades.
"Wait, no!" She yelled. "Stop!" She flickered right in the middle, causing them both to panic. She planted her feet and went to use her rotation to try and minimize the damage they could do to one another when Kakashi suddenly appeared and spun them around by their arms until the only thing in danger was the water tanks that were propped a few feet in the air from the roof. The sound of metal creaking, twisting, and bursting loudly was the only thing that could be heard.
In total, the entire fight lasted no more than two minutes.
"What are you two doing? That's no way to act during a friendly spar, and in such a populated area, no less," he scolded, though he was extremely shocked to see that Naruto had mastered such a jutsu so quickly.
Naruto fell to the rooftop, panting while Sasuke's entire arm had been shoved into the water tank he was thrown toward. When he tore his arm out, he smirked at the difference in damage their jutsu had done, with his clearly being superior.
"Sasuke, I didn't teach you to wield that jutsu against your comrades,'' Kakashi said, now standing atop the water tank the chidori had gone through. "You really need to get that superiority complex of yours in check, because it's getting ridiculous." He figured his run-in with Itachi played a huge part in this battle happening, and he just hoped Sasuke wouldn't fall for it. Looking in the boy's eyes though, glaring, he could see that it was a losing battle.
"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto panted.
"This isn't how I wanted to tell you that you three were being promoted to chuunin," he said. "I was planning on taking you guys out to eat and revealing it there, but you forced my hand with such a childish case of showboating."
The three paused at this, but Naruto quickly got to his feet. "We're chuunin?!" He exclaimed.
Kakashi sighed. "Yeah. There was going to be a whole official thing, but I talked Hokage-sama and Tsunade-sama into letting me do it. So, thanks for taking that away from me, I guess." Hinata tilted her head at how he seemed much more upset about the fact that he couldn't surprise them than he was with them fighting in the first place.
"Oh, shit! We're chuunin!" He looked excitedly back and forth between Sasuke and Hinata, the latter giggling at his elation. "We did it!"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "It's not enough," he spat. Then he put chakra to his feet and jumped off the side of the hospital, landing on a wooden canopy placed over a window. He felt a thrill knowing his jutsu would've beaten Naruto's and smirked to himself.
Then, he heard a small stream of water and looked up only to see the back of the water tank that Naruto's jutsu had hit completely busted open, having done far more damage than he did. He clenched his jaw and growled. He needed to be the absolute strongest!
"Jiraiya-sama, I'm going to leave Naruto to you, since you're the one who taught him that jutsu," Kakashi suddenly said, and Hinata and Naruto were shocked to see Jiraiya standing on the other side of the water tank Kakashi was standing on.
"You just take care of Sasuke," the Sannin said, then he appeared behind Naruto, tosed the boy over his shoulder, and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Hinata sighed in relief, but couldn't shake the feeling that the trouble was only beginning.
"Hinata," Kakashi began, "does this all have to do with Itachi?" He asked curiously. Hinata would be the only one to know, but the Uchiha had been extremely cold toward her as well. He wouldn't tell his little student that he'd been there from the very beginning and just let it play out to see what would happen.
Hinata thought for a moment, panicking and trying to figure out a route she could take in which she could save Sasuke from his darkness but after witnessing the match with Naruto and the harsh things he'd said about them…she knew it was futile. She had to tell Kakashi because maybe he could be the one to get through to Sasuke. Part of her wished Itachi was here, so he could explain everything. But thinking that way was childish, and she needed to move on.
"Sensei, please listen…" she started, activating her byakugan to make sure absolutely no one was around. "We need to get somewhere secure or I won't say anything." Without another word, Kakashi grabbed her, pulled her against his side securely, and began sprinting. "S—sensei?!"
"Sorry, Hinata-chan, I have a mission that I need to leave for in an hour and I don't have time to do anything at a more normal pace if I still want to talk to Sasuke." It was a few moments later that they appeared inside what looked to be Kakashi's apartment.
It was simple with a bed, a small kitchen, a door aside from the front door she assumed led to the bathroom, and a cabinet that was placed against the window with two picture frames on it. One with Minato, a young Kakashi, and two others—a boy and a girl—in what she could only assume was his team photo when he was placed in a three-man cell. Next to it was a photo she recognized all too well as it was their own Team 7 photo. They were so happy back then when all secrets were still being properly kept, but things were changing now in a way she couldn't prevent.
