A/N: Sorry for the delay, guys! Here's the newest chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed typing it. I think listening to Letting Go by Isaac Shepard had me really going, so I managed to type a lot. Also, big thanks to the people who commented and are following me, you have no idea how much you guys motivate me! I DON'T OWN NARUTO!

Chapter XXVI: The Devil Brings Gifts

Hinata flinched when she heard a snap, and not a clean one, it was the sort of disgusting snap that meant not just the bone broke but also flesh. What happened to the person that she heard? Did that noise come from them? "A-are you still there? Please answer me!" Hinata cried out, having no way to see what had occurred.

"There is no need to be afraid." A deep voice answered softly.

"Th-this voice... you! You're the voice that was in my head!" Hinata turned her head in search of where the voice was coming from.

"You're right. I was the voice that was in your head." The voice gave a low chuckle. "I would imagine you have questions. I can answer them." The voice came closer, the sound of crunching dirt reaching her.

"Don't move!" The crunching stopped. "F-first, did you do this to me?" Hinata turned her head in the direction of where she heard the crunching. There was a pause before she heard a deep sigh.

"No, I didn't tear your eyes out." Hinata's eyebrows scrunched, trying to hear anything in his voice that could mean he was lying to her. His voice never wavered, not even when he continued. "I didn't put that blade in your chest, and I didn't butcher your wings either."

"W-what?" Hinata felt her heart beat rise as she slowly had one hand reach behind her to touch her back, wincing as the katana in her chest shifted with her. The pads of her fingers felt the cloth of her sleeping kimono and a bump under the cloth which was most likely a large pad to stop any bleeding. The man was right, her wings were gone. Regardless of what he just said, that didn't mean she was going to trust him. Hinata bit her bottom lip as she thought of her current situation and about the stranger standing near by. What did he want with her? Does he want her power, which was possible by the simple fact that he knew she was an Angel and most likely knew what she could do. She remained silent for a long time before he reiterated that he hadn't done her any harm. "If that's true, then who?"

"I feel that I don't need to answer that, I mean, you should know who did this to you." The voice replied.

Hinata rubbed her hands together and thought back and she could vaguely recall what had happened before she blacked out. She didn't recall anyone other than her clansman who were fighting the group. Then he couldn't have done it, leaving her with the only plausible suspects. The very people that made up her family had decided to cut her up, blind her, and lock her away. The pain of the katana felt dull in comparison to the emotions stirring in her, it was like acid that traveled through her blood and left her mind cold. Numb and hot were the two things she felt, having sprung forth from an unknown place, a dark place she has never truly touched.

"Let me help you." The voice was closer than before. Hinata turned her head towards him.

"Why?" Her voice sounded hollow, as if it should have belonged to a phantom.

"You wanted power, so I'm here to give it to you." She didn't say anything. "With it you will be able to destroy them. You want to, I can tell. I can help you."

"You want something from me, why else would you help me?" She practically growled out.

"I would be lying if I said otherwise. You're right, I do want something from you."

"What is it?" Hinata asked, finding it interesting that he was being honest. After all, there was the risk of her refusing to help should his reasons disagree with her.

"I want everyone's dreams to come true." Her eyebrows scrunched disbelievingly. "I know it sounds ridiculous," the voice continued, "but it's true. I would like to prove it to you, but I need your help. I need someone with power, and we're the last. We need to stick toge-"

"What do you mean by the last?" Hinata's chains rattled as she shifted her entire body towards the man.

"The Hyuuga killed your companions when they went to capture you."

"That can't be! Tsunade is immor-" Hinata stopped. That wasn't true, Tsunade wasn't immortal, she was only immortal when Jiraiya was close by, otherwise she was only human. A human that was powerful, but could an individual's power overtake an entire clan's joined power? If she were killed, then the others would also be dead. "No, that has to be a l-lie."

"I'm not lying."

"Liar! Stop! I don't believe you!"

"Then let me show you." Hands gripped her shoulders, pulling Hinata close to a body larger than hers.

"What are you-"

"I'm going to show you what I saw." He interrupted.

"No, don't! I don't want to see! Please!" Hinata cried and struggled as the man placed his forehead against hers, but with surprising strength he restricted her with his arms. Eventually her body fell limp against him as her mind traveled into a foggy horizon.

