Sorry for the lack of updates on this story. I have just finished my semester finals and was relaxing a bit since that. So here's the next installment of this wonderful story.
It was after a lot of efforts when the fainted awoke and Naruto finally re-entered the world after a total shutdown. Blake was blushing hard, this book was going out of bounds quick.
Shion was only amused, alongside Koyuki, seeing the hunters faint at such a sight. They had to deal with such stuff all the time. For Shion, it was due to her being a priestess that she had seen various types of rituals. For Koyuki, it was during her time as a full time actress.
" Come on, let's start already." Danial told them as he began to chow down on his burgers.
Rice Country, Southern Regions
Early in the morning the Konoha forces were marshalling and organizing into five battalions broken down from the two divisions. Jiraiya and Shikaku had put the finishing touches on their plans the night before. "Weather predicts we're going to be dealing with heavy storms this afternoon." said Shikaku.
" Why are they talking about the weather ?" Ruby asked Minato.
" The weather can really help a ninja, or anyone for that matter. For example, on a rainy day, a water natured ninja can easily defeat others due to high presence of water. Mud can be used to cover scents, along with rain." Minato explained to the red hooded girl, " Get the idea ?"
Seeing the girl nod, Minato smiled.
"We have about six hours of leeway to push forward before the storm front hits."
"Let's make it count then." said Jiraiya. He soon gave the order to move out and the five Konoha battalions moved rapidly towards their points of attack. To the Oto forces under Jirōbō's command the formations seemed random until the Konoha forces started charging through weak points in the Oto lines that there was no way to reinforce due to terrain or sheer distance. The breaches in the line were becoming overwhelming and the last remaining member of the Sound Four quickly called for reinforcements over the radio….
….All he heard was static.
The frontline Oto forces were in total disarray and within the hour and isolated groups were being crushed by pincer movements on Jiraiya's orders. The well fortified areas that were the linchpins to Rice Country's defenses were being completely bypassed and then flanked. "How could this have happened?" cried out Jirōbō. "How could they know all of our weaknesses? This situation is hopeless. Order the men to fall back!" ordered the large Mohawk wearing boy.
" That's one weird looking guy." Jaune commented.
" Well, he did have the ability to siphon off chakra." Naruto commented, " It was Choji who defeated him."
That's when Gamabunta crashed into the main Oto stronghold from behind. Jirōbō's eyes grew huge as Jiraiya called out, "Bunta; give me oil! Toad Oil Bullet!" The last member of the Sound Four tried to transform into his cursed seal state only to be drenched with toad oil.
Most of the girls turned green at the thought of being drenched in some amphibians oil. " I know where this is going." Minato said, as he had seen his sensei use this tactic multiple times.
Glynda only raised an eyebrow at that.
As Jirōbō wiped the sticky oil out of his eyes he saw Jiraiya complete some hand signs and cry out, "Great Fireball jutsu!"
Jirōbō didn't have time to scream as the conflagration burned him and his forces alive.
Every inexperienced hunter turned green on seeing someone being burned alive instantly. Jaune was thanking Oum that he wasn't born in Elemental Nations sicne he would have been eaten alive.
For the remaining Oto forces this was an apocalypse. Their spirits broke seeing their main fortress get consumed in a pillar of flame and they began to route in terror. By not retreating in an organized manner they were wide open to being picked off by every jutsu and projectile available to the Konoha forces. It was a colossal military disaster due to Tayuya's plans being in Konoha's hands.
" Sort of glad she chose to betray snake man." Ruby commented, still a bit green and hiding under her cape.
By the time the heavy storms came rushing in that afternoon the first three lines of Oto's defenses were completely overrun and the remaining Oto troops were in a disorganized state that only made matters worse. Many simply ran away blindly.
Jiraiya had his troops hold their ground when the hail started coming down. The Konoha forces started using barrier jutsus to protect themselves while the remaining Oto forces in the area basically ran for their lives….
Everyone from Remnant were looking at Jiraiya in a new light.
Oto Village
As the storms were blowing over the Konoha forces to the south, Orochimaru and the core of his elite forces were retreating to the north. Kabuto reported in to his Master. "Orochimaru-sama; we've finished moving out the research supplies that are movable. Shall we plant explosives to destroy the rest?"
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed, "No, we no longer have the manpower thanks to Tayuya betraying us. It would take too much time. If we move out before this storm completely overtakes us so our elite forces will still be intact. Just leave the rest behind." The Snake pondered for a moment and then nodded to himself. "I know Jiraiya. When he arrives here at this village he'll feel obligated to take care of all the prisoners we're leaving behind like the Fuma Clan. The idiot will be so bogged down in charity work that the Konoha offensive will grind to a halt. I have no doubt that will be the best delaying tactic we could use against him and Sarutobi-sensei. It's time to leave this place Kabuto."