"Tell me what happened," Kakashi said, not unkindly, as he took a seat on his bed.
"About a few months ago, just after we passed your test and officially became genin, Itachi Uchiha appeared to me in my greenhouse," she said, noting the shocked look in Kakashi's one visible eye. "He came to me with a mission, to help expose Danzo Shimura for his crimes against the village, especially in the murder of Shisui Uchiha."
"He told you Danzo killed Shisui?" Kakashi asked.
"He told me Danzo took one of Shi-kun's sharingan and was determined to get his remaining one. Seeing no other choice, Itachi-san was given his remaining eye and Shi-kun threw himself off the cliff and down into Nakano River," she explained.
"And…you believe him?" To him, Hinata had gotten mixed up in some shady business with good intentions, which only served to make her look naive.
"Yes," she said with conviction. "I spoke to you all those years ago about it just seemed very out of character for Itachi-san to just up and leave everyone he cared about, especially Sasuke. I was willing to hear him out. And I ran into Danzo just a couple of days after that and confirmed it for myself."
"Confirmed what?"
"He has a sharingan in his supposed injured eye as well as three extra sharingan implanted into his bandaged arm," she revealed, the disgust and fear appearing back in her eyes. Kakashi recognized this look and thought back to when she passed out asleep one day. "I checked with my byakugan. Even if Itachi-san was lying or really just decided to go rogue, Danzo still had to have killed Sharingan users with their doujutsu activated in order to successfully gather those eyes. He is still a criminal," she continued.
"So he wanted you to gather evidence in his place and help clear his name?"
"It wasn't to clear his name. Knowing he was going to be blamed for Shi-kun's death no matter what, he decided to infiltrate the Akatsuki under false pretenses. He is prepared to die being a rogue shinobi if need be, but if I can gather enough evidence and help prove his innocence, his sentence could be much lighter."
"How do you know you don't just want to believe him?" He asked. "He still recently came into the village to capture Naruto and injured both me and Sasuke."
"I do agree he was incredibly rough, but he could've easily killed you both and chose not to."
Kakashi thought back to when he had that same thought and things began clicking into place for him. "I see."
"Not only that, but I have it on record that Lord Third was aware of it all and let Itachi-san leave the village that night in order to go deep undercover. Itachi-san had already murdered Konoha shinobi while trying to take out Danzo, so he couldn't help him by that point without starting an internal scandal," she went on. "I didn't want to pull you into this until I was positive I couldn't save Sasuke from the darkness lurking within him."
"Something else happened, right? Sasuke was uncharacteristically cold toward you." When Hinata's eyes went to the ground shamefully, he somehow knew. "He found out during his battle with Itachi, didn't he? About you meeting him secretly?"
She nodded. "Yes. I made a mistake. I shared my salve with Itachi and Sasuke caught scent of it during their battle."
"Hinata." His tone was disbelieving and he noted the tears forming in her eyes before she blinked them away.
"I know. I just…wasn't expecting them to meet personally any time soon. I was very wrong. Sasuke no longer trusts me, and after the way he spoke of me and Naruto, we can't save him on our own anymore. I don't even have the right."
"You aren't going to tell Sasuke any of this?" Kakashi asked though he had a pretty good idea of the reason why.
"No. I thought about it, but I just can't. Sasuke has always been an angry person, ever since we were kids, and if I tell him something this big, neither of the two outcomes will end well," she admitted. "I can't risk his anger getting the best of him and putting our families in danger. I'm also an elder sibling and the last thing I want is for Hanabi to get caught up in these issues."
"I see where you're coming from. After seeing him today, I think you've made the right call," he agreed.
"I don't want to hurt him, but I'd rather him hate me so long as he got his family back together again."
"Hinata, this is big. This is something that could get you killed. Is that something you're really willing to risk?" he asked seriously, leaning forward on his knees.
She nodded. "Danzo has been getting away with these crimes for too long. I suspect he's also working with Orochimaru as he's the only one twisted and talented enough to implant doujutsu in body parts they are not meant to be in."
"That doesn't surprise me at all. He was the one who recommended Orochimaru to be Hokage after Lord Third, but Minato-sensei was picked over him many years ago. Who else knows about this?"