'Look with my eyes. This is reality.' The voice reverberated around her, looking through the man's eyes in search of the memory and found a familiar setting. The campsite was completely destroyed, the ground littered with deep craters, and dead Hyuuga lying scattered. Her sight turned to another area with Tsunade and Shizune bloody and beat in the center. It looked like Tsunade tried to heal the already dead Shizune, but died from the lack of chakra. Not far away, Deidara looked to be in pieces, scattered around the campsite, and Sasori wasn't anywhere to be seen. Again the area changed, this time to the last place she remembered, deep in the forest. At first it didn't seem like anything had happened, but not long could she see three bodies thrown into the bushes haphazardly. Naruto and Sasuke had been stabbed to death by kunai, their blood dripping into the ground that drank it up. Gaara, he looked almost like he was sleeping as he laid in the bushes, except his face was black and blue, and his chest crushed in.

'G-Gaara.' Hinata reached out, but there was no arm that did as she asked. 'Please, wake me up!'

xxx

"Hinata." Gaara gasped as he woke from his comatose state, his body shaking and sweating from the nightmares he's been subjected to. "Hinata?" He looked around, searching for the tiny Hyuuga, needing her touch for comfort. No such luck as his eyes adjusted to the dark room he was in and saw everyone's sleeping bodies, except for Hinata's.

Tsunade's eyes flew open when she heard Gaara's gasp. "You're awake!" She maneuvered around the others to reach him, and immediately began to check him for other problems. He growled in frustration as he tried to break away from the Sannin, but she just pulled him back to the bed to finish her examination. When she was done she sighed in relief and threw herself into the seat stationed next to the bed. "Thank goodness, now there's one less problem to worry about." Ignoring her, Gaara got up and walked around the small room. "You won't find her here."

"Then where the hell can I find her?" Gaara hissed as he turned to her. "WHERE IS SHE?"

Tsunade ran her hand through her hair, her tired eyes becoming hard. "Calm down, growling at me won't help you. Now get your ass back in that bed," She calmly answered back while pointing at him. He gave her a hard look, but she just returned it with an even harder one. Reluctantly he returned to the bed and sat down, all the while glaring at her.

"Where is she?"

"With her clan."

"What! Why is she there?"

"If you don't remember, you, Naruto, and Sasuke were being beaten while Hiashi flew away with Hinata in his arms." The sannin countered.

"Then why are we here?" Gaara asked as he laid his head back against the headboard, trying to calm down. Tsunade leaned into her chair further, pinched the bridge of her nose, and began to narrate all that had happened and the group's observations since he's been unconscious. "Then we are in a stalemate."

"Pretty much. We're fighting an unknown ninja, the Hyuuga posses a katana with the ability to paralyze an Angel, and we can't make a move without alerting all of Konoha should it become an all out battle."

"Then what options do we have?" Gaara wove his hands together and thought, racking his brain for a strategy that would get them out of their situation.

"It's been decided that we're moving into the center of the fray, we're relocating into Konoha."

"Are you insane? If we want to avoid being caught, why would we purposely go into Konoha where we're clearly at a disadvantage?"

"It sounds that way, but it our best option. This way we can keep an eye on the Hyuuga, plus they won't be able to make a move on us while we're inside the village walls. If they truly want to monopolize the Angels, they'll definitely want to avoid anyone suspecting us."

"Hm, true. This also gives us a chance to observe their weak points and provide sufficient time to come up with a strategy to save Hinata."

"It's a good thing you woke up, now we can move."

"Where exactly are we going to stay?" Gaara asked Tsunade, who was already standing to go back to her makeshift bed on the floor.

"We'll be staying with the Hokage meanwhile we wait for Jiraiya to return." Tsunade whispered loudly as not to wake those around her.

"He's gone? Where?" Gaara asked, not lowering the volume of his voice.

"Shh! Look, he left for Uzu no Kuni. Now rest will you, we're leaving early tomorrow morning." There was a rustle of a blanket and then silence. Gaara turned his head and saw that Tsunade had wrapped herself in her blanket and was clearly done with answering his questions.

'Uzu no Kuni? Where the hell is that?' Gaara began to reflect on all the existing countries and he was certain there wasn't a Uzu no Kuni.

'It doesn't exist anymore. It was torn by war and later assimilated with Konohagakure when Hashirama, Senju rose to be Hokage.' Shukaku answered with a yawn.