" So he's using the prisoners as a way to escape easily." Glynda commented.
Kushina nodded. " That tactic has been used quite often in war times when we needed to leave an outpost."
"As you command Orochimaru-sama." said the glasses wearing nin. 'If all goes according to plan we'll have completely vanished by this time tomorrow and Jiraiya-sama won't be any wiser.'
….
Konoha Command Tent
"We've had and unbelievable victory this day!" crowed Inuzuka Tsume. "Our casualties have been minimal and the enemy has been scattered. If it wasn't for this damn storm we would have gotten even more of them!"
As boisterous as the troops generally were; transporting Konoha's wounded back and moving supplies was difficult given how much territory the Konoha forces had taken. The supply lines were a bit thin and the rain and hail was no help. Shikaku was looking over their maps to try and predict what the Oto forces would do once the storm broke. "Jiraiya-sama, our scouts saw no forces coming from Oto Village to reinforce the defenses we overran." said the Nara strategist. "You know Orochimaru better than anyone. What is he doing?"
Jiraiya looked over the maps carefully and said, "Unless I miss my guess, the Snake is going to withdraw entirely under the cover of this storm and avoid an open confrontation. He knows he can't win and sacrificed his front lines to buy time….Even if we run flat out towards Oto Village there is no way we can catch him if he's pulled out like I suspect.
" So he also sacrifices his forces to escape, how despicable." Glynda spoke calmly, not liking how the Snake summoner used his own men to escape.
Let's focus on resupplying and taking care of our wounded for now. We've come too far to risk walking into a trap." 'Damn you Orochimaru; you always were a slippery snake….'
The Konoha forces settled in for the night. After a long day of fighting they needed to recover. With the storm raging over them there was little else they could do….
….
Fire Country, Konoha, Naruto's Apartment
Naruto was up bright and early and found Blake was already up washing his sheets in a rather frantic manner. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Ummm, Blake-chan; why are you washing my sheets?"
Both Blake and Naruto blush at the dream the cat faunus had.
Blake blushed bright red. "No particular reason. I-I thought you might want them washed since I slept there."
Naruto waved his hand in the negative. "You didn't need to worry; all of you girls smell nice to me."
Naruto, at this blushed so deep red that even a tomato would get jealous.
Blake blushed a bit more and Naruto said, "I'll fix us some breakfast. What would you like to eat?"
Blake was about to answer when they heard a knock on Naruto's door. "Hold that thought. I'll get it." said the blonde. Naruto opened the door and saw it was Hinata who was blushing prettily. Naruto smiled, "Good morning Hinata-chan!" he said brightly.
Hinata smiled and said, "Good morning Naruto-kun…." Then she gently cupped his cheeks and gave him a passionate kiss.
Ruby and Jaune blushed at the affection that was being shown. Naruto, on the other hand, was a bit jealous that his other got love early on in his life.
When she pulled away the heiress said, "That was for busting up Neji like he deserved."
Naruto had a bit of steam coming out of his ears and he smiled dreamily.
Blake had steam coming out of her ears for entirely different reasons. 'Maybe I should put a lip lock on him and continue where we left off last night.'
Blake and Naruto blushed deeply again, while Jaune was jealous of Naruto. Seriously, the guy had all the luck.
Blake sauntered up and said, "Well, if it isn't Hinata-chan. What brings you by so early?"
Hinata raised an eyebrow and noticed Blake's faunus ears were proudly on display. "I might ask you the same thing Blake-chan." said Hinata darkly.
Blake smiled evilly. "I spent the night here last night with Naruto-kun." 'Top that fire starter. He's mine!'
The Byakugan Princes looked panicked but then frowned angrily. She ground out, "Is that so?" through gnashed teeth. 'I'll roast your cat ass. He's mine!'
" I can sense a cat fight coming up." Yang quipped, causing Blake to glare at the blonde bombshell.
Naruto chuckled unaware a war was literally at his doorstep. Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, Blake-chan got marooned here last night in the hailstorm. I had to use the spare bedroom so she could sleep here. It was a heck of a storm, don't you think?"
Hinata's eyes were filled with mirth and she smiled smugly at Blake. "I see; I'll have to crash over here sometime too."
Hinata smiled, remembering the times she would stay overnight with Naruto before their marriage.
Blake's ears drooped slightly and she thought, 'Curses! Naruto-kun is just too honest for his own good.'
" Trust me, I had to save his life many times." Satsuki spoke out, causing Naruto to blush.
