Tsunade held up a large needle and showed it to Hinata. "This is going to sting but it's going to numb the area up to the bone. Your pain medication should have kicked in by now. Ready?"
Hinata, wearing a mask over her nose and mouth, nodded and watched with curious eyes as Tsunade inserted the needle deep multiple times all around her forearm. She winced but held in any sounds of pain as it didn't hurt too much. They had to wait a few minutes, with the medic occasionally touching the area with a scalpel to see if she could feel it, to make sure it was completely numb.
"Okay, this is it." Tsunade looked down at Hinata, a mask covering everything but from the bridge of her nose up. "You good to go?"
Hinata's breathing slightly increased, the monitor attached to her vitals picking it up, but she nodded with wide eyes. She was terrified but she wouldn't back out. The only way out was through, she had to remember that. "Y—Yes, Tsunade-sama. Do it."
"Very well." Tsunade looked at the three other nurses present in the room. "Hold her down." Hinata began shaking as one nurse held her legs and the remaining two held her arm and shoulders. She could sense the chakra they were putting into their grip in order to keep her steady. Tsunade held her injured arm steady. The pace of her breathing increased and she felt tears prickling in her eyes, but she bit her lip and watched as her mistress began cutting into her forearm.
The numbing shots had helped, but when it reached closer to her bone, she began tensing as the pain began to shoot up her arm. She could barely hold back whimpers and she shut her eyes tightly as the tears fell.
"You're doing great, Hinata," Tsunade assured her. "Just a bit longer and I can put the plate in." Hinata nodded but kept her eyes tightly closed as she felt Tsunade's fingers uncovering her bone. "There are many nerves here, so be prepared." Just as she finished warning her, Hinata's body began struggling. She was fighting to move away from the thrums of lightning pain shooting through her arm and up her neck, into her teeth, and behind her eyes. The nurses held her still and tightly.
Tsunade held the plate up for Hinata to see. It was very thin and long with rounded edges. "This is what will be going in. We're halfway there." To Hinata, it felt like it had been days since they started this procedure. "After this, you should be good to go in at least an hour."
"Th—thank you," she said shakily. Tsunade dabbed the sweat off of the girl's forehead.
"If that Uchiha doesn't see how much you love him after this, then I'm sorry to say he's an idiot," the Sannin said, hoping to get a laugh.
Hinata could only smile and let out an exhale. "It is for all my comrades," she said.
"You don't love him?"
"I do."
Tsunade smiled, but only the crinkles on the side of her eyes gave it away. "You're a great shinobi, Hinata. Never doubt that." Then, she slipped the metal plate under her bone and began wrapping it. Hinata couldn't stop the screams from leaving her mouth. Her whole body shook as she fought its instinct to move away from whatever was causing her pain. The grip the nurses had on her began hurting but she pushed through, thinking of the faces of her precious comrades and the person she loved. Slowly, the edges of her sight began closing in and her face was growing numb as she struggled to breathe.
The pain would be over soon, however, and she could assist in bringing Sasuke home.
Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Akamaru flew through the trees. "I hate that we have to keep leaving people behind," Naruto growled. "First Choji and now Neji." They had just escaped from the spider-like enemy with the help of Neji and could still hear the battle ongoing as it faded the further they went.
"I don't like it either, but have faith in them. They'll be joining us soon," Shikamaru assured him.
"It's not that I don't have faith in him. Hinata's just gonna get really angry if anything happens to her brother, you know!"
Kiba scoffed. "Hinata? Angry? I doubt that's even possible!"
Naruto paled. "You have no idea how terrifying she can be, Kiba! One look is all it takes."
Shikamaru raised a brow. "I've never seen her angry either. What did you do to earn that?"
The Uzumaki smiled to himself. He truly was the only person who knew about the darker side of Hinata. He'd keep it to himself a little longer. "It wasn't toward me. Anyway, let's just keep moving. Without Neji's byakugan, we have no idea where these guys can be."
Akamaru barked. "Yeah, Naruto. Don't underestimate our noses!" Kiba added.
Naruto laughed. "Right. I'm sorry, Akamaru."
Shikamaru, after having to leave Neji behind as well, didn't feel very confident. Especially when something in him sensed that Choji wasn't coming back. His best friend, he feared, had used his very last resort. The red chili pepper pill led to sure death. He prayed to any god that had their ears on that it had not come to that.
Hinata's eyes slowly opened and she looked up to see Tsunade standing over her with a wide grin. "Tsunade-sama? Did everything go okay? How long has it been?" She asked, more alert now that she remembered where she'd previously been.
"Yep, you're all good now. It's half past three. How does your arm feel?" She asked.
Hinata sat up and looked down at her arm. She was in awe by there being only a very faint scar where her mistress had made the initial cut. She moved it around and leaned on it to put pressure on it. "It feels as though it's nearly healed. It's a little tender, but nothing more than that."