'How do you know this?'

'Brat, how old do you think I am? Your great-great-grandfather wasn't even a thought when I was roaming this land. Kuso, that asshole got me good. He managed not to just knock you out, but me too.' The biju answered with a hiss as he stretched his limbs inside his cage. 'Well, at least it was a pleasant nap.'

'Whoever he is, is going to be a problem.' Gaara scowled, and his fists balled up in burning resentment toward the strange shinobi.

'Mm. I heard everything blondie said, and I think I have an idea that could help us out.' Gaara could feel Shukaku grinning sinisterly.

'What's this idea?' The redhead asked after a pause, suspicious of what the giant raccoon was thinking.

'I don't know if you'll like it, but I sure as hell will.' Shukaku cackled loudly in Gaara's head.

xxx

Obito held the tiny body against his, waiting for her to finish taking in his illusion, needing to make sure she hardened inside. Hinata had to come to his side willingly, only that way would he be able to corrupt her fully, to make her prone to going along with his wishes. This way was best, even if he had to fabricate a lie. As he waited he could smell the sweet scent that was all her own, a faint and floral scent that draws one in. Obito leaned in, burying his nose in her hair, taking in the soft smell. 'This is wrong. Stop it.' He pulled away just in time to watch Hinata stir and let out a strangled cry. "It's alright. It'll be okay. I'm here." He pulled her side closer to him, being mindful to avoid the katana. Hinata struggled and he just held her tighter until she finally stopped fighting.

"Di-did they do this?" Hinata cried out with her broken voice as her hand gripped Obito's robe and he placed his hand over hers.

"They did. We are both alone, now do you believe me? Will you help me?" Obito asked, pulling away and used his hands to cup Hinata's face. "Let me help you, if you do I'll make sure you'll be happy forever." He rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "Please, Hinata. Didn't you want power to protect those you cared about? You've felt it before, the hunger for power." Obito started off softly, then progressively became more aggressive in his speech. "I know you want it. You need it to avenge the people you loved." The end coming out as a growl, the image of Ren flashing in his mind.

"Y-yes. I want it. I want power." Hinata whispered, her hands covering Obito's own. "I want to kill them."

"Who do you want to kill, Hinata? Tell me! Make me believe you want this power!" Obito roared, feeling the Beast inside stir with blood lust. "Who, Hinata?"

"All of them! My father! The Elders! All of them!" Hinata yelled out, her nails digging into Obito's hands, hot tears falling down her face to gather at the tip of her chin. Over and over she cried out 'I want power, I want that strength, I want revenge,' and Obito smiled wider each time until he grew excited enough to pull away the kimono to expose a flushed pink shoulder.

"Then I'll give it to you. I'll give you a part of me, and a part of you to me. Together we'll find it, the End." Hinata gasped as teeth tore into her skin. She cried out, screaming for him to stop, trying to claw at him but his hands held her still. The place his teeth bit into stung and burned, but the longer he stayed the more certain she could feel something flowing into her bloodstream. It was like a black poison that ran from her shoulder, down her spine, into the limbs, and traveled to her head. Hinata grit her teeth as her entire body began to feel like it was about to combust, especially around where her eyes should have been. She was about ready to pass out when a flash of relieving coolness overtook her.

Obito drew away his teeth when he heard her gasp, her whole body convulsing against him, and he could feel her begin to change. He wiped away the little bit of blood around his lips, he smiled as he watched how his power was working it's way through the tiny Hyuuga's body, wanting to see what the end result would be. After a couple of minutes passed, Hinata had stopped shaking and she groaned loudly as she tried to come back to her senses.

"Who are you?" She let out weakly as her hands found their way to Obito's arms to steady herself.

"Uchiha, Obito." He answered calmly as he helped her stop wobbling.

"Uchiha? But, I thought Sasuke was-"

"That's what the people of Konoha believe. I'll answer all of your questions once we get out of here. I'm sure you want to meet your clansmen." Hinata gripped his arms tightly, her chest growing tight with rage.

"I wish I could see his face." Hinata growled out.

"Whose?" Obito questioned with a smile, letting go of her so that he could work on removing the chains around her wrists and ankles. With little effort he broke the chains, the metal falling with a dull clang to the ground. "Do you mean your father?"