Naruto invited Hinata in to have breakfast with them and the two girls sat down at the kitchen table in a silent war while Naruto went through the cabinets to see what he had to fix for breakfast. "So your ears are out." said Hinata.
"Naruto-kun says my ears are kawaii." said Blake haughtily.
Hinata narrowed her eyes and was about to retort when Kakashi suddenly appeared in a swirl of leaves in the front room which startled all three genins. He looked serious and said. "Good, you are all here. There was an attack at the Yamanaka Flower Shop late last night. Gear up." All three genins looked panicked. He turned to Hinata and asked, "Are you free? I could use your byakugan to help in this investigation." Hinata nodded looking a concerned.
Naruto asked, "Who attacked them? Are Pyrrha-chan and Ino okay? Were they hurt?"
Kakashi said, "I'll tell you when we get there. Pyrrha and Ino are fine. No one was hurt too much; just frightened."
" Thank Kami she wasn't hurt." Kushina spoke out loud. " Thanks to Pyrrha." She added on, causing the girl to blush.
Within a few minutes Naruto and Blake were in their combat gear. (Hinata was already in hers). "Let's move out." said Kakashi as he led the three genins over the damp rooftops towards the Yamanaka Flower Shop….
….
Northern Fire Country, the Valley of the End
Sakura sat down in the shadows of the valley and lit a campfire to cook herself a meal. She was exhausted and low on chakra from running last night. 'Poor Ino-chan; trapped in that wretched village. My rescue mission was a failure but at least I managed to make contact. Heeheehee. Ino-chan is smart. She'll come to us on her own.' Sakura yawned. "I'm still tired from using the sharingan."
" Naruto got angry at the fact that this Sakura was using Obito's eye, which was given to Kakashi.
Glynda raised an eye at hearing the name of the dojutsu.
she thought aloud. "It looks like I'll have to go completely around the Konoha forces north of here and join Sasuke-kun and Karin in Orochimaru-sama's northernmost base." She smiled insanely. 'Since I have a sharingan now I can teach our future children how to use theirs.'
Naruto paled on seeing the insane look Sakura had. It was way creepier than what Sasuke had when they were fighting at the Valley of the End.
Sakura's face suddenly took and angry appearance. 'I can't believe I lost my sword to Pyrrha. She's trying to take Ino-chan away from me! Worse still, Pyrrha is strong as hell. Taking out that bitch is going to be a problem.' Her thoughts turned back to her new living arrangements with Sasuke. 'That Karin girl is a pain in the ass but I can share for the future of the Uchiha Clan. It's a shame the sex is so bad.
Yang and Nora began to chuckle, while most of the hunters turned red.
He's so….small. I was practically bored the last time Sasuke-kun shot his load in me. It's got to get better.' She brooded for a while in silence.
Both Nora and Yang were laughing like crazy, while both Ren and Jaune pitied the guy.
Then Sakura's face morphed back into a crooked smile. 'Everything is going to work out. Sasuke-kun will get better with practice and Karin and I will soon be joined by Ino-chan. I wonder what other girls will be in Sasuke-kun's harem. I can't wait to have kids!' The pink haired girl soon was eating in silence wondering how big the new Uchiha Clan would become….
….
Konoha, Yamanaka Residence
Pyrrha was sitting on alert in the kitchen as she finished writing her report of what had happened last night. Kakashi told her and Ino to write down everything while it was still fresh.
Pyrrha bristled at that. Seeing her other fight such an insane person was scary and wondered if this was what the people in Elemental Nations had to face at times.
Ayano was sitting in the kitchen with the two girls waiting for Kakashi to return. She was still a bit nerve wracked from the night before. They heard Kakashi knock on the door and Pyrrha opened it. She was glad to see her team and Hinata.
Naruto shot in front and said, "Are you alright Pyrrha-chan?"
Pyrrha smiled at Naruto's concern and said, "We're all unhurt but shaken up Naruto-kun."
Kakashi said, "I had Naruto send out some shadow clones to find Choji and Shikamaru. Asuma is already on his way Ino."
Ino sighed in relief and said, "Thank you Kakashi-sensei."
"What exactly happened last night?" asked Hinata. Blake was nodding in agreement wanting to know as well.
Ino shuddered. "Sakura…."
Naruto's eyes widened. "What about Sakura-chan?"
Pyrrha put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "She's joined Sasuke. She's an enemy now. She murdered her parents and tried to get Ino to join her. She wanted Ino to murder her Mother Ayano."
" Hard to believe when the most useless ninja does that." Danial coined his own thoughts to the group, most of which chuckled.
Both Naruto and Hinata were shocked. "The Sakura I knew was nothing like that…." said Hinata in disbelief.