"Good. You're free to go after your friends now. Just remember, don't take any huge damage to that arm or the metal will also bend. It could cause a compound fracture and you will not be able to properly put a splint on it due to the metal," she warned.
"I understand. Please, I'd like to take a team of medics with me," she requested. "I know Suna shinobi are on their way to aid, but a medical team could come in handy going against people who follow Orochimaru."
Tsunade tilted her head after studying for a moment. "You really dislike my old teammate, don't you?" She hummed with a smile.
Hinata's eyes grew serious. "He is going to die one day. That, I'm sure of."
The older woman laughed. "You got that right. I'll send a few people with you, just get ready." Then she tossed her a hair tie and a small palm-size bag. "You'll probably want these."
The chuunin quickly tied her hair back, not caring to put it as high as she usually did before looking in the bag to see food pills. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama. I'll be waiting at the village gate for them. I have to pack any supplies I can," she said.
"They'll be there. You'll only have about 24 hours, at most, before I need to remove that plate again. Any more could cause difficulties with removing it. This surgery hasn't been used since the war when we couldn't afford to let a broken limb stop any of our shinobi. Just keep the time in mind." Then the woman left the room and Hinata made sure to check her arsenal once more before moving for the window and jumping out. The surgery had taken as long as she expected and her body felt much better. She took a food pill just in case and felt more energy coursing through her body.
She hoped her arm would hold out. She wasn't expecting to fight, but she wouldn't run away from it if it came down to it. It was a last resort, however. She needed to follow her sensei's teachings seriously, even if she wanted nothing more than to fight.
When she arrived at the Hyuuga Compound, she went straight to her room to pack anything essential she might need. Shortly after arriving back in the village, she made a stop to the weapons shop and stocked up on arrows for her bows and she needed to add them to her storage seal wristband. She packed more medications and weapons should she need to fight.
"Hinata." It was her father.
"I apologize for leaving without permission, but something felt wrong and I needed to be sure without making a scene," she said, bowing deeply to him.
"I understand why you did it, but I cannot be lenient with you just because you are my child. When you return and your arm has properly healed, you will be required to limit your training to the Hyuuga Estate," he said.
"I understand. Will I…be able to go to the hospital to continue studying under Tsunade-sama? She accepted me as her student on our travels."
Hiashi wanted to laugh. "You seem to have a sort of gravitational pull, my daughter. Tsunade-sama, a Legendary Sannin, has accepted you as a student. She has not done that since she took in the niece of a late comrade. However, the Elders have pushed back on you taking up medical ninjutsu, and I am not sure they can be swayed."
Hinata smiled up at him. "I'm sure Tsunade-sama would love to speak with them," she assured him. She had not officially spoken to the Elders in a long while and she wanted to keep it that way. They had also not called upon her.
"Very well. Be safe on your mission. Aid your comrades well and rescue Sasuke," he said. At this, Hinata's eyes lowered. She was lying to her father, and she had completely forgotten. He seemed to sense her reluctance. "What is it?" He asked.
"I am just…very worried. I have faith in our abilities, but Orochimaru is extremely vile. He is willing to do anything to get Sasuke-san," she said, choosing not to tell her father that Sasuke had chosen to go. If they couldn't bring him back, then she knew the counsel would be told. Her father sat on the council as a Clan Head.
Mostly, she feared it would reignite the animosity between their clans. She would do whatever she could in her power to prevent what she could, but it was ultimately up to the Clan Heads—with the addition of the Hyuuga Elders. However, if she could convince her father not to alert them to Sasuke's status, they would be none the wiser.
"All will be well, Hinata. Sasuke will no doubt fight back when he can," Hiashi assured her. "You must hurry now."
Hinata snapped to and nodded her head before resuming her packing. "I will see you soon, father. Tell Hanabi I will see her when I return from my mission. There is no need for her to know of Sasuke-san," she said. She didn't want to worry her sister or have her wonder about the political implications.
"Don't worry about your sister." Then Hiashi took his leave, returning to his office to worry about the young Uchiha and his daughter. He doubted he would sleep at all until they returned safely.
Hinata finished packing and began making her way to the front gate of the village.
Choji had just delivered his final punch to his opponent's solar plexus with all the chakra he had in his body his fist. It caused a huge crater beneath his enemy's now lifeless body and the genin fell back with grunt, panting heavily as he tried to recover. He had to use his final food pill and he knew he didn't have much time left. He prayed to the gods that they could get Sasuke back home, that none of his other comrades got hurt, and that he would be the only casualty in this mission.
His eyes filled with tears as he thought about his parents, about how sad they were going to be without him. This thought gave him another surge of energy. He slowly turned over and shakily got to his feet. He could barely hear his panting over the sound of his pounding heart. He began stumbling in the direction his precious friends had gone, retrieving his forehead protector that had been beaten off of him on the way.