"Yes." Hinata answered venomously. "I want to see him suffer."

"You can. Here, let me take these off." Reaching for the bandages that held the gauzes, Obito pulled away the patches and dabbed away the excess blood. "I'm sorry that they're not your original eyes, but at least you'll be able to see. Now, open them." Hinata's eyelids fluttered, as her eyes grew accustomed to the dim light of the room. Other than the darkness, she could see two crimson eyes staring back at her. These eyes belonged to a pale creature with broad, handsome features, and she couldn't help but reach out to touch his face.

"I see you." The edges of her eyes crinkling slightly as she smiled up at Obito.

"You definitely can." The older shinobi smiled gently back. "Before we leave, you need to pull that out," Obito said as he pointed to the katana in Hinata's chest. He grabbed her hand and wrapped it around the handle. "Pull it out and be free." Slowly he helped her tug, her face cringing, but she never broke eye contact with him. Halfway out, Hinata shook in pain but continued until finally, with Obito's poison giving her the strength she needed, the blade slid out. Hinata groaned, her pain gradually disappearing as her wound began to heal on its own. "Are you alright now?"

"Y-yes." Hinata sighed in relief, the hand holding the blade trembling.

"Good, now take this and use it. This blade belongs to you now." Obito took both her hands and squeezed them lightly around the katana's handle. Hinata shook her head, not wanting something that would just remind her of the fact that she was betrayed by her own family. "Hinata, keep it so that you'll never forget. With this you'll have the power to avenge those you lost. Let it harden you for what you need to do now."

"I...I understand." Hinata hung her head, but he lifted her chin up to look at him.

"I will be here to help you become strong." Obito lifted her like a child and held her to him. With the sudden embrace she felt feelings of confusion and comfort mix together and wound up leaning her head against his chest, his body heat making her relax. "Are you ready for what you need to do?" She felt his chest rumble as he asked her.

"Yes. Let's go." Hinata looked up at him, and Obito felt an unfamiliar sensation as he looked into her new eyes, that should have remained the same shade as before, but now they obtained a brightness that could compare them to polished pearls. He shook his head and adjust her so that he carried her bridle style, but had to shift his arms higher when she winced. "Sorry, my back hurts." Hinata explained, her hand going to her back, feeling despondent by the lack of wings.

Certain that she wasn't hurting anymore, Obito continued his way up the stairway. The closer they got to the surface the clearer it was to him that Hinata was becoming more stone faced. With a side glance he could see that she had removed any emotion she was feeling, probably allowing her soul and mind time to process what was about to take place. Finally they had reached the hidden door and Obito placed his palm on it, his chakra forcing its way through the seal and allowing them through.

"What the hell?" Obito jumped at a short-haired Hyuuga woman that was in the room and grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. She struggled trying to get out of his grip, clawing at his hand and wrist, but he was too strong for her. "S-stop!" She gasped out, but Obito was unrelenting. She looked around for something that would help her, but her eyes landed on Hinata who sat in the crook of his arm. To her it was like looking at a doll with no emotion showing on her face, the only thing that seemed alive was her eyes, that glimmered with silent excitement. Without warning she felt a sharp pain in her stomach and then burning, the Hyuuga woman gasped out painfully as Obito released her. "Wha...what have...you done?" She looked down and saw a katana buried deep in her abdomen, blood seeping from the wound, and spreading around her shirt. She began to cough up blood when she tried to scream, the coughing causing enough pain to force her body to crumple to the side. Looking up, she saw Hinata climb down and stare at her indifferently as she reached out to grab the katana. "Pl-please." The woman pleaded, but Hinata's answer was simply to yank the blade out, and when the woman screamed, Hinata raised the blade and swung downward.

Obito stood back watched the whole scene in amazement, almost feeling bad for the woman whose head was cleanly cut off. "Well done, Hinata." He walked to her side and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Let's go, there's a lot more people to visit."

"Mm." Hinata followed Obito out, not even giving a final glance back at the short-haired woman, sliding shut the door before catching up to her older companion who was heading towards the main house.

"Hinata." Obito stopped her hand before she could open the sliding door. She looked up at him quizzically and he just smiled down at her. "You understand that this is something you'll have to do on your own, right?" Hinata looked at the door, at Obito, then back at the door. Cooly she answered yes and Obito let her go. "I'll make sure no one hurts you though."