Pyrrha said, "She now has Kakashi-sensei's sharingan. She seemed proud that Kakashi-sensei was dead -or at least she believes he is."
"Sakura is totally insane!" blurted out Ino as she broke into tears. "She claimed that she murdered Kizashi and Mebuki to prove her love for Sasuke! Sakura was proud of it! She used a genjutsu on Mama and tried to the same with me….Even worse she had one of those awful curse marks like Sasuke. She wants me to join her and Sasuke. She says Sasuke needs more wives to rebuild his clan. Sakura was so twisted and evil. It was unbearable."
Everyone frowned at how shaken up Ino was. It was obvious to them that in her prospective, she had been betrayed by her best friend. And given the fact that she lived most of her life, she had been treated like a princess. Even if she went on missions, it was mostly low ranked ones.
Naruto sat down looking shocked. "So she joined Orochimaru and Sasuke willingly. Now she's trying to kidnap Ino…." He looked at Kakashi. "Sakura is declared a missing nin now isn't she?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi nodded grimly. "She is considered a C to B-ranked missing nin officially. We have to assess her skills from Pyrrha-chan and Ino's reports."
Naruto turned to Ino. "We will protect you and your Mom Ino; all of us."
" Oh, I am so proud of my baby boy." Kushina cooed at how supportive Naruto was being.
" Ka-chan…" Naruto smiled, blushing a bit at how he was being coddled by his mom, even though he had recently fought a ninja who could cut the moon in half.
Ino hugged Naruto with watery eyes and said. "Thank you knucklehead." Naruto just patted her shoulders awkwardly….
….
Rice Country, Konoha Command Tent
"Our scouts report virtually zero activity out there." said Akimichi Choza as he pointed to a western portion of the map of Rice Country. "The fortress there has been abandoned entirely and we can alleviate some of our supply issues by emptying it out."
"What about the Fortress itself?" asked Yamanaka Inoichi. "Is it any use to us? It's too remote to use as a hospital or a staging point."
Ruby nodded at the fact that they were using an abandoned area. She had played some multiplayer games with her sister, in which they usually targeted abandoned areas first to get a strategic locations. That reminded her that they should have a game night. Like play Mortal Kombat or such.
" Hey Danial, can we have a game night?" She asked the being that brought them here.
" Sure why not." Ruby got all giddy at that.
"From the looks of it the base was set up to defend against an invasion from Hot Springs Country." said Shikaku." I think it's safe to clean it out and bypass it. Our demolition squads have enough to do without blowing up random empty outposts."
Jiraiya nodded in agreement. "If the already abandoned the place we'll leave it alone for now. Under the cover of that storm Orochimaru probably is marshaling his forces at Oto Village proper -If he's planning to make a stand that is."
"You sound doubtful Jiraiya-sama." said Choza.
"I'd lay odds we will meet only a token resistance at Oto Village." said the Toad Sage. "We haven't seen any major snake summons since we first crossed the border. I think Orochimaru has already moved on to greener pastures."
….
Fire Country, Konoha, Yamanaka Residence
Asuma soon arrived along with Choji and Shikamaru right behind him. The news about Sakura shocked both boys and they were very concerned for Ino's safety.
Weiss was also concerned for the Yamanaka, since she felt as if they were quite similar in a way. ( Epic Foreshadowing )
The genin group was gathered in the main room of the Yamanaka home. They were playing cards together to pass the time and lighten the mood a bit.
Shikamaru had his fingers steeped in front of him. "What doesn't make sense to me is how Sakura gained the chakra capacity necessary to actually use a sharingan for even a short period of time. Kakashi-sensei was very limited in its use from what Naruto has said and he's a full jonin." Then he looked at his cards and said, "I'll take two."
Naruto nodded and dealt Shikamaru two cards. "She also never had any affinity for any sort of sword before either. Besides, Pyrrha-chan is a superb sword wielder. For Sakura to even be able to push Pyrrha-chan a bit seems unbelievable."
"Sakura also never knew any earth jutsus to my knowledge. She must have learned the headhunter jutsu from Orochimaru." said Hinata. "I fold."
Ino shook her head. "She not only has a different set of abilities but her personality is completely different. I'll take one."
"The smile and look on her face were ones of madness." said Pyrrha. "She has undergone something horrific to have changed that much. Other than her obsession with Uchiha Sasuke nothing else matches from the Sakura I was aquatinted with." The redhead paused. "I'll take one card also Naruto-kun."
"Could it be a side effect of the curse mark?" asked Blake. "Anko nee-chan says the curse mark tries to corrupt your mind. I didn't get to know Sakura all that well but she didn't seem very strong willed to me."
" One thing about Sakura is that in most universes, she isn't strong willed, often relying on her teammates to get things done with her." Danial told the group.