He gasped and let out a laugh at the message Kiba and Naruto had carved into the trees for him along with an arrow leading him to their next location. He had struggled with finding true friends his entire life until Shikamaru and then Naruto had come into his life. He was too soft and hated hurting others, and his father had assured him that the right people would come along.
"He's always right," he panted with a smile. Suddenly, he felt a tight squeeze in his heart, causing him to hunch over. He turned and slid his back down the tree. "I just…need to catch my breath and… I'll be right there." His voice was barely over a whisper, but it felt as though he had screamed it until his lungs couldn't stand it anymore. His eyes slowly slid closed as they rolled back.
"Hinata-sama, we're here to aid you!" Hinata turned to see three medics land in front of her Two women and a man. "Please use us as you see fit." It had only been a minute since she landed here in front of the gate and taken off her weights.
Hinata smiled and bowed. "Thank you for joining me. Please, we have to hurry." She activated her byakugan and took off into the nearby trees with her small team following her. She stretched her vision as far as it could go, which she recently learned was around eight miles. She wanted to continue training it, but there were too many things going on.
She scanned the forest and found the first battlefield. "I see two unmoving bodies just a few miles away straight ahead. I recognize one of them as Choji Akimichi. There are no others around," she stated. She focused on his chakra network and internal organs. "He still has a heartbeat, but it is very faint. We must hurry."
"Yes!"
Hinata put chakra to her feet and increased her speed dramatically. The medics could not keep up, and she trusted them to follow her diligently. She needed to get to Choji before his heart completely stopped. She could tell his chakra network had been pushed to its absolute limits and possibly beyond, and his body looked much smaller than it usually was. It concerned her. Hinata hoped she could do anything for him, but she suspected she would have to rush one of the medics back to the village with him.
It was only a few more minutes before she landed in front of him. He was unconscious. She put her hand on his chest and focused. His heart was skipping every other beat. It was growing weaker. She looked down when her knee hit something and saw his forehead protector. She put it in his pocket and put her hands on his chest to see what work needed to be done to his heart.
She gasped softly. The vessels around his heart were considerably weak. It was only possible through the use of an overabundance of chakra, more than his body could handle.
"He had to have taken something to achieve that. Oh, Choji," she mumbled. The team of medics landed behind her. "One of you will have to rush him back to the village. I'm afraid he doesn't have long. His chakra network and the vessels around his heart have been damaged due to too much chakra."
"I will go." The medic, the man, pulled out a scroll and sealed the young boy in it.
"Make sure to call on someone from the Nara Clan. They know secrets of the Akimichi Clan that may help," she said.
"Okay. Thank you, Hinata-sama." He turned around and took off back toward the village. And it was only then that Hinata decided to look around at the battlefield where the second body was. She moved his neck to the side and saw Orochimaru's curse mark on his neck.
"What is it?" One of the women asked, peeking over the girl's shoulder to get a look at the body.
"He has Orochimaru's curse mark." She took out an empty scroll and sealed his body in it. "We need to study it."
"This will help a lot."
"Yes. Tsunade-sama will be able to do a lot with this body. Let's continue."
Neji was now pinned to a tree with a thread that was connected to the arrow that had just gone through him and the tree. He had taken much damage with the seven kunai that had been in his back, the open wound that had gone through him just below his shoulder, just barely missing his heart, and a cut across the side of his head ending on his cheek. It had cut his forehead protector off completely, exposing his curse seal.
Neji managed to smirk as he grabbed the thread and sent his chakra to his formidable opponent. It was his last trick. After this, he needed to go for brash and ungraceful. He just needed to make sure his enemy was going to stay down.
When he felt his chakra make contact with the spider-like man, he quickly cut it and rushed for him. He was barely staying up and running dangerously low on his chakra. He thought of his father who was out of the village on a mission and hoped he didn't end up leaving his father all alone. He thought of Hinata, who he held so dearly, and who promised him she was going to change the way of the Hyuuga Clan with him. He couldn't let them down.
He caught up to his opponent in mid-air and proceeded to hit him with everything he had left, damaging the rest of his internal organs and shutting down his ability to use his chakra. They both fell to the ground, exhausted and panting. The curse seal on Orochimaru's pawn receded and he turned back into his normal human state—as normal as someone with six arms could get.
"How?" The man panted. "Why are you still alive? That arrow should've killed you."
"I let it hit me," Neji replied, out of breath. "I moved just in time to ensure it didn't hit any vital spots and sent my chakra through your thread, shutting off your body's access to most of your internal organs. I just needed to rush you to get the job done." Then he began coughing up blood.