"Thank you." Hinata opened the sliding door to the main house and walked calmly through the familiar halls to find the meeting chamber where the Elders were most-likely congregated. On her way there she ran into servants and quickly dispatched them before they could run away, their blood smearing the walls and floors, their screams alerting the other Hyuuga staff to find the source. One by one she cut them down, swinging the blade with ease, the hand holding it feeling like it was made for her. She was actually surprised at how easy it was to kill those around her, not even their attacks could deter her from where she was headed.

In the far corner of the building two Hyuuga that managed to get away before she reached them reported what was going on to the Elders. The elderly Hyuuga looked at each other, and tried to figure out a plan to get them out of their predicament. "What if we bargain with her? Her freedom if she leaves now?" One suggested.

"That won't work, it's obvious to me that Hinata is aware of what she is capable of if she's just walking here, killing everyone that crosses her path. I don't know how she got the blade out, but we need to find a way to retaliate or else we're doomed." Another Elder added, continuing with, "She most likely killed Reiri when she escaped, but luckily her notes and experimental weapons are stocked elsewhere. If we use these I'm certain that we'll manage to subdue her again."

"That is true, but we'll need to alert Hiashi and all the side-branch members quickly or we won't have enough manpower to stop her, regardless if we have the weapons." The Elder that spoke turned to one of the servants in the room and ordered them to inform the whole clan of what was going on and to evacuate all non-combat-ready Hyuuga. As quickly as the servants left, the Elders began to shuffle out of the room in search of the exit, not wanting to take part in this battle.

Marching through the corridors they found the sliding door that led to one of the side houses, but as it was in their sight they heard something that sounded like the crackle of fire coming from behind them. They turned and saw that the walls were being consumed by darkness, and in the inky blackness a pair of eyes stared back at them. They were familiar with whose eyes they were, but these eyes carried an unfamiliar severity that made the Elders uneasy, and the eyes just grew closer. "Quickly, open the door!" The Elders turned to run, but everything around them was dark, they tried to dispel what they thought was a genjutsu, but it wasn't working.

One of the Elders began to shake uncontrollably, not in fear, but in rage. "Damn it all! Hinata, do you know what you're doing? You're betraying your own clansmen!" The eyes stopped moving, but fixated on the one speaking.

"Betraying?"

"Yes! You are betraying the people who raised you! Have you no sense of shame in what you've done?"

"Shame?" Hinata's voice rang out again from the dark.

"Leave now before you do anymore damage!" The Elder shouted, his arm waving her away, feeling triumphant by Hinata's silence. The silence was short lived when a songbird-like laugh resonated in the dark. Her laughing continued as her eyes grew closer, the sound of something dragging coming close as well. The Elders pushed themselves closer to the wall, wanting to get away they began to slam their fists against where the door should have been. The Elder that had been yelling remained where he was, a nervous sweat forming around his temples. "Hinata, it is understandable that you would be angry for what we did to you, but you have to understand that what we did was for the clan's best interest. Our future depended on you, on what you could do for the clan, and you would have been seen as a hero! Hinata, you must understand why we did this!"

"I wasn't a hero for the clan...I was a sacrifice!" Hinata roared out, her eyes now racing towards them. The Elder who spoke was the first to die, receiving a vertical slash that cut from his head to his groin, cutting him cleanly in half. "You should be the ones feeling shame for betraying me!" She swung wildly,uncaring of how the Elders pleaded and begged. The last one that stood pushed himself close to the wall, droplets of blood sprinkled his face from when Hinata's katana was cutting everyone down. He looked around for any way to get out, but there wasn't even a crack in the pitch darkness he was in. What he did see was two red dots far behind Hinata. Whoever they belonged to was just watching, spectating the slaughter calmly as anyone would a game, and even though he couldn't see it, he was certain that the person was smiling from where he stood.

Hinata swung the sword and cut off the remaining Elder's head, watching it roll to her feet. she crouched and picked it up. With the head in her hands Hinata walked back to her new companion and showed it to him, holding it out to him like a prize. Obito took it and ruffled her now bloody hair and internally thought that she resembled a cat bringing its owner a dead bird as a gift.

'How charming,' he thought.

A/N: Done! It was a pain in the butt finding time to type, but I had a really fun time writing this. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next. The battle continues!

-Baron