"I fold." said Choji. "Whatever convinced her to kill her own parents could have been the cause. Sakura may have snapped completely when she realized what she'd done."
"House takes two." said Naruto. "I wonder if Sasuke did something to her or if she was just that blindly in love."
"Sakura had a dual personality of sorts." said Ino. "Daddy explained it as a projection of her id. I wonder if she brought that to the surface somehow."
Pyrrha shrugged. "In her own twisted way she still wants to be your best friend Ino-chan. That makes her dangerous to you and Ayano especially. In her own distorted way it was if she was trying to help you."
"That's what has me worried." said Shikamaru.
….
Kakashi and Asuma were sitting in the Yamanaka kitchen while Ayano opened the shop. They were both listening intently to the genins theorizing amongst themselves. Asuma was writing down their observations.
Glynda was impressed at how the two turned a simple meeting into a way to gather theories. She really wanted to meet them now.
While Pyrrha's report had been fairly concise; Ino's was skewed because of her (understandably) heightened emotional state. It seemed that sitting and talking with her friends while playing cards had not only calmed her down but it also had her thinking analytically like a proper kunoichi. Asuma said to Kakashi, "I'll have her write a follow up report tonight after she's had time to reflect on things."
"I'm wondering if we need to set up Ayano with some extra protection regardless." said Kakashi. "Sakura is targeting her."
Asuma shook his head. "We're so shorthanded right now that Ino and Pyrrha would probably be considered sufficient by the Hokage. We do have a war on after all….then again; maybe one of us team senseis could sleep here for the next few nights. One of us could easily overcome Sakura even with your sharingan."
"It probably would put Ayano and Ino at ease to have a jonin crashed on the couch." agreed Kakashi. "Let's talk to Ayano."
Naruto snickered at that. That was probably Kakashi-sensei's laziness speaking.
….
Konoha, Front Gates
A certain busty blonde sannin
Yang was quite jealous of how big Tsunade was, making Weiss smile a little in glee at how Yang was facing a dilemma similar to that she faced.
arrived at the front gates of Konoha and found the place was quiet as a tomb. "So the rumors of a war we heard in Tanzaku Gai were true." said Tsunade grimly.
Shizune set Tonton on the ground and said, "I haven't seen Konoha this quiet since the Third Shinobi War."
The chunins at the gate were younger and didn't really recognize Tsunade though they'd heard of her of course. One of them stamped her papers and said, "Welcome to Konoha Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san. Hokage-sama is expecting you. I'm sure you know your way to the tower."
Tsunade nodded and her group trudged over to the Hokage Tower. Tsunade was surprised that they weren't given an escort but the general atmosphere in the village was very tense. They saw many patrols moving around and most of the civilians seemed to be staying indoors. "This is a depressing atmosphere." muttered Tsunade. The group soon arrived at the Hokage Tower and was ushered in to the Hokage's Office.
The ninjas nodded. War could do that to a place.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was looking over the latest reports from Jiraiya and Shikaku. He set them down and looked up at Tsunade and Shizune. He said with a pleased smile, "Welcome home Tsunade-chan, Shizune-chan. You've been missed."
"Why did you cut off my bank accounts?" growled Tsunade.
Hiruzen got a flat look. "Come now Tsunade-chan; don't play dumb. I need you here and you would not obey recall orders. As the Third Hokage I'm reactivating your ninja status. Shizune-chan, you are a full jonin and your talents are needed at the hospital. You will report there at 08:00 tomorrow morning." Shizune nodded. "Tsunade-chan, I'm assuming you still suffer from haemophobia?"
" Wait, so the best medic has a fear of blood ?" Jaune asked.
" Well, it was due to the inability of saving her lover and younger brother." Kushina replied.
Tsunade saw the steel in her old sensei's eyes. 'I could fight him and leave but….' "Yes, I still have a fear of blood sensei." she said in a shamed tone.
Minato snorted. He didn't knew why but he could fathom at how bold Tsunade's thought was that she could take on the Third Hokage.
"Understandable." said Hiruzen without preamble. "You're needed at the hospital as well but first we need a thorough psyche check. I know you've been suffering and it's high time we do something about it. The self destructive path you've been on isn't what your family would have wanted for you."
" Sensei, I-" started Tsunade.
"Tsunade-chan, Konoha needs you once again." said the elderly Hokage. "I'm asking you because I don't want to order you to. It's time for you to come home Tsunade; it has been for a long time."
Tsunade said mournfully, "I'm old sensei; I feel old. I don't know if I can start again…."
Hiruzen propped his chin in his hand and said, "Say that when you are my age Tsunade-chan. You are a spring chicken compared to me."