The man laughed. "At least I'm taking you down with me, and Orochimaru-sama will have Sasuke-sama right next to him," he said with a smirk as he slowly sat up with blood coming out of the corners of his mouth.
"That idiot is just lost. Naruto will bring him back, and Orochimaru will have done this for nothing." If there was anything he had faith in, it was the bond of Team 7. They were going to do big things for the shinobi world, he was positive.
"Sasuke-sama will never—" Just then an arrow was shot through his throat, shocking both Neji and the man. Neji turned to see Hinata standing high up on a branch with a bow in her hand.
"Save your breath," she said with a steady and hard voice. She jumped down and rushed to Neji's side. "Brother!" Neji allowed himself to fall into her arms, the sound of the man choking on his own blood and gasping for air ignored.
"Hinata-sama, why are you…here?" He panted. She laid him down and checked over his wounds.
"You're badly injured," Hinata said, putting a hand to the wound in his side. As she pushed her chakra into his injuries, she checked on his internal organs. A punctured lung was the least of his worries. He needed to go in for surgery, something she had no experience in. "I underwent surgery to help hear my arm for some time. I came to assist in healing whatever I could."
Neji smiled up at her as the edges of his sight began going black and his vision blurred. "I'm so happy…I could see you. Tell my father—"
"You're not going to die! You've exhausted your chakra and will be passing out, but you will wake up," she said. With the conviction in her voice, he couldn't argue with her as his eyes slipped shut and everything disappeared into the darkness.
Hinata held back her emotions. As soon as the two remaining medics landed next to her, she turned to them with pleading eyes. "He needs immediate surgery! Please, take him back to Tsunade-sama."
One of the women sealed the boy and left after a single nod.
"We're getting closer to the enemies, so please stay behind me," she warned the remaining medic as she looked at the body of the dead Oto ninja. She didn't bother sealing him as one body should be enough—especially since she couldn't risk wasting any more time. It was her first time killing someone, but she didn't think it fully counted as he was already on the brink of death. She just wanted him to stop talking about things he didn't know.
"Yes, Hinata-sama." She looked around at the battlefield. "Your clansman fought well."
"Thank you. Neji is one of the strongest in the Hyuuga, a prodigy."
"As are you," the woman said.
Hinata smiled down at the ground. "No, I'm no prodigy. Neji-niisan is a true genius. I'm just lucky to have had amazing teachers in my life," she replied honestly. She turned to the woman. "Let's get going." They took off into the trees, Hinata's speed overwhelming the medic, but the older woman didn't mind staying a little behind as they were getting closer to an active battlefield.
The sky was beginning to lighten up just enough to be slightly noticeable, and that put her friends at an advantage, with Shikamaru's jutsu now being an asset. Hinata just hoped that he had worked on building his chakra reserves since the Chuunin Exams.
By the time the sun had come up, Shikamaru, Naruto, and Kiba had made their move against the Oto nin, managing to trick them and get Sasuke back. The Uchiha was still sealed within the box, but that worked in their favor as they needed him subdued long enough to make it back. They didn't stop and continued their trek back to the village.
"We're just lucky that we managed to catch them before they hit the Land of Fire borders," Shikamaru pointed out. "It would've been out of our hands since we have no official business in any of the other lands. It would've caused a lot of grief for our village."
"Well, we don't have to worry about that now," Kiba said. Just as they were passing a certain point, Akamaru joined their group. "Did you set the bombs?" He asked.
Akamaru barked.
"Good boy!" Kiba laughed.
"Good thing, because they're awfully fast," Naruto said, looking behind them to see their enemies right on their tail. A second later, right in Sakon's face, paper bombs began exploding causing tree after tree to fall to the ground. The group stopped to make sure their enemies were down.
Suddenly, Sakon jumped from the large cloud of smoke and used his wires to trap Akamaru against the trunk of the tree he was on.
"Akamaru!" Kiba exclaimed as he rushed for his partner. Akamaru was trapped right near a paper bomb that was timed to go off. Just as Kiba made it to his puppy and Sakon was rushing for them, the bomb went off, causing the three to go flying off a nearby cliff. Having no way to stop themselves and having to cradle an injured Akamaru in his arms, Kiba could only hope there was a large body of water to catch them.
"Where did they go?!" Naruto shouted.
"I can't see with all the smoke," Shikamaru replied, worried for his teammates.
"We have to find them. We can't just—"
Naruto was interrupted by Tayuya, the final enemy, heading toward them. "You're not going anywhere!"
"Damn it," Shikamaru cursed. "Naruto, you take Sasuke and go. I'll hold her off. You just make it back to the village and send any reinforcements."
Naruto wanted to argue, but he knew it was the smartest thing to do. Their mission was to retrieve Sasuke, and they had done just that. Now, they just had to bring him home. "Fine. But I'll be back for you and everyone else."