"Minato-sensei and Jiraiya-sama. Jiraiya-sama returned to the village at the request of sensei to help him with this, but while we were searching for Tsunade-sama, he told me he couldn't get any closer without raising Danzo's suspicions. He requested I try to get closer."
"No," he said sternly. "He's much too dangerous and if he knew he had a chance of getting a byakugan on his side—an unsealed one—he'd have a field day."
"Yes, which is why I wanted to talk to you specifically about your time participating in ROOT. If there's anything you can tell me about, I'd really appreciate it."
He stared at her for a few moments before sighing. "Why couldn't you just let the adults handle this?"
"I don't wish to speak ill of him as he recently passed, but Lord Third had many chances and he left it all on the shoulders of a thirteen-year-old boy," she stated curtly.
"And now it's also on your shoulders, a twelve-year-old girl. It's never fair, is it?"
"I don't care what may happen to me, I'll do my absolute best to stay alive for my sister and to see this mission through, but I refuse to let the likes of people like Danzo and Orochimaru have their way."
Kakashi had never seen Hinata so angry. Her type of anger had always been quiet and bubbling below the surface as she maintained it well, but her hate for the two aforementioned men had evolved into a menacing and cancerous type of anger. One he could see eating away at her until it was resolved. One that could be the most dangerous kind if left to fester.
"I understand," he said as he got to his feet. "We'll talk more when I come back from my mission. I need to leave if I want to talk to Sasuke." He put his hand on her head. "You're doing a very honorable thing for your village."
"Betraying Sasuke… I never wanted that. But if it'll help him in the future, I'll just learn to live with a broken heart," she said quietly but confidently.
Kakashi's eyes softened as he realized what she meant. "You won't be alone. You have support now. We adults will try to take care of what should have been done years ago. Just try to stay a kid for a little longer, okay?"
Hinata smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes. He feared he was losing his beloved team.
"Sensei? Before you go…"
"What is it?"
"What…happened to your team?"
His eyes went to the photo for a long moment before he smiled sadly. "They're gone now, but they're always with me," he explained, voice melancholic.
She gave him a small smile. "Good luck on your mission." She went toward the door and gave him one last wave before leaving.
He wished he had more time to truly process everything.
Sasuke had found himself situated in a tree between the Hyuuga and Uchiha compounds. He didn't want to go home quite yet nor did he feel like seeing anyone. He was lost deep in thought—thinking back to his encounter with Itachi and how weak his chidori seemed in comparison to Naruto's rasengan—and that was how he suddenly found himself trapped, tied against the tree with wire as Kakashi appeared in front of him holding onto the other end.
"What do you think you're doing?! Let me go!" Sasuke yelled angrily.
"Ah, I don't mean to do this, but you're the type to run away rather than listen, you know," Kakashi sighed. Sasuke glared but said nothing since the Jonin was correct. "Why are you so angry, Sasuke?"
This caught the newly appointed chuunin off guard. "There's plenty to be angry about! Itachi kicking my ass, your damn chidori being child's play compared to Naruto's new move, and the person I trusted the most betraying me for my brother! Take your pick."
Kakashi shook his head. "I mean before all of that. There's been this anger inside of you since even before Itachi left." Then he tilted his head. "You seem like you have a pretty good life other than the rogue nin brother and your need to be better than everyone else, and those seem pretty fixable."
"What the hell are you talking about? You don't know anything about my life!" He spat bitterly.
"Well, you have a very nice clan, a loving mother, two great teammates willing to do anything for you, and more friends if you open yourself up more," he said, counting on his fingers. "I know you want to bring Itachi back, I get that, but these things take time. You're even a chuunin now."
"Itachi was already in Anbu by the time he was my age."
"Times were different then, you know this. You literally cannot move through the ranks that fast anymore," he added. "You're just being obtuse."
"Shut up! I need to be stronger and better to defeat him or my mother will—" he cut himself off, not wanting to air out his dirty laundry.
"Oh, I know about your mother's condition, and I respect everything you've done and are doing for her, but it runs deeper than that. You hardly speak of your father, so I know it has something to do with him. Having a talented older brother must've meant you had certain expectations placed on you to be just as naturally talented."