Ruby snorted a little at that, alongside Shion and Satsuki.
Shizune covered her mouth to stifle her giggles but they turn out to be rather infectious and soon the group was all laughing.
The Third Hokage got over his chuckles and said, "I needed that. As I said; welcome home! ….By the way, what's with the pig?"
….
Hyuga Compound
Hinata arrived back from the Yamanaka residence in time for lunch. Team 8 had the day off from patrols and Hinata hoped to spend the day with Naruto-kun. Unfortunately Team 7 had a full schedule that day and Hinata spent most of her morning over at the Yamanaka's place helping to calm Ino and her Mother down. 'It's hard to believe Sakura changed that much. If nothing else, her being able to face off with Pyrrha Nikos without being utterly destroyed is shocking enough. There is much more to this than meets the eye.' Hinata greeted her clan mates as she came in and walked over to the main house with a sway in her hips. 'Mmmm….at least I got a really hot kiss with Naruto-kun.' She giggled slightly and blushed.
Hinata blushed at that, while Naruto could agree a bit that did turned him on.
It seemed that Hinata was a hot topic lately with the clan in general but she wasn't particularly concerned. 'I guess me roasting that fool Mizuki alive raised a few eyebrows. Oh well, he had it coming anyway.' The heiress was about to look for her little sister Hanabi so they could have lunch together but alas, she was intercepted by a messenger from the Hyūga Elders.
Hinata groaned. The Elders always had been a pain for a very long time. And it was quite obvious that even with power, they would still bother her.
"Hinata-sama!" said Hyūga Tokuma as he trotted up to the Heiress. "I am glad I found you. Your Grandfather the Head Elder has invited you to dine with him for lunch."
Hinata's smile vanished and was replaced with a frown. "Tokuma-san, a ninja of your talents should be out on the front lines instead of running errands for the Elders."
Tokuma nodded and said quietly, "I requested to join the Second Division with Hiashi-sama but was denied by the Elders."
" So they would actually attempt stop a ninja from performing their duty just to get pampered." Minato scowled at the behavior of the Hyuga elders.
Hinata's eyes seemed to ignite and she said, "You are a Special Jonin. That is an insult to your skill level. Would you like for me to talk to the Elders Tokuma? It is no trouble."
The Hyūga jonin cringed at Hinata's burning glare and said, "I am glad to serve in any capacity Hinata-sama; please do not bother the Elders with something so trivial." 'Please don't barbeque them my Lady!'
" Well, I am hungry." Nora commented, causing Ren to facepalm at the odd behavior of his friend, and crush. ( Yes, I am a NoRen Shipper, sue me )
"Very well Tokuma-san." said Hinata in a dark tone. "Tell the Head Elder I shall be there soon."
Tokuma looked pale. "Actually, Elder-sama asked me to escort you to the main dining hall."
The Heiress raised an eyebrow and smiled evilly. "Tell the old fool I had some feminine needs to attend to and did not need to be escorted. I'll get there when I get there."
The jonin blushed. "O-of course my Lady!" squeaked Tokuma in embarrassment. He quickly bowed and took off like a shot….
….
Konoha Mission Hall
Kakashi was talking to his team. "The spy we caught yesterday turned out to be from Hidden Cloud. The Raikage is on high alert because he believes Konoha is using Rice Country as a possible staging ground for an invasion."
"That's ridiculous!" said Blake. "We're trying to get rid of a traitor for good. It has nothing to do with Kumo."
" Then again, they do usually think to the extreme." Naruto commented, thinking of Omoi, then his thoughts shifted towards a certain blonde kunoichi, Samui and the jinchuuriki of Nibi, Yugito.
Kakashi nodded. "I know that and you know that but the Raikage can't afford to be lax about the situation. Once Konoha withdraws from Rice Country things will settle down."
"What will happen to the spy Kakashi-sensei?" asked Pyrrha.
"His fate hasn't been determined." said Kakashi.
"In other words he'll vanish once we've gotten all the information out of him we can." said Naruto in a dark tone. "He officially doesn't exist according to Kumo after all."
" That's wrong." Jaune whispered.
" But that's life for you." Kushina replied to the Arc.
Kakashi nodded and said, "Things do happen in our line of work that are less than savory."
"Any news on Sakura?" asked Pyrrha.
"She escaped us." said Kakashi. "We don't have the hunter nins necessary to go after her and even if we did she's not a big enough threat to warrant a full scale manhunt. For now she's out of our reach."
" If a ninja is of high caliber, like an A-Rank, the order given is to either bring them back alive if possible or kill them and dispose of the body on the spot." Minato explained to the hunters, of which a few turned green at the fact that the missing nin would be disposed on spot.