Just as Naruto was about to pick the box back up and leave, Tayuya abruptly stopped. "What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice full of shock. It was only then that they realized the box was gone and now with another man on another branch.
"It was decided that too much time was being wasted, and I was sent to retrieve you. What of our other comrades?" The man said. He was sickly pale with jade eyes, which Naruto likened to Sakura's, and two red dots on his forehead just above his eyebrows.
"Your body can't handle something like this, Kimimaro," Tayuya said worriedly. "You should…already be dead."
"I'm moving with pure will now. I must see to it that this boy makes it to Orochimaru-sama. He will become an important vessel to him, and it seemed you four were dragging your feet. You've been gone too long, Tayuya."
Naruto glared. "How is that snake anyway? Still in pain?" He asked. "He's completely useless without the use of his arms, getting his ass handed to him by Tsunade and such."
Then man's eyes turned to him. "Such crass words from a child." He ran his hand gently along the box, disgusting Naruto with the nature of it. "This boy's flesh is very important to Orochimaru-sama. It belongs to him."
"Ugh, I swear that guy is so sickening," Naruto huffed. "I don't care what your boss wants. Sasuke is a person, not a thing, and I'm not letting you take him!"
"Tayuya, I'm leaving these pieces of garbage to you. They are the only reason I haven't killed you yet," he said. "Take care of them."
Both chuunin were shocked at the way he would talk to someone who was considered a comrade and knew how dangerous he was. If he didn't care for the lives of his comrades, the Konoha nin certainly meant nothing to him. Before Tayuya could say anything, Kimimaro took his box and was sprinting toward Otogakure.
Shikamaru sighed. "Listen, Naruto, I have a plan," he mumbled quietly.
Naruto smirked.
Hinata was rushing toward the current fight in front of her, Shikamaru versus a woman, and it was becoming very dangerous for her friend. She had been watching the whole fight as she and her remaining medic got closer and closer. It had been a very brutal fight until then, but Shikamaru had proved why he was considered the smartest in their graduating class. The woman was putting up an excellent fight, especially after catching him in a genjutsu. She began panicking until she saw him release himself using pain and wanted to laugh when the woman got careless and went closer to attack, letting Shikamaru capture her in his shadow once again.
Now, they were at a standstill, shaking with exertion as they tried to overpower one another. She was also keeping an eye on Kiba's fight. She wished to help him as well, but he was further away in the opposite to the west and she didn't have time. She had faith he and Akamaru would win their fight.
Naruto had caught up to Kimimaro just after he had stopped in the middle of a wide clearing. In the back of his mind, he thought about how much his parents would enjoy the area before ignoring it and focusing fully on his opponent.
"Why stop?" Naruto asked.
The man stared at Naruto for a moment. "I was going to wait for Tayuya to finish you two off before I killed her," he explained simply. It shocked Naruto how nonchalantly he was talking about killing one of his own partners.
"Yeah, you definitely work for Orochimaru," he replied with a snarl.
"Orochimaru-sama and I share the same ideals. From the beginning, I was destined to do great things for him."
Naruto couldn't help but roll his eyes. "I don't know how to easily break this to you, so I'm just gonna say it. Buddy, that's called Stockholm Syndrome. You're a victim."
Kimimaro's eyes went wide. "A victim? Orochimaru-sama gave me a purpose. Now that I am no longer of use to him, it is my duty to give my life for those who still are, such as this boy here," he said, nodding to the box. "Your friend is very important. There are big plans for him."
"None of this is helping your case. What does he want with Sasuke? He marked him. Why?"
"He is to be Orochimaru's next vessel. He has achieved immortality, but his body still ages like a regular human."
"So he has to jump ship, sacrificing others for himself. How noble," Naruto scoffed sarcastically. "You were gonna let him use your body? That's kinda sick." The very thought made Naruto shiver, but also strangely curious about how it was done. Part of him wanted to ask, but he didn't think Kimimaro was the type to talk about it.
"It was going to be my honor."
"You…mentioned that your body was running on fumes."
"That's right. But I still have enough life left to take you down. Besides, it won't be long now before this boy emerges, and I just have to keep you preoccupied until he gets away."
"What makes you think Sasuke will go to him so willingly, especially seeing how many of us are willing to fight for him?" Naruto was beginning to get angry. This man didn't know a single thing about Sasuke, but he was speaking as though they were old friends.
Kimimaro surprised him by laughing. "Are all Konoha shinobi like you? Believing that the power of friendship is enough?"
Naruto's eyes began turning red, his nails growing into claws, his teeth sharpening, and his hair becoming more disheveled. Sasuke had thrown those words in this face yesterday when they fought on the rooftop. "I'm getting real tired of hearing that," he growled.
"Oh, so it is something unique to Konoha. That's precious."