Sasuke struggled against the wire. "Don't act like you know what you're talking about!"
Kakashi ignored him, continuing. "I know part of it has to do with your mother, but I doubt it's the only reason. No, I think you absolutely long to just be better than him, to rub it in your father's face that he should've paid better attention to you instead of Itachi. Am I hitting the nail on the head here?"
Sasuke's sharingan activated due to pure anger as his gaze hardened. "And so what if it is?" He asked, his voice eerily calm. "What the hell do you have to do with any of it?! It's none of your goddamn business!"
"On the contrary, it's all of my goddamn business. Do you really want to risk tearing yourself apart just to prove you're better than your older brother? Is that what you really want? You're only going to end up alone and pushing away the people who care about you."
"I couldn't care less, Kakashi-sensei. I don't care about Naruto and I sure as hell don't care about Hinata," he said sharply.
"See, this attitude and prone to anger is exactly why Hinata can't be honest with you," he sighed.
"She can't be honest with me because she's a liar, that's all there is to it. She wants my brother, she can go be with him!"
Kakashi had to refrain from rolling his eyes. "You think that's what it comes down to?" Sasuke remained quiet. "You don't seem to know her as well as you think, then. You know Hinata isn't like that, but you can't figure out why, and it's getting you angry and causing you to lash out. She's the last person you should push away, in fact. But I'm not going to get in the middle of a lover's quarrel. You'll figure out the truth one day and feel like an idiot, I'm sure."
"I don't care what it is. I'm no longer marrying her."
The Jonin chuckled. "You love her too much, Sasuke. Even if you're so angry you don't want to see her. You're going to miss her eventually. The same will go with Naruto. This rivalry is one of your lifelines. There's nothing wrong with it, so long as you get off that path of darkness you're headed into," he explained.
"What do you know about any of it?" Sasuke hissed.
"I had a rivalry just like that. Well, I suppose he declared himself my rival, but I easily beat him in every category, except one." He paused, thinking back to his best friend. "His will. I was just a robot who would follow instructions and never strayed, even if I had to leave teammates behind in order to complete the mission."
Sasuke pulled back a bit at this, calming just slightly. "But your first lesson to us…"
"He was the one who taught me that. I was like that because my father had abandoned the mission in order to save his comrades, ultimately failing the mission. Despite saving them, the village and even those he saved turned their back on him for not completing the objective," he explained, looking out into the village for a moment before turning his eyes back to Sasuke. "He killed himself."
The chuunin froze.
"But my friend, my rival, told me my father was a true hero because he chose to save his comrades. He knocked some sense into me. I suppose that was one of the final gifts he gave me before he died saving my life."
"He…died?"
"Yes. Both of my teammates are dead. I loved them both, but I didn't cherish them enough, not until it was too late."
Sasuke thought back to the torture Itachi had put him through and barely held back a shiver. He didn't want to imagine a reality in which that happened. Losing Naruto would hurt in ways that couldn't be repaired, but he could go on. Losing Hinata, however much he wanted to deny it right now, he would die right along with her. Morbidly, he knew that if she died he would not hesitate to take a kunai to himself.
"Don't lose yourself in this need for power. You have friends who are more than willing to help you, and a mother who cannot lose another child," Kakashi said calmly, but he was panicking on the inside. The look in Sasuke's eyes had been void the entire time, and he wondered if he could truly talk him off the ledge. "In hindsight, it isn't so bad, is it?"
Sasuke's anger left him almost completely as he thought about his friends and his mother. Despite losing his cousin and his brother leaving, he really has lived a decent life. A best friend, the girl he was going to marry, and a loving mother. It could've been worse. It could've…been like Kakashi's experiences.
The gray-haired ninja retracted the wire, letting him go at seeing the fight leave him. "You've been given a great power with the chidori, Sasuke. It's not meant to be used on comrades. You know, truly, what it's meant for, don't you?"
Sasuke looked up at him, leaning his head back against the tree with a tired smile. "Yeah, I got it."
Kakashi smiled. "Well, I'm off. I'll be back in a few days. Then we'll all get together and figure something out. I'll help you right alongside Naruto and Hinata. You are one of my precious students, after all. A comrade." Then Kakashi was gone, leaving nothing but a swirl of leaves in his wake, and the hope that his plead had not fallen on deaf ears. He only wished he had another day to stick around, but the sun was nearly setting and it was time for him to go.