Team 7 all nodded glumly and set out for their first patrol of the day….
….
Hyūga Compound
Hinata waited an extra thirty minutes to go to lunch just to irritate her Grandfather. She came into the dining hall in her combat gear with a gentle sway in her hips. All and all she looked quite stunning much like her mentor Kurenai always did. Her Grandfather raised his eyebrows at her choice of attire (he expected a conservative kimono), but the young Hyūga man at the table with him looked utterly gob smacked. He was in a formal clan kimono.
"Well, well." said Hinata sardonically. "I was wondering why you summoned me Elder. Is this some sort of omiai ? I'd certainly hope not."
" What's omiai ?" Ruby asked Hinata.
Hinata rubbed her forehead in frustration, not believing what the elders would pull, " Basically a meeting of future couples, like a pre wedding meeting of couples, in an attempt to get them to like each other."
Ruby ' ahhed ' at the information.
Hinata's Grandfather started coughing before he cleared his throat. "Hinata; this is Hyūga Hotaka, a main house member who has lived at the Fire Capital all his life. He is fifteen and stands to inherit most of the clan's trade business when his Father retires." The heiress looked rather unimpressed with the young man. The Elder turned to Hotaka. "Hotaka-kun; this is Hyūga Hinata-sama. She is thirteen and as my granddaughter is the undisputed Heiress of the Hyūga Clan." Hotaka looked love struck at the dangerous looking kunoichi in front of him.
" He's roasted." Yang commented with a smirk, before everyone groaned at the pun she made.
Hotaka stood up and bowed. "I am honored to meet you My Lady. The rumors of your beauty simply don't do you justice."
The Heiress thought to herself, 'I didn't know there even were rumors about my looks. I wonder what else he's heard.' "I thank you Hotaka-san; I take it you are descended of Elder Minako?"
Hotaka brightened, "Yes, she is my Grandmother. How did you know Hinata-sama?"
"You seem to have inherited her facial features." said Hinata. 'The poor guy acts like an accountant rather than a ninja. It seems the Elder Council is trying to maneuver me through some matchmaking. Too bad for them I've already chosen Naruto-kun.'
Both Naruto and Hinata smiled at that. Their lives had been great once they got together.
Hinata sat down and ate with her Grandfather and Hotaka. She was quite bored and had no interest in Hotaka but she wasn't rude to him. 'It's not like it's his fault this meeting took place. I'm going to rain hell upon the old man once this farce is over though….'
….
Rice Country, Konoha Command Tent
Jiraiya was going over the reports. His scouts had been very busy throughout the morning and reports were still coming in. '….And Sarutobi-sensei wonders why I don't want the Hokage position. All this infernal paperwork is harder to deal with than fighting in the war.
In a brief time, even Glynda sympathized with the man. Paperwork was the bane of her life on several occasions.
Give me an open battle any day over this drudgery. Now that I think about it; giving the job to Orochimaru would be a punishment worse than death.' He saw Nara Shikaku come into the tent after lunch. "What's the good word Nara? Any news from our scouts?"
Shikaku shook his head. "The enemy has withdrawn. Every place we've searched is abandoned. What few enemy regulars we've run into are like scared rabbits and have surrendered unconditionally. Even the underground tunnel complexes have been abandoned. It seems your hunch about Orochimaru withdrawing was correct. We are meeting zero resistance."
"It's still a two day march to Oto Village but I expect more of the same." said Jiraiya. "Hokage-sama is going to be disappointed that we didn't get Orochimaru but leveling his power base will have to suffice. He has to have left some kind of trap behind so remain diligent."
" Hope for the best, prepare for the worst." Naruto stated. It was one of the things Jiraiya told him on their journey.
….
Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters
Kabuto looked out at the shore from one of the many hidden passages in the labyrinth of Northern Headquarters. The conditions were Spartan to say the least but Orochimaru-sama assured them that it was perfectly safe. 'What a mess. We were planning to invade Konoha and instead they ended up invading us on our home turf. Eighty percent of our forces were either wiped out or fled. If Suna had done their part then we wouldn't have had this disaster.'
" Get rekted." Nora shouted happily to the silver haired boy.
The bespectacled nin sighed. 'I was hoping to lay an explosive trap in Oto Village to blow up a portion of Jiraiya-sama's forces but Orochimaru-sama was right. There simply wasn't time.'
Orochimaru's right hand man thought morosely, "Years of research in the labs was lost and Kimimaro still needs further treatment. Worse still, so little is known about the Kaguya Clan that treating him is next to impossible."
Naruto's face fell, knowing that he could have saved the last Kaguya if he tried hard enough, but Kimimaro was devoted to Orochimaru and Naruto had to stop Sasuke from leaving.