Naruto widened his stance and put his hands up in his favorite hand seal. "I have no problem kicking a dying man's ass." Kimimaro waited for Naruto's next move.
With a surge of chakra and a large cloud of smoke, he suddenly found himself surrounded by hundreds of Naruto's. Then he paid close attention to his appearance. "I see. Your chakra is different now. You're not a regular child."
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" He exclaimed before sending a few clones to bombard his enemy. He couldn't just recklessly rush in. He needed to think of strategies that would keep the man on his toes, especially since nothing was known about him.
Naruto was further shocked with white blade-looking objects began protruding from the man's body, killing his clones with ease. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was his bones. "Are those your bones?!" He watched with disgust as Kimimaro shrugged off one of his shirt sleeves and pulled out his entire arm bone. It tore through his skin with a sickening rip and squish. "Ew! I don't need a demonstration! But does it…hurt?"
Kimimaro shook his head. "I've gotten used to it."
"So it used to?" The man nodded. "I don't think I could ever get used to that."
"It is the kekkei genkai of my clan. The Kaguya Clan, of which I am the sole remaining survivor," he explained.
Suddenly, it all clicked in Naruto's head. "Oh, I get it. Orochimaru took you in for that power. He wanted your body to have that power, just like he wants Sasuke's so he can have the Sharingan, and just like he wants the Byakugan as well."
Kimimaro gave him a flat look. "You're not very bright, are you? You're only just realizing that?"
Naruto growled. "Shut up, and just fight!" He sent a few more clones, waiting and watching to see the extent of his abilities. And if the man happened to die amid battle, then even better. But it wasn't long before smoke began emerging from the box Sasuke was in.
"It looks like my job is almost finished."
Naruto cursed and began sending more clones, but they continued being killed, frustrating him.
Hinata was nearing Shikamaru's location when, from behind, another person was catching up. She focused in and saw Rock Lee and stopped to let him catch up.
"What's the matter?" The medic asked.
"A friend is coming," she answered. A few minutes later, the boy landed on the branch near them. "Lee-san, you're supposed to be resting."
"Hinata-chan! I'm here to help. After hearing about the surgery you were going to endure to be here, I knew I had to push through any pain as well," he exclaimed. "I originally left before you did, but I got lost. I found my way when I began hearing loud explosions. You're very fast!"
"Thank you. Actually, this is perfect. I think your taijutsu can help Naruto. You should come to a large clearing if you go in that direction. Please, help Naruto fight. I will be right behind you after helping Shikamaru," she explained. She had seen the fighting skills of Naruto's opponent when they came into range and knew he was a taijutsu specialist in how he moved.
"I will help Naruto at once!" He gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up before heading in the direction she pointed to.
"Thank you!" She called after him. "Let's continue. We'll be arriving soon, so please stay out of sight until it's safe."
The woman nodded, feeling slightly strange about a kid protecting her, and even being strong enough to protect her. She used to feel inferior until she understood that she could also do things they could not. "Yes, Hinata-sama." She slowed down, staying just a bit behind the Hyuuga as they got closer and closer. Close enough to hear the occasional loud grunt echoing out.
By the time all of his clones had been taken out, the box's seals had been blown off from all the smoke billowing out. Kimimaro took notice of this and smirked.
"Looks like it's time," he said, keeping his eyes on Naruto as the box exploded, shocking the Uzumaki.
"Sasuke!" He called out. All he could think about was having to go back to his father and explain that Sasuke had exploded in the box he had been put into.
After the smoke cleared, there Sasuke stood in a small ditch the explosion had caused. However, he looked different. Naruto could see the outline of very long hair. When the field cleared fully, he could see a pale dark blue hair sprouting from Sasuke's head and his skin a grayish sickly color. Then, suddenly, the gray disappeared back into his shoulder as his hair went back to its normal color and length.
"S—Sasuke, are you…? Hey, let's go back home. Your family and Hinata are waiting for you," he said lightly. Sasuke didn't answer, choosing to stare down at his hands before letting out a chuckle. "Sasuke, hey! Let's get back to the village!"
Kimimaro watched the interaction with interest. The fight in his opponent had left once he had seen his friend was okay, albeit different. It was easy for him to see that Naruto was shaken by how Sasuke was acting. Even more so when he broke out into a full laugh.
"So you really did leave on your own," Naruto said. Then his gaze turned hard. "You're pathetic, Sasuke. Losing yourself in power just like your brother! You want to bring him back so bad that you're willing to turn into him?!" He yelled angrily.
The Kaguya listened with interest. He had heard from his master that Itachi Uchiha had defected from his village years ago and briefly worked together when Orochimaru was still in the Akatsuki. To know Sasuke's goal was to bring his brother back to Konoha was interesting. He was willing to go so far for his brother, only to end up having his body taken. It had been different when Kimimaro had been the sole survivor. He had no one, but Sasuke had his family and someone named Hinata.