Sasuke had been sitting there in the same spot, confused about what to do. He was angry at Hinata, but Kakashi had been exactly right. He still whole-heartedly loved her and didn't want to lose her and he didn't want to lose Naruto either, but Itachi…he needed to bring him home—whether he was doing it for his mother, or to prove he was better or both, he didn't care.
It was then that four people suddenly appeared around him, surrounding him. He quickly got to his feet to protect himself. He looked at their attire, specifically the purple rope-like belts and Oto forehead protectors they wore, and knew they worked for Orochimaru.
"You work for Orochimaru. How did you get into the village?" He asked.
"Yeah. We're the Oto Nin Four. I'm Kidomaru, known as the East Gate," the one standing directly before him with dark hair tied up into a ponytail reminiscent of Shikamaru's. But what really shocked the Uchiha was the fact that he had six arms.
The man with shoulder-length gray hair and purple lips on his right spoke. "And I'm Sakon, the West Gate." Sasuke could see another head behind his, inwardly grossing him out.
To Kidomaru's left, the bigger man with very little orange hair and a tough look went next. "I'm Jirobo, the South Gate."
Across from him was the only woman in the group. "I'm Tayuya, the North Gate." Her red hair reminded him of Kushina's, just less cared for which he thought made sense as she was working with someone like Orochimaru. She also wore a strange headpiece that had tubes or thick wires donning it.
"And?" Sasuke replied, not caring one bit. Suddenly, they started moving around him at a speed he could hardly keep up with. He exclaimed as Kidomaru appeared in front of him and went forward to punch him, but Sasuke had a fast reaction time and easily dodged, using Kidomaru's back as leverage to kick back at Sakon who tried to attack from behind, causing him to slam against the tree.
Tayuya moved next to Sakon as Jirobo moved to the front to deliver a punch, but Sasuke looped his arm through Kidomaru's belt and grabbed Jirobo's arm before tossing them back into the remaining two with a yell. When the dust cleared, the small lump of bodies was revealed to be logs. Sasuke turned around with a glare as all four Oto nin were standing there with smirks on their faces.
"I'm looking for people to take my anger out on, so think carefully about whether you really want to go another round or escape now," Sasuke warned, his voice calm and collected but dark and menacing.
Sakon scoffed. "You're weaker than we thought you'd be," he stated, waving Sasuke over. "Well, let's go then."
Despite putting up a decent fight, they had thoroughly beat Sasuke and now Sakon had him by his ankle, holding him like he was some child throwing a tantrum.
"Now I know for sure that Kimimaro would've been a much better choice for Orochimaru-sama," the man said. "I guess if you stay in a worthless little village like this then you're only gonna be mediocre at best, never coming into your true potential."
Suddenly, Tayuya appeared beside him. "You're acting like an idiot. If you come with us, Orochimaru-sama can give you all the power you want," she said. The Curse Mark on his neck throbbed with pain, causing him to grunt. "He said we can't take you by force. You have to decide."
She pulled the neck of his shirt aside to look at the mark. "It seems like it's only in the early stages. It'll eat away at you if you don't gain control of it before it's too late," she added. "This great power he gives you, if you fully accept it, it will bind you to Orochimaru-sama. There will be no such thing as freedom."
Sasuke listened as she went on.
"And what's your purpose anyway? To stay here playing ninja with your buddies in this backwater village or, what was it? Oh, right. Itachi Uchiha, right? Your older brother."
At hearing his name, Sasuke's eyes went slightly wide with shock.
"Are you just going to forget your objective? That easily?" Sakon said before tossing him back into another tree, causing him to let out a pained grunt. "If you can sever your bonds and your ties to this place, you can be given an incredible gift. Remember your purpose!"
Then they leaped back up into the sky and disappeared, leaving Sasuke, once again, to his thoughts.
Heeeey, sorry about another slightly late upload! I seriously lose track of the days way too much :( But this chapter wraps up the end of this arc! After the usual break, we're moving on to the last arc! I'm very excited that we're near part one's finish line. There's not much to say, so I'll just leave it at that :))
-hina
NEXT UPDATE: 04/20/24