The Snake Sannin came up behind his protégé and asked, "Thinking aloud Kabuto-kun? We lost this war but we will learn from this setback. Failure is often a greater teacher than success."
"It is difficult not to be disheartened Orochimaru-sama." admitted Kabuto.
"Are you still wanting Haruno Sakura to be you apprentice as a medic Kabuto-kun?" asked the snake.
"She has the chakra control to be a superb medic my Lord." said Kabuto. "That being said her entire personality radically changed after she received the curse mark. I cannot understand that phenomena. All curse mark users seem to have retained their basic personalities but Sakura….She is twisted in ways that don't make sense. I doubt she would want to learn to heal anyone and that kind of dedication is necessary to be a good medic."
" That's true. To be a medic, one must dedicate their lives." Minato said.
" That is correct," Konan agreed with the Namikaze, " Medics usually put their lives on the line to heal people in the middle of the battlefield."
"It is a bit of a mystery." agreed Orochimaru. "As you teach her consider her a case study as well. It's a shame we don't have an experienced Yamanaka to look inside of her head." Looking out at the seashore Orochimaru said, "Enough brooding Kabuto-kun. There is much to do."
The Master and apprentice went back inside and sealed the hidden door behind them….
….
OMAKE:
The Head Hyūga Elder came into the meeting chambers to address his fellow Elders about the results of the omiai between Hinata and Hotaka. He overheard Elder Minako talking to the others. "My grandson Hotaka seems quite taken with Hinata-sama!" Minako said happily.
" She wish." Hinata snored, while Minato groaned when the woman came up. He really hated that fact that her name was a female version of his name.
"He said she was beautiful and very kind to him. Hotaka wants to push forward with this relationship but he said that Hinata-sama seemed shy and didn't want to rush things. I for one am quite pleased with the results."
The Head Elder sighed and shook his head. 'If only they knew….'
Elder Hiraku chuckled. "So it seems love has tamed the savage beast." He said with a slight sneer in his voice.
Hinata and Yang growled at that. " No one can tame that beast." Yang spoke, " No one, except Naruto."
" Yang, eww." Ruby shouted, as everyone looked at Yang who was grinning evilly.
"I'm not so sure this is the best idea…." said Elder Majo with a tiny bit of fear in her voice.
"Nonsense!" crowed Elder Hiraku. "Obviously she's just a teenage girl underneath the façade of being an Angry Fire Goddess."
Hinata's Grandfather stepped into the room and cleared his throat. He said authoritatively, "I'm afraid the omiai was….less than successful."
All the other Elders turned to him and stared. Their byakugan eyes then widened to comical proportions and their jaws hit the floor….
Flashback….
Hotaka left the omiai feeling lighter than air and rushed to tell his beloved Grandmother Minako what a truly lovely girl Hinata-sama is. That left Hinata and her Grandfather alone….
"Well Hinata, what do you think of young Hotaka-kun?" asked the Elder.
" I met the guy once, he seemed to think that all the girls were into him." Hinata stated, while the females in the room groaned. These type of guys thought that they would get girls that were way out of their reach.
"He seems pleasant enough." said Hinata in a neutral tone. Then she smiled softly and said, "I thank you for the lovely meal Elder-sama." She kissed her hand and blew her Grandfather a kiss which amused him greatly….Until the kiss turned out to be superheated fire chakra the neatly burned his long mane of hair off leaving his head bald and shiny as a cue ball….
Hinata said in a voice that would make the shinigami wet himself in fear; "DON'T DO THAT AGAIN."
Naruto paled at the voice Hinata had, while Hinata looked at him strangely, when she realized that her other had scared Naruto. She smiled and gripped his hand.
Flashback end….
"It seems that swaying my lovely granddaughter through affection won't be so easy after all." stated the Hyūga Head Elder. That's when he noticed all the other Elders were shielding their long hair subconsciously with their hands. They all looked terrified. "What are you all cowering for?!" he thundered. "I'm the one that's totally bald!"
Majo weakly pointed passed him into the entryway to the room where Hinata was standing with glowing eyes and demonic smile on her beautiful face. "It looks like you Elders haven't learned your lesson. I do hope you like wigs…."
The cries of baldness reached throughout the compound….
Nora laughed demonically with Yang while Hinata smiled. Finally the elders were getting what they deserved.
Danial suddenly snapped his fingers and a large gaming setup was made.
So this is it for this chapter. The games I will show them play will be DBZ : BT3, Naruto Shippuden : Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, Mortal Kombat X, Street Fighter V, etc.
If you guys want any more games to be added, pm me.
Rate and Review. No Flamers allowed.