What was his reason? He certainly couldn't defeat Orochimaru and Kabuto.
Still saying nothing and without a single glance back, Sasuke took off into the trees and Naruto was instantly chasing after him. Kimimaro, however, had anticipated his movements and was behind him in a second, ready to strike.
Before he could make contact, he was swiftly kicked away by someone. When he steadied himself, he focused on the newcomer.
"Who are you?"
"Lee!" Naruto exclaimed. "What are you—? How did you find us?"
"Hinata-chan gave me directions. She wanted me to tell you she would be right behind you after helping Shikamaru!" He said, keeping his eyes on Kimimaro.
"She's here, too?" He asked, looking back in the direction Lee had come from. "What about…?"
"She's perfectly fine," he assured the blonde. "You must hurry after Sasuke! I'll hold this one off."
Naruto gave Lee and pat on the back. "This guy uses his bones to fight, so be careful. It's kinda gross but kinda cool." With that, Naruto was off. Moving quickly, Kimimaro struck him in the back with his blade but was shocked when it turned out to be a clone, with the real Naruto already disappearing into the trees. He realized the Uzumaki had switched places with a clone when he had been knocked back and used it as a shield to continue going after Sasuke.
"He's smarter than I gave him credit for," he admitted. He turned back to Lee and prepared to fight.
Shikamaru was losing his grip on the enemy, his chakra reserves being at their end. He had improved much since the exams, but Hinata knew their enemies had help from Orochimaru's curse mark. She unsealed the gauntlets from her right wrist and quickly put them on.
"Stay back," she kindly told the medic. She put chakra into her feet and zipped through the last bit of trees with great speed before Shikamaru and the women came into view. She pulled her fist back and hoped Shikamaru would release his jutsu in time. When she was close enough, she threw her fist forward with a grunt, briefly feeling a wave of relief when Shikamaru noticed her in time and sent her chakra out exactly when she made contact with the woman's shoulder.
Shikamaru could barely hide his shock when Tayuya's arm blew completely off, spraying him and the branch they were standing on with blood. The Oto nin let out a shrill scream as she was blown back by the force of the hit.
"Hinata," Shikamaru said with relief, panting and dripping with sweat. He glanced down briefly at her gauntlets before she sealed them back.
"I would've been here earlier, but I had to stop to give Lee-san directions to Naruto," she said apologetically.
"I'm just glad to see you." He barely flinched when the Hyuuga moved her foot back and Tayuya's arm fell down into the forest.
"You bitch!" The enemy shrieked.
"Unfortunately, I cannot use that kind of attack often. I haven't figured out how to release my chakra correctly without draining my reserves quickly. I'd been aiming for her head, too, but she moved in time," she explained to her friend, completely ignoring the string of profanities that were being thrown her way. "But I can still use this." She released the seal on her left wrist, taking out her bow and an arrow.
"You…sure picked up a lot while you were gone, huh?" Shikamaru said with a chuckle.
Hinata smiled and aimed it at the enemy. "I saw her using a flute with my byakugan. I'm glad to have taken one of her arms out."
"You think you can hit me with a simple arrow?!" Tayuya lashed out, pulling out her flute. Hinata released the arrow just as the Oto nin played a simple tune with her single hand. The arrow began to struggle the closer it got to her, causing it to become off-center. Slowly, the sound waves made their way toward the two chuunin.
"Man, I already broke a finger to get out of the genjutsu the first time," he complained.
"You won't have to worry. Reinforcements are here," Hinata assured him just before a small tornado-like gust of wind hit the Oto nin and sent her flying further away. Beside them, Temari landed with a smirk.
"Looks like Konoha found its way to trouble once again," Temari laughed.
Hinata smiled at the girl. "Thank you, Temari-san. I see Gaara-san with Lee-san and Kankuro-san with Kiba."
"No need to be so formal. Your Hokage sent word for us earlier last night, and we figured we owe you after everything that happened," she admitted. She looked back at Shikamaru. "Are you about ready to give up again?"
Shikamaru sighed. "How troublesome." Then he turned to Hinata. "You should get going. We'll take it from here."
Hinata nodded. "Thank you. You should know, that I found Choji and Neji and I sent them back to the village with a medic. There is one more medic just a quarter of a mile back that way. She can heal you and lead you to Kiba," she explained.
"I want to ask how they're doing, but I wouldn't be able to focus. So I'll just say thanks, for helping them and also saving my life," he said sincerely. "I'll take you out soon, to pay you back."
"I'll be looking forward to it."
"Travel low," Temari warned. "My next jutsu is going to be high and deadly." Hinata thanked her and dropped down before heading toward Rock Lee and Gaara. Temari watched as Shikamaru watched his friend leave for a moment before turning back to his enemy, who now seemed to be hiding. "You are so easy to read, lover boy."
Shikamaru groaned. "Just focus on the fight."
She huffed out a laugh. "I'm not the one staring longingly after someone else." She pulled her fan closer and dropped one side of it so all three purple dots were revealed. "So, bring me up to speed on her specialty."
Hinata rushed, gasping when loud thunderous sounds rang out around her, and the ground shook, she looked back to see clear skies behind and above her, no doubt thanks to Temari's large fan. She smirked to herself, positive that Tayuya couldn't have survived that, and continued. She hoped that Gaara and Lee weren't having too much trouble. She had to deactivate her byakugan when her eyes began stinging. She also needed to reserve any chakra she could.
When she rushed out into the clearing, she was shocked to see large white spikes sticking out of the ground. They were large and looked similar to the forest she had just jumped out of. She couldn't make sense of what they were, but she jumped up, bouncing back and forth between them until she reached the top.
"No!" She cried out when she saw Gaara and Lee hovering above the spikes on patches of sand with the enemy appearing behind them, out of one of the white spikes. Gaara and Lee turned around at the sound of her voice and recoiled when they saw Kimimaro lunging toward them, but he had also been distracted by the new voice. Suddenly, before he could make contact, two senbon needles found their way into his neck and he slumped forward.
Hinata rushed over but found herself slipping. Gaara held out a hand and she caught it before she could fall. He pulled her up and she thanked him before observing the enemy. His dark skin had gone pale, but his weapon had stayed attached to his arm.
"Hinata-chan! I'm relieved to see you're okay," Lee said with a grin before turning to Kimimaro with a solemn look. "What happened to him?"
"It's senbon needle. It put him in a state of suspended death. I've only seen this once before," Hinata explained. She looked in the direction it had come from and activated her byakugan to see Haku approaching. "Haku-chan!"
"Haku?" Lee said, following her eyes. He waved wildly. "Haku! Thank you for saving us!"
When Haku landed on Lee's sand slab, he smiled. "No worries. I was in the area."
"I'm so sorry, I completely forgot about your previous letter explaining that you were making your way here," Hinata admitted. "But we're so thankful." She bowed deeply and Lee immediately followed her lead. "I'm only shocked you didn't kill him."
"I heard him talking about that Orochimaru guy and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. The brainwashing that was done to him…" Haku looked closely at the man and tilted his head. "He looks…very familiar, but I can't place him."
"It'll be good to get him back to the village. He should be seen by Tsunade-sama, because I got a look at his vital and chakra network earlier and it was very unstable and dwindling, as though he was on the verge of death."
"He mentioned he was dying. But he's extremely dangerous," Lee argued.
"The senbon can stay in long enough to be worked on to an extent, so that won't be an issue," Haku assured them. "What's going on anyway?"
"Sasuke has run away from the village and we're trying to chase him down," the taijutsu expert said sadly.
Haku immediately turned to Hinata and held her hands. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. You must be so worried," he spoke dolefully.
"I'll be okay. Naruto is chasing after him now, but I need to follow him." She looked up at Kimimaro's suspended body. "He needs to live, no matter what. We have to know what he knows about Orochimaru and his future plans."
"Leave it to us," Haku said, urging her.
Hinata turned to Gaara and bowed. "Thank you so much for coming to help, Gaara-san. Red looks lovely on you," she complimented. She gave them all one last smile before turning toward the direction of Naruto and Sasuke and jumping away through the spikes.
"I am still surprised to see you here, Gaara," Lee voiced softly. They watched as Haku dug the man out of his own bone.
"I am indebted to Konoha, especially Team 7," he admitted, finally speaking.
Haku laughed. "They've coined the name Team Harmony, so I'm not surprised they've helped you." Neglecting to mention that he had named them. He'd spent the months he was away soul searching slowly spreading the word of a young group of powerful nin who sought peace.
Gaara tilted his head in thought before allowing himself to smile just a fraction. "Yes, I think Team Harmony is much more fitting."
Hi! We hope y'all enjoyed this chapter :) When I was first writing this, I really struggled with the layout but I think it came out pretty decent all things considered! I knew I didn't want to completely write out the fight scenes that everyone knew. Hope that didn't bother anyone. I was really fascinated with having Kimimaro live and this is gonna change quite a few things in part two!
For the guest commenter who asked how many parts this series will be, I'm pretty positive it will be two main parts (this one and what will cover Shippuden), a part that will take place during the time skip which will deal with more politics and Hinata setting herself up to be indispensable to higher-ups, and one more which will act as a one-shot for all those who like Itahina in this universe! I hope all of you will stick around for these parts :) No matter how long it takes.
-hina
NEXT UPDATE: 05/04/24